News Story not available

This story has been published on: 2022-10-31. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

This story is no longer available on our site.
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.
EAGLE CREEK BOAT CAMP  Two days paddle from the nearest phone and a mile deep in a labyrinth slot canyon, Bill Cunningham still marvels at how the forces of national politics mimic the convolutions of nature.

It was Cunninghams 40-somethingth float along the Missouri River on the 40th anniversary of its federal Wild and Scenic River designation. Both the route through the sandstone maze and the strategy of preserving it remain fresh in his memory.

Its so important to remember our history and realize theres so much left to be done, the 73-year-old guidebook author and conservationist from Choteau said. Told from canoe seats and camp chairs, Cunninghams stories ranged from the location of ancient Native American petroglyphs to the last-minute phone calls that prevented a presidential veto.

In late September, Cunningham led a five-boat expedition of river advocates and a trio of journalists through the best-known reach of the Missouris Wild and Scenic corridor  47 miles of White Cliffs country between Coal Banks and Judith Landing. The expedition began on a mournful note, coming just days after the death of John Craighead in Missoula.

While the Craighead twin brothers John and Frank were best known for their pioneering work on grizzly bears, Cunningham related a side chapter of their story. That wildlife biology wove together otherwise disjointed efforts to protect wilderness acres and river miles.

The Wilderness Act passed in 1964, followed four years later by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. The Missouri reach was included in 1976, along with the North, Middle and South forks of the Flathead River.

In the 1950s, the Craigheads rafted the Upper Hells Canyon of the Snake River in Idaho before it was dammed, and helped popularize the term wild river in films they made about the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Author Tim Palmer in his history The Wild and Scenic Rivers of America recounted a seminal experience when they returned to their Appalachian roots.

Years after we had moved west we went back and saw the Potomac, John Craighead said. The water was polluted, it wasnt anything like what we had known.  I realized we still had wild rivers in the West, but we wouldnt for long if we didnt do something to save them.

The late 1950s were radical years for rivers. Federal agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation fought to maintain the momentum of their dam-building programs. Wilderness advocates organized counter-efforts to protect the roughly 2 percent of stream mileage in the United States (excluding Alaska) that lacked dams, channels or pollution.

Most wilderness preservation efforts aimed at places with obvious scenic beauty  which often meant mountaintop rocks and ice rather than valley bottoms. The Craigheads brought a subtle shift to that thinking. Their work on grizzly bears and other wildlife revealed how those bottomlands, usually connected by rivers, were vital links between landscapes. They argued that a river is only as wild as the land it drains, and vice versa.

An Army Corps proposal to build a dam at Spruce Park on the Middle Fork of the Flathead in 1957 helped focus John Craigheads efforts. That would have put a Hungry Horse Dam-like reservoir in the middle of whats now the Great Bear Wilderness south of Glacier National Park.

At the same time, the National Park Service was considering a new park downstream of Fort Benton on the Missouri River, while the Bureau of Reclamation studied the possibility of a High Cow Creek Dam. That would have made iconic Steamboat Rock literally appear to float on a reservoir rivaling the Fort Peck Dam impound.

Cunningham said agency in-fighting as much as public input stalled those plans. The 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act included no Montana waters. But the chutes were loaded for some real rodeo in the next few years.

The major players were U.S. Senators Mike Mansfield and Lee Metcalf and Representatives John Melcher and Max Baucus  all Democrats. Mansfield was Senate majority leader, and Metcalf wanted to protect the Missouri River through central Montana. Baucus introduced a bill to designate the three forks of the Flathead. Theyd also put together legislation for wilderness studies of the Great Bear and Elkhorn Mountains regions.

Melcher was the odd man out.

Back when Montana had two congressional districts, Melcher represented the eastern half in 1976. At the time, he said he supported the Missouri designation, but didnt want to preclude future water use for irrigation or storage.

I think had it not been for the 1976 election year and Melcher running for Senate, this wouldnt have happened, Cunningham said in the blinding glow of White Cliff walls. Cunningham spent the summer directing a letter-writing barrage at Melchers office, boosted by a couple blistering editorial critiques by Missoulian editorial writer Sam Reynolds.

Then one night the phone rings at 4 a.m., and its Melcher, Cunningham recalled. Call off the dogs, he says. Ive had it.

On the other side of the Capitol, Metcalf, the bill author, had never floated the Missouri. He operated on a gut feeling, Cunningham said, that the White Cliffs backers were on to something valuable, and he decided to support them.

He was an old-style Democrat, Cunningham said. He supported dam projects. But he knew all about this river, and his support evolved.

And unlike many Congress members today, Cunningham said Metcalf wasnt worried about getting 80 percent support before hed back a measure.

He was a 51-percenter, Cunningham said. He knew how to count 50 plus one.

Metcalfs Missouri River bill passed the full Senate in early 1976, but bogged down in the House. Melcher was a ranking member of the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, which was in charge of the bill. Although Missoulian news stories at the time reported concern that Melcher was not doing his part to get the legislation moved, the end result showed more teamwork.

With both Baucus and Melcher apparently pushing hard, the omnibus bill cleared the House Monday on an unusual unanimous consent vote  in which one negative vote would have killed the entire package, Missoulian reporter Don Schwennesen wrote on Sept. 30, 1976. By Monday, there was broad support for the omnibus package  In the end, the Senate voted 74-0 Tuesday to approve the omnibus package  and congressional sources predicted that President Ford will sign the measure into law.

But Cunninghams internal channels warned of a different threat. The omnibus contained the Great Bear wilderness study, which faced administration opposition.

The Forest Service was opposed to the Great Bear, and they had prepared a veto message for Ford to use, Cunningham said. But John Craighead had worked with Fords son on grizzly bear studies in the Great Bear. I got ahold of John as Ford was getting ready to veto the measure. He agreed to help and called Fords son  reached him on a campaign motorhome (Ford was running against Jimmy Carter). Craighead convinced him to safeguard the biological corridor, and the presidents son convinced his dad not to veto the bill.

Cunningham graduated from college in 1966 and served three years of active duty in the Army, reaching the rank of captain. His final year, instead of being sent to Vietnam, was spent at Fort Leonard Wood in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. A budding cave explorer, Cunningham offered to make an inventory of all the uncharted caves in the surrounding hills for possible nuclear war refuges.

To my surprise, they bought it, Cunningham said. I took a survey crew and mapped out 32 caves for storage potential, and how many personnel each might hold. I submitted the maps, and they were immediately classified Top Secret. I didnt have clearance to look at my own report.

He went on to write several guidebooks on the Western backcountry and to head The Wilderness Societys Montana field office. The wild Missouri remained an unfinished passion for him. Although the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act precluded future dams, it only affected the immediate landscape.

That left places like the slot canyons of Neat Coulee and the dozen recorded campsites of Lewis and Clarks Voyage of Discovery in management limbo.

This is the last 5 percent of the Lewis and Clark route that they would still recognize today, Cunningham said. If you have that disrupted by jetboats, then there is a problem.

Part of the problem was jetboat technology wasnt ripe in 1976, when the original rules were drafted. So work continued to strengthen the protections around the Upper Missouri Breaks. The National Park Service still had some interest in the area, which put it at odds with the Bureau of Land Management. Cunningham said that made the final difference for many local landowners.

It put the fear of God into them  the thought of loop roads and visitor centers and loss of grazing permits if a national park got established, Cunningham said.

As President Bill Clinton headed into the final year of his second term, rumors wafted about possible national monument opportunities. Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt announced he was coming to Montana for a Show Me tour of possible sites in 1999. Cunningham started meeting with ranchers, county commissioners and other stakeholders around the Missouri Breaks to gauge local attitudes.

He drove into the upper reaches of the Bullwhacker  its deepest, wildest part  and then hiked to where Babbitt was arriving by helicopter.

Babbitt played his cards very close to the chest  no question, Cunningham said. I couldnt get any sense of where his feelings were. But I remember specifically he was asking a lot about oil and gas.

A known natural gas field surrounds parts of the monument. Nevertheless, Babbitt concluded the natural values exceeded the oil and gas potential, and recommended the Upper Missouri Breaks for presidential attention.

President Clinton declared the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument four days before the end of his term on Jan. 17, 2001. While a Wild and Scenic River designation protects its area bank-to-bank the national monument includes most of the public land along the cliffs. That allows it to consider tributary streams, coulees and other landmarks as integral parts of the protected place.

Cunningham said the end result pleased neither conservationists nor landowners. Ranchers and hunters feared they would lose access to their prairie lands. Monument backers were disappointed that more river bottom wasnt included with better protections than BLM currently offered.

But 16 years later, the Upper Missouri Breaks Wild and Scenic River and National Monument still offers exemplary scenic beauty, cattle grazing, motorboating in season, free-flowing water, a robust landowner stewardship program along the banks, lots of hunting and fishing, and the darkest starlit skies in all of Montana.

I met Lee (Metcalf) about two months before he died, Cunningham said. I asked him what his proudest accomplishment was, and he said it was the Upper Missouri Wild and Scenic River bill.
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?

After reading "Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs" by Johann Kari, I believe that the prisons are needlessly overcrowded with nonviolent "criminals". We need to focus on violent crimes instead. I would take another look at mandatory sentencing, which does not allow our judges to explore other options. At the same time, I believe that we need to better address repeat DUI offenders and their treatment.

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?

In our efforts to curb government overreach, I would look very carefully at how the Legislature addresses this concern. We should avoid legislative control over day-to-day operations, leaving that to those people who know what they do every day, and do it very well. At the same time, we need to prevent excessive abuses, as in forcing purchases of land from reluctant farmers or ranchers.

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?

Most of today's careers are not lifelong. Our energy workers can be retrained, perhaps in cleaning up the destruction of our natural resources perpetuated by unsustainable extraction practices. We could also retrain them to build, operate, and maintain renewable energy facilities. I believe that would be a win/win option.

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?

When I went to college, I was able to pay my own way with some family help, but mostly I was able to support myself working part-time, and attend college full-time. That is not possible with today's low wages, and high college expenses. Both need to be addressed. Living costs have climbed consistently, while wages have stagnated. This imbalance needs to be addressed creatively.

What do you regard as the most urgent problem facing Montana, and how do you propose dealing with it?

Montana's two biggest industries are agriculture and tourism. We have done an admirable job of promoting tourism. However, we need to protect our environment, since that is our biggest tourism resource. We need to protect our public lands from outside predators, who would buy our public lands, and then close them to everybody else. I feel that we need to take a closer look at helping support small farms and ranches, limiting big agriculture, and expanding support for sustainable agriculture. Our restrictions on farmers markets have become excessive. We have nearly closed small beekeepers and their honey production and sales.
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?

Nonviolent offenders should be dealt with in their own communities with programs like treatment court, house arrest and 24/7 monitoring. Removing nonviolent offenders from the prison system will result in savings that can be used to fund addiction treatment centers in our local communities as most of our jail and prison capacity problems are a result of alcohol and drug abuse.

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?

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) has done a good job in managing our state's wildlife; however, there is always room for improvement. MFWP needs to limit land acquisition and concentrate on purchasing or leasing easements to provide more access to public lands. MFWP should also focus on maintaining and improving its current access sites, along with maintaining good relationships with private land owners.

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?

Falling oil and gas pricing have had a significant impact on the coal industry. Additionally, the Obama Administrations war on coal has had a significant impact on utility companies use of coal, and added another burden on the coal industry and Montanas tax revenue from severance, property and income taxes. Unfortunately the renewable energy economy does not demand the labor numbers that natural resource jobs provide. Our current governor has not been out in front on these issues and has failed to push back on the Obama Administration.

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?

In accordance with the Montana Constitution, the Board of Regents shall have full power, responsibility, and authority to supervise, coordinate, manage, and control the Montana University System (MUS). The Legislature can appropriate funding to the MUS but has little, if any, control over the spending. In fact, over the past few legislative sessions, the Legislature has made significant increases to the MUS to help freeze tuition. It does little to solve the problem if we continue to provide more funding to MUS and at the same time the regents do not control their budgetary increases.

What do you regard as the most urgent problem facing Montana, and how do you propose dealing with it?

We have lost many good-paying jobs in the timber industry in western Montana over the last 40 years and now we are facing significant job losses in the oil, gas and coal industries. Although Montana is a great place to live, work and raise a family, we need to create higher-wage jobs so our children and grandchildren dont have to leave the state to find opportunity. We need to make changes to our tax structure and workers compensation system to ensure we are competitive with states in our region when trying to attract and retain jobs.
HELENA  Montana corrections officials intend to go before the Legislature to sort out the legal issues of housing adult offenders in two youth prisons, which the head of the state Department of Corrections called a temporary arrangement that could be made permanent.

Director Mike Batista appeared before the Legislative Audit Committee on Thursday to respond to a recent audit that found the department is breaking the law by housing men at Pine Hills Youth Correctional Facility for boys and women at the Riverside facility for girls.

Batista defended the department's action as necessary due to an increasing adult inmate population and declining numbers of youth prisoners, and said the department's lawyers disagreed with auditors about which state law to follow in this situation.

"Did we have legal authority to do this?" Batista asked the committee. "We felt like we did. We felt like we were in a situation given our adult population that we certainly needed additional capacity somewhere in the state for adult offenders. But we also felt like we had legal authority."

In Pine Hills, 18- to 25-year-old prisoners are completely separated from the 39 or 40 boys being housed there, he said. In Riverside, the three girls who had been housed there are now in a youth correctional facility in Idaho, and 15 women offenders in need of trauma care are being held in the Boulder facility.

State law explicitly prohibits the department from placing youths in facilities where adult offenders are carrying out their sentences and cannot shut down a youth prison without legislative approval, the auditors wrote. The law also allows the state to enter a contract for the placement and care of delinquent youth  such as the contract with the Idaho youth prison only when the youth prison population is over capacity, or when the state doesn't have an adequate facility.

Batista responded that another state law requires the department to maximize its resources, and it was not doing so by employing 26 staffers to oversee a Riverside facility that at times housed just one girl. It was always the department's intention to show up during the next legislative session that begins in January to talk about this "temporary arrangement," he said.

If Riverside ends up permanently housing adult offenders, funding may be needed to renovate the prison to completely separate the women from the girls, as is being done in Pine Hills, he said.

"My question is, what's the downside? Batista said. "And my response to you is there's just a lot of upside to what we decided to do.
In an email sent to students Friday, the law school at the University of Montana identified a former student who disrupted a class on Monday, prompting campus police to patrol outside a classroom.

In the email, Paul Kirgis, dean of the Alexander Blewett III School of Law, told students that Menachem Harrison, who attended the school from 2009 to 2012, had been issued a permanent trespass order preventing him from returning to campus.

Harrison allegedly interrupted a class at the law school on Monday to complain about a professor. UM police chief Marty Ludemann said he was not armed and that he did not believe Harrison posed a threat to the professor or other students. An officer was stationed outside the professors class on Tuesday.

Initially, Kirgis said he attempted to resolve the matter without providing identifying information about Harrison to the student body.

Now that the Order is in place, I am providing the entire law school community with his name and, attached to this message, his photo, Kirgis wrote. If you see Mr. Harrison on campus, call Campus Police at 243-4000or simply 911immediately.

Kirgis said Harrison is not believed to have been on campus since Monday.

We are all on edge with the dismaying increase in public incidents of violence in recent years, many focused on schools and campuses, he wrote. His behavior was disturbing enough to warrant action, but this is not a situation in which we are trying to head off an imminent threat. We are simply being careful.
DARK BUTTE BOAT CAMP  East Rosebud Creek lies about 200 miles and 40 years away from this landmark on the Missouri River.

But in a process that seems almost as slow as the Mighty Mos lazy current, the little waterway could join the fraternity of Wild and Scenic Rivers by New Years Eve. If that happens, it will become just the fifth Montana river to win protection from legislation that had its origins right here.

Theres really something about water that dissolves partisanship, said Charles Wolf Drimal, waters conservation associate for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition as he canoed through the Missouris Wild and Scenic corridor last month. It has to do with supporting the quality of life you want for your grandkids.

Just as all of Montanas congressional delegation came together in 1976 to win designation for the Missouri and upper Flathead rivers, current Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines are joined by Rep. Ryan Zinke in supporting the East Rosebuds candidacy. The one Democrat and two Republicans all re-upped their pledges this week to attach the river bill to year-end legislation and get it passed.

Were trying to put it in a conference report on one of the bills that will move, Zinke said on Friday. That puts it in a category where the vistas, the landscape, the experience of the river is preserved in perpetuity. This is not a contentious issue. Its a myth that it takes our private land away - the (Wild and Scenic Rivers) Act never did that. Thats why both sides of the aisle strongly support it, and the local community supports it.

To qualify, a potential Wild and Scenic River must have outstanding remarkable values. That slightly redundant term needs little introduction on the Upper Missouri. Lewis and Clark set the stage when they gushed about the White Cliffs that line nearly 30 miles of shoreline between Judith Landing and Coal Banks. Today, about 3,000 floaters a year spend an average four days exploring their slot canyons, Native American petroglyphs, fantastic erosions and historic homesteads.

East Rosebud Creek drains the northern face of the Beartooth Mountains west of Red Lodge.

Although the Wild and Scenic River Act of 1968 had deep Montana origins (see related Territory story), the state didnt get to use the legislation until 1976. Thats when 149 miles of the Upper Missouri River, and all three forks of the Flathead River along Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex got included. Despite a long list of additional candidates, no more Montana rivers have made the list.

A federal Wild and Scenic River designation would apply to 20 miles of the East Rosebud where it flows through the Custer-Gallatin National Forest. The reach has already resisted past proposals to build two small hydroelectric dams on its run before it spills into the Stillwater River.

The river through the Upper Missouri Breaks east of Fort Benton laces together three similar but separate wildland protections. A Wild and Scenic River Act designation covers 149 miles from Fort Benton to James Kipp Recreation Area at Fred Robinson Bridge. That protects the line of the river, from bank to bank between Fort Benton and Coal Banks and rim-to-rim from there to Kipp.

The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument overlays 375,000 acres, holding close to the waterway until Judith Landing before expanding out across public land between the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and the C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.

The Russell then bounds the Missouri River for 915,814 acres between the Kipp Recreation Area and Fort Peck Dam, 125 air miles away. All together, thats barely 1 percent of Montanas 147,000-square-mile landscape. But it is nearly as big as the entire state of Delaware.

A group called Montanans for Healthy Rivers has drafted requests for 54 more designations totaling 694 river miles. They include the North Fork of the Blackfoot River and several of its tributaries, Rock Creek east of Missoula, the Swan River and about two-dozen creeks and tributaries of the Clark Fork and Flathead systems. They also target high-profile floating and fishing rivers such as the Dearborn, Smith, Madison, Gallatin, Boulder and Stillwater.

This is a public land management priority, said Kascie Herron, conservation associate for American Rivers, an advocacy group that put together the September Missouri float. People are fearful of more government, and we try to explain its not  its the same government. This just elevates rivers to the same level with timber and grazing and minerals.

River management style depends on the purpose of the designation, according to Rick Potts, former manager of the C.M. Russell Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge was created in 1936, and its charter calls for high-quality wildlife habitat with grazing allowed.

But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesnt have a specific focus on recreation, while the Bureau of Land Management includes recreation with grazing, mineral development and other priorities in its multi-use mandate. Wild and Scenic Rivers have no go-to federal overseer. BLM and FWS take care of the Missouri Wild and Scenic corridor, while the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service cooperate on the North Fork of the Flathead where it forms the border between their jurisdictions.

The Wild and Scenic River Act has another subtle feature, according to American Rivers Northern Rockies Director Scott Bosse. While it specifically protects designated reaches  some as short as a single mile  it also enshrines the capabilities of the larger river that contribute to those Outstanding Remarkable Values.

So, for example, opponents of the megaload shipments of tar-sands refining equipment along the Lochsa River used its scenic river status in their court arguments to close Highway 12 to the oversized cargo transport plan. Moving huge loads of machinery through the river corridor would have greatly affected its outstanding remarkable values of wildlife habitat and scenic beauty.

Now were starting to look at dam projects through the ecological perspective of climate change, Bosse said. Were concerned that were going to start seeing dams proposed on rivers like never before.

Part of the urgency, Potts said, was the growing momentum behind climate change mitigation. Many parts of the world consider hydroelectric dams a carbon-free alternative to burning fossil fuels.

After building about 60,000 dams on almost every major river in the continental United States in the mid-20th century, We havent begun to see the demand for fresh, untapped water thats coming, Potts said. By the end of the 21st century, communities that dont control their own water will be held hostage to whomever does.
HELENA  U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke said Donald Trump's vulgar comments about women were "wrong'' but did not pull back from his endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate.

"The language is shocking and wrong, and should never be used, ever," Zinke said in a statement. "My wife, Lola, and I have talked about it and we pray he has grown from his mistake."

Zinke's spokeswoman did not directly answer if the congressman still supports Trump, replying, "he and Lola will never vote for Hillary."

As the list of Republicans denouncing Trump and calling for him to drop out of the race continued to grow Saturday, the presidential candidate told the Washington Post he will not withdraw.

Zinke has been one of Trump's more steady supporters in an election where party leaders have sometimes struggled to support him. Zinke formally endorsed Trump on the cable news show "Fox and Friends" on May 25.

Zinke's opponent for Montana's lone congressional seat, Democrat Denise Juneau, quickly jumped on his support for Trump Saturday, calling on Zinke to rescind his endorsement.

"Anyone who still supports him is complicit in his comments," Juneau said.

"Enough is enough," she continued, saying even Trump's strongest supporters in Congress are distancing themselves from him. "But Congressman Zinke continues to stand by his man no matter what."

Juneau also said Zinke must apologize to "all Montanans for joking about Trump's consistently degrading language," referencing a statement Zinke made earlier this week to the Billings Gazette editorial board that Trump does not offend women more than anyone else.

The Montana Democratic Party on Friday night released on YouTube the video with clips of Zinke's appearance at the Gazette's editorial board cut in. In the clips, Zinke said "I think Mr. Trump has been an equal opportunity offender. I don't think he offends women any more than he offends anyone else."

Zinke's fellow Republican, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, called Trump's comments "completely inappropriate and offensive.''

"No woman should ever be demeaned or described in this manner,'' said Daines, whose support for Trump has been lukewarm.

Republican candidate for governor Greg Gianforte joined in criticism of Trump, releasing a statement saying: "As parents of a young woman, Susan and I are deeply disappointed and offended by Mr. Trump's past remarks. As someone who is both a husband and a dad, this is not how women should be treated. Montanans are facing great uncertainty over the presidential election. This is all the more reason we need to have effective leadership at the state level."

In the video, published by the Washington Post late Friday, Trump uses vulgar language to talk about women, at one point saying he tried to have sex with a married woman and that he grabs and kisses women. He also says he gropes women, adding "you can do anything" when you are a star. The video was recorded in a bus with Billy Bush, then a reporter for Access Hollywood, while taping a segment of the program about Trump's cameo on a soap opera.

Trump said, "You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful ... I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait.

He continued: And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ... Grab them by the p---y. You can do anything.

Earlier this year Zinke spoke at the Republican National Convention, telling attendees to rally behind Trump. He has also appeared on news programs in support of the candidate and at one point suggested he could be Trump's running mate, telling Montana radio station KGVO: We talked about it, but he has not made up his mind.

He also told the conservative commentary site Breitbart he would be honored to serve in whatever capacity" and was open to being vice president or a member of the cabinet if asked.

Last month Zinke told the Lee State Bureau he supported Trump but didn't agree with everything he says.

"It's just time to shake it up and status quo is not working for either side," he said. "I don't agree with everything Mr. Trump says but I cannot support corruption."

Trump issued a video in which he apologized late Friday, saying he was not a perfect person.

"Ive said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am."
BILLINGS  Leaders of Montana's Blackfeet Indian Reservation announced plans on Friday to establish a herd of bison on U.S. Forest Service land near Glacier National Park that tribal members consider sacred.

The tribe on Friday released a proclamation saying the bison, also known as buffalo, would be able to roam freely within the Badger-Two Medicine area.

The 130,000-acre area within the Lewis and Clark National Forest is located just east of the Blackfeet reservation and has been the focus of a long-running dispute over proposed oil and gas drilling. It's been designated by federal officials as a Traditional Cultural District of the Blackfeet under the National Historic Preservation Act.

The 89 bison the tribe would move into the Badger-Two Medicine area were relocated to the Blackfeet reservation from Elk Island National Park in Canada in May.

Bison played a central role in Blackfeet culture before the animals were wiped out in the late 1800s by commercial hunting.

Blackfeet chairman Harry Barnes said that when the Blackfeet ceded the Badger-Two Medicine to the government it retained treaty rights allowing its members to hunt, graze and conduct other activities on the land. He said those treaty rights allow it to bring in bison.

"We were always a buffalo people so we're trying to return some of that culturally-significant aspect of our culture," Barnes said. "This makes that designated area more complete both culturally and as an ecosystem."

Barnes told The Associated Press that tribal officials have held preliminary discussions with federal officials about the tribe's plans. Representatives of the Lewis and Clark Forest did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

It will be at least a year before the bison are moved, Barnes said. In the meantime tribal officials will work with the Forest Service to decide what part of the Badger-Two Medicine would be most appropriate for the animals.

The U.S. Interior Department earlier this year cancelled a 6,200-acre oil and gas lease in the Badger-Two Medicine, citing in part the area's spiritual significance to the Blackfeet as the site of the tribe's creation story. The company that owns the lease, Solenex LLC, has sued the government to overturn the cancellation.

Barnes said the bison relocation was unrelated to the legal dispute.
U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus was a freshman congressman in 1976 when he pushed to get several Montana waterways designated as Wild and Scenic Rivers. In an emailed interview, Baucus recalled how the legislation came about and what the future of river protection holds.

1) When the Wild and Scenic Rivers legislation was getting started, what issues or concerns did you have to resolve to build support for designations? Who was opposed to WSR and how did you persuade them to change their minds?

Ive devoted my career in large part to protecting our rivers, wilderness and environment. When I first ran for the House of Representatives in 1974, I promised to protect the Flathead River Basin. In 1976, as a newly elected member of the House, I spearheaded efforts to protect 368 miles of the Flathead and Missouri Rivers under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This wasnt easy, and I was new to this kind of challenge. Looking back, I feel like I went through a buzzsaw from the opposition! But I pushed on, and the fight was worth it. This was perhaps the beginning of a much larger effort to protect our rivers, wilderness, and environment. Thats so important, because we Montanans love the outdoors. Its in our blood. We like to hunt, fish, and go hiking, and enjoy the wide open space.

Everyone knows the book A River Runs Through It, which features our Blackfoot River. In the preface to this book, Norman Maclean thanked my parents Jean and John, and wrote about the ranch where I grew up, where the Blackfoot runs. My passion for nature  and knowing just how much we depend on this land  started on that ranch. Thats why I was so proud to be a part of the Blackfoot Challenge. I learned then that while leadership is important at the top, its just as important to meet directly with everyday people and work through our challenges together  from the bottom up. I remember one young Fish and Wildlife Service officer won over some of the landowners on the Blackfoot Challenge by spending his nights drinking beer with them over a couple of years.

2) The qualities of Wilderness and the ways people use Wilderness have changed a lot since the Wilderness Act of 1964 was passed  leading to tension about how we manage or add to those lands today. Has the effort to protect wild rivers undergone a similar evolution, and what river qualities do you believe are most important to protect now?

My work to protect rivers is just a part of a larger effort to protect our wilderness and environment. Im also very proud spearheading the Montana Legacy Project which helps conserve more than 310,000 acres of forestland, wildlife habitat, and water resources near Glacier Park. These efforts have had a big impact on jobs and related industries. According to a study by the Outdoor Industry Associations, 64,000 Montanans are directly employed in the outdoor industry. Every year, outdoor recreation generates $5.8 billion in consumer spending in Montana. I want to see these efforts continue, as we protect the land and natural resources were so proud of as Montanans.

3) Have you seen river-protection examples elsewhere in the world, pro or con, that the U.S. could learn from as it considers new additions to the WSR list?

I can tell you from my experience working as the U.S. Ambassador to China that the impact of climate change and development on our natural resources is evident throughout the world. The Mekong river basin, including the upper reaches in China, is just one example where we are working hard to bring scientists and policymakers together to address development-related degradation of an important river system. Our expertise on water resource management is sought after around the world. Drawing from our experiences back home, including the Wild and Scenic River legislation, we work with river basin authorities around the world to improve water management and encourage efficient, sustainable water use practices. As I like to say, we need to leave this world in better shape than we found it in. And everyone  whether youre from Missoula or Beijing  has an important role to play in that.
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.
DEER LODGE  A district judge ruled this week that the state attorney general has the authority to move the Title and Registration Bureau  a longtime mainstay and employer in Deer Lodge  without public participation.

Judge Ray Dayton, in a decision issued Thursday, said while moving the office from Deer Lodge to Helena is lamentable from the communitys perspective, the action is legal.

State officials announced on June 17 and that the office would close and the 37 jobs would be relocated to Helena. The decision surprised city and county leaders, who said they were not told of the pending closure. The office has been in Deer Lodge for over 100 years.

Following the announcement, city, county, and legislative officials as well as local business people and individuals worked to keep the office local.

On July 18, papers were filed in district court by the City of Deer Lodge, Mayor Zane Cozby, Councilman Terry Jennings, and business owner Gerald Bender against Attorney General Tim Fox, the Montana Department of Justice, and the DOJ Motor Vehicle Division.

The Deer Lodge people contended the AGs decision was made in violation of public participation rights. They contended the state Constitution and state law provide for the publics right to notice and participation prior to final decisions of agencies which are of significant interest to the public.

In rebuttal, the defendants stated the Constitutions participation right is limited to such opportunity as may be provided by law.

The attorney general, as head of the Department of Justice, is required by law to effectively and efficiently manage the operation of the department, which includes transferring employees and deciding on leased office space, the defendants contended. The right of public participation applies to the process of rulemaking and legislative actions but was not intended for the day-to-day management decisions.

Dayton agreed, although he added that the decision might have been handled differently.

Jason and Debra Carroll with the 5K Cattle Co., Butte, owners of the Deer Lodge office building that housed the bureau, received a termination of lease notice from the Department of Justice on Sept. 20, but the process of transferring employee positions has been ongoing.

As of last week, 23 employees remained in Deer Lodge, including supervisors, and the majority were notified to report to Helena by Oct. 3; however, some staff will remain until the closure in November, according to John Barnes, communications director for the Department of Justice.

City Councilman Terry Jennings said he was disappointed in the judges decision.

I feel that with this ruling, we are now shifting to a new dynamic thats better for the state and less focused on citizens rights. Im anxious to see what happens over the next five, 10, or 15 years. To me, honestly, this ruling isnt just about Deer Lodge but more about the entire state and rural communities associated with government. We have a prison and Warm Springs that can now basically be cut without any source of reliable reason.

Despite his disappointment and a heavy heart, Mayor Cozby remained positive.

At this point the case is over. I want to thank each and every one for your support and help throughout this process. Even though it seems awful right now, something good will come out of this for all parties involved.
Sandefur best for stream access issues

As a lawyer on the stream access cases in the mid 80s involving the Dearborn and Beaverhead rivers, I have a concern about the upcoming Montana Supreme Court election. Several years ago, the Montana Growth Network spent substantial monies on the court race. Although initially secret, it was discovered that two of Americas richest men, Charles Schwab and James Cox Kennedy, both of whom own Montana property on rivers and who had been actively litigating stream access, contributed a total of $400,000.

Before becoming a Supreme Court candidate, Kristen Juras criticized the stream access cases and the publics right to use our rivers, saying these cases amounted to a monumental erosion of property rights. Recently, she attempted to muffle her criticism with an op-ed piece, arguing that the law is settled and implying she would not have to consider the issue if elected.

Not true. My firm has been handling a case involving access on the Ruby River in Madison County for the past decade.

Setting stream access aside, Judge Dirk Sandefur is the better-qualified candidate. He is a former policeman and a highly respected district judge in Great Falls. He is smart, decisive and fair minded. Juras, on the other hand, has little courtroom experience.

I urge the readers to vote for Dirk Sandefur.

 Jim Goetz, Bozeman

Deer Lodge needs to take case to high court

A district judge ruled this week that the state attorney general has the authority to deny the city of Deer Lodge the right to participate in the decision to move the Title and Registration Bureau to Helena.

The City needs to finish what they started and appeal the decision to the Montana Supreme Court.

Section 8 Right of Participation: The public has the right to expect governmental agencies to afford such reasonable opportunity to citizen participation in the operation of the agencies prior to the final decision as may be provided by law.

Article 9 of the Montana Constitution Right to Know: No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.

The Attorney General and his staffs (AG) denial of fundamental right to know was not part of lawsuit.

Pursuant to Article 9, I requested a copy of the AGs estimate of savings and state initiative referred to in July 5 newspaper article.

The AG took 65 days to provide me with a copy of estimate of savings, the AG demanded $110 before sending me the estimate of savings, the AG fails to respond to my request as to what TSB stands for on the estimate of savings," the AG alleges that there are NO time sheets to document the four hours of research the AG charged me for, the AG fails to respond to my request for a refund because the agency obtained the information for July 5 news article, and the AG fails to respond to my request for a refund because of lack of documentation required by MCA 2-6-1006.

Vote against AG Tim Fox.

Vote for Larry Jent, who has served as a member of the Green Beret to defend our fundamental rights.

-- James Wangerin, Deer Lodge

Caron Cooper best choice for PSC

I recently had the opportunity to hear Caron Cooper, Independent candidate for the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC), share her views on one of the most important issues facing Montana  how we develop, regulate, and conserve our energy resources. She also talked about the critical role that the PSC plays in addressing these issues, and how the makeup of the Commission has shifted from people with energy related experience, to career politicians.

I wish that all voters could have been there. Her detailed understanding of these complex topics is stunning. Her vision for Montanas energy future is inspiring. And her passion for doing what is best for energy consumers reassuring. Unlike both of her opponents, Cooper has refused to take campaign contributions from the energy industry, or from any PACS. And unlike both of her opponents, she has an extensive energy related educational and professional background.

Whether Republican or Democrat, it was crystal to everyone at that presentation -- Caron Cooper is clearly our best choice for Public Service Commissioner.

-- Dennis Glick, Livingston

Trump has economic plan that will work

In April, the Carrier Corporation, manufacturers of air conditioners, announced that they will be moving a large manufacturing plant from Indianapolis to Mexico.

As a result, 1,400 Americans will lose their jobs. Then in September, Ford announced that they are also moving all of their small car manufacturing plants to Mexico.

These are just two examples of many American companies that are moving out of the USA and putting American workers out of work.

Why are these iconic American companies leaving America?

The reason is twofold.

First, the American corporate tax rate is 39 percent, making it the third highest rate among 173 nations. Second, the cost of labor is lower in many other countries ($4.25 minimum wage in Mexico). So what is Hillarys economic plan to help stimulate our economy? First she wants to INCREASE corporate taxes to an even higher maximum rate of 43.6 percent and she wants to DOUBLE the minimum wage over time to $15 per hour. What insanity! Both of these proposals are counter-productive to keeping corporations in the United States and retaining jobs for the American worker!

Donald Trumps economic plan calls for REDUCING the tax rate on corporations, thereby allowing them to keep more of their profits to reinvest in their companies and create more jobs.

His tax reduction plan gives corporations less incentive to move to other countries and take good paying jobs with them. We all know how inefficient the government is in spending our hard earned tax dollars.

Yet, Hillary wants to take more money out of the private sector and hand it over to an ever growing bureaucratic government to spend inefficiently. Corporations are forced to spend capital as efficiently as possible if they are to meet their goal of making a profit. Our government, on the other hand, has no mandate to make a profit, so it just spends and spends like there is no tomorrow. If we continue down this road, there will be no tomorrow!

-- Gary Kump, Butte

Critics can't prove Hillary not truthworthy

For 34 years Hillary Clinton has been subject to the most vigorous vetting anyone has ever been through. Her critics never give up. First it was Whitewater, then the Foster suicide, and more recently Benghazi, emails, and the Clinton Foundation.

There are some people, such as one of Trumps campaign managers, who have devoted their entire career to criticizing Hillary Clinton.

These critics have never been able to establish anything that she did wrong. Every story made up about her has turned out to be totally untrue. Even the email issue evaporates once we learn that she actually consulted a Republican predecessor, Colin Powell, on the very issue of use of a private server and he actually did the same thing. Insisting on efficiency and some degree of privacy while adapting to new technology is not easy; on hindsight she has admitted that both she and Colin Powell probably should have acted differently.

The Supreme Court has held that it is not defamatory if criticism of a public figure is not totally accurate. So Hillarys critics keep pouring on inaccurate statements about her.

Some think this is sexism. Some people may not want to see a woman elected President. And there clearly is a double standard in judging the ethics of the Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

But I think there is more involved. Adolph Hitler proved the truth of the maxim that if a big lie is told loud enough and often enough, the people will eventually believe it. I think this is why many people incorrectly consider Hillary is untrustworthy even though there is absolutely no proof she has done anything wrong.

The fact that critics have tried for years to find something bad but have failed should be proof that she is trustworthy.

-- Tom Towe, Billings

Rosendale good choice for state auditor

It is long past due for Montana to elect a state auditor who has real solutions to our disastrous health insurance policies.

Current so-called solutions have been forced down to us by D.C. bureaucrats that continuously hike our rates higher and higher and the people have had enough. Montanans are fiercely independent and most would like local Montana-made solutions to our problems. In a recent editorial in the Helena Independent Record, Senate Majority Leader Matt Rosendale has named solutions that will work for Montanans including Health Care Sharing Ministries, Primary Care Provider Agreements, and access to insurance products across state lines.

These are all solutions that will give the power back to the consumer. Our state auditor should be someone who can fight for local solutions instead of pushing the same failed policies down our throats like D.C.

The state auditor's race is not one of the more well-known races in Montana, but these local statewide races are the ones that seriously impact the lives on Montanans every day. This November I urge you to register and cast your vote for Matt Rosendale for State Auditor.

-- Gary Wold, Butte

Sales tax hard on struggling families

My name is Winter, and I am a caregiver in Anaconda and Deer Lodge. Even though my work can be really hard and stressful, I love it. Taking care of people that need my help is what I was born to do.

A lot of what makes my job harder is not my clients. The hardest part I just dont get paid enough to help support me or my family. I run out of money every month long before the bills do. Groceries, gas, heat, and clothes -- they all just cost too much.

Now, there are people talking about making us all pay sales tax in Montana, too. Having a sales tax on the things my family and other hard-working families need most is just not fair.

In our home, our already tight budget will take a big hit. And we definitely arent the only ones. We try to shop at and support local businesses, and a sales tax will make it harder for them too. In the small communities where I live and work, even more people will have! to rely on school lunch programs, charities, and other ways of trying to make it. We work hard. We should be able to afford to the most basic things our families need.

Thats why Im voting to re-elect Governor Steve Bullock on November 8th. Governor Bullock has publicly said that he understands how a sales tax is just another way to make struggling, hard-working people pay more than their fair share. I know he will fight for my family. He always has. Other people push political agendas that leave us out. Steve fights to count us in.

Please join me in voting for Governor Steve Bullock on Election Day.

-- Winter Maulding, Deer Lodge
Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading.

Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Muscatine Community College (MCC) welcomes Vicki Cook as its new bursar (Accounting Clerk I). Cook is a graduate of Muscatine High School and has an AAS in Accounting Management from MCC. She comes to us after 20 years in the Materials Management of UnityPoint Health.

I find numbers fascinating, Cook said. I chose to major in accounting at MCC because it gave me so many paths to take. I like keeping books.

Cook lives in Muscatine with her husband, Richard, daughter, Danielle, son, Jacob, a dog, two chinchillas, and a turtle. Her husband calls her a geek which is a high compliment.

Cook came to MCC not just for the job but because she liked the atmosphere.

My mother-in-law [Deb Cook, Administrative Assistant] worked here for 32 years and loved it here, Cook said. We used to bring the kids to visit and she loved to show them off.

When reflecting on why she wanted to become the new bursar at MCC, Cook explained that she can relate to the students needs.

My experience as a student helps me understand what the students need, Cook said. I can help them with their financial questions and make sure they get to where they need for more help.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is bringing its popular Culinary Arts program to Muscatine. Currently offered at Scott Community College (SCC), beginning in January the program will also be offering classes through Muscatine Community College.

The program is partnering with the Merrill Hotel and Conference Center under construction along Muscatines riverfront. Graduates of the program are guaranteed an interview for employment with the hotel.

The program comes on the heels of the recent announcement of SCC also offering Hospitality Management classes at MCC. Graduates of that program are also guaranteed an interview at the Merrill Hotel.

Interested students can learn more about both programs during a special October 13 information session from 4  6 p.m. at the old Button Factory Restaurant, 215 W. Mississippi Dr.

The Culinary Arts program is one of the largest programs at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges with more than 100 students every year.

The unique delivery of the program has students attending classes on only one day a week, usually Mondays, and then working actually on the job at an area restaurant for the remainder of the week. The Muscatine classes will be held in the Button Factory building.

Students in the program are also simultaneously completing a national apprenticeship program so the skills they learn are in demand at restaurants throughout the area and even the United States.

Those attending the October 13 information session will have the opportunity to meet with the instructors, learn more about both the Culinary and Hospitality programs, and get answers to their financial aid and college admissions question. It is free of charge and there is no obligation to sign up for the program.

The Hospitality program, announced earlier, trains students for jobs in hotels, restaurants, conference centers and other facilities that regularly serve large groups of people. Students will be trained for a wide variety of positions including events, front desk, catering and banquets, sales, reservations and housekeeping.

Classes in that program are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays with students serving an internship at Muscatines Hampton Inn on other days.

For more information about the programs call 1-888-336-3907 or email eiccinfo@eicc.edu
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) fall classes begin October 17. Well, ok, classes did begin a few weeks ago but that isnt the only time students can begin their college career.

EICC and its Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Community College campuses have new sessions opening roughly every eight weeks, with a new eight-week session starting in just a couple of weeks.

This is a great opportunity for students who werent ready, for whatever reason, to begin classes in August, said EICCs Director of Enrollment and Strategic Communications Erin Snyder. Everything is available so students can pick up just a class or two to get started or register for a full schedule.

She added that the upcoming session is also a great opportunity for current students to add classes to their schedule.

Its important for new students to contact the college right away to begin the registration process. To help students get started on the right foot, advisors work with each one to make sure they are enrolled in the proper classes. That needs to be done in advance of the October 17 start date.

In addition to the many classroom-based courses being offered, the college also has a full schedule of online classes available for students. EICC works with a consortium of seven Iowa community colleges to deliver the online courses throughout the world. Students find that the online program helps them fit college classes around busy work and family schedules.

As with all of EICCs classes, the tuition is among the most competitive in the state of Iowa, making a quality college or technical education affordable for everyone.

Students who have earned college credit elsewhere can transfer those to EICC. Also, credits earned here easily transfer to other colleges and universities. Many colleges and universities have worked with EICC to create formal transfer agreements ensuring that credits will transfer between the institutions.

More information about the upcoming session is available online at www.eicc.edu/eight To get started enrolling just give the college a call at 1-888-336-3907 or email eiccinfo@eicc.edu
EDITORS NOTE: This article was written Sharon Adasme, a writer on the MCC student newspaper, The Calumet, and submitted by the papers chief editor, Joshua Montoya.



MUSCATINE, Iowa  Pat Burr is the new Jan Phillips of the MCC music department. Burr, the new director of musical activities at Muscatine Community College, has been meeting with faculty and staff to understand the new policies pertaining to student retention.

Coming from North East High School in the Clinton county area, Burr is accustomed to students having grades accessible on a daily basis. College is a different story with few grades available to students until mid-term. He says MCC seems to be heading toward a more high school approach to grades.

I like that, said Burr. Students are reluctant to come in.

This way there is contact between student and teacher before the semester gets too far along.

The early alert system helps track the student and alerts the advisor. Burr says alerts can be triggered by attendance, behavioral issues or anything that needs to be addressed.

I can call it to [the counselor/advisors] attention and they can contact and help the student.

Burr is thrilled to be back on a college campus, having taught music previously at Mount St. Clare College in Clinton before it closed. He said he wanted to return to the kind of atmosphere where students are more grounded in what they want to do.

The new emphasis on student retention can help in other areas.

This is dealing with retention, but also focuses on helping them succeed, Burr said.
WEST LIBERTY, Iowa  The annual meeting of the Muscatine County Fair will be held on Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the County Activity Center at the Fairgrounds in West Liberty. Light refreshments will be served.

Annual reports to be given include the financial report, gate attendance report, report of entries at the Fair and a general review of all events and activities of the Fair and Interim Events held at the Fairgrounds throughout the year. We will also report on the historic restoration project of the fairgrounds.

There will be an election for board members. Anyone who purchased a fun pass to the 2016 Muscatine County Fair is eligible to vote. If you purchased your fun pass through the office, we will have your name on file. If you purchased your ticket at another location, please bring in your fun pass or proof of purchase if you wish to vote.

If you are interested in running for the board of directors please contact a board member or the fair office at 319-627-2414.

The annual meeting is open to the public and all persons are urged to attend as the meeting provides opportunity to learn more of the operation of the County Fair and its various interim events.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  The Muscatine Parks and Recreation Department would like to invite the community to the Fall Festival from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Muscatine Mall Center Court. There will be several activities including coloring, cookie decorating, and more. Children are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes. There is no cost to participate in the Fall Festival.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Students and staff at Mulberry Elementary said the Pledge of Allegiance in sign language Friday morning, and wore T-shirts to raise awareness for their own Deaf Awareness Week.

The national Deaf Awareness Week was the last week of September, but the school celebrated their own awareness this week.

Kelly Story, teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing at Mulberry Elementary, said the school has been working to promote integration and awareness, providing resources to allow deaf and hard of hearing students to take classes with general education students.

She said the school had 97 orders for the deaf awareness shirts this year, up from the 30 that were ordered last year.

"That tells me, specifically, that people are excited, people are wanting to get involved, that our students have a greater presence in the building too," Story said.

Many teachers in general education classes have been learning sign language, and almost a teacher per grade knows at least enough to communicate, Story said. She said her students have been becoming more integrated into classes outside of the deaf and hard of hearing program.

"They're out in their gen. ed. classrooms more than they've ever been before, and the other kids are seeing them more, and they're wanting to be friends with them, they're wanting to sign with them, they're wanting to get involved with them," she said.

The school has been working to help the students feel at home with their peers, and with the teachers at Mulberry. Having a deaf awareness week, Story said, has encouraged hearing students to become included in learning sign language, and they had been learning the Pledge of Allegiance and other signs throughout the week.

"It allows there to be a culture of being included, our students feel a part of everything that's normal and what's happening, instead of being the exception, so it gives them a week of blending in, because everyone wants to be them this week," she said.

The general education hearing students have been working to learn as much as they can, and Story said she can see a real desire to understand and include their peers who are deaf and hard of hearing.

"We have challenged all the gen. ed. hearing students to turn their voices off and try to sign, and they're struggling a little bit, and it's kind of nice to see that, because they want to ask more questions of our kids so they can have more signs so that it's easier to communicate," she said.

"This week is, for me, all about our kids, and allowing them to have a culture of blending in seamlessly."

Story has been at Mulberry Elementary for three years, and said before integration, deaf and hearing impaired students would often remain in one classroom the entire day, except for during electives and recess. The program has also grown to nine students.

"We aren't a little program like we used to be and we don't stay in our little bubble in our classroom like we used to, we go out and we're faces to be seen and people to know," she said.

Students in the deaf and hard of hearing program, Lenito Lopez, 7, and his sister Marissa Lopez, 10, said they were glad to see their fellow students and many teachers wearing the deaf awareness shirts.

"It makes me excited," Lenito Lopez said, through an interpreter.

While working to include her students in the larger school body, Story said she knows her students will face challenges as they move on from the school and eventually to college and careers, but she hopes raising awareness can help pave the way for understanding.

"For me the biggest challenge that I think our students are going to face is the lack of expectations for them. Generally, the public just assumes that they're not capable, and they are completely capable of doing anything that they set their minds to doing," she said.

At Mulberry, Story said she has been working to keep expectations high and to build her students' self-confidence, helping the students want to achieve academic success.

"So even at a young age at the elementary school, I'm already telling them and encouraging them, 'You're going to have challenges along the way, people are going to assume you can't do this, challenge accepted, prove them wrong, show them that you can,'" she said.

Technology has helped with the integration process, Story said, with cell phones capable of allowing her deaf and hard of hearing students to take notes and pass them to other people, or with video capability, allowing them to call an interpreter to sign through or to sign directly with the person on the other end of the line.

Mary Beilke, principal at Mulberry Elementary, said she is proud of the programming at the school, and she said other districts have been visiting the school to observe the way they are promoting integration for their deaf and hard of hearing students.

Beilke said the integration involves use of interpreters, so children are able to remain in the core instruction classes, like literacy or math, allowing them to remain in the classroom with their peers. She said an interpreter will stand near the student so they can hear the lesson through their hands.

"It's pretty amazing and I think that's what makes us unique," she said.

Story said raising awareness takes a community approach, working together to ensure the students feel comfortable, at home, challenged, and encouraged. Seeing the participation in the school's Deaf Awareness Week, she said, was moving.

"I'm brought to tears because I know how much that means to the kids."
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 []
Empowerdex, South Africas leading barometer of black empowerment among JSE-listed companies, has published its top 100 list for 2016.

The list shows African Equity Empowerment Investments (AEEI) tops the list as the most empowered listed company.

The 2016 rankings differ from before in that many companies have converted to the revised 2013 Codes of Good Practice, while others are still operating under the 2007 codes.

Based on the 2007 Codes of Good Practice, Vodacom SA has the best score with 98.25 points, followed by Nedbank with 97.34 points.

The table below shows the JSEs most empowered tech companies based on the 2007 codes.

Rank Company BEE score % Recognition JSE sector 1 Vodacom 98.25 125% Telecommunications 7 Adapt IT 93.38 125% Computer Services 20 Allied Electronics Corporation 87.50 125% Electronics & Electrical Equipment 23 Mustek 86.79 125% Technology Hardware & Equipment 24 Ansys 86.57 125% ICT 27 EOH Holdings 85.83 125% Software & Computer Services 30 Datacentrix Holdings 85.14 125% Software & Computer Services 41 Telkom 80.54 110% Telecommunications 50 Jasco Electronics 78.33 110% Electrical Equipment 54 MTN 76.60 110% Telecommunications 55 Pinnacle 76.58 110% Technology Hardware & Equipment

More on tech companies

MTN launches R9.9-billion BEE share scheme

Vodacom launches BEE share scheme
Government has advised South Africans to be aware of fake news websites that seek to distort and publish inaccurate information in the form of credible news.

Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) acting Director General Donald Liphoko said: South Africa has a thriving media landscape and in this digital era people have access to content wherever they go. However, the trend of satirical news websites presented as a credible news source misinforms society on key issues and prominent figures.

This genre of reporting is detrimental to those involved and also detracts from key issues which can be harmful to the citizens and the country as a whole. Such websites aim to communicate false news in an attempt for citizens to further share it on social media.

Social media users are urged to be cautious when sharing news via social media platforms from sources that are not credible.

Liphoko said government calls on all South Africans to curb the spread of news emanating from spurious websites by not sharing it.

It is the responsibility of all South Africans to protect the media industry and in particular the news that we receive as an audience, he said.

The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2002 states that Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has a mandate to shutdown websites that are not credible.

Therefore, members of the public are encouraged to approach the internet service provider directly to lodge a complaint.

More on fake news

The fight against fake news

Facebook falls for fake story
The US government has formally accused Russia of conducting cyber attacks against American political organisations during the campaign for the November 8 presidential election, including hacking of Democratic Party emails.

Fridays statement was the first official accusation by American officials against Russia in the spate of cyber attacks.

We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russias senior-most officials could have authorised these activities, said a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The statement said the US intelligence community is confident that the Russian government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organisations.

It said the disclosures of alleged hacked emails disclosed 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.

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, 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.

The condemnation coincides with increasing tensions between the US and Russia on a range of international issues, from the Middle East to Ukraine and cyberspace.

Al Jazeera

More on security

Hackers who did business with Lizard Squad arrested

A look inside the 620Gbps DDoS attack
Reports of cars striking pedestrians have increased significantly in American Canyon, including one recent accident involving a 13-year-old boy that provoked outcry from many residents calling for greater traffic safety.

In response, the city is promising a new safety measures at key locations in the next 30 to 90 days.

Of the four police reports this year documenting people being hit by vehicles, three of them occurred in September, according to data provided by the American Canyon Police Department to the American Canyon Eagle.

The current total of four is higher than any of the previous eight years except for 2013, when there were six reports of pedestrians being hit by cars.

Furthermore, the statistics show more than a tripling of these cases over the eight-year period.

From 2008 to 2011, there were only three reports of cars hitting pedestrians, an average of less than one a year, according to police data. But from 2012 to 2015, there were 14 such incidents, an average of 3.5 a year.

The local statistics correlate with statewide traffic analyses showing American Canyon ranks poorly among cities its own size for certain kinds of collisions.

In 2013, the most recent year for which data is available from the California Office of Traffic Safety, American Canyon had the second worst ranking for hit-and-run accidents among 105 cities of similar size (populations 10,000-25,000).

American Canyon, with 20,000 residents, was also ranked No. 4 in speed related accidents, No. 5 in total number injured and killed by collisions (85 in 2013), and No. 8 for accidents involving bicyclists.

In June, American Canyon resident Paul Schapiro was killed outside the city limits while riding his bike home from Napa. His death was felt by many in the community who knew Schapiro, an avid cyclist who commuted daily along Highway 29.

A similar reaction occurred last week among residents when a 13-year-old boy was hit by a car and seriously injured while walking to school.

On Sept. 26, Isaac Ortiz was in a crosswalk on American Canyon Road  one of the citys busiest streets  when a truck driven by Fidel Lopez hit him going 25 mph in a 40 mph zone. There were no stops signs at the intersection.

Police say the impact threw Ortiz approximately 20 feet into the street, where he lay unconscious.

The eighth grader at American Canyon Middle School suffered a fractured vertebra, a serious concussion, as well as inflammation on his abdomen and rib cage. He also had multiple bruises all over his body.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by a friend of the family to help pay for Ortizs medical bills.

The boy was taken by ambulance to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa and later transferred to Childrens Hospital Oakland, where doctors determined his broken back did not require surgery.

Ortiz is now home, where he must remain for at least three weeks. He cannot walk or get up and down on his own, and at times is in considerable pain, according to his parents.

I have to hold him [while walking] because hes shaking all the time, his father, Carlos Ortiz, said on Saturday while Isaac lay in bed. He cant walk by himself.

The driver, who was traveling eastbound on the morning of the accident, told police that the sun impaired his vision.

The boys mother, Sonia Dominguez, said she rejects that explanation.

I have driven that street, Dominguez said through an interpreter. If that was the explanation, there would be an accident on every corner of American Canyon Road.

Other parents reacted angrily when they heard the news about the boy, saying there have been too many close calls involving children and adults in the city.

Im surprised this hasnt happened sooner, wrote parent Lisa Lindsey in a letter emailed to city and school officials on the evening of Sept. 26.

In her letter, Lindsey referred to Ortizs accident and another one four days earlier, on Sept. 22, when a mother and her 5-year-old daughter were hit by a car while walking across Kimberly Drive. They suffered minor injuries.

We live in a city where drivers routinely do not stop at stop signs & speed with no regard to students coming & going to school, Lindsey wrote. Parents are fed up & we need to take whatever precautions are necessary to keep our students/children safe.

Josh Lederer, father of three young children, including two attending Napa Junction Elementary School, says commuters often speed through his neighborhood of Rancho Del Mar without regard for anyone.

The most dangerous thing our children do every day is just walk to school, said Lederer.

He faulted the city for not doing more to keep the highway traffic off local roads, a byproduct of congestion on Highway 29.

Some people are in Oakland right now at the Childrens Hospital because of this problem, he said, referring to the family of Isaac Ortiz.

Other parents took to social media to vent and share their own stories of near misses.

A parent living in Victoria Faire noted on Nextdoor that the intersection where Ortiz was hit  American Canyon Road and Hummingbird Way  did not have stop signs.

But the intersection did have them at one time, said the mother, adding that her daughter was almost hit twice while in a crosswalk on Benton Way near the middle school, which is only two blocks from Ortizs accident.

City Manager Dana Shigley confirmed there were stop signs at American Canyon and Hummingbird from 2000 to 2001.

The stop signs were installed when the road was extended 15 years ago and removed shortly thereafter, Shigley wrote in an email to the Eagle on Sept. 29.

They were removed before the housing development was completed, she added. Although the road was designed to include the stops at Hummingbird, the very small amount of traffic at that end of the road at that time did not justify them.

Shigley said traffic studies conducted in 2003 and again this year showed the volume of cars in the area did not warrant putting the signs back in.

And yet, three days after Ortiz was hit, a Public Works crew was seen installing stop signs at Hummingbird and American Canyon Road in response to the accident.

For Ortizs father, the action was too little, too late.

Why didnt they do that before [the accident]? he asked, insisting the city has to have safety for the pedestrians.

Shigley insists the city is taking steps to improve pedestrian safety.

In her weekly Friday Update emailed to the community on Friday, Shigley opened by saying it was important to talk about traffic safety, since it is on all our minds right now in light of recent accidents.

She promised that in the next 30-90 days Public Works will install new signs for multiple locations around town, in addition to other work recently done to make streets safer.

Upcoming changes include:

 Summerwood Drive and Tapestry Lane will receive crosswalk signage and new painted red curb to improve pedestrian visibility of the intersection.

 Donaldson Way East at the Arco gas station driveway will receive enhanced No Left Turn signage.

 A speed feedback sign will be installed on southbound Broadway at Cartagena Way.

 Improvements in the School Zone signage and striping near American Canyon High School will also be completed.
Bill Dodd and Mariko Yamada are engaged in a Nov. 8 face-off for the 3rd District Senate seat that amounts to a battle of Democrats.

Dodd is a Napa County native and Assemblyman. Yamada is resident of Davis in Yolo County and former Assemblywoman. Both emerged from the June primary that sends the two top vote-getters  regardless of party affiliation  to the final round.

A number of Democratic heavyweights have endorsed Dodd, including Gov. Jerry Brown, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the California Democratic Party. Dodds financial resources dwarf Yamadas.

But Yamada pulled off a longshot victory in 2008 to win an Assembly seat over an opponent with far more financial backing. Her endorsers for Senate include state Treasurer John Chiang, Rep. John Garamendi and United Farm Workers.

Is this race a mismatch or a battle royal?

Mariko Yamada is not a sacrificial lamb by any stretch of the imagination, said David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political science professor. Shes constantly underestimated. But Bill Dodds team knows not to do that.

The battle comes down to two Democrats who see some issues in different ways.

Yamada depicts herself as being in tune with Democratic values and alluded to Dodds party affiliation switch a few years ago from Republican to Democrat. She noted he didnt support the initial version of a family leave bill, as she would have done.

I just have more decades of practice being a Democrat, Yamada said.

Dodd dismissed the notion that hes less than a bona fide Democrat by pointing to his endorsements from high-profile Democrats. Rather, he called himself a consensus-builder who crosses the aisle to get things done.

He waited to support a revised version of the family leave bill with cleaner language, Dodd said. He depicted Yamada as being wedded to causes while neglecting details.

This idea about feeling good about something, thats just not the way it works, Dodd said. Were here to craft good policy, sound policy and thats what Ill do as your senator.

Dodd and Yamada over the past two weeks took on various issues at two candidate forums in Napa. One was held by Napa Valley Vintners, the other by the League of Women Voters Napa County and AAUW Napa Valley College Club.

They were asked to give examples of when they reached across the political aisle to accomplish something.

Dodd mentioned transportation. The Democrats were approaching the issue the same old way of assembling Democratic votes and then trying to pick off the one or two Republican votes needed to pass something, he said.

But, Dodd said, he told the transportation committee chairmanwho is a friendthat not all the Democratic votes might be there and that they needed to seek major, bipartisan support. That has resulted in ongoing talks.

The one thing I found in the Legislature, most of the things arent Republican or Democrat deals  transportation, housing, education, seniors, he said. But over time these issues have become partisan, he said.

Yamada talked about a bill she sponsored dealing with Alzheimers. She approached one of the most conservative Republicans in the Assembly to be the principal co-author. What started out as an uncomfortable situation turned out well.

She actually cried at one point during that process, because she said she never thought she could trust a liberal Democrat like me, Yamada said.

But, Yamada said, she knew this woman had a family member with Alzheimers. Alzheimers isnt a partisan issue, but a California issue and an American issue.

The candidates tackled the issue of affordable housing.

Yamada says the state needs to step up after dissolving community redevelopment agencies that provided affordable housing money. But Gov. Jerry Brown has repeatedly vetoed legislation to do this.

Honestly, as long as Jerry Brown is in office, youre not going to see, I think, a lot of movement toward reestablishing any kind of comprehensive affordable housing funding, she said.

Voters may have to put something on the ballot to make sure affordable housing and transportation issues are addressed, Yamada said.

Dodd stressed a different aspect of the housing situation.

A lot of the problem is we havent built the market rate housing, or any housing supply, Dodd said. Its a supply-and-demand issue. Theres huge demand, very little supply.

Local governments need to do something about housing supply while protecting agriculture, he said.

Dodd has a huge fundraising advantage in the Senate race. He has raised $1.7 million over the past two years and as of Sept. 24 reported still having $339,392 remaining in his campaign coffers.

Contributors in the latest period range from local vintners to unions to health care and insurance groups to Jelly Belly to Disney, according to records on file with the California Secretary of State.

In addition, independent expenditure committees  the equivalent of superPACsspent $2.8 million on Dodds behalf through June. Much of the money came from EdVoice, but groups with names such as Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy also pitched in, leading to a torrent of Dodd campaign mailers in the primary.

Yamada raised $462,562 over two years and as of Sept. 24 had $86,248 remaining. Where many Dodd contributions came in gulps of a few thousand dollars, Yamada depended largely on individual donors contributing a few hundred dollars.

She too received independent expenditure committee money, in her case from California Federation of Teachers COPE and Progressive Kick. The amount into June totaled $79,382.

Yamada tried to use the fundraising gap to make a point. Unlike Dodd, she said, she doesnt have big companies making donations.

I just ask you to consider the influence of money in politics, Yamada said.

Dodd said he can say no to donors.

The reality is, over the time I was county supervisor in Napa, you saw a pragmatic decision-maker, Dodd said. You can go back to my decisions Ive made in public life and take a look at decisions even against people who had generously contributed to my campaigns.

Dodd is a Justin-Siena High School alumnus and ran Culligan water franchises. He was elected to the Napa County Board of Supervisors in 2000.

His rise to Assemblyman and Senate candidate happened quickly. He ran for Assembly in 2014, bested two Democratic rivals from Yolo County in the primary and easily beat Republican Charlie Schaupp in the final round.

One of those banished Democratic rivals was Davis City Councilman Dan Wolk, son of state Sen. Lois Wolk. Lois Wolk is terming out, leaving her 3rd District senate seat open.

Dodd announced in July 2015 that he would run for the 3rd District Senate seat with Lois Wolks endorsement, instead of running for re-election to the Assembly. Dan Wolk ran to succeed Dodd in the Assembly with Dodds endorsement, though he lost in the June primary.

He has described himself as a moderate, business-friendly Democrat, though he also said that doesnt mean hes 100 percent for business issues. He must consider how decisions affect the entire community, including labor and the environment.

Yamada served five years on the Yolo County Board of Supervisors after initially being appointed to the seat in 2003 by then-Gov. Gray Davis. She was elected to the Assembly in 2008, succeeding Lois Wolk as Wolk moved up to the Senate. Yamadas original district didnt include Napa County.

Redistricting changed that. Yamada in 2012 won a redrawn 4th Assembly District that included Napa County and served until termed out in 2014.

Her background includes growing up with what she called the bittersweet inheritance of the World War II Japanese internment of her parents. She described herself as a social worker with an inclination to look for problem-solving opportunities and protecting those with the least voice in society.

The 3rd Senate District covers Napa and Solano counties and parts of Yolo, Sacramento, Sonoma and Contra Costa counties.
During the 2012 presidential debates, President Barack Obama mocked challenger Mitt Romney for identifying Russia as the "No 1. geopolitical foe" of the United States. "The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War's been over for 20 years," Obama quipped. Four years later - after Russian aggression in Ukraine and Crimea, along with a political crackdown within its own borders - there's broad consensus that Russia is indeed a serious threat to the United States and its allies. But there's still widespread misunderstanding of what Russia is about.

Myth No. 1

Russia is trying to throw the U.S. election to Donald Trump.

The idea that Russia is trying to help Trump went mainstream over the summer. "Donald Trump's presidential bid can count on at least some backing from Moscow," Guardian world affairs editor Julian Borger wrote in one of many such reports. This is less a myth than a conspiracy theory. As with most conspiracy theories, it begins with facts and proceeds to make imaginary connections that make the whole seem greater than its parts.

The fact is this: Putin would rather see anyone but Hillary Clinton become president. He has blamed her personally for inciting the Russian protests of 2011-2012, saying that "she set the tone for some actors in our country and gave them a signal" that caused the demonstrations. But he is not exactly a fan of Trump, contrary to the billionaire's own perception: Putin has called Trump "colorful," not "brilliant," and has mentioned him only twice.

Proof of Trump's Moscow connections is similarly scant. To date, no money trail has been uncovered linking Trump to the Kremlin. Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort had ties to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who has widely been described as pro-Moscow, but that characterization is a gross oversimplification - and there is no indication that Manafort himself was on Moscow's side in important debates.

Much more serious are the hacks of the Democratic National Committee and state election systems, which have been traced to Russian state actors. But these fall in line with Russia's cyber-behavior all over the world: Moscow has been employing cyberwarfare since at least 2007, when it temporarily shut down the high-tech government of Estonia. The purpose of these attacks is to disrupt - but not necessarily on behalf of Team Trump.

Myth No. 2

Putin has made Russia great again.

Trump has famously praised Putin as "a strong leader" who is "doing a great job in rebuilding the image of Russia and also rebuilding Russia period." The majority of Republicans agree with that characterization. Putin himself has claimed credit for bringing stability and economic prosperity to Russia after the chaos and poverty of the 1990s.

The average Russian is much better off today than 20 years ago, but worse off than five or even two years ago, when oil prices - which neither rise nor fall because of Putin - were at their peak.

Stability is an elusive measure. One might reasonably assume that the concept connotes safety. Reliable statistics are hard to obtain, but Russia appears to have one of the highest homicide rates in the world, and the numbers did not improve even when the economy did. High-profile killings of politicians, journalists and entrepreneurs - at least one of which has been linked directly to Putin by a British investigation - also cannot be conducive to a sense of security.

Another indicator of stability could be a strong social safety net. But even during the years of unprecedented prosperity, Russia barely invested in infrastructure and social services, while military spending grew precipitously. Today, hospitals in Moscow ask patients to bring their own syringes for procedures, just like they did back in the 1990s. The government's response to the economic downturn of the past few years has been to cut social spending and to raid Russians' pension funds, which now seem to be bound for extinction.

Myth No. 3

Russians overwhelmingly support Putin's policies.

When Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, Putin's approval rating went through the roof, reaching almost 90 percent. Today both Kremlin-controlled and independent pollsters reliably report approval ratings of 82 percent and higher.

At the same time, Russians disapprove of the job done by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (his current negative rating stands at 51 percent), the cabinet (55 percent) and the parliament (62 percent). All three exist solely to rubber-stamp Kremlin policies, which come directly from Putin. The majority of Russians also say they feel pessimistic about their future.

How to account for that discrepancy? Russian citizens are unsettled, anxious and looking to identify with an emblematic leader or cause. They support Putin because he has left them no choice.

Myth No. 4

Russian society is relatively conservative in its values.

Putin has criticized the West for "denying moral principles and all traditional identities" while positioning Russia as a defender of traditional values. The Russian government has pushed to legislate morality, most egregiously by banning "homosexual propaganda" and prohibiting adoption of Russian children by people from countries that permit same-sex marriage. As a result, Russia has become a beacon for frustrated far-right extremists around the world, who gravitate to its perceived traditionalism.

Those extremists might be disappointed. Russians are fairly liberal on a number of social issues. More than half of all Russians see nothing wrong with premarital sex, a third don't view love as a prerequisite for sex, and a quarter see nothing wrong with marital infidelity (sociologists say this is an unrealistically low number because expressing this opinion out loud to a stranger flaunts social convention). Russians are also liberal in their views on abortion: Only 20 percent believe that the government should try to take any measures to limit or prevent abortions, compared with more than 40 percent of Americans who believe abortion should be illegal.

The Putin government has been selling the country a vague vision of an imaginary traditional past - and of enemies who are supposedly threatening it. The enemy may be LGBT people one day, Ukrainians the next and Americans the day after. And while the nation targets these enemies, Putin remains in power.

Myth No. 5

Russian politics are mostly best understood as reactions to the West.

During Tuesday's vice-presidential debate, the candidates clashed over Clinton's record on Russia. Republican Mike Pence said her "reset" policy as secretary of state led to Putin's invasion of Ukraine and aggression in Syria. Democrat Tim Kaine defended his running mate's effectiveness, pointing out that Clinton had gone "toe to toe with Russia as secretary of state to do the New START agreement to reduce Russia's nuclear stockpile."

Oddly, though, both men apparently agreed on an underlying premise: Russia's behavior is determined by U.S. policies. This is a myth that persists on both sides of the political divide. The left is given to argue that America's insensitivity has driven Russia to aggression, while the right claims that American softness has enabled it.

Putin has peddled Soviet nostalgia and anti-Western rhetoric since he first entered office 17 years ago. When opportunities to attack former Soviet states have presented themselves, he has used them - in 2008 Russia effectively annexed a chunk of Georgia, and in 2014 it annexed part of Ukraine. Putin is driven by a very real desire to expand Russia and by the need to hold on to power. Neither of these factors has anything to do with the United States, Russia's habit of blaming all its troubles on America notwithstanding.

Masha Gessen is a Russian American journalist and the author of "Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin." He wrote this for The Washington Post.
The Armenian driver, who was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for the incident involving bus crash in Russia's Tula province, complains about health.

His attorney, Ruben Kirakosyan, said the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am.

According to him, Harutyunyans appeal has not yet been considered, since the parties asked for preparation time.

The passenger bus, which was traveling from Moscow to Yerevan, had the accident on November 3 last year, in the Uzlovsky District in Tula Oblast (province), Russia.There were over 60 passengers on the bus, all of them Armenian citizens. Consequently, 9 people died and 46 sustained injuries. 32 people were hospitalized. A criminal case was opened against the driver under the article of ''violation of traffic rules, negligently resulting in the deaths of two or more persons,'' which stipulates until seven years in prison. Custody was chosen as a preventive measure against the driver.


:    9         

         2013 .         9          .    .
Varazdat Manasyan from Vanadzor, Armenia, lost his life in a major traffic accident Wednesday in Anapa, Russia.

He was 25 years old, and he had gone to Russia for work.

Manasyan is survived by his father and younger twin sister and brother. His mother had died a long time ago.

As an acquaintance told, the wheel of the car, in which Varazdat was a passenger, had suddenly come off while the vehicle was traveling. As a result, the driver had lost control of the car and the latter had collided with a bus that was passing at that time.

The impact was so severe that both the driver and the passenger had died.

Some passengers of the bus likewise had sustained multiple fractures and injuries.

The body of Varazdat Manasyan will be transported from Russia to Armenia on Saturday.
YEREVAN.  Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, on Saturday is celebrating the 2798th anniversary of its foundation.

This years Erebuni[i.e. the ancient name of Yerevan]-Yerevan celebrations will be held under the title, City of the Sun.

As per the Yerevan Municipality, this years Yerevan Day events will be plainer and simpler, and they will be held solely on one day.

The municipality has cut the 2016 Yerevan anniversary celebration budget in half, as compared to that of the year past. This years celebrations will not include the traditional festive concert at Republic Square in the heart of Yerevan, and the parade outside the main building of Yerevan Municipality.

The Erebuni-Yerevan festivities have become traditional ever since 1983, but they were not held between 1991 and 1998.
YEREVAN.  With Movses Hakobyan being appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (RA), there are no more generals left in the headship of the Ministry of Defense (MOD), and all three deputy ministers of defense are civilians, reported Zhoghovurd newspaper.

Zhoghovurd has learned that the soldiery will soon be dismissed also from the other leadership positions of the RA Ministry of Defense. The young staff will be moved to the departments under the RA Armed Forces General Staff, whereas the older [people] will retire.

It is believed that the Ministry of Defense will gradually turn into an administration that develops the army development policy and resolves matters associated with material security, whereas the military functions will be reserved for the RA Armed Forces General Staff and its departments, wrote Zhoghovurd.
Alen Simonyan to Erin Elizabeth McKee: Armenia is interested in deeper engagement by US

Central Bank of Armenia: U.S. financial authorities complicate U.S. dollar turnover worldwide

Kyiv: 12 vessels with grain leave Ukrainian ports

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

Armenia's budget deficit in 2023 will be 3.1% of GDP

PACE MPs initiate resolution on political prisoners cases increase in Azerbaijan

EU studying issue of recognizing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist organization

Finance minister: Armenia tax revenues projected to be about 3.7% of GDP in 2023

Armenia opposition MP: No final document will be signed in Russias Sochi

Opposition MP: When Armenia PM says he is in Russian proposals favor, has no value unless he says he rejects US option

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 Indian bridge collapse rises to 141

Armenia 2023 state budget draft: Capital expenditure to increase significantly

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
YEREVAN. - In February 2017, 10-15 Armenian IT companies will meet with their potential partners in Britain.

Founding director of BSC, Samvel Gevorgyan, told the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am during DigiTech Expo 2016 technological exhibition held in Yerevan.

The business trip will take place in cooperation with the UK Embassy in Armenia and Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE).

The Armenian companies have not yet tried to take orders from Britain. The local business is also mainly conservative there, preference being given to tested Indian companies. But recently they have begun looking for alternatives in other countries. Therefore, Armenian companies can now draw attention, Gevirgyan noted.

The meetings will be held with four groups of potential partners: British IT unions, state institutions supporting British IT sector and foreign trade ties, direct customers (companies, giving outsourcing orders) and IT consulting companies, which will help establishing partnership between Armenian companies and the British colleagues.

The process of getting familiarized with Britain is still ahead, but there will be no discounts for the newcomers: It will be necessary to reach agreements or launch negotiations on the ground. And because there are no trifles in the work with the British, the Armenian IT specialists will be provided assistance with regard to holding talks and developing business models according to the British standards.

We will select the companies based on what projects they are implementing, what clients they are already working with and the kind of feedback they have. We want to attach greater importance to small companies, but we will put no restrictions for anyone, Gevorgyan noted.

To disseminate the knowledge on the IT sphere in Armenia more widely, the Embassy brought to DigiTech journalists of British newspapers.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said there is a need to continue dialogue between Russia and the U.S. on situation around Syria, RIA Novosti reported.

He added that it is wrong to believe that the Cold War has begun calling modern world more dangerous.

The relations of Russia and the United States deteriorated because of the situation in Syria. Washington has suspended bilateral cooperation with Moscow on the matter. The Russian authorities, in turn, suspended cooperation with the U.S. in the field of nuclear safety.
YEREVAN.  Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris on Saturday paid a visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial, in Armenias capital city of Yerevan.

The mayor of the French capital city paid tribute to the innocent victims of this tragedy, and placed flowers at the Eternal Flame.

Hidalgo, who arrived in Yerevan on Friday evening, also toured the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and signed its honorary guestbook.

Truth, recollection of history shapes the future of humanity. With respects, Anne Hidalgo, she wrote on the guestbook.

In addition, Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Director Hayk Demoyan presented a letter of thanks to the guest of honor, and for organizing an Armenian Genocide Centennial exhibition last year in Paris.

At the end of her visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial, Anne Hidalgo planted a fir at the Memory Alley of the memorial.
The Vardanyan brothers of Armenia, who were detained in Tanzania, are finally released.

Artyom, 52, and Eduard, 44, Vardanyan are already in the Netherlands, where they arrived from Tanzania.

Nothing can break a person who is rich in friends. After the 7-month forced vacation in a Tanzanian prison, my brother and I came to realize that the budget of this country desperately needs 220 [US] dollars, which I paid for immigration regulations (). [But] my brother, as it turned out, was in prison all this time solely for humanitarian objectives. They didnt even deem necessary to fine him, Artyom Vardanyan wrote, in particular, on his Facebook account.

The Vardanyan brothers were detained on March 23, at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania.

The Citizen newspaper of this country had reported that the brothers had attempted to transport 61 monkeys to Albaniaand then to Armeniawith a cargo plane.

Artyom Vardanyan is the proprietor of a large restaurant in Dzoraghbyur village in Kotayk Province of Armenia, and he keeps numerous exotic animals at this restaurant.
French President Francois Hollande, German Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Estonian Foreign Minister Jurgen Ligi will address PACE at its autumn plenary session that will be held in Strasbourg on October 10-14.

A current affairs debate has been requested on the situation in Turkey in the light of the attempted coup d'Etat. Debates are also foreseen on the political consequences of the Ukraine conflict and on legal remedies for human rights violations in areas not under Ukrainian control.



Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, will address the Assembly in the context of a report on sport for all. The parliamentarians will also debate reports on children's rights related to surrogacy, on lessons from the "Panama Papers" to ensure fiscal and social justice, as well as on co-operation with the International Criminal Court (ICC).



The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjrn Jagland, will answer questions fom parliamentarians.

The Constitutional Referendum in Azerbaijan - a step back into the past meeting will be held on October 12.
YEREVAN.  It is because of the approach by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group co-chairs that the sense of permissiveness is getting stronger in Aliyev, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

He stated this when asked how he assesses the Azerbaijani presidents reaction to US Secretary of State John Kerrys recent statement with respect to the prospects for a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Ilham Aliyevs reaction results from the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries [i.e. Russia, the US, and France] tolerate his provocative rhetoric and demeanor, for a long time, noted Kocharyan. It is because of this very approach by the co-chairs that the sense of permissiveness is getting stronger in Aliyev, and Baku is further intensifying its disrespectful attitude toward the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries and their proposals [for resolving the conflict].

As per the deputy FM of Armenia, Azerbaijan not only refuses to implement the agreements that were reached at the Vienna and Saint Petersburg summitsand toward moving the Karabakh peace talks forward, but rejects the fundamental precepts which the co-chair countries have proposed for achieving solely a pacific settlement of the Karabakh conflict.
YEREVAN. - The autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will address the human rights regress in Turkey.

Member of the Armenian delegation to PACE, Samvel Farmanyan, who is also a Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) MP, told the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am.

One of the issues on the agenda of the PACE autumn session, which is to be held on October 10-14, will be the situation in Turkey after the July coup attempt. The issue will be discussed in an extraordinary order on Monday, considering the urgent nature of the human rights protection in the country, Farmanyan noted.

The discussions will be held, considering the results of the visit of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Torbern Jagland to Turkey. And on Wednesday Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu is expected to make address.

Due to the complicated human rights situation in Turkey, the idea of resuming monitoring there is gradually gaining weight in PACE, that is Turkey may turn from a post-monitoring into a monitoring state.

The election of the judge to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) from Azerbaijan is also planned to be held at the session.

Asked whether the Armenian delegation is going to initiate a discussion of the Karabakh conflict or human rights in Armenia, Farmanyan said: It will become clear on the ground.
YEREVAN. - Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Saturday received the delegation headed by the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.

Welcoming the guests, Nalbandian noted that he is happy to receive the old friend of Armenia Anne Hidalgo and the delegation members accompanying her, Armenian MFA press-service reports.

Its a great pleasure to welcome your delegation, whose composition symbolizes the solidarity of the French political forces with regard to the Armenian-French friendship, the FM said.

For her part, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo stressed that it is a pleasure for her to be in Armenia on occasion of the festivities dedicated to the Day of Yerevan. And this occasion, according to her, can be used to discuss the further steps aimed at further development of ties and cooperation between the two cities.

The sides also touched on the issues concerning the expansion of the Armenian-French ties and decentralization of cooperation between the two countries.

Your sincere dedication to the Armenian-French friendship was expressed during your entire activity and it is pleasant to have passed part of that path together. We recall with special gratitude how you personally turned off the Eiffel Tower lights in memory of the Armenian Genocide victims in the evening of April 24 last year, Nalbandian said.

He also awarded Anne Hidalgo with the Armenian MFA Medal of Honor for her significant contribution to the strengthening of cooperation between Yerevan and Paris.
President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on Sunday will head to the United States, on a working visit.

In New York City, Sargsyan will attend the Armenia Investment Forum, which will get underway on October 10.

Representatives of the leading companies in economy, analysts, representatives of international financial institutions, and around one hundred international investors are invited to this event.

Within the framework of his visit, the President of Armenia is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks.
YEREVAN. - Bright Armenia, Armenian Revival and Prosperous Armenia parties on Saturday signed a memorandum of cooperation on partner governance in Vanadzor, the third largest city of Armenia.

The memorandum specifically notes that on the basis of the demand of voters, who voted for the opposition parties, as well as considering the need to address the challenges which Vanadzor faces, Bright Armenia, Armenian Revival and Prosperous Armenia parties decided to sign a memorandum of cooperation. Under this document they are obliged to:

1. To conjointly support the candidacy of Krist Marukyan, who tops the party list of Bright Armenia in the Vanadzor City Council (overall, 18 mandates), at the first session of the new City Council of Vanadzor;

2. To draw out the five-year development plan of Vanadzor on the basis of the principles of effective governance;

3. To carry out transparent and accountable governance in Vanadzor, which will ensure the proportional development of the city, exclude corruption risks, sponsorship and conflict of interests;

4. In accordance with the memorandum the aforementioned forces are thereby proportionally included in and take up the responsibility for governing Vanadzor.

Bright Armenia and Armenian Revival will nominate a mayor and first Deputy Mayor candidates respectively, while Prosperous Armenia nominate a candidate to the post of the deputy mayor.

During the city council elections in Vanadzor, Prosperous Armenia, Bright Armenia and Armenian Revival together won 18 mandates, while the ruling Republican Party (RPA) and its ally ARF Dashnaktsutyyin got only 15.
Breaking Down Barriers For Women in Nicaragua

When asked to describe their service learning experience in Nicaragua, Counselor Education students of the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions repeatedly used the terms humbling and life changing.

Travelling to Leon, Nicaragua, six students facilitated a three-day workshop on August 13 - 15 with women who live with domestic violence. Dr. Virginia Kelly, professor of Counselor Education, developed the Special Topics class entitled Violence in Nicaragua in response to a request for help. I heard about women needing counseling for domestic violence in Nicaragua through the New Haven/Leon Sister City Project and had always wanted to facilitate a workshop of this nature, explained Dr. Kelly. The experience had a profound impact on my students.

Dr. Kelly learned that several rural villages outside of Leon were struggling with issues of gender equality and violence against women and that these women needed help. Through the Sister City Project that promotes social justice and supports education and sustainable development, Dr. Kelly organized for her and six of her students to visit women in Goyena and Troilo, rural towns near Leon.

The culture was described to us as machismo, meaning that it tends to be male-dominated, explained student Sarayu lyengar. Consequently, women have limited resources, knowledge, or education  which has had a profound impact on issues of self-esteem and self-worth. lyengar described how prior to the actual trip, she and her classmates studied research material, prepared slides and created activities on the topic  most of which they had to abandon because they quickly realized that they had to get to know the women first before they could teach anything.

This first trip was truly a pilot program in the sense that the students had to evolve their approach on the fly as they came to understand the needs of the women. Our hope was that, as a result of forming a sense of community with the women that we might begin to help them strengthen their own sense of community lyengar explained. Fellow classmate, Alessia Gagnon described how the group was humbled by the realization that they had as much to learn as the women did  maybe more. We quickly realized the importance and relevance of understanding cultural perspectives and the womens expectations for us, said Gagnon. While in Leon, Dr. Kelly and her students worked closely with the Leon director of the Sister City Project, Erendira Vanegas, arranged for the group to visit rural communities outside of Leon to provide a context for their work.

We were also fortunate to meet Sara Henriquez, an activist leading continuous efforts and noteworthy contributions to the issues of gender equity and violence against women throughout Nicaragua, explained Gagnon. She provided us with a historical perspective, a sociopolitical and cultural background and an in-depth description of significant events that have promoted the cause and hindered its success.

Upon meeting the women in the villages, a main focus of the trip became helping them process their experiences with domestic violence through role-playing in small groups. But first Dr. Kelly and her students needed to gain the trust of the women who were reluctant at first to share their experiences. For many of the women, this was the first time they had been given the opportunity to talk about the violence they experience first-hand in their homes. After going through a series of icebreakers and group activities on the first day, the students then focused on facilitating an environment where the women could feel safe and explore their thoughts and feelings. Ultimately we wanted the women to feel that they could give voice to their experiences, explained lyengar.

To the groups pleasant surprise, more women attended the workshop on the second day. On this day the students covered topics they imagined would be difficult, specifically sexual violence and the impact of abuse on children. Many of the women had their children with them at the workshops because childcare in their village does not exist; women stay home with their kids. With their children beside them, the women had the courage to openly discuss emotional and difficult issues. I really enjoyed the role-play we facilitated to allow the women to act out alternatives to aggressive behavior that they face every day, shared student Susan Elliott. They had a chance to act out their daily lives and change the ending.

On the third day of the workshop the students focused on building self-esteem and emphasized the importance of finding ones voice. Through creative exercises, including laughing yoga and letter writing, the group was able to help the women realize their self-worth. Elliott summed up well a key lesson the group learned as a result of the work they did with the Nicaraguan women: No matter where you live, and in what culture you are raised, the universality of the human condition is always present. You just have to take the time to listen to the stories of others with openness and non-judgment, and trust the rest of the therapeutic process to unfold. Dr. Kelly hopes to travel with more students to Nicaragua next summer and continue to work with the women of Leon.
The DREAMS scholarship organization would like to thank all who supported our fundraising before, and at the 2016 Coconino County Fair. We thank you for stopping by our booth to purchase raffle tickets, Coke products, giving donations, or just a friendly smile. Your interest in this organization has truly made a difference in the lives of those who are pursuing a higher education. Support such as you have given will allow us to continue us awarding FUSD high school graduates in future years.
Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao, religious leader of Goan Catholics who account for more than a quarter of Goa's population, has appealed for special prayers for peace for "Mother India", especially in the light of simmering hostilities with Pakistan. "I call upon members of other religious communities in our Archdiocese to join us in praying for our Mother India," Ferrao said in a statement issued here on Saturday. "Ironically, it (peace) is one of the most eluding goods in today's society. The fragile peace along the Indian border with neighbouring Pakistan is regularly disturbed by exchange of fire and other forms of violence, revealing a simmering state of hostility and suspicion between two countries that otherwise share linguistic, cultural, geographic and even economic links," Ferrao said. The archbishop said that instructions had been issued to the church and parish networks to conduct special prayers "for one another and for peace in our land". --IANS maya/py/bg ( 169 Words) 2016-10-08-11:28:08 (IANS)
A Parks man listed earlier this week as a person of interest in a multi-agency sting targeting violent crime and narcotics trafficking in Coconino, Maricopa and Navajo counties has been charged and is now in custody.

Flagstaff Police Department arrested Morgan Henson, 30, of Parks on a charge of transporting drugs for sale Wednesday just before midnight in the 2800 block of North Center Street. He is one of at least 26 Flagstaff-area residents now facing felony charges in connection with a statewide sting dubbed Operation Nightfall.

It is believed to be the largest single arrest operation ever conducted in Flagstaff.

Law enforcement officers from many agencies including FPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested at least 40 people this week in Flagstaff, Glendale, Winslow and Page in Operation Nightfall. The arrests included more than a dozen people who were already in the Coconino County Detention Facility on unrelated charges. At least 10 other individuals have been identified as wanted fugitives or persons of interest in the case.

The Daily Sun has been able to confirm the felony charges against four additional Flagstaff suspects since Thursday, when it ran the names of 18 locals who were arrested.

Kathleen L. Botone, 31, and Robert Paul Wright, aka Paul Wright, 49, of Flagstaff have each been charged with transportation or sale of dangerous drugs. Felia A. Gorney, 33, of Flagstaff has been charged with two counts of transportation or sale of dangerous drugs.

Kandyce M. Crouch, 26, of Flagstaff was also arrested this week on a charge of transportation or sale of dangerous drugs. Crouch was also present early on July 13 when, according to FPD, Donald S. Myers, 32, drew a gun and fled from police officers who were attempting to arrest him at the Relax Inn, located at 1500 E. Route 66. An officer fatally shot Myers a short time later. FPD has said the officers interrupted a drug deal while responding to an open-line 911 call. Police have not said the two incidents were related.

In addition to the locals arrested in Operation Nightfall, Flagstaff police arrested Adrian T. Baca, 30, of Winslow on charges of transportation or sale of dangerous drugs, possession of narcotic drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, felony marijuana possession, possession of dangerous drugs and possession of tools to commit burglary. They also arrested Kenneth T. Benson of Phoenix on multiple charges, including three counts of transportation or sale of dangerous drugs and two counts of possession of dangerous drugs for sale.

Both men were booked into the Coconino County Detention Facility.
Amid escalating tensions, Pakistan continued to strike a tough posture against India, with top Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz saying that there can be no expectations of any breakthrough in ties with India during the tenure of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In an interview to a TV channel, Aziz on Friday said Pakistan had been resisting India's "hegemonistic attitude" in the region and calling for the promotion of bilateral ties on an equal basis, Pakistan Today reported. He said the joint session of the Pakistani parliament had unanimously adopted a resolution that encompassed all issues including the "condemnation of brutalities in Kashmir, ceasefire violations at Line of Control by India, negation of Indian view of Kashmir as its integral part, condemnation of Indian threat to revoke Indus Waters Treaty and Indian intervention in Balochistan". Aziz said the parliamentary resolution would be circulated across Pakistan's missions, media and think tanks across the world. He said during interactions at various platforms across the globe the majority view was that dialogue should resume between the two countries. To a question on the Indian Home Minister saying that the India-Pakistan border would be sealed, Aziz said there was no harm in sealing the border as planned by India if the points of public movement and trade were maintained. Aziz also said that India cannot succeed in diverting the world attention from the Kashmir issue through the September 18 "Uri-like self staged incidents". His remarks came as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi told the world body that non-implementation of the Kashmir resolutions is the "most persistent failure" of the UN. Addressing the General Assembly's Special Political and Decolonization Committee, Lodhi said on Friday that for over six decades the UN Security Council has failed to implement resolutions promising a plebiscite to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their destiny. "This is the most persistent failure of the United Nations," Lodhi said. Lodhi also said that Jammu and Kashmir "never was and can never be" an integral part of India. "It is disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council," she said. Targeting India, Lodhi said: "Generation after generation of Kashmiris has only seen broken promises and brutal oppression." "Today the Kashmiri people have risen again in unison against an occupation," Pakistan Today quoted Lodhi as saying. She termed the current uprising in the Kashmir valley, in which 90 people have been killed since July 9, as "the worst form of state terrorism, a war crime, which India has perpetrated by its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir for decades". In keeping with Islamabad's attempt to bring global focus on Kashmir, Pakistan Prime Minister's special envoy on Jammu and Kashmir was in the US where he presented a "dossier containing evidence of the atrocities carried out by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir" to Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, Peter Lavoy on Friday. Mushahid Hussain Syed, targetting the US, said that Pakistan has observed a "change" in the Washington's diplomatic policy, marked by its closer ties with India -- which is the reason for Pakistan's burgeoning ties with Russia. "We (Pakistan) are observing a change in the US diplomatic policy." Hussain said every action has a reaction, and Pakistan felt the need to develop close ties with Russia after President Barack Obama's two visits to India. "This was the start of a new chapter in Pakistan-Russia ties," Hussain said, adding that Moscow is in favour of building a working relationship with countries of South Asia region, Dawn reported. Accusing Obama of changing the policy for political gains, Hussain said the US State Department had refused to give visa to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2006, but it took a U-turn after Modi was elected as the Prime Minister. "This U-turn of US policy can be traced back to the time of Bush administration, when the US-India nuclear deal was signed which was against the law of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Hussain, at a programme organised by the think tank Atlantic Council in Washington. He also asked for a probe into the September 18 terror attack on an Indian army camp in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. "UN military observer group for India and Pakistan should investigate the attack. Crossing the Line of Control to attack any target in India is not possible for any militant," he said. He said that India should share with Pakistan if it has any evidence or intelligence regarding the attack, which left 19 Indian soldiers dead. India has blamed the attack on Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group. The tough Pakistan stance came as India said that firing by the Pakistani Army on Saturday injured one of its soldiers on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian soldier was injured in unprovoked shelling and firing by the Pakistani side in Mendhar sector of Jammu region, said Indian authorities. --IANS rn/vm ( 850 Words) 2016-10-08-20:48:10 (IANS)
According to Geo News, the Sharif family's spokesperson said the Prime Minister's kin do not own and run any businesses in India.

Imran Khan should not misguide the nation by spreading such propaganda, and should be ashamed of making baseless allegations.

Imran Khan has time and again claimed that the Sharif family has businesses in India, although it has always been denied by the latter as baseless.

In September, PTI's Tahirul Qadri had also pointed out ties between Indian workers and the Sharif family which were later refuted by the Managing Director (MD) Sharif Group of Industries Yousaf Abbas Sharif, saying that not a single Indian is working in the Sharif family sugar mill.

Imran Khan last year said Sharif had earned $60 million from his business with India including setting up of two new sugar mills.

--IANS py/vm

( 183 Words)

2016-10-08-18:06:12 (IANS)
For most cancer patients, the uncertainty and stress that can come with its treatment is compounded by what is now known as "financial toxicity", suggests a recent study. An earlier research 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." Study's lead author Jonas de Souza said, "As expected, we found a strong association between a patient's use of health care resources and his or her sense of financial toxicity." Adding, "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, had a significant impact on a patient's sense of financial toxicity. "This is reasonable. Hospital care is much more expensive tha office-based care. We now know that it also impacts a patient's self-reported financial feelings," de Souza said. 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. Exposed to 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. But that did not reduce our patients' sense of financial toxicity. We've added that to our model," he said. The next step is to go back to our patients and understand the factors that drive financial toxicity for each kind of cancer. "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," De Souza said. Adding, "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." The survey was published in Cancer journal. (ANI)
"Saluting all air warriors and their families on the Air Force Day. Thank you for protecting our skies. Your courage makes India proud," Modi tweeted.

The Indian Air Force is celebrating its 84th anniversary on Saturday by scintillating air display by various aircrafts at Air Force Station Hindan in Uttar Pradesh.

The Indian Air Force was officially established on October 8, 1932.

--IANS akk/py/

( 100 Words)

2016-10-08-09:16:09 (IANS)
Gautam Gambhir, who made a comeback in the national squad after a gap of two years, has replaced injured opener Shikhar Dhawan.

The Virat Kohli led side has already won the first two matches and will now look to whitewash the Kiwis here to wrapup the series with a 3-0 win.

The hosts will now aim for a mammoth total in the first innings as the wicket is both batsmen and bowler friendly.UNI KU PS ADG 0949

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-969580.Xml
Curfew continued for the second day today in the Shehar-e-Khas (SeK), down town and some parts of the civil lines in the summer capital, Srinagar, to prevent any demonstration following the death of a minor due to pellet injuries early this morning. Junaid was critically wounded when security forces fired pellets to disperse demonstrators at Saidpora Eidgah in the down town after Friday prayers yesterday, when separatists had called for United Nations Military Observer Group India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) 'office challo' at Sonawar. However, the authorities imposed curfew and closed all roads leading to UNMOGIP office to foil the 'challo' call. Keeping in view the tense situation following the death of a 12-year-old boy, curfew restrictions continued for the second day in the areas falling under the five police stations in the SeK and down town besides Batmaloo and Maisuma, stronghold of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammd Yaseen Malik, presently under detention since July 9. Though, police said elsewhere in Srinagar, there are only restrictions on assembly of people under Section 144 CrPC, the situation on the ground at several places remained entirely different, where roads remained closed with barbed wire or by parking bullet proof bunker vehicles. The entire Nallahmar road from Chattabal to Khanyar continued to wore a deserted look with only security forces remained deployed to prevent assembly of people. Residents on both sides of the road alleged that they remained confined in their homes since they were not being allowed to move out of their houses by the security forces since yesterday. Repeated announcements were being made directing people to remain indoor, the residents alleged. "Today we faced shortage of essentials, including milk, vegetables and bread since we had impression that there will be no curfew today as for the past some time restrictions were being imposed only on Fridays," the residents said, adding that all lanes and bylanes remained closed with barbed wire and nobody was even allowed to cross the Nallahmar road.MORE UNI BAS SHS ADG 1038 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-969585.Xml
A 35-year-old woman was today convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the district court here for burning her sister-in-law alive in the year 2014. District Judge P P Jadhav slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on the accused, Manju Dilip Shukla, and in default additional rigorous imprisonment for six months. The court however acquitted the husband of the accused, Dilip Ramashankar Shukla (35), who was also tried in the case under section 302 of Indian Penal Code, on the benefit of doubt. Additional public pleader Vinit Kulkarni, appearing for the prosecution, told the court that the victim Neelam, who was marriedto Sandeep Shukla, brother of Dilip, came to stay along with Dilip, his wife Manju and their two daughters here at Bhaskar Colony from her matrimonial house at Hariharpur in Jaunpur of Uttar Pradesh as her husband was working with a bank in Mumbai and therefore was residing with his brother and his family. On October 8, 2014, there was a quarrel between Manju and Neelam over the former having forcibly taken the latter's ration card from her. In the midnight of October nine, Manju doused Neelam in kerosene and set the latter on fire in the kitchen, when no one was around in the house, the court was told. Neelam, who sustained burn wounds, was rushed to a local hospital and later she was shifted to the Burns Hospital where she succumbed on October 12, the prosecution told the court. After hearing the prosecution and the defence lawyer, the Judge observed in his order that considering the facts and circumstances of the case, it does not fall in a criteria of rarest of rare case to attract the capital punishment and sentenced the accused to imprisonment for life. UNI XR SS NP VS 0104 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-969414.Xml
Three persons, including two women were killed on the spot, and ten others seriously injured, when a van in which they were travelling rammed into the rear side of a lorry at Chettikurichi Vilakku near Pandalkudi, here today. Police said the occupants of the ill-fated van, hailing from Chennai, were proceeding to Sri Mutharamman Temple at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district to participate in the famous Dussehra festival, when the tragedy occurred. The driver of van lost control and rammed the vehicle into the rear side of the lorry, after the lorry driver applied sudden brake. The lorry was transporting empty LPG cylinders from Cumbum in Theni district to Thoothukudi. The deceased were identified as Bhagyalakshmi (64), Manonmani (37) and Maharaja (43). Pandalkudi police rushed to the site and rescued the injured people from the mangled remains of the van and admitted them to government hospital at Aruppukottai. Later, four seriously injured people were rushed to Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) at Madurai for better treatment. Pandalkudi police have registered a case and are investigating. The Dussehra festival at Kulasekarapattinam is a renowned one after the Mysore festival in the country. Thousands of people from various parts of the country congregate to the temple to participate in the festival every year. UNI GSM CS 1148 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-969675.Xml
Flagstaff mayoral candidates Jerry Nabours and Coral Evans faced off Thursday night in a debate about pay inequities for women, unaffordable housing and problematic relations with neighboring Native American tribes.

The debate, hosted by the Flagstaff branch of the American Association of University Women and the NAU Associated Students for Womens Issues and moderated by Daily Sun editor Randy Wilson, drew a crowd of about 80 people to the Murdoch Center.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN

Evans, a city councilmember, pointed out she proposed forming a commission on the status of women in the city as a future agenda item for the Flagstaff City Council to discuss and consider. Evans said dozens of other cities, including Phoenix, have similar commissions, which discuss issues like equal pay, parental leave and providing opportunities for female workers.

The gender pay gap is real, and we all know that, Evans said. We need to take action for equal pay to our state and federal representatives.

Evans said the city needs to ensure female city employees are paid equitably to their male counterparts who are doing the same jobs, and said the city could institute an incentive program for businesses in Flagstaff to encourage equal pay for equal work.

Nabours, seeking his third term as mayor, said the city is conducting a study about pay discrepancy between male and female employees, to make sure we are not discriminating, even unintentionally, with pay.

However, Nabours said it can be difficult to make a clear comparison, due to career choices or experience level that may vary for people even in the same department.

We are studying to make sure every classification is treated the same, regardless of gender, he said.

Nabours said workers may choose to forgo a promotion for various reasons, like a change in schedule. Evans said women might be more likely to forgo a promotion with a change in schedule due to a need for childcare.

HOUSING STRUGGLES

Nabours, as mayor, is a member of the Flagstaff Housing Authority, which oversees federally subsidized housing vouchers, known as Section 8, in Flagstaff, as well as public housing in the city. Nabours said rents are too high and voucher amounts too low to attract enough landlords to the Section 8 program.

Federal requirements limit what the subsidized rent can be, Nabours said. Landlords are not willing to take that because they can make more on the open market, so we do have vouchers that go unused.

Nabours said people who have applied and qualified for the vouchers have had to return them because they cannot find a place to live that fits the parameters.

We have a waiting list for Section 8 housing, we need more of it, Nabours said.

Evans, who emphasized that she grew up in government-subsidized housing, said there are ways the city can partially match federal funding for Section 8 vouchers, but that is not something that has ever been discussed.

Evans said low-income people run into problems finding housing when landlords or property management companies ask for credit history or application fees.

Most people who have a Section 8 voucher dont have great credit, because theyre poor, and they cant afford a high application fee, she said. We need to start looking at housing and other issues through a broader, more comprehensive lens.

Evans has said previously that she supports housing geared toward students in appropriate locations, and added she thinks students living in neighborhoods can work well. However, she said she opposes housing developments that destroy the character of historic neighborhoods, and specifically mentioned The Hub.

Nabours said the city council should have approved Core Campus request for a rezoning, which he said would have resulted in a more attractive building.

I think we missed an opportunity at that meeting, he said.

Evans defended her vote against the rezoning request, and said city development guidelines already determine the aesthetic aspects of a building. She said she denied the zoning on the functionality of the proposal, not the attractiveness.

Evans said students should also have a seat at the table when it comes to housing geared toward students.

She said places that are geared toward student housing often do not offer nine-month leases, but instead require tenants to rent for an entire year.

However, Nabours said lease terms are driven by the market, and said if there are more options for student housing, landlords may be more willing to rent for a nine-month lease in an effort to fill their building.

TRIBAL RELATIONS

Nabours said he is the chairman of the Mayors Bordertown Summit every other year, where he and other mayors of cities and towns that border the Navajo and Hopi nations, as well as tribal leaders, meet and discuss issues concerning the two groups.

The benefits are huge, he said. A lot of people that live north of Flagstaff come to spend money in Flagstaff. The Hopi Nation owns shopping centers in Flagstaff that benefit both of us.

Nabours said the location can pose problems, however, many stemming from alcohol, which the Navajo and Hopi nations prohibit on tribal land.

Many (reservation) residents come to the border towns to get alcohol, said Nabours, adding he did not have a "perfect solution" for the problem.

However, Nabours said he supports Snowbowls snowmaking with reclaimed wastewater purchased from the city. He said he had a chance to tour upper portions of the Peaks, which local tribes hold sacred, with tribal leaders.

I did not see that the mountain was being desecrated, he said. In my opinion, the use of the mountain should be shared.

Evans said she did not like the phrase border town because borders tend to carry a negative connotation.

She said she would like to improve relations with neighboring tribes, and she said the proposed settlement of a Hopi lawsuit over snowmaking, which was denied by the city council and suit later rejected in court, would have been a positive step.

Reclaimed water has caused a serious rift, she said. Myself and councilmember (Scott) Overton were pushing for the settlement to at least acknowledge that this is a partnership.
The Sikkim government has embarked on an ambitious programme to showcase iconic Mount Kanchendzonga and the Kanchendzonga National Park (KNP), which has recently been declared as a world heritage site. Besides, it was expediting work on skywalk, being built on the pattern of Canada's grand canyon, atop the rocky spur of Baleydhunga at the height of 10,202 ft in Yang Yand village in South Sikkim, 50 km from Gangtok. These projects are part of the several being implemented in the state to promote eco-tourism in the Himalayan state, widely regarded as the Switzerland of the East. The state government had roped in the Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF) to start circumambulation tours in the periphery of India's highest mountain peak -- Mt Kanchenjunga (located at 28,169 feet). The peak is the guardian deity of Sikkim and is considered sacred by the Sikkimese people. According to Chief Minister Pawan Chamling who was here to participate in the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, the state government aims to start 15 days' long trekking trails in the 1,784 km Kanchenjunga National Park (KNP) which has been declared a world heritage site by UNESCO recently and is home to major mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls and unique flora and fauna. The parikrama tour in the periphery of the world heritage site KNP -- will be promoted mainly during the summer season keeping in view the favorable climatic conditions in the area during these months for trekking, mountaineering and other adventure activities. The government will provide highest level of professional support and logistics to nature lover enthusiasts during the parikrama tour through the State Tourism Department and registered tour and travel agencies. The fee structure for these activities is under finalization. More UNI NAZ SW RSA 1505 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0104-969953.Xml
Business and other activities remained paralysed for the 92nd day in Kashmir valley, where curfew continued for the second day today in some parts of Srinagar to prevent protest against killing of a 12-year-old boy in security force action. With this death, the total number of civilians killed in security force action has risen to 86 since July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Burhan Wani and two other militants were killed in an encounter in Anantnag. The minor, Junaid, who was critically wounded when security forces fired pellets to disperse demonstrators at Saidpora Eidgah in the downtown after Friday prayers yesterday, succumbed to his injuries early this morning. Police said curfew continued to remain in force in areas falling under five police stations in downtown and Shehar-e-Khas (SeK), besides Batmaloo and Maisuma to stop demonstrations in view of death of the minor due to pellet injuries. They said elsewhere in the valley, including uptown and civil lines in Srinagar, additional security forces have been deployed to strictly implement restrictions on assembly of people under Section 144 CrPC and maintain law and order. However, shops and business establishments remained closed in entire Kashmir valley, including in uptown and civil lines in Srinagar, and transport also remained off the roads though some private vehicles besides two-wheelers could be seen plying on some routes. All educational institutions also wore a deserted look as students stayed away in response to strike call in Kashmir, where many government schools and colleges are still occupied by security forces rushed in from different parts of the country to curtail the current unrest. Both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference (HC) and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), spearheading the present agitation since July 9, have urged students to hold students' resistance conventions in their respective areas. The separatists have also urged professors, teachers, research scholars and others professionals to participate in these conventions. The separatists in a fresh calendar have also extended the strike till October 13.MORE UNI ABS ADG 1420 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-969773.Xml
Police said here that six outlaws gunned down the businessman Awadhesh Poddar late last night on agriculture farm road near Harpur chowk when he resisted their move to loot the him.

The businessman from Pusa Bazar was returning to his residence along with his employee on a motorcycle when the incident took place.

Body has been sent to local Sadar Hospital for autopsy, police added.

An FIR was lodged with the police station concerned in this connection.

Police have launched a massive manhunt to nab culprits.UNI XC-DH AKM RSA AS1445

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0213-969794.Xml
The continuing downfall in the prices ofOnion in North Karnataka has become a cause of worry to the growersand has once again resorted to protest. Farmer Mailarappa Vaidya of Navalagund taluk attempted to commitsuicide by hanging himself in public yesterday demanding immediatedeclaration of support price and opening of purchase center in thedistrict to rescue the desperate farmers. The police preventedthe farmer. Similarly five farmers including a woman farmer attempted tocommit suicide in front of Revenue office by consuming pesticide.However the people around and the police foiled all these attempts.The police snatched the pesticide bottles from the protesters. They alleged that the farmers are not getting even Rs 300 perquintal. In APMC market it has been much less. Thus even they arenot able to gather the cost of production leave alone profit. Mailarappa said that he has taken loan from the bank to growonion with the hope that he would be able to earn his both ends. Similarly the other farmers also said that unless the Governmentcome to their rescue by opening purchase centers and declare supportprice they would not be able to sustain their life. The farmers also alleged that they are not able to get horse gramseeds for their cultivation and the Government has not made anyeffective arrangements for distribution. They said that the talukahas got mere 380 quintals of seeds this season. Soon the Tahasildar of Navalagund contacted the local legislatorN H Konaraddy and also Agriculture Minister Krishna Byregowda whowas on a Dharwad district visit and got assurances from them. He alsomanaged to console the agitated farmers. MLA Konaraddy assured that he would try his best to come to asolution and provide some kind of help to them. The Minister assured the farmers that the Government has decidedto sanction compensation of the loss of onion produce and credit theamount to the farmers' account. Speaking to the newsmen after inaugurating cold storage andGodown in APMC campus, he said that the cabinet subcommittee hasalready discussed this issue and the cabinet will take decision onthe recommendations of the committee soon. He said that the decision to export onion to Bangladesh has beenhampered due to Navaratri festival and the problem will also besolved soon. UNI XC MSP CS 1442 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-969755.Xml
Now it is official, the Quami Ekta Dal (QED) has merged with the ruling Samajwadi Party and jailed mafia don Mukhtar Ansari may contest the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on SP's symbol 'cycle'. To make the merger more viable among the masses, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav will also hold a big rally in May, the stronghold of QED, very soon, sources said. ''The formalities of merger have been completed and now, I am a dedicated worker of SP,'' said QED president Afzal Ansari, elder brother of Mukhtar Ansari. Afzal Ansari met Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and state party chief Shivpal Singh Yadav here today, to formalise the merger. Addressing reporters, he said now, ''You all can ask Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav too about the merger and he will also accept it. "We are happy that at last, the merger has been done after much controversy and we have all faith and respect for Netaji and Shivpalji," he said. He said Mukhtar Ansari could also contest the Assembly polls on SP ticket, if the party gives ticket. Mukhtar Ansari is presently QED MLA from Mau, while his cousin Sibatullah Ansari is another legislator of the party. The merger faced rough weather three months ago after Mr Akhilesh Yadav opposed it over the criminal background of Mukhtar Ansari and even sacked senior minister Balram Yadav, who was instrumental in the merger. But later, Balram Yadav was reinstated. On Thursday, Shivpal Yadav had announced that merger with QED had been approved by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Akhilesh Yadav has no problems now. On June 21, Mr Shivpal Yadav had announced the merger of two parties in the presence of QED president Afzal Ansari, brother of jailed MLA Mukhtar Ansari. But days later, the SP national parliamentary board called off the decision, following stiff objection from the Chief Minister over the association with Mukhtar Ansari. Although Mukhtar Ansari met Shivpal Yadav during the recent Assembly session, he denied reports of a proposed merger. Mukhtar Ansari had said that his party was not going to merge with the SP.UNI MB RJ RSA 1549 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-969977.Xml
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the government and the European Union (EU) in the field of water resources. The MoU aimed to strengthen the technological, scientific and management capabilities of both India and the EU in the field of water management on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit, a statement said. It also envisaged to identify key environmental issues and approaches to sustainable development, where exchange of experiences and cooperation could be mutually beneficial to strengthen and further develop cooperation between India and the EU in the field of water management. The agreement was inked between Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Uma Bharti, and Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission, Karmenu Vella yesterday. India and the EU endeavour to encourage and promote cooperation on the India-EU Water Partnership (IEWP), which brings together representatives of relevant stakeholders, including interested EU member states and Indian states, European and Indian institutions, businesses and civil society. In this regard, India and EU aimed to exchange views on regulatory approaches, including procurement, governance, best practices, business solutions and research and innovation opportunities in the water field in India and Europe and especially the ongoing exchange of information on cooperation under major river conventions, such as the Danube and the Rhine. It also includes jointly organising Indo-European Water Forum events at regular intervals to discuss and share views on water-related matters of common interest. UNI RBE SW RSA 1533 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0427-969996.Xml
Lauding the Centre for allotting two new express highways in Punjab, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today envisioned that these expressways would act as catalyst of development and prosperity of the state besides facilitating the people to travel in hassle-free manner. Interacting with mediapersons on the sidelines of Sangat Darshan programme in Lambi assembly segment here, the Chief Minister said it was on record that NDA government has given lion's share of development projects to the state adding that no other government in the past has accorded such importance to the state in infra-structural projects. He said this reflected the special affection of NDA government for the state and this was just pie of the robust share of development projects in offing. These projects would immensely benefit the people by making their travelling easier thereby saving their lot of time, money and energy. Replying to another query, the Chief Minister said reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to lift every single grain of paddy from the market. He said the state government has already made elaborate arrangements for smooth and hassle-free procurement of the food grains. The entire procurement operation was being monitored by the top brass of the state government to avoid any sort of inconvenience to farmers. Refuting the charges of misappropriation of funds for procurement being leveled by the Congress, the Chief Minister said all these allegations were 'figment of imagination' of the Congress leaders. The entire procurement operations were monitored by premier banking institute like Reserve Bank of India, so there was hardly any scope of misappropriation. Mr Badal added that the amount of around Rs 30,000 crore being questioned by Congress leaders also includes the funds used for procurement during their successive regimes adding that Congress were just misleading the people to score brownie points before the media. The Chief Minister reiterated that the Union government must beef up the security along with the Indo-Pak border in the state. He said that effective steps must be taken by the GoI to check infiltration from across the border. Mr Badal also expressed happiness over the decision of Union Home Ministry to revoke the orders regarding evacuation of villages along with 10 km radius of Indo-Pak border. Replying to another query, the Chief Minister expressed deep concern over the recent attack on Sikhs in California. He hoped that the Central government would take adequate measures to ensure the security of Sikhs across the globe.UNI KS SW RSA 1531 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-969828.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 July 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)
Punith arrived in the city to cater to the calls of his fans.The film had med with good success across Karnatakaincluding Bombay-Karnataka and it was a big success with fans,mainly youth rooting for the youngest son of late thespian Kannadaactor Rajkumar.

He came to the city, far away from Bengaluru to promote hislatest film and said he was thankful to people of Bombay-Karnatakaregion who had 'lapped him up' and always supported him.

''I am not a tall leader nor a top actor, yet, but the supportfrom across Karnataka I am receiving,'' Punith said, modestly.

He said cinema apart, the fraternity and the people across thespectrum in Karnataka was fighting for justice to the State in theCauvery river water issue, and he was with them.

''The disturbing fact is that the farmers in the basin arestruggling to lead a normal life due to near total failure of crops.So we are with them and be with them for ever,'' he claimed.

He said the Sandalwood will not remain a mute spectators to theowes of the affected farmers across the State and will fight forKarnataka's rights in both Mahadayi river water sharing and onCauvery water issue, he stressed.

Punith went to Nirmal theatre in the city where he spent a fewminutes with his fans.

Earlier, he offered a garland to the statue of Rani Channamma inthe city centre, where large number of fans, mainly college students attended.

Punith's visit to the city also resulted in a brief traffic pileup.UNI HVN RS CS 1622

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0285-970073.Xml
Punjab Revenue and Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia today said due to development works and strengthening of communal harmony in the state the people are joining hands with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Addressing mediapersons here, Mr Majithia thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government especially Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for approving Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway. He said Punjab has got this Rs 60,000 crore project due to the continuous efforts of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who are making untiring efforts to bring more and more development projects for the state from the central government. Hitting out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he said AAP do not have any development agenda therefore they just criticise the political opponents just for the sake of criticism. He said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has miserably failed in his city, who cannot even count a single development project in the national capital. Mr Kejriwal has a habit of criticising others to shadow his failures. Mr Majithia said Mr Kejriwal can go to any extent to criticise any one even the armed forces by seeking video evidence of surgical strikes. People are best judge and his behaviour as a Pakistani spokesperson has exposed his anti-nation mindset. Commenting on the third list of AAP candidates for Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections, he said no name of volunteers figure in the list and AAP volunteers are themselves exposing Mr Kejriwal's plan that which ticket has been sold for how many crores. Asked about the visit of state Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh in border areas, Mr Majithia said the leader who has never visited his Vidhan Sabha or Lok Sabha constituency, what good can people expect from him. He added that despite helping the people of border areas in the tense situation, Capt Singh is creating threat to the national security by releasing videos of border areas. Earlier, more than four dozen people joined the SAD in the presence of Mr Majithia in the day.UNI DB SW RSA 1649 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-970141.Xml
In 1876, two groups of settlers from Boston traveled to northern Arizona, lured by exaggerated claims of rich natural resources including extensive mineral deposits, fertile farmlands, and a salubrious climate. One of the groups arrived in early July, and on the fourth erected a makeshift flagstaff that not only celebrated the nations centennial, but also gave rise to our communitys name.

Eighteen years later another Bostonian, motivated by the presence of a different kind of natural resourceclear, dark skiesfollowed in the footsteps of the so-called second Boston group and voyaged to Flagstaff. This many-sided man came to Northern Arizona simply to study Mars and the possibility of intelligent life on that planet, but would leave a legacy as a leader in scientific pursuits that shaped this community.

Percival Lowell was a member of one of Bostons elite Brahmin clans. His life would unfold in a manner captured by fellow Bostonian Ralph Waldo Emersons passage, Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

After overseeing finances of his familys milling operations and then making a name for himself by studying the culture of the Far East, Lowell improbably entered the field of astronomy. He was inspired by provocative discoveries of the planet Mars that seemed to indicate, at least to some number of inquiring minds, the presence of intelligent beings.

With typical zest, Lowell forged into astronomy at the age of 39 and for the next 22 years, until his death in 1916, blazed a trail that others continue to follow. The work of the people he hired, the projects he started, and the philosophies he established at his observatory would far outlive him. For the sake of space, well look at just some of the larger-scale philosophies, since many of the results of researchhis own and that of his assistants, such as evidence of the expanding nature of the universe and all things Plutoare well-known in these parts.

Lowell built his observatory independent of any university or other organization so he could maintain control over the decisions and direction of it. While he guided the research of his staff, he also allowed them to pursue their own interests. This independence of both the organization and its employees continues to be one of the observatorys hallmarks.

Furthermore, to ensure the long-term success of his observatory, Lowell established a trust that would provide financial resources to future operations. This nest egg would prove crucial to the survival of the observatory in future years, first as one of the only sources of income, and later to help balance the ledger sheets during times of limited outside funding.

Lowells commitment to building his observatory in Flagstaff had the unanticipated impact of establishing the town as a center for scientific research. Prior to this, early surveyors through the area made a handful of scientific observations as part of their efforts to establish travel routes. Later, dedicated expeditions led by the likes of John Wesley Powell explored Northern Arizona. But scientific study of the area didnt begin to mature until Lowell built his observatory, which was the first permanent scientific establishment in an area that now boasts dozens.

One of the reasons Lowell came to Flagstaff was because of the quality of the sky for telescopic viewing. In his 1906 book "Mars and its Canals," he lamented how civilization, particularly on the East Coast of the United States, was blotting out the sky.

Smoke from multiplying factories by rising into the air and forming the nucleus about which cloud collects has joined with electric lighting to help put out the stars, he wrote.

Thus for his observatory he would abandon cities and forgo plains, heading to the lightly inhabited Arizona Territory. Not coincidentally, his chosen home from which to observe, Flagstaff, was in its early days nicknamed the Skylight City because of the brilliance of its stars against the dark background of sky. Thus was formed the communitys interest in dark skies, increased by the presence of Lowell and other observatories that were later established in the area.

Lowell also firmly believed in popularizing science, a legacy that continues to be celebrated by the Flagstaff Festival of Science and other local efforts.

Despite these and other large-scale contributions, Lowell is often criticized for a variety of reasons, ranging from his theories being flawed to his results being unintentional. Yet, flawed or not, intentional or not, they came about because of his characteristic take-action mentality and willingness to financially back programs in which he believed. Lowell wanted to make a positive impact in his field and had the conviction to follow through with his efforts, even in the face of sometimes strong opposition. And with a century of hindsight, we can say that he achieved this goal and left quite an imprint on the field of astronomy and our community.
The minor, Junaid Ahmad Akhoon, who was critically wounded when security forces fired pellets to disperse demonstrators at Saidpora Eidgah in the downtown after Friday prayers yesterday, succumbed to his injuries early this morning.

A PDP spokesman said that the party was anguished over the reports of use of unwarranted force which claimed life of an innocent boy.

He said no amount of action can ever compensate such loss, yet it is always needed to ensure accountability as and when any grave omissions or commissions were reported.

The PDP spokesman said a deputation of respectable headed by Dr Ali Mohammad Wani from Eidgah locality called on the party headquarters and revealed that the deceased was not involved in any protest.

"They also revealed that use of force was unprovoked and excessive which called for a probe and action as a follow up," he said.

He said the deputation was assured that party will effectively intervene to seek an apt action upholding its regard for human rights and protection of people of the state.UNI ABS RSA 1605

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-970053.Xml
"President of India inaugurated newly developed military station at Nabagram, WB," the Eastern Command tweeted.

It is being built as a model military station over an area of 252 acres.

The President had laid the foundation stone of the project in 2014.

Mukherjee, who is on a five-day visit to West Bengal also attended a felicitation programme in neighbouring Birbhum district headquarters Suri.

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

--IANS sgh/ss/vm

( 108 Words)

2016-10-08-18:06:11 (IANS)
Guyana Vice-President and Prime Minister Moses Veerasammy Nagamootoo visited the Taj Mahal today. He and his wife spent more than one hour inside the premises.Sources said due to his programme, entry was restricted for other visitors for around three hours. After the visit, Mr Nagamootoo praised the beauty and architecture of Taj Mahal. ''Taj is the ultimate example of eternal love,'' he noted. Security arrangements were tightened in view of Guyana PM's visit here. Police did not allow gathering of visitors even outside the monument of love. UNI XC-JDM MB RJ RSA 1750 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-970286.Xml
The global zinc mining industry has recorded steady growth, supported by demand from the construction and automobile sectors. Additionally, industrialisation and urbanisation have supported the demand for zinc, as well as the increasing population in the Asia Pacific region. According to Ken Research, an overview of the global zinc mining industry together with the key factors affecting the industry and demand for the commodity is positive. In 2015, global zinc mine production was an estimated 13.4Mt in 2015, up by 0.4 per cent over 2014 as a result of an increase in production from Australia, India and Peru. According to the reports, more than 30 per cent of Australia's zinc reserves are collectively located in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia, with smaller deposits in Tasmania and the Northern Territory. China's Yunnan province accounts for 22.8 per cent of the country's total zinc reserves, followed by Inner Mongolia with 19.3 per cent, Gansu with 10.7 per cent, Guangdong with 8.15 per cent, Sichuan with 6.95 per cent and Qinghai with 4.8 per cent. The major use of zinc is for galvanising -- protecting steel from corrosion. Other significant uses include that in brass and bronze and in zinc-based alloys used in the die-casting in auto mobile industry, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and construction material. The zinc industry, which is highly fragmented, is dominated by Asia. A combination of factors such as, fluctuating exchange rates, demand from investment sector, changing trade policy, vacillations in input prices, general economic conditions, and end-user markets all impact industry dynamics significantly. However, the zinc industry is exposed to certain challenges such as rising energy costs and achieving economies of scale to reduce costs and improve the quality of output. Other difficulties include scarcity of raw materials from the mining sector, such as zinc sulfide, and government regulations that cover mining. Additionally, rapidly increasing raw materials prices have also posed a challenge to the players in maintaining their profitability trend.UNI ADP SW RSA 1921 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0429-970521.Xml
An Indian soldier, who attained martyrdom in Nagaland in 1992 and laid to rest at Chakabama in Nagaland, will be exhumed on October 10 and his mortal remains taken to his native place in Kerala.According to a statement by Defence spokesperson Col C Konwer, the Second Lieutenant E T Joseph attained martyrdom in an ambush on June 12, 1992, while moving from Chakabama to Jessami as part of a convoy. However, due to situational constraints in those days he was laid to rest at Chakabama in Nagaland.His father, a Subedar Major in Army, A T Joseph, who was then posted at Shillong, was the only member from the family, who could attend the funeral. Twenty-four years have elapsed since then; neither Second Lieutenant Joseph's mother nor his two sisters were able to visit his grave. Tomorrow, on October 9, Second Lieutenant E T Joseph's father, mother and both his sisters would be reaching Nagaland. Eventually, the family wishes to relocate the mortal remains from Chakabama to Kottayam in Kerala for the final closure. The ceremony to exhume the mortal remains would be carried out on October 10 at Chakabama. Thereafter, the family would depart on October 12 from Nagaland, Col Konwer informed. UNI AS AD PY RSA 1938 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-970506.Xml
Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh today appealed to those working in health care service to take care of the patients with love and sympathy. He was inaugurating the 21st Annual Conference of the Association of Surgeons of India (ASI) Manipur State Chapter : ASIMANICON-2016 at the Auditorium of the JNIMS, Porompat, Imphal East.He further said the warm touch or patting and kind words of a doctor or nurse is very much needed while treating patients. He also appealed to have a firm commitment and determination to achieve good results. "We can achieve something if we believe in what we do," he said. He also released a souvenir on the occasion. A two-day conference on the theme "Evidence Based Practice" also started today. Health and family Welfare Minister D Korungthang, Chairman Manipur Pollution Control Board Dr N G Bijoy MLA, Director JNIMS Prof L Deben , doctors, nurses and staff or JNIMS attended the function. UNI NS AD PY RSA 1926 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-970540.Xml
Protests were staged today against the Assam government's decision to scrap district status of South Kamrup. Local people blocked the national highway and railway tracks at Chaygaon against the government's decision to reverse the previous Congress government's decision of according district status to South Kamrup, with headquarters at Chaygaon. The protestors burnt effigy of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and demanded district status for the area. They warned of building more intensified protests if the decision is not reversed. The state Cabinet had yesterday decided to scrap district status of South and East Kamrup citing lack of infrastructure as the reason. UNI SG AD PY RSA 1934 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-970572.Xml
Union Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal has given a positive response to Haryana's demand for financial assistance for the proposed smart grid project in phase-1 of Sector 1 to 57, Gurgaon. The central financial assistance was sought by Haryana Transport Minister Krishan Lal Panwar, while addressing a two-day conference of Ministers for Power, New and Renewable Energy and Mines of State, as well as Union Territories, held to review the implementation of various ongoing schemes and programmes and deliberate on various issues pertaining to Power, Coal, Renewable Energy and Mines sectors at Vadodara in Gujarat. Mr Panwar strongly expressed his views on the development of power sector in Haryana. He reiterated the commitment of Haryana government for power sector reforms under 'UDAY' scheme with the central government, wherein the loans of Rs 25,950 crore of DISCOMs have been taken over by the state government. He strongly raised the demand already projected by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to sanction projects worth Rs 2100 crore under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna (DDUGJY) and Rs 1300 crore under the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS). Mr Panwar urged the Union Minister to consider Haryana's requirement and allocate the requisite additional funds under DDUGJY and IPDS. The conference has brought a ray of hope for ensuing smart grid project at Gurgaon, he added.UNI DB RJ RSA 1930 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-970441.Xml
Haryana government would implement three ambitious projects to bring complete transformation of the urban areas of the state in the 'Swarna Jayanti Varsh' from November 1, 2016 to October 31, 2017. These projects included housing for the shelter-less poor, street vendors looking for a place for their livelihood and improvement of 20 cities. The tender process for these projects would begin by the end of this month. This was stated by Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain, who was presiding over a high-level meeting held late last evening. Reviewing the steps taken by the department to implement the Housing for All scheme, Ms Jain directed the concerned officers to complete the tender process for hiring consultancy agency by the end of this month so that work to conduct survey for giving concrete shape to the scheme in cities earmarked under category I could be started in November. In the first phase, work to construct houses for the homeless would be carried out in Faridabad, Karnal, Hisar, Yamunanagar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Sonipat, Panipat, Ambala, Panchkula, Thanesar, Kaithal, Jind, Jhajjar, Rewari, Palwal, Narnaul, Nuh, Fatehabad and Bhiwani. Provision of Rs 7.65 crore and Rs 66 crore for this purpose has been made by the central and state governments, respectively. The Minister also issued directions to prepare a plan for conducting survey under the Haryana Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Rules, 2016 from November. District-level committee would conduct survey of all aspects including location of street vendors and their selection. Officers were also directed to accelerate the process of selecting the agency for survey. She also directed the officers to invite tenders for strengthening the sewerage, water supply and drainage systems of Sonipat, Panipat, Ambala, Gurgaon and Karnal under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. She also directed them to seek report on other cities included under the scheme at the earliest and ensure speedy action on detailed project plan.UNI DB PY RSA 1958 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-970591.Xml
''Cancel the licences of dealers and manufacturers found supplying

substandard and spurious pesticides in the states,'' the Minister said, while chairing a meeting here.

He asked the manufacturers to ensure strict adherence to quality norms, standards and warned them that there would be no compromise on the interest of farmers.

The Minister urged the companies to look out for the interest of farmers, along side their own for achieving equitable development across the region.

He further said the government is contemplating to set up three new Soil Testing Labs in Jammu province for the convenience of farmers.

He said the soil testing labs have been proposed for Samba, Lakhanpur and Udhampur, adding a proposal of Rs 50 lakh has already been submitted for upgrading

the only existing lab in the province.

''With these provisions in place, the facility available for soil testing in Jammu will be at par with any establishment existing in other states. This move will assist in reducing the time lag caused by delay in delivery of reports for samples sent to other states for testing,'' Mr Hanjura added.UNI VBH RJ AE 2042

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-970700.Xml
Contact: Attila Nemecz

Attila Nemecz (252)-940-6387

WASHINGTON, NC Chelsea Huggins discovered that everyone is on the same page when they start the nursing program at Beaufort County Community College. The students who have two years' experience as certified nurse aides and the students who just walked in the door might have the same skills it takes to be a great nurse. This was a relief to Huggins, who at 18, is the youngest student working toward an Associate Degree in Nursing.Huggins came to BCCC almost by accident. She managed to speed through high school in just three years at New Bern High. Her plan was to attend ECU and become a doctor, following her passion for the healthcare field. After some volunteer experience in a hospital, she decided she was more interested in the hands-on approach of a nurse. Her goal changed to becoming a nurse practitioner.At 17, she applied for the RIBN program at ECU. This program, short for Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses, is a statewide program that hopes to put more nurses with four-year degrees into the workforce. The program is a collaboration between community colleges and nursing schools like ECU's College of Nursing.The program assigned Huggins to Beaufort County Community College, who first thought she was heading to the city of Beaufort, and the beach, in Carteret County. After coming to terms with the fact that she was attending college in Beaufort County, she fell in love with BCCC. Huggins switched to the RN to BSN program, a comparable program that will get her to a BSN is similar time.With the growing expense of universities and the limited slots in their programs, many students are turning to community college not just for a two-year ADN, but as a step toward a four-year BSN. Students can also find smaller class sizes and more institutional support at a community college like BCCC. The college has a person on staff, just to help nursing students through the admissions process and with their testing requirements.Since she began her studies at BCCC, Huggins has had opportunity to transfer to Craven Community College in New Bern and return to her family, but she has enjoyed her experience at BCCC so much that she has stayed in Washington. She found that the support was lacking at larger institutions.said Huggins. She was named a BCCC ambassador, a title awarded to the best representatives of BCCC. An ambassador gets their tuition covered for a year in exchange for speaking and helping at community events. She is also the recipient of the James Franklin and Hannah Roberson Bagwell Scholarship and a member of the Beaufort County Association of Nursing Students (BCANS).She has come to embrace the diversity in the nursing department, including the age range and the lifestyles of other students. She has found that the best study partners are her older classmates and the ones with children. Intergenerational studying not only takes place in the classroom, but in her family as well. Huggins's grandmother is a retired physician.she said. Her grandmother makes her practice until she has it right.Ultimately she plans to work as a neonatal nurse either at Vidant Hospital or UNC Health Care. She wants to deal with both parents and infants.she said. Huggins fortitude means that she can handle the toughest of situations. The young student does not have patience for the cynicism of some of the nurses currently working in the field.Her age will not slow her down. Huggins' skill, passion and empathy put her on the same level as her classmates. She may have wanted a few more waves and a little sand, but Huggins has found her place at BCCC.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik today once again criticised Samajwadi Party government over corruption, asking Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav that why action has been not initiated against former MLA even when the state ombudsman inquiry pointed that he was involved in corrupt practices. He directed the CM to table the Action Taken Report (ATR) in the matter on the Floor of the State Assembly. According to an official communiqu released here, Mr Naik wrote a letter to the CM in which he questioned that why action has been not taken against Krishna Kumar Sachan, former MLA from Madhiyaon Assembly constituency in Jaunpur. A complaint was made against Sachan that between 2007-11, he formed Gyanuday Shikshan and Manav Uthan Samiti to siphon off government funds and made huge property. The probe by Lokayukta confirmed that Sachan made properties which is much higher than all his known resources so action will be taken against him under Disproportionate Assets case. The release said that it was also alleged that Sachan's wife had purchased two lands from Sanjay Kumar and Vijay Kumar in Chakdorpur hamlet in Jaunpur on July 28, 2010 even when the land was illegally grabbed after showing it on `lease'. Mr Naik said after completing probe, Lokayukta had sent a report to CM that a fit case of corruption was made against Sachan so a case under Section 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act should be registered against Sachan and he must be prosecuted in the matter. It was also recommended to get the above land deal cancelled and the state government should also initiate action against the local SDM Satish Chandra Shukla and other revenue officers identified as Pradeep Singh and Sameer Verma, who all connived to benefit Sachan. When the CM did not initiate any action, Lokayukta also send a Special Report (SR) to Governor asking him to direct the state government to place Action Taken Report in the matter on the floor of State Assembly. Now Naik had asked Chief Minister to seek explanation from the officer's concerned in the matter and produce the outcome on the floor of the House as earlier requested by Lokayukta.UNI MB SDR Ae 2100 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0431-970728.Xml
Team work of the city police force ended fruitfully today with the arrest of three men out of 12 wanted accused, who allegedly assaulted a college girl in broad daylight at the Symbiosis College recently, said a top police official. While speaking with UNI here this evening, Deputy Commissioner of Police Sudhir Hiremath said in the morning of October 6, Pune Police Traffic division had arranged a Traffic Awareness Programme throughout the city. A human chain was a part of it and for this mostly whole force was on the field, lakhs of citizens and students were participating in the event. At Symbiosis College, the human chain was arranged. The complainant girl was coming out of the college, when a group of 10 to 12 boys on motorbikes suddenly came in front of her and assaulted the girl brutally in front of hundreds of citizens and students and tried to insert poisonous injection to the victim,he said. Mr Hiremath added that this incident happened in broad daylight at 1030 hours in the morning and it was achallenge to the police. During the investigation, it was found that the accused Sagar Alkunte (26) from Hadapsar area of city was in love with the girl and she was not responding, that's why he was angry and tried to kill the girl with his friends, he said. Taking a serious view of the matter, city police commissioner Rashmi Shukla and joint police commissioner Sunil Ramanand formed teams and started the investigation into the incident. So far, they have arrested the main accused Sagar Alkunte, Sourab Kiran Jagtap (22) from Gokhale Nagar and Tinu Mathews (20) from Hadapsar, the police official said. They will be produced before a court for remand tomorrow, added Mr Hiremath. More UNI XR/SP SS AE 2040 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-970709.Xml
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said various concessions would be given to industries employing youth of the state and urged the entrepreneurs to contribute towards skill development of the youth. While addressing a public meeting at Ganaur in Sonepat district, the Chief Minister announced a slew of development works for the Ganaur assembly constituency to the tune of more than Rs 150 crore. Mr Khattar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would inaugurate the Swarna Jayanti Celebrations of the state on November 1, 2016. He urged the people to work together for the development of the state with the motto of 'Sarv Haryana Garv Haryana Parv Haryana' during the Golden Jubilee Year. Highlighting the initiatives taken by the government for eradication of corruption, he said the state government was working according to the Prime Minister's ideology of 'Na Khaunga Na Khaane Doonga', and had taken historic decisions in this direction. He also highlighted the initiatives taken by the state government for the welfare of all sections of the society, especially the farmer, small traders and the poor. Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain said the government was working according to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya's vision of 'Antyodaya'. She said even the leaders of other parties also appreciated the functioning style of the Chief Minister, who was known for his honesty.UNI DB AE 2105 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-970696.Xml
"Militants snatched two weapons from policemen guarding members of minority community at Tumlahal village in Pulwama," a police official said here.

On Friday, a policeman was killed and two other persons including a policeman and a civilian injured in a shootout in Shopian district when guerrillas tried to snatch weapons from the police guards at a minority post in Reshnagri village.

Minority posts were set up by the security forces in villages where members of the Kashmiri Pandit community continue to live.

Majority of the local Kashmiri Pandit community migrated out of the Valley in the early 1990s with the outbreak of the separatist violence.

--IANS sq/vd

( 140 Words)

2016-10-08-21:22:09 (IANS)
In a dramatic turn of event, suspended ruling JD(U) MLC Manorma Devi, the mother of road rage killing case accused Rocky Yadav, wept bitterly over theft of cash and valuables from her house which was sealed in May after recovery of liquor and incident came to light when house was opened today by officials on a court order. Officials of district administration of Gaya developed cold feet when they broke the seal of the house of Manorma Devi on a court order and found that cash and valuables were stolen away, even though the house was sealed in May this year following recovery of liquor during the raid conducted to arrest Rocky Yadav, the road rage killing accused. When Ms Devi found that cash and valuables were stolen away despite the house was kept sealed by administrative officials, she wept bitterly recalling valuables that were stolen away. Jewellery, documents relating to plots, cash and costly clothes were stolen away and its value was estimated to be about cores of rupees, she claimed. Officials are at loss over the incident at the house of Ms Devi located at A P Colony in Gaya. She was in jail in connection with recovery of liquor from her house and was released on bail granted by Patna High Court about two months back. As it is, Rocky Yadav, son of Ms Devi, had shot dead Aditya Sachdeva, son of a businessman in Gaya in May this year when his car was not given pass by Aditya. During the raid conducted to arrest Rocky, liquor was recovered from the house of Ms Devi and she was booked in the case. The house was also sealed by officials of the district administration following recovery of liquor. Bindi Yadav, husband of Manorma Devi was also arrested for giving patronage to his son Rocky at his mixer plant in Bodhgaya when he was wanted in connection with road rage killing.UNI XC KKS RN AE 2122 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0311-970754.Xml
The gun battle between the police and terrorists is currently underway.

From the past one-week, the valley has seen spurt in infiltration bids with majority of the terrorists emanating from across the Line of Control (LoC).

On Friday, a police constable Nazir Ahmad was killed in a militant attack in Shopian district.

He was killed when militants fired at cops, who tried to repulse their rifle-snatching bid at a police post in Reshnagri area. Another cop and a civilian were injured too.

The attack came amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan and repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the border. (ANI)
Speaking to reporters later, Stalin said: "DMK President M.Karunanidhi had ordered us to visit Apollo Hospitals. He had asked us to enquire about Jayalalithaa's health with the doctors and Tamil Nadu ministers."

He said that while he was not able to meet Jayalalithaa, the doctors and state ministers like Finance Minister O.Panneerselvam and others briefed him about her health.

Stalin wished Jayalalithaa a speedy recovery on behalf of Karunanidhi and the DMK party.

The 68-year old Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospital here last month for fever and dehydration.

The Apollo Hospitals later said she needs a longer stay at the hospital as she is suffering from infection and is on respiratory support.

--IANS vj/vd

( 144 Words)

2016-10-08-23:26:19 (IANS)
Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov today refused to comment on Russia's plans to return to former Soviet military bases in Cuba and Vietnam in view of the changing situation in the world. "The international situation is not static, it is rather versatile. As you see, for the recent two years there have been major corrections to the general international affairs and to the international security regime," Mr Peskov told reporters. "Thus, of course, all countries, following their national interests, analyse those changes and undertake certain measures in the directions they consider necessary," he noted. Earlier in the day, Deputy Defence Minister Nikolai Pankov said in the state Duma, the lower house of Parliament, that the Ministry was considering the option to return to military bases in the countries, where they were in the Soviet-era. "We are working on this, we do see this problem," he said, in response to a question whether the military authority planned to return to the bases in the countries like Vietnam or Cuba. Earlier, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia plans developing military bases abroad, including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia.UNI XC SW RSA 1749 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0101-968857.Xml
Hurricane Matthew killed almost 900 people and left tens of thousands homeless in Haiti earlier this week before it skirted Florida's Atlantic coast on Friday and plowed northward over waters just off Georgia.The number of deaths in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, surged to at least 877 yesterday 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 triggered mass evacuations along the US coast from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina.US President Barack Obama urged people not to be complacent and to heed safety instructions."The potential for storm surge, loss of life and severe property damage exists," Obama told reporters after a briefing with emergency management officials about the fiercest cyclone to affect the United States since Superstorm Sandy four years ago.Matthew smashed through Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 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.While highlighting the misery of underdevelopment in Haiti, which is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake, the storm looked certain to rekindle the debate about global warming and the long-term threat posed by rising sea levels to low-lying cities and towns.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 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, 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 US 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.FOUR KILLED IN FLORIDAMatthew sideswiped Florida's coast with winds of up to 195 kph but did not make landfall in the state. The US 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.There were at least four storm-related deaths in Florida but no immediate reports of significant damage in cities and towns where the storm swamped streets, toppled trees and knocked out power to more than 1 million people.Two people were killed by falling trees, according to Florida officials, and an elderly couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator while sheltering from the storm inside a garage.Hurricane warnings late yesterday 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..At 11 p.m. EDT, Matthew's eye was about 185 km south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and moving northward at 19 kph, the NHC said.After passing near or over the coast of Georgia it was on a track that would put it near or over South Carolina on Saturday. Though gradually weakening, it was forecast to remain a hurricane until it begins moving away from the US Southeast on Sunday, the NHC said.RELUCTANT TO LEAVECraig 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 St. Augustine just south of Jacksonville, Florida, about half of the 14,000 residents refused to heed evacuation orders despite warnings of an 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.Television images later showed water surging through streets in the historic downtown area of St. Augustine, the oldest US 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.REUTERS SHS RAI0930 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-969578.Xml
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leads Republican rival Donald Trump by 5 percentage points among likely voters, roughly the same advantage she has held over the past several weeks, according to the Reuters/Ipsos national tracking poll released today.The Sept. 30-Oct. 6 opinion poll showed that 43 per cent of likely voters supported Clinton while 38 per cent supported Trump. Clinton has consistently led Trump by 4-6 points in every weekly poll since the beginning of September.During this period, the candidates faced off in the most-watched presidential debate in history - a matchup that a majority of Americans believed Clinton won. The New York Times also released portions of Trump's 1995 tax returns that showed the celebrity real estate developer had reported a loss that was big enough to have allowed him to avoid paying personal taxes for a number of years.Clinton and Trump will meet again in their second debate on Sunday night, which will be in a town hall format, with the Nov. 8 election fast approaching.At this point in 2012, the race was tighter between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney: Obama led Romney by less than 2 percentage points among likely voters in the Reuters/Ipsos poll during the first week of October. The incumbent eventually won the 2012 election by nearly the same margin in the popular vote.This year, however, both candidates appear to have a bigger opportunity to shake up the race and improve their numbers in the final weeks, given that a larger proportion of the electorate appears to be uncommitted.When asked in the poll, roughly one out of every five likely voters would not pick either major party candidate and instead selected options such as "Other," "Wouldn't Vote" or "Refused." That was twice the number of uncommitted voters as there were in the Reuters/Ipsos poll at the same point in 2012.Americans have expressed a dim view of both Clinton and Trump this year. Both candidates are disliked by a majority of likely voters, according to the poll, and an increasing number of women have expressed an "unfavorable" view of both candidates this week.In a separate poll that includes alternative-party candidates, Clinton led the field by 5 percentage points. Among likely voters, 42 per cent supported Clinton, 37 per cent supported Trump, 8 per cent picked Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and 2 percent supported Jill Stein of the Green Party.The Reuters/Ipsos poll is conducted online in English in all 50 states. The poll included 1,695 people who were considered likely voters due to their registration status, voting history and stated intention to vote in the election. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3 percentage points.National opinion polls have differed this year in how they measure support for Clinton and Trump. Some polls, like Reuters/Ipsos, try to include only likely voters, while others include all registered voters. The Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll also gathers responses every day and reports results twice a week, so it often detects trends in sentiment before most other polls.An average of major opinion polls aggregated by RealClearPolitics showed Clinton ahead of Trump by 5 percentage points on Friday.REUTERS VS 0306 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0440-969529.Xml
Contact: Crystal Feldman

Crystal Feldman govpress@nc.gov

Raleigh, N.C. Governor Pat McCrory urged residents today to prepare as Hurricane Matthew moves northeast from the Florida coast along its unpredictable path.said Governor McCrory.As of 8 a.m. Friday, Hurricane Matthew was about 45 miles east southeast of Daytona Beach, Florida. The storm has shifted slightly northward and is now expected to bring heavier bands of wind and rain further north Saturday as it approaches North Carolina.Governor McCrory has declared a state of emergency in all 100 counties and a tropical storm warning is now in effect for areas of North Carolina south of Surf City.The governor said state emergency crews are ready to respond quickly. Swift water rescue teams and North Carolina National Guard resources are already staged in the areas of eastern North Carolina where they will likely be needed the most: Williamston, New Bern, Elizabethtown, Laurinburg and Sanford. High water vehicles are staged in New Hanover and Brunswick counties and other high water vehicles are being held as reserves in case they are needed. Three Helo-Aquatic Rescue Teams are also being activated for deployment this weekend across North Carolina.Impacts from the storm are expected to be greatest between early Saturday into Sunday morning. During the next three days, the storm is predicted to dump as much as 15 inches of rain on southeastern North Carolina and between 5 and 10 inches of rain in eastern North Carolina, and 2-5 inches in central parts of the state.The storm is expected to pack sustained winds of 40-55 mph in southeastern North Carolina with gusts up to 70 mph, and sustained winds of between 20 mph and 45 mph in other areas of eastern North Carolina. The governor said heavy rain and winds from the storm could knock down trees, create significant flooding and heavy storm surge in coastal areas, and bring widespread power outages. This could especially impact the Sandhills region which recently experienced severe flooding. The governor has spoken with utility officials and says crews are ready to respond quickly if necessary.Officials in Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick and Ocracoke have closed schools. Officials with 14 other systems will release students early Friday.Governor McCrory said local officials are monitoring the storm and are considering evacuations of beach and other low-lying communities in eastern North Carolina. Pender County is under a voluntary evacuation and Ocracoke Island is under a mandatory evacuation for visitors. The University of North Carolina-Wilmington has closed to non-essential employees. The governor said New Hanover County officials are considering evacuations. County officials in other eastern areas will determine evacuation schedules. Shelters have not been opened yet, but counties in eastern North Carolina stand ready to open any shelters to house evacuees if needed.said Governor McCrory.The governor has spoken with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Rick Scott and is assessing what support can be offered to assist their states. North Carolina is sending a Helo-Aquatic rescue technician and UH60 crews to South Carolina and is assessing what support can be sent to Florida.For more information about how to get ready for a hurricane and what to do during or after a storm, go to ReadyNC.org . You can also get real-time traffic and weather updates on the ReadyNC mobile app. Follow N.C. Emergency Management on Twitter and Facebook for the latest on Hurricane Matthew.
The United Nations Security Council will vote today 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 US/Russia ceasefire deal, which is annexed to the draft."This is a cynical attempt to divert attention away from the bombing of Aleppo," British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said of the Russian draft.The 15-member council has been negotiating for a week on a French text. Today vote on that was called after French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault visited Moscow on Thursday and Washington yesterday 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 UN 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 UN 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 UN chief Ban Ki-moon to propose options for a UN-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.A crackdown by Assad on pro-democracy protesters in 2011 sparked a civil war and Islamic State militants have used the chaos to seize territory in Syria and Iraq. Half of Syria's 22 million people have been uprooted and more than 400,000 killed.REUTERS VS 0406 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0440-969533.Xml
Donald Trump, the United States Republican Party presidential nominee, has issued a strange videotaped apology released early on Saturday, following a 2005 recording that surfaced in which he can be seen unabashedly bragging about trying to sleep with a married woman and being able to grope women as well. His 2005 recording has set off an upheaval in the Republican Party. "Anyone who knows me, knows these words don't reflect who I am," he said. "I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," the New York Times quoted Donald Trump, as saying. His apology came amidst criticism from his fellow Republicans after the tape was made public. The New York billionaire in the tape can be seen speaking about pushing himself on women and showing that he could get away with "anything" as being a celebrity. In his video apology, he said, "I've said some foolish things. But there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims." "I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never, ever let you down," he said. Trump, however, also dismissed the disclosure as nothing more than a distraction from other issues the country is facing. Trump in a statement on Friday before his video apology expressing regret "if anyone was offended" by his comments, but he tried to play down the tape as a snippet of "locker room banter." Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Friday night withdrew an invitation for Trump to appear alongside with him in Wisconsin this weekend. In a statement, Ryan described himself as "sickened" by Trump's remarks In a statement, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader called on Trump to express contrition - and possibly offering other Senate Republicans cover to reject the nominee if he refuses to apologise. (ANI)
The local security officials said that the airstrike was carried out on Friday in the vicinity of Achin district but did not disclose if the airstrike was carried out by the Afghan Air Force or the US forces, reports the Khaama Press.

According to the officials, the local residents did not suffer any casualties in the airstrike.

Nangarhar is among the relatively volatile provinces in eastern Afghanistan where both the Taliban insurgents and militants loyal to ISIS terrorist group are actively operating.

Both the Afghan forces and the US forces in Afghanistan are conducting regular airstrikes against them. (ANI)
Afghan President's special envoy and Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Omar Zakhilwal has disproved the claims that Kabul has shut down any land route for Pakistani trucks. Zakhilwal was responding to reports that Kabul had prohibited the movement of Pakistani trucks going to Central Asian states through its territory, reports the Express Tribune. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, last month had threatened to shut Pakistan's transit route to Central Asian countries if it did not allow Afghan traders to use the Wagah border for trade with India. Pakistan allows Afghan trucks to unload their India-bound goods at Wagah on the Pakistani side, but Kabul wants the Afghan trucks to be allowed to deliver goods at Attari in India. Stating that there was a general debate that there should be reciprocal treatment, Afghan envoy said, "The [Afghanistan] government has so far resisted the [impulse] to adopt a similar policy regarding transit trade." Pakistani trucks could deliver transit goods directly to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan via Afghanistan, he said. The Afghan Ambassador said, "We have the right to adopt a reciprocal treatment, but we do not consider it (to be) in the (best) interest of our people and our country and it is (also) not helpful for Pakistan's trade." "If you visit Torkham, you will see that 70 to 80 percent of trucks crossing in and out of Afghanistan are Pakistan-owned and registered. If you check the trucks at Pul-i-Charkhi area of Kabul, you would see Pakistani trucks moving in . both directions," he further said. Zakhilwal claimed that Afghanistan and Pakistan had agreed upon that Kabul's cargo would (be allowed to) go to India and that those goods, which Pakistan will import from India through Wagah will also be allowed by Afghanistan, but this provision has not been implemented. Replying to a question about peace talks and the future of the quadrilateral process, he said there is a need for a broader regional debate as Pakistan and China are the only two regional nations in the past involved in the quadrilateral efforts. (ANI)
At least two suspected militants were killed in an operation of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Bangladesh's West Harinal area of Gazipur city on Saturday. The deaths have been confirmed by RAB media wing Assistant Director ASP Mizanur Rahman. However, the identities could not be recognised immediately. RAB 1 Deputy Director Mahiul Islam said that one AK 47 rifle, bomb making materials, one laptop, a locally-made sharp weapon and some bullets have been seized from them, reports Dhaka Tribune. Earlier during the day, Joydevpur police station Officer-in-Charge Khandaker Rezaul Hasan Reza said that RAB personnel carried out the raid early Saturday after being informed about some militants staying in the locality. (ANI)
Egypt's foreign ministry sharply criticised the US Embassy in Cairo for advising citizens to avoid large gatherings in the capital until tomorrow, calling the move "unjustifiable".The embassy's message warned against being in public spaces, near diplomatic missions, government buildings, and transport hubs. It cited "potential security concerns" but did not specify what they were."The foreign ministry spokesman has conveyed his annoyance at the warning released by the United States embassy in Cairo to Americans," the ministry said in a statement. "(This) raises questions over the reasons this statement was released in such a way."The ministry said it contacted the embassy over the warning and that it was told there were no specific reasons or threats behind the move. The ministry quoted the embassy as telling it that the warning was a routine measure taken every time there is a long weekend and thus more crowding in public areas.Thursday was a public holiday in Egypt in celebration of Armed Forces Day. The Egyptian weekend is Friday and Saturday.The foreign ministry said it expressed dismay to the embassy because such "unjustifiable warnings" could have negative effects especially on the economy.Egypt is battling an Islamist insurgency largely concentrated in the Sinai Peninsula that which gained pace after its military ousted President Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.The insurgency, mounted by Islamic State's Egyptian branch Sinai Province, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and begun to attack Western targets within the country. There have been occasional attacks in Cairo and other cities.The attacks have dented the recovery of tourism after a 2011 uprising drove away tourists, a major source of hard currency. Import-dependent Egypt is facing a dollar shortage that has stifled business activity and hit confidence in the economy. REUTERS PY AS1700 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-970179.Xml
H urricane Matthew barreled northward toward the Carolinas today, packing a diminished yet still-powerful punch after killing almost 900 people in Haiti and causing major flooding and widespread power outages in the US Southeast.The storm, which left flooding and wind damage in Florida, was soaking coastal Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday, but packing a diminished punch. Wind speeds had dropped below 85 miles per hour (135 kph), making it a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on the Saffir-Simpson scale of 1 to 5.At least four deaths in Florida were attributed to the storm, which knocked out power to least 1.5 million households and businesses in the southeastern United States.In Florida, 775,000 were without power, according to state utilities, while in South Carolina 433,000 had no power, Governor Nikki Haley said. Georgia Power said at least 275,000 were without power in the state.Roads in Jackson Beach were littered with wood, including sections of a historic quarter-mile-long pier, and foot-deep (15 cm) water clogged intersections. Moderate damage could be seen on beachfront businesses, with fences and awnings torn down."We rode out the storm. It wasn't this bad at our house, but here there's a lot of damage," said Zowi Cuartas, 18, as he watched people pick up shattered signs knocked down by the wind and waves near the beach. "We were prepared to lose our house."Governor Rick Scott of Florida said more than 6,000 people stayed in shelters last night, but he appeared relieved at a news conference today morning that the storm did not do more harm."We're all blessed that Matthew stayed off our coast," he said, though he also described extensive flooding, damaged roads, downed trees and homes without electricity. He predicted most people would have power back by tomorrow evening. He did not comment on the reports of four deaths.Streets in downtown Charleston were flooding up to the tops of tires on some cars and a few residents waded, some barefoot, near the city's sea wall as high tide approached. At the High Battery at Charleston peninsula's tip, waves were close to topping the sea wall with spray splashing onto East Bay Street."It blew like hell," said resident and writer Roger Pinckney, 70.Charleston officials said they were not aware of any deaths, injuries or significant structural damage. Winds and the threat of surges were expected to diminish through the day, National Weather Service forecaster James Carpenter said by telephone.The toll in the United States was far less devastating than in Haiti, where at least 877 people were killed, a death toll that ticked up as information trickled in from remote areas, according to a Reuters tally of tolls from officials.Matthew rampaged 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 hurled the sea into fragile coastal villages. The aid group Doctors Without Borders was flying people in by helicopter to deal with emerging cholera cases and warned there was a risk of a larger outbreak.The Mesa Verde, a US Navy amphibious transport dock ship, was en route to Haiti to support relief efforts. The ship has heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, fresh-water delivery vehicles and two surgical operating rooms. The U.S. government was also airlifting in blankets, hygiene kits, kitchen sets and plastic sheeting for emergency shelters, according to a statement by the United States Agency for International Development.FLOODS PREDICTEDThe NHC predicted the storm would possibly strike the US coast today morning or afternoon."Regardless of whether or not the center makes landfall, hurricane-force winds in the northern eyewall will lash much of the coast of South Carolina," an NHC advisory said.Matthew sideswiped Florida's coast with winds of up to 120 mph (195 kph) but did not make landfall.Governors in several states held news conferences today morning, including Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory warned storm surges and high winds could cause serious problems and was "extremely concerned" that the hurricane downgrade would cause residents not to take warnings seriously.Forecasters warned of flooding as 15 inches (40 cm) of rain were expected to fall in parts of the region along with massive storm surges and high tides.Some 8 inches (20 cm) of rain had fallen in the Savannah, Georgia area where Matthew downed trees and caused flooding.Though gradually weakening, Matthew - which triggered mass evacuations along the southeast U.S. coast - was forecast to remain a hurricane until it begins moving away tomorrow, the NHC said.President Barack Obama and officials urged people to heed safety instructions.Florida officials urged residents not to rush back to homes that still lacked power on streets clogged with debris."You are going to continue to see some flooding, damage and power outages," Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry told reporters today, adding that the roads into the beach area would be reopened to residents around noon.REUTERS SDR PM2100 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-970748.Xml
The ruling Georgian Dream party won a parliamentary election in ex-Soviet Georgia today, two exit polls showed.The first poll, conducted by international market researcher Kantar Public, put Georgian Dream on 53.8 per cent. The second poll, conducted by international market researcher GfK, gave it 39.9 per cent.Both polls put the opposition UNM party in second place. According to Kantar, UNM obtained 19.5 per cent. GfK said UNM - founded by former president Mikheil Saakashvili - got 32.74 per cent.The pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots also cleared the 5 per cent threshold needed to secure a place in the 150-seat parliament, both exit polls showed.The election is seen as a test of stability in a country criss-crossed by strategically important oil and gas pipelines and traditionally buffeted between Russia and the West.REUTERS SDR NS2150 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-970779.Xml
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Special envoy on Kashmir Mushahid Hussain has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi could spring a surprise and take initiative for normalisation of relations despite the current tension between the two countries.Mr Modi was an outsider to Delhi establishment and self-made man, so he could not be held by the sleeves by the Dilliwalas who had dominated the North Block and South Block, Mr Hussain said at an event held by a think tank.'' he can spring a surprise also. He is unpredictable. He can have a Nixonian transformation and outreach to Pakistan. I think the destiny of one-fifth of humanity in South Asia will change,'' Mr Sharif's special envoy said.Mr Hussain also talked about the new American president and hoped that it would offer another chance for India and Pakistan to put their tries on track."On 20th of January 2017, there will be a new president of the United States and a new administration. So, I think this a very opportune moment; in 2019, Mr Modi will be fighting for re-election; so let 2017 be year of decision, the year of peace for South Asia. The ball is in Modi's court," he said.Replying to a question, he said, "Pakistan is ready, willing and able to go extra-mile. We have the unconditional things whether you (India) talk to us bilaterally; let us start talking across the table. And everything should be on the table. Any issue."UNI NAZ SDR AE 2332 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0431-970810.Xml
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."
Earlier on Saturday, Yemen's acting health minister Ghazi Ismail said the Saudi-led coalition air strikes on a funeral hall in Sanaa have killed 82 and injured 534.

The mourning ceremony was held for the father of the acting interior minister and rebel Houthi loyalist Jalal al-Ruwaishan.

The Yemeni official strongly condemned what he said "barbaric air attacks against civilians and civilian targets."

However, the sources from the coalition said it has in the past avoided such gatherings and they have never been a subject of targets.

The Saudi-led coalition, which supports the internationally recognized Yemeni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against Shiite Houthi rebels, have been air striking Yemen from March 2015.

Houthi rebels, supported by forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, seized Sanaa and some other cities in September 2014, forcing Hadi and his government into exile.

The airstrikes and fighting on the ground have killed over 10, 000 Yemenis, many of them women and children, and injured around 35,000 others, according to a UN report.

--IANS ahm/

( 206 Words)

2016-10-09-03:10:09 (IANS)
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (R) delivers a statement after the announcement of being awarded with the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize, accompanied by his wife Maria Clemencia Rodriguez (L) in Bogota, Colombia, on Oct. 7, 2016. (Xinhua/COLPRENSA)

OSLO, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his resolute efforts to bring his country's five-decade-long civil war to an end, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Friday.

"The award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people, who ... have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process," Kaci Kullmann Five, chairperson of the five-member committee, said in her announcement.

Santos initiated the negotiations that culminated in a peace accord between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest rebel group. But the peace agreement was narrowly rejected in a referendum on Sunday.

"The fact that a majority of the voters said no to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead," Five said. "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."

She warned that the referendum result has created great uncertainty as to the future of Colombia, saying 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 chairperson said.

Santos began talks on Wednesday with leaders opposing the current peace deal to seek ways for the union and reconciliation of the country. Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and other leaders of the opposition party the Democratic Center attended the meeting.

Five said the Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasizes the importance of the fact that Santos is now inviting all parties to participate in a broad-based national dialogue aimed at advancing the peace process.

"The Nobel Committee hopes that all parties will take their share of responsibility and participate constructively in the upcoming peace talks," she said.

There are 376 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016, out of which 228 are individuals and 148 are organizations. This is by far the highest number of candidates ever. The previous record, 278 candidates, was set in 2014. Enditem
BEIRUT, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni hoped that a diplomatic solution will soon be found to the Syrian crisis, the National News Agency (NNA) reported Friday.

According to the report, Gentiloni held talks with his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil, noting what Lebanon is proposing regarding the return of refugees to their country remains something difficult in the foreseeable future.

"We tackled the current challenges that are facing our countries, especially the heavy influx of migrants and refugees and the proliferation of criminal and terrorist organization," Bassil said after the talks.

He reiterated the Lebanese stance that calls for the safe return of Syrian refugees to their country.

Meanwhile, Bassil called on the international community to "back the will of the Lebanese people through respecting their endorsement of a legitimate leadership, which would make Lebanon a strong and real partner in fighting terror and a model for democracy and human rights."

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of former President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014. Hezbollah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, and stripping them of the needed quorum.
HELSINKI, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Finland and the United States signed a statement of intent here on bilateral defense cooperation, the Finnish defense ministry announced on Friday.

The statement of intent was signed by Finnish defense minister Jussi Niinisto and Robert Work, the deputy secretary of defense of the United States, who is in Finland for a two-day visit.

The document outlines the defense cooperation between the two countries in the future. It features measures to increase information sharing, enhancing cooperative research and development, especially in cyber security, air defense, and arctic technologies.

Efforts will also be made to increase training and exercises and strengthen cooperation in multinational operations.

The statement claimed that the defense cooperation between Finland and the United States was the cornerstone of stability in the Baltic region and northern Europe.

After signing the document, Niinisto told media the United States was interested in security in northern Europe and cooperation with the countries in the area.

The United States signed a similar statement of intent with Sweden earlier in summer this year, according to Niinisto.

Niinisto said that signing the document does not take Finland a single step closer towards NATO.
MADRID, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- European Parliament President Martin Schulz said here Friday there would be "no negotiation (of the Brexit) without notification."

Schulz visited the Spanish capital of Madrid on Friday in order to hold a meeting with acting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

The visit was to help fix the European agenda in the wake of the recent meeting of EU leaders (with the exception of British Prime Minister Theresa May) in Bratislava to discuss Britain's decision to leave the EU, and to prepare for the next European Council meeting on Oct. 20-21.

"We are in a post-Brexit, post Bratislava situation and we have to prepare a European Council meeting, dedicated to the Brexit," explained Schulz to the press at Rajoy's official residence in the Palacio de la Moncloa.

"We are going to have a treaty to deal with the UK exit when Theresa May (who I met a fortnight ago) presents the decision to leave and the treaty will be ratified by the European Parliament," said Schulz.

"That is why it is very important to collect the opinions of the diverse European nations," he added, insisting there would be "no negotiation (of the Brexit) without notification."

He made an appeal for stability in institutions, economy and in the political situation but insisted "a united Europe can make a significant contribution to resolving problems."
VIENNA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Newly-proposed measures from the Austrian interior ministry mean asylum seekers who lie about their personal details upon entering the country could soon face tougher penalties.

Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka presented the measures at a press conference here on Friday, local media reported.

The measures carry penalties ranging from monetary fines to imprisonment when asylum seekers misrepresent their identities.

Further included in the extensive package are tougher penalties for persons who do not leave the country despite their asylum applications having been rejected, as well as those who leave but then attempt to re-enter the country.

Concerning serious offences, the process of rejecting asylum can begin in tandem with criminal proceedings. The speeding up of the process could lead to deportations taking place within a month.

Sobotka said the measures were in particular to tackle the issue of false information given by asylum seekers in order to improve their chances of obtaining asylum.

They have now been passed on to the defense ministry, who will subsequently conduct a review. The interior ministry believes the measures could come into effect as early as Spring 2017. Enditem
ALGIERS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Algerian defense ministry said on Friday that its troops killed four militants in northern Algeria, as part of the ongoing counter-terrorism operation.

The ministry said the four were killed in Azeffoun in northern province of Tizi Ouzou, some 120 km southeast of the capital Algiers, while four Kalashnikov machine guns were retrieved.

It said the operation is still underway, which could lead to killing more militants.

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 groups 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
BEIRUT, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Ambassador of the Netherlands to Lebanon announced Friday that her country has "allocated an additional 86 million Euros assistance to Lebanon, and most of it will go to municipalities and displaced people," the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

According to the NNA, Hester Somsen made her remarks after meeting with Minister of Interior Nouhad Mashnouq.

"We looked into the repercussions of the Syrian refugee crisis on Lebanon," Somsen said.

She added "we agreed on the need to hold the presidential elections as soon as possible, because many financial and political problems can be resolved," she said, wishing the parliamentary elections will be held on schedule next May.

Machnouk, for his part, said that "the election of a new President of the Republic would strengthen stability and promote the Lebanese sense of security and reassurance."

Lebanon has been without a president since the six-year term of former President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014, and the boycott of Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement MPs hindered the constitutionally required quorum for the parliament to convene in an electoral session. Enditem
PARIS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- France, in cooperation with European partners and allies, is mobilizing efforts to provide Haiti, devastated by Hurricane Matthew, with "emergency aid," French President Francois Hollande said on Friday.

Hollande expressed "his sympathy and support to the Haitian people," stressing that "the most urgent need now is to provide drinking water to the population and prevent health risk."

With the aim, Paris will deploy 60 military civil security, and 32 tons of equipment, including two purification plant water, medical kits, humanitarian first-aid equipment, the president's office said in a statement.

At request of Haitian authorities, France's Falcon 50 jet, on Oct. 5, had conducted a reconnaissance flight over Haiti to assess the infrastructure damage to see how to bring help to affected population, it added.

Hurricane Matthew, the strongest hurricane in recent years, killed some 300 people and left tens of thousands homeless as it swept through Haiti earlier this week with wind speeds reaching up to 230 km/h.

Haiti in the Caribbean is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and frequently smashed by hurricanes, with Hurricane Jeanne, killing at least 3,000 people in 2004.
CAIRO, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund's initial loan payment to Egypt is expected to be around 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, state-run Ahram newspaper reported on its website on Friday.

"I hope to secure board approval for the program after it is reviewed by the IMF executive council by the end of current month," Ahram quoted Masood Ahmed, director of IMF's Middle East Department as saying.

Egypt will receive the initial loan payment two days after the approval, Ahmed added.

Egypt reached an initial deal with the IMF on a 12 billion U.S. dollars loan in August, a move seen by many experts as a necessary step to help the country's ailing economy.

"The loan program would contain conditions that include reducing Egypt's budget deficit and making its currency exchange rate system more market-driven," the IMF's senior official added.

Ahmed added the IMF has finished talks with some countries to provide about five to six billion dollars needed for the program in the first year.

He also hailed the Egyptian economic reform steps to liberate the exchange rate.

The foreign currency reserves at the Central Bank of Egypt declined since the 2011 uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak from 36 billion U.S. dollars to 19.59 billion as of end of September.

Egyptian media reported on Friday speculations about an imminent devaluation of the Egyptian pound as part of the economic reform required by the IMF in exchange of the loan.

The official exchange rate for the U.S. dollar is 8.8 Egyptian pounds, but it was close to 14 pounds at the local black market this week, according to some traders. Enditem
RABAT, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane said here Friday the ruling Justice and Development Party (PJD) is leading in the parliamentary elections.

Benkirane told the press that according to figures coming from his party delegates in the polling stations, PJD is "leading by far" in Friday's elections.

The initial results are expected to come soon.

The voter turnout at Morocco's parliamentary elections stood at around 43 percent, announced the Moroccan interior ministry earlier.

Earlier today, Benkirane said that he would leave politics if his party fails in the parliamentary elections.

"I led the party to win the last legislative elections and led the government for five years. If I lose this time, I would leave partisan life and maybe the political life altogether," the widely popular leader of PJD told journalists after casting his vote.

Morocco's parliamentary elections are seen as a test for the popularity of PJD.

Protests in 2011 led to a new constitution and a parliamentary vote was held later that year, which brought Benkirane's PJD to power.

PJD faces strong competition from secular opposition, especially the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM).

In the local and municipal elections in 2015, PJD lost by a few votes to PAM nationally, but won almost all major cities.

Apart from the PJD-PAM duel, some analysts expect the Istiqlal Party, the oldest party 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. Enditem
HAVANA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Colombia's government and FARC guerrilla force agreed on Friday to set up a "rapid and effective" process to "quickly" salvage a hard-won peace deal that was nevertheless rejected at the polls.

In a joint declaration, the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said they were committed to the peace deal signed on Sept. 26, and to addressing the doubts and concerns Colombians expressed in a referendum held on Sunday.

The referendum asked Colombians to accept or reject the peace agreement, and in an unexpected turn of events the "No" camp won, albeit by a slight margin of less than 1 percent.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos garnered the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for trying to end the country's decades-long conflict, and the announcement gave a much needed shot in the arm to the weakened peace process.

The joint declaration followed a meeting in Havana between the two sides, with the participation of guarantor countries Cuba and Norway, as well as the head of a special United Nations mission in Colombia.

Colombia's chief negotiator Humberto de la Calle and his FARC counterpart Ivan Marquez both expressed their willingness to work to resolve the public's concerns.

"It is fitting that we continue listening, in a rapid and effective process, to the different sectors of society, to understand their concerns and quickly outline a solution," they said.

The leading proponent of the "No" camp is Colombia's hardline ex-President and now Senator Alvaro Uribe, who believes the Santos government has made too many concessions to the FARC, such as allowing them to play a role in politics once they have disarmed.

The peace deal contains the "reforms and measures needed to establish the foundations for peace and guarantee the end of the armed conflict," they said.

However, in recognition of the referendum's outcome, "the resulting changes and clarifications proposed will be discussed between the government and the FARC to offer everyone guarantees," they added.

In the meantime, a definitive bilateral ceasefire that took effect on Aug. 29 will remain in place and be monitored by both sides, with the help of the UN.

Both sides will also continue to work "to build trust of a humanitarian nature," including cooperating to identify the many who went missing in the war, and to promote crop substitution towards eradicating illicit drugs.

Cuba and Norway also issued a declaration, ratifying their commitment to the peace process.

Perhaps due to rain, less than 40 percent of Colombia's registered voters took part in the Oct. 2 referendum, which saw the "No" vote defeat "Yes" by 50.21 percent to 49.87 percent.

Santos has begun to consult with Uribe and another former president, as well as others, in an attempt to adapt the agreement.
BOGOTA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, who won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, dedicated his award to the millions of victims of armed conflict in the country for their dedication to achieving peace.

Speaking from the presidential palace in Bogota, Santos said the Nobel Prize "is for the victims and for there not to be one more victim, one more death. We must reconcile and united to end this process and begin to build a stable and lasting peace."

"I am infinitely grateful...for this honorable distinction. I receive it, not in my name, but in the name of all Colombians, especially for the millions of victims...who have suffered for over 50 years. Colombians, this prize is yours," he said.

Accompanied by his wife, Maria Clemencia Rodriguez, the president also thanked negotiators from the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for their efforts over four years of negotiations in Havana.

Santos called on all Colombians to unite to permanently end the war and leave behind the difficult situation the country is facing after a narrow rejection of the peace agreement in Sunday's referendum.

"Peace is close. Peace is possible. This is the hour of peace. Together, as a nation, we will succeed in building it. I invite you all to combine our strength, our minds and our hearts for this great national proposal so that we all win the most important peace: peace in Colombia," he said.

The Colombian president, 65, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, among 376 candidates, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Pope Francis.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council is scheduled to have an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the current situation in Syria as Russia and the United States are at odds with each other over the airstrikes on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, diplomats told Xinhua here Friday.

The emergency council meeting is to start at 3:00 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Saturday, and the council members are expected to vote on a draft resolution on Syria, said the diplomats.

Russia, the council's president for this month, said on Friday a draft resolution demanding an end to air strikes and military flights over Aleppo was unacceptable.

The resolution, also calling for an Aleppo ceasefire, is to be considered Saturday but Vitaly Churkin, the Russian UN ambassador who holds the council presidency for October, said, "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass."

The council's decision to meet in its emergency session on Saturday came shortly after the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, called on parties on Friday to halt hostilities in civilian area in Aleppo.

The special envoy made the statement as he was briefing the 15-nation UN council in closed consultations on the latest developments in the Middle East country, where the conflict has been dragging on for five and a half years.

"We are talking about 900 people, basically, who are becoming the main reason for which there is 275,000 people actually being attacked," he said about the impact of airstrkes on Aleppo. Would this, he asked, be the excuse for "the destruction of the city?"

"In maximum two months, two-and-a-half months, the city of eastern Aleppo may be totally destroyed," he told reporters.

Also on Friday, French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters that "we have a strong determination to go to a vote" on the draft resolution, which could lead Russia to use its veto power as a permanent member of the council.




WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Friday blamed Russia for hacking U.S. political sites, an accusation immediately dismissed as "nonsense" by Moscow.

Shortly after the White House claimed in a statement that the U.S. intelligence community was "confident" that Russia was behind recent hacking of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly dismissed the U.S. accusation.

"Every day there are tens of thousands of attacks on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's website. Many of the attacks can be traced to the U.S.. We're not blaming the White House or Langley every time," Peskov told Russia's Interfax news agency.

WikiLeaks in July disclosed a trove of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) staff's email accounts which appeared to discredit Democratic Party establishment's claim of neutrality in the primary season.

According to contents from the almost 20,000 emails, DNC officials who are supposed to remain neutral during the primary contest appeared to conspire against Hillary Clinton's rival Bernie Sanders, who had championed a "political revolution" electrifying millions of Democratic and independent supporters.

After the disclosure, the DNC blamed Russia for the hack of emails despite the fact that a hacker, with the name of "Guccifer 2.0" claimed responsibility for the cyber attack.
CANBERRA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Police in Australia have warned those thinking of taking part in the "clown purge" - which is terrifying members of the public in the United States - that their behavior will not be tolerated, after sightings began being reported across the country.

The clown craze, in which people dress as clowns and act in a creepy manner to terrorize the public, began last week in the U.S. state of South Carolina and has quickly spread across the United States and into other countries.

There have been reports of some "clowns" brandishing weapons or chasing citizens down the street while one report from the U.S. said clowns were attempting to lure young children into nearby woods.

Police in Australia admitted they had been getting reports of similar incidents involving clowns, and said the behavior would not be tolerated, particularly if they are found to be intimidating members of the public - especially children.

"The clown purge appears to be a copycat of incidents being seen in the USA recently," a police statement posted to The Guardian said overnight.

"Any intimidating and threatening as well as anti-social behaviors will not be tolerated and will be investigated by police.

"Please contact your local police station if you have any concerns."

Senior Sergeant Phil Nash from the Craigieburn Police in Victoria said while those who choose to dress up as clowns were displaying immaturity, it was not illegal to simply dress as a clown.

He said it was important for members of the public to not take law enforcement into their own hands, as some members of the public had vowed to track down and attack anyone terrorizing citizens while dressed as a clown.

"A worrying concern is people saying they will go and attack them," Nash told News Corp.

"In some ways, the over-reaction and cowardly threats via (social media) in relation to this is more worrying for police."

Clown sightings have also began popping up across the other side of the country in Perth; one local described their encounter as scary, and warned other parents to "not take (kids) out this weekend" in order to avoid being terrorized.

"I was at Mandurah performing arts tonight watching my friend in Footloose the musical when three people dressed as clowns were walking along the foreshore," the person posted to social media.

"They scared a lot of young kids and families as well as adults and teens!"

Meanwhile, numerous other "clown purge" social media pages have begun to surface across the Internet in Australian, including in Sydney, Perth and Adelaide, with many warning the sightings would increase over the next week.

"We ain't clownin' around, we will see who will be having the last laugh," one pro-clown post on Facebook said.

"Expect us in your streets."
BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative unveiled three years ago has already delivered tangible results, contributing to global economic recovery and creating momentum for long-term global economic growth.

Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt that links China with Europe through Central and Western Asia by inland routes, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road connecting China with Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe by sea.

The initiative offers both a long-term development vision and real benefits in the near future.

ECONOMIC CORRIDORS

Construction of the very first highway in Mongolia, a landmark project in the country under the Belt and Road Initiative, has been under way since May 2016.

The highway, linking the capital city, Ulan Bator, and the new international airport in Khushigt Valley, Tuv Province, has been hailed by then Mongolian Prime Minister Chimed Saikhanbileg as "a new milestone" in the history of infrastructure in Mongolia.

As a landlocked country, Mongolia shares borders with only two countries: China and Russia. Its ambitious Steppe Road plan, an infrastructure construction proposal to spur economic growth through cross-border transportation, is highly consistent with the Belt and Road Initiative, especially the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor.

The corridor is one of the six major international economic cooperation corridors under the Belt and Road Initiative.

In July 2015, China, Mongolia and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of the economic corridor covering their countries.

In September 2016, Beijing released an outline of the plan for the corridor, marking the official implementation of the first outline of the multilateral cooperation plan.

While in Pakistan, infrastructure development is progressing rapidly thanks to the construction of the China-Pakistan economic corridor.

In April 2016, the reconstruction and upgrade work on the Pakistani section of the Karakoram Highway officially started. In May, construction of the Peshawar-Karachi Expressway (Sukkar-Multan section), the biggest transport infrastructure project under the China-Pakistan economic corridor, was officially launched. Meanwhile, a 64 km stretch of the M4 highway connecting Shorkot to Khanewal in Pakistan's Punjab province broke ground in August. It is Pakistan's first highway project financed by the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The China-Pakistan economic corridor is regarded as the first chapter of the Belt and Road symphony. With the economic corridor at the center and the Gwadar Port, transport infrastructure, energy and industrial cooperation being the four key areas, a "1+4" cooperation structure is gradually taking shape.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said on many occasions that the China-Pakistan economic corridor is a boon to the whole region and it will bring tangible benefits to the 3 billion people in China, Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East.

MARITIME SILK ROAD CONSTRUCTION

Marking a milestone agreement for China-Greece collaboration, China's Cosco Shipping on Aug. 10 acquired a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority through the Athens Stock Exchange.

The port is now ranked 39th globally up from 93rd in 2010 in terms of container capacity, and it can be considered a rising star partly due to its convenient geographic location, thanks to China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Piraeus is expected to operate as a hub in Europe for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and to connect the Silk Road Economic Belt with the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line, boosting economic growth in regions that the initiative covers.

Broad achievements have been scored since the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road was proposed by Xi three years ago.

In September, the 13th China-ASEAN Expo was held in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The expo, with an aim to promote the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and forge a closer China-ASEAN community of common destiny, attracted more than 2,600 companies from 29 countries.

China and ASEAN mark the 25th anniversary of their dialogue relations in 2016. Trade between China and ASEAN rose to 472 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 from less than 8 billion dollars in 1991, with an annual growth rate of 18.5 percent.

By the end of May 2016, two-way investment had exceeded 160 billion dollars. Currently, China is ASEAN's largest trading partner, while ASEAN is the third-largest trading partner of China.

So far, more than 300 China-funded enterprises have been set up in 26 economic cooperation zones in eight ASEAN countries, investing a total of 1.77 billion dollars.

Abhisit Vejjajiva, a former prime minister of Thailand, has said that the Belt and Road Initiative would enhance people-to-people exchanges in countries along the route of the program, and it would also create vital opportunities for Thailand and other nations.

Related:

China Focus: Belt and Road Initiative applauded by international community

XI'AN, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Foreign guests at an international seminar on the Belt and Road Initiative that closed Tuesday praised the China-proposed initiative.

During the two-day event in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, former PM of the Czech Republic Jiri Paroubek said the Belt and Road can accelerate economic growth of many Eurasian countries and will also become a driving force for the overall development of the world economy. Full story

Spotlight: Three years on, China's Belt and Road Initiative to embrace greater achievements

XI'AN, China, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Three years ago, Beijing unveiled its Belt and Road Initiative to deepen China's own reforms and opening-up, and better connect itself with the rest of the world in terms of policy coordination, trade, transportation, energy and information facilities.
by Farid Behbud

KABUL, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen years have passed since the costly U.S.-led war on terror in Afghanistan and the ousting of the hardliner Taliban regime, but insurgency and conflicts are continuing to have a devastating impact on ordinary Afghan lives.

"It is the 15th anniversary of the U.S.-led war against the Taliban and other terrorist groups, but people are still suffering from clashes and bombings, Farid Ahmad, 33, a resident of Kabul city, told Xinhua Friday

"You know, security is an essential part of daily life, but Afghans are suffering from suicide bombings, targeted killings in cities, while villagers die frequently and are injured by insurgents' attacks in the countryside," Ahmad explained.

He went on to elucidate how Afghan troops backed by foreign forces regularly target militants across the country, but highlighted the fact that terrorists are still active and kill innocent people almost every day. "The war on terror has failed to root out terrorism," he maintained.

The U.S. military's ground and air campaign began on October 7, 2001 and the Taliban regime collapsed within a month across Afghanistan.

To win the war on terror and to ensure lasting peace and stability in the central Asian country, the U.S.-led NATO forces had deployed more than 140,000 troops in post-Taliban Afghanistan.

However, the foreign forces completed their combat mission by the end of 2014, after years of high-profile military presence in the country.

But some 13,000 foreign forces remain stationed in Afghanistan for the NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission to help Afghan forces in the fields of training, advising and backing them in the war against insurgents.

"The security situation in remote districts has remained tense over the past two years," Ahmad said.

The Taliban have been on the rampage since they launched their so-called annual spring offensive in mid-April in different places in Afghanistan, including Kabul, killing and injuring hundreds.

On Monday, Taliban militants in a surprise move entered the northern Kunduz city, the capital of the strategically important Kunduz province, along the border with Tajikistan.

Kunduz city was briefly captured by the Taliban last September, leaving several people dead and more than 2,000 civilians and security forces injured.

"The Taliban seized Kunduz city one year ago, they kill people and destroy government offices. This time, Afghan troops and NATO-led forces failed to defend the city," Ahmad stated, adding that citizens such as himself were particularly angry with government's failure to swiftly respond and stop the Taliban entering Kunduz city.

"The northern Afghan region used to be the breadbasket of Afghanistan in past. Now people in Kunduz are suffering from a shortage of food and the city's residents are hungry. They have had no food, water or power supply since Monday. City residents are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, but no one seems to care," Ahmad said.

However, Khoja Waheed, 39, another Kabul resident, maintains a different perspective.

"The Taliban ousting and the emergence of the new government in late 2001 have become the new bedrock of the country. We have witnessed ups and downs during the past 15 years, but there have been great achievements and the government and its international backers have made significant gains," Waheed said.

"If you look around Kabul city, you will find high-rise buildings. They had been built over the past 15 years. Many people have changed their muddy houses to modern villas across the country during this time," he said.

"After the fall of the Taliban, Afghans have seen a boom in business and the lives of ordinary people have changed a lot. Women, once confined to their homes during the Taliban's reign, could enjoy more freedom. They can now go to schools and universities. They can also work in the government," he added.

More than 1,600 civilians were killed and more than 3,560 injured in the first half of the year as the violence spread in different places of the country, according to a report by the UN mission in Afghanistan released in late July.

"The current situation, however, is falling short of people's expectation. The war and insurgency will continue and Afghans will further suffer at the hands of militants and terrorist groups," Ahmad said.
Image provided by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti shows the debris left by Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie city, Haiti on Oct. 6, 2016. Haiti was hit hardest by Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean region with more than 271 people reported dead as of Thursday evening. (Xinhua/Logan Abassi/UN/MINUSTAH)

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Haiti's interim President Jocelerme Privert has called for rapid, effective and coordinated action to help people affected by Hurricane Matthew.

Privert held a meeting on Friday to assess the damage of the hurricane, the Haiti Libre daily reported.

Southern Haiti bore the brunt of the damage, suffering from severe flooding, high waves along the coast, as well as lashing wind.

According to the daily, the United Nations Environment Programme said the waves and strong wind that accompanied Hurricane Matthew destroyed or damaged nearly 90 percent of the houses along the coastal area of the South department.

The central government put the death toll at more than 300 as receding waters revealed the extent of the damage and allowed rescue workers to access areas that were previously cut off. But several international news agencies placed the number at about 850, citing regional officials in Haiti's South department.

The hurricane left Haiti's already fragile infrastructure in tatters, washing away a key bridge that connected the capital city of Port-au-Prince with the Southern department.

Access by land to the South department has been restored through a detour over La Digue river, the daily said.

The United Nations estimated some 350,000 Haitians are in need of immediate assistance to stave off the spread of disease, such as cholera, which has already claimed some 9,000 lives since an outbreak following a devastating earthquake in 2010.

The World Food Programme (WFP) was deploying logistics and assessment teams in coordination with the Haitian government and international agencies to bring in much needed relief.

WFP teams were also in Haiti to determine the hurricane's wider impact on food and nutrition security.

"At the time the hurricane struck Haiti, the agency had already prepositioned sufficient emergency supplies to feed up to 300,000 people for a month," deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq told a daily news briefing.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that some 500,000 children lived in southern Haiti, the worst-hit parts of the country, said Haq. "A UNICEF team has reached Les Cayes and has reported massive flooding."

It had prepositioned emergency supplies with national authorities to reach up to 10,000 people, he said.

"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."

UNICEF said it needs at least 5 million U.S. dollars to meet children's most pressing needs, including restoring health services to help prevent and treat malnutrition among young children and provide essential vitamins and anti-diarrhoea treatment; setting up temporary learning spaces; and supporting child protection services to protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse, he added.

France, in cooperation with European partners and allies, is mobilizing efforts to provide Haiti with emergency aid.

French President Francois Hollande said Friday that the most urgent need now is to provide drinking water to the population and prevent health risks.

Paris will provide water purification equipment, medical kits, and first-aid equipment, the president's office said in a statement.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Friday launched an emergency appeal for 6.8 million dollars to provide medicines, shelters, water and sanitation facilities to 50,000 people in the storm-ravaged southwest of Haiti.

"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.

Matthew, which also hit Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, went on to lash the east coast of the U.S. state of Florida through Friday.
BOGOTA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in putting an end to a five-decade-long civil war in his country through a peace process with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Santos, a former journalist and economist, was born in Colombia's capital city of Bogota on Aug. 10, 1951 and was elected president in 2010.

Santos held the first public office in 1972 when he represented the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia in the International Coffee Organization in London.

During the 1980s, Santos joined El Tiempo daily, which was owned by his family at the time.

He served as foreign trade minister in the government of President Cesar Gaviria from 1991 to 1994, as finance minister in the government of President Andres Pastrana from 2000 to 2002, and as defense minister in the government of Alvaro Uribe from 2006 to 2009.

During Uribe's presidency, Santos dealt hard blows to FARC.

Santos was elected president with the support of Uribe, who would later become his most staunch opponent.

During his first term as president, Santos is remembered for his operation against Guillermo Leon Saenz Vargas, known as "Alfonso Cano," who was killed by the Colombian army.

On several occasions, Santos has said he wanted to be remembered in history as the president that achieved peace in Colombia.

Santos launched peace talks with FARC in Havana, Cuba, in 2012.

Santos was re-elected in 2014 with the promise that he would conclude the peace process with FARC.

After years of negotiations, a final peace deal was signed by Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londono on Sept. 26, 2016.

Santos wanted the Colombian people to have the final say in the peace process and put the deal to a referendum.

The deal was unexpectedly rejected with extraordinarily low voter turnout.
A known international weapons dealer - who had threatened the Obama administration that he would testify about information regarding then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's arming of Islamist "freedom-fighters" in Syria after having the CIA collect them in 2011-12 in Libya - is being released by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who has acted as Clinton's savior in a number of scandals and alleged criminal acts.Many intelligence and law enforcement officers were interested in hearing about the details of the weapons transactions in Benghazi by a secret Central Intelligence Agency operation linked to the Battle of Benghazi and the deaths of four Americans, including Amb. Chris Stevens.But on Wednesday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and her team of Justice Department prosecutors suddenly revealed that they had ended their prosecution of the gun-runner on Tuesday.According to Fox News Channel's ace intelligence correspondent and expert Catherine Herridge, federal prosecutors had a deadline to turn over documents to the lawyers representing American suspect/witness Marc Turi, who was charged by the DOJ with selling weapons to Libyan Islamists and warlords.But the day before the deadline, the DOJ said they were dropping the case against Mr. Turi, who was awaiting the start of a criminal trial on Nov. 8, 2016, ironically the same day voters will choose between Clinton and GOP nominee Donald Trump. This latest DOJ action is expected to stop the release of damaging material since Clinton claims she hadTuri said in a statement released by Herridge at Fox News.Turi claims his attorneys urged him to accept the deal and avoid a trial in this explosive election cycle in which not only are the Democrats and bureaucrats aiding and abetting Clinton, but the news media has taken on the task of defending her.Some of the many documents released by a watchdog group that investigates and exposes corruption and criminal activity by government officials and agencies provides evidence that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior officials, as well as President Barack Obama, deceived the American people regarding the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi U.S. consulate massacre.In 2015, Turi provided Fox News and Catherine Herridge with documents and copies of email exchanges he had with lawmakers in both Houses, as well as military brass, and members of an arguably corrupt Clinton State Department. He was hoping to provide evidence that the Obama administration authorized in 2011, at the height of the Arab Spring, a covert weapons program that spun out of control.In a far-reaching investigative report by this writer (Jim Kouri) for the media watchdog group Accuracy in Media, Kouri revealed that the Obama administration officials - with the awareness of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - were involved in violating a ban on arming rebels in Syria in an operation that mirrors the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan Administration. But while the news media initiated a feeding-frenzy on Iran-Contra, they're either yawning or helping the Obama administration in covering up the Benghazi-to-Syria arms transfers.During a House Select Committee on Benghazi hearing, the news media and the Democratic Party information machine appeared to be creating their desired narrative: the GOP is on a witch hunt to stop Hillary Clinton's inauguration as President. But the hearings did manage to force the release of documents that were being hidden by the alleged conspirators.Some of the many documents released by a watchdog group that investigates and exposes corruption and criminal activity by government officials and agencies provides evidence that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior officials, as well as President Barack Obama, deceived the American people regarding the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi U.S. consulate massacre. The pages released show that top administration officials were handed intelligence reports within hours of the attack that stated the Islamic terrorists' actions had been planned up to 10 days before the attack and the goal was simply to assassinate as many Americans as possible.The documents also confirm the suspicions that U.S. government officials were well aware of weapons being shipped from Benghazi to Syria for use by rebel forces against the Al-Assad regime, according to Judicial Watch. In addition, the document-release contains an August 2012 analysis of intelligence that predicted the meteoric rise of al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists who morphed into the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. It also the predicted failure of Obama's foreign policy aimed at regime change in Syria.In an overly redacted copy of a memorandum dated Sept. 12, 2012 - the day after the Bengahzi slaughter of four Americans including a U.S. ambassador - the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) reported to Hillary Clinton, then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, the White House National Security Council and the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff that the Islamic terrorists planned their attack about 10 or more days prior to the slaughter that occurred on the day the U.S. acknowledged the 11th Anniversary of the attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania that killed about 3,000 people.The terrorists intended to attack the sparsely protected U.S. diplomatic mission and to assassinate as many American officials as possible. The motive for the attack appeared to be revenge for the U.S. killing of Abu Yahya al-Libi, a high-level Al Qaida terrorist killed by U.S. drone strikes in North Waziristan.According to Judicial Watch's analysis of the documents, the Benghazi attackRahman [a/k/a "The Blind Sheik"] is currently locked up in a federal prison in New York for his role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center which killed six people in New York. He is serving a life sentence.
Image provided by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti shows villagers saving their belongings after the pass of Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie city, Haiti, Oct. 6, 2016. (Xinhua/Logan Abassi/UN/MINUSTAH)

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Haiti's interim President Jocelerme Privert has called for rapid, effective and coordinated action to help people affected by Hurricane Matthew.

Privert held a meeting on Friday to assess the damage of the hurricane, the Haiti Libre daily reported.

Southern Haiti bore the brunt of the damage, suffering from severe flooding, high waves along the coast, as well as lashing wind.

According to the daily, the United Nations Environment Programme said the waves and strong wind that accompanied Hurricane Matthew destroyed or damaged nearly 90 percent of the houses along the coastal area of the South department.

The central government put the death toll at more than 300 as receding waters revealed the extent of the damage and allowed rescue workers to access areas that were previously cut off. But several international news agencies placed the number at about 850, citing regional officials in Haiti's South department.

The hurricane left Haiti's already fragile infrastructure in tatters, washing away a key bridge that connected the capital city of Port-au-Prince with the Southern department.

Access by land to the South department has been restored through a detour over La Digue river, the daily said.

A man carries a woman across a river at Petit Goave where a bridge collapsed during the rains of the Hurricane Matthew, southwest of Port-au-Prince, October 5, 2016. (Xinhua/AFP PHOTO/ HECTOR RETAMAL )

The United Nations estimated some 350,000 Haitians are in need of immediate assistance to stave off the spread of disease, such as cholera, which has already claimed some 9,000 lives since an outbreak following a devastating earthquake in 2010.

The World Food Programme (WFP) was deploying logistics and assessment teams in coordination with the Haitian government and international agencies to bring in much needed relief.

WFP teams were also in Haiti to determine the hurricane's wider impact on food and nutrition security.

"At the time the hurricane struck Haiti, the agency had already prepositioned sufficient emergency supplies to feed up to 300,000 people for a month," deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq told a daily news briefing.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that some 500,000 children lived in southern Haiti, the worst-hit parts of the country, said Haq. "A UNICEF team has reached Les Cayes and has reported massive flooding."

It had prepositioned emergency supplies with national authorities to reach up to 10,000 people, he said.

"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."

Staffers load a cargo plane with humanitarian aid materials at the international airport of Maiquetia, Vargas state, Venezuela, on Oct. 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Henry Tesara/AVN)

UNICEF said it needs at least 5 million U.S. dollars to meet children's most pressing needs, including restoring health services to help prevent and treat malnutrition among young children and provide essential vitamins and anti-diarrhoea treatment; setting up temporary learning spaces; and supporting child protection services to protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse, he added.

France, in cooperation with European partners and allies, is mobilizing efforts to provide Haiti with emergency aid.

French President Francois Hollande said Friday that the most urgent need now is to provide drinking water to the population and prevent health risks.

Paris will provide water purification equipment, medical kits, and first-aid equipment, the president's office said in a statement.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Friday launched an emergency appeal for 6.8 million dollars to provide medicines, shelters, water and sanitation facilities to 50,000 people in the storm-ravaged southwest of Haiti.

"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.

Matthew, which also hit Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, went on to lash the east coast of the U.S. state of Florida through Friday.
BOGOTA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Congratulations have poured in from across Latin America to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for winning the Nobel Peace Prize over a peace deal with the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said the prize is an honor for the whole region.

"Long live Colombia! Today is a day of celebration for the entire region," Correa told a news conference in the town of Macas, where he was meeting Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

"The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to our dear President Juan Manuel Santos for his conviction, for his commitment to peace."

At the same event, Peruvian President Kuczynski also sent congratulations to Santos.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto paid tribute to Santos, saying on Twitter that the Nobel Peace Prize was a recognition of Santos' leadership and commitment to peace in Colombia.

At home, former President Alvaro Uribe, a stanch opponent of Santos, also sent his congratulations through Twitter, though adding that he hoped the prize will help change the peace deal he thought "harmful" to democracy.

The peace deal signed on Sept. 26 was rejected in a referendum on Sunday.

Timoleon Jimenez, commander of FARC who signed the peace deal with Santos, congratulated Santos through Twitter.

Jimenez said after the referendum that he will listen to opponents on how to end the 52-year armed conflict.

Victims of the conflict also hailed the news, saying it was a major support for the peace process, despite the "no" vote.

Eisenhower Zapata, director of the victims' association URestitucion and one of the negotiators in the peace talks, appreciated Santos for dedicating the prize to the millions of victims of the war, according to Colombian radio network Caracol Radio.

"The committee ... has backed the president and the Colombian people so that we keep fighting for this goal. This is not about yes or no, but about a process to defend the main, fundamental right of this country," Zapata said.

Ricardo Lagarraga, a former policeman who was held prisoner by FARC for over three years, celebrated the prize and highlighted its importance to bring hope to the country.

"This is a major backing from the entire world of the peace process and of Colombia. It is a call to those who sought to make this a political battle," he said.

Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize out of 376 candidates, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Pope Francis.
DHAKA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Two suspected militants were killed as Bangladesh law enforcers on Saturday morning conducted a raid on a hideout of banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) on the outskirts of capital Dhaka, a local police official said.
Democrat Hillary Clinton greets the audience after attending the first presidential debate with Republican Donald Trump at Hofstra University 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)

BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Separate scandals involving Republican and Democratic nominees, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, have been disclosed, frustrating American voters.

The Washington Post on Friday released a video, where Trump demeaned women with sexist language and bragged in vulgar terms that he can do anything with women because of his status as a billionaire star.

The footage was recorded in 2005 during a bus ride while Trump was on his way to tape an episode of the soap opera "Days of Our Lives," and he apparently did not appear to know a live microphone was recording his conversation.

After the release of the video, the Republican nominee apologized, saying "I apologize if anyone was offended" and calling the conversation a "locker room banter."

Clinton, who seized the opportunity to condemn Trump for his lewd remarks and branded him unfit for president, had to face a problem of her own.

Excerpts from closed-door speeches that Clinton gave to Wall Street executives two years ago were leaked by WikiLeaks on Friday just hours after the U.S. administration accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations.

The excerpts include Clinton suggesting that Wall Street insiders are best equipped to help reform the financial sector. She also conceded that presidential candidates for either party must have tens of millions in contributions from New York to mount a competitive national campaign.

The collaboration between political and business elite have long frustrated the U.S. grassroots, and the trust issue of Clinton has continued to turn a large number of voters away.

WikiLeaks on Friday posted what it said were thousands of emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. It was unclear whether Podesta's personal email accounts had been hacked or whether the emails had been included in successful hacking attacks, blamed on Russia, against prominent Democratic organizations.

On Trump's lewd comments about women, Clinton said on Twitter that "This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president," while she refused the call of her primary opponent Bernie Sanders to release transcripts of her paid speeches.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, said he was "sickened" by Trump's crude comments about women, and is calling on the Republican presidential nominee to show greater respect for women.

In a statement late Friday, Ryan, who has had a rocky relationship with Trump, said that Trump will no longer be attending an annual fall festival in Wisconsin and that he hopes Trump will treat the fallout with the seriousness it deserves.

Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, who has been a champion of the billionaire's campaign since he won the party's nomination, condemned Trump's crude comments, saying in a statement: "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever."

He was among the first Republicans to criticize the latest revelations of Trump's comments about women.

On the other hand, Clinton's campaign said it will not confirm the authenticity of emails from Podesta and blamed the intrusion on Russian state actors seeking to help rival Trump.

Campaign spokesman Glen Caplin said WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange "has made no secret of his desire to damage Hillary Clinton."

Podesta said he does not have time to sort out which emails are real but is "not happy" about being hacked.

A different group of hackers on Friday also published emails purported to be from Clinton aide Capricia Marshall.
URUMQI, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Natural gas imports to China through northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have grown this year, local customs said.

As of the end of August, more than 16.75 million tons of natural gas had been imported through Xinjiang this year, up 15.58 percent year on year. Trade volume totaled 28.1 billion yuan (about 4.5 billion U.S. dollars).

Eighty percent of the imported gas came from Turkmenistan, and the rest was imported from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.

More than 99 percent arrived through gas pipelines, and the rest was transported through highway and rail routes.

The China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, which started operating in 2009, has delivered 108 million tons of gas to date, customs figures showed.

The project, which has three lines in operation, are China's first major energy cooperation project in central Asia, stretching from Turkmenistan across Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China.

Customs officials said the growth in natural gas imports can be attributed to multiple cooperation projects between China and Central Asia under the Belt and Road initiative.

The initiative includes the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, which make up a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.
JINAN, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Jinan City in east China's Shandong Province on Saturday began to refund sales taxes to overseas tourists.

Overseas tourists can claim back VAT refunds at Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport when leaving China on purchases from 23 specified stores, said Wang Yuzhu, deputy head of the city's department of finance.

Foreign tourists and those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who stay on the Chinese mainland for fewer than 183 days are entitled to an 9 percent rebate on goods bought at the designated stores.

The minimum purchase for the rebate is 500 yuan (75 U.S. dollars) at one store in one day. The refund is valid for purchases made up to 90 days before departure.

Shandong greets many tourists from Japan and Republic of Korea every year. Famous resorts in the province include Mount Tai, Qufu, home of ancient philosopher Confucius, and coastal sites such as Yantai and Weihai.
DHAKA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Four suspected militants were killed as Bangladeshi law enforcers on Saturday conducted two separate raids on hideouts of banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), said a police official in Dhaka.

Four JMB militants were killed during two operations of Rapid Action Battalion in Gazipur, on the outskirts of capital Dhaka, and the central Tangail district, some 97 km away from Dhaka, the official who did not like to be named told Xinhua.

Other sources said the militants fired and lobbed hand-made grenades as police members stormed a hideout in Gazipur at about 7:00 a.m. local time on Saturday.

In retaliation, police fired at them, which left two suspected militants dead.

In a separate raid two suspected militants were killed in Tangail, said the official.

Police recovered huge quantity of arms and explosive devices from the drives, the sources said.

JMB, campaigning for establishment of Islamic rule in Bangladesh, carried out a series of bombing attacks in 63 out of the country's 64 districts, including one in capital Dhaka on Aug. 17, 2005, where two people were killed and 150 others injured.

Following that, hundreds of JMB leaders and activists were rounded up while six top leaders of the group, including Shaikh Abdur Rahman, were hanged in 2007.

Bangladeshi law enforcers conducted Saturday's operation following two recent major terror attacks in Dhaka staged by the militants.
CAIRO, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The spokesperson of the Egyptian foreign ministry said late Friday the ministry was disturbed by the security warning issued by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

The embassy neither coordinated with the foreign ministry nor notified any other Egyptian authority of the reasons for issuing such an alert or the nature of these security concerns, which in turn raises questions about the reasons behind issuing the alert, Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement.

The U.S. Embassy's warning advises citizens of the United States to avoid large gatherings and public spaces on Oct. 9 in Cairo, due to potential security concerns.

The spokesperson added that when contacted to clarify the reasons for issuing the security message, the U.S. embassy denied the presence of any particular reasons or security threats that triggered the alert, emphasizing that such alerts are standard precautionary measures taken during extended holidays that often lead to increasing numbers in public gatherings.

Abu Zeid further added that the Foreign Ministry deplored, during the call to the U.S. embassy, these unnecessary alerts that can have negative impacts, particularly on the economic front.

The spokesperson called upon all embassies in Cairo to exercise caution when issuing unnecessary or incomprehensible statements.
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Up to nine militants loyal to the extremist Islamic State (IS) outfit were killed as their hideouts were attacked by aircrafts in eastern Afghanistan Friday night, local government official said Saturday.

The operations took place in Bandar village of Achin district in Nangarhar province. A vehicle of the armed insurgents was also destroyed, spokesman for provincial government Attaullah Khogiani said.

No civilian was hurt during the strike.

Nangarhar province, with Jalalabad as its capital located 120 km east of Kabul, has been the scene of IS activities since early 2015.
Chairman Cho Tak Wong of Fuyao Glass Industry Group delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the new U.S. facility in Moraine, Ohio, the United States on Oct. 7, 2016. Fuyao Glass America celebrated the grand opening of its newest U.S. facility in Moraine, Ohio Friday, marking the largest glass fabrication plant in the world. Fuyao Glass America is part of Fuyao Industry Group Co. Ltd., a leading international manufacturer of automotive and industrial glass located in China. (Xinhua/Wang Naishui)

DAYTON, the United States, Oct. 7 (xinhua) -- Fuyao Glass America celebrated the grand opening of its newest U.S. facility in Moraine, Ohio Friday, marking the largest glass fabrication plant in the world.

Upon completion, the 116-acre facility, which is housed in a General Motors former assembly plant, will be the world' s largest glass fabrication plant with the capacity to produce 4.5 million automotive car sets and 4 million automotive replacement glass windshields each year. Currently employing about 2,000 local workers, 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."

"Now we have 2000 families that are seeing their lives dramatically improved because of the commitment of the company and vision of my friend chairman Cho," said John Kasich, Governor of Ohio.

The new Moraine facility represents 600 million U.S. dollars in total investment by Fuyao, the largest Chinese investment in Ohio history. Bringing auto glass production back to the U.S., Fuyao aims to regenerate both the local Ohio community, with 25 million dollars to 30 million dollars 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," he added.

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.
Rain has fallen the last few days at the rabbit patch-and everywhere around it. The sidewalks end a long ways from the rabbit patch and the yard is muddy. The floors in the old farmhouse are too. I am about convinced that I have swept up a good acre of rabbit patch soil in the decade I have lived here.Cash is most uncivilized on these occasions and carries on til he is thoroughly soiled. Christopher Robin looks on with a superior attitude and takes great satisfaction at being a cat, when it rains on the rabbit patch.Kyle gets off work early when it rains, as he is a landscaper. Christian plays his guitar or writes music. Lamps light up nooks and corners of the old house making it cozy and bright- and supper is served early -when it rains. It is no wonder that I love rain and that I do not feel gloomy as some are inclined to do.Today, before the the rain started falling, I had an errand that required a walk across campus. There are several young magnolias that line the sidewalk. Magnolias are just pretty evergreens with thick waxy leaves in September-but a mockingbird sang in one of them today, and that made all the difference. It was as if he saw me coming and sat silently waiting for just the right moment to break in to his songs. He sang pure and sweet-so I stopped to listen. He mocked several birds and I forgot I was in a hurry, because of it. I could not see him, though I looked. He stopped rather abruptly, so I took a step away and he began a cheerful encore. I stopped and turned toward the tree. I listened to his early morning melody. It was obvious to me that he was bragging a bit but, I didn't blame him. He sang because he could. He was doing what he was meant to do and on this Tuesday, I was glad he did.When I remembered my mission, I thanked him and then hastened my steps towards the office. I reckon that coming across a mockingbird in a magnolia is a good thing. I began to think about how mockingbirds acquire their remarkable ability to imitate the songs of other birds. They must first listen-and listen well. It is a good practice, I thought and I ought to remember the lesson from the mockingbird on a Tuesday morning.Rain started falling on my way back to the rabbit patch. It is falling now, still and it is way past supper. It is the original "water music" and listening to it is the best thing I know of for a restful sleep.I will say goodnight to the world from the porch tonight. I will be glad for things like an early supper, little shining lights and a mockingbird singing in a young magnolia on a Tuesday morning-and the chance to sleep while rain is falling.
Photo taken on Oct. 8, 2016 shows a car in which two suicide bombers blew themselves up during anti-terror operations in Turkish capital Ankara. The terrorists were reportedly planning a car-bomb attack in Haymana, a southern district in the city. They refused to surrender and triggered the bomb after anti-terror police told them to lay down their arms, said Dogan News Agency. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)

ANKARA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Two suicide bombers blew themselves up during anti-terror operations in the Turkish capital Ankara early Saturday, said a local news agency.

The terrorists were reportedly planning a car-bomb attack in Haymana, a southern district in the city. They refused to surrender and triggered the bomb after anti-terror police told them to lay down their arms, said Dogan News Agency.

The local agency did not say if casualties were involved in the bombing.

The terrorists were most likely from the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party(PKK), said Ercan Topaca, a local governor at the explosion spot in Haymana, adding that the identity of the female bomber has been confirmed and the investigation remains on going.

On Oct. 7, police in the city of Aksaray in the Central Anatolian region of Turkey detained a PKK militant as the suspect of the Oct. 6 motorcycle bomb attack in Istanbul, said the state-run Anadolu news agency.

The attack took place near a police station in the Yenibosna neighborhood of Istanbul in the afternoon, leaving 10 civilians wounded.

Local anti-terror police identified the suspect on the run via security footage, and concluded that he had left the city in a civilian car to join PKK camps in Syria and Iraq. The police have informed security units across the country to apprehend the suspect.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union.
NEW YORK, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- A giant banner of Russian President Vladimir Putin hung from the Manhattan Bridge has triggered controversy in social media, according to local reports.

The 20 by 30 feet banner, draped by unknown individuals on Thursday, featured Putin standing against the background of the Russian and Syrian national flags, with the word "peacemaker" in capital letters.

Although police removed the banner in about an hour, photos of the banner quickly trended on social media, with users suspecting the aim to highlight the Russian strongman's his role in the Syrian crisis and his alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election.

Numerous netizens suggested a connection between the banner and Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has shown personal appreciation for Putin.

"Don't care what anybody says. Trump was behind this," tweeted by Sheila McGee, while others expressing their astonishment over the event, such as "Politics is crazy."

According to a CNN/ORC poll in August, 48 percent of U.S. voters suspect Moscow of trying to manipulate their presidential election.

As no arrests were made so far, New York police were looking at surveillance video on the bridge and in nearby areas to identify the suspect, but no investigation results were published, according to Reuters.

There are also social media users who thought the act was carried out by people worrying about the tense Washington-Moscow relationship.

Tensions between the U.S. and Russia have grown as the two countries spar over Syrian peaceful settlement issues, with both accusing each other of not meeting the terms of the ceasefire regime.

Moreover, the White House on Friday blamed Russia for hacking U.S. political sites, an accusation immediately dismissed as "nonsense" by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The U.S. intelligence community was "confident" that Russia was behind recent hacking of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations, according to the White House.

WikiLeaks in July disclosed a trove of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee staff's email accounts which appeared to discredit Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
SRINAGAR, India-controlled Kashmir, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Fresh clashes broke out in restive India-controlled Kashmir Saturday after a teenager succumbed to his wounds in hospital, officials said.

Twelve-year old Junaid Akhoon was critically wounded after being hit by shotgun pellets fired by Indian paramilitary troopers Friday evening in Saidpora locality of Srinagar city, the summer capital of India-controlled Kashmir.

"A young boy today succumbed at the hospital here," a senior health official posted at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences hospital told Xinhua.

"He was shot by pellets in his head and chest."

Fearing backlash and clashes over the boy's killing, authorities on Saturday imposed curfew in Srinagar.

Hundreds of people took to streets in protest against Akhoon's killing and assembled outside his home shouting anti-India and pro-freedom slogans.

Soon after, the mourners marched with Akhoon's body towards the "martyrs graveyard" for burial, government forces fired tear smoke shells, shotgun pellets and warning shots to disperse them and prevent the procession from growing huge.

Locals said Akhoon was not part of any protest and was hit at the main gate of his house.

On Friday, many people were injured during dozens of clashes as civilians tried to march to the office of United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) in Srinagar in wake of separatist call.

Authorities had sealed all roads leading to the area.

India-controlled Kashmir has been witnessing protests since July 8, following the killing of a popular militant commander in a gunfight with Indian troops.

According to local media reports, clashes between civilian protesters and government forces have so far left more than 90 people, mostly young men and children, dead, besides over 12,000 others injured.

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.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili (C) casts his vote with his wife and son at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Oct. 8, 2016. Georgia kicked off the parliamentary election from 8:00, Saturday morning, to renew its 150-member top legislative body for the next four years. (Xinhua/Giorgi Induashvili)

TBILISI, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Georgia kicked off its parliamentary elections on Saturday morning to renew its 150-member top legislative body for the next four years.

More than 3.5 million registered voters are expected to cast their ballots at more than 3,600 polling stations across the country and 55 polling stations overseas from 8 a.m. (0400 GMT) till 8 p.m. (1600 GMT), Anna Mikeladze, spokesperson for the Central Election Commission (CEC), said Saturday.

Among the 19 political parties that are running for parliamentary seats, any party which garners more than 5 percent of the total ballots will be allocated seats in proportion to their shares of votes, according to the CEC.

A total of 1,440 international observers from 55 international organizations have been registered to monitor the elections, said the CEC.

After casting his ballot at one polling station in the capital of Tbilisi on Saturday morning, President Giorgi Margvelashvili called on Georgian people to exercise their democratic rights.

"We are making a step toward strengthening our country and democracy. I am glad there are many people in this precinct and there is calmness at the polling stations," said the president.

The ruling Georgian Dream coalition came into power in 2012 after defeating the United National Movement in the parliamentary elections that year with 54.85 percent of the vote.
(Xinhuanet file photo)

BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- China will control its credit growth and take active measures to promote the healthy development of the housing market, a central bank statement said Saturday.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, was quoted as saying that China's credit expansion has slowed and growth will be controlled in the future along with a steady recovery in the global economy.

He made the remarks while co-chairing the Fourth G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting with Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei in Washington Thursday.

Lou Jiwei said China has trailed developed countries in deleveraging following the financial crisis while deploying massive stimulus plans, which have helped tackle the crisis but led to rising debt rates and overcapacity.

As China trims its overcapacity, moderate credit growth could act as a countercylical tool, Zhou said.

The central bank said earlier that it intends to continue its prudent monetary policy and maintain a proper level of liquidity, while using various monetary policy tools flexibly to maintain reasonable growth of monetary credit and social financing.

Zhou also noted that the Chinese government is very concerned about the recent rise in home prices and will take active measures to regulate the market.

His remarks came amid tougher regulations in the housing markets of both first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shenzhen as well as smaller second- and third-tier cities.

Prices in 100 major Chinese cities rose 14.9 percent in the first nine months of 2016, with August and September seeing record month-on-month growth of more than 2 percent, according to the China Index Academy (CIA), a private property research institute.

As of Oct. 6, a total of 19 Chinese cities had rolled out policies in the past week ranging from higher down payments and home purchase restrictions to curb speculative housing purchases.

Markus Rodlauer, deputy director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Asia Pacific Department, told Xinhua Friday that the rising prices are not sustainable and will fall back with regulators hitting the brakes.

Shrinking profits in the real economy and expectations of yuan devaluation have led to capital flooding the property market, CIA said.

China's new yuan-denominated lending in August more than doubled from a month ago to 948.7 billion yuan (about 145.95 billion U.S. dollars), with mortgages representing 55.7 percent of the 529 billion yuan in household loans, PBOC data showed.

Chang Yong Rhee, Director of IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, advised China to advance structural reform as China's credit grows at twice the speed of the economy, mainly driven by demand from the property market rather than enterprises.

China is making headway in improving its economic structure and efficiency as it enters a "new normal" of medium-to-high-speed growth, Zhou said, adding that new growth momentum is growing as the fundamentals of the economy point to long-term sound performance.

The PBOC has said it will continue reforms to the financial system to encourage efficiency and better serve the real economy in line with the requirements of supply-side structural reform.

China's economy grew 6.7 percent in the second quarter of the year, the lowest quarterly growth rate since the global financial crisis in early 2009, but still within the government's target range of 6.5-7 percent for 2016

The Asian Development Bank has upgraded its forecast for China's 2016 growth from 6.5 percent to 6.6 percent, and to 6.4 percent growth from 6.3 percent for 2017.

Related:

More Chinese cities to move to tame housing price rise: report

BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's central government will continue to focus on destocking excess houses, especially in lower-tier cities, while implementing city-specific policies to tackle sharp housing price rises in higher-tier cities or cities with low stocks, according to a report released by international rating firm Fitch. Full story

Beijing raises down payments for homebuyers

BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Beijing authorities on Friday raised down payments for homebuyers in the capital, in an attempt to stabilize the property market. Full story

Xinhua Insight: China city moves to dampen hot housing market
TIKRIT, Iraq, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Saturday foiled an overnight attack by Islamic State (IS) militants on the newly-freed town of Shirqat in the northern part of Salahudin province, while the troops freed rural area from IS militants in Iraq's western province of Anbar, security source said.

In Salahudin province, dozens of IS militants attacked the town of Shirqat, some 280 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, late on Friday night and seized some areas in the town, which was freed late in September by the security forces and allied paramilitary units, known as Hashd Shaabi, a provincial security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Early in the morning, the troops backed by U.S.-led coalition aircraft, drove out the attackers and killed at least eight militants and forced the others to flee the town across the adjacent Tigris River, the source said.

The troops also retook control of a village near Shirqat, which was also seized by some 40 IS militants over the night, the source added.

In Anbar province, the security forces and allied paramilitary Sunni tribal fighters drove out IS militants from al-Zwiya area, a sprawling agricultural land to the west of the town of Heet, some 160 km west of Baghdad, a provincial security source anonymously told Xinhua.

The clashes in Zwiya area left at least nine IS militants killed and destroyed four of their vehicles, while a soldier was killed and three others wounded, the source said.

Iraq has witnessed worsening violence since the IS took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak (R) walks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) after a welcoming ceremony at the prime minister's office in Putrajaya on October 7, 2016.(AFP Photo)

TEHRAN, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has invited Malaysian companies to invest in Iran's oil, gas and petrochemical industry, local media reported on Saturday.

Iran seeks an increase in economic ties with Malaysia and "it supports investments by Malaysian companies in the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors," Rouhani was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

The Iranian president, who visited Kuala Lumpur on Friday, urged for cooperation with Malaysia in the Halal food industry, academic and technological fields and tourism industry.

Rouhani also said Iran and Malaysia can facilitate each other's access to markets in West and East Asia.

In a meeting between Rouhani and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on Friday, both sides vowed to double trade volume within the shortest possible time.

With reference to the impacts of restrictive western sanctions against Iran's monetary and financial systems over the past years, both sides agreed to work together to find mechanisms to enable the private sectors of both countries to conduct business in an efficient way.

Leading a political and economic delegation, President Rouhani embarked on a tour of Southeast Asia on Wednesday that first took him to Vietnam.
BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Five local officials are under investigation on suspicion of accepting bribes, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on Saturday.

The Hebei provincial procuratorate in north China has approved the arrest of Ding Yinghui, former inspector of the Hebei provincial committee of the Communist Party of China.

The Shandong provincial procuratorate has approved the arrest of Li Xuehai, former political advisor of Qingdao City, Li Xuezhang, deputy head of Zhengzhou Railway Bureau, and Li Jun, former official with the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation.

Lu Chunjie, former mayor of Chaozhou City in south China's Guangdong Province, is under investigation on suspicion of taking bribes and has been placed under "coercive measures," which may include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention and arrest, according to the SPP.

Their cases are under investigation.
DHAKA, Oct 8 (Xinhua) -- The Bangladeshi government came down hard on homegrown militants through a number of drives, killing 11 suspected militants in operations conducted by law enforcement agencies in different regions on Saturday, officials said.

Police and elite force Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members carried out the separate operations.

Teams of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, Special Weapon and Tactics Team (SWAT) and district police launched an operation in Gazipur, on the outskirts of capital Dhaka, at a militants den in a two-storey building around 12:00 am.

Home Minister Assaduzzaman Khan, at a press briefing after the operation, said the law enforcers gave time to the militants to surrender before the operation started.

The militants did not respond to the call and opened fire, forcing the police to exchange gunshots.

The three-hour gunfight left 7 militants dead, including Neo JMB military commander Akash.

The minister termed the operations "successful" and appreciated common people's feedback as they also came forward to assist the law enforcers.

Earlier, two alleged militants were killed in a gunfight during a raid on a "militant den" by members of Rapid Action Battalion in Harinal area of the city in the morning.

A team of the elite force cordoned off a one-storey building, owned by Ataur Rahman, following information that it was being used as a militant den.

When the law enforcers tried to enter the building, the militants opened fire on them, triggering a gunfight.

Half an hour after, the elite force recovered the bodies of two militants from the house.

The law enforcers also recovered one AK-22 rifle, one pistol, 70 rounds of bullets and some bomb-making explosive substances and a laptop from the den.

In Tangail, two alleged militants were killed in a joint operation by police and Rapid Action Battalion in Kagmara area of the district town in the morning.

The deceased could not be identified immediately.
Perry Raymond Weidler departed this life on Oct. 2, 2016, surrounded by loved ones following a lengthy illness. He resided at 1531 Stuart Street in Helena.

Mr. Weidler was born in Howard, S.D., Nov. 29, 1919, the only child of Raymond and Cora Mae Weidler. He moved with his parents to Drake, N.D., and later to Towner, N.D., where he received his grade school education. In 1937, the family relocated to Billings, where he graduated high school.

After attending a business college in Chillicothe, Miss., Perry held positions with JC Penny, Montgomery Ward and later the shipyards in Bremerton, Wash. It was in Seattle in 1942, where he proudly enlisted in the Army, serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps stateside and in the Aleutian Islands until his honorable discharge in December 1946. He separated highly decorated with the American Theater Service Medal, Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and the Victory Medal.

Perry worked for the Billings Gas Company which was later purchased by Montana Dakota Utilities (MDU) Company until his retirement in December 1984. His service with MDU entailed promotional transfers from Billings to Bismarck, North Dakota, then to Glendive, Montana, back to Billings and a final move to Helena in 1975. Perry was a lobbyist from 1969 to 1971 for the Montana Legislature. In 1972, he lobbied the Montana Constitutional Convention. He lobbied annually in 1973 and 1974, then biannually from 1975-1983. When he wasnt working with the Legislature, Perry skillfully undertook various projects with state agencies and traveled extensively networking with key figures throughout Montana.

Perry married his beautiful bride, Jane Marie Simkins on Aug. 5, 1972, at the little church in Whitefish, Montana. Their married bliss spanned over four decades.

Mr. Weidlers hobbies included boating and fishing at the Gates of the Mountains with his wife and close friends. He especially enjoyed hunting with his good buddy, Jim Mocklar. Perry enjoyed sharing his wood working talents with his abundance of friends and family.

Perry leaves to mourn his devoted wife, best friend and confidant of 44 years, Jane. Also surviving are sons, David (Debra) Weidler, Timothy (Penny) Connolly, Daughters Kathleen Connolly (David Mabry), Ruth (David) Small, Geral Ann Connolly. Grand children from Helena include Brice McGee and Aimee Collison, Great Grand Daughter Alyssa Collison. Perry had in total 21 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by daughter, Leslie Jo Kutzler and parents, Raymond and Cora Mae Weidler.

The family of Perry Raymond Weidler would like to thank Dr. Weiner and his staff, Mary, Vicki, Lyanne, Emily, Lano and Megan for their professional and tender care of our loved one. And from St Peters Hospice, Cheryl Sabol, Your kindness will not be forgotten.

A celebration of his life will be 11 a.m., Oct. 12, at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Avenue, with a reception to follow the service in the social hall of the funeral home. Burial with military honors will be at 2 p.m., following the reception at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery Committal Shelter, Fort Harrison. Memorials in Perrys honor may be sent to The Cancer Treatment Center of St. Peters Hospital, 2475 Broadway, Helena, MT 59601. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Perry.
SANAA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's dominant Shiite Houthi rebels said Saturday that they have killed a top commander in pro-government forces in Marib province, east of the capital Sanaa, Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported.

"Major-General Abdel-Rab al-Shadadi, commander of Third Military Region in Marib, was killed late on Friday in a unique military operation after artillery unit pinpointed his location," Saba quoted a statement by Houthi military source as saying.

Al-Shadadi had led forces loyal to internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the rebel Houthis and their allied forces of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since the civil war broke out in 2015.

Hadi's government admitted the loss of al-Shadadi in a statement.

Houthis, backed by Saleh's loyal forces, stormed the capital Sanaa in September 2014, fighting against what they called a corrupt government.

They seized Sanaa and much parts of the country's north, forcing Hadi and his government to flee into exile.

The Saudi-led coalition launched a military air campaign against Houthis and Saleh's forces on March 26, 2015 to restore Hadi to power and recapture the capital.

The coalition's airstrikes and ground battles have since killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children and women, injuring around 35,000 others and displacing three million others, according to UN reports.
TEHRAN, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's KTC Co. has signed a deal with Iran's Investment and Economic Development Committee to build a solar plant and a wind farm in Iran, Tehran Times reported on Saturday.

The Korean company will finance 220 million U.S. dollars to build a 100-megawatt (MW) wind farm in the southeastern city of Zabol, and 600 million dollars to build a 200-MW solar plant in the southern city of Fasa, the report said.

KTC has also agreed to transfer new technologies to the country.

"Our goal is to attract investment and transfer technology into the country," Nematollah Torki, the head of Iran's Investment and Economic Development Committee, said Thursday.

"It has been included in the contracts that all equipment and facilities used in the projects should be domestic and Iranian experts and workforce will also participate in the projects," Torki said.
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Two personnel of foreign forces sustained injuries as a roadside bomb struck their convoy in Chaparhar district of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, a local official said.

"It was 11:00 a.m. local time today when a roadside bomb organized by militants struck a convoy of foreign forces in Chaparhar district injuring two service members," the official told Xinhua but refused to be identified.

Meanwhile, NATO-led Resolute Support mission in its Twitter account confirmed that its two U.S. troopers were injured in Nangarhar after their vehicle hit an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and no other casualties resulted.

This is the second attack on U.S. forces in the troubled eastern Nangarhar province region over the past one week.

A U.S. soldier was killed in clash with Islamic State militants in Achin district of Nangarhar province on Tuesday.
RABAT, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) came top in Friday's parliamentary polls with 125 seats out of Morocco's 395-seat parliament, the interior ministry announced on Saturday.

Its main rival, the liberal opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party, took 102, whereas the Istiqlal party got 46 seats. Smaller parties took the remaining seats.

The ministry said voter turnout at these elections stood at 43 percent.

Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane announced Saturday that "democracy won in Moroccan elections" after the PJD has won 99 seats in the parliament, taking a prominent lead in the elections.

The last legislative elections in the country were held in November 2011 and were also won by the PJD.
DUBAI, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The authority of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) high-tech free zone Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), said on Saturday it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Department of Science, Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship of Moscow (DSIPE) in order to collaboratively develop technology-based entrepreneurial projects.

The deal was inked by Juma Al-Matrooshi, Deputy CEO of Operations and Client Affairs at DSOA and Oleg Bocharov, Head of DSIPE of Moscow.

The agreement mandates the two organizations to collaborate through official delegation visits and exchange programs, as well as joint participation in conferences and trade shows, DSO said in a statement.

Both parties will also focus on developing shared technology projects and exchange lessons learned as well as best practices.

"This partnership with DSIPE of Moscow marks a vital step in our foray into a prominent market and strengthens the historical association shared by Dubai and Moscow, as well as the wider UAE and Russian Federation," Al-Matrooshi said.

According to DSO, the Russian Federation is one of the "most notable economic partners" to the UAE.

Bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to more than three billion U.S. dollars in 2015. Also, mutual investments between them exceeded 18 billion dollars in the same year.

A wholly-owned entity of the government of Dubai, DSO operates as a free zone technology park for large enterprises, medium and small companies looking to set up their offices in the Gulf Arab sheikhdom.

Notable global firms running branches in DSO are Germany's Wacker Chemicals, Porsche Middle East and Suisse Med Technologies. Companies with a branch in one of the UAE's dozens of free zones are exempted from paying taxes for 50 years and can repatriate 100 percent of their profits.
A China-Europe container train is ready for departure at Tuanjiecun Central Station in Chongqing, southwest China, June 8, 2016. More than 1,700 of these container trains are in operation nationwide. The China-Europe container trains have become a major transportation channel of the international logistics industry, and also powerful support for the development of the Belt and Road initiative. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

BERLIN, Oct.8 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road Initiative would in particular offer great opportunities for Europe, said Michael Schaefer, former German ambassador to China, in a recent interview with German media Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten.

The Belt and Road Initiative launched by China is a good example of the strategic thinking and action of the Chinese people, said Schaefer, adding it is linked to the old trade routes between China and Europe, and is an inclusive project.

"That means, any state, if it wishes to, can actively participate in the development of the initiative and its implementation," he said.

Europe should not obstruct this initiative by implying it has a hegemonic purpose, but should take the offer of China seriously and test it through concrete cooperation, he said.

In view of the European Union's current negotiations on free trade agreements with Canada (CETA) and the United States (TTIP), he warned against taking free trade agreements as geostrategic instruments against China and the other BRICS states.

Europe does not need isolation but integration into the global markets, he added.

Schaefer said the international community in the 21st century would become a multipolar one. A trade policy against the BRICS states, apart from China, which also include Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa, will not benefit anyone.

"We must try to build new structures of global governance on the foundations of the existing international legal system, not against but with the new creative powers," he said.

"I am deeply convinced that the chances of a peaceful coexistence with China and other new global actors are far greater than the danger of being ousted by these new powers," Schaefer noted.

In an innovative form of transregional cooperation, the Belt and Road Initiative could be seen as an offer to create the basis for cooperation among equals which may lead to a real balance of interests, he said.




Civilians gather at the site of a suicide attack in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Oct. 8, 2016. One person was killed and four others injured as a suicide attacker targeted a military vehicle in Jalalabad, capital of eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province on Saturday, a police official said. (Xinhua/Rahman Safi)

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and four others injured as a suicide attacker targeted a military vehicle in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province on Saturday, a police official said.

The incident took place in provincial capital Jalalabad, located 120 km east of Kabul.

"A terrorist with explosive device tied in his body blew himself up next to an Afghan military vehicle today afternoon, killing himself and injuring four others, all passersby," the official told Xinhua but declined to be identified.

Meantime, an eyewitness who refused to be named told Xinhua that a bride and groom are also among those injured in the attack.

Officials have yet to make comment on the subject. This is the second suicide attack in Afghanistan on Saturday.

In the previous suicide bombing which occurred in Qalat city, capital of the southern Zabul province, two people including the attacker were killed and three civilians were injured.
Policemen patrol outside the venue of the opening ceremony for the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries in Macao, south China, Oct. 8, 2016. The conference will be held in Macao on Oct. 11-12. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

MACAO, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Macao will open the fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (PSCs) on Tuesday.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will attend the opening ceremony of the meeting.

The Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries was created in October 2003 in Macao.

It was sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of China, hosted by the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government and with the joint participation of seven PSCs: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and East Timor.

"Since the establishment of the forum, Macao plays a role as a bridge of economic cooperation and peoples' friendship," said Ye Guiping, a council member of Research Center for Development Strategy of Macao.

"The forum has brought economic profit to the Chinese mainland, Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries, strengthened the relationship between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and deepened friendship among their peoples," Ye added.

Since 2003, four ministerial conferences have been held with each one concluding with an Action Plan for Economic and Commercial Cooperation to consolidate the targets and goals of the meetings.

The implementation of those action plans not only boosted the cooperation between China and PSCs, but also made Macao well known for its role as a platform.

In November 2013 when the fourth ministerial conference was held, the Chinese government promoted the development of "an information-sharing platform for bilingual professionals and business cooperation, as well as exchanges and interaction between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries."

In the meantime, in the Economic and Trade Cooperation Action Plan (2014-2016), all participating countries agreed to establish three centers for economic and trade cooperation between China and PSCs in Macao. These are a commercial and trade service center for small- and medium-sized enterprises between China and PSCs, a food product distribution center for PSCs, and a center for conventions and exhibitions for economic and trade cooperation between China and PSCs.

The forum and all those implementation measures have accelerated trade development between China and PSCs.

Trade volume between the two sides reached 133 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, 12 times of the figure in 2003.

The annual increase rate of import and export volume between the two sides during that period is 28.4 percent, much higher than the rate of China's foreign trade increase of the same period.

In 2015, when international commodity prices tumbled sharply, trade between China and PSCs fell too, but the figure still reached 98 billion dollars, 9 times of the volume in 2003.

Besides trade, the forum also brought benefit to educational and cultural exchanges between China and PSCs.

According to the Macao SAR Government Policy Research Office, over 7,000 officials and engineers from the Portuguese-speaking countries have participated in the training program sponsored by the Chinese government.

In Macao alone, a training center affiliated under the forum has launched training programs on infrastructure construction, environment protection, commercial laws and public administration every year. Nearly 800 trainees from PSCs have finished their courses.

"The training programs have benefits in many ways. Portuguese-speaking people begin to know Macao and its role as a platform by those programs. Macao also established connections among those trainees in different sectors in different countries, which are very helpful for future cooperation," said Secretary General of the forum Xu Yingzhen.

Xu added that the upcoming fifth ministerial conference will bring in the concept of "Belt and Road," with focuses on cooperation, platform building and results sharing.

All participating countries will benefit from this forum, especially common people of those countries.

Xu took food products from PSCs as an example.

Noting that nowadays Chinese consumers need more high quality food imported from abroad, she said she believed the food product distribution center for Portuguese-speaking countries in Macao can well serve that need by introducing safe and good food products from PSCs into China's market.

Resident representatives from PSCs to Macao also agree that the forum should expand its function from facilitating trade and economy to cultural exchanges, and Macao should play as a bridge to link peoples of those countries.

"I often meet Asians, Europeans and Africans in Macao, who speak Chinese, English and Portuguese," said Mario Vicente, resident representative of Cape Verde.

"In this diversified and friendly environment, I can understand China and learn its experience of development, and bring back to my country for my people to learn and get inspired," he said.

"This is as same important as doing business."
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 8, 2016. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa here on Saturday, calling for more Chinese investment in Portugal.

During the meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Xi told Costa both countries need to deepen cooperation in investment and explore more markets.

China is willing to encourage investment in Portugal and expand to areas including finance, insurance, health care and infrastructure, Xi said.

He also called for maritime cooperation, saying that China supports Portugal's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and encourages both countries to cooperate in maritime research and port logistics.

Costa, who is paying an official visit to China from Saturday to Wednesday, said he would like to promote all-round cooperation between Portugal and China through the visit, pushing forward cooperation under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative and in areas of energy, finance, electricity, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacture, culture and tourism.

On the political front, Xi spoke highly of the bilateral ties in the past 37 years since the two forged diplomatic ties.

He said China and Portugal need to maintain the momentum of the exchange of high-level visits and cooperation in various fields to consolidate political mutual trust, and continue mutual understanding and support on both sides' core interests and major concerns.

He also called for cooperation in people-to-people exchanges, culture and education.

On the China-EU ties, Xi said China firmly supports the process of European integration, expressing the hope that Portugal could exert a greater influence on China-EU economic and trade relations.

Earlier on Saturday, China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang met with Costa.

Zhang hailed the friendly exchanges between the Chinese National People's Congress and the Portuguese parliament, calling on the two legislative bodies to enhance cooperation and offer better policy and legal environment for bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

Costa said Portugal hopes to upgrade cooperation with China to a higher level.

Costa is visiting at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Besides Beijing, he will also visit Macao to attend the fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries next Tuesday. Costa is slated to hold talks with Li on Sunday.
Representatives participate during a high-level panel discussion of the United Nations Human Rights Council, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 13, 2016.(Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

BUJUMBURA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Burundi has decided to pull out of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the ICC violates black people's rights, according to First Vice-President Gaston Sindimwo.

The Burundian government has sent a bill on the review of the Rome Statute of the ICC to the National Assembly for Burundi's pullout, said Sindimwo.

"The ICC plan is to violate black people's rights. We (Burundi) are taking the front (to pull out of the ICC) so that other countries follow us because injustice perpetrated by those colonialists is unbearable," said Sindimwo.

Adopted in Rome on July 17, 1998, the Rome Statute of the ICC is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court.

The Statute established four core international crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

The Burundian government's decision to pull out comes at a time when the UN Human Rights Council on Sept. 30, 2016 issued a resolution whereby it adopted a report by three UN independent experts on "gross and abundant" human rights violations in the country between April 2015 and June 2016.

The Burundian government has rejected the report, saying that it was biased and unprofessional.

Burundi plunged into a crisis since April 2015 when Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run his controversial third term in violation of the national constitution and the 2000 Arusha Agreement.

More than 500 people in Burundi have been killed, and the UN Refugee Agency estimates that about 300,000 people fled to neighboring countries, mostly Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Uganda since the outbreak of the crisis.
HELENA  Montana's congressman, Republican Ryan Zinke, said Saturday the way his party's presidential candidate, Donald Trump, talks about women in a 2005 video leaked Friday is wrong, but did not say he was pulling back his endorsement of Trump.

"The language is shocking and wrong, and should never be used, ever," Zinke said in a statement. "My wife, Lola, and I have talked about it, and we pray he has grown from his mistake."

Zinke's spokeswoman did not directly answer if the congressman still supports Trump, replying, "he and Lola will never vote for Hillary."

As the list of Republicans denouncing Trump and calling for him to drop out of the race continued to grow Saturday, the presidential candidate told the Washington Post he will not withdraw.

Zinke has been one of Trump's more steady supporters in an election where prominent party leaders even before the video have distanced themselves from the candidate or publicly said they do not endorse him. Zinke formally endorsed Trump on the cable news show "Fox and Friends" on May 25.

Zinke is running for re-election against Democrat Denise Juneau, Montana's superintendent of public instruction.

Juneau held a press conference in Helena on Saturday admonishing Trump's comments, saying he has no respect for women and is violent against them, and called on Zinke to rescind his endorsement.

"Anyone who still supports him is complicit in his comments," Juneau said.

"Enough is enough," she continued, saying even Trump's strongest supporters in Congress are distancing themselves from him. "But Congressman Zinke continues to stand by his man no matter what."

Juneau also said Zinke must apologize to "all Montanans for joking about Trump's consistently degrading language," referencing a statement Zinke made earlier this week to the Billings Gazette editorial board that Trump does not offend women more than anyone else.

The Montana Democratic Party on Friday night released on YouTube the video with clips of Zinke's appearance at the Gazette's editorial board cut in. In the clips, Zinke said "I think Mr. Trump has been an equal opportunity offender. I don't think he offends women any more than he offends anyone else."

Republican candidate for governor Greg Gianforte joined in criticism of Trump, releasing a statement saying: "As parents of a young woman, Susan and I are deeply disappointed and offended by Mr. Trump's past remarks. As someone who is both a husband and a dad, this is not how women should be treated. Montanans are facing great uncertainty over the presidential election. This is all the more reason we need to have effective leadership at the state level."

Montana U.S. senator Jon Tester, a Democrat, added: "Mr. Trump's comments about women are appalling. This was much worse than a mistake, it's a pattern of behavior that demonstrates his utter lack of respect for humanity. Whether it's a gold star family, a reporter with a disability, or women across the country, Mr. Trump has repeatedly shown a lack of respect for the American people that is unacceptable for someone who wants to be the president of the United States."

Montanas other U.S. senator, Republican Steve Daines, said Saturday, "These comments are completely inappropriate and offensive. No woman should ever be demeaned or described in this manner.

South Dakotas Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Sen. John Thune said Trump should quit the race, along with Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, Alabama Rep. Martha Roby and Nevada Rep. Joe Heck.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, Rep. Jason Chaffetz and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte said they will not vote for Trump.

Party leadership critical of Trump, but still supporting him, include Speaker of the House Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who disinvited Trump from a campaign event there, as well as Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, and former primary opponents Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida, and Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas.

In the video, published by the Washington Post late Friday, Trump uses vulgar language to talk about women, at one point saying he tried to have sex with a married woman and that he grabs and kisses women. He also says he gropes women, adding "you can do anything" when you are a star. The video was recorded in a bus with Billy Bush, then a reporter for "Access Hollywood," while taping a segment of the program about Trump's cameo on a soap opera.

I moved on her, and I failed. Ill admit it, Trump said about a woman who is not fully named. At the time Trump was married to his current wife, Melania, though it's unclear when the situation he was describing occurred.

Trump also said: Ive got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful. ... I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait.

He continued: And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ... Grab them by the p---y. You can do anything.

Earlier this year, Zinke spoke at the Republican National Convention, telling attendees to rally behind Trump. He has also appeared on news programs in support of the candidate and at one point suggested he could be Trump's running mate, telling Montana radio station KGVO:

We talked about it, but he has not made up his mind.

He also told the conservative commentary site Breitbart he would be honored to serve in whatever capacity" and was open to being vice president or a member of the cabinet if asked.

Last month Zinke told the Lee State Bureau he supported Trump but didn't agree with everything he says.

"It's just time to shake it up, and status quo is not working for either side," he said. "I don't agree with everything Mr. Trump says, but I cannot support corruption."

Trump issued a video in which he apologized late Friday, saying he was not a perfect person.

"Ive said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am."
Representatives participate during a high-level panel discussion of the United Nations Human Rights Council, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 13, 2016.(Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

BUJUMBURA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Burundi has decided to pull out of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the ICC violates black people's rights.

The Burundian government has sent a bill on the review of the Rome Statute of the ICC to the National Assembly for Burundi's pullout, according to First Vice-President Gaston Sindimwo.

"The ICC plan is to violate black people's rights. We (Burundi) are taking the front (to pull out of the ICC) so that other countries follow us because injustice perpetrated by those colonialists is unbearable," said Sindimwo.

Adopted in Rome on July 17, 1998, the Rome Statute of the ICC is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court.

The Statute established four core international crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

The Burundian government's decision to pull out comes at a time when the UN Human Rights Council on Sept. 30, 2016 issued a resolution whereby it adopted a report by three UN independent experts on "gross and abundant" human rights violations in the country between April 2015 and June 2016.

The Burundian government has rejected the report, saying that it was biased and unprofessional.

Burundi plunged into a crisis since April 2015 when Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run his controversial third term in violation of the national constitution and the 2000 Arusha Agreement.

More than 500 people in Burundi have been killed, and the UN Refugee Agency estimates that about 300,000 people fled to neighboring countries, mostly Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Uganda since the outbreak of the crisis.
Photo taken on Aug. 13, 2016 shows the Protection of Civilians site 3 of the United Nations Mission In South Sudan (UNMISS) in Juba, capital of South Sudan. The humanitarian situation in South Sudan has witnessed significant deterioration, including in areas that were once relatively stable. Since December 2013, over 2 million people have fled their homes. Some 1.6 million are displaced within South Sudan and more than 900,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries. (Xinhua/Li Baishun)

JUBA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- About 840,000 people in war-torn South Sudan's Northern Bahr el Ghazal state bordering Sudan are at risk of starvation due to poor rains and loss of purchasing power after over two years of civil war, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

WFP Country Director Joyce Kanyangwa Luma told Xinhua in an interview that the food security situation in the state was dire.

"Northern Bhar El Gahazal has seen very high levels of food insecurity unprecedented, about six out of 10 people were classified as severely food insecure, and one in three children are suffering from acute malnutrition," Luma revealed.

"We are targeting about 840,000 people in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, for the first time we had to do airdrops," she said.

Unlike other regions like Upper Nile that have been devastated by the war, Northern Bahr el Ghazal has experienced uneasy calm with no major fighting. Forces loyal to sacked First Vice President Riek Machar claim presence in the state.

However renewed fighting between Machar's forces and government troops since early July has led to skyrocketing food prices.

"People have just lost their purchasing power; even if traders brought in food, people would not be able to buy it," Luma said.

The WFP estimates a total of 4.8 million people in South Sudan are food insecure and the number could increase following the new waves of violence.
A China-Europe container train is ready for departure at Tuanjiecun Central Station in Chongqing, southwest China, June 8, 2016. More than 1,700 of these container trains are in operation nationwide. The China-Europe container trains have become a major transportation channel of the international logistics industry, and also powerful support for the development of the Belt and Road initiative. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

BERLIN, Oct.8 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road Initiative would in particular offer great opportunities for Europe, said Michael Schaefer, former German ambassador to China, in a recent interview with German media Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten.

The Belt and Road Initiative launched by China is a good example of the strategic thinking and action of the Chinese people, said Schaefer, adding it is linked to the old trade routes between China and Europe, and is an inclusive project.

"That means, any state, if it wishes to, can actively participate in the development of the initiative and its implementation," he said.

Europe should not obstruct this initiative by implying it has a hegemonic purpose, but should take the offer of China seriously and test it through concrete cooperation, he said.

In view of the European Union's current negotiations on free trade agreements with Canada (CETA) and the United States (TTIP), he warned against taking free trade agreements as geostrategic instruments against China and the other BRICS states.

Europe does not need isolation but integration into the global markets, he added.

Li Xiaolin (L), president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), and German Ambassador to China Dr. Michael Schaefer exchange gifts during a reception marking the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Germany at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 11, 2012. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

Schaefer said the international community in the 21st century would become a multipolar one. A trade policy against the BRICS states, apart from China, which also include Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa, will not benefit anyone.

"We must try to build new structures of global governance on the foundations of the existing international legal system, not against but with the new creative powers," he said.

"I am deeply convinced that the chances of a peaceful coexistence with China and other new global actors are far greater than the danger of being ousted by these new powers," Schaefer noted.

In an innovative form of transregional cooperation, the Belt and Road Initiative could be seen as an offer to create the basis for cooperation among equals which may lead to a real balance of interests, he said.
WUHAN, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- An endangered species of fish in China can now be aided to breed, 16 years after it was believed to have lost the ability, local authorities said Saturday.

Dabry's Sturgeon, a class A protected fish in China, lost its natural ability to breed in 2000 due to water pollution and overfishing.

In an experiment by the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute (YRFRI), four females and six males were put into an environment simulating a natural river, where they lived for more than 10 days. One of the females laid 32,000 eggs and at least one male was involved in the fertilization. A total of 22 baby fish were bred.

"The fish in the experiment were artificially bred and no stimulants were used," said ichthyologist Wei Qiwei, a sturgeon expert with the YRFRI.

Hailing the breakthrough, Wei said the experiment showed that by adjusting the environment, the secretion system of the Dabry's Sturgeon could be stimulated to make mating possible.

"It is significant for the increase of the sturgeon population and the maintenance of natural resources and the environment," he added.
SANAA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Saudi-led coalition warplanes hit near a mourning ceremony in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday, killing and injuring dozens, eyewitnesses told Xinhua.
YANGON, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. president Barrack Obama has announced lifting economic sanctions on Myanmar, following State Counselor Aung San Sun Kyi's visit to Washington last month, sources in Myanmar said Saturday.

Some dignitaries including business tycoons and former key military figures have been removed from the U. S. blacklist as a result.

Obama issued on Friday an executive order to ease economic sanctions on Myanmar.

The announcement removed economic and financial sanctions administered by the U. S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

However, other sanction schemes remain, such as counter-narcotics sanctions.

During Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to Washington last month, the two sides also agreed that the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, a preferential tariff system which will allow Myanmar to export nearly 5,000 products to the U.S. duty-free, would be reinstated in November.

In May, the United States lifted restrictions on some Myanmar financial institutions and certain transactions related to U.S. individuals living in the country.

Seven state-owned enterprises and three state-owned banks were also removed from the U.S. blacklist.

Obama's announcement on Friday eliminated all restrictions on U. S. banks, allowing them to provide correspondent services with banks in Myanmar.

Previously, U.S. investments in Myanmar were made through third-party countries due to those restrictions.

"U.S.'s lifting sanction is just an issue as it can support the country's banking and finance sector partially. The local financial institutions should deserve long-term development using this opportunity," U Soe Thein, a local analyst, told Xinhua.

Overall the United States has only 17 businesses with trade in Myanmar, with total assests amounting to 248.216 million U.S. dollars as of August of the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

Total volume of bilateral trade, which restarted in 2011, reached 196.902 million U.S. dollars in the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
SANAA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Saudi-led coalition warplanes hit near a mourning ceremony in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday, killing and injuring dozens, eyewitnesses told Xinhua.

The mourning ceremony was being held for the father of rebel Houthi loyalist Jalal al-Ruwaishan, the acting interior minister, at a big hall in the southern part of Sanaa.

Two airstrikes bombed the vicinity of the big hall, and people fled outside.

Eyewitnesses also told Xinhua that a third airstrike hit the hall directly afterwards, where hundreds of people still crowded to offer condolences to the pro-Houthi acting interior minister al-Ruwaishan.

"After the first two air attacks, some people fled to the vicinity while others remain inside," an eyewitness told Xinhua.

"I saw tens of people died and dozens others badly injured. Blood is everywhere," he said, requested not to be named.

Streets leading to the hall were all closed by pro-Houthi security forces. Journalists and cameramen were prevented from getting into the scene.

Some witnesses said senior Houthi officials and their ally former President Ali Abdullah Saleh were in the hall.

Houthis, backed by Saleh's loyal forces, stormed the capital Sanaa in September 2014, fighting against what they said "Hadi's government corruption."

They seized Sanaa and much parts of the country's north, forcing Hadi and his government to flee into exile.

The Saudi-led coalition launched a military air campaign against Houthis and Saleh's forces on March 26, 2015 to restore Hadi to power and recapture the capital.

The coalition's airstrikes and ground battles have since killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children and women, injuring around 35,000 others and displacing three million others, according to UN reports.
HO CHI MINH CITY, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Health Ministry announced that a pregnant woman in southern Binh Duong province and a woman in Ho Chi Minh City have been infected with Zika virus, lifting the total number of Zika patients in the country to five.

The 27-year-old pregnant woman, who lives in the town of Thuan An in Binh Duong province, has neither toured nor contacted Zika patients before contracting Zika virus.

The 28-year-old woman from Ho Chi Minh's District 9 had not traveled far away before being infected with the virus.

The two women are now in good health conditions. Local authorities are taking measures to prevent new cases of Zika infections.

Zika virus has been spotted in over 40 countries in the world since it first surfaced in Uganda in the 1940s.

The virus is linked with cases of newborns with shrunken heads and brains.
SANAA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least 160 people, including top rebel Houthi officials, were killed and dozens wounded when a series of airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition warplanes hit a mourning ceremony in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday, rescuers and witnesses told Xinhua.

"We are pulling more and more charred bodies. I counted at least 160 bodies now and there are more under rubble of the funeral ceremony's big hall," Khaled Yosuf, a rescuer, told Xinhua.

Black smoke is still seen several kilometers away from the area. Ambulances and fire trucks were seen rushing to the scene.

Acting Interior Minister and rebel Houthi loyalist Jalal al-Ruwaishan and Capital Mayor Abdul-Kadir Hilal were feared to be dead, Yosuf added.

The mourning ceremony was held for the father of al-Ruwaishan at a big hall in the southern part of Sanaa.

Two airstrikes firstly bombed the vicinity of the big hall, and people fled outside.

Witnesses also told Xinhua that a third airstrike hit the hall directly afterwards, where hundreds of people were still crowded to offer condolences to al-Ruwaishan.

"After the first two air attacks, some people fled to the vicinity while some remain inside," a witness told Xinhua.

Streets leading to the hall were all closed by pro-Houthi security forces. Journalists and cameramen were prevented from getting into the scene.

Some witnesses said senior Houthi officials and their ally former President Ali Abdullah Saleh were in the hall.

Houthis, backed by Saleh's loyal forces, stormed Sanaa in September 2014, fighting against what they said "Hadi's government corruption."

They seized Sanaa and much parts of the country's north, forcing Hadi and his government to flee into exile.

The Saudi-led coalition launched a military air campaign against Houthis and Saleh's forces on March 26, 2015 to restore Hadi to power and recapture the capital.

The coalition's airstrikes and ground battles have since killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children and women, injuring around 35,000 others and displacing three million others, according to UN reports.

Houthis and Saleh's forces still control the capital Sanaa and much parts of the war-stricken Arab country.
Civilians gather at the site of a suicide attack in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Oct. 8, 2016. (Xinhua/Rahman Safi)

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and four others injured as a suicide attacker targeted a military vehicle in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province on Saturday, a police official said.

The incident took place in provincial capital Jalalabad, located 120 km east of Kabul.

"A terrorist with explosive device tied in his body blew himself up next to an Afghan military vehicle today afternoon, killing himself and injuring four others, all passersby," the official told Xinhua but declined to be identified.

Meantime, an eyewitness who refused to be named told Xinhua that a bride and groom are also among those injured in the attack.

Officials have yet to make comment on the subject. This is the second suicide attack in Afghanistan on Saturday.

In the previous suicide bombing which occurred in Qalat city, capital of the southern Zabul province, two people including the attacker were killed and three civilians were injured.

An Afghan security force member inspects the site of a suicide attack in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Oct. 8, 2016. (Xinhua/Rahman Safi)
The Montana state auditor leads an office that is often overlooked or misunderstood, even though its insurance and investment work impacts every single Montanan. Ive spent the past seven years serving as the top lawyer in the office and in that time, Ive had the absolute joy of helping Montanans in every corner of our state. I've been in the trenches fighting for you and I'm ready to put that experience to work as your next state auditor.

My career has been dedicated to consumer protection, which is exactly why I love the work of the office. Over the past seven years, our office has returned an average of $3 million to $6 million per year to Montanans whose claims were denied by insurance companies. Weve returned nearly $400 million to victims of securities fraud during that same time period. Whether you're a senior citizen who has been defrauded of your hard-earned savings, someone suffering from a chronic or terminal disease whose insurance company has denied a procedure your doctor believes is necessary, or a family fighting an excessive bill from an air ambulance company, Ive been on the front lines standing up for you.

In addition to overseeing the insurance and investment industries, the state auditor has the important duty of sitting on the Land Board. Unlike my opponent, who has been an ardent supporter of transferring control of public lands, I will strongly resist efforts to sell off and privatize Montanas public lands and make sure we protect and expand access to the lands, rivers, and streams that belong to all of us. As a native Montanan and father, I know the importance of maintaining that access now and for generations to come.

My experience and record of results are why Im supported by the Montana Chamber of Commerce, groups representing Montana's working families, and conservation groups. For me, it's not just wanting to do the important work of the office, it's knowing how to do it. I'll hit the ground running on my first day in office and I'll put my unmatched bipartisan record to work in passing a bold legislative agenda in 2017.

It's an agenda that includes working together with providers, patients, and insurers to bring transparency to our health-care system, allowing Montanans to make informed choices, and stabilizing the cost of keeping our families healthy. We shouldn't have to wait for our insurance company to tell us the cost after a medical procedure. This will put downward pressure on premiums, which is critical because the trend of high premiums we're all paying is unsustainable and unacceptable.

I will also continue the important work of the Air Ambulance Working Group I chaired this year, which will ensure Montana families aren't saddled with crushing medical debt due to an emergency flight. Frankly, we need more air ambulance companies to do business the way St. Vincent and Billings Clinic's air ambulance providers do.

I will work to adopt legislation that will prohibit insurance companies from raising homeowners rates when the insurer doesnt pay any money on your claim. I'll also seek to cap the number of years insurance companies can review your claim history, which will ensure that homeowners rates aren't continually raised due to hailstorm damages that occurred many years ago.

Ultimately, this race is about experience, results, and two dramatically different visions for Montana. I'm respectfully asking for your vote so I can get to work fighting for you.
Photo provided by Colombian Presidency shows Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos taking part in a ceremony to deliver to the Congress the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in Bogota Aug. 25, 2016. (Xinhua/Juan David Tena/Colombian Presidency)

BOGOTA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Congratulations have poured in from across Latin America to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for winning the Nobel Peace Prize over a peace deal with the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said the prize is an honor for the whole region.

"Long live Colombia! Today is a day of celebration for the entire region," Correa told a news conference in the town of Macas, where he was meeting Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

"The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to our dear President Juan Manuel Santos for his conviction, for his commitment to peace."

At the same event, Peruvian President Kuczynski also sent congratulations to Santos.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto paid tribute to Santos, saying on Twitter that the Nobel Peace Prize was a recognition of Santos' leadership and commitment to peace in Colombia.

At home, former President Alvaro Uribe, a stanch opponent of Santos, also sent his congratulations through Twitter, though adding that he hoped the prize will help change the peace deal he thought "harmful" to democracy.

The peace deal signed on Sept. 26 was rejected in a referendum on Sunday.

Timoleon Jimenez, commander of FARC who signed the peace deal with Santos, congratulated Santos through Twitter.

Jimenez said after the referendum that he will listen to opponents on how to end the 52-year armed conflict.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (C, front) signs the final peace agreement reached by the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in Cartagena, Colombia, on Sept. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Jhon Paz)

Victims of the conflict also hailed the news, saying it was a major support for the peace process, despite the "no" vote.

Eisenhower Zapata, director of the victims' association URestitucion and one of the negotiators in the peace talks, appreciated Santos for dedicating the prize to the millions of victims of the war, according to Colombian radio network Caracol Radio.

"The committee ... has backed the president and the Colombian people so that we keep fighting for this goal. This is not about yes or no, but about a process to defend the main, fundamental right of this country," Zapata said.

Ricardo Lagarraga, a former policeman who was held prisoner by FARC for over three years, celebrated the prize and highlighted its importance to bring hope to the country.

"This is a major backing from the entire world of the peace process and of Colombia. It is a call to those who sought to make this a political battle," he said.

Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize out of 376 candidates, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Pope Francis.
ANKARA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and two others wounded when fire was opened from an armored police vehicle in the Yuksekova district of Turkey's southeastern province of Hakkari on Saturday, Hakkari Governor's Office stated.

The police officers who were in the vehicle during the incident said in their testimony that "they never touched the trigger of the weapon in the vehicle, and the mechanism was activated by itself."

Gunshots were heard in the district around 10:50 am on Saturday and security forces were dispatched to the scene.

Ambulances were called to the area and seven people were taken to Yuksekova State Hospital, Turkish Hurriyet News reported.

Four of the people receiving treatment succumbed to their wounds. Police have cordoned off the area and several people were detained over the incident.
KABUL, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Afghan Taliban militants are increasingly relying on deadly suicide bombing to challenge the government as Saturday witnessed two such attacks in one day in an increasing trend.

At least four people were killed and seven others injured in these separate attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

Afghan observers believe that the Taliban militants, who have speeded up fighting against government forces, would increase suicide bombings as lethal weapons to inflict more casualties.

As a result they could defame the government for failing to check insurgency.

On Saturday afternoon, such a bombing rocked the relatively peaceful Jalalabad city, about 120 km east of national capital Kabul, killing two people and injuring four others.

A terrorist who tied explosive device to his body blew himself up next to a vehicle of an Afghan army, killing one person and injuring four others, all of them are civilians.

The attacker himself was also killed in the blast, an official said.

Earlier on the day, a similar suicide attack in Qalat city, capital of the restive Zabul province, left two people including the attacker dead and injured three others, all civilians, police confirmed.

"A suicide bombing rocked Qalat city at around 01:45 p.m. local time today killing two people including the attacker and a civilian on the spot and injured three more civilians," Deputy Zabul provincial police chief Jilani Khan told Xinhua.

Although Taliban militants have yet to claim responsibility, officials blame them for these attacks.

It has always been civilians who bear the brunt of war in conflict-stricken Afghanistan.

More than 1,600 civilians had been killed and at least 3,560 injured in the first half of this year in different parts of the country, according to a report released by the UN mission in Afghanistan in late July.
WINDHOEK, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Cindy Shikongo, 16, misses four days of school every month because she cannot afford sanitary towels to use when she is on her period.

She is one of the many rural learners in the country who have to endure this struggle.

"Life stops for me when I start my period. I withdraw from everyone and go into a shell, so that people do not know what I am going through," she said.

Sanitary towels are not regarded as a basic need by most parents, while African culture and tradition prevents many mothers from speaking to their daughters about menstruation, making life even more difficult for many rural girls.

Shikongo started having her periods at the age of 13, just after starting Grade 7.

She said it was a dreadful time for her.

"It is not easy to access sanitary towels, because of financial problems, and also because parents are very ignorant. They do not prioritize such items," she said.

"It is very difficult to concentrate in class, because you are more concerned about what is happening under your skirt. You are not free among friends and you are quiet and the teachers wonder what is going on," she said.

The young lady was raised by her grandmother, who never mentioned anything about the subject, and so she went through her first experience alone.

"It was a very difficult time for me, because I did not know what to do, and I did not have anything to use. I was also scared to tell anyone, because most girls my age had not started menstruating," she said.

According to Haimbili Haufiku Senior Secondary School Life Skills teacher, Helvi Iita, the situation is grimmer for rural girls because most of them are not raised by their biological parents.

She said most guardians can only manage to buy the most basic food items, and sanitary towels are considered as luxury.

"What we have discovered is that most of these girls have no idea what to do when they start their periods. Even those who can afford sanitary towels do not know even how to use them.

"And because they are shy about their ignorance, they end up hiding and concealing that they have started menstruating," Iita said.

There are about 600 girls at the school and Iita believes that over half of the girls struggle with the menstruation issue.

Another student, Olivia Lukas, who is being raised by her aunt, after her mother passed away when she was just nine years old, related how having so many girls and women in one household can be a huge challenge when it comes to sanitary towels.

As an alternative, the 15-year-old cuts pieces of clothing and then stuffs them in a sock to form a makeshift sanitary towel.

At school, Lukas also makes use of foam during menstruation, just like many of her peers.

For her, menstruation consists of constant trips to the toilet, to check whether she has soiled her Haimbili Haufiku Senior Secondary School uniform.

The school is situated in the east of Eenhana, in the Ohangwena region, northern Namibia.

Jonas dreads the time leading to her menstruation, and she sometimes becomes depressed, because it is a very uncomfortable time.

School Principal Rabanus Shaninga said that the lack of sanitary towels is a very big problem at the school, which is causing learners to miss classes quite often.

He is also concerned about schoolgirls flushing makeshift sanitary towels down the toilets, which he said is wreaking havoc with the school's plumbing, often causing major blockages.

Namibian Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture Permanent Secretary Sanet Steenkamp said that the menstruation issue is critical, adding that girls often spend over three days away from school every month, when they are on their periods.

Steenkamp said schoolgirls who resort to different makeshift methods during their menstruation, exposes themselves to health problems.

The ministry's Deputy Director for Diagnostic Advisory and Training Programmes, Aisha Wentworth, said that they had considered introducing reusable sanitary towels, but these were considered too unhygienic, especially in the light of the ongoing drought.

She said that questions were raised as to how they would be washed, especially with the shortage of water.

Health experts have also warned against the use of cloth and other materials in place of sanitary towels, as they may cause infections.

"Former First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba's office previously had a campaign to collect sanitary towels to donate to rural schools, but the project failed because of sustainability problems," Wentworth said.

The experiences of the schoolgirls at the Haimbili Haufiku Senior Secondary School are a microcosm of what is happening across the country.

The taboos and myths surrounding this subject of menstruation also contribute to the culture of silence and shame, which stops young girls from sharing with others what they are going through. Enditem
PARIS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who is joining the competition to be chosen as the conservative presidential nominee, pledged to consult voters on his controversial proposals on immigration and presumed terrorists.

"I will give speech back to popular sovereignty. Hand over to people on such important subjects is to make a choice of democracy," Sarkozy told state-run France 2 TV on Friday.

If elected, the 61-year-old conservative promised to put "sensitive, strong and serious" issue of the right of family members to join a migrating relative in France to a referendum during the second round of legislative election scheduled for June 18.

"The population explosion in Africa will double in 30 years ... in a way that we can not, in my view, to accept the automatic family reunification for non-EU foreigners," he said.

"So, I'll ask this question in a referendum: Will the French agree that we remove, suspend the automatic right to migrant family reunification as long as Europe ... has not an adequate migration policy?"

Sarkozy also said that France, already on high terror alert, needs a new security roadmap suggesting to lock up all those who are under the surveillance of intelligence services. He pledged to listen to voters by calling referendum on the issue.

In the 2012 presidential election, Sarkozy was beaten by the Socialist leader Francois Hollande. After a two-year break from politics, he came back as leader of the crisis-hit conservative party then known as Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

Hoping to revenge his defeat, he is working to appease voters of the far-right party whose public support keeps widening as a long-running rise in unemployment, refugees crisis and fatal Islamist militants attacks ignited citizens' fears and triggered a switch to anti-immigrant party.

At end of August, Sarkozy, a skilled campaigner and experienced orator, started his campaign for right-wing primary with a harsh tone on immigrants and Muslim community. He said they posed threat to France's identity and security, the same subjects that he has echoed in 2012 election and which had led to his defeat.

After truck attack in which 86 people have been killed in southern city of Nice on the Bastille Day and the killing of a priest by two radicalized young men, Sarkozy's tough stance helped him to improve public support and to overtake his rival Alain Juppe.

However, his rhetoric also seemed to have negative impact. A Harris Interactive poll released on Oct. 6, showed 39 percent of voters supported Juppe in the primary race while Sarkozy is expected to garner 35 percent of the vote.

In September, the pollster showed the two contenders neck-and-neck on 37 percent.

"Sarkozy has understood: the campaign will be played in the right camp. There is a turnaround of public opinion since attacks in January 2015. But, the question is how he will convince voters of the right and far-right parties to trust him again", Jean-Yves Camus, a political analyst told France 24.

Supporters of centre-right parties will elect their candidate in the 2017 presidential election in two-round vote on Nov. 20 and 27.

The winner will face a Socialist candidate and Marine Le Pen, head of the far-right National Front party.
RABAT, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Despite unpopular policies, Morocco's ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) has passed election test and won parliamentary elections.

The PJD won 125 seats out of 395-seat parliament, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday, marked by an increase from the 107 seats it got in Morocco's last parliamentary election in 2011.

Meanwhile, the PJD's main rival, the liberal opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) made a significant advance of winning 102 seats. The party got 47 seats in 2011 elections.

The Istiqlal Party got 46 seats, and smaller parties won the remaining seats.

PAM was pleased with the outcome of the elections, Khaled Adnoun, the party spokesman told the press after release of the official results, saying that though they were expecting to grab more seats.

Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, on his part, announced Saturday that "democracy won in Moroccan elections" after the PJD has won 99 seats in the parliament, taking a prominent lead in the elections.

Protests in 2011 led to a new constitution and a parliamentary vote was held in late that year, which brought Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD to power.

The PJD-led government has taken some unpopular policies in the last five years, particularly the pension system reform and subsidies reduction on several products.

According to Morocco's constitution, passed in 2011 after the so called Arab Spring uprisings, the winning party will lead the coalition government. The king appoints a prime minister from the biggest party in parliament after the election results are announced.

Around 15.7 million Moroccans have been registered to vote in these elections, but the voter turnout stood at 43 percent.

Some 4,000 national and international observers have been accredited to monitor the parliamentary elections in Morocco.
ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Social responsibility has been highlighted in the construction of the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway, with two Chinese railway firms paving roads and digging wells along the route to improve locals' lives.

The Ethiopia-Djibouti railway, also known as Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway, opened service on Wednesday to become the latest testament to the Sino-African friendship.

The 752.7-km line was constructed by China Railway Group (CREC) and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) with an investment of 4 billion U.S. dollars.

CREC said in a statement that it has built more than 400 kilometers of roads for local villagers, as the line passes many villages that previously had no road access.

Moreover, CREC has dug 19 wells and established over 20 water distribution sites to provide free water supply to villagers.

Dong Jianfeng, chief engineer of CREC's Ethiopia-Djibouti railway project, said as water resources are precious in drought-ridden Ethiopia, the team has preferred designs like culverts and bridges to retain surface runoff and minimize damages to sites of water sources.

Through such charity acts and by hiring large numbers of local workers, the company said they won the locals' trust and avoid clashes over railway construction.

China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC), which owns CCECC, also said they had never encountered clashes with locals during the entire construction.

Li Wuliang, a manager of CCECC, said his team paid constant visits to villages along the line, where they made donations to schools, clinics and funded church building.

"Villagers treated us very friendly. Every time we arrived at a village, they treated us with the best food and local dances," Li told Xinhua.

According to Meng Fengchao, board chairman of CRCC, the company has hired over 20,000 local workers in Ethiopia and 5,000 in Djibouti, who made up the majority of the construction workers.

Hailed as the "Tazara railway in a new era," the Ethiopia-Djibouti line was the second Chinese-built transnational railway in Africa following the Tazara railway, which links Tanzania's Dar es Salaam with Zambia's Kapiri Mposhi.

Unlike the Tazara railway, built in the 1970s in the form of China's foreign aid, the Ethiopia-Djibouti line is a commercial act, but both state-owned CREC and CCECC have vowed to use the project to pass on the Sino-African friendship as entrenched by the Tazara railway.
TEHRAN, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Sojitz signed a memorandum of understating (MoU) with Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC) here on Saturday to carry out studies over construction of a methanol-to-propylene plant in Iran, Petro-Energy Information Network of Iran (SHANA) reported.

Managing Director of the NPC, Marziyeh Shahdaei, and Sojitz's senior representative, Masaru Sato, attended the signing ceremony of the MoU.

Shahdaei, who is also deputy oil minister in petrochemical affairs, said at the ceremony that the project is of crucial importance for Iran given the vast gas reserves it is sitting atop.

Sato said that Sojitz has been active in Iran over the past 50 years and is the first foreign company involved in Iran's petrochemical sector.

Earlier, Managing Director of Iran's Petrochemical Commercial Company International (PCCI), Isa Mashayekhi, told SHANA that the company was in talks with some Japanese and Korean investors for financing Iran's petrochemical projects.

The talks aimed to attract an investment of 520 million euros (586 million U.S. dollars) in petrochemical projects in Iran in the form of usance letter of credit, Mashayekhi was quoted as saying.

A usance letter of credit permits the beneficiary to be paid immediately upon presentation of specified documents or at a future date as established in the sales contract.

Mashayekhi added that his company had initiated talks with the Japanese and Korean investors and Iran's Ministry of Economy and Finance should provide state guarantees to access credit lines from other countries.
BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- China has signed agreements on the mutual recognition of higher education degrees with 19 EU member states, including France, Germany and Italy, according to the Ministry of Education.

The ministry made the announcement on Saturday at a briefing on the China-EU education ministers conference and the fourth Education Policy Dialogue between China and central and eastern European countries.

The two meetings will be held in Beijing on October 11, and focus on the mutual recognition of credits between higher learning institutions in China and the EU, as well as the balanced flow of students between the two parties, the ministry said.

According to official statistics, more than 303,000 Chinese students were studying in the EU by the end of 2015, accounting for 24 percent of all Chinese students abroad, an increase of 7.5 percent from 2014.

Over 123,000 Chinese students started studies in the EU last year, about 23 percent of all students who went abroad in 2015, up 29 percent from 2014.

More than 45,000 EU students came to China in 2015,accounting for 11.3 percent of all international students studying in the country last year.

Last year saw over 3,000 EU students receiving scholarships from the Chinese government, a rise of 12 percent on the 2014 figures.
Liu Qibao, head of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visits the Chinese Writers' Publishing Group in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 8, 2016, calling for more quality literary periodicals.

BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The publicity chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Saturday called for more quality literary periodicals.

"Literary magazines in this new era should be vitalized by harnessing the Internet in a bid to expand their coverage and influence," said Liu Qibao, head of the publicity department of the CPC Central Committee, on a visit to the Chinese Writers' Publishing Group.

Liu stressed that more attention should be given to writers of online literature, and literary journals should better communicate with readers and writers through the Internet.

He urged periodicals to carry more realistic literature, guiding the writers to focus on the development of the times as well as people's lives and thoughts.

"[The journals] should encourage writers to create work with their individual characteristics and to explore something new in writing concepts and techniques," Liu added

Liu also called on the literary magazine editors to hone their professional skills.
Election to the State Auditors Office means the individual will serve as insurance commissioner for Montana. This person will play a critical role in setting policy which will effect nearly every man, woman, and child in our state. Whether through health, life, homeowners, automobile, workers compensation insurance, or the myriad investment products available, everyone in our state is impacted by this office. The auditors office provides for the licensing and oversight of the firms selling insurance and investment products and determines which products can be offered in our state as well as the prosecution of those found violating laws governing those products.

While the auditors office does not set insurance rates, they do set the policy that dramatically impacts those rates. Many Montanans have watched as the auditors office, assisted by my opponent, has put policies in place which have hurt Montana families and businesses. Our automobile insurance rates are the nations second highest, workers compensation insurance rates are tenth highest. The health insurance rates recently released have left many families facing premium increases anywhere from 30 percent to nearly 60 percent, and this is beyond last years double-digit increases and does not even account for the increases in our deductibles.

My opponent has embraced Obamacare and with it he has broken our health care system. Now that we know you cannot keep your doctor or your insurance, or save $2,500 a year on insurance, his solution is to turn the entire health care system over to the government under a single payer system.

I believe we have an obligation to focus on affordable access to health care for everyone. I have brought forth solutions  and will continue to if elected  such as health care sharing ministries, primary care provider agreements, and access to insurance products across state lines. These common sense policies will decrease costs and remove the government from between you and your health care provider. I have proposed and passed many of these concepts in the Montana Legislature while serving as the Senate majority leader. Alternatively, under my opponents watch health, insurance rates have skyrocketed, and the governor vetoed legislation which would have lowered health care costs and helped our families and businesses.

The other important role that the insurance commissioner performs is sitting on the State Land Board. The Land Board is responsible for the management of roughly 5.2 million acres of state school trust lands and about 6 million acres of mineral rights. These lands are not to be confused with the U.S. Forest Service lands or any land owned by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks as some would lead you to believe. The Land Board is made up of the governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor and superintendent of schools. This group is constitutionally charged to manage those lands in perpetuity for the financial benefit of the Montana public schools. Any timber sale, agricultural lease, commercial lease, or pipeline easement on those lands needs to be approved by the Land Board. These lands are physically managed, however, by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

I think it is critical we have people on the Land Board with background in land management to ensure these lands generate the revenue as mandated by the constitution without degrading them, thereby reducing the recreational use and access which is so important to the people of Montana. I have that expertise and will always protect these lands for our schools' and citizens' use.

I am asking for your support, your vote, and your assistance if elected, as our system only works with your participation.
BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese steel will not impact the European market due to its low market share, a Chinese government official said on Saturday after the EU imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of two Chinese steel products.

An unnamed official of the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that China's products account for less than 5 percent of the EU steel market and the area's steel woes stem from flagging economic conditions, not trade.

"It is not a right strategy for the EU to adopt protectionism and impede competition," the official said.

The European Commission announced on Friday that it had decided to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of heavy plates and hot-rolled steel from China for six months, with tax rates up to 73.7 percent.

"China is highly concerned about the trade remedy practices," the official said, noting the EU's repeated measures have harmed Chinese companies.

The official said measures should be carried out in a fair and transparent manner and asked the EU to guarantee the rights of Chinese companies.

China has always insisted that nations should be cautious and restrained in using such measures, and has always promoted exchange and cooperation to solve friction, the official said.

Confronted with sluggish global economic growth, G20 leaders reiterated their stance to oppose trade protectionism at the Hangzhou summit last month.
by Robert Manyara

NAKURU, Kenya, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Distressed with overflowing open pit latrines, Hesbon Nyambare, a caretaker of 35 houses in the informal settlement of Kaptembwa in Nakuru county of Kenya, sought to find a solution.

"We are not connected to the sewer system and so everything spreads out when the latrines are full," Nyambare told Xinhua in a recent interview in Nakuru.

"You feel like running away anytime you pass near them because the smell is just suffocating and the flies are all over. You even lose appetite for food," he said.

But need for change pushed him to reconstruct the six latrines fitting them with a septic tank which serves as alternative to the sewer lines. It holds the waste which is removed when full with an exhauster.

"Since 2015 when I finished reconstructing the latrines life is much more comfortable here. My tenants are even happy. There is no defecating in the compound or bad smell," he said.

He says access to the sanitation and sewerage services to the people in the informal settlements remains to be a major challenge that requires urgent redress.

In Kenya, the government owned water, sanitation and sewerage companies are responsible for providing proper disposal and sewer services as well as treatment of the human waste before discharged into the environment.

For Nyambare and his tenants life may have improved with the customized sewerage system.

But for at least 17 million people living in the urban and peri-urban centres in Kenya their sanitation life is undignified due to lack of access to the sewerage services.

A Water Impact Report for 2015 released by Kenya's Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb) on Wednesday indicates that just about three million people out of 20 million living in areas within the reach of water service providers are connected to sewers.

The coverage is equivalent to 15 percent of the urban population.

The findings collaborate with UNICEF's which also show that by 2014 only 15 percent of the 9,126 villages in Kenya had been triggered to eradicate open defecation, which is a sanitation problem in the public health sector also connected to provision of the sewerage services.

Surge in population in the urban areas coupled with limited financial resources is attributed to the below the target coverage according to the Wasreb report.

The government has put a national target in coverage of the sewer lines at 40 percent against the current 15 percent which is also a drop by four percent since 2010.

The trend (in coverage of sewer lines) has been declining from 19 per cent in 2010 due to the rapid increase in population, which is not matched by corresponding investment in sewerage," according to the report.

Kenya is among the countries in Africa struggling with migration of both literate and illiterate citizens into the urban centers hoping to secure jobs or access better income generating activities.

And majority end up in the informal settlements where they can afford to survive but whose environment is characterized with deplorable housing and absence of properly functioning sanitation and sewerage systems.

In the absence of the sewerage system, providers of rentals such as Nyambare are forced to customize their own with septic tanks, pushing the cost of management and rehabilitation to the tenants.

The World Bank has proposed a new concept of financing sanitation in which households can access credit through financing institutions to construct sanitation facilities.

It argues that this could provide a solution to challenges of lack or inadequate sanitation facilities, and in the long-term proactively address health problems related to sanitation issues. Enditem
JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- BRICS leaders will address matters of common interest and are expected to sign agreements at the next BRICS Summit to be held in India in mid-October, a senior South African government official said on Saturday.

India has placed emphasis on a people-centred approach to the upcoming Summit, said Anil Sooklal, Director-General for Asia and the Middle East of South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

Sooklal said in an interview with Xinhua that South Africa will participate in all events building up to the Summit.

"We anticipate that BRICS leaders will review progress achieved by the New Development Bank (NDB) and Contingency Reserve Agreement (CRA) and discuss its next phase of operations. They will also review implementation of Strategy of BRICS Economic Partnership and sign various agreements," Sooklal said.

Discussions will also be held on global political and economic issues of common interest, according to the official.

The establishment of the CRA and NDB as well as the announcement of its first tranche of funding for green and sustainable projects for all five BRICS members shows that the bloc is growing, Sooklal said.

"We are heartened by the fact that our levels of synergy in assuming major positions in the BRICS context is strengthening annually, as can be seen in the annual Summit declarations and media notes that the BRICS leaders issue," he said.

Sooklal noted that BRICS has developed strategic cooperation mechanisms on various issues, with some having been implemented already while others, like health, population and education, are ongoing issues for dialogue.

BRICS will also continue to advocate for the change in the global organizations, Sooklal said.

"BRICS is intensifying joint efforts to amplify our voice in respect of agenda-setting as well as rule-making in international fora. Among the outcomes of the recently held G20 Hangzhou Summit were undertakings to make greater contribution to boosting world economic growth, improving global economic governance, promoting international trade and investment, and achieving sustainable development," Sooklal said.

BRICS countries are in the forefront of diplomatic initiatives as was evidenced at the G20 in Hangzhou, China, where the host enhanced the agenda of the global South, Sooklal said.

"The BRICS was formed, based on shared values of the need to restructure the global political, economic and financial architecture to be more equitable, balanced and resting on the important pillars of multilateralism and international law," he said.

"BRICS leaders repeatedly call for the reform of international financial institutions to make them more representative and to reflect the growing weight and relevance of BRICS and other developing countries," Sooklal said.

The BRICS groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) will be holding an extraordinary summit next week on maritime security, safety and development on the African continent in Lome, Togo.

A statement from the pan-African bloc said on Saturday that the summit has been scheduled to take place on Oct. 11-15.

Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the AU Commission, and President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo met last Wednesday in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, where they discussed preparations for the summit, recalled the statement.

President Faure Gnassingbe was in Ethiopia on a two-day official visit during which, together with the Chairperson of the AU Commission, discussed the state of preparations of the Extraordinary Summit, said the statement.

"We're looking forward to the Summit. The sea is a huge resource for us. We're very excited to have the Charter in Lome, which will guide Africa in dealing with maritime issues. The world is looking at the sea as the next economic frontier, and so Africa cannot afford to lag behind", noted Dlamini Zuma during her meeting with President Gnassingbe.

They have also discussed the need to have a team of lawyers as well as an AU body to help in determining every Member States' continental shelf, it said.

The statement added the two leaders underlined the importance of tapping into the resources of the sea to increase Africa's prosperity, instead of allowing those resources to become a source of conflict.

The Summit is expected to adopt an African Maritime Security Charter, said the statement, therefore, the Heads of State and Government will take the discussions beyond security to include issues of fishing, transport, mining, and tourism, which can help boost job creation and employment for African countries.

President Gnassingbe assured Dlamini Zuma of the advanced state of readiness in Togo, and looked forward to welcoming the Chairperson in Lome, according to the statement. Enditem
Fire fighters extinguish fires after what witnesses said was an airstrike by Saudi-led coalition aircraft on mourners at a hall where a wake for the father of Jalal al-Roweishan, the interior minister in the Houthi-dominated Yemeni government, was being held, in Sanaa, Yemen October 8, 2016. (Reuters photo)

SANAA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-led coalition air strikes on a funeral hall in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Saturday have killed 82 and injured 534, acting health minister Ghazi Ismail told reporters in a press conference on Saturday night.

The acting minister strongly condemned what he said "barbaric air attacks against civilians and civilian targets."

Meanwhile, the country's higher governing body, the Supreme Political Council, led by Houthi top officials and political party of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, called on people to go to the streets on Sunday to protest the Saudi-led coalition air strikes against civilians in Yemen.

The Health Ministry issued an appeal for citizens to donate blood for the victims and urged doctors to go to hospitals to help treating the injured.

Earlier in the day, rescuers and witnesses said a series of air strikes by Saudi-led coalition warplanes hit a mourning ceremony in Sanaa.

The mourning ceremony was held for the father of the acting interior minister and rebel Houthi loyalist Jalal al-Ruwaishan.

"We are pulling more and more charred bodies. I counted at least 160 dead bodies until now and there were more under the rubble of the funeral ceremony hall," Khaled Yosuf, one of the rescuers, told Xinhua.

He said al-Ruwaishan and the capital mayor Abdul-Kadir Hilal were feared to be dead.

Two air strikes firstly bombed the vicinity of the big hall, and people fled into outside.

Eyewitnesses said that a third strike hit the hall directly afterwards, where hundreds of people were offering condolences to al-Ruwaishan.

"I saw tens of people dead and dozens others badly injured. Blood is everywhere," an eyewitness said on condition of anonymity.

Some witnesses said senior Houthi officials and their ally former President Ali Abdullah Saleh were in the hall.

Streets leading to the hall were all closed by pro-Houthi security forces. Journalists and cameramen were prevented from getting into the scene.

Houthis, backed by Saleh's loyal forces, stormed Sanaa in September 2014, fighting against what they said "Hadi's government corruption."

They seized Sanaa and many parts of the country's north, forcing Hadi and his government to flee into exile.

The Saudi-led coalition launched a military air campaign against Houthis and Saleh's forces on March 26, 2015 to restore Hadi to power and recapture the capital.

The coalition's air raids and ground battles have since killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children and women, injuring around 35,000 others and displacing three million others, according to UN reports.
ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) Commission is going to hold an inauguration ceremony for the newly constructed Peace and Security building coming Tuesday at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

The building named the Julius Nyerere Peace and Security Building, was constructed by the government of Germany, at a cost of 27 million Euros, said a statement from AU on Saturday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is expected to attend the inaugural ceremony of the building, whereby she, along with Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the AU Commission, will make address, according to the statement.

The new building hosts the AU Peace and Security Department, and provides a base for the operation of the continental early warning system and the coordination of peacekeeping missions, said the statement. Enditem
by Ronald Ssekandi, Samuel Egadu and Yuan Qing

WAKISO, Uganda, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- As dawn breaks, Sarah Nanfuka, a vegetable vendor readies herself not to miss the train. Every morning at six, she is among the dozens that queue at the nearby train stage to board to the capital Kampala where she sells her vegetables before boarding back home, about 15km east of the capital.

This train transport, according Nanfuka, who is also a single mother of two children, has drastically cut down her transport cost which was taking a big share of her earnings.

Previously she depended on road transport which she said was expensive for her.

Passenger train transport in Uganda is no ordinary story. Over two decades ago the train system went into limbo, after being run down by poor management and the political upheavals the country had been going through.

There were fond memories of the country's passenger and cargo train transport. The country was easily linked to her eastern neighbor Kenya, from where its goods reached the rest of the world through the sea port of Mombasa.

Internally, there was a railway network which facilitated the movement of people and goods from place to another at a lesser cost than road transport.

Years on, the government is striving to revamp the railway system. Apart from the cargo train which crosses the border to Kenya, internally, the government has revamped the train system in the capital. Although it is not yet fully functional, people like Nanfuka are already benefiting.

According to Kampala city authorities, there is a plan to have the Greater Kampala Light Rail Mass Transit system. The system is intended to provide cheap, reliable, convenient, comfortable and safe public mass transport.

Kampala is the major business and industrial hub of Uganda, contributing over 70 percent of the country's industrial production and over 60 percent of the country's GDP.

At the national level, the government is negotiating with China to help fund the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). The SGR is looked at as a regional project in East Africa, although each country negotiates separately for funding.

Upon completion, the SGR will be linking the Kenyan seaport of Mombasa to Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. In Kenya, construction started while in Uganda feasibility studies and funding negotiations are still on going.

Economists argue that if the railway project is completed, it will be a major milestone in promoting regional trade.

"Studies carried out by experts at Makerere University (Uganda's top university) have found that by far Uganda faces very expensive transport costs. This means our imports become expensive and also our exports become less attractive because they are expensive to take to the international markets. So the railway is very important, it is a cheap means of transport if we are going to increase our exports," Elly Twineyo Kamugisha, an Economist and author of a book 'Why Africa Fails', told Xinhua in an interview.

Kasingye Kyamugambi, Project Coordinator SGR told Xinhua in an interview that the SGR project is a huge transformational project for Uganda and the east African region.

"We will have a fully functional railway system. We will have trains moving from Mombasa to Kampala in 23 hours as opposed to currently 7-14 days," he said.

Each freight train will have the capacity to carry 216 (20ft) containers moving at a speed of 100kph. The railway capacity will be more than 10 trains simultaneously and 40 trains per day.

For the passenger trains, they will have the capacity of 960 passengers moving at a speed of 120kph.

"This railway system is going to speed up the turnaround time of moving business that essentially improves our business competitiveness as a country and region," Kyamugambi said.

Government figures show that the country loses two billion U.S. dollars annually using road transport. The construction of the SGR is expected to cut down on this cost.

The SGR, according to the government, will accelerate industrialization through easier and cheaper transport to world markets.
VILNIUS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania's state controlled railway company Lithuanian Railways has signed a common procurement agreement of Rail Baltica, the head of the company said on Saturday.

The news came following the EU notice that the funding to Rail Baltica's Lithuanian projects could be suspended.

Stasys Dailydka, head of Lithuanian Railways, said on Saturday that he has already signed the procurement agreement on Friday.

"I have signed it. Of course, I did it yesterday evening. I just don't have to report to anyone," Dailydka told BNS news agency on Saturday when being asked about the EU's notices.

Lithuanian national rail company was the last one of the nine partners of the Rail Baltica project to sign the contracting scheme.

Dailydka highlighted that his signature wasn't related to the EU's decision to look into the causes of the Rail Baltica delay.

On Friday, the EU's directorate general for transport and mobility (DG MOVE) told the joint company of the three Baltic countries RB Rail that it had ordered the innovation and network executive agency (INEA) to immediately examine why the signing of the common procurement contract has been stalled.

DG MOVE also noticed RB Rail that "there will be an immediate review of the project by the INEA with a view to INEA suspending, reducing, recovering or terminating the Lithuanian activities and funding under the current grant agreement."

Last year, the EU earmarked 106 million euros in support for Rail Baltica's Lithuanian projects under the Connecting Europe facility funding. Earlier this year Lithuania was earmarked additional 191 million euros.

DG MOVE and INEA are to discuss the details of the examination and decide on the funding on Monday, reported business website vz.lt.

Lithuanian Railways has been for long reluctant to sign the Rail Baltica's common contracting scheme.

After signing the scheme, Lithuanian Railways will lose the right to participate in public tenders and implement Rail Baltica's projects, while Latvian and Estonian companies will be eligible to participate, according to Dailydka.

Lithuania's reluctance has caused concerns among other parties of the Rail Baltica project.

On Saturday, Latvian Transport Minister Uldis Augulis said that Lithuania's stalling of signing the contracting scheme "can put in jeopardy the entire project". (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars)
RIYADH, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-led coalition denied on Saturday carrying any air strike in Yemen's capital Sanaa, sources from the coalition confirmed to local news Al Arabiya.

Earlier on Saturday, Yemen's acting health minister Ghazi Ismail said the Saudi-led coalition air strikes on a funeral hall in Sanaa have killed 82 and injured 534.

The mourning ceremony was held for the father of the acting interior minister and rebel Houthi loyalist Jalal al-Ruwaishan.

The Yemeni official strongly condemned what he said "barbaric air attacks against civilians and civilian targets."

However, the sources from the coalition said it has in the past avoided such gatherings and they have never been a subject of targets.

The Saudi-led coalition, which supports the internationally recognized Yemeni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against Shiite Houthi rebels, have been air striking Yemen from March 2015.

Houthi rebels, supported by forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, seized Sanaa and some other cities in September 2014, forcing Hadi and his government into exile.

The airstrikes and fighting on the ground have killed over 10,000 Yemenis, many of them women and children, and injured around 35,000 others, according to a UN report.
OSLO, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing train driver strike in Norway that started more than a week ago has spread further as 42 more train drivers joined the strike, newspaper VG reported on Saturday.

On Friday at midnight all the trains at Ostfold railway line were cancelled and the regional trains that still run do not stop at all the stations.

According to the report, there are now 108 drivers of passenger trains of Norwegian State Railways NSB that have joined the strike.

Which departures would be cancelled as a result of the strike will vary from day to day, according to NSB. Since the strike is a legal action, the company can not set up alternative transportation. Therefore, thousands of rail commuters have to find another way to travelling -- or stay home.

According to VG, both Askim and Eidsberg municipalities in Ostfold county have arranged offices with tables, chairs and access to Internet for the commuters that have to wait due to the strike. All the local trains of the Ostfold line have been cancelled and there were 20,000 commuters affected.

"A temporary office community is not perceived as strikebreaker," Rolf Ringdal, leader of the Norwegian Train Driver Association, told public broadcaster NRK.

In the area around Bergen in western Norway, the strike has had bigger consequences than first thought. On Saturday there were two out of three departures from Oslo cancelled, while three out of four will be cancelled on Sunday, VG reported.

In this way, autumn trips to Oslo for many Bergen tourists might be cancelled.

Hakon Myhre, press officer at NSB told NRK that they had discovered that there were more train departures than first thought that were affected by the strike.

The strike started on Thursday last week after a failure in negotiations between the Norwegian Train Driver Association and NSB.

The two parties could not agree on which requirements would apply to train drivers training. Train drivers would like to have a requirement of the national standard for train driver education in the collective agreement.
LONDON, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Metropolitan Police in London said on Saturday night that a man aged 21 has been charged after climbing a gate at Buckingham Palace.

Police named the arrested man as Daniel Sheehan of no fixed address. A spokesman for the Met said Sheehan has been charged with two counts of trespass. He will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday.

In an earlier statement, Scotland Yard said the man was arrested after climbing a gate at Buckingham Palace.

Their statement said: "Shortly before 13:45hrs on Friday (October 7), police at Buckingham Palace were alerted to a man climbing over the south gate."

"As he dropped to the ground, he was met by officers and arrested for trespassing on a designated site. He was not found in possession of any offensive weapons. The 21-year-old man was taken into custody and will undergo a mental health assessment."

Local media reports said the Queen was not at home when the incident occurred.
TEHRAN, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran condemned the air strikes of Saudi-led coalition on mourners in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Saturday afternoon which left hundreds of casualties, Press TV reported.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi expressed regret that the international community is silent over the military aggression of the coalition and the killing of the innocents.

In order to put an end to the fabricated crisis in Yemen, there is no way but to stop the belligerent aggressors and begin serious dialogue with the participation of all Yemeni sides, Qasemi was quoted as saying.

He expressed Iran's strong disapproval over such an "inhumane and heinous crime" and sympathized with the families of the victims.

Over 600 people were killed or injured from Saudi-led coalition air strikes on mourners in Sanaa on Saturday.

Reports said that a number of senior Iran-backed Shiite Houthi officials and their ally former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh were present in the mourning ceremony.
LAGOS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei Saturday launched an Innovation and Experience (I&E) center in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub with an investment of six million U.S. dollars.

The center, being the first in West Africa, is set up to be an experience center where people can witness global best practice, exchange ideas, explore business solutions through innovation and also a platform to develop win-win information and communications technology (ICT) eco-system.

"Huawei will continuously adhere to its strategic focus, investment, and the relentless pursuit of strategic breakthrough to face all challenges together with its partners," Frank Li, the Managing Director of Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Ltd., said at the ceremony.

The company, which has cover 16 years of experience in the Nigerian market, said it is dedicated to investment of industry innovation driven by both customer needs and new technologies.

Huawei officials told Xinhua that the center will also serve as a training platform to nurture more ICT talents thus Huawei Technologies Nigeria Limited will sign a Joint Innovation MOU with the University of Lagos for this purpose.

On his part, Nigeria's Minister for Communications, Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu, said the government is leveraging the benefits of the digital revolution with strategic partnership with Huawei as a leading global supplier of ICT products, solutions and services.

He lauded the company's contribution in empowering Nigerian youths in ICT and the plans to establish a world class ICT center in the country.

The Chinese Consul General in Lagos, Chao Xiaoliang, said that the Chinese government has always encouraged Chinese companies to engage in corporate social responsibility wherever they invest.

Huawei Innovation and Experience Center was built on 500 square meters and established under the concept of "Cloud", which enables visitors to share Huawei global resources.

The ICT industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the Nigerian economy, with a 30 percent yearly increase rate.
Bolivian military personnel prepare relief goods destined for hurricane-ravaged Haiti at an airport in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on Oct. 8, 2016. (Xinhua/R. Martinez Candia/ABI)

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Several governments in Latin America have expressed their solidarity with Haiti and have offered humanitarian aid after Hurricane Matthew caused over 800 deaths and significant material losses in the Caribbean nation.

Food, bottled water, mattresses as well as machinery to remove rubble and medical staff form part of the convoys that different Latin American countries have sent to help the island.

Venezuela was one of the first nations to take action and sent three lots of humanitarian aid, the last of which was sent on Friday and contained 660 tonnes of food, medication, water, blankets and mattresses. The batch also included 450 tonnes of heavy machinery to remove rubble and rehabilitate roads.

Cuba, despite also suffering at the hands of Hurricane Matthew, announced on Friday that it would send "38 doctors specialized in facing disasters" to Haiti.

The group will be made up of members of the "Henry Reeve" International Contingent of Doctors Specialized in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics.

Mexico is also playing its part and standing in solidarity with the island nation. President Enrique Pena Nieto said that "Mexico regrets the pain and loss of human life that the people of Haiti are suffering."

The president said that "humanitarian support and aid during the relief and recovery stage" will be sent from Mexico.

Mauricio Macri's government in Argentina also informed that they had mobilized the Argentine blue helmets that participate in the United Nations (UN) peace mission in Haiti (Minustah) in order to collaborate with humanitarian aid in the southern part of the Caribbean nation.

In a press release, Argentina's defence ministry said that "25 out of the 76 men and women that work in the Argentine Air Force's mobile military hospital, located in Port-au-Prince, are already enlisted to help."

Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, expressed his sympathy for Haitian people and government on Saturday and blamed global warming for the natural disaster.

"I want to take advantage of this opportunity to express Bolivia's solidarity with the Haitian people," said Morales during a public ceremony.

According to Bolivia's president, global warming is causing devastating effects in several countries in the world with different climatic incidences such as droughts, heavy rains and hurricanes.

Costa Rica, Brazil and Uruguay also feature in the list of countries that have expressed their sympathies to Haiti and through their foreign ministries they have offered their support to the Caribbean island while expressing their deepest regret at the loss of life caused by the natural disaster.

In Haiti, around 20,000 houses were destroyed, over 15,600 people were evacuated and the death toll could reach over one thousand, once the problems surrounding communication, electricity and roads corroborate the magnitude of the damage, according to figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Hurricane Matthew is considered to be the strongest one in the tropical Atlantic since "Felix" in 2007 and one of the most worrisome consequences in Haiti is the possible return of the cholera epidemic which has not been completely eradicated from the island since the 2010 earthquake.
HAVANA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Trade Representative, Michael Froman, made an official two-day visit to Cuba on Thursday and Friday and held talks with senior officials, highlighted the island' s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.

Froman met on Friday with Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, and the minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca.

He also met with the deputy ministers for Communications, Agriculture and Science, Technology and Environment.

During these meetings, issues related to trade involving the participating ministries and the United States were discussed, according to the foreign affairs ministry.

As part of his activities on the island, the U.S. Trade Representative and his delegation visited the Special Economic Zone in the deep-water port of Mariel, a private agricultural cooperative, and Old Havana's historic center.

Froman's visit to the island is part of the new stage of relations between the two countries after diplomatic ties were restored in July 2015.

During meetings with the U.S. Representative, Cuba demanded that the trade embargo against the Caribbean nation, which has been in place for over half a century, be lifted.

Trade is one of the most sensitive aspects of Havana - Washington relations since the U.S. embargo against Cuba leaves little room for manoeuvre when it comes to commerce between the two neighboring nations.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Global financial leaders on Saturday pledged to "resist all forms of protectionism" and redoubled their commitments to reinvigorate global trade as a critical measure to boost subdued global growth.

"The global economy has benefited tremendously from globalization and technological change. However, the outlook is increasingly threatened by inward-looking policies, including protectionism, and stalled reforms," the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s 24-member policy setting committee said in a communique during the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

"We reaffirm our commitment to communicate policy stances clearly and resist all forms of protectionism. We will also redouble our commitment to maintain economic openness and reinvigorate global trade as a critical means to boost global growth," the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) said.

The IMFC also warned that the persistently low growth has exposed underlying structural weaknesses, and risks further dampening potential growth and prospects for inclusiveness.

Acknowledging that uncertainty and downside risks for the global economy "are elevated", financial officials renewed their pledge to "use all policy tools-structural reforms, fiscal and monetary policies-both individually and collectively" to lift subdued global growth, the communique said.

In order to provide adequate time to "build the necessary broad consensus" , the IMFC supported IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde's proposal to reset the timetable for completing 15th general review of quotas by the spring meetings of 2019 and no later than the annual meetings of 2019.

"We are committed to concluding the 15th General Review of Quotas and agreeing on a new quota formula as a basis for a realignment of quota shares to result in increased shares for dynamic economies in line with their relative positions in the world economy and hence likely in the share of emerging market and developing countries as a whole," the communique said.

The IMFC also welcomed the recent inclusion of Chinese currency renminbi (RMB) into the IMF's Special Drawing Right (SDR) basket, and looked forward to the forthcoming examination of the possible broader use of the SDR.

The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries' official reserves. It can be exchanged among governments for freely usable currencies in times of need.
MOSCOW, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The France-sponsored drafted resolution of the United Nations Security Council on Syria is "politicized, unbalanced and one-sided," the Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday after Moscow vetoed the drafted resolution in a vote earlier in the day.

The draft, presented immediately after the United States refused to fulfill the Russia-U.S. agreement on Syrian settlement, "grossly distorted the real situation," as it placed all the blame for the escalation of tensions on the government of the country (Syria), the ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page.

The ministry criticized the draft for attempting to ban flights in the area of Aleppo, which would "provide cover for the terrorist groups that have merged with militants."

The statement added that the Russian side had offered amendments during discussions on the drafted resolution, and reiterated the necessity of separating the so-called moderate militants from terrorists, but "sponsors of the French proposal...failed to show political wisdom."

While voicing "deep regret," the ministry reaffirmed Russia's commitment to finding a lasting political solution to the Syrian conflict, adding that it stands ready for teamwork in the implementation of existing agreements and coordination of further steps.

On Sept. 10, Russia and the United States announced a landmark agreement on a nationwide ceasefire in Syria, which both sides hoped would lead to their countries' military cooperation to end more than five years of bloodshed there.

However, the truce accord has not been strictly observed with each accusing the other of derailing the deal.
Liu Jieyi(C, front), Chinese Permanent Representative to the United Nations, votes to abstain a France-drafted UN Security Council resolution on Syria at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Oct. 8, 2016. Two opposing draft resolutions: one French-Spanish version and the other by Russia, on Saturday failed to be approved by the UN Security Council in response to the current situation in Syria. China abstained from the France-drafted resolution and voted in favor of the Russian draft. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday called on the international community to keep the general direction for a political solution and push for the solution of the Syrian crisis through dialogue by all the parties in Syria.

The statement came as Liu Jieyi, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, was taking the floor at the UN Security Council after two opposing draft resolutions on Syria failed to pass the 15-nation UN body.

"On the question of Syria, the international community should keep the general direction for a political solution and push for the solution of the question of Syria through dialogue by all the parties in Syria so that the war can be ended as soon as possible," Liu said.

China abstained from the French-drafted resolution, which sought to end airstrikes on the north Syrian city of Aleppo by grounding the Russian and Syrian military planes over Aleppo, and voted in favor of the Russian draft which called for an end to hostilities in the Middle East country and ensure humanitarian access to the Syrian people in need. The two draft resolutions both failed to be approved by the Security Council.

"Actions by the Security Council should be able to truly help ease the situation in order to help push for an end to hostilities by the parties and to support and coordinate UN efforts of humanitarian assistance," he said, adding that such actions should be instrumental to the stronger efforts to combat terrorist groups as designated by the Security Council, including the Islamic State (IS), which is also known as ISIS.

"The action should be able to help in seeking a solution acceptable by all the parties and a political process owned and led by the Syrians under the auspices of the United Nations," Liu said.

The draft resolution proposed by France and Spain contains a number of important elements, such as the implementation of a ceasefire, a call for a political solution, the improvement of humanitarian situation and enhancing the efforts to combat terrorism, he noted.

"But some of the content in the draft resolution does not reflect the full respect for the sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity of Syria, and the constructive views of some council members have not been incorporated, so China has to abstain in the vote on this draft resolution," he said.

On the other hand, the Russian draft called upon all the parties to cease hostilities and open humanitarian access in order to enhance efforts to combat terrorism, to support the good office by the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, and called for an early resumption of peace talks in Geneva.

The Russian-drafted resolution gave consideration to ceasefire, humanitarian assistance, joint efforts to combat terrorism and political negotiations, he noted. "It also reflected the full respect for the sovereignty, independence, unification and territorial integrity of Syria, with content that is comprehensive and balanced."

Therefore, "China voted in favor of the draft resolution, and we regretted that the draft resolution was not adopted," he said.

"Syria is an important country in the Middle East, the early restoration of peace and stability is in the common interest of Syria and countries in the region, and that of the international community," he said.

"China hopes that the Security Council will really take the safety of the Syrian people as the first priority and stay united and build up consensus and continue the efforts to push for a political solution of the question of Syria to jointly work to prevent the expansion and spread of terrorism, and play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in Syria and the region," he added.

Related:

UN Security Council fails to adopt rival resolutions on Syria

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Saturday failed to adopt rival resolutions on Syria as the council' s key powers divided over how to solve the conflict in Syria' s northern city of Aleppo.
PARIS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- French President Francois Hollande on Saturday denounced an "unspeakable and intolerable" Molotov cocktail attack against police officers who were on surveillance mission in Viry-Chatillon, southern Paris, the president's office said in a press release.

"The assault against four policemen... is unspeakable and intolerable because it endangered the lives of officers whose job was to protect the population," French president said.

"Everything will be done to find the perpetrators of this attack and bring them to justice so they receive a sentence in keeping with the severity of their crime," he added.

Two policemen on surveillance mission in Viry-Chatillon were badly burnt on Saturday afternoon after some individuals hurled incendiary bombs at them before running away, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a separate statement.

Cazeneuve added two other officers called to back their colleagues, were slightly wounded.

When the attack took place, the burnt policemen were keeping surveillance on a camera, which was installed in the main crossroads of the city to monitor gangs of traffickers, according to television channel BFMTV.

Last weekend, police clashed with young men who tried to destroy the camera, it added.
Photo taken on Oct. 8, 2016, shows the United Nations Security Council voting on a Russia -drafted resolution on Syria , at the UN headquarters in New York. The UN Security Council on Saturday failed to adopt a Russian draft resolution on Syria as it didn't garner enough support in the 15-nation council. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Saturday failed to adopt rival resolutions on Syria as the council' s key powers divided over how to solve the conflict in Syria' s northern city of Aleppo.

For a draft resolution submitted by France and Spain which demands an end to air strikes over Aleppo, Russia vetoed it.

The voting result is 11 in favor, two against and two abstentions.

A resolution drafted by Russia on Syria called upon all the parties to cease hostilities and open humanitarian access in order to enhance efforts to combat terrorism.

For the Russia drafted resolution, four council members voted "yes," nine "against," and two abstained in the vote. The Security Council also failed to adopt it due to a lack of supporting votes.

The votes took place in an emergent meeting held by the Security Council after it heard from UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura on latest developments in the war-torn Syria.

"In maximum two months, two-and-a-half months, the city of eastern Aleppo may be totally destroyed," said de Mistura.

According to UN estimates, 275,000 civilians trapped in eastern parts of the city. Among them, 100,000 are children.
A woman visits exhibition "Yokohama 1868-1912: When Pictures Learned to Shine" at the Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, in Frankfurt, Germany on Oct. 7, 2016. The exhibition displays more than 250 woodblock prints and historical photographs to show the capricious epilogue of the ukiyo-e and the concurrent rise of Japanese photography. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)
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.
The show of force by North Dakota is nothing short of 7th Cavalry mentality!

How can the state justify its draconian actions, over saturating a venue far smaller in area and population than Bismarck?

The population of Bismarck is about 60,000-70,000 and it covers roughly 31 square miles. Bismarck has 16 police officers per 10,000 residents (total 103). Bismarcks policing budget for 2015 was approximately $11 million ($7,486,924 for salaries and wages).

The governor has dispatched the National Guard and a horde of law enforcement to a patch of prairie smaller than a square city block and a couple thousand unarmed citizens.

The Department of Emergency Services recent request for up to $6 million borrowing authority for providing assistance to local law enforcement is utterly astonishing! Would the state respond in this same manner if a group of Christian parishioners gathered on the open plains to express their constitutionally protected rights?

Six million dollars? The DES representative, Cecily Fong, said We plan and evaluate every possible scenario, and that is how the $6 million figure was reached. Surely the average taxpayer cant accept such a clumsy explanation.

Why have state officials responded in this manner? Statewide coordinated attack by military, law enforcement and private security; coupled with activist judges; lawyers; state agencies and biased media against an unarmed gathering of citizens praying to protect water resources  which we all need.

The state must absorb the total cost associated with its entire shenanigans of creating fear and brutalizing an unarmed group of praying citizens.

There is absolutely no justification for the violent actions of the state officials who may also be violating the human rights and civil rights of citizens who have gathered to pray and protect the waters of this country.
Carl Hoverson sees opportunities in a major trade deal between the U.S. and a group of Pacific Rim countries.

As the owner of a potato growing operation in Larimore, and the former chairman of the U.S. Potato Board, Hoverson said the Trans-Pacific Partnership will help break down barriers to growing markets in Asia. That also would help beef, dairy and other agricultural producers.

Weve got a big opportunity over there to sell a lot more produce than we already do, but one of these limiting factors is these tariffs, Hoverson said. I think most people would understand the importance of it.

But the politics of the day dont weigh in TPPs favor. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump wants to withdraw from the partnership and, after speaking positively about TPP, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton now opposes it. Moreover, both candidates say the U.S. should renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was signed into law by Clintons husband in 1993.

Despite the candidates criticism of recent trade deals, recent polling finds a majority of Americans view free trade positively.

For trade officials such as Heather Ranck, the disconnect between what she sees as free trades benefits and the campaign trail rhetoric is perplexing. She said it may be a scapegoat for other economic problems, such as stagnant wages and unemployment.

I honestly dont really understand where its coming from, said Ranck, an international trade specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce in North Dakota.

But some see the Trans-Pacific Partnership as more than just a simple a trade deal.

Melinda St. Louis, international campaigns director for the Washington, D.C.,-based consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said much of the deal involves expanding corporate power in our democratic decision-making process. That includes provisions that would allow multinational corporations to sue the U.S. government over laws they believe violate their rights under the TPP, she said.

Free trade in of itself is not something that we oppose, certainly, St. Louis said. But it is a corruption of the idea of free trade to say that the TPP is free trade.

Big winner'?

The top North Dakota export in 2015 based on value was oil and gas, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. But that statistic is misleading because pipelines that leave North Dakota go into Canada before the product comes back into the U.S., said Dean Gorder, executive director of the North Dakota Trade Office.

Following oil and gas is machinery and then agricultural products in third.

The top categories of exports from North Dakota arent ag products, but ag products tend to be the most protected, Ranck said.

Trade deals aim to reduce or eliminate barriers for exporters to sell their products in foreign countries. In the case of the TPP, Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia would lower tariffs, or taxes on imports, on some U.S. food products, Ranck said.

In 2015, 84 percent of North Dakotas exports went to TPP countries, which include Canada, the states top export destination, Ranck said.

The important thing is to look at what gain there is from the new countries that we dont already have a free trade agreement with, such as Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia, she said.

Daniel Griswold, the co-director of the Program on the American Economy and Globalization at George Mason Universitys Mercatus Center, said one out of every three acres of U.S. farmland is growing products for export.

And I wouldnt be surprised if it was even higher in North Dakota, he said. North Dakotas domestic market is pretty small; youve got to grow and produce things for national and global markets. So, I think North Dakota is going to be one of the big winners, and has been one of the big winners in our negotiating trade agreements.

Hoverson pointed out Americans only represent about 4 percent of the worlds population.

We can only eat so many french fries in this country, he said. Were part of a world market now.

Minnesotas largest single export category is computer and electronic products, which was valued at $3.5 billion in 2015, according to federal data. Machinery, transportation equipment and miscellaneous manufactured commodities followed.

Job displacement

But not everyone sees free trade agreements as a benefit to U.S. economies. The Economic Policy Institute said in 2011 that 1,000 North Dakota jobs -- about a third of a percent of the states employment -- had been displaced due to trade deficits with Mexico after the enactment of NAFTA. Overall, the Institute said 682,900 net jobs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico were displaced after NAFTA due to trade deficits with the countrys southern neighbor.

Last year, the Congressional Research Service said the overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy was modest because trade with Mexico and Canada made up a small portion of the U.S. gross domestic product.

We expect TPP to be far worse, said Waylon Hedegaard, president of the North Dakota AFL-CIO, a labor group. He said they expect to lose a huge amount of manufacturing jobs if TPP is passed because it will be harder to compete with the lower wages and lack of worker protections overseas.

Hedegaard also expressed frustration that labor groups were not included in crafting the trade agreement.

TPP is going to make trillions of dollars, its just not going to make them for you or I, he said.

But Griswold countered that elected leaders shouldnt raise barriers to trade to protect the jobs of yesterday, but rather focus on education and training to help fill jobs in modern industries.

Trade is not about more jobs or fewer jobs -- its about better jobs, Griswold said. For every domestic industry that contracts because of trade competition, theres an industry thats expanding.

Gorder said he hasnt heard from any North Dakota company that plans on moving operations offshore.

A lot murkier

North Dakota Sens. Heidi Heitkamp and John Hoeven, a Democrat and Republican, respectively, have not said how they plan to vote on TPP, although Hoeven said in a statement this week he has concerns about the lack of provisions to address currency manipulation. Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said hed vote against it if it came up today.

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., would vote against it in its current form, a spokesman said, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Collin Peterson, both Democrats from Minnesota, are reviewing the deal.

Cramer said hes a proponent of free trade assuming the trade deals are well-negotiated and are fair to our workers and to our products. He advocated for smaller deals rather than more comprehensive ones -- the TPP involves 12 countries and includes 30 chapters dealing with issues ranging from competition policy, intellectual property and the environment.

In todays political environment, for the American public to buy into these trade deals, they have to be able to wrap their minds around it just like I do, Cramer said.

Griswold said the politics of trade agreements are complicated -- the benefits are spread out on millions of consumers and industries but anger constituencies such as labor groups. Meanwhile, trade isnt at the top of average voters agendas, even if they view it favorably.

The American publics attitude toward trade hasnt really changed, Griswold said. While theyre not wildly enthusiastic about it, they understand its generally a good thing and necessary.

While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in August the TPP would not come up for a vote this year, Griswold said its possible the latest trade agreement to be enthralled in a lengthy political debate will be ratified once the dust settles on the 2016 election.

If (TPP) gets thrown into the next Congress or the next president, I think its future becomes a lot murkier, he said.
Bartlett: No consultation on PTSC

Bartlett said the idea to move the PTSC hub, announced on Wednesday by San Fernando West MP Faris Al-Rawi, was not a new one but was conceived under the previous government.

It was rejected by stakeholders in 2014.

The last agreed-on plan was to leave the transportation hub where it was and move the maintenance garage from Lady Hailes Avenue to the Lara Stadium.

Al-Rawis statement has surprised her, she said, as stakeholders were not consulted. If you are going to make changes, you have to consult with us again, said Bartlett, which would take a year, two years. She said the original idea was rejected for its impracticality. If you live in South you would know, said Bartlett. If you are coming from Point Fortin in the bus and it takes you up to the Brian Lara Stadium for you to then board another bus to take you into the city, you are reaching to work at about 10 am or 11 am. Al-Rawi announced the plan at the launch of the Southex International Expo at Gulf City Mall, La Romaine.

He said that apart from freeing up the land to allow for the San Fernando waterfront project, it would also reduce pollution of the Kings Wharf waters where many bathe and fishermen ply their trade.
Ex-soldiers still in custody

Charges are yet to be laid against them. At about 4.45 am on Wednesday, Jackson was at the New Grant home of his girlfriend Renee Pixie Dorner, 32, and her mother Odessa Constance, 70, when gunmen stormed the house and shot and wounded him. Attempts were also made to burn down the wooden house.

One of the getaway vehicles was intercepted on the north bound lane of the Munroe Road Flyover in Chaguanas and the suspects held. Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier General Rodney Smart has since expressed his disappointment over the behaviour of the former soldiers who were dishonourably discharged two years ago from the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force.

Together the men who were members of the elite special services had served a total of 34 years in the army.
Judge: Those denied bail can sue

The controversial law, which was passed during the term of the Peoples Partnership government under attorney general Garvin Nicholas, expired on August 15 and the present administration did not get the support of the Opposition to extend the law, as well as the Anti-Gang Act, for a further two years. The Law Association also objected to any extension, saying the Acts should be repealed and did nothing to curb the crime situation.

Speaking from Dominica where he is on special assignment Keith Scotland, attorney for Danielle St Omer, said it was a landmark ruling as the law had been passed with the requisite majority yet still struck down by the court.

Former attorney general Anand Ramlogan SC, who represented PC Justin Charles said the ruling means the failed attempt to renew the legislation was a blessing in disguise as Parliament would have been re-enacting an unconstitutional law.

Damages for both Charles and St Omer will be assessed by a Master of the Court.

St Omer was also represented by attorneys Raphael Morgan and Asha Watkins-Montserrin while Ramlogan, Gerald Ramdeen, Jayanti Lutchmedial and Kent Samlal appeared for Charles.

Both claims were defended by Senior Counsel Fyard Hosein and Roshan Ramcharitar for the State.

In her ruling, Justice Gobin pointed out that Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams in defence of the law, failed to provide data on how the curtailment of bail had impacted on crime.

While she noted a commitment on the part of the legislature to deal with the problem, and the fact that the amendments were supported overwhelmingly, it did not compel the court to yield to the will of the Parliament.

Crime remains the number one concern of our citizens, she said, adding, We are besieged by daily reports of senseless and vicious bloody murders most of which involve the use of guns of all levels of sophistication, gruesome discovering of bullet riddled bodies, reports of armed robberies and terrifying home invasions.

Our innocents are maimed or lose their lives as what has been termed collateral damage. We now have a phenomenon of citizens who simply disappear, they leave their homes never to return or to be seen or heard of again. No one is immune to the effects of crime and there is a growing sense of insecurity spawned by the recognition as it continues to strike closer to home, that anyone is fair game, she said.
Bailor paid, but womans relatives still imprisoned

An angry Carter said the bailor never fulfilled his agreement and she has since learnt from him the transaction was never completed as a result of the bailor discovering that the deed for his property which he was using was not good. Carter, 55, of St Joseph Street, San Fernando said he promised her a full refund but, she is still waiting on him.

Carter asked, How some of these bailors could do poor people that? It wasnt easy to make up get that $12,000. In August, Joshua and Brown appeared before a magistrate in the San Fernando Court on gun related charges. They were granted bail in the sum of $100,000 each.

She told Newsday she was introduced to the bailor who asked for $17,000 to take their bail.

On August 29, she met him at a fast food restaurant in San Fernando and paid $12,000 - the balance of $5,000 to be paid when the paper work was finished. Carter said the bailor even promised to pick her up at her home the following day and transport her to Golden Grove so she would be there to receive Carter and Brown upon their release.

I still waiting for him to come home and pick me up in his car,  Carter went on to say. Since then I making phone calls to find out what going on.

The day he finally answered he gave me the story about his deed not being good.

It is real advantage, he took my money and never helped the children in any way. Carter said on Monday she contacted him again about refunding her her money and he told her he was trying to gather the money.

She asked, Why did he spend it in the first place? Newsday contacted bailor William Snell who apologised for disappointing the family.

I was trying to help her out and I feel stupid now, Snell told Newsday as he went on to explain that the land he purchased 17 months ago was never properly transferred from the original owner.

Is only when I tried to use it for bail that I ran into problems.

I know I have to give them back their money and I am trying to make it up. .
Estranged wife of former Government Minister reports break-in

The young woman who separated from the former government Minister following an altercation at their marital home reported to police that she lefy home at about 6 am on Thursday and returned at about 12.45 in the afternoon when she discovered a window to the western side of the house, pried open and the house ransacked.

The woman said she made a check and discovered that none of her valuables were stolen but, when she carried out a check on her computer she discovered that an attempt was made to retrieve information from the computer. She could not ascertain if the intruder was able to copy the information from her computer but believed that the illegal entry into her home was an attempt to secure information from her computer.

Officers of the Four Roads Police Station along with Finger print experts went to the house but no workable prints were found.

The victim is now contemplating installing cameras at the house and has expressed fear for her safety.

As a result of the incident police have stepped up patrols in that particular area.
Opposition hits Sandals

Speaking in yesterdays Budget Debate in the Lower House, Charles quoted the book, Tourism and Responsibility in Latin America and the Caribbean. Charles said that when the Sandals company took over a hotel in St Lucia, many existing workers were sent home and some of those kept on were paid lower wages than before. He also bemoaned that the hotel chain is non-unionised, except in St Lucia.

Couva North MP Ramona Ramdial later also queried Sandals. She contrasted Imberts claim that it would take two and a half years to build a Tobago Sandals with other reports that it would take three and a half years, so delaying any financial benefits to the TT economy.

She drew lessons from the current public spat between Sandals and the Antigua Government, where the resort enjoys a 25 year tax holiday resulting in decreased revenues to that island. Sandals pays no direct taxes, on items such as imported food, she elaborated.

Urging Tobagonians to hold a full consultation over Sandals, she said, We dont want to see them (Tobagonians) robbed. Ramdial raised other concerns. She said local activist, Pat Turpin, had said Sandals had failed to consult Tobagonian environmentalists. Part of the proposed location of the resort is a wetlands that is protected as a Ramesar Convention site, with an online protest petition so far gaining 2,000 signatures.

The resort would need supporting infrastructure such as roads but no timelines have been given for this. The resort also needs TTEC to upgrade the electricity supply, but no funds have yet been approved for this, added Ramdial.
US blames Russia for hacking political groups

United States,Politics, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Washington, Oct 8 (IANS) The United States on Friday blamed Russia for hacking US political sites, an accusation immediately dismissed as "nonsense" by Moscow.

Shortly after the White House claimed in a statement that US intelligence was "confident" that Russia was behind recent hacking of emails from US citizens and political organisations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly dismissed the accusation.

"Every day there are tens of thousands of attacks on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's website. Many of the attacks can be traced to the US but we're not blaming the White House or Langley every time," Xinhua news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

In July, WikiLeaks disclosed a trove of emails hacked from the accounts of staff at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) which appeared to discredit Democratic Party's claim of neutrality in the primary elections.

According to contents of the almost 20,000 emails, DNC officials -- who are supposed to remain neutral during the primary contest -- appeared to conspire against Hillary Clinton's rival Bernie Sanders.

After the disclosure, the DNC blamed Russia for the hack of emails despite the fact that a hacker, with the name of "Guccifer 2.0" claimed responsibility for the cyber attack.

--IANS

vgu/
US lifts economic sanctions on Myanmar

United States,Politics,Diplomacy,Business/Economy, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

Washington, Oct 8 (IANS) US President Barack Obama has issued an executive order to lift economic sanctions on Myanmar.

The move came on Friday after Obama's announcement that the US was ready to lift sanctions on the Asian country during Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to Washington last month, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a letter to Congress, Obama said he has determined that "it is necessary to terminate the national emergency" with regard to Myanmar.

"I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency with respect to Burma (Myanmar) has been significantly altered by Burma's (Myanmar's) substantial advances to promote democracy," Obama said.

The Treasury Department said that as a result of Obama's announcement, the economic and financial sanctions administered by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control were no longer in effect.

Myanmar has made significant strides in recent years, "including choosing a civilian-led, democratically elected government", said Adam Szubin, acting US Under Secretary of Treasury.

"Lifting economic and financial sanctions will further support trade and economic growth, and treasury will continue to work with Burma to implement a robust anti-money laundering regime that will help to ensure the security of its financial system," Szubin said.

Last month, Obama announced his intention to reinstate preferential treatment for Myanmar under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme, a preferential tariff system.

In May, the US lifted some of the sanctions on Myanmar to show support for the country's political reforms and economic growth and to facilitate trade between the two sides.

The move eased restrictions on Myanmar's financial institutions, allowed certain transactions related to US individuals living in the country, and removed seven state-owned enterprises and three state-owned banks from the US blacklist.

--IANS

py/
Force prepared to take up any challenge: IAF chief

Delhi,National,Defence/Security,Terrorism, Fri, 07 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Saturday said the IAF is prepared to deal with "any challenge" in "most befitting manner".

In his message on official Facebook page of the IAF -- Indian Air Force, Power to Punish -- the Air Force chief said the force is operating some of the most modern weapon and equipment and the air warriors exercise ceaseless vigil of skies.

"We continue to train to take up any threat and are fully prepared to undertake any challenge in most befitting manner," the IAF chief said.

The official Facebook page of IAF was launched on Saturday on 84th Air Force Day.

The Air Force Day is celebrated to commemorate the day the force was officially established, October 8, 1932.

--IANS

ao/py/
Amid Indo-Pak tension, Goa Archbishop calls for prayers for 'Mother India'

Goa,National,Indo-Pak/Pakistan,Religion,Diplomacy, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Panaji, Oct 8 (IANS) Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao, religious leader of Goan Catholics who account for more than a quarter of Goa's population, has appealed for special prayers for peace for "Mother India", especially in the light of simmering hostilities with Pakistan.

"I call upon members of other religious communities in our Archdiocese to join us in praying for our Mother India," Ferrao said in a statement issued here on Saturday.

"Ironically, it (peace) is one of the most eluding goods in today's society. The fragile peace along the Indian border with neighbouring Pakistan is regularly disturbed by exchange of fire and other forms of violence, revealing a simmering state of hostility and suspicion between two countries that otherwise share linguistic, cultural, geographic and even economic links," Ferrao said.

The archbishop said that instructions had been issued to the church and parish networks to conduct special prayers "for one another and for peace in our land".

--IANS

maya/py/bg
DoCoMo moves US court, Tata Sons to resist

West Bengal,National,Immigration/Law/Rights,Business/Economy, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Kolkata, Oct 8 (IANS) In a dispute between NTT DoCoMo and Tata Sons over the enforcement of a US $1.17 billion award by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Japanese firm has moved a US court.

Tata Sons said that it would resist the enforcement and filed evidence before the English High Court of Justice in London supporting its application for setting aside the UK court order.

In a statement issued on late Friday night, the Indian conglomerate said that it has from the outset "emphasised its commitment to honouring its contractual obligations to DoCoMo in accordance with the applicable law".

"... 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.

"On that basis, Tata Sons is resisting enforcement in India and will resist enforcement in any other jurisdiction DoCoMo files for enforcement, said a Tata Sons spokesperson.

According to a statement, the company has already "placed the full amount awarded to DoCoMo in the arbitration - US$ 1.17 billion, in cash - with the High Court of Delhi", where the Japanese company had previously filed for enforcement of the arbitral award. "The entire issue is pending adjudication," the spokesperson said.

In a separate statement issued late on Friday, Tata Sons also informed that the company on Friday filed evidence in support of its September 5, 2016 application before the English High Court of Justice. "The application seeks to set aside the Court's July 25th, 2016 ex-parte order that granted NTT DoCoMo Inc. leave to enforce the LCIA arbitral award dated June 22nd, 2016," the spokesperson said.

Its evidence outlines the grounds on which enforcement of the award will be resisted by it.

"These include: first, that DoCoMo has not validly tendered its shares in Tata Teleservices to Tata Sons; second, that performance of the award without approval by the Reserve Bank of India would be illegal under Indian law and/or contrary to public policy," the company said.

"By pursuing the above application, Tata Sons is following the path laid down by the arbitral tribunal in the award. The tribunal expressly left open the issue of whether performance of the award would require approval from the RBI. 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," the statement said.

--IANS

bdc/pgh/bg
India never counts bullets while retaliating: Rajnath

Rajasthan,National,Politics,Defence/Security, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Barmer (Rajasthan), Oct 8 (IANS) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reviewed security on the international border in the desert state and said India never attacked anyone but doesn't count the bullets when retaliating.

On the second day of his visit to Rajasthan, Singh visited the Border Security Force's Munabao Border Outpost (BOP) here.

"India never attacks anyone and we do not intend to occupy others' land. Our heritage is 'Vasudev Kutumbakam' or the whole world is one family. We never open fire first; but if attacked, in retaliation we never count the bullets after pulling the trigger," the Union Minister said while addressing BSF personnel.

Singh's comments come in the wake of heightened tension between India and Pakistan following the Indian Army's surgical strikes against terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control on September 29 and the September 18 Uri terror attack.

Lauding the BSF, Singh assured that the Centre will do everything to improve infrastructure on the international borders and their service conditions.

He said urgent repairs on damaged border fence at some places will be carried out, and periodically reviewed thereafter.

The minister said installation of flood lights and a road parallel to the border fencing will also be completed to facilitate effective border patrols.

Pointing out that some BOPs do not have telephone facility, he said connectivity will be ensured with the sanction of more mobile phone towers close to the border. In the meantime, more satellite phones will be provided at the BOPs, he assured.

Singh said the Centre will soon address the shortage of bulletproof jackets and consider procuring such jackets that are lighter.

He said the BSF's proposal to construct safety walls and ring bunds on peripheries of BSF battalion headquarters and BOPs will be examined.

The Union Minister said the issue of discomfort caused by camouflage uniform of BSF personnel will also be addressed.

On Friday, Rajnath Singh had visited Murar and adjoining BOP in Jaisalmer district and interacted with the BSF troopers there.

--IANS

and/tsb/vm
India's Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan taken from Egypt's project: World Bank

United States,Business/Economy, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Washington, Oct 8 (IANS) The Narendra Modi government's ambitious Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan is based on the knowledge sharing from a similar project in Egypt, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said here.

"Through our new structure of global practices, knowledge sharing across countries has become easier and faster. When the Government of India came to the bank to prepare a major programme to expand sanitation services for the poor, we were able to transfer knowledge and experience from Egypt's Rural Sanitation Project and apply it in India," Kim said at the plenary meet of the World Bank held on Friday.

"That resulted in the $1 billion Swachh Bharat Rural Sanitation Project in India, which applied knowledge of good service delivery - in the areas of local governance, transparency and accountability to citizens - that had already been taken to scale in Egypt," he added.

Kim said that the bank was looking to share knowledge from these two projects globally to help deliver better results on the ground.

He said that the World Bank is also looking to crowd in private sector investment in sectors like infrastructure.

India has one of the largest networks of roads in the world, but the the two per cent of its national highways carry 40 per cent of traffic, causing bottlenecks that can limit productivity and slow economic growth.

"Infrastructure is key to integrating economies and delivering services. To help improve India's roads, International Finance Corporation invested $250 million in the Singapore-based firm Cube Highways. The firm is acquiring a portfolio of toll roads in India, injecting much-needed funds for road developers to complete their projects," Kim said.

--IANS

mm/ask/vm
Delhi heading for chaos with all our decisions being nullified: Kejriwal

Delhi,National,Politics, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) Hitting out again at Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday all the decisions taken by his government in the last one-and-a-half years are being rendered "null and void", which will lead to chaos.

"This will have serious ramifications for the city and it will send Delhi back by almost two years. But unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening in Delhi," he said at a press conference at his residence here.

Kejriwal's remarks come a day after Jung declared Mehboob Alam's appointment as Delhi Waqf Board CEO illegal and dissolved the religious body on Friday.

He also asked the Delhi government to withdraw its last year's notification of increasing circle rates of agricultural land in Delhi.

At this Kejriwal said: "We increased the circle rate of agricultural land in Delhi from Rs 53 lakh to Rs 3.5 crore. Many farmers even got the money as per revised rates from their land. Now that decision is being made 'ab initio' null and void. Will we take the money back from the farmers."

"We have made many flyovers, now will they be demolished? We constructed 8,000 classrooms. Will they have to be demolished as well," he asked.

Kejriwal said if there is corruption involved in all those decisions, then the Lt. Governor can get them investigated, but they should not be made null and void just because his consent was not taken.

He said before the August 4 High Court order, which held the Lt Governor had primacy over the Delhi administration, his government took various decisions "legitimately", believing that Lt Governor's consent was not needed for some issues.

"However, LG believed that his consent was needed. Our intention was not wrong while taking those decisions. The court case was going on and now there's the interpretation that his approval is needed," Kejriwal said.

He also noted that while prior approval was not taken, all the files were sent to the Lt Governor for his information.

"LG could have raised an objection then. You can't express a difference of opinion in infinity. What will happen to those orders now? Delhi will be headed for chaos if it goes on like this," he said.

He stressed that if prior approval was not taken, the Lt Governor should give his approval now so that all the work done in the last one and a half years is not reduced to nothing.

Assuring that in future, decisions will be taken as per orders of the High Court, and whatever order is given by the Supreme Court, Kejriwal requested the Central government "not to victimise the people of Delhi".

--IANS

vv/vd/vm
No hopes of breakthrough in ties during Modi's tenure: Sartaj Aziz

Pakistan,Indo-Pak/Pakistan,Diplomacy, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Islamabad, Oct 8 (IANS) Amid escalating tensions, Pakistan continued to strike a tough posture against India, with top Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz saying that there can be no expectations of any breakthrough in ties with India during the tenure of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In an interview to a TV channel, Aziz on Friday said Pakistan had been resisting India's "hegemonistic attitude" in the region and calling for the promotion of bilateral ties on an equal basis, Pakistan Today reported.

He said the joint session of the Pakistani parliament had unanimously adopted a resolution that encompassed all issues including the "condemnation of brutalities in Kashmir, ceasefire violations at Line of Control by India, negation of Indian view of Kashmir as its integral part, condemnation of Indian threat to revoke Indus Waters Treaty and Indian intervention in Balochistan".

Aziz said the parliamentary resolution would be circulated across Pakistan's missions, media and think tanks across the world. He said during interactions at various platforms across the globe the majority view was that dialogue should resume between the two countries.

To a question on the Indian Home Minister saying that the India-Pakistan border would be sealed, Aziz said there was no harm in sealing the border as planned by India if the points of public movement and trade were maintained.

Aziz also said that India cannot succeed in diverting the world attention from the Kashmir issue through the September 18 "Uri-like self staged incidents".

His remarks came as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi told the world body that non-implementation of the Kashmir resolutions is the "most persistent failure" of the UN.

Addressing the General Assembly's Special Political and Decolonization Committee, Lodhi said on Friday that for over six decades the UN Security Council has failed to implement resolutions promising a plebiscite to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their destiny.

"This is the most persistent failure of the United Nations," Lodhi said.

Lodhi also said that Jammu and Kashmir "never was and can never be" an integral part of India. "It is disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council," she said.

Targeting India, Lodhi said: "Generation after generation of Kashmiris has only seen broken promises and brutal oppression."

"Today the Kashmiri people have risen again in unison against an occupation," Pakistan Today quoted Lodhi as saying.

She termed the current uprising in the Kashmir valley, in which 90 people have been killed since July 9, as "the worst form of state terrorism, a war crime, which India has perpetrated by its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir for decades".

In keeping with Islamabad's attempt to bring global focus on Kashmir, Pakistan Prime Minister's special envoy on Jammu and Kashmir was in the US where he presented a "dossier containing evidence of the atrocities carried out by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir" to Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, Peter Lavoy on Friday.

Mushahid Hussain Syed, targetting the US, said that Pakistan has observed a "change" in the Washington's diplomatic policy, marked by its closer ties with India -- which is the reason for Pakistan's burgeoning ties with Russia.

"We (Pakistan) are observing a change in the US diplomatic policy."

Hussain said every action has a reaction, and Pakistan felt the need to develop close ties with Russia after President Barack Obama's two visits to India.

"This was the start of a new chapter in Pakistan-Russia ties," Hussain said, adding that Moscow is in favour of building a working relationship with countries of South Asia region, Dawn reported.

Accusing Obama of changing the policy for political gains, Hussain said the US State Department had refused to give visa to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2006, but it took a U-turn after Modi was elected as the Prime Minister.

"This U-turn of US policy can be traced back to the time of Bush administration, when the US-India nuclear deal was signed which was against the law of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Hussain, at a programme organised by the think tank Atlantic Council in Washington.

He also asked for a probe into the September 18 terror attack on an Indian army camp in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.

"UN military observer group for India and Pakistan should investigate the attack. Crossing the Line of Control to attack any target in India is not possible for any militant," he said.

He said that India should share with Pakistan if it has any evidence or intelligence regarding the attack, which left 19 Indian soldiers dead. India has blamed the attack on Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group.

The tough Pakistan stance came as India said that firing by the Pakistani Army on Saturday injured one of its soldiers on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian soldier was injured in unprovoked shelling and firing by the Pakistani side in Mendhar sector of Jammu region, said Indian authorities.

--IANS

rn/vm
Protests in Srinagar after boy's death, clashes in other parts of Valley (Roundup)

Jammu And Kashmir,National,Kashmir,Politics,Defence/Security, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Srinagar, Oct 8 (IANS) Clashes broke out in Srinagar after a boy with pellet injuries died in hospital on Saturday, taking to 91 the toll in the nearly three month-long cycle of violence, and forcing authorities to impose curfew, while violent protests were also reported from other parts of the Kashmir Valley.

Twelve-year-old Junaid Ahmad Bhat of Saidpora area, who was admitted to a hospital with pellet injuries on Friday, died on Saturday morning, leading to tension.

Bhat had been injured on Friday after security forces fired pellets at him.

Local residents, as well as the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said Bhat had not been part of any protests in the area and his death needs to be probed.

PDP General Secretary Nizamuddin Bhat demanded a probe into the boy's death.

Hundreds of protesters, carrying Bhat's body, clashed with the security forces in Eidgah area, and the latter had to use tear smoke shells to disperse the mourners.

As trouble spread to other areas of Srinagar, authorities quickly imposed curfew in areas falling under seven police stations here.

The prevailing tension checked the progress towards peace in the city where private transport and pedestrian movement had nearly normalised during the last one week.

In the evening, tensions, however, decreased marginally in the uptown civil lines area where private vehicles moved following relaxation in protest schedule by the separatists from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m.

However, the old city areas did not witness any lowering of tensions where authorities continued with curfew to prevent protests and violence.

With the boy's death, as many as 91 people have died and over 12,000 injured during the last 92 days since July 9, when the current unrest started in the Valley after the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

For the 13th consecutive Friday, no congregational prayers were allowed inside the historic Jamia Masjid in old city's Nowhatta.

Authorities also foiled the separatist march to the uptown Sonawar area where the office of the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) is located.

Meanwhile, clashes also erupted in Pulwama and Shopian districts in south Kashmir and Bandipora in the north Kashmir after Friday prayers.

All educational institutions, public transport and main markets have remained shut in the Valley.

Train services between the Valley and Bannihal town in the Jammu region have also remained suspended during this period.

--IANS

sq/vd/vm
'Tutak Tutak Tutiya': A two-hour ordeal (Movie Review, Rating: *

New Delhi,Cinema/Showbiz,Bollywood, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Film: 'Tutak Tutak Tutiya'; Director: Vijay; Starring: Prabhudheva, Sonu Sood, Tamannaah Bhatia; Rating:*

"Tutak Tutak Tutiya" is designed as a grand farce where everyone gets to have a wish come true. Prabhudheva gets to try out his doddering comic timing in scenes that are written in mock-horrific loops. And goodness, what is that thick Tamilian accent doing in the Hindi version of a film that has a Telugu and Tamil version?

Farah Khan who thinks she can act gets to play dance-show judge. It's like Arnab Goswami playing a new anchor. Then there is Sonu Sood who gets to play Superstar Raj Khanna.

This is a film that will give you sleepless nights for days to come...That's after you come out of a daze brought on by Tamannaah as she transforms from a devoted domesticated housewife into a slithering hip-shaking lip-pouting diva star as Ruby.

Please note. Good girls wear saris, stay at home to look after their husband's home while he goes out to flirt with women in skirts pretending to be a bachelor . Tammannah who is a competent performer goes from dazed housewife to dazzling film star with as much enthusiasm as a cook moving from brinjal curry to dahi vada.

For some strange reason she is repeatedly shown in a state of just-had-bath with a towel tied around her hair.

Prabhudheva who is a devastating dancer is here cast as a selfish, uncaring husband. He is an office goer who gives his biodata to every single girl hoping she would become his girlfriend. The man is a borderline stalker in this monstrously improper comedy-horror. Prabhudheva is shown bullying, slapping, heckling and haranguing women including his wife. It's a bloody embarrassment for the actor and he looks as though he was being forced to keep a dentist's appointment which he would rather skip.

A broad crass comedy may work if the actors believe in the material, no matter how outrageous it may be. Here in the film, the performers go through the motions as though stuck in the loo with constipation. The odds of their conquering the inertia that is so clearly mapped on their faces remains at the most, bleak.

There is very little in this film to brighten up the proceedings. Unless those rumbustious Bhangra numbers put a beat in your feet. Two of them feature Esha Gupta and Amy Jackson. But don't get your hopes too high. Amy doesn't even dance. She just stands around looking bored watching others shake a leg. This was where I could identify with a character's emotion.

Stay away from this dead meat posing as freshly baked barbecue. Revenge they say, is best served cold. The film serves it piping hot. We, and poor Prabhudheva, must have done something terribly wrong to deserve this.

--IANS

skj/nv/bg
Junior's Fashion Week to debut in November

Karnataka,Cinema/Showbiz,Lifestyle/Fashion, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Bengaluru, Oct 8 (IANS) The Indian fashion industry is going to witness another fashion week but this time it is meant for kids. The Junior's Fashion Week is all set to debut on November 25 showcasing hand picked clothes, footwear and accessories for children.

The three-day extravaganza which will be held here, will have different brands participating in it.

"We look forward to be most sought after children's fashion event internationally and to pump up business opportunities for associated brands and a fantastic 'edutainment' platform for children," Sharma Vin, Project Head with Junior's Fashion Week, said in a statement.

The event will be an amalgamation of style and culture as the designs on display will include handloom, organics and heritage products that take their inspiration from different cultures and societies.

The show will also feature some international brands and their latest collection.

--IANS

ks/nv/bg
India won't count bullets if attacked: Rajnath Singh

Barmer (Rajasthan), Sat, 08 Oct 2016 NI Wire

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Barmer (Rajasthan) to review the security at International border with Pakistan. He said that India wont count the bullets if attacked.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reviewed security on the international border in the desert state and said India never attacked anyone but doesn't count the bullets when retaliating.

On the second day of his visit to Rajasthan, Singh visited the Border Security Force's Munabao Border Outpost (BOP) here.

"India never attacks anyone and we do not intend to occupy others' land. Our heritage is 'Vasudev Kutumbakam' or the whole world is one family. We never open fire first; but if attacked, in retaliation we never count the bullets after pulling the trigger," the Union Minister said while addressing BSF personnel.

Singh's comments come in the wake of heightened tension between India and Pakistan following the Indian Army's surgical strikes against terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control on September 29 and the September 18 Uri terror attack.

Lauding the BSF, Singh assured that the Centre will do everything to improve infrastructure on the international borders and their service conditions.

He said urgent repairs on damaged border fence at some places will be carried out, and periodically reviewed thereafter.

The minister said installation of flood lights and a road parallel to the border fencing will also be completed to facilitate effective border patrols.

Pointing out that some BOPs do not have telephone facility, he said connectivity will be ensured with the sanction of more mobile phone towers close to the border. In the meantime, more satellite phones will be provided at the BOPs, he assured.

Singh said the Centre will soon address the shortage of bulletproof jackets and consider procuring such jackets that are lighter.

He said the BSF's proposal to construct safety walls and ring bunds on peripheries of BSF battalion headquarters and BOPs will be examined.

The Union Minister said the issue of discomfort caused by camouflage uniform of BSF personnel will also be addressed.

On Friday, Rajnath Singh had visited Murar and adjoining BOP in Jaisalmer district and interacted with the BSF troopers there.

--with IANS inputs
PM Modi greets nation on the occasion of Air Force Day

New Delhi, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 NI Wire

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets the people of country on the occasion of Air Force Day today. He posted message on his twitter account with a photo with personnels.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended his greetings on the 84th anniversary of the Air Force Day and thanked the force for protecting skies.

"Saluting all air warriors and their families on the Air Force Day. Thank you for protecting our skies. Your courage makes India proud," Modi tweeted.

The Indian Air Force is celebrating its 84th anniversary on Saturday by scintillating air display by various aircrafts at Air Force Station Hindan in Uttar Pradesh.

The Indian Air Force was officially established on October 8, 1932.

(with agencies inputs)
We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.
Contrary to what the adversaries of Moroccos territorial integrity claim, international observers expressed satisfaction with regard to the smooth conduct of legislative elections in the southern Provinces, the Sahara, which registered the highest turnout rate at the national level.

This high turnout in the southern provinces evidences the inhabitants involvement in their countrys political life and reflects their commitment to national unity.

One of the observers, Karongozi Andre Martin, from the Belgian association of lawyers without borders described as very good the atmosphere in the polling stations in Laayoune.

The voting process took place in good conditions without any incident, he told the Moroccan news agency, MAP.

Martin also highlighted the strong enthusiasm shown by voters in Laayoune where turnout was among the highest nationally at 57%.

For his part, French professor of constitutional law Christophe Boutin, who observed the elections in Tarfaya (Laayoune region), noted that the voting process took place in full transparency, adding that there was no pressure either outside or inside the polling stations.

The elections observation process was supervised by the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) which says that 4684 observers monitored Moroccan elections, including some 400 accredited international observers.
Its going to be a long weekend. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Donald Trump, facing the biggest crisis of his campaign over the emergence of a recording in which he brags about his ability to sexually assault women, remained defiant on Saturday, telling The Wall Street Journal that there was zero chance he would quit the presidential race, and additionally telling the Washington Post that, Id never withdraw. Ive never withdrawn in my life. Those comments have come in response to widespread outrage from GOP officials and politicians, many of whom are now saying they will not vote for Trump and are calling on him to drop out of the race and be replaced by vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence, even though that doesnt seem very feasible at this late stage in the campaign.

That exodus began on Friday evening, as the reality of Trumps 2005 Access Hollywood remarks was sinking in, and picked up pace on Saturday, when even John McCain ended up abandoning the Republican nominee. This was all in spite of Trumps taped apology, released after midnight on Friday, in which he did sort of apologize for his boasting about groping women; however, he also called the story a distraction and insisted that Hillary and Bill Clinton are much worse than he is. Trump also assured the Journal that his family understands because theyre very loyal, and that he has been receiving unbelievable support from his base since the video came out. Trump thus expects the outrage to blow over as he thinks it has after his other horrifying comments. People get it. They get life, he added, about why voters will forgive him for saying that he could freely grab women by the genitals because he was famous.

Or, expressed in a more CAPS-LOCK way:

The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGA  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2016

A growing list of GOP lawmakers dont agree anymore. Kelly Ayotte, who is in a tight race to hold onto her Senate seat in New Hampshire, and who had taken fire earlier in the week for implying at a debate that Trump was a good role model for children, is now openly opposing him. She announced on Saturday that shell be writing in Pences name on Election Day, and that, I wanted to be able to support my partys nominee, chosen by the people, because I feel strongly that we need a change in direction for our country. However, Im a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women. (Nevertheless, the campaign for Ayottes Democratic opponent, Governor Maggie Hassan, has already put out an attack ad tying her to Trumps comments.)



Arizona senator John McCain has never been fond of Trump, but the 2008 Republican presidential nominee had agreed to support him in the interests of party unity  at least until Saturday. After airing a number of grievances against Trump, McCain announced in a statement that Trumps pro-groping remarks were the final straw, and that the senator was calling for Trump to drop out. McCain also announced that he and his wife, Cindy, will instead write in the name of some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be President on Election Day.

On Friday, Utah congressmember Jason Chaffetz also un-endorsed Trump, announcing that, I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president, though he didnt say that Trump should quit the race. Utah senator Mike Lee did make that request, however:

Its occurred to me on countless occasions today that if anyone spoke to my wife, my daughter, my mother or any of my five sisters the way Mr. Trump has spoken to women, I wouldnt hire that person. I wouldnt hire that person, wouldnt want to be associated with that person, and, I certainly dont think I would feel comfortable hiring that person to be the the leader of the free world.

GOP senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia also withdrew her support on Saturday, insisting she cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women, and calling on Trump to reexamine his candidacy. Republican representative Martha Roby of Alabama tweeted on Saturday morning that she wants Trump gone, too:

Donald Trump's behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won't vote for him.



Full statement: pic.twitter.com/Ge7GU1TSvm  Rep. Martha Roby (@RepMarthaRoby) October 8, 2016

Her fellow Alabaman, Rep. Bradley Byrne also ditched Trump on Saturday, as did Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock, New Jersey Rep. Scott Garrett, and Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. Utah Rep. Mia Love, who had never endorsed Trump, confirmed on Saturday that she would not be voting for him either. Before that, Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman said on Friday that, For the good of the country, and to give the Republicans a chance of defeating Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump should step aside. In Nevada, Rep. Cresent Hardy is out, and Rep. Joe Heck withdrew his support and asked that Trump step down at a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday, but that apparently didnt go over so well with his supporters:

Heck is getting booed as he says Trump should step down. "I'm so disappointed in you," one yells.

This is what the Republicans have wrought.  Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) October 8, 2016

South Dakotas John Thune  the number three Republican in the Senate  is also now off the Trump train and wants Pence to take his place, as does Idaho senator Mike Crapo, who cast blame on Trumps pattern of behavior and disrespectful, profane, and demeaning comments toward women. Colorado senator Cory Gardner is out, too, as of Saturday afternoon, and Republican governors Dennis Daugaard, of South Dakota, and Gary Herbert, of Utah, are also done with the Donald. And Illinois senator Mark Kirk and Nebraska senator Ben Sasse, who had both long ago disavowed Trump, are now calling for his replacement as well.

More than 50 prominent, Republican elected officials were off the Trump bandwagon by Saturday evening:

I've listed the 55 GOP officials who've stated they don't support Trump (& I've isolated those who already didn't): https://t.co/ajdZJn9jqW pic.twitter.com/DFMvqlvxyl  Taniel (@Taniel) October 8, 2016

Also:

Source tells me "disgusted" RNC staffers are openly "defying orders" to keep working for Trump https://t.co/ZCZa1Jrnzf  Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) October 8, 2016

Carly Fiorina, who had run against Trump in the GOP primaries, also called on Trump to step aside on Saturday, writing on Facebook that Trump does not represent me or my party and that he has manifestly failed in his responsibilities as a nominee. She was preceded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerces Rob Engstrom, who tweeted on Friday night that Trump was fundamentally offensive and unqualified and called on him to bow out. Trump can take Alex Smith, the chair of the national College Republicans, off his email list as well, since Smith also washed his hands of the candidate on Saturday, remarking that the Party of Lincoln is not a locker room, and there is no place for people who think it is.

Even Hugh Hewitt, the conservative radio host who has made his show a port in the storm for Trump in the past, is walking away from the candidate:



For the benefit of the country, the party and his family, and for his own good, @realDonaldTrump should withdraw. More and worse oppo coming  Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) October 8, 2016

But not all Republicans are calling for Trumps withdrawal just yet, though there has been near-unanimous rejection and outrage over his comments from pretty much everyone with a pulse and a Twitter account.

Trumps running mate, Mike Pence, was reported to be beside himself on Friday after the Trump recording came out, but though he cancelled a Saturday appearance, he later released a statement maintaining his support for Trump:

As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the eleven-year-old video released yesterday. I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people. We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night.

Then again, this is just as likely to be true amidst such a crisis:

A source close to Trump camp told me Pence and his team are absolutely apoplectic, "melting down and "inconsolable.  Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) October 8, 2016

The event Pence was supposed to attend on Saturday was to be in Wisconsin and hosted by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who disinvited Trump from the event on Friday. Ryan also said on Friday that he was sickened by what I heard on the Trump recording and that he hoped, 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. That Saturday Wisconsin event didnt end up going over so well with Trump supporters, either.

Trump donors are apparently less-than-pleased as well. A prominent Trump bundler told CBS News on Saturday that he could not tell you how many calls he has received from ticked-off donors wanting their money back. Another report indicates that the RNC might be getting cold feet as well, since they suddenly paused part of a pro-Trump mailing campaign on Saturday.

So who else is still aboard the S.S. Trumptanic? Stalwarts Ben Carson, Sean Hannity, and Rudy Giuliani seem to still be defending the candidate, as are many of Trumps backers in the Evangelical Christian community. On Friday, Hannity acknowledged on his Fox News show that nobody is going to defend Trumps comments, but then worked to shift attention to Bill Clintons sex scandals and at one point even went biblical in joking that King David had 500 concubines for crying out loud. As for Giuliani? Well:

Giuliani, leaving Trump Tower, signals Trump is ready to wage war against his party. "This is basically the insiders versus the outsiders."  Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 8, 2016

But while the suddenly default assumption by Republicans rejecting Trump is that he can be replaced with Pence, is that actually true? Politico reports that RNC lawyers are investigating it, but the odds look beyond long, especially if Trump doesnt actually quit:

On Friday night, RNC chair Reince Priebus told an aggrieved state party chair that he realized a public dumping of Trump by the party would sink the nominees remaining chances. He said the committee would take 48 hours to reevaluate its election strategy, according to a Republican operative briefed on the conversation. The RNC saw the departure of two low-level field staffers in the states on Friday night and is expecting more, according to the operative.



Meanwhile, the RNC has lawyers examining the possibility of putting forth another nominee one month from Election Day, with ballots already printed and early voting in progress in some states, according to two other Republicans. RNC has an army of lawyers right now looking at Rule 9 and ballot questions, said one, a Republican strategist. The RNCs Rule 9 pertains to filling vacant nominations.



But the lawyers have concluded that Trump would have to cooperate in any attempt to replace him, said another Republican in touch with the committee. The fact remains that he can only be replaced if he quits or dies. And hes declared today hes not planning on doing either.



Or maybe desperate Republicans can fantasize about this kind of extremely unlikely scenario:

Trump can't be replaced on ballots but enough court rulings could make it Hillary 260, Trump 213, Pence 65, with GOP House electing Pence.  Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) October 8, 2016

The Washington Post puts its foot down and reports that the GOP is definitely stuck with Trump, pointing out that:

More than 34,000 Republican voters have already cast their ballots for the 2016 general election according to the U.S. Election Project, 8,000 of them in the battleground state of North Carolina and another 5,000 in Florida. Not all of those ballots were cast for Donald Trump, its safe to assume, but its more than likely that most of them were. And that, in a nutshell, is why its far too late for the Republican Party to dump Donald Trump from their ticket.

They go on to note that the GOP could amend [Rule 9] to dump Trump, for example, but that would take a majority of the partys Rules Committee and two-thirds of the entire party. This would be neither fast nor, necessarily, successful. In addition, ballot deadlines have already passed in several key swing states, and good luck winning without them.

But if the GOP is stuck with Trump, are they necessarily stuck with Trump at the top of their ticket? Writing at Vox, constitutional-law professor Akhil Reed Amar argues that there is one last chance for the Republican establishment to dump Trump: by flipping the ticket and putting the plodding, but at least plausible, Mike Pence in charge. He says that such a move would not require a formal ballot change, but would require Trump to pledge that he would step aside after taking the oath of office on Inauguration Day, making Pence the president (unless Trump wants to reassert his rights to the office later on):



Even if Trump initially resists taking the pledge, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell can force Trumps hand by threatening to retract their endorsements of him unless he pledges to flip. Pence himself could also threaten to quit, in advance of the election, unless Trump takes the deal. Their leverage only grows if the gap that opened this week between Clinton and Trump in the polls widens.



The Flip does not depend on Trumps ongoing good faith. Once it is publicly announced and voters act in reliance on it, Pence can and must enforce the deal even if Trump later tries to back out.



All Pence needs to do post-inauguration, if Trump tries to weasel out, is to declare Trump disabled under another clause of the 25th Amendment  Section Four. So long as the Cabinet and the Congress back Pence in this power play, Pence prevails. The 25th Amendment does not specify all the possible and permissible reasons for declaring someone incapable of discharging his or her duties. It merely states that the Cabinet and Congress must concur that this is the case. And why shouldnt they concur, given that this deal would have been blessed by voters on Election Day?



A bit far-fetched? Perhaps, but in this consistently insane election cycle, its certainly been proven that anything is possible again and again.

This post has been updated throughout to incorporate additional news and analysis.
Photo: Brian Ach/Getty Images for Showtime Networ

PaleyFest NY 2016 kicked off this week, and for the first time in the festivals four-year run, it honored shows specifically filmed in NYC. The lineup included Younger, Quantico, and Homeland, which jump-started the festivals week-plus run.

Showtimes Homeland is entering its sixth season this January with plenty of unanswered questions, but one of the most intriguing is what the future holds for the shows first female president. Its also the first time that Homeland has shifted its worldview to New York City, which will bring up all sorts of questions about how the world has changed post-9/11.

Claire Danes, who stars as former CIA operative Carrie Mathison, revealed a few details about president-elect Elizabeth Keane, who is played by Elizabeth Marvel, and what she has in common with this election cycles nominees. (Marvel also played former presidential candidate Heather Dunbar in House of Cards.)

The parallels between Keane and candidate (and potential 45th president) Hillary Clinton are glaringly obvious, so we asked Danes whether the writers took their cues from real life as they prepped for this upcoming season.

Our writers [didnt] exactly hedge their bets, Danes told the Cut, before adding the only characteristic Keane shares with Republican nominee Donald Trump is that she  is a little rogue. She does have some Clinton-esque traits  she is tenacious and formidable, like Hillary  and she is politically more radical, which will endear her to all those who felt the Bern.



As for the relationship status of Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend) and Carrie or what the future holds for Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), thats information slightly beyond our clearance levels.
Nope. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Social media exploded after a video surfaced of Donald Trump talking with Billy Bush about sexually assaulting women. Trump, apparently not realizing he was on a live mic, told Bush, And when youre a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the py. You can do anything. (Bush has since apologized for gamely playing along, but thats unlikely to matter if he has to face his aunt, former First Lady and anti-Trumper Barbara Bush, over the Thanksgiving turkey.)

Last night, writer Kelly Oxford began tweeting about her own sexual assaults. Women: tweet me your first assaults. they arent just stats, she tweeted. Women began sharing their own experiences using the hashtag #notokay, and the results have been overwhelming. 1hr ago I shared my sexual assault & asked if you could do the same. Look at my timeline. 1000s of stories. We must discuss. Not our shame, Oxford wrote. (Of course, there were a lot of horrible anonymous Twitter users who took advantage of the hashtag to harass women, but what else is new?) This morning, Oxford tweeted, women have tweeted me sexual assault stories for 14 hours straight. Minimum 50 per minute. harrowing. do not ignore. #notokay

As for Trumps own history of being the attacker, numerous women came forward to the New York Times to describe being sexually assaulted by him over the years  not to mention the recently refiled lawsuit from a Jane Doe that alleges Trump raped her repeatedly when she was 13 at the apartment of convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein. (The previous link includes graphic details from the suit.)

So far, the presidential candidates most recent reply is simply as follows:

Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2016

At least it was shorter than his video apology last night.


interesting forehead ben.



also, this clip has definitely been showed on late night before.

Reply

Thread

Link

lol what is happening! As per Heidi Klum: "WHERE is this forehead going?"



Edited at 2016-10-08 03:19 am (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

voyage of the mimi was my elementary school jam, yessssssssssssss

Reply

Thread

Link

we used to watch it in science class!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

my school used to play it

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Considering I straight up watched this in elementary or junior high, I doubt it was that tough to dig up.



Every time people are stranded on an island in fiction and wondering where to get water, I remember this show. Because (I think.. unless I'm fabricating this memory), they set up trash bags to collect rain water with like a bag above so that when the water evaporates, it collects the fresh water and leaves the salt behind.



Edited at 2016-10-08 03:00 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

YESSS I REMEMBER THAT

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I feel equipped to survive shipwreck tbh. Although now I realize what I wrote makes no sense. I think they collected SEA water... and let it evaporate to leave impurities behind.



Or they just collected rainwater and didn't give a fuck about evaporation, lol



Edited at 2016-10-08 03:04 am (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

That is reminding me of Claudia Kishi being the best person to have on a desert island because she got shit done like collecting rainwater with a tarp. Unlike Dawn, who did nothing besides turn into the absurd annoying vegetarian stereotype complaining about only having fish to eat...





...while lost at sea.



Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Yep. It's called a solar still and may save your life someday but it's seriously not nearly as easy as they may make it look. I tried putting one out in my yard as an experiment in the middle of summer and it didn't produce water in like the two days I had it out there.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Lol they've been doing this to him on almost every show he's been on and you can slowly see him die on the inside

Reply

Thread

Link

How have I never seen this! I love Obama so much.



Reply

Thread

Link

I hate this show, but that was actually funny!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

dnw but Obama's entrance made me smile

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The Thank You Notes segment with Obama was also pretty good.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I watched the voyage of the Mimi a few years ago for the lulz

Reply

Thread

Link

mmm your icon. I was dying of thirst watching his new show.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Wishbone was my fave.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yassss. So much of my knowledge of classic literature stems from that show lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

My family got a Jack Russell Terrier because of my love for Wishbone.



Those dogs are dicks, fyi.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i watched it during fourth grade science class but personally forever bitter that carmen san diego was cancelled when i was finally old enough to try out for it.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

As a kid, my dream was to go on that Carmen Sandiego game show. God, that show was the best.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Heyyy! Fellow 80s born kid I'm guessing? I'm 33 and those were my shows!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lol my sixth grade class watched voyage of the mimi for science. i remember liking it.

Reply

Thread

Link

I'm cracking up at how it's described as them 'digging it up' which gives the impression that it was an involved process to obtain the video and that it's something new that is being shown. That shit has been on youtube for years and there are like 15 copies of it at my old library (prob because Boston but still...)



I'd be more impressed if they showed that After School Special where he took steroids....





oh wait, look what I just dug up





Reply

Thread

Link

omg this super dramatic opening



ty for bringing this into my life

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i effin loved this series!!! the one with Ally McBeal was my fave.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i had to watch this fuckin show in like, the fifth grade? it was zzzz. we wanted that bill nye hype.

Reply

Thread

Link

My 7th grade teacher forced us to watch Voyage of the Mimi. We all thought he was such a goober, then Armageddon came out and we all changed our tune real quick.

Reply

Thread

Link

Jimmy is so annoying IMO.. fuck his basic goofy coked up clown ass

Reply

Thread

Link

I watched Voyage of the Mimi in grade six. It was the shit back when I was a kid. I still remember the theme music.

Reply

Thread

Link

Definitely watched this in fifth grade. And for some reason learned sign language in the same unit. Was there a deaf character on the show? Whatever... Liked it at the time.

Reply

Thread

Link

THANK GOD. A BEN AFFLECK POST. I just got back from the Good will Hunting Live Read and i am still reeling. John surprised all of us with matt and Ben reprising their parts. i literally screamed on sight. I saw Ben walking from the wings because i had a balcony seat and i just SCREAMED. He got a standing ovation (and so did Matt obvs).



Edited at 2016-10-08 03:37 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

Could he still do the names of all the brothers without looking?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

YES. HE FUCKING DID IT. Naturally we all lost our shit.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Ahhh that's pretty amazing!! I would've freaked. Love that movie so much

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

kinda jelly about this now.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

OMG that's amazing!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

How was Emily Blunt? I thought she'd do a great job at it ngl

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

so sad that they don't record live reads. i get why but i hate missing out:(

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

OMG, so jealous. 

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Also, I know nothing about live reads. Do they do the whole movie? Who read for Robin's character? Did he do a good job?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link
what is happening in that gif 

Reply

Thread

Link

Invincible Misfit.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Watch Misfits! It's amazing

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I like it. Second episode wasn't as good as the first or this last one imo

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Here for Nathan

Reply

Thread

Link

This show had me rooting for a damn demon with that final scene.

Reply

Thread

Link

same lmao

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

me too

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

this worth checking? And how long do they expect this series to last?

Reply

Thread

Link

its only 10 eps so not drawn out too long!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I love Poncho in this.

Reply

Thread

Link

Only here for the gif! Nathan <3

Reply

Thread

Link

can't they use the official ost for this?



anyhow, i loved this ep and i was totally rooting for the demon during the last scene. fuck those guys and fuck everyone in that train who didn't help and they just stood and watched while she was getting harassed. total nope to that creepy kiss, the fuck.

Reply

Thread

Link

They used the bells at the end of the first episode. Which creeped me out lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i know!! i was so excited to hear it, i legit clapped my hands like a seal..i was hoping it was permanent but nope

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

OMG I am loving this so far!

The first episode was unexpected. My cat fell asleep, so I had to watch it alone.

Reply

Thread

Link
my favourite flavour to date is oh cone-ada but i cannot find it anywhere :(

Reply

Thread

Link

is it a retired flavor? :(

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

it must be, the only thing i can even find on google is articles about the woman who won the naming contest for it... congrats lady from kitchener ontario but i want the gosh darn ice cream

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





Hacked emails show Harvey Weinstein encouraged Clinton campaign to use the Sandy Hook issue against Sanders. https://t.co/0AiWXHgJaY pic.twitter.com/RpRlMEBn4u  The Intercept (@theintercept) October 7, 2016

speaking of BLM, did you guys see that Harvey Weinstein urged the Clinton campaign to silence Bernie's support of BLM?

Reply

Thread

Link

he's the literal devil. who is surprised.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

What does BLM have to do with Sandy Hook anyway? idgi

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

it says it in the first paragraph of the article:



Hacked emails show that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, a longtime ally of Hillary Clinton and a major fundraiser for her 2016 campaign, urged her campaign team to silence rival Bernie Sanderss message against police shootings of African-Americans. He suggested countering it with the Sandy Hook issue  a reference to Sanderss opposition to lawsuits against gun manufacturers.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Repugnant

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

He remains trash

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

he's horrible

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

he would

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

he was in the good will hunting live read tonight and when they all came out after the show someone asked Harvey for his autograph. he goes, "you people seriously want my autograph?" and i wanted to scream out NO. YOU FUCKING DICK.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Hes disgusting and Im surprised he isnt a Trump supporter

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Weinstein knows the value of divide and conquer. That Sandy thing was always thrown at Bernie whenever he tried to raise the issues.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

both weinstein and clinton are human garbage

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

ITT I learned Harvey went to UB!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

No but I like Haagen Dasz :( can coldstone do it instead, those bastards' stuff are way too sweet

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I love their premade flavors. That way I can take it home and watch tv and not have to hear them sing a stupid song while they mush my ice cream around

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Haagen Dasz is so overrated. Fucking Blue Bell >>>



Obviously B&J reigns supreme

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link





They're forming "#ClownLivesMatter," a group that advocates on behalf of professional #clowns. https://t.co/6jcP8M2KTw  ABC 7 Amarillo (@ABC7Amarillo) 2016107

no they'll come out with #clownlivesmatter to cash in on that clown cash

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

pumpkin cheesecake is my fave. i wish they made it all year.

Reply

Thread

Link

I just tried some for the first time tonight and omg, it is good.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Oh fuck yes. Found that last year and ate like 7 tubs of it before it disappeared. Heaven.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

ugh why did you have to let me know this exists?!?!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yo quiero!!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

chubby hubby! i just found it for the first time in like 5 years and then proceeded to eat it all in one sitting ...

Reply

Thread

Link

+1 for chubby hubby that shit is like crack for me. I used to love love love their Dublin Mudslide flavor too but then they went and sent it to the flavor graveyard :(



Edited at 2016-10-08 03:43 am (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

"We do not place the blame for this on individual officers."



i do lmao

Reply

Thread

Link

lol mte

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yup

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

ikr???? it's not a situation where only one entity is at fault. there are many perpetrators.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lol right?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

cherry garcia frev n always. gna get some or some strawberry cheesecake tomorrow. eff yeah b&j.



Edited at 2016-10-08 04:47 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

I don't recall ever having ben and jerry's to be honest.

Reply

Thread

Link

what

on

earth

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Me neither. As a kid, my mom was only going to buy store brand ice cream and even now I'm fine depriving myself of the experience.



Though come to think of it, I think I had a vanilla flavor. It was nice.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

honestly it's fine but idg why people like...care about it

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I don't know your age but I admit it could be a generation gap. Now, just about all ice cream has different stuff mixed into it and there's a yogurt or ice cream shop with mixings/toppings just about on every block but when Ben & Jerry's was new or even just 15 years ago, that wasn't the case. Ben & Jerry's was special for having all these over the top flavors with pretzels and chocolate fish and marshmallow and what have you.



Now it's not special and I guess that's why people don't care like they did.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Eh I'm not huge on ice cream but they have a really positive brand and they're involved in a lot of social issues and try to spread the word about things they support, which I appreciate.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Same! I hate ice cream tho

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

they're gr8. they have so many diff flavor / mishmosh of combo flavors

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I kept forgetting tbh oop.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Then you missed the boat. They took out all the delicious GMOs and it tastes like crap now. Get some Talenti instead.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

omg they've opened up right in my local cinema and it's sooooo good. Ice Cream is the one true god imo.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i've never had it but that's in large part due to how god damn expensive it is.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I've never had it either.





Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Don't feel bad. I don't think that I have either. I'm cheap and get whatever ice cream is on sale. Opps.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

If you do cardio, then you can enjoy the occasional sweet thing. I got a kid-sized scoop this week. (Any bigger and I get brain freeze and/or I feel icky because it's an excess of sugar and I start craving a hot beverage.)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

RIP. I get to eat whatever I want and keep a six pack, 28" waist.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

But don't all twinks have 2-pack abs

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

how old are you? my ex was like that but when he hit just about 31... blew up.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Having that same idea right now.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i wish their ice cream wasn't so expensive



Edited at 2016-10-08 03:11 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

same :(



every once in awhile my grocery store has them on sale for 2 for $5. that's the only time I get it lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

This is my problem. Love ice cream but with that price..

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

It's $12 a pint here. :(

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The fuck bitch. You live in Norway? One of my good friends told me that's how much that shit costs there and I was like omgggg

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I feel you. When I went to the USA I saw them on sale for 2 for $5. Now that I'm home, I paid $13.50 for a pint at the petrol station last weekend :'(

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

ir when i first went to australia and saw that i took a pic and sent it to all of my friends who were also like WTF

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

It's more like $15 where I am in Australia! We seem to only have it in service stations. Very weird! I've never had it.:(

Haha. Bradley Cooper in the new HD adverts! Vom.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

gonna eat a $5 pint for you right now

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

you didn't lie

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i've been non-dairy for abt two years now but early on in my tenure i tried to go back to ice cream and after so far away it just tasted bad to me rip

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

i had some rly great coconut milk ice cream awhile ago

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Coconut Bliss is great if you can find it.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

good for them



Milk & Cookies used to be my shit, but the last one I had was not good. It was like mushy cookie ice cream, blech.



The s'mores was not perfect, but a very good rich chocolate with toasted 'mallow. I just wanted more graham.



Tonight Dough is good.

Reply

Thread

Link

Ben & Jerrys has no good flavors. I don't like stuff in my ice cream. But good on them.

Reply

Thread

Link

i think they have simple flavors like vanilla though

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Eh, their plain vanilla kind of blows though. You can get better vanilla way cheaper.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

My roommate swears their plain vanilla is the best vanilla of all the vanillas.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

They started putting stuff in the ice cream because one of them can't taste things, so eating ice cream had to be a textural experience for him.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

cheesecake brownie is heaven on earth.



their cannoli one was amazing too but i can never find it anymore so im assuming its been discontinued.

Reply

Thread

Link

Aww man I forgot all about the canolli flavor. I loved that one.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

My best friend got me that one day while I was at work. I came home to finding it waiting for me in the freezer. I legit cried from sheer happiness. It was a very limited time flavor, and I don't think it did well enough for them to bring it back, which makes me super sad.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Cannoli was a limited time flavor :( RIP Cannoli

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

good for them speaking up



they stopped making imagine whirled peace and i haven't been the same

Reply

Thread

Link

Are you sure? All I ever see at my local Target is Imagine Whirled Peace.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
damn not marvel coming through with a great cast

Reply

Thread

Link

holy FUCK this is so great!!!

I'm so excited for this movie



Daniel is an absolute sweetie too omfg, I'm SO glad he's getting these big time jobs all of a sudden! He absolutely deserves them.

Reply

Thread

Link

Oops replied to the wrong comment :x



Edited at 2016-10-08 02:47 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

he was amazing on skins..i was rewatching a couple of episodes and wondering what happened to him. so glad he's broken through into american films.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

For real though!!! I have stanned Dan for years, I flipped when he was cast in Sicario and I'm freaking out even more now!! Love seeing talented and wonderful people get the success they deserve.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

He blew me away on his Black Mirror episode. I've been rooting for his career to blow up ever since.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

He was Glass Shard Guy, wasn't he? Yeah, he was amazing.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I've loved him since Skins. And he was so good in The Fades. I love when he pops up in stuff.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Cant wait til white people start crying about "lack of diversity" in this movie lmao

Reply

Thread

Link

lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Lmao

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

They got Martin Freeman and probably Andy Serkis. They can shut the fuck up.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Black Panther comes out Feb 2016



oh word? 

Reply

Thread

Link

i saw it, it was great!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

2016 so shit we're having a redo

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lol for real

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i'm glad they got florence back too, slay mama! the ladies in this film WHEW

Reply

Thread

Link

YES FLORENCE. She was so cool in CW, I was hoping she'd be back. Those 5 seconds were the best part of the film.

Reply

Thread

Link

yessssss @ florence! was waiting for that announcement. i like the other two, as well. daniel was so good in his black mirror ep.

Reply

Thread

Link

Whitaker (who can be seen in the upcoming Arrival and Star Wars: Rogue One) will play the role of Zuri, an elder stateman in Wakanda.



This is reminding me of the "accents" they'll all have. I won't be able to survive the "African" accents from this movie, but I will soldier on...

And now I'm reminded that judging from the Avengers, isiXhosa is the language of Wakanda... LMAO... Oh god.. I won't survive this linguistic mess...

Reply

Thread

Link

Ready for people to attempt the tongue clicks and fail. (Or is there a difference between Xhosa and isiXhosa? Because oop at me))

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Its the same thing. Xhosa is the Anglo way of saying isiXhosa which is how Nguni (Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele) people say it.



As a Zulu speaker, I'm as so conflicted about this. Maybe I should watch it on mute...

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

We had to learn how to do tongue clicks in my Phonetics class. I can do them in isolation, but no way I can put them in words. Not *quite* the embarrassing failure I am at rolling my r's, though.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

And Wakanda is supposed to be and East African country near Above Kenya LMAO, they are a wreck when it comes to properly representing African nations.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Does it sound as bad in English to native speakers as it does in the German dubbing to me? I had to watch Civil War in German and they just had a white German guy dubbing T'Challa and it did not sound in any way like someone from East Africa speaking German, more like someone speaking really slowly with an unusual pronounciation. I don't think I could watch an entire movie like that.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

what were your thoughts on t'challa's accent in civil war? he said the actor who played t'chaka, john kani taught him some xhosa.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link



We just need to here a non american accent/dialect.



#Truth Well this is an American film, and Here in America, for an actor/character to represent a specific ethnic nation (basically anything not southern american), one just needs to use the generic accent from said nations. No need to go into detail, there's no need, we Dont care lolWe just need to here a non american accent/dialect.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yasss Daniel Kaluuya was so great in black mirror

Reply

Thread

Link

I'm still low key pissed he didn't get a BAFTA nom for that performance. His monologue still gives me chills

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

He was the guy pining over Lady Sybil, right? Yeah, he was amazing. He totally should've gotten a nomination of some sort for that role.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

God damn.

Reply

Thread

Link



Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

Reply

Thread

Link

I like this. BUT: Wakanda is an EAST African nation right above Kenya, Ethiopa and used a Kenyan Tribes as it's inspiration for the wakanda name. Were are the all the East African actors?

Reply

Thread

Link

Great question tbh

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

one the current only one that is regionally correct

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Daniel Kaluuya's parents are from Uganda. So is Florence Kasumba or is that too Central Africa?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

yaaaaaas Posh Kenneth

Reply

Thread

Link

i do like seeing skins actors get roles in other things

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
His supporters will still find a way to make excuses for him.

Reply

Thread

Link

That's what I'm afraid as well, it's not like Trump supporters care about women anyway. They probably find this hilarious is anything.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

all his supporters are gross misogynistic assholes. it baffles me that there are women out there who support this raccoon.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

He's irrelevant but a UKIP spokesperson (Raheem Kassam or sth) said something along the lines of "liberals have been pushing sexual liberalisation and filthy hollywood culture for decades and now they're complaining"



way to completely miss the point bro

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I think you're right for the most part but I do think this might be the last straw for some of the religious right (like he still had a few Mormons on his side but I doubt he has many now)

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

they would have to care about women first to voice an opinion imo

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

There's people on my Facebook trying to brush it off as "all guys talk like this! It's just locker room banter!" I want to cry, punch something, and vomit all at the same time.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I saw a tweet that said verbatim: "What Trump said is nothing. If you're a real man, you've said and heard much worse."





VOMIT.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

i was glad to see some of his former supporters being all "wtf was i thinking" on /r/politics

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

His supporters won't see the problem with his behavior.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I've already seen my friend's mom make the excuse that she's heard other women say much worse. I was just in shock.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

There must be something seriously wrong in the world when a lot of people (myself included) aren't even surprised that the man who's running for president of the world's most powerful country is a vile misogynist who sexually harasses women.



I mean, we Europeans haven't been much wiser lately, but how can people actually think this man would make a good president? I will never understand.

Reply

Thread

Link

How is the whole Brexit ordeal going? Haven't heard about it since it happened.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

UK PM has said they will initiate the 'divorce' mechanism in spring 2017, from then on it'll be 2 years of negotiating between the UK and EU before Brexit happens. European leaders from most countries have said there will be no far reaching economics deal without free movement, Brexiters say there will be.



Racism and xenophobia still up in the UK, pound has done a death drop and further economic consequences not yet clear because Brexit still hasn't been triggered.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Wow, things must be bad if even TMZ is starting to turn on him.

Reply

Thread

Link





I love that it's Access Hollywood at the center of this; it is just so Trump, so B-Level/C-Level celebrity gossip rag brilliance. I also love that someone from inside leaked it to the holy Farenthold too, that Access Hollywood got scooped on themselves.



I love the idea that this will probably be explained in history books for years to come.



I also think that this is a super fair and accurate point:



You apparently can say whatever you want about Mexicans, Hispanics & Black people, but the Republican Party draws the line on white women.  Symone D. Sanders (@SymoneDSanders) October 8, 2016



It is very telling that yesterday started with him fucking saying that the Central Park 5 were criminals (DESPITE DNA EVIDENCE??!??!?!) being the initial story and then it immediately lost all traction. I wonder if this story did not happen today if people would give a shit about the CP5 thing.



I do think the main difference with this story is that there is no innuendo here. GOP has been so racist, xenophobic, and misogynistic but they have mastered the art of innuendo, gas lighting, etc. that they are able to spin Trump's comments as, "he was only talking about the criminals!" etc. This you can't spin. There is no power of innuendo to save these ugly awful monsters now.



It'll sicken me if the GOP can somehow squeak by this, though. The levels/spectrum of innuendo in the disavowing from Repubs is fascinating. It's amazing, too, though. Like them wanting him to step aside so MIKE PENCE (mike pence???) can try to win. As if he doesn't have an avalanche of awful things, as well. The GOP don't even get what's going on here.



But anyway yes it's been amazing. who knew i could enjoy CNN this much?



Edited at 2016-10-08 12:04 pm (UTC) It's been such a brilliant 20 hours or so.I love that it's Access Hollywood at the center of this; it is just so Trump, so B-Level/C-Level celebrity gossip rag brilliance. I also love that someone from inside leaked it to the holy Farenthold too, that Access Hollywood got scooped on themselves.I love the idea that this will probably be explained in history books for years to come.I also think that this is a super fair and accurate point:It is very telling that yesterday started with him fucking saying that the Central Park 5 were criminals (DESPITE DNA EVIDENCE??!??!?!) being the initial story and then it immediately lost all traction. I wonder if this story did not happen today if people would give a shit about the CP5 thing.I do think the main difference with this story is that there is no innuendo here. GOP has been so racist, xenophobic, and misogynistic but they have mastered the art of innuendo, gas lighting, etc. that they are able to spin Trump's comments as, "he was only talking about the criminals!" etc. This you can't spin. There is no power of innuendo to save these ugly awful monsters now.It'll sicken me if the GOP can somehow squeak by this, though. The levels/spectrum of innuendo in the disavowing from Repubs is fascinating. It's amazing, too, though. Like them wanting him to step aside so MIKE PENCE (mike pence???) can try to win. As if he doesn't have an avalanche of awful things, as well. The GOP don't even get what's going on here.But anyway yes it's been amazing. who knew i could enjoy CNN this much?

Reply

Thread

Link

My mom (who's much more into political twitter than me) said that he also referred to people crossing over as "things" and said that "we have to keep that shit out". I wonder if that's when he made the CP5 comments too. I was wondering the media would latch onto that if the tapes hadn't been released. I hope someone jumps on them eventually.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

ooh did not hear about that. but he did say something on thurs or fri morning that obama let so many immigrants into this country for the sole purpose of getting them registered to vote, so they could vote for dems

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

omg. You're right. I hadn't even HEARD about the Central Park five statement. That makes me absolutely sick.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Tbh, though it's still disgusting, the only reason they draw the line at white women is because they need SOME white women to win. They know by now that they won't be carrying the Latinx vote, the Black vote, the Gay vote, the Muslim vote, etc -- those numbers were low when it was Romney, and Trump has alienated everyone more. Yet, you can't win an election purely off the votes of white men -- especially when you don't even have ALL the white men. You need some white women if you stand any shot in hell at winning ever again.



These politicians trying to distance themselves from Trump now know that all any opponent would have to do is suggest they support this behavior toward women, and then the GOP risks losing the majority, and the general death of their party.





I don't think they've ever cared about women, even white women -- they just know they need us if they're ever going to keep any power.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

You're alive! I was worried about you.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm so fucking glad AC got scooped because they were going to wait till Monday to air it, AFTER the debate. Nah, this shit needed to get leaked now. Bravo to that intern who was like "fuck it, we're going live"

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I read a great tweet that said the Central Park Five should take out a full page New York Times ad to put Trump on blast. (For those not aware, Trump took out a full page ad to call for them to be executed.)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Out of all the things he's said (many of which I thought "Finally! Something that'll turn his more sane supporters.") I didn't expect that this is what people draw the line at. I had figured there was nothing (I thought for sure all the stuff he said about veterans and POW would lose him some supporters. GOP voters care a lot more about the military than women's rights it seemed to me).

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





I mean, this is a presedential election??? this is a major party candidate????



tf America this is all insaneI mean, this is a presedential election??? this is a major party candidate????tf America

Reply

Thread

Link

Omg the kitties :D

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Lol they look so shocked

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

you know it's serious when even those digital cats are like GET US THE FUCK AWAY FROM THIS ASSHOLE when they are all usually all about assholes when they meet a new friend





Edited at 2016-10-08 12:08 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Lol this ADD comment

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

What a time to be alive.



Oh wait.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

it's been fun watching the_donald subreddit implode, at least. they're all trying to drum up drama about the wikileaks and mods are deleting anyone who tries to post about the trump tapes instead

Reply

Thread

Link

Especially since some of those documents are fake. Like those fucking morons thought she actually called people "buckets of losers" as she can apparently only describe people while using objects that hold things.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Not to mention, "buckets of losers" is one hundred percent something Trump would say.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm so exhausted by all of this. I am still stunned that this piece of shit managed to get this far. He's such a vile shitstain.

Reply

Thread

Link

I know a few trump people peripherally, and they've done zero with this story, and I don't know if it's woeful ignorance, or bc fox news isn't reporting it

Reply

Thread

Link

oh good, finally

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I've seen a bunch of people online trying to pass it off as basically what Trump said 'locker talk' or that it's not a big deal because 'that's just how guys talk' and it's like, what is your argument even? That most guys are walking around bragging about the women they've sexually assaulted and it's so commonplace to the point where it magically dilutes how serious it's taken? What the fuck is that logic.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

they're talking about it on fox, spinning it a bit with "but hillary!" but i think this is the most i've seen them do with a trump scandal thus far

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The one Trump Facebook friend I have has actually turned her support up like 30 notches since the tape. Unbelievable. Doubling down on a guy who thinks of her as nothing more than vagina.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

he is definitely angry crying while lifting weights in that barn

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lmaooooo

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

"i hope paul ryan is hiding in a hayloft in a barn in wisconsin and crying into his rosary"



beautiful

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lol, i know, like i want to feel bad for him but dude grow a spine already.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

But Paul Ryan came out and said that what Trump said was deplorable and that we should revere woman and blah blah.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Piece of shit Christie has been so up his ass the election, it's so pathetic, he's like a beggar.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I honestly do think that Trump is basically going to change the Republican party. Like, there is definitely a rift that he is emphasizing even more. If I had my way, the Republican party itself would split in half. That won't ever happen, but it would be nice to have two parties I could take seriously again.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Lol weird that this of all things is the thing that seems to have people turning. It's not like he hasn't been vile to women before...was I that he said pussy? Enjoying watching it though

Reply

Thread

Link

i think it's the fact that it's on video. similar to police brutality/violence being taken more seriously, or even considered at all, once it's seen on video even though those atrocities has been happening forever.



I guess you could argue that his previous comments about women have been on video but there is usually some level of coded language surrounding it that's easy to dance around. this is so nakedly and blatantly vulgar, with the added bonus of being said in 'private'



Edited at 2016-10-08 12:12 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Wow. Of course he did.



This just popped into my head, but unfortunately for evangelicals he's not pro-life. Or pro-choice. He's pro-abortion because it's convenient for him. I'm 100% sure he's pressured a woman into an abortion she didn't want. :/

Reply

Thread

Link

So basically get rid of the evidence/witnesses of an unwanted child 

(especially if it's due to rape or a damaging affair)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Terrifying when you put it that way, but yes.



I also wouldn't be surprised if the Hillary campaign/WaPo has a few women ready to come forward soon who say he made them get abortions.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

wow this may actually dent his campaign

Reply

Thread

Link

i hope so! but i'm such a pessimist i don't think it will. the majority of his male supporters, i'm assuming, hate women anyway considering all he's said before. they probably don't even think it's an assault. and the women supporters he has probably have a lot of internalized shit going on that would make them endorse him in the first place. they probably think it happens to ~ certain kind of women ~ and that those women had it coming. it's really depressing to think about his supporters tbh lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Lmaooooooooo I love that quote

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i hate his entire piece of shit existence so godamnfucking much much

Reply

Thread

Link

they're cousins but billy bush is so fucking vain and entitled that there is zero way he would leak this on purpose





Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

ikr

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





Some times you gotta sacrifice a few relatives to get what you want

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I'm glad to see this hurting Trump, but I'm almost certain that this is actually going to destroy Billy Bush. No way he wanted this tape out there.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I would like to subscribe to this theory, and add that he somehow got introduced to Trump's accountant in Palm Beach -- he still lives in Coral Gables and the family still has a place on Jupiter Island, right? -- and they teamed up with Marla to release the tax returns. While listening to "Up the Wolves."



Or maybe Barbara called a family meeting in Kennebunkport, because crushing Jeb! is her job, dammit...

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link
On September 11th, Libyan National Army (LNA) forces under General Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive on the oil facilities in Ras Lanuf, al-Sidr, Az-Zuwaytinah, and Berga in the Gulf of Sirte. Until that moment, the sites had been under the jurisdiction of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), guided by Ibrahim Jadran. In Ras Lanuf and al-Sidr PFG officers surrendered without fighting and all the terminals have ended up under Haftars control. The vast majority of the operation was reportedly conducted by Sudanese and Chadian mercenaries.

The Tobruk government, led by Abdullah al-Thani, expressed its full support of Haftars operation and awarded him with the rank of Field Marshal. Meanwhile the leader of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Serraj, demanded a counter-offensive response by forces loyal to his administration in Tripoli. However, the request was denied by major militias from Misrata, currently occupied in their operations against IS in Sirte.

International reaction

On September 12th, the UK, the U.S., Italy, France, Germany, and Spain presented a joint declaration condemning Haftars actions, demanding a withdrawal of his forces. The statement expressed support for al-Serraj and the GNA, encouraging peaceful cooperation among Libyan armed forces.

Haftars efforts to gain control of the oil terminals took place at a time when Misratas militias  the only ones capable of contrasting Haftars forces  have been severely degraded by their battle against IS, where they have withstood 500 deaths and over two thousand injured men. These losses have almost led to a rupture between al-Serraj and the Misrata forces, as the latter accused the former of not providing adequate support to the missions. Ultimately, the situation was rebalanced following U.S. bombings, somewhat salvaging the relationship.

General Haftar has also exploited a situation in which the various tribes of Libyas oil crescent have become increasingly hostile to Ibrahim Jadran. Not only did his PFG forces protect oil infrastructure, but they also controlled the surrounding territories, enforcing the law and levying taxes. As oil output sank, the tribes that financed themselves with its revenues became impoverished, and have now become more open to support anyone able to rekindle production. Related: Oil Hits $50 As OPEC Suggests It Might Deepen Output Cuts

Haftar has reacted rapidly to avoid an effort by GNA Minister of Defense Mahdi al-Barghathi, Haftars historical rival, to re-establish ties between local tribes and the PFG. In July the National Oil Company, managed by the GNA, and the PFG had in fact signed an agreement to resume exports from Ras Lanuf and al-Sidr. Shortly after, on August 5, Haftars and Jadrans forces clashed around Az-Zuwaytinah.

Production outlook

It is important to note that already in July the NOC had approved the merger with the NOC 2 instituted by Abdullah al-Thanis government in Tobruk. According to this deal, the unified NOC recognizes both the Tripoli-based GNA as well as the Tobruk government. NOC President Mustafa Sanallah remained in charge of the new entity, while the head of the NOC 2, Naji al-Maghrebi, has entered the board of the company. The two agencies have already merged their books, although they have yet to relocate to Benghazi as determined in the agreement.

The NOC currently aims to increase oil production from 290,000 barrels a day to 600,000 by the end of October. Ultimately, the GNA seeks to produce over 900,000 barrels a day by the end of 2016. Haftar has successfully established his stakes over future output, although he has avoided opposing the new agreement between the two energy agencies. On September 14, Haftar ceded control of the terminals to the NOC, although maintaining a leading role on security issues.

(Click to enlarge)

Foreign involvement

Haftars blitz seems to have been planned with the acquiescence of actors that have been, on-paper, GNA supporters. It is highly probable that NOC leaders were warned ahead of the operations. It is also likely that the passive stance of Misrata fighters was somehow guaranteed internally. Egyptian and French officials were certainly aware of Haftars plan, especially following Haftars visit to Chad and meeting with French representatives. Finally, we cannot exclude that the Italian government was also aware of such intentions, given the high-level tie between the Italians and the Misrata forces and the support given by the former to the latter over the past months.

What lies ahead for Libyan governance?

Al-Serraj has without a doubt become weakened as a result of these recent events. This was confirmed when Martin Kobler  UN envoy  visited Misrata and not Tripoli. On September 16, premier Abdullah al-Thani nominated Colonel Miftah Maqreef to become responsible for oil rigs ahead of Jadran. This move had already been attempted in the past by Haftar. Once again, this did not happen, thanks to Defense Minister al-Barghathis ties with Jadran. Related: Where Are Oil Prices Heading?

Al-Thanis desire to see Jadran replaced is seriously challenging al-Serrajs credibility. On September 15th, al-Serraj visited Egypt. The following day, the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces  Mohammed Hijazi  reportedly proposed to replace current Minister of Defense al-Barghathi with Joma al-Marafi, former head of security under Ghaddafis government. According to Hijazi, this solution would see al-Serrajs government finally approved by Tobruk following the latest disapproval in August. If realized, this compromise may ultimately be favored by Tobruk and its sponsors, France and Egypt, as well as Misrata and, consequently, Italy.

In recent days, efforts to consolidate the two governing bodies, with the Tobruk government destined to become part of the new Libyan legislative structure, faltered. The process was interrupted when a vote of confidence for al-Serraj was rescheduled five times and then abolished. Following the stall, relations between the GNA and Tobruk have rapidly decayed, and the danger for increased armed conflict is just around the corner.

By Aldo Premoli via Global Risk Insights

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
On the 25th of February 2015, the European Commission adopted its strategy for a European Energy Union.

The goal of a resilient Energy Union with an ambitious and challenging climate policy at its core is to give EU end-consumers a competitive, reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy market. However, with aging infrastructure, insufficiently integrated markets and uncoordinated energy policies, the end-users do not benefit from the large array of choices and lower energy prices. It is time to create a single energy market in Europe without barriers between national borders, allowing EU energy consumers to acquire their energy where the energy cost will be less expensive.

By 2030, the European Commission is aiming for a minimum of 40 percent cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a 27 percent share for renewables energy and a 27 percent improvement in energy efficiency. If successful, the power market will be heavily affected by these measures, a market that over the past five years has been evolving in three key areas:

I. An increase of renewable energy;

II. The reinforcement of the market price signal used by investors

III. New electricity market rules CACM voted in July 2015.

(Click to enlarge)

Figure 1  Capacity addition in OECD Europe by technology, 1960-2014



The year 1990 marks the beginning of the power industry restructuring in OECD Europe, with increased development of natural gas and especially of renewables. Overall, since 2000, renewables have met 62 percent of growth in capacity in OECD Europe.

Source: IEA. Re-powering markets: Market design and regulation during the transition to low-carbon power systems (EC-IEA Roundtable on electricity market design and regulation). February 18, 2016.

The two first changes have been a challenge for the power market and the third one is the response at the European level for cross-border trading.

I. An increase of renewable energy.

The competitive power markets is badly in need of decarbonizing. The rapid increase in the share of intermittent renewable power generation has introduced new challenges for the electricity market.

(Click to enlarge)

Figure 2  Expansion of renewable energy sources in Germany



The number of renewable power plants has grown exponentially over the past 14 years.

Source: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Innovative technologies to mitigate climate change.

Renewable electricity operators are subject to numerous factors that may alter the time of delivery for the energy that is produced, such as weather variations, e.g. less sun or wind. As this commodity is sold in advance, enough electricity must be produced to ensure the supply to the end-users. Related: OPEC Crude Accounts For Most Of U.S. Oil Imports Rise

The increasing market share of renewable energy is a challenge for the spot market, with flexibility being a central concern. The share of renewable energy has created high fluctuation on the supply side, which results in high volatility in electricity prices. The markets answer to this is to use flexible power plants as CCGT (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) that can be turned on with short notice and to implement a demand-response mechanism that helps to produce flexibility on the demand side.

As a result of the high fluctuations on the supply side, the market forces on the spot and intraday electricity markets cause more trading to occur closer to the time of consumption. In the last five years the volume traded on the spot market has increased 31 percent and last year the volume increased 6 percent.

In 2015, the electricity spot market represented 15 percent of the total wholesale market, including the exchanges and wider over-the-counter trading. In Europe the total market is 8.517 thousand TWh/year.

II. Reinforcement of the market price signal

Investors are more confident about the role of the price signal, despite the distortions caused by the massive and rapid introduction of intermittent renewable energy into the market. Investors use more and more signal price markets to make the new investments which are needed to ensure the security of the power system. The market needs scarcity prices to send the right signal price. This signal has been reinforced in the last five years, even with the increase of renewable energy that produces distortions on the market prices.

Today, wholesale electricity prices are low across all of Europe as result of three key factors: the rise of renewables, the economic downturn and overcapacity. The operators of conventional power plants are forced to put their assets offline. If a power plant sells its electricity on the market at 20/MWh and the production cost is 30/MWh, it will be compelled to stop its production.

(Click to enlarge)

Figure 3  Year-ahead forward market prices [/MWh]



Long-term arrangements are still needed to make up the difference in low-carbon generation costs, and keep financing low costs for capital-intensive investments.

Source: EnergyMarketPrice/Luis Colasante

It is important that renewable energy is successfully integrated into the market. The support of these technologies came through a mechanism of feed-in-tariff and the result was an increase of the share of renewable energy in the production park. Five years later, the mechanism needed to evolve because the technology was mature enough to be integrated into the power market. Therefore, some European countries planned to change from a capacity-based funding system to a bidding system. In this system the renewable operator will be asked to support its capacity in a competitive way, and will also have extra revenues selling its electricity to the wholesale market. In the last few years, the integration of renewable energy has been dissociated from the power market. The wholesale sector is under pressure due to a competitive power market and, on the other side, the government decreasing the price of electricity for the next decade isnt helping either.

I argue that the integration of renewable energy should be carried out in four steps:

1. Renewable operators will have to offer their electricity at a marginal cost, which is zero (0/MWh) in the case of wind power;

2. Production should not continue when there is oversupply as indicated by negative electricity prices;

3. Renewable operators will have to share the same level of responsibility as conventional operators do for balancing;

4. The priority for dispatching rule, i.e., renewable energy must be the first energy to be used. This priority should be reconsidered, because both the feed-in tariff mechanism and the dispatching rule make it far more attractive than other kind energies, such as nuclear, natural gas and coal power plant, which have seen large investments in the last 10 years.

To optimize power systems, renewable operators will need to offer their electricity at a marginal cost, which is zero in the case of wind power, the bid can be 0/MWh. The operators need to turn off their production when there is an oversupply, they have to take the responsibility of balancing at the same level that conventional operators do, and the priority of dispatch needs to change.

(Click to enlarge)

Figure 4  German day-ahead baseload [/MWh]



Negatives prices appears when they are more production than consumption.

Source: EnergyMarketPrice/Luis COLASANTE

The new market design and the new support of renewable energy have to evolve to incorporate the competitive power market, minimizing the distortion of market signal.

III. New electricity market rules CACM

On July 2015, The European Commission adopted the new electricity market rules CACM (Regulation establishing a Guideline on Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management) with an ambitious and challenging target in order to have a single European power market.

The new regulation creates a comprehensive legal framework for electricity trading in Europe and makes market coupling legally binding across the European market. Coupling essentially brings all bids and offers from different national power exchanges for cross-border trading into one basket (electronic platform) and allows them to operate in an optimal manner across borders, matching capacity managed by the transmission system operator (TSO) of sold and purchased volumes of electricity on the Day-Ahead and intraday power exchanges.

Market coupling is estimated to save European customers between 2.5 and 4 billion per year. The regulation will help to increase the trading of electricity over a shorter period. This will allow more efficient integration of renewables into the grid, while suppliers and traders can take into account better forecasts on how much solar or wind energy will be produced. The Europeans Commission new decision-making procedure, which enables effective regional cooperation among grid operators, power exchanges and regulators, allows a legal framework for electricity trading in Europe.

Until now, I have described the way the power market has evolved. However, it is important to highlight some of the regulatory and market constraints faced by the power trading sector.

Not all European countries have the same flexibility issues. Germany, being a pioneer in the development and implementation of renewable energies, requires a more flexible regulation framework, whereas other countries; such as France, Belgium, UK, Spain or Ireland, which are more concerned with spike consumption in the winter period. These countries have put into place capacity mechanisms, but each one in a different way. Related: Could The Bottom Fall Out Of This Oil Rally?

In France the mechanism is decentralized. This means that each electricity supplier has the obligation to justify that it has enough production capacity to survive in the spike consumption period of their costumers portfolio. In the UK on the other hand, the mechanism is centralized. It is the TSOs that have the obligation to insure capacity for the spike hours.

(Click to enlarge)

Figure 5  Neighboring capacity markets in selected countries of Western Europe



Lack of coordinated European capacity mechanisms

Source: IEA. Re-powering markets: Market design and regulation during the transition to low-carbon power systems (EC-IEA Roundtable on electricity market design and regulation). February 18, 2016.

Another difference is the type of support for each MW installed and available. There is a large price difference between each country. For instance, in Spain the MW can be remunerated around 20,000 /MW, in Ireland around 70,000 /MW and in Greece 90,000 /MW.

The average fixed cost of O&M (Operation & Maintenance Services ) for an efficiency CCGT is around 20,000 /MW and the total fixed cost is around 120,000 /MW. It means in some countries more than 50 percent of the fixed cost is covered by the capacity mechanism.

On the one hand, the European Commission wants to have a single power market, while on the other hand, each European country is putting in place different policies of capacity mechanisms. These different polices will create more distortion in the market price signal.

If theres confidence in the market price signal, the capacity mechanism will no longer be needed and it would be rather redundant. However, if a country decides to implement this mechanism, the end-users will be hit hardest as a result of the price increase. This mechanism should be a transitory measure, while the energy transition is achieved.

Paradoxically, there is a will at the European level to encourage the use of new technologies, but it seems hard enough to let go old ones.

The security of supply is also an important issue that Europe follows very closely. Europe plays an extraordinary and ever-growing role to ensure the security of supply. The safer the cross-border trading is, the better the provision of power will be, guaranteeing the security of supply.

A major advantage for Europe is the fact that the maximum demand for power for all countries never occurs at the same time; therefore, at any given time, power can be provided to or received from neighboring countries. A cross-border agreement will make a decisive contribution to satisfy energy demand.

Europe needs to continue to invest in the expansion of its grid. One of the main obstacles is that the local population in the affected areas do not welcome this expansion. All players on the market have to act towards the new energy design. This can only be done with a successful expansion of the grid. The expansion of the grid wouldnt only have a positive impact in balancing and smoothing the price, but it would also lower C02 emissions, as the energy will be sent from where it is abundant to where it is needed.

Since the European internal market is growing in all countries, individual markets within each state are no longer isolated. Therefore, there will be greater opportunities if market coupling is abided by all countries from Portugal to Finland, increasing the efficiency of the market and the derivatives contracts. However, a single power market requires a common essential understanding and coordination regarding the market design. This subject needs to be addressed at the European level because, at present, there are different approaches to a future market design. The most effective design would be a customized model for all the countries in a common single market, rather than to find individual answers within each country.

By Luis Colasante for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
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."

Ristorante Bartolotta

After coming in third place last year in our annual readers poll ballot, the longstanding king of Italian restaurants in the Milwaukee area, Ristorante Bartolotta, comes out on top again. Ristorante returns to its traditional position atop this category.

And it's not hard to see why. The intimate, welcoming little place in the heart of Tosa Village has the most authentic, most delicious, most engaging Italian  not Italian-American  menu in the city.

Last year's winner, Calderone Club, switched places with the winner, finishing third in this year's balloting.

Runners up:

2. Tenutas

3. Calderone Club

4. Thats Amore

tie. The Pasta Tree

tie. Il Mito

Lori Fredrich's pick: Ristorante Bartolotta

Ristorante Bartolotta is an admittedly nostalgic pick for me. But, it's still delivering delicious fare thats fresh, seasonal and made the proper way. That includes handmade pasta, fresh fish and seasonal specials that evoke the spirit of Italy.

This year we also asked a variety of prominent Milwaukeeans to weigh in on their pick for specific categories. For this category, we consulted Italian native and UWM Italian instructor Claudia Pessarelli.

Pessarellis pick: Ristorante Bartolotta

Being Italian and having spent most of my life in Italy, I am very skeptical of what is called Italian cuisine in the USA, not because of quality, only because its not real Italian, its Italian-American, a different entity with different origins. Because of that reason I dont go out to eat Italian that much, also because I cook Italian food every day at home. That said, in my opinion the best Italian restaurant and the only one I would do again and again  an exception to my rule  is Ristorante Bartolotta in Wauwautosa. I was lucky to eat there and then I met its Chef Juan Urbieta and owner Joe Bartolotta, through my course for Marquette University about Italian culture and food. Juan spent a long time in Italy learning not only about food and recipes, but also the culture behind our food. His knowledge and love for what he learned when in Italy shows in the research behind every dish he prepares for the restaurant and the way it talks about them and their ingredients, many times shipped directly from Italy for best quality.
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."

For more than a century, The Bosch (5871 S. 108th St.) has stood guard on the corner as a place of refuge and relaxation for those coming, going and staying in Hales Corners. And now that its corner is moving, so is the historic tavern, with the help of good neighbors  and with a good cause beyond tasty burgers and beers  thanks to a "Tug the Tavern" event on Saturday afternoon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

And when they call the soiree "Tug the Tavern," they literally mean tugging a tavern with some ropes and a lot of collective willpower.

But first, some history to explain why dozens of people would gather to pull a building like some crazy Ironman challenge. Built in the late 19th century  the earliest photo in existence, notes owner Rick Putlitz, is dated some years later in 1904  The Bosch began life as The Bosch Hotel, serving as a spirited home (complete with a dance hall on the second floor) for travelers coming through town by either horse or by early streetcar, selling and buying their goods.

"It's always been kind of a hub here," Putlitz explained.

PHOTO: The Bosch Tavern Facebook

Over the decades, The Bosch changed a lot  owners, names and even its look, receiving a remodeling in the 50s to match the trends of the era. However, when Putlitz bought the property about 20 years ago, he tore out those changes and tried to restore the tavern back to its original Victorian look from the turn of the century. Gone were most of the metal awnings, chrome and spotlights of before; back were the turret, the wraparound porch, the siding and the shaped roof. All the while, The Bosch maintained its place as a neighborhood center of activity, just shifting over the years from streetcar passengers to thirsty Packers fans, early farmers market attendees to avid Friday fish fry eaters.

However, a new threat emerged to the tavern in recent years, one far more dangerous than some out-of-date 50s decor: highway construction.

The Village of Hales Corners obviously has grown since the streetcar and hitching post days of The Boschs birth  especially along the citys main drag on Highway 100. So, in 2009, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation moved to reconstruct the two-mile run of Highway 100, including plans to widen the highway in certain areas with some new turning lanes. While necessary, the expansion would also cross into the iconic neighborhood taverns property, perched right on the corner of Highway 100 and Janesville Road.

The Bosch would have to move.

Thankfully, according to Putlitz, the building was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, so not only was The Bosch saved from destruction but it was saved from losing its traditional spot on the corner. It still, however, needs to be moved to the new, slightly deeper corner location.

Enter some long lengths of rope and some eager locals with some hopefully strong muscles.

"It started out as a joke, laughing about it, but then we actually thought about the math on it," Putlitz explained. "The building weighs about 150 tons, which is 300,000 pounds, and the roller system thats between the beams that it moves on when they move it reduces that by about 50 percent  so that puts us down to about 150,000 pounds. And we divided that by 200 people and came to 75 pounds apiece. So if we can get 200 people that can pull 75 pounds  and they say the average person can drag 100  we thought maybe we could do it."

So, on Saturday afternoon, The Bosch is looking for people from across the city to gather at the tavern, take a place on one of three lengths of two-inch rope and give it their best pull in order to move the tavern the final two feet (the building was already moved most of the way) to its new home on the future corner of Highway 100 and Janesville Road.

"Im trying to think of some way to mark the finish," Putlitz added. "Im thinking we put a beer bottle on a post or something, and knock the beer bottle off. What more fitting way to mark an achievement in Milwaukee than to spill a bottle of beer?"

The "Tug the Tavern" shindig is not content with merely moving a historic suburban landmark; its also striving to help children in need. A place on the literally history-shifting rope  plus a barbecue pork sandwich and a beer  will cost a $10 day-of donation going toward Penfield Childrens Center, which focuses on providing early educational, health and family support for infants and young children  many with developmental disabilities. Its an organization with a close tie to the area, as well, as the villages former president, Jim Ryan, also served as Penfields president before he tragically passed away from cancer in 2007.

After Saturdays pull, The Bosch Tavern, which is currently closed and up in the air on steel beams, is aiming to reopen around Thanksgiving  and hopefully welcome another century of refuge and relaxation to a slightly different part of its corner in Hales Corners.
Reprinted from Consortium News



Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before Congress on Jan. 23, 2013, about the fatal attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11. 2012.

(Image by (Photo from C-SPAN coverage)) Details DMCA



Most intelligent Americans -- Republicans as well as Democrats -- now accept that they were duped into the Iraq War with disastrous consequences, but there is more uncertainty about the war on Libya in 2011 as well as the ongoing proxy war on Syria and the New Cold War showdown with Russia over Ukraine.

Today, many Democrats don't want to admit that they have been manipulated into supporting new imperial adventures against Libya, Syria, Ukraine and Russia by the Obama administration as it pulls some of the same propaganda strings that George W. Bush's administration did in 2002-2003.

Yet, as happened with Saddam Hussein in Iraq, we have seen a similar hysteria about the evil doings of the newly demonized foreign leaders with the predictable Hitler allusions and vague explanations about how some terrible misdeeds halfway around the world threaten U.S. interests.

Though people mostly remember the false WMD claims about Iraq, much of the case for the invasion was based on protecting "human rights," spreading "democracy," and eliminating a supporter of Palestinians who were violently resisting Israeli rule.

The justification for aggression against Iraq was not only to save Americans from the supposed risk of Iraq somehow unleashing poison gas on U.S. cities but to free the Iraqis from a brutal dictator, the argument which explained why Bush's neocon advisers predicted that Iraqis would shower American troops with rose petals and candies.

Those same "humanitarian" arguments were out in force to justify the U.S.-European "regime change" in Libya eight years later. As former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asserted -- even this year -- Muammar Gaddafi was a "genocidal" dictator bent on slaughtering the people of eastern Libya (though Gaddafi insisted that he was only interested in killing the "terrorists").

After a frenzied media reaction to Gaddafi's supposedly genocidal plans, Western nations argued that the world had a "responsibility to protect" Libyan civilians, a concept known as "R2P." In haste, the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution to protect civilians by imposing a "no-fly zone" over eastern Libya.

But the subsequent invasion involved U.S.-coordinated air strikes on Gaddafi's forces and European Special Forces on the ground working with anti-Gaddafi rebels. Before long, the "no-fly zone" had expanded into a full-scale "regime change" operation, ending in the slaughter of many young Libyan soldiers and the sodomy-with-a-knife-then-murder of Gaddafi.

As Western leaders celebrated -- Secretary Clinton exulted "We came, we saw, he died" -- Libyans began the hard work of trying to restructure their political system amid roaming bands of heavily armed jihadist rebels. Soon, it became clear that restoring order would not be easy and that Gaddafi was right about the presence of terrorists in Benghazi (when some overran the U.S. consulate killing U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.)

Libya, which once had an envious standard of living based on its oil riches, slid into the status of failed state, now with three governments competing for control and with jihadist militias, including some associated with the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, disrupting the nation. The result has been a far worse humanitarian crisis than existed before the West invaded.

Lessons from Libya

So, there should be lessons learned from Libya, just as there should have been lessons learned from Iraq. But the U.S. political/media establishment has refused to perform a serious autopsy of these monumental failures (U.S. inquiries only looked narrowly at the WMD falsehoods about Iraq and the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi for Libya). So, it has fallen to the British to take a broader view.



President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton honor the four victims of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, at the Transfer of Remains Ceremony held at Andrews Air Force Base, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on

(Image by (State Department photo)) Details DMCA



The British inquiries have had their own limitations, but the Chilcot report on Iraq catalogued many of the flawed decisions that led Prime Minister Tony Blair to sign up for President George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing" -- and a recent parliamentary report revealed how Prime Minister David Cameron fell into a similar pattern regarding Libya and President Obama.

Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
Reprinted from Media Matters

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 look at 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?

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. (See here, here, here, here and here.)

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.

Click Here to Read Whole Article
PPP strongly criticised govt inability to solve Kashmir issue

ISLAMABAD: PPP lawmakers systematically criticised On the third day of the joint session of Parliament,what they said was the government's inability to make a strong case for Pakistan on the international stage.



"The day Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says the name of Kulbushan Jadhav, I will donate Rs50,000 to the blind association," said Senator Aitzaz Ahsan. He was referring to PM Nawaz's UNGA speech, where he failed to mention the Indian spy caught by military officials months earlier.



PPP Senator Sherry Rehman slammed Pakistan's foreign policy, asking "Why are we not able to mount a serious, sustained, protracted defence of the federation of Pakistan?"



"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.



Rehman echoed Aitzaz's address to the joint session a day earlier, during which the premier failed to mention the Indian spy caught by military officials months earlier.



Aitzaz Ahsan also had something to say about Jadhav during today's session: "The day Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says the name of Kulbushan Jadhav, I will donate Rs50,000 to the blind association."



The Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said if there was another terrorist attack in India, Pakistan would lose Balochistan, Rehman said. "Who is the NSA of India to say this?" she questioned. "How dare any Indian speak about the federation of Pakistan?"



"One-seventh of India is constantly under insurgency. That is their internal matter. Why did you not bring this matter up?" the PPP lawmaker said, addressing the prime minister who was not present at today's session.



India has made us appear responsible for terrorism before the whole world, the lawmaker lamented. "The US is already their ally. They have already started making bases there. Afghanistan is already blaming us," she continued. "You have no interests in common with the super powers," she said.



"Who is defending Pakistan? Our parliament is doing it. Our Army is fighting the largest inland war against terrorism in the world today and nobody knows about it," she said. "This is a failure of your diplomacy," she added to applause from the PPP benches.



"The military should always be the last line of defence. The first line is the foreign ministry, the foreign minister and its ambassadors.



"The military's job is to be standing there in the trenches. Do not make them do your job for you," she warned the government, "Because that's what they are being forced to do."



"They have to give speeches, they have to take positions, they have to take journalists to the Line of Control for briefings. What have you done?" she asked the government.



"You held a traditional 'All Parties Conference'. You didn't even do a DGMO briefing. What are you afraid of? What will happen? Where is a vacuum, someone always fills it," she warned.



Rehman also touched upon Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to suspend Indus Waters Commission talks after the Uri attack.



"On the Indus Waters Treaty, India touched that which hadn't been touched in three wars. And this treaty is not a fair or just treaty with Pakistan. India has built dam upon dam. "India has weaponised water. What answer did you give?" she asked.



Senator Rehman Malik also addressed the session, terming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "chief terrorist", held India responsible for "exporting terrorism to Pakistan".



Rehman Malik urged lawmakers not to isolate the Kashmir issue from CPEC. "What is happening right now is because of CPEC  certain world powers don't want it to be successful," he claimed.



Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz presented a resolution on Kashmir in the assembly which was unanimously endorsed by lawmakers in attendance.



The resolution highlighted Indian atrocities in Kashmir, calling for implementation of UNSC resolutions, rejected Indian accusations of Pakistani involvement in the Uri attack and condemned Indian sponsorship of subversive activity in Pakistan. It also took notice of India's efforts to isolate Pakistan diplomatically.



Senator Taj Haider addressing parliament earlier had said, "We should not move back even one millimetre from our point of view."



He added, "We have to voice very clearly that plebiscite in Kashmir is the only solution. We have to find a method to hold free and fair plebiscite without any pressure on Kashmir."



The senator raised concerns of smaller provinces over the CPEC, echoing the stance PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan took during yesterday's joint session.



Fata MNA Dr G.G. Jamal pointed out that a large number of the armed forces were deployed to the western border for Operation Zarb-i-Azb.



"The world should know that India, indirectly, does not want Zarb-i-Azb to finish. Indirectly, they don't want terrorism to end, they are helping it," he claimed.



Jamal said that India is diverting the world's attention towards war so that state terrorism in Kashmir is forgotten.



Senator Kamil Ali Agha, during the session said: "We have to see that the UN resolutions are in place, the Kashmiris are sacrificing so where are we lacking? Why is the world not paying attention?



Agha also raised questions about CPEC. "Why has Gilgit-Baltistan been left out of CPEC?" and asserted that GB carries the potential to generate electricity.



"The corridor cannot be completed without investment in Gilgit-Baltistan," he maintained.



During yesterday's session, PPP and PML-N lawmakers clashed over Panamagate and allegations of corruption in the house just days after political leaders announced they were united on the Kashmir issue following an 'All Parties Conference'.
Yes, I know interesting personal jurisdiction case is an oxymoron, but hear me out.

Jef Rotblut worked at UBO (he has apparently since changed employers) and claimed he had an excellent reputation and recognized expertise at developing risk[-]averse trading systems and quant strategies.' Rotblut was based in New York. UBO was a Delaware LLC. On December 3 and 4, 2013, Mr. Rotblut participated as a panelist in The Trading Show New York 2013, hosted by Terrapinn. Terrapinn was a Delaware company, with a holding company based in the UK. Terrapinn apparently retained a freelance blogger, Lewis C. Wilkins, to blog the conference. Wilkins was based in Illinois but later moved to DC.

On December 17, 2013, Terrapinn posted Wilkins blog post, entitled Panel: Making the trading life cycle more efficientrisk controls, procedures, and compliance at the Trading Show NYC 2013 (now a 404 link) to Terrapinns Total Trading blog. Wilkins post contained the line:

Because Jef Rotbluts trading firm once lost $40 million in about 20 minutes, he highlighted the essential roles of mitigating risk through the software development and testing process.

Except..a different panelist mentioned that loss, not Rotblut. Oops. Rotblut alleges that Plaintiffs ability to raise capital and ongoing discussions with potential investors came to a halt because of the incorrect sentence.

In response, Rotblut and UBO sued Terrapinn, the holding company, and Wilkins for defamation in Delaware superior court. Wilkins and the holding company moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. (Terrapinn was a Delaware company, so it didnt contest jurisdiction). The court agrees, ruling solely on the terms of Delawares long-arm statute without reaching the Constitutional due process analysis. (Section 230 didnt come up either but it seems like a potentially key defense for Terrapinn and its holding company). Read the opinion if you want the details, but I thought this passage was poignant:

The pending motions require this Court to probe questions of personal jurisdiction at perhaps their most theoretical. Courts across the country increasingly are confronted with cases challenging online conduct and must determine issues of personal jurisdiction over actors engaged in such conduct. These cases highlight the reality that the Internet, which increasingly forms an important part of our day-to-day interactions, exists outside of the state boundaries that define considerations of jurisdiction. The question posed in this case is this: where an allegedly defamatory article caused injury to a Delaware corporation, but the article was posted solely on a website with no connection to Delaware, while the author was outside Delaware, and without any other nexus between either the author, the websites host, and Delaware, can jurisdiction be maintained against the author of the article and the host of the website? Under settled law in this jurisdiction, the answer is no. The plaintiffs argue, persuasively, that this conclusion leads to an unfair and inefficient result, because it will require the plaintiffs to pursue multiple causes of actions in different jurisdictions, with the possibility of inconsistent results and the certainty of increased costs. Although that argument has pragmatic appeal, it cannot overcome the constitutional rigors of the question of jurisdiction.

Perhaps this case hits close to home because I have frequently reported on conferences on my blog. I usually include a prominent disclaimer that Im not repeating speakers remarks verbatim, but the case highlights the risks of getting these recaps wrong!

Case citation: Rotblut v. Terrapinn, Inc., 2016 WL 5539884 (Del. Superior Ct. Sept. 30, 2016)
The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher,
Credit: University of Southampton

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 The Soldier in Later Medieval England website. 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.

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.

Explore further Heavy metal hardens battle
Der Spiegel reports conclude the autopilot function represents "a considerable danger for traffic"

Germany said Saturday it was still investigating the operation of the autopilot system on cars made by electric automaker Tesla, as German media reported an internal ministerial report called it "dangerous".

According to the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, an internal ministry report had concluded that the autopilot function represents "a considerable danger for traffic", especially because the driver is not warned when the autopilot system is not able to handle a situation.

"The final evaluation of the transport ministry concerning the autopilot functioning of Tesla Model S cars is not yet ready," the ministry told AFP, denying the reports that it had already concluded the probe.

Available for Tesla's Model S electric cars since October 2015, the driverless autopilot system has faced global scrutiny following fatal crashes in northern China in January and in the US state of Florida in May.

In September a Tesla electric car crashed into a tourist bus on a motorway in northern Germany, after the driver who was the only one slightly injured claimed he had activated the autopilot system.

A Tesla spokesperson at the time said the driver told the company the autopilot was functioning properly and its use was unrelated to the accident.

And on Saturday a Tesla spokesman told AFP: "We have always been clear with our customers that Autopilot is a drivers assistance system that requires the driver to pay attention at all times."

"Just as in an aeroplane, when used properly, autopilot reduces driver workload and provides an added layer of safety when compared to purely manual driving," he added.

Consumer activists have called on the company, founded by PayPal billionaire Elon Musk, to disable the autopilot feature until it is updated to detect whether the driver's hands are on the steering wheel during operationas the company says should be the case.

 2016 AFP
MINOS experimental set-up. Credit: Fermilab Visual Media Services.

Physicists have hypothesized the existence of fundamental particles called sterile neutrinos for decades and a couple of experiments have even caught possible hints of them. However, according to new results from two major international consortia, the chances that these indications were right and that these particles actually exist are now much slimmer.

In the 1990s, particle physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory noticed something puzzling in one of their experiments. Their results disagreed with other experiments that discovered neutrino oscillationsthe surprising ability of neutrinos to morph from one flavor to anotherand ultimately led to last year's Nobel Prize for physics. An experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) that was designed to confirm or refute the results from Los Alamos only added to the mystery by producing mixed results.

To resolve the disagreement, theorists proposed the existence of an as-yet-undiscovered fundamental particlea sterile neutrino. Physicists speculated that the hypothesized particles might hold a key to better understanding of the evolution of the universe and why it is mostly made of matter and not antimatter.

Based on the Los Alamos and Fermilab results, scientists predicted a range of possible physical properties, such as mass, that sterile neutrinos could have. Several large research projects have been hunting for the elusive particles within that range.

Now in this latest study, by combining results from a different experiment at Fermilab, called the Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS), and another in China, called the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment, scientists have ruled out a large portion of the range of possible properties the hypothesized particles were predicted to be hiding in.

"So the plot thickens," says Karol Lang, a professor of physics at The University of Texas at Austin and co-spokesperson for the MINOS experiment. "But it's still possible that new experiments being developed at Fermilab might reveal some exciting new physics to explain these very different results."

The results are being published this week as three separate letters in the journal Physical Review Letters (see links below).

A team of researchers from UT Austin played many roles in producing the MINOS results, including graduate students Dung Phan, Simon De Rijck and Tom Carroll, and postdoctoral fellows Adam Schreckenberger, Will Flanagan and Paul Sail.

"It is very exciting to work on one of the pioneering experiments and have such a big impact on the field," says De Rijck.

Neither the MINOS nor Daya Bay results alone could be directly compared to the Los Alamos measurements, but combined, they could.

"It's not common for two major neutrino experiments to work together this closely," says Adam Aurisano of the University of Cincinnati, one of the MINOS scientists.

A resolution to the mystery of sterile neutrinos might come soon. Researchers in Fermilab's Short-Baseline Neutrino Program have already begun collecting data specifically targeting particles in the narrow mass range where sterile neutrinos might yet be hiding. Meanwhile, Lang and his colleagues in MINOS and Daya Bay have more data that they plan to analyze in the coming year, which might narrow the possible range of physical properties even further.

"A sterile neutrino, if found, would be a game changer for particle physics," says Phan.

Explore further New results confirm standard neutrino theory

More information: P. Adamson et al. Limits on Active to Sterile Neutrino Oscillations from Disappearance Searches in the MINOS, Daya Bay, and Bugey-3 Experiments, Physical Review Letters (2016). P. Adamson et al. Limits on Active to Sterile Neutrino Oscillations from Disappearance Searches in the MINOS, Daya Bay, and Bugey-3 Experiments,(2016). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.151801 F. P. An et al. Improved Search for a Light Sterile Neutrino with the Full Configuration of the Daya Bay Experiment, Physical Review Letters (2016). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.151802 P. Adamson et al. Search for Sterile Neutrinos Mixing with Muon Neutrinos in MINOS, Physical Review Letters (2016). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.151803 Journal information: Physical Review Letters
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The Jackson County Board of Supervisors announced on Thursday their unanimous appointment of Auwilda Polk to serve on the Singing River Health System Board of Trustees.

Polk is a long-time resident of Moss Point and has served in numerous roles as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and district director in Harrison County, as well as the Moss Point and Indianola school district.

Polk is the third appointee selected by Board of Supervisors President, Melton Harris after his previous appointments were vetted and deemed conflict of interests by the remaining supervisors.

Harris's first appointment, Barbara Dumas-Marshall opted to step down roughly one month after she was appointed, citing concerns she owes an outstanding debt to the health system.

Under the state's new hospital system transparency law, appointees to the board of trustees "must owe no outstanding debt to the community hospital and not be a plaintiff in any pending lawsuit against the community hospital."

Harris then appointed decorated Moss Point pharmacist and business owner Clarence DuBose to serve on the board after Dumas-Marshall stepped down, but DuBose did not last long either.

Community response to DuBose's appointment arose and was discussed at the July 18 supervisors meeting. SRHS Board of Trustees President Jeffrey Belk felt with DuBose owning two local businesses in Moss Point, that his appointment was a conflict of interest. DuBose disagreed.

"To vacate my appointment based on the presumption of [issues] the hospital trustees and hospital administration fear may be coming before this hospital system is errant and I would ask that my appointment would not be vacated," Dubose said.

Harris was outvoted 4-1 and DuBose was removed from the board.

Going forward, Harris says he hopes there won't be any types of changes forthcoming in an attempt to have Polk removed.

"As you know, I have had two previous attempts to appoint someone and I am hoping this one will stick without a reason being dug up to try to remove her," Harris said.
Wendy Long, the Republican challenger to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday announced that U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, endorsed her candidacy.

"Wendy is against onerous, high-stakes testing and the Common Core regime and would work for policies that would help our small businesses and family farms across New York thrive," Gibson said in a press release.
FORT EDWARD  Plans for an industrial park at the former GE dewatering plant are still chugging along, despite months of uncertainty concerning access to the site.

The Fort Edward Industrial Park development is happening and will provide valuable services to current and new industries, manufacturers and other businesses, said WCC spokesman John Davidson. WCC LLC owns the park.

He declined to describe the timeline for turning the former dredging facility into an industrial park, but said nothing has been delayed.

WCC LLC will be ready to meet our development schedule, he said.

General Electric is still cleaning the site. Businesses cant move in until that is done.

While they wait, WCC officials are trying to persuade a farmer to sell the very end of the road that leads to the plant. She owns that part of the road, which crosses her land.

Farmer Mary Webb said she hasnt been offered enough money to sell yet.

They sent a man last week, she said of the negotiations, but added that she has no particular interest in selling the road.

Its my property, she said, adding that she isnt particularly moved by the potential for economic development at the industrial park. She could keep her road or sell it  either way is fine, she said.

It doesnt matter to me, she said.

When General Electric finishes cleaning the dewatering plant, she must tell the company whether to leave the road or rip it up and restore her farmland. For now, her 11 grassfed beef cows get to the pasture across the road via a tunnel.

She has not yet been notified by GE of the need to make a decision, she said.

Washington County also refused to take over the road, which means the county wont plow it, repair it or maintain it.

Now, WCC is considering other ways for businesses to get to the plant.

The purchase of that small section of the road is only one option, Davidson said. WCC LLC has multiple options that we are pursuing.

Many businesses are considering the park, he added. The fact that access to the park has still not been resolved hasnt slowed that down at all.

Not at all. There is more activity and interest than there ever has been, he said.
MOREAU  Few donors are contributing to the fundraising campaign for the Moreau Emergency Squad, with some big donors refusing because they were burned in the Moreau Community Center campaign years ago.

Emergency workers started raising money four months ago in an effort to expand their crowded building. They field so many calls now that they dont have room for all of their emergency vehicles, and there arent enough beds for the overnight staff. Training equipment has to be stacked in corners because theres no storage space left, and advanced life support equipment is hanging from the ceiling in a locked box.

When they announced their $1.5 million expansion plan, the squad thought donors would quickly rally to the cause, especially since calls for help have increased so much as more residents have moved to the area in recent years.

But theyve only gotten $500,000 in pledges thus far. They need $1.5 million. They had hoped to begin construction in the spring.

Weve got donations coming sporadically, said Executive Director Steven Van Guilder.

An effort to raise money online through Red Basket brought in $60.

The agency hired Lapa, a fundraising firm for nonprofits, to help run the campaign. Michael Taylor of Lapa will meet with legislators next week in hopes of getting grants.

Hes hoping a big investment from state leaders will reassure local donors that the campaign will be successful.

Ill tell you what the challenge is. Theres a lot of fear in the community of supporting capital campaigns because of the failed community center capital campaign, Taylor said.

He said he has heard that again and again from big local donors.

The Moreau Community Center began a campaign in 2005 to raise $11.5 million for a huge new building, complete with a large pool. It was an impossible dream, said current Executive Director Donna Nichols.

The center raised less than $200,000, which was used to pay a small portion of the pre-construction costs, including architectural drawings. Eventually, the Department of Agriculture pulled back a $3 million grant, saying the project wasnt going to happen.

The center was left with a $633,000 loan to pay back, which it got from SEFCU for pre-construction costs. After putting a mortgage on the current building, the center was able to start paying off that loan, but it still owes more than $200,000.

It was a nightmare, Nichols said. It was so pie in the sky.

The challenge for Lapa is to persuade donors that the Moreau EMS project is different.

This is a vital cause, Taylor said. This is a basic community service.

He noted that more retirement and nursing home communities are opening in the area.

People are not moving down to Florida after they retire, he said, adding that he was surprised to learn that nonprofit ambulance companies must rely on donations.

My assumption was theyre funded by the Town Board. Theyre not  its about 20 percent  and theres some fee for service but it certainly doesnt meet the need, never mind a $1.5 million capital campaign.

His current goal is to reach the halfway point by raising another $250,000 by spring. Then the agency could apply for low-interest loans, begin construction and continue to fundraise for the other $750,000.

Donors can donate online at www.MoreauEMS.org or send a check to the company at 1583 Route 9, Moreau, NY 12828.




















Russia has warned the United States not to intervene militarily in Syria against forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, threatening that it may shoot down any aircraft attempting to launch strikes. In a bluntly worded statement, a spokesman for Russias defense ministry warned that Russia and the Syrian government had deployed sufficient air defenses to block any potential attacks. It follows rumbling in Washington that the White House may be considering launching limited strikes against some Syrian regime military targets as an alternative option for moving forward in the Syrian conflict after the collapse of U.S.-Russian cease-fire negotiations.





The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the Pentagon was presenting the Obama administration with the option of strikes at meetings this week. The strikes, which the Joint Chief of Staffs and the CIA are now said to favor, according to the Post, would see missiles fired at Assad air force bases, intended to punish the regime for its failure to abide by the cease-fire, hamper attacks against civilians and pressure it and Moscow to begin negotiating again.



Although, the strikes are now back on the table, President Obama is still very unlikely to approve them, according to administration officials speaking to the Post, as well as former State Department officials and outside analysts.





Moscow though has sought to head-off any U.S. intervention. Major-General Igor Konashenkov, the Russian defense ministry spokesman, directly addressed the reports in a briefing on Thursday, when he warned that Russia may shoot down any aircraft attacking Syrian government forces.





Konashenkov, however, suggested Russia would target any unidentified aircraft attacking Syrian government targets and warned "American strategists" not to assume a covert intervention would go unanswered. The illusions of dilettantes about the existence of 'stealth' aircraft may encounter a disappointing reality, he added. Konashenkov also warned that Russian troops were now widely deployed across Syria, implying any strikes could hit them, pulling the U.S. into conflict with Russia.





While it remains unclear whether Russia would actually down an American plane attacking a target in Syria, the possibility threatened to push the conflict out into a new stage, with Russia and the U.S. placed in the most direct stand-off of anytime since the Syrian war began.





























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 "It's time to reach agreements to return to faraway outposts if they don't understand the language of diplomacy," he said during debates.

























According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the decision to deploy S-300 anti-air missile system in Syria came after receiving leaked data on US intentions to bomb Syrian airbases.

"The S-300 appeared there [in Syria] after experts close to the American establishment had started leaking informationthat the US could hit Syrian airfields with cruise missiles," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in an interview with Russia's Dozhd TV chennel.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that a battery of S-300 air defense systems had been delivered to Syria to protect the naval base at Tartus, as well as Russia warships deployed off the Syrian coast. Earlier, Zakharova critized US Secretary of State John Kerry's statements on launching an investigation into "war crimes of the Russian Federation."

"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."

























After months of speculation whether the US would officially accuse Russia of being responsible for various intrusions and hacks, primarily involving the Democratic party, moments ago we finally got the long-anticipated confirmation when the US named Russia as the actor behind the hacking attempts on political organizations and, more importantly, state election systems and accused Putin of carrying out a wide-ranging campaign to interfere with the 2016 elections, including by hacking the computers of the Democratic National Committee and other political officials. In a statement, the US "intelligence community" said that it is confident that the Russian government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations, the Department of Homeland Security and Director of National Intelligence on Election Security said in a joint statement. The US added that these thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process.

The administration also blamed Moscow for the hack of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the subsequent leak of private email addresses and cell phone numbers of Democratic lawmakers. A series of other leaks of hacked material followed, all of which are suspected of being conducted by Russia-sponsored hackers. Russia has denied any connection to the hacks. As the official statement by the DHS and ODNI notes, the actual party doing the accusation of Russia is the US intelligence community, which as recently as a month ago was breached itself when a domestic "Snowden 2.0", Harold T. Martin, was arrested recently after obtaining and attempting to sell an unknown number of internal NSA programs.





While we are confident that Putin is laughing at this statement and/or threat, a question emerges: since the US has said it would treat cyberattacks by "foreign state powers" as the equivalent of an act of war, will the US now escalate and use this "naming of Russia" as a global master hacker (we assume the recent NSA hack will not be blamed on the Kremlin too, now that an American was arrested), as a pretext to accelerate diplomatic and/or military actions against Russia.
























Delhi govt has re-submitted file to LG for 'Red Light On Gaadi Off' initiative. 40 cities saw similar drives to reduce pollution: Gopal Rai.
According to campus-based Radio Universe, the clashes were between students of Commonwealth Hall and Mensah-Sarbah Hall over the route for the procession of their respective level 100s.

The two halls battled it out, throwing stones at each other, forcing companies who had set up their stands to showcase their products to run away for their lives.

A Toyota Corolla car was also set on fire during the clashes.

The campus security appeared helpless in ensuring there was peace until a joint effort by the police service and the Ghana National Fire Service stationed there brought the situation under control.

There is a heavy security presence on the campus following the clash.
Akua Gyasiwaa, according to rainbowradioonline, had complained bitterly because she was not happy about the looks of the baby. The Police upon a tip off arrested the suspect and upon interrogation, she confessed that she wanted to kill the baby.
Rumeysa Gelgi has Weaver Syndrome, which causes accelerated bone growth which makes her look different.

Weaver Syndrome is a rare genetic condition which causes advanced growth during childhood, developmental delay and some degree of learning disability.

The rapid growth begins before birth and continues through early childhood.

It's believed that only a few dozen people worldwide have Weaver Syndrome, and it is more prevalent in men than women.

Gelgis condition drew attention to her and made people naturally curious about her.

I received long stares from people because I looked different and they were naturally curious about me, Gelgi said.

I became aware of my health condition when I was about five or six years old. I started to wonder why I looked different from other kids of my age, she added.

In addition to having Weaver Syndrome, Gelgi also has scoliosis, which means an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine.

She relies on her parents support to move around in a wheelchair.

Her mother, Safiye Gelgi, said she was a big baby at the early stages of her pregnancy.

She gave birth to Gelgi prematurely at seven and half months because doctors said she was not a normal baby.

Safiye said: Rumeysa was a big baby at the very early stages of my pregnancy.

My doctor told me that she was not a normal baby. Because of that she was born early at seven and a half months.

She continued: She was taller than normal. She had deep, raspy voice. Her hands and feet were big. She looked very unusual not like other babies.

Gelgi said as a child she questioned herself but she has overcome it with the support of her parents.

Indeed, she is the tallest female teenager in the world by Guinness World Records in 2014.

As a child I questioned myself but I never felt unhappy. I overcome this with my parents' help, she said.

They told me that this syndrome is was rare. Because of them I felt the most important person in the world.

She said of the Guinness World Records, it's one of my biggest dreams to be awarded with this record.
Speaking on Multi TV's Newsfile Saturday, Kwabena Fio said the backlash from the public on the gold watch purchase is enormous, arguing that the retired staff should have been given money instead.

According to him, the confusion over the gold watch is "due to the nature of the product."

"I think that the symbolism has to do with the watch," he said.

He further argued that the BoG is independent of the central government, saying they determine their own condition of service.

"Society should all have a mind that their condition of service determine what they take home," he argued. "Condition of service is effort driven."

Asked if the government approves of the purchase, Mr Fio said: "government will not sanction it at this critical moment of our economy."

He said in practice the BoG is a distinct organisation even though "classically" it is part of the government.

The New Stateman newspaper on Wednesday reported 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.

The statement further justified its spending of a whopping 450,000 - an equivalent of Gh2 million on gold watches for its retiring staff.
According to him, president John Mahama has given rise to impunity, making public servant feel they can do whatever they desire and get away with it.

He further questioned the president's commitment to punish wrongdoers, citing multiple scandals under the watch of the president to make his case.

"There is a culture of impunity," he stressed.

The Bank of Bank (BoG) is purchasing gold watches for some of its staff who are on retirement after 30 years of service.

The purchase of the gold watch has been severely criticised as a wrongful application of state resources.

But the central bank has defended the purchase of the watches.

In a statement, the BoG explained that as per the tradition of the Central Bank, they award to staff of the Bank who has served in the institution for thirty years or more.

However, Atta Akyea believes there is no moral justification for the "luxurious" watch, saying it is "unconscionable."
Backpage.com CEO Arrested for Pimping

The CEO of a popular classified ads website, Backpage.com, was arrested on Thursday on felony pimping of a minor, pimping and conspiracy to commit pimping, charges. CEO Carl Ferrer was arrested in Texas based upon the charges that California Attorney General Kamala Harris filed in California. The complaint alleges that Ferrer and Backpage.com have profited from the escort advertisements that get posted on Backpage.com by individual prostitutes, as well as escort services that are engaged in human trafficking.

Currently, Ferrer is being held on a $500,000 bond and will soon be extradited to California to face criminal chrages. Law enforcement is also currently investigating Ferrer and Backpage.com's offices in Texas. At this point, it is unclear whether Ferrer will also faces charges in a Texas court. If should also be noted, the two controlling shareholders of the site, Michael Lacey and James Larkin, currently have warrants issued for their arrest on similar charges.

The World's Largest Online Brothel

Backpage.com has gained notoriety as the website that escort services use to advertise their services. Despite the fact that escort services are actually legal businesses, all too frequently the services are operated as a poor cover for prostitution. In the criminal complaint against Ferrer, a 15 year old has come forward to explain that they were forced into sex work at age 13 and has had ads posted on Backpage.com. AG Harris explains that Backpage.com was purposefully designed to profit off prostitution, and investigations have discovered that numerous advertisements displayed victims of the sex trade, many of whom were minors.

The website makes money by selling advertising space to escort services and other services and individuals. According to the criminal charges, the company made $3.1 million in revenue in just one week selling the sex ads. While the site sells ad space in non-escort/sex related categories, 99% of the site's revenue comes from the escort services ads.

Are CEOs Really Criminally Liable?

Under the law, there is a doctrine known as the Responsible Corporate Officer. Under this doctrine, corporate officers can be held liable for criminal acts committed by their company that they either knew, or should have known, were occurring. Generally, where a law is for the general welfare of the public, like nearly all criminal laws are, then a corporate officer can be held liable.

Additionally, where the law in question imposes strict liability, a corporate officer can be held liable even if they had no knowledge what-so-ever of the violation.

Related Resources:
The president is on a four-day tour of the region as part of his re-election bid.

The report, which went viral on social media, said he was arrested and interrogated by the police who found a gun in a bag he was carrying. The same report said the president told the security officers to allow the young man to go.

However, the Kintampo Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Desmond Owusu Boampong said the report is not true, urging the public to disregard it.

''It is not true, he said. 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."

He clarified that the young man rather moved into the area allocated to the press but was asked to leave.

According to him, no gun was found in the young mans bag nor did he draw close to the dais where the president was standing.

I will caution the general public to be circumspect with what they write on social media, he added.

This is not the first time reports of assassination attempts on the president has emerged.
"We have fought to try and restore confidence in the economy," president Mahama told students at the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the Brong Ahafo region. "I don't know how you can be happy when your economy is being downgraded. I mean don't you have a sense of patriotism?"

He added: "They were happy when we were being downgraded now the same moody's upgrades us and an opposition leader says Moody's does not know what it is talking about."

The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Akufo-Addo, attacked Moody's rating of the Ghanaian economy, saying it did not consider the actual challenges Ghanaians are facing hence the need to disregard such ratings.

But president Mahama believes his main rival is happy to see Ghana in crisis, accusing him of propaganda and lies.

According to him, if Ghana were in a crisis, it wouldn't have been possible for the country to raise GH4 billion from the Eurobond sale.

When somebody sits and says the economy is in a crisis you fail to understand where he is seeing that crisis. He probably has some lens that sees crisis where crisis does not exist," he stressed.

"Why would you give a country in crisis GH4 billion?... and so it gives a lie to the propaganda people try to put out that this country is in crisis."

Earlier, the president hailed the upgrade as a sign of good governance of the NDC-led administration.
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

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 years 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 governments 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 organisations 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.
The substantive matter as to whether the EC can receive the said amount as filing fee was also adjourned to Tuesday, October 11, 2016.

All nominated candidates for the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary elections are hereby advised to submit the bankers draft in respect of their filing fees to the Electoral Commission not later than 12:00 noon on Monday, October 10, 2016, a statement signed by the ECs Head of Communications, Eric Kofi Dzakpasu noted.

The statement added: "Presidential nominees are to submit their draft to the Returning Officer at the Head Office of the Commission.

"Parliamentary nominees are to submit their draft to the Returning Officers at the District Offices of the Electoral Commission where their Constituencies are situated.

"Political parties may alternatively pay for their parliamentary nominees at the Head Office of the Commission; but the bankers draft for such nominees must be accompanied by a list of the partys candidates on the partys letterhead and properly signed by authorised party executives."

The statement also reminded all nominees that the filing fees is an essential requirement for qualification to be accepted as a Candidate for the 2016 elections, as provided for by Regulation 8 (1) (b) of the Public Elections Regulations, 2016 C.I. 94.

-PPP disappointed--

The 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.
He said: "In fact the directive or signal that was sent out was not meant for the general public. But unfortunately we do not know how some of our own [friends] from the media have this and it was published and it has become a problem for us.

"It was a directive for our own personnel so that they can manage the system well. And the police administration has already taken a decision. We have assigned our CID director general to do due diligent, check up with the mobile and the other media houses, social media and find out which social media published that paper or the signal first.

"And we will check the source or whoever gave that information to the social media and when we get the culprit, the police [will take] disciplinary action against the person."

The leaked memo directed that all motor checks in the country are to be suspended with immediate effect.

The memo, however, did not contain any reason for the directive but rather requested that MTTD personnel are to be used only for traffic management duties.

The Police Wireless Message which was meant for the top hierarchy of the service also indicated that the Highway Patrol Units are to check for other things but not vehicle documents and drivers license.

The highway patrol units are only to check for arms/ammunition and drugs. No vehicle documents and drivers licenses are to be inspected by the highway patrol.

Regional /Divisional /District and Unit Commanders are to ensure that no permits are issued for motor check duties, the memo added.

--Not politically motivated--

Mr Ninson said the directive is not politically motivated after some commercial drivers kicked against the directive.

How will this increase the chances of government? It is too unfortunate to just put political spin on this; that we, (police) excuse me to say, cannot reason. We have reasonable people, we have lawyers, we have engineers. It is not political, he stated on Accra-based Class FM.

Clarifying the reason behind the directive, COP Ninson said the police have realised that unnecessary focus is placed on inspection of vehicle papers and drivers licences to the detriment of other areas of traffic management. Traffic management is about ensuring that the roads are free for motorists to use.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
The central bank said it considered the need to issue the guidelines to enhance the quality of sukuk instruments and to grant liquidity status at its discount window as well as for banks' liquidity ratio.

In 2013, Nigeria's cocoa producing state of Osun the country first sukuk to raise 10 billion naira, but no other transactions have followed.

Nigeria is working out details for issuing a debut sovereign sukuk but is yet to determine the size of a potential deal and was working with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the central bank and the stock exchange to build capacity.

Africa's top economy, which is in the middle of a recession and needs to raise funds to plug a budget deficit, has set up a government committee to advise on the amount to be raised from the Islamic bond sale, the timing and jurisdiction of issue, either domestic or foreign.

Nigeria is also planning to sell Eurobond to raise $1 billion this year.

"The adoption of Sukuk by state governments, as an alternative means of financing public expenditure, will contribute to the deepening of the financial system," the central bank said in the circular seen by Reuters on Friday.

It said it expects other levels of government may get involved in sukuk in the future.

The regulator assigned a weight of 20 percent for capital adequacy for banks' investment in sukuk and a weight of 50 percent for Islamic bonds that do not qualify as liquid assets.

Issuance of a sovereign sukuk is part of a strategic plan developed by Nigeria's debt office to develop alternative sources of funding and to establish a benchmark curve.
Fred Cawood, the director of the Mining Institute at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, told the conference drones were being developed to send to danger zones beneath the surface.

"It is to use the machine in areas where people should not be," Cawood told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.

South Africa's mines are the deepest and among the most dangerous in the world and safety is a huge concern for the government, unions and boardrooms in the world's top platinum producer.

Cawood said there was a prototype under development, equipped with video cameras, which measured 40 cm (16 inches) across and could be operated from a control room on the surface.

"It cannot be very big to operate in the tunnels," he said.

Drones could be used to inspect the stope area after blasting is done to ensure it is safe to resume work or to see if it is safe to send rescue teams in after a disaster.

Cawood said he had a request for funding to commercialise the drone technology with South Africa's Mine Health and Safety Council.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
Samsung Products Keep Blowing Up, Literally

Samsung has a history of being a premier brand that consumers love and revere for quality, but lately, the brand name is becoming known for products that literally blow up. Last month, numerous reports of the newest Samsung smartphone exploding and catching fire kept the brand in the press. More recently, it has come out that even the replacement devices may be defective. And now, this past week, the brand's washing machines are making headlines for exploding.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a federal government agency charged with protecting the public and consumers from the risk of injury or death caused by dangerous products, has issued a warning to the owners of Samsung washing machines produced between 2011 to 2016.

Samsung Washing Machines Explode in Consumers' Homes

Currently, it isn't known exactly which models of Samsung's washing machines are exploding, except that the problem seems to be isolated to top-loading machines. When the machines explode, parts become dislodged and are projected out from the machine. Thankfully the machines are not exploding in a fiery blast, however metal parts shooting out of a machine and spinning at extremely high speeds can be fatal, and definitely will cause damage to laundry rooms.Thankfully there have been no reported injuries.

The CPSC warns that consumers should only use the "delicate" cycle when washing certain bulky items as the lower speed of this cycle minimizes the risks of impact injuries. Additionally, Samsung has set up a website to allow consumers to enter their machine's serial number to check whether their machine is one of the unlucky exploding ones (the serial number is usually located on the back of the machine, either on the side or top of the back).

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Recall

On September 15, 2016, the CPSC issued an official recall for Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold before September 15, 2016. The CPSC warns that the phones can overheat and catch fire. At the time of the recall, there were approximately 100 reports of overheating, which included numerous reports of customers being burned and even more reports of property damage.

Prior to the official recall, on September 2, 2016, Samsung issued a warning to consumers advising that Galaxy Note 7 users should stop using the devices, power them down, and have the devices replaced through their recall program. Those travelling by air in the US were advised that the FAA was requiring all Galaxy Note 7s to not only be turned off for the duration of the flight, but the power switch needed to be protected to avoid accidentally turning the device on.

Related Resources:
This was revealed to newsmen by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Buhari, Garba Shehu.

Buhari 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.

According to Shehu, the President said his experiences in jail and the Nigerian civil war taught him a lesson in social justice.

I pray that God gives us the courage to be fair to people he put in our charge so that we can enjoy his mercy, he said.

Buhari also called on Muslims to practice social justice and pray for his administration to lead the way.
Buratai spoke, on the role of female officers in the army after the Passing out Parade of 133 Cadets, including 18 females from the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna on Saturday.

Eight of the females were commissioned into the Nigerian Army.

We have a situation whereby we have to bring them  female officers on board. We have considered several options and several implications as regard our cultural sensitivities and general environment.

We need to have them where they will have to play their role in the military. We need to address the issue of gender both in peace and war times, he said.

Look at what we are facing in the North East, majority of the Internally Displaced Persons are females, female officers have important roles to play for the IDPs, to find a way to take care of them being the same female folk in terms of cultural issues.

On whether army operations would be reviewed to favour the female officers, he said that Nigeria would not be an exception as other countries recruit female officers and deploy to artillery and amoured corps.

The chief army explained that female soldiers had been in theatre of war in the country, adding however, that these were the first female cadets trained and commissioned as combatant officers.
This is contained in a statement signed by an official of the service, Mr Abdullahi Garba, and made available to newsmen in Abuja.

In one of the States where the Services operations were conducted, credible intelligence revealed that the judge had two million dollars stashed in his house.

When he was approached for due search to be conducted, he, in concert with the State Governor, mobilised thugs against the service team.

The team restrained itself in the face of unbridled provocative activities by those brought in by the governor.

Unfortunately, the judge and governor also engaged the tacit support of a sister security agency, Garba said.

He said: the service surveillance team noticed that upon frustrating the operation, the judge with the active support of the governor craftily moved the money to an unknown location which the service is currently making effort to unravel.

Garba, however, said the DSS had in the past days embarked on series of special sting operations involving some judges of the Supreme, Appeal and High Courts.

He said the operations were based on allegations of corruption and other acts of professional misconduct by the suspected judges.

According to him, the services action is in line with its core mandate.

We have been monitoring the expensive and luxurious lifestyle of some of the judges as well as complaints from the concerned public over judgment obtained fraudulently and on the basis of amounts of money paid.

The judges involved were invited, upon which due diligence was exhibited and their premises searched.

The searches have uncovered huge raw cash of various denominations, local and foreign currencies, with real estate worth several millions of naira and documents affirming unholy acts by these judges, he said.

Garba added that some of the judges had made useful statements while a few declined even with the glaring evidences that were found against them.

The summaries of the recovered money include N93, 558 million $530,087, 25,970 and 5,680.

Other foreign currencies were also recovered from just three of the judges.

This seizure is in addition to other banking documents, including real estate documents, the statement said.

According to the statement, preparations are ongoing to arraign the judges in a competent court of jurisdiction in line with the laws of the country.

The service has never invited Justice Walter Onnoghen of the Supreme Court for investigation, neither is he being investigated.

The service has tremendous respect for the judiciary and would not do anything to undermine it or its activities.

The service will also join hands with this noble institution in its fight to rid it of few corrupt judges whose actions are undermining not only the judiciary but the common bond of our national life, Garba said.

The statement, however, said the current operation would be sustained till sanity and sanctity were restored to the esteemed third arm of government and public confidence regained.
Torkuma Venatius, the national president, Advocates of Social Justice for All (ASJA) made the plea in Abuja on Saturday, October 8, 2016.

Recall that Governor Nasir el-Rufai had issued an order declaring the Movement in Nigeria (IMN) unlawful on Friday, October 7.

The IMN had made known it's intention to protest in Abuja and other major cities on Monday, October 10, citing the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum for the release of their detained leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky as the reason for the planned action.

But the Shiites have vowed to challenge the declaration of the Kaduna state government.

"Nigerians cannot continue to live under this increasing threat from the IMN", Torkuma said.

"Their demand that their leader who would likely be facing terror charges once arraigned in court should be released unconditionally is therefore not acceptable.

We, therefore, urge the federal government to direct security agencies, particularly the police to arrest, investigate and prosecute anyone caught planning to or taking part in the protests since Kaduna state government has exposed them as operating illegally", he added.
The state WFAN Chairman, Alhaji Faruk Rabiu disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of (NAN) in Kano on Saturday.

He said the number was still far below the target number of 75, 000 farmers expected to participate in the programme in the state.

The chairman said the association had recently established four new offices in addition to the existing 24, to encourage more farmers to register.

According to him, many farmers that collected the registration form have not returned them.

We started the registration on Aug. 15, but we are yet to get the target number of farmers as expected.

This prompted our decision to establish four additional offices to make it easier for our farmers to register in the offices nearest to them.

Rabiu called on farmers who have not returned their completed forms to do so, pointing out that the wheat planting season would be flagged off by Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje on Thursday, Oct. 20.

I want to advise farmers to make the best use of the opportunity provided by the Federal Government to boost wheat production in the state.
Mohammed made the comment in reference to the governments Change Begins With Me initiative.

Some persons had criticized the Muhammadu Buhari administration over the programme which they said was an attempt to lay responsibility on the shoulders of citizens instead of the government.

He made the comments on Thursday, October 6, while unveiling the campaign to the corporate world in Lagos.

Today, ministers queue up at airports and filling stations. Their lifestyle is devoid of any ostentation. The federal executive council is not left behind. The weekly FEC Meeting starts on time. Indeed, change started with us a long time ago, Mohammed said.

The president demonstrated leadership when he rejected the purchase of new vehicles for his use, thus saving N400 million. Thanks to his action, no minister purchases new vehicles, saving millions more. Then upon assuming office, the president instructed his convoy to always respect traffic rules. The ministers all followed suit.

In simple parlance, the campaign is geared towards achieving attitudinal change. As they say, you cannot continue to do things the same way and expect a different result.

Against the background that our core values have witnessed total breakdown in the past years, it is imperative that we re-orientate ourselves with a view to restoring those time-tested values, he added.
Buhari said Recently, we flagged off the Clean-up of Ogoniland as part of the programmes to salvage the ravaged environment. We are convinced that undertaking such a monumental project will contribute to addressing the root causes of militancy in some parts of the Niger Delta region. However, for the avoidance of doubt let me state that other options are still open including decisive military action, if necessary, to deal with the criminal elements disguised in ethnic regalia to sabotage the country largely for their selfish and parochial interests. However, our priority, still remains constructive engagement of the stakeholders for peace.

The President said this on Passing out Parade (POP) of cadets of the 63 regular course at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna on Saturday, October 8, 2016.

Buhari who specially congratulated the first set of female graduands, called on the military authorities to respect cultural sensitivities.

The President also said Todays Passing Out Parade has an added significance because, for the first time in 52 years, this Academy is graduating female cadets who will be commissioned as regular officers into the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

While congratulating these soon-to-be pioneer female Regular Combatant officers for their courage and resilience in the past 5 years, I advise the Services to put in place adequate institutional mechanisms to evaluate the deployment or otherwise of our female officers in active combat roles. But we must be careful to carry public opinion with us and respect cultural sensitivities.
Court Confirms Mike Pence Discriminated Against Syrian Refugees

In what must be a shock to Mike Pence, Indiana's Republican Governor and Donald Trump's running mate, a federal appeals court confirmed that Pence did in fact discriminate against Syrian refugees. Pence insisted that his action in denying funding to any state agency that assisted Syrian refugees was not an act of discrimination. However, both the Federal District Court and Federal Appeals Court pointed out that Pence's action was discriminatory, and that he is going to lose the underlying lawsuit.

Last year, amid the crisis in Syria causing millions of people to be displaced from their homes, over half of which being children, countries around the world opened their borders and hearts. The United States has only accepted a small fraction of the displaced peoples. In Indiana, Pence wanted to impose an outright ban on refugees. However, in no uncertain terms, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals wasn't buying it.

What Did Mike Pence Do Wrong?

As Judge Posner put it, Mike Pence discriminated against the Syrian refugee population because of their nationality or national origin. National origin discrimination, under the law, is virtually the same as race discrimination. The two illegal activities share many of the same legal elements that must be proven to establish a case. The primary difference is that race discrimination cares about a person's skin color while national origin discrimination looks to a person's country of origin.

Judge Posner also points out an important fact about Pence's argument in favor of denying refugees: it is based on Pence's highly speculative fear. Posner explains that Pence provided no evidence to support his discriminatory contention that terrorists would get across US borders disguised as Syrian refugees. Not only does Posner explain that Pence failed to present evidence to support his argument, Posner explains that there isn't even any evidence in existence available to support Pence's argument.

Not Pence's First Discrimination Controversy

Prior to the two federal courts clearly explaining to Pence that he violated federal law and discriminated against Syrian refugees based on their national origin, Pence was involved in a controversy concerning the LGBT community. Pence gained much notoriety when he signed an Indiana bill that would provide religious individuals the right to refuse service to customers based on their religious beliefs.

While this sounds somewhat innocuous, these types of "religious freedom" laws are extremely controversial because they open the door to allowing religious people to intentionally discriminate against people of different faiths and sexual orientations. Not only did Pence sign the law, he advocated for it. However, after pressure from the business world, Pence begrugingly amended the law.

Related Resources:
Rear Admiral Muhammed Garuba, the Flag Officer Commanding, Central Naval Command, made the appeal at the flag off of a free medical outreach programme at Edepie community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa.

He noted that dialogue was a better approach to resolving conflicts, as it ensures that the interests of all parties were accommodated and addressed.

Garuba expressed the Navys appreciation to the community for its support and cooperation, and said that the free medical programme was to further promote mutual relations between the two.

He said that so far, five communities in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa capital, have benefitted from the programme, which was part of the agenda of the Chief of Naval Staff, to promote strategic partnership with civilians.

He assured members of the Edepie community that the medical mission was adequately equipped to cater for the medical needs of children and adults in the area.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that more than 1,000 residents were attended to by the medical team.

NAN further reports that health officials from the Bayelsa Ministry of Health were also on hand to immunise children below five years, against childhood killer diseases.

The Traditional Ruler of Edepie community applauded the Navy for the friendly gesture at a time of biting economic hardship which had limited the spending powers of household.
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."
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria came to prominence when its members clashed with the army in the northern city of Zaria, Kaduna state, in December 2015. A judicial inquiry in August concluded that the army killed 348 of the sect's members.

The Kaduna state government on Friday said anyone convicted of being a member of the sect could be imprisoned for seven years, fined or both. The size of the fine was not specified.

Diplomats and security analysts said the violence risks spawning into a radical Shi'ite militant wing, just as the Boko Haram uprising began in 2009, after security forces killed hundreds of its members and its leader Mohammed Yusuf died in custody.

The Shi'ite sect's leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, has been held in custody, without charge, by Nigeria's security agency since his December arrest following the clashes. His supporters have called for his release.

The Kaduna state government said the group had "overtly continued with unlawful processions" and "obstruction of public highways" since the clashes.

"These acts, if allowed to go unchecked will constitute danger to the peace, tranquillity, harmonious coexistence and good governance of Kaduna state," it said, declaring the group unlawful with immediate effect.

A spokesman for the sect, Ibraheem Musa, said its members were not going to be intimidated into resorting to violence.

"Very soon, we shall challenge this ban through legal and peaceful means," he said.

Members of the sect are among the several thousand Shi'ite Muslims whose movement was inspired by the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Governor Wike had gone to stop the arrestof a Federal High Court judge by operatives of the DSS in the early hours of Saturday, October 8, 2016.

The party also referred to the security agents as rogues, adding that their actions were a reckless aggression towards Rivers state.

The PDP Chairman, Felix Obuah also called on Rivers indigenes to be calm in the face of what he described as unprovoked attack.

Speaking further, Jerry Needam, the spokesman to the PDP Chairman in River state, issued a statement saying The attempt by security operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and policemen to shoot the State Governor, Chief Barr Nyesom Wike for intervening in the illegal move to abduct a Federal High Court judge serving in the State in the early hours of Saturday, October 8, 2016, is most sacrilegious..

The unruly behaviour of the overzealous security operatives is the worst of its kind in the history of Nigeria and is a cause for concern.

Though the target is to find reason to declare a state of emergency in the State, Bro Obuah noted, the President, the National Assembly members, Judicial Officers, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and all relevant authorities and stakeholders should be put on notice on these acts of recklessness against Rivers State as injury to one is injury to all.

There is no doubt that the Rivers State experience is exceptional and the democratic abuse by security agencies and their political paymasters is aimed at testing the mindset of the people and if left to stand will definitely go round and translate into a national malaise.

Its unheard of anywhere in the world where legally constituted authorities like the DSS and the Police will break into the residence of a legitimate federal judicial officer of the status of a judge for the purpose of arrest in the wee hours of the day, citing order from above as their reason.

This is an act of brigandage and roguery, worse still when a serving governor intervened, same security agents cocked their guns against the State Chief Executive/Security Officer in the presence of the State Police Commissioner and Director of DSS. This, though real, is most unbelievable.
ALSO READ: Actor thinks Nollywood practitioners lack discipline

Speaking with newsmen on Saturday, October 8, in Yola, Ike alleged that the money was hijacked by a cabal putting the film industry at a disadvantage.

Ike disclosed that the few people who benefited from the fund were buying houses in Abuja and Lagos state, forgetting to invest any of it back into the industry.

He also claimed that majority of the 247 actors alleged to have been trained at the cost of N899 million abroad from the fund, were untraceable.

What the cabal do is to bring faces for Mr President; thats what they did in the last administration, they are scavengers, and I am begging us here today to expose them.

Ike encouraged the government to relate directly with associations withing the film industry such as AGN, ANTP and Kannywood, instead of individuals.

The AGN president who was in Adamawa to participate in a programme organised by the state Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, to encourage youth on self-reliance, said that the film industry if well funded, has the potential to boost the Nation's economy.

ALSO READ: 6 things you should know about Emeka Ike
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that electoral personnel and voting materials arrived many of the polling units in the area as early as 7.30 a.m.

However, while members of the APC expressed optimism of a successful exercise, their counterparts in the PDP alleged abnormalities in the exercise.

NAN reports that the election is being supervised by the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC).

NAN also reports that candidates from four political partiesAPC, PDP, Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN)are contesting for positions in Ijebu-Ode Central Local Government Council and Ijebu-Ode South Local Council Development Area(LCDA)

The chairmanship candidate of the APC for Ijebu-Ode South LCDA, Mr Lekan Adebanjo, expressed satisfaction with the level of preparation and security for the polls.

Im very happy with the level of preparation by OGSIEC.

Im very optimistic about the outcome of the election as the feedback from the electorate has been encouraging as far as I am concerned.

My advice to the electorate is that they should not shy away from exercising their civic duties and come out en masse to vote the candidates of their choice.

They shouldnt be partisan but ensure they vote for candidates based on merit and track record rather than the party they represent, Adebanjo said.

His counterpart from the PDP, who is contesting the chairmanship position of Ijebu-Ode Central Local Government, Mr Lukman Agoro, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the elctoral exercise, claiming bias.

The conduct so far from OGSIEC has been very poor and biased.

We observed that they nullified some of the existing polling units and created new ones for the exercise today and they were erected at the strong points of the APC candidates.

I put some calls through to the OGSIEC headquarters yesterday but no one attended to me.

Distribution of materials by OGSIEC has not been uniform as our agents observed that some polling units were yet to receive voting materials.

This should not be so as we believe we are being marginalised and treated unfairly.

We are taking note and taking our evidences to tender at the tribunal after the elections.

Why are they not making use of the card readers for this election? So many questions will be raised after this exercise, I guarantee you, Agoro said.

Efforts by NAN to speak with the Electoral Officer for Ijebu-Ode Central on the election process proved abortive as she declined to speak with the press.

However, the Electoral Officer for Ijebu-Ode South, Mr Bolaji Adesanya, gave an assurance that the exercise would be conducted smoothly and in conformity with electoral laws.

We are optimistic that the election is going to be credible, free and fair without incidents of violence.

Accreditation is going to be simultaneous with the voting though the voting exercise will not be electronic, he said.

Adesanya said there were 20 wards and 116 polling units in Ijebu-Ode Central and seven wards in Ijebu-Ode South.

He, however, could not ascertain the number of polling units in Ijebu-Ode South due to some re-shuffling made.
The victim, Alhaji Saminu AliyuKiri, was reportedly abducted alongside two others, while he was on his way back to Kano from Oyo State on Thursday, October 6, where he had been supervising Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme, (SIWES).

The vehicle in which the lecturer was travelling in was reportedly attacked by the gunmen around the Birnin-Gwari area Kaduna state, Daily Trust reports.

Lecturers, as well as students of the varsity, have received text messages from the Faculty Social Director, Shuaibu Abdulrasheed.

The message reads in part, Our colleague, Saminu Aliyu Kiri (FCSIT staff ) has been kidnapped on his way back from SIWES supervision at Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State. Lets pray for his safe and immediate release.

ALSO READ: Varsity demands release of kidnapped lecturer
Umahi gave the directive during the inauguration of the newly constructed headquarters of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) in Abakaliki on Friday, September 8.

Umahi also said that those who missed work once in a month would forfeit their salaries for the month.

He disclosed that all local government caretaker committee chairmen, development centre coordinators and other relevant officials had been empowered to carry out the directive.

Umahi went on to urge teachers to embrace the governments initiated school agriculture programme. He noted that it would make them productive while supplementing their income.

I heard that the materials provided for the programme is being stolen in some schools and I mandate the Commissioner for Education to transfer any headmaster or principal in such schools to a remote area.

The programme must be sustained and we are ready to give you soft loans even if everyone is not accommodated at the same time, Umahi said.
What Should I Bring to the Ballot Box? An Update on State Voter ID Laws

The upcoming presidential election is shaping up as one of the most bitter and contentious in recent history. And behind all of the debates, scandals, and attack ads, another battle has been playing out, one focusing on who will get to cast ballots come November.

We all need to be registered in order to vote, but some states also require some form of official identification in order to receive a ballot or vote at the polls. While supporters of voter ID laws claim this helps reduce voter fraud, opponents contend the laws are used to place an extra burden on minority voters. The conflict has been playing out in the court system recently, leaving many to wonder where their state voter ID laws stand. Here's an update:

Voter ID Background

Before we get to specific state statutes, it may help to define what voter ID laws are all about, and whether they're even legal in the first place. Not all voter ID laws are the same, and some have been stricken down by the courts. And there are questions about whether voter ID laws actually accomplish what they claim to. So here's a quick primer.

Types of Voter ID Laws

Voter ID laws can be broken down into three categories:

Strict ID: Voters are required to present ID before casting a ballot. If the voter is unable to present ID at the polls, he or she can cast a provision ballot, which will only be counted if the voter returns later with a valid ID; Non-Strict: Can vary by state, but voters may present alternative means of verification, like a signed affidavit, and generally aren't required to follow up to have provisional ballots counted; and No ID: Not all states require ID to vote at the polls.

Even in the strict and non-strict categories, some states require photo IDs only, while others allow you to present some verifying document like a bank statement or utility bill.

Effectiveness of Voter ID Laws

The idea behind ID laws is to prevent voter fraud, like a person voting twice, voting in place of someone else, or voting when they're not registered. But it's not clear that voter ID laws actually reduce voter fraud. First, it would be hard to curtail an activity that happens so rarely -- a recent Washington Post analysis of elections over the last 14 years found just 31 credible incidents of the kind of voter fraud that most voter ID laws are designed to prevent. But while this may make voter ID laws seem like much ado about nothing, that hasn't stopped some states from trying to pass stricter voter ID requirements.

Voter ID in the Courts

Federal courts have recently ruled on voter ID or registration cases regarding five state laws. While some of the states have promised to appeal the cases to the Supreme Court, it is unlikely the Court (which remains short one justice) will rule on any of them before the November elections.

Kansas

Kansas not only required ID, but proof of U.S. citizenship to vote. After complicated legal battles over the past three years, a judge finally declared that votes from people who didn't show proof-of-citizenship must be counted in federal, state, and local elections.

North Carolina

The Fourth Circuit found North Carolina's voter ID law, saying it was passed with discriminatory intent. "Before enacting that law," the ruling noted, "the legislature requested data on the use, by race, of a number of voting practices," and then went on to restrict voting and registration in multiple ways, "all of which disproportionately affected African Americans." North Carolina appealed the decision but the Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal.

Ohio

Ohio has what is known as "Golden Week," that allowed voters to both register to vote and cast early ballots at the same location. After a recent Ohio law eliminated Golden Week, a federal court overturned the ban, finding it imposed a burden on African American voting rights and that the state's justifications for the law "fail to outweigh that burden."

Texas

While Texas's non-strict photo ID law remains in place, a recent ruling said the law had a discriminatory effect on minority voters and required the state to implement certain remedial measures. Under the new court order, if voters don't possess one of the seven forms of ID required by Texas law, and "cannot reasonably obtain it," they will be able to use several alternative forms of identification, and sign a declaration saying they could not obtain the required ID.

Wisconsin

In back-and-forth decisions, a federal district court ruled that Wisconsin needed to ease restrictions by allowing voters unable to get an ID to sign an affidavit attesting to their identity. But that ruling was blocked from going into effect by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. So, for now, Wisconsin's strict photo ID requirement will be in place for the November elections.

Voter ID Now

So after all of this, where do state voter ID laws fall right now? The National Conference of State Legislatures has an up-to-date and handy map illustrating the current state voter ID laws, which breaks down like this:

Strict photo ID: Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin;

Strict non-photo ID: Arizona, North Dakota, Ohio;

Non-Strict photo ID: Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas;

Non-Strict non-photo ID: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Washington; and

No ID required: California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C.

These classifications aren't always easy to distinguish and each state may have its own particular requirements. If you want more information on your state's voter ID laws, or if you feel like your voting rights have been violated, you can contact an experienced local civil rights attorney.

Related Resources:
However, the bank's management has dismissed the accusations adding that it has no case to answer.

The bank has however dismissed the allegation as spurious, saying that it had no case to answer.

Earlier reports revealed that 1,128 students of the college were affected by the registration scam.

Describing the occurrence as disheartening, the Chairman of the students council, Mr Nathan Zakka, has appealed for a thorough investigation to trace the missing money.

Zakka also pleaded with the students, asking for patience and cooperation as the union is liaising with relevant authorities to ensure that the registration fees is recovered from the bank.

We have briefed the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Abuja and they are equally making arrangement to address the matter.

We have also arranged with the college management through bursary department to help us verify all payments made through First Bank.

This is because they are the operator of TSA who only has access to the remita code for verification and as soon as the exercise is done, we will ensure that your money is recovered, he said.

Zakka said that the affected students have proof of payment in the form of duly certified stamped tellers and numbers.

Mr Babatunde Lasaki, Head, Corporate Affairs, First Bank, has, however, debunked the allegations in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), blaming the affected students for the loss.

From the initial report sent to us after an investigation, it actually shows that there are thousands of students who paid their registration fees in the branch, he said.

Lasaki went on to explain that the problem was only detected after the students went to the college for validation.

It was in the process of this validation they got to know that some of the students did not duly register.

These affected students did not pay their money in the bank, they actually paid their money in cyber cafes, not in our branch.

We understand that some of these cyber cafes encourage students to come and do all the registration with them instead of going to the bank, so in this situation, the bank has no case with the affected students, he concluded.

ALSO READ: 5 students expelled from Kwara state polytechnic

According to Lasaki, the case has been reported to the police and hopes that the case would be thoroughly investigated and the culprit made to face justice.
The deceased, Aradhana, was admitted into the hospital two days after the end of the fast.

Family sources revealed that the class 8 student, died of cardiac arrest last week.

Aradhana's funeral saw at least 600 people in attendance, where she was hailed as a 'bal tapasvi' while funeral procession was referred to as a 'shobha yatra', which means a mark of celebration.

Aradhana's family who runs a jewellery business with a shop in the Pot Bazaar area of Secunderabad, are being faced with questions as to why the teenager was allowed to give up school over a fast.

A member of the community, Lata Jain said:

''It has been a practice for people to undertake severe penance when they give up even food and water. They are glorified, lauded and honoured at community meetings by the religious elders. They are also showered with gifts. But in this case it was a minor and that is my objection."

She added, ''This is suicide if not murder.''

According to sources close to the family, Aradhana had survived a similar fast which last for 41 days.

Aradhana's grandfather, Manekchand Samdhariya said, "We did not hide anything. Everyone knew Aradhana was fasting. They came and took selfies with her. Now some people are pointing fingers at us for allowing her to fast for 68 days."

Jain religious leaders have revealed that Santhara is usually meant for the elderly who have lived their lives and want to give up a life style of habit.

''There should never be any element of force or coercion in tapasya or fasting. This was a tragedy and we must learn our lessons from it,''Maharasa Ravinder Muniji of Kachiguda Sthanak told NDTV.

Meanwhile, child's rights activist, Shanta Sinha, insists that a police report on the case must be issued and the child rights commission involved.

''A minor is not deemed to have a voluntary will to take decisions that can endanger their life. Religious leaders also need to re-look at what should be allowed and what is not," she said.

ALSO READ: Man dies moments after embarking on 40 days dry fasting

City police have since launched investigations into the incident ater a child's right NGO demanded a probe.
Trump declared himself a changed man, but raised the infidelities of former President Bill Clinton and slammed his Democratic opponent in the Nov. 8 election, Hillary Clinton, saying he would talk more about their past in coming days.

Disclosure of a 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking openly about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. Democrats have sought to highlight such behavior to prevent women voters from supporting him with less than a month to go until the election.

The video landed just ahead of the second presidential debate on Sunday night, which had been seen as critical for Trump to try to rebound from a dip in some opinion polls after a rocky performance in the first debate.

"This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we're facing today," he said, before turning to former President Bill Clinton's infidelities.

"We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday," Trump said in his statement.

The bombshell development rocked Trump's campaign to its core and some Republican lawmakers disavowed him.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan withdrew an invitation for Trump to visit Wisconsin on Saturday and there were some calls for the New York businessman to step aside to let his vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, become the party's standard-bearer.

"Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page.

COMMENTS CONDEMNED

"I did try and fuck her. She was married," Trump said about one woman, before discussing his attraction to others.

"I just start kissing them," he said. "And when you're a star they let you do it."

"Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything," Trump said.

A stream of Republican leaders condemned Trump's lewd remarks, but a few lawmakers distanced themselves further.

U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who has been one of Clinton's fiercest critics, said he had retracted his endorsement of Trump, telling CNN he would not be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he voted for Trump.

Utah's Republican Governor Gary Herbert said on Twitter he would also no longer vote for Trump. "Tonight, millions of Republicans are facing a moment of truth," Herbert said.

Republican lawmaker Mike Coffman from Colorado told CBS that Trump should "step aside" and said "his defeat at this point seems almost certain."

Trump, known for his unconventional and controversial speaking style, has made a series of gaffes in his campaign but the graphic nature of the clip would hurt his standing among women, independents, and wavering Republicans, said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

"We've never seen something like this Trump clip in a modern presidential campaign," Yepsen said, calling the incident "sad for the American political system" and for Trump's supporters.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said "this feels like it is quickly becoming a political 'game over'" for Trump.

"Unless voters don't care about these issues or believe that this is simply political dirty tricks by releasing the videos now, Trump is going to have to pull a rabbit out of his hat in order to turn things around," Bonjean said.

Still, Trump's past controversial comments have failed to shake his core supporters, said David Axelrod, a former political adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama.
In one, released later by Wikileaks, the ambassador described an articulate but shy man, seemingly weighed down by the burdens of leading Democratic Republic of Congo. Days later, Kabila spoke on television for the first time.

"Kabila's address is encouraging, reflecting a shift toward the reform and moderate elements in the Congolese power structure, the ambassador wrote.

Fifteen years later, with an election due but Kabila showing little sign of being ready to relinquish power, an incident at Kinshasa's airport highlighted how much has changed.

Tom Perriello, the U.S. envoy to Africa's Great Lakes region, was accosted on the tarmac by several angry, finger-wagging Kabila supporters, including a member of parliament. One of the men shouted, "Be careful of the Congolese. We no longer need you!"

For years one of Kabila's firmest backers, Washington is now driving international efforts to prevent any bid to extend his time in power when his second term runs out in December.

Last month, the U.S. government imposed further sanctions on Congolese security officials after dozens of people protesting against election delays were killed in Kinshasa.

"At this point it, is clear the government has not been willing to move towards an open or participatory democratic election," Roger Meece, a former U.S. ambassador to Congo who also ran the U.N. peacekeeping mission there, told Reuters.

"Private discussions are not working so you get to the point where public comment is the only way forward. The tools are pretty limited but we should be doing more with sanctions and specific actions."

U.S. determination to see Kabila stand aside is rooted in a constitutional ban on him seeking another term. But the unprecedented intensity of the pressure stems from changes in both the United States and Congo.

For years, many in Washington saw Kabila as Congo's best bet.

His 2006 election win against ex-rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba was credible, despite the street battles that followed. A 2011 election was widely criticised but Washington held its nose and recognised Kabila as winner over Etienne Tshisekedi, a veteran opposition leader whose fervent popularity at home is often matched by deep distrust among Kinshasa-based diplomats.

"American policymakers appear to have concluded that accepting Kabila, although ignoring democracy promotion, was the wiser course," Anthony Gambino, a former head of USAID in Congo, wrote in 2012 for African Futures, a digital forum.

"It is not at all clear that accepting the fraudulent outcome leads to longer term stability."

"OIL ON THE FIRE"

Coming from the Swahili-speaking east, Kabila has always been seen as an outsider in mainly Lingala-speaking Kinshasa, surrounded by political and family groups competing for access and influence.

Augustin Katumba Mwanke, one of his closest advisors, juggled these networks for years. But after he died in a plane crash in 2012, advisors multiplied and diplomats say it has become harder to decipher Kabila's plans.

Many of those in Kabila's close circle now appear mainly preoccupied with holding on to power, rather than ruling in a coherent way, some diplomats say.

As a result, issues have often been handled clumsily. For example, in 2015, security forces broke up a press conference organised by a small band of pro-democracy activists and partly sponsored by the U.S. government. A U.S. diplomat was caught in the swoop, angering Washington.

Accusations of U.S. interference have become increasingly common from the Kabila camp.

"We don't need people throwing oil on the fire to try to blow up Congo," Deo Engulu, a member of parliament and one of Perriello's airport critics said to the cameras. "That is why we told this man that he is not welcome in this country."

Kabila's drift towards authoritarianism has also splintered his ruling alliance, the most significant loss being Moise Katumbi, the millionaire former governor of the mining province Katanga. In him, the opposition has someone with deep pockets and a favourable reputation in Washington.

REGIONAL SILENCE

The tough U.S. line is also an attempt to arrest a broader trend of regional leaders clinging power, after heads of state in Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi tweaked or sidestepped laws to extend their mandates.

Crucially, Congo has caught the attention of a number of senior U.S. officials, many of whom are becoming increasingly open about their frustrations over Kabila.

Senators of both major U.S. political parties have worked together on sanctions legislation. The creation of a special envoy post has seen administration officials with high level support jet in and take a more robust approach than when they relied solely on resident diplomats.

The U.S. Department of Justice also announced results of a long investigation that exposed how a U.S. hedge fund funnelled $100 million in bribes to top Congolese officials in return for access to mining concessions.

In the case, the first U.S. foreign bribery case against a hedge fund, a subsidiary of Och-Ziff Capital Management Group pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn last week to participating in a scheme to bribe Congolese officials. Och-Ziff will pay $412 million to resolve U.S. probes into its actions there and in other African countries.

With commodities prices low, U.S. businesses are less interested in Congo than they have been in the past. Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan Inc agreed earlier this year to sell its stake in Congo's Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine, part of efforts to cut its debt load. That means there are no longer any major U.S. economic interests in the country.

But Washington provides more than $400 million in aid every year to Congo on top of $300 million for the U.N. peacekeeping mission, bringing it clout. U.S. diplomacy has been active in the region, especially cracking down on Rwanda for backing rebels in eastern Congo.

For now, the U.S. position towards Kabila is far more hard-line than Western and African counterparts. Europe has ratcheted up rhetoric against Kabila but not yet found a common position on sanctions.

Jason Stearns, a Congo expert, said there was a reluctance in Europe to follow such an aggressive approach but the mechanics of pushing sanctions through the bloc were also a factor in EU foot-dragging.

In previous crises, Kabila has also been able to rely on the support of regional African powers such as Angola and South Africa for diplomatic and military support. So far, leaders have stressed the need for calm without stating a clear position.

Stearns questioned how much regional countries will appreciate Washington throwing its weight about on their patch. Meanwhile, emboldened by U.S. policy, Congos opposition is threatening further protests unless Kabila stands aside.
Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday morning "zero chance I'll quit." He also told The Washington Post he may deliver a speech Saturday afternoon to address concern among supporters and reiterate his determination to stay in the race.

Trump's efforts at damage control with a hastily recorded apology early Saturday morning, however, did not stymie calls from members of his party to quit. At least three Republican members of the Senate announced they will not vote for Trump and former rival Carly Fiorina called on him to withdraw.

Trump declared himself a changed man and attempted to shift the focus to his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. He threatened, again, to focus his attacks on the infidelities of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, saying he would talk more about the pasts of both Clintons. Trump has dismissed questions about his own marital infidelities as irrelevant.

There is no precedent for a major party to replace their nominee this late in the campaign and it is unclear if there is an avenue to force him out. Voting has begun in several states, including the important swing states of Virginia and North Carolina.

Disclosure of a 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking openly about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped months after Trump married his third wife, Melania.

Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning, seeming to make light of the controversy by posting on the online social media website "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!"

House Speaker Paul Ryan dis-invited Trump to a scheduled appearance on Saturday afternoon in Wisconsin. The vice presidential nominee Mike Pence was slated to replace him but campaign advisor Boris Epshteyn told MSNBC a scheduling conflict prevented the Indiana governor from speaking in Wisconsin.

Prominent Republican women delivered scathing criticisms of Trump's remarks. Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte, of New Hampshire, said she will not vote for him. Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito, of West Virginia, called Trump's remarks "disgusting and demeaning."

"Women have worked hard to gain the dignity and respect we deserve," Moore Capito said. "The appropriate next step may be for him to reexamine his candidacy."

Trump has struggled to win over women voters, lagging Clinton in the polls. Democrats have sought to highlight past Trump behavior toward women in an effort to erode his support with less than a month to go until the Nov. 8 election.

"Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page.

The video overshadowed the publication of excerpts of Clinton's closed-door paid speeches made public on Friday by a hacker who claimed to have obtained them from the email account of John Podesta, the chairman of the Democrat's campaign. In the speeches, Clinton advocates for more open borders and trade, a position she abandoned during the primary because it was untenable to Democratic progressives. Trump has repeatedly criticized her for past support of free trade.

The video landed just ahead of the second presidential debate on Sunday night, which had been seen as critical for Trump to try to rebound from a dip in some polls after a rocky performance in the first debate.

COMMENTS CONDEMNED

"I did try and fuck her. She was married," Trump said about one woman, before discussing his attraction to others.

"I just start kissing them," he said. "And when you're a star they let you do it."

"Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything," Trump said.

U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who has been one of Clinton's fiercest critics, retracted his endorsement of Trump, telling CNN he would not be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he voted for him.

Martha Roby, a Republican member of Congress from Alabama, said she would not vote for Trump.

"Donald Trump's behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won't vote for him," she said in a statement. "Hillary Clinton must not be president, but, with Trump leading the ticket, she will be."

Utah's Republican Governor Gary Herbert said on Twitter he too would no longer vote for Trump, saying: "Tonight, millions of Republicans are facing a moment of truth."

Republican lawmaker Mike Coffman from Colorado told CBS Trump should step aside and said "his defeat ... seems almost certain."

Other prominent Republicans, however, indicated they would stick with Trump. Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, told news outlets they will continue to support him.

Conservatives point to the fact that the winner of the November election will get to appoint a Supreme Court justice as reason to stick with Trump despite the video. Greg Mueller, a conservative Republican strategist, pointed to Clinton's views on abortion as a reason religious voters will stick with Trump.

"Nothing indefensible that Donald Trump said 20 years ago is going to change that," he said. "Plus, to many religious voters, Mrs. Clinton is the epitome of a corrupt politician."

Representative Jack Kingston, a Republican from Georgia, argued that Trump has changed since the video was filmed.
MODEL YEAR END CLOSE OUT! COROLLA MODELS 0 % For 72 Months APR OR PLUS $500 $1,500 Lease For Customer Cash Lease For $129/mo* www. AndersonWeberToyota.com WWW.TOYOTAOFMUSCATINE.COM HIGHLANDER APR Customer Bonus Customer Cash New 2016 Toyota 0 % For 72 Months 0 .9% APR For 36 Months Lease For $269/mo* www. AndersonWeberToyota.com WWW.TOYOTAOFMUSCATINE.COM New 2016 Toyota PRIUS MODELS OR $2,000 $199/mo* 0 www. AndersonWeberToyota.com WWW.TOYOTAOFMUSCATINE.COM 60 % For Months APR New 2016 Toyota RAV4 MODELS OR $1,000 Customer Cash Lease For $199/mo* www. AndersonWeberToyota.com WWW.TOYOTAOFMUSCATINE.COM 3000 North Hwy . 38 3450 Center Grove Dubuque, IA 52003 Muscatine, Iowa 52761 ANDERSONWEBERTOYOTA.COM *Offers end 10/31/16 and are subject to availability . See Dealer for details. Low APR is on approved credit from T 877-945-2297 87 7-854-9685 adno=652832-01 adno=652832-01 New 2016 Toyota rst month s payment, $1,580 down payment, $1,000 TFS Lease Sub rst month s payment, $3,000 down payment, security$1,000 deposit acquisit *Offers *Offers end end 10/31/16 10/31/16 an andd ar aree su subject bject to availability. availability. See Dealer for details. Low APR is on approved credit from TToyota oyota Financial Services. *Lease new 2016 Corolla, model #1862J, $129 a month for 36 months with $2,359 due at signing. Includes fifirst rst months month s payment, $1,580 down$0payment, TFS and Lease$650 Subvention MSRP $25,668. Lease-end purchase option isfee. $14,631. * Lease Lease-end new 2016purchase RA rst month s payment, $2,320 $0 security deposit and $650 acquisition fee. $0 MSRP is $26,929. Lease-end purchase Reduction, $0 security deposit and $650 acquisition MSRP $20,430. option is $12,667. * Lease new 2016 Prius LB, model #1223G, for $199 a month for 36 months with $3,849down due atpayment, signing. Includes first months payment, $3,000 down payment, security deposit and $650 acquisition fee.optio Lease 2016Lease-end Highlander s payment, $2,670 down payment, TFS Lease Subvention Reduction, deposit $650 acquisition fee. isMSRP is $37,025. purchase option MSRPnew $25,668. purchase option is $14,631. * Lease new 2016 RAV4, model #4432G, for $199 a monthrst for month 36 months with $3,169 due at signing. Includes$500 first months payment, $2,320 down payment,$0 $0 security security deposit andand $650 acquisition fee. MSRP $26,929. Lease-endLease-end purchase option is $16,427. * is $ Cashnew provided by T model #6949J, for $269 a month for 36 months nance , unused unlicensed 2016 oyota Corolla, Camry , Prius, RA V4.payment, * Lease $500 doesTFS notLease include taxes, Reduction, license, title/registration insurance, andfee. $69MSRP dealer doc fee.Lease-end Closed-end lease.option Customer responsible for maint Lease 2016 Highlander, witha new $3,589 due atorsigning. Includes firstTmonths payment, $2,670ordown Subvention $0 security depositfees, and $650 acquisition is $37,025. purchase is $24,807. Lease Subvention and tear andby$0.15 mile over 12,000 milescustomers per . T yearwho edfinance Tier 1+ acustomers T 2016 Toyota Corolla, Camry, Prius, or RAV4. * Lease does not include taxes, license, title/registration fees, insurance, nance through oyota TdealerFinancial Services. Customer Cashresponsible offer provided oyota by Financial T Services Cash provided Toyotaper Financial Service to eligible new, unusedthrough or unlicensed and $69 doc fee. Closed-end lease. Customer for maintenance, excess wear and nanced. 0.0% for a term of 39 and tear and $0.15 per mile over 12,000 miles per year. To qualified Tier 1+ customers through Toyota Financial Services. $350 disposition fee due at lease end unless customer purchases vehicle or decides to re-finance through Toyota Financial Services. Customer Cash offer provided by Toyota Financial Services andmonth nanced. 0.0% cost for term of 60permonths corresponds of $16 must be applied to transaction. Picture may not represent actual vehicle. 0.0% APR with $2,500 down payment provides for 72 monthly payments of $13.89 per $1,000 financed for qualified buyers. 0.0% for a term of 36 months corresponds to a monthly of $27.78 $1,000 financed. 0.0% to for aa monthly term of 39 cost months pricesfinanced. plus tax, titlefor&alicense approved credit.to aMSRP includes delivery nance at this rate. cost of $16.67 per corresponds to a monthly cost of nanced. $25.64 perAll$1,000 0.0% term of with 42 months corresponds monthly cost of $23.81 per $1,000 financed. 0.0% for term of 48 months corresponds to a monthly cost of $20.83 per $1,000 financed. 0.0% for term of 60 months corresponds to a monthly
It was a BIG campaign goal  recruiting 100 Bigs over 100 Days.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley is proud to announce it reached the 100 days/100 Bigs recruitment goal. But the need for Bigs  the adult volunteers who mentor area children facing adversity (the Littles)  never ends.

"On a regular basis we have 200 to 250 kids waiting to be matched," said Beth Clark, the organization's development director.

The summer campaign inspired 173 people to inquire about volunteering. Of those, 72 are on their path to becoming Bigs and another 40 are still being interviewed. When the interviews and the matches between Bigs and Littles are done, it will have hit the goal of 100 Bigs.

Clark credits much of the success to Ascentra Credit Union Foundation, which has pledged its support to the recruitment effort for three years, and KWQC, the media sponsor.

The campaign aside, area businesses play a big role throughout the year. Clark said they traditionally supply another 100 volunteers who are recruited at their workplaces.

Among those that have opened the doors to Big Brothers Big Sisters are Northwest Bank & Trust Co., Mid-American Energy, Quad-City Bank & Trust, Deere Employee Credit Union, Ascentra Credit Union; Genesis Systems, elanders Americas (Midland Information Systems), Martin Engineering, Xpac, KJWW Engineering, John Deere Health Fair and Womens Connection.

Any company interested in hosting a volunteer recruitment Lunch & Learn should contact Clark at 563-323-8006 or bclark@bbbs-mv.org.

For those interested in outcomes, a survey conducted in June shows the program's impact. Of 400 local elementary and middle school teachers who have students enrolled in Big Brothers Big Sisters, they reported 64 percent of those Littles improved their self-confidence, 52 percent improved in their decision-making skills, 60 percent improved in their self-motivation and 88 percent either improved or maintained their overall academic performance over the school year.

YPQC premieres new Quad Citizens video

Young Professionals of the Quad-Cities, whose other efforts are featured on the Economy page, unveiled the new "Quad Citizens: Can't Stop the Feeling" video this week.

The let-loose video  with dancing and lip-syncing by some well-known business folks as well as a lot of other energetic Quad Citizens  was debuted Thursday night at the Figge Art Museum. The video, shot at locales all over the Quad-Cities, features Justin Timberlake's hit song "Can't Stop the Feeling."

The project was produced by the Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce's young professionals initiative YPQC and Dphilms.

"Our purpose for producing this video is to encourage all Quad Citizens to embody pride, a positive spirit and swagger for this region," said Greg Aguilar, the chamber's talent & retention director. "We want people to be proud to be a Quad Citizen and to show off where they live, work and play and this video is one way to do that." See the video.

Clinton group's accreditation first in Iowa

The Clinton Regional Development Corp. has been recognized as the first Iowa economic development group to earn accreditation by the International Economic Development Council.

The council recently recognized 52 organizations with Accredited Economic Development Organization status. The Clinton group will receive the honor later in Cleveland, Ohio.

"There are roughly 2,000 other groups like ours around the country and for the International Economic Development Council to say you're 'best of class,' it says a lot," said Mike Kirchhoff, the Clinton organization's president and CEO.

He said the Clinton organization worked ''shy of three years'' to earn the accreditation, which was a goal within its Vision 2020 strategic plan.
Vivian Perez needed no convincing that the Quad-Cities was the place to start her career.

Since graduating from Augustana College two years ago, the Naperville, Illinois, native worked tirelessly to find a job where she could make her mark. After losing her "dream job" with a Hispanic advocacy organization when a grant ended, her next job was doing medical transcriptions. It was neither enough to pay all the bills or fulfill her career goal.

"I wanted to help the Hispanic families out," said Perez, 24.

She had all but packed her bags to move back in with her parents in Naperville when fate stepped in while she was at a networking event for Quad-City young professionals. During a Network@Nite event, Perez was introduced to two Family Resources leaders who encouraged her to apply for the Davenport agency's Braking Traffik program. Now she is a bilingual survivor advocate and works with victims of human trafficking, many who speak Spanish.

Perez, who was intent on making it on her own, is representative of the type of young, educated talent that the Quad-Cities now is focused on attracting to the local workforce.

"Attracting a younger talent base will grow our economy because these are the people in the first step of their careers. Yes, they want to find a job but they also are thinking long-term. Is this a place they can buy a house and raise a family?" said Greg Aguilar, talent attraction & retention director for the Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce.

Aguilar, who also is director of the chamber's Young Professionals of the Quad-Cities, or YPQC, said it is critical that visiting interns as well as college students transplanted here get a complete picture of the region. "We don't want them to leave saying there is nothing to do."

Working to educate them is InternQC, a four-year-old program hosted by YPQC. The program was designed to acquaint summer interns with the region as well as get them engaged in the community  working with nonprofits and meeting other professionals  in hopes of turning them into future workers. The program provides them with social activities to expose them to community events and amenities. Through networking events, like Network@Nite, and other workshops, participants can learn about career opportunities while building a network with fellow interns, working young professionals and community leaders.

"We're more likely to retain talent that comes here for college or university or an internship than talent who is raised here," said Aguilar, a Quad-City native.

Jillian McCleary, the chamber's vice president of communications, said the impetus for YPQC and its predecessors was to drive talent attraction and retention efforts in the region.

"Through YPQC, they learn about the community and get engaged in the community so ultimately, they think the Quad-Cities is the place they want to start a career," she said. "We know interns come from all over to intern. So if their only experience is going to their internship and back to their apartment at night, they are not getting exposed to the community."

According to a survey of this past summer's InternQC participants, nearly 70 percent indicated they now would be somewhat or very likely to look for a job in the Quad-Cities after college graduation, Aguilar said.

The first-time survey, conducted in June when they arrived and again in August, showed their perception of the region had improved. Initially, 60 percent said they would be likely to seek a job in the Quad-Cities.

Aguilar said one of the measures of the new regional strategy, Q2030, is to increase the number of young workers here. "One way we are working toward that goal is by rolling out the red carpet for interns and showcasing all the Quad-Cities has to offer."

With YPQC, InternQC, and other young professional initiatives, he said young professionals are again finding their place in the Quad-Cities.

"Everything with Q2030 and the buzz around it, it is the time where they are feeling there is a place for them to get involved in the community and they're excited to be getting involved," McCleary added.

While InternQC has grown from about 40 in its first year to more than 230 this year, Aguilar said the program mostly reaches visiting students whose only ties to the Quad-Cities is the internship.

Next year, he wants the program also to involved more area college students. "We have to bridge that gap between college and an internship and landing a job. If they can land a job here, they are more likely to stay," he said.

Lauren Crew, a St. Ambrose University senior, is one of those students who found connecting to the community can open doors. She was interning for the chamber's Downtown Davenport Partnership this past summer when she got involved in InternQC. "It really exposed me a lot more to what is going on in the Quad-Cities and all the young professionals who are doing unbelievable things. I thought if they can do it, I can do it here."

A native of LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, Crew even turned her internship into a full-time job as a marketing administration coordinator when another Partnership employee was promoted.

"I was supposed to go abroad this semester to Ireland ... and I thought probably the smarter, more adult move was to not go $18,000 more in debt," the journalism and television production major said.

Although this was not her ideal job, she knows she is learning so much from it. "I'm going to stick around for awhile," Crew said. "I want to see where (the community) is going. I feel there is a lot more to be done in the community and I want to see it."
Senior Resources

Senior Resources is located in the Shepley Building, 1808 Mulberry Ave., Muscatine. Hours are 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays. The agency provides services to Muscatine County residents age 60 or older and programs and activities each month for all seniors. For more information, call 563-263-7292 or 888-667-2026.

Adult Day Center

Senior Resources Adult Day Center provides loved ones with socialization and programs while caregivers complete errands and appointments. Senior Resources also offers bathing and a low-stimulus room. For more information, call 563-263-7292 or 888-667-2026.

Advance Care Planning

Honoring Your Wishes is a community-wide program that helps people create an advance care plan so people can outline their future healthcare goals. You will then make a written plan that will describe your wishes to others if you cannot communicate. This service is available at no cost for adults ages 18 years and older. Call Senior Resources for more information.

Chore Program

The Chore Program helps seniors age 60 and over, in Muscatine County, with lawn mowing, snow shoveling and heavy household cleaning. A sliding fee scale is used to calculate the rate. Please call Senior Resource if you have any questions.

Home Repair Program

The Home Repair Program is offered by Senior Resources and helps seniors age 60 and over, in Muscatine County, to fix or repair minor household problems. A sliding fee scale is used to calculate reimbursement for labor. Please call Senior Resource if you have any questions 263-7292.

Meals on Wheels

Senior Resources Meals on Wheels program consists of a lunch-time meal delivered by volunteers to area seniors who have trouble cooking for themselves, possibly live alone and have no one in the home to cook for them or for someone who has just gotten out of the hospital and needs help temporarily with meals until they get back on their feet. If you would like more information or to sign up for the program, please call Shannon at 563-263-7292 or email to meals@sr-resources.org.

Medical equipment

Senior Resources and sponsor Trinity Episcopal Church are offering the Durable Medical Equipment Lending Closet. The program, which lends medical items free of charge, is available to residents of Muscatine and the surrounding area, but not limited to seniors. Anyone borrowing equipment is asked to sign it out and agree to bring it back. There is no time limit. Items include: bath benches, canes, commodes, crutches, walkers, walkers with wheels and wheelchairs.Donations for this program can be dropped off at Senior Resources, 1808 Mulberry Ave., or Trinity Episcopal Church, 211 Walnut St. Pickups can also be arranged by calling Senior Resources at 563-263-7292 from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; or Trinity Episcopal Church at 563-263-2177 from 8 a.m.-noon Tuesday-Friday.

Outreach

The Outreach program helps seniors file paperwork with the Department of Human Services, gives referrals to other agencies, and makes friendly visits along with other special projects. Available in Spanish. Call Laura at 563-263-7292 for more information.

SHIIP program

Senior Resources offers free and confidential Medicare counseling through its Senior Health Insurance Information Program. This service is offered through the State of Iowa to help people sort through confusing information about Medicare and health insurance. For more information, call Laura at 563-263-7292.

Volunteers needed

Senior Resources is looking for volunteers to deliver Meals On Wheels. We have five routes that go out from Trinity Muscatine hospital Monday-Friday. We have two routes that go out on Saturday mornings. The routes take about an hour. For more information call Shannon at 263-7292.
A Davenport man was sentenced this week to up to 15 years in prison for robbing a man at gunpoint in February.

Brett Lee Roelandt, 25, pleaded guilty in June to first-degree theft as a habitual offender and assault while participating in a felony in Scott County District Court.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed additional charges of first-degree robbery and possession of a firearm or offensive weapon by a felon.

According to a disposition order filed Friday, District Court Judge Stuart Weling sentenced Roelandt to up to 15 years on the theft charge and up to five years on the assault charge.

The sentences will run at the same time.

According to an arrest affidavit filed by Davenport polcie, officers were sent to 715 Iowa St. at 4:04 a.m. Feb. 27 for a robbery.

Roelandt and a man were at a party at the house, and when the man left the party, Roelandt followed him outside.

Roelandt then pointed a pistol at the man and told him, Give me everything you got, according to the affidavit.

Roelandt then searched the mans pockets and took his jewelry and wallet. The mans cousin was able to recover the wallet from Roelandt after a short fight, according to the affidavit.

When officers searched Roelandts residence, they found the mans jewelry, an air-powered BB gun and a piece of a revolver what had been disassembled, according to the affidavit.

According to electronic records from U.S. District Court, Davenport, Roelandt was sentenced to 30 months in a federal prison on June 27, 2013, after pleading guilty to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also was placed on three years of supervised release. He was given credit for time he served in jail while awaiting trial.

On Sept. 3, 2014, Roelandt was transferred to the residential re-entry center at 605 Main St., Davenport. His projected release date from there was Jan. 27, 2015, according to federal court records.

On Nov. 19, 2014, Roelandt went to work but failed to return to the re-entry center that night. He still had not returned by the next day. Roelandt was charged with escape. On July 29, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to serve three years on supervised release.

On Feb. 18, while still under federal supervision, Roelandt tested positive for marijuana. No action had been taken on that positive drug test, but a note was made in his file.
DES MOINES  If Donald Trump needs a safe space, he should come to Iowa.

Across the country Saturday, the Republican presidential candidate faced withering criticism over recently published lewd comments he made in 2005 about groping women.

Since the comments were published, more than 30 Republican members of Congress and governors who had not previously ruled out supporting Trump disavowed his candidacy, the New York Times reported Saturday.

In Iowa, Republican leaders  as they gathered for their annual fall fundraiser  condemned Trumps comments but continued to support his candidacy, either directly or by way of opposing Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

And a new Iowa Poll published Saturday night showed Trump leading Clinton, 43 percent to 39 percent, in Iowa, although the survey was taken before Trumps latest comments were published.

When you look at the whole picture, I think what he said was absolutely wrong and reprehensible, yet this has happened in 2005 and we need to look to the future, and we need to look at what kind of a leader were going to have for this country, said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, whose son, Eric, is the Trump campaigns Iowa director.

I think that the vision Trump and (running mate Mike) Pence have is much better for the future of America than what Hillary Clinton offers.

During their remarks at the fundraiser, Iowas U.S. senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, both made the case for voting for Trump without using his name.

Ernst dedicated most of her remarks to criticizing Clinton, and Grassley said Republicans must vote for a candidate they want making appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is not an election about whos going to be president just for the next four years. This is an election about the direction of the Supreme Court for the next 40 years, Grassley said.

Neither Grassley nor Ernst spoke to reporters before the event, although Ernst gave a brief answer to one question as she hurried to her seat. When asked whether she still supports Trump, Ernst replied simply, I do not support Hillary Clinton.

The states Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann condemned Trumps comments, which he called disgusting, but said he still will encourage Republicans to vote for Trump.

Kaufmann said he thinks voters face a choice between two flawed candidates.

The only way to avoid a disaster and the Clinton gang returning to the White House is to do just that, is to elect Donald Trump, Kaufmann said.

The evenings sharpest rebuke of Trump came from a non-Iowan: U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, of Arkansas, the events keynote speaker.

Cotton said Trump has let down Republicans again, and said that in tonight's presidential debate Trump must take full responsibility for his words and actions and pledge to finally change his ways.

If he does those things, then he can right this ship, Cotton said. If he does not do those things, if he will not do those things, then he needs to consider whether its time for him to step aside and allow our party to nominate an elder statesman who will do those things and who will carry our banner into November.

Earlier Saturday, an Iowa state senator who dropped his Republican Party affiliation in protest of Trumps offensive statements and behavior called on Iowa GOP leaders to withdraw their support for Trump over the recently published comments.

Now that Trumps true anti-women sickness has been revealed, surely these two state leaders must condemn Trump publicly, Sen. David Johnson, an Ocheyedan independent, said. As I said in June, Donald Trump is a bigot, misogynist and racist, and is unfit to be president of a great nation.

Trump issued a video statement in which he apologized for the comments, which were caught on microphone in a leaked 2005 video that was released Friday. Trump also called the footage of his comments a distraction from bigger issues at stake in the Nov. 8 election.

Ive never said Im a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that Im not, Trump said in the video. Ive said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am.

Trump told reporters Saturday that he would never withdraw from the race, even as pressure mounted for him to step aside.

The Clinton campaign in Iowa addressed Trumps comments with a letter signed by four local mothers.

The language Trump uses to describe women is not just shocking and hurtful, but disqualifies him for the presidency, the letter says. As mothers of young children and grandchildren, we want our president to set the example for young people that every person is their equal regardless of gender and physical appearance, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religion. Instead, Trump continues to divide the country with his hateful rhetoric, volatile temperament, and demeaning views toward women and too many Americans.
The "art of the deal," in Donald Trump's version, has a hard edge. It involves public bluster, threats of litigation, and confrontational negotiations. It's about winning, rather than compromise.

But there's another version of dealmaking that's more relevant to how Washington actually works. It's about passing budgets and avoiding shutdowns. It involves creating space for agreement on taxes and spending. These negotiations usually take place out of public view. And they're shaped by one of Washington's most powerful but least understood institutions, the Office of Management and Budget.

This hidden side of government is exemplified by Jacob Lew, the treasury secretary and a two-time former director of the OMB. Quiet and self-effacing, Lew may be the most important official most Americans have never heard of. He illustrates the paradox of how Washington has continued to function over the last several decades even as the nominal institutions of government have become deadlocked and increasingly dysfunctional.

I had an unusual glimpse of Lew's world last week when I traveled with him to Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. During the trip, we had multiple conversations about his 35-year career and the lessons he has drawn from it.

The American public is angry in this election year at a political establishment that makes promises but doesn't deliver results. To some critics, Lew is an example of an out-of-touch elite that's disconnected from the middle class. This weekend, he's helping host the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, two pillars of the globalized economy.

What's interesting about Lew is that he's a doer not a talker, closer to a flight mechanic than a pilot. He's part of a chain of OMB chiefs who have kept the nation operating through its political machinations since the 1980s.

"We come from an old school," says former OMB Director Leon Panetta. "The first commandment was to get things done, to resolve issues, to find whatever compromises are needed to keep going."

Lew's education began with his first boss, House Speaker Tip O'Neill. He was O'Neill's emissary to the commission headed by Alan Greenspan that fixed a broken Social Security system in 1983 by raising payroll taxes. Today, Lew keeps in his Treasury office the gavel that was used in passing the legislation. It was a gift from O'Neill.

"Lew is a throwback to the Reagan-O'Neill years," says Ken Duberstein, a prominent Republican who worked in the Reagan White House, eventually as chief of staff. "Principled compromise is what you get with him. He's into governing, not show and tell."

Lew entered the Clinton White House as a midlevel aide and was dispatched to OMB as an assistant to Panetta, later becoming director in 1998. That's where he discovered the gearbox of the federal government. "At OMB, I learned how we could offer things that would make a deal possible," Lew told me.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich forced government shutdowns in 1995 and 1996 to push for lower federal spending. But those tactics backfired because of public anger, and Lew subsequently negotiated budget deals with Gingrich that advanced key social safety-net programs.

Lew's story is like one of those movies where you know disaster is coming in the third act, but there's nothing you can do to stop it. After nearly 20 years of being the trusted intermediary, Lew became a lightning rod for GOP criticism in the bitter budget debates of 2011 that centered on raising the debt ceiling. Then-Speaker John Boehner took such a dislike to Lew's number-crunching and naysaying that he told President Obama to exclude him from the negotiations.

Nothing is ever really over in Washington, at least in the budget arena. After the debt-ceiling brouhaha, Lew moved to Treasury and began to accomplish, piece by piece, some of the budget reforms that had come apart in 2011 and 2012. Sequestration slowed the pace of spending by about $1 trillion over 10 years; a 2013 tax agreement raised top rates and added over $700 billion in revenue; budget deals from 2013 on cut close to another $200 billion in spending.

"We've implemented piecemeal what would have been a major budget deal," argues Lew. Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor agrees with him. "Jack's suggestion that we had the basis for a working compromise is absolutely true," he told me in an interview. "It lasts to this day."

Lew practices a kind of dealmaking that Trump disdains. But it's hard to see Trump's blunderbuss tactics succeeding on such delicate issues as Social Security, Medicaid or international financial crises -- where Lew has quietly been doing the nation's business.
For about half a minute Friday morning, the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center arena rumbled from 4,000 people stomping their feet on the bleachers.

Hollywood actress Shailene Woodley had invited the audience to create a thunderstorm in solidarity with those fighting the Dakota Access pipeline on a North Dakota reservation.

Maybe we can all set our intentions on Standing Rock Reservation, Woodley, 24, told the main arena filled with elementary, middle school and high school students. We can all send our youthfulness, our enthusiasm, our excited energy to all of those who are camping out there right now in the cold, to all of those who have been standing on the front lines, to all of those who have been sending resources to protect clean water.

Woodley and her mother Lori, founder of a leadership-training organization, were guest speakers at the Black Hills Powwows annual Youth Day Symposium on Friday, the kick-off event of the weekend powwow festivities.

Students grades 4 to 12 from the Rapid City Area Schools, Pine Ridge Reservation and Douglas School District gathered to watch traditional Native American performances at the Civic Center in Rapid City.

The ongoing pipeline protest was a clear focus of Woodley's remarks.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe says the $3.8 billion, four-state oil pipeline will harm sites of historic, religious and cultural significance and threaten the Missouri River water supply for its reservation and millions of people downstream. The fight has spurred hundreds of people to join a protest encampment in southern North Dakota, which has been called the largest gathering of Native American tribes in a century.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has stopped pipeline work in the area while the tribe appeals a lower-court ruling from September, which let the project go forward.

The crowd at the civic center cheered over the drumbeat when dancers, decked in their colorful traditional attire, took center stage. And many in the audience began dancing when Native American hip-hop artists closed the mornings program.

But the events star was undoubtedly Woodley, who is known for her lead roles in the Divergent film series and The Fault in Our Stars. Her latest movie is Oliver Stones Snowden, in which she plays the girlfriend of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Dozens of teenagers descended on Woodley after the program, lining up to have their pictures taken, chat with her or give her a hug. She and her mom mingled with fans in the arena for at least half an hour.

The Black Hills Powwows president, Stephen Yellowhawk, said his group invited Woodley because of her concern for Native peoples and their issues. The actresss advocacy is apparent on her social media channels, he said.

The header photo on her Twitter page, for instance, shows a teepee, raised fists and the words Stop the Dakota Access pipeline. She has over a million followers each on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Woodley said she has been drawn to indigenous peoples worldview since she was a little girl, particularly their understanding of the bonds between things in the natural world. She sees her celebrity as a way to help call attention to causes she believes in, such as the Dakota Access pipeline protests, which she joined during its early days this spring.

Talking to young people, Woodley said, is an important way to promote compassion.

That to me is why this event is so important, she told the Journal. Yes, youre celebrating diversity. Yes, youre celebrating culture. But more than that, youre stripping away all the different labels that we attach to ourselves, and at a young age, allowing kids to see that everyone is just an individual human.

Ten-year-old Eliza Fox, a fifth grader from Bismarck, N.D., found the event really cool.

When asked what she liked best about the Youth Symposium, she said: I kinda liked everything.
Estelline Black Feather, 66, was taking a nap on her couch Thursday afternoon when her house shook and woke her up.

It was about 3 p.m., and the sound of a massive explosion rocked her house in the East Ridge neighborhood about a half mile from the center of Pine Ridge.

Thinking it was her own propane tank that blew, she got up and ran outside. But Black Feather immediately saw sheer devastation: A duplex across the street had been destroyed.

People were running, she said. There was a real bad smell, like sulfur.

Four people died in the explosion, and several others were injured.

Multiple sources in the neighborhood and within tribal government identified the elderly couple who died as Owen Eagle Elk and Oletha Mousseaux. A tribal council member said Thursday that two young females had also been killed.

Authorities with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and the Oglala Sioux Tribal police declined to talk or were unavailable to comment on the identities of the deceased and injured or the status of the investigation.

A day after the blast, on Friday morning, the scene of the tragedy on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation left local residents weary and saddened.

The home appeared as though a tornado had landed directly upon it, leaving behind only a pile of debris  the only indicator of the home and lives that had been destroyed by the blast.

The destroyed duplex and many other homes in the East Ridge neighborhood are owned by Oglala Sioux Lakota Housing, a branch of tribal government that manages and maintains over 1,200 reduced-rent units on the reservation.

In a phone interview on Friday, Paul Iron Cloud, the groups chief executive officer, said that about 20 minutes before the explosion, OSLH maintenance crews received a call from someone within the duplex complaining about the smell of gas.

Iron Cloud would not comment further on what actions were taken by housing maintenance crews within that time frame.

Many of the other OSLH homes in the East Ridge are outfitted with propane tanks similar to the one that reportedly leaked and caused the explosion on Thursday afternoon.

Its definitely a concern, said Richard Greenwald, who represents the Pine Ridge district on the tribal council. I think the housing is going to take the steps to make sure all the furnaces and water heaters are running properly.

The explosion in a residential neighborhood unsettled many residents.

Wakiyan Dreamer was at his girlfriends house a few blocks away when the blast took place.

It felt like something hit against the house, he said.

Francis Ice, 88, who lives next door to Black Feather, was knitting in her back room.

Hard of hearing, she thought something heavy had fallen in her kitchen. She knew something horrible had happened, however, when she saw the men from the neighborhood running past her windows.

Terry Two Bulls was one of those men, and one of the first to run headlong into the devastation to offer help.

All I saw through the trees was a brown cloud, he said. I took off running  and I saw there was no house.

The explosion had rumbled for three to five seconds in Carol Bad Bears estimation, and it shook her home to the foundation. Emerging safely, she followed Two Bulls and the other men up the hill.

Two Bulls and others waded into the wreckage, lifting the collapsed roof in the hopes of finding survivors. Instead they found four bodies: two teenage girls and an elderly couple.

It was a bad sight to see, said a visibly shaken neighbor, who declined to give his name. Wiping his eyes in the crook of his elbow, he added, I couldnt sleep last night. I keep thinking about it.

I didnt think about it until later on in the day, said Rueben Little Moon, smoking on his porch. Ive never seen a dead body before. Its just something you cant get out of your head.

On Friday, all that remained of the duplex was splintered wood and twisted metal. A lone Oglala Sioux Tribal Police officer guarded the scene while investigating agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives packed up and drove away. The ATF agents would not comment, apart from saying that their agency routinely investigates cataclysmic accidents on Native American reservations.

Glass crunched under Ices feet as the small woman inspected her van, parked along the street. The explosion had blasted away the drivers side windows.

These were good people living there, she said, gazing at the ruin. The elderly couple had just moved in a few months ago. They would sit outside at night.

Beside the deaths of Eagle Elk and Mousseaux, and two other girls, at least five other individuals were injured, according to Richard Greenwald, a tribal council member representing Pine Ridge Village. Of those, three were flown to hospitals outside Pine Ridge. One adult man was taken to Rapid City, one young female to Sioux Falls and another young female to Scottsbluff, Neb.

Two other individuals were being treated at the Pine Ridge Hospital, Greenwald said in a phone interview on Thursday.

Its devastating to our community, he said over the phone on Friday. Its really horrible to lose youth. They were just starting out their lives. Were going to make sure the family has somewhere to go. Theyre not going to be homeless.

Speaking over the phone on Friday, President John Yellow Bird Steele said he received a call Friday morning from U.S. Sen. John Thune, expressing condolences for the families and asking if he could do anything to help.

I didnt know what he could do to help out, Yellow Bird Steele said, but we really appreciate Senator Thune reaching out like that.

Ice remains skeptical that things for others are safe.

Clasping her arms in the chill autumn air, the 88-year-old woman said, Im scared to turn on my heater.
Top Republican officials from South Dakota, including high-ranking U.S. Sen. John Thune and Gov. Dennis Daugaard, have made public calls for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to remove himself from consideration for president.

The two top state Republicans made their views known in posts on Twitter on Saturday, calling for Trump to end his presidential bid a month before the election after crude remarks by Trump a decade ago surfaced in a video on Friday.

"Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately," Thune said on Twitter.

According to the website Politico, Thune was among the first top Senate Republicans to abandon Trump, a potentially crippling blow for Trump's support in Congress.

The No. 3 GOP leader and Senate Republicans' top message man, Thune asked for Trump to leave the race after the publication Friday of Trump's 2005 comments demeaning women and making sexually aggressive remarks.

In the remarks, Trump says he tried to seduce and have sex with a married woman, and also said that because he is famous, women will put up with groping and unwanted advances. His remarks contained extremely crude language about women that were condemned across the political spectrum on Friday and Saturday.

Also Saturday, Daugaard re-tweeted Thune's statement, and added his own Tweet calling for Trump to step aside in favor of Vice Presidential Candidate Mike Pence.

"Enough is enough. Donald Trump should withdraw in favor of Governor Mike Pence. This election is too important," Daugaard tweeted, according to KELO.

Pence is Trump's vice presidential running mate and is the governor of Indiana; Pence himself on Saturday condemned Trump's remarks revealed in the video.

Meanwhile, a defiant Trump insisted Saturday he would "never" abandon his White House bid, facing an intensifying backlash from Republican leaders across the nation who called on him to quit the race following the release of his vulgar and sexually charged comments caught on tape.

With Republicans from Utah to Alabama to New Hampshire turning their back on their nominee, GOP loyalists like House Speaker Paul Ryan refused to give up on Trump, who has long faced criticism from within his own party, but never to this degree. Frustration turned to panic across the GOP with early voting already underway in some states and Election Day one month away.

"As disappointed as I've been with his antics throughout this campaign, I thought supporting the nominee was the best thing for our country and our party," Alabama Rep. Martha Roby said in a statement. "Now, it is abundantly clear that the best thing for our country and our party is for Trump to step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket."

Trump was slapped by his own running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who said he was "offended by the words and actions" Trump described in the video.

"I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them," the Republican vice presidential nominee said. Having canceled a scheduled appearance in Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon, Pence cited Sunday night's presidential debate as an opportunity for Trump to "show what is in his heart." Several of the Republicans who want Trump out say Pence should take his place as the nominee.

Trump, though, declared he would not yield the GOP nomination under any circumstances. "Zero chance I'll quit," he told The Wall Street Journal. He told The Washington Post: "I'd never withdraw. I've never withdrawn in my life." He claimed to have "tremendous support."

In a videotaped midnight apology, Trump declared "I was wrong and I apologize" after being caught on tape bragging about aggressively groping women in 2005. He also defiantly dismissed the revelations as "nothing more than a distraction" from a decade ago and signaled he would press his presidential campaign by arguing that rival Hillary Clinton has committed greater sins against women.

"I've said some foolish things," Trump said in a video posted on his Facebook page early Saturday. "But there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims."

"Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!" he tweeted later in the day.

The latest explosive revelation marked a tipping point for some party loyalists, while forcing vulnerable Republican candidates to answer a painful question: Even if they condemn Trump's vulgar comments, will they still vote for him?

The answer was No for a growing number of GOP senators.

"I'm a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women," New Hampshire Sen. Ayotte said. "I will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton and instead will be writing in Gov. Pence for president on Election Day."

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a member of the Senate Republican leadership team, offered a sharp rebuke as well: "Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately."

Nevada Senate candidate Joe Heck said he was withdrawing his support: "I can no longer look past this pattern of behavior and inappropriate comments from Donald Trump."

And Republican Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho revoked his endorsement: "This is not a decision that I have reached lightly, but his pattern of behavior left me no choice."

The release of the videotape and ensuing backlash almost completely overshadowed the release of hacked emails from inside the Hillary Clinton campaign that revealed the contents of some of her previously secret paid speeches to Wall Street.

The Democratic nominee told bankers behind closed doors that she favored "open trade and open borders" and said Wall Street executives were best-positioned to help overhaul the U.S. financial sector. Such comments were distinctively at odds with her tough talk about trade and Wall Street during the primary campaign.

Republican strategist Terry Sullivan, who previously led Marco Rubio's presidential campaign, predicted Trump's defeat. "It's over," he said. "The only good news is that in 30 days Trump will be back to being just a former reality TV star like the Kardashians, and Republican candidates across America will no longer be asked to respond to his stupid remarks."

One by one, outraged GOP lawmakers have condemned Trump's comments in a 2005 video obtained and released Friday by The Washington Post and NBC News. In the video, Trump is heard describing attempts to have sex with a married woman. He also brags about women letting him kiss them and grab their genitals because he is famous.

"When you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything," Trump says in video. He adds seconds later: "Grab them by the p----. You can do anything." He said of his impulse to kiss beautiful women: "I don't even wait."

Election law experts suggest it would be logistically impossible to replace Trump on the ballot altogether, with early voting underway in some states and overseas ballots already distributed to military servicemen and others.

Ryan fundraising chief Spencer Zwick, however, said he's been fielding calls from donors who "want help putting money together to fund a new person to be the GOP nominee."

Zwick told The Associated Press that a write-in or "sticker campaign" relying on social media could "actually work."

While there has never been a winning write-in campaign in a U.S. presidential contest, such an effort could make it harder for Trump to win.

While funding another candidate could siphon votes away from Trump, the GOP's biggest donors have little leverage even if they threaten to withhold money for the rest of the campaign. Trump's campaign has relied far more on small contributors across the country than from the party's stalwart donors who write the biggest checks possible.

Meanwhile, Trump backers who showed up for the southeast Wisconsin rally he and Pence initially planned to attend were standing by their man.

Jean Stanley, a 50-year-old from New Berlin, Wisconsin, called Ryan a "traitor" for denouncing Trump's comments.

"He's a real human," said Stanley, who was wearing a pink T-shirt with bold, black lettering that said "Wisconsin Women Love Trump." ''It was a long time ago, we all have something in our past.
MOBRIDGE | A proposed trail to connect the Mickelson trail directly to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial may be years away due to a review process that likely will move very slowly, state officials said Friday.

A state parks official said Friday the U.S. Forest Service is the lead agency for the environmental impact statement needed for connecting the George S. Mickelson Trail and Mount Rushmore.

The environmental study could take into 2018 to complete before any construction began, and there could be parts of the proposed route that need to be changed according to Al Nedved, an assistant director for the state Division of Parks and Recreation.

This is going to be a long process. Its not going to happen overnight, he told members of the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission.

The connector idea has been on the drawing board since at least 2008. It would allow a continuous trail from Hill City to Mount Rushmore entirely on public property with the exception of a crossing through the Palmer Gulch campground.

Nedved said the Forest Service process will consider many aspects of the Black Hills environment including recreational uses, wilderness protection, heritage and sensitive species.

Commissioner Gary Jensen of Rapid City said people have asked about possible adjustments to the trails route and when they would have the opportunity to review the possible alternates and comment.

A lot of people are interested in that, Jensen said.

Nedved said that ultimately the Forest Service would identify those areas where adjustment might be necessary and the state department then could step forward. It is our expectation we will be part of that discussion, Nedved said.

Commissioner Scott Phillips of rural New Underwood asked whether the state Game, Fish & Parks Department should offer alternative routes. There is a quite a lot of concern about the route going through an undeveloped part of the Black Hills, Phillips said.

State GF&P Secretary Kelly Hepler said his understanding is the Forest Service doesnt want alternatives yet. Hepler said he expects alternatives to be offered by government agencies and citizens.

There are kind of strict guidelines about what we can and cannot do right now, Hepler said, adding that at this point the project is within the Forest Service.

Nedved said the state department would run a risk by going outside the Forest Service process. Nedved said he expects there would be an opportunity to discuss routes before the process comes to a close.

He noted that a forest plan amendment would be necessary to allow bicyclists on the federal segment of the trail.

Commissioner Barry Jensen of White River said: I wont buy a new pair of hiking shoes.
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to enjoy a few quiet days in the Black Hills. After the Buffalo Roundup my family and I spent the weekend in Custer State Park, soaking up the beautiful weather and experiencing the leaves changing into their remarkable fall colors.

Our family has spent a great deal of time in Custer State Park, with our kids and grandkids experiencing the wonder and beauty of one of the most incredible natural areas in the country. Im proud that our state park system has preserved natural wonders like Sylvan Lake and the Needles for nearly a century.

Weve been to many of South Dakotas 63 other state parks and recreation areas. I have firsthand knowledge of how the Department of Game, Fish and Parks preserves our natural areas while making them accessible to the public.

Spearfish Canyon is another jewel of the Black Hills  a natural wonder that rivals those of Custer State Park. Thats why Im excited about the possibility of establishing Spearfish Canyon State Park in the upper portion of the canyon.

South Dakota already has significant holdings in the area, thanks in part to the generosity of the Spearfish Canyon Foundation. Over the last few years, South Dakota has acquired parcels of land in and around Little Spearfish Canyon, including Roughlock Falls and Spearfish Falls. These areas can form the nucleus of a great state park, and now we are hoping that a land swap with the federal government will better enhance the Spearfish Canyon experience.

The land swap will create larger, contiguous land tracts for both the U.S. Forest Service and the state, allowing South Dakota to establish a state park and enabling the Forest Service to more efficiently manage its holdings.

The proposed Spearfish Canyon State Park would be 1,600 acres and include the Roughlock and Spearfish falls, parts of Spearfish and Little Spearfish creeks, Savoy fishing pond, and land from Spearfish Falls to the Little Spearfish trailhead. It would not include the bulk of Spearfish Canyon north of Savoy.

Visitors passing through Spearfish Canyon on U.S. Highway 14 will continue to do so at no cost. South Dakotans can expect to see improved camping, hiking, fishing and sightseeing opportunities there, as well as upgraded restrooms, shower facilities and roads. Improved access would also be attentive to protecting the ecology and plants in these areas.

Weve had numerous conversations with citizens, business leaders, elected officials and the Forest Service about this proposal, and if Congress approves the proposed land swap, we will continue to seek public input through a comprehensive master planning process. I especially appreciate the efforts of our congressional delegation  Sen. Thune, Sen. Rounds and Rep. Noem  to make this a reality.

Many South Dakotans have enjoyed our unrivaled state park system and experienced the thrill of our states majestic natural areas. Spearfish Canyon State Park would offer another opportunity for our citizens to experience this beauty and grandeur. I hope establishing this park ensures that my grandkids and their grandkids can share that authentic experience.
It's interesting to ponder the fact that marijuana legalization was actually a topic of discussion during Monday's District 18 legislative forum.

Relatively speaking, it wasn't so long ago that such a discussion would be utterly out of place at this kind of event. But times and attitudes have changed, and now the issue is a genuine point of contention in legislative circles.

This piece doesn't advocate one way or another on the matter (except, perhaps, for the legalization of industrial hemp, which has a lot of potential manufacturing uses). Instead, we offer up Monday's discussion of marijuana legalization as an indicator of where we are as a society.

In recent years, four states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana, while 21 other states (including Minnesota) have given their approval to medicinal marijuana. Efforts have been made unsuccessfully in South Dakota to legalize medicinal marijuana; this effort will no doubt be tried again in the future.

Perhaps the most telling aspect of the debate is the main reason most advocates promote in calling for legalized marijuana: the economic benefits. Legalizing it and taxing it would allow the state to not only control the substance but also create a potential windfall for the tax coffers. Thus, it's seen as a potential answer to the state's revenue issues.

Colorado, which has legalized recreational marijuana, is frequently used as the poster child for the possibilities of legalization. According to one report, that state generated nearly a half-billion dollars in tax revenue from marijuana during the first five months of this year. Time magazine reported a year ago that legalized marijuana now generates more tax revenue for Colorado than alcohol.

While potential numbers in South Dakota and Nebraska would certainly vary due to the smaller populations, it's nonetheless a temptation for cash-strapped states.

There are, of course, drawbacks to legalization, as law enforcement and substance abuse officials would point out. This is a potential cost of another kind, although how much of a social toll it is may be open to debate.

The issue is worth discussing at legislative forums and other public venues because it won't be going away: Now that the door of legalization has been opened, the economic temptation (if that is the word) will always be there.

And so, too, will the questions: Are we presently foregoing a lot of badly needed revenue, or are we keeping the lid on a dangerous Pandora's box?

The public will have the final say on whatever direction South Dakota or Nebraska go on this matter in the years to come. It would be wise, then, to keep an eye on the issue and on the economics of embracing or rejecting this path.
A Stevensville man was found guilty of three charges in his second trial for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in 2013.

An eight-woman, four-man jury spent eight hours in deliberation before finding James Morris Colburn, 43, guilty of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual assault Friday.

The verdict followed a three full days of testimony.

We are pleased that the jury was able to work through this emotional and difficult case, said Ravalli County Attorney Bill Fulbright. Both girls testified. It was difficult for them. It was hard on the kids and hard on the adults. The topic is one that is upsetting to listen to for the jurors.

Colburn was originally found guilty on the charges in 2014 and sentenced to 100 years in the Montana State Prison, with 25 years.

The Montana Supreme Court sent the case back to district court in February after it determined that District Judge James Haynes had erred when he didnt allow a defense expert to testify that she believed a counselor had asked leading questions of one of the girls.

Colburns attempt to use an expert witness critical of the techniques used during the forensic interview was excluded by Haynes in the first trial. The judge determined the witness was not trained in the interview protocol used during the forensic interview.

The Supreme Court ruled that Haynes decision to focus strictly on the protocol used in the interview was too narrow and that he had abused his discretion in excluding the testimony.

The original charged were filed in 2013 after the mother of an 11-year-old girl reported that Colburn had repeatedly sexually assaulted her daughter when she visited his apartment.

After the first sexual assault trial was completed, Colburn was convicted of attempted possession of child pornography. He remained in prison as a result of that case while he awaited a new trial.

In the child pornography case, Colburn was convicted of attempting to obtain child pornography because the search terms pre-teen pornography and others were found on his computer following his arrest on the sexual assault charges.

During the course of this weeks trial, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed Colburns conviction in the child pornography case, Fulbright said.
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 every 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.
Denise Alves/Abeyta Family(NEW YORK) -- A Colorado mom dying of cancer is sharing her final plea to locate her son who was taken from his crib three decades ago.



"Of course, I would like to have him back," Bernice Abeyta, 73, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, told ABC News. "I've always felt very positive that even though it's been 30 years, it would happen. 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, "I'm trying to put vibes his way and say, 'OK Christopher, maybe it's time for you to find us.' "Maybe it's more convenient for him to find us than us find him. I believe that all of us parents need justice. There's a lot of forgiveness going around, but ask a parent if they'd forgive."



Christopher Abeyta was born Nov. 28, 1985, in Colorado Springs to Bernice and Gil Abeyta.



Abeyta described her son as a smart, happy baby who enjoyed making his family laugh.



"He really was a doll," she said. "He was very entertaining. He would do funny things and if we laughed, he would do it again because he knew he was getting some attention."



On the night of July 15, 1986, when he was just 7 months old, Christopher disappeared from his crib. Christopher was the youngest of seven children.



Abeyta realized Christopher was missing the following morning, Abeyta's daughter Denise Alves told ABC News.



Alves, now 45, was 15 years old when the incident occurred. On the night of his disappearance, Alves recalled her family sitting in the living room while Christopher laughed at his sister who was smelling a bouquet of roses, while pretending to sneeze.



Alves said she gave Christopher his bottle before she and her mother laid him down in his crib. The next day, he was gone.



The Colorado Springs Police Department investigated Christopher's disappearance while Abeyta worked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. She would also pass out flyers with Christopher's photo across her community.



"When I look at everything she did, it is absolutely amazing," Alves said. "One time, a sighting came in from another state and she got in the car and drove to the state. By the time the police had started to investigate, she had already checked it out and confirmed it was not Christopher. I am a mom now, and I cant even imagine not knowing. She awoke to an empty crib and her baby was gone, then suspicion swirled around her. Through it all she continued to search for her son, even when it appeared local law enforcement had given up. She never once passed up an interview about my brother."



Tips came in over the years, but none lead to any breakthroughs in Christopher's case, Alves said.



Lt. Howard Black, public information officer of the Colorado Springs Police Department, told ABC News that the case of Christopher Abeyta is an ongoing, active investigation that is being worked through the cold case unit of homicide and missing persons. A person of interest has been named in the case, he said.



Today, Bernice Abeyta is fighting a rare gallbladder cancer.



In May 2016, Alves said her mother was told her life expectancy was four to eight months.



"She is dying, she knows it, we know it," Alves said. "She's in the room as I'm talking and it's sad, but this is the reality. Maybe the answer isn't what we hoped for, that he's alive, but she'll leave knowing and we can be at peace and finally put him to rest."



Abeyta said her one wish is for any person who has information about the disappearance of Christopher to come forward.



"What these people did to us was beyond cruel," she said. "At this point [with my cancer] usually you'd be like, 'Oh my goodness, cancer, I'm dying,' but Christopher was the number priority," she 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."



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Leroy Switlick, a 67-year-old visually impaired man who has voted in every election for the last 40 years may not get to vote this year, because he lives in Wisconsin, where Republican governor Scott Walker passed a voter-suppression law that requires people like Switkick, who've never traveled and never held a driver's license, to show photo ID (like a passport or driver's license) to vote, and the DMV has failed in its duty to issue him a non-driver ID.

Switlick has made three trips to the DMV, and has not even had the chance to show his enormous bag of documentation (birth certificate, etc) to a clerk. The first time, he was turned away for not having photo ID ("Now if I'm coming to get a photo ID, how can I already have a photo ID?"); the second time, the person he was supposed to meet just didn't show up for their meeting; the third time, they claimed the computers were down, even though the state DMV office has no record of such an outage.

He's one of 300,000 Wisconsites trying to vote in this election who will need to figure out how to get the DMV to give them the ID Scott Walker says makes it "easier to vote, but hard to cheat."

It's worse in Virginia. If you lack ID there, the official office is only open during working hours  and closes at lunchtime. Voter registration activist Barbara Lee describes a typical disenfranchised voter: "If this one woman works at Walmart and rides the city transit, and this one's babysitting her children, then when she gets off work she's coming home and it's after six o'clock. There's no way that babysitter can get down town, there's no way that Walmart worker can get down town."

Who lacks the ID needed to vote? Poor people and brown people and poor brown people. 11% of the US voting population (more than 22 million people), mostly black and/or Latin@ and/or poor and/or students and/or old people.

How much verifiable voter fraud has the US experienced in recent years? 31 cases between 2000 and 2014. How many stand to be disenfranchised by anti-fraud laws? 22,000,000.

Court action continues against the laws in both Virginia and Wisconsin, though it seems unlikely there will be much change before 8 November. Bruce Spiva, a partner at Perkins Coie law firm, is involved in the litigation in both states. He says the restrictions could affect the outcome in close races such as Virginia and Wisconsin, depressing the Democratic vote. But fighting the law is about more than just this election, Spiva says. "Everyone has a fundamental right to vote and to participate and so that's the issue here: the denial of that right," While supporters of photo ID laws around the country argue that opinion polls show overwhelming support for the idea, Barbara Lee becomes quiet and pensive when I ask her what she thinks motivates the new laws. "It's like going back to segregation," she says after a moment's pause. "It disenfranchises poor people, and that's heart-breaking."

US Election 2016: Voter ID laws threaten lifelong voters

[Gary O'Donoghue/BBC]





(Thanks, Fipi Lele!)
As Dr. Seuss said, The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places youll go.

Everyone makes financial decisions every day, often multiple times a day. When was the last time you took a class or read an article on your specific financial decisions?

Consumers are often at a loss as to where to find reliable financial information. Fortunately, Montana State University Extension provides an online webinar series, Solid Finances, to provide Montanans with high quality, unbiased financial education. The 2016-2017 schedule of free online webinars includes new sessions on credit scores, banking 101, health insurance, health care savings account, estate planning and more.

People can attend the webinars at the convenience of their own computer, tablet or smart device without any cost. The webinars still available in October are Car Loans, from 12-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12, and Creating a Debt Reduction Plan, from 12-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

For a complete schedule, visit: www.msuextension.org/solidfinances

Several hundred Montanans have participated in this award-winning program. The webinar series is free and no products or services are sold as part of the series.

People may register for the webinar series to obtain a log-in ID, then view the live sessions from a home or office computer. To register, please visit www.msuextension.org/solidfinances/ and follow the registration instructions.

All sessions will be available as archived sessions on the Solid Finances website: www.msuextension.org/solidfinances.

If you have any questions regarding Solid Finances, or if you would like to request a workshop on this topic or another financial topic contact Katelyn Andersen, MSU Extension, at 406-375-6611 or katelyna@montana.edu.
Kashmiri protesters throw stones and bricks at an Indian policeman as he prepares to fire pallet gun during a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, on Friday, October 7, 2016. Photo: AP

SRINAGAR: Indian forces fired shotgun pellets and tear gas Saturday as thousands carried the body of a young boy killed overnight during an anti-India protest in the main city of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Chanting slogans Go India, go back and We want freedom, thousands of residents marched to the main Martyrs Graveyard in Srinagar for the burial of the 12-year-old boy. Police and paramilitary soldiers fired warning shots, pellets and tear gas, fearing the procession could become a larger rally seeking an end of Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region, said a police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.

Some tear gas shells landed near the mourners carrying the body draped in a Pakistani flag with pro-freedom slogans written on it.

Clashes broke out as hundreds of young men hurled rocks at the troops while another group of mourners changed route to bury the dead. Clashes also spread to at least four other neighborhoods in downtown Srinagar with scores reported injured.

The boy was critically injured on Friday evening after he was hit by shotgun pellets all over his body and died at a hospital overnight.

Residents said the young student was hit inside his home compound, some 30 feet (9 meters) from clashes between protesters and government forces. Police say he was part of the clashes.

On Friday, at least 50 people were injured during dozens of clashes as tens of thousands of Kashmiris protested against Indian rule.

Government forces continued firing shotguns to disperse angry crowds despite repeated warnings from Indias Home Ministry to minimise their use and widespread outcry against such weapons by local and international rights groups that have sought their ban. The pellets have killed at least six people and left hundreds of civilians with serious eye injuries, with dozens losing their eyesight.

Meanwhile, a police official was killed after suspected rebels fired at a police post in the region.

Police official Reyaz Ahmed said Saturday that a group of militants appeared on the outskirts of southern Shopian town overnight and tried to snatch weapons from a police bunker. He said the rebels sprayed gunfire after police resisted, leaving a policeman dead and two others wounded.

The violence came as Kashmir is experiencing its largest protests against Indian rule in recent years, sparked by the killing in July of a popular rebel commander by Indian soldiers.

The protests, and a sweeping military crackdown, have all but paralyzed life in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

More than 80 civilians have been killed and thousands injured, with hundreds among them blinded and maimed, mostly by government forces firing bullets and shotgun pellets at rock-throwing protesters. Two policemen have also been killed and hundreds of government forces injured in the clashes.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety. Most people in the Indian-controlled portion favor independence or a merger with Pakistan.

A militant uprising and subsequent Indian military crackdown since 1989 have killed more than 68,000 people.
DHAKA: Bangladeshi security forces killed 11 members of a Islamist militant group on Saturday blamed for an attack on a cafe in Dhaka in July in which 22 people were killed, mostly foreigners.

The 11 militants, believed to be members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), were killed in three raids on militant hideouts on the outskirts of the capital, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters.

Seven militants were killed in a raid on one hideout after police were tipped off that the JMBs Dhaka unit chief and his associates were there.

We requested them to surrender but they opened fire at our officers, which prompted them to retaliate, Khan said.

The July 1 attack in Dhakas diplomatic quarter was claimed by Islamic State militants and was one of the most brazen in Bangladesh, which has been hit by a spate of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year.

The government has blamed domestic militants but security officials say the scale and sophistication of the July attack suggested links to a trans-national Islamist network.

Police have killed more than three dozen suspected militants in shootouts since the Dhaka cafe attack, including its presumed mastermind, Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.

The United States believes elements of Islamic State are connected to operatives in Bangladesh, US Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Dhaka in August.

The targeting of foreigners could hurt foreign investment in the poor South Asian economy, whose $28 billion garments export industry is the worlds second largest. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among those killed in the July attack.
Guwahati, October 7: A gamut of issues relating to the foreigners' issue in Hailakandi district was reviewed at a meeting convened by Deputy Commissioner Moloy Bora at his office conference room here Friday.

In a meeting lasting for almost three hours, Deputy Commissioner Bora called upon all the officials to see to it that the vexed foreigners' issue vis-a-vis relating to detection and initiation of action including deletion of names from electoral rolls is taken to its logical conclusion in the light of the importance and significance accorded by the present dispensation since day one.

Bora underscored the need for evolving a foolproof mechanism involving better monitoring, coordination and accountability to address effectively the vexed foreigners' problem.

'No foreigners must be allowed to go scot free and action must be initiated against them, including detention in the designated camps,' Bora said emphatically.

The Deputy Commissioner also underlined the need for early disposal of cases pending in Foreigners' Tribunal in the district and sending the detected illegal immigrants to the designated camps till they are deported.

Bora further drove home the message loud and clear that no genuine Indian citizen must be subjected to any sort of harassment during the process of detection of foreigners.

The Deputy Commissioner called upon the officers to strike off the names of those found to be foreigners from the voters list, ration card, driving licence as well as debar them from availing Government schemes.

The issue of 'D Voters' also figured in the meeting and the Deputy Commissioner gave clear instruction to the officials to initiate steps in right earnest so that the matter is not kept hanging in the balance any

longer.

Bora also discussed the problems confronting the Foreigner's Tribunal and assured that steps would be taken to solve the problems.

The meeting was attended, among others, by District Development Commissioner, TT Daolagupu, Member, Foreigners Tribunal, Dibosh Saikia, ADC, Ruth Lienthang, Assistant Commissioner, Rebecca L Changson, CEO, Zila Parishad, Barenya Das, Circle Officer, James Aind and senior officials of different departments.

It may be mentioned here that Deputy Commissioner Bora reviewed the progress of NRC updation exercise yesterday and also convened a meeting with representatives of registered political parties in connection with special summary revision of electoral rolls on October 5 last.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
CPN (UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli

BHAKTAPUR, Oct 8: Former Prime Minister and CPN (UML) Chairman, KP Sharma Oli, today said all procedures pertaining to constitution's implementation must be completed within the stipulated timeframe.

"The transitional phase must now end, there are minor problems in constitution's implementation, and we must fulfill the responsibility of implementing the constitution by resolving them," Oli said during a greetings exchange program held by Press Chautari Nepal at his residence in Balkot.

Stressing on the need to drive the country on a path of economic prosperity and development, Oli shared his belief that the elections would take place in time. RSS
An error occurred while processing your request. The page you are looking for on this website is unavailable, has moved, or does not exist. Please visit collinsaerospace.com to find the product or service you are looking for.
This is my blog about things related to Sage.
Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

Your notification has been saved.

There was a problem saving your notification.

{{description}}

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
As always around these foodie parts, a lot happened in the world of food this week. We highlighted the best destination doughnut spots, learned that Soylent Food Bars are making some customers violently ill, saw Blue Bottle exit its relationship with Heath Ceramics, and took a preview look at new restaurants opening this fall. Also, Francis Ford Coppola hinted at a new restaurant. Here's what else happened.

Smugglers Cove, Trick Dog, and ABV all scored coveted spots on the World's 50 Best Bars list this year. Relaying congratulations, Inside Scoops writes that Smuggler's cove jumped up two rungs from number 31 to number 29 and that Trick Dog clinched number 34, up from 40 last year. It was ABV's first year on the list, where it shot straight to 36.

The popular brunch spot Mama's abandoned its plans to launch a spinoff tentatively named Lil Mama's. InsideScoop reports that Mama's owners wanted to make it happen, and even secured a location, but that "it just didnt make sense at the end of the day."

While Mama's may not have been able to make the expansion work, Soul Groove is chugging right ahead. Hoodline tells us that the chicken and waffles-focused eatery opened a second location with the intention of focusing on sit-down dining at Ellis and Larkin.

In related chicken headlines, The Brim, a Korean friend chicken joint, is set to open in the Tenderloin. According to Hoodline, the restaurant is moving into a now-vacant flower shop, and an early January opening date is being targeted.

Just in time for this weekend's expected warm weather, the Chronicle tells us that frose has made its way to San Francisco. Combining rose and, yes, slushies, the desert/booze drink is set to be offered at the Palm House. But act fast if you want to guzzle one of these down and brain-freeze yourself to oblivion  the drinks are only available Sundays in October.

Speaking of unique combinations, Onsen, a combination Japanese bathhouse and restaurant, is opening in the Tenderloin next month. Hoodline reports that the multi-use business will call an old City Automotive auto body shop home. "We wanted to make a place where people can connect with each other," co-owner Caroline Smith told the publication. "I like the concept of people sitting around and drinking tea, not hanging over computers or on their cell phones." And yes, no computers in the bath is a good idea.

The restaurant Stones Throw will continue its charitable dinner series, with the next two involving Souvla chef Tony Cervone and Del Popolo chef Jeffery Hayden. Eater tells us that tickets are $60 per person, and that proceeds will be donated to the non-profit Old Skool Cafe.

Cafe Delucchi, we learn via SocketSite, is considering moving into the Delucchi Sheet Metal Works. The restaurant is losing the lease on its current home, and is working with the city to get plans for a restaurant in the Metal Works location approved.

Elephant Bar, an Asian-fusion chain, just closed half of its Bay Area restaurants. The Business Times reports that no explanation has been given for the abrupt shuttering as of this time.

The much-loved (and long gone) Mission Street Food pop-up is coming back for one night only on Monday the 24 at The Perennial, Eater tells us. Acting fast on reservations is strongly encouraged, as this one-off affair is likely to get booked out quickly. Mission Street Food, of course, presaged the award-winning Mission Chinese.

Sebastopol is about to get a fast-casual seafood spot by the name of Handline. InsideScoop reports that the duo behind Peter Lowells are heading the project. Expect sustainable, locally caught seafood.

In definitely not sustainable news, we learn via Hoodline that the McDonald's at 3rd and Townsend has closed. The building is set to be demolished to make way for a Hyatt Place Hotel.

Meanwhile, in the Outer Sunset, Lawton Trading Post will become a new location for Seven Stills  a distillery and brewery. "We're going for a Mexican surfer beach vibe, and are having Lauren Napolitano do a mural on one wall," Seven Stills's CEO Tim Obert told Hoodline.

On a more serious note, chef Daniel Patterson detailed his struggle with depression to MAD. "It felt like the blood had been drained from my body and replaced with lead," he writes of his symptoms. "I was barely functional, and even the simplest conversations required vast amounts of energy." Patterson's examination of his own challenges, and those of many in the industry, make for an informative read.

This Week In Reviews

With the looming weekend on everyone's mind, the Chronicle's Esther Mobley takes a look at Pacific Cocktail Haven  the new bar opened by noted local bartender Kevin Diedrich. With stints cut short at Burritt Room, Jaspers, and BDK  all for different reasons  Diedrich has room to play at PCH, and Mobley is clearly a fan. The Lime in da Coconut, a drink with the consistency of a milkshake, stands out. As does the Sherry Cobbler, which includes orange marmalade. PCH is not, Diedrich very much wants you to know, a tiki bar. I dont think I have any real connection to tiki," he told the Chron. Pacific Cocktail Haven strikes Mobley as very "of-the-moment," but it's clear she means it as a compliment.

Anna Roth of the Chronicle takes a look at what she predicts will be the next big thing in SF: the jianbing. She writes that one of the best in the Bay can be found at Tai Chi Jianbing  an Inner Sunset popup that prides itself on what can perhaps best be described to the unfamiliar as a northern Chinese crepe. Cheng Hu gets the credit for making the organic version of the dish which grabs Roth's eye, telling her that he's "really trying to give the American customer a new image of Chinese food. Hu sets up his stand most mornings in front of Nabe. Roth suggests newbies start with the traditional crepe.

Peter Lawrence Kane of the Weekly heads over to Nightbird to sink his teeth into the long-awaited restaurant from Kim Alter. He recommends the tasting menu, and gives a shout out to the cocktail list (try the Owl Pacino). After the amuse bouche, Kane details the various dishes  settling on the Variations of corn as the "cleverest." And while the ambiance may be "boring," the food is not. Nor is the service, which Kane acknowledges is how it should be for such an expensive place (a dinner for two can hit $500). All in all, he's quite the fan.

The Chronicle's Michael Bauer returns to Mill Valley Beerworks for his mid-week checkup. Run by Tyler and Justin Catalana, with a menu by Rob Hurd, Bauer finds that vegetables remain the focus of most dishes. For those who know Bauer's tastes, it is no surprise that he finds the Brussels sprouts to be of particular note. He approves of the mains, and finds himself at ease with the atmosphere. "Mill Valley Beerworks continues to be the type of place wed all love to have in our neighborhood," writes Bauer  we presume will sipping one of the beers brewed onsite. He gives it two and a half stars.

For his Sunday review, Bauer decides that a few drinks are in order. He makes his way to Buffalo Theory, the craft-beer focused restaurant run by Ted Kim and chef Tim Luym, and delights in the beer and fried-food pairings. However, this is both good and bad for the critic  noting that "the kitchen is at its best when dunking things in vats of bubbling oil," he suggests it falls short when attempting dishes even slightly more complex. However, the BT Burger, a physically large item, catches Bauer's attention not just for its size but its "excellent" flavors. Execution and service don't quite meet the 30-year critic's expectations, although the servers know a lot about beer. Bauer gives the restaurant two stars.


One man is dead and a second has been hospitalized, following an early-evening double shooting in San Francisco.

Officers with the San Francsico Police Department were called to the intersection of Plymouth Avenue and Broad Street at 7:06 p.m. Friday on reports of gunfire. When they arrived, they discovered two men suffering from gunshot wounds, police say.

One victim, a man described only as in his 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene. As of Saturday morning, he had not been publicly identified. The second, a man in his 50s, was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries police say are not life-threatening.

This is San Francisco's 42nd homicide for 2016, following four homicides last weekend and the October 1 death of a man shot in June.

Police have not released any suspect information in Friday's case, but have confirmed that no arrests have been made. Anyone with information on the case is urged to call SFPD's the anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444.

Related: With Death Of Man Gunned Down At Shotwell And 24th, SF Hits 41 Homicides For 2016

Violent Weekend For San Francisco: Four Homicides, One Suspicious Death
A Lithuanian man has arrived in the Bay Area with a slightly creepy plan to get tech companies his resume.

Lukas Yla is "chasing (his) dream" here in San Francisco having left his role as a marketing executive at a startup back home in Lithuania. Obviously, landing a job in the Bay Area's white hot, competitive tech market can be a challenge.

"I knew that I might be written off just because I didn't graduate university here, or I don't have work experience in the United States," Yla explained to ABC7.

Yla's solution? Dress up as a Postmates delivery person, shove his resume inside a box of donuts, and make unannounced deliveries to local technology executives.

"Most of the time they're shocked," Yla told ABC7. "They're like, how did you get into the building?"

Postmates is totally fine with Yla using their logo to deliver donuts that no one ordered. In fact, they're meeting with Yla for coffee next week and maybe he'll just get a job there, showing up to meetings he's not invited to or pulling the fire alarm to energize the marketing team.

More than likely, Postmates is willing to hire Yla just to get him to stop wearing their logo while delivering his sticky resumes.
Looking at the world through the eyes of the Web
JERUSALEM  The world's oldest man has finally celebrated his bar mitzvah  a hundred years later than usual.

Israel Kristal, 113, has lived through both World Wars and survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. Earlier this year, Guinness World Records awarded him a certificate as the world's oldest man.

But there was a ceremony the supercentenarian observant Jew longed for even more.

Born in Poland in 1903, Kristal missed his bar mitzvah  the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony celebrated when a boy turns 13  because of World War I.

His daughter, Shulamith Kuperstoch, said his children, grandchildren and nearly 30 great-grandchildren gathered over the weekend to mark the occasion. She said he was very pleased as he recited the traditional Jewish prayer of gratitude while draped in a prayer shawl and surrounded by loved ones.

"Everyone sang and danced around him. He was very happy," she told The Associated Press. "It was always his dream to have a bar mitzvah and he really appreciated the moment."

Kristal was born to an Orthodox Jewish family near the town of Zarnow in Poland. He was orphaned shortly after World War I and moved to Lodz to work in the family confectionary business in 1920. During the Nazi occupation of Poland he was confined to the ghetto there and later sent to Auschwitz and other concentration camps. His first wife and two children were killed in the Holocaust.

Kristal survived World War II weighing only 37 kilograms (about 81 pounds)  the only survivor of his large family. He married another Holocaust survivor and moved with her to Israel in 1950 where he built a new family and a successful confectionary business.

A devout Jew, he has wrapped phylacteries daily for the past century. Kuperstoch said her father still has a curious spirit and keeps a regular schedule, but she asked that reporters not burden him with questions.

She said he was still in good health and could regale in stories from the early 20th century about, for example, how he saw his first car at the age of nine and wondered why it wasn't attached to horses.

Kuperstoch also said that her father had no explanation for his incredible longevity.

"It's a gift from above," she added. "He doesn't feel like he had any part in it."
SIOUX CITY | Keith Urban wore work boots at the Tyson Events Center Friday night.

Good thing, too.

The Grammy winner worked harder than most artists, playing a host of instruments, bouncing around the stage and inviting a group of Iowa girls to the stage to show how shovel-ready he really is.

Offering plenty of cuts from his latest album, Ripcord, Urban opened in the shadows, bathed in streams of light. Quickly, he moved to the center of his stage and rolled through Long Hot Summer, Break on Me, Where the Blacktop Ends and Somewhere in My Car before lighting on Blue Aint Your Color, a retro-sounding song that took advantage of his aggressive lighting design.

While much of his set was at the cutting edge of contemporary music (you could even see a little J. Lo staging here and there), it was the old-school musicianship that really impressed. Urban started with a banjo, moved to guitar and amazed on strings as much as he did on the microphone.

While a workshirt (over a white T-shirt) and old-school jeans suggested a working class man, the 48-year-old is probably as one-of-kind as musicians get. He has a rock edge on his country twang.

Aided by a great backup band, he made old songs sound new, new songs sound classic. (The hard-edged arrangement for Days Go By sounded like it was just released to radio.)

Urban gave wide berth, too, to his openers, Brett Eldredge and Maren Morris, pulling them into his world and letting them benefit from his day well spent.

Morris, who joined him for We Were Us, has the kind of fire under her that Urban enjoyed when he opened for Kenny Chesney. Both nominated for lots of Country Music Association Awards, theyre a great duo and should consider recording together.

She opened the show and didnt waste any time. Wearing leather shorts, an oh-so-revealing green shirt and boot heels, she strutted with confidence around the stage offering some fascinating (though PG-13) cuts from her first CD.

Her voice reached Carrie-level highs; her songs had Kacey Musgraves reality checks. Her Sugar had an inviting quality that introduced her nicely. She rolled through the catchy 80s Mercedes, played sassy with Rich and closed with her first big hit, My Church.

Backed by a great band (they were able to make sounds groups twice the size cant), the 26-year-old Texan announced herself much the same way Urban did when he first played Sioux City. Shes a keeper.

More familiar to Sioux City audiences, Eldredge showed more of his boots side since the Suits and Boots tour with Thomas Rhett. More energetic this time around, he repeated his light the stadium firefly moment and got good mileage out of You Cant Stop Me and Wanna Be that Song.

While songs like Lose My Mind and Fire can move a crowd, they didnt have the punch of something like Dont Ya. He gave the latter plenty of charm and warmed the crowd nicely for Urban.

Ever the schmoozer, Eldredge threw flowers into the audience, got some video screen action and even tried to turn his guitarists into Rhett-ready dancers.

He was looser Friday night.

Urban, though, was the gold standard, showing his young charges just how an artist keeps audience members out of their seats and ready for anything.
SIOUX CITY | Terry L. Trobaugh, 51, of Sioux City, passed away unexpectedly of natural causes Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016.

Memorial services will be 10 a.m. Saturday at Riverside United Methodist Church. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be 9 a.m. until service time Saturday at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel. Online condolences may be expressed at www.meyerbroschapels.com.

Terry was born on Feb. 25, 1965, the son of Walter L. and Malva M. (Anderson) Trobaugh. Terry grew up on a farm near Westfield, Iowa and attended elementary school in Westfield. The family moved to Sioux City in the mid 1970s and Terry graduated from East High School in 1983. He completed the carpentry program at Western Iowa Tech Community College in 1985. He later became a journeyman electrician, heavy equipment operator and over the road truck driver.

His first job was delivering The Sioux City Journal in the Morningside area, which he did for years in his youth. He worked building custom cabinetry in Texas before returning to the Sioux City area. He worked as an electrician for Iowa Public Service and had been an over the road truck driver and heavy equipment operator for the past several years.

Terry enjoyed fishing and boating but didn't get to do it nearly often enough. He was a gifted woodworking craftsman who created many beautiful pieces, which he loved to give away. Terry "Bear" was known for his generosity and kind heart.

Survivors include his sister, Tanya Trobaugh of Denver, Colo.; a nephew, Benjamin Britton and his wife, Sarah (Hansen) of Aurora, Colo.; and a niece, Alexandra Sherrill of Denver. Terry is also survived by his special friend, Sandy Whitlock and her two sons.

Terry was preceded in death by his parents.

Honorary pallbearers will be Chip Groves, Matthew Sampson, Curtis Eden, Tommy Hummel, Steve Miller, Tim Lower and Jim Weideman.
STORM LAKE, Iowa | Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on Friday blasted a partisan culture in Washington that has Congress gridlocked and the nation at a standstill.

Panetta delivered his assessment during a question-and-answer session with students, part of the 22nd William W. Siebens American Heritage Lecture in Schaller Memorial Chapel on the campus of Buena Vista University.

"The system of finding consensus has broken down over the past 12 to 15 years," said Panetta, who, in addition to serving as Secretary of Defense, also worked as director of the Central Intelligence Agency and was Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton.

Panetta didn't lay the blame at the feet of one party. His blame was one of equal opportunity.

Panetta told students how, when he left the U.S. Army a half-century ago, he worked as a legislative assistant for Sen. Thomas Kuchel, a Republican from California. Panetta named nearly 10 other Senators with whom Kuchel worked to pass legislation. Some Republicans, some Democrats.

"They worked together with respect for others and their viewpoints, but they always worked toward finding a consensus that would work for the American people," he said.

In 1976, Panetta, a Democrat, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He recalled working across the aisle, joining members of the Republican Party to hash out reforms in immigration and social security, while creating legislation for advances in energy policy and to protect the environment.

Later, he recalled members of both parties working for six weeks at Andrews Air Force Base to trim the federal budget by $500 billion. Democrats slashed $250 billion from entitlement programs as Republicans agreed to raise $250 billion in revenue through taxes.

"It was tough," Panetta said. "Did some elected officials lose their seats? They probably did."

Panetta said elected officials today show no willingness to take on those tough decisions. Rather, members of each party obstruct one another and then head home to play the blame game before their constituents. And, the American people send many of those incumbents back to Washington, repeatedly.

Panetta listed three primary reasons for this gridlock:

Congressional redistricting, he said, has created safe seats for members of both parties; special interests and their campaign contributions which have infected Washington; and the media, which today seems much more interested in reporting on and showing clips that stew in controversy than in covering progress being made to reform or enact much needed legislation.

"As a result, it's trench warfare, like World War I all over again," Panetta said, noting how anyone in Washington who wishes to break ranks risks getting shot in the back by a member of their own party.

One area Panetta highlighted, the rebuilding of roads and bridges, should amount to a no-brainer. There is consensus across the U.S. that our aging system of roads and bridges must be brought up to date. To that end, everyone should agree that some sort of sacrifice in the way of a gas tax is needed to boost revenues for this purpose.

Instead, bridges have collapsed and roads have crumbled as elected officials head home to blame the other side of the aisle while filling their town hall meetings with empty promises that prey upon voters' fears.

"The next president must pull the U.S. together," he continued. "The more we play to fear and our prejudices, the more I fear for our Democracy."
Todays top picks from our online calendar. Find more events at siouxcityjournal.com/calendar.

Fall Fest

More than a dozen venues around Sioux City will host events celebrating fall . The family friendly activities are part of Fall Fest 2016, a day of fun designed for residents and visitors to enjoy the fall season, spend time with friends and family, and showcase Sioux City attractions. Go to visitsiouxcity.org for event times and locations.

Sioux City Farmers Market

Enjoy locally grown produce, baked goods and hand-crafted items 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays at Tyson Events Center Suite Parking Lot, corner of TriView Avenue and Pearl Street. Visit www.farmersmarketsiouxcity.com or call 712-279-4850 for more information.

Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery

The Betty Strong Encounter Center will present Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery with Sr. Shirley Fineran, O.S.F, at 2 p.m. this afternoon. Admission will be free; a reception will follow. Visit siouxcitylcic.com for additional information.
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.
DES MOINES | A growing chorus of GOP elected officials in Siouxland called Saturday for Donald Trump to exit the presidential race over vulgar and sexually offensive comments about women caught on tape a decade ago.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune became the first member of the Senate Republican leadership team to urge the outspoken billionaire businessman to step aside

"Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately," Thune, who is running for re-election this year, said in a tweet.

A short time earlier, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard also took to the social media site to offer a similar rebuke of Trump.

"Enough is enough. Donald Trump should withdraw in favor of Governor Mike Pence. This election is too important," Daugaard tweeted.

Both Republican U.S. senators from Nebraska also pushed for Trump to step down.

Trump "is obviously not going to win. But he can still make an honorable move: Step aside & let Mike Pence try," Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska tweeted Saturday.

A Northwest Iowa state senator who dropped his Republican Party affiliation earlier this year in protest of Trumps offensive statements and behavior pushed Iowa GOP leaders Saturday to also withdraw their support for their party's nominee.

Sen. David Johnson, an Ocheyedan independent who switched from Republican to no party last June, said Saturday he hoped both Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds would withdraw their support for Trump when they hold their weekly news conference on Monday.

"Now that Trump's true anti-women sickness has been revealed, surely these two state leaders must condemn Trump publicly," said Johnson, who issued the challenge after the early-morning release of a videotape in which the New York billionaire is heard making lewd and sexually demeaning comments about women 10 years ago.

"As I said in June, Donald Trump is a bigot, misogynist and racist, and is unfit to be president of a great nation," Johnson added in a statement where he also challenged GOP U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst; U.S. Reps. Steve King, David Young and Rod Blum; and state GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann to withdraw their support of Trump.

King, whose district covers northwest and north-central Iowa, did not immediately respond Saturday to media requests for comment.

Trump had earlier issued a video statement on Facebook in which he apologized over the lewd comments he made about women caught on a "hot mic" in a leaked 2005 video that was released on Friday. He also called the footage of his comments a "distraction" from bigger issues at stake in the Nov. 8 election.

"I've never said I'm a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that I'm not. I've said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me, know these words don't reflect who I am," Trump said in the video.

Ernst spokeswoman Brook Hougesen referred reporters to a statement the senator issued on Twitter saying The comments DJT made are lewd & insulting. There is no excuse, and no room for such reprehensible and objectifying talk about anyone, ever. The tweet did not address the status of her support for the GOP standard bearer.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts issued a statement condemning Trump's comments as "not only reprehensible and offensive, but they are dangerous."

"His apology video was inadequate," Ricketts said.

Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., whose represents large parts of northeast Nebraska, did not immediately issue a statement Saturday regarding the Trump video.

Branstad spokesman Ben Hammes issued a statement Saturday saying: Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds think these comments were reprehensible and offensive but support the vision Donald Trump and Mike Pence have for a stronger, more secure America.

Grassley issued a statement, saying "The comments were terrible and shameful, and this kind of talk about our fellow human beings shouldn't be acceptable to anyone. His apology was necessary and appropriate. For myself, I'm working and campaigning on the issues that include national security, illegal immigrants, the economy, job creation, health care and government regulations.

Former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, an Albia Democrat seeking to unseat Grassley in next months general election, called Grassleys response pathetic for refusing to condemn Trumps candidacy:

Sen. Grassleys denial that preventing sexual violence is a serious issue should offend all Iowans, Judge said in a statement. I would not stand idly by and continue to support a presidential candidate who has repeatedly expressed such disdain for women.

Iowa Democrats were swift in condemning Trumps vulgar comments and behavior toward women contained in the audio made public by the Washington Post on Friday.

Up to this point, Donald Trumps offensive remarks toward women have consisted of verbally abusive statements and complete disrespect. New audio reveals a clear pattern of sexual harassment and a man who imposed himself on women with his unwanted sexual advances. His words are unfit for our childrens ears, and he is clearly unfit to be president, Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman Andy McGuire said in a statement.

I have five daughters, and I would not let any of them anywhere near Donald Trump under any circumstances out of fear for their safety, she added. My husband and I taught our two sons to treat women with honor and respect. It is clear that Donald Trump does not share those same values.

The latest Trump controversy comes as Iowa Republicans prepared to gather for their 2016 Reagan Dinner  an annual fundraiser that includes Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton as Saturday nights featured speaker.

Lincoln Journal Star staff writer Don Walton contributed to this story.
News / National

by Staff reporter

As Zanu-PF's deadly factional and succession wars continue to burn red hot, it has emerged that Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo and his deputy Godfrey Gandawa are facing serious fraud, money laundering and criminal abuse of office charges which could see them hauled before the courts in the next few days.Papers in the possession of the Daily News suggest that the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) has since July this year been investigating allegations of corruption and fraudulent activities at the Higher Education ministry and the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef) which falls under Moyo and Gandawa's purview.The anti-corruption commission is alleging that Moyo, Gandawa and Zimdef chief executive Frederick Mandizvidza are at the centre of the alleged multiple corrupt and fraudulent activities running into tens of thousands of dollars.Concerted efforts to get comments from Moyo, Gandawa, Mandizvidza and Zacc before the Daily News went to print last night drew blanks. But sources sympathetic to Moyo claimed that the allegations were part of "malicious manoeuvres" by Moyo's Zanu-PF enemies to destroy him and his allies."Listen, this is definitely not about corruption or fraud. It's about the ongoing bloodletting in the party, as well as attempts by Team Lacoste (the Zanu-PF faction rallying behind Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa) using its control of key State apparatus to destroy all G40-linked comrades," a perceived close ally of Moyo said.Moyo and Gandawa are featured together on counts 2, 7 and 8 of the charge sheet prepared by Zaac, with count 2 alleging that the minister was a beneficiary of bicycles that he donated to his constituency in Tsholotsho after Gandawa allegedly siphoned $95 800 from Zimdef and deposited it into the account of a company run by a relative of his."The four accused persons (Moyo, Gandawa, Mandizvidza and a Shepherd Honzeri), acting in connivance and with criminal intent to defraud Zimdef, transferred $95 800 from Zimdef to Wisebone Trading purportedly for the purchase of 10x3 Dimension printers meant for distribution to the engineering departments of eight polytechnic and two industrial training colleges in the country."Wisebone Trading is a company that is into agro-chemicals and engineering and is not in any way into information and communication technology."After the money was transferred to Wisebone Trading, CABS Account Number 9016491588, accused 1 (Gandawa) caused Walter Chasara the then director of Wisebone Trading to withdraw part of the money in cash and hand it over to him."The accused persons later caused the transfer of $70 430, being the balance after the cash withdrawals, into accused 1's company, Fuzzy Technologies' NMB Bank account number 280071258, domiciled at Avondale Branch."The accused persons later caused several cash withdrawals from accused 1's NMB bank account. Sometime in December 2015, accused 3 (Honzeri) approached HIB Rajput PL, trading as Ace Cycles, a company in Bulawayo which deals with cycles, and placed an order for the purchase of 173 gents bicycles," Zacc said.The anti-corruption body also alleges that the quartet had transferred $19 030 from Mandizvidza's account to Ace Cycles, as payment for the cycles - with Honzeri allegedly further purchasing 62 gents and four ladies' bicycles and transferring $7 260 to Ace Cycles."The bicycles were later collected and handed over to accused 4 (Moyo) for distribution in Tsholotsho. When the accused persons made this misrepresentation they knew that the money was not meant for the purchase of the said printers ... As a result of this misrepresentation, Zimdef suffered an actual prejudice of $95 800 and nothing was recovered," Zacc added."Zimbabwe Manpower Planning and Development Act Chapter 28:02, which governs Zimdef has no provision for personal loans. On 19 October 2015, the deputy minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Sciences and Technology . . . G Gandawa corruptly applied on behalf of the trustee . . . J Moyo a personal loan for $24 000 which was later processed by Mandizvidza."The money was then deposited into the trustee's personal bank account. . . . Gandawa applied for the loan and . . . Mandizvidza ... authorised it knowing that it falls outside the mandate of the fund. On the other hand, the trustee benefited illegally and the three acted unlawfully. Zimdef was prejudiced of $24 000 and it was recovered," it said.On Count 8, Moyo, Gandawa and Honzeri stand accused of violating the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act, Chapter 9:24, which relates to how the $95 800 was withdrawn from the Zimdef account.In a cryptic tweet early yesterday on microblogging site Twitter, Moyo said he was "Recharging for the big fight!" while replying to a message from Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere who had wished him a speedy recovery from a heavy bout of flu which had laid him low, and which had seen him miss the official opening of Parliament by President Robert Mugabe.Earlier, Moyo had similarly tweeted: "Everyone knows who the thieving tribalists & murderers are. If you don't know them you are a fool or one of them. Down with tribalism! ... Factionalists, successionists & tribalists reckon they can get away with corrupting & abusing institutions & due processes! #HandeiTione !".The spokesperson of former Vice President Joice Mujuru's Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) party, Jealousy Mawarire - who has had running political battles with Moyo for some time - had also alleged on Twitter on Wednesday that Zacc intended to swoop on Moyo after the minister allegedly failed to heed the commission's request for him to report at its offices on Tuesday.Moyo immediately hit back at Mawarire, denying the claim and implying that Zacc commissioners were abusing their positions."Factionalists, secessionists (and) tribalists reckon they can get away with corrupting (and) abusing institutions (and) due processes," he wrote on Twitter.Only last week, the Daily News reported that the Zanu-PF faction rallying behind Mnangagwa's mooted presidential aspirations, which had for months been on the receiving end of a ruthless pummelling from its ruling party foes, was said to have wrestled back the initiative in the former liberation movement's seemingly unstoppable factional and succession wars.Well-placed sources told the newspaper that Team Lacoste, as the Mnangagwa camp is known, appeared to have weathered the storm in the ruling party's brutal dog-fight to succeed President Robert Mugabe - with their nemesis, the Generation 40 (G40) group, the one whose alleged kingpins were now under serious pressure."The struggle continues, and we (Lacoste camp) are still standing. In fact, we are going strong again. If you have been watching what's going on in the past few weeks, you will also have seen that our enemies (G40) are now the ones who are on the back foot," a senior Zanu-PF official linked to the VP's faction said.At the same time, analysts and insiders told the Daily News then that Team Lacoste was well-positioned to pick up all the spoils in the event that Mugabe left office before the end of his term, ahead of the eagerly-anticipated 2018 national elections.However, a Zanu-PF bigwig who spoke to the Daily News expressed the fear that should such an eventuality happen, it would spawn political chaos in the country - although he was also quick to add that Team Lacoste would enjoy many advantages at that point."It's true that it's dog-eat-dog in Zanu-PF right now because of that constitutional clause (which says the last acting president will temporarily take charge of the country)."The aspect of the last acting president taking over from Gushungo (Mugabe) has given the party headaches because it has become a gambling Game of Thrones, with both factions wishing to capitalise on this."Even though whoever takes over temporarily will have to seek internal (Zanu-PF) endorsement within 90 days, Team Lacoste also has an upper hand here as it already has strong structures throughout the country."At any rate, there is no one of similar political weight to Ngwena (Mnangagwa) in the other camp who can go toe-to-toe with him if Gushungo is not there," the party bigwig who claims to be non-aligned in its ugly ructions said.
Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme  La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza.



Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres.




Mon, 31.10.22 - 09:24

Experts are not ruling out the chance of more Saharan dust this week, while temperatures drop in Murcia, but overall it ...
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)

062/090
Theyre here. After soaking up the fun and sun of Newburgh, New York for a couple of days, the half-dozen Europeans chosen to compete in the $1 million Yonkers International Trot found their way home Friday afternoon (October 7).

The (alphabetically) six EurosBBS Sugarlight (Norway), Explosive de Vie (Sweden), Jonesy (Finland), Oasis Bi (Italy), On Track Piraten (Sweden), Tano Bork (Denmark)made the approximately 90-minute trip from their quarantine pit stop to Westchester, getting settled inside Yonkers Raceways Old Glory Building in preparation for the Saturday, Oct. 15 world-class event.

None of the two or four-legged travelling party seemed any worse for wear in a trip that began in Liege Airport (Belgium) in a nearly nine-hour flight of just over 3,700 miles.

The gang is being acclimated to their new digs, with vets and other support staff at the ready. Guests are given a two-hour, 15-minute training window each day with the racing oval all to themselves.

The race, with 10 trotters and the mile-and-one-quarter distance, is to be drawn Tuesday afternoon (October 11) at a midtown press luncheon.

Please note again, its a rare Saturday afternoon program, with first post at 1:10 p.m. and the 38th edition of the International Trot scheduled for approximately 3:20 p.m.





(With files from Yonkers Raceway)
The I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club would like to congratulate Faith Megens of Cambridge, Ont. for winning the final Zoom Photography Challenge, Meet My Horse. For the month of September we chose Meet My Horse as the theme so the Fan Club could get the chance to meet your horse!

At the young age of six, Faith submitted this photo of herself and her grandfathers horse Lexus Diamond. The picture was taken at her Opas farm in Puslinch, Ont., on September 24 by her mother Stacey Newman.

We were hanging out for the day with Opa and her daddy and she was over with Lexus Diamond giving her carrots when I took the picture Stacey explained.

Lexus Diamond is a two-year-old filly who is owned, trained and driven by Faiths grandfather William Megens. She is Faiths favourite horse because she is so loving.

I love my horse, Lexus Diamond because she loves to snuggle me and eat carrots! explained Faith.

Faith was born into a racing family; her grandfather is veteran horseman Bill Megens who has been involved in the industry for over 60 years. Her father is Paul Megens who was a top driver on the British Columbia circuit for years.

When Faith isnt hanging out with Lexus Diamond she enjoys spending time with her twenty-year-old pony Lil Miss! She also owns two racehorses with her mom, Twin B JJ and Snegem Bianca.

Congratulations to Faith and thank you to everyone who submitted photos, including our other Zoom finalists:

Photo # 2: Emy Raymond, for the picture of herself and Fortune Fella.

Photo # 3: Evelyn Sabraw, of Acme, Alberta for the shot of herself and three-year-old Standardbred Ruby Tuesday after her very first ride on the filly.

Photo # 4: Jennifer Vincent, of Regina, Saskatchewan for the shot of herself and her daughter Addison with her 25-year-old horse Hornby Sette.

Now that the final Zoom challenge is complete, the six monthly winners will be eligible to win a grand prize, which will include a $50 gift card to the racetrack of their choice, an enlargement of their winning photo framed or plaque mounted, and of course bragging rights as overall Zoom winner for 2016!

Check the web in coming weeks for more details regarding the final Zoom poll!
I think youre looking at three people, four people in the administration. I lost the argument. Ive argued for the use of force. Im the guy who stood up [in August 2013] and announced that were going to attack Assad for the use of weapons. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, talking informally with Syrian opposition members, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Oct. 3, 2016

The Libya UNSC Resolution of 2011: Template for the Syria Resolution of 2017?

Ive been re-reading UNSC Resolution 1973, which provided a legal fig leaf for the regime-change assault on Libya from March to October 2011.

That catastrophe was initially urged by French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Britains prime minister David Cameron and endorsed by then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who persuaded President Obama to ignore the Pentagons opposition and lead NATO in bombing what was North Africas most prosperous country.

Recall how Clinton confidant and former State Department official Anne-Marie Slaughter emailed her on March 19, the day the bombing started, with subject line Bravo! expressing high praise for her central role. Having earlier assured Clinton that U.S. action against Libya would change the image of the United States overnight, she now declared, I cannot imagine how exhausted you must be after this week, but I have NEVER been prouder of having worked for you. Turning POTUS [Obama] around on this is a major win for everything we have worked for.

Everything we have worked for! To what broader insider concept does this allude? Towards what grander purpose had Slaughter labored, as a Clinton advisor from 2009 to February 2011those golden years of the Afghan surge, the Honduras coup, the relentless NATO expansion, plans for Ukrainian regime change? Total global mayhem, gleefully unleashed by glass ceiling-breaking strong women?

Everyone with a brain realizes that that bombardment led to bloody regime change and subsequent ongoing chaos and regional destabilization. The GDP has dropped from $ 75 billion in 2010 to $ 29 billion last year. ISIL was for a time in control of Gaddafis hometown of Sirte, and al-Qaeda has expanded its presence. Much of Gaddafis arsenal has fallen into the hands of terrorists or tribal militias, including some in surrounding countries struggling to contain the ramifications for themselves of the U.S./NATO destruction of their neighbor.

Clintons decisive championing of this crime is the ugliest thing on her record as a public official (which is saying a lot). Its amazing that it has hardly been a campaign issue. Sanders was criminally negligent in avoiding criticism of the Secretarys foreign policy (which is to say, war mongering) record. His ads ought to have played this grotesque cinema verite again and again.

A Lie Exposed, as Libya was Destroyed

Resolution 1973 could, with just slight rewording, be submitted to the UNSC in January, as now-President Hillary follows up on her vow to make Syria her foreign policy priority, just substituting Syria for Libya (or the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya).

Having described a myriad of human rights violations that might apply to most regimes in the region, that template text specifically established a No-fly zone and Decides to establish a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians There was no reference to bombing government buildings and troops fighting Islamist militias, or to targeting Gaddafi personally. This was to be a humanitarian mission.

Proposed formally by the U.K., France and Lebanon, the resolution was approved March 17, 2011 by a vote of 10 to 5. Alongside the sponsors, the U.S., South Africa, Nigeria, Portugal, Colombia, Boznia-Herzegovina and Gabon voted in favor. Russia, China, India, Brazil and Germany abstained. (The combined populations of the latter constitute 40% of the worlds total, by the way, while the pro votes representedto the extent that UN votes ever represent anybodyabout 10%.)

Soon everyone realized theyd been tricked. This was no humanitarian mission to prevent genocide. It was a precision-missile strike on a newfound western ally who (the imperialists suddenly thought) would surely fall in this fated Arab Spring. They thought theyd do the honors, take him out first, grab credit, and win the gratitude of whatever group of clients sat there at the end of the day on all that petroleum and gold intended for minting as African dinars challenging the control of western banks over the continents economy.

But things went very wrong. Now the world is torn between horror at the results (such as the beheadings of Coptic Christians on the beach at Tripoli by ISIL) and Schadenfreude as the westerners having sown the wind once again (post-Afghanistan, post-Iraq) reap the whirlwind.

If there is any silver lining to seeing the U.S. and its allies destroy a country like Libya, its seeing the reputation of the U.S. and its allies appropriately tank in world public opinion afterwards. It will be harder now for Hillary to rally public opinion for the no-fly zone that Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and top U.S. uniformed commander, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week would surely mean war with Syria and Russia.

War With Russia

Generally speaking, people in this country do not want more wars based on lies in distant countries that neither they nor their leaders understand. So if and when a huffy Hillary sends her new ambassador to the UN to procure a Security Council resolution (to help protect civilians), and the effort fails, faced by veto threats, they will feel relieved.

But what does she do then? Having made Syria her priority, but thwarted in her bid to produce immediate change, and having likely generated some antiwar protests from the burnt Bernie people (among others), and having met with unexpected mass revulsion after her inauguration amidst new Wikileaks revealing more mendacity, Hillary will snap.

In her illness she will unilaterally order a no-fly zone. The Russians may say, No, this has to stop. You cannot order a sovereign government to stop bombing its foes, or the armed forced of any allied state to do so. The era of U.S. imperialist impunity in the Middle East is over. The world will generally agree.

You push and you push and you push and you push. You expand NATO, an anti-Russian military alliance, to the very borders of Russia. You reconfigure the once-proud state of Yugoslavia, creating dysfunctional states and pronouncing the Serbian province of Kosovo an independent state, in defiance of international law. You establish a huge army base there. You declare your intention to include Georgia and Ukraine in NATO and meddle ceaselessly in the politics of those countries to promote this goal. You systematically distort recent history; your press, linked at the hip to your State Department, represents reality precisely backwards.

Thus, following a clear succession of events, in which marked progress towards a peaceful resolution of the Syrian conflict was abruptly shattered by the United States, the U.S. has announced that not only has it suspended talks with Russia on Syria but blames the whole conflict on Moscow.

More specifically, following the clear succession of eventsa U.S.-Russia deal on a Syrian ceasefire, which was to be followed by coordinated U.S.-Russian strikes on ISIL and al-Nusra or Fateh al-Sham; the U.S.-Coalition assault on a Syrian army base, killing at least 62 Syrian soldiers and leading to the immediate seizure of the position by ISIL; the Syrian and Russian protests and the U.S.s grudging apology for an ostensible mistake; the bombing of the Aleppo aid convoy, killing about 20, which the U.S. without evidence blamed on Syrian or Russian aircraft; and predictions in both Washington and Moscow that the U.S.-Russia talks would soon break downthe U.S. press wedded to the State Department concludes that Russia is responsible for the whole mess, because it continues to support Assad. (But was this not the case for many years before the overt U.S. campaign to oust him beginning in 2011? Was it not the case during the months of negotiations? Had not Kerry concurred that the most urgent issue to deal with was ISIL and al-Nusra, and that Assads future could be held on the back burner for the time being?)

The press has largely ignored the fact that, after months of detailed negotiations between the U.S. and Russia for a ceasefire and renewal of political talks between Syrian parties in Geneva, and after nearly a week of substantial success in observing the plan, the U.S. and its alliespresent in Syria illegallyattacked and killed dozens of Syrian soldiers engaged in resistance to the vicious menace of ISIL, which immediately seized the position, provoking the breakdown of the entire plan, and sabotaging the plan for humanitarian assistance to al-Nusra-held east Aleppo, Washington blames the entire crisis on Moscow.

Why? Because (we are suddenly reminded, by Kerry in Brussels some hours ago) Russia has been intervening in Syria on behalf of the regime since last falla regime that the Secretary of State, in what were obviously carefully rehearsed lines, is guilty of the deplorable use of chlorine gas and barrel bombs against his people and which (with Russia) chooses to continue their pursuit of a military victory over the broken bodies, bombed-out hospitals and traumatized children of a long-suffering land.

In other words, forget everything thats happened since Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Reccep Tayyip Erdogan announced from their thrones in 2011 that the Syrian government had lost legitimacy and must step down. (That was when the deaths from mass protests were in the low thousands, before the U.S. and its allies poured billions of dollars of aid into factions of the armed opposition, whom have since killed over 100,000 Syrian government soldiers alongside al-Nusra and ISIL.)

Forget the well-documented bombing by U.S. forces of hospitals in Afghanistan and Iraq (or those of the Saudis in Yemen, or the Israelis in Gaza). Forget the bodies broken by U.S. bombs in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq. Blame the Russians for aiding the horrible Assad (of whom your average U.S. resident knows and cares almost nothing) in trying to maintain power rather than fleeing and leaving the future of Syria in the hands of those whove done such a great job handling state-building in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya.

And insist that the whole mess that so shocks and offends humanity can only be resolved when, by hook or by crook, Assad is toppled.

That is, to repeat, only when Assad (disliked not due to his human rights recordnot at all, since he cooperated in the U.S. special renditions program of torture after 9/11but due to his hostility towards Israel based in part on the fact that Israel has, in the judgment of the entire world, illegally occupied over 500 square miles of Syrian territory since 1967; disliked because Damascus has supported Lebanons Hizbollah and Amol parties and Hamas among other Palestinian organizations that Israel and the U.S. in their wisdom deem terrorist; disliked because Syria for complex reasons rooted in its religious and political history has been led by members of a Muslim religious minorityan offshoot of Shiism, in a 70% Sunni countrywho have promoted secularism and especially sought Christian and other minority support, which they retain now among those with a rational fear of a brutal Sunni Islamist regime) is toppled. And toppled by people not only abjectly ignorant of the Middle East, but incapable of even staring recent history in the face and drawing the obvious lesson that U.S. exercises in regime change have been, not just mistakes or (even worse) failures, but hideous crimes generating massive, rational, justified hatred for those responsible.

U.S. officials, in the employ of the Exceptional Nation, rule out any prospect of U.S. soldiers ever submitting to trial before an international tribunal. That would be unfair, they say, given all the prejudice against Americans. To this the sophisticated mind responds: Well duh.

This Exceptionalism (is it not bizarre, by the way, that this so Nazi-like a concept, entailing a notion of the U.S. from its beginning to the present as the worlds eternal savior and beloved, made exceptional by something [God?] can ignore the rules applicable to non-exceptional nations and do whatever the fuck it wants?) has in recent history just produced outrage.

Germans and French people outraged by the NSA monitoring of their communications have not been saying, Its ok, theyre exceptional. Europeans dismayed by the massive refugee influx from countries destroyed by the U.S., and noting the U.S.s own lack of hospitality towards Middle East immigrants, have not been saying, Its okay, well take them in, since the U.S. is exceptional.

Youd think policy makers in the U.S. that the Libya episode is seen globally as a hideous disaster, basedonce againon lies. (There never was any evidence that Gaddafi planned anything like genocide in Benghazi.) But no, theyre lusting for more blood.

A tsunami is building in the State Department, which Hillary insured would remain a bastion of neocon and liberal advocates of ongoing imperialist aggression. There is a perhaps irresistible tidal wave swelling, splashing up around the Russian naval base at Tartus, while another advances towards Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula. War looms, while the asshole anchors on cable TV dwell on political trivia, todays police murder, Putins supposed efforts to influence the U.S. election, and Angelinas shocking split with Brad.

But think Libya, Part II. Only much, much worse. Because this time Russia will not accept a U.S.-inflicted regime change. China and India and the world in general will oppose it, while NATO will likely be split (as it was on Iraq, and even in fact on Libya in 2011). The U.S. will be left with the worst rights-abusers in the world (including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain) to support al-Qaeda spinoffs in a war against a secular regime.

And that all-too-familiar harsh, hollow, dishonest voice will be out there, howling about barrel-bombs, used against his own people as multiple powers (including the traditional Middle Eastern threeArabs, Iranians, Turksplus the Ottomans long-term adversaries the Russians, and the colonial British and French, and since their invasion of Iraq in 2003 the U.S. forces as well) hover in the Syrian skies, pursuing cross-purposes, collectively bombing all forces on the ground.

The U.S.s Silent Christians

Youd think the Christian community in this country would be up in arms against U.S. policy in Syria. Youd think Christians would realize that their coreligionists in Syria have historically supported the Baath Party (co-founded as it was by the Christian Michel Aflaq) given its secularism and tolerance in the face of powerful, anti-Christian Islamist forces in the country.

Youd think that theyd feel horror at the destruction of what Christians consider part of the Holy Land. St. Paul after all is supposed to have experienced his conversion of the road to Damascus; you can still visit the Road called Straight where Paul met Ananias, who baptized him. Theres a church there that tour guides tell you occupies the location of Ananiass cellar.

Christians were first called by that name in Antioch (then part of Syria). Jesus disciple Thomas supposedly did missionary work here. The Great Mosque of Damascus was built on a Christian basilica that claimed to house the head of John the Baptist. The shrine remains within the mosque as a pilgrimage site for all.

Syria has historically had a large Christian minority. After the seventh century Muslim conquests many Christians and Jews in what is now Syria converted to the new faith. (After all, Muslims were tax-exempt.) But as of the 1940s about one-third of Syrians were Christians of various denominations, and about 10% of the population remained so in 2011. But now many thousands are fleeing the chaos and bloodshed of their homeland, meeting with suspicion, prejudice and exploitation at every turn.

The Russian Orthodox Church (which yes, let us note, is pro-Putin) repeatedly draws attention to the plight of Syrian Christians, many of whom share its theological tenets. A Russian Orthodox bishop addressed the UN in 2012 appealing for help in ending the persecution of Christians in Syria. This persecution is obviously not coming from the regime.

Is it not clear that, just as regime change and U,S. occupation produced no good for the Christians of Iraq whose numbers have dropped from 1.5 million in 2003 to between 400,000 and 200,000 todayit will produce nothing good for the people of Syria?

It is one thing to accept joint U.S.-Russian bombing of people who burn and bury people alive, crucify and behead children, enslave and rape women, blow up priceless historical monuments, use chemical weapons, terrorize whole communities into flight, dispatch operatives to western cities to inflict random terror and effectively use social media to motivate lone wolves globally to seek Paradise (or some sort of final endorphin rush, as the brain dies and paradise within it).

Its unforgivable that the U.S. through its criminal invasion of Iraq generated these hideous forces. The U.S. is not best placed to handle the repercussions of its actions, and has in the recent past both bombed and aided them as it sought to coordinate with its allies, who have their own competing agendas. And Russia is no historic role model as a respecter of national sovereignty. But the prospect of the two cooperatingin the destruction of the forces most threatening basic norms of civilization in Syriawas good news to me a couple weeks ago.

Kerry, the Guy Who Stood Up

Breaking news. Kerry boasts to Syrian opposition leaders behind closed doors in New York that he had been the guy arguing for the use of force against Assad all along,

I think youre looking at three people, four people in the administration. I lost the argument. Ive argued for the use of force. Im the guy who stood up and announced that were going to attack Assad for the use of weapons.

The likely collapse of cooperation means an end to good news. Kerry refers to a plan to assault Syria in 2013 that had been cancelled by Obama.

As he continues to champion that cause; as the State Department and servile media incredibly downplay the destruction of a Syrian Arab Army base by the U.S. and three allies Sept 17, just five days after the cease-fire painstakingly negotiated between Kerry and Lavrov had gone into effect, complaining that critics are making too much of the deaths of a mere 62 Syrian soldiers fighting ISIL; as they in contrast play up the attack on a UN aid convoy on Sept. 19 that killed 12 in Aleppo, blaming it on Russia without evidence; as State Department hawks salivate at the prospect of a Hillary victory; as the top brass brand Russia an existential threat (the main threat, indeed, more worrisome than ISIL or al-Qaeda); as the Russian Foreign Ministry intimatesplausiblythat the U.S.s Plan B (following the collapse of negotiations with Russia towards Syrian peace) is an alliance with the relabeled al-Nusra/Fateh al-Sham towards the common goal of toppling Assad; as we hear reports of Israelis (as well as Turks, Saudis, and Qataris) providing training and advice to al-Nusra-aligned forces in Aleppo, in their common desire to smash the secular, anti-Zionist Syrian state; as we witness a myriad of clueless, naive Sally Struthers types appealing to our government to do something; as the propaganda gets ever more shameless, and its popularizers immune from scrutiny and fact-checking, its fair to conclude that Clinton will go to war.

The topic for discussion on RT (Russia Today) a couple days ago was something like: Do the Americans really believe that if they announce a no-fly zone, illegally, in a country where Russia military aircraft fly at official invitation, Russia will just accept it, in its desire to avoid war?

Hillary is likely to say, We sure do! Even though her top military advisers are already telling her that a no-fly-zone means war with Russia, shell be likely to risk it.

Shes the FIRST WOMAN U.S. PRESIDENT, dammit! Who has more right to do that? Who has the experience to order the downing of some Sukhoi fighter jets over Aleppo, Palmyra or Deir al-Zour, to show the Russians and the world whos boss in a country 600 miles south of the Russian border? Who has the judgment to build on years of abject failure in identifying, much less organizing, Syrians willing to work with the U.S. against the Syrian government, bad as it isyears in which her 2011 command to Assad to step down has met with dogged disobedience, and its ability to preserve control in areas where 80% of the people live become annoyingly obviousand to produce out of thin air the moderates who will rise to power after Assad meets the fate of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi?

Who better to drive the Russians out of Latakia and Tartusand then move on to re-take the Crimean Peninsula for Ukraine!

In her initial war moves soon after her inauguration, Clinton will not change the image of the U.S. overnight, as Anne-Marie Slaughter praised her for doing in arranging the ruin of Libya. The image had indeed been hideous for a long time, as of 2011. This will not change anytime soon, before the revolution.

But the U.S. image in the minds of (say) Germansthinking, Why do these people, while stationing 50,000 troops in my country, taking our support for granted, keep attacking countries unprovoked, producing disaster (including the flight of two million refugees overrunning Europe while the U.S. an ocean away bears no consequences), virtually encouraging terrorism by their actions?might steadily deteriorate.

I mention Germans because they are, next to the U.K., the key ally to the U.S. within NATO. And both the German people and the Foreign Ministry seem inclined to discourage Washingtons relentless provocations of Russia. They understand Russias concerns about any further expansion of the NATO alliance, which any student of history knows was created by the U.S. in 1949 (when it had half the worlds GDP and the ability to whip its dependents and war-weakened allies into submission) as an anti-Soviet, anti-communist military pact. Many think it outdated, unnecessary, dangerous.

A second Libya in Syria would change the image of the U.S. (in Europe, and surely, in China and India which support the Syrian regime) from that of a state that merely destroys weak opponents to one that risks World War III with a resistant states nuclear-armed ally, the country that defeated Hitler, to achieve its national interests (of controlling oil flow, challenging Russia everywhere, and serving Israels supposed security needs).

Monday

Okay, time to get more anxious. AFP reports:

The United States on Monday suspended negotiations with Russia on efforts to revive a failed ceasefire in Syria and set up a joint military cell to target jihadists. This is not a decision that was taken lightly, State Department spokesman John Kirby said, accusing Russia and its Syrian ally of stepping up attacks on civilian areas. White House spokesman Josh Earnest added: Everybodys patience with Russia has run out.

(Im not surprised that the patience of John Kirbyan arrogant clown who cant think on his feethas run out as RT reporters keep asking him very embarrassing questions .)

The AFP report also states:

the United States is calling back home personnel who had been sent to Geneva in order to set up a Joint Implementation Center with Russian officers to plan coordinated strikes. And US diplomats will suspend discussions with Russia on reviving a September 9 deal reached between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

There you have it. The full ruin of a peace process that might have restrained Hillarys imperial ambitions. Following the rigged election, and the masses perception of its rigging, which will be blamed on Russian interference, the Wall Street and DNC-crowned first Queen in U.S. history who demands the exceptional nations God-given right to rig elections from Honduras to Ukraine will give her speech outlining her intentions in relation to Syria, her top foreign-policy priority.

She will likely sneer at Russia, as the entire U.S. power structure has done, particularly since Russia so indignantly responded to the U.S.s cavalier murder of Syrian conscript boys by actually calling a UNSC meeting to embarrass poor Samantha. She will draw upon a lingering Cold War mentality that still resonates in some Neanderthal circles. She will take contempt for the United Nations and international law to new heights as she assumes for herself the task of saving Syria. As she did Libya.

But the world has changed since 2011. There will be no UN fig leaf. The peoples of Europe, forced into austerity by the big banks, challenged by mass migration and unhappy with U.S.-forced sanctions on Russia, will listen to Clinton unmoved as she announces plans to liberate another people.

Occupy Wall Street started in 2011. Black Lives Matter followed, and then came the Sanders campaign. There is much more knowledge and experience to be deployed this time, out in the streets of this country and others, against another imperialist, racist war.
Opinion / Columnist

I AM enjoying the debate about UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and his chosen mediator between Zimbabwe and Britain, or more specifically, between President Robert Mugabe (pictured) and prime minister Tony Blair, Benjamin Mkapa.Comments are flowing fast and thick for and against Annan's decision not to visit Zimbabwe as a follow-up to Anna Tibaijuka's damning report on Operation Murambatsvina last year.The more delusional opinion-makers go so far as to suggest that Annan is a coward - he should have told Mugabe to go. It is not said from what platform he would have been able to say that. Whether Annan should have visited Zimbabwe is immaterial now.I have a problem with the whole proposition about mediation. The way it has been so easily spun smacks of another bid at "quiet diplomacy" - an attempt not to provoke a violent reaction by Mugabe and keep lines of communication open but without achieving anything.Secondly, people are buying into government's propaganda about a "bilateral" dispute with Britain and not misrule and damaging economic policies as being at the core of the current crisis. But we all know that Zimbabwe's problems were already getting out of hand well before the land invasions started in 1999 - a point at which everybody now wants to locate the source of our national crisis. You would expect the opposition to see through this threadbare ruse.The reckless financial splurge to war veterans in 1997 and the foolish adventure in the DRC the following year were signs of a desperate government trying to put the nation off the spoor. But at least then the country could still feed itself.The violent nature of the land invasions was meant to spite Britain for refusing to do what it is our responsibility to do as a sovereign state - fund it.If the purpose were to empower landless blacks, a planned, equitable reform programme was possible and a legitimate and transparent taxation mechanism on commercial farmers could easily have been crafted to fund a more orderly "transfer" of commercial farms to interested, skilled and competent black farmers.That only outsiders could fund such a process is outright duplicity by politicians and bureaucrats who can't think creatively.It is easier for them to dream up Posa, Aippa and Constitutional Amendment No 17 than plan a sustainable land reform despite all the goodwill in the world. After all there were a lot of white commercial farmers already sharing skills and equipment with their poor black neighbours.Instead, Mugabe turned the whole programme into a racial contest of egos between himself and Blair as eloquently dramatised in his famous "Blair keep your Britain and I will keep my Zimbabwe" protest.Mugabe had by this time embarked on dangerous unilateralism that would brook no impediment by consensual issues of legality.For in the final analysis, it is to insult our intelligence to expect us to believe the myth that it was necessary to destroy our entire commercial agriculture and trillions of dollars' worth of infrastructure to drive out a motley 4 500 unarmed white farmers. It's like using a sledge hammer to swat a fly on your baby's face.My other problem is not whether Mkapa will be impartial or not, but what he will be taking to London. Is Mugabe demanding to be recognised as the legitimate president of Zimbabwe? Is the issue about Britain's support for the opposition?Is it about Britain's alleged interference in Zimbabwe's internal affairs? Does Mugabe want to go back to the terms of the 1998 land donors' conference or Abuja 2002? Does he need compensation for dispossessed white commercial farmers? Just what is this "bilateral dispute" that Mkapa is expected to resolve? In short, what will be Mkapa's terms of reference?Unfortunately, Britain may not have the power to resolve any of the issues raised if our Independence is no more than juridical.There is politics at play here. Mugabe is trying to buy himself a few more months in power on the pretext of resolving the cause of Zimbabwe's economic ruin.The effort now is to locate that cause externally in the name of so-called "illegal" sanctions without dealing with why they were deemed necessary in the first place.It would be naive in the extreme for anybody to even hope that the British government might fall for this infantile subterfuge, and Mugabe knows they won't.Which is what he wants, for it gives him a perfect alibi to blame Britain for intransigence, negotiating in bad faith or making unreasonable demands while the nation implodes.But at the rate things are deteriorating all round, he might not enjoy playing his lyre for long. Conditions in the country might soon force him to face the reality of the crisis he created which he now seeks to leave unresolved. Which is what the British will tell Mkapa.Mugabe says he won't have dialogue with opposition parties and civic society groups in Zimbabwe because they represent British interests. Instead, he wants to talk to their master directly. But once he gets to Lancaster House for the second time he will find that he is in Ian Smith's awkward position of 1979.He will be told that people want a new constitution, free and fair elections, a restoration of the rule of law and respect for property rights. Above all he will be told people want a reversal of the economic decline that he precipitated.They want food, jobs and reliable health services. That is what Zimbabweans are demanding without having to go via Lancaster House.It is hard to see how even a partial, pan-African Mkapa can avoid this incontrovertible reality.The rest are simply deceptive diplomatic niceties to avoid wounding egos and to appear to have hit a win-win situation without causing too much royal embarrassment.* Nyathi, now a strident defender of President Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF at State-controlled daily, The Herald, wrote this opinion piece when he worked for the Zimbabwe Independent.
The US space agency NASA and ESAs iconic Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has spotted gigantic fireballs shooting from a star. The fireballs are so massive that a single ball measures twice the planet Mars in diameter. Scientists explained that these plasma balls are emitted by a dying star and due to very high speed it appears like cannon ball. The speed is so high that it will take just 30 minutes for the plasma ball to travel from Moon to Earth. According to NASA scientists, the star has shooted cannon fireballs once every 8.5 years for at least the past 400 years.

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 the 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 giants puffed-up atmosphere every 8.5 years. As the companion enters the bloated stars 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 NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, lead author of the study. We suggest that these gaseous blobs produced during this late phase of a stars 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 telescopes 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.

Sahais team used Hubbles 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, superhot blobs, each with a temperature of more than 17,000 degrees Fahrenheit (9,400 degrees Celsius)  almost twice as hot as the surface of the sun. The researchers compiled a detailed map of the blobs locations, 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 (60 million kilometers) 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 dont 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 Hydraes 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.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C.

The results were published in The Astrophysical Journal.
After taking its own five years of rest, Honda is finally revived with the new variant of Honda Brio. Taking a long gap of 5 years, Honda is at last showering some attention on its small Brio which was launched in 2011 and introduced its upgraded variant, named as 2016 Honda Brio Facelift.

Honda on Tuesday kicked off the riding of its all new, the face-lifted edition of its entry-level Brio in India, tagging with the price starting range of Rs 6.81 lakh. The base version Honda Brio has launched at Rs. 4.69 lakhs and its top-end version will be available with the beginning price of 6.81 lakhs (Ex-showroom price, Delhi).

No doubt, the refreshment of Honda Brio was one of the most anticipated hatchbacks of India. After bagging a lot of praise with the original Brio model, Honda was expected to bring its updated variant soon to the market. But proving all the anticipations wrong, Honda remained silent for an extended period of time and took the break of 5 years to refresh the base form of Brio flagship. However, at last, on Tuesday, the company wrapped off curtain from the all-new and newly enriched Honda Brio Facelift at an official event.

Whats new in Honda Brio Facelift?

Scavenging a cluster of elements and functionalities from its Indonesian form, the 2016 Honda Brio brings bundles of new outlines, features, and specs with it. In spite of the fact that a significant part of the outside of the Indian model stays same to the Indonesian 2016 Honda Brio hatchback, yet number alterations are done in the inside parts of the auto.

The new 2016 Indian Honda Brio will be fuelled by a 1.2-liter I-VTEC petrol engine that produces 88bhp and 109Nm of torque. The engine would be mated to either a 5-speed manual transmission or a CVT programmed unit, which will make it deliver more seamless performance and speed.

The hatchback will be accessible in four variants like E MT, S MT, VX MT, and VX AT and is for sure will facilitate users a new and revitalized driving experience to the riders. In price segment, the ranges will differ in terms of trims. As per the ex-showroom price in Delhi, E MT model of 2016 Honda Brio will cost Rs. 5.1 lakhs, while other like S MT is tagged with Rs. 5.75 lakhs, VX MT with 6.56 lakhs, and VX AT will be available for Rs. 7.5 lakhs in India.
hidden

At the stroke of 7 PM on Friday, the month-long wait to grab an iPhone 7 came to an end as Apple enthusiasts who pre-ordered iPhone 7 and 7 Plus devices swarmed Apple flagship and retail stores across the country to grab their handsets.

After receiving a stupendous response from 28 countries in the first phase, beginning from 16 September and additional 30 countries from 24 September, iPhone 7 and 7 Plus finally arrived in India and the mood was upbeat.

"I want to thank Apple enthusiasts for breaking all records with the new iPhone 7 launch. This launch is beyond comparison in India. This is iPhone 7, after all," Mikey Todd, managing director, iZenica, Apple Premium Reseller in India, told IANS.

Available in silver, gold, rose gold and the new black finish (jet black), iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models, starting at Rs 60,000.

For Neha Rana, 24, holding her very own iPhone 7 was worth a long wait.

"Getting an iPhone on the very first day before others means a lot. My heart skipped several beats as I held it for the first time. It's like carrying the most classy brand in your pocket which speaks on its own," Rana, who got the device from the iZenica Apple Store at GIP Mall here, told IANS.

iPhone 7 has water and dust resistance, dual-lens camera (in iPhone 7 Plus), a pressure-sensitive home button, 7MP HD front camera and 12MP rear main camera.

"For me, it is yet another repackaged iPhone 6s with a few bumped up specifications. New Apple products feel more like recycled ideas than innovation. Having said it, I am still buying an iPhone 7 because the black looks sleek," Haroon Shergill, an Apple lover, told IANS as he waited patiently for his turn at the store.

According to industry analysts, since the festive season is on and Diwali falls on 30 October, this is a strategic time for Apple to register better iPhone 7 sales in the country.

"With this, Apple will have three-four weeks of solid festive momentum. Last year, Apple launched iPhone models on 16 October in India. This year, the company will have more time-frame to register better sales figures," Tarun Pathak, senior analyst, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems at New Delhi-based Counterpoint Research, told IANS.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently announced to soon open retail stores in the country -- a move that brings to the fore the global importance of the burgeoning Indian smartphone market.

"India is now one of our fastest growing markets. In the first three quarters of this fiscal year, our iPhone sales in India were up 51 percent year on year. We're looking forward to opening retail stores in India down the road and we see huge potential for that vibrant country," Cook had said.

IANS
hidden

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 US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC. 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 US 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.

Reuters
tech2 News Staff

Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have finally launched in India on 7 October. Last night at 7PM all the retail stores across Mumbai and Delhi witnessed long queues. People who had pre-booked their iPhones were eagerly waiting since 5PM to get their hands on the device.

We went to different stores in Mumbai and Delhi. In Delhi we visited the iZenica mall and in Mumbai we went to the Croma outlet in Lower Parel and Reliance Digital store in Juhu to get a feel of the iPhone 7 launch. A lot of people were visibly excited, although tired with the long wait. Some were even concerned about iPhone 7's going out of stock. Here is a quick look at what the first day Apple iPhone 7 buyers had to say.

The 32GB, 128GB and 256GB variants of the iPhone 7 are priced at Rs 60,000, Rs 70,000 and Rs 80,000, respectively. The bigger iPhone 7 Plus models are priced at Rs 72,000 for 32GB, Rs 82,000 for 128GB and Rs 92,000 for 256GB. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus comes in Rose Gold, Gold, Silver and Matte Black colours as well as the special Jet Black colour.

Jet Black and Matte Black were clearly the colours of choice and 128GB was the preferred storage size. Jet Black has been released for the first time with the iPhone 7. Although there have been reports of Jet Black iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus being affected by scratches, that didn't seem to deter a lot of buyers.
hidden

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
tech2 News Staff

The Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus launched in India on 7 October at 7PM. Majority of the buyers who had pre-booked their iPhones over a month ago with retailers, had to wait in queues to receive their handsets. But a select group of consumers who pre-booked their iPhone 7 / 7 Plus on Tata CLiQ got them delivered to their homes by CLiQ's leadership team across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

The first iPhone 7 was delivered at 7.05PM to a lady in Bengaluru by Dharmarajan K, head of CS and customer experience at Tata CLiQ. CEO of CLiQ Ashutosh Pandey handed over devices to customers at Mumbai's Croma stores at 7PM.

A customer, who was handed an iPhone 7 by Pratyusha Agarwal, head of marketing at Tata CLiQ, said that he was excited to receive the phone. "I bought an iPhone 7 for my mom as a surprise at Tata CLiQ and for myself from another website. I thought it would take 4-5 days to get delivered but I am super excited to have this for my mom the very same day," said the consumer.

Speaking on the Apple iPhone 7 sale, Pandey said, "It is a big honour and priority for us to deliver delightful consumer experiences at Tata CLiQ. Our consumers have shown great interest and high rates of adoption in our Phygital proposition as compared to competition and these kinds of experiences give an opportunity to build a bond with our consumers and most importantly understand them better."
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis - Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on Arab-Israeli relations

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.

.

..IMRA Weekly Commentary..06 October '16..Back on 30 September 2001, speaking at the main memorial service for those who died in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon noted that Israel was surprised in that war by Egypt because the Egyptians did not honor the 1970 cease-fire agreement and thus the lesson of the Yom Kippur War is that one must always pay attention when agreements are not honored.It was worse than that.Now we know the following:#1 The Egyptians moved anti-aircraft missiles close to the Suez Canal the very moment that the cease-fire went into effect.#2 The US had a spy plane that flew over the area that first day and photographed the violations. They were aware that first day that the Egyptians had violated the agreement. It should be noted that at the time the US asked Israel to provide evidence and for several days said it was waiting for evidence of violation.#3 While BEFORE the agreement was signed, the US promised Israel that if the Egyptians moved up their missiles that the US would press the Egyptians to pull them back, when they finally had to face up to the violation, the US explained that they could not pressure Egypt. To be clear: discussions of the agreement held between Israel and the US focused on the Israeli concern that Egypt would move the missiles. This was anything but a minor footnote.#4 The US ultimately compensated Israel with "black boxes" for Israeli aircraft that were meant to offset the damage to Israel's security caused by the Egyptian violation.#5 The "black boxes" weren't enough. Those same anti-aircraft missiles ultimately provided invading Egyptian forces protection from the Israeli Air Force at the opening of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.Conclusion: The failure of the United States to honor its commitment facilitated the devastating Yom Kippur War by making the invasion of the Sinai by Egypt possible!The lessons? #1. Serious security violations of agreements and understandings should be addressed by insisting on the enforcement of the agreement.#2. Gizmos are a poor substitute for compliance.Suffice it to say that this is a lesson that I fear our leadership has failed to learn.Our "quiet for quiet" approach that allows our enemies do practically anything they want in preparation to attack us in gross violation of agreements (Gaza) and UNSC resolutions (Lebanon) as long as they don't shoot too much certainly doesn't indicate that any lessons have been learned from the past.I hope with all my heart to be proven wrong.________________________________________
ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Former Republican presidential nominee John McCain has withdrawn his support from Donald Trump, adding to the growing list of GOP officeholders who announced Saturday that they will not support their party's standard-bearer in the election.



"Cindy and I will not vote for Donald Trump," the Arizona senator and 2008 presidential nominee announced in a statement Saturday that also referred to the views of his wife, Cindy McCain. "I have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate and we will not vote for Hillary Clinton. We will write in the name of some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be President."



Donald Trump earlier on Saturday said there is "zero chance I'll quit" despite the increasing number of GOP officials either calling for him to leave the race or withdrawing their endorsement of him. Trump told The Wall Street Journal, "I never, ever give up" and there is "zero chance I'll quit."



The support Im getting is unbelievable, because Hillary Clinton is a horribly flawed candidate, the GOP presidential nominee added. In regard to his lewd comments in 2005 captured on a videotape released Friday by the Washington Post, Trump said, People get it. They get life.



Growing calls by Republicans for Trump to withdraw his candidacy



Fallout in response to the candidate's comments is growing in the Republican ranks. Among those calling for Trump to withdraw as the party's nominee are Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, South Dakota Sen. John Thune and conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. Some, such as Sasse and Flake, were never supporting the nominee, and Hewitt only announced in June that he was backing Trump.

Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately.  Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) October 8, 2016

Character matters.@realDonaldTrump is obviously not going to win.

But he can still make an honorable move:

Step aside & let Mike Pence try.  Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) October 8, 2016

For the benefit of the country, the party and his family, and for his own good, @realDonaldTrump should withdraw. More and worse oppo coming  Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) October 8, 2016



Arizona Sen. Flake, who has been a prominent detractor of Trumps throughout the election, took to Twitter to again disparage his partys nominee following the recordings release.

America deserves far better than @realDonaldTrump  Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) October 7, 2016



Many other GOP officeholders announced they won't vote for Trump



New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Alabama Rep. Martha Roby, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock are among those who have announced they could not back their party's nominee following the release of the videotaped comments.



"I cannot in good conscience vote for Donald Trump, and I would never vote for Hillary Clinton," Comstock said in a statement, calling the nominee's videotaped remarks "disgusting, vile, and disqualifying."



Ayotte, who is seeking reelection, wrote in a statement that she will be writing in Pence's name on Election Day. "I cannot and will not support a candidate for President who brags about degrading and assaulting women," she wrote.



Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz told Fox 13 News "I'm out," during an interview Friday. "I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine.



Utah Gov. Gary Herbert also said he will not vote for Trump. "Donald Trump's statements are beyond offensive & despicable. While I cannot vote for Hillary Clinton, I will not vote for Trump," he tweeted.



Several who ran against Trump in the GOP primary also took Trump to task.



Ohio Gov. John Kasich made it clear that he "cannot and should not support" Trump for president both because of their policy differences and what he called Trump's "behavior" and lack of "a positive, inclusive vision."



"The actions of the last day are disgusting, but thats not why I reached this decision," Kasich said. "It has been an accumulation of his words and actions that many have been warning about."



Some of Trump's former primary rivals tweeted their criticsm of his remarks.

Donald's comments were vulgar, egregious & impossible to justify.

No one should ever talk about any woman in those terms, even in private.  Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 8, 2016

As the grandfather of two precious girls, I find that no apology can excuse away Donald Trump's reprehensible comments degrading women.  Jeb Bush (@JebBush) October 7, 2016



Other Republicans condemned the GOP presidential nominee's remarks.



In a strongly worded statement, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said he was "sickened" by Trump's comments.



"Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified," Ryan said. "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." He added that Trump would not longer be attending a fall fest fundraiser in the speaker's home district on Saturday.



Trump's remarks on the video were also panned by the Republican National Committee. "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement.



Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2012 standard-bearer and a strong critic of Trump, tweeted his response to the leaked comments: "Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America's face to the world."

Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America's face to the world.  Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) October 8, 2016



Carly Fiorina, who lost to Trump in the GOP primary and subsequently served for a short time as Ted Cruz's vice presidential nominee, wrote in a Facebook post that she can't support Trump and the Republican National Committee should replace him with his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.



Trump's apology and his recorded comments in 2005



Trump issued a video statement early Saturday saying "I was wrong" to make the comments.



But former Trump campaign chief Corey Lewandowski appeared to defend his former boss.



In the recording, Trump can be heard talking to former "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush about how he makes moves on women to whom hes attracted. In a statement reported by Politico, Bush apologized for the remarks.



Trump can be heard saying on the tape, "You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful -- I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait."



"And when youre a star they let you do it... You can do anything."



"Grab them by the p----," Trump says. "You can do anything."



ABC News did not immediately receive a response from NBC Universal, which owns "Access Hollywood."



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The first-ever episode of the anthology series Black Mirror involved the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom having sex with a pig on national television. And it only got more disturbing from there.

If you havent seen the first two seasons of the show, which originally aired on Channel 4 in the UK, its a moral imperative that you remedy that. Imagine The Twilight Zone but each episode deals with a future reality where technology has changed the way we live and how that might not always be a good thing. As show creator Charlie Booker put it, theyre all about the way we live now  and the way we might be living in 10 minutes time if were clumsy. Clumsy might be the nicest way to put it.

The show was such a breakout success that Netflix ordered a third season of the show (with a fourth already schedule). The trailer for the six-episode, third season has now dropped.

Whereas the show has mostly featured British actors up until now (except for a standalone Christmas episode featuring Jon Hamm), this seasons episodes are a mix of American and English cast-members. Familiar faces include Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve, Kelly Macdonald, Cherry Jones, and Jerome Flynn.

Heres what we know about each episode.

Nosedive: Written by Charlie Brooker, Michael Schur & Rashida Jones (both of The Office and Parks & Recreations), its about an insecure office drone (Bryce Dallas Howard) who lives in a future where every social interaction is obsessively ranked and rated. She is constantly trying to catch up to her friend, played by Alice Eve.

Playtest: A thrill-seeker visits Britain to test the latest in video game technology, which leads to some mind-bending terror.

Shut Up and Dance: A teenager falls into an online trap and is forced into an alliance with a strange man as they try to fend off a mysterious threat.

San Junipero: A 1980s-era episode (which raises all sorts of questions for a forward-thinking anthology series) about new arrivals in a beach town synonymous with sun, surf, and sex.

Men Against Fire: Soldiers is protecting a village from some kind of mutants alongside and hoping that a new technology will save them. Brooker said this episode is influenced by drone warfare but is a horror thriller, almost like The Walking Dead.

Hated in the Nation: A 90-minute episode (the series first). This one is a crime drama inspired by the Scandinavian noir thrillers that are very popular in Britain. A police detective and her sidekick investigate a string of murders linked to social media. It sounds procedural but apparently takes a bizarre turn. In a way, thats what wed expect.

Season three of Black Mirror premieres on Netflix on October 21.

[Netflix]
11 `militants` killed in Gazipur, Tangail operations

Eleven suspected militants were killed in

separate operations conducted by police and Rapid Action Battalion

(Rab) members in Gazipur and Tangail districts on Saturday.



Tipped off, a team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime

(CTTC) unit, Special Weapon and Tactics Team(SWAT) and district

police launched an operation at a den in a two-storey building in

Patartek area in Gazipur around 12:00 am.



The law enforcers first asked the militants to surrender but they

didnt respond to their call. Then they opened fire on the militants

who also fired back. The three-hour gunfight left seven militants

dead, said Home Minister ASsaduzzaman Khan at a press briefing after

the operation.



The seven militants included Neo JMB military commander Akash and

four madrassha students, he said.



The minister said the operations have been successful as common

people came forward to assist the law enforcers.



Earlier, two alleged militants -- Tawhidul Islam, 22, and Rashedul

Islam, 22, --were killed in a reported gunfight during a raid on a

militant den by members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Harinal

area of the city in the morning.



Assistant superintendent of police Mahiul Islam, deputy director of

Rabs Porabari camp, said a team of the elite force cordoned off a

one-storey building, owned by Ataur Rahman, in the area early in the

morning following information that it was being used as a militant

den.



When the law enforcers tried to enter the building, the militants

opened fire on them, prompting them to retaliate that triggered a

gunfight.



Half an hour after the gunfight, the elite force recovered the bodies

of Tawhidul and Rashedul from the house.



They also recovered one AK-22 rifle, one pistol, 70 bullets and some

bomb-making explosive substances and a laptop from the den, said

Mahiul Islam



In Tangail, two alleged militants were killed in a joint operation by

police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Kagmara area of the

district town in the morning.



The deceased could not yet be identified.



Acting on a tip that a gang of militants is there at a house in

Kagmara area, a team of joint force conducted a drive there around

11pm, said Mahbub Alam, superintendent of Tangail police.



Sensing the presence of law enforcers, the militants opened fire on

them. As the law enforcers retaliated, it triggered a gunfight,

leaving the two militants dead on the spot and two others injured. --Dhaka, Oct 8 (UNB)
No question of SAARC pullout with summit not happening: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka regretted that conditions were not conducive to holding the SAARC Summit in Islamabad.

PTI, Colombo :

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.

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.
India to seal border, allows evacuated residents to return

Dawn.com, New Delhi :

India said on Friday it would completely seal the border with Pakistan by December 2018 and, in a sign that the military escalation could be abating, allowed evacuated local residents in Punjab to return home.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in Jaisalmer that all effective means, including technological solutions, would be used to seal off the border.

Speaking to media after reviewing the security situation on border with ministers and officials of four states, Mr Singh proposed setting up a border security grid for which suggestions have been invited from all the stakeholders concerned, including the states which share border with Pakistan.

"It is a new concept. We will be framing guidelines after getting suggestions from all stakeholders," Mr Singh said.

He said under the action plan of sealing the border, technology would 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."

Mr Singh chaired the meeting of officials of states along the border. The government also decided to stop evacuation of people from villages in six districts of Punjab within 10km of the border with Pakistan.

Punjab Chief Minister's Adviser on National Affairs Harcharan Bains said Mr Singh conveyed the decision to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal at a meeting of the border states at Jaisalmer. "The Punjab government has decided to allow the people to return homes in the border areas. People who had to leave their homes following the earlier directive of centre government can now return to their homes," he said.

In the wake of disputed surgical strikes by Indian army commandos inside Azad Kashmir, New Delhi had ordered evacuation of people from areas within 10km of the India -Pakistan border.

The state government has directed deputy commissioners of all districts concerned to take immediate steps to ensure smooth return of the affected people back to the border villages.


`Huge disaster` averted in Turkey as suspects blow themselves up

Police special forces patrol a street in Ankara, the Turkish capital.

AFP, Ankara :

Two people suspected of planning a car bomb attack on the Turkish capital Ankara on Saturday blew themselves up after being confronted by police, averting what the justice minister called a "huge disaster".

The suspects, who both died in the explosion, were believed to be preparing an attack when they set off the explosives, the official Anadolu news agency said.

"A huge disaster has been prevented. It is probable they would have attacked Ankara.... All signs are pointing to the PKK terrorist organisation," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told the CNN-Turk broadcaster.

The bombing comes two days before the first anniversary of Turkey's deadliest terror attack in its modern history in Ankara which left 103 dead. The attack was blamed on jihadists from the Islamic State group.

Ankara governor Ercan Topaca told reporters at the scene it was "highly likely" that the suspects had connections to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"The materials used, the construction and the way it was planned point to the PKK...." he said, quoted by Anadolu.

The PKK-proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and US-has been waging a 32-year insurgency against the state in the country's southeast.

Violence returned to the region after the collapse of a two-year ceasefire last year with hundreds of Turkish security forces killed and thousands of militants dead.

The governor said police swooped early on Saturday after a tip-off from Diyarbakir, a mainly Kurdish province in Turkey's southeast.

No-one else was killed or injured in the blast understood to have taken place close to a black car in the town of Haymana, around 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Ankara, the governor's office said in a statement.

The suspects were believed to have been hiding in a hut near a stud.

"The security forces launched the operation and warned (them) to surrender. A short while later (and) before any intervention, two terrorists confirmed to be a man and a woman detonated themselves," the statement added.

In televised comments, Topaca also said the suspects were a male born in the eastern province of Bingol and an unidentified female. She was later named in Turkish media.
Fawad Khan breaks his silence!

Follwing the Uri attacks and the banning of Pakistani actors in India, a lot of fake quotes of Fawad Khan surfaced on the Internet. The actor was in Pakistan by his pregnant wife's side, stayed silent for the longest time to avoid making matters worse. Last week he was blessed with a baby girl in Lahore. Fawad has finally broken his silence about the controversies surrounding his fake quotes. His latest Facebook posts reads

"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."
Huawei's 10 winners to visit China

Economic Reporter :

Five teams from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), University of Dhaka (DU), and Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET)) have won Huawei's annual talent development program 'Seeds for the Future- 2016', said a press release on Saturday.

The winning teams, each comprising of two members, will visit Huawei HQ and its other establishments across China from October 24 to November 4. The trip will give the winners a learning opportunity through exposing them to the latest developments in the ICT sector. The winners are mostly final year students who can prepare themselves better through this technology orientation program.

The winning teams are: Sheikh Nasif Imtiaz and Wasif Adnan Khan (BUET); Zafir Shafiee and Tanzin Mubarrat Syed (BUET); Nifat Ara Nipa and Ummul Afia Shammi (DU); Syed Mahir Tazwar and Tasfia Kabir (DU); and Md Rafi Islam and Avra Bhattacharjee (CUET).

The trip consists of two parts. In the first part, the students will attend introductory Chinese language and cultural classes at Beijing Language and Culture University. In the second part, the students will receive hands-on technical training from Huawei. During this phase, they will travel to Shenzhen to work at Huawei's Headquarters, where they will be familiarized with the company's culture, strategy, and values. They will also visit Huawei's state-of-the-art R&D and factory facilities.

'Seeds for the Future' is the global flagship CSR project that Huawei has been running in more than 45 countries with participation of talented young minds from around the world. Huawei Bangladesh has been participating in this program for the last two years and this was the third time to follow.

Since inception, the program has been implemented in 67 countries and regions across five continents, benefiting over 15,000 students from 150 universities. More than 1,700 university students from around the world have taken a study trip to the Huawei headquarters, including more than 800 visitors in 2015. The program was first launched in Bangladesh in 2014, and has already proven a resounding success.




2 Nigerians among 5 of fraud gang held in city

Staff Reporter :

Police arrested five members including two Nigerians of a fraud gang from the city's New Market area on Friday night.

The arrestees are: two Nigerians, Anayo, 29, and Esi Aka Henry, 29, and three locals Mainul Kabir, 29, Nazim Uddin, 37, and Ruhul Amin alias Mithu, 29, police said.

Detective Branch (DB) personnel arrested them in connection with a case filed with New Market Police Station.

Masudur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said acting on a tip-off a special squad of plainclothes police raided the New Market area and arrested them.

The members of the fraud gang in connivance with each other took Taka 40 lakh from Momtaj Begum, senior officer of Elephant Road branch of Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd.

Police on Saturday seeking remand of the arrested persons before a Dhaka court.

After the hearing, the court granted three-day remand for Mainul and Nazimuddin, while two Nigerians Anayo and Henry and Ruhul Amin on two-day.
Delhi think-tank wants Dhaka to go by their dictates

A DELHI-BASED think-tank suggests trilateral sub-regional cooperation among Bangladesh-India-Myanmar for moving forward with massive development. Delhi-based leading private think-tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has stressed the need for strengthening the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) taking all SAARC members except Pakistan on board to boost regional trade and cooperation, as per reports of a local daily.



The organisation also suggested trilateral sub-regional cooperation among Bangladesh-India-Myanmar for moving forward with massive development. Despite many efforts by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the three-decade old regional forum could not be made effective due to big-brotherly attitude of a single member country.



ORF's distinguished fellow Pinak R Chakravarty, a former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, mentioned all this to a group of visiting Bangladeshi journalists on Monday last. The newsmen were in the Indian capital on an invitation of the External Affairs Ministry. He called upon the Bangladesh government to concentrate very carefully on BIMSTEC.



The former diplomat said connectivity in the region could be a good gesture among the three states. He mentioned that maritime boundaries have been settled and Bangladesh-Myanmar and India could work in a tri-lateral way to explore energy in the Bay of Bengal. We can share our resources to explore energy and all the three countries would be benefitted. Noting that terrorism is a problem in the region, he said Bangladesh and India would have to set up better structures to fight the menace.



Sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence and non-interference in internal affairs are some of the major principles clearly defined in the Charter of SAARC. The SAARC Charter kept bilateral issues out of the purview of the SAARC and emphasized on multilateral cooperation. The member states of SAARC were free to forge any other bilateral and multilateral cooperation as they would deem fit. So BIMSTEC would be SAARC minus Pakistan plus Myanmar and Thailand so as to suit the wishes of our big neighbour who clearly feels that dealing with Pakistan on any issue is a waste of time. It would make Pakistan isolated and something of a pariah state with membership only of the UN and no local groupings. That is Delhi wishes to be regional boss with no opposition whatsoever and others should go by its dictates.



But would it be good for Bangladesh is, of course, our main query. We need major concessions from our neighbours in economic areas like trade to grow economically. Will an association with Thailand and Myanmar enable us to move freely without visas or enhance trade - that is the big question? How would our security issues be secured - surely increased communication brings with it great risks. It is true that the three decades old SAARC has failed to deliver. But that is mainly for the indifferent attitude of one or two member countries. In our view, withdrawing from SAARC umbrella and then going under the Indian fold is no good option either.






11 `militants` killed in Gazipur, Tangail dens

Identities of all not yet known: AK-47, bullets, bomb-making materials, machetes recovered

Joint Forces based on secret information raided the militants den at Patartek area in Gazipur. Actions by Joint Forces (inset). This photo was taken on Saturday. Photo: Collected

Staff Reporter :

Eleven suspected militants were killed in three separate raids conducted by the joint forces in Patartek and Harinal areas of Gazipur and at Kagmara near Tangail district town on Saturday.

Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of police, SWAT, RAB, DB, Gazipur and Tangail Police jointly conducted these raids on the militant dens in the morning.

Among the dead, nine militants were killed in Patartek and Harinal areas in Gazipur while two others in Tangail. However, identities of all are yet to ascertained.

"The law enforcers first asked the militants to surrender but they didn't respond to their call. Then they opened fire on the militants who also fired back. The three-hour gunfight left seven militants dead," said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

The seven militants included 'Neo JMB military' commander Akash and four madrasa students, he said.

The minister said the operations have been successful as common people came forward to assist the law enforcers.

Akash became the second-in-command of Neo JMB after the death of Tamim Chowdhury in the Narayanganj raid on August 27.

Identities of two others could not be ascertained immediately.

Masudur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said seven suspected militants were killed during gunfights with law enforcers in Patartek of Gazipur.

He said the militants blasted some 14 grenades during the gunfight that also left a law enforcer injured.

"Three firearms, a few sharp weapons and one gas cylinder were recovered from the militant den," he added. Earlier in the morning, the joint forces cordoned off a two-storey house in Patartek area following information that suspected militants were staying there.

"The law enforcers, using a loudspeaker, asked the militants to surrender before them but they ignored the call," said Monirul Islam, chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of DMP.

The joint team then conducted raid at the militant den at around 11:45am, triggering a gunfight that left seven militants dead on the spot, he said.

Militants rented the building owned by a Saudi expatriate Suleiman Sarkar about three months back, reported our Gazipur correspondent quoting locals.

In a separate raid, two alleged terrorists were killed in Harinal area of Gazipur, another suspected militant den, by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

The killed militants are Touhidul Islam and Rashed Mia, both hailing from Narsingdi, said RAB-1 legal and media director Mufti Mahmud Khan quoting the house owner.

An AK-47 rifle, dozens of bullets, bomb-making explosive substances, four laptops, three machetes and a laminating machine were also recovered from the house, the RAB official said. Law enforcers found the two bodies in one of the units of the house, Mahiul Alam, Assistant Superintendent of Police of RAB-1, told our Gazipur correspondent.

Acting on a tip-off that a divisional commander of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was staying at the house, law enforcers cordoned off the building in Lebubagan area in the morning.

Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, the suspected militants opened fire ensuing a gunfight with police leaving two suspected militants dead, reposts our Gazipur correspondent quoting Khandakar Rezaul Hasssan Reza, officer-in-charge of Joydevpur Police Station.

Locals said the single-floor house constructed recently was rented out a month ago.

Meanwhile, two suspected militants were killed in another gunfight with police and Rapid Action Battalion during a raid at a house in Kagmara area of Tangail town in the morning. Identities of the deceased could not be known immediately, reports our Tangail correspondent quoting RAB. Acting on a tip-off that a gang of militants staying at the den in Kagmara area, a team of joint forces conducted the drive there around 11:00am, said Mahbub Alam, Superintendent of Tangail Police.

Sensing the presence of law enforcers, the militants opened fire on them. As the law enforcers retaliated, it triggered a gunfight, leaving the two suspected militants dead on the spot and two others injured.
Death toll now 900

Al Jazeera News :

The full scale of the devastation in rural parts of storm-hit Haiti became clear as the death toll soared to nearly 900 three days after Hurricane Matthew levelled huge swaths of the country's south.



As Matthew threatened the US coast on Saturday, US President Barack Obama urged Americans to mobilise 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. The number of deaths in Haiti surged to at least 877 late 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. Authorities expect the figure to rise even further.While the capital and biggest city, 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 several localities were still cut off by flooding and mudslides.



A scene of desolation greeted visitors to Jeremie, a town of 30,000 people left inaccessible until Friday.



"Thousands of houses have been destroyed, and there is not enough food and drinking water," Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo, reporting from a Jeremie, said.



At one of the town's poorly-equipped medical centres, doctors said they are desperate for help.



"We don't have anything; no bandages, no penicillin," Dr Dessous, of the Saint Antoine hospital, told Al Jazeera. " We had to sent people home because we couldn't treat them here."



But it's not just the lack of medicine and equipment threatening Jeremie's hurricane-hit residents - disease is also a major hazard for the people living here. "One of the biggest fears here is the threat of cholera," said Al Jazeera's Bo, citing a cholera epidemic introduced by UN peacekeepers following Haiti's 2010 devastating earthquake. "Thousands of people have previously died because of this disease."



In one ward, at least 12 patients had cholera, five of them children. 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.



Residents of the town were also concerned about their crops, levelled by Matthew's heavy rain and winds.



"We already didn't have enough food, now we have lost our crops," Junot Clerveau told Al Jazeera. "We have lost our trees that give us mangoes and coconuts. I don't know how we're going to deal with this."



On the aid effort, Mourad Wahba, of the UN Mission in Haiti, told Al Jazeera: "We would like the Hatian government to be the coordinating authority. We don't want to repeat the experience of confusion of 2010 ."



The Caribbean nation was struck by its strongest earthquake in more than 200 years six years ago, causing a catastrophe and killing more than 220,000 people. Back then, political wrangling stalled reconstruction efforts.

With power lines down in Haiti, people were cut off from the news for days since the storm struck on Tuesday - and had yet to hear that a presidential election due to take place this weekend had been postponed.



Virtually all of Jeremie'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, told AFP news agency.



"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." A ship carrying nine containers of food and medical supplies was headed for Dame Marie, further west in Grand'Anse department.



"It's probably the hardest hit department and the conditions don't allow for a helicopter to land there," Interior Minister Francois Anick Joseph told AFP. "So we're doing our best to help those affected."



Convoys were headed to other affected areas by land, sea and air, he said, including two helicopters provided by the US military to transport 50 tonnes of water, food and medicine elsewhere in Grand'Anse.



Further south, Haiti's third-largest town of Les Cayes was also battered, its Sous-Roches district turned from a quiet beachfront neighbourhood to a chaos of mud and shattered trees.



The river level has started 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.



"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 tree. 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 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Around one million people are in need of urgent assistance, according to CARE France, a humanitarian group. "They have nothing left except the clothes on their back," it said. As the death toll climbed, pledges of aid flooded in, with the US 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. France announced it was sending 60 troops, with 32 tonnes of humanitarian supplies and water purification equipment. Obama also urged Americans to send in donations for Haiti's hurricane victims.



"We know that hundreds of people have lost their lives and that there's been severe property damage and they're going to need help rebuilding," he said. "Even the smallest contribution can really make a big difference." Venezuela, in an economic crisis itself, swiftly sent three loads of relief supplies and food. They included water, medicine, tents, mattresses, blankets and machinery to move rubble, its Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said.

Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York state, home to a large Haitian community, said it was time for people to open their hearts to those in need. "We ask New Yorkers to unite and stand together to support relief efforts," he said. Haiti, which sits on a hurricane path, has had its fair share of natural disasters, including 2010's devastating earthquake that demolished much of the capital. 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 criticised for failing to build local capacity while spending millions on their own short-term programmes. So Joseph, the interior minister, insisted that "it's out of the question for NGOs to take charge of humanitarian aid". "We are very firm on this point: this country is led by a government. Across the country, it's civil protection services that are coordinating everything," he added. "We are not going to turn this country into a messy chaos. It's not going to happen. We already experienced that in 2010, we learned from our mistakes, we will act responsibly." Many ordinary Haitians are skeptical of help from abroad - in a country 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."
How many passes a car needs?

Staff Reporter :

Security mismanagement has made the city dwellers' every day's life almost miserable in several posh residential areas due to lack of coordination among the law enforcement agencies and other residential authorities concerned.



As an example, a car which has got entry pass from Gulshan area, it will have to show separate entry passes if it wants to go to Baridhara, Niketon, Mintoo Road, DOHS and other areas in the city.



Apart from law enforcement agencies, the local housing societies, flat owners associations, local [moholla] committees and other organizations have taken security initiatives as their own way.



And taking this opportunity, a section of dishonest people has allegedly started "entry pass" business in the name of security.



As a part of their initiatives, they have been issuing entry passes for the vehicles in exchange of certain amount of fees, which sometimes varies from Tk 500 to Tk 1000.



Expressing annoyance, some car owners have complained that they are forced to take the security passes by giving fees, whether they all have National Identity Cards and other identity cards of their offices while students have ID cards of their educational institutions.



They also questioned how many entry-passes a person really needs. Why it needs to pay high amount of fees to get a card? Would these passes ensure their security?



While visiting Gulshan area, it was seen that entire diplomatic zone has been taken under special security arrangement involving police, RAB and members of other intelligence agencies.



There are separate check posts at the entrance of Gulshan-2, Nutan Bazar, Kala Chandpur, Baridhara DOHS, lake side area and some other spots. The security personnel are checking vehicles at every check posts.



When asked, a security personel said they were discouraging outsiders from entering diplomatic zone, except those reside here or having emergency duties. The security personnel are also checking bags of pedestrians on the footpaths, he said.



Police said before Holey Artisan Bakery attack, the private cars used to go through diplomatic zone taking a short-cut to reach Nikunja-Uttara or Baridhara from Gulshan.



Now, the police are disappointing the vehicles from taking the short-cut. This type of security arrangement would continue until the militant attack is stopped forever in the country.



Security expert Major General [retd] Abdur Rashid recently said: "At first, it needs to create a safe environment first It is not possible to provide security to 16 crore people individually. There may be an apprehension of terror attack, even after getting assurance from law enforcement agencies."



Not only that, the rickshaw pullers have also been brought under special security arrangement at diplomatic zone, issuing them security passes. For that reason, scarcity of rickshaws is also a common scenario in diplomatic area.



The local housing society members of Gulshan and Baridhara said selected 1,500 rickshaw pullers have been trained on security systems so that they can also act as police informants. Personal information of all the rickshaw pullers has been kept by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.



Shamsul Arefin, member secretary of a coordinated committee that deals with issues of the four societies, said: "For any kind of crime, transport is a major factor. So, if the rickshaw pullers can see any occurrence happening, they can inform the police. In such a way, they will act as informer of the police on crime events."
Khadiza improves slightly: Doctors

Authorities of Square Hospital at a press briefing on Saturday urged the people not to spread any rumour about Khadiza\'s condition as her recovery chance is increasing with the passage of time.

Staff Reporter :

Doctors of Square Hospitals in Dhaka yesterday expressed high hope about the recovery of brutally hacked Sylhet Women's College student Khadiza Begum Nargis by a BCL leader.



"The recovery chance of Khadiza has increased. She could move her right hand and right leg and respond with the right eye slightly," said Dr AM Rezaul Sattar, associate consultant of the Neurology Department of the hospital.



He expressed the hope while talking to reporters at the hospital premises on Saturday noon.



"Khadiza is still not out of danger. We cannot predict much of her recovery at this stage. However, the condition is better," said Mirza Nazim Uddin, consultant of the hospital's Medicine and Critical Care Unit.



Khadiza, a second year Bachelor's student of Sylhet Govt Mohila College, was brutally chopped by Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) unit BCL leader Badrul Alam on October 3 when she was returning home from her college after appearing for an examination.



Badrul, a fourth-year student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) and also senior assistant secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) unit at SUST.



At first, Khadiza was rushed to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital and then to the Square Hospital early Tuesday, as her condition deteriorated.



She is still on life support at the hospital.



Dr AM Rejaul Sattar said, "It is a major matter that she is still surviving 96 hours after she was admitted to the hospital." "Thus the recovery chance increases with time," he said. She can open her eyes and respond, the doctor said after examining her condition. "It can take two-three weeks or even months for her recovery from present condition," he added. Khadiza is now undergoing treatment at the Neuro Intensive Care Unit of the hospital.
2 cops caught while looting smuggled gold in Satkhira

UNB, Satkhira :

Locals caught two policemen at Senpur Bazar in Tala upazila on Friday night allegedly while snatching huge gold from a smuggler. They were identified as assistant sub-inspector Abdur Rauf Paltu of Sadar Police Station in Jhenidah and its constable Maruf.

Locals said, SI Paltu and constable Maruf arrested Biplab while he along with three kg of gold was going to India from Sonadanga of Khulna.

The policemen started towards Senpur Bazar of Tala upazila along with Biplab and tried to snatch the gold from him. As Biplab started screaming, locals caught all of them at the bazaar and gave them a good beating.

Later, they were handed over to police. Officer-in-charge of Patkekghata Police Station Mahibu Islam said they rescued three people from public wrath. He, however, said he heard that Biplab had two gold bars with him.


UP member hacked to death in Sirajganj

UNB, Sirajganj :

A union parishad member was hacked to death by miscreants in Saidabad area of Sadar upazila on Friday night.

The deceased was identified as Monirul Islam, 30, son of Azizul Haque and member of ward no 1 in Rajapur union of Belkuchi upazila. Victim's family members said Monirul and his nephew Russel, 25 were returning home from Randhuni Bari Bazar around 10.30pm.

When they reached the area, miscreants opened fire on them, leaving the duo injured with bullets.

Later, they stabbed Monirul indiscriminately, leaving him dead, said Ali Jahan, sub-inspector of Sadar Police Station.

On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Sirajganj Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Joined by all Rs in the Acadiana House delegation, Bishop claims in an Oct. 4 letter to Gov. John Bel Edwards that the agreement Edwards has with attorneys in the coastal damages cases against oil and gas companies violates the spirit and letter of the law.

District 43 state Rep. Stuart Bishop is the lead author of an Oct. 4 letter to Gov. John Bel Edwards in the increasingly partisan fight over Edwards pursuit of legal action against oil and gas companies for their contribution to coastal wetlands loss.

At issue in the letter is Edwards push to hire outside attorneys to represent his office through the Department of Natural Resources in lawsuits already filed by parishes in the states Coastal Zone Management Area. Several parishes in the zone have already filed suits against oil and gas companies over wetlands loss in their respective jurisdictions. Edwards has urged parishes that have not filed suit to do so, and has promised that the state will file suit if they do not.

Edwards is trying to force oil and gas companies into negotiations with the state as a means of securing funding for coastal restoration and protection projects, the price tag of which has been placed as high as $91 billion for the 2012 coastal master plan that is now being revised.

Edwards and Attorney General Jeff Landry have already skirmished over the issue of the outside attorneys and how they will be paid. Bishop, who as he notes in his letter, is chairman of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee.

Bishop authored HB 799 in 2014 (which then-Gov. Bobby Jindal signed into law) that set restrictions on how outside attorneys can be paid when they perform plaintiffs work for the state. Bishop said the law bans contingency fees unless the Legislature approves those arrangements. It also caps hourly rates.

Edwards is familiar with Bishops bill. He tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill in 2014, seeking to create parity in payment between plaintiff lawyers and defense counsel, then voted against final passage of the bill in the House and again voted against the bill when it returned from the Louisiana Senate with amendments.

Bishop  and the 38 other House Republicans who signed onto the letter  claims the agreement Edwards has with attorneys he wants to bring into the coastal damages cases violates the spirit and letter of the reforms set forth in HB 799, which became Act 796 upon Jindals signing of it into law.

The letter was posted on LOGAs website on the day it was released. Haynie & Associates included the letter in its oil, gas and environment email shortly thereafter. Haynie & Associates has contributed to Bishops campaigns and has performed lobbying work for one of the firms Edwards wants to hire, Jones, Swanson, Huddell & Garrison. Jones, Swanson was the lead firm on the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-Easts lawsuit over coastal damages that unleashed a political war by the oil and gas industry and its allies in attempts to kill the suit through legislation.

Reports are that the industry is pursuing a similar legislative strategy to snuff out the governors efforts to bring suits across the 20-parish Coastal Zone, which stretches from Cameron Parish to St. Tammany Parish.

Bishop, who was elected without opposition in 2011 and re-elected without opposition in 2015, is an executive with Baldwin Redi-Mix Concrete, his familys business. He succeeded Page Cortez in District 43, which is bounded on the north by the south bank of the Vermilion River and extends southward to include parts of Youngsville and Broussard.

Read Rep. Stuart Bishop's letter to Gov. JBE here.

While never having experienced a contested election, Bishop is a prolific fundraiser. According to state campaign finance reports, he raised $111,725 for his 2011 campaign, while spending $57,897. In the 2015 campaign cycle, the incumbent representative raised $144,040 in direct contributions and spent $59,326. His annual report filed at the beginning of this year showed Bishop had $179,024 on hand in his campaign account.

He was mentioned as a possible candidate for speaker prior to the start of the 2016 term, but did not enter the race that was ultimately won by Rep. Taylor Barras of New Iberia.

The partisanship on the issue is not shared by all House Republicans. In fact, four Republicans on Bishops Natural Resources and Environment Committee did not add their names to the letter, indicating that Bishops leadership there is tenuous, though his appointment (backed by Speaker Barras) is secure.

Bishop did not immediately return The INDs phone call seeking comment for this story.

There are 19 regular members of the committee (the speaker and speaker pro temp are ex-officio members), 12 of whom are Republicans (there are six Democrats and one independent member). The four Republican committee holdouts were: Charles Chaney of Rayville in northeast Louisiana, Paul Connick of Marrero in Jefferson Parish (one of the parishes that has already filed suit against oil and gas companies), Franklin Foil of Baton Rouge and John E. Gunn of Jennings.

Acadiana House Republicans were all in on the letter, including Jean-Paul Coussan and Nancy Landry of Lafayette, Julie Emerson (Carencro), Phillip DeVillier (Eunice), Bob Hensgens (Abbeville), Mike Huval (Breaux Bridge) and Blake Miguez (Erath).
ABiz source says Mike Moreno has been working with his longtime business partner, Kevin Moody, to buy the property from Goldman Sachs.

Could Mike Moreno be getting his hands back on the acreage he bought in the mid-2000s for his proposed River District development? Rendering by Architects Southwest



Baton Rouge Business Report notes in a Friday story that a federal judge has cleared the way for New York-based Goldman Sachs Bank to take title to approximately 40 acres of property along Nicholson Drive that Lafayette oilman Mike Moreno gobbled up over the years in hopes of developing it into a mixed-use development.

Moreno has called his proposed development River District.

The order, signed Sept. 28 by U.S. Magistrate Mark Hornsby, is the final procedural step in a 15-month foreclosure battle that began in July 2015, when the bank sued Moreno for defaulting on a $52.4 million loan. Moreno opposed the suit and the case was stalled in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana until late May, when a federal judge rejected Morenos attempt to bring the case to arbitration. Once Goldman Sachs takes title to the property, the bank will sell it, which local real estate agents and developers have said could be a good thing that helps get the long-stalled project finally moving. Both local and out-of-state investors are interested in some or all of the property, according to various sources, who have been watching the saga of the River District unfold over the years.

Over the past several months, word bubbled up that Moreno was working with one of his longtime business partners, Kevin Moody of the The Moody Co., to try to hold onto the River District property. Now that the Goldman takeover has been finalized, is the Moreno/Moody partnership (which could include others) negotiating a buyout of the property from the bank or, possibly, has a deal already been struck?

It's the latter, one ABiz real estate source says, but confirmation will probably have to wait. A spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs, who asked that questions about the future of the Baton Rouge property be emailed to her, had not responded by late Friday.

On Monday, Goldman Sachs responded that it is declining to comment.

ABizs phone message left with Kevin Moodys office was not returned.

In July 2015, Goldman Sachs Bank sued Moreno, his wife Tiffany and a number of his various entities for defaulting on a $52 million loan he took out in Oct. 11, 2013, just two weeks before his fracking company, Green Field Energy Services, went belly-up and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It was later liquidated and went out of business.

The bank said at the time it was owed $58 million in principal and interest.

Filed in federal court in Lafayette, the suit sought to seize and sell the property pledged as collateral on the loan to Moreno, which included not only the River District property but also whats referred to in legal documents as the Port Road Property (also known as the West Yard at the Port of Iberia, which formerly housed Dynamic Industries). Over the course of seven or so years, Moreno and his sister, Dalis Waguespack, worked to accumulate property on both sides of Nicholson Drive, between Downtown and LSU.

Read more about the suit and Morenos other legal problems here.

Business Report points out that since Moreno began buying up property along Nicholson Drive near Magnolia Mound Plantation in the mid-2000s, a lot has changed along the corridor. Read its story here.
Pre-purchase property inspection is a relatively new thing in the United Kingdom. Its not something that most people have heard about, but it has become increasingly popular over the last few years with the rise in property prices and increased demand for high quality homes.

What are the benefits of pre-purchase building inspection? What can you expect to find out when you pay someone else to inspect your home before you buy it? And what should you look for during an inspection?

Many people want to know if theyre buying a house thats been well maintained or if its had any serious problems. If youve found a place on the market that seems attractive, but then discover some issues after moving in, you may not be as excited about buying it as you thought you were.

Its important to do your due diligence when looking at properties. A lot goes into making a property appealing to potential buyers, from the landscaping to the flooring to the kitchen appliances. The same applies when inspecting a property  there are many things that need checking over to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Here are some of the benefits of performing a pre-purchase inspection:

You get to see exactly what will happen to your money

When you go shopping for a new car, youll probably be shown several different models. You might even be shown one that looks like a great value, but doesnt fit around all of the extra features that you want. When it comes time to actually buy the vehicle, however, you wont have seen how your money will be spent on it once you drive it off the showroom floor.

Likewise, when you shop for a new home, you dont really know what youre getting yourself into until you move in. In order to get a feel for whether the home youre considering is what you want, you normally have to spend quite a bit of time inside it. This allows you to learn more about everything that youre going to be spending your hard-earned cash on.

A pre-purchase building inspection gives you much the same kind of experience without having to spend thousands of dollars. Since youre paying for the service, you can expect to see exactly what youre paying for, instead of just seeing a vague idea of what you might end up with.

You find out about potential major repairs

Some buildings are very expensive to maintain, which means that owners often neglect them for the sake of saving money. While youre paying for a building inspection, youre also paying for a professional who knows how to spot signs of trouble and repair work that needs doing.

If you notice that a particular area of your new home needs fixing right away, you can call in an expert to take care of it quickly. If you find that theres something wrong with your boiler, you wont have to wait weeks for a plumber to come over and fix it. Instead, youll have access to a solution immediately.

You can save hundreds of pounds by finding out about potential problems early on

One of the biggest expenses when you first buy a home is the cost of moving in. Many people dont realize this until its too late. Buying a home involves not only paying for the actual house, but also for moving costs, furniture, and other items that have to be moved along with the home.

Having a good idea ahead of time of what youre likely to encounter can help you avoid these kinds of costs. If you know youll need to replace the plumbing system, for example, youll be able to put together a budget for the expense and plan accordingly.

You can protect your investment by finding out if the homes been well cared for

While there are plenty of people who think that houses always look better when theyre newly built, youd be surprised at how well maintained older residences can still look nice. Sometimes, though, those homes need some additional maintenance to keep them looking their best.

This could involve repairs that arent so noticeable or small improvements that you wouldnt consider otherwise. Even worse, some houses have fallen into disrepair without anyone noticing. This is why having a professional perform a building inspection prior to purchasing a home is such a big benefit.

Not only will it give you insight into the state of the property, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing youre not getting taken advantage of. As long as youre aware of the potential pitfalls, youll have less reason to worry about the state of your new home.

You can use information gathered during a building inspection to negotiate a lower price

If youre worried about buying a home because you suspect that it may need extensive renovation work, you may already have a rough idea of how much work youll need to do to bring it up to scratch. That knowledge can come in handy if you decide to buy the home.

You can use all of the details that you gather during a building inspection to present a realistic picture of what the home is worth to prospective buyers. If a potential buyer thinks that the home is worth more than what you paid for it, you can try negotiating a lower price.

You can sell your home faster and for more money

If you decide to list your home on the market soon after buying it, youll need to price it accurately in order to attract buyers. But if youve already done a thorough building inspection, youll know exactly what work is needed and what the current market conditions are.

In other words, youll be able to make a more accurate estimate of the amount of money youve invested in the home and how much its worth. If you find that youre selling your house for close to its full market value, you can use this information to convince the potential buyer that your home is worth the asking price.

Even if youre planning to stay in the home for a while before you decide to sell, the fact that you did a thorough building inspection will give you more confidence when listing it. Prospective buyers will know exactly what theyre paying for.

Your home will hold its value longer

As mentioned earlier, the value of a home depends heavily upon the condition of the building itself. If your home is in bad shape, potential buyers wont be interested in buying it. On the other hand, if youve performed a thorough building inspection and know what sort of repairs are necessary, you can offer your prospective buyer a compelling reason to invest in your property.

When you buy a home, youre essentially agreeing to have it inspected periodically to ensure that it stays in top shape. Not only does this allow you to avoid expensive repairs down the road, but it can also increase the value of your home.

You can make smart decisions about property investments

Buying real estate isnt as simple as just driving a couple of minutes to pick up a house. There are lots of considerations involved, ranging from location to cost. The same is true when youre investing in property.

If you find a house that meets all of your requirements, youll want to make sure that you have a solid understanding of where it stands with regards to the rest of the market. If you havent spent enough time researching the area, you could inadvertently end up with a bad deal.

There are lots of resources available online that can help you determine the overall level of competition in your area. They can also help you figure out if there are any properties that meet your requirements that you didnt know about.

If you own rental property, you can use the information to identify tenants who might cause damage

If you own rental property and youve noticed that certain tenants consistently cause damage, you can use the results of a building inspection to identify them. You can then contact them directly to let them know that youre watching them closely and that you dont appreciate the problem theyre causing.

They might start taking better care of their homes, which would be good news for everyone. It could also be the case that youll find out that theyre responsible for previous damages that werent caught during a previous visit.

You can make smarter decisions about hiring contractors

If youve hired contractors to build or repair your home, you might want to ask them for references. However, unless you perform a thorough building inspection, you might not know exactly what to look for.

For instance, maybe you only checked the roof for leaks or the walls for cracks. You might not have looked underneath the foundation for anything that could cause a future issue. By performing a building inspection, you can ensure that you hire reputable contractors who will be trustworthy with your money.

You can avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition

Of course, the main benefit of structural inspections perth is that it helps you avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition. Before you make the decision to buy a home, you should do whatever you can to find out about the state of the building.

You can also ask your realtor about what sorts of inspections are typically recommended. Some agents say that its standard practice to check the heating system, the roof, the electrical wiring, and the floors. Others will tell you that they recommend that you check the entire structure.

Either way, if you choose to hire an inspector, youll find out exactly what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost to do so.

As a result, it can be concluded that a pre-purchase building inspection is highly important for the buyers because it provides transparency regarding the current conditions of the structure. Additionally, the building owner is made aware of any upgrades or repairs that are required, which could lead to a fair deal throughout the purchasing and selling process.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Senate Candidate Todd Young (R-Indiana) delivered this week's Republican address where he talked about what he feels are failures in the Obama administration.



Young also discussed the GOP's plan to reform national security, the economy, education, and health care. "We must act. We must be bold, courageous and decisive. And we must get America back on the path toward prosperity. We must chart a new course toward safety and opportunity."



Read the Republican's full address:



Hello, my name is Todd Young, and Im a proud Hoosier and Marine representing Indiana's 9th Congressional District.



When I was first commissioned as a Marine Corps officer, I went to The Basic School at Quantico. One day, after shooting on the range, I cleaned my rifle and brought it back to the officer in charge of the armory. He declined to take it, telling me it wasnt clean enough. Frustrated, I told him it was as clean as when I checked it out.



He responded: Lieutenant, this is the United States Marine Corps. We leave things better than we found them.



Today, Hoosiers  and all Americans  are looking back at the last eight years and ahead to the next four, I think we would be well served to ask whether Barack Obama and Hillary Clintons leadership in Washington has left things better than they found them.



As Ive traveled Indiana over these last few months, I think the answer is clear: The failed policies of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Democrats in Congress have left many Hoosiers worse off. They feel less safe and secure; the prospects of getting a good education that leads to a good job are narrower; and the burdens of government regulation and Obamacare are choking families and small businesses.



Its time for a new way forward in each of these areas.



First, national security. As a Naval Academy graduate and Marine Intelligence Officer, I understand the expanding threats America is facing. For the last eight years, President Obama and Secretary Clinton have shrunk from the national stage, acquiescing to foreign powers and paying ransom to our enemies. Republicans want to America to be strong and engaged, not weak and disconnected. I have advocated for a new style of leadership, and my fellow Republicans and I believe that if we are wise and committed, the future of America is promising.



On the economy and education, its getting harder and harder for families to get by and get ahead. My wife Jenny and I have four beautiful children. And we want for them what every parent wants: a good education that leads to a good-paying job and a meaningful career. But the rising costs of college, abetted by a government takeover of student loans is putting the squeeze on families. Republicans think the answer lies not in the Department of Education in Washington, but at home here in Indiana. Ive authored a bi-partisan bill that will help American students graduate from college debt-free. Income Share Agreements are already working at Purdue University here in our state, and they can work everywhere, allowing graduates to pursue their dreams and take risks without lenders breathing down their necks.



Finally, on health care. I talk to Hoosiers almost daily who have been burdened by Obamacare. Whether its a family who cant afford the skyrocketing premiums, or a small business that cant afford to hire more employees, Obamacare is a boulder on the back of our economy. Republicans know we cant continue down this road. We need to repeal Obamacare and offer a better solution to our nations healthcare problems. Ive authored the Save American Workers Act to repeal the ludicrous Obamacare provision that changes the definition of full-time work to 30 hours a week. Ive also authored the REINs Act, a bill that will cut regulation by unelected bureaucrats by giving Congress the final say.



My parents arent very political people. They probably only listen to addresses like this when their son does them. Mom is a nurse. Dad is a small business owner. They always taught me that hard work and big plans were the gateway to the American dream. Like many Americans, after eight years of failed Democrat leadership, they are frustrated that the dream is being mortgaged.



Im frustrated too, but its not enough to stew in our own frustration. We must act. We must be bold, courageous and decisive. And we must get America back on the path toward prosperity.



We must chart a new course toward safety and opportunity.



Thank you, and God bless Indiana, and the United States of America.



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Hurricane Update: Fears arise that Gov. Ron DeSantis may reroute Hurricane Ian from Florida coast to Martha's Vineyard

Study: People who define themselves by what they stand against, are usually afraid to tell people what they stand for

Liz Cheney: Voters need to ask themselves, why they are so out of touch with their politicians

White House: IRS toy guns for children are now politically correct, mandatory

BREAKING: Biden's economic sanctions on the U.S. to be partially lifted prior to November election

GOP's new slogan for midterms: Make Dissent Patriotic Again

PSA: Due to high gas prices police departments will now be responding and making arrests via Zoom.

NYT: Roe vs Wade to be renamed the "Don't Say Fetus" law

Democrats insist on carrying unwanted presidency to term

Elon Musk went to bed thinking he owns Twitter. Then the mail-in ballots arrived at 2am...

Obama: "If you like your information you can keep your information"

Fact checkers reveal Biden handler not a real Easter bunny

Biden 2021: you'll save $0.16 on 4th of July BBQ!

Biden 2022: you'll save a ton of $$ if you don't eat this 4th of July!

Disney to buy Epstein Island for new theme park

The Biology Underground is like the Weather Underground, except they are real biologists and they've had to go underground

"Psssst. Hey you, kid. Ya wanna watch a Disney movie with me?"

"I am not suicidal," says COVID-19 after being contracted by Hillary Clinton

Trans-swimmer Lia Thomas's trophy is smaller than for male swimmers, and only 73% gold

Sources: U.S. now considers majority of U.S. citizens a threat to U.S.

BREAKING: Russian General claims he was beaten up outside Ukrainian bio lab by two Nazis who poured vodka and caviar over him and yelled "This is NATO Country!"

Global warming news: 100,000 Russian migrants fleeing climate change about to march into Ukraine

Future headline: Donald Trump to buy CNN for one dollar

Georgia Governor Stacy Abrams feels honored to be the new Supreme Court justice

President Biden: 'Vote for me or I'll shoot this foot'

Fact checkers give Pinocchio's speech four Bidens

Fauci: The only thing we have to fear, is a lack of fear itself!

Study: Most people have had sex more violent than January 6th

Facebook permanently bans Facebook from Facebook for violating Facebook community standards

New remake of the 1950's horror movie Them to be titled Them/They

Teachers Union: Idea that CRT is being taught in K-12 just a conspiracy theory by white supremacists trying to maintain their systemically racist police state

Xze/She/He who controls the past controls the future; Xze/She/He who controls the present controls the past

S ocialists vow to fight against Critical Socialism Theory

A more perfect Soviet Union: the Party pretends it unites us, and we pretend we are united

Biden solves border crisis with free direct flights from Central America to major metropolitan areas

Critical race theory: destroy the world of systemic racism, build a world of systemic race-baiting

In the future everyone will get canceled for fifteen minutes

Biden proposes bill to spend two trillion dollars on more money printing factories

Social unity: They pretend to hold elections and we pretend we voted

Immigrants to Texas and Florida from New York and California break down and cry when they realize all their sacrifices for a better tomorrow were based on lies

China anal swabs detect new 'silent but deadly' transmission of covid-19 variant

Social science breakthrough: 'White' is the new way of saying 'Bourgeois'

Biden administration swat teams make sweeping arrests of underground female-only track meets

'Green energy' to be renamed 'blackout energy' for easier comprehension of climate complexities

New children's game: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Science







Texas: Biden administration sends emergency wind turbines to help fight the blackouts

BREAKING: Biden signs executive order canceling the number 45

ATTENTION: It is your duty to report anyone who says this is no longer a free country. Fact-checking commissars are monitoring all state-approved social media platforms for your convenience

OUT: If you don't vote, you can't complain!

IN: If you didn't vote Democrat, you can't complain!

Social media justice: followers removed from pro-Trump accounts will be added to Biden's Twitter account

Fact check: a democratic election is the one in which votes are counted until Democrats win

JUST IN: China bans Twitter for being too totalitarian

Pelosi introduces new House rule to replace 'gender' terms like mother, daughter, father, son with the word 'comrade'; the only acceptable pronoun will also be 'comrade'





Sources: Biden transition team demands access to White House basement to begin renovations

BREAKING: President Trump pardons America for its past

Prime Minister Modi: to avoid accusations of racism India will change its name to Cleveland

Biden creates Antifascist Librarian Justice Committee; the first book scheduled for burning is Fahrenheit 451

Media study: 148% of Americans believe voter fraud doesn't exist

2020 Election forecast: if Joe Biden emerges from the basement on Election Day and sees his shadow, expect four more years of Trump

BREAKING: President Trump pardons Corn Pop

Toobin, though on administrative leave, is still pulling for Biden

Chinese whistleblower: Biden-20 was genetically engineered in a Wuhan lab

Nancy Pelosi sponsors a bill to create the office of removal of the President

New college humanities major: Critical Trump Studies

Opinion: Joe Biden is just an idea

CNN: Biden took a solid second place in the debate, while Trump only came next to last

Having ordered that all Californians switch to electric cars by 2035, Gov. Gavin Newsom follows up by mandating them to have electricity by 2035

Election 2020: Joe Biden pledges to a peaceful post-election transfer of power to George Soros

Out: Flatten the curve. In: Flatten the country.

Breaking: the Democrat Party has finished transitioning from being the party of JFK to being the party of Lee Harvey Oswald

Paradigm shift in Chromatics: Study shows Indigo (#3F00FF) mixed with Jamaic (#C0FF01) yields Black (#000000)

Study: the trouble with wokeism is eventually you run out of victims

Stacey Abrams refuses to concede to Harris; declares herself Biden's VP

Election 2020: Spunky former presidential candidate wins VP slot by a head

Churches in many states to hold services in opened up pubs and bars

Election 2020: Xi Jinping still undecided on vice president for Joe Biden

Reports: Republicans pounce on 'Republicans pounce' reports

Minneapolis launches online looting app to combat Covid-19

DNC study finds lockdowns no longer necessary as the economy is now being destroyed more effectively by looters and rioters

With America in lockdown, China offers to host Democrat primary

Bernie Sanders tests negative for President

In related news, Joe Biden follows other candidates in withdrawing from race and endorsing Joe Biden

New York Governor Cuomo shuts down all 'non-essential' business, surprised to find himself out of a job

Biden commits to picking a woman as running mate as long as she passes his sniff test

Joe Biden's coronavirus prevention tips: always rub hand sanitizer on young girls before sniffing and fondling them

Russian lawmakers warned that the American Democrats are meddling to re-elect Putin

Joe Biden promises lucrative board member jobs as door prizes to get people to his rallies

Democrats now worried they might even lose the illegal alien vote

Soleimani's remains FedExed back to Iran and now no one knows what happened to the box

BREAKING: massive search underway in Iran after Soleimani's boxed FedEx'd remains stolen off front porch

Liz Warren harshly critical of Biden's suggestion to coal miners that they should learn to code, offers to have them trained as romance novelists instead

Pelosi: "First we have to impeach Donald Trump before we can find out why we impeached him."

Schiff calls his Amazon Alexa to testify: 'She knows absolutely everything'

Iran answers to new Reagan statue in Berlin by erecting Obama statue at Tehran airport where he delivered pallets of cash

California accepts award for most progressive environmental policies; further progressive developments to be announced as blackouts permit

BREAKING: Romney DNA test reveals he is 1/1024th Republican

California Governor Gavin Newsom blames electricity blackouts on Ukrainian kulaks, vows revenge

Rat falling from White House ceiling fears for his life, begs reporters for protection, offers a tell-all memoir

Latest UN climate report shows this month so far has seen the scariest climate pronouncements on record

Climate science: there's no need for climate protests in China because China is already communist

Islamic clerics split on whether Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib should be traveling around the world without an accompanying male relative

Dem candidates call for the Beatles' song 'Get Back' and the 'White Album' to be banned; surviving two white guys of the group must pay reparations

Bond's number is up: next 007 will be a black woman, played by Barack Obama

NYT: moon landing was one small step for Man, one giant leap for White Male Supremacy

HURRICANE WATCH: Tropical storm Barry has records sealed, once offshore expected to change name to Barack

Trump politicizes the 4th of July, declares it henceforth to be called the 45th of July, or July the Trumpth

Barack Obama critical of Trump for failing to insert 'I, me, my' into his 4th of July speech: "very unpresidential!"

Congressional Democrats: John Dean's testimony proves Trump is Nixon in disguise and must be impeached

Bernie Sanders admits to being a millionaire, promises to eat himself if nominated

International Women's Day observed, women only paid 73% of attention afforded to men

Democrats: anti-Semitism means never having to say you're sorry

AOC: aborting babies helps preserve the planet for the next generation

Bernie Sanders launches presidential campaign, promises to "build a great big beautiful Iron Curtain" around America if elected

West Virginia renames itself Eastern Kentucky to avoid further embarrassment from Virginia

BREAKING: Justice Ginsburg released from hospital after breaking 3 ribs at late night bar brawl in Adams Morgan

DNA news: Senator Warren tanking in latest totem polls

Orwell studies: 84% of academics believe problems raised in 1984 can be fixed with solutions from Animal Farm

Progress in gender justice: online dating industry issues recommendations for men to wear body cameras, bring attorneys as chaperones

Study: the only people who don't know what socialism is are the socialists

Poll: 1 in 3 #FightFor15 activists believe movement is related to lowering the age of consent across America

CNN expert: Kavanaugh confirmation will increase global warming by 3 degrees

Harry Reid comes forth to say Judge Kavanaugh didn't pay any taxes in high school

Hollywood to America: If you've got a flag on the Moon, you didn't plant that; some other country made that happen

Protest march in straight jackets against Trump ends in chaos as participants try but fail to free themselves

HEADLINES YOU WILL NEVER SEE: California Gov. Jerry Brown single-handedly stops wildfires in his state by issuing an immediate statewide ban on wildfires

San Francisco closes all Planned Parenthood clinics after sting operation catches employees using plastic straws

Vegan mother undergoes experimental surgery to force her breasts to produce almond milk

With none of his emails answered, frustrated Nigerian man commits suicide and leaves $100bn fortune to charity

California gives new meaning to strawman argument as caped Strawman battles supervillains in restaurants, bars, and fast food joints

Violence increases in Mexico as cartels switch from smuggling drugs to plastic straws to San Francisco

Obama proposes a Paris Economic Change agreement among nations to address how world will cope with future runaway economic warming

Stormy Daniels plans border visit to give migrant children freebies

San Francisco: man dumping off 20 lbs of human waste in plastic bag on street corner cited for using non-biodegradable plastic bag

BREAKING: ICE renamed Planned Citizenship, immediately absolving it of all criticism

Senate Democrats demand Supreme Court nominee not be unduly influenced by U.S. Constitution

BREAKING: In 2018, Obama and Biden can finally celebrate Recovery Summer

IG Report: the FBI broke the law, but since there was no criminal intent, no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case

Pelosi on Trump's MS-13 "animals" comments: "Four legs good, two legs bad"

Iran nuclear talks set to resume between the United States and John Kerry

Report: The Mueller investigation has finally determined that the lyrics to Louie Louie are not about Trump and Russian collusion

MARKETS: Demand for carbon credits spikes as Hamas seeks to undo damage to Earth's atmosphere caused by burning 10,000 tires on Gaza border

BREAKING: After state reassignment surgery Pennsylvania will henceforth be known as Transylvania

Experts: If we don't act now, unicorns will be extinct in just ten years. Children will ask, "Mommy, what's a unicorn?" Women and minorities will be forced to seek alternative hallucinations

Korean war must continue: Hawaiian federal judge declares Trump's peace effort unconstitutional

New York: feminists march on Broadway, demand the street be given new, non-misogynistic name

Experts: California's planned transition of all state jobs from citizens to illegal aliens by 2020 will help to avoid bankruptcy and save money for social programs for illegal aliens

Putin: If I didn't want Hillary to be president she would be dead

Doritos maker PepsiCo to introduce snack line for women; new Doritas chips will be 77% as big as Doritos and won't make any scary 'crunchy noises'

TMZ: Tooth Fairy accused of sexually assaulting millions of children, outs self as Transgendered Tooth Recovery Specialist

RUSSIA COLLUSION: Trump offers Putin to trade Rep. Maxine Waters for two unnamed members of the State Duma

Ikea founder dead at 91; his coffin arrived in a box with confusing instructions and took 3 hours to assemble

This Thanksgiving ex-president Obama continues with his tradition of apologizing to turkeys everywhere for the injustice they suffered since America's founding

Oslo, Norway: 2017 Nobel Peace Prize goes to advocacy group about which you'll forget immediately after reading this headline

Cambridge, MA, library to replace racist 'Cat in the Hat' with inclusive 'Che in a Beret'

Millions of men worldwide eagerly await broadcast of Hugh Hefner's funeral, solely for the articles

Bill Gates offers to pay for Trump's wall on condition he gets to install Windows

Bernie Sanders introduces single-payer public transportation bill to end America's unequal, unfair, and expensive private transportation system

DNC embroiled in controversy after official Twitter account accidentally 'likes' pictures of US Constitution and Bill of Rights

Hurricane Irma hits Cuba, causes millions of dollars worth of improvements to property and infrastructure

Climate study: extreme weather may be caused by unlicensed witches casting wrong spells in well-meaning effort to destroy Trump

Ex-president Obama declares Irma "Hurricane of Peace," urges not to jump to conclusions and succumb to stormophobia

CNN: Trump reverses Obama's executive order banning hurricanes

ISIS claims responsibility for a total solar eclipse over the lands of American crusaders and nonbelievers

When asked if they could point to North Korea on a map many college students didn't know what a map was

CNN: We must bring America into the 21st century by replacing the 18th century Constitution with 19th century poetry

Pelosi: 'We have to impeach the president in order to find out what we impeached him for'

BREAKING: As of Saturday July 8, 2017, all of Earth's ecosystems have shut down as per Prince Charles's super scientific pronouncement made 96 months ago. Everything is dead. All is lost. Life on Earth is no more.

DNC to pick new election slogan out of four finalists: 'Give us more government or everyone dies,' 'Vote for Democrats or everyone dies,' 'Impeach Trump or everyone dies,' 'Stop the fearmongering or everyone dies'

Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" is humanity's last chance to save the Earth before it ends five years ago

Experts: The more we embrace diversity the more everything is the same

BOMBSHELL: TMZ offers Kathy Griffin $5 mil to keep any future sex tape private

DEVELOPING: CNN, WaPo, NYT anonymous sources say Vladimir Putin may have ties to Russia

BREAKING: Manning and Snowden have come out with strong condemnation of Donald Trump leaking classified information to Russia

Gun store goes into lockdown over report an "active university professor" roving the grounds

Dozens injured at Ralph Lauren & Louis Vuitton headquarters after Ivanka calls in missile strikes on rival fashion houses

BOMBSHELL: Evidence proves Donald Trump conspired with his campaign to defeat Hillary Clinton

University ranked "very intolerant of free speech" fights the accusation by banning the study and all involved

Concerned that Russians don't consume enough alcohol in the month of March, Russia's Orthodox Church makes St. Patrick's Day official holiday

Grassroots group calls for "The Million Regulators March" on Washington, supported by all who fear the loss of their betters telling them what to do

Experts: Starbucks CEO Schultz's hiring of 10,000 Muslim refugees likely to blow up in his face

Will the groundprog be frightened by its own shadow and hide - or will there be another season of insane protests?

Trump signs executive order making California and New York national monuments; residents have two days to vacate

Women's March against fascism completed with 400,000 fewer deaths than anticipated

Feminist historians uncover ghastly concentration camps where so-called "housewives" were forced to live inauthentic lives slaving away in kitchens

Dictionary of the future: Global Warming was a popular computer simulation game, where the only way to win was not to play

"Anti-fascist" groups violently protest misspelling of their original name, "aren't-we-fascists"

Post-inauguration blues: millions of democrats distraught as the reality of having to find real jobs sets in

"Journalism is the continuation of war by other means" is exposed as a fake quote by mainstream media journalists

Congressional Democrats: "We cannot just simply replace Obamacare with freedom because then millions of Americans will suddenly become free"

Schoolchildren jailed for building only white snowmen

Obama's reckless attacks on Russia serve as recruitment tool to create more Russian hackers

Hillary: "I lost, so I'm going to follow our democratic traditions, poison the wells, and scorch the earth"

Children in Venezuela cook and eat their Christmas toys

Hillary: "I can hack Russia from my bathroom"

Hillary suggests to counter "fake news" with government newspaper called "Truth" ("Pravda" for Russian speakers)

BREAKING: Millions of uncounted votes found on Hillary's private voting machine in her Chappaqua bathroom

New York Times: Fidel Castro world's sexiest corpse

After years of trial and error, CIA finally succeeds with the "waiting it out" technique on Fidel Castro

Post-election shopping tip: look for the PoliticsFree label at your local grocer to make sure you don't buy from companies that don't want your business anymore

In Hillary's America, email server scrubs you

Obama transfers his Nobel Peace Prize to anti-Trump rioters

Democrats blame Hillary's criminal e-mail server for her loss, demand it face prison

Afraid of "dangerous" Trump presidency, protesters pre-emptively burn America down to the ground

Clinton Foundation in foreclosure as foreign donors demand refunds

Hillary Clinton blames YouTube video for unexpected and spontaneous voter uprising that prevented her inevitable move into the White House

Sudden rise in sea levels explained by disproportionately large tears shed by climate scientists in the aftermath of Trump's electoral victory

FBI director Comey delighted after receiving Nobel Prize for Speed Reading (650,000 emails in one week)

U.N. deploys troops to American college campuses in order to combat staggeringly low rape rates

Responding to Trump's surging poll numbers, Obama preemptively pardons himself for treason

Following hurricane Matthew's failure to devastate Florida, activists flock to the Sunshine State and destroy Trump signs manually

Tim Kaine takes credit for interrupting hurricane Matthew while debating weather in Florida

Study: Many non-voters still undecided on how they're not going to vote

The Evolution of Dissent: on November 8th the nation is to decide whether dissent will stop being racist and become sexist - or it will once again be patriotic as it was for 8 years under George W. Bush

Venezuela solves starvation problem by making it mandatory to buy food

Breaking: the Clinton Foundation set to investigate the FBI

Obama captures rare Pokemon while visiting Hiroshima

Movie news: 'The Big Friendly Giant Government' flops at box office; audiences say "It's creepy"

Barack Obama: "If I had a son, he'd look like Micah Johnson"

White House edits Orlando 911 transcript to say shooter pledged allegiance to NRA and Republican Party

President George Washington: 'Redcoats do not represent British Empire; King George promotes a distorted version of British colonialism'

Following Obama's 'Okie-Doke' speech, stock of Okie-Doke soars; NASDAQ: 'Obama best Okie-Doke salesman'

Weaponized baby formula threatens Planned Parenthood office; ACLU demands federal investigation of Gerber

Experts: melting Antarctic glacier could cause sale levels to rise up to 80% off select items by this weekend

Travel advisory: airlines now offering flights to front of TSA line

As Obama instructs his administration to get ready for presidential transition, Trump preemptively purchases 'T' keys for White House keyboards

John Kasich self-identifies as GOP primary winner, demands access to White House bathroom

Upcoming Trump/Kelly interview on FoxNews sponsored by 'Let's Make a Deal' and 'The Price is Right'

News from 2017: once the evacuation of Lena Dunham and 90% of other Hollywood celebrities to Canada is confirmed, Trump resigns from presidency: "My work here is done"

Non-presidential candidate Paul Ryan pledges not to run for president in new non-presidential non-ad campaign

Trump suggests creating 'Muslim database'; Obama symbolically protests by shredding White House guest logs beginning 2009

National Enquirer: John Kasich's real dad was the milkman, not mailman

National Enquirer: Bound delegates from Colorado, Wyoming found in Ted Cruzs basement

Iran breaks its pinky-swear promise not to support terrorism; US State Department vows rock-paper-scissors strategic response

Women across the country cheer as racist Democrat president on $20 bill is replaced by black pro-gun Republican

Federal Reserve solves budget crisis by writing itself a 20-trillion-dollar check

Widows, orphans claim responsibility for Brussels airport bombing

Che Guevara's son hopes Cuba's communism will rub off on US, proposes a long list of people the government should execute first

Susan Sarandon: "I don't vote with my vagina." Voters in line behind her still suspicious, use hand sanitizer

Campaign memo typo causes Hillary to court 'New Black Panties' vote

New Hampshire votes for socialist Sanders, changes state motto to "Live FOR Free or Die"

Martin O'Malley drops out of race after Iowa Caucus; nation shocked with revelation he has been running for president

Statisticians: one out of three Bernie Sanders supporters is just as dumb as the other two

Hillary campaign denies accusations of smoking-gun evidence in her emails, claims they contain only smoking-circumstantial-gun evidence

Obama stops short of firing US Congress upon realizing the difficulty of assembling another group of such tractable yes-men

In effort to contol wild passions for violent jihad, White House urges gun owners to keep their firearms covered in gun burkas

TV horror live: A Charlie Brown Christmas gets shot up on air by Mohammed cartoons

Democrats vow to burn the country down over Ted Cruz statement, 'The overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats'

Russia's trend to sign bombs dropped on ISIS with "This is for Paris" found response in Obama administration's trend to sign American bombs with "Return to sender"

University researchers of cultural appropriation quit upon discovery that their research is appropriation from a culture that created universities

Archeologists discover remains of what Barack Obama has described as unprecedented, un-American, and not-who-we-are immigration screening process in Ellis Island

Mizzou protests lead to declaring entire state a "safe space," changing Missouri motto to "The don't show me state"

Green energy fact: if we put all green energy subsidies together in one-dollar bills and burn them, we could generate more electricity than has been produced by subsidized green energy

State officials improve chances of healthcare payouts by replacing ObamaCare with state lottery

NASA's new mission to search for racism, sexism, and economic inequality in deep space suffers from race, gender, and class power struggles over multibillion-dollar budget

College progress enforcement squads issue schematic humor charts so students know if a joke may be spontaneously laughed at or if regulations require other action

ISIS opens suicide hotline for US teens depressed by climate change and other progressive doomsday scenarios

Virginia county to close schools after teacher asks students to write 'death to America' in Arabic

'Wear hijab to school day' ends with spontaneous female circumcision and stoning of a classmate during lunch break

ISIS releases new, even more barbaric video in an effort to regain mantle from Planned Parenthood

Impressed by Fox News stellar rating during GOP debates, CNN to use same formula on Democrat candidates asking tough, pointed questions about Republicans

Shocking new book explores pros and cons of socialism, discovers they are same people

Pope outraged by Planned Parenthood's "unfettered capitalism," demands equal redistribution of baby parts to each according to his need

John Kerry accepts Iran's "Golden Taquiyya" award, requests jalapenos on the side

Citizens of Pluto protest US government's surveillance of their planetoid and its moons with New Horizons space drone

John Kerry proposes 3-day waiting period for all terrorist nations trying to acquire nuclear weapons

Chicago Police trying to identify flag that caused nine murders and 53 injuries in the city this past weekend

Cuba opens to affordable medical tourism for Americans who can't afford Obamacare deductibles

State-funded research proves existence of Quantum Aggression Particles (Heterons) in Large Hadron Collider

Student job opportunities: make big bucks this summer as Hillarys Ordinary-American; all expenses paid, travel, free acting lessons

Experts debate whether Iranian negotiators broke John Kerry's leg or he did it himself to get out of negotiations

Junior Varsity takes Ramadi, advances to quarterfinals

US media to GOP pool of candidates: 'Knowing what we know now, would you have had anything to do with the founding of the United States?'

NY Mayor to hold peace talks with rats, apologize for previous Mayor's cowboy diplomacy

China launches cube-shaped space object with a message to aliens: "The inhabitants of Earth will steal your intellectual property, copy it, manufacture it in sweatshops with slave labor, and sell it back to you at ridiculously low prices"

Progressive scientists: Truth is a variable deduced by subtracting 'what is' from 'what ought to be'

Experts agree: Hillary Clinton best candidate to lessen percentage of Americans in top 1%

America's attempts at peace talks with the White House continue to be met with lies, stalling tactics, and bad faith

Starbucks new policy to talk race with customers prompts new hashtag #DontHoldUpTheLine

Hillary: DELETE is the new RESET

Charlie Hebdo receives Islamophobe 2015 award; the cartoonists could not be reached for comment due to their inexplicable, illogical deaths

Russia sends 'reset' button back to Hillary: 'You need it now more than we do'

Barack Obama finds out from CNN that Hillary Clinton spent four years being his Secretary of State

President Obama honors Leonard Nimoy by taking selfie in front of Starship Enterprise

Police: If Obama had a convenience store, it would look like Obama Express Food Market

Study finds stunning lack of racial, gender, and economic diversity among middle-class white males

NASA: We're 80% sure about being 20% sure about being 17% sure about being 38% sure about 2014 being the hottest year on record

People holding '$15 an Hour Now' posters sue Democratic party demanding raise to $15 an hour for rendered professional protesting services

Cuba-US normalization: US tourists flock to see Cuba before it looks like the US and Cubans flock to see the US before it looks like Cuba

White House describes attacks on Sony Pictures as 'spontaneous hacking in response to offensive video mocking Juche and its prophet'

CIA responds to Democrat calls for transparency by releasing the director's cut of The Making Of Obama's Birth Certificate

Obama: 'If I had a city, it would look like Ferguson'

Biden: 'If I had a Ferguson (hic), it would look like a city'

Obama signs executive order renaming 'looters' to 'undocumented shoppers'

Ethicists agree: two wrongs do make a right so long as Bush did it first

The aftermath of the 'War on Women 2014' finds a new 'Lost Generation' of disillusioned Democrat politicians, unable to cope with life out of office

White House: Republican takeover of the Senate is a clear mandate from the American people for President Obama to rule by executive orders

Nurse Kaci Hickox angrily tells reporters that she won't change her clocks for daylight savings time

Democratic Party leaders in panic after recent poll shows most Democratic voters think 'midterm' is when to end pregnancy

Desperate Democratic candidates plead with Obama to stop backing them and instead support their GOP opponents

Ebola Czar issues five-year plan with mandatory quotas of Ebola infections per each state based on voting preferences

Study: crony capitalism is to the free market what the Westboro Baptist Church is to Christianity

Fun facts about world languages: the Left has more words for statism than the Eskimos have for snow

African countries to ban all flights from the United States because "Obama is incompetent, it scares us"

Nobel Peace Prize controversy: Hillary not nominated despite having done even less than Obama to deserve it

Obama: 'Ebola is the JV of viruses'

BREAKING: Secret Service foils Secret Service plot to protect Obama

Revised 1st Amendment: buy one speech, get the second free

Sharpton calls on white NFL players to beat their women in the interests of racial fairness

President Obama appoints his weekly approval poll as new national security adviser

Obama wags pen and phone at Putin; Europe offers support with powerful pens and phones from NATO members

White House pledges to embarrass ISIS back to the Stone Age with a barrage of fearsome Twitter messages and fatally ironic Instagram photos

Obama to fight ISIS with new federal Terrorist Regulatory Agency

Obama vows ISIS will never raise their flag over the eighteenth hole

Harry Reid: "Sometimes I say the wong thing"

Elian Gonzalez wishes he had come to the U.S. on a bus from Central America like all the other kids

Obama visits US-Mexican border, calls for a two-state solution

Obama draws "blue line" in Iraq after Putin took away his red crayon

"Hard Choices," a porno flick loosely based on Hillary Clinton's memoir and starring Hillary Hellfire as a drinking, whoring Secretary of State, wildly outsells the flabby, sagging original

Accusations of siding with the enemy leave Sgt. Bergdahl with only two options: pursue a doctorate at Berkley or become a Senator from Massachusetts

Jay Carney stuck in line behind Eric Shinseki to leave the White House; estimated wait time from 15 min to 6 weeks

100% of scientists agree that if man-made global warming were real, "the last people we'd want to help us is the Obama administration"

Jay Carney says he found out that Obama found out that he found out that Obama found out that he found out about the latest Obama administration scandal on the news

"Anarchy Now!" meeting turns into riot over points of order, bylaws, and whether or not 'kicking the #^@&*! ass' of the person trying to speak is or is not violence

Obama retaliates against Putin by prohibiting unionized federal employees from dating hot Russian girls online during work hours

Russian separatists in Ukraine riot over an offensive YouTube video showing the toppling of Lenin statues

"Free Speech Zones" confuse Obamaphone owners who roam streets in search of additional air minutes

Obamacare bolsters employment for professionals with skills to convert meth back into sudafed

Gloves finally off: Obama uses pen and phone to cancel Putin's Netflix account

Joe Biden to Russia: "We will bury you by turning more of Eastern Europe over to your control!"

In last-ditch effort to help Ukraine, Obama deploys Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson's Rainbow Coalition to Crimea

Al Sharpton: "Not even Putin can withstand our signature chanting, 'racist, sexist, anti-gay, Russian army go away'!"

Mardi Gras in North Korea: "Throw me some food!"

Obama's foreign policy works: "War, invasion, and conquest are signs of weakness; we've got Putin right where we want him"

US offers military solution to Ukraine crisis: "We will only fight countries that have LGBT military"

Putin annexes Brighton Beach to protect ethnic Russians in Brooklyn, Obama appeals to UN and EU for help

The 1980s: "Mr. Obama, we're just calling to ask if you want our foreign policy back. The 1970s are right here with us, and they're wondering, too."

In a stunning act of defiance, Obama courageously unfriends Putin on Facebook

MSNBC: Obama secures alliance with Austro-Hungarian Empire against Russias aggression in Ukraine

Study: springbreak is to STDs what April 15th is to accountants

Efforts to achieve moisture justice for California thwarted by unfair redistribution of snow in America

North Korean voters unanimous: "We are the 100%"

Leader of authoritarian gulag-site, The People's Cube, unanimously 're-elected' with 100% voter turnout

Super Bowl: Obama blames Fox News for Broncos' loss

Feminist author slams gay marriage: "a man needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle"

Beverly Hills campaign heats up between Henry Waxman and Marianne Williamson over the widening income gap between millionaires and billionaires in their district

Biden to lower $10,000-a-plate Dinner For The Homeless to $5,000 so more homeless can attend

Kim becomes world leader, feeds uncle to dogs; Obama eats dogs, becomes world leader, America cries uncle

North Korean leader executes own uncle for talking about Obamacare at family Christmas party

White House hires part-time schizophrenic Mandela sign interpreter to help sell Obamacare

Kim Jong Un executes own "crazy uncle" to keep him from ruining another family Christmas

OFA admits its advice for area activists to give Obamacare Talk at shooting ranges was a bad idea

President resolves Obamacare debacle with executive order declaring all Americans equally healthy

Obama to Iran: "If you like your nuclear program, you can keep your nuclear program"

Bovine community outraged by flatulence coming from Washington DC

Obama: "I'm not particularly ideological; I believe in a good pragmatic five-year plan"

Shocker: Obama had no knowledge he'd been reelected until he read about it in the local newspaper last week

Server problems at HealthCare.gov so bad, it now flashes 'Error 808' message

NSA marks National Best Friend Day with official announcement: "Government is your best friend; we know you like no one else, we're always there, we're always willing to listen"

Al Qaeda cancels attack on USA citing launch of Obamacare as devastating enough

The President's latest talking point on Obamacare: "I didn't build that"

Dizzy with success, Obama renames his wildly popular healthcare mandate to HillaryCare

Carney: huge ObamaCare deductibles won't look as bad come hyperinflation

Washington Redskins drop 'Washington' from their name as offensive to most Americans

Poll: 83% of Americans favor cowboy diplomacy over rodeo clown diplomacy

GOVERNMENT WARNING: If you were able to complete ObamaCare form online, it wasn't a legitimate gov't website; you should report online fraud and change all your passwords

Obama administration gets serious, threatens Syria with ObamaCare

Obama authorizes the use of Vice President Joe Biden's double-barrel shotgun to fire a couple of blasts at Syria

Sharpton: "British royals should have named baby 'Trayvon.' By choosing 'George' they sided with white Hispanic racist Zimmerman"

DNC launches 'Carlos Danger' action figure; proceeds to fund a charity helping survivors of the Republican War on Women

Nancy Pelosi extends abortion rights to the birds and the bees

Hubble discovers planetary drift to the left

Obama: 'If I had a daughter-in-law, she would look like Rachael Jeantel'

FISA court rubberstamps statement denying its portrayal as government's rubber stamp

Every time ObamaCare gets delayed, a Julia somewhere dies

GOP to Schumer: 'Force full implementation of ObamaCare before 2014 or Dems will never win another election'

Obama: 'If I had a son... no, wait, my daughter can now marry a woman!'

Janet Napolitano: TSA findings reveal that since none of the hijackers were babies, elderly, or Tea Partiers, 9/11 was not an act of terrorism

News Flash: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) can see Canada from South Dakota

Susan Rice: IRS actions against tea parties caused by anti-tax YouTube video that was insulting to their faith

Drudge Report reduces font to fit all White House scandals onto one page

Obama: the IRS is a constitutional right, just like the Second Amendment

White House: top Obama officials using secret email accounts a result of bad IT advice to avoid spam mail from Nigeria

Jay Carney to critics: 'Pinocchio never said anything inconsistent'

Obama: If I had a gay son, he'd look like Jason Collins

Gosnell's office in Benghazi raided by the IRS: mainstream media's worst cover-up challenge to date

IRS targeting pro-gay-marriage LGBT groups leads to gayest tax revolt in U.S. history

After Arlington Cemetery rejects offer to bury Boston bomber, Westboro Babtist Church steps up with premium front lawn plot

Boston: Obama Administration to reclassify marathon bombing as 'sportsplace violence'

Study: Success has many fathers but failure becomes a government program

US Media: Can Pope Francis possibly clear up Vatican bureaucracy and banking without blaming the previous administration?

Michelle Obama praises weekend rampage by Chicago teens as good way to burn calories and stay healthy

This Passover, Obama urges his subjects to paint lamb's blood above doors in order to avoid the Sequester



White House to American children: Sequester causes layoffs among hens that lay Easter eggs; union-wage Easter Bunnies to be replaced by Mexican Chupacabras

Time Mag names Hugo Chavez world's sexiest corpse

Boy, 8, pretends banana is gun, makes daring escape from school

Study: Free lunches overpriced, lack nutrition

Oscars 2013: Michelle Obama announces long-awaited merger of Hollywood and the State

Joe Salazar defends the right of women to be raped in gun-free environment: 'rapists and rapees should work together to prevent gun violence for the common good'

Dept. of Health and Human Services eliminates rape by reclassifying assailants as 'undocumented sex partners'

Kremlin puts out warning not to photoshop Putin riding meteor unless bare-chested

Deeming football too violent, Obama moves to introduce Super Drone Sundays instead

Japan offers to extend nuclear umbrella to cover U.S. should America suffer devastating attack on its own defense spending

Feminists organize one billion women to protest male oppression with one billion lap dances

Urban community protests Mayor Bloomberg's ban on extra-large pop singers owning assault weapons

Concerned with mounting death toll, Taliban offers to send peacekeeping advisers to Chicago

Karl Rove puts an end to Tea Party with new 'Republicans For Democrats' strategy aimed at losing elections

Answering public skepticism, President Obama authorizes unlimited drone attacks on all skeet targets throughout the country

Skeet Ulrich denies claims he had been shot by President but considers changing his name to 'Traps'

White House releases new exciting photos of Obama standing, sitting, looking thoughtful, and even breathing in and out

New York Times hacked by Chinese government, Paul Krugman's economic policies stolen

White House: when President shoots skeet, he donates the meat to food banks that feed the middle class

To prove he is serious, Obama eliminates armed guard protection for President, Vice-President, and their families; establishes Gun-Free Zones around them instead

State Dept to send 100,000 American college students to China as security for US debt obligations

Jay Carney: Al Qaeda is on the run, they're just running forward

President issues executive orders banning cliffs, ceilings, obstructions, statistics, and other notions that prevent us from moving forwards and upward

Fearing the worst, Obama Administration outlaws the fan to prevent it from being hit by certain objects

World ends; S&P soars

Riddle of universe solved; answer not understood

Meek inherit Earth, can't afford estate taxes

Greece abandons Euro; accountants find Greece has no Euros anyway

Wheel finally reinvented; axles to be gradually reinvented in 3rd quarter of 2013

Bigfoot found in Ohio, mysteriously not voting for Obama

As Santa's workshop files for bankruptcy, Fed offers bailout in exchange for control of 'naughty and nice' list

Freak flying pig accident causes bacon to fly off shelves

Obama: green economy likely to transform America into a leading third world country of the new millennium

Report: President Obama to visit the United States in the near future

Obama promises to create thousands more economically neutral jobs

Modernizing Islam: New York imam proposes to canonize Saul Alinsky as religion's latter day prophet

Imam Rauf's peaceful solution: 'Move Ground Zero a few blocks away from the mosque and no one gets hurt'

Study: Obama's threat to burn tax money in Washington 'recruitment bonanza' for Tea Parties

Study: no Social Security reform will be needed if gov't raises retirement age to at least 814 years

Obama attends church service, worships self

Obama proposes national 'Win The Future' lottery; proceeds of new WTF Powerball to finance more gov't spending

Historical revisionists: "Hey, you never know"

Vice President Biden: criticizing Egypt is un-pharaoh

Israelis to Egyptian rioters: "don't damage the pyramids, we will not rebuild"

Lake Superior renamed Lake Inferior in spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness

Al Gore: It's a shame that a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of polar bears

Michael Moore: As long as there is anyone with money to shake down, this country is not broke

Obama's teleprompters unionize, demand collective bargaining rights

Obama calls new taxes 'spending reductions in tax code.' Elsewhere rapists tout 'consent reductions in sexual intercourse'

Obama's teleprompter unhappy with White House Twitter: "Too few words"

Obama's Regulation Reduction committee finds US Constitution to be expensive outdated framework inefficiently regulating federal gov't

Taking a page from the Reagan years, Obama announces new era of Perestroika and Glasnost

Responding to Oslo shootings, Obama declares Christianity "Religion of Peace," praises "moderate Christians," promises to send one into space

Republicans block Obama's $420 billion program to give American families free charms that ward off economic bad luck

White House to impose Chimney tax on Santa Claus

Obama decrees the economy is not soaring as much as previously decreeed

Conservative think tank introduces children to capitalism with pop-up picture book "The Road to Smurfdom"

Al Gore proposes to combat Global Warming by extracting silver linings from clouds in Earth's atmosphere

Obama refutes charges of him being unresponsive to people's suffering: "When you pray to God, do you always hear a response?"

Obama regrets the US government didn't provide his mother with free contraceptives when she was in college

Fluke to Congress: drill, baby, drill!

Planned Parenthood introduces Frequent Flucker reward card: 'Come again soon!'

Obama to tornado victims: 'We inherited this weather from the previous administration'

Obama congratulates Putin on Chicago-style election outcome

People's Cube gives itself Hero of Socialist Labor medal in recognition of continued expert advice provided to the Obama Administration helping to shape its foreign and domestic policies

Hamas: Israeli air defense unfair to 99% of our missiles, "only 1% allowed to reach Israel"

Democrat strategist: without government supervision, women would have never evolved into humans

Voters Without Borders oppose Texas new voter ID law

Enraged by accusation that they are doing Obama's bidding, media leaders demand instructions from White House on how to respond

Obama blames previous Olympics for failure to win at this Olympics

Official: China plans to land on Moon or at least on cheap knockoff thereof

Koran-Contra: Obama secretly arms Syrian rebels

Poll: Progressive slogan 'We should be more like Europe' most popular with members of American Nazi Party

Obama to Evangelicals: Jesus saves, I just spend

May Day: Anarchists plan, schedule, synchronize, and execute a coordinated campaign against all of the above

Midwestern farmers hooked on new erotic novel "50 Shades of Hay"

Study: 99% of Liberals give the rest a bad name

Obama meets with Jewish leaders, proposes deeper circumcisions for the rich

Historians: Before HOPE & CHANGE there was HEMP & CHOOM at ten bucks a bag

Cancer once again fails to cure Venezuela of its "President for Life"

Tragic spelling error causes Muslim protesters to burn local boob-tube factory

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu: due to energy conservation, the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched off

Obama Administration running food stamps across the border with Mexico in an operation code-named "Fat And Furious"

Pakistan explodes in protest over new Adobe Acrobat update; 17 local acrobats killed

White House: "Let them eat statistics"

Special Ops: if Benedict Arnold had a son, he would look like Barack Obama







AD GOES HERE
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.
Harrisburg Mayor Dale Fowler is running as a Republican for the 59th Senate District of Illinois.

Fowler grew up on a farm in Eldorado, and he oversaw his familys meatpacking business after graduating from high school.

He previously worked for the state when he served as office operations supervisor to then-Secretary of State Jim Edgar in Springfield from 1990-1992.

He worked for 22 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and retired in 2012 as a chief engineer with the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. He went on to become the business development officer at Peoples National Bank.

He was appointed to Harrisburg City Council in 2012 as public property commissioner and was elected mayor in 2014.

Fowler has said he has no intentions of being a career politician.

People ask me why Im doing this, Fowler said in a meeting with The Southerns editorial board earlier this month. I have a decent career, I have a job that I love, I love business, I love business development, Im the mayor of a city thats creating some momentum, really good momentum.

I thoroughly love what Im doing, but I just feel like its something where I have to step up for the right reasons.

The candidate discussed his positions on several core campaign issues.

State budget

Fowler said the states budget problem was one of the main reasons he decided to enter the race.

First of all, we need a balanced budget. Its our constitutional obligation to balance a budget. A $7.5 billion deficit budget is uncalled for, its ludicrous, he said.

However, Fowler said he was not interested in talking about new revenues before establishing dedicated funding streams. He said he wants to begin by fairly funding schools, social service agencies and veterans programs  and then look at making cuts.

The state of Illinois cannot continue to write bad checks. That is the reason why schools cant plan accordingly, I feel, he said.

K-12 and higher education

Fowler said he is dedicated to fair education funding, and that he doesnt think Chicago schools should receive more funding than Southern Illinois schools.

If theyre allotted $10,000 a student, for example, they should receive that $10,000 and it should be fair across the board, he said.

Fowler said he had spoken at length with Harrisburg Community Schools Unit No. 4 District Superintendent Mike Gauch about the districts uncertainty amid the ongoing budget crisis.

Theyve got 25-year-old books. They dont know if they can buy more books, or whatever it may be, he said. So it just needs to be dedicated and it just needs to be fair across the board.

Fowler said he was open-minded about Andy Manars plan, which supporters say would provide more funding to K-12 districts that need it most, such as districts with large numbers of low-income students, students with disabilities and students learning English. He said he would need to learn more about how it would affect schools in Southern Illinois.

It would be something that I would be interested in reading more about, he said.

Fowler said it must become a top priority to continue to fund higher education in Illinois.

We lose business when we lose students. It must be top priority to continue funding higher education, to stop that bleeding process as well, he said.

Remapping and term limits

Fowler said he was in favor of reforming the way legislative districts are mapped.

Remapping is imperative to make it more fair across the board. I think the citizens should have an opportunity to speak their voice in that, he said.

He also said he is for term limits in order to hold politicians accountable.

I think when someone gets engrossed in the endeavor for too long, entrenched, its time to take some different measures. I feel like its time for some new blood, he said.

He said he felt 10 years would be an appropriate limit and that he would theoretically limit his own political career at 10 years.

Energy

Fowler supports Southern Illinois coal mining and believes regulations on the industry have impeded growth. He also raised concerns about the permitting process for coal in Illinois, saying that it takes two or three times longer to get mining permits than it does in some other states, such as Indiana.

Theres a lot of red tape that needs to be addressed. We all know were reliant on coal in the state of Illinois. Its imperative that we save those jobs until something else comes along, he said.

Fowler said he was not opposed to alternative energy sources.

When that switch comes along, when were able to switch to alternative energy sources, and replace these coal jobs that weve lost, well take a strong look at it, he said.

But stopping people from leaving Illinois is a matter of urgency, he said, and that starts with fighting for the coal industry.

Every time we lose a coal mine, every time we lose these thousands of jobs, people unfortunately are looking at leaving the state of Illinois. Ive talked to people all over the district, and its concerning, he said.
The 2016 presidential election is a month away, and a majority of Protestant pastors in one survey are undecided about which candidate will get their vote, according to one survey.

The revelation came from LifeWay Research, a Nashville, Tennessee-based organization that had telephone surveys conducted of 1,000 Protestant pastors from throughout the country, from August 22 to September 16.

Of the pastors responding, the largest percentage, 40 percent, said they are undecided about whom they plan to vote for on Nov. 8, according to the survey.

The next largest group, 32 percent, said they planned to vote for Republican candidate Donald Trump, while 19 percent said they planned to vote for the Democratic contendor, Hillary Clinton. (See the LifeWay Research survey results online at http://tinyurl.com/PPVote2016.)

In the years that LifeWay Research has conducted the surveys, this is the first time there does not appear to be a clearly decided presidential winner, according to the organizaton's executive director.

"It appears that theyre not finding a candidate that theyre comfortable with, and theyre kind of leaving it as long as possible," said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research.

The candidates are leaving the pastors to compromise for what they might have wanted with what they have to chose from among, he said.

"Pastors are used to teaching biblical principles, and its kind of black and white  'heres Gods way or youre not following Gods way'," McConnell said. "By definition, the American political structure is built on compromise ... Were not able to find everything we want in a single candidate not at any level."

To get a better understanding of the question, he said researchers asked pastors to choose from among seven characteristics those that were most important in their presidential choice: Personal character; Likely Supreme Court nominees; Protect religious freedoms; Position on abortion; Improve economy; Maintain national security; Position on immigration; and None of these; and Not Sure.

Those planning to vote for Donald Trump, he said, were concerned about the selection of Supreme Court nominees, abortion and protecting religious freedoms. Those planning to vote for Clinton were focused more on personal character and immigration, he said.

The vast majority of the LifeWay Research respondents identified as Republican; 22 percent as Independent; and 18 percent as Democrat.

Ninety-eight percent of those pastors surveyed said they had not endorsed a candidate during church service this year; one percent said they had endorsed a candidate during a service, while another one percent said they were not sure.

What impact might this have on the upcoming presidential election?

That's not clear.

A month before the 2012 presidential election, LifeWay Research released the findings from a similar survey. That one showed that 57 percent of the Protestant pastors polled planned to vote for the Republican candidate Mitt Romney; 17 percent planned to vote for the incumbent, President Barack Obama; and 22 percent were undecided.

Obama won re-election with 50 percent of the vote, to Romney's 48 percent, according to the Pew Research Center's "Religion and Public Life" report.

Obama was largely backed by what are considered "traditional Democratic groups"  black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, Jewish people and the religiously unaffiliated"  according to the Pew Research Center report. Romney received the votes of traditional Republicans: white evangelicals and weekly churchgoers.

Those that are non-profit, though, can jeopardize their non-profit status if they do endorse candidates from the pulpit.

Other faith-based non-profits were impacted. This summer, Reuters reported that the some Muslim groups were encouraging imams, leaders of mosques, to encourage Muslims to register to vote.

The same sort of government reserve that follows these non-profit organizations also extends to those representing other faith groups, such as CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"We haven't endorsed anybody as a candidate," said Corey Saylor, director of CAIR. "We're a nonprofit organization and can't do that. We do engage in nonpartisan voter registration and other efforts like that, however."

Since November 2015, at 300,000 Muslims have registered to vote, according to CAIR's website, Reuters reported.

A new study indicates that the country's Jewish population, including those who identify by religion and background  estimated to be a 7.1 million people  could figure as a significant swing votes in states where they are heavily concentrated: California, New York and Florida, according to the American Jewish Population Project report.

That report indicates that 54 percent of the Jewish population identify as Democratic, while 14 percent identify as Republican.
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.
CARBONDALE  The luster that came with the first year of the Super Splash Park in Carbondale has come and gone, but Park District officials are still considering the inaugural season of the pool a success despite falling short of projected revenues.

Carbondale Park District Executive Director Kathy Renfro said the pool served about 30,000 people after counting all admissions, private parties and events hosted.

I thought it went great, she said. We were pleased with who we engaged.

Although the numbers have not been fully vetted by the districts accountants, Renfro said the pool saw revenues of about $220,000. She said the park will see about a $20,000 profit from the first season, well below the anticipated $200,000 the district projected.

We didnt hit our revenue numbers, but we didnt lose money at the same time, Renfro said. As long as we stay in the black in our opening season, we will stay happy about that.

She pointed to the discounted admission charge for Carbondale and Jackson County residents. Since the Jackson County Board donated a gift of about $10,000 to the pool, the park district allowed anybody in the county to swim at the same rate as those who live in the district.

Looking to next season, Renfro said there will probably be a $1 increase on admissions.

Also, she said the district will be looking into more after-hour programming for the middle and high school students, which were popular during the spring and summer months.

We are looking for those big user groups to ramp up our revenue, which would allow us to keep our general admission rates lower, Renfro said.

She said the district will also be able to trim some of its staff now that it is a bit more familiar with the facility and what its needs are. Also, she said the district will be a bit more tempered with its revenue projections next year.

Harvey Welch, president of the park districts Board of Commissioners, said he was pleased with the first year of the pool. He said he was happy with the fact that the pool opened at all.

Construction on the splash park had a target date of finishing by May 2015. But, in March 2015, the district received a letter from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources telling them to stop incurring debt to the Parks and Recreational Facility Construction Grant Program, the $2.5 million grant the district had secured for the project.

In October 2015, the district received another letter from IDNR saying it could resume construction and that all eligible costs that were incurred before the March 9 suspension will be reimbursable to 75 percent of the grant amount.

The park district secured a line of credit in January to cover the unfunded cost of the project until refunded by the state. Renfro said that money is expected at any time.

The park district on Sept. 27 was presented with a national Blue Mind Award by Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, author of the book Blue Mind and the founder of the Blue Mind movement in Chicago.

The award was for the citys 40-year journey to build an outdoor public pool. The award recognizes efforts of an individual, group or organization to create positive change in their communities by exploring new ways of understanding and enhancing the relations between humans and healthy waterways, a news release from the park district said.

Welch said that it says a lot when thinking about Carbondale doing things together in a positive manner.

We overcame some of our differences and found a way to agree to disagree to benefit everybody, he said. I am hoping we will transition that feeling to other concerns.
AIKEN  Crews from Aiken Electric Cooperatives Aiken, Edgefield and North locations have been working to restore outages since early this morning.

Additionally, and crews from Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation and Kentucky's Blue Grass Energy are assisting to speed restoration. Approximately 8,900 Aiken Electric Cooperative members were without power at the height of the storm.

That number is down to approximately 3,000. The majority of outages were due to downed trees from Hurricane Matthews high winds. Additional resources are in our North District, as it was most severely impacted by the storm.

According to Gary Stooksbury, Aiken Electric Cooperatives CEO, restoration efforts are expected to be completed by this evening.
Thousands are without power in The T&D Region.

Orangeburg DPU -- 16,177 customers were without power at 12:45 p.m.

DPU spokesman Randy Etters said the timetable on return of power varies.

A 115KV line in the Belleville area could be restored within a couple of hours, which would return power to about 6,000.

Other parts of the outage are related to interruption of the SCE&G power feed to DPU. Etters said he did not know at midday how long restoration of the source would take.

Etters stressed that people should stay away from downed power lines.

Other outages locally as of 12:45 p.m.:

SCE&G

Orangeburg County, 9,468 outages

Bamberg County, 3,040

Calhoun County, 2,712 outages

SCE&G spokesman Eric Boomhower said the utility has 286,000 customers without power in the state. He could offer no prediction on a restoration timetable for individual customers and for the DPU wholesale power feed.

Electric cooperatives

Bamberg County, Edisto Electric Cooperative: 2,312. Aiken Electric hopes to have power restored by Saturday evening, according to its CEO

Calhoun County, 4,720 outages

Orangeburg County, 7,916 outages

Surprisingly high winds

Hurricane Matthew ripped through The T&D Region Friday night, downing trees and power lines with near-hurricane-force winds.

The National Weather Service reported a peak wind gust of 64 miles per hour at 9:45 a.m. Saturday at the Orangeburg Municipal Airport.

The wind gust was the highest recorded in the Midlands during the hurricane, NWS meteorological technician Doug Anderson said.

The airport saw maximum sustained wind speeds of about 35 mph to 39 mph recorded at about 5 a.m. Saturday.

Anderson said the wind speeds recorded in Orangeburg were the biggest surprise of the storm's impact on the state.

The Orangeburg Municipal Airport recorded 6.28 inches of rainfall from 7 a.m. Friday through about 11 a.m. Saturday.

Other reports had Santee at 9.7 inches, Holly Hill with 8.35 inches and North 4.5 inches.

Hurricane Matthew made landfall southeast of McClellanville. The storm made landfall between 11 a.m. -11:20 a.m.

The storm spent several days as a Category 3 hurricane before being downgraded to a Category 2 storm overnight and was further downgraded to a Category 1 storm at about 8 a.m.

The storm at 11 a.m. was 55 miles south-southwest of Myrtle Beach and was moving northeast at 12 mph.

Matthew was forecast to become a tropical storm by Saturday evening.

The wind and rain should calm down by 8 p.m.

SCDOT at work

The S.C. Department of Transportation reported that District 7 (Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon, Hampton and Orangeburg counties) crews were busy at midday removing downed trees from roadways in Aiken County.

"Once winds subside, crews will deploy to remove downed trees in Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties."

No road closures due to Hurricane Matthew were reported at midday.

Stay off roads

Hurricane Matthew has knocked down numerous trees around Orangeburg, blocking roads and snapping power lines.

Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Chief Mike Adams is warning people to stay of the roads and in their homes while the mess is cleared up.

In addition, the S.C. Department of Public Safety is reporting that trees are blocking Interstate 26 westbound at mile marker 152 and Interstate 95 southbound at the 98 mile marker.

T&D correspondent reports

Minnie Miller: South of Bamerg - Hunters Chapel community- lost power sometime before 4 a.m. Well over 6 inches of rain. Gauge overflowing. (Need to get a bigger gauge). Winds howled all night long. Gusts picking up as of 9. Small and medium-size limbs down. Gullies across dirt roads.

Ron Baxley Jr.: Evidence of Hurricane Matthew really started to show in the Barnwell area Friday evening around 11 p.m.

Torrential rains and high winds entered the area. Heavy rains and high temperatures plagued the area from 11 p.m. until around 10 a.m. Saturday, when the rain had turned into a drizzle. Over five inches of rain had accumulated in the southern area of Barnwell by 10 a.m. Saturday. Not much evidence of flooding on Marlboro Avenue could be seen.

High winds were strong enough to knock down century-old oak trees as well as scatter large limbs and branches from many trees in the area of Highway 278 headed toward Allendale.

Approximately 700 residents of Barnwell or more were without power starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, according to the South Carolina Electric and Gas outtage hotline. Most local businesses were without power as well.

Power was not restored in some areas until five hours later at noon on Saturday.

High winds

High winds continued to blow through Orangeburg County at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Trees were down from Woodford to Rowesville and elsewhere around the county, according to reports via text message and social media.

The Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities said 13,000 were without power.

Calhoun County

From David David Chojnacki, Emergency Manager, Calhoun County: As of 10:00 AM this morning we have received numerous reports of roads blocked due to trees and power lines. Please report any damage to the Emergency Operations Center at 803-874-3042.

At 8 a.m., Chojnacki reported: Numerous trees and power lines are down. Fire departments have been working through the night. Power is out in parts of St. Matthews. The EOC is currently on generator power. No EMS calls through the night.

More to come after 7 a.m.

Officials in Orangeburg and Bamberg counties were warning after 7 a.m. that Hurricane Matthew's worst impact was yet to come.

Orangeburg County Emergency Services Director Bill Staley said at 7 a.m. that the storm's impact was continuing:

"Due to the hazardous conditions, we are asking citizens to stay off the roads. Conditions will continue to worsen in the coming hours."

Holly Hill police posted on social media: "TOWN CLOSED ... Stay home! DO NOT come to Town. Almost every road is under water. Dangerous conditions exist. The worse is yet to come."

Bamberg County Sheriff Ed Darnell issue an order for people not to travel on state or county-maintained roads until emergency crews have cleared the roads.

Flash floods

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for The T&D Region until 9 a.m. Saturday after Doppler radar indicated heavy rain across the area.

Radar indicated 4 to 6 inches of rain had fallen across portions of Bamberg, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties. Additional rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches are possible.

Also, Orangeburg and Bamberg county authorities reported that several roads are flooded. Fallen trees are blocking roads.

A flood warning has been issued for the North Fork Edisto River at Orangeburg until Wednesday evening.

Heavy rains overnight associated with Hurricane Matthew have produced significant rises along the river.

At 6 a.m. Saturday, the river was at 6.5 feet, with the flood stage at 8 feet.

The river will rise above flood stage tomorrow evening and crest around 8.2 feet after midnight Tuesday morning, according to the NWS. The river will fall below flood stage Tuesday October 11.

The NWS warns never drive vehicles through flooded areas. The water may be too deep to allow safe passage. Never allow children to play in or near flood waters.

Hurricane brings damage

Hurricane Matthew was living up to its ugly billing early Saturday with reports from across the Lowcountry and elsewhere of major damage.

Flooding was reported from the Hilton Head area all the way beyond Charleston, with significant power outages. The storm was continuing to be felt strongly just before dawn, with significant wind and rain.

Interstate 95 was reportedly blocked in both directions between Charleston and Savannah, Georgia, from flooding and downed trees.

Heavy winds continued in The T&D Region, with power outages reported in North and some other locations.

The storm's impact was felt here during the night and was continuing before dawn.

We are awaiting preliminary reports from emergency officials and will update as we know more.

Keep in mind that a high-wind warning is in effect for The T&D Region. If you do not have to go out, don't try to do so.

High-wind alert

October 7, Friday, 8:30 p.m. from Orangeburg County Emergency Services Director Billy Staley:

Hurricane Matthew is a very dangerous storm! The National Weather Service has issued a High Wind Warning for Orangeburg County. This leads to the potential for sporadic power outages and downed trees. Please remember to always stay away from downed power lines and call the Emergency Operations Center to report this @ (803)533-6265.

In an effort to maintain responder safety, Orangeburg County may alter Emergency Response capabilities during the severe winds Friday night and Saturday. Person having an emergency situation should continue to contact 911in an emergency situation.

Code Red Alert

Calhoun County Emergency Management Friday evening issued a Code Red Alert to all county residents to seek shelter if they are in a structure that is susceptible to winds, according to David Chojnacki, emergency manager for Calhoun County.

The call instructed residents to call the Emergency Management office at 803-874-3042 or go directly to the shelter located at the Calhoun County High School located at 150 Saints Ave. in St. Matthews.

Calhoun County has 6 people in the shelter and expects another 24 soon.

Code Red is a reverse 911 alert system. All residents of South Carolina can register for emergency updates at www.scemd.org

Rain hits region

Rain was falling across The T&D Region Friday evening as Hurricane Matthew inched ever closer to the South Carolina coast.

The region is under a flash flood watch until 8 a.m. Sunday and a high-wind warning from 8 p.m. Friday night to 2 a.m. Sunday.

Winds are forecast to increase to 24 mph to 34 mph after midnight with gusts as high as 47 mph tonight.

On Saturday morning, winds will continue at 31 mph to 37 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.

Winds will decrease Saturday night.

At the Orangeburg airport through 6 p.m. Friday, about 0.28 inches of rain had fallen. A rain gauge about 4 miles north-west of Orangeburg reported about 0.8 inches of rainfall through this same time period.

The heaviest rainfall is expected to move in overnight into early Saturday afternoon.

When all is said and done, The T&D Region can expect to see between 5 inches to 12 inches of rainfall. Rainfall totals will be highest in the eastern part of the region.

Hurricane Matthew decreased to a Category 2 storm Friday evening packing, sustained winds of 110 miles per hour.
CAYCE  SCE&G crews began limited damage assessment and restoration work to restore power to customers in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

As of 2 p.m. Saturday, there were more than 280,000 outages across the companys service territory, mainly in the Lowcountry where high winds knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers. For up-to-date outage information and to report an outage visit www.sceg.com/storm.

SCE&G increased the number of off-system crew members from 250 before the storm to more than 1,000 by Saturday morning. The company also had more than 2,000 SCE&G employees assisting with storm restoration efforts. Aerial assessments and increased ground assessments are scheduled to begin Sunday morning.

With the storm clearing, customers will begin to see increased traffic of crews working to restore power throughout our service territory, said Keller Kissam, president of retail operations for SCE&G. With more than a third of our customers without power, it will be a while before we can provide estimated restoration times. We appreciate your patience and want you to know that we will be working around the clock until power has been restored to every last one of our customers.

Kissam also emphasized the importance of staying away from downed power lines. Storms can cause tree limbs and entire trees to break and fall, sometimes taking power lines and even meter boxes down with them. Always assume any downed power line you see is live and stay away. To report a downed line, call 1-888-333-4465.

SCE&G offers the following information for customers impacted by the storm:

 Report outages:

By text: Register for SCE&Gs text option online at www.sceg.com. Simply log in to your account and look for the "Activate Text Options under the "Account Options feature and then follow the instructions. Once you are registered, if you are experiencing an outage, simply text the word "OUT to 467234 (gosceg).

By phone: 1-888-333-4465.

By mobile device: Report and check the status of your power outage online from your internet-ready mobile device or phone by visiting www.sceg.com/mobile and clicking on Outages & Emergencies.

 Stay informed  Keeping customers safe and up-to-date with timely information is a top priority. Follow SCE&G on Twitter at @scegnews or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/scegnews for the latest storm-related information and safety tips.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND -- As Hurricane Matthew swirled toward South Carolina, officials up and down the coast warned the situation has turned worse.

The storm was expected to trace the states coastline Friday night into Saturday, bringing hurricane-force winds, torrential rains, dangerous storm surge and widespread power outages.

There is nothing safe about what is getting ready to happen Gov. Nikki Haley warned Friday as she made a last plea for those on the coast to evacuate and follow the lead of those who have already headed inland.

From Hilton Head Island to Myrtle Beach, residents braced for the storm whose center, according to National Hurricane Center projections, was expected to be just off Charleston Saturday morning as a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds. Beaufort County set a dusk-to-dawn curfew and Charleston imposed a curfew from midnight Friday through 6 a.m. Saturday.

Mayor John Tecklenburg reassured Charlestonians that after days of watching, Matthew will soon be past. He said Charleston has shown its resilience time and time again throughout its history and in the face of disaster and struggle, the city is at its best.

Its time for us to hunker down and ride out this storm, he said.

Haley said during a midday news conference that an estimated 310,000 people had fled from coastal areas but time was running out to leave.

This is the last time you will hear my voice when I am asking you to evacuate, she said.

Edgar Putnam was pretty sure he was going to ride out Hurricane Matthew in his boxy vacation home on the tip of St. Helena Island, fully aware of predictions that seawater pushed onshore by the storm should inundate the island.

There is something of a sense of adventure to it, Putnam said as he worked to make final preparations to his home and several boats. But Im still thinking and looking at things. You dont want to risk your life.

Several other people could be seen driving around the island Friday morning, which was the site of South Carolinas worst hurricane disaster. The Sea Islands storm of 1893 brought 125 mph winds and up to 14 feet of water. About 2,000 residents, mostly poor blacks, drowned.

The National Hurricane Center was predicting up to 6 feet of storm surge on parts of St. Helena Island, with almost no part of the island just east of Beaufort staying dry.

Putnam said his neighbor told him he can ride out the storm in his home, which is elevated on stilts about 8 feet above the ground.

My main worry is getting back, said Putnam, a real estate appraiser in Columbia. In Hugo, it was more than a week before we could return and that created a lot of problems.

Leigh Webber was out Friday morning under gray skies in a steady breeze walking along the Charleston Battery seawall.

She pays a lot of attention to reports on hurricanes - Facebook, the Weather Channel, Mikes Weather Page on the internet - and says she watched Matthew closely. And while she was a bit worried, she was not worried enough to leave.

Three out of four made me feel OK but then theres always one panic-stricken comment, you know, that made me feel like maybe we should leave, the 41-year-old photographer said.

She plans to ride out the storm with her husband and son.

She lives in an area of the city thats not too prone to flooding but added shes a little worried as it floods even when it doesnt rain here, just from the high tide.

Charlestons historic district was eerily quiet Friday with stores and homes boarded up.

Its been interesting enjoying Charleston when its been so empty the past few days, she said.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
By Trend





Azerbaijans Energy Minister Natig Aliyev will take part in an informal meeting of the OPEC member states and non-members of the organization within the framework of 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul, Azerbaijans Energy Ministry told Trend on October 7.

The OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo sent the invitation to Azerbaijans energy minister to participate in the meeting.

The meeting will take place in an informal format with the aim of holding consultations regarding the oil production freeze among energy ministers of Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Gabon, UAE, Venezuela and Russia, as well as Brazil, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Mexico and Oman, the ministry said. The meeting will take place October 12.

The 23rd World Energy Congress will be held in Istanbul October 9-13.
Abdul Latif Jameel Land (ALJ Land), one of Saudi Arabias leading property developers, said it aims to invest about SR7.5 billion ($1.9 billion) in various development projects across Saudi Arabia by 2022, including SR2 billion ($532 million) this year.

In line with this, ALJ Land said it will develop fully integrated Toyota sales and service facilities in Makkah, Hofuf, Yanbu and Hail at an investment of SR200 million ($53.2 million).



The new customer-centric facilities will feature dedicated areas for showrooms, along with after-sales service and maintenance centres, according to ALJ Land.



These facilities will be fully operational by the end of 2017, it stated.



Ammar Izziddin, the managing director of Tatweer Jameel, an ALJ Land subsidiary and the development managers of the four new locations, said: "We are proud to be undertaking the development of these projects that will bring best-in-class sales and service facilities and further enhance the Toyota ownership experience in Saudi Arabia."



"By utilising the companys pool of expertise in construction and development, and by leveraging our longstanding relationships with leading contractors and blue-chip consultancy bureaus in the industry, we are confident that these projects will be executed to the best quality standards," noted Izziddin.

This investment reaffirms the companys readiness to support Saudi Arabias national agenda for economic diversification, as outlined in the Vision 2030 plan, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
A delegation representing the different departments from the Higher Corporation for Specialized Economic Zones (ZonesCorp) recently visited the headquarters of Abu Dhabis Al Masaood Group as part of its comprehensive programme of visits to its investors.



The delegation was headed by Saeed Eisa Mohammed Al Khyeli, director general of ZonesCorp, and was received by Abdulla Al Masaood, Chairman of Al Masaood Group, alongside a number of other senior Al Masaood Group officials, said a statement from ZonesCrop.



The visit comes as part of the "Tawasol programme, which ZonesCorp adopted in 2015 as a way to improve customer satisfaction and help boost investor performance, it said.



This initiative is part of an enhancement programme designed to help ZonesCorp identify and prioritise investors needs and address any issues. More widely, the initiative will also help ZonesCorp to assess direct and indirect factors affecting investment in the industrial sector in Abu Dhabi and present effective long term solutions, it added.



The visit served to strengthen bilateral relations between the two organisations and discuss potential investment and enhancement opportunities. The visit comes as part of a rolling programme of visits to factories to meet with investors across its acreage that was started in 2015, said a statement.



During the visits the ZonesCorp team examines investors working environment, trade and operational performance and relationships with government agencies. The programme has been a great success so far as it gives investors a forum to discuss their ambitions and highlight any issues in an open and transparent manner, it said.



Al Khyeli said: The Tawasol initiative is an essential part of the service we provide to our investors. Our aim is to build a world class industrial sector in Abu Dhabi and as part of this we need to help our investors achieve their full potential.



The scheme is designed to enhance communication between all parties, particularly government agencies, and the data gathered as part of this initiative will enable us to present our investors with viable ways of enhancing their businesses, he said.



Currently we are in in progress of signing the cooperation agreements that reflect the leading role that ZonesCorp plays in the construction and development of the industrial sector in Abu Dhabi and the region, he added.



Al Masaood said: ZonesCorp continues to contribute and support the economic wheel of Abu Dhabi through innovative initiatives and programs as well as up-to-date legislation which helps attracts investors and businessmen to Abu Dhabi from around the world.  TradeArabia News Service


Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), Dubai and the UAEs flagship trade and logistics hub for the wider Middle East region comprising West Asia, the CIS, Africa and the Indian Subcontinent, recently organised a roadshow in Seattle, USA attended by over 40 businesses.



A seminar was held as part of the roadshow at Seattle which was attended by over 40 businesses. The event was supported by the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce and Trade Development Alliance Greater Seattle, the US-USE Business Council, The Embassy of USA in Washington DC and the UAE Consulate in Los Angeles.



Over the years, Jafza has been the preferred destination of US companies for their expansion in the region and has developed close business relations with US organisations, said Ibrahim Al Janahi, the deputy chief executive and chief commercial officer at Jafza, who led the delegation.



Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the group chairman and chief executive of DP World and chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Faisal Jassim, the sales manager of Jafza and Mania Merrikhi, head of communications were also part of the Jafza delegation.



The UAE is the largest trading partner of the US in the Middle East reflecting the strong economic relationships between the two nations.



At the seminar, Jafza introduced Dubai as the industrial and manufacturing hub of the region, highlighting the emirates industrial strategy and the incentives on offer at Jafza to manufacturing companies.



The UAE free zone also signed a MoU with the Trade Development Alliance Greater Seattle to encourage trade relations between the two cities and organisations in the presence of the Abdulla Alsaboosi, Consul General of the UAE in Los Angeles and Saud Al Nowais, Commercial Counselor, Embassy of the UAE in Washington.



The Jafza delegation later met John Stokes, Mayor of Bellevue City and discussed ways to enhance and strengthen trade relations between the two developing cities.



During the meeting, Al Janahi highlighted the Dubai 2021 plan to develop as a city of innovation and creativity.



"Dubais state-of-the-art infrastructure and integrated business community caters to trade and logistics in the entire Middle Eastern region. Jafza is a prominent logistical and manufacturing hub attracting multinationals from around the world, including the US," he noted.



The US has been one of our leading partners with some of its most reputed companies based in Jafza. Through this roadshow, we promoted free trade and investment between the two nations," he added.



Over 400 US companies are based in Jafza, including some of the Fortune 500 companies from a range of sectors such as General Motors, HP, Dow Chemicals, Ford, General Electric, Caterpillar, FedEx, Schlumberger, P&G and Johnson & Johnson.



Mayor Stokes commended the efforts of Dubais leadership in enabling the commercial and economic development of the Emirate in a short timescale.



Al Janahi extended an invitation to the Mayor to visit Dubai and Jafza to further understand the pivotal role of the emirate as the business hub of the region.



Bin Sulayem said: "Jafza-US trade has grown at the rate of 37 per cent over the past five years. The US ranks in the top five in trade with Jafza and sixth in terms of the number of companies employing more than 10,000 people."



According to figures released by the Statistics Center of the U.S. Department of Commerce, trade between the UAE and the US during the first half of this year reached $12.84 billion, compared with $11.9 billion over the same period in 2015. US trade with the UAE stood at about 33.5 per cent of the total trade with GCC nations.



Jafza aims to attract companies that add value to the local economy and the region while increasing their revenues through the re-export of their products to various regional markets, said Bin Sulayem.-TradeArabia News Service
Hurricane Matthew charged up the Florida coast on Friday, punishing the coast with wind gusts up to 100 mph and a surge of ocean waters that engulfed normally dry land.

But the storms center remained far enough offshore to avoid even stronger winds and a worst-case scenario, according to www.washingtonpost.com

The massive storm will batter coastal Georgia and South Carolina into the weekend with a dangerous storm surge, damaging winds gusts and flooding rain. If the latest computer model projections are correct, coastal South Carolina could endure a direct hit.

President Obama warned coastal residents not to let their guards down, especially given the storm surge threat. Remember Sandy, Obama said, when people thought it wasnt as bad as we thought and suddenly we got a massive storm surge.

Even as far north as Edisto Beach, South Carolina, 200 miles from the storm center  the surge was causing coastal flooding.

Although Matthew had weakened some since Thursday, its maximum sustained winds were still 115 mph Friday afternoon, making it a powerful Category 3 hurricane.

As Matthews western eyewall grazed Cape Canaveral early Friday, it briefly experienced wind gusts over 100 mph, which ripped off roofs and downed trees.

Locations near Daytona Beach experienced several gusts in the range of 70 mph Friday morning as the eyewall drew perilously close. One unofficial observing site gusted to 91 mph between 11 a.m. and noon.

The National Hurricane Center said a private weather station logged an 83 mph gust in New Smyrna Beach Friday morning.

Over one million Florida homes were reported without power Friday afternoon.

Cities north of Jacksonville, and into Savannah, Ga., are forecast to experience strong winds between Friday afternoon and early Saturday. In South Carolina, the most intense winds are likely early Saturday.
More than 400 start-ups from 60 countries and over 1,000 entrepreneurs will gather in Dubai, UAE next week to sell and learn in worlds most global start-up showcase at the Gitex Technology Week, a major technology exchange and marketplace.



Gitex has created the Gitex Global Start-up Movement - although only in its first year of inception it is already the largest start-up event in the wider region.



While the UAE will be represented with 85 start-ups, 79 per cent of start-ups will hail from the rest of the world.



Over 200 investors and influential tech investment executives from Silicon Valley, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including SoftBank Group International, 500 Start-ups, Accel Partners, Golden Gate Ventures, Middle East Venture Partners amongst others will arrive in Dubai to explore, discover, evaluate and potentially fund some of the most promising start-ups with a particular eye on regional talent. The illustrious funding ventures of these investors include global giants Facebook, Dropbox and Spotify among others.



Through Gitex we want to create the life-changing opportunity for start-ups to meet face-to-face with legendary investors and accelerator firms, be it for funding support or advisory guidance that shall help them breakthrough in their ventures, said Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice president, Dubai World Trade Centre, organisers of Gitex Technology Week 2016 running from October 16 to 20.



There is great aspiration and ambition amongst these young creative Arab minds to change the world with their imagination. By bringing them closer to their fellow start-up peers from other countries, some of which are successful references, this valuable sharing experience built through mutual respect and admiration shall inspire their growth and infuse their innovation. Gitex is privileged to be an enabler to create these life-changing opportunities in their entrepreneurship journeys, she added.



The UAEs support for entrepreneurs is the top in the Mena region, and 19th in the world. Each new start-up can increase GDP by $1.2 million, according to the US-based economic policy think tank the Pacific Research Institute.



AstroLabs Dubai is the only Google-partnered Tech Hub in the Mena region and Muhammed Meki, co-founder of AstroLabs will also be one of the judges for the Strut-Up Pitch competition. Muhammed will be sharing his experiences as a successful entrepreneur through mentorship sessions at the Gitex Global Start-up Movement.



The Gitex Global Start-up Movement is unprecedented in its focus on attracting start-ups from around the world to Dubai, an ideal hub for them to reach emerging markets from Africa to Asia. As an enabler of the regional start-up ecosystem, AstroLabs is partnering with Gitex to support these entrepreneurs on their growth journey and we look forward to meeting them during the event," said Zaen Hamid, head of Operations, AstroLabs.



Fourteen government-led start-up delegations will attend the Gitex Global Start-up Movement, including the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and United States. Egypt, Hungary, Japan, Morocco, and Oman will bring start-up delegations to the GCC for the first time.



In the dramatic Gitex Strut-Up Pitch Competition, start-ups will go head-to-head to take home $160,000 in prize money across categories including Best Gitex Start-up, Best Arab-Led Start-up, the Best Women-Led Start-up and the Best Youth Start Up.



Inspiring and empowering entrepreneurs, the Out-Talk Conference will host keynotes from start-up experts such as media mogul Troy Carter, who catapulted pop icon Lady Gaga and John Legend to global fame, now Global Head of Creator Services for digital music service Spotify; Evan Burfield, Co-Founder of start-up incubator and seed fund 1776; and venture investor Christopher Schroeder who recently wrote Start-up Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East.



The largest-ever Gitex Technology Week is primed to drive the worlds smart digital transformation, support young entrepreneurs, and enhance Dubai and the UAEs standing as one of the foremost capitals of innovation.



Across its largest-ever space of over one million square feet, organisers of Gitex expect over 100,000 visitors from 150 countries. Held under the theme Re-Imagining Realities, Gitex will host 4,000 exhibiting companies and showcase 230 speakers, provide visitors with 130 conference hours.  TradeArabia News Service
The United Nations has warned that it could take days for the full impact of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti to emerge, as the death toll soars to more than 800, said a report.



The death toll has doubled, and may rise, as rescue teams gain access to southern areas cut off by the storm, according to www.bbc.com.

The World Food Programme's Carlos Veloso says some of the hard-hit towns can only be reached by air or sea.



Many of the deaths in Haiti were in the south-western coast, which suffered the full force of the hurricane this week.



Hurricane Matthew is currently battering the coastline of the US state of Florida but has been downgraded to a Category Two storm, with sustained wind speed dropping to 177km/h.



Category Five is the strongest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity.



Rescue efforts are under way to assess the destruction left in the wake of the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade.



Haiti's Civil Protection Agency on Friday doubled the death toll from the hurricane from 400 to more than 800.



Three other towns in the south are reporting dozens of fatalities, according to Reuters news agency. The mayor of the village of Chantal told the news agency that 86 people had died and 20 more were missing.



Civil Protection Agency official Saint-Victor Jeune said his team had found another 82 bodies in the mountainous outskirts of Jeremie. But they were unable to register these with the Haitian authorities because of poor communications, he said speaking to Associated Press news agency.



The storm passed directly through the Tiburon peninsula - encompassing Haiti's entire southern coast - driving the sea inland and flattening homes with winds of up to 230km/h and torrential rain.



Government and UN officials estimate that some 350,000 people are in need of assistance.



Non-governmental organisations say communication with the areas worst affected has been hampered by lack of phone coverage and downed power lines.



The US is sending its USS Mesa Verde navy ship to assist with rescue efforts, as well as nine military helicopters to help deliver food and water to the hardest-hit areas.



The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal for $6.9 million "to provide medical, shelter, water and sanitation assistance to 50,000 people".



This comes amid concerns about a surge in cholera cases, with the sanitation system in Haiti already overwhelmed.



Haiti - one of the world's poorest countries - has never fully recovered from the earthquake that killed thousands of people in 2010 and a cholera epidemic that followed.


Abdul Latif Jameel Land (ALJ Land), one of Saudi Arabias leading property developers, has announced plans to develop fully integrated Toyota sales and service facilities in Makkah, Hofuf, Yanbu and Hail areas of the kingdom at an investment of SR200 million ($53.2 million).



The new customer-centric facilities will feature dedicated areas for showrooms, along with aftersales service and maintenance centres, according to ALJ Land.



These facilities will be fully operational by the end of 2017, it stated.



These projects come as part of Abdul Latif Jameels recently announced planned domestic investment of SR7.5 billion ($1.9 billion) by 2022, including SR2 billion ($532 million) this year, said the company in a statement.



This also reaffirms the companys readiness to support Saudi Arabias national agenda for economic diversification, as outlined in the Vision 2030 plan, it stated.



Ammar Izziddin, the managing director of Tatweer Jameel, an ALJ Land subsidiary and the development managers of the four new locations, said: "We are proud to be undertaking the development of these projects that will bring best-in-class sales and service facilities and further enhance the Toyota ownership experience in Saudi Arabia."



"By utilizing the companys pool of expertise in construction and development, and by leveraging our longstanding relationships with leading contractors and blue chip consultancy bureaus in the industry, we are confident that these projects will be executed to the best quality standards," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Updated: 2016-10-08 09:27

(Xinhua)

The city's traditional tourist destinations, such as historical sites and parks, saw fewer visitors.[Photo/Xinhua]

Beijing welcomed around 11.2 million tourists during the week-long National Day holiday, down 2.8 percent from the same period last year, the local tourism authority said Friday.

Despite the decline in arrivals, the Chinese capital rang up 8.4 billion yuan ($1.27 billion) in tourism income during the holiday, known as "Golden Week," up 1.1 percent year-on-year, according to Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development.

Among the trips, 2.76 million were made by domestic visitors, down 1.1 percent from last year's National Day holiday. Their per capita spending, however, averaged 2,485 yuan, up 3.2 percent year-on-year.

The city's traditional tourist destinations, such as historical sites and parks, saw fewer visitors, while suburban trips totalled more than 4.3 million, up 9.3 percent year-on-year.

Nationwide, around 478.18 billion yuan in tourism income was posted for 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. The country's major tourist destinations are expected to have received 589 million visitors during the holiday, up 12 percent from last year, said the survey.
Kalyan Jewellers, one of the largest jewellery manufacturers and distributors in India, has announced the opening of its 12th showroom in the UAE at Karama Center in Dubai.



Brand ambassadors and south Indian film stars Nagarjuna, Prabhu Ganesan and Manju Warrier jointly inaugurated the 103rd Kalyan Jewellers showroom in the presence of a massive crowd that had gathered outside the showroom to catch a glimpse of the stars.



Warrier, who looked resplendent, greeted the crowds saying: "I am extremely happy to be back here in Dubai. Thank you for all the love and encouragement. I hope you continue to support Kalyan Jewellers like the way you always have."



Ganesan said, "It is indeed an honour to come back here in Dubai for the 103rd showroom launch. It is the trust earned of millions of people across the world that has made this incredible journey possible."



Nagarjuna said Dubai had always been so welcoming and "I feel privileged to be coming back here with the Kalyan family for this launch."



After a brief appearance, the stars were taken inside the showroom for a special preview of the new collections.



The new showroom features an exhaustive and exquisite collection of gold, diamond and studded jewellery including Kalyans popular jewellery collections such as Glo- Dancing Diamonds, Ameera  Arabic Wedding Collection, Apoorva - Diamonds For Special Occasion, Mudhra- Handcrafted Antique Jewellery, Rang  Precious Stones, Nimah- Timeless Heritage Jewellery, Anokhi-Uncut Diamonds, Tejaswi- Polki Diamonds and Laya- Diamonds For All Expressions.



As part of the launch celebrations, Kalyan Jewellers have launched a free gold coin offer, where customers will get one free gold coin on purchase of gold jewellery worth Dh2,000 and two free gold coins on purchase of diamond jewellery worth Dh2,000.



The offer, valid till November 30, is open for all the 12 Kalyan Jewellers showrooms in the UAE.



Addressing the gathering, T S Kalyanaraman, the chairman and managing director of Kalyan Jewellers, said: "We are completely overwhelmed by the response at the Karama Center showroom. Kalyan Jewellers has emerged as the preferred jewellery brand in the UAE with a loyal base of over 100,000 customers."



"Since our foray into the UAE in 2013 we have expanded our operations significantly to tap into the markets potential. This new showroom will enable customers to shop within their locality and our plan is to add 3 more showrooms in the UAE in this financial year," he stated.



This is the first time that a jewellery brand is opening 2 showrooms in two countries on the same day. Following the launch in the UAE, the stars opened a new showroom in Kuwait.-TradeArabia News Service
On July 29, two Spokane, Washington, mountaineers departed after work to drive 670 miles overnight to Pinedale, where they left their car and boarded a shuttle vehicle for more than two hours to a trailhead near Lander.

After a brief rest, they set out on a 16-mile acclimation hike from elevation 8,800 feet to nearly 11,000 before racing a thunderstorm back to camp.

That was just the warm-up.

The hard part started when Shuwen Wang and Tyler Nyman donned packs with food for nine days and set out on an unsupported and largely above-timberline traverse of the Wind River Range.

Nyman had planned the trip after months of poring over maps, guidebooks and Google Earth before settling on an eight- to 10-day, south-to-north traverse from Worthen Meadows to the Green River Lakes.

Others had expressed interest, but in the end, after the hikers pondered what the trip involved, just the two of them committed to the wilderness.

After hiking about 100 miles, the loop would be completed by hitchhiking back to Pinedale.

The Wind River Range, which extends for 100 miles in western Wyoming south of Jackson and the Grand Tetons, attracts scores of hikers, climbers and equestrians even in the midsummer bug season that can rival Alaska.

The range is only about 25 miles wide, but the mountainous alpine core of The Winds requires a hike of about 8 miles from any direction. Backpackers in the interior are beyond most dayhikers. Solitude can be found.

The crest of the Winds runs along the Continental Divide, where adventurers will find more than 40 named peaks higher than 13,000 feet, including 13,804-foot Gannett Peak, the highest point in Wyoming.

Neither Wang nor Nyman toted a fishing rod, and its probably a good thing for a group with a strict itinerary. The Winds are sprinkled with more than 1,300 named lakes  many holding trout  and perhaps another thousand unnamed waters.

You dont have to carry much water, Wang said. Its everywhere.

The 2.25-million-acre range forms a triple divide for three major western watersheds: the Columbia River, the Colorado River and the Missouri. The combination of jagged granite, seven glaciers, alpine forest and open meadows is headwaters for the Green River.

The Winds are the most popular section of the 426,484-acre Bridger Wilderness, which is bordered by the Fitzpatrick Wilderness to the northeast and the Popo Agie Wilderness and Wind River Indian Reservation to the southeast.

Although some 600 miles of trails lace the Winds, Nyman, a volunteer firefighter who works at Haakon Industries in Cheney, had planned a traverse that often headed cross-country through gnarly passes.

About 25 percent of their 100-mile trek was off-trail. Ellingwood Pass, between Elephant Head and Harrower Peaks, involved hopping over talus for 5 miles.

Theyd purchased new ultralight packs and gear this year, all field-tested on several previous treks to get their system down and their bodies hardened.

They dried their food at home, planned it carefully and packaged it as minimally as possible.

But even with 35-pound packs at the outset, scrambling up over granite talus at average altitudes of 10,000 feet or more took its toll.

It was the hardest hike Ive ever done, said Wang, a pharmacy professor at Washington State University-Spokane. I finished some days happy but totally exhausted.

The attractions kept them both going.

On the first day in, they met 20 Boy Scouts from Texas but climbed away from the group after a 14-mile hike that left them feeling the altitude.

We were glad we made it to a camping spot (near Sanford Park) early, about 3:30, because hikers started coming by looking for a spot to pitch their tents, Nyman said.

The next day, they hiked trail, rock and tundra to the Cirque of the Towers, one of the most popular areas in the Winds. The 270-degree ring of peaks and vertical-walled ridges contains several glaciers and encloses a large lake in a rocky basin, headwaters of the North Popo Agie River.

The scenery was stunning, Wang said.

In the middle of the cirque, on the north side of Lonesome Lake, they found a track going uphill toward 11,400-foot Texas Pass.

They traipsed through fields of wildflowers, climbed along a cascading brook below Pingora, a prominent steep-walled spire in the Cirque.

Near the pass, they kicked steps into snow and donned jackets from their packs as they forged into a suddenly bitter wind and down a steep scree slope.

That was a taste of what was to come, Wang said.

But all was well in their camp at Shadow Lake, where the back of the Cirque of the Towers made an impressive backdrop.

After that, we started to lose track of the number of lakes and peaks we passed, Wang said.

Nyman described the Desolation Valley they entered the next day as being surrounded by a range of skyscraping peaks with a string of alpine lakes.

They reveled in the remoteness of the core, and we passed few people when we were on Continental Divide Trail, he said.

Food was a big part of each day for keeping energy high and boosting their mood.

We substituted chocolate-covered coffee beans for real coffee to save stove fuel and increase calories, Wang said, indicating that decision might be reviewed before the next trip. We figured 15 coffee beans equaled one cup of coffee.

One tough stretch of the trek was negotiating the pass and seemingly endless expanse of talus between Raid and Bonneville peaks. The scramble was followed by mixed terrain and Class 4 downclimbing that was time-consuming and dangerous.

Toward the bottom we encountered thickets of willow and krummholz that proved challenging to maneuver around, Nyman said, noting they were glad to finally make camp at Lower Bonneville Lake, where water in puddles froze that night.

Heading up to Sheila Lake the next day, they continued up another difficult 11,450-foot pass between Nylon and Sentry Peaks.

We gazed in disbelief, Nyman said, and then the climb up the pass was longer and steeper than it looked. The talus was big and loose, so we decided to take our time and be safe.

Still, one boulder shifted under Nymans weight and slid down the slope.

Shuwen was very careful not to follow too close behind me, he said, admitting that the incident rattled him.

On a few of the routes we chose, we got halfway through and Id say, This was a bad decision, and then wed continue, Wang said.

After working through some navigation challenges, they camped at Halls Lake.

The lake was crystal clear and rimmed on one side by a barren rocky ridge, Nyman said. We had not seen another person the entire day.

The next day presented more navigation issues.

We were lost for about half of the day, Nyman said.

Even though they were using trails, they were not well-marked. What they thought was a main trail faded away as they entered more trees that blocked views of landmarks.

A session of old-fashioned map reading and exploring finally put them onto the Fremont Trail, over Hat Pass and to a campsite at Timico Lake.

Certain lakes among the hundreds they passed stood out. Some lakes had waterfalls or were filled by inlets over natural waterslides.

Upper Cook Lake seemed incredible to us the way the water was cradled by the mountains, Nyman said as he described the next day of hiking. The water from the lake tasted so good, we renamed it Delicious Lake. 

As they hiked into view of ragged peaks in the north end of the range, they waltzed along sidewalks of granite slabs at Wall Lake. Life was good.

Day 7 should have been equally spectacular as they headed into the scenic Titcomb Basin, but Wang remembers it as the day from hell as they struggled through a relentless barrage of storms.

I felt like we were going to die, she said.

There was really no safe place to go, Nyman said. The thunder was deafening. The hail was hitting us like bullets.

They fought off hypothermia and worried about lightning as they hiked, hunkered, hiked over treacherous hail-coated rock, hunkered in a cave again, and hiked.

As winds slammed their tent that night, they decided to abandoned their layover day at Indian Basin and the planned scramble to the top of Fremont Peak, the second tallest in The Winds.

They bailed out on Day 8, a day early, following the route along Island Lake, perhaps the most popular trail in the range.

Pack strings of horses and llamas were often accompanied by 10 or more people, Nyman said. Hikers had gear spread out on rocks to dry.

Hitching back to Pinedale was easy, and we soon were headed back to Spokane, Wang said. After being in the Winds, the Grand Tetons werent all that impressive as we drove home.
Three days after a burning wood-chip pile at Caspers landfill ignited a wildfire that destroyed 14 homes, the citys fire chief asked one of his inspectors to eliminate bad parts of video evidence being sought by state authorities.

Chief Kenneth King made the request via email as the Cole Creek Fire continued to burn in rural Evansville. The fire had escaped the landfill property about 20 hours after city firefighters responded to the blaze. Before it was extinguished, the wildfire charred about 10,000 acres and killed livestock and pets.

Could you cut out the bad parts, and make sure that no copies are made and only DCI views? King wrote in an Oct. 14 email to Devin Garvin, a city fire inspector tasked with collecting evidence related to the fire and sharing it with state authorities.

In an interview, King said he sent the email as a joke to someone he considers a friend, and he admits now that it was in poor taste. The Star-Tribune attempted to corroborate Kings explanation, but Garvin declined to speak with a reporter. He referred questions to city attorney Bill Luben, who declined to participate in an interview.

The email was one of more than 1,000 turned over to the Star-Tribune as part of public records requests made this spring and summer. The documents, combined with hours of interviews, give the clearest picture yet of how firefighters responded to the fire at the landfill, which began one year ago Monday. They also suggest city officials may have been concerned the fire would spark legal action and took steps to limit discussion and review of what had taken place. There was reason for officials to be worried -- the city now faces more than $1.7 million in claims related to the fire.

The emails show firefighters reacted quickly to the Oct. 10 fire but that most left the landfill within hours, even as the piles continued to burn. Fire officials sought to contain rather than extinguish the blaze, leaving a two-man crew to tend to the fire overnight. More units were called in when winds picked up the next day, but they were unable to confine the blaze to the landfill.

A state investigation later found the fire began in a machine used to grind wood from the landfills brush pile. Workers had earlier that day tried to extinguish the smoldering debris and believed theyd succeeded. Instead, the debris ignited piles of wood chips.

The investigation focused on the fires origins but did not draw conclusions as to whether negligence by city workers caused or contributed to the Cole Creek Fire. That question will likely be answered through litigation.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze six days after the wood chips ignited. In the weeks after the fire, a directive circulated within city government encouraging officials, including King, to stop using email to discuss the fire. Such correspondence could be obtained via public records laws.

And the fire departments administration did not hold a debriefing, what officials call an after-action review, on the fire based on the advice from a city attorney, fire officials say. Informal conversations related to the fire may have taken place, officials said, but they declined to say what, if anything, they learned from the experience.

Im not at liberty to share that, King told the Star-Tribune.

The bad parts

When King emailed Garvin to remove the bad parts from the landfill footage on Oct. 14, crews were still working to extinguish the fire. By then, the fire had temporarily displaced about 1,000 people living in a rural community east of Casper. Fourteen families lost their homes. Others lost livestock fences, workshops and equipment.

Investigators had already begun studying what caused the fire. Two days before King sent the email, on Oct. 12, authorities announced the State Fire Marshals office would lead the investigation.

Garvin, the emails show, was responsible for helping collect evidence. He served as a liaison of sorts between the fire department and state investigators, working with both the fire marshals office and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.

Garvin collected video footage shot by firefighters, as well as their written narratives. He also served as the citys point of contact for private fire investigators, helping them gather information.

In his interview with the Star-Tribune, King said he wanted to keep the investigation as independent as possible. Garvin, he explained, would provide whatever information investigators sought.

He worked side by side with them and then documented all his communications, King said. But he said he was trying to remain without an opinion.

At 10:58 a.m. on Oct. 14, Garvin emailed Daniel Griswold, division chief of operations for the fire department. Six other fire officials, including King, were included on the message.

The email was formal -- Garvin addressed Griswold as chief -- and to the point.

Could you please make a hard copy of the video footage from the F1 rig for CFD Incident #15-0009867 for DCI and the State Fire Inspector? This was for the fire at 1886 N Station Rd., the Landfill, he wrote. If you have any questions, please let me know.

The video Garvin was requesting came from a truck used by the battalion chief, who that night was Jerod Levin.

The emails do not show whether Griswold responded -- but King wrote back five minutes later. He emailed Garvin but not the other officials included in the original email, a copy of the message shows.

Could you cut out the bad parts, and make sure that no copies are made and only DCI views? King wrote.

King maintains the email was a joke, rather than as an actual instruction. He described the email as an attempt at sarcastic humor with someone he considers a friend. Still, he was speaking to a subordinate, and one responsible for handling evidence.

I dont look at him as the lowest one, I look at him as a friend, King told the Star-Tribune. There was no thinking, you know what I mean. If I said anything, it would be making it up. There was just not enough thought into that email.

King said he later made sure that Garvin understood he was joking.

It was a joke and it was a bad joke, King said. And it was just between me and Devin to try to make light. I just got done telling him where some evidence was and then I just answered him. There was no thinking.

The Star-Tribune attempted to speak with Garvin to verify Kings comments. Garvin declined to be interviewed and referred questions to Luben, the city attorney.

Luben declined to be interviewed for this story, citing attorney-client privilege. When asked to clarify, he indicated both Garvin and King were his clients. He did not elaborate.

20 hours

Crews began responding to reports of fire at the landfill shortly before 6 p.m. on Oct. 10. It spilled over -- the term firefighters used to describe it escaping -- at about 2 p.m. the following day. The emails, along with interviews with fire officials and experts, offered a richer description of the 20 hours in between than whats previously been made public.

Two fire engines -- each staffed with three people -- responded first, along with two brush trucks. The landfill was closed and locked for the night when Engine One, led by Captain Matthew Trott, arrived first.

Trotts crew found a box where extra keys were stored, but they didnt work. They used bolt cutters to enter and found two piles burning, or what firefighters call fully involved. The grinder -- a large machine used to crush branches into wood chips -- was also on fire.

Engine Three arrived soon after. Mike Magee, an engineer on that truck, described what he saw in a narrative later submitted to investigators:

Initially, I had observed a slash pile and a chip pile that was burning and it looked like it was well contained within the chip yard. Near the fire, was a piece of heavy equipment (later identified as a grinder  there were rows of chipped wood piles to the east of the main fire and there were sporadic spot fires burning on top of the chip rows.

Firefighters began to develop a plan. Wood chip fires burn hotter than normal, Griswold said, requiring a different approach than, say, a house fire.

We cant generate enough water to put this thing out, OK, he said. So we limit exposure. We limit the fuel by removing the unburned stuff that we can. And then, ideally, yeah, it burns down to a point where maybe you can spread it out.

Firefighters worked with landfill employees to move equipment away from the piles. The landfill workers also separated the unburned chips to deny the fire more fuel, their narratives to investigators show.

At about 8 p.m., Engine One left to handle other calls. The piles were still fully involved, according to Trotts narrative.

The landfill is home to various pieces of heavy equipment, including a grader. At some point, fire officials considered making fire lines on the prairie beyond the landfill. One person -- apparently a landfill worker -- also brought up the possibility of using the Solid Waste Divisions own equipment to form a fire break. But concern over the risk of performing such an operation in the dark was too great, Griswold said.

The risk benefit to that is OK, you are asking non-fire-heavy equipment operators to dig a line out in the prairie at night  downwind of a significant fire with underground gas lines, he said. Its a judgment call.

Griswold said he kept King updated on the first nights progress. King said he didnt provide feedback other than to stress the safety of the firefighters.

Well, I said, Lets not get anyone killed, I think. Lets not get anyone killed. Thats my thing. Just injuries to firefighters. Thats what goes through my mind, he said.

Around midnight, firefighters left a two-man crew to monitor the pile until morning. They used a deck gun to spray water on the fire and monitored for spot fires, according to the narrative later provided by Levin, the highest-ranking firefighter on the scene the first night.

The two-man crew remained at the fire until 7 a.m., with one of the firefighters later estimating they sprayed 200,000 to 250,000 gallons on the still-burning piles.

Griswold said an overnight crew of two people was appropriate, given the circumstances. When pressed about bringing in more crews to put more water on the fire, he said that it wouldnt have mattered, because wood chip fires burn too hot for water alone to extinguish them.

Instead, firefighters stuck to their plan: allow the piles to burn down to a manageable level, then extinguish them.

But we were in the understanding that this was a situation where we could be for days, Griswold said. Well monitor, well protect exposures, well reevaluate in the morning in the daylight.

The weather, however, did not cooperate. The wind grew stronger in the morning, and by about 11:30 a.m., crews on-scene reported the piles were heating up and the wind was getting stronger, according to Levins narrative. The battalion chief began to call for additional resources. More firefighters, engines and trucks arrived at the landfill.

At about 1 p.m., a small fire started outside the landfill road but was quickly contained. About an hour later, another fire began outside the perimeter. This time, firefighters couldnt put it out before it began to spread. The Cole Creek Fire had begun.

A year has since passed. Fire officials have the benefit of hindsight. Would they do anything differently?

Nothing would have guaranteed a different result, Griswold said.

I cant speculate as to what you would try for a lot of reasons, he said. I dont have that magic pill. I really do think that our plan, our decision making, given our experience and training, was legitimate, and I think we had unexpected circumstances that were outside of our control, something we hadnt seen before, and now we have.

The Star-Tribune spoke with three fire experts for this story. All of them agreed with the strategy employed by firefighters at the landfill -- remove whatever fuel possible, keep things contained and wait it out.

No amount of water, they said, would extinguish a wood chip fire on its own. Even foam -- which can be used to suffocate fires -- wouldnt have been enough on its own. The piles still would have to be pulled apart, and the burning chips separated from the rest.

Legal fight ahead?

The Cole Creek Fire began on city property while city workers were using city equipment. City firefighters were attempting to contain it when it spilled onto the prairie on Oct. 11.

In such a scenario, an eventual court battle seems possible, if not likely. So far, 24 claims have been filed against the city related to the fire, according to city spokeswoman Tanya Johnson. They amount to roughly $1.7 million, and so far, none has been paid. Its possible more could come -- the deadline is still a year away.

So is the deadline for most kinds of lawsuits, although certain suits in federal court could be filed up to four years later.

Losses from the fire are expected to rise into the millions, but the citys liability is capped at $500,000 under Wyomings Governmental Claims Act. The city has handed over the claims to its insurer, the Wyoming Association of Risk Management.

Though the city hasnt found itself embroiled in a lawsuit, officials appear to be taking steps to diminish that possibility.

On Nov. 4, then-Support Services Director Tracy Belser -- now an assistant city manager -- sent an email to several city officials, including King, Garvin and Cindie Langston, who oversees the landfill, instructing them to stop using email to discuss the landfill fire.

Yesterday at our Department Head Meeting we were advised that all communication regarding the Balefill Fire, ongoing inspections, etc. should not be done via email, Belser wrote. From this point forward please stop using email to correspond on these items. We will need to discuss it in person, by phone, or via hand-delivered hard copies.

Other emails show Belsers message was circulated to others within the city.

Most emails sent to and received by city employees are public records, available to anyone who requests them.

Belser does not offer in her email an explanation for the prohibition on emails related to the fire. She told the Star-Tribune last week she didnt send the message to keep emails out of the public record. Rather, officials were trying to encourage better communication and avoid a situation where multiple independent conversations were happening at the same time, she explained.

For his part, King said he thought concern over possible litigation may have inspired the email.

They were fielding claims versus the city, I think, he said.

That wasnt the only instance when the city attempted to limit discussions related to the fire. Officials within the Casper Fire Department said they did not call an after-action review on the fire based on advice from an attorney for the city.

Griswold said firefighters perform informal reviews of fires routinely. They are used for training and education, rather than as a punitive measure.

The reviews can take multiple forms. Sometimes, it can be as casual as two colleagues discussing an incident while sitting in a truck one evening, he explained. Others are more organized.

Usually with after-action review, (we) get all the units that were there or at least that did an important assignment, lets get in the room and lets go over this, Griswold said. We didnt do that.

The reason, they said, was advice from an attorney for the city. It was the first time he or King recalled receiving such a request.

But Griswold and King maintain the attorneys advice did not keep firefighters from learning from the event. Talk between colleagues still happens, however informally, Griswold said.

Theres a lot of conversations still in place because firefighters are highly critical, and the value, the need, the questions were still there.

So what did firefighters learn from those conversations?

Unfortunately, legal counsel doesnt let me answer that question, Griswold said.

Former Star-Tribune staff writer Lillian Schrock contributed to this report.
The timber industry and its advocates continue to promote a number of myths designed to garner public support for increased logging. These myths are being repeated by many in Congress, who are advocating new legislation that would weaken environmental protections, reduce public review of the Forest Service timber sales (called variously vegetation management, forest health restoration, fuels reduction, hazard tree reduction, salvage timber sale) and significantly increase money-losing logging on public lands.

Myth: Restoration of our forests is needed to recreate historic conditions.

Truth: There is growing debate about whether most forest ecosystems need any restoration. Nearly all higher elevation mixed conifer and subalpine forests grew in dense stands that tended to burn at medium to long intervals (often at intervals of hundreds of years) with large patches of mixed to high mortality so they are well within historic conditions.

Low-elevation ponderosa pine forests were considered different from the moister, higher elevation forests and characterized as open and park-like, and burned by frequent low severity surface fires. However, new research concludes that many pine stands historically experienced occasional high severity stand replacement blazes and may not be significantly outside of their historic condition.

Myth: Logging reduces large wildfires.

Truth: Large wildfires burn under extreme weather conditions. Under extreme weather, wildfires burn through, over and around clearcuts, thinned forests, and areas that have been prescribed burned. Such fires are controlled when the weather changes to more moderate conditions.

Logging may even increase fire spread and fire severity.

The conclusion of the Sierra Nevada report to Congress had this to say: Timber harvest, through its effects on forest structure, local microclimate, and fuels accumulation, has increased fire severity more than any other recent human activity.

Logged areas generally showed a strong association with increased rate of spread and flame length, thereby suggesting that tree harvesting could affect the potential fire behavior within landscapes.

Another study done by fire ecologists at the Missoula Fire Lab concluded: Even extensive fuel treatments may not reduce the amount of area burned over the long-term and furthermore, reduction of area burned may actually be an undesirable outcome.

They go on to conclude: Treating fuels to reduce fire occurrence, fire size, or amount of burned area is ultimately both futile and counterproductive.

A new study soon to be published found that reviewed 1,500 wildfires between 1984 and 2014 found that actively managed forests had the highest level of fire severity. While those forests in protected areas burned, on average, had the lowest level of fire severity. In other words, the best way to reduce severe fires is to protect the land as wilderness, not manage it.

Myth: Thinning national forest lands will protect homes.

Truth: One only needs to reduce the flammability within 100 feet of homes to protect them. Reducing fuels more than 100 feet beyond the home confers no additional protection. As one study concluded: It may not be necessary or effective to treat fuels in adjacent areas in order to suppress fires before they reach homes; rather, it is the treatment of the fuels immediately proximate to the residences, and the degree to which the residential structures themselves can ignite that determine if the residences are vulnerable.

Myth: Beetle outbreaks increases the chances of wildfire.

Truth: Any number of research studies has documented that beetle outbreaks has little effect or even reduces the chance of large wildfire for a period of years. Dead trees do not burn as well as live trees with flammable resins. For example, one study concluded we found no detectable increase in the occurrence of high-severity fires following MPB outbreaks. Dry conditions, rather than changes in fuels associated with outbreak, appear to be most limiting to the occurrence of severe fires in these forests.

Myth: Large wildfires have increased.

Truth: If you start with the middle of last century when the climate was cooler and moister  a climatic condition that reduces fire spread  one might conclude there are more large fires, but if your starting point is earlier in the century or even over the last thousand years, there is no evidence for an increase in large fires.

Myth: Dead trees are a sign of a forest health problem.

Truth: Dead trees are critical to healthy forest ecosystems. Some 250 scientists recently sent a letter to Congress affirming snag forest habitat are ecological treasures comparable to old growth forests.

Unfortunately, as result of logging and other forest management, we have a deficit of dead trees in our forest ecosystems. Episodic input of dead woods results from wildfire, beetles, and disease. These natural processes help maintain forest ecosystem health.
Editor:

I've known Dan Neal a long time. We've hunted together. We've fished together. And we've spent a lot of time discussing Wyoming and the world around the campfire.

Dan is the type of guy we need more of in public office. He's principled, dedicated, knowledgeable, and he's got a stake in Wyoming's future.

We need legislators that will fight to stop the transfer or sale of our public lands. We need legislators with a long-term view to make smart financial decisions that will make sure all Wyomingites can prosper. We need legislators that want to find sensible common ground. Wyoming needs a legislator like Neal.

If you haven't met my friend Dan Neal yet, I hope you will soon. And if you live in his district, cast your ballot for him on Nov. 8.
Editor:

Gov. Matt Mead is to be commended for supporting efforts to promote suicide awareness and prevention. The unspeakable grief experienced by the family and loved ones of victims of this tragic act is immeasurable and cannot be described in words. While programs such as the recent statewide summit on suicide are important in brining awareness to the issue, there is another measure that has proven effective in reducing suicides where it has been employed  namely, requiring a waiting period for the purchase of firearms.

According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, waiting periods provide a cooling off period that helps reduce suicides and other impulsive acts of violence. Suicides are frequently impulsive acts, and approximately 90 percent of people who have lived through a suicide attempt do not subsequently die in suicides. The center reports approximately 50 percent of suicides in the U.S. are committed with a gun, and that more than 90 percent of all suicide attempts with a firearm, if serious enough to require hospital treatment, result in death.

States with firearm waiting period laws have significantly lower rates of suicide. Research published in the American Journal of Public Health showed that states with a law in place that required a waiting period for the completion of handgun sales had 27 percent fewer suicides per capita and 51 percent fewer firearm suicides.

In Wyoming, anyone, whether despondent of suffering depression, can walk into a gun retailer and walk out with a firearm and ammunition after a brief criminal background check. A waiting period of just a few days would help these people overcome the impulse to end their lives and allow them time to think rationally and recognize that help is available from many sources, including loved ones, counselors and others.

I call on Mead and the members of the Wyoming Legislature to give serious consideration to legislation requiring a waiting period for the purchase of a hand gun. If such a law saves just one precious life it will be worth the effort.
The proposed Bonanader land swap seems to fail almost every test set forth in the mission of the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments. Regarding increased revenue opportunities, their own studies -- which at this point are speculative at best -- demonstrate anywhere from a decrease in overall revenue to a modest increase with the land in Crook County. The revenue streams as they impact Albany County, however, are likely to be greatly reduced over time due to the decreased quality of life for countless individuals, families, and communities as it relates to hunting and fishing, and general outdoor recreation and access to open space. All of these user groups are specifically denoted as "clients" in the boilerplate text of the mission and guiding principles of the OSLI. Quality of life has been shown in countless studies to have a significant multiplier effect when it comes to economic growth and community stability. Further, it is clear that folks living in the SE Wyoming quadrant already have the least amount of public land available to them by a large margin. Swapping some of the very best lands for outdoor recreation in SE Wyoming for dense Lodgepole forest in NE Wyoming is no swap at all, but a bad deal no matter how it's presented.
Editor:

Liz Cheney has the Cheney name blanketing our towns, I don't know Liz Cheney; it's too bad she refuses to debate Ryan Greene. I guess hiding is a new campaign strategy. I do know the Cheney name has brought us the terrible and pointless Iraq war. Would she have voted for that war?

I also know that Greene has practical proposals to rebuild Wyoming's job scene, Now! Not through more "clean coal" research that Cheney is for. How long would that take to really make enough new jobs?

Ryan Greene has a lot more for Wyoming in his campaign. He is a Wyoming native who worked 19 years in Wyoming coal mines, He isn't from Virginia.

Liz Cheney, give us Wyoming voters a debate with Greene. We deserve it. Or explain why not.
Editor:

Before the primary, Liz Cheney expressed support for Donald Trump when speaking to Kim Love on the radio in Sheridan. It didn't seem to bother her that he'd called Mexicans "rapists," promised to build a wall to keep "them" out of America, insulted the entire Muslim religion and made many other bigoted remarks that some people apparently like. Wonder what she thought when he decided to take on a former Miss Universe and slurring her about her looks.

More recently, the would-be congresswoman confided to her pal Rush Limbaugh and his listeners that "In Wyoming there's no question for us that Hillary Clinton would be devastating  and far, far worse than Donald Trump." How would she know? She's only here when she's looking for votes and money, though she finds a lot of the green stuff on the East Coast. She doesn't know Wyoming, and how would you if you don't actually live here!?

Just because she'd rather have a xenophobic, bankrupt billionaire who stiffs his workers, cheats his students, disparages women, can't control himself and knows next to nothing about government in the White House doesn't mean Wyoming does.

I don't. I'm just one of many who really are from Wyoming who don't, either. I want progress and I want to send Greene to Congress. He's a Rock Springs guy who's a fresh voice and willing to work hard for a Wyoming that he actually knows something and truly cares about.
PHOENIX  State Gaming Director Daniel Bergin said his state-assigned attorney did nothing wrong or illegal in destroying notes of his May 2015 meeting with officials of tribes trying to undermine the Tohono Oodham casino in Glendale.

In legal papers filed in federal court, Bergin said through outside counsel that Roger Banan, an assistant attorney general, took the half page of notes solely to brief him after the meeting. Bergin said it was Banans practice to destroy such notes after the briefing.

Bergin is trying to do more than argue that Banan did not violate the states public records law.

There are implications if U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell rules the notes were intentionally destroyed to keep them from getting into the hands of Oodham attorneys. The tribe contends Bergin was illegally conspiring with other tribes that do not want full-blown gaming at the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino.

Potentially more significant, Campbell could block Bergin from claiming hes legally entitled to block full-scale gambling at the site based on his contention that the tribe committed fraud.

The outcome of the lawsuit could determine the future of the casino.

It opened last year, but only with Class II gaming, which is not regulated by the state. That limits it to games like bingo and machines that look like slots but operate as interconnected instant bingo games.

The tribe wants Class III gaming approval to add real slot machines as well as poker and blackjack, which attract more customers.

It cannot do that, however, until it gets the required certification from Bergins agency, which he has refused. So the tribe filed suit.

Bergin, in seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed, claims the tribe hid the fact that it already was looking for a casino site in the Phoenix area in 2002 even as voters were being told that their approval of a ballot measure would ensure no new casinos in the area.

Banans notes stem from at least one meeting he had with officials and lawyers of other Phoenix-area tribes that are competing for the same gaming business.

Lawyers for the Oodham contend the notes, which they learned about later by questioning Banan, would show Bergin and his agency are illegally conspiring with those other tribes.

But since theyre not available, the Oodham want Campbell to presume thats what they would say.

In the new filings, attorney Matthew Hoffman, representing Bergin, urged the judge to reject that claim.

Mr. Banan had no duty to preserve his notes because he did not believe  and could not reasonably have known  that his brief notes could even potentially be relevant to any future lawsuit, Hoffman told the judge.

He said the notes concerned what Banan construed as suggestions by Donald Pongrace, a lawyer for the Gila River Indian Community, of actions Bergin could take to halt the Oodham casino. Banan said he dismissed Pongraces suggestions out of hand, Hoffman said.

One of Pongraces suggestions, it turns out, was to send letters to companies that provide equipment to legally authorized casinos, warning them they would lose that state-authorized privilege if they sold items to casinos not authorized by the state.

The Oodham contend that was designed to scare off suppliers.

Hoffman said the decision to send those letters was made by the Gaming Department before the May meeting.

But evidence produced by the Oodham show they did not go out until a month later.
Two hiking trails in the Santa Rita Mountains were temporarily closed to the public Saturday morning, after a "nuisance" bear approached a group of hikers, officials said.

Old Baldy Trail and Super Trail, located in the Coronado National Forest, are both closed from the trailheads to Josephine Saddle until further notice, said Heidi Schewel, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman, in a news release Saturday.

A map provided by the service indicated that the closure would remain in effect through Friday.

Officials with the Arizona Game and Fish Department sent out a news release Thursday, warning campers and hikers that the bear had been spotted in Madera Canyon three times since Sept. 30.

The bear was most recently spotted on Old Baldy Trail near Bellow Springs, after it approached a group of hikers on the trail, Schewel said.

The bear is described as medium size and dark brown or black colored.

Hikers are advised to change their route if bears are spotted in the distance, and to avoid all contact with any wildlife whenever possible.

"If approached by a bear, hikers should discourage contact by looking large and imposing, waving arms or a jacket, making loud noises, and giving the bear an opportunity to leave the area," Schewel said.

If the bear doesn't leave, it's best to stay calm, face the animal and back away slowly. Running is not advised, and a person should "never play dead in the presence of a bear," Schewel said.

Bear sightings should be reported immediately to Arizona Game and Fish Department at 623-236-7201.

Black bears usually avoid people, but are attracted to human food and trash. Campers are encouraged to:
Astronomer Jared Males has already captured images of giant, hot exoplanets around fairly distant stars.

Now hes aiming at a closer, much tougher target: Proxima b, the recently discovered, rocky planet that orbits our nearest star, Proxima Centauri, about 4.25 light years away.

First he has to build a new instrument, which the National Science Foundation just gave him $2.3 million to do. Then he has to persuade the developers of a giant telescope to let him build an even bigger version of it for them.

Its a long-range plan and Males expects to make discoveries along the way.

Males was just appointed this summer to the faculty of the University of Arizonas department of astronomy and Steward Observatory.

He earned his doctorate at the UA, helping astronomy professor Laird Close build and deploy an adaptive optics system that erases the aberrations caused by Earths atmosphere on the 6.5-meter Magellan Clay Telescope in Chile. The MagAO team has since imaged eight exoplanets in visible light, the first team to do so.

He continued working at UA as a NASA Sagan fellow with astronomer and optical scientist Olivier Guyon, who specializes in coronagraphs, which cancel the light of a star, allowing the much fainter planet to appear.

Close and Guyon are co-investigators on the NSF grant to build an extreme adaptive optics instrument that will employ the latest advances in coronagraphy and make adjustments for atmospheric disturbance 3,700 times a second.

Were taking a pretty powerful system and making it a lot more powerful, Close said.

Steward astronomers Katie Morzinski and Phil Hinz are also co-investigators.

The instrument will at least triple the resolution quality of the images the MagAO system now takes, Males said.

That will allow the team to target Jupiter-like planets around near and distant stars and refine the system for future exploration of smaller, dimmer planets.

The planets imaged so far by the team are in the process of formation  glowing with heat and light. Upcoming targets will be 10 million times fainter than their stars, said Close.

It is theoretically possible to image dim planets such Proxima b with the new, improved system on the Magellan telescope, said Males, but that feat would test the limits of the system and require about 40 nights of continuous observations.

Proxima b is a tough target. It may be the planet closest to Earth, but it is also very close to its sun and very dim.

It orbits every 11 days at a distance of 4.6 million miles. That would be much too close if its sun were like ours. But Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf  one-eighth the size of our sun and emitting only a fraction of its light and heat.

That puts Proxima b in the habitable zone  with temperatures where liquid water and life could exist.

It is much too close to its host star for current telescope technology  on Earth or in space  to image.

It took a 60-night observing campaign on telescopes across the globe, organized by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, to simply verify the planets existence by measuring the push and pull of its orbit on its sun. ESO announced its confirmation in August.

Realistically, images of the planet that will provide clues to its makeup and atmosphere will have to wait for development of much larger telescopes than the 10-meter class now in operation, Males said.

Three are planned  the ESOs 39-meter Extremely Large Telescope in Chile, the Thirty Meter Telescope planned for the island of Hawaii and the 24.5-meter Giant Magellan Telescope being built in Chile.

The Giant Magellan Telescope, whose seven, 8-meter mirrors are being cast and polished at Steward Observatorys Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, is best-suited to the instrument being developed by the Steward astronomers.

Males, Guyon and Close recently attended a meeting convened by the GMT to explore the science it could do in the realm of exoplanets. All anybody wanted to talk about was Proxima b, Males said.

The Extreme AO being built by Males introduces new optical elements into the MagAO system, which is a deformable mirror whose 585 electro-magnetic actuators bend a thin secondary mirror to correct for atmospheric turbulence.

The new instrument will send that light down an additional path. Its heart is a device called a MEMS deformable mirror. MEMS stands for MicroElectroMechanical Systems.

The silicon device can change the shape of a tiny mirror, (three-quarters of an inch in diameter) at 2,000 different points and at speeds up to 10,000 times per second.

We wont be able to drive it that fast, said Males. The speed is limited by another component of the instrument, the wave-front sensor, which measures the aberrations in the atmosphere and sends the signals needed to correct them. It operates at about 3,700 times a second.

The third element of the system is a next-generation coronagraph, whose development is being led by Guyon, who heads a similar effort on the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope in Hawaii.

Those improvements will be added to the telescope one-by-one over the next three years, Males said.

For now, he is readying his new lab to start building the visible wavelength extreme-adaptive optics coronagraphic imager.

Close said winning a major research instrumentation award from the National Science Foundation is a pretty good coup for a brand-new professor.
Help India!

By DPA

Xian (China) : In modern China with its brutal pace of development, it was a very unremarkable death. Racked with disease and with no money to pay for a visit to the doctor, peasant farmer Wang Puzhi waited until his family were out, slipped a rope around his neck and ended his suffering.

Support TwoCircles



Before his lonely suicide, however, Wangs life was far from unremarkable. He was one of a seven-strong team of workers who, while digging a well on their communal farm in 1974, stumbled across the most priceless archaeological discovery of modern times  the 2,200 year-old Terracotta Warriors.

It is a discovery that has brought tens of millions of foreign tourists to Xian in north-western China and made many businessmen and, it is claimed, local officials extremely rich. But for the farmers who found the buried army and the ancient village they grew up in, the warriors have proved more a curse than a blessing.

As the biggest ever overseas exhibition of the Terracotta Warriors began at the British Museum last week, we tracked down the surviving men who discovered the stone soldiers and found them bewildered at the greed and destruction the warriors brought to the surface with them.

Their farmland has been claimed by the government, stripping them of their livelihoods, their homes and those of their neighbours were demolished with little or no compensation to make way for exhibition halls, parking lots and gift shops  and their village with its 2,000 year history has all but disappeared.

Within three years of Wangs suicide at the age of 60 in 1997, the two youngest members of the team who found the warriors  Yang Wenhai and Yang Yanxin  died jobless and penniless at home, unable to pay for a doctor to diagnose their illnesses. Both were still only in their 50s.

Today, the four remaining men  79-year-old Yang Quanyi, 78-year-old Yang Peiyan and 69 year-olds Yang Zhifa and Yang Xinman  are paid around 1,000 yuan a month ($132) to sit in official souvenir shops and sign photo books for queues of tourists who come to see the army built to protect Chinas First Emperor in the afterlife.

Officials and businessmen have made a lot of money from the Terracotta Warriors but not us, says Yang Quanyi. We got nothing for the discovery. It was the days of collective farms and we were given ten credit points by our brigade leader for finding the warriors. That was the equivalent of about one yuan (13 US cents) in our pay packet at the end of the month.

It was while digging a well in March 1974 when one of the farmers, Yang Zhifa, suddenly hit a warriors head 15 metres beneath the surface. Everyone was afraid to touch it, says Yang Quanyi. We thought it was a temple statue  a Buddha perhaps. The women thought it might bring a curse down on the village.

In fact the farmers had found one of more than 8,000 terracotta foot soldiers, archers and charioteers that had been buried with Qin Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor of China, in the 3rd century BC in a vast mausoleum covering several square miles.

Officials and archaeologists poured into the village. In the years that followed, a huge swath of land that for centuries had provided Yang village with abundant crops of corn, wheat and pomegranates, was reclaimed. Villagers received just 300 yuan for each 600 square metre piece of land and sank deeper into what was to prove fatal poverty for three of the seven discoverers.

People here are too poor to afford a hospital, says Quanyi. Yang Yanxin died of a skin disease that caused his body to rot away. Yang Wenhai died in great pain at his home. Neither of them had any money for medicine.

Yang Lou Cheng, stepson of Wang Puzhi, who hanged himself in 1997, said: He had heart disease. He couldnt bear the suffering and he didnt want to be a burden to my mother and me. My mother died a short while afterwards. It is very painful for me to talk about this, even now.

In recent years, as China has opened its doors to tourists, the site at Xian has been expanded, meaning even more homes in the village have been demolished. Families have been forced to move to new homes a mile away and even had to pay for their homes to be rebuilt.

The government has taken away our land and our livelihoods and left us with nothing, said one villager. People in Yang village are simple farmers. Only a few of them, maybe 5 per cent, have made money by selling food or souvenirs to tourists. But 100 per cent of the local officials here have become rich.

When a group of villagers travelled by bus and train to Beijing to petition the central government for compensation for what they claim is theft of their homes and land, they were sent back home with nothing.

Not one of the group of seven men who discovered the hidden army is named or photographed anywhere within the complex in Xian  they are alluded to only as a band of peasant farmers. As a result, the complex is full of imposters who make money claiming to be one of the seven.

Yang Zhifa, the best known of the original discoverers, earns less signing books for tourists than the young girls who work as shop assistants. If I ask for more they can easily find an imposter to take my place, he said.

In 2004, a lawyer from Xian offered his services for free to help the four surviving discoverers gain official recognition. He wrote to the local government but the government didnt even respond to the letter, says Yang Quanyi. It is unreasonable. But we are weak and the government is strong.

Asked why the discoverers were refused recognition, a provincial government spokesman said: It is not important who discovered these relics. Our job is to take care of these relics and to protect them. That is our task.

Yang Quanyi insists he is at peace and not bitter at his treatment. But back at his simple home, his wife Liu Xi Qin, 70, tells us quietly: Even today, my husband always worries if they did something wrong by discovering the warriors. He wonders if maybe the soldiers should have been left beneath the ground.
Help India!

By Mohammad Sajjad for TwoCircles.net

In this era when modesty is no longer a virtue, and everybody shares his/her accomplishments via social networking sites, it is indeed almost unbelievable to find someone who is sort of in a mode of denial about his no ordinary literary accomplishments. Becoming reclusive while reaching an age of 80 years, this self-effacing litterateur remains reluctant about writing his memoir despite lot of persuasions. Professor Najmul Hoda of Muzaffarpur (north Bihar) is fond of talking about his teaching career, publications, and other literary activities he had undertaken in the Madras University, during 1977-88, where he served on an Extra Ordinary Leave (EoL) from the Bihar University, Muzaffarpur.

Support TwoCircles







Prof Najmul Hoda



In the prestigious Madras University he not only headed and expanded the Department of Urdu, Persian and Arabic, he also introduced postgraduate teachings and promoted researches in the literatures of the three languages. Besides, he also joined the Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu of Tamil Nadu to popularise and promote Urdu in Tamil Nadu. He made efforts towards establishment of Urdu Academy in Madras, which fructified, and he joined an agitation to secure second official language status for Urdu in Tamil Nadu. This was the time when his friends and colleagues in Muzaffarpur were doing the same. While the latter succeeded in fulfilling the demand in Bihar, the agitation in Tamil Nadu did not succeed. However, such efforts did popularize Urdu on a big scale in Tamil Nadu. His nostalgia about Madras (now called Chennai) remains undiminished, for which he composed a poem, Saahil-e-Madras (The Coast of Madras).

In 1983, he contributed his essay in English language on Nationalism and Akbar Allahabadi in the Annals of Oriental Research (of Madras University), wherein he analysed the anti-colonial satires of Akbars poems. This was long before Shamsur Rahman Faruqi wrote his incisive essay on Akbar Allahabadi (1846-1921). Besides, Najmul Hoda also wrote another essay, Universal Brotherhood and Islam for the journal. In both these essays he reflected upon the ideas of nationalism and patriotism.

Aleem Saba Nawedi of Madras and Najmul Hoda remember each other quite fondly. In 1988 when Professor Najmul Hoda was leaving Madras to re-join his services in Muzaffarpur, more than hundred people went to see him off on the railway junction with tearful eyes.

Professor Hoda rose to prominence with his book on literary criticism in Urdu, Fann-e-Tanqeed aur Tanqeedi Mazaameen (1966). Though written arguably in a little difficult prose, tinged with Arabic and Persian diction, it ran into several editions. It encompasses and evaluates the journey of Urdu literary criticism from Altaf Husain Halis Muqaddima to Shamsur Rahman Faruqis interventions. In the 1990s, he was supposed to expand this work taking into account the subsequent generation of critics, but he met his distraction when his colleagues in Muzaffarpur threw him into the vortex of legal battles. In the Patna High Court, eventually he won the battle of seniority in the Department of Urdu in the Bihar University in Muzaffarpur, and went on to serve as the Head of the Department as well as the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities of the University. But this battle changed him forever and he gradually tilted towards becoming reclusive. Meanwhile, his book found itself translated into more lucid prose of Urdu by other authors of better provisioned universities. Shedding rancour against being robbed off his intellectual property, he prefers to downplay and euphemise the act of plagiarism as a translation. After all steeped deeply into Sufism, he is a forgiveness personified!

Born on August 2, 1938, in a prominent family of Motihari (Champaran), with a formidable ancestry from Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963), Hoda inherited the tradition of composing poetry from his father, Nurul Hoda Zabt, who was a police inspector and after retirement he practised law. Zabt published his poetry in prestigious Paisa Akhbar, Lahore. Likewise, Professor Najmul Hoda published in the leading Urdu periodicals brought out from Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Karachi, among many others. Najmul Hodas maternal uncle was quite an accomplished writer and former Union Minister, Professor Shakeelur Rahman (1936-2016).

Professor Najmul Hoda started his teaching career from the Millat College (Darbhanga) in 1961 and also provided editorial assistance to the Urdu fortnightly (now daily), Qaumi Tanzim. In 1962, he left it to join the L. S. College, Muzaffarpur, from where he had graduated, and then moved on to the Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, where he served till his superannuation in 1998, and is now settled there in Muzaffarpur.

His other claims to fame are his books, Masnawi Ka Fun aur Urdu Masnawiyan (1976); and Kirdaar aur Kirdaar Nigari (1980), dealing with disjunctions between fictional and real-life characters. It received reviewers laurels in the prestigious Urdu monthly, Shaayer (January 1981). However, he identifies himself essentially as a poet and seems to be much in reading about the English poets such as T. S. Eliot, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley and Keats. Of the Urdu writers, he is fond more of Raashidul Khairi (1868-1936), Shibli (1857-1914), Maulana Azad (1888-1958). His personal library is quite rich. Lot of scholars derive benefit from him and from the books in his personal collection.

He has written many long essays, including few on Nazeer Akbarabadi (1735-1830), Iqbal, Premchand (aspects of class struggle), and also on his acquaintances like Alqama Shibli, besides on his own teacher in Muzaffarpur, Professor Akhtar Qadri; and the one on a novel by Ghazanfar. Only few of these essays have been collected in his Masaael o Mabaahis (1983).

The inquisitive people, with quest of learning, flock around him where he offers very good hospitality. Long conversations with him pay lot of dividends. Of his teachers in the Patna University he claims to owe a lot to Jameel Mazhari (1904-82), and Akhtar Orainwi, among many others, whereas among his students, he showers more of his laurels upon Professor Jabir Husain. One of his distinguished batch-mates, elder to him by almost two decades, was Kaleem Aajiz (1920-2015), the famous poet.

People around him are eager that he should start working on his memoir. Besides vivid details of many aspects, this will be an account of the progress and marginalisation of Urdu in Bihar, at popular as well as academic level. Though, just out of courtesy he does reiterate his commitment to write one, he doesnt seem to be sincere about keeping this promise as revealed in the title of one of his poems, Aarzu-e-Gumnaami (Quest of Anonymity), so is a couplet of one of his ghazals:



Dil ki baateiN kaun sunaaye, kaun yahaaN sun-ney wala hai

Jo hai apni zaat meiN gum hai, har insaaN bas bol raha hai



The author teaches Modern Indian History at the Aligarh Muslim University, and has published two books: Muslim Politics in Bihar: Changing Contours (Routledge, 2014); Contesting Colonialism & Separatism: Muzaffarpur (Primus, 2014)
Help India!

By Muddassir Ahmad Qasmi for TwoCircles.net

In modern India, in spite of moral decline in different spheres of life, contemporary educational centers are talking about new heights in the educational field; they are trying to keep pace with the world in high technology and above all equal opportunity in education is given top most priority. In addition to it, there have been hot debates about modernisation of madrassas in recent days, but there is a distinct difference between modern and religious scholars in the concept of modernisation of madrassas. On the one hand Ulama are of the opinion that there should be some minor changes in madrassa curriculum as per the demands of the present age and, on the other hand, modern intellectuals expect complete modification in madrassa syllabus by adopting modern technology.

Support TwoCircles



The important question is that who will decide the boundaries of madrassa curriculum? Will it be those who had studied at madrassas and later on have been rendering their services for the same madrassas or those who had acquired knowledge from modern institutions and thereafter they have been offering their services for the same modern institutions or there are some other people or groups for this purpose. The easy answer of the above question is that it is only the madrassa authorities who are responsible for bringing about changes in madrassa curriculum as per the need and demand of the hour. Yes, it is also necessary that modern intellectuals and new technology experts must also be provided a chance to present their ideas so that a precise and concise syllabus may be prepared.

Here it should be kept in mind that modernisation of madrassas does not mean converting madrassas into schools because both the systems have different purposes and benefits. From an Islamic perspective the purpose of establishing madrassas is to propagate and protect Islam whereas the aim of modern educational institutions is to meet worldly needs and aspirations.

The common trend is that people from every background seem to advocate modernisation of madrassas, although covertly they have different motives behind this intention. We will not present here a critical analysis about different ideas and motives and will only try to shed some light on the practical ideas in the modernisation of madrassas.

1. The existing syllabus should remain intact except a little changes including a few modern subjects such as English language, basics of mathematics and sciences and they should be incorporated in such a way that on the one hand they do not weaken mainstream Arabic subjects in the least degree and on the other hand students become capable of speaking and writing in English, acquainted with mathematical principles and be aware of basic science.

If this idea is materialised, it will be an additional successful step in fulfilling the purpose of madrassa establishment. Moreover, students of madrassas will be saved from running pillar to post for further education in universities. Let me confess here that these modern subjects are already in the educational system of some madrassas but they are only a part of syllabus for the sake of it; they do not benefit students in any degree of usefulness.

2. We also support those religious scholars who are of the opinion that there should be no ruffling of feathers by inflicting extra subjects during the period of Famadrassamadrassaeelat course and the reason behind this rigor is to make students proficient in religious subjects. Surely we cannot ignore their sincere intentions because we also need a group of ulama who have full command on Islamic learning and science and are attuned to the spirit of Shariah.

Here I want to make it clear that regardless of different syllabi of madrassas, every madrassa without exception teaches modern subjects in elementary classes. Our concern is here only secondary and higher classes. Thus, those madrassas that do not teach modern subjects in secondary and higher classes, should teach their students the prescribed Arabic syllabus with full attention so that they become experts in their field. Later on after completion of Fazilat course some of them may join such institutions which have designed special courses for madrassa graduates to attain higher levels of pedagogical skills in English, computers and modern subjects.

For this especial purpose madrassa graduates can pursue a two-year Diploma in English Language and Literature (DELL) course that was introduced by Markazul Maarif Education and Research Center and now has a dozen centers across India teaching this course.

Though the graduates of madrassas have full command on Islamic subjects and are duly capable to lead the Ummah but to maximise their benefits and equip them with the polish of English-language skills this DELL course was designed. This would enable them to face new challenges with full confidence and defend Islam with renewed energy.

3. It should be kept in mind that whenever we talk of familiarising madrassa graduates with higher modern education, we intend to cover not all graduates but a selected number from them. It is noteworthy that more than one century ago our ancestral Ulama had already declared that English language is a must for madrassa graduates. According to the history of Darul Uloom Deoband, its governing body in 1318 A.H. had decided to give scholarships to madrassa graduates for further studies in universities and it was also planned that college students will be taught Arabic in its premises but due to lack of funds that dream did not come true.

Therefore, a selected number of madrassa graduates should also join universities but the first and foremost condition for them is that they should not compromise with their Islamic identity in the least degree because they go there to gain something not to lose something. If madrassa graduates change their original religious colour in universities then no one will allow them to do so because it will becloud their main mission.

4. One of the aspects of modernisation of madrassas is that some of the subjects may be taught with modern style and technology. For instance, teachers should make a lesson plan for every session as it will surely help students to understand subjects in a comprehensive manner. Likewise history and geography may be taught by the help of projectors and lessons may be illustrated by computer graphics. Surely, no one can deny the importance of abovementioned methods of teaching.

5. From time to time, the government also shows its interest in madrassa modernisation and tries to come up with new ideas but it is not acceptable for madrassa-walas. The reason has been explained in the abovementioned points. However, if government is sincere about madrassa modernisation, firstly it should take care of those governmental madrassas in UP, Bihar, Bengal and Assam which are in pathetic condition in every sense of the word.

Though the purpose of madrassa education is not getting simply governmental jobs. This is done with an eye to serve the nation, country and community which is a constructive and positive step which is encouraged by farsighted Ulama. Graduates of madrassas can prove their best ability in schools, colleges, universities via Urdu, Arabic and Persian teaching and also in some other governmental departments such as embassies etc. Now if the government is serious enough about madrassa modernisation, it should recognise leading madrassas certificates and grant jobs for madrassa graduates in various departments without additional degrees from universities.

Madrassa modernisation is not an unsolved enigma and therefore we should not make a hue and cry for that from sunrise to sunset. The only thing we have to do is that religious scholars should discharge their duty, modern intellectuals should play their role and the government should fulfill the basic needs of the people. I am not only hopeful but also sure that in this way we can reach our desired destination.

The author is an Assistant Editor at Eastern Crescent, Mumbai

ts the prescribed Arabic syllabus with full attention so that they become experts in their field. Later on after completion of Fazilat course some of them may join such institutions which have designed special courses for madrassa graduates to attain higher levels of pedagogical skills in English, computers and modern subjects.

For this especial purpose madrassa graduates can pursue a two-year Diploma in English Language and Literature (DELL) course that was introduced by Markazul Maarif Education and Research Center and now has a dozen centers across India teaching this course.

Though the graduates of madrassas have full command on Islamic subjects and are duly capable to lead the Ummah but to maximise their benefits and equip them with the polish of English-language skills this DELL course was designed. This would enable them to face new challenges with full confidence and defend Islam with renewed energy.

3. It should be kept in mind that whenever we talk of familiarising madrassa graduates with higher modern education, we intend to cover not all graduates but a selected number from them. It is noteworthy that more than one century ago our ancestral Ulama had already declared that English language is a must for madrassa graduates. According to the history of Darul Uloom Deoband, its governing body in 1318 A.H. had decided to give scholarships to madrassa graduates for further studies in universities and it was also planned that college students will be taught Arabic in its premises but due to lack of funds that dream did not come true.

Therefore, a selected number of madrassa graduates should also join universities but the first and foremost condition for them is that they should not compromise with their Islamic identity in the least degree because they go there to gain something not to lose something. If madrassa graduates change their original religious colour in universities then no one will allow them to do so because it will becloud their main mission.

4. One of the aspects of modernisation of madrassas is that some of the subjects may be taught with modern style and technology. For instance, teachers should make a lesson plan for every session as it will surely help students to understand subjects in a comprehensive manner. Likewise history and geography may be taught by the help of projectors and lessons may be illustrated by computer graphics. Surely, no one can deny the importance of abovementioned methods of teaching.

5. From time to time, the government also shows its interest in madrassa modernisation and tries to come up with new ideas but it is not acceptable for madrassa-walas. The reason has been explained in the abovementioned points. However, if government is sincere about madrassa modernisation, firstly it should take care of those governmental madrassas in UP, Bihar, Bengal and Assam which are in pathetic condition in every sense of the word.

Though the purpose of madrassa education is not getting simply governmental jobs. This is done with an eye to serve the nation, country and community which is a constructive and positive step which is encouraged by farsighted Ulama. Graduates of madrassas can prove their best ability in schools, colleges, universities via Urdu, Arabic and Persian teaching and also in some other governmental departments such as embassies etc. Now if the government is serious enough about madrassa modernisation, it should recognise leading madrassas certificates and grant jobs for madrassa graduates in various departments without additional degrees from universities.

Madrassa modernisation is not an unsolved enigma and therefore we should not make a hue and cry for that from sunrise to sunset. The only thing we have to do is that religious scholars should discharge their duty, modern intellectuals should play their role and the government should fulfill the basic needs of the people. I am not only hopeful but also sure that in this way we can reach our desired destination.

The author is an Assistant Editor at Eastern Crescent, Mumbai
Help India!

Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood for TwoCircles.net

The municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai (BMC) has made Surya Namaskar mandatory for all students in its 1200 schools. A petition challenging the order is now pending before the Bombay High Court whose division bench has, however, refused to stay its operation saying dont go on the name, it is just an exercise which is good for the body. Even at the introduction stage the High Court had asked whats the harm if the BMC has made Surya Namaskar compulsory? Let us analyse the merits of this judicial stand.

Support TwoCircles



Rig Veda

According to the website of International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers spread over Uttarkashi, Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram, USA, Europe, China, Japan, Argentina, Vietnam and Cambodia, In Hindu mythology, the sun god is worshipped as a symbol of health and immortal life. The Rig Veda declares that Surya is the Soul, both of the moving and unmoving beings. The Sun Salutation originated as a series of prostrations to the sun. Traditionally, it is performed at dawn, facing the rising sun. In time, each of the twelve positions came to have its own mantra, celebrating aspects of the suns divinity.

Puranic Origins

Master Murugan Chillayah in his treatise Surya Namaskar: Puranic origins of Valmiki Ramayana says Aditya Hridayam is another ancient practice which involves a variation of Surya Namaskara. It is a procedure of saluting The Sun, taught to Rama by Sage Agastya, before his fight with Ravana. It is described in the Yuddha Kaanda Canto 107 of Ramayana. There are in total 124 names praising the Sun in the whole procedure.

In verses 15  20, salutations to Sun are described. An example from the 15th verse is: He is the lord of stars, planets and all constellations. He is the origin of everything in the universe and is the cause of the lustre of even the brilliant ones. Salutations to Thee who is the One being manifest in the twelve forms of the Sun.

The twelve asanas of Surya Namaskar depict the twelve forms of the Sun.

First Asana: Pranamasana

Times Music has made out a Surya Namaskar app in whose introduction it is written that Surya Namaskar is best performed facing east, the direction of the rising sun in the early hours of the morning. On a popular yoga website, it is written that the first aasan of Surya Namaskar is known as Pranamasana, that is, salutation to the sun for which the performer has to stand in a prayerful attitude while, in the website of Sri Krishna Pranami Sampradaya of USA and Canada it is written that pranam means, I bow to the Lord Supreme in you.

Sixth Asana: Ashtanga Namaskara

Sri Sri Ravi Shankars Art of Living website says that Surya Namaskar provides an opportunity to express gratitude to the sun for sustaining life on this planet. In its video and photo of the sixth aasan known as Ashtanga Namaskara the devotee lies upside down where two hands, two feet, two knees, chest and the chin touch the ground; this has been described as Salute with eight body parts or points. So the spiritual purpose of Surya Namaskar is that the performer has faith that the sun itself sustains life on earth.

As per another website, Surya Namaskar is an ancient yogic tradition of worshiping the rising or setting of the sun (surya). In whole of India one can see Hindu men and women standing in early morning facing and worshipping the sun.

Quran loudly recapitulates Abrahams denial to accept suns divinity.

On the other hand, the Quran recapitulates (6.75-80) that Prophet Abraham did not accept that there is any divinity in the sun, moon or stars and rather acknowledged the formless and invisible God as the creator and sustainer of the entire cosmos including the sun. In 16.12 God has further clarified that He has subjected for the human beings the night and day and the sun and moon, and the stars.

The Quran says sun will be folded up & darkened.

In 31.29 the Quran reiterates, Do you not see that God causes the night to enter the day and causes the day to enter the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running its course for a specified term? Sun runs its course for a period determined by God (36.38) in accordance with divinely ordained laws (7.54). In 81.1 God exhorts the humanity to prepare for the day of judgement when the sun will be folded up and darkened .

The Quran says sun is amenable to human control

At many more places God has mentioned in Quran this basic strand of Islamic faith that sun, moon, stars and the entire cosmos have been subjected by God to human control and that these are Gods creatures with limited life.

Prophets visit to heaven

Quran also describes in detail how God caused Prophet Mohammad lifted to the heavens where God spoke to him and this dialogue is repeated by Muslims as part of their daily five times prayers. This is another divine act through which the message was given that humanity is superior to the whole cosmos including the sun. After such rendezvous the prophet came back to earth and resumed his normal human life. Dr Sir Iqbal, the composer of Saare jahaan se achha Hindustaan hamara has described this prophetic journey (known in Arabic as meraaj: high flight):



Sabaq mila hai ye meraaj-e Mustafa se mujhe

Ki aalam-e bashariyyat ki zad mein hai gardoon



From the prophets visit to the heavens I got to learn that the skies and the entire cosmos are available for human control.

Namaz too is a beneficial bodily exercise. Another interesting phenomenon is that Namaz is also an excellent exercise for the human body even having some postures common with yoga. It begins with the worshipper standing straight lifting both hands upto the ear lobes and then holding the hands between chest and stomach, the right cupping the left, with eyes down, realising as standing in the presence of the invisible Creator and Sustainer of the worlds whose praises are recited followed by another small portion from Quran. Then, bending in front by ninety degrees keeping the hands on the knees saying thrice I praise the Creator & Sustainer of the worlds who is the greatest, standing again with hands down, then slowly going into prostration twice again praising God similarly and at the end of the second such process bending the knees 180 degrees and sitting on toes, heels and knees reciting the above mentioned dialogue which God had with prophet  praying for general human welfare  and so on.

Thus, as a daily five times bodily exercise, Namaz can also be adopted by anybody across the religious spectrum and, as per the observation of the honourable Bombay High Court, one need not go on the name and must mind that it is a good exercise for maintaining the human body.

Quran declares sun as Gods creature

In Islam the early morning Namaz must finish before the sunrise and the evening prayer cannot be performed before the sunset thus ensuring that the object of worship is not the sun but God who has created the sun.

The learned judges would kindly appreciate that the vital difference between Surya Namaskar and Yoga is that in the former the performer worships the sun while in the latter it is the suns Creator and Sustainer who is worshipped.

State violation of fundamental rights

This is where articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Indian Constitution magnanimously and strongly intervene according to which (a) the State shall not deny to any person equality before law and equal protection of law; (b) the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion; and (c) all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion.

Thus, the Bombay Municipal Corporations order making Surya Namaskar compulsory in all the schools run by it as well as the High Courts refusal to stay this order explicitly violate these unambiguous constitutional injunctions. Issue of this order and not staying its operation tantamount to State discrimination against a section of the citizens on ground of religion and curtailment of the right of some persons to freely profess and practice their faith.

Besides, Article 28(i) prohibits provision of any religious instruction in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds and says that (ii) no person attending any educational institution recognised by the State or receiving aid out of State funds shall be required to take part in any religious instruction that may be imparted in such institution or (iii) to attend any religious worship that may be conducted in such institution or in any premises attached thereto unless such person or, if such person is a minor, his guardian has given his consent thereto. The orders of the BMC as well as the Court violate these provisions of Article 28. Surely the Supreme Court would kindly consider this vital matter, intervene under article 32 and enforce the rights conferred by articles 14, 15 and 25 and 28.

The author is the President, Zakat Foundation of India
Help India!

By TCN News,

Pune: In order to counter the growing hatred and violence in the country, a group of restless, responsible like-minded intellectuals and activists have come together and planned out a mechanism for a joint action to face the challenging situations of the country by forming Desh Bachao Front (All India Secular Socialist Democratic Front).

Support TwoCircles







Brigadier Sudhir Sawant, Mushtaq Ahmed Shaikh and others



The group passed a resolution during its two days meeting organized in Pune on September 24 and 25, 2016. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Retired Justice P.B Sawant. The meeting was attended by prominent personalities who called upon likeminded people and organizations to forge a strategy of united actions to fight out fascist forces and to protect the cherished values of humaneness and constitution.

Following dignitaries participated in the Pune meet:

Justice P B Sawant, Former Judge Supreme Court

Justice BG Kolse Patil, Former Judge Bombay HC

R.B Sreekumar, Former DGP Gujarat

Vikas Narain Rai, Former DGP Haryana

SM Mushrif, Former IGP Maha

Amitabh Kundu, Former VC, J&K Univ

Shams ul Islam, Writer, Activist

Dr. Neelima Sharma, Theatre Artist

Teesta Setalvad, Activist

PA Inamdar, Educationist

Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, Editor Siasat Daily

Dr. Iftiqar Gilani, Journalist

Adv. Sharfuddin Ahmad, Political Activist

Birg. Sudhir Sawant, Activist

Mushtaq Ahmed Shaikh, Activist

Pratima Shinde, Activist

Manisha Rote, Activist

Dr. Jabbar Patel, Activist and several other prominent activists.

Following is the detailed resolution agreed upon by the group during the Pune meet:

Meeting headed by Justice PB Sawant

The last twenty-five years (several decades) or so have seen the governance of the country in the direction opposite to the constitutionally mandated goal. The present BJP regimes at the Centre and some states, are openly hostile to the Constitutional goal and have been openly trampling it and most of the precious provisions of the Constitution including the fundamental rights of all citizens. The fact that it is the ideological vision of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that dominates and drives this government, and the fact that this is unashamedly committed to a theocratic state (Hindu Rashtra), not the secular, democratic right laid down in the Constitution makes the present challenges even more complex, and acute. Indias social fabric is threatened everyday by inciteful speech and provocative politics that seeks to pit one Indian against another.





From Left  Teesta Setalvad, Justice PB Sawant, Justice BG Kolse Patil, Adv Sharfuddin SDPI Vice President, PA Inamdar



Exclusive and rabid nationalism that defies the inclusive nationalism mandated within secular, democratic republic is sought to be thrust down the throats of Indians. Falsely raised slogans like love jihad, gharwapsi and cow protection have been raised to fuel mob hysteria against sections of Indians, marginalizaed, Dalits, Women and Religious Minorities. This has resulted in an assault on the right to life, freedom and equality before the law and caused an atmosphere of deep fear and insecurity. Attempts to introduce discriminatory citizenship through amendments to the Indian Citizenship Act have also been attempted by this regime.

Indian university and campuses have become the seat for the present governments all out efforts to crush dissent, essential to any democracy. Sections of the Indian law, like sedition have been used mercilessly to crush dissent.

The sovereignty of the country is being sacrificed by insidious commercial and defense treaties with foreign countries, while the latter threaten Indias independence, the former seek to snatch away precious peoples resources  forests, land, minerals and water  without following due process of law and ignoring the fundamental rights of Indians. The transfer of public resources to education and health sectors is evidence, if any were needed of Indias shift from a welfare state to an oligarchy of the rich. In fact, budgetary allocations and analysis (2013-2014) show, shockingly that as much as Rs. 5,00,000 subsidy has been grant to the Indian corporate sector when no such comparative subsidies have been provided for the agricultural sector, furthering employment among the marginalized, etc. etc.

Divisiveness within all sections of the society, even oppressed and marginalized sections, an absence of rationally and deep-rooted patriarchy that is enfeebling women and girls are malaises that affect the way democratic politics is playing out. Real democracy means empowering the democratic sections within all sections of society, especially girls and women, within all Indians, be they from a specific, simple and already recommended measures by the state and wider community but which are not being implemented. Child survivors and Child Witnesses need special measures that need to be implemented. Overall, an overall responsiveness within the criminal justice system needs to be ensured by ensuring a more representative and humane law enforcement that is educated on the Constitutional vision.





RB Sreekumar Former DGP Gujarat addressing



Agricultural distress, starvation and suicides of our farmers coupled with the unemployment of youth in urban areas on a vast scale call for an urgent and comprehensive political intervention that focuses on the issues discussed at the two day meet.

AGRICULTURE

Agrarian Distress needs to be addressed: Economics of Agriculture that pre-supposes the rights of the farmer, the non-availability of economic means/finance, absence of Minimum Support Price(s), Multi-Cropping of Agriculture, Deepening and Widening of Irrigation Cover, Fair Distribution Programme. For example, in Maharashtra alone, 52 percent of farmers have landholdings below 1 hectare leading to the non-negotiable conclusion that cooperative farming is the only viable option that must be encouraged by Governments and the State.

EDUCATION

The States responsibility for education and health of all citizens is mandated by the Constitution and the directive principles. This is being undermined by the privatization and commercialization of both sectors. Free and compulsory education from KG to PG is a slogan that we must adopt to ensure that the present system that deepens inequality while de-privileging 70 percent of Indians is reserved.

THREAT TO INDIAN CONSTITUTION DEMOCRACY AND PLURALISM

India is today threatened by an ideology that threatens the inherent plurality and multiplicity of Indian reality and it is this hegemony that is sought to be imposed through the New Education Policy (NEP), through textbooks and institutions of historical and social sciences research and learning. This undemocratic process needs to be halted and institutions of Indian democracy, be it education research and learning or governance (police, administration, bureaucracy, military and judiciary) need to, at all-time reflect the diversity that is India. The furthering of the Constitutional Vision, Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles should be key to a campaign for public education and preserving the values enshrined within.

MAJORITARIANISM THRUST

Access to education and its content is a life line for the vast majority of Indians, to empower their life conditions and determine wise and sagacious choices. For the system of education to fulfill the role education is meant to, all concerned sections from the vast majority of the wide and disparate Indian population must have a say and stake in its content and orientation. This regime has come to power with a 31 percent of the vote garnered from 50 percent of the voting population and hence  though in power with a brute majority  does not in any way represent or reflect the voice of the Indian population.

The politicization of the bureaucracy and law enforcement agencies by forces that are promoting hegemony and majoritarianism needs to be halted and corrected.

INDUSTRY

Industry and industrial production is key and important to India but this process must also ensure economic participation at various levels and not concentrate wealth and power in the hands of few. The cooperative system of ownership and participation needs to be the model and focus of industrial advancement and growth. Employment patterns are also key to the choices we make, and job orientated growth needs to be the prime focus.

The Right to Work of all Indians needs to be a firm focus and part of this programme. Sustainable growth that ensures redistribution of resources, equal and faire participation while also generating employment needs us all Indians, and the political class, in particular to make choices that prevent an irreparable damage to the environment, to air, to water, to soil and forests and thereby to protect future generations from destruction of natural resources, from destruction and pollution and to prevent the spread of irremediable diseases.

WELFARE PROVISIONS TO BE PROTECTED

Social Welfare legislation that, throughacts of affirmative action seek to ensure that rural employment (MNREGA, 2005), transparency Right to Information (2005), rights of Adivasis and Forest Dwellers of Land (Forest Rights Act, 2006), universal access to food against starvation and hunger (Food Security Act 2013) are enhanced and protected. The present regime, at the Centre and in some states seeks to dilute these measures which in effect will disempower millions and further enhance the acute disparity between the haves and have-nots. The example of the Land Acquisition Act 2013 is pertinent. Within months of coming to power, the central government sought to bring in an ordinance that reduces accountability of the state in land acquisition: disempowering the gram sabha, removing the process of social audit and reducing statutory rights to compensation. When it failed to do so nationally, three governments at the state level, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan have passed land laws without due diligence and process that in effect nullify the 2013 National Law.

The need of the hour is a wise, selfless collective leadership that brings together Indians and organizations to address these issues, further these objectives with a common minimum programme.

This Resolution is meant to serve as a Direction to Workers and Units to work on these lines.


The Rolling Stones have ended their teasing of expectant fans via social media, by announcing that their first studio album in more than a decade will pay homage to their love of blues Music. Recorded in a staggering three days, Blue & Lonesome features cover versions of songs by many blues legends, including Howlin Wolf, Willie Dixon and Jimmy Reed.

Return to their blues roots

Recorded at west Londons British Grove Studios and at Eel Pie Island, the new album allowed the band to embrace their musical roots, with tracks by other noted American artists such as Eddie Taylor and Little Walter also receiving an endorsement by the Stones.

Seeking a spontaneous sound

By recording the new material live, band members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts were seeking a spontaneous sound. Creativity has never been something that the timeless rockers have ever been short of, with the new release marking their 24th studio production.

Grammy Award-winning producer

For those struggling for inspiration regarding Christmas presents, seasoned music lovers will no doubt appreciate the planned release date of 2nd December on Polydor Records. Continuity has been ensured by the involvement of trusted producer and Grammy Award winner Don Was, a man very familiar to Stones aficionados having worked with the group on several previous projects, including past albums Voodoo Lounge and Forty Licks.

Was  full name Don Edward Fagenson - backed their latest collaboration by suggesting that it was testament to the purity of their love for making music, with a return to their blues background being a perfectly natural source to draw upon.

Eric Clapton dropped in

The band also utilised the talents of guitar great Eric Clapton on the album, the septuagenarian dropping in to their recording sessions as he was working on his own material in a nearby studio at the time.

Return to the studio

Despite continuing their hectic touring schedule in the meantime, Blue & Lonesome is the first studio album that the Stones have released since A Bigger Bang back in 2005. There has been some new material to whet the appetite in the meantime though on a compilation album in 2012, with the intriguingly titled Grrrr! incorporating brand new tracks Doom and Gloom and One More Shot.
Unified Communications Week in Review: OnSIP, Verizon, West IP Communications

Share Tweet

By Alicia Young

Web Editor By Alicia YoungWeb Editor

Happy Saturday! This week in Unified Communications was an exciting one, with articles covering new integrations, common UC problems and so much more. Now that its the weekend, lets take a look back at these last few days.





The week started off with the news that OnSIP has integrated with Slack for advanced UCaaS. Previously, OnSIP offered an on-demand phone system that is highly flexible and scalable without the burdens of high-cost traditional systems. However, as remote work and collaborative workforce environments become more prevalent, OnSIP decided to add a messaging solution to its portfolio. The company chose Slack, with the hopes of bringing users together no matter what device or platform theyre using. You can find out more about their decision HERE.

Integration seemed to be a popular news item this week, as Verizon joins forces with BroadSofts (News - Alert) BroadWorks platform. Like TMCs Michael Guta points out, Verizon's One Talk was the nation's first 4G business communications solution using Verizons (News - Alert) Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology. It was designed to give companies and their employees a true mobile first communications solution so they can be accessible at all times no matter where they are on their smartphones, tablets and desk phones to seamlessly move calls at the touch of a button. More features are being added to One Talk, and Broadsofts platform is going to make sure that users can continue to communicate easily. Find out more HERE.

On another note, West IP Communications (News - Alert) and InterCall service and solutions are rebranding under West in the Asia Pacific region. According to writer Frank Griffin, By bringing together West Corporation and InterCall (News - Alert) together in the Asia-Pacific region, it will allow the company to address the overwhelming communications needs this highly populated region of the world will demand as they continue their digital transformation and look for a provider to identify their business and communications needs and solve them with best-in-class solutions. You can find out more about this transformation HERE.

Finally, the week wrapped up with TMCs (News - Alert) Laura Stotler discussing common UC problems and how they can be avoided. Despite technological advances, there remain a few common quality issues that can ultimately spell disaster for any organization. Oftentimes, overburdened IT departments lack the time and resources to fix these problems, so its up to you to stop them before they even occur. You can find out what the biggest issues are and how to prevent them from happening HERE.

While some exciting news has been highlighted here, thats certainly not all that went on this week. Be sure to head to the Unified Communications homepage for all the updates, and come back next week for the latest insights. Have a great weekend!
China eyes new project after Hinkley Updated: 2016-09-29 13:19 By Cecily Liu,Chris Peterson(China Daily)

(L-R) Jean-Bernard Levy chairman of EDF Group, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Greg Clark Secretary of State for Business, Chinese Energy Minister Neur Bekri and Energy and Industrial Strategy and He Yu chairman of CGN at a signing ceremony in London to finalise the deal to build Hinkley Point, the first new UK nuclear power station in a generation, September 29, 2016. [Photo by Philip Toscano/Reuters] Power plant design would get major boost if it passes Britains stringent approval process

China will submit its indigenous nuclear technology to the United Kingdom governments rigorous assessment program with a view to getting approval in five years  and to use it to build a power station at Bradwell, on the English east coast.

The announcement by China General Nuclear Corp Chairman He Yu was made on Thursday.

It came just after CGN, the French utility EDF and the UK government signed a final agreement on another project that is earlier in the pipeline, the UKs 18 billion pound ($23.4 billion) Hinkley Point power plant, giving it the definitive green light. CGN will finance one-third of that investment.

The Hinkley Point project is seen as a precursor for plans to introduce Chinese nuclear technology.

If Chinese technology passes GDA assessment, the Bradwell plant could be the first nuclear project in a developed market to use a Chinese design

As a part of the contracts signed on Thursday, CGN and EDF would also jointly invest in Sizewell and Bradwell, proposed UK nuclear projects. CGN would be the majority shareholder in Bradwell, which plans to use Chinas third generation nuclear technology Hualong One.

Being the majority investor in Bradwell, with a 66.5 percent share, means CGN will bear responsibility for the project and its financial returns will be higher, He said.

The UKs General Design Assessment, which determines if a new nuclear technology can be used in the UK, is known to be the worlds most rigorous. Currently only Frances European Pressurized Reactor design has GDA approval. The US AP1000 technology is still pending GDA approval. Frances EPR model is being used for Hinkley Point.

Once Hualong One passes GDA, it will boost more countries confidence and push forward Hualong Ones global market development, He said.

Bradwells technology will be modeled on Hualong One technology deployed at Guangxi Fangchenggang Phase II power station.

CGN established a GDA project department in February 2015 to work on the regulatory process; technical preparation for the GDA assessment process was completed by this July.

The new UK government, led by Prime Minister Theresa May, took all sides by surprise in July when she said she needed more time to assess the project. Approval came two weeks ago, with the extra condition that Hinkley and other foreign-funded nuclear plants cannot change hands without the governments agreement.

An EDF board meeting on Sept 27 confirmed that EDF is happy with the extra condition.

Hinkley will begin construction in 2019 with a view to start operating in 2025. It will satisfy 7 percent of the UKs energy needs.

Lady Barbara Judge, former chairwoman of UK Atomic Energy Authority, said China has good technical nuclear capabilities. I have great respect for the nuclear projects all over China, she said.

Andrew Shepherd, senior energy and infrastructure analyst at BMI Research, said rigorous and robust assessment of Chinas own domestically designed reactor by UK regulators would certainly give Chinas nuclear export plans a significant boost.

He said CGN will increase efforts to communicate with greater emphasis on transparency with the UK public about its technology in order to build trust.

He said CGN is currently in advanced stages of preparing nuclear investments in Romania. Other areas being considered include the Czech Republic, Southeast Asian countries, South Africa, and Turkey.

Contact the writer at cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com
E-wallet services bloom at airports Updated: 2016-09-30 07:21 By MENG JING/WANG YING(China Daily)

View of a logo of Alipay, the mobile payment service of Alibaba Group, in a hotel in Nantong city, EastChina's Jiangsu province, May 21, 2016. [Photo/IC]

International airports have become the new battlefield for the country's top internet companies as they gear up for over-seas expansion by providing Chinese outbound travelers with more e-wallet services.

The timing is ideal, as millions of tourists pack their bags right before the National Day holiday, from Oct 1 to 7.

China's online search giant Baidu Inc announced on Thursday a partnership with Israeli startup Travelers Box to provide a convenient way for Chinese travelers to exchange their unused foreign money before returning home.

Through the service, travelers can choose to credit their Baidu Wallet accounts by depositing money at Travelers-Box kiosks at airports in some of the most popular countries for Chinese tourists, including Japan, Italy and Canada.

The service, which charges 7 percent of the total deposit as a service and exchange fee, is available at five international airports, with six more by year's end.

Whitney Yan, a Baidu spokeswoman, said the service will save people the trouble of taking their spare foreign money home, then having to exchange it into yuan.

"Sometimes, you don't want to waste your spare money buying goods you don't really want. If you don't have time to go to a bank, the money is likely to sit in your drawer," she said. Li Chao, an analyst with iResearch Consulting Group, said that the rising number of Chinese outbound travelers and their increasing spending overseas are only part of the reason companies are looking to airports for business.

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

Alipay, China's largest online payment service, struck a deal on Tuesday with 10 overseas airports to introduce its payment services starting in October. Included are airports in Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and Thailand. The company said it will include more services at airports in the future.
Empty-nesters enter the smart age with smarter devices Updated: 2016-10-03 08:40 By Han Qiao From China Features(China Daily)

Every time Ai Yuanxi switches on the TV, the first pictures she sees are those from her son. He lives in Berlin and sends pictures of Ai's 16-month-old grandson to her TV every day.

"It's amazing that you can receive pictures on TV," says the 65-year-old grandmother, who lives in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. "It's handy and the pictures are much larger than those on cell phones or computer screens. It's like my grandson is right in front of me."

Ai's TV has a set-up box specially designed for the elderly. The TV has some computer functions, but the remote control pad makes it much easier to use. More importantly, she won't suffer from neck pain or strain her eyes even if she spends hours in front of the TV. As China's population ages, some internet-based products are becoming easier to use for the elderly who are less familiar with the technology. These smart products can help parents and their children maintain a comfortable distance, while continuing their close bond without getting involved in each other's life too much.

China has the largest population of senior citizens in the world. By the end of last year, it had 222 million people aged 60 or above, accounting for 16.1 percent of the total population, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The number of "empty-nesters", parents whose grown-up children work and live in other Chinese cities or abroad, is rapidly growing. Contrary to popular belief that this phenomenon is more or less limited to smaller cities, the problem is no less serious in big cities. In fact, it is even more complicated, particularly among families with well-educated children who are settled or working abroad.

Jiang Feng, founder of Judou Technology Company, says the buyers and users of the Judou TV box are different. Buyers are mostly in their 30s while the users are their parents who are in their 60s. "Many children feel sad when they have to leave their parents. The device offers away to stay connected," Jiang says.

The box enables a person to download a film from the internet directly to their parents' TV, which might be thousands of kilometers away. It also makes it possible for parents to video chat. Parents can video chat with their children's families on TV while the children can answer video calls on their cell phones any time.

Jiang says senior citizens, just like young people, are curious about new technology but are intimated by the fear of failing to use it. "So when designing products for them, my guiding principle is making them easy to use."

Liu Bei (alias), 77, won't let her husband take a walk by himself if he doesn't wear a watch which can also be used as a cell phone - with a button for emergency calls - and a GPS. Her 87-year-old husband, who has shown early signs of Alzheimer's, fell down one day while taking a walk. He pressed the emergency button, sending an instant alert to the cell phones of Liu, and their son and daughter-in-law. Liu rushed downstairs and found him using the GPS tracker.

Her husband also has a number of chronic conditions. He needs to take tablets twice a day for hypertension and suffers from an irregular heartbeat. But when his heartbeat accelerates, he cannot take the tablets.

The government has announced policies to encourage the development of smart products to help address the challenges of an aging society. Du Peng, professor of aging studies at Renmin University of China, says smart devices help the elderly through daily life, but the supply of products is insufficient and many are too complicated for senior citizens.

The next stage of development, says Du, should see smart devices connected to local medical and other services for the elderly. In a medical emergency, nearby medical centers could be informed immediately, speeding up the process of help.

Ai Yuanxi occasionally travels abroad. She has visited her son in Europe, and has been to Egypt and the Republic of Korea. She stores her photos on a Judou box. She often rolls the pictures, recalling fond memories, on the TV screen accompanied by music. "It makes me feel very happy," she says.

"Innovation in smart technology helps the elderly live more interesting and dignified lives," Du says, which truly is invaluable for our senior citizens.
E-commerce shapes up in ancient city Updated: 2016-10-07 10:12 By Xinhua in Urumqi(China Daily USA)

Saphola Anayat's father used to make a living peddling vegetables off the back of a donkey cart in Kashgar, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Donkey carts are now a rare sight in the city, they have been replaced by something a bit more 21st century - computers.

"My father used to transport vegetables from village to village. When business was good, he came back all smiles, laden with snacks and treats for the family, but more often than not, after trekking for miles and miles to sell his crops, he was too tired to talk when he came back," Saphola said.

Luckily for Saphola, 26, and his generation, commerce in the autonomous region is much easier nowadays.

Kashgar resident Deng Chunjuan shops at a vegetable outlet directly owned by Kashgar Minsheng E-commerce Co in the city in the Xinjiang autonomous region. Photos by Zhao Ge / Xinhua

Following his graduation from college, Saphola attended a six-month e-commerce course and secured a job at an e-commerce office in his hometown.

He tracks the village harvest and coordinates with farmers to transport their products from the field to the doorsteps of online-buyers. He also helps his fellow villagers, who are mostly computer illiterate, with other online errands, such as booking appointments with doctors.

"My father's generation hardly knew there was a market beyond the next village, but now, thanks to e-commerce, customers from all over China are on our doorstep," Saphola said.

Doing business across the vast region is no easy task, especially as it is naturally divided by large stretches of desert. The office where Saphola works helps farmers overcome these geographical barriers.

Saphola works for Kashgar Minsheng E-commerce Co, which has 43 offices across southern Xinjiang.

The firm accepts orders from wholesalers and private buyers and then coordinates with farmers to fulfill these orders, said Liu Chao, company owner.

Established in 2012, Minsheng is the biggest firm of its kind in the region and cooperates with 5,000 farmers in 18 counties and cities in southern Xinjiang.

Minsheng was not alone in identifying the gap in the market when online commerce first boomed, and the competition is fierce. Liu staked his success on cooperation - identifying offline resources, sharing wholesalers' storage space and logistics resources.

It runs several websites, such as xjms365.com and Xianbaza, which are both open to wholesalers and buyers. Last year, it sold 37 million yuan ($5.69 million) of farm produce.

Even before dawn brings another beautiful summer day to Kashgar, the city's biggest farmers' market, Kuklan, is filled to the rafters, and hundreds of anxious farmers vie to sell their fruit and vegetables.

Abdulaen, 57, gets up at 2 am everyday to load his van with tomatoes and join the long queue to Kuklan market.

He needs to sell all of these ripe, plump tomatoes before they turn bad in the summer heat.

"If I can't find a wholesaler, I have to dump them, so getting here early is very important," he said.

In the hustle and bustle of the market, some of the younger farmers seem more relaxed.

Alimamat, 30, sells most of his cabbages and tomatoes to e-commerce companies.

He owns six vegetable sheds and packs up the vegetables according to online orders. On a busy day, he can sell more than 400 kilograms of tomatoes and 280 kg of cabbages.

"The orders are reassuring. There are no big price fluctuations and hardly any of my vegetables rot in the field," he said. Alimamat makes at least 100,000 yuan per year.

E-commerce also employs a lot of women in southern Xinjiang, where, up until recently, it was the norm for girls to marry early and be housewives.

Rutsangul started working with Saphola last year.

"I get 2,500 yuan a month - this is a good income for my family. The office is near my home so I can still care for my 5-year-old son," she said.

"I have taught many women in my village to use a computer."

Located south of the Taklimakan Desert, most counties in southern Xinjiang are underdeveloped, weighed down by poor infrastructure and low education levels. Earlier this year, Xinjiang had 2.61 million people below the poverty line, 83 percent of whom lived in southern Xinjiang.

Xinjiang government made this area one of its top priorities in the anti-poverty battle before 2020. This year, the regional government will channel money into huge projects, including irrigation facilities and roads all across southern Xinjiang.

"Online commerce is not only reshaping the way people shop, but is also having a positive effect on modern agriculture and lives for people in southern Xinjiang," said Meng Yongsheng, deputy director of the Economics College at Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics.

The government and the companies need to work together to support the industry and help the area to merge into the national endeavor to building a new Silk Road, he said.

In the next five years, Minsheng's Liu Chao wants to double the number of offices in southern Xinjiang.
Chinese arts festival aims to encourage better understanding Updated: 2016-10-07 23:57 By Fu Jing in Brussels(chinadaily.com.cb)

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".

The artists staged a performance at 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
Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page.

Loading...

Checking your browser before accessing the website.

This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly.

Please wait a few seconds.
Hanoi, October 7 (VNA)  Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong has hailed outgoing Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Fukada for his positive contributions to deepening the bilateral extensive strategic partnership during his tenure in Vietnam.



During a reception in Hanoi on October 7, Trong expressed his delight at the strong and practical development of Vietnam-Japan ties in multiple areas, especially since the two countries leaders issued a Joint Vision Statement on bilateral relations on the occasion of the Vietnamese Party General Secretarys visit to Japan in September 2015.



The Vietnamese Party and State always consider Japan a long-term and top important partner, he stressed.



The host expressed hope that in any position, the ambassador will further contribute to promoting bilateral ties.



Fukada, for his part, expressed wish to continue strengthening all-around ties with Vietnam, including facilitating high-level visits, and increasing coordination in regional and global issues.



He pledged to do his best to reinforce ties between the two countries as well as people-to-people exchange.

VNA/VNP
QUANG NGAI  The Republic of Koreas Doosan has sold the Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) business unit of Doosan Engineering & Construction to General Electric (GE).

A source from Doosan Heavy Industries Viet Nam (Doosan Vina) confirmed the deal to Viet Nam News, stating that the deal was worth US$250 million.

Doosan Vina said it would transfer the HRSG shop  one of five shops built in central Quang Ngai province  to GE Power Systems Korea by the end of this year.

The HRSG business unit accounted for a minor share of Doosan Vinas overall business, the company said.

Doosan Vina, situated in the Dung Quat Economic Zone in Binh Son District of the Province, is a high-tech industrial complex with nearly 2,500 employees, supplying mega infrastructure products for thermal power plants, desalination plants, cranes and chemical processing equipment for export.

The company exported goods worth $300 million in 2015.  VNS
NINH BINH  Problems in rural electricity supply and trade promotion centres were discussed at an industry and trade sector conference held on Thursday in the northern province of Ninh Binh.

The conference attracted 28 northern provinces and cities.

Speaking about improving the electric system in rural and remote areas, the industry and trade departments of Ha Giang, Hoa Binh, Lai Chau, Hung Yen, Thai Binh and Bac Kan provinces proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) arrange capital for construction projects and upgrade the electric system.

Nguyen Van Thanh, director of the Rural Electric System Department under the MoIT said that 19 out of 28 northern provinces and cities joined the target programme of supplying electricity to households in rural, mountainous and island areas in the period of 2016-20 following Government Resolution 73 issued on August 26 this year.

The Government approved the target programme with total investment of more than VN30 trillion (US$1.3 billion) but the State budget could supply only 16 per cent of the funds. The Government asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to find funding from other sources such as official development assistance.

The MoIT requested 100 million euros ($111.1 million) from the European Credit and $178 million from the Asian Development Bank to conduct the target programme soon, said Thanh.

At present, the MoIT is setting up the detailed plan for the programme, so has not issued guidance for implementing the programme yet.

It was expected that by the beginning of next year, the MoIT would complete the plan, he said.

Thanh added that ensuring safety for rural low pressure electric systems was important as the old system had deteriorated.

There is much work to be done with a limited State budget.

The MoIT would ask investors in provinces and cities to include the electric system upgrade in their projects, and it would be an important content when approving a project, said Thanh.

Trade promotion

Ta Hoang Linh, deputy director of the Trade Promotion Department under the MoIT, said that trade promotion in 28 northern provinces and cities had achieved significant results.

The 28 provinces and cities allocated a total of VN60 billion ($2.7 million) for trade promotion.

The MoIT also supported 57 projects with funds of VN12 billion ($533,300).

Northern provinces have submitted more than 140 projects to the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency.

New projects would be approved in December this year so that provinces could conduct them next year, said Linh.

Departments of industry and trade said that the MoIT did not yet have detailed regulations on the function and duty of trade promotion centres.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade o Thang Hai said that the MoIT would issue regulations for all localities, and different provinces and cities could apply the regulations flexibly.  VNS
Since India has strength in textile technology and Viet Nam is dependent on feedstock for its textile industry from many countries, they could mutually benefit by co-operation, according to the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  Photo tuoitre.vn

HCM CITY  Since India has strength in textile technology and Viet Nam is dependent on feedstock for its textile industry from many countries, they could mutually benefit by co-operation, according to the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Vo Tan Thanh, director of VCCIs HCM City chapter, said the garment and textile sector was the countrys second largest export earner last year after increasing by 17 per cent to US$27.5 billion.

Yet, the sector relied heavily on imported raw materials, he told a press conference held to introduce the India Textile Machinery Exhibition (IMTE 2016).

Nguyen Ngoc Lan, deputy director general of Nha Be Corporation, said 70 per cent of the feedstock needed for production has to be imported, and last year this accounted for around $15 billion.

Both Thanh and Lan said existing and future free trade agreements, including the TPP and Viet Nam-EU FTA, would open up export opportunities for the sector.

Experts forecast garment and textile exports to be worth $50-55 billion by 2025, double the current figure, Thanh said.

The sector urgently needs to invest in technologies to produce its own raw materials so that it can benefit from the FTAs, especially the TPP, he said.

India, the second largest garment and textile producer in the world, has advanced technologies and equipment at competitive prices, offering Vietnamese firms a good choice, he said.

Lan said the Viet Nam National Garment and Textile Group and other companies in the sector have enhanced co-operation with local and foreign partners to produce more fibre, yarn and other raw materials.

We know that India has strengths in garment and textile technology. We hope that Indian firms will [enter] the Vietnamese market via joint ventures to make textile raw materials.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, deputy general secretary of the Viet Nam Textile and Garment Association, said the country has 5,000 garment and textile firms, but only 500 of them produce raw materials.

Around 20 Indian garment and textile firms have a presence in Viet Nam, she said, adding that the number is expected to increase further since the two countries are trying to link up their businesses, especially in this sector, she said.

Sanjiv Lathia, chairman of the India International Textile Machinery Exhibitions Society, told the press conference that he has invited the Viet Nam Textile industry to the IMTE 2016, one of the largest international textile machinery and accessories expos.

Organised every four years, the 10th exhibition to be held in Mumbai from December 3 to 8 will feature the best of textile engineering, innovation, customised solutions, green technology, fibre, yarn and others from 37 countries, he said.

Seema Srivastava, executive director of the India International Textile Machinery Exhibitions Society, said the exhibition would enable participants to experience modern technologies from across the globe, interact with distributors and explore opportunities for joint ventures and investment.

Lathia said the exhibition is expected to welcome more than 1.5 million visitors.

Thanh said the VCCI would send a delegation to the expo.  VNS
The local fishing industry continues to face many challenges toward reaching its year-end export target of US$7 billion, according to experts. Photo angiang.gov.vn

HA NOI  The local fishing industry continues to face many challenges toward reaching its year-end export target of US$7 billion, according to experts.

The Viet Nam Association Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP) said that first nine months of this year showed stable export value growth for seafood products, excluding cuttle-fish and octopus. Many export markets trended up, creating solid conditions for local enterprises to promote seafood exports at this year end.

In particular, the free trade agreement between Viet Nam and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) that came into effect on October 5 should create favourable conditions for Viet Nams fishing industry to increase seafood exports to EAEU member countries.

However, VASEP general secretary Truong inh Hoe reported that in the last three months of this year, shrimp export volume sent to the US might remain stagnant or even reduce. The US Chamber of Commerce has decided to raise its anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese shrimp at rate 5 time higher than previously suggested.

Meanwhile, exports of tra catfish to the US have continued to grow since the beginning of this year. However, local exporters fear anti-dumping duties on the fish and the US tra fish inspection programme, the association said. The tra fish exports to the EU grew slowly in the first nine months while competing with other kinds of white-meat fish.

Tran Van Linh, chairman of Thuan Phuoc Seafood Joint Stock Company, said hitting the yearend export target of $7.1 billion will require great effort from the nations fisheries.

By the end of December 2016, tnhe industry will almost certainly have gro, but there likely will not be many more large export contracts signed, he said. Enterprises already have orders for Vietnamese seafood products for the Christmas and New Year occasions from main markets.

Seafood exports were expected to increase in Japan and South Korea by end of the year, he said.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in this years nine-month period, seafood exports brought home more than $4.9 billion, surging 4.3 per cent year-on-year. The US, Japan, China and South Korea were the four main importers of Vietnamese seafood, making up 53.7 per cent of the total export revenue.

If Viet Nam were to earn $7.1 billion in export value of seafood for this whole year, the figure would be 7 per cent higher than 2015.  VNS
Economists and experts warn that Viet Nam should restructure its farming industry, making it less rice-oriented and focusing more on producing breeding materials in order to reduce its over-dependence to imported animal feed. Photo nhachannuoi.vn

HA NOI  Economists and experts warn that Viet Nam should restructure its farming industry, making it less rice-oriented and focusing more on producing breeding materials in order to reduce its over-dependence to imported animal feed.

In an article published this week, the Vietnam Economics News quoted some industry insiders as saying that the shift from rice to corn might help ensure sustainable development of local animal feed production

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developments Plantation Department, Ma Quang Trung, said Viet Nam recorded a rice surplus of approximately seven million tonnes each year, but needed to import a large quantity of corn for animal feed due to its failure to meet domestic demand. Currently, the price of Vietnamese corn is higher than that of imported corn. Thus, the most important tasks involve effectively converting rice farming to corn while reducing the cost of corn, Trung said.

According to the latest ministry statistics, Viet Nam imported roughly US$2.1 billion worth of animal feed and raw materials, including corn and soybean, over the past eight months, down 6.2 per cent from the same period a year ago.

Most of the animal feed and raw materials were imported from Argentina, the US and China, according to the data.

To deal with the issue, the chairman of Viet Nam Animal Feed Association Le Ba Lich has called for State financial assistance to help farmers convert from rice to corn crops, as well as help in technical aspects of cultivation.

He also emphasized the importance of developing a sufficient irrigation system to raise domestic corn productivity, which stood at only only 4-5 tonnes per hectare, much lower than 9-10 tonnes in other countries.

The State should also incentivise enterprises investment in animal feed production, he added.

The ministry has set a goal of turning 668,000 hectares of rice-growing land into corn-growing land in northern mountainous provinces within five years.

Earlier this year, the Government decided to provide farmers shifting from rice growing to corn with up to VN3 million per hectare to buy seeds.  VNS
In the old days people used blacksmiths to make all sorts of things from metal.

Then factories started to make those things and people stopped being blacksmiths.

A man in Hue Province did not like seeing the type of work his family had done for so long, vanish.

So, Huynh The Tien decided to get people to do it again.

Thanks to him, blacksmithing is once again happening in Hue Province.

THUA THIEN - HUE  Men who grew up in rural areas usually seek office jobs, avoiding the hard manual work their parents did.

But Huynh The Tien does not want to turn his back on the traditional blacksmithing work of his father.

His strong will and focused effort have helped to save the blacksmiths of Cau Vuc Village in central Thua Thien - Hue Province.

47-year-old man Tien always felt a kinship with blacksmiths. He helped his father every day during his childhood. Eventually, he attended college and later became a primary school teacher.

But seeing the craft of blacksmithing dying in his village made him feel bad.

Products made by blacksmith artisans in his home village could not compete with the cheap industrial products overwhelming the market. As a result, almost every artisan in the village quit his job to find other ways to earn a living.

I felt pity. Fewer families in the village continued with blacksmithing since they could not sell their products since the 2000s, Tien told local newspapers. He decided to do something before the blacksmithing craft of his ancestors dies out completely.

Tien loved the blacksmithing craft, especially the skills he learned from his father. In 2008, he set up a project to nurture a comeback of blacksmithing in the village.

First, he opened a blacksmiths workshop at home with loans from local banks. He purchased modern equipment to make sharper and nicer products, compared with those produced by traditional tools.

I decided to buy industrial equipment, like machine knives and machine hammers, which produces stronger pressure and is sharper than tools using hand power."

Industrial welding also replaced coal burning in some steps of blacksmithing. New designs were created. Gradually products from the Tien workshop began to sell well in the local market.

Then, Tien gave his designs to others in the village and worked as an agent to import high quality steel for blacksmiths, encouraging fellow blacksmiths to adapt to meet the needs of modern times.

Tiens efforts inspired locals and brought about a resurgence of blacksmiths and blacksmithing in his village.

By 2014, there were 20 households running family blacksmithing workshops in the village. This led the Thua Thien - Hue Province Peoples Committee to recognise the community as a Craft Village.

Now Tien works with three apprentices every night at the workshop after he finishes teaching at Thuy Luong Primary School. Today some of his products are found throughout the country, including a multi-function shovel, a smart kitchen knife, and other agricultural and fishing tools.

Earlier this month, the committee awarded Tien the title of Blacksmith Artisan and listed him as a local craft artisan.  VNS





GLOSSARY

Men who grew up in rural areas usually seek office jobs, avoiding the hard manual work their parents did.

A rural area is an area that is not in a city or town. Places like farms, forests and villages are rural areas.

To seek office jobs means to search for office jobs.

Manual work is work done using your hands, such as working in fields.

His strong will and focused effort have helped to save the blacksmiths of Cau Vuc Village in central Thua Thien - Hue Province.

Somebody who has a strong will has a strong sense of wanting to do something.

To be focused means to give something all your attention.

But seeing the craft of blacksmithing dying in his village made him feel bad.

A craft is something you do that involves making something by hand.

Products made by blacksmith artisans in his home village could not compete with the cheap industrial products overwhelming the market.

Artisans are people who work with their hands, using special skills to make things.

If products compete with one another, the people who sell them try to make sure people buy their products rather than other peoples products.

Industrial products are things made in factories.

To overwhelm the market means to make an enormous number of things available for people to buy.

In 2008, he set up a project to nurture a comeback of blacksmithing in the village.

To nurture means to carefully care and protect something while it is growing.

A comeback means a return.

He purchased modern equipment to make sharper and nicer products, compared with those produced by traditional tools.

Purchased means bought.

Industrial welding also replaced coal burning in some steps of blacksmithing.

To weld means to join two things together by heating them so much that they melt into one another.

Then, Tien gave his designs to others in the village and worked as an agent to import high quality steel for blacksmiths, encouraging fellow blacksmiths to adapt to meet the needs of modern times.

To import means to buy things from another country.

To adapt means to change in order to be useful in a different way.

Tiens efforts inspired locals and brought about a resurgence of blacksmiths and blacksmithing in his village.

To inspire someone means to make them want to go out and do something positive.

A resurgence of something means a return.

Now Tien works with three apprentices every night at the workshop after he finishes teaching at Thuy Luong Primary School.

Apprentices are people who are busy training to become artisans.

Today some of his products are found throughout the country, including a multi-function shovel, a smart kitchen knife, and other agricultural and fishing tools.

A multi-function shovel is one that can be used for many purposes.

WORKSHEET

State whether the following sentences are true, or false:

Huynh The Tien is a teacher by day. Cau Vuc Village in northern Thua Thien - Hue Province. Huynh The Tien borrowed money from local banks to open his blacksmith workshop at home. Huynh The Tiens father was a blacksmith. Huynh The Tien trained as a secondary school teacher.

ANSWERS:

 Duncan Guy/Learn the News/ Viet Nam News 2016

1. True; 2. False; 3. True; 4. True; 5. False.
OceanBanks former chairman and 15 of its top leaders will be tried for their involvement in one of the biggest economic crime cases in Viet Nam this year, police said yesterday.  Photo nld.com.vn

HA NOI  OceanBanks former chairman and 15 of its top leaders will be tried for their involvement in one of the biggest economic crime cases in Viet Nam this year, police said yesterday.

The Investigation Police Department announced they have concluded their three-year investigation and requested the Supreme Peoples Procuracy to prosecute the local OceanBank former Managing Board Chairman Ha Van Tham for his leading role in causing an estimated loss of VN1.55 trillion (US$69 million) for the bank and for the State.

The 44-year-old Tham was arrested in late October, 2014. Yesterdays police announcement means he will be tried on charges which include breaching loan regulations of credit institutions, intentionally acting against State laws causing serious consequences, fraudulent acts and abuse of power.

Tham was said to have abused his power as the banks top leader to withdraw bank money for personal use, leading to non-retrievable losses of trillions of ong, which badly affected the countrys economy and negatively influenced the implementation of the States fiscal and monetary policy, police said.

According to the police, Tham personally ordered the OceanBank Board of Directors to approve a loan of VN500 billion to Pham Cong Danh, former Managing Board Chairman of the Construction Bank. The amount of the illegal loan was above the regulated limits, and the loan was pushed through without collateral assets to secure the loan.

Meanwhile, Danh was also convicted of another colossal banking crime. He was sentenced to 30 years behind bars last month for his violations which caused losses of VN9 trillion for Construction Bank.

As for his other excesses, Tham also requested to pay customers a rate of interest above the standard rates regulated by the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), which cost OceanBank more than VN984 billion.

Nguyen Xuan Son, former general director of OceanBank, will also be prosecuted for joining hands with his boss to charge customers additional fees via one of Thams shell companies - the BSC Co, JSC, which initially registered to operate in real estate. At least VN70 billion went into Sons pocket since the bank started implementing its illegal fees.

Son and another former general director, Nguyen Minh Thu, were both charged with abuse of power and intentionally acting against State laws on economic management, causing serious consequences.

Two ex-deputy general directors, four directors, a deputy director head of a bank section, and six directors of bank branches will also be tried for their involvement in a series of bank management violations from 2011 to 2014. Pham Hoang Giang, former general director of Thams BSC company, will also be prosecuted.

The police said 49 more OceanBank branch and transaction office directors who followed orders and paid customers extra interest would be investigated later.

Police will also investigate eight customers who left OceanBank with bad debts of more than VN2.6 trillion during the next stage of their investigation.

Under Thams direction, OceanBanks bad debts climbed to nearly VN15 trillion, with pre-tax losses reaching more than VN10 trillion as of March 2014.

The OceanBank case is one of the six biggest economic crimes which the Central Steering Anti-Corruption Committee asked to bring to trial by the first quarter of 2017, at the latest.

SBV nationalised OceanBank in May last year.  VNS
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.
CEDAR FALLS -- A change that evaded Area Education Agency 267 when it was created through a merger 13 years ago occurred Wednesday as its board of directors approved a new name.

Central Rivers Area Education Agency will officially become AEA 267's name July 1, 2017. It will start to be phased in around the first of the year when a new agency website is launched. Supplies bearing the current name will be used up throughout the spring before the official changeover.

Officials cited a desire to present a more unified image and take advantage of timing in making the change.

The board rarely makes unilateral decisions, but in this case we felt it was appropriate to move ahead, Roberta Kraft-Abrahamson, the board's vice president, said in a news release. The timing is right given recent conversations around updates to facilities, the fact that our website is in the midst of a complete overhaul and many of our building signs are in need of replacement.

"From a dollars and cents standpoint we had to make these improvements, anyway," she noted.

In spring 2003, as a merger of AEA's 2, 6 and 7 loomed, the board embarked on a process to come up a name for the new agency. It had been informally known as AEA 267 since the merger talks began. After gathering about 100 suggestions from staff of the agencies and member schools, the possible names were narrowed down to two.

But the board didn't choose either of the names, instead formalizing the use of the combined numbers. The name just chosen was not one of the 2003 finalists.

Officials said site visits from the Iowa Department of Education personnel echoed the sentiment that others have had about the current name for years -- it honors the three agencies that merged in 2003 but doesnt project the image of a single entity.

Cedar Falls-based AEA 267 provides special education, school technology, media and instructional/curriculum support to schools in 18 central and Northeast Iowa counties. Other central offices are located in Clear Lake and Marshalltown.
DES MOINES  If Donald Trump needs a safe space, he should come to Iowa.

Across the country Saturday, the Republican presidential candidate faced withering criticism over recently published lewd comments he made in 2005 about groping women.

Since the comments were published, more than 30 Republican members of Congress and governors who had not previously ruled out supporting Trump disavowed his candidacy, the New York Times reported Saturday.

In Iowa, however, Republican leaders  as they gathered for their annual fall fundraiser  condemned Trumps comments but continued to support his candidacy, either directly or by way of opposing Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

And a new Iowa Poll published Saturday evening showed Trump leading Clinton, 43 percent to 39 percent, in Iowa, although the survey was taken before Trumps latest comments were published.

When you look at the whole picture, I think what he said was absolutely wrong and reprehensible, yet this has happened in 2005 and we need to look to the future, and we need to look at what kind of a leader were going to have for this country, said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, whose son, Eric, is the Trump campaigns Iowa director. I think that the vision Trump and (running mate Mike) Pence have is much better for the future of America than what Hillary Clinton offers.

During their remarks at the fundraiser, Iowas U.S. Senators Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst both made the case for voting for Trump without using his name.

Ernst dedicated most of her remarks to criticizing Clinton, and Grassley said Republicans must vote for a candidate they want making appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is not an election about whos going to be president just for the next four years. This is an election about the direction of the Supreme Court for the next 40 years, Grassley said.

Neither Grassley nor Ernst spoke to reporters before the event, although Ernst gave a brief answer to one question as she hurried to her seat. When asked whether she still supports Trump, Ernst replied simply, I do not support Hillary Clinton.

The states Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann condemned Trumps comments, which he called disgusting, but said he still will encourage Republicans to vote for Trump.

Kaufmann said he thinks voters face a choice between two flawed candidates.

The only way to avoid a disaster, and the Clinton gang returning to the White House is just that, is to elect Donald Trump, Kaufmann said.

The evenings sharpest rebuke of Trump came from a non-Iowan: U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, of Arkansas, the events keynote speaker.

Cotton said Trump has let down Republicans again, and said at tonights presidential debate Trump must take full responsibility for his words and actions and pledge to finally change his ways.

If he does those things, then he can right this ship, Cotton said. If he does not do those things, if he will not do those things, then he needs to consider whether its time for him to step aside and allow our party to nominate an elder statesman who will do those things and who will carry our banner into November.

Earlier Saturday, an Iowa state senator who earlier this year dropped his Republican Party affiliation in protest of Trumps offensive statements and behavior called on Iowa GOP leaders to withdraw their support for Trump over the recently published comments.

Now that Trumps true anti-women sickness has been revealed, surely these two state leaders must condemn Trump publicly, Johnson said. As I said in June, Donald Trump is a bigot, misogynist and racist, and is unfit to be president of a great nation.

Trump issued a video statement in which he apologized for the comments, which were caught on microphone in a leaked 2005 video that was released Friday. Trump also called the footage of his comments a distraction from bigger issues at stake in the Nov. 8 election.

Ive never said Im a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that Im not, Trump said in the video. Ive said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am.

Trump told reporters Saturday he would never withdraw from the race, even as pressure mounted for him to step aside.

The Clinton campaign in Iowa addressed Trumps comments with a letter signed by four local mothers.

The language Trump uses to describe women is not just shocking and hurtful, but disqualifies him for the presidency, the letter says. As mothers of young children and grandchildren, we want our president to set the example for young people that every person is their equal regardless of gender and physical appearance, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religion. Instead, Trump continues to divide the country with his hateful rhetoric, volatile temperament, and demeaning views toward women and too many Americans.
JOHNSTON  Democratic senatorial candidate Patty Judge said Friday solving the multi-state issue of water quality likely will have to include a federal regulatory role. Some farm groups and political leaders, like Gov. Terry Branstad and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, support a voluntary approach. But Judge  a former state ag secretary  said that will not solve the problem.

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.

Judge later told reporters Congress must make certain there is a balanced, common sense regulatory approach by federal bureaucrats who have been accused of over-reaching on environmental rules.

Judges remarks drew criticism from incumbent U.S. Sen. Charles Grassleys 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.

Judge said if she were a senator, she would push for federal flood mitigation money so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can proceed with the work needed to protect Cedar Rapids from future floods.

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.

Judge said problems like water quality, flood mitigation and immigration reform cant be solved with political 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 she had hoped to debate Grassley face to face at the venue, but that wont happen now.

Instead, Grassley and Judge are slated to debate Oct. 19 debate at Morningside College in Sioux City and a Nov. 4 WHO radio debate. Judge said Friday she has agreed for that meeting to be carried live on WHO-TV but has not heard from Grassley if he will accept.
WATERLOO  The two candidates vying to represent Iowas 1st District have each agreed to two debates. Just not the same two debates.

U.S. Rep. Rod Blums campaign announced an updated debate proposal Friday. The first-term Republican agreed to two debates  one Friday on KWWL and one Oct. 18 on the Simon Conway Show on WMT Radio.

Blum, a Dubuque businessman, still proposes four debates, with two others to be held Oct. 20 in Dubuque and Oct. 24 in Marshalltown, but did not release the specifics of who might host those events.

Democratic challenger Monica Vernon, a former Cedar Rapids City Council woman, has proposed two debates.

She previously agreed to two televised debates  one with KCRG and one with Iowa Public Television.

He has accepted neither, said Vernon spokeswoman Michelle Gajewski. Everyone is getting tired of this game. Its pretty simple: If Congressman Blum is serious about debating, Monica looks forward to seeing him at those debates on Oct. 26 and Nov. 3 to do so.

Each camp threw barbs at the other.

Its disappointing that once again Mrs. Vernon is refusing to compromise. Eastern Iowans deserve better, said Daniel Sunne, Blum for Congress spokesman.

Gajewski said, And again, Congressman Blum shows he is really good at saying one thing and doing another.

She noted Vernons debate proposal has been on the table for weeks.

Blum first proposed a series of 10 debates in June.

Congressman Blum has now made four separate public debate offers, yet his opponent has refused to come to the negotiating table to work out a compromise, reads a statement from Blums campaign.

When Blums offer for 10 debates was countered with two, Blums campaign amended the number to six and then down to four. While he remains at four proposed debates, Blums campaign offered another compromise as well.

(T)he Blum campaign is willing to have Mrs. Vernon choose two of the four proposed debates above, and the Blum campaign will choose one of her two proposed debates, the statement reads.

It states that while Blum would prefer more, that compromise would still give voters the chance to hear the candidates compare and contrast their policies three times.

Blums campaign said last month its final debate compromise would be for four debates to be held in the same locations he currently proposes. Vernons campaign has continued to propose two debates in keeping with the precedent set for the past two election cycles.
Around Midland and around the world, loving and leading all people to deeper life in Jesus Christ.
WASHINGTON - US 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 US and get the US 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 US 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-US economic ties.
WILMINGTON, NC, October 08, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- "You cannot kill an entrenched ideology with a gun," Benjamin Ferencz, who began his law career prosecuting Nazis, said last week when he pledged $10 million to a group dedicated to preventing genocide.



In addition to using the funding to provide governments with the tools needed to prevent genocide, the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum also helps develop an international response when a genocide occurs.



Both are needed in a world that tends to turn a blind eye as entire cultures are erased for political, economic, ethnic or religious reasons, said Mari Serebrov, who has extensively researched the first genocide of the 20th century, which took place in German South-West Africa in 1904.



"However, we also need to establish international standards for dealing with past genocides to ensure the survivors aren't victimized again," Serebrov said. "Unfortunately, we too often refuse to recognize a genocide for what it is until years later. And even then, we temper our response, justifying our inaction and excusing the aggressor, especially if it happens to be a powerful or strategic ally."



The refusal to confront an entrenched ideology and hold nations accountable for their actions, even after the fact, fuels more genocides, said Serebrov, the author of 'Mama Namibia', a historical novel based on the true story of a 12-year-old Herero girl who survived the 1904 genocide in German South-West Africa, now modern-day Namibia.



In the case of Germany's first genocide, the government justified it as the necessary action to put down Herero and Nama uprisings. At the time, a few individuals spoke out about the senseless murder of entire peoples, but most nations looked away and continue to do so to this day, Serebrov noted. If they acknowledge it at all, they view it in the context of colonialism.



"There is no denying that what happened in South-West Africa went well beyond colonial aggression," Serebrov said. As German troops pressed the starving Herero ever deeper into the Kalahari Desert to die, Germany announced its intent to exterminate the entire Herero Nation, as well as many Nama communities.



Although already in practice, the Herero extermination policy was formalized Oct. 2, 1904, in a much-publicized order General Lothar von Trotha issued on behalf of the Kaiser. Yet the world did nothing.



"By time other nations acknowledge that a genocide has occurred, the damage has been done, countless lives have been destroyed, and the survivors face a future haunted by grief and economic despair," Serebrov said.



In recent years, some groups in Germany have pushed for their country to finally acknowledge the 1904 genocide, but no official recognition has been forthcoming. Now, the German government is privately negotiating with the Namibian government to put the matter to rest, according to Namibian news reports.



Excluded from those negotiations are leaders of the Herero and Nama, who, because of the genocide, are minorities in Namibia, a country that didn't come into existence until 1990. While the Herero and Nama may finally get an apology of sorts, their years of suffering and heartache may be overlooked in a deal designed to benefit the German and Namibian governments rather than the genocide survivors.



"This is why we need international standards for genocide reparations," Serebrov said. "Letting Germany dictate who it will negotiate with, along with the terms of an apology and reparations, is like letting a rapist determine if he has committed a crime and then having him slap his own hand."



About Mama Namibia:



Based on the true story of the daughter of a traditional healer, 'Mama Namibia' details the journey of a young girl, Jahohora, as she searches for her family while hiding from the German soldiers. Wasting away in the desert, Jahohora is about to give up her desperate struggle for life when she finds hope in a simple act of kindness from a Jewish doctor serving in the German army.



'Mama Namibia' has received rave reviews. One reader said, "Thank you for writing this book - touching, amazing, wonderful, sad, inspiring . . . a must read and one of the best books I've ever read." Another stated, "This book is a must read for anyone who is interested in history, troubled by its propensity to repeat itself and stunned that this story has never been told to a large audience before. It leaves the reader wondering how many more genocides have been quietly buried in the past."



Serebrov is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at [email protected]. All of her works, including 'Mama Namibia', are available at Amazon and other book retailers. More information is available at her website, http://www.mariserebrov.com.



An award-winning journalist with a passion for history, Mari Serebrov has authored a variety of books, including 'The Life and Times of W.H. Arnold of Arkansas', the historical novel 'Mama Namibia' and a children's book, 'Jahohora and First Day'. She also contributed to 'The Grandmother's Bible' and has co-authored a number of church resource and inspirational books with her mother, the late Adell Harvey.



Because of her work in calling attention to the first genocide of the 20th century in what was then German South-West Africa, Serebrov was named the literary laureate of the Herero Tribal Authority in 2013. She and her husband, Job, an attorney and judge for a Native American tribe, have two children and five grandchildren.



In regards to 'Mama Namibia' and the Herero genocide, Serebrov has been interviewed by Al Jazeera, The Namibian, New Era, the Windhoek Observer and other African publications. She appeared on "Good Morning, Namibia" and was interviewed on several national radio programs in Namibia.



# # #
Oct 8, 2016 | By Benedict

The first week of October was a busy one for 3D printing, with Stratasys and Future Engineers delivering 3D printing contest news, Graphene 3D and Airwolf 3D dropping filament news, and Toys R Us announcing it will stock family-friendly XYZprinting 3D printers. Heres the weekly roundup:

1. Graphene 3D introduces Conductive Flexible TPU Filament

Graphene 3D announced on Wednesday that it is releasing Conductive Flexible TPU Filament, a new electrically conductive and flexible 3D printing material developed by the company at its New York facility. The 3D printing material, available in 1.75 mm spools, is ideal for applications involving flexible sensors, electromagnetic and radiofrequency shielding, flexible conductive traces, and electrodes to be used in wearable electronics.

Additive manufacturing is enabling technology for small innovative companies that use 3D printing to make their prototypes, said Graphene 3D co-CEO Daniel Stolyarov. By adding the Conductive Flexible TPU Filament to our product line of functional 3D printing filaments, we have expanded the capabilities of 3D printing, thereby shortening the road from the development to the commercial application. We believe that our new filament will perform well in thriving entrepreneurial communities such as with developers of new wearable electronics products.

Conductive Flexible TPU Filament specs:

Price: $45

Diameter: 1.75 mm (0.1 mm)

Weight: 100 grams

Color: Black (Matte finish)

Base Resin: Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU)

Hardness: Shore 90 A

Volume resistivity <1.25 -cm

Improved UV stability ( suitable for outdoor use)

2. Stratasys kicks off 2017 Extreme Redesign 3D Printing Challenge

On Tuesday, 3D printing giant Stratasys kicked off the 13th Annual Extreme Redesign 3D Printing Challenge with a formal call for entries. The contest is supported by digital manufacturing hub GrabCAD, and invites scholars of engineering, design, and art, jewelry, and architecture to create an original piece or redesign an existing work using 3D printing. All designs must be mechanically sound, realistic, and achievable, while submissions are analyzed and judged based on mechanical design, design creativity, product usefulness, aesthetics (art, jewelry, and architecture only), and a compelling description.

For the 2017 edition of the event, first-place winners in each category will receive $2,500 (USD) scholarships, while instructors of first-place students will receive a demo 3D printer in their classroom for a limited time. Second place winners will receive $1,000 (USD) scholarships. The top 10 entries in each category will earn a Stratasys apparel item (value up to $50 USD) and a 3D printed model of their design. All teams and individuals will receive an official Extreme Redesign T-Shirt.

To submit an entry to the competition, teams or individuals need to create their design using 3D CAD software before submitting it in STL format through GrabCAD. The deadline for the following categories is March 9, 2017:

Engineering: Secondary Education (middle/high school)

Engineering: Post-Secondary (university, college, or post-secondary)

Art, Jewelry & Architecture (any grade level)

3. Mouser Electronics, Grant Imahara, Local Motors demonstrate 3D printed autonomous vehicle

Semiconductor and electronic component specialist Mouser Electronics has teamed up with 3D printed vehicle sensation Local Motors and celebrity engineer Grant Imahara to develop a 3D printed autonomous vehicle. The trio posted a video on Thursday which shows the new vehicle design, based on the winning entry from the "Essence of Autonomy" global design contest. The concept car features a drone mounted on the rear of the vehicle that, when launched, gives the driver an unprecedented birds-eye view of the surroundings while the car is in self-driving mode. The driver can then watch the drones footage on the windshield via a viewing screen, providing a 360-degree perspective of the surroundings.

The new design is a variant on the Local Motors Strati, one of the most iconic 3D printed cars in the world. The drone element, however, is a completely new feature, and the result of a truly collaborative project. The Mouser Strati is helping us envision some of the endless possibilities that self-driving vehicles could offer, said Local Motors Co-founder and CEO John B. Rogers, Jr. This ambitious project showcases the creative power of our co-creation community as well as our ability to build cutting-edge vehicles at a rapid pace.

4. Sander Nijssen joins 3D printer manufacturer Formlabs as Head of Operations & Finance

Formlabs, the 3D printing company behind the Form 2 SLA 3D printer, announced on Wednesday that Sander Nijssen is joining its European leadership team to lead operations and finance. Prior to joining Formlabs, Nijssen worked as managing director of iversity, the leading German online education platform, where he raised helped raise several rounds of equity financing. Before that, Nijssen was CFO of The New Motion, a company specializing in charging solutions for electric cars.

The appointment of Nijssen represents another important step for Formlabs, whose European arm recently tripled its staff and is expanding into a larger office in Berlin. The 3D printer manufacturer hopes that Nijssens experience in in growing and building companies will help it grow in Europe. To build the best 3D printer, you need to have the best team, and were delighted to have Sander joining us, said Michael Sorkin, General Manager of Formlabs Europe. Sander has built innovative hardware companies before and understands the operational challenges that come with it. His track-record as a leader in operations and finance speaks for itself.

5. Renishaw to manufacture 3D printed medical devices at new healthcare facility in Wales

Precision engineering company Renishaw announced on Thursday that it is opening a dedicated healthcare facility at its South Wales site in the UK. The center will provide a facility for the manufacture of 3D printed medical devices, as well as education and training for the life sciences community. The Renishaw Healthcare Centre of Excellence contains a mock non-sterile operating theatre, educational and training facilities, and a metal 3D printing area for producing class 3 custom medical devices.

Renishaws metal 3D printing systems, which will be used to fabricate custom medical devices at the new facility, are made at the Miskin site in a production hall adjacent to the Healthcare Centre of Excellence. The companys range of powder bed fusion metal 3D printers includes the RenAM 500M, AM400, and AM250. Earlier this year, Renishaw partnered with BioHorizons to develop 3D printed dental abutments for false teeth.

6. Future Engineers announces Think Outside the Box 3D printing contest winners

Future Engineers, along with NASA and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Foundation, has announced the two winners from Future Engineers Think Outside the Box Challenge, a national 3D printing design challenge issued to K-12 students to celebrate the launch of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), the first expandable habitat deployed on the space station. The announcement was made on Thursday.

With 122 designs from 26 states submitted to the contest, the Future Engineers judgeswhich included retired astronaut Nicole Stotthad a tough time selecting just one winner per age division. After careful consideration, the panel chose Thomas Salversons Expanding Pod design (Teen Group, 13-19) and Emily Takaras Space Anchor design (5-12). The two students will receive a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, for a tour of Bigelow Aerospace. Each student finalist (four per category) has been awarded a Heimplanet inflatable tent and a $50 3D printing gift certificate from Shapeways.

The 3D printing challenge asked students to to design a useful-for-astronauts 3D printable object that assembles or expands to become larger than the printing area of the Made In Space AMF 3D printer, located on the International Space Station. Salversons Expanding Pod is a set of small containers with sliding and twisting stowage components; Takaras Space Anchor is an extendable arm and grabber set that prevents astronauts from getting stuck while floating in microgravity.

7. Airwolf 3D goes pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and 3D printing materials company Airwolf 3D is doing its bit to raise awareness. After discussing how they could contribute to the worthy cause, Airwolf staffeach of whom has been personally affected by breast cancer in some waydecided they could get customers printing in pink by selling its pink PLA filament at half price during the month. Additionally, for every spool of pink filament sold, Airwolf 3D will donate $2 to the Susan B. Komen Foundation.

Airwolf 3D wants to see how makers are using the discount pink filament, and is consequently running a weekly contest throughout the month. Makers simply need to post their pink 3D print on social media with the hashtag #Pink3DPrint and Airwolf 3D will choose a winner at random each week, who will then be able to receive a free spool of PLA or ABS filament in the color of their choice.

8. RPS launches NEOS 800 stereolithography 3D printer

RP Support (RPS), a UK-based stereolithography specialist, has launched the NEOS 800 stereolithography 3D printer. The machine features a 800 x 800 x 600 mm build area, non-proprietary open resin system, and extensively tested components. The SLA system was first seen at the TCT Show, a 3D printing technology exhibition which took place in Birmingham, UK, at the end of September. This is an exceptionally well engineered system, designed and developed by people who understand the product, commented RPS executive director David Storey.

9. Toys R Us teams with XYZprinting to stock family-friendly 3D printers

Last week, toymaker Mattel announced that its much-anticipated ThingMaker 3D printer had been pushed back a whole year so that the company could improve the digital functionality of the product. Fortunately, a new partnership between toy shop behemoth Toys R Us and 3D printer manufacturer XYZprinting means that kids will soon be able to get their hands on the most family-friendly 3D printers out there much sooner than fall 2017. As part of the agreement, the toy store will begin selling the lightweight and child-friendly da Vinci miniMaker, as well as the new da Vinci Mini and the slightly larger da Vinci Junior Wi-fi, both of which have Wi-fi connectivity.

The XYZprinting 3D printers will be available at select Toys R Us stores this year, with the range also available online. "XYZprintings range of plug-and-play 3D printers are specifically designed for people with no prior knowledge, so theyre perfect for families looking to explore the possibilities together, as well as being tremendous fun, commented Andy Brocklehurst, director of merchandise at Toys R Us.

10. Autodesk launches Netfabb 2016 additive manufacturing solution

3D printing software specialist Autodesk has unveiled Autodesk Netfabb 2017, a comprehensive toolkit for additive manufacturing professionals. Using the software package, users can reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve part performance in industrial 3D printing production environments. Autodesk Netfabb 2017 integrates design enhancement, manufacturing preparation, and build simulation tools in one software environment that shares a common installer, common file formats, and process definitions. Autodesk has created a single set of industrial tools that help move from design to finished part quickly and easily, said Samir Hanna, vice president and general manager of digital manufacturing at Autodesk.

Autodesk acquired netfabb in 2015, and has since built upon the German startups industrial 3D printing software and services, adding enhanced simulation, optimization, and advanced toolpath capabilities that will provide engineers and designers with an array of additive design and manufacturing tools. New features include:

Rapid CAD>STL file handing

Powerful model editing tools

A simulation utility that provides fast and robust simulation of full layer deposition, predicting structural stresses and deformations in metal parts

A build support module that helps users create build supports

An advanced and powerful generative design enhancement feature

An advanced toolpath engine that specifies hatching patterns and control parameters such as print speed, focus, and laser or beam power

The new updates are available immediately and free for all existing Netfabb subscription customers. For new customers, the package is available in Standard, Premium, and Ultimate options.

Posted in 3D Printer

Maybe you also like:












Dayna Tortirici in n+1:

The investigative journalist Claudio Gattis months-long investigation into public real estate records in Rome makes the compelling case that Ferrante is, as the stones knew, Anita Raja. Gattis previous subjects include JP Morgan Chase and Silvio Berlusconitargets more deserving of his skills. The article was rolled out in multiple languages simultaneously, like the NSA leak: in English by NYR Daily, in Italian by Il Sole 24 Ore, in German by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and in French on the investigative website, Mediapart, as the footnote read. Reporting on the reaction to Gattis story, the New York Times reached Ferrantes publisher, Sandra Ozzola Ferri, for comment. If someone wants to be left alone, leave her alone, she said. Shes not a member of the Camorra, or Berlusconi. Shes a writer and isnt doing anyone any harm. Ferrantes readers were quick to denounce Gattis revelation. I myself was irritated. Even the stones know that Ferrante is Ferrante, and thats the way her readers want it. More than Ferrante herself, her readers have benefited from her choice, spared so much extradiegetic noise. We are as invested in her anonymityand her autonomyas she is. It is a compact: she wont tell us, we wont ask, and she wont change her mind and tell us anyway. In exchange, shell write books and well read them. The feminist defense of Ferrantes privacy was especially swift. Its difficult to read a mans attempt to out a writer who has said she would stop writing if she were ever identified as anything but an attempt to make her stop writing.

I believe that, today, failing to protect writing by guaranteeing it an autonomous space, far from the demands of the media and the marketplace, is a mistake, Ferrante told the Financial Times last year. This is an uncontroversial truth. Writers need space to work. One word for this space is room; another is freedom; another is privacy. Each writer finds this space where she can. Woolf pragmatically emphasized the material: give her a room of her own and five hundred a year, let her speak her mind and leave out half that she now puts in, and she will write a better book one of these days. (She needed the metaphysical, too: I need solitude, Woolf wrote in her diaries. I need space. I need air. I need the empty fields around me; and my legs pounding along roads; and sleep; and animal existence.) Kafka found his space at night: The burning electric light, the silent house, the darkness outside, the last waking moments, they give me the right to write even if it be only the most miserable stuff. And this right I use hurriedly. Thats the person I am. When she was young, Dorothy West asked her mother for permission to close her door so she could think, and to lock it so she could write. 

ore here.
James Goodman at the New York Times:

The African-Americans love me, Donald Trump said back in January. Nine months later, evidence of that love is exceedingly rare. Polls put Trumps black support in the low single digits, smaller in several samples than the margin of error. In 1964, Barry Goldwater, who had voted against the Civil Rights Act in the summer and won the enthusiastic endorsement of the Klan in the fall, received 6 percent. Ronald Reagan received 12 and then 9 percent. Even John McCain, running against Barack Obama, received 4.

Whether because of those numbers or despite them, the academic study of black Republicans is booming. Last year, Leah Wright Rigueur, a historian at Harvard, published The Loneliness of the Black Republican, a spirited study of conservatism, politics and race. Now we have Joshua D. Farringtons Black Republicans and the Transformation of the GOP and Corey D. Fieldss Black Elephants in the Room. Other books have been published, and more are on the way. We may soon have more books on black Republicans than actual black Republican voters.

more here.
Now a new rival emerged when Google threw its hat into the smartphone ring, introducing the Pixel. Its the first phone to feature Google hardware as well as its software. Google will also manufacture the Pixel, making it much more of a player in the market.

The Pixel is designed to draw users more fully into the Google universe. It integrates all of Googles apps, most importantly the Google Assistant, the virtual personal assistant that is the search engine companys answer to Apples Siri.

Like the iPhone 7, the Pixel comes in two sizes. The Pixel is slightly larger than the iPhone 7, while the Pixel XL matches the iPhone 7 Plus 5.5-inch screen size. Design-wise, there are more similarities than differences between the sleek competitors. Google touts a fast-charging battery (fully charged in only 15 minutes), a camera lens that doesnt bump out like the iPhones and  yes  a standard headphone jack, which the iPhone notably lacks. Google will also provide unlimited cloud storage for even high-resolution photos and videos. Unlike previous phones that ran Android and tended to be cheaper (in cost and performance), the price points are similar too. Prices start at $649 for the Pixel and run up to $869 for the highest-capacity XL model. For now the Pixel is only available to finance through Verizon, though you can pay full price for an unlocked phone that will work on other carriers.
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.
Have you met your special someone by a series of coincidences? Ekta Kapoor takes you on a love ride to Austria to meet Raghav and Naina this Diwali. A brand new love story set in the backdrop of Europe, STAR Plus upcoming show Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil is waiting to make you fall in love with a stranger this season!

Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil, will be starring renowned actors Arjun Bijlani and Drashti Dhami in lead as Raghav and Naina. We will also see the veteran actor, Surekha Sikri as Indermati Mehra on small screen.

This will be the first show of Drashti Dhami on the channel. Excited to be on her way to Austria for the shoot, she said, I love working with Balaji Telefilms. Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil is the story of a strong, independent woman, Naina. She is a firm believer in love. Naina is her mothers support system and finds a friend in her at all times.

Arjun Bijlani has been working with Balaji Telefilms on multiple shows and commented, We have the best scripts coming in from Ekta Kapoors team. I will be seen as Raghav who is kind-at-heart and high-spirited. His sense of humour lightens up any situation for strangers and family alike

Indermati, in turn, is the grandmother in the Mehra house and takes pride in single-handedly running the family business successfully in Austria. She finds her emotional side in her children and absolutely adores Raghav.

The show is a refreshing love story of two mature individuals, brought together by a series of happy coincidences in acts of selflessness. The narrative will leave you love-struck beyond imagination!
Regulatory News:

LafargeHolcim (Paris:LHN) announces it has signed an agreement with Inversiones Caburga Limitada, a company of the Hurtado Vicuna Group, for the divestment of its 54.3 percent interest in Cemento Polpaico in Chile for an enterprise value of approximately CHF 220 million (on a 100 per cent basis). The transaction will be executed by way of a public tender offer by Inversiones Caburga Limitada to all shareholders of Cemento Polpaico.

Cemento Polpaico operates one integrated plant and two grinding plants with an annual cement capacity of 2.3 million tonnes. The company is also a leading ready-mix concrete producer operating 25 plants and produces aggregates. The launch of the public tender offer is subject to the approval of the Chilean competition authorities which is expected for the first half of 2017. Following the successful completion LafargeHolcim would exit Chile completely.

LafargeHolcim has exceeded its divestment target of CHF 3.5 billion for 2016. The Group announced in August that it would be extending the program to CHF 5 billion which it expects to complete by the end of 2017.

About LafargeHolcim

With a well-balanced presence in 90 countries and a focus on cement, aggregates and concrete, LafargeHolcim (SIX Swiss Exchange, Euronext Paris: LHN) is the world leader in the building materials industry. The Group has 100,000 employees around the world and combined net sales of CHF 29.5 billion in 2015. LafargeHolcim is the industry benchmark in R&D and serves from the individual homebuilder to the largest and most complex project with the widest range of value-adding products, innovative services and comprehensive building solutions. With a commitment to drive sustainable solutions for better building and infrastructure and to contribute to a higher quality of life, the Group is best positioned to meet the challenges of increasing urbanization.

More information is available on www.lafargeholcim.com

About Inversiones Caburga Limitada

Inversiones Caburga Limitada is a company of the Hurtado Vicuna Group which is a Chilean diversified group with investments in the insurance, telecommunication and mining sectors in Chile, participating in the Chilean ready mix market through Cementos Bicentenario (BSA).

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161008005021/en/

LafargeHolcim Ltd

Media Relations: media@lafargeholcim.com

Zurich: +41 (0) 58 858 87 10

or

Paris: +33 (0) 1 44 34 11 70

or

Investor Relations: investor.relations@lafargeholcim.com

Zurich: +41 (0) 58 858 87 87
Amid rising tension in Indo-Pak ties, Union Minister Rajnath Singh will assess security arrangements on the border in Barmer district of Rajasthan.

Singh along with Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju today arrived at Barmer from Jaisalmer, accompanied by Border Security Force (BSF) officials, sources said.

The Home Minister yesterday chaired a meeting in Jaisalmer with the home ministers and senior officials of four states that border Pakistan.

The meeting was attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarats Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma.

The security arrangements are being reviewed 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.
Dutch Parliament Holds Hearing on Assyrians in Iraq

( AINA) The Hague (AINA) -- A hearing on the situation of Assyrians in Iraq was held at the Dutch Parliament on Thursday. Participants included representatives from seven Dutch political parties and three Assyrian representatives from Iraq, Ashur Sargon Eskrya, Yacoub Gewargis and Dr. Srood Maqdasi. The Assyrian representatives called attention to the continuing expropriation of Assyrian lands by Kurds, the internally displaced Assyrians still living in refugee camps, the need for Assyrian security forces to protect Assyrian lands, a safe haven for Assyrians, Yazidis and Shabaks, the return of Assyrians to their homes and villages in the Nineveh Plains and financial aid for internally displaced Assyrians.

The hearing was organized by the Assyrian Federation Netherlands.

Dr. Maqdasi said the Kurds and Arabs should stop interfering with Assyrians, Yazidis and Shabaks and leave them to organize themselves and protect their own communities.

Dani Dabbous, member of the Assyrian Federation Netherlands, said one of the goals of the conferences was to raise awareness about Assyrians in Iraq and to fight discrimination, harassment and encroachment on Assyrian lands by Kurds and Arabs.

A demonstration was held simultaneously outside The Hague.

ISIS captured the city of Mosul, Iraq on June 10. On August 7th it drove into the Nineveh Plains, the last stronghold of Assyrians in Iraq, forcing 200,000 Assyrians to flee their homes and villages. Most have not returned.

( AINA)
October 7, 2016

The decision by Knesset members of the Joint List of predominantly Arab parties to boycott the funeral of former President Shimon Peres on Sept. 30 continues to stir deep emotions among Israels Arab citizens. Many see it as the latest in a string of moves by party members that is deepening the rupture between them and the countrys Jewish society.

In an unprecedented step, several heads of local Arab councils and municipalities decided to publicly oppose the Joint Lists legislators and say that their decision does not represent the views of Israels entire Arab population. During the seven-day Jewish mourning period, Mazen Ghnaim, the mayor of Sakhnin who also serves as the head of the local Arab councils, went to the Peres Center for Peace along with some 20 other colleagues from northern and southern Israel. They said they had come to express their condolences to the Peres family in the name of the Arab society they represent.

Despite conducting themselves cautiously and refraining from harsh criticism of the Knesset members, and especially its head Ayman Odeh, their statements essentially challenged the leadership of the alliance of Arab parties that forms the Joint List.

One of the Arab leaders who participated in the condolence visit told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Joint List's scandalous decision, as he called it, had not only been received with disappointment and anger by many of Israels Arab citizens, it also portrayed them in an embarrassing light after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas displayed great courage by attending the funeral. They adopted a holier than thou attitude and caused a deep rift between themselves and the public that elected them, he said.

We saw fit to personally extend our condolences to the Peres family, Ghnaim told Al-Monitor. The majority on the Arab street blessed us for our visit. The heads of the Arab councils, he said, felt they had to comfort the Peres family and the entire Israeli public over the passing of Peres, a believer in peace and equality. They did not apprise the Joint List Knesset members of their decision.

Ghnaim stressed that he was not interested in attacking the lawmakers over their decision, but thinks Odeh owes a genuine and clear explanation to the Arab public whose views on this issue are opposite his.

An online poll conducted Oct. 3 by the Arabic-language Panet website of the Arabic Panorama media group found that 60% of the Arab public in Israel does not support the boycott of the funeral by their legislators.

Following the harsh criticism directed at him, Odeh tried to explain in a statement why he had decided not to attend the funeral. The funeral ceremony was not a private event. It was an event of national mourning and building of a collective memory, a memory that refuses to contain within it the history and pain of the Arab minority and instead takes pride in the injustice done to us, he wrote. Odeh said that he was a great believer in building a partnership between all Israels citizens, but that partnership can only be based on recognition, mutual respect and equality.

Odeh did not explain why he did not see a fitting partner for dialogue in Peres, one of the architects of the Oslo Accord whose name was synonymous with peace for the many world leaders who came to pay him their last respects. And if not him, who among the current Israeli leadership fits the criteria laid out by Odeh for promoting coexistence?

Other members of the Joint List cited Peres past in the defense arena as preventing them from paying their final respects. But none of them could explain the Palestinian president remembering and appreciating Peres for his role in the 1993 Oslo agreement and his activities since.

Arab Israelis are not only critical of the funeral boycott. Their anger spills over into other issues that came up as a result. Many questions are now being asked, such as who the dominant forces are within the Joint List alliance and who dictates its direction. Is it the representatives of the communist Hadash Party or perhaps the lawmakers of the smaller Balad Party, considered the most militant among the various forces that make up the Joint List? After all, the man who started the whole campaign delegitimizing Peres road to peace was Knesset member Basel Ghattas, who claimed in a post he wrote while Peres was fighting for his life that the former president had been cruel and directly responsible for war crimes.

Asked by Al-Monitor at the time, Odeh refused to react to Ghattas comment, which also angered many among the Arab public. Now it would seem that Ghattas charted the course that all the lawmakers on his list followed.

Arab Knesset member Zuhair Bahloul of the Zionist Camp told Al-Monitor this week that the boycott raises many questions, as Hadash was a party of Arabs and Jews and its founders supported the establishment of the Zionist state. He conceded that while attendance of the Peres funeral was not a core issue of Jewish-Arab coexistence, Its a critical indicator for the entire Israeli public. After all, who are you really trying to get back at? Youre not squabbling with [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and the right-wing leadership over some position or other, but declaring war on the whole Israeli public."

"What happened here, Bahloul summed up, is another rift, and even a deep one, with all Israelis, a rift that has an impact on the Arab population. And thats too bad.
October 7, 2016

RAMALLAH, West Bank  On Sept. 27, 12 Palestinian civil associations launched the Palestinian Coalition for Climate Justice to attend to the climate issue that is a central priority for them and to take measures to curb climate change locally.

The member associations in the coalition are the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON), Agricultural Development Association (PARC), Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ), Palestinian Society for Consumer Protection, An-Najah National University, Maan Development Center, Land Research Center, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Palestinian Hydrology Group, Palestinian Farmers Union and Comites pour le Developpement et le Patrimoine. The interests and fields of work of these members range from agriculture to water, soil, the environment and development research.

Many reasons pushed the civil associations to form this coalition. The head of operations and development at the UAWC, Fouad Abu Seif, told Al-Monitor that several of the associations participated in the Climate Summit that was held in Paris Nov. 30, 2015, but they lacked coordination and showed weakness in reflecting the Palestinians suffering due to climate change that has been exacerbating under Israels policies.

Director of the Palestinian Hydrology Group Abdel Rahman al-Tamimi told Al-Monitor that the coalitions importance lies in uniting Palestinian efforts to face water and environmental crises resulting from climate change. Research expects long years of drought. According to Tamimi, this united Palestinian body can participate in global conferences dealing with climate change and coordinate efforts with official parties to play an influential role locally and regionally.

Itiraf al-Rimawi, the director of the Bisan Center for Research and Development, talked to Al-Monitor about the coalitions work mechanisms, saying that the coalition will focus on raising awareness among farmers about climate change, global warming and their main indicators like drought and rainfall fluctuation, and will put in place mechanisms to face them. He said that it will also focus on agricultural production and economic and agricultural development.

Rimawi said that, nationally, the coalition will keep track of the Israeli policies that are exacerbating climate change like extraction and usage of coal and the resulting dangerous gases, burying garbage in Palestinian territories  especially in Area C, which is under Israels control  coupled with its damaging effect on soil and depriving Palestinians of water.

He added that forming the coalition is a step that shows Palestinian inclination to anti-capitalism global forces as they [Palestinians] believe capitalist policies lead to global warming and threaten our planet. Within that framework, the coalition will monitor the Palestinian Authorities (PA) policies that have practically proven their resemblance to industrial and capitalist economic policies without taking into consideration the environmental aspects. The industrial area that was established in Jezreel Valley in Jenin is an example of these policies.

The Jenin industrial zone, which is mainly funded by Turkey, is considered the biggest Palestinian industrial city, and work there is ongoing. This project has sparked the ire of many environmental institutions.

Rimawi said that the coalition will rely on networking and communication with citizens as a plan of action through agricultural and farming committees and public and youth organizations in the provinces to highlight the effect of climate change on the Palestinians economic situation and livelihood. Meanwhile, Israel continues to implement its policies amid the governments lack of interest and the absence of private sector investments.

The Palestinian Coalition for Climate Justice is trying to foster coordination with the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority, which acts as the Ministry of Environment, to raise the bar of the Palestinian environmental action globally. Tamimi said that the government and civil associations in the Palestinian territories only recently started talking about climate change and global warming issues, which necessitate joint cooperation.

It seems that the PA is also picking up interest in climate change. President Mahmoud Abbas signed April 22 the Paris Agreement for Climate Change at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Moreover, the PA signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Dec. 22, 2015.

Adalah al-Atira, the head of the Palestinian Environmental Protection Authority (PEPA), told Al-Monitor that the Palestinian territories started preparing their first national greenhouse gas inventories before joining the UNFCCC, which binds all signatory nations to submit the inventory within four years from signing. She said, For that reason, we prepared the inventory before signing the agreement. It is now ready and will be submitted to the UNFCCC secretariat within a couple of weeks after passing through the government and president.

Atira said that the inventory includes complete information about the level of emissions from Palestine (West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem) resulting from gases, petroleum and agricultural activities. It also includes a national plan about how to face climate change and cope with it. The plan mentioned the 12 main sectors that are affected the most by climate change, such as the water and agricultural sectors. Parts of the plan will be implemented as soon as the right funding is available.

Abu Seif said that Palestinians must benefit from the climate agreement that was signed, and must see the change in their policies and national plans and coordinate with relevant civil organizations to allocate a budget to support the related sectors and set measures to reduce the repercussions of climate change. These measures include building water dams and expanding the activity of drilling wells to accumulate water amid Israels ban on drilling artesian aquifers.

Despite all awareness efforts and the preparation of theoretical plans and studies, Palestinians know that they cannot face the worsening climatic change issue single-handedly. They urgently need to develop their strategies to confront this problem and cope with it, which requires huge funding that is unavailable.
October 7, 2016

The discussions in Palestinian homes in the city of Beit Jala this week focused on the foresight of the towns mayor, Nicola Khamis. During a very close municipal election in 2012, Khamis had accepted a rotation agreement in which he would serve as mayor in the last two years of the scheduled four-year term. The argument espoused by Khamis supporters was that he knew that the erratic Palestinian situation might mean that the term of an elected official might stay longer than the scheduled four-year-term  and therefore, whoever chose the last two years is likely to stay in power a lot longer than that.

The idea of a prolonged term as mayor comes from recent history. In April 1976, the first time serious municipal elections took place, a host of pro-PLO Palestinian nationalists had a decisive win, filling most mayoral and council seats. In 1986, Israel, the occupying power, ultimately deposed or deported about half the mayors for anti-government agitation, and Israel was unwilling to have municipal elections take place again. Government appointees routinely replaced vacancies.

In Bethlehem, the citys longest serving mayor in recent history, the late Elias Freij, stayed in power for 25 years. The first elections organized by the Palestinian government and under the auspices of the Central Elections Commission took place in 2005.

The term of the elected Palestinian municipalities was restricted to four years. As agreed to by Khamis and Nael Salmon in the 2012 elections, Salmon was mayor for the first two years. The rotation was then duly executed on Christmas Day 2014 when Khamis became mayor. The rotation agreement was approved and supervised by Minister of Municipal Affairs Hussein al-Araj.

But on Sept. 8, one month before the scheduled date for the 2016 elections, the Palestinian High Court of Justice decided to suspend the polls because of irregularities and the interference of the unrecognized courts in the Gaza Strip. The court later suggested that elections take place in the West Bank only within six months. The Palestinian government decided Oct. 4 that elections would be postponed for four months to allow for an agreement to hold the elections in both the West Bank and Gaza.

Elections were originally set for Oct. 8, and Khamis, along with five council members, had resigned, as per election law, because they wanted to run for re-election. William Shaer, Khamis deputy, became acting mayor until the elections. Having resigned as mayor and with elections postponed, Khamis headed for Latin America to visit some of the large Palestinian diaspora community there  many of whom are originally from his town.

Susan Qaabar, the head of the public relations department at the Beit Jala municipality, told Al-Monitor that Khamis might still return to become mayor until elections are set. Minister of Municipal Affairs Araj will decide in the next few days whether the acting mayors will continue in their job or whether the elected mayors who had resigned will be allowed to return to their positions."

In nearby Bethlehem, the situation was slightly different. Vera Baboun, the former university professor who had been handpicked by the Fatah leadership to run for the citys top job in 2012, has not resigned and still occupies her job as mayor of the historic birthplace of Jesus.

Baboun told Al-Monitor that she is not planning to run for office again and that she respects the decisions of the Palestinian courts and government and will remain in office until new elections take place.

Postponing the elections is also having a number of other consequences. Ziad Abu Zayyad, a former Palestinian Cabinet minister and a respected Fatah leader in the Jerusalem area, wrote in Al-Quds daily that the pause in the electoral process might have some positive results.

In his weekly Sunday Al-Quds column published Sept. 11, Abu Zayyad said that some 180 locations listed the nominations for one list only and, therefore, those lists were expected to win by acclamation. Abu Zayyad said that Fatah, in its desire to win as many local councils as possible, pressured many respected individuals not to run for office so as to guarantee a large number of Fatah wins in uncontested elections.

Palestinians had pinned a lot of hope on the municipal elections, precisely because they were to be held in Gaza as well as in the West Bank and because all parties, including Hamas and Fatah, had agreed to participate. Many were expecting the elections to pave the way toward serious national unity and the chance for presidential and parliamentary elections. While the decision of the Palestinian High Court has partially dampened these hopes, the aspirations of Palestinians to make their voices known as to who will be responsible for their municipal affairs must be recognized. It is crucial to resolve the problems that caused the postponement so the Palestinians can solve their internal problems through the ballot box.
October 7, 2016

Turkey has been officially uninvited  in no uncertain terms  to the liberation of Mosul, Iraq.

When rumors began piling up recently that Turkey  after launching Operation Euphrates Shield in Syria  also has plans to intervene on the Iraqi front with Operation Tigris Shield, diplomatic channels between Ankara and Baghdad caught fire.

Baghdad was already unhappy with Turkey, believing Ankara is more interested in the post-Islamic State (IS) future of Mosul rather than helping to liberate it. Baghdad was also concerned about Turkey training Sunni-dominated Al-Hashd al-Watani forces at Bashiqa training camp 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Mosul.

So when Turkey's parliament decided Oct. 1 to extend for a year its military operations in Iraq and Syria, the Iraqi parliament responded with a blunt, unfriendly warning.

The warning called for summoning the Turkish ambassador, branding Turkish forces in Iraq as occupiers, prosecuting those responsible and denouncing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans pronouncements. It also called for reviewing trade and economic relations with Turkey and initiating immediate action with the United Nations to expel Turkish troops.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry responded in similarly harsh language: We denounce the decision of the Iraqi parliament. We strongly condemn the ugly accusations directed to our president.

Tension between Ankara and Baghdad escalated after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned that the presence of Turkish soldiers in Iraq could lead to a regional war.

Turkeys Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus contributed to the squabble. Where was the Iraqi government when [IS] occupied Mosul in one day? he asked, referring to the takeover in June 2014.

Many people wondered what had prompted the Iraqi parliament's bad-tempered action. A political adviser who was in the Iraqi parliament's lobby when the issue was being discussed told Al-Monitor, The interview of Erdogan with Rotana TV was discussed a lot here. Shiite parties and minority representatives were upset. There were calls for expulsion of the Turkish ambassador. Erdogans words that Mosul should be left to Sunnis annoyed the Turkmens. There is concern here that after Syria, Turkey might [focus on] Iraq. Turkey seems to be determined  at least Iraqis think so."

The Turkish public heard a censored version of the statement Erdogan made on Dubai-based Rotana TV. Turkeys state-controlled media Anadolu Agency quoted Erdogan as saying, Mosul belongs to the people of Mosul, and Tal Afar belongs to the people of Tal Afar. Nobody else has the right to come and enter these places. After liberating Mosul from [IS], only Sunni Arabs, Turkmens and Sunni Kurds should stay there.

But according to Arabic and English translations, interviewer Jamal Khashoggi asked, Do you think Mosul can be liberated without the intervention of Turkey and Saudi Arabia?

Erdogan replied, I want to make it clear that Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Western coalition will not allow sectarian domination.  But there is a major question: Who will then control the city? Of course, Sunni Arabs, Sunni Turkmens and Sunni Kurds. "

Iraq's Shiite-dominated Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also called Hashid Shaabi, "must not be allowed to enter Mosul," Erdogan continued.

"Turkey and Saudi Arabia especially must cooperate to prevent them from entering. When we set up the camp at Bashiqa and our soldiers were training peshmerga, Baghdad's government was not uncomfortable with Turkey. We will not abandon our brethren who requested our support. We will not allow Mosul to be dominated by another terror group after [IS]. I believe Iran, too, will be careful about Mosul. Mosul belongs to people of Mosul and Tal Afar to the people of Tal Afar. Nobody else should enter these areas, he said.

Naturally, that statement did not sit well with Shiite Turkmens, Shiite Arabs, Shabaks, Kakais, Yazidis and Christians who live in Mosul. Even the Sunnis in the PMU were upset. It was reported on all Iraqi channels. Erdogans stand on Mosul disappointed the Turkmens who saw Turkey as a guaranteeing power for them and embarrassed the Turkmens regarding other Iraqi sects.

A Turkmen representative who requested anonymity told Al-Monitor, When Turkey makes a mistake, the bill is made out to Turkmens. This kind of utterance becomes a problem for us because here, people see Turkmens as one and the same with Turkey. It is best if Erdogan goes ahead and does what he says he will do instead of firing off such controversial statements."

He continued, "Look, nowadays there is a debate going on about allotting one [Iraqi] ministerial post to Turkmens. Now, because of the tension with Turkey, that seat will probably be given to someone who has no true connection with the Turkmens. For some time now, Turkey has been telling Turkmens to work together with Kurds. Because of this new policy, Turkey kept mum when the Kurdistan administration settled 600,000 Kurds in Kirkuk and revamped its demographic structure. When [IS] was expelling Shiite Turkmens from Mosul and Tal Afar, Turkey did not react. This is how Turkey is losing the Turkmens. Sure, the Turkmens still love Turkey, but they also see what the AKP [Justice and Development Party] rule is doing.

In 2015, when Turkey sent 1,000 soldiers and 20 tanks to the Bashiqa base, Ankara said that was done with the knowledge of the Iraqi government. When Baghdad reacted by saying that the military force went beyond training needs and should be withdrawn, Ankara responded with the justification that they were there at the invitation Atheel al-Nujaifi, the former governor of Ninevah province. Then, Turkey said it will participate in the Mosul operation upon the invitation of Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani.

Al-Monitor spoke with Turhan Mufti, the chairman of the Nationalist Turkmen Peoples Party, about Turkeys involvement. Mufti said the party doesn't want Turkey to intervene in Mosul and added, What is important is for Iraq to solve its own problems. This is not something you can do with invitations sent by the former governor of Ninevah or Barzani, but [only] with the invitation of the Iraqi government. How can anyone else invite a foreign force to the country?  Some say, If there are US soldiers, why not Turks? This means nothing. It is the Iraqi government that will decide which country can send its soldiers to Iraq.

Mufti was also critical of Erdogans warning to Hashid Shaabi not to enter Mosul. He said, Hashid Shaabi is not made up of exclusively Shiites. Mosuls own Hashid Shaabi will of course take part. These are people who had fled from Mosul and Tal Afar. They are people of Mosul. Also, Iraq must be accepted as a whole. Why shouldnt an Iraqi from Basra not fight at Mosul? We are in an all-out war against IS. Why cant [Turkey] understand this? Nobody can impose conditions on who can fight or not.

Mufti is among those who think the Iraqi parliament's decision was influenced by allegations that Turkey is supporting IS and that Ankara was responsible for the fall of Mosul. Ankara may dismiss the reaction of Shiite Arabs by saying they are influenced by Iran, but can Ankara ignore the reactions of Turkmens who love Turkey?

A Mosul Turkmen who was part of an unofficial diplomatic effort to improve relations between Turkey and Iraq in the first years of AKP rule in the early 2000s now feels devastated. He answered Al-Monitors questions with his own:

Why did Turkey wait for two years doing nothing against [IS]? Now it says [the Shiite] Hashid Shaabi should not enter Mosul. Fine, then why didnt you let [the Sunni] Hashd al-Watani, which you claimed to have trained, fight? What were you waiting for? Others marched from Baghdad to Mosul, fighting their way and paying the price for it. Now you are telling them, Stop. Who is going to listen to you? You say only Sunni Arabs, Sunni Turkmens and Sunni Kurds will remain in Mosul. Why are you talking only of Sunnis? There are at least 12,000 Shiite Turkmens in the Iraqi army, police and Hashid [forces] fighting IS. Why didnt you help Turkmens until today? You gripe about Iran, but Iran was on board to help from day one. Why weren't you? Even Ersad Salih, the chairman of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, openly said, Turkey is not coming for us. This is what Turkmens feel.

Many in Iraq believe Turkey intends to split the country, even though Erdogan keeps saying Turkey supports the territorial integrity of Iraq. Two days before calling for an end to Turkeys military presence in Iraq, the Iraqi parliament rejected the request of some Sunni parties to create new federal zones and declared that Mosuls administrative boundaries will not change. Of course, this example is just another omen of what is in store for Mosul after its liberation.
The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office has dismissed attempted murder charges against a man shot by police in 2014 after he was stopped for questioning about a robbery.

The shooting by a police officer, while the man was on his hands and knees, was captured by police dashcam video. The man was then charged with attempted murder of the officers. He was never charged in the robbery.

The Jefferson County District Attorney's office issued a statement late Friday afternoon announcing the attempted murder charges were being dropped against Aubrey Williams.

"After an extensive review of all the evidence in this case, the state is unable to meet the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt," according to the press release.

Lt. Sean Edwards also responded Friday evening to the District Attorney's Office decision

"We have been in communication with the DA's Office throughout this entire process," he stated in an email to AL.com. "We do understand with Alabama being an open carry state there will be times when officers may use force without any subsequent criminal charges."

Williams' attorney, Emory Anthony, said the attempted murder case should never have been brought. "When you look at the video and different statements given by police officers it should never have been brought," he said.

Anthony has said before that Williams informed officers that he had a gun in a sack he was carrying prior to the shooting.

The attempted murder indictments against Williams stated that Williams was "presenting a firearm and pointing it" at the officers.

Anthony, however, said Friday that "there was never any evidence that Aubrey Williams pulled a gun or pointed a gun at the police officers."

"The dismissal is almost two years too late but I'm glad that it has been done," Anthony said.

Anthony questioned whether the District Attorney's Office will file charges against the two officers for hindering prosecution or filing a false report for statements they gave after the incident - including statements that resulted in medals being issued to one officer.

"This man stayed in jail for more than a year and a half on some trumped up charges by these Birmingham police officers," Anthony said. Not all police officers are bad, but when they make a mistake they should own up to it, he said.

Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls has previously said that his office had found that the use of force by the officers were reasonable under the circumstances.

Aguirre's attorney issued a statement to AL.com on Saturday.

"Officer Aguirre stands firm on the justification for having to use lethal force in this instance," Aguirre's attorney, Scott Morro, stated. "Officers are called upon to make split second decision with regard to their own safety and the safety of others. Ultimately those who decide to prosecute or not do so after scrutinizing much more information then what the officer on the scene has. Officer Aguirre has no control over those prosecuting decisions."

"Any suggestion by anyone that officer Aguirre is a "bad cop" is completely and utterly false and defamatory," Morro wrote.

"Despite what the latest trend is regarding criticism of policing in this country officers continue to place themselves in harms way 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Morro stated.

AL.com had obtained the video through a confidential source.

The statement by the district attorney's office summarized the events that took place that night:

"The investigation revealed that on April 24, 2014 Birmingham Police Officers Richard Haluska and Daniel Aguirre were patrolling in the East Lake area after taking a report concerning an armed robber at a nearby ATM," according to the statement. "Shortly after 2:00 a.m., the two officers encountered Aubrey Williams and Devon Brown walking in an alleyway."

"As the officers approached the two men, Officer Haluska saw a handgun in the back pocket of Mr. Brown and attempted to secure the weapon," according to the statement.

"The situation quickly escalated and Mr. Brown began to wrestle with Officer Haluska," according to the statement. "As Mr. Brown continued to resist, Officer Aguirre attempted to subdue him with his Taser."

"At this point, Mr. Williams was on the ground. Officer Aguirre approached Mr. Williams in order to handcuff him for his safety," according to the statement. "Mr. Williams then raised his right arm from underneath him and Officer Aguirre saw a handgun. Officer Aguirre jumped back and fired two shots."

"Officer Aguirre then kicked the firearm away and secured Mr. Williams," according to the statement. "Officer Aguirre immediately ran to the dash cam recording of the incident was preserved."

Williams nor Brown were licensed to carry a concealed firearm. Brown was later charged with being a certain person forbidden to possess a pistol and for a murder that had happened the previous night, according to the press release.

The dashcam video was sent to the FBI to enhance the images, but the FBI was not able to do so, according to the statement. Those results were recently submitted to the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office.

A year after the events Aguirre was awarded a Combat Cross Medal by the Birmingham Police Department for his actions.

Due to the pending criminal charges against Brown and ongoing civil litigation, the District Attorney's Office says it can't release any additional details.

In a previously issued statement by Birmingham Police Department Public Information Officer Lt. Sean Edwards he said: "The most important part of this encounter was there was no loss of life but the incident does underscore the dangers of police work."
A 23-year-old man charged in the Monday shooting and holdup of a transgender woman in an eastern Birmingham house is now charged in the slaying of another transgender woman.

Denzell Thomas today was charged with murder in the Sept. 23 death of Hason Amin Alford, 30, who went by the name Jazz. Housekeeping at the Kings Inn on Third Avenue North made the discovery in a second-floor room.

Alford, of North Carolina, had been shot multiple times, according to family members. She was found lying naked on the floor of the room and pronounced dead on the scene. Officers were told that gunshots could be heard at the location prior to officers' arrival to the scene.

Police today announced the murder charge against Thomas. "This is great news. I want to shout right now,'' said Alford's sister, Toya Milan. "I'm still mourning of course, but I am so filled with joy right now because this monster is off of the streets and he can't harm anybody else."

"It's somebody's child he took the life from,'' Milan said. "They've got a special place for somebody like him."

Thomas was arrested earlier this week on charges of attempted murder and first-degree robbery in Monday's shooting. That shooting happened at 10:05 a.m. in the 7500 block of Fifth Avenue South. The victim was shot in the face and rushed to UAB Hospital. The victim is recovering.

The victim's boyfriend in Monday's shooting arrived home shortly after the incident. Darius Foster said he got home from the store to find his 24-year-old girlfriend on the front porch. "She came out on the porch screaming 'Help me,''' Foster said. "It was bad. There was nothing pretty about it."

Alford's sister, who is also a transgender woman, has been pleading for answers in her sister's death. "She was such a loving person and we didn't know anybody that would want to hurt her,'' Milan said of her sister. "It's been a hard pill to swallow."

Milan said Alford, a native of High Point, N.C., transitioned five years ago, and later helped her with her own transition."She was very educated and very beautiful,'' Milan said.

She graduated from college in Florida and worked as a call center representative for an airline company, but also advertised as an escort on backpage.com.

Milan believes that may have been what led to her sister's death. "A lot of men know transgender women escort and think that we're going to have money,'' Milan said. "They make a lot of money and they figure that out and they try to rob us."

Milan said Alford was on her way to Atlanta to visit her when the radiator on her car blew. "She was stuck in Birmingham,'' Milan said.

When family couldn't reach Alford, they began calling the motel and it took hours for them to get the news of the fatal shooting. "When I first heard the news, I couldn't even cry,'' Milan said. "I didn't have any emotion. I just couldn't believe it."

Alford was buried Oct. 1 in North Carolina. Milan said the family gave Alford's car to the motel maid who discovered the body. "She said Jazz was very sweet,'' Milan said.

Milan said her sister's hotel room was ransacked. Police are not commenting on the motive in the case, but said other investigations are ongoing regarding Thomas. A no-bond has been issued on the murder charge.

"We're glad to have this guy in custody. We believe he's extremely dangerous,'' said Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards. "He needs to be behind bars. We're not done developing leads in this case."
City leaders have announced a public safety town hall meeting at a Birmingham public housing community that has been the scene of repeated violence in recent months.

Birmingham Housing Authority President and CEO Michael Lundy, Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper and other leaders will meet with residents of Marks Village on Tuesday evening, Lundy said today.

They will talk with residents about ongoing and proposed crime-fighting strategies for Marks Village and the surround Gate City neighborhood. The meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at Lewis Park which is located at 6600 Interlaken Avenue.

"The housing authority is working with the Birmingham Police Department to do everything we can to address criminal activity in any of our communities," Lundy said in a prepared statement. "Recent incidents at Marks Village require us to focus particular attention here. HABD has zero tolerance for any activity that disrupts or threatens the quality of life for our residents."

On Sept. 8, 34-year-old Willie James Burrell was injured by a bullet discharged from a police officer's weapon. Initially, it wasn't clear whether it was the officer's weapon, or one of Burrell's two guns, that fired.

On Sunday, Sept. 11, two women and two men were shot, one of them fatally. Of those four, 20-year-old Bobby Clayton died shortly after arriving at UAB Hospital. A female victim, who is in her early-to-mid 20s, was critically injured. Another woman was shot in the arm, but is fine. A male, who police believe initially started the shooting, is also hospitalized but expected to recover. A third woman, thought to have been shot, actually suffered only scrapes and bruises when she fell running away from the gunfire.

The shooting happened at 8:15 p.m. Sunday, about an hour after the 1st Annual Stop the Violence Gate City Peace Day. The event was held in the Gate City's Lewis Park, about four blocks from where the shooting happened.

Police said the surviving male gunshot victim had a previous altercation with a black male seen driving a red Ford Mustang. Witnesses told police that both men started shooting at each other, and that it appeared the victim started shooting first. The person in the red Mustang recklessly returned fire, striking several people that were in the area including the victim. "This calculated shooting was between individuals who had no regards for human life and unfortunately their actions resulted in someone losing their life,'' Birmingham police Lt. Sean Edwards said at the time. No arrests have been made in that shooting.

Two weeks later, on Sunday, Sept. 25, Birmingham police responded about 4:45 p.m. to a scene on Joppa Court and Georgia Road. Two men were arguing when the suspect shot the victim. Cordarrel Caldwell, of Birmingham, died en route to the hospital. Birmingham police charged Raymond Esters with manslaughter in the slaying of the 28-year-old Caldwell.

Witnesses told police Caldwell exited a store at the location and had some words with some other black males who were standing near a gray BMW. Caldwell, he said, hit one of the males over the head with a bottle and they began to fight. That's when, police say, the suspect reached into the back seat of the BMW, retrieved a handgun and shot the victim.

Lundy, who has said he wants to ban guns in public housing, urges residents to attend Tuesday's gathering and help contribute to lasting solutions. He recently unveiled a multi-point security plan that includes hiring a director of public safety, the zero tolerance policy for guns, increased police patrols and a call for greater resident engagement.

"Our primary responsibility at HABD is to provide safe and affordable housing for Birmingham residents," Lundy said. "This agency will employ any and all strategies necessary to accomplish this essential function. Partnerships between the police, our office and our residents are essential in this goal."
prisoner image

An Alabama Department of Corrections inmate. (AP Photo)

Audits of the prison rape elimination practices of 11 of Alabama's 14 men's prisons and its sole women's prison conducted over the past several months report that the facilities are doing a stellar job of enacting policies aimed at reducing sexual violence.

That picture of the state's prisons seems to contradict a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announcement on Thursday that it is launching an investigation into a number of persistent problems at Alabama's 14 men's prisons, with sexual violence and rape near the top of its priority list.

The Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC) says the audits are final versions of preliminary reports that identified "deficiencies" in all but one of the state's prisons for men. But DOC spokesman Bob Horton said the preliminary reports are not available to the public except via records requests, and the DOJ had access to many of the final reports when it announced its new investigation.

As part of a concerted effort to reduce sexual violence in its correctional facilities, the DOC hired two companies - Texas-based PREA Auditors of America (PAA) and Diversified Correctional Services (DCS) of Georgia - earlier this year to audit state prisons' compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA.)

"The Alabama Department of Corrections appointed a PREA Director in 2015, and each correctional facility has an assigned PREA manager to oversee the PREA program in accordance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act," Horton told AL.com via email. "The ADOC PREA audits began in May 2016."

Passed in 2003, PREA requires the Justice Department to "make the prevention of prison rape a top priority." Its passage was followed in 2014 by commitments by 48 states including Alabama to take steps to reduce prison rape. It's a process that typically includes audits of correctional facilities by independent companies like the ones who contracted with Alabama.

As such, PAA and DCS began auditing Alabama's prisons for compliance with the PREA earlier this year, a process that includes on-site visits, reviews of documentation and procedures, and other investigative measures, according to PAA.

"The auditor will also be responsible for developing a corrective action plan for the facility, in the event the facility does not meet all standards of compliance," PAA's website states.

PAA issued what appears to be its first final PREA audit report in Alabama - of Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women - on June 8, and it has since completed at least eight more.

The audits are in-depth documents dozens of pages long, detailing each individual prison's level of compliance with more than 40 standards. They found that the audited prisons "met" or "exceeded" all of the standards that the auditors found applicable to the institutions, with none failing to meet even a single standard.

The audits of 11 Alabama men's prisons are posted on a state website, and "audits are in progress for St. Clair, Staton and Bibb County Correctional Facilities," according to Horton.

Horton noted that "[w]hat you see posted online is the final audit reports after deficiencies are corrected," and that they fail to reflect the fact that many of the state's correctional facilities were initially found to have "deficiencies" related to PREA. But the DOC did not make the initial reports public, meaning the public only sees the final reports showing that the prisons are in compliance. And the DOJ launched an investigation despite the public availability of the final versions of the majority of the documents.

PAA declined to respond to specific questions about its auditing process, its contract with the state, and other issues, but Kathy Brownfield, the company's co-director, spoke briefly via phone with AL.com.

"We have a confidentiality agreement with Alabama so what we can say would be very limited," she said. "I'm not really qualified to answer that, I just manage the business. I wouldn't know anything about comparisons between the states."

Brownfield added that as far as how or why the Alabama facilities met or exceeded all applicable PREA standards in the company's audits, "[i]t just fluctuates from what I understand. It depends - the facilities are all different."

No other PAA employee or executive responded to inquiries about the company, and DCS did not respond to a request seeking comment Friday.

The DOC paid PAA $27,625 between July 28 and Sept. 6, and the company received $3,800 in "federal grants or awards" via the department on June 15, according to state spending records. The records do not show that the state has made any payments to DCS, but Horton said that the DOC paid the company $8,400 on Oct. 3.

State Sen. Cam Ward, a Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and has led the Legislature's prison reform efforts, told AL.com Friday that he has "not heard about the sexual abuse" in Alabama's men's prisons.

But Alabama prisons are "notorious" for sexual violence, according to Lisa Graybill, deputy legal director of the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center.

"The PREA audits are important because it's important to have the appropriate policies. But unfortunately there can be a world of difference between policy and practice, and I think this speaks to that issue," she said.

"The endemic, the systemic concern, is when [sexual violence] is used as a tool to control a facility in lieu of all the other tools that are supposed to exist, as far as staffing and training and working cell doors and all these things."

DOJ spokesman David F. Jacobs declined to comment on the specific details of how its newly announced investigation will tackle the issue of prison rape and sexual assault. But the department's statistics show that Alabama has one of the worst prison sexual violence problems in the nation.

According to data released by the DOJ's Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2011 - which is the latest available, a bureau employee told AL.com - there were 32 reported instances of alleged staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct in Alabama prisons that year, 12 of which were substantiated.

That's the fifth-highest number of substantiated instances of staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct of any state in the country. And it reflects a significant increase in staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct over 2010, when 23 such incidents were reported, only five of which were substantiated.
Sessions will chair foreign policy team

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, right, stands next to Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., as Sessions speaks during a rally Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, in Madison, Ala. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

(Philip Rucker and Robert Costa The Washington Post WASHINGTON)

As a number of Republicans condemned lewd comments made by Donald Trump in a video unearthed by the Washington Post on Friday, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and ardent supporter of Trump, will be helping The Donald prepare for Sunday's debate.

A spokeswoman for Sessions could not immediately be reached for comment.

Trump was recorded having a conversation in 2005 with "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush in which the real estate mogul used profanity to describe making sexual advances toward a married woman. He also talked of being able to do "anything" with women because of his celebrity.

The Republican presidential candidate dismissed the comments as "locker room banter" in a statement Friday.

A number of high-profile Republicans, including ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, 2008 nominee John McCain and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who disinvited Trump from a scheduled event tomorrow in Wisconsin, disavowed Trump's remarks.

But as of 8:45 p.m. Friday, Sessions, who was the first senator to endorse Trump and is chairman of his national security advisory committee, was not among them.

Trump said Alabama's junior senator would be helping him prepare for the second debate with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, scheduled for Sunday.

"Gov. Mike Pence will be representing me tomorrow in Wisconsin," Trump said in a statement issued Friday night. "I will be spending the day in New York in debate prep with [Republican National Committee] Chairman Reince Priebus, Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Jeff Sessions, and then flying to St. Louis on Sunday for the second presidential debate."
As Hurricane Matthew is bearing on the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia, crews from Alabama Power loaded their trucks and headed to Georgia Saturday morning.

About 20 crew personnel left the Michigan Avenue headquarters at 6:00 a.m. to help with hurricane recovery efforts.

From all Mobile locations about 70 personnel members will heading to Georgia. All across Alabama Power the company is sending about 500 employees. The teams will arrive at Macon, Georgia where they will wait until it is safe to travel further to Savannah.

Alabama Power officials anticipate they will be working in Macon for the next few days.

The coastal portion of Georgia that includes the city of Savannah has already experienced power outages, pounding rain and heavy flooding. The National Hurricane Center is predicting that the hurricane might produce rainfall totals of 8 to 12 inches, with possible isolated areas getting 15 inches of rain.
Rights groups aim to build pressure on government to ensure justice for victims of deadly attacks on the Sikh minority.

Get up and crawl back into the train quickly. If they notice that youre alive, youll be stoned to death.

Sixty-four-year-old Satpal Singh, a pharmacology professor at the University of Buffalo in New York state, vividly remembers the timely advice proffered by a kind man, which ultimately saved his life on the night of November 1, 1984.

Singh had just received an offer to start and head a new division at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in the central Indian city of Hyderabad.

While returning to Amritsar, in the northern Punjab state, from Hyderabad, the train made an unscheduled stop at a railway station close to the city of Bhopal.

A mob of nearly two dozen people barged into Singhs compartment and beat him unconscious.

Two army officers in my compartment assured that they would protect me, but nobody intervened, Singh told Al Jazeera by phone from Buffalo.

Assuming that he was dead, his body was thrown on the railway tracks.

On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi, then Indias prime minister, was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, in apparent retaliation for the Indian armys action in June that year to flush out an armed separatist group led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple, the holiest place of worship for the worlds Sikhs.

The military operation, code-named Blue Star, claimed up to 700 lives, according to some estimates.

Following Gandhis assassination, attacks on Sikhs erupted across several Indian cities, including Delhi, Kolkata, Bokaro and Kanpur. At least 2,733 Sikhs were killed in Delhi alone in the carnage.

Nearly three decades later, as victims continue their battle for justice, the Indian governments Special Investigation Team (SIT) has decided to reopen and examine 75 closed cases related to the riots in Delhi.

In the latest development, a Delhi court has set October 25 as the deadline for CBI, Indias top investigative body, to provide information on the status of investigation in a case involving the killing of three people in a Sikh gurudwara the day after the assassination.

Memories of the massacre

The 1984 killings began on the evening of October 31, spreading from New Delhis All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where Indira Gandhis body had been brought.

Mobs armed with weapons thronged the areas with a large Sikh presence and began looting and burning shops and business establishments belonging to Sikhs.

Members of the Sikh community were dragged out of their homes, beaten mercilessly and slaughtered in the four days that followed.

My bhuas [fathers sister] husband was burned alive with the petrol from his own motorcycle and left to die at the INA Bridge in New Delhi, recalls Harinder Singh, an activist and educator.

Later, someone picked him up from the bridge and took him to their house. He survived miraculously.

A fact-finding team jointly organised by the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) in 2003, claimed on the basis of its investigations that the attacks on the Sikh community were the outcome of a well-organised plan.

Whatever the truth, Satpal Singh describes the police and army as mute spectators that November night.

I could hear the police encouraging the mobs  Kill all of them. They have killed our mother,' he told Al Jazeera.

When the train made its next stop at Gwalior, where there is a large Indian army presence, Singh made a quick decision to get off and pleaded for help with the army officer.

However, he was turned away and told that the army had not received orders to protect civilians and that his best option would be to approach the police.

The officer at the police station advised Singh to take the next train to Delhi.

I told the officer that by then I had a clear idea of the scene in Delhi, to which he said  Sardar ji [Sir], how can I change whats in your destiny? Singh said.

OPINION: The many British connections to massacres of Sikhs

A compassionate senior army officer finally agreed to help Singh and took him to the Gwalior army base for two days, after which he went back to Amritsar.

Incidentally, the president of India at that time of the riots was a Sikh himself, Giani Zail Singh, a former Congress party politician from Punjab who was considered a trusted ally of Gandhi.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Gurmeet Kaur, Zail Singhs daughter, recalled: My father was deeply perturbed by the riots. He tried calling the prime ministers office, the Ministry of Home Affairs and other authorities concerned in an effort to stop the atrocities against innocent Sikhs. His calls were either not getting through or getting disconnected.

Several witnesses told official commissions of inquiry that the police did nothing to stop the killings, while many actively participated in the massacre.

Large crowds surrounded the houses of Sikhs, and I myself witnessed innocent civilians being burned alive, recalls Satish Jacob, a journalist who reported on the riots in Delhi for BBC World Service.

The SIT is eyewash

According to the Indian law, the government can appoint an inquiry commission consisting of one or more members for the purpose of making an inquiry into a matter of public importance within a stipulated time period.

At least 10 such inquiry commissions and committees were formed to examine various aspects of the 1984 massacre, including the role of police officers, to recommend measures for compensation and rehabilitation, and to determine the number of deaths.

The Delhi police had filed only 587 First Information Reports (FIRs), official complaints against the violence. Out of these, 241 cases were closed by the police, citing lack of evidence.

Four of these cases were later reopened and reinvestigated.





In February 2015, the Indian government constituted a three-member Special Investigation team to reinvestigate closed cases in the 1984 riots.

The team was given six months to complete their task and submit their report to the Ministry of Home affairs (MHA), which deals with matters of internal security.

In August 2015, the MHA extended the term of the team to August 2016.

Out of the 75 cases that were to be reopened, 22 have been short-listed as it was felt that those cases had more ground for investigation. The advocates of these cases are working closely with the victims, and advertisements have been put up in the newspapers, calling out the victims to contact the SIT, RP Singh, national secretary of Indias governing BJP, told Al Jazeera.

However, HS Phoolka, a lawyer for the families of several victims, told Al Jazeera that the investigations are being conducted in a shoddy manner.

Initially, they said 75 cases and now only 22 cases are being advertised. Even in these cases, they have just provided the addresses of the complainants and want the victims to approach them. The police should go and record statements from the victims and eyewitnesses and visit the place where the incident has occurred, Phoolka said.

The SIT is eyewash. After one-and-a-half years, they have still not made any progress.

Congresss response

The GT Nanavati Commission, which was appointed by the Indian government in May 2000, stated in its 2004 report (PDF) that what had initially begun as an angry outburst soon turned into an organised carnage.

The commission reported that there was credible evidence against local leaders and workers of the then-ruling Congress party.

However, no recommendations were made for further action against many of them.

As a result of not recording separate FIRs, not recording statements of witnesses and not investigating the cases properly, it has now become difficult for the commission to make any recommendation against many of the persons who have been named by the witnesses, the report read.

Following political pressure, the CBI was later asked to reinvestigate some of the cases, after which it registered seven cases.

Most of these commissions failed to do a good job. Whatever little they did, was also not implemented by the government. Efforts were taken at all levels to shield the perpetrators from the very beginning, Phoolka said.

Manish Tewari, national spokesperson for Congress, which is now the opposition, defended his party, saying it has always condemned the violence of 1984.

Those who become the target of such unwanted violence should get closure. In fact, the first judicial commission to probe the incident was appointed by us. Whosoever was responsible for perpetrating these riots should be brought to justice, he told Al Jazeera.

If there is any re-investigation, we will not stand in the way.

A mockery of justice

On June 23, Amnesty International India held a conclave in New Delhi to build pressure on the central government to deliver speedy justice.

The impunity for the 1984 Sikh massacre has made a mockery of justice. The SIT provides a critical opportunity to set things right, Sanam Sutirath Wazir, a campaigner and researcher at Amnesty International India, told Al Jazeera in an email.

A series of recommendations were made in the conclave related to effective investigation, comprehensive reparation and legal and policy reforms, to be submitted to the MHA.

For the victims, memories of the anti-Sikh violence remain raw despite the passage of time.

Over 1,200 families, live in cramped conditions in the densely populated so-called Widows Colony in southwest Delhi. The women living there lost most of the male members of the family in the 1984 riots.

Those who have witnessed the horrors of the massacre still go through depression, while many had dropped out of school due to the trauma, Phoolka, the lawyer, told Al Jazeera.

Had they received timely compensation, it could have been directed for rehabilitation. Even if a few perpetrators are punished, it will send out a strong message that if anybody commits such crimes, the law will catch up with him someday.

READ MORE: US Sikhs fight racism with PR campaign

According to Harinder Singh, the activist and educator, A large segment of the generation that survived busied itself to create awareness of Sikhism. The closure awaits, though the spirit ascendant is visible.

Following his narrow escape, Satpal Singh, the pharmacologist, decided to relocate to the United States with his family in 1985.

I wanted to set up laboratories in India, but you cant do that if you arent safe. I didnt want to bring up my children in an atmosphere of fear, Satpal Singh said.

The judicial system, ethos and sentiment of hate in a country are factors that affect an attempt towards seeking justice. If they are conducive, justice will be done.
Lagos, Nigeria  The pastor used the Bible to persuade her not to pay her childrens school fees, but to invest $1,500 in his friends farm instead. If you cant trust a pastor, who can you trust? the school director from Lagos asks. Now she wishes she hadnt. For the past three years she has been chasing after her money; going to court nine times already and spending the equivalent of $150 in lawyers fees.

The farmer she has taken to court is just as unhappy. When the police arrested him in 2013, he spent three weeks and four days in Lagos infamous Kirikiri prison before he was able to make bail. When he returned to his farm, he discovered that his hens had stopped laying eggs. Theyre supposed to eat at seven in the morning so they can lay their eggs, but I wasnt around to feed them, he sighs. Since then he has had to appear in court every two or three months. The trip takes a day and costs over $5, which has also hindered his farm.

For the past three years, the school director and the farmer have been embroiled in a seemingly endless court case. Until this morning.

It is the last week of July, and Samuel Ilori Courthouse in Ogba, a densely populated area on the Lagos mainland, has been transformed into a modern day palaver house where hundreds of court cases are being heard by mediators. For the entire week, there are no judges in this magistrates court, the docks remain empty and the opposing parties are instead gathered around a table where they will try to resolve their conflict.

Do you want your money back, or do you want this man in jail? mediator Olayinka Oyelade asks the school director, pointing at the farmer on the opposite side of the table. When she responds that she does not wish prison upon anybody and that her priority is the money, the mediator continues: In that case, youd better settle. When he ends up in prison, you will get nothing. And if he has to go back and forth to court, he cannot make the money to pay you back.

An alternative justice

The magistrate presiding over the school directors case had referred it to the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC), an organisation specialising in mediation, which is growing increasingly popular as an alternative way to resolve conflicts in Nigerias biggest city.

When the LMDC opened its doors in 2002, it had only one room at the High Court on Lagos Island; now the alternative courthouse occupies almost an entire wing. Since 2009, the LMDC regularly organises Settlement Weeks like this one in Ogba, transforming a traditional courthouse into a mediation centre, hoping to promote the concept, where the parties meet in confidentiality with an independent negotiator, to a wider audience.

The inertia of the Nigerian justice system  the average timeline of a court case is four to 10 years, and following the case through to the Supreme Court can take at least 20  makes this an attractive alternative. The average LMDC case takes three to five months, and more than half of the cases that have been referred by magistrates take just a single morning to resolve. And being much faster means it is also much cheaper.

A bulletin board on the wall of the entry hall of Kirikiri Medium Security Prison reveals the repercussions of the slow-turning wheels of Nigerian justice. During a visit early last year it read Convicted: 98. Awaiting trial: 2,457. In other words, less than 4 percent of the prisoners had been convicted of a crime.

In some cases an inmate had been detained for a longer period than the maximum penalty for the crime of which they were suspected but not yet convicted. And many of the detainees cases were civil, not criminal, anyway. It is these kinds of disputes that the Multi-Door Courthouse is encouraging the judiciary to refer to them during Settlement Weeks like the one in Samuel Ilori Courthouse in Ogba.

The mediator

With their arms crossed and disgruntled expressions on their faces a widow and her stepson sit at the mediation table. Since her husband, his father, died in 2011, the two have been at loggerheads. The police got involved two years ago when the stepson said his stepmother had sent local thugs to molest him. She was taken into custody and spent a week on remand in Kirikiri.

Since then she has been subpoenaed every couple of months as the court case has dragged on for two years. They havent been on speaking terms all this time. But during a morning session at the Settlement Week, mediator Oyelade gets them to address each other.

I know this issue goes much deeper than the beating, says Oleyade, as she leans across the table. After she has listened to the sometimes life-long grievances of both parties, the mediator puts all of those aside. She suggests the real problem is the deceaseds inheritance. Five years after his death, the family still hasnt been able to divide the house the father left his two heirs  the widows stepson and her birth son.

Until that issue is resolved, I dont see peace coming to this family, states Oyelade. Can we come to a solution this morning if we manage to share the estate fairly? she asks, looking around the table. The stepson nods and the widow mumbles: Of course. I want peace in the family.

Read more: Through my eyes  Sunday mornings in Nigeria

The experienced mediator always starts a session by explaining the rules. All phones must be switched off; everyone gets time to say their part without interruptions; the tone should remain respectful. I will allow you to vent your anger, but you should also be willing to see reason, she says. After hearing them out, Oyelade sends each of the parties out of the room at different times so that she can talk to them separately. In the case of the widow and her stepson, she appeals to their respect for the deceased: what would he say if he saw his loved ones fighting like this? It seems to soften both the plaintiff and the defendant.

I use what I understand about personal relationships and our cultural background to reason with people, Oyelade explains afterwards. She used to be a lawyer, when eight years ago she was introduced to mediation. She was immediately smitten, she says: To me it comes naturally. When I see a conflict, I feel like settling it, balancing all interests. I feel successful when at the end of the day everyone goes home happy and the parties even maintain their relationship.

A win-win solution

That is the advantage Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has over the conventional administration of the law, according to MDHC-director Caroline Etuk. In her office at Lagos Island High Court, where two sculpted lions guard the entrance gateway, she explains the difference between mediation and litigation: In court, a judge will decide against one party and in favour of the other. But in mediation both parties are responsible for the outcome, and because of that, no party can come out a loser. Both have to be able to live with it and agree to forego further dispute. It is win-win.

I just want to go back to my chickens by The farmer, who has just agreed on a settlement in a case that had dragged on for years through the courts

The alternative form of justice is also more understandable for citizens, Etuk believes: In a courtroom you are represented by a counsel, in a process quite complex for a non-lawyer. You put your faith in someone elses hands, and are hardly involved in the result. In mediation, the process is party-driven. Because the people feel involved, the outcomes of these cases tend to be much more satisfactory.

The school director and the farmer are a good example. Within half an hour, under the guidance of mediator Oyelade, they have reached an agreement. He will pay back her money in monthly instalments, and she will drop the case. Once the mediator has put the settlement on paper, she hurries to the office where eight employees of the LMDC are ready to type and print the agreement, after which both parties sign it. The only thing left now is for the magistrate to legalise the document, making the agreement legally binding. Within an hour, the case is closed.

The school director is relieved that her days of going to court are over. After signing the settlement, she says, I thank God for this session. If I ever have a dispute again, I will take it to mediation straight away. The poultry farmer vows hell pay. Oyelade made it clear to him that if he doesnt, the police will again be on his doorstep to arrest him. He is not going to let that happen, he says: I just want to go back to my chickens.

An African tradition

The Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse is the brainchild of lawyer Kehinde Aina. When he graduated from the University of Ibadans faculty of law as a young man, he was excited to begin practice: I couldnt wait to wear the gown and start the drama. Aina enjoyed watching American law series on TV, and expected the Nigerian courts to be similar. He was disappointed. It was adjournment after adjournment. None of the cases I did ever saw the light of day, he says.

Adversarial by Kehinde

is closer to our culture.]

This delayed justice is detrimental to society in many ways, the lawyer argues. Without a quick dispensation of justice, there can be no development. He explains that investors want to be assured of the sanctity of contracts. Failing that, they wont be eager to put their money down. Besides being an economic impediment, delayed justice has even graver effects in criminal law, Aina says. Litigants dont feel treated justly and people end up being locked up in prison for a long time for all sorts of reasons. Due to the absence of a fair trial and the fact that they hardly have access to court, especially the poor lack any sense of justice in this country.

The young lawyer felt that something needed to change, but he didnt know what, until a Canadian firm he was representing in a 10-year-old case suggested mediation. I had no clue what that was  all we were taught in Law School was litigation, Aina remembers. So he started reading up on the topic. It changed my concept about the practice of law. It was the response I was looking for in terms of change. If we could refer cases that could be solved through mediation, there would be more space for real cases in court.

This was in the mid-90s, and Aina became an indefatigable lobbyist for ADR. He wrote articles and speeches on the subject, but also established an ADR department in his law firm and sent countless propositions to the Lagos judiciary to set up a Multi-Door Courthouse. At first the responses were cynical, but gradually people began to listen, he recalls. The public was so exasperated with the justice system that they were ready to try anything that could be more effective.

Watch more: Africas forgotten crisis

In 2002, the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse came into being, and when it managed to resolve one of its first cases within a day  a land-related matter involving a former vice president that had been in court for 17 years  its reputation was immediately established.

Since then, many companies  particularly banks  have found their way to LMDC. For mediations between non-corporate parties, it is mostly citizens who have been exposed to ADR practices abroad who bring their disputes. The general public is still unfamiliar with it, Aina admits. That is why initiatives like the Settlement Week are implemented, to promote and explain ADR.

It will take some getting used to, he says. People still want their day in court. They see justice as equivalent to going to court. He believes, however, that this will change. Adversarial litigation is a colonial heritage, and very western. Most African cultures are pro-mediation. Hausas, Igbos, Yorubas and many other tribes all favour amicable dispute resolution. With time, Nigerians will understand and appreciate ADR. It is closer to our culture.

Back on the straight and narrow

Meanwhile in Samuel Ilori Courthouse, mediator Funmi Obisan is facing three tattooed defendants, and on the plaintiffs side a motel manager and her barrel-chested bouncer. The suspects are accused of damaging property in a motel not far from the court during a bar fight three months ago. They have all been arrested and thrown in jail over the issue several times. The manager claims that the bottles and plates they threw, wrecking mirrors and walls, caused more than $500 in damage, and says she wants to be compensated. We wish to make clear to these boys they cant get away with this, she says.

One of the defendants has brought his retired father with him. Once Obisan starts discussing payment, the old man in native attire says that he will have to pay as the youngsters do not have the money. He cannot afford more than $25 a month from his pension, he explains.

The mediator shakes her head, suggesting that she doesnt believe the young men in fashionably ripped branded jeans and expensive sunglasses are unable to pay. She asks them to leave the room so that she can speak with the motel manager. With that amount it would take them two years to repay you. That is hardly fair. I suspect the defendants have the money, and I will ask the father to step aside, she tells the plaintiff. She explains that she has been watching the defendants closely and has an idea which one will be most susceptible to reason. Him, I will address.

Obisans strategy is successful: not much later an agreement is on the table in which the defendants promise to repay the money within two months.

Afterwards, the mediator explains why she is satisfied with the solution. Not only will the manager be compensated for the damages, but it will also keep the young people out of prison if they hold up their end of the bargain, she says. These are petty criminals now. By locking them up for years, they would have become full criminals. Who knows if this interception will get them back on the straight and narrow.

Narrowing the prison gates

The number of cases brought to LMDC is growing: in 2005 the mediation centre handled 58 cases, in 2010 there were 274, and last year the number was 2,353. It is such a success that 12 other Nigerian states have followed Lagos example, and even the Federal Supreme Court hopes to open its own mediation centre next year. And yet, for a city with tens of millions of residents, like Lagos, the number of mediated cases is not high enough. This is partly because many are still unfamiliar with the concept but also a result of reluctance among the judiciary.

When she first heard about alternative dispute resolution, Eniola Fabamwo, the deputy chief registrar of the Lagos State High Court, was still a judge at magistrates court. I was not a disciple at first, she remembers. That changed when I saw how it diminished my workload. It was incredible to see how many cases LMDC managed to settle. And how much time and money it saved people. Magistrates all over Nigeria lament the staggering number of cases they find on their desks each day.

Lagos State is considering other applications of ADR in criminal matters, Fabamwo adds. We are looking into ways of narrowing the prison gates. People that dont belong in prison shouldnt go there.

A local police station is running a pilot project in which officers try to reach a settlement between victim and perpetrator before even opening a court case. Of course many criminal cases are not suitable for mediation, Fabamwo explains. There will be no negotiation about rape or armed robbery. But for land or property disputes and malicious damages, the results are promising.

Read more: When schools and students become spoils of war

When she started referring cases to the LMDC, Fabamwo noticed that judges were not the only ones in the legal profession reluctant to embrace alternative conflict resolution. Some lawyers felt it was going to affect their income, she says. They feared their fees would diminish if the endless adjournments became a thing of the past. Which is a pity, she concludes, because the involvement of all parties is decisive for the success of ADR.

Just how an unwilling counsel can ruin a cases chances at the LMDC became apparent in the dispute between the widow and her stepson. Although mediator Oyelade had come close to a resolution, it was torpedoed at the very last minute by the widows lawyer who advised against a settlement. With a sigh Oyelade had to refer that case back to magistrates court.

There is, however, a new generation of Nigerian lawyers who were taught about mediation at university and are more open to its possibilities. That much becomes clear at a Settlement Week session of mediator Adenike Adeniji. Even before she can begin explaining the procedure, the lawyers announce that the parties have come to an agreement themselves: the market trader who had paid for boxes of cigarettes with a dud cheque has agreed to refund the missing amount in instalments to the import company. Meanwhile the parties will continue their years-old trading ties, which will help the market woman to raise the money she owes.

The relationship has been restored to a point that normal activities are possible again, Adeniji says about the case, as she leans back in her chair. That is the essence of mediation. No one has to go home disappointed.
The elections are a test of Georgias progress towards democracy and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Luke Coffey is a research fellow specialising in transatlantic and Eurasian security at a Washington DC based think tank. He previously served as a special adviser to the British defence secretary and was a commissioned officer in the United States army.

The Georgian people go to the polls today in the nations parliamentary elections. The outcome of these elections will probably determine the countrys direction of travel for the foreseeable future.

These are the first parliamentary elections since the Georgian Dream coalition swept into power in 2012 pushing the United National Movement into opposition after almost a decade in power.

It remains to be seen how the elections will turn out this time. Whatever happens, and whoever takes over the reins of power, must keep Georgia on its Euro-Atlantic path.





After the charismatic former Georgian President Misha Saakashvili and his United National Movement party were removed from office many people were expecting the worse to happen.

Rare feat in post-Soviet space

First, there was a concern that Saakashvili would not leave without taking to the streets. Instead he rightfully acknowledged the will of the Georgian people and gracefully handed over power.

This is a rare feat in the post-Soviet space and it placed Georgia firmly on the map as a democratic nation in a region where democracy is often lacking.

Next there was a concern that the newly installed Georgian Dream coalition would undo the years of work bringing Georgia closer to Europe and the United States. Again, the opposite proved to be the case.

OPINION: South Ossetia referendum is not legal

As someone who had been following and visiting Georgia for almost a decade, I have to admit I was concerned too  but have since been pleasantly surprised.

As Georgia approaches elections this weekend it is safe to say the country remains firmly committed to Euro-Atlantic integration under the current Georgian Dream coalition led by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and President Giorgi Margvelashvili.

Not only has it deepened its drive for Euro-Atlantic integration it has also advanced the democratic accomplishments started under the United National Movement.

A Euro-Atlantic Focus

For example, in 2016, Georgia signed an Association Agreement with the EU, and just recently, in September 2016, a European Parliament committee voted to put Georgias application for visa-free travel in Europe high on the EUs agenda.

Georgia has been able to integrate further into the Euro-Atlantic community while balancing regional challenges such as Russia, Iran and the growing influence of China. by

On the security front, Georgia perhaps has the closest relationship with NATO possible without being a full member. The Substantial NATO-Georgia Package agreed at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales and has done a lot to improve the capabilities of the Georgian Armed Forces.

At the height of the war, Georgia had almost 2,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, making it the largest per capita troop-contributing nation in the coalition.

Today Georgia maintains 885 troops in the country. This is the third-largest contribution after the US and Germany. Moreover, Georgia currently contributes an infantry company to the NATO Response Force.

Perhaps most importantly, Georgia has been able to integrate further into the Euro-Atlantic community while balancing regional challenges such as Russia, Iran and the growing influence of China. This has been no easy task.

Both Russia and Iran have long competed for influence in Georgia. At different times throughout history each has occupied or ruled what is modern day Georgia.

Georgia has been able to maintain cordial and mutually beneficial economic relations with Iran and even participate in regional energy projects.

Geo-Strategic importance

Eight years after the 2008 Russian invasion Moscow still illegally occupies 20 percent of Georgias territory. Where possible Tbilisi has taken a pragmatic stance with Russia by trying to decouple the issue of Russian occupation from advancements in low-level trade and economic activity that benefit the regions local population.

OPINION: The creeping Russian border in Georgia

Georgia has also wisely made a non-use of force pledge when it comes to restoring the countrys territorial integrity, which includes Russian-occupied South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

If Georgia is to integrate fully into the Euro-Atlantic community it is better that they do so with little or no problems with its neighbours. by

Georgia is also quickly becoming a key part of the modern-day Silk Road. Tbilisi has courted Chinese investment and is quickly emerging as an important hub for Eurasian economic activity. In fact, this week negotiators finalised a Georgian-Chinese Free Trade Agreement that will go into force next year.

So why does any of this matter to the West?

If Georgia is to integrate fully into the Euro-Atlantic community it is better that they do so with little or no problems with its neighbours.

In the case of Russias illegal occupation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, this is easier said than done. In terms of Georgias relations with Iran and China, western policymakers should not be alarmed, but instead should realise that this is a consequence of Georgias geography and history.

Georgia is an island of democracy and stability in a very dangerous region.

Without a doubt Georgias future is in the West. Whichever party comes out on top after this weekends elections must keep Georgia on the Euro-Atlantic track.

There is too much at stake otherwise. Not only for Georgia, but also for the broader region and the Euro-Atlantic community.

Luke Coffey is a research fellow specialising in transatlantic and Eurasian security at a Washington DC based think-tank. He previously served as a special adviser to the British defence secretary and was a commissioned officer in the United States army.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Curfew clamped in Indian-administered Kashmir after mourners attending funeral of 12-year-old boy clash with police.

Indian troops have fired warning shots and used tear gas as they clashed with thousands of people in Srinagar protesting against the killing of a 12-year-old boy by security forces.

Doctors told Al Jazeera that Junaid Ahmad died early on Saturday at a hospital in the main city of the Indian-administered Kashmir, hours after suffering a head injury and pellet wounds.

Residents said the boy was sprayed with pellets in the lawn outside his home, but police said he was part of anti-India protests that took place on Friday.

A doctor at the Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, where the boy was brought to, told Al Jazeera that the 12-year-old was shot by pellets in his head and chest.

READ MORE: Kashmir  A story of defiance amid grief

Ahmads death sparked widespread anger, with thousands of protesters chanting slogans, Go India, go back and We want freedom, as they marched to the Martyrs Graveyard with the boys body.

Clashes between security forces and protesters soon broke out, which led to a curfew being imposed in Srinagar.

We are taking all possible measures so that the protests dont spread to other areas, a police officer told AFP news agency, referring to the curfew.

On Friday, over 50 people were injured during protests in the restive Himalayan region, which has recently seen its largest protests against Indian rule in years following the July killing of a popular rebel commander, Burhan Wani, by Indian soldiers.

At least 90 civilians have been killed and thousands injured, with hundreds among them blinded and maimed, mostly by government forces firing bullets and shotgun pellets at rock-throwing protesters.

Military crackdown

The protests, and a sweeping military crackdown, have all but paralysed life in Indian-controlled Kashmir, with shops, schools and most banks remaining shut and mobile phone and internet services working intermittently.

READ MORE: Element of fear is gone for Kashmirs youth

Meanwhile, suspected rebels fired at a police post in the southern Shopian district killing an officer and injuring three others, a police statement said on Saturday.

Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where rebel groups have fought Indian troops since 1989 for either independence or a merger with Pakistan. More than 70,000 people have been killed since then.

Tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours has soared after an armed attack last month on an Indian army base killed 19 soldiers, with the two armies exchanging heavy fire and mortars across their de facto border in Kashmir almost every day.

With reporting by Rifat Fareed
Three raids kill at least 11 members of JMB, blamed for July cafe attack, in Dhaka and Tangail, say security officials.

Security forces in Bangladesh have killed at least 11 suspected members of an armed group blamed for a deadly attack on a cafe in the capital Dhaka three months ago.

The alleged members of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) died on Saturday in three separate raids on hideouts in the Dhaka suburb of Gazipur and the central district of Tangail, according to Asaduzzaman Khan, Bangladeshs home minister.

The raids came after police were tipped off about the location of the JMBs Dhaka unit chief and his associates, Khan said.

We requested them to surrender, but they opened fire at our officers instead and also exploded grenades, which prompted them to retaliate, he said.

READ MORE: Restaurant owners struggle in Dhaka after ISIL attack

The dead militants include JMBs Dhaka military commander Akash, which is his organisational name. We are trying to find out his real identity.

Al Jazeeras Maher Sattar, reporting from Dhaka, said: There are some question marks about how police are going around identifying people who they consider to be suspects. There are worries that innocent people might also be dragged into this.

Some firearms, bullets and meat cleavers were found during the raids, said Mufti Mahmud Khan, a spokesman for the Rapid Action Battalion, which was involved in the operations.

Two members of the battalion were injured during the gun battle, Mohiuddin Faruqe, local RAB chief, told AFP news agency.

Conflicting claims

Banned in 2005, the JMB was blamed for the July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhakas Gulshan diplomatic quarter, in which 20 civilians  mostly foreign nationals  were killed.

Two security personnel and six attackers were also killed in the incident when army commandos stormed the cafe to rescue hostages.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, which posted online photos of the carnage as it happened and pictures of the attackers holding ISIL flags.

However, the Bangladesh government has consistently denied the presence in the country of ISIL, also known as ISIS, or al-Qaeda.

Since the cafe attack, police have killed at least 14 suspected fighters, including a Bangladeshi-born Canadian man, in counterterrorism operations.
Israel is currently imprisoning more than two dozen Palestinian journalists, most without charges or trial.

Ramallah, occupied West Bank  It took 10 young Palestinian journalists several bank loans, months of hard work and a big leap of faith to get Sanabel Radio up and running.

But three years after the Hebron-based stations launch, half of its cofounders were arrested and imprisoned by Israeli forces in late August, while the radio station itself was shut down.

These five are among more than two dozen Palestinian journalists currently imprisoned by Israeli forces, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society. All 26 Palestinian journalists being held are members of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, a journalists union with the International Federation of Journalists.

Last week, the five journalists from Sanabel Radio  Hamed al-Namoura, 25; Ahmad Darwish, 23; Muntaser Nassar, 23; Nidal Omar, 23; and Mohammad Omran, 23, were all placed under administrative detention after being held for nearly a month without charges.

Almost all of the 26 journalists are being held under administrative detention, without any charges or trial, Khalid al-Araj, who manages the Palestinian Prisoners Societys Bethlehem branch, told Al Jazeera. The tactic is used because they want to silence the journalists, but they dont have any real charges to levy against them.

READ MORE: Israel jails Palestinians for Facebook comments

Araj said that when his team of lawyers asks for information on such cases, they are most often told that the journalists were arrested for incitement against Israel.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the five Sanabel journalists were arrested as part of ongoing efforts against incitement, adding that the radio station has repeatedly broadcasted inciting content, encouraging, celebrating and promoting violence and terrorism against Israelis. The spokesperson declined to comment on the other 21 imprisoned journalists.

Israel very easily arrests journalists under the guise of incitement. They plaster this word on any journalist and say they were working against the security of Israel, but generally, a journalist is held for six months or more without any charges, Araj said. If they actually committed a crime, there would be charges.

No Palestinian journalist has any protection, no matter where they work, when it comes to Israel. by Aqeel Awawadi, journalist at Ramallah-based Radio FM 24 station

Alexandra el-Khazen, who heads the Reporters Without Borders Middle East desk, told Al Jazeera that Israels use of administrative detention makes it difficult for the media watchdog to defend such cases.

We only defend journalists persecuted because of their work, or in link with their journalistic activities, Khazen explained. Israeli authorities, like many, usually do not accuse journalists of charges with links to their journalistic work, which makes our work more difficult.

Khazen said that accusations of incitement can often be unfounded and used arbitrarily to silence journalists.

Israeli authorities often use this accusation of incitement against Israel against Palestinian media outlets and journalists, she said. This accusation has been used a lot since last year to shut down media outlets.

The other five cofounders of Sanabel, all women, were not detained, but the doors to the station were welded shut by Israeli forces, and all of the equipment inside confiscated, preventing them from relaunching the station.

READ MORE: Palestinian journalists under Israeli fire

Aqeel Awawadi, a former director of audio engineering at Sanabel who quit six months before the Israeli military raid and subsequently moved to the larger Ramallah-based Radio FM 24 station, said that he felt his job was safer there.

Its a lot easier for them to close down the smaller stations, Awawadi told Al Jazeera. Sanabel was a startup; the oldest person involved was 25, and everyone put all of their money and efforts into it, so Israel knows that now that theyve closed the office and confiscated the equipment, the station wont go back up, even after my five colleagues are released.

Larger media stations would not be attacked in this way because they could swiftly restart operations elsewhere, he added.

Individual journalists are another story, though; no Palestinian journalist has any protection, no matter where they work, when it comes to Israel, Awawadi said. Even now, I am scared they might come for me. Journalism is a dangerous job for Palestinians.

Awawadi, who has maintained a close relationship with his former colleagues, said that Sanabel never incited violence against Israel.

They didnt put in all that work to start a station from the ground up so that they could incite violence. They did it so they could report the news. All of them are journalists, not politicians or entertainers, Awawadi said, noting that the station provided information meant to keep Palestinians safe, including announcements when Israeli soldiers were in an area or when tear gas had been deployed.

Israel makes it out that they are reporting that as a way to encourage others to go out and throw stones, and that is just not the case.

According to the Reporters Without Borders 2016 Press Freedom Index, Israel stands at number 101 out of 180 countries, a significant drop from its ranking of 50 out of 160 countries a decade earlier. Palestinian journalists are targeted more than their Israeli counterparts, according to the media watchdog.

Palestinian journalists, especially in the West Bank and Gaza, are more vulnerable and exposed to defiance by the Israeli authorities if they publish stories that the government doesnt like than Israeli journalists, Khazen said.
Field execution of security officer in Beheira province is latest in a series of attacks claimed by Hasam Movement.

A new Egyptian armed group, the Hasam Movement, has claimed responsibility for the killing of a police officer in the countrys north.

Armed men shot Gamal al-Deeb, a policeman working with the Homeland Security agency, eight times outside his home in Egypts Beheira province shortly after midnight, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

He died of a bullet to the head.

The Hasam Movements assassination squad has carried out the field execution of the hardened criminal Gamal al-Deeb who committed his crimes in all ages, the group said in a statement on social media.

Senior Muslim Brotherhood leader killed in Egypt

He deserved the bullet of justice that found its way to his head and the seven others in his body.

The group accused Deeb of killing, kidnapping and torturing innocents, including children. It posted photos purportedly of Deebs house, car and a coffee shop he frequented.

Hasam, the Arabic word for decisiveness, has claimed responsibility for five other attacks since July, including the attempted assassination of a senior prosecutor via a car bomb, and the failed shooting of Egypts former top Muslim religious leader.

Hasam also claimed responsibility for the killing of a senior police officer earlier this year.

Policemen, judges and other senior officials have increasingly been targeted by armed groups angered by hefty prison sentences imposed on members of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood, which says it is a peaceful organisation, won Egypts first free elections after the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubaraks 30-year rule.

Its presidential candidate, Mohamed Morsi, was himself deposed after mass protests against his rule and replaced by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the military chief, in 2013.

Sisi has since overseen a crackdown on opposition in which hundreds of Brotherhood supporters have been killed and thousands, including Morsi, jailed or sentenced to death.

Travel advisory row

In a separate development, Egypts foreign ministry has criticised the US embassy in Cairo for advising citizens to avoid large gatherings and public spaces in the capital until Sunday due to potential security concerns.

The foreign ministry spokesman has conveyed his annoyance at the warning released by the United States embassy in Cairo to Americans, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

[This] raises questions over the reasons this statement was released in such a way.









The ministry said it contacted the embassy over the warning and that it was told there were no specific reasons or threats behind the move.

The largest Arab country is currently battling armed groups mainly concentrated in the Sinai Peninsula and which gained pace after the removal of Morsi.

The campaign, mounted by the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and began to attack Western targets within the country.

The attacks have dented the recovery of tourism after a 2011 uprising drove away tourists, a major source of hard currency.

Import-dependent Egypt is facing a shortage of foreign exchange that has stifled business activity and hit confidence in the economy.
Running mate Mike Pence says he cannot defend Trumps indecent remarks about women heard in video from 2005.

US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has told The Wall Street Journal newspaper there is zero chance he will drop out of the presidential race, amid mounting criticism and calls to quit following revelations of indecent comments about women.

Trump said he will never, ever give up, according to the report published on Saturday, ahead of a statement from his vice presidential running mate Mike Pence, declaring that he can not condone his remarks and cannot defend them.

The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly  I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGA  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2016

Pence said: As a husband and a father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video released yesterday. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologised to the American people.

Trumps wife, Melania, also weighed in on the controversy, saying her husbands remarks were unacceptable and offensive, but added that she had accepted his apology. She also appealed to voters to accept Trumps apology.

READ MORE: Trump for dummies

On Saturday afternoon, Arizona Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee for president, announced he has withdrawn his support for Trump, saying it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy. He said he and his wife, Cindy, will not be voting for Trump.

There are no excuses for Donald Trumps offensive behavior. Cindy & I will not vote for him. My full stmt: https://t.co/MOw0rx4LSI  John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) October 8, 2016

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee for president, had earlier condemned the vile degradations expressed by Trump. Romney had refused to support Trump as candidate and nominee.

Both McCain and Romney stopped short of calling for Trumps withdrawal from the election.

Other Republican party members, meanwhile, were adamant that Trump leave the race altogether, with Carly Fiorina, an opponent during the primary, urging him to step aside and for the party to replace him with [Governor] Mike Pence.

Republican Senator Mike Lee of the US state of Utah also urged Trump to quit the race, as has a growing list of members of Congress and other elected officials.

Another senator, Mike Crapo of Idaho, also joined in the chorus of calls for Trump to quit: This is not a decision that I have reached lightly, but his pattern of behaviour left me no choice.

Meanwhile, Republican Senators Mark Kirk and John Thune took to social media urging Trump to withdraw from the race.

.@realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement.  Mark Kirk (@SenatorKirk) October 8, 2016

Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately.  Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) October 8, 2016

It was revealed on Friday that Trump, a former reality star and New York billionaire, had made lewd and sexually charged comments about women back in 2005.

Trump bragged about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women on a video recording released by the Washington Post and NBC News on Friday.

The remarks were captured by a live microphone that Trump did not appear to know was recording their conversation.

History of lewd comments

The videos release comes just two days before Trump will face his rival, Hillary Clinton, in their second presidential debate, and as he confronts a series of stories about his past comments about women.

After the release of the video, Trump apologised via his Twitter page.

Ive never said Im a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that Im not. Ive said and done things I regret  Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong and I apologise, he said in a filmed statement.

Bill Schneider, a political analyst and professor of policy, government and international affairs at George Mason University, told Al Jazeera that Trumps words were devastating and poisonous.





Most Americans already think hes not qualified [to be US president], but this just confirms that, Schneider said.

If he stays in the race, thats his decision, but hes almost certain to lose.

Schneider said, however, that despite the blunder, Trumps core supporters will probably stay with him.

Charlie Wolf, a Republican commentator, told Al Jazeera that Trumps statements were indefensible.

But I also think, there is something to be said about the timing of this, Wolf said, adding theres hypocrisy about the controversy, citing the record of former President Bill Clinton.

As president, Clinton was caught having sexual relations with a woman, other than his wife Hillary, who is the Democratic presidential candidate.

Trump has a long history of making lewd and highly sexual comments towards and about women.

The Associated Press news agency reported this week that during his years as a reality TV star on The Apprentice, Trump repeatedly demeaned women with sexist language, rating female contestants by the size of their breasts, and talking about which ones he would like to have sex with.
Democratic White House hopefuls speeches to bank executives show discrepancy between her private and public positions.

Wikileaks has published leaked emails from Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, which could damage her bid to become president.

The whistle-blower website posted on Friday what it said were thousands of emails from Clintons 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 her Republican rival Donald Trump.

Excerpts of the speeches given in the years before her 2016 presidential campaign included some blunt and unguarded remarks to her private audiences, which collectively had paid her at least $26.1m in speaking fees.

READ MORE: WikiLeaks founder promises new leaks on US election

It was not immediately clear who hacked Podestas emails, though the breach appeared to cover years of messages, some sent as recently as last month.

Among the emails was a compilation of excerpts from Clintons paid speeches in 2013 and 2014.

It appeared campaign staff had read all Clintons speeches and identified passages that could be potentially problematic for the candidate if they were to become public.





One excerpt put Clinton squarely in the free-trade camp, a position she has retreated on significantly during the 2016 election.

In a talk to a Brazilian bank in 2013, she said her dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders and asked her audience to think of what doubling American trade with Latin America would mean for everybody in this room.

The emails also show that three years ago, Clinton talked about the necessity of having two different positions on policy.

The excerpt reads: If everybodys watching, you know, all of the backroom discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous, to say the least. So, you need both a public and a private position.

In a separate speech to Goldman Sachs employees, Clinton said it was an oversimplification to blame the US banking system for the global financial crisis in 2008.

Only hours before the latest Wikileaks revelation, the US government formally accused Russia of conducting cyber attacks against American political organisations during the campaign for the November 8 presidential election, including hacking Democratic Party emails.

READ MORE: US formally accuses Russia of political cyber attacks

We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russias senior-most officials could have authorised these activities, said a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

It should concern every American that Russia is willing to engage in such hostile acts in order to help Donald Trump become president. pic.twitter.com/fwEKWrXKE2  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 8, 2016

Clintons team declined to confirm whether the emails leaked by Wikileaks are authentic, and instead emphasised Russias potential involvement in the leak.

Podesta has said in a statement published on his Twitter account on Friday that he is not happy about being hacked by the Russians in their quest to throw the election to Donald Trump.

[I] dont have time to figure out which docs are real and which are faked, he said.

Clintons trustworthiness was already under scrutiny because of the controversy over the use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.





She has also faced criticism for her ties to large corporations and major banks.

In addition to her Republican critics, she has been attacked by Bernie Sanders, her Democratic rival-turned-ally.

Sanders repeatedly criticised fellow Democrats for their close ties with corporations during his bid to become the partys presidential nominee.

The Democratic Party has to reach a fundamental conclusion. Are we on the side of the working people or big money interests? he once asked during his campaign.

The campaigns of both Sanders and Republican candidate Donald Trump won public support for their criticism of an allegedly rigged political system.

READ MORE: Donald Trump caught making lewd comments about women

The timing of the leak is also controversial, just 48 hours before Clinton meets Trump in their second TV debate and exactly a month before election day.

But a distracted Trump did not seem to notice, focusing instead on pushing attention towards Bill Clintons past infidelities as he apologised for lewd and sexually charged comments he made about women back in 2005, also leaked on Friday.

We will discuss this more in the coming days, he said at the end of his midnight video in which he apologised for his comments.

See you at the debate on Sunday.
Opinion polls show nations two main political parties neck-and-neck after campaign marred by car bombing and shooting.

Polls have closed across Georgia in a parliamentary election seen as a test of stability in the ex-Soviet country.

Saturdays vote saw the ruling Georgian Dream party, led from behind the scenes by Bidzina Ivanishvili , a billionaire former prime minister, facing a strong challenge from the United National Movement (UNM), founded by Mikheil Saakashvili, the exiled former president .

Tensions rose in the run-up to the vote after a car bombing that targeted an opposition deputy and a shooting incident at a political rally.

Georgias Western allies watch closely to see if the country can cement gains after its first peaceful transfer of power at the ballot box four years ago.

OPINION: After elections, Georgia must stay on Euro-Atlantic path

Voting was monitored by international observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe.

There are up to 19 political parties [and] several political blocs contesting these elections, and Georgians really do have a fair choice, Al Jazeeras Robin Forestier-Walker, reporting from the capital Tbilisi, said.

Citing Georgias strategic location, as well as its war with Russia in 2008, he said that the outcome of the election was going to have an impact on the regions stability.

If it can go ahead peacefully, and if the results can be accepted, then it would be a major plus for Georgian democracy and an example to other countries in this part of the world, he said.

No clear winner?

The countrys politics remain dominated by Saakashvili and Ivanishvili , even though neither holds an official position, and their parties are hoping to score landslide victories.

But opinion polls have the two neck-and-neck in the race to form the next government, leaving analysts warning that the country of 3.7 million could slip into political turmoil if there is no outright winner.

Four years after Ivanishvili s party ended nearly a decade of dominance by Saakashvilis UNM, an economic slowdown and constant political confrontations means that the approval ratings of both sides are quite low.





Due to the countrys complex election rules, the final make-up of the 150-seat parliament may only become clear by late November.

The pre-election atmosphere in Georgia, a US ally, was already tense after an opposition deputys car was blown up in Tbilisi earlier this week.

Givi Targamadze survived unscathed, but five passers-by were injured.

In a separate attack, two men were shot and wounded on Sunday at a speech by Irakly Okruashvili, an independent candidate and former defence minister, in the town of Gori.

EU and NATO ties

Both the government and the main opposition would like to see Georgia join the European Union and NATO, but such a move would be strongly resisted by Russia.

While the two leading parties remain firmly committed to Georgias pro-Western trajectory, for the first time in decades, the vote may see one of several small pro-Russian parties make it to the parliament.

The Georgian Dream party also favours stronger ties with Russia.

Originally a coalition of six parties, Georgian Dream was founded by Ivanishvili , who made his fortune in Russia. The party came to power in 2012, ending the nine-year rule of Saakashvilis UNM.

It was the first peaceful transfer of power since the 1991 Soviet collapse and followed public protests over a scandal involving the mistreatment of prison inmates and accusations that Saakashvili was behaving in an authoritarian manner.

Under Georgian Dream, dozens of ex-officials, including a former prime minister, have been arrested on charges such as abuse of power, and some Western countries have accused the government of selectively applying justice.

Saakashvili was forced out of the country after prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for abuse of power and now works as a regional governor in Ukraine.

He has pledged to return after the elections, but the authorities warn they will detain him if he steps foot in the country.

He says the charges against him are politically motivated.

Many Georgians accuse the government of mishandling the economy, which has been hit by a decline in exports and remittances despite expanding by 2.7 percent in the first eight months of this year.
Syrian children, aged five, eight and 11, hit and threatened with a knife in eastern town of Sebnitz, police say.

Three Syrian refugee children have been hit and threatened with a knife by a gang of right-wing youths in eastern Germany, according to police.

The boys, aged five, eight and 11, were getting out of a bus in the town of Sebnitz, around 40km east of Dresden, when they came under attack, police said in a statement on Friday.

Following the assault, the attackers started chanting right-wing slogans, police said.





A spokeswoman for the police said the identity of the attackers was not yet known.

Police found several young people aged between 15 and 20 near the site of Thursday nights attack, but it is not yet clear if they were the attackers.

Hate crimes surge

Support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party has surged since last years refugee influx, particularly in eastern states where unemployment is generally higher than in the west.

Last week, police cited xenophobia and nationalism for two bomb attacks targeting a mosque and a convention in Dresden, which is the birthplace of the anti-immigration Pegida street movement, short for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident.

Its members have angrily protested against the influx of refugees and migrants that last year brought about one million asylum seekers to Europes biggest economy.

READ MORE: Germany failing to deal with surge in hate crimes

Far-right hate crimes targeting shelters for asylum seekers in the state of Saxony rose to 106 in 2015, with another 50 recorded in the first half of this year.

In an annual report outlining progress since reunification, the government warned last month that growing xenophobia and right-wing extremism could threaten peace in eastern Germany.
Fears of cholera outbreak and food shortages as Caribbean nations crops are wiped out by Hurricane Matthew.

The full scale of the devastation in rural parts of storm-hit Haiti became clear as the death toll soared to nearly 900 three days after Hurricane Matthew levelled huge swaths of the countrys south.

As Matthew threatened the US coast on Saturday, US President Barack Obama urged Americans to mobilise in support of Haiti, where a million people were in need of assistance after the latest disaster to strike the western hemispheres poorest nation.

The number of deaths in Haiti surged to at least 877 late 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. Authorities expect the figure to rise even further.

READ MORE: Letter from Haiti  Tragedy repeats itself

While the capital and biggest city, 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 Matthews impact, said several localities were still cut off by flooding and mudslides.

A scene of desolation greeted visitors to Jeremie, a town of 30,000 people left inaccessible until Friday.

Thousands of houses have been destroyed, and there is not enough food and drinking water, Al Jazeeras Teresa Bo, reporting from a Jeremie, said.

At one of the towns poorly equipped medical centres, doctors said they were desperate for help.

We dont have anything; no bandages, no penicillin, Dr Dessous, of the Saint Antoine hospital, told Al Jazeera. We had to sent people home because we couldnt treat them here.

Cholera threat

But its not just the lack of medicine and equipment threatening Jeremies hurricane-hit residents  disease is also a major hazard for the people living here.

One of the biggest fears here is the threat of cholera, said Al Jazeeras Bo, citing a cholera epidemic introduced by UN peacekeepers following Haitis 2010 devastating earthquake.

Thousands of people have previously died because of this disease.

WATCH: Haiti after the earthquake

In one ward, at least 12 patients had cholera, five of them children.

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.

Residents of the town were also concerned about their crops, levelled by Matthews heavy rain and winds.

We already didnt have enough food, now we have lost our crops, Junot Clerveau told Al Jazeera. We have lost our trees that give us mangoes and coconuts. I dont know how were going to deal with this.





On the aid effort, Mourad Wahba, of the UN Mission in Haiti, told Al Jazeera: We would like the Hatian government to be the coordinating authority. We dont want to repeat the experience of confusion of 2010.

The Caribbean nation was struck by its strongest earthquake in more than 200 years six years ago, causing a catastrophe and killing more than 220,000 people. Back then, political wrangling stalled reconstruction efforts.

Doing our best

With power lines down in Haiti, people were cut off from the news for days after the storm struck on Tuesday  and had yet to hear that a presidential election due to take place this weekend had been postponed.

Virtually all of Jeremies 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, Carmine Luc, a 22-year-old woman, told AFP news agency.

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.

READ MORE: UN admits role in deadly Haiti cholera outbreak

A ship carrying nine containers of food and medical supplies was headed for Dame Marie, further west in GrandAnse department.

Its probably the hardest-hit department and the conditions dont allow for a helicopter to land there, Interior Minister Francois Anick Joseph told AFP. So were doing our best to help those affected.

Convoys were headed to other affected areas by land, sea and air, he said, including two helicopters provided by the US military to transport 50 tonnes of water, food and medicine elsewhere in GrandAnse.

Nothing left

Further south, Haitis third largest town of Les Cayes was also battered, its Sous-Roches district turned from a quiet beachfront neighbourhood to a chaos of mud and shattered trees.

The river level has started to drop, but its waters are still mixed with the storm surge that inundated the beach during the Category 4 hurricanes hours-long assault on Tuesday.

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 tree.

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.

Up to 80 percent of crops have been lost in some areas, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Around one million people are in need of urgent assistance, according to CARE France, a humanitarian group.

They have nothing left except the clothes on their back, it said.





As the death toll climbed, pledges of aid flooded in, with the US 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.

France announced it was sending 60 troops, with 32 tonnes of humanitarian supplies and water purification equipment.

Obama also urged Americans to send donations for Haitis hurricane victims.

We know that hundreds of people have lost their lives and that theres been severe property damage and theyre going to need help rebuilding, he said.

Even the smallest contribution can really make a big difference.

Venezuela, in an economic crisis itself, swiftly sent three loads of relief supplies and food. They included water, medicine, tents, mattresses, blankets and machinery to move rubble, its Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said.

Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York state, home to a large Haitian community, said it was time for people to open their hearts to those in need.

We ask New Yorkers to unite and stand together to support relief efforts, he said.

Haitians skeptical

Haiti, which sits on a hurricane path, has had its fair share of natural disasters, including 2010s devastating earthquake that demolished much of the capital.

Some of its needs have been met by international aid.

But the large-scale international aid programmes in place since the quake have also been criticised for failing to build local capacity while spending millions on their own short-term programmes.

WATCH: A home among the rubble in Haiti

So Joseph, the interior minister, insisted that its out of the question for NGOs to take charge of humanitarian aid.

We are very firm on this point: this country is led by a government. Across the country, its civil protection services that are coordinating everything, he added.

We are not going to turn this country into a messy chaos. Its not going to happen. We already experienced that in 2010, we learned from our mistakes, we will act responsibly.

Many ordinary Haitians are skeptical of help from abroad  in a country whose economic decrepitude is seen as connected to its disastrous post-colonial legacy of foreign intervention and home-grown corruption.

Ive never believed in foreign aid, said Gedeon Dorfeuille, a resident of Les Cayes. Please, dont come back promising us billions again if nothing is to come of it.
PJD wins most seats in 395-seat House, while rival PAM comes second, results released by the interior ministry show.

Rabat, Morocco  Moroccos Islamic Justice and Development Party (PJD) has emerged as the winner after the country voted for its 10th parliament since independence in 1956, according to official results.

PJD, which has been running a coalition government since 2011, won 125 seats, while the opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) came second, with 102 seats, the interior ministry said on Saturday after all ballots were counted.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Moroccos election

The Istiqlal (Independence) Party  the oldest in the country, founded in 1944  came third by winning 46 seats, following by National Rally of Independents (RNI) with 37 seats, and Popular Movement (MP) with 27.

Day of joy

The results represented a strong message of support for the ruling PJD, despite opposition criticism that the Islamic party had failed to achieve tangible results in its five years of power.

This is a day of joy and a victory for democracy, Abdelilah Benkirane, PJD secretary-general and outgoing prime minister, told his supporters after the announcement of the results.

The Moroccan people have rewarded PJD for the work we did in our previous term, he said.





PAM spokesman Khaled Adnoun said he was pleased with the outcome of the election and ruled out any kind of cooperation with PJD.

We are happy with the results, though we were expecting to grab more seats. However, we did better this time than in 2011, Adnoun said.

As said before by PAM secretary-general, there will be no cooperation of whatever with PJD.

According to the terms of the 2011 constitution, the prime minister is selected from the party that receives the most votes in the election.

With PJD winning most seats in the 395-member House of Representatives, King Mohammed VI is likely to invite them to lead a new coalition government for a second consecutive term, the first party in the modern history of the kingdom to do so.

READ MORE: Test time for Islamic PJD Party

PJD will now reach out to other parties to form a coalition government, because the multi-party system in the kingdom makes it impossible for any political party to win an absolute majority.

Voting went smoothly in general, with a surprisingly weak turnout of over 43 percent.

Missing voters Voter turnout in Morocco is generally poor. On the whole, about 50 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots both in local (municipal and regional polls) and national elections (parliament). Voter turnout in the 2015 local elections was 53.67 percent, up from approximately 45 percent in the 2011 parliamentary vote.

The low voter engagement is widely considered a message of disappointment to political parties, which remain unable to motivate the countrys citizens, and especially the youth.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, many citizens expressed their resentment on the poor performance of the previous governments and the countrys politicians, who remain unable to touch on their daily problems.

We need employment, decent accommodation, a good health system and better education. Corruption in the country, which remains widespread in both the public and business spheres, has to end as well, a senior bank officer, told Al Jazeera.

Voters talking to Al Jazeera generally agreed on their expectations from the elections.

Many expect from the next government to alleviate the situation of healthcare, education and find a new mechanism to generate employment, which remain major social challenges that previous governments failed to handle.

According to the World Bank, more than one-fifth of young people are out of work.
Lifting of the last trade restrictions marks the culmination of years of rapprochement that Obama worked to facilitate.

President Barack Obama has lifted US economic sanctions on Myanmar, the culmination of years of rapprochement that the US president has worked to facilitate.

The Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, has pursued political reforms over the last five years following decades of oppressive military rule.

Obama had announced plans to lift the sanctions last month, when Myanmars new civilian leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, visited the Oval Office.

Aung San Suu Kyi concurred it was time to remove all the sanctions that had hurt the economy and urged Americans to come to the country and to make profits.

The US has already eased broad prohibitions on investment and trade but had retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling military government.

US companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asias last untapped markets.

Fridays executive order lifts those restrictions. It removes the national emergency with respect to Myanmar  the executive order authorising sanctions that has been renewed annually by US presidents for two decades.

It also lifts a ban on the importation of jadeite and rubies from Myanmar and removes banking restrictions, the Associated Press reported.

Substantial advances

I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency with respect to Burma has been significantly altered by Burmas substantial advances to promote democracy, including historic elections in November 2015, Obama wrote in a letter to the leaders of Congress.

He said the US intends to use other means to support Myanmar in the significant challenges it still faces.

Some Myanmar nationals will remain on the Treasury Departments list of Specially Designated Nationals under other sanctions authorities, such as those intended to block the drug trade, a Treasury statement said.

OPINION: Tough choices in Myanmar as a new era begins

This bars them from any business dealings with the US. They include alleged drugs kingpin Wei Hsueh Kang and other figures from the United Wa State Army, one of Myanmars biggest ethnic armed groups.

Among those taken off are ex-military government chief, Than Shwe, and the founder of one of the nations largest conglomerates, Stephen Law, whose late father was once described by the Treasury as one of the worlds key heroin traffickers.

Also taken off were military officials added to the blacklist since 2013 for alleged arms trading with North Korea, such as Lieutenant General Thein Htay, chief of the Directorate of Defence Industries.

Human rights groups have argued that lifting sanctions is premature as the US will lose leverage over Myanmars powerful military. Despite the election victory by Aung San Suu Kyi party last year, the military still wields major political and economic influence.

Senator Ben Cardin, a top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced support for the sanctions action, but concern over the plight of Rohingya Muslims, ethnic reconciliation and reform of a military-government-era constitution that guarantees the military a quarter of parliamentary seats.

Even as we lift these sanctions we must maintain a focus on ongoing concerns regarding the role of the military in Burmas economy and politics, Cardin said in a statement, noting that Aung San Suu Kyi had raised the issue when she met senators during her Washington visit last month.

Obamas outreach to Myanmar has reflected his willingness to engage with American adversaries  others being Cuba and Iran. The administration has also sought to promote US strategic interests in Asia.
Russia vetoes French draft urging end to military flights over Aleppo while Russian draft fails to gather enough votes.

Western governments and Russia have clashed at the UN Security Council even while the Syrian government presses ahead with its military offensive against rebel-held areas of Aleppo.

The UN Security Council voted on Saturday on two rival resolutions on the fighting  one drafted by France calling for an end to air strikes and a second by Russia that urged a ceasefire but made no mention of halting the bombings.

Russia vetoed the French-drafted resolution that would have demanded an immediate end to air strikes and military flights over Syrias second largest city, and for a truce along with humanitarian aid access throughout the country.

It is the fifth time Russia has vetoed a UN resolution on Syria during the more than five-year conflict.

OPINION: Syria  Do people really care?

The previous four times, Russia was backed by China, but on Saturday, China abstained from the vote.

Eleven of the 15 council members voted in favour of the draft resolution.

A UN resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes to be adopted. The veto powers are the US, France, Britain, Russia and China.





After Russias veto, the council moved to the second vote on the Russian-drafted text, but it failed to gather enough votes to pass.

It was a day of high drama at the Security Council, said James Bays, Al Jazeeras diplomatic editor, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York.

The Russian ambassador called it a spectacle. He said, no one wins and we need to go back to diplomacy.

But certainly some ambassadors were pointing the finger at Russia because the first resolution that was proposed by France, which suggested that all military aircraft over Aleppo should be grounded, would have gone through if it wasnt for the Russian veto.

After Russias proposal failed to gather enough votes, Matthew Rycroft, Britains ambassador to the UN, asked Russia to, stop bombing Aleppo now.

It [the Russian proposal] failed because it failed to demand an immediate end to the aerial bombardment of Aleppo, he said.

Its a sham. Just as Russias hollow commitment to a political process in Syria is a sham. The indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Aleppo is sickening and barbaric. Please stop now.





In response to Rycrofts comments, Vitaly Churkin, Russias ambassador to the UN, said the UK should stop supporting terrorists instead.

Stop supporting all the villains across the world, including terrorists, he said.

Stop interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign states. Stop your colonial habits. Leave the world in peace and then, maybe, things will improve in many areas and regions of the world.

In the run-up to the votes, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germanys foreign minister, said the mounting tensions between the US and Russia had created a situation more dangerous than the Cold War.

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has made clear his anger at the Syrian armys Russian-backed assault on Aleppo, saying that its bombing of civilians could amount to a war crime.

Syria has made significant advances in its renewed two-week-old offensive in Aleppo, seizing territory to the north and pushing back the front line in the city centre.

The front line had remained largely static since the rebels captured the eastern districts in 2012.

OPINION: Aleppo moment  Sanctioned ignorance in the US

Since the governments offensive began on September 22, a few days after a joint US-Russia-brokered ceasefire collapsed, at least 290 people  mostly civilians  have been killed in rebel-held areas, 57 of them children, says the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitoring group.

And 50 civilians, including nine children, have been killed in rebel shelling in government-held areas of the city, according to the SOHR, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.





It said government forces were making further advances on Saturday in the lead-up to the Security Council session.

The SOHR reported heavy air strikes on the rebel-held Fardos and Sukari neighbourhoods.

The assault by Syrian President Bashar al-Assads forces has led to a global outcry after air strikes on hospitals and a UN aid convoy.

The offensive has also elicited a warning from Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy, that eastern Aleppo could be totally destroyed by the years end.

Council members held negotiations during 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.

Churkin said the French 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.
The suicide car bombers kill themselves outside the Turkish capital after police called on them to surrender.

Two suicide car bombers blew themselves up on the outskirts of the Turkish capital Ankara after police called on them to surrender, according to a Turkish official and local media.

Governor Erkan Topaca said the two bombers  a man and a woman  died on Saturdays incident outside a horse farm, the Associated Press news agency reported.

No one else was wounded in the blast.

INTERACTIVE: Timeline of attacks in Turkey

Topaca said the assailants are thought to be linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which has carried out a series of suicide car bombings over the past year.

The materials used, the construction and the way it was planned, point to the PKK a little, he said, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

The governor said the suspects were sought by police after a tip from Diyarbakir, a mainly Kurdish province in Turkeys southeast.

In televised comments, Topaca added that the suspects were a male whom they had identified and a female whose identity they had yet to ascertain.

READ MORE: Ten Turkish troops killed in two separate PKK attacks

The PKK has fought a three-decade-old armed campaign, focused in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey, in which more than 40,000 people have been killed.

It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union.

Violence returned to the region after the collapse of a two-year ceasefire last year.

Turkey has also seen attacks by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group for more than a year.

Saturdays bombing comes two days before the first anniversary of Turkeys deadliest attack in its modern history in Ankara which left 103 dead. The attack was blamed on ISIL fighters.
The Foreign Office has told the LSE that non-UK academics should not do advisory work for the government on Brexit.

One of Britains most prestigious universities has accused the government of barring leading academics from acting as advisers on Brexit because they are not UK citizens.

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) said it was told by the Foreign Office that non-British nationals were not allowed to work on projects about leaving the EU.

UK govt previously sought work& advice from best experts. Just told I & many colleagues no longer qualify as not UKcitizens #Brexit @LSEnews  Sara Hagemann (@sarahagemann) October 6, 2016

Sara Hagemann, one of nine LSE experts who have already been advising the UK government about Brexit has revealed via social media that she has been summarily dropped as a government adviser. She said the Foreign Office dropped her as an expert adviser on the grounds of her Danish nationality.

READ MORE: David Camerons legacy in the shadow of Brexit

The LSE said in a statement that they believe their 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 public statement was followed by an internal email to staff, saying: We will continue to stand by our colleagues and we strongly value the work you all do.





The governments decision has been criticised as baffling, disrespectful and xenophobic, said Al Jazeeras Paul Brennan, reporting from London.

And it is particularly strange since less than a month ago, Dr Sara Hagemann was one of three LSE experts asked to give a detailed media briefing on Brexit  the organiser of that briefing was the UK Foreign Office.

The Foreign Office, on the other hand, has denied the claims, saying that the university has misunderstood its guidance and that it has not changed its policy.

It has always been the case that anyone working in the Foreign Office may require security clearance  Britain is an outward-looking nation and we will continue to take advice from the best and brightest minds regardless of nationality, it said in a statement.

Steve Peers, a professor of European Union law, told Al Jazeera that he would be more inclined to believe the LSE, because academic institutions are very precise.

We cant be absolutely sure, but governments and civil servants are in an awkward position politically and they always need to cover themselves if anything embarrassing comes out.

University administrations, on the other hand, tend to be very precise, when they send the staff an email about their jobs, they try to make sure it is absolutely correct.

LSE is one of the worlds top universities, which counts financier George Soros, Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger and former US president John Kennedy among its alumni.

READ MORE: Brexit fallout  Anti-migrant attacks surge in the UK

With around 9,600 full-time students from 140 countries, the LSE is one of Britains most internationally diverse universities. It says over 100 languages are spoken on its campus in central London.

The row with LSE added spice to a tumultuous week for British politics which saw Theresa May, the UK prime minister, announce a date for triggering Brexit , a sterling plunge and a senior minister propose firms to disclose what percentage of their workforce was non-British.

The Foreign Office is explaining it away as a misunderstanding, said our correspondent. Meanwhile, the London School of Economics has pledged to stand firm to its principles of academic independence.
Funeral reception, attended by military and intelligence officials of Houthi led-government, targeted in Sanaa.

At least 140 people were killed and more than 500 wounded in several air strikes on a funeral reception in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, according to health officials.

Saba news agency, which is aligned with the Iran-allied Houthi group, accused an Arab coalition fighter jet of striking the grand hall of ceremonies on al-Khamseen Street on Saturday afternoon.

Hundreds of mourners had gathered in the hall to take part in a funeral ceremony.

The United Nations released a statement saying the UN humanitarian coordinator and the NGO community in Yemen were outraged and shocked by the air strikes.

Initial reports from health officials in Sanaa indicate over 140 people were killed and over 525 injured, OCHA said in the statement.

The death toll was one of the largest in any single incident since the Arab alliance began military operations to try to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power following his ousting by the Houthis in March 2015.

Coalition denies role

However, sources in the alliance denied that there was an Arab coalition role in the strikes.

Absolutely no such operation took place at that target, one of the sources told Reuters news agency, citing what he described as confirmation from the coalition air force command.

The coalition is aware of such reports and is certain that it is possible that other causes of the bombing are to be considered. The coalition has in the past avoided such gatherings and [they have] never been a subject of targets.

WATCH: Yemeni foreign minister defends Saudi-led coalition air strikes: There is no clean war

Hakim al-Masmari, the editor of the Yemen Post, told Al Jazeera the venue in Sanaa was hit by four strikes.

Initially two, then after the plane circled around, a further two. The planes were heard and seen in the skies by multiple people.

Senior intelligence and military officials were present, and Sanaas mayor Abdul-Qader Hilal was confirmed killed, al-Masmari said.

The Arab coalition, assembled by Saudi Arabia, has been providing air support for Hadis forces in a civil war that has killed more than 10,000 people since March 2015 and displaced more than three million.

Fighting has intensified since August when UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait ended without an agreement.

Saba cited a security source as saying that the strikes occurred as the funeral reception was under way for the father of Brigadier Jalal al-Ruweishan, interior minister in the self-proclaimed Houthi government.

The source said Ruweishan was present at the event. It is not clear whether he survived the attack.

The strikes caused a large fire at the grand hall, which was largely destroyed, said the Saba report.

WATCH: Yemen: Pulling the Strings

Haykal Bafana, a Yemeni analyst based in Sanaa, told Al Jazeera that four missiles were used in the attack.

I watched the air strikes, which took place barely 1.5km from my house. They first used a normal missile that pierced the roof. The second was an incendiary missile, burning the whole inside of the hall.

The third was a missile on first responders, Bafana said.

He also said that military officials in attendance were the possible targets.

Ali Abdullah Saleh hardly ever attends funerals. I think Jalal al-Ruweishan was the target. It was his father Sheikh Alis funeral.

Ruweishan had sided with the Houthi movement when President Hadi fled Yemen after the Houthis advanced on his headquarters in the southern port city of Aden in March 2015.

The Saudi-led coalition had been blamed for several attacks on medical centres, including some run by international aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF), schools, factories and homes in the past 18 months that has killed scores of civilians.

In August, MSF said it was evacuating its staff from six hospitals in northern Yemen after a coalition air strike hit a health facility operated by the group, killing 19 people.

The coalition, which says it does not target civilians, has expressed deep regret over the decision and said it was trying to set up urgent meetings with the medical aid group.

Civil war

The conflict between Yemens government and the Houthi rebels escalated in 2015 with the intervention of an Arab coalition in support of Hadi.

The UN says more than three million people have been displaced by fighting in Yemen since March 2015.

According to UNICEF, nearly three million people in Yemen are in need of immediate food supplies, while 1.5 million children suffer malnutrition, including 370,000 enduring very severe malnutrition that weakens their immune system.

Yemen has also been hit by a cholera outbreak , the UN has warned, saying it poses a further threat to children in the impoverished country.
We take a look at Deutsche Banks troubles and the health of the global financial system.

Germanys biggest bank, and Europes biggest investment bank, appears to be in trouble. So what do Deutsche Banks problems say about the overall health of the financial system? Eight years on from the global financial crisis, are the banks still too big to fail?

The banks troubles date back to 2008, when it mis-sold banking products called Mortgage Backed Securities  the very straw that broke the global financial system almost a decade ago. The US Department of Justice is demanding $14bn back in fines from Deutsche Bank to settle civilian lawsuits related to the mis-selling.

In a way, this is kind of a wake-up call to regulators, and in the US, there has been a lot of rhetoric around how do we get rid of 'too big to fail' - and the answer is ... I don't think you do. by Chris Wheeler, banking analyst, Atlantic Equities

New European Union bail-in rules mean the German tax payer is protected from involvement with bank fines which all but rules out German state aid.

Deutsche Bank has also failed banking stress tests, which demonstrate how well banks would do in a severe market shock similar to the global financial crisis.

But some argue that the position Deutsche Bank finds itself in is not quite as simple as it may seem. With what is predicted to be a solid balance sheet in terms of liquidity and deposit-loans ratio, Chris Wheeler, banking analyst at Atlantic Equities, a US brokerage firm based in London, clarifies:

The problem it [Deutsche Bank] has is two-fold really: It is still trying to rebuild its earnings in markets that arent very favourable to it in investment banking. The other problem, of course, is its capital  it has something called a 10.8 percent common equity tier one ratio. Thats kind of moderate compared to its peers, but obviously its under pressure if we have this very substantial US fine.

With a much stronger balance sheet than some of the biggest banks that fell in the crisis, such as Lehman Brothers, and a solid bill of deposits rendering not liquidity but capital as the main issue for Deutsche Bank, does this further solidify fears of another global crisis?

This has proved the point that too big to fail is still with us. All the fear that gathered last week about Deutsche Bank and its prospects just reminded everybody that despite the fact that the balance sheets are much stronger, regulators will force banks to hold more capital, more liquidity, despite all of that  if Deutsche Bank were to collapse into the mode of Lehman Brothers and bankruptcy, the ripples will be absolutely enormous, says Chris Wheeler.

Also on this episode of Counting the Cost:

South Koreas new limits: South Koreas tough new anti-graft laws are sending shockwaves through the local business community. Its now a fine line to tread when wining and dining your guests  if they happen to be a journalist, a teacher or a public servant.

Paris Motor Show and the future of driving: We head to the auto show where it seems to be less about the car and more about the technology inside  which could change the entire driving experience. Kamahl Santamaria talks to Luca de Meo, the CEO of Seat Cars, about change in the automotive industry and the future of driving.

Property and divorce in China: In Naniing, China, a new law is limiting the number of properties a married couple can own. But the governments attempt to curb rising property prices in one of Chinas biggest cities, has had an unforeseen result: a surge in the divroce rate as couples are splitting up to buy more property.
The president of Colombia wins award despite the referendum result to reject peace with FARC rebels.

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee is again courting controversy, with this years award to the president of Colombia.

Juan Manuel Santos is praised for signing a peace deal with FARC rebels to end more than 50 years of war. But the people of Colombia rejected the deal in a referendum.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been controversial in the past.

The European Union was awarded in 2012, when EU financial policies and austerity measures were causing protests in Greece and Spain.

US President Barack Obama was awarded just a few months after entering the White House in 2009.

A joint award was made in 1994 to the former Israeli leaders Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin as well as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. They worked on the Oslo Accords, which aimed for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Is the decision to award Nobel Peace Prize political?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Sverre Lodgaard  Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

David Swanson  Director, World Beyond War website

Frederik Heffermehl  Author of Nobel Peace Prize: What Nobel Really Wanted
Tensions between India and Pakistan are matched by heated rhetoric on the news. Plus, radio silence in Burundi.

On The Listening Post this week: As tensions between India and Pakistan rise, as does the heated rhetoric on the news. Plus, in Burundi, the media is silenced amid political unrest.

India-Pakistan pressures elevated

With tensions along the Indo-Pak border high, media in both countries have a big story to cover. The airwaves are abuzz as the media rhetoric on both sides gets ratcheted up higher and higher. It doesnt make the job of diplomats and governments any easier.

Talking us through the story: Wajahat Khan, anchor, Dunya News (Pakistan); Sonia Trikha Shukla, strategic affairs analyst (India); Amber Rahim Shamsi, anchor, Dawn TV (Pakistan); Bhupendra Chaubey, anchor, CNN-IBN (India).

On our radar:

The Pentagon paid a British public relations firm more than $500m to produce top-secret propaganda in Iraq, according to a story by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

As protests continue in Ethiopia, the government continues its crackdown on dissent with the arrest of well-known blogger and lecturer, Seyoum Teshome.

Chinese censors appear to have shut down Consensus Net, a website that provides comment and analysis from across the political spectrum.

Media blackout in Burundi

As Burundi teeters on the brink of a civil war, the media space has become eerily silent. A government crackdown on blacklisted media outlets has left an information vacuum, and only state or pro-government outlets remain to fill the void. Even more worrying is the rise of divisive ethnic narratives in the national discourse. The Listening Posts Johanna Hoes reports.
The little-known story of secret negotiations between the Taliban and the US to build a pipeline through Afghanistan.

Editors note: This film is no longer available to view online.

In 1989, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan marked the end of a violent occupation that had started almost 10 years earlier. The Soviet invasion, which had resulted in a protracted war for independence, fragmented the country and changed the political landscape forever.

The sudden power vacuum of the post-Soviet era resulted in an upsurge of fighting as armed factions began to push for more territory.

In the North, people gathered around the Northern Alliance and its leader Ahmed Shah Masood, who was known as the Lion of Pansjer.

By 1994, in the South and the East another movement began to assert itself in ethnic Pashtun areas. They called themselves the Taliban and were supported militarily by neighbouring Pakistan.

When the Iron Curtain fell, a member of American gas and oil explorer Unocal (Union Oil Company of California) scouted the former Soviet Union territories for opportunities and came across the gas reserves in Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan was stuck with reserves and no market, says John Imle, former CEO of Unocal.

Unocals plans were to build two pipelines, one for oil and the other for gas, travelling through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India  a distance of well over 1,700km. Afghanistan was set to earn $400m per year in transportation costs, which would significantly enrich Afghan governments income at that time.

Taliban wanted the reconstruction of the country, so thats why we were interested in working with Unocal, says Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, former Taliban foreign secretary.

When a company wants to establish itself in Afghanistan it will bring a lot of investment. Its natural that this has a positive effect on mutual relationships, but our main goal was to improve economic conditions in Afghanistan.

In the meantime, a power vacuum had been created with the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan.

The North saw the rise of the Northern Alliance, led by Ahmed Shah Masood. In the South and the East, the Taliban  supported by Pakistan  had begun to assert themselves in ethnic Pashtun areas.

Worldwide there was a very broad perception that Unocal was working with the US government to promote the Taliban as the most likely source for a stable, single group controlling Afghanistan. And there was an effort or hopefulness on the part of some that if this pipeline could be put through, it could be a source of stability or development for Afghanistan. I personally didnt like the idea that that stability would mean that the Taliban would be in charge, says Julie Sirrs, former officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Advice to form a united government recognised by the UN in order to garner World Bank and Asian Development Bank interest fell flat. The Taliban were on the offensive and publicly executed former President Mohammed Najbullah who had been spared by the Northern Alliance.

The al-Qaeda chapter

Unocal continued with its plans and flew core members of the Taliban to Sugar Land, Texas and Unocal headquarters to further investigate the project.

At the same time, a new leader had begun to reestablish himself in Afghanistan post-Soviet rule: Osama bin Laden.

The Bill Clinton administration, now aware of the value of the pipeline, continued in its efforts to influence the Taliban regime. However, the 1998 bombings of the US embassy in Nairobi claimed by al-Qaeda changed everything.

Plans to support the Talibans bid for power in hopes of stability backfired.

He had declared war on America and the simultaneous bombings of our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya really put us on a war-footing with Osama bin Laden. From that point on we were actually trying to kill him, says Nancy Soderberg, former US ambassador at the United Nations.

A carpet of gold or a carpet of bombs

In 1997, US President Bill Clinton ordered missiles to be fired at al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan. Several operators were killed, but Bin Laden escaped unscathed. Unocal decided to withdraw from the project.

I remember when President Clinton sent some cruise missiles into Afghanistan. thats when I told my boss and the board of directors that it was time this wasnt gonna go anywhere any time soon, says Marty Miller, Unocals former vice president.

It was at this time that the Taliban had become wary of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaedas scope of international attack. They were not looking to make Afghanistan a base for these activities.

With the pipeline negotiations hanging by a thread, and the threat of al-Qaeda hanging over the US government, America needed a reason to invade Afghanistan  and bin Laden gave it to them on September 11.

While the stated aim of the invasion was to dismantle al-Qaeda, denying it a safe base of operations by removing the Taliban from power, al-Qaeda claimed otherwise. The group stated that the attack on the Twin Towers was a response to the Bush administrations threats to attack Afghanistan.

According to sources, Taliban officials were told they could accept a carpet of gold or a carpet of bombs.

Talks of bringing the peace pipeline project back to life have floated around since  the US government expressed its interests in peace with the Taliban.

It is not impossible that the Taliban will come back to power. They are an element, theyre not going away, and in order to have peace  not necessarily yet prosperity in Afghanistan, theyre going to have to be part of that fabric of society, says Nancy Soderberg.
Thousands of people killed and millions on the run. Its not Syria but the other conflict in the Middle East where powerful regional interests are colliding in a daily grind with no end in sight: Yemen.

After the countrys leader Ali Abdullah Saleh lost power on the heels of the Arab Spring, Yemen has become a battlefield between the Shia Houthi militia  allegedly backed by Iran  and the internationally-recognised government led by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.

There is no such thing as a clean war. All wars have consequences. The question should be who opted for war? If we exaggerate and amplify the mistakes of the coalition, we will only be left with the option of surrendering. The consequences of caving in to a militia are much worse than war. Caving in will bring Yemen into a war that will last for many years to come. by Abdul-Malek al-Mekhlafi, Yemeni foreign minister

It is a chaotic war confounded by tribal loyalties and old unresolved domestic conflicts that date back many years.

But because of the involvement of the main regional powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia, what happens in Yemen matters to people across the Middle East.

We sit down with Abdul-Malek al-Mekhlafi, the Yemeni foreign minister, on Talk to Al Jazeera to discuss his governments strategy going forward, and whether there can be a way out of the bloodshed in Yemen.

We need to reach peace. We have gone to many places in our search for peace. We went to Geneva, and we spent 115 days meeting in Kuwait. The problem is not on our side; its on the other side. We agreed to all proposals from the UN secretary-generals envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and the international community, he says.

We signed an agreement for peace, but the other party refused to sign. Now, the international community has to force the Houthis to accept peace. Otherwise, the government will proceed militarily with its plans to subdue them. We dont want this solution, and the government never wanted a military confrontation. But it was compelled to fight back in self-defence.

We discuss Irans role in the civil war and how a UN verification mission hasnt found much evidence of arms going into Sanaa from Iran.

Al-Mekhlafi refutes this, saying the Hadi government plans to file a formal complaint against Iran, supported with evidence, as we have information about new arms smuggled lately to the Houthis, which might have enabled them to launch some rockets and escalate military actions against Yemeni liberated areas and Saudi borders.

Due to the Iranian position on the conflict, the Yemeni government has cut diplomatic ties with Iran, he says.

Iran is constantly declaring its support to the Houthis. After the Houthis took over the capital, Sanaa, the Iranians said that this is the fourth capital falling in the hands of Iran. They meant Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, then Sanaa. They said that the Persian Empire is rising now after occupying Sanaa. They dont hesitate to say that they have an army undergoing training and that they will fight everywhere, including Sanaa. The Iranian support of the Houthis is obvious and clear  They now brag about being representatives of the Houthis and a party to the internal Yemeni equation.

According to the United Nations, over 10,000 people have been killed in Yemens 19-month-old civil war and over three million have been forced from their homes. At least half of the population suffers from malnutrition. Twenty-one million people, in a country of 28 million, are in need of humanitarian aid.

Human rights groups say civilian homes, hospitals, schools, markets, weddings and power plants have been attacked. The UNs office for human rights concludes that some of the coalition air strikes may amount to war crimes.

We speak to al-Mekhlafi about the human cost of this war and ask him if the coalition has made mistakes.

This is a war. There is no such thing as a clean war. All wars have consequences. The question should be: Who opted for war? If we exaggerate and amplify the mistakes of the coalition, we will only be left with the option of surrendering. The consequences of caving in to a militia are much worse than war. Caving in will bring Yemen into a war that will last for many years to come. Now, we have accomplished the better part of our objectives, and we can accomplish the rest of them, al-Mekhlafi says.

He says the Arab coalition has formed missions of inquiry to investigate the mistakes, and they are committed to mending all the errors.

What bothers me, though, is that the majority of the reports youve mentioned only mention the air strikes mistakes. They ignore the overall cost of war which was imposed on us by the militias. The number of people killed by the militias is much higher than those killed by air strikes. The majority of those killed as per your figure, which is higher than the real figure, were killed by the militias, not the air strikes.

But the UN says the Saudi-led coalition is responsible for 60 percent of childrens deaths and 50 percent of the attacks on hospitals and schools.

Al-Mekhlafi maintains that the Hadi government and the coalition spare no effort to abide by the highest standards of international laws.

The Yemeni foreign minister adds that international reports do not properly take into account the violations of the Houthi militias, which he says have no moral qualms and use hospitals and schools as hiding places during air strikes or as weapons storage facilities. He claims 80 percent of fighters are children aged between nine to 17. In 2014, the UN found the Houthis had recruited 140 boys.

All of this doubles the human cost of war since this militia has no moral values and do not abide by international laws, he says. As for us, the coalition and the Yemeni government, we are committed to the international laws, and we will make sure that any wrongful act will be investigated and dealt with properly.

Increasingly, the UN Human Rights Council is asking for an international commission of inquiry.

Al-Mekhlafi says a national committee of inquiry has compiled a report detailing violations.

We hope that reporting the facts to the public and the decision makers, here, in the US and Britain, will be done in a fair manner, he says.

After peace talks broke down in August, US Secretary of State John Kerry called for renewed talks with the goal of forming a government of national unity.

We welcome any solution which restores security, peace, and stability to the country, as a settlement compromise, al-Mekhlafi says. Our only condition is that the state monopolises weapons, that there be no militias because the existence of militias means no peace.

You can talk to Al Jazeera too. Join our Twitter conversation as we talk to world leaders and alternative voices shaping our times. You can also share your views and keep up to date with our latest interviews on Facebook.
Gainesville Police arrested two men Friday for refusing to evacuate Dignity Village during Hurricane Matthew.

At about noon Friday, David L. Deegan, 58, and Paul Cooksey Allen, 53, both of Gainesville, refused to leave the tent city located just outside of the Grace Marketplace homeless shelter, according to a police report.

Gainesvilles city manager and city attorney had ordered GPD to evacuate Dignity Village during Hurricane Matthew, according to the report.

GPD was told not to allow residents to stay, even if they refused, according to the report. On Thursday night, another officer had also told the two to evacuate Dignity Village.

On Friday, police found Deegan and Allen in the same tent and asked them at least a dozen times to take shelter in Grace Marketplace, located at 3055 NE 28 Ave., according to the report. When police asked, the men responded, F--- you, get out of here.

Both were removed from the tent and forced into a GPD car, according to the report. Police arrested them on charges of resisting an officer without violence and violating disaster preparedness and emergency management.

Authorities took Deegan and Allen to the Alachua County Jail, where they were released Saturday on their own recognizance.
In the wake of Hurricane Matthews rampage through Floridas east coast, emergency blood donations are needed in Gainesville, LifeSouth Community Blood Centers announced today.

The centers, which continually supply blood to more than 100 hospitals in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, suspended its Florida operations Friday due to high winds brought by the storm.

As a result, the reserve supply of blood at LifeSouths Gainesville centers has fallen to emergency levels, said Laura Bialeck, LifeSouths North Florida community development coordinator.

Ive worked here for 10 years. This is the first time we had to suspend operations for the whole state, she said.

The centers, which serve local hospitals, currently have less than a two-day reserve supply of blood left and are especially in need of type O negative blood and apheresis platelets, she said. The situation is worsened by the surge of coastal evacuees being admitted to Gainesville hospitals.

Faced with a patient in critical condition, a hospital could quickly run through the limited reserves, she said. To keep the hospitals fully stocked, Bialeck said centers and bloodmobiles

need about 100 donations per day.

We are the sole supplier to the area, she said. This is a matter of the community coming together to supply the hospitals.

Where to donate:

From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. today, a bloodmobile at Regal Royal Park Stadium 16, located at 3702 W. Newberry Road, will be accepting donations.

On Sunday, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., there will be another on Flavet Field. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, there will be one at The Family Church, located at 2022 SW 122nd St., and another from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Lowes located at 3101 Clark Butler Blvd.

There will also be bloodmobiles Monday at the Hub and near Century Tower from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, donors can visit the LifeSouth donor center located at 1221 NW 13th St.

To find a bloodmobile near you, visit www.lifesouth.org or call 1-888-795-2707.

Donors must be at least 17 years old or 16 with parental supervision. They must weigh at least 110 pounds, be in good health and present a valid photo ID.

Josmond@alligator.org

@jawosmond
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 []
In 2010, incumbent and write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski defeated the Republican nominee for Senate, Joe Miller, with 40% of the vote (100,000 votes) to Miller's 35% (90,000 votes) and Democrat Scott McAdams's 25% (60,000 votes). The poor showing of McAdams was a result of underfunding ($100,000 total) and a realization by Alaskan Democrats, led by Democratic U.S. senator Mark Begich, that the race was really between Miller and Murkowski. For his own purposes, principally his chances of winning re-election in 2014, Begich preferred Murkowski to Miller. He had served with her in the Senate for two years and had developed a mutually beneficial relationship with her. As a liberal Republican, she was close to Begich, a moderate Democrat, ideologically, and they shared many common political interests in Alaska. When he ran for re-election in 2014, Begich touted their close working relationship to such an extent that Murkowski was forced to publicly distance herself from him. In 2010, Murkowski was able to assemble 40% of the electorate because of an ad hoc coalition with the Democratic Party, or at least the Begich wing of that party.

Recreating that coalition is her path to victory again in 2016, but Begich Democrats now prefer Miller. Begich wants to return to the Senate, as evidenced by his flirtation with the idea of running as a write-in this year. Two years ago, as an incumbent, he lost to Dan Sullivan, and if he challenges him in 2020, the situation will be reversed. He will be the challenger, Sullivan, a savvy politician, the incumbent. But if Miller is elected, he'll be up for re-election in 2022. This is a much more winnable race in Begich's eyes. He thinks Miller is a wild-eyed extremist who will embarrass himself in office. Begich will run against him, and also arrange for an independent candidacy to draw moderate Republican support away from Miller. In 2022, Begich will be a vigorous 60 years old, with an empty nest and a burning desire to redeem himself and the Begich brand. He wants Miller, not Murkowski, as his opponent.

The Begich wing of the Alaska Democratic Party is supporting the independent candidacy of political newcomer Margaret Stock, an idealistic environmentalist, a woman who believes, with a good showing, that she has a future in Alaska politics. She has reportedly assembled a war chest of $250,000 and has the resources to conduct a serious campaign. She will attend all of the debates, including Kodiak on October 12 and Barrow on October 26. She's a good government mainstream liberal Democrat and a far superior candidate to the 2010 Democratic nominee, Scott McAdams, who was a sacrificial lamb. She could easily exceed the 25% of the vote gathered by McAdams, except for the wild card in this Senate race, the Democratic nominee, former Republican state legislator Ray Metcalfe.

Metcalfe founded the Republican Moderate Party of Alaska in 1986, and in the 1998 governor's race he won 13,000 votes, 6% of the total, as its candidate. He's a reform candidate and has attempted for years to expose the corruption of the Ted Stevens political machine, which included not only Frank and Lisa Murkowski, but Stevens's son, former State Senate president Ben Stevens. Metcalfe's Alaska Public Offices Commission complaint against Ben Stevens led to a raid on Stevens's offices by the FBI and his abandonment of a career in politics. In Metcalfe's mind, and in truth, Lisa Murkowski is the illegitimate heiress of the corrupt Stevens organization. The political power of Stevens, and now Lisa Murkowski, depended on "Stevens money"  as much as $1 billion and more in federal pork projects each year. That money is no longer available, and thus the glue that held the Stevens machine together no longer exists.

After many years in the political wilderness, Metcalfe has now found a home, and a mission, as the leader of the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party of Alaska. He wants the Sanders faction to gain permanent control over the Alaska Democratic Party and will use his candidacy for the Senate to promote that agenda. At the same time, he will do all he can to expose the corruption of the Stevens-Murkowski political dynasty. Miller won't need to attack Murkowski. Metcalfe, and to a certain extent the independent Margaret Stock, will do it for him. The fact that this may not only defeat Murkowski, but elect Miller is a feature, not a bug. Miller can be taken out after one term.

Between them, Sanders Democrat Metcalfe and independent (and mainstream Democrat) Stock will far exceed the 25% of the vote that Democrat McAdams won in 2010. And virtually none of these votes will be at Miller's expense. They will all be subtracted from the 40% share of the vote won by Murkowski in 2010.

The fact that Miller is running on the Libertarian ticket in this race is an advantage in 2016. The Republicans in the state legislature were badly outmaneuvered by "independent" Governor Bill Walker in this year's legislative session. Rather than cut the bloated operating budget, Walker cut the 2016 Permanent Fund Dividend in half, and feckless Republicans in the legislature failed to prevent it. Right now this has soiled the Republican brand in Alaska, which has, in the past, always benefited by defending the Permanent Fund and the dividend. On October 6, the PFDs were distributed, and every Alaskan will soon realize that half the money he was expecting has been taken by the governor, with the acquiescence of the Republican legislature.

This will not be a good year for Republican incumbents in Alaska. In addition, there has always been an unusually strong Libertarian Party of Alaska, and all of it has enthusiastically embraced Miller. If he wins, he will be the first member of the Libertarian Party in history elected to statewide office.

The Murkowski brand in Alaska politics is an anchor. When then-senator Frank Murkowski ran for governor in 2002, he assured a number of people, including former state senator Johne Binkley of Fairbanks, that they would be seriously considered as potential replacements for him in the Senate. As governor, he would be free to appoint any eligible Alaskan to the last two years of his term in the Senate and, in part, on this basis was able to win the governorship. A list of ten names was assembled, all experienced and intelligent Republicans hoping for appointment to the Senate. He personally interviewed a number of them and then announced his decision. After giving it a lot of thought, it turned out that the best person for the job wasn't anybody on the list. It was his daughter, Lisa!

This blatant lie caught up to Frank Murkowski when he sought the Republican nomination for a second term as governor. He got 19% of the vote, the most resounding rejection of a sitting governor in American history. He came in third, behind Johne Binkley and, with 50% of the vote, Sarah Palin. Everyone in Alaska knows he lied about why Lisa was appointed to his seat. It was a large part of her loss to Miller in the 2010 Republican primary. It is a lie that still haunts her today. She is manifestly unqualified to serve in the United Sates Senate, and the whole state knows it.

538.com has Trump winning Alaska by 10 points. Miller is an enthusiastic Trump supporter, Murkowski is still noncommittal, and any Alaskan who goes to the polls to vote for Trump will be inclined to vote for Miller. The small Clinton vote will be divided three ways, with little of it going to Murkowski.

Murkowski has already agreed to four candidate debates, culminating in the statewide broadcast of the Public Television debate on November 3. These debates pose a great peril for her, since she has little to brag about other than some pork she helped secure from the federal government. She has been a spectacularly unaccomplished senator, with almost nothing of substance to show for her 14 years in the Senate. The other principal candidates, Stock, Metcalfe, and Miller, will attack her in turns, and she is incapable intellectually of defending herself.

Constitutional conservatives across the country should rally in support of Miller. There is no danger in electing either the unhinged Democrat, Metcalfe, or the unknown independent, Stock. It's either Miller or Murkowski, and knocking off the most liberal Republican in the Senate is an opportunity that should not be lost.

Rather than attack Murkowski and her record, or lack thereof, Miller can run a positive campaign, focusing on developing Alaska's bountiful natural resources, beginning with the opening of ANWR to oil drilling and extraction. The Alaska Pipeline is running at 25% of capacity, the State of Alaska is funding three quarters of its fat operating budget on cash reserves, and the economy of Alaska is in deep trouble. Never in Alaska's short political history have conditions been as favorable to a candidacy such as Joe Miller's as in 2016.
Democrats have always gone misty-eyed over metaphors. Perhaps it is the only means by which they feel their constituents can conceptualize complex ideas.

So it is not surprising that the Clinton campaign is attempting to throw a one-two punch at Donald Trump by smugly stating that, unlike him, its high-principled candidate believes in building bridges, not walls!

Well, the fact is that Hillary has never built anything her life not even consensus. I doubt if she knows the first thing about bridges other than that her driver had better get her official vehicle over them in time for some unimpressively-attended rally. As for walls, one has recently been constructed around her Chappaqua compound.

Over a decade ago, some members of Congress raised a big stink about what they termed  The Road to Nowhere, a derisive label unfairly applied to then Alaska Senator Ted Stevens federal earmark in a transportation bill to construct a bridge from mainland Ketchikan to Gravina Island, on which the local airport is located.

Rather than leading nowhere,  the bridge would have been a much-needed alternative for those who even now must take a ferry from the mainland, often in choppy seas, across part of Alaskas Inside Passage to the island airport. (From personal experience, I know how unpleasant that can be in the rainy weather of the region.)

Since there are no roads over the Tongass mountains into Southeast Alaska, some 200,000 passengers annually depend on airline travel. But as former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin put it, Much of the publics attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here.

At around the same time as the Gravina Island bridge proposal was struck down, Senator Joe Biden of Delaware had little trouble getting approval for a new bridge, partly financed with federal funds, to be built over his states Indian River Inlet between the two beaches of Rehoboth and Bethany. After a series of labor disputes and other complications, The Charles W. Cullen Bridge was finally completed in May 2012, just in time to accommodate summer beach-goers.

The earlier Indian River bridges had fallen into dangerous disrepair, as has too much of the infrastructure in the United States. Our clogged, stalled cities now compare unfavorably with many of those in other countries, putting an unflattering face on Americas decline. Immigrants who came to our shores in droves at the turn of the 20th century may have been disappointed not to see the streets paved in gold. Now we are surprised not to find them riddled with potholes.

Recently there was an illustrated list on the Net of the worlds current crop of spectacular and unusual bridges. And while I was duly impressed, I was disappointed that not one of them was located here in the United States.

During the Alaskan Bridge to Nowhere fracas, Congress had expressed alarm at how high the bridge would have to be built to enable cruise ships and other substantial maritime craft to navigate beneath it. Now the proponents of that project are reconfiguring the design. But Japan apparently met the challenge of the Eshima Ohashi bridge which soars across Lake Nahaumi, rising at a gradient of 6.1% to allow ships to pass below. It was the generosity of Allied victors that rebuilt Japan after World War II. Seventy years later, that countrys technology is putting America to shame.

During every election year, we hear the siren call to spend more taxpayer money improving our crumbling infrastructure. We are lured by the promise of massive job creation. The first of the Obama administrations stimulus bills  the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 -- pledged to go heavy on shovel-ready construction projects that would result in thousands of work opportunities. But neither happened. The president later joked that the shovels, it seems, werent ready. Perhaps he was waiting for them to be shipped from China!

Even if the shovel-ready construction jobs were for real, how many American workers are even trained to do them? The mindset of Americans has changed radically since the dark days of The Great Depression, when pangs of hunger -- and even the possibility of starvation -- propelled desperate citizens to take on whatever employment they could find. Some of our countrys most formidable infrastructure was built by willing, hard-working neophytes who learned as they earned.

But the current crop of out-of-work Americans has neither the empty bellies nor the fire in them to enlist in such physically grueling work. Democrat politicians even mollycoddle the masses and justify illegal immigration by insisting there are jobs that Americas will not -- maybe even cannot -- do!

So very likely, in order to get the massive projects done, we would have to import not just the shovels, but the men to wield them. Although out population has multiplied many times since we industrialized America, we might still have to resort to what we did centuries ago: get our labor from the poorer countries around the globe. Some of these imported workers will have had experience in building infrastructure back home. Can any of the desk-chained bureaucrats in Washington sense the irony --and the tragedy! - in this likely scenario?

The bottom line  and its written in red ink -- is that for all the funds expended, the administrations vaunted economic policies have led largely to a dead end. The promised bridges to prosperity went nowhere. And now we find ourselves in yet another election year, thinking -- to paraphrase Ronald Reagan -- Here they go again.

When Donald Trump, a builder by profession, dares to speak out about the obvious deterioration of our airports, bridges, roads and railways, he is accused of needless pessimism. Thats because politicians do not necessarily believe that honesty is the best policy. I live in a state reputed to be the sixth largest economy in the world. Some experts dispute this designation because it ignores the real and structural long-term challenges facing the Golden State. One such challenge is our inadequate transportation system.

The Golden State rail options, for example, are so limited that a trip on Amtrak generally assumes spending time on a bus. Jerry Browns signature boondoggle bullet train, designated to eventually run five hundred miles between Los Angeles and San Francisco, at present seems to be devoting its engineering resources to digging a deeper hole in which to pour money.

The ultimate price tag for the California High Speed Rail has (for now) been pegged at 64 billion, but its financial sources have dried up. Brown will try to renegotiate some kind of state Cap and Trade deal in order to generate funds for his pet project. In the meantime, it is grossly underfunded and hugely unpopular with residents. California is deep blue politically, of course, but Trump is winning in polls among the voters of the Central Valley, where the eyesore is currently languishing among the tumbleweeds.

Some wag has suggested that Browns last hope for his bullet train might be a Donald Trump presidency. After all, The Donald, who admires high-speed transportation, has said, The Chinese have trains that go 300 mph. We have trains that go chug-chug!
Nearly twenty years ago, David Irving, a British historian of WWII and Hitler, sued American scholar of the Holocaust, Deborah Lipstadt, for defamation. He claimed that her references to him as a Holocaust denier in her book, Denying the Holocaust, were harming his career. He was indeed a "Holocaust denier," and remains one to this day. But because British libel laws are different from American libel laws, Lipstadt and her publisher, Penguin, had to prove that Irving had intentionally falsified historical evidence to bolster his attempt to deny that Hitler had ordered the extermination of the Jews. From Wikipedia:

"Irving's decision to file his lawsuit in the English courts gave him the upper hand by shifting the burden of proof. Under American libel law, a public figure who claims to have been libeled must prove that the statements in question are defamatory, that they are false, and that they were made with actual malice or with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity. Furthermore, reliance on reliable sources (even if they prove false) is a valid defense. In contrast, English libel law requires only that the claimant show that the statements are defamatory. The burden of proof falls on the defendant to prove that the statements were substantially true, and reliance on sources is irrelevant. "

Now there is a film about that trial, Denial. It stars Rachel Weisz and Tom Wilkinson and several other fine actors. It is a riveting film. Who in the 1990s could imagine a legal battle over "did the Holocaust happen?" But it happened. It was a grueling, labor-intensive work of dedication to the truth. Lipstadt's lawyers had to convince her that she should not testify nor should any Holocaust survivors be allowed to speak. This was enormously counterintuitive to Lipstadt and to anyone watching the film. But her lawyers convinced her that the trial had to be about Irving, his writings, his filmed speeches. He was already on film mocking survivors (as Hillary mocks Trump supporters). They also convinced Irving that the trial should be by judge, not jury. As Irving acted as his own lawyer, they appealed to his ego. Her lawyers convinced Irving that no Jury could possibly understand the nuances of his scholarship. It worked and he agreed.

Irving had kept diaries for twenty years. He was required to turn them over to Lipstadt's defense. The lawyers involved read every word he had written, for publication and in his diaries. His own words proved, without a doubt, that Irving had repeatedly falsified documents and photographs in order to "prove" that Hitler had never ordered the extermination of the Jews. He even denied that Jews were ever gassed at the camps. This was easy to disprove. The trial was four years long from filing to verdict. The judge took four weeks to review the material once both sides rested. Judge Charles Gray decided in Lipstadt's favor and Irving had to pay all the legal expenses, $3.2m. It bankrupted him but has not stopped him from spewing his viciously anti-Semitic and racist views around the world.

All of which brings us to the FBI's investigation of Hillary Clinton and her thoroughly illegal, clearly purposeful private server set up when she began her term as Secretary of State. She had a get-rich-quick plan and implemented it the day she became a member of Obama's cabinet. She set up that server and embarked on her pay to play scheme. Foreign and domestic cronies came; they gave, they got what they wanted. In return the money kept rolling in to the Foundation and huge, 6-digit checks were written for speeches by Bill and Hillary. They earned hundreds of millions for "speeches" and favors during those four years. This was her intent from the outset, beginning forty-some years ago. They have earned all their money by gaining power and selling their access to it. They have produced exactly nothing. They are a blight on our political landscape.

Watching the film Denial one cannot help but compare the British justice system and ours re: the recent FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's illegal activities that went nowhere. Granted, this was not a trial but the Irving v. Lipstadt case was about the truth; James Comey's pretend investigation was about something else entirely. It was about protecting a corrupt political power player at all costs, but it cost Comey his credibility. In some ways our system is better; had Irving sued in the US, he would have had to prove that what Lipstadt wrote was untrue, which he could not have done. In the UK, she had to prove that what he wrote was false and that he knew it was false. James Comey listed Hillary's many violations in front of a Congressional committee. He said she had broken numerous laws, was careless with top-secret material, that she lied countless times about many important things, that she and her aides destroyed thousands of emails and several devices. It was learned later that he had made numerous side deals that gave immunity to her aides and agreements that allowed them to destroy their devices. Then he said he was not recommending charges because he could not prove she had "intent" to break all those laws! What a crock!

Intent, justifiably, is what lost David Irving his case and Lipstadt's lawyers proved it beyond all doubt. Comey surely knows Hillary had intent to deceive but let her skate and continue seeking the office of President. So our two federal agencies charged with preserving justice have failed us. A film script with this chain of events would not survive a first read-through.

Had a regular citizen committed even one of the crimes Hillary did, he or she would have been charged, convicted and imprisoned. Regarding Hillary, the fix was in of course. Comey and AG Lynch most likely took their marching orders from Obama and they both sacrificed their souls and good name. There are too many conflicts of interest to list here but suffice it to say that Comey is a political animal whose brother is the accountant for the Clinton Foundation, that he himself has benefitted from that Foundation and its donors' largess. Obama probably does not hold Hillary in high regard but does not want a Republican to succeed him so he gave the order: she must not be indicted.

There obviously exists in the US a two-tiered system of justice based on political power. People like the Clintons muscled and cheated their way into the presidency, the Senate, the State Dept., and out of too many scandals to list. They never doubt that they will escape responsibility for the damage done or laws broken, nor for her casual abuse of national security concerns in order to shield her money-grubbing scheme from prying eyes. They believe that she is entitled to the presidency; they will do anything to win it. David Irving was certain he would win his case too. He was so confident of his own intellectual power to persuade that he thought he could convince the judge that Hitler was a good guy, that six millions Jews were not exterminated, that blacks were inferior, and that he should be celebrated for his historical pseudo-scholarship.

There is a scene in the film where the judge asks if Irving actually believes what he says and writes, is that "intent to deceive," can he be guilty if he actually believes his version of who Hitler was? Lipstadt's barrister, momentarily stunned by the question, replied "the bridge between Holocaust denial and Hitler apology from anti-Semitism is very easy to build, because what more would an historian who is an anti-Semite want to do in exculpation of Hitler, which he has been trying to do by telling lies for years, what more would he want to do than to deny the Holocaust?"

Like Irving, the Clintons absolutely believe in their own superiority and entitlement. They always deny any culpability or responsibility for their thirty years of crimes against this country in service of their own power and wealth. Like Irving, they accuse anyone who questions their integrity of libel. Hillary acted aggressively to slander the women with whom Bill dallied. David Irving is a version of the Clintons; so wedded was he to his own ideology he thought all the "right" people would believe him. He had contempt for anyone who disagreed with him. The American left has nothing but contempt for their political opponents. Hillary especially has contempt for the American people, all of them outside her rarified circle. We are nothing to her but a means to an end.

She accuses "all of us" of being guilty of implicit bias and thinks that will win her votes. She is the one with more bias than the lot of us. She is our version of David Irving: elitist, misguided and dangerous. Voters must find her guilty by electing Trump. History is on trial. See the film.
If this article by Adm. James Lyons (USN, ret) is correct, and I believe it is, ISIS will start to stage attacks on US home territory. 9/11/01 was one example of a Jihadist attack, backed by the same Sunni Wahhabi forces that has now declared that ISIS is conducting Islamic warfare following the "proper" war theology, including suicide-murders, genocide against civilians, horrific abuse of women and children, etc., all for the sake of Allah. Admiral Lyons has claimed high-level government penetration by Jihadists for years. Earlier this year the European Union was incapable of resisting a tide of Jihadi "Syrian refugees," aided and abetted by Turkey's neo-Ottoman Jihadist, Recip Erdogan. (Many of the "refugees" had been settled in Turkey).

More than 30 million potentially radical Muslims have been imported over the years into Europe, constituting an enormous Fifth Column. The Saudis have built mosques for them, and staffed them with Wahhabi imams, who take their orders from a command structure with roots in the Middle East. The Sunni Muslim Brotherhood coordinates with the Wahhabi priesthood in Saudi Arabia, but when it comes to Jihad against the West, Iranian mullahs are involved as well.

Swedish politician Cecilia Hagen called parties opposed to mass Muslim immigration "brown rats" - brown being the color of WWII fascism. Since the police in Malmoe, the rape capital of Sweden, just called for help to investigate and control the city murder rate,, it is clear that an atmosphere of Jihadist terror now prevails in parts of Sweden and Denmark. Jihadist "no go" zones have been reported in Germany, France and Britain.

Because the European Union is all on the side of Muslim infiltration, the widespread rebellion against EU commands is also part of the emerging anti-Jihad resistance movement.

Western governments are reacting to the war of aggression waged against them with almost suicidal slowness and reluctance. Obama may be the worst example of a pro-Jihadist politician who is doing everything possible to undermine US defense. Jihadist infiltration and propaganda, large-scale bribery and probable widespread blackmail have been used, according to Adm. Lyons, since the late Sixties to early Seventies, when OPEC brought immense wealth and power to both Sunni and Shi'ite Gulf regimes.

This election is really about Jihad more than any other issue. Trump is openly anti-Jihad, while the Clinton Foundation has been funneling Jihad money to US politicians for years. Huma Abedin is from a Muslim Brotherhood family, and Hillary's email breach of normal State Department security procedures is only one of several massive USG leaks. Apparently Huma and Cheryl Mills had free access to high-value US intelligence communications, and were able to spread it with little concern for security.

Hillary's email scam made it possible to negotiate quid-pro-quos with anti-American forces around the world, with huge money flows to fund the Hillary campaign. Trump's low-funded but successful campaign (so far) came as a big surprise to Hillary, I believe. Trump's use of cheap but effective mass media like twitter is unprecedented, and balances Hillary's vastly larger financing.

This Presidential campaign is therefore a component of the emerging world war, which has been planned and implemented by Jihadists since about 1970, according to Admiral Lyons. Obama's refusal even to utter the word "Jihad" as the name of the enemy suggests collusion with hostile forces.

Given the war theology of Jihad, the "silent war" of infiltration and sabotage could explode into violence at any moment. For example, Trump could be targeted for assassination -- which would be quite within the scope of Jihad doctrine. This is totalitarian warfare, and theoretically it has no limits.

The current warning from Admiral Lyons and others suggests an ISIS attempt to flood the Western world with jihadis, who, like the rape invaders in Germany, go to earth quickly, aided by existing Saudi and Iranian Jihad networks.

After the big headlines in Germany, Frau Merkel literally prohibited the media from criticizing her. The Jihadi invasion quickly disappeared from most of the media.

In the US, media concentration to half a dozen major corporate centers indicates a similar concentration of wealth and power. Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim now owns 17% of the New York Times, with its continuing high credibility among millions of followers.

It's noteworthy that the GOP leadership has buckled under just like the Democrats. The fact of FBI Director Comey's ties to the Clinton Foundation, plus his inability to indict the Clintons, indicate another breakdown of normal government.

Two major dangers to the Jihad aggressors are (a) the possible election of Donald Trump, and (b) the rapid drop in the price of oil due to major new supplies from various sources. The Saudis are investing in US energy sources as a hedge against an OPEC crash.

Notice that Obama has done everything possible to undermine domestic energy production.

The only precedent I know is Stalinist infiltration and sabotage of USG in World War II, culminating in the theft of Manhattan Project nuclear secrets by Klaus Fuchs and the Rosenbergs. When Stalin exploded his first nuclear device he took the US and our allies by surprise, leading to a public uproar, which is now remembered as "McCarthyism." In fact, McCarthy reacted against a deadly danger.

Today, Jihadist forces are hiding the degree of their nuclear development, but according to former CIA analyist Claire Lopez, the Iranians are much more advanced than they admit in public.

We are going through the greatest period of US vulnerability and world-wide danger since Stalin exploded his first nuclear bomb. The Khrushchev biography of Kremlin politics when Stalin lay dying indicates that the inner circle, including Beria and Khrushchev, were very worried that he would order a nuclear war against the US from his deathbed. They may have killed him to avert a nuclear disaster.

Jihad is influenced, if not controlled, by another gerontocracy, including Ayatollah Khamenei in Iran and the Saudi Royals in Riyadh. The Saudi King is said to be suffering from dementia today, and the real power is the Minister of Defense, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

The ongoing string of Jihad attacks in Europe indicates that the war theology has not given up. Since the basic facts have been (secretly) known to Western politicians since the years after 9/11/01, there is little doubt that Jihad attacks are meant to extract concessions from Western governments, such as Angela Merkel's opening the gates of her country to tens of thousands of Jihadis.

Jihadist attacks are not random, but part of an overarching strategy that is constantly communicated by outfits like ISIS and Hezballah, who act as cut-outs and fronts for the Saudis, the Turks, and the Iranians.

The US is confronting deadly dangers today, and with nuclear developments in the Middle East, it may get worse.
Many people believe that the more you understand another culture or religion, the more you will appreciate it.

That seemed to be the assumption of a Massachusetts district court judge when he ordered the Reverend Daisy Obi, age 73, to learn about the Islamic faith as part of her probation. Reverend Obi was found guilty of pushing her Muslim tenant down a flight of stairs and was sentenced to 6 months in jail, and 18 months suspended provided she take a course on Islam.

In sentencing her, Judge Paul Yee Jr. said, I want you to learn about the Muslim faith. I want you to enroll and attend an introductory course on Islam. I do want you to understand people of the Muslim faith, and they need to be respected.

There is no evidence that the Reverend Obi was prejudiced against Muslims. She had other Muslim tenants with whom she had no quarrel. And ironically, she had, in a sense, already had her introductory course on Islam. Since she comes from Nigeria, a country near a Muslim majority, she probably knows more about Islam than does Judge Yee.

Nevertheless, his ruling was upheld last month by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Reverend Obi, they agreed, needed to be educated about Islam -- presumably on the assumption that once she learned about Islam, her prejudice would melt away.

Meanwhile, about the same time that the Massachusetts court was deliberating Obis case, in Turkey another court was deciding another case. Before them stood a 35 year-old man who was accused of assaulting a young nurse and kicking her in the face because she was wearing shorts.

Did the court sentence him to six months in jail, and admonish him for misunderstanding Islam? Er, no. They released him on the grounds that he had done nothing wrong. The man argued that the shorts were inappropriate, and apparently, the court agreed.

Its a common cliche among liberals that the more we learn about a belief system, the less we will fear it. Thats true some of the time, but in some instances its not. The more that Jews in Germany learned about the Nazis, the more they justifiably feared them. The ones who fully understood the Nazi mentality left Germany while there was still time. Jews are again leaving Europe to escape the threat of anti-Semitism. This time they are faced with Islamic anti-Semitism -- an anti-Semitism that is rooted in Islamic scripture and tradition. Will Reverend Obi learn about that tradition in her introductory course on Islam? It seems doubtful.

Its true that Americans need to be better educated about Islam. But thats because theyve been subjected to a decades-long disinformation campaign designed to make Islam look like a slightly exotic variant of the Unitarian Church. That disinformation campaign has had the effect of lulling Americans into complacency about a religious-political system that aims to subjugate all other systems of belief and governance.

One frequently repeated bit of disinformation is the argument that terrorists act out of ignorance of Islam. According to the bien pensants, the terrorists suffer from the same malady that supposedly afflicts the Reverend Obi: they dont understand the Islamic faith and its message of peace.

That sort of talk sounds good in the faculty lounge, but it isnt supported by the facts. Indeed, studies have shown that jihadists are better educated on Islam than the average Muslim. And that goes double for terrorist leaders. The Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Iranian Revolution, was the author of over forty books. Abdullah Azzam, the founder of MAK (later renamed al-Qaeda), had a doctorate in Islamic jurisprudence from al-Azhar University. Omar Abdel-Rahman (The Blind Sheik), who masterminded the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, also has a doctorate in Islamic jurisprudence from al-Azhar. The late Anwar al-Awlaki, the chief propagandist for al-Qaeda, was studying for a doctoral degree at George Washington University. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder of ISIS, has a Ph.D. in Islamic studies.

You might not like what they have done, but you cant say that they are ignorant of Islam. Its a good bet they know considerably more about Islam than does Judge Yee or the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Before the justices sentence any more individuals to remedial Islam, perhaps they should try a dose of their own medicine -- that is, they should study up on Islam. They could start by spending some time in a courtroom in Turkey -- or in Pakistan where a Christian boy currently faces the death penalty for insulting Islam, or in Sudan where a British school teacher was sentenced to prison because she allowed her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad, or in Mauritania where the courts are imprisoning anti-slavery activists.

One word of caution. If you happen to be a female Supreme Court justice, be careful what you wear.

Dr. William Kilpatrick is the author of the brand new book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad, which released September 26 by Regnery Publishing.
Democrats are out in force to ensure their supporters vote early. Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook boasted that he had hopes to build an insurmountable lead in early voting in key battleground states that will cut off any viable path for Donald Trump to become president, according to The Hill:

Nevada, North Carolina and Florida could all be decided before Election Day because of historic spikes in early voting, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said Thursday. "We are encouraging supporters to cast their vote early because it is possible ... that we could build an insurmountable lead in those key states before Election Day," Mook said on a press call with reporters. Wins in those three states would make it very difficult to imagine an Electoral College scenario in which Trump, the Republican nominee, would win the White House. Victories in North Carolina, which Republican Mitt Romney won in 2012, and Florida are especially important. Mook estimated that 40 percent of votes in those battleground states could be cast before Election Day. "So that's why we're not just encouraging everyone to vote and to make sure they vote, but to take advantage of early voting," he said. For example, 2.7 million Floridians have already requested to vote by mail, compared to the 1.8 million who have done so at the same time of the 2012 election cycle.

Despite claims by Democrats about the importance of informed voters, the party seems to be making a concerted and very expensive effort to get people to vote as early as the various states laws allow them.

Are there fear factors that are prompting the party to pour resources -- more than they ever have done before -- to get people to vote?

Perhaps Democrats fear that the ObamaCare apocalypse that is upon them will be the October surprise that can swing elections. Two recent Wall Street Journal columns highlight the danger if and when voters discover and feel the pain of vast premium increases and loss of coverage that is rippling across America. In Clinton vs. Clinton on ObamaCare, the paper takes note of Bill Clintons shocking admission that ObamaCare is the craziest thing in the world as Americans wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half. The statistics are dismaying:

The average national premium increase in 2017 will be 24.2%, according a Barclays analysis of rates approved by state regulators. That includes eye-watering average hikes in states like Illinois (43.9%), Iowa (31%) and Arizona (68.1%), and the results arent great in Florida (17.7%), Colorado (20.2%), North Carolina (20.4%) or Pennsylvania (23.6%). The counties served by federal exchanges with only one insurer will increase to 18% in 2017 from 2% this year, while those with two insurers will jump to 21% from 12%. The 17 state-run exchanges arent doing better. Minnesota recently waved through a 56% average premium increase and allowed insurers to turn away customers to prevent a collapse. The Kentucky state-run exchange, Kynect, was once extolled as a success. But the state recently gave up and will revert to the federal Healthcare.gov. Goldman Sachs calculates that the insurers like Aetna and UnitedHealth that quit the exchanges covered about 35% of all ObamaCare enrollees in 2016. Against this backdrop of fewer choices and soaring costs, some ObamaCare beneficiaries will be shielded because the subsidies rise with higher premiums. But about one of five enrollees earn too much to qualify, and of the 17 million people in the individual market, eight million buy off-exchange where there are no subsidies. Mr. Clinton rightly noted that the people getting killed in this deal are the small-business people and individuals who make just a little bit too much to get any of these subsidies.

The situation has grown so dire that even Barack Obama has been forced to admit his signature achievement is going down the drain, though he could only admit there were problems and of course they were the fault of Republicans. Still, considering he has spent years boasting of the success of his namesake legislation this was certainly a bracing recognition that Obamacare was failing at an accelerating pace.

The Republicans would be committing an act of great political malpractice not to take advantage of this opportunity to win voters away from the Democrats by not only pointing out over and over the disaster of ObamaCare but presenting its own alternative. Of course, the GOP commits political malpractice on a regular basis, so one can only have a modicum of hope by now that they have learned from their failures. After all, the reaction against ObamaCare did lead to Democrats being defeated across America in 2010 and the problems are more manifest and worse now. Mike Pence, in his debate against the obstreperous Tim Kaine, touched upon ObamaCare, as has Paul Ryan, as has Todd Young in Indiana in his race against Evan Bayh. The collapse and implosion of ObamaCare is accelerating into November. Republicans should learn from Obamas first Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel who said one should never let a crisis go to waste. Speed is of the essence since early voting totals are going up each and every day.

The party can point out that Hillary Clinton not only fully endorses ObamaCare but also intends to expand upon it via, among other steps, a public option (Hello the National Health Service of England, that paragon of failure). How about a commercial reminding people that Hillary Clinton tried to impose her own version of ObamaCare when she was First Lady? Her effort was an epic fail. If you dislike Obamacare you will hate HillaryCare has a certain ring.

President Obama has schemed to put his legacy achievement on life support but has been cut off by Republicans in Congress, by the law that should stand in the way of Obama using a special Treasury Department fund (the Judgments Fund) to illegally bail out insurance companies to cover the massive losses they have suffered under Obamacare, and by stubborn realities, such as basic economics. As the reality of lost coverage, sky high premiums, smaller networks and higher deductibles make clear what Republicans and non-partisan experts have been warning about for years (ObamaCare would be a man-made disaster), Democrats are rushing people to the polls before it is too late and they take out their collective anger on Democrats as they did in 2010.

One can hope Republicansincluding Donald Trump, as Kimberly Strassel advocates in her Wall Street Journal column, mobilize to make clear the pain that Democrats have inflicted upon millions of Americans. One can see commercials crafted from Bill Clintons gaffe. Every single Democrat who was voted for ObamaCare can be pictured as being responsible for its passage (especially Senators). When Paul Ryan attempted entitlement reform Democrats ran mendacious and fallacious commercials of him pushing an elderly wheelchair-bound woman off a cliff. Surely turnabout is fair play.

Could Democrats also be rushing people into early voting for fear of future email leaks, such as by Guccifer 2 or from Wikileaks? We have been promised more revelations to come. Have any of the previous email leaks done anything to enhance Hillary Clintons reputation or that of the party itself (especially regarding how leadership conspired to deny Bernie Sanders the nomination)?

As more news rolls out regarding the unusual FBI investigation of Hillary Clintons email and private server scandal, her numbers suffer. Upon her resigning as Secretary of State, Clinton enjoyed very high approval ratings. Then the truth intervened and her numbers began a never-ending plummet. FBI Director James Comey may have verbally harmed her credibility, her but the granting of get-out-of-jail-free cards to not only her but her various aides through immunity deals seem to confirm Donald Trumps views that they system is rigged and that the Clintons live under a different set of rules (or no rules) than other Americans.

Could the Clintons fear another medical mishap, another coughing fit, more stumbling on stairs or falling (didnt Bill Clinton, that old frenemy of his wifes, declare that she fainted frequently before it was excised by CBS eager to save that one second of TV time)? The worst week of her campaign was when she went stumbling towards her van after cutting short her attendance at an event commemorating 9/11. Could another fainting spell prevent her return to the White House?

There could be another reason Democrats are pushing early voting to an unprecedented degree this cycle. Could Donald Trump improve his electability and help down-ballot Republicans? Could he take a page from Mike Pence and focus on a conservative agenda that appeals to the independents that he and Republicans need to win elections? By all accounts, Mike Pence was the victor in his Vice-Presidential debate with Tim Kaine. There were a few rumors (probably planted by Democrats) that Trump was displeased that Pence did not defend him from the volley of attacks launched by Kaine. But these were refuted by Donald Trump, who revealed how proud he was of Pences performance and how it reflected on his own skill in picking talent. Could Trump recalibrate his own campaign and lead his ticket to victory?

Is that what Democrats fear the most?
What was once just hinted at has now been confirmed. U.S. intelligence officials say that the hack of the DNC and other political organizations is the work of the Russian government, approved at the highest levels.

The Hill:

The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence publicly blamed Russia for the hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and other political organizations this year.

We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities, the agencies in a joint statement.

The hack and subsequent release of emails from the DNC, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and former Secretary of State Colin Powell were widely believed by security experts and many in the intelligence community to be the work of Russian intelligence.

The Obama administration has been under fierce pressure from lawmakers  led by Senate and House Intelligence Committee ranking members Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), respectively  to publicly attribute the attacks.

The decision to name-and-shame Russia is a historic one. Of the four countries officials cite as the U.S.s key adversaries in cyberspace  Russia, North Korea, China and Iran  Russia was the only one against whom the U.S. had not yet taken some kind of public action over its cyber activity.

Some onlookers suspected that the White House was leery of publicly naming Russia in the DNC hack because it didnt want to disrupt a fragile ceasefire deal in Syria.

But Secretary of State John Kerry officially suspended negotiations with Russia over implementing such an agreement on Monday. And on Friday he called for a war crimes investigation of Russia and Syria for attacks in Aleppo.

Washington has almost unanimously treated Russian involvement in the attack on the DNC and other Democratic groups as fact after several forensics firms avowed that all the digital fingerprints pointed to a well-known Russian intelligence group known informally as Fancy Bear.

Moscow used a diffuse network of outlets to disseminate the material it stole  all of which the administration confirmed Friday.

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 read.
It didnt take long for the WaPo and other lib rags to pile on Matt Drudge for having the gall to accuse NOAAs National Hurricane Center of hyping up the storm data on Matthew.

Even the erstwhile nerd journal, Popular Science, jumped into the anti-Drudge cyclone, with a short diatribe by a Grennan Milliken, a PopSci reporter, who says, Dont take weather advice from Matt Drudge.

Presumably Milliken, and his PopSci editors, would prefer that we take weather advice from NOAA luminaries such as James Hansen, whose serial global warming jeremiads  for three decades  have morphed into laughable exaggerations.

Prior to joining PopSci, Grennan Millikens LinkedIn profile says he was a media manager for Noise Productions Inc (sic), where he managed production footage for the Cooking Channel show Simply Laura.

No doubt James Hansen spent time at the Cooking Channel along with other NOAA weathermen. For three days this past August, for our section along the Maine coast, the NOAA climate brainiacs forecast southwest winds, 10 to 15 knots, while a quick glance outside showed persistent 15-plus knots from the north.

Nonetheless, grudging credit goes to PopScis Milliken for giving Drudge the best label ever, an internet trash heap with an agenda, narrowly nudging aside Hillarys basket of deplorables.

Too bad Popular Science long ago abandoned reporting on transistors and spaceships, an agenda that mattered. Instead, today PopSci is but a trash heap of global warming hysteria.
The Clinton Organizations oppo research capabilities are without peer in the world of American politics. The value of strategically timed embarrassing info on an opponent, leaked at the precisely correct moment, was proved in 2000 when Al Gore nearly won the presidency. The teetotaler candidate George W. Bush was exposed as having pleaded guilty to DUI two dozen years earlier, and that is reckoned to have depressed voter turnout, especially among evangelicals and those outraged by drunk drivers, enough to have made the difference.

The leak of an old hot mic recording of a private conversation between a TV host and Trump probably was originally scheduled for the Friday before Election Day. But the Wikileaks revelations about Hillary could not be allowed to dominate the weekend pre-debate chatter. The released tapes have now repelled enough people that Trump may not be able to recover. Unless they can somehow be moved to forgive him. Thanks to Wikileaks, there just may be time.

From a logical position, what Trump said is demeaning and insulting, and an unacceptable way for a male to express himself in public. The fact that this was not expressed in public matters not. The fact that Bill Clinton has said and done (on camera here) much worse also matters little.

We are talking about the modern presidency, where fitness for the role buddy-in-chief deriving from television is more important to many voters than the commander-in-chief responsibilities deriving from the Constitution. We have to live with the face of the POTUS in our living rooms, as the cliche reminds us. People want a president they can like.

Donald Trump, as he now exists in the public mind in the wake of the tape, is unlikable. So two possible countermeasures suggest themselves as the recourse for the Donald.

Make himself likable, and/or Make the case that times require an honest SOB.

As far as number one goes, Trump has a long way to go. His unprecedented apology late last night wont cut it. Scott Johnson of Powerline hits the nail on the head (as usual):

The apology takes a shortcut. When Trump says theres a big difference between the words and actions of other people, he doesnt quite complete the thought. He is saying the Clintons have said and done worse than he has said and done. He is saying that they have more for which to apologize than he does. It wasnt a persuasive argument when we made it to our parents or we heard it from our kids and its not impressive from a candidate for the presidency of the United States.

Trump has to drop any reference to Bill Clinton being worse than he is. That is excusing his own bad behavior, which wont persuade religious conservatives in particular. They are looking for confession and repentance. Honestly, I dont know if Trump has it in him. But I do know that Trump has gotten to know well some of the nations leading preachers, people who understand the spiritual crises of sinners and the need for repentance.

If he is smart, Donald Trump will spend some of his debate preparation on his knees, praying for guidance and exploring the depths of his heart. Now, if Trump were to have a genuine spiritual awakening, it would be wonderful for him, his family, and his immortal soul. It would also be immediately scorned and disbelieved by many, maybe most people  as was, for instance, Chuck Colson, former Nixon hatchet man imprisoned in the wake of Watergate. Colsons subsequent years of good works eventually earned him widespread acceptance, but a reformed sinner is instinctively distrusted for a long probationary period. Trump has less than a month.

That is no reason for Trump to stay off his knees today and tomorrow. And whatever verdict you, I, and everyone else come to on his sincerity, he needs to do this for his own good, well beyond any political concerns.

If he appears suitably self-critical and apologetic, mentioning his wife and his daughters and how ashamed he is before them, and he stresses that he has learned from his mistakes, there is at least a foot in the door, opening the possibility that he can then persuade voters that an honest, energetic, and courageous leader is demanded by the times. He needs to tell the country that we are in trouble, that the justice system has been fatally corrupted now that we all see that the powerful are held to a different standard from what the rest of us endure. He needs to argue that Russia is openly bullying us in Syria and in the Baltics, and China is grabbing control of critical sea lanes in Asia. We face hostile enemies who see us as weak. And of course, he needs to discuss the need to revitalize our economy.

Meanwhile, the Im one of the good Republicans club that fear being tarred with Trump are doing their best to ensure that none of this works.
After clinching the Democratic nomination for president after his Minnesota primary win in June 2008, then-senator Barack Hussein Obama (D-Ill.) gave a triumphant speech concluding with the following grandiose prophecy:

I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment - this was the time - when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals.

Well, that was then. This is now.

This was the moment that Hurricane Matthew's potent winds are bringing higher oceans levels, higher tides, and warnings of storm surges.

Storm surge flooding has already occurred along the northeast Florida coast, including in Daytona Beach and St. Augustine, and is spreading north. According to the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, Florida, Friday morning, "Barrier islands are likely to be breached and it is extremely possible that new inlets will be cut off in the worst affected areas." The NWS office in Charleston, South Carolina, said Friday tide levels at both Charleston, South Carolina, and Ft. Pulaski, Georgia, could approach or even surpass those seen during the October 2015 epic flood event.

(But don't worry  this weather destruction will really stop with the new climate change agreement Obama so fervently believes in, according to MSNBC's master scientist and announcer, Ron Allen.

... these severe storms, beach erosions, intense weather episodes that weve had is perhaps the most practical sample of what the president was talking about as the threat that the planet faces and this is what this whole climate agreement signed by 190 nations and now ratified by 60 or so is designed to stop.

O-o-o-kay.)

Sure, stopping the rise of the oceans was Obama's most dramatic and memorable failed prediction of his Messianic Self, but there were others. Many failed others.

For instance, his promise "to provide care for the sick." This is the moment that the millions have to face dramatic increases in their health care premiums while scrambling to find new health care insurance as insurers increasingly drop out of the Obamacare marketplace.

And this is the moment  months and years, actually  for jobless coal miners suffering the wrath of Obama and his elitist environmentalists and other jobless workers who can't find those "good jobs for the jobless." Just read the U.S. government's Bureau of Labor Statistics' own report, released on Friday.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed in September at 5.9 million. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.) In September, 1.8 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, about unchanged from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 553,000 discouraged workers in September, little changed from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe that no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.3 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in September had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance and family responsibilities.

And this is the time wars haven't ended. They're increasing. Spreading. And are more brutal.

Secretary of State John Kerry is frantically playing diplomacy with Russia's Vladimir Putin and China and Iran while the Mid-East explodes and the slaughter continues there, Iran laughs at the nuclear deal, and we're about to re-enter Iraq, making a tragic twist on Kerry's hopes that "we ended a war and secured our nation." After the recent terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, California; Orlando, Florida; New York, N.Y.; and others, do you feel more secure today than you did eight years ago?

As for coming "together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals," the nation is more divided than ever, and the would-be successor to Obama, Hillary R. Clinton (D), vows to carry on  and even expand  Obama's changes while labeling the followers of her opponent, Donald Trump (R), "a basket of deplorables."

However, one prediction has been fulfilled. Judging from the surge of immigrants, both legal and illegal (no, not undocumented) "our image as the last, best hope on Earth" remains not because Obama "restored" it, but in spite of all he has done.

Hopefully "generations from now we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was" the time that we were able to correct the damage Obama has done. Hopefully.
Its time somebody laid this out. Im tired of being told to vote on principle, to vote my conscience as if a vote for Trump couldnt possibly fit that mold, as if wasting my precious, bought-with-blood vote on a person Ive never even heard of, like James G. Birney (Liberty Party), would somehow put the universe back into its normal spin. Whats more, these NeverTrumps are fanatically furious about it, as if Trump didnt win the primary properly.

Ill vote for Trump standing on these principles:

Freedom. God created mankind with free will, and he flourishes best when his volition has the most leeway. Hillary Clinton will destroy, via the bench, any shred of freedom we have left. A refusal to vote for Trump gives her and her evil a leg up. I refuse to provide that for her.

Absolute Truth and Objective Reality. Reality #1: A conservative candidate must actually win a term in the White House in order for it to matter at all. We need conservative policies, not just principles.

Reality #2: In order to do that, the electorate, which is smart but busy, must know who the candidate is. They wont vote for Tom Hoefling or Darrell Castle, who may be fabulous, but theyve never heard of them.

Reality #3: The American psyche is a brash, energetic, no-nonsense, just get-er-done mentality. As is Trump. We are an adaptable, idiosyncratic, fiercely independent people. As is Trump. The media and academia have become elitist, but the average American is a street-smart, savvy, inventive guy, and when Americans look at Trump, they see themselves. Theyll vote for themselves.

Nationalism. God intended for people to live in countries, to develop a love for their countries, a protectiveness for their homes. I do not buy the elitist multiculturalism tripe, as if all cultures are as valid and virtuous as every other. They arent.

Gods Wisdom. He uses surprising people. Look at the women in the line of Christ: Tamar, who seduced her father-in-law; Rahab, the prostitute who helped Joshua take Jericho; Ruth, a Moabite; Bathsheba, Davids married concubine; Mary, who was unmarried, 14 years old, and pregnant. Not your average prissy church ladies, and yet they are named in scripture, their stories told, their place in the lineage of Our Lord clearly proclaimed. Look at David, Israels greatest king, and yet he not only seduced Bathsheba, but had her husband murdered. If God chooses to use Donald Trump, then who am I to say no?

Logic. If I stick my stubborn, snobby nose in the air and proclaim that Trump is inadequately unsullied to deserve my pristine, picky vote and I either stay home or write in some unknown, make-believe name, then Ive succeeded in assisting the election of a woman whose behavior is clearly criminal. That does not serve logic.

Yesterday, a woman I was discussing this with said, regarding another person in the discussion, You should respect his vote. Its his, and he can do what he wants with it. Yes. Of course, but a vote isnt like picking out a paint color. You can paint your living room snot green or bubblegum pink; its your living room, and I dont have to look at it. But your vote affects me and mine. If you help Hillary into the White House, America is over. And I cant respect a vote that is thrown away; if its of so little value to the NeverTrump, why should I see it as holy?

Remember the passage in Matthew (7:6) when Christ warns, Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. He was speaking of the gospel, but the message can be applied here. My vote is a precious pearl, and Im not throwing it to the dogs, not even if theyre very nice dogs. Im voting my conscience.

Deana Chadwell blogs at www.ASingleWindow.com. She taught high school English for 30 years and currently teaches writing at Pacific Bible College in Medford, Oregon.
In the past week:

- Justice drops the case against a gunrunner from Hillarys Libya fiasco whose testimony would certainly have harmed Obama and Hillary.

- Evidence surfaced that the White House participated in the cover-up of Hillary's violation of national security laws with her private server even though they said they absolutely knew nothing about the server and would not interfere with an investigation.

- We have learned more this week about how the investigation of Hillary by the Justice Department and FBI was a pure sham as they gave immunity to so many, took so much stuff off limits, and even carried out the destruction of evidence. The email investigation was pretend, just like the IRS investigation and any supposed investigation of the Clinton Foundation. It is clear that the White House, Justice Department, State Department, and IRS are working specifically to protect Obama and Hillary instead of working for the American people.

- Aleppo and Syria are deteriorating rapidly despite Obama and Kerry being extremely tough and telling Russia and Assad to stop it.

- Obama partially blamed the Civil War in Syria on a drought he says was caused by humans. That is one of the most ignorant statements ever. The war is because Assad is a tyrant, and the Mideast is essentially a desert that has had continued droughts for millennia.

- An NBC News man topped Obama's stupidity by saying the worthless Paris climate agreement would stop hurricanes.

- Obamacare is collapsing rapidly. The multiple lies to pass the law are more obvious every day. The law is greatly harming the middle class and small employers and reducing the potential for full-time jobs.

- An NSA contractor who committed the same crime as Hillary by keeping classified documents at home on several nonsecure devices is under arrest. Why isn't Hillary?

The media, of course, don't focus on any of these things. Instead they trot out a tape of Trump talking dirty about women eleven years ago. I know that no other men would ever talk like that on a bus, in a locker room, at a bar, or at a bowling alley. The media and Hillary are absolutely shocked. According to Hillary, no one who ever talked like that or treated women like that can ever be president. (That is really rich coming from the wife of Bill.)

Of course, every night on TV, people can see Trump's language compounded. (I have heard that the Girls show starring Hillary supporter Lena Dunham is especially sweet and pure.)

Shows that use dirty language win all sorts of awards, and now the media pretends words spoken eleven years ago are a disqualifier. I think everyone should watch the Rob Lowe roast on Comedy Central to see truly repulsive stuff.

The Clintons divert massive amounts of money from Haiti for their Foundation and friends, which left the poor more vulnerable to the hurricane than they should have been. And then there were those kickbacks to the Foundation and Bill himself to sell a big chunk of our uranium reserves to the Russians.

And the media say Trump is the disqualified person.

Hillary and Kaine continually brag about her being in the Situation Room for Osama when she wasn't needed, but why weren't Hillary and Obama in the Situation Room the night of 9/11/12, when Americans were under attack in Benghazi? They had no idea how long the attack would last, yet they did absolutely nothing to save the Americans. They did have time to concoct a lie to protect their political power before the election. Why isn't the media curious as to what President Obama did that night?

Bill Clinton was accused of rape, and he mistreated and lied about many women to destroy their lives. Hillary sought to destroy any woman who dared tell the truth about Bill. Bill also used a cigar on an intern and got fellated from the same intern in the sacred Oval Office suite  and Hillary has the gall to say Trump talking dirty disqualifies him to be president.

I have heard the CBS radio news a few times since the tape came out, and they mention the tape prominently. Somehow, they have not mentioned the Wikileaks documents that came out within a few hours of the Trump Tape. It must be as accidental as all the selective editing done by the supposed fact-tellers in the media. In the leaked documents, Hillary essentially kisses up to investment bankers and others who are paying her $250,000 per speech. She also says absolutely that she is for open borders and open global trade. Hillary and Kaine are campaigning on the lie that she is for more secure borders and very strict trade agreements.

And the media say Trump is unfit to be president.

I am absolutely not defending what Trump said eleven years ago, but if bragging about conquests with women were a disqualifier, at least Kennedy and Clinton would never have been president. Hillary should be declared unfit because she lies continuously, committed perjury, has taken kickbacks throughout her public life, tried to destroy women and any other people who got in her way, violated multiple security laws and other laws, and left Americans to die. Other people have been dispensable throughout Hillarys and Bills lives. Basically, everything the Clintons have done is to increase the power and wealth for themselves. They certainly have little thought for the rest of us.

I have never seen a media so in the tank. The media show every day their bias by what they report, how they report, and especially what they choose not to report. Our freedoms are in danger, and since they have no actual accomplishments to tout for their chosen candidate, they have to destroy the other. They also sought to destroy Bush, Palin, McCain, and Romney, so they have been at the personal destruction game for a long time.
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean about 300 miles east of South America's southern Patagonian coast. The islands are a British overseas territory since 1833, but Argentina too maintains claim to the islands having been in control of the islands for a period prior to 1833. Argentinas long dispute escalated in 1982, when the countrys forces invaded the islands resulting in the Falklands War. Over a period of ten weeks, some 650 Argentine military personnel, over 250 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders died. In the end, the islands were returned to the British Crown. But the real winners were the islands penguins.

Photo credit

The 18th century was a popular time for whaling. The whale oil industry was booming, and the Falklands was an ideal place for catching whales and extracting whale oil. To produce whale oil, the blubber is separated from their bodies, and the fat is put on fire in gigantic vats of boiling water. But the Falklands is completely devoid of trees. The only vegetation here are a variety of wind-resistant dwarf shrubs that are entirely useless as fuel. Without wood to keep the fire going, the whalers started using another plentiful resource that made a suitable fuel - penguins.

Unfortunately for them, penguins have considerable amount of fat under their skin, and the whalers knew that fat is inflammable and makes a great substitute for fuel. The animal is also flightless and docile in nature, making them easy to catch. So whenever the fires got low, they simply grabbed a few penguins and threw them into the fire. By the time the whale oil business died out, millions of penguins have been burned. 300 years ago, before the Europeans arrived, the islands were teeming with an army of penguins 10 million strong. This figure was reduced by 95%. Then the Argentinean invasion happened.

The Argentines wanted their islands back, and to deter the British from reclaiming the area they captured, its military laid down more than 20,000 landmines along the beaches and pastureland near the capital city. After the war ended, the British government made an effort to clear the minefields but it was a dangerous and laborious effort. Instead, they decided to fence off the explosive zones and put up signs warning people to stay away from the area. With humans out of the way, these minefields have since become accidental sanctuaries for the islands penguins. These animals are light enough to hop about the minefields without setting off a mine, so they move around busily finding partners, preparing nests and waddling about the mating grounds. Over the last thirty years, their numbers have risen. Today, the Falkland Islands are home to 1 million penguins. These odd sanctuaries have proven so popular and lucrative for ecotourism that efforts exist to prevent removal of the mines.

Also See: How Sniffer Rats Detect Landmines and Tuberculosis in Mozambique

Photo credit

Photo credit

Photo credit

Photo credit

Photo credit

Photo credit

Photo credit

Sources: Mental Floss / Now I Know / Wikipedia / Perry Ponders / QI.com
An employee assembles parts for a Fujitsu Ltd computer server at the Fujitsu Isotec Ltd plant in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. [Photo/ Agencies ]

Lenovo Group Ltd is in discussions with Japanese tech firm Fujitsu Ltd to merge their personal-computer businesses, as the world's largest PC maker tries to boost margins through scale effect amid declining consumer demand, Japanese media reported.

The Beijing-based firm could either set up a joint venture with Fujitsu or buy a majority stake in the latter's PC unit, according to the Nikkei newspaper. "They are aiming to reach agreement this month," Nikkei said.

Lenovo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The deal came shortly after the Chinese firm said in July that it would spend $195 million to increase its stake in its PC joint venture with another Japanese firm NEC Corp.

Jacky Zhao, an analyst at International Data Corp, said the move is the latest sign that Lenovo is trying to strengthen its top spot by teaming up with all possible partners as the PC market continues its downward trend.

"Initiating mergers is not only an effective way to survive the cold winter in the PC market. It can also give Lenovo more resources to revive its business when demand begins to pick up," Zhao added.

Employees demonstrate a Lenovo TAB2 A8 tablet device in the Lenovo Group Ltd pavilion at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. [Photo/ Agencies ]

In the second quarter of 2016, worldwide PC shipments declined 4.5 percent year-on-year to 62.4 million units. Lenovo performed better than the average, with a decline of 2.3 percent and a shipments of 13.2 million units, data from IDC shows.

"Fujitsu has a good brand appeal among Japanese consumers. The deal, if it goes through, can effectively boost Lenovo's existing business there," Zhao said, adding that Lenovo had 19.4 percent share of the global PC market in 2015, compared with 2.1 percent for Fujitsu.

When it comes to Japan, Lenovo is the largest PC vendor, accounting for about 25 percent of the market last year, according to tech consultancy Gartner Inc. It also has a R&D center there that leads the design of the ThinkPad brand, which is one of the keys to maintaining profit margins in the high-end niche.

The move also came after Lenovo Chairman Yang Yuanqing said in June that the PC unit would continue to be the company's pillar business, because as productive tools, computers still play a vital role in daily work and life, and the demand won't decline forever.

Financial reports showed that Lenovo derived 66 percent of its 2015 revenue from its PC business. But it also works hard to seek for new growth points, such as smartphones, cloud computing and virtual reality, though efforts to make headway have stalled partly due to mounting competition.
Google had their big day and shook a little bit of the world with their new Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. They did away with the Nexus moniker and branded the device with a G on the back of the phone  no more LG, HTC, Moto, or Huawei naming anywhere. It even says in tiny print on the bottom back of the device, Phone by Google, even though we all know that HTC built both models. The Google Pixel phones are Googles answer to the Apple iPhone, so they are solidly built and technically high-end. They are also expensive like an iPhone and only offer two levels of non-expandable storage  32GB or 128GB.

The Google Pixel smartphones should sell well, although there will be many Nexus users refusing to switch either on principals or because of the cost. Google has helped in this regard by offering to finance on their website and, of course, the carriers which do sell them offer payment plans as well. Even as good a device as the Pixel and Pixel XL are, they may not sell enough to beat the likes of Samsung, Huawei, LG, or any other Android device that dominates that ecosystem. Those manufacturers spend too much money on advertising and marketing their products. However, without more devices in the market running the pure Android OS Android will always suffer from its fundamental issue  fragmentation.

We can say what we want about the restrictive iOS, but when an update is available, almost all iPhones receive it and then they are operating on the same page. Maybe Google needs to be a little more demanding in its guidelines as well? The idea situation for Google would be to have all of the Android smartphone manufacturers use pure Android with no personalized UI skins. The manufacturers claim that would take away from their own brandings individuality. While this is understandable, to a degree, the physical design of the device is also a selling feature. Does Samsung really believe that they would have sold as many devices in 2016 without the dual-edge display, the S Pen, wireless charging, etc.? Many feel that stock Android needs more polish on it, and that third party UIs offer many options not found in stock Android but do they outweigh the fragmentation?

Advertisement

Googles new Pixel and Pixel XL will have very little impact on Androids fragmentation. As in the past, they will be the best and only way, to get the fastest Android updates. However, until Google exercises more of their leverage on other manufacturers, there will be no improvement in the Android ecosystemand that is what this is all about. It would make it easier for manufacturers, developers, and customers. Switching from one Android device to another would have a small learning curve since they would all function the same way. Other manufacturers, such as Samsung, may work on their own OS (Tizen), but no competing mobile operating systems have come close to the popularity of Android and iOS. Google could be exercising more of their power. For instance, Google could limit where other manufacturers can make changes to the core software and make Google Services like Gmail and Hangouts the defaults. They could even limit the time it would take for manufacturers to upgrade the OS.

If youve paid any attention to the Android fragmentation, it has actually improved somewhat based on the chart below. The biggest three areas are Android 4.X Jelly Bean coming in at 15.6-percent, Android 4.4 KitKat at 27.7-percent, Android 5.X Lollipop with 35-percent, and Android 6.X Marshmallow at 18.7-percent  these figures are as of September 2016. The balance is made up from a little Froyo, Gingerbread, and Ice Cream Sandwich. Some of Googles problems are that so many devices were sold in emerging nations, where users do not upgrade their devices very often causing much of the fragmentation.

Its possible that the new Google Pixel phones are a sign that Google is going to take more control with its brand. This takeover is something so large they cannot just do it overnight, but until Google can seize more control of the Android OS, their ecosystem will potentially always find it challenging to offer the same level of stability as iOS. For Goggle and Android to make a difference, they must eliminate most of the fragmentation. They need to sit down with the big companies and discuss their concerns and map out a future that first benefits Google and Android while helping the third party manufacturers keep some of their identity.
Xiaomi doesnt yet have quite the brand recognition as some of todays top high-end Android device manufacturers, but the Chinese company is quickly gaining popularity with devices that offer users a great value. Their devices, such as the Redmi Pro, typically have attractive designs and powerful hardware at much more affordable prices than some of their better-known rivals. The company makes other electronics as well but is best known for its series of smartphones. Recently, the company has joined some of their biggest smartphone competitors, like Samsung and Apple, by opening multiple physical retail locations. The brick-and-mortar stores are located in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Now, the company has opened a new retail store located in Singapore as well.

Unlike the other Xiaomi retail stores located throughout Asia, this one will not be run by Xiaomi itself, but rather a local partner, and will, for now, focus on mobile devices and accessories exclusively, though the company plans to bring some of their other items to the store later down the road. In addition to opening a store in Singapore, Xiaomi has turned over control of its regional online sales, which, until now, it has managed on its own in Singapore, to a retailer called Lazada. The next step Xiaomi has planned is to open a retail store in India, which is the second largest market in the world for mobile devices, after its own home country of China.

The latest Xiaomi Mi Home store is located at the Suntec City shopping mall in Singapore. Some of the devices available at the store include the Xiaomi Mi Max, Mi 5, Redmi 3S, Redmi Note 3, and Mi Band 2, as well as various mobile-related accessories such as speakers and power banks. The company likely hopes that this move will drive sales in some of their most prominent regions and help them battle fierce competition from local rivals that are also offering high-end hardware at very competitive prices. The company plans to expand even further in the future, with plans to open stores not only in India and China but also possibly in the U.S. as well.
(ANSA) - Rome, October 7 - 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.

The restoration lab founded in 1923 employs 60 people and relies on dozens of expert consultants working for six different museum departments: paintings, marbles, paper, ceramics and metals, tapestries, and mixed media.

"We have to be careful, because restorers themselves are the number one danger for the artwork," said marble department chief restorer Guy Devreux. "We're fortunate to have all the most cutting edge technology at our disposal - from diagnostics to nanotechnology to the latest-generation materials," he explained.

However, said Devreux, the Vatican restoration lab prefers to use natural substances - such as essential oils and non-toxic materials - that respect the environment and mankind.


The firm widebody orders are valued at $11.7 billion at list prices. Qatar CEO Akbar AL Baker had grown increasingly frustrated with the delay to the Airbus A320neo and had warned Airbus that the Doha airline may head to Seattle to keep the growth it needs fed by aircraft.

Announcing the deal, Al Baker said the airlines commitment to the MAX 8 did not mean Qatar was giving up on the Airbus A320neo and has 50 on order. For us to mitigate the risk, we had no alternative but to order the reliable 737 family of aircraft.

It is understood the airline has walked away rom four of the 50 orders as it argues Airbus failed to live up to the terms of its contractual obligations on those aircraft.

"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, 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."



Analyst Saj Ahmad commented on the orders: Qatar Airways selection of 30 787-9s and 10 777-300ERs underlines its commitment to its organic expansion that has been unlocked ever since it moved to its new expanded hub at Hamad International Airport.



As one of the biggest 787 operators, the natural fit of the 787-9 will certainly raise questions over the balance of its orders for the A350-900 and A350-1000, particularly when the 787 fleet has arguably one of the best in-service dispatch reliability rates of any airplane.



Ahmad added: Coupled with the fact that Qatar Airways has 10x 777-8s and 50x 777-9s with 40 remaining options in the bank, the airline has not been afraid to put money where its mouth is to show its displeasure at the slow progress on the A350 over at Airbus.

Boeings firm grip on program execution now on the 787 meant that exercising the 30 options it had was never in doubt. Indeed, the 787-8 fleet for Qatar Airways has become a backbone for its long haul operations and new route openers as well.



But by far the biggest impact here of this new order is the commitment for 60 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. This is a direct rival to the A320neo, the same jet which the airline has thus far refused to take delivery of due to concerns about the GTF engines.



Not only will Qatar Airways become another exclusive GCC operator of the 737 alongside stalwart flydubai and Oman Air, it will be able to rely on the legendary reliability of CFM Internationals engines  indeed, flight testing of the LEAP-1B on the 737 MAX has been an absolute breeze, expediting the way for Boeing to hopefully deliver the first airplane earlier than planned in the spring of 2017, said Ahmad.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. -made in Yerevan exhibition has been opened in Yerevan History Museum on the occasion of Erebuni-Yerevan celebrations, press service of Yerevan Municipality informed Armenpress.

Light and food industrial products, which were produced in Yerevan during Soviet times, from the Museums rich collection of production assets were presented in the exhibition.

First Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Kamo Areyan, Deputy Mayor Aram Sukiasyan, City Council members attended the exhibition.

The Museums Director Armine Sargsyan said the exhibition is dedicated to the 2798th anniversary of Yerevan, as well as the 85th anniversary of the Museum.

-made in Yerevan exhibition will operate until the end of this year from Monday to Saturday at 11:00-17:30.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Minister of Culture of Armenia Armen Amiryan attaches importance on strengthening the culture of visiting bookstores and calls the representatives of the sector to make proposals, as well as a business model for it.

Amiryan visited Grapunj bookstore in Yerevan, which has been established by Hrant Dink and his brothers several years ago and it is Oxford University Press representative in Yerevan, reports Armenpress.

Dinks relative, painter animator Vrej Kasuni presented the Minister and Deputy Minister Nerses Ter-Vardanyan the possible projects which will attract people to visit bookstores.

Armen Amiryan asked to present a business model. Lets see how it is closer to our impression on keeping closer a citizen to a book. You must decide how it can be done. Please, calculate what is needed for it: ties, opportunities, support, tax privilege, money, help, loan for small business development We will discuss together what the Ministry can do for it. Maybe we will find a person who will help you, or an organization which will support you. We will organize a fundraising in order to implement our plan, Amiryan said.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. While on an official visit to Yerevan the French delegation led by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has been hosted in Yerevan Municipality, press service of the Municipality informed Armenpress.

Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan thanked his French counterpart for accepting the invitation and said the strengthening of friendly and partnership ties between the two capitals, the development of bilateral projects are really important for Yerevan.

Mrs. Mayor, once again I want to thank you for accepting the invitation and visiting Yerevan. We attach a special importance to strengthening and expanding the ties with Paris, and I am sure your visit will boost our cooperation. I want to thank you for the special attitude provided to the Armenian community which is also very important for us. There is a really wide field of cooperation between Yerevan and Paris which will enable us to further expand the joint projects in local self-governance, economic development, boosting tourism, and other sectors. In this regard, I will suggest to create a working group which will develop and present the directions where we have wide cooperation prospects, Taron Margaryan said.

In her turn Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo thanked for the warm reception and congratulated Yerevan Mayor on the capitals day.

Mr. Mayor, it is really a pleasure for me to be in a city that has a 3000-years-old history. We also attach importance on expanding the cooperation projects with Yerevan, the evidence of which is our delegations visit here. I must give a special importance to the Armenian community on the development of Paris. Mr. Mayor, I once again want to thank you for the invitation, I am grateful for your consistency and readiness which is directed towards expanding and developing Yerevan-Paris ties. I am confident we will achieve significant progress in near future, Paris Mayor said.

At the end of the meeting Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan awarded Anne Hidalgo with Yerevan Mayor Gold Medal for the great input on strengthening the friendly ties between Yerevan and Paris.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The recognition of the NKRs independence by Azerbaijan is a key for achieving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, the NKR Presidents spokesman Davit Babayan said in an interview with Armenpress.

Referring to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs statement who said the international pressure is being exerted on him behind the closed doors, Babayan said the international community fully understands that without that recognition the conflict settlement is impossible.

The sooner Azerbaijan recognizes the NKRs independence without any precondition, the easier the conflict settlement. Without such recognition it is impossible to achieve significant result towards comprehensive settlement especially when Azerbaijan continues its destructive Nazi policy and wants to achieve a result with ultimatums. When Aliyev speaks about such pressures, it means that the international community is radically revising its approaches towards the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement, Davit Babayan said.

To the question whether these pressures will lead to certain results, Babayan said Aliyev has thrown himself into a difficult situation and it is his own guilty that currently Armenophobia, as well as hatred against not only Armenians, but also other people became the state ideology.

In fact Aliyev must refuse from this since the recognition of NKRs independence by Azerbaijan is not only a political issue, but it also became a serious psychological problem.

It will mean that the resources wasted so many years, the victims and destructions the Azerbaijani President committed only considering his own interests, rather than those of people or state, Davit Babayan said.

He also said it is beneficial for an ordinary Azerbaijani citizen that his country recognize the NKRs independence and the issue to be solved.

Official Baku is no longer able to hide that the international community stresses the necessity of the recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at the Governments session.

They are exerting pressure on us behind the closed doors aiming to lead to the recognition of the NKRs independence. We dont reveal many details since there are diplomatic rules, Aliyev said.

The Azerbaijani President said active propaganda is being carried out against Azerbaijan over the NKRs recognition. He even blamed the media and non-governmental organizations of the Western countries on this issue.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

State and local leaders joined executives from NextEra Energy Resources and Xcel Energy Thursday morning to celebrate the commissioning of New Mexicos largest solar energy projects  the Roswell and Chaves County Solar Energy Centers.

Solar energy creates solid, high-paying jobs and produces millions of dollars in payments over the life of the project to landowners and local government that directly benefit schools, roads and essential services, said Mike OSullivan, senior vice president of development for NextEra Energy Resources, which developed and built the projects and will own and operate them. These projects are something we can all be proud of  an investment in the community that will help sustain Chaves County economically and provide clean, renewable energy for generations to come.

The Roswell and Chaves County Solar Energy Centers feature approximately 600,000 solar panels with trackers that will follow the sun from east to west each day to maximize energy production. Together, they have a generating capacity of 140 megawatts, or enough to power more than 40,000 homes.

The energy will serve customers of Xcel Energy in New Mexico and Texas starting this year under two power purchase agreements approved by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.

Our customers have told us they want more affordable, renewable energy, generated by the states own sunshine, and these projects are an excellent demonstration of how we are delivering on that commitment for our customers, said David Hudson, president of Xcel Energy New Mexico and Texas. Additionally, this is an opportunity for Xcel Energy to diversify our energy production resource mix in an economical manner.

By using renewable energy from the sun, the projects will avoid approximately 240,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide emissions that would have been produced if the electricity had been generated using fossil fuels.

New Mexico, and Chaves County in particular, is fortunate to have one of the best solar resources in the country, said Robert Corn, chairman of the Chaves County Commission. These projects are proof of what we can do when we work together to help develop renewable energy, protecting the environment and creating good jobs and economic growth for our community and our state.

The projects have created a significant economic boost for the Chaves County and Roswell area, creating about 300 jobs during the construction phase, as well as five full-time positions to operate the energy centers. From labor and materials, to housing, health care and construction, a wide variety of local businesses have benefitted from the influx of economic activity.

Over their operational life, the two energy centers are expected to generate payments in lieu of property taxes of $660,000 per year for the local area, with a portion going to Chaves County and a portion directly to the Roswell Independent School District.
Armenian intelligence has been warning for some time about the movement of people and weapons from Xinjiang to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Syria and Iraq. In Mosul, Uyghurs are used as police. In Nagorno Karabakh, they engaged in violence. Iraqi commander comes out against Erdogans ambitions in Mosul.

Mosul (AsiaNews)  More and more Asian fighters speaking Chinese are seen in the streets of Mosul, jihadi Uighur mercenaries who came to Syria through Turkey at the start of the war. In the last few months, they and their families have moved from Rakka in Syria  the Islamic States capital  to Iraq.

In April 2015, many of them went from Turkey to Azerbaijan to attack targets in Nagorno Karabakh in what came to be known as the Four-day War.

Armenian intelligence informed the West and Russia that Uyghur, Turkmen and Chechen fighters left Azerbaijan for Turkey.

Dubbed Daeshs police, the Uyghurs can be seen everywhere in Mosul. Deployed in markets, intersections, and government buildings, their task is to police the capital of the Islamic Caliphate.

According to information from Mosul, Caliph al-Baghdadi also gave Uyghurs the important mission of securing the plains lying to the right of Mosul.

For years, Turkey has backed Turkic-speaking Muslim Uyghurs in their struggle to secede from China. It is also common knowledge that Ankara brought in and trained Uyghurs fighters before sending them to Syria.

Now the Uyghurs have "voluntarily" moved from Syria to Iraq with Daesh at a time when Turkey, as its only supporter, threatens to participate in the ground assault to free Mosul from Daesh, which has nothing to do with Islam."

Two days ago, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who also said that Daesh has "nothing to do with Islam, noted that "We are fighting armed men from dozens of countries who joined Daesh".

Scores of reports suggest however that Turkey has allowed jihadist fighters and weapons to enter Syria and, through the latter, Iraq.

Iraqi Popular Forces Commander Karim Al Nuri, told a Pan-Arab television network that we shall liberate Mosul with Iraqi groups" and that "we cannot allow Mosul to become a platform for Turkish President Erdogans ambitions."

Nuri was referring to statements by the Turkish president announcing a few days ago that Turkey would take part in the offensive against the jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul. According to Erdogan, only "Sunni Arabs and Kurds, and Turkmen" should remain in Mosul.

Speaking on the matter, Nuri welcome international efforts in favour of Iraq but stressed that Turkeys (military) intervention in Iraq is a violation of international law.

In view of this, he called on the Turkish president to change plans, describing Turkish presence in Iraq is no different to Daesh occupation.

"We want to liberate Mosul and reiterate its Arab character. Those who think they can act as guardians of Turkmen are mistaken. Turkmen are Iraqi citizens, and we shall not allow them to become someones else pawns. (P.B.)
by Umida Hashimova

Shavkat Mirziyaev became interim president after the death of Islam Karimov, father of the nation. He will remain in office at least until next Decembers election, in which he is the odds-on favourite to win. Expert writes a profile for the Jamestown Foundation that helps to understand the direction Uzbekistan might take after waiting for so long for reforms.

Tashkent (AsiaNews)  With Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev settling into Uzbekistans top spot as interim head of state following the death of President Islam Karimov (see EDM, September 8), questions have been mounting about the new leaders background and what Mirziyaev-era Uzbekistan will look like. According to forecasts, he is almost certain to win the upcoming December presidential elections. But once in power, will Mirziyaev maintain the iron-fist policies pursued by the late Karimov, or will he bring about long-awaited reforms and finally address some of the countrys chronic issues, ranging from inadequate utility services to fighting corruption? Analyzing Mirziyaevs first two weeks in office (September 824) as the interim president may help outline the emerging direction his leadership is headed.

Immediately after taking over as Uzbekistans interim president, most experts assumed Prime Minister Mirziyaev would follow the line drawn by Karimov. Indeed, in his first public address in his new role, Mirziyaev assured he would continue Karimovs policies (Kun.uz, September 9). Moreover, Rustam Azimov, the finance minister and so-called second front-runner for the leadership of Uzbekistan, called the prime minister the political son and heir of the late Karimov (BBC Uzbek Service, September 14). And yet, the steps Mirziyaev has taken to restructure and reshuffle the ministries, as well as some of the laws he signed and decrees he made so far, indicate that the new leader may not fully agree with all of Karimovs political legacy. Mirziyaev seems to have his own vision for the government, apart from what he inherited (Gazeta.uz, September 14).

A policy divergence was clear within the first days of Mirziyaevs interim presidency, when he undertook a reshuffling of government agencies and started filling them with individuals close to him. He spared some well-known government officials, such as Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov and National Security Service head Rustam Inoyatov, either because they are valuable members of his government or simply because he is not yet able to make a move against them. But he restored two officials to their previous positions: Abdulla Aripov returned as Minister of Youth, Culture and Information after having been demoted in 2012, and Samoydin Huseynov was again named governor of Bukhara province, a position he previously held for 15 years before being dismissed by Karimov in 2011. Both men were originally sacked for alleged corruption (Uzreport, September 14; Kun.uz, September 22). It is unclear whether their reinstatement by Mirziyaev was meant to imply a restoration of justice to those individuals, or whether the interim president was simply bringing in people he believes would be loyal to him.

Another noteworthy point is that from the outset, Mirziyaev has been focusing on domestic issuesan area of policy he is most intimately familiar with, since this was what he worked on all of his professional life under Karimov. He has instead largely left Uzbekistans international relations to Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, who represented Uzbekistan at the recent Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) heads of states summit (September 1617) as well as at the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly, which opened on September 13 (Uzreport, September 17; Kun.uz, September 19). Meanwhile Mirziyaev was able to focus on domestic matters by visiting several regions of Uzbekistan. Specifically, he signed various decrees on developing domestic infrastructure (new metro stations and a road in Tashkent), on a roadmap to develop the Tashkent region (a long-neglected part of the country), and on a cadre reshuffle within government-owned companies (Kun.uz, September 20; Uzreport, September 20; Kun.uz, September 23).

According to the six priorities outlined by Mirziyaev, his administration will mainly focus on economic issues (Kun.uz, September 9). Those priorities include macroeconomic stability encompassing national currency stabilization, a strong banking system, a reduction in external borrowing, an increase in exports, support for small- and medium-sized businesses, job creation, as well as international communication and road infrastructure. Indeed, during the first two weeks of Mirziyaevs time in office, a special agreement was signed to revamp trade with Kazakhstan after a special delegation from Astana, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Asqar Mamin, held meetings with the interim Uzbekistani president (Kun.uz, September 23). Mirziyaev also issued a decree to reduce (from 50 percent to 25 percent) the requirement to sell foreign currency earned from the export of agricultural products (BBC Uzbek Service, September 20).

The changes initiated by Mirziyaev in September are beginning to address several issues long neglected by Karimov. But the underlying question is whether any major long-awaited reforms will follow. Will the new members of Mirziyaevs team emerge as champions of reform, or were they put in place simply to ensure loyalty to him? At the end of his second week in office, Mirziyaev launched a virtual receptiona page on his government website where regular Uzbekistanis can submit online complaints and suggestions. This is an indisputably modern and, at the same time, bold moveparticularly given how little interest the late Karimov publicly showed in the real domestic situation of the country (BBC Uzbek Service September 8; ibid, September 27). Due to Karimovs insulated and inward-looking governing style, after 25 years of independence Uzbekistan has become a country in which top officials and ordinary people rarely interact. It now remains to be seen whether Mirziyaevs virtual reception can be a first step toward mending and restoring communication between the people and their government in order to appropriately address Uzbekistans biggest problems.

Any transition period usually raises more questions than answers, and in a politically closed country like Uzbekistan compelling answers are in even shorter supply. Two weeks in office is a short period on which to base, with any certainty, predictions for where Uzbekistan is headed. But clearly, no two leaders rule their country in exactly the same way. Mirziyaevs policies could certainly be designed to maintain the political balance put in place by the late Karimov. Yet, some of his preliminary actions point to cautious attempts at economic reforms and perhaps even a new direction for the country. The question is whether or not he will be willing to keep this momentum going.

(Courtesy of the Jamestown Foundation)
The findings come from the Yemen Data Project, a group of academics, experts and human rights activists. Out of 8,600 attacks by the Arab coalition, almost 3,200 hit schools, mosques, hospitals, markets, and residential areas. A market in Marib governorate was hit 24 times. For Riyadh, "collateral damage" is kept at a minimum.

Sana'a (AsiaNews)  More than one-third of all Saudi-led air raids on Yemen have hit civilian sites, such as school buildings, hospitals, markets, mosques and economic infrastructure, this according to the most comprehensive survey of the conflict.

The findings, revealed by The Guardian, contradict claims by the Saudi government, backed by its US and British allies, that collateral damage is being kept at a minimum.

The survey, conducted by the Yemen Data Project, a group of academics, human rights organisers and activists, sheds some light on Saudi operations in Yemen and western support, especially US and British, for Riyadh.

For the UK, this support comes with arms sales to Saudi Arabia worth more than 3.3 billion since the Saudi air campaign began in March 2015.

Saudi Arabia has disputed the Yemen Data Project figures, describing them as vastly exaggerated, and challenged the accuracy of the methodology, saying that some buildings might have been schools a year ago, but were now being used by rebel fighters.

Since January 2015, Yemen has been the scene of a bloody civil war opposing the countrys Sunni elites led by former President Hadi, backed by Riyadh, and Shia Houthi rebels, who are close to Iran.

In March 2015, a Saudi-led Arab coalition began attacking the rebels, sparking criticism from the United Nations over heavy casualties, including many children.

So far, some 10,000 people, including more than 3,700 civilians, have been killed, and at least 2.5 million have been displaced.

The independent and non-partisan survey, based on open-source data, including research on the ground, recorded more than 8,600 air attacks between March 2015 and the end of August 2016. Of these, 3,577 were listed as having hit military sites and 3,158 struck non-military sites, plus 1,882 sites whose nature remains unknown.

The Yemen Data Project has chosen to focus exclusively on the impact of the air campaign rather than fighting on the ground  even though Houti also carried out atrocities towards civilians  citing the difficulty of gaining access to frontline fighting and impartial information.

Its findings are based on information and eye-witness accounts to the repeated attacks against schools and hospitals, and will add to demands for an independent investigation by the United Nations.

In one case, a school building in Dhubab, Taiz governorate, was hit nine times. A market in Sirwah, Marib governorate, was struck 24 times.

The Saudi-led coalition hit more non-military sites than military in five of the past 18 months. In October 2015, the figures were 291 versus 208; in November, 126 versus 34; December, 137 versus 62; February 2016, 292 versus 139, and March, 122 versus 80.

Over the course of the war, the survey lists 942 attacks on residential areas, 114 on markets, 34 on mosques, 147 on school buildings, 26 on universities and 378 on transport.

Interviewed during a visit to London, the Saudi foreign minister, Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, portrayed the Saudi air force as professional and armed with precision weapons.

At the same time, he said that the Houthis had turned schools and hospitals and mosques into command and control centres as well as weapons depots in a way that they are no longer civilian targets. They are military targets.
The global aviation industry has come to an agreement this week to curb carbon emissions starting in 2021. About 191 members of the International Civil Aviation Organization, including the U.S., agreed to a voluntary program to cap emissions at 2020 levels for the initial five years of the program, with mandates beginning in 2027, The Wall Street Journal reported. Airlines, which spent more than $180 billion on fuel in 2015, could be spending anywhere from $5 billion to nearly $24 billion to comply with emissions limits in 2035, ICAO said. Among the potential costs are purchasing credits when exceeding the limits, according to the Journal report. The pact, called the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, was signed at an ICAO gathering in Montreal on Thursday. It parallels agreements the aviation industry made a year ago in Geneva, along with the Paris climate treaty signed by members of the United Nations.

How U.S. airlines will adjust and how much they will spend on carbon offsets remains to be seen, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in the Journal report. Also unknown will be the state of the fuel markets in the coming years. The International Air Transport Association said in a statement that the agreement is historic. The CORSIA agreement has turned years of preparation into an effective solution for airlines to manage their carbon footprint, IATA said. This agreement ensures that the aviation industrys economic and social contributions are matched with cutting-edge efforts on sustainability. The Washington-basedGeneral Aviation Manufacturers Association, which is part of an international consortium representing the aviation industry, said the agreement includes exemptions for small businesses and aircraft. GAMAs member companies that manufacture business aircraft, engines, avionics, and components worked hard to achieve an agreement that will balance the industrys continued economic growth with the need to address international aviation CO2 emissions,GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said.
8 October 2016 12:13 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Armenias armed forces have 21 times violated the ceasefire on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops over the past 24 hours, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported on October 8.

Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns.

The Azerbaijani army positions underwent fire from the Armenian positions located near the Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, Ashagi Veyselli and Gorgan villages of the Fuzuli district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of the Goygol, Tartar, Goranboy, Fuzuli, Khojavand and Jabrayil 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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 10:38 (UTC+04:00)

By 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 on October 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 October 7 is 1.6036 AZN/USD) in January-August 2016. Some 344.8 million manat accounted for the export of Azerbaijani goods to France.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 11:45 (UTC+04:00)

By 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, on October 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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

By 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 on October 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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 16:26 (UTC+04:00)

Pakistan fully support Azerbaijan on settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, this support would further continue, said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as he met the country`s Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Alizade, Azertac reported.

Ali Alizade conveyed greetings and best wishes of President Ilham Aliyev to the Pakistani Premier. The Ambassador highlighted developing relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, as well as support of both countries within the international organizations. The diplomat stressed the role of presidents of both countries in developing these ties. Mr. Alizade said humanitarian and social projects carried out under the initiative and support of Azerbaijan`s first lady, president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva in various regions of Pakistan contributed to developing fraternal ties between the two nations.

Nawaz Sharifm, in turn, asked the Ambassador to communicate his greetings and esteem to President Ilham Aliyev. The Premier praised Azerbaijani-Pakistani ties, as well as relations between the two nations. The Prime Minister said there were wide opportunities for development of trade-economic relations.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 11:00 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan`s Parliamentary delegation has visited the country`s Embassy to Georgia, Azertac reported.

Ambassador Azer Huseyn spoke about friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as integration of compatriots to Georgian society. The Diplomat highlighted strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Georgia.

They discussed developing prospects of inter-parliamentary ties between the two countries.

The parliamentary delegation visited Georgia to observe the parliamentary elections.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 11:28 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will pay an official visit to the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on October 9-11, Azertac reported.

As part of the visit, FM Mammadyarov will meet with officials of the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein, as well as will sign a number of documents for expansion of the legal-treaty base between Azerbaijan and Switzerland.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 13:38 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Georgian nationals are voting in the parliamentary elections at a polling station opened in Azerbaijans capital.

On the eve of the parliamentary elections in Georgia, a polling station was created in the Georgian embassy in Baku for the participation of the countrys nationals, who resides or works in Azerbaijan, in the elections, the embassy told Trend on October 8.

The polling station was opened at 08:00 local time (UTC/GMT+4) and the voting will continue until 20:00.

The results of the voting will be sent to Georgias Central Election Commission.

Parliamentary elections are being held in Georgia Oct. 8. There are 150 seats in the countrys legislative body. Members of the parliament (MP) are elected for a term of four years. Elections are held on a mixed electoral system  77 people are elected on party lists (on the proportional system), 73 MPs  on single-seat electoral districts (on the majority system).

This is the first parliamentary elections after the entry into force of constitutional amendments that limit the president's rights and extend the powers of the prime minister and parliament.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 13:50 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will make an official visit to Azerbaijan on October 13-15, a diplomatic source told Trend on October 8.

High-level discussions on the prospects of development of bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan are expected during the visit.

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.

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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 12:25 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan`s Minister of Energy Natig Aliyev will participate in the informal talks of OPEC member countries on oil output to be arranged in Turkey. The talks will be held as part of the World Energy Congress, Azertac reported.

The World Energy Congress, being World Energy Councils global flagship event is the premier international, multi-energy forum for participants to better understand energy issues and solutions from a global perspective.

The 23rd World Energy Congress will enable dialogue among Energy Ministers and leaders from business, finance and academia around the world who will seek options for delivering sustainable energy systems on national, regional and global levels during dedicated sessions including the World Energy Leaders, the Future Energy Leaders and the Energy Trilemma Summits.

The event will bring together more than 10.000 top world leaders in the field of energy, coming from industry, governments, and international organizations, as well as the media, universities and energy industry associations in a unique and wonderful city Istanbul which is a bridge connecting not only East and West, but also the past and the future.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 15:38 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The Azerbaijani delegation, consisting of representatives of Finance Ministry, State Oil Fund (SOFAZ), and the Southern Gas Corridor CJSC, took part in the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Washington, said Azerbaijani Finance Ministry in a message on October 8.

The delegation led by the countrys Finance Minister Samir Sharifov held discussions related to the financing of the Southern Gas Corridor project during the visit.

The message says that a video message of the US President Barack Obama was shown and the current situation in the world economy and main directions of its development, sustainable and balanced development strategy, poverty eradication, improvement of financial markets, effectiveness of financial aid, as well as the challenges facing the global economy were discussed during the meetings closing ceremony, which was attended by high-ranking representatives of member countries of the IMF and WB, international financial institutions, representatives of civil society and private sector.

During Sharifovs working meetings, which were held within the event, with WB Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Cyril Muller, CEO and Executive Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Keiko Honda, Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Pim Van Ballekom, Vice Presidents of the Asian Development Bank Wencai Zhang and Diwakar Gupta, as well as with representatives of several authoritative commercial banks, issues related to the second phase of development of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz gas and condensate field, the participation of the above-mentioned organizations in the financing of the Southern Gas Corridor project, which envisages the transportation of the Shah Deniz gas, and other prospects of cooperation were discussed, according to the message.

During the visit, the Azerbaijani delegation also held meetings with the US Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Charles Rivkin, Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US State Department Amos Hochstein and Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development at the US Department of the Treasury Marisa Lago.

During these meetings, the development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation, continuation of strategic cooperation in the energy sector were discussed and Azerbaijans praise regarding the US government support for the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project was noted, the importance of attempts and ongoing work for the promotion of transcontinental transportation through Azerbaijan was highlighted, and an exchange of views was held on transnational projects and other issues within the close cooperation with international financial institutions, said the message.

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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 17:27 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

An unofficial OPEC meeting could thrash out some of the details of the proposed new quota system, according to the analysts of the UK Capital Economics consulting company.



But we are sceptical that anything of substance will emerge, analysts said in a report obtained by Trend.



Earlier, Algerian Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa said that OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers plan an informal meeting in Istanbul Oct. 8-13 to discuss how to implement a production deal OPEC members reached in Algiers last month.



In September, OPEC producers agreed during the informal meeting to cut down the oil output to 32.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from current production of 33.24 million bpd.



How much each country will produce is to be decided at the next formal meeting of OPEC in November.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 10:18 (UTC+04:00)

By 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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 16:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held a meeting dedicated to the upcoming commissioning of the first phase of the transnational railway trunk - Asia international railway transportation corridor, the Turkmen government said in a message on October 8.

This is the construction of the Atamyrat-Imamnazar (Turkmenistan)  Akina (Afghanistan) section. The completion of the construction and installation work is scheduled for early November 2016.

It is expected that the transportation corridor passing through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, will have an access to China's extensive rail network and through it - to the rapidly developing states of the Asia-Pacific region.

Big socio-economic impact of the routes commissioning is expected in Afghanistan, wrote the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news service.

In that place, where the transnational railway trunk is being built, road, power lines, energy pipelines are built simultaneously, said the service.

As part of the first phase of the project, the 85-kilometer part of the Atamyrat-Imamnazar section has been built in Turkmenistan. Total length of the railway is 88 kilometers. The section between Imamnazar and Akina border posts is three kilometers.

The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway will be the next golden link of the Asia railway corridor, which, in turn, will be the most important segment of the international network of transportation communications between the two parts of the vast continent  Europe and Asia, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reports.

Meanwhile, the commissioning of a terminal for receiving, storage and shipping of oil products is expected in November at the Imamnazar customs post.

President Berdimuhamedov also noted during the meeting that the development of the international transportation corridors meets Turkmenistans economic interests.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
8 October 2016 18:00 (UTC+04:00)

Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak plans to meet OPEC representatives and European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic in Istanbul, according to TASS.

The World Energy Congress will be held in Istanbul on October 9-13.

"Yes, well meet with OPEC Secretary General (Mohammad) Barkindo and with other ministers (of OPEC member-states - TASS) in Istanbul. Currently, time schedules and agreements on meetings are being clarified. All issues will be discussed. Obviously, this is one of the key topics (the Algiers decisions - TASS), well also delve into the issue during the talks with our colleagues and other ministers," Novak said.

When asked about the meeting with Sefcovic, the Minister said that "the date has not been agreed on yet, but the meeting may be held in Istanbul."

Earlier Novak said that the agreed tentative date for the meeting with Sefcovic in Moscow is October 14. The energy dialogue between Russia and the European Union (EU) and infrastructure for Russias gas supplies to Europe are expected to be the main issues on the top of the agenda.

Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino said earlier that Russia would join the talks between ministers of OPEC member-states in Istanbul. According to Bloomberg news agency, the meeting will be attended by ministers of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Gabon, Qatar and UAE as well as Russias Energy Minister.

Del Pino said that the meeting would focus on the discussion of participation of non-OPEC countries in implementation of the agreement on crude production cap reached by OPEC members.

Earlier Reuters reported with reference to Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Bouterfa that the meeting of representatives of OPEC member-states and non-OPEC members would be held in Istanbul on October 8-13.

On September 28, OPEC member-nations reached an agreement to limit the average daily oil production to 32.5-33 mln barrels at the informal meeting within the International Energy Forum in Algiers.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Whats up, forex friends?

The September NFP report came out yesterday, and the Greenback tanked as a result.

Wait, what? What happened? Well, time to find out!

Another downside surprise for employment

September non-farm payrolls: 156K vs. 170K expected

August non-farm payrolls: upgraded from 151K to 167K

July non-farm payrolls: downgraded from 275 to 252K

I told yall in my Forex Preview for the September NFP report that The leading labor indicators seem to lean more towards a possible downside surprise. In addition, I also pointed out that like the August period, payroll numbers for the September period tend to be lower due to seasonal adjustments and that the actual seasonally-adjusted reading tends to miss expectations.

Finally, I also said that on the brighter side of things, seasonal adjustments also mean that the previous reading usually gets an upgrade. Well, it looks like I was right on the mark for each and every one!

For starters, non-farm payrolls only increased by 156K in September, missing expectations of a 170K increase.

The actual, seasonally-adjusted reading for September also happened to be much lower than the unadjusted reading.

And finally, the previous reading for August was upgraded from 151K to 167K, which also means that non-farm employment increased at a slower pace in September compared to August.

One thing I didnt cover in the preview, though, was the NFP reading for July. And unfortunately, that was revised lower from 275K to 252K.

Also, if we take the upgraded reading for August and the downgraded reading for July together, we actually get a net loss of 7K jobs from all those revisions, which is obviously bad.

Earnings picked up, but

Average hourly earnings m/m: 0.2% vs. 0.3% expected, 0.1% previous

Average hourly earnings y/y: 2.6% vs. 2.4% previous

Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% month-on-month, picking up the pace from the previous months 0.1% increase. However, this is below the 0.3% increase that many analysts were expecting. Year-on-year, this translates to a 2.6% increase, which is faster than the 2.4% increase back in August.

Looking at the details of the NFP report, the pickup in wage growth was likely due to the 0.24% increase in hourly wages for the entire private service sector, given that the said sector accounts for 71.13% of total employment.

As for what drove the increase in wages in the service sector, the education and health services (+0.31% to $25.81) and the leisure and hospitality industry (+0.60% to $15.07) appear to be the main drivers, since these two industries account for 26.51% of total employment. It also helped that the higher-paying professional and technical services industry was one of the main job creators in September, generating 29.9K new jobs.

Jobless rate worsened

Jobless rate: ticked higher to 5.0% vs. steady at 4.9% expected

Labor force participation rate: ticked higher to 62.9% vs. steady at 62.8% expected

After holding steady at 4.9% for three months straight, the jobless rate finally deteriorates by ticking higher to 5.0% in September.

On a more upbeat note, the uptick in the jobless rate was likely due to the labor force participation rate climbing higher from 62.8% to a six-month high of 62.9%. This is great news because it means that working-age Americans who left the labor force for whatever reasons are getting encouraged to rejoin the labor force.

Unfortunately, the number of unemployed Americans also climbed higher by 90K to 7,939K, which means that the U.S. economy wasnt able to handle the influx of new and returning workers.

Final Thoughts

The September NFP report missed expectations across the board once again. And quite naturally, the market reacted by dumping the Greenback also across the board.

Despite being a miss, however, non-farm employment was still above the 100K needed to keep up with the working-age population growth, so the NFP reading was still relatively good. Heck, voting FOMC members even came out of the woodworks to say how good it was.

Fed Governor Stanley Fischer, for example, said that the NFP reading for September was pretty close to the Goldilocks number needed for a rate hike. Meanwhile, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said that Its a solid labor report and that This is very consistent with what we [the Fed] expected to see. Not to be left out, Kansas City Fed President Esther L. George also said that the September reading was encouraging and suggests the momentum is continuing.

Do note, however, that all three Fed officials have shown some hawkish bias in the recent past, so their statements dont necessarily reflect what the other FOMC members think. Heck, Mester and George even wanted a 25 bps rate hike during the September FOMC statement, so all the more reason not to buy into what they say too much.

Nevertheless, the hawkish rhetoric and the fact that the September reading was above the 100K floor were apparently enough to entice some Greenback bulls to start buying up the Greenback, as the odds of a December rate hike jumped from 63.4% to 70.8% shortly after the NFP report was released before finally settling at 65.1%.

However, the Greenback already climbed a great deal during the course of the week, so some profit-taking likely took place.

In addition, rate hike expectations for November were crushed from a 14.5% probability to just 8.3%, according to the CME Groups FedWatch Tool.

Anyhow, its highly likely that the two aforementioned factors were the main reasons why the bulls attempt to send the Greenback higher was ultimately defeated.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 76F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low 54F. Winds light and variable.
BERLIN - Police have blocked a residential area in Chemnitz in eastern Germany on Saturday morning for a suspected explosive attack, local media reported.

A house in the area has been evacuated. "There is a suspected planned explosive attack," said a police spokesperson from Dresden, capital city of the German state of Saxony.

"Now we have a dangerous situation in Fritz-Heckert area in Chemnitz and police officers are deployed at the scene," local police authorities said in an update on its twitter account.
Prison guards in downtown Beaumont took bribes from a Gulf Cartel leader, and at least one supervisor at the privately run prison arranged to make millions off planning the inmate's escape, according to court documents.

Donald Turk, a former prison officer at the LaSalle-run corrections facility in Beaumont, has pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme and is awaiting sentencing.

A new indictment charging three others was filed Wednesday.

Donald Kelly, a shift supervisor at LaSalle, is charged with two counts of bribery of a public official and one count of providing an inmate with a prohibited object.

Darwin Barlow, described in court documents as "a relative" of Kelly's, is charged with aiding and abetting the bribe and with making a false statement to a federal agent. Ledarris Limbrick, named in documents as "a relative of Barlow by marriage," is accused of aiding and abetting the bribe.

In January 2015 - eight days before Juan Saenz-Tamez told a federal judge he generated $100 million smuggling cocaine and marijuana from Mexico - the cartel leader was found trying to flush a cellphone down the toilet of his prison cell, court documents show.

Saenz-Tamez told investigators Kelly was to be paid $5,000 for the cellphone and $2.5 million for helping organize the escape. Saenz-Tamez had the phone for less than a week.

Turk told FBI agents that Kelly offered him $300,000 to help Saenz-Tamez escape. He declined the offer but lied about the planned "bust out" scheme when confronted by LaSalle staff.

Kelly charged Saenz-Tamez $3,000 a night to use the cellphone, Turk told FBI agents.

Limbrick and Saenz-Tamez's wife in Mexico arranged wire transfers, some of which fell through, the documents stated.

Saenz-Tamez arrived at the LaSalle facility on Oct. 15, 2014, six days after federal agents arrested him while he shopped near the Reynosa, Mexico border, where the cartel is based. LaSalle operates the Beaumont prison on a federal contract. Prisoners awaiting trial and court hearings are housed there.

Kelly, 43, and Turk, 44, were both correction officers there.

Barlow, 40, bought the cellphone on Dec. 27, 2014, at a Family Dollar store on 11th Street, court documents stated.

According to documents, Turk was supposed to keep the phone in his possession when Saenz-Tamez was not using it and smuggle the phone in and out of the prison each day.

That was to defeat the tracking function, Turk admitted in a document supporting his guilty plea.

"Turk was aware that clandestinely bringing the (phone) into and out of the LaSalle corrections facility was a violation of facility rules," the document stated. "But he did not immediately inform LaSalle corrections staff of this violation."

Saenz-Tamez, 25, pleaded guilty to drug distribution and money laundering in Jan. 13, 2015. He cooperated with the bribery investigation. He was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. Kelly and Barlow are scheduled for arraignment Oct. 25.

Limbrick is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/BrandonKScott
To continue following the latest news and information for Bedfordshire and surrounding areas, simply enter your full postcode below
A tax of 13 on flights leaving Northern Ireland is giving the Republic of Ireland an advantage over the region, airport bosses have claimed.

The intervention came as Dublin Airport revealed it had a record 1.2 million passengers from Northern Ireland last year - a 37% increase on the previous 12 months.

The 1.2 million figure counts people leaving from and returning to the airport.

The airport said the "significant increase in passengers from Northern Ireland choosing to use Dublin Airport was due in part to a further expanded route network", including extra seats and new links.

Dublin Airport's chief communications officer, Paul O'Kane, added: "Passengers from Northern Ireland love the choice, convenience and value that Dublin Airport offers, with its extensive long-haul and short-haul route network and high-frequency connections to a huge number of destinations."

The airport also announced that more than two-thirds of all passengers visiting Northern Ireland who came by plane travelled through Dublin during the past year.

The number of people flying through Belfast City Airport to European destinations recently reached a record high, but its domestic routes have taken a hit.

And in the first eight months of this year, Belfast International Airport handled 3.38 million passengers.

A spokesman for Belfast City Airport said that while it had seen constant growth, the impact of air passenger duty (APD) was continuing to act as a drag on passenger numbers.

"Belfast City Airport has enjoyed sustained passenger growth in recent years, smashing our annual international passenger record in August this year and welcoming over 2.7 million passengers in 2015," he added.

"That figure will rise again in 2016, buoyed by the introduction of the successful daily KLM service to Amsterdam and the launch of our five times weekly service to Brussels.

The airport said there had also been increased frequency in its European summer services, which includes its Alicante route.

"We remain focused on bringing major new airlines and routes to Belfast City Airport," the spokesman added.

"Our accessible location also continues to prove a major attraction to passengers travelling to London and across the UK.

"That said, there's no denying that APD continues to put the region at a disadvantage to the Republic of Ireland, and we will continue to campaign for a resolution to APD that puts the local tourism industry on a level playing field with the rest of the island of Ireland."

This summer, it was revealed that Dublin Airport was the fastest growing major airport in Europe during the first six months of this year.

The data from ACI Europe, the trade association for European airports, showed passenger numbers at Dublin increased by 13.4% in the first half of the year.

That made it the leading performer among top tier European airports, which have more than 25 million passengers passing through them each year.

Last year, the airport saw record numbers, with 25 million passengers.

A third passenger terminal could be needed as soon as 2020, the Republic's Department of Transport believes. A department official also clarified that a review of the airport will not include an analysis of a new runway, which the department said will go ahead as planned.
Andy Serkis says motion-capture acting is no different to putting on make-up

Andy Serkis has called for motion-capture acting to be recognised by the Oscars.

The British actor, best known for playing Gollum in Lord Of The Rings and Caesar in the recent Planet Of The Apes films, said computer-animated performances should be considered in the Academy Award acting categories because they were no different than actors "wearing costume and make-up".

He told the Press Association: "I'm really seriously not worried about it for myself, but in terms of what it means to the art and craft of acting, I think it should.

"I don't think there's any difference between acting in a performance-captured role or acting in a live-action role, wearing costume and make-up. It's exactly the same process.

"I don't see why it shouldn't be included in the acting categories. It's not like the core of the performance is changed."

Serkis, 52, said improvements in computer animation technology meant motion capture was now "even more like the original source performance".

He added: "I don't get the argument that, 'Oh well, there's a big team of people that augment the performance' because that's not really what happens, any differently to a make-up team putting make-up on an actor and making them look different."

Serkis was appearing at New York Comic Con where he discussed his latest motion capture role in War For The Planet Of The Apes, which is due out next summer.

He previously starred in the 2011 film Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and 2014's Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes. He also used motion capture technology to portray King Kong in Peter Jackson's 2004 film.

Serkis will make his directorial debut with Jungle Book, a live-action version of Rudyard Kipling's classic tale, which features motion capture performances from himself as Baloo, Christian Bale as Bagheera, Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, Tom Hollander as Tabaqui and Cate Blanchett as Kaa. The film is due out in 2018.
Holywood, famed for its glamorous wives, army barracks and strict pub landlord (The Maypole), is now home to a new restaurant.

Created by chef Pearson Morris and manager Saul McConnell, Noble promises to reinvigorate the town. McConnell has the charm of Jay Gatsby and is worshipped by many.

A former manager in the Michael Deane empire, he has taken the plunge with business partner Pearson (formerly of Eipic) and opened the new place in what once was Iona in Holywoods Church Road.

The health food shop on the ground floor is still there but a new magic has enveloped the first floor with the arrival of McConnell and Morris's crew which includes head server Mark Sallye following months of speculation, waiting for liquor licences and restless anticipation.

Access to the creaking floor is tricky so anyone with mobility issues will find the challenge hard going. But once youre ensconced at your table in the tiny but elegant dining room, the sense of occasion and general well-being is intense. This is because McConnell, former holder of the Best Restaurant Manager in Ireland, knows how to do the hospitality thing very well indeed.

Three visits in recent days, two for lunch and one for dinner, left me in no doubt that there are no teething problems and that Pearson Morris is perfectly capable of being left to his own devices in the kitchen.

Simple menus display two things: a cautious approach which will not upset the refined Holywood folk, and a degree of innovation which will get the Reiss and Jig Saw set out of Belfast to see what the fuss is about.

But first, in case you think youre going to be cleaned out, lunches are only 20 for three courses (15 for two). If you were in Paris or New York and saw those prices-to-quality ratios, youd never be out of the place. A lunch choice of three starters, three, mains and three desserts is supplemented by plats du jour.

A starter of tempura Strangford oysters for 13 for 6 comes with pickled cucumber. Normally I steer clear of cooked oysters preferring them cold and raw to maximise that briny flavour. Yet cooked as these are, the flavour of the oysters is concentrated and enhanced, melting warmly in your mouth as the brittle, salty tempura cracks and crumbles.

Among the menu starters are chicken liver parfait with plum chutney and brioche, squash soup, beurre noisette, sage and seeds (squash always needs a big support act) and truffle and parmesan risotto. The risotto is homely comfort in a bowl, warm, savoury and lightened by some golden girolles found nearby by Pearson.

Among the mains are a Moroccan style baked beetroot with mojo sauce, couscous, yoghurt and walnut, a Holywood-calibrated chicken breast with barley, chard and lemon and hake which comes with baby vegetables. All are perfect renditions and joyful affairs, light and easy for lunch but worthy of a decent wine.

The days special is hake and McConnell suggests a South African chenin blanc which is aromatic, fragrant, light and puts an entirely unexpected spin on the rest of the afternoon which requires taxis and excuses. Sometimes when the moment is that good, you have to drop everything.

A few days later I return with the advisor for dinner. Gone are the gentle early afternoon whispers. Instead, the sound levels are at level nine, McConnell is very busy with the cork screw and the rattle of pans is now barely audible in the nearby open kitchen.

This is the vibe of a good restaurant, that magical atmosphere which can only be created when people, servers, good food and environment come together, following the same happy screenplay, generating a hum of joy.

Main specials include a 12oz Picanha cut steak, Wicklow venison with parsley root, girolles and cavolo nero or 70-day salt aged sirloin. Whod have thought any meat could survive more than two months! Yet the advisor claims it to be very special indeed, not like other aged meats, but something more refined, intensely flavourful and buttery in texture. The lick of beef dripping over the sirloin further intensifies that beefiness.

The halibut has a barely perceptible crispy, golden skin and is pearly white within, tangy fresh and warm and full of good cheer.

The night unfolds and the socialites mix with the film makers in the intimate dining room. Its the kind of experience we want to have more often. Which is why people are booking it in multiple dates. Not to be missed.

The bill

Oysters 13.00

Cured salmon 6.50

Sirloin 27.00

Halibut 18.00

Cheese 9.00

Honey parfait 6.00

Fondant 6.00

Glass Fagayra x 3 22.50

Sparkling water 4.00

Total 112.00
Pressure is growing on Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir to disclose how unspent Government cash has been re-allocated at Stormont.

He has been accused of being out of step with Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness as a row over increasing secrecy by the Executive intensifies.

The SDLP has tabled a series of urgent questions after Mr McGuinness insisted he wanted to maintain transparency following claims that Sinn Fein had closed ranks with the DUP to avoid public scrutiny.

Since the smaller Assembly parties, including the Ulster Unionists and Alliance, left the Executive to go into Opposition, they have not been given access to the same level of information on issues such as the regular monitoring round redistribution of departmental money.

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt insisted it did not bode well if the Executive was going to do business with "North Korean levels of secrecy".

Former Alliance minister Stephen Farry also stressed Stormont scrutiny committees were entitled to information on issues they monitor.

Mr McGuinness told the Assembly, however: "We will do everything in our power to ensure that we meet the requirements of (committees).

"Clearly, it is important as we go forward that the programme for government and the budget meet the needs of the committees of the Assembly.

"I, for one, am very determined that the committees are accorded the respect they deserve. They are as much a part of the process as anybody else, and it is very important that they have an input into what we are trying to do."

But in response to a set of written questions, Mr O Muilleoir told the SDLP's Nichola Mallon: "We are now in a radically different environment, particularly with the introduction of an official Opposition.

"The more streamlined Executive, working to a common purpose, is able to agree relative priorities in departments and agree allocations. The formal bidding process which existed before simply encouraged departments to submit wishlists which had little basis in reality."

Mrs Mallon hit back: "The provision of monitoring round information has been a staple of government scrutiny since the restoration of devolution.

"Now the Finance Minister and his Executive colleagues have deliberately chosen to close down accountability surrounding public finances by refusing to provide that information on the grounds that the introduction of an official Opposition changes the environment.

"Unfortunately, it seems that no one told the deputy First Minister because, in answer to questions in the Assembly, he clearly said that such information should be provided, placing him at loggerheads with his party and Executive colleagues.

"This division is either the result of internal Sinn Fein machinations or simply government incompetence. Regardless, it is critical that this information is made available to the public."

In light of Mr McGuinness's comments, the North Belfast MLA has tabled further questions asking when the Finance Minister will present details of both the last re-allocation, in June, and the next, due to get under way this month.

In recent days, the Executive Office failed to send any of its four ministers to respond to an Alliance motion warning public trust is being hit by "ongoing problems with openness and transparency from the Executive".
Grainne (right) with other contestants in The Apprentice

She may have been quiet on the first episode of The Apprentice, but Northern Ireland's Grainne McCoy has said her true, more talkative self will be seen on television in future episodes.

"This very open-minded, opinionated woman will be coming out very soon," the 31-year-old from Newry told the Belfast Telegraph.

Grainne owns a make-up studio and specialises in film and television jobs.

She travels back and forth between Northern Ireland and London for work and has worked on five feature films to date.

Her latest big thing is starring on the 12th series of the BBC reality television show The Apprentice, the first episode of which aired on Thursday.

The instalment saw Grainne keep a low profile, which she attributed to nerves.

"I do believe that me being quiet in week one was just me being terrified," she said.

"It wasn't strategy at all, it was just human nerves. I know after that I got comfortable around everyone and then you'll start seeing the real me."

Grainne, who is familiar with working off-camera on production sets, took some time getting used to being on-camera.

"It was a bit surreal because I had somebody looking at my make-up or somebody holding my bag," she said. "It was strange having someone do something for me."

Grainne was not sure if she would be able to adapt, but she eventually did.

"I actually really enjoy being on the other side of the camera now - I could get used to it," she said.

Her pursuit of a career in the make-up industry has not been all plain sailing. As a single mother with a 15-year-old son, she has had to make sacrifices.

"It was difficult, but thank God for Facetime," she explained.

Grainne's son, Ryan, stays with her mother when she is away in London.

"I'm blessed with him for understanding why I was doing what I was doing," Grainne said. "It would have been different if Ryan was more difficult to handle, but he's a good child - he's a good kid."

So good is Ryan that he has never once complained, even when his mum started on The Apprentice. "He knew why I was doing it and when I told him I was going into it, he said, 'I hope I have the same ambition as you'," Grainne explained.

Even though she had to leave Northern Ireland and work away from her son, the make-up artist "believed that it was going to be worth it and it has paid off".

Grainne has loved make-up from a young age. After she finished school, she took a beauty class, only enjoying the make-up part of the course.

After the class, she realised that if she was going to make it in the film and television industry like she wanted, she was going to have to go to London, where many of the jobs are.

"I could've stayed at home here years ago and not taken a chance, (but) I knew I had to do it if I wanted a career," she said.

Four years ago, Grainne made the move to London, and now that she is in the industry, she loves it.

"Production is an amazing industry to work in... I love it. I actually do love my job," she said.

In the future, Grainne hopes to continue what she enjoys.

"I want to carry on in the make-up industry and potentially, have my own big brand somewhere," she explained.

Grainne is proud to be Northern Ireland's only contestant in this series of The Apprentice.

"I feel really privileged to have a lot of backing behind me in Northern Ireland," she said.

And for future episodes, viewers can look forward to "seeing her speak".

"It is an interesting group of people and I don't think you're going to get bored. Definitely not," she said.
The governor of Hydebank Wood Prison at the time of the death of a young woman has described the night she took her own life as the most traumatic of his career.

Frances McKeown (23), who had a history of mental health issues, killed herself inside the prison in May 2011.

Governor Gary Alcock, who was in charge at the time, took the stand on day five of the inquest into her death yesterday.

It emerged in the court that Frances's parents had only been informed of her death by a media contact the next morning.

Following her death Governor Alcock was removed from his position at the prison amid claims of misconduct but was appointed three years later as the new deputy governor of Maghaberry Prison.

Frances took her own life five hours after Samuel Carson (19) died by suicide in a neighbouring block and on the same night as an attempted suicide.

Governor Alcock, who was on duty that night in May 2011, reported that in his 33 years in the Northern Ireland Prison Service, he had never witnessed any similar situation with two cases of suicide and another attempted.

He said: "It was the most traumatic night of my long 33-year career in the Prison Service and one I won't forget.

"Not only did we have two suicides but we had a third person who was, dare I say it, seconds away from death too."

Governor Alcock told the court how he was concerned about any copycat situations during that same night, and had told all the staff to be on the lookout.

"Due to my experience within the Prison Service I have seen copycat behaviour before when fires have been started, and was concerned about similar behaviour," he added.

Evidence delivered in the court during the week suggested that Frances had been bullied for a "lengthy period of time" by other inmates after she saw one kissing a prison officer.

Governor Alcock said that while he had no direct contact with Frances, he was aware of her allegation regarding the prison officer.

He also said he had received some anti-social behaviour reports on Frances and how she herself was bullying others.

Governor Alcock explained: "A prison officer came to see me early one morning in my office. He appeared to be very nervous and was shaking.

"He told me he had been supervising a number of females during a tea break when he overheard them discussing another male officer who was seen kissing an inmate.

"He decided to come to me about it. I told him I would deal with it and not to discuss it with anyone. I later investigated this as I wanted it proven or dis-proven."

The court heard there was also further concern regarding the contacting of Frances's parents about her death.

Governor Alcock said he had met with Frances's husband, Brian McKeown, in the prison on the night of her death, who promised he was going to phone her parents once he left the prison.

When he discovered Mr McKeown had not carried out this promise, Governor Alcock said he was "devastated" the parents had not been informed.

It emerged that her parents contacted the prison the next morning after being informed via a contact from the Press.

The inquest continues.
A top human rights lawyer who led a review into how Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service (PPS) handled three cases linked to an alleged rape and IRA cover-up has been appointed to the shadow cabinet.

Sir Keir Starmer QC, the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service who stormed out of the shadow cabinet in June, has been invited back as shadow Brexit secretary - a move that will bring on board one of the major moderate figures in the party.

Sir Keir was asked to investigate three connected cases involving sex abuse and terrorist-related charges following claims by Mairia Cahill that she had been raped by an IRA member when she was younger.

DPP Barra McGrory QC apologised after Sir Keir found that the PPS and prosecuting counsel had let the women down.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Keir brings vital experience to this role at what is a crucial time for Britain."

Mr Corbyn is rebuilding his frontbenches after the mass walkout of shadow cabinet members who opposed him in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum in June.

Shami Chakrabarti, the former Liberty director who carried out a controversial investigation into anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, has also been appointed.

Baroness Chakrabarti, who was made a life peer by Mr Corbyn after her report was published, is to be the new shadow attorney general, the Labour leader announced.

Mr Corbyn also handed a major promotion to his long-time ally Diane Abbott, making her shadow home secretary, as he began reshuffling his top team in the wake of his latest leadership victory.

Dozens of posts were left unfilled, with many Corbyn loyalists "double jobbing" in multiple roles.

In a surprise move, the Labour leader made veteran Nick Brown - a long-standing ally of former leader Gordon Brown - chief whip, replacing Rosie Winterton after six years in the role.

Clive Lewis, who only became an MP for the first time last year, has risen sharply through the ranks, from shadow defence secretary to shadow business secretary, replacing Jon Trickett.

Mr Corbyn has so far been resistant to calls from former shadow cabinet members for the body's membership to be decided by a ballot of MPs.

But the appointment of Mr Brown and Sir Keir may be a signal from the Labour leader that he wants to reach out to critics on the backbenches - while those who have previously expressed a lack of confidence in him show they are prepared to return after his landslide re-election by the membership.

However, a number of anti-Corbyn MPs, such as failed leadership challenger Owen Smith, have insisted they could not serve under him.

Mr Corbyn has also appointed Sarah Champion to the role of shadow women and equalities minister, and Jo Stevens as shadow Welsh secretary. Ms Champion was one of dozens of Labour frontbenchers who quit in protest at Mr Corbyn's leadership in June - only to ask for her job back a month later.

Shadow chancellor John McDonell is expected to stay in place.
It was "like a confessional" where secrets could be confided, as well as a safe place where warring politicians could chat like old friends while getting their faces done.

But as the winds of change sweep through Northern Ireland broadcaster UTV following its 100m takeover by ITV this year, the domain of the make-up chair is no more.

While there are 43 job cuts to come in the UTV premises of Havelock House, as revealed in the Belfast Telegraph this week, there has also been a more practical adjustment for presenters, reporters and continuity announcers to make.

The broadcaster has confirmed that the on-screen team on all in-house productions, from UTV Live to Pamela Ballantine's chat show, apply their own make-up.

A spokeswoman confirmed that two casual make-up artists who had tended to guests and presenters for the main 6pm UTV Live news programme and the former 10.30pm current affairs show, UTV Live Tonight - which has now been axed - were no longer being used.

A spokeswoman said UTV had provided make-up workshops for all presenting staff who wished to attend, "although most on-screen staff already apply their own make-up for news bulletins and reporting tasks".

She added: "This system currently works very well in all of the English and Welsh ITV News regions and has for many years.

"Viewers will not notice any difference on-screen."

It is understood that producers will be armed with powder puffs for shine-prone male guests, although female guests are advised to come in wearing their own.

One insider said it was "a real shame" the make-up department had gone. She disclosed that the girls worked miracles with presenters and guests, covering up spots, wrinkles and dark circles.

"They were all skilled and trained professionals who took pride in their work," the source explained. "It's all very well for men to dab a powder puff over a shiny face, but most women would hate to go on TV, under strong and unforgiving studio lights, without full make-up."

She added that make-up artists also played a dual role, and were often able to calm the nerves of a guest before a live show.

"Their domain was like the confessional," the insider explained. "A bit like the hairdresser's chair, people open up and the girls would have been privy to a lot of secrets over the years. But they were always very discreet."

And she said being in a make-up room before a political debate was insightful, as politicians "chatted to each other like old friends while getting their faces done". "You would hear far more interesting news in there than you ever would in the studio," the source added.

Another former contributor reminisced about spending 10 minutes to get their make-up done before going on-screen. "It was always much heavier than your usual make-up, and you'd look like a China doll at the end of it," they explained.

"But that was because the studio lights made you look paler. As the make-up artist used to tell me, that meant you'd need more base and more blusher to stop you looking washed out with the studio lights."

UTV this week confirmed that 43 support jobs are go to at Havelock House, though eight people will be able to put themselves forward for redeployment opportunities in sales, production and news traineeships.

There are currently 138 staff in UTV - meaning around 30% of the workforce is at risk of redundancy.
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.
A 35-year-old man is been quizzed by gardai after the death in Waterford

A 28-year-old man has died after being stabbed in a street attack in Waterford.

A 35-year-old is been quizzed by gardai after the death of the man found in New Street at around 3.20am on Saturday.

Police said the injured man was involved in "an altercation with another male".

A spokesman said: "On arrival at the scene gardai discovered a 28-year-old male had been stabbed. He was taken to Waterford Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

"A 35-year-old male was arrested nearby and is currently detained ... at Waterford Garda Station."

He added that the area was sealed off and urged anyone who saw anything in the New Street and John Street area of the city between 3am and 4am to call the incident room on 051 305300.
A 28-year-old man has died of stab wounds following an altercation with another man in the early hours of the morning.

Gardai arrived at the scene on New Street in Waterford City shortly before 3.30am in response to a call from a member of the public.

The stabbed man was discovered and was then taken to Waterford Regional Hospital.

He was pronounced dead on arrival.

A 35-year-old man was arrested nearby and is currently detained under the provisions of Section 4 of The Criminal Justice Act 1984 at Waterford Garda Station.

The scene is currently preserved for a technical examination and the State Pathologist have been notified.

The Garda Technical Bureau is scheduled to attend the scene this morning.

Gardai wish to appeal to witnesses who may have been in the New Street/ John Street area between 3am and 4am this morning to contact them at the incident room in Waterford Garda Station on 051- 305300, The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
Michael Gove has revealed that David Cameron feels "annoyed and let down" with him because he campaigned against Downing Street over Brexit.

Mr Gove, who was sacked as justice secretary by Theresa May, said he had expected the Leave side to lose the EU referendum in June, and thought Mr Cameron would stay on as prime minister if Brexit won.

The Tory MP admits his former close friendship with Mr Cameron has been put under immense strain by his decision to back Leave.

"I haven't talked to him for a while and, I think - in fact I am pretty certain - he feels annoyed and let down, and that's a shame. Because I have nothing but respect and admiration for him.

''But also, we were in a referendum campaign, I was on a different side, he lost and I think he is entitled to feel anything between upset or more so. I'll always defend him from anyone who criticises him," Mr Gove told The Times.

On referendum night, Mr Gove recalls: "I went to bed thinking that we'd lost, and therefore that David would be prime minister the next day, and for days, months and weeks to come after.

"It's not true that we didn't have a plan for what to do on Britain leaving. It is the case, though, that I didn't have a plan for, or thought what would happen if, David Cameron resigned immediately."

However, Mr Gove states that he and Boris Johnson discussed who would run for Mr Cameron's job in the days leading up to the referendum, adding: "And on the Friday, after the vote, about lunchtime-ish, Boris said, 'Do you want to run? If you do, you know, fair enough.' And I said, 'I don't, really.' And he said, 'Oh, I'm thinking of it. Will you support me?' And I said, 'Can I wait for a day to think about it and let you know?'"

Mr Gove says that Mr Johnson felt "hurt" by his last minute decision to quit his Brexit ally's leadership bid and stand against him.

"I should either not have been so eager to back him in the first place and waited, or, having backed him, even with doubts and concerns, I should have stuck with it.

"But understandably, given the leadership fallout, he felt hurt. But since then, he's been very civilised, actually."

Asked if the pair still speak, Mr Gove said: "Very occasionally. And he's been nothing but gracious."
Disgraced former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning has been jailed for 13 years for child sex abuse.

The prolific paedophile (75) used his fame to groom and attack 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.

Denning 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.
The Bangladesh government has intensified its crackdown on militant groups

Security forces in Bangladesh have killed at least 11 suspected militants in three raids in a continuing crackdown against Islamic extremists, the home minister said.

Asaduzzaman Khan said the operations took place in Gazipur, just outside the capital of Dhaka, and in the central district of Tangail.

Mr Khan said the suspects were members of the banned group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, or JMB.

Bangladesh has recently been hit by Islamist extremists. A July 1 attack at a Dhaka restaurant left 20 hostages dead, including 17 foreigners.

Since that attack, the government has intensified its crackdown on suspected militant groups and killed some JMB leaders.

Officials said the raids began on Saturday morning based on information that militants were in the area.

Some firearms, bullets and meat cleavers were found during the raids, said Mufti Mahmud Khan, a spokesman for the Rapid Action Battalion, which was involved in the raids.

Islamic State has claimed the Dhaka restaurant attack, but authorities have denied that, saying it was JMB, and that IS has no presence in the Muslim-majority country.

AP

Mr Khan said one of the men killed in Gazipur was identified as Akash, a militant who had taken over the JMB's leadership after former leader Tamim Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi Canadian who fought in Syria for Islamic State, was killed with two associates in a raid in August.

Chowdhury was thought to be the top leader of what the security agencies called the "New JMB".

AP
Two suicide bombers have blown themselves up after refusing to surrender to police during an operation on the outskirts of the Turkish capital Ankara, a senior official said.

No one else was killed or hurt in the incident in the district of Haymana.

Governor Erkan Topaca said police, acting on a tip, launched an operation to catch a man and a woman who were suspected of planning a suicide car bombing in Ankara. They were hiding inside a hut at a horse farm.

"Police called on them to surrender. They did not respond in a positive way. They blew themselves up before we could intervene," Mr Topaca told reporters at the scene.

He said it was "highly likely" that the one of them was linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has carried out a series of suicide car bombings over the past year.

"The organisation they are connected to is not clear yet but according to information we have received, it is highly likely that (the man) is linked to the PKK. The way the incident was carried out and planned points at the PKK," he said.

Mr Topaca said the pair would have carried out a suicide car bomb attack although their target was not known. The assailants had hung a Turkish flag on their car, in an apparent attempt to disguise themselves, he said.

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks since last summer which have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on either the PKK or Islamic State.

Fighting between the PKK and state security forces resumed last year after the collapse of a fragile ceasefire. 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.

The deadliest attack took place in Ankara on October 10 last year, killing 103 people at a peace rally - including many Kurdish activists. Authorities blamed that attack on IS.

On Thursday, 10 people were slightly wounded by a bomb mounted on a motorcycle which exploded near a police station in Istanbul. Six people have been detained in connection with the attack, which authorities blamed on the PKK.

AP
Orphaned refugee children among the shelters at the refugee camp at Calais

French villagers are protesting against the arrival of migrants who are being dispersed around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais known as The Jungle.

The site has become a flashpoint in Europe's migrant crisis.

Competing rallies were being held on Saturday in Pierrefeu in south-east France.

The mayor led several hundred people protesting against a government proposal to house migrants in an abandoned wing of a psychiatric hospital while they apply for asylum or study other options.

Left-wing activists held their own, smaller rally to welcome the migrants.

Gendarmes stood watch but the morning gatherings were peaceful. The far-right National Front plans its own anti-migrant protest later in the day.

The National Front is urging mayors to resist the Calais relocation plan and is organising or taking part in protests across the country this month.

Resistance to immigration is central to the campaign platform of National Front leader Marine Le Pen in her bid for the French presidency next year.

National Front politicians were also at a protest on Saturday in Forges-les-Bains south of Paris.

About 200 people marched through town, past the farmers' market, school and town hall to protest against the arrival of about 40 Afghan migrants relocated from Calais to an unused building in their town.

President Francois Hollande has pledged to close the Calais camp before winter and relocate as many as 9,000 migrants living there to 164 sites around France while their cases are examined.

The Calais camp has been an embarrassment to the French government and a symbol of Europe's failure to find solutions to the migrant crisis.

Pierrefeu residents hostile to the migrants say they fear the newcomers will threaten their security, and worry about potential tensions with psychiatric patients.

"Even if we can understand the dismantling of Calais ... our small towns are not the solution for this dismantling.

"We are too small to host so many people," said Mayor Patrick Martinelli.

The government is considering sending up to 60 migrants to this town of 6,000 for up to five months.

The pro-migrant residents called for solidarity.

"I am ashamed because we repress the poorest. They need us, the people who are coming from abroad, and are dying in the seas.

"We have everything here, we are a rich country, we have a rich village," said Pierrefeu resident Laure Paul.

In Forges-les-Bains, villagers largely say they are not hostile to the migrants themselves - they just don't want them in their towns.

Posters at the march read "Not against migrants, but against the state" and "Plan imposed from above = mounting anger."

AP
Being a freelancer has its ups and its downs. On the plus side, I'm my own boss with no-one looking over my shoulder or questioning my time-keeping. As long as I meet my deadlines - and I don't libel anyone in the process - I'm okay.

Also, I don't have a long interminable commute to work every day. In fact I hardly have to move more than a few steps, because my office is a desk in my bedroom. Neither do I have to worry too much about my appearance, because unless I'm out interviewing someone or researching something, nobody sees me from one day to the next. Every day can be dress-down Friday. In fact, technically, I could stay in my pyjamas all day and no-body would be any the wiser. I said technically.

But there are drawbacks, too. Working for oneself can sometimes be isolating, especially now that my sons are both students and living away from home. No office means no colleagues and no colleagues means no chat, no banter and not a single birthday bun. Nevertheless, I love my job as a weekly columnist and that is mainly because of you. The feedback I get from readers makes it all worthwhile and I just wanted to say how much I appreciate all the lovely emails, letters and online comments I've had over the last 10 years. And none more so than in the last fortnight, since I wrote about the loss of our beloved Bailey. In fact, I've been so touched by all your kind words and offers of sympathy and condolence that I've decided to publish just a few extracts.

Mike from Aghadowey wrote: "Hi Frances, I just had to write to you about your lovely article about Bailey. What you said totally and simply summed up the joy and love we have for our pets. I too lost my dog Blue a few years ago and what you said brought it all back again, but in a good way. I can never understand how non 'pet people' can brush off our upset at animal bereavement. I think if they read your article they might understand better."

This one from Roberta: "Just to say how sorry I am to read about the loss of Bailey. He achieved his mission in life and in return was blessed with a family who obviously loved him dearly. You will never forget him." Sam sent this: "What a lovely story about your wee dog Bailey and the circumstances under which you bought him. I have been a widower for two years now and miss my wife very sorely especially in the evenings. I have given some thought to getting a dog for company and now maybe I will, thanks to you."

Gail wrote: "I was so very sorry to read of the sad passing of your beloved friend, teacher, welcomer and consoler - Bailey. My deepest condolences to you all. May he live on in your hearts. Take care and cherish the memories as I know you will." Renee emailed this: "Twenty four years ago I lost my husband to an illness and at that time I too had two teenage sons just like you. The boys missed their dad so much as I did myself. We decided to get a little dog - a Jack Russell called Sparky. He went with me everywhere, licked my tears, played with the boys and filled the house with fun and laughter, just like your Bailey."

Roy from Portstewart said: "Hi Frances, I just had to write a note to tell you how sorry I was to hear about your dear Bailey. I know from reading your column every week how much he meant to you and the boys. He was quite a character and well done to you all for giving him such a lovely life."

And finally, a reader calling himself Ribtickler wrote this: "Whenever I remember my childhood no memory is complete without remembering the dogs that travelled that journey to adulthood with me. They taught me lessons about life, loyalty, friendship and how you can never feel alone when you have a four-legged friend beside you. Now my own sons are travelling that path to manhood, early days yet, but our two dogs are guiding them along filling in the gaps that no human can possibly fill. The only drawback...? our pets don't live long enough, just as childhood does not last long enough. Thanks for making this ol' codger cry."
In today's Belfast Telegraph we publish two inspiring stories. One is about a nurse who went to the aid of an elderly woman taken ill on a flight. The other is about a graduate who went to help a homeless man being abused on a street and was attacked by others

In today's Belfast Telegraph we publish two inspiring stories. One is about a nurse who went to the aid of an elderly woman taken ill on a flight. The other is about a graduate who went to help a homeless man being abused on a street and was attacked by others.

Debbie Wightman, a nurse at the Belfast City Hospital's cancer unit, was on a flight back from Las Vegas when a lady became seriously ill, and Debbie stayed with her throughout the flight to provide help. Without Debbie's assistance, there is no knowing what would have happened to the stricken woman.

In another incident, in Belfast, Gary McKendry went to help a homeless man who was being verbally abused by youths, but he was attacked by one of the thugs for intervening, suffering painful injuries and having his teeth knocked out of place. He is to be commended for showing such kindness and courage. It is no wonder that his relatives are so proud of him.

It is so heartening to realise that there are people out there like Gary and Debbie who do their civic duty.

Just as there were those people who taunted and abused a homeless man , there are also teams of people on our streets each night helping others.

There are also many groups who are carrying out charitable endeavours, including church groups and those who see their duty in helping others. This is part of what former Prime Minister David Cameron called the "big society", and these people are not often praised enough, although they do not seek plaudits.

What our world would be like if such people were not carrying out such good work? What would be the pressure on the State and its agencies, if all these hard-working and often under-appreciated volunteers withdrew their services?

This hardly bears thinking about, which is all the more reason why we should applaud Debbie Wightman, Gary McKendry and all the other good Samaritans in our midst.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. KENNETH SIMS, Defendant-Appellant. No. 15-15458 Decided: October 07, 2016

Before WILSON, MARTIN and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.

Kenneth Sims appeals his 120-month sentence after pleading guilty to five counts of robbery under the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C.  1951(a), on the grounds that the district court's 120-month sentence, an upward variance, was both procedurally and substantively unreasonable. On appeal, Sims argues that his sentence is procedurally unreasonable because the district court failed to adequately explain its sentence by not providing a sufficiently compelling justification for its major variance from the 70  87 month range provided for in the United States Sentencing Guidelines (Guidelines). Additionally, Sims argues that his sentence is substantively unreasonable because the court did not give proper consideration to the factors in 18 U.S.C.  3553(a), and because the sentence is greater than necessary to fulfill the statutory purposes of sentencing. After careful review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm.

I. Background

Over an eight-week span, Sims committed a total of five separate robberies, of three different Family Dollar Stores. Sims, an employee of another Family Dollar Store location, revealed that he committed these robberies to buy drugs. The first robbery occurred in late November, when he approached a store employee demanding money. His hand was underneath his shirt, implying that he had a firearm and in fear for her life, the employee complied and handed over the money. Two weeks later, in early December, Sims proceeded to rob a second Family Dollar Store locationtwicein one day. Both times, he held an object that resembled a gun, and demanded money from the employee. Twelve days later, on Christmas Day, Sims again entered the first of the three stores he robbed. He pointed an object that resembled a gun, at a store employee and demanded money. Finally, in early January shortly after the fourth robbery, Sims robbed a third Family Dollar Store location. However, this time when Sims approached the employee, pretending that he was armed, she was tending to a customer. While the employee fearfully stepped away with her hands raised in the air, Sims walked around to the register and took the cash and the customer fled the store and called the police.

In each of the five robberies, Sims entered one of three stores, threatened and demanded money from a frightened employee, while pretending to be armed. In total, Sims stole over $800.00 from three different Family Dollar Store locations. After Sims was apprehended, he pled guilty and agreed to pay restitution.

II. Procedural Reasonableness

We review the reasonableness of a sentence under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51, 128 S. Ct. 586, 597 (2007). In reviewing whether a sentence is procedurally unreasonable, we determine whether the district court erred in calculating the guideline range, treated the Guidelines as mandatory rather than advisory, failed to consider the 18 U.S.C.  3553(a) factors, selected a sentence based on clearly erroneous facts, or failed to adequately explain the sentence. Id. The party challenging the sentence bears the burden to show it is unreasonable in light of the record and the  3553(a) factors. United States v. Tome, 611 F.3d 1371, 1378 (11th Cir. 2010).

It is well settled that the district court is not required to explicitly discuss on the record each of the  3553(a) factors that it considered. See United States v. Docampo, 573 F.3d 1091, 1100 (11th Cir. 2010). Although there still must be enough set forth by the district court to ensure that it imposed a sentence with a reasoned foundation, a district court's acknowledgement that it considered the  3553(a) factors is sufficient. Also, it must explain any deviation from the Guidelines range. See Gall, 552 U.S. at 50, 128 S. Ct. at 597; see also United States v. Livesay, 525 F.3d 1081, 1090 (11th Cir. 2008).

Sims's sentence is procedurally reasonable. Sims first asserts that the district court failed to adequately explain the sentence because the court failed to give a sufficiently compelling justification for the major variance in sentencing. Sims notes that the 38% variance requires a more significant justification than the one that was given by the district court. Second, Sims asserts that at the sentencing hearing, the court improperly focused on two factors: the fact that he committed five robberies and the fact that in each of them, the employees and the patron felt threatened. The argument is premised on the notion that they were already accounted for within the Guidelines range and thus cannot be used to justify the variance. These arguments are without merit. The court satisfied its obligation because it need only ensure that the justification is sufficiently compelling to support the degree of variance  [and] adequately explain the chosen sentence to allow for meaningful appellate review and to promote the perception of fair sentencing. See Gall, 552 U.S. at 50, 128 S. Ct at 597. Accordingly, the record reflects that the district court warranted a justification that was sufficiently compelling because it adequately explained the justification and the deviation from the Guidelines. Specifically, the court repeatedly stated that, after consideration of the relevant  3553(a) factors and the parties' arguments, which proved to be successful as the court revealed it initially was prepared to impose a higher sentence, that it believed that the Guidelines range was inappropriate given the circumstances. The court subsequently imposed a higher sentence, outside of the Guidelines range, that it felt would be sufficient, but not greater than necessary. Further, the court highlighted several of the  3553 factors that it specifically relied on in imposing the sentence. In addition to pointing out the nature and seriousness of the offensesfive robberies in which individuals were threatened and led to believe that Sims was armedand the need to further promote respect for the law, the court noted that the variance would provide just punishment for the offense, deter criminal conduct, and protect the public from the defendant's future crimes. See 18 U.S.C.  3553(a)(2). Furthermore, in deciding whether or not to impose a variance, the court is not required to provide an explanation independent of the factors that are also considered when the court calculates the Guidelines range; that is, the court may rely on those same factors to set the applicable Guidelines range and to justify an upward variance. United States v. Rodriguez, 628 F.3d 1258, 1264 (11th Cir. 2010). Based on this record, the district court fulfilled its obligation to explain its sentence.

III. Substantive Reasonableness

As stated before, we review the reasonableness of a sentence under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. Gall, 552 U.S. at 51, 128 S. Ct. at 597. Under this standard, we will not set aside a sentence merely because we would have decided that another one is more appropriate; we need only ensure that the district court's sentence is a reasonable one. United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 1191 (11th Cir. 2010) (en banc). A district court abuses its discretion when it (1) fails to afford consideration to relevant factors that were due significant weight, (2) gives significant weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, or (3) commits a clear error of judgement in considering proper factors. Id. at 1189 (internal quotation marks omitted). Furthermore, in reviewing for substantive reasonableness, we examine the totality of the circumstances, including an inquiry into whether the statutory factors in  3553(a) support the sentence in question. United States v. Gonzalez, 550 F.3d 1319, 1324 (11th Cir. 2008) (per curiam). Again, the party challenging the sentence bears the burden of demonstrating that the sentence is unreasonable in light of the entire record and the  3553(a) factors. Tome, 611 F.3d at 1378.

The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing a 120-month sentence even in light of the upward variance. It is well settled that district court is afforded due deference in its sentencing decisions. See Gall, 552 U.S. at 51, 128 S. Ct. at 597. Sims first contends that his sentence is substantively unreasonable because, inter alia, the court did not properly consider his personal history and characteristics, including his motive and lack of prior imprisonment; however, the record reflects differently. The court stated that it considered everything, including the  3553(a) factors, the parties' arguments, the parties' objections, the presentence investigation reportwhich repeatedly presented Sims's personal history, his characteristics, and his drug-related motiveas well as the applicable Guidelines range and all [of] the statutory factors. Additionally, the district court expressly stated that it was initially inclined to impose a 180-month sentence but, in light of Sims's arguments regarding his upbringing and addiction, the court decided that 120 months was sufficient. Specifically, it acknowledged that Sims had a good, supportive family and that drugs led him down this path and likely contributed to his being in the position he is in today. Thus, Sims's argument that the court did not consider relevant factors is frankly unpersuasive. The district court imposed a substantively reasonable sentence after its thorough contemplation of the relevant factors.

Also, Sims contends that the court's upward variance was greater than necessary to fulfill the statutory purposes of sentencing and is thus substantively unreasonable. Given the heavy burden that falls on Sims to demonstrate the unreasonableness of his sentence, this contention is also unpersuasive. It is undisputed that the district court has substantial discretion in weighing the  3553(a) factors and that it may attach greater weight to certain factors as opposed to others as it sees fit. United States v. Williams, 526 F.3d 1312, 1322 (11th Cir. 2008). In doing so, the district court could, within its discretion, find that an upward variance is warranted. Should that occur, as the reviewing court, we may not presume that a sentence outside the [G]uidelines is unreasonable and must give due deference to the district court's decision that the  3553(a) factors, on a whole, justify the extent of the variance.  Irey, 612 F.3d at 1187 (quoting Gall, 552 U.S. at 51, 128 S. Ct. at 597). Here, the district court adequately discussed several of the  3553(a) factors that it found troubling, thereby leading it to impose the upward variance. Specifically, it assigned more weight to the nature and circumstances of the offense because there were five separate robberies on five separate occasions, each with identifiable victims, and to the seriousness of the offense because Sims threatened his victims during each robbery and implied that he was armed. See 18 U.S.C.  3553(a). Following that consideration, the district court concluded that in light of all the circumstances, the Guidelines range was inappropriate and that an upward variance was warranted. Although the 33-month variance was significant, it was reasonable and well within the court's discretion because it was appreciably below the statutory maximum of 20 years' imprisonment, which is an indication of reasonableness. See 18 U.S.C.  1951(a). See Gonzalez, 550 F.3d at 1324. Ultimately, Sims has not met his burden to demonstrate the substantive unreasonableness of his sentence. We may vacate a sentence only if we firmly believe that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in weighing the  3553(a) factors by arriving at a sentence that lies outside the range of reasonable sentences dictated by the facts of the case. Irey, 612 F.3d at 1190 (internal quotation marks omitted). Accordingly, the district court did not abuse its discretion, and we affirm the 120-month sentence as both procedurally and substantively reasonable.

AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

. Also, Sims's argument incorrectly implies that there should be an application of an even more heightened standard, which is unsupported by our precedent and Gall. Furthermore, assuming a  3553 (c) argument, the court still gave specific enough reasons to justify its departure from the Guidelines range. See United States v. Parrado, 911 F.2d 1567, 157273 (11th Cir. 1990). Therefore, the district court more than fulfilled its obligation to adequately explain the sentence in either instance.

PER CURIAM:
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CHRISTIAN RAMIREZ, a.k.a. Joker, Defendant-Appellant. No. 15-12605 Decided: October 07, 2016

Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, TJOFLAT, and WILLIAM PRYOR, Circuit Judges.

Christian Ramirez pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and detectable amounts of marijuana and Methylenedioxymethcathinone (MDMC), in violation of 21 U.S.C.  846, and was sentenced to 121 months imprisonment. He contends that his guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary, that the government breached its plea agreement, and that the sentence is substantively unreasonable.

I.

A second superseding indictment charged Ramirez with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine and detectable amounts of marijuana and MDMC, substantive possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Four months later, without a written plea agreement, he entered into a plea deal with the government. Under the terms of the deal, the government dismissed the second superseding indictment and filed a superseding information charging Ramirez with a single offense: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine and detectable amounts of marijuana and MDMC. Ramirez agreed to and signed the government's factual proffer, stipulating that he distributed over 28 grams of crack cocaine and was responsible [for] up to 840 grams of cocaine base, based on the reasonably foreseeable actions of his co-conspirators. He pleaded guilty that same day.

The presentence investigation report (PSR) calculated Ramirez's guidelines range as 121 to 151 months imprisonment, finding him responsible for 280 grams or more of crack cocaine for sentencing purposes. Ramirez objected to that finding, arguing that he should be responsible for only 28 to 112 grams. The government opposed Ramirez's objection, and the district court overruled it. If the court had attributed 28 grams to Ramirez, instead of 280, it would have reduced his base offense level by four levels.

II.

Ramirez contends that the district court plainly erred by finding that his guilty plea was knowing and voluntary because he did not understand the sentencing consequences of the plea. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 requires that the judge ascertain in open court that the defendant's plea is knowing and voluntary before accepting the plea. Because Ramirez did not raise a Rule 11 challenge or move to withdraw his guilty plea in district court, we review only for plain error.

An appellate court may not correct an error the defendant failed to raise in district court unless there is: (1) error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects substantial rights. United States v. Rodriguez, 398 F.3d 1291, 1298 (11th Cir. 2005) (quoting United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625, 631, 122 S. Ct. 1781, 1785 (2002)). Even if all three of those conditions are met, we may consider a forfeited error only if it seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Id. (quoting Cotton, 535 U.S. at 631, 122 S. Ct. at 1785).

Ramirez contends that he did not understand the consequences of his plea because the district court never explained to him that he could be accountable for the conduct of his co-conspirators. That is simply not true. During the plea colloquy the court told him that the superseding information he was pleading guilty to charged him with possession of 28 grams or more as a result of [his] own conduct, as well as the conduct of other co-conspirators or conspirators reasonably foreseeable to the defendant. And in the factual proffer Ramirez stipulated that he was responsible [for] up to 840 grams of cocaine base, based on the reasonably foreseeable actions of his co-conspirators. The district court did not err by accepting Ramirez's plea as knowing and voluntary.

III.

Ramirez also contends that the government breached its plea deal when it opposed his objection to the PSR. Because he did not raise this issue in district court, it too is reviewed only for plain error. Rodriguez, 398 F.3d at 1298. Ramirez asserts that the factual proffer submitted with his plea established that he was responsible for only 28 grams of crack cocaine. He argues that the government, by accepting that plea deal, was bound to support  or at least not oppose  his objection to the PSR finding that he was responsible for 280 grams or more. This argument fails because the factual proffer actually stipulated that Ramirez was responsible for over 28 grams and up to 840 grams, based on the reasonably foreseeable actions of his co-conspirators.

Along the same lines, he asserts that he received no benefit from his bargain because at sentencing the government argued that he was responsible for 280 grams of crack cocaine  the same amount charged in the second superseding indictment. Not so. First of all, when the government dismissed that indictment and charged him by information, his mandatory minimum sentence was lowered. That is because the crime charged in the superseding information, conspiracy to possess 28 grams or more of crack cocaine, has a mandatory minimum of only five years, compared to a mandatory minimum of ten years for conspiracy to possess 280 grams or more. Second, by dismissing the second superseding indictment the government dropped an 18 U.S.C.  924(c) charge that carried the possibility of a life sentence. Because the government's actions complied with the plea deal and Ramirez did receive significant benefits from the deal, he has not shown that the district court erred, plainly or otherwise.

IV.

Ramirez's final contention is that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. We review the substantive reasonableness of a sentence for abuse of discretion. United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 118889 (11th Cir. 2010) (en banc). We will vacate a sentence as substantively unreasonable if, but only if, we are left with the definite and firm conviction that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in weighing the [18 U.S.C.]  3553(a) factors by arriving at a sentence that lies outside the range of reasonable sentences dictated by the facts of the case. Id. at 1190 (quoting United States v. Pugh, 515 F.3d 1179, 1191 (11th Cir. 2008)).

In determining Ramirez's sentence, the court reasonably considered the  3553(a) factors. The court noted that Ramirez had a history of violent crime, including attempted murder, and firearms offenses. As part of the factual proffer, Ramirez admitted to being a member of a violent drug-dealing gang. And even though he took steps to become employed, selling crack cocaine remained his principal occupation until his arrest. Ramirez asserts that it was unreasonable for the district court to take into account the conduct of his co-conspirators when determining his sentence. But Ramirez himself stipulated that he was responsible for over 28 grams and up to 840 grams of cocaine base, based on the reasonably foreseeable actions of his co-conspirators. It was not a clear error of judgment for the district court to determine that 121 months imprisonment, which was at the bottom of Ramirez's guidelines range, was an appropriate sentence. The district court did not abuse its discretion.

AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

. Ramirez filed a Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28(j) letter brief contending that our recent decision in United States v. Hunter,  F.3d , No. 15-12640, 2016 WL 4490490 (11th Cir. Aug. 26, 2016), supports his claim that the government breached its plea deal. Although we did hold in Hunter that the government breached its plea deal, that case is factually distinct because the government had promised to request on specific grounds a two-level reduction in the applicable sentencing guidelines range, and then at sentencing moved for an upward variance instead. By contrast, the government here fulfilled its promises by dropping two charges and reducing the mandatory minimum applicable to Ramirez.

. Nearly five months after filing his reply brief, Ramirez requested leave to file a supplemental brief. In this brief Ramirez would argue that he is entitled to a mitigating role adjustment under Amendment 794 to the sentencing guidelines. A party abandons a claim if he does not plainly and prominently raise it in his briefs. Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 68081 (11th Cir. 2014) (quoting Cole v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 712 F.3d 517, 530 (11th Cir. 2013)). Amendment 794 became effective in November 2015, well before Ramirez filed his opening brief, and he made no mention of this argument in either his opening brief or his reply brief. It is therefore abandoned and we will not consider it. Ramirez's motion to file a supplemental brief is DENIED.

PER CURIAM:
ein Google-Unternehmen

Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben

Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen

Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen mochten wir verstehen, wie unsere Dienste verwendet werden, und die Qualitat dieser Dienste verbessern.

neue Dienste zu entwickeln und zu verbessern

Werbung auszuliefern und ihre Wirkung zu messen

personalisierte Inhalte anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen

personalisierte Werbung anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen

Wenn Sie Alle ablehnen auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies nicht fur diese zusatzlichen Zwecke.

Nicht personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung werden u. a. von Inhalten, die Sie sich gerade ansehen, und Ihrem Standort beeinflusst (welche Werbung Sie sehen, basiert auf Ihrem ungefahren Standort). Personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung konnen auch Videoempfehlungen, eine individuelle YouTube-Startseite und individuelle Werbung enthalten, die auf fruheren Aktivitaten wie auf YouTube angesehenen Videos und Suchanfragen auf YouTube beruhen. Sofern relevant, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auerdem, um Inhalte und Werbung altersgerecht zu gestalten.

Wir verwenden Cookies und Daten, umWenn Sie Alle akzeptieren auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auch, umWahlen Sie Weitere Optionen aus, um sich zusatzliche Informationen anzusehen, einschlielich Details zum Verwalten Ihrer Datenschutzeinstellungen. Sie konnen auch jederzeit g.co/privacytools besuchen.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. LINDA A. LEE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JOETTE KATZ, in her official capacity as Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, Defendants-Appellees.1 15-3423-cv Decided: October 07, 2016

PRESENT: DENNY CHIN, SUSAN L. CARNEY, Circuit Judges, BRIAN M. COGAN, District Judge.* FOR PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT: LINDA A. LEE, pro se, Milford, Connecticut. FOR DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES: JENNIFER P. BENNETT, Assistant Attorney General (George Jepsen, Attorney General, Ann E. Lynch, Assistant Attorney General, on the brief), Office of the Attorney General, Hartford, Connecticut.

UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

Plaintiff-appellant Linda A. Lee, pro se, appeals from the district court>s judgment entered September 30, 2015 in favor of defendants-appellees Joette Katz, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. On September 30, 2015, the district court granted defendants motion to dismiss with prejudice Lees claims under the Rehabilitation Act, 42 U.S.C.  791 et seq., and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C.  12010 et seq., pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 37(b) and 41(b), for her failure to comply with discovery obligations.

We review a district courts imposition of sanctions, including dismissal, under Rules 37 and 41 for abuse of discretion. Agiwal v. Mid Island Mortg. Corp., 555 F.3d 298, 302 (2d Cir. 2009) (Rule 37); Lewis v. Rawson, 564 F.3d 569, 575 (2d Cir. 2009) (Rule 41). In evaluating a district courts dismissal, we examine, among other things, the following factors: (1) the willfulness of the non-compliant party or the reason for noncompliance; (2) the efficacy of lesser sanctions; (3) the duration of the period of noncompliance[;] and (4) whether the non-compliant party had been warned of the consequences of  noncompliance. Agiwal, 555 F.3d at 302 (quoting Nieves v. City of New York, 208 F.R.D. 531, 535 (S.D.N.Y. 2002)); see also Lewis, 564 F.3d at 576.

We have reviewed the district courts thorough and well-reasoned decision and conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the action with prejudice. The district court carefully reviewed the facts and procedural history and weighed the relevant factors. The district court noted that Lee had been reminded of her discovery obligations and warned of the consequences of non-compliance on numerous occasions. The district court concluded that Lees noncompliance was willful, as she responded directly to discovery obligations by explaining why she was not complying and the reasons she gave were unsupported. The district court found that Lees high degree of intractability and willfulness showed that she was unpersuadable and that dismissal was therefore appropriate. The district court also considered the duration of the noncompliance (from January 2014 through September 2015) and the numerous extensions Lee had been granted.

In light of Lees repeated and willful non-compliance with her discovery obligations and the courts scheduling orders, we conclude that the district court acted within its discretion in dismissing Lees case.

We have considered all of Lees remaining arguments and find them to be without merit. Accordingly, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.

FOR THE COURT:

Catherine OHagan Wolfe, Clerk
Message on a schools exterior wall: We are going to write Right Path is Islam in the Constitution of the Turks!

-

A

+

Current Minister of Education Ismet Ylmaz and former Speaker of the Parliament Bulent Arnc attended the opening ceremony of Cagr Koleji (a private school).

During the ceremony, where students performed Ottoman janissary band and sword-shield (klc-kalkan) shows; and, read poems about July 15 coup attempt, there was also a screening of a film which included verses from the Koran.

Meanwhile, it was observed that a poem of the strictly-reactionist poet Abdurrahim Karakoc was hung on the exterior wall of the school. Titled as the The Right Path is Islam, the poem was ended with a phrase that read We are going to write Right Path is Islam in the Constitution of the Turks!

Source: http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/turk-un-anayasasi-na-islam-yazacagiz-130704.html
Anjan Sundaram

An interview with Anjan Sundaram, author of "Bad news: Last journalists in a dictatorship"

Journalist Anjan Sundarams book on Rwanda exposes a terrifying dictatorship at the heart of Africa that few people get to hear about. Paul Kagame has tremendously succeeded  with the eager help of his western backers - to feed the world a carefully choreographed false narrative. His chilling tyranny is so pervasive and entrenched that Rwandans police themselves unbidden.

Zahra Moloo: What took you to Rwanda and what inspired you to write this book?

Anjan Sundaram: I went to Rwanda in 2009 to write my first book about Congo and really I was looking for a quiet place. I thought the country was peaceful, even a little boring, a great place to write a book. I began to teach local journalists as a way to make some money and also engage with local society, but very quickly, I learnt that the local journalists I was working with were living and working in a climate of great repression. One of them had been beaten into a coma, after bringing up the harassment of the press in front of President Kagame of Rwanda. Another young woman had been in prison for many years and physically and psychologically abused, she was sick with HIV. These stories alerted me to the climate of repression that largely goes untold about Rwanda.

Zahra Moloo: Can you tell me more about the journalists you worked with in the program? One of your students, Gibson, started a magazine, and the stories that they were covering were very innocuous stories, about malnutrition, things that seem pretty normal on the surface. What was it, or why is it, so difficult to write about these kinds of issues?

Anjan Sundaram: The Rwandan government is extremely sensitive to any kind of criticism. Its almost impossible to practice journalism in a normal way. I was shocked when I arrived and when I asked my students Could you question the national budget? and they said, No way. Our lives and physical safety would be endangered were we to question government decisions, even basic government decisions. Gibson was one of my most talented students, one of the students I became closest to. He was a student of philosophy, a remarkably intelligent man. What he tried to do was not to address the problem of malnutrition in Rwanda directly, because that would have been too dangerous. He began to write articles that inform mothers and parents how they might feed their children without explicitly saying that there was a problem of malnutrition.

Officially, hunger had been abolished in Rwanda. Agricultural productivity had increased several times and there was no problem of hunger. Even today, a month ago, there was a report of a hundred thousand people being affected by famine in Rwanda, and this famine is generalized in all of East Africa. There was a single report and we've heard nothing since. Same thing happened in 2007: there were reports of famine in South East Rwanda and North East Burundi. In North East Burundi, aid organizations came in hordes, feeding people, protecting people, saving people. In Rwanda officially there was no famine. We dont know how many people died, whether they were saved or what was done to help them.

This is the situation in Rwanda. Any news that is seen as criticizing the government, that could be anything, the government takes very personally and sees it as criticism of its governance style. For that reason, journalists remain silent, huge problems in society go untold and therefore unaddressed. I write in my book that a society that cant speak is like a body that cant feel pain.

Zahra Moloo: Going through the book, you really get into the lives of some of your students. Can you give a few examples of what happened to them over the course of your time teaching?

Anjan Sundaram: Among the twelve journalists I taught, none of them are practicing today. One of my colleagues was shot dead on the day he criticized Paul Kagame. Two others fled the country fearing for their lives. Others abandoned journalism or joined the presidential propaganda team. Ive documented in my book over 60 journalists who over the last 20 years have fled the country, fearing for their lives, disappeared, been imprisoned, tortured, arrested or killed after criticizing the Rwandan government. Thats one journalist every four months. This intimidation and repression of the free press in Rwanda has gone largely untold in Rwanda and in the international press.

Zahra Moloo: And why do you think that is - why is it that this narrative persists, that Rwanda is a successful country, that its very successful economically, that it knows how to carry out development activities? Why is there this silence?

Anjan Sundaram: The Rwandan governments propaganda has been really powerful and its been amplified by the destruction of the local press. The international press relies heavily on local journalists for the news that we read. Any foreign correspondent worth his or her salt will tell you that the reporting is only as good as the local journalists they are working with. In Rwanda these local journalists are silent and this means that the foreign correspondents who come into Rwanda dont have credible information. I remember I met a Russian UN worker in Rwanda, a few days after he arrived in the country and I asked him, What do you think of Rwanda? and he laughed and said, Its just like the Soviet Union. I opened the newspaper this morning and theres only good news.

So many journalists who come into Rwanda and have not lived in a dictatorship might see these positive stories, all this good news and believe that its true. But people whove lived in a dictatorship know that one needs to listen differently to people in a dictatorship when they cannot speak freely. They see only good news; they see it as a sign that something is wrong here. So it takes a different way of listening. The Western press, I would say, is inadequately prepared to report on dictatorships in which the local press has been silenced in quite a sophisticated fashion.

For the rest of the interview please see

https://addax.wordpress.com
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff  Appellee, v. LATEEF FISHER, Defendant - Appellant. No. 15-4471, No. 15-4550 Decided: October 07, 2016

Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, DIAZ, Circuit Judge, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge. Sicilia Chinn Englert, LAWLOR & ENGLERT, LLC, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellant. Rod J. Rosenstein, United States Attorney, Evan T. Shea, Assistant United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.

Lateef Fisher appeals his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin. On appeal, he contends that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from a storage unit, in permitting an agent of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to testify regarding drug trade codes, and in instructing the jury regarding the elements of conspiracy and drug quantity. Finding no error, we affirm.

First, Fisher argues that the district court erroneously denied his motion to suppress the cash and two guns seized from the storage unit rented in the name of his girlfriend. He posits that there was an insufficient basis to find that evidence of criminal activity would be found in the storage unit and, therefore, the warrant was invalid. Fisher also challenges the district court's conclusion that, even if the warrant was invalid, the good faith exception of United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (1984) applied.*

In evaluating the denial of a suppression motion, this court review[s] the district court's factual findings for clear error and its legal conclusions de novo. United States v. Green, 740 F.3d 275, 277 (4th Cir. 2014); see United States v. Span, 789 F.3d 320, 325 (4th Cir. 2015) (defining clear error). The court construe[s] the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, as the prevailing party below. Green, 740 F.3d at 277. We conclude that the evidence justly supported the search warrant on the storage unit.

Fisher also challenges the district court's qualification of DEA Agent Edwards as an expert in drug trade code, specifically the reliability of his methodology. Pursuant to Rule 702,

A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if: (a) the expert's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue; (b) the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data; (c) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and (d) the expert has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case.

Fed. R. Evid. 702. We review the district court's decision to admit expert testimony under Rule 702 for abuse of discretion. United States v. Wilson, 484 F.3d 267, 273 (4th Cir. 2007) (citing Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 152 (1999)). The district court must be granted considerable leeway in deciding in a particular case how to go about determining whether particular expert testimony is reliable. Wilson, 484 F.3d at 273. If an expert seeks to be qualified on the basis of experience, the district court must require that he explain how his experience leads to the conclusion reached, why his experience is a sufficient basis for the opinion, and how his experience is reliably applied to the facts. Id. at 274 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

In order to determine the reliability of an expert's methods, a district court should consider testing, peer review, error rates, and acceptability in the relevant scientific community. See Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 593-94 (1993). However, as the Court stated in Daubert, the test of reliability is flexible, and Daubert's list of specific factors neither necessarily nor exclusively applies to all experts or in every case. Kumho Tire Co., 526 U.S. at 141. In applying these principles, the measure of intellectual rigor will vary by the field of expertise and the way of demonstrating expertise will also vary. [G]enuine expertise may be based on experience or training. Tyus v. Urban Search Mgmt., 102 F.3d 256, 263 (7th Cir. 1996). The Advisory Committee notes to Rule 702 specifically note that [i]n certain fields, experience is the predominant, if not the sole, basis for a great deal of reliable expert testimony. Fed. R. Evid. 702, 2000 advisory committee note. Agent Edwards met the requirements for testifying to the meaning of coded language recorded from Fisher's calls and texts, and adequately explained his methodology. The court carefully questioned Edwards on his methodology and how it was applied. Accordingly, there was no abuse of discretion in the district court's determination to accept Agent Edwards as a decoding expert. See United States v. Garcia, 752 F.3d 382, 391 (4th Cir. 2014) (approving methodology that identifies drug code by listening to context of the intercepted call and identifying language that does not otherwise make sense).

Finally, Fisher argues that the district court misstated the law when it instructed the jury that drug quantity is not an element of the offense in a curative instruction on conspiracy and drug quantity elements. We review the district court's jury instructions in their entirety and as part of the whole trial, and focus on whether the district court adequately instructed the jury regarding the elements of the offense and the defendant's defenses. United States v. Wilson, 198 F.3d 467, 469 (4th Cir. 1999) (citation omitted). Fisher acknowledges that his failure to object to the instruction subjects this issue to plain error review. United States v. Robinson, 627 F.3d 941, 953 (4th Cir. 2010). To establish plain error, Fisher must show: (1) there was an error, (2) that was plain, and (3) that affected his substantial rights. United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732, 735-36 (1993). Further, we will exercise our discretion and reverse a conviction based on a plain error only where the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Id. at 732, 736 (brackets and internal quotation marks omitted).

The purpose of jury instructions is to instruct the jury clearly regarding the law to be applied in the case. United States v. Lewis, 53 F.3d 29, 34 (4th Cir. 1995). We have reviewed these instructions in the context of the overall charge, and conclude that they fairly and accurately set forth the controlling law. United States v. Woods, 710 F.3d 195, 207 (4th Cir. 2013) (this court considers the jury charge as a whole to determine whether the instructions accurately stated the statutory elements). Fisher has not demonstrated that in the context of the overall charge, the challenged instructions did not accurately set forth the applicable law. Therefore, no plain error resulted.

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

FOOTNOTES

. Because we conclude that the court did not err in determining that the warrant was valid, the district court's alternate holding need not be addressed on appeal.

PER CURIAM:
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. JOSHUA ESPINOZA, Defendant-Appellant UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. BOYD ANTHONY BARROW, Defendant-Appellant No. 14-31425 Decided: October 06, 2016

Before DAVIS, BENAVIDES, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.

Joshua Espinoza and Boyd Anthony Barrow appeal following their guilty plea convictions of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of Schedule I controlled substance analogues. The district court sentenced Espinoza to 61 months of imprisonment and Barrow to 70 months.

Espinoza and Barrow argue that the district court failed to appreciate its discretion under Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85 (2007), to vary from the 1:167 drug equivalency ratio of U.S.S.G.  2D1.1. We reject this claim for the same reasons expressed in a related case arising from the same criminal scheme. See United States v. Malone, 828 F.3d 331, 338-40 (5th Cir. 2016). Further, to the extent Espinoza and Barrow assign error to the district court's equation of AM-2201 to synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Malone forecloses their claim. Id. at 337-38. Likewise, for the same reasons expressed in Malone, we reject their argument that the district court erred in using the 1:167 ratio because it is not empirically based. Id. at 338.

In a separate argument, Barrow contends that the district court erred in determining his base offense level based upon the quantity of AM-2201 that he received, rather than the quantity of synthetic cannabinoid (Mr. Miyagi) that he ultimately manufactured and distributed. Barrow does not dispute, however, that in connection with his guilty plea, he stipulated that he received approximately 30 kilograms of AM-2201, a Schedule I controlled substance analogue of JWH 018. Moreover, as we observed in Malone, the district court gave  studied attention to the drug calculation issue, carefully consider[ed] all [the] evidence, and issued a well-reasoned oral decision. 828 F.3d at 337. Barrow has not shown that the district court procedurally erred in its application of the Guidelines and sentencing him based upon the stipulated quantity of AM-2201. See United States v. CisnerosGutierrez, 517 F.3d 751, 764 (5th Cir. 2008); United States v. Betancourt, 422 F.3d 240, 246 (5th Cir. 2005).

Finally, Barrow argues that the district court improperly limited the degree of his U.S.S.G.  5K1.1 sentence reduction by considering factors unrelated to his assistance. We review this claim only for plain error because Barrow did not alert the court to the possible error in order to give the court a chance to amend the reduction or to clarify its reasons. See United States v. Neal, 578 F.3d 270, 272 (5th Cir. 2009). District courts have almost complete discretion to determine the extent of a departure under  5K1.1. United States v. Hashimoto, 193 F.3d 840, 843 (5th Cir. 1999). Nonetheless, the extent of a  5K1.1 or [18 U.S.C.]  3553(e) departure must be based solely on assistance-related concerns. United States v. Desselle, 450 F.3d 179, 182 (5th Cir. 2006).

The district court told Barrow that the 20 percent reduction under  5K1.1 was based on the relative cooperation of the parties, yet it also noted Barrow's role in the offense and the relative culpability of the defendants. If we assume without deciding that the court committed a clear and obvious error by possibly conflating the  3553(a) factors with assistance factors, we nonetheless conclude that Barrow has not shown that any error affected his substantial rights. That is, the record does not establish that, but for the alleged consideration of an improper factor, Barrow would have received a lesser sentence. See United States v. Davis, 602 F.3d 643, 647 (5th Cir. 2010); cf. Malone, 828 F.3d at 341 (finding no plain error where the district court merely muddled the steps in formulating the sentence).

AFFIRMED.

PER CURIAM:*
On 28 September 65 Dongfeng military trucks carrying over 600 troops from UWSA Brigade 468 led by five armoured vehicles left their Mong Pawk base in Wa Special Region 2 and without any advanced notice entered Kengtung Districts Mong Yang Township, which is in the NDAA-ESS controlled Shan State Special Region 4 in eastern Shan State.

This led to tensions between the two ethnic armed organisations (EAOs).

An NDAA-ESS official on the front line who wished to remain anonymous said: An ally is an ally. They [the UWSA] must report wherever they go. The Wa [UWSA] and us are partners. This shouldnt have happened. The leaders from both sides are directly discussing this issue. We need to wait three or four days.

U Saing Nat, a UWSA official said: We dont know whether [the UWSA] reported to [the NDAA-ESS]. We were ordered to come here [into NDAA-ESS territory]. We cant retreat without an order from above.

According to unconfirmed news reports the UWSA allegedly seized the NDAA-ESS outposts of Loi Kiuhsai and Loi Hsarm Hsoom and the NDAA-ESS controlled border checkpoint of Pang Markfai and in the process detained 151 soldiers from NDAA-ESS Battalion 15.

The UWSA were unhappy with the Union Peace Conference (21st Century Panglong Conference) held in August and withdrew from the conference claiming that they were discriminated against.

The UWSA also advised the NDAA-ESS to send lower ranking officers to the conference, but the NDAA-ESS rejected the advice and sent its leader, U Sai Leun to the conference.

The NDAA-ESS and the UWSA signed ceasefires with the Burmese government in September 2011. Normally both organisations are close to each other.

Previously they were both members of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) and they continue to also have close relations with former CPB members the Myanmar National Democracy Army (MNDAA also known as the Kokang Army) and the new Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K)

Reporting by Hwan Hein for S.H.A.N

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/10/2016 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ray Daigneault has handled abusive passengers whove punched and slapped him before, but nothing prepared the Brandon taxi driver for a gun pointed at his face.

Daigneault was an innocent bystander caught in the middle on Monday evening, when Brandon police pulled his taxi over as they zeroed in on three suspects allegedly linked to gun violence in the city.

It wasnt, however, the three passengers in his vehicle  who would eventually be charged with weapons offences  that frightened Daigneault.

Colin Corneau/The Brandon Sun Ray Daigneault was behind the wheel of the taxi that was involved in Monday afternoon's high-risk arrest along 18th Street.

Instead, it was the police officers who trained guns on him in his stopped taxi in the 100 block of 18th Street that had him shook up.

Im just flabbergasted that a professional police force would endanger the general public in this matter, Daigneault said, believing the police could have waited until the taxi was off Brandons busiest route before making the arrests.

That afternoon, Daigneault, who drives for 1-United Taxi Group, was originally dispatched to the corner of 13th Street and Lorne Avenue to pick up three individuals for a fare.

When they finally arrived, 15 minutes late, the trio appeared agitated and in a hurry as they gave him a list of four addresses to visit, he said.

Instead of making it to those destinations, Daigneault said police rushed in, hauled out his passengers and pushed them to the ground. Officers then rummaged through his van and searched any bags while a gun was pointed at him.

Twice they threatened that if I tried to leave the vehicle, I would be shot, he said, noting he pleaded with officers that he was not an accessory to any crimes.

BPS arrested three passengers  Thomas Leonard Hunter, 39, Trista Justine May Prince, 25, and Clinton Paul Pashe, 39  for allegedly possessing a stolen and prohibited Norico semi-automatic pistol without a licence.

They were also charged with possession of crystal meth for the purpose of trafficking and for carrying brass knuckles, which are a prohibited weapon.

Their names are added to a web of suspects who, together, are loosely connected to three shootings in the city last month, which include an attempted murder downtown and the spraying of 30 bullets at an east end home the following day.

The charges against them have not been proven in court, and they are presumed innocent.

While Daigneault doesnt dispute the need for an armed takedown, he does question why it happened where it did and why he was stuck in the middle.

Who was in the crosshairs? Me. My personal safety was no concern to Brandon police, Daigneault said, concerned he could have found himself in the middle of a standoff that would have put him in harms way.

Submitted Brandon police arrest a suspect after a taxi was stopped in the 100 block of 18th Street on Monday afternoon.

A member of the military for 22 years, Daigneault hopes an investigation compels BPS to adopt different tactics so innocent people arent treated more like a suspect than a victim.

He has also asked Manitoba Justice to probe the takedown, which he believes unfairly put him and the public at large in danger.

On Friday, a spokesperson from Justice said they would respond to Daigneaults complaint and that any individuals concerned about police conduct should contact the Law Enforcement Review Agency, an independent provincial body.

Daigneault said hell review his options and in the meantime, hell keep driving taxi and accepting passengers.

The episode hasnt scared him away from the mixed bag of customers a taxi driver can come across, but he does feel betrayed by the people tasked with keeping the public safe.

The police should be protecting the general public, not putting them in danger.

When contacted by The Brandon Sun, BPS declined to comment.

 ifroese@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ianfroese
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/10/2016 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alice Rooke is already leaving her footprint in the agriculture world, but at 15 years old, its merely a stepping stone of whats to come.

On Tuesday, Rooke will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to attend the 2016 World Food Prize Global Youth Institute, an agricultural conference where she will have the opportunity to learn from global game changers in sustainable agriculture, and meet other students with the same passion for agriculture from around the world.

Im nervous but Im extremely excited  its not like anything Ive ever done before, Rooke said.

Colin Corneau/The Brandon Sun Alice Rooke wrote a winning essay, which led to an invitation to the 2016 World Food Prize Global Youth Institute conference in Iowa next week.

In fact, its not something anyone from Brandon has ever done before, said Darren Duncalfe, geography teacher at Vincent Massey High School and Rookes teacher and mentor. Rooke is one of only two students from Manitoba chosen to attend the conference, along with two other students from Saskatchewan.

Its a big deal, this is a world conference. Were going to be in the presence of the equivalent to Nobel Peace Prize winners, Duncalfe said. Alice has done an outstanding job to be chosen to do this, and at such a young age, too. Shes one of the younger kids to be going.

Rooke decided to apply for the opportunity while she was still in Grade 9, after seeing an article on the Manitoba Beef Producers Facebook page.

I wanted to see if I could get into (the program) and do it  I thought it would be cool to do, so I applied, Rooke said.

After consulting with teachers like Duncalfe and her English teacher, Kylie Bromley, submitting numerous sample essays and going through an interview panel, Rooke found out she was accepted. She then spent this past summer writing a research essay on animal agriculture in Mexico, which she will present to an audience at the conference.

I focused on how a subsistent Mexican farmer feeds his cattle and how this affected the produce, the growth rates, basically how this affected his lifestyle, Rooke said. I found that they were very low-income from start to finish and they needed a platform, more funding, money and education, to begin with in order to boost and grow off their farming efficiency.

Rooke said the topic just made sense due to Canadas connection with the Mexican beef industry and the strong feeder background it has with the United States. She was also familiar with the topic because her mother spent time working in the Yucatan and shared stories. Rooke wanted to learn more.

Im hoping one day I can go down there and see what I was writing about, Rooke said, adding there are a variety of internship opportunities through the Global Youth Institute she hopes to explore while at the conference.

Im excited to meet people (at the conference) that Ive been reading about and learning about, maybe even meeting a student from Mexico where I researched  that would be interesting, Rooke said.

A self-described farm kid, Rooke said shes lived on a farm for as long as she can remember. Her family farms cattle and grain east of Alexander after moving to Canada from England three years ago. The adjustment to farming in Manitoba, especially with its harsh winters, has been challenging for her family, Rooke said, but her passion for agriculture has never wavered.

Its something I love and will always be a part of me, wherever I end up, Rooke said. Essentially I wanted to farm cattle  but if I can pull off doing some agricultural delegacy in different areas then I would like to go down that line, this has opened up a lot more opportunities for that.

For Duncalfe, there is no question Rooke will make it far in the agriculture field, he said.

Alice is a great student  shes just so passionate, Duncalfe said. This is an investment in Alices future. I think shes going to remain in this field and keep making an impression wherever she goes.

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/10/2016 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Attention, passengers: Brandons new airport terminal is open for business.

Friday marked the first flight out of the new facility, which offers travellers a spacious and modern boarding lounge.

The WestJet counter, security screening, baggage check and all other daily airport operations were moved into the new terminal building Thursday evening.

Submitted WestJet staff greet the first passengers in the new airport terminal, which officially opened Friday.

Its so nice and bright, we keep hearing. Its so nice and big, and there were a couple of people actually that thought that was the finished product, said Carla Richardson, director of transportation with the City of Brandon.

Departing passengers will now be required to access Brandon Municipal Airport via the new front entrance.

There will be no change to the current process for arrival service, stated a City of Brandon public notice.

Passengers arriving on inbound flights will still be required to de-board their aircraft and walk around the terminal to access the temporary arrivals trailer and gather their checked luggage prior to leaving the airport facility.

The new terminal is part of a $10.4-million airport overhaul.

Attention will now turn to the old terminal building  Phase 2 of the project. It will be gutted and renovated, and once complete will flow seamlessly with the new addition, according to Richardson.

Temporary walls will be used in the new facility for security reasons, until the existing terminal building is renovated. Phase 2 of the project is slated for completion in February or early March.

The project, which began last November, is cost-shared by the city, province and federal governments.

Once complete, the terminal will be three times the size of the original building, with the old terminal hosting the departures lounge and the new addition including the arrivals hall.

The revamped parking lot is delayed due to weather, but Richardson hopes it will be complete by the end of next week.

In the meantime, the public is asked to continue parking to the west of the terminal building.

Theres still a little bit of an operational bump, she said.

They still have to park over in the overflow areas, and then youll follow the long sidewalk going from the west to the east, and go in to the main terminal. Then its just a delightful experience once you get into the terminal, but its a bit of a walk.

While WestJet axed the eastbound route to Toronto, the Brandon-Calgary route remains strong.

Beginning Oct. 23, an early morning flight departing at 6 a.m. to Calgary has been added on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

 jaustin@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @jillianaustin
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/10/2016 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two very different tax-related stories hit the news in the last week  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps 1995 loss of nearly $1 billion and the projected tax breaks he received as a result, and the targeted taxes aimed at slowing Canadas overheated housing markets.

As a simple rule, my belief is the you get more of what you subsidize and less of what you tax.

Its a simplistic rule of thumb, of course, but also one that happens to be rarely incorrect. The Province of British Columbia correctly analysed the Vancouver real estate market as being overheated and, perhaps, on the verge of a speculative bubble. In hopes of slowing the growth in prices, rather than waiting for a total collapse a la 2008, the government identified foreign investors as being primarily responsible for the rampant price appreciation.

Having identified the problem, a property surtax was imposed upon foreign investors, thus drying up the number of suitors for each property. In a matter of weeks, the once-overheated Vancouver market cooled dramatically. The Trudeau government this week introduced new rules on principal residence tax breaks that should slow real estate transactions in both Toronto and Vancouver. The tax code, targeting a specific result, should prove to be a smart bomb in this case.

On the other hand, as witnessed this week in New York, a significant loophole in the U.S. tax code purportedly gave Donald Trump decades of tax relief. While the details remain unconfirmed as of this writing, it is important to note The Donald has not denied these reports.

According to news reports, Trump was able to use a loss in his real estate ventures and carry it forward against operating income. Based upon his income that is known and projected from casino filings, Trump could have gone as long as 18 years without paying federal taxes.

Note, of course, that this does not apply to many levies including state, payroll, property and other taxes.

Trump, when asked about this in the recent debate, said paying no taxes makes him smart. He is selling his reputed business acumen as a primary core competency  he will negotiate and sign better deals  his record of outstanding business success underscores his abilities, he argues.

From a purely political perspective, Trumps response was incredibly inarticulate. Perhaps he should have said something along the lines of using the tax code as it was designed, on behalf of my business partners and investors.

You see, in this case, the taxpayers of the United States essentially subsidized Trumps appetite for risk. Had his investments paid off, he would keep the gain. When he lost, he was able to use the loss as a tax deduction for almost two decades.

That is, the U.S. government, through this element of the tax code, basically encouraged Trumps risky behaviour. They got more of what they subsidized, as per my simple rule.

Should we bash Trump for exploiting the vagaries of the tax code in this way? Hmmm. Its not an easy question to answer.

We certainly should be re-thinking his business successes as a chief selling point, as well as his less-than-artistic defence. Should we criticize the U.S. for this loophole in the tax code? Maybe, but the rationale behind these loopholes is often quite straightforward  to create employment and help build the tax base. Perhaps Trumps use, or abuse if you will, of this law was excessive, but to blame Trump for taking advantage of a tax break that surely was in effect prior to his loss is not time well spent.

Is it wrong to take advantage of all of the deductions legally available to you?

Rather, the American people should consider the people it sends to Washington and whose interests they serve. More importantly, we should all strive to understand as much about these issues as possible, even beyond the headlines.

 Kerry Auriat is a lifelong Brandon resident.

 opinion@brandonsun.com
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/10/2016 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One thousand, one hundred and sixty  thats the number of graduates from Assiniboine Community College last year. Thats up from 954 in 2013.

The public reporting focus for colleges and universities is often on the other end of the equation: enrolment. In fact, I get asked about our enrolment almost every day by some, but rare that someone asks about how many people actually graduate from the college.

A few years back, our board of governors adopted an approach that put an increased emphasis on the colleges results rather than on our activities. In 2013, they also approved a new strategic direction for the organization.

That plan asserted that the college needed to double that number of graduates by 2025. This plan was informed by the overall situation in Manitoba. It recognized that skills and people shortages that we are experiencing in the Manitoba economy.

Simply put, Manitoba needs more people. And more people with the skills and qualifications our labour market needs if we are to continue to grow our economy and sustain our quality of life.

ACC set out a multi-pronged plan to help achieve this growth in graduates. Im further proud to add that most of the efforts did not seek any additional funds from government.

While there will be resources required to support new program growth to meet the needs of the labour market, most of what we have achieved since 2013 and continue to work toward by 2025 does not look to the province for new core funding.

Our faculty and staff have done an amazing job at facilitating this growth. Their efforts have included increased time recruiting and working within schools, counsellors and agencies to make sure people are aware of the opportunities at the college. It includes improving our processes to make sure we can make maximum use of our classrooms and laboratories to accommodate increased programs and students. It means some faculty have been welcoming more students into their programs while maintaining a hands-on approach to education that is consistent our theme of learn by doing.

Certainly one of the areas of growth has been international students. We anticipate welcoming more than 250 international students in 2016-17. Thats up from just 60 in 2013-14. This year, we have students from 17 countries across five continents.

While some of these students are looking for a Canadian education to put to work in their home countries, most are looking to make Canada home. The Canadian post-secondary system has become an important gateway for potential newcomers and increasingly important to integration efforts.

Last year, Canada had its highest level of immigration since 1971 and in Manitoba, immigration continues to be the driving factor of population growth.

The 1,160 grads are also what defines our success. Within nine months of graduation, 94 per cent of our graduates get jobs, 87 per cent related to their field of study, and 90 per cent decide to live and work right here in Manitoba. They build our economy and lead our communities. They not only make Manitoba a great place to live, work and raise a family, but to invest and start a business.

This week, Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) released the national economic impact of colleges and institutes. Economic Modelling Specialists Inc. estimated the annual impact of colleges and institutes across Canada at $191.2 billion. For ACC, that impact is estimated to be $613 million annually. This is largely driven by the success of our graduates.

Growing from 954 to 1,160 over the past few years has further increased the impact that ACC is having. Hopefully, we can continue the momentum as planned through 2025.

 Mark Frison is president of Assiniboine Community College.
Gardai have arrested three men and seized cocaine and liquid amphetamine in searches on homes in Dublin.

The operation took place yesterday as part of intelligence-led joint operations targeting the illegal importation, sale and supply of drugs,
The Government is being urged to seek EU funds for workers at Cameron in Longford.

More than 170 workers are set to lose their jobs at the engineering plant after the company announced it is to cease most operations by Christmas.
Two suicide car bombers have blown themselves up on the outskirts of the capital Ankara after being stopped by police.

Governor Erkan Topaca said the two bombers, a man and a woman, died in the incident on Saturday outside a horse farm. No one else was hurt.
After Mosul's Liberation, Genocide Victims Have Right to Return Home

Assyrian children at a church in North Iraq. ( Getty) The campaign to liberate Mosul could have dire consequences for ethnic and religious minority communities -- victims of a genocide perpetrated by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) -- unless a plan is made for their protection. The assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga (supplemented by Christian militias) on Mosul, the largest stronghold of the ISIS is expected to take place in the next several weeks. Iraqi forces, in conjunction with local defense forces and American troops, are liberating villages along the Mosul corridor and will escalate their efforts as they move towards the city. With a population of approximately 2.5 million, Mosul is Iraq's second largest city and the capital of the Nineveh Province, the ancient homeland of Assyrian Chaldean Syriac (Christian), Yazidi, and other vulnerable religious minority communities who became the victims of the Islamic State's systematic genocide. Prior to 2003, Christians (Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac/Armenian) were one of the largest ethnic minorities in Iraq, estimated to have numbered around 1.5 million. By June 2014, some two-thirds of the pre-2003 Christian community had already left the country due to the sectarian conflict that ensued following the removal of Saddam Hussein from power that made Christians an easy target for cleansing. In June of 2014, ISIS invaded the Nineveh Plain, and starting with the city of Mosul, overran one city and town after another, giving Christians of the region the choice to convert to Islam, to pay a tax to the Islamic State, or to leave their cities with nothing more than the clothes on their back -- in the worst cases, they killed those who refused to comply. While they were still in their homes, ISIS militants robbed them of anything they could: documents, money, jewelry, and even furniture. Christians were not offered any protection by either the Iraqi Security Forces or the Kurdish Peshmerga -- they were defenseless. Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee last year, Sister Diana Momeka of the Dominican Sisters of Catherine of Siena from Mosul, testified that:

"This uprooting, this theft of everything that the Christians owned, displaced them body and soul, stripping away their humanity and dignity."

Today, there are only 200,000 Christians who remain in Iraq; most of them living in unsustainable conditions in and outside Erbil, under the Kurdish Regional Government. There are reports of IDPs in some camps living on one can of food a day with limited water in 125 degree heat. Many of these religious minority communities want to return home to the Nineveh Plains. Humanitarian experts have expressed concern that there is not an adequate plan in place to care for the civilians who will be impacted by the campaign. An estimated 1 to 1.5 million will be affected by the campaign and up to 700,000 could be in need of shelter; and the UNHCR is only capable of accommodating approximately 200 to 400 thousand of this potential refugee population. "The military operation will escalate the humanitarian crisis' 700,000 thousand people may need assistance and a whole lot of camps need to be built," said Elisabeth Koek of the Norwegian Refugee Council at briefing on protection issues ahead of the Mosul battle Thursday on Capitol Hill. She continued, "The humanitarian community is not ready to provide assistance and the people of Mosul deserve our utmost. They have been living under ISIS for two years." Without an appropriate plan for the placement of civilian escape corridors from Mosul and shelter for Mosul civilians, Nineveh's largest town of Qaraqosh, formerly home to 50,000 Christians and only 20 miles outside Mosul, and the other smaller minority towns, could be flooded with a massive refugee wave from Mosul and thus preclude the return of their original residents, who themselves are now refugees and victims of an ongoing genocide. The United States must help preserve the right of the genocide-designated minorities to return to the Nineveh towns and villages they were forced by ISIS to abandon two years ago and which now stand vacant and undefended. As Secretary John Kerry noted in his March 2016 statement officially designating ISIS' crimes against Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities, it is imperative to "ensure that minorities can return in safety, that they are integrated into local security forces, and that they receive equal protection under the law." As enormous as the humanitarian challenge will be after the fall of Mosul, the challenges in stabilization, reconstruction, and governance will be much more profound. Sectarian violence has divided the country along ethno-sectarian lines. A federated, decentralized model of governance may be necessary to restore stability to Iraq and to put an end to sectarian violence. As Iraq's Prime Minster Haider al-Abadi observed in April 2015: "If we don't decentralize, the country will disintegrate. To me, there are no limitations to decentralization." In 2014, Iraq's Council of Ministers "...agreed, in principle, to turn the districts of Tuz Khurmato, Fallujah, and the Nineveh Plains into provinces..." pursuant to Articles 61 and 80 of the Iraqi Constitution.There is also a provision in the Kurdistan Regional Government's Constitution supporting autonomy for religious minority communities. The United States, its allies in the coalition against ISIS, and regional partners must ensure that Baghdad and Erbil follow through on these commitments. This represents an historic opportunity for displaced communities to be resettled and for communities to establish local governance and provide for their own local defense.
LAHORE: Medical professionals in Pakistan need to pay more attention towards mother and child health for which our...
PARIS: AstraZenecas Covid vaccine has been linked to a 30-percent higher risk of getting a very rare blood clotting...
Professor Robson said the AMA remained a firm backer of the Liberals' plan for two new local hospitals. "What the Liberals [are] proposing was the sort of seed that could be scaled up as the population grew. Our take is if it's 2am on a rainy night in Gungahlin and your child is sick, it's a hell of a ride to the other side of the city for a hospital," he said. He said walk-in centres, which Labor and the Greens would expand, had limited services to offer, and dismissed concerns about the name to be used for the small hospitals or that staff would not want to come, saying there was an abundance of medical graduates looking for a job. "I couldn't give a toss what you call it. If you don't want ED, call it an acute centre or a medical walk-in centre  what it's doing is very valuable, and it would be very popular," he said. Both he and Ms Miragaya said the Labor promises on nurses were the best, with more than double the number promised by the Liberals or Greens.

Ms Miragaya encouraged voters to look at what the parties were offering and also consider their track record for funding public health services, including at federal level, where the Liberals had sought privatisation aspects since 2014. KEY HEALTH ELECTION CAMPAIGN PROMISES Canberra Hospital/Centenary Hospital for Women and Children Labor: $500 million on Canberra Hospital expansion with a new Surgical Procedures, Interventional Radiology and Emergency Centre (SPIRE) and a new emergency department. $150 million for expansion to the women and children's hospital, including new 12-bed child and adolescent mental health unit. SPIRE, to open in "about 2022", would expand the number of operating theatres from 13 to 20, and have separate theatres for emergency and elective surgery. Commitments would deliver a net extra 300 beds.

Liberals: $395 million for a new Canberra Hospital building, including a new operating suite, medical imaging suite, intensive care unit and outpatient floor. Capacity for 20 new operating theatres. Would deliver a net extra 190 beds. $3 million for extra orderly and security staff at the ACT's adult mental health units (including Symonston, in construction). Calvary Hospital Labor: $15 million to upgrade emergency department. Liberals: A $12.5 million expansion to the emergency department, with 12 new nurses, eight new short-stay beds, a new procedure room and a paediatric consultation room. Also an extra $4.2 million on mental health facilities at Calvary, and $1.64 million on midwifery care. New public hospitals

Liberals: $118m for the two new local public hospitals, also described as satellite facilities, in Tuggeranong and Gungahlin, delivering an extra 44 beds combined. Labor: no new public hospitals, aside from the continuing build of the UC rehabilitation hospital, which both parties support. A scoping study to build a new northside general hospital would be prepared. Nurse-led walk-in centres Labor: Would build new centres in Weston Creek and Gungahlin, and retain those in Belconnen and Tuggeranong Liberals: Would close the Tuggeranong nurse-led walk-in centre, "transitioning" it into the new hospital once built, and retain the centre in Belconnen.

Greens: Would build two more centres in Dickson and Weston Creek. Nurses (inclusive of above) Labor: $36 million across four years to employ another 68 nurses. Plus an extra 48 nurses as part of the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children expansion. Liberals: 52 new nurses, with 20 coming on board from July 2017 and the rest over the following two years. Greens: Employ 50 more nurse educators, practitioners and advanced practice nurses. Hold forums to develop recommendations to keep health workers safe.

Dental Labor: $3.94 million to buy two more mobile dental centres. Liberals: No policy announced Greens: $1.5 million for dental care for low income earners Indigenous health

Labor: $12 million for Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service to build a new modern health clinic Liberals: $1.8 million for 10 new social workers to boost frontline service delivery at Winnunga Nimmityjah. Greens: $13 million to support creation of a social and health services hub in Narrabundah in connection with Winnunga Nimmityjah, plus $2.5 million to help battle against drug use and mental health. Mental health (excluding hospital-based funding above) Greens: would create an Office for Mental Health to report and advise on effectiveness of services. Set a target to reduce suicide by 50 per cent by 2025, and establish a suicide expert committee to examine suicides and advise government.
Robert Willson (Letters, October 2) , is clearly against both same-sex marriage and a republic (as is his right) but he is correct when he says "both issues will be divisive in society". While Robert, to his credit, is one who engages in a civil debate, we are already seeing the emergence of divisive language from ultra-conservative politicians and their supporters. And it will only get worse, despite Turnbull's assertions to the contrary. Robert also quotes Tony Abbott whom, he says, was not being devious in pushing for a plebiscite. Robert says Abbott asked, "What could be fairer?" The answer is easy. As PM, Abbott could have brought on one of the existing private members' bills; it could have been voted on by all MPs and been done with little cost and much less angst than the plebiscite will generate. Ironically, it might also have created enough public goodwill for Abbott to have kept him in the prime ministership. Eric Hunter, Cook

Funding study Recent articles in The Canberra Times complained that inadequate funds were available for schooling. However, on October 2 three articles (pages 1, 5 and 13) recommended that fees for foreign temporary residents being schooled in government schools be waived. Two articles were based on illogical sob stories of a temporary resident from Bhutan who asked for free education for her daughter. The mother, a teacher, came to Australia to study a master's degree (now completed) and argued that she originally was forced to leave her daughter behind because she could not afford the cost of educating her in Australia. Now she wants Australian taxpayers to meet that cost. Why should they? This single example is bad enough, but the bigger picture, of a massive rort on Australian taxpayers by temporary residents, is disturbing. One article explained that the ACT had given 395 temporary residents free education this year [at a cost to taxpayers of about $5million. Extrapolated across Australia, this indicates that Australian taxpayers might be out of pocket by more than $200million per year, for 20,000 foreign students, because of this rort.

My criticism is levelled at the bleeding-heart Australian politicians and bureaucrats allowing these rorts to take place. I am particularly critical of the ACT Human Rights Commissioner who opined that under the Human Rights Act Australian taxpayers have an obligation to fund the education of foreign children. She should instead be fighting for the rights of Australian taxpayers. I recommend that Fairfax journalists comprehensively analyse this matter. Robert James, Melba

Paranormal twaddle Last week's Sunday Canberra Times carried an advertisement for a forthcoming talk on "The how, why and wonder of spiritual healing". It is to be given in the Legislative Assembly Building, suggesting that the ACT government endorses paranormal twaddle. Alternatively, it could imply that the Assembly has failed to rectify its defects by rational means. Colin and Phyll Groves, O'Connor

Spin doctors When Barnaby Joyce was criticising Sam Dastyari, Leigh Sales asked Joyce what Gina Rinehart expected in return for her $2 million donation to his party. I wonder if Gina was pleased with the way the Federal Government tried to use the South Australian storms as an excuse to slow the progress of renewable energy. Pity that Gina's $2million couldn't help pay for the spin doctors in the Department of Immigration and Border Control ("Dutton's $8m spend on spin", October 2, p7). Guess we'll just have fix the budget by attacking welfare recipients again. Rosemary Walters, Palmerston

The Master Plan It has been 11 months now since the draft Curtin Group Centre Master Plan was released. The draft was well received, not least because it seemed the planners had listened to the people's concern to retain the urban village atmosphere of the shops with their sunny aspects and human scale. Months then passed and while we waited in vain for the finalisation of the Master Plan, a proposal emerged for the redevelopment of the shops on the western side of the central courtyard. With regard to scale, height and shading, this proposal starkly contradicted the recommendations in the draft plan.
Most kids might groan to hear it, but going to school really is the foundation for a prosperous life  a time important enough to be recognised as a universal human right. The words of the 1948 United Nations declaration are worth repeating, not only because Australia is a signatory, but because the aspiration has not changed in the 70 years since they were agreed and remain an essential guide to policy. "Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit." Access to education is a fundamental human right. Credit:Virginia Star The declaration continues, urging the spirit of education "be directed to the full development of the human personality", to strengthen and respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. "It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups". And in acknowledgement of the need to shepherd the young through to adulthood, "Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children."

Within these few carefully drafted sentences lies the essence of the vexed and perennial debate about education funding in this country. The goal should be for education to be free. It should be accessible and of hight quality. Parents also deserve the right to a choice. But these goals can fall into conflict, especially in the weighting given in public funding as compared to what remains private  let's call it commercial  choice. Too much taxpayer money that should be devoted to free (or as close as possible to free) education is being diverted into the realm of private schools, where students are also charged considerable fees. There are no simple answers to funding education, and it would be foolish to pretend the words of the UN declaration provide anything more than a guide. Access is only guaranteed by sustainability, and the existence of private schools certainly serves to remove a potential burden from the public sector. Yet it is welcome that Education Minister Simon Birmingham has acknowledged certain wealthy schools may need to have their federal funding reduced under a new model to be introduced in 2018, to ensure a sustainable and quality public education system. His words have prompted a predictable threat from the private schools lobby, warning it is not an "easy target" for cuts. Private schools have every incentive to maintain what are in some instances unhealthy profits by drawing on public coffers. But what is far more disappointing is the response from Labor, which should be expected to defend the public system. Instead, shadow education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek was quick to imply Senator Birmingham had a "secret hit-list" of schools lined up to cut funding, and ask "which kids will be robbed".
Bill Shorten has launched a new charm offensive with the crossbenchers in a bid to keep the pressure on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for a banking royal commission. The Opposition Leader has personally written to each of the 16 Senate and lower house crossbenchers asking for a one-on-one meeting, telling them that after last week's parliamentary testimony by the big four bank chiefs Labor is "more determined than ever" to get a royal commission over the line. Bill Shorten's letter to crossbenchers says Labor is "more determined than ever" to get a banking royal commission. Credit:Louie Douvis "A once-a-year, three-hour meeting of a Liberal-dominated committee does not do the job," Mr Shorten tells them. "Instead of answers, we got self-serving lectures, excuses and obfuscation.

"I would like to meet with you to discuss how we can work together to deliver justice for the tens of thousands of Australians who are victims fo banking and financial services misconduct  and to ensure such illegal and unethical behaviour cannot occur again." The letters are a sign Labor has no intention of ditching the issue and will seek to keep the pressure on the Prime Minister when Parliament resumes on Monday. Same-sex marriage will also be high on the agenda, with Labor expected to confirm it will oppose Mr Turnbull's public plebiscite plan, with a final decision to be made at shadow cabinet meeting on Monday and signed off by the party room on Tuesday. The government will seek to shift the focus to unions and the building industry with its double dissolution legislation. Mr Turnbull confirmed last week he plans to establish a new low-cost tribunal for banking victims in what is being seen as his latest attempt to stave off a Labor's popular push for a powerful  and potentially damaging  royal commission.
Australians planning on donating to charitable Christmas appeals later this year will be able to better determine whether or not an organisation is legitimate with a government-issued verification "tick".

The charity tick, resembling a green and blue ribbon at the centre of a circle, will be available to any of the more than 54,000 organisations listed on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register.

The ACNC charity tick that will be available from the end of November. Credit:ACNC

Following the lead of Scottish charity register OSCR, the commission is expected to make the tick available to interested charities on its website by late November.

The rollout follows the same principle as the Heart Foundation tick of approval for food nutrition, and verification ticks alongside brands and personalities on Facebook and Twitter.
A 97-year-old man reported missing in Queensland may be on his way to Sydney, police believe.

Police are concerned for the welfare of Toowoomba man Emile Matile, who was reported missing from Surfers Paradise on Thursday.

Police are concerned for 97-year-old Emile Matile, also known as George, who went missing from Surfers Paradise. Credit:QPS Media

Mr Matile, who may also go by the name George, was last seen at an accommodation complex in Surfers Paradise wearing a red cardigan and a straw hat with a green band.

He is described as Caucasian and of slim build with short grey hair.
Some Queensland child safety officers have a backlog of more than 30 cases, Opposition Child Safety Minister Ros Bates told reporters on Saturday.

That figure is double the number of cases that Queensland's frontline child safety officer should work towards.

Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Queensland's former child commissioner Tim Carmody, during his 2014 Child Protection Inquiry, recommended child safety officers work with 15 cases to ensure best case results.

On Saturday, Queensland's Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman announced the state government would employ an additional 82 child safety officers at a cost of $7.8 million annually.
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 Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on Thursday night.

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 Hurricane Matthew as soon as it is safe to do so.



The American Red Cross of Southeast Tennessee is recruiting volunteers from the general public who would like to be considered for deployment to assist with relief efforts in response to Hurricane Matthew.

Volunteer training for community members interested in potentially deploying for two week assignments to serve as a Red Cross volunteer for Hurricane Matthew relief will be offered at:

American Red Cross of Southeast Tennessee

4115 S. Access Rd.

Chattanooga, TN 37406



Deployment Fundamentals on Monday, October 10, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.



Shelter Fundamentals on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at 9:00 a.m.



Deployment Fundamentals on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.



Shelter Fundamentals on Wednesday, October 12, 2016 at 9:00 a.m.



Disaster Assessment on Thursday, October 13, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.



Deployment Fundamentals on Friday, October 14, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.

Volunteers must complete the application process, including background check, and be able to commit to a two-week assignment. For more information, contact Jamie Lewis at 423-421-0247.
"It was huge, I thought it was a moose. It came up to about my shoulder and I'm six feet tall."

"I heard a rustling in the bushes and then it stumbled down and bolted right across the track," he said.

Wild deer similar to the one spotted in Ringwood on Friday. Credit:Invasive Animals CRC

Jay Godwin was skateboarding along the Mullum Mullum Creek Trail in Ringwood yesterday when something unexpected happened.

His story, frightening as it was for him, is not a isolated incident. Wild deer are increasingly being sighted in suburban Melbourne as populations of the introduced species swell in urban fringe areas such as the Dandenongs and Yarra Valley.

Thinking the animal was injured, Mr Godwin, 20, ran to the nearest road to find help and waived down a man driving a four-wheel-drive. The driver told him he had nearly hit the deer when it raced across the road in fright.

He said an elderly couple he spoke to further along the track said they too had recently seen a deer on Heatherdale Road, a major arterial in Mitcham.

Australian Deer Association executive officer Barry Howlett said it was increasingly common to see deer in suburban areas like Ringwood.

"It's not unusual for them to wander along the wildlife corridor along the Mullum Mullum Creek," he said. "And they're getting more abundant."
The clowning community has a message for anyone horrified by the thought of white make-up, big shoes and wild red hair: not all clowns are to be feared.

A global craze of people wearing creepy clown outfits in public has left legitimate jesters juggling up fresh ways to avoid frightening their clientele.

People wearing clown outfits have been terrorising residents in America.

The so-called "clown purge" fad involves people dressing up in sinister clown masks, such as those from horror movies, and then appearing in random places.

The trend has become so prevalent that Victoria Police issued a warning on Friday that the wave of creepy clown sightings across the United States was being replicated by copycats locally.
They have faces that only a mother (or a scientist) could love but some of Victoria's most mysterious critters have been thrown a much-needed lifeline after the state government announced a $1.5 million 'fighting extinction fund'.

The money will help Zoos Victoria ramp up its efforts to save a number of endangered reptiles and amphibians by studying their habitats, breeding habits and how they are responding to climate change.

The funds will also be used to create a cryopreservation facility to preserve DNA from endangered animals in case they need to be brought back from the brink.

The species that will benefit are far from the cute and cuddly animals that are so often the face of conservation. In many cases they are extremely difficult to access and scientists know surprisingly little abut them.

For example, the tiny Baw Baw frog is only found on the Mt Baw Baw plateau. The species' wild population has plummeted in the past 30 years, and scientists fear the worst, estimating the hard to find animal could exist only in history books in as little as five years.
"This does not represent the man that I know," Melania Trump said. "He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world." Donald Trump, actress Arianne Zucker, and host Billy Bush in the 2005 tape. Credit:Washington Post Earlier, Hillary Clinton responded simply: "This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president." The video came to light just two days before what is widely seen as a make-or-break presidential debate, the second of three. House Speaker, Paul Ryan, was "sickened" by the comments. Credit:AP

Powerful House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican elected official, said he was "sickened" by the comments and said Trump would not attend a campaign event in Wisconsin with him on Saturday. "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," Ryan said in a statement. Donald Trump's hair is a topic of conversation in locker rooms. Credit:AP In an unusual move, vice presidential running mate Mike Pence issued a critical statement, posting on Twitter that he cannot defend the nominee. "As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the eleven-year-old video released yesterday," Pence, who is governor of Indiana, said in a statement. "I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them."

It is a striking break with the top of the Republican ticket for the Indiana governor, who has been a strong surrogate and just days earlier, during the vice-presidential debate, defended other comments by his running mate. Pence also raised eyebrows Saturday when he announced that he would not attend a fundraiser in Wisconsin hosted by House Speaker Paul Ryan, who disinvited Trump from the event on Friday after The Washington Post broke the story about the video containing the lewd statements. The campaign had announced that Pence would attend in Trump's place. A campaign aide said that Pence himself made the decision not to go to Wisconsin on Saturday. The calculation, according to the aide, is that not attending will give Trump necessary space to navigate the fallout from his statements directly. Pence, who said he was praying for the Trump family, in the statement said he was "grateful" Trump had delivered a statement apologizing to those who were offended by his words.

Trump confirmed he would instead stay in New York "in debate prep" with Republican National Campaign chairman Reince Priebus, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Senator Jeff Sessions before flying to St. Louis on Sunday for the second presidential debate. When contacted by the Washington Post, Trump had earlier shrugged off the leaked tape as "locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago." But Republican strategists warned that the new revelations would likely hurt Trump, especially with women voters. Pollster Frank Luntz said: "This one will cause real damage." Trump's campaign has weathered other controversies but the latest flare-up was being viewed more severely than in the past.

The GOP leadership rushed to condemn his statements, some Republican lawmakers withdrew their endorsements and donors looked to fund an effort to back someone else as the nominee, even though it would be nearly impossible to make a switch with the election just one month away. Spencer Zwick, a top Republican fundraiser, said donors were backing away from Trump. "Major GOP donors are pulling support from Donald Trump and are now looking to fund an effort to back someone else as the Republican nominee," Zwick said. Priebus, the campaign chair, has stood by Trump through several other controversies, but not this time. "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever," he said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the comments are "repugnant, and unacceptable in any circumstance" and made clear Trump's brief statement would not suffice. "As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape," he said. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, also called on Trump to issue a "full and unqualified apology." Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called the comments "vile degradations."

Arizona Senator John McCain, who was the Republican presidential nominee in 2008, said there were "no excuses" for Trump's comments. In a statement, McCain said "there are no excuses for Donald Trump's offensive and demeaning comments." "No woman should ever be victimised by this kind of inappropriate behaviour. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences." In the recorded conversation, Trump was wearing a microphone and chatting on a bus with Billy Bush, then host of NBC's "Access Hollywood," ahead of a segment they were about to tape. "I did try and f--- her. She was married," Trump said. "I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there."

Trump talked about his attraction to beautiful women. "I just start kissing them," he said. "And when you're a star they let you do it," he said. "Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything." "Access Hollywood" confirmed the video in its own report, saying it discovered the comments in its library. Billy Bush, in a statement to Variety, said he was "embarrassed and ashamed" of his comments.

Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who lost to Trump in the Republican presidential primaries - and who is a cousin to Billy Bush - tweeted that the comments were "reprehensible." Republican candidate challengers, who Trump defeated in primary season, joined in the chorus of condemnation. One Trump rival Marco Rubio branded the comments "vulgar, egregious, and impossible to justify."

Senator Ted Cruz, who also challenged Trump for their party's nomination before endorsing him last month, called the real estate mogul's comments "disturbing and inappropriate," adding "there is simply no excuse for them." Trump's Virginia campaign chairman Corey Stewart insisted that women voters wouldn't be moved by Trump's comments. "When people voted for Donald Trump, they knew he wasn't an angel," said Stewart, a 2017 contender for Virginia governor. "They are not concerned that at times, Donald Trump acts like a frat boy. Sometimes he does, but that's OK." "They know he's not an angel. They know that he can save the country, though," he added. Florida-based Republican strategist Al Cardenas questioned whether these remarks might become yet another controversial remark from Trump that failed to move the needle in this election.

"The query is whether after 50 plus outlandish, offensive comments towards women and minorities by Mr Trump, is this one so over the top over the others that it will finally make a difference with voters where others have not?" Cardenas mused. "It does seem to reach new lows." Allies of Hillary Clinton called Trump's comments akin to sexual assault. "Donald Trump apparently thinks he has the right to sexually assault women because he's famous," said NARAL Pro-Choice America National Communications Director Kaylie Hanson Long. "Never mind consent, he doesn't think he needs it. "He's not a role model, he's vulgar and dangerous, and his disregard for women has never been more clear," she added. Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, predicted in an interview that it would sink his candidacy.

"If someone quote grabbed someone by the p---y to quote Donald Trump on a subway or on a bus or at a school, they would be in jail. They would be arrested and prosecuted and they would go to jail," Laguens said. "I think we are now moving to the end of the end of Donald Trump." The Clinton campaign's deputy communications director Christina Reynolds added: "This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president." DONALD TRUMP'S FULL VIDEO STATEMENT I've never said I'm a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that I'm not. I've said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me, know these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, it was wrong, and I apologize.

I've travelled the country talking about change for America. But my travels have also changed me. I've spent time with grieving mothers who've lost their children, laid off workers whose jobs have gone to other countries, and people from all walks of life who just want a better future. I have gotten to know the great people of our country, and I've been humbled by the faith they've placed in me. I pledge to be a better man tomorrow, and will never, ever let you down. Let's be honest. We're living in the real world. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we are facing today. We are losing our jobs, we are less safe than we were 8 years ago and Washington is broken. Hillary Clinton, and her kind, have run our country into the ground. I've said some foolish things, but there is a big difference between words and actions. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims.
It was The Washington Post's stamp that gave credence to the authenticity of the 2005 video of Donald Trump on the set of Days of Our Lives and with cast member Arienne Zucker. Credit:Washington Post A hastily recorded apology by Trump early on Saturday morning did not stymie an avalanche of calls from members of his party to quit. At least three Republican members of the Senate announced they will not vote for him and former rival Carly Fiorina called on him to withdraw. In a statement, Melania Trump called her husband's words "unacceptable and offensive to me." Governor Chris Christie arrives at Trump Tower on Saturday. Credit:AP

"This does not represent the man that I know," Melania Trump said. "He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world." The 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking openly about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped only months after Trump married his third wife, Melania. Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence said he could not defend Trump. Credit:AP Trump quickly moved to conduct damage control in Saturday's video in which he declared himself a changed man and attempted to shift the focus to his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. He threatened, again, to focus his attacks on the infidelities of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, saying he would talk more about the pasts of both Clintons with only a month until the November 8 election. Trump has dismissed questions about his own marital infidelities as irrelevant.

There is no precedent for a major party to replace its nominee this late in the campaign and it is unclear if there is an avenue to force him out. Voting has begun in several states, including the important swing states of Virginia and North Carolina. Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning, seeming to make light of the controversy. "Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologise," Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page. The video overshadowed the publication of excerpts of Clinton's paid closed-door speeches made public on Friday by a hacker who claimed to have obtained them from the email account of John Podesta, the chairman of the Democrat's campaign. In the speeches, she advocates for more open borders and trade, a position she abandoned during the primary because it was untenable to Democratic progressives. Trump has repeatedly criticised her for her past support of free trade.

The publication of the excerpts and the latest Trump controversy emerged shortly before the second presidential debate on Sunday night, seen as critical for Trump to try to rebound from a dip in some polls after a rocky performance in the first debate. Trump has struggled to win over women voters, and the video is expected to further feed Democratic criticism about his past behaviour toward women. In vulgar language, he brags about trying to seduce her. "...and when you're a star they let you do it." "Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything," Trump said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan disinvited Trump to a scheduled appearance on Saturday afternoon in Wisconsin. Prominent Republican women delivered scathing criticisms. Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte, of New Hampshire, said she will not vote for Trump. Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito, of West Virginia, called his remarks "disgusting and demeaning." "Women have worked hard to gain the dignity and respect we deserve," Moore Capito said. "The appropriate next step may be for him to reexamine his candidacy." Martha Roby, a Republican member of Congress from Alabama, said in a statement: "Donald Trump's behaviour makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won't vote for him. Hillary Clinton must not be president, but, with Trump leading the ticket, she will be." US Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, one of Clinton's fiercest critics, retracted his endorsement of Trump, telling CNN he would not be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he voted for him.

Utah's Republican Governor Gary Herbert said on Twitter he too would no longer vote for Trump, saying: "Tonight, millions of Republicans are facing a moment of truth." Republican lawmaker Mike Coffman from Colorado told CBS Trump should step aside and said "his defeat ... seems almost certain." Other prominent Republicans, however, indicated they would stick with Trump. Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, said they would continue to support him. Conservatives point to the fact that the winner of the November election will get to appoint a Supreme Court justice as reason to stick with Trump despite the video. Greg Mueller, a conservative Republican strategist, pointed to Clinton's views on abortion as a reason religious voters will stick with Trump. "Nothing indefensible that Donald Trump said 20 years ago is going to change that," he said. "Plus, to many religious voters, Mrs Clinton is the epitome of a corrupt politician."
Senator Bernie Sanders drums up support for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Keene State College in New Hampshire. Credit:Kristopher Radder Late on Friday, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow called the U.S. allegations "nonsense". "This whipping up of emotions regarding 'Russian hackers' is used in the U.S. election campaign, and the current U.S. administration, taking part in this fight, is not averse to using dirty tricks," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday in comments on the ministry's website. "There is no proof whatsoever for such grave accusations," Ryabkov said. "(They are) ...fabricated by those who are now serving an obvious political order in Washington, continuing to whip up unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria."

The Kremlin has weaponised WikiLeaks to meddle in our election and benefit Donald Trump's candidacy. Glen Caplin, Clinton campaign spokesman Mrs Clinton has repeatedly refused to release transcripts of her speeches, a position that became a fierce point of contention with her opponent in the primaries, Senator Bernie Sanders, whose campaign focused on assertions that Mrs Clinton was part of the moneyed Washington establishment. She made about $US21.5 million ($28 million) on speeches after she resigned as secretary of state in early 2013 and before she launched her presidential campaign in the spring of 2015. Senator Sanders' demands for the speeches struck a nerve with Democratic Party officials, the leaked emails suggest. In one email, dated January 25, 2016, Clinton research director Tony Carrk sent 25 excerpts from the speeches to several party officials, including Mr Podesta. The subject line was "HRC Paid Speeches". "Team, attached are the flags from HRC's paid speeches we have from HWA. I put some highlights below. There is a lot of policy positions that we should give an extra scrub with policy," he wrote. Some of Mrs Clinton's speeches would have been campaign fodder for Senator Sanders.

In a speech to a symposium hosted by the investment bank Goldman Sachs on October 24, 2013, Mrs Clinton indicated that Wall Street insiders knew best what sort of regulations the markets needed. "There's nothing magic about regulations, too much is bad, too little is bad. How do you get to the golden key, how do we figure out what works? And the people that know the industry better than anybody are the people who work in the industry," Mrs Clinton said according to the emails. And in a speech at the University of Connecticut on April 23, 2014, Mrs Clinton voiced deep awareness that foreign governments were intercepting State Department communications and personal emails. "At the State Department we were attacked every hour, more than once an hour by incoming efforts to penetrate everything we had. And that was true across the US government," Mrs Clinton reportedly said. "And we knew it was going on when I would go to China, or I would go to Russia, we would leave all of our electronic equipment on the plane, with the batteries out, because this is a new frontier. And they're trying to find out not just about what we do in our government. They're trying to find out about what a lot of companies do and they were going after the personal emails of people who worked in the State Department."

According to the email, in a January 6, 2014, speech to General Electric's Global Leadership Meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, Mrs Clinton also lamented the high cost of campaigns as "so ridiculous" and described it as a "kind of free for all" that the Supreme Court allowed. "So we're kind of in the wild west, and, you know, it would be very difficult to run for president without raising a huge amount of money and without having other people supporting you because your opponent will have their supporters. So I think as hard as it was when I ran, I think it's even harder now," Mrs Clinton said. "With today's WikiLeaks revelations we are finding out who Hillary Clinton really is, and it's not hard to see why she fought so hard to keep her transcripts of speeches to Wall Street banks paying her millions of dollars secret," Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman, said in a statement. "The truth that has been exposed here is that the persona Hillary Clinton has adopted for her campaign is a complete and utter fraud. How can Bernie Sanders and many like-minded Democrats continue to support her candidacy in light of these revelations?" Analysts doubted that the excerpts would have much effect now. In New Hampshire, where the race is too close to call and Sanders still has a strong following, pollster Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Centre, said the Clinton news wouldn't make much difference. "Most of this is already baked into the cake," he said.
Man Requested A Framed Photo Of Hillary Clinton For His Chicago Trump Hotel Room

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Oct 7, 2016 9:23PM

If you're going to stay in a hotel with a garish, 20-foot-tall tribute to a racist demagogue plastered on its exterior, you may as well have some fun with it, right?

That was presumably the logic of Chicago visitor Jon Lorenzini, a data analyst from Queens, New York, who recently stayed at Trump International Hotel & Tower in River North, when he put a strange request to the hotel staff: that they place a framed photo of Hillary Clinton in his hotel room. Sure enough, his wish was granted, as he explained in a Facebook and Reddit post Friday morning:







Lorenzini's story quickly went viral, perhaps because the irony is so sweet, Chicago's Trump Hotel staff is clearly so friendly, or because Hillary looks so damn presidential in the photo.

"Well you can't knock the Trump Hotel in Chicago for customer service. Glad they delivered on my personal request for a photo of Hillary!" he wrote on Reddit. "I left it open-ended for which photo and they picked a great one of her."

Lorenzini told Chicagoist on Friday afternoon that he couldn't resist the political irony.

"My expectations were pretty high given the reputation of the hotel, so as someone who likes to test limits, I wanted to see how far they would go. I think the attention is due to three things: timeliness, humor and conflict. Since it is a harmless prank I figured the worst that could happen is they say no," he said.

The Tower, to be clear, is a hotel and condominium building that the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has is name on, but does not actually own or operate.

[H/T Buzzfeed]
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

This week on Brooklyn Paper radio, hosts Gersh Kuntzman and Vince DiMiceli keep it local, inviting reporters Lauren Gill and Caroline Spivack to break down the most important stories of the week on their beats.

First, Gill hit the podcastwaves with her report on why residents of Red Hook House are unhappy with the new Citi Bike stations taking up valuable parking spaces outside their homes. The bike-rental service expanded in to the neighborhood late last month, and now many residents claim the bikes arent use at all. Are they lying? Gilly gets to the bottom of it.

Next, Caroline Spivack gives the boys the scoop on the poop  thats being dumped into Coney Island Creek from a nearby residential complex. How could this be happening? Take a listen to find out.

And lastly, Deputy Editor Max Jaeger discussing the shocking news the District Attorney Ken Thompson has cancer, but isnt saying what kind or how his treatment is going.

Its all there today on Brooklyn Paper Radio!
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

This is a bit fishy!

City and police brass claim theyre cracking down on the scourge of tourists who secure so-called love locks and other pieces of junk to the Brooklyn Bridge by installing signs along the span saying No locks, yes lox  complete with images of a crossed-out latch and a gleaming smoked-salmon-stuffed bagel  and warning that there is a $100 fine for the infraction.

But the Police Department isnt actually adding any extra patrolmen to the bridge, and the handful who are there arent looking to hand out tickets, according to the cop in charge  theyll just try to lock-block lovebirds before they can seal the deal and hope the pun-y placards deter the rest.

The point of this is education so tourists and individuals do not place locks on the bridge  were not looking to issue summonses to individuals and collect the $100 fine, wed much prefer they follow the sign, said Transportation Bureau Chief Thomas Chan, who helped launch the new signs on Friday. If it looks like theyre going to place a lock, were going to tell them that they cannot place that particular item on the bridge.

The padlock plague has been growing unabated since around 2009, and workers have snipped off 35,000 of the seals since 2013, according to officials  although people are now also tying on decidedly less romantic items including earphones, socks, and tissues.

In all that time, police have not issued a single summons for leaving a lock or other junk on the bridge, Chan said.

But the city is now taking a more offensive approach before it all ends in heartbreak, officials said  a lock-laden lamppost broke off the pedestrian path and plummeted to the roadway below last month, mercifully missing any Brooklyn-bound cars.

In addition to placing 16 of the warning signs along the walkway and instructing New Yorks Finest to spring into action whenever they see a tourist threatening to snib, Department of Transportation honcho Polly Trottenberg says she recently asked the editors of major New York guidebooks to discourage their readers from leaving a lasting symbol of their amore on the bridge  but Chan says he thinks 99.99 percent of people who see a sign or experience a police officers stern words will fall into line.

But local cops say they arent just scolding sweethearts  they recently stamped out an illicit lock-selling enterprise on the cross-borough thoroughfare.

You had somebody actually selling the locks on the bridge, so we had to nip that in the bud, said 84th Precinct Officer Donovan Hunt, who was strolling the span with fellow Officer John Condon on Friday. Its a process.

The precinct has around 68 officers there at any given time, according to the award-winning crime-fighting duo, though they dont patrol the bridge themselves.

The city will never be able to stop the fad completely, former Borough President Marty Markowitz said, but he thinks most people will sour on the idea once they realize the physical manifestation of their everlasting love will be severed in a matter of days.

Of course youre always going to get a percentage, but hopefully it dramatically reduces, said the one-time Beep, a noted lover of funny signs who came out to support the citys efforts. If people eventually get the idea theyre being cut off, theyll think, Whats the point? 

But the pleas and threats dont seem to have killed the romance for many tourists, who think it looks great and say city bigwigs need to lighten up and see the beauty behind the gesture.

Its a message, its a nice idea, said Israeli Moshe Aviran. I would not try [it], but I think the city has to let people express themselves. This is expression with love.
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.
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 ...
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.
'Ferguson Effect' Debate Reignites As Man Accused Of Beating Officer Held Without Bond

By Stephen Gossett in News on Oct 7, 2016 9:11PM



Parta Huff / Cook County Sheriff

The man accused of seriously injuring a Chicago police officer on Wednesdayand whose attack has reignited the debate about the so-called Ferguson effect in Chicago's police departmentwas denied bail at a hearing on Friday. He faces charges of attempted murder and aggravated battery.



The offender, 28-year-old Maywood man Parta Huff, allegedly crashed his car into a West Side liquor store while high on PCP, then attacked three responding police officers. One officer was seriously injured after Huff knocked her head into the street, leaving her unconscious. According to reports, prosecutor Jamie Santini said on Friday that Huff continued to attack the officer even after being Tasered at least three times, pulling hair from the officers head and concussing her.



The case then became a lightning rod in the debate about the Ferguson effectwhich argues that police are now prone to retreat from potential conflict in fear of media scrutinyafter Supt. Eddie Johnson told a crowd on Thursday that the officer said she didnt fire her service weapon because she didnt want her family or the department to have to go through the scrutiny the next day on national news.



Prominent Tribune columnist John Kass, for one, was quick to second that argument in a Chicago cop is the face of the Ferguson Effect in an opinion called Chicago cop is the face of the Ferguson Effect. Kass admits to a history of police cover-ups and misconduct in Chicago, which has included torture and wrongful convictions, with most of the victims being black and Hispanic but even as Chicago is embroiled in the thorny aftermath of extra-judicial killings, he finds prevailing fault elsewhere:





We'd be going through the old rituals we know by heart, angry activists, the dead re-created as the victim of state-sponsored racism, politicians cowering and turning their backs on her, the entire urban political liturgy we've seen so many times.

(Sadly but not surprisingly, Kass returns to racially loaded language as well, calling Michael Brown a violent thug.)But some civil-rights attorneys are skeptical of both the prosecutors version of events and the Ferguson effect itself. If we learned anything from Laquan McDonald, its to have great skepticism about police narratives, Alan Mills, Executive Director of Uptown Peoples Law Center, told Chicagoist. We need a lot more evidence, otherwise were talking about hypotheticals."To the extent that there may be some reluctance to use force, the blame has to be put squarely on officers who have used excessive force, he added. Supt. Johnson on Friday announced a draft revision to CPDs use of force policy that calls for a greater emphasis on the sanctity of life, among other measures.
At least 60 need to appoint on their boards. By the Act of 2013, all listed entities need to have at least one woman in their board room. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had set a deadline of April 2015 for India Inc to meet this requirement.
How do you plan to provide a consistent consumer experience to travelers given that there are different private parties involved in your business model?



Quality has two sides to us - our hosts listing and how it is accurately portrayed and our customer's ability to book with confidence. We have a review mechanism in place for both but recognize that the business in India is at its infancy and we will need to work through the education process of both our host and customer.

Singapore-based company which operate in the short stay accommodation space has forayed into India. It competes with AirBnb., co-founder, in an email interview with Swaraj Baggonkar says that the brand is focused on providing travelers a safe and secure alternate accommodation to a traditional hotel stay. Excerpts
Top auto are putting their weight behind the drive against . From conducting raids on fake manufacturing units to sensitising garage owners, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp are in action mode.
The car manufacturing industry is recording double-digit sales growth in the domestic market but there is a concern. With winter nearing, air quality in the capital is beginning to deteriorate.
Sanjay Pattnaik, executive director of Tata Sponge Iron Ltd (TSIL), has been elected as the national president of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) at its annual general meeting recently. is a national body representing the interest of mines and mineral based industries and has over 400 members from across the country.

Before joining as executive director of TSIL, Pattanik had stint of 31 years in different functions and divisions of Tata Steel. His area of operation was raw materials, port operations and logistics solutions, liaison and business facilitation, policy and regulatory affairs relating to mining etc. He joined Tata Steel in 1983 after completing his B.E Degree in Mining Engineering from the Osmania University.
Tata Teleservices, the loss-making wireless telephony company of the Tatas, has paid a hefty premium over the winning price for the Mumbai circle which, given its financial health, may turn out to be the winners curse, according to analysts.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modis personal decision not to publicly release video proof of the September 28 surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC), the Pakistan has been allowed to save face and a route left open for de-escalating the on-going Indo-Pakistan confrontation, with India having had the last word.
Business school campuses have an early festive cheer with both summer placements as well as pre-placement offers (PPOs) seeing a good response from .

Here, the number of offers made by firms, average stipend as well as the number of visiting the campuses has gone up. In fact, some have even completed the summer placements within four days. However, number of e-commerce firms saw a drop.

At MDI Gurgaon, the summer placement for the batch of 299 students was completed within 3 days. Kanwal Kapil, chairperson of placements at MDI said that they had 89 recruiters of which 28 were new recruiters. The average stipend also went up to Rs 1.69 lakh from Rs 1.39 lakh last year, which is a growth of about 17 per cent.

Among the sectors, fast moving consumer goods and consumer durable companies, consulting firms, BFSI firms and manufacturing were the top recruiters. E-commerce dipped to 3 per cent from 12 per cent last year.

Kapil said that the number of offers from companies like PwC, Axis Bank saw an increase compared to last year. Number of international offers also went up to 8 from 2 last year.

This institute is also seeing a positive response as far as PPOs are concerned. Kapil said that they have got 60 PPOs till now and there are about 25-26 pending pre-placement intent in a batch of 300.

Similarly, XLRI - Xavier School of Management has achieved 100 per cent placements for the batch of 2016-18 consisting of 361 students in just 2.5 days.

The summer internship recruitment process saw participation of 92 companies offering 156 roles across domains including consulting, finance, sales and marketing, operations, business development, Human Resource and Industrial Relations.

Here, the top recruiters on campus in terms of numbers were Accenture, Aditya Birla Group, BCG, General Electric, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra, Mondelez among others.

In addition to the above, 21 first time recruiters participated in the recruitment process and offered 28 new roles across domains.

Here too, the top recruiting sectors were FMCG, BFSI, conglomerates, manufacturing, consulting among others.

While e-commerce was a major recruiter last year accounting for 8 per cent of the offers, this number has halved this year and the share has reduced to 4 per cent.

E Abraham, Director, XLRI - Xavier School of Management said, Our students have got into diverse industry sectors which is an affirmation of the all-around integral formation we strive to impart to our students.

He added that their internship placement programme - Parivartan too received applications from several students. This programme was launched to provide the students an opportunity to explore summer internship opportunities in the social sector with Non-Government Organizations and Not-for-Profit Organizations.

While the final placement season will officially begin only by November in business schools, PPOs and PPIs give an indication of how the environment will be.

The pre-placement season began at International Management Institute (IMI) New Delhi where out of the 247 students eligible for the interview and placement process this year, 16.5 per cent have already been proposed a pre-placement offer (PPO).

Major players such as Capgemini, Genpact, Wipro, Asian Paints, Latent View Analytics, ACT, L&T Financial, Tata Capital, Droom, JPMC and EY have expressed interest in employing the prospective managers of this institute in various high-level managerial positions.

Axis Bank, one of the largest players in the global banking and finance industry, has already made 13 offers, the highest number from a single group and 16.5 of the total offers made. So far, the students have secured 41 PPO and pre-placement interview (PPI) offers from the companies and around 10 PPO confirmations are in the pipeline.

Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) begin their placement process later than the other business schools. Hence, the activities are yet to begin at the IIMs on this front.
Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.

Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.

Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.

Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.

26 years of website archives.
India is expected to receive a record nine million in the current calendar year, growing over 12 per cent from the eight million visitors last year. The increased arrivals along with domestic travel have improved the occupancy of hotels.
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.
After growing protests from Polish women and an embarrassing debate in the European Parliament, Poland's governing party retreated on Thursday from a proposed law that would have made virtually all .
Praising 'Maryada Purushottama' Ram at a Ram Leela function in the capital, Defence Minister taking a pot-shot on politicians demanding proof of the Indian Army's surgical strike in Pakistan's terror launch pads has said there are "some politicians who don't have any 'maryada' (decorum) at all".

"The way they are questioning and bringing down the gallantry of the country's brave jawans, there are some politicians who don't have 'maryada' at all," said Parrikar.

"I was hurt and wanted to reply them, but being the Defence Minister I too have to follow some 'maryada'," said Parrikar.

Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party workers and locals at the GIC ground in Agra on Thursday, Parrikar heaped praise on the Indian Army for carrying out a "100 per cent perfect surgical strike" on the seven terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC)".

"We carried out a 100 per cent perfect surgical strike. Our nation carries the heart and courage to carry this task out. There are many people who are not loyal to our country and criticised the Indian Army, but we don't have to give them any proof," Parrikar said.

"Some ex-servicemen wrote to me and said that they are ready to fight on the border if need arises. I salute them," he added.

The raging debate over details of surgical strikes carried out by the army, with a section of the opposition asking the government to release the details and video of the operations in the face of Pakistan denying any such LoC transgressions.

A political slugfest over surgical strikes broke out 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.

"Every Indian wants surgical strikes against Pakistan but not a fake one to extract just political benefit by BJP. Politics over interest," tweeted Nirupam.

"BJP make a mockery out of it by chest thumping and putting up posters in UP, Goa crediting PM Modi instead of the Army," Nirupam said in another tweet.

Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal tweeted: "BJP, I'm convinced that strikes took place. But international media publishing Pakistan propaganda that no strike took place. Let's expose Pakistan propaganda."

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly and senior Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela also asked the Centre "to provide proof of the army's action to clear the doubts arising in the mind of the people about the claims of the government".

The relationship between the two estranged neighbours has plunged to a new low in recent times in the wake of Uri terror attack and the subsequent predawn September 29 surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army along the LoC.
The US $1 billion ambitious Rural Sanitation Project in India is an adaptation of a similar successful programme of Egypt, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has said while citing this as an example of sharing of global best practices.

"Knowledge is flowing across the organisation and to our client countries, driving creativity and innovation," Kim said in his address to the plenary session of the World Bank Group in Washington.

He stated that the World Bank has successfully transferred knowledge and experience across regions.

"Through our new structure of Global Practices, knowledge sharing across countries has become easier and faster. For example, when the Government of India came to the Bank to prepare a major programme to expand sanitation services for the poor, we were able to transfer knowledge and experience from Egypt's Rural Sanitation Project and apply it in India," he said.

Kim stated that this sharing of knowledge resulted in the $1 billion Rural Sanitation Project in India, which applied knowledge of good service delivery -- in the areas of local governance, transparency and accountability to citizens -- that had already been taken to scale in Egypt.

"Thanks to our Global Practices, we are now working to share knowledge from these two projects globally. The changes we put in place were done for a reason: to help us better deliver results for you on the ground," he said.

"It's important to note that as we were implementing these reforms, you showed your support with a record $52 billion replenishment of International Development Association (IDA). And you encouraged us to boost International Bank for Reconstruction and Development's lending power through our 'Margins for Maneuver' programme," he said, adding that the IBRD's loan revenues will exceed administrative expenses in the next financial year for the first time in a long while.

Citing another Indian example, Kim said he is encouraged by the work that the World Bank is doing now to crowd in private sector investment.

"India has one of the largest networks of roads in the world, but the roads are overwhelmed -- just 2 per cent of its highways carry 40 per cent of traffic, causing bottlenecks that can limit productivity and slow economic growth," he said.

"In India, as in every other developing country, infrastructure is key to integrating economies and delivering services. To help improve India's roads, International Finance Corporation (IFC) invested $250 million in the Singapore-based firm Cube Highways. The firm is acquiring a portfolio of toll roads in India, injecting much- needed funds for road developers to complete their projects," the World Bank President said.

A day earlier, the IFC launched a new lending platform that will, in the next five years, raise $5 billion of private capital for investment in emerging market infrastructure loans.

"The Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Programme that will focus on infrastructure, will enable institutional investors to invest together with IFC in a portfolio of projects. Investors will benefit from credit enhancement provided by IFC and the Swedish development agency, SIDA," Kim said.

This is an important step toward establishing infrastructure projects in emerging markets as an asset class, he noted.
Over the last few years, the quality of cartoon shows has degraded substantially. The laugh-out-loud experience that cartoons offered has been replaced by something that encourages violence and bad behaviour, especially among children. While politicians in Pakistan took the lead in calling for a ban of the popular Japanese cartoon show, Doraemon, activists in India want to do the same, as they feel the show is too violent. Siddhartha Sinha, consultant psychiatrist at the Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences, spoke to Shakya Mitra about the calls for the ban and what he feels is the best way forward. Edited excerpts:



What is your first response to politicians and activists in India and Pakistan wanting the cartoon character Doraemon banned?



The whole point is that they are correct. Cartoons that show violence and where the content is encouraging children to become violent is unwatchable. My son has learnt a lot of wrong things from watching these cartoons. They should be regulated as they show bullying and other negative actions which young children are imitating in their daily lives.
The government on Saturday said 37 mineral blocks in states of Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand may be re-auctioned by December this year, as they received tepid response in the recently-held auction of non-coal mines.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday launched the Mumbai Centre for (MCIA), spread over 7,000 square feet at Nariman Point in south Mumbai. The Mumbai Centre is an integral part of the proposed International FinancIal Services Centre (IFSC). It will have seven arbitration hearing rooms for the resolution of commercial disputes.
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.
has prepared a shelf of over 125 projects which it will showcase at the upcoming mega event 'Make in Odisha' conclave in Bhubaneswar on November 30-December 2 planned in collaboration with the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP).
As has grappled with the trauma of a devastating financial and economic crisis, policy makers have consistently relied on one approach to managing the damage - budget austerity.
US President Barack Obama has cast his ballot for the November 8 general elections, which would elect his successor, by taking benefit of the provision of "early voting" in his hometown of Chicago.

Early voting, which has gained popularity in the last few election cycle, allows a voter to exercise their right to vote several weeks ahead of the main date of the general elections.

Though it varies from State to State, in some cases it can go back to as many as 50 days.

However, he did not tell the press travelling with him, who did he vote for. In fact, he pretended to hide his voting in a basement of the Chicago Board of Elections.

Obama has been campaigning for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to succeed him in the Oval Office.

After locating his machine and beginning to vote, Obama looked up at the pool and cracked, "they can't see who I'm voting for can they?" and feigned an effort to shield the screen.

Asked who he voted for, the US President looked up and smirked.

"Voted early today. Make sure you vote too," Obama said in a tweet.

Voted early today. Make sure you vote too: https://t.co/SUUmUADsHj pic.twitter.com/NMesNhwsaG  President Obama (@POTUS) October 7, 2016

Obama, 55, was a US senator from Illinois prior to becoming president.

In 2012, he was the first US President to vote early. He and the Clinton campaign have been urging people to vote early.
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.
Roger Pinckney is a longtime resident of a South Carolina island that could submerge but, even so, he refused to heed the state's evacuation orders, saying on Friday he only lacks in whiskey and toilet paper.
A group of millennial programmers swapped jokes recently in their offices well-stocked kitchen while preparing salads for a weekly barbecue. Others mingled around a new foosball table, playfully arguing over the prospective teams.
Marc Benioff, the founder and chief executive of Salesforce.com, showed up onstage on Wednesday afternoon at his biggest customer event of the year to talk up his business technology company's products and strategy.
The US said publicly for the first time that intelligence agencies are "confident that the Russian government directed" the hacking of American political groups and leaked stolen material in order to interfere with the November 8 election. "These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process," the Office of Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security said in a joint statement on Friday. "We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have ...
Eleven militants were killed on Saturday in three separate anti-militant raids in Gazipur and Tangail area of Bangladesh.

Among them, nine were killed in Harinal and Patartek area in Gazipur town while two others in Tangail, reports the Daily Star.

In Patartek, seven militants were killed when a joint team of police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) conducted a raid at a two-storey-house.

The police said that they were tipped-off that the militants were staying there so they cordoned off the house around 10:00 a.m. asked them to surrender. But, the latter traded gunfire ignoring the call, said Monirul Islam,Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The joint team then conducted the raid in the triggering a gunfight that left seven militants dead on the spot.

In Harinal, two alleged militants were also killed in a "shootout" with Rapid Action Battalion.

According to RAB officials, an AK-47 rifle, dozens of bullets, bomb-making explosive substances, four laptops, three machetes and a laminating machine were recoverd from the house that made them suspect that more people might have been living in the unit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Afghan President's special envoy and Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Omar Zakhilwal has disproved the claims that Kabul has shut down any land route for Pakistani trucks.

Zakhilwal was responding to reports that Kabul had prohibited the movement of Pakistani trucks going to Central Asian states through its territory, reports the Express Tribune.

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, last month had threatened to shut Pakistan's transit route to Central Asian countries if it did not allow Afghan traders to use the Wagah border for trade with India.

Pakistan allows Afghan trucks to unload their India-bound goods at Wagah on the Pakistani side, but Kabul wants the Afghan trucks to be allowed to deliver goods at Attari in India.

Stating that there was a general debate that there should be reciprocal treatment, Afghan envoy said, "The [Afghanistan] government has so far resisted the [impulse] to adopt a similar policy regarding transit trade."

Pakistani trucks could deliver transit goods directly to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan via Afghanistan, he said.

The Afghan Ambassador said, "We have the right to adopt a reciprocal treatment, but we do not consider it (to be) in the (best) interest of our people and our country and it is (also) not helpful for Pakistan's trade."

"If you visit Torkham, you will see that 70 to 80 percent of trucks crossing in and out of Afghanistan are Pakistan-owned and registered. If you check the trucks at Pul-i-Charkhi area of Kabul, you would see Pakistani trucks moving in . both directions," he further said.

Zakhilwal claimed that Afghanistan and Pakistan had agreed upon that Kabul's cargo would (be allowed to) go to India and that those goods, which Pakistan will import from India through Wagah will also be allowed by Afghanistan, but this provision has not been implemented.

Replying to a question about peace talks and the future of the quadrilateral process, he said there is a need for a broader regional debate as Pakistan and China are the only two regional nations in the past involved in the quadrilateral efforts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least nine loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were killed in an airstrike in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

The local security officials said that the airstrike was carried out on Friday in the vicinity of Achin district but did not disclose if the airstrike was carried out by the Afghan Air Force or the US forces, reports the Khaama Press.

According to the officials, the local residents did not suffer any casualties in the airstrike.

Nangarhar is among the relatively volatile provinces in eastern Afghanistan where both the Taliban insurgents and militants loyal to ISIS terrorist group are actively operating.

Both the Afghan forces and the US forces in Afghanistan are conducting regular airstrikes against them.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following an all out war between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Janata Dal (United) on Saturday criticized BJP chief Amit Shah for crossing the line in his insults to the grand old party, adding that they should stop the policy of 'ultra nationalism' as a means of political gain.

JD (U) leader Pawan Varma told ANI that BJP should not dismiss a party, which had stalwarts in India's freedom movement as being faulty genetically.

"I think, Amit Shah in his press conference, crossed the line, when he began to speak of something genetically wrong in an entire party," Varma said.

"You can be critical of somebody's comment, but you do not dismiss a party, which had stalwarts in our freedom movement, which has been the part of Indian mainstream as being faulty genetically," he added.

Varma further said that Shah went too far and they should stop encashing ultra nationalism as a means of political gain.

Taking on Rahul Gandhi for his "dalali" diatribe directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Friday hit back at the Congress vice-president, asking whether "dalali" was an appropriate word used in reference for the Indian Army and their valiant efforts in serving the nation.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Shah hit out at Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and others for politicising the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army inside Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) on September 29.

"Some parties tried to question the surgical strikes that were carried out by the Army. We had, from the beginning, tried to keep the operation by the Army away from politics but these parties have shamed the soldiers by giving it a political colour, The government has tried to keep this as far from politics as possible. In fact, it was the DGMO who spoke at the press conference," said Shah.

"Soon after Kejriwal ji made the statement on the surgical strikes, his name started trending in Pakistan. Just want to ask Rahul Gandhi, is 'dalali' a word to refer to the Indian Army and their efforts to save the country?" he said.

Shah asserted that the entire nation, the ruling dispensation and the BJP support the Indian Army and their efforts.

Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, the Congress vice-president on Thursday 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.

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.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least two suspected militants were killed in an operation of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Bangladesh's West Harinal area of Gazipur city on Saturday.

The deaths have been confirmed by RAB media wing Assistant Director ASP Mizanur Rahman.

However, the identities could not be recognised immediately.

RAB 1 Deputy Director Mahiul Islam said that one AK 47 rifle, bomb making materials, one laptop, a locally-made sharp weapon and some bullets have been seized from them, reports Dhaka Tribune.

Earlier during the day, Joydevpur police station Officer-in-Charge Khandaker Rezaul Hasan Reza said that RAB personnel carried out the raid early Saturday after being informed about some militants staying in the locality.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
To reduce hospital-acquired infections in neonatal intensive care units, researchers have found a protein in breast milk to be a safe and efficient solution.

Lead author of the study Michael Sherman explained, "The majority of diseases affecting newborn preemies are hospital-acquired infections such as meningitis, pneumonia and urinary tract infections. Not only did we find that lactoferrin, a protein found in breast milk, could reduce hospital infections among preemies, but we also measured the safety of feeding the protein to newborns."

Sherman and his team conducted a randomized control trial with premature infants weighing between 1 pound, 10 ounces, and 3 pounds, 4 ounces, at birth.

Sixty of the infants were fed lactoferrin through a feeding tube twice a day for 28 days, while 60 additional infants were given a placebo.

Researchers found the rate of hospital-acquired infections was 50 percent lower among the infants fed lactoferrin.

In addition, the researchers used MedDRA, a system that reports safety outcomes to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to evaluate the safety of lactoferrin during and after the infants received the

protein.

Infants were examined for adverse effects from the protein six and 12 months after the trial ended.

Sherman said that all adverse effects identified were associated with complications from preterm birth and not lactoferrin.

"While a large-scale clinical trial is needed before lactoferrin becomes a standard treatment protocol in NICUs, our results show the safety of lactoferrin and provide an initial report of efficiency related to reducing hospital-acquired infections," Sherman said.

Lactoferrin can cost an estimated 25 dollar to 500 dollar per dose; a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that hospital-acquired infections costs 9.8 billion dollar to

treat each year.

The study was published by The Journal of Pediatrics. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of (HD05774).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Donald Trump, the United States Republican Party presidential nominee, has issued a strange videotaped apology released early on Saturday, following a 2005 recording that surfaced in which he can be seen unabashedly bragging about trying to sleep with a married woman and being able to grope women as well.

His 2005 recording has set off an upheaval in the Republican Party.

"Anyone who knows me, knows these words don't reflect who I am," he said. "I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," the New York Times quoted Donald Trump, as saying.

His apology came amidst criticism from his fellow Republicans after the tape was made public.

The New York billionaire in the tape can be seen speaking about pushing himself on women and showing that he could get away with "anything" as being a celebrity.

In his video apology, he said, "I've said some foolish things. But there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims."

"I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never, ever let you down," he said.

Trump, however, also dismissed the disclosure as nothing more than a distraction from other issues the country is facing.

Trump in a statement on Friday before his video apology expressing regret "if anyone was offended" by his comments, but he tried to play down the tape as a snippet of "locker room banter."

Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Friday night withdrew an invitation for Trump to appear alongside with him in Wisconsin this weekend. In a statement, Ryan described himself as "sickened" by Trump's remarks

In a statement, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader called on Trump to express contrition - and possibly offering other Senate Republicans cover to reject the nominee if he refuses to apologise.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As an Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Rajasekhar Reddy was recently arrested in connection with an international drug racket, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Saturday said incidents like these bring bad reputation to IAF, adding that stringent steps have been taken to prevent such things in future.

Briefing the media on the 84th foundation day of the IAF at Air Force Station Hindon in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Air Chief Marshal Raha said, "A commissioned officers was involved in drug trafficking and these incidents affect the morale of the armed forces.

"We should have detected ourselves, much before it came to this shape. So, we we are investigating deep into the entire matter and we are taking lot of steps to prevent such things," he added.

The IAF Chief further said as these incidents bring bad reputation and affect the morale of the Air Force or armed forces, they are very concerned about it and were taking lot of steps to prevent them.

"I think the immediate seniors need to take more care and greater ownership of their subordinates in professional growth or in terms of behaviour, disciple, etc, which we are trying to tighten further," he added.

Indian Air Force Wing Commander Rajasekhar Reddy and a Bengaluru-based scientist were arrested in connection with an international drug racket earlier this week.

Reddy was arrested from Nanded in Maharashtra last weekend, following raids in which drugs like ecstasy and 230 kg of amphetamine were seized. Mobile phones and Rs 7.5 lakh cash were also seized from his possession.

Reddy, who was posted at the Air Headquarters in Delhi, was under scanner of the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Indian Air Force.

Amphetamine is reportedly manufactured at a factory in Hyderabad from where it was trafficked to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The German Police are searching for a Syrian refugee as part of an operation to foil a suspected terror plot in the country.

Saxony Police have issued an appeal for help tracing 22-year-old Jaber al-Bakr, an asylum seeker from Damascus province, reports the Independent.

A spokesperson said he was "suspected of preparing a bomb attack".

The alert was put out during a lockdown in the city of Chemnitz, where authorities said they were investigating a terror plot.

Scores of armed officers evacuated residents and cordoned off large areas of the Fritz Heckert district on Saturday morning.

Officials searched the flat used by al-Bakr and issued an appeal for residents not to share any images or footage of the operation on social media.

Security remains high in the country after two terror attacks by Islamic State supporters earlier this year, with a Syrian refugee blowing himself up in Ansbach and an Afghan teenager attacking train passengers with an axe in Wurzburg.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In another infiltration attempt in the Kashmir valley, two terrorists have reportedly snatched weapons from policemen manning the Pulwama's Tumlahal village.

The gun battle between the police and terrorists is currently underway.

From the past one-week, the valley has seen spurt in infiltration bids with majority of the terrorists emanating from across the Line of Control (LoC).

On Friday, a police constable Nazir Ahmad was killed in a militant attack in Shopian district.

He was killed when militants fired at cops, who tried to repulse their rifle-snatching bid at a police post in Reshnagri area. Another cop and a civilian were injured too.

The attack came amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan and repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the border.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Joining the Congress in coming down on the Centre over the 'politicization' of the recent surgical strike, the Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M) on Saturday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for misusing the covert operation by the Indian Army for political gains.

Taking to Twitter, CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury asserted that it was "despicable" to see an Indian Army operation being misused for political gains in rallies and on election posters of the BJP.

"Lines deliberately being blurred between ruling political party, its fountainhead, and Central govt. India far bigger than their PR machine," he said in a series of tweets, while posting an article about banners put up by BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh thanking the Centre and the Indian Army for the strong retaliation along the LoC.

The hoarding in UP garnered massive outrage in the political fraternity as the opposition came down heavily on the Centre over the development.

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah tweeted, "And some people will lecture others about politicising the army action all the while turning a blind eye to hoardings like these that sprout. No reward for guessing that this one is in UP. For the BJP and sections of the shouting brigade it is always do as we say, don't do as we do."

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashutosh did not mince words and response saying, "Look who is getting such hoardings put up and who is doing politics over 'surgical strike'. People are watching every thing."

Earlier, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar took a pot-shot on politicians demanding proof of the Indian Army's surgical strike in Pakistan's terror launch pads has said there are "some politicians who don't have any 'maryada' (decorum) at all".

"The way they are questioning and bringing down the gallantry of the country's brave jawans, there are some politicians who don't have 'maryada' at all," said Parrikar. "I was hurt and wanted to reply them, but being the Defence Minister I too have to follow some 'maryada'," said Parrikar.

Meanwhile, an all out war has been waged between the Congress and the BJP over the surgical strike, where both parties have been vehemently accusing each other of going against the nations' interests.

Taking on Rahul Gandhi for his "dalali" diatribe directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah yesterday hit back at the Congress vice-president, asking whether "dalali" was an appropriate word used in reference for the Indian Army and their valiant efforts in serving the nation.

Addressing a press conference, Shah hit out at Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and others for politicising the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army inside Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) on September 29.

"Some parties tried to question the surgical strikes that were carried out by the Army. We had, from the beginning, tried to keep the operation by the Army away from politics but these parties have shamed the soldiers by giving it a political colour, The government has tried to keep this as far from politics as possible. In fact, it was the DGMO who spoke at the press conference," said Shah.

"Soon after Kejriwal ji made the statement on the surgical strikes, his name started trending in Pakistan. Just want to ask Rahul Gandhi, is 'dalali' a word to refer to the Indian Army and their efforts to save the country?" he said.

Shah asserted that the entire nation, the ruling dispensation and the BJP support the Indian Army and their efforts.

Targeting the Prime Minister over the surgical strikes, the Congress vice-president on Thursday 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.

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.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit has claimed that Islamabad never wanted any increase in tensions with New Delhi.

The Express Tribune quoted Basit, as saying in interview published in the Outlook magazine on Friday that, "We never wanted to escalate the situation either vertically or horizontally."

"Pakistan has always proportionately responded to whatever [ceasefire] violation has taken place in the past. That continues to be our stance," he said.

Replying to a question asked about what he thought happened on the night of September 29 - the night India claimed that its army carried out 'surgical strikes' on the Pakistan side of the Line of Control (LoC), Basit said, "If you [India] want to label cross-LoC firing as surgical strikes, that is your prerogative and we can't stop you."

"But I can assure you, had there been any surgical strikes, Pakistan would have responded immediately and proportionately. If there is any action from the Indian side, you can rest assured Pakistan will respond," he added.

However, the Pakistan envoy warned that India was setting a dangerous example by claiming to have carried out covert raids across the LoC. "It is very dangerous to nurture false expectations. There are high stakes involved on both sides," he said. Asked why he thought Delhi would mislabel 'routine operations', Basit said "it is for India to explain."

He further said that "we are very confident that our deterrence is working and Pakistan will never allow the credibility of its deterrence to erode.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan has observed a "change" in the US' diplomatic policy, marked by its closer ties with India -- which is the reason for Pakistan's burgeoning ties with Russia, Pakistan Prime Minister's special envoy on Jammu and Kashmir has said.

Mushahid Hussain Syed, who is on a visit to the US, said, "We (Pakistan) are observing a change in the US diplomatic policy."

Hussain said every action has a reaction, and Pakistan felt the need to develop close ties with Russia after President Barack Obama's two visits to India.

"This was the start of a new chapter in Pakistan-Russia ties," Hussain said, adding that Moscow is in favour of building a working relationship with countries of South Asia region, Dawn reported.

Accusing Obama of changing the policy for political gains, Hussain said the US State Department had refused to give visa to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2006, but it took a U-turn after Modi was elected as the Prime Minister.

"This U-turn of US policy can be traced back to the time of Bush administration, when the US-India nuclear deal was signed which was against the law of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Hussain, at a programme organised by the think tank Atlantic Council here.

His remarks come as Pakistan and Russia held their first ever joint military exercises in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province late last month. Pakistan has also inked a deal on purchase of four Russian Mi-35M attack helicopters. Pakistani army, navy, and air force chiefs have visited Russia, signalling an upswing in bilateral military ties.

"Stability of Afghanistan and eradication of terrorism is a top priority of the US, which needs Pakistan to play a role in the peace-process. Pakistan is not only providing its assistance in the peace process but also facing damages," he said.

Hussain, who submitted a "dossier containing evidence of the atrocities carried out by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir" to Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, Peter Lavoy on Friday, also asked for a probe into the September 18 terror attack on an Indian army camp in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.

"UN military observer group for India and Pakistan should investigate the attack. Crossing the Line of Control to attack any target in India is not possible for any militant," he said.

He said that India should share with Pakistan if it has any evidence or intelligence regarding the attack, which left 19 Indian soldiers dead. India has blamed the attack on Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group.

The joint military exercises with Russia, which conclude on October 10, come amid tensions between Pakistan and India over the Uri attack and the "surgical strikes" by India on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has denied the surgical strikes and said it was a cross border fire exchange in which two Pakistani soldiers were killed.

Hussain on Friday briefed Peter Lavoy about the situation in Kashmir Valley which has been gripped by violence since July 9, a day after the killing of top militant Burhan Wani in a clash with Indian security forces.

Hussain informed Lavoy about the "atrocities and human rights violations" in Kashmir, saying the Indian aggression has adversely impacted the security situation in South Asia.

He said the silence of the international community, especially the US, has proven to be dangerous for the security situation in the region.

"Kashmir issue is important. Without peace in Kashmir it is not possible to have peace in the region," he said.

"Pakistan has deployed 200,000 troops on the western border with Afghanistan to fight terrorists. If tension with India increased, Islamabad will have to shift troops to its eastern border," he said.

Hussain also said that India can not violate the Indus Waters Treaty, as the move would constitute an act of war.

"Apart from Pakistan and India, the World Bank is also a stakeholder in the treaty," said Hussain.

India has said it plans to revisit the 56-year-old river waters treaty in the wake of the Uri attack and worsening ties with Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that "Blood and water can't flow together".

--IANS

py/rn/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hitting out again at Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday all the decisions taken by his government in the last one-and-a-half years are being rendered "null and void", which will lead to chaos.

"This will have serious ramifications for the city and it will send Delhi back by almost two years. But unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening in Delhi," he said at a press conference at his residence here.

Kejriwal's remarks come a day after Jung declared Mehboob Alam's appointment as Delhi Waqf Board CEO illegal and dissolved the religious body on Friday.

He also asked the Delhi government to withdraw its last year's notification of increasing circle rates of agricultural land in Delhi.

At this Kejriwal said: "We increased the circle rate of agricultural land in Delhi from Rs 53 lakh to Rs 3.5 crore. Many farmers even got the money as per revised rates from their land. Now that decision is being made 'ab initio' null and void. Will we take the money back from the farmers."

"We have made many flyovers, now will they be demolished? We constructed 8,000 classrooms. Will they have to be demolished as well," he asked.

Kejriwal said if there is corruption involved in all those decisions, then the Lt. Governor can get them investigated, but they should not be made null and void just because his consent was not taken.

He said before the August 4 High Court order, which held the Lt Governor had primacy over the Delhi administration, his government took various decisions "legitimately", believing that Lt Governor's consent was not needed for some issues.

"However, LG believed that his consent was needed. Our intention was not wrong while taking those decisions. The court case was going on and now there's the interpretation that his approval is needed," Kejriwal said.

He also noted that while prior approval was not taken, all the files were sent to the Lt Governor for his information.

"LG could have raised an objection then. You can't express a difference of opinion in infinity. What will happen to those orders now? Delhi will be headed for chaos if it goes on like this," he said.

He stressed that if prior approval was not taken, the Lt Governor should give his approval now so that all the work done in the last one and a half years is not reduced to nothing.

Assuring that in future, decisions will be taken as per orders of the High Court, and whatever order is given by the Supreme Court, Kejriwal requested the Central government "not to victimise the people of Delhi".

--IANS

vv/vd/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a dispute between NTT DoCoMo and Tata Sons over the enforcement of a US $1.17 billion award by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Japanese firm has moved a US court.

Tata Sons said that it would resist the enforcement and filed evidence before the English High Court of Justice in London supporting its application for setting aside the UK court order.

In a statement issued on late Friday night, the Indian conglomerate said that it has from the outset "emphasised its commitment to honouring its contractual obligations to DoCoMo in accordance with the applicable law".

"... 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.

"On that basis, Tata Sons is resisting enforcement in India and will resist enforcement in any other jurisdiction DoCoMo files for enforcement, said a Tata Sons spokesperson.

According to a statement, the company has already "placed the full amount awarded to DoCoMo in the arbitration - US$ 1.17 billion, in cash - with the High Court of Delhi", where the Japanese company had previously filed for enforcement of the arbitral award. "The entire issue is pending adjudication," the spokesperson said.

In a separate statement issued late on Friday, Tata Sons also informed that the company on Friday filed evidence in support of its September 5, 2016 application before the English High Court of Justice. "The application seeks to set aside the Court's July 25th, 2016 ex-parte order that granted NTT DoCoMo Inc. leave to enforce the LCIA arbitral award dated June 22nd, 2016," the spokesperson said.

Its evidence outlines the grounds on which enforcement of the award will be resisted by it.

"These include: first, that DoCoMo has not validly tendered its shares in Tata Teleservices to Tata Sons; second, that performance of the award without approval by the Reserve Bank of India would be illegal under Indian law and/or contrary to public policy," the company said.

"By pursuing the above application, Tata Sons is following the path laid down by the arbitral tribunal in the award. The tribunal expressly left open the issue of whether performance of the award would require approval from the RBI. 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," the statement said.

--IANS

bdc/pgh/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Atletico de Madrid captain Gabi Fernandez has renewed his contract with the club until the end of the 2017-2018 season.

"It's a great challenge to be able to be in the team when we move to the new stadium. A new and exciting stage starts for the club and being the captain of the first team in a moment that will go down in history is a source of pride for me," Gabi told the club's website on Friday, reports Efe.

Gabi, whose contract was supposed to end by the end of this season, expressed his happiness to continue for another year at the Spanish club.

"I always say that playing with Atletico de Madrid was my childhood dream, so I cannot ask for more than what I am living these years. I also want to thank the fans for their unconditional support both for me and for the team," he added.

--IANS

gau/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"Monster" Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade, killed more than 800 people and left tens of thousands homeless in Haiti before it churned northwards off Georgia and South Carolina in southeast US early on Saturday, but spared Florida a direct hit.

The storm, which has been downgraded to Category Two, has caused flooding, wind damage and power failures in North Florida.

Matthew, with winds of 105 miles per hour, is expected to move to North Carolina by night. The storm surges are likely to reach six to nine feet above high tide from Jacksonville, Florida, up through Charleston, South Carolina, reports said.

Haiti has borne the brunt of the storm with nearly 30,000 homes destroyed and 150 lives lost in just one part of the country's southern peninsula.

In many areas, the sugar, banana and mango crops were flattened.

Rescue efforts were hit by the massive destruction all around, with trees and buildings felled and floodwater marooning remote areas.

The UN has warned that it could take days for the full impact of Matthew in Haiti to emerge.

Haiti's Civil Protection Agency on Friday doubled the death toll from the hurricane from 400 to more than 800.

World Food Programme's Haiti Director Carlos Veloso said some of the hard-hit towns in Haiti can be accessed only by air or sea.

Matthew battered Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 miles per hour (233 km per hour) winds and torrential rain. More than 61,500 people are in shelters, officials said,

Mobile phone networks are down and roads flooded, making it difficult for aid to reach hard-hit areas in Haiti.

The Mesa Verde, a US Navy amphibious transport dock ship, was headed for Haiti to support relief efforts. The ship has heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, fresh water delivery vehicles and two surgical operating rooms.

At least one major town in the south - Jeremie - has been 80 per cent destroyed, with aerial footage showing the scale of destruction with hundreds of flattened houses.

The storm passed directly through the Tiburon peninsula - encompassing Haiti's entire southern coast - driving the sea inland and flattening homes with winds of up to 230km/h and torrential rain, BBC reported.

The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal for $6.9m, "to provide medical, shelter, water and sanitation assistance to 50,000 people".

There have been concerns over a surge in cholera cases, with at least seven deaths reported.

A 2010 earthquake in Haiti killed thousands of people.

After slicing through Haiti and Cuba, Matthew pounded the Bahamas on Thursday but no fatalities were reported there.

Four people died in the neighbouring Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

As it approached Florida, the storm swept past the coast with winds of up to 120 mph (195 kph) but did not make landfall in the state.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded the storm to Category 2 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale as its sustained winds dropped to 110 mph. Category 5 is the strongest.

Four storm-related deaths were reported in Florida but no immediate reports of significant damage in cities and towns where waves swept through streets, toppled trees and knocked out power to more than 1 million people, the Telegraph reported.

More than two million people had been ordered to evacuate the area.

US President Barack Obama on Friday warned that, while southern Florida had been spared the worst, the hurricane remained very dangerous, and the risk of a storm surge and flooding remained real.

A state of emergency is in place in several states of US.

--IANS

ss/rn/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reviewed security on the international border in the desert state and said India never attacked anyone but doesn't count the bullets when retaliating.

On the second day of his visit to Rajasthan, Singh visited the Border Security Force's Munabao Border Outpost (BOP) here.

"India never attacks anyone and we do not intend to occupy others' land. Our heritage is Vasudev Kutumbakam or the whole world is one family. We never open fire first; but if attacked, in retaliation we never count the bullets after pulling the trigger," the Union Minister said while addressing BSF personnel.

Singh's comments come in the wake of heightened tension between India and Pakistan following the Indian Army's surgical strikes against terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control on September 29 and the September 18 Uri terror attack.

Lauding the BSF, Singh assured that the Centre will do everything to improve infrastructure on the international borders and their service conditions.

He said urgent repairs on damaged border fence at some places will be carried out, and periodically reviewed thereafter.

The minister said installation of flood lights and a road parallel to the border fencing will also be completed to facilitate effective border patrols.

Pointing out that some BOPs do not have telephone facility, he said connectivity will be ensured with the sanction of more mobile phone towers close to the border. In the meantime, more satellite phones will be provided at the BOPs, he assured.

Singh said the Centre will soon address the shortage of bulletproof jackets and consider procuring such jackets that are lighter.

He said the BSF's proposal to construct safety walls and ring bunds on peripheries of BSF battalion headquarters and BOPs will be examined.

The Union Minister said the issue of discomfort caused by camouflage uniform of BSF personnel will also be addressed.

On Friday, Rajnath Singh had visited Murar and adjoining BOP in Jaisalmer district and interacted with the BSF troopers there.
A 13-year old Srinagar boy who sustained injures in clashes with security forces, succumbed to injuries on Saturday, taking the death toll to 91 in last three months of unrest.

Junaid Ahmad Bhat a resident of Saidpora locality in Srinagar city was taken to to SKIMS (Sher-e- Institute of Medical Sciences Soura on Friday after he sustained firearm injuries during clashes.

"The boy has passed away today morning", a police officer said.

With Bhat's death, 91 people have been killed in the ongoing cycle of violence that completed 91 days on Friday.

The unrest started on July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujhadeen commander Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with the security forces.

For the 13th consecutive Friday no congressional prayers were allowed inside the historic Jamia Masjid in old city's Nowhatta.

Authorities also foiled the separatist march to the uptown Sonawar area where the office of the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) is located.

Clashes also erupted in south Kashmir's Pulwama, Shopian and north Kashmir's Bandipor a districts in addition to some parts of Srinagar city after Friday prayers.

All educational institutions, public transport and main markets have remained shut in the Valley.

Train services between the Valley and Bannihal town in the Jammu region have also remained suspended during this period.

--IANS

sq/ahm/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US is trying to distract attention from its own failure to implement the ceasefire deal by calling for an investigation into Russias actions in Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"The US side just could not fulfill the ceasefire agreement. They themselves told us that they do not have the means to put pressure on the opposition," Zakharova said, as quoted by TASS.

She also warned Washington that there were legal consequences for such rhetoric.

"Kerry's statement - this is propaganda. There are some very serious legal consequences behind this terminology, and I think that Kerry used all of these terms to inflame the situation," Zakharova said.

She said in an interview to Dozhd TV channel: "If it comes to war crimes, US representatives should start with Iraq. And then move to Libya, and of course to Yemen - find out what's there. I want to say that juggling these words is very dangerous, because there are indeed war crimes on the part of the American representatives."

Earlier on Friday, US Secretary John Kerry said that the Russian and Syrian governments' actions in Syria "beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes." He alleged Moscow and Damascus have been "hitting hospitals, medical facilities," in the war-ravaged country.

Russia has come under criticism from Washington over airstrikes hitting East Aleppo. Moscow and Damascus said that the joint mission is targeting terrorists in the city who have repeatedly jeopardized the cessation of hostilities agreed between Russia and the US.

Earlier in October, Washington suspended bilateral contacts with Moscow on Syria over the bombardment. Moscow in return noted that the US has failed to deliver on its promise to separate "moderate opposition" from the terrorists, which in turn jeopardized the truce deal.

--IANS

ahm/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Test skipper Virat Kohli ended his brief drought of big runs with a brilliant unbeaten century to guide India to 267/3 at stumps on the opening day of the third and final Test against New Zealand at the Holkar stadium here on Saturday.

Kohli, who last scored a century against the West Indies in Antigua, held his composure to thwart the Kiwi attack and bring up his 13th ton, which incidentally is the first century of the ongoing series from either side.

The 27-year-old got ample support from his deputy Ajinkya Rahane (79 not out), who became the 36th Indian batsman to cross the milestone of 2000 Test runs during the innings.

Finding themselves in a tight spot in the second session, the right-handed duo held their nerves as they went on to frustrate the Kiwi bowlers with an unbeaten 167-run stand for the fourth wicket when stumps were drawn for the day.

Sensing more trouble, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson opted for the second new ball but his efforts at breaking the partnership went in vain as India added 119 runs in the final session.

Earlier, Cheteshwar Pujara's (41) wicket was the only casualty India endured during the post-lunch session as the hosts went to tea at 148/3.

Resuming at 75/2 after lunch, Pujara and Kohli continued to maintain their temperament against the Kiwi spinners but after adding 25 runs to the score left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner produced a ripper to dismiss Pujara for 41.

The fall of Pujara brought in Rahane, who along with Kohli forged a 48-run partnership to stabilise the Indian innings.

For the visitors, Santner was the lone wicket-taker in the second session.

In the morning session, the Kiwis gave a good fight sending back both the Indian openers as the hosts reached 75/2 at lunch.

All eyes were on veteran opener Gautam Gambhir (29), who made a comeback to the national team after being sidelined for two years.

Coming in as a replacement for the aggressive Shikhar Dhawan, who injured his left thumb during the Kolkata Test, Gambhir started with a four to set the tone for the first ever Test match played at the venue.

When Matt Henry tested him with two short deliveries, the Delhi southpaw unleashed two consecutive pull shots that carried the ball safely over the ropes. Two more fours took his total to 24 off 20 making the 34-year-old's intent loud and clear.

His opening partner Murali Vijay (10) produced two classy fours off pacer Trent Boult but soon fell prey to off-spinner Jeetan Patel, who induced the right-hander to flick before being caught by Tom Latham at short-leg.

Encouraged by the result, Williamson immediately introduced spin from both ends employing Santner but one down Pujara and Gambhir did not give the left-armer any chance.

Boult then came back to break through the defence of Gambhir when he angled one across that thudded low on the back pad of the left-hander which was enough for the umpire to raise the finger.

For the visitors, none of the bowlers looked threatening as Boult, Patel and Santner managed to take one wicket apiece.

With both Kohli and Rahane well set, and Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin to follow, the hosts certainly look set for a massive first innings score.

--IANS

tri/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde has locked horns with Bhagwangad hill temple's head priest Mahant Namdeoshastri Sanap after he refused her permission to address a Dassehra rally.

The annual Dassehra rally at the temple in Ahmednagar district attracts over a million members of the Vanjari community, the political base of the Munde family. The rally was earlier addressed by late Union Minister and Pankaja's father Gopinath Munde for two decades.

This year, however, the Mahant declared that she will not be allowed to make any political speech at the venue.

Incidentally, Bhagwangad is the memorial to the Vanjari community's saint Bhagwan Baba, atop the hills situated on the border of the Beed-Ahmednagar districts.

The minister vowed to visit Bhagwangad along with her supporters, following which the Mahant accused her of threatening him for his decision.

A purported video of her issuing threats to Namdeoshastri and his supporters has since gone viral. She has insisted on continuing with the 20-year-old tradition set by her father.

Speaking to the media, the Mahant said the state minister's utterances did not behove of her as late Munde's daughter, and said he continued to treat her like his own daughter.

"She is welcome to come and pray at the temple, but she can make her political speech at her father's memorial -- Gopinathgad. She has already announced that Bhagwangad will be the spiritual centre and Gopinathgad will be the political centre (of the community)," the Mahant pointed out.

In a bid to claim the political legacy of her father who died in June 2014, Pankaja got constructed the imposing Gopinathgad memorial in December 2015 in Beed, the family's home district adjacent to Ahmednagar.

Apprehending a law and order problem, Namdeoshastri has now written to the state government, while Munde has made it clear she will go to Bhagwangad on Dassehra for the annual Vanjaris' congregation.

Her estranged cousin and Nationalist Congress Party's Leader of the Opposition (Council) Dhananjay Munde threw his weight behind the Mahant and demanded Munde's resignation from the state Cabinet.

Incidentally, Dhananjay had bitterly criticised the Mahant and accused him of bias towards the Bharatiya Janata Party when his motorcade was stoned during a thanksgiving visit to Bhagwangad in January 2015 after he was elected the Leader of the Opposition.

On the other hand, the Vanjari community appears to be divided over the clash between their spiritual head and political leader and have appealed to keep politics and religion separate.

--IANS

qn/tsb/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Adviser to the Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said there could be no expectation of any breakthrough in relations between Pakistan and India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure.

Aziz on Friday said Pakistan had been resisting India's hegemonistic attitude in the region and calling for the promotion of bilateral ties on an equal basis, Pakistan Today reported.

He said the joint session of the Pakistani parliament had unanimously adopted a resolution that encompassed all issues including the "condemnation of brutalities in Kashmir, ceasefire violations at Line of Control by India, negation of Indian view of Kashmir as its integral part, condemnation of Indian threat to revoke Indus Waters Treaty and Indian intervention in Balochistan".

Aziz said the main agenda of all these efforts was to show the world that the entire Pakistan was united against Indian aggression.

During interactions at various platforms across the globe the majority viewed that dialogue should resume between the two nations, he said.

Responding to a question regarding Home Minister Rajnath Singh's remarks of sealing Indian borders with Pakistan by 2018, Aziz said there was no harm in sealing the Pak-India border if public movement and trade were maintained.

According to Radio Pakistan, Aziz said India cannot succeed in diverting the world attention from the Kashmir issue through the September 18 "Uri-like self staged incidents".

Tension has been high between India and Pakistan after an Indian Army camp was attacked by militants, suspectedly from Pakistan, killing 19 soldiers and the "surgical strikes" by the Indian Army on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan has denied the surgical strikes and said it was a cross border fire exchange in which two Pakistani soldiers were killed.

India has also said it plans to revisit the 56-year-old river waters treaty in the wake of the Uri attack and worsening ties with Pakistan. Modi said that "Blood and water can't flow together".
Clashes broke out in Srinagar after a boy with pellet injuries died in hospital on Saturday, taking to 91 the toll in the nearly three month-long cycle of violence, and forcing authorities to impose curfew, while violent protests were also reported from other parts of the Valley.

Twelve-year-old Junaid Ahmad Bhat of Saidpora area, who was admitted to a hospital with pellet injuries on Friday, died on Saturday morning, leading to tension.

Bhat had been injured on Friday after security forces fired pellets at him.

Local residents, as well as the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said Bhat had not been part of any protests in the area and his death needs to be probed.

PDP General Secretary Nizamuddin Bhat demanded a probe into the boy's death.

Hundreds of protesters, carrying Bhat's body, clashed with the security forces in Eidgah area, and the latter had to use tear smoke shells to disperse the mourners.

As trouble spread to other areas of Srinagar, authorities quickly imposed curfew in areas falling under seven police stations here.

The prevailing tension checked the progress towards peace in the city where private transport and pedestrian movement had nearly normalised during the last one week.

In the evening, tensions, however, decreased marginally in the uptown civil lines area where private vehicles moved following relaxation in protest schedule by the separatists from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m.

However, the old city areas did not witness any lowering of tensions where authorities continued with curfew to prevent protests and violence.

With the boy's death, as many as 91 people have died and over 12,000 injured during the last 92 days since July 9, when the current unrest started in the Valley after the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

For the 13th consecutive Friday, no congregational prayers were allowed inside the historic Jamia Masjid in old city's Nowhatta.

Authorities also foiled the separatist march to the uptown Sonawar area where the office of the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) is located.

Meanwhile, clashes also erupted in Pulwama and Shopian districts in south and Bandipora in the north after Friday prayers.

All educational institutions, public transport and main markets have remained shut in the Valley.

Train services between the Valley and Bannihal town in the Jammu region have also remained suspended during this period.

--IANS

sq/vd/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has invited Malaysian companies to invest in Iran's oil, gas and petrochemical industry, a media report said.

Iran seeks an increase in economic ties with Malaysia and "it supports investments by Malaysian companies in the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors," Tasnim news agency quoted Rouhani as saying on Friday.

The Iranian President, who visited Kuala Lumpur on Friday, urged for cooperation with Malaysia in the Halal food industry, academic and technological fields and tourism industry.

Rouhani also said Iran and Malaysia can facilitate each other's access to markets in West and East Asia.

In a meeting between Rouhani and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, both sides vowed to double trade volume within the shortest possible time.

With reference to the impacts of restrictive western sanctions against Iran's monetary and financial systems over the past years, both sides agreed to work together to find mechanisms to enable the private sectors of both countries to conduct business in an efficient way, Xinhua news agency reported.

Leading a political and economic delegation, President Rouhani embarked on a tour of Southeast Asia on Wednesday that first took him to Vietnam.

--IANS

ask/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The UN Security Council is scheduled to have an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the current situation in Syria as Russia and the United States are at odds over the airstrikes on Aleppo.

In the emergency meeting, council members are expected to vote on a draft resolution on Syria, diplomats said.

Russia, the council's president for this month, said on Friday a draft resolution demanding an end to airstrikes over Aleppo was unacceptable, Xinhua news agency reported.

Though the resolution, which also calls for a ceasefire, is to be considered on Saturday, Russian UN ambassador and council President Vitaly Churkin said: "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass."

The council's decision to meet in its emergency session came shortly after the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, called on parties to halt hostilities in civilian area in Aleppo on Friday.

The special envoy made the statement as he was briefing the 15-nation UN council on the latest developments in the Middle East country, where the conflict has been dragging on for more than five years.

"We are talking about 900 people, who are becoming the main reason for 275,000 people being attacked. Would this be the excuse for the destruction of the city," de Mistura said about the impact of airstrkes on Aleppo.

On Friday, French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters that there is a strong determination for a vote on the draft resolution. This could lead Russia to use its veto power as a permanent member of the council.

--IANS

vgu/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two suspected militants were killed on Saturday during a raid by an anti- unit on a hideout in Bangladesh's Gazipur city.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) spokesperson Mufti Mahmud Khan confirmed the deaths to bdnews24.com, but did not disclose their identities.

Security forces had surrounded a house in west Harinal area in Gazipur district since early Saturday.

A senior official said one AK 47 rifle, bomb making material, one laptop, a locally-made sharp weapon and some bullets were seized, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Locals said the militants had rented the recently constructed house a month ago.

The unit's senior officer, Additional Deputy Commissioner Sanowar Hossain, told bdnews24.com that they acted on a tip-off about the presence of 'Neo-JMB' Dhaka region commander Akash in that location.

Meanwhile, law enforcers were exchanging gunfire with alleged militants in another raid on a two-storey house in Pathartek area of Gazipur, the Daily Star quoted Harunur Rashid, police superintendent of the district, as saying.

--IANS

ss/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 Flash

Kenya's anti-terrorism police on Friday arrested a doctor in the coastal town of Malindi over alleged links to the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

Detectives raided the doctor's house and confiscated "terrorism documents" associated with the IS following an intelligence report, according to John Ndungu, a security official in Malindi.

Police say they obtained phone call data linking the doctor to the IS.

"We suspect he is part of IS cell in the country targeting mainly medical students (for recruitment)," Ndungu said.

The doctor escaped an earlier operation in which two other IS suspects were arrested in August in Malindi, according to the police.

The two medical interns in a local hospital were believed to be behind the radicalization of a batch of university students who were lured to join the IS.

Kenya has tightened security in the wake of several deadly attacks by Somalia-based Islamist group Al-Shabaab in recent years. And now it is also battling IS recruitment of youths.
India's indigenous Tejas fighter stole the show, leaving spectators enthralled with its manoeuvers at the 84th Air Force Day parade on Saturday.

The Air Force Day, celebrated at the IAF base at the Hindon Air Force Station in the presence of the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, was marked by a glittering flypast and parade.

The event also was the first Air Force Day to have a foreign Air Force - the Red Arrows of UK's Royal Air Force, scheduled to perform.

However, the Red Arrows, who fly Hawk jets, could not perform due to a haze that caused poor visibility.

The haze did not however come in the way of the IAF's acrobatic team on Hawks, the Surya Kiran, which was at stand by and later staged a captivating performance.

The static display included a Sukhoi jet with air version Brahmos missile, MiG-29 armed with a 30 mm cannon, close combat and radar guided missile.

Also present was strike aircraft Jaguar, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer, Mig-21 Bison, which have been upgraded and Mi-17 V5 choppers along with transport jets and radars, displaying the IAF's strike capability to its full -- at a time when India's border with Pakistan is tense.

The event started with the Akash Ganga Para jumping team. The air display, which included all advance fighters, choppers and transport aircraft, also included vintage Tiger Moth and Harvard.

The hero of the show remained the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, which made its debut at the Air Force Day after being inducted into the IAF in July.

Of the two Tejas fighters inducted, one was placed in the centre of the parade ground, while the other took to the sky flown by Group Captain Madhav Rangachari.

A steep pull right after the takeoff demonstrated the aircraft's ability to climb rapidly to desired altitude, with the aircraft standing vertical in air to the awe of the spectators.

The pilot then performed a loop, took a fast turn at a rate of approximately 20 degrees per second, and took turn at a speed as low as 160 knots.

According to the team, the Fly By Wire of the aircraft ensures complete protection at high angles of attack.

The air power display included C-17 Globemaster, Su-30 MKIs, Jaguar, Mig-21 Bisons, Mig-29 and Mirage 2000.

Also a part of the air display were IAF's acrobatic team on Dhruv helicopters -- Sarang.

Spectators faced some disappointment as UK Royal Air Force's acrobatic team Red Arrows could not perform due to low visibility.

'The aircraft come at great speed, low visibility may lead to collision,' Commanding Officer Group Captain Fin Monahan told IANS.

--IANS

ao/rn/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has apologised after a leaked video from 2005 caught him passing crude remarks and bragging about groping women because of his fame.

Following the release of the recording, Trump initially said he was sorry "if anyone was offended" by the "locker room banter".

However, after a backlash from his party colleagues, Trump issued a more forthright video apology in which he said: "I have said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them."

"Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong and I apologise. I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never, ever let you down," Sky news quoted Trump as saying.

In the short but defiant address, Trump insisted that his lewd remarks captured on tape amounted to "nothing more than a distraction" and were not as shocking as former US President Bill Clinton's extramarital affairs.

He posted a 90-second video on Facebook in response to a chorus of condemnation after he was recorded in a lewd conversation talking about trying to have sex with a married woman and saying that his celebrity status allowed him to "do anything" with women, the Irish Times reported.

In the tape, Trump, who was only recently married to Melania Trump at the time, says of an unknown woman, "I moved on her and I failed. I'll admit it."

The video, obtained and posted by the Washington Post late on Friday, threw Trump's presidential campaign into a tailspin.

Republicans lined up to denounce their candidate in strong terms over his demeaning remarks about women, joining Trump's Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in condemning him.

Some Republicans called on him to end his presidential bid. The nominee refused to bow to the pressure and even used his responding video to turn his sights on his rival for the US presidency.

"This is horrific," Clinton said on Twitter adding, "we cannot allow this man to become president.

She has said Trump has shown a lack of respect for women, noting during the first debate he insulted a former Miss Universe.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had been scheduled to appear alongside Trump on Saturday for the first time in Wisconsin, condemned Trump in a statement late on Friday, the Politico reported.

"I am sickened by what I heard today (Friday). Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified," Ryan said adding, "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. In the meantime, he is no longer attending tomorrow's event in Wisconsin."

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said the comments were "repugnant", adding that Trump "needs to apologise directly to women and girls everywhere".

Another senior Republican, John McCain, said there were "no excuses for Trump's offensive and demeaning comments".

The video has emerged two days before Trump takes part in the second presidential debate with Clinton.

The two candidates will be in St Louis for the televised encounter, with polling day only a month away.

--IANS

ask/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two persons from Kolkata, on way to Bhutan on a vacation, were killed and seven others injured when their car collided with a lorry in West Bengal's Malda district on Saturday morning, police said.

According to police, two families residing at Kolkata's Jadavpur area were headed for the neighbouring Himalayan kingdom during the Puja holidays when the accident occurred at Kodubari crossing.

Lakshmi Prasad (70) and Lata Singh (45) were taken to a nearby hospital by local residents, where doctors declared both dead.

Among the injured persons, two, including the car driver, were in critical condition and transferred to Malda Medical College hospital.

--IANS

str/bdc/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States on Friday blamed Russia for hacking US political sites, an accusation immediately dismissed as "nonsense" by Moscow.

Shortly after the White House claimed in a statement that US intelligence was "confident" that Russia was behind recent hacking of emails from US citizens and political organisations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly dismissed the accusation.

"Every day there are tens of thousands of attacks on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's website. Many of the attacks can be traced to the US but we're not blaming the White House or Langley every time," Xinhua news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

In July, WikiLeaks disclosed a trove of emails hacked from the accounts of staff at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) which appeared to discredit Democratic Party's claim of neutrality in the primary elections.

According to contents of the almost 20,000 emails, DNC officials -- who are supposed to remain neutral during the primary contest -- appeared to conspire against Hillary Clinton's rival Bernie Sanders.

After the disclosure, the DNC blamed Russia for the hack of emails despite the fact that a hacker, with the name of "Guccifer 2.0" claimed responsibility for the cyber attack.

--IANS

vgu/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Today I want to send a clear message to every boardroom, every executive suite across America: If you scam your customers, exploit your many employees, pollute our environment, or rip off taxpayers, we will find ways to hold you accountable.
Union Minister on Friday told Bharatiya Janata Party cadre to tell those trying to "create a divide" in the society by making "provocative references" to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh 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 in Jammu.

"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 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 people, as well as, 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.
A 13-year-old boy was today allegedly beaten to death by his classmates in Gaurabadshapur here, police said.

Altamus, a IX class student of Gramoday Inter College, had an altercation with his classmates after which he was brutally beaten on the college premises, they said.

College authorities rushed the victim to the hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, police said.

The boy's father has lodged a police complaint.

His family members threatened to stage protest but were dispersed after they were assured of proper investigation.

The body has been sent for postmortem, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two armed persons from Kerala with alleged links to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim were arrested by Kolkata Police, a senior officer said today.

The Anti-Rowdy Section of the city police arrested the two on Thursday night from near Howrah Bridge where they were loitering in a "suspicious" manner.

"Preliminary investigations revealed that the two were on the most wanted list of Kerala police because of their links with Dawood Ibrahim," the IPS officer said.

"But, it is still not clear, why did they come here. We are trying to find that out," he added.

One of the two was identified as Abu Bakar Siddique, while the name of the other was yet to be confirmed.

Two 7 mm pistols and some documents in Malayalam were seized from them, the IPS officer said.

After their arrest, the two were questioned by the officials of the Special Task Force (STF), Kolkata Police as well as those from the state Intelligence Bureau.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two MNS corporators from the city were arrested today, days after they allegedly forced a civic chief engineer to hold a placard on a potholed road in Dadar, which read 'I am responsible for potholes', police said.

Sandeep Deshpande and Santosh Dhuri surrendered before Shivaji Park police station officials in Dadar this evening, following which they were formally arrested.

However, workers of the Raj Thackeray-led MNS filed complaints in all the 93 police stations in the city through the day seeking stern action against the road engineers and contractors for "jeopardising people's lives" through "pothole-ridden" roads.

Talking about the corporators' arrest, Deputy Commissioner of Police Paramjit Singh Dahiya told PTI here tonight, "The corporators were arrested under IPC Section 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (34) (criminal intimidation)."



The incident had occurred in the afternoon on October 5 when a group of workers, led by MNS leader in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Sandeep Deshpande and corporator Santosh Dhuri met BMC Chief Engineer (Roads department) Sanjay Darade at his office in Worli, an official of Shivaji Park police station said.

They asked Darade to accompany them to a spot between Sena Bhavan and Plaza Theatre in Dadar area and after reaching the spot, he was allegedly forcibly made to hold a placard which read, "I, Chief Engineer of Roads Department, I am responsible for these potholes. Citizens should take note of this."



MNS secretary Sachin More said the party workers filed complaints against the road engineers and contractors in all the 93 police stations across the city and demanded that they be booked under IPC Sections 420 (cheating) and 467 (forgery of valuable security).

"The party feels that the unholy nexus between the engineers and contractors has jeopardised the lives of over one crore people of the city due to the pothole-ridden roads across the city," More said.

"Our party has a zero tolerance policy towards potholes. These craters are a reflection of corrupt practices of road engineers and contractors, and therefore, we have demanded to book and punish them," he added.

The MNS leader said the party is firmly behind the arrested corporators.

"These engineers have the responsibility to ensure the quality of the repaired roads. But it is clear that they have failed to discharge their duties," he said.

Following Wednesday's incident, Darade had approached the Shivaji Park police on Thursday night and filed an FIR against the corporator duo and others involved.

Over 4,000 civic engineers had held protest marches outside BMC's engineering hub in Worli on Thursday and threatened to resign if action was not taken against the corporators before October 10.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 Flash

China's Belt and Road Initiative would in particular offer great opportunities for Europe, said Michael Schaefer, former German ambassador to China, in a recent interview with German media Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten.

The Belt and Road Initiative launched by China is a good example of the strategic thinking and action of the Chinese people, said Schaefer, adding it is linked to the old trade routes between China and Europe, and is an inclusive project.

"That means, any state, if it wishes to, can actively participate in the development of the initiative and its implementation," he said.

Europe should not obstruct this initiative by implying it has a hegemonic purpose, but should take the offer of China seriously and test it through concrete cooperation, he said.

In view of the European Union's current negotiations on free trade agreements with Canada (CETA) and the United States (TTIP), he warned against taking free trade agreements as geostrategic instruments against China and the other BRICS states.

Europe does not need isolation but integration into the global markets, he added.

Schaefer said the international community in the 21st century would become a multipolar one. A trade policy against the BRICS states, apart from China, which also include Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa, will not benefit anyone.

"We must try to build new structures of global governance on the foundations of the existing international legal system, not against but with the new creative powers," he said.

"I am deeply convinced that the chances of a peaceful coexistence with China and other new global actors are far greater than the danger of being ousted by these new powers," Schaefer noted.

In an innovative form of transregional cooperation, the Belt and Road Initiative could be seen as an offer to create the basis for cooperation among equals which may lead to a real balance of interests, he said.
The Puducherry government today said the Department of Information and Technology would train 5,000 candidates on soft skills in this fiscal.

The skill training will be provided in association with Chennai-based Information Communication Technology Academy.

Inaugurating the IT Finish school programme here, Revenue Minister M O H F ShahJahan said candidates who undergo training would also be subject to assessment and certification which would enable trainees get placements in multinational companies.

ICT Academy is an initiative of the Union government to meet skill requirements of the industries and generate more jobs especially in Tier II and III towns, he said.

Officials of the Department and also the Academy highlighted the importance of the training.

D Manikandan, Secretary to Information Technology of Puducherry government, said the partnership with the ICT Academy was meant to provide advanced technology skill by imparting professional training and certification.

Candidates undergoing training would be equipped with most upto date technologies to keep abreast of the fast-paced and dynamic IT industry, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn has come out in support of Karan Johar's upcoming film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', saying banning Indian films featuring Pakistani artistes is "unfair".

After the Uri terror attack, the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had demanded a ban on Pakistani artistes working in Bollywood and not allowing release of films featuring such actors.

"Sometimes, it gets difficult to remove anybody from a film that has already been completed. I feel, when people have shot a film before an issue has happened, they should be allowed to release it," Ajay told PTI.

'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan in a special appearance while 'Raees' is slated to see the Bollywood debut of Pakistani actress Mahira Khan opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

Ajay, however, refused to comment on the MNS' stance, saying, "It is a political issue I do not want to get into."



Voicing his support for the army, he said soldiers should be motivated in this "tough" scenario.

"We admire their work and they admire us and our work. Right now, the situation is that our security forces are fighting and dying. So, we have a responsibility to keep their morale up. Otherwise, they will feel, we are dying here and these people are going on with their lives like nothing has happened," the actor said.

"So, my stand is with the security forces and my request is, till the problem is solved, it should be that way," he added.

"I do not worry about backlash. I speak from the heart, whether good or bad. I think, sensible people will understand that those who want to create controversies, will do so," he said.

Ajay (47) insists that he is "open" to work with Pakistani actors once the situation between the two countries "normalises".

"Once the problem is solved, I would love to work with them again. We all should work together as an exchange of culture is important. But, it cannot happen at the time when you are exchanging bullets. I respect them. They are standing by their country and we stand by ours," he said.

Asked if he thought the Pakistani actors had reacted late, Ajay said, "They have not reacted. It is a diplomatic statement. You do expect them to react.

While filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Salman Khan have



voiced their opinion that the demand for a ban on Pakistani actors is not justified, Ajay has a different view on this.

"I have not spoken anything against my fraternity. We are talking about the country and I do not want our people to fight," he said.

Ajay's 'Shivaay' is set to lock horns with Karan's 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', both of which are slated for release on October 28.
Prince Leka, the sole descendant of Albania's last king today married popular actress Elia Zaharia in a ceremony attended by the Spanish queen and several former royals.

It was the first wedding in Tirana of a member of the deposed royal family since 1938. Leka's grandfather Zog I, fled when Italian Fascist troops invaded Albania in 1939, a year after his wedding with Hungary's princess Geraldine Apponyi.

The royal family was forbidden to return until the fall of communism in 1990.

Albania was isolated during the communist era and closed to the outside world and the descendants of Zog were considered traitors.

The 33-year old bride, who studied theatre in Paris, is a famous actress in Albania.

More than 20 current and erstwhile royals attended, including Spain's Queen Sofia, Iran's former empress Farah Diba, Prince Mihailo Karadjordjevic of Yugoslavia and Princess Margarita of Romania.

Prince Leka, 34, is a graduate from Britain's Sandhurst military academy, and is an adviser to Albania's foreign minister.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The post-mortem conducted on renowned perfume specialist Monica Ghurde, whose body was found near here two days back, brought to the fore that she was strangulated to death, although it failed to confirm whether she was raped before the murder or not, police said.

The panel of doctors in Goa Medical College and Hospital today conducted the post-mortem on the body of 39-year-old Ghurde, who was found dead at her home in Sangolda village on October 6.

"The post-mortem report has confirmed that she died due to smothering," Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahesh Gaonkar told PTI today.

He said the post-mortem report, however, is not clear on the suspicion of rape, which would be known only after the serological examination.

"The viscera has also been preserved and would be sent for forensic examination ... The post-mortem does not confirm or rule out rape. It is completely silent on that awaiting detailed forensic examination," Gaonkar said.

Ghurde, who was living alone in a rented three bedroom flat at Sangolda village near Calangute beach, was found dead on October 6, although police investigations have revealed that she might have been killed on October 5.

Earlier in the day, police said that they have sent teams to the neighbouring states to nab the accused.

"We will be able to crack this case soon. We are working on different theories. Yesterday, we had sent teams to different locations including neighbouring states," Deputy Inspector General of Police Vimal Gupta told PTI.

Gupta said the woman originally hailed from Nagpur and was married to a photographer Bharat Ramamrutham from Tamil Nadu and was residing at Porvorim near here before she got separated from her husband and shifted to Sangolda this year.

"Police investigations have revealed that she had shifted to Sangolda in July this year and was staying alone," the DIG said.

Gupta said the murder came to light when the maid, who



came around 9 am on October 6, found that the door was locked. When Monica did not open it despite repeated knocks she raised an alarm.

"The maid later informed Monica's brother (Anand, based in Mumbai) who in turn called her husband (Bharat) and then her neighbour, an American woman who had spare keys following which the door was opened and the body was found," he said.

A case has been registered under section 302 (murder) of the IPC.

The perfumer, who was a regular in Goa's social circuit, is said to have met Ramamrutham in Mumbai while she was a photographer. She had done her photography course from Mumbai's JJ Institute of Applied Arts.

Later, she moved to Chennai in 2009 to pursue her interest in perfumes, and later shifted to Goa in 2011. Monika had set up her perfume-making company Mo Lab, and was also researching perfumery.

She had collaborated with eminent designers, such as Jean Francois Lesage, Christian Louboutin and Anand Kabra.
Bangladesh is keen to have India as a "stakeholder" in the proposed USD 4 billion Ganges barrage project and a team from India's water resources ministry will soon visit Dhaka to hold talks in this regard, a senior minister has said.

State Minister for Water Resources Nazrul Islam said two Chinese firms were keen to wholly finance the project and even Japan was willing to fund at least USD 2 billion.

"But because the Ganges flows into Bangladesh from India, we take a long term view of the project and our prime minister is keen to get India into it," he told bdnews24 online.

He said a team from India's water resources ministry will soon visit Dhaka to hold discussions on the barrage project.

"The issue was raised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dhaka last year. He showed much interest and Indian officials later asked for the project details which we have provided," Islam said.

He said funding was not a problem for the project.

"Two Chinese companies have offered full finance while the Japanese have said they can put in half the project cost and we can manage the rest, but it makes long-term sense to have India involved because the Ganges flow into Bangladesh from India," Islam said.

The Ganges barrage will be a 165-kilometre long reservoir running from Rajbarhi to Chapainawabganj districts, with a depth of 12.5 metres.

It will hold a phenomenal 2.9 billion cubic litres and cost Tk 314 billion (approximately USD 4 billion). The barrage will retain the water of the trans-boundary river Ganga, known as the Padma in Bangladesh, during the monsoon and feed small rivers during the lean season.

This will help Bangladesh flush the small rivers and reduce salinity, a major threat to public health and agriculture in the country's southwest.

Islam sought to allay fears of flooding on the Indian side of the Ganges. "The project has provided for allocations for upgrading and raising embankments on the Indian side to avoid any flooding," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Centre to beef up security along the Indo-Pak frontier in the state to check infiltration from across the border.

"The Union government must beef up the security along the Indo-Pak border in the state. Effective steps must be taken by the government of India to check infiltration from across the border," Badal said here.

Badal expressed happiness over the decision of Union Home Ministry to revoke the orders regarding evacuation of villages with in 10 km radius of Indo-Pak border.

Lauding the Centre for allotting express highways projects, Badal envisioned it would act as catalyst of development and prosperity of the state, besides facilitating travel in hassle free manner.

The state government had yesterday said the Centre had given its in-principle approval to the proposed alignment of Katra-Amritsar-Delhi national highway via Jind-Barnala-Moga and Amritsar.

Centre also gave in-principle go ahead to Jalandhar-Ajmer expressway and its proposed alignment via Jalandhar-Moga- Bathinda and Ajmer.

Replying to another query on the sidelines of Sangat Darshan program in Lambi assembly segment here today, the Chief Minister reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to lift every single grain of paddy from the market.

He said the state government has already made elaborate arrangements for smooth and hassle free procurement of the food grains.

Badal said the entire procurement operation was being monitored by the top brass of state government to avoid any sort of inconvenience to the farmers.

Refuting the charges of "misappropriation of funds" for procurement being leveled by the Congress, the Chief Minister said that all these allegations were "figment of imagination".

He said the entire procurement operations were monitored by a premier banking institute, so there was hardly any scope of misappropriation.

Badal said that the amount of around Rs 30,000 crore being questioned by Congress leaders also includes the funds used for procurement during their successive regimes adding that Congress was just "misleading" the people to score brownie points before the media.

Badal also expressed deep concern over the recent attack on Sikhs in California. He expressed hope that the Centre would take adequate measures to ensure the security of Sikhs across the globe.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Condemning the 'dalali' remark by Rahul Gandhi, BJP workers today held demonstrations across the state and burnt the effigies of the Congress Vice President.

Lucknow BJP president Mukesh Sharma and BJP youth-wing president Tinku Sonekar led the party workers in the protests in the state capital.

Party workers raised slogans and burnt the effigies of Rahul and Congress in front of the Vidhan Sabha.

Speaking on the occasion, Sharma said BJP can "never tolerate" disrespect to the Army which has the "full support" of the entire nation.

"The Congress is issuing controversial statements and misleading the people," he alleged.

"Army displayed its valour by taking action against the terrorists and the countrymen are appreciating it as well as the firm resolve of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It has perturbed Rahul Gandhi and that's why he is giving such irrational statements," he said.

Similar protests were also reported from different districts of the state, a party spokesman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Facing flak in Tamil Nadu for the Centre's stand against setting up Cauvery Management Board, BJP's state unit today said it would call on party chief Amit Shah tomorrow on the issue, even as Opposition parties continued to hold protests against the union government.

"We will meet our party chief Amit Shah tomorrow on the Cauvery issue and apprise him of Tamil Nadu unit's views on the CMB," BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan said.

Soundararajan said she would lead a delegation of state party leaders, including Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and Rajya Sabha MP elect L Ganesan to meet Shah.

Explaining the procedural aspects of setting up the Board, which includes getting Parliament's approval, she claimed that "BJP has always been protecting the interests of farmers of Tamil Nadu and will continue to do so."



Stating that the state unit was all for setting up the CMB, she said all steps would be taken to get it done.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu continued to stage protests against the Centre on the Cauvery issue. PMK and Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) held agitations here and in Ariyalur today, seeking constitution of CMB to protect the farmers' interests.

Slamming the BJP-led Centre for its "betrayal of Tamil Nadu" by not coming forward to set up the Board, PMK chief S Ramadoss said his party would continue to protest peacefully against the Union government on the river water issue.

"We see the BJP-led Centre as a party which has committed a big betrayal against Tamil Nadu on Cauvery issue. It is an unpardonable betrayal," he told protesters.

He alleged that the Centre had taken a stand against setting up the Cauvery Management Board with an eye on the Karnataka Assembly election, which is due in 2018.

"This is injustice against the people of Tamil Nadu," the PMK chief said, adding his party would continue to fight against the Centre on the Cauvery issue through peaceful means.

Ramadoss said his party's executive committee will decide on the mode of protest against the Centre.It may include protests like waving black flags during visits of Union Ministers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tamil Nadu.

The protest demonstration was to urge the Centre to immediately set up the CMB.

Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) party chief G K Vasan



led a protest demonstration at Ariyalur. Blaming the central government, he said it had "tilted from its neutral position" and sided with Karnataka by opposing the CMB.

Stating that the plea to set up the CMB was a long time demand of farmers to ensure adequate inflow of Cauvery waters, he said the Centre's stand "is against Tamil Nadu and its farmers and is a betrayal."



Raising slogans like "release Cauvery water for farmers," he said "both the Congress-led Karnataka government and the Centre-headed by the BJP are betraying the Cauvery delta farmers of Tamil Nadu."



Yesterday, DMK had observed a fast in Thanjavur and party treasurer M K Stalin had said his party would convene an all-party meeting and lead a delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Cauvery issue if the AIADMK government did not take immediate steps for an all party meeting.

Similarly, People's Welfare Front comprising MDMK, CPI, CPI(M) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi held a protest demonstration at Tiruvarur. MDMK chief Vaiko had called for concerted action by all parties on the issue.
The Centre expects all states to approve the Ujwal DISCOMs Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme by next month, paving the way for them to issue bonds by March 2017 to tackle their mountings debts, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.

"Goyal expressed positiveness that all states would come overboard by end of November, 2016 so that they can complete the formalities of signing the MoUs by December this year and complete the process of issuing bonds by March, 2017," Power Ministry said in a release.

The Minister was speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the two-day conference of State Power, New & Renewable Energy and Mines Ministers in Vadodara on Saturday, it added.

Under the so far 17 states/UTs signed the MoU with Maharashtra being the latest.

The combined discom debt, including central PSU dues, that would be restructured in respect of these states is around Rs 2.57 lakh crore, which is around 68 per cent of the total outstanding discom debt as on September 30, 2015.

The Minister expressed confidence that 100 per cent Rural Electrification, including villages in LWE (Left Wing Extremism affected) Districts and dense forests, would be achieved by May 1, 2017, one year ahead of schedule as set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He informed that Rural Electrification Corporation is in the process of drawing up a scheme for extending long-term basis soft loans to states at a flat rate to electrify all households for both APL and BPL population.

"A National Electricity Plan has been prepared to forecast the actual demand of electricity in real time and to attract new investments in the sector to promote new power generation capacity," Goyal said.

Talking about a new initiative, he said that government would aid the setting up of small solar units by farmers, which would in turn power agricultural pump sets.

Informing about developments in the mining sector, Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar said Ministry has asked Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala and Uttarakhand to modify their rules to enable auctioning of minor mineral blocks.
China today defended its second technical hold to prevent a UN ban on Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar saying there were "different views" on India's application and that Beijing's move will allow more time for the "relevant parties" to have consultations.

Reacting to India's criticism that its second hold on attempts to ban Azhar sends a dangerous message, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the listing application member states submitted to the 1267 Committee of UN "must comply" with specific requirements of relevant resolutions of UN Security Council (UNSC).

Though China is the lone member among the 15-member UNSC to oppose the ban on Azhar, Beijing claims that "different views" existed about India's application against Azhar.

"There are still different views on India's listing application made this March. The technical hold on it will allow more time for the Committee to deliberate on the matter and for relevant parties to have further consultations," the ministry said in a written reply to PTI to a question seeking its response to India's strong criticism.

The reference to "further consultations" apparently referred to direct consultations between India and Pakistan over the issue.

China had put the first technical hold six months ago on India's application following Azhar's alleged involvement in the Pathankot terrorist attack.

China had extended the second technical hold valid for three months during this week despite several consultations between New Delhi and Beijing at various levels.

It is expected to figure again during the expected meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to be held in Goa from October 15-16.

While opposing the ban against Azhar, the Chinese Foreign Ministry however said "China firmly supports combating all forms of terrorism, stronger international cooperation against terrorism, and supports the central and coordinating role of the UN in international counter-terrorism cooperation".

It said, China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 Committee should stick to the principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the Security Council.

Without naming China, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on October 6 that only one country had put the technical hold, blocking the ban by another three months, and criticised the completely "non-transparent and anonymous" manner of designating individuals by the UN Sanctions Committee.

India has been highlighting the cross-border terror threat emanating from Pakistan and tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad are on the rise since last month's Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir which killed 19 Indian soldiers.

REOPENS FGN 11



Noting that the UN Sanctions Committee has already



proscribed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, he said the panel, however, ignored the need to take action against Azhar, the organisation's main leader, financier and motivator who continues his terrorist actions unhindered.

Responding to the extension of the hold, he said, "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 organisation's most active and dangerous terrorist, he said.
China has said it will control credit growth and take active measures to promote healthy development of housing market as real estate prices rose in 100 cities sparking concerns over property bubble.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, was quoted as saying state-run Xinhua agency that China's credit expansion has slowed and growth will be controlled in the future along with a steady recovery in the global economy.

Real estate prices in 100 major Chinese cities rose 14.9 per cent in the first nine months of 2016, with August and September seeing record month-on-month growth of more than 2 per cent, according to the China Index Academy(CIA), a private property research institute.

A total of 19 Chinese cities had rolled out policies in the past week ranging from higher down payments and home purchase restrictions to curb speculative housing purchases.

Zhou saidChinese government is very concerned about the recent rise in home prices and will take active measures to regulate the market.

His remarks came amid tougher regulations in the housing markets of both first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shenzhen as well as smaller second- and third-tier cities.

Markus Rodlauer, deputy director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Asia Pacific Department, the report said that the rising prices are not sustainable and will fall back with regulators hitting the brakes.

Shrinking profits in the real economy and expectations of yuan devaluation have led to capital flooding the property market, CIA said.

China's new yuan-denominated lending in August more than doubled from a month ago to 948.7 billion yuan (about USD 145. 95 billion) with mortgages representing 55.7 per cent of the 529 billion yuan in household loans, People's Bank of China data showed.

Chang Yong Rhee, Director of IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, advised China to advance structural reform as China's credit grows at twice the speed of the economy, mainly driven by demand from the property market rather than enterprises.

Hit by slowdown, China's economy grew 6.7 per cent in the second quarter of the year, the lowest quarterly growth rate since the global financial crisis in early 2009, but still within the government's target range of 6.5-7 per cent for 2016.

The Asian Development Bank has upgraded its forecast for China's 2016 growth from 6.5 per cent to 6.6 per cent, and to 6.4 per cent growth from 6.3 per cent for 2017.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Coast Guard jawan was killed when a gun he was repairing misfired on a boat off Okha coast of Devbhoomi Dwarka district today, Gujarat police said.

"K P Yadav was killed when he was repairing a heavy machine gun during practise session of Coast Guard jawans in the Arabian Sea," said the district Superintendent of Police R J Pargi.

A team of Coast Guard jawans and officials had sailed off on a fast patrol vessel 'Arinjay' for shooting practise when the incident took place, he said.

Yadav hailed from Bihar and had been in the service for 14 years.

"We called forensic science laboratory officials and sent the body for post-mortem. We will hand over the body to the Coast Guard once the post-mortem is complete," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Goa Forward (GF) today accused the Congress of making matters difficult for unity of opposition parties in the coastal state but maintained it was open to ally with them.

"In the last nine months, Goa Forward has realised that the principal opposition party (Congress) is making matters difficult for unity of opposition forces," GF Chief Spokesperson Prashant Naik told reporters here.

Goa Forward held its State Executive meeting today.

"GF cannot afford to waste any further time. Hence, based on the positive feedback of Goans to the vision and mission of Goa Forward, the election strategy was reviewed at the meeting of the State Executive of the party," he said.

The party announced that they will concentrate on 30 out of total 40 constituencies for the Goa elections, slated next year.

"Considering that elections are just around the corner and taking stock of the ground realities, and after an assessment of its strength, GF has decided to effectively focus on not less than 25 constituencies for 2017 elections while the prospecting will continue in 30 constituencies," Naik added.

He said the party is confident about support from Goans in a stand alone situation.

"However, the party would stay open for alliance to achieve the principal aim of removing the anti-Goa BJP from power," Naik added.

He said GF is prepared to forge alliance with the Congress party and has been repeatedly and consistently putting forward the demand for alliance with the party (Congress).

"GF is well aware about the failures of all former governments of national parties to protect land, environment and identity of Goa," Naik added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Suspected drug traffickers killed two policemen and wounded three others during an attack on a police station in central Chad, the government said today.

The attack on Thursday targeted a police station in Egue, officials said in a statement, branding the attackers "drug traffickers".

The reason for the clash was not made clear.

"Two attackers and a presumed accomplice have been detained. Following the (incident) the government forces recovered 25 firearms," it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A former police officer, who was absconding for six years, has been arrested on charges of duping several persons to the tune of crores of rupees, police said today.

The accused Manjeet Sangwan, an ex-Delhi cop, was arrested by a Crime Branch team supervised by DCP Bhisham Singh, during a raid at a flat of New Town Heights of Sector 91 in Gurgaon on October 4, said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner(Crime Branch) of Police.

Sangwan had started a readymade garments business in 2008 and sold clothings through his brand 'Criston Dior Shoppe' copying the famous French fashion label Christian Dior. Several outlets of his brand were opened in different cities, said the officer.

In 2010, the French company registered a case of cheating and Copyright Act violation against Sangwan at Uttam Nagar police station and he was arrested.

Afer being released from jail, Sangwan contested election and became Sarpanch of his village Kharman in Haryana's Jhajjar.

In 2013, he was declared proclaimed offender in the case against him for for evading court proceedings.

The same year, he and his partner Virender Suyal induced several investors to invest in his brand and cheated them to the tune of crores of rupees. A case was registered in this connection at Economic Offences Wing(EOW) police station against the duo, the officer said.

However, Sangwan evaded arrest and was again declared proclaimed offender by the concerned court on August 7, 2014.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that his father was martyred in the war of 1965.

He also said that he had joined Delhi Police after completing class X, as a constable(driver) in 1989 but left the job due to personal reasons in 1996.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Medical experts today discussed the need to raise public awareness on organ donation and challenges faced by countries, including India in this area, during a three-day organ transplantation conference here.

Nearly 700 delegates from India and abroad attended the 27th annual conference of Indian Society of Organ Transplantation organised by Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research's department of nephrology (PGIMER).

About 25 experts from USA, UK, France and SAARC countries are attending the conference which started yesterday.

Various sessions and workshops of the conference dealt with newer techniques of organ retrieval and transplantation, minimal or no scar surgery, paediatric transplantation and post transplant complications.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference here today, AIIMS's Professor of Surgery from the Department of Surgical Disciplines, Dr Virender Kumar Bansal said: "Organ donation is one such area where media can play a very big role."



"In India, we are short of organs, there are precious organs which we are losing, like in road accidents. Those organs need to be harvested and donated. The whole purpose of the conference is that awareness among the public towards organ donation should be much more," Bansal said.

"Other challenge is that cost of drugs is very high, patients have to be on drugs for life long. The government needs to bring down the cost of the drugs," he said.

"The conference here is also deliberating upon how to improve outcome in transplantations --kidney, liver, pancreas... And the newer transplant which has been introduced is the hand transplant, which is new to India and rather new even in Europe and America," said Ajay Kumar Sharma, Consultant Surgeon in Transplantation, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, UK.

During the conference, sessions were kept on the role of National Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organisation (NOTTO), which is a national level organisation set up under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in organ transplantation.

A special session will also be held on the transplant status in SAARC countries, where various speakers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal will share their experience of establishing the solid organ transplant.

ISKCON spiritual leader and founder of Govardhan Eco



Village, Maharaj Radhanath Swami advocated holistic use of water for human survival, saying every drop of water is precious and should not be wasted.

Water, he said, was one of the basic necessities of life and the people are dependent on it spiritually, emotionally and physically.

"We must use water with respect, gratitude and compassion as it was a God's gift to the people," he said.

ISKCON's Govardhan Eco-village at Wada near Mumbai, has undertaken a water resources programme which focusses on planning, developing, distributing and managing the optimum use of water resources, Swami added.

Director of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) Dr Rakesh Kumar said water in the soil nourishes crops so even a small patch of grass holds moisture and equally important for the people would be to conserve invisible water in the air.

Kumar said he was happy to note that Maharashtra government has not allowed industries in water catchment areas so there was no water contamination.

"The municipal corporation in the city supplies 3,700 million litres of water every day to households and 80 per cent of this goes into the drains. We need to preserve this water," he said.

The conference concluded with a panel discussion on 'Integrated Water Resource Management and Sustainable Development'.

Experts also participated in another panel discussion - 'Protecting our water future'.
Forces will not talk but deliver, IAF chief Arup Raha said today amid bitter political discourse over the cross-LoC surgical strikes, and asserted that the military was ready to give a befitting reply to any challenge.

"There has been so much discussion on this issue in the country, every section of society is giving opinion on this issue. The armed forces are supposed to deliver the result that the nation expects. We are not going to talk about it, we will just deliver," Air Chief Marshal Raha said here.

His response came on a query about the ongoing political bickering over the surgical undertaken by the Army on September 29 with the opposition accusing the government of taking political mileage from the operation.

Raha was speaking at an event to celebrate the Indian Air Force's 84th Foundation Day with a spectacular air display at Air Force Station Hindon in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district, 30 kms from Delhi.

For the first time, India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft performed stunts at the air show, amid loud cheers from the audience.

In his customary address at the celebrations, Raha, who is also the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee said, "World is in a flux today. Terrorists attacks in Uri and Pathankot show the troubled times we live today."



In his message on official Facebook page of the IAF - Indian Air Force, Power to Punish - launched today, the Air Force chief said the force is operating some of the most modern weapons and equipments and the air warriors exercise ceaseless vigil of skies.

"We continue to train to take up any threat and are fully prepared to undertake any challenge in most befitting manner," Raha said.

Asked later about increasing threat from Pakistan, he said the armed forces are well prepared to take on any sub- conventional threats.

Sub-conventional threats refer to proxy war that Pakistan indulges in against India through the use of terrorists.

Raha said that terrorists can always get better but the armed forces can neutralise them.

With each incident, the forces are getting smarter and learning new lessons, he said.

The surgical strikes had come in the wake of the September 18 terrorist attack on an army camp in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir in which 19 soldiers were killed.

The Air Force Day commemorates the establishment of the armed force on October 8, 1932.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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 (1300 GMT) 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."



The two police cars were set ablaze.

Many more officers were sent to the scene, but no arrests were made, the police source said.

The traffic light where the attack occurred has frequently been the scene of violent robberies of drivers.

The local mayor, Jean-Marie Vilain, told AFP that as a result of today's incident the response to chronic criminality in the area would be stepped up.

"The next step will be to go inside Grande Borne to put an end to all the drug dealing, because that is really what the cameras interfere with," he said.

Cazeneuve said in a statement, "Everything is being done to find and arrest those behind these intolerable attacks and bring them to justice."



He added that he would visit the injured police officers in hospital as soon as possible.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Eight political professionals from "the Ohio of India" are working at campaign offices in the American bellwether state as part of an international fellowship programme.

They're all University of Akron International Campaign Fellows, participating in a new programme that allows students to swap campaign lessons with the political battleground. "Indians have a lot of interest in US elections, and I think the entire world has a lot of interest," said Pankhuri Pathak, a fellow who works as spokeswoman for India's 24-year-old Samajwadi Party.

"Over here, campaigning techniques are more sophisticated, more advanced. So we thought maybe we could learn something from here and apply it back home."



The fellows are high-ranking professionals in their home country - political scientists, communications specialists and strategists from India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.

Unlike Ohio, UP sends more legislators to the national governing body, Parliament, than any other state. But like Ohio, it has huge sway over which party wins a national majority and gets to influence who becomes prime minister.

"We call it 'the Ohio of India' because you can't win an election in India without winning UP," said Hari Kasula, the program's deputy director.

Besides working full-time knocking on doors, making phone calls and stuffing mail for political campaigns, all fellows must complete the university's class on battleground politics.

Gerald Austin, a longtime Ohio Democratic strategist, conceived the program and says it's unique in embedding international fellows with US political campaigns.

On a recent Wednesday night, the class gathered in two separate classrooms - at Columbus State Community College and on the university's main campus more than two hours away - that were digitally linked by audio and video.

"All these folks are very skilled, experienced in their own country," Austin said. "India's the largest democracy in the world. They've got 1.3 billion people, and 800 million of them vote. They're astounded to hear we actually vote, count and declare a winner all on Election Day. So they have a lot to teach us about what they do that we don't do, and we have a lot to teach them about what we do."



The Indian fellows can discuss the effects in their country of making Election Day a national holiday, casting all votes into a central digital system - and greeting the first voters at polling places with flowers.

"The Indian system is more easy, and more safe," Kasula said, while noting he and his colleagues are especially interested in the voter micro-targeting - tailored messages to individual voters based on data such as voting patterns and internet habits - employed by American campaigns.

Indian ballots also feature an option that may have come in handy this year in the US, when two of the least popular candidates on record are running for president: None of the above.

There's less time to grow weary of the candidates, though. India's election season is just 45 days long.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The German city of Chemnitz was in lockdown today after armed police launched a huge manhunt for a Syrian suspected of planning a bomb attack, as the country grapples with a weakened sense of security following recent terror assaults.

Police, who told people to stay in their homes, named the suspect as 22-year-old Syrian Jaber Albakr. Photographs posted on social media showed armed police clad in black balaclavas and helmets at an apartment building in the eastern city.

Germany has been on edge after suffering two attacks claimed by the Islamic State group (IS) in July -- an axe rampage on a train in Wuerzburg that injured five and a suicide bombing in Ansbach that left 15 wounded.

In the latest alert, police in the state of Saxony issued a search warrant for Albakr, saying he was born in Syria in January 1994.

They said Albakr was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and was "suspected of preparing a bomb attack".

A search of an apartment in Chemnitz detected traces of explosives but failed to capture the suspect or find a bomb, a police spokesman said.

He said police launched Saturday's operation after receiving information from domestic intelligence services.

"We are carrying out in Chemnitz a large-scale operation due to suspicions that a bomb attack was being prepared," police said on Twitter, urging residents to stay at home.

"The explosion heard in the area was a police entry measure. The wanted person has not been found," police added.

The attacks in July rattled Germans' sense of security and fuelled concerns over the country's record influx of migrants and refugees last year.

German police said previously they had identified 523 people who posed a security threat to the country, around half of whom were known to be currently in Germany.

On September 21 German officials said a 16-year-old Syrian refugee had been arrested on suspicion of planning a bomb attack in the name of IS.

The youngster, thought to have been radicalised only recently, was detained in a special forces operation at a shelter for asylum-seekers in the western city of Cologne, police and prosecutors said.

Initial information gathered from the teenager's mobile phone showed that he had expressed an "unmistakeable willingness" to carry out an attack, Klaus-Stephan Becker of the Cologne police told reporters.

A week earlier, German police detained three men with forged Syrian passports accused of being IS militants and labelled a possible "sleeper cell" with links to the assailants behind the November attacks in Paris.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As nearly 200 nationsbegan their historical meeting here to ink a deal to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), China is facing pressure from developing countries to take more responsibility to reduce the climate-damaging gas under the Montreal Protocol.

According to studies, China is currently the world's largest producer of HFCs -- a harmul greenhouse gas -- and consumes more than 20 times more than India.

Presently, China consumes about 360 million tones CO2 equivalent of HFCs compared to 17 million tonnes in India, say studies.

A key negotiator, who didn't want to be quoted, said that considering the scale of production and consumption in China, it is important that China takes early actions.

"Early action by China is very important as it will reduce HFC consumption worldwide significantly as it is a major exporter of HFCs," he said.

It is also projected to account for major growth in HFCs in the future.

Common but differentiated responsibility, which is a fundamental principal underpinning the Montreal protocol negotiations, demands that China takes more responsibility than other developing countries.

China and the US are the largest consumers of HFCs in the world, say Indian NGOs assembled here today for attending the meeting of the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG), an important meeting being held ahead of the 28th Meeting of the Parties to Montreal Protocol scheduled for October 10-14.

Climate expert Chandra Bhushan said, currently, China produces more than 90 per cent and consumes more than 60 per cent of all HFCs in the developing countries.

"It is also projected to account for major growth in HFCs in the future. Common but differentiated responsibility, which is a fundamental principal unpinning the Montreal protocol negotiations, demands that China takes more responsibility than other developing countries," said Bhushan, who is also the deputy director general of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

According toa study by Technology and Economic Assessment Panel - constituted under the Montreal Protocol), and Velders, China accounts for about 60 per cent of HFC consumption from Article 5 countries including India and other developing nations.

Velders has been responsible for a large number of global and regional HFC inventory and projections.

Citing these findings, Indian NGOs arguethat China should be asked to take more ambitious action when compared to other Article 5 countries.

Under the Montreal Protocol, there are Article 5 countries and Non-Article 5 counties; Article 5 countries are developing countries and Non-Article 5 countries are development countries.

The objective of the meeting in the capital of Rawanda is to adopt an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down the HFCs.

The meeting is expected to result in a legally-binding mechanism to ban the HFCs, commonly used in refrigerators and air-conditioners.

HFCs were developed to replace ozone-depleting gases like chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons(HCFC).

HFCs used in refrigerators, air conditioners and spray paints have a much higher global-warming potential than that of carbon dioxide.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan have ignored experienced batsman Muhammad Hafeez for the Test series against the West Indies owing to poor form and included the uncapped Babar Azam and Muhammad Nawaz in the squad.

Chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq told a conference in Karachi that Hafeez had to still prove his fitness and form before he can be considered for selection.

"It is an issue that he is not bowling but if he bats and gets runs we will consider him purely as a batsman but at the moment he is short of form," Inzamam said.

Hafeez was dropped for the fourth Test against England because of poor form and returned home from England after playing the first ODI due to a fitness problem.

The selectors gave him a chance to regain form in the three-day day and night tour match against the West Indies in Sharjah but he failed with the bat.

Inzamam said that Babar Azam had been included because he had shown he was a quality player for a year now in ODIs against all opposition.

"It is not a case that because he hit three hundreds against the West Indies we picked him. He is our future and we wanted to blood him. Also because Younis Khan is not available this gave us an opening to try him out."



Inzamam said all-rounder Muhammad Nawaz had been included because Pakistan required a batting all-rounder at number six position.

Inzamam said a 14-member squad had been announced for the Test series but when Younis recovers he would be considered.

"Younis is our best player and we want him back soon. Doctors have advised him 10 days rest but he will be back soon."



Pakistan squad: Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq (Capt), Muhammad Nawaz, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Muhammad Aamir, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan senior and Zulfiqar Babar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Madras High Court has chided the Tamil Nadu government for failing to respond to various representations made by the public, holding that its division bench "cannot be made into a post office" to decide on such petitions.

The court made the observation on Friday while disposing of a PIL filed by one C Arumugam, seeking a direction to the authorities concerned, including Villupuram Collector, to remove encroachments in Attur village in the district.

The court directed the Collector to take a decision on the representation of the petitioner, after issuing notice to all concerned, within a maximum period of three months.

"While dealing with such matters relating to land encroachment and unauthorised construction, we are inundated with petitions only on account of failure of the authorities concerned to respond to the representation and take a decision one way or other," the court said.

"A division bench of this court cannot be made into a post office for deciding the representations," it observed.

The court said unless the government takes appropriate measures, it would put the Government Pleader on notice that it would no option but to secretaries of different departments to attend the Court in the morning for an hour to attend to the non-dealing of representations "rather than wasting the time of the Court.

It noted that inaction on the part of the authorities was in violation of the September 21 2015 Government Order, which stipulates that grievance petitions should be acknowledged within three days of receipt and the grievance itself should be redressed within a maximum period of one month.

"It should be with a speaking order in the event of redressal or rejection, if found necessary.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Hindu Munnani worker,who had set himself ablaze a few days back, apprehending arrest in connection with the violent incidents during the September 23 funeral of the outfit's district spokesperson, succumbed to burn injuries today, police said.

Anand Kumar (30), secretary of Mettur block in Podanur area here had set himself ablaze on October 4, fearing arrest in connection with the incidents during the funeral procession of the outfit's spokesperson Sasikumar.

Some relatives and others had managed to douse the flames before getting him admitted to the Government hospital here.

Kumar, who suffered 60 per cent burns, died this afternoon, police said.

A large contingent of police personnel were posted at the hospital as a precautionary measure.

Police suspect he took the extreme step as they had recently questioned his colleagues about him.

On September 22, Sasikumar (36) was hacked to death by some persons while returning home on his two wheeler at night.

The state wide bandh called by the outfit next day, when his funeral was also held, had turned violent in some parts in Coimbatore, with a police jeep set on fire and three personnel sustaining burns.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycles & Scooter India (HMSI) today said it aims to clock sales of over 1 million units during this festival season on the back of implementation of 7th Pay commission and favourable monsoon.

"We plan to sell more than one million units during this festival season," HMSI Sr Vice President (Sales & Marketing) Y S Guleria told reporters here today.

The company is targeting 25 per cent growth in sales during festival season as compared to sales it clocked during last festival season.

"We are expecting that bikes will constitute 35 per cent of target sales during festival season as demand for motor cycles picks up in rural sector during these months," he said.

It is offering cash benefit of Rs 2,000 on the purchase of motor cycles to woo central government and PSU employees who have got money under 7th pay commission.

"Everybody is talking about release of money to central government employees under 7th pay commission as well as release of arrears to railway employees. Moreover, we have One Rank One Pension," he said.

The positivity in the economy led by 7th pay commission, OROP disbursements and favourable monsoon has translated to a robust return of demand for two-wheeler, he said.

Posting a growth of 24 per cent in six months of this fiscal, Guleria said that the company was aiming at overall growth of 22 per cent in total sales at 5.4 million units.

"We are anticipating total sales of 5.4 million units by end of this fiscal which will be 22 per cent higher than sales of last financial year," he said.

Out of total sales, scooters continue to dominate as it constitutes about 70 per cent of total volumes of HMSI, he said.

On exports front, he said that the company registered 34 per cent growth in total exports this fiscal due to higher sales of two-wheelers in SAARC countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Exports currently constitute 4.8 per cent of HMSI's total sales.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An HRD ministry committee probing alleged misappropriation of 'Sarva Siksha Abhiyan' funds by an NGO run by activist Teesta Setalvad is learnt to have raised questions over the manner in which the amount was allocated by the previous UPA government.

According to officials, the committee comprising Supreme Court lawyer Abhijit Bhattacharjee, Gujarat Central University Vice Chancellor S A Bari and a Ministry official Gaya Prasad was formed to look into allegations against the NGO Sabrang Trust, based on a complaint.

"The committee has raised questions over the manner in which the funds were provided to the NGO," a source said.

It is learnt that the NCERT, which was the appraiser of the particular project, had raised some objections yet the Ministry sanctioned Rs 3 crore for the project.

Sources said that while the committee has not found any misappropriation of the funds, it has blamed the ministry for the manner in which the amount was sanctioned in the previous dispensation.

When contacted, a senior ministry official confirmed that the committee had submitted a report but refused to comment on the findings.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A city-based firm allegedly duped over a hundred unemployed youths by promising them jobs at the Metro Rail project and collecting lakhs of rupees as 'application fee', police said today.

About a hundred victims of the scam lodged a complaint of cheating at the Karanj police station today.

These youths had applied for the job of supervisor at a firm which claimed in its newspaper advertisements that it was associated with the Metro rail project undertaken by the Metro Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA).

Every applicant was asked to pay Rs 1,050 by September 3 alongwith the application.

The applicants were then mailed appointment letters and asked to come to the Mirzapur office of the firm today for interview.

However, when the applicants turned up at the office, it was found to be locked. The mobile number provided in the advertisement had been switched off.

"We have started preliminary investigation and will soon register an FIR based on the investigation," said sub-inspector K B Vihol.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Publication of Hungary's biggest opposition newspaper has been suspended, its owner said today, stoking concerns about media freedom under right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Owners Mediaworks said in a statement to the MTI agency that the suspension of the loss-making publication was for business reasons and until "the formulation and realisation of a new concept".

The opposition Socialists said however that the halting of Nepszabadsag's print and online operations from Saturday was a "black day for the press" and called a demonstration outside the paper's offices for later in the day.

Nepszabadsag is Hungary's biggest-selling broadsheet newspaper and has frequently been critical of Orban, most recently before last weekend's referendum on refugees.

Orban has often been accused of turning public media into a government mouthpiece while large swathes of the private media sector have been bought by government-friendly oligarchs, critics say.

Today there was speculation that Nepszabadsag might also be soon sold to an Orban ally, but Mediaworks, owned by a Austrian media magnate, made no mention of any sale.

"The country knew about (the suspension) before we did... our first thought was that it had been a coup," said a message posted on the paper's Facebook page by its editors.

A senior Nepszabadsag editor said that journalists, who had prepared stories for a Monday edition, were suddenly prevented from entering the workplace, and had received letters informing them of their suspension.

"We are in shock. Of course they will try and paint this as a business decision but it's not the truth," the journalist, who did not wish to be named, told AFP.

"It's a huge blow to investigative journalism and freedom of the press. Nepszabadsag was the largest group of quality journalists in Hungary trying to defend basic freedoms, democracy, freedom of speech, and tolerance."



Mediaworks, which bought Nepszabadsag and several other Hungarian titles in 2014, said that its circulation had tumbled by 74 per cent in the last 10 years, racking up losses of around 5 billion forints (16.4 million euros, USD 18.4 million).

The title must try to find a business model appropriate to market trends, the company said, calling on "all affected by the move to concentrate on that task".

Before the referendum last Sunday on an EU plan to relocate migrants around the bloc, the paper, one of Hungary's oldest, published several stories about scandals involving politicians close to Orban.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actress Mahira Khan has broken her silence over the ongoing controversy surrounding the demand for a ban on Pakistani artistes in Bollywood after the Uri attack, saying she strongly condemns any act of terror and prays for a peaceful world.

The 33-year-old actress' comments came after Pakistani artistes like Fawad Khan and Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan condemned the Uri attack.

In a Facebook post, Mahira wrote, "In the 5 years that I have been working as an actor I believe that I have tried my best to keep my country's respect intact - by being a professional and by representing Pakistan here and elsewhere to the best of my abilities.

"As a Pakistani and citizen of the world, I strongly condemn any act of terror, any loss of human life no matter which soil it is on! I will not rejoice in bloodshed and war. I will always hope for and dream of a world where my child can live without it, and always plead with everyone to imagine a peaceful world," she wrote.

There is a growing demand for a ban on artistes from Pakistan by certain sections in India in the wake of the Uri terror attack.

Fawad, Mahira and other Pakistani actors 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", which has a cameo by Fawad, and "Raees", starring Mahira in the lead role.

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.

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 Ajay Devgn, Randeep Hooda, Sonali Bendre and Nana Patekar have supported the ban on artistes from Pakistan.

Many sections had also criticised Pakistani artistes' silence over the attack.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Morocco's ruling Islamists have beaten their liberal rivals in parliamentary elections five years after sweeping to power following Arab Spring-inspired protests, results showed today.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats out of 395 in yesterday's polls, the interior ministry said after all ballots were counted.

Its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society, won 102 seats, the ministry said.

The PJD's rise to power in 2011 after King Mohammed VI relinquished some of his near-absolute power following massive street protests brought hopes of change in the North African country.

The PJD was the first Islamist party to win a national election, and the first to lead a government, albeit with coalition partners after failing to win an outright majority.

But analysts say that when it comes to the major long-term and strategic issues such as foreign policy the key decision-maker remains the king, the scion of a monarchy that has ruled for 350 years.

Observers from the Council of Europe who monitored yesterday's vote said it was organised "with integrity and full transparency".

But the delegation said it "regrets that the current voters' registration system and the awareness campaign have not produced a turnout higher than in 2011, particularly among young voters."



It also noted "the surprisingly high amount of spoilt ballot papers" and said there were reports of "electoral fraud" although members of the delegation did not witness any wrongdoing.

Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad rejected accusations of voter fraud from both sides. He said turnout was 43 percent.

Yesterday the PJD and the PAM traded accusations of vote irregularities, while the media reported that a video shared on social networks had showed a man stuffing a ballot box.

Apart from the two main parties, Istiqlal, which historically fought for independence from France, came third with 45 seats.

Nine other parties also won seats, including the National Gathering of Independents which took 37 and the Federation of the Democratic Left which clinched two.

A statement by the PJD said the Islamists were "very concerned about numerous reports of fraud being carried out by authorities" in favour of the PAM and urged the interior ministry to intervene.

PAM spokesman Khalid Adennoun said his party had filed "50 complaints" of voting irregularities, some concerning the PJD in Tangiers.

The head of the European observers team, Ian Liddell-Grainger, told a conference he was confident that the interior ministry had done a good job.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi today advocated for making class VIII pass mandatory for contesting elections while Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer suggested increasing the strength of Parliament to address the long- pending issue of reservation for women.

Speaking at a seminar 'Women will make the laws: A case for greater political representation', which saw divergent views on this subject, Lekhi said, "Wisdom has no connection with literacy, but a minimum literacy is important for the democratic powers to seep down."



She was responding to criticism by Subhashini Ali, a CPI(M) Politburo member, who attacked the BJP-ruled Haryana and Rajasthan governments for bringing "regressive" laws which requires people to have minimum education qualifications for contesting local self-government polls.

"Class V and IX somewhere has to be made mandatory even at higher levels," she said.

Defending the legislation of the two states, Lekhi said since the law came into force, child mortality rate has improved, especially in Haryana, as literacy helps in better understanding of administration.

She said there needs to be some kind of sensitivity towards local governance.

Referring to Rajasthan's case, where having a toilet is also a criterion for contesting local body polls, Lekhi asked, "What kind of leadership are you looking at when somebody is insensitive about even having a toilet?"



The BJP MP said the world bank had funded many toilets in Uttar Pradesh.

"But these people would block the toilet and never use because that would be the only time (when they go out to answer nature's call) to connecting with others," she said.

Lekhi also said instead of having 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, there should be a law making it mandatory for parties to distribute 33 per cent tickets to women.

She said it was her personal opinion and not her party's.

With the debate over reservation for women going on for more than two decades now, Aiyar said a possible way to increase their strength in Parliament could be by enhancing the number of seats so that even men do not feel they are being discriminated against because of gender.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh has alleged that the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra was ignoring the problems of the minority community and not allotting funds for welfare schemes introduced for the community by the earlier Congress government.

Shaikh was speaking at a meeting of the Congress Minorities Cell here yesterday.

Shaikh who represents Malad West constituency in Mumbai hit out at the AIMIM without naming it for division of Muslim votes in the last Assembly elections and asked the community not to be taken in by such parties in future.

Chairman of Maharashtra Wakf Board M M Shaikh and chairman of Maharashtra Haj Committee Ibrahim Shaikh lambasted the BJP for neglecting the problems of Muslim community.

Ibrahim Shaikh said he had demanded Central funds for Haj committee, but the Union Government did not heed the demand.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Under attack over Rahul Gandhi's "dalali" barb, Congress on Saturday hit back at Prime Minister accusing him of "insulting" the Army when BJP was in opposition.

"The Govt, which is taking credit for the bravery of our Armed Forces, is headed by the same man who insulted the Army when in Opposition," the party tweeted.

It posted a purported tweet by Modi when he was the Gujarat Chief Minister on its twitter handle which read, "We are facing many a crisis. Is all this happening due to weakness of our Army: (sic)."



In the picture containing the tweet, Congress alleged that Modi even targeted the Army to grab power.

"In 2008, Modi ji touched a new low - instead of showing solidarity with forces, he held a press conference at attack site & cursed the Govt (sic)," it said in another tweet.

The tweet accompanied a picture that showed Modi addressing media in Mumbai in the wake of the 26/11 terror strikes.

Congress said the Modi government "insulted the sacrifices" of martyrs "by inviting the ISI to probe the Pathankot terror attack".

BJP chief Amit Shah had on Friday launched a blistering attack on Rahul for his 'dalali' remarks, saying he "crossed all limits" and "insulted" the army's valour.

The Congress Vice President had on Thursday accused the prime minister of "hiding behind the blood of soldiers" and politically exploiting their sacrifices.
BJP MLA from Punjab Navjot Kaur Sidhu on Saturday resigned from the primary membership of the party, days after her husband Navjot Singh Sidhu had also done so.

Her resignation was accepted by Union minister Vijay Sampla, who is also the Punjab BJP president.

Kaur's resignation was expected after Sidhu, a former BJP MP, left the saffron party and floated his own "Awaaz-e-Punjab" front.

Earlier in the day, she sent her one-line resignation to the party president at Punjab BJP headquarters here.
Pakistan sees no hope of a breakthrough in relations with India under the Narendra Modi government, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said and accused India of adopting a "hegemonistic attitude".

"Pakistan had been resisting the Indian hegemonistic attitude in the region and had been calling the promotion of bilateral ties on equal basis," Aziz said.

"There is no hope for a breakthrough in relations with India under Modi for a breakthrough in relations with India under its current Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Aziz saying in TV interview.

Aziz said the joint session of the parliament yesterday had unanimously adopted a resolution that encompassed all issues, including the condemnation of "Indian brutalities" in Kashmir, ceasefire violations, condemnation of Indian threat to revoke Indus Waters Treaty and Indian intervention in Balochistan.

The adviser said the focal point of all these efforts was to show the world that entire Pakistan was united to condemn Indian brutalities in Kashmir and extend moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiri people.

Aziz said during interactions at various platforms across the globe the majority viewed that the dialogue should resume between the two states.

He said there was no harm in sealing the Pak-India border as planned by India, if the points of public movement and trade were maintained.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Raking up the Kashmir issue again, Pakistan has said the non-implementation of UN Security Council resolutions for a plebiscite in the Valley is the "most persistent" failure of the United Nations.

"The decolonisation agenda of the United Nations will remain incomplete without resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, among the oldest items on the UN's agenda," Pakistan's envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi said at a debate yesterday of the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee in the General Assembly.

She said for over six decades UN Security Council resolutions promising a plebiscite under UN auspices to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their destiny, have not been implemented.

"This is the most persistent failure of the United Nations," she said adding that generation after generation of Kashmiris has only seen broken promises and brutal oppression.

She asserted that Jammu and Kashmir "never was and can never be" an integral part of India but is a disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council.

Lodhi said the the United Nations has a moral responsibility towards people suffering under colonial domination and foreign occupation.

"There is an urgent need to bring the work on this unfinished agenda to closure and eliminate the last remaining vestiges of colonialism. We hope that we will be able to achieve this shared goal sooner rather than later," she said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Odisha government today said it requires better fertiliser and short-duration seed variety of arhar and moong to fit to local cropping system as the state finds it difficult to meet annual requirement of about 12 lakh tonne of pulses.

The state government has set a target to produce 13 lakh tonne of pulses by 2018-19 against its present annual requirement of 12 lakh tonne of pulses of different varieties.

Agriculture & Farmers' Empowerment Secretary Manoj Ahuja said this while addressing a workshop on 'Strategising Pulses Production in Rice Fallow areas in Eastern India'.

"Biotic and abiotic constraints, crop loss due to pest attack, physiological limitations, lack of quality seeds, bio-fertilizers and irrigation facilities are some of the key constraints in pulses production in Odisha. We are trying to enhance production by addressing the difficulties in a phased manner," Ahuja said.

Though pulses are grown in about 2 million hectares of land, the productivity in the state is only 508 kg/hectare. The production in Odisha was much below the national average of 744 kg/hectares in 2014-15. While the state required around 12 lakh tonnes of pulses annually, it produced only 9.42 lakh tonnes in 2015-16, creating a deficit of 21.8 per cent.

Union Agriculture Secretary S K Pattanayak highlighted the importance of rice fallows and the scope they offer in bringing a new revolution in pulses cultivation which would boost the economic conditions of farmers.

"India is the largest producer, largest consumer and the largest importer of pulses in the world. Many countries like Canada, Mozambique and Australia are looking forward to supply pulses to India but we have to be self-sufficient in production and reduce dependence on others," Pattanayak said.

Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, also stressed on the scope and possibilities for increasing cultivation of pulses.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A lawmaker from Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party has questioned the government over its continued patronage to JuD chief and mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack Hafiz Saeed, describing it as a reason for international isolation of the country.

"Which eggs is Hafiz Saeed laying for us that we are nurturing him? The efficacy of our foreign policy speaks for itself when we could not curtail Hafiz Saeed," PML-N parliamentarian Rana Muhammad Afzal said during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday.

"India has built such a case against us about the JuD chief that during the meeting on Kashmir, foreign delegates mention Saeed as the bone of contention between Pakistan and India," Afzal said.

He recalled his recent trip to France, where he had been tasked to explain the worsening situation in Kashmir and said that the name of Saeed was brought up time and again by foreign delegates as he is considered a 'notorious character' in international circles.

Furious over Afzal's remarks, Saeed asked Sharif to take action against such people in the ruling party.

"I caution Nawaz Sharif to be aware of his 'foolish friends' who are hurting the Kashmir cause. They must have some hidden agenda which the premier should dig out," Saeed said in response.

He said such elements are trying to create differences between the Pakistan army and the civilian government and this will be very dangerous for the country.

Saeed also asked the prime minister to give extension to Army Chief General Raheel Sharif who is retiring next month.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 500-year-old section of China's Great Wall called "Moon Gate" in northern Shanxi province has collapsed after being hit by strong winds, officials said.

The section had been the remains of a former watchtower on the Guangwu Great Wall section built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1662). It was called the "Moon Gate" by Great Wall aficionados due to its round shape, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

Officials said the section collapsed due to high winds, refuting rumours that the historic attraction broke down because local villagers had been using their bricks for construction.

A few weeks ago, concerns were raised after a 780-metre stretch of "wild," or original, wall in Liaoning dating back to the 14th century was found to have been covered in white cement, state-run China Radio International reported.

Many people complained the restoration work was ugly and made the attraction look like a city sidewalk.

The stretch in the wall that collapsed in Shanxi was also built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and served as a key historical and cultural reference when Beijing repaired its own sections.

In 2006, the Great Wall Protection Ordinance was passed by the State Council, China's Cabinet, to improve protection and strengthen regulation. Wu Guoqiang, secretary-general of the Great Wall Society of China said that after 10 years, however, many parts of the wall remain structurally compromised, especially in areas not visited by tourists.

A lack of detailed procedures and renovation standards were at the root of lacklustre repairs, but these criteria take time to be established, and a special foundation for Great Wall protection should be established, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bombay High Court has given a final opportunity to Maharashtra government to submit its affidavit in response to a petition by noted filmmaker-actor Amol Palekar challenging the rules which make the pre-censorship of play scripts mandatory.

The government had last month orally informed the court that as per a notification issued in March this year, pre-censorship of plays and dramas was no longer mandatory.

The court had then directed the government to put this in writing and submit an affidavit by October 4. However, on that day government pleader Abhinandan Vagyani sought more time to file the affidavit.

Palekar's advocate then informed the court that while the government has orally said that pre-censorship was not mandatory, as per media reports the Maharashtra State Performance Scrutiny Board which used to clear the play scripts has taken objection to government's notification.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice M S Sonak then directed the government to quickly clarify their stand and file an affidavit.

"How much time you (government) are taking to file an affidavit. We are giving you one last chance if by then affidavit is not filed it will be taken that the government has nothing to say," Chief Justice Chellur said.

"Finally we are giving the government a week's time to file their affidavit. The petitioner shall file rejoinder if they wish to and the matter shall be listed for hearing on October 18," the court directed.

As per the government notification, the rules for Licensing and Controlling Places of Public Amusement (other than cinemas) and Performance for Public Amusement including Melas and Tamashas will not include plays and dramas henceforth.

Palekar, in his petition, had termed the rules as arbitrary and violative of the fundamental rights of a citizen guaranteed under the Constitution.

Under section 33(1)(wa) of the Bombay Police Act, the Commissioner of Police or Superintendent of Police can frame rules for regulation in the interest of public order, decency or morality and prior scrutiny of such performances and of the script was made mandatory. After scrutiny a certificate would be issued subject to conditions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As part of efforts to spread the message of BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay in his birth centenary year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tomorrow launch a series of works dedicated to the philosophy of the former Jana Sangh chief.

The 15-volume work highlights key events in the life of Upadhyay, the journey of Jana Sangh and of the country includes watershed events like the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, Tashkent agreement, and Goa's liberation.

The penultimate volume records events leading up to the murder of Upadhyay soon after he became Jana Sangh chief in 1967.

The collection "The Complete Works of Deendayal Upadhyaya" collated from varied sources contains writings, speeches, intellectual discourses and dialogues of Upadhyaya, who pioneered the philosophy of Integral Humanism.

Brought out by the Research and Development Foundation for integral Humanism and Prabhat Publications and edited by Mahesh Chandra Sharma, the works throw light on critical analysis and approach to resolving the contemporary problems based on the template of Indianness or Bharatiyata, as propounded by Upadhyay.

"The entire literature of Pt.Deendayal Upadhyaya has now been published. Although much delayed, as it comes after five decades of his passing away, the publication of The Complete Works of Deendayal Upadhyaya, in his birth centenary year of 2016 is a momentous occasion," Sharma said.

He said each volume features a dedicated preface written by a dignitary and is dedicated to important personalities whose biographical sketches have also been featured.

The 15 volumes are dedicated to as many important personalities who had served the nation in many meaningful ways; their biographical sketches, also included in these volumes, highlight key events from their lives.

The introductory volume contains literature from 1940s and writings of Upadhyaya as Sangh Pracharak during the decade in which India attained Independence.It is dedicated to MS Golwalkar, second RSS chief and prefaced by Sangh's sitting chief Mohan Bhagwat.

The second volume deals with 1951, 1952 and 1953 during which Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) was founded, first general elections held and First Five-Year Plan prepared.

Dedicated to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the volume is prefaced by Anirban Ganguly, Director, Dr.Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation.

While the third volume covers 1954 and 1955 dominated by the Liberation of Goa, the fourth covers 1956 and 1957 when states were reorganised.

This volume is dedicated to Premnath Dogra, President of BJS and founder of Praja Parishad in Jammu and Kashmir. Other volumes record Upadhyay's life events until his death in 1967.

In between, the works cover landmark occurrences in history including the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959, the 1962 Indo-China war and the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war.

The 12th volume dealing with India's victory over Pakistan in 1965 has been dedicated to the then Sarkaryavah of RSS Prabhakar Balwant Dani.

The collection also comprises a dedicated volume on 1966, when Veer Savarkar passed away and when the agitation against cow slaughter gained strength.

Other volumes record important developments in India's politics including the end of one party monopoly in 1967 and 1968 when Upadhyaya was elected President of BJS.He was soon murdered.

The works also reveal reasons why leaders of the time considered the formation of Jana Sangh important.

TheBJP had on September 25, the birth anniversary of Upadhyay, in Kozhikode called for the celebration of Pandit Upadhyay'sbirth centenary year as the year of the welfare of the downtrodden across the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in Maharashtra to provide free LPG connections to BPL households.

The move will benefit 91 lakh households living below the poverty line in Maharashtra over the next three years.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who was also present gave away free LPG connections to 10 women from BPL families.

Pradhan said a target of 10 lakh connections has been set under PMUY for Maharashtra in 2016-17 out of which one lakh connections are to be provided in Mumbai.

Four lakh households in Maharashtra do not have LPG connections, he said.

Fadnavis said he will work on updating the social economic caste census (SECC) data. The identification of BPL families is done through 2011 SECC data.

More than one crore people in the country have given up LPG subsidies and are buying cooking gas at market price now.

As of April 2016, Maharashtra tops the list with 16.44 lakh consumers giving up subsidies, followed by Uttar Pradesh where nearly 13 lakh users gave up subsidies and Delhi with 7.26 lakh people giving up subsidies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat was down the list with just 4.2 lakh giving up subsidies. In Odisha, around 1.3 lakh people gave up subsidies.

Consumers are currently entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2 kg each or 34 bottles of 5 kg each in a year at subsidised rates.

PMUY scheme provides subsidy of Rs 1,600 to the women beneficiaries, comprising security deposit of 14.2 kg cylinder, domestic pressure regulator, domestic gas consumer card and administration charges, among others.

Under the PMUY, Rs 8,000 crore has been earmarked for



providing 5 crore LPG connections to BPL households and in the first year 1.5 crore connections will be provided.

LPG subsidy is transfered to beneficiaries directly in their bank accounts.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in his Budget for 2016-17 provided Rs 2,000 crore to provide deposit free LPG connections to 1.5 crore women belonging to BPL families.

Further, the Budget announced that the scheme will be continued for two more years to cover 5 crore households in next three years.

PMUY was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016.

Pradhan also said that the Union Government is working towards setting up the country's biggest refinery on the west coast which will help generate nearly one lakh jobs.

Also, the petroleum minister said that the government would focus on welfare of petrol pump workers, taxi and auto drivers as well as women.
Actress Priyanka Chopra's maiden Marathi production "Ventilator" will be screened at the upcoming Jio MAMI Mumbai International Film Festival.

"Ventilator" is written and directed by "Ferrari ki Sawari" helmer Rajesh Mapuskar.

The film revolves around an ailing senior member of a family, who is being put on the ventilator just days before the popular Ganpati festival, leading to varied degrees of speculation and panic amongst the large coastal clan he belongs to.

Speaking about the film's premiere at the 18th Mumbai Film Fest, Mapuskar said in a statement, "I am glad that MAMI has provided this new platform for Marathi cinema and they are hosting the world premiere of "Ventilator". I am excited."



The film will be screened under the section 'Marathi Talkies'. This segment has been launched to celebrate the Marathi cinema.

"In the recent years, Marathi cinema has seen a boom in viewership in India, thanks to the makeover the industry underwent in 2010. We have seen some unconventional and splendid films take over the world cinema stage and win hearts across countries, breaking the language barrier.

"Film festivals like MAMI have also proven beneficial to the industry as they provide a platform for progressive Marathi cinema to showcase itself," said Marathi Talkies curator Amol Parchure.

Other films to be showcased this year at Marathi Talkies are "Vakratunda Mahakaya", "Bioscope" and "Rajwade & Sons".

Jio MAMI with Star, Festival Director, Anupama Chopra said, "Marathi cinema has always been an integral part of MAMI. With Marathi Talkies, we are creating a special showcase for great Marathi cinema. We hope that this will help to serve both the Marathi film industry and viewers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP today organised a 'Prathisedha Jwala' (Protest fire) in all districts across Kerala in protest against terror outfit 'IS' and the alleged laxity on the government's part in fighting terror linked activities in the state.

Inaugurating the state-level meeting in front of the secretariat here, senior party leader and MLA O Rajagopal blamed both CPI-M led LDF and Congress headed UDF governments that ruled the state alternatively for the present threat faced by Kerala.

"Both these Fronts are not ready to oppose terrorism", he alleged.

Referring to the surgical strikes on terror camps in Pakistan, Rajagopal said the LDF was trying to portray the fight against terrorism as that of against a particular religion.

"All persons except Pakistani agents had praised the Centre for the strike against Pakistan", he pointed out.

He said the pronouncement that Kerala would be made Kashmir was raised two decades ago. There were incidents of torching 14 cinema theatres at Malappuram three years back, stating that cinema was unislamic, he said.

BJP's approach towards these issues was not against any particular religion or political party, he said.

Party leaders V Muraleedharan, Sobha Surendran, A N Radhakrishnan, V V Rajesh, M T Ramesh, P S Sreedharan Pilai, P K Krishnadas, C K Padmanabhan, K Surendran, J R Padmakumar, K P Steesan, George Kurian and V M Velayudhan inaugurated the protest programmes in other district headquarters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Afternoon showers and an overcast sky failed to dampen the spirit of revellers as people of West Bengal soaked in festive spirit today on the occasion of 'Mahasaptami', marking the beginning of the worship of Goddess Durga during her four-day sojourn to her maternal abode.

Showers occurred in different parts of the state, including the metropolis, during the afternoon, but the rain God relented before evening as thousands of people from all walks of life poured into the streets and queued in front of puja pandals.

The day began with the taking out of banana plantains - 'Nabapatrika' (symbolising Lord Ganesha's wife) for a ritual dip at nearest water bodies with most preferring the River Ganges, as priests made arrangements for the day's worship of the Goddess and her celestial family.

After the morning rituals, worshippers offered 'Pushpanjali' (floral libations) to the Goddess amid chanting of mantras (hymns) later in the day.

Pandal-hoppers visited popular pandals in all parts of the city and enjoyed the illumination and feasted their eyes on the decor. Some major draws witnessed half-a-kilometre long queues as people waited patiently to view the intricate art works that resulted from months of hard work by the community puja organisers.

Possibility of moderate to heavy rain on the third and fourth day (October 10 and October 11) of the puja, as forecast by the Met department, also played a role in people trying to make the most of the festivities as fast as possible.

A cyclonic circulation that has formed over north Bay of Bengal is at present lying near the Odisha coast, but is likely to move north-eastwards towards Gangetic West Bengal causing more rainfall, according to the Weathermen.

Kolkata Police personnel, along with those of the city civic police and other volunteers, were deployed in strength near the big community pujas and busy intersections to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hardening their attack against the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala for alleged nepotism, Congress-led UDF Opposition today demanded the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau file a FIR against Industries minister E P Jayarajan for posting relatives of party leaders in key positions of public sector undertakings.

In a letter to VACB, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala wanted a probe into 'mass appointments' in PSUs.

"Jayarajan was not qualified to be in the position he was holding," he told reporters at Alapuzha.

He said Jayarajan has committedan offence under Section 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and demanded that a case be registered and a probe ordered into it.

Relatives of former Chief Minister E K Nayanar, former MLA Koliyakkod Krishnan Nair, CPI(M) state secretariat member Anathalavattom Anandan were among those who got appointed in key posts, Chennithala alleged.

KPCC President V M Sudheeran also flayed Jayrajan and demanded his resignation.

"Government has become the butt of sarcasm due to Jayarajan's act," he said in Kannur, adding Jayarajan cannot continue as minister.

Jayarajan refused to be drawn into the debate and said he was not prepared to give any clarification now.

"Let them all raise objections. I do not know who they are," he said in Kochi.

Senior BJP leader V Muraleedhran also came out against the government and wanted all controversial postings cancelled.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the party would examine all appointments in PSUs in the wake ofthe row over certain posts.

The party secretariat would discuss the issue on October 14, he said.

Youth Congress president Dean Kuriakose said they would launch agitations against the minister and block him.

Congress leader and president of state Mahila Congress Bindhu Krishna said"The LDF government has become the personification of nepotism and favouritism'.

"Close relatives of party leaders are being appointed in key posts in all departments, irrespective of their qualification. The appointment of a party leader's daughter as MD of Kerala State Women Development Corporation was the latest in the list," she said.

After the appointment became controversial, the LDF government had two days ago cancelled the appointment of P K Sudheer Nambiar, son of P K Sreemathi, MP and a relative of Industries Minister, E P Jayarajan as Managing Director of state-run Kerala State Industrial Enterprises LTD.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One should not ignore religion as it is the "base of the nation", RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat said here today.

He was speaking at a function to commemorate the birth centenary of late Jan Sangh leader Deendayal Upadhyaya.

Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir was also present on the occasion.

"One should not ignore one's religion as it is the base of a nation and a nation runs on the concept of family and India's concept of family is unique," Bhagwat said, adding that the Indian philosophy and culture spoke volumes about the country's unity in diversity.

He said India was among the leading countries of the world a thousand years ago, but was relegated to the tail-end after the foreign rule which followed.

Talking about the farmers' issues, he noted that Upadhyaya had cautioned the government against the use of chemical fertilisers and promoted the use of organic fertilisers.

Expressing concern over the farmer suicides in Vidarbha, Bhagwat said the farmers must get a competitive price for their produces and be encouraged to use all the technologies which were not harmful to the humanity and nature.

"Pandit Deendayal was a selfless person who devoted his life to the service of the last man in the society as without his (the last man's) development, nothing can be claimed as development," the RSS supremo said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three unidentified persons looted Rs 5.5 lakh and scooter of a businessman after sprinkling red chilli powder in his eyes in northeast Delhi's Seemapuri area, police said today.

The incident happened yesterday night when Puneet Kumar (39) was returning home on his scooter from his kirana shop in Old Seemapuri, police said.

He was attacked by three unidentified men with red chilli powder. He lost his balance and fell down and in a matter of few seconds, they took away his scooter that contained Rs 5.5 lakh in cash, a police officer said.

Police is scanning the CCTV footage from the area to gain clues about the culprits and the boys who work at his shop are being questioned in connection with the matter, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Russia is again deploying nuclear- capable Iskander missiles into its Kaliningrad outpost that borders two NATO members, Lithuania said today, warning the move was aimed at pressuring the West into making concessions over Syria and Ukraine.

"Russia is holding military exercises in Kaliningrad, and its scenario includes deployment of Iskander missile systems and the possibile use of them. We are aware of it," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told AFP.

He said modified Iskander missiles had a range of up to 700 kilometres which means they could reach German capital Berlin from the Russian exclave, which is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.

Moscow also sent Iskanders to Kaliningrad in 2015 as part of a series of mammoth military drills amid heightened tensions with the West over Ukraine.

Linkevicius said that this time he thought Moscow was using the move to "seek concessions from the West".

Russia's defence ministry dismissed Western concerns over the hardware, saying that "contingents of missile troops have been moved many times and will continue to be moved to Kaliningrad region as part of a Russian armed forces training plan."



Kaliningrad is "not an exception" to drills conducted across the country, spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in an emailed statement.

Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz on Saturday in Warsaw called Russia's "activities very alarming", but declined to say whether he knew about any fresh deployment of Iskanders to Kaliningrad.

Estonian media reported on Friday that Russia was shipping Iskanders on a civilian vessel in the Baltic sea.

Linkevicius declined to comment on the details.

Tensions between Russia and the West have escalated to their worst level since the Cold War in recent years after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and launched a military campaign in Syria.

Since the start of the Ukraine crisis in 2014, Russia has flexed its muscles with a series of war games involving tens of thousands of troops in areas bordering NATO Baltic states.

NATO responded by agreeing to deploy four battalions in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as of next year to bolster its eastern flank.

The United States yesterday called for Russia and Syria to be investigated for war crimes for the bombing of hospitals in Aleppo, and accused Moscow of trying to "interfere" with the American presidential election.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Supporters of BJP MLA Sangeet Som burnt an effigy of actor Salman Khan at Khatoli town here for opposing the ban on Pakistani artistes in India.

Workers of Sangeet Som Sena staged a demonstration in the town and threatened to boycott the Bollywood superstar's movies.

Salman had said artistes from Pakistan should not be treated like terrorists and art and terrorism should not be mixed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A senior health official in Yemen says an airstrike by a Saudi-led coalition that targeted a funeral hall packed with mourners has killed at least 82 people.

Nasser al-Argaly, the Health Ministry's undersecretary, says today's strike also left 534 people wounded.

Al-Argaly, addressing a conference, says the casualty figures are not final.

Yemeni security and medical officials say the dead and wounded include military and security officials from the ranks of the Shiite Houthi rebels fighting the nternationally-recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi as well as their allies, loyalists of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The Saudi-led coalition backs Hadi's government in Yemen's ongoing civil war.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"Mystic River" star Sean Penn and his rumoured girlfriend Leila George have made their red carpet debut at a Los Angeles County Museum of Art event after they were spotted kissing in Hawaii.

The 56-year-old Oscar-winning actor and George have made their first public appearance as a couple, reported AceShowbiz.

Penn looked causal in a denim shirt while George, 24, opted for a black dress.

George, also the daughter of actor Vincent D'Onofrio, has shared a picture of herself on Instagram along with Penn by captioning it, "In the studio today recording Pappy Pariah's mem-noir 'Bob Honey: Who Just Do Stuff'.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP today lashed out at NCP leader and MP Supriya Sule for targeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis saying her aggressive posture was due to the proxy war with her own party.

"Sule's criticism is result of a proxy war within the NCP. Instead of attacking Fadnavis, she should directly take on rivals within her own party in a bid to take over the NCP," Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari told reporters here.

"Sule has personally targeted Fadnavis in the recent days. Sule, who never took interest Maharashtra politics, has suddenly become vocal and took on the Chief Minister. This is to attract attention and by such things Sule cannot become a prominent leader in the state," Bhandari added.

According to Bhandari, NCP is "depressed after loosing 2014 Maharashtra elections".

"BJP government has started probing alleged corruption cases against NCP leaders and because of which there is an internal rivalry in the party," the spokesperson added.

Sule is the daughter of NCP supreme Sharad Pawar and represents Baramati constituency in the Lok Sabha.

Hitting back at BJP, NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said, "Sule need not take control of the NCP as the entire party supports her work. She has carved a niche for herself as a person with an ideology and her social work apart from being a political activist".

"BJP seems to have forgotten that Sule has been felicitated for her performance as member of the Lok Sabha. She is actively involved with regard to women and youth issues of the state," Tapase said.

"The NCP chief has always encouraged new leadership in politics. He has given many activists opportunities to emerge in politics. So there is no base in Bhandari's criticism that Sule is trying to take over NCP," he added.

Recently in Pune, Sule took a jibe at Fadnavis for being "short-tempered" and said he "fights like the way women squabble over water at community taps".

Sule had also said, "she would prefer to wear a helmet when meeting him because he might throw something at her in anger."



"The Chief Minister is short-tempered and does not listen to anyone as his temper is always high, and he fights like women, the way they do over water taps," the Baramati MP had said.

Sule had also reportedly asked scribes present at the programme to convey her message to the Chief Minister.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Catholic Federation of India has urged the Centre to take effective steps to secure the release of Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted in war-torn Yemen in March last.

Federation President P P Joseph told reporters here that the relatives of Tom Uzhunnalil wanted the Centre and State to interfere in the matter.

Mathew Uzhunnalil, a relative of the priest, said that authorities had stated that delay for his release was due to the fact that there was no embassy in Yemen.

"But it is causing concern and worry among his relatives', he added.

Father Uzhunnalil, who hails from Kerala, was abducted in March by terror group Islamic State which attacked an old-age home run by Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity in southern Yemeni city of Aden.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar, who was injured in a clash between two party factions on Thursday, was today shifted from RML Hospital to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where doctors said he has sustained "head and cervical spine injury".

Supporters of 40-year-old Tanwar and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had clashed near Bhairon Mandir in central Delhi around 5.30 PM on Thursday, half an hour before Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was due to arrive, after finishing his 'Deoria to Delhi Kisan Yatra'.

He was then admitted to Ram Maonohar Lohia Hospital.

"He was shifted to the SGRH at 4 PM," hospital authorities said today.

"He has been admitted today under the care of Dr Ashish Goyal and his team from Department of Neuro & Spine Surgery. He has head and cervical spine injury.

"His condition is stable but he is under observation," according to Dr D S Rana, Chairman (Board of Management), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

An FIR was yesterday lodged against supporters of Hooda after Tanwar's supporters filed a complaint against them at the Tilak Marg Police Station.

Also, yesterday, there was an argument between Tanwar's supporters and RML Hospital authorities, following which the number of bouncers deployed there were increased.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The multi-million dollar call center racket allegedly claimed the life of an elderly American woman, who was threatened after refusing to meet the demands of the call centre employees posing as US revenue officials.

According to Thane Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, who is credited with exposing the racket, the probe team hit upon the vital information when it was scanning the seized call record hard disks.

The unidentified American national is said to have died after allegedly suffering a stroke following a threatening call by an employee, Singh told a section of media here yesterday without elaborating further.

The incident was revealed from a call record wherein the son of the woman is heard abusing the caller for the death of his mother.

The probe team is trying to locate the call (its place and time) and fix the employee in question after which the police is likely to slap additional charges under section 304 of the IPC on the accused, he said.

The callers used to seek financial and bank details of US citizens and if the victims refused the information, they would allegedly threaten them with dire consequences including legal action and penalties.

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 conned them after speaking in American accent by posing as officials of US Internal Revenue Service.

According to police, some of the call centre employees earned up to Rs 1 lakh per month as a reward by the racket operators for making US nationals cough up money.

The 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 used to make at least 100 calls per day of which 10-15 calls would materialise and of these 3-4 people would make payment under threat by the conmen, police said.

The daily turnover of these call centres is said to be to the tune of nearly Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.50 crore, and the annual turnover could be well above Rs 300 crore.

Besides arresting 70 people, Kashimira police has



booked another 630 people under IPC sections 384 (extortion), 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating) and under relevant sections of IT Act and Indian Telegraph Act.

Also, police have spread a dragnet for nabbing 12 absconding accused in the case including two directors of Universal Outsourcing Services, namely Tapan Gupta and Arjun Vasu. It is also tracing the money trail as well as gauging the quantum of the fraud.

All 70 persons arrested so far are in police custody till October 10.
A Government Railway Police (GRP) inspector along with two constables were today suspended on charges of dereliction of duty, three days after armed men robbed three trains passing through the district.

"We have suspended the inspector-in charge Shyamvrat Yadav along with two constables who were on duty that day as they failed to solve the case within the stipulated time," SP GRP P K Singh said.

Inspector Yadav was given two days time to solve the case, he said, adding a fresh team of GRP officials have been deployed to probe the case.

Armed men on Wednesday struck three trains -- Lucknow-LTT Express, Vaishali Express and Lucknow-Kanpur passenger train -- and robbed at least 12 passengers in the wee hours between Unnao and Kanpur districts.

Assuring speedy investigation into the case, Singh said that the officials have recovered some evidence and have identified a few accused.

GRP is also conducting raids to nab the culprits, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Yemen's army has announced the death of its most senior commander to be killed this year in the country's ongoing civil war.

In a statement late yesterday, it said Maj-Gen Abdul-Rab al-Shadadi was killed while leading an offensive against the Iranian-backed Shiite rebels known as the Houthis east of the capital Sanaa. Three militia commanders fighting alongside the army of the internationally-recognized government were also killed.

It says all four were killed when a missile fired by the Houthis struck their position yesterday.

A Saudi-led coalition backing the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has been fighting against the Houthis and their allies, including former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's loyalists, since March 2015.

The rebels control the capital Sanaa and vast swathes of territory in northern Yemen.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As the city soaks in the festive mood with Durga Puja, restaurants here are all geared up to provide mouth-watering dishes to celebrate the event.

While some food joints are ready with special menus for the four-day-long festivities, some have laid out traditional fare to woo food loving Bengalis.

The city's food zone, Park Street, housing restaurants like Peter Cat, Mocambo, Charcoal Grill, Daawat-e-Shiraz, Barbeque Nation and others, are all geared up.

Not only Park Street, several others scattered in different corners of the city like the 6 Ballygunge Place, Bhojohari Manna and Oh! Calcutta are also not behind. Even five star accommodations have come up with arrangements specially meant for the four days of festivities.

And there may be a plethora of choices for the gastronomical pleasure of patrons, but specialised Bengali dishes, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, are the top draws.

The Park has the 'Maha Bhoj', both ITC Sonar and Taj Bengal have started special offerings for the Durga Pujas.

"We have specialised authentic Bengali thalis for these four days with unlimited option," a senior official of ITC Sonar told PTI adding, one needs to pay around Rs 3,000 for the veg-thalis, while the pocket pinch for non-veg thali is likely to cross Rs 3,500.

The Taj Bengal is serving 'Niramish' (veg) and



'Amish'(non-veg) including the popular Chingri Malaikari and Kosha Mangsho, a senior official of the hotel said.

Oberoi Grand has delectable spreads on all four days of the Pujas with Shukto, Bhaja, Makha, Golda Chingri Malaikari, Shorshe Ilish, Kosha Mangsho, Tel Koi, Chitol Macher Muittha at Rs 2,250, which include soft beverages, beer and wine.

Barbeque Nation, has launched its Special Puja Menu with unlimited 'Bhapa Ilish' available at the buffet.

"The very mention of Ilish evokes extreme passion in Bengalis. Sadly it's getting out of reach for most of the population because of its price and rare availability. So we have decided to serve Ilish," Suman Mukherjee (Senior Cluster Manager) said.

Oh! Calcutta has also drawn up special arrangements for the festival and will serve different menus on different Puja days.

However, some restaurants in the city have decided not to change their menu during the Pujas.

Both Peter Cat and Mocambo have decided to continue with their continental food.

"There is no point in changing the menu," Nitin Shivji Kothari, associated with both the restaurants, said adding, "during the Pujas, we will continue to offer our special dishes.
Pakistan felt the need to develop close ties with Russia after the "U-turn" in US policy towards India, one of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's special envoys has said and alleged that America is strengthening ties with India for "political gains".

In a programme organised by the think tank Atlantic Council in Washington, Mushahid Hussain Syed said, "We (Pakistan) are observing a change in US diplomatic policy".

Hussain said "every action has a reaction, and Pakistan felt the need to develop close ties with Russia after President Barack Obama's two visits to India.

"This was the start of a new chapter in Pakistan-Russia ties," Hussain was quoted as saying by Dawn .

The senator added that Russia is in favour of building a working relationship with countries of the region and it has also started a dialogue process with Afghan Taliban through back-door channels.

He said the US State Department had refused to give visa to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2006, but when Modi was elected as Prime Minister, the US changed its policy for "political gains".

"This U-turn of US policy can be traced back to the time of Bush administration, when the US-India nuclear deal was signed which was against the law of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Hussain.

"Stability of Afghanistan and eradication of terrorism is a top priority of the US, which needs Pakistan to play a role in the peace-process. Pakistan is not only providing its assistance in the peace process but also facing damages," the senator said.

He also said that violating Indus Waters Treaty will be an "act of war".

"Apart from Pakistan and India, the World Bank is also a stakeholder in the treaty," said Hussain.

Commenting on the Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir, Husain said, "UN military observer group for India and Pakistan should investigate the Uri attack. Crossing the Line of Control to attack any target in India is not possible for any militant."



He added that if India has any evidence or intelligence regarding the attack, it should be shared with Pakistan.

A contingent of Russian ground forces arrived in Pakistan earlier in September for the first ever joint Pak-Russian military exercise.

The two-week-long exercise is expected to continue until October 10. Around 200 military personnel of both countries will participate in the drills.

The exercises with Russian ground forces came amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A high-level Gujarat Government delegation, will visit Kuwait next week to promote the "Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017" and seek active participation from the country.

"Our delegation's objective is to strengthen relationship between the Gulf countries and India. With some important projects lined up, Kuwait's expertise in areas like Oil and Gas, Infrastructure, Education and Tourism to name a few will play a significant role," said Rajiv Kumar Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Government of Gujarat and Managing Director, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. (GNFC) who is leading the delegation.

The 16-member business delegation from Gujarat will comprise representatives from reputed Indian companies from various sectors in addition to representatives of Government of Gujarat and Indian Chambers.

The members will explore trade and investment opportunities in Kuwait, including collaborations and tie-ups with businesses and enterprises of Kuwait. They will meet with various executives of companies, financial institutions, members of industry chambers, government officials among others.

The visit, from October 9-10, is aimed at strengthening the economic and social ties between India and Kuwaitto promote Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017.

Earlier, the delegation had visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

With the theme of "Gujarat - Connecting India to World", the meetings will feature various activities involving leading companies, industry associations and government officials, strengthening the cause of development and promote cooperation between Kuwait and the State of Gujarat.

The Embassy in association with the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) is organising a meeting during which there will be interaction with the members of KCCI to brief them about the investment opportunities in Gujarat.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Filmmaker Farah Khan has spoken in favour of the demand for ban on Pakistani artistes in Bollywood, saying India has enough talent.

The 51-year-old director, however, said Hindi films, featuring Pakistani actors, which are set for release should not be banned.

When asked for her views on Pakistani artistes working in Bollywood, Farah said at the Bridge Conclave here, "There are a handful and I suppose not even a handful, we are only talking about two and when they did those movies it wasn't illegal to have Pakistani actors working in the movie.

"I don't think it's fair to ban those movies. I think from now on we are saying that we should not work with them. We have enough talent in our country and we should work with the people from our own country. What do we not have amongst the talent that they have. We are far better. I would definitely prefer to take somebody from my country in my movies."



Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and other Pakistani actors were targetted by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which had issued an ultimatum to them to leave India within 48 hours or be forced out.

The party also threatened to stall the releases of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", featuring Fawad in a cameo, and "Raees", Mahira's Bollywood debut.

Subsequently, 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.

Meanwhile, Farah also said it's sad that there are not many commercially successful woman directors in Bollywood.

"It is so sad if I am the only commercially successfully female director. It is really a sad state of affairs if I am still the only commercially successful woman director. We need a lot more commercially viable women, not only in direction," she said.

The filmmaker called herself a "living" example of feminism and said she is taking a battle head-on with male directors.

"I think I am fighting the battle head on with male directors. I am not anti-men I believe truly that we are meant to be equal. We should be judged equally and I think I am a living example of feminism," she said.

The director also remarked that the Hindi film industry works around two things-- chivalry and chauvinism.

"Bollywood doesn't care about your gender, orientation or origin. There are two aspects around which the dynamics of Bollywood revolve- chivalry and chauvinism," she said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Xi Jinping today appointed Luo Zhaohui, a senior diplomat with previous assignments in Pakistan and Canada, as China's new ambassador to India.

Luo, 54, who had also served as Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan previously was China's envoy to Canada from 2014 to 2016.

He is familiar with India as he worked as third and later Second Secretary in Chinese Embassy in India from 1989 to1993.

He had a four year stint as Ambassador to Pakistan starting from 2006.

Later Luo served as director general of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2014.

He will take over from former Chinese ambassador to India Le Yucheng who left New Delhi in April, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In two separate incidents of sectarian violence in Pakistan, a spiritual leader of the minority Zikri community was gunned down in the restive Balochistan province while a Shia father-son duo was killed in Karachi.

Syed Mullah Akhtar Mullai, a spiritual head of the Zikri community, was shot dead yesterday in the Balgather Gadagi area of Kech district in Balochistan.

Police said motor cycle-borne unidentified men opened fire on Mullai while he was returning home after solemnising the marriage of one of his devotees.

The banned Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.

The All Pakistan Muslim Zikri Anjuman condemned the killing of Mullai and said even on September 20 unidentified gunmen had set several houses and places of worship of the community on fire in the Panjgur area of Balochistan.

Human Rights organisations say the Zikri community remains the most persecuted in Balochistan by militants and terrorists.

Earlier this week, with the advent of the month of Muharram, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus in Quetta carrying Shia Hazara Muslims, killing four women and injuring others.

In Pakistan's biggest city of Karachi, late last night gunmen killed the trustee of a Imambargah and his son in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area.

Mansoor Zaidi and his son Ammar were sprayed with bullets by men on motorcycles and they died after succumbing to their wounds in the hospital.

In Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of Karachi also gunmen opened fire near a Shia Imambargah, injuring a few people.

Soon after the incident, the Sindh government announced a ban on pillion riding until further notice.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The USD 1 billion ambitious Swachh Bharat Rural Sanitation Project in India is an adaptation of a similar successful programme of Egypt, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has said while citing this as an example of sharing of global best practices.

"Knowledge is flowing across the organisation and to our client countries, driving creativity and innovation," Kim said in his address to the plenary session of the World Bank Group here.

He stated that the World Bank has successfully transferred knowledge and experience across regions.

"Through our new structure of Global Practices, knowledge sharing across countries has become easier and faster. For example, when the Government of India came to the Bank to prepare a major programme to expand sanitation services for the poor, we were able to transfer knowledge and experience from Egypt's Rural Sanitation Project and apply it in India," he said.

Kim stated that this sharing of knowledge resulted in the USD 1 billion Swachh Bharat Rural Sanitation Project in India, which applied knowledge of good service delivery -- in the areas of local governance, transparency and accountability to citizens -- that had already been taken to scale in Egypt.

"Thanks to our Global Practices, we are now working to share knowledge from these two projects globally. The changes we put in place were done for a reason: to help us better deliver results for you on the ground," he said.

"It's important to note that as we were implementing these reforms, you showed your support with a record 52-billion- dollar replenishment of International Development Association (IDA). And you encouraged us to boost International Bank for Reconstruction and Development's lending power through our 'Margins for Maneuver' programme," he said, adding that the IBRD's loan revenues will exceed administrative expenses in the next fiscal year for the first time in a long while.

Citing another Indian example, Kim said he is encouraged by the work that the World Bank is doing now to crowd in private sector investment.

"India has one of the largest networks of roads in the world, but the roads are overwhelmed -- just 2 per cent of its national highways carry 40 per cent of traffic, causing bottlenecks that can limit productivity and slow economic growth," he said.

"In India, as in every other developing country, infrastructure is key to integrating economies and delivering services. To help improve India's roads, International Finance Corporation (IFC) invested 250 million dollars in the Singapore-based firm Cube Highways. The firm is acquiring a portfolio of toll roads in India, injecting much- needed funds for road developers to complete their projects," the World Bank President said.
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).
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is worth about USD 800 million less this year as compared to 2015, dropping 35 spots on Forbes list of richest Americans.

Trump's net worth was pegged at USD 3.7 billion, an USD 800 million decline from last year, according to Forbes. The real estate developer and presidential candidate's ranking fell 35 spots to No. 156 on the gilded list, released Tuesday.

Last October, Trump's net worth was USD 4.5 billion, putting him on the 121st rank on 'The Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people in America'.

It said Trump and his father had appeared on the inaugural issue of the list in 1982 with a shared fortune valued at more than USD 200 million.

"An avalanche of debt stemming from bad business deals knocked The Donald out of the ranks in 1990," it said.

However six years later, riding robust real estate markets, Trump returned to the list with a fortune of USD 450 million.

By 2015 Forbes estimated he was worth 10 times that much as property values continued to soar, especially in New York.

At USD 4.5 billion he appeared alongside Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke, ahead of New Balance owner Jim Davis and fellow Manhattan real estate tycoon Sheldon Solow.

Forbes said all three of them are wealthier than Trump this year.

The 70-year-old reality TV star shares his new spot at number 156 with 16 other billionaires, including filmmaker Steven Spielberg, FedEx founder Frederick Smith and five heirs to the SC Johnson fortune.

While Trump fell, many others gained in the list.

A total of 38 billionaires passed Trump on the 2016 list including one of Trump's most vocal critics, Reid Hoffman (No. 150).

The LinkedIn cofounder, who added USD 100 million his fortune this year, has publicly offered USD 5 million to veterans groups if Trump releases his tax returns.

Forbes said in recent years Trump largely moved away from real estate development in favour of "The Apprentice" and licensing his name globally to luxury properties he does not own.

Still, 53 per cent of Trump's fortune lies in Manhattan properties though he is far from the richest developer in New York City.

Trumps fall in wealth ranking comes amid many controversies he has been embroiled in, including the recent one in which he was caught in a 2005 video making lewd remarks about women.
When is hurricane season? Here's what you need to know in South Texas
GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Katy Arredondo (from left), Susan Luna and Belia Rivera

SHARE GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Dr. Gilda Ramirez (from left), Linda Benavides and Silvia Martinez GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Robert Mirabal (left) and Gracie Mirabal GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Lina Novosad (left) and Larry Novosad

The new United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce hosted its first festival and celebrated Diez y Seis with a festival Sept. 16 at the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center.

The festival, which marked Mexican Independence Day, featured contests, music and vendors, and of course, food. Food trucks were on hand to feed the hungry crowd, which also had the opportunity to sample Hispanic foods at a tasting area.

An exposition also encouraged local businesses to connect with one another.
Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Sign up to our free email newsletter to receive the latest breaking news and daily roundups

A father has admitted being behind the wheel while drunk after going on a night out but then sleeping in his van as he couldn't get into his house.

Thomas Phelan, 27 of Dennis Road in Cambridge, was sentenced after pleading guilty to being in charge of a vehicle while over the legal alcohol limit at the city's magistrates' court on Friday.

Sally Rose, prosecuting, said at 1.10am in the early hours of September 22 police were called to Dennis Road after members of the public reported 'a man slumped over the steering wheel' of a van.

She added: "Officers arrived at the scene and found the defendant slumped asleep in the driver's seat.

"Both the van's engine and the radio were on, and the windows of the van were wound down.

"Police woke the defendant up and took him out of the van."

Phelan was asked if he had drunk anything and he said yes. A breath test gave a reading of 75micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath - more than twice the legal limit of 35micrograms.

The court was told that Phelan had four previous convictions, including one in 2014 for driving a vehicle while over the legal limit.

Elfreda Sarfo, mitigating, said: My client tells me he went out drinking but when he came back he couldn't gain access to his house.

He and his partner have two young children and he didn't want to wake them in the early hours of the night by banging on the door to try and get in.

His phone had also lost charge so he couldn't call his partner to let him in either.

He thought he would instead go and sleep in his van until the morning."

Miss Sarfo added that Phelan had 'no intention of driving' the van and had the radio on so he could listen to it before falling asleep.

She said: He does admit he has a binge drinking problem and when he starts drinking he doesn't know when to stop.

He has not touched a drop of alcohol since the offence.

My client was also diagnosed with depression in 2014 but did not take the antidepressants prescribed to him because he couldn't drink while taking them."

The court was told that Phelan worked in removals using his van and a driving disqualification would mean he was unable to do so anymore.

Since he was arrested, his partner had been working and now acted as the main breadwinner in the family.

Magistrates disqualified Phelan from driving for two years and ordered him to pay an 80 fine.
We have more newsletters

Something went wrong, please try again later.

Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.

Let your watch begin with our House of the Dragon newsletter

Graduating students will be rocking out at the Cambridge Corn Exchange later this month, when they are joined by two rock and roll legends.

Thousands of Anglia Ruskin students will receive their degree certificates from vice-chancellor Professor Ian Martin at graduation ceremonies between October 17 to 20.

They will be joined by nine 'exceptional' individuals nominated for honorary degrees, including pioneering glam rocker Suzi Quattro and Dr Feelgood guitar legend Wilko Johnson.

Local figures being honorred include Anne Streather, chief executive of Cambridge charity Cam Sight, and Sir Jonathan Asbridge, clinical director for Healthcare at Home.

Prof Martin said: This is a very special day for those receiving their awards and it will be a great pleasure to be part of the graduation ceremonies, hand our graduates their certificates and honour their achievements. They all deserve to feel both pleased and proud as they mark this important transition.

The recipients of honorary degrees are exceptional individuals with a connection to the region or the work we do here at Anglia Ruskin University.

The award acknowledges their contributions to society and we hope will serve as an inspiration to our graduates as they take the next step in their lives."

Suzi Quattro was one of the first female rock stars to break through in the 1970s, and has sold over 50 million records. She will receive the award of Honorary Doctor of Music.

Wilko Johnson is best known for his work with Dr Feelgood, but has also worked as an actor, starring as royal executioner Ilyn Payne in Game of Thrones .

Last year he also raised more than 10,000 for the Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust, following his lifesaving surgery in Cambridge.

He was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in 2012 and went on to play a 'farewell tour', having been given only 10 months to live.

But after being advised to meet a team of specialist doctors at Addenbrooke's, he underwent 11 hours of surgery last April, to successfully remove a 3kg (7lb 11oz) neuroendocrine tumour from his pancreas.

He will receive an Honorary Doctor of Arts award.

The full list of recipients includes:

Anne Streather is chief executive of Cam Sight, the Cambridge charity that provides practical and emotional support to people with sight loss, helping them to maintain their independence and quality of life.

Anglia Ruskin has enjoyed long links with Cam Sight, and Anne has been the driving force in ensuring there is an equitable visual impairment service for people within the Cambridge region.

She will become an Honorary Fellow of Anglia Ruskin.

Nalo Hopkinson , is a a critically-acclaimed author, professor of creative writing and mentor to several of Anglia Ruskin's creative writing students.

She will receive the award of Honorary Doctor of Letters.

Jenni Middleton is editor of The Nursing Times , the voice of the nursing community.

She has steered the publication to three Online Media Awards, two British Media Awards and two British Society of Magazine Editors' Awards.

She will receive the award of Honorary Doctor of Health Science.

Sir Jonathan Asbridge has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in nursing, rising through the ranks to reach the pinnacle of his profession, as chief nurse at Barts and The London NHS Foundation Trust, and inaugural president of the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

He will receive the award of Honorary Doctor of Health Science.

Steven Bendelack is a BAFTA-winning film and television director, and celebrated Anglia Ruskin alumnus.

He has directed shows such as Spitting Image , Never Mind The Buzzcocks , The League of Gentlemen and Little Britain .

He will receive the award of Honorary Doctor of Arts.

Professor Bogan Wilamowski has enjoyed a long and highly distinguished career in the field of microelectronics and computational intelligence.

He has close associations with Anglia Ruskin, having supported the IEEE conferences it hosted in both 2008 and 2015.

He will receive the award of Honorary Doctor of Science.

Jack Zipes is an American academic, author, teacher, and former Leverhulme visiting professor at Anglia Ruskin. He is widely recognised as one of the world's foremost scholars of children's literature.

He will receive the award of Honorary Doctor of Arts.
A cross section of Chiefs during an official ceremony MWN

Some Indigenes of Fako division in the South West region under the banner of Fako Progressive Indigenous Association, FAPIA has petitioned President Paul Biya calling on him to sanction some chiefs who earlier petition him begging for mercy and land.

The over 15 chiefs had written on head of state presenting the ridicule , predicaments and embarrassments they find themselves into after a land surrender application to the government through the Fako administration is yet to be taken into consideration.

The Indigenes described the chiefs as land mongers who have sold more than 90% of land belonging to the local population.

The letter co-signed by its president Joseph MUSENJA ETUTA and Patrick MOLUA, Secretary General further states that , These same chiefs, some real, some fake are now advocating for more land even within the one ceded to a place learning like University of Buea. These chiefs do not have value for education but have value for big cars.

This weeks edition of The Sun Newspaper reveals that FAPIA has to this effect called on the Head of State to set up a commission to investigate all lands that has been surrendered to the people of Fako.
While it isn't known whether other candidates in ACT are using similar methods to woo voters, this isn't the first time dating apps have been used on the campaign trail.
Mr Taylor said the dual Australian and Canadian-listed company was progressing well in the process of securing a funding package, with decisions by banks or other potential funders hoped to be known by the end of the year. Construction, including of a processing plant, would occur over a 15-month period and could start as soon as the funding is agreed.
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.
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.
To many automotive observers, the outward-looking, jacked-up hatchback segment seems to be snowballing in momentum. It all started with Nissans quirky-looking Juke back in 2010 and today we have Toyotas edgy C-HR, Mazdas rakish CX-3 and more. Now, Mitsubishi wants to get on the act with a more angular, all-new Outlander Sport, also known as the ASX in markets outside North America.



So lets delve further into Mitsubishis upcoming CUV and illustratively look at what we can expect.

For starters, Mitsubishi plans to resize and reposition the next generation of the Outlander Sport in the subcompact crossover segment, as it is developing another, larger SUV to sit above it and below the regular Outlander.

As such, aside from the funky-looking Nissan Juke, Toyota C-HR, Citroen C4 Cactus and Mazda CX3, the Outlander Sport / ASX will also go toe to toe with more conventional rivals like the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore.

XR-PHEV Inspired Looks:

Back in 2013, the Japanese carmaker revealed the XR-PHEV concept at the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show, not only to preview Mitsubishis new corporate look, but also the next Outlander Sport / ASX.

But how has that concept translated into reality? Well, the sleek XR-PHEV has morph into a stubbier, high-riding hatch. However it will retain the studys chiseled door scallops, fenders and Mitsubishis corporate Dynamic-Shield fascia.

The rear will offer a split-window hatch opening, similar to Hondas new Civic hatch and the Toyota C-HR. The taillights horizontally stretch over this glass divide to emphasize width, whilst the red reflector/fog lamps have been relocated within the rear bumper.

Cabin styling is expected to be more modern than anything in Mitsubishis current range with a sports-inspired design complimenting its exterior, whilst seating capacity will remain limited to five passengers.

Frugal Performance:

In show car guise, the XR-PHEV was powered by a petrol-electric plug-in powertrain; combining a 120kW electric motor and 100kW 1.1-litre turbocharged, three-cylinder engine. To store energy for the electric motor, a 14kWh battery pack was also used.

Will this setup appear in the production version? It is possible, given Mitsubishis recent foray into other hybrid and electric passenger cars. What is more likely, however, is small-capacity turbocharged petrol and diesels; these will channel power to the front wheels or via an optional AWD system. North America is rumored to get a 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline four.

Its unknown when the ASX will make an official appearance, but we expect a reveal next year, possibly as a 2018 model.

So, what are your thoughts on the ASXs radical new look? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

By Josh Byrnes

Photo Renderings Copyright Carscoops / Josh Byrnes

Photo Gallery
Jaguars Formula E boss James Barclay admits that bringing the British marque back into motorsport is a huge responsibility on their part.



This weekend, Jaguar will take to the grid of the Hong Kong ePrix as season three of Formula E starts. The race will mark Jaguars first foray into a leading international race series since it left Formula One in 2004 after securing just two podium finishes in its five years of competing.

While speaking with Motorsport, Barclay said that the firms motorsport department is totally different to what it was 12 years ago when Jaguar was still owned by Ford.

Those last forays into motorsport with F1 was a different company, different organisation, different management structure. The complexities of that programme have been well-documented; this is a fresh drive with new people.

For me, thats the key difference  weve got a group of people who know what it takes to be successful, which is crucial. [The F1 programme] was completely separate to who we are now.

If you look at it as a whole, Jaguar has such an illustrious history in the sport. Its a huge responsibility to write the next chapter of that successful past, Barclay said.

Barclay believes that Jaguars first year in Formula E will be considered as a learning year before it hopes to challenge the series frontrunners and compete for victories.

PHOTO GALLERY
Sauber has chosen to stick with 2016 Ferrari engines next year and allocate their resources on building a (hopefully, much) more competitive car around them.



The Swiss-based F1 team are currently last in the constructors standings, having failed to secure any points in the past 19 races, including some of last years results.

We will be using the latest specification of the 2016 Ferrari engine in 2017, team principal Monisha Kaltenborn told Reuters. We took this decision a while ago at a time where actually the rules for next year were not 100 percent clear. We took a strategic decision that we want to focus the resources we have on chassis development and performance development, and in a way leave the engine side to the areas we know.

Kalternborn also added that next years car development is on course and that the teams finances were stable.

With Toro Rosso switching back to Renault engines next year, the only two teams that will run 2017-spec Ferrari units in the upcoming season will be Ferrari themselves and US-owned customer team Haas F1.

Anyone here still rooting for the fourth oldest team on the Formula 1 grid?

PHOTO GALLERY
Skoda UK has teamed up with British adventurer Alastair Humphreys to go in search of the Yeti.



Part of Bhutanese folklore since the late 1700s, the creature, which is thought to be part-man, part-animal, has been the subject of numerous expeditions over the past 200 years, which started after high-profile sightings that remain unexplained up to this day.

Working under the direction of Alastair Humphreys, the Skoda team will begin their journey in Samdrup, Jonkhar, southeast Bhutan, from where it will travel up north for more than 300 miles (483 km), climing to an altitude of 3,530 meters (11,581 feet). The expedition will see the team tackle the harsh terrain of the 162,000 acre Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary, where the Yeti is thought to reside, and will be backed up by a several local experts who will act as guides.

Im excited to be part of this expedition with Skoda. Bhutans surroundings are some of the most beautiful in the world, and well seek to uncover the stories of the Yeti within these communities. Im pretty certain nowhere else on earth can claim to have a sanctuary for an apparently mythical creature, and that is a fascinating adventure to be part of, Alastair Humphreys said. Whether the Yeti exists or not may always be a mystery, but what is true is the strong belief that the people of Bhutan have in the creature.

Challenging some of the toughest roads in the country will be a fleet of Skoda Yeti Outdoor vehicles, which will be used to carry the expedition members and their equipment. All units benefit from standard multi-plate four-wheel drive system and feature the brands optional off-road package, which adds additional protection to the underside.

PHOTO GALLERY
Photo: Getty Images

I've received many e-mails recently from constituents who want me to support Bill C-246.

The private members bill tabled by Nathaniel Erskine-Smith seeks to modernize Canadas animal-cruelty laws.

Despite recognizing its good intentions, our federal cannot support this bill due to a number of concerns, which I will outline. Caucus members however are free to vote as they see fit.

By the time you read this column, I will have voted for C-246 to send it to committee for review. Even if it does not pass, the opportunity to examine the bills objectives will inform the debate about the best way forward on tougher animal cruelty laws.

As in previous attempts in Parliament to strengthen the law, legitimate concerns remain that such changes to the Criminal Code could negatively impact legitimate animal uses, such as animal husbandry, hunting or fishing.

For instance, a new offence of brutally or viciously killing an animal could capture normal hunting or fishing activities, or animal food industry practice.

The creation of a new part in the Criminal Code for animal cruelty offences could also compromise property rights associated with animals.

Other measures contained in the bill, such as shark-finning, are already prohibited.

In this regard, the government, through Justice Minister Judy Wilson-Raybould, believes that such a large-scale change to the Criminal Code warrants a broader consultation with affected Canadians.

Tougher laws regarding animal cruelty are a necessity, but in order for such legislation to pass it will be imperative that lawful hunting, fishing and gaming activities are explicitly protected and that broad terms like negligence are clearly defined.

By consulting with affected Canadians, and by striking the right balance between the protection of animals and activities that legitimately support local and regional economies, we will be able to modernize our animal cruelty laws and establish an effective animal protection regime.

Pipelines and pricing carbon pollution

From the beginning, our government has recognized a need to balance the economy with our climate-change obligations.

British Columbia is already doing its part by recognizing the economic potential of LNG and tackling carbon emissions by setting a price on carbon pollution, the revenues of which are being returned back to our citizens.

With the federal governments decision to approve the Pacific Northwest LNG project and its proposal to work with the provinces and territories to set a Canadian price on carbon pollution, more Canadians are set to realize the same economic and environmental dividends as British Columbians.

The days of pitting the economy against the environment are over.

The governments proposal for a pan-Canadian approach to pricing carbon pollution sets a benchmark that will help Canada meet its greenhouse gas emission targets, while providing greater certainty to Canadian businesses.

It is also part of a broader strategy to be energy smart through innovative technologies and practices.

That includes:

how we build our towns, cities and transportation corridors

how we give back to consumers, support workers and their families

working with indigenous communities and helping the vulnerable  including those in the North

supporting businesses that innovate and create good jobs for the middle class.

Together, these announcements support our governments promise to Canadians to create a clean-growth economy necessary for our collective health and prosperity now and in the future.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: Contributed

Kelowna's Gospel Mission plans to feed up to 800 people at its annual Thanksgiving dinner Monday.

The Mission will serve dinner in its dining room from noon until 6 p.m.

More than 50 volunteers from around the community will help serve meals including Mayor Colin Basran and local MLAs Norm Letnick and Steve Thomson.

The meal is open to anyone in the community.

Those in attendance will be treated to a traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce and pie.

Former shelter guest Gordon Siemens will present a poem he wrote to honour outreach worker JoAnne, during the meal.

"We are so thankful for the outpouring of generosity from the Okanagan community," said executive director Randy Benson.

"It is encouraging to see former guests of our shelter give back. Gordon is a special man who has overcome hardship, and we're honoured to have him present his poem."
Photo: The Hatch

Actress, model, animal activist and now  West Kelowna winemaker.

Pamela Anderson has teamed up with The Hatch winery on Boucherie Road to produce her first wine, Contempt by Pamela Anderson, a brut rose.

Anderson decided to work with The Hatch after meeting winemaker, Jason Parkes.

Jason and I met Pam about a year ago, explained Hatch general manager Jesse Harnden.

She responded really well to our previous bubbly, the Octobubble.

He said they sponsored her book release with the Octobubble and the conversation between the three kept going when Anderson visited the winery.

One thing led to another and she came out to The Hatch, said Harnden.

We had a prepared dinner from the Salted Brick for her, and Jason and her (Jason is a ex-musician) had a good connection. They chatted for hours and that night she decided she really wanted to do a wine with us and the rest is history.

Harnden said this is the first of a few wines Anderson wants to do with the new winery.

Her favourite wine is bubbly. She is a big Champagne fan, so that was a good place to start. Eventually she wants to do a series of five different wines, a couple whites and a couple reds, said Harnden.

She told us she had wanted to work with a B.C. winery for a long time and was looking for one that she identified with and for some strange reason that was us.

Only 100 cases of Contempt were produced so those interested are urged to get it while they can.

She has offered it to her contacts, we have it for sale at The Hatch and there will be three or four accounts that will carry it, like restaurants and a liquor store in Nanaimo where her mom lives, said Harnden.

Later in November, the winery hopes to have select bottles available signed by Anderson.
Photo: Getty Images

The hot summer homes market has slowed in the Okanagan, but sales still remain substantially higher than last year.

While 884 homes were sold in September, this was 13.3 per cent less than the 1,020 sold in August.

While fewer sales indicate that the market may be starting to moderate, pricing and days on market are still relatively consistent, suggesting that our move towards a balanced market is likely to be a slow one, said Anthony Bastiaanssen, Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board president.

Despite the reduction in sales from the previous month, this September saw 25.4 per cent more homes sold than last September, according to the OMRED.

The average price of homes sold in September, from Peachland to Revelstoke, was $477,844  2.76 per cent higher than August and a substantial 13.44 per cent more than of September 2015.

While there was some speculation that the Okanagan would see an increase in foreign buyers due to the recent 15 per cent tax imposed on foreign buyers of Vancouver properties, no impact has been seen as of yet.
Photo: Contributed

Okanagan College culinary students are tempting taste buds with tomatoes.

OC students captured first, second and third place in the 27th annual Florida Tomato Council top tomato recipe contest.

Annie Low, an international student from Britain, earned first place with her tomato chili jam recipe that incorporates fresh tomatoes, roasted peppers and fresh and dried chilies.

Second went to Morris Hsu's tomato iced tea. Hsu slow roasted tomatoes, strained them and infused them with mint, fennel and ginger.

Third place belonged to Elizabeth Devereaux, who stacked a panko-crusted eggplant slice with tomato jam, mozzarella, a tomato slice, tomato mayonnaise and a fresh basil leaf.

I was surprised to learn that I had won, says Low. I was even more surprised to learn that Okanagan College students had earned second and third place, too.

Im impressed with the results, but not entirely surprised, says Jonathan Rouse, Okanagan Colleges director of food, wine and tourism. We have a top-notch group of chef instructors and passionate students who appreciate fresh ingredients  and love developing recipes that reflect different ways of thinking about them.

According to the tomato council, the Florida industry produces nearly 900 million pounds annually and accounts for about 50 per cent of all U.S. grown fresh tomatoes.

Heres Lows award-winning recipe:

3 pounds of fully ripened, fresh tomatoes cored and chopped

2 red peppers, cooked in oven until blistered and starting to turn black, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon fresh ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1 small red chili, seeded and chopped fine

Combine all ingredients in a pan and cook over medium-high heat stirring constantly.

Bring to a boil for two minutes. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture has a jam-like consistency, about 2.5 hours. (a half-recipe cooks in 1.5 hours)

Serve with a soft cheese and crackers.
Photo: Twitter - BC Hydro

BC Hydro crews were expected to fully restore power by Friday evening to about 1,200 customers who were without electricity when a wind storm hit Thursday night in parts of Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and the Lower Mainland.

Hydro spokeswoman Mora Scott says the remaining outages were scattered throughout the region, including West Vancouver and Bowen Island, but crews were working to repair damaged power lines and power poles.

She says about 100,000 customers were affected at different times by the storm starting at about 9 p.m. Thursday and that 45,000 customers lost power at its peak between midnight and 1 a.m.

Gusts of nearly 90 kilometres per hour were recorded.

By daylight Friday, about 13,000 customers were still in the dark.

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 that was due Friday night.
Photo: Contributed

The United States is ready to start talks with Canada to update the Columbia River Treaty.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell made that announcement Friday after talking with Secretary of State John Kerry.

Cantwell has for years been urging the State Department to begin the negotiation process.

The Washington Democrat says updating the Columbia River Treaty will present new economic opportunities and provide a new focus on protecting the river's ecosystem.

The treaty has not been updated since it was first ratified in 1964.

Canada had refused to begin talks until the United States finalized its negotiating parameters.

The treaty governs operations of hydroelectric dams and reservoirs on the Columbia River.
Photo: Contributed

Only about 4,000 sockeye salmon are expected to reach the Adams River in the Shuswap region this autumn.

It could even be much lower, according to an official with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Indications are there could only be about 100 fish, said biologist Michael Crowe.

It is a sub-dominant year, which means not all that many salmon return to their spawning grounds and this is the last year of the four-year cycle, Crowe explained.

But there are concerns the sockeye numbers are so low.

The sockeye across the province this year have been very, very poor (including in the Fraser River), said Crowe. There are people out there who can't find any fish.

Coho salmon on the other hand are having a good year while their cousin the sockeye is floundering, Crowe pointed out.

There could be biological factors in the oceans that are causing this, Crowe said, adding that biologists will spend the winter trying to figure out why.

The typical peak of spawning is right around Thanksgiving, although at this level of abundance it is unlikely that there will be much in terms of sockeye spawning viewing opportunities, said Keri Benner, also with the fisheries department. In-season, late run sockeye estimates are even lower than expected  70,000  of which one per cent is estimated to be late Shuswap.

The Adams River Salmon Society said while it is a low returning year, the society is concerned about the salmon's future.

We feel this is very important and support the Cohen Report and we hope the recommendations in the report are followed, said Blair Acton, spokesperson for the society.

The 2012 Cohen report contained 75 recommendations to restore salmon populations.

Acton said there are still salmon to see for those wanting to visit the the river and interpretive site in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park.

We have seen chinook spawning in the river right now. They are the large black ones, said Acton, adding that there are a few sockeye visible from the viewing platform.

The interpretive centre is open Friday to Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., until the third weekend in October.
Inflation-fighting tips It's Your Money - 4:00 am
Photo: Carmen Weld - File photo

By Kim Bolan

A man seriously injured in a bizarre drive-by shooting in West Kelowna in August was supposed to be a witness in a U.S. drug case implicating another B.C. man.

The Vancouver Sun has learned that Reginald Purdom, who pleaded guilty in 2006 in Washington state to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and ecstasy, was the victim of the Aug. 2 targeted shooting.

He is listed as a key witness for the U.S. government in a drug conspiracy case in which Surrey resident Kevin Donald Kerfoot is charged. Kerfoot has been fighting his extradition to the U.S. for more than a decade.

Just two weeks before Purdom was gunned down, Kerfoot lost his latest bid in the B.C. Court of Appeal to halt his extradition. Hes now sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Asked Thursday whether he knew Purdom had been shot, Kerfoot said: "Ive heard something, but I know nothing about it.

He refused to comment on the status of his extradition case or whether the shooting would impact it.

I have no comment to any of this, Kerfoot said before hanging up the phone.

It was just after 10 p.m. when a man on a mountain bike approached Purdoms black Lincoln Town Car outside a car wash just off the highway in West Kelowna.

The cyclist pulled out a 40-calibre handgun equipped with a silencer and started blasting through the drivers window.

Purdom, 48, was hit eight times in the chest, leg and hand. As the gunman attempted to reload, Purdom managed to drive the car forward, striking his attacker before crashing.

Police arrived at the chaotic scene and located a suspect nearby with the help of a police dog named Ice.

Tyrone Reynolds McGee, 29, is now facing seven charges, including attempted murder and possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm.

He has previous convictions across Metro Vancouver for assault, trafficking and unauthorized use of a credit card. At the time of the shooting, he was on a driving prohibition handed to him by a Port Coquitlam judge last April. He remains in custody but is scheduled for an Oct. 17 bail hearing in Kelowna.

Purdom implicated Kerfoot in statements to U.S. agents after getting caught on Oct. 5, 2005, with a bag containing more than 24,000 ecstasy pills.

Hours earlier, Purdom drove a powerboat across the international border into Washington state to pick up 41 kilograms of cocaine and drop off a black bag full of ecstasy. What he didnt know is that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had already been tipped to the cocaine by a confidential informant.

Purdom agreed to co-operate with investigators and identified Kerfoot as the mastermind of the drug smuggling operation.

Charges were laid against Kerfoot on July 20, 2006, a month before Purdom pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 54 months in jail.

Purdom could not be reached for comment. But his father, Reg Sr., told The Vancouver Sun that he was "devastated" when he got called by the hospital about his sons shooting. He said it was touch and go for a few days, as Purdom fought for his life.

He is still recovering, he said.

Reg. Sr. admitted his son has made mistakes in his life, but that he was doing well before the targeted shooting.

I couldnt believe it. Its a nightmare. At least hes alive. Thats the biggest thing. Its a miracle hes alive, he said. He is all I got left.

 Vancouver Sun
Surrender your weapons and lay down your arms.

BC Gun Amnesty is allowing residents to voluntarily surrender illegal or unwanted firearms, weapons or ammunition to police agencies across the province, from Oct. 1 to 31.

There will be no weapons-related Criminal Code charges recommended by police  that might otherwise apply to stored and unregistered weapons.

However, VPD spokesperson Staff Sergeant Randy Fincham says the amnesty does not apply to firearms used in the commission of a criminal offence.

Every year stolen firearms fall into the hands of criminals who use those guns in the commission of violent criminal offences, said Fincham. Unwanted, unused, or stolen firearms can also find their way in to the hands of kids. We want to get these guns into the hands of the police.

If you have unwanted or unused firearms in your home, contact your local police department so officers can safely dispose of them for you.

Dont drop firearms off at local police detachments.

Visit the BC Gun Amnesty website for more information.
Photo: West Kelowna Fire Rescue

UPDATE: 6 a.m.

Five occupants of a Lakeview Heights home, including a baby, all escaped safely from a chimney fire, late Friday.

West Kelowna firefighters responded to the blaze at 9:45 p.m., on Michelle Crescent.

Crews arrived to find flames coming through the roof on the east side of the house.

The fire quickly spread through the roof space, but a quick interior attack stopped the fire before it could consume the entire roof structure and upper floor.

Additional crews laddered the rooftop to check for fire extension, and thermal imaging cameras were used to look for any hotspots behind the walls.

The residents are now in the care of Emergency Support Services.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but likely originated in the walls enclosing the chimney, assistant fire chief Brent Watson said in a press release.

A total of 14 firefighters attended the scene with three engines, a pumper/tender, command and safety units. Additional firefighters were called in to cover the city at Stations 32 and 31.

WKFR reminds the public to exercise caution when using wood-burning appliances and to ensure that they are in good working order, and cleaned and inspected by a certified professional.

Ambulance paramedics, RCMP, FortisBC and Emergency Support Services also responded to the incident.

UPDATE: 10:55 p.m.

A witness says it appears everyone managed to escape the burning house.

There's a roadblock set up in the area.

ORIGINAL: 10:45 p.m.

Firefighters in West Kelowna are on scene at a house fire.

The blaze is on Michelle Crescent in the Lakeview Heights area.

West Kelowna Fire Rescue assistant chief Brent Watson said crews are currently conducting an interior fire attack.

More to come.
Photo: Jasmine Aantjes

UPDATED: 11:21 a.m.

The Kamloops RCMP has issued a warning to those travelling on the Coquihalla Highway, as snow continues to fall at higher elevations.

"Kamloops Rural RCMP and Merritt RCMP are responding to multiple accidents throughout the region," wrote Cpl. Cheryl Bush of the Kamloops RCMP in a statement.

ORIGINAL: 10:50 a.m.

Winter has reared its ugly head on the Okanagan Connector, causing multiple crashes.

As families throughout the Okanagan hit the road for the long weekend, snow is accumulating over the mountain highways, particularly heavily near the Pennask Summit on Highway 97C.

A witness on the highway said they saw a black Dodge pickup truck roll in the westbound lane at about 10:20 a.m., and a sedan had slid off the eastbound side of the highway earlier.

Emergency crews are near the summit, dealing with the vehicle crashes.

There is no word yet on the condition of anyone involved in the incidents.

As of Oct. 1, all vehicles travelling on highways, such as the Connector or the Coquihalla, are required by law to have winter tires.

The Coquihalla appears to have received some light snow Saturday morning.
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
Chino, CA (91710)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 83F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Low around 55F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Thanks in part to a boost in equalized valuation, Chippewa Countys proposed 2017 tax rate would take a slight tumble if the budget is approved by the County Board.

The county is considering a tax rate of $3.63 per $1,000 of equalized valuation, a decrease of 1.7 percent from 2016s $3.69.

The county has been fortunate, County Administrator Frank Pascarella said, citing a zero increase in health insurance premiums for 2016 and a 0.4 percent hike for 2017.

Pascarella said the close to steady health insurance rates give the county flexibility, and help it to maintain services.

The proposed county tax rate would mean a $9 decrease in county taxes for a $150,000 house, falling from $553.50 in 2016 to $544.50 in 2017.

Wisconsin law requires counties and school districts to make estimates based on equalized value, the estimated value of all taxable real and personal property.

In Chippewa Countys case, equalized value has risen by 3.58 percent, from $4.7 million to $4.9 million. That means the money available for the county to tax has gone up, which usually leads to a lower tax rate.

However, property taxes are not based on equalized value. Instead they are paid based on a propertys assessed valuation. So if your propertys assessed value has increased, you will likely pay more taxes.

The county tax is one of five items on a property tax bill, usually issued in December. The others are for: cities, villages or towns; local school districts; the technical college district; and the state forestry tax. Typically, the local school district tax is the largest chunk of a property tax bill.

Pascarella said the countys proposed tax levy shows an increase of 1.8 percent, from $17.5 million for 2016 to $17.8 for 2017. The state allows the county to have a tax levy up to $18.8 million.

The countys proposed budget for 2017 is taking a significant decrease, 3.6 percent, at $61,633,926. Thats $2.3 million less than 2016.

Pascarella said part of that decrease is due to the county getting grants for its programs, including $300,000 to continue the drug court. A grant is also funding part of a social worker for the Children with Differing Abilities program, reducing a waiting list of clients for needing the service.

He said when those grants are over, the need for the services those grants provided will continue. He said the county will develop a plan for 2018-20 to look at combining revenues and funding to continue those services.

The proposed budget includes money for a new home care supervisor. Pascarella said the funding for the home care program has stabilized, and he said hes confident the county will be able to continue maintaining the program.

The budget also allowed for replacing cameras in the courthouse as a part of a security program.

As for budget expenses, 49 percent will go toward what the county calls operational costs. Another 32 percent goes for wages, 10 percent for health insurance and 9 percent for employee benefits.
Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading.

Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy
This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions
ELKHORN  It was supposed to be a display of Republican unity to kick off the final month of a long and fractious presidential election.

Instead, House Speaker Paul Ryan was heckled and state Republican leaders mostly avoided mentioning their embattled presidential nominee Donald Trump Saturday at the 1st Congressional District Republican Party of Wisconsin Fall Fest in Walworth County.

There is a bit of an elephant in the room today, the Janesville Republican told a crowd of more than 500, never uttering Trumps name as several hecklers shouted Where is Trump?

Ryan was referring to a 2005 recording that surfaced Friday of Trump making lewd and demeaning comments that appeared to condone sexually assaulting women.

It is a troubling situation, said Ryan, who had reluctantly embraced the nominee while distancing himself on numerous occasions. Im serious. It is. I put out a statement last night. I meant what I said and its still how I feel.

Ryan said Friday he was sickened by Trumps remarks.

That is not what were here to talk about today, he added Saturday before urging Republicans to help U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson defeat Democratic challenger Russ Feingold.

Within hours of reports about the recording on Friday, Ryan disinvited Trump from the event, which had been moved to the Walworth County Fairgrounds in expectation of a huge crowd. State and national Republicans condemned Trumps remarks, and some supporters withdrew their endorsement.

Saturday morning, Trumps running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, withdrew from the event, further disappointing those who paid between $30 and $1,000 per ticket to support the local Republican party.

Attendees said a much larger crowd turned out earlier in the morning hoping to see Trump or Pence, only to learn after arriving that neither would appear. Many of them left.

Jean Stanley, 50, an online educator from New Berlin wearing a pink T-shirt saying Wisconsin Women Love Trump, said she was upset at Ryan for not welcoming Trump.

To me, I feel like hes kind of a traitor, Stanley said of Ryan, dismissing Trumps comments as something he said in private when he was a Hollywood celebrity.

Ethan Mikos, 21, a student at UW-Whitewater, defended Ryan. He said Trumps comments were totally disqualifying and have persuaded him to vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson.

Trump represents everything thats wrong with our culture and Hillary represents everything thats wrong with our government, Mikos said.

The event featured very little mention of Trump from the speakers, who included Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Attorney General Brad Schimel, U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, Gov. Scott Walker, Johnson and Ryan.

When Schimel began talking about Trump saying some bad things and that as a father he doesnt like hearing anyone talk about women that way, someone in the crowd shouted: It was 12 years ago. Get over it!

Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls, scolded hecklers in the crowd after he urged Republicans to support Ryan and Johnson, prompting shouts of What about Trump? and Shame!

Paul Ryan is the top elected leader of the Republican Party nationally, Sensenbrenner said, adding that there has been a lot of disrespect in the campaign and telling the hecklers to clean up your act!

Most of those in the crowd were supportive of Ryan and the other Republicans, who focused mostly on Johnson and re-electing a Republican-controlled state Assembly and Senate.

Ryan, Walker and Johnson didnt take questions from the large contingent of state and national media afterward.

While some leading national Republicans, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, have said they would withdraw their endorsement of Trump, Wisconsins three top elected officials have not done so.

Trump issued a rare video apology for his comments just before midnight Friday. His wife, Melania, also issued a statement Saturday calling Trumps statements unacceptable and offensive and urging others to accept his apology as she had. And Trump also made clear that he would not step down as nominee despite calls from some Republicans to do so.

For his most ardent supporters, Trumps apology appeared to help cool off some of the initial shock of Trump describing in vulgar language how he tried to f- a married woman and how as a star he could grab women by the p and kiss anyone he wanted.

Theyre harmful when you have to hear them, but theyre not physically harmful, said Charlotte Rasmussen, president of the Wisconsin Federation of Republican Women.

Were just going to let this all wash in and see how it goes. At the end of the day the policies hes set forward are so much better for Wisconsin and America.

Brian Fraley, a Republican strategist who has refused to support Trump, said the revelations about Trumps past comments, part of a pattern of reportedly lewd and misogynistic things he has said about women, are exactly the types of flaws he has warned Republicans about since the primary.

It reinforces what people think of this guy, Fraley said. It could dissuade suburban women who were going to give him a second look.

Brian Westrate, 3rd District Republican Party chairman, said Trumps attitude about women was already baked into the equation for many of his supporters, so he doesnt think the latest revelation will change their opinion of him.

I mean, the guy owns beauty pageants, Westrate said. They understood who he is and if theyre voting for him, theyre doing so in spite of it.

Ryan Solen, the Democrat challenging Ryan in the 1st Congressional District, on Friday night issued a statement challenging Ryan to withdraw his endorsement or he will have lost all credibility as a leader, as a Congressman, and as a 21st century man.

Solen also attended the GOP event in Elkhorn.

I think it is pretty despicable, Solen said of Trumps comments. It just shows who he really is deep down. The fact that Paul Ryan is still endorsing him says a lot about Paul Ryan.
Tim Kaine, the future U.S. senator and vice presidential candidate, works with carpentry students in El Progreso, Honduras, in 1980. (Tim Kaine)

Reporting from El Progreso, Honduras  Not long after Jesuit priest Jack Warner met a bearded, 22-year-old Midwesterner in 1980, the two Americans bonded, drawn together by the goals and questions that led them both to El Progreso, a small city not far from vast banana fields  the campos bananeros.

Warner was 35 and had arrived a year earlier to form the Teatro La Fragua, a theater company for Hondurans. As the young priest looked to forge a relationship with the campesinos, his friendship blossomed with Tim Kaine, who had taken a year off from Harvard Law School to join the Jesuit mission.

Advertisement

"He was 22 years old," Warner said, "and it was the typical thing that a 22-year-old would do: What do I do with my life?"

Kaine, now a 58-year-old U.S. senator from Virginia and the Democratic vice presidential nominee, has often said that his time in Honduras helped him answer that question, giving him "a North Star" to guide his life toward public service. It's central to his biography and likely to arise Tuesday night when he debates his Republican opponent, Mike Pence.

Advertisement

Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Sign up for the newsletter

When Kaine traveled to Honduras, the nation was in the throes of turmoil, flanked by countries torn by civil war and ruled by the heavy hand of a U.S-backed military bent on stamping out what it perceived to be communism spreading in the region.

"I got a firsthand look at a system  a dictatorship  where a few people at the top had all the power and everyone else got left out," Kaine said in July at the Democratic National Convention.

He also witnessed extreme poverty. His experiences, coupled with the Jesuit goal of being "men for others," led him to become a civil-rights lawyer for 17 years, specializing in housing-discrimination cases. Honduras convinced him, he said, "that we've got to advance opportunity for everyone."

Kaine now serves on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and this year co-sponsored a bill that would increase aid to Central America's "Northern Triangle"  Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

Key to his experiences in Honduras was the friendship and example of Warner and a handful of other Jesuits. And a Christmastime visit to a poor man's house taught him a lesson that resonates decades later.

During his time in El Progreso, Kaine lived in a barracks, along with Warner and other Jesuits. After their work days wrapped up about 5 p.m., he and Warner frequently commiserated over office duties, students, the teatro and the poetry Kaine was writing. Warner, a former English teacher, worked with Kaine on his verse. Over time, they became confidants.

Father Jack Warner admires a painting created by an actor who performs in the Teatro la Fragua in El Progreso, Honduras. (Veronica Rocha / Los Angeles Times )

Both men grew up in the Midwest  Kaine in the Kansas City, Kan., suburb of Overland Park; Warner in St. Louis  and had been drawn to the Jesuit mission of social justice from an early age.

Advertisement

Kaine attended Rockhurst High School for boys, run by Jesuit priests who ran a demanding schedule of daily Masses, theology classes and community service activities with retreats.

Kaine, who earned a bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Missouri, was at Harvard Law when he began to question his faith and the path he should take in life, he says. Because he had made a brief trip to Honduras in 1974 to deliver donations to the Jesuits, he decided to write them and see whether they could use some help. They said yes.

"He took a rather strong decision to seek out an answer  not everyone comes to Progreso," Warner said.

Kaine had to tell his law school dean, and his parents, of this new direction. "The dean, not to mention my parents and friends, were confused about what I was doing and even questioned whether I would come back," Kaine once recalled in a Virginia Tech speech.

By September 1980, Kaine was rumbling along in a bus into northern Nicaragua, where he visited another American Jesuit, Father James Carney. In Honduras months earlier, Carney had encouraged peasants to fight for their land, and he was expelled by the Honduran military, which saw him as one of the leftist priests who embraced liberation theology and the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua.

Activists, some of them priests or the peasants they worked with, would be banished or killed by authorities. Carney would later disappear in what was believed to be a clandestine Honduran military operation backed by the CIA.

Advertisement

"It was a time when anytime the police stopped you, you got really nervous. You never knew what was going to happen," Warner recalled. "We were under a military dictatorship at the time and very heavy military control. It was scary, and one had to live very carefully."

We were under a military dictatorship at the time and very heavy military control. It was scary, and one had to live very carefully.  Father Jack Warner, on Honduras in the 1980s

In El Progreso that September, Kaine soon met another Jesuit, Brother James O'Leary, a missionary also from Missouri.

O'Leary, who died in 2002, was often described as an outspoken, occasionally cranky but also skilled carpenter, painter and electrician who built houses and chapels for the poor. Kaine worked with him at his Loyola Technical Vocational Center, helping to boost the school's enrollment and teaching carpentry and welding. As a youngster, Kaine had picked up skills working in his father's ironworking shop in the Kansas City area.

Kaine declined to be interviewed for this story, but in a speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, he recalled what O'Leary taught him.

"I learned from a great mentor there, Brother Jim O'Leary, that faith is about more than words or doctrine  it's about action," he said. "And that led me to spend my life in public service."

One of Kaine's former students at the vocational center, Alex Hernandez Monroy, recalled the daily lessons in carpentry and welding from the shaggy-haired young American.

Advertisement

"His Spanish wasn't very good, but despite all that he interacted with us," said Hernandez Monroy, then 13 and now 48. Although Kaine couldn't pronounce certain words, the students appreciated his efforts.

"Something very important that he did was that he visited the families of the students," he said. "We were not used to interacting with Americans, so it had an impression on us to see someone like him educating us."

[ Their debate might not matter much, but Mike Pence and Tim Kaine would be key White House players  ]

Using some of the skills he learned from Kaine and O'Leary, Hernandez Monroy teaches carpentry to a group of 15 students at the school. "They taught us that we could help our kids," he said. "The majority of our youth are at risk, so that left an impression on us."

::

About 35,000 people lived in El Progreso in 1980, when it was dominated by the presence of the United Fruit Co., the world's largest  and often exploitative  banana company. Today it has a population of about 200,000, and the winding roads leading to the city are lined by brightly colored, one-story concrete homes.

During Kaine's time there, however, it was a collection of dusty, rural villages and banana camps, with mountaintop towns accessible only by foot or mule. As a center for union activity, it became a target of the communism-fearing Reagan administration.

Advertisement

While war raged in neighboring El Salvador and Nicaragua, Honduras remained calm  but was gripped in fear. It was the staging ground for many of the United States' clandestine operations aimed at toppling other governments.

People dared not speak about activism or union organizing lest they risk being among those who "disappeared." More than a dozen priests were killed in the 1970s and 1980s after being associated with liberation theology, considered a Marxist-tinged doctrine that preached to the poor.

While Catholic priests in Central America were attacked for advocating on behalf of the poor, Kaine maintained a low profile and didn't attract notice from the military.

Warner, a slender man with gray shoulder-length hair, recalled Kaine's time in Honduras during a recent interview at the theater in El Progreso.

Tim Kaine visiting a Mayan ruin in Honduras. (Tim Kaine )

"His interest was in the students and what he was doing in his work, which is what we were all doing," Warner said. "Trying to figure how we can do the work without being kicked out of the country for exploring it."

Kaine also saw poverty and expressed his feelings about it through writing, as did Warner.

Advertisement

The priest maintained a daily newsletter with accounts of poverty and life in El Progreso. "We all have our defenses to shut out the existence of human misery, most of which consist of closing our eyes and pretending it doesn't exist," Warner wrote in a December 1980 newsletter. "Hopelessness then becomes a way of life for both parties."

Warner published one of Kaine's poems, titled "Still Life," in which he described the "thick misery" of the town of San Pedro Sula. "In the saddest slum of San Pedro, lives are played out in the shade of a highway where buses glide like lost thoughts overhead."

He likened the challenges, or "questions marks" facing the town to fingers testing the wind. "Each predicts change that just won't come."

Kaine spent nine months in El Progreso before returning to Harvard. He has kept in occasional touch with Warner and has returned to Honduras several times, most recently last year. This year, he and 25 senators called for an end to immigration raids in the U.S. targeting women and children who were fleeing violence in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

When he accepted the nomination for vice president, Kaine said that the three basic values he absorbed in Honduras hold true today: "Fe, familia y trabajo." Faith, family and work.

Students take a break before heading to class to learn carpentry at Loyola Technical Vocational Center, where Tim Kaine volunteered, in El Progreso, Honduras. (Veronica Rocha / Los Angeles Times )

"I came to understand the power of faith and communal worship," Kaine said at Virginia Tech in 2006. "I learned how to speak Spanish and began to understand how the things which can seem to divide us  like language and skin color  were so much smaller than the dreams and fears that unite us."

Advertisement

Kaine also has repeatedly recalled what became one of his most indelible memories of Honduras.

He and Father Jarrell Wade, a Jesuit known as Father Patricio, had traveled by mule to visit a dirt-poor family around Christmas. As they prepared to leave, the husband handed Wade a bag. "Merry Christmas, padre," he said.

Inside the worn bag were fruits and vegetables he had saved for the priest. Wade took the bag and thanked him.

Kaine was appalled and angered that the priest would take food from such a poor family  "I was fuming"  until Wade imparted the lesson: "You must be really humble to accept a gift of food from a poor person, and the most important thing in life is the ability to give."

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA

Advertisement

Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report.

ALSO

Tax troubles threaten Trump as election day nears, and so does his own approach to campaigning

These donors gave to Trump's GOP rivals. Now 95% are sitting out the general election

Trump wanted to fire women who weren't pretty enough, say employees at his California golf club
CTU members, students and supporters listen to speakers as they participate in a "walk-in" at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. College Prep in Chicago on Oct. 6, 2016. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Drive outside Chicago and an expensive picture of public schools unfolds in several communities.

High spending per student and lots of parent involvement. Teachers who earn more than $100,000, on average, in a handful of wealthy districts. Several dozen more suburban districts paying salaries in the $80,000s to the high $90,000s to educate kids who are usually not low-income and don't face such challenges as truancy and homelessness.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools teachers earn about $69,000 on average, based on 2015 statewide data, as they deal with a high-poverty student population and a host of chronic urban school issues that researchers say make for a difficult teaching environment.

The number of experienced teachers on a payroll, how and when districts give raises, and pension and health care costs make a straight salary comparison between districts difficult to gauge.

Advertisement

But the salary variance between Chicago and suburban public schools is part of a long-standing debate over spending in Illinois public schools, fueled mostly by differences in property wealth in districts as well as how the state divvies up money for schools, which many educators, lawmakers and policymakers consider inequitable.

In Chicago, district and Chicago Teachers Union negotiators are trying to hash out a new teacher contract that would include raises, but there's no deal yet and a strike is imminent.

The bread and butter of any teacher contract is about money, particularly how much teachers should get paid.

But there are no easy answers or magic numbers for what teachers should earn, experts say, because every district is different and much comes down to how much taxpayers can afford.

"The labor market pays for what it values. Teachers in one community will get more money because that community values high salaries for teachers and they have the wherewithal all to pay for it," said Kate Walsh, president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Council on Teacher Quality, a research and policy organization that examines teacher pay, among other issues.

The group earlier this year analyzed CPS salary schedules  the amounts listed in union contracts that typically outline how much teachers can earn each year based on years of experience and education credentials.

The analysis concluded that "compared to the other largest districts in the country, Chicago teachers are paid well throughout their careers." For example, of 40 large districts nationally, and adjusted for cost of living, CPS had the fifth highest salary for first-year teachers with a bachelor's degree  a key competitive salary figure that brings new teachers in the door.

CPS' first-year salary for 2014-15 was $54,199, according to the union contract. That's the ninth highest first-year salary throughout Illinois districts, based on data in the annual Illinois Teacher Salary Study for 2014-15.

Advertisement

But while CPS has a high starting salary, the district falls behind when it gets to the end of a teacher's career.

The Illinois study lists the highest salary amount outlined in teacher contracts, with $139,241 being the highest in 2014-15. That compares with CPS' $103,532. About 100 Chicago suburban districts had higher amounts, reflecting that teachers in those districts have the ability to earn more at the end of their careers.

Overall, it can be complicated to compare teacher salaries because of cost-of-living differences; the size, type and affluence of districts; how much experience teachers have; and whether they have post-graduate credits and degrees. For example, educators get significant bumps in pay when they earn master's degrees.

In the affluent and top-performing New Trier Township High School District, 96 percent of teachers have master's degrees. In contrast, 57 percent of CPS teachers have master's degrees.

In 2008, CPS students skipped school and rode buses to New Trier's Northfield campus to protest school funding disparities. The two districts have maintained ties in trying to address how Illinois pays for public schools, spokeswoman Niki Dizon said.

New Trier's average salary was $105,850 in 2014-15, according to average teacher salary data published by the Illinois State Board of Education. "If you look at our teaching staff, it is extraordinarily experienced. We don't have a lot of turnover and over 95 percent our teachers have master's degrees," Dizon said.

Advertisement

"We've certainly supported proposals in the past that would provide more equity and funding to school districts like Chicago," she said.

The highest average salary in 2014-15 was $109,065, in Park Ridge-based Maine Township High School District 207. Spokesman Dave Beery said that figure is in part due to the elimination of teaching jobs several years ago, when the district had budget problems. Less experienced teachers with smaller salaries left, while more experienced teachers with high salaries stayed.

At the same time, Beery said: "I do know we have by and large what I would characterize as an experienced teaching staff. We do not have a lot of turnover. It is a good place to work. It's a challenging work environment, with supportive parents and good pay. There are numerous incentives for people to continue careers here."

Eight Illinois districts in all had average teacher salaries higher than $100,000, including affluent high school districts in Hinsdale and Highland Park.

Statewide, the average teacher salary in Illinois was $62,609 in 2014-15, and of all districts, CPS ranked 110th of about 860 districts, with an average salary of $68,968.

CPS is a "unit" district, meaning a K-12 district that has kids of all grade levels, from prekindergarten to 12th grade. Unit districts are mostly downstate, and average salaries range from about $31,000 to $83,000 in the unit districts. High school districts have the highest average salaries, ranging from about $36,500 to $109,100, followed by elementary school districts, where average salaries range from about $27,600 to $94,100.

Advertisement

The Tribune looked at the top 100 districts with the highest average salaries. The vast majority of the districts had very low numbers of low-income students or at least fewer than average percentages of low-income students.

The districts also had less than average truancy rates and homelessness.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

Also significant was that the vast majority of districts were paying their own way, getting little money from the state and using local taxpayer dollars to fund their schools, the data show.

That's in contrast to CPS, which relies far more on state and federal dollars to fund schools.

CPS' situation is complex. While the district has many disadvantaged kids who bring in state dollars under the way Illinois pays for schools, it isn't a poor district, meaning it has property wealth. Like most other districts, CPS is limited in how much it can tax property owners because of tax-cap laws, but the district could ask voters to increase taxes for schools, which could pay for teacher raises.

CPS spokeswoman Emily Bittner said CPS already has been increasing taxes significantly  without having to get voter approval  and it is at a disadvantage because it has to pay more for teacher pensions than do suburban districts.

Advertisement

The district has been struggling financially, "but we are committed to providing them (Chicago teachers) with a net raise in this contract. To finalize a deal, we are continuing to work with CTU at the bargaining table on a contract that is fair to teachers, taxpayers and Chicago's students."

drado@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @diane_rado
Chicago shoppers who don't tote their own reusable bags soon may have to pay a city-imposed 7-cent fee for each plastic or paper bag used by the store to pack their goods.



The 7 cents-a-bag fee, which would start next year, is likely to be part of the 2017 budget proposal that the mayor will present to aldermen on Tuesday, an administration source said.



It would serve two purposes: raising revenue to help close a projected $137.6 million budget shortfall and encouraging people to bring their own bags when they shop.



The fee would raise about $13 million a year, with the city receiving about $9.2 million and merchants getting the rest, the source said.



The Illinois Retail Merchants Association backed the bag-fee idea when the City Council in 2014 voted to ban thinner plastic bags in most stores, a prohibition that took full effect last year. At the time, aldermen resisted the bag fee for fear of being accused of further nickel-and-diming Chicagoans.



The ban on thinner plastic bags was designed to protect the environment, but it left many shoppers turning to paper bags and some merchants substituting thicker plastic bags for the traditional thinner ones, partly thwarting its environmental goals.



The fee would be part of a package of fines and fees that the city expects to raise less than $30 million, the source said.



Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said there will be no major tax increases in next year's budget, after the City Council earlier this year voted to impose a new tax on city sewer and water service that will increase those bills by more than 30 percent over the next four years. The $239 million a year it's expected to raise is going to pension contributions.



The city also plans to cut costs by about $30 million, in part through reduced electric, natural gas and fuel expenses. In addition, Emanuel will propose closing tax and fee "loopholes," the source said. And some revenue now is expected to be greater than when the city first projected the shortfall last summer.



But just how Emanuel will fulfill his recent promise to hire 970 additional police officers over the next two years remains unclear. The new budget proposal may not provide the full answer, since the city won't have to foot the entire cost of that effort in 2017.



hdardick@chicagotribune.com
A member of the Chicago Police Department searches a vehicle at the scene of a shooting in the 3100 block of South Central Park Avenue on Oct. 9, 2016, in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. A 30-year-old man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Three men were killed and at least 14 other people were wounded in Chicago shootings from Saturday afternoon to early Sunday, police said.

An argument between two men ended in a fatal shooting in Little Village early Sunday, authorities said. Rolando Gamino, 30, was in the 3100 block of South Central Park Avenue at 4:20 a.m. Sunday when he was shot in the chest. He went to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just after 9:30 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Gamino lived in the 5000 block of Baring Avenue in East Chicago, Ind., according to that office.

Advertisement

A 24-year-old man identified by the Cook County medical examiner's office as Victor Sanjuanero died Sunday after he was shot just before 4 a.m. in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. He and a 32-year-old man were standing in the 4800 block of South Bishop Street when someone inside a vehicle began shooting at them.

Sanjuanero, of the 4800 block of South Throop Street, who was pronounced dead at 5:32 a.m. Sunday at Stroger Hospital, according to the medical examiner's office.

Advertisement

Police said he'd been shot in the armpit, and he was initially taken in serious condition to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The 32-year-old man was shot in the right leg and buttocks. His condition was stabilized at Stroger Hospital.

On Saturday, a 30-year-old man identified by the medical examiner's office as Martell Rhodes was pronounced dead hours after he was shot in the stomach. The shooting happened about 1:35 p.m. in the 3800 block of West Huron Street in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, said Officer Michelle Tannehill, spokeswoman for the Chicago Police Department.

An autopsy Sunday determined Rhodes died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner's office.

Rhodes was walking when a dark-colored vehicle pulled up and someone inside began firing. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition. Rhodes was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m. Saturday, according to the medical examiner's office.

Other shootings:
June Kendall is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student. (Chicago Police Department)

A 29-year-old Chicago teacher accused of sexually assaulting two students at the Near West Side school where she worked was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 bail Saturday.

June Kendall, a teacher at Urban Prep Academy, 1326 W. 14th Place, faces charges of criminal sexual assault. Kendall had sex with one of the Urban Prep students twice in her classroom during school hours this fall, according to a police report.

Advertisement

The assaults involved two 17-year-old boys whom Kendall made friends with on Snapchat, prosecutors said Saturday. Kendall made friends with both of them during the 2015-16 school year.

The friendships became more sexual in nature this fall, when Kendall began sending both boys photos of herself, some of them of her in various states of undress, according to prosecutors.

Advertisement

"Over time, (the Snapchat) messages became sexual in nature, and (Kendall) indicated to (one of the boys) that she wanted to have sex with him," according to a court document.

In September, Kendall had sex with that boy in a room attached to her classroom, prosecutors said.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

On Monday, Kendall and that boy exchanged messages about having sex that day, and someone saw the messages. The boy and Kendall had sex in the annex room of her classroom later that day, and a witness saw Kendall and the boy leave her classroom after they had been alone there together for 20 to 25 minutes, prosecutors said.

Kendall and the second boy connected on Snapchat last school year, prosecutors said. They began sending each other sexually charged messages this fall, including Kendall sending the boy suggestive and explicit photos of herself, prosecutors said.

On Monday, the same day Kendall had sex with the first boy, Kendall also had sex with the second boy in her classroom after school, prosecutors said. The second boy told a friend about the incident later that day.

The witness who saw Kendall leave the class with the first boy went to school administrators the next day, the boy disclosed something about the relationship to a school official the same day, and police were called Wednesday and began their investigation, prosecutors said.

Police were investigating the first victim when school officials found out about the second boy, prosecutors said Saturday.

Kendall's husband, who was in court, and her father are standing by her, according to her defense attorney Robert Kerr.

Advertisement

In court Saturday afternoon, Judge Laura Marie Sullivan ordered Kendall held on $100,000 bond. Kendall, of the 4900 block of North St. Louis Avenue, is scheduled to return to court next week.
A federal appellate court on Oct. 7, 2016, struck down a taxi-industry challenge to ride-sharing companies in Chicago. Above, a taxi picks up a passenger at O'Hare International Airport in 2015. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)

A federal appellate court on Friday struck down a taxi-industry challenge to ride-sharing companies in Chicago, rejecting claims that Mayor Rahm Emanuel's City Hall has stacked the regulatory deck in favor of app-based operations like Uber and Lyft.

Taxi companies sued the city in an effort to level what they said was an uneven playing field. Taxi drivers must undergo more extensive training and background checks than their ride-sharing peers, and the number of cabs is limited by how many costly medallions the city makes available.

Advertisement

In late April, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman rejected an attempt by the city to dismiss the lawsuit, contending the less exacting rules for ride-sharing companies "appear utterly arbitrary," although she also expressed in her opinion a reluctance to dictate a solution to Emanuel and the City Council.

The city appealed, and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ordered Coleman to dismiss the suit. Appellate Judge Richard Posner suggested that ride-share and taxi companies were as different as cats and dogs, noting that most cities require licenses for canines but not felines.

Advertisement

"Just as some people prefer cats to dogs, some people prefer Uber to Yellow Cab, Flash Cab, Checker Cab, et. al.," he wrote. "They prefer one business model to another. The city wants to encourage this competition, rather than stifle it as urged by the plaintiffs, who are taxi owners.

"There are enough differences between taxi service and (ride-sharing) service to justify different regulatory schemes," he added. The two other judges on the appellate panel joined him in his decision, making it unanimous.

The City Council in June did enact slightly tougher regulations for ride-sharing companies but not nearly as tough as sought by the taxi industry, which is seeing the value of their medallions decline as the Ubers of the world chip away at the taxi business's customer base.

Ride-sharing drivers now must get special chauffeur licenses specific to their industry, which competes with taxis by letting people use online apps to call for rides that are provided by drivers using their personal vehicles. But the drivers would be able to fulfill their training requirements online rather than attending expensive classes like cabbies must do.

Meanwhile, the city administration is studying a fingerprinting requirement for background checks of ride-share drivers, as is required of cabbies, and easing the regulations placed on the taxi industry.

After the ruling came out, city Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey said it confirmed the city's contention that "the taxi industry's legal challenges to the city's ride-share ordinance are completely baseless." Attempts to contact attorney Mara Georges, who has acted as a lobbyist and spokeswoman for the taxi industry, were not successful.

hdardick@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @ReporterHal
Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson tried to put a string of foreign policy gaffes behind him on Friday with a speech at the University of Chicago that began with some brickbats for how the media had covered him.

"Because you can dot I's and cross the T's on names of foreign leaders and geographic locations, then that qualifies you to put the military in a situation where the military is dying," Johnson said. "If that's the qualification to be president, dotting the I's and crossing the T's on the names of foreign leaders and geographic locations, and because that's the quality that you have to possess, we'll just count on the military policies of this country continuing."

Advertisement

After a summer polling bump that took many Democrats by surprise, critical media attention and the Clinton campaign's concerted attempt to split him from millennial voters have driven down Johnson's poll numbers. In the five polls used by the Commission for Presidential Debates to determine who gets onstage for a debate, Johnson is polling in the high single digits, far below the 15 percent cutoff. In an interview this week with the New York Times, Johnson acknowledged for the first time that he was unlikely to make this Sunday's presidential debate in St. Louis or the final debate in Las Vegas, effectively closing off his shot at a breakthrough.

Instead, starting in Chicago, Johnson is refocusing on the libertarian message that he and the party's activists believe can win over voters disgusted by the Clinton-Trump race. Johnson promised to "honor the War Powers Act, without hiding behind dubious legal opinions from my own lawyers," thereby promising not to take any military action without approval from Congress. Johnson, who has said he cast his first presidential vote for George McGovern, suggested that the last 30 years of military interventions had been a string of disasters.

Advertisement

"It is difficult, if not impossible, to identify an instance where our military interventions and regime changes in the past 15 years have improved the lives of anyone," said Johnson. "Iraq? Yes, Saddam Hussein was a bad guy. No question about it. But are the Iraqi people better off today because we decided to take him out? Are we safer here in America? No."

Taking questions from the audience after the speech, Johnson spoke as if his campaign was still riding the highs of August and early September. He referred to polling that showed him tied with Democrat Hillary Clinton among voters under age 30, something that was not quite true then and is less true after pro-Clinton PACs ran ads attacking Johnson's laissez-faire approach to climate change.

Johnson's speech did not mention climate change, focusing instead on Clinton's record of intervention and Trump's promise to destroy ISIS through unspecified military action.

"The notion that we will someday celebrate V-I Day, Victory over ISIS, is both naive and misleading," said Johnson.
NEW YORK  More than 34,000 Republican voters have already cast their ballots for the 2016 general election according to the U.S. Election Project, 8,000 of them in the battleground state of North Carolina and another 5,000 in Florida. Not all of those ballots were cast for Donald Trump, it's safe to assume, but it's more than likely that most of them were. And that, in a nutshell, is why it's far too late for the Republican Party to dump Donald Trump from their ticket.

Illinois Republican Sen. Mark Kirk pulled his endorsement from the Republican nominee in June, but requested that the party go a step further in a tweet on Friday evening.

Advertisement

.@realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement.  Mark Kirk (@SenatorKirk) October 8, 2016

We've been through this before. In early August, as Trump's poll numbers started to tank and as he was still embroiled in his fight with the parents of a Muslim soldier killed in Iraq, Republicans started murmuring about potentially replacing him as the nominee. The party can't simply call Donald Trump and tell him that he's no longer welcome; there are rules that guide how a nominee is replaced.

Josh Putnam, University of Georgia lecturer and expert on the machinations of the parties, said at the time that the rule at issue was Rule 9. It reads:

Advertisement

"The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention, or the Republican National Committee may reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies."

Death, declination or otherwise. No "because we want to" clause.

"Let's be clear here: The rule is intended to fill vacancies, not to lay the groundwork for a replacement," Putnam said. "Some have speculated that 'otherwise' is ambiguous. Taken out of context it is. However, under the provisions for filling vacancies, it clearly fills in any gap between death and declination (i.e.: an incapacitating illness, but one that leaves the nominee neither dead nor able to decline to run further). And that was the intention."

The New York Times' Yamiche Alcindor reported Friday night that the party may be exploring where the boundaries of the rule lie.

The party could amend the rule to dump Trump, for example, but that would take a majority of the party's Rules Committee and two-thirds of the entire party. This would be neither fast nor, necessarily, successful. (Putnam on Twitter on Friday night: "There just isn't enough time.")

The bigger problem is that voting has already begun. Or, to be more accurate, that it's too late to get Trump off the ballot. Every state has rules guiding how and when candidates can be added to or removed from the ballot. Why? For one reason because the ballots have to be printed and the mechanics of the election put into place.

Ballotpedia maintains a list of the deadlines for getting candidates on the ballot. Florida's has passed. Michigan's and Nevada's have passed. North Carolina and Ohio and Texas and Virginia -- all passed. The rules aren't always clear, but if you think a Republican nominee could be successful without any votes from the above listed states, you might want to revisit the electoral college map. Even if Donald Trump were to step down Friday night -- which seems unlikely, given what we know about Trump -- he's on the ballot in those states. The party could sue to replace him, but, even if they were successful, it's still too late for those 34,000 votes already cast.

(An aside, since I've seen it mentioned: Even if there were a way to bump Mike Pence up to the top of the ticket, a poll out this week shows that Hillary Clinton would likely beat him, too.)

Advertisement

The only other possibility is that the Republicans attempt an extremely unusual legal approach, as noted in August by ThinkProgress. The president is elected not by us, but by the members of the electoral college. In many states the electors' votes are legally bound to the popular vote in one way or another, but in some states they're not.

Let's say, then, that the voters in Georgia cast their ballots for Trump with the understanding that the electors would then cast a ballot for Republican X. It would be hard for X to hit the necessary 270 electoral votes in that way, since in some states the results would still be bound to Trump. Unless, ThinkProgress' Ian Millhiser notes, the party challenged the constitutionality of rules binding electors. So that plan, then: the GOP convinces people to vote for Trump with the understanding that electors would vote for someone else -- illegally in some places -- and the Supreme Court would then approve the plan. Seems unlikely.

So that's it. The Republican candidate for president is now, and in 31 days will be, Donald J. Trump. In 1996, the party took a different approach when it became clear in October that Bob Dole wouldn't win: They let him sink or swim on his own.

That increasingly seems like a possible eventual scenario this year, too. Perhaps, for down-ticket Republicans, the best one.
Asian-American activists are blasting Fox News for a news segment that mocked Asian-American voters using age-old stereotypes of the docile, sneaky, non-English-speaking Asian. More and more people are talking about the problems of implicit bias and systemic racism, but stereotypes and ignorance about Asian-Americans are still commonplace. And even when Asian-Americans are not being purposefully caricatured, their vital presence in America is systematically ignored.

This ignorance about Asian-Americans is not just a problem at Fox News. Right here in Chicago, which has the fifth largest Asian population in the U.S., Asian-Americans are being left out of the city's major new initiative to improve the health of Chicago residents.

Advertisement

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Department of Public Health this past March launched Healthy Chicago 2.0, a four-year plan with 200 strategies to improve the health of all Chicagoans. Healthy Chicago 2.0 deserves credit for focusing on improving the social, economic and neighborhood conditions affecting health. But there's a big problem with the plan: No data on the city's rapidly growing Asian-American community were used to develop it.

How did that happen?

Advertisement

In the planning stages for Healthy Chicago 2.0, community assessments were done by gathering information through telephone surveys and community meetings. The telephone survey was conducted in English and Spanish, and included whites, Hispanics and African-Americans. There is now also an effort to collect data on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. For some reason, Asian-Americans are missing from these data and from Healthy Chicago 2.0. Over the next 50 years, the Asian-American population is expected to triple in size. It makes absolutely no sense to leave a major racial group out of an initiative to improve health in Chicago.

One reason it is hard to collect data on Asian-Americans is because they are so diverse and speak many different languages. There are close to 25 Asian ethnic groups in the Chicago area. Two-thirds of Asian-Americans are foreign-born and a third have limited English proficiency. It is a challenge to collect data on such a diverse group, but that is no longer an excuse.

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to increase the participation of Asian-Americans in federal programs. A key recommendation was to collect disaggregated data on Asian-American subgroups because accurate data collection is essential to understand the needs, opportunities and well-being of Asian-Americans. Following this, national health surveys and some health departments began to sample Asian-American groups and offer surveys in the most common Asian languages, such as Korean, Chinese and Hindi.

This past spring, public health representatives met in Chinatown to share information about Healthy Chicago 2.0 and get ideas on how to improve the health of Chinatown residents. That's a good first step. But remember, Asian-Americans are diverse, and one meeting in Chinatown is not sufficient to understand the health needs of the city's Asian groups. My own research has shown that Asian-American subgroups have distinct health profiles, risk factors and behaviors. For example, Asian Indian- and Pakistani-Americans have lower levels of physical activity and a higher rate of Type 2 diabetes than do white, black, Hispanic and Chinese-Americans. This type of information can guide Healthy Chicago 2.0 priorities and programs. Without data and genuine partnerships with Asian-American communities, city officials cannot prioritize health concerns or allocate resources for the city's fastest growing population.

The local Asian-American electorate is growing fast and its influence is expanding. The Chicago City Council has an Asian-American alderman and an Asian-American Caucus. Chicagoans can vote in Chinese and Hindi. It's time for the people in charge of Healthy Chicago 2.0 to stop perpetuating the invisibility of Asians in America. The first step is to obtain accurate, actionable data on Chicago's Asian-Americans and to include them as a priority group in Healthy Chicago 2.0, along with African-Americans, Hispanics and LGBT individuals. The Asian-American community has increasingly shown that it needs more responsiveness from government officials on all issues, and health is no exception.

Dr. Namratha Kandula is an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.
So far this fall, Chicago-area temperatures have been mild, averaging more than 5 degrees above normal. In September, only six days averaged below normal, and so far the first seven days of October have been above normal.

So cool air has been scarce, but Saturday, with the temperature struggling to reach 60, the average will end up below the daily normal of 55 degrees. A low temperature in the middle 40s just prior to sunrise Saturday morning will mark the latest we have experienced 40 degrees here in 85 years, since Oct. 12, 1931. The cool air will depart quickly with readings back in the 70s early next week.

Advertisement

Hurricane Matthew moved northwest out of the Bahamas, closing in on the east coast of Florida near Melbourne. From that point the center of the hurricane moved north, just off the shoreline, battering Cape Canaveral with 86 mph winds. Playalinda Beach reported 103 mph wind gusts. The strong on-shore east-northeast flow piled a storm surge and widespread flooding along the beaches and inland, with a 6-foot storm surge at Mayport Naval Air Station in Jacksonville being the second highest at that location since 1898. Matthew was forecast to continue north along the Georgia and South Carolina shoreline, slowly swinging out to sea late Saturday.
An Aurora man may have been intoxicated when he drove into oncoming traffic in downtown Aurora Friday night and struck a minivan, killing a 9-year-old girl and injuring two others, police said.

The 25-year-old man was driving a 2003 Cadillac DeVille southbound on Broadway Avenue, just south of Pierce Avenue, at about 9:10 p.m. when he went into the northbound lane and into the path of a 2009 Toyota Sienna, according to a news release from the Aurora Police Department.

Advertisement

The Sienna driver attempted to swerve out of the way but her vehicle was struck on the passenger side where her 9-year-old daughter was seated, the release said. The woman was unable to stop and struck a building on the west side of Broadway, the release said.

The suspect fled the scene on foot but was taken into custody near the High Street Bridge a short distance away, police said.

Advertisement

"Witnesses assisted the Aurora police with descriptions of the man, which aided in his apprehension," the release said. "He allegedly displayed signs of intoxication when taken into custody."

The child and two other girls, ages 10 and 12, were taken to Presence Mercy Medical Center, where the 9-year-old was pronounced dead at 9:44 p.m. The two other children were treated for non-life-threatening injuries as was the suspect, who was transported to Rush-Copley Medical Center, the release said. The mother refused treatment.

The victim and her mother are Aurora residents; the other two children live in Batavia.

Charges are pending against the 25-year-old man. The investigation is being conducted by the Aurora Police Traffic Division.
Using one of the alternate routes to the Illiana Tollway, a semi-truck drives east on Aresenal Road, Elwood, June 25, 2015. (Allen Cunningham / Daily Southtown)

The Illinois Department of Transportation is teaming up with Indiana to get the Illiana toll road back on track, according to a document filed in court recently.

A statement filed in US District Court Oct. 6 by John Fortmann, an IDOT engineer, said "IDOT is working cooperatively" with the Indiana Department of Transportation to address the environmental issues that caused the court to rule in June, 2015 that the Federal Highway Administration erred in approving the project, because the project's environmental impact statement was the result of a "faulty" analysis.

Advertisement

The ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midewin Heritage Association, Openlands, and the Sierra Club, challenging the FHWA's Record of Decision to approve the project.

The Illiana is a proposed $1.3 billion, 47-mile highway to connect Interstate 55 in Wilmington to Interstate 65 near Lowell, Ind., as a truckers' alternative to Interstate 80.

Advertisement

It was suspended by Gov. Bruce Rauner shortly after he took office in January, 2015, due to the state's budget crisis.

IDOT spokeswoman Gianna Urgo said Friday that position has not changed  the project remains suspended.

"IDOT has terminated all spending on the project, other than very minimal legal fees needed to respond to the court. INDOT agreed to pay for the costs needed to correct the Environmental Impact Statement," she said in an email response.

The litigation concerns an environmental impact statement (EIS) that includes Illiana but also other projects. IDOT agreed to work with FHWA and INDOT to make corrections to the EIS, as required by the court, in order to ensure that work on those other projects can continue. IDOT is one of several parties to the lawsuit and cannot unilaterally end the litigation, Urgo said.

In April of this year, INDOT agreed to fund the technical work needed to comply with the court order.

According to Fortmann's statement, INDOT has retained WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff to assist both states in performing the work required to evaluate and respond to those environmental issues and IDOT is "actively cooperating with INDOT to oversee and review WSPPB's work."

IDOT expects to be able to submit a preliminary, internal draft to the FHWA for its review this fall, Fortmann stated.

To Howard Learner, ELPC's executive director, this is a "pointless exercise and a waste of time and money."

Advertisement

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

"Gov. Rauner has stated he will not spend money to advance this project, yet IDOT wants to keep it moving forward," he said.

Learner said IDOT claims it is not pursuing the Illiana, but its actions defy that.

"It would be a complete waste of time to hire a high-priced consultant to re-do the study if they did not plan to go forward with it," he said.

An environmental study "gets stale quickly," so it's not something that should be shelved for future reference, Learner said.

According to Fortmann's statement, "IDOT will not advance the project to construction or otherwise take any significant action to implement the project until completion of the work necessary to address the issues," and a determination that the project is "financially viable."

IDOT will continue to defend the FHWA's Record of Decision to approve the Illiana toll road project against any pending or future legal challenges, Fortmann stated.

Advertisement

slafferty@tribpub.com
Just off 167th Street and California Avenue in Markham sits an odd-shaped building, with blocked-out windows and a grimy white wood exterior.

An imposing gray metal door, affixed with a small decal signifying "no guns allowed," warns patrons of the Justice Social Club, "Members only. No exceptions."

Advertisement

Tucked inside a small window by the main entrance, however, is a flier for a different business at the same address: Red Diamond strip club.

"Who has (the) baddest body in Chicago?" it asks, above a woman wearing a see-through black dress.

Advertisement

City police reports and violation notices often use Justice Social Club and Red Diamond interchangeably. Whatever it's called, the building has seen its share of trouble. At least five people have been shot there since fall 2013, and there also have been strong-arm robberies and other gun crimes, records show.

Since July 2013, police responded to at least 36 reported fights inside the club or its parking lot, including strippers fighting each other, drunken patrons battling with security and large groups brawling, Markham records show.

Markham officials once cited Justice Social Club for operating an illegal gentleman's club and have dinged the business for having mice and insufficient exits but released no records indicating they'd ever taken action against the club for violence.

In a recent interview, Markham Ald. Rondal Jones told the Daily Southtown he thought the business at 2829 W. 167th Street would be a philanthropic group's social club.

"Only after the fact (did) I (find) out it's a strip club, which I was very displeased with," Jones said.

Asked whether Markham has done anything about problems at the club, Jones said the city had issued fines and citations. But, he noted, Justice Social Club's owners have "plenty of money."

A flier is visible on a boarded up window at the Justice Social Club/Red Diamond strip club in Markham. (Gary Middendorf / Pioneer Press)

"They just pay the fine and keep on going," Jones said.

The city's approach to Justice Social Club mirrors Markham's lack of intervention at Adrianna's, a nightclub and banquet hall about three miles away where at least eight people were shot between Christmas Eve 2010 and July 2015.

Advertisement

A Daily Southtown investigation in March found that the city had similarly not closed or sanctioned Adrianna's for violence. In fact, records show the city gave the property's developer at least $904,868 in tax breaks and spent nearly $40,000 at Adrianna's banquet hall.

Mayor David Webb Jr., who is also the city's liquor commissioner, has spent at least $127,000 in campaign funds at Adrianna's, records show.

Over the summer, Adrianna's nightclub was renamed Stadium Plus and apparently got new ownership, according to records. But problems persist there, as a police officer last weekend fatally shot 36-year old Donte Jones outside Stadium Plus after a brawl broke out.

"Frankly, the location where this incident happened has a long, long history. A long history of violence," Cannon Lambert, an attorney representing Jones' family, said about the Stadium Plus shooting. "And (Jones' mother) has real concerns about how it is that this situation happens in the face of other situations where people have been shot, people have been beaten brutally, and is concerned about whether or not that establishment should even exist."

Jones, the alderman, referred a question asking whether the city had a pattern of ignoring public safety concerns to Webb, who did not return messages seeking comment.

Attorney Patrick Walsh represents a man suing Adrianna's who was blinded after being shot 10 times outside the club. Walsh said violence at both establishments raises questions about the city's oversight.

Advertisement

"A municipality has a duty to get involved when it has a (troubled) club within its boundaries," Walsh said. "Markham is repeatedly refusing to get involved in those types of places. People have to ask, 'Why?'"

More followers than residents

Justice Social Club is located where Cowboys strip club used to operate. Willie Wesley, a 43-year-old Chicago resident, is listed as the social club's president, according to the club's liquor license application.

Wesley, who did not return messages seeking comment, received a liquor license from the state in August 2012. That application listed Ronald Finlay as Justice Social Club's landlord.

A sign on the door states "Member only" at the Justice Social Club/Red Diamond strip club in Markham. (Gary Middendorf / Pioneer Press)

Finlay also was listed as landlord for Adrianna's on liquor license applications and was identified in separate court records as Adrianna's owner as well as its general manager. Finlay previously denied being Adrianna's owner during a brief interview with the Southtown, but wouldn't say who owns the club. He did not return messages seeking comment for this story.

The city says it has no licenses for Red Diamond, which has more than 13,000 followers on Instagram  more than the total number of residents in Markham.

Advertisement

But police reports refer to Justice Social Club and Red Diamond interchangeably, sometimes noting "Justice Social Club/Red Diamond," records show.

Justice Social Club has at times been in minor trouble with the city.

In March 2013, a Markham inspector cited Justice Social Club for "operating a gentleman's club instead of a non-for-profit organization." It carried a $500 fine.

Most of the city's violations since then have also been for lesser offenses, including having garbage around the property and having mice.

Justice Social Club has been cited for being over occupancy at least twice, for having blocked exits and for not having a working fire alarm.

A citation from February 2016 cited Justice Social Club for "pyrotechnic used in club by waitress/dancer."

Advertisement

It's unclear what the incident refers to, but an October video promoting the club on Facebook shows a woman lying on stage with what appear to be two lit candles between her legs. The woman uses spray cans to fan the flames, causing the fire to billow high as customers' money rains down on stage.

Jones, the alderman, said the business is classified as a social club with members. He said he was told it's legitimate to have private parties, and that is technically what the strip club hosts each night.

Jones also said Justice Social Club is disruptive to the community and that he would like to see it shut down.

"I don't care what kind of money it brings into the township, what kind of revenue. It's just bad news," Jones said.

Citizens, too, have complained. Court records show Wesley and Finlay signed a settlement agreement with a Markham woman prohibiting her from making complaints "against the Justice Social Club, AKA Red Diamond."

The deal prohibited the woman from complaining about "any loud parties, concerts, girls dancing  overcrowding, exterior garbage," and violence.

Advertisement

It also forbade her from contacting Markham, state and county officials, the Internal Revenue Service, or reporters, and said she would, "cease any effort to rally" neighbors and residents against the club.

Violence at the club

City records document a number of troubling incidents at the club, including gun violence and threatened shootings. Among them:

Two people were injured in a shooting at Justice Social Club on September 29, 2013, the city acknowledged in response to a public records request, though officials are withholding the police report.

In November 2013, police records show a man who had been kicked out of the club returned with a gun, "yelling that he was not a punk," and hitting the door with his weapon. The suspect fled.

A man who caused a disturbance and got kicked out in February 2014 made what one witness told police was a shooting threat: "Imma pop yo (expletive expletive)." He was charged with assault.

Advertisement

The following May, a man threatened security and police, then threatened to "blow this (expletive) up." He was arrested for resisting and assault on a peace officer.

A man entered the club with a loaded pistol in October 2014, and as a stripper was "dancing on him" said "I got (expletive) and bullets for you," police said.

The woman asked if he had a gun, and he said, "Yeah ma, I got that and (expletive)," according to police. The man was arrested and charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

On Feb. 9, 2015, a group was accused of firing off several rounds of shots and fighting with security and police, records show.

A man was shot in the shin, and the shooter escaped to Hazel Crest, where he asked people to let him into their homes by claiming he'd been robbed at the club, police said. At least one shooter was arrested, records show.

Earlier this year, on March 5, 2016, two people were shot at Justice Social Club, the city acknowledged in response to a public records request, though officials are withholding the police report.

Advertisement

There've been at least two other incidents involving guns since then, records show.

A party bus for the Justice Social Club/Red Diamond strip club in Markham sits in the side lot. (Gary Middendorf / Pioneer Press)

In May, club security saw a man retrieve a gun from a parked vehicle and called police. The police followed the man, who attempted to flee, and his weapon fell out of his jacket. Police used a Taser on the man, who was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

In August, security detained a man with a gun. The man denied having a weapon, but surveillance footage shows he threw the gun out a car window, police said. He was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

And a report from June notes that police arrived at 3:18 a.m. to deal with a fight in front of the club. As they dealt with that incident, another argument started, followed by yet another.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Just before 4 a.m., police told security to clear out the club because there'd been three issues within 20 minutes. The club complied, but not before announcing over the PA: "We getting robbed, people need to go because the police were messing it up for them again," according to the police report, which noted that the quote was "not verbatim."

Following a spring hearing, the city required Justice Social Club to hire off-duty police officers to monitor the crowd if an event draws a certain number of people, among other steps, Ald. William Barron recently told the Southtown.

Advertisement

Barron called the former Adrianna's and Justice Social Club "problem places" but said there have been improvements over the summer.

"I feel like the things that we did have improved things for the community. Are they perfect? No," Barron said. "But at least we're working in the right direction."

Barron made the comment before the recent shooting at Stadium, and did not return a message seeking comment in light of the incident.

gpratt@tribpub.com, sfreishtat@tribpub.com

Twitter @royalpratt, @srfreish
Students in Lincoln-Way East's first wildlife class head into Hickory Creek Preserve last week during a field trip where they helped remove invasive plants. (Lincoln-Way East High School)

Lincoln-Way East teacher Patricia Nugent's wildlife class took a field trip last week into their own backyard.

Hickory Creek Preserve is located north of the school, providing students with opportunities to learn actively about nature while helping preserve the forest by removing invasive species.

Advertisement

This is the first year Lincoln-Way has offered a wildlife class to students.

"I want to challenge students in my new wildlife class at Lincoln-Way to change their perception of Will County," Nugent said. "It is fine and grand to be concerned about the habitat loss or species elimination in places like the rainforest, but these issues have a major impact locally as well. I want to open their eyes to the wonders that they drive by every day and to know that habitat loss exists here."

Advertisement

Before entering the preserve, students received a brief introduction from Angie Opiola of the Forest Preserve District of Will County focusing on the process of identifying plant species for removal, how to properly use the tools for removal, and the purpose behind their mission. Students took a full class period to remove invasive plants, including multiflora rose and honeysuckle. Floyd Catchpole and Judith Wallace were also present from the Forest Preserve District of Will County. Along with Opiola, they aided students in their task.

Nugent said this class is vital to teach students about the impact humans have on the environment.

"The DNR website lists 79 threatened and endangered species located in Will County, Illinois," she said. "My students can have an impact and actually improve habitat within our local area. By removing invasive species in our area, like the students did today, they help native species to thrive."

Nugent also hopes students develop their passion for wildlife to explore careers that will allow them to make a difference in the world.

"There are some great careers in the agricultural area that relate to wildlife, like restoration specialists, environmental compliance officers or even the rewarding career of teaching," she said.
Louie Leahy shaves the head of his teacher, Andrew Weber, after beating him in a recent race. (Oakl Lawn Hometown Dist. 123)

Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School teacher Andrew Weber has a new look, thanks to one of his fast-footed seventh grade students.

Louie Leahy got to shave Weber's head after winning a bet. Weber challenged his students to participate in a 6K Run for Water earlier this month.

Advertisement

Anyone who could beat him at the school event, could shave his head, Weber said.

Weber issued the challenge as a way to drum up interest in the run, sponsored by the Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123 and World Vision, a Christian relief organization. Proceeds from the run benefit World Vision's efforts to make clean water available to areas in the world where there is none. The Oct. 1 run drew more than 100 participants and raised an estimated $4,000 for the organization.

Advertisement

Weber made good on his challenge, handing over the clippers to one of his students this week during lunch.

Though Weber, a seasoned runner, set a personal record, completing the 6K in 27 minutes 30 seconds he crossed the finish line second. Seventh-grader Louie Leahy crossed first, beating out his teacher by nearly two minutes.

"I could barely see him when we turned the corner," said Weber, who teaches social studies at Oak Lawn Hometown Middle School."Knowing a seventh grader beat me ..... I guess I have to pick up my game a little bit more."

Leahy, who runs cross country, said he was intent on winning the bet.

"This was the fastest I've ever gone in a race," Leahy said.

And though runners had to contend with a downpour of rain, that didn't detract Weber's class from trying to get him to make good on his bet. Several others participated and came in close finishes after Weber.

"You could tell that they really had it in mind that they wanted to shave my head," Weber said. "It seemed like all of them were trying their hardest to get that goal."

Weber, who finished second, seemed to take everything in stride and was getting used to his new 'do.

Advertisement

"It was very fun," Leahy said Thursday. "I think it looks pretty good."

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Weber let his hair grow out a bit for the challenge and joked he was in need of a haircut.

"He's a really good barber," he said. "I think I can manage having this hair cut for a little bit.

"Hopefully, it grows back really soon," said Weber, noting his wife was a bit "weirded out" by the new look.

Weber said he hoped the run and challenge helped raise student awareness about global issues, such as the lack of clean water supplies in other countries.

World Vision notes that it is not uncommon for people in other parts of the world to have to walk six kilometers to find clean water.

Advertisement

"We want to teach our kids the value of service and giving back to the community and I think this event helped demonstrate that on more of a global level for our students," said District 123 Superintendent Paul Enderle.

Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
In the final rapid-fire scenario, officers were confronted with a man holding a knife to his head. Officers needed to defuse the situation for a successful completion. (Janelle Walker / The Courier-News)

For more than seven hours on July 29, Elgin police negotiated with and searched for a man who held up in a National Street house.

The man "threatened us with everything," during that incident, said Sgt. Jim Lalley, commander of the Elgin Police Department's SWAT team. Those threats included stabbing officers and even that he'd send out a vicious dog to attack police, according to reports.

Advertisement

The suspect was eventually apprehended  after he came into the open and was shot with less-lethal "sponge" munitions, Sgt. Lalley said.

Although the incident came to a successful conclusion, Sgt. Lalley and other Elgin officers know that there were residents who were frustrated with how long it took to bring that incident to an end.

Advertisement

But if Elgin police had gone charging in and shot and killed or otherwise injured the man, other residents would have been more than frustrated with officers here, Sgt. Lalley noted. Charging in also could have put officers at risk.

How Elgin police responded to that incident  successfully arresting the suspect while protecting officers and the public  was just one of the scenarios discussed this week during the department's in-house Rapid Deployment, Rescue Task Force and Multiple Attack Counter Terror Action Capabilities (MacTac) training.

Officers practice using four and five-man teams to clear hallways during training this week at the former Fox River Country Day School property. A training officer explains where each member of the team should be looking and checking for as they move down the hall. (Janelle Walker / The Courier-News)

For two days each over the course of three weeks, nearly all Elgin officers  unless out for medical or other reasons  will take the course, held at the former Fox River Country Day School property on Dundee Avenue.

The in-house training is just one of many offered to Elgin police, said Cmdr. Ana Lalley.

Over the course of a year, the Elgin Police Department offers its officer internal training options, as well as classes through the Northeast Multi-regional Training (NEMRT) and the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy (SLEA), Cmdr. Lalley said.

So far this year, training for officers has included CPR, bleeding control and the use of Narcan to counteract an opiate overdose, as well as training on pressure point control to subdue a suspect.

In 2015, in-house training also included Cultural Diversity, Crisis Intervention Training, Evidence and Room Clearing courses.

The state mandates a basic level of training for police officers, Cmdr. Lalley noted. However, Elgin does offer classes above and beyond those state minimums, and encourages all officers to take training offered by other agencies, she said.

Advertisement

"Almost all officers have attended some optional training in the past five years. As a department we encourage additional training and our officers routinely seek to further their knowledge and skills," she said.

As the SWAT Commander, Sgt. Lalley organized and taught the training offered this week.

The department used three of the campus buildings to practice tactics including clearing rooms and hallways during mass shooting incidents, overcoming outdoor shooters, giving aid to those injured during an incident, and practicing the decision-making and deescalation techniques required for Elgin officers.

In many ways, the training is a precursor to the large-scale active shooter drills Elgin police and fire  along with police, fire and other rescue agencies from other communities  have held at area schools for the past several years, Sgt. Lalley said.

As part of the training, Sgt. Lalley talked to the officers about the basics for responding to critical incidents  keeping positive control of their weapons at all times, keeping distance between offenders and officers, and otherwise sticking to department policies when responding.

Officers trained in rapid-fire scenarios Thursday, practicing making split-second decisions when arriving on a scene. In this scenario, a shooter had dropped his weapon before officers entered the gymnasium. (Janelle Walker / The Courier-News)

But even when sticking to policy, there is a chance that someone could be hurt, he noted.

Advertisement

"If an innocent person gets hurt, it doesn't matter what your policy says. You hurt the wrong person," Sgt. Lalley said.

There likely are policy changes coming, too, based on the Police Executive Research Forum's "30 Guiding Principles on Use of Force," Sgt. Lalley said.

That guide, created by a think tank of former and current police officers, includes at least 28 principals Sgt. Lalley thinks are very self-evident.

But some of those principals challenge past thoughts on policing.

Instead of "drawing a line in the sand" and rapidly attacking a situation, the principles call for slower, considered police responses that attempt to protect life first.

Another guideline tells officers that use of force also needs to be proportional to the threat.

Advertisement

Sgt. Lalley repeated the directive to scan every person an officer comes upon in a situation from head to toe, determining who that person was, before registering whether or not there was a gun.

"Scan, or you will hurt people who do not deserve to be hurt," he said.

While that might take time, it also protects officers and citizens, Sgt. Lalley said.

If an officer just sees the gun, they might not see that the person in front of them is a plainclothes officer, an officer from another agency, or even a person with a concealed carry permit who is attempting to stop a shooter, Sgt. Lalley said.

He also repeated the directive to keep distance between officers and a suspect.

After arresting a suspect in the old gymnasium at the Fox River Country Day School property, officers training on making split-second decisions were then sent into the schools library for a shooter scenario in that building. Officers would find one person kneeling, but the actual offender  still armed  would be standing behind that person. (Janelle Walker / The Courier-News)

At one time, the idea was to keep 21 feet between an officer and a suspect as that was believed to be the amount of distance an offender could cover before an officer pulled a weapon.

Advertisement

The guideline for him is what is a reasonable distance, Sgt. Lalley said.

"Give them the space they need," to prevent a confrontation, he told the officers in training.

The last module for the two-day training was designed to get the officers thinking on their feet in a set of rapid-fire situations.

First, officers in full gear and carrying dummy weapons were sent into the campus gymnasium. A training officer in the gym shot off a few blanks, then dropped his weapon and knelt even before the officers entered the room to discover the scenario they'd see. Officers had to determine the risk, clear the scene and subdue the suspect.

From there, they went outside to see another training officer "shooting" from the relative cover of another building's back door, then retreat into the building. Once inside, the officers would find one man kneeling with his hands up  but behind that person was the real shooter.

Then, officers went back outside to find another "suspect" holding a knife to his own throat near a car.

Advertisement

The entire three-scenario drill was done in about 15 to 20 minutes.

By rapidly changing scenarios, officers learn to make quick but safe decisions and move as a team while adrenaline is at a peak, Sgt. Lalley said.

While many of the techniques practiced this week are designed for extreme situations, they are needed on the street every day, he added.

"A person can only go so fast," and think so fast while still making good decisions, he said.

After major incidents involving armed suspects, Elgin police officers have also discussed how they could perform better the next time, Sgt. Lalley said.

One thing they've learned over the years is to keep officers fresh, and not leaving the same SWAT team on the scene for too long. During the July 29 incident on National Street, he pulled teams after four hours and moved them to cars with air conditioning blasted and got them rehydrated. Just like moving too fast can cause a bad decision, being too tired after a long shift can also cause officers to make the wrong call.

Advertisement

"There is not a deployment we can't learn a lesson from," Sgt. Lalley said.

Janelle Walker is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
With the scope and penalties of Chinas social credit system being further clarified in 2021, legal and regulatory compliance has become more important than...
home Tech LG V20 release date, specs news: V20 features impressive specs and affordable price

The LG V20 will be made available in the North American market soon. However, the South Korean tech giant has yet to reveal the price for the upcoming smartphone. Reports say that the device will come with impressive specs at a relatively cheap price tag.

LG will start taking pre-orders for its latest flagship smartphone, LGV20, on Friday, Oct. 21. New York-based retailer B&H Photo Video initially revealed that the device will be available for pre-orders starting Oct. 2. Soon after, the tech giant announced that the device will be available on a later date.

Though the online listing from B&H Photo Video revealed the pre-order date, the retailer didn't share the price details of the upcoming cell phone. Though the V20 price still hasn't been confirmed, reports suggest that the device will cost around $600.

Compared to Apple's latest smartphone, the LGV20 is way cheaper. Despite the affordable price, its features do not disappoint.

The smartphone will be made of a metal back, which gives the device a premium look. Its sleek design will come with the latest Android software, the Android Nougat.

Furthermore, the device will be the first to have a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, which allows the device to produce high-end units of audio. Hence, its audio quality will be better than most smartphones in the market.

Its microphone, on the other hand, will be able to support an extra 15 decibels of audio as compared to its predecessor, the V10. Like the previous device, the V20 will still have a removable battery.

LG's upcoming smartphone will have a powerful dual camera. It will boast rear wide angle lenses which will allow users to snap high-quality photos in low light settings.

Reports say that the North American model of V20 will be available in three major network connections: GSM, CDMA, and 4G LTE.

Stay tuned for more updates on the LGV20.
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. [Photo/China Daily]

More cities may follow suit after 19, including Beijing, launched cooling measures in the past week to rein in housing price increases, said analysts.

The measures announced by the cities during the seven-day National Day holiday included higher mortgage down payments and home purchase restrictions to curb speculation.

However, "more lower-tier cities may join the move against speculative home purchase soon, particularly those that have low inventory for the next six months and fast price growth in the past six months," said a research note by CITIC Securities.

Wu Huimin, an analyst with property services provider DTZ, said, "Cities such as Shijiazhuang and Qingdao with rapid inflow of population are very likely to introduce tightening policies against speculative buying."

Wu said authorities will use a combination of measures to curb investment buying and make precise differentiation between self-use and speculative purchases. These are likely to include detailed requirements for average living space per person in a household and qualification of buyers, Wu said.

Xu Jing, an analyst with Shanghai Yudi Property, attributed the speculative purchases in key cities to easy financing, short supplies, huge demand and a lack of other investment channels that might bring stable returns.

If the supply and demand situation cannot be changed in the short term, a higher financing threshold can be a quick fix to curb quickly rising home prices, he said.

"Without financing curbs, speculative buyers can still afford to buy," said Xu.

Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Xiamen in Fujian province and Wuhan in Hubei province, which have all taken cooling measures, saw average housing prices rise more than 20 percent in September year-on-year, according to data of the China Index Academy, a research organization that monitors housing prices in 100 cities.

Zhou Zihui, a 42-year-old homebuyer in Nanjing, has bought and sold six apartments in the past five years, yielding about 4 million yuan ($599,380) for her.

But she said that with the new policy in place, she is no longer qualified to buy another apartment or able to pay the down payment.

Zhang Dawei, an analyst with Centaline Property, said the cooling measures have proved effective.

During the weeklong holiday, year-on-year transaction volume in first- and second-tier cities dropped by more than 30 percent, Centaline data indicated.
As the national weeklong vacation drew to an close on Friday, reality showed again that getting back to town can be just as hard as leaving it, especially for residents of major metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai.

People line up to enter the subway station outside the Beijing Railway Station on Friday, the last day of the seven-day National Day holiday, after their return from traveling or visiting home during the vacation. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

A record-breaking 12.57 million people were estimated to travel by train on Friday alone, according to China Railway.

Similar mass migrations were common during this year's National Day vacation, with more than 10 million people traveling by train on each of the eight daysSept 30 to Fridayof the holiday. That brought the total of train trips to 108 million, up 9.3 percent year-on-year, during the total 10-day travel spree from Sept 28 to Oct 7, according to the company.

And it wasn't just the trains, the roads were jammed with travelers, too. According to the Beijing municipal government, 1.376 million cars made their way along city highways from midnight to 4 pm on Thursday, 12.55 percent more than during the same period last year.

To cope with the situation, the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau sent out fleets of tow trucks to points along jammed highwayslike Beijing-Tibet, Beijing-Kaifeng, Beijing-Chengdewhere accidents were common, to deal with any problems and "clear the way for cars returning home".

The Beijing Commission of Transport published seven road maps online to help people find shortcuts and avoid traffic jams. Yet the gridlock on some freeways was up to 8 kilometers long, according to media reports.

An increasing number of Chinese went on road tours during the National Day holiday, in part because the government has waived the highway fee since 2012, as it also does with the Spring Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day and Labor Day holidays.

Bad weather delayed flights in Beijing and Shanghai.

Zhou Yanyan, a Shanghai-based journalist, was in Sanya, Hainan province, on a reporting trip. Zhou planned to catch a flight back to Shanghai that would depart at 4:50 pm on Friday, yet by press time her plane was still in Shanghai reportedly due to "weather conditions".

Zhou said that all her fellow passengers were transferred to a nearby hotel for free accommodation, and she saw at least four shuttle buses taking passengers from different flights to hotels for similar reasons.

"They all seemed calm and OK with it, and maybe I'm the most unhappy person. I've got work to do," Zhou sighed.

Traffic jams aside, China is expected to have made 478.2 billion yuan ($71.7 billion) from tourism during the golden week, a 13.5 percent increase year-on-year, according to a survey by China Tourism Academy and online travel agency Ctrip.
Surprised tourists at a Buddhist temple in Zhejiang Province watched as a man jumped into a pond and started scooping up coins that had been tossed into the water as donations.

The man, in his late 30s from neighboring Jiangsu Province, was dredging up coins for several minutes at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou on Monday as thousands of tourists looked on, according to the temple's administration office.

He later explained to police that he had simply "run out of money," according to a local Chinese newspaper.

Mei Bao, chief of the temple's security team, told China Daily that similar behavior has been rampant at the temple, one of the most famous in China, where visitors, religious or otherwise, like to toss coins or notes and make a wish.

Tourists on site called the police and helped catch the man, said Mei.

Normally it costs 45 yuan (US$7.25) to get into the Lingyin scenic area, a mountainous tourist destination near West Lake that is famous for Flying Peak and its stone carvings. It costs another 30 yuan for the 1,000-year-old Lingyin Temple.

Mei said it's unknown if the man had paid for a ticket or not. The man returned the 600 or so coins to the temple after police mediation, and no further punishment was handed out.

To curb inappropriate behavior by tourists, the country's National Tourism Administration introduced a system in April 2015 under which travelers can be blacklisted and have their names and offenses published online.

By September, the system, open to the public on the administration's website, had blacklisted 22 tourists. Their behaviors range from posing for pictures on top of a Red Army statue to slapping tour guides. They are likely to face difficulties taking group tours, and applying for visas and credit cards over the next two years, as the administration vowed to inform relevant departments of their misdemeanors.

But the system has been widely criticized for being ineffective and listing only a fraction of the misbehavior happening all over the country, if not the world, every day.
You are here: Home

A rescue team sent to Suichang county, Lishui in east China's Zhejiang Province helps with disaster relief work. [Photo: chinanews.com]

Rescue work is still under way 10 days after a deadly landslide hit east China's Zhejiang Province.

As of 10 p.m. Friday, 18 bodies had been retrieved, according to the disaster relief and rescue headquarters. Nine others are still reported missing.

More than 1,600 rescuers have been mobilized for search and rescue efforts, and over 270 machines have been put to use to pump water from the barrier lake, smash rocks, and remove debris, according to the headquarters.

Rain brought by Typhoon Megi caused about 400,000 cubic meters of debris to tumble down the mountains of Sucun Village, Suichang County, on Sept. 28, burying 20 houses.
Beijing welcomed around 11.2 million tourists during the week-long National Day holiday, down 2.8 percent from the same period last year, the local tourism authority said Friday.

Tourists carrying umbrellas visit the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 4, 2016, the fourth day of China's National Day holiday. [Photo: Xinhua/Li Xin]

Despite the decline in arrivals, the Chinese capital rang up 8.4 billion yuan (1.27 billion U.S. dollars) in tourism income during the holiday, known as "Golden Week," up 1.1 percent year-on-year, according to Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development.

Among the trips, 2.76 million were made by domestic visitors, down 1.1 percent from last year's National Day holiday. Their per capita spending, however, averaged 2,485 yuan, up 3.2 percent year-on-year.

The city's traditional tourist destinations, such as historical sites and parks, saw fewer visitors, while suburban trips totalled more than 4.3 million, up 9.3 percent year-on-year.

Nationwide, around 478.18 billion yuan in tourism income was posted for 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. The country's major tourist destinations are expected to have received 589 million visitors during the holiday, up 12 percent from last year, said the survey.
Chinese police are investigating a human trafficking case after a 12-year-old girl was brought to a hospital in Xuzhou City, China's eastern Jiangsu Province, for a pregnancy test.

Chinese police are investigating a human trafficking case after a 12-year-old girl was brought to a hospital in Xuzhou City, China's eastern Jiangsu Province, for a pregnancy test.

Police in the Tongshan District of Xuzhou City confirmed on Sina Weibo that the girl is a victim of human trafficking, and the two adults who accompanied her to the hospital were arrested and under investigation.

A very young-looking girl was brought to a hospital accompanied by a 35-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman on October 4th. The two told doctors that the young girl was 20 years old and needed a pregnancy test.

The test revealed that the girl was indeed 12 weeks pregnant. But her young appearance attracted the attention of her doctor, who then told the two adults to wait outside. In a one-on-one conversation, the doctor asked the girl a few questions and was convinced that she was underage and possibly a victim of human trafficking.

The hospital rang the police after the man and woman accompanying the girl threatened to "bomb the hospital for the doctor asking too many questions".

The girl was later revealed to be just 12 years old and was abducted from her hometown in southwest China. The police said a further investigation is underway.
A black dog running wild in Shanghai's Fengxian District bit more than 20 people before it was caught and killed.

One of the 22 victims of a dog that ran wild in Fengxian is vaccinated at Guhua Hospital.

Guhua Hospital in Fengxian said it had treated a total of 22 victims of the dog's attacks  10 of them between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. yesterday.

Most of the patients had their legs bitten and they all said they had been attacked by a black dog with a neck strap near Renmin Road, Qixiang Road and Jianghai Road in Fengxian.

The hospital called on any other injured victims to receive vaccinations as soon as possible and said the dog was highly likely to have been affected with rabies.

The incident triggered an emergency plan and the hospital called back all medical staff on National Day holiday to treat patients' wounds and inject rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin immediately.

Initially some patients only received rabies vaccine, which takes effect in about one week, but the hospital called them to have immunoglobulin injected too as that takes effect quickly.

By 4:30 p.m., nine men and 13 women had been treated.

The hospital also reported the attacks to the district disease control center and police, who found and then killed the dog to prevent further attacks.

The hospital reminded people that rabies can cause death and people bitten by dogs should receive rabies vaccine or immunoglobulin as soon as possible.

In Shanghai, dogs should have been vaccinated before being kept as pets and owners also have to register their dogs with public security authorities.

Last month, more than 20 people were bitten by a white dog in Chaoyang District of Beijing. It is not known whether that dog was caught.
A company that sells home brewery machinery in Tongzhou District, Beijing requires its female staff members to kiss their boss each morning, claiming it enhances the corporate culture and unites its staff. [Photo / Youth.cn]

A company that sells home brewery machinery in Tongzhou District, Beijing requires its female staff members to kiss their boss each morning, claiming it enhances the corporate culture and unites its staff.

Over half the company's staff members are women. They are required to line up between 9:00 and 9:30 each morning to kiss their boss.

Despite reluctance to accept the ceremony, almost all female staff members eventually succumbed to the need to satisfy the boss' demand and therefore remain in the company. Only two members of staff refused and subsequently resigned.

As for the rationale behind the ceremony, the boss explained that he travels abroad often and has witnessed the practice at a company in the United States. He claims it generated great cohesion within the company whereby the boss and his female staff could bond together "like fish and water."

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
People look at a model of the Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft docked with the Tiangong-1 space module during an exhibition in Tianjin, north China. (Xinhua File Photo/Li Xiang)

In China the number 60 is auspicious as it relates to a cyclic numeral system of the chronology. The past 60 years have 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.
 Flash

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.
 Flash

The eastern African bloc Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has condemned new waves of fighting between rival forces in South Sudan, which shattered an August 2015 peace deal brokered by it.

The IGAD said in a statement that fighting would not solve South Sudan's pressing political and economic challenges.

Renewed fighting broke out in July between troops led by President Salva Kiir and forces loyal to sacked First Vice President Riek Machar. Machar, who has since left South Sudan and who is now in Sudan's capital Khartoum, recently called for an armed rebellion against Kiir.

"It (fighting) will only increase the suffering of South Sudan's people, worsen a grave humanitarian crisis, and further inflame ethnic tensions," said the IGAD statement released in Juba on Friday.

The bloc said both the government and armed opposition groups bore responsibility for renewed hostilities since the July fighting.

It called on both sides to be consistent with the peace agreement and to engage in peaceful dialogue.

"We are deeply concerned by heavy fighting around the country in recent weeks, including near Yei, Wau, Bentiu, and Nassir. We are particularly alarmed by reports of widespread violence against civilians," the statement said.

"As a result of this violence, more civilians have been internally displaced and more than one million South Sudanese have now sought refuge in neighboring countries," it added.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than two million displaced since civil war erupted between forces of Kiir and Machar in December 2013.
You are here: Home

 Flash

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.

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. [Photo/Xinhua]

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.
 Flash

A nation in mourning: Houses are destroyed as Hurricane Matthew passes Corail in Haiti, killing more than 500 people and leaving thousands homeless. People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes yesterday. Helpers were trying to assess the damage and provide assistance, though their efforts were hampered by damaged roads and rough terrain.

Hurricane Matthew, carrying winds of 195 kph, lashed central Florida yesterday, hugging the Atlantic coast as it moved north and threatened more destruction after killing more than 500 people and leaving thousands homeless in Haiti.

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 and North Carolina.

Southern Florida escaped the brunt of the storm overnight, but US President Barack Obama and other officials urged people farther north not to get complacent.

"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 and people continue to need to follow the instructions of their local officials over the next 24, 48, 72 hours," Obama said.

The Florida city of Jacksonville could face significant flooding, Florida Governor Rick Scott said, adding the storm had cut power to some 600,000 households in the state.

In the Caribbean country of Haiti, where poor rural communities were ravaged by Matthew, the death toll surged to at least 572 people yesterday, as information trickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm, according to a Reuters tally of death tolls given by local officials.

Matthew smashed through the tip of Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 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.

Cellphone networks were down and roads were flooded by sea and river water in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas. 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.

No significant damage or injuries were reported in West Palm Beach and other cities and towns in south Florida where the storm brought down trees and power lines earlier in the night.

Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said he was concerned that relatively light damage so far could give people farther 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 said. People should also be aware the hurricane carried more than just ferocious winds, he added.

"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," 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.

Matthew lessened in intensity on Thursday night and into yesterday morning, the US 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 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 177 kph, to make landfall on US shores was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
 Flash

The United States on Friday blamed Russia for hacking U.S. political sites, an accusation immediately dismissed as "nonsense" by Moscow.

Shortly after the White House claimed in a statement that the U.S. intelligence community was "confident" that Russia was behind recent hacking of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly dismissed the U.S. accusation.

"Every day there are tens of thousands of attacks on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's website. Many of the attacks can be traced to the U.S.. We're not blaming the White House or Langley every time," Peskov told Russia's Interfax news agency.

WikiLeaks in July disclosed a trove of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) staff's email accounts which appeared to discredit Democratic Party establishment's claim of neutrality in the primary season.

According to contents from the almost 20,000 emails, DNC officials who are supposed to remain neutral during the primary contest appeared to conspire against Hillary Clinton's rival Bernie Sanders, who had championed a "political revolution" electrifying millions of Democratic and independent supporters.

After the disclosure, the DNC blamed Russia for the hack of emails despite the fact that a hacker, with the name of "Guccifer 2.0" claimed responsibility for the cyber attack.
 Flash

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. [Photo/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 the 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."
 Flash

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.
 Flash

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.
 Flash

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his resolute efforts to bring his country's five-decade-long civil war to an end, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Friday.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (R) delivers a statement after the announcement of being awarded with the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize, accompanied by his wife Maria Clemencia Rodriguez (L) in Bogota, Colombia, on Oct. 7, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

"The award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people, who ... have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process," Kaci Kullmann Five, chairperson of the five-member committee, said in her announcement.

Santos initiated the negotiations that culminated in a peace accord between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest rebel group. But the peace agreement was narrowly rejected in a referendum on Sunday.

"The fact that a majority of the voters said no to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead," Five said. "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."

She warned that the referendum result has created great uncertainty as to the future of Colombia, saying 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 chairperson said.

Santos began talks on Wednesday with leaders opposing the current peace deal to seek ways for the union and reconciliation of the country. Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and other leaders of the opposition party the Democratic Center attended the meeting.

Five said the Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasizes the importance of the fact that Santos is now inviting all parties to participate in a broad-based national dialogue aimed at advancing the peace process.

"The Nobel Committee hopes that all parties will take their share of responsibility and participate constructively in the upcoming peace talks," she said.

There are 376 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016, out of which 228 are individuals and 148 are organizations. This is by far the highest number of candidates ever. The previous record, 278 candidates, was set in 2014.
You are here: Home

 Flash

The Shenzhen-based company Mindray has pledged more medical and humanitarian support for South Sudan, a newly-born African country struggling to develop a viable health care system.

The support will include medical devices, equipment and high-technology machines to help improve the country's fledgling health system, according to Jack Zhang, a senior official with Mindray's international sales department for medical imaging systems.

With vast experience in the medical field, Mindray is highly regarded globally in the design, development and manufacture of medical devices and solutions dedicated to making good health care more accessible to humanity.

According to Zhang, Mindray's products can already be found in over 190 countries, including South Sudan, and has subsidiaries in over 20 countries in Africa, North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia.

He said that, in Africa, Mindray operates through local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) and government hospitals in delivering ultrasound devices and training for prenatal clinics.

As a way of improving the lives of South Sudan's people through standard health care facilities, the company donated unit color Doppler ultrasound Z6 and conducted training for doctors in Juba Hospital in 2013.

"However, despite support from United Nations agencies and other Non-Governmental Organizations, the hospital still lacks basic medical supplies and equipment as well as human resources."

The Juba Government hospital is the only referral facility providing medical attention to about 9.6 million people in the region, he noted.

He stressed that Mindray provides integrated solutions across all departments and featuring a full line of devices covering patient monitoring and life support machines as well as integrated service packages with excellent training programs.
 Flash

Separate scandals involving Republican and Democratic nominees, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, have been disclosed, frustrating American voters.

The Washington Post on Friday released a video, where Trump demeaned women with sexist language and bragged in vulgar terms that he can do anything with women because of his status as a billionaire star.

The footage was recorded in 2005 during a bus ride while Trump was on his way to tape an episode of the soap opera "Days of Our Lives," and he apparently did not appear to know a live microphone was recording his conversation.

After the release of the video, the Republican nominee apologized, saying "I apologize if anyone was offended" and calling the conversation a "locker room banter."

Clinton, who seized the opportunity to condemn Trump for his lewd remarks and branded him unfit for president, had to face a problem of her own.

Excerpts from closed-door speeches that Clinton gave to Wall Street executives two years ago were leaked by WikiLeaks on Friday just hours after the U.S. administration accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations.

The excerpts include Clinton suggesting that Wall Street insiders are best equipped to help reform the financial sector. She also conceded that presidential candidates for either party must have tens of millions in contributions from New York to mount a competitive national campaign.

The collaboration between political and business elite have long frustrated the U.S. grassroots, and the trust issue of Clinton has continued to turn a large number of voters away.

WikiLeaks on Friday posted what it said were thousands of emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. It was unclear whether Podesta's personal email accounts had been hacked or whether the emails had been included in successful hacking attacks, blamed on Russia, against prominent Democratic organizations.

On Trump's lewd comments about women, Clinton said on Twitter that "This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president," while she refused the call of her primary opponent Bernie Sanders to release transcripts of her paid speeches.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, said he was "sickened" by Trump's crude comments about women, and is calling on the Republican presidential nominee to show greater respect for women.

In a statement late Friday, Ryan, who has had a rocky relationship with Trump, said that Trump will no longer be attending an annual fall festival in Wisconsin and that he hopes Trump will treat the fallout with the seriousness it deserves.

Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, who has been a champion of the billionaire's campaign since he won the party's nomination, condemned Trump's crude comments, saying in a statement: "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever."

He was among the first Republicans to criticize the latest revelations of Trump's comments about women.

On the other hand, Clinton's campaign said it will not confirm the authenticity of emails from Podesta and blamed the intrusion on Russian state actors seeking to help rival Trump.

Campaign spokesman Glen Caplin said WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange "has made no secret of his desire to damage Hillary Clinton."

Podesta said he does not have time to sort out which emails are real but is "not happy" about being hacked.

A different group of hackers on Friday also published emails purported to be from Clinton aide Capricia Marshall.
You are here: Home

 Flash

A policeman was killed and two others including a civilian were wounded after militants attacked a police post in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Saturday.

The attack took place at Reshnagri-Jamnagri in Shopian district, about 62 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Last evening two policemen and a member of minority community were wounded after they resisted weapon snatching bid of militants at Jamnagri," a police official posted in Shopian said.

"Of the two wounded policemen, one succumbed on way to hospital."

Reports said militants attacked the police picket guarding the minority Pandit (Hindu) community in Reshnagri-Jamnagri at about 8:45 p.m. local time on Friday.

"To scare the militants and thwart weapon snatching bid, the policemen on duty opened fire, which was retaliated by militants," the police official said. "After the exchange the militants managed to escape."

Soon after the firing incident, contingents of police and paramilitary troopers were rushed to the place to trace attackers. Police have started investigations.

Earlier this week militants stormed a police post guarding members of minority Hindu community at Samboo D H Pora village of Kulgam and snatched five service rifles belonging to policemen. The policemen were left unharmed.

Last month suspected militants barged inside house of a pro-Indian politician in Anantnag and snatched four service rifles from the policemen deployed there.

Local government set up security posts to protect minority families and pro-India politicians in Muslim majority areas of the region, following attacks on them.

So far no militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the weapon snatching.

Militants occasionally target police and paramilitary troopers in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
You are here: Home

 Flash

Five local officials are under investigation on suspicion of accepting bribes, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on Saturday.

The Hebei provincial procuratorate in north China has approved the arrest of Ding Yinghui, former inspector of the Hebei provincial committee of the Communist Party of China.

The Shandong provincial procuratorate has approved the arrest of Li Xuehai, former political advisor of Qingdao City, Li Xuezhang, deputy head of Zhengzhou Railway Bureau, and Li Jun, former official with the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation.

Lu Chunjie, former mayor of Chaozhou City in south China's Guangdong Province, is under investigation on suspicion of taking bribes and has been placed under "coercive measures," which may include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention and arrest, according to the SPP.

Their cases are under investigation.
You are here: Home

 Flash

The ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) came top in Friday's parliamentary polls with 125 seats out of Morocco's 395-seat parliament, the interior ministry announced on Saturday.

Its main rival, the liberal opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party, took 102, whereas the Istiqlal party got 46 seats. Smaller parties took the remaining seats.

The ministry said voter turnout at these elections stood at 43 percent.

Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane announced Saturday that "democracy won in Moroccan elections" after the PJD has won 99 seats in the parliament, taking a prominent lead in the elections.

The last legislative elections in the country were held in November 2011 and were also won by the PJD.
You are here: Home

 Flash

Yemen's dominant Shiite Houthi rebels said Saturday that they have killed a top commander in pro-government forces in Marib province, east of the capital Sanaa, Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported.

"Major-General Abdel-Rab al-Shadadi, commander of Third Military Region in Marib, was killed late on Friday in a unique military operation after artillery unit pinpointed his location," Saba quoted a statement by Houthi military source as saying.

Al-Shadadi had led forces loyal to internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the rebel Houthis and their allied forces of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since the civil war broke out in 2015.

Hadi's government admitted the loss of al-Shadadi in a statement.

Houthis, backed by Saleh's loyal forces, stormed the capital Sanaa in September 2014, fighting against what they called a corrupt government.

They seized Sanaa and much parts of the country's north, forcing Hadi and his government to flee into exile.

The Saudi-led coalition launched a military air campaign against Houthis and Saleh's forces on March 26, 2015 to restore Hadi to power and recapture the capital.

The coalition's airstrikes and ground battles have since killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children and women, injuring around 35,000 others and displacing three million others, according to UN reports.
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa in Beijing on Saturday, calling for more Chinese investment in Portugal.

During the meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Xi told Costa both countries need to deepen cooperation in investment and explore more markets.

China is willing to encourage investment in Portugal and expand to areas including finance, insurance, health care and infrastructure, Xi said.

He also called for maritime cooperation, saying that China supports Portugal's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and encourages both countries to cooperate in maritime research and port logistics.

Costa, who is paying an official visit to China from Saturday to Wednesday, said he would like to promote all-round cooperation between Portugal and China through the visit, pushing forward cooperation under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative and in areas of energy, finance, electricity, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacture, culture and tourism.

On the political front, Xi spoke highly of the bilateral ties in the past 37 years since the two forged diplomatic ties.

He said China and Portugal need to maintain the momentum of the exchange of high-level visits and cooperation in various fields to consolidate political mutual trust, and continue mutual understanding and support on both sides' core interests and major concerns.

He also called for cooperation in people-to-people exchanges, culture and education.

On the China-EU ties, Xi said China firmly supports the process of European integration, expressing the hope that Portugal could exert a greater influence on China-EU economic and trade relations.

Earlier on Saturday, China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang met with Costa.

Zhang hailed the friendly exchanges between the Chinese National People's Congress and the Portuguese parliament, calling on the two legislative bodies to enhance cooperation and offer better policy and legal environment for bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

Costa said Portugal hopes to upgrade cooperation with China to a higher level.

Costa is visiting at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Besides Beijing, he will also visit Macao to attend the fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries next Tuesday. Costa is slated to hold talks with Li on Sunday.
URUMQI - Natural gas imports to China through Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have grown this year, local customs said.

As of the end of August, more than 16.75 million tons of natural gas had been imported through Xinjiang this year, up 15.58 percent year on year. Trade volume totaled 28.1 billion yuan (about $4.5 billion).

Eighty percent of the imported gas came from Turkmenistan, and the rest was imported from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.

More than 99 percent arrived through gas pipelines, and the rest was transported through highway and rail routes.

The China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, which started operating in 2009, has delivered 108 million tons of gas to date, customs figures showed.

The project, which has three lines in operation, are China's first major energy cooperation project in central Asia, stretching from Turkmenistan across Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China.

Customs officials said the growth in natural gas imports can be attributed to multiple cooperation projects between China and Central Asia under the Belt and Road initiative.

The initiative includes the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, which make up a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.
Tourists visit the Nanjing Confucius Temple in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, Oct 5, 2016. Altogether 593 million people visited tourist attractions around the country and spent 482.2 billion yuan ($72.3 billion) during this year's National Day holiday, up 12.8 percent and 14.4 percent respectively year on year, according to the China National Tourism Administration. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - Chinese spent a record high sum of money on shopping and food during the past week-long National Day holiday, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

Enterprises in the retail and catering sectors raked in about 1.2 trillion yuan ($180 billion) from Oct 1 to Oct 7, up 10.7 percent, MOC data showed.

This was the second consecutive year for the "Golden Week" to see over one trillion yuan spending in retail and catering consumption since 1999.

West China's Chongqing municipality and Sichuan province and central China's Hunan province were the top three regions seeing booming retail and catering business.

In breakdown, gold and jewelry, home appliances, IT products and new energy vehicles were the most popular goods, while banquets celebrating wedding, birthday and home reunion were the major contributors to catering services.

Altogether 593 million people visited tourist attractions around the country and spent 482.2 billion yuan during the holiday, up 12.8 percent and 14.4 percent respectively year on year, according to the China National Tourism Administration.
Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's largest personal computer maker, will invest about $100 million in Israeli startups over the next three years to better tap into local talents and cutting-edge technology to grow its core business.

"We will focus on the internet of things, cloud computing, cyber security, image recognition and other areas which Israel excels in," Song Chunyu, vice-president of Lenovo, said in an interview with China Daily.

The move came after the Beijing-based firm has poured up to $20 million into at least six Israeli startups and CPI, a local venture capital fund, in the past several years.

Israel, known for its innovative engineering, has become one of the most popular destinations for Chinese investment as China works hard to upgrade from a manufacturing hub into a tech center boasting core technologies.

Internet giants Baidu Inc and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd as well as traditional firms such as Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd are all spending big to fund local startups.

"Compared with their Chinese counterparts, Israeli firms are more willing to spend years and even a decade on the research and development of a key technology. That is the most appealing point," Song said.

Also, the Middle East country, which has a small domestic market, is quite open to foreign investors and it is relatively easy for Chinese firms to expand their presence there, he added.

The investment plan is part of Lenovo's broad efforts to seek new growth points and pioneering technology, as it is wrestling with a slowing global demand for PCs and a faltering smartphone business.

In May, the firm set up a $500 million investment fund, looking for promising early-stage startups in China, Israel and the United States.

Di Jin, a research manager at IDC China, said Lenovo's PCs and smartphones are facing fierce competition, and its overseas investment plan highlights its determination to try new technology, but such efforts won't have an impact on its sales performance in the short term.

In 2015, more than 40 percent of the venture capital investment into Israel came from China, data from the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry show.

According to Song, unlike its Chinese peers who are new to the Israeli market, the company's local branch, which consists of more than 100 employees, gives it an edge in understanding local startups.

One of the recipients of Lenovo's investment in Israel is Neura, a platform that helps users personalize connected devices while guarding their data.

"Neura is brilliant in algorithms and it can offer more reliable and stable sensors than Chinese firms," he added.
WASHINGTON - 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.
JINAN - Jinan in East China's Shandong povince on Saturday began to refund sales taxes to overseas tourists.

Overseas tourists can claim back VAT refunds at Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport when leaving China on purchases from 23 specified stores, said Wang Yuzhu, deputy head of the city's department of finance.

Foreign tourists and those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who stay on the Chinese mainland for fewer than 183 days are entitled to an 9 percent rebate on goods bought at the designated stores.

The minimum purchase for the rebate is 500 yuan ($75) at one store in one day. The refund is valid for purchases made up to 90 days before departure.

Shandong greets many tourists from Japan and Republic of Korea every year. Famous resorts in the province include Mount Tai, Qufu, home of ancient philosopher Confucius, and coastal sites such as Yantai and Weihai.
DAYTON - Fuyao Glass America celebrated the grand opening of its newest US facility in Moraine, Ohio Friday, marking the largest glass fabrication plant in the world.

Upon completion, the 116-acre facility, which is housed in a General Motors former assembly plant, will be the world's largest glass fabrication plant with the capacity to produce 4.5 million automotive car sets and 4 million automotive replacement glass windshields each year. Currently employing about 2,000 local workers, 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 US auto corridor, and are highly committed to supporting the growth of the North American automotive market."

"Now we have 2000 families that are seeing their lives dramatically improved because of the commitment of the company and vision of my friend chairman Cho," said John Kasich, Governor of Ohio.

The new Moraine facility represents $600 million in total investment by Fuyao, the largest Chinese investment in Ohio history. Bringing auto glass production back to the US, 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," he added.

Fuyao Glass America is part of Fuyao Industry Group Co Ltd, a leading international manufacturer of automotive and industrial glass located in China, with US 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.
Visitors experience an interactive game with VR glasses during the ChinaJoy 2016 in East China's Shanghai municipality, July 28, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

OCT Group, one of China's biggest tourism players, said it plans to build the country's "most influential virtual reality industrial park" in Shenzhen's Gankeng New Town project, as it strives to instill fresh vitality into the traditional cultural and tourism industry.

The 50-billion-yuan ($7.57 billion) project in Guangdong province is part of Shenzhen-based OCT's plan to develop 100 towns showcasing different cultural characteristics across the country. The conglomerate aims to turn Gankeng into a tourism resort featuring the province's traditional Hakka culture and boasting modern technology.

VR film and television production centers and technology incubation centers will be set up in the 12-square-kilometer project, according to the company. It will also produce China's first Hakka-themed VR cartoon movie.

Gankeng New Town is expected to attract 5 million tourists annually after construction is completed in five to eight years, providing a huge positive impact on the local economy.

"Technology has brought significant changes to China's cultural industry," said Hu Meilin, general manager of Shenzhen OCT Cultural Holding Co Ltd, responsible for development of the project.

"We should adopt a 'culture + technology' model when we develop a modern cultural industry so that it can achieve greater growth," Hu said.

He added that integration of technology and culture in Gankeng New Town would be displayed with VR and AR (augmented reality) products, which will be provided by Shenzhen OCT Vision Inc, a subsidiary of OCT Group.

According to market research firm iiMedia Research, China's VR market is expected to reach 5.66 billion yuan in sales this year and expand further to 55.63 billion yuan by 2020. Electronic games are projected to grab 33 percent of the market by 2025, while video is expected to take up 9 percent.

OCT Group focuses on tourism and related cultural industry operations, real estate and hotel developments and operations and the manufacture of electronic and set package products.

It is known for its brands such as Konka, Splendid China, Window of the World and Happy Valley Chain.

Guo Yun, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Gankeng New Town and Happy Valley Chain provided two good platforms for promoting the company's VR products, as they can attract a large number of visitors.




People line up to enter the subway station outside the Beijing Railway Station on Friday, the last day of the seven-day National Day holiday, after their return from traveling or visiting home during the vacation. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

As the national weeklong vacation drew to an close on Friday, reality showed again that getting back to town can be just as hard as leaving it, especially for residents of major metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai.

A record-breaking 12.57 million people were estimated to travel by train on Friday alone, according to China Railway.

Similar mass migrations were common during this year's National Day vacation, with more than 10 million people traveling by train on each of the eight daysSept 30 to Fridayof the holiday. That brought the total of train trips to 108 million, up 9.3 percent year-on-year, during the total 10-day travel spree from Sept 28 to Oct 7, according to the company.

And it wasn't just the trains, the roads were jammed with travelers, too. According to the Beijing municipal government, 1.376 million cars made their way along city highways from midnight to 4 pm on Thursday, 12.55 percent more than during the same period last year.

To cope with the situation, the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau sent out fleets of tow trucks to points along jammed highwayslike Beijing-Tibet, Beijing-Kaifeng, Beijing-Chengdewhere accidents were common, to deal with any problems and "clear the way for cars returning home".

The Beijing Commission of Transport published seven road maps online to help people find shortcuts and avoid traffic jams. Yet the gridlock on some freeways was up to 8 kilometers long, according to media reports.

An increasing number of Chinese went on road tours during the National Day holiday, in part because the government has waived the highway fee since 2012, as it also does with the Spring Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day and Labor Day holidays.

Bad weather delayed flights in Beijing and Shanghai.

Zhou Yanyan, a Shanghai-based journalist, was in Sanya, Hainan province, on a reporting trip. Zhou planned to catch a flight back to Shanghai that would depart at 4:50 pm on Friday, yet by press time her plane was still in Shanghai reportedly due to "weather conditions".

Zhou said that all her fellow passengers were transferred to a nearby hotel for free accommodation, and she saw at least four shuttle buses taking passengers from different flights to hotels for similar reasons.

"They all seemed calm and OK with it, and maybe I'm the most unhappy person. I've got work to do," Zhou sighed.

Traffic jams aside, China is expected to have made 478.2 billion yuan ($71.7 billion) from tourism during the golden week, a 13.5 percent increase year-on-year, according to a survey by China Tourism Academy and online travel agency Ctrip.

Xinhua contributed to this story.




Taiwan should take steps to boost the gloomy tourism industry after the number of mainland visitors travelling to the island during the National Day holiday declined, Taiwan's China Times newspaper reported.

A group representing the industry visited the Chiayi City Council on Friday to plead to the authorities to take measures to boost the sector and change the cross-Straits stalemate since Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen took office in May.

Taiwan Travel Agent Association honorary chairman Hsiao Bo-jen said that only 756 mainland tourists visited the island on Oct 5, whereas the figure exceeded 10,000 a day in the past.

Hsiao said some restaurants had to temporarily shut down and told workers to go on unpaid leave in Chiayi. The city government should at least have plans to expand the domestic demand, he said.

Hsiao Shu-li, speaker of Chiayi City Council, proposed that the city government should probe solutions and file report on how to revive the industry to the Tsai's authorities. Out of 24 council members, 21 signed the proposal.

The speaker said that according to the statistics from Taiwan tourism authority, 249,000 mainland tourists visited Taiwan in August, down 32.41 percent from the same month last year, while group tourists fell 54.96 percent.

Though tourists from South Korea and Japan increased in the month, the total number of tourists still dropped by 3.44 percent, the first time Taiwan saw a decline in August since 2004, Hsiao Shu-li said.

Chang Hsiu-hua, a council member, said that tourism sector needed tourists not financial assistance from Tsai's authorities, and a positive solution is to attract mainland visitors to Taiwan.

Data from Taiwan authorities showed that there were some 3,000 mainland tourists on Oct 5, and 4,000 to 5,000 every day during the National Day holiday this year, the lowest since 2008 when the island opened up to mainland travelers. It was around 8,000 mainland tourists every day in the same period in the past.


Since the National Day holiday or the Golden Week, one of the country's biggest holidays of the year was established on Oct 1, 1999, Chinese people have never stopped showing their love to it. Statistics show that about 28 million Chinese went travelling around the country during the first weeklong holiday in that year.

With the growing surge during the past 18 years, the tourist number and spending both hit record high this year. The latest official statistics show a total of 593 million tourists visited tourist attractions around the country during the Golden Week holiday, up 12.8 percent year on year. And the spending rose 14.4 percent year on year to 482.2 billion yuan ($72.3b) during this period.

But the numbers are just part of the story. Compared to the early years, Chinese tourists are embracing the changes in tourism sector more rapidly.

Smartphone travel bookings a new trend

With the increasing popularity of modern technology, more online services for smartphones are available.

A latest report jointly released by China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, an online travel agency, found that 64 percent of Chinese booked their flights, hotels, travel routes on mobile devices during this year's National Daily holiday.

"I still remember I booked a hotel room with a telephone during the country's first national day holiday," Shanghai citizen Tao Zengrui said. "This year also I booked a hotel, but through an app on a smartphone."

According to the report, more than two million Chinese tourists made travel reservations to 1,230 foreign destinations through online agencies and mobile apps. Many online products provided by the travel agencies such as customized tours and local travel experiences have becoming more popular among visitors.

The report shows that working people aged 23 to 55 accounts for about 60 percent of the tourists, and seniors above 50 accounting for 21 percent are getting more used to online booking.

Besides, the report also suggests that female tourists have been leading the tourism industry as they accounted for 59 percent of all visitors, 18 percentage higher compared to their male counterparts.
The Communist Party of China is ready to carry out dialogues and exchanges with the political parties in Hungary to strengthen friendship and understanding between the two peoples, a senior Party official said on Thursday.

Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the statement when he met with Hungarian National Assembly Speaker Laszlo Kover.

Liu spoke highly of the development of bilateral ties, saying the two countries have seen frequent high-level contacts, enhanced mutual trust and close cooperation in areas like trade, tourism and culture.
Taiwan authorities will feel the pain if they continue to provoke the mainland, a Taiwan affairs scholar from the mainland said in response to Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen's recent comment about "China" and attempts to deepen a relationship with Japan and the United States.

"Taiwan people are experiencing the bitter consequences, such as the tourism industry's decline, because of the tension between the mainland and the island. But the island's authorities has not yet felt the pain," said Zhu Songling, director of Beijing Union University's Institute of Cross-Straits Relations.

"Tsai's administration might estimate that further provocation is OK," Zhu said.
Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's largest personal computer maker, will invest about $100 million in Israeli startups over the next three years to better tap into local talents and cutting-edge technology to grow its core business.

"We will focus on the internet of things, cloud computing, cyber security, image recognition and other areas which Israel excels in," Song Chunyu, vice-president of Lenovo, said in an interview with China Daily.

The move came after the Beijing-based firm has poured up to $20 million into at least six Israeli startups and CPI, a local venture capital fund, in the past several years.
Two destinations in Thailand offer a perfect package of cultural heritage and great hospitality for Chinese visitors

Thailand's capital Bangkok and Chiang Rai province are popular destinations for Chinese visitors who are eager to explore the country's cultural heritage, beautiful landscapes and hospitality.

The two are also among the top choices for business travelers as they offer good accommodation, facilities and programs for team building.
Two dolphins have been recorded having a conversation for the first time after scientists developed an underwater microphone which could distinguish the animals' different "voices".

Researchers have known for decades that the mammals had an advanced form of communication, using distinctive clicks and whistles to show they are excited, happy, stressed or separated from the group.

But scientists have now shown that dolphins alter the volume and frequency of pulsed clicks to form individual "words" which they string together into sentences in much the same way that humans speak.

Researchers at the Karadag Nature Reserve, in Feodosia, Ukraine, recorded two Black Sea bottlenose dolphins, called Yasha and Yana, talking to each other in a pool. They found that each dolphin would listen to a sentence of pulses without interruption, before replying.

Lead researcher Dr Vyacheslav Ryabov, said: "Essentially, this exchange resembles a conversation between two people.

"Each pulse that is produced by dolphins is different from another by its appearance in the time domain and by the set of spectral components in the frequency domain.

"In this regard, we can assume that each pulse represents a phoneme or a word of the dolphin's spoken language.

"The analysis of numerous pulses registered in our experiments showed that the dolphins took turns in producing [sentences] and did not interrupt each other, which gives reason to believe that each of the dolphins listened to the other's pulses before producing its own.

"This language exhibits all the design features present in the human spoken language, this indicates a high level of intelligence and consciousness in dolphins, and their language can be ostensibly considered a highly developed spoken language, akin to the human language."

Dolphins have possessed brains that are larger and more complex than human ones for more than 25 million years.

The researchers found that Yasha and Yana could create sentences of up to five "words", but the scientists still do not understand the content.

Dr Ryabov said it was now beyond doubt that dolphins speak their own language and it is time to start studying how to communicate directly with them.

"Humans must take the first step to establish relationships with the first intelligent inhabitants of the planet Earth by creating devices capable of overcoming the barriers that stand in the way of using languages and in the way of communications between dolphins and people," he added.

Scientists already knew that dolphins use more than one thousand different types of whistle depending on social context but it was unclear if they could communicate directly with each other, one to one.

In 2007 Australian scientists identified specific whistles, which were interpreted to mean 'I'm here, where is everyone', 'Hurry up' and 'There's food over here'.

Dolphins are also thought to have developed a type of sign language in which they communicate with their flippers.

A group of scientists in Florida earlier this year showed that the communication between dolphins increases when they are undertaking a difficult task - in one case removing the lid from a canister - as if they were discussing the best solution.

The new research was published in the journal Mathematics and Physics.

What dolphins are talking about

Russian researchers at the Karadag Nature reserve say they have recorded a conversation between dolphins - specifically a pair of bottlenoses called Yasha and Yana - using a special underwater microphone that can distinguish between the animals' voices properly for the first time. This has revealed that they talk to each other just like humans do.

Apparently the animals alter the frequency and volume of their clicks to form little clumps of sounds like words and wait til the other has finished delivering stretches of said clumps (sentences, one might almost reckon) before embarking on their own.

Finally, we will be able to start communicating with our cretaceous cousins! Are they, as has long been claimed, Just Like Us? Imagine:

Yana: Where's my wallet? My dolphin wallet?

Yasha: I don't know. Am I the Keeper of All Things? Have you looked?

Yana: Where?

Yasha [rolls eyes]: Where?! In the water. Under the other bit of water. Behind the water. It'll be somewhere in the water.

Yana: Oh yes, here it is. What are we having for dinner?

Yasha: The Distended-Blowholes have invited us over to their pod for a bait ball.

Yana: I don't want to go.

Yasha: You never want to go anywhere.

Yana: All he talks about is his new fin-maintenance regime and all she talks about are the twins.

Yasha: I know. And how she lost the post-baby blubber so quickly. I keep wanting to say to her 'We're all streamlined, love! It's not cutting back on the cod that's done it! It's 25 million years of sub-aquatic evolution!'

Yana: Let's not go.

Yasha: We're going.

Perhaps - and looking at those constant vacant smiles, one has to entertain the possibility - Yana and Yasha are the Valley girls of the sea. Then again, are they - as one feels all marine life must be, alone with their thoughts in the vasty deeps - bleakly brooding philosophers at heart?

Yasha: "What did you do today, Yana?"

Yana: "Swam."

Yasha: "What will you do tomorrow, Yana?"

Yana: "Swim better."

Yasha: "They say that if sharks stop swimming they die, Yana."

Yana: "Is a life in which one cannot stop swimming also a kind of death, Yasha?"



Dolphins use pulsed clicks in the same way that humans use words, scientists have found. Jeff Rotman

(China Daily 10/08/2016 page23)
LI MIN/CHINA DAILY

The yuan was included in the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights currency basket on Oct 1. According to the IMF, the US dollar will now comprise 41.73 percent (down from 41.9 percent) of the SDR currency basket, the euro 30.93 percent (down from 37.4 percent), the yen 8.33 percent (down from 9.4 percent), the pound sterling 8.09 percent (down from 11.3 percent), and the yuan 10.92 percent.

Data from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications show the yuan is the second-largest trade financing currency, and the fourth- or fifth-largest trade payment currency. And according to SWIFT, the yuan's proportion in global trade is 8 percent, and in global trade payment nearly 2 percent.

Statistics from the Bank for International Settlements show the yuan's share in global foreign exchange trade has doubled in three years, from 2 percent to 4 percent. And its share as a global reserve currency is slightly more than 1 percent.

In other words, the yuan, as an international currency, still has a low market share. Yet the IMF has given the yuan quite a high proportion in its SDR basket. Why?

The SDR is determined by an economy's trade volume. China became the world's largest exporter in 2009 and the largest trader in 2013, replacing the United States. And its exports accounted for about 14 percent of the world's total last year. So it's natural for the yuan to get a high share in the SDR basket.

It also means the yuan is internationalizing fast. But the currency faces structural and institutional obstacles in its internationalization process. The yuan cannot win full trust in the international market and thus cannot be fully internationalized unless it can be exchanged freely.

Before meeting the market requirements for its capital account, the yuan took advantage of China's large share in world trade to be included in the SDR basket. This is a breakthrough and a beginning of the different path for the yuan's internationalization.

The SDR currency basket was established to offer international reserve currencies as an alternative to the US dollar. But the global market has not fully accepted the basket.

In 2009, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, said at the G20 Summit in London that Beijing was studying the SDR's market application because the US dollar's dominating status as an international currency has been creating serious problems in the market. Zhou's remarks didn't go unnoticed.

China took concrete measures to help expand the use of SDR currencies in the international market. In April, China's central bank started issuing foreign exchange reserves data using both the US dollar and SDR currencies. It is also studying the feasibility of issuing SDR-rated bonds in the country. And given the size and influence of China's economy, this could help SDR currencies play more important roles in the global economy.

The SDR basket is inclusive by nature, and promoting the SDR currencies to help reform the global currency system is a move accepted by many countries. That is why the yuan's inclusion met comparatively little resistance.

Europe's support was crucial. The European Union and the United Kingdom agreed to reduce the share of the euro and pound in the SDR basket. That they are willing to let the yuan play a bigger role in international trade shows the European players want to expedite the reform of the global currency system.

Therefore, this is the right time for China to deepen cooperation with Europe to build a fairer and more reasonable global currency system. By doing so, Beijing can also meet expectations for its role in global financial governance.

The author is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article was first published on guancha.cn on Sept 28.
The city's traditional tourist destinations, such as historical sites and parks, saw fewer visitors.[Photo/Xinhua]

Beijing welcomed around 11.2 million tourists during the week-long National Day holiday, down 2.8 percent from the same period last year, the local tourism authority said Friday.

Despite the decline in arrivals, the Chinese capital rang up 8.4 billion yuan ($1.27 billion) in tourism income during the holiday, known as "Golden Week," up 1.1 percent year-on-year, according to Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development.

Among the trips, 2.76 million were made by domestic visitors, down 1.1 percent from last year's National Day holiday. Their per capita spending, however, averaged 2,485 yuan, up 3.2 percent year-on-year.

The city's traditional tourist destinations, such as historical sites and parks, saw fewer visitors, while suburban trips totalled more than 4.3 million, up 9.3 percent year-on-year.

Nationwide, around 478.18 billion yuan in tourism income was posted for 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. The country's major tourist destinations are expected to have received 589 million visitors during the holiday, up 12 percent from last year, said the survey.
As a birthplace of the Chinese civilization, Henan draws visiting crowds both from home and abroad for most of the year but Dengfeng, in particular, could see tourist numbers rise, if the small city in the northern outskirts of provincial capital Zhengzhou is endowed with more hotels.

A step in the direction is being taken by CTS Songshan Shaolin Culture Tourism Co Ltd, the Hong Kong-based company that manages tourism for the Shaolin establishment.

The company is looking to build a resort town in Liu You, an area at some 5 kilometers from the world heritage site, located in the foothills of the Song Mountain.

"We've got the land to develop this township," Dong Yixiao, the company's marketing manager, tells China Daily. "We'd like to attract more people to Shaolin."

"Tourists now need to find hotels in Dengfeng," he says, but doesn't give a timeline for the project's takeoff or completion.

Although the county-level city itself isn't far from Shaolin, the options of hotels in the vicinity are few. In addition, the prospects of local employment would increase if the area is turned into a destination getaway without perhaps interfering with the quiet lifestyle of those dedicated to the order.

The premises of Shaolin receive up to 6,000 tourists on a daily basis, with the figure reaching 40,000 during the Chinese national holidays and the annual summer break in schools. A daylong entry ticket covering seven sites costs 100 yuan. Children of or under 1.2 meters height and people aged 60 and above are allowed in free.

Other ticketsfor ropeway rides and visits to associated scenic spotscost between 30 and 80 yuan.

Foreign tourists make up roughly 10 percent of the total number, Dong says.

The temple, monastery and surrounding locales are open to the public from morning to evening on most days of the year. But heavy snowfall leads to their temporary closure in the winter. Dengfeng is entrenched in subtropical and temperate vegetation and usually gets a good share of the yearly rainfall over Henan.

Shaolin's central compound spread over 2 kilometers, includes pagodas, some built in the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279); a cave; a waterfall; a stargazing observatory, which the temple says is among the world's oldest such relics; significant architectural remains of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220); and views of the mist-filled Song Mountain geological park.

In 2009, the local government of Dengfeng handed over tourism management of Shaolin to the company that today works on a staff strength of 600, earning about 250 million yuan in annual revenues from tourism here. The outsourcing was initiated in an attempt to present a modern face of this symbol of ancient China.

Other than maintaining a website in English, the temple has an account on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform. It wants to launch a phone app and a video game, Dong says.

The monks of Shaolin cook and feed la ba, a Chinese gruel of rice, vegetables and water, to tourists outside the temple gates on Dec 8 every year as part of a Buddhist outreach.

Qi Xin contributed to this story.
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau is striving to attract Chinese business visitors to the country and promote new MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions) destinations such as Chiang Rai.

"China is our biggest market for the meetings and incentives business, especially Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with emerging cities such as Shenzhen and Chengdu," says TCEB's president Nopparat Maythaveekulchai.

Its data shows that from October 2015 to March 2016, more than 493,300 business event travelers visited Thailand.

About 22 percent were there for meetings, 23 percent for incentive events, 22 percent for conventions and 12 percent for exhibitions.

The top five markets for Thailand are China, India, Singapore, Malaysia and the Untied States.

Meanwhile, Maythaveekulchai says that the TCEB has appointed sales and marketing representatives to directly target corporate customers from these Chinese cities.

According to him, the bureau has been working with Chinese companies that are involved in sales, pharmaceuticals, banking and insurance to bring in Chinese groups to Thailand's MICE destinations.

To enhance the business travelers' experience, the bureau is offering visitors the Thailand Connect Welcome Package until December.

The package comprises a Bangkok Mass Transit System pass, a Bangkok MICE map and seven-day free Wi-Fi.

TCEB is also promoting the country's northernmost province Chiang Rai as an emerging MICE destination, which has natural attractions, delicious food and good facilities for business events.

Situated in the Golden Triangle region where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet, Chiang Rai is an essential gateway and logistics hub for South China and the Greater Mekong Subregion.

A 5-million-baht ($144,133) budget has been allocated for Chiang Rai International Airport, scheduled for completion in 2022, with various improvements such as helicopter parking construction.

By then, the airport's annual passenger handling capacity is expected to rise to 3 million passengers a year.

With the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community in 2015, Chiang Rai is being promoted with Chiang Mai, which is a part of Thailand's special economic zones.

The Thai government set up these zones to increase local commerce and communication with neighboring countries.

According to Maythaveekulchai, this will improve Chiang Rai's infrastructure and logistics networks and thus increase the city's attractiveness for MICE events.

"As ASEAN integration gathers pace among neighboring countries, the MICE industry will benefit Chiang Rai as more and more overseas investors and organizations visit to launch and promote their products and services."
Power duo: Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei have now opened three Long Museums in China. A fourth will be opened in Wuhan in two years. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

While artists, officials and guests gathered in the banquet hall to celebrate the opening of the Long Museum in Chongqing, a man was fast asleep in the hallway with his feet, clad in purple socks, propped on the coffee table.

Oddly enough, it was the founder of the Long Museum himself, Liu Yiqian, who was on the side-lines of the celebrations. Given his hectic schedule ahead of this much-anticipated opening of the museum, hardly anyone would fault him for his faux pas.

The 53-year-old billionaire is one of China's most high-profile art collectors. He is also the person behind the series of Long Museums in the country. He founded the first Long Museum in Shanghai's Pudong district in 2012 before introducing another to the city's West Bund area in 2014.

In the few years since their founding, Shanghai's Long Museums have presented a series of exhibitions that have raised the eyebrows of art experts home and abroad. An ongoing exhibition at Long Museum West Bund features works by award-winning Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson who is renowned for his large-scale installations.

The 40,000-square-meter Long Museum Chongqing was officially opened on May 27. This latest facility occupies the first three stories of the Guohua Financial Center, which was built and owned by Liu and his investment company. Liu had bought the piece of land, located in Jiangbeizui in downtown Chongqing, for more than 700 million yuan ($106 million) in 2011 through public bidding.

It took him almost five years to complete the twin towers of the property. The two structures, which measure 31 and 26 floors in height, overlook the Jialing River and is located across the brand-new Chongqing Grand Theater. According to real estate promoter fang.com, the price of units in the buildings starts at 28,000 yuan per square meter.

Liu's museum empire is set to expand further. The fourth Long Museum will open in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, within two years. The museum in Wuhan will be housed within a building that has been specially allocated by the local government.
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".

The artists staged a performance at 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
Research claims 10-year increase is partly due to advances against 'major killers'.

Life expectancy worldwide has jumped by a decade since 1980, rising last year to 69 years for men and nearly 75 for women, according to a comprehensive overview of global health released 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 tuberculosisboth major killersfell 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 percent.

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 kindsranging from cancers to heart disease and strokeclaimed 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 risingalong 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 Alzheimer's, 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.

The reportcoordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattlecomes at the juncture between two major UN health initiatives.

The Millennium Development Goals, set in 2000, set hard targets for reducing child and maternal mortality, and combating key communicable diseases, by 2015.

A 15-year clock on a new set of Sustainable Development Goalsseveral of them health-relatedbegan 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. 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.

The report also "graded" countries, indicating whether mortality levels from specific causes were lower or higher than expected, taking into account each nation's 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, and drug abuse.

Western European and East Asian countries, generally speaking, scored highest.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, US, October 5, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

NEW YORK - Republicans on Friday grappled with a bombshell 2005 audiotape published by The Washington Post in which Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump boasted in vulgar terms about trying to have sex with an unnamed married woman and groping women, saying "when you're a star, they let you do it."

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who slammed Trump's comments as "horrific," was also hit by a leak on Friday. Wikileaks published what appeared to be excerpts of her paid speeches to corporations, the transcripts of which the campaign has refused to release. The transcripts included comments by Clinton on trade that could be troubling for her.

The disclosures come just a month before the Nov. 8 presidential election, and two days before the second televised debate between Clinton and Trump. The disclosures threaten Trump's already shaky standing with women and reinforce doubts among Democrats that Clinton will crack down on Wall Street.

Trump's leaked comments spurred a flood of indignation and came at what some have seen as a potentially pivotal point. Sunday's presidential debate, a town hall-style event, is seen as critical as Trump tries to rebound from a dip in some opinion polls after a rocky performance in the first debate.

"No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever," said Reince Preibus, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican elected official, said he was "sickened" by the comments and said Trump would not attend a campaign event in Wisconsin with him on Saturday.

"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," Ryan said in a statement

Trump in a statement shrugged off the leaked tape as "locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago."

In the recorded conversation, Trump was wearing a microphone and chatting on a bus with Billy Bush, then host of NBC's "Access Hollywood," ahead of a segment they were about to tape.
Tart-making class at library

COLUMBUS -- Columbus Public Library will host Phyllis Bartholomew of Blue Ribbon Pies to teach a class on making tarts at 2 p.m. Oct. 22.

She will demonstrate the steps of making the nut and berry tart so those attending can repeat the process at home. She will also share tips and samples of her homemade tarts.

There will be a drawing for the tart Phyllis makes during the class. No registration is needed, and the class is free.

Honor Flight reunion planned

LA VISTA -- A reunion for Honor Flight of the Heartland will be held 2 p.m. Oct. 23 at Embassy Suites La Vista, 12520 Westport Parkway, in La Vista.

All veterans of any war or era, families of veterans, Gold Star family members, donors, volunteers and the public are welcome to attend. There will be a drone photo taken of all in attendance.

The program will include highlights of past Honor Flights and a live band will play music from each war era. Light snacks will be provided, and there will be a cash bar.

This event is free, but RSVPs are desired. For more information or to make a reservation, email info@PatrioticProductrions.org.

Scout popcorn sales planned

COLUMBUS -- Area Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts will be selling popcorn beginning Saturday and running through Oct. 23.

There are a variety of flavored and microwave popcorn items available along with Husker-themed tins and other specialty products.

Contact a Scout to make a purchase, call Nicole at 402-606-4115, or email pack115popcorn@gmail.com.

Nursing class slated for CCC

COLUMBUS -- Registration is open for a nursing assistant class that will be held from Oct. 24-Dec. 15 at Central Community College-Columbus.

Students must attend a mandatory orientation session, but class hours are flexible. The lab will be open from noon-8 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Thursdays, and from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays.

Class size is limited to the first 30 individuals who register. The cost is $382, which includes in-state tuition, fees, books and materials.

For more information or to register, contact the CCC Extended Learning Services Office at 402-562-1225; toll-free at 1-877-222-0780, ext. 1225; or email cwagner@cccneb.edu.

Emergency med classes planned

Central Community College-Columbus will offer the following continuing education workshops in October for emergency medical services personnel:

 Concealed Weapon and EMS Safety from 7-10 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Schuyler Fire Hall,

 Extrication and Victim Recovery from 7-10 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Albion Fire Hall,

 Pediatric Assessment and Pediatric Transport from 7-10 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Creston Fire Hall,

 Teenage Special Needs from 7-10 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Rising City Fire Hall,

 Extrication and Victim Recovery from 7-10 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Platte Center Fire Hall,

 Treat That Trauma from 7-10 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Bellwood Fire Hall, and

 Extrication and Victim Recovery from 7-10 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Palmer Fire Hall.

The workshops are offered free of charge thanks to a grant from the Nebraska Health and Human Services System. Continuing education hours will be awarded.

For more information contact the CCC Extended Learning Services Office at 402-562-1451; toll-free at 1-877-222-0780, ext. 1451; or email christopherfisher@cccneb.edu.

Campus Visit Day at CCC

COLUMBUS -- Prospective students who want to see Central Community College are invited to attend Campus Visit Day from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 27 at its campus in Columbus.

Attendees will have a chance to tour the campus, meet faculty, and learn about financial aid and scholarships.

For more information or to register for Campus Visit Day, contact Erica Leffler at 402-562-1257; toll-free at 1-877-222-0780, ext. 1257; or email eleffler@cccneb.edu.

Photo contest deadline nears

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus/Platte County Convention and Visitors Bureau is sponsoring a photography contest, open to professional and amateur photographers of all ages.

There will be four categories: festivals, outdoor activities and vistas, nature still life, and landmarks. Prizes will be awarded in each category with an overall best of show winner.

All photographs must be of events, people or scenes in Platte County. Entries will be accepted until Oct. 28.

Complete contest rules are available at www.visitcolumbusne.com or at the Convention and Visitors Bureau at 753 33rd Ave. For more information, call Deb Loseke at 402-564-2769.

Halloween party set for Legion

COLUMBUS -- The American Legion will hold a Halloween party beginning at 6 p.m. Oct. 31 in the Legion event room.

Dave Bruckner of The Beat Goes On will DJ the occasion. Those attending are asked to bring a snack to share. A costume contest will also be held.

The public is invited to attend.

Philanthropy contest planned

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Area Philanthropy Council is accepting applications for the Youth Philanthropy Contest through Nov. 4.

Children and young adults in kindergarten through age 22 can apply for a grant of up to $1,000 to aid in the completion of a project that will positively impact the community.

Applications are available at columbusphilanthropy.org and are due by 5 p.m. Nov. 4. Applicants should plan to create a tabletop display of their project on Nov. 21 to present to the community.

Funded projects must be completed by June 1, 2017.

Handmade hats for newborns

OMAHA -- The American Heart Association is seeking handmade red hats, crocheted or knit, to provide to Nebraska newborns born during the next American Heart Month, February 2017, as a part of the national Little Hats, Big Hearts project.

Hats will be given to each baby born in February at participating hospitals across the state, including Columbus Community Hospital.

Yarn must be cotton or acrylic, medium to heavy weight and machine washable and dryable. No decorations should be added to the hat, such as buttons or bows.

The American Heart Association is also accepting donations of red yarn to help those who will be knitting or crocheting hats.

Donations of hats or yarn should be mailed to the American Heart Associations Greater Nebraska Regional Office in Lincoln, 1540 S. 70th St., Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68506, but must received no later than Jan. 13.

For more information visit www.heart.org/littlehatsbighearts/.

CHS band fundraiser set

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus High School band will hold a fundraiser from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at Pizza Ranch.

A percentage of sales from the evening and tips will be donated to the CHS Band Boosters. Band members will be at Pizza Ranch helping to serve customers.

WinnaVegas bus trip scheduled

SCHUYLER -- A WinnaVegas Casino bus trip is scheduled for Oct. 17.

The bus will leave the Colfax County Senior Center at 8 a.m. Cost is $10 per person with reservations due by Friday. This is a fundraiser for the senior center.

For more information, reservations or cancellations, call Lloyd at 402-615-0353 or Betty at 402-615-0857.
COLUMBUS  Next time you're ordering a Big Mac and fries, take a look at the tray liner and you might see a familiar face.

Cindy Caballero, a 2015 Columbus High School graduate, is being featured on the new McDonalds tray liners to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. The liners will be used starting next week in participating restaurants.

The Nebraska Latino American Commission, which holds an annual state commemoration for the month, selected Caballero for the honor after seeing her photo and story in The Columbus Telegram.

Lazaro Spindola, director of the commission, said Caballero is an example of achievement and success by being the first in her family to attend college.

In the Latino community, Spindola said poverty can be generational because some Latinos who recently arrived in America never graduate from high school and the possibility of attending college doesn't cross their minds.

It becomes a cycle of poverty. They dont finish high school. They get low-paying jobs and it continues with their children. The people featured on the tray liners, they have broken the cycle and have decided they want something better for themselves and their future children, Spindola said.

Caballero, 19, had her sights set on college at a young age and is currently taking classes at Central Community College-Columbus while working full time. She was recently promoted to a manager position at Bank of the West, an accomplishment she is proud of, especially at her young age.

Having a job and a full schedule of classes has been part of Caballeros life since she was 15. Shed go to school during the day then work at night to earn money for a car and save for college. Her first job was as a waitress and then as a bank teller.

Splitting time between textbooks and a time clock wasnt the only responsibility on her schedule. With her parents Mario and Maria Caballero working long hours, she also was helping care for her four younger siblings by getting them ready in the mornings and driving them to school or the babysitter before she went to class.

After the final school bell rang, Caballero went to her job and usually made it back home around 9 p.m. to study and complete homework.

At times it was stressful balancing her school life and work, but she stayed the course to achieve her dream of going to college. She also wanted to be a role model for her three sisters and brother.

Caballero maintained a 3.4 grade-point average in high school and took dual-credit courses to earn college credit. She graduated from CHS at midterm and was the recipient of a Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation scholarship that pays for her college education for four years.

In May, she will earn an Associate of Arts degree from CCC before moving on to the University of Nebraska at Omaha to work on a degree in accounting and become a certified public accountant.

Caballero was a little hesitant to be featured on the tray liners, which also recognize winners of the McDonalds and Wells Fargo Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest.

Its an honor but Im sure there are a lot of people who have been the first to go to college in their families. I was picked out of a lot of people, she said.

Caballero hopes she can inspire others to work hard and succeed, including other Latinos who might not view education as a priority.

Most Hispanics, especially if they come from Central America, South America or lower North America, they see working and getting money as more valuable than spending time in college. They see it as wasting time when you could be making money, she said.

However, Caballero believes that mindset is shifting.

Now, I think times are changing because the Hispanic community knows more about what college is. They are getting more educated about college studies and how college is important, she said.
BEIJING - Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao urged the cooperation with Bangladesh in trade and infrastructure development at a meeting with visiting Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid on Saturday.

China would like to push the building of an economic corridor linking Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar, Li said.

The two countries should work together in trade, investment, infrastructure, industrial parks and people-to-people exchange, he said.

Bangladesh hopes China can increase investment and help it develop infrastructure, Hamid said.

Hamid is in Beijing for a dialogue on strengthening connectivity partnership.
BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping said Bangladesh is welcome to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a founding member, and the two countries must enhance cooperation in trade, agriculture, infrastructure development and maritime industry.

Xi made the remarks Saturday morning during his meeting with visiting Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid, who is in Beijing for a dialogue on strengthening connectivity partnership.

Xi said China's vision to build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will create chances for both countries.

The two countries should work together to push the building of an economic corridor linking Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar, Xi said.

Describing Bangladesh as an important partner of China in South Asia and Indian Ocean region, Xi said the bilateral relationship features friendship, trust and cooperation.

China appreciates Bangladesh's support in issues concerning China's core interests and will as always support its cause to safeguard independence and sovereignty and realize stability and development, he said.

At the meeting, Hamid said Bangladesh expects to learn from China's experience in poverty alleviation and seize the chance brought by the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to promote trade and connectivity.

Bangladesh will work with China in climate change and disaster control while helping promote cooperation between China and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, he said.

Twenty-first Asian countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing AIIB last month in Beijing, including Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The dialogue on strengthening connectivity partnership scheduled on Saturday in Beijing will be attended by leaders from China, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
BEIJING - Chinese and Bangladeshi leaders on Sunday exchanged congratulations on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

As good neighbors, friends and partners, China and Bangladesh have built an ever stronger comprehensive cooperative partnership and their ties have progressed steadily, said Chinese President Xi Jinping in his congratulatory message.

"I attach great importance to the China-Bangladesh relations," said Xi, pledging to work for more fruitful ties to benefit the two peoples.

The profound friendship between China and Bangladesh are rooted in their adherence to the principles of peaceful coexistence, mutual trust, equality and mutual beneficial cooperation, said Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid.

Hamid urged both sides to seize the opportunity of this anniversary to lift bilateral ties to a new high.

In a congratulatory message to his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina Wajed, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged staunch efforts to push forward China-Bangladesh ties.

Hasina commended China's achievement and important world status, vowing to work for the Bangladeshi people's economic freedom and right in choosing their own destinies as enjoyed by the Chinese people.
An audience of hundreds clapped their hands and cheered for about two hours as songs and dances from ethnic groups in China's southwestern Yunnan province showcased China's colorful minority cultures on Sunday night in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka.

China's Yunnan Acrobatic Troupe Company Limited and FolkArt Theater of Chuxiong performed the show themed "Charming and Colorful Yunnan" at the Confucius Institute in Bangladesh's North South University (NSU), celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-Bangladesh diplomatic ties.

The event also aimed to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Confucius Institute at the country's leading private university.

The audience, many of whom were young North South University students, responded with excited applause and yells in Bengali as artist Luo Bin sang a popular Bangla song Aami chini go chini to mare, O go bideshini (I know you, know you, O'my lady from an alien land) written by poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Abdur Rahim says he seldom had an opportunity to watch such an excellent performance in Bangladesh, hoping more Chinese artists could come to give shows.

"We've arranged the show to celebrate the 40th anniversary of China-Bangladesh diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of the Confucius Institute at the country's top leading private North South University," says Ma Yan, Chinese director at the NSU Confucius Institute.

She says the show is part of an initiative to introduce Bangladeshi people to the cultural diversities in China.

"We hope the show will open a new window for Bangladeshis to look into cultural diversities in China," says Ma Yan.

All the artists seemingly touched the hearts of the audience with their performing arts, such as acrobatics, martial arts, classical dance and music, among others.

Together with some 500 audience members, Rehana Rahman, a member of the NSU Board of Trustees, and Ma Mingqiang, Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh and Gour Gobinda Goswami, vice chancellor of the North South University, watched the show.

The ambassador says it is to strengthen the two countries' relations which date back to ancient times.

"We're talking about the 40th anniversary of Bangladesh-China diplomatic relations, which is really a short period in the history of contact between the two countries," Ma says, adding, "Our contact dates back more than 2,000 years."

He describes Yunnan as a colorful place, with colorful mountains and rivers, rich natural resources, as well as diverse ethnic groups and cultures.

"I hope that all of you have a chance to see Yunnan with your own eyes. to see people there and to see development and also enjoy delicacies there," the ambassador says.

Xinhua

(China Daily USA 11/23/2015 page9)
China and India should handle their disputes before finding fair and reasonable ways that can be accepted by both sides, Premier Li Keqiang said today.

The two countries should be dedicated to maintaining peace and tranquility in the border region through diplomatic means, Li said while meeting with visiting Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing.

Li called on the two countries to enhance practical cooperation in multiple areas, strengthen communications in international and regional affairs and send a positive signal of peace and development of economy.

Doval spoke highly of the current bilateral ties. He said that the two sides should work together in multiple areas and handle disputes properly.

On Wednesday before the meeting, Doval attended the 19th round of talks between Chinese and Indian special representatives on boundary issues. During the talks, senior officials from China and India had an "extensive, deep and candid" discussion on boundary issues, according to a press release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Both sides agreed to adhere to peaceful negotiations to settle the boundary question. They will make efforts to reach a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution, the press release said.

They will properly manage differences and safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas so as to create favorable conditions for development of bilateral ties, it said.

Both sides shared the view that China-India relations have broad prospects and Beijing and New Delhi have far more common interests than differences.

Bilateral ties have entered a new era of comprehensive and rapid development since Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a successful visit to India in 2014 and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China in 2015, the press release said.

Both sides should implement the important consensus between the leaders, enhance high-level interactions, tap the potential of cooperation, and promote China-India relations to a higher level, the press release said.
President Xi Jinping (left) welcomes visiting Indian President Pranab Mukherjee in Beijing on May 26, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

China and India have reiterated their commitment to maintaining peace in the border area ahead of a final settlement.

The commitment came on Thursday during Indian President Pranab Mukherjee's first state visit to China.

In a meeting with Mukherjee, President Xi Jinping said the two countries should make good use of various dialogues and mechanisms to enhance understanding and trust.

Disputes should be solved in a proper way, Xi said, stressing that mutual beneficial cooperation is the theme of the bilateral ties.

Mukherjee said India and China are two ancient civilizations and large emerging economies. Joint cooperation will not only promote their peace, prosperity and development but that of the world.

Sun Shihai, director of the Chinese Association for South Asian Studies, said Mukherjee's trip follows a visit to India by Xi in 2014 and seeks to convey the message that the two countries are ready to maintain the tempo of high-level interactions.

Sun said that while China is concerned with improving ties between India and other countries, including the US and Japan, Mukherjee's visit shows India's efforts to strike a balance in its relations with these countries.

At their meeting, Xi referred to his guest as a "seasoned statesman" and "an old friend of China".

Fu Xiaoqiang, an expert on South Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said Mukherjee has a very good understanding of China.

He has visited China a number of times in different capacities. He has also met and interacted with top Chinese leaders, including Xi and Premier Li Keqiang, during their visits to India.
Earlier this year, in Chinas Two Children Policy: What China Employers Should Know, I wrote how Beijing was in the process of amending its population and family regulations in response to the amended National Law on the same topic. For how Chinas employment laws are both national and local, check out China Employment Law: Local and Not So Simple. Beijing has come out with its amendments and this post discusses their most salient points for Beijing employers.

Under its amended regulations, Beijing now requires a minimum of 128 days maternity leave (this is 30 days longer than the statutory minimum before the amendment). The special leave for a spouse whose wife gives birth is now 15 days (8 days longer than before). This is the same as in Guangdong Province but 5 days longer than in Shanghai. The new regulations delete the special leave provision for late childbirth.

Beijings new maternity and family leave regulations also provide that upon the female workers request and the employers consent, the maternity leave can be extended for another one to three months. This makes it possible for a female employee in Beijing to get up to 7.25months paid leave for childbirth, regardless of whether it is her first or second child. Under a strict interpretation of the Beijing maternity leave amendments, however, if the employer does not give its consent, the female worker cannot unilaterally make her leave longer than 128 days, or about 4.25 months.

However, as is typical of so many China employment laws and regulations, the rules on extending maternity leave are less than clear. In particular, it is not clear whether Beijing employers are free to say no to all employees seeking to extend their maternity leave or whether they must grant maternity leave extensions to employees with good reasons for not being able to return to work after the standard 128-day maternity leave. Given Beijings longstanding pro-employee approach our China employment lawyers are instructing our Beijing clients to have us review all the relevant facts relating to the employees request for extended maternity leave and, most importantly, check with the local labor authorities before saying no. And do not forget that just like everywhere else in China, Beijing employers are generally prohibited from terminating an employee during his or her paternity/maternity or to reduce that employees wages in any way.
According to state law, fines, penalties, and license money shall be appropriated exclusively to the use and support of the common schools ... . An exception is fines for overloaded vehicles. Seventy-five percent of those funds go to state highways; 25 percent go to the county general fund where the fine or penalty is paid. Fifty percent of money forfeited or seized in enforcing drug laws goes to counties for drug enforcement. Vehicles seized in drug law cases may be used by law enforcement agencies or sold with the proceeds going to schools.

County Court

Traffic Sentences

David Martinez, 44, Denver, Colorado, speeding, 70 mph in a 60 mph zone, $25 fine and $48 court costs.

Shayne Niedringhaus, 24, 1716 Second St., no valid registration, $25 fine and $48 court costs.

Douglas Dischner,48, 731 Eighth St., failure to signal, $50 fine and $48 court costs.

Bryan Barta, 50, Brainard, commercial load securement, tire and lights violations, $175 fines and $49 court costs.

Bradley Thernua, 26, Omaha, traffic signal violation, $75 fine and $48 court costs.

Teresa Villatoro, 21, Carriage House Estates, No. 27, speeding, 80 mph in a 65 mph zone, $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Jorge Bedolla, 27, 858 33rd Ave., G-7, speeding, 50 mph in a 35 mph zone, $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Katie Shonka, 19, Bellwood, traffic signal violation, $75 fine and $48 court costs.

Marc Witte, 44, 3622 20th St., speeding, 76 mph in a 60 mph zone, $125 fine and $49 court costs.

Javier Sanchez, 22, 2153 30th Ave., speeding, 50 mph in a 35 mph zone, $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Jason Pensick, 45, Duncan, careless driving, $100 fine and $49 court costs.

Jorge Manriquez, 19,4071 E. 29th Ave., learner's permit violation and no seat belt, $100 fines and $49 court costs.

Jose Chavez, 31, 3220 Mueller Drive, speeding, 74 mph in a 55 mph zone, $125 fine and $49 court costs.

Parker Hughes, 22, 208 30th St., speeding, 72 mph in a 55 mph zone, $125 fine and $49 court costs.

Chapin Peterson, 84, 716 Sixth St., failure to maintain control, $25 fine and $49 court costs.

Peter Clark, 82, 217 30th St., failure to yield right of way, $25 fine and $49 court costs.

Alexandra Aguallo, 34, Bellwood, no valid registration and no seat belt, $50 fines and $49 court costs.

Stanley Nathan, 63, Hoskins, over axle weight, two counts, $50 fines and $48 court costs.

Hannah Beerbohm, 20, 2705 Cheyenne St., failure to yield right of way and no valid registration, $50 fines and $48 court costs.

Tayler Randall, 24, David City, negligent driving, $25 fine and $48 court costs.

Travis Dicke, 36, Creston, over axle weight, $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Marvin Gronenthal, 38, Humphrey, speeding, 74 mph in a 65 mph zone, and no seat belt, $50 fines and $49 court costs.

Steven Huber, 56, Lafayette, Colorado, speeding, 84 mph in a 65 mph zone, $125 fine and $49 court costs.

Criminal Sentences

Charlie Korth, 21, Humphrey, contributing to the delinquency of a child, $100 fine and $49 court costs.

Sandy Lopez, 36, Fremont, no proof of insurance, $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Luis Lopez, 31, Fremont, no operator's license, $150 fine and $49 court costs.

Jerry Morales, 19, 1216 14th St., driving under the influence, 21 days in jail, credit for three days already served, six months probation, $500 fine, operator's license revoked for six months and $49 court costs.

Dustin Pospisil, 20, 2465 Kummer Drive, minor in possession of alcohol-19/20, $100 fine and $49 court costs.

Dellis McKirdy, 43, 3770 18th Ave., second-offense driving under the influence, 10 days in jail, credit for one day already served, nine months probation, $500 fine, operator's license revoked for 18 months and $49 court costs.

Corey Klassen, 21, Albion, minor in possession of alcohol-19/20 and possession of K2 or marijuana-one ounce or less, 14 days in jail, six months probation, $300 fine and $49 court costs.
COLUMBUS  Doris Herman Hicks isnt your average 95-year-old.

Shes still sharp as a tack and can remember the smallest details of her life traveling the country as a career woman and military corporal in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.

Born in Wisner, Hicks grew up in Omaha, graduating from a technical high school in 1938.

There were no jobs, no money for college, because the Depression just ended, she said.

Hicks, the youngest of three children, explained how her father  a stone cutter who helped build the Joslyn Art Museum  lost his job. Then her aunt, uncle and cousin moved in with the family after losing their home.

Just sort of a bad year, she said.

To help out at home, she went to work as a secretary for a lawyer before leaving that position for a factory job that paid more money  23 cents an hour.

Nowadays people think $10 an hour isnt enough, she joked.

The Dec. 7, 1941, arrived, the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

Hicks still remembers where she was when she heard about the attack.

Back in the day, if it happened to one of us Americans, it happened to all of us, she said. It was so hard to believe that somebody could do this to us.

The 21-year-old wanted to help, but there was no place for women in the military so she remained at the factory.

Hicks explained how most Americans didn't go anywhere or do anything after the U.S. entered World War II because items such as food and gasoline were rationed by the government.

Everybodys lives were changed, she said. I dont think people now realize how much war affected everyone back then. Kids in school nowadays arent taught the history they used to be.

By May 1942, Hicks learned that a Womens Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) had been established, finally giving them a place in the military. She signed up right away and was sent to Des Moines, Iowa, in November of that year before heading to Kansas City, Missouri, for three months of training.

If there was a war, it was just right that you found a way to help, she said. Everybody was proud of their country back then.

The WAAC enrollees received one of three types of training  switchboard operators, mechanics or weapons repair. Hicks was selected to be a radio operator and learned Morse code.

She can recall putting on the radio headphones for the first time, hearing about 10 different pilots communicating at the same time. It was an overwhelming feeling at first, Hicks said, but once she got the hang of it, it was a breeze.

Hicks described how she would closely listen for her call signal then decipher the code, usually a pilot asking for weather conditions or permission to land.

When you heard your letters being called, you could then pick up the sounds, she said. It became simple after a while. You listened to a message, then you sent a message.

She sent information in the form of the code, a series of beeps that represented letters based on the sound length.

Hicks, who became a military asset, was transferred across the United States on assignments.

When youre in the service, you do what they tell you to do, said Hicks, who made $66 a month, enough money to pay for items the military didn't provide, like underwear and snacks.

Hicks said the male troops were always respectful, even watching what they said around women.

It was a more-respectful time in life, she said.

When the war ended in 1945, her services were no longer needed. Hicks received a Good Conduct Medal for her three years of service, along with $100 for traveling expenses. She was sent on her way by train from Nevada to Nebraska.

Hicks stayed with her family in Omaha while attending art school  a perk the military paid. She studied to become what is now considered a graphic designer.

Hicks worked for different military bases as a civilian, designing and painting pictures for slide shows, postcards and other purposes.

God was good to me, she said. He stepped in so many times, I wasnt even asking Him to. He gave me a good life.

Hicks was something nearly unheard of back then  a career woman. She was in her 30s, unmarried and had no interest in changing that. All she cared about was loving life, doing what she wanted to and going wherever she wanted to.

Ya know, I never thought of age. I just lived, she said. I dont even think of it now.

But at age 38, someone waltzed into her life while she was working in Washington, D.C. A teacher named Jerry Hicks asked her to dance.

They married in 1960 in Omaha and she soon gave birth to their only child, Paul Hicks.

Jerry served in the Army in the Korean War and Paul was a Marine.

Together we covered the waterfront, Hicks joked.

Hicks and her husband retired to Columbus in the 1980s to be closer to her family. She will turn 96 on Nov. 16, and is still preaching that age is nothing more than a number.

When she isnt at the gym working out, she can be found painting, leading Bible study or volunteering at the Platte River Art Gallery.

Im here for as long as God can use me, for whatever He wants me for. But I forget to ask every once in awhile, she joked.
(Photo : Getty Images/Handout) This NOAA handout image, taken by the GOES satellite at UTC: 1803Z, shows Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean Sea just south of Cuba and Jamacia on October 2, 2016.

Advertisement

Internet personality Matt Drudge was recently slammed by several new agencies for his conspiracy theories about the impending threat of Hurricane Matthew which was tagged by weather bureaus as a Category 4 storm.



In one of his tweets, Drudge wrote, "The deplorables are starting to wonder if govt has been lying to them about Hurricane Matthew intensity to make exaggerated points on climate."



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

Drudge, who is the owner and editor of the popular Drudge Report, later said that the US Hurricane Center "has monopoly on data." He added that there is no way of verifying the claims of the scientific agency tasked with monitoring weather disturbances.



In Drudge's views, professional weather scientists are paid to release sensational facts to support climate change. Drudge also claims that the government and the scientific community are conspiring to make climate change look worse, according to The Verge.



It would appear that Drudge is not the only person who agrees that climate change is a conspiracy. Back in 2012, current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tweeted this: "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive."



As part of the state's contingency plan, residents who lived on the path Hurricane Matthew is predicted to traverse were asked to evacuate. Weather experts are predicting that the hurricane has enough wind power to create coastal surges with waves expected to be as high as 18 feet.



Advertisement

Tagsmatt druge, hurricane, hurricane matthew, conspiracy theories, Climate Change
COLUMBUS  Sunday's Taste of Columbus event at Ramada-Columbus will offer samples of local cuisine and the kind of STEM ingenuity the benefit will help fund.

Columbus High School skills and technology teachers Tracy Dodson and Marcus Gillespie put their woodworking and metal shop students to work making items for the event's silent auction. Proceeds from Taste of Columbus will go to the Columbus Public Schools Foundation and a STEM Academy at the new high school that focuses on the science, technology, engineering and math fields.

Some of the artwork up for grabs features discarded items such as doors, propane tanks, oil canisters and tire rims the students repurposed into lamps, clocks, lawn decorations and more.

One of the larger items is a working clock created by 17-year-old Blake Becher in Dodsons manufacturing processes class. The frame of the clock is a 3- to 4-feet-diameter wagon wheel with hands and Roman numerals he cut from sheet metal.

Becher spray-painted the rim, hands and numbers a matte black but left the spokes untouched, showing off their patina. He said the project took him around three weeks to finish.

Its exactly what I thought it was going to look like, Becher said.

Another big item is a wooden porch swing with a stand Gillespies woodshop students have been working on since school started. It filled the back of Gillespies truck Friday afternoon as students took their items to the local hotel.

A towering windmill reaching at least 6 feet tall also took many hands to build. The turbine was fashioned from a bicycle wheel and the tower was painted an electric blue by Denilson Quelex Caballeros, 17, who said it took him three or four days to complete.

The CHS students also made items representing Lakeview Community Schools and Scotus Central Catholic.

Faith Dill, 15, is in the manufacturing processes class and the Skills USA after-school club, which teaches young people the skills employers say are needed in todays work force. Dill cut a 2-feet-wide Scotus logo from sheet metal, painted it Shamrock green and affixed a cross painted white to the front.

Many of the projects involved multiple students, such as a door decorated with wooden blocks that 16-year-old Daniel Jacinto cut "Laws of Leadership" words into using a laser.

Bryan Quirogo and Nolan Kadavy, both 17, worked together on planters made from combine parts and tire rims.

It was a team effort, Quirogo said. Some took a few days, others took weeks. Some projects were harder than others.

Katie Schwebach, 17, also in the manufacturing processes class, used a laser to create signs that say flowers or Huskers." The signs were painted and attached to the front of the planters.

Around 40 items were made by CHS students for Sundays auction. Dodson and Gillespie said students who put more time into their projects were eligible for a scholarship.

Dodson said some of the repurposed items were bought at a junkyard in Monroe for $60, and others were donated and brought in by students. Some items had been sitting around the school shop for years, and with the upcoming move to a new facility, he wanted to get rid of them.

Schwebach reflected on the two truck beds and trailers full of finished items ready to head to the Ramada.

Seeing them all done is really cool, she said. They all started out looking like trash and they turned out pretty cool.
(Photo : Getty Images/Spencer Platt) The new iPhone 7 is displayed on a table at an Apple store in Manhattan in New York City.

Advertisement

A mysterious phone recently surfaced on the AnTuTu benchmarking platform showing an impressive score of more than 200,000 points. If this is a legitimate phone, it can dethrone Apple's currently flagship iPhone and will be the first device to hit the 200k barrier on AnTuTu.



Every time Apple releases a new model of the iPhone it is expected that the new device will raise the bar in terms of hardware specs and efficiency. With the iPhone 7, Apple raised that bar by integrating it with a powerful A10 Fusion chip which eventually crushed all competitors in any benchmark.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

According to BGR, AnTuTu recently released a list revealing the top 10 benchmark scores for the month of September. On top the top of the list, as expected, is the Apple iPhone 7 Plus garnering 172,644 points. Closely trailing is the iPhone 7 with 170,124 points.



However, a new leaked posted shared on Twitter by user @Ricciolo1 shows that a device that has broken that 200,000-mark in AnTuTu. The device scored an impressive 203,737 points - beating the high-end iPhone 7 Plus by more than 30,000 points. Based on the user's tweet, the device is expected to hit the market in the first quarter of 2017.



When the leaked benchmark result was eventually picked up by tech analysts, the initial speculation was that it belongs to the rumored Samsung Galaxy S8. There are rumors that South Korean tech giant Samsung is working on a new flagship device with a faster processor and a slew of interesting features which the company plans to release within the early months of 2017.



Advertisement

Tagsmystery phone, AnTuTu, Antutu benchmark, iPhone, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus
(Photo : getty images.) A survey by Washington based think tank PEW Research Centre has found that Chinese people are very optimistic about their future.

Advertisement

Chinese people are brimming with optimism despite the ongoing economic slowdown, a recent survey by Washington-based PEW Research Centre found out.



The comprehensive survey claimed that Chinese citizens generally feel upbeat about their country's future, while concerns about some of the pressing social problems remain.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

Nearly 90 percent of the 3,154 respondents said they feel either "very good" or "somewhat good" about the Chinese economy. Their optimism is reporteldy surprising considering the repeated concerns over existing economic slowdown.



Chinese people also don't share most analysts' pessimism that mounting government debt could result in 'hard landing' for Chinese economy.



The survey revealed that Chinese citizens are even more optimistic about their country's economic recovery, with 76 percent of them saying that the economic situation will gradually improve in the next 12 months, while 70 percent believe that their personal financial situation will get better.



Amid the overflowing optimism, the survey also noted that the Chinese are concerned about many social and environmental challenges confronting the country. "Corrupt officials" top the list of worries, the PEW survey found out.



Meanwhile, 83 percent of the Chinese respondents said corruption is a "very big" or "moderately big" problem. However, nearly 64 percent of them are hopeful that President Xi Jinping's massive anti-corruption drive will bring down corrupt practices over the next five years.



The second problem cited i sthe "rising inequality," wherein a large number of respondents took swipe at the small group of ultra-rich exuberantly flashing their wealth, while most people struggle to make ends meet.



The survey participants also expressed concerns over the safety of medicines and food. They claimed that the likelihood of social unrest over bread and butter issues will continue to loom if parents remain unsure about the quality of food and medicine offered to their children.



In the meantime, the respondents took serious note of the deteriorating quality of air across China. Around 24 percent said the Chinese government should not think twice before sacrificing economic growth to fight air pollution problem.



Advertisement

Tagschina, Pew Research Center, Chinese Survey, PEW China Survey
(Photo : PaulaBronstein/Getty Images) China is inducted as the third international destination to Nok Airs network.

Advertisement

With China being one of the most important markets for airlines, the so-called no-frills aviation company, Nok Air, is looking to gain a foothold in the booming Chinese market.



The company will make its debut in the country with scheduled flights to Guangzhou and Kunming. Nok Air has yet to finalize its timetable and fare structure.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

China is inducted as the third international destination to Nok Air's network, which serves from Don Mueang airport and flies to Vietnam and Myanmar.



Nok Air CEO Patee Sarasin said, "China is clearly a very big market with significant traffic flow."



He further stated that the airlines will focus on high-end of the market with its Chinese services.



It is expected that the airline will start its operations in China with three to four flights a week for each of its routes. The company may later increase the frequency of flights to daily operations.



Nok Air is currently boosting its jet aircraft capacity that is anticipated to reach 23, particularly for its Boeing 737-800 fleet.



Nok Air is likely to face stiff competition from other airlines such as Thai Lion Air and Thai AirAsia. Thai Lion Air recently announced its daily flights from Don Mueang Airport to Guangzhou, which will start on Oct. 28. Thai AirAsia also runs flights to Kunming and Guangzhou.



China is important to Thai tourism market as the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand rose 71 percent in 2015, or equivalent to 7.9 million tourists. Nok Air expects the flights to commence in December this year.



Advertisement

TagsNok Air, AirAsia, Lion Air
(Photo : Fars) Yasir aerial drone.

Advertisement

The United States and Israel are investigating claims a small and slow-moving aerial drone operated by Hezbollah, a Shi'a Islamist militant group based in Lebanon, avoided being shot down by two U.S.-made MIM-104 Patriot PAC-2 surface-to-air missiles fired by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

This same drone later evaded an air-to-air missile launched at it by an Israeli Air Force F-16 air superiority jet fighter made in the U.S.



Some sources claim an electronic warfare (EW) system made by China allowed the drone to evade destruction in both cases and land safely back in Hezbollah-controlled territory.



Russian media said the drone "exhibited atypical maneuverability." This reinforced claims the drone used advanced electronic systems from the U.S. based on an American ScanEagle drone that crashed in Iran in 2012.



"It's been reported that cyber warfare specialists from China are responsible for these upgrades."



The failed shoot downs occurred July 17 when an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crossed into Israel from Syrian-controlled territory into the Golan Heights occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War in 1967.



The IDF said the UAV "was detected prior to entering the nation's territory and was fully tracked." It then launched two missiles at the drone, both of which missed. The drone was tracked returning into Syrian territory.



The IDF said one of the Patriots detonated in mid-air but didn't hit the drone. An intercepting F-16 fired an air-to-air missile at the drone, which also missed.



Hezbollah later admitted the done was theirs and this UAV took part in "an operation against Israel." It did not, however, specify what type of drone this was.



Some media reports claim the drone was a Yasir, an Iranian copy of the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle, a small, long-endurance UAV built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing. ScanEagle, which was originally designed to hunt for schools of tuna, entered service with the U.S. Navy in 2005.



The Navy then sold the drone to 19 other countries and one of these drones crashed in Iran in 2012. Iran said it reverse-engineered the design to create the Yasir, which it supplied to its ally, Hezbollah.



Advertisement

TagsUnited States, Israel, Yasir, aerial drone, Hezbollah, Iran, U.S. Navy, Boeing Insitu ScanEagle
(Photo : Getty Images) PH President Duterte revealed China-funded drug rehabilitation center in Nueva Ecija nears its completion.

Advertisement

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said China is helping the country build a "dormitory" for drug addicts in Nueva Ecija.



"It is only China helping us. I requested the military to open their accounts to allow people who would want to donate rehab houses. China is about to complete... walang hambog, walang news [without pride, without news], neither in publicity, it's about to be completed," Duterte said on Friday (Oct. 7) during the Banana Congress in Davao City.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

According to Business World Online, the rehabilitation facility is located in Fort Magsaysay, Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, and it could house some 1,400 drug addicts.



The project is in fulfillment of what the Palace earlier said that four rehab centers will be established in military camps this year, Rappler reported.



The country's health secretary Paulyn Ubial paid a visit to China last month to ink an agreement for the development of "mega" treatment and rehabilitation center with 10,000 bed capacity in Fort Magsaysay.



Meanwhile, China has earlier said it will give its all-out support for Duterte's anti-drug war campaign.



"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, told press in a briefing in China on Sept. 29.



Lingxiao Li, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila, also stressed that the anti-drug campaign is a "shared responsibility of all countries in the world," adding that the country's "willingness for effective cooperation in this regard, and would like to work out a specific plan of action in the Philippine side."



Advertisement

TagsDuterte, President Rodrigo Duterte, Philippines, china, rehab center, drug rehab centers, drug addicts, anti-drug war, anti-drug campaign
(Photo : Getty Images) The Kremlin.

Advertisement

In a rare show of nerve, the Obama administration publicly accused Russia of being behind a wave of hack attacks on the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and federal government sites, and for supplying activist organizations such as WikiLeaks with confidential government information they later made public.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

The administration on Friday squarely blamed the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is known to hold Obama in deep contempt for Obama's perceived lack of nerve, for this recent wave of cyber attacks and email leaks.



It said the Russian goal was "to interfere with the U.S. election process." Washington said it had found "direct links" to Putin's government based on forensic analysis.



"The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations," said the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in a statement.



"We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities."



As might be expected, Moscow dismissed the U.S. charges as "nonsense."



The Russian government is being accused of being behind a series of pre-election hacks and leaks and the theft of classified material prepared for briefings of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.



The U.S. linked Moscow to leaks made by WikiLeaks, DCLeaks.com and Guccifer 2.0 that made public emails from the DNC and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, among others.



Last July, WikiLeaks revealed 20,000 emails from top DNC officials ahead of the Democratic Party's national convention. Since then numerous hacks and leaks have been linked to Russia.



The federal government also confirmed a recent spate of attacks probing state election systems originated on servers operated by a Russian company.



A senior administration said intelligence officials are convinced the Putin government is behind attempted hacks on election systems.



Sen. Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee and a fierce critic of Russia, said there must be consequences.



"Today was just the first step -- Russia must face serious consequences. Moscow orchestrated these hacks because Putin believes Soviet-style aggression is worth it," said Sasse.



"The United States must upend Putin's calculus with a strong diplomatic, political, cyber, and economic response."



Advertisement

TagsRussia, hacking, United States, Democratic National Convention, WikiLeaks, Vladimir Putin, Sen. Ben Sasse
(Photo : Getty Images ) The Philippines has decided to halt joint naval patrols with US in disputed South China Sea.

Advertisement

The Philippines has decided to halt joint naval patrols and military exercises with the United States military in the disputed South China Sea.



Country's defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Friday that the country has conveyed to the American military its decision to stop the joint undertaking in the highly-contested waters.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

Lorenzana also said the Philippines wanted to reduce its dependence on the US, particularly in military aid, as he hinted that they could live without it.



"Our Congress is actually giving us money now for the procurement of equipment. I believe they will give us more if we don't have a source of other funds," the official said during an interview with the media in Manila.



Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte, who is known for his anti-US tirade, had asked the North American capital and European Union to withdraw their financial aid to the Philippines if they continue to oppose his war against illegal drugs.



"I do not expect US President Barack Obama, I do not expect the EU to understand me. Do not understand me and if you think it's high time for you guys to withdraw your assistance, go ahead," he said on Thursday. "We will not beg for it."



Washington said, on the other hand, that it will continue to support Manila financially and even committed to provide $180 million aid.



"We continue to focus on our broad relationship with the Philippines and we'll work together in the many areas of mutual interest," State Department spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday.



Advertisement

TagsSouth China Sea, South China Sea Dispute, US, Philippines, joint patrols, china
(Photo : US Navy) U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and other warships at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii.

Advertisement

Admiral Harry Harris, Commander, United States Pacific Command (CDRUSPACOM), is urging his men in the U.S. Navy to be "ready to fight (North Korea) tonight."



CDRUSPACOM is enjoining his troops to be on the alert for possible North Korea provocations during North Korea's Party Foundation Day on Oct. 10 that marks the 71st founding anniversary of the Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

Adm. Harris spoke to U.S. military personnel at Yokota Air Base in Japan welcoming Lt. Gen. Jerry P. Martinez, Commander, U.S. Forces Japan, and Commander, 5th Air Force, Pacific Air Forces, Yokota Air Base.



Adm. Harris, who is half Japanese, recently met with Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada regarding enhanced cooperation. He described North Korea's provocative actions, including missile and nuclear tests, as the most urgent threat facing Japan.



"(We) must consider every possible step to defend the U.S. homeland and defend our allies," said Adm. Harris.



"That's why I continue to emphasize trilateral cooperation between Japan, South Korea and the United States. And that's why all nations must continue to rally the international community to loudly condemn North Korea's aberrational behavior and be prepared to counter this challenge."



In Seoul, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces told local media they're on emergency standby in preparation for more provocations from North Korea. These provocations could include ballistic missile tests, both land and submarine launched.



Last August, Adm. Harris reassured the United States' treaty allies -- Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan -- it will defend them from any external aggressor.



He said across Asia, "including in the East and South China Seas, the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows and support the right of all nations to do the same."



"From my perspective, we will continue to cooperate where we can and will be ready to confront where we must."



Adm. Harris said his job is to confront all challenges from a position of strength with credible combat power. He noted that due to America's strategic rebalance to Asia, "everything that's new and cool in the U.S. military arsenal is coming first to the Pacific.



"Advanced aircraft like the Joint Strike Fighter, P-8 Poseidon and the E-2D Hawkeye. More UAVs like the Triton and Stingray; more advanced aerial platforms like the V-22 Ospreys and more new ships like the Gerald Ford class aircraft carriers and littoral combat ships.



There's also the DDG-1000 program, whose lead ship, USS Zumwalt, is scheduled to be commissioned this October and then home-ported in San Diego, he said.



Adm. Harris believes the recent decision on the South China Sea by the Permanent court of Arbitration validates the strategic importance of UNCLOS and argues for U.S. ratification of the convention.



He said United States policy is to fully adhere to the provisions in UNCLOS and its military forces around the world reinforce its standards by operating consistent with the rules in UNCLOS.



Advertisement

TagsAdmiral Harry Harris, United States Pacific Command, U.S. Navy, North Korea, Yokota Air Base, Lt. Gen. Jerry P. Martinez, Republic of Korea Armed Forces
(Photo : Trial by Fire 2016) Scientists measuring gases emitted by a volcano.

Advertisement

A new app developed by scientists showing the close link between volcanoes and earthquakes will also help bring them closer to the cherished goal of being able to predict volcanic eruptions by better measuring the degassing of carbon dioxide occurring before an eruption.



Called E3, the app allows users to see the last 50 years of eruptions, earthquakes and emissions with one click.



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement

"This app is interesting not only for educators and the public, but also will help scientists understand global eruption patterns and linkages between Earth's inner workings and the air we breathe," said Elizabeth Cottrell, head of the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.



E3 allows users to select and learn about individual eruptions, emissions and earthquakes, as well as their collective impact. It visualizes these huge global datasets together for the first time, and users can speed or slow or stop the passage of time.



"We're getting more and more confident that changes in the carbon to sulfur ratio precede eruptions," said Maarten de Moor from the National University in Costa Rica.



"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."



Data from Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) feed into the app. The datasets are available for free download. The app will update continuously, accumulating new events and additional historical information as it becomes available.



A team of experts developed the app with support from the Smithsonian Institution and the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), an international multidisciplinary research program exploring the quantities, movements, forms, and origins of carbon deep inside Earth.



DCO 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.



Recent discoveries by DCO scientists in the Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative are laying the foundation for improved volcanic eruption forecasts.



"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."



By 2019, DECADE scientists hope to have gas monitoring stations on 15 of the world's 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.



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.



"With satellites, we have been able to measure sulfur dioxide emissions for years and the technology keeps getting better," said Marie Edmonds, co-chair of DCO's Reservoirs and Fluxes Science Community.



"An exciting new aspect of DCO's 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."



Advertisement

TagsE3, Volcano, volcanic eruptions, degassing, carbon dioxide, earthquakes, Deep Carbon Observatory, Deep Earth Carbon Degassing




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.
In the face of destruction caused by Hurricane Matthew, Christian aid groups have come to provide relief to those affected by the hurricane both in Haiti and in the southeastern states of the United States.

In Haiti, the Category Four storm, with winds of up to 145 miles per hour has killed 400 people, according to a Reuters estimate. Officials say at least 20,000 homes have been destroyed, according to New York Times, after the hurricane ripped through the country on Tuesday, October 7. Those living along the southern coast of Haiti in fishing villages have severely been affected.

Samaritans Purse, a Christian organization, sent a team in an emergency response with 40 tons of supplies to Haiti, which includes 20 tons of water filters, hygiene kits, and blankets. They have staff on the ground who will distribute those supplies to 5,000 households.

Our teams are on the ground helping in Jesus Name. Theyre 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, said president of Samaritans Purse, Franklin Graham, in a statement.

World Vision, a Christian humanitarian aid organization, had staff in Haiti distribute supplies immediately after the wind and rain abated.

National Director of World Vision John Hasse says in a statement, There are areas where people havent eaten much or had access to clean water in days.

According to Christian Today, Hurricane Matthew is the first major hurricane to possibly directly hit the U.S. in over a decade. In light of that, states of emergency have been declared in southeastern states like Florida, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.

Over 1,000 mobile units and 65,000 trained volunteers from the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) are equipped to provide food and other necessities. According to the North American Mission Board, SBDR is one of the three largest mobilizers of trained Disaster Relief volunteers in the United States, along with the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army.

Kellie Van Gilder, an author at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, asked for prayers for the first responders.

"Many of them, their homes have been damaged as well, but theyre still on the job," said Van Gilder. "It has been our experience over the years that they still serve and protect, and we certainly want to seek out how we can help them as well.

The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is sending crisis-trained chaplains to offer emotional and spiritual support to those affected by the hurricane in Florida.

As of October 7, two million people have been warned to flee by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, according to the Herald Tribune.

"Don't take a chance. Time is running out. This is clearly going to either have a direct hit or come right along our coast and we're going to have hurricane-force winds. There are no excuses. You need to leave. Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate, he said on Thursday at the state Emergency Operations Center.
home World Church pleads to Canadian government to work for release of pastor in North Korean jail

The Light Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ontario, has made a public plea to the federal government to secure the release of its pastor, Rev. Hyeon Soo Lim, who is currently serving a life sentence in North Korea.

In the statement released this week, the church urged government officials to get involved in the process of securing the pastor's release.

"We know that in both cases the highest level of government officials, including Prime Minister Trudeau himself, were instrumental in securing the release of these fellow Canadians," the statement read, as reported by The Star.

The statement was referring to the cases of Kevin Garratt, a Christian aid worker who was incarcerated in China for two years and Homa Hoodfar, a professor who was imprisoned in Iran for 112 days.

Garratt was deported back to Canada on Sept. 15, a week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to China. Hoodfar was released on Sept. 26.

"We urge the Canadian government to demonstrate the same attention and determination when engaging in diplomatic talks with the North Korean officials," the statement continued.

Global Affairs spokesperson Kristine Racicot said the federal government is concerned about Lim's predicament and stated that it has been working on the case since it began.

"Minister (StAphane) Dion has met with Pastor Lim's son and consular officials are providing assistance to Mr. Lim and his family." Racicot said in an email to The Star. "In the interest of Mr. Lim's case, no further information can be shared," she added.

Lisa Pak, a spokesperson for Lim's family, confirmed that the Canadian government has been in contact with them but she stated that there has been no communication with the North Korean government.

Pak said Lim was last seen on television in January when he was interviewed by CNN. She added that there had been worries about Lim's health at the time and she said the concerns have increased because they do not have any information.

She said Lim's family was encouraged by the release of Hoodfar and Garratt.

Lim went to North Korea on Jan. 31, 2014, to engage in a humanitarian mission. As reported by The Star, he was arrested in February 2015 for "harming the dignity of the supreme leadership" and sentenced to hard labor and life imprisonment.
home Entertainment Mark Wahlberg wants good Catholic priests involved in kids' lives

Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg expressed his appreciation for Catholic priests in a video where he stated that he wanted good priests to play a role in his children's lives.

Wahlberg began his video with a greeting to the attendees of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors which is being held in his hometown, Boston.

"I want you to know my support for your work to foster vocations to the priesthood, because I want my children and future generations to have good priests in their lives, just like I had," said Wahlberg.

Some priests came up with the idea to invite the actor to the conference when the city was selected for the event, Catholic News Service reported. Wahlberg's tight schedule would not allow him to attend so he made a video instead.

The actor is currently promoting his new film "Deepwater Horizon" which is about the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the video, he emphasized the significance of the Catholic faith in his life.

"My Catholic faith is the anchor that supports everything I do in life. In my daily prayers, I ask for guidance, strength in my vocation as a husband and as a father," Wahlberg stated. "Growing up in Dorchester, I got myself into trouble now and then but I always had a priest to stick by me," he continued.

Wahlberg added that a priest officiated his wedding ceremony and baptized his children. He also shared that priests performed the burial ceremonies of his family members.

Speaking with Catholic News Service, Rosemary Sullivan, executive director of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors, said that Wahlberg spoke from the heart and did not receive a script for the video.

Wahlberg reportedly served as an emcee when Pope Francis visited Philadelphia last year for the World Meeting of Families.

Last month, Wahlberg was spotted at St. Aidan's Church in Seahouses, Northumberland. He reportedly took time off from filming the fifth "Transformers" movie to attend mass and give a large donation to the church.
Australians Rally Ahead Of Same-Sex Marriage Referendum

Hundreds of supporters of same-sex marriage campaigners rallied in Australia's two largest cities on Saturday against a plan to hold a public vote on the issue, concerned it would cause an increase in anti-gay comments.

Australia's centre-right coalition government introduced legislation to parliament last month to hold a public vote in February 2017 on whether to legalise same-sex unions.

However, those rallying in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday called for parliament to legalise same-sex marriage without a plebiscite.

Advocates of same-sex marriage are concerned public debate around the vote would prove harmful to members of the LGBTI community.

The centre-left opposition Labor party hasn't formally announced its position on the vote but was expected to block the government's legislation with the support of independents and minor parties when parliament sits this week.

Business leaders, such as openly gay Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce, have criticised Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's push for a vote. He said on Saturday it would put the mental health of gay and lesbian Australians at risk.
Bangladesh Kills Four Islamic Militants Blamed For Cafe Attack

Bangladesh's security forces killed four members of a Islamist militant group on Saturday blamed for on attack on a cafe in Dhaka in July in which 22 people were killed, mostly foreigners.

The four militants, believed to be members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, were killed in two raids by Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on militant hideouts on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, RAB spokesman Mizanur Rahman Bhuiya said.

The July 1 attack in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter was claimed by the Islamic State militant group and was one of the most brazen in Bangladesh, which has been hit by a spate of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year.

The government has blamed domestic militant groups but security experts say the scale and sophistication of the July attack suggested links to a trans-national Islamist network.

Police have killed more than two dozen suspected militants in shootouts since the Dhaka cafe attack, including its presumed mastermind, Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.

The United States believes elements of Islamic State are "connected" to operatives in Bangladesh, US Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Dhaka in August.

Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among those killed in the July attack.
Clintons' Daughter Chelsea Says She Left the Baptist Church at Age 6 Because it Was Against Abortion

It turns out even Chelsea, the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, is a die-hard supporter of abortion rights even when she was still a child, which she demonstrated when she decided to leave her pro-life Baptist church.

In an article that appeared on the celebrity news site Page Six, Chelsea revealed that when she was only six years old, she made a personal decision to leave the Southern Baptist Convention because her Sunday School teacher taught her that abortion is a sin.

"I was raised in a Methodist church, and I left the Baptist church before my dad did, because I didn't know why they were talking to me about abortion when I was six in Sunday school," she said.

Chelsea also talked about her family's Christian faith, and admitted that she finds it "insulting" every time people question it. Hillary was raised as a Methodist while Bill attended the Baptist Church, and Chelsea's husband is Jewish. Despite these differences, Chelsea maintained that their love for God is all the same.

"I find it quite insulting sometimes when people say to my mom, my dad or me...that they question our faith," she said.

"My mother is very deeply a person of faith," Chelsea continued. "It is deeply authentic and real for my mother, and it guides so much of her moral compass, [and] also her life's work."

Many evangelicals have expressed doubts that the Clintons truly love God since they support abortion, which the evangelicals equate to the murder of unborn babies.

However, Chelsea said people of faith hold differing views on various topics, including abortion and homosexual relationships.

"I recognized that there were many expressions of faith that I don't agree with and feel [are] quite antithetical to how I read the Bible," Chelsea said. "But I find it really challenging when people who are self-professed liberals kind of look askance at my family's history."
ISIS Chops Off Arm of 11-Year-Old Boy, Beheads 4-Year-Old Girl as Forms of Punishment

There seems to be no limits to the brutal and horrific acts being carried out by the Islamic State (ISIS). Just recently, a family of survivors revealed that the radical jihadists tortured a group of children, some as young as 11 years old.

One of the families who escaped from the clutches of the ISIS in the occupied Syrian city of Raqqa told Sky News that the jihadists physically hurt the kids as a form of punishment for certain crimes.

"All my children have seen them," the mother, who refused to be named, said of the punishments.

The mother was forced to sell and marry off her 14-year-old daughter to an Egyptian ISIS fighter, who was 29 years old. The girl's mother had to raise her four sons and daughter alone after her husband was killed during an airstrike. Her daughter asked her, "Mother, do you think if my father was alive, he would accept this marriage?" Thankfully, they were able to flee from Raqqa before the daughter could marry the jihadist.

One of the other victims of ISIS was an 11-year-old orphan boy who was tied down and his arm chopped off because he tried to sell a stolen car battery in order to buy food.

In one instance, the ISIS even beheaded a four-year-old girl after her mother angrily threatened to chop her head off. The girl refused to listen to her mother and so the mother angrily told her, "Go home and I swear to God that I will behead you if you don't."

One of the ISIS members heard the mother's threat and told her, "Since you swore to God you should behead her." The mother refused to do it, saying she did not mean what she just said. The jihadists then took matters into their own hands and beheaded the little girl.

In another instance, a mother was separated from her own children and was being starved by ISIS. After two days, they fed her rice with meat. When she started eating, she was told she just ate her three-year-old boy.

"She tells me please, I can't, I don't know what can I do  I'm eating my son. This is what happened with those woman under ISIS control and nobody cares," said Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi.
Pastor Admits It's Hard to Forgive People Who Stole $174,000 From His Church

Even for a man preaching God's Word regularly, it is hard to find forgiveness for a wrongdoing, especially for something that affected a Church.

Nearly $175,000 was stolen recently from the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Kingston, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and church members are still trying to come to terms with the crime that affected their place of worship.

The church's leader, Pastor Paul Metzloff, admitted that it is still very hard for him to forgive the people who committed the crime.

"That's a very interesting question. Christ preaches forgiveness for everything, and that's something we grapple with," Metzloff told NewsWeek16, when asked if he could forgive those who allegedly took the money.

Church members are equally still bothered by what happened. Sarah Seltzer, for instance, said she was surprised that people close to the pastor and the church could do something wrong.

"It came as a shock to a lot of us, it did," Seltzer also told NewsWeek16. "We never expected it, a lot of us are close to her and we never expected it."

Thesuspects in the alleged theft are 44-year-old Cherie White, Metzloff's former secretary, and her husband, Keith White. They are currently facing theft and conspiracy charges for supposedly stealing the money in a span of six years.

Cherie has already admitted that she took some money for church donations for herself, and as a form of extra pay for her work as its secretary.

Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Gregory Skibitsky for his part said the couple's alleged crimes have big implications.

"By jeopardising the future of the church, they put an entire community at risk," Skibitsky said.

The Christian pastor nevertheless expressed confidence that the community will soon be able to move on from what happened.

"Certainly, this is not the first time the church has been stolen from, lied to and betrayed, and we will rise above this," the church leader said.
Pastor Saeed Abedini, Wife Both Announce Divorce on Facebook  'With a Heavy and Broken Heart'

This new "freedom" hurtsquite badly.

Unlike the joy and celebration that accompanied his release from an Iranian prison in January this year, Pastor Saeed Abedini was downcast after announcing another kind of personal "release"the end of his 12-year marriage with his wife Naghmeh.

On Wednesday, Saeed announced on social media that he and his wife are divorcing.

"My heart is deeply saddened to be sharing the news that Naghmeh and I will be divorcing. She has been my wife of 12 years and she will always be the wonderful mother to our amazing children," Saeed posted on his Facebook page. "There are no words to describe the ongoing effect of the trauma I experienced and my family has experienced both during and in the aftermath of my imprisonment."

Naghmeh was actually the first to announce the divorce with a brief message on her Facebook page at around 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

She wrote: "It is with a heavy and broken heart that I inform all of you who have prayed and wept with our family the last few years, that Saeed has rejected counseling for anger and abuse and has filed for a divorce. There will be a time to share more fully, but for now, we appreciate your prayers."

Twelve hours later, at around 6 a.m on Wednesday, Saeed made his own announcement of the divorce in a long statement he posted on his Facebook page.

"While we have experienced struggles, she, along with my children will forever be my heroes, both for what they had to deal with during my imprisonment in Iran and for how they never gave up fighting for my freedom," he wrote.

"My personal pain, and our family's struggle, does not diminish my commitment to Christ or my resolve to preach his Gospel to Iranians and to Muslims around the world," the Iranian-American pastor stated.

Saeed languished in an Iranian prison for more than three years after being arrested in September 2012 on charges of undermining national security by holding private Christian gatherings in private residences in Iran in the early 2000s. A Christian sharing his faith with Muslims is an act considered illegal and worthy of death in Iran, according to CBN News.

In January 2013, he was sentenced to eight years in prison where he was reportedly subjected to psychological and physical torture.

Naghmeh relentlessly fought for his release, even speaking before Congress to press the U.S. government to help her husband regain his freedom.

Saeed was eventually released from his Iranian cell along with three other American prisoners.

However, his homecoming was bittersweet. Months before his release, Naghmeh revealed to friends and supporters that their marriage was on the rocks. She actually filed a domestic relations case against him shortly after he returned to the U.S., claiming "abuse" in their marriage even before he was imprisoned in Iran, according to The Christian Post.

"I do deeply regret that I hid from the public the abuse that I have lived with for most of our marriage and I ask your forgiveness. I sincerely had hoped that this horrible situation Saeed has had to go through would bring about the spiritual change needed in both of us to bring healing to our marriage," Naghmeh wrote in a Facebook post last year.

"Tragically, the opposite has occurred. Three months ago Saeed told me things he demanded I must do to promote him in the eyes of the public that I simply could not do any longer. He threatened that if I did not the results would be the end of our marriage and the resulting pain this would bring to our children," she added.
Why I Decided A Child With Down's Syndrome Was Not Right For My Family

"It's a girl, but she's got Down's. Do you still want her?" I will never forget that conversation. It was the day we chose to have a child with Down's syndrome and the beginning of a journey that would lead us to decide not to have a child with Down's syndrome.

She was the most beautiful child you could imagine. People would literally stop me in the street to comment about her. She could light up a room with a single smile. Nobody who knew her would ever forget her.

She was also a challenging child. For months she was plugged into breathing apparatus at night that made her sound like Darth Vader as she slept. In addition to her extra chromosome she also had hypermobility which meant that walking was always going to be a challenge for her.

She was the most affectionate child. She had an emotional intelligence that far outstripped our other children at her age, and yet she never made demands. As a toddler she was quick to make friends and slow to lose them.

She was delayed in her speech. She needed additional resources to be able to do things that other children her age could do easily. We watched a lot of Mr Tumble. And she taught us the signs as much as we taught her.

We chose to have this little girl in our lives. We were her foster parents for the first three and a half years of her life. Sometimes caring for her earned us respect and sometimes it earned us pity. Sometimes our hearts burst with pride, and sometimes with frustration. Most of the time her syndrome made no difference  she was first and foremost a person in her own right. She came on every family vacation, she was at every meal, every birthday party, and in every family photograph. She was a full member of our family. But then she wasn't.

We chose for her not to be in our lives after that. Maybe we could have put ourselves forward as her adopters, but we didn't. Was it because we thought she would be better off with a family who could love her more than we ever could? Was it because we wanted to be available to look after other children? Was it because we couldn't cope with the long-term commitment of a child with disabilities? These impossible questions haunted those final months that she was with us and still do. It happens with every child we foster.

I know a little about what it is like to choose to be a parent of a child with Down's syndrome and also to make that heart-breaking decision not to be a parent of a child with Down's syndrome. And so the recent debate on whether we are one step closer to creating a world without the heartache and privilege that is Down's syndrome is for me personal, painful and poignant.

As I look at the debate I can see three very positive changes that are going on in our society.

First of all we are making astonishing steps forward in medical technology. As someone committed to encouraging scientific research we can celebrate advancement. We are able to perform medical interventions that could only have been dreamed of a generation before. These medical advances are already used to help children and adults with Down's Syndrome live healthier and longer lives. They are also being used to give potential parents advance information of whether or not their child has Down's syndrome. This is good.

Secondly we are making slow, but significant steps to becoming a more gender equal society. After generations where women suffered exploitation and subjugation, it is right that as a society we have recognised the autonomy of women over their bodies. This is good too.

Thirdly, the increasing celebration of diversity in our society has had huge positive effects. Even in the last decade there has been very positive moves to recognise that we should value people of all races, abilities, sexual identities and persuasions. In many ways we have become a more inclusive and welcoming society. We have built laws to protect people from hate crimes and discrimination, and made better provision for children with special needs in schools. Down's syndrome is much better profiled in the media and in the community, and as a nation we can be proud of our actors and athletes who have championed this. Once again this is good.

But what happens when these three positive developments collide? One plus one plus one does not equal extra chromosome 21. Three rights seem to me to make a wrong when it comes to the expectation that the new non-invasive early screening test for Down's syndrome will mean a massive increase in terminations and a massive decrease in the number of children with Down's syndrome born in the UK. Suddenly Down's has become positioned alongside a disease like polio to be eliminated as efficiently as possible, and the screening is seen as a cure, although to me it seems on par with the idea that we could cure racism by eliminating black people, or cure dementia by terminating old people. The new screening has caused a moral debate in a world that values diversity in others, but perhaps struggles to embrace that diversity when it comes to the sort of children we want.

In my job recruiting foster carers and adopters, I have noticed that many potential parents often start out looking for children that will suit them, fit into their lives, fulfil their dreams and ambitions. When the children in the care system don't match up to these profiles, this leads to an impasse. Children, especially those in sibling groups, from ethnic minority backgrounds, or with additional needs are left waiting for families.

My charity's message is that parenting is not about getting the children we want, but instead it is about the adults stepping up to be the family that the waiting children need. That means we ditch the pernicious, consumerist idea of selecting which children are worthy of love based on their genetics, ethnicity, gender or abilities and start showing all children the love and acceptance they deserve.

I want to change the way that our nation considers parenting. Contrary to some of the language used around the decision to terminate pregnancies with a diagnosis of Down's syndrome, there are no perfect children. In fact the majority of all children born will have at least one of the many thousands of genetic disorders. The majority of children will be a 'burden' on their families or their communities for at least a proportion of their lives. The majority of children will face educational, medical and/or behavioural challenges during their lifetimes. The majority of children will, sadly, face a degree of social exclusion or bullying during their childhoods. And an additional minority of children will have the added difficulties of early life trauma and displacement. To be encouraged to terminate a pregnancy because children may face these things seems to show a naivety around parenting. No one gets to choose a child that will not have to face any of these struggles. Being a parent is all about helping our children to navigate these difficult issues and the complexities of life in a modern world, as well as helping them to strive to reach their potential, and of course loving them whatever.

The little girl that was part of my family for three years now has a new family. That family began their journey to adoption because they specifically wanted to welcome and love a child with Down's syndrome. I have since met many, many families who have set out to grow their family with children that other people deem unwanted. These adopters give me hope. Conforming to cultural expectations is easy. Condemnation and criticism are easy. Committing to love a child unconditionally in this context could yet turn the tide of public opinion.

My hope is that we will see a whole new generation of people who will demonstrate through the way they open their lives and their homes to children in need that our world is a better place. My prayer is that we would forge a future where all children, whatever their difficulties or disabilities, are valued equally.

Can we rise to the (very rewarding) challenge of being the parents for a new generation of children with Down's syndrome? Can we show the world that they are not an unwanted community not just by shouting loudly in debate but by showing up to care for children with additional needs in our care system through fostering and adoption? Can we value all children, whatever their developmental potential? Can we stand with Sally Philips and others to embrace diversity even when it comes to our own children?

Krish Kandiah is father of six children, two of whom have a chromosome disorder. He is also a foster carer, and founder of Home for Good, a charity seeking to find loving homes for every child that needs one in the UK.
Fort Bend County sheriff's deputies are investigating a shooting early Saturday that caused one victim to be transported by Life Flight.

Around 1:30 a.m., a 30-year-old male was shot in the abdomen on Lasbury Drive near Taloncrest Drive, authorities said.
A man shot and killed someone outside a north Houston gas station Saturday morning, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

Two vehicles pulled into a King Express gas station on Aldine Mail Route Road. A 22-year-old male got out of his car and entered the other vehicle for a few minutes.
A woman struck a police officer's vehicle on Friday night after failing to stop at an intersection in northwest Houston.

A Houston police car was responding to an emergency call when traveling westbound at 9:30 p.m. on West 34th Street, according to police. The woman failed to stop for the police car and entered the intersection on Antoine, resulting in the police car striking the side of her vehicle.
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.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

About a dozen Bellaire residents and city officials attended the police departments summer community meeting Sept. 15 to hear more about an the citys increase in body-cam usage.

Bellaire Police Chief Byron Holloway outlined the plan to implement more than two dozen more body-wearable cameras for each patrol officer by the end of the year, part of which is being funded by a $40,000 grant from the Bellaire Police and Fire Foundation.

Only motorcycle officers have body cams now, Holloway said, but every street cop in Bellaire will have one soon. Holloway said body cams provide greater accountability, though he feels BPD does not have accountability problems.

Instead, Holloway said there are other police-related applications.

They provide documentation, Holloway said. Theres different applications whether its a traffic stop or speaking to a citizen. You document that contact. That documentation has several applications, the most notable one would the collection of evidence.

That was the recent case in the death of late Bellaire motorcycle officer Marco Anthony Zarate, who was wearing a body cam during the July pursuit in which he died.

Zarate, 52, had completed a routine traffic stop when employees of the Target in Meyerland Plaza flagged him down and reported a theft, police said. Zarate tried to pull over the suspects in the plaza parking lot, but the two took off.

Zarate pursued the vehicle. He turned onto the 8500 block of Ferris Drive toward Beechnut Street and crashed into a parked trailer.

When officers arrived, Zarate was unconscious and not breathing, according to Bellaire Police Chief Byron Holloway. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died.

A photo taken from Zarates body cam circulated in the following days showing the driver of the car he was pursuing, who police later identified as 27-year-old Dante Moore. Moore is facing a felony murder charge in Zarates death.

Holloway said with the new batch of body cameras, city officials will be taking a look at the body cam policy in the near future.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Six people have been shot and injured by a shooter in southwest Houston Monday morning.

The gunman was found dead at the scene, according to the HPD Twitter page. No information was immediately available on the suspect.

Three victims have been transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital, one has been taken to Ben Taub General Hospital and two have been transported to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.

The incident was initially reported at about 6:30 a.m. near the Randall's grocery store at Weslayan and Bissonnet. The shooter allegedly fired several times into the strip center at that location.

Assistant Chief Richard Mann said gunfire lasted about 20 minutes at Law Street near Weslayan Plaza.

Six patients are in area hospitals, he said. Injuries range from extremity wounds to a few that are "more serious," he said. There are no fatalities at this time, he said.

Police have blocked off the intersection of Law and Weslayan and declared a shelter-in-place for the nearby Oaks at West University Condominiums where the alleged shooter's vehicle has been located. A bomb squad is on scene evaluating the vehicle.

Houston Police Department officers and first responders from the Houston Fire Department are gathered in the mall parking lot.

A triage area has been set up in the area.

Eduardo Andrade, 42, was driving his Audi A3 this morning on his way to La Fitness when he found himself thrust into the middle of an active shooter scene.

"As I was driving by Law Street I suddenly hard a big explosion," said Andrade. "I covered myself, accelerated and tried to get out of there. I did not know if someone was following me or trying to shoot me."

Two bullets struck his vehicle, one came through the windshield and the other the front-passenger window.

"One bullet hit here and the other here," he said, while pointing at the holes. "I felt the hot air."

The father of two who works in the oil and gas industry was on his way to exercise at his gym at about 6:25 a.m. when the shooting happened.

"It's so random, think of it, if I was driving a little faster or a little slower, the bullet would have had a different trajectory," he said.
Community leaders are gearing up to fight the recent decision to reverse a 1972 state law regulating billboards along interstates and roadways in some cities.

On Aug. 29, the Third District Court of Appeals in Austin issued a ruling which declared components of the Texas Highway Beautification Act, enacted in 1972, restricts freedom of speech.

Local leaders reacted to the court decision and vowed to fight the ruling when the state Legislature meets in January.

We have always taken the position to minimize billboard signage along the interstates, and along every (road) actually, Barbara Thomason, president of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce. We recognize that there is stronger economic health when businesses find alternate means to advertise their businesses, rather than that sort of visual clutter. Thats our positon and were sticking with it.

The legal fight that resulted in the change began in 2011, when the owner of a Planet K smoke and novelty shop near Austin, erected to support Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign and left that sign up past the 90-day allowable time period for political signs.

When the Texas Department of Transportation asked that the sign be taking down, the business refused, which ignited a legal battle over free speech.

In a statement issued Aug. 30, TxDOT spokeswoman Veronica Beyer said the agency is reviewing the ruling and consulting with the Attorney General's Office and the Federal Highway Administration.

TxDOT does not regulate or restrict content, as TxDOT has regulations that provide protection for freedom of speech, Beyer said in a statement. Texas has the most beautiful roadways in the nation, and as such TxDOT only wishes to further maintain the safety to the traveling public without restricting peoples' constitutional rights.

In recent years, local communities such as Tomball and Jersey Village in northwest Houston have enacted tougher sign laws and ordinances in an effort to reduce bandit sign usage that typically clutter the right-of-way of roads, as well as limit the number of billboards in a community.

In December 2012, the Tomball City Council updated their existing sign ordinance to try and reduce the growing number of bandit signs, and help regulate the spread of more billboard signage as the city began to experience more growth.

Currently there are 27 static billboards in the Tomball city limits that are owned by Clear Channel Outdoor.

Last year, the city heard a presentation from Clear Channel Outdoor, about the possibility of adding a digital billboard in the city, which would have called for the removal of one static billboard

However, in order to add this billboard, the city council would have had to amend the ordinance, which they could not fully support.

The city never took action on the request, and the possibility of a digital billboard in Tomball faded quietly away.

Meanwhile, Thomason said the chamber, which has had strong legislative ties in the past, would be contacting newly elected state legislators to ensure they were aware of the changes.

While its not a federal highway, FM 1960 has long dealt with the issue of billboard clutter.

In an effort to reduce these, the Houston Northwest Chamber helped launch several beautification initiatives, including the Cypress Creek Parkway Livable Centers Study that concluded in 2014, and the implementation of the Grow Northwest campaign.

The Cypress Creek Parkway study provided recommendations for the area near the intersection of Cypress Creek Parkway (FM 1960) and Kuykendahl Road, and worked with the Ponderosa Forest Utility District, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Cypress Creek Parkway Property Owners Association to complete.

Stakeholders associated with the livable centers study and Grow Northwest, have been on hiatus for several months, but are poised to get back to work in the hopes of obtaining funding for those projects, Thomason said.

In the meantime, Thomason said she will work toward gathering support to oppose this court ruling and plans to meet with legislators when the state convenes in January.
Americans increasingly favor tougher gun laws by margins that have grown wider after a steady drumbeat of shootings in recent months, but they also are pessimistic that change will happen anytime soon, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents expressed support for stricter laws, with majorities favoring nationwide bans on the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons such as the AR-15 and on the sale of high-capacity magazines holding 10 or more bullets.

The percentage of Americans who want such laws is the highest since the AP-GfK poll started asking the question in 2013, a survey taken about 10 months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 20 children and six educators.

High-profile shootings also appear to have taken a toll on Americans sense of safety. Strong majorities of those polled expressed some degree of concern that they or a relative will be a victim of gun violence or a mass shooting.

If you live in the United States in these days right now, you have to be concerned, said Milonne Ambroise, a 63-year-old administrative assistant from Decatur, Georgia. You could be on the street somewhere. You could be at a shopping mall thinking there will be a mass shooting and you will be in the middle of it. You cant not think about it.

Ambroise, a native of Haiti who moved to the U.S. nearly 50 years ago, said she is now much more alert and on guard whenever she is in public.

Im looking for exits. This isnt something I did before, she said. What if I have to run? Wheres the exit? Where would I go?

The level of concern about being victimized is not uniform, however. Nonwhites are significantly more likely to be very or extremely concerned.

Alonzo Lassiter, 66, of suburban St. Louis worries that his autistic 17-year-old son could be the victim of gun violence, either by a robber or the police.

If somebody told him to get on the ground and put his hands up  or told him to give up his headphones  he wouldnt readily identify those instructions, said Lassiter, who is black. He may be an easy target.

He said straw purchasers who buy and then resell guns to ineligible felons and teenagers have flooded some urban neighborhoods with firearms and need to be stopped.

The poll was conducted July 7 to July 11, shortly after a string of high-profile shootings. That included the Orlando nightclub massacre that left 50 dead, including the gunman, and 53 others wounded, and the fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. Most interviews took place after the sniper attack that killed five officers in Dallas.

A majority of respondents expressed a desire for a national approach to gun laws, rather than a patchwork of state laws or local regulations, even though Congress has thus far failed to act on many of the initiatives the poll showed Americans support. Yet less than half of respondents said they believe gun laws will indeed get tougher in the coming year.

By a 55 percent to 43 percent margin, respondents said laws that limit gun ownership do not infringe on the constitutional right to bear arms. But the responses also revealed a partisan divide: 87 percent of Democrats support stricter gun laws compared with 41 percent of Republicans.

Gender and geography are other dividing lines, the poll found. Women and those who live in cities and suburbs are more likely to support gun restrictions than men and those who live in rural areas.

Americans find common ground on other issues. Strong majorities of Democrats and Republicans said they support requiring background checks for people buying firearms at gun shows and through other private sales. They also back a ban on gun sales to people on the federal terrorism watch list even if they have not been convicted of a crime.

Why should it only be the dealers that have to do the background checks? At gun shows, individual sellers should be required to do the background checks so they dont end up selling them to the criminal element, said John Wallace, a disabled Vietnam veteran and former gun dealer who lives in Limestone, Maine, and owns several guns.

Despite the support for tighter gun laws, majorities oppose banning handguns, imposing an Australia-style gun buyback program or making gun manufacturers or sellers liable if guns are later used in a crime.

While 70 percent of people in gun-owning households favor universal background checks, there were stark differences in how gun-owning households and gun-free households view efforts to limit access.

Just 42 percent of those who live in gun-owning households, for example, support bans on assault-style guns and banning high-capacity magazines.

Kimberly Huebner is an exception. The 43-year-old high school special education teacher from San Marcos, Texas, grew up in a household with guns and learned firearms safety. She also believes some restrictions should be imposed, including a ban on AR-style firearms and high-capacity magazines.

Her opinion has been shaped in part by recent mass shootings, she said.

Huebner believes the Second Amendment gives Americans the right to protect themselves against the government, but not necessarily the right to possess any firearm they choose, especially when it comes to AR-platform long guns. Those types of firearms, she said, just are not necessary. Nobody is using them to hunt deer.

Instead, she said, some people have a skewed view of the Second Amendment.

Like the Bible, they use it for their own arguments, she said. You can manipulate and twist arguments for your own benefits.

She believes current laws need to be better enforced, specifically citing gaps in enforcing background checks.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Aby Mattathu hired a nanny to drive his 11-year-old daughter to the newly opened James and Sharon Tays Junior High School in Katy ISD after he and other parents were denied a bus route, despite having what they believe are dangerous and unfit walking paths to the school.

Parents from the Highland Park neighborhood have been complaining to the school district regarding the lack of a bus route since the first-year school opened weeks ago in south Katy. The issue has escalated because parents say the district is not following state guidelines nor being transparent or treating the group respectively.

There seems to be a conservative effort by the district to blow us away - that the problem will just go away, Mattathu said. They are discriminating against us.

Texas law gives leeway for a school district to establish its own transportation system. But there are guidelines for transportation that exist under the Texas Education Agency, the governing body of Texas school districts.

The TEAs transportation allotment handbook defines regular school bus riders as students who live more than two miles from their school, with the distance being measured along the shortest route of publicly maintained roads. The handbook also describes bus riders as students whose walkways to schools are hazardous, reJgardless of the distance.

Routes from Highland Park to Tays have hazards such as no sidewalks or are located beyond two miles when measured along roads.

The Texas education code also states that school districts may receive allotments, or funds, for transportation costs to students who live beyond two miles of their corresponding school.

Katy ISD is providing buses to students in other neighborhoods who live an equal or shorter distance to Tays and the nearby Obra D. Tompkins High School. Some students are receiving bus service to Tompkins because the district previously labeled a walking route there as hazardous. The same route to Tays, however, was not deemed hazardous.

KISD Transportation Director William Wood said that exemption for Tomkins would be removed next year because the district no longer finds the route hazardous.

More than 60 parents have filed complaints to the district, Mattathu said. The group identified approximately 10 to 15 children that would ride a bus if a route existed to their neighborhood. Before Tays opened this year, the neighborhood received bus service to Woodcreek Junior High School located two miles north.

Why theyre doing this? I dont know, said Tom Grubach, who has a son in sixth grade at Tays. This administration is just populated with people who dont care.

The district did not apply for allotments for bus service to the neighborhood because the neighborhood is not eligible for service, according to Mike Robinson, KISDs assistant superintendent for support services.

Robinson and Wood said the districts transportation guidelines are to provide bus service for junior high school students who live beyond a mile radius, or straight-line distance, of their school.

Using a district system called Edulog, Highland Park is located within the mile radius of Tays, they said, meaning its not eligible for a bus route. Robinson said the measurement begins at the schools property line, though he was not specific about where that line is.

If mapping the radial distance using Google Maps, it illustrates a measurement greater than one mile.

Wood also pointed to language in the TEA handbook that says school districts may be more restrictive than two miles when defining school bus route distances for students. He and Robinson also said the allotments the district receives only funds about 25 percent of the total transportation costs, which last year totaled roughly $17 million.

In the past, the district has been challenged with acquiring enough bus drivers for the school year. The problem still exists, Robinson acknowledged, but he did not connect the matter to the lack of a bus route for Highland Park.

It was based solely on them not being eligible, according to the district guidelines, Robinson said. It has nothing to do with funding. It has nothing to do with the bus driver shortage.

The district employs 424 school bus drivers for its 63 schools, Wood said.

The district has dispatching police officers each day for intersections located by the school after parents pointed out the safety risks of un-manned intersections.

It takes about 40 minutes to walk from Highland Park to Tays, a fact that remains a safety issue due to Houstons frequent boiling and rainy weather, Mattathu said. Several working parents in his neighborhood do not have the time to drive their children to school or carpool, he added.

The issue is no longer just about a bus route but what parents see as the district not competently and equally ap plying the states and its own transportation guidelines, Grubach said. He and others said district officials have undermined parents who have questioned the sense of not having a route to their neighborhood - claims that officials such as Wood and Robinson refute.

Mattathu and one more parent have both entered a grievance process with the district regarding the issue. The process could lead to the matter going before the districts board of trustees.

KISD superintendent Lance Hindt was unavailable for comment on this story. For now, nothing is changing, Robinson said.

Unless the board adopts a change of the eligibility system for Katy ISD, they are not eligible, he said. And thats it.

Follow Sebastian Herrera on Twitter at twitter.com/SebasAHerrera.
The Katy Area Economic Development Council is accepting nominations for Stan C. Stanley Eagle Leadership and Economic Development Award through Oct. 3.

Stanley, who died in March, was a leader and community volunteer known for his work on behalf of Boys Scouts of America, the Katy Independent School District and the Katy Area EDC. To honor his contributions and legacy, the EDC created the award.

The inaugural award will recognize a volunteer who has made contributions in leadership and economic development to the Katy area. All persons volunteering (non-paid positions only) in the Katy area are eligible for nomination.

The winner will be selected by a committee assembled by the Katy Area EDC based on criteria including but not limited to, years of service, leadership skills demonstrated, special achievements and qualities Stanley exhibited such as being faithful, conscientious, unselfish and committed to the Katy area community, said Lance LaCour, president/CEO of the Katy Area EDC.

Visit http://katyedc.org/Katy/media/Katy/Sidebar%20Documents/Stan-C-Stanley-Eagle-Leadership-and-Economic-Development-Award-Application.pdf to access nomination forms.

Forms can be submitted via email to info@katyedc.org, or mailed or dropped off at the Katy Area EDC office at 438 FM 1463, Katy, TX 77494. The award winner will be announced on Stan Stanley Day, Nov. 3.

For questions, email LaCour at lancelacour@katyedc.org or call 281-396-2200.

Aerial maps of Katy can be purchased from the EDC

The Katy Area Economic Development Council recently completed its 2016 Katy area aerial development map.

The map, which comes in two sizes, includes current and planned thoroughfares, residential communities, commercial developments, industrial areas, schools, hospitals, city and county boundaries, extraterritorial jurisdictions, retail areas and other development information.

The map, printed since 2005, is available in a 42-by-58-inch size and 26-by-36-inch size.

Members of Katy Area EDC are provided a limited number of map(s) at no cost and can purchase additional copies at a reduced rate.

People may order copies by visiting https://katyedc.z2systems.com/np/clients/katyedc/product.jsp?product=1& or calling 281-396-2200.

Four Points to open hotel in west Houston

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to open on Oct. 4 Four Points Houston Energy Corridor, the brands fourth hotel in Houston.

Owned by OM Hospitality and managed by Hotel Equities Group, Four Points Houston Energy Corridor, 18861 Katy Freeway Houston, features 134 guest rooms and 3,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. Amenities include an indoor heated pool, a 24-hour fitness center, a business center, and fast and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel.

The hotel restaurant Platform Grill serves breakfast and dinner. Guests can enjoy the brands Best Brews and BBQ, including local beers and seasonal BBQ-style appetizers at the hotel lounge C2H60.

Four Points Houston Energy Corridor is within close proximity of the offices of BP America, CITGO Petroleum, Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobile Chemical and 300 multi-national, national and local companies.

We are delighted to grow our footprint in Houston with the opening of this ideally located Four Points hotel, which will help meet accelerating demand for high-caliber lodging in the citys bustling Energy Corridor, said Brian McGuinness, senior vice president of Specialty Select Brands for Starwood.

Four Points Houston Energy Corridor will appeal to travelers to this high-growth area by offering the stylish comfort and all the brands popular amenities, said Gary Shultz, general manager, Hotel Equities.

Four Points is on track to expand its portfolio of rooms by nearly 60 percent in the next five years with new hotels strategically located in nearly every corner of the globe. Hotels expected to open in North America by the end of 2016 include Four Points Little Rock Midtown, Four Points Buffalo Grove, Four Points Manhattan Midtown West, Four Points Williston, Four Points Cleveland Airport and Four Points Dallas Fort Worth Airport North.

Visit www.fourpoints.com/experience for information.
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.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

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.
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.
Texans have long boasted and argued with others about their state's unpredictable weather.

Fortunately, the Storm Prediction Center, a government agency that monitors severe weather reports in the U.S., is here to help settle the debate.

READ MORE: Satellite image of Hurricane Matthew appears to show human skull

Each year, the Storm Prediction Center compiles a database of reported tornadoes, wind damage and large hail. The database can serve as a useful tool to see which state suffers from the most dangerous weather.

While Kansas and Oklahoma often take the spotlight for being in the middle of "tornado alley," a term used to describe where twisters appear most frequently, Texas is actually the number one spot for the most tornadoes.

READ MORE: Why electricity bills might go up despite cooler weather

In 2015, Texas had 228 tornadoes, or nearly 70 percent more than neighboring Oklahoma, which had 111 twisters. Texas also had the most reports of large hail and wind damage of any state.

It is clear that Texas' sheer size puts it first for many things, and severe weather is no exception.

Click through the slideshow above to see the top 30 states with the most dangerous weather.
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.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Several Texas Republicans joined in the bipartisan condemnation of Donald Trump's lewd remarks in a leaked video, with at least one withdrawing support for the presidential candidate.

U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, following the lead of other down-ballot Republicans in tight races across the nation, repudiated Trump Saturday evening, after initially stopping short of calling for him to step down.

"I never endorsed Donald Trump and I cannot in good conscience support or vote for a man who degrades women, insults minorities and has no clear path to keep our country safe. He should step aside for a true conservative to beat Hillary Clinton," he said.

Hurd, the only Texas Republican in a contested race, faces a strong re-election challenge for his West Texas seat from former congressman Pete Gallego, who also has sought to tie the San Antonio Republican to Trump's controversial remarks about Mexicans.

READ MORE: Ted Cruz calling voters for Trump Memes

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a statement calling Hurd's remarks "too late."

"Will Hurd's desperate and politically-calculated maneuver to try to save his political career comes way too late," wrote Javier Gamboa of the DCCC. "To finally come up with a decision about his Party's standard bearer  and still not vote for Hillary Clinton  is not bravery, it is not principled, and it is not worthy of Texas voters he's supposed to serve."

Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted: "Deeply disturbing rhetoric by Trump. An insult to all women & contrary to GOP values. Absent true contrition, consequences will be dire."

READ MORE: #ThatMexicanThing latest energizer for Latinos

The state's senior U.S. senator, John Cornyn, criticized Trump in a tweet Saturday morning bemoaning the state of the race.

"I am disgusted by Mr. Trump's words about women: our daughters, sisters and mothers," said Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate. "I am profoundly disappointed by the race to the bottom this presidential campaign has become."

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a once-bitter GOP rival, initially responded with a Tweet on Friday that said: "These comments are disturbing and inappropriate, there is simply no excuse for them."

On Saturday it was reported that Cruz was reassessing his support of Trump and considering rescinding his recent endorsement.

Austin U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, a possible 2018 challenger for Cruz's Senate seat, issued a statement on Saturday: "As the father of five children, including four daughters, I find Donald Trump's comments reprehensible and unacceptable," he said. "This is not an example we should set for our children or an image we should project of our country."
We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message.
PEPPER PIKE, Ohio -- Suspicion, departmental information; Chagrin Boulevard: Local patrols were stepped up after Garfield Heights police reported threats made Oct. 3 on social media against Orange High School, among others.

A paraphrase of an Instagram message indicated that "Killer Clowns were planning a murder spree on the gang" at Eastlake North, Shaker and Garfield Heights high schools as well as Orange and Horizon Academy.

Police said the threats were all preliminarily tied to three Eastlake Middle School girls who may be facing juvenile charges as a result of the hoax. Pepper Pike police paid special attention to OHS, with no related incidents.

Fraud, Legends Way: A resident reported receiving several bills totaling $1,344 from the Montgomery Ward online retailer, including a men's gold watch and a 15.6-inch Windows laptop computer that were not authorized on an personal accounts.

The report was filed Oct. 5, with the purchases made in mid-September and shipped to an address in Cranston, R.I. The case has been assigned to the detective bureau.

Driving under suspension, drunk driving, reasonable control, driving on tree lawns; Lander Circle: A Cleveland man, 44, was taken from a local hospital to the Beachwood Jail on Oct. 6 after being treated for injuries suffered when his truck left the roadway late the night before and struck a utility pole -- as well as taking out a "one-way" sign.

The man was found near the heavily-damaged truck and later admitted to drinking, but refused a Breathalyzer. Police also seized a small amount of marijuana, and noted that the suspect kept asking a hospital nurse "where his weed was."

Suspicion, warrant; Lander Road: After a woman approached police to tell them that a man with a cane had just asked her for money outside the Beechmont Country Club, an officer found a Woodmere man, 49, walking up the street, as well as outstanding warrants from Shaker Heights and Bratenahl, with an officer from that department picking him up.

Disabled motor vehicle, South Woodland Road and Chagrin Boulevard: Police responded to an abandoned car with a broken axle blocking a lane of traffic at lunchtime on Oct. 6. The car was towed and the owner arrived later at the station.

Hit-and-run; Pepper Creek Drive: Police are investigating a hit-skip involving disabling damage to the front end of a 2002 Mercedes M-35 while it was parked on the street at the "T" intersection between 9 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. on Sept. 30.

Driving under suspension, Lander Circle: When an officer noticed a Shaker Heights man, 31, apparently texting on his cell phone while driving around 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 23, he checked the plate, which came back with a license suspension for non-compliance with Ohio's Financial Responsibility Act.

The driver claimed he was checking his GPS, which police pointed out is still illegal. He received a verbal warning for that and his car was towed, with the plates being seized for the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland this week became the first large U.S. city to test a promising way to respond to domestic violence that holds hope for saving lives.

More than 270 police officers who work in Cleveland's First and Fifth districts -- on the far west and far east sides of town - are now trained to ask victims 11 questions when they respond to domestic violence calls that involve couples or former couples.

The questions are designed to help determine the victim's risk for future harm, said Commander James McPike who oversees special investigations.

If a victim answers 'yes' to seven or more questions, the case is considered high risk and referred to a special team comprised of detectives, Cuyahoga County and community advocates, prosecutors and probation and parole officers.

The questions are drawn from more than two decades of research into domestic violence cases that result in homicide and include: Has he/she ever tried to choke you? Does he/she own a gun? Has he/she threatened to kill you? (To see the full list of questions click here or scroll to the bottom of the story.)

"We cannot predict who will be a domestic violence homicide victim but the lethality assessment at least gives us a warning of who is in more danger," Linda Johanek, CEO of the Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center said.

In the first five days of screening, 11 domestic violence calls were deemed high risk.

If victims don't score as high risk on the questionnaire, officers can request the case be referred to the team, if other factors, such as an escalation of threats, exist.

Agencies outside of law enforcement, including some that serve the Asian, Hispanic and refugee communities also can refer victims if they may be in danger but aren't likely to call police for help, said Jill Smialek, who runs Cuyahoga County's Witness/Victim Service Center.

Common calls

Cleveland police responded in 2015 to more than 18,000 domestic violence and stalking calls.

Harder to determine is the number of victims who are seriously injured or killed. That's because the definition of domestic violence varies.

For example, some include violence between only couples, others include family members, friends or co-workers

Cleveland experienced two apparent domestic killings this week.

A 38-year-old mother of three was killed during her shift at a Burger King on Lorain Road. Cleveland police said Erlyn Rivera-Cintron's ex-boyfriend Jose Aviles shot her before killing himself in the fast food restaurant's bathroom.

Cleveland detectives are also investigating what they suspect was a murder-suicide in the city's Lee-Miles neighborhood Wednesday. An elderly couple was found dead in their bed. Police said John Woods, 76, had called police and said his wife, Vondra, was injured before shooting himself as police approached his home. It's unclear whether the deaths were related to domestic violence at this point.

Though exact numbers are hard to determine, Cuyahoga County experienced an average of

18 fatal cases a year from 2009 through 2014. That only includes cases involving couples or former couples that were reviewed by the county's Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee.

Two models

Cleveland's program is part of an effort funded by the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Violence Against Women to examine two methods that have shown promise in predicting danger and keeping more victims safe.

Both look for specific factors that research has linked to an increased risk for death in a domestic abuse case, including drug or alcohol use by the offender or chronic unemployment.

The earliest model, pioneered and used in Maryland, involves training officers to refer higher risk victims directly to local domestic violence services via telephone from the scene of the police call. Or, if they decline that option, reviewing dangers with them. A study in Baltimore showed completing the assessment reduced domestic violence-related homicide up to 40 percent.

The model Cleveland was selected to test involves referring the highest risk cases to a team that meets every other week and sticks with the case through arrest, prosecution, sentencing and beyond.

The model, conceived more than a decade ago in the small town of Newburyport, Mass. has been championed by government officials, including Vice President Joe Biden.

In Cleveland, the team's focus is to keep victims safe and hold offenders accountable, said Smialek. That could include making sure a victim is alerted when their abuser is released from jail or asking that they be monitored by a GPS system while out on bond. It could also include advocates helping a victim form a safety plan that makes sense for their family.

"This hopefully will result in fewer of those high risk victims falling through the cracks, which happens from time to time," said Johanek, whose agency is helping to coordinate the effort.

"We are making victims a priority in working differently, she said.

This week's launch follows years of planning.

Cuyahoga County, Cleveland, the Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center and research partners were awarded $650,000 in late 2014 on the heels of a cluster of murders.

The women killed had previously reached out for help or tried to leave their abusers. The deaths sparked immediate changes including a closer look at bond decisions, more training for prosecutors and probation officers.

It took another two years to do the work to get the high risk team in place, though. requiring an extension from the federal government, Smialek said. Researchers from both Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State will track and measure the the impact of the team.

The team expects at least 30 cases a month or as many as 400 a year are expected to be referred to the team, Cleveland Commander James McPike said.

That estimate, based on smaller cities who have used high risk teams, could be low, McPike said.

Cleveland has dedicated two detectives to the team from its Domestic Violence unit, whose salaries are partially reimbursed by the grant. McPike hopes to add additional detectives to the unit soon. Other detectives in the same unit work with special prosecutors to handle domestic violence cases from the city's three other police districts and cases that involve siblings, parents or other family members.

"Everywhere this has been implemented it has shown a reduction in repeat domestic violence cases, injury and domestic homicides," McPike said. "It's my hope that's it's successful and we can take it citywide."
CHARDON, Ohio -- A Florida man has been sentenced to life in prison for hiring a hitman who mistakenly killed someone with the same name as his intended target.

A Geauga County jury last month found Joseph Rosebrook guilty of aggravated murder and four lesser offenses in the 2006 death of Daniel E. Ott.

Judge David L. Fuhry sentenced him Thursday in Geauga County Common Pleas Court.

Rosebrook is not eligible for parole, the judge ruled.

"The harm caused directly by him is a harm that affects not only the innocent victim but families, friends and the greater community, who are still suffering from [Rosebrook's] actions," Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz wrote in a presentencing brief to the court.

Defense attorney Henry Hilow could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Rosebrook, 60, hired a hitman to kill a man named Daniel C. Ott who testified against him in a criminal case. Instead, the hitman shot Daniel E. Ott at a house in Burton Township, court records say.

Daniel C. Ott is one of Northeast Ohio's most prolific car thieves whose criminal record dates back to 1960 and includes more than a dozen convictions. In June, a judge ordered him back to federal prison.

Rosebrook is the final person to be sentenced in connection with the killing.

His brother Carl Jeffrey Rosebrook, 58, pleaded guilty Sept. 30 to obstructing official business and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

Hitman Chad South, 46, of Dayton, has been sentenced to 28 years in prison after being convicted of murder and kidnapping.

The woman who drove South to Geauga County to kill Ott -- Mindie Mock Stanifer, 37, of Tennessee -- has also been sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping and obstructing justice.

Joseph Rosebrook arranged the killing from the jail cell where he was serving time for conspiracy to commit aggravated murder. Carl Jeffrey Rosebrook had been instructed to deliver money to South.

Daniel E. Ott, 31, was asleep when South broke into his Burton Township house and bound him with duct tape. Ott broke free before South shot him, court records show.

Ott's fiance was also at the home but was not seriously injured.

The Daniel Ott who was the intended target has had at least two other attempts on his life since 2006, officials said last year.

Detectives spent nine years investigating the slaying before identifying and arresting South and the Rosebrook brothers in June 2015. Stanifer was arrested two months later, records show.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments section.
Hurricane Matthew Florida

A truck negotiates around trees downed by Hurricane Matthew, Friday, Oct. 7, in Daytona Beach, Fla. 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. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Flights are being cancelled throughout the U.S. as Hurricane Matthew continues to pummel the East Coast.

While most cancellations are expected to occur into Saturday, many airlines are giving travelers the option to rebook flights scheduled into next week to avoid bad weather.

In Cleveland and in Akron, the best bet is to check with the airline before heading to the airport for a trip to - or through - the southern U.S.

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport spokeswoman Michele Dynia urged travelers to check the airport's departures website for flight information. So far, there has only been a "minor impact" at CLE.

At Akron Canton Airport, the nonstop Allegiant flight to Savannah, Ga. and the nonstop Southwest flight to Orlando, Fla. scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 7 both are cancelled.

"We ask that passengers contact their airline before heading to the airport," said Valerie Wolford, spokeswoman for CAK.

United

United has cancelled 270 flights from Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 7, according to Erin Benson, spokeswoman for United.

"We're just keeping a close eye on things and are ready to adjust as needed," Benson said.

United has cancellations in: Charleston, SC; Charlotte, NC; Columbia, SC; Fayetteville, NC; Greensboro, NC; Jacksonville, Fla.; Myrtle Beach, SC; Raleigh/Durham, NC; Savannah, Ga.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Miami, Fla.; Orlando, Fla. and West Palm Beach, Fla.

Frontier

Frontier has cancelled about 90 flights to and from airports Miami, Fla.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Orlando, Fla. and St. Augustine, Fla through Saturday, Oct. 8, including 10 flights in and out of Cleveland.

Delta

Delta cancelled about 200 flights into coastal Florida today, including flights to Melbourne, Fla.; Daytona Beach, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Gainesville, Fla.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Brunswick, Ga. and Savannah, Ga.

The airline already has cancelled about 80 Saturday flights, mostly for airports in northeast Florida and the Georgia and South Carolina coastline.

Delta began resuming flights to southern Florida this morning.

Allegiant

Allegiant cancelled about 100 flights Friday and Saturday into and out of Orlando, Fla.; Sanford, Fla.; Jacksonville, Fla. and Savannah, Ga., including four to and from Akron.

American Airlines

American Airlines has cancelled flights throughout Florida, the southeastern U.S., the Bahamas and Haiti as a result of Hurricane Matthew.

Southwest

JetBlue
Diontez Taylor

(Newburgh Heights police)

NEWBURGH HEIGHTS, Ohio - Authorities are searching for a 14-year-old boy who went missing Friday in Newburgh Heights.

Diontez Taylor has not been seen since he left home at 4 p.m. to ride his bicycle to the Stella Walsh Recreation Center on Broadway Avenue near East 71st Street, police said.

Diontez is described as 5-foot-8 and approximately 199 pounds. He has black hair and eyes and was last seen wearing jeans and a blue shirt with an unknown superhero on the front. His bicycle has gold trim.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Newburgh Heights Police Department at 216-641-5545.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments section.
PAINESVILLE, Ohio - A West Virginia man has been sentenced to 91 years to life in prison for raping a girl in Lake County.

A Lake County judge on Thursday sentenced James Craig for raping the girl -- who was 10 and 11 years old at the time -- multiple times from Jan. 1, 2014 to June 14, 2015.

Craig, 38, was convicted Aug. 30 of rape, gross sexual imposition, pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and importuning.

Judge Vincent A. Culotta imposed the maximum penalty after Craig claimed innocence and accused the girl of lying during his sentencing hearing, according to The News-Herald.

Defense attorney Susan Grieshammer could not be reached for comment Saturday.

The girl, who is now 12 years old, testified during a five-and-a-half day trial that began Aug. 23, Lake County Prosecutor Charles Coulson told cleveland.com after the trial.

Craig had been living in LeRoy Township at the time but later relocated to South Charleston, West Virginia, court records show.

The girl reported the incidents to a relative. The relative then informed the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators searched Craig's home and found discs containing pornographic images and videos of the girl, court records show.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments section.
OBERLIN, Ohio - If you happened by Craig Lecture Hall in the Science Center on the Oberlin College campus Tuesday and caught the sound of excited giggling and the occasional squeal coming from inside, no one would blame you for guessing a boy band was making a cameo.

But then you'd remember that this is Oberlin and the boy band assumption is flat out sexist. And that's exactly the kind of thing cartoonist Alison Bechdel, the actual object of the vociferous adoration, was talking about when she offhandedly coined what would become known as "the Bechdel test" in her comic strip "Dykes to Watch Out For."

As she explained to the 100 or so students who'd gathered in Craig Hall to hear her speak, it wasn't her original idea, but like it or not, she made it famous, so here goes: The Bechdel test asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man. Loosely applied here, why immediately assume a group of female students are going gaga for a guy?

Bechdel, class of '81, was back at her alma mater this week on the occasion of the Cleveland opening of the national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical "Fun Home," based on her 2006 graphic novel.

That she is a celebrity is not in doubt, but she is one of the most self-effacing you'll ever meet. This is what it looks like when a thoughtful introvert makes it big.

Earlier that day, before the fan girls queued up to ask her to pose for selfies and sign dog eared copies of her book, she entered the room and drew a self portrait - complete with her signature round glasses and spiked bang - and two word bubbles on the chalkboard. "Hi Oberlin," read one. "This is so weird," said the other.

She talked about the unlikely success of her epic, cartoon narrative and its even more unexpected journey to Broadway. As anyone who has cracked the spine of "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic" knows, it isn't the sort of story one usually associates with contrapuntal musical scores.

While an art major at Oberlin, Bechdel came out to her parents; her mother responded by telling her that her father Bruce had been having affairs with men. Soon after, he killed himself, stepping in front of a truck on a highway in rural Pennsylvania not far from where she'd grown up.

(Before his death, he'd taught high school English and operated the family funeral home that the Bechdel clan had cheekily dubbed the "Fun Home.")

"I know that I'm not responsible for my father's suicide but I still feel it in a certain way because of the order in which these events happened. I had to ask myself what would have happened if I had not come out. Then what? I don't know."

Stunned and numb, it took her years before she could sift through the pain to find the thread of her story.

"Here was my dad, growing up with this sexual difference in this tiny rural town and here I was, growing up in that same town. Because of our different historical positions, I was able to go on, be out and have a full life and he absolutely wasn't."

She was about 40 when she started writing and drawing their intertwined narrative, already a respected cartoonist. But nothing she'd done before captured the collective pop culture consciousness like "Fun Home." The success of the musical brought her cerebral and deeply felt personal story to an even larger audience.

After that short intro, she fielded questions. A sampling:

Q: Where were your favorite places on campus?

A: The library. (She even became the librarian of the Gay Union.)

Q: What was it like to write about real people?

A: It was scary. I wasn't just writing about real people, I was writing about my family, which are about as real as people can get.

Q: When did you start being interested in theater and were you involved in that at Oberlin?

A: I've never been interested in theater! [This really cracks them up.] It's weird because my mother was very much interested in theater - which is perhaps why I'm not.

When Helen Bechdel (nee Fontana) was young, she was an intern at the Cleveland Play House where she dated Dom DeLuise. She wanted to be an actress, but gave up her career aspirations to raise Alison and her brothers, Christian and John, though she continued to do summer stock acting. In the panels of the graphic novel, she appears as Lady Bracknell in a production of "The Importance of Being Earnest." She was really good!" says Bechdel.

In the musical, Helen's solo, "Days and Days," is one of the most heartbreaking; Alison's mother looks back on the wreckage of her life and pleads with her college-age daughter not make the same mistakes.

Later, after signing her last autograph, Bechdel heads to Student Union, the home of the old Gay Union and the new (at least to Bechdel) multicultural resource center, where Elliot Director, the school's LBGTQ student life coordinator, has an office. It's "Coming Out Week" on campus and Bechdel's talk is one of the featured events on the calendar, culminating in a Queer Prom Oct. 8. "We're delighted!" he says.

Bechdel surveys the sunny room and chats with students. An easel reads, "Today's topic: anti-blackness within the Latinx community."

"I have question about the phrase Latinx," she asks one of them. "When did that come into popularity? I've only started seeing it in the past couple months . . ."

Latinx, a gender-neutral alternative to Latino and Latina that also makes room for people who are trans, queer or gender fluid, hit campus at least two years ago.

"The culture has changed so much," Bechdel says, a little awed. "These kids are so much farther along in their self discovery than we were. I was 19 - they're coming out in middle school and arriving on campus knowing who they are."
LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- A growing number of Republicans -- including Republican members of the U.S. Senate and Congress -- pulled their support of Donald Trump on Saturday, with some calling for Trump to quit the race just weeks before the Nov. 8 election.

Meanwhile, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman has condemned Trump's statements, but avoided saying whether he will continue to endorse Trump. It remains unresolved whether he thinks Trump's comments in a 2005 video, in which he bragged that his power and fame allowed him to grope women with impunity, disqualify Trump from the presidency.

On Saturday, Portman's Democratic opponent, former Gov. Ted Strickland, called Portman a "coward" for not pulling his support. He said Portman's silence makes him complicit in Trump's behavior.

"Unlike a lot of other Republicans including [Ohio Gov.] John Kasich, who have the moral courage to disassociate themselves from Donald Trump, Rob Portman doesn't have the courage to do it," Strickland told reporters during a campaign stop in Lakewood. "And that says to me that Rob Portman is more concerned with his own political survival than he is about what's right and best for America. And that's shameful."

(UPDATE: Oct. 8, 10:48 p.m: Portman rescinded his endorsement late Saturday.)

Portman, who has maintained distance from Trump despite endorsing him, on Friday issued a statement calling Trump's comments "offensive and wrong" and saying Trump was "right to apologize." (At that time, Trump had only apologized "if anyone was offended." Trump later apologized in a web video released later in the night.)

As I said earlier tonight, his comments were offensive and wrong. -RP  Rob Portman (@robportman) October 8, 2016

But Portman has avoided commenting further, and a campaign spokeswoman didn't return multiple messages on Saturday. Portman's official Twitter account only showed Portman speaking to volunteers -- with Trump campaign signs obscured, but visible in the background -- in Southwest Ohio.

"I've led the fight to stop this heroin & prescription drug epidemic, & I've worked to end human trafficking." pic.twitter.com/f7rldNtWgJ  Rob Portman (@robportman) October 8, 2016

Meanwhile, four other Republican senate candidates have pulled their support for Trump -- Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, who is running for a senate seat in Nevada -- as have a number of Republicans running for congressional seats. Some have even called for him to step aside in favor of his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.

And, Kasich on Saturday upped his criticism of Trump, saying the developments of the last 24 hours have justified his refusal to endorse Trump.

"The actions of the last day are disgusting, but that's not why I reached this decision, it has been an accumulation of his words and actions that many have been warning about," Kasich said in a statement emailed to reporters. "I will not vote for a nominee who has behaved in a manner that reflects so poorly on our country. Our country deserves better."

In the 2005 video, reported early Friday evening by the Washington Post, Trump is heard describing attempts to have sex with a married woman. He also brags about women letting him kiss them and grab their genitals because he is famous.

"When you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything," Trump says in video. He adds seconds later: "Grab them by the p----. You can do anything." He said of his impulse to kiss beautiful women: "I don't even wait."

Ohio Republican Chairman Matt Borges on Saturday called Trump's comments "vile." He said he has counseled elected officials that it's up to them whether they will continue to support Trump. He declined to say what advice he has given to Portman or others.

"I've tried to make sure they understand there's no repercussion from the party if they decide to follow their conscience, and that's what folks need to sort through," Borges said.

He added: "Obviously we're trying to give folks all the information they need to know. There are questions as to whether or not [Trump] can even drop out at this time and what that process would be, so we're just trying to help people get an understanding of where they need to be."

It's unclear whether Trump's statements will block him from winning Ohio, and if his continued presence in the campaign season will have an impact further down the ticket.

Ohio voters are poised to comfortably re-elect Portman to a second six-year term, polling suggests, and broadly view Portman as a distinct political entity from the more divisive Trump. But recent polls suggest momentum switching in favor of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who nonetheless remains unpopular with most Ohio voters.

Borges said it was too soon to determine if Trump's video would cause him to lose Ohio, but jokingly compared the potential political fallout to a nuclear bomb.

"There's no worse way to be spending my Saturday 30 days from an election that (we) absolutely should have won this year than to be spending 100 percent of my time on the phone or on emails or answering questions or [granting interviews] on a topic like this that isn't helping us advance the ball," Borges said.

Borges said Trump's comments have upped the stakes for the upcoming Sunday night debate against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, senator and secretary of state.

"One thing [Trump] said is the campaign has changed him as a person," Borges said. "He's got 90 minutes as a person to convince America that's true."

In a videotaped midnight apology, Trump declared "I was wrong and I apologize" after being caught on tape vulgarly bragging about aggressively groping women in 2005. He also defiantly dismissed the revelations as "nothing more than a distraction" from a decade ago and signaled he would press his presidential campaign by arguing that rival Hillary Clinton has committed greater sins against women.

"I've said some foolish things," Trump said in a video posted on his Facebook page early Saturday. "But there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims."

"Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!" he tweeted later in the day. Trump later told the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post on Saturday that he will remain in the race.

Cleveland.com reporter Jeremy Pelzer contributed, and information from the Associated Press was used in this article


Donald Trump

In this photo taken July 21, 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during the final night of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Thomas Suddes writes that -- if current polls can be believed -- Donald Trump could become the first GOP presidential nominee since Richard M. Nixon in 1960 to win Ohio but lose the presidency.

(Evan Vucci, Associated Press)

If a poll showed Barack Obama beating Mitt Romney in 2012, some Romney fans (yes, he had them) might say that poll was rigged, or at least defective -- "sampling error" and all that.

But if a poll showed Republican Romney beating Democrat Obama, then, Heaven be praised, there was at least one honest pollster in the United States that the libs hadn't bribed or blackmailed.

The same goes for 2016. As of midday Friday, Real Clear Politics' polling average suggested that, nationally, Democrat Hillary Clinton (48.3 percent) is beating (pseudo) Republican Donald Trump (43.8 percent).

In Ohio, though, Real Clear Politics' polling average - also at Friday midday - reported that Trump was leading Clinton by 1.6 percentage points. (An honest poll!) True, some voter surveys suggest Clinton is besting Trump in the Buckeye State. Obviously, such a poll result could only be the nefarious work of Democratic trolls.

Actually, the poll that counts is the one that starts Wednesday, when early in-person voting begins in Ohio and absentee ballots become available. (Note: Voter registration ends on Tuesday.) For details on voting, an Ohioan can check with his or her board of elections or Secretary of State Jon Husted's MyOhioVote.com site.

Assuming Friday's pattern holds (Clinton leading nationally, Trump leading - maybe - in Ohio), Trump could become a member of the Republican Party's most exclusive group - the Carry Ohio but Lose Club; for convenience, call it the Nixon 1960 Club. As everyone who isn't on Mars knows, a Republican has never won the presidency without carrying Ohio. But a Republican can carry Ohio but lose a presidential election. GOP nominee Richard M. Nixon carried Ohio in 1960 but lost nationally to Democrat John F. Kennedy.

Same thing happened in 1944 (the GOP's Thomas E. Dewey carried Ohio but Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt won a fourth term); in 1892 (Ohio-born Republican incumbent Benjamin Harrison carried Ohio but lost to Democrat Grover Cleveland); in 1884 (Republican James G. Blaine - "continental liar from the state of Maine" - carried the Buckeye State but lost to Democrat Cleveland); and in 1856, when the GOP's first presidential nominee, John C. Fremont, carried Ohio but Pennsylvania Democrat James Buchanan won.

In Ohio, the 1892 Harrison-Cleveland contest was especially close. Harrison carried Ohio by fewer than 1,100 votes. And that year's Ohio ballot let voters elect presidential electors individually.

Result: Ohio voters elected 22 Harrison (GOP) electors and one Grover Cleveland (Democratic) elector. Cleveland's Ohio elector was Mansfield lawyer James P. Seward, who got to cast the first Ohio electoral vote for a Democrat since 1852, when New Hampshire Democrat Franklin Pierce carried Ohio and became president. (If you don't think there's such a thing as an American Establishment, consider this: Former first lady Barbara Bush is a cousin, albeit, very distant cousin, of Franklin Pierce, according to Canton's National First Ladies' Library.)

This November, if Trump carries Ohio, where would his Ohio margin come from? Some of it, based on this year's GOP primary, will come from Appalachian Ohio. Other Trump votes will originate in the Barcaloungers of suburban Ohio, in the counties that fan around Cincinnati, and - maybe - in Jim Traficant country, Mahoning (Youngstown) and Trumbull (Warren) counties.

Meanwhile, everyone just has to wait for the next (fair and balanced!) poll suggesting that Trump's leading in Ohio, or the next (lying liberal!) poll suggesting he's trailing. For now, it appears that, nationally, Trump must come off as presidential, not petty, at tomorrow night's town hall "debate" in St. Louis - miracles can happen - or opinion, nationwide, will keep trending in Hillary Clinton's favor.

Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens.

To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@gmail.com, 216-999-4689

Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts, and stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Notification Settings (in blue) just below.
Campaign 2016 VP Debate

Volunteers hold up campaign signs Tuesday before the vice presidential debate between Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. Former Democratic State Rep. Ed Jerse of Euclid writes that Kaine exemplifies the dilemma of pro-life Democrats.

(Patrick Semansky, Associated Press)

Ed Jerse is a former state representative

Hillary Clinton's selection of Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate underscores the dilemma facing Democrats who are both committed to social justice and pro-life. Kaine is lauded within the Democratic Party for advancing the Jesuits' commitment to social justice in the public arena. Yet, if he also advanced the Jesuits' commitment to life in that arena, he would be marginalized and even regarded as the enemy by his party.

Like Tim Kaine, I grew up in the 1960s and was inspired as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy fought for a more just and compassionate society. I am also Catholic and pro-life, but I am not pro-life because I am Catholic. I am pro-life because to be so is to be compassionate, to honor the dignity of life, and to speak for those without a voice. Those are the qualities that drew me to public service and the Democratic Party.

Over the past decade, however, the Democratic Party has become increasingly intolerant of those whose holistic approach to social justice includes a concern for the unborn.

To advance in office with their party's blessing, pro-life Democrats now must either "transition" to a pro-choice position or restrict their views to the private sphere. Some, like Kaine, suggest that their private pro-life views are simply a function of their Catholic faith.

Kaine's position is particularly convenient for the party. He can be dispatched, as Joe Biden has been, to appeal to Catholic audiences in swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. At the same time, his pro-life sentiments can be dismissed as "a Catholic thing," like not eating meat on Fridays.

More significantly, Kaine's formulation allows the party to avoid addressing the inconsistency between the practice of abortion and the ideals of compassion and selflessness.

In virtually his last public words, Robert Kennedy described America as "an unselfish country, a compassionate country." Yet, at the Democratic Convention, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America described her abortion as "the decision that was best for me" and spoke not of compassion towards the unborn, but of the compassion of abortion providers.

Democrats quick to point out the moral aspects of a military intervention or a social injustice refuse to even acknowledge a moral dimension to abortion and the ending of millions of developing lives. Candidates must robotically intone that "it's a question between a woman and her doctor," full stop. There is no intellectual searching, no moral examination, and no one asks how, by "crushing" an unborn child, we are "taming the savageness of man and making gentle the life of this world."

The pro-life Democrat who asks such questions is faced with a dispiriting, Thomas More-like choice. You can abandon a core principle so that you can hold office and advance commitments other than that to life. Or, you can stand on principle and be relegated to the sidelines by your party. It is a heartbreaking choice for those whose heroes told them to stand for their principles, no matter what.

Many pro-life Democrats would have considered voting for a Mitt Romney or a John Kasich and resolved the conflict by advancing their social justice concerns on the state and local levels and their pro-life concerns on the national level.

For many, however, their consciences and concern for the future of this country will not allow them to vote for Donald Trump. They are left to argue that abortion is not a matter of moral indifference, but a practice that diminishes us and takes us further from the ideals of selflessness and compassion.

Ironically, Tim Kaine may be the best hope of the pro-life Democrat. As unsatisfying as his approach is, he may be the person most motivated in the next administration to reduce abortions through education and contraception. And that may be the best that can be hoped for. To paraphrase the words of Albert Camus that Robert Kennedy loved, we may not be able to make this a world in which there are no abortions, but perhaps we can make this a world in which there are fewer abortions.

Ed Jerse of Euclid was a Democratic state representative in the Ohio General Assembly from 1995 to 2004. Jesuit-educated at Georgetown University, Jerse had been a classmate of Sen. Tim Kaine's in the Harvard Law School Class of 1983, although the two were not acquainted.

******

Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts, and stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Notification Settings (in blue) just below.
HORSE1

A horse grazes in front of a wall of fall foliage near Hale Farm and Village, part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. (Gus Chan / The Plain Dealer)

(GUS CHAN)

PENINSULA, Ohio - Most Northeast Ohioans already know that Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a prime place for fall leaf peeping.

But where, among the park's tens of thousands of acres, is best for fall's show?

Here's a list of 6 top spots, developed after talking with park employees and checking online sources.

Brandywine Gorge Trail/Brandywine Falls, access from Brandywine Road

"Colors range from the brilliant reds of the sugar maples to the deep browns of the white oaks," according to the park service website. "This area is ideal for photography in the late afternoon."

Ledges Trails, access from Truxell Road

"The many hazelnut and witch hazel trees that fill the woods with yellow hues peak late as result of being low-growing trees in the dense forests," according to nps.gov/cuva. On a clear day, the Ledges overlook, along the trail, offers a 6- or 7-mile view of the valley, according to ranger Larry Vasel.

Octagon Shelter access road, off Truxell Road

No need to get out of your car for this one - just drive the access road back to the Octagon shelter, says Vasel. "It's like driving through a tunnel, a golden tunnel of birch trees."

Oak Hill Trail, access from Oak Hill Road

"This trail is especially scenic in the early morning as the large trees by Sylvan pond and in the open fields become sunlit," according to the park website.

Pine Hollow, off Quick Road

A popular sledding area in winter, this wide, open space offers lovely views of the valley. Again, no need to get out of your car if you don't want to, says Vasel. "You can just sit in the parking lot and look over the area. It's a very, very pretty spot."

Indigo Lake, access from Riverview Road

A paved path winds around the lake and leads to Hale Farm. "It's a short, easy walk with views of the lake and trees in the distance," says Vasel.
in the recording, caught on on open mic and made public Friday, Trump describes trying to have sex with a married woman and brags about women letting him kiss and grab them because he is famous.

"These comments are repugnant, and unacceptable in any circumstance," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape."

As 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, the GOP's elite began putting out statements on Friday night, more than six hours after the tape first went public.

GOP leaders expressed disgust and outrage Friday night over lewd remarks about women made 11 years ago by Donald Trump but none went as far as to revoke their endorsements of their controversial candidate.

House Speaker Paul Ryan reportedly refused to stand on stage with Trump at a planned rally on Saturday in Wisconsin. Trump's running mate, Mike Pence will attend instead. Ryan said Friday: "I am sickened by what I heard today. 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. In the meantime, he is no longer attending tomorrow's event in Wisconsin."

Former presidential challenger and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who only recently endorsed Trump, said on Friday: "These comments are disturbing and inappropriate, there is simply no excuse for them. Every wife, mother, daughter  every person  deserves to be treated with dignity and respect."

Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer denied that party officials met on Friday night to discuss alternatives if Trump was not the party's candidate. The meeting was first tweeted about by a New York Times reporter. The reporter, Yamiche Alcindor, told MSNBC that the RNC has not yet asked Trump to pull out of the race. She said RNC rules prohibit the party from forcing him to resign.

Utah U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz went on local TV news on Friday and said he was pulling his endorsement of Trump. "I'm out," he said.

A top aide to Hillary Clinton told NBC News on Friday night that the campaign's strategy going forward is to show that the tape is just part of a pattern with Trump.

On a campaign stop in Phoenix, Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine challenged voters and members of the press to challenge every single Republican who has announced support for Trump and ask whether they think he is still qualified.

Trump's campaign CEO, Steve Bannon, was noncommittal on whether the Republican presidential candidate would quit the race, telling CNBC, "are you serious?"

John Harwood tweet: campaign CEO Steve Bannon, when I asked if any chance Trump will quit the race: "are you serious?"



Here are some of the other reactions from GOPers:

SENATORS' STATEMENTS

Joe Heck, Nevada: "I condemn in the strongest possible terms Donald Trump's comments. The language he used was disgraceful and there are no circumstances where such behavior is acceptable."



Rob Portman, Ohio: "The comments were offensive and wrong and he was right to apologize."

Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania: "Donald Trump's comments were outrageous and unacceptable."

Richard Burr, North Carolina: "The comments are inappropriate and completely unacceptable.



Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire: "His comments are totally inappropriate and offensive."

Mark Kirk, Illinois: "DJT is a malignant clown  unprepared and unfit to be president of the United States."

John McCain, Arizona: "There are no excuses for Donald Trump's offensive and demeaning comments. No woman should ever be victimized by this kind of inappropriate behavior. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences."



Marco Rubio, Florida: "Donald's comments were vulgar, egregious & impossible to justify. No one should ever talk about any woman in those terms, even in private."

Ron Johnson, Wisconsin: "Donald Trump's recent comments are completely indefensible and I refuse to even attempt to try and do so."

Jeff Flake, Arizona: "America deserves far better than @realDonaldTrump."

Mike Lee, Utah: "Donald Trump is a distraction. It's time for him to step aside so we can focus on the winning ideas that will carry Republicans through to a victory in November."

HOUSE



Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington: "I have said before that I would not hesitate to voice my disagreement with Mr. Trump when he says something that I believe should not be part of our political dialogue. It is never appropriate to condone unwanted sexual advances or violence against women. Mr. Trump must realize that it has no place in public or private conversations today or in the past."
Mike Pence speaks during the Vice Presidential Debate with Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine at Longwood University on October 4, 2016 in Farmville, Virginia.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence denounced the sexually explicit remarks made more than a decade ago by his running mate, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, but signaled a willingness to forgive the real estate mogul for the latest controversy buffeting their joint bid for the White House.

In a written statement issued nearly a day after the 2005 comments first surfaced, Pence on Saturday pointedly refused to defend Trumpa politically unprecedented move that highlighted how the real estate mogul's candidacy has splintered the Republican Party and broken traditional mores. Meanwhile, other prominent Republicans harshly condemned the new revelation.



Underscoring the seriousness of the situation, Trump's wife Melania also issued a statement that was both critical of his behavior yet supportive of his candidacy.

In a leaked audio, Trump was caught making crude comments about women, unleashing a firestorm of criticism and dominated the news cycle.

"As a husband and a father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the eleven year old video released yesterday," Pence's statement read.

"I do not condone his remarks and I cannot defend them," Pence said. "I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologize to the American people," he added, referencing the late night video statement issued by the GOP contender.

Pence added that he would "pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what's in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night," the Indiana governor added.
Donald Trump has brought the Republican Party to its nightmare scenario. The billionaire businessman has stayed close enough, long enough in polling to Hillary Clinton that Republican House and Senate candidates decided nearly unanimously not to break with him. Even Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who boldly declined to endorse Trump in his Republican National Convention speech, had buckled in recent days and reversed course.

Now the hot microphone tape of Trump boasting about both adultery and making unwelcomed sexual advances has humiliated Republicans who support him. Four weeks before Election Day, the fallout is just now beginning.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump looks on during the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University on September 26, 2016 in Hempstead, New York. Getty Images

Even before disclosure of the tape, Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire had demonstrated the fear of GOP candidates. Asked in a debate with her Democratic opponent if she considered Trump a role model for children, she said "absolutely." Within hours, she felt compelled to retract that statement, explaining that "I misspoke."

Now Republican politicians are beginning to go much further. Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia, facing a difficult re-election fight in a competitive district, called for Trump to step aside as the Republican nominee.

So did Republican Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado. In Utah, nearly the entire Republican establishment repudiated the nominee of the party that has dominated state politics.

Trump, trailing Clinton by several percentage points nationally and in most battleground states, was on track to lose the election before disclosure of the tape. Republican confidence that he can close that gap and win has vanished as Trump approaches Sunday night's second debate with Clinton in a severely-weakened position.




Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off Sunday in the second of three debates before the November election.

We've often heard that Clinton has poor judgement and Trump doesn't respect women very much (a perception not helped by Friday's revelations about his 2005 remarks), and that's likely to continue.

But the thing is, the candidates aren't really convincing anyone with their attacks. Most of the voters have already made up their mind and no matter how hard the candidates hammer away at their talking points, voters don't find the lines of attack any more effective.

That's according to a six-month running survey from marketing firm Fluent. Every week since May, they've been checking in with likely voters for the best reason to support their candidate of choice, and what lines of attack they find most effective against their opponent. The aggregate results could give a modest sense of what's important to voters, and what zingers candidates may use Sunday night in their effort to draw in the few remaining "undecideds."

The top lines of attack aren't that surprising. They're what we've heard again and again for months: For Clinton, it's her use of a private email server while she served as secretary of state, American deaths in Benghazi and that she's "not likable."

For Trump, his people see his impulsive behavior as a liability in such a powerful office; he doesn't understand government and that he's racist.
The 1715 Plate Fleet has yielded nine of these special presentation Royal gold coins, including this one dated the year of the wreck.

NGC has created special insert labels for the 1715 Plate Fleet coins recovered on the 300th anniversary, such as this Charles II type (1694 to 1713) gold 2-escudo coin struck in Colombia, graded NGC Mint State 65.

Nearly 300 gold coins discovered nearly 300 years after the famous 1715 Plate Fleet shipwreck are now coming to the market.

Nearly 300 gold coins discovered nearly 300 years after the famous 1715 Plate Fleet shipwreck are now coming to the market.

The coins are worth an estimated $1 million or more, according to John Albanese, who brokered the deal between the salvors and the firms now selling the coins.

More than 200 of the coins were found July 30 and 31, 2015, the 300th anniversary of the hurricane that drove 11 of 12 ships to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

Connect with Coin World:

Sign up for our free eNewsletter

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

The treasure was found in only six feet of water just 100 feet from the beach in Vero Beach, Fla., by salvors working for 1715 Fleet-Queens Jewels LLC.

The discovery was the largest find of gold coins from the 1715 Plate Fleet wreck in 30 years, said Brent Brisben, who owns the Capitana ship that was used during the recovery, and is co-founder and operator of 1715 Fleet-Queens Jewels.

Brisben and 1715 Fleet-Queens Jewels in 2010 purchased the treasure rights to the 1715 Plate Fleet from heirs of Mel Fisher and his family. Since taking over the rights, Brisben and subcontractors have recovered more than $6.5 million worth of treasure, he said.

To be the first person to touch these coins in 300 years, its a magical experience and one Ill never forget, Brisben told Coin World. To have it happen literally 300 years to the day is pretty much a magical thing.

The anniversary find was worth some $4.5 million, Brisben said, and included 300 gold coins of various sizes, and seven gold Royal presentation coins (these were specially prepared with the intent of being used as royal gifts and thus have limited mintages and are extremely rare).

In total, after several salvage efforts, 350 gold coins and nine Royals were recovered in 2015, with the Royals representing much of the value. In addition, one of the contractors on June 17, 2015, discovered 21 coins worth an estimated $1 million.

Some of the coins from all the recoveries were given by the company to its crewmembers and subcontractors as their share of the recoveries, and all the large Royal presentation pieces were privately sold earlier this year to anonymous collectors for an average of $275,000 each, Brisben said.

The most expensive Royal was sold for $425,000, according to Brisben. The state of Florida received 1711 and 1712 examples of the Royal presentation coins as part of its 20 percent reward, for permanent residence in the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee.

1715 Plate Fleet history

The fabled 1715 Fleet convoy of 12 ships loaded with New World treasure set sail for Spain from Havana, Cuba, on July 24, 1715. In the early morning hours of July 31 a fierce hurricane sank all the ships except one off the eastern coast of Florida. More than 1,000 people were killed in the storm and resulting shipwrecks.

Famed treasure hunter Kip Wagner in the late 1950s and early 1960s identified several of the wrecks and began salvage. According to Brisben, six of the 11 ships have been located, and all remain actively salvaged.

The heyday for salvage of these wrecks was the 1960s and, to a lesser extent, the 1980s, said Brisben.

That was really the last splashy salvage period on these wrecks, he said.

Now the treasure comes up in dribs and drabs, said Brisben, adding, When you get down there and the bottom is paved with gold its a unique experience.

Brisben began his treasure hunting career with a bang, finding 50 gold and 40 silver coins inside the breech of a three-and-a-half foot cannon in 2010, just 17 days after purchasing salvage rights.

I thought, this stuffs pretty easy  I think Im going to enjoy this, Brisben said, during a 2015 TEDx talk in Munich.

Some of the coins retrieved from the cannon are coming to market.

Despite his early successes, finding treasure has proved difficult. Brisben noted that 2011 and 2012 were a very dry period, with just four or five gold coins found, though there were some interesting artifacts.

Things got better in 2013 when salvors found 50 gold 1-escudo coins at one site. It is rare to find any 1-escudo coin, to begin with, and even more rare in quantity, and without other denominations in the cache, he said. Some of those 1-escudo coins are also among the coins now being sold.

Marketing the treasure

In total, Albanese brokered the sale for 224 coins from the 2015 discoveries, and 71 coins found in 2010 and 2013.

The coins range in denomination from 1 escudo to 8 escudos. They were struck in Colombia, Mexico and Peru and are dated in the era between 1692 and 1715, during the reigns of Spanish Kings Charles II and Philip V.

All but five of the available coins are in Mint State condition.

Highlights include 1712 Peru 8 escudos of Philip V, graded NGC Mint State 64; a 1711-LM Peru 2 escudos of Philip V, NGC MS-66; and a 1699 Colombia 2 escudos of Charles II (discovered inside the cannon) graded NGC MS-64.

NGC created special insert labels for the 1715 Fleet coins, including a special designation for the coins recovered from the cannon.

Blanchard and Company and Monaco Rare Coins are the main firms to sell the 295 coins.

According to a press release, NGC Chairman Mark Salzberg said, A quantity of Uncirculated Spanish gold coins such as this simply does not exist outside of a shipwreck discovery.

NGC worked directly with the recovery group to not only preserve the important provenance of these coins, but also the story of their individual recoveries. For the first time, specific dive missions and finds are recorded on the NGC certification label, Salzberg said. In addition to the NGC encapsulation, each coin will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by Brisben, along with the original, numbered archeological tag that was used by the expedition crew to denote each item as it was discovered and recovered. The unique tag number is also indicated on the certificate of authenticity for each coin.

Brisben has a connection to another famous American treasure find: Brisbens great-great-great grandfather, Daniel Beaver, died in the fabled ship of gold, the SS Central America, that sank off the South Carolina coast in a hurricane in September 1857 while carrying tons of California Gold Rush coins and gold bars to New York City.
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.
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.
Carnival Corporation & plc is a leisure travel company operating a fleet of cruise ships, hotels, and resorts with international destinations. Brands under the Carnival Corporation umbrella include Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America, P&O Cruises, Seaborn, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and Cunard. The companys goal is to provide extraordinary vacations at an exceptional value. As of 2022, the company laid claim to nearly half of the global cruising market share with several new ships in the works.

Carnival Cruise Line was launched in 1972 with one second-hand ship and a tank of fuel. The first port of call was San Juan, Puerto Rico, but soon more were added. The original growth strategy included a festive atmosphere, features and amenities unlike any other cruise line at the time. Slow to start, the growth strategy shifted into overdrive in 1980 when Carnival shocked the world by building its own ship. The Tropicale became an iconic name in the cruising industry and sparked a wave of shipbuilding that is still underway.

The companys growth hit a new stride in 1987 following the IPO which floated 20% of the company on the open market. The proceeds from the IPO allowed the company to embark on a voyage of acquisition and now Carnival is the worlds largest travel and leisure business.

Today, Carnival Corporations 87 ships visit approximately 700 ports worldwide and employ more than 120,000 people while serving more than 13 million guests annually for a total of 85 million passenger cruise days per year. Net revenue, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, peaked out at over $6.5 billion annually.

Carnival Cruise Line is the companys largest brand serving guests on all coasts of North America. The brand's 22 ships make 1500 voyages per year with trips ranging from 2 days to 3 weeks and ports of call from the Caribbean to Alaska. The company's largest ship is named Panorama and can accommodate more than 4,000 passengers.

Carnivals 9 brands provide access to a wide range of cruising styles and destinations including the Caribbean, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, England, and ports in Asia. The company is headquartered in Miami, Florida and has offices around the world. The company also has the distinction of being the only company included in both the S&P 500 and FTSE 250 indices.
Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit

Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools:

Portfolio Monitoring

Top Stock Lists

Premium Reports

Stock Screeners

Live News Feed

Premium Support

Free for your first month.
This is a current list of the top 250 companies by market capitalization on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Learn more .

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is one of the largest, and most recognizable, stock exchanges in the world. The NYSE is in New York City, New York at 11 Wall Street. The NYSE has been in existence since the earliest days of the United States becoming a nation, in 1792 and is primarily made up of blue-chip companies with large market capitalizations. In fact, many of the stocks that make up the Dow Jones Composite Index (i.e. The Dow) are listed on the NYSE.

This article gives a brief history of the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, it covers topics such as what kind of stocks trade on the exchange, what are the listing requirements, how trading is performed, and what the daily price movement of the NYSE tells investors about investor sentiment.

What Were the Origins of the NYSE?

Today, the New York Stock Exchange is known as the center of the financial universe. However, the exchanges origin is far more humble. On May 17, 1792, 24 stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement creating a centralized exchange to help provide order to the securities market in what was still a young nation. The "Buttonwood Agreement comes from the tree of the same name under which the founders signed the agreement.

An initial benefit of the exchange was how it removed the need for auctioneers when trading commodities like wheat and tobacco and to set a commission rate. The exchange initially focused on government bonds.

However, the exchange had no formal home. Business was usually conducted informally in the local coffeehouses. In 1817, the exchange changed its name to the New York Stock & Exchange Board which later became the New York Stock Exchange. At this time, the exchange adopted a constitution that set the rules for trading. A group of stockbrokers met twice a day at 40 Wall Street to trade 30 stocks and bonds.

Over time, the exchange moved became the financial hub of the country and moved to its current location in 1865.

What Kind of Stocks Trade on the NYSE?

As of June 2022, the NYSE includes approximately 2,400 companies with a market capitalization of over $28.2 trillion. Although the NYSE trades stocks of all market capitalizations, its best known for trading the stocks of large cap companies. These have the benefit of being mature companies in mature industries. And many of these companies reward shareholders with dividends.

However, that also means that many of these companies are better suited for value investors as opposed to growth investors. In bear markets this stability can be a benefit for investors as these stocks tend to perform less bad than more volatile stocks. But in a bull market, these stocks are not likely to provide investors with the growth that they look for.

An interesting fact about how the NYSE and NASDAQ operate is that the companies with the five largest market caps on the NYSE are also listed on the NASDAQ exchange.

What Are the Listing Requirements For the NYSE?

The NYSE has strict guidelines that govern the types of companies that can list on the exchange. Here are the major requirements that all companies must meet:

The company must have at least 2,200 shareholders

The company must trade over 100,000 shares per month

The company must have a market valuation of over $100 million

The company must generate more than $75 million in annual revenue

However, there is at least one advantage of having such stringent requirements. That is the companies that meet the requirements generally find it easier to get more investors funds when they hold their initial public offering (IPO).

Once a company begins trading on the NYSE, it must continue to meet these requirements. If it doesnt it can be delisted. In addition to these requirements, the stock must continue to trade above $1. If the price of a stock drops below $1 for more than 29 consecutive trading days, the stock receives an Initial Price Violation Notice.

At that point, the company has 10 days to provide the exchange with a plan for bringing their shares above $1.

How are Trades Executed on the NYSE?

For over a century, the floor of the NYSE was the place for investors to be. This meant trades were conducted by traders who ran buy and sell orders across the trading floor looking to broker a deal for their clients. But with the birth of the NASDAQ exchange in 1971, the New York Stock Exchange began conducting electronic trading.

However, the NYSE continues to conduct trades in an auction style. Brokers purchase stocks on behalf of their clients or firms. Every order features a broker who will enter the order electronically and a specialist who serves as the market maker for that stock. The specialist posts bid and ask prices and manages the actual execution of the trades. And there are still a handful of stockbrokers who still traffic buy and sell orders physically on the floor of the exchange.

How Does the NYSE Signal Investor Sentiment?

Like its counterpart, the NASDAQ, the NYSE measures the risk appetite of investors. When the NYSE is moving higher over a length of time, it signals that a risk on environment. Conversely when the NYSE moves lower over a significant period, it signals that investors are moving to a risk off position.

Some Final Thoughts on the NYSE

Financial news networks plan their programming schedule around the opening and closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange. Its still considered a distinguished honor when individuals or groups are invited to ring the opening bell. In fact, Warren Buffett is attributed with saying that in the short term, the stock market acts like a voting machine. A fact that many U.S. presidents will attest to.

The NYSE is the oldest and most recognizable of all the stock exchanges. It also has the most stringent requirements for inclusion. And those requirements must be maintained even after a stock begins publicly trading on the exchange.

Although the NYSE still has a small in-person Trading Floor, much of the trading is done electronically to provide traders with the speed to execute trades.
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.

Read More
Star Trek got it right: In the future, we'll use computers by talking to them.

Google held an event this week and new hardware got most of the attention. Google unveiled a couple of Google-built Pixel phones, Google Wi-Fi home mesh routers, the Google Home virtual assistant appliance, a new 4k Chromecast Ultra streaming media box and the Daydream View VR headset.

Critics say Google is copying and competing directly with Apple with the Pixel phones and with Amazon with Home. But this misses the point.

Google believes that artificial intelligence (A.I.) virtual assistants (VA) and the conversational user interface (CUI) will largely supplant search engines and mobile apps for many users. We're moving into an "A.I.-first world," according to Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Simply put, all that means is you talk to a computer. It "understands" what you say no matter how you say it. Then the computer does things for you based on those conversations.

Google is betting the company on its own version of this interface, called Google Assistant. And it's a bet I think they'll win.

The last user interface

The artificially intelligent conversation agent is the last user interface. The entire history of human-computer user interfaces has been about applying ever increasing amounts of compute power to making the machines work harder to interact in a way that's easier for people.

Humans are hardwired for talking to each other, so the most human-compatible interface is one that has conversations with us.

Trouble is, people are able to converse the way we do because of a complex mixture of human psychology and knowledge. A.I. will need to simulate human psychology and gather massive knowledge in order to hold even the most basic conversation.

But wait! What about Google Now?

Google Now can be safely categorized as a non-A.I. virtual assistant. It's like Siri, Cortana, Alexa and other virtual assistants. Nice, but not A.I.

Assistant is more adaptive. It learns, both to become more generally competent and also to personalize.

With personalization, Assistant remembers facts about you. I typed in "My wife's name is Amira Elgan," and Assistant responded with: "OK, I'll remember that."

You can use the command "Remember" to make Assistant your own repository of handy information. For example, you can say: "Remember my bike combo is 397." Five years from now, you can ask Assistant what your bike combo is, and it will tell you.

The important thing to know about Assistant is that it learns and uses facts about you, personally. It accesses Google's Search and Knowledge Base information. And it will do things such as control your home appliances and make your dinner reservations.

That omnipresent A.I. will do it all.

Unlike Google Now (or, for that matter, Siri, Alexa and Cortana), Assistant should be able to "figure things out," even with a cryptic or vague request. The ability to do this should improve over time as users rank responses.

Assistant should also make minor decisions. So if you're in your car and say: "Play 'Gold' from Kiiara," that song will play through your car's sound system. But if you say the same thing at home, it will play through either your Home device or your Chromecast, depending on which you tend to prefer.

Another Assistant skill is that it pays attention to (or, depending on your views on privacy, "spies on") your conversations and interjects helpful information and links, such as restaurant recommendations. If you're doing this in Google's Allo, both parties see the recommendations.

Assistant gets even more contextual with a Pixel phone. A long press on the home button while you're looking at a photo, for example, returns personalized search results based on the content of the photo (It's basically the Google Now On Tap feature extended to Assistant and the new phones).

We'll always have other user interfaces -- virtual, mixed and augmented reality, for example. But these are for experience. For information, the interface will be conversation. You'll be able to stop worrying about devices, apps, platforms and all the rest. You just talk, and Assistant makes it happen. That's the vision, anyway.

When A.I. chooses bots for you

Google is planning to open up Assistant to developers via a platform called Actions on Google.

Developers won't build "apps" or even "bots," according to Google's lingo, but "Actions." These "Actions" can be either Direct Actions or Conversation Actions.

Direct Actions are simple query-response events. So an airline might build Direct Actions so that a question about when a flight lands returns the estimated landing time.

Conversation Actions are harder to build but easier to use. They involve back-and-forth. So an airline's Conversation Action might enable you to ask: "Which weekend in October has the cheapest price for flying to Vegas"? In response, the Action might initially gather more information, asking "Do you mind a stop-over?" for example. With Conversation Actions, the interaction involves the "bot" not only giving answers and doing things for you (such as booking those tickets), but also asking you questions to get more information.

Google last month bought a two-year-old Silicon Valley startup called API.ai, whose technology will be offered to developers for building Assistant Conversation Actions. (Awkwardly, API.ai has it's own app called "Assistant," which reportedly has some 20 million users.)

A smattering of companies have already jumped on board to offer third-party additions to Assistant. These include news sources like CNN, CNBC, The Huffington Post, ABC News Radio, CBS Sports, CBS Radio News and others; music sites such as Tunein, Pandora, iHeart Radio and Spotify; food-related brands like Food Network, Vivino and OpenTable; and home automation companies like SmartThings. Intriguingly, crowdsourced information services Quora and Jelly have also signed up.

Today, Amazon's Alexa is far ahead of other virtual assistants in the integration of third-party apps or bots -- or "skills," as Amazon calls them. Alexa now has more than 3,000 "skills," according to Amazon.

While "skills" are great, Amazon's system doesn't work for mass adoption. "Skills" have to be discovered and installed using the Alexa phone app. Memorization is required by the user to call up a skill. This works well for a tiny number of skills. But once that number exceeds a dozen or two, most people will likely forget which "skills" they've installed, as well as the words that launch them.

Because Assistant uses A.I., it should understand the result you want, then often choose -- or at least offer -- third-party integrations for you. Google hasn't announced this feature, and the company was unwilling to comment on it when I reached out to them. But I think the success of Assistant will depend on it.

A.I.-selected third-party bots enable you to use thousands of bots, not just a few. You won't have to memorize anything. Just talk to Assistant like you would a person, and Assistant's A.I. should figure it out and make decisions about how to respond.

I think it's clear that, despite coming from behind, Google's Assistant will gain far more and better support than Amazon's Alexa, in part because Google's hardware, software and online reach is far wider. Assistant will be everywhere.

Why Home is so important

A.I. virtual assistant apps and bots are free and easy. But when consumers buy a virtual assistant appliance like the Amazon Echo or Google Home, they're essentially expressing their brand preference, and that preference is likely to stick.

That's why lots of companies will ship such devices.

Samsung this week announced that it would acquire a startup called Viv Labs, which was founded by three members of the Siri team when Apple bought Siri in 2010.

Viv is a Siri-like virtual assistant, but with multifaceted agency, meaning that it can combine services. You should be able to say things like "I'd like to go to a good Italian restaurant." In response to that simple, natural language phrase, Viv could take note of your location, use a service that ranks restaurants, make a reservation at the nearest good one and call you an Uber. In other words, like Google's plans for Assistant, Viv can use A.I. to choose the third-party integration that makes sense.

Viv is the closest thing we have to Google's Assistant. Samsung unveiled an Amazon Echo-like virtual assistant appliance in April called Otto. I think Samsung will ship Otto, and it should be powered by Viv -- as should Samsung phones, TVs and other products.

It's a near certainty that Microsoft will eventually ship a Cortana virtual assistant appliance.

Facebook is a prime candidate to create a "social" virtual assistant appliance, one that might work with Messenger and Facebook's M virtual assistant bot.

And Apple at some point will probably ship a virtual assistant appliance of some kind that runs Siri.

Why Google Assistant should win

With all this future competition, it's clear that Google is in the best position.

The effectiveness and success of an A.I. virtual assistant depends on three factors. First, the quality of the A.I. The smarter the software -- and the better able it is to understand you no matter how you talk -- the more useful and usable it will be. Two years ago, Google acquired an A.I. startup called DeepMind Technologies, which makes A.I. so smart it beats humans in Atari Breakout and Go.

The second factor is personal data. By leveraging Gmail, Searches, Contacts, Calendar, YouTube and other services, Google can easily have the best and most personal user data to apply to personal assistant relevance.

The third factor is ubiquity. Consumers won't want to switch between virtual assistants. They'll want the one that's always present. Google is uniquely positioned to be everywhere, from phones to watches to TVs and even Apple's iOS.

Google Assistant is already the most widely distributed. Alexa isn't available as a text-chat bot in a messaging app. Facebook's M is only available in Messenger. Siri isn't available on Android phones.

Finally, there's a level of habit and trust with Google. To look something up on the Internet is to "Google" it. Assistant will change that to "OK Google" it.

Talking to A.I. is the last user interface. The race is on. So far, it looks like Google is going to win.
The Government has announced that it intends to lift the 15 year time limit of British citizens living abroad being able to vote in General Elections in the UK. The change will follow other changes to make it easier for overseas voters to continue to take part in British democracy. The last Parliament saw the introduction of online voter registration and the extension of the electoral timetable for postal ballots to be issued earlier.

But the new proposal goes beyond practical improvements and represents a point of principle. It is unjust to deny our fellow countrymen the right to vote.

Chris Skidmore, the Minister for the Constitution, says:

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.

Expats retain strong links with the United Kingdom: they may have family here, and indeed they may plan to return here in the future. Modern technology and cheaper air travel has transformed the ability of expats to keep in touch with their home country.

It will also implement a promise in the Conservative manifesto last year which said:

We will introduce votes for life, scrapping the rule that bars British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years from voting.

The 15 year rule is arbitrary. There used to be a 20 year time limit but in 2000 the Labour Government cut it to 15 years, perhaps sensing some electoral advantage by disenfranchising more Conservative than Labour voters. Why, for instance, should someone whose main residence is abroad but has come back to the UK for a long visit each year be banned from voting after 16 years, while someone who has never been back for 14 years is able to vote?

We often talk of Britains advantages in terms of soft power internationally. What could be a more important manifestation of that than British people living abroad? According to the Institute for Public Policy Research there are 5.6 million of them, including 4.4 million of voting age. These days they have no difficulty in keeping up with British politics  some of them even read Conservative Home.

They show their continued loyalty in innumerable ways  why insult them by removing their right to vote and diminishing their goodwill? What of those who still have British bank accounts and still do business here, creating wealth and jobs? Why, after 15 years, should they receive, as Lord Lexden put it, a cold, terse letter from their registration officer in Britain, informing them that their rights to register and vote are at an end?

Kudos to Conservatives Abroad and Geoffrey Clifton-Brown for their campaigning on this issue. In a Ten Minute Rule Bill, Clifton-Brown compared our record to other countries:

The 15-year limit we impose on voters is one of the strictest in the world. Indeed, from my research, the only countries with stricter rules on overseas voting are Ireland, Greece and Malta, where citizens who have left their country are not allowed to vote at all. However, countries as diverse as the US, France, Japan, South Africa, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Italy all have no limit on the ability of their citizens to vote from abroad. We must surely question why, as a country with a proud history of democracy and a wide franchise, we set some of the strictest rules in the world against our own citizens.

The next challenge will be to encourage as many as possible of those who have been given the right to vote to be made aware of it (for instance when they renew their passports) and to exercise their right.
Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Terrorists are at their most terroristy when they bring deadly weapons to places one doesn't generally expect to encounter deadly weapons, like a school, or the airport. So in Die Hard II, when John McClane encounters bad dudes who somehow sneaked handguns past airport security, we know that shit has now officially gone from "mostly not that real" to "real."

We'll quote you the pertinent dialogue: "That punk pulled a Glock 7 on me, you know what that is? It's a porcelain gun made in Germany. It doesn't show up on your airport metal detectors and probably costs more than what you make in a month."



"I'm going to need the names and addresses of every sizable kiln in the tri-state area."

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

According to our research, the problem isn't that the German porcelain gun is expensive; it's that it's imaginary. First off, there isn't a Glock 7, but more importantly, there's no such thing as an entirely ceramic handgun. It's easy to make the frame or magazine of a gun out of some non-metal polymer, but things like the barrel and the pins are under way too much heat and pressure to be made of anything but good old-fashioned metal.

"Sure" you say, "maybe that gun isn't available to civilians, but surely rich people or the government could build one." That's what we thought, Reader McStrawman, until we read the story of David Byron. He kicked off all this madness about undetectable guns when he was issued a patent for one in 1987. Congress even tried to ban this as-of-yet unbuilt gun. But that didn't stop Byron from hooking up with investors and starting a company focused on making this "plastic gun" a reality.
Sussex News

Story Saved

You can find this story in My Bookmarks.

Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.
Channel programs News

Founder Of A Top Microsoft Cloud Partner, New Signature, Steps Down

Michael Novinson

Share this

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."
BRIDGEPORT - For nearly 40 years the Guardians, an organization of minority city police officers, have fought for racial equality in the Police Department.

But now the venerable organization is fighting among themselves as its president, Police Lt. Lonnie Blackwell, awaits possible disciplinary action as a result of allegations that he ordered another officer to write a phony racist letter that after several years of relative calm has sparked racial unease in the department.

A former president of the Guardians who is a witness against Blackwell recently filed a complaint with the U.S. Attorneys Office claiming he is being retaliated against by Blackwell and Dennis Bradley, the president of the Board of Education and a board member of the NAACP.

The Bridgeport branch of the NAACP recently announced it is giving Blackwell a civil rights award.

This week, propelled by reports that Blackwell and a few close members of the Guardians board approved a $10,000 donation -- the largest ever made by the organization -- to a division of the Cape Verdean Club, the Cape Verdean Womens Social Club.

Guardians member Tresha Parks, a city police officer, filed suit in Superior Court against Blackwell demanding to see the organizations financial records.

Several Guardians contend that Blackwell is using the Guardians treasury for his defense and that the $10,000 donation was made to win the influence of the citys administrative officer John Gomes, who heads the Cape Verdean Club.

Both Gomes and Blackwells lawyers deny that.

The Guardians make numerous charitable donations, said Blackwells lawyer, Thomas Bucci. This donation was not unique and any action was within the laws of charitable donations of the state of Connecticut.

Gomes said he is no longer the president of the Cape Verdean Club and that it is his understanding the Guardians donation was made to a Stratford Cape Verdean organization not linked to the club he founded.

There is no listing for a Stratford Cape Verdean organization.

Miss Parks is concerned about the state of the Guardians finances and she is concerned about returning the Guardians to a place of respect in the community, said Parks lawyer, Arthur Laske.

Financial records questioned

On Sept. 19, Parks sent a letter to Blackwell asking as a dues paying member of the organization to inspect its financial records.

My purpose in demanding the records is to insure that all funds raised and expended by the organization have been spent for purposes consistent with the purposes of the organization and consistent with all organization by-laws and requirements, her letter stated.

When Blackwell did not reply to the letter, Parks filed her lawsuit asking a judge to force Blackwell to make the records available.

Her lawsuit claims that since assuming the presidency of the Guardians, Blackwell has failed to maintain financial records of the organization, failed to conduct elections and caused expenses to be made without notice or approval of the membership.

He has participated in actions as president that have brought disrepute to the organization  specifically through his alleged participation in the drafting of a letter that purported to threaten a Guardian member and make allegations of a racist nature, the suit states. Defendant Blackwell used his position as president of the Guardians to call a news conference to publicly call for the arrest and firing of the officer who was involved in the creation of the racist letter when in fact defendant Blackwell had allegedly participated in the creation of the letter.

I dont believe the case has any merit, commented Bucci.

Police Chief Armando Perez, who admits being pressured by outside sources, is awaiting a review by the City Attorneys Office before deciding what Blackwells punishment should be in the phony racist letter incident.

Sources said the City Attorneys Office is waiting for a federal judges pending decision on Blackwells discrimination lawsuit against the Police Department before rendering a ruling on Blackwell but City Attorney R. Christopher Meyer denied that.

Its winding down, he said of the Blackwell decision. Its complicated but its close to being done.

Retaliation claim

Ron Bailey, a retired police lieutenant and former president of the Guardians, said he is afraid no action will be taken against Blackwell.

He told the citys Office of Internal Affairs that several weeks before he retired from the police department in October 2013, Blackwell asked him to write report claiming then-Assistant Chief James Nardozzi was a racist.

He wanted me to make up some things about Nardozzi making him out as a racist, he kept after me to do it but I refused, Bailey said.

Instead, he told Nardozzi what Blackwell was trying to do.

I knew what he (Blackwell) wanted me to do was not the right thing to do and he kept after me and after me to do it, Bailey said.

At the time Nardozzi demanded then-Police Chief Joseph Gaudett fire Blackwell but Gaudett delayed taking any action against Blackwell and the situation was passed on to Perez when he became chief.

In complaints filed with the Police Department, the U.S. Attorneys Office and the NAACP, Bailey claims that Blackwell is trying to get back at him for the statement he made to OIA and has enlisted Bradley to help him.

January 2016 written notice was given to Attorney Richard Buturla who is defending the city of Bridgeport against a lawsuit filed by Lonnie Blackwell and Attorney Bucci who represents Blackwell of my fears and concerns of Blackwells solicitation of others to lie on me and sully my reputation for honesty, states Baileys complaint. According to several from my church Blackwell will stop at nothing to have me look like a person of low morality. Now my concerns have been expanded to local politician/NAACP member Bradley who seems to be using his influence to harm me on Blackwells behalf.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

STRATFORD  In one of the more unusual races for a seat in the Legislature, incumbent Republican Ben McGorty is squaring off against Green Party candidate Angela Capinera in the 122nd.

McGortys campaign is stressing lowering state taxes. Capinera would like to see the state become a better caretaker of the environment.

Capinera, 39, says that she isnt spending any money on her campaign.

Its all on my Facebook page and on my website, she said in a telephone interview. She said that she has no campaign headquarters, no campaign workers and that she isnt planting any lawn signs.

She said that Connecticut isnt doing as much as it could in protecting the environment.

I believe in local environmental preservation: the Great Meadows Marsh, Remington Woods located in both Stratford and Bridgeport, and other forested and water areas like the Housatonic River, she said. These should not be built on nor destroyed.

Capinera is an advocate of rehabilitating brownfields and abandoned buildings, and she said that the state should plant more trees.

A tree should be planted for every tree taken down, she said. I believe municipalities should make this a top priority and the State should assist municipalities in this. This will improve quality of life for everyone in the State. I believe the rule of thumb should be: one tree planted per resident.

More Information Race in the 122nd Candidates: Green Party candidate Angela Capinera and Republican Ben McGorty, the incumbent Polling places: Trumbull, St. Joseph High School; Shelton, Mohegan Elementary School and Long Hill Elementary School; Stratford, Bunnell High School and Chapel Street Elementary School. Who can vote: All registered voters residing in the 122nd House District. The 122nd: The odd-shaped 122nd district includes a large swath of Shelton, and much of the Huntington, White Hills and Pine Rock Park sections, the part of Stratford north of the Merritt Parkway including Oronoque Village, and a small slice of eastern Trumbull. See More Collapse

McGorty, who is nearing the end of his first two-year term, told Hearst Connecticut Media that reining in Governor Malloys spending needs to be the front and center issue.

He keeps on spending and there seems to be no end an sight, McGorty said. Malloy is number 45 on the list of fiscally conservative governors, and thats pretty bad.

McGorty said that people are leaving the state because they cant afford to live here anymore. My in-laws are packing up and leaving for Florida, he said.

McGorty also said that to ease the income tax burden, the state needs to seriously consider tolls.

Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, they all have tolls, and we should too, and by doing this, too, he said. Thats the only way were going to get a handle on things.

McGorty, 52, is a real estate agent and a volunteer with the Shelton Fire Department. He serves on Shelton's Board of Fire Commissioners and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. Hes also Sheltons deputy fire marshal.

Capinera, 39, is a former English as a second language teacher. She operates a small business, Your Mind in Bloom, that offers tutoring for all ages and and on many subjects and writing assistance as well.

She does not now live in the district, but she would have to move there if elected. Running for office outside of the district is permitted under state law, but the candidate has a limited time in which to move. She said that she lives on a street thats considered part of Stratfords Paradise Green area, about a mile south of where the 122nd begins.

She also helps her clients with writing resumes, cover letters, test preparation and other job-search assistance.

A member of the Stratford Conservation Commission, Capinera is a volunteer EMT and she gives tours on Stratfords Great Meadows Marsh.

jburgeson@ctpost.com
As an 18-year-old, Frances Murray made the toughest decision of her young Irish-Catholic life: She left the convent. The order of the Sisters of Mercy.

Id decided to go into the convent to change the world and do all these wonderful things. The Vietnam war was under way, Cesar Chavez, and I was very concerned about those things. But the Sisters of Mercy were very conservative at that time and I was sort of the rebellious one. So I made the decision to leave, she recalled the other day.

Shes 67 now, the longtime wife of Mark Rabinowitz and our conversation took place in the second floor office of the Bridgeport Superintendent of Schools at 45 Lyon Terrace, City Hall.

Fran Rabinowitz announced last week that she was done in Bridgeport, finally driven from the job, she said, by the constant hectoring from one person on the nine-member Bridgeport Board of Education, Maria Pereira.

This is incredibly hard for me, she said. Ive only made one other decision in my life that was as horrific as this one, and thats when she talked about the convent. Her contract in Bridgeport would have run until next June 30.

People say You must be so relieved. Im not. I loved my work here. I. Loved. My. Work. Here., she reiterated.

Im hoping that by speaking out, my saying what the issue was, will at least precipitate this community to think differently about the next person coming in, and about the support they need to give that person. Im thinking that it will will cause the state to think differently. Im the third big city superintendent to be leaving by Dec. 30. (The other two are in Hartford and New Haven.) Im at a point in my career where I can say more than the other two.

She described a never-ending cascade of demands for data, emails, demands for resignation from Pereira, who was elected to the board in 2009 as a Working Families Party candidate, along with Sauda Baraka.

It was very difficult, Rabinowitz said. And she got no protection from the board. No one spoke up. No one said anything, she said. They would come to be individually. She said her problem did not extend to Pereira allies Baraka and Howard Gardner. I think they care about kids and thats their agenda and they can disagree with me forever. Theyre respectful about it, at least. They are civil. I understand they have different opinions, and thats fine. We have hashed those things out.

The straw that broke the camels back, she said, was the board decision to make the youngest kids in the system walk a mile-and-a-half to school. Thats when I really got frightened. My God, how do you do something like this when you know your streets are unsafe. I went to (police chief) A.J. Perez and he was up in arms about it, she said.

As hard as it is for me, and Im taking a risk in putting it out there, people said to me Just say youre leaving for personal reasons, and I said Im not looking for another job, I need to say why Im leaving, So I did. I didnt want to. I would have gladly stayed and looked for a new superintendent, and done whatever I could. But when you see things going awry in this way, when you find yourself dividing your energies, in just trying to filter and answer to inane things on the board, it cuts down your energy and your time to do whats really important.

Pereira obviously sees things differently. She sees a school system that is at the mercy of a political cabal that includes Democratic town chairman Mario Testa, Mayor Joe Ganim  whom she is suing to challenge his authority to appoint people to the board  and Rabinowitz. I am passionate about not having people cutting deals on the backs of 21,000 public school students, she said the other day. When Rabinowitz is gone, she said, We will do amazing work. Pereira also said shes not interested in having power, only in doing whats best for the citys school children.

The Bridgeport school board is a mess. Some of the members declared they would boycott meetings until Pereira resigned. Its a challenge to keep track of the number of members who have resigned over the last few years, and which alliances are which and who the players are without a score card. The Connecticut Supreme Court has already ruled in February 2012 that a prior state takeover of the Bridgeport School board engineered by former Mayor Bill Finch was illegal. And Pereira was on the side of the angels in that dispute.

But the state of Connecticut needs to do something about this. The Supreme Court said the takeover was illegal because the city did not first offer training to board members. A mediator, perhaps, needs to come in and get board members talking and working. It wouldnt seem likely that anyone would want to step into this situation.

Rabinowitz seemed to agree. She paused, and said, Unless theyre idealistic like me and think they can change it.

Michael J. Daly is editor of the editorial page of the Connecticut Post. Email: mdaly@ctpost.com.
CultNews101.com: news, links, resources. Cults101.org: resources about cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations and related topics. CultMediation.com: offers resources designed to help thoughtful families and friends understand and respond to the complexity of a loved ones cult involvement. Intervention101.com: to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement. CultRecovery101.com: assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
These real PA creatures could become cryptids if we don't save them
Within days of becoming prime minister in 2010, David Cameron introduced a damaging constitutional change which overturned centuries of British history.

His Fixed-Term Parliaments Act declared that general elections should take place once every five years, thus removing the traditional freedom enjoyed by British prime ministers to go to the polls at a time of their choosing.

As with almost all bad ideas, the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act was introduced with the very best of motives.

Mr Cameron knew there would be tensions in the Coalition Government. He therefore determined to send out the strongest possible signal that the administration would endure.

Mrs May owes her sudden prominence to to nothing more than an internal Tory convulsion - she was selected by a small group of MPs, not the British people

In the short term, to be fair, his clever wheeze worked well, and brought stability to the Coalition.

In the long-term, however, Mr Camerons five-year rule is proving hugely destructive.

Circumstances have changed beyond recognition. Britain is no longer governed by a fragile coalition brought together to address a catastrophic economic emergency. We have a new Tory prime minister with a tiny Commons majority and no direct mandate from the British people.

Unlike every recent prime minister  with the very telling exception of Gordon Brown  Mrs May has not come to power at a general election. She owes her sudden prominence to nothing more than an internal Tory convulsion.

She was a selected by a small group of MPs, and not the British people.

In the normal course of events, Mrs Mays logical move would be to call a general election. But she cannot do so because David Camerons Fixed-Term Parliaments Act prevents her from doing so.

Judging from his decision a fortnight ago to place Labour on an election footing, Jeremy Corbyn agrees with me

To make matters even worse, Mrs May  as she explained in her powerful Tory conference speech on Wednesday  is determined to govern in a completely different way to her predecessor.

This is partly a matter of style, but it also involves policy.

There will be a new economic policy in the wake of Chancellor Philip Hammonds decision to abandon any attempt to balance the books by 2020. Mrs Mays new education policy is completely hateful to Mr Cameron since she is set on bringing back grammar schools, a type of education to which David Cameron and his supporters were resolutely opposed.

The rudiments of a new health policy can be detected, starting with the move to train thousands more British doctors. Welfare is on the move.

Only home affairs  Mrs Mays fiefdom before her move to Number 10  looks set to remain unchanged.

Mrs May and Mr Cameron are animated by completely different political philosophies. Mr Cameron was a liberal internationalist; Mrs May is a patriotic conservative

Furthermore, Mrs May and Mr Cameron are animated by completely different political philosophies. Mr Cameron was a liberal internationalist; Mrs May is a patriotic conservative who sees her historic task as reasserting the primacy of the nation state in a complex, globalising world.

In order to further that vision she has sacked David Camerons most loyal ministers and advisers, bringing in her own team.

This means Britain has a new government. Indeed I believe there is a far greater difference between Theresa May and David Cameron than there ever was between Mr Cameron and Tony Blair.

New governments normally enjoy the mandate of the electorate, and I have no doubt that but for David Camerons five-year Act, Mrs May would have sought the mandate of the British people through a general election. Morally, this would be the right course of action, on the grounds that British voters have never had the opportunity to give their opinion on Mrs Mays new policies.

Just as crucial, it would be the wise and pragmatic thing to do. Mrs May was well-received in Birmingham this week, but one does not need to be Nostradamus to foresee that she faces huge problems in the future.

She has inherited a working majority of just 16 in the House of Commons, not nearly enough to survive the arduous programme of legislation envisaged over the next three and half years.

Back in 1992, John Major obtained a majority of 21. He was repeatedly defeated and thwarted on the floor of the Commons

Its worth remembering that back in 1992, John Major obtained a majority of 21. He was repeatedly defeated and thwarted on the floor of the Commons.

Furthermore, Mrs May confronts a problem that Major never faced. According to convention, the House of Lords can only mount serious challenges to legislation which has not been foreshadowed in general election manifestos.

None of Mrs Mays flagship policies  such as grammar schools  have been sanctioned by the electorate, meaning the Lords can cause as much trouble as it likes.

Once again, one does not need to be a soothsayer to predict trouble.

To command a majority in Parliament it is practically certain that at some stage Mrs May will be forced into a series of degrading expedients in order to assert her authority: that was the sad fate of John Major in the Nineties.

David Cameron's Fixed-Term Parliament Act was introduced with the very best of motives, but it was a damaging constitutional change

By far the most likely would be a parliamentary pact between Mrs Mays Conservatives and the hardline Democratic Unionist Party.

The DUP has eight MPs, and could certainly sustain Mrs Mays parliamentary majority. I couldnt help noticing they were present in Birmingham in force this week, and there was indeed talk of a deal.

But the price would be very damaging since it would severely weaken faith in the impartiality of the British government in Northern Ireland, and so undermine the still-fragile peace process.

For all these reasons I strongly believe Mrs May will be obliged to call a general election well before the five years are up.

Judging from his decision a fortnight ago to place Labour on an election footing, Jeremy Corbyn agrees with me.

I doubt an election is imminent, but next spring would be the natural moment for Mrs May to seek an endorsement from the British people.

She will be mindful of the heavy price paid by Gordon Brown when, in cowardly fashion, he failed to call a general election in the summer of 2007, because he feared hed lose to Mr Camerons fresh-faced Tories.

Three years on, he was defeated. Mrs May, not a stupid woman, will have learned from that mistake.

Of course David Camerons Fixed-Term Parliaments Act is an obstacle. But it is easily solved. After all, Mrs May has declared war on the Cameron legacy since becoming prime minister. She has sacked his ministers and reversed his policies.

Now, she urgently needs to repeal Cameron and Cleggs daft fixed-terms Act.

This will give her the option of seeking a popular mandate for the massive programme of economic and social revolution she announced at the Conservative conference this week.

Cameron's lack of grace

I have never made any secret of my opinion that Lord Feldman was a terrible Tory Party chairman.

Handpicked by David Cameron, he was contemptuous of party members, whom he supposedly described as swivel-eyed loons. Not a man of the people, he much preferred very wealthy party donors.

But today for the first time, I take pleasure in saluting Lord Feldman. This week he took the trouble to travel to Birmingham for the party conference in order to thank all those who worked with him for the past ten years.

Today for the first time, I take pleasure in saluting Lord Feldman - on this occasion he behaved impeccably

Whatever his previous faults, on this occasion he behaved impeccably.

If only David Cameron and George Osborne could have shown comparable grace by showing their faces in Birmingham to acknowledge the fact that they only won power thanks to the unstinting support given to them by thousands of selfless, loyal, generous-hearted party activists.

Boris slow on taxes

News of Theresa Mays much-vaunted mission to crack down on tax-dodgers appears not to have reached Boris Johnsons Foreign Office.

Last week, Johnson despatched minister Baroness Anelay to the Cayman Islands, arguably the most notorious tax haven on Earth, on a glad-handing mission, it seems.

The Cayman Islands track record of co-operation and transparency speaks for itself, simpered the Baroness  a former history teacher and magistrate who was also once heavily involved in the Citizens Advice Bureau.
In a truly remarkable week for British politics, the Prime Minister set out her passionate moral vision of how she wants to govern and where she hopes to take the country after finally breaking the shackles that have bound us to the failing European Union for more than 40 years.

In a clear pitch to disaffected Labour voters, she pledged to fight for working people whatever their allegiances. Her mantra was fairness for all  not just the privileged few.

At a stroke, she consigned the Cameron era  with its sofa government and cosying up to vested interests  to the dustbin of history and gave notice to the City and big corporations that they must pay their fair share of taxes and treat their employees decently.

Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech during the fourth day of the Conservative Party Conference 2016 at the ICC Birmingham on October 5, 2016 in Birmingham, England

And on the huge issue of Europe, she promised that the democratic will of the people would be honoured in full. There would be no soft Brexit sell-out, where control over our borders would be traded for access to the single market.

This mission statement  part One-Nation, part traditional Toryism  could not have come at a more significant time. With Labour in utter chaos and Ukip descending into bitterness and fisticuffs, millions of voters could be persuaded to come into the Tory fold.

In his latest reshuffle, Jeremy Corbyn promoted those monstrous hypocrites Diane Abbott (who rails against selective schools but sent her son to one) and Shami Chakrabarti (who chaired Labours whitewash inquiry into anti-semitism and apparently wanted to send her son to Eton) to top shadow cabinet jobs. Risibly, he also made a husband-beater shadow minister for women and equalities.

Prime Minister Theresa May and her Husband Philip John: In her first speech to conference as Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to reach out to the centre ground and try to appeal traditional Labour voters

Although he poses as a man of the people, Mr Corbyn and his cronies couldnt be more Metropolitan in their values. They have nothing in common with traditional Labour supporters outside London, who feel abandoned.

This is a golden opportunity for Mrs May to convert these voters while also bringing back Tories who defected to Ukip.

But there are many challenges ahead. As always, it will be the enemy within who pose the biggest threat. The Prime Minister has a working majority of just 16 and embittered Tory Remainers led by ex-chancellor George Osborne are already threatening to subvert the referendum result in the Commons.

And if the Lords  with a built-in anti-Tory majority  reject Brexit legislation, she may have trouble using the Parliament Act to overrule them. The Act is normally invoked only to force through manifesto commitments. In the 2015 Tory manifesto there was a commitment to the referendum but not to actually leaving the EU.

But the prize at stake in this battle is huge. If Mrs May prevails, Britain could enter a new era of freedom and prosperity  and she will go down as one of our greatest prime ministers.

Sir Craig Oliver is to join an American lobbying firm

So less than three months after leaving Downing Street, David Camerons chief spin doctor Sir Craig Oliver is to join an American lobbying firm, which advises companies how to influence Government plans for Brexit. How tawdry that Oliver  an obscure middle-ranking television executive before being catapulted into Number Ten  is happy to sell the inside knowledge and contacts he gained at Downing Street to the highest bidder. Its the kind of shameless, cynical behaviour that has corroded public trust in politics.

French president Francois Hollande threatens to make Britain pay a price for leaving the EU. Putting aside the fact that France will still want to sell us its wine and attract millions of British tourists, wouldnt he do better to look at the terrifying social tensions in his own country with the rise of the far Right and its rapidly deteriorating economy.
DAVID BLUNKETT: Yes, Labour is now the 'nasty party'

Theresa May's depiction of Labour as the new 'nasty party' was a skilful piece of political rebranding  and regrettably accurate.

When Jeremy was first elected last year, I warned in this paper that it would lead to an outbreak of sectarian bitterness.

It has been even worse than I feared. The leadership has looked the other way as hatred, and even anti-semitism, have poisoned the party's public discourse.

It is critical that the Labour leadership takes the kind of measures which will demonstrate to a sceptical electorate that they really mean to stamp out this bullying and intimidation. Unless Jeremy Corbyn takes unequivocal steps to reign in the activist group Momentum and, above all, to protect sitting MPs from threats to their position, then 'nasty' will be a term which will stick as firmly to Jeremy's regime as it previously did to the Conservatives.

At the end of last week, Jeremy mounted another one of his reshuffles. But I fear that it will not bring about the change which I crave.

Rosie Winterton, who had tried to broker an uneasy peace in the party, is gone as Chief Whip, to be replaced by tough Nick Brown.

Vocal: Jeremy Corbyn supporters at a Westminster rally yelling in support of their leader

His return after six years to the post  critical for enforcing the will of the leader over his opponents  is a sign that Jeremy wants to crack down on internal dissent, not Left-wing mud-slinging.

Ironically, Nick was unable to discipline the very people now running the party when their opposition was presented as 'principled', but who today proclaim any disagreement as betrayal.

And so many questions about the judgment of the Corbyn leadership are raised by his appointment of Diane Abbot as Shadow Home Secretary and Shami Chakrabarti as Shadow Attorney General.

As a former Home Secretary, I know that protecting the public at home and promoting our security abroad has to be the primary concern of any aspirant alternative government. But Diane and Shami have both been deeply critical of our intelligence and security services over the years.

While the Labour Party makes this further move to the Left, Mrs May is parking her tanks on the wide expanse of the middle ground.

DAVID BLUNKETT: As a former Home Secretary, I know that protecting the public at home and promoting our security abroad has to be the primary concern

By reminding conference delegates that she once used 'nasty' to describe her own party, she managed to defuse that toxic legacy, while simultaneously landing a blow on Jeremy.

And in the process, she laid claim to the coveted centre ground of British politics which formed the bedrock of Tony Blair's three General Election wins.

Policies such as putting workers on company boards, relaxing the grip of the energy companies and introducing a new industrial strategy all point to an attempt to put the party on course to win over what are called the working and lower middle classes who should feel most at home in Labour.

My fear is that this approach could bring her the same level of electoral success as that enjoyed by Tony  unless Labour acts now to check her advance.

They could start by vigorously attacking those policies of Mrs May's which are equally 'nasty', such as the suggestion by her Home Secretary Amber Rudd last week that we should demonise foreign workers in the UK by publishing lists of those who are not British citizens.

This is a desperately divisive and dangerous step, reminiscent of the nastiest politics of the 20th Century.
Baby Shireen was born last year and Amelia remains close with her family

At 40 weeks pregnant Amelia Seymour started to feel sick.

She had a headache and felt like she was going to throw up, there was a stitch in her right side and it felt like the baby had its foot in her ribs.

Had she simply taken some painkillers and gone to sleep that night both Ms Seymour and the baby would not be here today.

Instead, with her blood pressure worryingly high, she was rushed to hospital where an emergency caesarean delivered the baby safely in to the arms of her waiting parents.

Little Shireen Amelia was born via her surrogate mother Amelia Seymour on December 27, who suffered from a life threatening condition while pregnant

Ms Seymour (pictured second right with her fiance Shane Beukes, right), was a surrogate for Sydney couple Cyrus Patel and his wife Ameera Mahmood (left and second left)

Ms Seymour is a surrogate who risked her life to give Sydney couple Cyrus Patel and his wife Ameera Mahmood the gift of life, their baby girl Shireen Amelia.

The complications during her pregnancy were the result of Hellp Syndrome, a variant of preeclampsia.

But despite the difficulties, Ms Seymour, who is 26 years old and has not yet had a child of her own, remains comfortable with her decision to be a surrogate.

For me pregnancy was a medical status, she wasnt my baby, Ms Seymour said.

She was Cyrus and Ameeras baby before she was even conceived.

Ms Seymour said Shireen (pictured) was never her baby and she had no problem giving her to her parents

Mr Seymour, who lives in Sydney with her fiance Shane Beukes, was just 21 years old when she decided to donate her eggs.

I was originally donating blood, but I had a vein collapse while donating plasma, she said.

Unable to donate again, one of the nurses jokingly suggested she donate her eggs.

Six weeks later she met with her first couple looking to become parents.

I had everything, I was young, healthy and had lots of eggs, everything ticked the boxes, Ms Seymour said.

She initially started by donating her eggs, but after repeated failed rounds of IVF for the couples she donated to, she decided to become a surrogate

What Ms Seymour didnt realise was that donating an egg, and implanting an embryo, did not always result in a baby.

You can do years and years of IVF and not get anywhere, she said.

I thought it shouldnt be this hard.

With that in mind, she decided to become a surrogate.

She met Cyrus and Ameera on an online forum, and flew from her then home in rural Queensland to Sydney to meet them.

CYRUS PATEL AND AMEERA MAHMOOD SHARE THEIR STORY Cyrus Patel and Ameera Mahmood had been trying to fall pregnant for nine years. Ameera has severe endometriosis, and despite going through seven years of IVF, the couple were unable to conceive. On their last round of IVF Ameera was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, a diagnosis that shocked them. While she was able to beat the disease, they stopped having IVF. The Sydney couple initially looked in to adoption, but soon found in Australia it could take more than 10 years for them to successfully adopt a baby, if they were successful at all. From there they started to learn about surrogacy, and put their story online to see if they could find both an egg donor and a surrogate. We put our story up on an internet site and were so excited when Amelia contacted us a couple of weeks later, Mr Patel told Daily Mail Australia. As the couple got to know Amelia Seymour better, they became confident that surrogacy would work for them. For both Ameera and I it was important that we could form a friendship and an ongoing relationship with our surrogate, Mr Patel said. It has worked out beautifully and now we consider Amelia and Shane [her fiance] to be one of our closest friends. Holding their daughter, Shireen Amelia, for the first time was surreal. Seeing and holding Shireen for the first time was wonderful, Mr Patel said. Ameera was crying as she did skin-to-skin. Shireen was so perfect - it took a long time for it to sink in that this was real and not just a dream. Now Mr Patel said they consider Ms Seymour to be family and they catch up regularly. It is very important for us that we and Shireen spend time with Amelia and Shane, he said. We'll never be able to repay Amelia and Shane for what they have given us but we'll be grateful and thankful for the rest of our lives. When Shireen is older they plan to speak with her openly and honestly about their surrogacy journey. Mr Patel said he would recommend surrogacy to others, on the condition they took it seriously. Most importantly I would stress that IPs (intended parents) need to look after their surrogate and try their best to help alleviate any difficulties she might face, he said. Cyrus and Ameera had tried to fall pregnant for nine years before they had Shireen through surrogacy. They are pictured together with their dog Samantha Advertisement

In Australia, in all states except the Australian Capital Territory, you must be at least 25 years old to become a surrogate.

At 22 years old Ms Seymour had people expressing concern that she would become attached to the baby and not be able to give it up.

But she was determined, and at 24 fell pregnant.

Before they had the baby both couples decided on three non negotiables for their pregnancy: they maintain an active relationship, the baby receives breast milk and no caesarean birth

Together with Cyrus and Ameera Ms Seymour determined the three non negotiables for their pregnancy: they maintain an active relationship, the baby receives breast milk and Ms Seymour would not have a caesarean birth.

Despite a rocky start - initial tests showed Ms Seymours HCG pregnancy levels were well below what they should be - the pregnancy went smoothly until days before the due date.

In the last month of pregnancy Ms Seymour gained 40 kilos, and in the final days before she was due started to feel pain, nausea and had a high blood pressure.

On the advice of her midwife they went to hospital, where doctors told her she needed an emergency cesarean.

WHAT IS HELLP SYNDROME? SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT HELLP syndrome is a life-threatening pregnancy complication usually considered to be a variant of preeclampsia. It can be difficult to diagnose. Its symptoms are sometimes mistaken for gastritis, flu, acute hepatitis, gall bladder disease or other conditions. Symptoms can include a headache, nausea, vomiting or indigestion, abdominal or chest tenderness, shoulder pain, bleeding, changes in vision or swelling. Signs to look out for are a high blood pressure or protein in the urine. Most often, the definitive treatment for women with HELLP Syndrome is the delivery of their baby. If a baby weighs at least 2 pounds (more than 1000 grams) at birth, they have the same survival rate and health outcome of non-HELLP babies of the same size. Women with a history of HELLP syndrome are at increased risk of all forms of preeclampsia in subsequent pregnancies. For more information visit preeclampsia.org. Advertisement

By sharing her story Ms Seymour hopes to raise awareness about Hellp Syndrome and share their successful surrogacy story

Ms Seymours organs were shutting down.

Her liver shut down, her kidneys started to show issues, there was a high amount of protein in her urine and her platelet levels were too low.

It was only three days after giving birth that doctors told her she had Hellp Syndrome.

Hellp syndrome is a life-threatening pregnancy complication usually considered to be a variant of preeclampsia.

The syndrome can be difficult to diagnose as many of the symptoms  headaches, nausea, abdominal pain, bleeding or swelling  are common symptoms of pregnancy.

Ms Seymour said Hellp Syndrome was like your body was having an autoimmune response to a foreign body, and she said it is more common in a surrogate or donor pregnancy where you have no previous exposure to the sperm used.

Cyrus and Ameera are now good friends with Ms Seymour and Mr Beukes. They plan to be open with Shireen about their surrogacy journey

Hellp Syndrome has a one in 1,000 chance of occurring, and preeclampsia a one in 100 chance, Ms Seymour said.

When you have a donor egg or donor sperm preeclampsia is a one in three risk.

We would have made decisions differently if we had known those risk factors.

Doctors told Ms Seymour and her fiance Mr Beukes there would be a six to 10 per cent chance of her developing Hellp Syndrome should they fall pregnant together, which they hope to do.

If she becomes a surrogate again in the future, the risk is back to one in three.

Its normal now for a child to be born through IVF I never really understood why its so taboo,' Ms Seymour said. Pictured is Mr Beukes and Shireen

By sharing their story Ms Seymour hopes to raise awareness both about surrogacy and Hellp Syndrome.

She has found a support group of other women who share her condition, and said while her kidneys recovered quickly, her liver is still not back to normal.

Nine months after little Shireen was born, the couples are all still in regular contact.

Theyre like family, theyre good friends of ours, and not because I carried their baby, Ms Seymour said.

Its normal now for a child to be born through IVF I never really understood why its so taboo.
At 22 weeks pregnant, Sandi Cooper received news that would horrify any expectant mother.

As she rolled over in bed one night she felt a lump in her chest and, although she was not worried, went to see her doctor the next day 'just in case'.

After a battery of tests, the mother-of-three from Bundaberg, Queensland, was shocked to learn she had aggressive breast cancer requiring urgent treatment.

Nagging feeling: After feeling a lump in her breast, Sandi Cooper went to the doctor on the off chance it could be something serious

'I'm very glad that I did visit the doctors. I think I just had that nagging feeling,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'I think at the time I honestly didn't believe it would be anything too drastic.

'I thought they would be able to clear it with antibiotics.'

Within a week of her diagnosis Mrs Cooper began a series of journeys from Bundaberg to Brisbane  an eight hour round trip  to treat the stage two cancer with chemotherapy.

'Nothing too drastic': Mrs Cooper was told the lump was an aggressive, stage two breast cancer. She is pictured with newborn son Dane

The 34-year-old said she quickly came to terms with the diagnosis and focused her energy on beating the disease.

'I must admit I think I felt quite at peace about it. Initially you go, 'Oh man, what are we going to do about this'.

'But all the evidence out there says there's never been any adverse effects on the baby from the treatment.'

Supportive: Mrs Cooper said her two children Bree, four, and Taj, seven, took her diagnosis in their stride

Her husband and two older children Taj, seven, and Bree, four, were also enormously supportive, she said.

'I think my husband was quite worried at first, obviously we had never experienced anything like this in our family.

'He expected I'd be bedridden and he'd have to stop work to care for us.

Normal life: After the initial shock of the diagnosis, the Coopers quickly settled back into a normal routine. Bree (left) and Taj (right) are pictured with baby brother Dane

Happy family: Bree (left) and Taj (right) meet their baby brother Dane at Bundaberg Hospital

'But I handled my first lot of chemotherapy very well. He could see I was still functioning and life could be kind of normal.

IS IT SAFE TO HAVE CHEMO WHILE PREGNANT? Being diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy is rare  about one in 1000 women are affected. It is possible for some pregnant women to have chemotherapy. Recommendations will be based on the type of cancer, its stage, the other treatment options, and how to avoid harming the developing baby. Sometimes chemotherapy or other treatment can be delayed until after the babys birth. Often women undergo chemotherapy during pregnancy will be advised to stop at least 34 weeks before the delivery date. This is because chemotherapy increases the risk of bleeding or getting an infection during the birth. Researchers are currently doing long-term studies on women and children to explore this issue further. Source: Cancer Council Advertisement

'The other kids also took it in their stride.'

After four rounds of chemotherapy, Mrs Cooper gave birth to baby Dane at 36 weeks via caesarean section.

'They thought they would need to have him in care for a little while because he was a bit premature.

'But once he came out he was perfectly healthy.

'We were told early on he would have a full head of hair when he was born. It's funny - he's got a full head of hair and I don't have any.'

Things are also looking up for Mrs Cooper's cancer prognosis.

'I'm starting another 12 week round of chemotherapy. Every Thursday I have a round at the hospital in Bundaberg.

'I'll finish that up on December 22 and sometime in January I'll have some surgery.

'I'm really, really lucky that I have such good friends and family around me. I feel very blessed that things have worked out the way they have.'
Model Winnie Harlow has cemented her status as one of the fashion industry's most talented stars by appearing in a stunning cover shoot for trendy publication Hunger Magazine.

The 22-year-old Canadian - who was diagnosed with the rare skin condition Vitiligo when she was just four years old - was shot by famed fashion photographer, and Hunger Magazine publisher, Rankin for the spread, which sees her proudly showing off her skin in a series of chic high-fashion ensembles.

For the cover shot, Winnie, who is rumored to be dating Lewis Hamilton, can be seen posing provocatively and bearing her cleavage in a stunning beaded black gown, arching her back while leaning towards the camera.

Scroll down for video

Strike a pose: Model Winnie Harlow appears in a provocative cover shoot for Hunger Magazine

Walking in the air: The 22-year-old catwalk star was photographed in and around London by famed fashion photographer and Hunger publisher Rankin

Another quirky image appears to capture the model as she is hovering a few feet off the ground, while wearing a bright pink tweed Chanel suit, complete with matching boots, hat and handbag.

Winnie can also be seen 'flying' in the air in another shot, this time while modeling a pink and black puffer coat, matching pink purse and another embellished black dress, adding a few chunky pearl necklaces to finish the look off.

Both images see the model posing against a London-based backdrop - while one of the final shots from the spread, a beautiful black-and-white snap, shows Winnie in a studio, posing with her arms up in the air while showcasing a stunning sequin suit.

The high-profile shoot is just the latest in a long line of projects for the model, who has seen her star continue to rise over the past year.

And as well as her fashion success, the model has also been praised for spreading a positive message about body confidence and acceptance, having spoken out on a number of occasions about how she learned to love herself and her Vitiligo.

So chic: Winnie models a series of high-fashion ensembles for the shoot, including this snazzy sequined suit

Star on the rise: From walking on the runways at Fashion Week to posing in numerous campaigns, Winnie has become one of the year's most successful models

On Monday, Winnie treated her legion of Instagram followers to a rather sexy snap, which saw her posing in barely-there lingerie - while encouraging her fans to be confident about their own bodies.

The catwalk queen has faced up to many cruel comments about her looks in the past, but she proudly hit back at her critics with a touching message shared alongside the saucy social media snap.

Confidently flaunting her incredible figure in a tiny grey bra and over-sized black knickers, Winnie captioned the picture with a powerful sentiment, writing: 'Confidence doesnt eliminate insecurities, and insecurities dont mean youre not confident #human.'

The post comes just weeks after the Canadian beauty took to the social media site to express her disdain of being called 'brave'.

Poser: Winnie treated her legion of Instagram followers to a rather sexy snap on Monday, wearing barely-there lingerie, while encouraging her fans to be confident about their bodies

Striking: The model, who was diagnosed with Vitiligo at the age of four, suffered years of bullying and admitted she was even called a 'zebra' and 'cow'

Winnie, who is among one per cent of the population to have the rare skin condition, wrote: 'If one more person calls me brave I think Imma flip my s**t.

'Thats the problem with equality. We dont see ourselves as equals. We only see differences. If someone without vitiligo has confidence they arent deemed brave.

'Im a confident normal a** human, not some being who must be so brave to go outside looking like that looking like what, myself?

'Because I dont look like you its so incredible to be confident? I dont want to look like you, Im gorgeous. [sic]'

The 5ft 9in model, who is rumoured to be dating Lewis Hamilton, often opens up about her rare condition, insisting that she is far more than just her skin.

Beauty: Winnie has become one of the most sought-after models of the year

New couple alert? The 5ft 9in model, who is rumoured to be dating Lewis Hamilton, often opens up about her rare condition, expressing she is more than just her skin

She said: 'I get comments that I am a leper. I control how my skin changes, I bleach my skin, my skin's burned. None of those are true.

'If one day I'm all black I'm still a model. If one day I'm all white I'm still a model. I am not my skin. I am a model with a skin condition.'

In another interview with Cosmopolitan magazine, she added: 'Kids called me a cow and mooed at me. I remember sitting by my window wishing upon the stars that my skin condition would go away.'

Winnie was scouted on Facebook and was quickly snapped up to star in a string of campaigns and music videos.

Her big break came when she starred on America's Next Top Model in 2014, when Tyra Banks said that Winnie's skin breaks down barriers of what is considered beautiful.
Every hospital has a number of small, sparsely furnished rooms used by doctors to impart bad news, with a sofa, soft lamp and box of tissues on the table.

In the past six months, Amy and Nick Brace, parents of a 21-week-old baby girl called Marnie, have been ushered into these rooms with grim regularity.

The first was before their beloved daughter was even born, and then most recently, just six weeks ago, to be told she is desperately ill and will die unless she is given a new heart.

Scroll down for video

In the past six months, Amy and Nick Brace, parents of a 21-week-old baby girl called Marnie, have been ushered into rooms used by doctors to impart bad news with grim regularity. Above, Amy with Marnie

'You know when they guide you towards those little rooms that something very serious is happening,' says Amy. 'It's never going to be good news. It feels like we've been in and out of those rooms forever.'

Marnie made headlines this week as the youngest patient currently on the UK's heart transplant waiting list.

She was born with several severe heart defects, including a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, where the walls of the heart are much thicker than normal and seriously impair its function.

In Marnie's case, this may be a result of a genetic disorder called Noonan syndrome  little-known despite affecting one in every 2,500 liveborn babies in the UK  which is sometimes hard to detect until cardiac problems appear.

Marnie (pictured with her parents) was born with several severe heart defects, including a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, where the walls of the heart are much thicker than normal and seriously impair its function

Marnie doesn't have the facial features characteristic of the disorder (wide-spaced eyes and low-set ears, for example), and genetic testing hasn't yet given a positive result, but a full diagnosis is ongoing.

And yet as she lies on a pink bedspread in her cot at the Evelina Children's Hospital in Central London, she is alert and obviously happy, following the movements of her 21-month-old brother, Jonah, with big blue eyes and smiling up at the nurse who changes the feeding bag hooked above her.

'She idolises her brother,' says Amy. 'And she's not a laid-back baby; she's quite cheeky. If she doesn't want to do something, she won't do it.

'The fact is we're on untrodden territory here. She's on experimental levels of heart medication, which is scary, and the doctors are constantly monitoring her just to keep her stable. We're living one day at a time, but what she needs is a new heart as soon as possible. She just has to hold on until it can happen.'

Their pain is compounded by the terrible knowledge that child transplant patients are not expected to live to late adulthood. Indeed, average life expectancy after receiving a new heart is only 15 to 20 years.

Some people have had more than one heart transplant, however, and in theory it may be possible to extend Marnie's life with successive transplants. For now, these thoughts seem a long way off  and what parent could put such statistics above their own baby's survival?

Marnie doesn't have the facial features characteristic of the disorder (wide-spaced eyes and low-set ears, for example), and genetic testing hasn't yet given a positive result, but a full diagnosis is ongoing

This is a dilemma they never imagined they'd face  who does?  and they're both acutely aware that what Marnie needs is also the most difficult thing for another family to give. 'What it comes down to,' says Nick, 'is that we're waiting for another child to die.'

'There's no word for what we're asking,' adds Amy. 'Gift doesn't cover it, does it? And I know it's a terrible thing to ask, too, and that just because I'm going through this doesn't mean I have the right to expect it of someone. All we want is for people to give the concept of organ donation some thought.

'We know, more than anyone, that when you have a new baby you think only of the wonderful things your child has ahead of them.

'Most people have no idea where they really stand on organ donation, and if something horrific does happen, in the middle of all that grief and shock, the last thing you can focus on is the person who comes into the room and asks about donating your child's organs.

'I know I wouldn't have been able to, before this. But then the chance to save other children is missed. All we want is that people know their own minds now, just in case.'

While calm and eloquent on these issues, it's clear that deep sorrow lies not far beneath for this couple.

'Some days Nick can't stop sobbing,' says Amy at one point, as she watches him take Jonah for a walk around the hospital canteen.

'We work well as a team, but it's a see-saw  one of us will be relatively OK and the other will be low, and then the next day, we've swapped. But not coping isn't an option.'

They take turns to spend time by Marnie's bedside so that she's never alone. Nervous exhaustion is Amy's constant companion. 'If I'm honest, I was scared just by the prospect of being a mother of two at the age of 30,' she says.

Marnie's parents' pain is compounded by the terrible knowledge that child transplant patients are not expected to live to late adulthood. Indeed, average life expectancy after receiving a new heart is only 15 to 20 years. Also pictured, Marnie's brother, Jonah

'But I'd always wanted my children close together. I'm very close to my own two sisters and I wanted them to have that kind of relationship, too. And now what I'd give for all the mundane bits of motherhood. Those normal, every-day chores.'

To break up a squabble. To tread on Lego with bare feet. To collapse exhausted at the end of the day, purely from the exertion of being a full-time mother. To not spend every waking moment hoping, somewhere, someone else's child might die, so your child can live.

A year ago, with their second child on the way, the family moved from Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire to Eastbourne in East Sussex, and Amy  a civilian police caseworker  started putting down roots, making friends, joining playgroups and thinking about schools.

Meanwhile, Nick, 42, did up the new house and threw himself into his recruitment business.

The future was looking good, with its promise of busy motherhood and a new working life for Nick.

Most people think getting a new heart will fix a child for ever, and it's what we thought, too. But it doesn't Marnie's mother, Amy

Then, 31 weeks into the pregnancy, Amy began to worry that the baby wasn't moving enough inside and that her bump was too small.

She was sent to hospital in Hastings for a check-up scan. Not long after, she and Nick were led into the first of those foreboding little rooms.

'The sonographer said the walls of her heart looked a bit thick and that we needed a second opinion. Everything moved very fast after that.'

Referred to the Evelina, which is attached to St Thomas' Hospital, Amy and Nick spent hours waiting for a tentative verdict.

When it came, it could hardly have been worse: the defects in Marnie's heart were severe and it was possible she might not live.

'I think that was probably the worst time of all,' says Amy.

'We just fell apart. I went home thinking, well, it's up to me to keep her alive. It felt like such a burden, such a responsibility. I was constantly checking her movement, constantly on tenterhooks, sending myself crazy. We both fell into a kind of depression at that point.'

At 37 weeks, in May this year, Marnie was induced at the Evelina and, defying expectation, emerged 'in good shape'  a small but chubby 6 lbs 10 oz with a full head of hair.

At that point doctors believed she could live with her own heart, and she was sent home at ten days old on stabilising drugs. And yet her survival was far from certain. 'We did a first-aid resuscitation course in the maternity ward at the Evelina and I cried the whole way through,' says Amy.

'The reality was we were going home with a very fragile baby who could die at any moment. All those things people say about babies  oh, they're tough, they're resilient  none of that was true of Marnie.'

For a few 'blissful' weeks, they were a family together, conscious of making the most of that summer.

It didn't last. Breast-fed at the start, Marnie began to have trouble feeding and required a tube inserted through her nose straight into her stomach, which Amy and Nick had to sterilise and manage at home.

'It was terrifying. The one thing she needed to do was to grow, because that would help the heart condition, but instead she was screaming whenever we tried to feed her until her face went grey.'

Instinctively, Amy knew her baby's condition was deteriorating, and yet she was so tired she found it hard to trust her judgment.

'I remember saying to Nick, 'Is it me, or does she look grey to you? Is her face always this colour?'

At the height of summer, back in hospital in Hastings for a check-up, Marnie's condition again took a dramatic turn for the worse.

'I'll never forget it. There was a nurse there who took one look at her and said: 'I think this baby is going into heart failure.' And I thought: I knew it. And then I thought: oh God, I don't want to be right. And in an instant the room was full of people and there was talk of getting a helicopter.

'In the end we were blue-lit in an ambulance back up to London and the Evelina. That was two months ago. We haven't been home since.'

In another small, sombre room, for the first time there was talk of a heart transplant. Transplants in babies are rare  this year there have been just two in the UK  and the leading centre is Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Professor Michael Burch is head of cardiology.

It was clear Marnie met all the criteria to go on the list  chief among them that she won't survive until the age of two without a new heart.

'Doctors have made it very clear to us that she won't get even close to two,' says Amy. And yet the meeting with Professor Burch, when it came, was traumatic. 'He's an incredibly senior man,' says Nick, 'and he sat there and said to us: 'If there's one thing you take away, understand this: life expectancy of children who have heart transplants is 15 to 20 years.'

'A transplant isn't a cure,' says Amy quietly. 'It's a treatment plan.'

'And that's when our world came crashing down,' says Nick. 'Most people think getting a new heart will fix a child for ever, and it's what we thought, too. But it doesn't.'

Tragically, what it actually means is that they're quite likely to die as teenagers instead  although there is always the hope that having a second transplant, and perhaps one day even a third, could give Marnie a chance of a longer future.

'In fact, there are parents who decide not to place their very young children on the transplant list because they don't think a teenager could cope psychologically with knowing that they're going to die. So for their sake they don't do it.'

'It was at that point,' whispers Amy, 'that I just thought: how? How do you do this? I don't feel old enough or responsible enough to make this decision. How can you bring up a little girl and not let her dream of her future? Every time I start to think about it, I know I'm going to cry.'

'In the end it was a no-brainer,' says Nick. 'There are plenty of children who have normal, happy childhoods after transplant. Life could be wonderful  and we'd cope with whatever came after that. We have to give her the best chance we can.'

In the few hours spent away from Marnie, Nick and Amy have thrown themselves into the campaign to bring English law on organ donation into line with that in Wales, where a revolutionary change to the scheme was introduced last year.

Currently in England, potential donors aged over 18 have to opt into the nationwide organ donor scheme by registering their consent to donate after death  but in Wales, following landmark legislation, you have to expressly opt out or donation is automatic. For children, parental consent is still required in both countries.

According to NHS statistics, almost 49,000 people in the UK have waited for an organ transplant in the past ten years and more than 6,000, including 270 children, have died before receiving one. Wales's new scheme, also known as 'deemed consent', is expected to save hundreds of lives. Amy and Nick are urging everyone to sign a petition to force Parliament to debate a similar change in England.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Donate to the Braces fund by visiting: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/baby marniesnewheart Sign the petition on organ donation at: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/128473 Advertisement

'Wales had led the way and it seems obvious and sensible for England to follow,' says Amy.

But what they do most is wait and hope. When a heart becomes available for transplant, there is a four-hour time limit from the moment it is removed to surgery itself.

At all hours of the day and night a team at Great Ormond Street know exactly where Nick and Amy are  having mothballed business and home, they're living at Ronald McDonald House in Central London, run by a charity that provides free lodgings to parents of ill children.

By the time they get the call, an operating team will have been assembled and a theatre prepared.

And, of course, the call could come at any time.

'I don't sleep very well,' says Amy. 'I haven't for months. I have horrific dreams that wake me in the middle of the night. All we can do is believe this is going to happen for Marnie.
Nearly half of IVF cycles in the UK are linked to male fertility problems, statistics suggest

A generation of men are refusing to grow up and have children until it may be too late, fertility experts warn.

Nearly half of IVF cycles in the UK are linked to male fertility problems, statistics suggest.

And specialists say women have been blamed for dwindling fertility for too long  with men putting off fatherhood, unaware their ticking biological clock will slash their chances of children.

A team at Yale Fertility Centre in the US is studying the extent to which paternal age affects IVF outcomes, with results due to be presented later this month at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine congress in Salt Lake City.

Some 49 per cent of IVF cycles carried out in Britain in 2014 were due to male factors  up from 31 per cent in 2010, according to the latest records from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

Experts last night said that in clinics they found four to five in every ten couples needed help because of male fertility problems.

Specialists say the main reason is that sperm counts and sperm quality decline with age.

Studies show women with older partners take longer to conceive and are more likely to miscarry, with their children at greater risk of birth defects.

Yet older fathers are celebrated, such as Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood who became a father again this year aged 68. Professor Allan Pacey, a male fertility expert at Sheffield University, said: Older mothers are lambasted, but for a man of the age of Ronnie Wood, we hand round the cigars, slap him on the back and say, Theres life in the old dog yet. It is something deep-rooted in society.

A team at Yale Fertility Centre in the US is studying the extent to which paternal age affects IVF outcomes

Yet younger men are not interested in settling down, experts warn. Kevin McEleny, a consultant urologist in Newcastle who specialises in male fertility, said: Generally men assume fertility is a female problem  they dont want to talk about it, and if there is a problem, they do not want to engage with counselling. Women say to us that their men have a problem of kidulthood.

The woman may want to have a children, but they may not be able to find a male partner who is ready. The woman is ready, but the man wants to put it off and put it off.

And she comes to us and says, The man Im with still wants to play with his PlayStation.

Although men do not see the same dramatic fertility drop-off as women in their late 30s and early 40s, they still have a marked decline. Professor Pacey said: Men over the age of 40 are half as fertile as men under the age of 25.

There is also a big jump in miscarriages after male age of 40, and an increased risk to child health. The average age of fathers was 33.1 in 2014, nearly four years older than four decades earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics.

AT 28, I WASN'T KEEN ON FATHERHOOD Collin Humphrey with his daughter Mae Collin Humphrey is a proud dad. Five-year-old Mae is the centre of his world, the reason to go to work every day and rush home each evening. There is nothing like the love you get from a child  the way they you respond to you is incredible, they give you so much back, said Mr Humphrey, 38, from Newcastle. But ten years ago he was not so keen on fatherhood. My wife Rhona and I had decided to start a family, but it turned out not to be so easy. When tests showed Mrs Humphrey, a nurse, who is now 36, had no fertility problems, doctors turned their attention to her husband. Mr Humphrey, a very keen cyclist who works for a financial services firm, had varicoceles - enlarged veins in the scrotum - which would require an operation. He also had an extremely low sperm count, which meant he would need a second operation to extract sperm from his testicles. At the time, in his late-20s, all Mr Humphreys focus was on his cycling. I was cycling ten to 15 hours a week, with an eye to maybe turning professional, he said. I didnt want to be out of training for weeks and weeks for an operation, especially as it might not work. I was a typical male saying, theres nothing wrong with me. I just wanted to put it all off. Mr Humphreys marriage nearly fell apart as his wife tried to persuade him to undergo the procedures. I had nobody to talk to about it, my mates would have just laughed about it. Eventually, his doctor, urologist Kevin McEleny at Newcastle Fertility Centre, intervened. I was used to all these female nurses, but at last here was this bloke who could look me in the eye and tell me how it was, Mr Humphrey said. He told me I was going to chuck it all away  my marriage, my chance of being a father, everything. After the two operations, and two rounds of IVF, Mae was finally born five years ago. And her father has not looked back. Mae is the star of the show, he said. Advertisement

Some 15 per cent of children born in England and Wales in 2014 had a father aged 40-plus.

The age of mothers has increased at almost exactly the same rate  they had an average age of 30.2 in 2014, and 26.4 in 1974.

Professor Pacey said: Everyone bashes women for waiting too long, but the increase in male age has completely paralleled it. There is a huge focus on female fertility, but women cannot do it by themselves.

He said men were as much to blame for wanting to hold off, adding: There is always another holiday to go on, another step on the career ladder to take, and men underestimate the impact that age can have. Men are not good at talking about it, there is a big taboo around it.

Professor Adam Balen, of the British Fertility Society, said: Young men may not be committing in perhaps the same way they were in the past. They need to be better informed  they need to realise that fertility is not just a female issue.

Some scientists think sperm quality and sperm count for the average man have fallen over the past few decades, irrespective of age.

Advice for improving fertility includes cutting down on drinking and eating more healthily.

Specialists even say that stopping wearing tight underwear and sleeping nude can lower levels of damaged sperm by 25 per cent.

But not all experts are convinced, with many arguing labs are simply better at examining sperm now.

For men with low sperm counts or slow-moving sperm, treatment can help. That involves selecting the best sperm, injecting it into an egg, and then starting a cycle of IVF.
Those tech billionaires in Silicon Valley who spend their money trying to find ways to live for ever are barking up the wrong tree. Can you think of anything worse than going on and on as your health gradually fails?

This week, their goal of achieving eternal life took a big blow.

According to scientists, human beings have a finite number of years they can ever hope to live for, which they have worked out to be 125.

You can eat healthily, exercise and even spend millions trying to extend your allotted time. But ultimately your days are numbered.

According to scientists, human beings have a finite number of years they can ever hope to live for, which they have worked out to be 125

Regardless of medical breakthroughs, the body simply cant keep going indefinitely. Imperfections in genes when a cell divides mean that human life will always be limited. Thank goodness for that.

Those super-rich so vain they cant bear the thought of dying are missing the point of life. Its not how much of it you have but how good it is.

For years, science and medicine have focused on extending lifespan. Yet what really matters is what you might call healthspan  the amount of time someone can live a healthy, independent life.

Surely most of us would choose a shorter, more fulfilling life over decades of suffering with pain, discomfort or disability? But the latter is the direction were heading in.

A second study, published in the Lancet this week, found that although people are living longer, they are also spending more of their later years crippled by poor health.

While life expectancy increased by 10.1 years worldwide between 1990 and 2015, healthy life expectancy  ie, living without illness or disability seriously affecting you grew by only 6.1 years. The average Briton born in 2015 will spend a decade of their retirement dogged by poor health.

Medicine would do well to remind itself of this healthspan-lifespan balance sometimes.

How often do we keep people alive just because we can, when any quality of life has long since gone? From doctors to tech visionaries, we are all so focused on extending life, we lose sight of the fact that its what that life is like which is important.

While we each invest so much time in looking to the future and worrying about extending our time on earth, ironically, we overlook the good things happening right here and now.

What is more, studies have shown that being worried, stressed or depressed in earlier life actually increases the risk of conditions such as dementia later on.

Clearly, quality of life will mean different things to different people. Perhaps, as much as anything, its a state of mind.

The average Briton born in 2015 will spend a decade of their retirement dogged by poor health.

We all need to retrain ourselves mentally to live rich, fulfilled lives while we have our health, rather than just sitting at home hoping well have a long old age.

That way, the emphasis might start to shift from the long-term physical health of those in middle age and beyond to their mental health and the reality of their day-to-day lives. I was reminded of whats truly important to people when I was working in geriatrics in Scotland.

A lady in her 90s had been brought in after falling while out shopping. She was a wonderfully grumpy woman who hated being in hospital. A lot of fuss about nothing, she kept muttering.

She was very frail and lived in a flat up three flights of stairs, but she was independent and happy. Inevitably, she was deemed too dangerous to discharge in case she fell again.

A social worker assured her that moving into a care home would be for the best. But who was it best for really? Not the elderly woman, who hated the idea of moving and didnt see why she should.

Of course, not everyone would share her point of view and many doctors certainly wouldnt.

But she was making a rational decision that she would rather take her chances with a life she loved than exist risk-free for longer.

As the social commentator Francis Fukuyama argues, if we age, it is for a reason that is actually for our own good. We should remember that and try to get the most out of life, not try fruitlessly to extend it.

For our children's sake, Kim, cover up!

Ms Kardashian who seems addicted to posting online photos of herself half-naked

After that traumatic burglary in Paris earlier this week, reality star Kim Kardashian has vowed to stop flaunting her wealth on social media.

Please can she stop flaunting her body, too?

Ms Kardashian (pictured right), who seems addicted to posting online photos of herself half-naked, helps to perpetuate a society obsessed with image, where having a bikini-ready figure at all times is the ultimate goal.

As one who sees the impact this has on youngsters mental health, Im sick of it. Im not surprised that, as Girlguiding reported this week, girls as young as seven now say they feel under pressure to have the perfect body.

Its easy to dismiss the likes of Kim Kardashian as airhead celebrities who dont really matter. Unfortunately, the reach and power they have is astonishing. Kim has some 84 million followers on Instagram  thats more than the population of the UK.

When she posts a picture of her famous curves and tiny waist, tens of millions see it. Think of all those girls fed a warped view of what real bodies are like, and what real life is about.

Why Hunt is right on overseas doctors

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said this week that the NHS is too reliant on doctors from overseas. Hes absolutely right  it is.

The appalling truth is that the UK is more dependent on foreign medics than any other major country in the EU.

Why is this a problem? Well, first, it shows a woeful lack of investment in our own workforce.

As thousands of perfectly able youngsters in this country fail to get into medical school each year because there are simply too few places available, thanks to a government cap of just over 6,000 places, we are scrabbling around for more doctors.

Even with medics coming here from overseas, we still dont have enough.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said this week that the NHS is too reliant on doctors from overseas. Hes absolutely right  it is

This forces the NHS to spend more than 1 billion a year on locums, who sometimes have dangerously poor language skills.

While diversity in the medical workforce is vital, this needs to be balanced with providing enough home-grown doctors who have a full understanding of the culture and society in which they work.

In some areas and some specialties, this balance hasnt been there.

After the death of Mike Towell, the 25-year-old boxer who died last week after a fight in Glasgow, there have been renewed calls from the medical profession to ban boxing. Im always wary of calls to ban anything but, when it comes to boxing, I do think they have a point. Defenders of boxing say there are plenty of other sports that are high-risk  what about horse-riding, for example, or rugby? But that misses the point. Boxing is the only sport in which the main aim is to induce brain damage in your opponent  because thats what happens when you knock someone out. The reason someone loses consciousness is because of neurological damage to the brain. Boxing is not just a high-risk sport. Its barbaric. Advertisement

Besides, isnt it shameful that we, a wealthy First World nation, have to depend on doctors from less wealthy countries? We are contributing to a brain drain on other nations that further stunts and impoverishes their societies.

Training doctors is expensive and many countries that provide us with medics can ill afford to pay for their education, only for us in Britain to benefit from them.

So theres no denying that we need more home-grown doctors. Its not racist and xenophobic to say this. It is common sense  and also the right thing for other countries, as well as our own.

But its a difficult line to tread, and making the NHS self-sufficient within ten years  as Mr Hunt proposed will be incredibly difficult.

We saw what happened when, in 2010, the government made it significantly more difficult for doctors from outside Europe to work here.

The number from countries such as India plummeted and, as a result, specialties such as general practice and psychiatry (which had traditionally relied on overseas doctors) had a recruitment crisis.

The stark fact is that doctors from overseas are often willing to do the jobs that UK medical graduates dont want to do.

Its not as though we can put an order in now for more home-grown doctors across every field and in six years, voila, theres an adequate medical workforce.

While it might take six years for someone to get a medical degree, it takes many more to make a fully fledged doctor. Some specialist doctors  highly skilled surgeons, for example  take a further 15 years to train. So Mr Hunts timescale is wishful thinking.

Theres no doubt that we should be training more British doctors.
Strictly Come Dancings Craig Revel Horwood, who needs a second hip operation

Strictly Come Dancings acid- tongued judge Craig Revel Horwood has revealed that he needs a second hip operation.

The former West End dancer had one hip replaced in 2013, but now says: I wore out both joints from dancing and ballet and it was made worse by arthritis.

'I had one hip fixed so I think I will probably need the other done soon enough. I just need to find time in the diary to get that sorted at some stage.

The life of the dancer is really physically demanding on the body, as it is for any professional sportsperson. You expect that youre going to pay a pretty high price for that later in life.

Craig, 51, says he is managing his hip pain with water aerobics, discovered while recovering from his first operation.

I do it in my swimming pool at home in Hampshire. When I am at home, I will try to do it every day. I did a lot of hydrotherapy rehabilitation after my first hip operation and it was brilliant.

'Its the perfect solution if you have aching bones or cant do weight-bearing exercise.

The mummy blogger who first wrote about the fourth trimester  the emotionally and physically vulnerable first months of new motherhood  has published a parenting book aimed at helping tackle post-natal depression.

Amy Ransom, 39-year-old mother-of-three from Blackheath, South-East London, has amassed a loyal following thanks to her frank stories of her struggle with the condition.

The New Mums Notebook is an extension of her blog post entitled Welcome To The Fourth Trimester, which in 2014 saw her invited on to the nations chat shows to speak about her honest accounts of being a parent.

The book includes several humorous lists of what new mothers dont need to do  despite what society may dictate  as well as recipes, tips and tricks. The New Mums Notebook is available from amyransom.com and selected retailers, priced 20.

App eases self-harm urge

A free smartphone app aims to stop teenagers from self-harming by teaching them to control the urges through meditative tasks.

The Calm Harm app was developed by psychologist Dr Nihara Krause, founder of mental health charity stem4, to help the one in 12 teenagers in the UK who self-harm.

The Calm Harm app was developed by psychologist Dr Nihara Krause, founder of mental health charity stem4, to help the one in 12 teenagers in the UK who self-harm

The app has a series of tasks split into four categories. The Distract category aims to take the mind off the urge by making lists or positive thinking.

Comfort suggests tasks such as enjoying a treat and massages, Express asks the user to channel the feelings into activities such as writing. Release provides safe physical alternatives to self-injury, such as squeezing a rubber ball.

Calm Harm is available free on Apple iTunes store and Google Play.

Made a fool of yourself? Feel better about it by thinking about a snowstorm.

New research suggests that thinking of a cold place can alleviate feelings of shame, guilt and embarrassment.

A research team at Western University in Ontario, Canada, asked participants to make a hypothetical investment  and were subsequently told they had made a loss.

Think of somewhere cold: Made a fool of yourself? New research suggests that thinking of a cold place can alleviate feelings of shame, guilt and embarrassment

They were then shown holiday cruise advertisements for either the Caribbean or Alaska. The group who viewed the advert for the Arctic cruise after being told that they had made a bad stock decision felt less regret.

Imagining oneself on an Alaskan cruise after experiencing action regret cools off the emotions that are being felt, said the studys main author, Jeff Rotman.

I believe this study provides evidence that emotions and temperature go hand in hand, and we can potentially use this information to regulate emotions.

Hairy arm link to cancer

Having hairy arms has been linked to an increased risk of cancer, according to a study by Australian scientists.

The more hairs men and women have on their forearms, the greater the risk of the two most common types of skin cancer, the study found.

Having hairy arms has been linked to an increased risk of cancer, according to a study by Australian scientists (file photo)

Researchers at the University of Queensland tracked more than 700 men and women for 20 years and found that the risk of the two most common types of skin cancer  basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)  was linked to hair levels.

Men with dense forearm hair were three times more likely to develop SCC, while women with moderate hair density were 2.3 times more likely to be affected by BCC.
The NHS rationing body has been accused of abandoning children with a life threatening genetic condition after it refused funding for a breakthrough drug that will let them live long and healthy lives.

Hopes were raised after spectacular trial results in which youngsters with the tumour-causing disease tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), some of whom had been given as little as 12 months to live, were saved by the one-a-day tablet.

But in July, NHS England reversed an earlier decision to recommend prescribing the breakthrough drug everolimus, claiming that it was not currently affordable.

NHS England reversed an earlier decision to recommend prescribing the breakthrough drug everolimus

The U-turn came at the same time as judges ruled that NHS England should pay for the HIV-prevention medication Truvada.

Last month a letter signed by 13 of Britains leading specialists from the fields of kidney health, genetics and cancer was handed to Health Ministers, expressing shock and disappointment.

This was backed by a petition launched by UK charity the Tuberous Sclerosis Association.

Without this therapy [up to 20 children a year] will die, whereas with it almost all will live long and healthy lives, wrote consultant kidney specialist and TSC expert Dr Chris Kingswood, of Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals and St Georges Hospital Trusts.

TSC causes non-cancerous growths to form in the brain, eyes, heart, kidney, skin and lungs. Current estimates are that it affects one in 6,000 births.

Tumours can be slow-growing but in some cases patients may suffer potentially fatal seizures, kidney and brain infections.

NHS England reversed an earlier decision to recommend prescribing the breakthrough drug everolimus

First-line treatment includes seizure medication and surgery to remove growths and repair other kinds of damage.

Particularly hard to tackle is a type of brain tumour that affects up to one in five patients, known as subependymal giant cell astrocytomas (SEGAs). In patients with severe, progressive and inoperable SEGA, life expectancy can be as little as 12 months.

Dr Chris Kingswood, of Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals and St Georges Hospital Trusts

Trials of the new once-a-day tablet halved the size of SEGAs in patients who took it. Seizures were also significantly reduced.

Studies that followed hundreds of sufferers for five years led to the drug being hailed by paediatricians as astonishingly successful, with minimal side effects.

Dr Kingswood said: We have had young patients who have been given less than a year to live, but will now have a good chance of living a long and healthy life thanks to the medication.

The price privately is 32,000 per patient per year, but the NHS-negotiated cost was said to be less than half that. The cost of treating a child with kidney failure caused by TSC is at least 30,000. It makes no sense to deny them this treatment, said Dr Kingswood.

One youngster saved by the drug is 16-year-old Joe Baum, who in 2013 was given months to live when routine scans revealed SEGA tumours in his brain had grown considerably.

His mother Mandy, a GP, said: Joe was diagnosed with TSC when he was a baby and has epilepsy and is autistic, and muscle weakness in his left side. To be told we could lose him was indescribably painful.

Within six months of everolimus treatment, the tumours had shrunk by half and Joe is now stable. His mother said: With my doctors hat on, I can see everolimus is expensive but it is heartbreaking that other families might lose their child because they are denied this drug.
Louis Theroux: Savile

Sunday, BBC2

Rating:

The Fall

Thursday, BBC2

Rating:

Louis Theroux: Savile was a compelling documentary in its way but it was also unsatisfactory, frustrating and exasperating.

It was Louis preoccupied with Louis  how had he not found out the truth about Savile when he spent all that time with him for When Louis Met Jimmy in 2000?  and while Louis On Louis is better than Most People On Most Other People it did not go where you would wish it to go, and where it should have gone, which is to the heart of the BBC.

We all knew Savile was odd and Therouxs initial encounter, shown extensively in clip form here, did prove memorably strange.

Crime seen? When Louis Met Jimmy revisited in Louis Theroux: Savile

He evaded Therouxs direct questions, substituted patter for conversation, fondled his late mothers dresses, spoke the truth as if it were the opposite of the truth  Im feared in every girls school in the land!  and rebuked Louis for not getting this joke or that joke when the joke was, in fact, always on us.

To see him again, in his stringy vest with his revolting hair and cheap jewellery, its hard to feel anything but complete repulsion, and harder yet to explain why he became such a much-loved feature of the national landscape.

Radio One, Top Of The Pops, Jimll Fix It. They legitimised him, I suppose.

Louis and Savile later embarked on a friendship of sorts. This documentary even opened with footage taken in 2001 and Savile visiting Theroux in Therouxs new house.

If you ever need a place to crash in London youve seen your room here. Im serious, said Louis, seriously. I appreciate that, said Savile, before exiting the house backwards so people will think I am coming in. (Did we ever think he was funny?)

He then climbed into a waiting black cab that, as it travelled down the road, was chased by young children shouting: Jimmy, Jimmy! (My blood, which had already turned cold, turned colder.)

Louis interviewed victims who, in this instance, had been vulnerable young girls who didnt think anyone would believe them if they said anything (Radio 1, Top Of The Pops, Jimll Fix It), and those who had worked with Savile, kept photographs of him on their mantelpieces and Lego models of him in their garages and refused to believe the truth.

It was all framed by Louis own sense of personal failure. Why didnt he get Saviles number? Do you think I was groomed? he asked.

But Louis cant blame himself for Savile  he did ask the right questions, after all  just as he cant blame himself for Max Clifford, say.

And the important thing now isnt that it happened, but how it was allowed to happen.

Yet Theroux showed zero journalistic instinct or curiosity here. Savile turned out to be one of the most prolific sex offenders of all time, yet couldnt have operated without the legitimisation offered by the BBC, which was always aware of whispers.

But no BBC executives were interviewed. Neither was there any mention of that incident in 2011 when Newsnight was forced to shelve the story it had been preparing on the sexual molestation claims or the fact that, later that year, the BBC decided to broadcast a Savile tribute.

Youd think Louis would have been sitting outside the office of Mark Thompson (the BBCs director-general at the time and now CEO at The New York Times), refusing to budge until he had been granted an audience.

You may consider it unfair to ask a programme that is Louis On Louis to be not quite so much about Louis, but the omission seemed horrible.

Savile was a BBC man. Louis is a BBC man. The original documentary was BBC. This was BBC. And yet with Louis Theroux: Savile the BBC was nowhere to be found.

If Louis didnt mess up back in 2000, he has now. I said I would not return to The Fall, but then I did, because Im an idiot, a fool, a schmuck, but now I wont again.

What started as a most superior crime drama has, in its third series, become so implausible that no amount of Gillian Anderson as DS Stella Gibson can save it, as cant any amount of John Lynch going about as her boss and looking like an especially sorrowful Eric Cantona.

Did you believe, for example, that a serial killer would be treated in an unguarded hospital room? Or that one of his victims would be treated along the corridor?

Did you believe that little Olivia (who is what, seven?) would know crazed Katies telephone number by heart? Did you believe Ed Balls would come out dancing in a gingham shirt while brandishing a banjo? (Sorry, that may have been another programme.)

And when Gibson said to that female police officer, Youve chosen to work in a masculine, patriarchal, paramilitary culture let it not beat us, what was that? The writer Allan Cubitts way of getting back at the critics who havent liked his treatment of women?
Travesties

Menier Chocolate Factory, London Until November 19 2hrs 30mins

Rating:

In an oak-panelled library, monocled Romanian Tristan Tzara paves the way for the Dadaist art movement by cutting up a poem and randomly drawing words from a hat: Whispers kill later nut east.

James Joyce dictates his new work, Ulysses, to his secretary: Hoopsa, boyaboy, hoopsa! Lenin discusses the revolutsia in Russian with his wife.

The first few moments of Tom Stoppards 1974 play are as nonsensical as Lewis Carrolls Jabberwocky  but similarly arresting to anyone beguiled by words and a tease.

Hollander, beloved in Rev and The Night Manager, is on top of one of the most slippery  and brilliantly bonkers  streams of consciousness ever written

Which is the key to Patrick Marbers exhilarating revival of this exuberant, extraordinary jeu desprit, which celebrates three artistic revolutionaries (that includes Stoppard himself) and a political one.

We appear to be inside the erratic and unreliable mind of doddery old Henry Carr (Tom Hollander), some-time British consul (or so he says).

As he sheds his drab dressing gown and becomes a young blade again, he recalls meeting the intellectual giants Tzara, Joyce and Lenin, who all happened to be in Zurich in 1917.

At the time, Carr had agreed to play not Ernest, the other one in a production of The Importance Of Being Earnest, because he fancied the required summer and winter outfits, with Joyce (whom he sometimes, hilariously, miscalls Doris or Janice) playing Aunt Augusta.

Carr has evidently exaggerated his own role in history (Carr of the Consulate! I was mentioned in the books). Moreover, in his addled mind, the historical characters have somehow collided with those in Wildes play.

Fabulous Freddie Foxs Tzara suddenly loses his French-Romanian accent and becomes an exquisitely silky English Jack and he and Carr/Algy trade increasingly wild Wildean epigrams about politics, war and art.

Stoppard throws up ideas and words like a juggler. As Tzara says: It may be nonsense, but at least its clever nonsense.

It feels like an intellectual workout on a dramatic trampoline: Carr calls Ulysses by its original title, Elasticated Bloomers; Tzara insists My art belongs to Dada; an entire scene is written in limericks; the Zurich librarian who becomes Carrs wife and doubles as Cecily (do keep up!) sings a ragtime duet with Gwendolen (actually Joyces secretary).

Clare Fosters high-voltage Cecily, in particular, relishes every word.

Hollander, beloved in Rev and The Night Manager, is on top of one of the most slippery  and brilliantly bonkers  streams of consciousness ever written but hasnt yet reached that stage of lip-smacking, ratatatat relish. When he does, he too will dazzle.

When We Are Married

York Theatre Royal On tour until December 10 2hrs 30mins

Rating:

Northern Broadsides  a theatre company for which they say you need a Yorkshire passport to get an audition  has taken 25 years to get round to staging J B Priestleys West Riding comedy.

The setting is 1908 in Cleckleywyke, a fictional town where three couples are much-respected pillars of the community. They were married on the same day in the same chapel and gather to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary.

The bash is scuppered, however, when they discover that thanks to an unlicensed vicar, they are not actually married. Cue a catastrophic loss of dignity as these upwardly mobile couples try to conceal their social disgrace.

Stand-out performances include Steve Huison as a henpecked husband, Adrian Hoods tightwad councillor who hates anything la-di-da, and Kate Anthony as his little wife

Barrie Rutter both directs and plays the sozzled photographer from the local paper, and stand-out performances include Steve Huison as a henpecked husband, Adrian Hoods tightwad councillor who hates anything la-di-da, and Kate Anthony as his little wife and bluntest critic.

Played for laughs, Priestleys light satire is aimed at pomposity, hypocrisy and northern stinginess. Its still a hoot.

Robert Gore-Langton

northern-broadsides.co.uk

A Tale Of Two Cities

Royal & Derngate, Northampton On tour until Nov 26 2hrs 35mins

Rating:

Mike Poultons crisp and clear adaptation of Charles Dickenss 1859 masterpiece fillets a fat novel into a fast, fresh play.

Its a spy thriller, a love triangle, a courtroom drama and a tale of revolution and redemption before and during the French Revolution.

Jacob Ifans smooth-skinned, unruffled Darnay doesnt look remotely like Joseph Timmss ruffled, outspoken lawyer Sydney Carton (above)

Poulton cleverly kicks things off in the London courtroom where a young French aristocrat, Charles Darnay, falsely accused of spying, is being tried. Jacob Ifans smooth-skinned, unruffled Darnay doesnt look remotely like Joseph Timmss ruffled, outspoken lawyer Sydney Carton, until it is suggested he might pass for Darnay if he tidied himself up.

It saves Darnays head this time round and prefigures the plots final, brilliant twist.

Powerfully underscored by the pulsating double bass and piano in Rachel Portmans atmospheric music, this production never loses its grip.

touringconsortium.co.uk

Dinner At The Twits

The Vaults, London Until October 30 1hr 30mins

Rating:

Anyone who has ever read The Twits would know that dinner with Roald Dahls ghastly Mr and Mrs Twit would be squiggly spaghetti followed by bird pie. Anything but appetising, as invitations go.

But at this immersive foodie experience near Waterloo Station, drama is on the menu. The party begins with cocktails supposedly made from glue and the debris pulled from Mr Twits beard.

Suitably numbed with a glass of sting and tonic, guests can then enjoy pasta worms from a dustbin and eat from a bird-food holder hanging from a witchy tree and stuffed with Marmite-smothered nuts.

At this immersive foodie experience near Waterloo Station, drama is on the menu. The party begins with cocktails supposedly made from glue and the debris pulled from Mr Twits beard

Should you dare to rummage in the compost heap, you might find a lurid-green quails egg. Radishes are served in buttery snot, and bloodied chicken hearts offered on sticks  meatily delicious if you can stomach the idea.

Infinitely more gag-inducing is the chickens foot adorning the pheasant pie at the feast proper, resembling a shrunken human hand, with four fingers ending in a sharp nail.

The excuse for the celebration is our Twit hosts 40 years of wedded misery. They havent dressed up: theyre unwashed, with birds-nest hair and snarling gnashers coated in gunge.

Mildly entertaining as this all is, you leave well stuffed with delectable muddied potatoes but craving either a surprising verbal morsel or a gruesome dramatic twist

They provide a tasty spread (the slime trifle, with lime jelly and lemon posset is knockout) but the show on the side, in which the repulsive duo get their comeuppance thanks to a sub-War Horse puppet of Dahls Roly Poly Bird, is insufficiently diverting or disgusting.

Even in his most sickening tales, its Dahls relish of dark humour and his lip-smacking made-up words that make the mouth water.

Mildly entertaining as this all is, you leave well stuffed with delectable muddied potatoes but craving either a surprising verbal morsel or a gruesome dramatic twist.

For adventurous foodies rather than theatrical thrill-seekers.

The Wipers Times

Watermill Theatre, Newbury Until October 29 2hrs 15mins

Rating:

This tells the extraordinary 100-year-old story of the satirical newspaper The Wipers Times, printed on a salvaged press by Tommies in World War I at Ypres (which they pronounced Wipers).

Each issue was stuffed with spoof items, groaning puns and a wholesale lack of due respect for high command. It offered medical advice  Are you suffering from optimism?  put a ban on gloomy war poetry and took up the top brasss obsession with attacking by asking its readers: Are you offensive enough?

It helps hugely that the two officers who edited the mag are played with effortless charm by James Dutton and George Kemp. Their determined flippancy under fire is heroic

Unsurprisingly, the trench mags story appealed hugely to Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye, and his co-writer of this play, Nick Newman.

It helps hugely that the two officers who edited the mag are played with effortless charm by James Dutton and George Kemp. Their determined flippancy under fire is heroic.

A tribute to the publication that made the Tommies chuckle in the teeth of hell, this touching show is a laugh a minute. Or to quote the paper after a heavy chlorine attack:Its a gas!

Robert Gore-Langton

Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)

Royal Court, London Until October 22 3hrs

Rating:

Suzan-Lori Parks three-part play is an epic set during the American Civil War and mixes US history with Homer, ending up like a jokey Odyssey crossed with 12 Years A Slave.

A black slave called Hero (Steve Toussaint) is offered his freedom if he fights against the Yankees for his boss master  a brutish Confederate colonel. On the plantation, Hero is awaited by his wife (Nadine Marshall) and ancient father (Leo Wringer). The final segment includes Heros talking dog (a shaggysuited actor), who cocks his leg on the set.

This sets out to be a new way of exposing the agonies of the American past but, as drama, it bangs on for ever. A further six parts are planned. Help!
Shiraz is a firebrand of a grape thanks to its smokey warming splendour. Its great to pour at this time of year with the scent of autumn bonfires hanging in the air and manages to deliver a sense of portable insulation with every sip.

If this kind of bold deep red lights your fire, grab a poker and rummage through the embers of these warming alternatives.

The safe option is Argentinean Malbec, but top of my list is a real Marmite grape that you either love or hate  Pinotage from South Africa.

It came about in 1925 when Abraham Perold pollinated Pinot Noir with Cinsault. I prefer examples that err towards restraint and decent producers to look out for include LAvenir, Kanonkop, Beyerskloof, Kaapzicht and Chamonix.

South Africa also has an intriguing seam of rarities, such as the Tinta Barroca I recommend above  Portuguese grape with a South African soul. Mourvedre, aka Monastrell, is another grape with big black fruit flavour and body thanks to its thick-skinned grapes.

Bandol in France is its heartland but it also contributes elsewhere to red blends from the Rhone and internationally in GSM blends  Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre  like the Three Tenors of wine: powerful and harmonious.

In the States, Zinfandel is another of these muscular reds. Check out wines from the same grape in Italy under the name Primitivo for more restrained examples.

My top pick is from Corneyandbarrow.com  Masseria Dei Trullari Tarantino Primitivo 2014 (13%) 9.50  a wine layered with scrumptious black cherry style fruit and a gentle spicy twist.
MP Pappu Yadav inspected Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital and alleged that its preparedness to tackle the health crisis was 'not up to the mark'

Doctors in Delhi hospitals are annoyed with frequent visits of the high-profile leaders.

The politicians, allege the doctors are visiting the hospital only to gain political mileage.

These visits make things difficult for the doctors and nursing staff, who are already overworking to treat the increasing number of dengue and chikungunya patients.

Despite their hard work, MP Pappu Yadav doesn't seem to be impressed.

He recently inspected Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital and alleged that its preparedness to tackle the health crisis was not up to the mark.

The allegation made by Pappu has hassled the doctors who feel they can serve better without these VIP visits.

This season, Delhi has witnessed 5,293 cases of chikungunya, which is much higher than last years count.

Doctors allege that during such visits, many of the doctors are deputed to accompany the VIPs and escort them around the hospital which affects the overall functioning.

We are left with no option, as the doctors' priority are the patients, and at the same time we cannot ignore the VIP visitors, 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. We are always on our toes to know to know the patients' requirement."

"There are a few beds lying vacant in the hospital, as every hospital has increased the number of beds due to increased inflow of patients, said a doctor from GTB Hospital requesting anonymity.

Two weeks back, Yadav, the Madhepura MP made an unannounced visit to the 2,000-bed LNJP Hospital.

He also inspected the fever clinics and fever wards among other places.

Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, which is run by Central government, has a dedicated nursing home for the treatment of VIP patients

The city is dealing with rising number of dengue and chikungunya cases. So I came to assess the preparedness of 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 had 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.

Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, which is run by Central government, 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 not 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.

This season, Delhi has witnessed 5,293 cases of chikungunya, which is much higher than last years count.

15 people 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.

While the residents and the doctors are battling the medical crisis, politicians are busy participating in taking a dig.

A political war had erupted with members of one party is busy running down others.
Three days after the death of Ravin Sisodia, an accused in the infamous Dadri lynching case, residents of Bisada village finally agreed to cremate his body, after government assured to pay a heavy compensation.

Family of Ravin, 22, held several rounds of meetings with the district administration and the local police, in presence of Union minister and local MP Mahesh Sharma and BJP MLA from Sardana, Sangeet Som, before they ending the deadlock.

Ravins family was assured a total compensation of Rs 25 lakh as the administration also confirmed to get a private job for Ravins widow Pooja.

Ravins family was assured a total compensation of Rs 25 lakh as the administration also assured to get a private job for Ravins widow Pooja.

His family members expressed satisfaction and decided to cremate the body in the evening.

The villagers have been demanding Rs 1 crore as compensation and a government job for the deceased's family member.

Ravin Sisodias 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

They insisted on filing 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.

Villagers demand equal compensation that was granted to Akhlaq's (pictured) family

After a two-hour-long meeting with the village committee, Som urged the agitators to end their protest and perform Ravin's last rites.

Even as Ravins parents agreed, a few villagers wanted the protest to continue.

The protest was called off after the BJP leaders promised compensation and job.

The committee has agreed to arrange Rs 25 lakh as compensation, besides computer training and a job in a private company for Ravin's wife, Som told the crowd, requesting them to end the protest.

Government will give a compensation of Rs 10 lakh, and another installment of Rs 10 lakh will be paid by the NGOs. We will donate Rs 5 lakh to the family as well, said Som.

The SSP also assured a thorough investigation in FIR lodged on alleged cow slaughter against Akhlaqs brother Jaan Mohammad.

Locals and Hindu groups burn an effigy of UP CM Akhilesh Yadav following the death

The district magistrate assured safety of other accused from the village, who are currently inside the jail.

The DM also promised to sponsor the education of Ravins six-month- old daughter.

However, police officials said arrest of Akhlaqs brother Jaan Mohammad was not possible without concrete evidence.

Police patrol Bisada and neighbouring villages anticipating trouble among the locals

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.

Ravins 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.
When in doubt, repeat. The idea defines what showbiz has always been about.

Take a look at upcoming rosters of several of our Bollywood superstars and you realise they are applying that maxim in a smart sort of way right now.

Over the next year or so, many of our top stars reunite with directors who have either given them their biggest hits or cast them in one or more unforgettable films that continues to be counted among defining roles.

Salman Khan announced working with Kabir Khan in Tiger Zinda Hai

For Salman Khan or Akshay Kumar, teaming up with Kabir Khan or Neeraj Pandey, respectively, in film after film is a neat shot at reinvention.

With advancing age, these superstars must realise that collaboration with a new-age director, who can reinvent their superstardom, is the need of the hour.

For others such as Ajay Devgn, Vidya Balan and Shahid Kapoor, returning with a director who has clicked in the past is probably need of the hour, given the fact that their career is not exactly soaring at the moment.

For someone like Deepika Padukone, being signed up by mainstream master Sanjay Leela Bhansali for a third film should actually work as a stamp of supremacy at the box-office, given the filmmakers known penchant for creating strong female protagonists.

Will these actor director duos click once again, as they have done in the past? Keep your fingers crossed.

AJAY DEVGN & ROHIT SHETTY reunite in GOLMAAL AGAIN

Right now, both Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty need to reignite the blockbuster sparks of the Golmaal series.

Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty (left) work together in the fourth installment Golmaal Again

While Ajays recent releases have ranged from duds to mediocre shows, the failure of Dilwale last year dented Rohits prospects.

The Golmaal series has been a foolproof prescription of success over three films. The fourth is slated for Diwali 2017.

SALMAN KHAN & KABIR KHAN reunite in TUBELIGHT

Salman Khans biggest hit of all time is still Eid 2015s Bajrangi Bhaijaan, his last film with Kabir Khan.

The duo earlier delivered the blockbuster Ek Tha Tiger on Eid 2012, which, on release, become Salmans biggest hit till then.

Kabir Khan (rigth) returns with Salman in Tubelight slated to release on Eid 2017

So when Kabir returns with Salmans next release Tubelight on Eid 2017, every Bollywood buff will be keenly hoping for new records.

Tubelight promises international proportions and Salman has roped in Zhu Zhu, a Chinese heroine, as his leading lady.

The film is a cross-border romance set against the Sino-Indian war of 1962.

DEEPIKA PADUKONE & SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI reunite in PADMAVATI

Deepika will be only the second heroine whom Sanjay Leela Bhansali has offered a third film in all these years, after Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan.

The mainstream master is known for creating strong female protagonists, and he has this time given Deepika a title role.

Padmavati actually is the first film Bhansali directs, which bears the name of the female protagonist for its title.

In every sense that makes the film the toughest test in Deepikas career, considering at a rumoured budget of about Rs 190 crore, the film will reportedly be Bollywoods costliest venture ever when it opens on Christmas 2017.

AKSHAY KUMAR & NEERAJ PANDEY reunite in CRACK

Akshay Kumars career has taken a brilliant upswing ever since he started collaborating with Neeraj Pandey.

Pandeys directorial features Special 26 and Baby, plus the recent production Rustom, have helped Akshay get rid of his image as an actor whose superstardom is only based on mindless mass entertainers.

Clearly, Akshay wants to take the idea forward. He is readying to collaborate with Pandey once again in Crack, their enigmatically titled venture slated for release on Independence Day 2017.

Deepika Padukone work for the third time with Sanjay Leela Bhansali (right) in Padmavati

Unconfirmed sources state the film is a thriller based on terrorism, and is set against the backdrop of Akshays newfound on-screen fetish - patriotism.

VIDYA BALAN & SUJOY GHOSH reunite in KAHAANI 2

Vidya Balan worked with Sujoy Ghosh in Kahaani and she will again work in Kahaani 2

Kahaani in 2012 has really been Vidyas last major hit, and all her efforts since then have sunk without a trace.

For Vidya, a sequel to her last memorable role can only act as the right push for her career right now, considering her only other pending release, Begum Jaan, is helmed by debutant director Srijit Mukherjee.

Right now, Kahaani 2 has been gradually gathering a steady buzz.

The film promises to take forward the story of Vidyas protagonist Vidya Bagchi, and introduces Arjun Rampal to the series. It also marks Sujoy Ghoshs return to feature direction after the first film of 2012.

SHAHID KAPOOR & VISHAL BHARDWAJ reunite in RANGOON

Shahids best roles have undoubtedly come in the two films he has done with Vishal so far - Kaminey, which gave him an enigmatic double role, and Haider, for which he narrowly missed a National Award.

With Rangoon, he will be hoping to get his career back on track considering he has not had a big hit for a while.

Vishals next would seem like the right film for Shahid to sign right now.

Shahid Kapoor trusts his favourite director Vishal Bharadwaj who cast him in Haider and the team is working in Rangoon
Shayara Bano, 35, from Uttarakhand has challenged Muslim Personal law

Shayara Bano, 35, from Uttarakhand might well become the next Shah Bano.

If the latters name is etched in history on the issue of post-divorce maintenance, the former may become the catalyst for the ban of discriminatory practices like triple talaq from the country which is resulting in gender discrimination.

The centre is opposed to the Muslim practice of triple talaq, it has informed the Supreme Court, describing it as "misplaced in a secular country."

Bano, a sociology post graduate and a mother of two, moved to the Supreme Court, saying the practice of triple talaq and polygamy under Muslim personal laws were illegal and unconstitutional."

Her legal battle got a shot in the arm with the government on Friday filing an affidavit in the apex court opposing such practices.

The petition said triple talaq and polygamy under Muslim personal laws are unconstitutional

The government said there is no reason that women in India should be denied their Constitutional rights when Muslim countries where Islam is the state religion have undergone extensive reform in this sphere.

Banos story is shocking- she endured a bad marriage, an abusive husband, forced abortions and physical and mental agony for over 10 years.

Last year, her husband sent a letter to her parents home where she was staying for almost a year. Inscribed on that piece of paper were three words: Talaq, Talaq, Talaq.

The fact that Muslim countries where Islam is the state religion have undergone extensive reform goes to establish that the practices in question cannot be regarded as integral to the practice of Islam or essential religious practices.

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 reform, said the governments affidavit.

The Centre argued that triple talaq is misplaced in a secular country like India.

Taking a progressive stand, the Centre told the highest court in its affidavit that validity of triple talaq and polygamy should be seen in light of gender justice.

It said that triple talaq goes against the principle of gender equality, calling it unfair, unreasonable and discriminatory.'

The government's views came out in last months meeting of Group of Ministers formulated on the issue.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley, defence minister Manohar Parrikar and women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi met last week to deliberate on the government's possible stand to be taken in Supreme Court on the Muslim practice of triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat).

Bano's husband sent a letter, which had triple talaq written that implied their divorce

Opposing petitions of nearly seven aggrieved Muslim women who wanted the Court to scrap the practice, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has filed a response saying Constitution does not touch upon the personal laws and therefore the Supreme Court cannot examine the question of constitutional validity of the practices of marriage, divorce and maintenance in Muslim personal law.

The top court had asked the government to weigh in on the debate as to whether intervening in the law would violate the Muslim community's fundamental rights.

According to a report by NDTV, the centre today said: "gender equality and the dignity of women are not negotiable" and told judges that "even theocratic states have undergone reforms in this area of law" which reinforces that these practices cannot be considered an integral part of practice of Islam.

Centres affidavit comes at a time when AIMPLB, defending the validity of triple talaq, even took the bizarre ground that if the practice is discontinued, a man could even murder or burn his wife alive to get rid of her.

If a serious discord develops between a couple, and the husband does not want to live with the wife, legal compulsions of time-consuming separation proceedings and expenses may deter him from taking the legal course. In such instances, he may resort to illegal, criminal ways of murdering or burning her alive, stated the AIMPLBs affidavit.
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.

A complaint filed in the office of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung (pictured) has challenged the validity of 22 standing counsels

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 Mehras 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.

The complaint may add yet another chapter to the battle between Arvind Kejriwal and L-G

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-Governors approval was not taken.

Sources in the Lt-Governors 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-Gs 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.
Pakistani 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.

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, 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.

Fawad Khan broke his silence for the first time on demands that Pakistani actors be banned from working in India

However, soon after Fawads post, #Insensitive started trending.

As father of 2 children actor #FawadKhan says he prays & 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 & then says lets unite the divisive World. #Insensitive (sic), wrote @ashokpandit.

Basicaly fawad khan is saying FO politely (sic), @OneTipOneHand_ tweeted.

Fawad Khan gave out a statement on Facebook which was criticized by Twitterati (A still from Pakistani show Humsafar)

Others felt Fawad had carried out a formality to ensure that his upcoming movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, directed by Karan Johar, gets released on Diwali.
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 was issued ahead of Jewish New Year, which is celebrated on October 2, but fresh instruction has been passed on as Jewish festivals Fast of Gedalya, Yom Kippur and Succot are round the corner.

A large number of Israeli travellers visit India to celebrate Jewish festival. File picture of Israelis fly kites during Rosh Hashanah holida

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.

Security personnel have also been briefed to mount strict security measures around the synagogues, places visited by the Jewish community

Clear directions have been issued to strengthen security measures at places of Jewish congregation, especially Chabad House in Pahar Ganj and Vasant Vihar.
Despite endless media coverage of the political wrangling and financial speculation, the average Briton can be forgiven for remaining confused about what 'soft' and 'hard' Brexit really mean.

They may know little more about the difference between the 'Norway model' for the UK's post-Brexit relationship with the EU and the 'Swiss solution'.

But a clever table put together by HSBC in a report called 'Is Brexit Getting Harder?' cleaves some clarity from the murk. We explain what this all means below.

Options explained: HSBC's economics team set out what the varying degrees of separation from the EU will entail for trade, EU budget contributions, regulation and immigration.

The UK has exactly two years to negotiate a new deal with the EU, after Article 50 is invoked, in which the country must complete the terms of its divorce and a new trade deal with the bloc.

So far the 'Brexit team' led by May, Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox has made it clear the UK is heading for a 'hard' exit, with taking back control over immigration prioritised over the UK's trading relationship with the EU.

In the table above, the 'hardest' of Brexits would be represented by the right-most column - the same relationship that the typical non-European nation has with the EU.

The 'softest' Brexit would be represented on the left by the Norway example, or membership of the EEA, the European Economic Area.

With the help of HSBC's report, we have a go at explaining those extremes and the options in between.

Norway's membership of the European Economic Area means that Oslo has full access to the Single Market and free trade in services.

HOW UK IMPORTS AND EXPORTS COMPARED ACROSS EU NATIONS IN 2015? EU nation Imports in m Exports in m UK imports minus exports in m Germany 60,679 30,352 30,327 Netherlands 30,890 17,338 13,552 Belgium 20,470 11,576 8,894 Italy 15,764 8,403 7,361 France 23,999 17,830 6,169 Spain 13,964 8,855 5,109 Poland 8,094 3,600 4,494 Czech Republic 4,828 1,936 2,892 Sweden 6,815 4,386 2,429 Slovakia 2,012 440 1,572 Austria 3,031 1,599 1,432 Hungary 2,518 1,276 1,242 Denmark 3,436 2,301 1,135 Portugal 2,333 1,249 1,084 Finland 2,038 1,343 695 Romania 1,542 983 559 Lithuania 769 270 499 Luxembourg 485 220 265 Latvia 478 215 263 Slovenia 324 202 122 Bulgaria 364 346 18 Estonia 183 219 -36 Croatia 95 137 -42 Greece 714 877 -163 Malta 181 376 -195 Cyprus 152 371 -219 Irish Republic 12,509 16,665 -4,156 Total EU 218,667 133,365 85,302 Source: HMRC, Overseas Trade Statistics and ThisisMoney.co.uk. Figures in  millions

SOFT OPTIONS

Broadly, says HSBC, 'a soft exit refers to a solution where the UK maintains a high degree of tariff-free access to the single market and minimises the imposition of non-tariff barriers (albeit losing some influence)'.

Norway: Single market access via EEA but no customs union

Norway's membership of the European Economic Area means that it has full access to the Single Market and free trade in services. But as it is not part of the customs union, its tariffs for trade outside the EU are not set by the EU.

But, says HSBC, 'that presents a bureaucratic barrier to goods trade with the EU since, despite being in the Single Market, Norwegian exports to the EU have to go through rigorous "proof of origin" checks'.

Although Norway is free to negotiate free trade deals in theory, the report adds, 'in practice, it has done so only as a member of the EFTA'.

Switzerland: EFTA and bilateral agreements

Switzerland has has 120 separate accords with the EU which make it a quasi-member of the single market. But it has no say in regulations and its single market access covers goods and some  but not all  services.

As a member of EFTA, Switzerland's third-party trade agreements are typically made via that organisation. But, says HSBC 'like Norway, it is technically free to negotiate its own bilateral agreements and it does have some of its own, for example with China (as does Iceland, another EFTA member)'.

Switzerland has has 120 separate accords with the EU which make it a quasi-member of the single market.

Are either of these realistic?

No because neither of these two countries restricts immigration from the EU - one of May's pledges.

Norway is subject to the 'four freedoms' as a member of the EEA. 'The current government line that "Brexit means Brexit" and that the UK must control immigration suggests that EEA membership is currently not on the cards,' suggests the HSBC report.

Switzerland had, in theory, accepted free movement of EU citizens across its border. But a referendum in 2014 rejected free movement and the Swiss government has a February 2017 deadline to implement the result.

'The EU has threatened to restrict market access if Switzerland imposes immigration controls and, so far, no solution has been found,' adds HSBC.

Customs union: Turkey option

Turkey is in a customs union with the EU but not part of EFTA. This means it applies the same tariffs as the EU to non-EU trade, in return for largely tariff-free goods trade across the EU.

For the UK, this would mean that goods could continue to move more or less freely across the bloc, without the checks and controls that are undergone by non-members.

Istanbul is in a customs union with the EU but not part of EFTA.

Crucially, it would also have control over inward migration. The UK would also be bound by the customs unions commercial policy, and have no seat at the table for law-making and regulations.

But such a deal would probably not cover trade in services. And the government would not be able to negotiate new external deals with third parties, because of the requirement to maintain a common external tariff.

The HSBC report points out that back in February 2015, this model was considered a relatively 'hard' Brexit option: 'It is telling of how the debate has moved on that it now seems a relatively gentle break in comparison to some being touted'.

HARD OPTIONS

These imply a loss of access to the single market, which would involve the imposition of tariff and non-tariff barriers (including customs checks and 'proof of origin' certification) on British goods and services.

The UK would be free to deregulate its industry and impose any restrictions it wanted to on immigration - but to sell into the EU, the UK would still have to abide by its regulations and standards (in which it would have no say).

Canada has a free trade deal with the EU and Brexiteers argue the UK would get something similar.

Canada-style free trade agreement with EU

The Brexiteers have argued that it is in the EUs interests to do a good deal with the UK on goods trade, since it is such a big consumer of, for example, German cars and Italian sparkling wine.

HSBC does not disagree with this and notes that tariff rates have fallen markedly over the last two decades.

No deal - WTO membership

Many goods are tariff-free already for WTO members  so the cost could be manageable even if no deal was done.

HSBC notes that 'generating strong bilateral relationships with countries like China and the US could reduce the UKs dependency on the EU'.

In the long term it adds 'this could stand it in good stead, as the bloc continues to wrestle with structural weakness and heavy debt levels'.

'However, this will take time, and the delay could be harmful to the UKs exporters.'

THE BREUGEL PROPOSAL Brussels think-tank Breugel tried to construct an arrangement whereby Britain retains almost full access to the single market, while abandoning the commitment to free movement of people. Its proposed Continental Partnership in its own words 'offers a relationship considerably less deep than EU membership but much closer than a free-trade agreement (FTA)': 'Deep economic integration between the EU and the UK could continue even without the full freedom of movement of workers, as long as a single set of rules and laws was respected and enforced in the other three dimensions of the EU single market (the free movement of goods, services and capital). 'We also propose that the UK should be given a consultative role in single-market policymaking, although the EU would keep ultimate authority over the law-making process. 'The CP would therefore consist of two groups of countries. On the one side are the EU member states, which share supranational institutions and participate fully in all EU policies, including the single markets four freedoms. 'On the other side are those outside the EU, like the UK and possibly other European countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Turkey or Ukraine, which would not join supranational institutions and would not participate in all EU policies, especially the freedom of movement for workers. 'The CP would be governed by a new inter-governmental system. Its aim would be to seek not only deep economic integration (with limited labour mobility) between all the participating countries, but also potentially close cooperation in matters of foreign policy, security and defence. '

More risks attached to hard Brexit

HSBC thinks that non-tariff barriers are a threat. If negotiations do not go the UK's way, HSBC economist Doug Lippoldt estimates that these could be equivalent to a tariff of 10-15 per cent on UK trade.

Leaving the customs union could mean UK exporters face rigorous proof of origin checks for any goods they are selling into the EU. Customs checks would be imposed on the 56 per cent of UK imports which come from the EU customs union - entailing additional administrative burden and lengthened journey time.

There are concerns over services trade, where the UK has more to lose, as it runs a sizeable surplus with the EU. But Mr Lippoldt points out that the second-biggest consumer of UK service exports, after the EU, is the US (24 per cent of the total in 2013).

'That this is achieved with zero preferential access is a hopeful sign for the UK service sector in the post-Brexit world,' the report adds.

Many in the City fear loss of EU access with financial services firms particularly worried whether the the UK will retain the passport that allows them to offer services across the EU.

An EEA financial institution, licensed by its home regulator, can use a passport to access markets in other EEA countries. So if the UK leaves the EEA passporting rights will be lost unless a new and similar agreement is struck.

For many parts of investment banking, UK financial regulations would be very similar to EU rules, meaning 'equivalence' could be granted. But this would be awarded on a case-by-case basis and mean the UK would have to 'keep up' with changes to EU regulation or risk losing equivalence, adding to uncertainty.

Meaning the UK might not be able to deregulate the financial sector significantly or stray far from the EU standard.

There are no equivalence provisions for retail banking and asset management, meaning that UK banks would require a banking licence in the EU, via a branch or subsidiary, to continue operating within the EU.
Over half a million workers who retire before pension age could get a 'substantial' boost to their state pension in exchange for a relatively small sum of money over the coming five years, according to analysis.

Workers who miss years of contributions because they can retire before their state pension age - such as teachers, nurses, local government workers and civil servants - can make voluntary payments for each of those years and generate a return of around 30 per cent, former pensions minister Steve Webb said.

This is also the case for some private sector workers with large employers who paid a reduced amount of contribution because their pension schemes were contracted out and hence are not entitled to a full state pension.

Pension boost: Voluntary payments are heavily subsidised by the Government

Under the new state pension system introduced earlier this year, the full flat rate of 155.65 per week is paid to those who have made 35 years of full rate national insurance contributions, but those who paid reduced NICs will not receive this new rate in the early years of the new system.

Webb, now director of policy at pensions firm Royal London, said that paying voluntary or Class 3 contributions was attractive because the rate paid on these contributions is heavily subsidised by the Government.

A single year of Class 3 contributions can be bought for a lump sum of around 733. This will boost someones state pension entitlement by around 230 per year for the rest of their life, according to calculations by Royal London.

This is similar to buying an index-linked annuity with an annuity rate of over 30 per cent - more than ten times the rate available in the market, Webb said.

Based on an illustrative twenty year retirement, a lump sum of 733 generates 4,600 in extra state pension over the course of retirement. Someone who filled five missing years in their national insurance contributions could receive an extra 23,000 in pension by paying 4,000, according to Webb.

The calculations have been made to coincide with a new guide from Royal London, called good with your money. The guide explains the new state pension and the options for existing pensioners to top up their state pension.

Webb said: Large numbers of workers could gain a substantial boost to their State Pension for the payment of a relatively modest lump sum. But the rules around topping up State Pensions are complex so we hope that our new guide will help people to navigate the system.

It is rare for the Government to offer something on such generous financial terms and we want to make sure that everyone knows how to take advantage of this opportunity.

Public sector workers usually are entitled to draw their workplace pension at the age of 60, but will not get a state pension until they are 65 or 66.

It means they will not pay further NICs between retirement and state pension age, but they can pay voluntary contributions for each of those years.
Excellent exchange rates between Pesos and Dollars or Euros mean luxurious restaurants and hotels can be enjoyed at excellent value

It was 1904 when the very first St. Regis opened its doors in New York City. More than a century later it was Mexico City's turn to experience a brand that has become synonymous with luxury the world over.

I was in the Ciudad de Mexico to visit friends and family. Mexicans are so very hospitable. If there's an empty bed or room in their house, it's yours.

It was my fifth time visiting the Mexican capital and the opportunity for a stay at the St. Regis finally presented itself. Yes, I decided to try what is arguably the most luxurious hotel in the city.

The St. Regis is housed in striking glass building along the Paseo de Reforma, one of the Mexican capitals main streets

The Old King Cole bar looks out onto a relaxing terrace where guests can enjoy food and drink

The hotel was the first in the city to break the $300-a-night barrier as prices are still low

Walking into the hotel brought back memories of my honeymoon the previous year. On that occasion, my wife and I had stayed at the St. Regis Bangkok. We had grown used to the sweet smell of roses and orchids in the hotel lobby - and now, once again, we were met with the same inviting scent.

The hotel aims to take care of your every need from the moment you step out of the taxi. As we pulled up to the front door, the bellman grabbed my tiny rollaway before I had even had time to decline his offer of help.

Walking into the building the doorman asked for my name. 'Gordon, James Gordon' I told him. The reception desk of the hotel is located on the third floor whereupon the manager on duty was waiting to greet me. 'Mr Gordon. I've been waiting for you!' Alfredo said. 'I hope not too long!' I replied.

He led me to my room and explained some of the hotels features to me, such as the Old King Cole Bar - every St. Regis has one, and the hotel's spa.

The bedroom was warm and inviting with great views across the bustling business district

A selection of treats made for a sweet arrival to the hotel, and it was all artfully presented

There was quite the array of welcome gifts waiting for me in my room including some artisan desserts that were exceptionally moorish along with some tomato juice made with Mexican spices.

The butler then knocked at my door to introduce herself. This is one of unique features of the hotel. You get your own personal butler! Wearing white cloth gloves, Elizabeth told me that if there was anything she could do for me she would be only too happy to help, including shoe shining, pressing clothes and even packing my suitcase. Where were you before I set off on the trip, Elizabeth?!

I lay down on the bed for just a moment, but felt that if I lingered too long, the evening would be all but over. The St. Regis beds, I had recalled, are some of the comfiest I've ever stayed in. You melt into these pristine white pillows and sheets. Es perfecto!

For dinner, my wife and I continued in the same luxurious manner in which the evening had begun and headed to a hacienda.

Haciendas are old homes that are now hotels or restaurants, but Hacienda de los Morales is special because it is set in the middle of Mexico city's business district with enormous, modern tower blocks surrounding it.

Walking into the courtyard, it already felt very authentic with large trees along with the entire ceiling daubed with red, white and green decorations, the colors of the Mexican tricolor.

As I visited the week before the Independence Day celebrations, I'm told that things looked 'even more Mexican' than usual! Soon we took our places in the homely dining room.

With soft red carpet, comfy brown wooden chairs, and paintings of food adorning the walls, it's easy to see why a hacienda can feel like a home from home.

The servers approached to take our orders, before presenting us with a selection from the bread basket. They then brought red and green salsas to the table. Mexicans seem to have these chile-based condiments with almost every meal. They can be extremely spicy and I like to perform my own taste test to see if I can handle the heat!

At La Hacienda de los Morales, there was a true Mexican flavor in the air with Independence Day just a few days away

The La Hacienda de los Morales has been around since the 17th Century and is now home to a stunning restaurant

The paintings on the wall are designed to get juices flowing, left, while a variety of salsas, right, helps to spice things up!

It wasn't long before the meal arrived. I opted for a traditional tortilla soup - which I love. No two Mexican restaurants make it quite the same way, so I am always interested to see their interpretation of this simple, yet tasty dish.

My wife and I shared some duck tacos which were also exceptional. The duck was roasted and fried to a crisp! For me, just wrapping this in a soft corn tortilla is enough, but my wife likes to adds the spicy salsas, and even guacamole and lime.

With apologies to my wife, it's amazing how two people eating the same dish can end up having something that will taste entirely different!

We also shared a red snapper cooked in a citrus sauce. The fish was juicy and delicate. It was great to try something Mexican that wasn't taco or tortilla-based.

There is a traditional Mexican atmosphere in the restaurant from the food to the decor

Guests are seated in a a traditional dining room with wood paneled doors and beautiful artwork showcasing food adorning the walls

Dessert was also offered by means of a wooden trolley that was wheeled around the dining room floor. The treats looked exceptional and were picture-perfect in appearance. The fruit tarts, flans and chocolate cakes all looked so appetizing, but I was just too full from everything else I had eaten. Still, it gives us a reason to return!

The following morning I woke up early to enjoy a swim in the hotel pool. It's not the largest by any means, but its location on the 15th means the views over the city are stunning. Sitting in the Jacuzzi you can gaze across the Mexico City skyline and look out towards the mountains in the distance.

After a few laps of the pool, it was time to get ready for my spa treatment. For personal reasons I've never indulged in a spa treatment before. After the shock of being told to put on scarily small briefs (I decided to keep my swimming shorts on) I was instructed to lay back and relax! The lights dimmed and soothing music played as the treatment began.

I had a full two hours of massaging that saw me have hot stones placed on my body, warm and cooling gels rubbed into my skin and hot towels placed over my face. Whether this will become a habit of mine, I can't yet say, but the time passed by extremely quickly and I left the spa feeling extremely relaxed.

The pool, which is located on the 15th floor, provides incredible views of the city skyline

Sitting in the Jacuzzi the city's buildings and the mountains beyond them can be seen

Soon it was time for a spot of brunch. Mexicans eat much later than people in Britain or the U.S. with breakfasts running late, lunches typically not getting underway until after 2pm and dinner at 9.

For my 11:30 brunch I went for a traditional Mexican dish of Chilaquiles. These are another of my favorite plates. They're essentially tortilla chips cooked in the red and green salsas that I mentioned earlier. The dish is then topped with grated Mexican cheese called panela. The meal can also be served with chicken, eggs or beans mixed in. The chips become warm from the salsas but they also turn a little softer too. Sounds horrible, but it works and they tasted great here too.

Downstairs, the J&G grill provides an airy meeting place for guests to meet an enjoy a meal

If you're serious about avoiding the horrendous Mexico City traffic, then this helipad might come in useful

James had long wanted to stay at the city's most luxurious hotel after several visits

The hotel aims to lead the way in luxury hotels in across the Mexican capital

Before leaving the St. Regis, I ran into the director of the hotel. An ebullient man, Bernard de Villele is the son a French diplomat and spent his childhood in Mexico.

He has been running the hotel for three years and his passion and enthusiasm for the property really appears to rub off on the staff he leads. He told me a couple of interesting facts about the place: it was the first luxury hotel in the city to break the $300-a-night barrier just a few years ago.

Prices in Mexico generally are low but they are slowly climbing. Bernard believes his hotel will be regularly selling for $400/night within the next two-and-half years. The St. Regis in New York regularly sells for $800-a-night, Atlanta $500 for example.

Bernard taught me one thing - that luxury can be found at any level. From the man who sells you your daily newspaper and knows you by name, to the coffee shop that has your order ready the moment you go in, to hotel staff that remember you year after year.

'Luxury is how you feel,' Bernhard said with a smile, tapping his chest. 'It's in your heart.'
Told of his last hour alone with his wife, when he fell asleep next to her

Recounted how they turned a blind eye when he brought in their cat

Thanked them for treating her with dignity when she was unconscious

A grieving widower has paid a touching tribute to the hospital staff who saw his wife through her last seven days.

Laura Levis, a writer and editor at the Harvard Magazine and Harvard Gazette, died last month aged 34 of a devastating asthma attack.

Her husband Peter DeMarco, also a writer in the Greater Boston area, stayed at her side for seven days at CHA Cambridge Hospital in Massachusetts, where she died.

DeMarco still remembers the names of the doctors, nurses, social workers, respiratory specialists and members of the cleaning staff who cared for his wife of two years and their family.

Laura Levis (pictured right and left on her wedding day) died last month of an asthma attack aged 34. Her husband Peter DeMarco wrote an emotional letter to the staff at the Cambridge, Massachusetts where she lived her last seven days

'Every single one of you treated Laura with such professionalism, and kindness, and dignity as she lay unconscious,' he wrote in an open letter published by the New York Times Thursday.

'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.'

The hospital's staff, DeMarco wrote, made sure to explain procedures and answer the family's questions patiently.

They made Levis' father, a doctor, feel involved in his daughter's care.

DeMarco (pictured with his wife) thanked the staff at CHA Cambridge Hospital for treating Levis with dignity when she was unconscious

'Then, there was how you treated me,' DeMarco continued. 'How would I have found the strength to have made it through that week without you?

He thanked the hospital staff for constantly checking in on him, offering to bring food, clothes, to let him take a shower or to further explain a procedure.

Staff members, DeMarco wrote, would also ask him if he needed someone to talk to.

'How many times did you hug me and console me when I fell to pieces, or ask about Laura's life and the person she was, taking the time to look at her photos or read the things I'd written about her?' he wrote.

The hospital's staff, DeMarco recounted, 'didn't see a thing' when he smuggled in their cat Cola for a final goodbye.

They let him organize a celebration with more than 50 friends, co-workers and relatives of Levis.

'It was an outpouring of love that included guitar playing and opera singing and dancing and new revelations to me about just how deeply my wife touched people,' he wrote.

'It was the last great night of our marriage together, for both of us, and it wouldn't have happened without your support.'

The hospital's staff, DeMarco recounted, 'didn't see a thing' when he smuggled in their cat Cola (pictured with the couple) for a final goodbye

DeMarco (pictured with Levis) was even able to organize a celebration with more than 50 friends, co-workers and relatives of Levis

But most of all, DeMarco is thankful for the last hour he ever got to spend alone with Levis.

It was around 4 pm, and was physically and mentally exhausted, eager to be alone with his wife. Relatives and friends had kept coming to say goodbye as Levis was about to go unto her organ donor surgery.

After everyone left, DeMarco asked Levis' two nurses to help him set up a recliner next to his wife's bed.

The recliner, he wrote, was uncomfortable, but that was his only option.

But the nurses came up with a much better alternative and told him to leave the room for a little while.

He came back to find they had moved Levis to the right side of the bed, making it possible for DeMarco to lie next to her.

DeMarco asked for one uninterrupted hour.

'I nestled my body against hers. She looked so beautiful, and I told her so, stroking her hair and face,' he wrote.

'Pulling her gown down slightly, I kissed her breasts, and laid my head on her chest, feeling it rise and fall with each breath, her heartbeat in my ear.

'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. And then I fell asleep.'

This last hour, DeMarco wrote, was 'a gift beyond gifts', which he will remember for the rest of his life.

He ended his letter: 'With my eternal gratitude and love.'
Advertisement

Emma Freedman and her fiance Charlie Rundle have picked up the keys to their new home, a beautiful $2.19 million terrace house in Sydney, days after returning from an exotic European adventure.

The engaged couple made their winning offer for the property on July 30  but have just moved into their dream home in Paddington, in Sydneys east.

The stunning little terrace is located in a quiet, leafy street of the popular suburb and has been renovated to incorporate the charm of yesteryear with modern style and convenience.

Scroll down for video

Radio and television personality Emma Freedman, pictured, has purchased a property in Paddington - Sydney

Charlie Rundle and Emma Freedman, both pictured, uploaded happy shots of their holiday together in Europe recently

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom terrace is located on a leafy side street of the popular suburb

The terrace makes the most of it's small size with sleek fixtures and ample light

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom terrace is set on a tiny 126 square metre block  but manages to pack a lot in following recent renovations.

The home was built in 1890 but has been drastically renovated since then  and now features stunning back-yard decks, a carport and luxury fittings.

The narrow home makes the most of the space with an easy flow layout.

The pairs move into the new property coincides with their return from Europe where they were spotted lapping up the sunshine with friends.

The main bedroom opens on to a beautiful balcony which looks on to the street

The home features and eat-in kitchen and is painted bright white to create the illusion of space

The home was bought by the newly-engaged couple for $2.19million and moved in after a luxury holiday to Europe

The daughter of racing identity Lee Freedman enjoyed holidaying in the UK, where they took in Wimbledon.

They then travelled to Italy and stopped at Rome and Sicily.

One week ago, the Channel Nine personality shared a snap of herself on a boat with her man in the Mediterranean Sea.

The home features wall to wall, floor to ceiling sliding glass doors which let in the light

The large kitchen has ample storage space and a sit in breakfast bar

The home combine modern elements with yesteryear charm - it was built in 1890 and renovated in 2012

She captioned it: 'Molto Bene. Perfecto. Sums up the holiday accurately! The Med really does cure all!'

The terrace has had more than $300,000 worth of renovations since 2012. It was last sold in November 2010 for a cool $1.3million.

The property only spent 24 days on the market before the happy couple snapped it up.

The home also features a large reception room, as well as a study and internal laundry

It is located on a leafy street in Paddington - an exclusive eastern suburb close to Sydney
Students from a Texas high school gave their beloved choir director a heartfelt sendoff as they gathered on her doorstep to sing to her one last time.

Mariana Walker, who was Alvin Junior High School's choir director, died shortly after the students finished their melody, according to KHOU.

Walker had been diagnosed with cancer and after her illness progressed she left school and went home for hospice care.

Students from a Texas high school gave their beloved choir director, Mariana Walker, a heartfelt sendoff as they gathered on her doorstep to sing to her one last time

Walker, who was Alvin Junior High School's choir director, died shortly after the students (pictured) finished their melody. Walker had been diagnosed with cancer and after her illness progressed she left school and went home for hospice care

One of Walker's student's, Denim Fields,told KHOU that Walker 'would take the shirt off her back for you at any time'.

Another student, Holly Darnell, said the students 'wanted our last words for her to be special' because 'she was a very special teacher to us'.

The students stood outside Walker's home and sang Hillsong's Oceans to show her how much they loved and cherished her.

Cindi Lee Cooper-Fields told ABC 13 that Walker's family 'opened the doors so she could hear them sing'.

'It was one of the most beautiful gestures I have ever seen. Friends from all ages got together and sang like angels in hopes of her feeling our love and respect we all have for her.'

When the family walked back into the home Walker died minutes later.

'She was the person I could go to if I was having a bad day,' student Lauren Collins told KHOU.

The school has established a memorial scholarship in Walker's name.

Funeral services for Walker are scheduled for Monday.
Business leaders last night issued a last-ditch appeal to Theresa May to sanction an extra runway at Heathrow.

A final decision is expected by the end of the month, with the Prime Minister to hold a series of Cabinet sub-committee meetings to make a decision over the coming weeks.

An artist's impression showing how Heathrow Airport could look with a third runway

The CBI said it expected her to give the green light, as recommended by the independent Airports Commission more than a year ago. The business body said Britain could lose out on more then 30billion in trade to Brazil, Russia, India and China alone by 2030 if it does not act now.

Paul Drechsler, CBI president, said: We cannot go back to the drawing board  again. We cannot afford to be put on hold  again. Take action, make a plan, and lets get on with it.

TheCityUk, which represents financial firms, said further delays were unaffordable and the country would be stifled without additional capacity. The Institute of Directors said 61 per cent of its 35,000 members favoured a third runway at Heathrow but that it would also support the Gatwick option.

Speculation has been mounting that a decision on airport expansion could be made as soon as next week. But Government sources last night insisted this is unlikely and that a decision has not been taken.

A final decision is expected from Theresa May by the end of the month

The third option on the table is extending the northern runway at Heathrow. We have three good proposals in front of us, each of which has advantages, a source said. There will be a decision soon but we are going to take the time needed to get this right.

Chancellor Philip Hammond this week revealed the Government is poised to borrow billions to invest in national infrastructure.

Leading Tory Zac Goldsmith yesterday warned he may quit his west London seat and stand as an independent if ministers back Heathrow. He said the legal, environmental and financial risks were immense.
Mr Corbyn has faced criticism after promoting a string of MPs who have sent their children to selective schools

The deputy leader had previously called for Corbyn to step down

He is a supporter of implementing the findings of the Leveson Inquiry

Labours deputy leader Tom Watson has been made shadow culture secretary after a summer in which he called on Jeremy Corbyn to resign.

The position puts him in charge of Labour policy on press regulation. He has been an outspoken supporter of implementing the findings of the Leveson Inquiry.

Mr Corbyn also risked charges of hypocrisy yesterday after packing his top team with MPs who have sent their children to selective schools.

Deputy leader Tom Watson has been appointed Shadow Culture Secretary by Jeremy Corbyn

In the summer Watson called for Corbyn to step down amid mounting criticism of his leadership

The Labour leader pledged last week to make his campaign against grammar schools the partys main priority under the slogan education not segregation.

But Mr Corbyn, who attended a grammar school, has used his shadow cabinet reshuffle to promote a string of senior figures who have sent their children to selective schools. His shadow home secretary Diane Abbott was accused of hypocrisy when it was revealed she was sending her son to a 10,000-a-year private school. She had previously criticised Tony Blair and Harriet Harman for sending their children to selective schools.

Shami Chakrabarti, appointed shadow attorney general this week, has also faced criticism over her decision to send her son to 18,000-a-year Dulwich College in London. Sources said her ex-husband had wanted their son to go there.

Shami Chakrabarti, appointed shadow attorney general this week, was criticised for her decision to send her son to 18,000-a-year Dulwich College

The peer also faced renewed flak yesterday following her recent report that found the party was not overrun by anti-Semitism. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said: It now looks increasingly as if her report was not only a whitewash but a job application.
A high school math teacher in Georgia is accused of exchanging lewd Snapchat messages with girls from his school and allegedly had a physical relationship with at least one of the students.

Daniel Culbreth, 28, allegedly sent and received nude and 'highly inappropriate' photos to numerous female students at Pickens High School using the popular social media app, according to the Pickens County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities say Culbreth, who started teaching at the school in 2011, had a physical and sexual relationship with at least one student.

Daniel Culbreth (above), 28, allegedly sent and received nude and 'highly inappropriate' photos to numerous female students at Pickens High School using Snapchat, authorities say

Culbreth (above), a high school math teacher, allegedly had a physical and sexual relationship with at least one student. He was arrested on Thursday on a warrant after authorities received an anonymous tip

He was arrested on Thursday on a warrant after authorities received an anonymous tip that he had been speaking to the girls through Snapchat.

Numerous students from the school were identified in his Snapchat account and investigators found that Culbreth, who attended the University of Georgia, had 'cyber relationships' with several students.

Sheriff Donnie Craig said: 'In cases like this, nobody wins. Yes, we may have made a good arrest, but a number of teenage girls have been made victims by someone that we, as parents, have entrusted to care for them.'

It's unclear if the school has fired Culbreth, as a representative for the district was unable to be reached for comment Friday evening.

Culbreth, who graduated from Pickens High School (above) in 2006, faces charges of computer exploitation of children and sexual assault by persons with supervisory authority

Culbreth, graduated from the school in 2006, faces charges of computer exploitation of children and sexual assault by persons with supervisory authority.

Detectives are examining all evidence and more charges may be filed in the case.

If you believe that your child may have been a victim of inappropriate communication with Culbreth, you can contact the Criminal Investigation Division of the Pickens Sheriff's Office at 706-253-8935.
Advertisement

If you can pick this house up and find somewhere to put it, it's yours.

A home in Narrabeen, in north Sydney is free to whoever can take it off the current owner's hands.

The character home dating from the 1920s has four bedrooms and open plan family and dining areas, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Scroll down for video

A home in Narrabeen (pictured), in north Sydney is free to whoever can take it off the current owner's hands

The character home dating from the 1920s has four bedrooms and open plan family and dining areas

It features timber floors, a timber kitchen and arched windows.

Owner Julie Maxwell said she likes the original property, but wanted to build her own house.

'I don't want money for it. I just want someone to enjoy it,' she told the publication.

The home is 11 metres wide and stands on piers.

Potential buyers have inspected the house, but have found the removal costs expensive.

Ms Maxwell said the property would need to be cut in half to be taken off the site.

Removal costs can range from $45,000 to $80,000.

Ms Maxwell's home is listed with Drake Home Removals.

Owner Julie Maxwell said the likes the original property, but wanted to build her own house
The number of cases in Australia jumped 250 per cent to 11,000 in 2015

She now works at Lifeline to help victims of crime and studies psychology

She feels brave enough to talk about the experience despite her troubles

A woman's six year relationship and her life spiralled out of control when she found out her partner was into child porn and experts say online child sex exploitation is increasing in Australia.

Leah Mouatt's life came tumbling down one night in 2014 at her Penrith home when she decided to search her husbands computer when she thought he was cheating on her.

Fearing her husband, 33-year-old Phillip John Vellio, might be meeting up with women he met online she searched his commonly used user names and what she found was disturbing, according to the SMH.

Her husband had a public profile on a pornography site for user-generated content, which he had uploaded photos of clothed pre-pubescent girls, including a family friend, accompanied with graphic comments.

Leah Mouatt's, 34, life came tumbling down one night in 2014 at her Penrith home when she found child abuse material on her husbands computer

His favourite porn was listed as 'teens' and his sexual preferences was 'nothing is taboo'.

Ms Mouatt, 34, said her life cascaded into chaos after she wept on the floor and she called her friend to come pick her up, never to see her husband again.

'All I remember next is a lot of screaming and crying and being on the floor,' Ms Mouatt told the SMH.

I did the right thing and I was punished.There was no good that came from it. My life blew apart from that phone call and the only thing that got me through was hanging on to knowing that I'd done the right thing.

Police seized more than 32,000 images and 854 videos from Mr Vellio's laptop consisting of babies, toddlers and teenagers in various sexual acts with other children and adults.

Mr Vellio was convicted with two counts of possessing child abuse material, but Ms Mouatt lost her home, friends and family as a result of the ordeal.

'My world imploded,' she said.

'Everything was destroyed. I lost my friends, I was taken to [court] by [some members of his family] who didn't want me to get a cent. I lost my home, my car. I've lost my trust in other people. I've had to rebuild a whole life.'

As a result of the police seizing her former husbands material, Ms Mouatt lost her home, friends and family and found help from a counsellor

Mr Vellio admitted himself to a psychiatric hospital for two months and Ms Mouatt suffered from shock, anger and chronic fatigue in the aftermath of financial battles in court with her in-laws and was forced to turn to the Salvation Army for food and petrol vouchers.

Her saving grace was a counsellor provided to her for free under Victims Services and Support in NSW - the only state to allow partners of child porn offenders to apply for help.

The tragic case of Ms Mouatt might not be all that uncommon with the Australia Federal Police investigations skyrocketing by more than 250 per cent to 11,000 in 2015.

The alarming figure was exacerbated by the growing trend of Australians streaming live videos of child sex abuse from the dark web originating from overseas and a Children's eSafety report said 7456 child abuse sites were shut down in a year.

NSW and Victoria have hardened its stance on child abuse material and increased the maximum imprisonment penalty to 10 years.

Leah Mouatt, 34, (Right) with her former 33-year-old husband Phillip John Vellio, (Left)

However, very little is known about women like Ms Mouatt, who are not considered victims and reports show they are often alienated by friends and family after such events.

A NSW report showed 99 per cent of offenders are male and other studies found half of the women had children, stayed with their partner and others were left with no home or a social circle after alienation.

Founder of PartnerSPEAK Natalie Walker is trailblazing a global surge for the support of partners affected by online child abuse offenders.

Ms Walker is a victim herself - finding child abuse material on her former-husbands computer - aims to help understand the pain and experiences non-offending partners have to suffer.

Ms Mouatt feels brave enough to speak pout on her ordeal nearly two years later, despite the feeling society her feeling she got punished for doing the right thing.

'I did the right thing and I was punished. There was no good that came from it. My life blew apart from that phone call and the only thing that got me through was hanging on to knowing that I'd done the right thing.'
All EU citizens living in Britain may be allowed to stay after Brexit, it was reported last night.

The Home Office has apparently made the move after discovering that five in six could not legally be deported.

There are more than 3.5million EU nationals living in the UK, more than 80 per cent of whom will have permanent residency rights by the time Britain leaves the union in early 2019.

Scroll down for videos

The Home Office has reportedly discovered that five in six EU citizens could not legally be deported

The rest  more than 600,000 people  are set to be offered an amnesty.

A number of Cabinet ministers have told The Daily Telegraph that those citizens will be offered the right to stay permanently.

Theresa May has refused to guarantee the rights of EU citizens currently living in the UK, saying she believes that the Government must not reveal its hand ahead of Brexit negotiations, which will begin when she triggers Article 50 next year.

There are more than 3.5million EU nationals living in the UK, more than 80 per cent of whom will have permanent residency rights by 2019

The remaining people will, of course, be allowed to stay in the UK, a senior source told the paper. Thats a given. We just need to work out exactly how we do it.
It is an extraordinary tale of survival against the odds.

Lance Corporal Martyn Compton suffered horrific burns to 75 per cent of his body when his armoured vehicle was blown up by a Taliban.

He was then shot twice in the leg as he scrambled away from the burning wreckage.

As he lay on the ground, his colleague Corporal Of Horse Andrew Radford thought he was an enemy soldier and raised his rifle to shoot him.

Heroes: Martyn Compton (left) with Andrew Radford and Martyn's family: Michelle, Archie, five, and Coral, four

CoH Radford realised his mistake just before he squeezed the trigger and dashed through enemy gunfire to carry his comrade to safety.

On their return to the UK, Lance Cpl Compton lay in a coma for three months and his saviour was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his heroics.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the attack, Lance Cpl Compton took his wife Michelle, 36 and their two children Archie, five, and Coral, four, to meet the man who saved him.

If it wasnt for Andrew I wouldnt be here today, I wouldnt be married to Michelle and I wouldnt have my beautiful children, he said.

While Andrew may have been just about to shoot me, Im grateful that happened, as the reality is, if he and his commanding officer hadnt been looking down their rifle sights, they would never have seen me in time and Id have died there that day.

The words thank you are so inadequate, it just isnt enough to express the depth of my gratitude that he saved me.

CoH Radford, 34, said Lance Cpl Compton, 32, came close to death four times and described his survival as miraculous.

I never thought he could possibly live after the horror he went through, he said. But you never leave one of your own behind. Thats unthinkable. To see how he has rebuilt his life with his family is just wonderful.

Lance Cpl Comptons life changed for ever on August 1, 2006, after the attack in Afghanistans Helmand province.

Crouched in the wreckage of his armoured vehicle, torn apart by a roadside bomb which had killed his three comrades, he watched as a Taliban fighter aimed a rocket-propelled grenade directly at him.

It hit the engine block inches from his head, showering him with flaming debris and leaving him on fire and in indescribable pain.

Under enemy fire he crawled 100 yards to reach cover, suffering horrific burns as his body armour melted on to his skin. He was shot in the leg before he could drag himself behind a low wall.

Lance Cpl Compton, from Staplehurst, Kent, said: [There were] too many Taliban to count, armed with machine guns.

Martyn and Michelle Compton seen here before Martyn went to war

'RPGs came over the walls on both sides and as I reversed backwards from the ambush an IED (improvised explosive device) was detonated beneath us.

Id suffered third degree burns to 75 per cent of my body, my kit had melted into my skin and the rest of my clothes were just rags.

I just remember bullets flying around me and I was shot twice in my leg. I crawled as far as I could from the remains of the vehicle, and when I managed to reach a low wall I lay there.

CoH Radford was scanning the area for the Taliban fighters through the scope of his rifle and admitted he almost shot his comrade from the Household Cavalry.

He was so terribly disfigured you could barely tell it was him  but in the milliseconds before Id fired hed waved towards us, he said.

It was literally the pressure it takes from a finger on the hairpin of the trigger from obliterating him. In that second it took me to lower my rifle, I knew I was going to go and get him.

Everyone has told me the incoming fire was relentless, but I was so transfixed on getting to Martyn that apart from firing my own rifle as I moved forwards, everything else faded out. All I could hear was the sound of my own heart beat and my rifle.

After his six-month tour, he received his medal at Buckingham Palace from the Queen who asked him: How is Martyn doing?

His citation read: He deliberately put himself in harms way to rescue a fellow soldier. He showed an almost superhuman effort to rescue Trooper Compton.

It is this act of selflessness, conspicuous gallantry and bravery in the face of a well-coordinated and sustained enemy ambush that merits public recognition.

Lance Cpl Compton has left the army and has launched a career as a racing driver with his new company Martyn Compton Racing and is looking for sponsorship.
Advertisement

An alien spear from Predator 2, Andy Warhol portraits, a photo of Marilyn Monroe and a Nazi armband signed by US soldiers are among dozens of stolen items the Los Angeles Police Department is working to track down.

The LAPD's Art Theft Detail detectives are assigned to specifically investigate thefts and burglaries when valuable pieces are the focus.

In addition, the special group also investigates frauds, fakes and forgeries that involve artwork. They are the only full-time law enforcement unit in the country that is devoted to investigate art crimes.

Since 1993, the detectives with the Art Theft Detail have recovered more than $121,622,405 worth of stolen items.

In an effort to find more long-lost pieces, the Art Theft Detail released a series of photos of the stolen items, that also include a guitar designed by rock legend Eddie Van Halen, the first Batman comic and a pair of nameless Oscar statuettes.

If you have information on the location of the missing items, please contact: LAPD Art Theft Detail at 213 486-6940.

Rock out: Dectives are searching for a Eddie Van Halen designed black-and-white guitar (above) that has a basswood body, 22 jumbo frets and chrome hardware

A cloth Nazi armband (above) that was signed signed by the men of the 93rd Cavalry Troop D, 2nd Platoon, at the end of World War 2 is being sought after by the LAPD. It is 4-by-16 inches and has 10 signatures on it

Detectives are searching for several photos of iconic actress Marilyn Monroe, including the one above which was taken by Bruno Bernard in 1946

Several Andy Warhol pieces are being sought after by the LAPD, including the above 1986 silkscreen on canvas showing Arnold Schwarzenegger flexing his muscles (left), a 1980 portrait of Sigmund Freud (center) and a 1975 portrait of Mick Jagger

Detectives are looking for sculptor Ron Mueck's untitled mask (left) from 2000 that is signed and dated on the back. They are also searching for a pair of Oscar statuettes with no name on them. Their serial numbers: 3030 and 3033

LAPD detectives are looking for a missing transparent 'Peanuts' painting (above) titled 'Wanna Bite, Sweetie?' The painting is part of a set of 375 and is signed 'Bill Melendez' on the lower right

Detectives are searching for an African wood sculpture (above) featuring a man with nails all over it. The sculpture is about 41-inches tall and is from Zaire/Congo area

Police are looking for a Detective Comics No. 27, dated May 1939, that features the first appearance by Batman (above)

An alien skeleton prop from the movie 'Predator 2' (above) is also missing. Police are looking for the bone-white colored prop that about 42-inches long

A ghoul hunting prop from the movie 'Ghost Busters' is also being sought by police. The Psycho Kinetic Energy meter (above), was a 10 inch long and 2 inch wide tool used by in the popular movie to find ghosts

The LAPD is searching for several pre-Columbian sculptures like the one above from Jalisco, Mexico. It's dated circa 200 BC - 400 AD and stands to be about 9 1/2 inches

Detectives are also looking for an alien spear (above) used in the movie 'Predator 2.' This prop measures to be about 7-feet long and is made of copper and colored plastic

Police with the special LAPD unit are looking to find a bronze lion fish (above) from Japan's Meiji period

A 800-pound bronze statue (above) that was made by Doug Hyde in 2007 is being sought after by police

Authorities are also searching for 'Sculpteur et Modele Debou' (above) by Pablo Picasso. The lithograph that has a signature on the lower right measures to be about 14 by 10 inches
A killer is on the run after a musician was shot dead in Croydon sparking a murder investigation.

Akeem Moore, 22, was killed last night when he was shot in the head in Eastney Road, Croydon.

The mother to his three-year-old son has been left devastated and friends described him as a 'good guy'.

The man was found with a gunshot wound in Eastney Road, Croydon, and died at the scene

A murder investigation has been launched but no arrests made.

Tributes and flowers have been left at the scene to the young rapper and father of three.

Rasharana Allen, mother to his three-year-old son, is devastated.

The 20-year-old said: 'He was an amazing dad and he loved our son Lakai so much.

'He was shot in the head last night.'

A friend of Akeem's, who didn't want to be named, described him as a fun person.

He said: 'He was always laughing.

'He was a musician, a father, he was just normal - just like everybody else.

'It's so sad. It's horrible.

'He did not deserve this. Not at all.

'I don't know why it happened. You know how south London is.'

Akeem had been in the music business for about a year, his friend said.

'He was in to rap and grime,' he said.

'He was a good guy.'

Police were called around 11.30pm last night.

Akeem died on the scene.

Forensics are carrying out investigations now.

Police were called at around 11.25pm on Friday to reports of a man with a gunshot injury in Eastney Road, Scotland Yard said.

Armed police were among the emergency services at the incident, but police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman told MailOnline this morning the man's age and identity were as yet unknown and could not reveal when an update would be made available.
The court claims beachgoers had no warning when the net was in motion

The father is suing the council and two companies for $1.6 million

He was airlifted to Brisbane Hospital where three fingers were

Swiss family was on holiday in north Queensland on South Mission Beach

A father of a young Swiss boy who lost three fingers caught in a box jellyfish net is suing a local council and two companies for $1.6 million.

Back in 2012, Marvin Baumann, 4, was with his parents on holidays when his three fingers on his right hand and the tip of a left finger got winched in a stinger net - that was being reeled in - on South Mission Beach, far North Queensland.

The damage was so severe the young boy was airlifted to Brisbane Hospital where doctors unsuccessfully tried to save his fingers before undergoing amputation surgery, according to The Courier Mail.

Marvin Baumann had three fingers amputated in 2012 after they were caught in a stinger-net on a far north Queensland beach

The young boy's father, Daniel Baumann, is suing the Cassowary Coast Regional Council and two companies that manufactured and operate the stinger mechanism.

Mr Baumann said the importance of a handshake in Swiss culture is not to be misunderstood and his son's handicap deters people from the formal greeting.

'You give a handshake to your teacher everyday, you shake hands with children and adults, with family and friends and especially in business,' he told The Courier Mail.

'Already when giving a handshake people notice that something is wrong with him or his hand.

Queensland councils introduced stinger nets in 1982 to help keep out the potentially fatal box jellyfish (Stock Image)

Stinger-nets were rolled out across Queensland beaches to keep out potentially dangerous jellyfish (Stock Image)

'His hands look quite frightening and some kids are not willing to give him a handshake.'

It is reported Marvin, now eight-years-old, had his hand on the rope and his fingers became trapped in the moving mechanism when the net started to be hauled in.

The Supreme Court claim beachgoers had no warning about the dangers the mechanism can pose and when the net was going to be moved.

Rachael McMahon of Maurice Blackburn Lawyers said they had identified some issues around the potentially dangerous process.

'This is an horrific injury for a young boy to endure,' she said.

'The Workplace Health and Safety investigation identified some serious issues surrounding the net mechanism and the process to move it.'

An investigation into the incident found Cyclone Yasi had destroyed a danger sign about the pulley, which had never been replaced.

Mr Marvin said his son has trouble with everyday activities and even their families favourite pastime.

'We ski a lot in Switzerland, it is a common pastime, and he can't hold a ski pole or hold himself on the ski lift,' he said.

Queensland councils introduced stinger nets in 1982 to help keep out the potentially fatal box jellyfish.
Holden only produces Commodores in Australia now but that ends in 2017

Production of the Holden Cruze in Australia stopped on Friday in Adelaide

Holden's Cruze is no more, with the last of the model rolling off the production line at the Adelaide factory that will lose 270 jobs in its wake.

Workers at Holden's Elizabeth assembly line built the final Cruze, which was also the last four-cylinder car produced in Australia, on Friday.

The end of Cruze production means 270 workers at the factory will leave their jobs in October and November after accepting voluntary redundancies.

Scroll down for video

The final Cruze rolling off the production line at the Holden assembly plant in Elizabeth, South Australia on Friday

The end of Cruze production will see around 270 Holden employees leave the business

Holden says this number is more modest than it predicted in July, because of strong Australian demand for the locally-made Commodore.

Around 900 workers will remain at the factory to build the Commodore until all production there ends in late 2017, as Holden becomes a full importer.

GM Holden Communications Director Sean Poppitt says at least a hundred people in the factory cheered as the last Cruze came down.

'There was a real sense of pride, obviously tinged with some sadness,' he said.

'But as you walk the floor and as you shake people's hand and talk to people, the pride in the brand is as strong as it ever has been.

'There's a sense that everyone really wants Holden to succeed into the future.'

The Holden manufacturing facility in Elizabeth will stop production in 2017 when the last Commodore leaves the shed

Holden has set up a transition centre to assist those made redundant, but the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union SA said many will still struggle.

'With unemployment way too high in SA, some of these workers will have a tough time finding other jobs,' the union's SA secretary John Camillo said.

Mr Camillo said the job losses could have been spared if the federal government, under Tony Abbott, had offered Holden assistance to develop replacement cars.

'There could have been another 10 years of work guaranteed, with all the positive spin-offs for the SA economy and job security for thousands of other workers in the auto industry supply chain,' he said.

The Cruze will be replaced in the local market by the imported Astra model.
Taxpayer funding is being funneled into some of Australia's wealthiest private schools at the expense of public schools.

Shocking details emerged highlighting more than 150 private schools got millions of dollars in taxpayer funding more than they were entitled to under the Gonski model.

The revelation has prompted calls for an overhaul of the system, according to theSydney Morning Herald.

One of Australia's most prestigious schools, Melbourne Grammar (pictured), reported an overwhelming $8.3 million end-of-year result, which exceeded the school's $7.3 million government funding

There would be more than $215 million extra a year available for other schools if schools weren't given more funding than they were entitled to.

SCHOOL ENTITLEMENTS School entitlements are based on the Gonski model which adjusts payment for each school based on its students' needs. Advertisement

The system came into question after it was revealed some of the country's wealthiest schools were getting huge payouts.

One of Australia's most prestigious schools, Melbourne Grammar, reported an $8.3 million surprlus at the end of the year after all its costs were paid.

Queenwood School for Girls (pictured), a prominent Sydney based private school, reported $2.2 million in revenue, and $1.7 million in over funding

Melbourne boarding school Scotch College (pictured) revealed a fat surplus of $6 million, some of which is due to $610,000 worth of overfunding by the Australian taxpayer

Prominent Sydney based private school Queenwood School for Girls also reported $2.2 million left over.

Melbourne boarding school Scotch College revealed a $6 million surplus.

The school unveiled a brand new $30 million science centre this week.

Prominent boarding school Loreto Normanhurst received at least $2 million to funnel back into its facilities.

Boarding school in Sydney's Hills District, Loreto Normanhurst (pictured), benefited from a surplus of $2 million

It was also revealed Victorian based Islamic school Al Siraat College got more funding than it was entitled to.

College director Fazeel Arain said the school was still 'a needy school by any account'.

Mr Arain said the school lacked vital facilities and was in desperate need of the funding.

He said there was a misconception that schools receiving money above the Gonski funding formula were 'wealthy private schools'.

Victorian based Islamic school, Al Siraat College (pictured), was over funded by $1.5, but college director Fazeel Arain said the school was still 'a needy school by any account'

College director Fazeel Arain (pictured) said there was a misconception about the school funding system, and the assumption that schools receiving money above the Gonski funding formula were 'wealthy private schools'

The Gonski model explained The Gonski model is needs-based funding, created to ensure all children are educated fairly and with adequate resources

The Gonski model  was put in place by Labor when former prime minister Julia Gillard commissioned David Gonski to conduct a report into school funding in 2010. Both Labor and the Greens have pledged their support for the full Gonski funding. Advertisement

He said this simply wasn't the case, and his school was grovelling for every cent it was offered.

Centre for Policy Development fellow and funding equality advocate Chris Bonner said the shocking revelation 'cries out for a very convincing explanation'.

'If the object of the exercise is to raise student achievement, that money should absolutely be redirected to where need is greatest,' Mr Bonner said.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham said discussions about a new funding formula were underway with Australia's states and territories, and hoped decisions would be made by early 2017.
A childcare centre has taken extreme and unprecedented measures to control allergies in the classroom by telling parents their children are not to eat products containing nuts before school.

The West End Community Child Care Centre in Brisbane are already a 'nut-free' centre and told The Courier Mail parents have embraced the ban.

Allergy experts on the other hand have condemned it and labelled the ban as 'extreme and unnecessary'.

Scroll down for video

The West End Community Child Care Centre in Brisbane has banned children from eating nuts at home before class

Maria Said is the president of Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia - she doesn't believe the ban is required.

'Children with food allergies play on play gyms and go to shopping centres where we have no idea what others have eaten and they do not regularly have anaphylaxis as a result,' she said.

She also said the use of the term 'nut-free centre' can cause a false sense of security for parents and carers at the centre because nuts will inevitably turn up - intentionally or otherwise.

The centre claims it is for the safety of the children who go there - but allergy experts have labelled the new ruling as extreme

The centre director, Gemma Casey is standing firm on her new policy which she says adds another level of protection for the children in her care.

'Some allergies can be life-threatening. We feel it is a safety net if all the children have no trace of nuts before arriving here,' she said.

Common child food allergies include nuts, eggs, dairy, seafood, wheat and soy.
The cause of death of a baby in prison remains unknown- despite the new-born having drugs in his system.

The care provided by government agencies to the month-old baby in prison did not contribute to the infant's death despite some communication failures, a WA coroner has found.

Baby 'Z' was born in March 2011 at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth and died suddenly at Bandyup Women's Prison the following month.

Baby Z was born in March 2011 at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth and died suddenly at Bandyup Women's Prison the following month.

In her findings released on Friday, Coroner Sarah Linton said the cause of death could not be ascertained despite several possibilities being examined.

She said experts had concluded that drugs in Baby Z's system did not provide an explanation alone for his sudden death.

Ms Linton also said Baby Z's mother co-slept with him sometimes but there was insufficient evidence to conclude that is what happened when he died.

'Baby Z's death is another sudden unexpected death of an infant child where medical experts are unable to explain why it occurred,' she said.

'All that can be ascertained from the available evidence is that it is possible he died from either a natural or accidental cause, or a combination of both.'

Several government agencies were involved in Baby Z's care, including staff at the hospital, prison and Department for Child Protection.

Ms Linton said despite some communication failures, the overall management of Baby Z's treatment, care and supervision was of a high standard and his tragic death could not be attributed to any agencies.

'They all acted to the best of their abilities to ensure that he remained safe and well while maintaining a bond with his mother,' she said.

The cause of death of a baby in prison remains unknown- despite the new-born having drugs in his system (stock image)

'It seems that their endeavours were successful, in that Baby Z's mother was able to form a loving and close attachment to him in the few weeks they were together and appeared to be caring for him well.'

Ms Linton also noted Baby Z's mother had described the child as her hope for the future.

'Her loss is no doubt compounded by the fact that she is unable to have any more children,' she said.

Ms Linton commented that the overall system for managing pregnant women and mothers of newborns in WA prisons was well-designed and implemented, although there was always room for improvement.

She said it was reassuring that Baby Z was the first infant to die at Bandyup Prison in 25 years since the system of resident children began.
The men were released with a fine and caution for the public spectacle

Rice with a fish head or tail wrapped in plastic was for lunch and dinner

Breakfast was three small biscuits with a glass of red cordial or tea

During their time behind bars they had a very limited supply of clean water

The men were charged for stripping to their speedos at the Grand Prix

The Budgie Nine spent time in squalid conditions after they were arrested

The Budgie Nine who stripped down to their speedos at the Malaysia Grand Prix have spoken about the squalid conditions while spending time behind bars.

The nine Australian men, aged between 25 and 29, spent four nights and three days at Sepang jail for public nuisance before they were discharged with a fine and caution for stripping on September 2.

The men were divided into two cells  five in one four in the other  and had barely any space to move or lie down with each cell being around three metres, reported The Courier Mail.

Scroll down for video

The nine Australian men who stripped down to their speedos at the Malaysian Grand Prix were forced to four nights behind bars

The men were each given a three small biscuits with a cup of tea or red cordial for breakfast, followed by a small handful of rice with a fish head or tail wrapped in plastic with a cup of cordial for lunch and dinner.

Drinking water was very limited despite the high temperatures and humid conditions as permission for extra water had to be granted from top authoritative figures.

The only exception was once a day when a visitor was allowed to give the men a bottle of water to share among each other.

The men had a very limited supply to clean water and the cells were tiny they had no room to lay down

The men - aged between 25 and 29 - (pictured walking free) escaped with a fine and a warning for the incident on September 2

Only one cell had running water to flush the squat toilet which had no toilet paper.

There were no fans to help subdue the unbearable heat and only one cell had a working light.

The men were also forced to wear unwashed prison outfits that emitted an odour smelt from a distance.

'We could smell them from a distance when we visited,' the mens lawyer, Shafee Abdullah said.

'I was told the clothes were used, they were not clean. That is cruel and against human rights.'

The apology letter that was 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

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.

'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.'

The men's speedos were printed with the Malaysian flag and they chanted 'Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi' while drinking from their shoes.
New Zealand Clown Fraternity worried about the perception of clowns

Police said there has been an increase in unverified clown sightings

The attack took place on Saturday and the woman suffered mild injuries

The sinister clown craze keeps reaching new scary heights after a 22-year-old woman was assaulted from two attackers dressed as clowns.

A young woman was attacked and suffered moderate injuries at 3.15am from two male attackers dressed as clowns as she was walking home along memorial Drive in Hamilton, New Zealand on Saturday.

Police said in a statement, 'This was a very frightening experience for the young woman and Police are keen to identify the offenders and prevent any further such incidents.'

Scroll down for video

The sinister clown craze keeps reaching new scary heights after a 22-year-old woman was assaulted from two attackers dressed as clowns (Stock Image)

'Police would like to speak to the occupants of a white van which was seen in the area at the time of the assault.'

'We'd also like to hear from anyone who saw people dressed as clowns in the city overnight between 7 - 8 October.'

Recent reports have showed the 'clown purge' has reached Australia with dozens of sightings and footage from Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth on Friday evening.

The craze involves sinister looking clowns loitering around parks, supermarkets, playgrounds and other unusual places.

At the same time New Zealand Police said unverified sightings of clowns in unusual places have popped up across New Zealand over the last few days.

New Zealand Police said unverified sightings of clowns in unusual places have popped up across New Zealand (Stock Image)

However, police said they have not confirmed any sightings and believe photos from the US are being attributed to New Zealand.

'The reports on social media appear to have originated in the US and Police have not been aware of evidence of this occurring in New Zealand, outside of the Hamilton assault,' a police spokeswoman told NZStuff.

The New Zealand Clown fraternity are worried about the perception of clowns after these horrifying reports of the 'clown purge' continue to grow.

'The thing is when they dress up as clowns it's more as horrific characters than proper clowns,' Ken Samson, a clown for the last 25-years, told NZstuff.

'It's a bit of a blow that it's happening, but what can you do? It's just young people doing stupid things.

Anyone with information on the Hamilton assault was asked to call Hamilton Police on 07 858 6200.
An extra 82 child safety workers will be hired in Queensland after the foster father of schoolgirl Tialeigh Palmer was charged with her murder.

The 12-year-old girl's carer Rick Thorburn is accused of murdering Tiahleigh at his home in Chambers Flats, south of Brisbane, last year.

On the back of his arrest last month, Queensland's Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman announced the new hires, saying they will be employed to deal with urgent cases in the state.

Murdered schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer's (pictured) body was found on a river bank in 2015

Ms Fentiman said $7.8 million would be spent every year on full-time foster care staff, which included front-line workers.

She said this was in addition to 47 previously announced positions to be filled by the end of the year.

'We know that child safety staff are under pressure,' Ms Fentiman said.

'This will mean that our child safety staff can respond quicker to investigations and assessments of alleged reports of child abuse and neglect.'

Foster carer Rick Thorburn was charged in September with the murder of his 12-year-old foster daughter

It was announced $7.8 million will be spent every year on full-time foster care staff, after foster carer Rick Thorburn (pictured left) was charged in September with the murder of his foster daughter

Ms Fentiman said the child safety department was under pressure after facing severe cuts to its number of workers in previous years.

The Queensland Child Safety Minister said there would be an upcoming drive to recruit more foster carers.

She also announced a new partnership with the state's fire service to ensure foster homes were safe.

The state's Child Safety Department has been on the backfoot and under pressure to make improvements to its system since registered foster carer Rick Thorburn was charged with the murder of his foster daughter.

Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman (right) has been on the backfoot since foster carer Rick Thorburn was charged with the murder of his foster daughter Tiahleigh Palmer (left)

Rick Thorburn (pictured right) was charged with the murder of his foster daughter and his wife Julene (pictured left), 54, was charged with perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice

The state government also set up an expert panel to support a review into the child safety system after charges were laid against Thorburn and his family.

As Thorburn faces murder charges, his son Trent, 19, is charged with incest, perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Thorburn's wife Julene, 54, and the couple's other son Josh, 20, have also been charged with perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Tiahleigh's remains were found on a river bank last year.
Another woman called 911 to say she spotted a young boy in her yard

son had been missing for about 15 minutes on Thursday in Victory Township

An amazing police K-9 in Michigan helped to save the life of a missing four-year-old autistic boy after successfully locating him in a wooded area and leading him to safety.

Mason Oceana 911 Dispatch received a call on Thursday around 4pm from a frantic mother reporting that her child had been missing in Victory Township for about 15 minutes, Michigan Live reported.

Minutes later, another woman who lives a few miles away from the boy's home called 911 to say she saw a young boy in her yard.

Saving the day: Mason County Sheriff's Department K-9 named Cash (above) helped to rescue a 4-year-old autistic boy who went missing on Thursday

Mason County Deputy Ken Baum and K-9 Cash arrived shortly thereafter to the Victory Township home to start searching for the missing 4-year-old boy.

Baum and Cash started searching the wooded area near the woman's home, covering a quarter of a mile of land.

Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole said the area is full of 'dangerous opportunities' since there is a river and a pond that could prove to be hazardous to children.

Mason County Deputy Ken Baum and K-9 Cash pictured together

Cash, who is a 5-year-old dog trained in tracking as well as drug searching and criminal apprehension, picked up on the boy's scent about 45 minutes into the search and located him.

The scared little boy would not come to Baum, who tried his best to befriend him.

Over his radio to dispatchers, Baum said the child would not move, but was drawn to Cash.

The Dutch shepherd intervened and led the boy out of the woods to safety.

'You can't put a price on stuff like that,' Cole said.

Authorities did not release the name of the boy, as he is a minor.
Police were trying to break out up a fight outside the Shooters Nightclub

A man accused of knocking a police officer unconscious and gouging out his eye says he was trying to stop himself from falling on the ground.

Jake Pearson, 23, was charged with serious assault after he allegedly resisted arrest and injured a police officer trying to break up a fight outside of the Shooters Nightclub on the Surfers Paradise, on Queensland's Gold Coast, at 2.30am in June.

Pearson was allegedly restrained by arresting officer Justin Town and Constable Rowan Larkin.

Police say he was able to break free before gouging Const Larkin's eye, The Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

Jake Pearson, 23, was charged with serious assault after he allegedly resisted arrest and injured an officer outside of the Shooters Nightclub (pictured)

Arresting officer Town told the court he heard Const Larkin screaming in pain as he fell to the ground.

'The defendant kneed and stomped on the victim's chest area... [then] his [Const Larkin's] eyes closed and he went limp as if he was unconscious and knocked out,' the officer added.

Pearson said was leaving the club with his girlfriend after an argument with a friend before he was taken aside by the officers.

Multiple witness told the court he simply touched the constable's eyes as opposed to gouging it.

Pearson denied assaulting the constable Rowan Larkin and apologised for knocking him out

He denied he intentionally assaulted the officer and explained he was trying to break free from their grips of the officers and said he put his arms out in front of him as he was pulled down to the concrete by several officers.

'I apologise that he [Constable Larkin] has been knocked out in the situation... but I didn't mean to knock him out,' Pearson said.
She advised people to delete emails if they don't

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is warning residents to watch for fraudulent emails that have shown up as Hurricane Matthew moved along the coast.

The governor said Saturday that people are receiving emails stating that they have an update on power outages. Haley said the email provides a link to get the update.

The governor said those who click on the link have opened their computer to hackers.

Haley says it's important for people to be sure they recognize the sender of emails before opening them. She says those from unknown senders should be deleted.

Hurricane force winds left hundreds of thousands without power across the state.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is warning residents to watch for fraudulent emails that have shown up as Hurricane Matthew moved along the coast

The governor said people are receiving emails stating that they have an update on power outages. Haley said the email provides a link to get the update.

Governor Haley says it's important for people to be sure they recognize the sender of emails before opening them. She says those from unknown senders should be deleted

Speaking about the storm in general, she warned the public that there is still some way to go.

'It's still a very serious situation, and we are not out of the woods,' Haley told the public Saturday morning.

'Do not plan on going home today or tomorrow,' Haley said to South Carolina residents who have evacuated.

'I know you want to see your home, I know you want to get back,' Haley said.

She said the state is still working to respond to damaged areas as well as deal with the the effects of the storm that are still talking place.

The governor said those who click on the links may have opened their computer to hackers

A trailer is destroyed from a fallen tree in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew at Hilton Head

For those who were evacuated, it could be a couple more days before people are allowed to go back home.

'Now is when the frustration sets in, ' she said,'Most injuries, most fatalities happen after the storm...Just know that we want it to make it safe for you to find out about your home.'

There have been three deaths in Georgia, three have been reported in North Carolina, and four have occurred in Florida.

Those numbers pale in comparison to Haiti, which counted 470 dead in one district alone when Hurricane Matthew swept through the Caribbean island as a Category 4 storm.

It has since weakened to a Category 1.

Robert Nicotra braves the wind and rain along the beach on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina

Mike Pendergrast moves a wagon down 41st Ave. full of sand to fill with sand bags around his home on the Isle of Palms as Hurricane Matthew approached on Friday

An Isle of Palms house leaves a message as Hurricane Matthew approaches the Isle of Palms, S.C., Friday, October 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Damage wise, property data firm CoreLogic projects that Hurricane Matthew's grind across the Southeast will end up costing between $4 billion and $6 billion in insured losses on residential and commercial properties.

The firm's estimate covers storm surge and wind damage, which it anticipates will account for 90 percent of insurance claims related to the storm.

CoreLogic's estimate doesn't include insured property losses related to additional flooding, business interruption or other factors.

The firm also projects that the hurricane will end up damaging roughly 1.5 million residential and commercial properties in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Hurricane Matthew's estimated losses are a fraction of those racked up by Superstorm Sandy, which barreled into the Northeast in 2012, and Hurricane Katrina, which swept through Louisiana and nearby states in 2005.

CoreLogic says Superstorm Sandy's insured property losses reached up to $20 billion, while Katrina's hit as high as $40 billion.

Earlier this week, the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America, estimated that insurance claim payouts from damage caused by Hurricane Matthew would likely exceed $7.5 billion.

Trey Tait watches over his store, Tait's Lawn Products, illuminated by a generator after the power went out from Hurricane Matthew in Brunswick, Georgia

A fallen tree from Hurricane Matthew blocks the road on St. Simons Island, Georgia., after residents were ordered to evacuate

Bull River Yacht Club Dock Master Robert Logan leaves the dock after finishing up storm preparations as Hurricane Matthew made its way up the East Coas

An official vehicle navigates debris as it passes along Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew in Flagler Beach, Florida
The Emmerdale star Leah Bracknell who played Zoe Tate has terminal cancer

Fans of former Emmerdale star Leah Bracknell have hit the 50,000 fundraising target needed to pay for pioneering cancer treatment for the actress.

The award-winning soap star has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

Her partner Jez Hughes launched an online appeal on Thursday to raise cash for cutting edge immunotherapy in Germany that they hope will give her a fighting chance to beat the disease.

And this morning the total raised on the GoFundMe website reached the magic 50,000 mark - including a 5,000 pledge from one anonymous donor.

The 52-year-old actress, who played Zoe Tate in the ITV soap from 1989 to 2005, was diagnosed with the condition five weeks ago, as she prepared to return to the stage in a comedy show.

In an emotional post about her condition, the mother-of-two - the first British soap character to come out as a lesbian - described how she had been enjoying life as a 'fit and healthy' yoga teacher when her world was 'unexpectedly turned on its head'.

Writing on her fundraising page, Leah vowed to fight the cancer with 'a glass half full', describing how her priority was 'to defy expectation'.

'Please imagine me writing this and speaking in quite an upbeat and cheerful voice,' she wrote.

'Do NOT imagine me sitting here writing through a veil of tears. I am not. Or feeling sorry for myself. I am not (yet).

'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.

Scroll down for video

Effie Harrison, played by Phillipa Peak, reveals her feelings for Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell) in this Emmerdale scene (left); Leah also playing Zoe in the soap (right)

Leah's Emmerdale character was the first lesbian to come out in a British soap (Leah Bracknell pictured in 2004)

Leah as Zoe Tate with Charity Dingle, played by Emma Atkins, in a 2001 episode of Emmerdale

'My priority is to defy expectation. My priority is to love, to laugh, and, as Bob said, to "keep on keepin' on".'

It is hoped she will now be able to afford treatment at the private Hallwang clinic, which costs between 9,000 and 27,000 a week, with the average stay lasting three to four weeks. Patients have compared the centre to a spa hotel where they are given restaurant-quality food.

The clinic specialises in immunotherapy, which reprogrammes the bodys defence system to attack cancerous cells. Trials show it could stop cancer from spreading and reduce tumour size.

In Germany  which has one of the highest cancer-survival rates in Europe  clinics operate under fewer regulations so they can provide treatments that have not been ruled safe in Britain.

Fans and well-wishers have gone on Twitter to share their shock at Leah's diagnosis

Leah, who is believed to be a vegetarian, said she discovered symptoms five weeks ago after struggling to walk up a flight of stairs.

A few days later, she was rushed to hospital and had an emergency procedure to remove a litre of fluid from her chest. At the time, she was told that she would have died without medical intervention.

Doctors later diagnosed Leah with inoperable lung cancer.

She said: 'My abdomen suddenly ballooned- and within a matter of a few days I looked heavily pregnant. Then, one Saturday night at the beginning of September I ended up in A & E.

'Following a difficult and terrifying night (my heartbeat rose to 180 beats a minute!) I was subsequently given an emergency procedure to remove a large amount of fluid from around my heart.

'I was told later, without that, I would have died. So I am beyond grateful.

'Without it, I would not be here, enjoying the Autumn sunshine, watching the leaves change colour, settling into our new home. I would not know either quite what brilliant, generous and loving friends and family I have.'

Leah Bracknell at The British Soap Awards in 2006 (left) and her partner Jez Hughes (right)

Rachel Ambler as Emma Nightingale and Leah Bracknell as Zoe Tate in Emmerdale

Fans of Emmerdale star Leah Bracknell who played Zoe Tate have rallied to her support after it was announced she has terminal lung cancer (Leah in an episode of The Royal Today)

Jez said the family are 'determined to fight' the cancer and have Mexican shamans in the hospital attempting to heal her.

Writing on Facebook he said it had been an 'incredibly tough month' following the diagnosis of his 'beloved partner and soul mate'.

LEAH BRACKNELL'S TV CAREER INCLUDED LANDMARK LESBIAN ROLE Emmerdale 1989-2005 Judge John Dreed - 2007 The Royal Today - 2008 Casualty 1907 (mini series) - 2008 A Touch of Frost - 2010 Doctors - 2007-11 DCI Banks - 2011 Advertisement

'Luckily they were able to drain a litre of fluid from around her heart which saved her life,' he wrote.

'Unfortunately the diagnosis for the problem that caused the fluid build up was lung cancer, stage 4, what the doctors call "terminal".

Jez added that the pair had been getting advice from professionals for the past month and had found 'incredible breakthroughs' being made in European clinics involving alternative medicine and modern treatments.

Adding that the medical profession 'doesn't always know the whole story', he said that treatment at The Hallwang Clinic would give her the 'best possible chances of not only survival'.

But, asking for donations, he added: 'The downside is these treatments are expensive. So I've set up a Go Fund Me campaign for Ali to help raise money towards these potentially life saving treatments.'

Mr Hughes added that Leah has been a 'wonderful mother of two, loving partner and daughter'.

Leah Bracknell speaking at the British Soap Awards; donations have been made to her GoFundMe site

Leah Bracknell playing Zoe Tate with Joseph Tate in a 2005 episode of Emmerdale (left); Leah also starred in a Touch of Frost (right)

He said: 'To many she is known as Leah Bracknell, and has enjoyed a 30 year career on TV and stage, and is best remembered for portraying Zoe Tate in Emmerdale for sixteen years.

'To others she is a yoga teacher who has inspired thousands.

'To us, she is Ali, wonderful mother of two, loving partner and daughter. We desperately hope that we, her friends and loved ones, can raise the funds she needs for a potentially life saving treatment. Time is of the essence.'

He added that Leah had been unable to work in recent years because of 'personal circumstances' which had been a 'big drain' on her resources.

He said: 'Understandably, she is unable to continue acting or teaching right now. This is why we are fundraising here.

Her partner Jez Hughes said Leah had also been a yoga teacher who has 'inspired thousands'. Leah pictured in an Emmerdale episode with Callum Rennie (Andrew Whipp) and Effie Harrison (Phillipa Peak)

As character Zoe Tate in Emmerdale she raised LGBT and mental health issues.

Vet Zoe suffered from schizophrenia and had a dramatic exit in the show when she blew up the farm where her family lived.

The award-winning actress also played Jenny Carrington in 43 episodes of The Royal Today in 2008.

Leah also had roles in Judge John Dreed, A Touch of Frost, Doctors and DCI Banks between 2007-2011.

Leah, has starred on television for 30 years, is pictured here playing Matron Jenny Carrington in ITV's The Royal Today

Leah played Jenny Carrington (pictured) in 43 episodes of The Royal Today in 2008

THERE ARE OFTEN NO SIGNS OF LUNG CANCER IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE DISEASE, DOCTORS WARN Lung cancer is one of the most common and serious types of cancer. Around 44,500 people are diagnosed with the condition every year in the UK. There are usually no signs or symptoms in the early stages of lung cancer, but many people with the condition eventually develop symptoms including: a persistent cough; coughing up blood; persistent breathlessness; unexplained tiredness and weight loss; an ache or pain when breathing or coughing. Lung cancer mainly affects older people. It's rare in people younger than 40, and the rates of lung cancer rise sharply with age. Lung cancer is most commonly diagnosed in people aged 70-74. Although people who have never smoked can develop lung cancer, smoking is the main cause (accounting for over 85% of cases). This is because smoking involves regularly inhaling a number of different toxic substances. Source: NHS Choices website Advertisement

In recent years she has worked as a yoga teacher and released a DVD on the discipline. Her yoga website details Leah as also being a 'shamanic healer'.

Describing how she felt before her diagnosis, she 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.'
The American owners of Terry's Chocolate Orange have been accused of 'ruining British chocolate' after it turns out the sweet snack has shrunk in mass by ten percent.

The popular treat appears to have been reduced from 175g to 157g in recent months yet the majority of stores appear to be charging the same amount for it.

Outraged fans of the chocolate blasted the move by Mondelez International which took over Terry's in 2012 and moved production to Poland.

The mass of the Terry's Chocolate Orange decreased from 175g to 157g yet the price has remained the same-outraging fans

Some even created a Facebook page, dubbed 'Mondelez are shrinking our Terry's Chocolate Oranges,' to vent their frustrations at the global food and drinks giant.

One fan wrote: 'Mondelez International owners of the Terry's brand since 2012 have now decided to shrink the 1932 chocolate orange from 175g down to 157g, a subtle and obvious trick that they hoped nobody would notice. Well, we noticed and we're sick of them ruining British chocolate.'

A woman on the page said she wont but the delicacy anymore while another simply labelled them 'cheeky b*****s.'

The Facebook page, Mondelez are shrinking our Terry's Chocolate Oranges, uploaded this photo to show their fury at the move

Cadbury, which was bought by Mondelez in 2010, has also been lambasted for reducing the number of Creme Eggs and Curly Wurlys in its multi-packs while keeping the price the same.

Elsewhere, popular treats such as Mars and Nestle's Yorkie and Fruit Pastilles have seen recent reductions in mass.

The chocolate became synonymous with actress Dawn French after she starred in its advertising campaign during the 90s

Mondelez, formerly Kraft Foods, says the shrinkage in some of its snacks is due to rising ingredient costs.
A family say they were refused a refund on flights after their three-year-old boy was diagnosed with cancer after the airline decided it was not an 'exceptional circumstance'.

Oscar Long, from Bury , was diagnosed with leukaemia at the start of July, two weeks after the party of ten booked a dream holiday to Florida.

His grandmother Susan Long asked American Airlines to postpone the holiday and showed them letters from Royal Manchester Children's Hospital which stated Oscar wouldn't be well enough to fly for three years.

But she says they refused to postpone it for three years and told her it was against their policy to refund the tickets.

The rest of the group reluctantly went ahead with the trip without Oscar and his parents Ben and Leanne, and Susan says she has been battling to get their tickets refunded for the last two months.

She spoke to American Airlines on August 27 when she says they told her a cancer diagnosis was 'not an exceptional circumstance'.

This week the family received a partial refund - 748.60 towards the 1,270 cost of Oscar, Ben and Leanne's tickets.

A spokeswoman for the airline insisted to the Manchester Evening News they processed the refund in July but kept 100 per ticket as a cancellation fee, it is unclear where the remaining 200 went.

A spokesman for The Flights Guru, who booked the holiday for the family, said they are working with the airline to get the full ticket price refunded.

Susan, who spoke to both companies several times during July, said: 'First I asked for them to hold the flight but they said they could only hold for a year.

'When I asked for a refund they told me they only offered them to the next of kin if someone died and that leukaemia wasn't an exceptional circumstance.

'I went absolutely ballistic, we then got passed from The Flights Guru, who we had booked with, to American Airlines and they just kept blaming each other.'

The family's holiday of a lifetime was understandably tainted, Oscar has began chemotherapy and has to stay in hospital for four days every fortnight but is bravely enduring the harrowing treatment.

His family say battling the holiday companies has been an added stress at a very difficult time for them.

Oscar's aunt Kimberley Wallwork said: 'The day we were travelling Oscar was having a round of chemotherapy.

'We booked it as a whole family and we wanted to travel with the whole family, we didn't want to go.'

Leanne Cawte, 32, added: 'We are really angry and upset.

'Oscar keeps saying: 'we are going to Florida', he still thinks he's going.

He loves Mickey Mouse, he was really looking forward to seeing him and Donald Duck.'

Now the Flights Guru have also given a 200 voucher to the family for Oscar as a goodwill gesture.

A spokeswoman for American Airlines said they processed a partial refund for the family in July and said: 'We are very sorry to hear of Oscar's medical condition.'

Jason Smith, head of operations for Flights Guru said: 'We feel that there should be a 100 per cent refund so we have tried chasing AA for a full refund but it's not in their policy to do so, I'm still trying to get a full refund for three passengers.'

Susan said that while it was never about the money the family appreciated the gesture.
LSE is one of the most highly rated universities in the world and

One of the country's top universities has insisted it will stand by its foreign academics after the Government banned them from consulting on Brexit.

The London School of Economics, one of the world's most prestigious universities, claims the foreign office has barred some of its academics from working on Brexit projects if they are not UK nationals.

The move is reportedly due to concerns over sensitive data being exposed during Brexit negotiations.

LSE interim director professor Julia Black said in an internal memo that the university would stand by its academic principles of independence.

In the memo, posted on Twitter by Jakub Krupa, she said: '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.

Amber Rudd (pictured left) told the annual Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham that business should have to reveal the proportion of foreign workers they employ. Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured right) also criticised at the 'international elite'.

'We will continue to stand by our colleagues and we strongly value the work that you all do.'

The row follows the controversial plans to make businesses reveal what proportion of their workers came from abroad announced by home secretary Amber Rudd at the Conservative Party Conference this week.

The move prompted criticism from business owners as well as academics.

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.

Former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg branded the plans to ban foreign academics from Brexit talks 'utterly baffling'

A bar on foreign experts has been branded 'utterly baffling' by former Lib Dems leader Nick Clegg.

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.'

A Foreign Office spokesman insisted that the policy was a misunderstanding and added nothing had changed since the referendum result.

He 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.'

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?'

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.
Footage of clowns menacing victims with machetes as craze intensifies

The clown craze putting Australia on high alert is intensifying as costumed creeps menace victims with machetes and vigilantes lash out at the pranksters.

Photographs of sinister clowns in all corners of the country have fuelled social media hysteria and prompted 'clown hunting' groups to take matters into their own hands.

Facebook posts claim a clown was hospitalised after being king-hit in Sydney - hours after after the 'Clown Purge Sydney' ominously warned 'we are coming for you.'

Meanwhile footage has surfaced of clowns brandishing knives in Melbourne and another striking the bonnet of a car with a machete in Caboolture, north of Brisbane.

Authorities have scaled up their warnings, with NSW and Victoria Police taking aim at the US-born craze as it well and truly takes root in Australia.

Scroll down for video

Chilling footage has surfaced showing a clown striking the bonnet of a car with a machete in Caboolture, Queensland

A masked prankster was reportedly seen spooking a drive-through restaurant worker in Eagle Vale, NSW

Images of sinister clowns in all corners of the country (pictured: Erskine, Perth) is fuelling social media hysteria

More copyacat pranksters in Broken Hill in NSW (left) and Perth in Western Australia (right)

Campbelltown police Inspector Tara Norton warned the phenomenon was fraught with danger for both the pranksters and the victims, Macarthur Chronicle reported.

'There's the potential for retaliation or people could be seriously hurt or could die by trying to get away. You also don't know if the person has a physical condition or mental condition where this behaviour could have disastrous effect.

'Don't get involved with a group of people going out to do something so ridiculous and dangerous. If you do, be prepared to face the consequences which will be serious.'

Fresh images and footage show haunting jesters - some appearing to wield weapons - menacing onlookers in restaurants and caravan parks.

Clown-hunting Facebook groups, some boasting tens of thousands of likes, suggest residents are coming to blows with the copycat pranksters.

However a NSW police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they had not received any reports of the supposed assault in Caringbah, south Sydney.

Grainy footage appears to show a clown wielding a weapon through the driver's door of a car in Melbourne

A crown lurks outside a car in Bankstown, Sydney

Sightings have been springing up on social media in droves, with one clown shown in Melbourne (left) and another in Grafton (right)

The phenomenon spawned in the US after social media users shared images of sinister clowns lurking in parks, highways and luring children into the woods.

Some snapshots appear to show violence erupting between the clowns and their victims, with one laying flat on his back after being 'knocked out' by a passer-by, and another showing a woman hitting one with a long object.

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,' a statement said.

'The clown purge appears to be a copycat of incidents being seen in the USA recently.'

In Mandura, Western Australia, clowns have reportedly been horrifying people near supermarkets

This spine-tingling CCTV footage appears to show a clown lurking outside a house in Perth

This clown was apparently spotted outside a fast food joint in Campbelltown on Thursday night

The Australian sightings come on the heels of mass 'clown hysteria' in the States after spooky clowns were caught creeping around children.

There has also been widespread speculation 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.'

Some snapshots appear to show violence erupting between the clowns and their victims, with one laying flat on his back after being 'knocked out' by a passer-by

This image shows a woman confronting a clown, hitting him in the face with a long object
Hilarious footage posted online shows actor clearly having fun in new role

Force Awakens' Finn introduces himself to passengers on the loudspeaker

Star of space saga joins his sister at work calling the next

Amazing footage shows the moment train passengers were treated to a stellar announcement by Star Wars actor John Boyega as he found a new role as conductor.

The international celebrity, who shot to stardom in The Force Awakens, came back down to earth to join his big sister at work on a London train.

This hilarious video shows the star helping out on board, introducing himself to passengers and cheekily telling them they have arrived in 'East Penge' - joking that his uncle can't pronounce the place.

It was quite a change in role for the 24-year-old, who joined the South Eastern Rail staff on board the afternoon train.

His sister, Blessing, works for the service, and her little brother seemed to enjoy playing conductor.

Londoner Boyega even shares a joke at his uncle's expense, saying that he pronounces Penge 'Pen-gey'.

The acclaimed actor, who shot to stardom in playing Finn in the latest installment of George Lucas' space saga, ditched the Stormtrooper uniform to surprise passengers on the South London route.

Star's sister Blessing Boyega, pictured, who works for South Eastern Rail, was joined by her little brother who helped announce the next stop on the 2.40 train to Orpington

Video of the actor changing roles was posted to his Instagram account.

The caption says: 'So decided to assist my sister @blessingboyega and her amazing colleagues at south eastern rail with some informative announcements. Hope everyone on the 2:40 train to Orpington had fun listening to me talk rubbish.'
The Calais Jungle could be demolished within nine days, leaving thousands of asylum seekers to disperse into centres across France.

President Francois Hollande announced last week that the sprawling camp would be entirely dismantled by the end of the year.

Now a Calais government official is reported to have said the bulldozers will be in by the end of the month, and the work could begin as early as October 17.

The Calais Jungle camp is set to be dismantled by the end of the year, with bulldozers potentially moving in by October 17.File photo of Calais Jungle

The country's defender of rights Jacques Toubon has expressed concerns that this is too soon.

He said: 'The destruction of all the camps and facilities in hard could begin on October 17.

'[I am] very concerned about the fate of all exiles living in Calais.'

France's Defender of Rights said it was too soon to disperse the thousands of migrants living in Calais. File photo of Calais Jungle

President Hollande has repeatedly called on the British authorities to 'play their part' in the effort that France is undertaking.File photo of Calais Jungle

Speaking in September, President Hollande said: 'We must dismantle the camp completely and definitively.

'I also want to restate my determination that the British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking and that they continue to do that in the future.'

Clare Mosely of the charity Care4Calais, told the Express: 'In February over half of the camp was demolished and yet six months later the camp is bigger than is has ever been before.

'This clearly shows that demolitions do not act as a deterrent and that refugees will not stop coming to Calais.'

The government intends to disperse the thousands of migrants attempting to get over the border into the UK into 100 reception centres across France, but on Thursday, there were shots fired at Saint Brevin and at at a building in Saint-Hilaire-du-Rosier.

The UK is paying about 2.4million for a half-mile long 13-ft high wall that will block migrants reaching the road that trucks use to cross the Channel.

A group of Tory MPs has demanded that unaccompanied children with family in the UK be removed from the Jungle migrant camp in Calais before the demolition.

Former Cabinet minister Nicky Morgan is among those urging Home Secretary Amber Rudd to do more to save children from people smugglers and exploitation.

A group of Tory MPs has called on Amber Rudd to ensure any children in the camp with British links are brought home before the bulldozers move in. File photo

The UK is currently paying about 2.4million for a wall to be built to stop migrants getting onto a road trucks use to cross the Channel. File photo of Calais Jungle

In a joint letter organised by Unicef and published in the Daily Telegraph, the MPs state: 'We must ensure that it is the authorities and the law that help these children, and not the criminals who would put them in the back of trucks or leave them to take their own chances.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'The dismantling of the camp in Calais is a matter for the French government.

'The UK Government has made crystal clear its commitment to resettle vulnerable children under the Immigration Act and ensure those with links to the UK are brought here using the Dublin Regulation.

'We will also continue to support the French government as it provides alternative accommodation to migrants in the camps and returns those not in need of protection to their home countries.
A group of six Australians who became suspects after a hotel worker in Peru fell to his death from the 15th floor of a hotel in 2012, say they feel 'overwhelming relief' after being cleared of any involvement.

The former students - dubbed 'The Peru Six' - say a Lima court and senior prosecutor have confirmed they had nothing to do with the death of doorman Lino Rodriguez Vilchez who was found on the footpath outside their hotel.

Hugh Hanlon, Tom Hanlon and Jessica Vo, from Melbourne, and Sydney trio Sam Smith, Harrison Geier and Andrew Pilat were suspects in the case.

'The past four and half years have caused immense uncertainty, frustration as well as emotional and financial strain,' they said in a statement on Facebook on Saturday.

Australian backpackers known as 'The Peru six' have been cleared of any involvement over the death of hotel worker in Peru in 2012

'The immeasurable stress has left a dreadful toll on all of us.

'Today, we feel overwhelming relief as we close this chapter of our lives and finally move on.'

The six Australians became suspects many months after the doorman was found dead in January 2012.

They insisted they had little contact with Mr Rodriguez before some of them heard a thud outside their hotel window.

Police initially ruled the death a suicide from jumping off a balcony but the man's family launched a campaign to re-open the case

Police initially ruled the death a suicide from jumping off a balcony but the man's family launched a campaign to re-open the case and the Australians were subsequently labelled 'killers' by local media.

Judges wanted the suspects to travel back to Peru to be questioned but in late 2013 they won the right to give statements from Australia.

The six said on Saturday they were advised by consular officials in early August 2016 that a prosecution would not proceed.

The court notified all parties, including the doorman's family, who were given an opportunity to appeal.

In mid-September, the Australians were notified by their lawyers and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade no appeal had been submitted by the family, the six said on Saturday.

Hugh Hanlon, Tom Hanlon and Jessica Vo of Melbourne (left) and Sydney trio Sam Smith, Harrison Geier and Andrew Pilat (right) were suspect over the death of a hotel doorman in Peru

Police initially ruled the death a suicide from jumping off a balcony but the man's family launched a campaign to re-open the case

'Having received this advice in writing overnight we are now able to share this important development publicly,' they said on their Facebook page Completely Wrongly Accused.

The six have now all completed their studies and are working in their chosen fields.

'We are looking forward to travelling freely and, most importantly, to continue what will always be a lifelong friendship with each other,' they said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it would not comment on the case 'for reasons of privacy'.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Up to 22 refugees were rejected

As Australia prepares to welcome 12,000 Syrian refugees to its shores, more than 20 have been turned away over suspected links to terror groups such as Islamic State.

Government intelligence checks have found at least 22 'potential national security concerns' among refugee applicants, with over 6,000 visas issued to those fleeing war-torn countries.

Those applying for refugee status to enter Australia are required to go through health, character and security checks before they can be accepted, The Weekend Australian reported.

More than 20 refugees have been turned away from Australia over suspected links to terror groups including Islamic State

Islamic State previously used refugees as 'camouflage' to enter Europe and carry out the Paris shootings and bombings last November, where 130 people were killed

Islamic State previously used refugees as 'camouflage' to enter Europe and carry out the Paris shootings and bombings last November, where 130 people were killed.

Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the Federal Government would 'not compromise on security checks'.

'We will not grant visas to people who are a security concern,' he said, according to 9 News

'National security and the protection of the Australian people has always been and will always be our number one priority.'

Out of the 12,000 refugees Australia committed to take, just over half have received visas.

Australia's Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton said the Government would 'not compromise on security checks'

As of 2 September, 6678 visas have been issued and 3532 of these people have settled in Australia

'As of 2 September, 6678 visas have been issued and 3532 of these people have settled in Australia,' Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said in New York during the UN's special conference.

'Another 6293 people have been interviewed and assessed as meeting threshold requirements for a visa.

'These people are awaiting the outcome of health, character and security checks.'

The Federal Government has been criticised for the slow resettlement of Syrian refugees since former Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced Australia's promised intake in September last year.
Six women have been arrested after a man was found with a gunshot wound in a London high street.

The man, aged in his 20s, is fighting for life in hospital after being shot in the north London borough of Haringey at about 11pm last night.

A man is fighting for his life in hospital after a shooting in the north London borough of Haringey at about 11pm last night. Police remain at the scene (pictured)

Metropolitan Police taped off Hornsey High Street and officers from the Trident and Area Crime Command are investigating, a police spokesman said.

He added: 'Police were called to reports of a man injured in Hornsey High Street, near the junction with New River Avenue.

'Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and the man was taken to hospital for treatment to a gunshot injury.

'He remains there in a critical condition. Cordons remain in place at the venue. Officers are on scene.

Metropolitan Police taped off Hornsey High Street (pictured) and officers from the Trident and Area Crime Command are investigating, a police spokesman said

'Six women have been arrested in connection with the incident and remain in custody. '
Retired politicians already cost the Australian taxpayer $40 million a year but that number could balloon by millions if four of them get their way.

The elderly quartet will this week argue before Australia's High Court that changes to the controversial MP pension scheme robbed them of cash and more free travel.

As they were elected before 2004, Labor's Barry Cunningham, Tony Lamb and Barry Cohen, and Liberal John Moore are entitled to the most generous retirement benefits.

Retired politicians already cost the Australian taxpayer $40 million a year but that number could balloon by millions if four of them, like John Moore (pictured), get their way

The elderly quartet, including Barry Cohen (pictured) will this week argue before the High Court that changes to the MP pension scheme robbed them of cash and more free travel

They receive pensions of between $80,000 and $118,000 annually and get 10 free return business class flights a year.

Under changes made by Julia Gillard, they are paid a percentage of the pre-2011 MP salary of $154,000 but they claim it should be based on the current salary of $199,000 - and have unlimited flights.

They cited section 51 of the Australian constitution, claiming the changes were an unlawful acquisition of their property by the Commonwealth.

They receive pensions of between $80,000 and $118,000 annually and get 10 free return business class flights a year

They are using the same obscure piece of law used by the Kerrigan family in classic Australian comedy The Castle (pictured) to fend off developers trying to take their house

It is the same obscure piece of law used by the Kerrigan family in classic Australian comedy The Castle to fend off developers trying to take their house.

The government argues the pensions do not count as property and Parliament has the power to change them at will.

The four MPs demands are despite them only having earned a small fraction of that in superannuation during their parliamentary careers.

Mr Lamb only paid $35,297 to his super his his seven years as an MP but has so far been paid more than $1.3 million since he retired in 1990.

If the MPs are successful in their challenge it would open the door to up to 350 retired MPs, like disgraced former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop (pictured), to claim higher payments

Ms Bishop was ousted after it was discovered she claimed $5,000 for a helicopter flight (pictured) from Melbourne to Geelong

If the MPs are successful in their challenge it would open the door to up to 350 retired MPs and 100 spouses, plus more who are still in office, to claim higher payments.

MPs who were ministers or held other prestigious posts get higher pensions, like former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop who gets an estimated $255,000 a year.

The 10 free flights allowance costs about $1 million a year with retired MPs running up huge tabs on personal travel.

Former Speaker Peter Slipper (pictured) enjoyed $8,557.16 in free flights in the second half of 2014

Former Gillard government minister Nicola Roxon (pictured) charged taxpayers $,6860.82 over the same six months

According to Department of Finance records, former Speaker Peter Slipper enjoyed $8,557.16 in free flights in the second half of 2014.

Former Gillard government minister Nicola Roxon charged taxpayers $,\6,860.82 over the same six months and former Nationals MP Ron Boswell claimed $6,597.13.

MPs who were elected before 2004 also got a 'resettlement allowance' of three months salary after they were voted out, and six months if they had served more than one term.

More than 187,000 Australians signed an online petition this year calling for the scheme to be scrapped altogether.
Malcolm Turnbull said Mr Walker would have to 'consider his future'

They spent four days in jail after their antis at a Formula 1 race

He was one of the group arrested for stripping to speedos in Malaysia

He was a senior policy adviser to Defence Industry Minister Chris Pyne

A member of the so-called Budgie Nine has quit his $150,000-a-year job as a staffer for Federal Minister Christopher Pyne a day after returning home.

Jack Walker, who was a senior policy adviser, was one of nine Australians who spent four days in a Malaysian jail for stripping down to budgie smugglers bearing the south-east Asian country's flag at a Formula 1 race.

They were freed on Thursday with a slap on the wrist after making a public apology, and Mr Walker landed in Perth on Friday separately from his eight friends.

Scroll down for video

Budgie Nine member Jack Walker (pictured) has quit his $150,000-a-year job as a staffer to federal minister Christopher Pyne a day after returning home

The senior policy adviser was one of nine Australians who spent four days in a Malaysian jail for stripping down to budgy smugglers bearing the Muslim nation's flag at a Formula 1 race

Mr Pyne said the disgraced staffer offered his resignation and he had accepted it.

'Jack indicated to me his deep regret for causing any embarrassment to the government and apologised,' Mr Pyne said.

'One lapse of judgement does not detract from the fact that Jack has been an outstanding staff member, a significant contributor to my office since late 2013 and I believe he will have a bright future.'

The nine Australians stripped down to their budgie smugglers on Sunday at the Malaysian Grand Prix

Mr Pyne said the disgraced staffer offered me his resignation and he had accepted it

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Friday Mr Walker would have consider his future in government carefully

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told Adelaide radio on Friday 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.

The group on Friday asked for privacy as they faced a media scrum 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.

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.'

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.

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

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
Advertisement

Historical re-enactors are in the middle of a 310-mile march from York to Hastings to celebrate the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.

Dressed in Medieval garb and riding horses, the band of 1066 warriors left York on September 25 and arrived in Hyde Park this morning, where they will spend the day forging weapons and cooking 11th century food.

They are due to arrive at Hastings on October 14, 950 years to the day since King Harold met William, Duke of Normandy's invading force.

Battle of Hastings re-enactors pose for a selfie in central London as the reach the final stages of the march from York to Hastings

The marchers pass a pub as they reach London, with just a few days left to go before they get to Hastings on October 14

The re-enactors turned a few heads as the arrived in the capital yesterday having marched for two weeks from York

Marchers create a spoof on the Beatles Abbey Road album, walking across a pedestrian crossing in a shopping mall

Along the way, the historical characters have been running events with schools, and encouraging people to join in with different points of the march.

Characters including William of Normandy, King Harold and Edith of Wessex have been tweeting their journeys.

The re-enactors have also been posing for selfies with passers-by and sharing their journey on social media.

They have been fed, watered, and given shelter by villagers as they pass along eastern England on the way south.

Nigel Amos, the marchers' leader, told The Times: 'We are not portraying Saxons. I don't want to fall into this pro-Saxon thing, which bores me frankly.

'I can see no profit in bemoaning the Battle of Hastings. The English default position is that the Norman conquest was a national tragedy. It wasn't.'

The marchers' leader told the Times they were not portraying Saxons and that the 'pro-Saxon' default position is boring

The marchers started their march on September 24 and set out to walk more than 300 miles south to Hastings

The march recreates the route King Harold took when he heard William of Normandy was invading the south of England

Arriving in London, the marchers were an unusual sight when they arrived in the capital, in Medieval clothing and waving a flag

The marchers passed Camden Road, pictured above left, and looked a stark contrast to the modern sights of north London, pictured above right

The Battle of Hastings marked the beginning of the Norman Conquest of England

The Battle of Hastings took place on October 14, 1066, about seven miles away from Hastings itself, near the modern day town of Battle in East Sussex.

It marked the beginning of the Norman conquest of England.

Harold was marching south having defeated his brother and Harald Hardrada in the north, but with a much weakened army. He camped at Caldbec Hill the night before the battle and though he intended to surprise the French, it seems William had been warned of his arrival.

It was 'exceptionally bloody, even by Medieval standards' according to English Heritage and there is no exact figure for deaths known.

Bodies were left strewn in the fields, until family members came to collect them. It is though a mass Norman grave was dug to deal with many of the fatalities.

Marchers arrived at Hyde Park in central London and will spend Saturday running a pop-up event for free

The event includes tutorials on making 11th century food and the historians have even been recreating the battle in fruit and vegetables

Visitors to the free pop-up running this afternoon will also be able to see how 11th century warriors would forge weapons

After the Battle of Hastings, William built Battle Abbey on the site to mark his victory. On Christmas day 1066 he was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

The battle is remembered in the Bayeux Tapestry.

The re-enactment is being run by English Heritage.

In the next week, marchers will go from Westminster to Eltham, Eltham to Lullingstone, before going to Tonbridge, Bayham and Brightling.
Advertisement

A volcano has erupted on Japan's Mount Aso, spewing clouds of grey volcanic ash over entire towns as far as 250 kilometres away.

The volcano on the main island of Kyushu, in south-west Japan, burst into life early on Saturday, belching a column of ash thousands of metres into the sky.

Images show cleaners setting to work mopping a blanket of ash from cars in a yard as meteorologists warned of a heavy ash fall and falling rocks within 30 kilometres of the tourist attraction.

Scroll down for video

Up in smoke: Plumes of white smoke rise from Mount Aso after it erupted on Saturday

Raking up the ashes: The eruption spewed clouds of grey dust over entire towns as far as 250 kilometres away (pictured: a driving school in Aso)

Moderate and light ash falls are forecast for as far as 250 kilometres away from the tourist attraction.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the eruption, which began at 1:46 a.m. local time on one of the peaks of the 1,592-metre mountain.

Japan Meteorological Agency issued its third-highest alert, warning people to avoid the volcano after it erupted.

Mount Aso, which dominates the island, has not erupted at the peak since January 1980, media reports said.

Japan sits on the so-called Pacific 'Ring of Fire' where a large proportion of the world's quakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

On September 27, Japan suffered its deadliest eruption in almost 90 years when Mount Ontake, in central Nagano prefecture, erupted unexpectantly

An estimated 63 people were killed as the peak was packed with hikers out to see the region's spectacular autumn hues.

Government cleaners set to work mopping the blanket of ash from cars in a driving school yard

Meteorologists warned of a heavy ash fall and falling rocks within 30 kilometres of the tourist attraction

Aso Shrine, completely flattened and damaged by April's earthquakes, is seen blanketed in white ash
An ex-Formula One technician and a drug dealer who was caught with cocaine in his underpants have been jailed after police smashed a 3.5 million drugs ring.

Officers swooped after spotting Dean Smith, 32, and Dipak Ram, 32, exchanging a holdall near a car outside a block of flats on March 9 this year.

Police then raided an address used by Ram and discovered 13kg of cocaine stashed in a sofa as well as 5kg of heroin hidden in cupboards.

Officers swooped after spotting Dean Smith (left) and Dipak Ram (right) exchanging a holdall near a car outside a block of flats on March 9 this year

They also found more than 31,000 in cash on the premises and Ram even had around 320 worth of crack cocaine hidden in his underpants.

Officers also arrested Smith later the same day on Hagley Road in Birmingham and discovered 13kg of cocaine in the boot of his Toyota Avensis.

Both men admitted possessing drugs with intent to supply when they appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.

Ram, of Great Barr, Birmingham, was jailed for 13 years while Smith, of Watford, was jailed for eight years.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Nicholas Webb said he believed Smith 'had clearly been motivated by financial advantage'.

He also told Ram he had 'all the trappings of a dealer' including an expensive watch and bracelet.

Police raided an address used by Ram and discovered 13kg of cocaine stashed in a sofa as well as 5kg of heroin hidden in cupboards

The court heard Smith was a former automobile technician at Formula One motor racing giant McLaren.

But he had spiralling debts after a failed move to Thailand which had left him unemployed when he returned to Britain.

The court heard the flat in Ladywood, Birmingham, where police spotted the duo had been converted for the purpose of breaking down large scale drugs into smaller scales to sell on the streets.

Mr Williams, defending Smith, told the court that he had made the 'biggest and catastrophically stupid' decision to deliver the drugs for a sum of just A1,200.

He added: 'He should have ran for the hills but he didn't.

'He was to follow instructions and he travelled from Watford to Birmingham, all observed by police.

Officers found more than 31,000 in cash on the premises and Ram even had around 320 worth of crack cocaine hidden in his underpants

'He opened the boot and Mr Ram took one of the holdalls. He was en route to his second location when he was intercepted.'

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable Kelly Whyte, from West Midlands Police, said: 'This was a fantastic piece of good old police intuition..

'Smith and Ram were spotted loitering around a parked car which had the boot open and their suspicions were heightened when Ram took hold of a bag and walked off.

'It acted as the catalyst for us to uncover a huge stash of drugs with a total street value estimated to be more than three million pounds.

'This was a professional, sophisticated, wholesale drug enterprise with various drugs, including heroin and cocaine, cut and weighed into amounts varying from street deals up to several kilos.

'Both Smith and Ram boasted of their extravagant lifestyles and used the proceeds of their drug dealing to fund trips abroad and buy expensive jewellery.
Advertisement

Winners of home renovation show The Block have cashed in after a heritage-listed home they controversially demolished was auctioned off for $2.908 million.

A crowd of 300 people watched the four-bedroom California bungalow-style home renovated by Darren and Deanne Jolly go under the hammer and set a new record for Kew East, east of Melbourne.

Auctioneer Paul Richards said the Jollys were pleased with the outcome.

'They were very happy and look forward to getting on to their next project,' the Herald Sun reported.

Scroll down for video

The Block winners Darren Jolly and his wife Deanne have auctioned off a home they renovated for $2.9 million

The couple spent about $1m to transform the 1920s house they bought in June 2015 into a California bungalow house

The four bedroom property in Kew East, renovated by The Block winners, was bought by a family from the nearby suburb of Canterbury

The couple got more than $50,000 over their reserve price of $2.85 million.

A family from the nearby suburb of Canterbury successfully bid for the home.

Mr Richards said the family 'loved the outdoor area with the cathedral ceilings opening up out over the pool and deck and the marble benchtops in the kitchen were really popular'.

The former AFL player and his wife purchased the home in June last year for $1.395 million and upon discovering the extensive rot and termite damage within the structures of the house, proceeded to demolish the whole thing.

But the couple had only sought permission to demolish 95 per cent of the building.

They were ordered to rebuild the early 20th-century Melbourne home with the same detail as the original, which John Luppino - the director of city planning at the City of Boroondara - said they had satisfactorily achieved.

But Jolly and his wife were reportedly fined $4,000, which they deny, and placed on a two-year good behaviour bond after completely demolishing their heritage-protected house without the City of Boroondara's permission.

The once traditional California bungalow was transformed into a modern house with a solar-heated pool

The large and cosy living room space has a built-in fireplace and opens into the outdoor alfresco area

The refurbished property features three large bedrooms with porcelain pendant lights, one bedroom opening into the backyard area

The bathrooms have ducted heating and air-conditioning plus underfloor heating

This included the front facade of the heritage site, which was not part of the council permit.

Residents of the Oswin Street Heritage Precinct were angered by the destruction and did not believe their renovations reflected the original 1920s and 1930s housing style.

The refurbished property features three large bedrooms with porcelain pendant lights, built-in wardrobes, ensuites, a large living room with bespoke shelving, a powder room, and bathrooms with marble tilework.

It also features an alfresco desk where a huge gum tree stands above the solar-heated pool. The kitchen features a Calacatta marble island bench and European oak flooring.

Darren and Deanne Jolly and their two daughters. The celebrity couple have come under fire for bulldozing a heritage-protected house in Melbourne's eastern suburbs

The house boasts earthy, minimalist and contemporary elements with white and timber accents

The study features a built-in desk and bench window seat to create a welcoming workspace

The main bathroom features a freestanding stone bathtub which serves the three large bedrooms

The luxury of the ensuite with its dual vanity basins and dual rain style shower heads

It is matched by a deep his 'n' hers walk-in robe which is reached via a short corridor featuring a shoe rack wall

The kitchen features a massive Calacatta marble island bench lit by handmade ceramic pendant lights

The kitchen boasts a top shelf Miele appliances including 2 pyrolytic ovens, induction cooktop, steam cooker and integrated dishwasher and coffee machine, all complemented by a butler's pantry with Vintec wine fridge

The house has 100% wool carpets and 100% linen curtains, engineered European Oak flooring, bespoke made handles, plantation shutters on the windows

The 14 Irymple Ave property in Kew will go under the hammer on October 8

The couple wrote a letter to the council to explain their actions, but did not have permission when they demolished the front of the house

The couple were ordered to 'pay costs' and were given a two-year good behaviour bond for breaching their planning permit

The front facade of the house was rebuilt with original materials, such as these diamond leadlight windows
A handwritten sign about 'snitches' posted on the front door of a West Virginia home tipped police off to the heroin and methamphetamine found inside.

Homeowner April Lynn Lavender, 38, was arrested on drug charges after deputies responded to a joyriding complaint in Oak Hill, West Virginia, on Thursday morning.

But it was a bright pink note on the front door that raised alarm bells.

It read: 'Due to snitches everyone entering my home is subject to being searched. All cell phones and drinks will be left outside!! If you're not a snitch, it won't offend you if I search you!'

Deputies responding to a joyriding complaint in an Oak Hill, West Virginia, home on Thursday morning were tipped off about drugs after they saw this sign on the front door

Lavender (left) was charged with a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, while her friend Weis (right) faces a misdemeanor for joyriding

Fayette County sheriff's deputies questioned the two about drug sales before they were given consent to search the home, where they found heroin, methamphetamine as well as other substances believed to be narcotics.

Lavender remains in custody on a $10,000 bond after she was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Her friend Kristie Weis faces a misdemeanor for joyriding.

'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.'
20 royal families and 100 aristocrats from across the world, including

Advertisement

Albania hosted its second royal wedding ever after King Leka II married longtime fiancee Elia Zaharia in a lavish ceremony on Saturday.

The pair got engaged in Paris in 2010 but only started planning for the big day a few months ago.

The wedding had all the pomp and circumstance expected of such an event with around 20 royal families from across the world in attendance including Prince Michael of Kent-the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

I do! King Leka II married longtime fiancee Elia Zaharia in a ceremony in Tirana on Saturday. It was the country's second royal wedding

The happy couple. King Leka II was born in 1982 and spent the bulk of his childhood in South Africa. He returned to Albania at the age 20 and has held advisory positions at the foreign ministry and presidency

Actress, Elia, was born in February 1983 to artists George Zaharia and Yllka Mujo. She graduated from the National Art School in Tirana in 2002 and moved to Paris in 2002 to pursue her studies where she met Prince Leka. She graduated from the National Conservatory of Bordeaux in 2005

Princess Lea of Belgium and Queen Sofia of Spain were also present at the opulent ceremony in Albanian capital Tirana.

Albania's royal family was expelled from the country in 1939 after the country was invaded by Italian fascists.

After World War II, when the Communists took over the country, King Zog, King Zeka's grandfather, and his family were considered traitors and stripped from power completely and removed from history books.

Sulejman Gjanaj, the head of the Legality Movement, a small right-wing monarchist party, told BIRN that the wedding is going to endorse the status of the Albanian royals and ensure the legacy of King Zog.

'The fact that over 20 royal families and more than 100 aristocrats from all over the world will participate in this wedding is an indicator of the approval that the Albanian royals have,' Gjanaj said.

'This is the best reply to all those who have falsified the history of our country and have denied the legitimate rights of the royal family,' he added.

The ceremony seemed to be met with indifference from some of Albania's youngsters however some of the older generation said the country was better when the royals ruled-before communism.

'His grandfather (King Zog) contributed a lot to Albania and undertook reforms to improve the country's economy and even reform social life in the country. We shouldn't forget that King Zog, a Muslim, married a Roman Catholic wife, paving the way for religious tolerance in the country,' said Fatmir Qafa, a 70-year-old pensioner.

'Albanians during his time were much freer than under communism. But it was communism that tried to distort his character,' he added.

Over 20 royal families and more than 100 aristocrats from all across the world over attended the opulent event in Tirana

Prince Leka is the grandson of King Zog I, who ruled the for just ten years from 1928 until 1939. His parents are Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (of King Leka I of Albania) and Australian born Susan Cullen-Ward

His father was just a few days old when the family was exiled from Albania due to the Italian invasion

The king went to school at 'St Peters College in Johannesburg and also graduated from Sandhurst Military Academy in 2006, where he was declared the best foreign student of the Academy,' according to Royal Central

King Leka II spends his time managing his familys properties and the Queen Geraldine foundation, which supports poor families, orphans and children in need. He also advises Albania's president Bujar Nishani

The well educated king speaks Albanian, English, Italian and some Zulu. He and his wife live in Tirana

The newly weds with Areola Xoxa and her husband Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj smile for a picture after the wedding ceremony

'King Zog was born Ahmet Muhtar Zogolli in the village of Burgajet, near Burrel in northern Albania on October 8, 1895. He later changed his surname to Zogu,' according to Balkan Insight

Zog became president in 1924 until 1928, after a stint as prime minister, and in 1928 appointed himself king of the Balkan state

Dashing couple. Zog remained king until April 1939, then lived in exile until his death in Paris on April 9, 1961. His son King Leka I passed away in 2011, leaving Prince Leka II the sole heir to the Albanian crown
The former ABC host and her older sister have been

A former ABC host is embroiled in a bitter feud with her sister over their late mother's estate of properties, thoroughbred horses and money worth $13 million.

For more than a year Pamela Bornhorst, who was the host of The 7.30 Report during the 1990s on the national broadcaster, and her older sister Margaret are co-executors of the estate.

Documents presented in to the Supreme Court of Brisbane show the sisters have been unable to cooperate, The Courier-Mail reported.

Former host of ABC's 7.30 Report Pamela Bornhorst (pictured) is in a legal battle with her older sister Margaret over their mother's $13 million estate

In her affidavit Margaret said she and her sister had never been unable to see 'eye-to-eye in relation to the administration of our mother's estate' since Patricia Bornhorst's death last year.

'The conduct of the administration has been beset by mistrust, disagreement and difficulties,' Margaret wrote.

'I do not purport to set out these difficulties in detail in this affidavit, although I reserve my right to do so should it later become necessary.'

Margaret was hoping the Supreme Court of Brisbane would send their long and bitter feud to out-of-court mediation.

Older sister Margaret hopes the supreme court of Brisbane (stock image) will send their legal battle to out of court mediation

Pamela, who lives in Sydney and now goes by the name of Pamela Drew, was fired from her role as the host of The 7.30 Report after allegations she had conflicts with colleagues.
The PM is making do with two old 40-seat planes with limited range

It will probably cost at least $16.5 million - same as the similar UK plane

Australia is getting its own version of Air Force One to replace air services the prime minister has travelled with for years.

The armed forces will modify one of its $204 million KC-30A air-to-air refuelling aircraft into a VIP jet that can carry up to 270 passengers.

It's not clear how much the plane, which is essentially the same as an Airbus A330 commercial jet, will cost to refit with Defence telling The Age it will come out of $190 million already set aside to alter air force aircraft.

Australia is getting a 'budget' Air Force One - modifing a $204 million KC-30A air-to-air refuelling aircraft (pictured) into a VIP jet carrying up to 270 passengers

It's not clear how much the plane, which is essentially an Airbus A330, will cost to refit with Defence saying it will come out of $190 million already set aside to alter air force aircraft

The plan was the cheapest on the table and the result will be similar to the A330 former British PM David Cameron had modified for 10 million (A$16.5 million).

Defence said modifications to the KC-30A would be 'modest' but accommodate 'the continuance of government business whilst in transit' and let the PM stay in contact at all times.

It will also still be able to refuel in mid-air should this be necessary.

It is basically an Airbus A330 (pictured) that has been modified

The plan was the cheapest on the table and the result will be similar to the A330 former British PM David Cameron had modified (pictured) for 10 million (A$16.5 million)

Defence said modifications to the KC-30A would be 'modest' but accomodate 'the continuance of Government business whilst in transit' (pictured inside of UK plane)

The plane will still be far smaller and lower-tech than the American Air Force One which is a modified Boeing 747 that cost $429million.

Australia's Air Force One will replace two Boeing 737s that only seat 40 people each that were leased in 2002 under John Howard.

Along with three smaller planes they are shared with ministers, the governor-general, dignitaries, and visiting royal family members.

Australia's Air Force One will replace two Boeing 737s (pictured) that only seat 40 people each that were leased in 2002 under John Howard

Their small size means business delegations and the media can't travel on the same plane as the PM and their range is limited (PM Malcolm Turnbull with Philippine ambassador)

The plane will still be far smaller and lower-tech than the American Air Force One (pictured) which is a modified Boeing 747 that cost $429 million

Their small size means business delegations and the media can't travel on the same plane as the PM and their range is frustratingly limited - needing two fuel stops to reach Washington.

PLANES OTHER WORLD LEADERS USE USA - Boeing VC-25 (modified 747) costing $479 Million Britain - Airbus A330 converted fuel tanker costing $245 million Indonesia - Boeing 737-800 costing $120 million Japan - Boeing 747-400 costing $300 million Mexico - Boeing 787-8 costing $287 million Russia - Russian Ilyushin 96 costing $72 million Advertisement

A former adviser who often travelled on the current planes told The Age the jets were 'very small' and 'not great for the role' and needed upgrading.

'It's understandable that there has been political angst over the purchase  as there is for any large expensive that seems extravagant, but a plane like this is something every government in the world has and we are a serious middle power and it is entirely appropriate we have the same,' he said.

Sean Kelly, a former adviser to prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, said the current aircraft were not so bad but agreed bigger ones were needed.

'Right now you have this crazy situation, where journalists who are conducting exactly the same trip as the Prime Minister... around the world, jumping from country to country, sometimes for weeks at a time, have to make their own arrangements entirely separately,' he said.
King Edward VIII in his flying helmet in 1927

Neville Chamberlain, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, came on the line, his voice agitated: Zurich. Aeroplanes ready. He could hardly get the words out.

Tommy Dugdale, parliamentary private secretary to Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, was at Fort Belvedere, the Kings private home in Windsor Great Park, as the final preparations for the abdication were being made.

He was bemused to hear Chamberlain, usually suave and calm, so stressed.

When the Chancellor finally made sense, Dugdale was in no doubt of the seriousness of the message.

Two aircraft, one precious cargo  King Edward VIII. Destination Zurich. The result  a destabilised country and Britain in its biggest royal mess since 1688 when James II fled to France in the face of a parliamentary coup.

Those flights had to be stopped.

It was December 1936 and since Edward had announced his plans to wed twice-married Wallis Simpson, the Government had blocked his every wish  including his plan to make a broadcast to the Empire to tell them that he intended to marry Mrs S but without announcing his abdication.

Churchill was told about the plan - and sensed the danger immediately

And they had refused to countenance the compromise of a morganatic marriage in which she would not have become Queen.

With his options running out, the King was braced to accept that abdication was inevitable, provided  and it was a big condition  Mrs Simpson could be guaranteed that her divorce would go through so that she and the King could marry.

Scroll down for video

Escape plan: The King's personal plane. He planned to slip out of Britain, plunging it into a new constitutional crisis

But he had one more shock in store. Before agreeing to any terms, he planned to slip out of Britain, plunging it into a new constitutional crisis.

The King had confided the scheme to one of his few remaining friends, Winston Churchill, who immediately recognised its danger. Churchill, then a backbench MP in his wilderness years, supported the King in general, but saw that such a move would be disastrous.

In a letter to His Majesty, he even warned: On no account must the King leave the country.

But the Kings plans were well advanced. Arrangements for flights to the Alps with his luggage and entourage on board had been made. Rooms were booked at the Dolder Grand Hotel just outside Zurich, and a letter of credit for 5,000 (equivalent to 250,000 today) was obtained from Coutts Bank.

The King did not know the Dolder. It stood on a hilltop, but its grounds were relatively small, offering no protection from the press pack outside.

Nor would the King have been the only guest. A stay there would have been anything but the oasis of tranquillity and seclusion for which he yearned. But the Dolder was the place on which he had set his heart.

The Duke of Windsor - formerly King Edward VIII - meeting the Duchess, Wallis Simpson

Edward in 1957: How different history might have been had that last order not come down to halt the capricious Kings desires to flee the country and become Britains monarch in exile

The King had confided the scheme to one of his few remaining friends, Winston Churchill (pictured), who immediately recognised its danger

How the King would get to Switzerland presented no major difficulties. As Prince of Wales, Edward had learned to fly, and he had bought the first aeroplanes for the Royal Household, which he used routinely.

He had also taken on a reserve officer of the RAF, Edward Mouse Fielden, as his personal pilot. By 1936, the King had acquired a de Havilland Dragon Rapide as his personal aircraft with the registration G-ADDD. It was based at Hendon aerodrome and could have managed the trip to Zurich comfortably in a day.

It would look like royal caprice and government ruthlessness

Frustrated that Baldwin killed off the idea of a broadcast, the King craved escape from Fort Belvedere and the trap he had created for himself. Over dinner the previous evening, he told Churchill that he wanted a fortnight to weigh up the matter. If he could go to Switzerland with a couple of equerries, he would be able to mull his decision without undue pressure.

Churchills view that the King should not be allowed to leave suggests he did not see the plan as merely a holiday. Leaving the country also had the flavour of deserting a battle station. As usual with unwelcome advice, the King made no response and passed on to other matters. His mind was made up.

When the King saw Baldwin the following day to discuss the plan for two parliamentary Bills  one to effect the abdication and the other to grant Mrs Simpson an immediate divorce  he did not ask him about the idea of leaving the country.

But this did not mean the idea was dead. The King simply went ahead with the preparations in secrecy. That afternoon, Fielden was instructed to be ready to leave for Zurich at 9.30 the following morning.

The Duchess of Windsor pictured arriving at London Airport escorted by Earl Mountbatten

Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson pictured together leaving Claridge's Hotel in London

An extra aircraft had also been arranged to transport the luggage of the King and his entourage, to leave at the same time.

This meant the King would leave for Zurich before the Government had a chance to even consider the Two Bills scheme, let alone implement it. Thus the stage was set for a fantastically irresponsible and cavalier act: Edward VIII would imitate James II and simply flee the country with nothing settled.

The King and the country escaped the consequences of this folly only because of a combination of Fieldens sense of discipline and the Governments intelligence operations.

Wallis Simpson at London Airport in 1972

Some time on the Saturday, Fielden sought Air Ministry approval for leaving the country. It was supposedly a normal application, but the way in which it was handled was far from routine.

The request was passed up the hierarchy of the Ministry until it reached the Air Minister himself, Lord Swinton. Presumably the lower ranks had been put on alert to apply special treatment to such a request.

There was good reason for the authorities to be on their guard.

The Government had been alerted to the likelihood that the King would fly to Zurich by cables between journalists who had got wind of the story, which had been passed on by Cable & Wireless Ltd. The company had previously betrayed Mrs Simpsons tip-offs to the press in America about her romance.

The supposedly private business, responsible for Britains international cable traffic, was secretly controlled by the Government, and operated as an arm of the State.

At the same time, Fielden must have recognised the implications of the proposed flight and made a point of ensuring it received consideration higher up the chain of command. Fielden had been placed in a difficult position by the Kings orders, and few would blame him for breaching confidence.

Since Edward had announced his plans to wed twice-married Wallis Simpson (pictured together), the Government had blocked his every wish

In turn, Swinton alerted Neville Chamberlain, who spotted major trouble brewing and went to No 10, but the Prime Minister was absent at Fort Belvedere. With mounting anxiety, he phoned Tommy Dugdale there. Once he understood the seriousness of the situation, Dugdale sought out Ulick Alexander, the Kings personal steward, to tell him to stand the planes down.

While Chamberlain waited to hear back from Dugdale, the team began to prepare for the worst. Sir Horace Wilson, Baldwins closest civil service adviser, judged that things might move so fast that drastic action could be required. He told the lawyers to get an Instrument of Abdication ready for the Kings signature.

Had the King persisted with the plan of flying to Zurich, this would have meant that he could be confronted by Government agents at Hendon aerodrome and told that he would have to abdicate before he was allowed on the plane.

It is a moot point as to whether Sir Horace saw this as a satisfactory conclusion to the crisis or, as it would almost certainly have appeared, a humiliating and shameful combination of Royal caprice and Government ruthlessness.

Fortunately for everyone, Dugdale was able to defuse the situation.

You fellows are pretty cool, and what about these aeroplanes at Hendon? he said when he finally confronted Ulick Alexander.

How did you know about them? asked Alexander, surprised.

Will you go and cancel them now?

I cant do that. They are under the Kings orders, said Alexander.

Never mind that, it must be done.

And it was done. The moment of greatest danger had passed, but Sir Horace was not going to let the opportunity slip to ratchet up the measures that he thought necessary to keep a check on the King.

The King (pictured with Wallis Simpson in 1937), was braced to accept that abdication was inevitable provided Mrs Simpson could be guaranteed that her divorce would go through

That morning, he had already tried to persuade Chamberlain and Home Secretary Sir John Simon that the Kings telephones should be tapped, as he later put it with breathtaking hypocrisy, in the interests of the King as head of State.

The phone lines between Buckingham Palace and Fort Belvedere and the Villa Lou Viei  the villa in Cannes where Mrs Simpson was staying  were indeed tapped.

Despite such drastic measures, Downing Streets intelligence was wrong on one point. They had jumped to the conclusion that the King intended to use the aeroplanes to join Mrs Simpson at Cannes, not part of a covert escape plan to Switzerland.

Dugdale did not know exactly what he was stopping  but he knew that for the sake of the country, it must be stopped.

How different history might have been had that last order not come down to halt the capricious Kings desires to flee the country and become, however briefly, Britains monarch in exile.

 Adrian Phillips, 2016
Police are investigating and Jones said expensive items weren't taken

Someone had entered her home and was leaving with her property

While away from her property her home security system alerted her

Angela Jones had to flee her home on Thursday due to Hurricane Matthew

A South Carolina woman who was forced to evacuate her home as Hurricane Matthew trounced the state was shocked to see a person looting her home on security footage.

Angela Jones had to flee her home on Thursday due to the ferocious storm moving up the east coast.

With two young children, the family didn't want to risk not having access to emergency services.

Angela Jones had to flee her home on Thursday due to the ferocious storm moving up the east coast. After she left, she was notified by her security system that someone was in her home

Before leaving, Jones set up a security service called Canary in her home, which allows her to see the house's interior on her phone

At 9.15pm on Thursday, this unidentified woman entered Jones' home and began taking items

'My husband and I left town because we have two small kids, one actually with a heart defect, and we didn't want to run the risk of something happening and not being able to take care of our babies,' Jones told ABC News 4.

Before leaving, Jones set up a security service called Canary in her home, which allows her to see the house's interior on her phone.

At 9.15pm on Thursday, Canary notified Jones that someone was inside her house, ABC News 4 reported.

'We were here with some family outside of town and our phone notified us there was activity within our home.

'She was only in the house a couple of minutes but hopefully police will be able to find her,' Jones told the station.

'She was only in the house a couple of minutes but hopefully police will be able to find her,' Jones told ABC News 4

Jones said she didn't recognize the woman and contacted her mother and grandparents, who live nearby, to see if they had sent anyone over to her home

When she found out they didn't, she called the authorities. Police who went into the home and began fingerprinting the residence

Jones said she didn't recognize the woman and contacted her mother and grandparents, who live nearby, to see if they had sent anyone over to her home.

'It was very upsetting. At first I called my mom to make sure she didn't send anyone inside our home to do anything,' Jones said.

When she found out they didn't, she called the authorities.

Police who went into the home and began fingerprinting the residence.

'It kind of looks like she's carrying some clothes and blankets,' Jones said. The woman eventually walked out and locked the door behind her

Jones said her home was locked up before she left and the first visual she has of the woman is when she comes from the direction of where the kitchen is behind the camera

Jones said she's unsure what was taken by the unidentified woman.

'It kind of looks like she's carrying some clothes and blankets,' Jones said.

Some of the more expensive items in the home, like a television and Xbox, were left alone.

Jones said her home was locked up before she left and the first visual she has of the woman is when she comes from the direction of where the kitchen is behind the camera.

The woman eventually left out the front door after peering out the window and locked the front door behind her.

There have been multiple social media reports of looting attempts but police said there have been no official reports made, ABC News 4 reported.

More than 300,000 fled their homes in South Carolina. The latest forecast showed the storm could also scrape the North Carolina coast.

Hurricane Matthew lashed Florida, Georgia and South Carolina with heavy rain and wind, after killing almost 900 people in Haiti as it marched north through the Caribbean.

More than 300,000 fled their homes in South Carolina. The latest forecast showed the storm could also scrape the North Carolina coast (Charleston, South Carolina, pictured)

Hurricane Matthew lashed Florida, Georgia and South Carolina with heavy rain and wind, after killing almost 900 people in Haiti (Charleston, South Carolina, pictured)

Charleston announced a midnight-to-6am curfew Saturday, about the time the coast was expected to take the brunt of the storm(Charleston, South Carolina, pictured)

Hurricane-force winds were moving onshore at Hilton Head and Pritchards Island, South Carolina, the National Hurricane Center reported Saturday morning.

Historic downtown Charleston, usually bustling with tourists, was eerily quiet, with many stores and shops boarded up with plywood and protected by stacks of sandbags.
French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being dispersed around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europe's migrant crisis.

Competing rallies were being held Saturday in Pierrefeu in southeast France.

It comes after Calais officials say they will be starting the process of bulldozing the sprawling camp within nine days.

Residents hold a banner reading: 'City of Pierrefeu says no to the creation of a reception centre for migrants'

Several hundred residents have marched through their town, led by the Mayor, against the plans to house about 60 migrants from the jungle there

Left-wing activists are holding a smaller rally to welcome the migrants. Here, two activists hold boards reading: 'Borders kill. Regulate undocumented migrants' in Pierrefeu

Left-wing activists hold a banner reading: 'Yes to solidarity and welcome to migrants and refugees' in Pierrefeu

The mayor led several hundred people on a protest against a government proposal to house migrants in an abandoned wing of a psychiatric hospital while they apply for asylum or study other options.

Left-wing activists held their own, smaller rally to welcome the migrants.

The morning gatherings were peaceful. The far-right National Front plans its own anti-migrant protest later in the day.

The National Front is urging mayors to resist the Calais relocation plan and is organizing or taking part in protests across the country this month. Resistance to immigration is central to the campaign platform of National Front leader Marine Le Pen in her bid for the French presidency next year.

Residents hold a banner reading: 'Plan Imposed from Above = Mounting Anger' as they demonstrate in Forges-les-Bains

French villagers are protesting plans to disperse residents of the Jungle camp in Calais across several locations in the country

A woman holds a banner reading 'Not Against Migrants, but Against the State' in the Forges-les-Bains protests

National Front politicians were also at a protest Saturday in Forges-les-Bains south of Paris. About 200 people marched through town, past the farmers' market, school and town hall to protest the arrival of about 40 Afghan migrants relocated from Calais to an unused building in town.

On October 6, shots were fired at a planned migrant centre in the French seaside resort town of Saint Brevin overnight and at a building in Saint-Hilaire-du-Rosier in southeastern France where migrants are also due to be housed.

President Francois Hollande has pledged to close the Calais camp before winter and relocate as many as 9,000 migrants living there to 164 sites around France while their cases are examined.

The Calais camp has been an embarrassment to the French government and symbol of Europe's failure to find solutions to the migrant crisis.

French far-right Front National (FN)'s supporters wave the French flag in the Pierrefeu-du-Var protest

Members of the far right Front National were holding a protest in the afternoon against the plans to deal with the Calais camp

Residents of small towns are angry at plans to house some of the migrants from the camp in Calais in their villages

French far-right National Front (FN) party member Wallerand de Saint-Just stands next to a protester holding a placard which translates as 'Stop the ongoing project' in Forges-les-Bains

A protester holds a placard which translates as 'Stop the ongoing project' in Forges-les-Bains. The Calais jungle could be dismantled by the end of October

Pierrefeu residents hostile to the migrants say they fear the newcomers will threaten their security, and worry about potential tensions with psychiatric patients.

Mayor Patrick Martinelli said: 'Even if we can understand the dismantling of Calais... our small towns are not the solution for this dismantling. We are too small to host so many people.'

The government is considering sending up to 60 migrants to this town of 6,000 for up to five months.

The pro-migrant residents called for solidarity.

Pierrefeu resident Laure Paul said: 'I am ashamed because we repress the poorest. They need us, the people who are coming from abroad, and are dying in the seas. We have everything here, we are a rich country, we have a rich village.'

In Forges-les-Bains, villagers largely say they are not hostile to the migrants themselves - they just don't want them in their towns. Posters at the march read 'Not against migrants, but against the state' and 'Plan imposed from above (equals) mounting anger.'
Hundreds of people are known to have been killed by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti but authorities are still desperately trying to reach marooned areas devastated by the Category 4 storm.

Among the victims of the deadly hurricane are at least 470 people in one district of Haiti's hard-hit southwest region, a civil defense official said Saturday.

Fridnel Kedler, coordinator for the Civil Protection Agency in Grand-Anse, said officials still have not been able to reach two communities in that department three days after the Category 4 storm hit.

'The death toll is sure to go up,' he said.

Sasa, 25, picks up the remains of her house destroyed by Hurricane Matthew and carries it to a nearby field where she will build another home

Injured people lie on beds at the state hospital in Jeremie, Haiti, on Saturday October 8

A relative cries before the funeral of a woman who died during Hurricane Matthew

A woman holds her son who's suffering cholera in the state hospital. The Pan American Health Organization and others warned of a surge in cholera cases because of the widespread flooding

Officials are especially concerned about Grand-Anse, located on the northern tip of the southwest peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest.

When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

Haiti's overall death toll remains unknown although it is currently believed to be close to 900.

Death counts 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.

In Jeremie, the main city of Grand-Anse, Jislene Jean-Baptiste surveyed what remained of the one-room house that the grandmother shares with her three daughters and their children.

There wasn't much left. Storm surge flowed across the road and drenched everything she owns in waist-deep salt water, washing away the stores of rice and sugar she regularly sold at the market to support her family. Then the wind tore off her roof.

'That storm was the most terrifying thing that ever happened here,' she said.

A young boy lies on a table in a shelter after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie in Haiti

A homeless man lies on a piece of wood in a shelter after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie

Yoleine Casimir stands in her destroyed house in Jeremie, Haiti. Many properties were ruined by the hurricane

Cholera patients receive treatment at the state hospital after Hurricane Matthew

The 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 a devastating earthquake in January 2010.

Katrina Legner, a 23-year-old mother-of-two, saw the storm destroy her small, concrete-block home before she fled to a cousin's house, which was also wrecked. 'We have very little food and I'm getting worried,' she said.

Amid the suffering, aid began pouring into the coastal 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 Richard David, 22, one of those who came to the airport. 'I haven't had anything but water today and I'm hungry.'

Saint-Victor Jeune, an official with the Civil Protection agency working in Beaumont, in the mountains on Jeremie's outskirts, said 82 bodies found by his team had not been recorded by authorities in the capital because of problems with 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 the area.

Dr Ronsard Presandieu helps Theodor Florine, eight, at the state hospital in Jeremie, Haiti

The storm left signs of devastation all around the southwestern peninsula. Outside Jeremie, home after home was in ruins.

Drew Garrison, a Haiti-based missionary who flew in Friday, said several fishing villages 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.'

U.N. emergency relief coordinator Stephen O'Brien called the hurricane's damage a major blow to Haiti's reconstruction effort and the fight against cholera.

Andrenne Joseph dries her clothes near her destroyed house in Jeremie, Haiti

Residents carry a coffin containing the remains of a pregnant woman, a victim of Hurricane Matthew

'We expect that homes, schools and cholera treatment facilities have been destroyed and that water systems, roads and bridges have been severely damaged,' he said in a statement that also announced that the U.N.'s Central Emergency Response Fund was releasing $5 million to help Haiti.

Earlier this week, the fund released a loan of $8 million to UNICEF to scale up response to Haiti's cholera epidemic.

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.

Those killed in Haiti by Matthew 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.
of lawyers, never to be released

It is now in the

Video of her actual suicide was recorded and kept by the station owner

Two new films are due to be released about the tragic story of a young television anchor in Florida who was the first person to commit suicide on live television.

Christine is about TV presenter Christine Chubbuck, who died on air as she read the news in 1974, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Coming out on the same date, Kate Plays Christine, is a film about an actress, Kate Lyn Sheil, who struggles to develop into the character of Chubbuck as she attempts to portray her in a movie.

Scroll down for video

Two new films tell of the tragic and little known story about Christine Chubbuck (pictured above), a TV anchor in Florida who was the first person to commit suicide on live television

Brother, Greg Chubbuck, has been speaking about his sister's life in the run-up to the films

The topic is the subject of two films which are both due to be released this October

Kate Plays Christine is a film about an actress, Kate Lyn Sheil, who struggles to develop into the character of Chubbuck. Sheil is pictured above from the film as she prepares for the scene about the suicide

In the film, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year, Sheil can be seen trying on costumes, gathering information about the person she is attempting to play and running lines from the script

Her brother, Greg has now shared his thoughts about his sister's death, one of the most shocking moments in broadcasting history.

On July 15, 1974, Chubbuck appeared on the talk show and went through a few stories live before she made a surprising announcement.

'In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts and in living color,' she said.

'You are going to see another first: an attempted suicide.'

Chubbuck, still on air, then held up a .38-caliber revolver that she had underneath her desk. The brunette aimed it at the back of her head and pulled the trigger.

Her news team froze and, at first, thought it was a joke, but when her boss ran over to shout at her, he came face to face with the horrible reality of what she had done.

Chubbuck (above), 29, worked as the anchor for a show broadcast that aired in the Sarasota area on WXLT, which is now WWSB. The show, Suncoast Digest, aired at 9am on Saturdays

Chubbuck (above) battled with depression for years. On July 15, 1974, she appeared live on her show and went through a few stories before she made a surprising announcement

The station's live broadcast went black seconds later before running other programming for the rest of the day.

Chubbuck suffered irreparable brain damage and died about 15 hours later at a local hospital.

Speaking to The Sun from his home in Florida, Greg Chubbuck says that not a day goes by where he doesn't think about his sister's death.

'Public suicide is another level beyond suicide. It's an anger and rage that I can't understand and I've thought about it every day for 42 years.'

In the months and years after her death, Greg was active in ensuring that the footage of the gruesome episode was never made public. It is now in the hands of a large law firm who have been entrusted with keeping the tragic clip safe.

Chubbuck announced that 'you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide' on the show. She pulled out a gun and shot herself in the head. She died 15 hours later at a hospital

Video of Chubbuck's actual suicide was recorded and kept by the station owner for years and is now in the possession of a law firm who keep it under lock and key

Greg, who is now 70, also made sure that nothing was ever produced by filmmakers or documentary makers.

He wanted to protect his family, particularly his parents, from the sad story of their daughter's death being replayed over and over.

Chubbuck, 29, worked as the anchor for a talk show broadcast that aired in the Sarasota area on WXLT, which is now WWSB.

The Ohio native graduated from Boston University in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

She went on to land her first TV job in Cleveland the following year, before spending a few years in between jobs in several states.

Chubbuck moved to Florida to live with her mother after her parents divorced and worked as a hospital computer operator until she was hired as a reporter for WXLT.

The station's owner, Bob Nelson, decided to give Chubbuck a community affairs talk show called the 'Suncoast Digest'. It aired at 9.00am on Saturdays and was hosted live by the journalist.

Kate Lyn Sheil seen in a scene from the documentary film, Kate Plays Christine

Despite being the last survivor from Christine's immediate family, Greg is unhappy at the latest films being made.

Although he has no plans to view either of them, he believes that her story will be twisted and focus on Christine's miserable love life that saw her have a series of failed affairs.

Greg tells The Sun that she had two serious relationships. The first ended when the guy died in a car crash while Christine was still a teenager. The second was with another man who worked in television.

She moved to Pittsburgh to be with him but her father was dead against the relationship because the man was a Jew.

Greg believes the films may focus on the fact Christine was a spinster and still a virgin at the age of 30.

In the second film, Rebecca Hall portrays Christine in the film of the same name

British Hollywood actress Rebecca Hall playsthe lead role in the film

Hall, 33, who has featured in a host of films including Frost/Nixon and Iron Man 3, hopes the story can raise awareness about rare mental illnesses

Another part of the film is likely to focus on Christine's love for fellow news anchor George Peter Ryan who ended up dating one of her close friends. Her love was never returned.

Greg tells The Sun said that he admits he never approved of George, who had a reputation for being a ladies' man.

'If things had developed between them, then I would certainly have stepped in.'

The film also looks at his sister's disapproval that her newsroom bosses focus on violent tragedies to lead her weekend newscasts.

The notion was, 'if it bleeds, it leads'. Though her bosses can't have known it at the time, such a policy ended up exacerbating Christine's longstanding mental health issues.

Hall said Christine makes the audience emotionally attached to Ms Chubbuck

The 29-year-old looked into the camera and said: 'In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts and in living color, you are going to see another first  attempted suicide' (pictured here from the film Christine)

She had exhibited signs of depression since she was ten-years-old, however she was only ever diagnosed as having 'general depression'.

In the weeks before her death, Christine suggested to her bosses that she do a news story about suicide.

She went around asking experts tips on how to end a life. She ended up taking their advice and used the gun that they suggested.

Mike Simmons, the TV station's news director at the time, found the script that she had been reading from during her newscast.

It reportedly included the lines she read before shooting herself, and also an account in third-person that was to be read by another staff member who took over the broadcast after the incident.

It described her as being in a 'critical condition' in hospital.

Hall said of Christine, 'I felt that, playing her. It was an interesting feeling on set. The film is a group of people trying to help and trying to help someone survive.'

Christine ending her life was deliberate. She had handwritten a news item where she wrote about her suicide in the third person mentioning she would be taken to hospital before dying

Speaking to The Sun Greg believed that his sister plotter her suicide meticulously.

The weekend before she died, she gave his fiancee an piece of jewelry that was a family heirloom.

Christine apparently also chose a day when none of her family would be watching her show.

Her brother was working that morning and her grandparents were at the doctors.

Kate Lyn Sheil, as Christine Chubbuck. In the weeks before she died, the real Christine prepared a news story about suicide

Christine asked various 'experts' the best way to die for a new feature. She ended up taking their chilling advice

Video of Chubbuck's actual suicide was recorded and kept by the station owner for years.

After he died, his wife, Mollie Nelson, took possession of the tape.

She told said that her husband never told her why he kept the tape, but that after the debut of Kate Plays Christine earlier this year, she gave the tape to a 'very large law firm' for safekeeping.

Mollie Nelson also said that she has no plans to ever make it available to the public and that she's only kept it to honor her husband's wishes.

Ever the devoted brother, even before Christine died, Greg managed to get lawyers to take out an injunction preventing the channel repeating any of the footage.
A prominent climate change scientist has been forced to backtrack on his prediction that the Arctic would be free of sea ice by September this year - after data showed there is more now than four years ago.

Professor Peter Wadhams, from the University of Cambridge, predicted in 2012 that the Arctic would be ice-free by September this year.

However, figures show there was 1.6 million square miles of sea ice last month - which is actually 20 per cent more than the figure recorded in 2012.

Professor Peter Wadhams, from the University of Cambridge, has been forced to backtrack on his prediction that the Arctic would be free of sea ice by September this year

Professor Wadhams told The Telegraph that he still expected the disappearance of Arctic sea ice in 'a very small number of years', but admitted it had not happened as quickly as he had forecast.

He said: ' My view is that the trend of summer sea ice volume is relentlessly downward, such that the volume (and thus area) will come to a low value very soon - in a very small number of years.

'This is to be contrasted with some of the bizarre predictions made by computer modellers, who have the summer sea ice remaining until late this century, which is quite impossible.'

However, Professor Wadhams has been criticised by other scientists for making 'dramatic' predictions that are 'incorrect'.

However, figures show there was 1.6 million square miles of sea ice last month - which is actually 20 per cent more than the figure recorded in 2012 (file photo)

Dr Ed Hawkins, from the University of Reading, wrote on the blog Climate Lab Book: ' There are very serious risks from continued climatic changes and a melting Arctic but we do not serve the public and policy-makers well by exaggerating those risks.

'We will soon see an ice-free summer in the Arctic but there is a real danger of "crying wolf" and that does not help anyone.'

In September, figures from The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado showed there was 1.6 million square miles (4.14 million square kilometers) of Arctic sea ice at its summer low point.

Professor Wadhams has been criticised by other scientists for making 'dramatic' predictions that are 'incorrect' (file photo)

In 2012, Arctic sea ice shrank to its lowest level on record at 1.31 million square miles (3.39 million square kilometers).

However, this year's figure remains the second lowest level since scientists started to monitor it by satellite.

Director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center Mark Serreze said the latest data 'reinforced the overall downward trend'.

He said: 'We've always known that the Arctic is going to be the early warning system for climate change. What we've seen this year is reinforcing that.'
An elderly teacher attacked by an unruly student because he pulled his headphones out had to be protected by the rest of the class.

The astonishing scene was captured on video and shows the professor struggling to gain the the attention of the aggressive pupil.

'I told you to take your headphones out of your ears,' ordered the teacher in Neryungri, a town in north-east Russia.

'I told you to take your headphones out of your ears': A teacher tackles an unruly pupil

Going berserk: The boy reacts furiously and lunges towards his teacher gripping his tie

But his student ignored him, prompting the professor to tug the device away.

In a violent reaction the boy stood up to confront his elder.

Although the headphones did not appear to break he reacted furiously.

'You are a b******' he reportedly shouted going berserk, before he lunged towards the teacher and lined up to strike a punch.

But the rest of the class rushed in to protect the man, and then punished their fellow pupil for showing a lack of respect.

One of them shouts in Russian: 'He needs to know that he needs to get right away from here.'

To the rescue: The class rise up to protect their professor in north east Russia

A group of students punish the boy and then bundle him out through the classroom door

A group of the students then bundled the boy out through the door.

According to reports the teacher refused to lodge a complaint with the police.
The world's population, expected to grow from 7.4 to 8.5billion by 2030, threatens diverse ecosystems, agricultural production and the distribution of water.

That's why academics Richard T.T. Forman and Jinguo Wu mapped out areas around the world - from large swathes of South America to scattered areas of Oceania - that would best accommodate the inevitable population growth.

In Nature, the two professors called for 'worldwide coordination' to promote a balanced population in a way that would minimize the 'already heavy ecological footprint on our finite Earth'.

Scroll down for video

Researchers trying to determine where one billion people could sustainably thrive first ruled out regions with high water stress, land covered in ice, and unique species that need protecting. They also included areas with high population densities (all, in red)

What are left are the yellow regions, considered highly sustainable for development, areas marked in blue, considered 'somewhat sustainable'

Most of the population growth is expected to occur in African and Asian cities, where overcrowding and pollution can become serious problems.

Dense urban sprawl is damaging to valuable resources like nutrient-rich land, and growing cities eventually become hotbeds for solid waste, waste water and pollution.

The researchers also noted the growing problem of climate change, citing coastal cities like Guagzhou, Mumbia, New Orleans, Osaka and Vancouver as vulnerable to sea level rise.

An additional billion people also requires intricate planning to maximize agricultural production, the wrote.

To understand where people could sustainably thrive, Forman and Wu used seven different maps from the Atlas of Global Conservation.

The Atlas depicts more than 80 different factors regarding the state of t errestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, which allowed the two to see possibilities for development.

Ruling out areas that were deemed unsuitable, whether it was extreme climates or existing population densities exceeding 100 people per square kilometer, the researchers created a map pinpointing areas that could sustain a population boom.

Their map includes large areas of South America, southern Canada, portions of the northern and eastern US, south central Africa, pockets in China and regions north of the Himalayas, as well as scattered parts of Oceania.

While the map doesn't take into account economic, political, legal or cultural factors that might affect migration, the two researchers urged urban planners, government policies and international agencies to tackle the problem.

Dense urban sprawl is damaging to valuable resources like nutrient-rich land, and growing cities eventually become hotbeds for solid waste, waste water and pollution (file photo)
One woman claims she was left battered and bruised after three estate agents confronted the Class War

Members of the Class War, a hard-left anarchists group, were seen protesting outside the offices of upmarket estate agents Foxtons in Islington today.

The group, known for their 'Bash the Rich' events, called all women who are against police collusion, corruption, and male violence.

The demonstration, where women wore masks and held placards calling themselves the Women's Death Brigade and saying 'F*** Capitalism, f*** Patriarchy' was against Foxtons estate agents and Police following a brawl outside the London home of Boris Johnson in early July this year.

Scroll down for video

Members of the Class War group arrived outside Foxton's estate agents in Islington today

The Women's Death Brigade were calling all those against police collusion, corruption, and male violence to join them

The protest follows a clash outside the home of Boris Johnson in July this year

As the Mail Online previously reported three Foxtons estate agents were sacked after brawling with the class war activists outside the foreign secretary's home.

The men were seen exchanging punches and grappling with hooded activists on the street in Islington as they became wrapped up in a protest.

It is believed the suited men were on their way back from a nearby pub after shutting the Islington branch of the firm early.

From noon today the outside of Foxtons building on Upper Street, Islington, was taken over by the women who also left stickers all over the building and handed out flyers that they claimed showed the injuries one of their activists sustained during the alleged fight in August.

Three Foxtons estate agents were sacked after brawling with the class war activists in July

Metropolitan Police confirmed today that the charges against one man have been dropped but two others face charges of assault of a police officer

But the anarchist group say this is not justice for one of their members who was 'attacked without warning'

Class War claim the three estate agents attacked a woman without warning, but the criminal charges against one of the men have been dropped, sparking anger towards both the company and police.

According to a statement on Class Wars website: On July 15 this year I was violently assaulted by a Foxtons Estate Agent who came with his colleagues to disrupt our demonstration outside Boris Johnsons house. I suffered concussion and was hospitalised with five stitches to the back of my head and severe bruising.

Although the attack is on video and shows the police watching me being pushed over and calmly ignoring this, the Crown Prosecution Service has decided to drop the case due to lack of evidence.

Lets go on the offensive! We are not victims!

The group handed out posters showing these pictures of the woman who said she was hurt in the fight earlier this year

The Women's Death Brigade also left posters on the side of the company's office in London

Foxton's previously said they had sacked all three men involved from their London office (pictured)

The video shows one of the men grappling with a protester and launching punches at the back of his head during the melee before police officers pile in.

At the beginning of the footage one of the agents, who appears to be drunk, can be heard shouting 'Oh Boris I love you' before wading through the crowd.

The camera then cuts to two men, one estate agent and a protester, scuffling before falling to the ground.

Both sides are then seen attacking each other as officers try to separate them.

Fracas: Police officers tussle with protesters outside Boris Johnson's Islington home

Melee: Foxtons' estate agents brawl with Class War activists as they get wrapped up in a protest in north London

Activists can be heard chanting that the men are 'women beaters' although it is not made clear why.

The footage ends with then estate agents being surrounded police as the baying mob, which has let off a purple flare by this point, is dispersed by officers.

Previously a spokeswoman from the estate agents told the Evening Standard: 'We were extremely disappointed to learn of this incident.

'Foxtons absolutely does not condone this sort of behaviour.

'We pride ourselves on the professionalism of our agents and this isolated incident was treated with the utmost severity.

'Following an internal investigation, those employees found responsible are no longer working for the company.'

The Mail Online has contacted Foxtons today for an additional comment.

Patrik Aghabeh, 28, from Drayton Park, was charged with assault by beating and bailed to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on Monday, August 15.

Grip: One of the agents reaches out at one of the protester's during the clash

Clash: Police officers try to break up the violence

Dispute: A Foxtons employee gestures to protesters as he is guarded from the mob by police

Disruption: Activists let off a purple flare as police swoop in outside Boris Johnson's home

Ian Lewis, 68, from south Norwood, was charged with assaulting a constable in the execution of his duty.

Foxtons' employee Patrik Aghabeh, 28, pictured, was charged with assault by beating but the case against him has been discontinued

Simon Elmer, 49, from Brady Street, was arrested on suspicion of assault on police and has been bailed until later this month.

Today a spokesman from Metropolitan Police said: 'Two men who were charged following a demonstration on 15 July in Islington will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court.

'Ian Lewis, 69, from south Norwood, was charged with assaulting a constable in the execution of his duty. He next appears on 25 October.

'Simon Elmer, 49, from Brady Street, next appears on 14 November.

'The case against Patrik Aghabeh, 2, from Drayton Park N5 has been discontinued.'
Anti-Brexit campaigners erected six mock customs checkpoints along the Northern Ireland and Irish Republic border on Saturday, in a protest over the possible impact to peace, jobs and the free movement of workers.

Northern Ireland, a British province, will be the only land frontier between the United Kingdom and the European Union once Britain leaves and some fear that will mean a return to checks at the border where about 30,000 people cross each day for work.

The frontier was marked by military checkpoints until a 1998 peace deal ended three decades of violence between Catholic nationalists seeking a united Ireland and Protestant unionists who wanted to keep Northern Ireland British. Over 3,600 died in that time.

Anti-Brexit campaigners, Borders Against Brexit, set up a mock customs search during a protest against Britain's vote to leave the European Union, at the border town of Carrickcarnon in Ireland

Anti-Brexit campaigners dressed in old military attire during their protest

Northern Ireland, a British province, will be the only land frontier between the United Kingdom and the European Union once Britain leaves and some fear that will mean a return to checks at the border where about 30,000 people cross each day for work

'We want to stop the re-imposition of those border posts,' said Border Communities Against Brexit spokesman Declan Fearon, leading a protest in the town of Carrickcarnon between the Northern Irish county of Armagh and southern county of Louth.

'In many cases they divided peoples' farms, they divided communities and parishes. Young people nowadays have never known of that,' said Fearon, who runs a kitchen manufacturing company three kilometres (1.86 miles) north of the border.

In Carrickcarnon, some locals dressed up as customs officers and caused tailbacks at a temporary road barrier where they called motorists into a mock customs booth and searched vehicles beside fake British customs signs that demanded they stop.

Signs telling motorists they were entering the European Union free travel zone were erected on the other side of the border.

Hundreds protested from Carrickcarnon, which is less than an hour's drive from Dublin airport, to the border between the counties of Donegal and Derry, 160 km north-west.

Signs telling motorists they were entering the European Union free travel zone were erected on the other side of the border

Some motorists were left amused but others became confused and frustrated with the antics

Lots of local media arrived to capture the event

Overall, 52 percent of voters in the United Kingdom voted in favour of leaving the EU in June's referendum, but a majority - 56 percent - of those voting in Northern Ireland supported remaining in the bloc.

'In (the Northern Irish constituency) Foyle where I am 82 percent of people voted to remain,' said Dermot O'Hara, a charity worker protesting at the Donegal/Derry border.

'The democratic mandate of the remain camp (in Northern Ireland) should be respected.'

A lorry has a slogan marked on it during a protest by Anti-Brexit campaigners -Borders Against Brexit

Banners are displayed during the protest where '82 per cent of people wanted to remain'
Head of medical negligence: Lisa Jordan from Irwin Mitchell accused the NHS Litigation Authority of issuing misleading figures

Britain's biggest clinical negligence firm, Irwin Mitchell, was paid almost 30 million by the NHS in legal costs for medical negligence cases in 2015-16 alone, according to figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Sheffield-based company, which like many firms attracts clients with the promise of so-called no win, no fee agreements, was paid a startling 29,027,575.

That is almost three times the 11 million Irwin Mitchell obtained from NHS coffers in the financial year 2007-08.

During the latest financial year, the company secured 38,454,015 for its medical negligence clients, according to NHS Litigation Authority figures, suggesting that for every 1 it secured in damages, it was paid 75p.

Like other firms, Irwin Mitchell promotes itself on television, with a syrupy advert in which it describes itself as being widely regarded as the number one personal injury law firm.

On its website it promises potential clients: Many of our cases are funded with a no win, no fee agreement. This means that theres no financial risk to you when making a compensation claim.

Big money: Sheffield-based Irwin Mitchell (pictured), which like many firms attracts clients with the promise of so-called no win, no fee agreements, was paid a startling 29,027,575

Lisa Jordan, Irwin Mitchells head of medical negligence, accused the NHSLA of issuing selective and misleading figures.

She said the 38.5 million damages figure crucially excluded periodic payments: those made monthly or annually  and usually for life  to ensure patients seriously injured or disabled by NHS blunders have the care they need.

That meant multi-million-pound payouts which the firm had secured in its biggest and most significant cases were omitted, she said.

Had the figures been less selective, they would have shown we won damages worth more than 150 million for our clients last year alone, she argued.
As a rift breaks out in the Republican party over Donald Trump's latest controversy, many in the GOP are wondering if it's too late to change the party's nominee.

After lewd comments from 2005 surface on Friday, the GOP is tearing itself apart as its leaders suggest Trump quit the race.

While many have suggested running mate Mike Pence top the ticket, the right has essentially run out of time to dump Trump.

Donald Trump apologized for the lewd comments he said in 2005 that were released on Friday, but many Republicans want to replace him

Because more than 34,000 Republican voters have already cast their ballots, the right has run out of time to dump Trump

Is there anything the Republicans can do to oust Trump?

Not unless Trump bows out himself.

Trump has said repeatedly on Saturday he has no plans to quit the race and told the Wall Street Journal there's 'zero chance' he'll quit.

Trump told the Wall Street Journal that there is 'zero chance' he'll quit the race for the White House

He also tweeted on Saturday saying: 'The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGA.'

Because of 'Rule 9' the Republicans can't just decided they no longer want Trump to represent them.

What is Rule 9?

The party's 'Rule 9' allows the RNC to fill vacancies but it doesn't allow the GOP to push a nominee out of the position.

Rule 9 reads: 'The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention, or the Republican National Committee may reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies.'

After lewd comments made by Trump in 2005 surface on Friday, the GOP is tearing itself apart as its leaders suggest Trump quit the race

If the party was willing to take the risk, it could amend the rules and create a loophole to oust Trump.

However, that would require a majority of the party's Rules Committee and two-thirds of the entire party to agree and the process would be slow going, according to the Washington Post.

The process would take too long with only 31 days left before the election.

As a model for the presidential race, most of the smaller elections where a candidate has been replaced at the last minute have been unsuccessful.

If they were successful, could another name go on the ballot?

In some states, yes.

But not in key battleground states like North Carolina and Florida where early voting has already begun and the ballots have already been printed.

More than 34,000 Republican voters have already cast their ballots.

About 8,000 votes have been cast in North Carolina, a contentious battleground state, according to the Washington Post.

In swing state Florida, 5,000 votes have already been cast.

It's unclear how many of those votes were for Trump, but it is safe to assume a decent portion have marked the Trump/Pence ticket.

Although the Trump isn't backing out, his campaign is rallying to bounce back from this latest controversy

So what would happen to those votes if Trump does bow out?

Because the deadline to print ballots in many key states like Florida and North Carolina has passed, it's impossible to change the way they currently read.

Since it's too late to get Trump off the ballot, if he were to drop out and be replaced, voters would have to go into the voting booth with the understanding a vote for Trump is a vote for someone else.

When a voter entered the booth, they would have to understand a vote for Trump is really a vote for 'person X' and experts say that poses a serious challenge for getting to 270 electoral votes.

The Washington Post says this is because some votes, cast before he bowed out, would inevitably be bound to Trump.

And if Trump does bow out, who would go on the ballot?

Mike Pence has been the main name thrown around by Republicans but there are several scenarios possible.

For candidates who have died in smaller races, a back up candidate has been announced and put into place.

When then-Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash, the state allowed former vice president Walter Mondale to run in his place.

Top Republicans who once threw their support behind Trump have withdrawn their backing since the comments were made public

However, absentee votes for Wellstone were not added to Mondale's total and that seat was lost to the Republicans, the Post reported.

Another case saw Democrats making a legal case and getting new ballots printed after their Senate candidate in New Jersey dropped out of the race.

With 34 days to go, new ballots were printed for a new candidate.

It's possible that the Republicans could take legal action to get new ballots if Trump quits, but the issue remains that votes have already been cast.

In the other scenarios, they hadn't.

Could Mike Pence win if he became the presidential nominee?

A new poll shows that if Mike Pence were to become the nominee, it's unlikely he would be able to beat Hillary Clinton

It still would be an uphill battle.

A new poll shows that if Mike Pence were to become the nominee, it's unlikely he would be able to beat Hillary Clinton, according to the Post.

Twice in history - in 1912 and 1968 - a vice presidential candidate replaced the presidential candidate at the last minute, but neither time that person won.
Mahamed Abdullahi, from King's College London Students' Union, called the traditional rendition of God Save The Queen 'outdated'

A student union welfare officer has called for the National Anthem to be removed from a leading university's graduation ceremony because of 'increasing far right nationalism'.

Mahamed Abdullahi, from King's College London Students' Union, called the traditional rendition of God Save The Queen 'outdated'.

Although the suggestion was dismissed as 'petulant and disrespectful' by fellow students, the university management yesterday admitted it was 'in discussion' about the use of the song.

In an expletive-laden Facebook post, Mr Abdullahi wrote: 'I want to get rid of the national anthem at graduation because it's outdated and not reflective of the "global" values the college espouses.

'In the context of increasing far right nationalism across Europe and the legacy of the British empire, it's just a bit s*** and it doesn't even bang. Basically, f*** the nation state.'

His comments led to a petition to keep the anthem from James Findon, a member of KCL's Conservative Association.

In an expletive-laden Facebook post, Mr Abdullahi wrote: 'I want to get rid of the national anthem at graduation because it's outdated and not reflective of the "global" values'

He told MailOnline: 'We are a global university with global values. These two facts are not in conflict.

'We can be proud of our traditional British roots and celebrate our global values.'

King's College London was founded in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV. It plays God Save The Queen towards the end of graduation ceremonies.

Mr Abdullahi studied Geography as a postgraduate. His interests are described in an online profile as 'the intersection of race and gender as well as class, disability and sexuality'.

In his manifesto to become Vice President for Welfare and Community, Mr Abdullahi called the government's anti-terror strategy Prevent 'racist' and said he wanted to 'decolonise' the curriculum.

Mr Findon, 26, who is studying for a PhD in neuroscience, argued that removing God Save The Queen would not help solve discrimination.

King's College London was founded in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV. It plays God Save The Queen towards the end of graduation ceremonies

'Campaigning to remove a song from the final section of our graduation ceremonies is to ignore the real issues facing students on a daily basis.

'Also, it is an embarrassing reflection on students at King's that one of our elected officers has resorted to such a petulant and disrespectful outburst on social media with so many expletives.'

Mr Abdullahi, who was born in Denmark, studied for an undergraduate degree at the University of Reading.

KCL plays God Save The Queen towards the end of graduation ceremonies

Alex Sansom, 22, who is studying for a MA in politics, called on him to 'respect the traditions of the university'.

He told MailOnline: 'It is deeply worrying that an elected student representative should promote his own political agenda with such a lack of respect for the traditions of the university, particularly on an issue of historic and cultural salience.

'For someone who condemns issues that divide us, it is bizarre that the VP should criticise the nation state - the ultimate institution to promote and enable unity amongst us.'

A spokesperson from Kings College London said on Saturday: We are always open to feedback from students, staff and alumni and are currently in discussion with KCLSU student officers about various elements of the ceremonies, including the use of the National Anthem.

'Feedback from all members of the Kings community will be used in planning the next set of ceremonies.'

But following the outcry, KCL released a statement at 1pm on Sunday saying it had 'no plans' to remove the national anthem from graduation ceremonies.

Mr Findon said: 'I'm delighted to hear that common sense has prevailed and that the university has chosen to uphold our tradition of singing the national anthem.

'Students under threat from far-right nationalists aren't threatened by song appearing at the end of their graduation ceremony.

'Mr Abdullahi should get back to focussing on the real issues faced by students on a daily basis.'
Theresa May's 'era of meritocracy' will be conveniently forgotten for one night next month when she co-hosts a 5,000-a-head dinner for Tory donors at Englefield House, a stately home in Berkshire that has previously played host to Elizabeth I.

The property's owner, former Tory Minister Richard Benyon, sent out invitations for the party last week, which proudly proclaim that the event will be held in the Long Gallery.

There is a tip of the hat towards austerity with the choice of Benyon as host.

Scroll down for video

Theresa May's 'era of meritocracy' will be conveniently forgotten for one night next month when she co-hosts a 5,000-a-head dinner for Tory donors

The Prime Minister will host the party at Englefield House, a stately home in Berkshire that has previously played host to Elizabeth I

During the MPs' expenses scandal, it was revealed that he never claimed a penny.

The Prime Minister this week set out her passionate moral vision of how she wants to govern and where she hopes to take the country after finally breaking the shackles which bound the UK to the European Union.

In a clear pitch to disaffected Labour voters, she pledged to fight for working people whatever their allegiances.

Her mantra was fairness for all  not just the privileged few.

Concluding her 59-minute speech to warm applause, Mrs May told delegates she was offering 'an agenda for a new modern Conservatism that understands the good government can do, that will never hesitate to face down the powerful when they abuse their positions of privilege, that will always act in the interests of ordinary, working class people'.

The Prime Minister this week set out her passionate moral vision of how she wants to govern and where she hopes to take the country

It's Fergie, the Royal robot

There must have been many occasions over the years when certain members of the Royal Family wished the Duchess of York was a robot they could control.

Last week their dream became a reality when Fergie donned a Telesar V virtual puppet suit.

Fergie donned a Telesar V virtual puppet suit which uses the wearers movements to control an android double

The gadget, developed by researchers at Tokyo University, uses the wearers movements to control an android double.
Scientists found bear bones among ice sculptures, suggesting early tribes lived in the caves

Structures are around 500 years old and were preserved by the cave's cool temperature

ice palaces were formed when water seeped through the cracks and into stone

Dachstein caves in Austria were first explored in 1910 and contain incredible ice

Advertisement

Amazing pictures show the breathtaking beauty of giant ice sculptures in caves that were only discovered around 100 years ago.

The subterranean palaces, named the Dachstein caves, in Austria, were created when water from the plateau above seeped through cracks in the stone 500 years ago.

The cold temperature inside the cave preserves the ice when temperatures rise above ground, allowing tourists and academics to study the incredible structures in all their majesty.

The main caves are Dachstein Eishohle and Mammuthohle, but the ice structures are only found in the former.

The caves are a hot-spot for tourists, with the ice illuminated by colourful lights, but they were only discovered in 1910.

However, the tours may not be the first time humans spent time in the caves, with researches finding bear bones among the ice - suggesting that early tribes may have once lived there.

The beautiful ice sculptures in the Dachstein caves were created when water seeped through the stone 500 years ago

Due to the cool temperatures in the caves, the ice palaces are preserved when temperatures rise above ground

Despite the ice sculptures, which rise to the ceilings of the caves, being created centuries ago they were only discovered in 1910 by explorers

As well as the impressive ice sculptures there are also other cave structures for people to explore at Dachstein, which are linked by an illuminated path

Pictured: Tourists walk down a snaking pathway as they enjoy the caves and deep tunnels at Dachstein in Austria

Since the discovery of the ice sculptures around a century ago, the caves have become a popular hot-spot for tourists

Pictured: The caves and ice sculptures are illuminated by coloured lights, allowing tourists to capture beautiful photos

Pictured: Ice arches up as centuries of water seeping through stone creates a white glistening sea in the Dachstein caves

The two main caves are named Dachstein Eishohle and Mammuthohle with visitors offered the opportunity to explore both

Pictured: This breath-taking ice sculpture resembles a vast wave as it dominates the cave, leaving just enough space for a walkway for visitors

Pictured: A tour guide points to rugged rock formations adorning the ceiling of the cave, as lights illuminate the background
Guidelines also warn against the dangers of using metaphors

Fine wines and sophisticated food have long been a part of college life at Oxford.

But now dons have been warned to think twice before serving canapes or alcohol  for fear of upsetting foreign students.

And new guidelines also warn against the dangers of using metaphors or even the word discuss, because they may cause problems for those youngsters from overseas.

Oxford dons have been warned to think twice before serving canapes or alcohol  for fear of upsetting foreign students

The university has issued detailed guidance to academics warning them of the sensitivities of inviting students from abroad to social events. The advice, from the Oxford Learning Institute, said social occasions could be difficult for international students, especially if alcohol is involved.

It said: We should not be providing reinforcement for the view, voiced by an undergraduate from China, that, All their [UK students] social interactions are based on drinking. 

It continues: A British cultural phenomenon is to provide food, such as snacks or canapes, as a form of welcome to newcomers or visitors. However, this practice may disregard the preferences of other cultures, and quotes a Chinese student saying, Chinese people dont eat and drink that way in evidence.

The guidance added that, while academics should not drop such occasions, they should be aware some might find them awkward, and ensure soft drinks and appropriate food options are available.

The new guidelines also warn against the dangers of using metaphors or even the word discuss. Pictured is Christ Church College in Oxford

Dons are also urged to avoid using metaphors or idioms that might confuse overseas students, or asking them to discuss an issue in an essay, as the term was too ambiguous.

David Palfreyman, the bursar of New College, said: I am bemused as to what a culturally neutral canape would be. That could be quite a challenge.

I think this advice might be a little bit oversensitive to very minor comments.
The firemen suffered broken bones and even felt an

off and he plunges to the ground

A firefighter's horrifying 30-foot fall during a bungled helicopter rescue in Hawaii has been captured on camera.

Footage of the mishap, which left the serviceman in a serious condition in hospital, has recently emerged online.

It shows a helicopter basket carrying an injured hiker snagged on a utility pole line, flinging off the firemen also inside.

A Honolulu firemen sits beside a hiker in a rescue basket attached by a rope to a helicopter

A crowd of tourists cried out in shock during the September 2 incident, which occurred on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu.

They watched the officer plunge towards the ground while the walker was tugged away to safety.

First responders have said this is just the latest case that demonstrates a need for more safety measures, reports KHON-TV.

Back in June a 63-year-old firefighter died during ocean-rescue near the same site at the Diamond Head Monument, a volcanic 'cone' popular with hikers.

In the video of the fall no harnesses or helmets are on either of the men in the basket, and it is unclear why the chopper comes so close to a power line.

Members of the Honolulu Fire Department had to rush in to help, before flying their colleague away in the Air 1 helicopter.

The basket basket suddenly snags on a utility pole line, flinging off the firemen

He reportedly suffered broken bones, cracked ribs, internal injuries, and even felt a jolt of electricity.

He is still off work recovering from surgery.

Several reviews are currently underway into general practice during rescue operations.

Sources say the pilot has been grounded and an internal investigation is ongoing.

The officer plunges towards the ground while the walker is tugged away to safety

Hawaii Fire Fighters Association president Bobby Lee told KHON-TV that he had major concerns, with the accident coming so soon after a previous firefighter death.

'We have a lot of issues with an administration we feel is not focused on firefighter safety,' he said.

You have a fire commission that also controls the fire chief. It's been a rough road for us dealing with our issues, but in the end, we're going to do the right thing.'
Faith leaders, including former Archbishop Lord Rowan Williams, have called for action

Senior church leaders including a former Archbishop of Canterbury have blasted Theresa May for failing to allow hundreds of refugee children trapped in Calais to move to Britain.

In an outspoken letter to the Prime Minister, Lord Rowan Williams, senior bishops and Muslim and Jewish faith leaders last night urged her to display moral leadership by immediately relocating nearly 400 vulnerable children eligible to live in the UK under EU and UK government rules.

They said Mrs May must act now before the children are put at further risk when the infamous Jungle camp is demolished, a development expected within days.

The initiative will ratchet up tensions between faith leaders and ministers over migration after a series of acrimonious clashes - though the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, recently blamed EU leaders for some of the crisis.

The letter from the faith leaders, obtained by The Mail on Sunday, referred to Mrs Mays party conference speech on Wednesday last week, in which the vicars daughter emphasised that governments could do good and act justly.

They said campaign group Citizens UK estimated there were 387 child refugees as young as eight stuck in Calais who should already have been given sanctuary in the UK.

These include 178 who have the right to come to Britain under EU rules because of their close family links with the UK, and a further 209 who are unaccompanied and eligible under an amendment to the Immigration Act.

The new letter stated: They have fled conflict and persecution, are now stuck in Northern France, deeply traumatized and at great risk.

It continued: None of us want the Calais Jungle to exist. It is a stain on the conscience of both France and Britain.

Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler (left) and senior reform rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner (right) were among the faith leaders piling pressure on the Government

Raheemullah Oryakhel, 14, from Afghanistan, died trying to reach Britain. He fell as he tried to climb into a lorry

But in haste to clear it the need to protect children is even more paramount. During the last such demolition the charity Help Refugees documented that 129 children went missing. The time to act is now.

Last month the UKs anti-slavery commissioner Kevin Hyland warned that minors were turning to smuggling gangs amid frustration at delays on official routes for claiming asylum or joining relatives who are already in this country.

His warning came after a 14-year-old Afghan boy, Raheemullah Oryakhel, died trying to reach Britain. He fell as he tried to climb into a lorry. The youngster had a legal right to be in Britain and had applied to come to the UK months ago.

The teenager was described as polite and gentle by friends and was said to be trying to join a brother already in Manchester. This gave him the right to travel to Britain but he had reportedly lost faith that it would happen.

Childrens charities say the boys death - one of 13 near the port this year alone - highlights the dangers asylum-seeking minors take each night.

The faith leaders, who include the Bishops of Durham, Manchester and Southwark as well as the Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain Harun Rashid Khan and the senior Reform rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, added: From the Kindertransport to Kosovo, Britain has a proud history of responding with moral leadership in times of urgent humanitarian need.

The Governments pledge to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees last year was an example of such leadership. We ask that you once again act in that tradition of moral leadership and protect the most vulnerable among us.

Last month, campaigners including Truly Madly Deeply star Juliet Stevenson and EastEnders actress Ann Mitchell called on the Government to act.

The Home Office said: The clearance of the camp in Calais is a matter for the French authorities, who also have primary responsibility for unaccompanied children in France.

'The UK Government has no jurisdiction to operate on French territory and can only contribute in ways agreed with the French authorities and in compliance with French and EU law.

The UK has made crystal clear its commitment to resettle vulnerable children under the Immigration Act and ensure those with links to the UK are brought here using the Dublin Regulation.

'We are continuing to work with the French Government and partner organisations to speed up mechanisms to identify, assess and transfer unaccompanied refugee children to the UK, where this is in their best interests.

Campaign group Citizens UK estimated there were 387 child refugees as young as eight stuck in Calais who should already have been given sanctuary in the UK (stock image)

Last month, campaigners including Truly Madly Deeply star Juliet Stevenson and EastEnders actress Ann Mitchell called on the Government to act over the Calais Jungle (pictured)
Advertisement

Huddled together on the windswept pier, Mark Darwin and his younger brother Anthony stood protectively on either side of their mother Anne. The three gazed out at the North Sea before Anne, openly weeping, threw a wreath of red roses into the choppy waters.

As it bobbed out into the distance, they returned to the family home just yards from the seafront at Seaton Carew in County Durham, where Anne laid out a selection of her late husbands belonging for their sons to choose as mementoes.

I fingered my fathers watch, his onyx cufflinks, memories engulfing me as I touched them, says Mark of that day in 2004. And then I remember breaking down.

Rebuilding their lives: Standing side by side for an exclusive photograph in London last week, Mark Darwin, the elder of the two sons of Anne Darwin, curls a loving arm around his mothers shoulders after a most unlikely reconciliation

His father, John Darwin, had disappeared during a canoeing accident two years earlier and been declared dead. This was a final act of remembrance from his grieving widow and sombre-faced sons.

What Mark could not have known as he comforted his mother was that behind a wall dividing the house from the one next door stood the dead man himself.

Or that their poignant memorial to John Darwin was no more than another chapter in the cold-hearted charade which would become one of the most compelling court cases of the 21st Century  a macabre five-year hoax which transfixed a nation and left two sons bereft.

No wonder Mark and Anthony swore they would have nothing more to do with their parents or that, as they told The Mail on Sunday at the time: We dont want to see them. Ever.

Yet today, standing side by side for our exclusive photograph, Mark Darwin, the elder of the two boys, curls a loving arm around his mothers shoulders. There has been a most unlikely reconciliation.

Never, then, would I have ever dreamed I would be happily posing with my mother, he says. What I have gone through to get to a stage where I can forgive has been tough. Its taken deep thought and a difficult process of accepting her faults.

Moving on: There was a milestone earlier this year when, for the first time, Mark invited Anne to come with his family on a holiday to Spain. Anne is pictured with Mark, his wife Flick and their children Joe and Max

Anne has just written a book about the whole extraordinary episode, which saw both parents jailed  a book in which she heaps most of the blame on her former husband John.

Her sons, meanwhile, have kept their counsel, trudging a long, slow route towards some semblance of forgiveness. This is the first time that Mark, 40, has agreed to talk since that first outpouring of anger in 2008 when, finally, the truth was known.

Family: John and Anne Darwin, who lived in Seaton Carew, County Durham, with Mark and Anthony as schoolboys

The man in this photograph is not the same one who felt all that bitterness and fury, he says. That gets you nowhere, you have to let it go. But where we are now is the result of nine hard years of work at building bridges.

His story of fury and forgiveness is particularly astonishing and he is by no means certain that other people will truly understand what he and his brother have been through.

Yet it is also a poignant account of how, for the sake of his family and maybe his own sanity, he has worked to rebuild a relationship which had seemed so catastrophically destroyed.

Mark's ordeal began in 2002 when, mired in mortgage debt on their home and on an array of rental properties nearby, John and Anne Darwin risked everything on a plan of barely imaginable stupidity. John would fake his death in a canoe accident so that Anne could fraudulently claim his 250,000 life insurance.

They had spent recklessly, but John, a former chemistry teacher turned prison officer, was determined to keep up an appearance of affluence, including a 700-a-month rented Range Rover with personalised number plates.

On March 22, Marks uncle Michael phoned him at work to tell him John was missing after taking out his canoe alone, and Mark returned to Seaton Carew to support his mother.

How did she seem? Like a woman who was devastated that her husband was missing. She was frantic. Ive thought about it many times. There was nothing amiss. Nothing to alert me.

Throughout the following weeks, as coastguards found nothing, Mark came to think that his father had suffered an angina attack and flipped his canoe. He fretted that his dad had been alone when he met his death.

Looking back now on the deception, he still cannot fathom how his mother allowed him to continue grieving.

Deceit: A photograph emerged which showed the smiling couple posing alongside an estate agent in Panama. They were convicted of fraud and John, who pleaded guilty, was jailed for six years and three months for his crime

When the truth was revealed I was furious that she let me imagine the horrors of my fathers death, while all the time she knew exactly where he was. Alive and well and camping out on a beach at Silloth, 100 miles away.

I was dragging up old memories  Dad buying us rabbits, laughing with us, desperate to believe he was still alive. But she never cracked once. She played the role of heartbroken wife perfectly.

Anne has just written a book about the whole extraordinary episode, which saw both parents jailed  a book in which she heaps most of the blame on her former husband John

When no trace of Johns body was found, Anne finally came into the insurance money. And then, somehow, for the next five years, she continued the fiction while John lived a shadowy existence in their home, sneaking next door when visitors, including his own sons, came round.

In 2006, the couple began a new life in Panama where they bought land. John had manufactured a new identity for himself by distastefully adopting the name of a dead child  a style of fraud made notorious by the Frederick Forsyth novel The Day Of The Jackal.

The following year came the most bizarre twist of all. Realising they would be unable to claim Panamanian citizenship (which would have protected them against future legal claims from their British insurers) they decided to return to the UK.

John would simply return home, and walk into a police station claiming he had suffered from amnesia since his disappearance in 2002.

Which is what he did, believing naively that all would live happily ever after. And, with an equally breathtaking lack of compassion, John assured his wife that their sons would be thrilled to welcome back into their lives the father they had mourned for so long.

Of course, the whole charade unravelled. A photograph emerged which showed the smiling couple posing alongside an estate agent in Panama. They were convicted of fraud and John, who pleaded guilty, was jailed for six years and three months for his crime.

In the face of overwhelming evidence, Anne opted for the arcane defence of marital coercion, blamed her husband and pleaded not guilty. The result was a sentence of six years and six months.

It was a cruel act of betrayal that no parents should ever inflict upon their children, Mark says today. The pain and suffering it caused me and my brother is indescribable. The horror of the discovery, my sheer fury at what they put me through, is something that will taint my life for ever.

Admitted fraud: John, a former chemistry teacher turned prison officer, had been determined to keep up an appearance of affluence, including a 700-a-month rented Range Rover with personalised number plates

How the mother I loved could let me go through that is unbelievable. That my father should inflict such thoughtless pain upon me, all for money, is overwhelming at times.

One of my first questions to my mother was whether Dad had been standing on the other side of the wall during my visits. On the days when I would have been comforting her. Crying at all I had lost. I was devastated when she admitted he was.

The horror of the discovery, my sheer fury at what they put me through, is something that will taint my life for ever Mark Darwin

How, I tortured myself, could a mother let her son endure such grief, pour out his agony, reminisce about the father he loved, knowing not only that he was still alive, but standing inches from me?

As Mark relaxes on the sofa of the Hertfordshire home he shares with wife Flick, 39, his sons, Max, five, and baby Joe, two-and-a-half, he smiles as his sons play fight over the Lego and scatter their toys. Could I do what my parents did to them, my sons, my flesh and blood? Never, he says. Never, ever.

How, then, is his mother now once again a part of his family life?

I have forgiven her, Mark says slowly. To some degree. But I will never understand. Nor forget. Ive even got over, to some extent, the gnawing need to know why. Why do it to us?

Nothing can describe the kick in the teeth I felt when I discovered she had been in on the entire thing.

And while she has said sorry, she never told me details. Everything I learned  and each piece of information came as yet one more emotional punch to the stomach  I learned through the media or at her trial.

Mark's feelings towards his father, now married to a new wife in the Philippines (pictured together), are more complicated

Do you know, it wasnt until day one of her court case that I discovered she had actually been in on it from the very start. Up until then she let me believe she only got involved when, a few weeks after Dads death, he turned up on the doorstep.

But then sometimes I feel I dont want to ask. Maybe Im afraid of more lies.

His feelings towards his father, now married to a new wife in the Philippines, are more complicated.

I have given this a lot of long, deep thought, he admits. My father died. I had to learn how to live without his comfort, compassion and love in my life. Then, suddenly, hes back. Mark pauses, then leans forward. I have come to believe that having him alive, and in my life, is much more preferable to his loss. No, it doesnt negate what he did to me. Yet I feel fortunate that he is alive.

Is he even prepared to forgive his father. Perhaps, he admits. But at least I have my family, again he pauses, not intact, never again intact. But they are present. They are alive. Do I feel the same about them? No. No, I dont. But the love is there. Its just different. I love my mother. Just not in that childhood, all-encompassing way. Do I trust them? Yes, I do, but only in so far as it wouldnt adversely affect me.

And I would certainly never trust them on financial matters.

Marks brother Anthony, 37, has been less forgiving. He still refuses to speak to John and has a more watchful relationship with his mother than Mark has. I took a different view, Mark says. I talked to Flick and I knew I had to see my mother, at least speak to her about what she had put me through.

His initial visit, while his mother was being held in Low Newton Prison just after her trial, was short, stiff and formal. At subsequent visits there were tears, profuse apologies and some headway was made in allowing Mark to fathom the magnitude of what his mother had done.

Today, Anne, 63, lives in a small flat just outside York. She took a business course while in prison and now does secretarial work for the RSPCA.

Mark says: Now we have normal conversations, the sort of ones mothers and sons do. If one of the kids is sick, I will ask Mam what she thinks I should do. We try to stay on safe subjects, though. That said, what she did isnt an elephant in the room. And believe it or not, we can even, at times, joke about it. In a black humour sort of way.

Time behind bars: Anne, who now lives in a small flat just ouside York, took a business course while in prison and now does secretarial work for the RSPCA

It is tempting to believe that Mark has blocked from his mind much of his mothers behaviour, so strong is his desire to rebuild their relationship. And it is certainly to his credit that he has worked at it tirelessly.

He has relied heavily on the support of his friends. Without them, this would have been immeasurably harder, he says. I will be forever in their debt.

There was another milestone earlier this year when, for the first time, Mark invited Anne to come with them on a family holiday to Spain. It was my idea to invite Anne to spend a short holiday with us, says Flick. And since Anne is single and doesnt want to go on holidays alone, I thought it would be nice to ask her to join us for five of the ten days we were away.

She never cracked once. She played the role of heartbroken wife perfectly Mark Darwin

Anne babysat the children a few times so that we could have a few meals out. I felt we all relaxed together. And I felt we all bonded that bit more.

Mark continues: I want my children to have a good relationship with their grandmother. But yes, of course, in time I will have to explain to them what she did. I need to do it before someone else in the playground does. How they will feel then is another matter. But I trust the kids around her. And that is important.

Ultimately, I blame my mother and father equally for all they inflicted upon me and my brother.

I think my father was the originator, the driving force, and she got caught up. But she could have come clean. She could have stopped it all. And she should have pleaded guilty. After all, she was.

The holiday was a tentative way of beginning to involve her again in my family. A slow reintegration into my life. Its been a long road.

I wouldnt wish this journey on anyone. But Im hoping we will get there in the end.
Jeremy Corbyn has been heckled by protesters while attending a conference of peace activists.

The Labour leader was yelled at as he arrived at Stop the War coalition's conference at the TUC's Congress House, in central London, where he was due to give a speech.

A handful of campaigners launched a tirade as the famously anti-war politician took his seat alongside a panel on stage.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks at a conference organised by the Stop the War coalition at Congress House, central London, to mark the 15th anniversary of its founding

The group claimed they were angry at Mr Corbyn's failure to call for regime change in Syria.

Two women at the back initially started the volley of accusations, saying: 'Jeremy Corbyn, where were you?' and 'Your silence is complicit'.

Another man, Oz Katerji, 29, was standing closer to the stage and was escorted out of the building after shouting in the direction of the Labour leader.

Their protests were soon drowned out by a chant of 'no more war' from the hundreds of campaigners in attendance at the conference, who are thought to be among Mr Corbyn's core supporters.

But Mr Corbyn was heckled by protesters who claimed they were angry at Mr Corbyn's failure to call for regime change in Syria.

When the Labour leader, who has been embroiled in fresh disputes within his party following a shadow cabinet reshuffle, eventually started his speech, he was again interrupted by one man, who called out: 'What about Aleppo?'

Mr Corbyn called for a 'political solution' to the long-running conflict in Syria during his address to the room.

Speaking outside, Mr Katerji said he had acted because Mr Corbyn had 'deliberately marginalised Syrian voices'.

He added: 'Jeremy Corbyn himself will never say the words "Assad must go", he will never say there needs to be a transition in Syria out of the Syrian government's power - that is why we're protesting.'

The protests were soon drowned out by a chant of 'no more war' from the hundreds of campaigners in attendance at the conference, who are thought to be among Mr Corbyn's core supporters

The attack follows Mr Corbyn's highly controversial choice for shadow attorney general, Shami Chakrabarti, who compared the Labour Party to a 'war zone'.

As key allies closed ranks to defend the Labour leader after his shadow cabinet shake-up unleashed renewed turmoil, Baroness Chakrabarti said she had joined a party 'in civil war', but that Mr Corbyn had brought some of his critics back onto the frontbench.

Lady Chakrabarti said she had received racist hate mail since becoming a Labour peer after producing a report on anti-Semitism in the party which some Jewish groups branded a whitewash.

The attack follows Mr Corbyn's highly controversial choice for shadow attorney general, Shami Chakrabarti, who compared the Labour Party to a 'war zone'

'I think that I drew criticism the moment I joined the Labour Party. I joined a party in civil war at a time when the country was in crisis.

'And even if you think you are driving an ambulance into a war zone, you are going to take some flak, and that's what happened.

'I didn't expect, perhaps, some of the racist hate mail, often laced with misogyny, but I'm not here to whinge.

'I have had a bit of it, but nothing compared to what some young Jewish women MPs have faced. So, I sit here in solidarity with them, and I will continue to do my very best to make this party its better self, and to be a worthy opposition, which is what I think it now can be,' the peer told Channel Four News.

Asked if she was a hypocrite for sending her son to a top private school, Lady Chakrabarti said: 'I sit in a very nice, warm house, and I eat very nice food, and my neighbours in south London go to food banks, and are homeless.

'Now, maybe that makes me a hypocrite, or maybe it makes me somebody who cares a bit about other people's children, and families, and not just my own.'

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry also rallied to Mr Corbyn's defence, insisting he was being criticised for being 'too decisive'.

The comments came after Labour former home secretary Alan Johnson became the most senior figure in the party to criticise Mr Corbyn since his landslide re-election by insisting he lacked the abilities needed to be leader of the opposition.

When it was put to Mr Johnson on BBC Radio Four's Today programme that he believed Mr Corbyn was not up to the job of being leader, he said: 'Me and many of my colleagues, perhaps he'll prove me wrong.'

Mr Corbyn's reshuffle provoked a backlash with the chairman of the parliamentary party, John Cryer, sending an angry letter to MPs complaining that he and sacked chief whip Rosie Winterton had been kept in the dark about the move, despite holding talks with the leadership on having some of the posts elected by MPs.

Ms Thornberry strongly defended Mr Corbyn, saying it was wrong to criticise him for being 'too decisive' as she insisted the issue of elected posts was still on the table.

Lady Chakrabarti said she had received racist hate mail since becoming a Labour peer after producing a report on anti-Semitism in the party which some Jewish groups branded a whitewash

'The problem is that on the one hand, people criticise, and have been criticising, Jeremy for being weak, for taking too long on his reshuffles, taking a couple of days, and yet when when he decides that he will do a reshuffle that he needs to do in order to fill vacancies and in order to reach out, people then criticise him for being too decisive and too strong.'

Bermondsey MP Neil Coyle told Channel Four News: 'We had the facade of discussions and negotiations going on about shadow PLP elections which were a complete farce when the leader's team had already planned what they would do instead.'

Mr Cryer's letter to MPs stated: 'Rosie and I were keen to continue these negotiations this week and tried to arrange meetings with the leader's office to come to an agreement as soon as possible.

Britain's Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts as he receives a gift - a bag of nuts, at a Stand Up To Racism rally in London

Despite his landslide re-election Mr Corbyn's leadership abilities are still coming under fire by party members

'However, it became clear on Wednesday that a reshuffle was under way, which had not been discussed or mentioned. It now seems to me that the party's leadership did not engage in the talks in any constructive way. Obviously, I deeply regret this turn of events.'

The sacking of Ms Winterton, and elevation of key Corbyn ally Diane Abbott to the high-profile post of shadow home secretary, provoked anger among moderate MPs in what some saw as a 'revenge reshuffle'.

Jon Ashworth, one of the few remaining moderates in the shadow cabinet, was promoted to shadow health secretary, but lost his place on the NEC to a Corbyn loyalist, which could tip the finely balanced body in the leadership's favour as it decides on elected posts.

The sacking of Ms Winterton, and elevation of key Corbyn ally Diane Abbott (far left) to the high-profile post of shadow home secretary, provoked anger among moderate MPs in what some saw as a 'revenge reshuffle'

Only a handful of the 63 people who quit the shadow cabinet in the summer returned to the fold, but more may take the remaining raft of junior posts yet to be announced.

Mr Johnson said he would take a 'vow of silence' on criticising Mr Corbyn because he needed 'time and space' after his re-election, but the ex-home secretary then denounced him as not up to the job of being leader within 30 seconds of the remarks.

Ms Thornberry also dismissed criticism that the top four positions in the shadow cabinet, including her own, are held by north London MPs.
They are the university workshops designed to inform new students about sexual consent in an effort to tackle the rising number of assaults on campus.

But in a sign of a growing backlash against such events, not a single fresher attended an hour-long session at a top Cambridge college.

The angry womens officer at Clare College later posted pictures of the empty auditorium on social media and lambasting freshers for snubbing the event. She described the move as a huge step backwards.

The womens officer at Clare College, Cambridge, posted pictures of an empty auditorium on social media, after no freshers turned up to a sexual consent workshop

In a post to accompany the picture of the empty venue, she complained: This is the number of Clare College freshers who thought it worth their time to show up to the consent workshops this morning, who thought that an hour out of their morning in Freshers Week was too much to ask.

The post was later deleted.

Earlier this month, students at York University staged a walkout in protest against consent classes.

Every first-year student was expected to attend the sessions, although officials insisted that they were not compulsory.

Last night Sir Anthony Seldon, the vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham, said he was heartened by the student boycott. Universities are about the teaching of independent mindedness, and students should not be going along with what the NUS or anyone else is telling them, he said.

The row at Clare College emerged after its womens officer posted the pictures of the empty lecture hall on Tuesday on social media. The officer said Clare, whose alumni include Sir David Attenborough, had been at the forefront of tackling consent issues.

Women's officer Rosie Boxall said students were told several times about the class. But the student president at Clare College (pictured) suggested there had been a miscommunication

She said: Clare has been leading the colleges in taking a proactive approach to dealing with sexual assault in Cambridge and to cement active, enthusiastic and informed consent as the norm in our student body. This feels like a huge step backwards.

A spokeswoman for the Union of Clare Students insisted there had been a miscommunication. But the women's officer denied that in a Facebook message, which has now been deleted. She wrote: Students were told Sunday, emailed last night and told again this morning, so it wasnt a miscommunication about timings.

A Cambridge spokesman said: The consent classes are a key part of our students introduction to university life. They are included in induction programmes, and students are strongly encouraged to attend.

Speaking to student newspaper Varsity, Cambridge University Students Union womens officer Audrey Sebatindira also expressed her disappointment.

She said: In the 2014 Cambridge Speaks Out survey, 77 per cent of respondents had experienced sexual harassment while at Cambridge.

Given how pervasive the problem is, theres no doubt that the consent workshops are necessary and more people should appreciate that.

The National Union of Students claims that one in five students experiences some sort of sexual harassment during their first week of term.

Sexual comments, wolf-whistling when students walk into lectures, heckling in nightclub queues, and jokes about rape were all cited as examples.

First-year students attending Yorks first ever sexual consent classes protested that they were being patronised.

But student union leaders said that the gender-neutral lessons were necessary to protect the wellbeing of freshers.

Some students took to social media to comment on the row, with one complaining the session had not been listed on the official freshers timetable. There were also claims that such talks are usually very long and dry.

The latest twist follows claims in a national newspaper that sexual harassment and assault on Britains campuses remains hidden. The Guardian interviewed 100 women, who said many incidents go unreported, and the issue was compared to the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Carrissa Lea (pictured) is in a bitter legal dispute with her brother Nathan Lea over trust fund money. They are the grandchildren of Monty Lea, who pioneered the iconic Australian chocolate company Darrell Lea

The wealthy heirs of a multimillion-dollar Darrell Lea chocolate fortune are wrapped up in a hostile legal dispute over trust fund payments and claims of cocaine addiction.

The Australian chocolate empire was started by Monty Lea in the 1940s, but his grandchilden Carissa and Nathan Lea are now involved in a bitter legal stoush over their considerable family fortune.

Carissa Lea, a Sydney socialite, claims to have been left out of significant payments from the trust since 2007 by her uncle Leighland Lea and brother Nathan Lea, who are both directors of the family company, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Ms Lea took the matter to the NSW Supreme Court in December last year, adding that her brother Nathan 'is or was' addicted to cocaine and should be stripped of his position as a 'appointer' of the trust.

Carissa Lea, a Sydney socialite, claims to have been left out of significant payments from the trust by her uncle Leighland and brother Nathan - both directors of the family company

Nathan Lea was arrested in 2009 after buying two grams of cocaine off Richard Buttrose, the nephew of media doyenne Ita Buttrose, the founding editor of Cleo.

Mr Lea pleaded guilty to buying cocaine from Mr Buttrose, who was slapped with a maximum 16-year jail sentence after the covert police operation.

Mr Lea denied allegations of ongoing cocaine addiction in his defence statement.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the case was settled out of court last week - bringing an ongoing internal family turmoil to the surface.

Carissa reportedly claimed that following her father Jason Lea's death in 2005, Nathan 'manipulated' what was supposed to be an equal division of their father's share in the company between the pair of them and their half-sister Angeline.

Darrell Lea was placed into voluntary administration in 2012 after losses of $3 million in one year.

It was bought out by the Queensland family behind VIP Petfoods.
Imran Khawaja was jailed for 12 years after he was caught trying to sneak back into Britain

Just 14 battle-hardened ISIS fighters who returned to Britain after waging war in Syria have been jailed, the Government has admitted.

The shock figure is far lower than Ministers previously claimed and means almost 400 jihadis trained in Syria and Iraq are at large on Britains streets.

Experts told The Mail on Sunday they could use the deadly skills with automatic weapons and bombs that they honed on the battlefield to plot atrocities such as the Paris and Brussels attacks in the UK, massacring hundreds.

Figures slipped out in Parliament reveal that the Home Office believes 850 Britons have travelled to fight for the Islamic State terror group and although many have been killed by drone strikes and in battle, about 400 have sneaked back into the UK.

Any of them could be prosecuted as it is a crime to attend terrorist training camps and also to be a member of a banned group such as ISIS.

But Ministers admit that only 14 people who have fought for Islamic State have been convicted, despite mistakenly claiming the number was 54 earlier this year.

Last night, critics urged Home Secretary Amber Rudd to give more money to the Border Force so it can catch terrorists as they sneak back into the country, as well as ensuring that police and MI5 have enough officers to track down those already here.

Labour MP Khalid Mahmood, who believes thousands of Britons have travelled to Syria and Iraq, said: It is a tiny number who have been prosecuted and its absurd to say this is any form of success.

If they know who they are, they should be prosecuted but the police and security services dont have the resources to do that.

But Gianluca Tomaselli (left and right) who fought in Syria, is working as an NHS parking attendant in London

Professor Anthony Glees, Director of the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham, told The Mail on Sunday that the minuscule number of prosecutions was very disturbing.

These people have been trained to be killers and people will think it beggars belief [that they havent been prosecuted]. What message are we sending out to the world?

If you go out to join a regime like so-called Islamic State, you forfeit your right to come back.

Former Security Minister Lord West of Spithead said: We know that people who have been abroad and radicalised are extremely dangerous.

HATE CLERIC CONVERT IS 'KILLED FIGHTING FOR ISLAMIC STATE' Terence Le Page, 30, died in Syria in June A white convert to Islam who became a disciple of jailed hate cleric Anjem Choudary is believed to have been killed in Syria fighting for Islamic State. Terence Le Page, 30, died in Syria in June, according to jihadists on social media. Le Page, from Lewisham, South-East London, converted to Islam around five years ago, shortly after his older brother, Dean, 31, also became a Muslim. Both brothers then became members of Choudarys banned group Al-Muhajiroun. Terence took the Muslim name Abu Khalid and is believed to have gone to Syria in the middle of last year with his wife and two children. Last night, his mother Donna Le Page, 50, of South-East London, confirmed she had received news of his death. Advertisement

'Clearly we need to be able to keep a handle on that and make sure they are properly monitored. If were not doing that, we are letting the public down.

Among the hundreds of ISIS veterans at large in the UK is Maarg Kahsay, a student who fled to Syria while awaiting trial for rape.

He spent up to two months in IS territory as a fighter in 2014 but then returned home and, as this newspaper revealed in the summer, is free to roam the streets of London and live in a council flat.

Another jihadi, Gianluca Tomaselli, is working as a parking attendant at an NHS hospital in London after spending up to a year fighting in Syria.

The revelation that only 14 returnees have been convicted was quietly made in a written answer given to the House of Lords.

Ministers had claimed in May that 54 jihadis had been successfully prosecuted  but last month admitted this larger figure wrongly included dozens who had been fundraising for terrorism or attempting to reach the war zone.

DOCTOR ACCUSED OF CANTLIE KIDNAP RETURNS TO SYRIA An NHS doctor accused of kidnapping British hostage John Cantlie is back in Syria treating patients in a city controlled by terrorists. Dr Shajul Islam, 30, is believed to have been part of a group which snatched photographer Cantlie, 45, near Aleppo in 2012. When Islam returned to the UK he was put on trial but the case collapsed without Cantlie, who is still missing. He has been seen in videos online tending to people injured by bombings in Idlib, a city controlled by the Nusra Front, a branch of Al-Qaeda recently rebranded as Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham in a bid to make it more palatable to the West. Islam qualified from London University and worked at St Barts, going to Syria in 2012. He was struck off this year. Advertisement

In the new statement, Home Office Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford said: Data from the Crown Prosecution Service shows that they have successfully prosecuted ten cases involving 14 defendants who have returned to the UK and are suspected of having fought in Syria and/or Iraq.

She added: All those who return from engaging in the conflict in Syria and Iraq can expect to be subject to investigation to determine if they have committed criminal offences abroad or represent a threat to our national security.

Police and MI5 attempt to contact all those who return from the war zone to work out how dangerous they are.

Some will be left alone if they only went to experience life in the so-called Islamic State or to deliver humanitarian aid, but others will be put under surveillance to see if they form terror cells or start to plan attacks.

Other returnees will be referred to NHS mental health services or the Channel deradicalisation programme if it is felt they can be turned away from extremism.

Among the dangerous returnees who have been locked up is Imran Khawaja, who tried to sneak back into Britain undetected by faking his own death.

The West Londoner was caught at Dover and jailed for 12 years in February last year.

Labours former policing spokesman Jack Dromey MP said: Britain faces the most serious terrorist threat for a generation. We need to stop jihadis going to the Middle East and we need to be confident that when people return they are under proper surveillance.

A manhunt for a bogus Syrian refugee was under way in Germany last night after antiterrorist police units raided his apartment and found explosives designed to blow up an airport.

Heavily armed officers blew off the door to the apartment of Jaber al-Bakr, 22, in the eastern city of Chemnitz and found several hundred grams of highly unstable explosives inside.
When The Rolling Stones play a gig, theyre used to doing it on a grand scale, performing in front thousands of delirious fans at packed-out stadiums.

But last week the band sprang a surprise by playing a secret gig  for unsuspecting employees and guests of a truck company.

The private party, for just 1,000 lucky people in Las Vegas, was certainly a nice little earner for Mick Jagger and his bandmates Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, with each of them pocketing 1million, according to insiders.

Last week The Rolling Stones sprang a surprise by playing a secret gig  for unsuspecting employees and guests of a truck company

And it served as a warm-up for a much bigger event on Friday when the Stones joined Bob Dylan to open the Desert Trip festival in California in front of 75,000 fans, earning the stars another cool 6 million in the process.

The band  who are set to release a new album, their first in a decade  caught their small audience in Las Vegas unaware on Monday.

The trucking executives and their spouses had politely endured a jazz trio before being ushered into an adjoining ballroom, where the Stones burst into song. And the surprise went both ways.

We thought we were playing for a lot of truck drivers, Jagger told the well-dressed crowd. So we practised our punching songs. But looking at you, I think we should play our usual set.

The 14-song show that followed lasted 85 minutes, earning the band more than 47,000 a minute. Jagger, 73, who is set to become a father for the eighth time in December, explained his own motivation for accepting the gig, telling the audience: Theres nothing I like more than a Sunday afternoon drive in an M2 half-cab cutaway chassis truck.

The private party, for just 1,000 lucky people in Las Vegas, was certainly a nice little earner for Mick Jagger and his bandmates Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, with each of them pocketing 1million, according to insiders

The party was hosted by truck manufacturer Freightliner, whose top customers may have suspected something big was about to happen: in 2014 the company arranged for US band the Eagles to perform on board an aircraft carrier.

Freightliner boss Martin Daum said: We pride ourselves on throwing the biggest and best celebrations, and the Stones are the biggest and the best.

This weekends Desert Trip festival, also starring veteran stars Sir Paul McCartney and The Who, has been dubbed the ultimate concert for baby-boomers.
And he claimed she was present at meeting when honours discussed

But the PM insisted it was Baroness Scotland who introduced them

Baroness has said she didn't arrange for friend to meet Grenada's PM

The political head of the Commonwealth faced new embarrassment last night after it was claimed that she helped a controversial friend secure a knighthood that was later revoked.

Ex-Cabinet Minister Baroness Scotland has always insisted she did not arrange for Anthony Bailey to meet Grenadas Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, who awarded the honour in return for charitable donations.

But speaking for the first time about the affair, Dr Mitchell insisted it was the Secretary-General who introduced them  and claimed Baroness Scotland was present at the meeting when honours were discussed.

Controversial: Baroness Scotland with Dr Keith Mitchell (centre) and Anthony Bailey in 2014

Bailey came to this country through someone who stood at the highest level of British government, the former Attorney General of Britain, Dr Mitchell said.

I didnt know [Bailey] but he had an appointment in my office as I knew Patricia Scotland. In a statement to The Mail on Sunday earlier this year, Baroness Scotland  who has been dubbed Baroness Brazen  insisted that she did not arrange the meeting.

At the time Mr Bailey was touring the Caribbean, conferring honours upon dignitaries on behalf of his obscure Catholic order and receiving them in return.

To the dismay of the Foreign Office and the Royal Household, he used an honour obtained from Antigua in this way to masquerade as a knight in the UK.

Dr Mitchell said: They claimed they had this Constantinian Order, and they gave medals, all kinds of claims were made.

But Baroness Scotlands office told this newspaper in its statement that she did not have an operational role in the Order, despite serving as the deputy head of the groups British branch.

Mr Bailey and Baroness Scotland first met Dr Mitchell in October 2014. A few months later Mr Bailey and three friends were given knighthoods by the Grenadian government as part of a reciprocal arrangement.

These were later revoked following revelations by The Mail on Sunday that they may have violated the countrys laws.

Under the Grenadian Honours Act, only two people can receive knighthoods each year. However, Mr Bailey managed to obtain four for himself and his allies in a day.

Dr Mitchell said: The government I am leading did agree to [the knighthood], based on what we thought was in the countrys best interests.

The minute we found out there were some issues, it was cancelled. The knighthood has been revoked. He is no longer a knight. He was formally written to. He wanted more than that. He wanted us to make him Ambassador to the Vatican. I said No way!

The political head of the Commonwealth faced new embarrassment last night after it was claimed that she helped a controversial friend secure a knighthood that was later revoked

According to Mr Mitchell, the meeting with Baroness Scotland formed part of her campaign to become Secretary-General.

Scotland did everything to be elected Secretary-General, Dr Mitchell said. She knew Grenada had agreed not to vote for her. When she finally won, after having been so nice to me before, she passed me like a licence [discarded me].

In May, The Mail on Sunday revealed Baroness Scotlands entanglement in the honours scandal. An investigation discovered how Mr Bailey had received his Antiguan knighthood after promising 1.1 million in donations to the island nation.

Another of the honour recipients, Spas Roussev, said that the process was irregular and not as originally described.

The honour was used by Mr Bailey enabling him to present himself as a knight in the UK from 2014 until earlier this year.
The text message from Aleppo flashed up on my phone as I was curled up on the sofa watching animated film The Good Dinosaur with my wife and 14-month-old daughter. It came from a much-loved Syrian friend, a surgeon like me.

Written in haste, it read starkly: Massacres in Aleppo today 168 cases arrived at the hospital. All of them civilians and mostly children.

The scene of family contentment at my home in South-West London instantly dissolved. For the next 48 hours I dispensed advice, directed an operation and issued general instructions via instant messaging service WhatsApp to medics 2,500 miles away as they fought to save the lives of children pulverised by ball-bearings from cluster bombs dropped from the skies above the most benighted city on Earth.

1: I help direct surgery in M10 Syrian Hospital via phone in the UK - A text from a surgeon friend working in the secret M10 hospital in Aleppo tells me that hundreds have been hurt by cluster bombs as they queued for bread and I spring into action. For the next 48 hours from my home in London, I help direct operations and give medical advice via WhatsApp (pictured)

Those injured had been lined up in an orderly queue at the time, waiting for bread to feed their starving families. As it transpired, 50 children were taken to hospital M10, the codename used by local doctors to disguise its location. Twenty were dead before they got there; others would succumb to their injuries.

Of the rest, no one knows for sure because over the next few days the hospital  which moved underground in 2014  was repeatedly blasted from above, on at least one occasion by Russian bombs, until finally it was no more.

That Saturday evening, my colleagues in Aleppo sent me photos of many victims, not only so I would help but also in the hope I would alert the world. A world that isnt listening and that has averted its gaze.

2: I identify a cluster bomb that staff had found in a corridor - doctors find a strange object in a hospital corridor, which I recognise as an unexploded cluster bomb. Filled with ball bearings, these deadly weapons are designed to release their contents upon impact - causing maximum carnage

There were dust-covered dead children; mangled infants teetering between life and death; a little boy, one of the luckier souls, holding his smashed hand aloft; there were X-rays in which ball-bearings lodged in spines and brains appeared as little white spots.

Some of the images I couldnt bear to open  there were just too many  and there are those I did open and that will never leave me. It was all so painful. Two brothers, for instance, aged about four and six, were pictured side by side on a trolley, life ebbing from them with each passing hour. Later I would learn they both died the following day because there were no fluids to give them and no ventilators available. No one knew their names.

3: Then cluster bombing hospitalises 50 children, but we can't save them all - some 50 children caught up in the blast are taken to M1O, but some are dead on arrival. Among the survivors are two brothers seen lying side-by-side on a trolley, I later learn they died the following day because of a lack of ventilators and fluid. We never knew their names

Every corner of M10 overflowed with the suffering of children. While I directed an operation from afar  the removal of ball-bearings from the inflow to a liver  a neurosurgeon performed brain surgery on the intensive care unit floor. I was in a quiet corner of my comfortable home; my friends were working in a scene of unimaginable horror, not knowing if the next bomb would claim their lives too.

A young boy holding his smashed hand

Earlier that day, a few hours before the attack on the children, I received some worrying news. Looking back it was a terrible portent.

A cluster bomb had dropped next to M10 then rolled down a sloping passageway into the emergency room where, mercifully, it skidded to a halt without exploding.

Imagine the panic. The staff knew nothing of cluster bombs  they had never seen one  and contacted me to ask my advice. I knew of the indiscriminate devastation they cause, how they pose a particular threat to civilians, but I have to admit I had to read up on them.

Little did any of us know that we would be dealing with their pernicious effects a few hours later.

The messages and photos came in fits and starts and, later, as I lay in bed in a state of anxiety, I wondered what was coming next. As a family, we found it an upsetting two days. For my friends in Aleppo it was simply the worst 48 hours of the war.

I was desperately concerned about them; they were working flat-out for days on end, with no sleep and very little food. I have visited Aleppo three times since 2011 and I feel like a father figure to them; thats why this is so painful for me. I love them  I wished I could have been with them.

Now, with M10 gone, they are scattered among Aleppos few remaining medical facilities.

4: Later hospital is destroyed by a Russian bunker bomb - a few days later the hospital, built deep underground, is destroyed by two bunker bombs, leaving a scene of devastation

Smoke and rubbles rise after Syrian oppositions blow up a tunnel under Syrian Regime forces' headquarters in Aleppo's Ramuse region

I heard from one of them a few days ago. He said: After the bunker bomb the air strikes became a little bit lesser. When the bunker bomb targeted the hospital we were there and ten metres from it, but in a room under the ground. Thank God were still alive.

People ask how I cope having previously suffered post-traumatic stress from my time working in Syria and other conflict zones. How does it feel to be so involved? More than anything it makes me angry that nothing is being done.

If you are not heavily emotionally involved in a situation, as I am, then you detach yourself from the horror; I understand that. But the West cannot turn away.

It is claimed one of the bombs is Russian after fragments found in the debris

Andrew Mitchell is one of the few MPs who has spoken out. A few days after the attack on the children, I visited him at his home and showed him the pictures. He was horrified. Tomorrow he will seek the permission of the Speaker to hold an emergency debate on Aleppo and Syria in the Commons. It is heartening news.

I am not political but wouldnt it be wonderful, for instance, if Theresa May, as a symbolic gesture, were to visit Vladimir Putin and remind him that international laws are being broken. It would simply show we care. Someone from the West needs to demonstrate clear leadership or history will judge us harshly. It will record we sat back  and did nothing.
Advertisement

Residents of a Florida neighborhood located feet from the Atlantic Ocean said they had a very lucky escape from Hurricane Matthew but admitted that others on the coast had not been so fortunate.

Clean-up operations were in full swing on Saturday afternoon in Jacksonville Beach where surfers, cyclists and dog-walkers had returned to the shoreline as temperatures rose to the mid-80s and the sun shone. The area had been labelled a mandatory evacuation zone A for the category-3 hurricane.

Apart from isolated pockets of flooding caused by much-feared storm surges and torrential rain, the odd broken window and debris, residents said things were not as bad as they had feared but were quick to point out those who had suffered losses.

Not so bad: Debris and sand in a road in Jacksonville Beach, Florida following Hurricane Matthew - the hurricane was blamed for at least 10 deaths in the U.S.

Little damage: Police officers remove debris from a road in Jacksonville as the state capital got back on its feet following Hurricane Matthew

Volunteers: Red Cross workers move sand out from a Jacksonville Beach lifeguard station after beginning the clean up following Hurricane Matthew

Back to normal: In many places along the Southeast coast, the damage consisted mostly of flooded streets, blown-down signs and awnings, flattened trees and power outages

Party time? Employees remove boards from the The Wreck Tiki Bar and Lounge after weathering the storm that passed through

There were reports of catastrophic damage down the coast on Anastasia Island where people had lost their entire homes.

The hurricane has claimed at least ten lives in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. The death toll also continues to rise in Haiti where at least 900 people have been killed by the hurricane and many areas were still unreachable four days on from the disaster where winds reached 145mph.

Homeowners who had heeded warnings to evacuate in Jacksonville Beach returned to their homes around midday on Saturday. Some 2 million people along the eastern coastline had been urged to evacuate by officials.

Terri Clemens, who lives just a few blocks from the beach, told DailyMail.com that she and her husband were relieved to have come home after three days to find no flooding and only debris in their yard.

Residents in Flagler County assess the damage by the beach on Saturday after the storm

Workers begin repairs on a row of roofs in Daytona Beach on Saturday. Almost two million homes were left without power by the hurricane and thousands are in shelters across the east coast

A man surveys the damage done to his neighbor's home in Ponte Vedra Beach on Saturday morning when the state awoke to clear skies

Hanging in there: Two Flagler Beach residents consoled one another as the town woke up to wrecked beaches and destroyed homes

Beach structures were shattered by the storm in St Augustine. Debris was left scattered across the sand on Saturday

In St Augustine, huge swathes of the beach were torn out by the storm to expose beachfront homes' foundations

Felled trees were commonplace across Jacksonville as the mass clean-up job commenced on Saturday

Brushing up: Three-quarters of a million people in South Carolina were left without electricity, and 250,000 were in the dark in coastal Georgia. About 1 million people in Florida lost power

Balmy weather and clearing skies: Debris in front of Joe's Crab Shack following Hurricane Matthew in Jacksonville Beach

Life goes on at the beach: Surfers Nick Kenyan and Cassie Kline (right) on Jacksonville Beach pose up before hitting the waves where they were joined by another man (left) keen to get back to normal

No drama: As the storm passed and the skies cleared, many people were already cleaning up, reopening their businesses or hitting the beach

What hurricane: For nearly its entire run up the coast from Florida, Matthew hung just far enough offshore that communities did not feel the full force of its wind

Flooding was seen in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville on Saturday morning, 24 hours after the storm began to batter Florida

In Ormond Beach, Florida, Joe Lovece assesses the damage to his kitchen after the storm

The roof of a business lies on a street after the eye of Matthew passed by Daytona Beach, Florida

Workers clean debris caused by Hurricane Matthew at a resort in Daytona Beach, Florida on Saturday

The bell tower at the Plaza hotel suffered significant damage, with chunks of it falling to the ground

A Seminole mobile home park resident climbs over a uprooted tree in Fort Pierce, Florida after Matthew blew past the area; her home appears to be largely intact

The roof of a gas station in Jacksonville was toppled by winds as fast as 105mph

The couple, who have lived in the area for four years, had not experienced a hurricane before. Matthew was the most powerful hurricane to threaten the U.S. in more than ten years.

The City of Jacksonville said they would prefer if we evacuated, so we left on Wednesday night. We got a hotel near the airport. Everybody around us left, she said.

From her hotel room, she had watched a video on Facebook which showed water rushing up her street from the beach.

She said: I was worried sick but if this is the worst we have, I really feel we have been very fortunate. We got really lucky.

We expected water up to the front door and especially in the garage so when we opened it up, it was just a huge sigh of relief. When we had seen that video of water rushing this way, I was ready for the whole downstairs to be flooded. I was already picking out new flooring but luckily we made it.

Damage: Sunrise Surf Shop, which had its awning ripped down by Hurricane Matthew

Rode out the storm: Terri Clemens stands in front of her home, which was spared

While Matthew's wind speed had dropped considerably by the time it hit the Southeast coast, the storm will still go down as one of the most potent hurricanes on record, based on such factors as wind energy and longevity, and one of the most long-lived major hurricanes, too

Day out: A family crosses the road as they make their way tot he beach in Jacksonville in Florida on Saturday

At the beach, Red Cross worker, Elise, told DailyMail.com that they had been at their beachfront headquarters since 7am doing clean-up but that the whole area seemed to have gotten off lightly.

There was sand up to the door, a lot of foam and a little water to mop up. But we were definitely very lucky in this area. Down south the damage has been much worse, she said.

Others are the lifeguard station said around 150 feet of the pier had been wiped out, sand dunes were washed away and there was damage to walkways to the beach.

At Joes Crab Shack, employee Jared Stanton was sweeping up debris. He said apart from one broken window and a little bit of roof damage, the oceanview restaurant was unscathed.

I was expecting a lot worse, he said. It definitely wasnt as bad as predicted. The power came back on around 1pm.

He said the restaurant would probably be open on Sunday.

Stephen Chelgren, owner of The Wreck Tiki Bar & Lounge on the beachfront, was working with a crew to open as soon as possible. We have been very fortunate and we are getting back to business as soon as we have everything in order with officials and its safe for customers, he said.

He said that they had prepared days in advance and boarded up the windows. He said there was virtually no damage inside except for some puddles of water.

At Sunrise Surf shop, sections of the roof had been shorn off by high winds. Regulars in the parking lot said that although the damage looked bad, there had been no water damage inside the store.

Not everyone had heeded the official advice to evacuate. Surfers, Cassie Klein and Nick Kenyon, were some of the beach residents who disobeyed the orders and stayed at home, just a few blocks from the ocean.

She said: We were planning to evacuate on Thursday or Friday and had our bags packed. On Friday, we set alarm for 4am and then 6am to watch the news reports but in the end we decided to stay.

Its not the smartest thing to do and people told us we were stupid. But we stocked up on non-perishables and plenty of water. A lot of people did evacuate so it was really empty.

We even went out a couple of times including when the hurricane was meant to be at its worst between 4-5pm. It was okay but there was a lot of flooding.

We thought it would be way worse, she said, noting that they were lucky the eye of the storm had been far enough off-shore to not feel the full brunt of its power.

Kenyon added: Living in Florida, we are used to this. We were told we were all going to die and we didnt. But after this, the danger is that we get a Category-5 storm and everyone thinks its a false alarm and no one evacuates.

He pointed to neighboring areas up and down the coast, including Flagler and Neptune beaches, which had not fared so well.

Out for a ride: A boy takes his bike out through the streets of Jacksonville in Florida as residents prepare to clean up after Hurricane Matthew

Around an hour south of Jacksonville Beach, Commander Chuck Mulligan from the St Johns County Sheriffs Office told DailyMail.com that Anastasia Island off St Augustine had suffered catastrophic damage and some homes had been completely destroyed.

No fatalities or serious injuries had been reported in the area so far. The commander knew of one rescue by emergency personnel after an individual in a wheelchair got too close to the waters edge and fell into the intercoastal waterway. The person, who clinged to a trash can to survive, was pulled from the water by rescuers who waded in.

Mulligan said access to the island had now been restored via some bridges but Crescent Beach Bridge and Shands Bridge remained closed until further notice because of underlying structural damage.

In the historic city of St Augustine, around an hour south of Jacksonville, the streets were littered with debris and several trees had fallen. By Saturday, most of the flooding to city streets had receded.

Along the shoreline of Anastasia Island, several properties were seen with damaged roofs and collapsed piers.

The majority of damage from Matthew came from fallen trees and power lines, beach erosion and flooded roads. The A1A highway which hugs the coast was in pieces near Daytona beach. Power was slowly being restored to the 1 million people who lost it.

Among the fatalies, were an elderly couple in St Lucie, Florida who died form carbon monoxide fumes from their generator. Two women died when trees fell on their home and camper van in Florida. A man in a wheelchair died in Georgia when trees fell on his home.
He is a known gang member and was part of an attempted

A man has been arrested after two police officers were killed and one injured after being shot in Palm Springs, California on Saturday while responding to a 'family disturbance.'

John Felix, 26, a known gang member, was taken into custody at around 12:50 a.m. Sunday morning after a 12-hour standoff with police.

He is accused of killing officers Jose Gilbert 'Gil' Vega and Lesley Zerebny, and wounding one of their colleagues.

According to the Desert Sun, Felix has ties to criminal organizations and served four years in prison after a failed gangland assassination in 2009.

Scroll down for video

Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes identified the two officers killed in a shooting on Saturday as Jose Gilbert 'Gil' Vega (left) and Lesley Zerebny (right)

Zerebny (above), 27, was a rookie who had only worked on the police force for about a year and a half. She had just returned back to duty after giving birth to a baby girl four months ago

Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes (above) said Vega was a 35-year veteran of the force, while Zerebny had just returned back to duty after giving birth to a baby girl four months ago

Saturday's shooting took place near Sunrise Way and Racquet Club Road in the luxury desert town as officers were responding to a 'family disturbance' around 2pm, Sgt. Hutchinson of Palm Springs Police Department said.

Palm Springs Police Chief Bryan Reyes tearfully identified the two deceased officers as during an afternoon press conference.

'This is extremely difficult for me,' Reyes said as his voice was breaking. 'Today Palm Springs lost two brave officers. They go out every day and put their boots on the ground for everybody in this community, they gave it all for you.'

Reyes said that Vega, a 63-year-old father to eight children, was a 35-year veteran of the police department who was set to retire in December.

He added that Vega was not originally scheduled to work on Saturday, but picked up the shift to work overtime.

Zerebny, 27, was a rookie who had only worked on the police force for about a year and a half, Reyes said as his voice cracked.

He explained that Zerebny had just returned back to duty after giving birth to a baby girl four months ago.

The two police officers killed in Palm Springs, California on Saturday were responding to a call about a 'family disturbance.' A third police officer was shot and is hospitalized. Scene pictured above

The officers were immediately rushed to a local hospital after the horrific shooting. Scene pictured above

'Here you have a wonderful, young, dedicated female officer that pressed forward every day to make it better for everybody else, and she gave her all,' Reyes said.

Zerebny's husband is a Riverside County sheriff's deputy.

Reyes said the third police officer who was shot is 'alert and doing well' at the local hospital.

He explained that a woman called 911 saying her son was causing a disturbance at a home on 2700 Cypress Road.

Reyes said that when officers arrived at 12:18pm, the male refused to open the door and threatened to shoot through the closed door.

The officers were trying to negotiate with the suspect to comply, but he opened fire on them.

'It was a simple family disturbance and he elected to open fire on a few of the guardians of the city,' Reyes said.

Dozens of law enforcement officers, including the SWAT team, are searching for the shooter in the area of Cypress and Del Lago roads in Palm Springs.

Reyes said it's unclear what type of weapon the man used and that the central homicide unit of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department is in charge of the investigation.

The shooting took place near Sunrise Way and Racquet Club Road as officers were responding to a 'family disturbance'. Scene pictured above

The shooter has not been found, as his whereabouts are unknown as of 8:24pm ET. Above armed police officers at the scene

Dozens of law enforcement officers, including the SWAT team, are searching for the shooter in the area of Cypress and Del Lago roads in Palm Springs. Scene pictured above

Witnesses say they heard between 10 and 20 gunshots from what sounded like machine guns, the newspaper reported.

While walking out of the emergency room where the officers had been taken, Palm Springs Mayor Rob Moon said: 'It's probably the worst day of my life.'

Frances Serrano lives directly across the street from where the deadly incident happened and she spoke to the father of the suspected gunman not long after the shooting.

Serrano was reportedly told that the son, who allegedly has mental issues, wanted to shoot police officers and had a gun, the Desert Sun reported.

'He came over and asked for help,' she said.

Serrano called 911 and the man walked back towards his house and then soon after she said she heard gunshots.

Police are asking for residents in the area to stay indoors as they conduct the investigation and search for the shooter. Scene pictured above

Above police officers from various agencies are shown at their command center on Saturday in Palm Springs

A law enforcement officer joins other emergency personnel in Palm Springs on Saturday

Later on Saturday evening, mourners had left flowers and candles at a growing memorial located in front of the police station for the fallen officers (above)

'I saw a person on the ground,' said Gerardo Barrera, who was working near the scene. 'Someone kept pumping her chest but she wasn't moving.'

Barrera said that police arrived right away to the scene.

'It sounded like fireworks at first,' said Juan Garciano. 'I came out of the house and saw police start to block the roads.'

The Torchwood and Dr. Who star John Barrowman said the shooting took place about 200 yards from his house, as he expressed shock over the 'terrible' incident that took the lives of two officers.

Peace officers lend each other support at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs on Saturday after the horrific police-involved shooting

Palm Springs Police Officers carry the body of a fellow officer from Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs to a hearse bound for the coroner's office in Indio, California on Saturday

'There's been a shooting in Palm Springs, two police officers have died and one is, I guess injured,' the actor said in a video shared to Twitter while speaking in what appeared to be his back yard.

The actor expressed his support for the Palm Springs Police Department along with his husband Scott Gill.

Barrowman said that police helicopters were circling above his home in the area, as everything 'is shut down'.

Later on Saturday evening, mourners had left flowers and candles at a growing memorial located in front of the police station for the fallen officers.

In addition, members of the Palm Springs Fire Department and the police department saluted the cortege which was led by the bodies of Vega and Zerebny.

Police officers from several organizations pay tribute as the bodies of two Palm Springs police officers are loaded in hearses bound for the coroner's office on Saturday
A striking work of art is at the centre of a censorship row after it was removed from public display after 40 years amid claims that it distresses children.

The Crucifixion Of Mankind, by sculptor Connor Barrett, has adorned a wall in a library in Colchester, Essex, since the 1980s, but has now been put in storage.

The mahogany carving depicts the crucifixion of Christ alongside a Pan-like figure, and also includes a scene of a soldier spearing a baby, echoing the biblical massacre of the innocents by Herod.

Essex County Council said the powerful artwork, which was completed in 1961 and given to the library by the artist, had been taken down because of the graphic depiction of a baby impaled on a sword which has distressed parents and children.

The carving, showing a child being impaled, has been removed by council bosses in Essex

But last night the council was accused of censorship, political correctness and an ignorance of the nations Christian heritage.

The towns former Liberal Democrat MP, Sir Bob Russell, who now holds the honorary position of Colchester High Steward, said: The excuse that some people do not like it is not a reason for its removal. This is censorship, which is bad enough anywhere but not in a public building.

Canon David Banting, an Essex vicar and member of the Church of Englands General Synod, said: What has been acceptable and understood for over a generation needs to be explained to a new generation.

Bryan Whiteley, chairman of the Colchester Art Society, also questioned the decision, saying: It does seem strange that after so many years, a piece of artwork that was a gift should be removed because it is considered offensive.

In typical fashion, the person who made the decision cannot be identified. What is certain is that a small, vociferous minority have got their way again because a council is unwilling to defend slightly contentious works of art instead of explaining the meaning behind the ideas expressed.

Sir Bob Russell MP branded the removal 'censorship'

And Andrea Minichiello Williams, of the pressure group Christian Concern, added: The decision to remove this piece of art which depicts the Christian story demonstrates an ignorance of history and our nations Christian cultural heritage.

Council officials said the bas-relief had been removed a couple of months ago while work was being carried out at the library.

They also pledged to put it back on public display when a suitable location had been found.

The council said: Before temporarily taking the work down, we made extensive enquiries about the town to see if there was anywhere else that the work could be displayed, where it could still be available for public view, without any success.

Connor Barrett was born in London in 1908 but grew up in Colchester before emigrating to the United States in 1940. He lived again in Colchester after returning to Britain in the 1960s, and eventually retired to Wales, where he died in 1987.

His nephew Mark Barrett, a university professor who lives in Colchester, said: I dont remember being frightened of this artwork as a child. My own children probably never noticed it in the library.

The removal of the artwork was also criticised on Facebook. Glen Hook, of Colchester, posted: This doesnt surprise me at all. Some people just look for things to be offended by.

But others defended the decision to remove the carving. Matthew Norman posted: Im 42 with a ten-year-old. Torture of a child depicted in a public library has always struck me as bizarre and upsetting.
Nick Clegg's flagship policy to boost the exam results of Britains poorest children has been branded a dismal failure after swallowing 8.7 billion of taxpayers money  only to leave the situation worse.

The former Deputy Prime Minister hailed the pupils premium as an innovative way to close the gap between rich and poor childrens education when he championed it five years ago.

But despite its eye-watering cost  now running at 2.5 billion a year  the chasm has grown wider, according to a Mail on Sunday analysis of pupils getting GCSE grades A* to C.

Dismal failure: Nick Clegg visiting a Chippenham school during last year's election campaign

Education expert Professor Alan Smithers said: The increasing gap is very surprising and extremely disappointing. The findings challenge the comfortable assumption that the pupil premium is doing good. The policy seemed to have some impact at first, but this has not been sustained. It seems that a huge amount of money is being spent to little effect and the Government should examine whether this is a dismal failure and the money could be better spent elsewhere in education.

However, the Department for Education claimed that the comparison of exam results was misleading.

Under the pupil premium, schools get an extra 1,320 for every primary-age child, and 935 for every secondary pupil, eligible for free school meals  meaning their parents are on benefits or earning less than 16,000 a year.

Whitehall data shows that the proportion of such children who achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including maths and English, has fallen from 36.5 per cent in the school year 2011-12 to 33.3 per cent for 2014-15. The percentage has also fallen for more affluent pupils  attributed to the exams becoming more rigorous  but not by as much: from 62.8 per cent down to 61.2 per cent.

The former Deputy Prime Minister hailed the pupils premium as an innovative way to close the gap between rich and poor childrens education when he championed it five years ago

This means the gap between results for richer and poorer pupils has widened by 1.6 percentage points.

John OConnell, of the TaxPayers Alliance, said: If these figures stack up, it will go to show that problems cannot be fixed by simply throwing more taxpayers cash at them.

Its crucial that spending is rigorously monitored to ensure it is actually delivering results.

The Department for Education said, however, that like-for-like comparisons should not be made over the years because of changes that made exams tougher.

It added that the figures painted a different picture if all the grades  including those below C  were taken into consideration.

Officials are introducing a different measure, called the gap index, to take account of this, and under this new calculation the gap has narrowed

But Prof Smithers, who is director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, said the traditional formula focusing on five or more A* to C grades was a more useful measure as that was what colleges and employers wanted.

He added that even the new gap index showed only a small improvement, saying: Whatever measure one uses, I would have expected a much bigger impact for the billions of pounds that have been spent.

The pupil premium was intended as vital support to boost teaching for less affluent pupils, such as one-to-one tuition or after-school clubs  but critics fear that funds have been used to plug wider black holes in school budgets.
The uncle of Apprentice contestant Jessica Cunningham was kidnapped by gangsters

The uncle of Apprentice contestant Jessica Cunningham was kidnapped and tortured by gangland thugs in a row over drugs.

Alec Cunningham, 47, was snatched from his home in Burnley and subjected to a 10-hour ordeal by gangsters in Manchester, in 2003.

The kidnapping was punishment after he tried to betray his partners in a drug-deal worth 500,000.

Cunningham was brutally tortured by his captors, enduring a stabbing, having cigarettes burnt on him and boiling water poured over his legs, reveals the Sunday Mirror.

The gangsters demanded 500,000 for the ransom of the gem dealer and eventually a bag of loot, including gold bars and jewelry from his shop, was delivered.

Five men were eventually jailed for a total of 50 years for the plot, but the leader of the gang Ajay Kaushal, 50, went on the run. He later died in an Indian prison in 2010.

Cunningham was sentenced to four years in prison for perjury, after he gave false evidence.

Former lap-dancer turned online fashion entrepeneur Jessica, 29, is not said to be close to her ex-con uncle.

A friend told the Mirror: 'It never had any impact on her. She isn't close to her father's side of the family at all and really doesn't know Alec.'

It has been a week of controversy for the mother-of-three from Dronfield in Derbyshire, after she revealed her stripper past at an upmarket Liverpool club.

Jessica, who often posts selfies on social media, is not said to be close to her uncle Alec (right)

Competitors: In the end, it was Team Nebula who were behind on sales numbers

Jessica could pocket from 40 to 300 as an exotic dancer at X In The City, a club which describes itself as 'Liverpool's number one lap dancing bar for stag nights'.

The business woman, who runs women's fashion house Prodigal Fox, tells MailOnline: 'I briefly worked in a strip club a long time ago for a couple of months and this is very much a part of my past.'

Jessica survived the first task of the Apprentice, despite her team failing the show's first challenge.

Selfie-loving Jessica worked as a stripper at the X in the City club in Liverpool, before setting up her Prodigal Fox fashion house

During the episode 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.

All-female team Nebula - also featuring contestants Aleksandra, Frances, Grainne, Michelle, Natalie and Trishna - made only 959 sales, compared to their competitors' 1,428 sum.

A hectic day of work saw them racing round London's antique shops trying to make as many sales as possible.
French Police have launched probe and believe it could be an inside job

Kim Kardashian has called in special forces veterans to help protect her and find the mastermind behind the attack she suffered in Paris.

Reality TV star Kim, 35, has called the security experts to help her feel safe again after 8.5million worth of jewels and other belongings were stolen from her.

During the terrifying break-in a gang wearing police armbands forced their way up to Kim's apartment at the Hotel Particulier Pourtales, before holding a gun to her head and tying her up.

Kim Kardashian has called in special forces veterans to help protect her and find the mastermind behind the attack she suffered in Paris

As details emerged of how Kim was tailed in the days preceding the robbery, the star told close friends how she feared she would be raped by her attackers

They made out with a stash that included her 3.2million engagement ring.

Kim's husband, rapper Kanye West, is now said to be desperate to find out who was responsible for the robbery and has decided to take things into his own hands, reveals the Sunday Mirror.

He is also is said to be hiring look-a-likes in a bid to to act as decoys and keep his family's location private.

A source said: 'They've [Kim and Kanye] decided to use their own experts as part of their security overhaul. Some of them have worked for the world's top intelligence agencies. If anyone can get to the bottom of what went on, these guys will.'

Kim's bodyguard Pascal Duvier, 43, has since come into criticism for leaving the social media star on her own.

Duvier was out at the L'Arc nightclub with her sisters Kourtney and Kendall less than two miles away when the robbery took place.

Police stand guard outside the Paris apartment were Kim was robbed in the early hours of Monday morning

Kim has reportedly told friends that she does not blame him for the crime. There is no suggestion Duvier had any involvement or that he is under any suspicion.

However, It has since be revealed that his German ProtectSecurity firm, which has run security for a host of stars from Kim's husband to the Black Eyed Peas, has racked up debts totalling 1,093,518 (961,296) - leaving him filing for bankruptcy ten weeks ago.
The UK could be facing a Christmas turkey crisis as 3.5million - nearly a third of the country's production - have been culled as a result of the 'worst ever' outbreak of avian flu. A 'prevention zone' was declared across the UK on October 17 as the country continues to battle a 'devastating' outbreak of the disease - which could have a knock on effect for next year's festivities too. Farmer Steve Childerhouse, 51, told of his heartbreak at being forced to cull his entire flock of 10,000 turkeys destined for UK Christmas dinner tables. Mr Childerhouse, who rears birds on his 35-acre Whews Farm, in Norfolk, said producers had been 'absolutely hammered' by the UK's worst-ever outbreak of avian flu this year. And he told families they may struggle to get hold of turkeys and geese this winter as the usual stock levels are 'just not going to be there' and as his premises needs to be empty for 12 months as a result, he may not be able to produce next Christmas either.
Priti Patel is abandoning the UKs rigid commitment to spend a fixed percentage of the countrys national income on overseas aid each year

Priti Patel is abandoning the UKs rigid commitment to spend a fixed percentage of the countrys national income on overseas aid each year  in a victory for The Mail on Sundays long-running campaign.

In a dramatic U-turn, the International Development Secretary has told aides she will ignore the legal requirement to spend 0.7 per cent of national income if it means authorising corrupt or wasteful projects.

Ms Patel, who was appointed to the post by Theresa May in July, has been shocked to discover that officials have been recommending projects on the grounds that they would help her Department for International Development (DFID) hit it 12 billion spending target.

This newspapers campaign against the 0.7 per cent commitment, which was introduced by David Cameron as part of his drive to detoxify the Conservative Party, led to a Commons debate after a Mail on Sunday petition calling for it to be scrapped was signed by more than 235,000 people.

Ms Patel, who was appointed to the post by Theresa May in July, has been shocked to discover that officials have been recommending projects on the grounds that they would help her Department for International Development (DFID) hit it 12 billion spending target

We unearthed a string of abuses of DFID money, including handouts to Palestinian terrorists and the building of a 250 million airport on the island of St Helena which is too dangerous for aircraft to use.

Now Ms Patel has decided that, while not formally revoking the 0.7, she will underspend her budget if it is in taxpayers interests to do so  and then explain her actions to the Commons.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon is supporting moves to use DFID money to ease the pressure on his own budget

A source close to Ms Patel said: It seems clear that some of the most spurious projects have been signed off in spending sprees at the end of the financial year.

'Too much money is being spent without a proper focus on results, and we will refuse to make our decisions based on the accounting rules around 0.7.

'Although it is enshrined in statute, we have established that there would not be any legal sanction for failing to hit the target.

'Priti would merely have to tell Parliament why she had not spent all of the money.

The source added: While 0.7 remains a manifesto commitment, we wont be spending money for the sake of it.

The Mail on Sunday revealed in August that Ms Patel would direct more of her funds towards national security and the national interest, including helping the Ministry of Defence to fight the war on terror and boosting the United Kingdoms trading relationships.

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: FINALLY, SENSE IS RETURNING TO OUR BLOATED AID BUDGET At last common sense has returned to the Department for International Development, and rigid, foolish dogma is on the way out. The Mail on Sunday strongly welcomes Priti Patels wise decision to heed our campaign and base foreign aid on real needs rather than abstract targets. So, no doubt, will our readers, so many of whom signed our petition calling for reform. The pledge to spend a fixed 0.7 per cent of national income on aid was a recipe for folly, waste and corruption. It has meant handouts to terrorist groups and the construction of an unusable airport. Rather than assessing projects on their merits, officials were bound to judge them on whether they helped fulfil this arbitrary quota. Ms Patels rule, that she will underspend if it suits the taxpayer to do so, is a sound one which other Ministers should adopt. It will enable her to veto plans that are wasteful or likely to put cash into corrupt hands. The aid lobby will no doubt denounce Ms Patel, claiming to be on the side of compassion. This is how they have persuaded past governments, worried about looking good rather than doing good, to overspend. But compassion without wisdom is not compassion at all. Advertisement

Ms Patel aims to increase the proportion of her budget spent on other Government departments from 13 per cent now to closer to a third by 2020.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon is supporting moves to use DFID money to ease the pressure on his own budget, and in particular to help in stabilising Afghanistan when the final British troops leave the country next year.

Mr Fallon has been alarmed by predictions that a fresh deterioration in the security situation there could lead to more than three million Afghans fleeing the country to seek asylum in Europe.

The DFID last week committed to spending 750 million on support for Afghanistan over the next three years.

Although overseas development rules bar aid money from being channelled to troops engaged in combat, it can be used to fund peacekeeping operations.

On Friday, Ms Patel used a visit to America to urge the World Bank to focus its aid spending  to which the UK is the largest contributor, giving more than 3 billion last year  more on countries who need it most, rather than developed nations such as Brazil, India and China.

The World Bank spent more than 14 billion in the past year on aid to upper and middle-income nations.

Last week, Ms Patel told the Conservative Party conference that she would scrutinise every pound of British aid to make sure that foreign projects were mutually beneficial.
They were forced to cut their 2015 The Good Life Tour after a tragic car accident took the life of their manager Shane Cooper and injured drummer Mick Skelton.

A year later, the boys of Australian rock band Thirsty Merc have finally made their return to the touring circuit by kicking off their 2016-17 Shifting Gears Tour.

The band, fronted by Rai Thistlethwayte, performed a knock-out show at Kellyville Ridge, Sydney on Friday night after announcing the tour late last month.

Scroll down for video

Rocking the audience: The boys of Australian rock band Thirsty Merc performed in Sydney on Friday night as they continue their recently-announced Shifting Gears Austrlaian Tour

Rai showcased his vocal chops and on-stage charisma as he closed his eyes and belted into the microphone while playing on his guitar.

With his trademark brown coif slicked back into a 1950's inspired style, the Australian rocker was clad in a grey mark T-shirt and black leather jacket.

Taking to Facebook following Friday night's performance, the band uploaded a selfie next to the caption: 'We came, we rocked, we selfied ! Thanks Kellyville for a Stella night.'

Centre stage! Rai showcased his vocal chops and on-stage charisma as he closed his eyes and belted into the microphone while playing on his guitar

Trendy: With his trademark brown coif slicked back into a 1950's inspired style, the Australian rocker was clad in a grey mark T-shirt and black leather jacket

Thanking the fans: Taking to Facebook following Friday night's performance, the band uploaded a selfie next to the caption: 'We came, we rocked, we selfied ! Thanks Kellyville for a Stella night'

'Tassie we will see you this weekend... booo-yah!' the post continued.

Injured drummer Mick will join the band to perform at a handful of performances after making a miraculous recovery after the car crash.

In a recent public statement, Rai said of the band's return to the gigging scene: 'Our hugest thanks to the Aussie Music Industry, the general Music Community, and above all - our Fans - for the support over the last year.'

Recovery: Injured drummer Mick will join the band to perform at a handful of performances after making a miraculous recovery after the car crash.

Helping hand :In a recent public statement, Rai said of the band's return to the gigging scene: 'Our hugest thanks to the Aussie Music Industry, the general Music Community, and above all - our Fans - for the support over the last year.'

'Thank you ALL for sticking by us. Life can be so overwhelming and debilitatingly challenging, but it's through those times that you often experience the most human growth.'

'Thank you ALL for sticking by us. Life can be so overwhelming and devastatingly challenging, but it's through those times that you often experience the most human growth.'

'We've got the spirit. And we're gonna rock these upcoming shows like never before to bring this album home!' he added.

In March this year, Rai made an appearance on the Today Show to reveal that Mick - who fell into a coma for several days after the tragic accident in western Victoria last September - is currently 'taking it easy on himself.'

Responding to a question by co-host Peter Stefanovic, Rai confirmed that the musician is back performing with the ARIA-nominated band on a part-time basis.

The four-piece group are most known for their summer anthem 'In The Summertime', which is the opening theme for Network's Ten Bondi Rescue.

Passionate: 'We've got the spirit. And we're gonna rock these upcoming shows like never before to bring this album home!' he added.

Picking up the pieces: In March this year, Rai made an appearance on the Today Show to reveal that Mick - who fell into a coma for several days after the tragic accident in western Victoria last September - is currently 'taking it easy on himself'
TOWIE is set for its big return on Sunday night, with the premiere of its annual The Only Way Is Marbs episode.

However it will undoubtedly be a difficult watch for Megan McKenna, seeing as it contains romantic scenes between her and her now estranged love Pete Wicks.

The first episode of the series sees Pete award Megan, 24, with a huge bouquet of beautiful flowers for her birthday - a scene now heart-breaking to watch since the tattooed hunk, 27, was caught sexting his ex-girlfriend last week.

Scroll down for video

Happier times: The Only Way Is Marbs is set to be a difficult watch for Megan McKenna on Sunday, as it depicts romantic scenes with her and now estranged boyfriend Pete Wicks

Blissfully unaware: Megan looked happy and in love as she celebrated her 24th birthday with love Pete - not knowing about his cyber infidelity during the Spanish getaway

The new series, which depicts the crew's antics in their home away from home of Marbella, Spain, kicks off prior to Megan's knowledge of his cyber infidelity - building up huge tension in viewers for the fallout in coming weeks.

The troubled couple were seen filming an explosive row on the beach last week, which is set to air in a later episode, after Megan discovered he had sent inappropriate messages to his ex-model flame Jacqui Ryland while in Marbella.

According to The Sun, many of the texts were too explicit to print, but one saw him admit he 'can't wait to get home' and that it is not just Jacqui who misses their previous relationship.

Birthday girl: Megan is seen in high spirits as she plans her birthday party in a vibrant printed bikini

There's a storm coming: The episode kicks off prior to Megan's knowledge of his explicit texts - building up huge tension in viewers for the fallout in coming weeks

Megan sadly looks delighted at the gift from her then-devoted boyfriend in the premiere, who she has since removed all traces of him on social media.

Despite remaining in the dark of his saucy antics, the brunette was still involved in girl drama as she celebrated her 24th birthday as tensions between her, Courtney Green and Chloe Meadows remain rife.

The three gal pals fell out last series after Courtney and Chloe spent time with Megan's enemies Chloe Lewis and Lydia Bright behind her back.

Moving on: Danielle expresses her desire to avoid an awkward encounter with ex-boyfriend James Lock while away with Kate Wright

Uh-oh: After Megan persuades the blonde to fly out for her birthday, Danielle finds herself face-to-face with her former love almost immediately

The love drama does not stop there however, with ex-lovers Danielle Armstrong and James Lock meeting at loggerheads abroad.

While Lockie ponders over his broken relationship poolside, Dannielle is seen discussing her desire with Kate Wright back in the UK to avoid an awkward exchange with her ex.

However, after Megan persuades the blonde to fly out for her birthday, Danielle finds herself face-to-face with her former love almost immediately - resulting in a heated discussion about the break-up, and how they plan to move on.

Confrontation: The meeting results in a heated discussion about the break-up, and how they plan to move on

Strring trouble: As if this was not enough for Danielle, the boutique owner then becomes subject of Courtney Green's gossiping with Chloe Meadows

As if this was not enough for Danielle, the boutique owner then becomes subject of Courtney's gossiping - which ignites a fiery row when Chloe Sims steps in to defend her.

Meanwhile further drama ensues elsewhere in the Spanish holiday hotspot between ex-lovers James 'Arg' Argent and Lydia Bright.

Arg reveals he sent Lydia a venomous email in the episode, which is met with dismay when he shares it with mates Diags and Dan.

Met her match: This ignites a fiery row with Chloe Sims who steps in to defend Danielle

Fierce: Chloe does not back down against Courtney and Chloe

Will they won't they? Meanwhile further drama ensues elsewhere in the Spanish holiday hotspot between ex-lovers James 'Arg' Argent and Lydia Bright

Yet despite his poor taste in humour, Arg's cheeky charm still manages to win over his former girlfriend Lydia - who ends up enjoying a steamy romp with him later that evening.

However it is not set to be plain sailing for the on/off couple on the episode, after co-star Danielle Armstrong admitted that Lydia hugely regretted the act on Celebrity Juice last week.

Explaining to Keith Lemon that the duo are not back together she added: 'No, apparently it was a mistake on Lydias behalf.'

Hot stuff: Yet, things look up romantically for Courtney and Chloe Meadows - who appear to attract the attention of two new tanned and toned hunks.

The buxom blonde continued: 'He really loves her and its really sad, I love Arg. Its really hard when youre altogether on holiday, theres drink involved, your exes are there

'I think he might have been talking to someone else and there was a little bit of I dont know. Anyway, they ended up sleeping together.'

The pair embark on an awkward sober reunion at Megan's birthday party later in the episode, inevitably resulting in fireworks - but perhaps not of the right kind.

Yet, things are looking up romantically for Courtney and Chloe Meadows - who appear to attract the attention of two new tanned and toned hunks.

The drama commences in The Only Way Is Marbs on Sunday 9th October at 10pm on ITVBe.
She recently debuted as a judge on Australia's Next Top Model, starred in Mad Max and is an ambassador for David Jones and L'Oreal Paris.

And Megan Gale has revealed her struggles as a working mum, after taking on a new partnership with American Express.

The 41-year-old entrepreneur spoke to the Nine Network's Today Show her struggle to find balance between motherhood and work, following the birth of her two-year-old son River.

Scroll down for video

Working mum: Model Megan Gale says she still struggles to find the balance of juggling motherhood and her career, in an interview with Network Nine's Today Show on Friday

While there's no slowing down for this veteran model, Megan says she too faces challenges like most most working mums out there.

'Oh gosh definitely it is not with ease... It is just really trying to find that balance,' she said describing navigating her post-modelling career while raising her son.

The Perth-born model admitted that 'It's hard. It's not easy' as she tries to make her young son her priority while also thriving in her career.

'It's hard': The Perth-born model admits since her two-year-old son, River, has become a part of her life it's been more difficult facing the work force

Work it! The mother-of-one did however mention she probably had it a lot easier than other working mothers with multiple children

'I've got one kid. There's women doing this with multiple. So, yeah, I probably have got it easy, I would say right now,' the brunette beauty said.

The reality star took to Instagram on Friday to reveal her newest partnership with American Express.

Captioning the post in part: 'SO thrilled to announce my partnership with @americanexpress for their #rewardsrethink campaign.'

Enjoying motherhood: Megan gave birth to two-year-old River Alan Thomas Hampson in 2014. The model shares him with her AFL star boyfriend Shaun Hampson

New partnership! The Australia's Next Top Model judge took to Instagram on Friday to reveal her newest partnership with American Express, saying she was 'SO thrilled'

The campaign aims to educate busy people, like herself as a working mother, on how to be savvy with their rewards points and how to properly redeem them.

She shares her beautiful boy, River, with AFL star Shaun Hampson, 28.

The pair have been together for more than five years, but have no immediate plans to get engaged.
She's no doubt been working up an appetite during rehearsals.

So it's perhaps not surprising that Laura Whitmore was spotted chowing down on a tasty treat while leaving the BBC studios on Friday night.

The Strictly Come Dancing contestant was spotted munching popcorn after appearing on the show's spin-off, It Takes Two.

Scroll down for video

Worked up an appetite? Laura Whitmore was spotted chowing down on a tasty treat while leaving the BBC studios on Friday night

Wearing a short black dress which was embroidered with flowers, the Irish TV presenter was clearly keen to court attention by showing off her bruised legs.

Presented with a bag of popcorn, she soon opened the packet and could be seen chewing open-mouthed in the back of a taxi.

Naturally, she was joined by her dance partner, Giovanni Pernice.

Sugar fix: Presented with a bag of popcorn, she soon opened the packet and could be seen chewing open-mouthed in the back of a taxi

Hungry for fame: Wearing a short black dress which was embroidered with flowers, the Irish TV presenter was clearly keen to court attention by showing off her bruised legs

The latest sighting comes just days after she shared images of her excruciating-looking bruises on Twitter.

'Everything hurts', the 31-year-old TV presenter revealed, before backing up the statement with a trio of gruesome images.

'I've always known I bruise like a peach... But this is ridiculous,' the blonde beauty alarmingly confessed.

Out and about: The latest sighting comes just days after she shared images of her excruciating-looking bruises on Twitter

Signs of hard work: Laura;s sensational dancing comes at a price since she has now revealed snippets of her bruised body on Twitter

'This is ridiculous!' The TV presenter, 31, shared a trio of painful looking snaps after declaring that 'everything hurts' folllowing rehearsals

The painful-looking red and purple bruises were dotted up and down her arm, signalling her devotion to the highly competitive reality show competition.

Despite being one of the early favourites to win the series, Laura and Giovanni Pernice left nothing to chance as they rehearsed for a gruelling eight-hour period in central London on Wednesday.

Laura flashed a huge smile as she left the studio, showcasing her slim figure in skintight leggings and a denim jacket layered over a grey T-shirt.

Working hard: Laura and Giovanni were leaving nothing to chance as they rehearsed for an eight-hour period in London on Wednesday

Dazzling: Laura flashed a huge smile as she stepped out in high-waisted three-quarter length leggings and a denim jacket

Letting her locks flow messily over her face, the MTV host completed her relaxed look with white pumps and a pair of shades, allowing her natural beauty to shine through with minimal make up.

Laura carried her dance kit in a leather bag as she clutched her phone in one hand and a bottle of water in the other to keep hydrated throughout her gruelling stint in the studio.

Giovanni, 26, looked suave in his trademark leather jacket and black shades, teamed with a pair of baggy cargo pants.

After their rehearsal, the Strictly co-stars hopped into the same car as they began their journey home.

Re-hydration: Laura ensured she kept hydrated after the lengthy dance rehearsal, carrying a bottle of water as she headed home

Relaxed: Letting her locks flow messily over her face, the blonde beauty completed her relaxed look with some white pumps

On Tuesday, Laura attended the launch event of Google's new phone Pixel in London.

The TV presenter wore her all-in-one unbuttoned almost as low as her navel and added heels to give her ensemble the red carpet edge.

Laura drew further attention to her low-cut neckline with long necklaces following the deep V of her unbuttoned outfit.

On the move: The pair ambled to their car after the long rehearsal in London

Ladies first: Their chauffeur let Laura into the car first as her Italian dance partner made his way inside

Back in black: Giovanni closed the door behind him as the pair headed off after practice

She cut a particularly cool figure with one hand permanently tucked into her pockets and a pouty expression poised for the cameras.

The floral garment benefitted from a pop of colour as Laura accessorised with a black, red and gold clutch bag.

The blonde starlet wowed with a Waltz in the ballroom last weekend and was saved from the first week's public vote, alongside her dance partner.

Writing for Glamourmagazine.co.uk about her first week on Strictly, Laura said last week: 'I've never been more petrified of anything than I was opening the first show last Friday. Everything felt like jelly - knees, legs brain.'

Ready for bed? Laura made a bold fashion move in a pyjama style jumpsuit on Tuesday night as she hit the launch of Google's new phone Pixel

Elevated: The Irish TV presenter added high heels to elevate her frame as she worked her magic in front of the cameras

'I'll be honest with you, it hasn't been an easy ride. You have to spend a lot of time with someone you never met.

'And you have to trust them. Giovanni has been great trying to get me to build my confidence in dancing but it takes time.'

Last year, Giovanni was partnered alongside Laura's friend, actress Georgia May Foote, 25.

The former dance partners started dating shortly after the 2015 show wrapped in January 2016, but announced their split in September after nine months together.

On Sunday night, the show said goodbye to Xtra Factor presenter Melvin Odoom when he was voted off the show in a shock twist that saw Anastacia pull out of the dance-off due to injury.
Her wardrobe is packed with the latest styles.

And heads were turning when trendsetter Kylie Jenner stepped out in her second outfit of her day for dinner at Sugarfish in Calabasas on Friday.

The 19-year-old wore a flirty metallic gold mini dress along with thigh-high boots as she emerged, less than one week following her sister Kim Kardashian's robbery.

Scroll down for video

Golden girl! Heads were turning when Kylie Jenner stepped out in her second outfit of her day for dinner at Sugarfish in Calabasas on Friday

Kylie was the center of attention, and for good reason too - the frock by L'atiste she wore hugged her fabulous physique in all the right places.

She had her baby pink hair slicked up into a top knot while accessorizing with a choker necklace, and a pair of earrings.

Va va voom: Kylie was the certain of attention, and for good reason too - the L'atiste frock she wore hugged her fabulous physique in all the right places

Attention to detail! She had her baby pink hair slicked up into a top knot

Looking picture perfect as usual, Kylie opted for pink blush, shimmering eye shadow, and a rosy hue on her lips to enhance her features.

Coat on her arm and phone in hand, the star looked poised as she returned to her car following her meal.

Meanwhile, Kylie continued to update fans on the latest developments of her lip kit line with her countless social media fans.

Preened to perfection! The 19-year-old opted for pink blush, shimmering eye shadow, and a rosy hue on her lips to enhance her features

Putting her best foot forward! The reality star hit her stride in an ultra sexy pair of thigh-high boots

Off she goes! Coat on her arm and phone in hand, Jenner looked poised as she returned to her car following her meal

'I'm doing a live stream on my app in a few, and I'm going to show you guys my four new fall lip kits,' she said in a Snapchat video.

Also spotted out in Calabasas that day was Kylie's boyfriend, Tyga.

The rapper has son King Cairo, who turns four later this month, from his previous relationship with Blac Chyna.

Causing a stir: Kylie's presence demanded attention from passerby

On the go gal: The social media star made her way back inside her car

Chyna, 28, is now engaged to Kylie's brother Rob Kardashian and the pair are expecting a baby together.

Kylie is yet to publicly comment on Kim's ordeal, but she came under fire on Tuesday for sharing a photo in which she could be seen showing off her derriere.

She and sister Kendall have since cancelled an appearance to promote their latest book Time Of The Twins 'due to recent events and ongoing security issues', according to Page Six.

Hitting the road: Jenner did a glance around in her car once she was behind the wheel

Look who's here! Jenner's beau Tyga was also seen out in Calabasas at the Rolex store that day

Looping fans in! The star alerted fans to a live stream she would be doing on her app that day
She's quickly becoming a respected Hollywood fashionista.

And Lea Michele demonstrated her sartorial prowess again on Friday when she posed in a crimson jumpsuit for a photoshoot.

The 30-year-old Glee alum took to Instagram to document the shoot, and showcase certain details of her outfit.

Scroll down for video

Seeing red: Lea Michele demonstrated her sartorial prowess again on Friday when she posed in a crimson jumpsuit for a photo shoot with Scream Queens co-star Emma Roberts

The eye-catching garment was a sleeveless jumpsuit which showed off her slender figure.

It featured a straight leg cut, and a one shoulder design which emphasized her bare shoulders.

She also sported a large, knotted sash at the waist.

Her raven tresses were parted in the middle and fell smoothly all the way down her back.

Slim lines: It featured a straight leg cut, and a one shoulder design which emphasized her bare shoulders

Lengthy: Her raven tresses were parted in the middle and fell smoothly all the way down her back

Team effort: Thanks to some very diligent make-up artists, the multi-talented actress sported rouge, eye-liner and a slick of ruby lipstick which complemented her outfit nicely

Bling: A closeup also revealed several rings worn on each hand, as well as her black manicure

Thanks to some very diligent make-up artists, the multi-talented actress sported rouge, eye-liner and a slick of ruby lipstick which complemented her outfit nicely.

A closeup also revealed several rings worn on each hand, as well as her black manicure. She posted the caption 'Randall Scott jewelry' toward the bottom of the picture.

She also took a quick snap with her co-star Emma Roberts, 25, who was wearing an eye-popping sheer top, with cutouts on the shoulders and a knee-length, asymmetrical hem.

Pretty pair: She also took a quick snap with her co-star Emma Roberts, 25, who was wearing an eye-popping sheer top, with cutouts on the shoulders and a knee-length, asymmetrical hem

A pair of wild black pumps with what looked to be wings on the outer sole finished off her all-black ensemble.

Michele made the news yesterday with the revelation that she tried cupping for the first time.

Cupping is an ancient Chinese therapy in which heated glass cups are applied to the skin along the meridians of the body, creating suction as a way of stimulating the flow of energy.

Luckily it seems that her bruising had dissipated quite a bit prior to the shoot, or she utilized quite a lot of concealer, as no cupping marks were evident.
She is currently pregnant with her third child.

And on Friday, Molly Sims enjoyed a day of shopping in Santa Monica, California with daughter Scarlett Stuber.

The tiny tot, one, sat peacefully in her pram as her model mum pushed her along.

Scroll down for video

Mummy and me: On Friday, Molly Sims, 43, enjoyed a day of shopping in Santa Monica with daughter Scarlett Stuber, one

Molly was both chic and comfortable in a sheer, polka dot dress that featured a high-slit bottom.

The pretty mum wore her medium length locks down and curled, and at one point, used her shades to keep her hair away from her face.

Adorable little Scarlett was styled in a white tank top, printed skirt and leggings.

Behaving: The tiny tot, one, sat peacefully in her pram as her model mum pushed her along

Since announcing her third pregnancy in August, Molly has kept her followers updated courtesy of her Youtube channel.

On Thursday, the wife of Scott stuber, who's currently in her second trimester, released a video detailing her battle with morning sickness.

'I was in New York and I threw up on the Long Island expressway next to a homeless man,' began Molly.

'And then when I went to get crackers inside of the gas station after throwing up, I almost threw up again because of the smell in the gas station.

While this happened at the beginning of her second trimester, she has said that she is definitely much better now.

Stylish: Molly was both chic and comfortable in a sheer, polka dot dress that featured a high-slit bottom

Molly also looked back on her first trimester.

'I think the first trimester was so hard... Just to get my mind around, okay, "holy s***, I'm having another baby! I'm having three babies under four-years-old."'

'And I think that took a second to really set in. And also, I think being so tired and just everything happening at once and being so sick, I definitely have much more of "okay I can do this attitude,"' she said.
Candice Swanepoel gave birth to her son Anaca on Friday, E! News have confirmed.

The 27-year-old and her fiance Hermann Nicoli's new baby boy is their first child.

Public congratulations have already begun to crop up, including from her friend, the photographer Jerome Duran, who posted a pregnant nude he had taken of her.

It's a boy: Candice Swanepoel and fiance Hermann Nicoli welcomed their first child on Friday - a boy they have named Anaca

His caption exalted the Victoria's Secret Angel as 'THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MAMA' and effervesced: 'Welcome Anaca!!! Already sooo much LOVE for you and the new family!'

The photo saw the Mooi River native giving the camera her best smouldering stare. Her blonde hair cascaded over one breast, and a sparkle of light concealed the other nipple.

Swanepoel and the 34-year-old publicised their engagement last August. Her paramour and fellow model is from Brazil, where the pair are now principally based. By March, she had announced her pregnancy.

A sweet Instagram post showed her hand holding Nicoli's to her stomach. Her caption read: 'Agora e #barrigapositiva ! #babyangel,' which in Portuguese roughly means: 'Here's #bigbelly! #babyangel'.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MAMA  Congratulations!! @angelcandices @hermannicoli Welcome Anaca!!! Already sooo much LOVE for you and the new family!  A photo posted by Jerome Duran (@jeromeduran) on Oct 7, 2016 at 3:50pm PDT

Arm in arm: The fellow models, pictured in New York City this May, have been engaged since last August

In May, yet another Instagram post announced the sex. Her hair falling over her face, she posed topless, an arm covering her bust, her belly bulging. 'My Not so little boy,' she wrote in her caption.

In August, at a safari-themed baby shower thrown for her in Brazil, she revealed that she'd alighted on the name Anaca, a Brazilian word for a bird. The name was hung from the wall over a table strewn with desserts for the mother-to-be.

The intervening time has been speckled with Instagram updates on her pregnancy. In one photo taken four weeks past, she posed in nothing but underwear and a sheer white blouse she held open, exposing her enormous bump.

Another Instagram post, captioned: 'Aqua doce,' followed by the translation from Portuguese: 'sweet water,' showed her floating on her back, her stomach protruding from the surface of the water as she held her hands over her breasts.
As a former beauty pageant winner, Laura Dundovic is no stranger to rocking a swimsuit.

And on Friday, the 29-year-old did just that by sporting a very skimpy bikini during a swimming session at Sydney's Balmoral Beach.

However, the swimwear looked a tad too small for the former Pantene ambassador, who was left struggling to remove an uncomfortable looking wedgie.

Scroll down for video

Cheeky girl! Laura Dundovic wore a very small black bikini during a swimming session at Sydney's Balmoral Beach on Friday

Laura's choice of swimming attire left very little to the imagination, with cups that could barely contain her assets and very cheeky bikini bottoms.

The former Miss Universe Australia 2008 is currently dating rugby star Quade Cooper.

Last month, the social butterfly celebrated her 29th birthday in one of typical figure-hugging ensembles.

Oh my! With bikini bottoms this small, it's no surprise that things became uncomfortable for the star

Fix yo' self! The 29-year-old battled against a serious wedgie on the beach

Enviable: Laura showcased her impeccable physique in the skimpy black two-piece

Taking to Instagram, the blonde beauty shared a photo of herself in a stunning olive green cut-out dress that highlighted her enviable frame.

The fitted ensemble showcased a glimpse of her taut torso, and a hint of cleavage.

It featured a choker detail to give a sophisticated touch, and was teamed with a sleek black handbag.

Side on: Even from the side, the former Miss Universe Australia looked great

Bend down: The slender starlet gave fans more than they bargained for as she leaned down to rinse her hands

Sun's out, buns out! Laura showed that she definitely isn't shy when it comes to flaunting flesh

With her golden locks pulled back in a high ponytail, Laura completed her look with a slick of striking scarlet lipstick.

'Birthday girl,' she captioned the image.

Meanwhile her boyfriend Quade Cooper also shared a photo on Instagram to mark the special day.

Front AND back! The beauty pagent princess proved that she looks good from any angle

Flip: The former Pantene hair ambassador flipped her luscious locks

Keeping clean: The soaking wet star appeared to wash her face in the salty water

The 28-year-old sportsman posted a snap of the pair sharing a kiss while in Croatia.

Laura was in a red stringed bikini, while Quade showing off his ripped physique in a pair of board shorts.

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY... There's things in life that mean a lot & are special,' he wrote in the caption.

'There's times in your life that are memorable... There's people that you will never forget... Then there's you... You are all that and more.

'Thank you for always keeping me grounded and level... For always picking me up when I've been knocked down... All in all I'm better for having you by my side... Happy birthday darling.'
Fans were left swooning on Thursday night when The Bachelorette's Georgia Love escaped for a Disney-themed date with Cameron 'Cam' Cranley.

But adoration turned to anger on Saturday when the show's official Facebook page shared a photo of an unseen kiss shared between Georgia and Cam during their date.

Eagle-eyed viewers were quick to vent their frustration underneath the image, with one writing: 'When did this even happen?!'

Scroll down for video

Oops! The Bachelorette shared a photo of an unseen kiss shared between Georgia and Cam during their date on Saturday, sending fans into melt-down

Another exacerbated viewer wrote: 'They didn't show this part on tv? Why not!!'

Meanwhile, other fans chose to critique the show's production team for editing out a scene that appears to have been pertinent to the love story between Georgia and Cam.

'Whhhhhatt!? Why do they keep skipping parts of dates!' wrote one fan.

Not happy! Eagle-eyed viewers were quick to vent their frustration with the show's production team

Missed moment: One fan was confused about whether the kiss actually made it to the final cut of Thursday night's episode

'Whhhhhatt?!'Another fan lashed out at the production team for scrapping large amounts of footage to create the show

Keep him in the limelight! One viewer spoke directly to the producers, telling them that fan-favourite Cam's scenes shouldn't be excluded form the final episodes

Another added: 'Bachelorette producers it is annoying when you don't show the whole date especially when it is with Cam.'

It's not the first time the show has found itself in hot water for shattering fans' suspended disbelief.

The popular reality show made headlines last month after a mysterious woman was seen lurking in the back of the show's first cocktail party scene.

Did the production team drop the ball? The popular reality show made headlines last month after a mysterious woman was seen lurking in the back of the show's first cocktail party scene

Once she realised she was in the shot, the woman did her best to quickly move.

It certainly didn't go unnoticed, however, with viewer drawing attention to the situation via social media posts.

'How this is #thebachelorette #australia when there is another girl on screen? (sic),' one fan wrote next to a screenshot revealing the two women in the frame.

Taking cover: Once she realised she was in the shot, the woman did her best to quickly move
They won the best screenplay Oscar for Good Will Hunting.

So it's no surprise that writers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were on hand to play their original characters in a Film Independent reading of the script on Friday evening in New York.

Ben, 44, and Matt, 45, kept things casual as they arrived to take part in the star studded event.

Back together again: Writers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were on hand to play their original characters in a Film Independent reading of their script Good Will Hunting on Friday evening in New York

Ben sported a burgundy sweater, slate grey trousers and some heather grey sneakers for the reading, although he arrived bundled up in a black leather bomber jacket with white fleece collar.

Matt also kept things simple, opting for a blue oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans and some chunky boots.

Though initially looking quite serious, both men looked youthful and seemed to lighten up as the night went on.

Keeping it casual: Both Ben and Matt stuck with low-key outfits for the evening

Chilly? Ben arrived bundled up in a black leather bomber jacket with white fleece collar

All smiles: Though initially looking quite serious, both men looked youthful and seemed to lighten up as the night went on

Emily Blunt was recruited to play Skylar, a role originally played by Minnie Driver in the film.

The 33-year-old U.K. actress looked splendid in a black and white striped top, tight black pants that showed off her fit limbs, and some black peep-toe flats.

Natural-looking make-up and a dash of peach lipstick ensured the Sicario star looked radiant for the cameras.

Her husband, Office alum John Krasinski, 36, was also on hand.

New face: Emily Blunt was recruited to play Skylar, a role originally played by Minnie Driver in the film

Stripey: The 33-year-old U.K. actress looked splendid in a black and white striped top, tight black pants that showed off her fit limbs, and some black peep-toe flats

New role: Office alum John Krasinski, 36, was also on hand and served as the director of the peice

He sported a black shirt and jeans combination, and instead of simply acting, he actually took the reigns as the director for the evening.

Funnyman Keegan Michael-Key, 45, attended as well in a laid-back ensemble consisting of a navy long-sleeve shirt, jeans and blue sneakers.

Actress Margo Martindale, 65, also participated in the fun read.

The blues: Funnyman Keegan Michael-Key, 45, attended as well in a laid-back ensemble consisting of a navy long-sleeve shirt, jeans and blue sneakers.
She is known for her striking, head-turning looks.

And on Friday, Olivia Culpo looked utterly glamourous as she stepped out at Le Petit Paris in LA to celebrate her cover of LaPalme magazine.

The beauty displayed her tanned, toned legs in a two piece ensemble.

Her big night! On Friday, Olivia Culpo looked utterly glamourous as she stepped out at Le Petit Paris in LA to celebrate her cover of LAPALME magazine

Olivia wore a sheer, long-sleeve top decorated with pink and red lips.

The model, 24, tucked in her blouse into a black, high-slit skirt complete with button detailing.

The beautiful brunette complete her look with a set of pumps and a maroon clutch.

Evening attire: The beauty displayed her tanned, toned legs in a two piece ensemble

Noticeable print: Olivia wore a sheer, long-sleeve top decorated with pink and red lips

Chic do: Olivia's hair was style straight and away from her face

Coming to life: To match her top, the beauty wore a bright, bold lip

The beauty took to Instagram to give her followers a glimpse of her evening.

'Celebrating my cover of @lapalmemagazine magazine right now. I loooove you guys!' she wrote.

In her video clip, Olivia gave her best poses for multiple flashing cameras.

Double the fun! Oliva shared the spotlight with Jerry O'Connell, 42, who also had his own cover

BTS: The beauty took to Instagram to give her followers a glimpse of her evening

Red carpet wonder: In a video clip, Olivia gave her best poses for multiple flashing cameras

Earlier in the day, ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas, 24, had a family day out with brother Joe, 27.

Nick looked like a modern day jock in a white T-shirt, skinny jeans and bomber jacket look, while brother Joe displayed his guns in a fitted top.

During their time out, Nick enjoyed a pick-me-up in the form of an iced coffee.

Bonding bros: Earlier in the day, ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas, 24, right, had a family day out with brother Joe, 27, left

Similar: Nick, right, looked like a modern day jock in a white T-shirt, skinny jeans and bomber jacket look, while Joe, left, displayed his guns in a fitted top

A little help: During their time out, Nick enjoyed a pick-me-up in the form of an iced coffee
She recently whisked herself away with a group of girlfriends for a long weekend getaway on Hayman Island.

And Pia Miller revealed she is longing to return to the luxury destination as she shared a throwback holiday snap on Instagram.

'Let's go back,' she captioned the photo posted on Saturday.

Scroll down for video

Throwback snap: On Saturday, Home And Away actress Pia Miller (pictured) revealed she was longing to be back on Hayman Island after her recent girls' holiday

The flashback picture showed the 32-year-old baring her slim midriff in a white two-piece.

She was holding a cocktail and appeared in happy and carefree spirits during her island escape.

Pia arrived at Hayman Island, off the coast of Queensland, last week for a girls' weekend.

She soaked up the last of the long weekend sun on Monday before flying back to Sydney the following day.

Posing for a photo shared with her 464,000 Instagram followers, Pia showed off her sun-kissed frame as she relaxed on a sunbed.

Sun-kissed beauty: Pia soaked up the last of the long weekend sun on Monday before flying back to Sydney the following day

She looked effortlessly chic in an off-the-shoulder white sun dress which showed off her bronzed skin.

Pia brought attention to her silky decolletage by accessorising the linen dress with a thin gold choker necklace.

She let her thick brunette tresses, every so slightly lightened by the sun, fall in beachy waves over her shoulders.

The mother-of-two showed off her foot tattoo as she posed barefoot for the photo.

Island goddess! Earlier on Monday, Pia showed off her angelic side as she posed in a black bikini and a crown made of shells

Earlier on Monday, she showed off her angelic side as she posed in a black bikini and a crown made of shells.

Pia, who plays Kat Chapman on Home And Away, looked every inch the island goddess as her salty hair swayed in the breeze.

On Sunday, Pia stripped down to a skimpy two-piece to enjoy a bottle of champagne at the beach with her female friends.
She's the bubbly host of Channel Seven's breakfast show Sunrise.

But Sam Armytage faced a fan backlash on Friday after Instagram followers commented on her patting a chained tiger at Dreamworld.

The 40-year-old TV star had shared a photo of herself stroking a chained tiger at the Gold Coast theme park.

Scroll down for video

Animal cruelty? Sunrise co-host Sam Armytage faced a fan backlash on Friday after several Instagram followers commented on her patting a chained tiger

Sam wrote in the caption: '"Pat!" Someone yelled. So I did. Apparently that was the keeper's name'.

In the photo, Sam was dressed in a beige coat while leaning over to touch the animal.

But despite her good intentions, some of Sam's Instagram followers failed to see the funny side.

Good intentions: Sam visited the amusement park for Sunrise to discuss a breeding program to help maintain the future of the species

In fact, a handful of social media users suggested it was an act of animal cruelty

One follower wrote: 'I couldn't think of anything worse for that beautiful animal than to be paraded through droves of noisy spectators all day on a chain'.

Meanwhile, another simply commented: 'Cruel'.

'I don't like the look at that cruelty' (sic), a further post read.

Meow! Sam semmed to be enjoying herself as she got up close and personal with the giant cats

Sam visited the park for Sunrise to discuss a breeding program to help maintain the future of the species.

She spoke to Dreamworld's Tiger Island manager Patrick Martin-Vegue, who said that with less than 3,000 tigers left, their facilities are crucial.

'It's very important in that it's an insurance population in case they go extinct in the wild,' he began.

'Secondly, these guys have a great impact on people to donate and create awareness about what is going on with tigers in the wild.'
She's known to millions of Australians as the body confident host of Channel Seven's breakfast show Sunrise.

But Samantha Armytage decided to cover up her curves in a shapeless black dress at Spring Champion Stakes Day on Saturday.

The 40-year-old TV personality kept it simple in a knee-length frock while leading the arrivals at Sydney's Royal Randwick.

Black to basics! Sunrise co-host Sam Armytage decided to cover up her curves in a shapeless black dress at Spring Champion Stakes Day at Sydney's Royal Randwick on Saturday

She happily posed for photographs in the long-sleeved number and finished off her race day look with a pair of black heels.

The blonde journalist also kept her accessories to a minimum with a gold bracelet and a matching headpiece.

Samantha styled her hair in a chic up-do, and also opted for lashings of mascara and a bold red lipstick.

Keeping it simple: The 40-year-old TV personality also kept her accessories to a minimum with a gold bracelet and a matching headpiece

The look: Samantha styled her hair in a chic up-do, and also opted for lashings of mascara and a bold red lipstick

Elsewhere, Samantha was spotted mingling with VIP guests at the prestigious event, sponsored by Moet & Chandon.

She also posed for photographs with Bachelor 2013's Tim Robards and his criminal lawyer Anna Heinrich.

Anna, 29, looked elegant in a white floral printed frock that flattered her slim waist and well-toned legs.

Having a ball! Samantha was also spotted mingling with VIP guests at the prestigious event, sponsored by Moet & Chandon

Three's a crowd? She notably posed for photographs with Bachelor 2013's Tim Robards (C) and his criminal lawyer Anna Heinrich (R)

Dressed to impress: Tim looked delightfully dapper in a light grey tailored suit, paired with a crisp white shirt and royal blue bow tie

Pretty as a petal! Meanwhile, Anna looked elegant in a white floral printed frock that flattered her slim waist and well-toned legs

Tim, 35, looked delightfully dapper in a light grey tailored suit, paired with a crisp white shirt and royal blue bow tie.

Other notable guests included former Miss World Australia Erin Holland, and Instagram model Natalie Roser.

Dancer and choreographer Adam Williams was also in attendance, as well as Today's Richard Wilkins and his son 'Prince' Christian.

Well suited: Dancer and choreographer Adam Williams also attended in a coordinating royal blue suit with cropped trousers and tan loafers

She's perfect! Other notable guests included former Miss World Australia Erin Holland, who cut a sophisticated figure in an embellished white frock

Erin Holland, 27, cut a sophisticated figure in an embellished white frock that highlighted her delicate decolletage and slim figure.

The model swept her shoulder-length blonde hair into a chic chignon at the nape of her neck and enhanced her striking eyes with lashings of mascara.

Meanwhile, Natalie Roser, 26, showcased her flawless figure in a grey semi-sheer frock featuring an embellished hemline.

Beauty: Instagram model Natalie Roser, 26, showcased her flawless figure in a grey semi-sheer frock featuring an embellished hemline

She style her hair in loose waves, and accessorised with a pair of grey strappy heels and a gold floral crown.

Channel Nine's Richard Wilkins, 62, also appeared to be enjoying the day's festivities, posing with his flamboyant son Christian.

They both wore sharp suits, stylish sunglasses and clutched identical Moet & Chandon gold wine glasses.
Simon Cowell has increased X Factor security in the wake of Kim Kardashian's armed robbery.

The 57-year-old mogul - who had 1million worth of jewellery stolen last year - has brought in extra staff to protect the judges and competitors.

The move comes after concerned contestants called police to their 3.6million mansion in Hadley Wood, north London after spotting a drone flying above in a security scare earlier this week.

Taking no chances: Simon Cowell has increased X Factor security in the wake of Kim Kardashian's armed robbery

Before Saturday night's first live show, Simon said at London's Fountain Studios: 'It's the crazy world we live in.

'I opened up a newspaper and you've got one guy who's in court because he's robbed my house, second guy has murdered somebody and I'm number two or three on his list. It's like "this is getting a bit nutty".'

Reality star Kim Kardashian has announced she'll take some time out of the public eye after a gang broke into her Paris apartment last week, put a gun to her head and made off with 8.5million worth of jewellery.

Nicole Scherzinger, 38, has also been voicing her concerns after the shocking night-time raid.

She said: 'It's a reality check, it's a wake-up call. I was upset when I heard because Kim's my friend. I only care about her well-being and the kids well-being as anybody would.'

Precautions: Nicole Scherzinger, 38, has also been voicing her concerns after the shocking night-time raid

Protected: X Factor security has been ramped up by Simon Cowell (right)

Nicole also revealed that she's been targeted by 'stalkers' who 'aren't in the right mind'.

She said: 'Their lives will change and they will get a lot more attention. I've had stalkers, not to scare anybody.

'I thought I would be safe but I had people stalking me from the show. People who are just not right in the mind. You never know so you have to be well aware. It's a wake up call for everyone.'

Time out: Reality star Kim Kardashian has announced she'll take some time out of the public eye after a gang broke into her Paris apartment last week

The news comes after a man has appeared in court accused of breaking into music Simon Cowell's 10million home and stealing 1million of jewellery from Simon's mansion in Holland Park, west London in December 2015.

Darren February, 32, was charged with burglary following the incident.

He only spoke only to confirm his personal details as he appeared in the dock at Hammersmith Magistrates' Court, west London, earlier in the week.

The X-Factor judge was asleep upstairs with his partner Lauren Silverman and their young son Eric when an intruder broke into their home.

Prosecutor Kevin Christie said jewellery belonging to Ms Silverman, with an estimated value of 1million.

Watches and two passports, belonging to Cowell, were also taken from a safe. The passports were later recovered.

Scare: Worried X Factor contestants called in police after they spotted a drone flying over their lavish north London mansion on Wednesday

Concerned: The move comes after concerned contestants called police to their 3.6million mansion in Hadley Wood, north London after spotting a drone flying above

Mr Christie told the court: 'A burglary took place at a dwelling at approximately 1:20am in the morning on Friday December 4th last year.

'The property owner Mr Simon Cowell was asleep in the master bedroom on the first floor with his partner Lauren Silverman.

'Also in the property was their son, a nanny and a security guard.

'In the safe was jewellery belonging to Lauren Silverman with an estimated value of over 1million.

'Also in the safe were two passports belonging to Mr Cowell with some watches.'

February indicated no plea as he appeared in the dock wearing a striped short-sleeve shirt.

Mr Christie told the court the CPS had CCTV footage from the house which a police officer had used to identify February.

He added that a glove found near the scene carried DNA evidence which matched February.

Breach: There was a break in at the music mogul's home in December last year while he, his partner and their son slept upstairs

The prosecutor said: 'One of the passports was recovered approximate to the home and a second passport was located later on.

'Some of the property was recovered in a bag.'

Peter McGovern, defending February, told the court the prosecution's case was not as strong as made out by Mr Christie and that there were three other suspects.

Cowell said following the burglary that knowing the intruder had passed just 'three feet' from where he lay asleep 'creeps' him out.

Speaking about the raid last December, Cowell said: 'He got up to the first floor and there were two doors, one to my bedroom and one to my bathroom, which leads to a dressing room where the safe was.

'So he could have walked into my bedroom. Instead, he chose the other so he went through the bathroom. I think he had inside knowledge, definitely.'

Theft: Cowell said at the time that jewellery belonging to his partner Lauren Silverman was stolen

Commenting on the night of the raid, Cowell said: 'I went to bed early that night. I'm normally up quite late.' His three Yorkshire Terriers had been with him.

Of the items stolen - said to include jewellery and cash - he added: 'It was mainly Lauren's stuff. The first thing you think about is, 'OK, that's insured so it's not the end of the world'.

'It's just the feeling of that invasion, that someone was three feet away from you. It kind of creeps you out a bit.'

Cowell has since stepped up security, saying: 'It's a wake-up call. I've changed lots of things to make it harder to get into.

'This is happening hundreds of times a day across the country, I'm not the only one. Most people, like me, think, 'At least no one got hurt.''

February, of no fixed address, was ordered to next appear at Isleworth Crown Court on November 2.
She's the Sydney socialite known for her impeccable sense of style.

And Terry Biviano proved her fashion credentials at Spring Champion Stakes Day at Sydney's Royal Randwick on Saturday.

The 42-year-old shoe designer led the arrivals in a slinky olive dress paired with a beautiful gold headpiece by Viktoria Novak.

Looking good! AFL WAG Terry Biviano proved her fashion credentials at Spring Champion Stakes Day at Sydney's Royal Randwick on Saturday

The wife of Anthony Minichiello styled her raven hair sleek and straight as she cast a sultry gaze for the cameras.

Terry appeared to be wearing minimal make-up, including a light blush and gold tint to her eyelids.

The dress featured large gold buckles and was cut off above the ankle to showcase a pair of chic grey heels.

Flawless: The 42-year-old shoe designer led the arrivals in a slinky olive dress paired with a beautiful gold headpiece by Viktoria Novak

The NRL WAG accessorised with a patterned clutch and, of course, her signature race day headpiece.

Meanwhile, Terry was also joined by her husband Anthony Minichiello, 36.

The married couple put on an affectionate display as they posed for photographs.

Loved up: Terry was also joined by her husband Anthony Minichiello, a former captain of the Sydney Roosters NRL squad

The former Sydney Roosters captain looked dapper in a navy suit with a navy tie and a crisp white shirt.

They had previously made an appearance at the Dally M Awards in Sydney last month.

The NRL 'power couple' married in a lavish Sydney ceremony in 2012 after dating for five years.
She's the daughter of Black Sabbath legend Ozzy.

And Kelly Osbourne channelled her rockstar genes when she headed to dinner in Los Angeles in an all-black ensemble on Friday night.

The Shut Up hitmaker, 31, looked every inch the metal icon, layering a black coat over a midi dress, completing her look with white socks and lace-tie platform heels.

Rock chic: Kelly Osbourne channeled her rockstar genes when she headed to dinner in Los Angeles in an all-black ensemble on Friday night

Tying her purple hair back with a black bandana, Kelly accessorised with some funky circular tinted shades, a statement necklace and a sequinned bag.

The star - who had a UK number One singing Changes with Ozzy in 2003 - was all smiles as she got into a friend's red Ferrari for the trip to Craig's restaurant.

Her outing comes after she attended the Breaking The Silence Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday in support of LGBT sexual and domestic abuse survivors.

On the move: The Shut Up hitmaker, 31, looked every inch the metal icon, layering a black coat over a midi dress

Quirky: She completed her look with white socks and lace-tie platform heels

Flash ride: The star - who had a UK number One singing Changes with Ozzy in 2003 - was all smiles as she got into a friend's red Ferrari for the trip to Craig's restaurant

The 31-year-old star - with her signature lavender hair loosely curled on side - wowed in a cleavage-baring white wrap dress.

As a host of the evening, the British beauty looked the part as she opted for a low-cut, white dress, which was cinched with a belt, and flared at the sleeves.

She wore a fitted black top underneath and matching pointy shoes.

All smiles: Kelly looked a picture of happiness as she enjoyed the ride

Relieved? Kelly Osbourne hosted The Silence Awards in LA on Thursday before word spread that she has settled a lawsuit brought against her by her father's ex- mistress Michelle Pugh

Kelly paired her look with an oversize coat that she slung over her shoulders and a dainty pendant and bracelet to round out the outfit.

In August, the reality star was thrown in the midst of legal problems after her father's former mistress filed a complaint.

Hairdresser Michelle Pugh - who was seeking compensatory and punitive damages - accused Kelly of having 'stimulated controversy for the purpose of making money' and promoting her upcoming book, There's No F***ing Secret.

This came after Kelly leaked the hairdresser's phone number online when news of her affair with the Black Sabbath rocker was made public.

The court documents accused Kelly of using her Twitter account to 'paint a target' on Michelle as a 'publicity stunt for financial gain' when she leaked the number back in May.

Smart: Kelly still managed to make a bold and smart statement at the event in her monochrome outfit and buzz haircut

Worthy cause: The former Fashion Police star was hosting the event in support of LGBT sexual and domestic abuse survivors

And the hairdresser also accused Kelly of disregarding both Twitter's policies and a cease and desist letter she received from her lawyers.

Michelle further accused Kelly of using software to unblock listed numbers to obtain her private number, and insisted the row was a 'choreographed media play' because her book deal was announced less than a month after the offending tweets were published.

She also said Kelly had 'violated her right to privacy,' impacted her ability to obtain work and caused 'severe emotional distress.'

The legal complaint accuses Kelly of public disclosure of private facts, negligent interference with prospective economic relations and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Michelle's number was previously disconnected after Kelly tweeted: 'Anyone looking for cheap chunky LOW-lights a blow out and a blowjob call.'
In the past he was known as a ladies' man - but today Richard Wilkins is more often seen at events with his flamboyant son, Christian.

And the father-son double act looked suitably stylish attending the Spring Champion Stakes Day together on Saturday.

Richard, 62, and 'Prince' Christian, 21, wore matching outfits and sunglasses as they posed for photographs at Sydney's Royal Randwick.

Matching! Richard Wilkins and his son 'Prince' Christian wore matching outfits and sunglasses as they posed for photographs at Spring Champion Stakes Day on Saturday

They were photographed at the Moet & Chandon suite holding up gold glasses of champagne for the cameras.

Richard looked delightfully dapper in a sharp black suit, with a white collared shirt and monochrome tie.

Despite being indoors, both Richard and Christian bizarrely wore dark sunglasses.

Cheers! The flamboyant father-son double act looked suitably stylish while attending Sydney's Royal Randwick over the weekend

Meanwhile, his son looked every inch the modern-day dandy in a blue suit with a pink rose pinned to his lapel.

The pair looked like they were having a fabulous time at the races, clinking their champagne glasses and sharing a laugh.

Richard and Christian - a former Cleo Bachelor of the Year - regularly attend VIP and industry events together.

How awkward! Their close relationship has caused confusion in the past, as Christian revealed they were mistaken for a gay couple at Derby Day last year

But their close relationship has caused confusion in the past, as Christian confessed they were once mistaken for a gay couple.

'When I went to Derby Day, someone came up to me and was like, "I didn't realise Richard Wilkins was gay,"' he told News Corp last year.

'And I was like, "He's not, what do you mean?" And he's like, "Oh, well you guys are hanging off each other and stuff."'And I'm like, "He is my father, please don't ask me that ever again."

'I was like, "Perhaps we should town down the friendship, Richard."'
Mel Greig flaunted some EXTREME cleavage on the red carpet at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards on Saturday night.

The busty 34-year-old DJ certainly seemed confident as she posed for the cameras at the industry night-of-nights in central Melbourne.

It marks a milestone moment for the former 2DayFM star - who now works in local radio - after she returned to the airwaves in January after a three-year hiatus.

Back in December 2012, Mel was at the centre of the infamous Royal Prank Scandal which was linked to the suicide of British nurse Jacintha Saldanha.

She's got some front! Mel Greig flaunted some EXTREME cleavage on the red carpet at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards in Melbourne on Saturday night

The outspoken media personality took to the red carpet in a plunging black jumpsuit that featured '70s inspired flared legs.

Despite showing off her new slimmed-down figure, as usual all eyes were on Mel's generous display of decolletage.

Meanwhile, she accessorised with an orange clutch and drew attention to her cleavage even further with several gold necklaces.

Mel styled her blonde hair in waves, and kept her make-up glamourous with defined brows, a smoky eye, lashings of mascara and a glossy nude lip.

Busting out! The outspoken media personality, known for the 2012 Royal Prank Scandal, took to the red carpet in a plunging black jumpsuit that featured '70s inspired flared legs

Making a comeback! The busty 34-year-old DJ certainly seemed confident as she posed for the cameras at the industry night-of-nights in central Melbourne

Furore: Back in December 2012, Mel was at the centre of the infamous Royal Prank Scandal which was linked to the suicide of British nurse Jacintha Saldanha

Mel made headlines in late 2012 when she and former co-host Mike Christian prank called the London hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton was staying while pregnant with Prince George.

The 2DayFM stars posed as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles asking about the health of their daughter-in-law.

The nurse who answered the phone - Indian-born Jacintha Saldanha, 46 - fell for the hoax and transferred the call to the nurse looking after Kate.

Several days later, Ms Saldanha - who had previously been treated for depression - took her own life after leaving a note mentioning the prank phone call.

Stunning: Former Home And Away star Kate Ritchie looked flawless in a chic off-the-shoulder floor-length gown that highlighted her svelte figure

In the fallout of the tragedy, Mel admitted to facing death threats and cyber-bullying and took an extended break from the industry.

But in January she returned to local radio as a breakfast co-host on 96.5 Wave FM in Wollongong, NSW.

She has also taken on the role of sex and dating columnist for Yahoo Be following her split from husband Steven Pollock.

Meanwhile, Mel was joined by other Australian radio stars at the ACRAs - who each made a statement in their own respective outfits.

In good company: She was joined by Nova co-hosts Tim Blackwell (L) and Marty Sheargold (R)

Power couple: Zoe Foster Blake joined her 2DayFM star husband Hamish on the red carpet

Taking the plunge! She flaunted plenty of cleavage in a form-fitting metallic longsleeve frock

Former Home And Away star Kate Ritchie looked flawless in a chic off-the-shoulder floor-length gown that highlighted her svelte figure.

She swept her brunette hair into a chignon at the nape of her neck and finished off her look with a neutral make-up palette.

Meanwhile, Zoe Foster Blake joined her 2DayFM star husband Hamish on the red carpet.

She flaunted plenty of cleavage in a form-fitting metallic longsleeve frock paired with pointy-toed heels.

Black to basics: Ellie Goulding - who is currently in Australia for her Delirium World Tour - looked effortlessly chic in a little black dress with capped sleeves

Looking good! Meanwhile, TV personality Melissa Doyle looked flawless in a halterneck style floor-length frock that drew attention to her significant weight loss

Rising stars: Rove McManus (L) and Sam Frost (R) also hit the red carpet, with Sam making a statement in a vibrant red lace frock with sheer panelling

Ellie Goulding - who is currently in Australia for her Delirium World Tour - looked effortlessly chic in a little black dress with capped sleeves.

The Burn star, 29, coordinated with a pair of embellished black strappy heels and had her blonde tresses styled sleek and straight.

TV personality Melissa Doyle looked flawless in a halterneck style floor-length frock that drew attention to her significant weight loss.

Also styling her blonde hair sleek and straight, the former Sunrise host finished off her look with a pair of drop earrings.

Rove McManus and Sam Frost also hit the red carpet, with Sam making a statement in a vibrant red lace frock with sheer panelling.

She let her fair locks fall in loose waves over one shoulder and her make-up was as flawlessly applied as usual.

In style: Sarah McGilvray and Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli, from Nova's Fitzy And Wippa, made stylish arrivals, with Sarah donning a Grecian-style cream strapless frock

Having a ball! Elsewhere, Chrissie Swan (C) wore a black spotted frock and pair of strappy heels as she posed with her co-host Sam Pang (R)

Sarah McGilvray and Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli, from Nova's Fitzy And Wippa, made stylish arrivals, with Sarah donning a Grecian-style cream strapless frock.

Michael also looked delightfully dapper in a tailored black suit, a crisp white shirt and black bow-tie.

Elsewhere, Chrissie Swan wore a black spotted frock and pair of strappy heels as she posed with her co-host Sam Pang.

Extra flair: Jules Lund made a subtle statement in a patterned tailored suit jacket and black slim-fitting pants

Dapper display! Slimmed-down Merrick Watts opted for a tailored suit paired with a burgundy tie, brown leather belt and matching dress-shoes
She's been on a winning streak of late in the style stakes.

And Melissa Doyle stunned once again in a sleek and sexy ensemble, as she took to the red carpet in Melbourne on Saturday.

The 46-year-old Smooth FM host flaunted her svelte figure in a halterneck-style chic black frock at the 2016 Australian Commercial Radio Awards.

Sleek and sexy! Melissa Doyle, 46, stunned in a chic black ensemble as she took to the red carpet in Melbourne on Saturday for the Australian Commercial Radio Awards in Melbourne

Melissa took to the red carpet in a black floor-length Aurelio Costarella frock that featured embellished detailing around the neckline.

The sleeveless design highlighted her lithe arms while the fabric skimmed over her slimline curves.

Keeping accessories to a minimum, the former Sunrise host sported just a pair of dainty drop earrings and her wedding bands.

Details: The Smooth FM host took to the red carpet in a black floor-length Aurelio Costarella frock that featured embellished detailing around the neckline

Svelte: The sleeveless design highlighted her lithe arms while the fabric skimmed over her slimline curves

Melissa styled her hair sleek and straight, and enhanced her facial features with a dewy complexion, defined brows, a hint of blush and a nude lip.

Before the awards ceremony, Melissa spoke to Daily Mail Australia about why she feels Smooth FM has been so successful.

'We knew what we wanted to give listeners and we've remained true to that,' she said.

'It really is your place to relax. It's all about the music, music that makes you feel good.'

Effortlessly chic: Melissa is a regular on the red carpet and has certainly been on a winning streak of late in the style stakes

With a demanding schedule between TV , radio, and parenting, Melissa admits that she has no idea how she manages to fit it all in.

'I'm lucky! I've had some incredible opportunities come my way and I've grabbed that with open arms,' she said. 'I feel very privileged to have been given the chances I've had.'

And in terms of being a role model to other women in a male-dominated industry, Melissa said the prospect was an 'honour'.

'I'm honoured to think I could be a great role model for somebody,' she continued.

'As a journalist I've tried hard to stay true to myself and tell stories in a way that I hold dear.'
She was recently signed on as the face of beauty brand Ella Bache and had heads turning while shooting their latest campaign in Sydney's Maroubra beach.

But it hasn't always been easy for Tahnee Atkinson to model in Australia, as she claims her 'bigger bust' and 'curves' were all she was known for in her native country.

After moving to London and the USA, Tahnee revealed she has been receiving more offers than before - but she still loves working Down Under all the same.

Flawless: It hasn't always been easy for Tahnee Atkinson to model in Australia, as she claims her 'bigger bust' and 'curves' were all she was known for in her native country

'In Australia I was introduced as a model who was a bigger size, so that is what I am known for here,' she told The Daily Telegraph.

Tahnee added that her years spent overseas were mostly because her body was considered larger than Aussie catwalk standards.

'There is a lot of work overseas for girls with a bigger bust and girls who are more curvy, so I have spent a bit of time in London and the USA.'

'I'm so excited': Tahnee said she was excited to be the face of a brand that she 'grew up with'

The brunette beauty, who rose to fame after winning season five of Australia's Next Top Model, recently signed to Ella Bache and claimed she was 'super excited'.

'Ella Bache is a brand that I have grown up with. I remember using my older sister's products when I was younger, so it has been around for a long time.'

In a recent post to Ella Bache's Instagram account, a flawless Tahnee is seen behind the scenes of a photo shoot at Maroubra beach.

Bikini babe: Tahnee admitted she spent years overseas because her body was considered larger than Aussie catwalk standards

Covering her eyes from the shade of the glaring sun, the 24-year-old put on a busty display in a revealing purple bikini which showed off her slender physique.

Her toned figure was perfectly sun-kissed in the beach snap, and she had her hair pulled back in a bun for the shoot.

Tahnee appeared to be make-up free in the picture which highlighted her natural beauty as she posed in front of the ocean.

'I was introduced as a model who was a bigger size': After moving to London and the USA, Tahnee revealed she was receiving more modelling offers than in Australia
Their mother Demi Moore is arguably among Hollywood's most beautiful women.

And Rumer and Scout Willis showed off their stunning genes as they stepped out separately on Friday to attend fitness classes.

Rumer, 28, and Scout, 25, showed off their long and lean figures in fitted workout ensembles.

Scroll down for video

Rock chic: Rumer (pictured) and Scout Willis showed off their stunning genes as they stepped out separately on Friday to attend fitness classes

Looking a dead ringer for her mum, Rumer showed off her long lean legs in fitted black leggings.

Flaunting her slender midriff she teamed it with a tight vest, she added a touch of rock chic in loose biker boots.

And tying her raven hair into two plaits, she accessorised with aviator shades and a beanie hat- despite the Californian sunshine.

Gym bunny: Rumer, 28, and Scout, 25,(pictured) showed off their long and lean figures in fitted workout ensembles

After stopping by a studio in Beverley Hills, she was later spotted shopping in the same outfit, adding a loose grey T-shirt over her ensemble.

Meanwhile sister Scout also perfected her fitness routine, and was spotted checking her phone as she attended a workout.

Like her sibling she showed off her long lean legs in Nike leggings.

Making the most of her toned body, she wore a black vest with a red border, carrying her workout bag with her.

Demi's mini-me: Looking a dead ringer for her mum, Rumer showed off her long lean legs in fitted black leggings

Meanwhile Rumer has recently finished filming thriller What Lies Ahead, due for release in 2017.

Emma Dumont from NBC's Aquarius and Kelly Blatz from Glory Daze will star along side her in the Rob Gardner directed indie thriller.

It centers on a woman, played by Dumont, and her boyfriends sister, played by Willis, who embark on an unexpected road trip from Georgia to New York.

As they get to know one another, an unseen peril begins to emerge that threatens to grow stronger with each passing mile.
They've been in Britain over the summer, shooting scenes in Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and London.

And the cast and crew of Transformers: The Last Knight were still hard at work in the capital on Saturday as they filmed outside the foreign office.

Cameras rolled as a very futuristic-looking vehicle - with tiny doors and a silver finish - was driven through the streets.

Working hard: The cast and crew of Transformers: The Last Knight were still hard at work in the capital on Saturday as they filmed outside the Foreign Office

In other scenes, on-screen guards could be seen preparing for action as they stood outside in full combat gear.

The hubbub attracted attention from passers-by, who couldn't resist a glimpse at the creation of one of 2017's most highly anticipated sci-fi movies.

The filming at the Foreign Office comes after the crew filmed dramatic scenes at a replica of Stonehenge.

From anther time: Cameras rolled as a very futuristic-looking vehicle was driven through the streets

All good: Members of the crew were making sure everything was in working order before filming

At the ready: In other scenes, on-screen guards could be seen preparing for action as they stood outside in full combat gear

One the move: The car had tiny doors and a silver finish as it rumbled along the road

Crowd-pleaser: The hubbub attracted attention from passers-by, who couldn't resist a glimpse at the creation of one of 2017's most highly anticipated sci-fi movies

Members of the public are only allowed within 10 yards of the neolithic monument, strictly kept from the 5,000-year-old slabs by a barrier around its perimeter, so it was just as well it was all for show.

Photos from the set of Transformers: The Last Knight show dramatic scenes in the making - as actor Mark Wahlberg was seen running across the grass at the location in Wiltshire, where access roads to the actual site nearby had to be closed off for the filming.

In one breathtaking scene, two helicopters narrowly avoided collision as they flew over Salisbury Plain.

In another, veteran actor Anthony Hopkins was seen spreading his arms out as he was filmed staring at the awesome replica monument.

In a striking juxtaposition of old and new, 'Stonehenge' became part of the Transformers film set today as helicopters soared and pyrotechnics lit up the sky above the famous slabs

Photos from the filming of Transformers: The Last Knight show dramatic scenes in the making - as actor Mark Wahlberg was seen running across the grass at the site in Wiltshire

Anthony Hopkins was seen spreading his arms out as he was filmed staring at the awesome replica monument

The Stonehenge scenes came after Transformers caused a stir when shooting at Blenheim Palace as producers decked Winston Churchill's birthplace in Nazi flags.

The 2,000-acre estate was overrun with extras wearing SS uniform during filming of a Second World War scene as part of the hugely successful Transformers series.

Critics have described the decision to hire out the property as highly insensitive and said the wartime leader would have been appalled.

People living near the estate at Woodstock in Oxfordshire complained about loud noise as explosions and fake gunshots were heard from the set during filming.

Actor Mark Wahlberg (right) was seen running across the plain in dramatic scenes during the filming in Wiltshire

Mark Wahlberg and veteran British Actor Anthony Hopkins were seen filming the dramatic scenes

The film crew included scores of men and women who were all allowed to get very close to the fake stones

Photographs showed tanks, military vehicles and sandbag barricades surrounding the vast courtyard in front of the palace.

The plot is being kept under wraps but it is thought to be based on a successful Nazi plot to invade Britain.

A German anti-aircraft gun and ammunition boxes emblazoned with the imperial eagle motif were also spotted on the site.

While members of the public were still allowed to roam the grounds during the day, props and equipment bearing swastikas were put up at night.

Transformers: The Last Knight, released on 23 June 2017, will see the return of star Mark Wahlberg as Cade Yeager, Josh Duhamel as Lieutenant Colonel Lennox, Tyrese Gibson as Robert Epps, Stanley Tucci as Joshua Joyce.
She's been in Turkey all week, doing charity work with Syrian refugees.

And Lindsay Lohan brought smiles to the faces of the young migrants when she visited the 'container town' of Gaziantep in Turkey on Saturday.

The Parent Trap star, 30, flashed a beaming grin as she held a baby in her arms to the delight of the surrounding aid workers.

Helping hand: Lindsay Lohan brought smiles to the faces of the young migrants when she visited the 'container town' of Gaziantep in Turkey on Saturday

Letting her blonde locks flow over her shoulders, Lindsay looked elegant yet respectful in a floral-embellished maxi dress and a pink statement necklace.

She let her natural beauty speak for itself with minimal make up as she greeted the children and aid workers in the town.

Lindsay then changed into doctor's robes and tied her hair back as she helped conduct medical checks on the children who have fled war-torn Syria.

She also shared a joke with officials and aid workers as she was shown a model map of the container town.

All smiles: Lindsay shared a joke with officials and aid workers as she was shown a model map of the container town

Professional: Lindsay then changed into doctor's robes and tied her hair back as she helped conduct medical checks on the children who have fled war-torn Syria

Stunner: Lindsay let her natural beauty speak for itself with minimal make up as she greeted the children and aid workers in the town

Helping out: Lindsay read stories with the young migrants on Saturday

Appreciative: Lindsay studied the artwork made by the children

Last week, Lindsay revealed that her ring finger was 'ripped off' in a dramatic boating accident in Turkey, but the star has now had the tip reattached.

The imagery, originally released by TMZ on Wednesday, shows Lindsay's third finger in two parts.

While the nail still in tact, the epidermis of the finger appears to have been fixed back on below the joint.

Applause: Letting her blonde locks flow over her shoulders, Lindsay looked elegant yet respectful in a floral-embellished maxi dress and a pink statement necklace

Meeting the refugees: The Parent Trap star, 30, flashed a beaming grin to the delight of the surrounding aid workers

Elegant: The Freaky Friday star posed for pictures with other aid workers and dignitaries

Learning: Lindsay took an interest in some Syrian literature at the town

Of the injury, Lohan said afterwards: 'To make this very clear. The bottom part of my finger was ripped off. It was not "chopped" or "severed" off.'

Luckily, in the aftermath of the incident, LiLo's boating companions scrambled around to find the finger of the Hollywood starlet.

She then had to be taken to an emergency room, where she had the surgical procedure to reattach it.

Star: Lindsay hugged one Syrian girls as she met children at the town

Group photo: The actress was helping these children to settle into their new lives

Beauty: Linday wore minimal make up for the event but still looked beautiful

Cheering up: The Parent Trap star looked a natural when holding one Syrian youngster

Linsday said: 'I almost lost my finger from the anchor. Well, I lost half my finger, thank goodness we found the piece of my finger I just had surgery to fix it it hurts so bad.'

The Parent Trap star initially embarked into the Eurasian area to conduct a humanitarian mission in her support for refugees fleeing from Syria.

There, she paid visits to an Istanbul hospital as well as the home of the Hussiens, a family of Syrian refugees.

Nice to meet you: She spoke some kind words to the toddler who stared into her eyes

Pleased: Lindsay looked happy as she analysed a model of the town

Back to work: The redhead has been keen to return to her humanitarian work as soon as possible (here on Tuesday)

Since then, her injuries don't seem to have held her back from helping during her trip.

On Tuesday, Lindsay took her bandaged finger to meet a Syrian family living in the Sultanbeyli district of Istanbul.

The family, who have two young children, received presents from the international actress and showed their gratitude in kisses.

Sharing gifts: The children of a Syrian family that she went to visit showed their gratitude with kisses when she delighted them with presents

Lindsay put on a brave face, boldly sharing her horror story and brandishing her bandaged hand to the cameras.

The actress proved she was still in good spirits on Monday too, when she took to Instagram to share her first selfie since the incident.

Making light of the injury, the 30-year-old Mean Girls star wrote: 'One-handed selfie!', alongside the picture.

Staying strong: Lindsay proved she was still in good spirits on Monday when she took to Instagram to share her first selfie since she suffered the horrific hand injury

Sending out her message: The star also tweeted this message about what happened

Earlier, she was seen wearing the flower headband SnapChat filter. The make-up free American actress could be seen smiling at the camera as she lay down.

Clad in what appeared to be a white nightshirt, she wore her fiery tresses loose around face.

And keeping her accessories to a minimum she looked in good spirits, despite the weekend's events.

Lindsay had to undergo emergency operation on her ring finger Sunday after part of it was mangled in a boating accident off the Turkish seaboard.

The star had attempted to lift the heavy anchor of the vessel she was on when she got tangled up in the rope and careened into the water, TMZ reported.

The actress attempted to free herself of the anchor ropes when the heavy boating machinery seared into her ring finger, cutting it off.

She took to Instagram to share with her followers the lessons she gleaned from the emotional encounter.

'Meet the Hussein Family. The father, Mohammad, was injured severely in Aleppo and his wife left him and her three kids after they migrated to Turkey. The lovely girl is Heya (9) and her twin brother is Leys,' Lohan wrote. 'The Sultanbeyli Municipality is covering their rent and kitchen expenses but the conditions of the house are very bad.

Ouch: Lindsay (pictured in June) was lucky to have her finger reattached after it nearly came off for good as the actress struggled to untangle herself from a boating anchor rope

'The older brother was not in the house with us because although he is 17, he had to work in order to take better care of his family.'

The politically-charged pop culture princess earlier made clear where she stands, as she posted an image of the Turkish flag woth the caption: '#Start #helping the #refugees suffering in #Syria. As promised. #istanbul stop #massacreinaleppo.'

The actress was accompanied on her jaunt by Abdurrahim Boynukalin, the Turkish deputy minister of youth and sports, according to the Anadolu agency.

While there, the Liz & Dick star also announced her latest endorsement deal, with the B4L company and owner Umit Akbulut.
They will mark their nine year anniversary on December 23.

And pregnant Katherine Heigl and husband Josh Kelly proved that true love never dies, as the couple put on a loved-up display while out in Los Feliz on Saturday.

The duo, who announced the actress' pregnancy in June, were spotted enjoying a laugh as they left a restaurant.

Scroll down for video

Head-over-heels: Katherine Heigl, 37, and husband Josh Kelly, 36, proved that true love never dies, as the couple put on a loved-up display while out in Los Feliz on Saturday

Katherine was comfortable in a white, sleeveless shirt paired with a set of leggings and trainers.

The star's top slid loosely over her baby bump.

Husband Josh wore a cream polo shirt, which he paired with shorts and navy shoes.

Drink of choice: Katherine carried an iced coffee pic-me-up in hand

Happy: She and her husband enjoyed a laugh as they left a restaurant

Easy look: Katherine was comfortable in a white, sleeveless shirt paired with a set of leggings and trainers

Draping over her bump! The star's top slid loosely over her midsection

On Friday, Katherine was her hubby's biggest fan, as she was spotted leaving his concert in Hollywood.

Katherine, 37, wore a drapey, black blouse with a collared neckline.

The actress added a pair of skinny trousers and flats to her look.

Exiting the venue! Katherine was was spotted leaving husband Josh Kelley's concert in Hollywood on Friday

Josh, whom she married in Utah in December 2007, had an audience filled with those he loves.

In addition to Katherine, her parents Nancy and Paul Heigl also came out.

The couple's children, Nancy Leigh, seven, and Adalaide Marie Hope, four, appeared to have stayed with a sitter for the evening.
Live television is filled with pitfalls.

And Sharon Osbourne was testament to that on Saturday evening - as she repeatedly faltered during the series' first X Factor live shows.

The 63 year-old was the subject of humorous Twitter speculation, which suggested she was a little worse for wear.

Scroll down for video

In the hot seat: Sharon Osbourne repeatedly faltered during the series' first X Factor live show on Saturday night

Social media speculation: The 63 year-old was the subject of humorous Twitter speculation, which suggested she was a little worse for wear on Saturday's X Factor

First she appeared to be overly-animated, then she missed her cue on more than one occasion.

She also made reference to co-judge Nicole Scherzinger's breasts and flirted with several young, male acts - much to the live audience's amusement.

She even got the nationality of her contestant Saara Aalto wrong before asking a Scottish contestant to say a supposed phrase-meets-cliche.

Theories: Countless people accused Sharon of being drunk on the show - although there's no proof to substantiate these claims

Amusing: First she appeared to be overly-animated, then she missed her cue - and later gave Honey G's introduction to the wrong camera

Naturally, viewers were quick to vent their criticisms - and theories - on social media.

One said: 'Sharon just asked a Scottish act to say "Och aye the noo". God help us when the first black act appears'.

Shortly after, another posted a picture of empty wine bottles, captioning it: 'Sharon's dressing room tonight'.

Put it away, love! Sharon also made reference to co-judge Nicole Scherzinger's breasts and flirted with young, male acts

Cheeky: Former X factor flop Katie Waissel was keen to jump on the bandwagon

He makes a good point! One Twitter user highlighted the double-standards on the show

One viewer said: 'Sharon Osbourne is that drunk aunt you have that never buys a round and always flirts with your boyfriend'.

Another user chimed in: 'Anyone complaining about their hangover tomorrow...just be glad it won't be as bad as Sharon's'.

Perhaps summing up the elephant in the room, another said: 'Some one get Sharon Osbourne a coffee. She's wasted.'

Uncanny: One Twitter user implied that Sharon looked strikingly similar to a drag queen

OTT? Another user chimed in, 'Anyone complaining about their hangover tomorrow...just be glad it won't be as bad as Sharon's'.

Later, she was asked to give an introduction directly to camera for her act, Honey G.

Sadly, she delivered it to the wrong camera and spent almost all of the intro looking into a different lens.

Even host Dermot O'Leary couldn't resist commenting on her amusingly animated behaviour, saying: 'We want whatever Sharon's on'.

MailOnline have contacted representatives for Mrs Osbourne and X Factor, but are yet to receive a response.
He rekindled his romance with Millie Mackintosh earlier this year after the brunette split from her now ex-husband Professor Green.

And following a summer of exotic getaways and romantic dates, it was back to work for Hugo Taylor as the reality star turned sunglasses designer ventured out in London on Saturday.

The former Made In Chelsea star cut a solitary figure as he pounded the pavements without Millie, clad in a leather jacket.

Scroll down for video

Stepping out solo: It was back to work for Hugo Taylor as the reality star turned sunglasses designer ventured out in London on Saturday

Hugo was dressed down in a rock 'n' roll inspired look, rocking a biker jacket over a fitted top and jeans.

His hair slicked back with gel and sunglasses shielding his eyes, Hugo looked the picture of cool.

The posh star, who owns a Taylor-Morris concession department store, was shopping at the eyewear section in the Harvey Nichols store in Knightsbridge.

Loved-up: Hugo rekindled his romance with Millie Mackintosh earlier this year after the brunette split from her now ex-husband Professor Green

Specs appeal: The posh star, who owns a Taylor-Morris concession department store, was shopping at the eyewear section in the Harvey Nichols store in Knightsbridge

Hugo and Millie first dated while on MIC back in 2011, but things ended in dramatic fashion after he cheated on her.

The pair reconciled in March and the first six months of their relationship have been conducted away from the public eye.

'Everything is going brilliantly,' Hugo coyly said of their rekindled romance.

Casual: Hugo was dressed down in a rock 'n' roll inspired look, rocking a biker jacket over a fitted top and jeans

Here he comes: His hair slicked back with gel and sunglasses shielding his eyes, Hugo looked the picture of cool

Millie and ex-husband Professor Green, real name Stephen Manderson, had their two and a half year marriage dissolved in just 30 seconds, following their separation in February.

They were granted a decree nisi at Central London Family Court with Millie citing 'unreasonable behaviour' as the reason for their split.

Just days later, Hugo and Millie went public with their romance, sharing a public kiss during a trip to Monaco - five years after initially dating on Made In Chelsea.
His wife may rightly be lauded for her elegant outfits but Prince Williams own fashion choices have been so drab, one style magazine cruelly accused him of dressing like an estate agent.

So now Kate has ordered her stylist Natasha Archer to give William a much-needed wardrobe makeover  and she has started by throwing out his ubiquitous brown loafers and his tatty trainers.

Williams cords and chinos have also been bagged up ready for the charity shop, replaced by tighter- fitting tapered trousers that show off a bit of ankle and which are worn with a pair of desert boots from L.K. Bennett.

Scroll down for video

Trendy: In Canada William sported a linen jacket and some tapered trousers after Kate ordered Natasha Archer to smarten up his look

For the tour of Canada, the 29-year-old stylist  known to friends as Tash  added linen jackets, and sweaters from J Crew, Jaeger and Reiss, her favourite high street label.

Sources tell me the makeover process was done tactfully, with Tash assuring the Prince, 34, that she was merely helping him to edit and freshen his wardrobe.

For more formal occasions, William will now been seen in suits by Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes, and never double-breasted  a style favoured by his father, the Prince of Wales.

Tash has become a close friend of the Duchess following her appointment in 2014.

Kate has ordered her stylist Natasha Archer to give William a much-needed wardrobe makeover

She was also responsible for the show-stopping outfits that Kate wore in Canada.

Kate will no doubt be thrilled that Williams ultimate style crime  white Asics trainers that he has worn for the best part of a decade  are finally out.

As a source says: You wont be seeing him in those again any time soon.

Meanwhile, Williams brother Harry is also working hard to transform his image thanks to regular weight-lifting sessions at a Chelsea gym.

Harry, 32, is concerned he is too lanky, so has asked trainers to devise a muscle-building programme for him.
She's one of Britain's best acting exports.

And Felicity Jones, 32, stole the show when she attended the premiere of Dan Brown's Inferno in Florence, Italy, on Saturday night.

The English actress looked sensational in red bandeau gown which oozed class.

Scroll down for video

Stunning! Felicity Jones, 32, stole the show when she attended the premiere of Dan Brown's Inferno in Florence, Italy, on Saturday night

Effortlessly chic, Felicity kept things simple, accessorising with nothing but a pair of glamorous dangly earrings.

The brunette beauty wore a full fringe and the rest of her tresses in a stylish updo. She favoured dark eye make-up and a peach lipstick, while her cheeks were given a subtle touch of colour.

She was joined on the red carpet by her co-stars Tom Hanks, Ana Ularu and Omar Sy as well as director Ron Howard who flashed a double thumbs up.

Flawless: The English actress looked sensational in red bandeau gown which oozed class

All smiles: She was joined on the red carpet by her co-stars Tom Hanks, Ana Ularu and Omar Sy as well as director Ron Howard

Class act: Effortlessly chic, Felicity kept things simple, accessorising with nothing but a pair of glamorous dangly earrings

Hanks looked dapper in an all-black ensemble. The actor was clean shaven for the big night and sported neatly cropped hair, while he forwent a tie.

The high-octane thriller - which is set for release on October 14 follows beloved lead character Robert Langdon (Hanks) after he wakes up with amnesia in a hospital in Florence.

Teaming up with Dr. Sienna Brooks (Jones), he races across the city in a bid to recover his memories and escape being found by a major manhunt.

Back in black: Hanks looked dapper in an all-black ensemble. The actor was clean shaven for the big night and sported neatly cropped hair

Happy in love: Hanks held hands with wife Rita, who looked elegant in a red and gold dress

Doing what he does best: Hanks reprises his role as Harvard University professor Robert Langdon

Realising his vision: Director Howard flashed a double thumbs up on the red carpet

A thing of beauty: Ana Ularu gave Felicity a run for her money in a striking purple gown

Affectionate: Laura Prepon clung to the arm of her fiance Ben Foster

Vamping up: The actress looked great in a gothic-tinged black dress cinched at the waist

Lighting up the red carpet: The pretty star waved at the paparazzi while flashing a bright smile

Suave: Rugged Ben looked dapper in a black three-piece suit and buttoned down white shirt

Ever the busy lady, Felicity has also been promoting upcoming flick Star Wars: Rogue One.

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 Hanks 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.
She was an actress on Home And Away for 21 years before moving into the radio industry.

And as a child star, Kate Ritchie scored five Logie Awards and she jokingly bragged about her achievements while winning yet another award on Saturday.

While attending the Australian Commercial Radio Awards in Melbourne, the 38-year-old star poked fun at her Nova drive show co-hosts, Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold, as they won Best On-Air Team.

Scroll down for video

Comedic:Kate Ritchie poked fun at her Nova drive show co-hosts Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold on Saturday at the ACRAs in Melbourne as they won Best On-Air Team

'The other thing I should be doing, is letting this trophy go home with one of these two boys because I have loads of awards at home anyway,' she said in jest during her acceptance speech.

The comment was in reference to Kate's two Gold Logie Awards and three Silver Logie Awards, that she received during her time on Home And Away.

Earlier in the night, she told Daily Mail Australia it was 'nice' for the Nova drive show team to be recognised at the annual event.

Grateful: During her acceptance speech, she joked: 'I should be letting this trophy go home with one of these two boys because I have loads of awards at home anyway'

The past: The comedic statement was in reference to Kate's two Gold Logie Awards and three Silver Logie Awards she received during her time on Home And Away (left, 2004, right, 2006)

'The team have done really well and it's always nice to have some kind of recognition, but it's not why we do it every day,' she began to explain.

'Regardless of whether we win or not, we're still going to go in on Monday and do the same show.'

Tim added: 'It is voted by the industry so it is one of those awards you feel good about because maybe even your opposition may have given you a little vote.'

Front and centre: Earlier in the night, she told Daily Mail Australia it was 'nice' for the Nova drive home team to be recognised at the annual event

Valued: Her co-star Tim (L) added: 'It is voted by the industry so it is one of those awards you feel good about because maybe even your opposition may have given you a little vote'

Before being awarded with the most highly prestigious globe on the night, Kate opened up about working alongside the two larrikins.

She told Daily Mail Australia: 'I'm the eldest of four children so I feel like what I do every day is just an extension of my upbringing, ribbing each other and having a good time.'

On Saturday night, the Kate, Tim And Marty show claimed the top spot for the Best On-Air Team, against radio rival shows, Kyle & Jackie O, Hamish & Andy, Jonesy & Amanda, Fifi & Dave and Chrissie, Sam & Browny.
The past few months have certainly been tough for Roxy Jacenko, as she learned of her breast cancer diagnosis and saw her husband sent to jail.

Now, The Daily Telegraph reports that the 36-year-old PR maven faced yet another difficult situation last week.

According to the publication, on October 1, police visited the home of the mother-of-two after receiving complaints in relation to a recent Instagram photo she shared, in which her five-year-old daughter Pixie was sitting in the front seat of a car, not in the required booster seat.

Scroll down for video

Trouble: Police visited Roxy Jacenko's Sydney home last week after she uploaded a photo in which her five-year-old daughter Pixie was sitting in the front seat of the car, not in the required booster seat

When contacted by Daily Mail Australia on Sunday, Roxy declined to comment on the incident.

According to NSW Transport, 'Children aged from four years old but under seven years old must be secured in a forward facing approved child restraint with an inbuilt harness or an approved booster seat.'

However, in the social media snap uploaded by Roxy last week, Pixie was seen sitting in the front passenger seat as she posed for the selfie with her famous mother.

With a secured seatbelt in place, the preschooler flashed her smile and a peace hand gesture for the camera.

No charges: Police were told upon arrival that Pixie briefly sat in the front seat only to take a photo

Drama: Roxy and Pixie are pictured in the very photo that raised eyebrows recently

Mother and daughter: The preschooler is often her famous mother's plus-one to VIP events

'Cruising with my  Pixie Curtis,' the PR maven captioned the photo, which was shared with her over 130,000 Instagram followers.

The Daily Telegraph also reports that police officers in two separate cars visited Roxy's home in North Bondi, and that it was soon after established that Pixie sat in the front of the stationary car, simply for the purposes of taking a quick selfie.

NSW Police confirmed the incident to the publication, acknowledging: 'No one was home... however officers have spoken to all relevant parties and no further police action is required.'

Tough times: The 36-year-old recently ended her radiation treatment for breast cancer

The incident comes after Roxy recently finished radiation treatment following her breast cancer diagnosis.

The past few months have seen the media personality take on the task of parenting her two children Pixie and Hunter solo, as husband Oliver Curtis was sentenced to jail in June following an insider trading conviction.
He became a dad for the fifth - and sixth - time in May when he welcomed twin daughters with wife Sally Humphreys.

And Ronnie Wood is evidently loving looking after newborns once again, after he uploaded an adorable photo showing off his little girls to Instagram.

The 69-year-old looked every inch the doting dad in the sweet shot, which saw him and his third wife cradling their girls Gracie Jane and Alice Rose in a swimming pool during a sun-soaked break.

Scroll down for video

Adorable: Ronnie Wood, 69, looked every inch the doting dad in a sweet shot posted to Instagram of him and wife Sally enjoying their first holiday with newborn twin daughters

The four-month old girls looked adorable in co-ordinating hot pink striped and spotty swimsuits, which matched their mother's vibrant bikini.

The Rolling Stones member, clad in nothing but a jazzy pair of printed swim trunks gently supported one newborn so she could paddle in the water while Sally cradled the other comfortably in her arms.

Dressing his face in a pair of stylish gold shades, the joy on the musician's face was clear to see as he played with his new additions in the cooling water.

Legendary status: The family have jetted to California for the Desert Trip festival - where Ronnie performed with his band The Rolling Stones

The rocker, who is notoriously private with his personal affairs, captioned the intimated shot: 'Water babies' followed by a selection of excitable emojis.

The family have jetted to California for the Desert Trip festival - where Ronnie performed with his successful band of over 40 years.

The sweet Instagram comes just days after the rockstar posed alongside his little girls as part of promotion for Stella McCartney's hotly-anticipated menswear line.

The 69-year-old was shot posing in one of her T-shirts and dapper jackets while cradling his twin baby daughters Gracie Jane and Alice Rose.

Proud father Ronnie beams in the David Bailey portrait as he holds his baby twins, born just done day before his 69th birthday, in his arms

The Rolling Stones guitarist was reunited with his 'old pal' David Bailey, who took a series of black and white portraits of celebrities in Stella's new designs.

A fan of fashion since the Sixties, Ronnie wore a Stella McCartney jacket, $1,840 (1,440) over an organic T shirt from the new line, with a price tag of $265 (208).

In true rock god style he also accessorised with a $335 (262) antique chain necklace, but kept his own pendant necklace on too.

The brave dad held his four-month-old twin daughters in his arms without putting them in nappies first, but fortunately the girls were on their best behaviour and seemed more interested in sleeping in front of the camera.

It was the first time the little girls have been shown off in public since Ronnie and his wife of four years Sally Humphreys debuted them shortly after their birth in June.

He already has son Jesse Wood, with his first wife and former model, Krissy Wood, daughter Leah and son Tyrone from his second marriage, to Jo, and Jamie, Jo Woods son from a previous marriage, whom Wood adopted.

Ronnie and his theatre producer wife Sally Humphreys, who is 31 years his junior, married in 2012

Gigi Hadid posed on the cover of the Wall Street Journal Magazine featuring Ronnie

Ronnie was joined by a range of stars in the Wall Street Journal shoot including Tom Daley and Professor Green, all captured in the stark images by the veteran Sixties photographer.

For many fashion fans, Stella's transition into menswear has come as a surprise. But for the designer herself, who used to spend her Central Saint Martins days in the Nineties hanging around with tailors in Savile Row, it's a natural progression.

Stella McCartney is making her first foray into menswear on November 10

The 45-year-old has also dabbled in menswear over the years, making a suit for David Bowie, shoes for Morrissey and a coat for Ronnie.

The rocker told WSJ: 'I saw her in a wonderful overcoat once, gray with pinstripes, and I said, "Oh, I love that,".

'She said, "Oh, this is my personal overcoat. I'll make you one".'

A year later he had forgotten about it until he saw her and she whipped out the overcoat and told him that she'd made one for her and one for her father, Paul.

But her official menswear line has been six years in the making.

The prices will also be similar with T-shirts starting at $245 (192) and coats topping out at $2,155 (1,690).
Islamists beat liberals in Morocco elections

The Islamist party which has headed Morocco's coalition government since Arab Spring-inspired protests five years ago has beaten liberal rivals in parliamentary elections, results showed Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats out of 395, the interior ministry said after all ballots were counted.

Its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society, won 102 seats, the ministry said.

Early turnout had been low in Rabat with many people waiting till after the weekly noon prayers to cast their ballots Fadel Senna (AFP)

Istiqlal, the party which historically fought for independence from France, came third with 45 seats.

In any case, 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.

Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said that the election was "transparent" and had gone well, rejecting accusations of voter fraud from both sides.

The PJD had earlier 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.

An Islamist candidate was attacked and wounded outside a polling station in Rabat, according to local media.

A video shared on social networks also showed a man stuffing a ballot box, leading the PJD to file a complaint, media reported.

Participation was at 43 percent, or roughly 6,750,000 voters, Hassad told a press conference in the capital Rabat.

Early turnout had been low in Rabat with many people waiting until after the weekly noon prayers to cast their ballots while others trickled to the polls after office hours.

- Scandals -

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.

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, had hoped to take advantage in 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.

Several parties fielded ultra-conservative Salafists, in a sign that Islamists are becoming a feature of Moroccan politics.

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.

The PJD, headed by Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, came to power in 2011, months after massive street protests prompted concessions from the monarchy Fadel Senna (AFP)

Ilyas El Omari's Party of Authenticity and Modernity has criticised the government's economic record as "catastrophic" and pledged to roll back the "Islamisation" of society Fadel Senna (AFP)

To make life easier for the illiterate, the 30 parties in contention were marked on ballot papers with symbols such as a tractor or camel Fadel Senna (AFP)

A video shared on social networks also showed a man stuffing a ballot box, leading the PJD to file a complaint, media reported Fadel Senna (AFP)
Filmmaker resists shrinking press freedom in South Korea

South Korea's recent fall in global press freedom rankings comes as no particular surprise to Choi Seung-Ho.

"Sometimes it feels as if we're moving back to the era before 1987," the investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker said, referring to the decades of repressive military rule that preceded South Korea's first democratic presidential election.

No stranger to butting heads with officialdom, Choi is currently struggling to secure distribution for his latest film, "Spy Nation" -- a documentary that exposes abuses by South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS).

The Busan film fest is still recovering from a row triggered by official opposition to the 2014 screening of a documentary that criticised the government's handling of the Sewol ferry disaster Ed Jones (AFP/File)

It focuses on the high-profile case of an ethnic Chinese North Korean defector, Yu Woo-Sung, who fled to the South in 2004.

In 2013, the NIS arrested Yu on what were later shown to be trumped up charges of spying for Pyongyang. The film lists many others who were arrested, beaten and even executed on false spying charges over the decades.

"Spy Nation" has won local festival awards, but challenging the powerful NIS is a very sensitive move in South Korea, and finding cinemas that will screen the film hasn't been easy.

"The multiplex theatres don't want to get on the government's bad side by eagerly opening their screens to us," Choi said.

"And even if they do show our movie, they will probably limit the number of screenings," he added.

- Media under pressure -

Relations between the government and the media have taken a tangible downturn under current President Park Geun-Hye, whose administration has wielded a strict defamation law that carries prison sentences of up to five years.

The annual Busan International Film Festival -- Asia's biggest movie showcase which opened last week -- is still recovering from a bitter row triggered by official opposition to the 2014 screening of a documentary that criticised the government's handling of the Sewol ferry disaster.

In it's latest World Press Freedom index published in April, the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked South Korea 70th in the world -- down 10 places from 2015.

"The government has displayed a growing inability to tolerate criticism and its meddling in the already polarised media threatens their independence," the watchdog concluded.

The government firmly rejects that finding.

"I absolutely disagree with what RSF says about press freedom in this country," said Han Min-Ho director general of the media policy bureau at the Ministry of Culture.

"The news media enjoys freedom of expression to the degree that its attacks against the president sometimes verge on cruelty", Han told AFP.

- Moving online -

Choi currently works as a producer for Newstapa, an online news website that presents watchdog journalism in video form.

Newstapa is run by the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism (KCIJ) -- the country's first non-profit online investigative reporting organisation that was set up in 2012 by a dozen TV journalists who had been dismissed for leading strikes.

"We don't receive any commercials to remain free from any outside pressure", Choi said. The agency is funded entirely by public donations.

Choi joined Newstapa after being fired from broadcaster MBC TV in the wake of a journalist strike against a political appointee being parachuted to become the president of MBC.

While at MBC, Choi had headed a 2005 investigation by the broadcaster's "PD Notebook" into Hwang Woo-Suk, who was lauded as the "pride of Korea" after claiming to have derived stem-cell lines from cloned human embryos -- a world first.

Choi's investigation showed that Hwang's research was fraudulent and riddled with ethical lapses which he exposed in a two-part programme.

Although Hwang was eventually convicted of embezzlement, bioethical violations and given a two-year suspended prison sentence, Choi's programme initially triggered an aggressive backlash.

"Angry phone calls flooded my office. Commercials attached to PD Notebook fell to zero within a week," Choi recalled.

Hwang's supporters staged protests outside the TV station and many women volunteered to donate their own eggs for Hwang's research.

"I was reviled as some sort of public enemy... and my colleagues' children faced harassment at school", he said.

Choi continued to court controversy at MBC with a four-part programme in 2010 that was highly critical of then-president Lee Myung-Bak's multi-billion dollar plan to revitalise four major South Korean rivers.

After that project he was sidelined for a while, before his eventual dismissal following the strike over editorial independence.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye's administration has wielded a strict defamation law that carries prison sentences of up to five years Roslan Rahman (AFP/File)
Cathay Pacific flies Boeing 747 over Hong Kong one last time

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific bid farewell to its Boeing 747 fleet Saturday with a final low-altitude flyby over the city's iconic skyline.

The final route harked back to dramatic images of the planes flying low over rooftops of apartment blocks as they used to approach the old airport on the harbour.

Saturday's flight, codenamed CX8747, flew over the city's famous Victoria Harbour and the former Kai Tak Airport, which closed in 1998 and was considered one of the most challenging places to land an aircraft due to its crowded urban site surrounded by steep mountains.

A Cathay Pacific Boeing 747 aircraft flies past the International Finance Centre tower on its final flight over Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour Tengku Bahar (AFP)

Around 300 airline staff made a donation of HK$747 ($96) to ride on the venerable aircraft, which was first used by Cathay Pacific in 1979, for the last time, the airline said.

Photos of the last flyby, at an altitude of 610 metres (2,000 feet) were posted on the airline's Facebook page, which showed some 747 fans waving goodbye.

"Goodbye and thank you, our dearest Boeing 747," Adonis Lau said on the airline's Facebook.

"Cathay 747s brought me and my family between HK and our stays in US and Canada during my childhood. I'll miss my time on the upper deck," Denise Ho said.

The airline had said the four-engine 747 aircraft played a significant role in growing Hong Kong into an international aviation hub.

It added the Boeing 747 had spent 3.1 million hours in the air, after its last commercial flight from Tokyo to the southern Chinese city on October 1.

The 400 passenger 747 Jumbo Jet was launched in 1970 and dominated international air travel and cargo over the next decades.

A Cathay Pacific Boeing 747 aircraft flies over Hong Kong's former Kai Tak airport (bottom R) on its final flight over Victoria Harbour Tengku Bahar (AFP)
Boy's killing sparks fresh clashes, curfew in Indian Kashmir

Indian-administered Kashmir's main city came under curfew again after thousands clashed with government forces during the funeral of boy killed in protests, police said Saturday.

Police and paramilitary troops fired tear gas, pellets and live rounds into the air to disperse the funeral procession of the 12-year-old as his body was carried to Srinagar's "Martyr's Graveyard", a police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Residents said the boy was sprayed with pellets in the lawn outside his home, but police say he was part of anti-India protests that took place Friday.

Kashmiri demonstrators clash with Indian government forces in Srinagar on October 7, 2016 during a protest against the death of civilians in Kashmir's ongoing summer unrest Tauseef Mustafa (AFP)

"We are taking all possible measures so that the protests don't spread to other areas," the officer said, referring to the curfew.

The angry mourners were shouting "We want freedom" and "Go Indian, go back" during the procession.

More than 50 people were injured during Friday's protests in the restive Himalayan region, which has been roiled by deadly violence for nearly four months.

At least 90 people, most of them young protesters, have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in clashes with Indian security forces.

Thousands more have been arrested since the unrest began on July 8, when a popular militant leader was killed in a gunfight with soldiers.

Since then shops, schools and most banks have remained shut and authorities have suspended mobile phone internet services.

In a separate incident overnight, suspected rebels fired at a police post in the southern Shopian district killing an officer and injuring three others, a police statement said.

Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where rebel groups have fought Indian troops since 1989 for either independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours has soared after a militant attack last month on an Indian army base killed 19 soldiers, with the two armies exchanging heavy fire and mortars across their de facto border in Kashmir almost every day.

Kashmiri demonstrators shout pro-freedom slogans in Srinagar on October 7, 2016 during a protest against the death of civilians in Kashmir's ongoing summer unrest Tauseef Mustafa (AFP)
Syria's White Helmets: 'heroes' who run towards bombs

Before war broke out they were bakers, decorators or students. Now Syria's volunteer rescuers known as the White Helmets risk their lives trying to pull victims from the rubble.

Footage of the daring, often heart-rending rescues carried out by the group's nearly 3,000 volunteers has frequently gone viral, earning it plaudits around the world.

Images of the aftermath of bombardments of rebel-held areas almost invariably show White Helmets sprinting into clouds of dust and digging through the debris, often with little more than their bare hands.

Syrian civil defence volunteers, known as the White Helmets, carry a body after digging it out from under the rubble of a building following a reported airstrike on Aleppo on July 23, 2016 Karam Al-Masri (AFP/File)

Among the most famous footage was the July 2014 rescue of Mahmud, a two-month-old dubbed the "miracle baby" after he was pulled from the rubble of a building in battleground second city Aleppo following more than 12 hours of digging.

His rescuer Khaled was killed in August in an air strike on the rebel-held east of the city, one of more than 140 White Helmets killed in the war.

A painter and decorator, he was an early volunteer for the group, his round face distinguished by his crooked nose and bright eyes.

He was just 31 when he died and left behind a wife and two daughters.

"If I die saving lives, I think God would definitely consider me a martyr," he once said.

- 'Outstanding bravery' -

A more recent video showed a volunteer sobbing as he cradled a four-month-old girl he helped rescue in Idlib province.

"We've been working for two hours to get her out from under the rubble and thank God, it turns out she is alive," he said, as the girl, covered in dust, coughed and grabbed his collar.

In late September, the group won a Swedish human rights prize often referred to an "alternative Nobel" with the jury hailing their "outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement."

It was also seen as a contender for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, and while it did not win it attracted support from a slew of celebrities. The group was also the subject of a Netflix short documentary.

The rescue group emerged in 2013, when the civil war that has now killed more than 300,000 people was nearing its third year.

It was not until the following year that it took its current form and began to be known as the "White Helmets" for the distinctive hardhats worn by its volunteers.

The group's motto -- "To save one life is to save all of humanity" -- is drawn from a verse of the Koran, although the White Helmets insist they treat all victims, regardless of religion.

Some of its members have received training abroad, returning home to instruct colleagues on search-and-rescue techniques.

It receives funding from a number of governments, including Britain, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States, but also solicits individual donations to purchase equipment, including their signature hardhats, which cost $144.64.

- 'Real life heroes' -

More than five years into the conflict, the organisation now operates some 120 centres in eight provinces in Syria. Its volunteers include 78 women.

It operates only in rebel-held areas, saying it is not permitted to work in government-held territory, but insists its volunteers are neutral.

"We are independent, neutral and impartial, we are not affiliated to any political or armed group," White Helmet leader Raed Saleh told AFP last month.

"We are ready to rescue people regardless of their political or religious background."

Still, the organisation is not without its critics, mostly backers of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Some accuse it of being a tool of its international donors, governments that largely support the opposition.

Others have charged that the group's volunteers include rebel fighters or even jihadists, circulating pictures purportedly showing White Helmets in civilian clothing bearing arms.

But elsewhere, the group's members have been hailed as "real life heroes" focused only on saving lives.

"We stand for the victims and it is our responsibility and our duty to work for the victims," Saleh said.

Syrian civil defence volunteers, known as the White Helmets, stand next to a destroyed building following reported air strikes on Damascus, on October 5, 2016 Sameer Al-Doumy (AFP/File)

The White Helmets rescue group emerged in 2013, when the Syrian civil war that has now killed more than 300,000 people was nearing its third year Thaer Mohammed (AFP)
Nigerian state bans pro-Iran Shiite group

A Nigerian state where clashes between the military and Shiite Muslims led to over 300 deaths last year has banned the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), saying it was a security threat.

Two days of violence began on December 12, when supporters of the pro-Iranian cleric and IMN head, Ibrahim Zakzaky, refused to allow the chief of army staff's convoy to pass through the northern city of Zaria in Kaduna state.

In April, rights group Amnesty International accused Nigeria's military of shooting dead more than 300 Shiite Muslims, burying them in mass graves and destroying evidence of the crime.

A man walks in the rubble of the destroyed religious centre of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) in the Danmagaji area of the northern city of Zaria in April 2016 Aminu Abubakar (AFP/File)

The Kaduna state government later confirmed the Amnesty report, saying that the army used "excessive force" and that those responsible for the killings should be prosecuted.

But in a press release issued late Friday, Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai said IMN was a threat to Nigeria.

"The Kaduna state government has issued an order declaring the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) an unlawful society," a statement said.

It said the term applied to "any organisation whose activities are dangerous to the security and good governance of the state."

The IMN said it would challenge the move.

"We are not surprised by this decision of the Kaduna state government to ban the IMN," spokesman Ibrahim Musa told AFP.

"What do expect from someone that attacked you in your house, killed people in hundreds and demolished homes for no just reason?" Musa said.

"We condemn this illegal decision in the strongest terms and we will challenge this decision through all legitimate means."

IMN leader Zakzaky, who lost an eye and was left partly paralysed in the violence, has been held in custody since December.

He has previously been imprisoned for calling for an Iranian-style revolution to create an Islamic state in the country's north.
Vietnam court rejects fishermen lawsuits against Taiwan's Formosa

A Vietnamese court has rejected hundreds of lawsuits filed by fishermen who demanded more compensation from a Taiwanese-owned steel plant responsible for a devastating toxic leak, a leading activist said Saturday.

In a rare case of civic action in authoritarian Vietnam, crowds of fishermen swamped a court house last month to file 506 lawsuits against Taiwan's Formosa, which is building a multi-billion-dollar steel plant in Ha Tinh province.

The conglomerate paid Vietnam's government $500 million after it was blamed for dumping waste that poisoned tonnes of fish and decimated the local seafood industry earlier this year.

Vietnamese working in Taiwan hold placards and pictures of dead fish, allegedly caused by pollution in Vietnamese waters, as they demonstrate outside the Formosa Plastics Corporation headquarters in Taipei on August 10, 2016 Sam Yeh (AFP)

Local fishermen launched their lawsuits in an effort to wrest more money from Formosa and demand it shut down the steel operation altogether.

But Catholic priest Dang Huu Nam, who helped lead the plaintiffs, told AFP the court had returned more than 100 case files and that he was expecting more.

"We will look into why the files are returned as the court did not say concretely, before deciding what moves to do next," Nam said.

The court's judge, Nguyen Van Thang, was quoted in state-run media saying that all 506 cases were returned.

The fishermen had asked for compensation of roughly $2.5 million but did not provide clear evidence of their losses, he said according to Phap Luat, an official legal news site.

Dead fish and other marine life began washing up on Vietnam's central coast in April, hitting fishermen and triggering rounds of protests.

After weeks of obfuscation the government laid blame on Taiwan's Formasa, which has a history of environmental scandals spanning the globe, and ordered the conglomerate to pay a $500 million fine.

The government said it would start distributing the cash to affected fishermen in October and confirmed last month that payouts would range from $130 to $1,600 per person.

Last Sunday, thousands of Vietnamese protesters surrounded the steel plant, with some scaling its walls and holding signs demanding its closure.
Bangladesh forces kill four suspected Islamist militants

Bangladeshi forces killed four suspected Islamist extremists during raids near Dhaka Saturday, security officials said, the latest clashes in the country's ongoing crackdown on militants.

Police have conducted a series of raids on suspected militant hideouts since extremists stormed a posh Dhaka cafe in July and slaughtered 22 mostly foreign hostages.

The elite Rapid Action Battalion launched two separate operations Saturday after being tipped off about the presence of Islamist extremists in a building in Gazipur, just outside Dhaka, and a three-storey structure in the northern district of Tangail.

Police have conducted a series of raids on suspected militant hideouts since extremists stormed a posh Dhaka cafe in July and slaughtered 22 Rajib Dhar (AFP/File)

"Two extremists were shot dead during a gunfight with the RAB in Gazipur. Weapons and explosives have been recovered," RAB spokesman Mufti Mahmud Khan told AFP.

Two more suspected extremists were killed after RAB forces raided another building in Tangail, local RAB chief Mohiuddin Faruqe told AFP.

"They fired at our officers suddenly as we raided their hideout. We fired back and two extremists were shot dead," he said, adding that two RAB officers were also injured during the raid.

The RAB did not elaborate on the operations and there was no immediate comment about what group the gunmen were affiliated with.

Private television broadcaster Jamuna TV said the RAB launched the raid in Gazipur after receiving intelligence that the "Dhaka coordinator" of the banned Islamist extremist group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was at the hideout.

It remained unclear whether the extremist leader was among the dead.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the July 1 attack on the upscale cafe in Dhaka, posting pictures of the attackers holding IS flags online.

However, Bangladesh officials have rejected the claims, saying the JMB led by a Canadian citizen of Bangladesh origin, Tamim Chowdhury, was responsible for the massacre.

In August police shot Chowdhury dead along with two of his associates after they stormed an extremist hideout in Narayanganj city near Dhaka.

Since the cafe carnage, Bangladeshi security forces have killed at least 32 suspected Islamist militants, including a US citizen of Bangladesh descent.

Long dormant after their top leaders were executed in March 2007, the JMB has recently regrouped with young, university-educated extremists taking the helm.

Bangladesh has been reeling from a deadly wave of attacks in the last three years, including on foreigners, rights activists and members of the country's religious minorities.
Protectionism a scourge? Maybe not in Africa

World economic leaders gathered in Washington this week to defend globalization, delivering a single message in unison: Protectionism will not save you.

But this glosses over the plight of Africa, which is sinking further into poverty despite years of free trade.

According to the International Monetary Fund, which held its annual meetings this week with the World Bank, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is in free-fall this year, with a growth rate of 1.4 percent, down from 3.4 percent in 2015, its lowest in a quarter century.

According to the IMF, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is in free-fall this year, with a growth rate of 1.4%, down from 3.4% in 2015, its lowest in a quarter century Philippe Desmazes (AFP/File)

The regional economy will therefore grow more slowly than the population, at the risk of deepening poverty in a region already home to more than half of the 766 million people on earth who live on less than $1.90 a day.

"I am actually concerned about Sub-Saharan African countries," said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

As the most rarified circles of economists gathered this week to ponder globalization's failures, the African region seems to offer a prime case in point.

Despite opening its economies and the explosion of trade with China, Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world to have actually seen the number of people living in extreme poverty rise since 1990.

"The growing number of the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa stands out as an exception," the World Bank said in a recent report.

With a recession in Nigeria, ravaged by the collapse of crude prices, virtual stagnation in South Africa and a booming Ivory Coast, where this year's growth rate is forecast at 8 percent, circumstances of course vary widely depending on the country.

Climate, security situations and political instability can also weigh heavily on economic outlooks.

- Failure -

But, according to NGOs, the region's general prognosis primarily reflects the failure of full-borne free trade, brought in by the structural adjustment plans of the 1980s and 1990s and the World Trade Organization.

"Africa did well in recent years because prices for oil and other raw materials climbed higher," Antonio Gambini, of the National Center for Development Cooperation, told AFP.

"But prices have collapsed and with the free trade imposed on them these countries spiraled downwards because they were unable to diversify," he added.

Contrary to the traditional prescriptions, a dose of protectionism could help African countries shore up their economies, sheltered from foreign competition.

"If we want to see a more inclusive global growth than it has to have a space for protection," said Max Lawson of Oxfam GB.

"It's just not as simple as more free trade mans less poverty," he added.

Some Asian countries, such as Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan, built their own economic expansions on strong exports and severe restrictions on imports to protect their domestic markets.

On the African continent, Ethiopia, which is forecast to see strong growth in 2016 of 6.5 percent, has jealously guarded its own telecoms and financial sectors.

Makhtar Diop, World Bank vice president for Africa, still has no faith in inward-looking trade policies.

"In times of crisis, there's a protectionist reflex because we think it's the answer but all the evidence shows that international trade has been a factor in development," he told AFP.

According to Diop, a former Senegalese finance minister, the region's persistent poverty is tied to poor revenue redistribution policies, particularly when oil was above $100 a barrel.

Once in place, protectionist barriers are hard to remove because they are supported by interest groups seeking to preserve their advantages, he said.

"We have to find a middle ground," he said, particularly by allowing nascent industries the time to size up foreign competition. But the priority, he said, is to strengthen trade, particularly among African countries.

"Sometimes it's cheaper to export a product out of Africa than to a neighboring country," he said.

"I am actually concerned about Sub-Saharan African countries," says the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde Stephen Jaffe (AFP/File)
Battle for Aleppo rages ahead of East-West showdown at UN

The Syrian regime pressed its assault on rebel-held areas of Aleppo on Saturday ahead of a showdown at the United Nations between Western governments and its ally Russia.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that the mounting tensions between Washington and Moscow over the conflict had created a situation "more dangerous" than the Cold War.

US Secretary of State John Kerry made clear his anger at the Syrian army's Russian-backed onslaught in the battleground second city, saying that its bombing of civilians could amount to a war crime.

A Syrian man reacts as he sits on the rubble of destroyed buildings following a government forces air strike on Aleppo, on October 4, 2016 Thaer Mohammed (AFP/File)

The UN Security Council is to vote on two rival resolutions on the fighting, one drafted by France calling for an end to air strikes and a second by Russia that urges a ceasefire but makes no mention of halting the bombings.

Moscow has said it will veto the French draft.

Its ally Damascus has made significant advances in its renewed two-week-old offensive in Aleppo, seizing territory to the north and pushing back the front line in the city centre which had remained largely static since the rebels captured eastern districts in 2012.

But it has come at a heavy human cost.

Since the regime offensive began on September 22 a few days after a US- and Russian-brokered ceasefire collapsed, at least 290 people -- mostly civilians -- have been killed in rebel-held areas, 57 them children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

And 50 civilians including nine children have been killed in rebel shelling on regime-held areas of the city, according to the Britain-based monitoring group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.

It said government forces were making further advances on Saturday ahead of the Security Council session.

"The battle is unfolding in the centre, particularly in the Bustan al-Basha district where the army is advancing, in Sheikh Said in the south, and on the northern outskirts where the regime has taken the Uwaija neighbourhood," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The monitor reported heavy air strikes on the rebel-held Fardos and Sukari neighbourhoods. An AFP correspondent said the raids mostly hit combat zones in the city.

- 'Cynical' ploy -

Russia is expected to use its veto to block the French-drafted resolution backed by the United States and Britain that also calls for a halt to all military flights over Aleppo.

The council will then move to a second vote on the Russian-drafted text.

It "urges immediate implementation of the cessation of hostilities, in particular in Aleppo" and demands that all parties allow deliveries of humanitarian aid."

British ambassador Matthew Rycroft dismissed the Russian draft as a political ploy.

"This is a cynical attempt to divert attention away from the need to stop the bombing of Aleppo," he said.

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 use the veto powers Russia wields as one of the council's five permanent members.

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."

Kerry made clear his anger, declaring: "These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation -- war crimes."

The German foreign minister said that tensions between Washington and Moscow were now worse than during the Cold War.

"It's a fallacy to think that this is like the Cold War," Steinmeir said in an interview published by Bild newspaper on Saturday.

"The current times are different and more dangerous."

The Security Council session begins at 1900 GMT. If Russia blocks the draft, it will be its fifth veto of a UN resolution on Syria.

Syrian civil defence volunteers, known as the White Helmets, carry the body of a victim after it was pulled from the rubble following a government forces air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Bustan al-Basha in the northern city of Aleppo Thaer Mohammed (AFP/File)

Destroyed buildings in Aleppo's rebel-held Bustan al-Basha neighbourhood George Ourfalian (AFP/File)
Yemen rebels say 'dozens' killed in Sanaa air raids on funeral

Rebels in control of Yemen's capital accused the Saudi-led coalition fighting them of killing dozens of people Saturday and wounding hundreds more in air strikes on a funeral attended by senior officials.

The strikes came as Saudi Arabia, which has overseen the bombing of Huthi rebels in Yemen since March 2015, is under increasing international scrutiny over alleged civilian deaths in its air raids.

Officials at the rebel-controlled health ministry in Sanaa said at least 450 people were killed or wounded in the air strikes, although there was no immediate independent confirmation of the figure.

Yemenis and rescue teams gather at the site of reported airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition air-planes in the capital Sanaa on October 8, 2016 Mohammed Huwais (AFP)

Emergency workers pulled out at least 20 charred remains and body parts from the gutted building while others scoured the wreckage in search for survivors, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

The corpses were either completely burned or in pieces, and some of the wounded had their legs torn off and were being treated on the spot by volunteers, he said.

The insurgent-controlled news site sabanews.net said that coalition planes hit a building in southern Sanaa where hundreds had gathered to mourn the death of the father of a prominent local official.

The Huthis did not say if the official -- rebel interior minister Jalal al-Rowaishan -- was present in the building at the time of the attack which they dubbed a "massacre" nor did they indicate if other senior figures were attending the funeral.

Rebel Almasirah television said Sanaa mayor Abdel Qader Hilal was among those killed.

People had come from all over Sanaa to attend the funeral, said Mulatif al-Mojani, who witnessed the air strikes.

"A plane fired a missile and minutes later another plane pounded" the building had gathered, he told AFP.

Another witness, who declined to give his name, described the attack as "war crime".

"This was a funeral for one man in Sanaa and now it has turned into a funeral for tens of Yemenis," he said.

A security source, quoted by the rebel website, said a fire tore through the building after the strikes.

- Call to protest -

The Iran-backed Huthis swept into Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced across much of Yemen, forcing the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee Sanaa.

More than 6,700 people -- most of them civilians -- have been killed in Yemen since the coalition intervened in support of Hadi, according to the United Nations.

Ambulance sirens blared as they transported the wounded away and residents said local hospitals had issued an appeal for blood donations.

The so-called supreme political council set up by the Huthis and their allies -- supporters of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh -- urged the Yemenis to stage a protest Sunday outside UN offices in Sanaa to protest against "war crimes" committed by the Saudi-led coaliton.

The coalition has come under mounting international criticism in recent months over the civilian death toll in its aerial campaign.

A UN report in August said coalition air strikes are suspected of causing around half of all civilian deaths in Yemen.

It called for an independent international body to investigate an array of serious violations by all sides, after 4,000 civilians have been killed.

The coalition has told AFP it uses highly accurate laser- and GPS-guided weapons and verifies targets many times to avoid civilian casualties.

At dawn a suspected Saudi-led raid on a house near Bajil, in the Red Sea province of Hodeida, killed four civilian members of the same family, a local official said.

In addition to the mounting death toll, Yemenis are facing twin health and hunger crises.

The UN's children agency UNICEF estimates that three million people are in need of immediate food supplies, while 1.5 million children suffer malnutrition.

UNICEF said Friday that cases of cholera had been reported in Sanaa and third city Taez, calling on the international community to fund medical aid efforts.

The hand of a victim amid the destruction following reported airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition air-planes on the capital Sanaa Mohammed Huwais (AFP)

Ambulance sirens blared as they transported the wounded away and residents said local hospitals had issued an appeal for blood donations Mohammed Huwais (AFP)
Canadian designer celebrates unisex at Dubai show

Canadian-Jordanian designer Rad Hourani creates avant-garde designs with a vision: To break all boundaries, starting with gender.

His revolutionary unisex garments were showcased in the Middle East for the first time ever during a show late Friday at Arab Fashion Week in Dubai.

In thick pieces of material tied up in different styles, male and female models walked down the runway wearing dark sunglasses.

A creation by Rad Hourani at the Arab Fashion Week in Dubai

The 34-year-old, an invited member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris, was the first ever designer to present a unisex haute couture collection in 2013.

His Spring-Summer 2017 collection presented in Dubai is a reworked mix of his past archives and aims to showcase "the timelessness" of his 10-year-old genderless works, the soft-spoken designer, wearing a simple black cotton T-shirt and matching trousers, told AFP in an interview.

"People didn't really understand it (unisex) at the beginning," he said. "They were always asking which pieces are for men and which pieces are for women."

"I had to work very hard in the past 10 years to communicate the neutral unisex vision," which has become his signature style, he said.

- 'Free of limitations' -

For Friday's show, Hourani said he re-edited his old collections "in a new way, adding new forms and new shapes."

But it was the first time the designer, known for his clean A-lines and minimalist looks, has worked with draped folds.

"I think working with these shapes in a new drapey and architectural way was an interesting exercise for me," he said.

Behind his work, Hourani has his own unbounded philosophy or "vision", as he likes to call it.

"I live in a way which is free of (the) limitations of gender, race, age or nations," he said. "I see the world as one place and I see the people as one as well."

Through his garments, he tries to offer customers some of this freedom by creating unisex clothing that could be transformed to menswear or womenswear through simple styling such as adding a belt, or tying up the piece in a certain way.

"What I'm trying to do is to create neutral graphic shapes and then to give each individual the options of wearing it: feminine, masculine, casual, or whatever style they like it to be."

"I don't work in a way that I can limit you in the way you style the garment. So my garments are really very transformable in terms of style."

While his fabrics are generally cotton satin, silk, and crepe, he used a plastic-like material for his Dubai collection and added bright colours -- a change from his usually monochrome palette of black, white, grey, and blue.

"This time it's more of a fun show" with the models even appearing wrapped up "like gifts" to celebrate the decade he has spent in the industry, Hourani said with a grin.

- 'Lady Gaga style' -

His designs drew mixed views from the audience with an elderly Iraqi man exclaiming: "They're aliens!" as the models walked past.

But Nora, a Frenchwoman of Arab origin, said she did see some "interesting" pieces which she could consider buying.

"We don't have this kind of fashion here in the Middle East... I see it (as) a bit special," she said after the show. "To understand this kind of design you need to... understand the designer himself how he thinks."

Daryl Scott, a fitness trainer from New York, agreed that "it was pretty interesting. It's different in a good way."

"It's something more like Lady Gaga" style, said Scott, referring to the all-famous American pop star who has already worn Hourani's designs.

But the designer said he does have Arab clients.

"I see a great evolution" in the Arab world in terms of fashion. "We have Emirati clients", male and female and of different ages.

Rad Hourani aims to break all boundaries, starting with gender

It is the first time Rad Hourani has worked with draped folds
German police find explosives in hunt for bomb plot suspect

Police found on Saturday several hundred grams of "explosive materials" in the east German apartment of a Syrian man suspected of planning a bomb attack, and arrested three people connected to him.

The suspect who remains at large, 22-year-old Syrian Jaber Albakr, could have had "an Islamist motive" sources close to the police told AFP.

"Highly explosive materials were found in the apartment concerned in Chemnitz, new evacuation measures are necessary," tweeted police in Germany's east.

A remote controlled robot for bomb disposal lifts a suitcase standing on a platform of the train station in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, on October 8, 2016 Arno Burgi (dpa/AFP)

Officers found "several hundred grams (of a) very dangerous substance which cannot be moved without protective measures", said police spokesman Tom Bernhardt.

Two of those arrested were seized close to the city's railway station while the other was taken into custody in the city centre. A package belonging to one of those arrested was undergoing analysis, police added.

"They were known to the suspect we are looking for and were arrested and detained," said Bernhardt who added that the trio were being questioned.

Germany has been on edge after suffering two attacks claimed by the Islamic State group (IS) in July -- an axe rampage on a train in Wuerzburg that injured five and a suicide bombing in Ansbach that left 15 wounded.

The attacks in July rattled Germans' sense of security and fuelled concerns over the country's record influx of migrants and refugees last year.

Police in the state of Saxony, where Chemnitz is located, issued a search warrant for Albakr after officers received information from domestic intelligence services, a police spokesman said, saying he was born in Syria in January 1994.

They added that Albakr was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and was "suspected of preparing a bomb attack" and issued an image of the man.

He arrived in Germany as a refugee last year and was under interior ministry surveillance for a period, according to Focus magazine, which cited intelligence sources.

The German magazine's website added that he had been plotting to attack an airport in the country.

A vast police operation was underway as heavily armed officers, some wearing balaclavas, combed the area around Albakr's apartment and local residents were evacuated.

An explosion was heard in the leafy Chemnitz suburb which investigators said was a police entry device.

Part of the city's main station was sealed off by officers as a remote-controlled robot was deployed to inspect a suspect package on a platform.

- Security threats -

German police said previously they had identified 523 people who posed a security threat to the country, around half of whom were known to be currently in Germany.

On September 21 German officials said a 16-year-old Syrian refugee had been arrested on suspicion of planning a bomb attack in the name of IS.

The youngster, thought to have been radicalised only recently, was detained in a special forces operation at a shelter for asylum-seekers in the western city of Cologne, police and prosecutors said.

Initial information gathered from the teenager's mobile phone showed that he had expressed an "unmistakeable willingness" to carry out an attack, Klaus-Stephan Becker of the Cologne police told reporters.

A week earlier, German police detained three men with forged Syrian passports accused of being IS militants and labelled a possible "sleeper cell" with links to the assailants behind the November attacks in Paris.

More than 200 police took part in pre-dawn raids in northern Germany to detain the men, suspected of either plotting an attack or awaiting orders to commit one.

German authorities have urged the public not to confuse migrants with "terrorists", but have acknowledged that more jihadists may have entered the country among the one million asylum-seekers who arrived last year.

Policemen secure a platform of the train station in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, on October 8, 2016 Arno Burgi (dpa/AFP)
Yemen rebels say more than 100 killed in Sanaa air strikes

Saudi-led air strikes on a funeral in Sanaa on Saturday killed more than 100 people and wounded more than 500, the rebels in control of the Yemeni capital said.

"The toll is very high: more than 520 wounded and more than 100 martyrs," health ministry spokesman Tamim al-Shami told rebel television channel Almasirah.

He sais the toll was likely to rise further as there were "charred human remains" that have yet to be identified and many people unaccounted for following the strikes on a building where mourners had gathered in southern Sanaa.

Yemeni men and rescue workers react amid the rubble of a destroyed building following reported airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition air-planes on the capital Sanaa Mohammed Huwais (AFP)

There was no independent confirmation of the toll.

Senior health ministry official Nasser al-Argaly earlier gave a toll of 82 killed and 534 wounded.

Witnesses said hundreds of people were attending the funeral of the father of a rebel interior minister Jalal al-Rowaishan when the building was hit.

The Huthis did not say if Rowaishan was present in the building at the time of the attack which they dubbed a "massacre" nor did they indicate if other senior figures were attending the funeral.

The Iran-backed Huthis swept into Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced across much of Yemen, forcing the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee Sanaa.
Man who was deported 10 times since 2010 faces Kansas charge

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (AP)  A man from Mexico who had been deported from the U.S. 10 times in the last six years faces charges accusing him of raping a child in Kansas.

Tomas Martinez-Maldonado is jailed in Geary County on $100,000 bond on a charge of raping the child last month. Public defender Cole Hawver declined to comment Friday. The public defender's office was appointed to represent Martinez-Maldonado during his first appearance Thursday.

The Geary County prosecutor's office did not respond to a request Friday for a copy of the probable cause affidavit filed to support the charge.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which was asked by Geary County to investigate the allegations, said the matter was reported to police in late September. The agency said the suspect was detained immediately and turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement until charges were filed.

The agency declined comment about where he was taken into custody and where the crime is alleged to have occurred, citing the ongoing investigation.

The criminal complaint filed Sept. 30 against Martinez-Maldonado said the rape is alleged to have occurred on or about Sept. 27. The complaint doesn't list an age for the suspect but says he was born in 1978.
The Latest: Alaska village asks people to leave walrus alone

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)  The Latest on walrus beginning to arrive near a remote Alaska village (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

Tribal leaders in a remote northwest Alaska village are asking that people leave Pacific walrus alone as the animals start to come ashore.

The tribal council of Point Lay says in a statement they are concerned about the walrus because they are subject to stampedes that can kill the youngest of the animals.

The council says walrus are a source of subsistence food for them. The council says villagers want to protect their cultural way of life and asked that anyone in the area respect "our animals and try not to disturb them."

The walrus have gathered by the thousands each fall on a barrier island near the Inupiat Eskimo village in recent years in what has become a marine mammal phenomenon caused by a warming climate. Last year, 35,000 hauled out on the rocky beach.

About 1,000 walrus are currently at the site.

___

11:15 a.m.

Pacific walrus are beginning to come ashore near a remote community on Alaska's northwest coast in what's become a marine mammal phenomenon caused by a warming climate.

The massive animals have gathered by the thousands each fall on a barrier island near the Inupiat Eskimo village of Point Lay. Last year, 35,000 hauled out on the rocky beach.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Andrea Medeiros says about 1,000 walrus are currently at the site. Medeiros says the village notified her agency Friday that the animals have begun arriving.
Arkansas man sentenced to life in death of 90-year-old woman

An Arkansas man who prosecutors say had become obsessed with zombies and wanted to know what it would feel like to kill someone was sentenced to life in prison Friday in the fatal shooting of a 90-year-old woman.

A Craighead County jury sentenced Jordan Tarver, 31, of Bay to three life terms, plus 22 years, after finding him guilty earlier in the day of capital murder, kidnapping, aggravated residential burglary, abuse of a corpse, theft of property and possession of a defaced firearm in the July 3, 2015, death of Lavinda Counce of Bay.

Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington had sought the death penalty, but said he was not disappointed with the jury's decision.

"It was a crime that at least warranted us asking for (the death penalty)," Ellington told The Associated Press.

Prosecutors alleged Tarver had become obsessed with zombies and kidnapped and killed Counce because he wanted to know what it would feel like to kill someone.

Jurors were shown a video of Tarver confessing to the slaying.

"I have been watching a lot of 'Walking Dead.' An old person is the closest thing you can get to a zombie. I can't explain it," Tarver said during the police interview in July 2015.

Tarver testified that he confessed only to protect his family and that his statements were coerced.

A phone call to Tarver's attorney late Friday afternoon was not answered

Counce was reported missing July 3, 2015, and her car was found the next day in a hospital parking lot in northeast Jonesboro, about eight miles away. Surveillance video showed a man that prosecutors said was Tarver getting out of the car and walking away.

Defense attorney Randel Miller told jurors that Tarver's DNA was not found in the car, but prosecutors said a bag containing items consistent with a kidnapping, including a rope, crowbar and duct tape was found in Counce's home and also held a washcloth with Tarver's DNA on it.
Brandt Snedeker takes lead in windy Fiji International

NATADOLA, Fiji (AP)  Brandt Snedeker took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the wind-swept Fiji International, shooting a 2-under 70 in difficult conditions at Natadola Bay.

Coming off the United States' Ryder Cup victory Sunday in Minnesota, Snedeker had three birdies and a bogey to reach 12-under 204 on the Vijay Singh-designed layout. He opened with a 69 and shot a 64 on Friday.

"It was a tough day. I did a great job of hanging in there," Snedeker said. "I hit the ball really well off the tee with one exception and put the ball where I needed to all day. I hit a bunch of great putts that didn't want to go in today for whatever reason.

Australia's Anthony Houston was second after a 73, and countryman Matthew Giles, the second-round leader, was 8 under after a 75. New Zealand's Gareth Paddison followed his course-record 64 with a 69 to join Australia's Michael Hendry (68) at 7 under.

Snedeker parred the first eight holes, birdied the par-4 ninth and added another on the par-4 14th. He dropped a stroke on the par-4 16th  ending his bogey-free streak at 49 holes  and rebounded with an up-and-down birdie on the short par-5 17th.

"Starting the day out, if you'd have told me I'd shoot a couple under I probably would have taken it tough as the conditions are and as many big numbers are out there. I've given myself a chance and going into tomorrow I need to finish it off. A three-shot lead in wind like this is one hole, so I need to go out there and play a solid round of golf like I did today.

Ranked 23rd in the world, the 35-year-old Snedeker won at Torrey Pines in February for his eighth PGA Tour title. He's trying to win his first international title in the event sanctioned by European, Australasian and Asian tours.

"We'll see what the weather looks like," Snedeker said about the final round. "Hopefully, we get a good day forecast, go out there and make some birdies and shoot something low."

Singh was tied for 36th at 1 over after a 72. The 53-year-old Fijian is a three-time major champion.
Exit polls: Georgian ruling party leads parliamentary vote

TBILISI, Georgia (AP)  Two exit polls in Georgia's parliamentary election on Saturday showed the ruling party in the lead, but the polls differed sizably on the margin of victory.

Regardless of the election's outcome, the former Soviet republic appears determined to integrate more closely with the West, including keeping alive distant hopes of joining the European Union and NATO.

A poll conducted for Georgia's public broadcaster and other stations showed the ruling Georgian Dream party with nearly 54 percent of the vote Saturday and the opposition United National Movement at 19.5 percent support.

Supporters of ruling Georgian Dream party take part in rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Two exit polls in Georgia's parliamentary election show the ruling party in the lead, but the polls differ sizeably on the margin of victory. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

But an exit poll for the independent channel Rustavi-2 put the figures at 39.9 percent for the ruling party and 32.7 percent for the opposition.

The discrepancy could feed tensions after a campaign that included a car bombing of one prominent opposition politician and shots fired at another candidate.

About 100 assailants attacked a polling station Saturday in the town of Marneuli, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of the capital, Tbilisi. Police said the assailants were supporters of the UNM.

Based on the exit polls, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili told Georgian Dream party members: "I congratulate you on a big victory."

"These elections are a very important step forward toward reinforcing Georgia's image as a democratic European state," Kvirikashvili said after casting his ballot.

But UNM leader David Bakradze told journalists he believes his party will prevail once single-constituency races are tallied. Of the 150 seats in parliament, 77 are chosen by proportional representation and 73 are in single districts.

The small, pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots was likely to pass the 5-percent threshold it needs to be allotted seats, according to the exit polls.

The contest highlighted the often disorderly political climate in a country that has endured revolutions both violent and peaceful over the past three decades. Enthusiasm among the electorate was low; just 51 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, according to the national elections commission.

In all, 25 parties or groups competed for the 77 seats that will be chosen by party-list voting; more than 800 candidates ran for the 73 single-district seats.

Each of the two main parties carries substantial baggage.

Georgian Dream, which came to power in the 2012 elections, is the creation of tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister who appeared prominently in the "Panama Papers" leak about officials with offshore accounts.

Although Ivanishvili does not currently hold office, he is believed to wield enormous influence. Many Georgians consider him a Trojan horse for Russia because of his business connections there and his attempts to improve relations with Moscow, which were badly damaged by the 2008 war between the two countries.

Adding to the tensions, one of the campaign's most prominent figures has been Mikhail Saakashvili, the former president who was stripped of his Georgian citizenship after he became leader of one of Ukraine's most troubled regions, Odessa.

Saakashvili is vowing a triumphant return if his UNM supporters in Georgia win power but he is a divisive figure.

While Saakashvili and the UNM are credited with enacting important police and economic reforms after the peaceful Rose Revolution of 2003, opposition to him grew for being hot-tempered and uncompromising.

He had to address the rally in Tbilisi through a video linkup because he left the country after his term ended in 2013, then was charged in absentia with abuse of office. Saakashvili declared that if UNM regains power in Georgia, "I will cross the sea" to return to his homeland.

Georgian Dream continued the reform path that Saakashvili laid out and this year achieved an agreement with the EU that boosts trade and political relations. But Georgia remains troubled by high unemployment of about 12 percent, low pensions and other economic concerns.

The tensions underlying the election surfaced in violent incidents over the past week.

On Sunday, two people were wounded by gunshots at a campaign rally for candidate and former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili. He claimed the gunmen were affiliated with Georgian Dream.

On Tuesday, an explosion destroyed the automobile of lawmaker Givi Targamadze, a Saakashvili ally. Georgia's Interior Ministry says police have identified a suspect in the bombing and that weapons and explosives had been seized as part of the investigation.

___

Sophiko Megrelidze in Tbilisi and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this story.

David Bakradze, leader of Georgia's largest opposition party United National Movement, leaves a voting booth with his ballot at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other contenders. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Georgian President Georgi Margvelashvili casts his ballot during the parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other contenders. (Leli Blagonravova/Presidential Press Service via AP)

An election official prepares voting booths at a polling station ahead of Saturday's parliamentary elections in Tbilisi, Georgia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Sergei

Election officials prepare voting booths at a polling station ahead of Saturday's parliamentary elections in Tbilisi, Georgia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Georgian women pass election posters of various candidates ahead of Saturday's parliamentary elections in Tbilisi, Georgia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Parliamentary elections will be held in Georgia on Oct. 8 with opposition parties confirming their intention to challenge the ruling Georgian Dream coalition. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

David Bakradze, leader of Georgia's largest opposition party United National Movement, speaks to the media after voting at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other contenders. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Georgian President Georgi Margvelashvili, right, accompanied by his mother Mzia Gomelauri and father Temur Margvelashvili, left, leaves a polling station after voting during the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other contenders. (Leli Blagonravova/Presidential Press Service via AP)

A voter casts his ballot at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other contenders. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

A woman places a candle in a church near the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other groups. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

A woman chats with election officials during the parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other groups. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

People check for names on the officially published voters list during the parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other groups. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

A woman leaves a voting booth during the parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other groups. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili speaks to the media after voting at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other groups. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

A man leaves a voting booth during the parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other groups. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili casts his ballot during the parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other contenders. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

Voters cast their ballots during the parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other contenders. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

Sandra Roelofs, wife of former Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili, leaves a voting booth with her ballot at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other contenders.(AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

A woman holds her child as she fills a ballot in voting booth during the parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. An undercurrent of political violence is unsettling voters in Georgia as they elect members of parliament on Saturday from a field that includes candidates from the countrys two main parties and a bewildering array of nearly two dozen other contenders. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
Rival Syria resolutions by West and Russia defeated at UN

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Rival resolutions on Syria backed by the West and Russia were defeated in the U.N. Security Council on Saturday, offering no relief to the besieged city of Aleppo and leaving the key powers even more divided over a course of action in the war-ravaged country.

Russia vetoed a French-drafted resolution demanding an immediate halt to the bombing campaign that the Syrian government and Russia are carrying out against rebel-held districts in Aleppo. The rival Russian draft which made no mention of a bombing halt was rejected because it failed to get the minimum nine "yes" votes needed for approval by the 15-member council.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the current rotating council president, said before the votes that members were engaging in "one of the strangest spectacles" in the Security Council, because they were meeting knowing that neither resolution would be adopted.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks with a montage showing Secretary of State John Kerry shaking hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at rear, at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia and other ex-Soviet nations. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

"This waste of time is inadmissible," he said.

The votes reflected the deep divisions in the U.N.'s most powerful body which is charged with ensuring international peace and security but has totally failed to take action to end the more than 5-year Syrian conflict which has killed over 300,000 people and displaced millions.

The French-backed resolution received 11 "yes" votes, two "no" votes from Russia and Venezuela, and abstentions from China and Angola. The Russian resolution received four "yes" votes, nine "no" votes, and two abstentions.

It was the fifth veto by Russia of a Western-backed resolution aimed at ending the Syrian conflict.

When Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari started speaking after the votes, a number of ambassadors walked out, including the representatives of Britain, France, Ukraine and the United States.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who addressed the session before the vote on the French resolution, warned that the continued bombing of Aleppo was killing civilians and destroying hospitals and schools  "and has nothing to do with combatting terrorism," as Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and its close ally Russia contend.

"It is the annihilation of Aleppo," he said, declaring that the continued bombing will leave the city in ruins, a place where citizens will be left to their "executioners."

He compared Aleppo's likely fate to Guernica during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, Srebrenica during the Bosnian war and the Chechen capital Grozny which was pummeled by the Russian army in the mid-1990s.

Russia's Churkin said the demand for a bombing halt in Aleppo was "not fleshed out" and would affect the government-controlled western part of the city as well as the rebel-held east.

He said the French resolution's adoption would have been the first where the Security Council decided on a course of action for a permanent council member without prior agreement  meaning that Russia would have been required to stop all flights and bombing of Aleppo.

Churkin noted that activity in Aleppo had gone down on Friday and "we hope this is a trend that will continue."

Until Friday afternoon, the French resolution was the only one before the council. But Russia unexpectedly introduced a rival resolution in a bid take some attention off its expected veto.

After the council rejected the Russian draft, Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft addressed Churkin directly saying: "A lonely veto and then just four votes in favor of your text  a double humiliation."

"This text was a cynical attempt to divert attention from your veto today that once again denied any hope to the people of Aleppo," Rycroft said. "It's a sham, just as Russia's hollow commitment to a political process in Syria is a sham."

U.S. deputy ambassador David Pressman followed up saying Russia and Syria will undoubtedly claim that any devastation in Aleppo that "they are raining down is directed at terrorists," not at the civilian buildings they are clearly striking.

"What Russia wants is for there to be more talk while they seek to take the city by brutal force," Pressman said. "What we want is less talk and more action for them to stop the slaughter."

Russia's Churkin said he wouldn't react to the "provocative rhetoric" from the U.S. and Britain.

He agreed that "more action is needed," but blamed the United States for failing to separate the moderate opposition from the extremists as called for in the failed U.S.-Russia cease-fire agreement.

Both the French and the Russian resolutions urged immediate implementation of that agreement and "immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Syria."

Many council members expressed dismay at the council's continued failure to end the suffering of the Syrian people.
Hurricane creates new crisis in Haiti, aid begins arriving

JEREMIE, Haiti (AP)  Jislene Jean-Baptiste and her neighbors had little before Hurricane Matthew and now they have a lot less.

A grandmother who lives with her three daughters and their children in a one-room house in the devastated town of Jeremie, Jean-Baptiste on Friday was surveying what remained of her home after Matthew tore across southwestern Haiti three days earlier.

There wasn't much. Storm surge flowed across the road and drenched everything she owns in waist-deep salt water, washing away the stores of rice and sugar she sells at the market to support her family. Then the wind tore off her roof.

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)

"That storm was the most terrifying thing that ever happened here," she said.

Many of her neighbors are in a similarly dire situation because of a storm that killed hundreds of people in Haiti. Its 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.

Katrina Legner, a 23-year-old mother of two, also saw the storm destroy her small, concrete-block home before she fled to the house of a cousin that was then also wrecked. "We have very little food and I'm getting worried," she said.

Amid the suffering, aid began pouring into the coastal 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 Richard David, 22, one of those who came to the airport. "I haven't had anything but water today and I'm hungry."

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 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 Jeremie, home after home was in ruins. Drew Garrison, a Haiti-based missionary who flew in Friday, said several fishing villages 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."

U.N. emergency relief coordinator Stephen O'Brien called the hurricane's damage a major blow to Haiti's reconstruction effort and the fight against cholera.

"We expect that homes, schools and cholera treatment facilities have been destroyed and that water systems, roads and bridges have been severely damaged," he said in a statement that also announced that the U.N.'s Central Emergency Response Fund was releasing $5 million to help Haiti. Earlier this week, the fund released a loan of $8 million to UNICEF to scale up response to Haiti's cholera epidemic.

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 airstrip. She said they were hungry and desperately in need of food.

"Jeremie might get rebuilt after I'm dead, maybe, but I doubt it," she said.

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.

Those killed in Haiti by Matthew 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.

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)

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)

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 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)

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)
Navy commissioning honors ship's Pennsylvania namesake

PHILADELPHIA (AP)  Thousands gathered in the shadow of the massive USS John P. Murtha on Saturday to send the ship into active service and honor its namesake.

The U.S. Navy commissioned the ship named for the late longtime congressman and decorated Marine Corps veteran from Western Pennsylvania during a ceremony at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia.

The ship can carry some 800 men and women on military and humanitarian missions and operate independently for about a month. Ships like the USS John P. Murtha are the most technologically advanced warships of today and are used to transport and land U.S. Marines, their equipment and supplies, said Jim McKinney, the ship's production manager.

The USS John P. Murtha stands along the along the skyline of Philadelphia, on the Delaware River Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. The U.S. Navy is commissioning the USS John P. Murtha, a new ship named in honor of the late longtime Pennsylvania congressman and decorated Marine Corps veteran. Thousands are expected to honor Murtha on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016 at Penns Landing in Philadelphia during a ceremony to place the ship into active service. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

"Marines truly do love these ships because it can support them in every way," McKinney said. "This generation of ship will be state-of-the-art for decades to come."

Notable guests  including Democratic U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and members of the Murtha family  said its namesake was also loved.

Pelosi, a friend of Murtha, said he dedicated his life to serving the nation and established an unparalleled legacy of strength and leadership.

Murtha served as a member of the Pennsylvania House and later was the first Vietnam War veteran elected to Congress. He became the longest-serving congressman in Pennsylvania history shortly before his death in 2010. He was 77.

"We will never see his like again," Pelosi said.

The two-time Purple Heart recipient earned various accolades for his service, including the Navy Distinguished Service Medal upon his retirement as a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

Murtha became the de facto voice of veterans during his time on Capitol Hill and later an influential critic of the Iraq War. He served as the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending for two decades.

"This ship and, more importantly, the young men and women that will serve our nation on this ship will be the living and breathing embodiment of the legacy of Jack Murtha," said Under Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy.

Lizzeth Mancillas, of El Paso, Texas, first learned of Murtha's story at the commissioning and from her daughter, who will serve as a member of the ship's crew. Mancillas said it was clear that Murtha deserved the recognition.

"He did his duty for this country in so ways, and it's a true sacrifice," she said. "I support my daughter and the men and women who defend us 100 percent."

The USS John P. Murtha, the tenth of its kind, will homeport in San Diego.
From 'Ohio of India' to the real one for political lessons

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  Eight political professionals from "the Ohio of India" are working at campaign offices in the American bellwether state as part of an international fellowship program.

They're all University of Akron International Campaign Fellows, participating in a new program that allows students to swap campaign lessons with the political battleground.

"Indians have a lot of interest in U.S. elections, and I think the entire world has a lot of interest," said Pankhuri Pathak, a fellow who works as spokeswoman for India's 24-year-old Samajwadi Party. "Over here, campaigning techniques are more sophisticated, more advanced. So we thought maybe we could learn something from here and apply it back home."

In this Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2016 photo, Anil Yadav, one the political professionals from India participating in the University of Akron's new International Campaign Fellows program, speaks with other volunteers at a campaign field office in Columbus, Ohio. Fellows from India, Liberia and Brazil are taking and sharing lessons on U.S. battleground politics and grassroots campaigning through the program this fall. (University of Akron ICF Program via AP)

The fellows are high-ranking professionals in their home country  political scientists, communications specialists and strategists from India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.

Unlike Ohio, U.P. sends more legislators to the national governing body, Parliament, than any other state. But like Ohio, it has huge sway over which party wins a national majority and gets to influence who becomes prime minister.

"We call it 'the Ohio of India' because you can't win an election in India without winning U.P.," said Hari Kasula, the program's deputy director.

Groups from Liberia and Brazil arrive later this month.

No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio, and the last Democrat to do so was John F. Kennedy in 1960. The state is an attractive laboratory for these political observers because of its compact mix of big cities, suburbs, mountains and farms that attract almost nonstop presidential stops in election years.

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have visited the state about 25 times combined since they clinched their parties' nominations.

Besides working full-time knocking on doors, making phone calls and stuffing mail for political campaigns, all fellows must complete the university's class on battleground politics.

Gerald Austin, a longtime Ohio Democratic strategist, conceived the program and says it's unique in embedding international fellows with U.S. political campaigns. He team-teaches the battleground politics class with the University of Akron's John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.

On a recent Wednesday night, the class gathered in two separate classrooms  at Columbus State Community College and on the university's main campus more than two hours away  that were digitally linked by audio and video.

The guest speaker was Tim Monaco from the office of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, the state elections chief. He fielded dozens of technical questions about how Ohio elections work.

Austin said international connections made through the program are valuable to both sides.

"All these folks are very skilled, experienced in their own country," Austin said. "India's the largest democracy in the world. They've got 1.3 billion people, and 800 million of them vote. They're astounded to hear we actually vote, count and declare a winner all on Election Day. So they have a lot to teach us about what they do that we don't do, and we have a lot to teach them about what we do."

The Indian fellows can discuss the effects in their country of making Election Day a national holiday, casting all votes into a central digital system  and greeting the first voters at polling places with flowers.

"The Indian system is more easy, and more safe," Kasula said, while noting he and his colleagues are especially interested in the voter micro-targeting  tailored messages to individual voters based on data such as voting patterns and internet habits  employed by American campaigns.

Indian ballots also feature an option that may have come in handy this year in the U.S., when two of the least popular candidates on record are running for president: None of the above.
Saudi Arabia says missile fired from Yemen causes no damage

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP)  Saudi Arabia says a ballistic missile fired from Yemen landed in an uninhabited desert and caused no injuries, the latest missile fired by rebels to target the kingdom.

The Saudi military says the missile fired Friday night apparently targeted the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait. It says the Saudi air force then targeted the area inside Yemen from where the missile was fired.

A Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has been fighting against the country's Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies, including former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's loyalists. The rebels routinely fire ballistic missiles and mortars at Saudi Arabia.
With only bad options in Syria, US reluctant to alter course

WASHINGTON (AP)  The disintegration of diplomatic talks with Russia has left the Obama administration with an array of bad options for what to do next in Syria.

Despite harrowing scenes of violence in the city of Aleppo and beyond, President Barack Obama is unlikely to approve any dramatic shift in strategy before handing the civil war over to his successor in January.

The options under discussion at the White House  limited military strikes, sanctions, more weapons for rebels, multiparty talks  have one thing in common: None appears likely to halt the bloodshed in the short term.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016, file photo, provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, rescue workers work the site of airstrikes in the al-Sakhour neighborhood of the rebel-held part of eastern Aleppo, Syria. The implosion of diplomatic talks with Russia has left the Obama administration with a series of bad options for what to do next in Syria. Despite harrowing scenes of violence in Aleppo and beyond, President Barack Obama is unlikely to approve any risky new strategy before handing the civil war over to his successor early next year. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP, File)

The more aggressive proposals come with the added risk of pulling the U.S. into direct military confrontation with Russia, a threat illuminated by a string of recent taunts from Moscow.

Obama has wrestled for years with the Syria crisis and is reluctant to entangle the U.S. in another Mideast war. He insisted the only viable path forward involved U.S.-Russia-brokered talks, but they have now fallen apart,

He faces the prospect of leaving office as a bystander to a war in which an estimated 500,000 people have been killed and 11 million people  half of Syria's pre-war population  have become refugees.

"Obama's practically lame-duck status only reinforces the argument for maintaining the current policy," said Jonathan Stevenson, a former senior Mideast adviser to the president. "It's true, of course, that presidents on their way out are not always risk-averse, but maybe they should be."

Secretary of State John Kerry and others are clamoring for a stronger response after the Syrian and Russian assaults on Aleppo punctured the veneer of a productive diplomatic track, and the U.S. withdrew from talks with Russia last week.

Evidence of the collapse of relations abounded Friday.

The U.S. formally accused Russia of trying to meddle in the U.S. election by hacking U.S. political groups, and Kerry accused the Kremlin of war crimes in Syria. Earlier, Russia suspended deals with the U.S. on nuclear research cooperation and disposal of weapons-grade plutonium.

The turn of events has led the White House to cautiously reconsider proposals that had been largely ruled out, including economic penalties against Russia that the U.S. would have to orchestrate with Russia's larger trading partners.

Senior U.S. officials said the administration was discussing options with European countries while U.S. intelligence agencies map out companies and individuals that could be targeted.

Under a separate proposal, the U.S. would take narrow, short-term military action against Syrian President Bashar Assad's military, such as its air force assets, officials said. The goal wouldn't be to eliminate Assad's ability to attack opposition groups, but to scare Syria and Russia into returning to the negotiating table, said the officials, who weren't authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Yet officials from multiple U.S. agencies said chances appeared slim that Obama would approve the strikes. Such a move probably would trigger at least a short-term uptick in violence, they noted, with long-term prospects for starting a peace process unclear.

Moreover, there is no U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing strikes against Syria, leaving the U.S. without a clear legal basis to act. Russia has bolstered its capabilities in Syria with state-of-the-art S-300 missile defense systems, while warning it could fire back if Assad's assets come under U.S. attack.

Russia launched its military campaign in Syria last year to help Assad's forces fight the opposition. The U.S. military and its partners are only targeting the Islamic State group and other extremists in the country.

Even with diplomatic talks ended, Russia and the U.S. are maintaining military-to-military "deconfliction" contacts to prevent an accidental confrontation in Syria's crowded sky. But Russia's military warned ominously this week that it wouldn't have enough time to use the "hotline" before shooting back.

"Both parties will try to avoid any sort of escalation that may entail unpredictable consequences, but various things may happen," said Fyodor Lukyanov, the head of Council for Foreign and Defense Policies, an association of top Russian political experts. "The risks are high, especially now when mutual aversion is strong."

In sanctions, too, the U.S. sees potential drawbacks.

The U.S. had blamed Moscow of being either unable or unwilling to persuade Assad to abide by the most recent cease-fire. But it is holding out hope that Moscow has a change of heart, perhaps in response to sanctions.

The White House and State Department had argued to Congress that new sanctions legislation could undermine efforts with Russians to forge a cease-fire between Assad and rebel groups. Lawmakers responded last month by canceling a vote on a bipartisan bill requiring Obama to impose sanctions on anyone who does business with Syria's government or central bank, its aviation industry or energy sector.

While the Russia talks have collapsed, the administration maintains concerns about the sanctions might also hurt Iran, another Assad supporter, giving Tehran an excuse to renege on the U.S.-brokered nuclear deal. The administration also demanded that lawmakers strip out mandatory requirements so that Obama can waive sanctions at his discretion, congressional aides said.

The U.S. has legal authority to target Russian entities over support for Syria, but there have been no Russia sanctions to date for its actions in Syria. The White House has argued that because the U.S. does little trade with Russia, U.S. sanctions would be ineffective unless European countries join.

The administration also has long considered allowing Saudi Arabia and other Assad opponents to arm the Syrian opposition with more sophisticated weaponry. But there's widespread concern about weapons reaching extremists, given intermingling across Syria's battlefields by various groups fighting Assad.

That leaves renewed diplomacy, through the U.N. or the 20-nation International Syria Support Group, as the most probable focus. Both formats include Russia.

___

AP National Security Writer Robert Burns in Washington and Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

FILE - In this photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense group known as the White Helmets, taken Sept. 23, 2016, a destroyed ambulance is seen outside the Syrian Civil Defense main center after airstrikes in Ansari neighborhood in the rebel-held part of eastern Aleppo, Syria. The implosion of diplomatic talks with Russia has left the Obama administration with a series of bad options for what to do next in Syria. Despite harrowing scenes of violence in Aleppo and beyond, President Barack Obama is unlikely to approve any risky new strategy before handing the civil war over to his successor early next year. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)

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)

FILE -- In This April 21, 2014, file photo, provided by the anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian man holding a girl as he stands on the rubble of houses that were destroyed by Syrian government forces air strikes in Aleppo, Syria. The implosion of diplomatic talks with Russia has left the Obama administration with a series of bad options for what to do next in Syria. Despite harrowing scenes of violence in Aleppo and beyond, President Barack Obama is unlikely to approve any risky new strategy before handing the civil war over to his successor early next year.(AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC, File)

This Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016 photo, provided by the Syrian Civil Defense group known as the White Helmets, shows Civil Defense workers from the White Helmets digging in the rubles to remove bodies and look for survivors, after airstrikes hit the Bustan al-Basha neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria. The implosion of diplomatic talks with Russia has left the Obama administration with a series of bad options for what to do next in Syria. Despite harrowing scenes of violence in Aleppo and beyond, President Barack Obama is unlikely to approve any risky new strategy before handing the civil war over to his successor early next year. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
Hurricane's blow was less than feared; 'We are blessed'

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP)  A weakening Hurricane Matthew lashed Georgia and the Carolinas on Saturday in what appeared to be the last leg of its march up the East Coast, leaving in its wake millions of Americans relieved that one of the most fearsome storms on record in the U.S. wasn't that bad after all.

The hurricane was blamed for at least 10 deaths in the U.S., including that of a 68-year-old Georgia man who died when two trees fell on his home. And hundreds were left dead in Matthew's wake in Haiti.

But in many places along the Southeast coast, the damage consisted mostly of flooded streets, blown-down signs and awnings, flattened trees and power outages.

In this aerial photo, portions of SR A1A are washed out from Hurricane Matthew, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in Flagler Beach, Fla. The damage from Matthew caused beach erosion, washed out some roads and knocked out power for more than 1 million customers in several coastal counties. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

As the storm passed and the skies cleared, many people were already cleaning up, reopening their businesses or hitting the beach. The power started coming back on. And all three major theme parks in Orlando, Florida, including Walt Disney World, were up and running.

"We are all blessed that Matthew stayed off our coast," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. "We are blessed that we didn't have a direct hit."

On Saturday, Matthew sideswiped two of the South's oldest and most historic cities  Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina  and also brought torrential rain and stiff wind to places like Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina.

From there, it was expected to veer out to sea, lose steam and loop back around toward the Bahamas and Florida, too feeble to cause any trouble.

For nearly its entire run up the coast from Florida, Matthew hung just far enough offshore that communities did not feel the full force of its winds.

Its storm center, or eye, finally blew ashore just north of Charleston on Saturday, but only briefly. And by that time, Matthew was just barely a hurricane, with winds of just 75 mph.

Within an hour of residents being allowed to return Saturday to Jacksonville Beach, Florida, David Villmow had fired up the two pizza ovens at his beachfront restaurant, The Art of Pizza. He was hoping to start serving customers in a few hours.

"We got really lucky," he said. "We could be looking at a whole lot worse. All you see are downed signs, downed fences, a few gas station sign letters missing."

Matthew's deadly potential was made all too clear in Haiti, where the hurricane roared ashore on Tuesday with terrifying 145 mph winds. At least 470 people were reported dead in one hard-hit district alone, with other devastated areas still unreachable four days later.

An estimated 2 million people in the Southeast were ordered to evacuate their homes as Matthew closed in. By hugging the coast, the storm pretty much behaved as forecasters predicted. A shift of just 20 or 30 miles could have meant widespread devastation.

"People got incredibly lucky," Colorado State University meteorology professor Phil Klotzbach. "It was a super close call."

While Matthew's wind speed had dropped considerably by the time it hit the Southeast coast, the storm will still go down as one of the most potent hurricanes on record, based on such factors as wind energy and longevity, and one of the most long-lived major hurricanes, too.

It was a major hurricane  that is, with winds of at least 110 mph  for 7.25 days.

The storm swamped the streets of Savannah, a historic town of moss-draped squares and antebellum mansions. A homeless woman was seen staggering through waters up to her neck. She made it across safely.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew also rescued a man stranded on a sailboat in a river near Georgia's Tybee Island. And North Carolina officials said they had to rescue numerous people from cars and homes.

The streets of Charleston  a city of handsome pre-Civil War homes, church steeples and romantic carriage rides  were also flooded.

"It's not as bad as maybe I was expecting," said Leigh Webber, who watched from her porch in the city's historic district.

"I feel badly for a lot of the businesses downtown that have been closed since Wednesday," she added. "I noticed a lot of hotels were completely closed. I know some weddings were canceled and it was a huge financial loss for a lot of people."

South Carolina's golf-and-tennis resort Hilton Head Island also took a blow as the eye of the storm passed 20 miles to the east. At least one gust of 87 mph was recorded at Hilton Head.

The two roads onto the island of 40,000 people were blocked by fallen pine trees, and many roads were under water.

All access points to Georgia's St. Simons Island from the mainland were blocked. Tybee Island also took a beating, with gusts clocked at 93 mph.

Three-quarters of a million people in South Carolina were left without electricity, and 250,000 were in the dark in coastal Georgia. About 1 million people in Florida lost power.

Four deaths were blamed on the storm in Florida, three in Georgia and three in North Carolina. The deaths included an elderly Florida couple who died from carbon monoxide fumes while running a generator in their garage and two women who were killed when trees fell on a home and a camper.

The storm raked yet another historic Southern city on its way up the coast: St. Augustine, Florida, which was founded by the Spanish in the 1500s and includes many historic homes. The city was left awash in rain and gray seawater Friday.

Property manager Nick Trunck went to check on check on several stores and apartments. He said the damage consisted of little more than several lost shingles, a lost awning and water seeping into one area.

Trunck had arranged for 10 men to come from Connecticut to help with the cleanup, but after getting a look at the damage, he said he could probably get by with "a couple of guys and a mop."

Property data firm CoreLogic projected the storm would cause $4 billion to $6 billion in insured losses on home and commercial properties. That compares with Hurricane Katrina's $40 billion and Superstorm Sandy's $20 billion.

___

Associated Press writers Holbrook Mohr in 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 unidentified woman is rescued from her vehicle which is floating in waist-deep water on flooded President Street after Hurricane Matthew caused flooding along the east coast of Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

The football field at Conway High School in South Carolina is flooded by rain from Hurricane Matthew, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in Conway, S.C. Hurricane Matthew's estimated losses are a fraction of those racked up by Superstorm Sandy, which barreled into the Northeast in 2012, and Hurricane Katrina, which swept through Louisiana and nearby states in 2005. (Sawyer Jordan twitter/sawdiggity via AP)

A woman who identified herself as Valerie walks along flooded President Street after leaving her homeless camp after Hurricane Matthew caused flooding, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in Savannah, Ga. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding towns and gouging out roads in its path. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

A truck passes a fallen tree caused by Hurricane Matthew on I-95 North on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in Richmond Hill, Ga. Matthew is continuing its march along the Atlantic coast, lashing two of the South's most historic cities and some of its most popular resort islands with heavy rain and stiff winds. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Residents Nathan Ogdon and Julia Schittko walk along flooded Water Street in Wilmington, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016 as Hurricane Matthew moves into the Carolinas. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

A tree and power lines blown over by Hurricane Matthew lay across a road on St. Simons Island, Ga., Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding towns and gouging out roads in its path.(AP Photo/David Goldman)

Flood waters rise around cars parked on a street near the popular City Market in Charleston, S.C., during Hurricane Matthew on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. The storm moved along the South Carolina coast with the worst winds hitting Charleston on Saturday morning. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith)

A truck approaches a fallen tree caused by Hurricane Matthew on I-95 North on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in Richmond Hill, Ga. Matthew is continuing its march along the Atlantic coast, lashing two of the South's most historic cities and some of its most popular resort islands with heavy rain and stiff winds. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Andy Jones clears away limbs from a tree blocking a road after it fell over from Hurricane Matthew on St. Simons Island, Ga., Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding towns and gouging out roads in its path. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

People walk down Station 30 with their dog as Hurricane Matthew hits Sullivan's Island, S.C., Saturday, October 8, 2016. Matthew is continuing its march along the Atlantic coast, lashing two of the South's most historic cities and some of its most popular resort islands with heavy rain and stiff winds. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Barricades block Highway 40 for downed street lights in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew at Saint Marys, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding towns and gouging out roads in its path. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Andy Jones clears away limbs from a tree blocking a road after it fell over from Hurricane Matthew on St. Simons Island, Ga., Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding towns and gouging out roads in its path. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A gas pump sits out of service after Hurricane Matthew knocked out power while passing through St. Simons Island, Ga., Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding towns and gouging out roads in its path. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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)

Mike Pendergrast moves a wagon down 41st Ave. full of sand to fill with sand bags around his home on the Isle of Palms as Hurricane Matthew approaches the Isle of Palms, S.C., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Robert Nicotra braves the wind and rain along the beach on the Isle of Palms, S.C., as Hurricane Matthew approaches, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

An Isle of Palms house leaves a message as Hurricane Matthew approaches the Isle of Palms, S.C., Friday, October 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A car attempts to cross the flooded intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Victory Drive Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Savannah, Ga., as Hurricane Matthew hits the coast of Georgia. Governor Nathan Deal called for a mandatory evacuation of all peoples east of Interstate 95 in Georgia but many have refused to leave. (Josh Galemore/Savannah Morning News via AP)

Rain from Hurricane Matthew falls on the flooded intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Victory Drive Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Savannah, Ga. (Josh Galemore/Savannah Morning News via AP)

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)

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 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)

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)
Pence steps past Trump on Syria, underscoring differences

ROSSFORD, Ohio (AP)  Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence has ventured beyond Donald Trump's ambiguous posture toward war-torn Syria.

The Indiana governor said during a debate with Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine that the U.S. military should be ready to strike Syrian military targets under the command of President Bashar Assad, whom the U.S. blames for a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians. The threat of military action against the Russia-backed Assad regime marks a departure from what Trump has proposed for the country's escalating humanitarian crisis.

Trump has advocated a hands-off approach to dealing with Assad. He has rarely addressed the crisis beyond calling for the creation of so-called safe zones for Syrian civilians to keep them out of harm's way and keep refugees he claims pose a serious security risk out of Europe and the United States.

Students carry a Trump-Pence sign before the vice-presidential debate between Republican vice-presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016. (AP Photo/AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

"What I like is, build a safe zone," Trump said almost a year ago, so "you don't destroy all of Europe."

The space between the candidates underscores Pence's challenge as he attempts to champion an unusually vague presidential candidate who shows little interest in the intricacies of world affairs. The differences also raise questions of whether other policy gaps between the two Republicans would exist in a Trump administration facing the tangle of adversaries and allies at the heart of the Syrian conflict. While Pence espouses traditional conservative viewpoints, Trump has advocated an isolationist-tinged "American first" approach that is harder to classify.

Notably, the light between the two men on Syria exposes Pence's superior fluency on such issues as a former 10-year member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The awkwardness surfaced during the only vice presidential debate Monday when Pence was asked whether the U.S. has a responsibility to protect civilians caught in the bloody Syrian conflict. Where Trump has suggested safe zones for refugees, Pence offered details and nuance  and he addressed the prospect of a confrontation with Russia.

The U.S., Pence suggested, should protect the Syrian city of Aleppo, where aid agencies warn that a humanitarian disaster looms with the collapse of a short-lived cease-fire and stalled peace talks.

"I just have to tell you that the provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength," he said. "And if Russia chooses to be involved and continue, I should say, to be involved in this barbaric attack on civilians in Aleppo, the United States of America should be prepared to use military force to strike military targets of the Assad regime to prevent them from this humanitarian crisis that is taking place in Aleppo."

That's a very different approach from Trump, who has said repeatedly, and as recently as May, that he opposed military intervention in the civil war in Syria, and instead wants to target Islamic State militants.

"I would have stayed out of Syria," Trump told MSNBC, arguing that the U.S. "has bigger problems than Assad."

Trump has argued that it makes no sense for the U.S. to be fighting both Islamic State militants as well as Assad, when Syria and IS are also at war.

A broader intervention in Syria, beyond counterterrorist strikes, would be complicated. U.S. and European nations hold Assad's government responsible for far more deaths than IS. There are also several al-Qaida splinter groups operating in Syria and they have various alliances with U.S.-backed rebels. Beyond Russia, Assad is receiving help from Iran and Hezbollah militants.

Trump has also advocated working more closely with Russia to take on the Islamic State group.

Pence, who consistently took a much tougher tone toward Russia than Trump during the debate, sought to minimize the differences in interviews Thursday.

"There's absolute agreement (that) we have to establish safe zones for people to be able to get out of harm's way in Aleppo," he said.

"And if you don't back that up with military resources and our allies in the region, then you really can't guarantee that," Pence said later Thursday during an MSNBC interview. "Whether that's ... a no-fly zone or whether you go beyond that with military force, I think that would have to be a real-time decision made by our commander in chief."

President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic presidential nominee, urged Assad to step aside early in the uprising in 2011. But the administration put little effort into influencing Assad and has pivoted more toward striking Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.

Trump has said he supports military action against IS, already being conducted by the Obama administration.

The clarification was just one of several Pence has been forced to offer in recent days as he seeks to defend a candidate who can come across as imprecise, and has taking numerous, sometimes contradictory positions on a number of issues over the course of the campaign.

Pence also insisted Thursday that Trump no longer calls for a "total and complete" ban on foreign Muslims entering the United States, as Trump had proposed last year.

"It's not Donald Trump's position now," Pence told CNN, insisting that Trump has made clear "we're going to suspend immigration from countries compromised by terrorism."

Trump has yet to personally disavow his original all-Muslim ban and his campaign website still features the proposal.

__

Colvin reported from Jersey City, New Jersey. Associated Press writers Vivian Salama and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE -In this Sept. 30, 2016 file photo, Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks in Fort Wayne, Ind. Pence musters all of his Midwestern earnestness as he describes Donald Trump as a man of faith. He says the Republican nominee is a man Ive prayed with and gotten to know on a personal level. The description, in an interview with The Associated Press, stands in sharp relief to Trump's public profile over much of his career: a twice-divorced former playboy who has boasted of his sexual exploits, flaunted his wealth, used crass insults and made sweeping generalizations about whole races. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
World finance officials pledge more resources to aid growth

WASHINGTON (AP)  World finance leaders pledged Saturday to use more resources to try to bolster economic gains as they confront stubbornly slow growth and a rising backlash against globalization.

The policy committee for the 189-nation International Monetary Fund said the world has "benefited tremendously from globalization" but that protectionism is a threat.

Increasing anger over globalization dominated the annual meetings of the IMF and its sister lending agency, the World Bank.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde speaks during a news conference after the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting at World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The unhappiness is evident in Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union and in the U.S. presidential campaign of Republican Donald Trump. Trump has said millions of Americans have lost jobs or seen wages stagnate because of unfair trade practices of countries such as China and Mexico. He is vowing to impose penalty tariffs if those practices are not halted.

The British vote sent shockwaves through financial markets this summer, and there were further troubles Friday when the British pound plunged by 6 percent against the dollar before recovering. Investors worry whether there will be more turbulence if the British exit proves to be messy and prolonged.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said "growth has been too low for too long, benefiting too few," and that's what officials need to address.

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said global leaders must address concerns of inequality and injustice caused by globalization, such as tax evasion by big corporations and job losses by workers.

"We must fight against this immorality of globalization, this inequality, to again give our people the taste for openness and multilateralism," Sapin told reporters. "There can be an unhappy globalization and we must fight against it."

In their statement, IMF officials committed to designing and putting in place policies "to address the concerns of those who have been left behind and to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from globalization and technological change."

The IMF, however, did not spell out what actions countries would be willing to take. In an era of budgetary constraints, it is unclear how governments will find the resources to expand education and job training programs and strengthen social safety nets.

Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank, told reporters that even with the turbulence linked to Britain's exit vote, he felt the short-term consequences had not been as dramatic as some had predicted but "to think that there won't be any consequences would be probably too hopeful."

Draghi said a lot will depend on how prolonged the post-Brexit uncertainty lasts as Britain and the EU negotiate next year over the terms of separation. "It's a matter of this political uncertainty that clouds the outlook for growth," Draghi said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew urged the IMF to "more boldly and forcefully" push member countries to pursue all economic policy options to spur growth.

The Obama administration has appealed to countries such as Germany, which are running budget or trade surpluses, to increase spending and stimulate global demand.

"We must not close ourselves off to the world, but rather redouble our commitment to ensuring shared growth," Lew said.

Various finance officials said the decades-long effort to tear down trade barriers had lifted millions of people in poor nations out of poverty. But they said not enough has been done to protect workers who have lost jobs due to increased global competition.

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters that free trade is crucial to driving global growth.

"If we really want jobs and higher income, if we care about poverty reduction and economic fairness ... if we care about growth, then we need to be serious about fostering global trade and about making sure that global trade works for all," Lagarde said.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim noted the "tremendous anger against trade." But, he said, "We are here because we believe in our mission of ending extreme poverty," Kim said. "We are not going to do it without more robust trade."

Kim said support also needs to be increased for countries that are welcoming refugees fleeing conflict zones. He cited Lebanon and Jordan, which are taking in refugees from Syria.

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington contributed to this report.

International Monetary Financial Committee (IMFC) Chair Governor of the Bank of Mexico Agustin Carstens speaks during a news conference after the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting at World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde sign documents with Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann after the Signing Ceremony 2016 Bilateral Borrowing Agreement at World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Germany's Merkel calls for more support for Africa

BERLIN (AP)  Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing for more international support for Africa, saying it's important to fight problems causing people to flee their homelands and help promoted development as populations boom.

In her weekly video podcast Saturday a day ahead of a three-day trip to Mali, Niger and Ethiopia, Merkel said Africa will be a focus of Germany's upcoming G-20 presidency.

With the population of Africa expected to double in the next 35 years, "it's in our best interest to help Africa develop well, as the countries naturally, at the same time, make their own contributions to good governance."

In addition to traditional development aid, Merkel says she'll work to help create conditions for private investment.
Top commander in Yemen's army killed

SANAA, Yemen (AP)  Yemen's army has announced the death of its most senior commander to be killed this year in the country's ongoing civil war.

In a statement late on Friday, it said Maj-Gen. Abdul-Rab al-Shadadi was killed while leading an offensive against the Iranian-backed Shiite rebels known as the Houthis east of the capital Sanaa. Three militia commanders fighting alongside the army of the internationally-recognized government were also killed.

It says all four were killed when a missile fired by the Houthis struck their position on Friday.

A Saudi-led coalition backing the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has been fighting against the Houthis and their allies, including former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's loyalists, since March 2015.
Jihadi bride who fled Syria uses life on probation as lesson

BRUSSELS (AP)  Her hair pulled back neatly from her face, eye shadow dramatic and flawless, Laura Passoni bears little resemblance to the jihadi bride she was less than two years ago, when she fled in darkness across a barbed-wire fence, her pregnant body betraying her with fatigue and terror.

Convicted on March 23 in Belgium of joining Islamic State  the day after members of the group struck the Brussels airport and metro  Passoni's decision lost her custody of her children to her parents and is forbidden from contacting the baby's imprisoned father.

She spends her time trying to persuade young people that her decision to go to Syria in June 2014 was the worst mistake of her life.

Laura Passoni talks during an interview with the Associated Press in an hotel in Brussels on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Passoni, a Belgian woman who joined Islamic State with her 4-year-old son and later escaped has written a book geared to dissuade young people tempted to follow the same path. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Her book, "In the Heart of Daesh with my Son," had been published in French for now.

"For Daesh, I am a traitor because I left and I'm denouncing them. For Belgium, I am a terrorist because I joined them," Passoni said, using an Arabic acronym for the group that has recruited thousands of foreigners to travel to the war zone or strike at home.

Others who have lived to speak about their regret for joining Islamic State do so with faces covered, their identities masked, but Passoni said she made a deliberate and personal choice  describing it in the same terms as her decision to stop wearing the headscarf.

In Syria, she soon encountered other recruits, including a 15-year-old French girl who met her husband on the Internet and a young German woman who said she was simply visiting family. More would follow at the height of Islamic State's drive for women in the Muslim caliphate it hoped to build. For most, Passoni says, the choice to travel to Syria would be the last any woman there could make freely.

"Why women? Because we make babies and especially boys, the future cubs of the caliphate as they say. They need descendants," Passoni said.

Passoni became interested in Islam because her best childhood friend was Muslim, and she formally converted as an adolescent.

She was a 29-year-old single mother when she met a man named Oussama online. Within weeks, he persuaded her to marry and travel to Syria with her 4-year-old son.

She went, she said, because she hoped to reset her life and because recruiters on Facebook told her that Belgium could never be home to a good Muslim.

Passoni said she realized the gravity of her mistake almost immediately. But going to Syria is one thing. Leaving is another thing entirely.

"It was above all my little boy. I didn't want him to be like them. I didn't want him to be a terrorist," she told The Associated Press, sitting in a hotel bar in central Brussels. "It was at that moment that I said, 'I can't do it.' And then for my baby, because I was pregnant. And finally for me, because as a woman, to be always closed in, not to be free. That was no life. I had a job, I worked in Belgium. I came and went as I pleased. It was no life there. I didn't like it one bit."

Trapped inside, with other mothers deliberately raising their children to be indifferent to violence, Passoni said she did not dare speak out. The consequences of dissent were already clear from the videos of torture and death passed from person to person. Her pregnancy was going badly. Oussama told her he was having doubts as well, but would not explain what he saw or did during the day.

It took nine months of frantic, secret calls to her parents to leave, and another year in the court system before she was convicted and received a suspended sentence, with conditions of probation. Oussama, a Belgian who both recruited her to go to Syria and then dashed the three of them across the Turkish border in darkness, got four years in prison. Passoni thanks him in the book, saying "he took risks there and knew what consequences he faced in returning to Belgium."

She is forbidden to have direct contact with him for five years, as part of her sentence. She also cannot contact anyone in Syria, including the French teens she considered her only friends there. She does not know what happened to them, but she did learn that the house where she last stayed in Syria was hit by an airstrike soon after they left.

Passoni said she understands Europe's fears that people like her are a danger. But Passoni said her time in Syria changed her, and for the better.

"Because I saw death very close, as did my child," she said. "I feel more mature, more responsible, and now, above all, I'm ready to face these things.

As for her two boys, one now 6 and the other 16 months old, she said she thinks about their future all the time. The lesson she has for him is the same she hopes to carry to young people in Belgium  she must stay within its borders for five years.

"For my now 6-year-old, I have explained to him as a child  of course I cannot explain everything  but I explain the mistake that I made, and ask for forgiveness," she said. "And when he's bigger, I will teach him to live the truth and not to fall into a trap like this."

Laura Passoni holds her book as she talks during an interview with the Associated Press in an hotel in Brussels on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Passoni, a Belgian woman who joined Islamic State with her 4-year-old son and later escaped has written a book geared to dissuade young people tempted to follow the same path. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Laura Passoni talks during an interview with the Associated Press in an hotel in Brussels on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Passoni, a Belgian woman who joined Islamic State with her 4-year-old son and later escaped has written a book geared to dissuade young people tempted to follow the same path. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
French towns protest plan to take in migrants from Calais

PIERREFEU, France (AP)  French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being dispersed around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europe's migrant crisis.

Competing rallies were held Saturday in Pierrefeu in Provence in southeast France, under watch of gendarmes.

The mayor led several hundred people protesting a government proposal to house a few dozen migrants in an abandoned wing of a psychiatric hospital while they apply for asylum or study other options.

Local residents hold a banner reading : " City of Pierrefeu says no to the creation of a reception center for migrants" during a march in Pierrefeu, southeastern France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Philippe Farjon)

Left-wing activists answered with their own, smaller rally to welcome the migrants  but then were drowned out by yet another gathering organized by the anti-immigrant, far-right National Front party.

The National Front is making the Calais relocation plan a nationwide cause, urging mayors to resist and organizing protests across the country. Resistance to immigration is central to the campaign platform of National Front leader Marine Le Pen in her bid for the French presidency next year.

President Francois Hollande has pledged to close the Calais camp before winter and relocate as many as 9,000 migrants living there to 164 sites around France while their cases are examined. The Calais camp has been an embarrassment to the French government and symbol of Europe's failure to find solutions to the migrant crisis.

Authorities are already busing migrants out of Calais in small numbers ahead of what aid groups expect to be a larger operation starting in the next couple of weeks.

Pierrefeu residents hostile to the migrants say they fear the newcomers will threaten their security and worry about potential tensions with psychiatric patients. The government is considering sending up to 60 migrants to this town of 6,000 for up to five months.

"Even if we can understand the dismantling of Calais ... our small towns are not the solution for this dismantling. We are too small to host so many people," said Mayor Patrick Martinelli.

At the National Front rally, residents wore French flags on their shoulders. Some shouted "France is for French people!" and said they feared terrorists would be among the migrants.

National Front Senator David Rachline came to Pierrefeu to push Le Pen's presidential bid.

"French people will have to choose at the presidential election: Do they want  yes or no  to continue with those crazy immigration policies?" he declared.

Pro-migrant locals called for solidarity.

"I am ashamed because we repress the poorest. They need us, the people who are coming from abroad and are dying in the seas. We have everything here, we are a rich country, we have a rich village," said Pierrefeu resident Laure Paul.

National Front politicians were also at a protest Saturday in Forges-les-Bains, south of Paris. About 200 people marched through town to protest the arrival of about 40 Afghan migrants relocated from Calais to an unused building.

In Forges-les-Bains, villagers largely said they were not hostile to the migrants themselves  they just don't want them in their towns. Posters at the march read "Not against migrants, but against the state" and "Plan imposed from above = mounting anger."

___

Angela Charlton in Paris and Christophe Ena in Forges-les-Bains contributed.

Local residents hold a banner reading : " City of Pierrefeu says no to the creation of a reception center for migrants" during a march in Pierrefeu, southeastern France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Philippe Farjon)

Local residents hold a banner reading : " City of Pierrefeu says no to the creation of a reception center for migrants" during a march in Pierrefeu, southeastern France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Philippe Farjon)

Left-wing activists hold boards reading : "Borders kill. Regulate undocumented migrants" during a demonstration to welcome the migrants, in Pierrefeu, southeastern France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Philippe Farjon)

Left-wing activists hold a banner reading : " Yes to solidarity and welcome to migrants and refugees " during a demonstration to welcome the migrants, in Pierrefeu, southeastern France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Philippe Farjon)

A banner reads : " No to migrants at psychiatric hospital for the security of patients", as the government plans to house migrants in an abandoned wing of a psychiatric hospital, in Pierrefeu, southeastern France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Philippe Farjon)

Local residents hold a banner reading: "Plan Imposed from Above = Mounting Anger" as they demonstrate in Forges-les-Bains, south of Paris, France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Local residents hold a banner reading: "Plan Imposed from Above = Mounting Anger" as they demonstrate in Forges-les-Bains, south of Paris, France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Local residents hold a banner reading : " City of Pierrefeu says no to the creation of a reception center for migrants"during a march in Pierrefeu, southeastern France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Philippe Farjon)

Migrants from Afghanistan recently relocated from Calais stand as local residents demonstrate in Forges-les-Bains, south of Paris, France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Local residents are reflected in a mirror as they demonstrate in Forges-les-Bains, south of Paris, France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

An electoral board showing France's far-right National Front president Marine Le Pen and reading: 100% National Front. 0% migrants is pictured during a demonstration in Forges-les-Bains, south of Paris, France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Local residents hold a banner reading: "Plan Imposed from Above = Mounting Anger" as they demonstrate in Forges-les-Bains, south of Paris, France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Local residents hold a banner reading: "Plan Imposed from Above = Mounting Anger" as they demonstrate in Forges-les-Bains, south of Paris, France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Local residents hold boards reading: Stop the project, as they demonstrate in Forges-les-Bains, south of Paris, France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Local residents hold a banner reading: "Plan Imposed from Above = Mounting Anger" as they demonstrate in Forges-les-Bains, south of Paris, France, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. French villagers are protesting the arrival of migrants who are being spread out around the country as the government shuts down the slum-like camp in Calais that has become a flashpoint in Europes migrant crisis. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
German police blow up explosives stashed in raided apartment

BERLIN (AP)  German investigators found several hundred grams of "highly volatile" explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said.

Saxony police spokesman Tom Bernhardt told reporters the explosives were found by investigators who combed carefully through the apartment, which was raided midday.

"They were not just lying out on the kitchen table, they were relatively well hidden," he said.

A remotely controlled bomb disposal robot approaches a red suitcase on a platform at the Chemnitz Central Station in eastern Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. (Arno Burgi/dpa via AP)

About 100 people were evacuated from the five-story apartment building in Chemnitz as the bomb squad removed the explosives, which were not considered stable enough to move far. They were then destroyed in a controlled detonation, police said.

"It's a highly volatile mixture," Bernhardt said, adding that experts said it was considered it more dangerous than TNT. He did not identify the type of explosive.

The apartment was raided after local authorities received a tip from Germany's domestic intelligence agency that the suspect might be there and that he was thought to be planning a bombing attack. When police knocked down the door, however, no one was inside.

Saxony police put out an alert, identifying the suspect as 22-year-old Jaber Albakr from the Damascus area, and urged anyone with information of his whereabouts to contact authorities. They released a photo of a dark-haired man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and said he was last seen wearing similar clothes.

"We have to assume that he is dangerous," Bernhardt said.

Two people who had "contacts" with Albakr were taken into custody near the Chemnitz train station and a third was found downtown, Bernhardt said, adding they were being questioned with the hope that they might help authorities find Albakr.

Authorities have not said where or when they think the suspected attack was going to take place.

The German news agency dpa, citing unidentified German security sources, said the suspect is believed to be connected to Islamic extremist groups. Bernhardt said, however, that police are still trying to determine what his motivation might be but said the man was "known" to German intelligence.

Authorities released no details about how long the suspect had been in Germany, and Bernhardt said it was unclear whether he had come in the huge wave of asylum-seekers in 2015. Germany took in 890,000 asylum-seekers last year, and Syrians fleeing civil war were the single largest group.

Neighbors reported hearing an explosion during the raid, but that was the police team blowing open the apartment door, police spokeswoman Kathlen Zink told The Associated Press.

Germany has been on edge since two attacks this summer claimed by the Islamic State in which multiple people were injured and both assailants died. Two other attacks unrelated to Islamic extremism, including a deadly mall shooting in Munich, have also contributed to fears.

THE PICTURE CAN NOT BE USED AFTER THE SUSPECT HAS BEEN ARRESTED - In this photo provided by police Sachsen shows Syrian 22-year-old Jaber Albakr from Damascus, and is urging anyone with any information of his whereabouts to contact authorities. German police have raided an apartment building in the eastern city of Chemnitz Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016 after receiving information someone may be planning a bombing attack. (Police Sachsen via AP)

Police cars are lined up in front of an appartment building in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. No details were given so far for the operation. (Bernd Maerz/dpa via AP)

In this image taken from Nonstop News video, police officers surround an apartment in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday Oct. 8, 2016. German police are searching for a man suspected to have been planning a bombing attack after a raid on his apartment turned up nothing, authorities said Saturday. (Nonstop News via AP)

Police officers secure a residential area in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, Saturday Oct. 8,2016. German police have raided an apartment building in the eastern city of Chemnitz after receiving information someone may be planning a bombing attack. (Arno Burgi/dpa via AP)

Police officers secure a residential area in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, Saturday Oct. 8,2016. German police have raided an apartment building in the eastern city of Chemnitz after receiving information someone may be planning a bombing attack. (Arno Burgi/dpa via AP)

In this image taken from Nonstop News video, police officers surround an apartment in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday Oct. 8, 2016. German police are searching for a man suspected to have been planning a bombing attack after a raid on his apartment turned up nothing, authorities said Saturday. (Nonstop News via AP)

In this image taken from Nonstop News video, police officers surround an apartment in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday Oct. 8, 2016. German police are searching for a man suspected to have been planning a bombing attack after a raid on his apartment turned up nothing, authorities said Saturday. (Nonstop News via AP)

A remotely controlled bomb disposal robot lifts a red suitcase on a platform at the Chemnitz Central Station in eastern Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. (Arno Burgi/dpa via AP)

A remotely controlled bomb disposal robot lifts a red suitcase on a platform at the Chemnitz Central Station in eastern Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. (Arno Burgi/dpa via AP)

A police officer patrols the Central Station in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Police officers surround the Central Station in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Police officers secure a road in the eastern city of in Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

A police officer secures an area in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

A police officer secures an area in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Police officers leave an apartment after detonations in the eastern city of in Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Residents leave the security area in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Police officers wait beside apartment blocks in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Residents leave the security area and their apartments in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

A police officer patrols the Central Station in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Police officers surround the platforms of the Central Station in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

A train stand behind a police cordon in the Central Station in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. German investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and being questioned, police said. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)
City College president resigns amid scrutiny about expenses

NEW YORK (AP)  The president of the City College of New York has stepped down amid questions about her administration's handling of over $150,000 of her personal expenses.

The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/2dzNd5N ) reports that Lisa Coico resigned Friday. City College is part of the City University of New York system.

City University Chancellor James Milliken says the resignation is effective immediately.

Mary Driscoll will serve as interim provost until an interim president can be named later this month.

Coico took office in 2010. She announced her resignation in a statement Friday but did not offer an explanation.

She and a nonprofit affiliated with the college are under investigation as part of a federal inquiry into her finances and the use of federal research grants.

___
The Latest: Portman pulls Trump support

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on the presidential campaign a day before the second presidential debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump (all times EDT):

9:45 p.m.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman is revoking his support for Donald Trump and says he will instead back Trump's running mate Mike Pence for president.

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)

Portman says he had hoped to support his party's nominee because he felt it was "appropriate to respect the millions of voters" who backed Trump during the GOP primary. He says that while he continues to "respect" those who back Trump, "I can no longer support him."

Portman is running for re-election in what was supposed to be one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. However, he's maintained a steady lead over Democrat Ted Strickland for months.

___

7:45 p.m.

Rudy Giuliani is downplaying the number of Republicans who announced they were abandoning Donald Trump, suggesting that it was now "the insiders against the outsiders" in the GOP.

Giuliani spoke to reporters late Saturday after spending hours huddled with the Republican nominee and other aides inside Trump Tower.

The former New York City mayor said the calls for Trump to withdraw are simply the "wishful thinking of the Clinton campaign and those people who have opposed him for a long time."

He also downplayed the intra-party defections, saying "they already didn't support him in the first place so it's not really a surprise."

"It's basically the insiders against the outsiders, anyway," Giuliani said.

He declared that Trump is a "populist candidate" and those that oppose him are the establishment."

___

6:50 p.m.

Donald Trump has retweeted a pair of postings by Juanita Broaddrick, whose accusations that Bill Clinton raped her in 1978 were never tested in criminal court.

The embattled GOP presidential nominee has threatened to raise the former president's infidelities in his battle against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Trump's own campaign is struggling under a newly revealed recording from 2005 in which he brags about groping women without their consent.

Dozens of Republicans called for Trump to quit his campaign Saturday.

By early evening, he was back on Twitter.

He first reposted a Broaddrick tweet from Saturday morning that said, in part: "Actions speak louder than words. DT said bad things! HRC threatened me after BC raped me." Trump then retweeted Broaddrick's second post: "Hillary calls Trump's remarks 'horrific' while she lives with and protects a 'Rapist'. Her actions are horrific."

Bill Clinton has long denied the accusations, Hillary Clinton has declined to address them and charges were never brought.

___

6:29p.m.

Congressman Will Hurd has become the first member of Texas' Republican congressional delegation to call for Donald Trump to quit his presidential bid.

The first-term congressman's district runs 800 miles along the border with Mexico. Hurd previously refused to endorse Trump  but also had said Trump still had time to win his support.

Campaign manager Justin Hollis said Saturday that Hurd was releasing a statement saying he "cannot in good conscience support or vote for" someone who "degrades women, insults minorities" and has no plan to keep America safe.

Hurd adds that Trump bow out and make room "for a true conservative to beat Hillary Clinton."

An ex-CIA agent, Hurd is one of just three black Republicans in Congress. His is Texas' only competitive congressional district in November.

___

6:08 p.m.

Vice President Joe Biden says Donald Trump's comments in videotape footage amount to a reference to sexual assault.

Biden says on Twitter that Trump's words are "demeaning." He says the behavior is an abuse of power.

Biden says: "It's not lewd. It's sexual assault."

The reactions comes on a Twitter account, @JoeBiden, that's run by the Democratic National Committee. But it was signed "Joe," indicating it came from the vice president himself. Biden's office confirmed the tweet came from him.

___

5:15 p.m.

Donald Trump is saluting his supporters who have been rallying outside Trump Tower on Saturday.

The embattled Republican presidential nominee stepped outside of the New York City skyscraper that bears his name to briefly wave and pump his first at his fans.

A few hundred Trump supporters  and dozens of news crews  had gathered on Fifth Ave for several hours.

Trump had been holed up inside the building preparing for Sunday's debate against Hillary Clinton. He's also meeting with key aides to discuss how to forge forward after the release of a damaging 2005 video that captures him making lewd remarks about women and appearing to condone sexual assault.

___

5:13 p.m.

Sen. John McCain is formally withdrawing his support from Donald Trump.

The Arizona senator and 2008 GOP nominee says in a statement that Trump's newly revealed boasting about groping women "make it impossible" for him to support his party's presidential nominee. Trump has apologized but refused to quit the race.

He says he and his wife Cindy "will not vote for Donald Trump" and will instead write in the name of "some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be president."

Trump and McCain have been at odds since early in the campaign when Trump declared that McCain, a POW during the Vietnam war, was only considered a hero because he was captured.

McCain has also chastised Trump for his dispute with a gold star family and his comments about a judge of Hispanic ancestry.

___

5:12 p.m.

Four female Democratic senators and one hopeful are lining up to blast Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte for waiting so long to revoke her support for Donald Trump. They say her decision to write in Mike Pence is no better.

New Hampshire's Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan is challenging Ayotte in a deadlocked race for the U.S. Senate. Hassan says Ayotte "has failed the test of courage, character and judgment."

Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan joined Hassan in New Hampshire on Saturday.

Baldwin called Trump a "sick man" who can never become president. Stabenow says Ayotte "until now has been OK with what Trump has said." She adds that Trump "went too far a long time ago."

___

3:53 p.m.

Donald Trump is again vowing to continue his campaign even though he says the "media and establishment want me out of the race so badly."

Trump vowed in capital letters on Twitter Saturday to "never drop of out the race." He also pledged to "never let my supporters down."

Trump has remained in Trump Tower in New York meeting with key aides and preparing for the second presidential debate Sunday in St. Louis.

Many Republicans have called for Trump to abandon his campaign in the wake of the release of a 2005 video in which he makes lewd remarks about women and appears to condone sexual assault.

Trump released a video statement in the early moments of Saturday in which he offered an apology for the remakes and pivoted to attack on Hillary Clinton and her husband.

___

3:40 p.m.

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner is defending House Speaker Paul Ryan in the face of heckling from a Republican crowd at a rally in Ryan's congressional district.

The Wisconsin Republican says the annual "Fall Fest" is a chance to thank Ryan for his work. That led someone in the crowd to yell, "Not no more!"

Sensenbrenner started to say, "OK, if you're not going to be for the whole ticket" before being interrupted again by the person shouting "I'm for Donald Trump!"

Sensenbrenner then urged the person to "stop interrupting me" before making his case to elect both Trump and others running for office this year.

Trump originally was to headline the annual event in Ryan's district. Ryan on Friday told Trump not to come after lewd and sexually charged comments Trump made in 2005 came to light.

___

3:20 p.m.

Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence is leaving Indiana to headline a campaign fundraiser for Donald Trump in Rhode Island Saturday evening.

Pence's wife, Karen, is joining him. The couple plans to return to Indiana Saturday night.

The trip comes after Pence condemned Trump's recorded remarks in which he brags about his aggressive behavior with women. Trump has apologized and but has refused to quit the race as many Republicans have demanded.

Earlier Saturday, Pence cancelled his participation in a rally with House Speaker Paul Ryan in Wisconsin. Trump also did not attend that event as scheduled.

___

3:15 p.m.

Sen. Cory Gardner says the only way for Republicans to win the White House in 2016 is to replace Donald Trump as the GOP nominee.

The Colorado Republican tweeted that "If Donald Trump wishes to defeat Hillary Clinton, he should do the only thing that will allow us to do so: Step aside."

Gardner joins a growing list of other elected Republicans who are calling for Trump to quit following the release of a recording of Trump bragging about being aggressive with women.

Trump has apologized and has refused to leave the race. He and Clinton face off in their second debate Sunday. Election Day is Nov. 8.

___

3:06 p.m.

Melania Trump is coming to her husband's defense, saying the vile words he spoke in an uncovered video do "not represent the man that I know."

Mrs. Trump says in rare public statement that the words her husband used in the 2005 footage released Friday "are unacceptable and offensive to me."

She added that the words do "not represent the man that I know," adding, "He has the heart and mind of a leader."

Trump was newly married when he bragged on tape about trying to have sex with married women and groping others without permission.

Mrs. Trump says she "hopes people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world."

___

3:00 p.m.

Republicans are increasingly calling for Donald Trump to drop his presidential bid over his aggressive conduct toward women.

Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan's reasoning is typical. He says in a tweet and a statement: "I'm calling on Trump to step aside for Gov. Pence. Trump can't lead on critical issue of ending dom(estic) violence & sexual assault."

Trump has apologized and has refused to quit the race.

Others dropping their support for Trump include Reps. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Ann Wagner of Missouri and Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska.

___

2:44 p.m.

Hillary Clinton has taken nearly every precaution to ensure that the public would never know what she told corporate executives in dozens of closed-door speeches she gave before running for president.

The Democratic presidential candidate has had good reason to be worried.

The private comments struck a tone starkly at odds with the fiery, populist message she's pushed throughout her campaign. Some of her remarks give fresh fuel to liberals' worst fears about Clinton: That she is a political moderate, comfortable cutting back-room deals.

A Friday hack of her campaign chairman's personal email account exposed an internal review conducted by campaign aides to survey the political damage some of her remarks could cause if made public.

Clinton's campaign has refused to confirm or deny the veracity of the emails posted by WikiLeaks.

___

2:24 p.m.

Donald Trump is huddling with a close circle of advisers in New York, a day after damaging revelations about his comments about women.

Most of his campaign staff and network of supporters were left in the dark about the fast-moving developments.

A person close to the Trump operation who spoke on condition of anonymity said staff calls were canceled and surrogates were not given guidance on how to respond to the controversy. The person insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal campaign dynamics publicly.

The campaign was reeling from a 2005 recording first reported by The Washington Post and NBC News in which Trump speaks in vulgar terms about women and his aggressive behavior toward them. Trump has since apologized and vowed to stay in the race. But a growing list of Republican officeholders is calling on him to quit the race.

The upheaval comes on the eve of the second debate between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton  and less than five weeks before Election Day.

 By Julie Pace.

FILE - In this Monday, May 17, 2004 file photo, Donald Trump, center, star of the television show "The Apprentice," and his fiancee, Melania Knauss, right, arrive for NBC's presentation of its fall season to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Randal Pinkett, who won the program in December 2005 and who has recently criticized Trump during his 2016 run for president, said he remembered the real estate mogul talking about which contestants he wanted to sleep with, even though Trump had married Melania, a former model, earlier that year: "He was like 'Isn't she hot, check her out,' kind of gawking, something to the effect of 'I'd like to hit that.'" (AP Photo/John Marshall Mantel)

Kellyanne Conway, campaign manager for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, arrives at Trump Tower, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in New York. Republican leaders from Utah to Alabama called on Trump to quit the race after he bragged about groping women in a 2005 conversation caught on tape. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks during a campaign stop at the the Rossford Recreation Center in Rossford, Ohio, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (Nick Thomas/The Blade via AP)

A morning television crew does their live broadcast outside Trump Tower, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Russia has moved nuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missiles into one of its regions on the Baltic Sea - prompting a fearful response from Poland and Estonia.

Russia says the missiles are being deployed as part of regular military manoeuvres to Kaliningrad, but it comes amid heightened tensions between the country and the West over Syria.

It seems to me that this is yet another step in the general context of escalation that we see, at least in rhetoric, said outgoing Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

Iskander missile launchers are driven during the Victory Parade in May 2015 marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in the Second World War, in Red Square in Moscow

Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz said Poland considers the matter of highest concern and is monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile former National Security Agency analyst John Schindler wrote in The New York Observer on Friday: 'For Warsaw and several other Nato capitals, this move resembles a Baltic version of the Cuban Missile Crisis.'

He added: 'An Iskander-M based in Kaliningrad can strike targets deep in Poland and across the whole Baltic region. Make no mistake, this is primarily an offensive weapons system.'

The chief of staff of the Estonian Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Riho Terras told Estonian broadcaster ERR that he sees the move as part of a larger Russian attempt to dominate the Baltic Sea.

In the long term, Russia's wish is to bring the Baltic Sea and the passages leading to it more and more under its control, and to control it much like it does the Black Sea, he said.

Wedged between Nato members Poland and Lithuania and the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad is vital to Russia's strategic position.

Separated from the Russian mainland by 435 miles, it is the westernmost part of Russia.

It houses the Russian Baltic Fleet, as well as multiple land forces and an air force detachment with fighters, bombers and helicopters, as well as an early-warning radar system and other equipment.

Wedged between Nato members Poland and Lithuania and the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad (file picture) is vital to Russia's strategic position

The Iskander, which can be equipped with a conventional or a nuclear warhead, has a range of at least 310 miles, placing most of Poland within its reach when it is in Kaliningrad.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov played down the concerns.

The Iskander ballistic missile system is mobile, he said in a statement yesterday.

For Warsaw and several other NATO capitals, this move resembles a Baltic version of the Cuban Missile Crisis John Schindler, former National Security Agency analyst

As part of the plan of combat training, missile troops are engaged in training on a year-round basis, covering great distances of the Russian territory in various ways: by air, by sea, and under their own power.

He also said Russia used the deployment to figure out what range a U.S. spy satellite has.

We exposed one Iskander before loading it on the Ambal (a cargo carrier) right under a U.S. reconnaissance satellite flying above in order to verify the parameters of that space apparatus. We did not have to wait too long (for results), he said, without elaborating.

Other countries in the region are also nervous.
Utah exhibit shows nuclear testing's downwind effects

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  A collection of photos, stories and maps showing the downwind effects from nuclear testing done in Nevada in the 1950s and '60s opened this week at a University of Utah library.

The Downwinders of Utah Archive at the university's J. Marriott Library in Salt Lake City includes maps, statistics and recorded stories from people who were affected. It also contains gripping historical photographs of crowds of people watching the testing's huge mushroom clouds of smoke in the distance.

The exhibit's goal: Ensure future generations remember a period of history that led to radioactive fallout that many believe caused cancer and other health issues among people living downwind from the Nevada Test Site in northwest of Las Vegas.

In a Monday, Oct. 3, 2016 photo, playwright Mary Dickson, whose 2007 play Exposed chronicled the effects the above ground nuclear tests had on the downwind population in Utah, speaks at launch event for Downwinders of Utah Archive at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The new University of Utah archive about the states downwinders features oral histories, photographs and newspapers clippings documenting the impact of nuclear testing during the 1950s in Nevada. (Al Hartmann /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

"So many downwinders are dying that we've got to get their stories, or their stories die with them," said Mary Dickson, whose own story is among the oral histories featured in the collection.

Dickson has documented more than 50 people from the Salt Lake City neighborhood where she grew up who have suffered major health ailments she believes are related to the nuclear testing.

"All victories are temporary," she said. "It will happen again if people don't know our history."

Dickson has written, spoken and crafted a play called "Exposed" about her and her sister. She also plans to donate some of her research on the period, which fills a whole office at her home.

Starting in 1951, the U.S. government conducted a series of nuclear tests at that rural Nevada site that were done in the name of national security during the Cold War.

The aboveground atomic bomb detonations that went through 1962 caused radioactive iodine released by fallout to hit 40 states, a 1997 National Cancer Institute study found. The highest exposure was among rural children who often drank milk from cows raised on area farms.

Between 10,000 and 75,000 people were exposed to doses that significantly raised their risk of getting thyroid cancer, according to the study, which took 15 years to complete.

People in 10 southern Utah counties were eligible for $50,000 each in compensation for being "downwinders" under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program of 1992. The government has paid out more than $1 billion to downwinders around the country under the program, according to U.S. Justice Department figures.

The Utah collection is an important resource and one of several collections around the country that strive to document what happened during a contentious period of U.S. history, said Mary Palevsky, an expert on nuclear testing of the 20th century.

"The whole question of whether and if and how people were affected by testing is controversial," said Palevsky, who led the creation of the Nevada Test Site Oral History Project at UNLV.

"The more documentation there is of the kind Utah's doing, the better it is for all of us because we can then look at these things, read them and thoughtfully come to our conclusions," she said.

Former U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, a Democrat who spent seven terms in Congress until he stepped down at the end of 2014, has been a longtime advocate for downwinders.

He warns in an online video posted as part of the archive's opening that Americans need to remain vigilant because some U.S. officials still would like to develop more nuclear weapons.

"I'm not saying we should panic, because there isn't a test that is going to happen right away," Matheson said. "But there will always be ... entities that want to move ahead with a new round of testing."

In this Monday, Oct. 3, 2016 photo, former Utah Congressman Jim Matheson, an advocate for compensation for the downwind population in Utah affected by cancer speaks at the launch event for Downwinders of Utah Archive at the J. Willard Marriott Libray at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The new University of Utah archive about the states downwinders features oral histories, photographs and newspapers clippings documenting the impact of nuclear testing during the 1950s in Nevada. (Al Hartmann /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

In this Monday, Oct. 3, 2016 photo, panelist Preston Truman, a lifelong downwinder activist, speaks at the launch event for Downwinders of Utah Archive at the J. Willard Marriott Libray at the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City. Playwright Mary Dickson, whose 2007 play Exposed chronicled the effects the above ground nuclear tests had on the downwind population in Utah is at right. The new University of Utah archive about the states downwinders features oral histories, photographs and newspapers clippings documenting the impact of nuclear testing during the 1950s in Nevada. (Al Hartmann /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

In this Monday, Oct. 3, 2016 photo, panelists Justin Sorenson, archive creator, left, Preston Truman, lifelong downwinder activist, playwright Mary Dickson and former Utah congressman Jim Matheson speak at the launch event for Downwinders of Utah Archive at the J. Willard Marriott Libray at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The new University of Utah archive about the states downwinders features oral histories, photographs and newspapers clippings documenting the impact of nuclear testing during the 1950s in Nevada. (Al Hartmann /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

In this Monday, Oct. 3, 2016 photo, former Utah Congressman Jim Matheson, an advocate for compensation for the downwind population in Utah affected by cancer speaks at the launch event for Downwinders of Utah Archive at the J. Willard Marriott Libray at the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City. The new University of Utah archive about the states downwinders features oral histories, photographs and newspapers clippings documenting the impact of nuclear testing during the 1950s in Nevada. (Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
Washington voters to decide on nation's first carbon tax

SEATTLE (AP)  Washington lawmakers have tried and failed in recent years to make polluters pay for their carbon emissions to fight climate change. Now, voters will get to decide.

An initiative on the November ballot asks voters whether the state should impose the nation's first direct carbon tax on the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline.

Sponsors say residents have a moral responsibility to curb greenhouse gas emissions, and a carbon tax is the best way to do it. The tax encourages businesses to conserve or switch to clean energy by making fossil fuels more expensive, and it makes the tax system fairer by using the revenues to reduce other taxes, they say.

FILE - In this April 2, 2010, file photo, a Tesoro Corp. refinery, including a gas flare flame that is part of normal plant operations, is shown in Anacortes, Wash. after a fatal overnight fire and explosion. Voters in Washington state will weigh in on Initiative 732 in the 2016 election as they consider whether to approve the nations first direct carbon tax on the burning of fossil fuels. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Businesses say the tax will drive up fuel and energy costs and put Washington companies at a competitive disadvantage.

And in a move that has bewildered some, major environmental and other groups  including those that backed Gov. Jay Inslee's proposal last year to cap emissions and make carbon polluters pay  oppose the initiative. They say it takes the wrong approach.

Yoram Bauman, an economist who founded Carbon Washington, the grassroots group that gathered more than 350,000 signatures to qualify Initiative 732, defended it as great climate and tax policy.

"It does almost everything right for Washington," he said.

Audubon Washington supports it.

"Our members came down on the side of urgency. We don't have time to wait," said Gail Gatton, the group's executive director. "Climate change is happening, and this is our best available option right now to protect birds."

But the Sierra Club, Washington Environmental Council and the advocacy group Front and Centered say the initiative is the wrong carbon-pricing approach and will hurt the state's revenues. Whereas Inslee's pollution fee would have raised money for education, transportation, clean energy and programs to help disadvantaged communities affected by climate change, Initiative 732 provides no such investments, critics say.

"It's not a path that makes sense for our communities," said Rich Stolz, executive director of OneAmerica, which works on social justice issues. Stolz said the initiative ignores climate justice and lacks input from communities of color.

Stolz's group is part of a coalition that worked on an alternative carbon-pricing measure. Last-minute talks between that coalition and I-732 supporters to collaborate on one ballot measure fizzled last year.

The initiative is designed to be revenue neutral, meaning the tax revenue increase from fossil fuels would be mostly offset by decreases in other taxes. In this case, revenues would be returned to people and businesses by cutting the state sales tax by one point, virtually eliminating business taxes for manufacturers and providing rebates for working families, sponsors say.

A state analysis, however, estimates the measure could cost the state about $800 million in lost revenues over the first six fiscal years. Initiative sponsors dispute the state's analysis, saying it double-counted the rebates in the first year.

The carbon tax is modeled after one in the nearby Canadian province of British Columbia. California has a cap-and-trade program, which limits emissions and allows carbon polluters to buy and trade pollution credits. If approved, Washington's carbon tax starts at $15 a ton of carbon emissions in July, goes up to $25 the next year and incrementally increases afterward.

The Washington State Tree Fruit Association, which represents growers, packers and marketers, is among those opposed.

It takes a lot of fuel to grow and transport produce, and the tax will be paid by those in the state, not competitors outside it, said Jon Devaney, the group's president.

"Raising food prices in Washington state will make us less competitive compared to others," he said.

Initiative sponsors say a $25 carbon tax would raise the price of gasoline by about 25 cents per gallon and the price of coal-fired electricity by about 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. They say power plants and fuel suppliers likely will pass those costs on to consumers, but that consumers will see price reductions in other things they buy because the sales tax is cut. The tax wouldn't apply to electricity from renewables like hydro, wind or solar power.

The campaign has raised $1.2 million from nearly 1,200 unique donors; more than half of those total contributions are under $200.

The No on 732 campaign sponsored by the Association of Washington Business has raised $300,000 to oppose the tax.

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2016 file photo, a truck carries a load at the Nucor Steel plant in Seattle. Voters in Washington state will weigh in on Initiative 732 in the 2016 election as they consider whether to approve the nations first direct carbon tax on the burning of fossil fuels. The plant is among those likely to be affected if the carbon tax is passed. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, file)
VIEWERS' GUIDE: Time for candidates to keep calm, debate on

WASHINGTON (AP)  The latest bombshell about Donald Trump dropped just in time to rock Sunday's presidential debate.

For many people, the jaw-dropping 2005 video of Trump's vulgar comments about women trumps anything else that has come out about the Republican nominee. And it gives Hillary Clinton fresh ammunition for her second faceoff with the GOP nominee.

Some things to watch for in the 90-minute debate at Washington University in St. Louis:

Students stand in on the stage as preparations are made for the second presidential debate between Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at Washington University in St. Louis, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A MERE 'DISTRACTION'?

With his campaign in crisis, Trump issued a short video apologizing for his crude remarks. But he tried to minimize his "more than a decade-old" comments as a mere "distraction" from the important issues of the day and defiantly dismissed calls from within his fractured party to quit the race. The debate will force Trump to reckon with his past conduct in real time before millions of TV viewers and in a face-to-face encounter with undecided voters attending this town-hall style debate. Don't expect the voters, the debate moderators or Clinton to let Trump brush off his remarks that easily.

SECOND CHANCES

After watching his standing slip in the polls after the first debate, Round 2 was supposed to be Trump's chance to turn things around. That's a steeper climb now. Can Trump keep calm and debate on in the midst of the chaos?

GOING THERE

Trump had said earlier in the week that he would not bring up Bill Clinton's infidelities in the second debate. (He'd hinted about the subject in the first faceoff.) But after the release of Trump's remarks about grabbing women's genitals, all bets were off. Trump said in his apology video that "Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday." Yes, that was a threat.

CLINTON'S CALCULATION

Clinton has to decide how best to capitalize on the latest revelations about Trump without overdoing it. With both undecided voters and debate moderators allowed to ask questions of the candidates, Clinton could choose to stand by and let them prosecute the issue as they see fit. Or the famously well-rehearsed Clinton could work up some artful ways to make sure those Trump remarks remain in focus all night.

THAT'S NOT ALL

The furor over the Trump video overshadowed other fresh comments by the Republican nominee that raised eyebrows. Watch to see if anyone brings up Trump's unsubstantiated claim that the Obama administration was allowing illegal immigrants to come into the country to vote against him. Or his insistence that the five defendants in a 1989 Central Park rape case were guilty even though DNA evidence overturned their convictions.

THE OTHER LEAK

Clinton will have her own leaked comments to contend with. Leaked transcripts of her private, paid speeches had her expressing support in 2013 for "open trade and open borders." That's at odds with her tougher stance on trade as a presidential candidate. Expect Trump to try to capitalize on the revelation, even as Clinton's own campaign is questioning whether the leaked documents were altered by the Russians.

INCOMING FROM OUT OF LEFT FIELD

The town-hall format for this debate carries its own set of perils for the candidates, with half the questions coming from undecided voters. Off-beat questions can throw off a candidate who's not prepared for anything and everything. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush struggled when a woman asked him how the national debt had affected him personally. "I'm not sure I get it," he told her. The exchange left an impression that Bush was out of touch with ordinary Americans.

LET'S GET PHYSICAL

For this debate, the candidates will be allowed to move around the stage. That adds a new dynamic, especially given the size differential between the 6-foot-3 Trump and Clinton, who's closer to 5-foot-5. During a 2000 Senate debate against then-Sen. Clinton, Republican Rep. Rick Lazio strode across the stage to prod the New York senator to sign a campaign finance pledge. Lazio's move was a turnoff; he came across as too pushy.

TAX TUSSLE, THE SEQUEL

Trump and Clinton are likely to tussle anew over Trump's income tax history. In the first debate, Clinton chided Trump for not releasing his tax returns and speculated that he might not be paying any federal taxes. Trump said that shows he's "smart." Since then, The New York Times has reported that the billionaire businessman lost so much money in a single year, 1995, that he could have avoided any federal income tax liability for 18 years. Watch how Clinton and Trump refine their arguments for the sequel to their first tax debate.

BAIT AND SWITCH

In their first debate, Clinton baited Trump by needling him on the size of his wealth, his business practices, his insulting comments about women and more. That frequently threw Trump off track. This time, Trump will need to exercise more discipline if he wants to run up the score against Clinton.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Trump will have a fresh chance to bring up some of the Clinton vulnerabilities that he largely let pass during their first debate. Check out how aggressively he digs in on issues such as Clinton's use of private email as secretary of state, and questions about whether donors to the Clinton Foundation got favorable treatment from the Clinton State Department. He also got a gift this past week from Bill Clinton, who called Obama's health law and resulting insurance markets "the craziest thing in the world." It gives Trump a fresh line of attack on Clinton's support for the health overhaul.

DRESS REHEARSAL

Will Trump be ready? Clinton's strong performance in the first debate demonstrated the benefits of practice. Trump, dismissive of the idea of rehearsing before that debate, momentarily seemed to have gotten the message: His campaign announced he was holding a town hall Thursday in New Hampshire. But the event didn't end up being much of a dress rehearsal. The questions were nearly all softballs submitted by an invitation-only crowd, and Trump didn't actually interact with the audience.

___

SHIMMIES AND SNIFFLES

Turn down the volume and check out the candidates' body language. Clinton's saucy shoulder shimmy in the first debate captured her confidence. Trump's go-to gesture  forefinger and thumb curled into an A-OK sign  got excessive, in the view of body language expert Ruth Sherman. It's "more prevalent when he's feeling stressed," she says. What about Trump's mysterious sniffle? Will it be back?

___

HALF AND HALF

ABC's Martha Raddatz and CNN's Anderson Cooper will moderate this debate and pose half the questions; the rest will come from the audience. Watch the interplay between the moderators and Trump, who has complained about unfair treatment of the GOP ticket by the moderators of both the first presidential debate and the vice presidential faceoff.

___

NAME THAT HASHTAG

You know it's coming: What will emerge as the big hashtags from presidential debate No. 2? The first presidential debate produced #Snifflegate and #Shimmy and the vice presidential faceoff spawned #ThatMexicanThing. The latter popped up after Republican Mike Pence chided Democrat Tim Kaine for whipping out "that Mexican thing again." Pence made the remark after Kaine for a fourth time brought up Trump's statement that some Mexican immigrants were rapists.

___

Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/nbenac
A small town tradition that many animal rights groups have called cruel took place this weekend when six live turkeys were dropped from a plane from 500 feet in the air. One died upon impact.

The Turkey Trot festival, an annual tradition in Yellville, Arkansas, sees live turkeys tossed from a plane.

They drop for hundreds of feet before they're usually able to start flying about 100 feet from the ground, according to Arkansas Online.

Bystanders then run over and scoop up the turkeys for selfies and dinner.

The annual Turkey Trot festival, held in Yellville, Arkansas, sees live turkeys tossed from a small plane from about 500 feet above the ground - one died on Friday

On Friday, one of the turkeys was found dead on the ground after being chucked from the plane. It's unclear how many die each year.

Barb Klug, 66, of Bull Shoals collected the dead bird and says she plans to serve it for Thanksgiving dinner.

The festival has been held since 1946 as a way to draw attention to the area's turkey wildlife, says the event's website.

Animal rights advocates have long spoken out against the event, and occasionally it has drawn protesters, but not this year, according to the outlet.

An Arkansas Times blog by Max Brantley says the tradition has lost popularity with the locals, with 18,070 to 1,076 voting against holding the festival.
Japanese defense minister in South Sudan over peacekeepers

JUBA, South Sudan (AP)  Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada has visited troubled South Sudan as her country considers whether to give its peacekeepers broader abilities to use force.

About 350 Japanese peacekeepers take part in the U.N. mission there. Almost all engage in engineering activities.

Japanese media reports say the defense ministry is considering sending peacekeepers who would be able to undertake risky rescue missions in South Sudan. After meeting with U.N. officials, Inada did not address that in her English-language remarks.

More than 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers are in South Sudan, and they have been criticized repeatedly for failing protect civilians, most recently when fighting erupted in the capital in July.
Residents of ritzy Hilton Head Island happy to be alive

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP)  Whether it was an exhilarating night of watching nature's wonder or one of the most frightening experiences of their lives, people on Hilton Head Island felt the same way Saturday  happy to be alive  hours after Hurricane Matthew moved past.

Hilton Head Island  the popular resort along coastal South Carolina  belonged to those who stayed Saturday morning. Emergency officials left Friday afternoon and didn't return until a few hours after sunrise Saturday as the winds and rains died down. Most of the 40,000 residents of this island where the median home price is nearly $450,000 left, and Gov. Nikki Haley said they may not be able to return for at least two days.

Ellis Clemons walked down the middle of Hilton Head Island's main road, dogging tree branches and giant puddles with his arms raised high, singing and yelling.

A trailer is destroyed from a fallen tree in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew at Hilton Head, S.C., on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding towns and gouging out roads in its path. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

"The wind was howling, the rain was falling sideways  and then, boom, the power went out," Clemons said. "I never felt in danger. I just enjoyed it. How many times can you say you made it through a hurricane?"

For Clemons, the number is two. He survived Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which came ashore about 60 miles north near Charleston. Clemons said Matthew was worse.

Russ Johnson survived Matthew on the island, too. He thought it wasn't going to be so bad until about 4:30 a.m. Saturday when some of the storm's strongest winds in the eyewall began slamming the island as the hurricane's eye slipped about 20 miles offshore.

"The power went out. The wind was howling. You couldn't see anything. That was pretty scary," said Johnson, who moved to the island earlier this year.

Johnson lost part of his roof, but saved his boat. There was no way to assess damage Saturday because many of the smaller roads leading to neighborhood still had a few feet of water and fallen trees blocking them. A few nervous residents who evacuated and dodged the downed trees to get back to the island tried several different ways to get to their homes with no luck.

"I think we're going to have a pine tree splitting our house," said Chandler Brunson as she and her fiance turned around to try one more way to get to their home.
NYC prosecutor releases report on fatal police shooting

NEW YORK (AP)  In a rare move, a New York City prosecutor has made public a 71-page, detailed report of a fatal police shooting of a man authorities say was armed.

In releasing the report on Friday, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown stated that there was no basis for criminal charges against the officers in the death of George Tillman on April 17 in South Ozone Park, Queens.

The family of the Maryland resident said in a statement through their lawyer that the officers should face a trial.

"Only a jury can help us understand why a father of five, a licensed electrician being investigated for an open container, can get shot 11 times  without getting a shot off  after allegedly pulling a gun on police officers," their statement said. "It made no sense when it happened and it still makes no sense today."

The report included accounts from police, emergency workers, witnesses and details on evidence gathered by investigators, the New York Times reported.

It was released amid mounting calls nationwide for more transparency in reviews of police-involved shootings after a series of fatal shootings of black males by white officers. Ordinarily, in such cases authorities only release brief public statements on whether they expect to file charges.

The report says plainclothes officers initially stopped Tillman, who is black, for holding an open bottle of vodka near his car. Tillman gave the bottle to a friend but as the officers started to walk away, they observed what looked like a gun in his waistband. As they went to talk to Tillman, he ran, according to the report. Prosecutors say four officers opened fire when he pointed a loaded weapon at an officer.

"Any fair and reasonable person would agree that to bring criminal proceedings against the officers would be totally unwarranted," said Brown. "The officers had no choice but to fire in order to stop Mr. Tillman from firing his weapon at them."

The attorney for the family of Eric Garner, who died after a fatal police chokehold in 2014 on Staten Island, praised the report's release.
Trump's crude remarks put running mate Pence in awkward spot

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Mike Pence has long described himself as a "Christian, a conservative and a Republican in that order."

Now, the GOP vice presidential nominee and his priorities are facing a critical test as Donald Trump, staggered by his recorded vulgarities about women, careens toward Sunday's presidential debate against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump has vowed to stay in the race.

The Indiana governor was said to be 'beside himself' over Trump's comments

Pence's advocacy for Trump came to a screeching, perhaps temporary, halt Saturday in the hours after Trump released a video apologizing for 2005 remarks in which he describes his aggressive conduct toward women.

Pence said in a statement about Trump that he won't "condone his remarks and cannot defend them."

"We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night," the Indiana governor said.

It's more evidence of the trials facing the GOP's No. 2 that could serve Pence well if he runs for the top spot in 2020.

Pence dare not speak about that possibility. To do so would assume Clinton prevails on Nov. 8.

But plenty of people are engaging in presidential talk about Pence, including Republican members of Congress, governors, a former presidential candidate, and more.

Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Mike Crapo of Idaho are calling on Trump to quit the campaign so Pence can lead the ticket. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire says she'll write in Pence's name on the ballot  not Trump's.

Pence canceled his appearance at a Wisconsin rally Saturday with House Speaker Paul Ryan. Pence would have been expected to advocate for Trump.

"I'm sure he's horrified," said Mike Murphy, an Indiana public relations strategist who's known Pence for more than two decades. "We impeached Bill Clinton and we cannot impeach Trump off the ballot. But I wish there was a mechanism to do so."

Pence raised his political stock Monday night during the only debate against Democrat Tim Kaine. During the 90-minute event, Pence managed to not defend Trump's indefensible behavior, yet still sound supportive and show off his own expertise on foreign policy.

The performance highlighted the gulf in political sophistication between Trump and his running mate.

Pence addressed the awkwardness with a savvy statement acknowledging his own performance and preserving his alliance with Trump.

"People are saying that I won the debate," he said Wednesday in Harrisonburg, Virginia. "From where I sat, Donald Trump's vision to make America great won the debate."

But on Friday, Trump's behavior put Pence to an even tougher test.

The Washington Post and NBC broke the story of Trump's words about women as Pence advocated for Trump him in Ohio.

"With Donald Trump as president, we'll have a president of the United States who respects all the American people," Pence said as news of Trump's comments was breaking.

Pence went on to defend, as he has previously, Trump's outspoken nature as a refusal to "tiptoe around those thousands of rules of political correctness."

Pence ignored shouted questions about Trump, and he was quickly whisked out of reach of the news media.

What followed: Pence's silence, the scrapping his Wisconsin appearance and finally, his statement.

An influential Indiana conservative, Jim Bopp, who helped draft this year's Republican Party platform, said Pence "should stay the course."

Trump's words are "ill-considered and crude," Bopp said, and also "statements Mike Pence would never make."

The election is bigger than that, said Bopp, a lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana.

"In the grand scheme of things, this is trivia vs. real life-and-death problems that we face in our foreign policy and the serious challenges that everyday Americans face because of the Obama-Clinton economy."

___

Associated Press writers Brian Slodysko and Bill Barrow contributed to this report.

___
Utah Republicans out front in opposing Trump after recording

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  If the pushback against Donald Trump becomes a Republican Party revolt, it could be said that it got its start in Utah.

Gov. Gary Herbert was the first elected official to pull his endorsement from Donald Trump as conservatives recoiled from a recording of Trump boasting of how his fame allowed him to impose himself on women. Other prominent Utah Republicans soon joined him.

Sen. Mike Lee, Reps. Jason Chaffetz, Chris Stewart and Mia Love, and former Gov. Jon Huntsman all called for Trump to abandon his campaign. Lee, who's in a re-election race, has been floated as a possible Supreme Court pick by Trump.

This Sept. 1, 2016, photo, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert introduces Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence during his first visit to Utah since becoming a vice presidential candidate, in Salt Lake City. The Republican Partys revolt against Donald Trump got its start in Utah. Herbert was the first elected official to pull his endorsement from Donald Trump as conservatives recoiled from a recording of Trump boasting of how his fame allowed him to force himself on women. Other prominent Utah Republicans soon joined him. Sen. Mike Lee, Reps. Jason Chaffetz, Chris Stewart and Mia Love, and former Gov. Jon Huntsman all called for Trump to abandon his campaign. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Utah is a deeply conservative state, with politics influenced by the Mormon Church based in Salt Lake City. But only 14 percent of the state's Republicans voted for Trump during its caucuses in March, and Utah's favorite political son, 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, is a leading critic of this year's nominee.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints declined to weigh in on the issue, but the church-owned Deseret News newspaper published a scathing editorial Saturday calling for Trump to step aside.

"What oozes from this audio is evil," the paper wrote. "Nor is this an isolated incident. His reprehensible sexual speech confirms troubling reports and outrageous outbursts that have dogged his campaign from the beginning."

Tim Chambless, a political scientist at the University of Utah, recalled attending the caucuses, where attendees waved signs with red lines through the names of Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton rather than ones in favor of the candidate who ultimately won, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

"I saw confusion and negativity," Chambless said.

That continues. Herbert did not say for whom he would vote when he announced he could no longer support Trump. Utah's senior senator, Orrin Hatch, released a statement scolding Trump, but not pulling his support. Rep. Rob Bishop said in a statement he'll still support Trump because he's the party's nominee, even though he doesn't condone the attitude toward women in the recording. Others hoped Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, could take over.

Boyd Matheson, a veteran Utah Republican strategist who runs the conservative Sutherland Institute, said Trump will probably still win the state. Utah allows straight party-line voting, allowing voters effectively to choose the GOP nominee without having to check his name. Utah's resistance to Trump goes beyond Mormon culture, he said.

"This is the most upwardly mobile place in America, this is a place that takes care of refugees, this is a place with international reach," he said.

Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson based his longshot campaign in Salt Lake City, hoping to capitalize on the state's dislike for Trump. His spokesman, Joe Hunter, said Saturday that Johnson connects with voters as a fellow westerner.

"Trust and character are important in Utah, and for Republican leaders here, Donald Trump has just put them in a really tough spot," Hunter said.

But Johnson's socially liberal positions are an awkward fit with some in the deeply religious state. That gives an opening to Evan McMullin, a Brigham Young University graduate, former CIA officer, investment banker and congressional aide running as a third-party conservative.

"When Donald Trump says things like this it only makes our job easier," said McMullin, who thinks Utah's conservative voters align closer with him than Johnson.

Utah's unique political culture, dominated by the Mormon Church, puts a premium on personal decency and openness to immigrants and refugees. Trump has struggled to appeal to Mormons throughout the West, a challenge for him in other states with large Mormon populations, such as Nevada and Arizona. On Saturday morning, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, who is also Mormon, called on Trump to step aside for Pence.

Crystal Young-Otterstrom, vice chair of the LDS Democrats of America, said her group now has new ammunition to persuade Mormon voters to consider Clinton.

"If any Mormons weren't already clear about the fact that Donald Trump is a misogynist, I think it's pretty clear now," she said. "The kind of man he is profoundly contradicts what many Mormons aspire to be."

___

Riccardi reported from Denver.
Haiti mourns as families bury loved ones killed by hurricane

JEREMIE, Haiti (AP)  As a pale blue coffin came into view, grieving women flung themselves to the floor near a morgue overlooking the ravaged city of Jeremie, where a humanitarian crisis has emerged in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

Mourners beat their fists and screamed, their distress growing more intense as attendants opened the door of the morgue on Saturday to bring out the body of Roberto Laguerre, who was killed next to his 3-year-old daughter when the storm roared through this city in southwest Haiti as a Category 4 storm earlier in the week.

"Why did you leave us? Take me with you!" shouted relative Rita Honore.

Women from the Laguerre family cry as the coffin carrying Roberto Laguerre is taken out of the morgue, to bury him at the cemetery in Jeremie, Haiti, Saturday Oct. 8, 2016. Roberto, 32, died when the wall of a church next door to his home fell during Hurricane Matthew. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Roberto and his daughter, Roseberlande, are among more than 500 people killed from the immediate effects of the storm in southwest Haiti. Authorities fear diseases such as cholera could cause more deaths in the area while the destruction of crops and livestock could cause many people to go hungry.

The precise death toll from the storm remained uncertain. Guillaume Silvera, a senior official with the Civil Protection Agency in the Grand-Anse Department, which is on the tip of the southern peninsula and includes the city of Jeremie, said they had confirmed 522 deaths, not including anyone in several remote communities that they have yet to reach because of collapsed roads and bridges.

"We think the numbers will have to go up," Silvera said.

Civil Protection headquarters in Port-au-Prince, meanwhile, said Saturday their official count for the whole country was 336, which included 191 deaths in Grand-Anse.

UNICEF said that in Grand Anse alone there were 66,000 houses destroyed and 20,000 heavily damaged.

"Information gathered from various sources in the field suggest that the human toll (dead and injured) will be heavier than the current official figures," the agency said in a report.

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.

Government officials estimate that at least 350,000 people need assistance, and concern was growing over an increase in cholera cases following widespread flooding unleashed by Matthew. An ongoing cholera outbreak has already killed roughly 10,000 people and sickened more than 800,000 since 2010, when the infectious disease was introduced into the country's biggest river from a U.N. base where Nepalese peacekeepers were deployed.

Maria Sofia Sanon, a health worker overseeing the open-air cholera treatment center in a corner of Jeremie's main hospital, said they were ill-equipped to deal with patients. The area was strewn with broken tree branches, and a group of young mothers sat outside holding up the arms of their glassy-eyed children being rehydrated via IVs.

"They're not supposed to be in the sun, but we have no more beds," Sanon said.

Nearby, officials with the Red Cross were unloading blankets, soaps, bleach and other items as aid began to reach remote corners of Haiti's southwest peninsula.

"It's beginning to pick up now," said Stephane Rolland, coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross for Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Cuban medical teams were dispatched to coastal villages, and officials began distributing food in storm shelters and in the main plaza of Jeremie, where thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed and many people were running low on food.

Jocelyne Saint Preux was part of the crowd that lined up in an orderly fashion to get food as aid began to arrive, including shipments of food and other emergency supplies from the U.S. Agency for International Development carried by waves of military transport helicopters.

The mother of three children whose home was destroyed said officials were handing out wheat, beans, oil and salt.

"Yes, they brought food, but it's not sufficient," she said. "There's no water. There's no charcoal."

As aid trickled into Jeremie, Jislene Jean-Baptiste surveyed what remained of the one-room house that the grandmother shares with her three daughters and their children. There wasn't much left. Storm surge flowed across the road and drenched her belongings in waist-deep salt water, washing away the stores of rice and sugar she regularly sold at the market to support her family. Then the wind tore off her roof.

"That storm was the most terrifying thing that ever happened here," she said.

__

Fox reported from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

People carry the coffin of Roberto Laguerre to bury him at the cemetery in Jeremie, Haiti, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Roberto, 32, died when the wall of a church next door to his home fell during Hurricane Matthew. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A boy lies on a table in a shelter after Hurricane Matthew passed in Jeremie Haiti, Saturday Oct. 8, 2016. Aid has begun pouring into the hard-hit town, where thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed and many people were running low on food and facing an increased risk for cholera. ( 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)

Theodor Florine 8, lies on a bed at the state hospital after Hurricane Matthew passed in Jeremie, Haiti. Saturday Oct. 8, 2016. Aid has begun pouring into the hard-hit town, where thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed and many people were running low on food and facing an increased risk for cholera. ( AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Andrenne Joseph dries her clothes near her destroyed house caused by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, Haiti. Saturday Oct. 8, 2016. Aid has begun pouring into the hard-hit town, where thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed and many people were running low on food and facing an increased risk for cholera. ( AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A boy stands on top of the hillside of town of Jeremie, Haiti, that was destroyed by Hurricane, Saturday Oct. 8, 2016. Aid has begun pouring into the hard-hit town, where thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed and many people were running low on food and facing an increased risk for cholera. ( AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A homeless man lies on a piece of wood in a shelter after Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti. Saturday Oct. 8, 2016. Aid has begun pouring into the hard-hit town, where thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed and many people were running low on food and facing an increased risk for cholera. ( AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Women from the Laguerre family cry during the burial of Roberto Laguerre in Jeremie, Haiti, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Roberto, 32, died when the wall of a church next door to his home fell during Hurricane Matthew. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Women from the Laguerre family cry during the burial of Roberto Laguerre in Jeremie, Haiti, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Roberto, 32, died when the wall of a church next door to his home fell during Hurricane Matthew. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

People unload food and water boated in from the "Mission of Hope" charity after Hurricane Matthew swept through Jeremie, Haiti, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Jeremie appears to be the epicenter of the country's growing humanitarian crisis in the wake of the storm. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Residents wait on the shore as a boat with water and food from the "Mission of Hope" charity arrives after Hurricane Matthew swept through Jeremie, Haiti, Saturday Oct. 8, 2016. Jeremie appears to be the epicenter of the country's growing humanitarian crisis in the wake of the storm. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A person shows the identification card of Roberto Laguerre during Laguerre's burial in Jeremie, Haiti, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Roberto, 32, died when the wall of a church next door to his home fell during Hurricane Matthew. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
Storm's 50-mile difference between disaster and catastrophe

WASHINGTON (AP)  Hurricane Matthew's close-but-not-quite-direct-hit path along the Florida and Georgia coasts skirted the difference between disaster and catastrophe, meteorologists said.

Even though Matthew eventually made landfall in South Carolina as a minimal hurricane Saturday, the path it took in the days before was a stroke of luck for the United States that meteorologists will spend years trying to understand and explain.

Here are some questions and answers about Matthew's path that one meteorologist likened to threading a needle:

___

Q: How close a call was it for Florida and Georgia?

A: Just a 50 mile shift to the west, or even 20 or 30 miles, during the time it glided north along the coastline meant the difference between a storm that now looks like it will end up causing several billion dollars in damage and one costing $50 billion, said both Colorado State University meteorology professor Phil Klotzbach and former hurricane hunter meteorologist Jeff Masters, meteorology director at the private Weather Underground.

"People got incredibly lucky," Klotzbach said. "It was a super close call."

"Thankfully it was a tight enough storm that 50 miles made a pretty big difference from a wind perspective," Klotzbach said.

Mark Bove, a meteorologist for the insurance giant Munch Re, said "if this went in as a Category 3 or 4 into Florida it would have been significantly worse."

Still the storm surge was bad, especially in Jacksonville, Klotzbach said.

And as lucky as the track was for the United States, it was unlucky for Haiti and the Bahamas, Klotzbach pointed out.

"It maximized the damage in the Caribbean and minimized the damage in the U.S.," Klotzbach said.

___

Q: Why did it not go into Florida or Georgia?

A: Meteorologists are still trying to figure that out but the best answer may just be dumb luck with maybe an assist from Tropical Storm Nicole. Meteorologists said they will be studying to see if there is any good answer but so far they don't have one.

Hurricanes are guided by atmospheric currents not anything on the ground or in the water. And this time those air steering currents  particularly high pressure system in the western Atlantic and northeastern United States  happened to guide the storm on a path that was almost perfectly parallel to the Florida-Georgia coast, Bove said.

That, Bove said, is "pretty darn unusual."

Masters said it was just plain luck, but Klotzbach said it is possible that the presence of Tropical Storm Nicole may have had a little bit of a hand in the path.

___

Q: So was evacuating coastal Florida and Georgia foolish?

A: Definitely not.

Even though the storm didn't make landfall in Florida, insurance meteorologist Bove said he was certain that evacuations saved lives.

"There was plenty of storm surge all along the coast," Bove said. "And that is deadly and unfortunately people really underestimate what storm surge can do."

Klotzbach said people in Florida who evacuated should consider evacuation like seatbelts in a car. It didn't save you this time, but you should be glad it wasn't needed.

___

Q: Will Matthew go down in the history books?

A: Oh yes. Data is still coming in, but it set all sorts of records so far.

Most notably Matthew goes down as one of the most potent and long-living major hurricanes  not at landfall but just spinning in the Atlantic over its lifetime.

One key meteorological measurement of a storm  Accumulated Cyclone Energy or ACE  looks at total energy based on how long a storm lasts and its wind strength over a lifetime. It's based on measurements every six hours. In the post 1966 era of monitoring, Matthew ranks eighth among Atlantic hurricanes in ACE and likely will end up around sixth before it is completely gone, Klotzbach calculated.

And Matthew was a major hurricane  with winds of at least 110 mph  for 7.25 days, ending Friday. That makes it tied for fifth longest time as a major hurricane of the satellite era and the longest ever for a late season storm, Klotzbach said.

It also had the seventh lowest barometric pressure for storms making landfall in South Carolina. The lower the barometric pressure, the stronger the storm.
More Republicans calling on Trump to step down as nominee

The list of elected Republican officials who want Donald Trump to abandon his presidential campaign or say they will not vote for him is growing.

Here are comments of some of those leaving Trump after the revelation of crude comments he made about women, recorded in 2005, were made public Friday. He says there's no chance he'll quit.

___

In this Sept. 1, 2016 photo, Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee speaks during a news conference at the Utah Solutions Summit in Salt Lake City. The Republican Partys revolt against Donald Trump got its start in Utah. Gov. Gary Herbert was the first elected official to pull his endorsement from Donald Trump as conservatives recoiled from a recording of Trump boasting of how his fame allowed him to force himself on women. Other prominent Utah Republicans soon joined him. Sen. Mike Lee, Reps. Jason Chaffetz, Chris Stewart and Mia Love, and former Gov. Jon Huntsman all called for Trump to abandon his campaign. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

"I wanted to be able to support my party's nominee, chosen by the people, because I feel strongly that we need a change in direction for our country. However, I'm a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women. I will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton and instead will be writing in Governor Pence for president on Election Day."  Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire.

___

"As I said yesterday, Donald Trump's comments were offensive and wrong. I had hoped to support the candidate my party nominated in the primary process. I thought it was appropriate to respect the millions of voters across the country who chose Donald Trump as the Republican Party nominee. While I continue to respect those who still support Donald Trump, I can no longer support him." - Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio.

___

"I have reached the decision that I can no longer endorse Donald Trump. This is not a decision that I have reached lightly, but his pattern of behavior has left me no choice. ... Make no mistake. We need conservative leadership in the White House. I urge Donald Trump to step aside and allow the Republican Party to put forward a conservative candidate like Mike Pence who can defeat Hillary Clinton."  Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho.

___

"Donald Trump's comments regarding women were disgraceful and appalling. There are absolutely no circumstances under which it would ever be appropriate to speak of women in such a way. It is now clear Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States and cannot defeat Hillary Clinton. I believe he should step aside and allow Governor Pence to lead the Republican ticket."  Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama.

___

"I can no longer look past the pattern of behavior and comments that have been made by Donald Trump. ...I believe our only option is to formally ask Mr. Trump to step down and to allow Republicans the opportunity to elect someone who will provide us with the strong leadership so desperately needed and one that Americans deserve."  Senate candidate Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada.

___

"I have wanted to support the candidate our party nominated. He was not my choice, but as a past nominee, I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set. But Donald Trump's behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy. ... Cindy and I will not vote for Donald Trump. I have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate and we will not vote for Hillary Clinton. We will write in the name of some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be president."  Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

___

"I am committed to defeating Hillary Clinton. The only way this is now possible is with a new nominee that reflects the values of our country and our party. I will not vote for Donald Trump. If Donald Trump wishes to defeat Hillary Clinton, he should do the only thing that will all us to do so  step aside, and allow Mike Pence to be the Republican Party's nominee."  Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado.

___

"I'm incredibly disappointed in our party's candidate. And unlike the Democrats who have proven completely unwilling to hold secretary Clinton accountable for her illegal activities that endangered our national security, I am willing to hold Mr. Trump accountable. I am therefore calling for him to step aside and to allow Mike Pence to lead our party."  Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah.

___

"Enough is enough. Donald Trump should withdraw in favor of Governor Mike Pence. This election is too important."  South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

___

"I cannot support and will not vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to be president of the United States. I will write in Governor Mike Pence for President."  Rep. Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey.

___

"Donald Trump's comments are inexcusable. I am appalled that he would brag about violating a woman's physical boundaries. As a husband and father of two daughters, I denounce his comments and the behavior that it incites. I believe that Mike Pence would be the best nominee for the Republican Party to defeat Hillary Clinton."  Rep. Scott Garrett of New Jersey.

___

"Character matters. @realDonaldTrump has been saying outrageous, offensive things the whole time. He should have stepped aside long ago."  Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan.

___

"We must have a conservative in the White House to restore accountability, opportunity and security. For the sake of our Constitution and the rule of law, we must defeat Hillary Clinton. Today I ask Donald Trump to step aside and for the RNC to replace him with Gov. Mike Pence."  Former 2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.

___

"Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately."  Sen. John Thune of South Dakota.

___

"I never endorsed Donald Trump and cannot in good conscience support or vote for a man who degrades women, insults minorities and has no clear path to keep our country safe. He should step aside for a true conservative to beat Hillary Clinton." Rep. Will Hurd of Texas.

___

"For the past several months I have been one of the few who refused to endorse Donald Trump. I have said all along that I was still waiting for Mr. Trump to demonstrate his commitment to the kinds of principles and policies the people in Utah's 4th Congressional District want in their elected leaders. Mr. Trump has yet to clear that bar and his behavior and bravado have reached a new low. I cannot vote for him. For the good of the party, and the country, he should step aside."  Rep. Mia Love of Utah.

___

"Mr. Trump himself has acknowledged this and identified this series of events tonight as a mere distraction. Well, with all due respect sir, you, sir, are the distraction. Your conduct, sir, is the distraction. It's a distraction from the very principles that will help us win in November. You, yourself sir, Mr. Trump, have stated repeatedly that the goal, the objective has got to be to defeat Hillary Clinton in November. I couldn't agree more. It's for precisely that reason, Mr. Trump, that I respectfully ask you, with all due respect, to step aside, step down, allow someone else to carry the banner of these principles, these principles that have made our country great, these principles that will stand as a beacon of hope to the American family rather than weighing down the American people, rather than weighing down the very principles that will help us win in November."  Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.

___

"As a woman, a mother, and a grandmother to three young girls, I am deeply offended by Mr. Trump's remarks, and there is no excuse for the disgusting and demeaning language. Women have worked hard to gain the dignity and respect we deserve. The appropriate next step may be for him to re-examine his candidacy."  Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.

___

"In a campaign cycle that has been nothing but a race to the bottom  at such a critical moment for our nation  and with so many who have tried to be respectful of a record primary vote, the time has come for Governor Pence to lead the ticket."  Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.

___

"For the good of the country, and to give the Republicans a chance of defeating Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump should step aside. His defeat at this point seems almost certain. And four years of Hillary Clinton is not what is best for this country. Mr. Trump should put the country first and do the right thing."  Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado.

___

"This is disgusting, vile and disqualifying. No woman should ever be subjected to this type of obscene behavior and it is unbecoming of anybody seeking high office. In light of these comments, Donald Trump should step aside and allow our party to replace him with Mike Pence or another appropriate nominee from the Republican Party. I cannot in good conscience vote for Donald Trump and I would never vote for Hillary Clinton."  Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia.

___

"As disappointed as I've been with his antics throughout this campaign, I thought supporting the nominee was the best thing for our country and our party. Now, it is abundantly clear that the best thing for our country and our party is for Trump to step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket."  U.S. Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama.

___

"I cannot and will not support Donald Trump for president. He has forfeited the right to be our party's nominee."  Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

___

"Keeping Republicans in the Senate majority is critical to the economic and national security of Alaska and America. As for the White House, Donald Trump should step aside. I will support Mike Pence for president."  Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan.

___

"I'm horrified by #TrumpTape news. @realDonaldTrump campaign is a poisonous mix of bigotry & ignorance. Enough! He needs to step down."  Former Gov. George Pataki of New York.
US says Iran rules don't ease sanctions, but others disagree

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Obama administration said Saturday its new guidance for foreign companies doing business with Iran doesn't ease remaining sanctions on the country. Some sanctions experts argued that the revised language has that effect.

The Treasury Department said that an update to its regulations published late Friday merely clarified what is and isn't allowed since last year's landmark nuclear deal that gave Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its atomic program. Treasury said the new "Frequently Asked Questions" section of its Iran sanctions regulations was issued in response to concerns from foreign businesses uncertain about what transactions may still be prohibited by non-nuclear sanctions.

"Yesterday's update was intended to clarify the scope of sanctions lifting under the (nuclear deal) and the sanctions that remain in place, and does not represent additional sanctions relief," Treasury said.

However, the clarifications make explicit that some previously prohibited dollar transactions with Iran by offshore banks are now allowed as long as they do not enter the U.S. financial system. And, they remove what had been seen as a blanket ban on foreign transactions with Iranian firms controlled by a person who remains subject to U.S. non-nuclear sanctions.

Despite the nuclear agreement, the U.S. maintains sanctions on Iran and certain Iranian companies and people. They are known as "specially designated nationals" or SDNs, for a variety of reasons, including its ballistic missile program, human rights record and support for groups the U.S. deems to be terrorist organizations.

The new Treasury language says foreign transactions with non-sanctioned entities that are nonetheless "minority owned" or "controlled in whole or in part by an Iranian or Iran-related person on the SDN list" are "not necessarily sanctionable" under U.S. regulations.

Treasury and some sanctions lawyers maintained that the new guidance doesn't reflect any change in policy or a loosening of sanctions.
Police: 2-year-old girl dies in hot car while mom worked

SALISBURY, N.C. (AP)  Authorities are investigating the death of a 2-year-old girl who was left in a hot car for nearly nine hours after her mother went to work at a North Carolina VA Medical Center.

The Salisbury Post reports (http://bit.ly/2dNuS5R) police said the mother went to work in Salisbury, about 42 miles northeast of Charlotte, around 7:55 a.m. Thursday, leaving the child in a car seat. A passer-by discovered the child at 4:37 p.m. The car had been parked in the sun and the windows were rolled up.

Officials said a VA police officer broke a window to get into the car. Despite attempts to resuscitate the girl, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

No identities have been released. Salisbury Police Capt. Shelia Lingle said investigators will talk to the district attorney's office to determine how to proceed.

___
The Latest: Hurricane Matthew causes North Carolina floods

The Latest on Hurricane Matthew (all times local):

8:15 p.m.

Matthew is still a weak hurricane off the North Carolina coast and is causing record-breaking flooding in the state.

A vehicle is submerged after Hurricane Matthew caused flooding on Saturday Oct. 8, 2016 in Charleston, S.C. Matthew continued its march along the Atlantic coast Saturday, lashing two of the South's most historic cities and some of its most popular resort islands, flattening trees, swamping streets and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands. (Michael Pronzato/The Post And Courier via AP)

At 8 p.m. EDT, the center of the storm was about 40 miles east of Cape Fear and had sustained winds of about 75 mph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm is expected to weaken.

Forecasters say they are receiving numerous reports of flooded homes, businesses and roads in Raleigh.

At least 10 people have been killed in the U.S., including three in North Carolina.

___

5:30 p.m.

At least a couple of dozen people are stranded on Interstate 95 after their vehicles got caught on a stretch of road between two parts of the flooded highway.

North Carolina Highway Patrol Troopers are working to help 25 vehicles. The Department of Public Safety said Saturday that the vehicles were stuck but didn't offer further details. It said the motorists were near Wilson.

Elsewhere, the Department of Transportation has closed stretches of Interstate 95 and parts of Interstate 40 after Hurricane Matthew drenched the state.

___

3:10 p.m.

A third fatality related to harsh weather brought on by Hurricane Matthew has been reported in Georgia, bringing the U.S. death toll from the storm to 10.

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police said in a statement Saturday that they are investigating the death of a man at his home, possibly from structural damage caused by a fallen tree.

Two other deaths in Georgia occurred in Bulloch County. Three deaths have been reported in North Carolina, and four have occurred in Florida.

Those numbers pale in comparison to Haiti, which counted 470 dead in one district alone when Hurricane Matthew swept through the Caribbean island as a Category 4 storm. It has since weakened to a Category 1.

___

2:50 p.m.

Five new deaths have been reported in the Southeast in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. That brings the death toll in the United States from the storm to nine.

Gov. Pat McCrory said Saturday that the hurricane killed three people in North Carolina.

McCrory said at a press conference that "this is a very, very serious and deadly storm."

In Georgia, Bulloch County deputy coroner Richard Pylant said two people died there. One of the casualties was a 68-year-old man who was home alone when two trees fell on his home.

Officials have previously reported four deaths in Florida.

___

1 p.m.

North Carolina officials say emergency responders have conducted eight water rescues from cars and homes in Cumberland County. More are expected as the threat from Hurricane Matthew increases.

Officials said in a news release Saturday that roads and drainage ditches in the county and Fayetteville are filling with water, making driving treacherous. Businesses are being encouraged to close early so workers can get home before additional roads become impassable.

The National Weather Service said 8.5 inches of rain have fallen in Fayetteville in about 12 hours, starting a midnight. The ground there was already saturated from heavy rains last week.

___

12:15 p.m. EDT

Property data firm CoreLogic projects that Hurricane Matthew's grind across the Southeast will end up costing between $4 billion and $6 billion in insured losses on residential and commercial properties.

The firm's estimate covers storm surge and wind damage, which it anticipates will account for 90 percent of insurance claims related to the storm. CoreLogic's estimate doesn't include insured property losses related to additional flooding, business interruption or other factors.

The firm also projects that the hurricane will end up damaging roughly 1.5 million residential and commercial properties in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Hurricane Matthew's estimated losses are a fraction of those racked up by Superstorm Sandy, which barreled into the Northeast in 2012, and Hurricane Katrina, which swept through Louisiana and nearby states in 2005.

CoreLogic says Superstorm Sandy's insured property losses reached up to $20 billion, while Katrina's hit as high as $40 billion.

Earlier this week, the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America, estimated that insurance claim payouts from damage caused by Hurricane Matthew would likely exceed $7.5 billion.

12:30 p.m.

The White House says President Barack Obama has spoken with the governors of the four states being hardest hit by Hurricane Matthew.

Obama spoke separately Saturday to Govs. Nathan Deal of Georgia, Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Pat McCrory of North Carolina and Rick Scott of Florida. The White House says Obama reiterated his commitment to provide federal to help the states respond to the storm.

Obama had already declared emergencies in the four states and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local response efforts.

Obama spoke with the governors from Chicago, where he is undertaking a round of fundraisers for Democratic candidates.

___

11:05 a.m.

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Matthew has made landfall in South Carolina.

The center said in a news release Saturday morning that the storm's center made landfall just southeast of the town of McClellanville.

The NHC says a "serious inland flooding event" is taking place.

___

11 a.m.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is warning residents to watch for fraudulent emails that have shown up as Hurricane Matthew moved along the coast.

The governor said Saturday that people are receiving emails stating that they have an update on power outages. Haley said the email provides a link to get the update.

The governor said those who click on the link have opened their computer to hackers.

Haley says it's important for people to be sure they recognize the sender of emails before opening them. She says those from unknown senders should be deleted.

___

10:25 a.m.

Cassandra Coleman says she and her boyfriend were driving along Georgia's President Street, which links downtown Savannah to Tybee Island, when they saw a woman wading through floodwaters early Saturday.

It turned out to be a homeless woman whose tent got washed away when Hurricane Matthew struck.

The shivering woman made it to the water's edge. The woman identified herself as Valerie and said she was homeless. She said she had nine children but was unable to evacuate with them.

She said she weathered the storm under a tent near an overpass that crosses the low-lying road. But then floodwaters washed it away.

"It wiped out our tent, our tarp and washed away all our blankets and clothes," she said.

A bystander offered to assist her in finding help.

___

9:30 a.m.

Hurricane Matthew's fury was being felt Saturday on Hilton Head Island, where power was out and the two roads onto the resort island were blocked by trees.

Water swamped roads in many areas, and there was extensive damage, much of it from the island's well-known pine trees.

Chandler Brunson and her fiance were among several people on the island trying to make it back home after they evacuated.

Brunson tried several different ways to get to her home in an SUV, but they were all blocked.

"I think we're going to have a pine tree splitting our house," Brunson said. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Emergency officials left the island Friday afternoon and had not returned at 8 a.m. Saturday

___

8 a.m.

Hurricane Matthew has weakened to a Category 1 storm but still remains a threat to the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday morning that Matthew was centered about 20 miles (30 kilometers) south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina.

Its maximum sustained winds have dropped to 85 mph (140 kph), with hurricane-force winds extending up to 45 miles (75 kilometers) from the center.

Matthew's strong winds and storm surge were battering the South Carolina coast early Saturday, and heavy rain and high winds were spreading inland. The storm's center is expected to be near the coast of southern North Carolina by Saturday night.

___

4:25 a.m.

Hurricane Matthew is making itself felt in South Carolina. Hurricane-force winds are moving onshore at Hilton Head and Pritchards Island, South Carolina, the National Hurricane Center reports. At least one wind gust of 61 mph (98 kph) was recorded at Beaufort, South Carolina.

Matthew remains a Category 2 hurricane and is moving north off the coast, centered about 30 miles (130 km) south-southwest of Hilton Head.

____

2 a.m.

Hurricane Matthew continues to move north off the Georgia coast and its center is forecast to move near or over the South Carolina coast Saturday morning, the National Hurricane Center reports. The Category 2 hurricane will near North Carolina's southern coast by Saturday night, the center says.

Matthew has sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph), and is 45 miles (70 kilometers) south of Hilton Head, South Carolina. It is moving north about 12 mph (19 kph).

___

A woman who identified herself as Valerie walks along flooded President Street after leaving her homeless camp after Hurricane Matthew caused flooding, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in Savannah, Ga. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding towns and gouging out roads in its path. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

Fallen trees and branches line the street in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew at Hilton Head Island, S.C., on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding towns and gouging out roads in its path. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

A trailer is destroyed from a fallen tree in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew at Hilton Head, S.C., on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding towns and gouging out roads in its path. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Robert Nicotra braves the wind and rain along the beach on the Isle of Palms, S.C., as Hurricane Matthew approaches, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Mike Pendergrast moves a wagon down 41st Ave. full of sand to fill with sand bags around his home on the Isle of Palms as Hurricane Matthew approaches the Isle of Palms, S.C., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

An Isle of Palms house leaves a message as Hurricane Matthew approaches the Isle of Palms, S.C., Friday, October 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Trey Tait watches over his store, Tait's Lawn Products, illuminated by a generator after the power went out from Hurricane Matthew in Brunswick, Ga., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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)

Rain from Hurricane Matthew falls on the flooded intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Victory Drive Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Savannah, Ga. (Josh Galemore/Savannah Morning News via AP)

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)

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)

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)

A boat and debris washed ashore from Hurricane Matthew are seen in Melbourne, Fla., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Hurricane Matthew spared Florida's most heavily populated stretch from a catastrophic blow but threatened some of the South's most historic and picturesque cities. (AP Photo/Gaston De Cardenas)
Trump's comments on women trigger outrage from all corners

NEW YORK (AP)  On a bus headed to the set of the soap opera "Days of Our Lives" in 2005, Donald Trump was secretly recorded saying he was drawn like a magnet to beautiful women. "I just start kissing them," he boasted. "I don't even wait."

After the recording was released Friday, backlash didn't wait, either. Critics across the political spectrum said the Republican presidential nominee's comments crossed the line from vulgarity to assault and underscored a need to push back against misogyny and so-called rape culture.

"Someone with such disrespect for women, with such a misogynistic lifestyle who boasts about using his power to sexually assault women cannot  and will not  be the leader of this country," said National Organization for Women president Terry O'Neill.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pauses 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)

On the tape, Trump 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."

Dozens of Republican officials called for their own presidential nominee to quit the race. Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, tersely stated: "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever."

Kelly Oxford, an author and social media personality, posted an account of an older man on a city bus grabbing her crotch and smiling at her. She asked other women to share their own harrowing assault stories, and thousands did, pushing #NotOK into a trending topic on Twitter.

Trump has provided plenty of fodder for the conversation. He has called a Miss Universe winner "Miss Piggy," referring to actress Rosie O'Donnell as a "pig," and speculated that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly asked him tough questions because she was menstruating.

One sidebar of the debate centered on whether men really talked that way when they are not around women. "All men talk like this, get over it," wrote someone with the Twitter handle @psychicempress. To which many replied: "No they don't."

Since that 2005 conversation, sexual violence against women and how society deals with it are more often discussed, in part because of the rise of social media. The issue was at the center of an outcry over a six-month jail sentence for a former Stanford University swimmer who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman. Fox News chief Roger Ailes was recently ousted over charges of his mistreatment of women.

And sexual violence is the main issue surrounding charges that Bill Cosby, 79, drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Cosby, who has faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct from various women, says his encounters with women were consensual.

In a statement, Trump initially called his remarks "locker room banter."

Brandon Morrow, a pitcher with the San Diego Padres, tweeted that he's been around locker room banter but Trump's words were "a few of the most disgusting things I've heard a man say."

Daniel Weingarten, a 24-year-old Los Angeles-based actor and writer, posted a video in which he shot down the notion that men behind closed doors talk like Trump. "Real men don't say these things. Real men don't brag about sexual assault like it's a badge of honor."

Trump called the taped comments "a distraction from the issues we are facing today." He said that his "foolish" words are much different than the words and actions of Bill Clinton, whom he accused of abusing women, and Hillary Clinton, whom he accused of having "bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims."

Right-leaning radio host Laura Ingraham tried to defend Trump, saying that while "objectifying women with graphic language is appalling," liberals have "little credibility on this issue."

But Trump supporters were easily swamped by outraged Americans.

"As a human being, I am appalled by Trump's words," tweeted Matthew Carson of Tallahassee, Florida. "As a father of 4 boys, I pray I can raise them to be better than that."

____
Leader for former Tuareg separatist group killed in Mali

BAMAKO, Mali (AP)  The spokesman for a former Tuareg rebel group says its leader has been killed after attending a meeting at a United Nations camp in the northern Mali town of Kidal.

Almouzamile Ag Mohamed, spokesman for the High Council for the Unity of Azawad, said Cheick Aoussa was killed Saturday in a car explosion after leaving the U.N. peacekeeping mission's Kidal camp where he met with officials to discuss security.

Aoussa's group, along with other Tuareg separatist groups, is a signatory to a 2015 peace accord with Mali's government. A French-led military intervention drove Islamic extremists out of north Mali in 2013, though instability remains.
UN: Heath officials in Yemen say over 140 dead in airstrike

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The United Nations says initial reports from health officials in Yemen's capital indicate that over 140 people were killed and more than 525 wounded in an airstrike on a funeral hall.

Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said in a statement late Saturday that the humanitarian community in the country is "shocked and outraged" at the airstrikes which hit the hall packed with mourners in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

He condemned the "horrific attack."
Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe insists bruising 'not consistent with fall or seizure'

Medical examinations suggest Steven Woolfe has bruising on his face not consistent with just a fall or seizure, the Ukip MEP has revealed.

The news will intensify controversy that has engulfed Ukip since Mr Woolfe was taken to hospital after an "altercation" with fellow MEP Mike Hookem.

A spokesman for Mr Woolfe told The Press Association: "A team of experts independent of the hospital staff were called in to examine physical injuries to Steven's face, head and body that were inconsistent with just a seizure, or a fall as a result of a seizure.

Steven Woolfe gives a thumbs-up from his Strasbourg hospital bed

"The team of experts also examined other pieces of evidence including clothing and images relating to those injuries.

"Their report will shine a different light on claims currently being made in the media."

Mr Hookem has insisted he did not punch Mr Woolfe, and the incident amounted to "handbags at dawn".

A spokesman for the Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire MEP said: "Mr Hookem stands by the statements that he made in various media interview yesterday regarding Steve Woolfe.

"Mr Hookem will now be seeking legal advice in relation to Mr Woolfe's allegations and will be making no further comment at this time."

Earlier, Mr Hookem insisted claims he punched Mr Woolfe were untrue. He told the Press Association: "That's totally wrong. I never touched him, never hit him, never punched him, never slapped him or anything else I've been accused of doing."

After a disagreement over the reasons for Mr Woolfe being barred from the last leadership contest, Mr Hookem said his colleague told him: "Well if that's the tone of this meeting, maybe me and you should take it outside the room, mano-a-mano."

He said Mr Woolfe then picked up his jacket and went out of the room.

"So I went out of the room into this small anteroom where he came at me. And what occurred was a tussle. Nothing happened. It was literally seconds because the other MEPs followed us in there.

"The door opened. I backed off. Steven fell through the door and I went back to sit back down again."

His account is at odds with North West England MEP Mr Woolfe, who told the Daily Mail Mr Hookem "came at me and landed a blow" and that he fell back and hit the door frame.

The latest twist to the saga came as MEP Roger Helmer said a "black mark" will be put over Mr Woolfe's standing for the leadership of Ukip if a party probe rules he intentionally started a fight.

Mr Helmer insisted questions would be raised over Mr Woolfe's fitness for the party's top job if it is found he instigated the "altercation" with Mr Hookem.

The intervention came after senior party figures suggested Mr Woolfe's apparent willingness to resort to violence made him unsuitable for leadership.

Mr Helmer said an internal Ukip investigation into the tussle between the two MEPs would be crucial to Mr Woolfe's future in the party.

"If it's concluded that he started, he intentionally started, a fight - if, I stress, if - then that would be a black mark against his ability to stand.

"I think as a conclusion of that investigation the party will consider whether disciplinary measures are appropriate and that might have implications for Steven Woolfe's candidacy," the East Midlands MEP told BBC Radio Four's Today programme.

Lisa Duffy, who was runner-up in last month's leadership election, said party members were "embarrassed" by what had taken place.

"Do we want a leader who will get himself involved in an altercation, or do we want a leader who is going to be rational and reflect and deal with things in an appropriate manner?" she told the BBC.

"Violence or any kind of offering to go outside is not the way to deal with problems."

Ukip MEP Jonathan Arnott said it was "obvious to anybody" that Mr Woolfe could no longer be a candidate.

"This really portrays Ukip in an appalling light," he told BBC2's Daily Politics programme.

"The people who have worked hard for this party, year in, year out - they expect better of their MEPs than what has been seen over the last 24 hours."

European Parliament president Martin Schultz announced that he was launching an investigation into the conduct of the two MEPs, which could see them suspended from voting and their expenses cut.

In response to Mr Woolfe's injury claims, Mr Hookem has released a photograph of his hands which he says display no bruises, cuts, or grazes, to back up his insistence that he did not punch his fellow MEP.

Mr Hookem told Sky News he posted the photograph on line with a picture of Mr Woolfe in his hospital bed to back his version of events.

"I am now disputing everything Steven Woolfe is saying.

"That photograph shows my hands, it was the day after the altercation, supposed altercation, to show that there is no marks whatsoever, it's high definition, there is no marks whatsoever on my hands.

"And the photograph of Steven Woolfe sitting in a hospital bed where there is no marks whatsoever on his face.

"It is playground behaviour and I have apologised to the membership, and I've apologised to the party.
Johanna Konta reaches final of China Open - and breaks into the world top 10

Johanna Konta is the first British woman to break into the top 10 of the world rankings in 32 years after beating Madison Keys to reach the final of the China Open.

Konta, the 11th seed, overcame her American opponent 7-6 (7/1) 4-6 6-4 in an encounter that lasted more than two and a half hours.

The 25-year-old's victory in Beijing means she will climb into the top 10 of the next WTA rankings, becoming the first British woman to achieve the feat since Jo Durie in 1984.

Johanna Konta will be a top-10 player next week (AP)

Durie, 56, was quick to offer her best wishes to Konta, tweeting: " Congrats to @JoKonta91 a fantastic year & thoroughly deserves the Top Ten ranking. More to come I'm sure."

By reaching the China Open final Konta will also move into the top eight of the Road to Singapore - the race to reach the WTA Finals later this month.

Konta said in her on-court interview immediately after Saturday's victory, broadcast on BT Sport: "I'm definitely enjoying my time here, it's my first time playing Beijing and hope to play many more times. It's a pleasure to play here."

Asked what the secret was to beating eighth-seeded Keys - who made 47 unforced errors compared to 32 from the British number one - Konta said: "I don't think there really is a secret. She's such a high quality player, she has such weight of shots I'm pretty sure I was cleaning the back of the court there, she was keeping me back.

"I really just tried to run down as many balls as I could and really just take the chances that I got."

Konta, who is looking for the second WTA title of her career, said of Sunday's final: "It's pretty special. I'm just enjoying being here, I'm just trying to prolong it as long as possible and I feel very very blessed to be coming back tomorrow to play in the final."

Konta will face Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in the final after the third seed beat Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 in their semi-final.
Tory party now my 'natural home' - Lib Dem defector Baroness Manzoor

A Lib Dem peer has been tempted by Theresa May to switch to the Tories.

Zahida Manzoor said she was impressed by the Prime Minister's talk of promoting social mobility.

"Leaving the Lib Dems, where I've been a member for three years in the House of Lords, was tough, but it was the right thing to do. I could not support the leadership of a party that calls itself democratic and then refuses to acknowledge the will of the people in a referendum," she said.

Baroness Manzoor has defected to the Conservative Party from the Lib Dems

"Theresa May's vision of a Britain that works for everyone, and her clear leadership over Brexit, now make the Conservatives a natural home for me and millions of people like me, from all communities across the UK.

"As Britain embarks on a new journey, outside the EU but reaching out to trade with the world, and as we really begin addressing the problems of social mobility at home, I look forward to helping play my part as a Conservative," Baroness Manzoor added.

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron told BBC One's Sunday Politics that his party had gained 20,000 new members since June.

This included thousands joining from the Conservatives, including hundreds since its party conference, Mr Farron said.
Drugs combination 'could create effective anti-kidney cancer weapon'

A combination treatment of two immunotherapy drugs may prove an effective new weapon against advanced kidney cancer, results from a trial have shown.

Scientists found that 40% of patients treated with nivolumab and ipilimumab experienced a significant reduction in the size of their tumours.

In a tenth of these patients the cancer appeared to have vanished. There was no detectable sign of disease.

Some patients showed no sign of cancer after the treatment

The CheckMate -016 study was an early Phase I trial chiefly designed to investigate doses and side effects.

Dr Hans Hammers, from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre in the US, said: "There remains a significant unmet need for treatment options that offer ongoing responses and increase survival for patients with renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer.

"The results from CheckMate -016 are encouraging, and warrant further study, as they show with nearly two years of follow-up, 40.4% of patients in each nivolumab plus ipilimumab combination arm responded to the regimen, with the majority of responses occurring early and within the first few months of treatment."

The findings were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology cancer meeting in Copenhagen.

The same combination of drugs has already been approved for NHS patients with advanced melanoma skin cancer.
Corbyn and Khan to join march remembering Battle of Cable Street

Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan will join members of the Jewish community in a march commemorating the anti-fascist battle of Cable Street 80 years ago.

Campaigners will take to the streets of London's East End on Sunday to protest against the rising number of racist and anti-Semitic offences in the city.

The number of hate crimes reported in the capital has risen to 50 a day since the EU referendum in June.

Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan will join campaigners on the streets of London's East End

There were 4,986 racially motivated offences in London between June 24 and September 30, compared with 3,620 in the 99 days before the Brexit vote, according to figures from the mayor of London's office.

Mr Khan is expected to say at the event: "London today is more diverse than ever and, on the whole, is a shining example of how people from different backgrounds can live side-by-side. I am proud that in London, we don't simply tolerate each other, but respect and celebrate our backgrounds and differences.

"When we see things that are divisive, go against our British values and are just fundamentally wrong, we must call them out. Anyone who threatens our values - whether fascists, extremists or political forces seeking to divide our society today - you will fail.

"By working together, playing together, studying together, having a shared set of common values and laws that are clear and progressive, our communities can unite and stand together against anyone who seeks to divide us."

The mayor is due to speak at a Jewish Community event in Shoreditch Town Hall.

Tens of thousands of anti-fascist protesters clashed with police in Cable Street on Sunday October 4 1936.
Foreign workers list worse than Trump's Muslim ban - former No 10 aide

The Tory idea to make firms list their foreign workers is worse than Donald Trump's plan to ban Muslims from entering the US, David Cameron's former policy guru has warned.

Steve Hilton, who broke with the ex-PM to back Brexit, was scathing about Home Secretary Amber Rudd's suggestion, which provoked uproar after being trailed at the Conservative conference this week.

Ministers might as well announce that "foreign workers will be tattooed with numbers on their forearms," Mr Hilton wrote in the Sunday Times.

The Tory idea to make firms list their foreign workers is worse than Donald Trump's plan to ban Muslims from entering the US, David Cameron's former policy guru Steve Hilton has warned

The former head of policy at No 10 warned that forcing companies to reveal all their foreign workers would be " divisive, repugnant, and insanely bureaucratic".

Ms Rudd told people not to brand her a "racist" after the idea was widely condemned, with Labour calling it xenophobic.

The initiative was also attacked by Ukip MEP Roger Helmer, who said: " This idea that companies should provide lists of foreigners - if we had suggested that, if Ukip had suggested that, they would have been shouting 'Fascist' up and down the street. I personally think that is a step too far."

Mr Hilton also accused Prime Minister Theresa May of being " incompetent and irresponsible" for allowing the international community to think Brexit would cut UK off from rest of the world.

A Home Office spokesman said: " This is not about listing foreign workers or so-called 'naming and shaming' of companies. The proportion of international workers in a company is one of the pieces of information that companies may be asked to provide to the Government.

"This information will not be published. This already happens in the US and is one of several proposals we will be consulting on as part of our work to ensure that companies take reasonable steps to recruit at home before looking to bring in workers from abroad.

"The purpose of having a consultation is so that we can listen to business and use that feedback to inform our decisions".

This is one of the proposals the Home Office will consult on to tighten the Resident Labour Market Test, which businesses have to undertake when they want to recruit non-EU workers, to demonstrate they are filling genuine gaps in the labour market.

At the moment that requires a company to advertise the role for 28 days and demonstrate that no qualified resident worker could fill it.
Justine Greening brands Donald Trump's comments about women as utterly crass

Donald Trump's comments about women have been branded "utterly crass" by Education Secretary Justine Greening.

Ms Greening became the latest British politician to wade into the row over Mr Trump's comments, which have been widely condemned.

Interim Ukip leader Nigel Farage said the Republican candidate's obscene remarks about groping women amounted to "alpha male boasting".

A row has developed over Donald Trump's comments

But Ms Greening joined those criticising Mr Trump's comments.

"As a woman I felt they were utterly crass," Ms Greening told ITV's Peston on Sunday.

"Obviously it's up to the American people to decide whether they think he's the right person to be their president."

Mr Farage, speaking in St Louis, Missouri, where he is attending this weekend's televised presidential debate as a Trump supporter , said the comments were "ugly", but stated that women also make remarks they would not want to see reported.

"Look, this is alpha male boasting. It's the kind of thing, if we are being honest, that men do. They sit around and have a drink and they talk like this.

"By the way, quite a lot of women say things amongst themselves that they would not want to see on Fox News, or the front page of a newspaper. I'm not pretending it's good - it's ugly, it is ugly."

Mr Farage's comments echo the initial response of Mr Trump who dismissed the obscene language on a 2005 video tape as "locker room banter" before the scale of the crisis overwhelming his presidential campaign forced him to issue an apology for the remarks.

On the tape, Mr Trump, who was newly married to his third wife, Melania, at the time, talks about making a pass at a married woman, saying: "I moved on her and I failed, I'll admit it ... I did try and f*** her. I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there. And she was married."

Mr Trump then talks about going after women, saying: "I am automatically attracted to beautiful women. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss, I don't even wait ... and when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything."

"Grab them by the p***y. You can do anything."

Mr Farage has previously spoken at a Trump rally, and was reported to be helping the Republican candidate prepare for the second presidential debate, after Hillary Clinton was widely seen to have won the first one by a clear margin.

Mrs Trump has said she was offended by the remarks, but they did not represent the man she knew.

"The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader."

Mr Trump has insisted there is "zero chance" he will quit the race for the White House after the comments provoked a firestorm of outrage.

The remarks have seen him dubbed "the groper in chief" on social media and been branded "horrific" by Mrs Clinton, and "sickening" by the Republican speaker of the US house of representatives, Paul Ryan.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said: "Nigel Farage's description of Donald Trump's appalling remarks as 'alpha male boasting' and his insistence that talking about women in these terms is 'the kind of thing men do' betray a very troubling attitude to women.
Let Jungle camp children into Britain, top clerics urge PM

Some of Britain's most senior religious figures have united to urge Prime Minister Theresa May to allow nearly 400 refugee children into the UK before the notorious Jungle migrant camp in France is demolished.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams and high-ranking names from the Muslim and Jewish faiths in Britain are among signatories of an open letter urging action against "a stain on the conscience of both France and Britain".

It calls for Mrs May to allow 397 child refugees living in the camp near Calais to be allowed to enter Britain.

Orphaned refugee children walk among the shelters at the Jungle camp

It comes after French president Francois Hollande said the site would close before winter, with its 9,000 inhabitants dispersed around the country.

In the letter, organised by the Citizens UK charity, they tell Mrs May the children, the youngest of whom is eight, "have fled conflict and persecution, are now stuck in Northern France, deeply traumatised and at great risk as well documented by the anti-slavery commissioner you yourself appointed while Home Secretary".

They add: "We are now just days away from the start of the full demolition of the Calais camp.

"None of us want the Calais 'Jungle' to exist. It is a stain on the conscience of both France and Britain.

"But in haste to clear it the need to protect children is even more paramount. During the last such demolition the charity Help Refugees documented that 129 children went missing.

"The time to act is now."

Other signatories to the letter include Muslim Council of Britain secretary general Harun Rashid Khan and Laura Janner-Klausner, the senior rabbi to the Movement of Reform Judaism.

They are joined by the Right Rev Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham, the Right Rev David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, the Right Rev Peter Hill, Bishop of Barking, the Right Rev Adrian Newman, Bishop of Stepney and the Right Rev Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark.

Last month Britain's anti-slavery commissioner warned c hildren in the Jungle were risking their lives every night as they attempt to reach the UK.

Minors are turning to smuggling gangs amid frustration at official routes for claiming asylum or joining relatives who are already in this country, Kevin Hyland suggested.

In a letter to Home Secretary Amber Rudd, said he was convinced that frustration with, and lack of confidence in, regulations known as the Dublin III procedures "is one of the key motivators behind risk taking behaviour, which leads to higher exposure to modern slavery and exploitation".

September also saw more than 200 Christian, Muslim and Jewish clerics, alongside lead representatives of other faiths, signed an open letter urging Mrs May to unblock rules preventing refugee families being reunited in the UK.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "The clearance of the camp in Calais is a matter for the French authorities, who also have primary responsibility for unaccompanied children in France.

"The UK government has no jurisdiction to operate on French territory and can only contribute in ways agreed with the French authorities and in compliance with French and EU law.

"The UK has made crystal clear its commitment to resettle vulnerable children under the Immigration Act and ensure those with links to the UK are brought here using the Dublin Regulation.

"We are working continue to work with the French government and partner organisations to speed up mechanisms to identify, assess and transfer unaccompanied refugee children to the UK, where this is in their best interests."

The faith leaders' intervention comes as a Red Cross report warned British bureaucracy was hindering the process of bringing desperate children from the squalid camp into the country.

It claimed to find failures "at almost every point" in the operation to reunite lone child refugees with their families in the UK.

The charity's director of refugee support, Alex Fraser, said: "Right now, the system for transferring children who have a right to be in the UK has numerous problems. Children, who could be rebuilding their lives in safety with their only surviving relatives, are instead being left to fend for themselves in conditions unimaginable to most adults.
Credit Suisse's new Swiss bank to go live on Nov 21

ZURICH, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse's new subsidiary catering for Swiss retail, private and investment banking clients will go live on Nov. 21 ahead of an initial public offering next year, a bank spokesman said on Friday.

The creation of Credit Suisse (Schweiz) is part of a broader restructuring of the world's fourth biggest private bank under Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam, who joined in July 2015.

Thiam wants to move away from volatile, capital-intensive investment banking and focus on wealth management, which offers more stable returns. He also wants to cut costs by at least 4.3 billion francs ($4.4 billion) by the end of 2018.

Credit Suisse (Schweiz) will be formally created on Nov. 20 and start operating on Nov. 21, the spokesman for the bank said, confirming a report in Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft.

Zurich-based Credit Suisse plans to float 20-30 percent of its Swiss subsidiary, raising 2 billion to 4 billion francs in the second half of next year, though the bank has said the timing of the listing will depend on market conditions.

Under Thiam, Credit Suisse has set up three regional divisions for its private banking business - Asia Pacific, Switzerland and international wealth management - while splitting the investment bank in two.
Russia ready to support U.N. envoy's proposals on Aleppo -Ifax

MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Russia is ready to support a proposal by United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura to escort ex-Nusra militants out of Syria's Aleppo, Interfax news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Friday.
Modelling firm slashes insurance loss forecast for Hurricane Matthew

By Carolyn Cohn and Noor Zainab Hussain

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A catastrophe modelling firm slashed its estimate for insurance losses from Hurricane Matthew on Friday, as the storm skirted Florida but failed to make landfall.

Kinetic Analysis had estimated the insured losses on Thursday at $25 billion, but cut its forecast to $4 billion on Friday morning, a spokesman told Reuters by telephone.

Matthew has been threatening the first direct hit on the United States in more than a decade, and was shaping up to be the second costliest U.S. hurricane on record for insurers, according to initial industry estimates.

But industry participants said the insurance impact remained hard to gauge.

"People are looking at this literally every minute and working overnight on it," one trader said.

Hurricane Matthew killed more than 800 people and left tens of thousands homeless in its rampage through Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, earlier this week before lashing Florida with high winds on Friday and rolling northward up the U.S. Atlantic coast.

"Based on the storm's current trajectory and strength, the catastrophic impact from Matthew appears to be less than feared 24 hours ago and we would begin to buy P&C (property & casualty) insurers on the back of yesterday's sell-off," JP Morgan analysts said in a client note.

A $25 billion loss would have made Matthew the second most costly hurricane in U.S. history behind Katrina in 2005, JP Morgan's analysts wrote late Thursday.

Other estimates had come in at losses of $20-30 billion.

The ratings agency Fitch said on Friday that Hurricane Matthew was not likely to present a major capital challenge to insurance underwriters in Florida and other southeastern U.S. states.

Shares in Heritage Insurance Holdings bounced after it gave a preliminary estimate on Friday of a loss of $500 million from the hurricane, "well within" its $1.9 billion catastrophe reinsurance cover.
U.N. rights envoy urges Iran to free three dual nationals

GENEVA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights investigator for Iran called on Friday for the immediate release of three Iranians with dual nationality whose health is a matter of concern.

Ahmed Shaheed, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, in particular highlighted the case of the Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in April with her 2-year-old daughter and tried in August.

An Iranian revolutionary court sentenced her to five years in prison on charges that remain secret, her family said last month.

"Sentencing individuals for charges that are kept secret from defendants and their defence lawyers is a mockery of justice," Shaheed, a former foreign minister of the Maldives, said in a statement. He said her health had also "seriously deteriorated" since her arrest.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a London-based charity that is independent of Thomson Reuters and operates independently of its news arm, Reuters News. Her daughter, now also trapped in Iran, is being looked after by Zaghari-Ratcliffe's parents.

Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards have accused Zaghari-Ratcliffe of trying to overthrow Iran's clerical establishment, an accusation that the Foundation and her husband have dismissed.

"I am convinced of Nazanin's innocence," Thomson Reuters Foundation Chief Executive Monique Villa said in a statement. "She had no dealings with Iran whatsoever in her professional capacity as the Thomson Reuters Foundation does not operate in Iran, directly or indirectly."

Shaheed said that two elderly men held in Tehran's Evin prison required urgent medical attention and must also be freed.

Baquer Namazi, an 80-year-old who also holds American nationality, has been detained since February on unknown charges and without access to a lawyer, he said.

Kamal Foroughi, 77, is an Iranian-British businessman arrested in May 2011 who is serving an eight-year prison term on charges of espionage and possession of alcoholic beverages, he said.

Shaheed welcomed the release last month of Homa Hoodfar, an Iranian-Canadian national arrested in June. The Montreal academic was released a week after the two countries began talks on a restoration of diplomatic ties, broken off in 2012.
EUROPE POWER-French spot power prices jump to four-year high on nuclear outage worries

By Bate Felix

PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - European prices for spot power delivery early next week hit new highs on Friday with the French price briefly touching a four-year high on strong demand due to forecasts for cold weather and lingering uncertainty about outages at French nuclear plants.

France's spot power price for Monday delivery jumped 52 euros early on Friday to 100 euros ($111) per megawatt hour (MWh), its highest since February 2012 in a rare spike more typically seen during peak demand on very cold winter days.

The French baseload power price for Monday later retreated to 73.25 euros a megawatt hour (MWh) but still closed 19 euros higher than the price paid for Friday delivery. The German contract gained 7.75 euros 46 euros/MWh, compared with the price paid for Friday delivery.

Prices for other short-dated French power futures eased back from earlier highs, but remained at high levels, with the two-week contract at 65.40 euros and the four-week contract at 53 euros. Very short-dated power supply contracts can spike higher

Spot and forward electricity contracts have surged in the past week on worries that France, which depends on nuclear for 75 percent of its power needs, could face tight supply on increased outages and output cuts from its 58 nuclear reactors.

French nuclear power availability was about 39.9 gigawatts (GW), or 63.17 percent of capacity on Friday, compared with 44.8 GW, or about 71 percent, the same time a year ago according to Thomson Reuters tabulation

"Many plants are scheduled to resume production soon: if they don't, prices will keep pushing up," a trader said, adding that concern about supply from France's EDF was the main driver.

The French state-controlled utility declined to comment.

The company has cut its power output estimate for 2016 and 2017 after saying it had to carry out more tests on 12 nuclear reactors during their planned outages in the coming months, which could affect the length of the outages at some plants.

French grid operator RTE reported an unplanned outage at EDF's 900 megawatts (MW) Cruas 2 reactor on Friday. It was expected to resume production later on Friday.

A restart at the 1,500 MW Chooz 2 reactor, offline since Thursday, was delayed until Monday and at the 1,300 MW Paluel 3 reactor, restart was also delayed until Saturday.

German wind power availability for Monday is expected to fall by 5.2 GW to 1.6 GW, contributing to the scarcity.

Along the forward power curve, prices fell alongside carbon, coal and oil futures.

The German benchmark Cal'17 year-ahead baseload contract was down 2.56 percent at 30.50 euros/MWh, while the less liquid equivalent French contract edged down 1.2 percent to 41 euros /MWh.

Front-year EU carbon allowances fell 2.73 percent to 5.70 euros a tonne.
Chilean President Bachelet shows deep emotion at human rights event

SANTIAGO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet recalled with deep emotion the torture of her father and in a public appearance on Friday recognized the role of the state in human rights violations during the country's 1973-1990 military dictatorship.

Bachelet was attending a public act of recognition in Santiago after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2015 found against the Chilean state for denying justice to 12 members of the air force.

The 12 had faced a "war council" after being associated with opposition to the 1973 coup by General Augusto Pinochet, an event that still has repercussions in politics, law and social cohesion in Chile four decades later.

Bachelet's father, although not named in the case, was an air force general who remained loyal to ousted socialist president Salvador Allende. He was tortured and died in prison, while Bachelet and her mother went into exile.

Referring to last year's human rights court ruling, Bachelet said in a speech broadcast on CNN: "Thanks to this finding, other victims of the war councils will be able to ask for revision of their cases and restore their dignity and military honor."

She added, in a voice cracking with emotion, "Today the state of Chile solemnly recognizes that you, the victims, suffered grave human rights violations."

Bachelet then openly cried, in a rare display of public emotion. "I'm sorry for getting emotional," she added, to applause from the audience.

An estimated 3,000 people were killed by the state during the Pinochet dictatorship and thousands more tortured or fled into exile.

In its ruling last year, the human rights court said that in reparation the state must hold an act of recognition, allow victims to have their original "war council" sentences annulled, and pay financial compensation.

Bachelet first led the country from 2006 to 2010, and then returned for a second term in 2014.
U.N. rights envoy urges Iran to free three dual nationals

GENEVA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights investigator for Iran called on Friday for the immediate release of three Iranians with dual nationality whose health is a matter of concern.

Ahmed Shaheed, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, in particular highlighted the case of the Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in April with her 2-year-old daughter and tried in August.

An Iranian revolutionary court sentenced her to five years in prison on charges that remain secret, her family said last month.

"Sentencing individuals for charges that are kept secret from defendants and their defence lawyers is a mockery of justice," Shaheed, a former foreign minister of the Maldives, said in a statement. He said her health had "seriously deteriorated" since her arrest.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a London-based charity that is independent of Reuters News. Her daughter, now also trapped in Iran, is being looked after by Zaghari-Ratcliffe's parents.

Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards have accused Zaghari-Ratcliffe of trying to overthrow Iran's clerical establishment, an accusation that the Foundation and her husband have dismissed.

"I am convinced of Nazanin's innocence," Thomson Reuters Foundation Chief Executive Monique Villa said in a statement. "She had no dealings with Iran whatsoever in her professional capacity as the Thomson Reuters Foundation does not operate in Iran, directly or indirectly."

Iran does not recognise dual nationality, which prevents Western embassies from visiting such detainees.

Shaheed said that two elderly men held in Tehran's Evin prison required urgent medical attention and must also be freed.

Baquer Namazi, an 80-year-old retired official at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) who also holds American nationality, has been detained since February on unknown charges and without access to a lawyer, Shaheed said.

A website ( http://freesiamak.com ) dedicated to freeing Namazi and his son Siamak, a businessman also being held in Iran, describes Baquer as an international civil servant and civil society volunteer. His supporters say on the site he has never been involved in any other business, activity or capacity.

Kamal Foroughi, 77, is an Iranian-British businessman arrested in May 2011 who is serving an eight-year prison term on charges of espionage and possession of alcoholic beverages, Shaheed said.

Foroughi's son, Kamran, told Britain's Guardian newspaper last October. "My dad has always strenuously maintained his innocence and we believe him."
Peru says deforestation slowing as it beefs up laws, sanctions

By Mitra Taj

LIMA, Oct 7 (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.
France to invest $47 mln in Sahel counter-terror training

By Emma Farge

DAKAR, Oct 7 (Reuters) - France plans to invest 42 million euros ($47 million) to help countries of Africa's Sahel region prepare to face jihadist attacks similar to those that killed dozens in Paris in 2015, an interior ministry official said on Friday.

The Sahel, a politically fragile region whose remote desert spaces host a medley of jihadist groups, is seen as vulnerable to further attacks after strikes on soft targets in Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast earlier this year.

Nearby Senegal, a Western security partner with a long history of stability, has so far been spared.

"In future we will train all the countries of the G5 Sahel and Senegal with 42 million Euros in financing, including 24 million Euros for equipment," said a spokeswoman for Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve during his visit to Dakar on Friday.

G5 Sahel is a regional security organisation composed of Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania. The investment period is 2017-2022, the spokeswoman added.

French riot control officers from the CRS are currently in Senegal for a month training Senegalese police forces to combat urban attacks on soft targets ahead of the broader programme.

In the simulation exercise watched by Cazeneuve as well as army elites and foreign diplomats, Senegalese police arrived swiftly on the scene after masked jihadists killed three students before holing up with hostages inside a university bus.

The jihadists were killed and the remaining hostages released and given medical treatment in the drill.

"We have reinforced police cooperation so that the first ones on the scene, the specialised forces, can intervene in case of mass murder with a highly efficient response," said Cazeneuve in a speech shortly after the demonstration.

Former colonial power France retains a military presence in Senegal with 350 soldiers. A much larger force of 3,500 is spread across Chad, Mauritania, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to hunt down jihadists.
U.S. embassy in Congo says family members can return after evacuation

KINSHASA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Family members of U.S. personnel in Democratic Republic of Congo can return to the country, the U.S. embassy said late on Friday, one week after ordering them to leave over safety concerns related to the volatile political climate.

At least 50 people were killed last month in anti-government protests in the capital Kinshasa and the United States has slapped sanctions on three members of President Joseph Kabila's inner circle for allegedly committing human rights abuses and helping block planned elections.

"The order to depart was made last week out of an abundance of caution considering the unstable and unpredictable security situation in the DRC," the embassy said in a statement on its Facebook page.

"In our latest re-evaluation, we have assessed that security conditions permit the return of family members," it added.

Kabila, who has ruled Africa's top copper producer since his father's assassination in 2001, is barred by the constitution from standing in the next presidential election, originally scheduled for next month.
Nigeria's northern Kaduna state declares Shi'ite Muslim sect unlawful

ABUJA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A northern Nigerian state on Friday said it declared a minority Shi'ite Muslim sect, whose members clashed with the army late last year, an unlawful society.

The Kaduna state government said anyone convicted of being a member of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria could be imprisoned for seven years, fined or both. The size of the fine was not specified.

The sect came to prominence when its members clashed with the army in the northern city of Zaria, Kaduna state, in December. A judicial inquiry in August concluded that the army killed 348 of the sect's members.

The Kaduna state government said the group had "overtly continued with unlawful processions" and "obstruction of public highways" since the clashes.

"These acts, if allowed to go unchecked will constitute danger to the peace, tranquillity, harmonious coexistence and good governance of Kaduna state," it said, declaring the group unlawful with immediate effect.

Members of the sect are among the several thousand Shi'ite Muslims whose movement was inspired by the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Morocco's Islamist PJD party leading parliamentary election over rivals - initial results

RABAT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Morocco's Islamist PJD party were ahead in Friday's parliamentary election over rival PAM party with 90 percent of votes counted, Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said announcing the initial results.

The ruling PJD or Justice and Development Party won 99 seats and PAM party had 80 seats while conservative Istiqlal party took 31 seats, according to the results.
Uruguay urges ex-Guantanamo detainee to end hunger strike

By Malena Castaldi

MONTEVIDEO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Uruguay on Friday urged a former Guantanamo prisoner demanding to be reunited with his family to end a two-month-old hunger strike and said it was trying to transfer him to another country.

Jihad Diyab, a Syrian national, was held for 12 years in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without being charged and was released along with five other prisoners to Uruguay in 2014 to reduce the number of detainees.

"We are calling on him to abandon his hunger strike and continue looking for a better future for him and his family," Uruguay's foreign minister, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, said at a news conference.

"So far we have received negative responses" on the transfer, he added.

Diyab was held briefly by Venezuela's intelligence agency after arriving in Caracas in July. While there a lawyer said he asked the Uruguayan consulate to help him travel to Turkey, where he wanted to meet his family.

On Aug. 30 he was deported back to Uruguay, where he had not been seen since mid-June. Uruguayan officials said Diyab had traveled through Brazil and Venezuela unauthorized.

News that Diyab had left Uruguay led a group of U.S. lawmakers to demand that President Barack Obama halt transfers of Guantanamo prisoners, arguing that they represented a security risk to Americans.

On Friday, Alejandra de Bittencourt, the spokeswoman for a rights groups supporting Diyab, said, "His health is delicate as it has been nearly 60 days of strike, but he is conscious."
Trump says Pence to represent him at Wisconsin event on Saturday

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, under fire for vulgar comments caught on tape in 2005 and published on Friday, said that running mate Mike Pence would represent him at a Wisconsin campaign event on Saturday.
Japan's Mount Aso erupts, no reports of injuries

TOKYO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Mount Aso, a volcano on Japan's main southern island of Kyushu, erupted early on Saturday, Japan's Meteorological Agency said, spewing volcanic ash 11,000 metres (7 miles) into the sky.

Japanese media said there were no immediate reports of injuries from the eruption, which began at 1:46 a.m. local time (1646 GMT Friday) on one of the peaks of the 1,592-metre (5,222 feet) mountain in Kumamoto Prefecture, the agency said.

It was the first eruption at the peak since January 1980, media reports said.

The meteorological agency raised the alert level for the volcano to level 3 on a scale of 5, telling people not to approach the mountain and warning of falling rocks.

Mount Aso is one of the most active peaks in Japan but is also a popular hiking spot.

Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire", a horseshoe-shaped band of fault lines and volcanoes around the edges of the Pacific Ocean, and is home to more than 100 active volcanoes.
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.
Kosovo government takes control of Trepca mine, Serbs protest

By Fatos Bytyci

PRISTINA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Kosovo's parliament voted late on Friday to put a huge mining complex under government control and save it from bankruptcy, despite objections from Belgrade and protests by local Serbs.

The Trepca lead, zinc and silver mines, which before the armed conflicts that swept through the Balkans in the 1990s accounted for two thirds of Kosovo's gross domestic product, are currently operating at minimum capacity with creditor claims at 1.4 billion euros ($1.57 billion).

The complex's ownership structure has been the subject of dispute between Kosovo and Serbia. Belgrade claims 75 percent of Trepca, part of which is on its territory.

Trepca straddles Kosovo's Serb-Albanian ethnic divide and, since the territory broke away from Serbia in 1999, the mine has been held in trust and readied for sale by an agency created by the United Nations.

However, the Privatisation Agency of Kosovo (KPA) has failed to come up with a plan for the mine's future, partly due to its murky ownership structure.

Seventy-nine deputies in Kosovo's 120-seat parliament voted late on Friday to put the mine under government control, adopting a law giving the state an 80 percent stake and miners 20 percent.

The new legislation makes the government the guarantor of the company's debt. The complex had been due to face bankruptcy proceedings on Nov 1.

"The mineral resources are the property of the Republic of Kosovo and with this law Trepca's assets are and will remain in Kosovo," Prime Minister Isa Mustafa told parliament.

Serb lawmakers boycotted the vote while local media said hundreds of protesters, together with Serb ministers, blocked a road for few hours in the Serb-dominated part of northern Kosovo, where the complex is located.

Once a mainstay of industrial production in the former Yugoslavia, Trepca employed 20,000 people at its height and accounted for most of the country's mineral wealth.

Serbia considers the complex as belonging to a list of "socially-owned enterprises" and would view its appropriation by the new Balkan state as theft.

Kosovo says Serbia lost rights to state-controlled enterprises on Kosovar territory when forces under late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic massacred and expelled ethnic Albanians from Kosovo in a 1998-99 counter-insurgency campaign.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008.

In Belgrade, the Serbian government office in charge of negotiations with Kosovo called a news conference for 0900 GMT on Saturday in response to the new legislation.
Japan's Mount Aso volcano erupts, no injuries reported

TOKYO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Mount Aso, a volcano on Japan's main southern island of Kyushu, erupted early on Saturday, Japan's Meteorological Agency said, spewing volcanic ash 11,000 metres (7 miles) into the sky.

Police and municipal governments said there were no reports of injuries from the eruption, which began at 1:46 a.m. local time (1646 GMT Friday) on one of the peaks of the 1,592-metre (5,222 feet) mountain in Kumamoto Prefecture.

It was the first "explosive eruption" at the peak since January 1980, according to the meteorological agency.

The agency raised the alert level for the volcano to level 3 on a scale of 5, telling people not to approach the mountain and warning of falling rocks. It also warned of falling ash in 10 prefectures.

TV footage showed volcanic ash had accumulated on cars, houses and roads in the city of Aso and ash was falling as far as 320 km (200 miles) away, Japanese media said.

Farmers have reported that some vinyl greenhouses where tomatoes and asparagus were being grown 6-8 km (4-5 miles) away from the crater had been broken by ash and small rocks.

A window was cracked by a falling rock at an Aso youth centre about 5 km (3 miles) away from the crater but there were no reports of injuries, an official at Aso city hall said.

"We are concerned that more damage on crops will be reported," the official said.

Kyushu Electric Power Co said the eruption had no impact on its Sendai nuclear plant, which is about 160 km (100 miles) south of Mount Aso and is one of the two reactors that are online in Japan.

Up to 29,000 households lost power shortly after the eruption but the problem was fixed in less than two hours, a spokesman at Kyushu Electric said.

Mount Aso is one of the most active peaks in Japan but is also a popular hiking spot.

Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire", a horseshoe-shaped band of fault lines and volcanoes around the edges of the Pacific Ocean, and is home to more than 100 active volcanoes.
China central bank injects $41 billion via mid-term lending facility in Sept

BEIJING, Oct 8 (Reuters) - China's central bank lent 275 billion yuan ($41.24 billion) via its medium-term lending facility (MLF) to financial institutions in September, it said in an online statement on Saturday.

The outstanding amount of MLF was 1.91 trillion yuan at the end of last month, the People's Bank of China said.

The central bank also lent financial institutions 552 million yuan via its standing lending facility (SLF) last month, it said. The outstanding amount of SLF at end-September was 400 million yuan.

The central bank said it increased pledged supplementary lending facility (PSL) to three policy lenders, China Development Bank, Agricultural Development Bank of China, and Export-Import Bank of China, by a total amount of 44.5 billion yuan in September.
Top general in Yemen's Saudi-backed army killed

DUBAI, Oct 8 (Reuters) - A top general in forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government has been killed in fighting with Iran-aligned Houthi troops east of the capital Sanaa, sources on both sides of the conflict said.

Major-General Abdel-Rab al-Shadadi, commander of Yemen's Third Military Region -- which has its headquarters in the city of Marib east of Sanaa -- was the most senior member of the pro-Hadi forces to be killed in nearly 19 months of civil war in Yemen.

The Houthi-run Saba news agency quoted a pro-Houthi military source as saying late on Friday that artillery gunners targeted Shadadi after they pinpointed his location.

On Saturday, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya channel quoted a statement from the Hadi government as saying Shadadi died in hospital after being badly wounded in Marib.

A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting to restore Hadi to power since March 2015, after the Iran-aligned Houthis seized Sanaa and forced the government into exile.

U.N.-sponsored talks to stop the fighting, which has killed more than 10,000 people, ended inconclusively in August.

Last month, a source in the Saudi-led coalition said the head of Houthi special forces, Major General Hassan Almalsi, was killed while leading a squad of Houthi fighters trying to infiltrate Yemen's southern province of Najran.

Tehran views the Houthis as the legitimate authority in Yemen but denies accusations by Saudi Arabia and Yemen that it supplies them with arms. The Houthis say they are fighting a revolution against a corrupt government and its Gulf backers.

Saudi Arabia sees regional rival Iran as the paramount threat to Middle East stability because of its support for Shi'ite militias that Riyadh says have inflamed sectarian violence.
Islamic State hits back against Syrian rebels north of Aleppo -monitors

BEIRUT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Islamic State militants captured several villages from Syrian rebels in a counter-attack near the Turkish border that forced the foreign-backed insurgents to retreat, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The rebels, whom Turkey has supported with tanks and air strikes, had been pushing towards the IS stronghold of Dabiq, a village with symbolic importance to the jihadists.
Syrian government forces seize rebel-held areas of Hama - monitors

BEIRUT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their allies recaptured several towns and villages from rebels in the west of the country on Saturday, monitors and pro-Damascus media reported, reversing rare gains made by the insurgents in recent weeks.

The main government advances took place to the north of Hama, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

Damascus, backed by Russia's air force and Iranian, Lebanese and Iraqi fighters, holds the upper hand in Syria's key battleground of Aleppo, having encircled rebel-held areas of the northern city for all but a brief period since July.

Rebels in Hama province, further south, captured a series of government-held towns and villages after launching an attack at the end of August.

But government forces retook several of those on Saturday, in an attack which put them on the front foot in northern Hama for the first time in weeks, the Observatory said.

Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah's Al Manar TV said the Syrian army had seized towns or villages including al-Talisiya, al-Qahira and Tel al-Usud. Hezbollah is fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.

The Observatory said the government side had taken advantage of recent infighting between two insurgent groups in the countryside of Idlib, north of Hama's provincial boundary.

Those factions, the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa, which the United States says was once linked to al Qaeda, have been exchanging fire since early on Friday, the Observatory said.
Islamic State hits back against Syrian rebels north of Aleppo -monitors

BEIRUT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Islamic State militants captured several villages from Syrian rebels in a counter-attack near the Turkish border that forced the foreign-backed insurgents to retreat, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The rebels, whom Turkey has supported with tanks and air strikes, had been pushing towards the IS stronghold of Dabiq, a village with symbolic importance to the jihadists.

The IS attack, which began late on Friday, retook villages including Akhtarin and pushed towards Turkman Bareh, some three km (two miles) east of Dabiq, said the British-based Observatory, which tracks the war using contacts on the ground.

Turkey's military said two Syrian rebels had been killed and nine wounded in fighting against IS. It said Turkish warplanes had hit 14 Islamic State targets over the last 24 hours and that an air strike by the U.S.-led coalition killed two IS militants.

Ankara launched its first major military incursion into Syria in August, deploying tanks and warplanes to support insurgents it backs in an operation dubbed "Euphrates Shield".

The operation has separately targeted Islamic State and Kurdish militants, whose presence along its border Turkey sees as a threat.
Bangladesh kills 12 Islamists blamed for cafe attack

By Ruma Paul

DHAKA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Bangladeshi security forces on Saturday killed 12 members of an Islamist militant group blamed for a deadly attack on a cafe in Dhaka in July, senior officials said.

Most of the militants were killed in a three-hour gun battle as security forces raided four hideouts on the outskirts of Dhaka, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters.

The dead were believed to be members of a new faction of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), known as New JMB, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, authorities said.

Seven militants were killed in one raid after police were tipped off that the JMB's Dhaka unit chief and his associates were there.

"We requested them to surrender but they opened fire at our officers instead and also exploded grenades," Khan said.

The dead included JMB's Dhaka military commander, known as Akash, he said. "We are trying to find out his real identity," Khan added.

Police said the banned group's suspected financier, Abdur Rahman, died when he leapt from a fourth-storey window as he tried to escape. Three million taka ($38,000), a firearm, ammunition, explosives and a mobile phone jammer were found in his house.

Three police officers were wounded in the operations, which also netted a large amount of explosives, weapons and machetes.

The July 1 attack in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, and was claimed by Islamic State.

Bangladesh has been hit by a spate of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year. Al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims over the attacks.

Police have killed more than three dozen suspected militants in shootouts since the cafe attack, including its presumed mastermind, Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.

The government has consistently denied the presence in the country of any transnational militant organisation such as al Qaeda or Islamic State.

Police believe that New JMB was involved in organising the cafe attack.

While authorities blame the violence on domestic militants, security experts say the scale and sophistication of the cafe attack suggested links to a transnational network.

The United States believes elements of Islamic State are connected to operatives in Bangladesh, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Dhaka in August.
Philippine military says no certainty war games with U.S. will end

MANILA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - A review by the Philippines of joint military drills with the United States could see exercises continue or scaled back, a military spokesman said on Saturday, following more rhetoric from the president about scrapping them completely.

An assessment would be conducted among the defence top brass and the executive about the merits of exercises that have gone on for decades between the two treaty allies. A unilateral decision would be taken, then the United States would be notified, said armed forces spokesman Restituto Padilla.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, in a speech on Friday that continued his near-daily lambasting of Washington, repeated his position from a week earlier that for Philippine-U.S. war games, "this year would be the last."

Padilla's comments, meanwhile, echoed words by the defence minister that indicated military programmes with the United States could remain intact.

"The procedure is now that they conduct a review and assessment in order to find out the benefits that are derived to the Philippines," Padilla told ABS-CBN News Channel.

"There may be a recommendation to continue all of it, or some of it and suspend the others, where benefits derived are not in our favour."

Fissures in the alliance have widened in recent weeks as Duterte intensifies a verbal onslaught against anyone who criticises a brutal anti-drugs campaign that has killed thousands since July.

There are 28 exercises each year between the Philippines and United States, including three large-scale programmes. Marines from both sides are until Wednesday engaging in war games that include amphibious landings and live-fire drills.

About 500 Filipino activists rallied outside the presidential palace on Saturday in support of Duterte's anti-American stance, holding signs with slogans like "U.S. troops out" and "down with imperialism".

"We have a president who is thinking of national sovereignty and national interest and who is not bowing down to the United States," said protest leader Renato Reyes.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Friday said a decision had been taken to suspend joint maritime patrols, which spokesman Padilla said would be easier to implement because there had not been any of late.

Navies of both countries had two this year, but they were within the 12 nautical mile territorial waters of the Philippines and not in disputed waters. They have no agreement to jointly patrol in the South China Sea.

U.S. President Barack Obama struck a nerve a month ago by saying he would raise his concerns during a bilateral meeting with Duterte that the White House cancelled when the Philippine leader cursed at him.
Anger as fighting in Afghan city Kunduz forces people to flee

By Mirwais Harooni

KABUL, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Parmi fled the fighting in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz with 13 members of her family this week, in shock at how quickly the city's defences had collapsed to the Taliban.

Now in Kabul, she speaks bitterly of the failure of the government to protect the city, a year on from the last time it was overrun by the Islamist militants.

"There is blood and dead bodies everywhere in Kunduz. Our young people are dying and the government hasn't done anything for us," she said, in the hotel she has been staying since Thursday with scores of other refugees from Kunduz.

Her comments, and similar accounts from others, who speak of a blacked-out city running out of food, water and medicine, underline the despair of Kunduz residents and the anger building up against the government of President Ashraf Ghani.

Parmi, 42, who like many Afghans goes by only one name, managed to escape with her family, putting a chain on the door of their house and leaving with only the clothes they were wearing after artillery and mortar fire hit their neighbourhood.

"We had to crawl out of the area; there were bullets everywhere. We left home empty-handed, now my clothes are dirty and I have nothing to wear," she said but added that she and her family were relatively lucky.

"Anyone who doesn't have money is left there under threat of mortars and gunfire," she said.

Special forces units, backed by American advisers and air strikes, have been battling to drive Taliban fighters from the city which the insurgents entered unexpectedly at the start of the week, and fighting continues in many areas.

Following widespread reports of security forces abandoning their positions, poor coordination and rivalries among commanders, there has been heavy criticism that the government failed to learn from last year, when the Taliban seized and held the city for two weeks before pulling out.

"Even as the security situation got bad, we didn't believe Kunduz would collapse," said Shogofa Bahar, a medical assistant who fled the city for Kabul this week. "But the situation got worse and worse."

PRESSURE ON PRICES

The United Nations said on Thursday that as many as 10,000 refugees had arrived in Kabul and northern towns including Taloqan and Mazar-i-Sharif.

But Kunduz is only one of the many hotspots that have flared in the past few weeks, with heavy fighting seen in Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern province of Helmand, Farah in the west, Baghlan in the north and Nangarhar in the east.

Afghanistan already has more than 1.2 million internal refugees, with some 260,000 forced to flee their homes across the country this year as the fighting has continued.

In Takhar, the neighbouring province to Kunduz, Sunatullah Timor, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said 5,000 families had been registered with authorities but their arrival was putting pressure on local food prices.

Hundreds of families have also arrived in Baghlan but many had moved on to safer areas because of the fighting.

Aid agencies and government authorities have been providing assistance to the latest arrivals from Kunduz but there has also been help from other sources, including private citizens.

Hikmatullah Shadman, a businessman from the southern city of Kandahar, has paid for food and shelter for Parmi and the other families staying in her hotel and is ready to provide more, according to Hassib Naser, an aide.

"He wants to show to Afghans and the world that we Afghans are the same," Naser said.

However, with winter approaching, most of the Kunduz refugees are keen to return home as soon as possible.
Militant group claims assassination of Egyptian policeman

CAIRO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - A new Egyptian militant group, the Hasam Movement, on Saturday claimed responsibility for the killing of a policeman in the country's north.

Gunmen shot Gamal al-Deeb, a policeman working with the Homeland Security agency, eight times outside his home in the northern Beheira province shortly after midnight, the interior ministry said. He died of a bullet to the head.

"The Hasam Movement's assassination squad has carried out the field execution of the hardened criminal Gamal al-Deeb who committed his crimes in all ages," the group said in a statement on social media. "He deserved the bullet of justice that found its way to his head and the seven others in his body."

Hasam's statements mix Islamist and anti-government political rhetoric, suggesting it is different from jihadi groups like Islamic State which is leading an Islamist insurgency in North Sinai and has killed hundreds of soldiers and police.

It accused Deeb of killing, kidnapping, and torturing innocents, including children. The group posted photos it said were of Deeb's house, car, and a coffee shop he frequented.

Hasam, the Arabic word for decisiveness, has claimed five other attacks since July, including the attempted assassination of a senior prosecutor via car bomb and the failed shooting of Egypt's former top Muslim cleric. The group also killed a senior police chief earlier this year.

Policemen, judges and other senior officials have increasingly been targeted by radical Islamists angered by hefty prison sentences imposed on members of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood, which says it is a peaceful organisation, won Egypt's first free elections after the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.

But its presidential candidate, Mohamed Mursi, was himself deposed after mass protests against his rule and replaced by general turned President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in 2013.
Cuban town avoided Hurricane Matthew's deadly fury with preparation

By Sarah Marsh

BARACOA, Cuba, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Hurricane Matthew reduced much of the Cuban town of Baracoa to rubble, whipping up giant waves that demolished cement buildings and winds that tore off roofs, but there's one thing it didn't do: take lives.

Largely thanks to a rigorous evacuation scheme, Cuba managed to avoid the fate of neighboring Haiti, where nearly 900 deaths have been reported so far in the wake of the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean in nearly a decade.

"If we had stayed here, this would have killed us," said Aristides Hernandez, 76, who abandoned his first-story apartment overlooking the sea for a friend's house inland.

"The sea came in through the front and exited out the back and took everything with it," he said.

Upon returning home, he found his cement balcony ripped off by the waves and washed through. They also took away his doors, windows and the building's wooden stairwell.

Hernandez said volunteer civil defense members in the city near the eastern tip of Cuba went door to door, advising residents to evacuate.

Cuban state TV ran storm advisories on a loop and officials blared warnings from vehicles with loudspeakers.

"The civil defense didn't rest ... Thanks to that, no one died," Hernandez said.

Locals sought to rescue whatever belongings they could find, setting them out in the street to dry. The promenade was strewn with clothes weighed down with rocks, mattresses, chairs and tables.

"We lost everything," said Osvaldo Neira, 57, rummaging around for material to build a pen for the three chickens that remained of what had been 32. Just one room of his two-story house was still standing.

"I even had to borrow this T-shirt," he said. "We're managing, but with pain in our hearts."

Others dragged rubble from their houses into the street for trucks to take away. Rats could be seen scurrying through the town, which still lacked running water and phone service.

Many people throughout Cuba's southeast praised the government's evacuation plans and shelters, where many remain. Authorities in convoys passed through to assess damage.

But in Baracoa, where the hurricane was even more devastating than expected, some complained the government was not doing enough. Food and water was scarce in the shelters, which continued to serve much of the population.

"We have to fight for food," Sara Maceo, 57, whose house was destroyed. Half a television, mangled fans and pieces of furniture were strewn among chunks of cement walls.

"We are waiting for aid to come," she said.

Some in Cuba's oldest city said they felt let down that President Raul Castro had not yet visited them.

"We all want to know where the president is, and why doesn't he visit us," said Henri Valles, 25, as a convoy of jeeps that locals speculated was carrying Castro sped by their smashed houses without stopping.

While many were hopeful the government would deliver the necessary aid now it had cleared the road to Baracoa, others were skeptical it had the funds.

Cuba's economy is suffering from the impact of the crisis in its chief ally Venezuela as well as low global commodity prices.
Many casualties from air strike on mourners in Yemen - witnesses

SANAA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Saudi-led coalition aircraft fired rockets at mourners for the father of the interior minister in the Houthi-dominated Yemeni government on Saturday, causing many casualties, witnesses and medics said.

They said a missile tore through a hall in the south of the capital Sanaa where a wake for the father of Interior Minister al-Roweishan was being held, destroying the building.

There was no immediate comment from the Saudi-led coalition on the report.

Witnesses described ambulances ferrying casualties from the scene, where a plume of black smoke rose into the sky. A medic said there were mutilated and charred bodies, but gave no figures.

One hospital said it had treated at least 20 people and sent them home.
Attack on mourners in Yemen kills more than 140, say local health officials

By Mohammed Ghobari

SANAA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Saudi-led warplanes struck a funeral at a community hall in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the country's Houthi-run administration said on Saturday, but the coalition denied any role in the attack. More than 140 mourners were killed, according to local health officials cited by the United Nations, in an attack that prompted a strong rebuke from Washington, a key Saudi ally.

Jamie McGoldrick, a UN official in charge of humanitarian efforts in the country, said more than 525 were injured.

The death toll was 82, according to Ghazi Ismail, the administration's acting health minister. The reason for the discrepancy in numbers was not immediately clear.

Ismail said the air strike occurred in the southern part of the city, where a wake was taking place for the father of the administration's interior minister, Jalal al-Roweishan, who had died of natural causes on Friday.

The death toll was one of the largest in any single incident since the Saudi-led alliance began military operations to try to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power following his ousting by the Iran-aligned Houthis in March 2015.

"The Saudi aggression committed a major crime today, by attacking a mourning hall for the al-Roweishan family, targeting residents in the hall," Ismail told a news conference in Sanaa.

In a strongly worded rebuke, the White House said it may consider cutting its support to the Saudi-led military campaign.

"U.S. security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check," said U.S. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price in a statement. "In light of this and other recent incidents, we have initiated an immediate review of our already significantly reduced support to the Saudi-led coalition and are prepared to adjust our support so as to better align with U.S. principles, values and interests, including achieving an immediate and durable end to Yemen's tragic conflict."

Sources in the Saudi-led coalition said there was no Arab coalition air role in the strike.

"Absolutely no such operation took place at that target," one of the sources said, citing what he described as confirmation from the coalition air force command.

"The coalition is aware of such reports and is certain that it is possible that other causes of bombing are to be considered. The coalition has in the past avoided such gatherings and (they have) never been a subject of targets."

The Saudi-led coalition has been providing air support for Hadi's forces in a civil war that has killed more than 10,000 people since March 2015 and displaced more than three million.

Fighting has intensified since August when U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait ended without an agreement.

Iran, Saudi Arabia's main regional rival, described the attack as "a horrific and inhuman crime", and called for the resumption of peace talks among all Yemeni parties.

"To resolve the crisis in Yemen there is no solution but the end of aggression by the brutish Saudi rulers and start of new round of talks that includes all Yemeni sides," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

SCENE OF CARNAGE

Residents said aircraft fired two missiles at the hall, where hundreds of mourners had gathered to offer condolences.

One missile tore through the building, setting it on fire and sending a large plume of smoke above the area. The other landed nearby.

Witnesses described a scene of carnage, with charred or mutilated bodies strewn around. Ambulances raced to carry the wounded to hospitals, which sent out urgent appeals for blood.

A spokesman for Yemen's Houthi group condemned the strike as an act of savagery.

"The aggression continues to shed blood in an uncommon savagery and with international collusion that reaches the level of direct participation," the Houthi-run Saba news agency quoted the group's spokesman, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, as saying in a statement.

At least two local officials were among the dead. It was not immediately clear if Roweishan was in the hall when the strike happened.

Roweishan had sided with the Iran-aligned Houthi movement when President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled Yemen after the Houthis advanced on his headquarters in the southern port city of Aden in March 2015.

The Saudi-led coalition had been blamed for several attacks on medical centres, including some run by international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), schools, factories and homes in the past 18 months that has killed scores of civilians.

In August, MSF said it was evacuating its staff from six hospitals in northern Yemen after a coalition air strike hit a health facility operated by the group killing 19 people.
Mock border posts erected on Northern Irish border in Brexit protest

By Clodagh Kilcoyne

CARRICKCARNON, Ireland Oct 8 (Reuters) - Anti-Brexit campaigners erected six mock customs checkpoints along the Northern Ireland and Irish Republic border on Saturday, in a protest over the possible impact to peace, jobs and the free movement of workers.

Northern Ireland, a British province, will be the only land frontier between the United Kingdom and the European Union once Britain leaves and some fear that will mean a return to checks at the border where about 30,000 people cross each day for work.

The frontier was marked by military checkpoints until a 1998 peace deal ended three decades of violence between Catholic nationalists seeking a united Ireland and Protestant unionists who wanted to keep Northern Ireland British. Over 3,600 died in that time.

"We want to stop the reimposition of those border posts," said Border Communities Against Brexit spokesman Declan Fearon, leading a protest in the town of Carrickcarnon between the Northern Irish county of Armagh and southern county of Louth.

"In many cases they divided peoples' farms, they divided communities and parishes. Young people nowadays have never known of that," said Fearon, who runs a kitchen manufacturing company three kilometres (1.86 miles) north of the border.

In Carrickcarnon, some locals dressed up as customs officers and caused tailbacks at a temporary road barrier where they called motorists into a mock customs booth and searched vehicles beside fake British customs signs that demanded they stop.

Signs telling motorists they were entering the European Union free travel zone were erected on the other side of the border.

Hundreds protested from Carrickcarnon, which is less than an hour's drive from Dublin airport, to the border between the counties of Donegal and Derry, 160 km north-west.

Overall, 52 percent of voters in the United Kingdom voted in favour of leaving the EU in June's referendum, but a majority - 56 percent - of those voting in Northern Ireland supported remaining in the bloc.

"In (the Northern Irish constituency) Foyle where I am 82 percent of people voted to remain," said Dermot O'Hara, a charity worker protesting at the Donegal/Derry border.
Hundreds hurt in air strike on Sanaa mourners - Yemen health ministry

SANAA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - A senior official at the Houthi-run Yemeni Health Ministry said on Saturday that more than 450 people had been injured or killed in a Saudi-led air strike on mourners in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

"The number of casualties from the air force of the Saudi-American aggression at the main hall in the capital Sanaa has risen to more than 450 dead and wounded," the Houthi-run Saba news agency quoted Abdul-Salam al-Madani, a deputy to the health minister, as saying.
Russia moves nuclear-capable missiles into Kaliningrad

MOSCOW, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Russia has moved nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles into the Kaliningrad enclave bordering Poland and Lithuania, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday, adding it was part of routine drills.

"These missile units have been deployed more than once (in the Kaliningrad region) ... and will be deployed as part of military training of the Russian armed forces," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

A U.S. intelligence official said on Friday that Russia had started moving the Iskander-Ms into the enclave on the Baltic in what he said could be a gesture to express displeasure with NATO.

Konashenkov said one of the missiles had been deliberately exposed to a U.S. spy satellite. "We did not have to wait for too long - our American partners confirmed it themselves in their revelatory endeavour," he said.

Lithuania, neighbouring Kaliningrad and a member of NATO, said it would protest to Moscow.

"The deployment not only increases tensions in the region, but also possibly violates international treaties which limit deployment of ballistic missiles of range of over 500 kilometres," Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told a news briefing in Vilnius.

"There will be a NATO-Russia Council meeting, and this is shaping up as one of issues on the agenda," he added.

"We will use all channels available to not only raise this question, but to demand that international agreements are adhered to."

Some modifications of the Iskander can hit targets 700 km (450 miles) away, putting the German capital Berlin in range of Kaliningrad, Linkevicius said.

"This is a usual Russian tactic: escalate tensions, create a discord and then expect concessions elsewhere. I would like to hope that this will not work this time," he added.
France's Hollande warns against veto of Syria resolution at UN

PARIS, Oct 8 (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande on Saturday urged United Nations Security Council members not to use their veto against a resolution that calls for an end to bombardments of Aleppo.

The council is 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 an end to air strikes and military flights over Aleppo.

Western diplomats expect that Russia, a permanent Security Council member, will veto the resolution, drafted by France.

"I want to believe that tonight, when the resolution will be presented to the Security Council, no country will oppose it and notably that none of the permanent members will use their veto," Hollande told reporters in his electoral district in Correze, southern France.

Hollande added that using a veto against a resolution that calls for an ceasefire would be tantamount to supporting the bombardments hurting civilians.
Thousands rally after Hungary's leading leftist newspaper unexpectedly shuts

By Krisztina Than and Marton Dunai

BUDAPEST, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Around 2,000 Hungarians protested in Budapest on Saturday against the closure of the country's leading leftist newspaper Nepszabadsag, saying press freedom was under threat.

Owner Mediaworks said on Saturday it had suspended the newspaper and its employees after the publication piled up significant losses despite cost cuts. It said it would revamp the organisation.

But civil rights groups said the newspaper had been shut down because it had published stories critical of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government and called for the demonstration in front of the parliament building.

"Today one of the last opposition newspapers was simply silenced," the civil rights groups said on Facebook.

The radical nationalist Jobbik opposition party blamed Orban for the closure, saying his Fidesz party wanted to control the entire Hungarian media.

"Sudden closure of Nepszabadsag sets a worrying precedent. I stand in solidarity with Hungarians protesting today," European Parliament President Martin Schulz tweeted.

Fidesz said it regarded the closure as a "reasonable business decision" by the publisher.

Mediaworks, owned by Austrian firm Vienna Capital Partners, said it was working on a new business model for Nepszabadsag (People's Freedom), which has been in publication since November 1956.

"In order to achieve and concentrate fully on this priority task, all operations of Nepszabadsag (including print and online) will as of today be suspended until the new form is decided and can be implemented," it said on the paper's website nol.hu.

Employees, who received letters on Saturday informing them of Mediawork's decision, said the closure had come as a shock, and editor Andras Muranyi told ATV that talks with the company were under way.

"Our first thought is that this is a coup. We will soon come back with more," Nepszabadsag said in an editorial on its Facebook page.

In its final edition on Saturday, the newspaper reported the latest in its articles on a minister in Orban's government using a helicopter to fly to a wedding.

"I don't usually attend demonstrations because my blood pressure goes up but now I felt I had to come.. It is a shameful thing that has been done here," Erzsebet Kovacs, one of the demonstrators, said.

"The free media is being suffocated," another demonstrator Tamas Waldmann said.

Some protesters burnt copies of the pro-government daily Magyar Idok at the rally, website Index.hu reported.
Two U.S. troops injured by roadside bomb in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Two U.S. servicemembers were injured by a roadside improvised explosive device in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday morning, a U.S. defense official said.

The troops were conducting "a normal security patrol" near Jalalabad Airfield in Nangarhar province when their vehicle hit the bomb, the official said.
Sushma Swaraj, minister for external affairs, delivered a well crafted speech at UNGA on September 26 2016. Partially, it was a response to Pakistan PM 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.

The intent was obviously to raise international opinion against Pakistan and recognise 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 recognise 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.

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 best option against cross-border strike is to protect ourselves. (AP photo)

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.

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. Whether we wish to or not, India has to deal with the "deep state" of Pakistan consisting of 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 per cent 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 stakeholders.

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 three per cent 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 war, 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.
Now that the controversy over the surgical strikes on what we call terror launching pads is winding down, some things seem clear.

First of all, the strikes did occur. It is foolish for Indias politicians to raise questions about the authenticity of the strikes. The intention is to attack the BJP government, but what the opposition ends up doing instead is accusing the Army of lying.

We have to go deeper. We have to attack actual terror camps (which are not so conveniently located near the border). Photo credit: PTI

It is nobodys case that individuals in the Army do not lie, cheat, embezzle, engage in human rights violations, et al. But a distinction must be made between rotten elements within the force and the Army as a whole.

If the DGMO makes a statement with the full backing of the chief, then we are obliged to take his word. To say, as some left-liberals have, that the Army has covered up human rights abuses in Manipur so it should never be trusted again," is plain idiotic.

If India is ever to mount an effective defence, then the institution of the Army must be trusted when it speaks with one voice during a conflict. It is insulting to the Indian Army to draw parallels with the Pakistan Army (if you want to trust the Army, go live in Pakistan) as, bizarrely enough, some critics are now doing. There is nothing in the record of the Army as a whole that suggests that it is willing to lie to advance the interests of any political establishment.

But, once we accept that the strikes did occur, we are left with another set of questions. Did our troops cross the LoC? Or did we just shell the Pakistani launch pads from our side of the border? (This is an important distinction because we could have blown up the safe houses and killed terrorists without having to cross the LoC.) The Pakistanis say that this is what we did. We insist that ground forces were deployed but there is no clarity on how far inside PoK they went. Some estimates say a few hundred yards. The more generous ones say two or three kilometres.

A three-kilometre incursion is not to be scoffed at, but it is hardly the raid on terror camps deep inside Pakistan that public opinion was demanding. This may explain some of the reluctance to provide more details.

The governments own version is that terrorists stop over at safe houses/staging points on their way on India. We attacked some of these safe houses and killed some militants. This is impressive. But it is like stamping on a line of ants while leaving the ant hill untouched.

So, have we done this before?

Well, that rather depends on how you define this". If you say we crossed a kilometre or so into PoK and attacked Pakistani posts, then most people in the Army will tell you that that such an operation is not entirely without precedent.

It is on this basis that various members of the UPA are claiming that the Manmohan Singh government did much the same sort of thing.

There are two problems with the UPA position. First of all, who authorised these operations and when? Ive spoken to officials in the security establishment and senior ministers in the UPA and they all say things like, Well, if Mr Chidambaram is saying it, then it must be true." Nobody  not one person who was involved in security matters  is willing to admit it happened on his or her watch.

Generals say that yes, there were operations that required troops to carry out hot pursuit and cross the LoC but these were local decisions. These were not part of any grand UPA strategy.

And theres the big question: if the UPA had a policy of striking at terror camps across the border, then why was it so pathetically silent in the aftermath of 26/11?

A mythology is now sought to be created that P Chidambaram (who was finance minister when 26/11 happenned) and Manmohan Singh wanted to strike back. But not one person I have spoken to remembers the PM showing any inclination to use a military option. Anyway the Congress was busy sacking people (the home minister, the chief minister of Maharashtra, et al) and Manmohan Singh was scurrying around trying to save the job of his NSA, MK Narayanan (who was later sacked a few months later when the pressure from Sonia Gandhi got too much for Manmohan Singh).

So ask yourself this: if the UPA was so experienced in conducting cross-border operations then why, at the time of our greatest humiliation, did Manmohan Singh do nothing?

What all of this suggests is that the Modi government has broken with precedent in launching well-publicised surgical strikes across the LoC. The idea is to tell Pakistan that if its forces cannot stop terrorists from coming across the border, then India will take direct action.

But this leads to more questions. Why was our strike so limited and shallow in scale? (The DGMOs statements have carefully avoided claiming that our troops crossed deep beyond the Line of Control.)

One view is that this was meant as a warning and that Pakistan should recognise that worse would follow. The other is that the intention was to avoid a high intensity strike so that Pakistan would not have to retaliate. And the third is that the primary purpose of the strikes was to assuage domestic opinion.

Perhaps there is an element of truth in all three views. But they provide no indication of how things will play out in the months ahead. Obviously, there will be more terror attacks. Neither the terror groups nor the Pakistani army will take our strikes lying down. They will retaliate.

What do we do then? Now that we have told our people that no strike will go unpunished, can any government not afford to respond with force?

Moreover, this retaliation cannot be confined to shallow strikes across the border. The Pakistanis will laugh them off. We have to go deeper. We have to attack actual terror camps (which are not so conveniently located near the border).

Obviously this will provoke retaliation and therefore escalation.

We need to remember that Pakistan has never really declared war on India. In 1965, it sent across irregulars to Kashmir before our Army had to retaliate. In 1971, India provoked the war to liberate Bangladesh. During Kargil, Pakistan claimed that the mujahideen - and not its Army - had occupied the Indian Armys posts.

The Pakistani way is to use mujahideen, jihadis and terrorists. It is a low-cost strategy that has bled India and kept us on the defensive for decades.

So how are we to respond? The moment we launch a full-scale military offensive, the world will intervene, citing fears of a nuclear holocaust. Pakistan is so smug because it knows that our military options are limited.

The only appropriate response from India therefore is to wage covert war on Pakistan. For the ten years of the UPA, the government discussed this option but did nothing. Now, Narendra Modi appears to have the political will to okay covert operations.

The focus on Balochistan - and here I am guessing - will allow R&AW to activate assets and networks cultivated over decades. But that wont be enough. We need to follow the lead of the Americans who have launched smash-and-grab operations on innumerable terrorists, including Osama bin Laden.

I dont see how the Americans can object too much if we simply follow their lead.

But do we have the capability? Is the SSB, our covert commando division, sufficiently trained to go and snatch a Hafiz Saeed or a Masood Azhar?

We know that we have an advanced drone program. But so far, there is nothing to suggest that these are any more than surveillance drones. Do they have the capacity to drop missiles?

Once the controversy over these surgical strikes lies down, these are the questions that will need to be answered.
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 up any sound either as they plummet down from a freezing height of 35,000 feet. 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 the lowdown of the covert surgical strikes of the September 28 night, from their planning to meticulous execution.

Here's the timeline, as accessed by India Today, of the entire inside story that began in Uri on September 18 and culminated in the destruction of terror infrastructure across the LoC ten days later.

Highly-placed military sources have exclusively shared with India Today the lowdown of the covert surgical strikes of the September 28 night. [Photo credit: PTI]

THE PROVOCATION

September 18, 2016: Terrorists attack Uri camp

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.

September 21, 2016: India summons Pakistan envoy

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.

September 22, 2016: Sharif provokes India at UNGA

On September 22, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif delivered a highly provocative speech at the United Nations General Assembly, hailing Hizbul commander Burhan Wani as a hero.

In Delhi, top Indian decision-makers geared up to respond befittingly to Pakistan. Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag and director general of military operations Lt-Gen Ranbir Singh briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national security advisor Ajit Doval on the whole range of military options for retaliation.

At the same time, Pakistan sensed trouble after India media ran reports about possible revenge strikes. Islamabad activated its radar systems along the Line of Control and the International Boundary. It also deployed the Swedish Saab 2000, an early airborne-warning and control aircraft, to monitor airspace over Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

PLOTTING REVENGE September 23, 2016: Modi takes war-room briefing

On the night of September 23, Prime Minister 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. The meeting was attended by RAW Secretary Rajendar Khanna, Intelligence Bureau director Dineshwar Sharma and NTRO chief Alok Joshi.

Meanwhile, ISRO's earth-observation satellites were re-calibrated to zoom their cameras on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as unmanned aerial vehicles launched close monitoring of terror pads in PoK. Besides, RAW deployed its human assets closest to the eight demarcated launch-pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, ordering them to send regular updates on militant movements.

Inside Pakistan, RAW also activated its assets in Rawalpindi and Islamabad to monitor the movements of the Pakistan army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif, and also of the 10 Corps commander, Lt Gen Malik Zafar Iqbal. The force commander of Northern Areas was another Pakistani general whose movements came under Indian observation.

RAW's brief was simple: keep a hawk's eye and report back any unusual meetings.

In Delhi, the three service chiefs and the heads of the intelligence agencies switched off their mobile phones. Their cellular footprints were also erased across all networks. All of their subsequent meetings were held incognito, without uniform or staff cars for transportation, and far from Raisina Hills in a bid to tightly cover the movements of India's top heavy hitters.

Commanding officers of the 4 and 9 Para battalions of the Army's Special Forces were then briefed about their upcoming mission. They were asked to handpick their most lethal warriors.

MOBILISING SPECIAL FORCES

Soon, Mi-17 transport helicopters started ferrying commandos and their equipment to forward areas along the Line of Control, where they were told to wait for the green signal. 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 for the crucial operation.

Their Ghatak teams then joined the strike force at launch locations along the LoC

September 26, 2016

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 250km arc.

The plan was drawn for Indian forces to infiltrate terrain held by three divisions of the Pakistani army, with commandos penetrating a depth of 500 metres to three kilometres across the Line of Control.

THE EXECUTION

September 28-29

On the moonless night before amavasya, Operation Surgical Strikes took off after the midnight hour. Across the LoC, Indian Army's elite commando teams slipped through the barricades, disappearing into the night, on the other side. Pakistani radars and early airborne warning aircraft were unable to detect the intrusions carried out on foot.

Around the same time, one team of 30 para commandos was air dropped from special High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) parachutes. The HAHO technique for paratroopers to jump down from up to 35,000 feet above the surface aimed at evading Pakistani radars and listening devices.

The commandos, equipped with GPS gadgets, landed with pin-point precision, close to a terror launch pad deep inside PoK. Heightened alert in Pakistani aside, the other seven commando teams also reached their targets without detection.

The para commandos were armed with Tavor 21 and AK-47 assault rifles and also rocket-propelled guns and Russian thermobaric weapons.

In swift, synchronised attacks, snipers with silencers silenced sentries at terror camps as commandos made quick incisions into the shelters and unleashed a barrage of fire on terrorists. They stormed the camps and recovered rocket launchers and machine guns from inside.

THE DECEPTION

At 2.30am, 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. The enemy was deceived. Pakistan's army had no clue what hit them.

THE EXTRICATION

One commando stepped on a land-mine during exit and injured himself. There was no other Indian casualty.

In military terms, it's a near-perfect, textbook operation filmed on helmet-mounted cameras used by the Special Forces commandos. The paras also take images on their still cameras. From the skies, UAVs and low-orbit NTRO satellite tape the entire action, a top army source told India Today.

The objective of the Indian army, the source added, was successfully achieved.

By 9am of September 29, all commandos were back to their base.

A Cabinet Committee on Security was called to review the outcome of the operation. Soon after 11am, the Indian DGMO Lt-Gen Ranbir Singh, as per protocol, informed his Pakistani counterpart about the successful Indian raid in PoK.
Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao engages in the retail of food, clothing, home appliances, electronics, and other products through its chain of supermarkets, specialized stores, and department stores in Brazil. It operates in Brazilian Retail, Grupo Exito, and Other Businesses segments. The company sells non-perishables, beverages, fruits, vegetables, meat, breads, cold cuts, dairy products, cleaning products, disposable products, and personal care products; and home appliances and other non-food products, such as clothing and baby items, shoes and accessories, household articles, books, magazines, CDs and DVDs, stationery, toys, sports and camping gears, furniture, mobile phones, mattresses, pet products, and gardening equipment and tools, as well as electronic products, including personal computers, software, computer accessories, and sound and image systems. It also offers medications and cosmetics at its drugstores; and non-food products at gas stations, as well as rents commercial spaces and e-commerce sales. The company operates its supermarkets under the banners of Pao de Acucar, Extra Supermercado, Mercado Extra, and Compre Bem; hypermarkets under the banner of Extra Hiper; and proximity stores under the banners of Mini Extra, Minuto Pao de Acucar, Pao de Acucar Adega, and Aliados Minimercado; and gas stations and drugstores under the banners of Extra and Pao de Acucar, as well as sells its products through its Websites. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 667 stores, 74 gas stations, and 68 drugstores in 16 Brazilian states and the Federal District, as well as 15 distribution centers and warehouses across Brazil. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao operates as a subsidiary of Casino, Guichard-Perrachon S.A.
The following companies are subsidiares of ABB: ABB (China) Investment Limited, ABB (China) Ltd., ABB (Hong Kong) Ltd., ABB (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd., ABB (P.J.S.C.), ABB (Private) Ltd., ABB (Pty) Ltd., ABB (Pvt) Ltd., ABB A/S, ABB AB, ABB AG, ABB AS, ABB AUTOMACAO LTDA, ABB AUTOMATION AND ELECTRIFICATION (VIETNAM)COMPANY LIMITED, ABB AUTOMATION HOLDINGS (THAILAND) CO. LTD., ABB Algeria SpA Asea Brown Boveri, ABB Algerie Produits SpA, ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd, ABB Asea Brown Boveri SRL, ABB Ausbildungszentrum Berlin gGmbH, ABB Australia Pty Limited, ABB Automation (Thailand) Co. Ltd., ABB B.V., ABB Bailey Beijing Engineering Co. Ltd., ABB Bailey Japan Limited, ABB Beijing Drive Systems Co. Ltd., ABB Beijing Switchgear Limited, ABB Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsges. mbH, ABB Bulgaria EOOD, ABB Business Services Sp. z o.o., ABB Cable Management Products Ltd, ABB Canada EL Holding GmbH, ABB Capital AG, ABB Capital B.V., ABB Centroamerica y El Caribe S.A., ABB Chargedot Shanghai New Energy Technology Co. Ltd, ABB Colombia Ltda, ABB Construction (ABACON) S.A.E., ABB E-MOBILITY INC., ABB E-MOBILITY PTE. LTD., ABB E-mobility AB, ABB E-mobility AG, ABB E-mobility AS, ABB E-mobility GmbH, ABB E-mobility Holding Ltd, ABB E-mobility QFZ LLC, ABB E-mobility S.p.A., ABB E-mobility SAS, ABB E-mobility SL, ABB E-mobility Technology Shenzhen Co. Ltd, ABB E-mobility UK Limited, ABB ELECTRICAL & AUTOMATION W.L.L, ABB ELECTRIFICATION HOLDINGS (THAILAND) CO. LTD., ABB ELETRIFICACAO LTDA, ABB Ecuador S.A., ABB Electrical Control Systems S. de R.L. de C.V., ABB Electrical Equipment (Xiamen) Co. Ltd., ABB Electrical Equipment Ltd., ABB Electrical Industries Co. Ltd., ABB Electrical Machines Ltd., ABB Electrical Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ABB Electrification (Thailand) Co. Ltd., ABB Electrification Canada ULC, ABB Electrification Norway AS, ABB Electrification Sweden AB, ABB Elektrik Sanayi A.S., ABB Engg. Technologies Co. (KSCC), ABB Engineering (Shanghai), ABB Engineering Trading and Service Ltd., ABB Equipo de Control Y Distribucion S. de R.L. de C.V., ABB Equity Limited, ABB FZ-LLC, ABB Finance (USA) Inc., ABB Finance B.V., ABB For Feeding Industries SAE, ABB France, ABB GLOBAL BUSINESS SERVICES AND CONTRACTINGINDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, ABB Global Industries and Services Private Limited, ABB Global Marketing FZ LLC, ABB Group Holdings Pty. Ltd., ABB Group Investment Management Pty. Ltd., ABB Guangdong Sihui Instrument Transformer Co. Ltd., ABB Hangzhou Winmation Automation Company Limited, ABB Holding AS, ABB Holdings (Pty) Ltd., ABB Holdings B.V., ABB Holdings Inc., ABB Holdings Limited, ABB Holdings Sdn. Bhd., ABB INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS (LODZ) S.A. W LIKWIDACJI, ABB Inc., ABB Inc., ABB India Limited, ABB Industrial Solutions (Australia) Pty Ltd, ABB Industrial Solutions (Belgium) BV, ABB Industrial Solutions (Bielsko-Biala) Sp. z o.o., ABB Industrial Solutions (Canada) Inc., ABB Industrial Solutions (Klodzko) Sp.z.o.o., ABB Industries (L.L.C.), ABB Industries FZ, ABB Information Systems Ltd., ABB Installation Products Caribe LLC, ABB Installation Products European Centre S.A., ABB Installation Products Inc, ABB Installation Products International LLC., ABB Installation Products Limited, ABB Installation Products Monterrey S. de R.L. de C.V., ABB Installacios Keszulekek Kft., ABB Investment Holding 2 GmbH, ABB Investments (Pty) Ltd, ABB Inzeniring d.o.o., ABB Jiangjin Turbo Systems Company Limited, ABB K.K., ABB Kaufel GmbH, ABB LAFRENZE PROPERTY (PROPERTY) LIMITED, ABB LLC, ABB LLP., ABB LV Installation Materials Co. Ltd. Beijing, ABB Limitada, ABB Limited, ABB Limited/Jordan LLC., ABB Lineage Power Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ABB Logistics Center Europe GmbH, ABB Ltd., ABB Maghreb Services S.A., ABB Malaysia Sdn Bhd., ABB Management Services Ltd., ABB Mexico S.A. de C.V., ABB Motors and Mechanical Inc, ABB N.V., ABB Norden Holding AB, ABB Operations Center Ltd., ABB Orange B.V., ABB Oryx Motors and Generators Service LLC, ABB Oy, ABB Panama Sales S.A., ABB Power & Automation (Private) Limited, ABB Power & Automation Limited, ABB Power Electronics (Germany) GmbH, ABB Power Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ABB Power Electronics (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ABB Power Electronics Inc., ABB Pte. Ltd., ABB Reinsurance AG, ABB Robotics (Zhuhai) Ltd, ABB Robotics Machine Tending Limited, ABB Robotics Solutions NV, ABB S.A., ABB S.A. de CV, ABB S.p.A., ABB SARL, ABB SAS, ABB SIA, ABB Schweiz AG, ABB Shanghai Free Trade Zone Industrial Co. Ltd., ABB Shanghai Motors Co. Ltd., ABB South Africa (Pty) Ltd., ABB Sp. z o.o., ABB Stotz-Kontakt Gmb, ABB Striebel & John GmbH, ABB Susa Inc., ABB Technologies Ltd., ABB Technologies S.A., ABB Technology SA, ABB Tianjin Switchgear Co. Ltd., ABB Transmission & Distribution Limited LLC, ABB Treasury Center (USA) Inc., ABB Turbo Systems (Hong Kong) Limited, ABB Turbochargers S.A.E., ABB UAB, ABB Verwaltungs AG, ABB Wirtschaftsbetriebe GmbH, ABB Xiamen Corporation Management Service Co. Ltd., ABB Xiamen Low Voltage Equipment Co. Ltd., ABB Xiamen Smart Technology Co. Ltd., ABB Xiamen Switchgear Co. Ltd., ABB Xinhui Low Voltage Switchgear Co. Ltd., ABB d.o.o., ABB eMobility Digital Venture GmbH, ABB for Electrical Industries (ABB ARAB) S.A.E., ABB for Electrical Solutions and Technologies K.S.C.C., ABB s.r.o., ABB s.r.o., ABBNG Limited, APS Technology Group, ASEA BROWN BOVERI Portugal Unipessoal Lda, ASTI France SAS, ASTI Mobile Robotics, Asea Brown Boveri Electrica SGPS (Angola) Limitada, Asea Brown Boveri Industrial Technical & CommercialCompany of Imports  Exports S.A., Asea Brown Boveri Lanka (Private) Limited, Asea Brown Boveri Ltd., Asea Brown Boveri S.A., Asea Brown Boveri S.A. de C.V., Asea Brown Boveri S.A.E., Asti Mobile Robotics GmbH, Asti Mobile Robotics Group SL, Asti Mobile Robotics SAU, B & R Automazione Industriale S.r.l., B & R Industrial Automation Ltd., B + R Industrie-Elektronik GmbH, B&R Automatyka Przemyslowa Sp.z.o.o., B&R Automacao Industrial Ltda., B&R Holding GmbH, B&R Industrial Automation, B&R Industrial Automation (China) Co. Ltd., B&R Industrial Automation A/S, B&R Industrial Automation AB, B&R Industrial Automation Co. Ltd., B&R Industrial Automation Corp., B&R Industrial Automation GmbH, B&R Industrial Automation Iberica S.L.U., B&R Industrial Automation Inc., B&R Industrial Automation Pte. Ltd., B&R Industrial Automation Pvt. Ltd., B&R Industrie-Automation AG, B&R Industriele Automatisering B.V., B&R K.K., B+R Automation Industrielle SARL, B+R Industrial Automation OOO, B+R automatizace spol. s.r.o., BR Endustriyel Otomasyon Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Baldor Electric Company, Busch-Jaeger Elektro GmbH, Chargedot, Cherokee India Pvt. Ltd., Codian Robotics, Codian Robotics B.V., Codian Robotics of the Americas, Combustion Engineering Inc., Cylon Controls, Cylon Controls Limited, Cylon Energy Inc., DynaMotive Ltd., ELBI Elektrik, Edison Holding Corporation, Enervalis NV, Envitech Energy, Epyon, GE Industrial Solutions, Gomtec, Gresin Grupo Estudios Industriales, IMV Invertomatic Victron UK Limited, In-Charge Energy, Industrial C&S Hungary Kft., Industrial C&S of P.R. LLC, Industrial Connections & Solutions LLC, Industrial Connections of SA Pty. Ltd., Intrimmo BVBA, Jinan ABB SRI Rail Transit Equipment Technology Co. Ltd., Jordan Acquisition Group, KEYMILE - Business, Kaufel S.A., Kuhlman Electric Corp., Lineage Overseas LLC, Lineage Power (Argentina) S.R.L., Lineage Power (Luxembourg) S.A.R.L., Lineage Power China Co. Ltd., Lineage Power Holdings Inc., Lineage Power Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Lorentzen & Wettre, Los Gatos Research, Mincom, NUB3D S.L., Newave Energy Holding, Newron System, PT ABB Sakti Industri, Pinghu Zhuangbest Technology Development Co. Ltd., Power-One, Powercorp, Powertel India Pvt. Ltd., RGM - Rail vehicle power business, RMI Automation Co. Ltd., SVIA, SWISS TURBOCHARGERS SA DE CV, Saudi Industrial Solutions Ltd., Shanghai Zhuangbest Technology Development Co. Ltd., Shantou Winride Switchgear Co. Ltd., Sirius Holdings B.V., Smart Power Technology Co. Ltd., Spirit IT, Swissturbo (Shanghai) Investment Limited, SynerLeap powered by ABB AB, TURBO SYSTEMS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TURBO SYSTEMS ITALY S.P.A., TURBO SYSTEMS RUS LLC, TURBO-SUPERIOR SYSTEMS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, TURBOCHARGING GREECE SINGLE MEMBER SA, Thomas & Betts, Thomas & Betts Saudi Arabia Limited Liability Co., Trasfor, Tropos Networks, Turbo Systems Argentina S.A., Turbo Systems Canada Inc, Turbo Systems Colombia SAS, Turbo Systems Dominican Republic SRL, Turbo Systems Finland Oy, Turbo Systems Germany GmbH, Turbo Systems Holding Ltd, Turbo Systems Iberia S.L., Turbo Systems Korea Ltd., Turbo Systems Myanmar Limited, Turbo Systems Pakistan (Private) Limited, Turbo Systems South East Asia Pte. Ltd., Turbo Systems Switzerland Ltd, Turbo Systems The Netherlands B.V., Turbo Systems Turkey Muhendislik Makine Sanayi Ve TicaretAnonim Sirketi, Turbo Systems US Inc., Turbo Systems United Co. Ltd., Turbo Systems Verwaltungs Ltd, Turbocharging Bangladesh Limited, Turbocharging Brasil Ltda., Turbocharging Systems Co. Ltd., Turbocharging Systems France SAS, Turbocharging UK Limited, Turbosystems Nigeria Limited LTD, Validus DC Systems, Vectek Electronics, Ventyx, Verdi Holding Corporation, W.J. Furse & Co. Ltd., Yangzhou SAC Switchgear Co. Ltd, and Zhejiang Chargedot New Energy Technology Co. Ltd..

Read More
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. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW Materials Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Ningbo Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology China Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion Shenzhen Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Illinois Tool Works Chile Limitada, Illinois Tool Works ITW Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, Instron Shanghai Ltd., Instron Thailand Limited, International Leasing Company LLC, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., Itw Spraytec, KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems Canada Inc., Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MTS 2 LLC., MTS 3 LLC., MTS China Holdings LLC, MTS Europe Holdings LLC, MTS Holdings France S.a.r.l., MTS Japan Ltd.., MTS Korea Inc.., MTS Systems China Co. Ltd., MTS Systems Corporation, MTS Systems Danmark ApS., MTS Systems Europe B.V., MTS Systems Finance C.V.., MTS Systems Germany GmbH, MTS Systems Holding B.V.., MTS Systems Hong Kong Incorporated, MTS Systems Limited, MTS Systems Norden Aktiebolag, MTS Systems S.r.l, MTS Systems., MTS Systems.., MTS Sytems Do Brazil, MTS Testing Solutions India Private Limited., MTS Testing Systems Canada Ltd., Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited Enping, Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners Shanghai Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., R&D Engineering A/S., R&D Prague s.r.o., R&D Steel ApS., R&D Test Systems A/S., R&D Tools and Structures A/S., RDGDK Engineering Private Limited, Ramset Fasteners Hong Kong Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. 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. Ltd., Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Subsidiaries, Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek China Limited, Teknek Japan Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Kunshan Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta Global Limited, Vesta Guangzhou Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil South Africa Pty Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, and Zip-Pak International B.V..

Read More
OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and energy services provider that offers physical delivery and related services for electricity, natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy. It provides retail electric service to approximately 879,000 customers, which covers a service area of approximately 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and owns and operates coal-fired, natural gas-fired, wind-powered, and solar-powered generating assets. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned and operated interconnected electric generation, transmission, and distribution systems, including 16 generating stations with an aggregate capability of 7,207 megawatts; and transmission systems comprising 54 substations and 5,122 structure miles of lines in Oklahoma, and 7 substations and 277 structure miles of lines in Arkansas. Its distribution systems included 350 substations; 29,494 structure miles of overhead lines; 3,365 miles of underground conduit; and 11,125 miles of underground conductors in Oklahoma, as well as 29 substations, 2,795 structure miles of overhead lines, 349 miles of underground conduit, and 662 miles of underground conductors in Arkansas. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The following companies are subsidiares of UnitedHealth Group: 1070715 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1st Avenue Pharmacy Inc., 310 Canyon Medical LLC, 4C MSO LLC, 4C Medical Group PLC, 5995 Minnetonka LLC, ABCO International Holdings LLC, ACN Group IPA of New York Inc., ACN Group of California Inc., AHN Accountable Care Organization LLC, AHN Central Services LLC, AHN Target Holdings LLC, AMIL International S.a.r.l., APS  Assistencia Personalizada a Saude Ltda., ASC Holdings of New Jersey LLC, ASC Network LLC, ASC Operators-East Bay LLC, ASC Operators-San Francisco LLC, ASC Operators-San Luis Obispo LLC, ASC Operators-Santa Rosa LLC, ASC Operators-South Bay LLC, ASV-HOPCo-SCA Cornerstone LLC, ASV-HOPCo-SCA Florida LLC, AbleTo Behavioral Health Services P.C., AbleTo Inc., Accurate Rx Pharmacy Consulting LLC, Administradora Clinica La Colina S.A.S., Administradora Country S.A.S., Administradora Medica Centromed S.A., Advanced Surgery Center of Clifton LLC, Advanced Surgical Center LLC, Advanced Surgical Hospital LLC, Advocate Condell Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Southwest Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.C., Advocate-SCA Partners LLC, Aliansalud Entidad Promotora de Salud S.A., All Savers Insurance Company, All Savers Life Insurance Company of California, Alliance Surgical Center LLC, Allina Health Heart and Vascular Surgery Center LLC, Allina Health Surgery Center-Brooklyn Park LLC, Aloha Surgical Center LLC, Ambient Healthcare Inc., Ambient Holdings Inc., AmeriChoice, AmeriChoice Corporation, AmeriChoice of New Jersey Inc., American Health Network of Indiana Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Indiana II LLC, American Health Network of Indiana LLC, American Health Network of Kentucky LLC, American Health Network of Ohio Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Ohio II LLC, American Health Network of Ohio LLC, American Physicians Inc., Amico Saude Ltda., Amil, Amil Assistencia Medica Internacional S.A., Angiografia e Hemodinamica Madre Theodora Ltda., Anne Arundel-SCA Holdings LLC, Anne Arundel-SCA Surgicenter LLC, Antelope Valley Surgery Center L.P., Analisis Clinicos ML S.A.C., Apothecary Holdings Inc., AppleCare Medical Management LLC, Aquitania Chilean Holding SpA, Arcadia JV Holdings LLC, Arcadia Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., ArchWell Health LLC, ArchWell Health MSO LLC, ArchWell Health Professional Services Holding Co., ArchWell Health Professional Services of Alabama LLC, ArchWell Health Professional Services of North Carolina P.C., ArchWell Health Professional Services of Oklahoma LLC, Archwell Health Professional Services of Arizona LLC, Archwell Health Professional Services of Nebraska LLC, Arise Physician Group, Arizona Physicians IPA Inc., Arlington Surgery Center LLC, Aspectus Inc., Associacao Lusiadas Knowledge Center  Health Education and Research, Audax Health Solutions LLC, Aurora Hospitalist P.C., Austin Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Avella Specialty Pharmacy, Aventura Medical Tower Surgery Center LLC, Avery Parent Holdings Inc., Aveta Inc., AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings LLC, AxelaCare LLC, B.R.A.S.S. Partnership in Commendam, BOSC Holdings LLC, BSC Holdings LLC, Ball Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Banmedica Colombia S.A.S., Banmedica Internacional SpA, Banmedica S.A., Barranca Surgery Center LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings II LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings III LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings LLC, Beaver Medical Group P.C., Bedford Physicians Risk Retention Group Inc., Behavioral Healthcare Options Inc., Beltway Surgery Centers L.L.C., Benefit Administration for the Self Employed L.L.C., Benefitter Insurance Solutions Inc., Bergan Mercy Surgery Center LLC, Bergen-Passaic Cataract Laser and Surgery Center LLC, Bessler MD PLLC, Bind Benefits Inc., Bind LH Holdings Inc., Bind Re Inc., Birmingham Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Birmingham Outpatient Surgical Center LLC, Bloomfield ASC LLC, Blue Ridge Day Surgery Center L.P., Blue Ridge GP LLC, Blue Ridge Properties LLC, Boca Raton Outpatient Surgery & Laser Center LTD., Bordeaux Barbados Holdings I SRL, Bordeaux Barbados Holdings II SRL, Bordeaux Barbados Holdings III S.r.l., Bordeaux Holding SpA, Bordeaux International Holdings Inc., Bordeaux UK Holdings I Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings III Limited, Bosque Medical Center Ltda., Brandon Ambulatory Surgery Center LC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 102 LLC, BriovaRx of Florida Inc., BriovaRx of Maine Inc., BriovaRx of Massachusetts LLC, CCEC Anesthesia Management LLC, CDC Holdings Colombia S.A.S., CLISA  Clinica de Santo Antonio S.A., CMO  Centro Medico de Oftalmologia S/S Ltda., CMS  Central de Manipulacao e Servicos Farmaceuticos Ltda., COI  Clinicas Oncologicas Integradas S.A., Cabin Enterprises LLC, Cabin Holdings LLC, California Medical Group Insurance Company Risk Retention Group, Camp Hill Ambulatory Centers, Camp Hill-SCA Centers LLC, Capital City Medical Group L.L.C., Cardinal Holding Company LLC, Care Improvement Plus Group Management LLC, Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus Wisconsin Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus of Texas Insurance Company, Care Logistics LLC, CareMount Dental Member LLC, CareMount Health Solutions ACO LLC, CareMount Health Solutions Employer LLC, CareMount Health Solutions LLC, CareMount Holding LLC, CareMount Medical Foundation Inc., CareMount Value Partners IPA LLC, Carr PLLC, Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha Ltda., Castle Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Castle Rock SurgiCenter LLC, Catalyst360 LLC, Catamaran 2 Unlimited Company, Catamaran Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, Catamaran S.a.r.l., Cedar Park JV Partners LLC, Cedar Park Surgery Center LLC, Cemed Care  Empresa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Center for Quality Improvement LLC, Center for Restorative Surgery at Maple Grove LLC, Center for Surgery of North Coast L.P., Central Indiana Care Organization LLC, Central Ohio Care Organization LLC, CentriHealth Corporation, CentrifyHealth LLC, Centro Medico Hospitalar Pitangueiras Ltda., Centro Odontologico Americano S.A.C., Centro de Entrenamiento Capacitacion en Reanimacion y Prevencion Limitada, Centro de Servicios Compartidos Banmedica SpA, Centromed Quilpue S.A., Centros Medicos y Dentales Multimed Ltda., Centura-SCA Holdings LLC, Centurion Casualty Company, Channel Islands Surgicenter L.P., Channel Islands Surgicenter Properties LLC, Charleston Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Charleston Surgery Properties LLC, Charlotte Surgery Center LLC, Charlotte Surgery Properties LTD., Charlotte-SC LLC, Chatham Orthopaedic ASC LLC, Childrens Surgery Center LLC, Citrus Regional Surgery Center L.P., Claims Management Systems Inc., Cleburne Surgical Center LLC, Clinical Partners of Colorado Springs LLC, Clinton Partners LLC, Clinica Alameda SpA, Clinica Bio Bio SpA, Clinica Ciudad del Mar S.A., Clinica Davila y Servicios Medicos S.p.A., Clinica Iquique S.A., Clinica Medico Cirurgica de Santa Tecla S.A., Clinica Portoazul S.A., Clinica San Felipe S.A., Clinica Santa Maria S.p.A., Clinica Sanchez Ferrer S.A., Clinica Vespucio S.A., Clinica del Country S.A.S., Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare Inc., Coalition for Advanced Pharmacy Services Inc., Cobranzas Banmedica SpA, Cogent Healthcare IPA of New York Inc., Cogent Healthcare Inc., Cogent Healthcare Management of New York Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Arizona P.C., Cogent Healthcare of California Prof. Corp., Cogent Healthcare of Georgia P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Illinois LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Iowa P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Jackson MS LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Jacksonville LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Missouri Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Montana P.C., Cogent Healthcare of New Jersey P.C., Cogent Healthcare of North Carolina P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Oregon P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Pensacola L.L.C., Cogent Healthcare of Tennessee P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Washington P.C., Cogent Medical Care P.C., Cogent Patient Safety Organization Inc., Cogent/Endion Medical Care of New York P.C., Collaborative Care Holdings LLC, Collaborative Care Services Inc., Collaborative Realty LLC, Colmedica Medicina Prepagada S.A., Colonial Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Colorado Innovative Physician Solutions Inc., Colorado Springs Surgery Center Ltd., Comfort Care Transportation LLC, Comprehensive Hospital Physicians of Florida Inc., ConnectYourCare Inc., ConnectYourCare LLC, Connecticut Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Connecticut Surgery Properties LLC, Connecticut Surgical Center LLC, Consorcio Regenero S.A., Constructora Inmobiliaria Magapoq S.A., Consumer Wellness Solutions Inc., Continuum Physicians Group Inc., Continuum Physicians Group of Washington PLLC, Cornell Surgicenter LLC, Cornerstone Surgery Center LLC, Cornerstone Surgicare LLC, Corpus Christi Endoscopy Center L.L.P., Country Scan Ltda., Critical Care Physician of New York P.C., Critical Care Physicians of Illinois LLC, Critical Care Physicians of New Jersey PC, Critical Care Physicians of Pennsylvania P.C., Cross Timbers Surgery Center LLC, Cypress Care Inc., DBP Services of New York IPA Inc., DSP Flint Real Estate LLC, DSP-Building C LLC, DTC Surgery Center LLC, DWIC of Tampa Bay Inc., Dallas Inpatient Specialist PLLC, Danbury Surgical Center L.P., Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company LLC, Definity Health, Dental Benefit Providers Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of California Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois Inc., Denton Endoscopy Surgery Center LLC, Denton Surgery Center LLC, Derry Surgical Center LLC, Diagnostico Ecotomografico Centromed Ltda., Diasnostico por Imagenes Centromed Ltda., Digestive Disease Center L.P., Dilab Medicina Nuclear Ltda., Diplomat Blocker LLC, Diplomat Corporate Properties LLC, Diplomat Pharmacy, Diplomat Pharmacy Inc., Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy Great Lakes Distribution Center LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Chicago LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Los Angeles County LLC, Distance Learning Network Inc., Divisadero Holdings LLC, DocASAP Inc., DocASAP India Technologies Private Limited, DocASAP US LLC, Doctor + S.A.C., Dry Creek Surgery Center LLC, Dublin Surgery Center LLC, Duluth Surgical Suites LLC, Durable Medical Equipment Inc., E Street Endoscopy LLC, EM Orange Tree LLC, EP Campus I LLC, EPIC Health Plan, EPIC Management Services LLC, East Bay Endoscopy Center L.P., East Brunswick Surgery Center LLC, Echo Locum Tenens Inc., Electronic Network Systems Inc., Elual Participacoes S.A., Emerald Coast Surgery Center L.P., Emisar Pharma Services LLC, Emmaus Holdings LLC, Emmaus Surgical Center LLC, Empire Physician Management Company LLC, Empremedica S. A., Endion Hospitalist North P.C., Endion Hospitalist of Western New York P.C., Endion Medical Healthcare P.C., Endion Medical Services P.C., Endoscopy Center Affiliates Inc., Enterprise Life Insurance Company, Equian, Equian LLC, Equian Parent Corp., Esho  Empresa de Servicos Hospitalares S.A., Everett MSO Inc., Excelsior Insurance Brokerage Inc., Executive Health Resources Inc., Executive Surgery Center L.L.C., Eye Clinic Oftalmologia Clinico Cirurgica e Diagnostico Ltda., Eye Specialists Surgery Centers LLC, FMG Holdings LLC, Family Health Care Services, Family Home Hospice Inc., Ferrell Physician Services P.C., Fideicomiso Clinica Barranquilla Portoazul FA-517, First Coast Orthopedic Center LLC, First Family Insurance LLC, Florence Surgery Center L.P., For Health Inc., For Health of Arizona Inc., Fort Sutter Medical Building a California Limited Partnership, Fort Worth Endoscopy Centers LLC, Fortified Provider Network Inc., Foundation Surgery Affiliate General of Huntingdon Valley LLC, Foundation Surgery Affiliate of Huntingdon Valley L.P., Franklin Surgical Center LLC, Freedom Life Insurance Company of America, Freeway Surgicenter of Houston LLC, Frontier Medex Tanzania Limited, FrontierMEDEX Inc., FrontierMEDEX Kenya Limited, FrontierMEDEX US Inc., Fundacion Banmedica, GLBESC LLC, GRANTS PASS SURGERY CENTER LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center LLC, Gainesville Surgery Center L.P., Gainesville Surgery Properties LLC, Genoa, Genoa Healthcare Inc., Genoa QoL Wholesale LLC, Genoa Technology Canada Inc., Genoa Technology Inc., Genoa Telepsychiatry Inc., Genoa of Arkansas LLC, Gladiolus Surgery Center L.L.C., Glenwood Surgical Center L.P., Glenwood-SC Inc., Global One Ventures LLC, Golden Gate Endoscopy Center LLC, Golden Outlook Inc., Golden Rule Financial Corporation, Golden Rule Insurance Company, Golden Triangle Surgicenter L.P., Grandview Surgery Center LTD., Greater New Haven ASC LLC, Greensboro Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Greenville Surgery Center LLC, Greenway Surgical Suites LLC, Grossmont Surgery Center L.P., Grove Place Surgery Center L.L.C., H&W Indemnity SPC Ltd., H.I. Investments Holding Company LLC, HCP ACO California LLC, HCentive Technology India Private Limited, HFHS-SCA Holdings LLC, HMG Holding Corporation, HMG Holdings LLC, HMP of Baltimore  USH P.C., Harken Health Insurance Company, Harrison Endo Surgical Center LLC, Hawthorn Place Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Hays JV Partners LLC, Hays Surgery Center LLC, Health Care-ONE Insurance Agency Inc., Health Inventures Employment Solutions LLC, Health Inventures LLC, Health Plan of Nevada Inc., HealthCare Partners ASC-LB LLC, HealthCare Partners Affiliates Medical Group, HealthCare Partners Management Services California LLC, HealthCare Partners RE LLC, HealthEast Surgery Center-Maplewood LLC, HealthFirst IPA Inc., HealthMarkets Group Inc., HealthMarkets Inc., HealthMarkets Insurance Agency Inc., HealthMarkets LLC, HealthMarkets Services Inc., HealthSCOPE Holdings Inc., HealthScope Benefits Inc., Healthcare Solutions Inc., Healthplex America LLC, Healthplex Dental Services Inc., Healthplex I.P.A. Inc., Healthplex Inc., Healthplex Insurance Company, Healthplex of CT Inc., Healthplex of DC Inc., Healthplex of MD Inc., Healthplex of ME Inc., Healthplex of NC Inc., Healthplex of NJ Inc., Healthplex of TX Inc., Heartland Heart and Vascular LLC, Help Seguros de Vida S.A., Help Service S.A., Help SpA, Hemonefro  Hemodialise e Nefrologia Ltda, Highlands Ranch Healthcare LLC, Home Medical S.A., Honodav SpA, Hospice Inspiris Holdings Inc., Hospitais Associados de Pernambuco Ltda., Hospital Alvorada Taguatinga Ltda., Hospital Ana Costa S.A., Hospital Santa Helena S.A., Hospital de Clinicas de Jacarepagua Ltda., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of Broome County PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Binghamton P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Buffalo P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Newburgh P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Nyack P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Patchogue P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alabama  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alabama  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alaska  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alaska  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Goodyear Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Nogales Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Phoenix II Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Phoenix Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Sierra Vista Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Tucson II Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Tucson Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arkansas  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arkansas  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Buncombe County PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Apple Valley PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Bakersfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Camarillo PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Crescent City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Fairfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Fremont PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Grass Valley PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Jackson PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Oceanside PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Oxnard PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Salinas PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Bernardino II PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Bernardino PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Leandro PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Sonoma PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Stockton II PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Stockton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Thousand Oaks PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Vacaville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado - Brighton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado - Denver PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Manchester LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Rockville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Wallingford LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Delaware  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Delaware  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Jacksonville II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Jacksonville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Palm Coast LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Fredericksburg LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Atlanta PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - East Point PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Lavonia PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Savannah PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii - Kealakekua Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho - Nampa PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Downers Grove LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Elmhurst LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Rockford LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Winfield LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Clinton LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Mishawaka LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Terre Haute LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa - Cedar Rapids PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa - Mason City PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Topeka LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Wichita II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Wichita LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Alexandria Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Bossier City Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Lake Charles Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Shreveport Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine - Bangor PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine - Lewiston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Cheverly PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Cumberland PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Frederick PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Laurel PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Rockville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Brockton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Dorchester PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Framingham PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Holyoke PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Natick PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Norwood PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Springfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Stoughton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Taunton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Worcester PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Alpena PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Dowagiac PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Escanaba PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Grand Blanc PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Grayling PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Kalamazoo PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Plainwell PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Port Huron PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Saginaw PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Tawas City PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Minnesota  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Minnesota  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri - Bridgeton Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri - Richmond Heights Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri  TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri  TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Billings PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Butte PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Miles City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Missoula PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Multiple Practice Sites LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nebraska  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nebraska  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Henderson Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Henderson II Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Las Vegas Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Las Vegas II Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada  TCG Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada  TCS Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Hampshire  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Hampshire  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - Hackensack PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - Paterson PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - Clovis LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - Rio Rancho LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New York PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Burlington PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Clyde PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Elizabeth City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Jacksonville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - New Bern PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Rocky Mount PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Dakota  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Dakota  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Akron Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Batavia Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Canton Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati II Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati III Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Circleville Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Columbus II Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Columbus Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Dover Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - East Liverpool Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Fairfield Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Martins Ferry Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Westerville Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Youngstown Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio  TCG Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio  TCS Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oklahoma - Oklahoma City LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oklahoma  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oklahoma  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oregon - Portland PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oregon  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oregon  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Pennsylvania P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Pennsylvania  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Pennsylvania  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Rhode Island  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Rhode Island  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Richland County Ltd., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of San Luis Obispo County Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Carolina - Aiken LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Carolina - Rock Hill LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Carolina  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Carolina  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Dakota  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Dakota  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Tennessee  Columbia PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Tennessee  Franklin PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Tennessee  TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Tennessee  TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Amarillo PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Atlanta PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Austin II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Austin PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Bryan PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Burnet PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Corpus Christi II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Corpus Christi PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Cypress PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Dallas PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - El Paso II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - El Paso III PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - El Paso PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Fort Worth II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Fort Worth PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Fredericksburg PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Houston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Humble PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Kerrville PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Kyle PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Livingston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Lubbock PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Lufkin PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Mount Pleasant PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Plainview PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Rockwall PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Round Rock PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio III PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio IV PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio V PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio VI PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio VII PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Marcos PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Texarkana PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Tyler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Utah  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Utah  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Vermont  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Vermont  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Alexandria LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Front Royal II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Front Royal LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Mechanicsville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Midlothian LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Richmond II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Richmond LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Winchester LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia  TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Arlington PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Auburn PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Bellingham PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Bremerton PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Burien PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Coupeville PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Enumclaw PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Federal Way PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Gig Harbor PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Lakewood PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Mount Vernon PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Puyallup PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Tacoma II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Tacoma III PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Tacoma PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Vancouver PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington County LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia  Martinsburg PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia  South Charleston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia  TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia  TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia  Wheeling PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wisconsin Ltd., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming - Casper LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming  TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming  TCS LLC, Hospitalists Management Group LLC, Humedica, Humedica Inc., Hygeia Corporation, Hygeia Corporation Ontario, IEC Holdings LLC, IHD Holdings LLC, INOV8 Surgical at Memorial City LLC, INSPIRIS of Texas Physician Group, Illinois Independent Care Network LLC, Imagen Technologies Inc., Impel Consulting Experts L.L.C., Impel Management Services L.L.C., InTouch Pharmacy LLC, Indiana Care Organization LLC, Indiana Endoscopy Centers LLC, Inland Surgery Center L.P., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3001 S.A., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3600 Ltda., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo S.A., Inmobiliaria Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Inmobiliaria Vinamed Ltda., Inmobiliaria e Inversiones Alameda S.A., Inpatient Services P.C., Inpatient Specialists of California P.C., Inspiris, Inspiris Inc., Instituto Radium de Cammpinas Ltda, Inter-Hospital Physicians Association Inc., International Healthcare Services Inc., Inversiones Clinicas Santa Maria SpA, Ironman Holdco Inc., Ironman Intermediate Holdco LLC, Isapre Banmedica S.A., JPM Healthcare LLC, Johnston Surgicare L.P., Joliet Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Jordan Ridge Family Medicine LLC, Joyable Inc., Kansal Inc. A Professional Corporation, Knox Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, Kokomo Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, LDI Holding Company LLC, LDI Management Services LLC, LGH-A/Golf ASTC L.L.C., LHC Group, La Esperanza del Peru S.A., Laboratorio ROE S.A., Laboratorios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Landmark Group Holdings LLC, Landmark Health Holdings LLC, Landmark Health LLC, Landmark Health NY IPA LLC, Landmark Health NY PO LLC, Landmark Health Technologies Private Limited, Landmark Health of California LLC, Landmark Health of Massachusetts LLC, Landmark Health of North Carolina LLC, Landmark Health of Oregon LLC, Landmark Health of Pennsylvania LLC, Landmark Health of Washington LLC, Landmark India LLC, Landmark Intermediate Holdings LLC, Landmark MSO LLC, Landmark Medical of Idaho PC, Landmark Medical of Massachusetts PLLC, Landmark Medical of Tennessee PC, Landmark Primary Care LLC, Laser Acquisition Holdings III LLC, Leehar Distributors LLC, Lemhi Ventures Fund I LP, Lemhi Ventures Fund II LP, Level2 Medical Services P.C. Alaska, Lexington Surgery Center Ltd., Liberty Anesthesia Services LLC, LifePrint Health Inc., LifeWell. Ltd. Co., Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization LLC, Limestone Medical Center LLC, Litomedica S.A., Logan Surgical Suites LLC, Lotten-Eyes Oftalmologia Clinica e Cirurgica Ltda., Louisville S.C. Ltd., Louisville-SC Properties Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook L.P., Lusiadas - Parcerias Cascais S.A., Lusiadas A.C.E., Lusiadas Algarve S.A., Lusiadas S.A., Lusiadas SGPS S.A., Lutheran Campus ASC LLC, MAMSI Life and Health Insurance Company, MCNA Health Care Holdings LLC, MCNA Insurance Company, MCNA Systems Corp., MD Ops Inc., MD-Individual Practice Association Inc., ME AHS UC LLC, MGH/SCA LLC, MHC Real Estate Holdings LLC, MIAMI SURGERY CENTER LLC, MSLA Management LLC, Main Line Spine Surgery Center LLC, Managed Care of North America Inc., Managed Physical Network Inc., Mansfield Endoscopy Center LLC, March Holdings Inc., March Vision Care IPA Inc., March Vision Care Inc., March Vision Care of Texas Inc., Marin Health Ventures LLC, Marin Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Marin Surgery Holdings Inc., Marlin Holding Company LLC, Maryland Ambulatory Centers LLC, Maryland-SCA Centers LLC, Massachusetts Assurance Company Ltd. PIC, Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center LLC, McKenzie Surgery Center L.P., MedExpress Primary Care West Virginia Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care Alabama LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Inc. - Ohio, MedExpress Urgent Care Maine Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care New Hampshire Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach LLC, MedSynergies, MedSynergies LLC, Medical Clinic of North Texas PLLC, Medical Hilfe S.A., Medical Support Los Angeles Inc., Medical Surgical Centers of America Inc., Medical Transportation Services LLC, Melbourne Surgery Center LLC, Memorial City Holdings LLC, Memorial City Partners LLC, Memorial Houston Surgery Center LLC, MemorialCare Surgical Center at Orange Coast LLC, MemorialCare Surgical Center at Saddleback LLC, Mesquite Liberty LLC, Metro I Stone Management Ltd., Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee, Midlands Orthopaedics Surgery Center LLC, Midwest Center for Day Surgery LLC, Mile High SurgiCenter LLC, Mississippi Medical Plaza L.C., Mobile Medical Services of New Jersey PC, Mobile-SC LTD., Modality Accountable Care Organisation Limited, Moen M.D. P.C., Mohawk Surgery Center LLC, Monarch Management Services Inc., Montgomery Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Monument Health LLC, Moore Orthopaedic Clinic Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Morris County Surgical Center LLC, Mt. Pleasant Surgery Center L.P., Multiangio Ltda., Murrells Inlet ASC LLC, Muskogee Surgical Investors LLC, Mustang Razorback Holdings Inc., My Wellness Solutions LLC, NAMM Holdings Inc., NPN IPA Washington PLLC, NSC Channel Islands LLC, NSC Greensboro LLC, NSC Greensboro West LLC, NSC Lancaster LLC, NSC Seattle Inc., NSC Upland LLC, Naperville Surgical Centre LLC, National Foundation Life Insurance Company, National Pacific Dental Inc., National Surgery Centers LLC, Navigator Health Inc., Nebraska Spine Hospital LLC, Neighborhood Health Partnership Inc., Netwerkes LLC, Nevada Pacific Dental, New Orleans Regional Physician Hospital Organization L.L.C., New West Physicians Inc., New York Proton Management LLC, Newton Holdings LLC, Niagara Hospitalist P.C., Nomad Buyer Inc., North American Medical Management California Inc., North Coast Surgery Center Ltd. a California Limited Partnership, North Dallas Surgical Center LLC, North Kitsap Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, North Puget Sound Oncology Equipment Leasing Company LLC, Northern Nevada Health Network Inc., Northern Rockies Surgery Center L.P., Northern Rockies Surgicenter Inc., Northern Utah Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Hills JV Partners LLC, Northwest Medical Group Alliance LLC, Northwest Spine and Laser Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Surgicare LLC, Northwest Surgicare Ltd. an Illinois Limited Partnership, OC Cardiology Practice Partners LLC, OCC MSO LLC, OSB  Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Lda., Omesa SpA, OmniClaim LLC, Oncocare S.A.C., One World Surgery, Ophthalmology Surgery Center of Dallas LLC, Optimum Choice Inc., Optum Bank Inc., Optum Biometrics Inc., Optum Care Inc., Optum Care Networks Inc., Optum Care Services Company, Optum Care of New York Management Inc., Optum Clinics Holdings Inc., Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings Inc., Optum Compounding Services LLC, Optum Digital Health Holdings LLC, Optum Direct To Consumer Inc., Optum Financial Inc., Optum Frontier Therapies Holdings LLC, Optum Frontier Therapies II LLC, Optum Frontier Therapies LLC, Optum Genomics Inc., Optum Global Solutions Colombia S.A.S., Optum Global Solutions India Private Limited, Optum Global Solutions International B.V., Optum Global Solutions Philippines Inc., Optum Government Solutions Inc., Optum Growth Partners Holdings Inc., Optum Growth Partners LLC, Optum Health & Technology Holdings US Inc., Optum Health & Technology Hong Kong Limited, Optum Health & Technology India Private Limited, Optum Health & Technology Servicos do Brasil Ltda., Optum Health & Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd., Optum Health & Technology US LLC, Optum Health Plan of California, Optum Health Services Canada Ltd., Optum Health Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Optum Health Solutions UK Limited, Optum Health and Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services LLC, Optum Inc., Optum Infusion Services 100 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 101 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 103 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 200 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 201 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 202 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 203 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 204 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 205 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 206 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 207 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 208 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 209 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 301 LP, Optum Infusion Services 302 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 305 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 308 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 401 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 402 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 403 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 404 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 500 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 501 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 550 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 551 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 553 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 554 Inc., Optum Insurance of Ohio Inc., Optum Labs Inc., Optum Labs LLC, Optum Life Sciences Canada Inc., Optum Management Consulting Shanghai Co. Ltd., Optum Networks of New Jersey Inc., Optum Operations Ireland Unlimited Company, Optum Oregon MSO LLC, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas Inc., Optum Perks LLC, Optum Pharma Services Holdings Inc., Optum Pharmacy 601 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 700 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 701 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 702 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 704 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 705 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 706 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 707 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 800 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 803 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 805 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 806 Inc., Optum Public Sector Solutions Inc., Optum Rocket LLC, Optum SCA CS JV Holdings LLC, Optum Senior Services LLC, Optum Services Inc., Optum Services Ireland Limited, Optum Services Puerto Rico LLC, Optum Solutions UK Holdings Limited, Optum Technology LLC, Optum UK Solutions Group Limited, Optum Venture Global Partners II LP, Optum Venture Global Partners LP, Optum Venture Partners II LP, Optum Venture Partners III LP, Optum Venture Partners LP, Optum Washington Network LLC, Optum Women's and Children's Health LLC, Optum of New York Inc., Optum360 LLC, Optum360 Services Inc., Optum360 Solutions LLC, OptumCare ACO New Mexico LLC, OptumCare ACO West LLC, OptumCare Clinical Trials LLC, OptumCare Colorado ASC LLC, OptumCare Colorado LLC, OptumCare Colorado Springs LLC, OptumCare Endoscopy Center New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Florida CI LLC, OptumCare Florida LLC, OptumCare Holdings Colorado LLC, OptumCare Holdings LLC, OptumCare Management LLC, OptumCare New Mexico LLC, OptumCare New York IPA Inc., OptumCare Portland LLC, OptumCare South Florida LLC, OptumCare Specialty Practices LLC, OptumHealth Care Solutions LLC, OptumHealth Holdings LLC, OptumHealth International B.V., OptumInsight Holdings LLC, OptumInsight Inc., OptumInsight India Private Limited, OptumInsight Life Sciences Inc., OptumRx Administrative Services LLC, OptumRx Discount Card Services LLC, OptumRx Group Holdings Inc., OptumRx Health Solutions LLC, OptumRx Holdings I LLC, OptumRx Holdings LLC, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio LLC, OptumRx IPA III Inc., OptumRx Inc., OptumRx NY IPA Inc., OptumRx PBM of Illinois Inc., OptumRx PBM of Maryland LLC, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin LLC, OptumRx PD of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx Pharmacy Inc., OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada Inc., OptumRx of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumServe Technology Services Inc., Oregon Healthcare Resources LLC, Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., OrthoNet Holdings Inc., OrthoNet LLC, OrthoNet New York IPA Inc., OrthoNet West Inc., OrthoNet of the South Inc., OrthoWest MSO LLC, Orthology Inc., Orthopedic Center of Palm Beach County LLC, Orthopedic Surgery Center of Palm Beach County LLC, Orthopro Management LLC, Ovations Inc., Owensboro Ambulatory Surgical Facility Ltd., Oxford Benefit Management Inc., Oxford Health Insurance Inc., Oxford Health Plans CT Inc., Oxford Health Plans LLC, Oxford Health Plans NJ Inc., Oxford Health Plans NY Inc., P2P Link LLC, PCCCV Inc., PHC Subsidiary Holdings LLC, PHYSICIANS DAY SURGERY CENTER LLC, PMI Acquisition LLC, PMSI Holdings LLC, PMSI Settlement Solutions LLC, POMCO Inc., POMCO Network Inc., PPH Holdings LLC, PPH Management Company L.L.C., PPH-Columbia Inc., PPH-Gardendale Inc., PS Center LLC, PacifiCare Health Systems, PacifiCare Life Assurance Company, PacifiCare Life and Health Insurance Company, PacifiCare of Arizona Inc., PacifiCare of Colorado Inc., Pacific Cardiovascular Associates Medical Group Inc., Pacific Casualty Company Inc., Pacifico S.A. Entidad Prestadora de Salud, Panama City Surgery Center LLC, Park Hill Surgery Center LLC, Parkway Surgery Center LLC, Patient Care Associates L.L.C., PatientsLikeMe, Patrimonio Autonomo Nueva Clinica, Payment Resolution Services LLC, Peninsula Eye Surgery Center LLC, Penzo Enterprises LLC, Peoples Health, Peoples Health Inc., Perham Physical Therapy LTD, Perimeter Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Pharmaceutical Technologies LLC, Physician Alliance of the Rockies LLC, Physicians Health Choice of Texas LLC, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland Inc., Physicians' Surgery Center of Downey LLC, Pinnacle III LLC, Plano de Saude Ana Costa Ltda., Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico Inc., Plus One Holdings Inc., Pocono Ambulatory Surgery Center Limited, Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes Multiestrategia, Polo Holdco LLC, Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Post-Acute Care Center for Research LLC, Practice Partners in Healthcare LLC, Preferred Care Network Inc., Preferred Care Network of Florida Inc., Preferred Care Partners Holding Corp., Preferred Care Partners Inc., Preferred Care Partners Medical Group Inc., PreferredOne, PreferredOne Administrative Services Inc., PreferredOne Insurance Company, Premier Choice ACO Inc., Premier Surgery Center of Louisville L.P., Premiere Medical Resources LLC, Presidio Surgery Center LLC, Prime Health Inc., PrimeCare Medical Network Inc., PrimeCare of Citrus Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Corona Inc., PrimeCare of Hemet Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Inland Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Moreno Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Redlands Inc., PrimeCare of Riverside Inc., PrimeCare of San Bernardino Inc., PrimeCare of Sun City Inc., PrimeCare of Temecula Inc., PrimeDoc St. Francis P.C., PrimeDoc of Richmond P.C., ProHEALTH Care Associates L.L.P., ProHEALTH Care Associates of New Jersey LLP, ProHEALTH Medical Management LLC, ProHealth Physicians ACO LLC, ProHealth Physicians Inc., ProHealth Proton Center Management LLC, ProHealth/CareMount Dental Management LLC, Procura Management Inc., Professional Coverage Services PLLC, Progressive Enterprises Holdings Inc., Progressive Medical LLC, Promotora Country S.A., Pronounced Health Solutions Inc., Prosemedic S.A.C., Prospero Benefits Management LLC, Prospero Care Management LLC, Prospero Management Services LLC, Providence & SCA Development LLC, Providence & SCA Off-Campus Holdings LLC, Providence & SCA On-Campus Holdings LLC, Providence & SCA Outreach Markets Holdings LLC, Pulse Platform LLC, QoL Acquisition Holdings Corp., R Cubed Inc., RABessler M.D. P.C., ROC Surgery LLC, ROCS Holdings LLC, RX Ricardo Campos Ltda., Rally Health Inc., ReMedics LLC, Real Appeal Inc., Redding Surgery Center LLC, Redlands Ambulatory Surgery Center, Redlands-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., Reliant MSO LLC, Reliant Medical Group Inc., Reliant Medical Group The Endoscopy Center LLC, Research Surgical Center LLC, Resonancia Magnetica de Colombia Ltda., Resonancia Magnetica del Country S.A., RightCare Solutions Inc., River Valley ASC LLC, Riverside Corporate Wellness LLC, Riverside Electronic Healthcare Resources Inc., Riverside Medical Management LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Meadowlands LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Newark LLC, Robert A. Bessler MD PLLC, Rockville Eye Surgery Center LLC, Rocky Mountain Health Maintenance Organization Incorporated, Rush Oak Brook Surgery Center LLC, SC Affiliates LLC, SCA AHN JV Holdings LLC, SCA Alaska Surgery Center inc., SCA Athens LLC, SCA Austin Holdings LLC, SCA Austin Medical Center Holdings LLC, SCA Aventura Holdings LLC, SCA BOSC Holdings LLC, SCA Bloomfield Holdings LLC, SCA Cedar Park Holdings LLC, SCA Clifton LLC, SCA Colorado Springs Holdings LLC, SCA Community Service Foundation, SCA Cottonwood Holdings LLC, SCA Danbury Surgical Center LLC, SCA Denver Holdings LLC, SCA Development LLC, SCA Duluth Holdings LLC, SCA Duncanville Holdings LLC, SCA Duncanville MSO LLC, SCA ESSC Holdings LLC, SCA Englewood Holdings LLC, SCA Global One Holdings LLC, SCA Greenway Holdings LLC, SCA Grove Creek Holdings LLC, SCA Guilford Holdings LLC, SCA Hays Holdings LLC, SCA Health Value Enterprise LLC, SCA Heartland Holdings LLC, SCA High Point Holdings LLC, SCA HoldCo Inc., SCA Holding Company Inc., SCA Holdings Inc., SCA IEC Holdings LLC, SCA Indiana Holdings LLC, SCA Lutheran Holdings LLC, SCA Maple Grove Holdings LLC, SCA Mohawk Holdings LLC, SCA Murrells Inlet LLC, SCA Northern Utah Holdings LLC, SCA Northwest Holdings LLC, SCA Outside New Jersey LLC, SCA Pacific Holdings Inc., SCA Pacific Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Palisades Holdings LLC, SCA Pennsylvania Holdings LLC, SCA Pinnacle Holdings LLC, SCA Premier Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, SCA Providence Holdings LLC, SCA ROCS Holdings LLC, SCA Rockledge JV LLC, SCA Rush Oak Brook Holdings LLC, SCA SSSC Holdings LLC, SCA Sage Medical LLC, SCA Sage Medical MSO LLC, SCA San Diego Holdings LLC, SCA Skyway Holdings LLC, SCA South Ogden Holdings LLC, SCA Southwestern PA LLC, SCA Specialists of Florida LLC, SCA Specialty Holdings of Connecticut LLC, SCA Stonegate Holdings LLC, SCA Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Surgicare of Laguna Hills LLC, SCA Teammate Support Network, SCA West Health Holdings LLC, SCA Westgreen Holdings LLC, SCA Woodbury Holdings LLC, SCA eCode Solutions Private Limited, SCA of Clarksville Inc., SCA-Albuquerque Surgery Properties Inc., SCA-Alliance LLC, SCA-Anne Arundel LLC, SCA-Applecare Partners LLC, SCA-Bethesda LLC, SCA-Blue Ridge LLC, SCA-Bonita Springs LLC, SCA-Brandon LLC, SCA-Castle Rock LLC, SCA-Central Florida LLC, SCA-Charleston LLC, SCA-Chatham LLC, SCA-Chevy Chase LLC, SCA-Citrus Inc., SCA-Colonial Partners LLC, SCA-Colorado Springs LLC, SCA-Connecticut Partners LLC, SCA-DRY CREEK LLC, SCA-Davenport LLC, SCA-Denver LLC, SCA-Denver Physicians Holdings LLC, SCA-Derry LLC, SCA-Doral LLC, SCA-Downey LLC, SCA-Dublin LLC, SCA-Encinitas Inc., SCA-Eugene Inc., SCA-First Coast LLC, SCA-Florence LLC, SCA-Fort Collins Inc., SCA-Fort Walton Inc., SCA-Franklin LLC, SCA-Frederick LLC, SCA-Freeway Holdings LLC, SCA-Ft. Myers LLC, SCA-GRANTS PASS LLC, SCA-Gainesville LLC, SCA-Gladiolus LLC, SCA-Glenwood Holdings LLC, SCA-Grove Place LLC, SCA-Hagerstown LLC, SCA-Hamden LLC, SCA-Hilton Head LLC, SCA-Honolulu LLC, SCA-Houston Executive LLC, SCA-IT Holdings LLC, SCA-Illinois LLC, SCA-JPM Holdings LLC, SCA-Kissing Camels Holdings LLC, SCA-MC VBP Inc., SCA-Main Street LLC, SCA-Marina del Rey LLC, SCA-Mecklenburg Development Corp., SCA-Memorial City LLC, SCA-Memorial LLC, SCA-Merritt LLC, SCA-Midlands LLC, SCA-Midway Management LLC, SCA-Mobile LLC, SCA-Mokena LLC, SCA-Morris Avenue LLC, SCA-Morris County LLC, SCA-Mt. Pleasant LLC, SCA-Naperville LLC, SCA-Naples LLC, SCA-New Jersey LLC, SCA-Newport Beach LLC, SCA-Northeast Georgia Health LLC, SCA-PORTLAND LLC, SCA-Palm Beach LLC, SCA-Palm Beach MSO Holdings LLC, SCA-Panama City Holdings LLC, SCA-Paoli LLC, SCA-Phoenix LLC, SCA-Pocono LLC, SCA-Practice Partners Holdings LLC, SCA-River Valley LLC, SCA-Riverside LLC, SCA-Riverside Partners LLC, SCA-Rockville LLC, SCA-Sacred Heart Holdings LLC, SCA-San Diego Inc., SCA-San Luis Obispo LLC, SCA-Sand Lake LLC, SCA-Santa Rosa Inc., SCA-Somerset LLC, SCA-South Jersey LLC, SCA-Sparta LLC, SCA-Spartanburg Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis LLC, SCA-St. Lucie LLC, SCA-SurgiCare LLC, SCA-Swiftpath LLC, SCA-VERTA LLC, SCA-VLR Holdings Company LLC, SCA-Wake Forest LLC, SCA-Western Connecticut LLC, SCA-Westover Hills LLC, SCA-Winchester LLC, SCA-Winter Park Inc., SCA-Woodlands Holdings LLC, SCAI Holdings LLC, SCLHS-SCA Holdings LLC, SCP Specialty Infusion LLC, SHC Atlanta LLC, SHC Austin Inc., SHC Hawthorn Inc., SHC Melbourne Inc., SJ East Campus ASC LLC, SRPS LLC, SSSC Holdings LLC, SVHS-SCA Florida JV LLC, Sacred Heart ASC LLC, Saden S.A., Sage Medical Prof. LLC, Salem JV Holdings LLC, Salem Surgery Center LLC, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy Inc., San Diego Endoscopy Center, San Diego Sports and Minimally Invasive Surgery Center LLC, San Francisco Endoscopy Center LLC, San Luis Obispo Surgery Center a California Limited Partnership, Sand Lake SurgiCenter LLC, Santa Barbara Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Cruz Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Helena Assistencia Medica S.A., Santa Rosa Surgery Center L.P., Santos Administracao e Participacoes S.A., Sanvello Health Holdings LLC, Sanvello Health Inc., Sanvello Health Limited, Scanner Centromed S.A., Seashore Surgical Institute L.L.C., Seisa Servicos Integrados de Saude Ltda., Senate Street Surgery Center LLC, Senior Benefits L.L.C., Serquinox Holdings LLC, Servicios Integrados de Salud Ltda., Servicios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Servicios Medicos Bio Bio Ltda., Servicios Medicos Ciudad del Mar Ltda., Servicios Medicos Santa Maria Ltda., Servicios Medicos Vespucio Ltda., Servicios de Entrenamiento en Competencias Clinicas Ltda., Serviclinica Inmobiliaria S.A., Serviclinica S.A. Ex Los Leones La Calera, Servisalud Inmobiliaria S.A., Servisalud S.A. Ex Los Carrera Quilpue, Shark Holdings P.C., Sierra Dental Plan Inc., Sierra Health Services Inc, Sierra Health Services Inc., Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company Inc., Sierra Health-Care Options Inc., Sierra Home Medical Products Inc., Sierra Nevada Administrators Inc., Sistema de Administracion Hospitalaria S.A.C., Small Business Insurance Advisors Inc., Sobam  Centro Medico Hospitalar S.A., Sociedad de Inversiones Santa Maria SpA, Solstice Administration Services Inc., Solstice Administrators Inc., Solstice Administrators of Alabama Inc., Solstice Administrators of Arizona Inc., Solstice Administrators of Missouri Inc., Solstice Administrators of North Carolina Inc., Solstice Administrators of Texas Inc., Solstice Benefit Services Inc., Solstice Benefits Inc., Solstice Health Insurance Company, Solstice Healthplans Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Arizona Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Colorado Inc., Solstice Healthplans of New Jersey Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Ohio Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Tennessee Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Texas Inc., Solstice of Illinois Inc., Solstice of Minnesota Inc., Solstice of New York Inc., Solutran LLC, Somerset Outpatient Surgery L.L.C., Sound Inpatient Physicians Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians Medical Group Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians of Ohio LLC, Sound Inpatient Physicians of Texas I Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians  Michigan PLLC, Sound Intensivists of Nevada RBessler M.D. PLLC, Sound Kenwood Hospitalists of Cincinnati Inc., Sound Kenwood Hospitalists of Cincinnati LLC, Sound Physicians Advisory Services Inc., Sound Physicians Alaska Hospitalist Group LLC, Sound Physicians Anesthesiology of Texas PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Arizona Inc., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Georgia P.C., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Kansas LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Kentucky PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Louisiana Inc., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Michigan PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Nevada Bessler PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Southern California P.C., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Texas PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Washington PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of West Virginia PLLC, Sound Physicians Holdings LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Arizona Inc., Sound Physicians Intensivists of Georgia PC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Virginia LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Washington PLLC, Sound Physicians Palliative Care of Maryland P.C., Sound Physicians Telemedicine Inc., Sound Physicians of Florida IV LLC, Sound Physicians of Georgia III P.C., Sound Physicians of Hawaii Inc., Sound Physicians of Idaho PLLC, Sound Physicians of Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians of Indiana LLC, Sound Physicians of Iowa PLLC, Sound Physicians of Kankakee Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians of Massachusetts II P.C., Sound Physicians of Massachusetts Inc., Sound Physicians of New Jersey LLC, Sound Physicians of New York PLLC, Sound Physicians of North Carolina PLLC, Sound Physicians of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians of Wyoming LLC, South Arlington Surgical Providers LLC, South County Surgical Center LLC, South Sound Inpatient Physicians PLLC, Southern California Medical Practice Concepts LLC, Southland Hospitalists P.C., Southwest Medical Associates Inc., Southwest Michigan Health Network Inc., Southwest Surgery Center LLC, Southwest Surgical Center LLC, Space Coast Surgical Center Ltd., Spartanburg Surgery Center LLC, Specialists in Urology Surgery Center LLC, Specialized Pharmaceuticals Inc., Specialty Benefits LLC, Specialty Billing Solutions LLC, Specialty Surgical Center LLC, Spectera Inc., Spectera of New York IPA Inc., Sports and Spinal Physical Therapy Inc., St. Cloud Outpatient Surgery Ltd. a Minnesota Limited Partnership, St. Cloud Surgical Center LLC, St. Louis Cardiovascular Institute LLC, St. Louis Specialty Surgical Center LLC, Stonegate JV Partners LLC, Stonegate Surgery Center L.P., Summer Street ASC LLC, SunSurgery LLC, Surgery Center Holding LLC, Surgery Center at Cherry Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Cottonwood LLC, Surgery Center at Grove Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Kissing Camels LLC, Surgery Center at South Ogden LLC, Surgery Center at St. Vincent LLC, Surgery Center of Boca Raton Inc., Surgery Center of Colorado Springs LLC, Surgery Center of Des Moines LLC, Surgery Center of Easton LLC, Surgery Center of Ellicott City Inc., Surgery Center of Fairfield County LLC, Surgery Center of Fort Collins LLC, Surgery Center of Lexington LLC, Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, Surgery Center of Maui LLC, Surgery Center of Mt. Scott LLC, Surgery Center of Muskogee LLC, Surgery Center of Rockville L.L.C., Surgery Center of Southern Pines LLC, Surgery Center of The Woodlands LLC, Surgery Centers of Des Moines Ltd. an Iowa Limited Partnership, Surgery Centers-West Holdings LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates, Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates Political Action Committee, Surgical Care Partners of Melbourne LLC, Surgical Caregivers of Fort Worth LLC, Surgical Center of Greensboro LLC, Surgical Center of San Diego LLC, Surgical Center of South Jersey Limited Partnership, Surgical Center of Tuscaloosa Holdings LLC, Surgical Eye Experts LLC, Surgical Health LLC, Surgical Health of Orlando LLC, Surgical Hospital Holdings of Oklahoma LLC, Surgical Management Solutions LLC, Surgicare LLC, Surgicare of Central Jersey LLC, Surgicare of Jackson LLC, Surgicare of Jackson Ltd. a Mississippi Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Joliet Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Ltd. a California Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Minneapolis LLC, Surgicare of Minneapolis Ltd. a Minnesota Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Mobile LLC, Surgicare of Mobile Ltd., Surgicare of Oceanside Inc., Surgicare of Owensboro LLC, Surgicare of Salem LLC, Surgicenters of Southern California Inc., Symphonix Health Holdings LLC, T.M. Carr M.D. P.C., THE SURGICAL CENTER OF THE TREASURE COAST L.L.C., THR-SCA Holdings LLC, TeamMD Holdings Inc., TeamMD Iowa Inc., TeamMD Physicians of Texas Inc., TeamUP Insurance Services Inc., Tecnologia de Informacion en Salud S.A., Texas Health Craig Ranch Surgery Center LLC, Texas Health Flower Mound Orthopedic Surgery Center LLC, Texas Health Orthopedic Surgery Center Alliance LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Alliance LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Bedford LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Chisholm Trail LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Irving LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Las Colinas LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Preston Plaza LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Rockwall LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Southwest Fort Worth LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Waxahachie LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Willow Park LLC, The Advisory Board Company, The Alaska Hospitalist Group LLC, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, The Eye Surgery Center of the Carolinas L.P., The Intensivist Group of Langhorne LLC, The Lewin Group Inc., The Outpatient Surgery Center of Hilton Head LLC, The Polyclinic MSO LLC, The Surgery Center of Easton L.P., The Surgical Center of Connecticut LLC, Thomas Johnson Surgery Center LLC, Three Rivers Holdings Inc., Three Rivers Surgical Care L.P., Tmesys LLC, Topimagem Diagnostico por Imagem Ltda., Touchpoint Health Plan, Trails Edge Surgery Center LLC, Trauma Surgery Affiliates LLC, Travel Express Incorporated, Treasure Valley Emerald Properties LLC, Treasure Valley Hospital Limited Partnership, Tri-City Medical Center ASC Operators LLC, Tri-County Surgery Center LLC, Trinity Cardiovascular Care PLLC, Tufts Health Freedom Insurance Company, Tufts Health Freedom Plans Inc., Tuscaloosa Surgical Center L.P., U.S. Behavioral Health Plan California, UCSD Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, UCSD Center for Surgery of Encinitas L.P., UCSD Surgical Center of San Diego LLC, UCSD-SCA Holdings I LLC, UCSD-SCA Holdings II LLC, UHC Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, UHC International Services Inc., UHC of California, UHCG Holdings Ireland Limited, UHCG Services Ireland Limited, UHCG  FZE, UHG Brasil Participacoes S.A., UHG Holdings UK IV Limited, UHG Holdings UK V Limited, UHG Holdings UK VI Limited, UHIC Holdings Inc., UMR Inc., UPHT-SCA Holdings LLC, USHEALTH Academy Inc., USHEALTH Administrators LLC, USHEALTH Advisors LLC, USHEALTH Career Agency Inc., USHEALTH Funding Inc., USHEALTH Group Inc., USMD ASC IV1 LLC, USMD ASC IV2 LLC, USMD Administrative Services L.L.C., USMD Affiliated Services, USMD Holdings Inc., USMD Hospital at Arlington L.P., USMD Hospital at Fort Worth L.P., USMD Inc., USMD PPM LLC, Unidad Medica Diagnostico S.A., Unimerica Insurance Company, Unimerica Life Insurance Company of New York, Unison Health Plan of Delaware Inc., United Behavioral Health, United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A. Inc., United Group Reinsurance Inc., United Health Foundation, United HealthCare Services Inc., United Medical Park ASC LLC, United Resource Networks IPA of New York Inc., United in Advancing Health Equity Foundation, UnitedHealth Advisors LLC, UnitedHealth Group Employee Assistance Fund, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UnitedHealth Group International Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, UnitedHealth International Inc., UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services LLC, UnitedHealthcare Benefits Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas L.L.C., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service Beijing Co. Ltd., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Global Medical UK Limited, UnitedHealthcare Inc., UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of America, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Designated Activity Company, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services Inc., UnitedHealthcare International Asia LLC, UnitedHealthcare International I B.V., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III B.V., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VIII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International X S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Parekh Insurance TPA Private Limited, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley Inc., UnitedHealthcare Service LLC, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits LLC, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arizona Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Colorado Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Florida Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Illinois Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky Ltd., UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New England Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New York Inc., UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oregon Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., UnitedHealthcare of South Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Utah Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Washington Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Rockies Inc., Unity Health Network LLC, Upland Holdings LLC, Upland Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Urgent Care Holdings Inc., Urgent Care MSO LLC, Urology Associates of North Texas P.L.L.C., VERTA MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC, VPay Benefits Corporation, VPay Inc., VPay Intermediate Holdings LLC, Valley Hospital L.L.C., Valley Physicians Network Inc., Vascular Labs of the Rockies ASC LLC, Vascular Labs of the Rockies PLLC, Via Vitae MSO LLC, Vida Integra S.p.A., Vida Tres S.A., Virtua-SCA Holdings II LLC, Virtua-SCA Holdings LLC, Vivify Health Canada Inc., Vivify Health Inc., WESTMED Practice Partners LLC, Wake Forest Ambulatory Ventures LLC, Walnut Creek Endoscopy Center LLC, Walnut Hill Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Surgery Center LLC, Wayland Square Surgicare Acquisition L.P., Wayland Square Surgicare GP Inc., Waypoint Minnesota PC, WellMed Medical Management Inc., WellMed Medical Management of Florida Inc., West Coast Endoscopy Holdings LLC, WestHealth JV Holdings LLC, WestHealth Surgery Center LLC, Western Connecticut Orthopedic Surgical Center LLC, Westgreen Surgical Center LLC, Wilson Creek Surgical Center LLC, Winchester Endoscopy LLC, Winter Park LLC, Winter Park Surgery Center L.P., Woodbury Surgery Center LLC, XAS Infusion Suites Inc., XLHealth Corporation, XLHealth Corporation India Private Limited, divvyDOSE, divvyMED LLC, eCode Solutions LLC, gethealthinsurance.com Agency Inc., hCentive Inc., inPharmative Inc., naviHealth Care at Home LLC, naviHealth Coordinated Care LLC, naviHealth Coordinated Care SC P.C., naviHealth Holdings LLC, naviHealth Inc., naviHealth Michigan HBPC P.C., and naviHealth SM Holdings Inc..

Read More
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes high-performance coatings systems in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Transportation Coatings. The company offers water and solvent-borne products and systems to repair damaged vehicles for independent body shops, multi-shop operators, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) dealership body shops. It also provides functional and decorative liquid, and powder coatings used in various industrial applications, including architectural cladding and fittings, automotive coatings, general industrial, job coaters, energy solutions, HVAC, appliances, industrial wood, coil, and oil and gas pipelines; and coatings for building materials, cabinet, wood and luxury vinyl flooring, and furniture market under the Voltatex, AquaEC, Durapon, Hydropon, UNRIVALED, Tufcote, and Ceranamel for liquid coatings; and Alesta, Nap-Gard, Abcite, Teodur, and Plascoat brands for powder coatings. In addition, the company develops and supplies electrocoat, primer, the basecoat, and clearcoat products for OEMs of light and commercial vehicles; and coatings systems for various commercial applications, including HDT, bus, and rail under the Imron, Imron Elite, Centari, Rival, Corlar epoxy undercoats, and AquaEC brands. It also sells its product under the Audurra, Challenger, Chemophan, ColorNet, Cromax, Cromax Mosaic, Durapon 70, Duxone, Harmonized Coating Technologies, Imron ExcelPro, Lutophen, Nason, Spies Hecker, Standox, Stollaquid, Syntopal, Syrox, Raptor, U-POL, and Vermeera brand names. The company was formerly known as Axalta Coating Systems Bermuda Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. in August 2014. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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.
Second of three parts.

The wailing alert that sent Sgt. Hayne Dominick running to man a gun emplacement came at 6 a.m. Dec. 8, 1941.

Because the Philippines are 18 hours ahead of Hawaiian time, word had just reached him that the Japanese were attacking American ships and bases at Pearl Harbor. Two days later, the Japanese bombed Del Carmen, where Dominick was stationed with the Armys 34th Pursuit Squadron.

Although Dominick had been trained to arm and maintain airplanes, he soon was fighting as an infantryman. With antiaircraft ability consisting of just 20 small-caliber machine guns, the Japanese pilots had little to fear as they bombed and strafed the beleaguered Americans.

The lack of modern aircraft capable of opposing the high-flying Japanese bombers caused some of the American fighter pilots to shed tears of frustration. Nonetheless, they continued to fight valiantly and managed to sink a number of enemy transport ships off the coast of Luzon, as well as the battleship Haruna.

A blow to the Americans high morale came on Christmas Day, when they were ordered to retreat 70 miles to the eastern side of the Bataan peninsula. By then, the Japanese had landed about 200,000 troops and were continuing the buildup. Opposing them were fewer than 10,000 Americans and about 75,000 Filipino soldiers.

What kept the morale of the scrappy underdogs high were repeated messages that help was on the way. In early January 1942, Dominick and the other 217 enlisted men in his unit were integrated into the 71st Infantry Division of the Filipino Army.

The division, which was led by American officers, was ordered to Agaloma Bay. Its job was to oppose an expected landing of Japanese infantry, and this threat kept the men in their fighting positions around the clock.

The landing came at 3:30 a.m. Jan. 23. Dominick and the others fired blindly into the utter darkness as an estimated 500 Japanese charged ashore.

The landing was beaten back during fierce fighting. As the first light of morning began illuminating the beach, hundreds of Japanese corpses were seen turning in the surf and strewn along the shoreline. For 14 days and nights, the Japanese continued throwing thousands of men against the beleaguered defenders.

Periodically, a few Japanese would manage to break through the line of defense, but they were quickly dispatched in hand-to-hand fighting. Despite staggering odds, each attack was repulsed.

This heroic stand is especially impressive because of the poor equipment and ammunition the defenders had. During the height of the battle, Dominick said, only two hand grenades out of a box of 48 exploded when thrown.

American and Filipino losses were heavy, but Japanese losses were much higher. It was imperative for the Japanese to take the Philippines, but the costly butcher bill at Agaloma Bay convinced them to make inroads elsewhere.

There was plenty of fight left in Dominick, but when he came down with malaria on April 3, it knocked him off his feet. When his temperature reached 106.2 degrees, he was sent back to a field hospital.

The need to keep the ever-thinning defenses manned was so acute that Dominick returned to his outfit after four days. He was still sick, but so were many others.

The gutsy Virginian was preparing to return to the front lines on April 9, 1942, when Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright, the commander of all American and Filipino forces, surrendered to the Japanese. A few weeks after his return to the U.S. in late 1945, Dominick said the following about that terrible day.

The thought of surrender hadnt been even remotely a part of our thinking, the Martinsville native told newspaper reporter Kay Thompson. No one had thought what to expect, or what it would mean.

We were too stunned, even after the capitulation, to realize what had happened to us. I am certain that if any man on Bataan had realized what was in store for him, he would never have laid down his arms. I wouldnt have.

The Japanese had assured Wainwright that the soldiers in his command would be well treated. It was one of the most egregious lies told during that costly conflict.

As soon as the Japanese had corralled the defenseless men into groups, they stripped them of everything but their shirts, pants and boots. From that point on, with few exceptions, the Japanese set aside any semblance of human decency.

For the next six days, the prisoners were marched to a railhead at San Fernando, about 65 miles away. During the trek, the Japanese wrote in blood one of the most disgraceful entries in their national history.

What became known as the Bataan Death March has been called one of the worst atrocities in modern warfare. Dominick was never able to fully describe the horrors he witnessed and endured along the torturous route.

When a Japanese soldier demanded from Dominick a watch he didnt have, the enraged man was about to kill him with a sword. Only a yell from a nearby Japanese officer kept the man from killing Dominick on the spot.

During the march, the Japanese shot or bayoneted any POW who fell, couldnt keep up or tried to get a drink of water from a puddle or spring along the way. Some prisoners were beheaded for sport, and others were summarily executed as examples to the others.

It isnt known how many people the Japanese killed during the march. The estimate runs between 7,000 and 10,000 people.

As terrible as the march was, the agony was just beginning.

Next: Life as a POW.
In the early morning of July 16, 1945, a daystar of hellfire brilliance appeared on Earth for the first time.

At 45 seconds after 5:45 a.m., in the New Mexico desert, the first atomic bomb detonated. The blast force was equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT, sending a fireball mushroom roiling 40,000 feet into the sky.

Within a few weeks, two of these unearthly flashes ignited the air above Japan, bringing World War II to an end. The leveling of Hiroshima and Nagasaki  and the extinguishing of more than 200,000 lives  provided sobering evidence that a single bomb could obliterate a large metropolitan city.

Four years later, the Soviet Union had the bomb, and the nuclear club would grow from there. This proliferation of nuclear weapons led to the implementation of the military doctrine of mutual assured destruction, or MAD.

This means that, in the event of a full-scale nuclear exchange, both attacker and defender would be annihilated. To ensure that any nuclear attack on the United States would result in a Pyrrhic victory for the aggressor, construction of Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota got underway in May 1956.

A map study of the U.S. shows that the base is strategically located roughly in the middle of the nation and about 50 miles from the Canadian border. The base became the home for the 5th Bomb Wing of the Global Strike Command.

The airfields and squadrons of bombers are easily detected. Not nearly as obvious are the underground missile silos and launch control centers of the 91st Strategic Missile Wing.

Clustered in three fields at three different compass points outside the base are approximately 150 Minuteman III nuclear missiles. During every moment of every day, in launch control centers 50 feet beneath the surface, two members of the Air Force await the unthinkable order to launch the missiles theyre responsible for. This has been the case since June 1963.

* * *

James Greenlaw was among the first missileers to arrive at the Minot base that summer. He recently traveled to Charlottesville from Monroe, Louisiana, to attend a reunion of former airmen, who, like Greenlaw, once had their fingers on the nuclear trigger.

Im 83 years old, so it was a big commitment for me to make it to this reunion, said Greenlaw, who, after a 20-year career in the Air Force, taught for 21 years at the University of Louisiana. But I wouldnt have it any other way.

As far as Im concerned, the people we were involved with at Minot were a special type. I cant say enough about the quality of people we had, and I would bet my life on them.

The Air Force did a very good job of vetting us, because it worked out beautifully.

Keswick resident Michael Halseth arranged the reunion, which attracted about 45 people from around the country. A Minot missileer from 1967 to 1971, he retired from the University of Virginia, where he had served as the chief operations officer for its hospital.

I didnt know we had all these missiles in the northern United States when I started the training, said Halseth, who grew up in Fresno, California. I had a military obligation and decided to join the Air Force and go to officer training school after I finished college.

After I got my commission and was assigned the career field of missiles, I had no idea what that meant. To qualify for the job, you needed a top-secret crypto-security clearance that requires an FBI background investigation.

At some point, we were all asked, Would you launch these missiles if ordered to do so? Everyone had to say yes or they would not be in that role.

Being a person directly contributing to the end of the world as we know it is about as serious as life gets. The motivation for pushing the proverbial nuclear button would have to be more important than ones life.

Preserving the nation and the Constitution of the United States of America reaches that towering standard. Still, being put in the position of possibly causing the deaths of countless innocent people is a lot to shoulder.

We talked about that amongst ourselves from time to time, Halseth said. But our military was always in the position of defending our country.

And defending our country would mean that we would not be launching those missiles unless someone first was launching against us. If that would occur, we had the devastating power to destroy a massive amount of the world  certainly our targeted areas.

That was intended to be  and, I think, successfully  a deterrent to any enemy to never consider launching against us, because the retaliation would be so overwhelming.

* * *

To launch or not would be a question every missileer would have to answer honestly for himself. It could not be a maybe or an Im pretty sure.

The fact is, this country has the best defense and a very good offense, Greenlaw said. We were part of that offense, and if we were to break down and not do the job we were asked to do, that would weaken the offense.

I always looked at it as a team effort, and thats what carried me through. I will say there were a number of times I thought about what would be going on with our families back at the base if we did launch the missiles.

It probably would cause World War III  and total devastation. I did think of that, but it did not deter me. I would not have hesitated should the president send us a message that he wanted those missiles launched. And the president is the only one who can give that order.

The two men said their training was ongoing and excellent. The training included routinely spending time in a launch simulator where they would go through the procedure of firing the missiles.

Even pretending to launch nuclear warheads was so nerve-wracking that, on rare occasions, a missileer would crack under the strain. Halseth saw it happen a few times.

People would get so involved in the simulation that they would back away and say they couldnt do it, Halseth said. The few that I saw eliminated initiated it themselves, stating to the Air Force that they could no longer do this job.

The other concern is that we were 50 feet underground in a small launch control center that was on shock absorbers. If somebody had a problem, it would likely be claustrophobia, because we were down there for 24 hours at a time, totally sealed in behind 8-ton blast doors.

We could not go anywhere, and some people couldnt handle it.

* * *

The procedure to launch the missiles has to be fast and precise. A checklist would be followed to the letter, right up to the second the missile fuel ignited and the warhead started on its irretrievable flight.

Each launch control center has a two-man crew consisting of a commander and deputy commander. Individual centers are usually in control of 10 missiles.

The deputy and the commander were about 15 feet apart at two different monitors, Halseth said. Each missile had a toggle switch that had to be flipped for it to be launched.

We each had a key that would be inserted into a container. We would have to simultaneously turn those two keys at the same time after first arming the missiles.

When we turned the keys, that would put a vote into the system for those missiles. It took two votes to launch the missiles, so another launch control center interconnected with us would also have to put in a vote.

Once you have two votes in the system for those armed missiles, they would launch within the prescribed timeframe.

The only thing painted red in the launch control center was the safe that contained the launch codes. The safe contained two locks, one of which had to be opened by the commander and the other by the deputy.

Underscoring the seriousness of this is that each person is armed with a loaded pistol. The men were never told what the pistols were for, but it was implied that deadly force was authorized if it ever came to that.

The only thing they would tell us was to load the pistol before we went into the launch control center, Greenlaw said. And to keep it loaded the whole time we were out there, and not to unload it until we got back.

Remember, nobody could get to us because we had to open the blast door from our side. If someone went wacko and wanted to end it for everybody in the world, there would be the other guy with his pistol.

* * *

All the training and preparation was directly linked to launching the missiles. What would follow was another matter.

The plan after we launched was never as clearly articulated as the plan to launch, Halseth said. We were told it would take a pretty direct nuclear warhead hit on our launch control center to blow it up, but it certainly could be done.

Im not aware of any thought given to whats next after we do our job.

It would be next to impossible for all 15 of the launch centers to be taken out of commission, so there would be survivors, at least for a time.

The designers of the system did provide a back door of sorts out of the center, if the necessity arose.

When they constructed these silos, they also created a 3-foot-in-diameter tunnel that went from the launch control center to the outside, Greenlaw said. The tunnel was filled with a special kind of dirt that would slide out if we opened the door that held it in.

Once the dirt came out, we would be able to get to the surface. And there were survival supplies under the floor.

But the escape route wasnt really emphasized. What was emphasized was to do our job as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

The trust the nation put in each of the missileers to do his job was a tremendous source of pride for each of them. Its a pride that hasnt flagged during the passing decades.

The missileers were a tight-knit bunch, like family, Halseth said. I think we all learned about loyalty, teamwork and discipline.

We were down there alone, two men, for 24 hours, with no way to get to us. There is a tremendous amount of trust and responsibility put into that two-man crew to execute their job if needed.

There [are] teams down there right now.
A complaint has been filed with the Federal Elections Commission against the congressional campaign of state Sen. Tom Garrett Jr., R-Buckingham, that is related to his use of nonfederal accounts to fund federal campaigning activities.

A spokesperson for the FEC confirmed that a Charlottesville-area resident filed the complaint against Garretts campaign for Virginias 5th Congressional District. The complaint, filed Sept. 27, is in response to a report by The Daily Progress in September showing that Garretts campaign used money from his state Senate account to pay for the congressional campaign website.

According to campaign expenditure information reported to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit tracker of money in state politics, Garretts state Senate account paid $1,495 to SingleTree Media in January 2016 for design of his congressional website.

Under Federal Election Commission regulations, a candidates federal campaign cannot use funds or assets from the same candidates non-federal accounts  in this case, a state Senate account.

In September, Garrett campaign spokesman Andrew Griffin said they were made aware of the error and had spoken to the FEC to resolve it, and that there seemed to be no other errors of that nature. He reiterated that Friday.

Griffin said a resolution is expected to show up on the campaigns next financial report. The next quarterly reports are due Oct. 15.
With increasing sales in the Indian market, Nissan is planning to expand its product portfolio in the country. The Japanese automaker informed that it will be introducing as many as eight new products by 2021. The automaker also wants to make India a base to export cars.

Nissan also plans to develop some of its future Datsun cars in India, the company's chairman for Africa, Middle East and India region, Christian Mardrus, told Reuters on a visit to New Delhi.

Like Renault, its alliance partner, Nissan is also eyeing the small car route to success as it introduced the Datsun redi-GO earlier this year. The car might not be as big a success as its Kwid cousin yet, but it sure has imparted a boost to the companys sales for the month of September. Last month, it sold 5,151 units, registering profits of almost 97 per cent in the domestic car market.

As a result of this feat, the company might consider bringing in another small car, in the form of the new Nissan Micra, to India. The fifth-gen hatchback was recently unveiled at the ongoing Paris Motor Show 2016 and will hit the European markets by around March 2017. Expect it to arrive on Indian shores soon thereafter.

At the Porte de Versailles pavilions, Renault boss, Carlos Ghosn also confirmed that the Renault-Nissan alliance will develop sub-Duster SUVs, in partnership with the recently acquired Mitsubishi. If thats any sign of things to come, expect both Nissan and Renault to jump into the sub-compact territories in the coming years.

Among the eight new cars in Nissans plans, could also be the Nissan Kicks SUV that made its global debut at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics earlier this year. Among other new cars, could also be the future Nissan GT-Rs, the 2017 iteration of which is set to be launched in India soon.

The Alliance is also working on a collaboration with Microsoft to to bring in next-gen technologies for connected driving in cars. Though it's still time for this merger to have an impact on the Indian market. For now, one has to be content with the Terrano AMT that the company teased recently. Check it out here!

Source: CarDekho.com
Once an EU citizen has been in the UK for more than five years, they are given permanent residency rights.

London: All European Union (EU) nationals who are living in the UK will be allowed to stay in the country after Britain leaves the economic bloc, according to a media report today.

The UK Home Office has discovered as part of internal research that five in six could not legally be deported, 'The Daily Telegraph' claims. There are around 3.6 million EU citizens living in the UK, more than 80 per cent of whom will have permanent residency rights by the time Britain leaves the union in early 2019, official research has concluded.

The remainder  more than 6,00,000 people  will be offered an amnesty, with several Cabinet ministers telling the newspaper that those citizens will be offered the right to stay permanently, in a policy that may prove controversial.

Once an EU citizen has been in the UK for more than five years, they are given permanent residency rights. And, though Britain voted for Brexit in a referendum in June, their rights are likely to remain intact.

Home Office research has concluded that when Britain leaves the EU, just over 80 per cent of EU citizens in the UK will qualify for residency, sources told 'The Daily Telegraph'.

"The remaining people will, of course, be allowed to stay in the UK," a the source added. British Prime Minister Theresa May has so far refrained from making an official commitment on this topic until Article 50 is triggered and the official process of Brexit is launched next year.
Indian government officials said they had not yet noticed trading had stopped.

Mumbai: 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 September 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."
Mumbai: Salman Khan, who was accused of poaching a chinkara in Jodhpur during the shooting of his film Hum Saath Saath hain in September 1998, has slapped a defamation case of Rs 100 crore against a TV news channel.

According to reports, the actor filed a suit before a division bench of the Bombay High Court in August, 2017 where he has claimed that the sting operation which was conducted by the channel in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case was 'defamatory and malicious'. The actor wants the channel to refrain from releasing the sting operation, which he claims will destroy his public image.

In the sting operation, the channel quoted the "witnesses saying that they saw Khan shoot the endangered chinkaras in Jodhpur. However, later the "witnesses turned hostile and claimed the video was doctored".

On August 24, the last hearing was held where the channel claimed that they have already erased the tape and the script of the sting operation, including other material. In a hearing that took place earlier this month, both the parties submitted affidavits and informed the court that they were working out a settlement. On November 18, Justice SJ Kathawalla, who is presiding over the matter, will hear the case.

In a big relief for Salman Khan, the actor was acquitted on July, 2016 by the Rajasthan High Court in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.
Mumbai: Svelte and sensuous Priyanka Chopra is always a delight to watch. Be it red carpet appearances or stills from her shooting locations, PeeCee looks nothing less than a diva round the clock. So, when we got hold of this picture of the former Miss World from the sets of Quantico, we couldnt help admiring her curves.

Priyanka, who recently featured in the Forbes list of highest paid television actors 2016, is currently shooting for her ABC networks show Quantico. After the success of its first season, Chopra has become a household name in America. Just recently, Priyanka appeared in shows like Good Morning America and LIVE with Kelly as celebrity guest.

Priyanka is set for her big Hollywood debut opposite Dwayne Johnson in Baywatch.

Watch a video clip of Priyanka from Quantico here:
The actress was last seen opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Rohit Shetty's 'Dilwale'.

Mumbai: At a time when Bollywood celebrities haven't been holding their opinions back, the unabashedly outspoken Kajol has come out and subtly made her own stand amply clear.

The actress echoed husband Ajay Devgn's thoughts on the on-going ban on Pakistani actors in India. He had asserted that he wouldn't work with a Pakistani actor, under existing conditions.

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 had said in an interview.

Kajol took to twitter to commend her husband on his ' non-political and absolutely correct' stand on the furiously burning issue.

Ajay himself had been slightly taken aback when his words were being misconstrued across social media platform, ultimately urging everyone to watch the interview and not succumb to preconceived notions.

Ajay' who's gearing up for the release of his self-starring second directorial, 'Shivaay,' has been busy with the film's post-production and extensive promotional events.

More power to the 'in-sync' couple of B-town!
Mumbai: Almost every Bollywood star has a dance move, pose or a dialogue that is known as his/her signature style. Salman Khans shirtless pose, towel dance and posing with his glasses tucked behind his shirt (in 'Dabangg') are just one of those signature statements that the actor made on silver screen, but seems like very soon, the actor is going to add a new one in the list!

Salman, who is currently busy shooting for his upcoming film Tubelight in Manali, recently, shot a new song for the film. We got our hands on the video where we see the actor prepping for the final shot. Dressed in red cut-off sweater over a full-sleeved shirt, the actor is seen practicing some new dance steps, which have the potential of becoming his new signature dance moves. The songs music has a typical soothing pahadi vibe to it. The actor shot for the song in the middle of a jungle with country folk dancers.

In another picture, which was shared by the films director, Kabir Khan himself, we see Salman surrounded by dancing locals.

With all these new stills from the film, we just cant wait for Tubelight to hit the screens.

Here's the video:
When small-budget Telugu film Pelli Choopulu became a stupendous success, it became a talking point in the Bollywood circles with Salman Khan vying for its rights. But now, the superstar has dropped the idea and producer Vashu Bhagnani has brought the rights. Its official; weve just signed the agreement, says Raj Kandukuri, the Telugu films producer. Vashu wants to remake the film in Hindi with his son Jackky Bhagnani. Earlier, Raj had met Khans team and the deal was almost done. Salman Khan wanted Tharun Basckar, who directed the Telugu version, to direct the Hindi film too but since Tharun didnt show any interest, Salman dropped the idea, says Raj.

Vashu has requested the Telugu makers to help them whenever they need and theyve agreed. Though he didnt want to divulge the details of the money, sources say that they brought the rights for `51 lakhs, which is a good amount for a small Telugu film. Also, recently, the Tamil remake rights were brought by Gautham Vasudev.
Mumbai: Robert De niro, who's been a staunch critic of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the US, has lashed out once again at the billionaire.

"I mean he's so blatantly stupid... He's a punk, a dog..., he's a pig, he's a con, a moth who doesn't know what he's talking about," De Niro blasts out.

The 'Godfather' actor, visibly furious at the very existence of Trump in the race for presidency, was in no mood to stop, as he further elaborated, "Colin Powell [former secretary of state] said it best: he's a national disaster. Hes an embarrassment to this country. It makes me so angry this country has gotten to this point that this fool, this bozo, has wound up where he has."

In the video, recorded in a campaign intended at urging people to initiate and get out to vote, Robert then goes all out with his criticism, saying, He talks how he'd like to punch people in the face?... Well, I'd like to punch him in the face.

This is somebody that we want for president? I dont think so. What I care about is the direction of this country and what Im very, very worried about is that it might go in the wrong direction with someone like Donald Trump. If you care about your future, vote for it, the immensely revered actor concluded.

Watch the video here:
Rating:

Mumbai: 'Remo', a supposed rom-com piece of cinema, turns out to be a marketing effort that targets young males with very stereotypical behaviors that are generally found in other films. The sort of young desperado who comes across a woman and decides that she is his fit and henceforth determines to pursue her wherever she goes. And, this despite the woman not reciprocating the said approaches. Theres another word reserved for such conduct: stalking, or perhaps, harassment. This in short is a Bakkiyaraj Kannans 'Remo' feel like: a complete mismatch of tongue-in-cheek and subject matter.

Starring Sivakarthikeyan, 'Remo' features SK (Siva) - an high school dropout who pursues a career in acting. A bit lost and directionless in his life, SK comes across Kavya (Keerthy Suresh) and is smitten by her. She knows nothing about him and he continues to follow her without much of an introduction to boot. With a side-gig of becoming a nurse, SK thus turns into Remo and attempts to ground himself by giving his machismo ego a big hit. Still a number of roadblocks exist before even a first date is scored, and this pathway is filled with witticisms that barely hit the mark.

The fault cant all be blamed on Sivakarthikeyan though. With his striking screen presence, he has given his best performance to a script, which lacks conviction and logic. Its as though the boy who had grown up being a loser and forever alone had to loose his dignity and act like a predator in his adult life. Kudos to the make-up artists (Weta) for Sivakarthikeyans flawless female look! Saranya Ponvannan plays SKs mom and although she could play these kinds of roles without any preparation, the script once again makes her look sympathetic to a tactless cause. Like when her son burns an effigy of a nurse cause the alternate identify had failed him. So all that dignity of being a nurse was just a pretense.

Clearly, a lot of thought has gone into the film. Just look at the star-studded technical crew: PC Sreeram handling the cameras, Resul Pookutty in charge of the sounds and Anirudh churning out the catchy tunes. Keethy Suresh as the woman of the hour has been given a meaty role and with her cute looks and expressions, she delivers. KS Ravikumar appears himself in a cameo. Comedy by Satish and Yogi Babu work most part of it. Strictly for Sivakarthikeyans fans!
A woman is planning to drag her gynaecologist to court after finding out that she had left a two-inch-long metal object inside her body after a routine procedure. What is even more frightening is that the tool remained in the patients body for 11 weeks before it was finally removed.

Three months ago, Michelle Doig-Collins underwent a routine uterus exam at the hands of Dr Ann Raffo, her ob-gyn at Orange Coast Women's Medical Group in Laguna Hills, California. However, she started suffering severe cramps and nausea upon returning home. Although she went back to the clinic thrice, she was repeatedly told that she only had a minor infection and was sent back with a prescription for antibiotics, reports KTLA.

Eleven weeks later when she was in the bathroom, she felt a metal probe while using the toilet paper. Her husband immediately took her to ER where an X-ray report showed that she had a two-inch-long metal stick near the tip of her uterine cannula. It was part of the long metal contraption gynecologists use to examine a woman's uterus. The couple is now aiming to drag Dr Raffo and her employer to court for damages.
Many LGBTQ folks experience great challenges while trying to gain acceptance not only from others in society but even from their own family. So, when 32-year-old transgender artist Kama La Mackerel received a sari that her mother had earlier owned, it meant the world to her.

Mackerel uploaded a picture of herself at her best friends wedding in her mothers sari and wrote about her experience in a Facebook post. The half-East African, half-South Asian writer expressed her gratitude towards her mother for wholeheartedly accepting her gender identity and described the garment as a metaphor for her journey of self-discovery through the years.

Heres the complete text of her post.
Many customers expressed their anger at the costumes via comments on the website. (Credit: Screengrab)

Amazon, the popular online retailer, has angered customers after putting up racist and Islamophobic costumes for sale this Halloween. The Caucasian models shown wearing the costumes were even covered with dark face paint.

While male customers had the option of buying an Arab tunic and headdress with a Palestinian scarf, the ladies could try out the sexy Saudi burka Islamic costume with a face veil. Many customers expressed their anger via comments on the website. One user gave a one-star rating and wrote: 'You're all disgusting racists. My culture is not your costume.' Another left the message: 'A person's culture is NOT a fancy dress costume.'

Amazon UK has removed the sexy burka costume and issued a statement that said the product is no longer available, according to the Daily Mail.
More than two decades ago, Amarbir Singh came to Hyderabad after finishing his studies. The city gave him career, shelter and an aim in life. I have a deep connection with Hyderabad. While I was researching on the city, I stumbled upon an interesting fact. The State of Hyderabad under the Nizams was the only princely state in India which had the right to print paper money, apart from its right to mint coins in gold, silver and copper. Not only Hyderabad had its own currency, it also had its own central bank (Hyderabad State Bank), airlines, railways, postal system, radio service, etc. It was one of the most modern states at that time and the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan Asaf Jah VII, was considered as the richest man on earth, he shares.

The present Telangana, districts of Marathwada in Maharashtra and North Eastern Karnataka were part of one state, Amarbir says, adding further, Apart from the history which binds the erstwhile Hyderabad State together is another fact: The Bollywood film distribution area is still called as the Nizam circuit.

Amarbir Singh now hopes that Hyderabad is world-renowned for its culture, history, peace, civil society, cleanliness, corruption-free governance, pollution-free infrastructure, modernisation, education and traffic sense.
A few years ago, Bharulata Kamble was recovering from an accident that had nearly killed her. A truck had smashed into her car and she was dragged half-a-kilometre further, before the driver, who was on his phone, realised there was a vehicle with a woman stuck underneath his lorry. Kamble was pregnant at that time, and her second child was born premature. The incident had left a deep emotional scar. I came to suffer from severe post traumatic stress. My back and neck had received serious injuries. I thought I was the one at fault and then a deep fear of travelling in cars started to set it. I couldn't sit inside one, says Kamble.

For four years, she spent most of her time inside her home in London. I couldnt get out. People around me recommended therapy and I had no choice but to take up their advice. Early this month, Kamble became the world record holder for the longest solo drive of the Arctic Circle  2,792 km covered in four days. It's one of the loneliest road trips on the planet and a flat can leave you stranded in temperatures so low, it can freeze the fuel in the tank. Her journey started from the UK and, after driving through France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, arrived at the outer edge of the Circle after 8,492 km, at a town called Rovaneimi.

Its certainly lonely. It will be hundreds of kilometres before you pass another motorist, or even a human being. It's cold, windy, slippery and while I was driving, I had the Barents sea on the right and huge mountains on the left. I fought to keep control  it was either valley or water," says Kamble. The drive was her attempt at her life back in order. "The therapist asked me one question: what were my dreams before the accident. Ever since I bought my car (a BMW X3), I had been thinking of a long drive. The accident had left me stuck inside my house but slowly I started to make progress. My husband and I would drive one way up a street and the next day, it would be a longer distance. Later, when I was ready I told him about this record I had in mind and he agreed. There were people who didn't want me to go but my husband was absolutely certain that I do this. He gave me some money, decided to handle the house while I'm away and continues to do so... as I finish my journey across 32 countries.

Which brings us to the second part of Kamble's journey. She is due to arrive in India towards the end of November and for her chat with DC, she had stopped for a break in Poland. So its Russia, Belarus, Kyrgystan... etc. I will drive through the Silk Route and enter India. Over the course of my trip I have received so many messages from so many around the world. When I reached the Arctic Circle monument, in Nordkapp (which is the end of Europe), I was told it was a no-car zone. I was desperate to get a photograph of my car there and I showed the authorities all the letters and endorsements I had received and they finally allowed me to go pose for the picture  with my car. I sang the Indian national anthem, I played the British national anthem from a tape and I spent a while at the site remembering how I had gotten there. "The accident still causes me pain. If have to change a tyre, I have to first pop a painkiller and wait for 15 minutes before I can start. My legs hurt and I have trouble standing long hours. But it has been worth it. I got back what I had before the accident  I became me again.
Bhopal: A woman in a Madhya Pradesh village alleged that the police forced her and her family members to drink each others urine to extract confession from them of their involvement in a murder of her daughter-in-law.

The 40-year-old woman, resident of Singarchauri village in Sehore district, narrated in an affidavit the alleged inhuman torture she and her family members, who included her husband, son and four other minor children, were allegedly subjected to at the Ashta police station, where they were reportedly detained for 15 days for interrogation in connection with missing of her daughter-in-law.

The woman lodged a complaint with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state director general of police (DGP) R.K.Shukla, state human rights commission, state women commission, local DIG and superintendent of police, demanding action against the cops allegedly involved in their custodial torture.

I lodged the complaint on September 28, the woman, who also alleged intimidation by the local police not to pursue the matter, said while requesting concealment of her identity to protect her familys reputation in her society. Incidentally, her daughter-in-law was traced in Bhopal on September 27 by her parents. According to the affidavit, the womans son married to a girl of Pattan village in the district three years ago. Her daughter-in-law disappeared from her house a year ago.

We have begun a probe. The woman had earlier lodged similar complaints, but her claims were found to be untrue, local sub-divisional officer of police G.P. Agrawal said.

The family lodged a missing complaint at the Siddiganj police station in the district. However, her daughter-in-laws brother filed a habeas corpus in the MP high court, which directed the police to search for the missing woman. She and her family members were later allegedly detained by the Ashta police for interrogation.
Thiruvananthapuram: A case has been registered against a school in Kochi for allegedly teaching students objectionable content and exhorting them to lay down their lives for Islam, with police suspecting that the curriculum has been drafted with persons close to controversial preacher Zakir Naik.

The Peace International School at Thammanam in Ernakulam is run by a trust headed by some "influential local businessmen".

Police have registered a case under Sect 153A and 34 IPC against the school principal, administrator and three trustees, police sources said.

The case was registered on the basis of a report filed by the Ernakulam District Education Officer, stating that "what was being taught was not secular".

"The case was registered for teaching students objectionable content in the syllabus... what was not secular. Islamic curriculum was being followed and students were being exhorted to lay down their lives for Islam", the sources said.

The school has classes from the LKG to eighth standard. "We suspect that this school's curriculum has been drafted with persons close to controversial preacher Zakir Naik, of Mumbai based Islamic International School," the sources said.

Naik, an Islamic televangelist, was in the eye of a storm recently for allegedly preaching radical views.

Abdul Rashid, one among the 21 persons from Kerala who had gone missing and is suspected to have joined ISIS, had worked as Public Relations Officer at the school there. His wife Mariam, had worked as a teacher in the school. Recently, six persons were arrested in Kerala for suspected links with the ISIS.
Panaji: Banking on a few leads, Goa Police has sent teams to neighbouring states to nab the absconding accused in the murder case of high-profile perfume specialist Monica Ghurde.

"We will be able to crack this case soon. We are working on different theories. Yesterday, we have sent teams to different locations including neighbouring states," Deputy Inspector General of Police Vimal Gupta said.

The 39-year-old photographer-turned perfumer was found dead in her rented flat in posh Sangolda village on October 6.

Police suspect that she was raped and murdered somewhere between October 5 afternoon and night, as she had not been in touch with anyone since that time.

The cops are ruling out robbery as nothing was missing from the flat raising suspicions that the killer might have been known to Monica.

Gupta said the woman originally hailed from Nagpur and was married to a photographer Bharat Ramamrutam from Tamil Nadu and was residing at Porvorim near here before she separated from her husband and shifted to Sangolda this year.

"Police investigations have revealed that she had shifted to Sangolda in July this year and was staying alone," the DIG said.

He said the police are waiting the postmortem report, which would reveal the exact cause of death.

Gupta said the murder came to light when the maid who came around 9 AM on October 6 found that the door was locked.

When Monica did not open it despite repeated knocks she raised an alarm.

"The maid later informed Monica's brother (Anand, based in Mumbai) who in turn called her husband (Bharat) and then her neighbour, an American woman who had spare keys following which the door was opened and the body was found," he said.

A case has been registered under section 302 (murder) of the IPC.

The perfumer, who was a regular on Goa's social circuit is said to have met Ramamrutham in Mumbai while she was a photographer. She had done her photography course from Mumbai's JJ Institute of Applied Arts.

Subsequently, she moved to Chennai in 2009 to pursue her interest in perfumes, and later shifted to Goa in 2011. Monika had set up her perfume-making company Mo Lab, and was also researching perfumery.

She collaborated with eminent designers such as Jean Francois Lesage, Christian Louboutin and Anand Kabra.
Panaji: The post-mortem conducted on renowned perfume specialist Monica Ghurde, whose body was found near here two days back, brought to the fore that she was strangulated to death, although it failed to confirm whether she was raped before the murder or not, police said.

The panel of doctors in Goa Medical College and Hospital today conducted the post-mortem on the body of 39-year-old Ghurde, who was found dead at her home in Sangolda village on October 6.

"The post-mortem report has confirmed that she died due to smothering," Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahesh Gaonkar said.

He said the post-mortem report, however, is not clear on the suspicion of rape, which would be known only after the serological examination.

"The viscera has also been preserved and would be sent for forensic examination ... The post-mortem does not confirm or rule out rape. It is completely silent on that awaiting detailed forensic examination," Gaonkar said.

Ghurde, who was living alone in a rented three bedroom flat at Sangolda village near Calangute beach, was found dead on October 6, although police investigations have revealed that she might have been killed on October 5.

Earlier in the day, police said that they have sent teams to the neighbouring states to nab the accused.

"We will be able to crack this case soon. We are working on different theories. Yesterday, we had sent teams to different locations including neighbouring states," Deputy Inspector General of Police Vimal Gupta said.

Gupta said the woman originally hailed from Nagpur and was married to a photographer Bharat Ramamrutham from Tamil Nadu and was residing at Porvorim near here before she got separated from her husband and shifted to Sangolda this year.

"Police investigations have revealed that she had shifted to Sangolda in July this year and was staying alone," the DIG said.
New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the Centre of starting a process to declare "null and void" all Delhi government's decisions taken in the last one-and-a-half-year through the Lt Governor, claiming the move will only lead to "chaos".

Referring to the August 4 High Court order that stamped the primacy of Lt Governor, the Delhi Chief Minister said the HC order cannot have retrospective effect, it can only have prospective effect instead.

His accusation came days after Lt Governor Najeeb Jung quashed the AAP government's notification on increasing circle rates of agricultural land and dissolved the Delhi Waqf Board besides scrapping the appointment of DERC chairman.

"LG has scrapped the appointment of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman saying his prior approval was not sought. Will all the DERC's decisions taken in the last one-and-a-half-year be declared null and void.

"He also quashed the government's decision to increase circle rates for agricultural land. Citing that LG's prior nod was not taken, whether those farmers who sold their land would have to return money to purchaser now?" he asked.

Kejriwal said whether 8,000 new classrooms which were built by his government would be demolished as no prior approval was taken.

"Process is going on to declare null and void all our decisions taken in the last one-and-a-half year which is a very unfortunate.

"I request the Centre not to make governace in Delhi a laughing stock as it is very serious business and it will only lead to chaos."

Asserting that after the HC order, the AAP government was sending all files to Lt Governor for his prior approval he said, we would request Jung to give his ex-post facto approval on those files which were not sent for his prior approval.

Similarly, the LG has stopped salaries of government's lawyers as his prior approval was not sought.

"In the past, ex-post facto approval of LG has been given to the government's various decisions. How could we turn the clock back? The High Court order cannot have retrospective effect, instead it can only have prospective effect," the Delhi CM said while addressing a press conference at his official residence.

On the issue of transfer and posting of bureaucrats, he said that Delhi government should have a say in transfer and posting of officers working with it.

Speaking on dissolution of Delhi Waqf Board by Jung, Kejriwal said the body appointed by the government has been dissolved as its chairman Amantullah Khan was allegedly exposing scam in the Board.
New Delhi: Donald Trump sympathises with India in its recent escalation of tensions with Pakistan and supports skilled immigration, an adviser said on Friday, portraying the US 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.

Half of the gate receipts would go to victims of terrorism, in particular Hindu refugees from Kashmir and Bangladesh.
The hand grenade recovered from the terrorists who attempted to infiltrate the LoC (Photo: Twitter)

Srinagar: The Army on Saturday said that the weapons and other war-like stores found on four militants who were killed while sneaking into Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir after breaching the Line of Control (LoC) earlier this week confirm the neighbouring countrys complicity in abetting and equipping terrorism.

Pakistan Ordinance Factory (POF) markings on the hand-grenades and the UBGL grenades recovered from these terrorists bear testimony to Islamabads involvement in abetting and equipping terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and beyond, said defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia here.

The Army formally released photographs showing the recoveries from the four militants gunned down in Kupwaras Nowgam sector on October 6 bearing Pakistan made markings.

The hand-grenades recovered are ARGES 84 which are manufactured by POF. Pakistan origin markings are also seen on the medicines and eatable items recovered, the spokesman said.

He added that a large number of highly inflammable material including six each plastic explosive slabs, bottles of petroleum jelly, those of inflammable liquid and lighters were also recovered.

Similar inflammable material was recovered following the encounter that took place in Poonch on September 11 and the terror attack at the Army headquarters in Uri on September 18.

The spokesman added, This shows the sinister design of Pakistan to aid terrorists in causing maximum destruction.

He said that also found on the four militants killed in Nowgam sector are 4 AK 47 rifles with sixteen magazines and 349 rounds of ammunition, one each radio set, Global Positioning System (GPS), binocular, Samsung mobile phone and First Aid kit and four each rain ponchos and haversack besides clothing and eatables.
New Delhi: India on Friday said the issue of China blocking its bid at the United Nations to ban terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammeds chief Masood Azhar will not be taken up at the Brics Summit in Goa on October 16 since it is not on the agenda.

It is a bilateral issue with China. India does not want to bring such issues to the multilateral fora, MEA officials said, adding that terrorism, though, will be forcefully taken up as one of the major points of discussion during the Summit.

Secretary (economic relations) in the ministry of external affairs Amar Sinha lashed out at Pakistan without naming it, saying, Isolation is a mentality. If a country decides to shut both its borders (with India and Afghanistan), that country is the most isolated.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is strongly expected to take up the issue of terrorism in Indias neighbourhood at the Brics Summit, which is expected to be attended by China President Xi Jinping. Economic issues, too, will be discussed.

India will strongly push for joint efforts to tackle terrorism, including action against countries providing safe havens and arms to terrorists.

Briefing reporters, Mr 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. Terrorism 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, he added.

He was also quoted by news agencies as saying that there would be very strong paragraphs (in the Brics outcome document) on terrorism... At NSA-level meet, too, we have shifted the goalpost by talking about the sources of finance and where they (terrorists) get arms and ammunition. These will be reflected in the Brics discussions.
Hyderabad: A Class XIII student, Aradhana, 13, died after fasting for 68 days, on Monday. She was fasting as part of Chaturmas, considered holy by Jains.

The girls grandfather, Manekchand Samdariya, said, Aradhana ended her 68-day fast on October 2. The next day, she was given liquid food. But her health showed signs of deteriorating. She was kept on intravenous glucose at home. On October 3 midnight she started sweating and we rushed her to a hospital where doctors tried to resuscitate her but to no avail.

She was declared brought dead. The family had conducted a function after Aradhanas fast ended. An advertisement was given in a vernacular daily hailing Aradhana, a student of St Francis, as a Bal Tapasvi.

It also mentioned the names of businessmen and religious leaders from the community. Excise minister Padma Rao attended the function as chief guest.

Cops to probe fast was forced

Aradhanas grandfather Manekchand Samdariya said, This was not the first time Aradhana fasted. Last year, she fasted for 34 days and before that for eight days. After 34 days she assured us that she can go ahead.

The Balala Hakkula Sangham has written to the Hyderabad police commissioner that Aradhana was forced to fast by her family and Jain elders. The NGO has also alleged that the jewellery business of Aradhanas father Lakshmichand Samd-ariya was not doing well because of which, after suggestion by a Jain guru, he forced his daughter to fast to bring luck. Anuradha Rao of the NGO said, It is the duty of society to condemn such practises.

However, Aradhana's grandfather denied the allegations. Aradhana showed an interest in becoming a nun. She was interested to fast for 68 days because there are 68 letters in the Navkar Maha-mantra. We did not force her to fast, he said. Aradhanas BP and glucose levels were not monitored during her fast. She was consuming only water.

Prasan Bhandari, former president of Shri Jain Seva Sangh, said, Children of Arad-hanas age do fast but for not more than eight days. Shri Rajasthan Jain Swetambar Murti-pujak Sangh trustee Prakash Luniya said, Fasting is sacred to us Jains, but no one is forced. She wanted to fast and was not stopped.

Market police station inspector M. Mattaiah said they are looking into the facts to check if the girl was forced into fasting. If that turns out to be true, then a police case will be registered.
Hyderabad: The police nabbed a four-member gang which extorted money from businessmen, posing as Maoists and using the name of slain gangster Nayeem. Police seized cash, vehicle and a toy pistol from the gang.

The arrested are Bolla Narsimhulu, A. Krishna and P. Surender of Nalgonda and R. Sriramulu of Medak. Another gang member Sammaiah is absconding.

Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagawat said that Narsimhulu was the gangs kingpin. Years ago he came to Hyderabad and started working as a construction labourer. Later, he started real estate deals and came into contact with former Maoist Sammaiah. They hatched a plan to extort money using the name of Nayeem.

They threatened one R. Balamahesh, a resident of Dammaiguda, and collected Rs 1 lakh from him. They also forcibly registered his plot of 60 yards in Sammaiah's name. Later, with the help of Sriramulu and Krishna, the duo extorted money from eight other businessmen, he said.

The gang used to threaten people to pay Rs 50 lakh. If they refused they would say that the lives of their children or family members are at risk. After that the gang goes to the victims business site and threatens with a toy pistol.

In December 2015, the gang extorted Rs 75,000 from one Peddi Srinivasulu of Medak. They also extracted money from one R. Srinivas. They also claimed that they were Nayeems associates and extorted Rs 16.38 lakh from four people. Rachakonda SOT nabbed the four suspects. They were remanded to custody.
Hyderabad: The TS government is all set to increase the income ceiling for the creamy layer of Backward Classes seeking reservation in government jobs from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh per annum.

The government can revise the ceiling once in three years; it was due this year, following the previous revision in 2013. BC unions have a Rs 10-lakh ceiling to bring more BCs under reservations.

In October 2015, the National Commission for Backward Classes had recommended Rs 15 lakh. The creamy layer refers to relatively wealthier members of the BC community who will be excluded from reservations.

The income limit, which was Rs 1 lakh per annum in 1993, was revised to Rs 2.5 lakh in 2004, Rs 4.5 lakh in 2008 and Rs 6 lakh in 2013.

The proposal to increase the income limit has been sent to the government and it is under active consideration. A decision is expected soon, said an official of the BC Welfare department.

BC unions said that due to the creamy layer set at Rs 6 lakh, several BC students were losing reservation benefits and could not avail of the 25 per cent quota prescribed for BCs. Vacant posts were being diverted to general category, they said.

BC leader R. Krishnaiah, said, Implementing the creamy layer only for BCs is wrong, when there is no creamy layer for other reserved categories. Everyone should realise that reservations are not meant to bridge the gap between rich and poor. Reservations are meant for providing social justice to deprived sections.

Mr Krishnaiah said that nearly 70 years after Independence, BCs comprised less than 15 per cent of government employees. In higher level posts, it is less than 5 per cent.

Due to the creamy layer, BC students could not utilise the quota and the vacant posts are being diverted to the general category, he said.

The BC leader said even at the national level, though 27 per cent reservations were provided for OBCs, only 15 per cent of OBCs were getting jobs due to the creamy layer.
Hyderabad: A 13-year-old girl from Hyderabad died last week after 68 days fasting during the Jain holy period called Chaumasa.

According to a NDTV report, the girl, Aradhana, was admitted to a hospital just two days after she finished her 68 days fast, where she died of cardiac arrest.

About 600 people attended her funeral and hailed her as a 'bal tapasvi'.

It has been a practice for people to undertake severe penance when they give up even food and water. They are glorified, lauded and honoured at community meetings by the religious elders. They are also showered with gifts. But in this case it was a minor and that is my objection. This is suicide if not murder, a member of the community, Lata Jain, was quoted as saying.

The class 8 student was allowed to give up school so she could fast. People known to the family said that the girl had earlier undertaken a fast of 41 days and survived.

According to B Sumathi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North Zone), a case would be filed after a preliminary inquiry into the incident. As of now, we have made an entry in the general dairy, she said.

A local NGO Balala Hakkula Sangham (Child Rights Association) had yesterday wrote a letter to Hyderabad Police Commissioner seeking an inquiry into the girl's death earlier this week.

The NGO had alleged that the minor's family members and other community elders made her undertake a fast for over 60 days as part of a ritual.

"The girl was studying 8th class in St Francis School. She was on fast for 68 days. It was over on October 1. She was on a liquid diet for the first two days (after the fast).

"On the third night, her blood pressure dipped and she was taken to a private hospital here where she was declared dead. We are talking to the parents and other relatives of the girl. As of now we made a GD entry. An inquiry is going on. Once something is made out of the inquiry, then we will take action legally," Sumathi said.

Although the date of the girl's demise is still unclear, Association President Anuradha Rao, in the letter, claimed that the minor, residing in Pot Bazar of Secunderabad, died on October 3.

Aradhana's grandfather, Manekchand Samdhariya, said, We did not hide anything. Everyone knew Aradhana was fasting. They came and took selfies with her.
Chennai: A class IV student of a private school in Ashok Nagar slipped to her death from the terrace of the five-storey building of the school in West Mambalam on Friday afternoon. The injured was admitted to a multi-specialty hospital in Vadapalani, but succumbed to injuries.

She has been identified as Logamithra, (9), daughter of Elangovan and Silambarasi and a student of SRM Nightingale Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

The child had excused herself from the class to use the restroom at around 2.30 pm. She went upstairs to use the restroom and had seen the door to the terrace open. A curious Logamithra ventured into the terrace. Drawn by the branches of the trees close to the terrace, she had attempted to grab them. In the process, she had scaled over the parapet wall, and tripped.

Despite the branches breaking her fall and slowing it, the child landed on the floor head first and suffered grievous injuries. The security guards were the first to notice the fallen child and alerted the school authorities. She was rushed to the private hospital, which is also administered by the SRM group, where she succumbed to her injuries at around 8.30 pm, said a senior police official privy to the investigation.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the school would seldom leave the terrace doors open and they were left open today since there was some maintenance work underway.

At the time of the incident, the workers hired for the maintenance work had gone out for lunch. The school was closed ahead of its schedule and the parents who had come to collect their children blamed the school for the lapse, which they said was the sole reason for the incident. Cops, however, maintained that the child had committed suicide while a section of the parents allege foul play.
Accra/New Delhi: Ghana has decided to "relocate" Mahatma Gandhis statue installed at a university in Accra to a "safer place" after a group of lecturers and students launched a petition alleging he was "racist".

"Decision has been taken by the Ghanian Foreign Ministry that instead of locating it (statue) in the university, where youth is obviously more excitable...move it to a more safer place," Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said in New Delhi.

"(Ghanas) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has been following with deep concern the acrimony generated by the recent campaign by a group of lecturers and students of the University of Ghana" for the removal of Gandhis statue on grounds of his alleged past racist comments, a Ghanian Foreign Ministry statement said on Wednesday.

The Gandhi statue at the university was unveiled by President Pranab Mukherjee during his state visit to Ghana in June this year.

"It is worthy to note that the statue of Mahatma Gandhi was erected on the University of Ghana campus with the consent of the University authorities. The University was not compelled by government to accept the statue," the statement said.

The Ghanian statement said in a global interconnected world where conversations that take place on social media are shared in real time, there is the potential to create disaffection not only at the level of government relations, but also between people not only in Ghana but all over the world.

"The government would, therefore want to relocate the statue from the University of Ghana to ensure its safety and to avoid the controversy on the Legon Campus being a distraction of our strong ties of friendship that has existed over the years," it said.
New Delhi: Former chief election commissioner of India Shahabuddin Yaqub Quraishi and Nepals current election commissioner Ila Sharma may marry soon, reports said.

According to a report in The Telegraph, 69-year-old Quraishi and 49-year-old Sharma came close after they met at a conference in Mexico in September 2015. Though the two have not spoken about their marriage plans, Quraishi has said that the two have a personal bond between them.

Their plans to marry were deferred twice earlier because of slight resistance from their families, the newspaper quoted sources as saying.

Quraishi is a 1971-batch IAS officer and St. Stephen's alumnus. He is divorced from Humra Quraishi, a journalist and columnist.

Sharma, a former journalist, graduated with a law degree from Gorakhpur University in Uttar Pradesh and also holds a bachelor's degree in Sanskrit and Nepali literature from the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi.

She was married to police inspector Nawaraj Poudel, who was killed by Maoists in Nepal about 15 years ago. She has two daughters.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi who had flown into the city on Friday to visit ailing Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, waves from his car as he leaves Apollo Hospital. (Photo: E.K. Sanjay)

Chennai: On a day of fast paced political developments, Rahul Gandhi made an unexpected air dash to the city to visit the Chief Minister admitted in hospital and Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao held parleys with senior ministers O Pannerselvam and Edappadi K Palanisamy, besides the Chief Secretary, on the states strategy when the high-level technical team visits the Cauvery Delta.

There was high excitement, especially among the media, when Chief Secretary P.Rama Mohana Rao met the Governor again in the evening, this time accompanying the two ministers. A late evening official statement from the Raj Bhavan said the meeting focused more on Cauvery, though the Governor enquired from the CS and the Ministers about the Chief Ministers health and administrative affairs.

The high-level technical committee headed by Central Water Commission Chairman G.S. Jha is expected to visit the Cauvery Delta on Monday and Tuesday to assess the situation. The Raj Bhavan release said the CS and Ministers met Mr Rao on his request.

Governor enquired about the arrangements made for the visit and information to be presented to the Committee to protect the welfare of farmers of Tamil Nadu. The Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports (Mr Palanisamy) explained in detail about the arrangements and related matters, the press release said.

The Governor enquired from the ministers about the health condition of the Chief Minister and about general administration affairs of the Government. The Chief Secretary to Government briefed Honble Governor about the administrative affairs that are being carried out on a day-to-day basis and also other general matters, the Raj Bhawan release said. The day began with Mr Gandhi visiting the Apollo Hospitals and getting a brief from doctors treating Ms Jayalalithaa on her health status.
Patiala: 23 years after policemen in Amritsar tattooed the words 'jeb katri' (pickpocket) on the foreheads of four women, a special CBI court here has sentenced three cops in the case which had sparked widespread condemnation.

Special CBI judge Baljinder Singh on Friday awarded three years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) to the then superintendent of police Sukhdev Singh Chinna and sub-inspector Narinder Singh Malli, who was then SHO of Rambagh police station. He also awarded one year Rigourous Improsonment to ASI Kanwaljit Singh.

Punjab Police had drawn widespread criticism for the infamous incident dating back to December 1993, when cops in Amritsar tattooed the words 'jeb katri' on the foreheads of four habitual offender women who were accused of stealing a purse.

The case came to the fore when during the hearing of the pickpocketing case, police produced the four in the court with their foreheads covered with a 'dupatta'. One of the women showed to the court the tattoo on her forehead and the story hit the headlines.

The National Human Rights Commission had also taken a serious view of the incident.

The victims filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1994, praying for directions to the respondents, the government of Punjab, Amritsar superintendent of police, and others, for arranging 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 in the case, but also sent a letter to the Punjab chief secretary, seeking a report on the matter.

NHRC had also submitted an affidavit in the court, demanding a CBI probe.

After hearing the counsel of the NHRC and petitioners, the high court handed over the probe to the CBI, and also directed Punjab government to arrange for plastic surgery for the victims and pay compensation of Rs 50,000 to each of them, as recommended by the rights body.

CBI filed a 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.

As per the petition, the victims alleged that they had gone to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar on December 8, 1993. After paying obeisance when they reached the bus stand, ASI Kanwaljit Singh stopped them and kept them in custody from December 8 to 15.

Later, the ASI on the directions of the SP and SHO, got the word pickpocket tattooed on their foreheads.

Police had alleged that it was the women's neighbours who had done the deed "to make people aware about their misdeeds".
Pictures of the Charminar  Charminar as seen from Macca Masjid: Courtesy Dr Muhammad Safiullah

The historic Hyderabad city, built by Muhammad Quli Qutb, fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, turns 425 on Sunday. The picturesque city, a successor to overcrowded Golconda fort, grew in the last four centuries from a city of minarets, pearls, diamonds, lakes, architectural beauty, art and culture into a vibrant metropolis and international I-T hub.

It hasnt lost its cosmopolitan Ganga Jamuna tehzeeb, the taste of the famed biryani, spicy slang or tasty Gandipet ka paani (sweet water of Osmansagar), though adaab has paved the way for Hi!.

While the Telangana state government doesnt find it fit to celebrate the occasion for reasons unknown, the Deccan Heritage Trust is organising an exhibition of vintage photographs of Charminar and Mahaboob Ali Pasha, the sixth Nizam, at Urdu Hall in Himayatnagar on Sunday.

Falaknuma Palace, Falaknuma Palace of yore: Courtesy M.A. Faiz Khan

Paigah family scion M.A. Faiz Khan summed up Hyderabad on its 425th birth anniversary: From a very quiet, peaceful city with culture and tradition, Hyderabad has grown into a vibrant metro. In the process it lost a bit of tradition and culture. Heritage has taken a beating. Yet it is the most successful city where people love to live.

Quli Qutb Shah (1580-1612) laid the foundation for Hyderabad with Charminar (1591/1592) followed by the Badshahi Ashoorkhana in 1593-1594 to house the Alam or replicas of the banner carried by Imam Hussain at Karbala and Darulshifa, Asias first Unani and Ayurveda hospital in 1595; all in the walled city of Hyderabad.

There was no looking back. The city grew and grew over the last four centuries especially during the rule of Mir Osman Ali Khan, Nizam VII and thereafter.

Its a great city to live. It has unparalleled culture that bonds people irrespective of caste, creed and colour, says Muhammad Safiullah, honorary managing trustee of the Deccan Heritage Trust.

Hyderabad is situated on a hilly terrain around artificial lakes, including the Hussainsagar.

In 1724, Mughal viceroy Asif Jah I declared sovereignty and set up his own Nizam dynasty. Nizams dominion became a princely state during British Raj, and remained so for 150 years, with the city serving as its capital. Relics of Qutb Shahi and Nizam rule are visible even today.

Hyderabad city was the capital of Hyderabad State. It was the capital of Andhra Pradesh after joining Indian Union in 1948 and is now joint capital for 10 years for Telangana and AP.

City grew in 6 phases

How did Hyderabad and Secunderabad grow into a burgeoning metropolis? Historian D.M. Wagh, writing on Towns and Cities of the Deccan and quoting Shah Manzur Alams Hyderabad and Secunderabad (twin cities) 1965, says the development of Hyderabad-Secunderabad took place in six historical stages.

First, the twin city stage (1591-1687) when the city was planned in a grid pattern and became a commercial metropolis of the Golconda kingdom. Second, the transitional stage (1591-1687) when the seat of authority was shifted to Hyderabad from Aurangabad. The city wall was completed in 1740.

Moazzamjahi Market

Third, early Asaf Jahi phase (1725-1799) when there was great economic stress and strain on Hyderabad as Aurangabad was still the capital and many wealthy land holders migrated. The city began growing in 1763 when the Nizam shifted to the city.

Fourth, the subsidiary alliance with British was made in 1798. British cantonment was formed in the north (Secunderabad). Golconda, the twin city of Hyderabad, was replaced with Secunderabad.

Fifth, the railway stage (1875-1908) which helped cement twin cities further, new industries cropped up and became nuclei of new settlement. Sixth, the modern stage (from 1908), following the catastrophic floods which led to internal reorganisation.

Since then, a new city has come up in the form of Cyberabad which is located cheek by jowl with Hyderabad.

In a lifespan of 357 years from 1591 to 1948, Hyderabad has undergone extensive metamorphosis owing to changing historical, political, economic forces. Its population varied from 150,000 (a rough estimate by the British Resident) in 1839 to 860,000 in 1951.

Since 1901, the population of the city increased more through influx of immigrants than by any other cause  200,000 immigrants during 1901 to 1931 and from 64,000 in 1941 to 200,000 in 1951.
The state claims it has the right to know what citizens are going to see in the play. (Representational image)

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is adamant on pre-censoring all plays, scripts and drama before they are staged.

The state claims it has the right to know what citizens are going to see in the play. This stand of the government came to the fore during a hearing of actor Amol Palekars petition for squashing sections related to pre-censorship of plays and dramas. The HC has given the state two weeks to clear its stand and also asked Mr Palekar to file a rejoinder on the governments reply if he desires.

The actor-cum filmmaker has challenged pre-censorship of theatre performances, by the Maharashtra State Performance Scrutiny Board under various provisions of the Bombay Police Act, 1951.

Mr Palekar argues that this restricts freedom of speech and expression. The division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice M.S. Sonak was hearing a writ petition filed by Mr Palekar.

Earlier, the state told court that said amendment was carried out in the Bombay Police Act 1951 and condition of pre-censorship of dramas, plays and ghazals in auditoriums and local functions by police was removed from March 2016. However when the matter came up for hearing, Chief General Prosecutor Abhinandan Vagyani said that pre-censorship of police had been stopped but MSPSB will check the scripts of plays and dramas.
Hyderabad: Heritage enthusiasts are in for a treat as they will get to see over 70 pictures of the Charminar, 12 of which have not been put up for public viewing before, on Sunday.

The venue of the display has been shifted from Charminar to Urdu hall in view of Dasara and Muharram festivities.

Dr Mohd Safiullah, managing Trustee of Deccan Heritage Trust, said, The pictures depict the serenity of the area around Charminar. The GHMC can view it and recreate the same around the historic monument. Each picture is special and rare in its own way.

He said visitors could get to see pictures from as far back as 1860 and 1870. While the aerial pictures are from the 1950s, the ones from the near past are from 1990. It can be called a vintage exhibition, Dr Safiullah said.

The trust got a shocker when the Narayanguda police gave permission for the exhibition only for Sunday, against the earlier plan to hold it for three days.

We have received a letter from the police that such events need police protection and on account of Moharrum and Dasara, permission has been granted only for October 9, Dr Safiullah said. The trust has decided to hold another exhibition on October 16 and 17, he said.
Barmer: India never attacks anyone but will retaliate and "not count the bullets" if attacked, home minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said after assessing security on border with Pakistan in the wake of surgical strikes.

Singh, who visited BSF's Munabao Border Outpost, assured the security personnel that the government will do everything to improve the border infrastructure, including completing the floodlighting and a parallel road along the fencing, and their service conditions.

"Our heritage is 'Vasudev Kutumbakam' meaning the whole world is one family. We do not intend to occupy others' land. We never open fire first, but if attacked, in retaliation we never count the bullets after pulling the trigger," he said addressing the BSF personnel on the second day of his Rajasthan visit.

Singh also lauded the BSF personnel who guard the borders effectively despite adverse temperature and difficult desert terrain guard.

He also said that damaged border fence at some places will be urgently repaired and will be inspected periodically.

Floodlighting and a parallel road along the border fencing will also be completed to facilitate effective border patrolling, according to an official release.

Noting that some of the border outposts do not have proper telephone facility, the minister said that mobile connectivity will be improved with the sanction of more mobile towers close to the border and in the meantime more satellite phones will also be provided at the BOPs.

The Home Ministry will also address the shortage of bullet proof jackets and also consider procuring lighter ones.

He also expressed concern over shortage of drinking water facility at some of the outposts and mentioned that a survey would be conducted on the feasibility of providing piped water supply to all the BOPs.

On camp security, Singh said that the BSF proposal for constructing safety walls and ring bunds on the periphery of the Battalion headquarters and border outposts will be examined.

"The issue of camouflage uniform being uncomfortable in the hot temperature flagged by the BSF personnel will also be addressed," the release quoting Singh as saying.

Singh said the Director General, BSF and Secretary (Border Management) accompanying him have taken note of all issues of concern raised by the BSF troopers at the BOPs.

The Minister had visited Murar and adjoining border outposts in Jaisalmer district and interacted with the BSF jawans yesterday.
Chandigarh: BJP MLA from Punjab Navjot Kaur Sidhu on Saturday resigned from the primary membership of the party, days after her husband Navjot Singh Sidhu had also done so.

Her resignation was accepted by Union minister Vijay Sampla, who is also Punjab BJP president.

Kaur's resignation was expected after Sidhu, a former BJP MP, left the saffron party and floated his own "Awaaz-e-Punjab" front.

Earlier in the day, she sent her one-line resignation to the party president at Punjab BJP headquarters here.
Following the surgical strike carried out by our armed forces many elements have come up in the national discourse, and need urgent clarification. First, all political parties have stood by the government in support of this action. Nitish Kumar was among the first to congratulate the Centre and our brave armed forces for the decisive action against terrorism emanating out of Pakistan. Such action was, after the affront of Pathankot and Uri, and the daily cross-border infiltrations, sorely needed and needed to be made public. Second, there is no imperative for the government to release evidence in support of this strike immediately, or at all. In a democracy, governments have to be trusted when they make public statements relating to national security, and our DGMO was authorised to make this statement. If the government feels the need, keeping all factors in mind, including that of national security, to release evidence, it is the prerogative of the government.

Third, while the surgical strike has sent the right message to Pakistan, the action by itself is not enough. The goal of isolating Pakistan on its verifiable nexus with terrorism must be a multi-pronged strategy. A diplomatic offensive needs to be waged with vigour in the important capitals of the world, including Beijing and Washington. Evidence of Pakistan emerging as the epicentre of global terrorism needs to be provided, along with the argument that, while India may be facing the brunt of the terrorist attacks sponsored by Pakistan, terrorism is a global threat, and no country is insulated from its reach and impact. Hence, there is a need for all countries to work to isolate Pakistan on this issue.

In addition, the government must do whatever necessary to ensure that the operational needs of our armed forces in J&K, including in terms of material, equipment, funds and military hardware, is fulfilled. Simultaneously, there is an urgent need to upgrade our intelligence apparatus. We cannot have a situation where fidayeens from across the border literally stroll into high security military bases. In fact, regrettably, at Uri, where terrorists struck, the perimeter of our base at that point was only ringed off by barbed wire. I understand that funds for a concrete wall have been asked for but not been sanctioned for years.

Fourth, the politics unfolding on the surgical strikes must stop. This applies equally to the ruling party as to the Opposition. The strikes were authorised by the government of the day, and represented a national resolve to provide a befitting  and much needed  riposte to Pakistan. This was not an action taken by the BJP. Therefore, the attempt to use this by the BJP for partisan political gain, especially keeping the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections in mind, is reprehensible. Why have posters come up all over Uttar Pradesh depicting Narendra Modi as Ram vanquishing Nawaz Sharif as Ravan? The argument that this was done by some low-level karyakartas is hogwash. The nation will have enough opportunity to see how the BJP seeks to capitalise on this event in the days leading up to the Uttar Pradesh elections, and this will be done with the approval of the highest echelons of the BJP-RSS combine.

Again, why is our respected Raksha Mantri Parrikar Saheb going from one felicitation ceremony to the other, claiming that our Army was impotent until the BJP government came to power in 2014? The BJP must understand that it cannot have it both ways. On the one hand, it deflects any queries regarding the surgical strike by saying that it is an act of national betrayal to question the achievement of the Army. On the other, it sets aside the Army and seeks to appropriate the credit itself. Fifth, however proud we are of the valour and sacrifice of our armed forces, we must resist the temptation to put them above all democratic interrogation. In a democracy, all institutions are subject to review and assessment. If a former Raksha Mantri says that similar strikes, albeit on a smaller scale, took place in the past, why is the BJP privileging the statement of a retired DGMO over that of a former defence minister?

If tomorrow, a serving general of the Army, on retirement, says something that indicts the current government or its Raksha Mantri, will the BJP say that he is right and their own defence minister wrong? This form of politicking is fraught with danger, and the BJP must think twice before encouraging such dangerous trends only to score immediate debating points. Moreover, even in a country like Israel, whose armed forces are held in very high esteem, there have been occasions when their conduct has been scrutinised in public interest. In the cacophony of the political slugfest now going on, any questions asked about the armed forces is now being equated with being anti-national. This must stop. Last, in the competitive politics of praising our armed forces, sanction seems to being given to a wholesale denunciation of the political class, and of the political leadership.

There is every reason to be proud of our armed forces, but in a democracy the armed forces work under the civilian government. There can be no compromise of this fundamental principle. Unfortunately, we are seeing today an entire array of retired generals and others who almost seem to be saying that we know best what is needed for the well being and security of our country, and anyone who interferes, or has been seen to be interfering in this role, is working against the national interest. Equally, unfortunately, the BJP appears to be encouraging this trend so long as the retired generals have praise for it. But has the BJP given a thought to what such a line of thinking means for the basic tenets of a democratic Republic, and what it could mean for the BJP itself when instead of praise it is at the receiving end of this misguided hubris?
After the Congress leadership abandoned former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, most party members kept a safe distance from him. Now that a fair amount of time has elapsed since Rao passed away, many party leaders are talking admiringly about Rao and the bold steps he took to usher in economic reforms. In fact, a former Congress minister in the Rao government, known for his proximity to the Gandhi family, admitted recently that he had suggested to former PM Manmohan Singh that Rao should be given a Bharat Ratna. Obviously, his proposal did not draw any response. What is interesting is that the senior party leader had no qualms in talking about his suggestion. This would have been unthinkable some years ago. However, many Congress leaders continue to nurse a grouse against Rao though they acknowledge that he was the real hero of the 1991 reforms.

Former finance minister P. Chidambaram (no fan of Rao) said as much recently while speaking after the release of Sanjaya Barus book, 1991: How P.V. Narasimha Rao Made History. But Mr Chidambaram was also quick to list Raos deficiencies. Describing Rao as an enigmatic person, he said the former PMs famous line to all was, One day Ill tell you why I did what I did. That day never came, he added. When Ashok Gehlot was Rajasthan CM, his government followed a standard drill regarding the gifts, which were to be given to visiting dignitaries. The present always included a copy of Mahatma Gandhis book, My Experiments with Truth and some khadi products packed in a khadi bag. In fact, his office was known to have a ready stock of such packages to avoid any last-minute rush.

But Mr Gehlots successor  Vasundhara Raje  is a study in contrast. She is giving her officers a tough time as they are often sent to pick up expensive items, which she has spotted. But she is not easy to please. She often cannot take a final call on the items or she has them sent back which ensures that her officers are constantly on their toes. For instance, Ms Raje recently directed her office to purchase silk stoles but she is yet to give approval. As a result, the consignment of 1,500 stoles has been lying in storage since months as Ms Raje takes her time to arrive at a decision. Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan has a serious problem at hand. Being low-key is clearly not helping him. Back in his home state, Orissa, his junior, Sambit Patra, is giving him competition.

Even though he is far junior to him, the BJP spokesperson has become a recognisable face because of his frequent TV appearances. In Delhi, Mr Pradhan finds hes not getting the same play in the media as his Cabinet colleagues. When the BJP-led alliance came to power, ministers were instructed to use social media to inform the press about their ministrys activities instead of interacting with journalists. But it is a different story now as ministers are being encouraged to give interviews to the media to publicise the governments achievements. But sadly, Mr Pradhan continues to lag behind his colleagues. Apparently, he is known to wonder why and how power minister Piyush Goyal has become such a favourite with the English press.

For years after it was set up in 2004, the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), a technical intelligence gathering agency, was in the thick of controversies. It was not allowed to function by other intelligence agencies, which felt their powers were being undermined. The turf-war slowed down the formal notification of the organisation, as a result of which its functioning was affected. But that appears to be in the past as the NTRO has now redeemed itself. The organisation played a key role in the recent surgical strikes undertaken by the Indian Army in PoK. It was this agency which provided the vital satellite imagery detailing the exact location of the terror launchpads, which made it possible for the special forces to hit with precision. There is consensus that this info was crucial for the operation. Clearly a new star is born in the countrys intelligence firmament.
A keen Pakistan watcher, Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, former Indian high commissioner in Islamabad, talks to Sanjib Kr Baruah about the turbulent dynamics between the two South Asian neighbours in the aftermath of the Uri attack and the surgical strikes by India.

We start with the latest media report in Pakis-tans Dawn newspaper, which said that the Pakistani civilian government has come down heavily on the Army and ISI.

The Dawn is the most respected newspaper in Pakistan with global credibility. It has come out with a sensational news where the civilian government has exposed the militarys supportive role for the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Haqqani network in Afghanistan that has given Pakistan a very bad name as a state sponsor of terrorism. The report comes at a time when the Pakistani Army has assumed an unusual and unprecedented role in which not only is it involved in security operations but also in day-to-day affairs of the government.

The credibility of the government has gone down so badly that the US vice-president calls upon the Pakistan general when he visits Pakistan. The Afghan President starts his visit to Pakistan with a visit to the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and not the Prime Minister or the President. The government has no authority now. And when Prime Minister Narendra Modi drops in at Nawaz Sharifs home, the Pathankot attack takes place after that. So the Pakistani Army has made it clear that its role, not only in Jammu and Kashmir but also across the country, will continue.

How deep is the Pak Armys role?

Day-to-day foreign policy is being conducted by the military. On Wednesday, Gen. Raheel Sharif addressed the fresh batch of officers at the GHQ in Rawalpindi where he lauded the use and role of the Air Force for bombing the Pashtuns in the tribal areas. Twenty per cent of the Army is Pashtuns. And Operation Zarb-e-Azb has resulted in 50,000 Pashtuns fleeing to Afghanistan. Pakistani Army has led the country into disaster. Now all this has been done without the approval of the civilian government or of Parliament granting approval.

So, where is it building up to?

Dont they realise that in two out of four provinces in Pakistan, its own Air Force is being used to bomb their own people  the Balochis and Pashtuns. So at some stage Mr Sharif had to stand up. And he has chosen his time carefully. Of course, he had been bogged down by corruption charges, but right now Gen. Sharif is due to retire in about one and half months and in the next 15-20 days he will have to name his successor. Once Gen. Sharif retires, he becomes a lame duck.

How should India react to it?

India should just watch from the sidelines and not interfere with the internal affairs of that country. Let it have its own dynamics. People of Pakistan should understand that supporting the Army is leading them into a deeper mess.

Did Indias announcement of military surgical strikes come as a surprise to you? What has changed in this governments response compared to previous regimes?

Such strikes had taken place in the past. But an attack at this level when one used helicopter gunships, certain elements of fire power, with about more than hundred people and knock them as bad as we did and inflicting a lot of casualties is something that is substantially different.

But the policy of brinkmanship between two nuclear countries isnt it dangerous?

After Pakistans constant threats to use nuclear weapons, there has been a certain reluctance in India to put that to test. I think in the Indian side the apprehensions are logically unjustified. Pakistans Army officers may be adventuresome or they may be full of rhetoric, but they are not suicidal. So you have a lot of space to conduct military operations sensibly. This nuclear deterrence is a mind-game.

On the surgical strikes

I am very sorry that this issue is being politicised in this manner. The very fact of a statement and its veracity being questioned after having been read out by the director general of military operations (DGMO) is very wrong.

Does the strike imply a gradual shift of India from a soft state image towards a hard one?

I wouldnt make generalisations like that. Because in what has happened, diplomacy has played a major role. If you take the reactions after Uri, all, including our South Asian neigbhours have backed us starting with Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who also feel the pain of Pakistans terrorism. The US, European Parliament, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar, were severely critical of the Uri attack. Such support is unprecedented. You cannot carry out a military operation in isolation. And it has been carried out in the background of a successful diplomatic strike. Germany and Russia came out very strongly in Indias support. Even China has not offered unqualified support to Pakistan.

What do you think of the governments stand that video footage of the strikes wont be made public?

There is a huge amount of satellite-based information and from the drones. You should not expose what your assets are. That is a decision which only the military and intelligence agencies can help take. This is a decision best left to the government and the Prime Minister.

Why is the Pakistan government denying that such a strike ever took place?

The Pakistan Army is a joke because of such blatant lies. Nobody takes it seriously any more.

Where do you see the bilateral relations going to from here? Do you see an escalation?

Pakistan military is chaffing. It will try to take revenge and we should be prepared for it. Also, let us not function in a manner that is dehumanising. There is no harm in school children coming to India, relatives visiting, for Sufi tourism or for hospital treatment. We should welcome these because the narrative becomes what they see for themselves in India  which is much different from the lessons of hate in their history books.

Indias neighbours like Sri Lanka are clearly tiring of the India-Pak hostility. How relevant is Saarc now and what future does it have?

We should gradually disengage from Saarc. It has become a propaganda for Pakistani obstructionism. Unlike our relations with Asean, which have not progressed, relations with Saarc has not.

What would be the implications of Pakistan being declared a terrorist state?

I dont think that will happen in the near future for the simple reason that it is a country with nuclear weapons. Ostracising Pakistan completely is not realistic. How will it be meaningful if China doesnt support it?
Washington: The US is playing a "positive role in pushing and prodding India" to lower tension and start dialogue with Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's envoys have said.

"We feel that the US has a positive role in pushing and prodding India to lower the temperature and start talking to Pakistan rather than talking at Pakistan," Special Kashmir Envoy of Sharif, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said at the conclusion of his five-day trip to the US.

"One expression of that was the phone call initiated by Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and there has been a follow up phone call. The purpose of those phone calls was to diffuse tension," said Sayed, who was here with Shezra Mansab, another Kashmir Envoy.

He said Modi is "not from the Indian Delhi establishment, where you have unsmiling crusty old men who are always sulking and who are stuck in old cold war mentality, as he is an outsider.

"I feel that there would be SAARC Summit in Islamabad. Mr Modi will come there. And he would embrace Mr Nawaz Sharif. I think, Modi would realise that this is the way forward," Syed added.

"Mr Modi has the capacity to spring a surprise. One good thing about him is that he is flexible enough to do U turns. So I expect a good U turn probably in the coming months in our relations and we might see pleasant surprise in relations with South Asia, because Mr Modi and Mr Sharif have a good rapport and I think, Mr Modi is preparing his people for this U turn.

"Because he (Modi) realises that two important core interest of India are linked with that. Number one relationship with Pakistan and the Kashmir conflict are the biggest impediment in the rise of India. India wants to rise, they want to be on the high table, Nuclear Suppliers Group, UN Security Council. No, till you have better relationship with Pakistan," Syed said.

Syed warned that a war with Pakistan would push back Indian economy by 10 years, which he said Modi does not want. "He (Modi) cannot afford. This raising of tension would be devastating, debilitating and damaging for India. We do not want to respond to war rhetoric (coming from India) by war rhetoric. We are not responding to India in its tone. We still want peace," Mansab said.

"I think, we have stirred up Washington. I think that was the purpose that look here it is a popular, indigenous and widespread uprising (in Kashmir). Pakistan has nothing to do with it. India is trying to put the pressure and raise the temperature which is detrimental to the peace, security and stability in South Asia, because it is a nuclear flash point. We do not want that. No red line should be crossed.

"Thirdly we said peace cannot be compartmentalised. Peace is indivisible - Kashmir or whether it is Kabul. I think at the end of the day, message has been heard loud and clear," Syed said, adding that they discern a change in the tone of the US administration.

They have a recognition that Pakistan has legitimate grievances on issues like the Indus Water Treaty or some of the irresponsible remakes that unfortunately emanated regarding the issue of Balochistan and Gilgistan, he said.

Yesterday, the two Envoys met Peter Lavoy, Special Assistant to US President Barack Obama. The White House refused to issue any readout of the meeting.

Syed described their five-day Washington stay as "media, diplomatic and a public relations blitz" during which they had 12 major public events from think-tanks, to government officials, media and interaction with the Kashmiri diaspora.

Pakistan-US relationship, he said are in transition. "We feel that the Obama administration failed to figure out our region. They were quite clueless about Pakistan policy, Afghanistan policy. They are confused also.

"The US needs Pakistan for stability in the region, for counter-terrorism, for nuclear non-proliferation and for regional economic cooperation, in what we call greater South Asia," Syed, a former journalist, said.

He said the new US administration would be different from that of the Obama administration, "which hopefully would be more balanced, strategic, sustained and consistent policy".

The two Envoys have submitted a dossier on alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. "We have been assured by the United States administration that dossier would find resonance on the upcoming report on human rights on India," Syed said, adding that the US has assured Pakistan that it would push and prod Modi on Kashmir.

"We are waiting for a U turn from Modi on that. I think the U turn would be a positive U turn. The first signs of that would be moving towards normalisation of relationship and reducing tension between the two countries," Syed added.
An official vehicle navigates debris as it passes along Highway A1A after it was partial washed away by Hurricane Matthew in Flagler Beach. (Photo: AP)

Haiti: Hurricane Matthew killed 877 people and left tens of thousands homeless in its rampage through Haiti earlier this week before it lashed Florida on Friday with rain and howling winds and rolled northward up the US Atlantic coast.

The number of fatalities in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, surged to at least 877 on Friday as information trickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm, according to a tally of death tolls given by officials.

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 US 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.

"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.

"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).

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 am EDT (1500 GMT), Matthew's eye, or center, was brushing the northeast Florida coast, the US 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 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.

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 neighbourhoods, Mayor Nancy Shaver said in a telephone interview from the area's emergency operations centre.

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, 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 US 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.
Suu Kyi herself has been criticized for doing too little to address the plight of Myanmar's stateless Rohingya Muslim minority. (Photo: AFP)

Washington: 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 Treasurys 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 State Department said last month that several restrictions would remain in place, including barring visas for military leaders.
Maan Singh Khalsa, 41, was brutally attacked by a group of men in California. (Photo: The Sikh Coalition Facebook)

New York: "Cut his f*****g hair," yelled a group of men before brutally attacking a Sikh American, knocking off his turban and cutting his unshorn hair with a knife.

Maan Singh Khalsa, 41, an IT professional 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. Shouting that his hair be cut off, the men pulled his head out of the window, and cut a fistful of his hair with a knife, alleged Khalsa.

The incident later prompted a civil rights organisation to demand a hate crime investigation into the incident.

"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 nation's 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.

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 Attorney's 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.
A 30-year-old man in Queens, United States, kept the decomposing body of his 85-year-old grandmother at home for five months. (Photo: AFP/Representational)

Ridgewood, New Jersey: A 30-year-old man in Queens, United States, kept the decomposing body of his 85-year-old grandmother at home for five months, fearing he would become homeless following her death. Police arrested the grandson, Christopher Fuhrer, on Wednesday.

According to a report in The Washington Post, the woman, identified as Erika Kraus-Breslin, died in May. But the body was recovered this week when his neighbours alerted the authorities about a foul smell emanating from Fuhrers house.

Her body was wrapped in 16 trash bags and kept in a bedroom. The room was filled with air freshener to control the stench of the decomposing body, police said.

Fuhrer face charges of not reporting death to a health officer, burial/body removal without permit and improper burial.

Fuhrer had lived with her grandmother, who used to work at a pastry shop nearby, for 10 years. The neighbours said Breslin loved Fuhrer and the two shared a tight bond.

She told me he was living in Arizona but his stepdad was very abusive. He ran away from him and came here, Toni Binanti, owner of the pastry shop, said.

Police have sent Breslins body for post-mortem to ascertain the cause of her death. Fuhrer is suspected to have kept his grandmothers body to collect the benefits.
A 40-year-old man was arrested after the hospital staff claimed his 20-year-old wife was just a 12-year-old girl. (Photo: AFP/Representational)

Xuzhou: The Chinese police have arrested a 40-year-old man after he took his '20-year-old wife' to a hospital in from Xuzhou city of Jiangsu Province for check-up, where the staff found out that she was just a minor aged 12.

According to a report in Mirror, the man and his mother had taken the three-month old pregnant girl to Xuzhou City Central Hospital, claiming that her age was 20.

However, the hospital staff grew suspicious about her age and informed the local authorities when they found out she was just a minor. The hospital staff said the husband was agitated when they asked questions about her age.

"I took her here to be examined - just do your job. Stop asking so many questions," she was quoted as saying.

"It's obvious she is just a child, and certainly not anywhere near 20 years old, one of the staff said.

The police officers who arrived at the hospital did not find any identity card on the girl and believed that she was a foreign national, who could have been abducted or brought as a foreign bride.

Investigation is underway to find the exact origins of the girl.
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 far off Western Australias 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 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 another unique work order number assigned by the flap manufacturer corresponded to MH370.

Several pieces of debris linked to the flight have been discovered along western Indian Ocean shorelines. The Mauritius part is the third fragment to be confirmed as coming from MH370. More than 110,000 square kilometres of the search area has been scoured so far.
German police officers surround an apartment in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Germany, on Saturday. They are searching for a man suspected to have been planning a bombing attack. (Photo: AP)

Berlin: The German city of Chemnitz was in lockdown on Saturday after armed police launched a huge manhunt for a Syrian suspected of planning a bomb attack, as the country grapples with a weakened sense of security following recent terror assaults.

Police, who told people to stay in their homes, named the suspect as 22-year-old Syrian Jaber Albakr. Photographs posted on social media showed armed police clad in black balaclavas and helmets at an apartment building in the eastern city.

"Several hundred grams" of explosives were found in the apartment linked to alleged bomb plot. Saxony police spokesman Tom Bernhardt told reporters Saturday that the explosives were "relatively well hidden" in the apartment.

Germany has been on edge after suffering two attacks claimed by the Islamic State group (IS) in July -- an axe rampage on a train in Wuerzburg that injured five and a suicide bombing in Ansbach that left 15 wounded.

In the latest alert, police in the state of Saxony issued a search warrant for Albakr, saying he was born in Syria in January 1994.

They said Albakr was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and was "suspected of preparing a bomb attack".

He said police launched Saturday's operation after receiving information from domestic intelligence services.

"We are carrying out in Chemnitz a large-scale operation due to suspicions that a bomb attack was being prepared," police said on Twitter, urging residents to stay at home.

"The explosion heard in the area was a police entry measure. The wanted person has not been found," police added.

The attacks in July rattled Germans' sense of security and fuelled concerns over the country's record influx of migrants and refugees last year.

Security threats

German police said previously they had identified 523 people who posed a security threat to the country, around half of whom were known to be currently in Germany.

On September 21 German officials said a 16-year-old Syrian refugee had been arrested on suspicion of planning a bomb attack in the name of IS.

The youngster, thought to have been radicalised only recently, was detained in a special forces operation at a shelter for asylum-seekers in the western city of Cologne, police and prosecutors said.

Initial information gathered from the teenager's mobile phone showed that he had expressed an "unmistakeable willingness" to carry out an attack, Klaus-Stephan Becker of the Cologne police told reporters.

A week earlier, German police detained three men with forged Syrian passports accused of being IS militants and labelled a possible "sleeper cell" with links to the assailants behind the November attacks in Paris.

More than 200 police took part in pre-dawn raids in northern Germany to detain the men, suspected of either plotting an attack or awaiting orders to commit one.

German authorities have urged the public not to confuse migrants with "terrorists", but have acknowledged that more jihadists may have entered the country among the one million asylum-seekers who arrived last year.
Rome: While the debate on homosexuality is raging within the Catholic Church, two nuns, who fell for each other during a mission, have made a revolutionary decision by tying the knot in Italy.

Federica and Isabel were joined in a civil union in northern Italy last month, taking advantage of a law passed this year that offers homosexual couples legal recognition  one of the last countries in the West to do so.

The pair, who did not give their surnames, told La Repubblica on Friday that they had fallen in love while serving as missionaries in the West African country Guinea-Bissau. The two were serving in a drug rehabilitation centre, where the two became intimate and decided that they should spend the rest of their lives together.

Federica, 44, comes from Italy and Isabel, 40, comes from South America.

They said they could have done what other nuns did and live together in a convent while hiding their relationship, but said this would have been false.

There are many such cases where priests or nuns hide their relationships with men or women, the pair were quoted as saying, adding that they had received no help when they left their religious order.

We felt alone, more than that, we felt abandoned.

The Church teaches that homosexuality is not sinful but homosexual acts are, and that homosexuals should try to be chaste.

However, Pope Francis has expressed sadness to hear that two former nuns had married, Vatican Deputy Secretary of State Archbishop Angelo Becciu said on Friday.

How much sadness on the popes face when I read him the news of the two married nuns! Becciu tweeted.
London: 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 said 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.

"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," 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.
US writer Douglas Kennedy has warned that Donald Trump would be the American Mussolini. (Photo: AFP)

Paris: Donald Trump has no chance of winning the US presidential election, best-selling US writer Douglas Kennedy has told AFP  but if he did, he would be an "American Mussolini".

"Trump has no chance," said Kennedy of the Republican candidate in next month's US presidential election.

But the fact that he was even in the running for the White House was indicative of "the rise of the far right all around the world," he said in an interview at his home in Paris.

"It's not just a US phenomenon," he said, pointing to what he called the "Brexit disaster," when Britain voted in a referendum in June to pull out of the European Union.

"Donald Trump is misogynist, misanthropic," said Kennedy. "He has an ego the size of Canada. He has no culture, he never reads.

"Compared to Trump, (former US president) George W. Bush was Chateaubriand," he quipped, referring to the French 18th century writer and historian.

But he warned: "If he was elected, Trump would be the American Mussolini."

Kennedy, whose 12 novels include "The Big Picture" and "The Pursuit of Happiness", said his vote would go to the Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.

"She will be a very great president," he said, denouncing what he said was the misogynistic abuse she had faced.

"There has never been such a gulf between a progressive America turned towards the outside world  as embodied by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama  and the ultra-religious, anti-abortion, pro-family values vision defended by the Republicans," he said.

Kennedy, 61, has sold millions of copies of his books worldwide, which have been translated into 22 languages. Several have been adapted for the cinema, including "The Woman in the Fifth" which came out in 2011, starring Ethan Hawke.

He divides his time between Britain, Canada, the United States  and France, where he has a large following.
Ankara: Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives during a police operation in the Turkish capital Ankara today after officers called on the suspects to surrender, state media reported.

They set off the car bomb they had prepared, the official Anadolu news agency said, adding that the two suspects were dead.

There were no immediate reports of any other casualties in the blast, which occurred Saturday morning in the outskirts of the city.

Ankara governor Ercan Topaca told reporters at the scene it was "likely" that they had connections to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"The materials used, the construction and the way it was planned point to the PKK a little," he said, quoted by Anadolu.

The PKK -- proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and US -- has been waging a 32-year insurgency against the state in the country's southeast.

Violence returned to the region after the collapse of a two-year ceasefire last year.

The governor said police began an operation early on Saturday to find the suspects after a tip-off came from Diyarbakir, a mainly Kurdish province in Turkey's southeast.

In televised comments, Topaca also said the suspects were a male born in the eastern province of Bingol and an unidentified female. She was later named in Turkish media.

He added that the authorities were looking for a third person and that "interestingly" the suicide bombers hung a Turkish flag on the car.

CNN-Turk broadcaster reported that 200 kilos of ammonium nitrate and plastic explosives were seized during the operation.

The bombing comes two days before the first anniversary of Turkey's deadliest terror attack in its modern history in Ankara which left 103 dead. The attack was blamed on jihadists from the Islamic State group.

And on Friday, the Kurdish group Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) with ties to the PKK claimed responsibility for a motorbike bombing on Thursday near a police station which wounded 10 people.
A woman in Saudi Arabias Al-Hasa was arrested after she allegedly killed her six-year-old stepdaughter in broad daylight on Monday. (Representational image)

Al-Hasa: A woman in Saudi Arabias Al-Hasa has been arrested for allegedly killing her six-year-old stepdaughter in broad daylight.

According to a report in Mirror, the stepmother picked up the girl, Reem Al Rashidi, early from school on Monday morning. She used a family ID card and pretended to be her biological mother to convince the staff to let Rashidi go with her.

She then drove Rashidi to a remote area and allegedly slit her throat with a knife she had hidden under her clothes. However, a person saw the alleged killing and tried to catch her, but she fled and hid in a nearby home.

The Saudi police reached the spot after receiving information about the alleged crime. They stormed the house the stepmother was hiding in and arrested her.

"We received a call from a Saudi citizen reporting the killing. The suspect is a Saudi woman in her 30s. She was arrested and the case referred to the public prosecutor for investigation, she said.
Bangladeshi security forces on Saturday killed 11 members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh blamed for an attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka. (Photo: AP)

Dhaka: Bangladeshi security forces on Saturday killed 11 members of an Islamist militant group blamed for an attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in July in which 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed.

The 11 militants, believed to be members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), were killed in three raids on militant hideouts on the outskirts of the capital, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters.

Seven militants were killed in a raid on one hideout after police were tipped off that the JMB's Dhaka unit chief and his associates were there.

"We requested them to surrender but they opened fire at our officers, which prompted them to retaliate," Khan said.

The July 1 attack in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter was claimed by Islamic State militants and was one of the most brazen in Bangladesh, which has been hit by a spate of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year.

The government has blamed domestic militants but security officials say the scale and sophistication of the July attack suggested links to a trans-national Islamist network.

Police have killed more than three dozen suspected militants in shootouts since the Dhaka cafe attack, including its presumed mastermind, Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.

The United States believes elements of Islamic State are "connected" to operatives in Bangladesh, US Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Dhaka in August.

The targeting of foreigners could hurt foreign investment in the poor South Asian economy, whose $28 billion garments export industry is the world's second largest. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among those killed in the July attack.
Dhaka: Bangladesh is keen to have India as a "stakeholder" in the proposed USD 4 billion Ganges barrage project and a team from India's water resources ministry will soon visit Dhaka to hold talks in this regard, a senior minister has said.

State Minister for Water Resources Nazrul Islam said two Chinese firms were keen to wholly finance the project and even Japan was willing to fund at least USD 2 billion.

"But because the Ganges flows into Bangladesh from India, we take a long term view of the project and our prime minister is keen to get India into it," he told bdnews24 online.

He said a team from India's water resources ministry will soon visit Dhaka to hold discussions on the barrage project.

"The issue was raised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dhaka last year. He showed much interest and Indian officials later asked for the project details which we have provided," Islam said.

He said funding was not a problem for the project.

"Two Chinese companies have offered full finance while the Japanese have said they can put in half the project cost and we can manage the rest, but it makes long-term sense to have India involved because the Ganges flow into Bangladesh from India," Islam said.

The Ganges barrage will be a 165-kilometre long reservoir running from Rajbarhi to Chapainawabganj districts, with a depth of 12.5 metres.

It will hold a phenomenal 2.9 billion cubic litres and cost Tk 314 billion (approximately USD 4 billion). The barrage will retain the water of the trans-boundary river Ganga, known as the Padma in Bangladesh, during the monsoon and feed small rivers during the lean season.

This will help Bangladesh flush the small rivers and reduce salinity, a major threat to public health and agriculture in the country's southwest.

Islam sought to allay fears of flooding on the Indian side of the Ganges. "The project has provided for allocations for upgrading and raising embankments on the Indian side to avoid any flooding," he said.
Karachi: In two separate incidents of sectarian violence in Pakistan, a spiritual leader of the minority Zikri community was gunned down in the restive Balochistan province while a Shia father-son duo was killed in Karachi.

Syed Mullah Akhtar Mullai, a spiritual head of the Zikri community, was shot dead yesterday in the Balgather Gadagi area of Kech district in Balochistan.

Police said motor cycle-borne unidentified men opened fire on Mullai while he was returning home after solemnising the marriage of one of his devotees.

The banned Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.

The All Pakistan Muslim Zikri Anjuman condemned the killing of Mullai and said even on September 20 unidentified gunmen had set several houses and places of worship of the community on fire in the Panjgur area of Balochistan.

Human Rights organisations say the Zikri community remains the most persecuted in Balochistan by militants and terrorists.

Earlier this week, with the advent of the month of Muharram, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus in Quetta carrying Shia Hazara Muslims, killing four women and injuring others.

In Pakistan's biggest city of Karachi, late last night gunmen killed the trustee of a Imambargah and his son in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area.

Mansoor Zaidi and his son Ammar were sprayed with bullets by men on motorcycles and they died after succumbing to their wounds in the hospital.

In Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of Karachi also gunmen opened fire near a Shia Imambargah, injuring a few people.

Soon after the incident, the Sindh government announced a ban on pillion riding until further notice.
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Friday dissolved the Delhi Waqf Board, declared the appointment of its CEO as void and referred allegations of corruption against it to the CBI.The LG has asked the revenue department to initiate steps to reconstitute the board.





Last month, AAP Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan had resigned as the chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board - two days after the Anti-Corruption Branch had raided the board's office in Daryaganj over the alleged recruitment scam.On Friday, the Raj Niwas announced that the board has been superseded and Secretary (Revenue) has been asked to exercise its powers and duties.



S M Ali has been given additional charge of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Delhi Waqf Board, it said.



The Lieutenant Governor has issued orders to declare the appointment of Mehboob Alam as CEO as illegal and void ab initio for not having obtained the approval of the competent authority.



Since, the term of the Delhi Waqf 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. Therefore the Delhi Waqf Board is superseded under the provisions of Section 99 of the Waqf Act,1995 till the expiry of its term.



Secretary (Revenue) as per Section 99 (2) of Waqf Act will exercise all powers and duties of the Delhi Waqf till such time a new Board is constituted.The secretary (Revenue) has been asked to initiate steps for reconstitution of the Delhi Waqf Board, it said.



In view of the deliberate and persistent acts of illegality, violation of rules and allegations of corruption, the whole matter related to Delhi Waqf Board is referred to the CBI for investigation, it added.



The divisional commissioner has been asked to constitute a committee to review the legality and propriety of decisions taken by the Delhi Waqf Board after its constitution in March 2016 and put up a report within a month, said Raj Niwas.



AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan had alleged a land scam and misuse of funds by the former chairmen of the board during the previous Congress government rule.



Khan gave a complaint to Anti-Corruption Branch against former Waqf Board chairmen of Congress Haroon Yusuf of Congress and Chaudhary Mateen Ahmed.



Kejriwal targets LG



In a veiled attack at Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said several obstacles are being created for his government because we are doing good work, reports PTI.



Ag land Circle rates declared void, manish summoned by ACB, waqf board disbanded-several obstacles being created only bcoz v doing gud work(sic), he tweeted.
Police arrested three youths, alleged to be members of a notorious Mast Gang, on charges of robbery from outer Delhis Sultanpuri area on Thursday and recovered 11 motorcycles stolen by the trio.





The case came to the light when the complaint Rahul and his friend Shyam called the Sultanpuri police station on Thursday after two people injured the complainant with a knife and robbed them off their motorcycle.



Team formed



Subsequently, a police team was formed led by sub inspector Rajendra Tomar, under the overall supervision of Assistant Commissioner Police (Sultanpuri) D S Bhaskar. They received information that the accused used to frequent Delhis AB Extension Road with the stolen motorcycles. Subsequently, a trap was laid and the trio was eventually arrested.



According to the police, the trio  identified as Kunal, Rohit and Jitendra  had expensive tastes and in order to sustain their sumptuous lifestyle, used to steal and sell motorcycles. The police further described the trio as professional criminals, who have stolen motorcycles from many parts of Delhi including Nangloi, Subhash Place and Punjabi Bagh among others.



Three quizzed



Police said the three men have been questioned about their accomplices and the reach of their network. The alleged ring leader Jitendra, 32, is a resident of Delhis Kirari region and worked as an auto-lifter in the gang.



Rohit, 20, is a resident of North Delhis Mangolpuri area whereas 21-year-old Kunal lived in Sultanpuri. They have had cases registered at different police stations in Delhi.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday hit out at BJP president Amit Shah, calling him a black blot on Indian politics.





Sisodia was retaliating to Shahs press conference earlier in the day where he accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for politicising the issue of surgical strikes against Pakistan.



It is ironical that Amit Shah is handing out certificates of nationalism and honesty. How can a person who has been accused of murder, abetting the suicide of an IAS officer and misusing CBI, take credit of surgical strikes conducted by our brave soldiers? Sisodia told reporters at Delhi Secretariat.



This is our Army. It comprises people like us, from villages and small towns, he added.



He has no right to question Arvind Kerjiwals nationalism. The entire nation knows of the honesty and good governance displayed by Kejriwal. How can the BJP chief teach politics to Kejriwal? Amit Shah is a black blot on Indian politics, the deputy CM said.



Sisodia further questioned the BJP chiefs alleged role in using the CBI to abet the suicide of IAS officer BK Bansal. He alleged that the BJP chief, through the CBI, was involved in harassing the bureaucrat and his family.



Strongly condemning Sisodias statement, Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay took a jibe at the Kejriwal government and said, The entire nation knows of the honesty of Arvind Kejriwal and his government. In the history of Delhi, this is the first government whose ministers are involved in Hawala trading, cases of rape, extortion and fake degree scams.



Upadhyay added that both the AAP and Congress would suffer long-term political setbacks for questioning the surgical strikes. We understand their political frustration but in national interest, we request them to step meddling in defence affairs, the Delhi BJP chief said in a statement.
The Delhi Jal Board has engaged Virginia University in a bid to give Yamuna a new lease of life with its ambitious riverfront development project.





Students and professors from the university are currently preparing a project report on how to apply urban planning concepts in the entire Yamuna stretch of 22 km.



The university students have visited various spots on the stretch and in the pilot phase they will be focusing on Najafgarh drain, one of the three major drains in the capital that flow into the Yamuna.



The project includes cleaning of the drain, followed by space making, which means creating space in the vicinity of water body and include them in the urban planning mechanism so people dont litter around them.



The Delhi government had signed a MoU with Virginia University last year for redeveloping Yamuna and its drains. The people from university made a presentation regarding it on Thursday and we have given it a go ahead, said a senior official from Delhi Jal Board (DJB).



The university representatives will prepare a detailed report for at least seven to eight such projects with the help of experts from DJB and then hand it over to the board for their implementation. The development model will be recreated in other parts also.



It will start with cleaning of the Najafgarh drain which has four components -- cleaning water, sludge removal, solid waste removal, and cleaning septage.



After that the project will look into how the drain can be made into an integral part of Delhi so that it is visualised as an access for the entire city. The idea behind this is to bring people closer to water bodies, he said.



The plan is to create a non motorised transport hub which can include a cycle track and footpaths, rehabilitating the banks, and creating green patches so that people stop dumping garbage there. After Najafgarh drain, the DJB will replicate the model on Supplementary and Shahdara drains.



The DJB had a similar plan of redeveloping the riverfront area which now will be integrated into this project, said the official. The board is expecting a detailed report on it with cost estimate from the university students by December this year.



Meanwhile, the DJBs Interceptor Sewage project, which was stuck due to an order by National Green Tribunal (NGT), has started again.



While observing that despite spending heavily, the pollution level in the river has become worse, the NGT had issued directions to DJB not to spend more than Rs 50 crore on any project related to cleaning of Yamuna till further orders.



The ban has been lifted now with the NGT saying that the DJB has to get all new projects verified by a court-appointed committee.
Forces will not talk but deliver, IAF chief Arup Raha said today amid bitter political discourse over the cross-LoC surgical strikes, and asserted that the military was ready to give a befitting reply to any challenge.



"There has been so much discussion on this issue in the country, every section of society is giving opinion on this issue. The armed forces are supposed to deliver the result that the nation expects. We are not going to talk about it, we will just deliver," Air Chief Marshal Raha said here.



His response came on a query about the ongoing political bickering over the surgical undertaken by the Army on September 29 with the opposition accusing the government of taking political mileage from the operation.



Raha was speaking at an event to celebrate the Indian Air Force's 84th Foundation Day with a spectacular air display at Air Force Station Hindon in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district, 30 kms from Delhi.



For the first time, India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft performed stunts at the air show, amid loud cheers from the audience.



In his customary address at the celebrations, Raha, who is also the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee said, "World is in a flux today. Terrorists attacks in Uri and Pathankot show the troubled times we live today."



In his message on official Facebook page of the IAF  Indian Air Force, Power to Punish  launched today, the Air Force chief said the force is operating some of the most modern weapons and equipments and the air warriors exercise ceaseless vigil of skies.



"We continue to train to take up any threat and are fully prepared to undertake any challenge in most befitting manner," Raha said.



Asked later about increasing threat from Pakistan, he said the armed forces are well prepared to take on any sub- conventional threats.



Sub-conventional threats refer to proxy war that Pakistan indulges in against India through the use of terrorists.



Raha said that terrorists can always get better but the armed forces can neutralise them.

With each incident, the forces are getting smarter and learning new lessons, he said.



The surgical strikes had come in the wake of the September 18 terrorist attack on an army camp in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir in which 19 soldiers were killed.



The Air Force Day commemorates the establishment of the armed force on October 8, 1932.
Facing flak in Tamil Nadu for the Centre's stand against setting up Cauvery Management Board, BJP's state unit today said it would call on party chief Amit Shah tomorrow on the issue, even as Opposition parties continued to hold protests against the union government.





"We will meet our party chief Amit Shah tomorrow on the Cauvery issue and apprise him of Tamil Nadu unit's views on the CMB," BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan said.



Soundararajan said she would lead a delegation of state party leaders, including Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and Rajya Sabha MP elect L Ganesan to meet Shah.



Explaining the procedural aspects of setting up the Board, which includes getting Parliament's approval, she claimed that "BJP has always been protecting the interests of farmers of Tamil Nadu and will continue to do so."



Stating that the state unit was all for setting up the CMB, she said all steps would be taken to get it done.



Meanwhile, Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu continued to stage protests against the Centre on the Cauvery issue. PMK and Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) held agitations here and in Ariyalur today, seeking constitution of CMB to protect the farmers' interests.



Slamming the BJP-led Centre for its "betrayal of Tamil Nadu" by not coming forward to set up the Board, PMK chief S Ramadoss said his party would continue to protest peacefully against the Union government on the river water issue.



"We see the BJP-led Centre as a party which has committed a big betrayal against Tamil Nadu on Cauvery issue. It is an unpardonable betrayal," he told protesters.



He alleged that the Centre had taken a stand against setting up the Cauvery Management Board with an eye on the Karnataka Assembly election, which is due in 2018.



"This is injustice against the people of Tamil Nadu," the PMK chief said, adding his party would continue to fight against the Centre on the Cauvery issue through peaceful means.



Ramadoss said his party's executive committee will decide on the mode of protest against the Centre.It may include protests like waving black flags during visits of Union Ministers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tamil Nadu.



The protest demonstration was to urge the Centre to immediately set up the CMB.



Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) party chief G K Vasan led a protest demonstration at Ariyalur. Blaming the central government, he said it had "tilted from its neutral position" and sided with Karnataka by opposing the CMB.



Stating that the plea to set up the CMB was a long time demand of farmers to ensure adequate inflow of Cauvery waters, he said the Centre's stand "is against Tamil Nadu and its farmers and is a betrayal."



Raising slogans like "release Cauvery water for farmers," he said "both the Congress-led Karnataka government and the Centre-headed by the BJP are betraying the Cauvery delta farmers of Tamil Nadu."



Yesterday, DMK had observed a fast in Thanjavur and party treasurer M K Stalin had said his party would convene an all-party meeting and lead a delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Cauvery issue if the AIADMK government did not take immediate steps for an all party meeting.



Similarly, People's Welfare Front comprising MDMK, CPI, CPI(M) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi held a protest demonstration at Tiruvarur. MDMK chief Vaiko had called for concerted action by all parties on the issue.


As a leading light of photojournalism of her era, Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971) undertook many critical and often mortally dangerous assignments across the world. As a freelancer and staff photographer of LIFE magazine, she covered a variety of historic events including the wars in Russia, North Africa, Italy, and Germany.





Among others, her trailblazing documentation of USSRs industrial revolution in the 1930s; barbaric conditions in Nazi concentration camps after their inhabitants were liberated in 1945; and the emotionally and politically charged stories of segregation in the American South in the 1950s caught the attention of the world.



A keen eye



What is amazing about Margaret Bourke-Whites life is the number of opportunities she managed to get for herself, writes photographer Elsa Dorfman. In photojournalism, getting where the action is, being there when it happens, is a major part of the talent and, ultimately, the achievement. And Bourke-White managed to get herself where things were happening when they were happening by working hard at being lucky and by her piercing intelligence and intuition Like most photographers, she had the ability to focus her personality on the getting of the photograph  by being persuasive, charming, persistent, manipulative, whatever it took.



A charismatic woman with beguiling looks, Bourke-White was known to work incredibly hard with legendary stamina and perseverance. Nicknamed Maggie the Indestructible by her colleagues in LIFE, she is said to have routinely consumed incredible amounts of film, and staying with heavy, outdated large-format cameras at a time when others were shifting to the slicker 35 mm.



Her biographer, Vicki Goldberg describes Bourke-White as a true American heroine, larger than life  perhaps larger than LIFE. Author and Professor Lynne Iglitzin says that through her photos, thousands were able to witness world events. The fact that she was a woman doing these things, at a time when women were expected to focus on home and family, is perhaps the most impressive thing of all.



Bourke-White died on August 27, 1971 at the Stamford Hospital, Connecticut after a long, heroic struggle against Parkinsons disease. She was the first staff photographer of Fortune magazine in 1929; and LIFE magazines first female photographer in 1936. LIFE had published her last story in 1957, but kept her on the masthead until 1969.



Indian connection



Bourke-White, who came to India to record the run-up to the Partition in 1947, maintained a strong connection with the country. The work in India had been a most stimulating part of my life, she wrote in her autobiography, Portrait of Myself. It was an inspiration to have such a vast subject spread on an enormous canvas and peopled with such extraordinary personalities.



Her image of Mahatma Gandhi at the spinning wheel in 1946 became one of the best-known photographs in the world. She was also the last person to interview Gandhi just before his assassination on January 30, 1948.



Bourke-White described Gandhi as one of the saintliest men who ever lived, and felt that his death marked the end of an epoch. It took me two years to appreciate the greatness of Gandhi. It was only in the last act of the drama, when he stood out so bravely against the religious fanaticism and prejudice that I began to glimpse his true greatness... Photography demands a high degree of participation, but never have I participated to such an extent as I did when photographing various episodes in the life of Gandhi.



Bourke-White first met Gandhi in his ashram in Poona where he was living in the midst of a colony of untouchables. She saw him as a spidery figure with long, wiry legs, a bald head and spectacles, and wondered how could this little old man in a loincloth be leading his people to freedom and kindle the imagination of the world? This was the first of many occasions on which I photographed the Mahatma. Gandhi, who loved a little joke, had his own nickname for me. Whenever I appeared on the scene with camera and flashbulbs, he would say, Theres the Torturer again. But it was said with affection.



Over time, the American photographer realised how important was the simple act of spinning the wheel was to Gandhi. Understanding, for a photographer, is as important as the equipment he uses. I have always believed what goes on, unseen, in the back of the lens is just as important as what goes on in front of it. In the case of Gandhi, the spinning wheel was laden with meaning. For millions of Indians, it was the symbol of the fight for freedom The charka was the key to victory. Non-violence was Gandhis creed, and the spinning wheel was the perfect weapon.



Bourke-Whites last meeting with Gandhi had a poignant touch. When she folded her hands together in a gesture of farewell, she recalls him taking her hands and shaking them cordially in Western fashion. We said goodbye, and I started off. Then something made me turn back. His manner had been so friendly. I stopped and looked over my shoulder, and said, Goodbye, and good luck. Only a few hours later, on his way to evening prayers, this man who believed that even the atom bomb should be met with non-violence was struck down by revolver bullets.



Bourke-White also describes the scenes following the assassination in great detail. People covered the entire visible landscape until it seemed as if the broad meadows themselves were rippling away until they reached the sacred banks. I never before had photographed or even imagined such an ocean of human beingsThe curtain was falling on the tragic last act. The drama I had come to India to record had run its course.



I had shared some of Indias greatest moments. Nothing in all my life has affected me more deeply, and the memory will never leave me. I had seen men die on the battlefield for what they believed in, but I had never seen anything like this: one Christ-like man giving his life to bring unity to his people.




The protracted negotiations for Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) were finally concluded when India and France inked the Inter-Governmental Agreement on September 23, 2016, for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets.



The Rafale is a 4.5-generation aircraft with exceptional agility and all-weather capability. Equipped with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, glass cockpit, advanced avionics, sensors and very potent Meteor BVR missiles, this multi-role aircraft has exceptional swing role capability in deep strike, air defence, interdiction and combat support roles. The aircraft has seen action in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. The contract is a huge relief for the IAF, which is afflicted by a depleting force structure and an eternally slow modernisation process.



The first Rafale would enter service three years from now, but it would be almost six years before the two squadrons are complete as fully operational squadrons. While the Rafale would be the most modern aircraft in IAFs inventory, just two squadrons (each IAF squadron has 18 aircraft) do not address its woes of ageing aircraft fleets. The IAF, which is currently at a low of 32 squadrons, would have to retire further 8 to 10 squadrons by 2022. Its replacements are hardly in sight.



For a variety of reasons, the IAF has been saddled with multiple types of aircraft. This has imposed huge logistics and supply chain problems resulting in unaffordable life cycle costs to sustain them. More importantly, it has put severe strain on the IAF to sustain required operational force levels in a threat environment that probably is the most adversarial for any country in the world. Ideally, the IAFs force structure should consist of not more than three or four types of fighter aircraft, addressing its light, medium and heavy weight aircraft requirements.



The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) should have replaced part of the MiG-21 fleet in short range tactical roles, while the Su-30MKI meets the heavier end of the air superiority and air dominance roles. The MMRCA, along with upgraded Jaguars and Mirage 2000s, in the mid-category, would have formed the bulk of the air force to meet major operational requirements. This would have ensured smooth phasing out of the MiG-21 Bis and Bisons, MiG-23s and MiG-27s with timely transitions. As it has turned out, delays in acquisitions and indigenous developments have had cascading effects on operational capability due to factors of obsolescence from retention of ageing fleets, poor reliability, lack of spares, and more importantly adverse impact on safety.



The LCA is still stuck in the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) stage. The IAFs first LCA squadron would take a minimum of two more years to complete its strength of 18 aircraft. The Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Arup Raha was optimistic that LCA Mk1A would be ready by 2021, and the full force of 120 LCAs (40 Mk1 + 80 Mk1A) would be delivered by 2027. This could be a tall order, given the fact that high import dependency in terms of materials, critical components like the actuators, engine, radar, sensors etc., could create supply chain problems that could impact the production schedule. The IAF will have to factor the possibility of delayed deliveries in addition to shortfalls in operational performance.



The original tender for 126 MMRCA had two objectives: to meet the IAFs operational necessity and to energise Indian defence aerospace industry through state of the art manufacturing technologies, the very objectives of the Make in India policy. These objectives were scuttled by two factors: Indias perennially slow and archaic acquisition process and the fact that the two shortlisted aircraft in the MMRCA selection happened to be the most expensive ones. These two factors pushed the MMRCA decision into a limbo, cost being probably the most important factor. The net result was scrapping of the 126 aircraft tender, and instead the decision to go for off-the-shelf buys through government-to-government deal for 36 aircraft.



Acquisition of two squadrons of Rafale aircraft, over the next six years, does not meet IAFs requirements fully. The current shortfall of more than 90 aircraft would zoom to more than 200 by 2022. Assuming that 120 LCAs enter service by 2030, the IAF would still need to replace close to 400 ageing aircraft by 2030. Though the Indian side had negotiated hard and reduced nearly 600 million euros, the cost of 7.8 billion euros for 36 aircraft is relatively expensive. However, 50% offset that comes with it could be a huge benefit to the Indian industry if exploited intelligently. The original 126 aircraft tender, budgeted at $10.5 billion in 2004, was not much off the mark. The Rafale unit prices as paid for by the French Air Force and the French Navy are 51.8 million euros for Rafale C and 56.6 million euros, respectively.



Price issues



The programme cost, including design, development and production, for a production run of 286 aircraft is 43.6 billion euros. The unit programme cost of the Rafale works out to 154.9 million euros.



The basic unit cost of the Indian Rafale is 94.5 million euros  total cost 3,402 million euros. India-specific design changes costs a whopping 1,700 million euros. This pushes the basic unit cost to 141.72 million euros. If India were to place further orders in future, the basic cost would be pegged at this level plus escalation. It is clear that India is paying a basic unit cost close to the programme cost  also true for Egypt and Qatar. The remaining part of the 7.8 billion euros includes spares, maintenance and weapons package, thus pushing the overall unit cost to 218 million euros.



The fact that this is an off the shelf buy at a significantly high cost, pretty much rules out any future possibility of further orders. Future orders in small batches do not provide any options for manufacture, besides shooting up the cost. Such a procurement would also defeat the very objective of Make in India. The renewed interest amongst the MMRCA participants to address the remaining large requirements of the IAF through Make in India programme will stand a chance only if they meet primary considerations of cost, technology and rapid production in India. This would be a huge chance for the Indian industry, provided the government decides quickly. Therein lies some hope for the IAF to address its depleting force structure.



(The writer is a veteran fighter pilot with 39 years of active service. He was also the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff responsible for policy, plans and force structure development at the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff in the Ministry of Defence)




The Election Commission of India (EC) has directed that no political party will be allowed to use public funds and government machinery to promote or advertise itself and the symbol associated with it.





The poll panels direction came amid charges that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had set up statues of elephants  its election symbol  in public places when it was in power in Uttar Pradesh (UP).



The commission has directed that no political party shall henceforth either use or allow the use of any public funds or public place or government machinery for carrying out any activity that would amount to advertisement for the party or propagating the election symbol allotted to the party.



It is clarified that any violation of the directions would be treated as violation of a lawful direction of the commission, the EC said. In July, the Delhi High Court remanded back to the poll panel a plea seeking cancellation of the BSP symbol for misuse of public funds by the erstwhile Mayawati government in installing its statues across the state. Sources in the EC said the commission will hear separately the issue of cancelling the BSPs symbol.



The high court order had come on a plea filed by an NGO, which had claimed that putting up elephant statues in public places disturbs the level-playing field in an electoral contest as it stands on the same footing like the display of a photograph inside an office. In the 2012 Assembly election in UP, the EC had ordered all the statues of elephants erected by the then BSP regime to be covered.

The commission subsequently sought the views of all recognised parties, which supported having guidelines in this regard.


India will push the BRICS to take a tough stand on terrorism and specifically denounce cross-border export of the menace during the forthcoming summit of the five-nation-bloc.





China, however, is likely to insist that the Goa Declaration  the proposed outcome document of the 8th BRICS summit  should avoid any specific reference to cross-border terrorism, ostensibly to ensure that the communique does not cause any embarrassment to its all-weather friend, Pakistan.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host Russian president Vladimir Putin, Chinese president Xi Jinping, Brazilian president Michel Temer and South African president Jacob Zuma at the 8th BRICS summit in Goa on October 15 and 16.



With the BRICS holding its summit less than a month after the recent attack on an Indian Army camp at Uri in north Kashmir, New Delhi is likely to nudge the bloc to specifically denounce cross-border terrorism and selective approaches in countering the menace.



Four terrorists, who had sneaked into India from areas under Pakistan control, had carried out the suicide attack on the Brigade headquarters of the army at Uri on September 18. Altogether, 19 soldiers were killed in the attack. The incident worsened the troubled ties between India and Pakistan.



Sources told DH that the prime minister would use the opportunity to share with other BRICS leaders New Delhis concerns over continued anti-India terrorism emanating from Pakistan or areas under illegal occupation of Pakistan.



He might also cite the past instances, like the November 26, 2008, terror strikes in Mumbai and attacks on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab early in January this year. Both the attacks were carried out by terrorists from Pakistan.



New Delhi is keen to ensure that the BRICSs Goa Declaration, which will be issued after the summit, specifically condemns cross-border terrorism. Beijing, however, insists that the outcome document of the summit should denounce terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, without specifically referring to cross-border terrorism.



China last month did condemn the terror attack on the Indian Army camp at Uri, but skirted any reference to Pakistan or terrorist outfits based in Pakistan. Russia, on the other hand, issued a statement, which acknowledged that the terrorists, who carried out the attack, had come from Pakistan.



Govt to function from Jammu

Amid the 3-month-long unrest, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday ordered shifting of government offices from Srinagar to Jammu as part of the pre-independence bi-annual Durbar move practice, DHNS reports from Srinagar.

Raj Bhavan, Civil Secretariat and other offices will close in Srinagar on October 27 and are scheduled to reopen in Jammu on November 7 as per the Durbar Move, a century-old practice under which government functions six months each in the two capitals of the state. In the wake of current unrest in, authorities have made the necessary arrangements, including security, to ensure the smooth shifting of the offices to Jammu.


On Saturday, when Kashmir was mourning the death of another schoolboy in the ongoing unrest, the director of school education said he was the director of shut schools.





This statement seems to contradict the governments claims of an improvement in the situation.



I am Director of shut schools. I need a job, Shah Faesal, the 2010 IAS topper from Jammu and Kashmir posted on his Facebook page, taking the social media by storm. The post, which went viral instantly, triggered a debate over the governments claims that only a handful of people support the agitation, which erupted following the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani on July 8. His post also countered officials claims that schools were operational.



On Friday, some 15 hours ahead of Faesals post, an IAS colleague and director information, Shahid Chowdhary, took to Twitter to boast about the functioning of schools in the restive Valley, something he had been highlighting for over a fortnight.



Friday: 1,72,240 students attended classes in 8 districts of Kashmir. None in Srinagar and Bandipore. Highest 41,815 Kupwara, Lowest 825 Shopian, Shahid tweeted.



The contradictory claims of the two officers has left the state government red-faced, with many netizens asking who should be trusted as both happen to be young IAS officers.



Rajnath reviews border security

India never attacks anyone but will retaliate and not count the bullets if attacked, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday after assessing security on the border with Pakistan in the wake of the surgical strikes, PTI reports from Barmer. Singh, who visited BSFs Munabao Border Outpost, assured the security personnel that the government will do everything to improve border infrastructure, including floodlights, parallel road along the fence and their service conditions. Our heritage is Vasudev Kutumbakam, meaning the whole world is one family. We do not intend to occupy others land. We never open fire first, but if attacked, in retaliation we never count the bullets after pulling the trigger, he said addressing the BSF personnel on the second day of his Rajasthan visit.


The Halasuru police arrested a retired armyman for attempting to rob Rs 11.90 lakh cash from a canteen supervisor of the Madras Engineer Group & Centre (MEG Centre).





The suspect has been identified as J Jude, 42, a resident of Cox Town. Jude attempted robbery to overcome his financial woes.



According to the police, Jude entered the MEG Centre canteen at Halasuru around 9.40 am on Wednesday. He carried a water bottle mixed with chilli powder. He noticed the canteen supervisor I Jesuraj coming out of the canteen with a cash bag to deposit the money in the bank. Jude put up an act by holding his chest and collapsed, as if he suffered a heart attack.



On seeing Jude collapse, Jesuraj rushed to his rescue. Just then, Jude sprayed chilli water on Jesurajs face and attempted to rob the cash bag.



A few armymen rushed to Jesurajs rescue. They caught Jude and handed him over to the police. Jude was drunk when he attempted the robbery, said the police.


Steel prices have increased by just 2.5% to 5% since June, but the cost of the controversial steel flyover project was hiked by a whopping 32.8% over the same period.





The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) estimated the project to cost Rs 1,350 crore in June when it was ready to start the work.



The steel price was Rs 39,000 per tonne back then. Four months on, the agency has revised the cost estimate to Rs 1,791 crore  an almost one-third increase.



A Bengaluru-based technical expert has gone even further. He says the flyover should not cost more than Rs 695.86 crore to build.



The cost escalation has added another dimension to the project which has been already criticised as being unnecessary, ill-designed, unaesthetic and harmful to Bengalurus decreasing green cover. The BDA has said that it would require 55,000 tonnes of steel to build the first-of-its-kind steel flyover in the city. Details provided by Steel Form, a firm based out of Richmond Road in Bengaluru, show that the current prices of I-Section, C-Section and mild steel plates per tonne range between Rs 40,000 and Rs 41,000. These are steel girder sections, which are used for making bridges, and the prices have been quoted by a wholesale trader, not the manufacturer. If purchased directly from steel companies and not the wholesale dealers, the steel price would be much lower than what has been quoted by the trader.



As per the details available, the average cost of steel of these three main sections was Rs 46,000 per tonne in 2014. A year later, it went down to Rs 43,000 per tonne. In January this year, the price slumped to Rs 40,000 per tonne, and over the next two quarters it fell to Rs 39,000 per tonne. Steel prices are slightly surging for the last one week now, said a representative of Shri Lakshmi Steel Suppliers.



Quotations show that the steel price was Rs 39,000 per tonne in June when the BDA was set to start the work and estimated the cost at 1,350 crore. In just four months, the cost shot up by 32.8% though the surge in steel price ranged between 2.5% and 5%.



When contacted, C N Nayak, an engineering member of the BDA board, justified the hike in the project cost, saying there were valid grounds for the same. But he didnt explain the grounds on which the cost was revised from Rs 1,350 crore to Rs 1,850 crore. The final project cost, however, was reduced by Rs 59 crore.



R K Jaigopal, a member of the BBMP Technical Advisory Committee, has estimated that the flyover cost should not be more than Rs 695.86 crore. The difference with the final estimate is a whopping Rs 1,095.14 crore. To get the flyovers plan area of 1,61,140 sqm, the width is multiplied by the structures total length of 6,700 metres. The cost then works out to Rs 567.49 crore, Jaigopal explained in a letter written to DH earlier. He added Rs 50 crore each for utility shifting and land acquisition, and another Rs 28.37 crore for preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) and supervision charges at 5%.



BDA insiders insist there are no deviations in the steel flyover design and it remains unchanged from what it was four months ago.


Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has vowed to divide the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike saying that he had to keep it in cold storage for some time in view of protests.





Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of various development works by the Bangalore Development Authority on Saturday at the Pipeline Junction in Chowdeshwarinagar and Lakshmidevinagar, the chief minister said, The city, with a population of one crore, cannot be managed by a commissioner and a mayor. Hence, it is necessary to have three to four municipal corporations.



Blaming the previous government for the mess in the BBMP, Siddaramaiah said there was an open loot at the expense of taxpayers' money.



Many Palike properties were mortgaged and the garbage problem had peaked. But ever since we took over, we speeded up many development works, said Siddaramaiah.



Cauvery issue

Siddaramaiah said whatever the court order is, the government will give preference to drinking water. We need at least 24 tmcft water for drinking purpose, which will not be released to Tamil Nadu at any cost. Only excess water will be released, he said.



Speaking on the occasion, Lok Sabha member D K Suresh said during the city tour, the chief minister had visited these areas and promised to construct a six-km service road and underpass, the work on was yet to start. He urged the chief minister to take up the work at the earliest.



Bengaluru Development Minister K J George said the state government has released Rs 5,000 crore under the Nagarotthana scheme and another Rs 2,000 crore will be released shortly under the same scheme.



Drive to continue

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said the anti-encroachment drive will not stop. The government will provide alternative housing to the poor. If the rich and powerful people have encroached upon the stormwater drains and other government properties, they will not be spared, said the chief minister.
Four girls, who had run away from their homes in Arekurahatti village of Navalgund taluk, were traced to Goa on Saturday.





While one girl studies in Class 9, the remaining three are Class 8 students.

According to police, Rani (name changed), had left her home as her grandmother scolded her for not studying properly. One of her friends advised Rani to desert home and head to Goa to find an employment as her parents were earlier residing there. She also agreed to accompany Rani along with their two other friends. They went to the school on Friday morning on the pretext of attending some programme. Rani had also managed to lay her hands on Rs 900 kept at home by her father.



All the four girls travelled to Margao by paying Rs 660 as bus fare. On reaching Margao, they enquired the Kannada-speaking people about employment opportunities. On the advice of local people they reached Bhoothnath temple in the town. They got anxious as they failed to get any job and had around Rs 250 left with them.



On Friday night, one of the girls called her uncle using the mobile phone of a local resident, claiming that they had been abducted and feared wrath of their parents. The district police managed to trace the girls in Margao, within 24 hours of the call.



Meanwhile, the headmaster of the school, where the girls studied, had lodged a missing complaint with Navalgund police on Friday.



The girls were handed over to their parents. The parents have been counselled as the girls were very sensitive, Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Kumar Meena said.




Jody Sleppy, 53, of Bethel, AK, passed away suddenly on November 10, 2016, with his family by his side, in Anchorage, AK.

Jody Greg Sleppy was born on August 12, 1963, in Denver Colorado to John and JoAnn Sleppy. His parents were missionaries and moved the family to Alaska in 1969. He attended and graduated from Bethel Regional High School in 1981. Jody majored in Music at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in San Dimas, California. He graduated from PCBBC in 1985. It was at bible college that Jody met the love of his life, Sheri Johnston. They were married on August 15, 1987, in Oregon.

Jody held many titles, including pastor, son, brother, husband, father, and friend. The things that interested him most were reading, traveling, spending time with his family, singing, and helping those in need.

Jody is preceded in death by his dad, John Sleppy and grandparents, Jerome and Ruby Sleppy, and John and Anna Strausz.

Jody is survived by his wife, Sheri; children, Karissa, Lauren, Michael, and Caleb; sisters, Joni Tingue, Jonda Sleppy and Joyce Sleppy; and mother, JoAnn.

Memorial service for Jody was on Saturday November 26, 2016 at Gladys Jung Elementary School. The family of Jody wishes to extend their sincere thanks to all of those who have given of their heartfelt time, words, and gifts.

Share this:

Tweet

Email


The Soldotna AST K-9 Team conducted a traffic stop on a white 1996 Ford F250 on the Kenai Spur Highway at N. Miller Loop after observing the driver and passenger not wearing seatbelts on 8-31-19 at 1613 hours. The driver was identified as Matthew H. Perkins, 29 YOA of Nikiski. The passenger was identified as Brittney L. Fattore. Perkins is on search conditions with (P.E.D.) Pretrial Enforcement Division for recent charges of (MICS) Misconduct Involving Controlled Substances. (P.E.D.) was contacted and requested a search of the vehicle.

A K-9 sniff was conducted, and K-9 Donna indicated on the vehicle for the presence of the odor of controlled substances emitting from the vehicle. Methamphetamine and Heroin were located in the vehicle. Fattore was found to be in possession of controlled substances and claimed possession of the controlled substances in the vehicle. Fattore was issued a traffic citation for failing to wear a seat belt. Perkins was issued traffic citations for failing to wear a seat belt, expired registration and open container and he was released on his own recognizance. Fattore was issued a traffic citation for failing to wear a seat belt and she was arrested and transported to Wildwood Pretrial where she was remanded without bail on charges of MICS-4.



Share this:

Tweet

Email


Microcom technicians stand next to newly installed OneWeb user terminals in Akiak, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Pacific Dataport, Inc. and Microcom)

October 19, 2021: Pacific Dataport and Microcom are proud to announce they have installed the first OneWeb low-earth-orbit (LEO) user terminal in Alaska to deliver broadband to the Akiak Native Community. This is the culmination of many months of planning and the FCCs recent granting of the 2.5 GHz spectrum to tribes across America. The Akiak Native Community, a federally recognized Indian Tribe, is working with both Pacific Dataport and Microcom located in Anchorage, Alaska to deploy their wireless broadband network.

Pacific Dataport will be supplying the OneWeb LEO community user terminal and backhaul that enable high-speed broadband connectivity. The communitys user terminal communicates with the satellites overhead and connects to the community-wide distribution system, which is Cambium technology provided by Microcom. The broadband signal will travel up a tower where access points will spread the signal throughout the community. Each home will have a small antenna (subscriber module) affixed outside and that device sends/receives the signal to/from the tower. From there it travels inside the home to a Wi-Fi router.

Shawn Fitzpatrick, Vice President of Engineering at Pacific Dataport said, I am thrilled to announce the first testing of the OneWeb network connection was established between the user terminal in Akiak and OneWeb satellites, completing the connection to the Internet. Beta testing will continue as new hardware and software are perfected. We are dedicated to seeing broadband reach all of Alaska and look forward to leveraging OneWebs network to help make vital connectivity possible in Akiak and communities across the state.

Akiak is the first LEO village in the United States and we are delivering affordable broadband internet to 100% of our homes and businesses because we have strong and committed Tribal leaders and an outstanding project team, said Kevin Hamer, President and CEO of Akiak Technology, LLC. As core members of our team, Pacific Dataport Inc. and Microcom provided the OneWeb LEO solution and support Akiak Technology LLC needed to finally start closing the digital divide for our unserved Tribal communities in SW Alaska.

This capacity will allow residents to have access to very fast broadband and enables opportunities for tele-health, education, commerce and entertainment. Residents will be able to cruise the Internet, stream television and music, conduct meetings on two-way video software and game.

Pacific Dataport and Microcom are proud to partner with Alaska Tribal Broadband (ATB), the Akiak Native Community, and Akiak Technology to help strengthen tribal sovereignty and expand affordable broadband to rural Alaska.

Share this:

Tweet

Email


by Native Peoples Action, Inc.

Twenty tribes sign letter stating Tribal concerns, ask BLM to collaborate with Tribes, provide balance and protections for Tribal watershed nominations.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently undertaking a planning process to determine the allowable uses of over 13.5 million acres of Tribal land, now managed by the BLM.

Once completed, the new plan will be in place for the next 20 to 30 years. Over 60 federally recognized Alaska Native tribes live within the Bering Sea-Western Interior planning area. Alaska Natives have thrived on and stewarded this land for thousands of years, and this symbiotic relationship is foundational to Alaska Native ways of life.

Many tribes nominated local watersheds for protection from mining in the planning process, yet none of the nominated watersheds received protection from mining in BLMs preferred proposed plan.

We dont own the land but we belong to the land, and what happens to the land happens to us, said Nathan Elswick, Anvik Tribes Second Chief. The voices of tribal communities within the planning area, the only communities that will have to live with the results of the plan, deserve to be heard in the planning process. They are simply asking to be of primary consideration by BLM in the planning process.

BLMs proposed plan, by not recommending significant protections for the tribes nominated watersheds, clearly sends the message that planning area communities do not matter to the federal government.

Twenty tribes have signed a letter asking BLM for the following: to give serious consideration to tribal concerns, to collaborate better with tribes in the planning process, and to make changes in the final plan to create greater balance and provide protections for tribal watershed nominations.

Native Peoples Action is a non-profit organization whose mission is to take a stand, work together and mobilize action for the wellness and wellbeing of Alaska Natives. The collaborative action among these twenty tribes perfectly illustrates the mission of our work and we are proud to highlight their collective strength and advocacy work for tribal self-determination.

The twenty tribes are: Nulato Tribal Council, Kaltag Traditional Council, Ruby Tribal Council, Louden Tribal Council, Huslia Tribal Council, Koyukuk Village Council, Holy Cross Tribal Council, Shageluk IRS Tribal Council, Anvik Tribal Council, Grayling IRA Council, Takotna Tribal Council, Iqurmiut Traditional Council, Native Village of Unalakleet, Nikolai Edzeno Village Council, Native Village of St. Michael, Native Village of Shaktoolik, Native Village of Marshall, Stebbins Community Association IRA, Native Village of Koyuk IRA, and McGrath Native Village.

Share this:

Tweet

Email


Thank you for finding our loved ones

To the Search & Rescue Volunteers of Alakanuk, Emmonak, Kotlik, and Mountain Village

Thank you so much for volunteering your time and resources to help search for our daughters, Patience and Haley, last month. Your willingness to help on short notice is much appreciated and helped contribute to their safe return and a positive outcome. We could not have found them without you. Special thanks goes to Jason Fancyboy and Jeff Unok of Kotlik who found them, fed them, made sure they were warm, and delivered them home safely. God bless all of you that helped with their safe return! Thank you so much, the Alstrom and Moses families.

Audrey Alstrom

Anchorage, AK

A GREAT BIG Bethel THANK YOU!

The 2017 Bras n Bros fundraiser event sponsored by the VFW Auxiliary Post 10041 at the end of January was a success due to the involvement of several state, city and local agencies and businesses PLUS the selfless contributions of time from many individuals.

THANK YOU to the Robert V. Lindsey VFW Post 10041, YKHC and YKHC Injury Prevention, Lynden Air Frieght, Bethel Police Department, Bethel Fire Department, Immaculate Conception Church, the Magic Man, Mike Calvetti, Gold Rush Liquor and Swansons Store.

With everyones support, the VFW Auxiliary raised over $8,000.00 for scholarships, funeral and medical assistance, Americanism, Veterans recognition and Veterans family support.

LaTesia M. Guinn

VFW Auxiliary Bras n Bros Chairperson

Post 10041, Bethel AK

Lets stand as one, not as divided tribes

It has been a while since I last wrote. To my displeasure of some leaders of this region, I dont need to name names as you know who you are. There are a select few of us without getting compensated are trying our best to help this region.

I personally have spent countless hours of phone conversations with some respected and tireless elders and real leaders that affect our economically depressed region. I applaud those that had the courage to attend last weeks first YK Delta Intertribal Conference. Alcohol was the main topic first day and many of the attendees were affected by this very hard topic.

From my perspective it was a good turnout.

Many spoke out mostly because there already have been many preventable and premature deaths. Young and old have died from alcohol since the liquor store opened. I would like for the City of Bethel to reconsider their position with the two that are open now. The AC and BNCs licenses to operate. Needless to say the BNCs store has not been operating after the leaders of that corporation advocated publically that it is time. Time for the younger generation to learn how to drink moderation and what not.

One old man from Bethel testified when the Wild Goose was open back in the late 70s which was heartbreaking. As for the AC liquor store, what has it brought to our delta? Are they going to send food, attention, comfort, and especially LOVE to those children that are being neglected? The money that AC liquor store earns is only benefitting a Canadian company. I can only imagine if they earned 2.7 million last quarter to date this delta contributed over 5 million dollars by now.

It is time that we stand as one not as divided tribes. These organizations that you tribes erected have their own agendas. We tried and cried wolf but never got heard but turned the other way. With that being said I hope you tribes can come together. We can all agree to disagree as united tribes and great people of this Yupik, Cupik, Cupig, and Athabaskans of this great region.

Steven M Alexie

Napaskiak, AK

You, Womens History, and the Power of Social Security

March is Womens History Month  a time to focus not just on the past, but also on the challenges women continue to face. Nearly 60 percent of the people receiving Social Security benefits are women, and in the 21st century, more women work, pay Social Security taxes, and earn credit toward monthly retirement income than at any other time in our nations history. Knowing this, you can be the author of your own rich and independent history, with a little preparation.

Social Security has served a vital role in the lives of women for over 80 years. With longer life expectancies than men, women tend to live more years in retirement and have a greater chance of exhausting other sources of income. With the national average life expectancy for women in the United States rising, many women will have decades to enjoy retirement. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a female born today can expect to live more than 80 years. As a result, experts generally agree that if women want to ensure that their retirement years are comfortable, they need to plan early and wisely.

You can start with a visit to Social Securitys Retirement Estimator. It gives you a personalized estimate of your retirement benefits. Plug in different retirement ages and projected earnings to get an idea of how such things might change your future benefit amounts. You can use this valuable tool at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.

You should also visit Social Securitys financial planning website at www.socialsecurity.gov/planners. It provides detailed information about how marriage, widowhood, divorce, self-employment, government service, and other life or career events can affect your Social Security.

Your benefit is determined based on your earnings. You can create your personal my Social Security account to verify that your earnings are correct. Your account also can provide estimates of future retirement, disability, and survivors benefits.

If you want more information about how Social Security supports women through lifes journey, Social Security has a booklet that you may find useful. It is Social Security: What Every Woman Should Know. You can find it online at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10127.html.

Robin Schmidt

Social Security Administration

Alaska Public Affairs Specialist

Share this:

Tweet

Email


I always look for your articles for advice. I dont always have that type of advice. Im grateful you share.

Brittany Laraux

Bethel, AK

Vaccine Eligibility Expanded in AK!

Yesterday (March 3rd, 2021), the State of Alaska Vaccine Task Force significantly expanded the criteria for who is eligible for the state-allocated COVID-19 vaccine! The new eligibility group, Phase 1C, includes people 55-64 years old, people 16 and older who are essential workers under the CISA definition, high-risk or might be high-risk according to CDC guidelines, those living in a household that includes three or more generations, or skipped generations (e.g., a grandchild living with an elder), and people living in unserved communities as specifically defined by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

I would encourage everyone to take some time to look through this information and find out if your family or friends are eligible and desire to receive a vaccination. This is a big step forward in the COVID-19 mitigation effort and is very encouraging news!

If you do qualify, visit CovidVax.Alaska.Gov to check the availability of appointments in your area.

Senator Scott Kawasaki

Juneau, AK

I will support the first Native American who would hold this position with the expectation that Representative Haaland will be true to her word

During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today (March 4th, 2021) announced that she will support the nomination of Representative Deb Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

The Department of the Interior  and thus the Secretary who leads it  both play an outsized role in our state. Alaska has more federal lands, more mineral resources, and more natural hazards than any other state. We are set apart by unique laws and frameworks that Congress enacted and that Presidents signed, whether our Statehood Act or ANCSA or ANILCA. We are an Arctic nation because of Alaska. And we are a diverse state, with many indigenous peoples and cultures who have lived there since, as they say, time immemorial. We are a state that is just different.

I seek to ensure every nominee who comes before us understands that. I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to educate others about Alaska and our unique needs and our unique peoples. And I spent a considerable amount of time with Representative Haaland reiterating what is at stake for us.

Alaskas prosperity is directly linked to decisions made by Interior  whether through their trust responsibilities, their authority over responsible resource development, or their monitoring of hazards and other threats.

Ive had two separate meetings with Representative Haaland that lasted for more than an hour each. I participated in both days of her nomination hearing, asking many questions, and have reviewed the answers she provided to all of our members. Ive also spent considerable time listening to Alaskans views on her nomination. They are paying attention to this nomination.

Ive heard two sentiments over and over again. The first is that many Alaskans  Alaska Natives in particular  are enormously proud to have a Native American nominated to this position. It is truly a historic nomination and they believe Alaska Native issues can be elevated to one of the highest levels of government.

The second concern that Im hearing is that many Alaskans are concerned about the agendas Representative Haaland will seek to implement on her own and on behalf of the White House. They are concerned by her opposition to resource development on public lands, including her opposition to key projects in Alaska and her questioning of the vital role that Alaska Native Corporations serve in our communities.

Weighing on top of that is my experience from the Obama administration, when I voted for a Secretary who promised to be a good partner for Alaska, but proved to be anything but that after confirmation.

So I struggled with this vote. How to reconcile a historic nomination with my concerns about an individuals  and an administrations  conception of what Alaskas future should be.

I believe Representative Haalands heart is there for Native peoples and all who treasure our public lands. I dont believe that is the extent of Interiors mission, but she has also told us that she recognizes that if confirmed, she will be serving in a different capacity. She told me that she knows she will need to represent every Alaskan, including those who know how to responsibly develop our lands. And she committed to me that she will make sure that we are doing all we can to ensure that your constituents have the opportunities that they need.

Given the early days of this administration, I have my doubts about whether that will be the case. But I have decided to support this nomination today, to support the first Native American who would hold this position, and with the expectation that Representative Haaland will be true to her wordnot just on matters relating to Native peoples, but also responsible resource development and every other issue.

I also fully anticipate that she will have a strong management team in place with people who understand the value of resource development from public lands. She needs thiswe need thiswithin the Department of Interior.

I am going to place my trust in Representative Haaland and her team, despite some very real misgivings. And Representative Haaland, if you are listening, know that I intend to work with you because I want you to be successful and need you to be successful, but I am also going to hold you to your commitments to ensure that Alaska is allowed to prosper.

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski

Washington, D.C.

Clean Water Act protections needed for Bristol Bay

This is a letter to Michael Regan, Administrator- designate and Jane Nishida, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dated March 1, 2021.

Dear EPA Administrator-designate Regan and Acting Administrator Nishida,

We write to you today requesting immediate action to ensure the Bristol Bay salmon fishery and the 14,000 men and women whose livelihoods depend on it are not destroyed by development of the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaskas headwaters. Bristol Bays commercial fishermen have been fighting the threat of the proposed Pebble Mine for over a decade now, still with no protections in place which would give our industry the assurances we need and deserve.

Bristol Bays commercial salmon fishery is unlike any other in both its volume of fish and number of renewable jobs. Its a thriving economic engine that supplies over half the worlds wild sockeye salmon and provides over 15,000 renewable jobs. Bristol Bay is a torch-bearer for sustainable fisheries management, boasting record returns over the past decade, following a record 135 years of commercial fishing of this incredible resource.

Its sustained a fishing tradition for generations of families throughout Alaska and the U.S. with Bristol Bay commercial fishing permit holders and crew hailing from nearly every US state. Unmatched in both size and sustainability, action under the Clean Water Act is needed and justified to ensure this $2.2 billion a year commercial fishing industry continues to thrive.

In spite of consistent findings by both the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers that the Pebble Mine would pose unacceptable adverse impacts to the Bristol Bay watershed and fisheries, the Bristol Bay region remains vulnerable to large-scale mining and the door remains open for the Pebble Mine to be developed. Without Clean Water Act 404(c) protections in place, Bristol Bay is not safe and Bristol Bays fishermen cannot rest.

We now have an opportunity to stop the Pebble Mine for good and put an end to the uncertainty that has been hanging over Alaskas fishing industry and the thousands of American fishing families who depend on Bristol Bay. We hope that you listen to the call from Bristol Bay tribes, fishermen, and others to establish Clean Water Act protections for Bristol Bay without delay. Please help us ensure that we can continue to provide our fellow Americans and the world with nutritious wild seafood and support our families for generations to come.

Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay Advisors; Katherine Carscallen, Hattie Albecker, Erica Madison, Heidi Dunlap, John Fairbanks, Michael Jackson, Michael Friccero, Holly Wysocki, Mark Niver

Share this:

Tweet

Email


Alyse Galvin who is running against Don Young and should win is someone whom will fight for us out here in the delta. I personally know her and we talk regularly. She is against Pebble and really wants to help the bush. She will probably reach out to you soon. You will like her.

Grant Fairbanks

Bethel, Alaska

A LETTER TO CALISTA SHAREHOLDERS

March 12, 2020

Dear Shareholders,

Calista Corporation is closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and adjusting our business practices, travel, and event schedules.

Among the steps taken, we have indefinitely postponed our Boards Shareholder Relations Committee meetings scheduled in the Region in the coming weeks.

It is crucial to understand that many rural Alaska villages do not have running water, reliable internet access, and easy access to hospitals. Furthermore, with a lack of adequate housing, it is difficult for village residents to remain at a distance from ill people who are coughing or sneezing.

This makes it all the more important for all of us to do everything we can to limit the spread of this virus, and to continue advocating for better sanitation, improved infrastructure, housing, and health care facilities in our communities.

We strongly encourage all of our Shareholders to love and protect each other by following public health advisories and recommendations from local, state and federal agencies and tribal organizations.

Here are some good resources:

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/

State of Alaska: http://coronavirus.alaska.gov/

Quyana, from all of us at Calista Corporation.

Calista Corporation

Anchorage, AK

Alaska Air Cargo Operational update

How COVID-19 coronavirus is impacting our operation

There is no doubt that you are being impacted in one way or another by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak just as we are here at Alaska Airlines. While this is a dynamic situation, we want to take a moment to provide you with the latest information on how this is expected to impact our operation.

Heres what you can expect from us:

In March and April we will make some reductions to our schedule, focusing on high frequency routes where we can easily accommodate both passengers and cargo arriving at their destination in a timely manner. In May we anticipate a 3% reduction in flying. You should expect little impact to the capacity you utilize on a daily basis for cargo needs. While changes should be minor, we advise you to check flight schedules prior to booking.

Keeping your cargo moving in a safe and timely manner is our top priority. Our team has safety measures in place to help prevent the spread of the virus in our facilities and keep our employees and customers safe. Contingency plans for staffing and support are at the ready should the need arise.

Were committed to monitoring the situation and providing solutions that help limit disruption to your freight moving across the country. For the latest schedules and capacity constraints please reach out to your sales representative.

For those of you traveling on Alaska Airlines, you can read more about our efforts to ensure a clean, safe and comfortable journey, as well as our updated travel policies here.

Dont hesitate to reach out with any questions by sending us an email.

Alaska Air Cargo

Seattle, WA

Thank you for your support of early childhood education

On behalf of the 155 members of the Alaska Council for Exceptional Children (AkCEC) statewide, we would like to acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of this Legislature to support early childhood education, reading instruction and intervention, support for struggling schools, and parent connection.

As you may or may not know, the Council for Exceptional Children, which includes the Alaska state unit, is our nations oldest advocacy agency for students with special needs and special education teachers. AkCEC has been in existence since 1989.

As such, we would like to express our cautious support for Senate Bill 6, the Alaska Reads Act. We do have a few concerns about the bill. They are as follows:

The lack of provisions for cultural relevancy for our rural Alaska students. As you know, students in rural Alaska villages face many challenges and disadvantages, largely due to location and limited access to educational resources and services. Thus, they often score lower than the state-and national average on state testing. With approximately 3O% of Alaskas children attending village schools, and 32% of AkCEC membership employed by rural school districts, we want to ensure that any interventions mandated by the state are accessible and relatable to ALL of Alaskas students.

The prescriptive nature of the bill, particularly under Section 18 Reading Intervention Programs. We feel that the methods addressed in the bill are very specific, which does not lend itself to differentiation easily. As special education teachers, we know firsthand that a one-size-fits all approach does not work. We urge you to trust teachers knowledge and decisions while simultaneously providing big-picture guidance. Additionally, it appears to take away the choice for homeschool families.

We are concerned that the possible retention rate could lead to larger class sizes and, by extension, larger caseloads for special education teachers. The aforementioned prescriptive nature of the bill could lead to more students unnecessarily referred for special education services. According to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, approximately 19,500 students in our state are already receiving disability diagnosis. Students of color, including Alaska Native students, are at a high risk for disproportionality for retention and special education referrals.

As a whole we support the passage of the Alaska Reads Act. We particularly appreciate the exemptions provided for students with IEPs and special needs, and for the creation of a Teacher Retention Working Group. We strongly suggest that, while putting this bill through the legislative process, you actively seek out teacher, including special education teacher, guidance and advice every step of the way.

Lisa Villano, President

Alaska Council for Exceptional Children

COVID-19 Update for Alaska USA Members

The health and safety of members and employees is very important to us and we want to share information on how we will continue to serve you amid concerns of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

We are closely monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 and following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and local government agencies in the communities we serve. We are communicating with our employees to keep them informed of our plans and ways they can protect members and themselves. We have also enhanced the cleaning of high-touch areas in our facilities.

Alaska USA branches are currently open for business. Alaska USA also has convenient options you can take advantage of to conduct business and process your transactions:

24/7 toll-free Member Service Center

UltraBranch 24-hour access by Internet or phone

Alaska USA Mobile App

More than 55,000 surcharge-free ATMs worldwide with the Allpoint ATM network

Alaska USA is committed to helping members during hardships, including those caused by COVID-19. If you need assistance, we encourage you to call 800-525-9094 or 907-563-4567 to speak with a member service representative to discuss options available.

We will continue to provide updates on our home page. Alaska USA encourages you to stay informed about COVID-19. For more information, visit the CDCs website.

Follow guidance from the CDC to protect yourself and others:

Clean your hands often

Avoid close contact with people who are sick

Stay home if youre sick

Cover coughs and sneezes

Wear a mask if you are sick

Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily

Beware of scams. Unfortunately, fraudsters are taking advantage of the COVID-19 scare to prey on consumers using fear and urgency tactics. They may mimic communications from expert sources such as the CDC, the World Health Organization or other official sources. Do not respond to, click any links, or open attachments you receive from suspicious emails or texts. Alaska USA will never call or email you asking for your account information. When you call the credit union, you will be asked questions to verify your identity.

Thank you for being a loyal member of Alaska USA.

Alaska USA Member Service Center

Anchorage, AK

Share this:

Tweet

Email


There is typically a feeling of anxiety for many motorists when driving down the road and flashing lights of a police car appear in the rear-view mirror.

Thoughts begin to race.

What did I do? Was I speeding? Did I remember to signal? Im late for work, why is this happening to me?

But, what does it feel like to be the one on the other side of the equation? What is it like to be the officer walking up to a strangers car?

That was the aim of week two of Hampden Townships Citizens Police Academy.

At almost every traffic stop, the officer is on high alert, Sgt. Shawn Fullerton said. You dont know what you are going to get and you can see it with your own eyes.

Fullerton showed the class video of a traffic stop he had previously conducted and walked through the different steps an officer goes through.

Following the classroom training it was time to test what the class had learned by conducting a traffic stop using Hampden Township Police officers as the offending motorist.

As I approached the drivers side door, the window was all the way up. I knocked and asked the driver to roll down the window.

The driver hesitated and then opened the window slightly, saying his window was not working while placing his drivers license up to the glass.

It took a bit of cajoling to get the window all the way down. All the while I stood, getting wet from the rain.

As I asked for information, a passenger  another Hampden Township officer  pointed his cell phone at me and said he was recording my actions.

The officers seemed to relish their role and somewhat surprisingly it became a bit frustrating to deal with, even while knowing this was not a real situation and that there was no possible threat.

In 2015 alone, six police officers in the United States were feloniously killed while conducting traffic stops or pursuits, according to the FBI.

In November, a North York Regional Police officer was shot at three times while conducting a traffic stop in Manchester Township.

The shots narrowly missed the officer and the driver, Trev Bowies Jackson II, was charged with attempted homicide.

Traffic safety, its not willy nilly, Chief Steven Junkin said. We dont just go out and drive around aimlessly and decide were going to write you a ticket and were going to go here and were going to there. Theres actually a science. Theres actually thought behind it.

Every Saturday, Sentinel Reporter Joshua Vaughn will be documenting his eight-week experience in the Hampden Township Citizens Police Academy. Email him at jvaughn@cumberlink.com.
Need to get rid of leaves? Here's how to get them recycled in Columbus
Gregory Pace thought he was dreaming when he woke up to a nightmare in the wilds of Vietnam.

I heard this chatter, the Carlisle native recalled. Then a group of men and women walked right through the ambush. There was supposed to be somebody on watch.

Near as Pace could figure, the whole squad of Marines had fallen asleep as they waited to spring the trap they had set for the enemy.

I was not very well concealed, he said. I was afraid they were going to see me so I slowly reached over to my M16 and put it on full automatic.

A Navy corpsman, Pace was ready to open fire if necessary had the group spotted him. Instead they passed through without stopping, setting his mind somewhat at ease.

He noticed how the men and women were carrying supplies while dressed in the black pajamas, characteristic of the Viet Cong. After they left, Pace alerted the squad that fired in the general direction the group was heading.

Pace will never know if anyone was killed or wounded that day in 1968. There were no bodies when the squad searched the area in the morning. Nothing left but frayed nerves.

I felt I was in pins and needles the whole time I was there, said Pace, 69, now of South Middleton Township. It was one of those things. You were constantly concerned.

Mutual respect

Pace had reason to be leery. The enemy had placed a special bounty on the head of corpsmen. Anyone who shot and killed a field medic for the Marine Corps could earn an extra ration of rice.

Knowing that the enemy had placed a bounty, the squad worked with Pace to help him blend in. They had him carry weapons and ammunition so that from a distance he would appear as a Marine.

Corpsmen were the most vulnerable when they were doing their job and patching up the wounded. The enemy would key in on men using medical equipment and try to take them out.

Though there is a tradition of mutual respect between Marines and corpsmen, each individual had to earn the trust of his brothers in arms.

You have to prove yourself with them, Pace said. Once they understood I knew what I was doing, they would do anything for me. I didnt like Vietnam, but I did enjoy the fellowship ... the camaraderie.

Brightest spot

Like anyone experiencing combat, Pace struggled with self-doubt. If someone gets hurt, am I going to have the knowledge to take care of that situation? he would ask himself. Even if I have the knowledge, am I going to able to act and do something necessary?

Once while walking through camp, Pace felt the urge to enter the tent of a Marine he never knew before. The man lingered in a back corner. He was obviously distraught and had something in his hand.

The Marine had taken a snowball shaped clump of C4 plastic explosive and covered it with rocks. He then took the detonator out of a hand grenade and plunged it through the center of the clump.

With eyes on Pace, the Marine had his finger on the metal pin and was ready to pull it out. Pace knew he could not clear the space in time to spare himself so he talked to the distraught Marine.

I convinced the guy not to commit suicide, Pace recalled. I told him This is not the right thing to do, and I am getting whatever help he needed. I took him down to the sick bay. That was the brightest point I had over there ... Where I did the most good.

It was not his only brush with death. One day Pace came close to becoming a statistic.

I almost got hit by a sniper, he recalled. He shot at me, but hit a tree right in front of me. The squad fired back.

Paces first taste of combat came during a night patrol shortly after Pace arrived in country on July 11, 1968.

His squad was moving through a gully heading for its designated spot when they got caught in the middle of a firefight. Though the Marines were concealed, the shooting pinned them down, hearing soldiers on both sides shouting among themselves.

Tracers and bullets were just whizzing by my head, Pace said. I remember hugging Mother Earth as close as I could. There was a lot of shooting back and forth. It seemed like hours but it was less than a half hour. That was my introduction.

Corpsman

A 1965 graduate, Pace had been out of Carlisle High School almost a year  working a job at the C.H. Masland and Sons carpet factory  when he was drafted. Rather than go into the Army, Pace enlisted in the Navy thinking his classes in clerical studies would come in handy as a yeoman.

But the Navy trained Pace as a corpsman teaching him lessons in first aide, minor surgery and patient care. His first duty station was the orthopedic floor of the Navy hospital in Philadelphia.

In May 1968, Pace was transferred to Camp Pendleton, California, and the Field Medical Service School. There he learned how to amputate limbs, treat gunshot wounds and handle tropical diseases. It was all the gritty work that went with stabilizing casualties for medical evacuation.

Along with the training came rigorous physical conditioning at the hands of Marine Corps drill instructors. The next stop was Vietnam, and Pace had to be ready. I cant say I was happy about it, he recalled. I knew what was going on. We were told things were pretty bad. I knew of people that went there but never came home.

Pace had arrived in Vietnam just months after the TET offensive. This campaign of surprise attacks against military and civilian command centers seriously depleted the South Vietnamese, the U.S. military and their allies. Pace was assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion of the 7th regiment 1st Marine Division.

They were down by half, he recalled. They really got nailed. We were in a build-up phase.

Corpsmen in his unit were put into a loose kind of rotation. Sometimes they were expected to accompany a squad out on a patrol. Other times they were ordered to man the sick call tent and handle routine medical complaints.

Still other times they were assigned to go into a village and provide health care direct to South Vietnamese civilians who may or may not be enemy collaborators in disguise.

Rude awakening

From July 1968 to February 1969, Pace was assigned to the First Hospital Company. This duty station was more in line with what he initially learned stateside in corpsman school except for the fact there was no such thing as a secured area in Vietnam.

He awoke one morning to the sound of incoming rockets and mortar shells exploding near the hospital compound. The headquarters nearby was being overrun.

Bad guys were throwing satchel charges into buildings, Pace recalled. It was mass hysteria. It was nighttime, and you couldnt tell between the good and bad guys.

Pace survived by running to the nearest bunker where he hunkered down and waited out the attack.

He left Vietnam in 1969 and reported for duty at the naval hospital in Millington, Tennessee. There he worked as the head corpsman in the emergency room before his discharge from the service in March 1970.

Pace returned to the Carlisle area and his job with Maslands carpet factory, which would later become Lear Corporation and later International Automotive Components. He stayed on for 42 years retiring in March 2007. The factory closed in December 2008.

Pace is married with two grown children, including a daughter who is a registered nurse in the maternity ward of Holy Spirit Hospital.
Wing part found on Mauritius confirmed to be from MH-370

Malaysian and Australian officials said today 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 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 8 March 2014.
India plans to seal the entire 2,300 km border with Pakistan in a time-bound manner over the next two years so as to deter the frequent terrorist raids, union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday. The centre also proposed to set up a `Border Security Grid' for all four states, which would serve as major deterrent for infiltration and other ''undesirable activities'' on the border. This would be in addition to Anti-Infiltration and Anti-Militancy Grids that exist in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the legal routes of cross-border trade with Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would be exempted from the purview of ''complete sealing'' of the borders, which included Poonch-Rawlakote and Uri-Muzaffarabad in Jammu and Kashmir, both falling along the LoC and Wagah border in Amritsar district of Punjab on the IB. The decision was announced at a meeting of chief ministers and home ministers of the border states of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat held in the border district of Jaisalmer. Rajnath Singh sought the active participation of the states to secure the international border with Pakistan by putting physical and non-physical barriers by December 2018. He also called for active cooperation of the union home ministry, Border Security Force and 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. "The action plan will be frequently monitored at multiple levels to ensure we do not miss the deadline. It would be monitored not only by the security agencies but also the chief secretaries of the four states. A monitory framework would be prepared for monthly, quarterly and annual review of the implementation of the action plan," he said, while interacting with the media persons after the meeting. For the difficult terrain, he said, besides the Army, the government will use technology for sealing patches on a difficult terrain. Singh proposed a new concept of a 'Border Security Grid' to be formed with all stakeholders as its members. "The proposed security grid is a new concept, which needs to be given a final shape. The centre will issue a notification about it later. All lapses will be monitored not just by the Army but even by chief secretaries of the various bordering states. Complaints will be adhered to in time," he added. The union ministry of home affairs made a presentation in which the participants deliberated all the issues and gave their valuable suggestions. He also invited the suggestions in this regard from the participants. India is likely to seek Israeli expertise for strengthening border fencing as the two countries share ''similar challenges'' on many fronts, including cross-border terrorism. Israel had last month offered to India its expertise for strengthening border fencing, stressing that the two countries share ''similar challenges'' on many fronts, including cross-border terrorism. Participating in the meeting Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje raised issues regarding modernisation of police for improving security in the hinterland and the peculiar problems due to sparsely populated desert area with shifting sand dunes. She suggested that an Integrated Check Post be established at Munnabao. Deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal drew attention to the problems of farmers having land near the border and the problems created by the smuggling of arms and drugs from Pakistan. Minister of state for home affairs of Gujarat, Pradeep Sinh B Jadeja, pointed to the problem of securing the marshy areas of the Rann of Kutch, where fencing is not possible. There is a need for improvement in the construction of roads and use of technology for surveillance, he said. Union minister of home affairs Kiren Rijiju also shared his views on the management of border situation. The home minister of Rajasthan Gulab Chand Kataria, union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, secretary (Border Management), MHA Susheel Kumar, DG BSF K K Sharma, chief secretaries and DGPs of the states and senior officers of MHA, BSF and CPWD also attended the meeting. The meeting also reviewed the present 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 Pakistan occupied Kashmir.










President Barack Obama on Friday announced the lifting of US sanctions on Myanmar by terminating an emergency order that deemed the policies of the former military government a threat to US 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 congressional leaders announcing the decision.

Obama's move marks the culmination of years of rapprochement between the US and Myanmar that Obama has worked to facilitate through a conciliatory approach, especially through interactions with its civil rights activist and now state counselor (something equivalent to prime minister) and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Southeast Asian nation, earlier known as Burma, considered by most modern states as a pariah state, has pursued political reforms over the last five years following decades of oppressive military rule in the wake of domestic and international pressure.

Obama had announced plans to lift the sanctions last month, when Suu Kyi visited the Oval Office. Suu Kyi was concerned that the sanctions had hurt Nyanmar's economy and urged Americans to come to the country and "to make profits.

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.

However, US business has been keeping aloof from involving in Myanmar's uncertain but untapped market.


Trade unionists and activists stood with the people of Arranmore Island recently to pay tribute to social activist and writer, Peader ODonnell, who served as a teacher and headmaster at an Arranmore school.

Des Geraghty, former Siptu president and a friend of Peadars, was among those who spoke at the event, An Islanders Tribute to Peader ODonnell.

He was a man of the people who never forgot his roots in the rugged highlands and islands of Donegal, but also knew how inequality, poverty, emigration and injustice blights the lives of poor, hardworking people of all nationalities and persuasions, Des said in his remarks during the ceremony.

Born in 1893 in Meenmore, outside Dungloe, Peader served as headmaster of Arranmores Athphort National School from 1916 to 1918, after training as a teacher at St. Patricks College in Dublin.

While on Arranmore Peader set time aside each day for his writing and involvement in the trade union movement. He was elected county secretary for the Donegal branch of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) in July of 1917.

He also witnessed the hardships experienced by Arranmore islanders who emigrated to Scotland to work as tattie hokers. In June of 1918, with the islanders, he established the Arranmore Migratory Labourers Union.

Des said, For me he will always be remembered as a constructive socialist, a courageous soldier, a proud, generous spirit, a man of the people and a true inheritor of all the ODonnell rebel traditions of Donegal.

The tribute also featured the unveiling of a picture of Peader and a plaque remembering his time on the island. Other speakers included John Boyle, first Into vice president from the Rosses; Anton McCabe of the NUJ; Labour activist Seamus Rodgers; social activist and author Donal Donnelly, a friend of Peaders; and solicitor Sean Bonner of the Donegal Historical Society.

Speaking after the tribute, Eamonn Bonner, manager of the Ionad an Chrois Bhealaigh, the Arranmore community centre, said the aim of the event was to ensure Peaders memory is kept alive and to send the message that people, no matter where they are geographically, can make changes and have an input in improving the lives of the ordinary, working person in the country.

Nora Flanagan, chairperson of the committee behind the Arranmore tribute, said Peaders work had improved conditions for people across the board. We now enjoy better pay and conditions in all aspects of our work, thanks to the like of Peader and his colleagues.

She also said he had a particular affinity with island communities, and said Arranmore hope make the tribute an annual event.

We want to do something every year to remember him, because he was a very important part of island life, Nora said.
A spokesperson for Lar Chomhairleach Baile Gleann Cholmcille has said that Fintra Bridge needs to be given priority before it is too late.

Brendan Byrne, who is the press spokesperson for the group, said that the bridge was taken off the county wide infrastructure project in 2015.

He said: This bridge needs to be given priority.

In fact, it needs to go to the top of the list, be given top priority.

According to the Carrick resident, the bridge is the main route taken by tourists to Slieve League.

During the summer months, hundreds of tourists traverse the bridge en route to Slieve League.

The bridge is very important in terms of tourism and in terms of pumping back into the local economy.

The former Fianna Fail councillor said that he feels that local representatives in the area need to focus on the issue and table a Dail question in relation to the matter.

This issue needs to be raised at Dail level. Local representatives need to highlight it. The importance of this bridge cannot be underestimated, he said.

Mr. Byrne said that a deputation must be arranged to go to Dublin to meet Minister Shane Ross.

We feel that the urgency for a new bridge is not being adequately recognised. The importance of this issue cannot be underestimated, he said.

Local representatives must do all they can to push this matter forward.

It has come to the point now where something has to be done, actions must be taken in order to get this matter dealt with as soon as possible. We cannot leave this issue until it is too late. The sooner we act the better. The sooner we act the less money will be spent, he said.
Hundreds of people from the border region came out to demonstrate against Brexit this afternoon.

Rallies took place in Carrickcarnon, Moybridge, Aghalane, Belcoo, Lifford and Bridgend. The message from all rallies was loud and clear, the people of the border region do not want to leave the European Union (EU).

Todays events took place after British Prime Minister, Theresa May, signalled she will trigger Article 50, a process which would begin the UKs exit from the EU. The move sparked fears that hard borders would return to the border region.

Speaking at todays rally, in Bridgend, the Chief Executive of Enterprise North West, John McGowan said that Brexit made the entire region poorer.

He said: I agree that Letterkenny will be a ghost town come December if the currency keeps falling and Im just looking for leadership, so we all can stand up and say no to Brexit.

The businessman added that Brexit will destroy the economy.

Unity call made in Belcoo

In Belcoo, County Fermanagh, MEP Marian Harkin called on all political parties, to unite behind the anti-Brexit campaign.

Ms. Harkin said, "I don't think people realise the full implication yet - this will be catastrophic for people in this region in this area and in the island as a whole.

"It will affect every strand in the community - areas like this depend on tourism and agriculture which will be greatly affected.
EC bars political parties from using public space for propagating symbol

Published: October 8, 2016

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued directions barred political parties from using public resources that amount to advertisement for parties or propagating their election symbols.

The ECI has issued these directions in the wake of the High Court July 2016 order and considering the views of political parties.

Key Facts

ECI order bars political parties from using public space, public funds or government machinery for carrying out activities propagate party election symbols or advertise them.

It has clarified that above directions violates the lawful direction of it within the meaning of paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order.

The clause 16A of the Order confers power on ECI to suspend or withdraw recognition of a recognised political party fails to follow its lawful directions and instructions or to observe Model Code of Conduct.

What do these directions mean?

Henceforth, no registered political party in the country shall either use or allow the use of any public place or public funds or government machinery for carrying out any activity that would amount to advertisement for the party or propagating partys allotted election symbol. It will further augment ECIs goal of conducting free and fair election and level playing field for all stakeholders.

Background

The Delhi High Court in July 2016 had issued an order in Common Cause vs Bahujan Samaj Party case requesting ECI to issue appropriate directions or guidelines for preventing the recognised political party in power from using public resources for propagating the partys election symbol. Delhi HC had mentioned that utilising public resources for promoting any political party or its election symbol is antithetical to the concept of free and fair election and the principle of level playing field for all stakeholders.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2016

Topics: Delhi High Court  Election Commission  Elections  National

Latest E-Books
THE annual solemn novena in honour of St Gerard Majella at St Josephs Redemptorist Church and Holy Redeemer Church in Dundalk, will take place from next Monday 8 October until Tuesday week 16 October.

THE annual solemn novena in honour of St Gerard Majella at St Josephs Redemptorist Church and Holy Redeemer Church in Dundalk, will take place from next Monday 8 October until Tuesday week 16 October.

The weekday services are at 7am, 9.30am, 11.30am, 1.10pm, 2.30pm, 4.30pm, 6pm, 7.30pm, 9pm, 10.30pm.

On Sunday the times are: 7am, 8am, 9.30am, 11am, 12.30pm, 4.30pm, 6pm, 7.30pm, 9pm.

The preachers at the Redemptorist this year are Fr Peter Burns, Fr Gerard OConnor, Fr Richard Reid and Fr Noel Kehoe.

The preachers at the Church of the Redeemer are Fr Michael Dempsey and Fr Dan Baragry.

The last session every night at the Redemptorist will be in candlelight.

Guest speaker will be Stephen Vaughan who will speak on Monday 15 October at all session in St Josephs about being gay.

There will be a special healing Mass with anointing of the sick and elderly on Saturday 13 October at the Redemptorist at 11.30am and 2.30pm.

The healing Mass in the Redeemer will be on Monday 15 October.

Communal celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation will take place on Thursday 11 October at the Redemptorist and Friday 12 October at the Redeemer.

The traditional blessing of babies and children  without Mass - will be held on Sunday afternoon 14 October at the Redemptorist at 2.30pm and in the Redeemer on the same day at 3pm.
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.
Election Commission partners with Facebook to encourage voter registration

Published: October 8, 2016

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has collaborated with social networking giant Facebook to register young voters in 5 states, which are going to polls in 2017.

These five states are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakh.The purpose first-of-its-kind voter registration drive is to encourage youth to participate in the democratic exercise.

Key Facts

The services of Facebook will be used to link all the eligible voters who are 18 years and above to the National Voters Services Portal (NVSP).

Facebook users from these five states will receive a reminder in their Facebook accounts News Feed sector to register to vote.

By clicking on the Register Now button, people will be directed to the NVSP which will guide them through the registration process. Facebook has 148 million monthly active users in India.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2016

Topics: Digital literacy  Election Commission  Facebook  National

Latest E-Books
Blog Archive June 2021 (1) May 2021 (77) April 2021 (77) March 2021 (82) February 2021 (68) January 2021 (64) December 2020 (67) November 2020 (66) October 2020 (66) September 2020 (67) August 2020 (74) July 2020 (83) June 2020 (92) May 2020 (86) April 2020 (104) March 2020 (105) February 2020 (74) January 2020 (75) December 2019 (75) November 2019 (70) October 2019 (89) September 2019 (69) August 2019 (81) July 2019 (77) June 2019 (73) May 2019 (110) April 2019 (110) March 2019 (102) February 2019 (85) January 2019 (123) December 2018 (116) November 2018 (112) October 2018 (121) September 2018 (107) August 2018 (150) July 2018 (163) June 2018 (190) May 2018 (145) April 2018 (112) March 2018 (124) February 2018 (113) January 2018 (164) December 2017 (150) November 2017 (144) October 2017 (169) September 2017 (171) August 2017 (135) July 2017 (131) June 2017 (147) May 2017 (160) April 2017 (138) March 2017 (156) February 2017 (143) January 2017 (203) December 2016 (208) November 2016 (185) October 2016 (173) September 2016 (194) August 2016 (232) July 2016 (225) June 2016 (238) May 2016 (231) April 2016 (215) March 2016 (246) February 2016 (226) January 2016 (252) December 2015 (230) November 2015 (250) October 2015 (234) September 2015 (222) August 2015 (253) July 2015 (275) June 2015 (279) May 2015 (223) April 2015 (226) March 2015 (243) February 2015 (258) January 2015 (281) December 2014 (292) November 2014 (296) October 2014 (413) September 2014 (472) August 2014 (506) July 2014 (483) June 2014 (488) May 2014 (512) April 2014 (497) March 2014 (531) February 2014 (482) January 2014 (535) December 2013 (482) November 2013 (441) October 2013 (416) September 2013 (491) August 2013 (521) July 2013 (491) June 2013 (470) May 2013 (457) April 2013 (426) March 2013 (420) February 2013 (414) January 2013 (489) December 2012 (433) November 2012 (504) October 2012 (469) September 2012 (430) August 2012 (427) July 2012 (360) June 2012 (336) May 2012 (362) April 2012 (322) March 2012 (263) February 2012 (224) January 2012 (291) December 2011 (295) November 2011 (325) October 2011 (330) September 2011 (319) August 2011 (333) July 2011 (318) June 2011 (387) May 2011 (373) April 2011 (389) March 2011 (375) February 2011 (335) January 2011 (400) December 2010 (445) November 2010 (395) October 2010 (312) September 2010 (262) August 2010 (277) July 2010 (323) June 2010 (386) May 2010 (360) April 2010 (333) March 2010 (351) February 2010 (336) January 2010 (384) December 2009 (353) November 2009 (300) October 2009 (308) September 2009 (350) August 2009 (298) July 2009 (255) June 2009 (203) May 2009 (193) April 2009 (186) March 2009 (197) February 2009 (173) January 2009 (148) December 2008 (181) November 2008 (197) October 2008 (236) September 2008 (304) August 2008 (314) July 2008 (273) June 2008 (27) May 2008 (1) April 2008 (6) October 2007 (1) May 2007 (1) April 2007 (6) March 2007 (2) February 2007 (1) October 2006 (1) September 2006 (1) August 2006 (4) July 2006 (4) June 2006 (1) July 2005 (1) May 2005 (2) March 2005 (1) June 2004 (2) May 2004 (1) April 2004 (4) March 2004 (2) February 2004 (2) July 2003 (2) June 2003 (5)
India slams hold on declaring Masood Azhar global terrorist

Published: October 7, 2016

India has reacted sharply to the extension of the technical hold on banning Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar by the United Nations 1267 Sanctions Committee.

It clearly mentioned that being a global body, UN will be sending a dangerous message if it fails to act upon Indias demand for his designation as a global terrorist.

India also criticised the complete non-transparent and anonymous manner of designating individuals by the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee.

It also mentioned that, UN Sanctions Committee has already proscribed Pakistan-based JeM a terrorist organisation. However committee ignored the need to take action against the organisations main leader, motivator and financier who continues his terrorist actions unhindered.

What is the case?

In March 2016, India told the 1267 Committee of UN to designate Masood Azhar as an international terrorist citing to act against its main leader, financier and motivator of terrorist organisation.

India had pressed case against Masood in UN following the January 2016 Pathankot attack which it blamed on the outfit JeM. Masood was also blamed as the mastermind behind recent September 2016 Uri attack in Jammu Kashmir.

However in March 2016, China a veto-wielding permanent member of UNSC had blocked Indias move to put a ban on Azhar Masood under the al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee.

China was the sole member in the 15-nation UNSC to put a hold on Indias application while the rest 14 members of the UNSC supported Indias bid.

About United Nations Security Council 1267 Committee

The UNSC 1267 Committee was established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999). It is also known as the AlQaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee.

It was established for the purpose of overseeing the implementation of sanctions measures imposed on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan for its support of Osama bin Laden.

However in course of time, the 1267 sanctions regime has been modified and strengthened by subsequent resolutions.

If an individual or terrorist organisation is included in this list, it helps in restricting their movement, financial penalties and assets freeze among others.

The Committee comprises all 15 members of the UNSC and makes its decision by consensus and secretly. If single member opposes it there is no consensus.

Thats why China opposition to Indias bid is not allowing UNSC to designate Masood Azhar as an international terrorist and freeze his assets and travel ban.

The committee is being criticised for being non transparent and in recent time there is demand for its reforms to address procedural shortcomings especially from India.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2016

Topics: 1267 Sanctions Committee  India China  Masood Azhar  National  Terrorism  UNSC

Latest E-Books
Port-au-Prince, Oct 8 (EFE).- The Haitian government on Saturday was continuing to evaluate the severe damage and extensive loss of life caused by Hurricane Matthew, which aid organizations and local authorities say killed more than 800 people.

A total of 271 people have been confirmed dead, according to provisional official figures.

The Haitian government has thus far provided scant information about the victims and damage, while the figures provided by emergency management officials and local officials diverge widely.

Frednel Kedler, the national government's representative in Grand'Anse, one of the southwestern provinces battered by the Category 4 storm, told EFE the hurricane had left 420 dead and 58 missing in the provincial capital Jeremie alone.

He said that fatality count came from 12 districts in Jeremie, while no information was available from five other districts still cut off from communication.

Jeremie is destroyed and the majority of people are practically living in the street after Matthew severely damaged their homes, Kedler said, adding that the hurricane affected about 70 percent of school infrastructure.

The storm almost entirely demolished Jeremie's only hospital, whose lone functioning unit is an emergency ward that is poorly equipped and without electricity.

The Haitian government said earlier that the situation in the nation's southern peninsula was catastrophic and issued an appeal for international aid.

Interim President Jocelerme Privert said numerous countries had offered assistance to Haiti, which still has not recovered from a devastating 2010 earthquake that left some 300,000 dead, a similar number injured and 1.5 million homeless.
Maharashtra becomes 17th state to join UDAY Scheme

Published: October 8, 2016

Maharashtra became 17th state to Central Governments Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY) scheme.

It will help Maharashtra to reap benefits worth Rs 9,725 crore by way of cheaper funds, transmission losses, energy efficiency and coal reforms during the period of the turnaround.

Under the UDAY Scheme, Maharashtra has committed to take more than 75% of the discoms non-capex debt of around 6,600 crore rupees in the current year.

The balance 25% debt will be converted into bonds or re-priced at cheaper rates which will reduce the interest burden by 595 crore rupees.

About Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna (UDAY)

UDAY Scheme was launched by Union Ministry of Power for financial restructuring of debt of Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs).

It aims for financial revival and turnaround of DISCOMs and also ensures a sustainable permanent solution to the problem.

Power DISCOMs of states by joining this scheme can convert their debt into bonds which can be issued in market as well as roll out number of measures to improve efficiency at power plants.

It will make DISCOMs financially and operationally healthy so they can supply adequate power at affordable rates.

It will help in reduction in interest cost of DISCOMs and enforcing financial discipline in DISCOMs through alignment with State finances.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2016

Latest E-Books
Blog Archive October (61) September (83) August (69) July (73) June (62) May (80) April (62) March (75) February (57) January (63) December (78) November (111) October (91) September (88) August (118) July (117) June (81) May (80) April (74) March (94) February (103) January (139) December (122) November (81) October (58) September (60) August (76) July (65) June (88) May (87) April (75) March (86) February (84) January (84) December (67) November (64) October (59) September (58) August (57) July (60) June (48) May (58) April (41) March (56) February (65) January (65) December (64) November (76) October (91) September (69) August (67) July (61) June (57) May (66) April (52) March (58) February (52) January (64) December (59) November (51) October (48) September (37) August (47) July (54) June (55) May (69) April (55) March (43) February (3) December (14) November (46) October (44) September (38) August (27) July (18) June (32) May (44) April (38) March (31) February (34) January (34) December (26) November (57) October (43) September (80) August (66) July (77) June (85) May (70) April (56) March (49) February (32) January (39) December (42) November (24) October (16) September (36) August (34) July (40) June (55) May (45) April (62) March (56) February (57) January (59) December (58) November (50) October (55) September (31) August (77) July (65) June (27) May (52) April (53) March (77) February (75) January (36) December (24) November (31) October (31) September (29) August (30) July (49) June (53) May (61) April (65) March (96) February (35) January (53) December (56) November (52) October (51) September (109) August (94) July (70) June (65) May (85) April (80) March (96) February (74) January (79) December (75) November (104) October (104) September (108) August (86) July (101) June (106) May (100) April (97) March (103) February (91) January (95) December (136) November (122) October (173) September (111) August (178) July (168) June (184) May (193) April (161) March (149) February (121) January (131) December (120) November (97) October (137) September (105) August (133) July (120) June (103) May (111) April (72) March (48) February (58) January (27)
Election day is about a month away, and America is experiencing an election season unlike any other. I was born while Eisenhower was in office so the next President will be the twelfth of my lifetime; Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Obama, and the winner between Clinton II and Trump.

Who to support? Who to vote for? That's a decision you'll have to make; I won't be endorsing any candidate here.

God knows who the next President will be, in fact, God has chosen who the next President will be. Another fact, God has chosen all the Presidents, Kings, Prime Ministers, and every leader who has walked the earth.

All power in the universe is ordained by God. Romans 13:1, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."

God holds all power and authority. Therefore, any power or authority anyone has is given them by God. All authority - President Obama, President Putin of Russia, Presiden Assad of Syria - all of them, plus all the world leaders, all members of parliaments, congresses and so on, hold the seats of power because God has placed them there.

Because it is an election year, we think of our elected officials when we think of authority. However, far more than those in public office have authority. A foreman at the factory, a school teacher, a uniform policeman, the seventeen-year-old assistant manager at the fast food joint, a Pastor, a mom, a dad; all of these and millions more, have, in various degrees authority given to them by God.

Whoever moves into the Whtie House in January 2017, will be whom God has chosen to live there. Because of this, a friend asked me if we should even vote. Yes, yes, yes, by all means, vote. When God uses our votes to accomplish His will, that is His prerogative.

One thing many Christians will not consider, but is the truth, God will set into power those He wishes to be in authority, not necessarily the godliest person.

It was the will of God for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus' death would not have happened if it were not for the mixture of evil people in authority at the time - Herod, Pilate, Caiaphas the High Priest, and the rest. Do not forget that every ounce of power these men possessed came from God (John 19:11).

The Word of God is true and without error. There were over 300 Old Testament prophecies concerning Jesus life and death, and He fulfilled every one of them.

The Bible tells us of hundreds of other yet fulfilled prophecies about the future and eternity. As far as the future is concerned, future events entail the rapture of the church, the rise of the Antichrist, the Great Tribulation Period, the return of Jesus Christ, the one-thousand-year reign of Christ, Judgement Day, a new heaven, a new earth and the ushering in of eternity.

Just as God orchestrated the proper conditions and who would be in power at the time of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection; He will also organize the conditions and the powers that be at the time of future prophetic fulfillment.

The nation is in a mess and is divided on how to solve the problems. Could it be that the times the Bible speaks of as future are not hundreds of years away, or even a few generations away? Could it be that the time of the rapture, the rise of the Antichrist, the Great Tribulation Period and the return of Christ will occur within the next few decades or sooner? Could it be that God is moving the chess pieces of world history into position for His end game?

Someone asked the question the other day, "Of the 330,000,000 people in this country we've come down to these two?" We must remember, God is the one who will choose.

In reality, God has had it come down to these two. Instead of complaining about the choices, maybe we should be asking God, "Why these two, Lord?"
"Grey's Anatomy" Season 13 Episode 3, Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and Alex (Justin Chambers) gets into an argument because of Deluca (Giacomo Gianniotti). Arizona was mad at Alex not just because Deluca was her roommate but she is also worried about his career.

In "Grey's Anatomy" Season 12 finale episode, Alex beats Deluca nearly to death when he finds him inside his apartment. He is now awaiting trial to know if he will be charged with felony in the second degree.

Alex is now fed up with people lecturing him about what he did and he just snapped when Arizona confronted him in the hospital. In the next episode, Alex will try to do the right thing but it seems like luck isn't on his side yet.

Meanwhile, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is facing a problem of her own. In a recap done by TV Line, her sister Maggie (Kelly McCreary) is asking her for advice as to whether she should ask Nathan (Martin Henderson) out.

When Nathan found out about it from Meredith, he tried to convince her to come clean to Maggie about them. However, Meredith told him that he should go on the date and "be a jerk" so that Maggie won't like him anymore.

Sensing her disinterest in Maggie's love life, Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) told Meredith that she should be more open to Maggie. She even threatened Meredith that if she won't help out their sister, she would move back in with them. But in the end, Nathan politely turned down Maggie but it still leaves her upset.

International Business Times reported that McCreary told TV Guide that her character is a "stickler for honesty and the truth." She explained that when she finds out about Meredith and Nathan's relationship, this might truly upset her and scar the relationship that she has with her sister.

"Grey's Anatomy" Season 13 Episode 4 titled "Falling Slowly" will air on ABC on Thursday night.
Alok Prasanna Kumar writes:

The Karnataka governments defiance of the Supreme Courts orders of 20, 27 and 30 September, directing it to release water to Tamil Nadu, was a direct challenge to the authority of the highest court in the country. Faced with such open and wilful disobedience, the Supreme Court did not take any steps to have its orders enforced. It allowed the Karnataka government to escape the consequences of deliberately disobeying the Courts orders thrice. These events suggest that the Courts authority and credibility have been seriously undermined by the constitutional authorities which are bound to follow its every order. The Court itself has played no small role in this unfortunate turn of events.
United States (US) Secretary of State John Kerry had cautioned New Delhi against any Washington-style war on terror adventurism. Despite this, Washingtons junior partner presumably went ahead with its so-called surgical strikes targeting terror launch pads in the Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir. We say presumably because both Islamabad and the United Nations (UN), despite what would be New Delhis blatant violation of international law if it did carry out the surgical strikes, suggest that nothing of the kind happened. If indeed the surgical strikes were a hoax, merely for the consumption of self-styled patriots who needed to be convinced of the prowess of (what they imagine) the great power in the making, so be it. These patriots, especially those in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the commercial media, went to town about how New Delhi has finally discarded the shackles of strategic restraint and called the bluff of Pakistani nuclear blackmail.

Indeed, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, a prominent BJP leader from Goa, even likened the Indian armed forces to Hanuman, the mythical monkey-god in the Hindu epic Ramayana, who on being reminded of his prowess, instantly strode across the ocean to teach Ravana, the rakshasa (demon) king of Lanka, a lesson. And, presumably, like Ravana, the military top-brass of Pakistan, Parrikar claimed, have been left bewildered, unable to react. He, of course, went on to threaten that if and when Pakistan persists with its sponsorship of terrorism, we will give them a befitting reply again.
The USD/CAD exchange rate broke out last week, but opens the new week notably lower

As the currency markets enter the first trading day of the new week, the US dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate is seen in the region at the 1.32361 level.

The British pound is also seen sharply lower against the Canadian peer, with the GBP/CAD conversion at an exact 1.64000 today.

Job numbers were the most important data watched by the analysts last week. While the US nonfarm payrolls increased 156,000 in September, the jobless rate increased to 5%.

Both numbers were below the Reuters poll forecasts of 176,000 new job creations and 4.9% unemployment.

Nevertheless, experts gave a thumbs-up to the report.

"This is a solid number," Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester told CNBC. "This is very consistent with what we expected to see, certainly with my forecast."

The market participants believed that the numbers were good enough for the Federal Reserve to hike rates when they meet in December. The probability of a rate hike in December increased from 63.4% before the report to 69.5% after the release, according to the CMEs FedWatch Tool.

On the other hand, the Canadian jobs report was way stronger than the markets anticipated.

Canadian jobs report beats expectations

The Canadian economy created 67,000 new jobs in September, blowing past the meager 7500 new jobs forecast, according to the Bloomberg poll. The jobless number remained steadfast at 7%, meeting expectations.

Though at the surface, the addition is the strongest since April 2012, when the economy had added 93000 new jobs, the breakup is not as encouraging. 44,000 new additions were part-time jobs, full-time employment added 23,000 new spots.

The magnitude of the gain is dented by a heavy reliance upon self-employed and part-time categories, said Bank of Nova Scotias Derek Holt vice president in a note. Gains in this category usually do not translate as well into growth in income and benefits that drive consumer spending and housing, reports The Globe And Mail.

Latest US Dollar/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rates

On Monday the US Dollar to British Pound exchange rate (USD/GBP) converts at 0.866 At time of writing the pound to us dollar exchange rate is quoted at 1.155. The live inter-bank GBP-GBP spot rate is quoted as 1 today. The pound conversion rate (against swiss franc) is quoted at 1.156 CHF/GBP. Please note: the FX rates above, updated 31st Oct 2022, will have a commission applied by your typical high street bank. Currency brokers specialise in these type of foreign currency transactions and can save you up to 5% on international payments compared to the banks.

Crude oil marches ahead

Crude oil prices continued their stellar performance, backed by the OPECs decision to cut production, announced in Algiers. The rally in crude has reached stiff resistance levels, which should see some selling by the bears.

Nevertheless, a breakout above the overhead resistance of $51.64 a barrel will be a big positive; the next target on crude is around the $61 a barrel levels. Higher crude oil prices is a big positive for the Canadian markets.

The other two data during the week were mixed. While the manufacturing PMI was weak, the building permits were strong.

RBC Canadian manufacturing

The RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchase Managers Index (PMI) was 50.3 last month, which is well below the 51.1 recorded in August.

The drop, though, still doesnt indicate a contraction, but it shows the anemic recovery in the manufacturing sector.

The renewed drop in new orders raises concerns that this soft patch may continue into the final quarter, said Tim Moore, senior economist at survey compilers IHS Markit, reports The Globe And Mail.

Building permits

The building permits increased 10.4% in August, exceeding market expectations of a 3% gain, led by the multifamily dwellings, which rose sharply, seeing a 14.7% jump in construction activity.

The USD/CAD exchange rate breaks out

The USD/CAD has broken out of the overhead resistance, after consolidating in a range for more than five months.

The pattern target of the breakout is 1.3665.

Traders should continue to maintain their long positions, even fresh positions can be taken at the 1.3320 levels, keeping a close stop loss under the 1.3160 levels.

Traders should avoid any short positions for now.

Scotiabank's Canadian Dollar Outlook

"USDCAD has cleared the 200 day MA and the late September highs around 1.3280, rallying toward 1.33 to levels last seen in mid-March."

"A consideration of the January-April decline and its major retracement levels would suggest potential resistance at 1.3312 (38.2% Fibo) followed by the 50% retracement at 1.3575."

"Momentum signals are bullish and the RSI remains relatively muted at 62, leaving ample space for further upside ahead of the overbought threshold at 70."
Anyone looking for a job naturally would be interested in what industries will be hiring the most in the coming years, what various occupations pay and what occupations will have the most openings year by year.

The Texas Workforce Commission has all the answers, at least the best educated and scientifically based estimates.

The Austin-based agency last month updated its long-term projections for industry and occupation job growth through 2024, using 2014 as the base year.

The statewide projections, issued every two years, also are calculated for each of the agencys 28 workforce development areas in the state. The local agency for the 12-county area that includes Bexar County is Workforce Solutions Alamo.

The newly updated tables, online at http://tracer2.com/ (click on The Future tab), have good news for the San Antonio area. The 12-county area is projected to see 22.6 percent job growth between 2014 and 2024. That is higher than the state projection of 20.7 percent. The U.S. Department of Labor projects U.S. job growth will be only 6.5 percent over the same 10-year period.

Specifically, the job base in the 12 counties surrounding San Antonio will grow to nearly 1.31 million in 2024 from 2014s 1.07 million, a gain of 241,730 jobs. Texass job base will reach 14.99 million in 2024, up from 2014s 12.42 million, a gain of nearly 2.57 million.

The Austin area is projected at 26.5 percent job growth for the same period, while Houston is at 22.4 percent and the Dallas area at 21.6 percent.

In other words, the San Antonio-Austin corridor and its surrounding counties are poised for the states best job growth over the next eight years.

The Excel spreadsheets are a gold mine of useful information. The data are voluminous, though, covering about 400 industries and about 700 occupations. The numbers come from historic trends, extensive company surveys and analysis models.

One guiding factor to remember was explained in August when Mick Normington, a Texas Workforce Commission business and industry specialist, spoke in Live Oak. Normington explained that the state had shifted since 1990 to health care from manufacturing as the dominant industry.

The 2014-2024 projections for San Antonio bear that out.

The category of health care and social assistance has the highest number change over the decade, a growth of 44,150 jobs from 140,840 in 2024 for an above-average 31.3 percent gain. Most of the growth will come at doctors and dentists offices and other outpatient clinics with a projected 32.8 percent rise in jobs during the decade. Hospital job growth will be close behind at 31.1 percent.

Leisure and hospitalitys accommodation and food services category is projected to gain 31,450 jobs to reach 141,570 in 2024, a 28.6 percent gain over the decade.

Education services, public and private, is projected for job growth of 27,490 to 100,050 in 2024 for a 27.5 percent gain.

The occupation with the highest number of average annual job openings in the San Antonio area is retail salesperson, with 2,050 positions coming open each year due to growth and replacement at existing positions. The percent job growth is 24.8 percent for the decade.

In a higher-paying category, however, San Antonio will need 1,030 registered nurses for open positions each year, a 30.6 percent jump for the decade, while 995 average annual positions will open for personal care aides at a 34.1 percent increase in openings.

Wages? Pain management wins. Anesthesiologists earned the highest average annual wage in 2015, according to the commissions data, with annual pay of $278,041, or $133.67 per hour.

In fact, the top four best-paying occupations in 2015 in the San Antonio area were all health care-related. Internists, family or general practitioners and pediatricians all earned more per year than CEOs, whose average compensation in the San Antonio area was $192,309. Surgeons followed with average annual pay of $179,447.

The occupations with the biggest potential growth through 2024 are projected to be office and administrative workers at 31,890 new positions, food preparation or servers at 30,180, sales at 24,360, education or training at 18,430, health care or technical staff at 17,550 and personal care at 14,290.

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.

Industries on the decline through 2024 are led by the federal government, which is expected to eliminate 1,270 positions between 2014 and 2024, a 4 percent decline. Aerospace product and parts manufacturing is projected to lose 780 jobs, a 19.1 percent drop.

Another shrinking industry is support activities for mining, meaning energy drilling services, which is projected to lose 960 jobs between 2014 and 2024. That could change as oil prices fluctuate.

The massive information obviously can be useful to people deciding on careers.

Our area is driven by services, but there may be people who might want to earn more. They may want to upgrade their skills, said Lydia Elder, Worksource Solutions Alamo business communications specialist.

The jobs with the highest pay will require more education, Elder said. But not all good-paying jobs require four-year college degrees, she added. Jobs requiring two-year associate degrees and paying more than $45,000 a year in the San Antonio area are computer network support specialists, dental hygienists, radiologic technologists, respiratory therapists and engineering technicians.

More broadly, companies can find information in the projections when deciding where to place offices or facilities. Educators can better decide where to put schools and how curricula should change. Local governments can better plan roads and transportation. Developers can see what housing demand will be.

Health care, in a broad brush, is the brightest job-growth sector, ranking at the top or near the top in every category. But the new projections show new jobs will appear in healthy numbers in nearly every other category, too. It adds up to a wide spectrum of opportunities.

dhendricks@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

In the middle of a talk Friday about his role as a Judson Independent School District police officer, Albert Espinoza looked at nearly 200 students seated on the floor of the Spring Meadows Elementary School library and asked who had family in the military.

Blake Reeves, 9 years old and in the fourth grade, sat up tall.

My dads in the military, he told the room. Right now hes in Korea.

What Blake didnt know was that his father, Army Sgt. William Wade, was down the street heading for the school, where minutes later he would be introduced as the last in a line of community helpers there to speak about their jobs.

When the door swung open, Blake recognized one person. Mama! he yelled. Then he froze for a couple of seconds, unsure of what he was seeing.

Daddy!

Blake and his brother, 5-year-old kindergartner Wayne Wade, ran to hug and kiss their father. They thought he wasnt coming home until Christmas, said their mother, Amanda Wade.

The boys returned to their seats as William Wade, 27, talked about his job fixing computers for the Army. He had just returned from a year in Korea. He had been deployed two other times since he joined nine years ago.

Not everybody in the Army goes around fighting the bad guys, he said. Some people have to stay back and help the good guys fight the bad guys.

Plans for the surprise were set in motion when Amanda Wade contacted Waynes kindergarten teacher, Elaine Boliver. She wanted to surprise both her older sons at the same time with their fathers return. The couples youngest son, Jimmy Wade, 4, attends pre-kindergarten at Park Village Elementary.

The kindergartners at Spring Meadows had been talking about people who help the community, Boliver said. So she thought of bringing workers to speak to both sons grades, with William Wade walking in at the end.

Judson ISD, situated near Randolph Air Force Base and Fort Sam Houston, enrolls many students from military families.

Military is part of our community and they help us in a great way, Boliver said. When the surprise happened, she nearly cried.

To see my kids light up and be so happy to see their father was amazing, she said.

It didnt happen as planned, and almost didnt happen at all. William Wades 17-hour flight from Korea was delayed because of weather. A vice principal and the school counselor stalled for time, adding themselves to the list of speaking community helpers that already included the school nurse, Espinoza and a crew from the San Antonio Fire Department. Wade said if his flight had been delayed longer, he would not have made it home until Tuesday due to the governments long Columbus Day weekend.

He will spend 20 days at home before transferring to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Hell come home for Christmas, then his family will move with him to North Carolina.

Blake had only been reunited with his father for about 15 minutes, but he had one thing left to do before they all went home to relax.

Im gonna go see my friends, Blake told his father. Bye-bye.

amalik@express-news.net
WASHINGTON  Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pences reference to that Mexican thing has become a rallying cry since the debate Tuesday, with activists challenging Latinos to translate thing into voting power on Nov. 8.

But to Daniel Garza, of Mission, executive director of the Koch brothers-funded Libre Initiative, the social media explosion since Pence said Tim Kaine had whipped out that Mexican thing again in reference to Donald Trumps vow to deport millions of undocumented immigrants is another chapter in ongoing deception by Latino activists.

This is the Latino left purposely misleading the Latino electorate, Garza said. They know the context in which it was expressed. Yet theyre trying to say he (Pence) was being flippant.

Swiftly this week, the Pence words, spread by activists and by Hillary Clintons digital operations team, became a prominent storyline in Spanish and English media, cast as yet another derisive phrase sounding from the top of the Republican ticket. It unfolded much like Trumps references to the weight of former Miss Universe Alicia Machado last week blossomed into a Latino organizing tool.

On Friday, actress Eva Longoria appeared in a video distributed by the Democratic National Committee telling the camera: Gov. Pence, we are not a thing. We are proud American citizens.

More Information Latino vote in presidential elections 1980 Jimmy Carter, 56%, Ronald Reagan, 35% 1984 Walter Mondale, 61%, Reagan, 37% 1988 Michael Dukakis, 69%, George H.W. Bush, 30% 1992 Bill Clinton, 61%, Bush, 25% 1996 Clinton, 72%, Bob Dole, 21% 2000 Al Gore, 62%, George W. Bush, 35% 2004 John Kerry, 58%, George W. Bush, 40% 2008 Barack Obama, 67%, John McCain, 31% 2012 Obama, 71%, Mitt Romney, 27% Source: Latinovotematters.org (based on exit polling) See More Collapse

It may be digging a deeper hole for Trump among Latinos. This week, pollsters at Latino Decisions, with offices in Houston and Seattle, predicted Clinton would corral 82 percent of the Latino electorate, higher than any election at least since 1980. That support might have less of an impact than many predict, skeptics note, if notoriously low-voting Latinos dont show up at the polls.

Against the tide, Garza, 47, a White House aide in the George W. Bush administration, is pressing the case for Republicans and GOP Senate candidates  even if that means defeating the woman vying to become the U.S. Senates first Latina.

From phone banks in San Antonio and several more Texas cities, Libre Initiative staff and volunteers are beseeching Latinos in Nevada to vote against Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat who would make history if she overcomes the narrow lead by U.S. Rep. Joe Heck for the seat opened by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reids retirement.

In Spanish often, the phone bank teams across Texas  ranging from a half-dozen to a dozen callers  also make calls to Florida, making the case for Sen. Marco Rubio in his drive to regain his seat after his also-ran candidacy in GOP presidential primaries. Libre has spent more than $800,000 independently on Rubios behalf.

But with recent polls showing Rubio leading Democrat U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy by 5.4 percentage points, according an average by Real Clear Politics, Garza said Libre intends to shift efforts toward Nevada, including radio and digital advertising. A Libre PAC has spent $114,000 against Cortez Masto, a Center for Responsive Politics tally shows.

We want to make sure that Latinos are going to make an impact in that race, Garza said.

Garza rejected the notion that Libre is standing in the way of history by promoting Heck, a New York physician and brigadier general in the Army Reserve, over Cortez Masto.

A candidates heritage might matter, he said, if a Latino competed against a non-Latino in a party primary. But in the case of Cortez Masto, he added, all things are not equal. Policies she embraces related to taxes, regulation and school choice, among others, run against the grain of what Libre stands for, he said.

How does having a Latina in the Senate help us when shes working against us, he said.

The candidacy of Trump  his slurs against Hispanics, his proposed border wall and deportation force, his appeal to nativist instincts  has complicated Garzas efforts to build Libre into a more potent force.

Garza, despite defending Pence, says Libre is sitting out this presidential election. We will not rise or fall on one personality, he said.

Founded five years ago, Libre operates in Texas and at least nine other states, all of them either presidential battlegrounds or homes to heavy Latino populations. Besides politics, the group assists Latinos in basic needs, including drivers license assistance, food banks and tax preparation.

Libre says its efforts in Texas are buttressed by two other Koch-funded entities operating in the state: Americans for Prosperity and Concerned Veterans for America.

Libre has built a staff of 75 and recruited many volunteers, thanks in large measure to Charles and David Koch, the billionaire industrialists, free-market apostles and prolific donors to GOP candidates and causes. Libre does not disclose big contributors, but tax records show gifts of at least $10 million from a nonprofit supported by the Kochs and other conservative donors.

Liberal groups vilify the Koch brothers, but Garza contended that they have softened their public image with a determined effort at transparency. For instance, a summer gathering of wealthy conservatives they hosted focused on a surprising theme: income inequality.

Garza noted Charles Kochs willingness to be interviewed in recent months, countering his reputation as this mysterious, dark character.

Hes not this monster they have made him out to be. Its infuriating that thats what they try to do. Its character assassination, Garza said.

bill.lambrecht@hearstdc.com
AUSTIN  A federal judge has dismissed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges against Attorney General Ken Paxton, saying he had no legal obligation to tell potential investors in a North Texas tech company he would be paid a commission for soliciting their business.

The dismissal of the SECs civil complaint against Paxton marks a major win for the embattled attorney general who maintains he did nothing wrong while encouraging friends and colleagues to invest in the company, Servergy, while he was a state legislator. However, the general is still facing similar but criminal charges for securities fraud in state district court.

This is a victory for Ken Paxton. Obviously, we are pleased with the courts ruling today, said Matthew Martens, an attorney representing Paxton in the SEC matter.

In a muted response, Paxton said in a statement, I appreciate the judges thorough review and I am gratified by his dismissal of the entire case.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant said the SEC failed to make a strong enough case to prove Paxton made false statements or had a duty to disclose his compensation to potential investors.

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, he said 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, read the ruling.

Mazzant, appointed by President Barack Obama, tends to reject motions to dismiss cases. He permitted the hearing in September and suggested then that SEC lawyers were trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

The SEC declined to comment.

The Commission 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 $850,000 from investors for the company.

Paxtons attorneys argued he had no obligation to volunteer that he would make a commission. They said Paxton did not make false statements, and was instead silent on the matter, which they argued did not constitute securities fraud.

The dismissal of the federal charges leaves Paxton 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.

Defeating the civil charges is Paxton's latest win in recent months. In August, the Texas Bar Association threw out a complaint accusing him of personal misconduct for last year telling county clerks they could deny marriage licenses to gay couples. In March, a Collin County grand jury passed on pinning charges to Paxton related to a land deal resulting in a new location for the countys appraisal district headquarters.

The federal court ruling bodes well for Paxtons chances in state district court, hinted Bill Mateja, Paxton's lawyer on both Paxtons SEC and criminal defense teams.

Now we turn our attention to Kens exoneration in the state matter where the prosecutor's burden is even higher, he said.

Dismissal of the civil case does not guarantee a similar outcome in the criminal case, but the decision by the judge to throw out the SEC complaint is a clear signal into the weaknesses of the criminal case against Paxton, said Troy McKinney, a criminal defense lawyer at Houston-based Schneider and McKinney P.C.

I think its extremely hard to believe there could be a criminal offense when a civil court has already thrown out civil charges. Civil charges are much less severe, and if they cant even make that burden, its hard to believe they could make a criminal case against him, he said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

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
AUSTIN  Attorney General Ken Paxton has yanked his appeal seeking to block Syrian refugee resettlement in Texas and has declined to say why.

Court documents show Paxtons office moved to dismiss its appeal with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday, days after a three-judge panel for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a similar request from Indiana, characterizing Gov. Mike Pence's argument that refugees would commit acts of terror as a nightmare of speculation.
LES CAYES, Haiti  A hospital now a shambles, its floors swamped with garbage and water, absent electricity. People living in the streets, camped in front of their broken homes. Buildings smashed into splinters. Farm fields flattened, portending a hard year ahead.

For me, Roche-ateau is not a place to live anymore, said Warens Jeanty, 26, a tourism operator, surveying the beach towns and picturesque port hamlets that dot Haitis coast. People have nowhere to stay.

As Haiti picks through the detritus left by Hurricane Matthew, more bodies are turning up every hour. Some estimates said that more than 800 people had died in the storm, more than double what the government has reported, though it acknowledged that the toll was unknown. In one part of the countrys southern peninsula, nearly 30,000 homes were destroyed and 150 lives lost, officials said.

And a full accounting of damage has not even started.

I had never seen anything like this, said Marie Yolene Gateau, a retired New York City guidance counselor who lives in Leogane, Haiti, a town that was largely flattened in the 2010 earthquake. Now the storm has wiped out most of the regions sugar crop, bananas and mangoes, she said. The hurricane was attacking the trees. I watched thinking, When is it going to stop?'

Passage to many areas remained blocked, thwarting efforts to assess the destruction and to help survivors. A single, remote village reported 82 dead Friday while others said they were waiting to account for dozens of missing people. The government, which requires visual proof to count a death in its toll, could hardly keep up with the accounts of loss stitched together from hospitals.

Were still far from having a full picture of the extent of the damage, said Marc Vincent, a UNICEF representative in Haiti. We are hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.

It is a state that Haiti has grown accustomed to.

The country was getting ready for elections this Sunday, the product of nearly a year of wrangling and recriminations. But after a long period of political uncertainty and delay, even nature would not let Haiti hold the vote.

Now the hurricane has presented yet another hurdle to a nation still grappling with the devastation of the 2010 earthquake and a cholera epidemic inadvertently introduced to the country by U.N. peacekeepers.

Etienne Navuson, 27, waited out the hurricane this week in his concrete home as the wind lashed his village on the southwestern peninsula. When he awoke, almost everything had vanished: cattle, crops, fields and homes.

Had the rain fallen more than it did  had it gone for just one more hour  we would have lost even more, Navuson said.

At least 90 percent of the village was destroyed, he said. Residents have been forced to search for food and water buried in the rubble.

Those who find something are fortunate, he said. Seven more family members have taken refuge in Navusons home after losing their own to the storm. The tiny home is now packed with people sleeping on plastic sheets for bedding.

There will be food shortages in the days to come, Navuson said.

Monsignor Pierre-Andrierre, head of the Catholic University of Notre Dame of Haiti, encountered chaos when he reached the coastal town of Jmie. Trees were gone, leaving an empty field. Someone had discarded a body in front of a Catholic bishops house, not knowing where else to dispose of it.

They were in a state of shock on what had happened in that place, Pierre said. People were running in the streets.

Pierre said he then took a flight to the southern part of the peninsula where he passed over the town of Roche-ateau, where little was left.

That town did not exist, he said.

Jeff Barnes, a Haitian-American pilot, was making relief flights Friday. Many of the towns around Jmie remained cut off from the rest of Haiti. In some neighborhoods, 80 to 90 percent of homes had been severely damaged or destroyed.

Swaths of trees had been reduced to stumps, he said. Large teams of young people had taken to the streets with machetes and chain saws, trying to clear roads blocked by fallen trees, some several feet in diameter.

Almost everyone is living under the sky now, sleeping under the stars, he said. Doors are gone, people dont have a place to live.

Observers said the hurricane and the lack of a coordinated response recalled the troubles the country faced during the 2010 earthquake.

It is during natural disasters such as this the frailty and near-absence of Haitis state becomes most visible, says Michael Deibert, the author of two books on Haiti. As the country slides downhill, the political elites squabble in the capital, and the international community fails to come up with an effective way of engaging with Haitis most vulnerable.

Others agreed.

Haiti has been in the path of the storm just way too often, said Robert E. Maguire, a professor of international affairs at George Washington University. It isnt because of anything the Haitian people are doing. Its natural disasters exacerbated because of the way people have managed the country.

Policies that ordered or permitted the stripping of trees have left barren and scorched landscapes susceptible to mudslides. Poor development has left the country defenseless to hurricanes, without sea walls or other hard defenses to soften the blow.

The nations politics, meanwhile, often brew their own type of disaster, leaving the country bereft of clearly elected leaders.

The interim government is still assessing the damage. Haitis Civil Protection Force maintained Friday that fewer than 300 people had died, but Reuters had tallied that nearly 900 lives were lost.

In many areas, schools, police stations and other buildings that would typically serve as voting stations are in tatters. The hope of most is that the government will reschedule the elections for this year.

We will have another disaster here if these elections arent held this year, said Pierre Esperance, executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network. The interim government doesnt really have the power or legitimacy to control the country.

For many, looking for food or still searching for loved ones, the elections were the last thing on their minds. On Friday, the Charmant Hotel in Jmie had left a message on its website, saying its owners had not been in touch since the storm.

We do know that Bette and Edwin were taking precautions for their guests, staff and family prior to the hurricane, said the message, left by staff members.

Valery Numa, a well-known radio host in Port-au-Prince, ran three businesses  a hotel, a radio station and a Haitian Creole restaurant  in the town of Camp Perrin. All three were destroyed in the hurricane.

The hotel, Le Racul, had become the center of a budding tourist industry in Camp Perrin. But now 12 of its 24 rooms were uninhabitable, and its roof was damaged. His radio station lost $17,000 worth of equipment.

But Numba has put an ambitious date, Nov. 1, for opening his three operations again.

Any businessman who loses everything is going to be in distress, he said, adding that he found himself lucky that none of his family members had died.

The aftermath of the storm also brought scenes of hope as survivors appeared. As the hurricane subsided, a team from St.-Boniface Hospital in southwestern Haiti went out to clear a route through debris. Looking up through the lessening rain, one of the workers saw the figure of a pregnant woman.

Her name was Julienne Cadet. She had been walking for at least half a mile. She was bleeding, in active labor.

The team quickly gathered around Cadet, helped her across a raging stream and drove her to the hospital. After an emergency cesarean section, she delivered two healthy boys: Jonas and Jean-atan.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Louis Agnese Jr., the longtime president of the University of the Incarnate Word who was ousted by UIWs board in August over inflammatory comments, is recovering from treatable ailments that include severe exhaustion, according to a statement released Friday by board Chairman Charles Lutz.

Striking a tone that hinted at mended relationships between school officials and Agnese, who had been placed on medical leave against his wishes and was later removed as president, Lutz said UIWs board voted unanimously Friday to name Agnese president emeritus after very positive and affirming conversations in the past few weeks.

Dr. Agnese informed us that during his leave, he consulted regularly with his longtime physician and specialists who have concluded that he was in fact suffering from treatable ailments, including severe exhaustion, Lutz said. Dr. Agnese has indicated that the care prescribed by these doctors has been effective and we are pleased and relieved at his progress.

Agnese is out of the country until Nov. 5 and did not return a message left on his cellphone. In past interviews with the San Antonio Express-News, Agnese denied anything was medically wrong with him and had threatened to sue Lutz if the chairman didnt retract a claim that Agnese had exhibited sporadic uncharacteristic behavior and comments.

We offer a sincere apology to persons who may have been or were offended, Lutz wrote in a statement emailed Aug. 18 to the university community Agnese had led for more than three decades.

The decision to put Agnese on medical leave came after school officials received an anonymous complaint dated Aug. 15 from very concerned students who said Agnese made offensive comments about African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Mormons at a luncheon for physical therapy students.

Weve known for a long time that Dr. Agnese has a reputation for being blunt, eccentric, colorful, even abrasive, stated the anonymous letter. But the statements made by him today were so egregiously over the top that I became viscerally sickened by them.

Among the concerns: Agnese singled out an African American student who wasnt wearing the school colors of Cardinal red.

Agnese went on to ask if there were any Native American students in the group, according to the complaint, and he said their Indian-red skin color would also count as wearing Cardinal red.

In a past interview, Agnese confirmed making the statements but denied they were offensive.

I haven't made an offensive comment in my life, Agnese said.

On Aug. 29, Lutz announced that UIWs board of trustees had voted to remove Dr. Agnese from the office of president, permanently, effective immediately. But Agnese is still on medical leave, and Fridays announcement from Lutz said Agnese intends to retire on Dec. 31.

Dr. Agnese has meant so much to this University in his more than 30-year tenure as president, Lutz said. And it has been our hope that we would all be able to honor his achievements and legacy at UIW.

jtedesco@express-news.net
The holiday weekend is giving Texans two extra days to register to vote in time for the Nov. 8 election, but theyll still need to have their applications postmarked or delivered no later than Tuesday.

State law requires applications to be postmarked 30 days before the election date, which is Sunday. Monday being Columbus Day, the registration deadline was extended to Tuesday.

Applications are available at public libraries, post offices, government offices and high schools, and can be mailed to the Texas Secretary of State or the Bexar County Elections Department.

The application form is available on the web, but registration is not done online. The form must be signed and mailed or hand delivered to the Elections Department.

To accommodate a large number of last-minute applicants, the Elections Department will operate Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The Voter Registration Office is in the Elections Department at 1103 S. Frio Street. The office can be reached at 210-335-VOTE (8683). Information is available online at elections.bexar.org.

Before attempting to register, officials suggest residents first verify their eligibility to vote. To vote, a person must be a U.S. citizen, legally registered to vote and at least 18 years old on Nov. 8.

Also, a voter cant be a convicted felon; and cannot have been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.

After an application is processed, the voter will receive by mail a blue card  their voter registration certificate  verifying their registration. However, some voters might not receive their certificates in time for the start of early voting on Oct. 24. They should receive them by Election Day, said Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen.

Thats our goal, she said. Theyll be on the rolls. Its not required they have the card in their hand to vote, she said.

As of Friday, registrations totaled 1,032,000  a record that increases daily.

jgonzalez@express-news.net

Twitter: @johnwgonzalez
KERRVLLE  Gary C. Ligon, the man who killed his wife decades ago and had walked away from San Antonio State Hospital three times in the past 13 months, was moved Friday to the states maximum-security psychiatric hospital.

Ligons latest unauthorized absence lasted two days. His capture and return Wednesday by San Antonio Police did little to stem criticism and concern from his victims family  or from Kerr County authorities, whod opposed his 2013 transfer to the San Antonio site by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

We objected to it at the time. They did it anyway, Scott Monroe, the district attorney in Kerr County, recalled Friday. It raises the question of whos in charge (of patient placement decisions), the court or the agency?

Agency spokeswoman Christine Mann said the agency has the final say on placements, but works with the courts to achieve the best outcome for patients.

State District Judge Rex Emerson in Kerrville ordered the transfer of Ligon, 62, to the secure Vernon campus of the North Texas State Hospital, a move supported by Robert Arizpe, superintendent of the San Antonio hospital, who reported that Ligons behavior had recently become increasingly more agitated and unpredictable.

The staff at the New Braunfels Avenue facility does not attempt to chase or physically restrain patients who leave. That alarmed Judy Clark, whose sister, Rebecca Becky Ligon, 34, was killed and dismembered by Gary Ligon in 1990.

She welcomed word that Gary Ligon was going to a secure site. He had once threatened to kill Clark and her family if he ever had the chance.

Hopefully they can keep him there (in Vernon) and we have no more issues, she said by phone Friday from her home in another state.

Authorities say Gary Ligon killed his wife after picking her up at the Kerrville State Hospital, where they both worked  and where he had checked in repeatedly as a patient, his latest stay ending about a week before.

Evidence showed Ligon dismembered her body with a circular saw, dumping her torso in a field and burning her head in a washtub on their back porch. He was declared not guilty of murder by reason of insanity in 2007, after a court-appointed psychiatrist said Ligon was gripped by schizophrenic delusions when hed killed his wife. Prosecutors did not object, believing a conviction could see him freed sooner.

Becky Ligons grisly death was the start of a cascade of sorrow and misfortune for her family. Her parents, James and Genevieve Clark, in 1991 filed a wrongful death suit against Kerrville State Hospital and the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, which oversaw it, claiming they had wrongfully released Ligon from treatment.

A Travis County jury found the Kerrville hospital negligent in 1993 and proposed awarding the Clarks just over $2 million, but the judge reduced the award to $250,000, the maximum allowed against the state. An appeal by the hospital succeeded in 1995 and the verdict was reversed.

Nine years later, James Clark, then 81 and a widower described as depressed and delusional, was killed in a shootout with Kerrville police near his home.

I have no doubt my father was scared Gary was coming after him, even though he was locked up, Judy Clark said Friday. He was just petrified. Hed nailed all the windows shut.

The 2007 court order initially committed Ligon to the Vernon facility but said he should be treated in the least restrictive appropriate setting if his condition improved. Records show Ligon was moved within months to Big Springs State Hospital, where he remained until being transferred to San Antonio in 2013.

An examination performed in June for Ligons annual commitment review by the court diagnosed him with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, and concluded that, without continued treatment, he would suffer severe and abnormal mental, emotional or physical distress. But it said Ligon was refusing to take his psychotropic medications, still had grandiose and paranoid ideations and had recently been moved to the acute care unit due to verbal threats & physical posturing (and) threats to get staff.

By then, Ligon had made the first of his three flights from the facility, in September 2015.

In an email Thursday, Arizpe told Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer, 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 to Vernon.

The sheriff rejected the request, saying he couldnt spare the two deputies for the 15-hour round trip, and was sharply critical of the hospital, saying he had been told Ligon walked off while on a smoke break outside the section for forensic patients.

Clark said her relatives still living around San Antonio were scared to death when he was out.

Its a continuing failure by the state health system, she said. How do we ever get justice and closure?

We never will, she said.

zeke@express-news.net
Most of us feel obligated to grapple with reality. Donald Trump is fine floating above facts.

Thats frustrating for many, but it will likely be his undoing.

Days before his second, must-win debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump appeared at a town-hall-style event Thursday night in Sandown, N.H. The event was not open to the public, thus nullifying the point of town halls, which is to allow citizens to question candidates freely.

His campaign, rather, had invited the attendees, who submitted questions in advance to a friendly emcee.

This isnt practice, Trump insisted. This has nothing to do with Sunday. Were just here because we just wanted to be here.

Trump probably thought he was lying. He was right, though. There was no way this event could have prepared him for Sundays town-hall-style debate, where voters and moderators will ask spontaneous questions.

Its not surprising Trump stayed in his comfort zone. The Republican presidential nominee is accustomed to luxury, and he only seems comfortable cocooned in an alternate reality, where he can warp facts at will.

A sampling of his more outrageous lies, courtesy of PolitiFact:

Clinton started the birther controversy.

Thousands of people in New Jersey cheered the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Black communities are in the worst shape ever.

U.S. veterans are treated worse than undocumented immigrants.

The U.S. election system is rigged.

President Barack Obama founded ISIS and supported al-Qaida in Iraq.

Clinton wants to raise taxes on the middle class and abolish the Second Amendment.

There is no system to vet refugees from the Middle East.

Clinton wants to release all violent criminals from jail.

The unemployment rate could be as high as 42 percent.

The Mexican government sends over bad undocumented immigrants.

All of these statements, uttered by Trump, are demonstrably false.

Trump also seems to find validation in the more sordid and deceitful corners of the internet. On several occasions, he has tweeted links to stories on Prntly.com, a pro-Trump, fake-news blog that touts itself as Americas Top News Site.

On Friday, the headline for a Prntly exclusive read: Hillarys Health Plan has proposal to CASTRATE young men to prevent cancer: side effect? You become liberal.

(If you think thats lewd, listen to Trump and Billy Bush of Access Hollywood bantering in 2005 about sexually assaulting women, courtesy of the Washington Post. Just make sure your children arent in the room first.)

For Trump, the consequences of reality distortion have arrived. Clintons grounded performance in the first debate boosted her in some polls. Trumps unfocused effort precipitated a slide.

If his fake town hall is any measure, Trump wont have embraced reality by Sunday.

Prepping for the second debate would have made him look like a child, Trump complained.

The truth is, preparation just might have made Trump look presidential. For those who find the prospect of a Trump presidency appalling, the candidates refusal to accept reality is a blessing in disguise.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
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.
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...
Despite the early commitments from the Treasury supporting agriculture, farming unions still remain concerned around the uncertainties of financial support leading up to Brexit and beyond.

The government statement guaranteeing support levels for structural and investment fund projects after Brexit was announced at the Conservative Party conference.

"We were very pleased to hear of early commitments from the Treasury to support agriculture," said Glyn Roberts, the Farmers Union of Wales President.

"However, we are worried about the detail to support the statements.

Glyn Roberts, the Farmers Union of Wales President, remains concerned about the uncertainty of Brexit

"For example, a commitment to 2020 for CAP Pillar 1 funding could be read as March 2020 as part of the financial year 2019/20 or it could mean to the end of the financial year almost 12 months later.

"The announcement of CAP pillar 2 support until possibly 2022, which was made by the Chancellor at the Conservative Party Conference, whilst welcome, is also adding to the confusion.

"Such ambiguity is not welcome and does not help individuals plan their businesses. Careful and precise statements are needed now more than ever," added Mr Roberts.

Impact of 'hard-brexit' on agriculture

The farming union said it is "deeply concerned" about the impact that a hard-Brexit might have on agriculture.

"If we do not have markets established on leaving the EU our income sources will be severely depleted," said Mr Roberts.

"And with some UK Ministers clearly advocating that a hard exit is the right answer, we need to ensure that there are sound and sustainable mechanisms in place to provide a soft landing for the farmers of Wales.

"We cannot afford to lose markets with no additional support," he said.

Irrespective of hard or soft exit though, the FUW is also concerned about the need for longer-term transition to new regimes.

"There are many that see membership of the EU with its pros and cons as a binary event either In or Out.

"We must have a transition to new regimes of policy and funding to ensure that we reduce the risks to farmers in Wales," concluded Mr Roberts.

NFU Scotland has said the EU referendum result has cast "significant uncertainty" over all of Scottish agriculture.

"A clear and unambiguous statement from the Scottish government on the future of its funding commitment to spending under the SRDP would be of real value in helping to build confidence and in encouraging farmers and crofters to continue to do what they do best."
Northern Ireland's Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen has said that delivering a profitable farming industry is a key objective for her during her time in office.

Speaking to Ulster Farmers Union Winter Programme Meeting, Miss McIlveen said her focus is on improving the economic performance of the industry, supporting farmers through challenging times and ensuring that vital financial support and trade links are maintained during and after UKs exit from the European Union.

The Minister said farmers "are at the heart" of the agri-food industry which has an annual turnover of almost 5billion and 20,000 employees.

"I believe there is significant potential for further expansion in this sector; and I aim to bring a sharper focus to governments role in collaborating with the industry to support growth," Miss McIlveen said.

"Last month, I announced the launch of the preparation stage for the capital element of the new Farm Business Improvement Scheme (FBIS).

"I believe this will help to grow the sector, by enabling farmers to invest in the next generation of their farms."

'Very challenging market conditions'

In a wide-ranging speech to the Fermanagh meeting on Thursday evening, the Minister told delegates that her department will also help farmers when times are challenging.

Miss McIlveen went on to say the farming industry has enjoyed an early boost following the referendum result

Miss McIlveen said: "I am acutely aware of the very challenging market conditions farmers have been facing.

"Whilst the vast majority of the factors contributing to the continuing low prices are outside DAERAs control, my Department will continue to do all that it can to assist farmers cope with future market volatility.

"In less than two weeks, we will be issuing a 70% advance to Basic and Greening Payments to eligible farm businesses and we are also committed to paying at least 95% of eligible Basic Payment Scheme applicants in December.

"Since my appointment, I have pressed DEFRA Ministers and the European Commission on the need for urgent and meaningful support for hard pressed farmers, particularly those in the dairy sector.

"I was pleased when Commissioner Hogan announced a package of measures aimed at addressing the financial difficulties.

"There are two key elements of the package  the provision for EU Milk Production Reduction Aid and Exceptional Adjustment Aid.

"As a result of my lobbying, I successfully made the case for a significant share of the UKs 30.2million allocation of Exceptional Adjustment Aid."

'Early boost following the referendum result'

Addressing the issue of the UK exit from the European Union, Miss McIlveen went on to say the farming industry has enjoyed an early boost following the referendum result.

"Since June, we have seen a significant depreciation on the value of sterling which has had a positive impact on the value of basic farm payments," Miss McIlveen said.

"It is estimated that the total net value of 2016 Direct Payment to local farmers will be boosted by 39million compared to last year.

"The exchange rate is also beneficial to exporting companies. As a result, there has been an improvement on the price of sheep, cattle and milk for our local farmers.

"Northern Ireland goods are more competitive in export markets and the costs of food products coming into the UK are more expensive compared to locally produced products.

"We are also seeing more visitors and shoppers coming to Northern Ireland and in particular our rural towns and villages."

'Vital support'

Miss McIlveen said a significant amount of work has been undertaken on Brexit, to establish the necessary governance arrangements and the scoping out the programme of work that lies ahead.

However, she went on to emphasise: "First and foremost, my priority is to preserve vital financial support for the farming, and fisheries, sectors.

"Secondly, I am acutely aware of the importance of the agri-food sector to our economy and employment so I want an agricultural policy framework that underpins its sustainable growth and competitiveness.

"Thirdly, we must ensure our continued ability to trade effectively and profitability both inwardly and outwardly," Miss McIlveen concluded.
A clear drive by retailers to support Scottish farmers, crofters and the countrys beef industry was evident during the latest shelf watch carried out by NFU Scotland.

The shelf watch survey, carried out from 3 to 7 October, found that out of the 14 stores surveyed, 74 per cent of the beef stocked was Scotch Beef.

Whilst there was overall strong support, this did vary by the nine retailers, with secret shoppers in one Waitrose store finding no Scotch Beef products, while others found 100 per cent Scotch Beef.

Overall 2,871 packs of fresh beef were counted, in stores

Although this is just a snapshot of the overall picture, these results demonstrate a 'clear drive' from a number of retailers to support Scottish farmers and the Scottish beef industry, NFU Scotland said.

Overall, 14 supermarket stores were visited from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, and more than 2,800 packs of beef were counted.

Tesco, Aldi and Lidl topped the chart with all three supermarkets stocking near 100 per cent Scotch Beef across all of their stores.

'Mixed bag'

NFU Scotland Livestock Committee Chairman, Charlie Adam, said the results demonstrate that support for Scotch Beef from Scottish retailers is a "mixed bag".

"Credit must go to Tesco, Aldi and Lidl for their support for Scottish provenance for beef," Mr Adam said.

"Scotch Beef rightly has a strong international reputation and it is clear that shoppers want to be able to eat Scotch Beef in Scotland.

"With Brexit negotiations on the horizon we need strong support for Scottish food and farming from Scottish retailers and we hope the sourcing of Scottish beef can be improved in the future.

"Price deflation for meat continues to impact the industry and this is an ongoing concern for Scotlands farmers and crofters, but it is positive to see strong demand for Scotch Beef by some large retailers.

"While 97 per cent of the beef counted was either Scottish or British there was also an amount of imported beef.

"With uncertainty over the future trading relationship of the United Kingdom with the rest of the world we would like to see all retailers decrease their reliance on imported meat," Mr Adam concluded.
It is likely to be a low-risk year for wheat bulb fly (WBF), according to AHDBs annual autumn survey.

The full WBF survey findings, released this week, show that 2016 ranks among the lowest-risk years for this pest since records began in 1984.

With recent losses of authorisations for egg-hatch (chlorpyrifos) and deadheart (dimethoate) sprays, the latest findings will bring some welcome news to growers.

Dr Steve Ellis, who leads the survey at ADAS, said: Monitoring began back in 1984 and only four years, including this year, have seen risk levels so low.

Interestingly, three of these years have been in the last five. This is probably pure luck of the draw, rather than an indication of a long-term decline in WBF pressure.

As part of the survey, soil samples are taken during September from 30 fields (split equally across eastern and north-eastern England) prone to attack from WBF and the number of WBF eggs/m calculated.

The full dataset has confirmed findings from the provisional egg-count data, which suggested that 2016 would be a low-risk year.

... Once hatched the larvae move through the soil and bore into the base of cereal plants feeding on the central shoot

Thresholds simplified

The recent loss of control options has resulted in the simplification of the threshold recommendations for WBF, which are now based on seed treatment alone.

As before, the most appropriate threshold to use depends on drilling date.

Early-sown winter wheat crops (before November) are unlikely to benefit from seed treatment, as they have more time to tiller and are better able to withstand WBF attack.

For late-sown winter wheat crops (November to December), seed treatments should be considered where WBF populations exceed 100 eggs/m2.

For late-winter/spring-sown crops (January to March), seed treatments should be considered irrespective of the WBF population size.

Miss Caroline Nicholls, who manages pest research at AHDB, said: The basic message is simple: the higher the egg count and the later the drilling date, the greater the risk to wheat and barley.

Egg counts for 2016

The latest survey findings reveal that average egg numbers were low for both eastern sites (90/m2) and north-eastern sites (89/m2) and that most sites (22/30) could be categorised as low-risk. Seven sites, however, fell into the moderate-risk category and one in the high-risk category.

Table shows the number of wheat bulb fly eggs/m extracted from soil samples. The percentage of sites in each category is stated in brackets. Click here for a PDF version.

The highest counts were from sites where the previous crop was onions (average of 212 eggs/m2) and potatoes (average of 123 eggs/m2).

The autumn WBF survey provides an indication of the overall risk level. As in-field risk depends on numerous factors, growers are advised to read the AHDB Wheat Bulb Fly publication to calculate the need to treat crops.
What does a more efficient Caleb Love look like for the Tar Heels?
Amanda Holden's sister has been seriously injured in a horror car crash.

Amanda Holden

Debbie Holden, 44, is in intensive care in Cornwall where she is said to be in a "critical but stable" condition and Amanda, 45, immediately rushed to her bedside following Thursday's (06.10.16) accident.

A source told The Sun: "It's been a very difficult 48 hours and the whole family have been pulling together and trying to keep positive.

"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.

"Everyone is hopeful she will eventually make a full recovery.

"Thank God, no one else was hurt in the accident. Now we've just got to get Debbie through this."

"Free spirit" Debbie's work includes deep sea diving and underwater photography and she divides her time between Cornwall and Koh Lanta in Thailand.

Last year she was trapped on Mount Everest following the earthquake in Nepal.

Amanda revealed on 'This Morning' that Debbie had been climbing the mountain in the capital city of Kathmandu when the disaster struck, causing an avalanche and killing approximately 3,000 people.

She said: "It's awful, I can barely speak. My mum and dad are watching and listening to you [the rescue experts] for information... But my sister is climbing Mount Everest and very luckily she is at a place that is the last camp before you get to the base camp one on the south side.

"There was only four of them left at that camp because my sister was suffering so badly from altitude sickness that she didn't walk up to base camp - which actually, potentially, might have saved her life."
Nicole Scherzinger admits that the recent robbery of Kim Kardashian West has served as a "wake-up call for everyone".

Nicole Scherzinger

The 'X Factor' judge was upset by news that Kim was robbed at gunpoint by masked thieves in Paris, France, and Nicole has confessed the incident has reminded her of the potential dangers of fame.

She shared: "It's a reality check, it's a wake-up call. I was upset when I heard because Kim's my friend. I only care about her wellbeing and the kids' wellbeing as anybody would.

"I've had stalkers. I thought I would be safe but I had people stalking me from the show.

"People who are just not right in the mind. You never know so you have to be well aware. It's a wake-up call for everyone."

Meanwhile, Nicole's 'X Factor' co-star Simon Cowell has advised celebrities to curb their social media posts in light of the robbery in France.

He told the Daily Star newspaper: "I think it's always good to communicate with your fans but try not to be impulsive. Christ, you've got to be careful.

"There are a lot of people out there who just want to write negative things. So don't empower them and don't read them."

Simon, who has a two-year-old son, Eric, with socialite Lauren Silverman, was the victim of a robbery last year when thieves broke into his London mansion.
Brexit could add to the woes of clothing retailers in the UK as they will find it difficult to pass on the cost increases incurred by them due to pound's weakness, says a recent report . However, the overall annual revenue growth for European retailers will remain within a range of 2 per cent to 3 per cent during the next twelve to eighteen months.

Sustained economic recovery and rising consumer confidence will drive steady overall revenue and earnings growth for European retailers into 2018, said the 'Retail - Europe: Moderate Overall Sales and Continued Earnings Growth Support Stable Outlook' report by Moody's investors service.

Following the Brexit vote, UK clothes retailers could find it tough to fully pass on cost increases incurred as a result of sterling's weakness. This is because we expect the market to remain highly promotional, with plenty of discounting, as volumes so far this year have been hit by unseasonal weather, shifting consumer spending and weak consumer sentiment around the time of the vote, said David Beadle, vice president - senior credit officer, Moody's and the report's author.

Brexit could add to the woes of clothing retailers in the UK as they will find it difficult to pass on the cost increases incurred by them due to pound's weakness, says a recent report. However, the overall annual revenue growth for European retailers will remain within a range of 2 per cent to 3 per cent during the next twelve to eighteen months.#

The report noted that earnings growth rates will differ across individual countries and segments in Europe, with UK retailers facing a less confident overall outlook than some of their peers due to the added pressure by the Brexit vote.

Moody's also predicted higher average annual EBITDA (or Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) growth of approximately 4.3 per cent for rated issuers as some firms may benefit from store roll-out plans or mergers and acquisitions (M&A) cost savings.

On a country-by-country basis, large Russian retailers will continue to report double-digit revenue growth, added the report. Spanish revenues will grow 3 per cent as the country continues to recover from recession. Annual revenue growth in Germany, France and the Netherlands will be 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent as their economies recover. Italian annual revenue growth will remain subdued at around 1 per cent.

Customers' growing demand for convenience and value will result in the growth of online sales penetration, while both discounters and specialists across segments will continue to win market share from mid-market generalists.

European retailers perceived as offering superior value at various points across the price spectrum, for example affordable luxury players, will outperform those perceived to offer mediocre products at less attractive prices, added Beadle. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The sixth edition of the Denimsandjeans.com Bangladesh show began in Dhaka with 28 denim producers from various like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Italy, Spain, China, etc, taking part in the show. The show with the theme 'Vintage Recall' was inaugurated by the Turkish ambassador to Bangladesh Devrim Ozturk, who was also the chief guest.While giving the inaugural address, the Turkish envoy said Bangladesh has been able to strengthen its position among the globe's leading denim product exporting countries.

The sixth edition of the Denimsandjeans.com Bangladesh show began in Dhaka with 28 denim producers from various like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Italy, Spain, China, etc, taking part in the show. The show with the theme 'Vintage Recall' was inaugurated by the Turkish ambassador to Bangladesh Devrim Ozturk, who was also the chief guest.#

Vice president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) Fazlul Haque said Bangladesh has become the largest supplier of denim apparels to Europe, thereby even surpassing China.According to Haque, the country exported 184 million units of denim jeans to the European Union market, a figure much higher than China.The government has set a target of exporting $50 billion worth of apparels by 2021, to which the fast growing denim products industry will contribute much to achieve the target, Haque added. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The Textile Association (India), commonly TAI, is organising an international conference on 'Make in India  Global Vision of Indian Textile Industry', on December 1-2, 2016 in Mumbai. The conference will discuss benefits of 'Make in India' mission for the textile industry. Possibility of making technical textiles in India will also form part of discussion.

The international textile conference will also tell the participants about how the industry is perceived by global brands and retailers, said the organisers.

Multiple state governments in India had launched their own special textile policies, however, they failed to show results. After the introduction of the 'Make in India' campaign, states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha re-launched their policies to promote the textile industry in their respective states. The textile industry is one of the 25 focus sectors of this campaign.

The Textile Association (India), commonly TAI, is organising an international conference on 'Make in India  Global Vision of Indian Textile Industry', on December 1-2, 2016 in Mumbai. The conference will discuss benefits of 'Make in India' mission for the textile industry. Possibility of making technical textiles in India will also form part of discussion.#

The stakeholders of the Indian textile industry will hold panel discussions to share their vision, expectations and requirements at the conference. It will also cover the methods that textile ancillary businesses like cotton and man-made fibre manufacturers, textile machinery manufacturers and dyes/chemicals manufacturers can adopt to stand up to the challenges they face.

Topics such as Central government and state government initiatives, role of financial institutes in the new initiatives, role of fibres and their contribution, textile manufacturing, technical textiles, khadi and handloom, denim and skill development in textile industry are some of the topics which will be covered at the conference.

Another focal point of the conference will be the possibility of making technical textiles in India, which are currently imported in large quantities for infrastructure development.

This conference will be attended by government representatives, reputed textile professionals and renowned experts from different parts of the world, who will present their papers to over 500 equally high profile participants. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Anthony Ray Hinton, left, embraces Shannon Holliday, coordinator

of Shepherds Common Reading program. Photo by Emily Daniels.

SHEPHERDSTOWN  For 30 years, Anthony Ray Hinton spent his life in a tiny cell on death row in Alabamas Holman Correctional Facility for a crime he did not commit.





Now, after being exonerated just over a year ago, Hinton is traveling across the country to tell his story to others hoping to make a difference.





LIFE ON DEATH ROW





I lived 30 years of pure hell. The only joy that I was able to get was the joy that my mind was allowed to bring to me, Hinton said. I wish I could tell you the state of Alabama made a mistake, but it was not a mistake. The justice system is not what you might think, and innocent men and women go to death row in this country every single day.





In 1985, Hinton was convicted for the murders of two fast-food workers based on the testimony of ballistic experts appointed by the state of Alabama matching a gun owned by Hintons mother, with whom Hinton lived, to bullets recovered from the crime scene.





Shortly thereafter, Hinton, who is black, was sent to death row by an all-white jury for two counts of first-degree murder, and Hinton said he believes race played a vital role in his sentencing and is still alive today.





I wish I could tell you that race played no part in (me) spending 30 years on Alabama death row, but if I told you anything other than that, I would be telling you a lie. Race played every part that it could play in my sentence to death row, Hinton said. From what Ive seen, and what Ive heard, I believe that racism is worse now than ever before. I want you to know that racism is whats really going to destroy this world, but I will not stand here and tell you that any time a black does something that he or she is innocent any more than I will tell you a white person is.





Although Hinton was convicted for two murders, he said he was at work when the murders occurred and got his supervisor to vouch for him, yet the court system still found Hinton guilty. Years later, a new trial would reveal overwhelmingly that the bullet recovered at the crime scene did not match the bullet of Hintons mothers gun, but it took decades and the cases trip to the United States Supreme Court to prove his innocence. Hinton also found Bryan Stevenson, who believed in Hintons case and didnt give up after several failed attempts at obtaining Hintons freedom.





Hinton said spending a lot of his life on death row showed him that the court system is broken.





The pure fact that I am here can tell you that the system is flawed. I did not get out on technicalities, I got out on truth, Hinton said. Now, I feel that I am obligated (to speak) for those who have been left behind  to tell people that I deserve, that you deserve, to at least hear the truth.





Stevenson, who originally found an attorney from Boston to represent Hinton, ended up being the one who helped free him. The Boston lawyer told Hinton his goal was to get him life without parole, but Hinton said his mother didnt raise him to admit to something he did not do, that hed rather die than lie about his case.





In the end, however, Stevenson came to represent Hinton and found ballistic experts who would ultimately prove his innocence. While the process seemed slow-going, Hinton said a major obstacle almost caused him to give up altogether.





I got news that the love of my life had passed. I called Mr. Stevenson and said, My mother is deceased, and I dont give a damn about this case anymore. You can drop it and put your energy into something else. I dont care because now my mother is no longer here, Hinton said. I hung up the phone without even saying thank you or goodbye. Just as I hung up the phone, I could hear my mother in my ear telling me how disappointed she was in me because she brought me up to fight when theres a reason to fight.





On April 3, 2015, Hinton was able to walk away from death row as a free man.





JUST MERCY





These words and others were spoken to a packed auditorium in Shepherd Universitys Frank Center Thursday night, and there was not a dry eye among the shocked-into-silence crowd as a tearful Hinton told his story.





Hintons appearance in Shepherdstown was part of Shepherd Universitys Common Reading program, and this years book selection is Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson, who helped free Hinton.





Shannon Holliday, common reading program coordinator, said being able to hear Hintons speech was truly an honor.





I think it sheds a lot of light on different flaws in the criminal justice system in America and issues surrounding race, along with mass incarceration and the death penalty. His case is so relevant and so recent, and it took decades. He spent more time in prison than most of our students have been alive, Holliday said. I think its really eye-opening to hear the story from someone whos lived it because it makes it more personal, and it has a greater impact than just having them read the book.





LIFE AS A FREE MAN





Now that Hinton has been living his life off death row for over a year now, he says adjusting has been a difficult process.





The house he shared with his mother before being convicted is where he resides.





I went out and I purchased some of the nicest furniture that you could perhaps buy. I was sleeping in a fetal position for 30 years, so I went out and I purchased a king-sized bed. The thing about that king-sized bed, I have yet to be able to stretch out in it. I cannot go to sleep until I sleep in a fetal position, Hinton said. Every morning at 2:45, I am up because every morning for 30 years I had to eat breakfast at 3 a.m. Once Im up, I cannot go back to sleep.





Hinton said other things will take some getting used to as well.





In my house, I have a shower, and I can take 3, 4, 5  however many showers I want a day, but I only shower every other day (because thats how it was on death row). Life passed me by for 30 years.





Although Hinton said if anyone has a reason to hate, its him, he has not allowed the hatred he initially felt to consume him in his life now.





I dont have any hatred in my heart for those men (who convicted me). Before I ever thought I might be free, I had asked God to take that hatred from me. I didnt want any of that hate to ever consume me, Hinton said.





Now, Hinton jokes and laughs and can talk with joy about life. Hinton told several funny stories Thursday night, including a time when his friend took him to visit his mothers grave after he was released. Hinton heard a white ladys voice from a GPS, and Hinton jokingly said he thought his friend had set him up to go back to jail.





In the midst of everything, though, in tragedy, sadness, in years he will never get back, Hintons spirit has remained filled with light.





Every night at 10:30, regardless of where Im at, I look up and I try to see the stars and the moon. Every time it rains  I walk through the rain  because for 30 years, rain was not allowed to touch my head, and I continue to walk in the rain to this day, Hinton said. The things you take for granted, I see beauty in everything that God has created simply because I lost it for 30 years.

 | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

Source: The Journal , Emily Daniels, October 7, 2016
Fitcode, a fashion data company which focuses on fit and not size in women's denim jeans has partnered Hudson Jeans to provide Hudson customers with a personalised and curated shopping experience. Fitcode will offer women of all shapes and sizes, an easy way to find Hudson styles, best suited for their body types, thereby helping them find their perfect fit.Customers on the Hudson ecommerce website first participate in a Fitcode quiz and are then assigned a Fitcode based on their unique body type, without the need for body measurements.

Fitcode, a fashion data company which focuses on fit and not size in women's denim jeans has partnered Hudson Jeans to provide Hudson customers with a personalised and curated shopping experience. Fitcode will offer women of all shapes and sizes, an easy way to find Hudson styles, best suited for their body types, thereby helping them find their perfect fit.#

Following the quiz, customers can then shop curated denim recommendations within their Fitcode, without ever leaving the website.According to Fitcode, the partnership with Hudson represents the next evolution in the Fitcode experience and also the future of denim shopping.The company is also offering these services to other brands like Paige, 7 For All Mankind, Levi's, Citizens of Humanity, J Brand, NYDJ, FRAME Denim, and Kut from the Kloth. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
For the year ended 30 June 2016, in US dollars

EASTAMPTON, New Jersey, Oct. 8, 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.

For further information: Mr. William P. Long (Chief Executive Officer) USA. Tel: 609-267-9118, Email: Investors@EpicoreBioNetworks.com
Data Comparing KEYTRUDA to Chemotherapy Shows Continued Benefit with Follow-Up Beyond 2.5 Years in Patients with Ipilimumab-Refractory Advanced Melanoma

Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced findings from the final overall survival (OS) analysis from the KEYNOTE-002 study investigating the use of KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), the company's anti-PD-1 therapy, compared to investigator-choice chemotherapy with a crossover to KEYTRUDA design, in patients with ipilimumab-refractory advanced melanoma. Results presented at the ESMO 2016 Congress, the annual meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology, in Copenhagen include follow-up of up to 35 months for the study's co-primary endpoints of OS and progression-free survival (PFS). Data showed prolonged OS with KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg), with a median OS of 13.4 months and 14.7 months and a two-year OS rate of 35.9 percent and 38.2 percent, respectively, compared to a median OS of 11.0 months and a two-year OS rate of 29.7 percent with chemotherapy.

"Now, with longer follow-up, we continue to show clinically meaningful outcomes with KEYTRUDA as monotherapy in these ipilimumab-refractory patients," said Dr. Roger Dansey, senior vice president, oncology late-stage development, Merck Research Laboratories. "These results provide further evidence supporting the use of KEYTRUDA as a standard of care for patients with advanced melanoma."

Today, KEYTRUDA is approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma in more than 50 countries, including the United States and throughout Europe. The KEYTRUDA clinical development program includes more than 30 tumor types in more than 350 clinical studies, including more than 100 trials that combine KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) with other cancer treatments.

The final analysis from KEYNOTE-002 is being presented at the ESMO 2016 Congress by Dr. Omid Hamid, director of the Melanoma Center at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, on Oct. 8 from 2:45 4:15 p.m. CEST (Abstract: #1107O).

Additional Findings from KEYNOTE-002

KEYNOTE-002 is a multicenter, randomized, controlled phase 2 study of KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg every three weeks) compared to investigator's choice chemotherapy (paclitaxel plus carboplatin, paclitaxel, carboplatin, dacarbazine, or temozolomide) in patients with ipilimumab-refractory advanced melanoma (n=540). The co-primary endpoints were PFS and OS; secondary endpoints included overall response rate (ORR), duration of response, and safety. Tumor response was assessed at week 12, then every six weeks through week 48, followed by every 12 weeks thereafter as assessed by independent central review using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1. Per the study protocol, after three months, patients who experienced disease progression on the chemotherapy arm were eligible to cross over to receive KEYTRUDA. In total, 55 percent (n=98/179) of patients in the chemotherapy arm crossed over to receive KEYTRUDA monotherapy.

In the final analysis, which included the 98 patients who crossed over from the chemotherapy arm to receive KEYTRUDA, the median OS was 13.4 months with KEYTRUDA 2 mg/kg (95% CI, 11.0-16.4 months) and 14.7 months with KEYTRUDA 10 mg/kg (95% CI 11.3-19.5 months), compared to 11.0 months with chemotherapy (95% CI, 8.9-13.8 months) (hazard ratio: 0.86 [95% CI, 0.67-1.10; p=0.1173] and hazard ratio: 0.74 [95% CI, 0.57-0.96; p=0.0106], respectively); the two-year (24-month) OS rate was 35.9 percent and 38.2 percent with KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively), compared to 29.7 percent with chemotherapy.

While improvements in OS between KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg) and chemotherapy did not meet the protocol-specified significance threshold, longer follow-up continued to show a clinically meaningful improvement in PFS, the study's co-primary endpoint, with PFS of up to 31 months in patients treated with KEYTRUDA. Median PFS was approximately three months for each of the patient groups (95% CI of 2.8-3.8 months with KEYTRUDA 2 mg/kg; 95% CI of 2.8-5.2 months with KEYTRUDA 10 mg/kg; and 95% CI of 2.6-2.8 months with chemotherapy) (hazard ratio: 0.58 [95% CI, 0.46-0.73; p<0.0001] and hazard ratio: 0.47 [95% CI, 0.37-0.60; p<0.0001], respectively). The two-year PFS rate was 16.0 percent and 21.9 percent with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) (2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively), compared to less than one percent (0.6 percent) of patients treated with chemotherapy.

ORR was 22.2 percent and 27.6 percent with KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively), compared to 4.5 percent with chemotherapy. At the time of analysis, 50 percent and 58 percent of patients who responded to KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively) were alive with no subsequent progression or anti-tumor therapy, compared to 12 percent of patients who responded to chemotherapy.

With longer follow-up, adverse events have remained consistent with previously reported safety data. Treatment-related immune-mediated adverse events of Grade 3-4 were pneumonitis, colitis (10 mg/kg only), adrenal insufficiency, severe skin toxicity, hypophysitis, hepatitis, nephritis (2 mg/kg only), pancreatitis (10 mg/kg only), and myasthenia (10 mg/kg only).

About Melanoma

Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of pigment-producing cells. The incidence of melanoma has been increasing over the past four decades approximately 232,000 new cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2012. In the U.S., melanoma is one of the most common types of cancer diagnosed and is responsible for the vast majority of skin cancer deaths. In 2016, an estimated 76,380 people are expected to be diagnosed and an estimated 10,130 people are expected to die of the disease in the U.S. alone. The five-year survival rates for advanced or metastatic melanoma (Stage IV) are estimated to be 15 to 20 percent.

About KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab)

KEYTRUDA is a humanized monoclonal antibody that works by increasing the ability of the body's immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells. KEYTRUDA blocks the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes which may affect both tumor cells and healthy cells.

KEYTRUDA is administered as an intravenous infusion over 30 minutes every three weeks for the approved indications. KEYTRUDA for injection is supplied in a 100 mg single use vial.

KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) Indications and Dosing

Melanoma

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma at a dose of 2 mg/kg every three weeks.

Lung Cancer

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express PD-L1 as determined by an FDA-approved test with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy, at a dose of 2 mg/kg every three weeks. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberrations prior to receiving KEYTRUDA. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. An improvement in survival or disease-related symptoms has not yet been established. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

Head and Neck Cancer

KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy at a fixed dose of 200 mg every three weeks. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

Selected Important Safety Information for KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in Melanoma

Immune-mediated pneumonitis, including fatal cases, occurred in patients receiving KEYTRUDA. Pneumonitis occurred in 32 (2.0%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 1 (0.8%), 2 (0.8%), and 3 (0.4%) pneumonitis. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of pneumonitis. Evaluate suspected pneumonitis with radiographic imaging. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater pneumonitis. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or 4 or recurrent Grade 2 pneumonitis.

Immune-mediated colitis occurred in 31 (2%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 2 (0.5%), 3 (1.1%), and 4 (0.1%) colitis. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of colitis. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater colitis. Withhold KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for Grade 2 or 3; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 4 colitis.

Immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in 16 (1%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 2 (0.1%), 3 (0.7%), and 4 (0.1%) hepatitis. Monitor patients for changes in liver function. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater hepatitis and, based on severity of liver enzyme elevations, withhold or discontinue KEYTRUDA.

Hypophysitis occurred in 13 (0.8%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 2 (0.3%), 3 (0.3%), and 4 (0.1%) hypophysitis. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of hypophysitis (including hypopituitarism and adrenal insufficiency). Administer corticosteroids and hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; withhold or discontinue for Grade 3 or 4 hypophysitis.

Hyperthyroidism occurred in 51 (3.3%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 2 (0.6%) and 3 (0.1%) hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism occurred in 127 (8.1%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 3 (0.1%) hypothyroidism. Thyroid disorders can occur at any time during treatment. Monitor patients for changes in thyroid function (at the start of treatment, periodically during treatment, and as indicated based on clinical evaluation) and for clinical signs and symptoms of thyroid disorders. Administer replacement hormones for hypothyroidism and manage hyperthyroidism with thionamides and beta-blockers as appropriate. Withhold or discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or 4 hyperthyroidism.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus, including diabetic ketoacidosis, occurred in 3 (0.1%) of 2117 patients. Monitor patients for hyperglycemia or other signs and symptoms of diabetes. Administer insulin for type 1 diabetes, and withhold KEYTRUDA and administer anti-hyperglycemics in patients with severe hyperglycemia.

Immune-mediated nephritis occurred in 7 (0.4%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 2 (0.2%), 3 (0.2%), and 4 (0.1%) nephritis. Monitor patients for changes in renal function. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater nephritis. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or 4 nephritis.

Other clinically important immune-mediated adverse reactions can occur. For suspected immune-mediated adverse reactions, ensure adequate evaluation to confirm etiology or exclude other causes. Based on the severity of the adverse reaction, withhold KEYTRUDA and administer corticosteroids. Upon improvement to Grade 1 or less, initiate corticosteroid taper and continue to taper over at least 1 month. Based on limited data from clinical studies in patients whose immune-related adverse reactions could not be controlled with corticosteroid use, administration of other systemic immunosuppressants can be considered. Resume KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) when the adverse reaction remains at Grade 1 or less following corticosteroid taper. Permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for any Grade 3 immune-mediated adverse reaction that recurs and for any life-threatening immune-mediated adverse reaction.

The following clinically significant, immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred in less than 1% (unless otherwise indicated) of 1567 patients: arthritis (1.6%), exfoliative dermatitis, bullous pemphigoid, uveitis, myositis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, vasculitis, pancreatitis, hemolytic anemia, and partial seizures arising in a patient with inflammatory foci in brain parenchyma.

Severe and life-threatening infusion-related reactions have been reported in 3 (0.1%) of 2117 patients. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of infusion-related reactions including rigors, chills, wheezing, pruritus, flushing, rash, hypotension, hypoxemia, and fever. For Grade 3 or 4 reactions, stop infusion and permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA.

Based on its mechanism of action, KEYTRUDA can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. If used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant during treatment, apprise the patient of the potential hazard to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use highly effective contraception during treatment and for 4 months after the last dose of KEYTRUDA.

In KEYNOTE-002, KEYTRUDA was discontinued due to adverse reactions in 12% of 357 patients; the most common (=1%) were general physical health deterioration (1%), asthenia (1%), dyspnea (1%), pneumonitis (1%), and generalized edema (1%). Adverse reactions leading to interruption of KEYTRUDA occurred in 14% of patients; the most common (=1%) were dyspnea (1%), diarrhea (1%), and maculopapular rash (1%). The most common adverse reactions with KEYTRUDA vs chemotherapy were fatigue (43% with KEYTRUDA), pruritus (28% vs 8%), rash (24% vs 8%), constipation (22% vs 20%), nausea (22% with KEYTRUDA), diarrhea (20% vs 20%), and decreased appetite (20% with KEYTRUDA). Corresponding incidence rates are listed for chemotherapy only for those adverse reactions that occurred at the same or lower rate than with KEYTRUDA

It is not known whether KEYTRUDA is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, instruct women to discontinue nursing during treatment with KEYTRUDA and for 4 months after the final dose.

Safety and effectiveness of KEYTRUDA have not been established in pediatric patients.

Our Focus on Cancer

Our goal is to translate breakthrough science into innovative oncology medicines to help people with cancer worldwide. At Merck Oncology, helping people fight cancer is our passion and supporting accessibility to our cancer medicines is our commitment. Our focus is on pursuing research in immuno-oncology and we are accelerating every step in the journey from lab to clinic to potentially bring new hope to people with cancer.

As part of our focus on cancer, Merck is committed to exploring the potential of immuno-oncology with one of the fastest-growing development programs in the industry. We are currently executing an expansive research program that includes more than 350 clinical trials evaluating our anti-PD-1 therapy across more than 30 tumor types. We also continue to strengthen our immuno-oncology portfolio through strategic acquisitions and are prioritizing the development of several promising immunotherapeutic candidates with the potential to improve the treatment of advanced cancers.

For more information about our oncology clinical trials, visit www.merck.com/clinicaltrials.

About Merck

For 125 years, Merck has been a global health care leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

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. 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) available at the SEC's Internet site (www.sec.gov).

Please see Prescribing Information for KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) at http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/k/keytruda/keytruda_pi.pdf and

Patient Information/Medication Guide for KEYTRUDA at http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/k/keytruda/keytruda_mg.pdf

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161008005027/en/

Contacts:

Merck

Media:

Pamela Eisele, 267-305-3558

or

Kim Hamilton, 908-740-1863

or

Investors:

Teri Loxam, 908-740-1986

or

Amy Klug, 908-740-1898
ABBOTSFORD, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/08/16 -- Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD)

An innovative British Columbia company will get its product to market faster and more efficiently with the Government of Canada's investment of $3.5 million.

Jati Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development, and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada, made the announcement today during a visit to Vitalus Nutrition Inc. in Abbotsford, B.C.

Vitalus supplies customized dairy ingredients for the food, beverage, and nutraceutical industries. They will use the funding to commercialize their proprietary enzymatic process for converting milk by-products into a high-value carbohydrate known as galacto-oligosacharides (GOS). GOS has confirmed health benefits and is used as an additive in health related food products including infant formula.

This project has also received a $10 million repayable contribution through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's AgriInnovation program. Federal contributions will be matched by Vitalus Nutrition Inc.

Vitalus aims to 'improve lives by unlocking the nutritional value of milk.' They are Canada's leading supplier of domestically produced, value-added dairy ingredients. This product will enable Canadian dairy producers to fully optimize their milk production stream, reduce waste disposal costs, and create new higher value dairy products.

This investment is one of several successful projects to be announced under the Western Innovation (WINN) Initiative. The program provides $100 million in repayable contributions to small- and medium-sized enterprises in Western Canada. Eligible companies can apply for funding to support activities that move ideas to market more quickly.

Quotes

"Canadian companies like Vitalus Nutrition Inc. are working hard to bring their innovative products to market. The Government of Canada is proud to support this project that will improve food nutrition and reduce food waste. It is organizations like Vitalus that promote economic growth and create high-quality jobs in Canada."

- The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada

"Vitalus is very pleased to be working with the Government of Canada on the development of our VITAGOS product. The WINN repayable funding is essential to assisting our completion of this innovative dairy derived ingredient."

- Philip Vanderpol, President and CEO, Vitalus Nutrition Inc.

Additional Links

Western Innovation (WINN) Initiative

Vitalus Nutrition Inc.

Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter: @WD_Canada, @MinisterISED

WD Homepage

WD Toll-Free Number: 1-888-338-WEST (9378)

TTY (telecommunications device for the hearing impaired): 1-877-303-3388

IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.

Contacts:

Ben Stanford

Regional Communications Manager

Western Economic Diversification Canada

604-666-7038

ben.stanford@canada.ca



Pamela Ambriz

Director, New Product Development

Vitalus Nutrients Inc.

604-857-9080

information@vitalus.com




BioVentures Investors, a Wellesley, Massachusetts-based venture capital firm focused on medtech, closed its fourth fund, at $87m.

Led by Marc Goldberg and Peter Feinstein, founders, Jeff Barnes, Managing Director and Partner, and Walter Gilbert as Senior Partner, Fund IV will invest in medical technology enterprises such as medical devices and diagnostics. It focuses on technology with the potential to provide important benefits to patients, physicians and healthcare institutions, as well as significant returns to investors.

Since its initial close, the fund has made four investments, including Locemia Solutions which was acquired by Eli Lilly.

Other investments include:

 Deep Vein Medical, expected to take its prosthetic venous valve into human trials next year;

 CoNextions Medical, a company whose system of simple and rapid tendon repair technology is expecting FDA marketing approval this year, and

 Endotronix, a digital health medtech company focused on advancing the treatment of heart failure.

To date, BioVentures Investors has raised more than $220 million in four funds, all focused on the commercial development of innovative healthcare technology.

FinSMEs

08/10/2016
BNP Paribas Investment Partners completed a 500m debt fund.

Backers of the BNP Paribas European SME Debt Fund included top-tier European insurers and pension funds such as AG2R La Mondiale, BNP Paribas Cardif, CNP Assurances, lERAFP, Federal Finance Gestion on behalf of Suravenir, La France Mutualiste, Groupama, MACIF, MAIF, Pensio B OFP and the BNP Paribas Group, as well as the European Investment Fund.

Complementary to traditional bank loans, the The fund finances small and medium sized enterprises in Europe combining bank lending and fund financing. It offers a financing solution that combines a medium term bank loan (of about 5 years), with a long-term loan provided by the fund (7-10 years).

The loan origination will mostly be via privileged access to SME debt deal flow provided by the European banking network of the BNP Paribas Group.

Capital is expected to be deployed across 100-150 SME and small mid-caps.

FinSMEs

08/10/2016
There may be a fatal flaw in the argument against lethal injection in Tennessee: whether or not there is a more humane way to execute condemned inmates.





The 5 justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court heard a case Thursday that questions the constitutionality of the state's single-drug lethal injection protocol. But the justices themselves questioned the lawyers representing more than 30 inmates who brought the legal challenge about what a better alternative would be.





There wasn't an answer. The lawyers for the inmates say they don't have to provide one.





On that point, the justices appear to disagree with the lawyers.





Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins cited two decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, including a case as recent as last year known as Glossip that upheld Oklahoma's death penalty.





"It requires a challenge to the method of execution, those challenging it, to provide an alternative manner in which the executions can take place, given that, generally, executions have been held to be constitutional," Bivins said during the Thursday arguments. He suggested that the court cannot weigh other issues, including the constitutionality of the death penalty, unless there is an alternative method.





Executions in Tennessee have been stayed while the legal challenge is pending. The last execution in the state was in 2009. Some say this case, if the justices uphold the lethal injection protocol, may give the court a green light to reschedule executions.





Spectators filled the black leather chairs in the courtroom Thursday, a larger-than-normal attendance that shows the high stakes of the case. Solicitor General Andree Blumstein, one of the senior staff at the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, sat beside her colleague who defended the state's protocol.





The court effectively fast-tracked the issue, allowing the case to skip a step at the Court of Appeals and go directly from a Nashville courtroom to the state's top judges. In August 2015, Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman upheld the state's lethal injection protocol as constitutional. The inmates challenged that ruling.





Yet, that does not mean the case has been straightforward: The state's top court has already considered issues related to this case, including ruling that the names of the execution team members are private information. Several of the inmates who were involved in the legal challenge have died of natural causes on death row while the case was pending.





The inmates, through their lawyers, say the Tennessee Department of Correction's lethal-injection protocol creates risk of lingering death in violation of the Eighth Amendment and requires physicians to illegally prescribe controlled substances. According to court testimony, the execution team injects a large, single dose of pentobarbital that quickly leaves a person unconscious and then stops the heart.





Assistant Federal Public Defender Michael Passino drew a connection to a recent Nashville case involving longtime lawyer and political figure John Jay Hooker. Last year, Hooker, who suffered from terminal cancer, filed a lawsuit that would have allowed a doctor to prescribe him life-ending medication. Davidson County Chancellor Carol McCoy ruled against Hooker, affirming a state law that makes doing so a crime. Hooker died about 4 months later.





Passino said physicians prescribing pentobarbital would be breaking federal drug laws to carry out the death penalty.





"You cannot perform a lawful act in an unlawful manner," he said. "To the extent that TDOC is doing that, the protocol is unconstitutional."





Associate Solicitor General Jennifer Smith argued on behalf of the state and said Bonnyman was right to uphold the state's protocol. She said the inmates do not have a valid challenge.





"The death penalty is constitutional and there must be a way to carry it out," Smith said, urging the justices to demand an alternative.





She said there is no state or federal case in which judges have found that carrying out the death penalty violates federal drug laws such as the Controlled Substances Act.





Still Justice Sharon G. Lee showed hesitation about whether the drugs avoid lingering death, asking whether Tennessee's protocol was different than other states where executions have been botched, at times leaving inmates writhing in pain on execution gurneys.





"Your honor, there is no guarantee that an execution is not going to have a problem," Smith said, adding that Tennessee's protocol is similar to Kentucky's, which has been upheld.





"So how do we know our execution would not be botched?" Lee asked.





"We don't," Smith responded.





There is no deadline for the court to issue its written ruling. Cases typically take several months to decide.

 | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

Source: The Tennessean, October 7, 2016
CoContest, a Rome, Italy-founded and now San Francisco, CA-based interior design startup, raised $1.89m in funding.

The round was led by Draper Associates, which committed $1m, with participation  via the conversion of previously subscribed notes  from Milan listed LVenture Group ($120k), Atlante Seed ($250k), 500 Startups ($100k) and some business angels.

The company will use the funds to continue to increase the headcount and expand operations worldwide.

Co-Founded by CEO Filippo Schiano Di Pepe, COO Federico Schiano Di Pepe (who has been selected by Forbes in the European 30 Under 30 list in 2015), and Head of Sales Alessandro Rossi, CoContest is a crowdsourcing platform dedicated to interior design projects. It enables people to launch contests to create and restyle their houses and offices. Users can visualize all of the offers and interact with each of the designers for the entire duration of the contest. At the end of it, the winner is selected to receive a money prize.

The company, which has been incubated in Rome-based Luiss Enlabs, and then accelerated at Startup Chile and 500 Startups, currently has a team of 9 with plans to add 5 people soon.

FinSMEs

08/10/2016
Osage University Partners, a Bala Cynwyd, PA-based venture capital firm that invests in university startups, has promoted Matt Cohen, Ph.D. to Principal.

Dr. Cohen has been with Osage University Partners since 2013, prior to which he was a consultant at L.E.K. Consulting. He originally joined the firm as an Associate and was promoted to Senior Associate in early 2015.

Led by Bill Harrington, Managing Partner, Osage University Partners is a venture capital firm focused on investing in startups that are commercializing university technologies. Osage partners with research universities to invest in their innovative startups shareing its investment profit with partner institutions.

The firm invests in software, hardware, and life science companies at all stages of company development. To date, it has partnered with over 80 universities, including 36 of the top 50 U.S. institutions by research expenditures, and has invested in over 50 of their spinouts.

Osage University Partners is part of a family of investment funds within Osage Partners, which is based in Philadelphia, PA and manages in excess of $500 million.

FinSMEs

08/10/2016
Doctor Strange is an upcoming American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character of the same name, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is intended to be the fourteenth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Scott Derrickson, who wrote the screenplay with C. Robert Cargill from a story by the duo and Jon Spaihts, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tilda Swinton. In Doctor Strange, surgeon Stephen Strange learns the mystic arts from the Ancient One after a career-ending car accident.

Doctor Strange is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 4, 2016 in 3D and IMAX 3D.

Excited much?

Here's your chance to watch an exclusive preview of footage form the movie almost a month before the actual release date of the movie.

Send in your answers on our Facebook page or by tweeting to us on our Twitter handle and stand a chance to win a free pass to Marvel Studios' Expand Your Mind: An IMAX 3D Exclusive First Look, featuring exclusive footage from the highly anticipated, action-packed Doctor Strange.
After a couple of years based in Bandra, Im back in my hometown London finishing a film. (Dont worry dear Firstpost reader, Ill send postcards.) I got back to Blighty just weeks before the Brexit referendum vote to leave the EU, which is a bit like walking in on your parents whipping each other with leather-and-metal straps. (Theres no pleasure quite like self-harm, not in England anyway.) After long summer months of an endless flood of unsavoury newspaper stories about attacks on Polish/Muslim/disabled people, fortunately, this past Friday night gave some respite from the Rise of the Dickhead Brigade. This relief came in the form of a preview show of Shane Solankis new performance piece Songs of Immigrants and Experience: A Musical about a Muslim Girls Adventures on the Wheels of Steel.

First the show. Very much a friends and family preview (with an atmosphere so laid back people were lying on bean bags on the floor in front of the main stage at Rich Mix), this performance nonetheless blew the proverbial roof off. All the musicians and technicians and video-magicians involved came together brilliantly to create a deeply moving and enjoyable imaginative delve into the experience of a teenage Muslim girl in the UK, and lots beside. Conceived to eventually be a book, and album and a live show, the work is  in Solankis own words  a contemporary fairy tale which reflects upon identity, sustainability, and our relationship to loss and grief.

In post-Brexit Britain these are deeply relevant themes, not only because of the general air of loss and grief among the liberal classes that is combining with a cultural backlash against multiculturalism to create an increasingly parochial cultural climate. This context makes this work even more relevant and important than its quality and depth already do, bucking as it does the trend. In making this kind of work effective however the key, of course, is to avoid getting hung up on being Morally Good, and focus on being Artistically Great, and this show, devised and performed by such deft and distinguished artists as assembled by Solanki, achieves precisely that.

All this is deeply satisfying for those such as me who have had the pleasure of watching Solankis 20-year career. Long an interesting fixture in the mixture, he is now an artist approaching the height of his powers and, on the evidence of this show, deserves to be widely recognised as a glittering light of the British and South Asian cultural scenes. Since way back in the days before South Asians in the West were considered in any shape or form Cool or Hip (as, of course, all of us of sub-continental origin now effortlessly are), Shane was in the vanguard, tearing down the walls that separated Brown from Cool. He now transcends those old and rather tired categories, and is simply Bloody Brilliant.

It has been a suitably epic and winding journey to the heights Solanki is now reaching. These days he goes by the moniker Last Mango in Paris, but in the Nineties Solanki was known, respectively, as the 'Milky Bar Kid on the Anokha scene centred around Talvin Singh in Brick Lane and the Blue Note club in Hoxton Square, and 'Mr Shonuff' in his capacity as Wordsmith for the seminal hip-hop label Ninja Tune. Poet, comedian, producer, writer, musician, The Mango is a man for all seasons, one who never fails to charm but also challenge his audiences and participants, combining lick-spitting lyrical prowess with biting social critique and activism. Race, class, gender, mango growing strategies - there is no subject too tough or too taboo for Solanki not to find a way to drip his beat-driven, love-filled, deeply spiritual creativity over it, like so much maple syrup on the fresh warm waffle of our lives.

Solanki has also often ventured beyond the borders of this Green and increasingly Nasty Land, most recently at the 2015 Dharavi Biennale where he worked with a group of local ladies  and local Mumbai rapper Alkesh Sutar  facilitating a public dance performance based around their experience of gender in their lives in Dharavi. While he was in Mumbai he also continued his collaboration with Mumbai-based electronic music producer Bandish Projekt. There is also talk of a forthcoming project in China, as well as a musical collaboration that in 2017 will take The Mango to Port Harcourt in Nigeria, where one hopes the mangoes will be suitably abundant.

Friday nights performance was an early preview of the new show which is due to roll out across 2017. Even if Britain has Brexited by then, dont worry, the Last Mango will still be in Paris (and Mumbai and London and a whole bunch of other places too were sure) and Ill still be here to let you know about it.

The writer is a filmmaker and gonzo correspondent. Follow him on Twitter: @opencircuit
Media reports of a tricolour draping the body of Ravi, an accused in the Dadri lynching case, should worry us. The crudeness of the gesture is tantamount to an act of disrespect towards the family of Mohammad Akhlaq, who was killed when a mob attacked his house last November. The acquiescent silence on part of district administrators, allowing the tricolour to be placed on the coffin, further reinforces our cause for concern.

Apparently, the act of honouring Ravi as someone who died serving the nation  usually, coffins of armed forces personnel come draped in tricolour  is no doubt designed to send an aggressive message to the Muslim community. 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, said a report in The Indian Express earlier this week.

That the police whose job it is to ensure law and order, allowed such a bizarre action to go uncontested puts a question mark over their will to take action against members of the majority community. Clearly, the sentiments of Akhalqs family did not matter.

Lets not forget the larger backdrop in question here. That the dispute over whether the meat found in Akhlaqs fridge was beef or not has been kept alive by some group or political party till date shows an acute lack of empathy for Akhlaqs family. It also demonstrates the deep-seated communal political culture that is rampant in the state. The latest controversy enhances the prevailing suspicion among many that the sentiments of the Muslim community have been shot shifted, once again, to pacify the majority.

In itself, such majoritarian pandering is not a startling revelation. Neither are such incidents a recent phenomenon which has started playing out only after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power. Yet, its impossible to ignore the fact that since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, moments like this have tended to occur with greater frequency. Moreover, such situations seem to be deliberately created to deepen a sense of anxiety among minority communities.

In such a context, mouthing praises to Indias multicultural fabric and the need to respect all faiths pales into significance. As minorities are feeling more and more alienated from the system, selfstyled nationalists are emboldened  directly and indirectly  to plan more such actions. Clearly, Prime Minister Modis call to respect all faiths and cultures (rare as they have been) has cut no ice with majoritarian fanatics who continue to strike at all levels, and at will.

It must be stressed, that only when accompanied by vigilant action, do political statements of concern carry any substantive meaning. This requires those in power to display political and administrative will and to ensure that their rhetorical words actually deliver justice on the ground. Unfortunately, if such statements themselves have been in short supply, the lack of will to rein in the violators has been near absent. Meanwhile, more and more incidents of this kind are routinely taking place, creating fear among already marginalised minority communities. Rather than ease their anxieties, each incident of bullying deepens alienation among Muslims.

For example, the recent incident when the Shiv Sena refused to allow Nawazuddin Siddiqui to perform in a scene from the Ram Leela show, in the actors hometown Budhana, in Uttar Pradesh. He was getting ready in the green room when local activists, allegedly of the Shiv Sena, stormed in and started shouting. The actor left quietly. There were some technical issues. I was told I should not do it as it was important to maintain peace in the village, he was quoted as telling a news channel before leaving for Mumbai, says an NDTV report.

We are treading on dangerous ground. On the one hand, we see a continued display of jingoistic nationalism; on the other, minorities are being systematically alienated by daily acts of majoritarian intimidation

We see this in the manner in which the Prime Ministers call to his ministers to refrain from chestthumping following Indias surgical strikes across the LoC, is blatantly violated day after day.

Just days after Modi issued his appeal, his party raised toasts to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at meetings in Agra and Lucknow. According to a report in The Indian Express, Parrikar said the decorum of his office prevented him from revealing much: about his party men issuing threats, warnings to Pakistan, including the one that India could hit back with an atom bomb if threatened with a nuclear attack. Parrikar agreed with Uttar Pradesh's state BJP president Keshav Prasad Mauryas description of him as a seedha (simple) man but said that he could become tedha (crooked) if it helped secure the country.

Given this evident disconnect between the call for restraint and peace at the top and the raucous ratcheting up of sentiments in the lower echelons of power, one has to wonder how seriously the PM wants his cadre and ministers to take him.
The Home Minister on Friday stated that the government has decided to seal the entire stretch of the 3,323-km-long Indo-Pak border (1,225 km in Jammu and Kashmir, 553 km in Punjab, 1,037 km in Rajasthan and 508 km in Gujarat) by December 2018. Rajnath Singh also said that the development of the procedure will be done in a planned way, with a monitoring framework set up to review the progress, monthly, quarterly, bi-annually and annually.

On the question of securing the riverine belts and areas where it is geographically unfeasible to put the physical barrier along the border, Singh said that the government will look into technological solutions to ensure every inch of our land is guarded. It may be recalled that similar indications had also been given by the government after the recent terrorist attacks in Gurdaspur and the IAF base at Pathankot.

The decision is warranted with heightened proxy war by Pakistan that is likely to escalate further. Incidents of infiltration have gone up and 100 terrorists are reportedly ready to infiltrate from launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Infiltration has also been attempted through the international border in Punjab and J&K in addition to trans-border smuggling of goods, narcotics and fake Indian currency in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.

India fenced and floodlit 461 km of Punjabs border with Pakistan from 1988 to 1993. The 1,048 km Rajasthan-Pakistan border was fenced and floodlit by 1999. Of the construction of 340 km of border roads and 137 km of link roads along Pakistan border in Gujarat sector sanctioned, 294 km of border roads and 136 Km of link roads had been completed till a few years back. The challenges remained along the LoC in J&K and the unfenced 93 km of Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. BSF had also proposed shifting of 23.380 km of fencing closer to the border in certain stretches of Ferozepur sector in Punjab due to the problems being faced by farmers in cultivating their lands. A dozen laser walls are already installed in the India-Pakistan border in Punjab in areas prone to infiltration.

India has erected 407 km border fencing in J&K in areas where there is high threat but the gaps between posts can only be covered through patrolling or ambushes which spread the security forces thin on the ground and is not 100 percent foolproof despite best efforts especially in hours of darkness, fog and adverse weather. Pakistan has been employing heavy cross-border firing to assist the infiltration and terrorists have also been using explosives to make gaps in the fencing or dig holes under the fence. In addition, heavy snows buried the fence especially in north Kashmir and large portions are also destroyed annually because of avalanches.

The new fence tried out  in consultation with the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE)  uses stronger material and will have night-vision cameras, alarms and visual map displays integrated with the fence, all linked to a monitoring room, giving the local military commanders real-time data enabling quick reaction against any attempt to tamper with the fence. The fence is also proposed to be lit up using LED lighting where feasible. Existing fence in Jammu Sector is already lighted.

There is no denying that we need smart borders. As per news reports, Israel has evinced interest in helping out in this venture. We need to optimize the best technology. Abroad, solar panels, rechargeable batteries, and diesel generators support extensive floodlighting with enough power. Operators pan and tilt the cameras remotely whenever any suspicious activity is observed. However, such arrangements are not feasible along active borders where Pakistan resorts to unprovoked firingy. Modern electronic surveillance involves detection of movement, and is largely based on seismic, acoustic, inductive sensors, and infrared sensors. Seismic sensors can distinguish between people and vehicles. Inductive sensors detect metal in an object that is moving, while an IR sensors can detect human body heat from a distance of up to 100 metres. The Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS) in use by the Army are mostly imported and primarily meant for guarding houses or premises. These are ineffective with snowfall and the DRDO has not been able to come up with one suitable for snow conditions.

However, despite smart fence fitted with cameras and consoles with commanders, limitations of adverse weather and visibility conditions will continue. This needs to be beefed up with Night Vision Devices (NVDs), Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) and Hand Held Thermal Imagers (HHTIs) which are in very limited numbers. The army post at Uri, which recently suffered a ghastly terrorist attack, did not have a single thermal imager despite being under enemy observation from three directions. The use of radars, as done abroad to detect smugglers as along the US-Mexico border, has the danger of giving away the electronic signatures of the equipment to the enemy. Besides, radars also have a dead zone. A mix of electronic surveillance and dogs would be very successful.

We use the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) for surveillance but in limited numbers, because of the paucity of resources and restrictions on flying of multiple UAVs simultaneously in the same area or zone. There is a need to speed up the induction of the Battlefield Surveillance System (BSS), Battlefield Management System (BMS) in the army, and equipping infantry with hand-held Mini Aerial Vehicles (MAVs). Modern MAVs with forward-looking IR can identify objects at extremely long distances. Americas MQ-9 Reaper UAV used for homeland security has cameras capable of identifying an object the size of a milk carton from altitudes of 60,000 feet, forward-looking IR detecting humans at distance of 60 km. MAVs are also being weaponised. The US military is developing swarms of tiny unarmed drones that can hover, crawl and even kill targets. These micro UAVs will work in swarms to provide complex surveillance of borders and battlefields. Aside from a laser weapon they can also be armed with incapacitating chemicals, combustible payloads or even explosives for precision targeting.

Despite excellent achievements of Isro, we still have not gone for 24x7 satellite surveillance along our borders with both China and Pakistan. China already has 24x7 satellite surveillance along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India. A recent media report of a 45km-deep Chinese incursion in Arunachal points to this critical void. Iran is building a 700km-long, 10-feet-high and a three-feet-thick wall along its border with Pakistan, which is still not complete. If we are going for a similar 3,323-km-long Indo-Pak border wall with Israeli assistance, it is unlikely to be completed by December 2018. Nevertheless, it would be a good beginning and we must not neglect other borders especially border infrastructure in the northeast, which remains pathetic because of gross neglect over a decade by the previous government.

The government must also seriously consider three issues. Firstly, the Armys Technical Support Division (TSD) that the UPA government disbanded to the great advantage of Pakistans ISI, must be re-established if the NDA government is serious about countering Pakistans proxy war on India. Secondly, the government needs to examine the villages located close to the border. When Farooq Abdullah, then the chief minister of J&K, was asked why the few border villages very close to the LoC could not be relocated in hinterland J&K by a foreign student at the National Defence College Course in 2000, he said he had thought about it and had already asked the Centre for Rs 120 crores to shift the first village. Creating a vacant belt would deter infiltration since any movement can be engaged by fire. Also, we may not mine the LoC but certainly patrols can keep adding IEDs.

Third, the principle of One Border, One Force that we have muddled up completely because of turf wars. China has put her entire border along Myanmar, India and Afghanistan under the newly-created Western Theatre Command, which includes militias and border forces. The least we can do is putting our entire land and sea borders under the MoD. This would pay off immensely when it comes to defending India.

The author is veteran Lt. General
We dont want to fight,

But by Jingo! if we do,

Weve got the ships, weve got the men,

Weve got the money too.

This was part of a popular song in Britain in 1878 among the aggressive nationalists who were itching for a war with Russia. By Jingo was an exclamatory phrase, something like Oh Jesus.

The Daily News dubbed the warmongers as Jingoes. Many writers still prefer the word Jingoes to Jingoists. Jingoism came from it. The term also refers to chauvinists who believe in the ultimate supremacy of their nation, not necessarily those screaming for war. But were now talking about a warlike situation.

Etymology apart, jingoism is a worrisome thing, though there is enough sanity left in the world to fight it.

At the height of the 1991 Iraq war, I was pleasantly surprised to see a communication that editors of the Associated Press sent to their correspondents around the world. I forget the exact words, but it said something to this effect: Bush has started off this war, not the Associated Press.

Around the same time, I heard of editors of other reputed American organisations who were hitting the delete button, whenever they found adjectives like triumphant and bold that preceded US soldiers and saw metaphors that made war look like a game of Super Mario Bros.

In other words, what responsible American editors were telling their reporters: forget jingoism, get on with the story.

These days, I squirm in the chair when I hear valiant Indian army or martyred soldiers and the like on some channels. Often I hear worse. In the kind of news writing, I did even for the Indian papers, our could never take the place of Indias. Just as the rules of war have changed, so have the tenets of journalism. And talking to the editors of these channels about this problem would be just as useful as talking to air.

But is this a problem?

Studies in social psychology show that a sense of patriotism primarily stems from an individuals craving for attaching himself or herself to groups  the nation being one such group. Such attachments fill them with a feeling of security and pride. Patriotism just means loyalty to a nation, but its relatively headier version, nationalism, includes hostility to other countries as well. And an even more aggressive form of nationalism has come to be known as jingoism, though we have no Jingometer to check where the former ends and the latter begins.

Patriotism and nationalism have existed ever since humans evolved from apes and put up fences around their demarcated territories in jungles; so has the madness of jingoism, though the word itself was coined only in the nineteenth century.

According to several psychologists, patriotism and nationalism are relatively normal human traits. But jingoism isnt. All three forms exist across the globe in differing degrees. Clearly, the group that can cause human misery are the jingoists, whose hatred for others and war cries usually fail to conform to logic and reasoning.

In the present context of India-Pakistan tension, lets get these things right:

1. Not all Indians are jingoists.

2. Not every supporter of PM Narendra Modi (Hindu nationalist leader as the Western media would call him) is a jingoist. Modi himself is not one. He is weighing options against Pakistan.

3. Conversely, not every jingoist is a Modi supporter.

4. Jingoists cut across all party lines

Jingoism is worse when it invades newsrooms, as you can see it on some channels almost every night.

The reverse-jingoists

And then we also have reverse-jingoists (from the phrase jingoism in reverse used by the British journalist Henry Fairlie in a 1975 essay on anti-American Americans).

But who are Indias reverse-jingoists now? The exact opposite of jingoists? Not really, though jingoists might call them anti-Indian Indians. As for the India-Pakistan conflict, India now has two types of reverse-jingoists:

1. Some who are authentic peace-lovers and refuse to accept war with Pakistan as a solution.

2. Some who deride any action against Pakistan, if PM Narendra Modi is the one who is taking it because of their pathological animosity towards the man. Some of them may be supporters of either the Congress or the Left or a non-BJP party or may even be apolitical.

Like everybody who supports Modi is not a jingoist, everybody who doesnt is also not a reverse-jingoist.

Its the breed of anti-Modi reverse-jingoists who, along with jingoists, fall into the realm of abnormal psychology. Both groups suffer from deficit in normal behaviour or an attitude disorder, though only a small number of them may have crossed the limits, calling for psychiatric intervention.

In normal circumstances, reverse-jingoism denotes cynicism of citizens over their own country, like that of the anti-American Americans, many of whom I met during the Gulf war. In the case of the anti-Modi reverse-jingoists, cynicism is replaced by prejudice.

Prejudice is an inappropriate generalisation, say psychologists CI Howarth and WEC Gillham in The Structure of Psychology.

Thats what makes this bunch of reverse-jingoists conclude: because Modi did something in the past which they believe to be wrong, whatever he is doing now must be wrong. And thats why Howarth and Gillham say that prejudice can be due to inappropriate application of what we have learned in the past.

Sadly, both jingoists and the reverse ones find it hard to believe that there are a vast number of Indians who belong to neither group

As for Pakistan, those in this middle group take stand on issues, based on logic and rationale. If some of them believe that Pakistan is not a country like any other but only a terror factory and India must act in some manner  not necessarily by going to war but with some action like the surgical strikes or diplomatic offensive  its based on information, rational thinking, and possible consequences. They might wholeheartedly back one action of Modi today and vehemently oppose another tomorrow.

The anti-Modi counter-jingoists want nothing to do with him. They even refuse to believe that the surgical strikes must be at least partly true, despite the stories done by Praveen Swami of The Indian Express and CNN-News18. Their questioning attitude is adorable, but when their disbelief comes from animosity toward one politician, it becomes a case of what psychologists call loss of contact with reality.

The doubting Thomases, the new upholders of democracy, freedom of press, freedom of speech and fair journalism would have earned themselves a great deal of public adoration, only if their indignation was not primarily guided by their fascination for the junk called Left ideology or love for the Congress dynasty or blind loathing for one man called Modi.

Forget jingoism or the antithesis of it. Both Modis staunch supporters and arch opponents refuse to acknowledge the fact that not all the 17.2 crore voters, who voted for the BJP  31.3 percent vote share, excluding those who voted for other NDA allies  in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, are Hindu fundamentalists or nationalists.

Its this larger middle group that anointed Modi as the Prime Minister in the hope of good governance and they are watching him. They watch what he is doing about Pakistan  and a host of other things  with no baggage. Modi knows it.

Author tweets @sprasadindia
Hindon: Asserting that the Indian armed forces are prepared to take on any challenge, Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Arup Raha on Saturday said there has been enough discussion on the surgical strikes across the LoC, but the forces will not talk about it.

"There has been so much discussion on this issue in the country; every section of society is giving an opinion on this issue. ... the armed forces are supposed to deliver the result that the nation expects. We are not going to talk about it; we will just deliver," Air Chief Marshal Raha said at the Hindon air base on the 84th Air Force Day.

We are getting smarter and smarter and are fully prepared for any contingency: Air Force Chief Arup Raha on terrorist attacks pic.twitter.com/g9lJwjWID8  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016

Sad; Should've detected it ourselves, much before it came to this shame:Arup Raha on IAF Wing Commander who was involved in drug trafficking pic.twitter.com/TjJsbyV47v  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016

It does bring bad reputation; we're very concerned. Weve investigated deep into the matter and are taking a lot of steps: Arup Raha pic.twitter.com/OdcY2JVVoj  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016

Raha is also the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Responding to a question on the surgical strikes and politicisation of the issue, Raha refused to comment on the Indian Army action across the Line of Control on the night of September 28-29 and related issues.

The surgical strikes had come in the wake of the September 18 terrorist attack on an army camp in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir, in which 19 soldiers were killed.

In his speech at the Air Force Day function earlier, Raha mentioned both Pathankot and Uri attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir respectively.

"Terrorist attacks at the Uri (army camp) and Pathankot (IAF) base show the troubled times we are living in," Raha said.

Asked to comment on the issue later, the Air Force chief said India is learning lessons every time something happens.

"We are getting smarter and smarter; we are learning lessons every time something happens. I think we are very well prepared now to face any such contingency," he said.

"The armed forces are well prepared to take on any sub-conventional threat. We have had one or two cases... a determined terrorist can always get the better of people but the aim is to prevent it... the deterrence. We should be able to detect any such attack right in the beginning so that we can neutralise them (terrorists) before they cause any damage," the IAF chief said.

Raha, in his speech, said that India is being seen as a "net security provider" in the Indian Ocean region.

The Air Force Day commemorates the establishment of the armed force on October 8, 1932.
Blog Hinangai

While there is much discussion in Guam about the economic benefits of increasing the islands military presence, the damages/dangers that they represent are rarely mentioned. This blog, a supplement to the Peace and Justice for Guam Petition, is meant to counter that by providing information about the US military in Guam, with the hopes of steering policy away from a dangerous unilateralist course to more sustainable notions of regional development and a strengthening international solidarity.
Jammu and Kashmir: Investigations by the Jammu and Kashmir police have revealed that a number of personnel deployed on duty with mainstream politicians, connived with militants to give up their weapons during the current unrest in the valley.

Over the last one month, more than six incidents have been reported during which militants managed to get away with the service rifles of on-duty personnel.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Kulgam, Shridhar Patil, said, "Some of the police personnel who were required to offer protection were in fact found to be negligent in their duties. We have registered cases of connivance with militants against our personnel and they have been dismissed from the service."

The revelations have come at a time when militants are facing a shortage of weapons, and some of the surrendered militants including those who "infiltrated" militant ranks to pass on information, have switched sides, and fought against the police.

The findings surfaced during the investigation of a recent incident during which militants managed to get away the weapons from the police personnel deployed on security duty at the residence of ruling People's Democratic Partys Rajya Sabha member, Nazir Ahmad Laway. Over 20,000 people protested outside his house during which four of his personal security officers (PSOs) gave their arms to militants. Laway, who is under the Z protection security category, was not at his home but the police failed to protect his brother, sister-in-law and their child and fled from the place.

The police dismissed the four personnel including a head constable from service after a case of cowardice and negligence of duty was registered against them at the Kulgam police station. They have been charged conniving with the militants as well.

However, Laway said that it would have been "difficult for the PSOs to carry out their duty in the face of the protest by over 20,000 people".

These incidents have occurred in areas in South Kashmir including Kulgam and Anantnag, which witnessed the worst protests in the current uprising. In areas of Bijbehara and Noorabad in the Southern part of Kashmir, people hit the streets in large numbers, and burnt police stations during their "pro-freedom" protests. The investigations in some of these incidents revealed that the on-duty "PSOs didnt perform their duties satisfactorily".

Following the increase in such incidents, the J&K police issued orders asking its on-duty personnel to deposit their weapons with their seniors before proceeding for leave. According to police officials, police security has also been withdrawn from some of the habitations of the minority communities in South Kashmir, following an increase in militancy-related incidents and people-led attacks on the police.

A police official said that the police guards were withdrawn from the habitations of the Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs at Noorpur and Medoora in Awantipora. "There were two police parties of five personnel each, which were withdrawn from the place," added a police official.

In similar incidents, On 3 October, the J&K police dismissed five personnel after militants managed to take away their weapons from a minority post of Dogra-speaking Kashmiris in Damhal Hanji Pora. In the same area, a case of connivance with militants was registered against the personnel who were deployed on guard duty of a National Conference (NC) activist. The militants managed to decamp with the service rifles of the on-duty personnel. On 8 September, militants barged into the guardroom of NC leader, Abdul Rashid Khanday, at Begom village of Kulgam district and snatched four rifles. Over a week later on 19 September, militants snatched four more rifles from policemen guarding the house of district president of PDP in Anantag.
In the three months since militant commander Burhan Wani was killed on 8 July, the youth uprising in Kashmir has been temporarily suppressed, but it would be a great mistake to consider it over. Indeed, the youth uprising is now only one dimension of the developing situation in and around Kashmir. India-Pakistan tension has flared, particularly over the past three weeks, and the Kashmir issue is back in the global spotlight.

This is not just escalation. The fact is that the uprising was not taken seriously enough at the outset. It should be clear at least now that it was (and is) no more than the tip of an iceberg fit for the Titanic.

The government thought the agitation would die down if the forces showed sufficient restraint, and the home minister did enough sweet-talking. But it was already clear in July that the home ministry had failed miserably, and that the defence ministry ought to be gearing up. Sadly, it took several weeks for that to sink in with the powers that be.

Even eight weeks after Burhan was killed, the plethora of agencies that are meant to advise the government on such matters evidently thought that the agitation would be diffused if a parliamentary delegation were to hold talks with Hurriyat Conference leaders. Those unintelligent 'intelligence' walas yet to figured out that this was not a repeat of 2010. One hopes those `intelligence clowns have figured at least that much by now.

Even when talks might have diffused matters  long before Burhan was killed - talking to the Hurriyat was already pointless: not just boys Burhans age (22 when he died) but teenagers and boys in their pre-teens were, and remain, at the forefront. They have been increasingly taken the lead more decisively since 2008  more decisively since Burhan became their icon last year.

Young Rafqat Sonwaire, a political and social activist of the rural Sumbal area north of Srinagar, makes a pertinent point about the countrys political leadership: They keep trying to talk to the secessionist leaders. They should go out into the field and talk to the youth.

Fanning the flames

Of course, it is true that that very real youth anger has been smartly channeled, coordinated and sponsored - but not necessarily by Hurriyat activists. Activists of just about every political party other than Sajad Lones Peoples Conference fanned the flames in various places, at least for the first couple of months. And activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami have been very active - although, as with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (which declared itself Jamaats askari baazu or sword-arm) in the 1990s, the Jamaats Amir and Shoura council may not formally be behind it.

Three months into the mayhem that Burhans killing sparked, one hopes the powers that be have begun to comprehend that the unrest is not over. In fact, it may get far worse. Rafqat Sonwaire pointed out that, while returning home from Srinagar on Thursday evening, he found that mobs of boys had stoned cars on his route, although stone-pelting had been much reduced over the past few days.

One more youth died of pellet injuries in Srinagar on Friday, leading to more protest.

A harvest dip

No doubt one major reason for the temporary dip in 'stone-pelting' is the arrest and detention of thousands of boys across Kashmir over the past few weeks. But, another important reason is that all the very many rural families that own small or big orchards are busy harvesting apples and the saffron crop (around Pampore). This years walnut and almond crops have already been picked.

It is only when all the crops are in by the middle of this month will we know how much impact the arrests and detentions have actually had. According to the grapevine, the fruit industry got the separatist leadership to allow them to get their crops down and send to markets across the country by 12 October.

If that grapevine is credible, the calendar through which the separatists dictate the nature and venues of protests will become much tougher after Wednesday.

Gas bags of hope

The hope-filled 'analyses' of the powers-that-be that things will simmer down once the state government moves to Jammu, and the cold sets in, could prove as ill-founded as their earlier series of hope spurred 'analyses' - that things would die down by the end of July, or by around Independence Day, or by around Eid-ul-Zuha (13 September in Kashmir), or once the UNGA session ended,  They have had several hope attacks in these three months!

In fact, oblivious to all that hope, the focus has expanded to the international arena, much more so since the lethal attack on an army brigade at Uri on 18 September.

The fact that security camps and police stations were attacked right across the Valley on 9 July, within hours after Burhan was killed, should have indicated that there was a pattern, and a certain level of coordination, behind the apparent mayhem. Further evidence has piled up since infiltration of trained militants from across the Line of Control has increased, grenades and guns have occasionally been used, and weapons are still being snatched from security personnel - as they have been over the past few years by new local recruits to the militant ranks.

Three months after Burhan was killed, the portents are not good. Not good at all.
In less than six months from now, thirty years would have passed since the Kashmir elections were rigged. An incident which perpetuated three decades of violence bringing hell to the valley that has been described as heaven on earth.

An unfinished business of the partition of the subcontinent, Kashmir is one of the largest and most militarised territorial disputes between India and Pakistan. It's also something the world should always worry about as it may trigger the next nuclear conflict on the planet.

A peaceful resolution of the conflict, which drains most of the resources of the two poor nations, should be a priority of the patriotic politicians on both sides. It is mind-boggling that the conflict has gone on for seven decades and no voices of reason have prevailed even though a large part of the population in India and Pakistan is under the yoke of poverty and disease.

By estimates of the World Bank, only 34 percent of Indians have access to a toilet. In Pakistan, only 48 percent of the population has access to facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and feces'.

Yet this festering and dangerous conflict remained unresolved for the last 69 years, causing hostility, and over which India and Pakistan have fought more than one war. I cannot fathom the resources that these two neighbors have squandered on their respective war machines when the people in both countries grind under the burden of misery.

In the pursuit of a resurgent India vis-a-vis the Chinese behemoth, the West has largely ignored this flash point which by some estimates can bring the world to a nuclear doom. The possibility of nuclear winter is not far-fetched. The West would rather look for a counterweight to emerging China and forget about its moral sermons that are all too often delivered in its own interests.



Remember Palestine, Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, and now Syria? Why should Kashmir be different?

Over the years, the voices of reason have periodically emerged exposing the sinister effect of the events in India-held Kashmir  mass graves, extrajudicial killings and innumerable human rights violations documented by none other than international organisations like Amnesty International, the UN, Human Rights Watch and others like Panjak Mishra and Gautam Navlakha.

The case of human rights lawyer Parvez Imroz who won the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize by Human Rights Institute of The Bar of Bordeaux, France, and the European Bar Human Rights Institute, is well known. This is the same prize that Nelson Mandela won in 1985. Not only Imroz was denied an Indian passport to receive the prize, but the security forces in Srinagar even tried to kill him and his family.

In spite of deployment of the Army with powers unbefitting a democracy, the Congress government had largely been successful in concealing the events in Kashmir, and thus, avoid discourse over this conflict. It also succeeded in placing in some form of obscurity with Western complicity.

How would the world know about the plight of Kashmiris when travel to Kashmir was impossible? But thanks to the advent of social media in the last 10 to 15 years, the world would come to know about what goes on in J&K.

Despite its ruthless suppression, Congress rule was successful in insulating the conflict from the international community, in which 100,000 people were killed. But the recent events by the BJP government have brought it out in the open. In its pursuit of nationalist agenda, the BJP government may have blundered by once again internationalising the issue which on the surface may have remained dormant. As late as July 2016, the leading intellectuals of the world have written a letter to the Indian government to stop its repression in the valley. Most notables among the more-than-850 who signed the letter were Noam Chomsky and Meena Kandasamy.

Interestingly, the hawkish media on both sides of the border is relentless in voicing claims, counter claims, denials and counter denials.

Personally, I dont know what to make of all this rhetoric and hoopla that is damaging to the cause of peace. The media on both sides has become a propaganda machine of each others government, and frankly, it is useless to look for any objective analysis in a discourse full of insults, harangues, lies and half-truths. It has been almost two weeks since Uri. While there is non-stop and nonsensical coverage of Kashmir in the media both in India and Pakistan. I only find reasonable voices about the incident when I scour the world media including todays Jerusalem Post, The New York Times, Le Monde, or any other major newspaper of the world that comes to my mind.

In the Wests ambivalence for whatever reasons aside, Pakistan and the Kashmiri people found an opportunity a fortnight ago to bring the issue to the fore in the international arena when India supposedly made a surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). Although the timing may have been carefully calculated by New Delhi since the Americans are busy in their presidential election, it doesn't seem to have as much impact as India may have expected, or hoped, and without impunity.

The respective claims of Indian and the Pakistani governments aside, buttressed by the clamour on the media of both countries, the Indian surgical strike across the Line of Control for whatever aims, domestic or international, were albeit partially successful or even a failure. Nonetheless, it was something dangerous and irresponsible whether one believes the Indian or the Pakistani version of the incident.

While Modi government may have succeeded in satisfying the demands of the Hindu nationalist at home, with the deployment of more than 700,000 troops in the Kashmir valley (that amounts to one soldier for seventeen inhabitants), the Modi government may have miscalculated, and brought the Kashmir dispute, once again, into the international arena.

This gave a sound reason to Pakistan to internationalise the event while at the same time deny the incursion to begin with. Whatever may have happened, ironically, a segment of the extremists still lament the loss of a window of opportunity soon after the attack on Uri, which in their wishful thinking, would have punished Pakistan.

What the nationalist didnt do was entertain the possibility that rubbing the Pakistani nose could have surpassed the threshold which may have unleashed the Pakistani nuclear arsenal thus bringing havoc to the subcontinent and the world. In that case, India could not have sat back, and its retaliatory strike would have certainly caused the feared and awful mutual assured destruction.

Therefore, was the surgical strike worth taking the risk?

The conventional wisdom dictates that while the decision to carry out the surgical strike may have been made in New Delhi, the restraint that the Modi government displayed could have been due to orders coming from Washington, Indias newly found friend that still has enormous interests in Pakistan. Were the policy makers in New Delhi so euphoric in their love for the Americans, that they imagined that the US would ignore its assets in Afghanistan and beyond, just for the sake of returning a warm handshake? It was ironic that the hawkish Indian Prime Minister on 5 October admonished his sabre-rattling domestic allies to refrain from commenting on the incident unless they are cleared by the defense officials. It was a smart move, indeed.

How could the warming of relationship with Washington have been sacrificed by drumming up the significance of the strike in the first place?

The fact is that the Modi government finds itself precisely between a rock and a hard place. It is true that the nationalist Hindutva sentiment is a genie that is no longer in the bottle and no matter what Modi and his allies want to do with it, supporting the nationalist agenda is not sustainable. The BJP may have used this genie to succeed in elections and gain popularity on the domestic scene, but there is no end to the demands of the domestic nationalist, who seem to have started to meddle in the security of the Republic of India basing their actions on whimsical behaviour. With time it has become more difficult for the BJP to deliver to its constituency that is virulently anti-peace in the subcontinent. I might ask what will happen to India that is resurgent and moving ahead with a robust growth, in case a war breaks out with Pakistan? Delusions aside, after Bangladesh, Pakistan is not ready for a defeat or even a humiliation.

The talk of war is thus dangerous and mutually suicidal.

Moreover, and notwithstanding that Congress may have hailed the strikes albeit in much cooler terms, the party of Sonia Gandhi has paid only lip service to the incident and thus avoided alienating its Muslim vote bank in particular, and the voices of reason, in general. The time has come once again to peacefully resolve the Kashmir issue despite the previous, chronic and ossified intransigence.

Another earlier miscalculation by the hawks in New Delhi regarding the international opinion may have been due to the false belief that the events in Kashmir have remained concealed thus providing impunity. But that is also not true. The American election campaign in full swing coupled with the public relation spree by Modi has brought goodwill to India, but it has not been able to prevent the worlds reaction to what is going on in the valley.

Amnesty International issued a report regarding failures in accountability for human rights violations by security force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. A detailed report addresses rape among other atrocities against the civilian population can be read here.

In the wake of the horrible Mumbai attack, the former British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband wrote:

The issue is not whether we need to attack the use of terror at its roots, with all the tools available. We must. The question is how.

He further goes on to say that the terrorists are not an enemy that is united in a single army acting across borders and the war on terrorism therefore cannot be binary, between good and evil, between right and wrong.

Although terrorism is to be tackled at its root, by removing its weapons supply, by eliminating its finances and by emasculating its agenda. But you can turn blue in your face if the people you call terrorists have a backer that is a state, and it has a legitimate claim recognised by the international community. Since one mans freedom fighter is another mans terrorist, the problem of Kashmir can only be solved with trilateral participation of the Kashmiris, Pakistanis and the Indians, by sitting on the negotiating table. Only cooperation can work in this case.

Therefore, the blame game in which Pakistan is touted as the root cause of terrorism is not going to solve the conflict. And despite its public denial for the sake of the international decorum, why should Pakistan not deny whatever it does in the India-held-Kashmir? Just like what India does in Baluchistan. The fact remains that Kashmir is a dispute that needs to be resolved. And it must be resolved by peaceful means. Both Kashmiris and Pakistanis are part of the conflict and a triad that includes them and the Indians is the only way that a peaceful settlement can be achieved, and nothing else.

No amount of rhetoric, posturing or appeasement of the domestic constituencies is going to solve the issue and since all else has failed, the only way out of the morass is for cooler heads to prevail and negotiations to start. The sooner the better. The people in both countries have had enough of miserable existence.

The author is an American Physician of Pakistani decent.
At the centre of the 'triple talaq' debate in India lies a power struggle between a group of entitled patriarchs who seek to carry on with their oppression under the cover of religion, and Muslim women fighting for their rights, increasingly willing to take a stand against institutional bullying.

In this unequal yet important battle where a significant section of the Indian population remains as second class citizens in a modern democratic society, the government and the court have lent their weight behind Muslim women who have raised their voices against oppression cutting across age and regional divides. The burden of grief that connects an otherwise unconnected Shayara Bano to Afreen Rehman or members of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) has become too heavy to bear.

In its 28-page affidavit, the government has urged the Supreme Court to do away with the controversial practice that has been shunned in many Islamic theocratic states including Bangladesh and Pakistan. The Centre must be applauded for breaking away with the stasis of past governments and stating that gender equality is non-negotiable. It deserves praise for taking an unequivocal stand against the unilateral, split-second divorce that erodes the fundamental rights of a woman.

But when it comes to such fundamental, socio-economic changes that have far-reaching repercussions in a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and pluralistic, secular democracy such as ours, the government and courts can only do so much. It is rather disheartening to find India's liberals, who should have been at the vanguard of such a movement and led the charge against institutionalised subjugation, go AWOL on this subject. Where is the civil society? Is this a battle alone for Muslim women? Does their plight not move our liberals?

A first-of-its-kind study, conducted by BMMA across 10 states featuring 4,710 women between July and December 2013, reveals that 91.7 percent Muslim women in India want triple talaq to go. A report in The Times of India, quoting author of the study, Zakia Soman, says: "In 2014, of the 235 cases that came to women Sharia adalats (courts) that we run, 80% were of oral talaq." An overwhelming 93% women were opposed to instant talaq and favoured an arbitration process before a divorce. A further 83.3% advocated for the codification of a Muslim family law.

The victims of the unequal law have some horrific stories to tell. Shayara Bano, for instance, was made to undergo six abortions by her husband, who forcibly administered pills that ruined her health. Bano, according to a Times Now article, longs to be with her two kids who stay with her husband. Or, take the case of 25-year-old Afreen, who was divorced via Speed Post. The report also mentions the plight of a 21-year-old student who was divorced 10 days into her marriage through WhatsApp.

Meanwhile, fearing an erosion of power, the pedagogues of All India Muslim Personal Law Board have reacted in the same way that bullies habitually do. Faced with an unprecedented clamour for gender justice and equality from women within their own society, the AIMPLB chieftains have sought to conflate the debate by placing it within a larger religio-ethnical context. From being the oppressors, they have tried to fashion themselves as "victims".

Their strategy is to stall the Centre or court's move by alleging interference into Muslim Personal Law. AIMPLB has sought to use Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to practice personal religion, as a battering ram against all arguments of gender justice, equality, dignity, and non-discrimination.

This is a red herring. First, it needs to be stated clearly  and this is where liberals can play a role bigger than the government or the courts because we are discussing minority rights  that Indian Constitution enjoys primacy before all personal laws.

And since retrogressive practices such as triple talaq sit at odds with a citizen's fundamental right of equality before the law irrespective of gender or religion as guaranteed by the Constitution, these personal laws as well as customs and usage  as the government submitted in its affidavit on Friday  "would come under the ambit of Article 13, which lays down that any law that impinges upon fundamental rights shall be void." As a report in The Indian Express points out, "the government pleaded that the practices of triple talaq and polygamy should be tested on the anvil of Article 13 after rectifying the incorrect precedent set by the High Court in 1951." Second, the myth that a few patriarchs of AIMPLB represent the undivided will of Muslims in India must be busted for good.

Social activist Maria Alam Umar, while welcoming the Centre's stand on triple talaq, told The Times of India that "the Muslim Personal Law Board, too, should be abolished for its "pro-male stand on almost every aspect of Muslim life". She said the board which was set up to explain the intricacies of Shariah, "has over the years turned into a 'dictator' of sorts, consistently favouring men."

We need to just take a cursory look at the AIMPLB's affidavit before the Supreme Court while defending the validity of triple talaq to see how downright regressive and bizarre their logic is. Polygamy ensures sexual purity and chastity and whenever polygamy has been banned, it emerges from history that illicit sex has raised its head, stated the affidavit.

If there develops serious discord between the couple, and the husband does not at all want to live with her, legal compulsions of time-consuming separation proceedings and expenses may deter him from taking the legal course. In such instances, he may resort to illegal, criminal ways of murdering or burning her alive."

This is not the time for liberals to sit on fence and let Muslim women fight. If they really care about a free and fair society, as they profess to be, they must make this battle their own.
Nalini Rajan has written about and taught democracy, secularism and identity issues. She is the dean of studies at the Asian College Of Journalism. Here she talks about secularism, Nehru and the complexities that have in the past proven that it is not as easily implementable as it may be definable. Her book, The Story of Secularism: 15th-21st Century, has recently been published.

Has the idea of Indian secularism succumbed to the very characteristics it has boasted of keeping together  pluralism? Is that one of the biggest challenges facing the idea, one that struggles between a proportional approach (Hindu dominated population) or a flat-denomination approach (where even a one-man religion may sustain)?

Has secularism succumbed to pluralism? I wouldn't put it that way, because I believe that almost all states and societies are pluralistic today, in one way or the other  and that's a positive thing. Pluralism [though], then, poses challenges to secularism. But as I have shown in my book, it does so almost everywhere  in the USA, in France, and in India.

Frances struggle and near capitulation over the past few centuries is indicative of something. But is a Laicite-like secularism not possible in India? When there are entirely too many elements to consider, wouldnt an evasive politics work or can at least be tried? What do you think?

France faces challenges to secularism or Laicite because of its inability to deal with its Maghrebian population, the majority of whom belong to the Islamic faith. Laicite worked in France till the 1950s, as long as it had a largely Judaeo-Christian population. The problem with Laicite is that it does not easily lend itself to adaptability over time. As far as India is concerned, I would call for a principled, contextual, negotiated position of secularism, rather than for 'evasive politics' as you call it. In fact, evasive politics is what has been followed in India since the Nehruvian epoch.

Nehru is remembered, and now re-eulogised for his secular ideas. What were his successes and failures according to you?

I believe that as an individual, Jawaharlal Nehru was a genuine secularist. As a Prime Minister, however, he did little beyond calling for 'a scientific temper' among the citizenry, or promoting films that criticised religious superstition like Satyajit Ray's Devi. By adopting a policy of benign neglect, a government can hardly expect people to miraculously become secular on their own! But even so, Nehru had far more integrity as a secularist as compared to his daughter or his grandson, or indeed any other Indian Prime Minister.

One of the more elaborate ideas put forth in the book is that of the secular triangle with the State, Religion and the Individual as its vertices. You say that it is important to keep the triangle in whatever shape or form. While the French have tried to distance religion from the state, over the years in India, the two have come closer. Is that why we exist in a religion-as-ideology, or the nation-state era? Are those two vertices now too close for comfort, perhaps even inseparable? What are the risks then?

In the book, I talk about the 'secular triangle', with its three axes of state neutrality, freedom of religion, and equal citizenship. The problem today is that all three axes are in jeopardy. Democracy itself is in danger, when we do not treat all our citizens equally. If people cannot eat what they want, or dress the way they want, or pray the way they want, or even love whom they want, we cannot exist as a modern secular democracy. We are at risk of becoming a communally violent state and society.

If secularism treats all religions as equal, how does it address the issue of practice (some are different than the other)? Most religions, as you mention are patriarchal in nature, and therefore is a uniform civil code more of a necessity (to flatten the landscape) to establish humanism before it establishes a persons religion?

Yes, I do believe that practice can be different. At the same time, I believe that  even within one religion  there can be a huge variation in terms of practices. For the sake of expediency, we say 'Hinduism', 'Islam', or 'Christianity', as if all these labels are mutually exclusive. Yet a lot of people have seen themselves (and some continue to do so) as 'Hindu-Muslims' or 'Hindu-Christians'. I will concede, however, that almost all religious practice is patriarchal, and bringing in gender justice (perhaps in the form of a uniform civil code that would be acceptable to women) would be a way of re-appropriating our humanity.

A question that most people with secular ideas or theories fail to answer is that of atheism. How do you fit atheists in any of the secular triangles which no longer even look like a triangle? Is that also indicative of how religion grants privilege (by way of having the extra vertex and thereby a way to engage the state)?

If you look closely at the images of the secular triangle in the book, you will notice that the axis, 'Freedom of Religion', has 'Religion' at one end, and 'Individual/Group' at the other. What this demonstrates is the following: Freedom of Religion implies the group's freedom to believe in any religion or cult and the individual's freedom not to believe in any religion or cult. That is how the atheist or agnostic is included in the secular triangle. Of course the other part of the triangle is about the relationship between Religion and the State. State Neutrality is admittedly a tricky question in India, because of Constitutional provisions like Articles 17, 25(2), and 30(2) that call for active state intervention in religious affairs. Here is where the state should take a contextual and principled stance (to which I refer in one of your earlier questions, with respect to judicial cases concerning state neutrality.

The school years and childhood are when most people get inducted into religion by instruction and do not necessarily arrive by choice. Can we perhaps address that in some way? Does our discourse even allow that? What has your experience been as a teacher?

This is a tricky question, because it refers to the differentiation between 'freedom of conscience' and 'freedom of choice' as delineated by the American philosopher, Michael Sandel. As far as most people are concerned, religious faith is not a matter of choice. They are born into one or other faith, and they conduct their worship and other rites, accordingly. These people demand that the state give them the freedom to follow the religious dictates of their conscience. But there are others who want the freedom to change their faith or religion, and therefore want the state to allow them the freedom of choice for religious conversion. As a teacher, I can only say that both these freedoms are important and the state should honour them.

Finally, you say in the book that Dalits and people belonging to lower castes will carry the baton of secularism, and stand to gain from modern secularism in India. Could we then say that instances like Una, now Maharashtra etc are the face of modern secularism in India? Are we inching closer to whatever the idea of Indian secularism is?

In a hierarchical society guided by the dogmas of caste, it is very hard to achieve the ideal of equal citizenship. As long as the upper castes practise endogamous marriages, and believe in their own superiority, and refuse to acknowledge the fact that their privileges have a long lineage, it would be difficult to see them as the guardians of a secular democracy. Dalits and other lower castes and tribes have a far greater stake in equality and in secular modernity. After all, these are the values they are fighting for in Una and elsewhere. Thanks to their struggles, are we inching closer to the idea of secularism? I very much hope so!
The Pamirs are a mountain chain consisting of several of the worlds highest mountain peaks towering over 7,000 meters. They straddle the region between Tajikistan and Afghanistan joining the Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan in the north. The region is one of the harshest to inhabit.

The Pamirs formed an important part of the old Silk Road trodden by many explorers. Marco Polo is believed to have travelled through these mountains on his way to China. One explorer who certainly did traverse through was Captain Francis Younghusband. In his address to the Royal British Geographical Society in February 1892 he describes the Pamirs as lonely, desolate, and inhospitable as these mountains for most part are, one may still find secluded valleys cut deep down into the mountain masses where some hardy hill-men till the ground and form villages.

The Pamirs also formed a majestic backdrop for The Great Game played by the empires of British and Russia. Modern day perception of the region is one of radical Islamic powers spreading terror and oppression amongst the inhabitants of Pamirs.

Very little is known about the culture of people inhabiting these mountains, even less is known about the culinary traditions of the Pamiri people. With Our Own Hands is the winner of this years International Gourmand Cookbook Award (the most prestigious prize in the culinary calendar) and offers a glorious window to the unexplored world of Pamiri cuisine.

The cookbook is written by researchers Jamila Haider and Frederik van Oudenhoven. Jamila is currently a doctorate candidate at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Sweden but was working for a development organisation based in Afghanistan. Frederik is an ethnobotanist working at the Rome-based International Plant Genetic Resources Institute.

Frederik was travelling through the Pamirs, collecting recipes from the region with a small, dedicated group of Pamiri women scientists. A chance encounter between the two, over a bowl of Pamiri apricot soup, led to the seeds for an idea of a book being sown.

One day, in the village of Mun in the Ghund valley of Tajikistan, an elderly grandmother was recollecting stories about the food she once used to eat. Very soon, a small crowd gathered to listen to her reminisce of the food no longer cooked in Pamiri kitchens. The brute force of development is rapidly gnawing away at old food growing practices. When the elderly lady had finished with her stories, she asked for her recipes to be written down. She meant to leave them as references for her grandchildren. She was afraid they would forget the old foods under the influence of modern packaged ones. This incident formed the trigger for the two researchers to realise what value a book containing recipes of Pamiri food would be for the locals.

The cookbook is the culmination of over four years of painstaking research. The researchers also feasted on all varieties of food that they would ask the Pamiris to cook for them. The book is a richly illustrated collection of over 100 recipes from the Pamir mountains. It is a heavy tome, nearly 700 pages. Its heft is due in part to the fact that it is written in three languages: English, Persian and Tajik. The book also contains spectacular images portraying different aspects of everyday life in the Pamirs. It captures in vivid detail, the large variety of food of the region, also people in their various moods and rituals that are intricately linked to the land they inhabit.

The Pamirs are thought to be the original place of rye. The mountains are also home to different varieties of walnuts, apples, pears, apricots, mulberries and over 150 kinds of wheat. Each recipe holds a historical record of the cultures, rituals, traditions of the Pamiri people, their landscapes, farming techniques and their ancient knowledge of biodiversity and ecology. There are recipes for special occasions like weddings, for festivals like Nawruz (the Persian New Year) and recipes for hospitality towards guests, something which is taken seriously by the Pamiris. Producing and preparing food at pastures over 4500 metres above sea level is not a piece of cake. Taming such a landscape requires 5,000 calories a day. The recipes in the book provide just that energy.

The book is divided into chapters consisting of grains and pulses, the breads which are the most important food item, the different fruits found in the region, the medicinal plants collected from the wild to be used as food and lastly, a section on milk, meat and cheese.



Grains and pulses are intricately woven into Pamiri life. They accompany most important events in peoples lives in these mountains  birth, death, marriage and the change of seasons. In Pamiri fields, unlike in other parts of the world, wheat, rye, barley are grown together with peas, faba beans and chickpeas. Pamiris believe the cold, thin mountainous air does something mysterious to their crops, making them more full of life.

Bread, in the Pamirs, is the foundation of life. It is considered a symbol of the benevolence of God for having granted food and survival from the scarce land people have available. Not being grateful for bread is considered disrespectful to God.

Recipe for barley bread (makes two large flatbreads):

Ingredients: 7 cups barley flour; 1 teaspoon yeast; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 cups lukewarm water

Method: Use hands to dissolve the yeast in the water. Combine flour and salt. Add water slowly till the dough is no longer sticky. Knead for 15 minutes. Cover and prove for 3-4 hours.

Knead the dough again and split into two halves. Prove for another 30 minutes. Roll using a rolling pin. Make holes using a fork in the centre of the bread to keep the middle from rising.

Bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, or until golden brown.

Poem on barley:

An honourable man would reap gold from the soil/ If he were to sow barley in the hills. Since the water of barley purifies the liver/ Nobody would ever suffer from tuberculosis.

Soups form the basis of Pamiri cooking. They not only provide nutrition in the long cold months when not much else grows but also keep Pamiris warm. Osh is a noodle soup of six or more grains milled together and the most popular dish in the Pamirs.

The book mentions some fascinating recipes and practices, like the baht, which is a sweet festive porridge of flour. This recipe is prepared only once a year and must be cooked only by men. On returning home with the cooked bath, the men greet the women on the house with words of Shogun Bahor Muborak meaning May you have a happy Blossoming Day.

Nowhere else in the world are fruits an important food source in harsh climatic regions, as in the Pamirs. Mulberries and apricots are absolutely revered. The humble mulberry is one that gave silk to the Silk Road and a legendary name. The people use the fruits to make varied items like flour from dried mulberries or pikht, brandy, soups and halwa from mulberries. Similarly, apricots and walnuts are widely used to extract oil from its kernels. Over 300 varieties of apricot are unique to the Pamirs.

Noshkhukhpa is a dried apricot soup famous throughout the Pamirs. It helps the immune system against cold and flu in the winter months.

Recipe for Noshkhukhpa:

Ingredients: 500 grams of dried apricot; 8 cups of water; 1 cup wheat flour; Sugar to taste

Method: Add apricots to the water and bring to a gentle boil. Cook until the fruits soak up the water and swell. Make a smooth paste with flour and water and add to the soup to thicken. Simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve hot.

No cuisine would be complete without describing the different kinds of meats. But surprisingly, in small villages in the Pamirs, meat is seldom eaten. In hostile terrains like the Pamirs, animals are extremely valuable, for their milk and wool. Only on extraordinary occasions like festivals, birth and death are animals sacrificed for meat.

A celebratory soup prepared with crushed wheat and meat is Boj-E-Khodoi.

Recipe for Boj-E-Khodoi:

Ingredients: 200 grams of crushed wheat; 1 kg of meat, preferably mutton; 5 tablespoons oil; Water and Salt according to measurement

Method: Crush wheat grains very coarsely. Soak them for 2-3 hours in water. Fry meat pieces in oil until seared from all sides. Add water and bring to boil. Add wheat grains and salt. Simmer for 2 hours until wheat is soft and has absorbed the taste of the meat.

Age old, simple sumptuous recipes like ones mentioned above are slowing dying out. The Pamirs are witnessing rapid changes to their once hard-toiled fields. New generations of Pamiri youth are leaving the mountains in search of greener pastures to cities like Moscow. The foods themselves are undergoing irrevocable changes.

With the region a hotbed of development activities, new hybrid varieties of seeds producing greater yields are prefered to the old, robust seeds. Ready-to-eat packaged food is replacing the time consuming traditions foods. Thus, With Our Own Hands is a priceless contribution to the world of a region where every valley resounds with different languages, cultures and foods.

Wisdom of the mountains from Van Osch Films on Vimeo.
DHAKA: Bangladeshi security forces killed 11 members of an Islamist militant group on Saturday, most of them dying in a three-hour gun battle on the outskirts of the capital.

Authorities said the dead were believed be members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), blamed for an attack on a cafe in Dhaka in July in which 22 people were killed, mostly foreigners.

The militants were killed in three separate raids on hideouts on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh Home Minister, Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters.

Seven militants were killed in one raid after police was tipped off that the JMB's Dhaka unit chief and his associates were there.

"We requested them to surrender but they opened fire at our officers instead and also exploded grenades, which prompted them to retaliate," Khan said, adding the three-hour gun battle left seven militants dead.

"The dead militants include JMB's Dhaka military commander Akash, which is his organisational name. We are trying to find out his real identity."

Explosives, weapons and machetes were recovered from all three hideouts and three police officers were injured, police said.

The 1 July 2016 attack in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter was claimed by Islamic State militants and was one of the most brazen in Bangladesh, which has been hit by a spate of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year.

Bangladesh police has killed more than three dozen suspected militants in shootouts since the Dhaka cafe attack, including its presumed mastermind, Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.

Chowdhury is reported to have been the subject of a profile in an Islamic State journal called Dabiq that identified him as its top operative in Bangladesh. The Syria-based militant group also published "selfie" photos of the cafe attackers on its propaganda channels while the hostage crisis was continuing.

The government has consistently denied the presence of any transnational militant organisation in the country such as Al Qaeda or Islamic State.

But police believe that JMB, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was involved in organising the cafe attack.

The targeting of foreigners could hurt foreign investment in the poor South Asian economy, whose $28 billion garments export industry is the world's second largest. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among those killed in the July attack.

In the past year, Al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims over the killings of liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim nation of 160 million.

While authorities blame the violence on domestic militants, security experts say the scale and sophistication of the cafe attack suggested links to a trans-national network.
Defence Minister Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar must be taking his name seriously. In the aftermath of India's surgical strikes along the LoC, he has been behaving like a veritable Prabhu (god) sent to India to answer the prayers of his bhakts.

Unlike his colleagues who have acted with sobriety and strategic restraint, Prabhu Parrikar has been patting his back, getting garlanded, comparing the Indian Army's strike to mythological miracles performed by our monkey gods, making bombastic threats to Pakistan, bullying sceptics into submission, and doling out certificates of loyalty. In short, he has been performing tricks devotees expect from their Prabhu.

At meetings in Agra and Lucknow on Thursday, where Prabhu Parrikar reportedly got himself felicitated for the Indian Army's operation along the Line of Control (LoC), the defence minister smirked ear-to-ear as BJP workers whipped up war hysteria and threatened to drop an "atom bomb" to destroy Pakistan. Amidst the chest-thumping and vacuous braggadocio, Prabhu Parrikar told his audience that honouring him was like honouring the Army and that when it came to the country's security, he was prepared to be quite tedha (crooked). The only thing missing was the jingle "Tedha hai par mera defence minister hai ye'' in the background.

The entire scene, reported in detail by The Indian Express, resembled a gathering of village bullies, where sidekicks competed with each other to talk loud and tough while their boss smiled beatifically, caressing his moustache intermittently. Just as he had a few months ago, regaling his audience with details of "punishment" meted out to Aamir Khan and Snapdeal by online hit-squads.

Only Prabhu Parrikar can explain what he is getting felicitated for. The strike along the LoC was carried out by special forces of the Indian Army. While they were facing the enemy's bullets, at best Prabhu Parrikar may have been closely following the soldiers from the safety of his office.

It is possible that Prabhu Parrikar really believes the story he told his bhakts while gloating over the surgical strike. The Indian Army, he claimed, was like Hanuman before the September strike. It wasn't aware of its potential before being reminded of it by Jambawan, the king of bears. So, it could be that he is accepting all these plaudits for anointing himself the Jambawan to our Army's Hanuman. But, his pompous narrative of "Before me, le deluge" is also flawed since many experts and retired soldiers have pointed out that such strikes have been ordered even in the past without feeling the need to make them public.

So, what is Prabhu Parrikar getting himself garlanded for? Maybe he is just out on a poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh, replacing "Ram Mandir" and "cow" with surgical strikes as his sales pitch, and is pleased about doing a good job of politicising the Indian Army's action, not knowing the disastrous history of such ploy in poll politics.

It must be worrying for India that a man who loves to boast, plays to the galleries, thumps his own chest and talks loose on security issues, is heading India's defence ministry. Dealing with nuclear-armed neighbours requires brinkmanship, restraint and diplomatic sagacity. Unfortunately, casual discussions on nuclear wars and threats of discussion make him look like a replica of his Pakistani counterparts addicted to non-stop, nonsensical chatter and nuke talk.

With his ill-chosen words and actions, Prabhu Parrikar sounds a bigger threat to Indian democratic values than our enemies. His claim that those seeking evidence of India's surgical strikes are not loyal to India is plain bullying and antithetical to the culture of debate and democratic dissent.

Though it may sometimes not be prudent and judicious to seek details of the military action, in a democracy, it is the right of every citizen to seek details of claims made by a government and its army, especially when the stakes are high and war is a possible outcome of a strategic move. If seeking answers in a democracy were wrong, Michael Moore would have been hanged a million times by now by the US government for questioning the misadventures of George Bush. And Tony Blair would have never apologised to his country for leading Britain into the Iraq war on the basis of trumped-up threats and claims.

There is, of course, the other argument of diehard believers that everything that is told to them by the government should be accepted as vox dei. No questions asked, like the tale of Hanuman leaping across an Ocean to burn down Ravana's Lanka of gold.

Prabhu Parrikar, obviously, agrees.
Lucknow: Two days after the formal declaration of Quami Ekta Dal's (QED) merger with Samajwadi Party, its president Afzal Ansari on Saturday met Mulayam Singh Yadav and announced a major rally with the SP chief in Ghazipur next month.

"A meeting was held with the SP chief Mulayam Singhji in a very cordial atmosphere and a decision has been taken to hold a rally in Mohamadabad area of Ghazipur in November," said Afzal, the elder brother of mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.

"The date of the rally will be decided after Diwali", Afzal said.

Asked how many QED members would contest the coming Assembly elections, he said since his party had now merged with the Samajwadi Party, any decision in this regard would be taken by the SP leadership. He said his brother would contest elections from the Mau seat for the SP.

"We have already started working as Samajwadi Party workers," Afzal said.

On Thursday, the Samajwadi Party's state unit president Shivpal Singh Yadav had cleared the air over the merger with the QED.

"QED has already merged with SP. Netaji (Mulayam) has already made a statement in this regard in the media. His decision in final," Shivpal had said.

The SP-QED merger was announced in June in the presence of Yadav 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 a few days later.

Speculation is rife that the formal announcement of the merger again by Shivpal might create fresh problems within Yadav family, as Akhilesh is said to be against it.
The Congress in Tamil Nadu is seething with rage. It feels humiliated by its own national Vice-President Rahul Gandhi. But it has no option but to grin and bear it.

Till 10 am on Friday, even its top office bearers had no inkling that Rahul was already airborne and entering Chennai airspace in an hour. In fact, most of them were not even told the purpose of his visit. They thought Chennai was just a transit and that he much be on his way to visit Puducherry, given the fact that it has a Congress government, till they found that was not the itinerary.

Leaders in Delhi were contacted to find out the reason for Rahul Gandhi coming to Chennai. General secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu Mukul Wasnik did not know, nor did senior leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram. It was close to 11.15 am when Rahul Gandhi landed in Chennai that the Congress leaders came to know that he was going to Apollo Hospital to enquire about Jayalalithaa's health.

Rahul Gandhi reached the hospital at 11.45 am, spent some 40 minutes there talking to doctors about Jayalalithaa's condition, peeped in through the glass door of the Critical Care unit where the chief minister has been admitted since 22 September, posed for a photograph with the medical team and left. Before leaving the hospital, he said that he wanted to "give maximum energy to Jayalalithaa ji so that she gets well soon''. Rahul then headed directly to the airport and went back to Delhi.

Tamil Nadu Congressmen were left looking foolish that their leader came visiting and did not meet any of them. He did not even meet M Karunanidhi, an ally of the Congress in Tamil Nadu.

"We were taken completely by surprise," said a senior Congress leader, not wanting to be identified. "We fail to understand why would he bypass the entire party. We are at a loss to understand what his plan is."

Leaders in Chennai are also surprised that Rahul flew into Chennai by a special aircraft, something they say, he does not do usually. Speculation is rife about whether the Congress leader made this flying visit at the prodding of someone politically powerful in Tamil Nadu.

It looks like Rahul Gandhi undertook this trip to send a message out to the political theatre in Tamil Nadu, and the BJP in particular. Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has set the cat among the AIADMK pigeons by writing to the Union Home minister Rajnath Singh that President's rule should be imposed in Tamil Nadu for six months till such time that Jayalalithaa recovers fully. Swamy in his letter points out that IS sleeper cells have been activated in the southern districts because of an ad hoc administrative situation, leading to a bad law and order situation. Having come to power just four months back, central rule is not a scenario the AIADMK would like and the visit was Rahul Gandhi's way of conveying to the second rung leadership in AIADMK that the Congress will be on its side, should the BJP on Swamy's advice, get adventurous.

AIADMK spokesperson CR Saraswathi thanked Rahul Gandhi for his gesture pointing out that in 1989, Rajiv Gandhi had similarly flown to Chennai to call on Jayalalithaa. She had suffered injuries after having been attacked inside the Assembly. But the more important question this time is who in Saraswathi's party is confabulating directly with the top man in the Congress.

Sources indicate that a section of the AIADMK is a tad nervous and suspicious of Delhi's intentions. They are unhappy with Governor Vidyasagar Rao summoning senior ministers O Panneerselvam and EK Palaniswamy and chief secretary Rammohan Rao to discuss the state's position before the SC-appointed team on Cauvery. Though in hushed tones, they see this as the beginning of the Centre taking advantage of the CM's hospitalisation and interfering in matters of every day governance.

With talk of an interim CM or an acting CM to hold fort till Jayalalithaa is back, the AIADMK, split on caste lines, is witnessing a silent battle for supremacy taking place between the Thevar, Gounder and Nadar community MLAs.

Tamil Nadu Congressmen were left looking foolish that their leader came visiting and did not meet any of them. He did not even meet M Karunanidhi, an ally of the Congress in Tamil Nadu

The Thevar group in the AIADMK which is led by Sasikala, Jayalalithaa's trusted aide and Panneerselvam, suspect that the BJP could silently back Lok Sabha deputy speaker Thambidurai, who belongs to the Gounder community, as interim CM.

With S Thirunavukkarasar, a Thevar as the chief of its Tamil Nadu unit, which faction of the AIADMK the Congress will bend towards, is pretty obvious. Also Thirunavukkarasar has been a part of the AIADMK apparatus before, having worked with both MGR and Jayalalithaa and would find it easy to do business with the party, if that is the path that Rahul has in mind.

The flying visit is likely to seriously dent the alliance between the Congress and the DMK. Rahul has not called on Karunanidhi during his earlier visits to Tamil Nadu as well and that has been a grouse with the DMK supremo. Friday's visit, which will be interpreted as Rahul's overture to the AIADMK, will not be taken kindly. Ironic, considering just a few days before the two parties finalised seat-sharing for the local bodies elections.

In the age of number portability, it looks like Rahul Gandhi has decided to change the SIM card in the Congress handset in Tamil Nadu. Congress leaders only hope their party of a numerically insignificant eight MLAs will neither have to pay a hefty price for the change nor be out of the political network.
On a day press briefings between BJP and Congress traded thicker than perhaps even bullets at the border, the ruling party came out on top, demonstrating amply why it is in ascendancy and why the grand old party is facing a terminal decline and an uncertain future.

BJP's power of messaging, first through party president Amit Shah and then later in the day through Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, was clear and aggressive, while senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal was left scrambling for words to interpret Rahul Gandhi's "khoon ki dalali" barb against the Prime Minister.

In politics, the tangibility of language trumps the intangibility of "intent". The Congress vice-president may have tried to put a subtle point across while accusing Narendra Modi of "profiteering from martyred soldier's blood" but the imagery was so crude and the timing so unbelievably wrong that the "intent" got neatly buried in translation and Rahul Gandhi was left clarifying his stand via a series of tweets.

the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country (2/2)  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 7, 2016

In the imagery-laden world of political messaging, the problem with such a gaffe is that it tends to kick in motion a narrative so powerful that countering it becomes almost impossible. Rahul Gandhi's "khoon ki dalali" in all probability will go down the "maut ki saudagar" or "zehr ki kheti" way. In each of these cases, the Congress paid a heavy price for not understanding the complex interplay between language and message.

Condemnation poured in from politicians who understand the power of imagery, and it wasn't surprising to see Lalu Prasad Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal lead the pack. BJP president Amit Shah delivered the coup the grace earlier on Friday when he turned the "dalali" accusation on its head and proffered that while the word does not suit the Indian army or the PM, it sits perfectly well with Congress, given its history of being linked to a laundry list of scandals, including Bofors, coal auction, 2G and the likes.

That is when the GOP made its second, crucial error.

Throughout the political controversy over surgical strikes, the Congress has failed miserably to understand the power of the narrative. There could be debates about the scale and scope of the surgical strike carried out by the army across the LoC on 29 September, but there is no scope for doubt over the narrative that was unleashed when the Narendra Modi government publicly owned the operation. It was a calculated gamble that could have backfired had Pakistan launched a retaliatory attack.

But when it became clear that Pakistan would have no choice but to deny the strike, the gamble became a jackpot for Modi. In one stroke, Pakistan was cornered and so were Modi's rivals at home. Congress' biggest mistake was that it undermined the political message of surgical strikes while accusing the BJP of profiting from it. It showed aggression where none was warranted and consequently scored a series of own goals.

The latest was netted by Sibal himself when he appeared to defend Rahul Gandhi from Amit Shah's accusations and inexplicably ended up blaming BJP for the creation of Jaish-e-Mohammad. Attempting to up the ante against BJP, the senior Congress leader suggested that BJP was responsible for the creation of terror outfit JeM, because it released its founder Masood Azhar during the Kandahar hijacking in 1999.

"Who gave birth to JeM? Who let out Masood Azhar; whose defence minister accompanied him to Pakistan? BJP. What did Masood Azhar do after that? He formed Jaish-e-Mohammad," taunted Sibal.

Now, it is one thing for Congress to accuse BJP of trying to cash in on a nationalist upsurge and quite another to suggest that India's ruling party is the creator of the UN-designated Deobandi terrorist organisation responsible, among other crimes, for the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament, the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl and the terrorist attacks in Pathankot and Uri. As far as self-goals go, Sibal scored a blistering one.

The BJP immediately fielded senior leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who tore into the Congress.

"How can Congress say that JeM was created by the BJP? You know who will be happy with this assertion? The ISI," said Prasad. "If Pakistan stands isolated on global stage today it is because it has created, supports and funds terrorist outfits like the JeM. By calling that militant group a creation of BJP, India's principal opposition party has given a huge handle for Pakistan to exploit."

It is improbable that the Congress isn't aware of the repercussions of such baseless and malicious allegations at a time when India's diplomatic offensive against Pakistan is bearing fruit and the failed state stands virtually isolated on global stage. It is improbable that seasoned politicians like Sibal would not know where to draw the line when trading political barbs.

If a century-old party is behaving like a juvenile delinquent, that is because it has lost all self-belief and has bought into the self-prophesying truth that it is in a terminal decline.
Miami: 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 have said.

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

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

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 175 kilometers per hour. It was moving northward at

12 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said.
Islamabad: Chief of Pakistan's powerful spy agency ISI Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar is likely to be replaced within the next few weeks, a media report said Saturday.

Akhtar was appointed the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in September 2014 and took office in November 2014, when he replaced the retiring Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam.

The appointment is normally for a three-year period unless the ISI chief retires or is replaced by the army chief.

The Nation, citing a security official privy to the development, reported of the impending change of command and said preparations were underway for the changes.

"Intriguingly, he may be leaving the position earlier than the typical three-year tenure of a ISI DG," the report said.

The corps commander of Karachi, Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, is most likely to replace him, the official was quoted as saying.

Another senior security official was quoted as saying that Akhtar  who has already served in Karachi as Director General, Sindh Rangers  knows the challenges in Karachi and "the swapping makes sense".

The official was, however, more circumspect about the timing of the change and said, "It depends on whether the army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif, gets an extension or retires as announced."

"I don't think the notification of other changes in military command will come before that," he said. "There are a lot of variables involved."

Raheel had announced earlier this year that he is not seeking an extension and would retire in November.

Lt Gen Asim Bajwa, the chief military spokesman, however, denied that the intelligence chief was being replaced. "No such thing," Bajwa said when asked about it.

The paper also did not cite any reason why the ISI chief is being replaced.
Los Angeles: Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro has hit out at the US presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying he wants to punch the politician in his face.

The 73-year-old star's remarks feature in a video produced by Anonymous Content, which has been making a series of short interviews for an initiative called #VoteYourFuture, reported Variety.

"I'd like to punch him (Trump) in the face," he said in the clip.

In the video, De Niro can also be heard calling Trump a "blatantly stupid" and "punk" artist.

De Niro's message to Trump didn't make the final cut of a celebrity Get Out The Vote advertisement, but The Kelly File show has obtained the footage.

De Niro said Trump is "so blatantly stupid", and called him almost every name including a "punk", a "pig", a "con", and an "embarrassment to this country", reports foxnews.com.

"He talks how he'd like to punch people in the face?" De Niro said. "Well, I'd like to punch him in the face."

With inputs from agencies
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Healthcare stocks in general have fared all right over the past 12 months, but there have also been quite a few losers among them. Big pharma stocks in particular have experienced mixed results, and three major drugmakers have performed especially poorly: Novartis(NYSE: NVS),Novo-Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), and Sanofi (NYSE: SNY).

The question for investors now: Are these stocks good bargains, fairly priced, or facing further declines?

Beaten and bruised

The picture hasn't been pretty for any of these companies over the past year: Shares of each have fallen by double-digit percentages.

NVS data by YCharts.

Novartis suffered the least damage, but its stock has still dropped by 15%. The primary challenge for the company stems from its recent loss of patent protection for blood cancer drug Gleevec. Unfortunately for Novartis, Gleevec was its top moneymaker since the patent on high blood pressure drug Diovan expired in 2015.

Stiff competition appears to be the biggest problem for Novo-Nordisk. The Denmark-based drugmaker lost a major contract for its Novolog insulin product. Sales for Novo-Nordisk's other insulin and hemophilia products have also faced headwinds due to increased competitive pressure, particularly from biosimilars.

The worst performer of the three has been Sanofi. Shares of the French pharmaceutical company have plunged 25% over the past 12 months. Sanofi's established prescription products and consumer health businesses have especially struggled. Sales for blood thinners Lovenox and Plavix are falling, an ominous sign given that those two drugs remain the biggest sellers for the company's largest segment: established prescription products.

Reason or season?

Investors should ask this key question when thinking about buying a beaten-up stock: Is the price low for a persistent reason or only for a season? The answer to that question varies for each of these three big pharma stocks.

Novartis definitely has a daunting task ahead offsetting slipping Gleevec sales. However, the company owns several drugs that should help making up for the loss. Multiple sclerosis treatment Gilenya leads the group. Leukemia chemotherapy Tasigna and anti-inflammatory Cosentyx will also be key to Novartis' rebound. Sales of heart failure drug Entresto have gotten off to a slower-than-expected start, but it could emerge as a big winner. My take is that it will take time, but Novartis will eventually see better days.

As for Novo-Nordisk, the key to its future rides largely on diabetes treatments Tresiba and Victoza. Both products are experiencing strong growth. The company stands to benefit from alarming increases in the prevalence of diabetes. I like the long-term prospects for Novo-Nordisk, although I wouldn't expect the stock to surge anytime soon.

That leaves Sanofi. The drugmaker does have pockets of good news. Its Sanofi Genzyme subsidiary, for example, grew sales by over 20% year over year last quarter. The company's multiple sclerosis franchise is performing exceptionally well. I also like the potential for its collaborations with Regeneron. Sanofi attempted to buy Medivation earlier this year, but lost out to Pfizer. I think the company needs a smart acquisition to rejuvenate its stock.

Best bargain of the bunch

Are these big pharma stocks bargains? Yes -- but only if you're looking at the long run. In the short term, share prices for all three companies could remain low.

My view is that the best of the bunch is Novo-Nordisk. I like the outlook for its pipeline and the growth trajectories for Tresiba and Victoza. Its dividend yield of 3.39% looks pretty attractive as well, and seems relatively safe. That's good news for investors, who can get paid to wait for this bargain to rebound.

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.

Keith Speights has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. 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.
Hurricane Matthew continues to cause problems for travelers, with 5,000 flights canceled so far between Wednesday and Sunday, according to tracking service FlightAware.

All flights to and from Orlando were cancelled Friday and half scrapped for 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 many flights resuming by 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 8:58 a.m. with a flight from Sao Paulo. Its first flight out was at 1:08 p.m. to New York.

Orlando's main airport remained closed throughout Friday but a reduced schedule of flights was expected to start Saturday morning. Other airports further North in the Carolinas are expected to reopen Sunday.
Oil prices have bounced around a lot this year, which is par for the course. But black gold has been heading generally higher for the last 12 months. That's led investors to take a more positive view of some companies, including Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) and ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM). However, both still appear to offer investors a good buying opportunity. Meanwhile, Newfield Exploration Company (NYSE: NFX) looks like it's being left behind, which should interest value investors searching for deals. Here's a quick look at this trio of top oil stocks worth buying in October.

An insanely cheap oil stock

Matt DiLallo (Newfield Exploration Company): While oil prices have been red-hot, some oil stocks haven't participated in the industrywide rally. One of the biggest underperformers is Newfield Exploration, which has lost 11% of its value this year even though the price of crude in the U.S. has gained another 25%. That underperformance is one reason why Newfield sells at a bottom-of-the-barrel valuation of just 4.6 times cash flow, which is half the level of most peers.

That discount doesn't make any sense because Newfield is right up there with its rivals when it comes to its balance sheet strength and growth prospects. On the financial side, the company's leverage ratio was 1.7 times at the end of the second quarter, which was ahead of its 2018 guidance of 1.8 times due to higher oil prices. Furthermore, it's well within the less than 2.0 times comfort zone of its peer group. The company is on pace to grow its production 18% to 25% this year, which is on par with its fast-growing peers. Even better, the company is delivering that high-octane growth rate while producing excess cash.

Typically, a fast-growing oil stock with a strong balance sheet would sell for a premium valuation. However, with Newfield trading at a huge discount, it suggests the company's stock could have significant upside as its valuation moves closer to the peer group average. While it might take a catalyst such as a needle-moving stock buyback to spark that move, Newfield has a growing cash pile that it could use to jump-start its shares, which is what makes it such a compelling oil stock to consider buying this month.

Finally taking notice

John Bromels (Apache Corporation): Shares of oil and gas driller Apache Corporation recently hit a one-year high, surpassing the $49-per-share mark. The beaten-down driller may be finally seeing some love from the stock market.

Apache has seen its stock bid up twice already this year, only to see the gain ultimately disappoint. After surpassing $48 a share in early February, the market downturn hit and took Apache's stock price with it. Then, in July, shares reached $48.50, just to have a brief downturn in crude oil prices suck them back down to $42 a share.

But there are reasons to think that things may be different this time. WTI Crude prices, which primarily govern Apache's oil holdings in the West Texas Permian Basin, have been trending generally higher all year, recently peaking north of $75 per barrel (though they have since come back down a little). In the meantime, Apache's oil and gas production are continually increasing -- the company recently upped its 2018 guidance from a midpoint of 254,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day (BOE/d) to 260,000 BOE/d. And those production gains should keep on coming: Management projects that Apache's Permian operations will be generating at least 315,000 BOE/d by 2020, about double the 158,000 BOE/d they produced in 2017.

It's good to see the market finally bidding the stock up to reasonable levels, especially since it's lagged so far behind its peers this year. But solid oil prices and continued productions gains suggest Apache's shares still have plenty of room to run, making the company a top stock for October.

There's still time to jump aboard

Reuben Gregg Brewer (ExxonMobil Corporation): Exxon shares haven't performed particularly well over the year-to-date span, hovering near the low end of its peer group. However, over the past six months, the integrated energy giant has handily outdistanced the pack, up 15% compared to the next closest competitor's advance of 8.8%. And despite the performance upturn, Exxon's dividend yield, at around 3.8%, is still the highest it has been since the late 1990s. Its price to tangible book value also remains at levels last witnessed in that same decade.

Although the stock's recent upturn is nice to see, it still looks historically cheap. In fact, there remains a lot of work to be done at Exxon. The company's long-term earnings goals, for example, are geared to 2025, when it expects to double earnings per share if oil prices are in the $60-per-barrel range. If they are around the $80-per-barrel level, Exxon expects earnings to increase by as much as 225%. Those projections are built on big capital spending plans across its entire business (as much as $30 billion a year between 2020 and 2024), including in the oil giant's upstream drilling operations and its downstream chemicals and refining businesses.

Clearly, investors have taken a more positive view of Exxon's future lately, even though 2025 remains a long way off. But these are still early days in the company's efforts to turn the ship. That means that, despite the recent advance, long-term investors should still feel comfortable jumping aboard.

10 stocks we like better than ExxonMobilWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and ExxonMobil wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 6, 2018

John Bromels owns shares of Apache. Matthew DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Reuben Gregg Brewer owns shares of ExxonMobil. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Image source: Getty Images.

Alcoa Inc.(NYSE: AA) and Vale SA (ADR)(NYSE: VALE) are two of the largest metals and mining companies in the world, and both have seen their stock prices fall sharply over the past couple of years:

AA data by YCharts.

Is there opportunity here for investors? If so, which of these two companies is the better buy? While neither company is a screaming buy today, even with share prices still well below recent highs, Alcoa is almost certainly the better investment, and largely because that company plans to split into two as soon as November.

Here's a closer look at what exactly makes Alcoa the better investment today, as well as one reason why that could change as soon as November.

Two very different companies

Besides mining and producing raw materials and metals, Vale and Alcoa have very little in common, making different products with essentially no overlap.

Vale is primarily an iron miner, with iron ore and pellets generating nearly two-thirds of its revenue in the most recent quarter, while nickel, copper, and fertilizers made up most of the balance (pie chart on right below):

Image source: Vale presentation.

From a geographic perspective, Brazil-based Vale counts on Asia for an outsize portion of its revenue. This creates notable short-term risk for Vale, as demand for iron and steel in China is facing heavy headwinds. To start, the domestic steel industry has been producing significantly more steel than the market can support for years, and recent American tariffs on a number of Chinese steel products -- after years of the Chinese government subsidizing Chinese producers -- are likely to further reduce iron demand.

Alcoa, on the other hand, is more than just a miner and raw materials producer. The company is one of the largest integrated aluminum producers in the world, but also manufactures highly engineered aluminum components for the aerospace, automotive/commercial transportation, packaging, and construction industries. And while some of these components are commodity in nature, this part of Alcoa's business has very strong growth prospects and profit potential.

This is a major differentiator for Alcoa versus Vale, which as a raw materials producer will be largely driven by market prices and demand for the materials it produces. And right now probably isn't the best time to be heavily tied to selling iron in Asia.

Big caveat about Alcoa

The best part about Alcoa is its engineered products segment, and on Nov. 1, Alcoa is splitting into two separate companies. Alcoa plans to spin off its raw materials mining and production business, which will be named Alcoa, and rename the remaining company Arconic.

Make sure you understand this part: The company called Alcoa today will be renamed Arconic and will begin trading under the ticker symbol "ARNC" on Nov. 1, while the company that it is spinning off will be a new company but will trade under the "AA" symbol and be called Alcoa. This is important to understand, because if you buy shares today, those shares would become Arconic shares post-separation, while you would receive a distribution of shares for the newly created Alcoa (if it's still unclear, read the link above).

Vale's potential and risks

Vale, however, is a potential turnaround play, though there is risk that shouldn't be ignored. For one, the iron business is ugly, with global demand sluggish at best, and prices very, very low:

Iron ore spot price (any origin) data by YCharts.

Huge overproduction of both iron and steel products in recent years -- not to mention relatively sluggish demand outside North America -- could also mean prices will stay at these decade-low levels for some time to come. Factor in more than $30 billion in debt and Vale still has a long way to go.

But the company has taken a number of steps to refocus its business, including a recent move to sell part of its interest in a coal mine to raise cash, and could move forward soon to sell its fertilizer business.Vale also recently amended its deal withSilver Wheaton Corp.for the gold stream from its Salobo copper mine, receiving $800 million in cash in trade for agreeing to sell Silver Wheaton 75% of the gold stream for a fixed price going forward. Management says it will reduce its debt by about one-third within the next couple of years, and more moves like this one are likely to be a key source of cash to do so.

The trick will be for management to take enough steps to lock in business and raise cash while not selling off too much of its long-term production for too cheaply.

Better buy? It's a little complicated (but mostly it's Alcoa)

Today, Alcoa is the superior company, with a much lower risk profile and the upside that its engineered products segments offers. Vale's turnaround potential is compelling, but until the debt load starts coming down and global iron prices show more signs of stabilizing and recovering, it's probably best to keep an eye on it and maybe invest when the picture is clearer.

Once Alcoa separates into separate manufacturing and mining/production companies, Arconic (the manufacturer) should stand head and shoulders above either stand-alone miner, whether it's Vale's iron, copper, and nickel business or a stand-alone Alcoa bauxite miner and aluminum producer.

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.

Jason Hall has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Companhia Vale and SLW. 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.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has pledged to encourage long-term investment as well as investment in job-creating small businesses, but is Clinton a friend to long-term investors? Here are the investor-specific proposals from Clinton's campaign that could shed some light on the matter.

Clinton's big change for investors: Capital gains tax rates

The biggest change Clinton is proposing that would affect individual investors is an overhaul to the capital gains tax structure, particularly the definition of a "long-term" investment. Specifically, Clinton wants to expand the capital gains tax rates for the highest-income Americans, based on investment holding duration, from two to six.

Investment Holding Period Clinton's Proposal Current Tax Rate Less than one year 39.6% 39.6% 1-2 years 39.6% 20% 2-3 years 36% 20% 3-4 years 32% 20% 4-5 years 28% 20% 5-6 years 24% 20% Six or more years 20% 20%

Data source: www.hillaryclinton.com.

A couple of things to take note of, here. First, these changes are only being proposed to high-income taxpayers, which Hillary Clinton's website defines as couples making $465,000 or more -- in other words, those in the top tax bracket. So, 99% of Americans won't be affected.

Also, for high-income investors, keep in mind that the 3.8% net investment income tax would still be applied on top of these rates. And, for the richest of the rich, Clinton is also proposing a 4% surtax for taxpayers who make more than $5 million. In all, this boosts the top capital gains rate to 47.4%, which would apply to gains on investments held for two years or less.

For the other 99% of Americans, the current long-term capital gains tax rates of 0%, 15%, and 20% would continue to apply, and short-term gains would continue to be taxed as ordinary income. And, the one-year holding period that currently defines a long-term capital gain would remain in effect.

Two other investor-friendly changes

While Clinton's proposal to redefine long-term capital gains for the richest investors has been well-publicized, here are two more proposals from her campaign that long-term investors should be aware of.

First, Clinton is proposing greater corporate transparency, particularly in regards to share buybacks. Under current U.S. law, companies only have to disclose buybacks once per quarter, while in other advanced economies, buybacks need to be disclosed within one day. This could give prospective investors more insight as to when companies are buying back shares -- and at what price.

Also, Clinton is proposing zero capital gains tax for investors who buy shares in small businesses and hold them for more than five years. The rationale is that since small businesses create about 60% of new jobs in the U.S., this will encourage long-term investors (especially high-income taxpayers subject to Clinton's capital gains tax increase) to put their money into small businesses -- and as a result, create more jobs.

So, is Hillary Clinton a friend to long-term investors?

Sort of. Clinton definitely encourages people (particularly the wealthy) to invest for the long term through some of her proposed changes, and for 99% of Americans, the tax treatment of capital gains won't change at all. Increased corporate transparency could certainly give investors more information on which to base their decisions, and she is certainly a friend to long-term investors in small businesses. However, without providing any additional incentives for the other 99% to buy stocks and hold onto them for longer than a year, it's tough to say that Clinton is an "ally" to long-term investors.

The $15,834 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: One easy trick could pay you as much as $15,834 more...each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

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: Barnes & Noble Education.

What happened

Investors gaveBarnes & Noble Education(NYSE: BNED) an F last month as the college bookstore chain slipped 15% according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. As the chart below shows, the bulk of the loss came on September 8 when the company reported first-quarter earnings.

BNED data by YCharts.

So what

The bookstore chain's stock fell 9% the day its earnings report came out as investors were disappointed with another sizable loss. The stock continued to slide after that, giving up more than 10% over the next three sessions as investors' concerns mounted.

Comparable sales fell 2.8% in the quarter, and revenue increased just 0.1% to $239.2 million, but that was well short of estimates at $245.6 million. On the bottom line, the company posted an adjusted loss of $0.56 per share, slightly better than its total a year ago, but that figure benefited from a higher share count.

CEO Max Roberts noted that the first quarter is seasonally the slowest for the company since many students are off in the summer months, and he blamed the weak results on lower student participation in summer classes.

Now what

The company's guidance also left something to be desired, as it sees comparable sales for the fiscal year in the range of flat to down 2% with overall revenue up 2-4%. On a positive note, B&N Education opened 33 new stores in the quarter just in time for the start of the school year, bringing the total store count to 770. It expects those stores to contribute $110 million in annual revenue.

When B&N Education separated from its former parentBarnes & Noble last year, some thought the company to be the stronger of the two, but the stock has underperformed by more than 35% since the spinoff. There's little in this report to suggest that things will change.

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.

Jeremy Bowman 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.
With one month to go, Ill make two predictions about the presidential race.

First, Donald Trump isnt leaving the race, and indeed seems oblivious to the storm of criticism surrounding him.

I havent heard from anyone saying I should drop out, and that would never happen, never happen, Trump told the New York Times on Saturday. Thats not the kind of person I am. I am in this until the end.

Second, look for more October surprises in hairpin curves in the course of the race. The simultaneous leaks of Donald Trumps lewd remarks and the publishing of excerpts from Hillary Clintons Goldman Sachs speeches are only the beginning.

Were going to see the biggest mud bath in American history. The problem for Donald Trump is that his problems will likely get more attention and do more damage to him than Hillarys.

Were going to see the biggest mud bath in American history. The problem for Donald Trump is that his problems will likely get more attention and do more damage to him than Hillarys.

If the presidential race is decided by October surprises, sex almost certainly tops money. Look at how Trumps sex tape has overshadowed the leaks of Hillary Clintons speech transcripts. "The human brain is hardwired to understand sex stories a lot better than stories involving numbers," says Los Angeles public relations specialist Michael Levine.

Trump is already taking new body blows over his raunchy and degrading treatment of women. A CNN analysis of previously unreleased tapes of Trump appearances on Howard Sterns radio show have the billionaire saying its OK for Stern to call his daughter a piece of ass.

He also professed shock when Stern told him he was faithful to his wife: Youre kidding. Really. Whats that all about?

Trump could also be buffeted by the leaking of more of his confidential tax-returns. After all, someone in the IRS did precisely that in 2012, illegally leaking tax information about Mitt Romney.

Trump himself criticized Romney for delaying release of his tax returns, saying he was hurt very badly by that.

Meanwhile, portions of Hillary Clintons State Department emails that were deleted but recovered by the FBI were released on Friday. They indicate that top Clinton aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills were involved in planning private speeches on foreign policy for Bill Clinton while they were on the State Departments payroll -- a clear conflict of interest.

Excerpts from Hillary Clintons series of well-paid speeches to the investment firm Goldman Sachs are embarrassing.

She minimized the role of banks in the 2008 economic collapse, admited shes out of touch with the middle class and said she has both a public and a private position on key economic issues.

She also told Brazilian bankers that My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, some time in the future, Open borders is a common term describing largely unrestrained immigration, something Hillary claims to oppose.

But Hillary could have more headaches. WikiLeaks has already released a slew of emails purloined from Hillarys campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, hints that new revelations could involve more deleted emails from Hillary Clintons private server and could be related to the close ties between the State Department and the Clinton Foundation.

Peter Schweizer, the author of an expose on the Foundation called Clinton Cash, told me: The activities of Hillary Clinton during her time as secretary of state intersect with the favor-seeking of the Clinton Foundation. It is strange that so few of her publicly released emails touch on the Clinton Foundation. Maybe the private ones do.

Speculation about additional October surprises is rampant among political observers now. No one knows for sure how much impact other October surprises of leaked information could have. But clearly anything is possible in this cut-throat year of political surprises.

Thats why polls are only of so much use  they may be dramatically overcome by events on the ground.
What is Vladimir Putin up to? Evidence of Russian ambition seems to mount by the day. Seizing its neighbors territory. Russian bomber overflights of NATO member states. Sophisticated cyberattacks aimed at influencing Americas presidential election. Missiles fired at civilian aircraft. Devastating air strikes on hospitals and relief convoys in Aleppo as the ink dries on a U.S.-Russian cease-fire agreement for Syria. American accusations of bad faith and the suspension of diplomatic talks.

Russias agenda should appear clear by now. But the U.S. intelligence community is apparently divided over whether President Putins provocations are tactical, that is, the result of geo-political opportunities that he has cleverly seized, or strategic,part of a coherent plan to undermine America and, as one American presidential nominee might put it, make Russia great again.

Having failed yet again to predict most of Putins startling diplomatic and military gambits, a majority of intelligence analysts reportedly continue to insist that Putin has no grand scheme to confront America, that his policies have been aimed at boosting his personal image at home and Russias international standing abroad to deflect attention from the countrys grave and growing economic woes. The escalating clashes between Russia and America and its allies, as David Sanger recently wrote in The New York Times, echoing the White Houses and intelligence analysts stubborn consensus, fall far short of a new Cold War. There is no great ideological struggle underway, he writes.

Veteran Democratic pollster (and Fox News contributor) Douglas E. Schoen, with Evan Roth Smith, his colleague and co-author, adamantly disagree. In this new book, Putins Master Plan, (Encounter Books, September 27, 2016) they argue forcefully, and convincingly to many observers, that Putins global goal is to undermine the West and liberal democracy and that he has a clearly defined strategy for doing so.

The United States and its allies, Schoen asserts, play into Putins hands by failing to resist Russias aggression. Washington, in particular, has failed to exert the clearheaded, decisive Western leadership essential to halting such conduct, especially in Europe. In the face of Putins naked aggression in Europe, the West has shown a level of incompetence that approaches impotence, they write. A harsh, but not unfair verdict.

Putin seeks to usher in a new world order reminiscent of that during the Cold War, they write, by systematically attempting to destroy Europe, divide NATO, and restore Russian power and global influence, the subtitle of the book.

The United States and its allies, Schoen asserts, play into Putins hands by failing to resist Russias aggression. Washington, in particular, has failed to exert the clearheaded, decisive Western leadership essential to halting such conduct, especially in Europe. In the face of Putins naked aggression in Europe, the West has shown a level of incompetence that approaches impotence, they write. A harsh, but not unfair verdict.

Rather than unearth reams of new intelligence, Schoen and his co-author make their case largely by mining public sources, describing case after case of Russian aggression, and documenting Putins extensive use of hybrid warfare  conventional force plus unconventional forces, cyberwar, subterfuge and propaganda.

Five of their nine chapters are devoted to the techniques Putin has used to promote his goals covert and overt support for left-wing groups, predictably, and unpredictably, for right-wing parties which also oppose NATO and the European Union.

The book cites warnings from Europeans and other targets of Kremlin intrigue that are so often ignored in the U.S.. The cost of failing to counter Russian probing, provocation, and aggression, they maintain, is high.

Schoen, one of the most influential Democratic campaign consultants for thirty years, blames the last three American presidents for the failure to confront Putin. But President Obama receives the brunt of this withering critique of Americas foreign policy.

Schoen is most knowledgeable, and passionate, in decrying Americas policy towards Ukraine, a country he knows well thanks partly to his role as an adviser to the countrys leading pro-Western oligarch, Victor Pinchuk.

Because of Russias seizure of Crimea, its support for the ongoing war in the industrial heartland, and other steps aimed at strangling the state economically, politically and militarily, Schoen asserts, Ukraine is on the brink of collapse.

Yet apart from supporting sanctions to punish Russia for its seizure of Crimea and the provision of some modest non-lethal aid, Washington has remained seemingly indifferent to the death and suffering of Ukrainians and to Russias continued occupation of territory whose sovereignty Putin has long refused to recognize but which the West had repeatedly guaranteed. Particularly shameful, the book states, is Americas unwillingness to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defend itself. But he and his co-author say little about what America and Europe could do to address another of Ukraines gravest challenges  reducing the systemic corruption which along with the war has undermined investment and disillusioned so many of the millions who filled Kievs main square in 2004 and 2013 to oust their corrupt government and demand government accountability and democracy.

Across the board, Schoen favors a more robust response to Putins policies  a permanent NATO troop presence in Eastern Europe, Americas destruction of Russian arms caches if Putin continues funneling weapons to Syria and Iran, and other military steps to force the cessation and eventual reversal of Russian acts of aggression.

Is there hope that Russias mounting economic and demographic troubles might moderate its behavior? In his recent book, America in Retreat: The new Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder (Sentinel, November 18, 2014), Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens shares Doug Schoens alarm about Americas unwillingness to shoulder its historic, global responsibilities.

He, too, argues that Americas retreat is exacting a devastating price for American security and prosperity. But Stephens seemingly takes comfort in Russias growing economic and demographic plight. Russias $2 trillion GDP is roughly the same as Italys, a country with half Russias population, one fifty-fifth of its landmass, and almost none of its resources. Russias average monthly wage is $804, about a third of Italys.

Once a scientific powerhouse, Stephens notes, since of the Cold War, only seven Russians have won a Nobel Prize, three of whom made their careers outside of Russia. With declining oil prices, Americas rise as the worlds leading oil and gas producer, widespread corruption, high taxes, and thuggish behavior towards foreign investors, strong growth is unlikely.

Analyst Ilan Berman agrees. In Implosion: The End of Russia and What It Means for America, (Regnery Publishing, September 16, 2013) he argues that Russias sub-replacement-level birth rate, short lifespan and emigration could prompt the countrys population to fall to 52 million by 2080.

Well aware of these trends, Schoen argues that what makes Russian conduct under Putin so ominous is that the countrys intense military buildup is occurring despite such challenges. Putin has boosted defense spending, in ruble terms, twenty-fold. In 2015, Russias defense budget reached a record high of $81 billion, a $20 billion increase over 2014. Putin plans to acquire and develop 400 new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), more than 2,000 next generation tanks, 600 modernized combat aircraft, eight nuclear submarines, 50 warships, and 17,000 new military vehicles.

Another internal threat to Russia is growing radical Islamism. Leon Aron, the American Enterprise Institutes director of Russian studies, recently noted that Russia has contributed more fighters to ISIS than any other European nation. After Arabic, he writes, Russian is the second most popular language of the Islamic emirate. With an estimated 20 million Muslims, or 14 percent of its population, Russia is the largest Muslim country in Europe. With an estimated 300-500 ISIS recruiters in the Russian capital, Moscow has become a key hub and way station to Syria for foreign fighters.

While Christian Orthodox Russia has cooperated with European and U.S. officials to counter Islamic terrorism, fear of radical Islam has not led Putin to shift strategies or embrace deeper cooperation the west to defeat the growing Muslim militancy which threatens both western democracies and autocratic Russia alike. Nor is he likely to do, Schoen argues.

At a recent Brookings Institution seminar, Schoen seemed equally dubious about prospects for the American policy shift he champions. While he respects Hillary Clintons intellectual judgment, he said, She is not a strategist who thinks two of three steps ahead. As for Donald Trump, questions about his financial ties to Moscow, his insecurity and isolationist pronouncements make a return to robust interventionism unlikely.

If the next American president continues President Obamas complacency, Putin will have already won.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott denied a plea by Hillary Clintons campaign to extend the October 11 voter registration deadline because of possible disruptions resulting from Hurricane Matthew.

Im not going to extend it. Everybody has had a lot of time to register, he told reporters on Thursday night.

Scott added that Floridians have had lots of opportunities to vote and he does not intend to make any changes.

As Hurricane Matthew barreled toward the United States, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told reporters in a conference call that he was hoping and expecting officials in Florida to adapt deadlines to account for the coming storm.

Our hope would be that a little bit more time would be given for people that were expecting to get registered before the election, he added.

The Clinton campaign and the state and national Democratic Committee could take legal action, but neither responded to requests for comment by deadline.

Concerned about turnout among minority voters, several Democratic-leaning political groups had events planned but were forced to cancel voter registration drives in order to allow people to evacuate.

This year voter registration is up for both parties in the Sunshine State. Republican registration has increased by 265,501 through August, and Democrats added 213,094, according to the state Division of Elections.

The rejection by Scott, who is chairman of the pro-Donald Trump Rebuilding America Now PAC, came in contrast to South Carolinas Republican Gov. Nikki Haley.

Also in the path of the storm, the state announced it planned to provide voters more time beyond the October 8 deadline to return their voter registration applications. A South Carolina Democratic Party source told Foxnews.com that there were initially no plans to adjust the voter deadlines. However, after arguing that even if voters mailed their ballots, the Columbus Day holiday and the storm would not ensure forms were postmarked accurately.

In 2004, Hurricane Charley made landfall a week before the August 31 primary, but then-Gov. Jeb Bush declined to cancel the election. He did give local elections officials authority to delay early voting.

The Clinton campaign was subjected to charges of politicizing the storm when they purchased $63,000 in ads purchased on the Weather Channel.

Jesse Ferguson, a Clinton spokesman, issued a statement saying the campaign would make changes to our TV ad reservations across Florida.

"Less than 1% of those changes included The Weather Channel. We have requested that stations in Florida delay any of those ads on the Weather Channel until after the storm passes, added Ferguson.
Below is a seletion of reaction from across the political spectrum to the emergence of audio featuring Donald Trump making crude remarks about women.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (via Twitter): "This is horrific. We can not allow this man to become president."

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine (via Twitter): "This kind of behavior is disgusting. It makes me sick to my stomach."

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus: "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever."

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.: "I am sickened by what I heard today. 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."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.: "These comments are repugnant, and unacceptable in any circumstance. As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape."

Democratic National Committee Interim Chair Donna Brazile: "Donald Trump's offensive, degrading, and disgusting comments about women revealed today are beyond the pale and don't bear repeating. This was not locker room banter. This is who Donald Trump is, and it is just the latest reminder of why he is unfit for the Presidency."

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah: "Donald Trump is a distraction. It's time for him to step aside so we can focus on the winning ideas that will carry Republicans through to a victory in November."

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah: "I can no longer endorse Donald Trump for the presidency. I will not vote for Hillary Clinton for President. This is so abhorrent and offensive."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.: "There are no excuses for Donald Trumps offensive and demeaning comments. No woman should ever be victimized by this kind of inappropriate behavior. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences."

Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. (via Twitter): ".@realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement."

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (via Twitter): "Donald Trump's statements are beyond offensive & despicable. While I cannot vote for Hillary Clinton, I will not vote for Trump."

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney (via Twitter): "Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America's face to the world."

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (via Twitter): "As the grandfather of two precious girls, I find that no apology can excuse away Donald Trump's reprehensible comments degrading women."

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas (via Twitter): "These comments are disturbing and inappropriate, there is simply no excuse for them. Every wife, mother, daughter -- every person -- deserves to be treated with dignity and respect."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. (via Twitter): "Donald's comments were vulgar, egregious & impossible to justify. No one should ever talk about any woman in those terms, even in private."



Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. (via Twitter): "America deserves far better than @realDonaldTrump."
Chad, this is bad, a GOP source said after lewd comments about women by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump were made public Friday night. Were going to have to re-evaluate everything.

The everything speaks to the profuse concern Republicans harbor about what Trumps comments could mean for down-ballot House and Senate contests.

For months, many congressional Republicans sought to distance themselves from Trump -- even if they tacitly endorsed him.

Freshman GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte, in a tough reelection bid in New Hampshire, for example, said Saturday that she would not vote for Trump.

Ayotee, in a deadlock with Democratic challenger Maggie Hassan, New Hampshires governor, has said she supports Trump but has never endorsed him. But until this weekend, Ayotte said she would vote for Trump.

I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women, Ayotte tweeted.

Officials at the National Republican Senatorial Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee repeatedly instructed their candidates from battleground districts to run their own races.

That advice is even more resonant now. But before the leaked Trump tape, Democrats were already devoting an ad blitz trying to tie vulnerable Republican congressional candidates to Trump.

Well know soon if voters distinguish between Trump and other Republicans -- or if voters just lump everyone together.

A press release that appeared mid-week crystallized the challenge House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., faces when it comes to handling Trump.

The advisory advertised Ryans appearance at the 1st Congressional District Republican Party of Wisconsin Fall Fest on Saturday in Walworth County.

In the second paragraph, the missive declared that Ryan would be joined by Senator Ron Johnson, Governor Scott Walker, Attorney General Brad Schimel, Treasurer Matt Adamcyzk and Wisconsin State Party Chairman Brad Courtney.

That Trump would also attend the event was entombed way down in the third paragraph, perhaps suggesting some third-rate hanger-on also wanted to make the scene.

Donald J. Trump will also join Wisconsin Republicans at the 1st Congressional District Republican Party of Wisconsin Fall Fest, read the statement.

Talk about burying the lede.

The release then instructed reporters to contact the Trump campaign with questions about the nominees appearance.

Did you ever feel like you were unwelcome someplace?

If Trump, a first-time candidate, didnt get the message from Ryan when the release went out, he surely got it when Ryan personally dumped Trump from this weekends Badger State confab and replaced him with Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence.

(Pence on Saturday cancelled his appearance at the event.)

Ryan has worked for months to protect himself -- and parts of the party  from the Donald Trump Superfund site.

The speaker called out Trump last December, saying the nominees remarks about Muslims were the textbook definition of a racist comment.

Ryan also criticized Trump for not doing enough to disavow David Duke and the white supremacists support.

The Trump tape story exploded just as the Speakers Office touted President Obama signing into law The Survivors Bill of Rights Act.

Its a measure to protect sexual assault survivors. Friday afternoon, Ryans staff sent out a picture of the speaker prepping the bill for Obama to sign alongside co-sponsor Rep. Mimi Walters, R-Calif.

With this bill, Congress helps gives a voice to the voiceless. Because victims of sexual assault deserve full protection under the law -- and this legislation reaffirms the fact that their right to justice is unconditional, Ryan said.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, declared after the tape was released that he wouldnt vote for Trump. So did Sen. Mike Lee, a fellow Utah Republican who called for a new nominee.

But many congressional Republicans tried to split the atom. They condemned Trumps remarks in the harshest of terms but went silent when asked whether they would still support the nominee or vote for him.

Many congressional Republicans fear a backlash from Trumps core base if they formally repudiate him and his comments. Theres also not a lot they can do at such a late date.

Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala., did not take such an approach.

The best thing for our country and our party is for Trump to step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket, she said. Hillary Clinton must not be president. But with Trump leading the ticket, she will be.

Senior Republican operatives think Trumps comments could wound the party down ballot among white, educated women, social conservatives and Hispanics.

In particular, theres concern these remarks could impact Senate contests. GOP Sens. Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania, and Richard Burr, North Carolina, are fighting to hold seats.

North Carolina is of special interest because of its mix of highly-educated female voters and regular church-goers.

The Trump fiasco unfolds at perhaps the most-critical temporal marker in the campaign. Either the die is cast right now or a last-minute trend emerges to sway congressional elections.

Consider where congressional races stood just as the Trump tape appeared. Republicans were poised to lose a few seats in the House but maintain control. The Senate was still anybodys ballgame.

The current breakdown in the House is 246 Republicans to 186 Democrats with three vacancies. Democrats need to capture 30 seats to return to the majority for the first time since early 2011.

Few experts thought there was a pathway for Democrats to regain the low chamber this cycle, despite the opportunity to face Trump, whom they wanted to campaign against.

But the fact that the House hasnt been in play attests to the fortification of the firewall House Republicans erected when they won the majority in 2010.

Republicans won hundreds of down-ballot contests that year at the state level, the same year as the decennial Census.

Those state-level races determine who redraws congressional districts following the Census. As a result, Republicans constructed a fort, contouring the congressional lines in favor of their candidates in most places across the country.

Key GOP seats to watch include those of freshman Iowa GOP Reps. David Young and Rod Blum. Both are fairing well because Trump is competitive in the state.

Other GOP bellwether seats include those of freshman GOP Reps. Bruce Poliquin, Maine, and Carlos Curbelo, Florida.

Democrats stand a shot of winning seats held by retiring GOP Minnesota Reps. John Kline and Erik Paulsen.

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, Calif., could also face problems in his bid for re-election.

The same with Rep. Daniel Webster, a Florida Republican who mounted what some viewed as a Quixotic bid to become House speaker last year. Webster is running in a new congressional district.

Democrats are expected to lose the seat of retiring, one-term Florida Rep. Gwen Graham. But they think they might not lose any sitting members running this fall.

The most likely Democrats to stumble are Reps. Brad Ashford, Neb., Ami Bera, Calif., and Rick Nolan, Minn.

Ashford is a freshman who flipped his Omaha district from red to blue two years ago.

Beras 83-year-old father went to jail earlier this year for illegally donating money to his sons campaign. Nolan narrowly defeated GOPer Stewart Mills two years ago and faces him in a rematch. Trump fares well in rural areas of Minnesotas Iron Range, the heart of this district.

In most instances, congressional analysts detected House election waves very late.

Michael Barone penned a July 1994 article in U.S. News and World Report that predicted the possibility of a Republican sea-change in that years midterm. But most handicappers didnt buy it until mid-October.

Republicans reclaimed the House in 1994 for the first time in 42 years.

And few saw a wave until October when Democrats captured the House in 2006.

Its challenging to model voter turnout for Trump. House Democrats could benefit if Republicans stay home, refusing to vote for Trump.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., understands the late-wave phenomenon when asked about it last week.

It's like saying, do you see a wave? We're not even at the beach,  Pelosi said.

The Senate still could be a photo-finish.

The upper chamber breakdown is now 54 Republicans to 44 Democrats. Two independent senators caucus with the Democrats, so its essentially 54-46.

Control of the Senate remains a dead-heat with five states listed in the toss-up category according to Sabatos Crystal Ball, the weekly newsletter compiled by political analyst Larry Sabato at the University of Virginia.

Sabato suggests Illinois and Wisconsin as probable pickup states for Democrats. But Democrats need to win three more for outright control. And they must hold the Nevada seat of retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid while defeating a combination of Toomey, Burr, Ayotte Marco Rubio in Florida, and Roy Blunt in Missouri.

Democrats are also in a neck-and-neck race to acquire the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Dan Coats in Indiana.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nevada, the GOP candidate for Reids seat, is slightly ahead in the race.

Heck, who notably endorsed Trump in a state in which the Hispanic Republican governor has yet to endorse the nominee, on Saturday publically called on Trump to step down.

Rubio is way in front. Democrat Jason Kander has made things a contest against Blunt in Missouri. Burr is showing some signs of a struggle against Democratic challenger Deborah Ross.

Burrs race could be key as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton assumed a lead in the Tar Heel State.

Thats bad news for Burr. North Carolina voters almost always align their ballots for president and Senate. Only once have they divided their votes for those offices: 1968.

If Heck flips Reids seat in Nevada, Republicans need to hold three of the remaining five competitive Senate races. Rubio boasts a healthy lead. So it could come down to the GOP incumbents in Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

This is why it was such a big deal for Democrats to court former Sen. Evan Bayh to run against Rep. Todd Young for Coats open seat. Indiana was expected to be a lay-up for Republicans without the Democratic recruiting coup of Bayh.

Which party runs the Senate may just come down to a seat or two. Its not out of the realm of possibility that the Senate is tied 50/50. There have been election ties in the Senate: 1881, 1953 and 2001.

Conventional wisdom is that whichever party secures the presidency wins the Senate by fiat. Thats because the vice president, who simultaneously serves as president of the Senate, would preside and break ties.

But its more complex than that. The 1881, 1953 and 2001 Senate tie scenarios all featured senators forging some form of a power-sharing agreement. Considering the toxicity of todays political climate, its unknown if leaders could craft a pact to manage the show on Capitol Hill.

We may not know which party controls the Senate for days if not weeks following the election due to recounts and challenges in nip-and-tuck states.

Regardless, the political ground could be shifting right now. If theres a late break in favor of Democrats in congressional contests, this is the point in October when its going to happen. And the Trump tape presents that opportunity.
Republican Darrell Issa -- the combative California congressman who took Capitol Hill hearings to a new level of political theater -- is facing a tough reelection bid this year, in what has been one of the country's most conservative congressional districts.

Issa was elected to Congress in 2000, but his bid to win a ninth straight term is caught in political crosswinds.

Voters are wary of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, whom Issa has endorsed. And the number of registered Republican voters in his 49th congressional district -- from southern Orange County to northern San Diego County -- is steadily declining.

Its a competitive race, said Nathan Gonzales, who handicaps congressional contests for his non-partisan Rothenberg and Gonzales Political Report, which last week moved the race out of the safe category for Republicans.

Issa, with an estimated net worth of $250 million, is also facing a formidable, well-funded challenge from Democrat Doug Applegate, a lawyer and retired Marine coronel in a district that includes Camp Pendleton, home to roughly 38,000 military families.

Beyond the Trump factor and the districts changing demographics, Issa appears to have created some of his own political headwinds, with Applegate and others saying he has put his political aspirations ahead of the districts needs.

Gonzales said he was initially doubtful about a possible Applegate upset, despite the first-time candidate finishing just 5 percentage points behind Issa in a June primary, setting up the November rematch.

Then the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee a few weeks ago announced it would provide Applegates campaign with financial and strategic support.

I took that as a sign of the Democrats interest in a race against the richest member of Congress, Gonzales said.

Issa cultivated his national profile largely through his position as chairman of the powerful House Oversight Committee, relentlessly pursuing President Obama, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top administration officials over such high-profile matters as the Benghazi terror attacks and the IRS targeting of Tea Party-type groups.

However, he appeared to show signs of vulnerability back in 2014, his last year as committee chairman.

Though Issa exposed administration shortcomings and mistakes, fellow Republicans grumbled that he had failed to connect Obama or the White House directly to any of the scandals. And House GOP leaders rejected his overtures to serve an extended term as chairman.

In one of his final act as chairman, Issa, furious over IRS official Lois Lerner refusing to testify before his committee, abruptly ended the hearing, then turned off the microphone for Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the committee.

Issa apologized, but Democrats and Republicans remained concerned.

"Washington is a mess, and Darrell Issa isn't part of the problem, he is the problem," Applegate said recently. "He's afraid that the curtain is coming down on him."

The 62-year-old Issa, who earlier this week picked up the key U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsement said: "I'm going to be judged on whether I've done good service for my constituents, represented them honestly and fairly, and whether my judgment is trusted after so many terms of doing it."

Meanwhile, the affluent district -- which includes the late-President Nixons old San Clemente retreat -- has steadily become less Republican.

Since the district map was last redrawn, in 2012, the GOPs advantage among registered voters has dropped from 14 to 9 percent, according to the most recent state records. (And the margin was more than 20 percent after the district was redrawn in 2002 to include Orange County.)

Like many Republicans this cycle, Issa is seeking reelection amid a younger and more diverse electorate. The situation is particularly challenging for GOP incumbents in California because the number of registered Hispanic votes, with whom Republicans have struggled to connect, has essentially doubled since 2012.

Its looking more like the general electorate, a California Democratic strategist said last week. But this is really all about atmospherics. The only real reason that Issa is vulnerable is because of Donald Trump.

The only polling is the race is an internal poll by Applegate in late-August that showed Issa with a 45-to-43 percentage point lead.

Fundraising reports through June 30 show Issa with $3.8 million, compared with $135,000 for Applegate.

The advantage has helped Issa, who made his fortune largely in manufacturing car alarms, outspend his opponent nearly 15-to-1, with Applegate using some of his $50,000 in expenditures on ads trying to link Issa to Trump.

Trump is the shadow that has been cast over dozens of races in this county. Gonzales said. The question is how dark will it be.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Charleston Countys largest animal shelter has saved approximately 500 homeless dogs from the path of Hurricane Matthew, sending the animals as far away as New York and Pennsylvania, where they will be put up for adoption by a variety of rescue organizations.

The largest single transport began Thursday at 5 a.m. when 57 dogs were loaded onto a tractor trailer owned by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), bound for a 12-hour journey to their headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md.

All of these animals have a valuable life, said Joe Elmore, CEO at Charleston Animal Society, which arranged the transfer. I am amazed at the coordinated effort of all of us working together. Unfortunately so many places are not organized well and these are the exact kind of animals that would be euthanized because of a lack of coordination.

Charleston Animal Society is located about 10 miles from the coast on high ground, so it acts as a clearinghouse for homeless animals during disasters. It accepts animals from all the area shelters and then works with a rescue network that includes the HSUS, the ASPCA, and hundreds of foster families to get pets out of harms way.

Although it will remain closed to the public during the storm, Elmore and a small staff, including veterinarians, will live at the shelter through the weekend to care for 150 animals that have not been evacuated.

A video shows beagles, weimaraners, golden retrievers, terriers and numerous mixed breeds patiently waiting in line with a handler to board the HSUS trailer while it was still dark. Once inside, they were placed in wire cages that were stacked floor-to-ceiling.

It has a customized suspension for a comfortable ride, said HSUS spokesperson Sara Varsa. They get music and independent climate control. We try to make it as stress free as possible.

After arriving in Maryland, the animals excitedly wagged their tails to greet about 50 HSUS employees who were on standby to give pets and hugs. They were then whisked away to the partnering rescue organizations.

The Charleston Animal Society sent another group of dogs to the SPCA in Aiken, SC., which is a few hours inland and to the city of York, which is in the central part of the state.

Cats have been relocated to a cattery owned by the society.

Elmore said the transfers have freed up space in the shelter in preparation for an influx of pets that will be rescued by the SPCA after flood waters reside. The city was flooded a year ago and Elmore said he has a system in place to make sure no animal goes without rescue due to lack of space.

The Charleston Animal Society is non-profit and the only shelter in the county that takes any animal, regardless of its injury or condition. Last year, the shelter rescued more than 9,000 animals.

On average, it costs about $377 to save an animal, Elmore said.

The shelter runs primarily on donations. Click here to donate: https://www.charlestonanimalsociety.org/donate/
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.

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.
The chief executive officer of a once-popular male escort website pleaded guilty on Friday to promoting prostitution in a federal case that prompted accusations of anti-gay bias.

Jeffrey Hurant admitted in federal court in Brooklyn that he broke the law by promoting "the exchange of sexual conduct in return for a fee" on his Rentboy.com site.

Under a plea deal, Hurant agreed not to appeal a sentence of two years or less in prison. His company also cannot appeal a penalty of $10 million or less. Sentencing guidelines call for a maximum sentence of 21 months.

Hurant, 51, and his attorney left court without speaking to reporters. Sentencing was set for Feb. 2.

Prosecutors had alleged that Rentboy was the equivalent of an online brothel, and what the site called escorts were actually prostitutes. They said part of the proof were in the 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 takedown of the website was led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Its involvement, along with an absence of any allegations that Rentboy was a menace to society beyond simple prostitution  like engaging in human trafficking or exploiting minors  stirred anger and fear in the gay community. Activists questioned why the agency would single out Rentboy when other escort websites, gay or straight, continue to do business.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which participated in the investigation along with the New York Police Department and other agencies, issued a statement saying "any insinuation that a specific population was targeted is categorically false."

Before authorities arrested Hurant and seized the Rentboy site, it had thousands of advertisers paying up to $300 a month, 500,000 visitors a day and revenues of $10 million in the past 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."
City code enforcers in Kansas City have cracked down on a homeowner who put up large outdoor signs for her missing daughter, according to a report.

Deborah Bradley tells Fox4KC that she was notified this week that the signs outside her house violate city regulations and have to go.

Lisa Irwin was a 10-month-old baby when she disappeared on Oct. 3, 2011, and Bradley believes the girl was abducted.

They told me that one big sign we have for her that says, 'This house needs Lisa to make it a home again, they want us to take it down, Bradley told the station.

Bradley said she is going to take down the signs after a vigil Saturday night marking the fifth anniversary of Lisas disappearance.

It's hard because we feel like we can't do a whole lot for her and this is one of the things that we can do for her, she told the station. We just don't want her to think that we stopped thinking about her and that we don't care.

She says she is going to replace the signs with ones that are smaller.

Click for more from Fox4KC.
Residents got their first look Wednesday at what Albany's schools might look like  and cost them  if major work is done through a bond measure next spring.

Officials at Greater Albany Public Schools plan a bond request for May 2017 but are still trying to balance building needs against crowded classrooms and community desires for more electives and career and technical classes.

Possibilities so far include building two new, larger elementary schools that would both replace and expand Clover Ridge and Oak Grove, for $48 million; beginning a major remodeling project at West Albany High School that could eventually cost about $97 million; and adding a gym, auditorium and career/technical space to South Albany High School for $24 million.

The district also has a list of more than $39 million in repairs to roofs, wiring, plumbing, paving, technology, mechanical systems, handicapped-accessibility and other building issues districtwide.

If voters agreed to extend Albany's existing bond of $1.66 per $1,000 of assessed value, the district could raise roughly $120 million, selling half the bonds for 10 years and the other half for 20 years, Business Director Russ Allen said. However, he added, no decisions have been made and projects suggested so far are more than $200 million.

A handful of parents and roughly two dozen school district employees and representatives attended the first of four community forums, held Wednesday at Timber Ridge, to learn more.

The next meetings, all set for 6 p.m., are Oct. 12 at Oak Grove Elementary, Oct. 20 at West Albany High and Oct. 26 at South Albany High.

Superintendent Jim Golden started Wednesday's meeting with a reminder of past construction projects in the district. Just two current schools  Timber Ridge and the prefabricated structure that houses Albany Options School  have been built since 1977. Clover Ridge and Central elementary schools predate the end of World War I.

Seventeen other schools all came during the post-World War II construction wave that relied on cheaper, quicker construction methods and materials that simply didn't last as long as the solid brick edifices of earlier times, Golden said.

Fast-forward 30 to 70 years and those buildings are aging and outdated, especially when it comes to safety, seismic and technological needs, he said. They're also overcrowded, and enrollment is expected to continue to grow.

"We're pretty much out of space right now," Golden said.

Bond possibilities include building a new Clover Ridge Elementary School to house at least 500 students compared with the current 337, at a cost of $28 million. A new Oak Grove for 450 to 600 students, up from the current 263, would be $20 million and would retain the current gym and newest classroom wing.

Much of Wednesday's meeting centered on ideas for the two high schools, however.

Adding an auditorium to South Albany is estimated to be a $14.9 million project. A second gym to add room for PE classes and expand competition possibilities is priced at $5.76 million. Renovating and adding to career tech classes and science labs would take on another $3.36 million.

At West, built in 1953, the idea is eventually to replace the entire school in two to three construction phases.

Architects told board members earlier this week they could start with a two-story addition at the south end of the school, just past the current gym, to minimize disruption to the rest of the building. That addition could house a commons area, auditorium, drama and music classrooms, an auxiliary gym and a combination kitchen and cafeteria. Upstairs would be classrooms and career-technical lab spaces and shops.

Followup construction would tackle the existing building, moving the main entrance and offices to Liberty Street, replacing the current front section of the school with a parking lot and some of the ballfields, adding another two-story classroom wing just east of the Phase I addition and reconfiguring the current central core of the school to house a library and art classrooms.

Parents asked whether the district had considered going to split shifts at the high schools, whether traffic studies had been a part of the plan and whether the district would be able to afford additional teachers for new classrooms.

Golden said split shifts hadn't been considered, nor likely would it be, as such as schedule change wouldn't affect building needs. Traffic studies likely will come about later.

Bond money can't be used for salaries, he said, but growing enrollment will lead to more state per-pupil funding, which should help cover staffing. Right now, he said, the district has nowhere to put additional teachers to help lower class sizes.
The Latest on McDonalds Hostage Situation (all times local):

4:50 p.m.

Authorities say a brief hostage incident at a Florida McDonald's restaurant has ended with the arrest of two suspected car thieves who were hiding inside.

Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee told reporters Saturday the two were hiding in the restaurant's ceiling. A third suspect surrendered earlier in the day, shortly after the release of employees who were held hostage a short time.

Gee says the arrests were delayed by a man claiming falsely on social media that he was being held hostage inside.

The sheriff said the incident unfolded about 7:30 a.m. when the stolen Dodge Charger was spotted on Interstate 4 near Lakeland, about 40 miles east of Tampa.

After a short chase the car crashed and the three occupants tried unsuccessfully to carjack someone at the nearby McDonald's. The men then went inside and forced employees to the back.

_____

2 p.m.

Authorities are searching for two men who crashed a stolen car and then held employees hostage briefly at a McDonald's restaurant outside Tampa, Florida.

Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee told reporters Saturday one of the three men involved in the car theft surrendered at the McDonald's. Gee said the whereabouts of the other two were unclear, but the employees were all safe.

The sheriff said the incident unfolded about 7:30 a.m. when the stolen Dodge Charger was spotted on Interstate 4 near Lakeland, about 40 miles east of Tampa.

After a short chase the car crashed and the three occupants tried unsuccessfully to carjack someone at the nearby McDonald's. The men then went inside and forced the employees to the back. They were later freed. No hostages were customers.
The Obama administration said Saturday its new guidance for foreign companies doing business with Iran doesn't ease remaining sanctions on the country. Some sanctions experts argued that the revised language has that effect.

The Treasury Department said that an update to its regulations published late Friday merely clarified what is and isn't allowed since last year's landmark nuclear deal that gave Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its atomic program. Treasury said the new "Frequently Asked Questions" section of its Iran sanctions regulations was issued in response to concerns from foreign businesses uncertain about what transactions may still be prohibited by non-nuclear sanctions.

"Yesterday's update was intended to clarify the scope of sanctions lifting under the (nuclear deal) and the sanctions that remain in place, and does not represent additional sanctions relief," Treasury said.

However, the clarifications make explicit that some previously prohibited dollar transactions with Iran by offshore banks are now allowed as long as they do not enter the U.S. financial system. And, they remove what had been seen as a blanket ban on foreign transactions with Iranian firms controlled by a person who remains subject to U.S. non-nuclear sanctions.

Despite the nuclear agreement, the U.S. maintains sanctions on Iran and certain Iranian companies and people. They are known as "specially designated nationals" or SDNs, for a variety of reasons, including its ballistic missile program, human rights record and support for groups the U.S. deems to be terrorist organizations.

The new Treasury language says foreign transactions with non-sanctioned entities that are nonetheless "minority owned" or "controlled in whole or in part by an Iranian or Iran-related person on the SDN list" are "not necessarily sanctionable" under U.S. regulations.

Treasury and some sanctions lawyers maintained that the new guidance doesn't reflect any change in policy or a loosening of sanctions.

But others, notably critics of the nuclear deal, said the clarifications effectively ease the sanctions by encouraging foreign firms to pursue deals with Iran, in particular with Iranian companies affiliated with designated terrorists or terrorist groups, like elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The net result of the clarifications, they said, was that more money will flow into Iran and to designated terrorists.
Two U.S. service members were wounded in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday when their vehicle struck a roadside mine, the military said.

They were "conducting a normal security patrol" near the airport on the outskirts of Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, when "their vehicle hit the improvised explosive device," the U.S. military's spokesman in Afghanistan, Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland said.

"The individuals were evacuated from the scene of the incident to Jalalabad Airfield for treatment," he said in a statement. The incident happened early Saturday morning, he said.

According to procedure, the troops were not identified.

The incident follows the death earlier this week of a U.S. service member, also in Nangarhar, where American military are involved in counter-terrorism operations against the Islamic State group and the Taliban.

So far seven U.S. service members have died in Afghanistan this year, according to an Associated Press tally.

In violence elsewhere in the country, three Afghan police officers were killed in an insurgent attack on Friday in southern Kandahar province, an official said Saturday.

Samim Khpolwak, spokesman for the provincial governor in Kandahar said that insurgents attacked the police in the Maiwand district. He also said that four other police officers were wounded in the attack.

Other officials say around 20 policemen were killed. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. This figure could not be independently confirmed, but officials are often wary of revealing the full extent of the casualties suffered by Afghan security forces in the war with the Taliban, which is now entering its 16th year.

Also in Kandahar, Khpolwak said three children were killed and another four wounded in the Shah Wali Kot district after a bomb they found exploded.
Officials in Kuwait say they have arrested an Egyptian who planned to carry out "a terrorist act in the country."

The brief bulletin Saturday on the state-run Kuwait News Agency said the unnamed Egyptian "is suspecting to belong to the organization that is called the Islamic State" group. It did not elaborate.

It wasn't immediately clear if the Egyptian had a lawyer.

The announcement comes ahead of the 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. Shiites and Sunni Muslims largely live in peace in tiny Kuwait.

Kuwaiti police have promised increased security ahead of Ashoura. Two Iranians were arrested in recent days for taking "suspicious" photographs ahead of the commemoration.

An Islamic State-claimed suicide bombing in 2015 targeting a Shiite mosque in Kuwait City killed 27 people and wounded scores.
next Image 1 of 3

prev next Image 2 of 3

prev Image 3 of 3

In just 100 days in office, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has stirred a hornet's nest by picking a fight with Barack Obama, the United Nations, the European Union and others who have criticized his brutal crackdown against drugs that has left more than 3,600 suspects dead.

In another defining aspect of his unorthodox rule, the 71-year-old Duterte has pushed back his country's 65-year treaty alliance with the United States while reaching out to China and Russia.

A look at the highlights of the first 100 days of Duterte's phenomenal presidency.

___

ANTI-DRUG WAR

Duterte's obsessive focus on his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs, a hallmark of his three-decade political career, has single-handedly defined his early days in the presidency. It has become his boon and bane and earned widespread condemnations when he compared it to the Holocaust under Hitler. A rough estimate puts the death toll at about 3,600, including more than 1,300 suspects killed in gunbattles with police  an average of 36 killings a day since he took office on June 30.

The scale of the crackdown has been unprecedented, with the police launching more than 23,500 raids so far and arresting 22,500 suspected drug dealers and addicts. More than 1.6 million houses of drug suspects have been visited by police to invite them to surrender and stop using drugs or disengage from the drug trade. About 732,000 addicts and dealers have surrendered, apparently for fear of being killed, overwhelming Duterte and the national police and prompting them to scramble for land and money to build rehabilitation centers.

Duterte's public threats to kill criminals, especially drug dealers, have helped considerably reduce the crime rate, according to police. A poll by the independent Social Weather Stations last month showed 84 percent of adult Filipinos are satisfied with his war on drugs, but 94 percent felt it's important for police to arrest suspects alive, underscoring public worry over the growing body count even in a crime- and insurgency-plagued country long accustomed to deadly violence.

Western governments led by the U.S., the EU, the U.N. and human rights watchdogs are alarmed. Amnesty International says Duterte's "first 100 days as president have been marked by state-sanctioned violence on a truly shocking scale."

Uncertainty over the killings, Duterte's SOB-laced verbal assaults on Barack Obama, U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-moon and other critics, along with flip-flopping government pronouncements, have been partly blamed for foreign selling in the stock market and the peso's plunge to a seven-year low.

___

FRAYING U.S. ALLIANCE

An emerging casualty under the Duterte presidency is the country's 65-year treaty alliance with the United States, which has been a constant target of his foul tongue. He has had a falling out with President Barack Obama, who along with the State Department raised concerns over the widespread drug killings, earning Duterte's wrath. In a speech this week, he told Obama "to go to hell."

While critical of the U.S., Duterte has reached out to China and Russia.

Labeling himself as leftist, Duterte wants U.S. counterterrorism forces to leave his country's south, saying their presence was helping inflame restiveness among minority Muslims and they could be targeted by extremists. He ordered the military not to join the U.S. Navy in planned joint patrols in the disputed South China Sea and said that an ongoing combat drill by U.S. Marines and their local counterparts, one of 28 joint exercises by the allies each year, would be the last in his six years as president.

The U.S. has generally played down the effect of Duterte's remarks and underscored the Filipinos' long affinity with America, although Philippine officials have said that some of their U.S. counterparts have privately been concerned about where Washington's alliance with the Philippines is headed.

Duterte's moves to limit engagements with visiting American troops will impede Washington's plans to expand the footprint of U.S. forces in Southeast Asia to serve as a counterweight to China, including in the South China Sea.

___

TAMING DECADESLONG REBELLIONS

Duterte's effort to resume peace talks with communist insurgents who are waging one of Asia's longest rebellions has led to cease-fire declarations by both sides. With a cease-fire accord forged with the largest Muslim rebel group under his predecessor, the easing of violence involving the communist insurgents has freed up thousands of troops who were redeployed to execute the president's order to destroy the brutal Abu Sayyaf group, notorious for kidnapping and beheading Western tourists.

Duterte, however, walks a tightrope in handing concessions to the communists, including the release of long-detained insurgent leaders, without unsettling a military that's in the front line of a bloody conflict that has left between 30,000 to 40,000 combatants and civilians dead in nearly half a century. The president has made whirlwind visits to at least 22 military and police camps to explain his counterinsurgency strategy, raffle off pistols and update them on a pledge to double their salaries and improve medical care for combat troops.

A Sept. 2 bomb attack that killed 15 people at a night market in his southern hometown of Davao prompted him to declare a "state of lawlessness" to empower the government to harness troops in countering militant threats in urban areas. The attack was a reality check on the complexity of fighting the restiveness Duterte blames on atrocities against local Muslims by American colonial forces around the early 1900s.

___

Follow Gomez on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JimSGomez

Find his work also at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jim-gomez
The Polish government says it is highly concerned that Russia has moved nuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missiles into Kaliningrad, a Russian region on Poland's border.

Russia says the missiles are being deployed as part of regular military maneuvers to the territory, which is wedged between Poland and Lithuania.

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said Saturday that Poland considers the matter of "highest concern."

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov, however, played down the concerns.

In a statement Saturday he says "The Iskander ballistic missile system is mobile. As part of the plan of combat training, missile troops units are engaged in training on a year-round basis, covering great distances of the Russian territory in various ways: by air, by sea, and under their own power."
Yemen's army has announced the death of its most senior commander to be killed this year in the country's ongoing civil war.

In a statement late on Friday, it said Maj-Gen. Abdul-Rab al-Shadadi was killed while leading an offensive against the Iranian-backed Shiite rebels known as the Houthis east of the capital Sanaa. Three militia commanders fighting alongside the army of the internationally-recognized government were also killed.

It says all four were killed when a missile fired by the Houthis struck their position on Friday.

A Saudi-led coalition backing the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has been fighting against the Houthis and their allies, including former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's loyalists, since March 2015.

The rebels control the capital Sanaa and vast swathes of territory in northern Yemen.
Venezuela's socialist president has created a peace prize in honor of the late Hugo Chavez and says his pick for the initial award is Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

President Nicolas Maduro announced the award Friday on the same day that the Nobel Committee awarded its Peace Prize to Juan Manuel Santos, president of neighboring Colombia, for his role in negotiating a peace pact with Marxist FARC rebels, Reuters reports.

Chavez founded Venezuela's socialist administration.

"I've decided to create the Hugo Chavez prize for peace and the sovereignty," Maduro said during a televised broadcast. I think President Vladimir Putin deserves this Hugo Chavez award."

Maduro said Putin and future winners will receive a miniature replica of a statue of Chavez designed by a Russian artist, Reuters reported.

Maduro said the prize will recognize global and national figures who have excelled in the struggle for peace. He said he chose Putin because of his support of Venezuela.

Hundreds of thousands of people have joined protests criticizing Maduro government for its role in the countrys failing economy, Reuters reported.

Maduro has blamed opponents and the U.S. government for the countrys problems.

Putin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, despite ordering soldiers to invade Ukraine that same year, Reuters reported. The Nobel committee chose Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai over Putin for their work against the suppression of children and young people, according to the news wire.
Grace Nealy was proud to own the red T-shirt that signified her participation in a triathlon once upon a time.

But on Thursday, the Timber Ridge School seventh-grader was equally proud to shred that shirt for a higher cause.

Grace and 32 of her classmates in Timber Ridge's Leadership class spent Thursday at the Oregon Association of Student Councils Middle School Fall Regional Workshop, held this year at the Boys & Girls Club of Albany with Timber Ridge as the host school.

This year's OASC statewide service project, "One Dollar for Life," challenges Oregon students to donate $1 to a school expansion project in Nicaragua. At the regional workshop, 100 middle-school students turned old T-shirts into tote bags to help with that project.

The Timber Ridge plan is to sell each tote bag for $1 to donate to the expansion project. Grace said she was glad to get involved.

"Some people don't realize that there's kids that don't have as much opportunities as us," she explained. "This is a really good reminder that we have more chances at education than other people."

With each bag sold, she continued, "We can help. We can do something about that."

Timber Ridge welcomed three other schools to Thursday's symposium: Taft Middle School from Lincoln City, Cascade Junior High from Turner and Perrydale School near Amity.

It's the first time Timber Ridge has played host to the gathering and only the second year the Leadership students have been involved, said Shay Brunson, Leadership teacher.

Gathering with other schools gives the students a chance to trade ideas, learn what works in other areas and practice public speaking and other leadership skills that tend to be intimidating when you're in front of the home crowd you see every day, Brunson said.

The statewide service projects give them a chance to be a part of something larger, too, she said. "I want them to be motivated to go out in their community and make a difference."

Rachel Haas, a high school senior from Clatskanie and state president of the OASC, said she learned about "One Dollar for Life" while researching possibilities for international service projects. She traveled to Nicaragua and made the connection with the school, then brought it to the group's executive council for approval.

A 17-student high school delegation will travel back to the country over spring break next year to help with the project. Every dollar from the middle-schoolers helps, she said.

"It's the idea that together as a state and as an organization, if we all do this little thing  if each of us do just one thing  together we can do something incredible," Haas said.
Workers Compensation Attorneys Open Offices In Harrisburg, PA

The workers compensation attorneys at The Bulldog Lawyers announce the opening of their newest office location in Harrisburg, PA.

--

Thousands of workers suffer injuries on the job in the State of Pennsylvania each year. Many of these injured workers are left trying to deal with expensive medical bills, lost wages and other complications that often come with a work-related injury.

While workers compensation laws in Pennsylvania are intended to protect injured workers by providing financial compensation to help pay for the unexpected costs of a work-related injury, many workers are left without the benefits that they desperately need.

Fortunately, injured employees seeking workers comp benefits have hope.

The Bulldog Lawyers Open Office In Harrisburg, PA

The Bulldog Lawyers have been successfully representing injured workers throughout the State of Pennsylvania for decades and are proud to announce the opening of their newest office location in Harrisburg, PA.

The new office location is strategically located to serve injured workers seeking workers comp benefits in Harrisburg, PA and the surrounding area.

The attorneys at The Bulldog Lawyers represent injured workers in all industries including, but not limited to:

Construction workers,

office workers,

health care workers,

government employees,

and more.

Contact A Workers Comp Attorney In Harrisburg Today

For people and their a loved ones who have suffered an injury on the job, workers compensation benefits may be available. Individuals who consult an experienced workers compensation attorney are often able to secure the benefits that they need in order to make a successful recovery from their injury.

The Bulldog Lawyers offer free consultation for injured workers in Harrisburg and throughout the entire State of Pennsylvania.

Whether a person is applying for benefits for the first time or would like to appeal a denied claim, the attorneys at The Bulldog Lawyers can help them determine the best course of action.

Individuals who are interested can find more information about The Bulldog Lawyers by visiting their website at www.bulldoglawyers.com.

Contact Info:

Name: Jay Shor, Esq.

Email: ron@shorlevin.com

Phone: 717-775-7120

Organization: The Bulldog Lawyers

Source: http://www.prreach.com/pr/26313

Release ID: 137029

For more information visit r



Recent Press Releases By The Same User

Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)
New Spanish Happiness Book Released! Book By Louis Koster Launches October 10th

Louis Koster is launching his brand new book, "SER Feliz: Como ser feliz realmente!" The book is available at all major book stores / through Amazon targeted at fans of the Selfhelp and Happiness world. Information is available at: http://www.louiskoster.com/book-launch-ser-feliz

--

Medical doctor, distinguished humanitarian, inspirational teacher Louis Koster is launching his brand new book, "SER Feliz: Como ser feliz realmente! ". The book is set to go live October 10th. The book is available at all major book stores / through Amazon and Barnes & Noble / online and is expected to become a big hit with fans of the Selfhelp and Happiness world.

More information on the book can be found here: New Happiness Book Release on Amazon.com in Spanish!

This is the first book Koster has authored in the Spanish language. The book was written was to raise the level of consciousness. There's also particular excitement about this launch because it will be the author's much anticipated first release of the book in the Spanish language.

SER Feliz: Como ser feliz realmente! sets its main focus on how to eliminate depression, lethargy, stress, unhappiness, and even ordinary bad moods. This clear, engaging book will provide direction for those who are stuck, unsure, at cross-roads, or believe that there is more to life than what they are now experiencing. Readers will likely find a particular interest in the personal story of Dr Louis Koster, which is very compelling and inspiring. The book's cover art was created by Sausi Rhi and SER Feliz: Como ser feliz realmente! is being released by Eudaimonia Press.

Louis Koster has a background in public health, family medicine, organizational development, transformational training and this helped shape the creation of the book. If someone really wants to test their spiritual beliefs, try being a medical doctor in war zones. Dr Koster served for over ten years as a medical doctor for Doctors Without Borders, The International Committee of The Red Cross, and other humanitarian organizations in trouble spots around the globe. He realized that his work had dealt with obvious life and death situations. He felt a compelling urge to address matters of life and death that were not so obvious. He realized that finding that authentic core in oneself and accessing it through one's own language was urgent, it was a matter of life and death. He made a commitment to be a lifelong student of what sets the human spirit free from its self-imposed limitations.

When asked about why they wrote the book, Koster said: "To help people on their journey of awakening to their true nature."

Koster has hopes that the book will visit the reader like an angel and give the reader a new perspective to some of the issues that they are currently dealing with in their lives. This positive outlook from the author is certainly testament to his optimism considering some of the mishaps during its creation. At one point, there were several mishaps, for example at one point the author had to declare bankruptcy just before he was about to publish the book in the Spanish language.

In a recent interview, the author made a point of thanking his wife Francesca and daughter Carmen for being a constant support and champion during the journey of publishing this book. For his part in the creation of the book, saying: "My special friend Ewald Einoder who has been there for me as a wise and inspiring support"

Those interested in learning more about the book can visit here: New Happiness Book Release on Amazon.com in Spanish!

Contact Info:

Name: Dr Louis Koster

Organization: Eudaimonia Press

Address: PO Box 85



Release ID: 136906

For more information visit r



Recent Press Releases By The Same User

Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)
Sales Text Chat Mass SMS Auto Dealer Remarketing Texting Service Launched

Sales TextChat, a powerful mobile communication service between a business and its customers, has launched a new feature. It allows for mass texting, organized by unique dashboards for each client.

--

A customer texting service has announced the launch of a new mass texting module for auto dealership remarketing, making it the only two way texting platform that offers a mass text messaging feature. Called Sales TextChat, it was created as a way to help clients improve their business and succeed in their local marketplace.

More information can be found on the company website at: http://smsmoneymaker.com.

Sales TextChat has over 10 years' experience with business to consumer texting, and its products have reached over 10,000 businesses worldwide, ranging from text and web chat services to SMS marketing platforms. The company boasts an elite team of over 50 in house texting proficient programmers and testers, with a number of patent pending technologies.

Other services like Contact At Once & ActiveEngage front end products are also available, providing web chat services to customers. This is a different service to the customer texting afforded by Sales TextChat's other products, and provides an opportunity for customers to communicate throughout the buying process.

The new mass texting module benefits from a range of powerful SMS marketing features, including the ability to organize & schedule chat sessions and manage them in an intuitive way. Sales TextChat explains that the program offers picture, video, and document messaging, so staff can communicate with their customers through SMS and MMS messaging, and use images to upsell service projects, or use video to attract prospects to a specific car.

The mobile friendly agent to customer interface can be accessed on a company's desktop computers and staff's personal mobile phones, so they can reach out to their own customers through mobile, but the dealership will maintain the relationship with the lead as each salesperson will have their own dashboard to work with.

Previously to the release of the mass texting module, Sales TextChat launched a Car Finder App called AppLot, which interested parties can learn more about by contacting Roy Revill.

Sales TextChat explains that its cutting edge two way texting solution for auto dealers can also be used by other types of business, like real estate and furniture stores, where agents may need to communicate directly with customers and use the power of mobile to benefit their business.

For more information, please visit http://smsmoneymaker.com

Contact Info:

Name: Roy Revill

Organization: RY Enterprises

Address: 232 State Route 32 South #1

Phone: (845) 419-2120

Release ID: 137051

For more information visit r



Recent Press Releases By The Same User

Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)
Commission Express of Western NC Announces Successful Presentation At The 2016 NC Realtors Conference

Commission Express of Western NC introduced their services to 2016 NC REALTORS Conference attendees through a dedicated promotional strategy.

--

Prominent real estate commission advance franchisor Commission Express recently announced the promotional success of its Western NC affiliate at the 2016 NC REALTORS Conference. During the event, their booth saw an increased level of traffic thanks to the company's staff and specially produced materials chosen just for the market. All of this added to double digit increases in visits to the local franchise's website and a significant spike in potential client inquiries.

The 4 day event, held by the North Carolina Association of REALTORS, has become one of the region's top events for real estate agents. With seminars, meetings, auctions and special dinners, this yearly gathering offers top professionals, as well as newcomers in the field, a chance to grow their business opportunities. This year's event took place at the prestigious Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Guests were treated to complementary champagne toasts, outstanding gourmet dinners and educational sessions with industry leaders.

Open for just a few months, the Western NC franchise of Commission Express was thrilled to unveil their exciting services to a new community. Joseph Poveromo, franchisee, talked to reporters about being a part of the annual event. "Everyone here has been amazing. It's just been a great time meeting our friends and neighbors to discuss how we can help them meet their goals", Poveromo said. He later attended the organizations' general membership meeting to offer the company's support for NCAR's work with the real estate community.

To maximize their recognition, the team at Commission Express of Western NC used the national chapter's guidance to establish a promotional strategy to everyone at the company would be proud to use. A booth at the event's Expo was stocked with special pamphlets printed just for the event. Staffers were always on hand to give out merchandise and offer a friendly smile to attendees. "This is just the epitome of how our entire company approaches regional events", stated Commission Express' national President and CEO John Stedman during a recent interview. "We've even learned some fun ideas to pass along to other franchisees", the CEO continued.

Visit Commission Express of Western NC's Facebook page for more information on this gathering as well as future events.

About Commission Express of Western NC

This Commission Express franchise opened in the summer of 2016. Since then, it's been working with both new and established agents to provide financial advances on unsettled commissions. Locally owned and operated, this Joseph Poveromo led franchise is dedicated to providing fast, safe and convenient cash solutions. Clients can access their accounts through updated apps available through the App Store and Google Play.

For More Information About Commission Express of Western NC, visit www.westernnc.commissionexpress.com.

For more information, please visit http://www.commissionexpress.com

Contact Info:

Name: Sarah Hess

Organization: Commission Express

Address: 8306 Professional Hill Drive, Fairfax, VA 22031

Phone: 703-560-5500

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxkN-yYvI9Y

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/commission-express-of-western-nc-announces-successful-presentation-at-the-2016-nc-realtors-conference/136101

Release ID: 136101

For more information visit r



Recent Press Releases By The Same User

Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)
Kamloops Marriage Counselling Couples Relationship Therapy Report Launched

Kamloops therapy company, Crystal Clear Energy Medicine, have launched a new report into the benefits of marriage counselling for couples experiencing relationship crisis. It emphasizes the importance of seeking help early before problems become too advanced.

--

A new online report has been launched by a Kamloops based therapy company Crystal Clear Energy Medicine detailing the benefits of marriage counseling. This report is focused on the benefits of couples in the midst of a marriage crisis seeking the services of a marriage counselor versus not seeking help and the impact that has on their relationship.

For more information please visit: http://therapyrightnow.com.

Every couple experiences conflict at some point in their relationship and seeking help when this occurs is beneficial to building a stronger relationship. Research carried out recently found 93% of people surveyed felt that after receiving marriage therapy they felt they were better equipped for dealing with problems than before.

The sooner a couple seeks therapy the more likely a positive outcome will happen as relationship counseling early on prevents problems from becoming too advanced and the participants will be less likely to give up on the relationship.

The report states that marriage counseling helps couples work with their strengths and insights and uses emotional intelligence and communication skills to build a stronger relationship. It mentions that therapy is like a person taking a step back from themselves so they can see and communicate more clearly.

Marriage counseling can help couples break the cycle of power struggles and re-occurring arguments and issues that are not being adequately addressed and resolved. Therapy can teach a couple tools to get past these long term obstacles and are based on the couples strengths, weaknesses, fears and desires.

The report emphasizes that LGBTQ couples also benefit from marriage counseling as they have the same relationship issues as heterosexual couples but there are also unique aspects such as overcoming the narrowness of society and creating the life they choose adding different pressures on their relationships.

It mentions that blended families, where two singles parents of children come together, have their own unique sets of potential marital issues. These include separation anxiety, loyalty to a non resident parent and difficulty connecting to a parents new partner. These issues can cause strain in the parents relationship and therapy can help to resolve these issues in order to enjoy a harmonious family life.

For more information, please visit http://therapyrightnow.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Corinne Mackenzie

Organization: Crystal Clear Energy Medicine

Address: 750 Fortune Dr #32 Kamloops BC V2B 2L2

Phone: (250) 852-1580

Release ID: 137054

For more information visit r



Recent Press Releases By The Same User

Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)

Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17)
Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date, News & Update: Radical, Out Of This World & To Covet For; Shame Of Galaxy Note 7 Forgotten?

Recent news regarding the tech giant Samsung did not bode well for many days. Owing to the recalled Galaxy Note 7 devices, tech enthusiasts are now wary of the devices made by Samsung. However, claims have surfaced that Samsung will redeem itself with its new flagship, Samsung Galaxy S8.

Although there has been no word from tech giant regarding the details pertaining to Samsung Galaxy S8, rumors have already surfaced. For one, there are notions that the forthcoming device, would be radical, out of this world, extraordinary and a device to covet for.

There are even notions that with its release, the shame of the Galaxy Note 7 would be forgotten. Despite the promising notions, all of these remains unsettled. However, some rumored specs and features of the mighty Samsung Galaxy S8 looked stunning and promising, if ever it does materialized.

According to a report from BGR, Samsung Galaxy S8 would incorporate a new screen, along with new brand feature that were not used before. Also,kill rumors of Samsung eradicating the home button on the new Samsung Galaxy S8 phone and incorporate it into the display.

Other rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S8 phone are that it would be getting a 4K display able to support VR features and it might remove the headphone jack in the Galaxy S8 and equip it with a dual camera, as noted by the same post.

Additional report from the International Business Times relayed that the Samsung Galaxy S8 might be released within this year. However, there has been no precise details from Samsung about it as well.

For the tech enthusiasts, the release of Samsung Galaxy S8 would render a new era for the tech giant. With the Galaxy Note 7 in total disarray, some are hoping that Samsung Galaxy S8 would shift the tide in favor of Samsung and regain the company's honor once more.
'Doctor Who' Spinoff Air Date, News & Update: 'Class' - Coal Hill Students Left Alone To Fight Aliens, Time Travel Danger Impending?

Putting survival into one's hands is one of the resonating thoughts that come to mind in the beginning of the latest trailer of "Doctor Who" spinoff entitled "Class." The trailer of "Doctor Who" spinoff, "Class," reportedly premiered in the New York Comic-Con.

"Doctor Who" Spinoff Vs. "X-Men?"

It's hard not to notice the similarities in the plot of "Doctor Who" spinoff, "Class," and "X-Men." We are referring to the "X-Men" series where the mutants are still young and bunched up in one house. You get the picture, right?

"Doctor Who" spinoff, "Class," will feature the staff and students of Coal Hill Academy where strange things begin happening which threatens to change the whole course of humanity. The plot thickens when the students are left unsupervised and they are left with the possibility of time travel bringing fear and uncertainty to a whole new level.

Peter Capaldi, who plays the role of Doctor Who, makes his absence palpable as he is heard warning the students that he can't always be there when they need him. In the "Doctor Who" spinoff, "Class," the students are left with no choice but to fight and protect themselves in order to survive the threat brought about by evil aliens.

The students will find themselves at a high risk of encountering and fending off all the evil creatures that Peter Capaldi has been fighting ever since he embraced the strange things happening in his life. There are four students who will be the main characters in "Doctor Who" spinoff, "Class" - Tanya, Ram, April and Charlie. The Physics teacher, Miss Quill, will also take part as the students' guardian.

Catch the premiere of "Doctor Who" spinoff, "Class," on Oct. 22. A "Doctor Who" Christmas special is also in the works featuring Peter Capaldi and Doctor Mysterio on the quest to save New York from aliens. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more "Doctor Who" spinoff news and update!
'Fallout Shelter' 2016 Latest News & Updates: Bethesda Releases Update For Vault Dwellers - Holiday Themes, New Quests For Limited Time!

"Fallout Shelter" is about to borrow the spotlight from its counterpart, "Fallout 4," as Bethesda is scheduled to release a massive update for the former. The latest update for "Fallout Shelter" is said to be majorly comprised of spooky add-ons.

The vault dwellers who have been existing since the release of "Fallout Shelter" last summer, can expect spooky goodies and holiday delights from Bethesda. Players can gain access to new rooms as well as fresh room themes. Aside from that, Bethesda also created brand new quests for the vault dwellers.

"Fallout Shelter" Featuring "Fallout 4" Allegiance

In a subtle yet very keen marketing move, Bethesda has managed to incorporate "Fallout 4" in the latest update of "Fallout Shelter." The players can decorate the new rooms based on their "Fallout 4" allegiances.

The players can choose among the four "Fallout 4" factions - Insitute, Brotherhood of Steel, Railroad and Minutemen. Of course, the designs will not be easy to get as the players have to go on quests to collect recipes for the said themes to be crafted.

"Fallout Shelter" - Wasteland Has Never Been This Good

The survivors of the apocalyptic survival game will have all new quests to enjoy and partake. Aside from special and limited Holiday-themed quests, the dwellers in "Fallout Shelter" will also get a chance to find neat upgrades as they course along the Wasteland.

Bethesda will also include in the latest "Fallout Shelter" update holiday festivities for the little humans in the vault. Appropriate themes for Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving are in store for the players who will grab the "Fallout Shelter" latest update.

"Fallout Shelter" has been the darling of the strategic games ever since it was released in 2015. The latest "Fallout Shelter" updates not only serve as eye-candy for the Android, iOs and PC players, but serve as an entertaining addition to the vintage-themed apocalyptic game. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more "Fallout Shelter" news and updates!
Surface Pro 5, Surface Book 2 2016 News & Update: Won't Be Arriving This Year, Microsoft To Release Surface AIO Desktop Instead

Great news for those who are keeping an eye out for Microsoft's new releases, as a new Surface AIO desktop is seemingly on its way to retailers soon. Apparently, the tech giant will unveil the details in an upcoming event this month.

The Verge reports that later this month, we'll see Microsoft hold a special event in New York City, where they will showcase their newest offerings for Windows 10 and their Surface products. Fans are also expecting the company to shed light on Xbox developments, Surface hardware, and Windows 10 software updates.

What's exciting about the upcoming Microsoft event is that they will be announcing the arrival of the Surface AIO desktop. In fact, details on the Surface-branded keyboards and a mouse have been leaked, indicated that the reveal is indeed happening during the October 26 event.

For those who are looking to purchase the Surface Pro 5, Surface Book 2 2016, however, it seems that you'll definitely have to wait a little longer, as these devices won't be arriving this year. What Microsoft is looking to do this time, however, is to release the Surface AIO desktop this month instead.

Now that we know the Surface Pro 5, Surface Book 2 2016 aren't arriving this year, we'll have to make do with Microsoft's two major software updates in 2017. Of course, there's also the release of the SUrface AOI desktop this month, which will feature a Surface-branded keyboard, as per ARS Technica. The keyboard features a non-ergonomic design that to be honest looks very much like a Mac keyboard.

There's also the Bluetooth mouse that looks very much like its predecessor, the Designer Mouse. This will run on three AAA batteries. As per the overall Surface AIO desktop, it seems that the system will have a separate modules to keep processors, memory, storage, and other hardware.

It's too bad that the Surface Pro 5, Surface Book 2 2016 won't be arriving this month, but fans should indeed look forward to the unveiling of the Surface AIO desktop this October 26 during the Microsoft event in New York City.
MacBook Pro 2016 Release Date, News & Update: Laptop to Arrive in November; Powerful Processor, Impressive Specs & Features Confirmed!

When the iPhone 7 was launched by Apple last month, many people expected the company to introduce some of its upcoming releases at the same time. However, the Cupertino based company decided to skip some of its highly anticipated devices including the new MacBook Pro 2016. Nonetheless, new reports have emerged suggesting that the much awaited laptop will finally come out in November along with the new iMac 2016 and MacBook Air 2016.

Although the company has yet to provide concrete details about the rumored release date, industry experts believe that Apple will unveil the new MacBook Pro 2016 during its quarterly earnings call at the end of October. Apple is said to be working on bringing its sales back to the top as the company suffered major losses in 2016. Apparently, Apple only has revenue of $47.5 billion this year compared to its $51.5 billion during the same time in 2015.

The new MacBook Pro 2016 is said to be the new flagship laptop of Apple as the company is rumored to discontinue the MacBook Air brand. However, this report has yet to be confirmed by the company and speculations are also rife suggesting that the American tech giant may release a new MacBook Air device before the year ends.

According to a report by Mac World, the new MacBook Pro 2016 is not going to be the thinnest laptop in the market; however, it will definitely come out slimmer and lighter than its predecessor. The new portable computer will certainly come out with an OLED touch bar, which is said to replace the traditional function keys right above the keyboard. There is also the element of surprise as to what processor Apple will use on the new MacBook Pro laptop. There are speculations suggesting that the company might go with the new Kaby Lake from Intel; however, the chipset will not be available until late this year.

Stay tuned for more news and updates about the upcoming MacBook Pro 2016. According to reports, more significant information will be announced by Apple before its rumored Oct. 27 unveiling.
Fear The Walking Dead Season 3 Spoilers, News & Update: Daniel Salazar Not Dead? Nick Clark, A Whisperer? Show Runners Reveal Details!

"Fear The Walking Dead" Season 3 has more exciting things to unfold for its fans according to show runner Dave Erickson. In an interview, Erickson talked about things we can expect from the third sequel including a character that we thought was already dead, Daniel Salazar.

Daniel's death has a lot to do with the character of Ofelia. She has been after all been under lock and key. She has been obliged by her parents to follow the lie that the family has been living with for the last 20 to 25 years.

The show runner revealed that in his mind, Daniel will always come back some time in the future. His character was someone who bears the essence of forgiveness and later on judgment. Does this mean that we got to see Daniel in "Fear The Walking Dead" Season 3? After all, viewers did not see him die on screen.

Meanwhile, Robert Kirkman, the creator of "The Walking Dead," talked about how its show could be linked to "Fear The Walking Dead" Season 3. During the New York Comic-Con, Kirkman was asked if Nick will be a Whisperer, but he simply answered "no comment."

Nick Clark, portrayed by Frank Dillane, have been walking unnoticed among the undead with a smear of blood. This technique he uses to get him to different places. If Nick was indeed a Whisperer, the Colonia group could have travelled to Rick's place all the way from Tijuana. Colonia also uses Nick's technique to live peacefully until another group came and attacked them. Nick was able to help them escape and travel towards the border unnoticed by the undead. Will Nick be one of the Whisperer in "Fear The Walking Dead" Season 3?

Stay tuned to GameNGuide for the latest news and update of "Fear The Walking Dead" Season 3 which will return on 2017.
Rotary got started in Long Beach in 1917 when seven local businessmen met with a New York Rotarian who talked about his club there.
What is the Sabbath and why is it important? In this article, I will use the word Sabbath instead of Sunday because various faiths celebrate the Sabbath on different days.

In the Old Testament, we read, Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. In Hebrew, Sabbath means rest. God himself rested on the seventh period of creation. The prophet Isaiah called the Sabbath a delight. Jesus Christ said, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Could the Sabbath be a gift from God who knows of our need for a break from daily work and a rejuvenation of mind, body and soul?

In the past, the Sabbath was a day different from the other six days of the week. One of my ancestors, Cornelis Melyn, lost his patronship of Staten Island because he didnt attend church as frequently as was required back in the 1600s. Growing up in Corvallis in the 50s and 60s, Sunday was a unique day. Most stores were closed, people attended worship services, and sporting events were not held. Now, it is often difficult to differentiate the Sabbath from any other day.

Though I dont feel keeping the Sabbath is something to enforce on others, I do believe weve lost the benefits of a Sabbath when it is unrecognizable from other weekdays. But what was Gods purpose when He asked us to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy? Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985), a former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave these suggestions:

The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. It is a day in which to worship and to express our gratitude and appreciation to the Lord. It is a day when bodies may rest, minds relax, and spirits grow. It is a day when man may climb high, almost annihilating time, space, and distance between himself and his Creator.

Members of the LDS church are encouraged to visit the sick, attend church, partake of the sacrament, study the scriptures and good books, write in ones journal, research family history, and, if possible, refrain from shopping, attending events such as movies, and employment while being mindful that law enforcement, fire prevention, and health care services are needed daily. Members of the LDS Church are in no way experts at keeping the Sabbath, but many strive to remember this day as a covenant between themselves and God. We believe that blessings come by keeping the Sabbath day holy.

There is an increase in news articles discussing the need for a day or period of rest in the hectic lives of most Americans. Studies show that we are working more and sleeping less, resulting in stress, isolation, and physical ailments. Technology prevents us from disconnecting from the world. No wonder our bodies are craving emotional and physical benefits that come from a day of rest.

When my husband was in medical school, we had three small children and limited finances. It was a stressful time. Together we decided that he would forgo studying on the Sabbath. During those four years, I knew he would be home on Sunday, helping with the children, attending church as a family, and providing emotional support. He looked forward to a break from books and the library and discovered that his grades did not suffer. That decision was one of the best we ever made. Writing this article has renewed a personal commitment to seek out restful and uplifting activities on the Sabbath and reconnect more deeply with family and Jesus Christ.
A 23-year-old Corvallis man is facing charges of rape and sexual abuse in connection with incidents dating back to December 2014.

Isaac James Granberry, who was indicted by a Benton County grand jury on Sept. 30, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree rape and four counts of second-degree sexual abuse in connection with several incidents in December 2014 and January 2015 involving a female Oregon State University student who was underage at the time.

Granberry has been held in the Benton County Jail since Sept. 30.

On Friday during a release hearing in the case, Benton County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Donohue granted a request to have Granberrys security reduced from $400,000 to $50,000. Donohue noted during the hearing that he was granting the request as the accusations are related to incidents from more than 19 months ago and that Granberry had had no contact with the alleged victim in between.

Donohue told Granberry during the hearing that if he were to be released on bail, it would be a zero tolerance release given the nature of the accusations.

If Granberry posts security, he is required to not have any contact with the alleged victim or her family or her home and he is not to be on OSUs campus. Granberry, who is originally from Eugene, also will be required to stay at an address in Corvallis and not leave the state.

Granberrys defense attorney, Brett Jaspers, indicated during the hearing that it was likely that Granberry would be able to post the $5,000 required to be released on bail.

Before the judge ruled, the alleged victim told the court that she would fear for her safety if Granberry was granted release.

According to information agreed to by both the prosecution and defense, Granberry and the alleged victim had been in a relationship in 2014 while she was attending OSU. But the parties disagreed Friday on whether there was consent to sex during the relationship.

Amie Matusko, assistant district attorney for Benton County, said that Granberry has been accused of first-degree rape by means of forcible compulsion in connection with a January 2015 incident. Forcible compulsion requires a lack of consent. First-degree rape is a Measure 11 crime and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 100 months in prison.

Jaspers said Friday that there was no physical evidence or supporting evidence in the case against his client. Jaspers also expressed concerns with what he called the long delay in the case, as the state was made aware of the accusations in March 2015, when the alleged victim reported the incidents.

Matusko said Friday that the timing of the charges related to a follow-up investigation that concluded in June and that the case was soon after presented to a grand jury.

Granberry is a former OSU student. In 2013, while Granberry was still attending OSU, he was involved in an incident in which he rushed out of his apartment with a cane sword to protect a woman he believed to be in distress.
A Corvallis-area couple are urging people not to be fooled after they were targeted by a scam artist.

Merle Cleary told the Gazette-Times she received a phone call Friday morning from a man in West Virginia who told her she had won $50,000 and a new Mercedes-Benz.

He knew me by name, she said: Mrs. Cleary, how are you?

But there was a catch: The man instructed her to go to her local Wal-Mart and use the stores money transfer service to send him $350 to cover the costs of shipping. Then, he said, she would get the cash and the car.

Cleary and her husband, Bert, were suspicious, so they shared heir concerns with a staffer at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Corvallis, who told them to keep their money. Corvallis police told them the same thing.

The couple say theyre glad they didnt get ripped off, but they want other area residents to be on the lookout as well.

Bert Cleary adds hes considering exacting a small measure of revenge from the caller, who left a call-back number with his wife.

Im tempted to call that guy and tell him as soon as he hands me the keys to that Mercedes, Ill be happy to write him a check, he said.
This log includes incidents in which there might have been a public disturbance or a risk to the public. Information comes from the Corvallis Police Department, Oregon State Police and Benton County Sheriff's Office. It does not include all calls for service. The status of incidents might change after further investigation. Locations are approximate. People arrested or suspected in crimes are considered innocent until proven otherwise.

Corvallis Police Department

FRIDAY, OCT. 7

DUII: 1:40 a.m., Northwest Harrison Boulevard and First Street. An officer stopped a car after a report of an impaired driver. The driver, Miriam Kay Robinson, 27, no address listed, was arrested and charged with DUII. She had a reported blood alcohol content of 0.20 percent. She was later booked, cited and released from the Benton County Jail.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5

ID THEFT: 4:34 p.m., 6300 block of Southwest Grand Oaks Drive. A woman reported to police that her ex-boyfriend opened three credit cards while she was out of the country between 2012 and this year charging about $7,000 between the three cards. The woman declined to pursue charges.

Benton County Sheriff's Office

SATURDAY, OCT. 1

STOLEN ATM: 10:09 a.m., 4829 N.W. Highway 20, Albany. A deputy responded to a report of an ATM machine found on the north side of the railroad tracks. The machine was later transported to the Albany Police Department for evidence storage. The case was turned over to the Albany Police Department.
Salafist movement : State parliament wants to ban Koran distribution

Dusseldorf/Bonn Parties are demanding Salafist groups are stopped from carrying out what they see as a jihadist recruitment campaign.

Teilen

Teilen Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Tweeten

Tweeten Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Drucken

The North Rhine Westphalia state parliament is demanding tough national action against the controversial distribution of the Koran in many city centres. SPD, CDU, FDP and the Greens said in a joint motion that the activities of the Lies! (which means Read in German) network should be halted immediately. The Liberals initiated the motion and their party deputy Joachim Stamp justified the move saying: Under the pretext of handing out the Koran, Lies! is trying to recruit young people to the jihad, to radicalise them and to exploit them as suicide terrorists. The Pirate Party did not support the motion.

While the state may not decide whether to ban the distribution of the Koran, North Rhine Westphalia is increasing the pressure on Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maiziere (CDU) to stop this salafist campaign in Germany. State politicians believe there are various criminal organisations behind the network of distributors. NRW Interior Minister Ralf Jager (SPD) said, on the one hand, the distribution was an overt, anti-constitutional extremist campaign intended to win over young people to the Salafist movement and was about hatred, violence and terrorism. On the other hand, money was earned through the Koran initiatives and was not being taxed.

The head of the network, the Islamic preacher Ibrahim Abou-Nagie, initially set up a German private company called Lies but later replaced this with an English company Read-lies. State politicians believe this is a strategy to hide profit.

The Bonn-based group Die wahre Religion (The true religion) is behind the Lies! campaign. Islamic experts have long seen it as part of the jihadist network. It was also behind the riots in Lannesdorf on 5 May 2012, when 29 police were injured, some seriously, by rioting extremists. Several participants went to Syria and Somalia to join the jihad. Murat K., known as the Lannesdorf stabber must remain in prison until July 2018.
Vodafone Offers: How to Get FREE 1GB 4G Data with Just an SMS Features oi -Abhinaya Prabhu

Earlier this week, Vodafone was in the headlines for offering 10 GB 4G data at the price of just 1 GB that is around Rs. 250 depending on the circle you belong to.

Now, Vodafone has come up with another offer. The service provider is offering free 1 GB of 4G data for the users in select circles. All that the users have to do is just send a message and receive 1 GB of free 4G data.

Also Read: Vodafone Offers 1 GB 4G Data at JUST Rs. 25 to Combat Reliance Jio

Note that this plan has a few terms and conditions associated with it. It is a trial promotional offer that is available for select Vodafone 4G circles. Take a look at how you can avail this offer from here.

Also Read: Reliance Jio vs Airtel vs Vodafone vs Idea 10 GB 4G Data Offers

Just send an SMS If you belong to a 4G circle of Vodafone that is eligible for this offer, you need to send a text message as 'GET 4G' from your Vodafone 4G SIM card to 144. Your number will get 1 GB 4G data Instantly, you will get a message from the service that they have received your request and you will get 1 GB of 4G data for free in your account. However, it is based on the eligibility of your smartphone and Vodafone 4G SIM card. Its valid only for 3 days Though Vodafone is giving 1 GB of free 4G data to select users, you need to remember that this trail promotional offer is valid only for 3 days from the day its activated. So you have just 3 days to use up the 1 GB of data that your account is credited with. Click here to get to know about 4G smartphones in the market Its only for prepaid users Another notable point is that this Vodafone trail promotional offer that offers 1 GB of free 4G data to the Vodafone 4G users in select states is applicable only for the prepaid users. So, if you are a postpaid user, you cannot avail this offer. Prepaid users have another offer too! The Vodafone 4G prepaid users have another offer too to enjoy free Vodafone 4G data. Well, you can recharge your number for 1 GB of 4G data that is approximately Rs. 250 based on your circle and get additional 9 GB of 4G data for free. But the only condition is that this free data that you receive can be used only as night data between 12 AM and 6 AM.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications
U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

No. NR-354-16 October 07, 2016

Readout of Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work's meetings in Helsinki, Finland

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Gordon Trowbridge provided the following readout:



Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work held a series of meetings today in Helsinki, Finland, as part of ongoing U.S. efforts to strengthen bilateral and multilateral security relationships with the nations of the Nordic-Baltic region.

Deputy Secretary Work met with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto to thank him for Finland's contributions to the counter-ISIL campaign, peacekeeping operations, and regional security. They discussed ways to continue building the strong, deep and lasting security partnership between the United States and Finland.

Work and Minister of Defense Jussi Niinisto met to sign a bilateral statement of intent that formalizes our two nations' shared desire to cooperate on issues of mutual interest. Deputy Secretary Work and Minister Niinisto discussed steps to implement the statement of intent, which lays a foundation for stronger partnership between the United States and Finland through mechanisms such as sharing of security information and expanded joint training and exercises.

Deputy Secretary Work also participated in the third of a series of multilateral meetings with Nordic-Baltic nations. Building on previous meetings held in Oslo, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden, delegations from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and the United States discussed several issues of shared interest. The meeting included an update on NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence effort on its eastern flank, the U.S. European Reassurance Initiative, security challenges in the Baltic Sea region, the status of the campaign to defeat ISIL and opportunities to strengthen security and stability in the region.

Deputy Secretary Work concluded his visit with a first-of-its-kind trilateral meeting with Finnish Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Defense Jukka Juusti and Swedish State Secretary for Defense Jan Salestrand. The three discussed ways to build on strong bilateral ties among our nations, and agreed to additional trilateral sessions at a working level in Washington later this year.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/968234/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

No. NR-353-16 October 07, 2016

Navy to Commission Amphibious Transport Dock John P. Murtha

The Navy will commission the amphibious transport dock ship John P. Murtha (LPD 26), Saturday, Oct. 8, during a 10 a.m. EDT ceremony at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia.

The ship is named in honor of John P. Murtha, who served his country both as a Marine and in the halls of congress. Murtha served in the Marine Corps for 37 years and saw service in the Korean War and in Vietnam, a tour that earned him the Bronze Star with Valor device, two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Murtha represented Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District from 1974 until his death in 2010.

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Donna Murtha, daughter of the former congressman and the ship's sponsor, will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!" in accordance with naval tradition.

"This ship honors a man who dedicated his entire adult life to service - service as a Marine and as a member of Congress. This dedication to service will live on in the USS John P. Murtha as it serves as a symbol of all Chairman Murtha believed in," said the Honorable Ray Mabus, secretary of the Navy. "This ceremony also represents the dedication to service demonstrated by the men and women who have worked so diligently in building this ship and their efforts will help us to continue to grow the fleet to more than 300 ships by the end of this decade."

Designated LPD 26, John P. Murtha is the tenth amphibious transport dock ship in the San Antonio class. These versatile ships incorporate both a flight deck to accommodate CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters and MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, as well as a well deck that can launch and recover landing craft and amphibious vehicles. The San Antonio class's increased vehicle space and substantial cargo carrying capacity make it a key element of 21st century amphibious ready groups, expeditionary strike groups, and joint task forces.

John P. Murtha will provide improved warfighting capabilities, including an advanced command-and-control suite, increased lift capability, in vehicle and cargo carrying capacity and advanced ship survivability features. The ship is capable of embarking a landing force of up to 669 troops and a surge capacity of up to 800.

The ship will be crewed by 381 officers, enlisted personnel and Marines. The 24,900-ton John P. Murtha was built at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The ship is 684 feet in length, has an overall beam of 105 feet, and a navigational draft of 23 feet. Four turbo-charged diesel engines power the ship to sustained speeds of 22 knots.

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at 703-697-5342. For additional information about this class of ship, please visit the Navy Fact File at http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=600&ct=4.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/968004/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Government of Egypt - Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) for AH-64E Apache, UH-60 Blackhawks, and CH-47 Chinook Helicopters

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 16-49

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2016 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Egypt for Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) for AH-64E Apache, UH-60 Blackhawks, and CH-47 Chinook Helicopters and related equipment, training, and support. The estimated cost is $81.4 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on October 6, 2016.

The Government of Egypt has requested a possible sale of:

Major Defense Equipment (MDE):

Sixty-seven (67) AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS).

This request also includes the following Non-MDE: OCONUS Installation/Integration, Installation Mounting Kits, Countermeasure Dispenser Test Set AN/ALM-294, Technical Assistance, U.S. Government Training and OCONUS Contractor Training, publications and technical documents, quality assurance and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated cost is $81.4 million.

This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a strategic partner that has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.

The proposed sale of the CMWS will equip the Egyptian Air Force's fleet of multimission helicopters with a detection system for infrared missile threats. Egypt will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractors will be BAE Systems and DynCorp. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of two (2) U.S. Government and two (2) contractor representatives to Egypt to support delivery of such equipment, installation and integration, maintenance and to provide technical support and equipment familiarization. Additionally, this program will require multiple trips involving U.S. Government and contractor personnel to participate in technical reviews, training and installation.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Joint Humanitarian Assistance Survey Team Showcases Capability

US Marine Corps News

By Maj. Roger Hollenbeck | October 7, 2016

The image most have of the military centers around strength and winning battles. The military, however, and specifically the 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, boasts some very impressive abilities during a humanitarian crisis.

During Philippine Amphibious Landing Exercise 33, the Joint Humanitarian Assistance Survey Team, the command team and leader for the United States military response during times of crisis, organized and flew on MV-22 Ospreys from Okinawa, Japan, to Manila, Philippines, to exercise their ability to work together as a team. Once in the Philippines, the team went to work with members of the Philippine Marine Corps to walk through what steps are needed to support relief requirements during a real-world situation.

"The JHAST works with the affected country, the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) to frame how specific military capabilities can be used to assist in a crisis. In recent years we have activated the JHAST during exercise Balikatan in the Philippines as a drill, but actually used those capabilities to support large scale relief operations during Super Typhoon Yolanda here in 2013," said Col. Mike Wylie, the operations-officer for the 3d MEB and member of the JHAST.

"Once it was determined that assistance was needed after the storm, within four hours Ospreys from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa arrived to support the Government of the Philippines' disaster relief operations. The unique ability of the MV-22s allowed them to evacuate more than 1,200 people while delivering over 20 tons of supplies."

The mission to deploy the JHAST comes from the MEB's higher headquarters at U.S. Pacific Command, which flows to Marine Forces Pacific and III Marine Expeditionary Force who tasks the MEB to go to the disaster and begin organizing support.

The team is made up mostly of MEB Marines and Sailors, with expertise in operations, planning, logistics and law to name a few. The team has an OFDA representative and additional enablers from the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force to help synchronize each service's unique inventory.

"Being able to demonstrate the United States' desire to provide assets and manpower to a nation in need is truly incredible. The helping hand of the military, rarely showcased, is one of the most powerful and life changing capabilities we have in our arsenal," Wylie said.

In the last decade, the United States has provided military forces to aid the Philippines in relief operations seven times.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Returns to Full Operational Capability

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS161007-05

Release Date: 10/7/2016 9:21:00 AM

By Julie Ann Ripley, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (NNS) -- Naval Station Guantanamo Bay returned to full operational capability Oct. 6, and offers sincerest condolences to those in Haiti and other areas affected by Hurricane Matthew.

Initial assessments of the installation found no significant damage, and no injuries were reported. Erosion was determined to be the most extensive issue along the beaches, including Ferry Landing.

Commanding Officer Captain David Culpepper's principal consideration remains the safety and well-being of all residents as the naval station returned to Condition of Readiness (COR) 5. Personnel sheltered at the station have returned home and are resuming their duties. Plans are being made for the return of family, friends, and colleagues.

Though the station was not significantly damaged, debris, deep water silting, and erosion are impediments to resuming normal operations. Landing craft utility (LCUs) are operating on the normal ferry schedule today, but vehicles are not permitted due to the sea state. Ferry services will not resume until the sea state allows safe transit.

The base's piers are able to accommodate ships, providing select services. The airfield has reopened and scheduled flights are recommencing. Friday's rotator was cancelled, and previously ticketed passengers will be rescheduled to Tuesday's flight.

Though business hours may be limited until all personnel return to the base, other facilities that have resumed normal service include Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, all galleys, Child

Development Center, Youth Center, Library, Downtown and Marine Hill Lyceums, Denich Fitness Center, Camp Bulkeley Gym, Windjammer, Pizza Hut, Bowling Alley, O'Kelly's, Triple C and the Jerk House.

Facilities remaining closed until further notice include the Windjammer Pool, Marine Hill Pool and Splash Pad, and Camp Bulkeley Lyceum.

Naval Station residents can monitor FM 102.1, FM 103.1, Channel 4 or the NAVSTA Facebook page for further information.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






PAC SAG ships USS Decatur and USS Spruance visit Hong Kong

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS161007-04

Release Date: 10/7/2016 9:09:00 AM

By Petty Officer 3rd Class Gerald DudleyReynolds, Navy Public Affairs Support Element

HONG KONG (NNS) -- The guided-missile destroyers USS Decatur (DDG 73) and USS Spruance (DDG 111) arrived in Hong Kong for a regularly scheduled port visit Oct. 7-11.

U.S. Navy ships have visited Hong Kong for decades, most recently by the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and the amphibious transport dock USS Green Bay (LPD 20). While in port, the Decatur and Spruance crews will have the opportunity to experience Hong Kong through sightseeing, community relations projects and other Morale, Welfare and Recreation-sponsored events.

Decatur, Spruance and the embarked helicopter detachment of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 49 are part of a U.S. 3rd Fleet Pacific Surface Action Group (PAC SAG), operating under Commander, Destroyer Squadron 31 (CDS 31). USS Momsen (DDG 92) and the embarked helicopter detachment of HSM 49 are also members of the PAC SAG.

"We have had the luxury of visiting and exploring various Indo-Asian cultures during our time in the region and we are looking forward to experiencing what Hong Kong has to offer," said Capt. Charles Johnson, commander, Destroyer Squadron 31. "We are thankful for the opportunity for our crews to learn about its history and experience the energy of this great city."

Under the operational control of U.S. 3rd Fleet, the PAC SAG conducts routine patrols, maritime security operations and theater security cooperation activities with allies and partners to enhance regional security and stability. Since deploying in April, the PAC SAG has conducted multilateral exercises with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, Republic of Korea Navy and joint exercises with the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps assets.

Momsen also began their portion of the deployment participating in the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI). OMSI is a Secretary of Defense program that uses Department of Defense assets transiting the region to increase the Coast Guard's maritime domain awareness, ultimately supporting its maritime law enforcement operations in Oceania.

U.S. 3rd Fleet leads naval forces in the Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy. U.S. 3rd Fleet works constantly with U.S. 7th Fleet. The forces of both fleets complement one another across the spectrum of military operations in the Pacific.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Pakistani MPs condemn India's 'use of force' in Kashmir

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 3:53PM

Pakistan's parliament has unanimously passed a resolution denouncing the "brutal use of force" by Indian army troops in Kashmir.

On Friday, Pakistani lawmakers called on the international community to carry out an independent investigation into "gross human rights violations" in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir.

The resolution said Kashmir was not an integral part of India.

Kashmir lies at the heart of a bitter territorial dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent and partitioned in 1947. Both neighbors claim the region in full, but have partial control over it.

Tensions erupted in Kashmir when mass protests began over the killing of a pro-independence figure in early July. Thousands of Indian government troops have been deployed to Indian-controlled Kashmir and over 80 people have lost their lives in the ensuing crackdown.

The Pakistani parliamentarians also dismissed allegations by the Indian government against Islamabad that Pakistan was involved in a militant attack on an Indian base that left 17 Indian soldiers dead in September.

New Delhi accused Pakistani-based militants of being behind the September 18 attack. Islamabad has denied the accusation.

The parliamentary resolution also accused India of "sponsoring terrorism" in Pakistan.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Philippines says joint drills with US put on hold

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 2:21PM

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana says plans for joint patrols and naval exercises with the United States in the disputed South China Sea have been put on hold.

The move is the first concrete break in defense cooperation after months of diplomatic tension between Manila and Washington.

Lorenzana said on Friday that his country would call for Washington to pull out over one hundred US troops involved in operating surveillance drones in southern Philippines. The defense secretary said, however, the pullout would take place once Manila acquired intelligence-gathering capabilities.

The Filipino defense chief said President Rodrigo Duterte sought to halt the 28 military exercises that are conducted annually with US forces.

Duterte has said that he wants an ongoing US-Philippine amphibious beach landing exercise to be the last in his six-year term as he backs away from what he views as too much dependence on Washington.

"This year would be the last," Duterte said of the joint military exercises in a speech Friday in the southern city of Davao.

Duterte, a former mayor of Davao, won the presidency in May, promising to suppress crime and wipe out drugs and drug dealers in three to six months.

More than 3,500 people, or about 47 per day, have been killed during his tenure over the past months in connection with the illegal drugs trade, nearly two thirds by unknown assailants and the rest in legitimate police operations, according to local police.

In reaction to the West's criticism of his anti-drug campaign, Duterte said on Thursday if the United States and the European Union objected to his campaign against drugs and wished to withdraw aid, they should do so, and the Philippines would not beg.

Elsewhere in his Friday remarks, the Filipino defense minister said Manila could manage even without Washington's aid.

The Filipino defense chief said that his country intended to buy arms from other countries such as China and Russia.

"We can live without (that)," Lorenzana told a foreign correspondents' forum.

According to US State Department spokesman John Kirby, the total US assistance to the Philippines in the fiscal year that began on October 1 was $180 million.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Nobel Peace Prize goes to Colombia President for FARC peace deal

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 11:21AM

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to seal a landmark peace agreement with the country's largest rebel group, although it was rejected in a post-deal referendum.

The Norwegian Nobel committee confers the accolade to 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, during the awarding ceremony in the Norwegian capital of Oslo on Friday.

Santos signed the deal with the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Rodrigo Londono, better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, in the Caribbean city of Cartagena on September 26.

On Sunday, however, a national referendum narrowly nixed the accord, deciding that the pact was too soft on the guerillas and should be renegotiated.

The decades-long conflict with the central government has left as many as 260,000 people dead, more than six million others displaced, while 45,000 others are still missing.

"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," said 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 the FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono continue to respect the ceasefire," she added.

Santos, though, has promised to revive the peace plan.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, American counterpart John Kerry, and the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini had been nominated among 376 people for the award due to their contribution to the conclusion last year of Tehran's landmark nuclear accord with world powers.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Riyadh using starvation as tactic against people of Yemen, Saudi Arabia: UN

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 11:5AM

The United Nations (UN) says Riyadh is using starvation as a tactic in its ongoing war against Yemen as well as against the Shia population inside Saudi Arabia itself.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child made the declaration in a scathing report on Saudi rights violations in Yemen and inside Saudi Arabia.

The UN watchdog said children in the minority Shia communities inside Saudi Arabia continue to be subject to discrimination with regard to access to food, school, and justice.

The UN committee also rapped Saudi Arabia over a wide range of rights violations against children, including executing, stoning, flogging, and amputating them.

The UN body urged Riyadh to repeal laws that are lenient on the sexual abuse of children as well as their incarceration in solitary confinement.

Eighteen independent experts from the committee expressed deep concern in the report that Riyadh "still does not recognize 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 experts also harshly criticized Riyadh for its airstrikes on Yemen, which have killed and maimed hundreds of children.

A 10-year-old Yemeni girl has, meanwhile, spoken to Press TV of the ordeal of children in Yemen.

Yara'a Mutwakli, who has posted a video online appealing to the world for an end to the Saudi war on her country, told Press TV that the increasing number of deaths in Yemen prompted her to post the video.

She said Yemeni students begin the new academic year with fear and anxiety as Saudi Arabia continues to indiscriminately drop bombs across the country.

"We cannot go to school. We are scared when we go to school. Like on Saturday, there really happened a big bombing beside the school. We had to be in the basement. We were really scared," Mutwakli told a Press TV correspondent.

Meanwhile, the latest Saudi airstrike in Yemen has killed two civilians at a market in Hudaydah Province.

Several others were injured in the attack, which also inflicted widespread damage to numerous buildings and destroyed several cars in the area.

Separately, several people are feared dead in Saudi bombardment of the port city of Mokha over the past hours.

Reports say Riyadh has intensified its air raids on Mokha and Hudaydah ever since Yemeni forces targeted in a missile attack an Emirati ship aiding the Saudi invaders last week.

Some 10,000 people have so far been killed in the Saudi war on Yemen, according to the United Nations (UN).

The war launched in an unsuccessful attempt to restore power to Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a Saudi ally who has resigned as Yemen's president but seeks to forcefully return to power.

The war has done incredible harm both to the civilian population in the country as well as its critical infrastructure.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Philippines says wants liberation from US shackles

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 6:22AM

The president of the Philippines says the US and the EU can stop aid to his country if they wanted, while his foreign minister says Manila wants to break free from a "shackling dependency" on Washington.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday told the United States and the European Union that if they were unhappy with his drugs war, they could withdraw their assistance to his country.

"Do not understand me and if you think it is high time for you to withdraw your assistance, go ahead. We will not beg for it," he told the US and the EU, referring to their criticism of his anti-drug campaign.

Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana gave weight to Duterte's comments while speaking at a foreign correspondents' forum in Manila on Friday.

"I think we can live without [US] aid. Our congress is actually giving us money now for the procurement of equipment. I believe they will give us more if we don't have a source of other funds," he said.

The West has criticized the campaign which has killed more than 3,000 people but latest polls have shown Filipinos overwhelmingly endorsed Duterte's war on crime.

Duterte has already called for a withdrawal of US troops from his country and has said annual joint drills with the US would not be held from next year anymore.

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay defended the president's stance, saying Duterte wants to liberate the Philippines from a "shackling dependency" on the United States.

Yasay said Manila is "compelled to realign" its foreign policy and not submit to US demands and interests any more.

"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."

The top diplomat stressed that "America has failed us" and has never fully respected the sovereignty of the Philippines since it gained independence from the US about 70 years ago.

Yasay said that the Philippines would seek to engage with China, and would be mindful of the lessons it had learned from being too close to Washington.

"Our past mistakes in fostering and strengthening our friendship with our white big brother will be instructive for this purpose," he said.

Asked about the ongoing criticism from Manila, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was "mindful of the rhetoric."

A survey released on Thursday signaled a huge jump in support from the May elections, which Duterte won but with just 37.6 percent of the votes.

According to the poll by Social Weather Stations, 76 percent of Filipinos are "satisfied" with Duterte's performance against just 11 percent of people who are "dissatisfied".

"I would like to just give an advice to all the human rights (critics) shouting now, local or international, I said you can all go to hell for it is never wrong for a president and the police and the military to protect its citizens," Duterte said.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






22 soldiers killed in attack on Malian refugee camp in Niger

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 5:38AM

More than 20 soldiers in Niger have been killed in an attack by gunmen on a camp for Malian refugees in the West African country.

Prime Minister Brigi Rafini said the attack occurred in the western Tahoua region on Thursday.

"We received information of an attack on the camp in Tassalit," Rafini said. "For the moment we are told there are 22 dead, but that is not a total death toll."

A local official said the attackers targeted a military post near the refugee camp, adding three soldiers were also wounded.

The camp sheltered a group of Malians who fled to neighboring Niger after militants, some of them linked to al-Qaeda, seized a desert in northern Mali four years ago.

France, a former colonizer of the region, deployed military forces to Mali in 2013 to push the militants back, but violence continues in the Sahel region.

Last year, a total number of 54,000 Malian refugees registered in Niger, while 3000 others were still waiting for registration, according to the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR.

There was no information on whether any of the civilians at the camp had also been harmed in the Thursday attack.

Niger's small army is busy fighting Takfiri Boko Haram militants, who launch attacks across the country's southern border from Nigeria. The army is also trying to prevent an overflow of attacks from Mali.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Pentagon Asked To Explain Reports Of Afghan 'Ghost Soldiers' On Payrolls

RFE/RL October 07, 2016

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

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan- pentagon-ghost-soldiers/28038302.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Sleeping In Graveyards: Embattled Afghan City Of Kunduz Facing Humanitarian Crisis

Frud Bezhan, Ajmal Arian October 07, 2016

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."

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

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan- kunduz-humanitarian-crisis-taliban- fighting/28038348.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Finland Deepens Military Ties With U.S. After Alleged Airspace Violations By Russia

October 07, 2016

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



Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/finland- military-ties-united-states-russia- airspace-violations/28038305.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






UN Envoy for Yemen Says Houthis Agree to 3-Day Ceasefire

Sputnik News

21:20 07.10.2016

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said that the United Nations is expected to prepare an integrated plan for Yemeni reconciliation during the next two weeks.

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.

According to him, the United Nations is expected to prepare an integrated plan for Yemeni reconciliation during the next two weeks.

Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Houthi rebels, he country's main opposition force controlling the capital of Sanaa. The Houthis are backed by army units loyal to Saleh.

Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request.

In early August, the UN-brokered talks in Kuwait on Yemen's reconciliation ended with the government and Houthi rebels failing to come to an agreement and the rebels forming the Supreme Political Council with a prospect of ruling the country.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Finnish Air Force Suspects Two Airspace Violations by Two Different Su-27 Planes

Sputnik News

04:48 07.10.2016

The Finnish Air Force suspects that there has been another alleged violation of its airspace by a Russian aircraft.

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.

The Russian Defense Ministry has denied reports of the first alleged violation of the Finnish airspace by a Su-27 jet, saying that the aircraft carried out a training flight over neutral waters in the Bay of Finland on Thursday.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






UK and Germany step up Defence cooperation on day of unity

7 October 2016

UK and German Armed Forces will work more closely on exercises and operations as part of the firm partnership between the two countries.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, speaking alongside his counterpart Ursula Von Der Leyen at the Germany Embassy in London, has said the UK and Germany were committed to tackling threats around the world.

Mr Fallon also announced that the Royal Navy's newest helicopter will fly from a German warship. The Wildcat is due to fly from a frigate on Mediterranean operations next year.

At the event marking 26 years since the reunification of Germany, Mr Fallon said the two countries were turning up the volume on their partnership. Last year the Strategic Defence and Security Review lifted Germany to top tier status, something formerly only afforded to the US and France.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

"Britain stands together with Germany to face the same challenges, including the threat from Daesh, and shares the same values of liberty, tolerance and justice."

"While the UK is leaving the European Union, our commitment to European security remains steadfast, and we continue as a leading member of NATO  the cornerstone of our Defence."

During the reception Mr Fallon and Dr Von der Leyen discussed EU Common Security and Defence Policy. The Defence Secretary spoke of the UK wish to enhance rather than duplicate NATO structures.

The UK and Germany both play significant roles in the 67-nation coalition against Daesh, providing air support, equipment and training to local forces. RAF Tornado and Typhoon aircraft fly strike missions day and night while Germany has Tornados operating reconnaissance missions. This support and more has helped the Iraqis to take back 50% of the territory Daesh once held in Iraq, leaving them with just 10% of the territory they held in Iraq two years ago.

Through NATO both nations are committed to reassurance for Eastern European allies. Next year Germany will deploy around 500 troops to Lithuania and the UK will deploy 500 troops to Estonia, as part of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence.

The UK and Germany also work shoulder-to-shoulder on other joint exercises under NATO, underlining the commitment to security and stability.

In addition to exercises, both countries each have more than 3,000 military personnel deployed on operations around the world, underlining Britain and Germany's global military contribution.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Colombian Government and FARC-EP request UN to authorize Mission to continue supporting ceasefire

7 October 2016  The Colombian Government and the country's largest rebel group announced today that they are willing to press ahead on the goals of the historic peace accord that was rejected by voters this past weekend, while the two sides also requested that the United Nations Mission in the country continue its work, particularly relating to monitoring the ceasefire.

In a joint statement from Havana, which has hosted the landmark peace negotiations since 2012, the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) reaffirmed their commitment to the bilateral and definitive ceasefire and cessation of hostilities today, while also requesting Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council to authorize the UN Mission in the country to continue coordinating the tripartite Verification and Monitoring Mechanism, particularly relating to the ceasefire.

The Monitoring and Verification Mechanism  with the participation of the government and the FARC-EP, coordinated by UN Mission  will be responsible for monitoring and verifying that the parties will comply with a jointly defined protocol, particularly related to the ceasefire-related rules.

The request of the parties to the Secretary General and the Security Council seeks authorization for the UN Mission to exercise the functions of "monitoring, verification, resolution of differences, recommendations, reports and coordination of the Tripartite Monitoring and Verification Mechanism under [UN Security Council] Resolution 2261 (2016)."

The Colombian Government and the FARC-EP also invited the countries contributing to the UN Mission in Colombia with unarmed observers to continue deploying their men and women, who will continue to have all the necessary safety guarantees.

The request from the parties comes as Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was today awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, about which Mr. Ban said in a statement issued by his office: "This special recognition offers hope and encouragement necessary to Colombians."

"The results of the 2 October plebiscite should not divide the millions of Colombians who strive to build a peaceful country. This award says to them: you have come too far to turn back now. The peace process should inspire our world," the UN chief added.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






UN condemns deadly attack on 'refugee hosting area' in western Niger

7 October 2016  United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the attack against a security post at a refugee hosting area in Tazalit, in the Tahoua region of Niger, bordering Mali, on 6 October, in which at least 22 members of Niger's security forces were killed and several others were injured.

"The Secretary-General extends his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Niger. He wishes a swift recovery to the injured," according to a statement issued today by Mr. Ban's spokesperson.

The statement went on to say that Mr. Ban calls on the authorities of Niger to pursue and bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice, and the he urges the Government of Niger to further reinforce security around refugee camps and other vulnerable targets.

According to William Spindler, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which also strongly condemned the attack, the 'hosting area' currently hosts almost 4,000 refugees, however none were harmed during the attack.

The agency said the armed assailants are reported to have arrived at the site in two pickup trucks. Witnesses say that following the attack, the assailants stayed in the area for up to two 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.

"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," he said, adding that 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, he added.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Finland Accuses Russia of Violating Its Airspace

By VOA News October 07, 2016

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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Colombian President Vows to Keep Striving for Peace After Winning Nobel Prize

By Luis Ramirez October 07, 2016

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 Hemisphere's 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 country's 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 country's more than 50-year long civil war to an end."

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 Colombia's 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."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






26 Soldiers Killed At Refugee Camp in Niger

By VOA News October 07, 2016

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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






New EU Border Force Aims to Curb Migrant Crisis

By Henry Ridgwell October 07, 2016

Following the influx of millions of migrants and refugees in recent years, the European Union has launched a task force charged with securing the bloc's external frontiers. A ceremony at the Kapitan Andreevo Border Checkpoint on Bulgaria's 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 bloc's 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 decade's 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 agency's 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 world's refugees," said Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International's deputy director for Europe. "That needs to shift, and no border guard is going to make that happen. That's 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 EU's leaders are outsourcing Europe's asylum policy.

"They're leaving it up to Turkey to host millions of refugees, they're 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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Political Situation

Georgia has significant democratic achievements to its credit, including peaceful transfers of power in 2012 and 2013, and the 2016 elections were widely viewed by the public as orderly and well-administered. The legislative and electoral framework is largely in line with international standards and conducive to the conduct of democratic elections. The country is anchored by a thriving and respected civil society sector, which is arguably its greatest democratic asset. Importantly, Georgians have strong aspirations to deepen their integration into the community of Western democracies and hold themselves to a high standard, and they ask others to hold them to that standard as well.

Georgia has been a democratic republic since the presidential elections and constitutional referendum of October 1995. The President is elected for a term of 5 years, limited to 2 terms; his constitutional successor is the Chairman of the Parliament. A powerful coalition of reformists headed by Mikheil Saakashvili, Nino Burjanadze and Zurab Zhvania came together to oppose Shevardnadze's government in the 02 November 2003 parliamentary elections.

The elections were widely regarded as rigged and the opposition organised massive demonstrations in the streets of Tbilisi. After two tense weeks, Shevardnadze resigned on 23 November 2003, and was replaced as president on an interim basis by Burjanadze. These events became known as the Rose Revolution. In January 2004 Mikheil Saakashvili was elected to a 5-year term. President Saakashvili was inaugurated on January 25, 2004. New parliamentary elections had been called for March 7, 2004.

International observers determined that the January 2004 presidential elections and the March 2004 parliamentary elections represented significant progress over previous elections and brought the country closer to meeting international standards, although several irregularities were noted. In contrast to previous years, there were fewer reports of harassment or violence against religious minorities. Police bribery of motorists also decreased significantly due to an overhaul of the highway police and elimination of the traditional traffic police.

Saakashvili was re-elected in January 2008, in snap presidential elections brought forward by several months following large-scale protests in November 2007, which led the government to call a state of emergency. The government received an absolute majority in parliament at elections in May 2008 following last-minute changes to the election code. A number of opposition politicians subsequently chose not to take up their seats in Parliament.

The August 2008 war with Russia provided temporary political unity, but demonstrations and calls for Saakashvilis resignation started to resurface towards the end of 2008. The non-parliamentary opposition organised demonstrations that lasted from April- June 2009, demanding Saakashvilis resignation and the holding of early elections. They accused Saakashvili of fraud in the 2008 elections, blamed him for taking Georgia into an unnecessary war, and eroding democracy. The protests largely passed off peacefully, despite accusations of police heavy-handedness and of protestors and journalists being attacked.

Critics accused Saakashvili of persecuting political opponents, controlling the media and not doing enough to tackle poverty. But disagreements on tactics and the failure to put forward any consistent policies have weakened the opposition, and protests have failed to threaten the government. Meanwhile, Saakashvili continued to try and hold a dialogue on electoral and constitutional reform with moderate elements in the opposition.

On October 15, 2010, the Parliament approved a number of amendments to the constitution, including provisions that shift political powers from the president to the prime minister following the 2013 presidential election. Saakashvilis second and final term expires in October 2013. The Council of Europes Venice Commission considered the October 15 constitutional amendments to contain several important improvements but criticized the no-confidence procedures as a potential source of instability due to the time frame involved in the process and a potentially cumbersome process. Civil society activists, opposition leaders, the Venice Commission, and others had urged the Parliament to extend the period of debate which would have allowed greater public buy-in and credibility.

Many had assumed that once his second term had ended, the 44-year-old Saakashvili would attempt to move into the newly empowered premiership, like his arch nemesis, Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the United National Movement indicated it is backing the country's current prime minister, Vano Merabishvili, for the post.

Under Georgias constitution, President Saakashvili was prevented from running for a third term in 2013, though he remained in office until October 2013. The competitive election reinforced Georgias post-Soviet reputation as an island of democracy in an authoritarian neighborhood. President Mikheil Saakashvili faced the strongest challenge since he was first elected eight years ago.

Georgia suffered from "regime fatigue" and polarizing political divisions. The release of videos documenting horrific abuse in the country's prisons sparked massive protests in the capital Tbilisi and deepened doubts about the government's commitment to democracy. The president's reputation as a guarantor of liberalism and security were undermined by the crackdown on antigovernment protests in 2007 and the brief, cataclysmic war with Russia in August 20008. Unemployment is officially 16.5 percent, although the actual figure may be twice as high. Two-thirds of people between the ages of 20 and 24 were out of work. An August 2012 US National Democratic Institute poll found that joblessness and affordable health care were the top concerns for potential voters, with issues of NATO membership, human rights, and even territorial integrity of secondary importance.

The October 2012 parliamentary elections led to the first peaceful, democratic transfer of power in the countrys post-Soviet history. There are no legal restrictions on political party formation beyond registration requirements, and the election code adopted in December 2011 allows an individual to run for office without party affiliation. According to the OSCEs election report, freedom of association, assembly, and expression were respected overall during the preelection period, although instances of harassment and intimidation of party activists marred the campaign.

The pro-European Georgian Dream party secured 48 of the 50 seats up for grabs in the second round of voting, the Central Election Commission said 31 October 2016. Georgian Dream took 67 of the parliament's 150 seats in the first round on October 8. Runoffs were held Sunday for 50 other seats in which no candidate claimed a majority. The second-round results give Georgian Dream a super majority of 115, cementing the party's grip on power and allowing it to form a new Cabinet and pass constitutional amendments. The opposition United National Movement (UNM) came in second with 27 seats, while the anti-Western Alliance of Patriots took six seats. Turnout was low in the runoffs, with only 37.5 percent of eligible voters participating.

Twenty-two parties and five coalitions fielded 12,902 candidates for proportional lists and, together with 201 initiative groups, nominated 369 mayoral and 4,727 majoritarian candidates. Despite numerous parties and candidates participating, the election campaign was marked by a striking lack of visible competition in the majority of the country, although events that took place were largely able to proceed without obstruction. Parties and candidates seemed either overly confident in, or resigned to, a particular outcome.

GD leaders explained their financial advantage by pointing to their superior fundraising skills and vision. By contrast, opposition parties faced a scarcity of funds, describing donors expressed hesitancy to contribute. Both parties acknowledged the advantage of incumbency and possible benefits of contributing to the ruling party.5 Given their financial constraints, the opposition parties used their state funding to focus on door-to-door canvassing, small-scale meetings, free air-time, and low-cost social media, and concentrated their efforts in districts they viewed as competitive. Both the ruling party and opposition parties claimed their opponents did not declare all donations.

On 23 February, 2021 Public Defender Nino Lomjaria termed the arrest of Nika Melia, the leader of the United National Movement, at the office of the opposition party by the use of force as "concerning". The Public Defender had earlier evaluated the relevant court decision, saying that "the application of the measure of detention against Nika Melia was neither substantiated nor necessary". The Public Defenders Office is monitoring the ongoing developments and will additionally inform the public of the situation of the detainees.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Parliamentary elections - October 2016

Morocco's Islamic Justice and Development Party (PJD) emerged as the winner after the country voted for its 10th parliament since independence in 1956. PJD, which has been running a coalition government since 2011, won 125 seats, while the opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) came second, with 102 seats, the interior ministry said on 08 October 2016 after all ballots were counted. The Istiqlal (Independence) Party - the oldest in the country, founded in 1944 - came third by winning 46 seats, following by National Rally of Independents (RNI) with 37 seats, and Popular Movement (MP) with 27.

In 2016, Moroccans elected the second Parliament since King Mohamed VI announced a series of reforms in early 2011 that aim to transform Morocco into a constitutional monarchy. Three hundred ninety-five seats in the House of Representatives are up for election 07 October 2016, with 305 from multi-member constituencies and 90 from a single nationwide constituency of which 60 are reserved for women and 30 for men under the age of 40. The King is obliged to appoint the Prime Minister from the party that wins the most seats.

Riccardo Fabiani wrote September 22, 2016 that e moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) and the secular Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) " ... each managed to secure the support of one socialist party: the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) for the former and the social-democratic Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) for the latter. Most of the other parties are waiting on the final results to negotiate their participation with the winner in a ruling coalition... these parties are mainly reactivating their membership and patronage networks by making unlikely electoral promises and hardening their rhetoric ...

"Local media have widely spoken of the kings neutrality in this ballot, but far from being the hallmark of a free and fair election, King Mohamed VIs distance is a sign that this round hardly matters in Moroccos institutional division of labor. The king is de facto the exclusive decision maker... "

Moroccans vote 07 October 2016 in only the second parliamentary election since the king relinquished some of his powers to an elected cabinet in 2011 under a constitutional reform to help ease Arab Spring-style protests demanding change. No party openly challenged King Mohamed's authority, but the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) looked to consolidate gains in the constitutional monarchy system against rivals who analysts said are closer to the palace.

A new wave of radical left-wing parties in Morocco was growing, with emerging groups offering fresh political alternatives to the main socialist party, which was in a state of decline. The rise of the far left came after the dramatic fall in electoral support for the Socialist Union of Popular Forces Party (USFP), the country's main leftist party, and a genuine opposition force in the 1970s and 1980s. The extreme fragmentation of Morocco's left was exacerbated by ideological differences and diverse stances on issues such as the constitution, monarchy, elections, and social and economic reforms.

The USFP used to pride itself on being the party of the educated and the urban. Its electoral base is now restricted to districts with high rates of illiteracy. The beginning of the fall started when USFP decided to join subsequent coalition governments between 2002 and 2011, but failed to play a substantial role. The other leftist party, the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), has been part of several coalitions, including the outgoing government led by the Islamic PJD party, despite fundamental ideological differences. PPS is now seen as an establishment party and is no longer considered to represent the ideals of the left.

The Democratic Left Federation (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. With more than 30 parties to choose from, many of which have no clear platform, voters seemed to be turning to religion and nationalism to guide their political choice.

Around 16 million Moroccans of the country's 34 million are registered to vote. Candidates from 30 parties will compete to win seats in the 395-member Chamber of Representatives, the lower house of parliament. The main battle was hotly contested between the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) and opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM). The Istiqlal (Independence) Party, the oldest in the country founded in 1944, was also projected to do well in this election.





NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Sergey Kiriyenko

Sergey Vladilenovich Kiriyenko, a former comrade of the murdered opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, took over the position of First Deputy Head of the Presidential Office of the Federation of Russia in October 2016. He would run domestic affairs and influencing the social climate in the country, responsible for the relationship between the state and the people.

Sergey Kiriyenko had held a number of high-profile positions but is probably best remembered for his role as prime minister  the youngest in Russian history. He only kept the job for four months but that was enough to earn him the nickname Kinder Surprise - after a chocolate egg with a toy inside that came to encapsulate his youthful appearance and the unexpected nature of his appointment. His other posts  that of presidential envoy to one of Russias most important federal districts and as head of the national nuclear agency were no less unexpected. It was under Sergey Kiriyenko that the countrys myriad of nuclear power plants, agencies, institutes and departments were reorganized into a single state company.

Sergey Kiriyenko was born in 1962 in the south of Russia in the Black Sea town of Sukhum (now the capital of independent Abkhazia) into a family of intellectuals and career communists. Family legend has it that his grandfather Yakov was such a devoted communist that he ran into a burning house to save what he considered his most precious possession - his Party membership card. Allegedly Yakov also personally knew the leader of the October Revolution, Vladimir Lenin, who is said to have awarded him with an inscribed pistol for his service to the Party.

Kiriyenkos father Vladilen (a popular Soviet name comprised from Vladimir Lenin) also served the Party well. He headed the ideological branch of the Communist Party unit in the city of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod). Rumors have it that he may have advanced much higher up the party ladder if it hadnt been for his own last name of Israitel, which manifested his origins all too clearly in the Soviet system of covert discrimination of Jews. It came as little surprise that when Sergeys parents divorced in the 1970s, Kiriyenkos mother moved to another city and promptly changed her sons last name to that of her parents.

Like his father, Kiriyenko showed an early knack for Party work. Already in high school, he volunteered to serve as an organizer within the Komsomol  the Communist Partys youth organization and a stepping-stone for all aspiring bosses in the Soviet Union. His ideological leadership would profess itself in many positions he would hold later  up until the dissolution of the Communist Party in 1991.

In choosing a field of study, Kiriyenko also followed in his fathers footsteps. He applied to the Institute of Sea Engineers where his father was the head of a department. According to one of his classmates, Sergey always sat at the front desk, hung upon his professors words and always got straight As. He was an activist who spoke well and took part in organizing all sorts of events. As a student Kiriyenko was perceived as a nice, sociable young man, who could be persistent and tough if needed. He never raised his voice though, and in general was on good terms with everyone without getting too close to anyone. In 1984 he graduated magna cum laude. For about a year he had a chance to apply his technical knowledge at a submarine factory but very soon left the conveyor belt for the quiet office as the factorys Komsomol secretary.

His advance along the Party line was swift. He got his first taste of leadership as first secretary of the Communist Youth League in Gorky. By this time, Perestroika and Glasnost were already breaking down the old ideological dogmas, and Kiriyenko made the most of the new opportunities. Soon he was to receive his first nickname - the Little Human Computer. By the time of the USSRs dissolution, Kiriyenko was serving as the second secretary of the Komsomol unit of the entire region of Gorky  a position that equipped him with the connections and resources necessary to succeed in the upcoming era of capitalism.

A committed communist, in a matter of months Kiriyenko became an eager proponent of the market economy. Gorky was restored its historical name of Nizhny Novgorod and the region quickly became a main center of economic reform. Together with his Komsomol comrades, Kiriyenko set up a firm called AMK, which stood for Shareholding Youth Concern. For a couple of years they traded in cornflakes, shoes and other staples that, in an anemic post-Soviet economy, sold like hot cakes.

A few years later, Kiriyeko got into banking and oil trading. Under the tutelage of Boris Nemtsov, the governor of Nizhny Novgorod at the time, Sergey Kiriyenko founded his own bank. Later he became chairman of a small oil company in Nizhny. As his sphere of interests expanded, so did his connections. In 1994, he became a member of the Presidential Council for Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship. His transition into Moscow political circles was greatly helped by Nemtsov, who at the time was a protege of then-President Boris Yeltsin. Less than two months after Nemtsov was made first deputy prime minister in March 1997, he brought Kiriyenko to the capital to become the first deputy energy minister, with Nemtsov taking the head of the ministry. In November 1997, as Nemtsov was too busy as deputy Prime Minister, Kiriyenko became the energy minister.

By spring 1998, the relationship between President Yeltsin and Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin took a dip. The ailing president looked increasingly vulnerable compared to the energetic and charismatic Chernomyrdin. The mammoth state debt and growing budget deficit gave Yeltsin a pretext to sack Chernomyrdin together with the rest of the government. His replacement was even more astonishing than the dismissal itself.

Yeltsins choice fell upon Sergey Kiriyenko, who by then had been in national politics for less than a year and was seen as someone with little experience in high office. Nevertheless he was confirmed as prime minister on 24 April 1998. However Kiriyenko only won the approval of the State Duma (Russias lower house of parliament) at the third and final opportunity - after Yeltsin threatened to dissolve the parliament if it rejected the appointment. Yeltsin wanted Kiriyenko to lead a fresh team of reformers, hoping they would find a way to give a boost to the crumbling economy. Despite skepticism towards the young prime minister at home, many Western financial institutions saw the appointment as a symbol of a will to reform.

Chernomyrdin's government resigned on March 23, 1998, and Sergei Kirienko was appointed acting prime minister. He was appointed to this post by the presidential decree on April 24. From April 1998, Kirienko's government had three deputy prime ministers (none of them first), and two of them were dismissed in late July.

Sixteen out of the 28 members of Chernomyrdin's government made it into the new government. In all, Kirienko's government had 22 ministries, 24 ministers (including the chief of the government staff, and then head of the State Tax Service). Kirienko was dismissed on August 23, 1998, and Viktor Chernomyrdin was appointed acting prime minister. However, he voluntarily resigned on September 10.

Yeltsins daughter, Tatyana Yumasheva, later said that Yeltsin chose Kiriyenko for his confident demeanor and principled position. Kiriyenko controlled one of the most difficult sectors  oil and gas An area with a lot of conflicting interests Yet, he was able to remain absolutely non-partisan Nobody could influence him, no political or financial group And that was one of the reasons why dad chose Kiriyenko, Yumasheva wrote in her blog. She added that Yeltsin believed that Kiriyenko as prime minister would last at least until summer of 2000 but that was not how things would come to pass.

Along with Deputy Prime Ministers Boris Nemtsov and Anatoly Chubais, Kiriyenko, - the First Deputy Prime Minister until 23 March 1998, and the Presidents special representative for relations with international financial organizations from 17 June - 28 August 1998 - Kiriyenko became known as one of the "young reformists" who used the International Monetary Fund credits to revitalize the economy. They ended up elevating the national debt to $22.6 billion in the summer of 1998. Specifically, in August 1998, as Russia spiraled into financial meltdown, Kiriyenko's cabinet defaulted the government bond coupons. The move led to the devaluation of the Russian rouble - a severe blow to the country's financial system with millions of people losing their savings in no time. Within days Prime Minister Kiriyenko became the man that most Russians held responsible for the crisis. Kinder Surprise turned into Kinder Surprise worth 10 billion dollars  roughly the sum that Russia added to its already existing national debt.

Just four months into the job, on 23 August, Russias youngest prime minister was sacked. Some believed he lost his job not because of who he was but because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Having just learned of his dismissal from the government, Sergey Kiriyenko and Boris Nemtsov decided to have a man-to-man talk with the people. At the time a group of striking miners had set up a round-the-clock protest near the White House, where the Russian government resides. Some of them had not been paid for over ten months and they vowed to stay until they were paid and Boris Yeltsin stepped down. Operating in shifts the miners spent the summer sleeping in self-made tents on the nearby Gorbaty Bridge, talking with other disgruntled workers, marching and protesting. By the end of August their numbers had dwindled to approximately 200 defiant but resigned men.

It was those most determined ones that the ex-premier and the ex-vice premier decided to come out to. Rumor has it that Boris Nemtsov was so upset that, according to the miners, he assured them that he himself was prepared to sit alongside them and bang a helmet. Sergey Kiriyenko allegedly cursed the oligarchs, trying to explain to the miners that all the bad things in Russias economy stemmed from the magnates and he himself was to blame neither for crises nor for the devaluation. The two former government officials offered the miners a bottle of vodka as a sign of professional solidarity. However, the miners refused to drink with them  they say the bottle was never opened.

But the total failure did not turn Kiriyenko off a political career - most surprisingly, he survived as a politician. In 1999 he ran for the Moscow Mayors office (coming in second with 11.2% of the votes). That same year he led the liberal reformist Union of Right Wing Forces to parliamentary elections. Their success was modest but it secured Kiriyenko a seat in the lower house of Russias parliament  the State Duma.

However his true political second coming was initiated by then President Vladimir Putin. In May 2000 he appointed Kiriyenko as presidential envoy to the Volga Federal District, which includes several key regions. Apart from Nizhny Novgorod  Kiriyenkos political launching pad  the district comprises several important republics, including the predominantly Muslim Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. The Volga district also houses the Russian Federal Nuclear Center, which is responsible for designing nuclear weapons.

The appointment of Kinder Surprise was indeed a surprise to many: all other federal districts at the time had generals as presidential envoys. According to Kiriyenko, Putin gave him a task  to work out a management model for the district that could be later used all over Russia. Media reports claimed Kiriyenkos model was simple: he sorted out the verticality of power and managed to make all heads of his regions loyal to the federal center.

Rumor had it that Vladimir Putins decision to make presidential envoys answer to the head of presidential administration (rather than the president himself  as it used to be) had to do with the abundance of Kiriyenkos reformatory proposals. For example, Kiriyenko started a campaign to move Parliament, the Central Bank and several other institutions from the capital to Nizhny Novgorod. He also suggested making the envoys responsible for overseeing the money coming to the regions from Moscow and even worked out a program for the efficient spending of those funds. However, none of those initiatives were supported in the capital.

At the same time, in May 2001, Kiriyenko was also entrusted to head the State Commission for Chemical Disarmament, responsible for the destruction of the Soviet chemical arsenal. The Russian newspaper Kommersant immediately reacted by renaming Kiriyenko Nuke Surprise. In April 2003 Kiriyenko reported that the first stage of the program had been completed  with 1% of the weapons destroyed. Nevertheless, environmentalists criticized the work of the commission and its head. In June 2004 they presented a report about the unsatisfactory work of the State Commission for Chemical disarmament under Sergey Kiriyenko. Kiriyenko was accused of inefficient and inexpedient expenditures as well as the annihilation of the financial documentation of the commission. Despite the fact that in 2005 the country was admitted to have made considerable progress in implementing its chemical weapons destruction program  the scandal loomed in the background, casting a slur on Kiriyenkos career. It was just one of the scandals connected to Sergey Kiriyenkos name.

The first scandal broke when Kiriyenko first came into the spotlight as prime minister: media reports linked him to Scientology  a church that is often perceived as a sect and is outlawed in several countries, including Russia. There were rumors that Kiriyenko may have attended seminars at the Scientologist Hubbard College in his home town of Nizhny Novgorod, which Kiriyenko denied.

Later in his career, when he served as an envoy, there appeared other reports accusing him of allegedly abusing state funds and excessive spending on his staff, including numerous bodyguards and armored limousines. He was even ascribed a personal jet. Surprisingly, nothing ever seriously harmed Kiriyenkos reputation. As a politician, he appeared immune to scandals until summer 2004 when things seemed to turn serious.

The liberal newspaper Novaya Gazeta published a series of articles accusing Kiriyenko of embezzling 4.8 billion US dollars of IMF funds in 1998 (during his time as prime minister). The newspaper based the accusations on a letter that had allegedly been written to the US Secretary of State Colin Powell by five US Congressmen and posted on the website of the American Defense Council. The newspaper went on to claim that Kiriyenko had used some of the embezzled funds to purchase real estate in the United States in an attempt to gain US citizenship. Two days later the congressmen stated their signatures had been forged and the letter was a prank. Kiriyenko sued the newspaper and the author of the articles for libel. He won the case and the court ordered Novaya Gazeta to retract all publications relating to the accusations, noting that Novaya Gazetas content on the missing IMF funds includes a great deal of unproven information"  something the newspapers editor-in-chief never agreed with.

A whole new chapter in Sergey Kiriyenkos life started in November 2005 with the top job at the Russian Atomic Energy Agency - Rosatom. Vladimir Putin said the new head of the Agency was expected to totally reorganize Russias nuclear sector so that the country could keep its leadership in the field.

Soon after, Kiriyenko announced an ambitious program at an estimated cost of $60 billion - to expand nuclear power and build dozens of new reactors in Russia and abroad. Another statement that created headlines was made at an international conference on energy security in March 2006. Back then, while still fresh in his post, the new head of Russias nuclear sector called on the G8 not to stand in the way of Iran and of other states in using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Kiriyenko also became the man in charge of a sensitive mission - to negotiate with Tehran the possibility of building a uranium-enrichment facility in Russia.

Eventually Kiriyenko suggested integrating all Russian nuclear centers, research and production facilities into a single state corporation. Obviously he was to take the post of the head of the new state mega-corporation that controls the entire nuclear sector, both civilian and military.

Since December 2007, Sergei Kirienko had served as ROSATOM Chief Executive Officer. ROSATOM is the Russian Federation national nuclear corporation bringing together circa 400 nuclear companies and R&D institutions that operate in the civilian and defense sectors. With 70 years' expertise in the nuclear field, it is a global leader in technologies and competencies offering cutting-edge industry solutions.

Personal

It would have been wrong though to believe that Sergey Kiriyenkos life was limited to climbing the career ladder. Hes also a family man with a many hobbies.

It was at school - in his ninth grade - that Sergey fell in love at the first sight and for the rest of his life. In September 1977 his class welcomed a new girl with grey-blue eyes and a graceful figure. Her name was Masha (Maria) Aistova. Sergey immediately began to court her. A year later they were already inseparable: they visited the library together and copied notes from each other. When they quarreled, the whole class would worry for them as Sergey became irritated and angry. Hardly anyone doubted they would be married. Today, Maria claims he won her over with his wit and charm, while Sergey says it was purely due to his persistence. Whatever it was, the marriage stands strong and they have three children together  a son and two daughters.

When their first son Vladimir grew up a little, his father started taking him out hunting. This was one of Sergey Kiriyenkos favorite pastimes before he climbed too high up the career ladder and became a man who comes home well past midnight. A family album contains a photo where Vladimir holds a huge wood grouse, with the table next to him covered by smaller game. They say Kiriyenko hunted wild boar and elk and once even killed a bear. Today he hardly finds time for hunting  but according to his wife, he still likes getting hunters gadgets as presents: knives, torches, rubber boots or anything that shoots.

Kiriyenko is also a big fan of aikido, in which he holds a black belt. At school and in his student years he was more into karate but soon he didnt have time for it. However in 1996 he met his old friends who used to be his karate partners and learned they had taken up aikido. As for the black belt  its an interesting story. In 1999 I had already done three years but wasnt taking my test for the belt  I didnt have time to go to Japan for that. And in one of our Union of Right Forces election campaign booklets some smart PR guys announced that the number one (Kiriyenko) in the lists had a black belt in aikido. To re-call all those booklets from all over the country was impossible, while I felt ashamed in front of my aikido partners  I couldnt just tell everyone that information was published without my knowledge. The only way to correct the situation was to pass the exam 

In June 2005 Kiriyenko, together with the Natural Resources and Ecology Minister Yury Trutnev, created the Russian Union of Martial Arts and became its co-chair. A month later he was elected head of Russian National Council of Aikido.





NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






National Guard Ready for Disaster Response Roles in Wake of Hurricane Matthew

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2016  More than 6,000 National Guard members are on duty in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina as Hurricane Matthew moves north up the Atlantic Coast, Air Force Maj. Gen. James C. Witham, director of domestic operations for the National Guard Bureau, said here today.

Witham told reporters in a Pentagon briefing that as of this morning, 3,500 Guard members in helicopters and high-wheeled vehicles began search-and-rescue missions in Florida.

"From a national-level standpoint, the Guard is very well postured to be able to support [missions] with well-trained soldiers and airmen in specific skill sets," the general said.

Secretary Alters Trip Because of Storm

Meanwhile, because of the potential impact of Hurricane Matthew on Defense Department facilities and personnel, and the department's potential role in recovery efforts, Defense Secretary Ash Carter has cancelled his trip to Colombia tomorrow in advance of the 12th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, Pentagon director of press operations, said.

Davis said Carter will meet this afternoon on hurricane operations with the National Guard bureau chief, U.S. Northern Command's commander and the deputy director of operations in the Joint Staff.

Witham outlined the National Guard Bureau's plan of engagement to work from south to north in the four hurricane-affected states.

Guards members in the four-state area have performed more than 100 life-saving missions, from search-and-rescue, humanitarian relief, support to law enforcement and security and support for shelter operations, he said.

"South Carolina and Georgia are still posturing personnel and equipment, as the storm comes and passes through," he said.

Witham said Georgia and South Carolina Guard members are available to support their governors and civil authorities as the storm passes over that coastal area over the next 24 to 48 hours.

North Carolina so far maintains a "relatively small foot print" in troops, he said, adding, "The number solely depends on the storm's track. As it passes through, North Carolina will have the ability to surge its Guardsmen."

N.C Guard Might Work In Support Role

Based on the storm's track, North Carolina Guard members could likely go into supportive roles for the other three affected states, Witham said, adding that agreements also are in place with Guard members in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas.

Dual-status commanders are in Florida and South Carolina if federal forces combine with the Guard for overall support to civil authorities for response and recovery efforts, he said.

"We remain hopeful the storm's track will remain primarily off the coast, because that will minimize impact from wind damage and on infrastructures in the four states," Witham said.

"We think the most likely scenario once [the hurricane] is in the Carolinas, is that it will primarily be a rain event," he said, adding, "South Carolina and North Carolina are already saturated by rain, so we're preparing to support our governors mostly for a flood event [rather] than a wind event."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

Release No: NR-355-16 October 07, 2016

Department of Defense's Preparation, Support, and Recovery Efforts for Hurricane Matthew

The Department of Defense continues to monitor Hurricane Matthew closely in order to assess impacts on our installations and our personnel and to be prepared to provide assistance if needed.

Secretary Carter met earlier today with senior military leaders, including National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Joseph Lengyel and U.S. Northern Command Commander Gen. Lori Robinson, to receive an update on DoD preparations for the storm.

As Hurricane Matthews continues, we will provide a daily update with the most relevant changes.

ARMY

Hunter Army Airfield continues mandatory evacuation.

Fort Stewart will release all non-mission essential personnel.

Fort Gordon is standing by to shelter Fort Stewart personnel if requested.

Army Support to JTF Matthew

 4 UH-60s, 3 CH-47s

 46 Army Aviation personnel

 10 Medical personnel

Point of contact for additional information about the Army: Office of the Chief of Public Affairs duty officer 703-220-9044

NAVY

All coastal bases in the Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina areas are in mission essential personnel status beginning Oct. 6. Evacuation orders given for coastal regions within 200 miles.

USS Mesa Verde with 300 Marines on board has received orders to support SOUTHCOM with humanitarian efforts in Haiti.

Vessels have been moved to safe berths in the Mayport basin and other areas.

Guantanamo Bay is returning to normal operations. Plans being developed to return evacuated spouses and children from Pensacola, Florida.

Point of Contact for additional information about the Navy: Navy Chief of Information duty officer 703-850-1047

AIR FORCE

Aircraft/Personnel Relocations

Moody Air Force Base relocated 28 A-10s to Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and three HC-130s to Keesler, Air Force Base, Mississippi.

Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida relocated 13 F-26s to Carswell Joint Reserve Base, Texas.

Jacksonville, Florida (Air National Guard unit) relocated 21 F-15s to Georgia, Louisiana, and Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

Savannah, Georgia relocated eight C-130s to Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia.

Patrick Air Force Base relocated four C-130s and three HH-60s.

Charleston Air Force Base evacuated 29 aircraft on Oc.t 6 to refuge bases including Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Barksdale Air Force Base and Campbell Army Airfield, Kentucky to continue missions from there. Sections of the base began closing Oct. 6 and personnel were evacuated from the zoned areas given by the state of South Carolina.

Joint Base Langley-Eustis evacuated 44 F-22 Raptor and T-38 Talon aircraft, along with 100 support personnel, to Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Ohio.

Seymour Johnson evacuated 45 F-15s and six KC-135s to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.

Shaw evacuated 48 F-16s to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.

Base Closures

Patrick Air Force Base closed

Response Operations

Moody Air Force Base has been tasked to provide HH-60 and CH-47s to support relief operations.

The 621st Contingency Response Wing deployed a 34-member team this morning from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, whose specialties include command and control, airfield assessment, aerial port, aircraft maintenance, contracting, and security forces to Port Au Prince International Airport, Haiti.

Point of Contact for additional information about the Air Force: Media Desk 703-695-0640

MARINES

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort authorized the evacuation of non-essential personnel; MAG-31 aircraft hangared w/ limited number executing fly-away.

Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island authorized the evacuation of non-essential military personnel, non-essential civilian employees and their families residing in the local area.

Approximately 6,000 recruits in training evacuated from MCRD Parris Island to Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany.

Point of Contact for additional information about the Marines: Contact USMC Public Affairs, OnTheRecord@usmc.mil

NATIONAL GUARD

More than 6,000 National Guard men and women are in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina aiding their communities by providing the following function: search and rescue, security, infrastructure assessment, communications support, restoration of life support, route clearance, and shelter support.

The National Guard trains year-round to ensure they are ready to protect and assist citizens during disasters and emergencies.

South Carolina has requested Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) support from Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas.

South Carolina and Florida have identified dual status commanders. Both have been approved by the secretary of defense.

Points of contact for additional information about the National Guard:

National Guard Bureau 703-627-7273 ngbpa.oncall@mail.mil

Florida National Guard Public Affairs 904-823-0164

Georgia National Guard Public Affairs 678-569-3957

South Carolina National Guard Public Affairs 803-299-4327

North Carolina National Guard Public Affairs 984-664-6244

Virginia National Guard Public Affairs 804-236-7892 ngva.pao@mail.mil

NORTHERN COMMAND

Four facilities have been identified as FEMA ISB/FSAs (Installation Support Base). These areas will provide marshaling area / hardstand areas, trucks, trailers, other equipment and personnel.

- North Auxiliary Field, north of Charleston, South Carolina

- Albany Marine Corps Logistics base, Georgia

- Ft Bragg, North Carolina

- Fort AP Hill, Virginia

NORTHCOM's representative is in Nassau, Bahamas to support their request for U.S. assistance.

Point of Contact for additional information about Northern Command: Public Affairs Main Line 719-554-6889

SOUTHERN COMMAND

Secretary Carter approved $11 million of overseas humanitarian, disaster, and civic aid funds for SOUTHCOM to support missions such as:

- transportation support in the Caribbean

- conducting airfield and port assessments

- providing airfield operations support

Joint Task Force Matthew, led by Rear Adm. Cedric Pringle, was established to oversee U.S. military relief efforts in Haiti. The team arrived at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Oct. 5.with approximately 250 Marines and nine helicopters. The helicopters are scheduled to begin flight operations in support of USAID-led relief operations later today.

A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon is also scheduled today to conduct aerial assessments of areas in Haiti impacted by the storm to support disaster assessment experts on the ground.

The U.S. Army has provided the 581st ASMC Health Response Team, from Fort Hood, Texas.

Point of Contact for additional information about SOUTHCOM: U.S Southern Command,

Public Affairs Office, Jose Ruiz, 786-239-1996

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/968728/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S. Accuses Russia Of Directing Cyberattacks To 'Interfere' With Elections

RFE/RL October 07, 2016

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" 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.

Private cybersecurity firms have previously said hacking groups allegedly tied to Russian security services are behind the hacks, though until October 7, U.S. President Barack Obama's administration 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 the Russian government was behind cyberattacks that 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.

There was no immediate response from the Russian government about Washington's formal allegation that top Russian govenrment officials direccted the hacking campaign.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in July said 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."

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

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/russia-cyberattacks- us-elections/28038816.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US Accuses Russia of Hacking Attempts on Political Groups

By VOA News October 07, 2016

The U.S. government on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of recent cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations.

A joint statement from the Department Of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security accused the Russian government of directing "the recent compromises of e-mails from .US. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations" and said "these thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process."

Based on the scope and sensitivity of the hacks, the agencies believe "that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities."

The statement went on to say that while recent attacks on election-related systems in several states originated on Russian servers, "we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian Government."

Despite these recent breaches, the agencies said that it would be "extremely difficult for someone, including a nation-state actor, to alter actual ballot counts or election results" via hacking.

The condemnation came amid escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow over a range of international disagreements, including U.S. charges that Russian air strikes in support of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been hitting hospitals and other civilian targets in rebel-held eastern Aleppo.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Rising moves detected in DPRK's missile launch site: S.Korea

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:05, October 07, 2016

SEOUL, Oct. 7 -- 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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






DPRK blasts U.S. for stepping up pressure, sanctions

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 10:54, October 07, 2016

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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US pressure, sanctions prompted North Korea to become nuclear power: N Korean media

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 11:15AM

North Korean media say the US administration's hostile policies toward North Korea led Pyongyang toward becoming a "confident nuclear power."

North Korean state TV on Thursday condemned the US administration for imposing new sanctions against Pyongyang, saying such pressure "has resulted in us enhancing our nuclear weapons capability and becoming a confident nuclear power state equipped with the most powerful nuclear attack capabilities."

"The United States will face a shuddering reality when their spearhead targeting our people's lives, will instead take [US] lives in the near future," the TV said in threatening wording.

Washington has been pushing for more bans against North Korea since Pyongyang conducted its biggest nuclear test on September 9. South Korean officials say the North is physically ready to conduct its sixth nuclear test.

It late September, Washington sanctioned a Chinese firm, accusing it of acting on behalf of a North Korean bank that has been under sanctions for allegedly being involved in trade activities that finance the procurement of parts for Pyongyang's nuclear program.

The United Nations Security Council has also threatened to prepare a new round of sanctions against Pyongyang, which has already been under strict sanctions for six years.

The North, however, told the UN General Assembly last month that it will strengthen its nuclear capabilities despite the threat of new sanctions.

The US has also irked North Korea by conducting joint annual drills with South Korea. Washington, which has about 28,500 troops in South Korea, is also planning to deploy an advanced missile system in the South by the end of next year.

'Another disaster'

In a separate development, humanitarian agencies have said North Korea is also facing a "second disaster" in flood-hit areas as a "long and bitter" winter approaches.

Save the Children and UNICEF warned Friday that flood-hit areas in North Hamgyong Province would begin to see sub-zero temperatures from the end of October.

Almost 130 people lost their lives in flooding in North Hamgyong in August and September. More than 70,000 people have also lost their homes.

"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 Oyunsaihan Dendevnorov, UNICEF's country chief in North Korea.

Paolo Fattori, a director with Save the Children, also said, "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."

Aid agencies have warned that raising money for humanitarian assistance to North Korea has become difficult because of the increasing global condemnation of Pyongyang's recent nuclear tests.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






N Korea could be preparing for another nuclear test

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 10:24AM

A US-based monitoring group says Pyongyang could be preparing to conduct another major nuclear test soon, after detecting increased activities at North Korea's known test site.

The research group run by John Hopkins University made the speculation Friday on the basis of satellite images showing an increase in nuclear activities at all three tunnel complexes of North Korea's main launch site, known as North Portal.

According to the group, one possible reason for these activities could be collecting data on the previous test early last month, but it's more likely that Pyongyang is planning a new missile launch.

Experts speculate that the new test could be on two days - October 9 and 10 - to mark the 10th anniversary of Pyongyang's first nuclear test and the 71st anniversary of the formation of the ruling Workers' Party.

Pyongyang has pledged to develop a nuclear arsenal to protect itself from the US military, which occasionally deploys nuclear-powered warships and aircraft capable of carrying atomic weapons in the Asia-Pacific region.

On September 9, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear warhead explosion, saying it was meant to counter US hostility. In January, Pyongyang said it had successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb, and vowed to build up its nuclear program as deterrence against potential aggression from the US and its regional allies.

A month later, Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket, which it said placed an earth observation satellite into orbit. Washington and Seoul denounced it as a cover for an intercontinental ballistic missile test.

North Korea says it will not give up on its nuclear "deterrence" unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward Pyongyang and dissolves the US-led command in South Korea. Thousands of US soldiers are stationed in South Korea and Japan.

The UN and the West have so far imposed a raft of crippling sanctions on North Korea in an attempt to curb its nuclear and missile programs, but the measures instead, have prompted the country to further boost such activities.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Failing North Korea Policies Being Criticized in Both the US, China

By Brian Padden October 07, 2016

North Korea's 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 Obama's 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 Korea's 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 North's 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 University's China Initiative, said many in China are frustrated with North Korea's 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

Washington's 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 North's 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 Un's stated position that his country's 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 North's 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.

Youmi Kim contributed to this report.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






India to Seal Border With Pakistan by Late 2018 to Prevent Hostilities

Sputnik News

14:01 07.10.2016

Indian Interior Minister Rajnath Singh said that Indian government was considering "technical" options for fencing off the 651-mile-long border with Pakistan.

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.

Rajnath Singh said the government was considering "technical" options for fencing off the 651-mile-long border with Pakistan. A part of it runs along river beds.

Tensions have been simmering between India and Pakistan after a deadly attack on the Uri military base in the India-administered Kashmir in September. India accused Pakistan of backing terrorism in the disputed region, but Pakistan denied any role in insurgency.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Tehran Issues Stern Warning as Saudis Launch Persian Gulf War Games

Sputnik News

01:58 07.10.2016(updated 11:26 07.10.2016)

As Riyadh conducts military drills in the Persian Gulf, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have called the exercises an unnecessary provocation that risks escalating tensions in the region.

On Tuesday, the Kingdom began live-fire drills known as Gulf Shield 1 Exercise. The exercise involves warships, aircraft, speed boats, and elite naval units, and will take place in the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz.

"The exercises include shooting of live ammunition as part of the efforts to improve combat readiness and protect the Kingdom's waters and marine interests against any possible aggression," said Navy Brig. Gen. Majed Al-Qahtani, according to the Saudi Gazette.

The Iranian government, however, isn't thrilled with the drills taking place so close to its own waters, and has warned against any provocations.

"The naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) believe this military exercise is a clear instance of creating tensions and undermining the stable security of the Persian Gulf," the IRGC said in a statement published in an Iranian newspaper.

"None of the naval vessels participating in this drill are permitted to trespass into Iranian waters and under no circumstances should they approach Iranian territorial waters," the statement added.

"Any such trespassing will not be considered a harmless aberration."

Sitting on opposite sides of the Gulf, Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite-dominated Iran cut off bilateral communication earlier this year.

"[The IRGC] will take proportionate and immediate action against any kind of movement, attempt or action to disrupt the peace and security of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman," the statement said.

Iran has also had a number of encounters with US Navy vessels in the Persian Gulf in recent months. While the Pentagon has described Tehran's actions as "unsafe," Command of the IRGC Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari has urged the US to end provocative operations in the waterway.

"We tell the Americans that they had better stop wasting the American people's assets and wealth by malicious and harmful presence in the Persian Gulf," Jafari said last month, according to Tasnim news agency.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Republic of Iraq  AC-208 Aircraft

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 16-42

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2016 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq for AC-208 aircraft and related equipment, training, and support. The estimated cost is $65.3 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on October 6, 2016.

The Government of Iraq requests to purchase two (2) Cessna AC-208 aircraft that include: dual rail LAU-131 Hellfire launcher capability on each wing, AN/ALE-47 electronic countermeasure dispenser, AN/AAR-60 Missile Launch Warning System, AN/AAQ-35 ElectroOptical Infrared Imaging System, contractor aircraft modifications, spare parts, publication updates, aircraft ferry, and miscellaneous parts. The estimated total case value is $65.3 million.

This proposed sale contributes to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a strategic partner. This proposed sale directly supports Iraq and serves the interests of the people of Iraq and the United States.

Iraq originally purchased three (3) AC-208 and three (3) C-208 aircraft in 2008. The Cessna aircraft are used to support Iraqi military operations against al-Qaeda affiliate and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces. The purchase of two (2) additional aircraft enables the Iraqi Air Force to continue its fight against ISIL. Iraq will have no difficulty absorbing these aircraft into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support does not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractor is Orbital ATK, Falls Church, VA. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. or contractor representatives to Iraq.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. All defense articles and services are approved for release by our foreign disclosure office.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iraq army may respond if Turkey hinders Mosul battle: Security source

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 8:13AM

Iraqi security officials warn the army may attack occupying Turkish forces deployed to the north should they intervene in an upcoming operation to liberate the city of Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

Baghdad "seeks to make clear that there is absolutely no role for Turkish forces in the Iraqi sphere," a senior security source was quoted as saying by the Middle East Eye (MEE) news portal on Thursday.

"Any movement or intervention by Turkish during the military operations (to retake Mosul), would be faced with a very strong response," the official warned, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Other Iraqi officials interviewed by the MEE said the Iraqi government is trying to deal with these "occupation forces" through political and diplomatic channels.

Last December, Turkey deployed some 150 soldiers, equipped with heavy weapons and backed by 20 to 25 tanks, to the outskirts of Mosul, the capital of Iraq's northern Nineveh Province which fell to Daesh in 2014.

Ankara claimed the deployment was part of a mission to train and equip Iraqi Kurdish forces in the fight against Daesh, but Baghdad denounced the move, which came without the consent of the central government.

Tensions between Iraq and Turkey have soared in recent days as Iraqi government forces and allied volunteer fighters are preparing for a large military offensive to cleanse Mosul of Daesh terrorists.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said the presence of Turkish forces in Iraq complicates the liberation operation, which will be carried out by national Iraqis with no foreign troops involved. He has warned that Turkish provocative actions could even trigger a new "regional war."

Turkey remains defiant, with its Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus saying on Thursday "no one has the right to object Turkey's presence in Iraq when the country is fragmented that much."

He said Ankara's military presence in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region had come at the request of president of Kurdistan's Regional Government, Massoud Barzani.

The MEE quoted a commander of Shia volunteer forces as saying that the central Iraqi government and allied fighters think Turkey has deployed its troops to "provide the required facilities" for Daesh and to get a foothold inside Mosul.

Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units, which comprise several prominent paramilitary groups, have recently said they would target Turkish forces if they "insist on staying in Bashiqa or extend their presence in Mosul."

"The presence of these troops (on Iraqi territory) is illegal and against the will of the Iraqi government, parliament and people," Ahmad al-Assadi, the spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Units, told MEE.

"We consider them an occupation force and we will deal with them on this basis," he said." As long as they are seen as occupiers, we have a right to adopt all available means to deal with the occupiers."

'New front against Turks once Mosul is freed'

On Monday, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a Shia paramilitary group, stressed the importance of Iraq's territorial integrity, saying Turkish troops on Iraqi soil will be dealt with following the recapture of Mosul from Daesh.

An Asaib Ahl al-Haq spokesman said the group would open a new front against the intruding Turkish forces to prevent them from pursuing their goals inside Iraq.

Earlier this week, the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution asking the government to consider Turkish troops as "occupation forces." The chamber also slammed Ankara for extending its military mandate on Iraqi soil for another year.

Baghdad has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting over the presence of Turkish troops on its territory.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Japan Authorities Worried by US Decision to Resume Harrier Flights After Crash

Sputnik News

11:54 07.10.2016(updated 12:03 07.10.2016)

Japanese authorities in the Okinawa prefecture are concerned about the US decision to resume flights of Harrier fighter jets, which were grounded after a crash, local media reported Friday.

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.

Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, the commander of US Marine Forces Japan in Okinawa, assured reporters earlier this week that the safety of Harrier fighter jets had been confirmed.

The extensive US military presence in Okinawa has been at the heart of tensions in the area, with residents demanding that US bases be removed from the island.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






South Korea on High Alert Amid Claims North Readying New Weapon Test

Sputnik News

08:42 07.10.2016(updated 08:50 07.10.2016)

According to media reports, south Korea's Defense Ministry braces for a possible new nuclear detonation or a missile launch by the North ahead of an upcoming anniversary next week.

TOKYO (Sputnik)  South Korea's Defense Ministry braces for a possible new nuclear detonation or a missile launch by the North ahead of an upcoming anniversary next week, the South's 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 Korea's 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.

Simultaneously, movement of vehicles and people has intensified at the Sohae military base in western North Korea, which has been used officially to launch satellites.

North Korea is celebrating the 71st anniversary of the ruling Workers Party on Monday. Pyongyang often uses important dates as a pretext for showing off its military power.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russian Parliament Ratifies Indefinite Deployment of Air Force in Syria

Sputnik News

17:06 07.10.2016(updated 21:31 07.10.2016)

Russia's lower house of parliament ratified on Friday an agreement with Syria that authorizes the deployment of a Russian air group at the Hmeimim airbase for an indefinite period of time.

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.

Russia began its air campaign against Daesh in Syria on September 30, 2015, at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Putin Submits Deal on Joint Air-Defense System With Armenia to Parliament

Sputnik News

14:37 07.10.2016(updated 14:56 07.10.2016)

According to the draft laws database of the State Duma, 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.

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.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolay Pankov was appointed the official representative of the president in the State Duma for the ratification procedure.

The National Assembly of Armenia ratified the agreement on June 30.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russian Official: We Are Working on Reopening Cuba, Vietnam Bases

By VOA News October 07, 2016

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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address










Blue America is really happy to see tremendous progress from two smart, committed progressives running against two of the worst of the extreme right Republicans in Congress, Darrell Issa and Cresent Hardy. The video up top is the just-released ad from Doug Applegate, a former Marine Colonel who found out yesterday that a third-party poll places him ahead of Trump by 4 points-- 46-42% in a swing district that encompasses southern Orange County and northern San Diego county.





Issa, a former car thief, who sold a line of devices to thwart car hijackers, is the wealthiest member of Congress. He had already spent $733,452 by the June 30 FEC reporting deadline and had $3,767,965 cash on hand. By that date, Doug had brought in $186,104 and spent $50,541. But he's still winning this race, at least in part because Trump is detested by the well-off suburban Republicans in tony towns like San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, La Costa, Del Mar, Torrey Pines, Carlsbad and La Jolla-- and Issa has fully embraced him and his rabid and dangerous policy agenda.









For cycle after cycle, the defeatist and incompetent DCCC has left Issa alone and refused to support his previous opponents, despite Democrats doing increasingly well in the district. Doug's impressive headway against him, though, has left the DCCC with no choice and they reluctantly added him to their Red-to-Blue list. Imagine... finally seeing the end of Issa's political career--and not replaced by a crappy Blue Dog but by a serious-minded progressive!









Cresent Hardy, a freshman, isn't as well known as Issa nationally. But he's every bit as toxic and, like Issa, a proud and loud strident Trumpist. NV-04 is a blue district (D+4) that the DCCC botched in 2014, primarily because of Steve Israel's ugly racism . It encompasses the whole central part of the state, from North Las Vegas in the south, Tonopah and Hawthorne in the west and Mesquite and Ely in the east. Most of the voters live in North Las Vegas. Most of the aliens live in Area 51 near State Route 375 (now officially designated the Extraterrestrial Highway)-- the aliens aren't registered to vote.




Syrian, Russian Actions in Aleppo 'Incomprehensible,' Work Says

By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity

ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT, Oct. 7, 2016  The actions of the Syrian and Russian governments against the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo are "incomprehensible," Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said yesterday.

"What's happening in Aleppo is a humanitarian catastrophe," Work said in an interview with DoD News as he traveled to Finland. "We hold the Syrian regime and Russia responsible for it, primarily."

Russia and Syria have subjected the city to relentless attacks, including bombing hospitals, innocent civilians -- first responders among them, he said. Those actions are all part of a "very cynical play essentially to make the place uninhabitable for humans and force the capitulation of the opposition there," he added.

"The indiscriminate bombing of humans and the targeting of hospitals and the targeting of first responders is certainly beyond the pale of any civilized nation," he said. "Our hearts go out to the people in Aleppo."

The United Nations says 275,000 people remain trapped in the city.

'Very Saddened' by Ceasefire Collapse

As far as any possible next step for the United States with regard to Syria is concerned, Work pointed out that Secretary of State John Kerry is exploring what options might be available. In September, Kerry negotiated with Russia a ceasefire in Syria that broke down days later.

"We're all very saddened on the collapse of the ceasefire," Work said.

The United States went into the negotiations with "eyes wide open," Work explained, saying it was not an attempt based on trust, but rather for certain conditions to be met.

"It was clear that Russia could not deliver  [Syrian President Bashar Assad] regime ['s cooperation,] as they promised they could," he said. "It is unfortunate that we were unable to make it work."

Questions on Advanced Air Defense System

Work questioned why Russia would need the S-300 advanced air defense system in Syria.

"The opposition doesn't have a lot of fighter aircraft, and therefore, we would ask: If Russia is really serious about going after terrorists, why they would be sending a system like this into the fight?" he said.

U.S. forces targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria have the right to respond if threatened, the deputy secretary said.

"As always, U.S. forces, wherever they operate, have the right of self-defense," Work said. "We would hope that the injection of this type of advanced system, which again, will have no bearing on the fight against ISIL, leads to no accidents or problems."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russia warns of possible downing of U.S. missiles in Syria

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 09:16, October 07, 2016

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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US military brushes off Russia's warning on Syria

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 5:56PM

The US military has brushed off Russia's warning not to strike Syrian government targets, saying Washington will continue to carry out its current operations in Syria Daesh (ISIL) terrorists.

"We'll continue to conduct our operations as we have for months now over Syria, and we'll continue to do so taking every possible step we need to ensure the safety of our air crews," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters on Thursday.

The official made the comments after a Russian military spokesman warned America against conducting airstrikes on Syrian military positions, noting that its S-300 and S-400 air defense systems in Syria are active.

"I would recommend our colleagues in Washington to carefully weigh possible consequences of the fulfillment of such plans," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Thursday.

Konashenkov also warned that American airstrikes could endanger the lives of Russian military personnel on the ground in Syria, and that it has taken measures to protect those forces.

Cook ignored that warning as well, saying the channel of communication has so far been quite effective in deconfliction of American and Russian operations.

"It's been an effective means of communication to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation. And we will continue to employ that line of communication in an appropriate fashion. We would encourage the Russians to do the same," he said.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that it had deployed the S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system to Syria to defend Russia's naval base in the city of Tartus and its ships in the coastal area.

Last November, Russia deployed its newest S-400 missile system to Hmeimim Air Base in Syria following the downing of a Russian jet by Turkey in Syria.

Russia has been supporting the Syrian government in its campaign to take back Aleppo from the terrorists.

Syrian government forces, backed by the Russian air campaign, have managed to gain more ground against foreign-sponsored militants in the strategic northwestern city.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Syrian army forces, allies liberate strategic hilltop in Aleppo

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 2:10PM

Syrian army forces, backed by fighters from popular defense groups, have carried out a broad military operation against terrorists' positions in Aleppo, and taken control of a strategic hilltop overlooking militant-held districts in the conflict-plagued northwestern city.

An unnamed military source told official SANA news agency on Friday that Syrian forces retook Sheikh Saeed hill from foreign-backed Takfiri militants, enabling army and pro-government government soldiers to observe all movements of extremists in Amiriyeh and Sukariyeh districts.

The achievement is the latest in a series of advances the Syrian army has recently made in Aleppo to dislodge militants from the eastern flank of the city, located some 355 kilometers (220 miles) north of the capital, Damascus.

A day earlier, the Syrian military forces had established full control over Bustan al-Basha and al-Sakhour neighborhoods plus al-Bureij region in northern Aleppo.

Elsewhere, in the northern town of al-Dana, Syrian air force fighter jets struck a number of militant bases on Friday, leaving tens of Takfiris dead and injured.

Several vehicles belonging to the so-called Jaish al-Fatah (The Army of Conquest) militant group were also destroyed in Syrian air strikes on al-Zallaqiyat, Soran and Khunayfis villages in the western-central province of Hama.

Separately, Syrian army units targeted the positions of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly known as Nusra Front) terrorist outfit in al-Karak and Wadi al-Zaidi areas of Dara'a, located about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Damascus, killing many terrorists.

Russia 'ready to secure Nusra exit from Aleppo'

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow is prepared to call on the Syrian government to allow the departure of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militants from eastern Aleppo as proposed by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on Thursday.

"I heard his statement concerning only Nusra. For God's sake, if 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 television network on Friday.

Militants remaining in Aleppo after the UN special envoy's plan is enacted should be clearly separated from Nusra, the top Russian diplomat pointed out.

Militant attack kills two more civilians in Aleppo

In another development on Friday, two people, including a child, lost their lives and two others suffered injuries when terrorists fired ten rockets at al-Midan neighborhood in Aleppo.

A source at Aleppo Police Command said the attack caused material damage to public and private properties in the targeted area as well.

The conflict in Syria, which flared up in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people, according to an estimate by the UN special envoy for Syria.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Syrian army liberates two more areas in troubled Aleppo

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 7, 2016 12:0AM

Syrian government forces have managed to liberate two more areas in Aleppo from the clutches of foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants as they are trying to flush the extremists out of the strategic northwestern city.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the official SANA news agency that army units wrested full control over a number of buildings in the al-Sakhour neighborhood of Aleppo, located some 355 kilometers north of the capital Damascus, on Thursday after clearing the last pockets of terrorists in the area.

The source added that the government forces also retook al-Bureij region in northern Aleppo, leaving a large number of terrorists killed and injured.

Elsewhere in the soutwestern province of Dara'a, Syrian army units and fighters from allied popular defense groups targeted the positions of the Takfiri Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militant group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, in the Dara'a al-Balad district of the provincial capital Dara'a, located about 90 kilometers south of Damascus, as well as al-Naimah village, killing and injuring scores of the Takfiris.

Syrian army soldiers and their allies also struck hideouts belonging to Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorists on the outskirts of Shaer and Jazal areas in the central province of Homs, destroying several arms depots and vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns.

Militant rocket fire kills eight Syrian civilians

In another development on Thursday, at least eight civilians, including two women and a child, lost their lives and nearly five dozen others sustained injuries in rocket attacks by foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants against two residential districts in Aleppo.

An unnamed source at the Aleppo Police Command said eight people were killed and more than 55 others, most of them children and women, were injured when four rockets fired by Takfiri terrorists struck the al-Jamilia neighborhood of the city.

The source added that the projectiles also caused substantial damage to public properties and several houses in the targeted area.

Separately, three people were injured when a rocket struck al-Kallasa Street in Aleppo's al-Sulaymaniyah neighborhood.

The conflict in Syria, which flared up in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people, according to an estimate by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Kerry Calls For War Crimes Investigations Of Russia, Syria Over Aleppo

Mike Eckel October 07, 2016

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.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/kerry- russia-syria-war-crimes- aleppo/28038645.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russia Placed S-300 Missiles in Syria After Learning of US Plan to Bomb Airbases

Sputnik News

21:38 07.10.2016(updated 22:15 07.10.2016)

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the decision to deploy S-300 anti-air missile system in Syria came after receiving leaked data on US intentions to bomb Syrian airbases.

"The S-300 appeared there [in Syria] after experts close to the American establishment had started leaking informationthat the US could hit Syrian airfields with cruise missiles," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in an interview with Russia's Dozhd TV chennel.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that a battery of S-300 air defense systems had been delivered to Syria to protect the naval base at Tartus, as well as Russia warships deployed off the Syrian coast.

Earlier, Zakharova critized US Secretary of State John Kerry's statements on launching an investigation into "war crimes of the Russian Federation."

"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.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Kerry Calls for War Crimes Probe Into Russian Activity in Syria

By VOA News October 07, 2016

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is calling for a war crimes investigation of Russia and Syria. He made the comment in a meeting in Washington with visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault Friday.

Following an attack on a Syrian hospital Thursday night which left 20 dead and 100 wounded, Kerry said that people must be held accountable for the violence ravaging the country.

"Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and women and children," he said, adding that these acts "beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes."

An agreement between Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last month would have created a new counterterrorism alliance in Syria, had fighting stopped for a week - long enough for humanitarian aid to reach affected areas. Neither condition was met, and airstrikes have continued.

Kerry ended bilateral discussions with Russia on their military partnership earlier this week.

"They are beyond the accidental now, way beyond, years beyond the accidental," Kerry said. "This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives."

As many as half a million people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the war in 2011. The United Nations' special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said Thursday that eastern Aleppo could be "totally destroyed" by the end of the year due to the "cruel, constant" military activities in the city.

As many as half a million people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the war in 2011.

The United Nations' special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said Thursday that eastern Aleppo could be "totally destroyed" by the end of the year due to the "cruel, constant" military activities in the city.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov told journalists in Moscow this week that any airstrike or missile strike against Syrian government-controlled territory would present a "clear threat" to Russian service personnel present in Syria.

Security Council to vote on Cease-fire proposal

Meanwhile, in New York, the U.N. Security Council was privately briefed Friday from Geneva by U.N. Syria Envoy Staffan de Mistura.

De Mistura told reporters the previous day that there are 275,000 civilians living in eastern Aleppo and about 900 al-Nusra fighters.

"I would then like to ask the Russian authorities and the government of Syria, please look at my eyes too, and the eyes of the world and the public opinion," de Mistura said, "Are you really ready to continue this type of level of fighting using that type of weapons, and de facto destroy the whole city of eastern Aleppo, the ancient city of Aleppo, with its own 275,000 people, for the sake of eliminating 1000 al-Nusra fighters?"

Diplomats with knowledge of Friday's private council meeting said de Mistura repeated similar statements in the council. They added that the discussions were very tense and only council member Venezuela appeared to side with Russia in its defense of its military actions in eastern Aleppo.

"Staffan de Mistura was crystal clear. He could not be clearer," French Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters after the meeting. "His message to the Security Council was you must act, and you must act now."

Delattre said the main priority is to stop the aerial bombardments in eastern Aleppo and that is what the draft resolution put forward jointly by France and Spain in the Security Council seeks to do.

He said after a week of "very hard, literally night and day" negotiations on the text with the other security council members, France would move for a 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," he added.

UN correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Tsai hopes Beijing will show more wisdom on cross-strait issues

ROC Central News Agency

2016/10/07 13:25:23

Taipei, Oct. 7 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () has expressed hope that China will display more wisdom in resolving its differences with Taiwan and called for cross-strait relations to be dealt with calmly and rationally.

Tsai made the comment in an interview with Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese national newspaper, on Thursday. The Presidential Office publicized the content of the interview on Friday.

Tsai said that after she demonstrated Taiwan's flexibility on cross-strait relations in her inauguration speech on May 20, the mainland Chinese side initially adopted a more measured approach.

However, Beijing has recently reverted to its old political tactic of exerting pressure on Taiwan. "We do not think this offers a win-win scenario for both sides," Tsai contended.

The new president reiterated her promise made on May 20 that "we will maintain the status quo and our goodwill."

"(We) hope the two sides will jointly resolve the problems facing us," Tsai said, "but Taiwan and Taiwanese people will not yield in the face of pressure."

Taiwan has no desire to go back to a time when relations between the two sides were antagonistic, Tsai said, explaining that what Taiwan wants is "peaceful relations and cooperation so we can work together to resolve problems."

She further said there might have been certain misunderstandings or misinterpretations in cross-strait relations recently. "This has made us see the need to sit down as soon as possible so we can communicate and address problems."

Tsai urged Beijing to return to its stance shortly after her inauguration, when the two sides were able to handle cross-strait issues calmly and rationally.

"We will be patient, but also hope the other side shows more wisdom," Tsai said.

Tsai also noted that she used her May 20 speech to emphasize that the Republic of China (ROC) government would maintain the status quo of peace and stability in cross-strait relations based on historical facts and the existing political foundation.

The ROC government will handle cross-strait affairs in accordance with "the Republic of China Constitution," "the Act Governing Relations Between the People of Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area" and other relevant legislation, she added.

Tsai said that her government would respect the historical fact that in 1992, the institutions representing Taiwan and China engaged in negotiations that resulted in various joint acknowledgements and understandings.

"We believe that returning to the historical facts demonstrates our goodwill in the face of mainland China's appeals," Tsai said, calling for Beijing to put to one side "the baggage of history" and resolve cross-strait differences through constructive communication and interaction without preconditions.

The two institutions involved in the 1992 negotiations were Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.

They reached what became known as the 1992 consensus, under which both Taipei and Beijing agreed there is only one China, with the two sides free to interpret its meaning.

China has insisted that the Tsai administration explicitly accept the consensus as the political foundation for the continuation of relatively warm relations under her predecessor Ma Ying-jeou but Tsai would only go so far as to say that she respects the historic fact that the cross-strait talks took place and some understandings were reached.

Tsai has called for China to remove all political preconditions on cross-strait interactions in recent interviews with foreign media outlets after Taiwan was not invited to attend the 2016 assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), held from Sept. 27 to Oct. 7 in Montreal, Canada, likely because of the objections of Beijing. (By Sophia Yeh and Elizabeth Hsu)

ENDITEM/AW

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Turkish Troops Doing Very Useful Work in Iraq  Turkish Prime Minister

Sputnik News

15:16 07.10.2016(updated 15:21 07.10.2016)

Turkish Prime Minister stated that Turkish troops are doing a really useful work in Iraq and Ankara has no claims to the Iraqi territorial integrity.

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.

On Tuesday, the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution voicing a protest against the Turkish military presence in the town of Bashiqa, located about 19 miles northeast of Mosul. The lawmakers demanded the Iraqi authorities to take necessary legal and diplomatic measures, including a review of the economic relations between the two countries. Ankara has condemned the resolution.

On Thursday, Iraq requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the presence of the Turkish troops on the territory in the north of Iraq.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address










UPDATE: Ryan Just Uninvited Trump



Minutes ago, Paul Ryan announced that Trump won't be at the Walworth County Fairgrounds with him and the rest of the Wisconsin GOP tomorrow.

Samantha Bee, as you can see in the video above, has had her team out talking to random deplorable morons around the country Trump supporters. I hope the Bee Team shows up in Elkhorn, Wisconsin tomorrow-- for the Walworth County Fair. Why should they? Well, it's part of Paul Ryan's congressional district and Ryan is hosting an especially ugly array of far right assholes that day, including Governor Scott Walker, Senator-- though not for much longer-- Ron Johnson, racist sociopath Attorney General Brad Schimel, Treasurer Matt Adamcyzk and Wisconsin state Party chairman Brad Courtney. Oh, and Donald Trump. Yep... Paul Ryan will finally go all the way with Trump... after all these flirty months.





before Trump's week from hell that has shown him dropping further in virtually every state. Soon he may figure out that every time he bashes President Obama, the president's approval rating goes up-- it's at Trump is starting to realize he's in trouble. Wisconsin, which Obama won both times (with 56% against McCain and with 53% against Romney). Right now the RealClearPolitics polling average has Hillary up 5.0 points. If that weren't bad enough, the most recent poll , by Emerson College, has Hillary leading Trump by 7 points-- 45% to 38%. (Russ Feingold is leading Johnson by an even more impressive margin-- 52-42%. The poll was completedTrump's week from hell that has shown him dropping further in virtually every state. Soon he may figure out that every time he bashes President Obama, the president's approval rating goes up-- it's at a new high-- 55%-- for his second term -- while his own already low numbers continue to collapse. (The new Ipsos/Reuters poll from October 4, shows Hillary with a 50% favorable and a 50% unfavorable-- favorable having all the positive momentum. Trump doesn't fare as well. 56% of voters view him unfavorably and just 44% favorably. He's not going overcome those numbers in just a month.)





Maybe Trump thinks cozying up with the reluctant Ryan is going to help him. Ryan's net favorable numbers are actually worse than Trump's! He's seen positively by 32.5% of the country and negatively by 42.8%. And this is the latest poll testing his favorables -- 29% favorable and 48% unfavorable.









Politico wrote that tomorrow's joint appearance with Trump is " The Beltway press and the K Street criminal class love him, though. They're his real base. Rachel Bade, writing yesterday forwrote that tomorrow's joint appearance with Trump is " a big shift for Ryan ," and his factored into his 2020 presidential calculations. "Maintaining daylight from Trump has given Ryan some plausible separation from Trump-- especially if the real estate mogul loses big and Ryan seeks to lead a post-2016 GOP rebuilding effort. The difference between endorsing Trump on paper and being photographed with him onstage-- assuming Saturday's event produces such a moment-- is significant." Ryan's political team is under the delusion that voters love him and will be understanding of what he's trying to accomplish. Almost as many voters don't even know who he is as like him.
'The Potential is Zero and There's No Money': Ukraine Can't Create Its Own Plane

Sputnik News

17:31 07.10.2016

Ukraine has lost its military-industrial potential and is unable to create a domestically made aircraft, according to Sergey Pashinsky, head of the Ukrainian parliament's Committee on National Security and Defense.

The Ukrainian news website Levy Bereg quoted Sergey Pashinsky, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's Committee on National Security and Defense, as saying that Kiev has lost its military-industrial potential and is already unable to create a domestically made warplane.

Pashinsky made the remarks during a round-table discussion at the Kiev-based Gorshenin Institute, a think tank.

"The creation of a modern military aircraft is worth at least three billion dollars, while our state defense order for 2016 stands at about 100 million dollars. What kind of a military aircraft in Ukraine can we talk about? Why should we even dream of this topic?" Pashinsky said.

According to him, Ukraine is neither technologically nor financially capable of creating a military plane, even including the lightest such an aircraft.

"Our potential is [tied to] the armored vehicle Dozor and the mortar launcher Molot rather than planes and aircraft carriers. All the industry branches have been destroyed, the potential is zero and there is no money," he said.

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.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Gov't Troops, Donetsk Militia Begin Petrivske Pullout in East Ukraine

Sputnik News

11:05 07.10.2016(updated 11:56 07.10.2016)

According to reports, Ukraine government troops and self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) militia have begun withdrawals from the Petrivske disengagement area.

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.

Zhebrivsky added that troops should be withdrawn by 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) at each side of the line of contact on Sunday.

The sides to the Donbas conflict signed a framework agreement on the withdrawal of forces at three locations along the line of contact, including Petrivske, on September 21. Despite the stated October 1 timetable, mutual accusations of ceasefire violations stalled the pullout until now.

Observers from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, Russian representatives at the joint ceasefire control and coordination center, as well as DPR command, are present at the withdrawal process.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






WISE  More than 200 miles from the Pittsylvania County community of Coles Hill, lawyers representing Virginia Uranium and the commonwealth of Virginia argued for and against efforts to mine the sites 119 million pounds of uranium Friday.

During the pretrial hearing, lawyers representing Virginia Uranium sought to both convince Judge Chadwick Dotson that the mining ban violated Virginia law against harming property and to force the states lawyers to clarify their position on health hazards of uranium mining and processing.

Here we are: the third attempt, Assistant Attorney General Duncan Pitchford said as the hearing began.

This is the second lawsuit Virginia Uranium has filed in an effort to overturn the states ban on uranium mining. After unsuccessfully lobbying the Virginia General Assembly in 2013, Virginia Uranium filed a federal lawsuit in Danville against Gov. Terry McAuliffes administration. Judge Jackson Kiser dismissed the lawsuit.

Arguing Virginia Uraniums property law claim, Washington, D.C., attorney Michael Kirk laid out several ways he believed the moratorium damaged the private property around the Coles Hill site, which the company has valued at about $6 billion.

We strongly dispute the claim that the ban is because of public health, Kirk said.

Kirk compared Virginias moratorium to thievery, referencing several other mining cases where the government was impeding an owners right to mine resources.

Pitchford shot back at Kirks claims, saying the General Assemblys ban was made in the interest of public health and safety, exempting it from the property laws.

They are trying to protect the citizens of the commonwealth from a potential nuisance, Pitchford said.

Kirk used several regulatory tests and cases to argue for Virginia Uraniums right to mine the property. Pitchford also used some of the same tests to argue Virginia Uranium could not prove a complete removal of property rights, among other arguments.

Pitchford also argued the second lawsuit was a case of res judicata, or that the case had already been judged in federal court and cannot be litigated again in Virginia court.

Kirk responded, saying filing issues and sovereign immunity caused the need for the case to be litigated in two court systems.

Kirk partner John Ohlendorf also argued for the administration to be forced to clarify the health hazard evidence associated with uranium mining, among other questions raised in the motions. Pitchford said the questions raised were not related to the current case and too ambiguous to be answered.

Judge Dotson did rule to have the Vancouver-based parent company Virginia Energy Resources to be removed from the plaintiffs list because it did not have an actual claim to the Coles Hill property.

Dotson said he would rule on the two other motions within 10 days.
To the editor:

I am writing out of deep concern for my family and community to respond to a recent article, (Report: MVPs impact minimal, Sept. 30).

Havent we learned from recent history about the risks of dirty energy projects? Between the coal ash spill and threats of uranium mining, Danville and Pittsylvania County have been through enough. We should reject the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Locally, the Mountain Valley Pipeline will overstep private property rights through the use of eminent domain, pose threats to future economic development projects and hurt our natural environment. As if thats not enough, the local impact is only the tip of the iceberg. Since this pipeline will move natural gas obtained through a process called hydraulic fracturing, its enabling much worse abuses at its source. Unlike traditional gas wells, fracking uses intense underground water pressure  and some chemicals  to fracture rocks and extract more natural gas. It helps make the company more money but has left a well-documented trail of serious health issues and ruined water wells.

The problem is really even bigger than that: natural gas pipelines are bad news for the communities where the company drills and the land the pipeline crosses, but they also put our entire planet at risk by contributing to global warming. I am a state governing board member of Virginia Organizing, and we have chapters across the state. Members of our South Hampton Roads Chapter are experiencing climate change firsthand. Terrible flooding due to sea level rise has become a normal experience. These floods ruin homes, close schools and cause millions of dollars in damage. Within a couple generations, we night lose an important part of our state. We have to do everything we can to stop it.

Before the coal ash spill hit us a couple of years ago, Duke Energy and government regulators told us we had nothing to worry about. It was only after the spill that they seriously examined their other coal ash ponds and started making changes that should have been decades earlier.

I dont want to learn another lesson the hard way. Instead, lets ask the tough questions now and do whats right for future generations. Lets stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

JOHNNY MAYO

Danville
The Goodyear employee who died on the job on March 31 was killed when a forklift shifted pallets onto him, according to a citation issued to the plant from the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry on Sept. 28.

Kevin Edmonds was fatally injured while resting/sleeping behind a load of pallets. A forklift was used to shift the pallets which struck the victim, according to the citation obtained by the Danville Register & Bee through a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request to the department.

Goodyear faces a $7,000 penalty related to the incident.

The citation states that Goodyear did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. Employees were exposed to, struck by and/or caught between hazards from materials and equipment, when the employee[s] took rest/sleep breaks from operating machines that would run for hours at a time.

The department planned to issue additional citations Friday in connection with the death of Greg Cooper at the plant in April.

Goodyear has not received official notification from the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health program office of any new citations, said Barbara Hatala, North America functional communications manager with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Akron, Ohio.

An investigation revealed that it was well known that Edmonds regularly left his work station during machine runs without reporting his whereabouts, according to the citation.

Edmonds was last seen at about 1:15 p.m. on the day of the fatal accident, according to the citation.

He did not return to his work station at the end of [his] lunch break and his absence was not noted by supervisory personnel until approximately 5 p.m., according to the citation.

His body was found at 6:06 p.m., according to the citation.

The investigation also revealed that Goodyear has established work rules that included disciplinary action or discharge for sleeping during the work shift. Also, employees on continuous operation are to remain at their works stations until relieved or as instructed by management, according to the rules.

In addition, employees wanting to leave their work stations at other moments besides their break time must receive permission from management or other designated personnel, according to company rules.

The investigation did not reveal any information to indicate that the victim had been previously disciplined for his actions by the employer, the citation stated. One feasible abatement method  to correct this hazard is for the employer to implement and enforce its safety policies addressing employees leaving their work stations as outlined in the Associate Procedure Booklet.

Goodyear has 15 days to contest the citation.
VANCOUVER, Oct. 7, 2016 - Four River Ventures Ltd. (NEX:FFC.H) ("Four River" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that, further to its news releases dated August 8 and September 15, 2016, it has entered into an arrangement agreement dated October 6, 2016 including a plan of arrangement (the "Plan of Arrangement") for the acquisition of Canabo Medical Corporation ("Canabo"), a private corporation existing under the laws of Canada. This transaction will be an exchange of securities with all of the securityholders of Canabo (the "Transaction") on the terms previously announced, and the Plan of Arrangement must be adopted by the securityholders of Canabo by special resolution, in accordance with the requirements of the Business Corporations Act (BC). In result, upon completion of the Plan of Arrangement, Canabo will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.The principal business carried on by Canabo and intended to be carried on by the Company is the operation of medical clinics for evaluating the suitability of, prescribing, and monitoring cannibinoid treatments for patients suffering from chronic pain and disabling illnesses. Canabo currently operates ten medical clinics across Canada, staffed by licenced physicians and other qualified health care practitioners.The Company was incorporated in British Columbia on February 2, 2007 and is listed on the NEX division of the Exchange under the symbol "FFC.H". The Company's current business was the exploration for mineral resources. The Company does not currently have any ongoing operations and has no material assets other than cash.In accordance with Exchange policy, the Company's shares are currently halted from trading and are expected to remain halted until after the Exchange accepts and confirms the completion of the Transaction.Except for statements of historical fact, all statements in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding future plans, objectives and payments are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties (see below).Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and shareholder approval. Where applicable, the Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.The Exchange has in no way passed on the merits of the proposed Transaction and has neither approved or disapproved the contents of this press release.Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.This press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. The forward-looking statements and information in this press release includes information relating to the Acquisition (including the structure of the Acquisition), the Transaction (including shareholder approval, shareholder support, and other terms), the Private Placement (including its completion and the use of proceeds from the Private Placement), the directors and management of the resulting issuer upon completion of the Transaction, and the implementation of Canabo's business plan. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: risks associated with the completion of the Transaction and matters relating thereto; and risks associated with the marketing and sale of securities, the need for additional financing, reliance on key personnel, the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers or directors, and the volatility of the Company's common share price and volume. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

There are a number of important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others, risks related to Canabo's proposed business such as failure of the business strategy and government regulation; risks related to Canabo's operations, such as additional financing requirements and access to capital, reliance on key and qualified personnel, insurance, competition, intellectual property and reliable supply chains; risks related to Canabo and its business generally such as infringement of intellectual property rights and conflicts of interest. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on the Company's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company has assumed a certain progression, which may not be realized. It has also assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time.



THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.



NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

For more information about Four River, please contact:Alistair MacLennan, President & Chief Executive OfficerTelephone: (604) 899-0106Email: Alistair@geocrow.orgFor more information about Canabo, please contactJohn Philpott, President & Chief Operating OfficerTelephone: (902) 442-0653Email: johnphilpott@cmclinic.ca
Texas Alliance of Energy Producers logo

SHARE

WICHITA FALLS  The upstream oil and gas economy in Texas contracted in August for the 21st consecutive month, according to the Texas Petro Index (TPI), which declined to 150.5.

Since peaking in November 2014 at 313.5, the TPI through August lost 52 percent of its value. Karr Ingham, the economist who created the TPI and updates it monthly, sees the steep decline of upstream oil and gas activity as an orderly and logical process that has surpassed some important milestones. For example:

Crude oil prices have stabilized in the $40-to-$45 per barrel ($/bbl.) range since posting a low of $27.08/bbl. in February. In August for the first time since the contraction commenced, the average monthly crude oil price in Texas ($41.49/bbl.) exceeded the average price in the same month a year earlier ($39.67/bbl.).

Drilling rig activity has been increasing since May in response to higher oil prices, although Ingham expects rig-count growth to stall in the near future absent another oil-price increase.

Estimated statewide total upstream oil and gas employment in Texas increased by 800 jobs in August compared to the updated July employment estimate, marking the first addition to upstream oil and gas employment in Texas since December 2014. (Preliminary July employment data suggested a 100-job increase compared to June. However, that increase was wiped out when revised, updated employment data were released, although upstream employment in both June and July was estimated at 203,325.)

"These are important milestones," Ingham said. "They certainly do not suggest a return to the activity levels the state was enjoying in advance of the downturn, but they do suggest the industry is no longer hemorrhaging in terms of price, the rig count, and jobs. First things first!"

"As long as the TPI continues to decline, the upstream oil and gas industry in Texas will not begin to transition to an expansionary mode," Ingham said. "However, it appears the rebound of posted oil prices in Texas has turned the rig count around and stopped the decline of industry job losses."

A composite index based upon a comprehensive group of upstream economic indicators, the Texas Petro Index in August was 150.5, 35.2 percent less than in August 2015. Before the current economic downturn, the TPI peaked at a record 313.5 in November 2014, which marked the zenith of an economic expansion that began in December 2009, when the TPI stood at 187.4.

Texas exploration and production highlights in August 2016:

Crude oil production in Texas totaled 96.3 million barrels, 9 percent less than in August 2015. With oil prices in August averaging $41.49/bbl., the value of Texas-produced crude oil totaled nearly $4.0 billion, 4.9 percent less than in August 2015.

Estimated Texas natural gas output surpassed an estimated 700.1 billion cubic feet, a year-over-year monthly decline of about 6 percent. With natural gas prices in August averaging $2.69/Mcf, the value of Texas-produced gas declined 7.7 percent to more than $1.88 billion.

The Baker Hughes count of active drilling rigs in Texas averaged 231, 40 percent fewer units than in August 2015 when an average of 385 rigs were working. Drilling activity in Texas peaked in September 2008 at a monthly average of 946 rigs before falling to a trough of 329 in June 2009. In the most recent economic expansion, which began in December 2009, the statewide average monthly rig count peaked at 932 in May and June 2012.

The number of original drilling permits issued was 660, which is 23.6 percent fewer than the 864 permits issued in August 2015. The number of permits issued this year through August  4,830  is down 34.8 percent compared to the first eight months of 2015.

An estimated 204,125 Texans remained on upstream oil and gas industry payrolls, down about 19.3 percent from August 2015 and 33.3 percent fewer than the estimated high of about 306,020 in December 2014. According to TPI estimates, the trough of upstream oil and gas employment in Texas before the expansion ending December 2014 was 184,640 in October 2009. During the previous growth cycle, industry employment peaked at 225,965 in October 2008.
In this 2015 photo provided by Birthright Israel, Birthright Israel visitors tour the Kotel or "wailing wall" in Jerusalem. Birthright Israel offers free trips to Israel for young Jewish adults ages 18 to 26. Since its inception in 1999, more than 500,000 young Jewish adults from around the world have taken Birthright trips. About three-fourths of participants are American. The program is funded by the Israeli government, Jewish nonprofit organizations and philanthropists. (Sylvie Rosokoff via AP)

SHARE In this 2015 photo provided by Birthright Israel, a Birthright Israel group tours Masada, the ancient fortress on a plateau in the desert overlooking the Dead Sea in Israel. Birthright Israel offers free trips to Israel for young Jewish adults ages 18 to 26. Since its inception in 1999, more than 500,000 young Jewish adults from around the world have taken Birthright trips. About three-fourths of participants are American. The program is funded by the Israeli government, Jewish nonprofit organizations and philanthropists. (Sylvie Rosokoff via AP) In this 2015 photo provided by Birthright Israel, a Birthright Israel group tours Masada, the ancient fortress on a plateau in the desert overlooking the Dead Sea in Israel. Birthright Israel offers free trips to Israel for young Jewish adults ages 18 to 26. Since its inception in 1999, more than 500,000 young Jewish adults from around the world have taken Birthright trips. About three-fourths of participants are American. The program is funded by the Israeli government, Jewish nonprofit organizations and philanthropists. (Sylvie Rosokoff via AP) In this Sept. 21, 2016 photo, Gidi Mark, CEO of Birthright Israel, is interviewed in New York. The organization offers free trips to Israel for young Jewish adults ages 18 to 26. Since its inception in 1999, more than 500,000 young Jewish adults from around the world have taken Birthright trips. About three-fourths of participants are American. The program is funded by the Israeli government, Jewish nonprofit organizations and philanthropists. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

By BETH J. HARPAZ, AP Travel Editor

NEW YORK (AP)  For some young Jews, it's almost become a rite of passage: taking a free trip through Birthright Israel.

Since the organization launched 16 years ago, it's brought 500,000 Jews to Israel. They come from 66 countries, but about three-fourths are American. The only requirement is that participants be 18 to 26 years old, with at least one Jewish parent (or one Jewish grandparent if they're from the former Soviet Union).

Birthright Israel was founded by philanthropists Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt. Today funding comes from the Israeli government, Jewish nonprofits and individual donors, including the conservative billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam.

Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark calls the free trips "a gift from one generation to another." The Associated Press interviewed Mark in New York about the organization's goals and how it has evolved.

___

AP: What's your mission?

MARK: The real gift we give young people is the ability to think. This is a crucial time in their lives, leaving parents' homes, asking, 'Who am I? Who am I going to be?' We give them 10 days to forge their own identities.

Brandeis University has done research that shows Birthright increases feelings of attachment to the state of Israel by 40 percent. It increases the number of Jews marrying Jews by 45 percent. It increases the willingness to raise their children Jewish if they have a non-Jewish parent. ... Forty-five percent of our participants from the U.S. come back to Israel within five years.

AP: How do you handle controversy over Israeli politics?

MARK: We used to hear complaints that a speaker was too right-wing and about 50 percent complain the other speaker was too left-wing. We decided to go and take the best speakers in Israel and give them guidelines of messages that anybody could feel very well with. We started this last year and for the first time we did not receive one complaint.

We have thousands of people who are very critical of Israeli policy. But after 10 days in Israel they take ownership of what's going on in Israel, including the criticism. We don't say Israel is impeccable.

We add eight Israelis to each group of about 40 participants. Among eight Israelis there are nine opinions. If we want to control content, we cannot.

We don't allow preaching, not religiously, not politically.

AP: Do Birthright participants meet with Palestinians?

MARK: A large part of participants do meet with Arabs living in Israel from all walks of life.

AP: How do you keep Birthright Israel trips safe?

MARK: Luckily we have a very clean record after half a million participants. Parents were concerned about going into the Middle East, it's a volatile area. But Israel has become relatively safe in the eyes of Americans, partly because of what's going on here (in the U.S.) and what's going on in Europe.

We have one security guard joining each and every one of the groups. We constantly change itineraries if we need to. We don't go to regions that might have any potential of violence. Each and every one of the groups has an emergency button that goes directly to the national emergency room and every group is monitored 24/7.

AP: How much of the Birthright Israel experience is religious?

MARK: Only 2 percent of our participants consider themselves Orthodox. I believe close to 40 percent define themselves as Reform, about the same number define themselves as "just Jewish," and don't belong to any movement.

We do the blessings for Shabbat ... but we take religion as part of a very broad tradition in a positive way. No coercion.

We also from time to time make huge bar mitzvah ceremonies and Hebrew naming ceremonies, which are very moving.

We try to show them that Judaism is not about religion only. Religion is part of many faces of Judaism. There is culture, art, history, social relationships.

AP: How has Birthright Israel changed?

MARK: You cannot compare Birthright Israel today to Birthright Israel five years ago.

First of all we diversified the offerings. We have 40 different types of groups. Groups for foodies, for theater, for journalists, for bloggers, for doctors. Groups for people who have Asperger's or Crohn's disease or are disabled or LGBT or film writers.

We would also like to extend the time they spend in Tel Aviv and improve it. We've opened the first-ever visitors center in Tel Aviv to showcase Israeli's high-tech industry. We've started to bring Birthright Israel groups there to meet with entrepreneurs.

AP: Spending a night in the desert seems to be something a lot of participants find memorable.

MARK: For thousands of them, just to lie on the ground and look at the sky like Moses and Abraham, it's a new experience. They are really excited about it. We give them binoculars and telescopes to see falling stars, to see something they would never forget.

AP: Birthright is famous for its hookup culture.

MARK: We are not the police. We are lucky to have decided from day one we don't deal with minors. Anything they do, they do with mutual respect.

AP: Are there many Birthright marriages?

MARK: I personally know of hundreds of marriages that came from Birthright trips and I can tell you there are hundreds of children. In two years we are going to have the first child of Birthright parents come on a trip.
SHARE

The Standard-Times publishes news of special events and programs. We do not accept items detailing regular weekly sermons or schedules. Items will be run only once. Church news can be submitted by email at Matthew.McDaniel@gosanangelo.com or by fax to 325-659-8133. Forms also are available in the Standard-Times lobby from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Deadline for submission next week is Wednesday before the date of publication. Dates, times, address and a publication number are required.

Belmore Baptist

Belmore Baptist Church, 1214 South Bell St., will welcome Revs. Larry Yarbrough and Skip Hill as pulpit guests Sunday. Yarbrough will speak at 10:50 a.m., and Hill will speak at 6 p.m. Youth Minister David Bingham will share the children's message.

W.I.C.K.S. Missions Study for ladies will be at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Belmore is collecting funds for the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Baptist Missions. The state wide goal for this year is $4M.

Belmore Stitchers Sewing Ministry will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday. All ladies are invited.

Call 325-651-4661 for more information.

First Presbyterian

First Presbyterian Church, 32 N. Irving St., needs volunteers for the Empty Bowls fundraiser to benefit Wesley Trinity Daily Bread Soup Kitchen. The fundraiser, presented by the Texas Hunger Initiative, is set for 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Cactus Hotel, 36 E. Twohig Ave., and volunteers will help serve at the event. Tickets are $25 and attendees will enjoy a soup-and-bread lunch, and take home a handcrafted pottery bowl to serve as a reminder that there are still many empty bowls in our community and around the world.

To volunteer, call 325-655-5694 or email: programs.director@fpcsanangelo.org

FIRST UNITED METHODIST

First United Methodist Church, 37 E. Beauregard Ave., will host Kids' Night Out from 6-10 p.m. Oct. 14 Children will play games, make crafts, and learn about God. The evening concludes with an age-appropriate movie and a fun snack. Kids' Night Out is held the first Friday of every month. Parents are asked to feed children in advance, or send dinner with them. Drinks and a snack are provided. Reservations are required. The cost is $10 per child, but no more than $25 per family.

Call 325-655-8981 for more information.

Gethsemane Missionary

Baptist

Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church, 1720 Martin Luther King Drive, will hold its 47th anniversary celebration at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Rev. Johnny R. Frazier, Sr. will guest speak. Refreshments will be served in the fellowship hall following the service.

Call 325-227-8916 for more information.

St. Ann Parish

St. Ann Catholic Church, 311 W. Plum St. in Sonora, will hold its annual Fall Festival 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 23. The event will feature food booths, silent auction, music, games, a raffle and more.

Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m.

Call 325-387-2278 for more information.

ST. BONIFACE PARISH

St. Boniface Catholic Church, 1118 County Road 234 in Olfen, will hold its annual Fall Festival celebrating 115 years Sunday. The event will feature a homemade German sausage, turkey and dressing meal served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost for adult and to-go plates is $10, and children younger than 10 eat for $5. Raw sausage will be sold for $5 per pound. Sausage pre-orders are recommended, and payments can be mailed to: St. Boniface Sausage Sales, 1829 FM 584, San Angelo, TX 76904.

Call 325-442-2893 for more information.

St. Paul Baptist Church, 1011 Martin Luther King Drive, will celebrate its 120th anniversary at 3 p.m., Sunday.

Superintendent Jackie Allen, pastor of Miracle Temple COGIC of San Angelo will present Were Walking By Faith.

Call 325-655-3498 for more information.

St. Paul Baptist

St. Paul Baptist Church, 1011 Martin Luther King Drive, will celebrate its 120th anniversary at 3 p.m., Sunday. Superintendent Jackie Allen, pastor of Miracle Temple COGIC of San Angelo will present Were Walking By Faith. Call 325-655-3498 for more information.

Sierra Vista

Sierra Vista United Methodist Church, 4522 College Hills Blvd., will host the Parent's Support Group for families with disabilities at 9:45 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 9th, in room N-1.

The 3rd Grade Bible presentation will be held at the 8:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday worship services. Fifteen children will be given a "Faith Friend" sponsor, along with their Bible.

A Block Party has been rescheduled for this Sunday afternoon from 4-6 p.m. in the church parking lot. The event will feature free hot dogs, snow cones and inflatable bounce houses.

Call 325-944-4041 for more information.

Water Valley Baptist

Water Valley Baptist Church is accepting and managing funds for the "Sherry's Bike Ride" fundraiser to benefit Shannon Medical Center cancer patients, and patients at Hendrick Health System who need lodging.

The Ride began in September with the goal of riding 800 miles for the cause, and  to date  Sherry Davidson has logged 500 miles in her quest.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will be split evenly between Shannon's Angel Fund to benefit local cancer patients and their families, and Hendrick's League House.

Donation checks should be made payable to: "Sherry's Bike Ride" P.O. Box 51, Water Valley, TX 76958.
SHARE

By Jennifer Rios

A San Angelo man who tried to steal two packages of steak from a local grocery store was sentenced to 20 years in prison this week.

Patrick Sherman Guillorys charge of theft of property less than $1,5000 was enhanced to a second-degree felony because of prior convictions, including theft, possession of cocaine and two robberies.

Jason Ferguson, assistant district attorney, prosecuted the case this week at the Tom Green County District Courthouse. Christianson Hartman represented Guillory.

After finding Guillory guilty, jurors deliberated for less than an hour Tuesday on the punishment.

Guillory, 52, was charged with stealing the steaks from Lowes grocery on May 20, 2013, according to a release from the 51st District Attorney.

District Judge Jay Weatherby presided over the two-day trial.

Ferguson said Guillory had lived in Houston and that most of his priors originated in Harris County, dating back to 1979. One robbery sentence, handed down in the mid-1990s, ended with an 18-year prison sentence.

San Angelo Police Officer Howard Miller, the prosecutions main witness, testified about seeing Guillory pick up the steaks, head down an aisle and later seeing a bulge underneath his shirt. A brief pursuit took place inside the store, and ended with Guillory lifting his shirt to show he wasnt hiding anything. Miller found the two packages of meat hidden in a soda display.

I think the jury did what they thought was right, Ferguson said. For a repeat thief like this, I think they basically sent the message that were not going to tolerate that here.

Guillory did not take the stand in his own defense.

Gloria Neumeyer, director of Adams House, testified as a character witness for Guillory.

While he was living there he certainly didnt steal from us, she said after the trial. He didnt cause problems  as far as he was there on the premises.

She said Guillory lived at the drug and alcohol rehab house for about six months before his arrest.

Neumeyer described Adams House as one of several sober homes for people who want to stay clean. They are approved by the staff and pay rent to live there. She said people convicted of violent crimes or sex offenders are not allowed to apply to live there.

Guillory had been made assistant manager while he was living there, and part of his duties were to make sure people followed the rules  abiding by curfews and paying him rent.

Im really sorry he chose to break the law, she said, after inquiring about his sentence.

At the time she remembers Guillory talking about the incident  saying he remembered being incarcerated and that it wasnt a good idea. When she heard that he never actually left the store with the steaks, that he might not be guilty.
The Ministry of Transport now seems to favor the project over a much more expensive plan for a high-speed rail link.

Vietnams Ministry of Transport is seeking approval for a new 1,372-kilometer expressway linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as the exsiting north-south National Highway 1 has become overburdened.

In a proposal submitted to the government, the ministry expects to secure a go-ahead by July 2017 and to start construction no later than May 2019.

It hopes that work on the whole project, worth about $10.2 billion, will complete by December 2022. The government is expected to cover 40 percent of the cost while private investors will chip in the rest.

The designed maximum speed is 120 kilometers per hour, or nearly 75 miles per hour.

The project, if approved, will form part of a larger national expressway that runs more than 1,800 km from north to south. The other sections, totaling 470 kilometers, are under construction and set to be completed by 2020.

The construction of the Hanoi-HCMC expressway is urgent for various reasons, local media reported Friday, citing Vice Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat.

He said that the north-south National Highway 1 has been overloaded by an increasingly large number of vehicles in recent years. Residential areas along the highway make it impossibile to expand the road to accommodate more traffic.

In March, the government unveiled plans to expand the network of national expressways from 2,500 km in 2020 to 6,411 km by 2030.

The ministry has also planned to build a high-speed rail link connecting Hanoi and HCMC. Such a project could cost a lot more than expessways and would also require technical support from foreign companies and partners.

In 2010 the ministry proposed a $56-billion high-speed railway but it was rejected by legislators. Last month, local media reported that transport officials were trying to revive the plan, but a new cost estimate and further details have not been provided.

Related news:

> Expressway operator backs down on toll hikes, cuts fees instead

> Vietnam targets over 6,400km of expressway by 2030
Vinamilk products are displayed for sale at a Fivimart supermarket in Hanoi, Vietnam, October 7, 2016. With a growing middle class and a sizeable young population, Vietnams retail market has become increasingly attractive to foreign investors. Photo by Reuters/Kham

But restrictions will only be eased five years after the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement takes effect.

Vietnam has pledged to consider easing market restrictions for retailers from the European Union five years after its free trade agreement with the bloc takes effect.

The country has maintained a technical barrier called the economic needs test (ENT), which has made it difficult for foreign companies to expand in the local retail market.

All foreign retailers in Vietnam are now required to go through the test before they are allowed to open a new store which is larger than 500 square meters. The test is basically an administrative review of the number of existing retail outlets in a particular area, aiming to protect local retailers from fierce competition.

The ENT creates a major hurdle that global retail groups have been protesting for years.

The government's promise to offer greater market access to European companies indicates its willingness to open up the market further or its confidence in homegrown retailers or both.

The EU and Vietnam are expected to implement their bilateral free trade agreement in early 2018.

With a growing middle class and a sizeable young population, Vietnams retail market has become increasingly attractive to foreign investors.

Vietnamese retailers are indeed going head to head with foreign players.

In May, the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Business Associations, a large body whose members include major retailers and manufacturers, reportedly sent at least two letters to the government raising questions about business activities of foreign retailers.

According to local media reports, the union claimed that foreign retailers somehow managed to keep opening new outlets despite the ENT barrier.

Related news:

>Flood of foreign retailers forces Vietnam to take action

>Vietnam ranks in top 30 fastest growing retail markets

>Vietnam's M&As to hit a record high of $6bln in 2016
(TNS)  When Beauty.ai was announced as a beauty contest judged by Artificial Intelligence (AI), the point was to take human bias out of the equation. The projects creators wanted to study what constituted beauty objectively. More than 60,000 people from around the world sent in pictures of their faces to be judged by bots. But when the results, released in August, came in, 37 of the 44 winners were white. Six were Asian and only one of the winners had dark skin. It appeared that the AI was racist.One explanation for the lopsided results, according to Anastasia Georgievskaya, one of Beauty.ais project managers, was that most of the entrants were whiteonly 1.3% were black, 2% Indian and 6% Asian. But this is not the first time AI has shown signs of bigotry. When Microsoft launched a Twitter bot named Tay in March, it began spewing hatred within hours, saying, among other things, that feminists should burn in hell and Adolf Hitler was right in hating Jews. Last year, the Google Photos app, which was supposed to be able to identify objects, activities and events on its own, with no need for humans to tag them, labelled a black couple as gorillas.To understand how this could be happening, you have to think of an AI bot as a child. Much of AI today undergoes a process called deep learning, which means the AI, during what is called its training, is exposed to reams of data and human behaviour and then forms its own ways of deciding how to act, much like a child develops his nature from his environment. Now, if the data the AI sees reflects, in some way, human prejudices, then it will pick those up. So, if an algorithm is training to identify things in photographs and it sees a lot of photographs in which people of a certain race have been labelled with a racist slur, it will begin to use that same slur against that race.Abhinav Aggarwal, co-founder of Fluid.ai, which, among other things, builds bots to replace customer executives in banks and call centres, explains that, like a child, a bot will learn more from the data it is exposed to early on than what it sees later. The Microsoft bot probably happened to stumble upon hateful material on Twitter early on and developed those traits. Then it would have been hard to correct them by exposing it to cleaner material, he says.Georgievskaya says the problem Beauty.ai had was that the data the algorithms trained with was not diverse enough. If a bot being trained to study how many wrinkles a person has does not see enough pictures of Indians, then it may not develop a good enough methodology to determine how many wrinkles they have and may appear to be biased against them. The contest was an initiative of Russia and Hong Kong-based Youth Laboratories. Youth Laboratories is now working on a project called Diversity.ai, whose aim is to adjust data sets so that all demographics of people are well represented.It is possible to correct some of the flaws in AI by managing the data it is exposed to. Fluid.ai, for example, does not let the AI it puts in banks know what the customers they are interacting with look like. But as we see greater integration of AI in our everyday lives, we must consider that some prejudices are intrinsic in our society, and it will take a proactive effort to stop bots from continuing them.In the Beauty.ai contest, one algorithm judged how similar entrants looked to actors or models. Models or actors are considered to be beautiful and hence we have an algorithm that compares entrants to them, Georgievskaya says. And we are not comparing all people to white models, but to those within their own ethnic groups. What is not acknowledged in this process is that some cultures are biased in the way they select their models and actors. In Indias film industry, for instance, there is a clear bias towards fairer skin, so would a dark-skinned Indian person be judged less model-like than a lighter-skinned one by one of Beauty.ais algorithms?Bias has been a part of our lives for so long that various older technologies that AI now banks on as reliable betray shades of it. Cameras, for example, have been developed to best capture the skin tones of white people. So the Google Photos app and Beauty.ais algorithms are studying photographs that dont display dark skin as well as they do light skin.Our language itself is filled with prejudice. All the literature, advertising and other written material that exists on the Internet simmers with it. So when AI tries to learn our language, it absorbs the prejudice too. When computer scientists at Princeton University, US, did a word-association test with GloVe, an unsupervised algorithm that learns human language from the Web, they found that it associated words such as management and salary more with male names and ones such as home and family with female ones. It also found names common among whites pleasant and those common among blacks unpleasant.The worry is that AIs racism is not just being revealed in controlled experiments such as Beauty.ai or the Princeton one. It is influencing real decisions.Earlier this year, non-profit news organization ProPublica released a report that it said exposed how software used in the US prison system was discriminating against black convicts. In Florida, US, an algorithm created by a company called Northpointe is used to predict how likely a convict is to commit another crime on release. This information is used to decide bail amounts, lengths of parole and even, in some cases, a felons jail sentence. But what ProPublica found was that the algorithm was more likely to flag black criminals as re-offenders and wrongly predicted blacks would commit future crimes twice as often as it made the same mistake about whites.In a 2013 study, Latanya Sweeney, a professor of government and technology at Harvard University, found that Googles AdSense was far more likely to show advertisements suggestive of arrests when a black name was googled than when a white one was, regardless of how many people with the searched name had actually been arrested. This could easily play a role in an employers decision to hire a particular person.Though these kinds of prejudices already exist, they are harder to question when machines make decisions that are biased. Northpointe, for example, refuses to disclose how the algorithm that rates prisoners in Florida works. So, it is harder to call it a racist than it is to call a prison guard with a history of discrimination one.The key problem seems to be that several developers continue to refer to AI as impartial when it is clear that it tends to adopt our prejudices.Before unleashing bots into the world, it would be a good idea for their makers to set ethical standards for them, training them not just to learn from humans but also guard themselves against picking up their biases.
(TNS)  A federal judge on Thursday sharply questioned Airbnb and HomeAway on their contention that San Franciscos vacation-rental law would violate their rights under the First Amendment and Communications Decency Act.The legal showdown comes after years of tension between Airbnb and its hometown over the rules that govern short-term rentals in a city thats short of space for long-term residents and visitors alike.The Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996 to shield companies for liability over content published online, does not say because you are a website you are free of any potential regulation or liability, U.S. District Judge James Donato said to attorneys for the two vacation-rental companies at a hearing in San Francisco. As to their First Amendment argument, Im struggling with how this ordinance can be described as content-based, he said. Airbnb sued the city in June over an update to the vacation-rental law that would make rental platforms like Airbnb liable for steep fines and criminal penalties if they arranged bookings for listings that flouted the citys registration requirement. Expedias HomeAway later joined Airbnb in the suit. San Francisco agreed to suspend enforcement of the new provision until Donato rules on the companies request for an injunction halting it. A ruling could come as soon as next week.In an 80-minute hearing, Donato peppered attorneys for Airbnb and HomeAway with questions about why the ordinance would discriminate against their free speech rights, and noted that it seemed undisputed that the majority of the citys vacation-rental hosts are skirting the law by failing to register their properties.Only about 1,700 hosts have registered since the requirement took effect in February 2015, although there are about 8,000 to 10,000 hosts citywide. San Francisco contends that it cant easily track down the scofflaws, which is why it decided to force vacation-rental platforms to police their sites. After initially passing an update that would have held platforms liable for simply showcasing unregistered listings, the Board of Supervisors re-amended the law to make the liability occur only if platforms arranged bookings of unregistered properties, in a move to undercut Airbnbs legal arguments.You have all this outrage in your briefs; This is outrageous, theyre outsourcing enforcement to Airbnb, but theyre not outsourcing, just trying to harvest information from the single entity that knows, which is you, Donato said to Airbnbs attorney.The ordinance would compel Airbnb to remove thousands of listings, including listings that are potentially lawful, said its attorney, Jonathan Blavin, a partner in San Francisco firm Munger, Tolles & Olson. You dont want a website with a bunch of listings people cannot book; that would make this site unusable.But Donato said automated technology could provide a simple solution without requiring Airbnb to infringe on its hosts privacy. The homeowner can give (Airbnb) a registration number; you send that to the city database and it gets checked against the database, he said.He later questioned attorneys for San Francisco about how the city could make it easy to check registration numbers.Whats the citys vision to make sure this isnt an exercise in futility? he said, asking if San Francisco would have a transition period until the needed software was up and running. If youre going to criminalize behavior, you have to make sure you play fair. You cant say you have to check the registration number and then make it impossible for people to check.Assistant City Attorney Sara Eisenberg suggested that Airbnb initially could require hosts to upload a copy of their registration certificates, just as Uber requires drivers to upload copies of their drivers licenses.Donato said the city needs to make its information totally transparent to these companies so they dont get prosecuted since Airbnb still would be on the hook if a host lied and comes up with a brilliantly conceived facsimile of a legal registration thats totally fake.Assistant City Attorney Jim Emery said, Well work with (Airbnb and HomeAway) and develop an enforcement plan and its going to work.Thats not very comforting, Donato replied, drawing chuckles.In a statement after the hearing, Airbnb spokesman Christopher Nulty maintained that the ordinance violates an important federal law that serves as the backbone of free speech and innovation online. ... Though these cases can drag on for years, we remain ready and willing to work with the city right now on much simpler rules for hosts that protect the citys scarce housing stock.Airbnb, founded as temporary crash space in a South of Market bachelor pad, has rocketed to gargantuan success, showcasing some 2.3 million listings worldwide, far more than even the largest hotel chain. Private investors value the company at $30 billion.But its stirred controversy and clashed with regulators in many cities, with activists saying it siphons off permanent housing for more-lucrative tourist rentals and hurts neighborhood ambience.
Residential properties stand near a construction site in Hanoi. Vietnam is stepping up efforts to boost economic growth to 6.7 percent this year and clear up bad debts in the financial system, some of which are tied to property. Photographer: Brent Lewin

The State Bank of Vietnam aims to bring down toxic debts in local lenders to below 3 percent of total outstanding loans this year.

The State Bank of Vietnam has managed to keep bad debts in the banking system under 3 percent of outstanding loans so far this year, Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong told legislators on Thursday.

Toxic debts in the banking system as of August 31 were reported at 2.66 percent, according to the central bank data.

During the January-August period, banks wrote off VND58 trillion in non-performing loans, official statistics show.

The specter of toxic debt has been looming over Vietnams economy since 2012 when total bad debts, mostly in real estate sector, hit VND280 trillion ($12.5 billion), equivalent to a staggering 11 percent of gross domestic product.

In 2013, Vietnam set up an asset management firm to buy bad debts from troubled banks. The Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) since then has tackled with VND211 trillion or $9.4 billion of bad debts from the books of local banks, exceeding its initial target of VND200 trillion.

The fact is the risk still stays with the banks because the VAMC doesnt actually buy those non-performing loans, it only houses them and helps banks restructure them.

Since 2014, the VAMC has only recouped about 7 percent of the bad debts worth of VND211 trillion, mainly by selling assets originally put up as collaterals for the unrecovered loans in the real estate sector, according to Chairman Nguyen Quoc Hung.

Evidently, lawmakers have reasons to worry about bad debts in the banking system even though Hong, deputy governor, assured that "most credit institutions have managed to bring down their bad loans to below 3 percent."

Phung Quoc Hien, vice chairman of the National Assembly, raised his concern about how the central bank will deal with the VND200 trillion in bad debts that VAMC has bought.

Bad debts are still on the rise. I suggest [the central bank] check up on banks, review their lending activities, said Hien.

Related News:

>Vietnam PM lowers 2016's growth target

>Vietnam's central bank grapples to fight inflation

>Vietnams credit growth up 10.6 percent in first nine months
Helmut Marko is continuing to pedal his theory that Red Bull contributed to Lewis Hamilton's engine failure in Malaysia.

The Red Bull official had said the pace of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in the Sepang heat "very likely forced him (Hamilton) into that engine failure".

Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda hit back at Marko's "nonsense".

But fellow Austrian Marko thinks his theory is sound.

"It's strange," he told Germany's Auto Bild.

"Why do Mercedes suddenly no longer drive in quali-mode? Why are the new engines not being given to the customer teams as was planned?

"I think our theory seems to be right," Marko added.

"As long as Mercedes does not know exactly what happens, the most obvious explanation is that it is because they are now going at full power."

(GMM)
Renault could finally be close to deciding its drivers for the 2017 season.

The French works team has had a difficult first year after taking over Lotus, with technical boss Bob Bell saying the Enstone factory had become run down.

"From the outside, I don't think people realise how run down the Enstone squad had become, so there's a lot to do," he said.

It has complicated the process of selecting drivers for 2017, with Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer at the wheel this year, Esteban Ocon in the frame for the future but the likes of Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg all also targeted.

Magnussen's 2017 contract 'option' ran out at the end of October, but the Dane then agreed to extend it until October 14.

"(Choosing) the drivers is a very important decision," team boss Frederic Vasseur told the Danish broadcaster TV3.

"It is important not only for performance, but the drivers are also a key condition for motivation and technical knowledge.

"It is a long-term commitment so we have to be absolutely sure," he added.

However, after the lengthy delays, Vasseur revealed that Renault is finally now closing on a decision.

"At some point we have to commit," he said. "We know the driver market, we know the situation in our team, so we need to sit down next week to make the decision."

(GMM)
Sauber boss Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted the Swiss team thought about entering the all-electric single seater series Formula E.

Formula E is reportedly going from strength to strength, with Audi, Mercedes and BMW set to join Jaguar and Renault in the capital city-based street category.

It might be said that Formula E is now a genuine threat to a series like DTM, given the future involvement of all three German manufacturers.

"No, we are not concerned," DTM boss Hans Werner Aufrecht told DPA news agency.

"All three manufacturers have made a clear commitment to DTM, and in what form their motor sport programmes are designed is for them alone."

The DPA report, however wonders even if "Formula E will soon be a real competitors for formula one?"

According to Brazil's UOL, Sauber chief Kaltenborn admitted at Suzuka that the Swiss team has been interested in Formula E "from the start", and the "door is still open".

"We had other (financial) problems to solve and we did not need a new one," she added. "But we will continue to look at it carefully."

Kaltenborn said it is interesting that two companies in US media tycoon John Malone's Liberty empire are now shareholders in F1 and Formula E respectively.

"So they seem to find some synergy, although from a different perspective, but why should it not work for a team as well?" she wondered.

However, Kaltenborn admitted that potentially skyrocketing costs in Formula E could become a problem, given the influx of major car manufacturers.

"It will be interesting to see how this develops, which could take five or six years or perhaps just two, we'll have to see what happens," she said.

(GMM)
Mercedes officials have continued to slam suggestions they are "sabotaging" Lewis Hamilton's title charge.

The reigning world champion threw fuel on the conspiracy theories in Malaysia, after suffering yet another engine problem, this time whilst on the cusp of regaining the 2016 points lead.

But Mercedes' engineering chief Paddy Lowe denied Hamilton ever "hinted" at sabotage.

"Lewis has been very clear, certainly with us, that that's completely out of the question," he said at Suzuka.

Team chairman Niki Lauda also denies that Mercedes secretly engineered Hamilton's engine blow-up at Sepang.

"Bull----," the F1 legend told the Swiss newspaper Blick.

"We wanted to give the world title to our main sponsor Petronas in Malaysia," Lauda explained. "Now we have to wait for Japan. That is embarrassing enough.

"Nico and Lewis will fight for the title between them, and hopefully neither will be stopped by technical problems. Any engine failure now would just be embarrassing," he insisted.

(GMM)
Maurizio Arrivabene says Sebastian Vettel will have to earn a new Ferrari contract.

The timing of the Ferrari team chief's comments is interesting, after sections of the Italian media suggested German Vettel is in a period of "crisis".

"I can read," Vettel was quoted by Sport Bild as having responded to the Italian press' reports, "but I read rather different things."

On Italian television Sky, Arrivabene backed Vettel but suggested that his place at Ferrari beyond 2017 may not be secure.

"Vettel is neither the problem nor the solution," he said.

"The two drivers are very important and Seb is working hard although at times there have been distractions.

"He just needs to focus on the car. He is a person who gives so much, which can mean he is interested in a bit of everything. So sometimes he just has to focus on the main work that he has to do," said Arrivabene.

In that way, Arrivabene said he is not ready to start talking about Vettel's contract beyond next year.

"Seb has a contract with us, each of us has our goals and it is right that everyone earns his place and money," he said.

It was suggested, however, that a new deal for 2018 and beyond might be one way for Ferrari to demonstrate confidence in the four-time world champion.

"I don't think anyone wins because of (contract) renewals," Arrivabene insisted.

"Today, times have changed, and what worked in the past with Schumacher does not necessarily work with Seb."

Arrivabene admitted that Ferrari overall "underestimated the strength of Mercedes and Red Bull" in 2017, "and it was a lesson in humility to look behind as well as in front of you.

"It is a matter of (car) design but there were other factors outside of the merits of the project that we could not predict," he added, possibly referring to the death of James Allison's wife and the technical director's departure.

(GMM)
Two top drivers were feeling the pressure at Suzuka on Saturday.

Sebastian Vettel was asked to respond to Maurizio Arrivabene's critical words in the Italian press, in which the Ferrari boss said the German's future at Ferrari is not secure.

"I don't know exactly what Maurizio said, but in general we have a really good relationship," Vettel insisted.

"As I always say, nothing is eaten as hot as it is cooked.

"If there is something I don't like I tell him, and it works the other way around. There is nothing between us that needs to be sorted out.

"Our shared goal is that we want to become stronger and win races," he added.

Also feeling the media's heat on Saturday was world champion Lewis Hamilton, who was clearly stung by British newspapers having slammed his behaviour during the FIA press conference.

The Mercedes driver had been accused of disrespecting the media by playing with the 'Snapchat' phone app, so he hit back after qualifying.

At the Mercedes news conference, Hamilton said he would not be taking questions from the written press.

"I have decided I am not actually here to answer your questions," he said.

Confirming it is a response to the 'Snapchat' saga, Hamilton explained: "What was more disrespectful was what was then written worldwide.

"I don't really plan on sitting here many more times for these kind of things, so my apologies and I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your weekend," he said, before standing up and leaving.

Mercedes refused to comment.

(GMM)
More than 80 percent of trips in Hanoi are made by motorbikes and scooters. Photo by Alamy

The ban would be impossible due mainly to undeveloped and insufficient public transport.

Hanoi's plan to remove motorbikes from the streets of the city in the next four or five years is hardly feasible, said Nguyen Van Thach, head of the Traffic Safety Department under the Transport Ministry.

He said the ban would be impossible to implement due mainly to undeveloped and insufficient public transport in Hanoi.

If the city manages to put four to five urban monorail routes into operation by 2020 then we can talk about reducing the use of private transport, said Thach.

He pointed to the fact that metro projects and monorail routes have faced years of delays.

The construction is progressing slowly so the ban [on private vehicles] is impossible, said the senior traffic official.

Fast-economic growth has shaped Hanoi into a city of motorbikes. Currently there are more than 5 million motorized two-wheelers on Hanois roads, and the number of new vehicles is on the rise, putting mounting pressure on the citys transport infrastructure. Statistics show around 19,000 new vehicles are registered in the city each month, and it is estimated that by 2020 there will be more than 6 million motorbikes on the streets of the capital.

Motorbikes are deeply integral to all aspects of everyday life in the city. In Hanoi, nearly everyone has a motorbike to travel around the tiny streets and alleys. According to the World Bank, motorbikes play an important role in making Hanoians commute relatively shorter compared to other large Asian cities.

Bui Danh Lien, chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association, said the only way to talk people into ditching their private vehicles is to build a well-developed public transport system.

Everyone knows that to curb congestion, we have to develop public transport and reduce the use of private vehicles. Under the current circumstances, it would be difficult for Hanoi to introduce these measures, said Thach, the traffic official.

He also ruled out the prospect of putting more buses into use.

With the current limited infrastructure and narrow streets, the number of public buses can only increase in certain areas and to a certain level, he said.

Thach explained that public buses are more suitable to cities with a population of 1.5 million. The populations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are now about 7 million and nearly 9 million respectively.

Experts suggested that to reduce congestion, major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City should impose a ban on private cars rather than on motorbikes from downtown areas.

Cars cause between 50 percent and 70 percent of urban traffic congestion, said Ha Huy Quang, deputy director of Hanoi Transport Department.

And 75 percent of traffic accidents are caused by cars, said Khuat Viet Hung, vice chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee.

Experts said the whole system could collapse following a surge in car ownership in Hanoi. The number of cars is growing at speed, at more than 200 percent between 2005 and 2015, according to the World Bank.

Related News:

> Hanoi hits speed bump on road to motorbike-free city

> Vietnam kick-starts plans for motorbike emissions tests

> Hanoi plans parking restrictions to ease congestion
Investors are discouraged by low profits and the city wants to draw them back by simplifying bidding rules.

Ho Chi Minh City has asked for the central governments permission to simplify bidding rules to draw investors into canal cleanup projects that involve the removal of thousands of shanty houses.

Le Van Khoa, the city's vice chairman, said at a meeting with the Construction Ministry on Thursday that there are about 20,000 substandard shanty houses along the city's canals, and they pose a threat to the people living there and cause pollution along the waterways.

The city announced plans to clean up its canals last year but said the projects will take many years and billions of dollars to complete, while investors have been discouraged by low returns.

Khoa said the city needs the governments approval to simplify bidding procedures to draw investors back following recent interest.

The Saigon Housing and Infrastructure Investment JSC has offered to invest nearly VND9.3 trillion ($417 million) to clean up and remove houses along parts of the Doi Canal in District 8, he said. Half of the slum houses in the city are in District 8.

A company from Hanoi also said it wanted to spend more than VND5 trillion ($224.2 million) on the Xuyen Tam Canal in Binh Thanh District.

HCMC started removing shanty houses from its canals in 1993 and has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the mission.

It plans to bring all the stinky, dirty canals back to life, like it has done successfully with the Nhieu Loc  Thi Nghe Canal, which runs roughly eight kilometers through seven districts.

The city spent around a decade and more than $390 million, including funding from the World Bank, to revive the canal.

No plan has been announced on where the residents will be relocated to. Earlier, affected residents living along the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe were moved into social housing projects.

Related news:

> Plastic wind turbines light up Hanoi's slums

> HCMC to dredge 18 polluted canals in central districts
She used to come with her real identity several times years ago.

A Vietnamese woman has been sentenced to 10 weeks in jail in Singapore and fined $1,000 for entering the country with another persons passport.

Nguyen Thi Bich Lieu, 43, was convicted for assuming a false identity for immigration clearance on Wednesday, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore said in an online statement.

Failing to pay the fine will keep her in prison for another two weeks, it said.

Lieu arrived at the Changi Airport on March 18 this year and produced a Vietnamese passport under the name Do Thi Duc. She told officers that it was her name, and she had never used a passport under a different name to enter Singapore.

But investigations found Lieu had entered the country on several occasions using another passport bearing her real identity.

She was arrested by immigration officers at Changi Airport on April 16 when she was about to fly back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Her purpose of visiting Singapore was not revealed.

In related news, immigration officers in Malaysia also arrested three Vietnamese women without legitimate papers during raids between Thursday evening and early Friday. A total of 30 foreigners, between 20 and 46 years old, were arrested.

Related news:

>Malaysia uncovers immigration racket raising trafficking, security fears
American advocate of Vietnam's Agent Orange victims accused of fraud, embezzlement Chuck Palazzo, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran living in Vietnam, has been accused of fraud and embezzlement by the men who entrusted him with thousands of dollars in charitable donations.
GREENWICH  The St. Lawrence Society will honor longtime town volunteer Sam Romeo as part of the 29th annual Columbus Day flag raising Monday.

The ceremony will be followed by a breakfast at the club, 86 Valley Road, and a dinner there at 6:30 p.m.

The ceremony will be led by town Tax Collector Tod Laudonia, who is president of the St. Lawrence Society.

We want to carry on our traditions, Laudonia said. We want to bring awareness not just to the people we honor but all the contributions that Italians have made to Greenwich. This is an important day and were really looking forward to it.

The St. Lawrence Society is expanding its Columbus Day mission to include everyone in Cos Cob, not just those of Italian heritage, Laudonia said. The flag-raising and other Columbus Day events are open to the public at large.

Were not losing our Italian roots and heritage, but were expanding our reach and what we can do for the whole community, Laudonia said.

More than 150 people are expected for the events.

A small business owner, Romeo was a longtime member of the towns Representative Town Meeting and is now head of the Housing Authoritys board of commissioners.

He is also a radio host on WGCH and has been a volunteer in town for decades, working on projects from the Cos Cob Power Plant to volunteering with the Boy Scouts, helping out Greenwich Emergency Medical Services to assisting the Nathaniel Witherell and Parsonage Cottage.

Sam epitomizes the people we look for in an honoree, Laudonia said. He obviously has Italian heritage but hes someone who has given selflessly to the community for his whole life without seeking the spotlight. Those are the qualifications we look for and he fits them all.

Romeo said he expects a lot of friends and family at the event, but true to Laudonias word, he was a bit reluctant to step into the spotlight.

Im very humbled by the honor, Romeo said. You could have knocked me over with a feather when they told me about it. They were talking to me about projects I had done that I had even forgotten about because I usually work something and move onto something else. I never wanted to be in the spotlight for any of it though. I did all of these things because theyre the right thing to do.

Tickets to the dinner are $90 for members and $100 for non-members. To reserve seats, call 203-618-9036 or register online at stlawrencesociety.com/events.
A worker loads paddy onto a boat for a customer at Co Do Agriculture Company in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. Photo by AFP

The boy doesn't want to leave school but he has to take care of his sick parents.

Social media has been filled with sadness and frustration in recent days with a story of a seventh-grader in northern Vietnam who has decided to drop out of school because his family is too poor.

Quach Van Truc from a small commune in Thanh Hoa Province sent a letter to his teachers this week, explaning why he could no longer go to class.

In the handwitten letter of great poignancy, Truc said his father has pneumonia, his mother has heart conditions and his family has run out of rice.

I don't want to leave school at all. But these times are hard and now I have to take care of my parents, he wrote.

I will miss you guys a lot, the child addressed his friends.

The boy's letter. Photo by VnExpress

Truc, who has a younger brother, was quoted by Thanh Nien newspaper as saying in an interview that all local hospitals have turned down his father because the family does not have money. He is also in the last stage of chronic kidney disease.

Ive always wanted to become a doctor, to treat my dad myself, Truc told the daily in tears.

The boy said by dropping out, he wanted to give his brother a better chance to finish school.

Teachers at the school, located in one of the poorest communes in the province, have raised VND200,000, or nearly $10, to help their student. They also gave the family 20 kilograms of rice.

But the teachers admitted this is not a long-lasting solution.

Local radio reported that the province on Friday offered VND5 million ($225) to the family.

The boys story has been shared widely on Facebook, drawing criticism of social policies in a country where education is highly valued but is not always afforadable.

Despite various supports for low-income families, Vietnam still sees more than 1 percent of the country's 22 million students drop out of school and college every year, mostly due to poverty, according to official data.

Many have said the use of public money should be reviewed and tightened because wasteful public projects continue to be funded while many children are left behind.

A recent report from the General Statistics Office said more than one million Vietnamese people are living in hunger. They are among 1.4 million households, or 6 percent of families in the country, who are living under the poverty line, or earning less than VND4.8 million ($215) a year per capita.

A new policy effective later this year will redefine poverty as earning less than VND8.4 million ($374) a year per person. This new threshold is expected to raise the ratio of poor families in the country to 10 percent, or more than 2.3 million.

Related news:

> Over 1 million Vietnamese live in hunger

> Why can't Central Highland ethnic minorities seem to escape poverty?

> World Bank gives Vietnam's education reform a boost with $95 million loan
Diseases such as cancers, heart disease and stroke claimed more lives.

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 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 diarrheal diseases decreased by 20 percent.

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 Alzheimer's, 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.

Centralizing 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 combating 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 world's 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 nation's 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.

Related news:

> Key facts about strokes

> Can long naps cause diabetes?

> Millennials have less sex
After years of back-and-forth between Apple and Samsung, the US Court finally came to a verdict in the case of Samsungs accusation of copying a few methods and features from the iPhone. Apple is to be awarded $119.6 million for Samsungs infringement of patents for slide-to-unlock, autocorrect, and the method used to detect phone numbers for tap-to-call functionality.

The lawsuit originated back in 2011 with the Samsung Galaxy S in which Apple alleged that Samsung infringed on 10 of Apples patents across a span of four continents at one point in time.

The initial $119.6 million verdict was thrown out by a three-judge panel back in February. The U.S. Court of appeals ruled 8 to 3 for the case to be reconsidered.

The decision Friday comes less than a week before the U.S. Supreme Court considers another case Apple had filed against Samsung. That case, to be argued Tuesday in Washington, focuses on how much Samsung should pay for copying patented designs for Apples iPhone.

Check out the full report from Bloomberg.

Source | Via
Android itself may be open source and ready for any mobile device maker to use, but the Google apps are a whole different story. If you want the Play Store on the phones you make, then you need to play ball with Google - and, among other things, agree to preinstall a certain list of apps. This changes from time to time, and come December 1 it will change once more.

From that point on, Google Duo will become a mandatory preinstall for Android phones, replacing Hangouts in that role. Hangouts will be an optional preinstall, meaning some manufacturers may choose to ship it with their devices, but most probably won't. On the other hand, this means Duo will come preinstalled on every single Android handset released after December 1. So those market share gains it's made already are only going to get bigger.

Obviously this doesn't mean Hangouts is dead per se, but unbundling it from the mandatory Google apps package is yet another step in the search giant's strategy of making this a business communications platform of sorts - and not a consumer-oriented product. When it comes to messaging, that role now goes to Allo, Google's umpteenth effort in this space, and yet another try at competing with Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Messenger. Oddly though, Allo is not part of the aforementioned Google apps list, at least not yet.

Source
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
The Oppo R9s is not exactly a secret - aside from the leaks, there's already been a TV commercial running in China. The logical next step has followed and the company has sent out invites for the launch event, scheduled to be held on October 19.



Oppo event invites and IMX 398 sensor

That's not all, however. Apparently, the smartphone's camera will be based on a new Sony-made IMX398 sensor. On top of the obvious (and also largely meaningless) fact that it's 98 more than the IMX300 imager Sony uses in its own high-end Xperias, the source states that the sensor is a 16MP dual-pixel affair (similar to the 12MP Samsung Galaxy S7 camera). Lens aperture is also said to match the Samsung flagship at f/1.7.



No R9s Plus mentioned on the sensor box

The R9s Plus, featured in the TV ad, isn't explicitly mentioned on the invites (or the fancy sensor box). This could mean one of two things - either the R9s and R9s Plus will be announced at different points in time and differ in more than just size (like the current R9 and R9 Plus, which have rather different hardware), or quite the opposite - the two will be identically specced (save for display diagonal) and the common moniker has been deemed sufficient for an invite. Will find out soon enough.

Source 1  Source 2 (both in Chinese)
The myth of Italian instability By: Alberto Mingardi

On December 4th, Italy is going to vote in a referendum on the constitutional reform recently enacted by the Parliament. Together with the fate of a constitutional reform, Mr Renzis government is at stake  and for this reason the vote is deemed to be very important if not altogether potentially fatal to the future of the euro. This is in the case the no vote prevails, and Mr Renzi ends up prematurely dissolving his government.

Constitutional issues are very intricate, and this one isnt an exception. As happened in England with Brexit, it is easy to forecast that a fair number of people will be voting one way or another not because they have a reasoned opinion over the new constitutional text  but to signal satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the way prime minister Renzi is helming the country. This should come as no surprise: indeed, most people are not eager to invest time and effort to make sense of something as arcane as constitutional change.

One of the reasons Mr Renzi and his allies claim this reform is needed is to provide the country with more stability. That might be true, but almost invariably in the international media that idea is echoed by comments on the fact Italy has had governments with mayfly-like lifespans: 63 executives in 70 years.

This should be qualified with another observation: Italy may have had 63 governments in 70 years, but it has had only 27 heads of governments.

What I want to say is that between 1948 and 1994the 46 years during which Italy had 50 different governmentsthe country wasnt politically unstable: it has been remarkably, perhaps excessively, stable instead. All these governments were voted by a parliamentary majority in which the biggest party was invariably the Christian Democracy: before it was swiped away by corruption allegations, a remarkably successful party, which had stayed in power without interruption since the end of World War Two. Top government positions were easily rotated precisely because just the same people were in power all the time, and giving them ministerial jobs was the way to keep them happy.

There are several reasons why this happened; the most important one was geopolitical constraints. Italy was part of the Western bloc and, while the Communist Party was regularly the second largest one in national elections, they could not really gain national government.

Many of the Italian diseases, still here today, came about because in this regime of blocked democracy, the Christian Democrats bought consensus by public spending. But the phrase you go to London to see the change of the guard and to Rome to see the change of the government is a nice joke, but not a good description of the kind of system Italy has had since the end of WWII.




Haiti - France : Francois Hollande statement





Following the passage of Hurricane Matthew on Haiti, the President of the French Republic Francois Hollande declared Friday :



"The Matthew hurricane hit Haiti very hard on 4 and 5 October. It made many victims and enormous material damage.



The President of the Republic expresses its sympathy and support to the Haitian people, already as proven in recent years.



The Head of State wished that France is mobilizing all available resources to implement very quickly, in coordination with our European partners and the international community for emergency assistance.



As early as 5 October, at the request of the Haitian authorities, a Falcon 50 of Armed Forces in Martinique has conducted reconnaissance flights to assess the damage caused by the weather, including the necessary infrastructure for the delivery of humanitarian aid to victims.



The most urgent need now is to provide drinking water to the population and prevent health risks. A plane will be chartered to transport 60 military of the civil security, and 32 tons of equipment, including two water purification plant, medical kits, humanitarian first-aid equipment. In addition, two French senior officers firefighters travel today for Port-au-Prince to support the Haitian authorities."



See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-18860-icihaiti-france-air-logistics-support.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-18843-icihaiti-matthew-france-in-solidarity-with-haiti.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Humanitarian : Over $6M aid from UK





The UK is committing up to 5 million Pound Sterling (over $6 million) of initial support to help thousands of people in Haiti affected by Hurricane Matthew, announced Friday, Priti Patel, International Development Secretary.



The funding includes a first consignment of UK aid arriving in Haiti today including shelter kits for 5,000 people and a further four British experts to help assess and address the needs of those affected by the storm. A team of DFID (Department for International Development) experts are now in the region who will help NGO and UN partners address immediate needs, including water, healthcare, shelter and protection.



Temporary shelters, equipment to purify and carry safe drinking water and solar lights to reach 12,500 of the most vulnerable people, including women and children, will arrive in Haiti over the coming few days.



Speaking from Washington DC, where she is discussing financing for the developing countries at World Bank meetings, International Development Secretary Priti Patel declared "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.



Global Britain will play its part to ensure expertise and support can make a real difference on the ground helping those caught in the aftermath of devastation. We supported the positioning of aid in preparedness for natural disasters and shelter kits have been sent direct from the UK. 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."



DFIDs support forms part of the UK Governments overall response alongside the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. British vessel RFA Wave Knight and her helicopter remains in the region, able to respond with humanitarian assistance if required.



The UK is working closely with other international donors, the United Nations, NGOs and governments in the region to establish the exact extent of the damage and the most pressing humanitarian needs.



UK aid being sent to Haiti over the coming days will be distributed in Haiti in coordination with CARE International.



HL/ HaitiLibre
























Haiti - FLASH : Haitian Red Cross is appealing for donations





The National Society of the Haitian Red Cross (HRC) and partners continue to deploy throughout the country and especially in the most affected areas for evaluation on the ground after the passage of Hurricane Matthew.



Currently, the partners of the International Movement of Red Cross and Red Crescent are preparing to support humanitarian actions, following the damage caused by Matthew, taking into account the fundamental principles and values cultivated by the movement, including the respect of human dignity and strengthening of the capacity of beneficiaries to recover.



The Red Cross is appealing to the solidarity of all and invites interested parties to make their donations, monetary or kind :



Donations in kind (water, sanitary products, construction materials, etc.) can be deposited in the regional offices of the Haitian Red Cross for a coordinated and effective distribution.



Monetary donations can be made to the following SOGEBANK bank accounts :



Gourdes : 3416007587



Dollars : 3416003923



Donations can be made online also by credit card on our website : www.croixrouge.ht/faire-un-don/



Red boxes will also be placed in supermarkets of teh place.



Contact number for donations : +509 47 02 8028.



The Red Cross recommends to the population to continue to follow the safety instructions of the authorities and urges them to scrupulously observe the rules of hygiene to prevent the resurgence of vector-borne diseases and outbreaks.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping politics...





At least 178 schools damaged or destroyed

Jean Beauvois Dorsonne, the Minister of National Education announced the establishment of an Evaluation Committee whose mission is to identify the number of public schools damaged or destroyed during the passage of the Matthew over Haiti. The evaluation committee will deliver its report to the service of 'engineering school' so that the necessary repairs can be made. The latest report from Civil Protection Directorate, DPC indicated that at least 178 schools were damaged in several departments of the country and some destroyed.



Diaspora, the MHAVE expects your donations

The Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE) invites the Haitian communities abroad to solidarity with compatriots strongly affected. A cell is already in place in the Ministry to receive donations and materials from the diaspora. The latter will, thereafter, forwarded to the devastated areas. For more information, please call the following numbers: (509) 2208-9887 / (509) 4060-5959 or email us on info_mhave@yahoo.fr



Donate to the Haitian Red Cross : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18868-haiti-flash-haitian-red-cross-is-appealing-for-donations.html



200,000 dollars from Taiwan

During the reception held to celebrate the 105th National Day of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Haiti Tsai Chiu-Hwang announced immediate aid of 200,000 US dollars to help with humanitarian efforts following the passage of Hurricane Matthew.



Privert sent a helicopter search Andris Riche

Friday, the de facto President Jocelerme Privert, in order to harmonize relations with the legislature and above all to ensure that the Senator Andris Riche is safe, dispatched a helicopter to Dame Marie to ensure his return on the same day in Port-au-Prince.



Ceant wants a new campaign period

John Henry Ceant, presidential candidate of Renmen Ayiti, solicits of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) new dates for another Electoral Campaign and calls on candidates to help the population.



European aid in discussion at Palace

Friday at the National Palace, the de facto President Jocelerme Privert, accompanied by the Prime Minister, Enex Jean-Charles, received the Ambassador of the European Union in Haiti, Vincent Degert came to show solidarity and support to the Haitian government following the passage of Matthew and discuss the European response to be made.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news

Login Sign Up

 New Ad-free Subscriber Login

Email

Password

Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password.

Stay logged in

Help
Published on 2016/10/08 | Source

Added the upcoming Korean documentary "Obedience"'s page to HanCinema database

Advertisement

"Obedience" (2016)

Directed by Kim Dong-min, Lee Joo-hoon

Synopsis

Dingidi Village is where people who were hurt from the Uganda Civil War live together. The children who watched their parents get brutally murdered by the rebels suffer from a trauma. Missionary Kim Eun-hye looks after them with love and care. However, she can't help but resent her father who abandoned his family to poverty and took care of the Dingidi Village people instead.

Meanwhile, Ali can't stand the mass massacre of his village people by the terrorist group ISIS. He shuts himself from the world and spends everyday missing his mother. He lives with fellow refugee friends and one day meets Missionary Kim Yeong-hwa and his life starts to change

Will their wounds be healed?

Release date in Korea : 2016/11/17
In Iran, a country with the highest number of executions per capita of any in the world - many after trials that do not meet international standards of fairness - it is dangerous to support the abolition of the death penalty.

Witness the case of Narges Mohammadi  lawyer, journalist, human rights defender, and mother of two young children. An appeals court in Iran has upheld the 16-year sentence Ms. Mohammadi received in May 2016 for supposedly establishing an illegal group opposed to the death penalty and for other national security crimes.

Ms. Mohammadi is a former spokesperson for Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadis now banned Center for Human Rights Defenders, and she has also been an advocate for womens rights, religious and ethnic minorities, and political prisoners. She has been repeatedly incarcerated because of her human rights work and is currently imprisoned in Evin. She has a history of seizures and loss of vision, and has been denied adequate medical care in prison.

Amnesty International called the verdict by Irans appeals court another cruel and devastating blow to human rights in Iran. Human Rights Watch said it was the latest example of the judiciary crushing dissent. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran declared that upholding the 16-year sentence constituted a blatant violation of Irans own laws, as well as its international commitments guaranteeing the rights of citizens to freely express their views and work for peaceful causes within the law.

U.S. officials have repeatedly spoken out about the injustice of Irans treatment of Narges Mohammadi. After the verdict by the appeals court was reported, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said the United States was deeply troubled:

No one should be jailed for peaceful civic activism. We are further concerned about reports that Mohammadis health is rapidly deteriorating while in prison, and that shes been cut off from communicating with her two young children.

The imposition of this prison sentence is particularly harsh and unjustified, added Mr. Toner, and we call on the Government of Iran to provide Mohammadi with adequate medical care and to release her on humanitarian grounds.
Published on 2016/10/08 | Source

Added the upcoming Korean documentary "See-Saw"'s page to HanCinema database

Advertisement

"See-Saw" (2014)

Directed by Koh Heeyoung

Synopsis

A whole new world meets you.

Lee Dong-woo gets a call that someone is donating a retina to him. Lee Dong-woo meets this donor who can't move at all and can only see right ahead of him, then they plan a trip together.

These men are the breadwinners of their families with beautiful daughters. They go to Jeju Island and learn a little bit about each other. The two start filling up each others' holes and find each other feeling comforted.

Release date in Korea : 2016/11
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
Addition of Hawaiian bees to endangered species list unrelated to honey bees

by Matt Miller, October 7, 2016, Slate

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added 49 species of plants and animals to the endangered species list on [Sept. 30], all native to Hawaii. [T]he 75-page document garnered national media attention thanks to the [inclusion of] yellow-faced bees.

Given the national panic about bee populations, you can see why this addition might make something of a splash.

But we should not be panicking about the bees. [Y]es, we can worry about the recently listed bees, but thats a separate problem. The threat of colony collapse disorder has largely passed. [D]espite troubling population declines in the late 00s, honeybees are not actually in imminent danger of extinction. They have largely recovered well

For the most part, the FWSs announcement was covered correctly by national media outlets. Bees Added to U.S. Endangered Species List for 1st Time, read the headline of one story from NPR. That story .[made no] mention of honeybees whatsoever, since, again, theyre separate problems, a distinction that many people failed to grasp.

Perhaps it was the liberal use of such nonspecific phrasing (The bees are dying, read one Washington Post lede) Or perhaps its the fact that 6 in 10 people who share a link never even clicked on it.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.

Read full, original post: No, the Bee-Pocalypse Isnt Here Yet
Russia's Supreme Court recently upheld a lower court ruling declaring the Mejlis,a Crimean Tatar elected representative body, an extremist organization and banned its activities in Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea.

The United States does not recognize the legitimacy of the Russian Supreme Court's ruling to uphold the ban of the Mejlis. Deputy State Department Spokesperson Mark Toner said, "We reject the characterization of the Mejlis as an 'extremist' organization and condemn the suspension of this democratic institution. This decision," he said, "is particularly troubling given Russia's systemic and unjust mistreatment of Crimean Tatars."

Russia continues to subject Crimean Tatars to arbitrary arrests, abductions, politically motivated prosecution, restrictions on freedom of movement, and police raids on their homes and mosques. Cases of particular concern include former Mejlis chairman, Mustafa Jemilev, who is now in exile in Kiev after Russian authorities in Crimea declared him persona non grata, along with another renowned Crimean Tatar leader, Refat Chubarov. Aktem Chiygoz, a deputy chairman of Mejlis, was detained in January 2015 and accused of organizing so-called mass disturbances. He has been in pretrial detention since then, and his politically-motivated trial is ongoing.

Another Mejlis deputy chairman, Ilmi Umerov, was arrested in May and is facing separatism charges for an interview in which he said that Crimea should be returned to Ukraine. He was forced to undergo a prolonged psychiatric evaluation, during which his health deteriorated significantly. Russia further compounded this outrage by initiating legal proceedings against six Mejlis members who visited Umerov during house arrest for an unsanctioned meeting. The United States calls on Russia to cease these repressive practices immediately.

Freedom House condemned the Russian Supreme Court's decision against the Mejlis. Russian authorities," said acting President Daniel Calingaert, "can now prosecute virtually all Crimean Tatar people inside the peninsula for their cultural, social, and political activities  a travesty of justice that is the latest human rights abuse in Crimea.

The United States does not recognize Russia's attempted annexation of Crimea and demands that Russia return control of the peninsula to Ukraine. Until then, sanctions related to Crimea will remain in place.
A garda charged with assaulting two young women after a night out in Tipperary remains on duty.

Garda Brian Hanrahan has been assigned to desk duties in Newcastlewest, the largest town in Co Limerick, pending the resolution of his case before Nenagh District Court.

It is understood that this will involve him dealing with paperwork, phone queries and other station-related work.

A Garda spokesman declined to comment on the matter as it is before the courts.

Legal

Garda Hanrahan (34) and his legal team have already indicated that they want the court proceedings dealt with as quickly as possible

The young officer made no reply when charged with assaulting two young women following a night out in Tipperary.

Garda Hanrahan of Newcastlewest, Co Limerick, was charged before Judge Elizabeth MacGrath at Nenagh District Court last Thursday.

The Garda - who made headlines last year when he was shot and seriously injured while on holiday in the US - was charged with two alleged assaults contrary to Section 3 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Persons Act. Both counts relate to an alleged incident last February in Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

Det Inspector Pat O'Callaghan told Judge MacGrath that the Director of Public Prosecutions has already indicated the matters can be dealt with summarily at district court level.

Garda Hanrahan was remanded to appear again before Nenagh District Court later this month.

The young officer made headlines in both Ireland and the US in January 2015 when he was shot during an attempted robbery in New Orleans.

Garda Hanrahan underwent emergency surgery with major fundraising events staged in both Ireland and the US to support him.

In June of this year, Garda Hanrahan was awarded more than 36,000 compensation for injuries he suffered while chasing criminals almost six years ago.
The United States has halted its bilateral engagement with Russia on the cessation of hostilities in Syria. The move comes after an intense, prolonged effort on the part of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to induce Russia to use its leverage with the Assad regime and commit to a real cessation of hostilities, humanitarian access to besieged communities, and a return to a negotiated process that would lead to a political transition.

Instead, Russia, with the help of Assads regional ally Iran, continued to pursue a military course, inconsistent, as State Department Spokesperson John Kirby said in a written statement, with the Cessation of Hostilities as demonstrated on their intensified attacks against civilian areas, targeting of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in need.

Speaking to the Security Council September 29, the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen OBrien called the situation in Syria one of sheer and unbridled horror. He said east Aleppo has descended into the pitiless and merciless abyss of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Although Russia says it is fighting terrorists in Syria, its targeting of innocent civilians undermines that claim. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said, What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism; its barbarism What they are doing is sowing not only the doom of this country and these people and this proud civilization of Syria, but it is going to generate more refugee flow, more radicalization. What they are doing is a gift to ISIL and Al-Nusrah, the groups that they claim that they want to stop.

In remarks in Brussels after the U.S. suspended bilateral talks with Russia, Secretary Kerry said the United States will not abandon the Syrian people or its efforts to pursue peace in Syria. The U.S. will still discuss Syria in multilateral negotiations and will still continue to pursue a meaningful, sustainable, enforceable cessation of hostilities throughout the country  and that, he said, includes the grounding of Syrian and Russian combat aircraft in designated areas.

We remain committed to a peaceful, stable, whole, united, nonsectarian Syria, said Secretary Kerry, and were going to continue to stay active in pursuit of that peace.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew called for the United States and Mexico to pursue deeper trade ties through President Barack Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, which will ensure that fair trade grows both economies.

In prepared remarks at a university in Mexico City on September 29th, Secretary Lew said, Together the U.S. and Mexico play an important role in the global economy, and we should embrace opportunities to strengthen that relationship.

Mexico is our third largest trading partner, he said, with nearly $1.6 billion in bilateral goods and services trade crossing the U.S. border every dayaveraging more than $1 million every minute.

Secretary Lew noted, consumer spending, underpinned by real improvements in wages and job growth, has helped sustain the Mexican economy through a period of low oil prices and reflects the ongoing expansion of Mexicos middle class.

Secretary Lew said a strong economy also allows the United States and Mexico to more effectively confront shared threats to our security and the integrity of our financial systems, such as illicit financial flows from drug trafficking.

Over the last several years, Secretary Lew noted, the United States and Mexico have worked with 10 other nations to forge a new trade agreement that encompasses 40 percent of the worlds GDP, and links some of the most dynamic markets in the world.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, he said, will provide new opportunities for our businesses and workers by ensuring their ability to compete on a level playing field with international competitors and by uniting the nations of the Pacific Rim under a shared vision of fair, free, and open trade.

This agreement builds on the lessons learned from previous trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement, incorporating strong and enforceable labor and environmental standards and protecting our workers by making sure that our trading partners play by the same rules and values that we do, said Secretary Lew.

The people of the United States and Mexico need us to work toward a future that benefits from increased trade, secure borders, and stronger, more inclusive economic growth in our two great countries, and one in which our globally competitive and integrated supply chains tap new markets in other parts of the world.
Comings and goings: Boot Barn in the works; Clorox plant opens

New store could be the third to move into Valley Plaza this year.
WELLSVILLE CANYON, Utah (AP)  When he was on combat deployment in the Marine Corps, Justin Bishop, of Logan, saw the worst of the worst images from the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s.

Bishop developed post-traumatic stress disorder  experiencing nightmares, sleepless nights, hyper-vigilance and depression. But because of the culture and stigma of seeking help, he never got treatment until 2008. The Veterans Administration gave him pills, but it didnt help, Bishop said.

Then, last year, Bishop found horseback riding.

It makes the world stand still for a second, Bishop said. I didnt have my mind on past experiences or the friends that I had lost.

Bishop was just one of several veterans in a group that took a horseback ride up Wellsville Canyon, reported The Herald Journal. The trail rides are provided through Utah State University Extension and USUs new Equine Activities and Therapies Program.

Karl Hoopes, a USU Extension equine specialist, was one of the people who came up with the idea for the veterans trail ride. The Wellsville Canyon ride was the 11th since the activity started a year ago.

Hoopes talked about the importance of having trail rides for the veterans.

When theyre in the military, theyre in a close-knit group; they live together and they fight together, Hoopes said. When they come back and interact with people who have not been through the same experience, they dont feel part of a close-knit group anymore. These horses help provide a sense of community.

Michelle Weed, USU director of Equine-Human Sciences and professional practice assistant professor, echoed Hoopes comments.

A lot of studies show reintegration (into civilian life for veterans) can be an issue, and part of reintegration is rebuilding your community, your support system, Weed said. So having shared recreation outdoors with horseback riding really does help build a community.

Weed emphasized the trail rides provide therapeutic benefits and are not actual therapy.

The horse is the problem-solving, it is the movement of the horse, being outdoors in the environment with a group of peers, Weed said.

Hoopes noted many of the veterans who go on the trail rides have never been on a horse before.

They feel nervousness, but then they accomplish something, Hoopes said. Its the sense of a group going through something together and accomplishing a goal.

Although the first experience with a horse can be nerve-wracking for those who have never ridden one, Hoopes said, eventually, the veterans begin to trust the horse and develop camaraderie with fellow veterans.

By the end of the ride, theyre relaxing and enjoying themselves, and I think thats one of the benefits that come of (the trail rides).

Bishop said riding a horse has helped him grow in many ways, including learning to trust people.

I had to relearn what trust was (after deployment), Bishop said. When youre riding on a horse, you have to develop a synergy and a relationship with the horse. That horse trusts me to guide it.

After the ride, a discussion with a certified mental health expert is typically held. Veterans who went on the 90-minute ride spoke with Jared Schultz, director of USUs rehabilitation counseling program.

Schultz spoke with the newspaper after the discussion.

Its an important part of the ride, Schultz said of his post-ride discussions with veterans. Were just trying to make sense of what we did. When youre on a horse, youre so immersed in what youre doing, you dont think about how it impacts your life.

Schultz said riding provides veterans life lessons and principles that can impact other elements of your life.

Riding a horse with his fellow veterans, the retired Marine Corps member can finally stop and notice the finer things, like the smell of dew, the wind on his face, the brightness of the sun.

It was like living in a dream, a dream you dont want to wake up from, Bishop said. I just took it all in, and when I did that, it just took all of my military experience away.
HICKORY  The Salvation Army of the Carolinas has mobilized Salvation Army mobile feeding kitchens and personnel as Hurricane Matthew churns its way up the coast from Florida. Salvation Army units from North and South Carolina are serving meals at EOC operations and providing mass feeding to support evacuation operations in South Carolina. In addition, The Salvation Army is also feeding evacuees at shelters as requested by local emergency management. Currently seven mobile feeding kitchens (canteens) are deployed, with canteens and crews from as far away as West Virginia positioned in Raleigh, waiting to support wherever needed.

We are here, we are ready, said Maj. Tom Louden, general secretary for The Salvation Army of the Carolinas. Our mission is to bring light and hope into the lives of people in their darkest moment. In the days, weeks, and months ahead, The Salvation Army will continue to respond to the physical and spiritual needs of the community.

The Salvation Army encourages all residents of North and South Carolina to continue to monitor state sources for the latest information online at www.scemd.org and www.readync.org. For the latest emergency disaster services news from The Salvation Army, follow the social feed on Twitter at @salarmyeds or sign up for breaking news alerts on disaster response at disaster.salvationarmyusa.org.

The best way to help after a disaster is to make a financial donation to the charity of your choice. Cash is flexible, can be used immediately in response to a crisis, and allows disaster relief organizations to purchase exactly what is needed, when its needed. Cash gives relief organizations the means to procure supplies near the affected area, which cuts down on transportation time and cost. Monetary contributions also support local economies and ensure that businesses can operate when relief supplies diminish.

To make a financial gift to The Salvation Army:

By Mail: The Salvation Army PO BOX 1959 Atlanta, GA 30301 Please designate Hurricane Matthew on all checks.

Phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769)

By Text: Text STORM to 51555 to receive a donation link for easy mobile giving

Currently, The Salvation Army is not accepting in-kind donations from the general public for disaster relief operations. This may change once the storm has made landfall and a more complete assessment of survivors needs are known. However, The Salvation Army depends upon your donation of used clothing and other items to support local programming. Consider donating your used clothing, used furniture, and other items to your local Salvation Army Family (or Thrift) Store.
ELKO -- A Salt Lake City based raptor conservation group educated families at the Elko County Library Thursday.

The main reason HawkWatch International visited is because it receives funding from Barrick Gold Corp. In exchange, the organization brings educational representatives to this part of Nevada, where Barrick has a "significant impact, to discuss its work and the science that we do, said Education and Outreach Director Nikki Wayment.

Its a great way to get families involved at the library and to be involved in the community. HawkWatch sounds like a great program. They keep birds that cant go back out into the wild, said Interim Elko County Library Director Kassie Antonucci.

We had about 70 people here today. So, we were pretty excited, she said, explaining this is the second year the organization has presented at the Elko County Library. HawkWatch has visited the Battle Mountain branch as well.

The program discussed raptors, migration and two birds were presented to the audience.

One of the projects the mining corporation funds is the Goshute Mountains HawkWatch migration site, which is south of Wendover. Barrick is partnering with the organization this weekend to host a Locals Day at the site.

One of the things that we do at HawkWatch, and have been doing for over 30 years, is monitor these birds during their migration, she said, explaining this is a counting process conducted as the raptors fly overhead.

Wayment said HawkWatch is grateful for Barrick funding.

The educational and outreach directors first question posed to the audience asked what kind of birds fit into the birds of prey category. She received questions ranging from vultures, hawks, owls and eagles, even having to explain why crows are not part of this classification.

Wayment followed with discussing the characteristics of raptors, including sharp talons, incredible vision and sharp, curved beaks.

The word raptor means to grab or seize. This is the way that they kill their food by grabbing it and then crushing it with their feet, she said, describing the power held in that part of the birds body.

The crushing power is measured by pounds per square inch. Human can crush between 50 and 150 psi.

A bird like a great horned owl, which is one of the stronger raptors, can crush between 300 and 800 pounds per square inch with its feet, said Wayment, presenting replicas of a golden eagles foot and skull.

These birds have this power in their feet because of specialized tendons in their toes.

Sharp beaks are designed to rip and tear, allowing raptors to access organs in their food. Birds of preys large eyes -- with a bone structure that helps to support them -- aid in their enhanced vision.

Golden eagles ... can see a jack rabbit breathing, said Wayment, explaining this can be done from three-quarters to a mile away.

Wayment later said a human's eyes would have to be the size of a softball to be the same as an owl.

Yaki, an American kestrel falcon, and Kotori, a great horned owl, were also shown to the audience, much to the excitement of its younger members.

The six birds the organization takes care of are what the Fish and Wildlife Services deems as non-releasable as they cannot take care of themselves in a wild habitat anymore.

Yaki lives with HawkWatch because she cannot fly, said Wayment. The falcon was left on the doorstep of a rehabilitator in 2002 and she had a broken wing that had started to heal.

Most of the time, because they have hollow wings and bones allowing them to fly, birds cannot fly again if they have a broken bone.

These birds usually live about eight to 10 years in the wild. Raptors also do well living in captivity and can live longer.

The kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America. A falcon is designed for speed. Its wings can be tucked in tightly and it dives for its food.

Wayment said the black stripes on Yakis face help keep the sunlight out of her eyes.

Birds of prey tend to be incredibly focused hunters, she said, demonstrating the face of the bird tends to remain on its target even if the body is moved.

Questions and comments from the children included the speed of eagles; how to attract these birds to your yard; and what sounds do birds of prey make?

These birds are called cavity nesters using natural cavities already in trees, holes in buildings and nest boxes, she said. HawkWatch has a project where kestrel nest boxes are monitored, with 250 boxes in Salt Lake north and south, to understand why the bird in declining.

Fewer kestrels have been seen over the last 10 years in migration counts.

Kotoris features include laying his head on his back, turning his head 270 degrees, and specialized feathers, which are designed to look like trees and to absorb or dampen the sound of flight.

Kotori doesnt have a physical injury. He has more of a mental injury. He is what we call a human imprint, said Wayment. He doesnt think that hes a human, but he also just doesnt quite know that hes an owl.

He was found on the ground as a baby, when he was learning how to fly, and was taken to a rehabilitator. The critical period for a great horned owl to learn is approximately six weeks.

Great horned owls are the most common owls in North America.

Wayment was asked if owls can see in the dark. The audience learned owls can see in the dark, but nocturnal creatures cannot see better in complete darkness than humans. However, their capabilities are astounding as they can see 10 times better than humans in the day and 100 times better at night.

The educational experience even drew a Cub Scout Troop, Pack 91, Den 3.

My son loves animals of any kind, said Tabatha Rowe, explaining the scouts were able to mark off some requirements.

Rowe said she thought her son, Michael Eklund, had a good experience and enjoyed the presentation, describing the 8-year-old as a very intuitive little kid.

He gets to learn quite a bit about the environment that we live in and the world around us. Now, he can have a little bit better appreciation for the wildlife that sometimes is taken for granted, said John Rowe.
Earlier this week, actor Anupam Kher was pitted against director Saeed Akhtar Mirza on a primetime debate on the definition of a patriot. I will not expand on Khers definition because it is an extension of the mainstream youre either with us, or against us narrative that we hear all the time. Mirza had a different take: A patriot is someone who wishes well for his country but questions its actions when it needs to be questioned. (Kher went hysterical and ballistic hearing this).

Read: Ruckus at Haryana varsity over scene of rape by soldiers in Mahasweta Devi play

Mirzas explanation reminded me of an ugly episode that took place at the Central University of Haryana in Mahendragarh after the faculty and students put up a play based on the late Mahasweta Devis short story, Draupadi. The story, which is set in 1970s in tribal areas, revolves around army men asking the protagonist to reveal the names of those involved in a tribal movement. When she refuses to divulge them, the soldiers rape her.

The play was followed by a discussion on the Indian Armys human rights record. Its not clear how the details of the play or the discussion that followed reached people outside the campus, but soon the ABVP was outside the gates of the university, accusing the teachers and students of maligning the Indian Army.

Read: Human rights panel cant probe armed forces in militancy-hit areas: Govt

The ABVPS definition of a patriot/patriotism is similar to Khers: A patriot is someone who never questions any action taken by the State or its apparatus. The sub-text: Soldiers lay down their lives for our safety and so we must be blind to any human rights excesses by them. And if you do, then you are not a patriot/nationalist.

Instead of standing up for their students, staff, integrity and freedom of speech, the university authorities shamefully caved in without a protest, apologised in writing and issued notices to teachers who were involved in staging the play. Recent reports say that the teachers are now being sidelined, questioned and isolated. As for the students, the authorities have blocked their social media access, in the hope that they dont get ideas about the value of questioning set norms and institutions. The heartening news is that the teachers who have been targeted have not caved in, and have said that the issue is not of them being silenced but the culture of silence that is being perpetrated in the university.

Read: Can India have a future without critical thinkers?

The ABVPs stand is consonant with the Centres stand: In September, the Centre told Supreme Court that the NHRC, the highest statutory body constituted for the defence of the human rights, cannot investigate alleged excesses by armed forces in militancy-affected areas because the panel is a recommendatory body.

Now much as we love the armed forces, the truth is that  like all other armies in the world  it does indulge in excesses, and that is unacceptable to many. The Supreme Court has repeatedly warned the army of excesses in AFSPA areas, saying that their actions are unacceptable and must be investigated.

Going by the ABVP rules of nationalistic engagement, the judges are also anti-nationals. But we did not hear a squeak from the ABVPs patriot patrol against the judges; teachers, of course, are soft targets.

And why single out the Indian Army? Look at the record of paramilitary forces in Chhattisgarh; there are several instances of the force  as they are called  of molesting, raping women after accusing them of being in cahoots with the Maoists.

The HRD ministry, the parent body, did not also come to the support of the Central University of Haryana. This is unfortunate (though not surprising), especially at a time when the ministry is liberalising norms to attract foreign faculty and thinking of granting more autonomy to institutions. I wonder what kind of academics would be enthusiastic to take up such offers with ABVP breathing down their necks.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A picture book featuring 14 watercolours, 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 Dixs 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 Hanas 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 Dixs mother and a watercolour 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 aftermath. 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 behaviour.

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.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.
The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC) has expressed its inability to function as a nodal agency for disbursement of subsidies under BJP governments flagship Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana as it lacks requisite infrastructure to reach out to beneficiaries in districts.

Madhya Pradesh provides subsidy to its citizens wishing to visit Sita Mandir in Sri Lanka, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Kailash Man Sarovar in China and Nankana Saheb Shrine (Sikh) and Hinglaj Mata temple in Pakistan.

Under the chief minister pilgrimage scheme, government provides 50% subsidy on expenses (maximum Rs 30,000) to pilgrims.

The scheme was launched in 2006 with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announcing to provide financial assistance to citizens undertaking a pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar.

It was further expanded by including two places of religious importance in Pakistan in 2007-08 and Sri Lank and Cambodia in 2012.

Govt also provides subsidies for visiting 15 centres of pilgrimage in India

Apart from that the state government also provides subsidies for visiting 15 centres of pilgrimage in India.

The MPTDC was made the nodal agency for implementation of the one-of-its-kind scheme for subsidized pilgrimage to so many places of religious importance within and outside India.

More than 150 people from the state have so far visited the holy places in Sri Lanka and Cambodia since their inclusion in the scheme, MPTDC chairman Tapan Bhowmick said. Though many from far-flung areas of the state also applied for subsidies to visit Kailash Mansarovar, none shown interest to visit holy places in Pakistan, he added.

Pilgrims need to submit the reimbursement claim with details of expenses within 60 days of completing the journey to MPTDC to avail the subsidy.

But for the past one year the MPTDC has stopped accepting any claims for reimbursements and seeking grant from the department of culture for implementing the scheme.

We have not taken the grant because we face lot of difficulties to carry out verification and disbursement in every district, Bhowmick said.

The corporation urged the government to implement the scheme through the offices of district collectors.

People should directly apply for the subsidy at the collectors office and collect the money from there, Bhowmick said.

The corporation, however, would continue to disburse subsidies, as of now, for visiting religious places within the country, MPTDC chairman added.
In a cabinet meeting on Friday, MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has decided to regularise 48,000 daily wagers, a decision that would bring smiles on many faces this festive season. A pay scale of Rs 4,000 to Rs 7,000 has been fixed for the unskilled workers, Rs 4,500 to Rs 7,500 for semi-skilled labourers and Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 for the skilled workers.

Chouhan said this decision would bring stability to the life of daily wage workers who worked hard for years together but their future was uncertain. The workers will also be entitled to 125% dearness allowance.

Moreover, to provide benefits of seniority, as on September 1, 2016, the pay scale will be fixed after calculating the increment rate depending on the number of years of service.

The salary will be payable from September 1, 2016 and the increment a year after. On completion of superannuation age, 15 days of gratuity per year will be paid to the workers.

The daily wagers who started working between May 16, 2007 and September 1, 2016, will be the only ones considered for regularisation. Those appointed by the competent officer with approval from the government are the exceptions.

This scheme is not applicable for people appointed on contractual or hourly basis or have been outsourced from elsewhere

Other cabinet decisions include creation of 6,250 new posts in the state police department and approval for setting up a composite logistics hub at Katni.

The hub will run for 30 years through private investment at government land on DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer) principle.

Chouhan has also agreed to increase financial assistance for brick kilns from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 in case of natural calamities.

Further, the cabinet has also sanctioned Rs 65.49 crore for construction of a new joint office building of the revenue division, commissioner land record, bandobast and commissioner, Gwalior, which come under the revenue department.

The legislators have also given their consent to merge seven serving employees of state cooperative Tilhan Utpadak Sangh in state cooperative tribunal as assistant grade -3, drivers and peons under the merger scheme of various government departments.

A proposal to get a loan of Rs 840 crore from KLW Germany Development Bank for starting transmission projects in the state also received an approval at the meeting.

Other decisions

Approval for setting up a composite logistics hub at Katni. The hub will run for 30 years through private investment at government land

Increase in financial assistance for brick kilns from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 in case of natural calamities

Proposal to get a loan of Rs 840 crore from KLW Germany Development Bank
Actor Ali Fazal made headlines when the news of his Hollywood film with actor Judi Dench was announced a few weeks back. Ever since, the actor has been busy with the prep work on the film.

The film that is set in the late 1800s in the Victorian Empire will see Ali playing, Abdul is an Indian servant who comes to England from India and eventually develops a unique friendship with Queen Victoria. As Alis character hails from India, the crew will also be in India for a long schedule.

A source reveals, Ali needs to have a certain look, of a man belonging to the royal court. The production crew is on the lookout for an Indian designer to do Alis costumes to ensure that they get that exact Peshawari look for him.

Currently, the producers are looking at a reputed Indian designer to take on the work as when they come to India for the shoot, they can commence work immediately. They have a very strict schedule and cant afford to waste anytime on logistical issues so theyve started their research in advance, adds the source. In fact, Ali is also doing his research and since he knows many designers personally, he has recommended a few names to the crew. The movie is currently being shot in Scotland and according to sources, the Indian schedule starts from November.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Its drizzling, and the smoke from the dhunuchi fills the air at Kamalistan Studios, Jogeshwari, as Ayushmann Khurrana and Parineeti Chopra pose for a Durga Puja shoot for HT Cafe. The duo, who is currently shooting for their upcoming film, Meri Pyari Bindu, is dressed to perfection for the occasion  Parineeti in a traditional pink and peach sari and Ayushmann in a blue Nehru jacket paired with a grey kurta.

Ayushmann Khurrana is fascinated by Bengalis and the way their community gatherings are held. (Aalok Soni/HT Photo)

Ayushmann plays a Bengali in the film. The actor seems more or less accustomed to Bengali traditions now. Even the first shot of his debut Hindi film, Vicky Donor (2012), was shot in a Durga Puja pandal. There was a Durga Puja scene in the song Pani da. Dada (director Shoojit Sircar) wanted a shot of Durga ma on the first day of the shoot. That was the first time I had been in a pandal. It turned out to be auspicious for me, he says.

The actor is fascinated by Bengalis and the way their community gatherings are held. I was introduced to Bengali food during the movies shoot. I am a foodie. I enjoyed the delicacies, especially Sondesh (a Bengali dessert), says Ayushmann.

Although, there are no Durga Pujas in Chandigarh, (Punjab), where Ayushmann grew up, Navaratri is celebrated with gusto. It has been a while since I visited Chandigarh during Navaratri. My mother is religious. She used to do Kanjak Puja.

Parineeti loves Bengali sweets such as Rasgulla, Sondesh and Mishti Doi. (Aalok Soni/HT Photo)

My brother Aparshakti (Khurrana) and I would join the girl gang in our vicinity for free food and gifts, he says. Parineeti, too, loves Bengali sweets such as Rasgulla, Sondesh and Mishti Doi. In fact, when I was shooting for the movie in Kolkata, my friends brought a variety of food for me every day, she says.

The actor has learnt about Bengali culture through her film. I have never visited a Durga Puja pandal. I hope to do so his year. I have only seen them in films, she says.

Parineeti says her look (for the photo shoot) is inspired by the outfits Rani Mukerji wears during Ganpati and Durga Puja celebrations. I have visited Ranis house during the two festivals. She looks beautiful. Rani is my favourite actor. I was thinking of her when I was getting ready today, says the Bollywood actor .

Parineeti: Hair and makeup: Shradha Naik; Sari: Jade; Jewellery: Anmol Jewellers; Stylist: Sanjana Batra; Ayushmann: Hair: Mohd Javed Sharafat Ali; Makeup: Rashid Sayyad

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Actor Surveen Chawla, who made a mark with the 2014 erotic thriller Hate Story 2, says shes not here to get typecast and tries to take up different roles.

After Hate Story 2, I didnt want to pick up anything that would probably validate or authenticate what people perceive me to be or the role I portray, she says.

The 32-year-old actor who was recently seen in filmmaker Leena Yadavs thought provoking film Parched (2016) asserts, Its really sad that people put an actor in a box and then think of him/her as somebody who can pull off such roles. But I am never going to do that. I dont want to repeat the kind of roles that I have done.

Elaborating further on her choice of roles, she adds, I am very bored of using the word bold because I dont know its connotations and I dont understand how people define this term. So Id say I want to do roles that are honest, real and of course brave. I cant be doing so-called women centric bold roles, which will turn out to be sleazy and erotic.

Actor Surveen Chawla was recently seen in Leena Yadavs Parched also starring Radhika Apte and Tannishtha Chatterjee. (AFP)

Not many would know but Surveen finished filming for Parched even before Hate Story 2 released, so its technically wrong to stereotype as someone who does bold roles. Parched had a really long journey, as it first made noise worldwide at international film festivals and later released in India. But honestly, I never looked at it in a way that the end result of me doing a film like this will change the perception that people have about me, she clarifies urging that people should stop calling it women centric film as we dont call other movies male-centric.

Its a great time for newer and relevant content to be made in films. The weighing scale has tilted the other way and we must continue that.

Over the years that Surveen has worked in films in different languages, she says she cannot keep her personal and professional growth detached. Whatever you believe in your personal life, you are going to attract similar kind of work for your evolution. I think these are brave roles to do because they are talking about those sections of the society that somewhere lacks voice, she says.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Actor Amyra Dastur, who will share screen space with Chinese action star Jackie Chan in upcoming film Kung Fu Yoga, says it was a dreamlike experience to work with him.

When I met Jackie sir for the first time, I was so star struck that I could not even talk. Later I realised he is so calm and warm. Hes just like any other normal person who I can talk to without feeling scared, she says.

Completely in awe of Asias highest paid actor (Jackie), Dastur further adds, Jackie sir has that vibe  he will never make you feel that hes more important than you. Hed never expect that his scenes should be shot first. To reach his stature and be so humble is just so sweet and breathtaking and at the same time inspiring for the other person.

Chinese action star Jackie Chan shot in Jodhpur for his upcoming film Kung Fu Yoga. (REUTERS)

Being a veteran actor, one would expect Chan to give tips to his younger co-stars but Dastur says he was not at all preachy. He prefers to show a technique through his actions and not words. When we were doing action sequences, because its his forte, he would always be there. Even if theres no scene of him, he would just stand there, quiet, and not interfere or interrupt. Only when he realises theres something wrong or theres room for improvement, he would come and tell you exactly how it works.

This is the first time the 23-year-old actor would be working in a Chinese production and she calls it an exciting experience. Language was the only difference otherwise its the same. The whole production team was Chinese, so we had to learn and speak the language too. Its definitely a different language and you have to work faster and harder.

So did she take some lessons in Chinese language to understand things better? Mandarin is supposed to be toughest language in the world and thats why I always say you have to pick and learn the bad words first, as you remember them, laughs the actor, adding, Chinese is a different culture right from the food they eat, the way they behave. When I worked with Chinese crew for the first time, including production unit, spot boys etc, everyone was so affectionate, sweet and kind.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Dont just go for gold this Dhanteras. Strike a different sheen on Oct 27

Yes, its the day on which folks go on a frenetic jewellery shopping spree with a legit excuse to be a shopaholic and buy gold, silver and other precious stuff. Dhanteras  dhan meaning wealth and teras meaning the 13th day  precedes Diwali and is dedicated to summoning longevity, wealth and prosperity. Like Diwali, its all wrapped in legends that survive to this day. According to one story, the young son of King Hima was fated to die of snake bite on the fourth day after his wedding. His wife would have none of it. She sealed the entrances to the royal chamber with all her gold ornaments and, to dispel the darkness and snakes, she surrounded the place with lamps. All night long, she told her husband stories to keep him awake. The snake that came to kill him rested on the roof of the chamber, listening to the stories, and slithered away at dawn. It was the god of death, Yama, himself, and the princess had fended him off. The day is now Dhanteras, when women light lamps, worship Lord Yama and seek protection for their loved ones. Lord Dhanvantri, who expounded the principles of Ayurveda, and is a Vishnu avatar, is believed to have emerged on this day and its customary to pray to him for good health. Kuber, the lord of wealth, and Lakshmi, are also central figures in the pujas.

New Age Dhanteras

* Go for gold, or dont: Youve been buying those traditional pieces of jewellery, even gold and silver bars all these years. Strike a different sheen this year. Buy that platinum piece youve always coveted. Or how about diamonds? They are a girls best friend, after all.

* Taste it, try it on: Dine on exotics, such as kebabs adorned with gold leaf or desserts flecked with gold dust. Buy cosmetics with pearls or gold. Splash out and luxuriate.

Say it with stones

Think pendants with birthstones, bracelets with charms, and monogrammed pieces.

Hand it to the Handas

Textile designer Sarita Handa with home decor experts Suparna Handa (daughter) and Captain Rahul Puri (son-in-law). On Suparna: Benarasi salwar suit, Kantha dupatta and heirloom emerald earrings and ring gifted by her mum, diamond and emerald bracelet and sandals bought abroad. On Sarita: Handloom sari and heirloom diamond earrings. On Rahul: Custom-made bandhgala and shoes.

Only in our family

Five years ago, I got to know about the Gurugram-based

orphanage, The House of Shahji. Since then, we have made it a point to visit the kids in the orphanage and give them gifts every Diwali, says Suparna. One year it was books, another year we gave them stationery and sweets. This year we are planning to give them clothes and toiletries.

And this year...

Suparna says that this year the biggest celebration will be her mothers 70th birthday on December 18. Friends from near and far  a big bunch from the US, in fact  are expected to join us in Delhi and we are all looking forward to it! she adds, excitedly.

Whos gifting who what?

Rahul for Sarita: An antique carpet.

Suparna for Rahul: An old MacBook because he loves vintage collectibles.

Sarita for Suparna: Sports equipment for her multi-station home gym.

-- Vidya Prabhu

From HT Brunch, October 8, 2016

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
Remember the time when Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin issued a joint statement on Paltrows website, Goop, to say that they were consciously uncoupling? Oh, how we laughed!

Conscious uncoupling? Seriously? Which asinine psychiatrist came up with this particular bit of psychobabble? And what on earth did it mean?

Well, in the uncouples own words it meant that though in many ways we are closer than we have ever been they had come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate. And so while they would still co-parent their two children and remain a family, they had decided to end their romantic (and sexual) relationship.

At the time Paltrow did not know the originator of the phrase, American psychotherapist, Katherine Woodward Thomas, who would go on write a book with the same topic (Conscious Uncoupling: 5 Steps To Living Happily Even After), telling the world about her proven process for lovingly completing a relationship that will leave you feeling whole and healed and at peace.

According to Thomas, a divorce doesnt need to be a painful, bitter experience. Instead, we should treat it as an opportunity to turn our pain into a catalyst for making a breakthrough in the way you show up in your life and in your next relationship.

Thanks to conscious uncoupling, Paltrow and Martin and their children, have come through on the other side of their divorce relatively unscathed. (Getty Images for J/P Haitian Relief Organization)

Nevertheless, Paltrow and Martin incorporated these lessons into their pre and post-divorce dealings. And as a result, they  and their children  have come through on the other side relatively unscathed. They still holiday as a family, they introduce each other to their new partners, hell, they even go together to award nights (Paltrow used one such occasion to praise Martin as the best dad ever).

So, guess whos laughing now?

I was reminded of this as the car crash that is the Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt breakup unfolded in front of a fascinated world. It was as if the two of them had taken cognizance of the principles of conscious uncoupling and decided to behave in the exact opposite way.

First off, there was no joint statement. In fact, it wasnt even a joint decision. Jolie blindsided Pitt by filing an hour before the court was about to close (and after the glossies had closed their pages). Pitt had known that his marriage was in trouble, but was completely unaware that he was in for the chop so soon.

Jolie said in her statement that she had taken this painful decision for the health of the family. Pitt countered by asking for privacy because this was a tough time for their kids, who were his first priority.

So far, so intriguing.

Then came the leaks. Camp Jolie maintained that Pitt had a problem with alcohol, marijuana and anger issues. He had been abusive to his eldest son, Maddox, on a flight from France to America. He could not be trusted with the kids so Jolie was asking for sole physical custody.

Camp Pitt insisted that Brad had just yelled at his son. And he was cooperating with the authorities on the charges of child abuse, confident that he would be cleared. Once that happened, he would fight for joint custody.

Meanwhile Jolie moved out of the marital home with all six kids into rented digs (which, it turned out, she had arranged long before the plane incident) and cut off all contact with Brad, blocking all his phone numbers and denying him access to their children. Amidst all this, there were suggestions tossed into the media that Pitt had cheated on Jolie with co-star Marion Cotillard (denied by all parties) and that Angelina herself was being consoled by Johnny Depp.

And before you could say pre-nup, the Jolie-Pitt divorce had turned into the stuff of tabloid dreams, a public spectacle that left the whole world gawping and gasping.

Needless to say, break-ups of lesser beings like us would not unduly trouble the world like this one did. But nonetheless, we can learn some lessons from the Jolie-Pitt divorce from hell:

Keep private stuff private: When you are angry and hurt, you want to lash out at your partner. You want to tell the whole world how terrible he/she was and how miserable you were in the marriage. Well, take a deep breath and dont. If you cant do that, then keep your moaning within a circle of trust. The entire universe doesnt need to know your business.

Dont use the children as pawns: No matter how much you loathe your spouse, dont let that hate percolate down to the kids. They need both parents in their life; they need to be able to love both their mother and father. Be sensitive to their needs. And never ever allow them to believe (as Maddox probably does) that the divorce is somehow their fault. They are probably blaming themselves anyway. Dont make it worse.

Dont cut off all lines of communication: If you cant bear to talk directly, then communicate via a go-between whom both of you trust. Because just as you got into this marriage together, you have to negotiate the choppy waters of divorce together as well. And a modicum of civility will ensure that you come out whole on the other side.

Take a leaf out of Paltrow and Martins book and give conscious uncoupling a chance. Its really not as daft as it sounds.

From HT Brunch, October 9, 2016

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch

Read: Jolie to keep the kids; Pitt gets visiting rights

Read:Brad Pitt is totally crushed after divorce from Angelina Jolie

Read: Have You Heard About Johnny Depps messy break-up?
The Maachis actor would probably have been an Army officer if destiny had not landed him in films.

Birthday: December 3, 1970

Place of birth: Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh

School/college: St. Francis College, Lucknow and Punjab Public School, Nabha. Graduation from Bikram College of Commerce, Patiala

First break: Maachish (1996)

Low point of your life: When I lost my mother

High point of your life: My first film Maachis and when I became a father

Currently I am: Wrapping up the shoot of Punjabi film Jindua and working on Tom, Dick & Harry  Part 2. Also, I am waiting for Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gayaa.

What would you have been if you werent an actor?

I would have been an army officer. I always wanted to join the Armed Forces, right from my school days.

One thing about you that not many people know.

Back in 1989, I met with a bike accident, and hurt myself in a rather peculiar manner. I was riding at just 10 km per hour when another vehicle hit me. But I didnt get hurt because of the impact of the accident. I broke a few bones because a friend of mine, who was really huge, fell on top of me!

You are quite popular in Punjab...

I do Punjabi films for the emotional connect with the audience. I love shooting in the north; the food, the wintereverything!

A Punjabi film of yours that should be dubbed in Hindi and English?

Jindua Its a different kind of love story.

A person you idolise: Shaheed Bhagat Singh Ji.

One actor whom you admire the most: Irrfan Khan. He is my favourite actor.

Who is the fittest actor in Bollywood?

Akshay Kumar. Hes extremely disciplined and genuinely fit!

According to you, who is the most attractive actress in Bollywood today?

Deepika Padukone.

And the most intelligent one?

To know if a person is intelligent, you need to spend some time with that person. I really havent done that, so cant say!

What about Hollywood? Who do you find hot?

Jennifer Lawrence.

Which is your favourite colour?

White. At any given time, my wardrobe would have around 40 to 50 white T-shirts.

Who is the sexiest female co-star on your contact list?

I am lucky to have worked with all of them. Its another thing that most of them leave me in the films and run away.

If you could invite five people for dinner, who would you call?

Id invite Raju Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi and Abhijat Joshi  and then maybe convince them to produce Munna Bhai 3.

Whats your poison?

Black coffee.

One thing thats on your lust list.

I am an impulsive shopper. I would like to own a Ferrari someday.

Whats your favourite dating app?

I am not into apps. In fact, Im still trying to figure out Facebook.

One movie in the last three months that you absolutely loved:

Happy Bhag Jayegi, because of the feel-good factor. You come out of the theatre feeling refreshed.

And one movie that you hated...

Being an actor, I cant afford to hate any film.

My favourites:

Film: American History X (1998)

Actor: Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt

Quote: Lets go our separate ways, together

Film I acted in: Yahaan (2005)

From HT Brunch,October 9, 2016

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch

Read: Happy Bhaag Jayegi may have a sequel

Read: Maachis helped me choose better films: Jimmy Sheirgill

Read: Happy Bhaag Jayegi review
Celebrate this Nov 1 as Bhai Dooj, Bhai Phota or Bhau Beej  like 007, the brother-sister bond will never die

The brother-sister bond in India is not just the stuff of movies, it goes back to the time of mythology. A softer side of the feared Lord Yama, a central figure in the Dhanteras tradition, emerges in the Bhai Dooj story. It seems he was separated from his sister Yami for a long time. When reunited, an overjoyed Yami celebrated with a grand feast. The lord of death was mighty pleased and blessed all the brothers of the world: every brother who reciprocates the love of his sister will live long and prosper and be free of the effects of karma. Another story goes that Lord Krishna, after slaying Narakasura (told you this was an action-packed time!), went to visit his sister Subhadra, who garlanded him, fed him sweets and applied a tilak  a practice that continues to this day. The festival that celebrates the beautiful bond between brother and sister is known as Bhai Phota in Bengal and Bhau Beej in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Never mind what its called, its an occasion for sisters to spoil their brothers silly and vice versa.

New Age Bhai Dooj

* Share an adventure: Tie up with your sister to do something exciting. Sign up for scuba-diving classes or try your hand at para-gliding. Go river-rafting or simply hit a challenging trekking trail. An adrenaline rush and all that affection is going to be great.

* Revisit your childhood: Brothers and sisters get so close because of their shared childhood. Make a video of your funniest, goofiest moments as children. Or, make an album of wacky photos. Even a playlist of songs you enjoyed as kids could be so much fun.

Thoughtful does it

Stay away from the generic saree, or chocolates and perfumes. Get personal. Is your sister a passionate baker? Buy her kitchen equipment. Is your brother a gadget freak? Spoil him with gizmos. Thoughtful does it.

Wazwaan With The Bals

Designer Rohit Bal, strikes a rare pose with his 70-year-old sister, Aruna Bal Sharma, 18 years his senior, in an exclusive shoot for HT Brunch. On Rohit Bal: Rohit Bal jacket and trousers, Breitling watch and Tods shoes. On Aruna Bal Sharma: Rohit Bal salwar suit, and shoes from a Bangkok store. (Reuben Singh)

Only in our family

Seen mostly in the company of his friends, Rohit Bal may not be known as a traditional family man, but the designers affection for his sister, Aruna Bal Sharma, 18 years his senior, was evident when they came together for this special shoot for HT Brunch. In fact, October 2, the day this picture was shot, was Arunas 70th birthday and party king Bal used the excuse to host a birthday party. No celebration in our family is complete without traditional Kashmiri fare, says Aruna. Our celebratory meal has a total of 36 Kashmiri dishes, including roghan josh and Kashmiri chaman (paneer).

And this year...

Aruna says, We are going to Thailand this December and everyones excited about it already!

Whos gifting who what?

Rohit to Aruna:Id like to give her a tight hug and something practical, maybe a gadget.

Aruna to Rohit: A crystal vase because Gudda loves crystal!

-- Vidya Prabhu

From HT Brunch, October 8, 2016

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
Until a few years ago, visitors to London would rarely venture beyond the West End and Soho and definitely no further east than the Tower of London. Thats changed in a big way. The boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlet have firmly established themselves on the tourist map as the Mecca of Londons street art. Just 30 minutes from the financial square mile of the City of London is the square mile of street art spread across Shoreditch, Brick Lane and Spitalfields.

Londons graffiti-tattooed walls are as much an attraction as conventional art in its galleries and museums. For me, street art is exciting because it subverts rules, culture and politics and helps me see a space in a new light. And the fact that its ephemeral  graffiti can be painted over or torn down at any point  is a huge part of the thrill. So I joined a group of photographers, writers and out-of-towners for a glimpse into the underground, yet very visible world of street art, with Karim Samuels of Street Art London Tours.

Stars of the palette

Shoreditch and its surrounds offer a smorgasbord of ageing industrial buildings, shop shutters, railway lines and wasteland car parks that street artists are happy to use as canvas. The neighbourhood is an ever-evolving open-air gallery of graffiti, posters, free drawing, stencils, tags and mixed material works mounted on every available surface.

The first stop of our tour is at a street corner off Old Street Tube Station. There isnt a single tag in sight. Look down, says Karim and we spot our first Ben Wilson.

Artist Ben Wilson uses chewing gum discarded on the pavements as his canvas (UK Press via Getty Images)

The subject of two documentaries, Wilson paints miniature masterpieces on blobs of chewing gum that litter the pavements of London. His miniatures of animals, landscapes and portraits can also be spotted all over the Millennium Bridge across the Thames.

Wilson gets hundreds of requests from locals to paint pictures for them of their chosen subject on chewing gum left on the pavement (UK Press via Getty Images)

As we walk down Old Street, theres a vibrant portrait on a store shutter of a crying child wearing a military uniform. This wasnt here yesterday, Karim said about the piece thats signed ROES. Next up is Belgium-based ROAs famous Weasel that shares a building front with one of Phlegms bizarre figures holding a skull. Both the pieces are so recognisable and unique to the two artists that neither is signed. The black-and-white pieces have attracted numerous leech tags by lesser-known artists hoping to be discovered next to famous pieces. There used to be an E by Ben Eine, who is known for large colourful graphic letters, on a shop shutter thats disappeared under a sea of tags.

Belgian street artist ROAs Weasel on Great Eastern Street. Standing next to works by Ben Eine (coloured letterform E at present swallowed by a sea of tags) and Phlegms bizarre character (Corbis via Getty Images)

This two-hour walk is a sensory-overload. Every few steps, there is a new piece of art waiting to be discovered and analysed much like a gallery show. There are Thierry Noirs iconic bright cartoon profiles that first showed up on the Berlin Wall in the early 80s. British artist Christiaan Nagels gigantic, bright styrofoam mushrooms pop up on top of buildings. And multiple pixelated works by the anonymous French urban artist simply known as Invader, including one inspired by Star Wars.

Karim described street art as a kind of activism; a reaction to the digital world. But its not on the peripheries of mainstream anymore. Stencil paintings of Bristol-based artist Banksy have fetched six-figure prices at a Sothebys auction; Tate Modern dedicated a weekend in the spring of 2008 to the genre; and Shepard Fairey designed President Obamas Hope poster for the 2008 US-election. He was the first street artist to make the cover of Time magazine, beams Karim. Graffiti is not a dirty word anymore.

Muslim and non-Muslim characters by street artist Stik (Corbis via Getty Images)

Local artist Stiks rag-to-riches story also has a redemption-by-art angle. Stik has gone from being a homeless artist to one whose canvases have a six-month waiting list. His two-tone figures can be spotted across the world from New York to Jordan. We walked past two super-sized Stik pieces looming on sides of buildings. A Stik stickman  usually made with just six lines and two dots  might seem simplistic, but it conveys the most empathetic emotions.

The show stoppers

On Hewett Street, we came across two murals in very distinct styles. LA-based street artist EL Macs photorealistic cowboy was painted in less than 24 hours in 2011. A year later, just steps away, Portuguese artist Vhils created a remarkable portrait of a man. The Greek word graffito means to scratch the surface and thats exactly what Vhils does. He plasters up a wall and then takes a jackhammer to etch out his three-dimensional works.

Photorealistic cowboy painting by LA-based graffiti artist El Mac (Corbis via Getty Images)

ROAs three-storey-tall crane on Hanbury Street is perhaps one of the most iconic pieces in the area. ROAs sketch-like, black-and-white style and penchant for animals is unmistakable. Over the years, ROA has painted rabbits, herons and squirrels in the area.

Art or vandalism?

Whether street art is art or vandalism continues to be a raging debate. In London, spray-can wielding artists can be arrested for vandalism and at the same time, the council preserves many of Banksys pieces behind Perspex sheets. A former British Prime Minister commissioned an Eine canvas to gift to President Obama. Theres a British artist in the White House, says Karim.

The man credited for bringing street art into the mainstream is Banksy. In 2010, the secretive street artist found himself in the company of Steve Jobs and Lady Gaga as one of Time magazines 100 most influential people in the world. Yet no one knows what he looks like! His work was first noticed in the late 90s. He has gone from sneaking his work into the Louvre and Tate to being an Oscar-nominated filmmaker (he directed the 2010 documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop).

In the heart of Shoreditch, we saw two very typically satirical Banksy works. Titled His Masters Voice and Guard Dog, the pieces are preserved in the courtyard of Cargo, a hipster coffee bar by day and bar at night. The courtyard also features works by French artist C215, Spanish artist Ozmo and Israels Broken Fingaz Crew collective. Built on the side of an old railway tunnel, Cargo also has supersized Eines Scary plastered outside. Though other graffiti has been painted around the pieces, both remain intact and in good shape.

Long after the tour, I continued to spot pieces big and small across London, and later in Mumbai and Delhi. It was as if this walk opened my peripheral vision and I startedseeing art hidden in plain sight.

For artsy travellersStreet Art London conducts two-hour walking tours. They cost 12 (approx Rs 1,000) and 15 (approx Rs 1,300), on weekdays and weekends, respectively.

From HT Brunch, October 9, 2016

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
Remittances to India will drop by 5% in 2016 vis-a-vis the year-ago period, the World Bank predicts, sending a worrying signal to the country that has sizeable expatriate population transferring money home.

India, which is the worlds largest remittance receipt country, will receive a remittance of $65.5 billion this time against $69.8 billion in the last year. The projected amount is less than the countrys 2014 remittance ($69.6 billion) and still lesser than what it received in 2013 ($67.6 billion).

In 2016, remittance flows are expected to decline by 5% in India and 3.5% in Bangladesh, whereas they are expected to grow by 5.1% in Pakistan and 1.6% in Sri Lanka, the World Bank said in a latest report on remittances.

India has roughly 25 million members of its international diaspora contributing to the remittances that amount to almost 4% of its gross domestic product. HT has been consistently reporting the trends in stagnating remittance and job loss in Gulf countries on account of oil price crash.

Of late, fewer Indian workers are travelling to the Gulf, stung by practices such as nitaqat (employing local people), cheap migrant labour from countries such as Bangladesh, stricter crackdown on illegal workers and a slump in the once-booming construction sector. Raging conflict in neighbouring countries such as Yemen, Libya, and Iraq is also contributing to the problem.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Fourteen painful years after the brutal murder of Nitish Katara, his killers were recently sentenced to 25 years in prison with the Supreme Court terming it an honour killing. It was the tenacity of a mother who never gave up in the face of a painfully slow criminal justice system for her son who made this possible. Day after day, she made the rounds of the courts seeking justice for her son, whose body was burnt by his killers. His crime was that he was in love with the sister of one of the killers, (she was a cousin of the other) who felt that this degraded their honour. In most such honour killings, the women are victims, one of the many violent crimes which make India one of the most dangerous places for women.

Civil society, feminists and political parties have worked from the 1970 to politicise the issue of violence against women. And indeed they were successful in pushing for change in the laws and other arms of the state. On and off their campaigns worked with the criminal justice system kicking in with alacrity. The panchayati raj system also worked in favour of taking on issues of violence at the family and community level. There is not a day when some form of violence like rape or stalking is not reported against women. As for domestic violence, it often takes place in the shadows and to prevent the honour of the family, the women force themselves into submission and silence. The myth that such violence does not take place in the so-called educated south has now been shattered. Kerala has among the highest incidents of wife-battering.

Much of this happens as the criminal justice system has failed women in particular. The other is tradition. Some years ago, I visited the offices of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, supposed to be the womens arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The women, all educated, were so conditioned to accept violence as part of their lives and the right of their husbands to inflict this on them that they said a woman should adjust to conditions in her marital home. When I wrote about how retrograde this was, they accused me of being an odd Indian woman and how they were fooled by my traditional sari and bindi.

In honour killings too, the woman is seen as having besmirched the honour of her family, the reason the Yadav brothers decided to eliminate Nitish Katara.

Thanks to silence, conviction rates are poor in the case of women. There is a powerful prejudice both among the police and the lower judiciary in dealing with violence against women. In the case of the now famous Bhanwari Devi rape case, the judge concerned seemed to think a low-caste, ugly woman could not have been raped by Brahmin men, and that too when the assailants were an uncle and two nephews.

The political response to the issue of violence, especially from the NDA government, has been disappointing. And it has not been much better from other political formations. There is the condescending nonsense of victims being our daughters or sisters, as if that should them make them feel better about being subjected to violence in their daily lives. Remember all the references to the Delhi gang rape victim as a beloved daughter of India. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has justified khap panchayats, which have often ordered honour killings as part of our tradition. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief has time and again spoken of women who dont carry out their husbands wishes as being no longer worthy of that role.

These are powerful and influential people whose voices carry a lot of weight. Of course, the judiciary and the police should take a more women-friendly approach. But at the same time those who make the laws have the responsibility to lead the way by at least not pronouncing their backward, indeed dangerous, views. I followed the Katara case right through, marvelling at the strength and commitment of this lone mother. Apart from the initial days, she got little sympathy from the political class, perhaps because the killers came from a powerful political family.

This is not to blame politicians for everything that goes wrong. But when it comes to womens rights they seem notoriously reluctant to weigh in. Messages are powerful and the right ones I think would make society safer for women. In the Jessica Lall case, where the model was shot dead by yet another political scion, the noises that came from many in the political class amounted to asking what she was doing tending a bar at night. That is telling, isnt it?

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
One of the worst mistakes you can make is to attempt to beat your opponent by imitating him. Yet its easily done. When you feel you need to retaliate by hitting back, what is colloquially but curiously called tit for tat, the temptation to respond by copying what has been done to you can be irresistible. This is because it feels logical and, therefore, seems correct.

The truth is almost the opposite. If your opponent is wrong you dont emerge better by following his example. That would be descending to his level. Instead you should aim to rise above him. Tit for tat works when it teaches an irresistible lesson and not when its crude revenge.

Ive deliberately started pompously because the people Im hoping will listen to me are, I suspect, best impressed by grand words. For them simple logic needs to be tarted up with embroidery and grandiloquence before its piercing obviousness becomes apparent and can be accepted.

My point, however, is simple. Our quarrel is with the Pakistani state or its institutions like the ISI or its poodles like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed. Its not with the Pakistani people. They were, after all, the same as us just 70 years ago. And in many ways they still are. Our enemies are the terrorists or the army.

Read: The choice now is Pakistans: Terror or talks

This distinction is critical for two reasons. First, it underpins our essential humanity. We must not lose sight of it nor let it slip out of our grasp. Pakistanis may want to be the opposite of India. Their hatred of us, if thats the correct word, may be their defining characteristic. But that is not true of us. We do not define ourselves as the opposite of them.

The second reason this distinction is critical is because it explains why its wrong to express our anger by targeting or pillorying ordinary Pakistanis. Theyre individuals like you and me. Theyre no more responsible for what their government does than we are. Theyre not to blame for it just as we would not have been when our government nurtured and promoted the Tamil Tigers. By the way, does anyone remember that or is it conveniently forgotten?

Read: We must be able to handle the Sharifs on our own

It would be not just foolish to ban Pakistani actors from Bollywood films or boycott the films they star in, it would also be diminishing and demeaning of ourselves. That may be the Pakistani way of doing things but its not ours. This is where imitation would destroy us.

Salman Khan is right when he says theyre actors not terrorists but his argument is incomplete. They are human beings first. Theyre individuals and they deserve to be judged on their personal merit not by blunt and thoughtless association with their state or government. Otherwise, in the 1980s, would Hindus have been justified in boycotting Sikhs because Khalistani terrorists were planting bombs in Delhi parks? Or would Sikhs have been justified in regarding Hindus as enemies because hordes of mad men of that faith butchered them after Indira Gandhis death?

Read: We can take lessons on Kashmir from Northern Ireland

If were the great country we believe ourselves to be lets prove it through our judgement and capacity to make critical distinctions. One paints a wall with broad and relentless brush strokes that spread a single colour from end to end, you create a masterpiece with little touches, masses of detail and the interplay of light and shadow. I would rather my country is compared to an artists masterpiece than an execution squads firing wall.

The views expressed are personal

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
This year has seen the publication of several books and numerous articles devoted to a prime minister previously forgotten or ignored: PV Narasimha Rao. Despite enjoying a full five-year term in office, despite overseeing a major and defining shift in economic policy, despite effecting innovations in foreign policy such as the Look East strategy, Narasimha Rao had thus far not got his due from scholars and commentators on Indian politics. There were two reasons for this. One was his conspicuous failure to prevent the destruction of the Babri Masjid and the communal riots that followed, a failure that in the eyes of many nullified his other achievements.

Read: PM Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri

A second and perhaps more important reason for the neglect of Rao was that he had fallen foul of Sonia Gandhi. After she became Congress president in 1998, Mrs Gandhi systematically erased Rao from the memory of the party and its members. To be sure, this was part of a wider effort to define the Congress as the property of a single family. While the achievements (real and imagined) of Nehru, Indira and Rajiv were magnified and broadcast, those of other Congress leaders were underplayed. In this rebranding the reputations of many remarkable Congressmen (and Congresswomen) suffered, but Raos perhaps most of all.

The attention now belatedly paid to Rao is welcome. But the time has also come to revisit the legacy of a prime minister even more considerable than Rao, likewise a lifelong Congressman, who too has been largely erased from his partys history by the family that has come to dominate it.

This is Lal Bahadur Shastri. Not long after Shastri became prime minister, he stopped in Karachi, then the capital of Pakistan, while on his way home from Cairo. He was met at the airport by President Ayub Khan, who, noticing his tiny frame and 26-inch chest, wondered how such a little man could rule such a large nation. It is said that this sight of Shastri in the flesh convinced Ayub (himself an Army General) that the time was ripe for a fresh incursion into Kashmir. He was convinced that the new leader of India would not be able to effectively defend his country when war came.

Read: 1965 war: We got air superiority over Pak in three days

Ayub was mistaken. For, with his outstanding defence minister, YB Chavan, Shastri had already overseen the long overdue modernisation of our armed forces. In August 1965 Pakistan sent infiltrators into Kashmir, following this in early September with a major armed offensive. The Indian Army fought bravely, but the pressure on them was intense. In an inspired move, the prime minister ordered a fresh front to be opened in the Punjab, which immediately put the Pakistanis back on the defensive. Under Shastris leadership, the armed forces acquitted themselves extremely well in the war of 1965, thus erasing memories of their ignominious defeat at the hands of China three years previously.

The slogan most associated with Shastri was jai jawan, jai kisan. For Nehrus successor keenly understood the link between self-sufficiency in food and self-reliance in politics. It was Shastri who, along with another remarkable cabinet minister, C Subramaniam, laid the foundations of the Green Revolution, although it was Indira Gandhi who came to claim the credit, since the gains from the new strains of wheat and rice took a decade to fructify, by which time Shastri, sadly, was dead.

There are many reasons to remember Shastri now, when the agrarian sector is urgently in need of renewal, and when tensions with our always difficult neighbour are once more on the rise. Shastri was a self-effacing man, who wished to be remembered by his actions rather than his words. But when he did speak, he chose his words very wisely, never more so than in a speech he delivered at Delhis Ram Lila Maidan in late September 1965, shortly after a cease-fire had been brokered by the United Nations.

The BBC had described the conflict that had just ended as a war between Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. In his speech in the Ram Lila Maidan, Shastri refuted this pernicious allegation. The meeting was chaired by a veteran nationalist who happened to be a Muslim by birth. The speaker before Shastri was a Anglo-Indian lawyer who had been a prominent member of the Constituent Assembly. When it came to his turn to speak, the prime minister drew the crowds attention to the company he was then proudly keeping. So Shastri said: Mir Mushtaq who is presiding over this meeting is a Muslim. Mr Frank Anthony who has addressed you is a Christian. There are also Sikhs and Parsis here. The unique thing about our country is that we have Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis and people of all other religions. We have temples and mosques, gurdwaras and churches. But we do not bring all this into politics . This is the difference between India and Pakistan. Whereas Pakistan proclaims itself to be an Islamic State and uses religion as a political factor, we Indians have the freedom to follow whatever religion we may choose [and] worship in any way we please. So far as politics is concerned, each of us is as much an Indian as the other.

Read: City Cong pays tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, Shastri

The attention recently paid to PV Narasimha Rao was because this year marks the 25th anniversary of the liberalisation of the Indian economy. However, the speech of Shastri I have just quoted is not just timely, but also timeless. It inevitably comes to mind when there are troubles with Pakistan. Yet it remains compellingly relevant in times of peace too. If India is to survive and thrive, religion must never be a factor in the political life of the Republic.

Ramachandra Guhas most recent book is Gandhi Before India

Twitter: @Ram_Guha

The views expressed are personal

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The announcement this week that the federal government had compiled data to be used in considering a ban on mining across 10 million acres of the Western United States raised the blood pressure of many local residents, although it should have come as no surprise.

This political end-run around the 1872 Mining Law originated last fall when the Obama administration announced out of one side of its mouth that the sage grouse did not warrant a listing under the Endangered Species Act, while out of the other side of its mouth it enacted a de facto listing in the form of massive land-use restrictions. Part of that policy was a two-year ban on mining across 10 million acres, including a large slice of northern Nevada along the Oregon and Idaho border.

The data released this week by the USGS was compiled over the past year and will be used to justify any or all mining closures for the next 20 years. The temporary closures have already impacted Western Exploration LLC and Quantum Minerals LLC, which along with Elko County and Nevadas Attorney General are suing the BLM and U.S. Forest Service.

Gov. Brian Sandoval has taken the opposite approach, working with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to lessen the impact of restrictions. In January, he proposed swapping about one-fifth of the withdrawn area  about 555,000 acres  for 394,000 alternative acres considered to be more critical habitat for grouse.

The maps released this week show two new chunks in Nevada as a result of the governors intervention. The Nevada additions were identified by the state of Nevada as substitute areas to be considered for withdrawal in lieu of other areas within the boundary of the Sagebrush Focal Areas, stated the USGS.

Last month the governor also announced a deal between the Interior Department and Newmont Mining Corp. that allows continued mining in exchange for sagebrush landscape conservation across 1.5 million acres under Nevadas Conservation Credit System (CCS).

During many discussions between Governor Sandoval and Secretary Jewell, the Governor urged the Secretary and consequently the BLM to support the CCS as a valuable tool to mitigate unavoidable impacts, reported the governors office. In late April, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the BLM and Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for implementing the system.

The governor also had success with other specific issues that surfaced under the sage grouse restrictions, including a delay in construction of a water tank at Baker and freeing up two sites in Washoe County for a potential cemetery and school.

In the long run, efforts such as these may be more successful than challenging the federal government and its bottomless resources in court.

Keeping big mining companies like Newmont in business is important for northeastern Nevada, but its hard to overestimate the impact federal restrictions will have on smaller companies with less lobbying power, such as those that were exploring for gold in northern Elko County before the ban.

There is no question that Nevada has a wealth of minerals, as do other states in the sagebrush zone. Besides gold, the USGS assessment also looks at antimony, barite, bentonite, copper, gemstone, gypsum, hectorite, lead, lithium, mercury, molybdenum, opal, silver, sunstone, tungsten, uranium, zeolite and zinc.

America needs to keep mining essential minerals to avoid dependence on other countries, and reasonable policies are needed to balance the impacts of mineral extraction with other public land uses.

You can be sure that rural Nevadans will be keeping a close eye on the BLM as it prepares to announce its proposed action on the mineral withdrawals in December.
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Ajay Maken and two NGOs on Friday approached the Delhi High Court alleging that capitals central and south civic bodies were evicting street vendors from hawking zones since Thursday.

The plea said since the high court on October 5 ordered that street vendors cannot sell their wares in areas which were identified as non-hawking zones, authorities have started throwing out people even from hawking zones like Rajiv Chowk, Indira Chowk and Lajpat Nagar.

The applicants have sought that New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and other municipal corporations be restrained from taking any coercive action against street vendors in any area, which has not been declared as a no-vending zone under the earlier scheme.

The applicants counsel told the court that asp era 2012 list of vending zone sin NDMC areas, Rajiv Chowk and Indira Chowk were squatting or hawking zones.

They said that street vendors were being removed even from Palika Bazaar where they have been selling their wares for the last several decades.

ND MC, represented by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, said it had removed only 60 persons from its area and that too as per orders of another bench of the high court.

The high court has listed the matter for hearing on October 19.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Patna high court order that quashed a Bihar government notification banning the sale and consumption of liquor in the state.

The order came on an appeal by the Nitish Kumar government, which said the high courts September 30 verdict impeded its efforts to bring about complete prohibition.

Two days after the high court quashed the order, the state government  on Gandhi Jayanti  drew up a new anti-liquor law with harsher provisions for violators. These included placing all adults in a house under arrest in the event of liquor being recovered from its premises.

The apex court is likely to consider whether an individual can claim liquor consumption as his/her fundamental right under the Constitution.

Kumar and his government announced prohibition to fulfil an election promise earlier this year to women in a state where alcoholism is a problem in many families. Approximately 16,000 people were booked for flouting the prohibition law since it came into force on April 5.
MUMBAI: Monika Ghurde, a 39-year-old globe-trotting Indian perfumer, was found dead at her apartment close to Goas famous Calangute beach in a suspected case of rape and murder, police said on Friday.

Police inspector of Porvorim, JG Dalvi, said the womans body was found on Thursday night without clothes and her hands and legs tied to a bed in her three-bedroom apartment in Sangolda village, about 10 km from capital Panaji.

Ghurde was famous for her obsession with the scent of jasmine, which resulted in a collaborative work with author William Dalrymple to trace the history of the flower since ancient times.

Ghurde was a successful photographer and graphic designer before she founded Mo Labs through which she conducted smell workshops around the world. She was also researching on the effects of perfumes on human consciousness.

Ghurde, a well-known name in social circles, lived alone while her husband stayed in another house nearby.

The incident came to light when neighbours were alerted by Ghurdes maid, who did not get any response after ringing the bell several times. One of Ghurdes neighbours opened the house using a spare key she had left with him.

Investigating officer Rajesh Kumar said marks on her neck indicate that she might have been strangled.

The house is burgled but we cant ascertain what things are stolen from the flat as she was living alone, Kumar said. She had shifted to the apartment in July.

The buildings watchman was quizzed but could not provide any information about anyone entering her flat, he said.

Goa director general of police Muktesh Chander said several teams have been formed to solve the case.

A few people have been questioned by the police, he said, adding investigators were also checking CCTV footage.

(With agency inputs)
NEW DELHI: 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.
BISADA (GREATER NOIDA): 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.

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.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Delhi could land in complete chaos if decisions taken by the AAP government are overturned by lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday in a fresh salvo at the Centres representative.

Kejriwal said all files are now being sent to Jung for approval following a high court decision of August 4 that made L-G the administrative head of the capital. The AAP government has challenged the verdict in Supreme Court.

Kejriwal said there was a difference of opinion but no wrong intent behind not sending earlier files related to various government decisions to the L-G for approval.

Ever since assuming power with a brute majority, Kejriwal has fought a bitter battle with Jung for administrative control of the city-state where a complex governance pattern gives the L-G more powers than the state government.

The chief minister also accuses the BJP-led government at the Centre of trying to rule the capital through Jung.

Do you understand the ramifications? We increased the circle rate of agricultural land. Will the money compensated to the farmers have to be taken back? Will we have to bring down 8,000 extra classrooms and mohalla clinics (built by the government), Kejriwal asked a day after the wakf board was dissolved by the L-G.

Jung has set up a three member committee to review all decisions taken by the AAP government since February last year, which required his approval.

Kejriwal said high court orders cannot have a retrospective effect and suggested that the past government decisions are regularised.

Decisions taken by (the) wakf board have been declared null and void. The DERC has been shut. All lawyers, who fought our cases, their fees have been stopped. Why? Because files were not sent to the L-G. Dont make it laughable. Governance is a very serious business. It will completely create a chaos in Delhi if they do this, he said.

L-G had set aside the appointment of DERC chief last month saying it was taken without his approval and thus was illegal. Kejriwal said if the L-G had a difference of opinion then he should have not waited for eight months to express that.

You cant exercise your difference of opinion in infinity, the chief minister said.

Kejriwal also questioned the L-Gs order to withdraw last years notification of increasing circle rates of agricultural land in Delhi and asked if money will be retrieved from those farmers who have received higher compensation.

Agricultural land circle rates were increased from Rs 53 lakh to Rs 3.5 crore. Some famers got money based on it. But if this decision is now termed null and void then are you going to take money back from farmers? he said.

Sources in the L-G office said the decision was revoked and a six-page note was sent to the CM office highlighting errors in the scheme.

However, the L-Gs office refused to give an official reaction to Kejriwals allegations.
Harshit Chadha, a budding filmmaker, had turned 22-years-old on September 29 (Thursday).

Exactly a week later, Harshit died in a hospital in mysterious circumstances, with hospital authorities describing his death as the result of a cardiac arrest, a theory the boys father has found hard to swallow.

Harshit had gone to his friends house in Gujranwala apartment in Model Town to celebrate his birthday on September 29, where he fell unconscious while the party was still on. He died three days later at a private hospital.

He was a swimmer and a runner. He was perfectly fit and never got tired. How could he have died of a cardiac arrest then? I refused to believe that theory. It is either conspiracy or negligence. A thorough probe needs to be carried out, Rajinder Chadha, Harshits father, told HT.

Though Rajinder is adamant to continue seeking justice for Harshit, he has also accepted that his only son is no more. The heartbroken father has now started collecting CCTV footages from several outlets he had visited with Harshit in the last few days as memories, his only regret being that he was not beside his son during his final moments.

The police have not yet registered a case in the matter. We have accepted the fathers complaint and will look into it. A post-mortem has been conducted on the body and we are waiting for the report to ascertain the cause of death and action required to be initiated thereafter, DCP (northwest) Milind Mahadeo Dumbere said. Police said there were around 15 people at the party. None of them could tell the police how Harshit fell unconscious.

Harshit, a graduate from Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies (VIPS) started working with various NGOs including Make a Difference and Bachpan Bachao Andolan at a very early age. Besides academics, the youngster used to make short documentaries on social issues, including child rights.

During the three years at college from 2013 to 2016, Harshit was extremely active in co-curricular activities. He used to be busy always. He was a photographer, a video editor, a graphic designer and a brilliant story teller. He wanted to become a successful filmmaker and go to Bollywood someday, Himanshu Kumar, Harshits cousin, said.

Harshit had reportedly spoken to his father and promised to return home by midnight, two hours before he fell unconscious.

He was supposed to go for a shoot to Lodhi Hotel the next day. He assured us that he will be back home by midnight but he did not return. In fact, I was furious when he didnt come back home. Around 1am, his friends called me asking me to come to the hospital, Rajinder said.

The father blamed the lax attitude of hospital authorities for Harshits death. He was not provided immediate attention. For 24 hours, no treatment was started by the hospital. Then I got him shifted to another hospital. A lot of time was wasted before treatment finally started. Later, I was told that he suffered a cardiac arrest due to which his brain stopped working. Just a few hours before, he had made a snapchat video with all his friends at the party where they were pushing each other into a swimming pool, Rajinder said.

In 2015, Harshit had been awarded by Bollywood actress Vidya Balan for his short film Changing Habits.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Founder of RSS-backed Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas and educationist, Dinanath Batra, on Saturday called for linking education with culture and recommended compulsory social service for students in schools and college.

There has to be a change in our education policy. Education should be wedded to culture and growth. Right now focus is on job-oriented studies but focus should be on job-generating studies, Batra said.

Batra was speaking at a seminar on the New Education Policy (NEP) held at Delhi Universitys Kirori Mal College.

Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas has sent its suggestions to the Human Resource Ministry for the Draft National Education Policy 2016 recommending that mother language should be the medium of education till Class 5 and English should be taught as a third optional language among other languages from the eight list.

There should be compulsory social service for students at every terminal stage of education. Before they get their degrees, students should spend three months in a village doing social service. Aim of education should be to make a good human being, he said.

Suggesting changes in the education policy, Batra said there should be an autonomous education body on the lines of the Election Commission and Supreme Court. He also said education department should be managed by educationists and not bureaucrats.

Right now same bureaucrat can be in finance and then moved to education and then to another department. Those who are handling education should be from the education sector, he said.

Secretary, Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas, Atul Kothari said that it was necessary to make changes in curriculum. People like Srinivas Ramanujan are nowhere in the history books while at many places unconstitutional words have been used. There is no mention of true history. We feel there is a need change the curriculum, he said.
The usual evening hustle bustle is missing from Chandni Chowks narrow Dariba Kalan, a silver market set up in the 17th century by Mughal kings, famous for jewellery, semi-precious stones and trophies.

There are few vehicles. People, mostly housewives and children, have lined up along the lane dotted with decades-old shops to catch a glimpse of Ramlila Savaari (procession). The 12 day-long feature begins with first day of the Navratras and continues till Bharat Milap, the day after Dussehra.

The procession has been an integral part of Dussehra celebration for 170 years in the Walled City. Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar started it when he became the king. Ever since, the Shri Ramlila Committee (SRC), Ramlila Maidan, has been organizing it.

On all 12 evenings, a set of floats ferry artistes dressed as Ram, Lakshman, Sita, and Raavan from Esplanade Road. The three-hour-long journey starts at 6pm, and traverses the lanes of the Walled cityDariba, Chandni Chowk Main Road, Nai Sadak, Chawri Bazaar, Chowk Hauz Qazi and Ajmeri Gate. It ends at the Ramlila Maidan, where the actors enact crucial scenes from the epic Ramayana. Large groups of music bands belting out bhajans and Hindi film songs also accompany them.

Read more: Where a 17-year-old Muslim boy is Sita! Ramlila in Chandigarhs Manimajra

On Friday, when the procession reached Dariba, an actor dressed as Lord Shiva riding a plastic Nandi bull led the troupe. In tow were Ram and Lakshman, seated atop a colourful chariot. Raavan, with Sita, followed in a separate float.

At their sight, a group of children broke into applause. They teased and mocked Raavan, who was holding a struggling Sita who tried to escape. An angry Raavan stared at them, only to be booed by the crowd.

However, the procession, a much revered event until 30 years ago, has lost much of its sheen.

Back then, residents from other parts of the city would throng the procession route to seek blessings, said Dariba resident Subhash Chandra Agrawal. Three priests would travel in a chariot along with Ram and Lakshman and perform Aartis too. People waited till the floats returned from the Ramlila Ground. On the last few days, the festivities would continue till seven the next morning, he said.

It is believed that Ramlilas began in Delhi 350 years ago, when Mughal king Shahjahan built Shahjahanabad  today known as Old Delhi. Historiographer and famous Delhi chronicler, RV Smith, said Mehrauli and Purana Quila might have been the earliest venues. However, there are no proofs, he said.

During the reign of Bahadur Shah Zafar, another Mughal king, he added two distinctive rituals to the celebration, said Smith. On the request of his Hindu army men, he allowed Ramlila Savaari in the city and the burning of effigies of Ravaan.

Badshah (Zafar) decided to fund the celebration too. Later, the Ramlila venue was shifted from the Yamuna banks (behind Lal Quila) to its current location. The decision came after he noticed that the people, particularly women and the elderly, faced lot of difficulties to reach the Yamuna bank, said Smith.

Ramlila Maidan, in the heart of the city, became a perfect setting. The pond Shahji Ka Talaab on the ground served as the backdrop for the Kevat scene, where a boatman ferries Ram, Lakshman, and Sita across the Saryu river at the beginning of their 14-year exile, said Smith.

Ever since, the Ramlila has been put up at the ground, except on two occasions in 1965 because of the war with China, and for three days in the mid 80s when the Delhi Police tried to change the procession route.

Even in 1965, Vijaya Dashmi (the burning of Raavans effigy) was celebrated with much fanfare on the insistence of then prime minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, said SRC general secretary, Rajesh Khanna. Funds collected by the committee was donated to the National Defense Fund when the Ramlila could not be celebrated in 1965, he said.

In the mid 80s, when a Delhi Police official changed the route, the committee did not agree, he said. The Ramlila celebrations were stopped for three days and there was palpable tension in the city. The then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, intervened and the plan to alter the route was rejected, said Khanna.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A 13-year-old girl died in Secunderabad after fasting for 68 days as part of a Jain ritual, police said on Saturday, bringing the spotlight back on the rigorous religious practices followed by the minority community.

Though the girl, identified as Aradhana, died on October 3, the Andhra Pradesh Child Rights Association lodged a police complaint on Friday seeking action against the parents for allegedly forcing her into performing the tapasya (penance).

A family friend, however, said her action was voluntary.

The Hyderabad incident came months after the Rajasthan high court asked police to register criminal cases against a Jain family after an 82-year-old woman opted for the ritualistic fast to death called santhara.

The woman died 50 days into her fast after the Supreme Court stayed the high court order amid a nationwide debate on religious freedom in India.

The Jain community, with an estimated population of less than 50 lakh in India, follows an austere lifestyle including vegetarianism and a large section is known to observe the rigid customs laid down thousands of years ago. Digambara Jain monks  who consider the sky their clothing  still go naked.

Doctors at the Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Secunderabad said the long fasting could have led to her death.

We did not admit her and gave the family a brought-dead certificate. However, doctors who examined her observed that she might have got cardiac arrest and renal failure due to imbalance of electrolytes in her body, KIMS spokesperson Dr Alok Malik said.

Aradhana, a class eight student, was the only child of her parents who own a jewellery store at Pot Bazar area in the city.

The child rights association alleged that Aradhana was forced into fasting after the familys spiritual guru advised them of the ritual to help the family business grow.

As per the ritual, she was provided only with water, that too, only till 6 pm. At the end of 68th day, a puja was heldthe girl fainted and was taken to the hospital, association president P Achyuta Rao told Hindustan Times.

While the girls parents were not available for comment, a close family acquaintance, who identified himself only as Piyush, said there was no truth in the complaint.

Theirs is a well-off family with no financial problems. In fact, both the parents and the girl were very religious and were planning to become monks. The girl offered to take up tapasya on her own, he said.

He said the number 68 has a significance in Jainism as one could attain self-purity by chanting a specific mantra 68 times.

Last year, Aradhana had observed fast for 34 days and this time, she wanted to fast for 68 days It was purely her personal decision, which was respected by her parents, he added.

A photograph available with Hindustan Time shows Aradhana dressed up like a bride but looking very weak. Several women are also seen dancing in a colourfully-decorated tent.

They (family members) feel she had made the supreme sacrifice and attained salvation. Hundreds of people attended her funeral held the following day, Achyuta Rao said.

Secunderabad Market police station inspector M Mattaiah said the association filed the complaint with the commissioner of police and it was yet to reach him.

We will decide on registering the FIR after going through the complaint, he said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Google Ad

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh

USA Embassy Message for U.S. Citizens
A local court on Friday awarded life imprisonment to 16 people for killing a 20-year-old student, Yogesh Kumar Rana, at an examination centre at a college in Radaur town of the district in May 2013.

The accused were convicted by the court of AK Bishnoi, additional sessions judge on Thursday.

The convicts were identified as Randheer Singh, Gaurav, Gurdeep, Sandeep of Daulatpur village; Naresh Kumar of Patashgarh, Satbir of Khurdban, Karamvir of Pabni Kalan, Ravinder and Anil of Rattuwala village; Rajkumar of Ban, Narender and Devender of Sedupur; Vikash and Jitender of Tandwal; and Vishal of Sadhaura.

While pronouncing the judgment, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on main accused Randheer Singh and Rs 10,000 each on the remaining 14 convicts.

One of the accused in the murder case, Guarav, was acquitted by the court while another is a juvenile.

Yogesh, a resident of Nachron village in the district and BA first-year student of Mukand Lal National College of Raduar in Yamunanagar district, was brutally murdered by the accused due to old enmity on May 1, 2013, when he was sitting in his final examination.

The footage of CCTV cameras installed in the premises of the college played a vital role in the case, as it showed the accused, carrying weapons, entering the college.

According to the police complaint, the youth was beaten up mercilessly and he received a bullet injury on his private parts. He was taken to the Yamunanagar civil hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

The police had booked the accused under Sections 302, 148, 149 and 120 B of the IPC. During the hearing over the past three years, the court recorded statements of about 50 witnesses.

Expressing his satisfaction over the judgment, victims father Chander Pal Rana said, I fought a long battle to get justice to my son. I was even pressured to withdraw the case, but I decided to carry on. Todays decision has brought justice to my departed son.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Kerala Police on Saturday filed a case against Peace Educational Foundation that runs a chain of schools in Kerala and neighbouring states for allegedly including objectionable study material in school curriculum aimed at disrupting communal harmony.

The educational group was under scanner after it came to light that some of the 21 missing persons from the state who were believed to have joined the Islamic State worked in schools run by the foundation. The case has been filed under Section 153 (A) of the IPC for promoting enmity between different groups, religion or race.

Police had raided the Peace International School in Ernakulam after they found that one of the missing persons Merin had taken class there. Similarly, Yasmin Ahmed who was arrested from Delhi airport two months ago before slipping out of the country worked as an English teacher with the Peace International School in Kotakkal in Malappuram district for two years. Yasmin was motivated by Abdul Rashid who was also missing along with his wife. Rashid was the public relations officer of the group until he vanished.

Later, the police had asked the education department to examine the syllabus of the school group. The department found that some of the study material/lessons were objectionable, lauding a single religion and putting others in bad light. Though the schools were affiliated with the CBSE they never followed its curriculum, it found.

Read | Man arrested in Kochi for collecting explosives for Islamic State

Founded in 2006 by a preacher MM Akbar, and run by Niche Group, an independent religious body aiming to propagate Islam, Peace International runs 10 schools in Kerala and one each in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Akbar is locally known as Keralas Zakir Naik, the Mumbai-based Islamic evangelist who is in the eye of storm. Faced with its links to those who disappeared, the school is battling to save its reputation and stay clear of trouble. It has disowned Rashid and others but many parents have already applied for transfer certificates for their children.

Besides Akbar the police are likely to question three businessmen who invested heavily in the group. However the school group denied any involvement with the missing and insisted that it was part of a vilification campaign aimed to tarnish a reputed educational institution.

Last week the National Investigation Agency had busted a Kerala module of IS and arrested six persons from north Kerala and four others from Tamil Nadu. A radical outfit, Popular Front of India, is also under watch list as two of the arrested were active workers of PFI.

Read | Seven IS-inspired men held in Kerala had plans for a Nice-style attack

Read | Kerala IS module bust: Jihadi propaganda active on social media

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Facing flak in Tamil Nadu for the Centres stand against setting up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), the BJPs state unit on Saturday said it would call on party chief Amit Shah, even as Opposition parties continued to their protests.

We will meet our party chief Amit Shah tomorrow (on Sunday) on the Cauvery issue and apprise him of Tamil Nadu units views on the CMB, BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan said.

Soundararajan said she would lead a delegation of state party leaders, including Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan and Rajya Sabha MP elect L Ganesan, to meet Shah.

Explaining the procedural aspects of setting up the Board, which includes getting Parliaments approval, she claimed that the BJP has always been protecting the interests of farmers of Tamil Nadu and will continue to do so.

Stating that the state unit was for setting up the CMB, she said all steps would be taken to get it done.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu continued to stage protests against the Centre on the Cauvery issue. PMK and Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) held agitations here and in Ariyalur on Saturday, demanding that the CMB be constituted to protect farmers interests.

Slamming the BJP-led Centre for its betrayal of Tamil Nadu by not coming forward to set up the Board, PMK chief S Ramadoss said his party would continue to protest peacefully against the Union government on the river water issue.

We see the BJP-led Centre as a party which has committed a big betrayal against Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery issue. It is an unpardonable betrayal, he told protesters.

He alleged that the Centre had taken a stand against setting up the Cauvery Management Board with an eye on the Karnataka assembly election, which is due in 2018.

This is injustice against the people of Tamil Nadu, the PMK chief said, adding his party would continue to fight against the Centre on the Cauvery issue through peaceful means.

Ramadoss said his partys executive committee will decide on the mode of protest against the Centre. It may include protests such as waving black flags during visits of Union ministers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) party chief GK Vasan led a protest at Ariyalur. Blaming the central government, he said it had tilted from its neutral position and sided with Karnataka by opposing the CMB.

Stating that the plea to set up the CMB was a long-time demand of farmers to ensure adequate inflow of Cauvery waters, he said the Centres stand is against Tamil Nadu and its farmers and is a betrayal.

Shouting slogans such as release Cauvery water for farmers, he said both the Congress-led Karnataka government and the Centre headed by the BJP are betraying the Cauvery delta farmers of Tamil Nadu.

On Friday, DMK had observed a fast in Thanjavur and party treasurer MK Stalin had said his party would convene an all-party meeting and lead a delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Cauvery issue if the AIADMK government did not take immediate steps for an all-party meeting.

Similarly, Peoples Welfare Front comprising MDMK, CPI, CPI(M) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi held a protest demonstration at Tiruvarur. MDMK chief Vaiko had called for concerted action by all parties on the issue.
An IAS officer was transferred in Chhattisgarh on Saturday after he publicly questioned the achievements of the founder-member of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the forerunner of the ruling BJP in the state.

Shiv Anant Tayal, a 2012 batch IAS officer posted in south Chhattisgarh, had made the comments on Upadhyaya in a Facebook post saying he cant find a single work of his (Pt Upadhyaya) authorship or scholarship to gauge his ideological stance and that there is not a single election where he won by a popular vote.

The officer also quoted a repository written by historian Ram Chandra Guha in his book Makers of Modern India where there is no mention of Upadhyaya.

Tayal, who deleted the post after it created a storm on social media, was shunted out as the chief executive officer of Kanker district panchayat, an official said.

The government has taken cognizance of the officers post and has expressed displeasure. He has been issued a show cause notice and has been transferred to the state secretariat, the state government spokesperson told Hindustan Times.

Ever since coming to power at the Centre, the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre has been trying to promote people whom it considers the icons of its ideology. The Centre has launched social schemes in the name of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and tried to highlight his vision by incorporating his life in school text books.

It is a sign of immaturity and shows a lack of understanding. Officials should desist from making such statements on public platforms. The government is working on Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyayas ideals, said Sanjay Srivastava, president of the BJPs Chhattisgarh unit.

Another party leader said that during the partys recent national council meeting at Kozhikode, the party cited Upadhyaya as an ideal icon for the younger generation and the IAS officer had run misinformation on the social media site.

The IAS officer, who couldnt be reached for his comments, posted an apology on Friday.

I raised some spontaneous questions on Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay. It was never an intention to raise questions on credibility of stalwarts or to offend anyone. Nevertheless if that happened, I am deeply apologetic and express regret, he wrote on his post.

Tayals post about Upadhyaya came after another IAS officer in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, Alex Paul Menon was served a show cause notice by the state government in July for casting aspersions on the criminal justice system on a FB post in June. Is there a bias in Indias legal system with 94 per cent of those on death sentence being either Dalits or Muslims, he had written.

Social media comments by bureaucrats in recent months have triggered several controversies across the country.

Bastar collector Amit Kataria faced criticism after alleging that an attack on AAP leader and tribal activist Soni Sori was stage-managed and he was forced to withdraw the remark.

A collector in Madhya Pradesh Ajay Gangwar had liked a FB comment that was critical of PM Narendra Modi and praised the nations first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Gangwar was also transferred by the BJP government in the state.
China on Saturday sought to justify its move to blockade a tributary of the Brahmaputra to construct a dam saying it will not affect river flow into India and would have no adverse impact on downstream areas.

Terming the Lalho dam project on the Xiabuqu river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra which is locally called as Yarlung Zangbo, as an important livelihood project to address food security and flood safety in Tibet, the Chinese foreign ministry said the tributary is located completely within the Chinese side.

The reservoir capacity of the project is less than 0.02 per cent of the average annual runoff of the Yarlung Zangbo-Brahmaputra. It cannot have an adverse impact on the downstream, the ministry said in a written reply to PTI to a question on Indias concerns over the dam.

Brahmaputra flows from Tibet into Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and later into Bangladesh.

On October 1, China announced the blockade of Xiabuqu river in Tibet as part of the construction of its most expensive dam project. The Lalho project in Xigaze in Tibet involves an investment of $740 million.

Referring to the Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on trans-border rivers between India and China, the Chinese foreign ministry said both the countries have been carrying out good cooperation on trans border rivers for a long time.

Proceeding from the larger picture of China-India friendship and from the humanitarian angle, the Chinese side has overcome all kinds of difficulties, and has provided services to the Indian side such as flood season hydrological data and emergency management, and has played a positive role in areas such as flood and disaster control along the banks of the relevant rivers, the ministry said.

China is willing to continue relevant cooperation with the Indian side through the existing expert level mechanism on trans-border rivers, it said.

Read | India to take up with China the issue of blocking Brahmaputra tributary: MEA

Stating that Brahmaputra is rich in water and a major hydrological resource for Tibet, the foreign ministry said the development and utilisation of the Chinese side at present is just one per cent.

The water quality that crosses the border is good and is basically at its natural state, it said.

Brahmaputra flows through economically less developed ethnic minority regions of China, it said.

Legitimate use of the water and hydrological resources is an important component of the rights of the people of this region to live and develop, it said.

The Chinese side has always held a responsible attitude towards exploitation of water resources of the Yarlung Zangbo, and carries out a policy of actual development and protection at the same time. Scientific planning, adequate justification, prudent decisions and orderly exploitation are in line with international practice, it said.
Fresh protests erupted in Kashmir on Saturday after a 13-year-old boy allegedly died of pellet injuries and security forces fired tear gas shells on thousands of people during his funeral procession in the curfew-bound Valley.

Images of mourners huddled together trying to prevent the body, draped in green, from falling from their hands as police rained tear gas shells went viral on social media, evoking widespread anger in the Valley that has remained under lockdown for nearly three months.

The death of Junaid Ahmed, a resident of Saidepora in Srinagar, also brought back into focus the use of pellet guns which have left hundreds of people with eye injuries, some of them losing their sight in both eyes.

Junaid was the 89th person to die in Kashmir since the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8 sparked street protests across the Valley. The Centre responded by sending more security personnel and clamping down on mobile and internet services besides placing vast areas under curfew.

Two policemen have also been killed and hundreds of government forces injured during the protests, the biggest in six years.

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, which has so far defended the use of force to control stone-pelting protesters, on Saturday demanded a time-bound probe into the death of the minor and said he was not involved in protests.

Junaid was allegedly hit by pellets on Friday afternoon when security forces opened fire on protesters in Saidepora.

A relative of Junaid said the boy was targeted from a 20-25 feet distance by security forces when the protests had subsided and the boy was with his mother.

He succumbed to his injuries in the early hours on Saturday at Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences. Doctors said Junaid had multiple pellet wounds on his head, chest and other parts of body.

90+ days of curfew, 90+ deaths, violence used on people continuing to make funerals and demonstrations indistinguishable, wrote academic Nitasha Koul, who also shared the image on Facebook.

A funeral procession of the 13-year-old who died on Saturday. (Waseem Andrabi/HT Photo)

North City superintendent of police Khalid Sajad said Junaid was hit by pellets during an incident of stone-pelting and also defended firing on the mourners.

We never wanted to turn things ugly and were trying to allow a safe passage to the funeral procession. But there were some people who wanted to escalate the situation. They pelted stones on us and we retaliated, Sajad said.

A panel set up by the Centre had suggested that pellet guns be used only in extreme situations. Local residents and international rights groups are seeking a ban on the guns.

The ongoing Kashmir unrest has also ratcheted up hostilities between India and Pakistan with Islamabad hailing Wani as a martyr and describing the protests as the Kashmiri intifada (uprising).

The separatist leadership including hardliner Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik and Shabir Shah continue to be either under house arrest or in custody of police.

The joint separatist leadership has extended the latest protest calendar to October 13 and urged people to occupy all the roads leading to police stations on October 10.
The Indian Air Force marked its 84th anniversary on Saturday with an extraordinary air show at the Hindon Air Force Base near Ghaziabad. Apart from the IAF chief Arup Raha, the chief of the Indian Army Dalbir Singh, former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and others were also present at the function.

IAF chief Arup Raha inspects guard of honour (ANI on Twitter)

President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday lauded the immensely professional air force on Twitter: The IAF has achieved distinction in defending our skies and delivering vital humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The nation is proud of the capability and competency of the IAF.

IAF chief Arup Raha speaking at the Air Force Day function (ANI on Twitter)

Speaking at the function, IAF chief Arup Raha said, The acquisition of 36 Rafale aircrafts in next few years could greatly enhance our operational capability in near term.

Indian Air Force chief Arup Raha confers Vayu Sena medals, Vayu Sena (Gallantry) medals & Vishist Seva medals. (ANI on Twitter)

Army chief Dalbir Singh and Sachin Tendulkar at the Air Force day celebrations (ANI on Twitter)

Established on October 8, 1932, the Indian Air Force is celebrated its 84th anniversary by scintillating display by various aircrafts.

IAF Akash Ganga sky diving team members display their skills (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

Made In India Tejas fighter plane during the air show (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Surya Kiran planes in a formation (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

(ANI on Twitter)

#WATCH: PC-7 Aircraft shows its prowess at Air Force Day celebrations at Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad pic.twitter.com/90uO9cS77N  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016

IAF 'Air Warrior' drill team performs during the rehearsals at the Hindon air force base in Ghaziabad (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

Indian Air Force soldiers march during the Air Force Day parade rehearsals (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

IAF Sarang helicopters during the Air Force Day rehearsals (AP)

IAF soldiers wait for their turn standing next to the IAF C-17 Globemaster during the rehearsals (AP)

IAF personnel perform with their guns during the full dress rehearsal (PTI)

IAF Akash Ganga sky diving team members display their skills during the 84th anniversary of Air Force Day parade rehearsals (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

Indian Air Force's 'Air Warrior' drill team perform during the rehearsals (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

Indian Air Force's AN-32 transport aircraft fly past in a formation during rehearsals for India's Air Force Day parade (AP)

Established on October 8, 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire, IAF has a strength of over 120,000 personnel, meant to defend Indian airspace and are also deployed for United Nations missions.
Uttar Pradeshs capital will be draped in blue, with images of Kanshi Ram all across, on Sunday. When the BSP founder died exactly 10 years ago, there was little doubt Mayawati was his chosen successor. In 2007, she went on to become the UP CM with an outright majority.

On Sunday, the tenth death anniversary of her mentor, the BSP supremo will seek to cement precisely this legacy and give a push to her 2017 election campaign with a massive show of strength in Lucknow. But this time, in a sign of the rift within the Dalit movement, she faces a challenge from rebel leaders, seeking to claim Kanshi Ram for their own political projects.

Mayawati has her task cut out as she faces a four-cornered contest in the politically critical state that could also have a bearing on the 2019 general elections. The BSP will be facing off with the incumbent Akhilesh Yadavs Samajwadi Party that is grappling with family factionalism and perception of lawlessness; on the other hand is the BJP, riding on the 2014 landslide in the state and aggressively wooing the Dalit votes but lacking a CM face. The Congress too is eyeing a revival with good responses to party vice-president Rahul Gandhis month-long Kisan Yatras, but continues to lack any core social base.

Read | Mayawati promises achhe din, slams rivals SP, BJP, Congress

Show of strength

Expecting half a million people, BSP has booked 19 trains, 500 buses and thousands of cars to transport workers from across the state. They will assemble at the Kanshi Ram memorial. Mayawati will address the supporters at Kanshi Ram Eco Park, located adjacent to the memorial. This is being seen as her effort to ensure that BSPs core constituency of Dalits remains intact, even as the party seeks to expand into other groups.

For the BSP, the issue of who is Kanshi Rams successor is beyond debate. BSP UP state president, Ramachal Rajbhar, said, There is no confusion. The BSP founder himself used to say that Mayawati would continue his mission. In December 2001, Kanshi Ram declared Mayawati his successor.

He said an old slogan Kanshi Ram tera mission adhura Mayawati karegi pura, only showed where the loyalty of party cadres rested.

Amar Jatav is a resident of Khair tehsil in Aligarh district and has travelled to Lucknow for the rally. He said, In power or out of power, Mayawati has carried the Dalit movement ahead and worked for the empowerment of the Dalit community.

Read | UP assembly polls: Mayawati takes fight to SP chief Mulayams turf

The challengers

But Kanshi Rams old loyalists, Daddu Prasad and RK Chaudhary, have decided to challenge Mayawatis claim by organising separate rallies in the city.

Prasad will organize a rally at Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan under the banner of Bahujan Mukti Party (BMP). He claimed Mayawati has deviated from the ideals of Kanshi Ram. She is selling assembly election tickets and has virtually usurped the power by sidelining Kanshi Rams loyalists. To prove this point, the BMP will showcase former BSP leaders who were close to Kanshi Ram but were sidelined or expelled by Mayawati.

Chaudhary enjoys considerable influence among the Pasi community - this is distinct from Mayawatis Jatav community, over which she has tremendous appeal. Chaudhary who quit the party recently, has decided to organise a meeting near historical Parivartan chowk in the city.

He does not buy the BSP claim the legacy question is settled. Usually a will is made of property and not of ideology. He also disagreed with Mayawatis efforts to expand beyond her core base. While establishing BSP and other organisations, Kanshi Ram had said that it would be the party of the scheduled and backward castes but Mayawati opened doors for upper castes too.

The challenge to Mayawati is good news for the other parties in the fray. BJP spokesman Harish Chandra Srivastava says she must now see the writing on the wall. Those who were once her close lieutenants have started deserting her. Every leader who has left her has accused her of minting money in the name of Dalits. What can be more shocking?

To check clash between rival groups, the district administration has made elaborate security arrangements, particularly at railway and bus stations.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Expressing concern over cross-border shelling in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday appealed India and Pakistan to take effective measures to restore peace along the border in the state.

We appeal India and Pakistan leadership for taking effective and urgent measures for restoration of peace along the Line of Control and International Borders in Jammu and Kashmir, the former chief minister said in a statement here.

He said the main brunt of the shelling is being faced by the border-dwellers as escalation of tension has led to relocation of people from the forward areas that is causing enormous problems to them.

Abdullah expressed anguish over injuries to several persons in the border areas of Poonch district.

He prayed for early recovery of the injured and expressed solidarity with the people.

Abdullah also emphasised the need for providing adequate compensation to the farmers whose standing crops have been damaged due to shelling.

Read | India, Pak should take steps to restore peace on border:Farooq
India has strongly rejected Pakistans references on Kashmir at the UN, saying such remarks are a self-serving attempt by Islamabad to bring extraneous issues to the world body for its territorial aggrandizement.

India, exercising the Right of Reply after Pakistans envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi raised the Kashmir issue at the UN, said on Friday Pakistan had made references to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in a self-serving attempt to bring extraneous issues before the Committee.

Such efforts were a flagrant misuse of the body for Pakistans own territorial aggrandizement, India said, recalling that the Special Committee on Decolonisation was concerned only with Non-Self-Governing Territories. It asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.

Pakistan responded by saying that the United Nations recognised that all people under alien subjugation had a right to self-determination.

Exercising its Right of Reply, Pakistan said India continued to perpetrate misinformation on the Kashmir issue year after year.

Raking up the Kashmir issue again at the UN, Pakistan had said the non-implementation of UN Security Council resolutions for a plebiscite in Kashmir is the most persistent failure of the UN.

The decolonisation agenda of the United Nations will remain incomplete without resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, among the oldest items on the UNs agenda, Lodhi had said yesterday at a debate of the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee in the General Assembly.

She said for over six decades UN Security Council resolutions promising a plebiscite under UN auspices to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their destiny, have not been implemented.

This is the most persistent failure of the United Nations, she said, adding generation after generation of Kashmiris has only seen broken promises and brutal oppression.

She asserted that Jammu and Kashmir never was and can never be an integral part of India but is a disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council.

Lodhi said the UN has a moral responsibility towards people suffering under colonial domination and foreign occupation.

There is an urgent need to bring the work on this unfinished agenda to closure and eliminate the last remaining vestiges of colonialism. We hope that we will be able to achieve this shared goal sooner rather than later, she said.
STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

Google Ad

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Google Ad

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh

USA Embassy Message for U.S. Citizens
More than two weeks ago, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa was admitted to Chennais Apollo Hospital with complaints of high fever and dehydration, triggering alarm across the state.

By then, rumours mills in Tamil Nadu had been working over time for months as Jayalalithaas public appearances steadily decreased  some of them were even dragged to court by the CM for speculating on her health.

Over the past 17 days, as the AIADMK chief recuperated on the second floor of Apollo Hospital, the state government strictly controlled the flow of information, sparking feverish speculation. Heres what we know so far:

Health

There is still little clarity over what exactly ails the 68-year-old. For the first 10 days, the hospital sent out cryptic health bulletins that specified little other than she had fever and was recovering. Her party also insisted that Amma would be back in the administrative saddle soon.

But it is increasingly clear that this wont be the case and the CM will be under treatment for some time.

First, the Apollo flew in a doctor from London who specializes in critical care and multi-organ failure.

A few days later, a three-member team of specialists  a cardiologist, a pulmonary specialist and a anesthesiologist -- was rushed to Chennai from Delhis All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

The same day Apollo detailed her treatment for the first time -- decongestion of lungs, nebulisation for breathing, administration of antibiotics, supportive therapy, and general nursing care.

Most people now think her critical organs are severely affected and the infection is worse than previously thought of.

Speculation and frenzy

The secrecy shrouding the chief ministers health has lead to wild speculation and a flurry of fake messages and morphed photos adding to the frenzy. For the first 10 days, a photo showing the CM in an intensive care bed went viral across the state, only to be proven fake. Audio messages faked in Jayalalithaas voice have also been doing the rounds. The state government and the hospital have also repeatedly denied rumours that she is dead or suffering from an incurable disease. Her supporters have also increasingly got anxious. Many have held public pujas, others tried to immolate themselves and pierced their skins to please the gods.

Politics and administration

The CMs health has also triggered a political churning in the state. The ruling AIADMK suddenly appears vulnerable with no visible second-rung leadership. DMK chief M Karunanidhi has already demanded photographic evidence, only to be rebuffed.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was the first big national leader to visit her in hospital on Friday and told reporters that the CM was recovering well.

But politics over her health has refused to die down, partially because the state has a history of incapacitated chief ministers and ensuing chaos. When Jayalalithaas mentor MG Ramachandran died in 1987, it triggered a bitter political tussle with no clear successor that cost the party, AIADMK, an election. Though Jayalalithaa emerged triumphant, memories of the shock and the messy successor battle have been brought back.

The CMs absence has also triggered an administrative vacuum that has been filled up by her trusted lieutenant Sheela Balakrishnan, who is looking after the daily affairs of the state. The retired IAS officer operates from a room close to the CMs in Apollo and instructs even ministers, say sources.

But even this arrangement seems to be not enough, especially at a time Tamil Nadu is locked with Karnataka in a heated feud over Cauvery water sharing. On Friday, the governor met two senior ministers and a top bureaucrat to discuss the administrative situation in the state.
It isnt Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa alone who is the centre of attention at the citys Apollo Hospital. Somewhere on the second floor where the ailing chief minister is being treated by a team of top doctors, another lady holds court these days with top officials queuing up for instructions.

Retired IAS officer, Sheela Balakrishnan, 62, is credited with running the state administration while the chief minister is battling her illness.

Hindustan Times takes a look at other bureaucrats who are the real power behind the thrones in states:
The unrest in Kashmir has claimed its 89th victim with a young boy succumbing to head injuries late Friday night . He had been injured after security forces used tear gas shells and pellet guns to break up a protest in Srinagars Saidpora area of the old city earlier in the day. While police claim Junaid Ahmad was 13 years old, his family insists he was only 11.

Junaid was admitted to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in a serious condition.

The situation in Srinagar continues to be tense ion Saturday with most of the old city areas under curfew.

Security forces fired tear gas shells on the funeral procession of the boy. The slogan-shouting mourners had come out with the procession violating curfew that authorities clamped again in the old city area of Srinagar.

Security forces fired tear gas shells on the funeral procession of the boy. (Waseem Andrabi/HT Photo)

On Friday, authorities had imposed curfew in many parts of Srinagar including Khanyar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, Safakadal, Maharaj Gunj, Maisuma and Batamaloo.to thwart a protest march called by separatists towards United Nations office in the city.

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.

A funeral procession of the 13-year-old who died on Saturday. (Waseem Andrabi/HT Photo)

Security forces swung into action after the hardline Hurriyat Conference faction 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.

Police and CRPF personnel set up roadblocks to prevent the movement of people after separatists 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 consecutive Friday owing to the restrictions.

The valley witnessed sporadic protests and shutdown on the 91st day on Friday of unrest which was triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8.

Protests and clashes between youth and security forces were also reported in some areas in northern districts of Bandipora and Baramulla.

The separatist leadership including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik and Shabir Shah continue to be either under house arrest 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.

Separatists have also urged people to occupy all the roads leading to police stations in their respective areas on October 10.
Damyanti Tandel of Gujarats Borsi Macchiwad has been drowning in misery ever since her fisherman-husband aboard the Kuber trawler was reportedly thrown into the sea by those behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Eight years have gone by since the coordinated attacks at several locations of the countrys financial capital in 2008, but there has been no word on Balwant Tandel. His body has not been found, and Damyanti, though without a husband, cannot legally claim to be a widow. It has also meant that she has not got any compensation.

His cold-blooded murder sank us, wails Damyanti. Her misfortune is shared by three other widows, whose husbands were also on the trawler when Kasab and gang from Pakistan forcibly took over the vessel in the high sea, tossed three of them into the water and took the captain, Amarsinh Rathod, hostage. The government does not recognize them as widows too and all have been left high and dry, despite their husbands meeting a watery grave.

Natu Rathod is survived by wife Dharmistha and two children. Settled in Vachi village in Navsari. Dharmistha works as a maid. (HT Photo)

Rathods family has been marginally luckier though he met a gory end as well. As the vessel neared the Mumbai coast, the attackers launched from Pakistan killed him. But unlike the rest of the crew, his body was left behind, enabling the government to declare him dead. His family got a compensation of more than Rs 5 lakhs.

Damyanti and those who have been deprived of compensation say fate has been particularly unkind to them. They live in different villages  Simasi, Vasi and Maachivaad  scattered along Gujarats 1,600-km long coastline, but insist they are bound together by the hardships they are forced to endure following the disappearances of their husbands.

Ever since Balwant left, the task of looking after their son and two daughters fell singularly on Damyanti. She received Rs 50,000 from the CMs Relief Fund, but her applications for what Rathods kin got were rejected. She worked in a local handloom factory until her son, Umesh, dropped out of school and began venturing into the sea as a fisherman.

I am not recognized as a widow by the government, she regrets. We cannot in the absence of his body, points out Navsari resident collector KS Vasava. Under law, a missing person is not declared dead for seven years. It is eight years since the Kuber fishermen were dumped in the sea, but a court declaration is still awaited. We can cover the families under various schemes and benefits only when the Navsari district court declares them dead, adds Vasava.

Mukesh Harapati is survived by his grandmother in Vachi village. She lives alone with support of relatives. (HT Photo)

But thats little or no consolation for the affected families. When someone dies in a hooch tragedy, the government releases Rs 4 to 5 lakhs as compensation. And when we fall victim to terrorism, we are asked to produce proof of the tragedy, complains Vijay Tandel, the sarpanch of Maachiwad village.

Besides being angry, the families are getting impatient as well. Jasiben Nagji, whose husband Ramesh was also on Kuber, has moved the Gujarat high court for redressal. How long can we wait? Justice delayed is justice denied, she says.

In absence of her husband and compensation, she has been reduced to a daily wager.

Kuber, the boat, meanwhile has got an image makeover. It set to sail again with new interiors and a new name: Sri Ganesha Kuber. The families of its missing crew members, however, find themselves stranded amid a sea of despair.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Militants on Saturday snatched two AK-47 rifles from a minority picket in south Kashmirs Pulwama district.

Militants snatched two weapons from policemen guarding members of minority community at Tumlahal village in Pulwama, a police official said in Srinagar, reports IANS.

The area was cordoned off and search operations launched.

A policeman was killed while another cop and a civilian were injured on Friday night in a similar incident when militants fired at a picket in a village in Jamnagri area at Shopian district of south Kashmir.

Minority posts were set up by the security forces in villages where members of the Kashmiri Pandit community continue to live.

Majority of the local Kashmiri Pandit community migrated out of the Valley in the early 1990s with the outbreak of the separatist violence.

(With IANS inputs)
Under attack over Rahul Gandhis dalali barb, Congress on Saturday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of insulting the army when the BJP was in opposition.

The Govt, which is taking credit for the bravery of our Armed Forces, is headed by the same man who insulted the Army when in Opposition, the party tweeted.

The Govt, which is taking credit for the bravery of our Armed Forces, is headed by the same man who insulted the Army when in Opposition pic.twitter.com/un1WrjMaVb  INC India (@INCIndia) October 8, 2016

It shared a purported tweet by Modi when he was the Gujarat chief minister on its Twitter handle which read, We are facing many a crisis. Is all this happening due to weakness of our Army:Narendra Modi (sic).

In the picture containing the tweet, Congress alleged that Modi even targeted the army to grab power.

In 2008, Modi ji touched a new low - instead of showing solidarity with forces, he held a press conference at attack site & cursed the Govt pic.twitter.com/hT00FDmymU  INC India (@INCIndia) October 8, 2016

The tweet accompanied a picture that showed Modi addressing the media in Mumbai in the wake of the 26/11 terror strikes.

Congress said the Modi government insulted the sacrifices of martyrs by inviting the ISI to probe the Pathankot terror attack.

BJP chief Amit Shah had on Friday launched a blistering attack on Rahul for his dalali remarks, saying he crossed all limits and insulted the armys valour.

The Congress vice-president had on Thursday accused the Prime Minister of hiding behind the blood of soldiers and politically exploiting their sacrifices.

Read | Political parties criticise Rahul Gandhi for dalali remark, Cong defends him
Pakistan sees no hope of a breakthrough in relations with India under the Narendra Modi government, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz has said, accusing India of adopting a hegemonistic attitude.

Pakistan had been resisting the Indian hegemonistic attitude in the region and had been calling for the promotion of bilateral ties on equal basis, Aziz said.

There is no hope for a breakthrough in relations with India under its current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Aziz saying in TV interview.

Aziz said the joint session of the parliament on Friday had unanimously adopted a resolution that encompassed all issues, including the condemnation of Indian brutalities in Kashmir, ceasefire violations, condemnation of Indian threat to revoke Indus Waters Treaty and Indian intervention in Balochistan.

The adviser said the focal point of all these efforts was to show the world that entire Pakistan was united to condemn Indian brutalities in Kashmir and extend moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiri people.

Aziz said during interactions at various platforms across the globe the majority viewed that the dialogue should resume between the two states.

He said there was no harm in sealing the Pak-India border as planned by India, if the points of public movement and trade were maintained.
Goa Police sent teams to neighbouring states to follow up on leads into the murder of perfumer Monika Ghurde, who was found naked and bound at her home in Sangolda village on October 6.

We will be able to crack this case soon. We are working on different theories. Yesterday, we have sent teams to different locations including neighbouring states, deputy inspector general of police, Vimal Gupta said on Saturday.

Police suspect the 39-year-old was raped and murdered somewhere between October 5 afternoon and night, as she had not been in touch with anyone since then.

The cops ruled out robbery as nothing was missing from the flat, raising suspicions that the killer might have been someone Ghurde knew.

Hailing from Nagpur, Ghurde was married to photographer Bharat Ramamrutam from Tamil Nadu and was residing at Porvorim before the couple separated; she then shifted to Sangolda this year.

Police investigations have revealed that she had shifted to Sangolda in July this year and was staying alone, the Gupta said.

Police are waiting for the postmortem report to determine the cause of death.

The murder was discovered by the domestic help at around 9am when Ghurde failed to opened the door for her. The maid contacted Ghurdes brother based in Mumbai, who in turn called up her husband, who then called up Ghurdes neighbour, an American woman who had spare keys to the house, police said.

A case of murder was registered under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

A regular on Goas social circuit, Ghurde met Ramamrutham in Mumbai while pursuing photography. Subsequently, she moved to Chennai in 2009 where switched to perfumery and set up Mo Lab. In 2011, she then shifted to Goa.

A keen practitioner of the trade, Ghurde would travel often across the world to attend olfactory workshops and also conduct her own. She was obsessed with the scent of jasmine, and was even studying the effects of smells on the human consciousness.

Also read | Monika Ghurde: Globe-trotting perfumer who was obsessed with jasmines scent
Devangana Kalita was just a few weeks into her first year at Miranda House, a womens college in Delhi University, when she ran into trouble. She got back late from an inter-college debate she was competing in and missed the curfew: 7:30 pm. Kalita remembered being only 10 minutes late but, she said, the warden lost it. The result was a long apology written by Kalita and a phone call to her father. She said she had thought of college as a liberating space only to find out that it was marred by these rules. Those rules, she soon discovered, involved stern curfews and other restrictions on female students. Private hostels and paying guest facilities (rooms for rent basically) were no better - they insisted on equally stringent rules for women. The year was 2007.

Now eight years later, Kalita is part of Pinjra Tod, a Delhi-wide student campaign that seeks to break through the deeply sexist and suffocating rules. They range from curfews to clothes to differing levels of moral policing - even co-ed colleges dont allow men and women into each others hostels. Kawalpreet Kaur, who graduated from the Indraprastha College for Women, said women have been pulled up by hostel wardens for wearing inappropriate clothes and hanging out with boys in the night.

In 2015, when Delhis universities reopened after the summer break, Jamia Millia Islamia said female students could no longer request permission to stay out later than 8 pm. Within days, the university received a notice from the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) asking why such a restriction was required. Then a student at Jamia wrote an open letter to the Vice Chancellor alleging that such a rule (or even the earlier rule that staying out late required a signed note from her parents or local guardians) violated her Right to Freedom.

Read:Hostel woes for female students

We took that as an opening, said Kalita. Existing campaigns and students networks kicked into full gear for a movement that spanned across universities. The result was Pinjra Tod. Prison, Kalita said, was the first metaphor that came to mind when they were hunting for names. What other place has a warden? she asked, chuckling. She has even seen some college brochures, she said, refer to students in hostels as inmates! The campaign has no founders or leaders, she added, because Pinjra Tod is the result of a much older womens movement.

In a 45-page report to the DCW in November 2015, Pinjra Tod demanded various things from an elected sexual harassment committee to safer public transport and more lighting in and around campuses. Since then the University Grants Commission, the governing body for higher education, has issued notices outlining sexual harassment policies and banning discriminatory dress codes and curfews for female students. But the struggle now, Kalita says, is to implement all of this.

Its not only the fight against unjust curfew timings, said Kaur. The fight largely is toreclaim back our spaces.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
An Indian soldier was injured on Saturday morning as the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked shelling and firing on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Police said the Pakistan Army resorted to heavy mortar shelling and firing in Mendhar sector of the LoC.

Pakistan shelling started at 5am and continued till 6.30am Indian Army retaliated effectively using same calibre weapons, the police said.
Across several states, girls in hostels are battling patriarchal rules that prevent them from being out late in the evening and force them to adhere to a dress code, among other oppressive rules. In Bhopals Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), girls staged a demonstration against a ban on wearing miniskirts, nightgowns and shorts in the campus, dining room and hostel office area. At Chennais Thiruvananthapuram Engineering College, girls protested the 6.30pm deadline, arguing that it prevented them from accessing the library that functioned till 8.30pm. When activists rallied behind their cause, college authorities were forced to roll back the deadline.

Read:Hostel Diaries: How sexist rules are stifling life for girls in BHU campus

In Hyderabads Osmania University, girls are not supposed to go out after 9pm, and for those who are already out, there is no entry into the hostel after 11pm.

In the nine hostels inside Aligarh Muslim Universitys Abdullah Hall complex, girls say hostel rules are draconian and infantalise them. We are allowed only one outing in a week on Sundays, says Siya (name changed), a resident scholar. We must take the permission slip from the wardens a day before, if we need to leave the hostel on any day other than Sunday. This actually means we need to send a fax to our parents who must fax us back their permission.

The hostels also follow unscientific rules, says the student. From breaking a leg to menstrual cramps to viral fever, suppose a girl was to suddenly fall ill in the middle of night, she is given Cetirizine, an anti-allergic drug. We cant even go out of the hostel for proper medicine.

The provost, Romana Siddiqui, could not be reached for comment. We cannot wear shorts in corridors and have to cover our heads with a dupatta at dinner because there are bhaiyyas serving us. Girl students feel under constant watch. There are CCTV cameras installed at the front gate, they say.

(Inputs:Paramita Ghosh , Shruti Tomar, Srinivasa Rao Apparasu, Ramesh Babu)
Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui may have faced objections over enacting the role of a Ramlila character, but popular folk theatre in his native Uttar Pradesh has a strong tradition of exemplifying Hindu-Muslim unity onstage.

The inter-community bond dates back to the medieval times of nawabs who patronised the arts in a big way and continues till today. In many places, Muslims play key characters in annual Ramlila shows put on during the Puja season, that are a dramatic retelling of the battle between Rama, the Hindu god, and Ravan, a Lankan king. In fact, in many UP towns and villages, Muslims are top members of committees that manage the Ramlila shows that typically culminate on Vijayadashami day.

Nawazuddin was forced to pull out of the Ramlila in his hometown Budhana in Muzaffarnagar district on Thursday, after protests by right-wing organisation, Shiv Sena. The 42-year-old actor was all set to essay the role of Marich, who is Ravans uncle.

The protests against Nawazuddins participation belie the syncretic character of UPs Ramlilas. Here is a glimpse of the states famed Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb, where aspects of Hindu and Muslim religions mingle during social and cultural occasions:

Mumtaz Nagar

Majid Ali is a busy man during Navratri season each year. Collecting funds, coordinating with artistes and making arrangements, Ali is the backbone of the Ramlila played each year at Mumtaz Nagar, just 8 km from Lord Rams birthplace Ayodhya.

The village in east-central UP has a rich Ramlila tradition of more than half a century. Breaking all barriers of religion, the Ramlila here is hosted by Muslims  with a lot of pride and enthusiasm.

Ali is president of the Ramlila Ramayana Samiti, under whose banner the Ramlila is hosted here each year. Our ancestors started the trend a good fifty years ago in order to ensure celebrations during Hindu festivals since our village was predominantly Muslim, he reveals. They started it with the aim of sending a message of communal harmony. Thats what we try to do till date.

In its 52nd year now, the collaboration of sorts is a custom now. Though Hindus enact key roles such as Ram, Sita and Lakshman, Muslims in the locality happily don the others. Children queue up to ask for side roles.

We respect all religions and thus select Hindus for the lead roles, Ali says. This is because there are daily prayers of these charactersand people touch the feet of the actors doing them; they also perform their arti.

Most of the other roles, including that of Jamvant, Jatayu and Meghnath, are performed by Muslims. They do it with perfection, Ali gushes.

The major contributions for hosting the Ramlila come from the Muslims. Be it lighting arrangements, costumes or stage management, the community is integral to the theatre.

The members of the organising committee comprise people of various professions and income groups. They include doctors, engineers, businessmen and shopkeepers.

Its not only Ramlila, most festivals in the village are imbued with religious unity. There is Krishnalila during Janmashtami, while Diwali and Holi celebrations are always an inter-community affair. Roza ifttars during Ramzan are the same.

While Ayodhya has of late remained in the news for its communal clashes and differences, we at Mumtaz Nagar are not moved by anything, says a proud Ali. There have been so many times when Ayodhya was on fire, but we continue to celebrate our happy moments together.

A Ramlila in progress at Red Fort, New Delhi. In many towns and villages of Uttar Pradesh, Muslims are top members of committees that manage the Ramlila shows. (Arijit Sen/Hindustan Times)

Bakshi Ka Talab

At Bakshi Ka Talab in Lucknow, Salman Khan and Arbas Khan have been playing Ram and Laxman for the many years now. They are brothers in real life as well  and have not missed a single chance to play these key roles in the Ramlila despite their busy study schedules.

Both are college students, but this is one time when Ramlila is their priority, says Shabir Khan, director of the local Ramlila. The brothers do not miss the rehearsals.

Not just Ram and Laxman, Muslims play other key roles in the act, including Lankan king Ravan and the Sitas father Janak.

The Hindu-Muslim bond at Bakshi Ka Talab Ramlila dates back to 1972  the year the show started. Before that, people of Bakshi Ka Talab would go to Itaunja to see the Ramlila. That was around 10 km away, recalls Nagendra Singh Chauhan, a member of the organising committee.

Muzaffar Husain, a doctor posted in the area, along with then gram pradhan, Maiku Lal Yadav, are credited with starting Bakshi ka Talabs own Ramlila. Since then, Hindus and Muslims have together played the roles of Ramlila characters, says Khan.

No communal clash far or near has affected their Ramlila, say organisers.

When the Babri Mosque was pulled down in Ayodhya in December 1992, people of Bakshi Ka Talab feared a break to their Ramlila festivities. In the subsequent Ramlila, however, a Muslim played a key character. If anything, there was more non-Hindu participation.

Dr Mansoor, son of Dr Muzaffar Hussain, played the role of Ravan. Mohammad Soaib played Angad, Asid Ali played Hanuman and Sabir Khan played Kumbhkaran, Hakim Raza Shadab, a member of the management committee, rattles of the names. The message was clear for everyone: nothing can affect our bond and our Ramlila here.

There have been times when Ramlila overlaps with Ramzan. The show will be briefly halted for iftar, reveals Khan. The people playing Ramlila characters will offer namaz and join the iftar. The audience will sit silently, waiting for the iftar and namaz to be over. The show will resume.

Effigies and masks used in the Ramlila are often crafted my Muslim artisans in Uttar Pradesh. Ramlila traditions in UP have weathered communal disturbances and have always witnessed active Muslim participation. (Gurinder Osan/Hindustan Times)

Aishbagh Ramlila

As the state capitals biggest and the oldest show, the Aishbagh Ramlila will witness the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year on Dussehra.

The Aishbagh Ramlila ground was donated by Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula who was deeply impressed by Lord Rams life and ideals. The ruler donated 6.5 acres land and promised state assistance in organising the programme each year, the documentary proof of which still exists with the organising committee.

Notably, when Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula donated land for Ramlila, he also gave an equal amount of land for the Eidgah, right across the road, says present-day Lucknow mayor Dinesh Sharma, son of late Kedar Nath Sharma Paadha who headed Shree Aishbagh Ramlila committee for nearly 70 years.

The Ramlila ground and the Eidgah stand face-to-face, presenting a unique example of a composite culture. The Lucknow Nagar Nigam looks after the arrangement of sound and electricity for the Ramlila every year.

History enthusiast Yogesh Praveen, who has special interest in the culture of Lucknow, says the Aishbagh Ramlila is said to have been started by poet-saint Goswami Tulsidas of the 16th-17th century. A group of men capable of enacting the episodes of the Ramayana were brought from Ayodhya to Lucknow. They performed the Ramlila, which attracted the Nawabs who took great interest in it and promoted it, he adds.

According to Praveen, an expert on Awadh culture, says, Ramlilas in the region are impossible without the support of local Muslims. It is always the Muslims who make effigies. The reason is that they are the ones who have expertise in doing bamboo-stick and kite paper-design works, he notes. In Lucknow, the Ravan effigy is invariably made by a Muslim artist.

YP Singh, director of Ayodhya Research Institute, says Ravan effigies and Ramlila masks are crafted by Muslim artisans. In Allahabad, Moradabad and Auraiya, there is no dearth of Muslim artisans involved in making masks for Ramlila, he adds.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Have you bitten into a butter-laden, soft pav with a spoonful of spicy, lime-slathered bhaji at Maruti Pav Bhaji in Vile Parle and sung praises of whoever made it? How about reaching the bottom of a warm bowl of Soams light, sweetly-tempered vaghareli khichdi and wondering who to send compliments to?

While Mumbais new restaurants go all-out to advertise their chefs, their Michelin stars and their posh past, cooks at older places have been churning out iconic dishes decade after decade without a hint of the same stardust. They spend hours on their feet, sweating over raging stoves, replicating (and perfecting) well-loved foods, all amid the chaos and madness of a busy kitchen.

Here are the names behind some of our favourite foods.

For the last 35 years, owner Gautam Purohit has been an integral part of Shree Thaker Bhojanalays kitchen which serves over 400 thalis daily. (Pratik Chorge/HT )

Gautam Purohit, 51, owner and head chef

Thank him for: Undhiyu or a sweet-spicy mixed vegetable specialty at Shree Thaker Bhojanalay, Kalbadevi

Purohit claims to have Rajasthani roots, but going by the mouth-watering Gujarati fare served at his restaurant, the fact becomes a little difficult to digest. My father Maganbhai Purohit set up this restaurant 71 years ago because he loved preparing Gujarati dishes. I watched him skillfully plate up the meals here as a child and the passion rubbed off on me, he says. For the last 35 years, he has been an integral part of the kitchen which serves over 400 thalis daily. Not only does he plan all 35 items on the menu but also prepares them himself.

His day starts at around 6.30 am with a trip to the market to select the vegetables that will go into the days meals. Although the menu is always pre-planned, it depends on the quality of vegetables available. If the bhindi is not to my liking, the menu immediately has to be changed, Purohit says.

His doodh pak, a thick, sweet rice pudding, takes seven painstaking hours to prepare and his thali has four kinds of dal. He ensures every lot prepared is tasted before it is served. I have to look into all the nitty-gritties, because in the end these dishes are the reason we are what we are. This makes one of his claims easier to digest: a patron who lives abroad loves Shree Thakers puranpoli so much that she packs 365 of them every time she comes to Mumbai.

According to one of the owners of Cafe Madras, Yadavs Upma is the best in the restaurant because it is so light and flavoursome, that it literally melts in the mouth. (Pratik Chorge/HT )

Sachin Yadav, 37, kitchen manager

Thank him for: The melt-in-the-mouth Upma at Cafe Madras, Matunga

Twenty years ago, when Yadav came to Mumbai from Ratnagiri to work for Cafe Madras owner Jagdish Kamath, he was a mere novice. I was hired to wipe the tables and wash the dishes and that is all I did. On a particularly busy day, Jagdishji asked me to go into the kitchen and learn whatever I could. That was the day he started learning how to whip up everything from piping hot idlis to mastering the art of making the fluffy, upma sprinkled with spicy podi.

According to one of the owners, Devavrat Kamath, 35, Yadavs Upma is the best in the restaurant because it is so light and flavoursome, that it literally melts in the mouth. In fact, patrons line up at the 75-year-old eatery to enjoy the upma-kaapi (upma-coffee) combination because they claim its the closest they can get to the breakfast served in the Udipi restaurants of Chennai. Ive seen him grow from an illiterate errand boy to a cook, and now he has even learnt how to operate the computer at the billing counter, says a proud Kamath.

Read: 5 must-try coffee and food pairings

Fondly called Ram Anna or elder brother, the Kheer chef at Crystal in Girgaum says it takes him around four hours to make 30 litres of the dessert. (Bhushan Koyande/HT)

Ram Anna, cook

Thank him for: The thick, creamy kheer at Crystal, Chowpatty

Ram has been working for Crystal for the last 35 years, stirring the ladle of the famous kheer, that soothes the cravings of several students and working professionals in the city. He doesnt remember his own surname, and is fondly known by regulars as Ram Anna or elder brother.

Initially, the grand the kheer-making affair was a treat for the senses, when college kids would stop by to watch him sit by the large vat at the entrance of the restaurant, stirring the bubbling rice pudding made every day. The secret is keeping it simple. It takes around four hours to make around 30 litres that attracts so many youngsters to our joint. It reminds them of their maa ke haath ka khana, says the man who is rather shy. The actual recipe is what Rita Khanna, 67, the founders wife, has been making for the last 50 years. Khanna, to this day makes it a point to visit the restaurant six days a week and supervise how the kheer is being made.

The motto of Crystal is to be a home away from home for all those who have come to the city and miss food back at home. People from Nasik and Punjab come down to have our food because of the fond memories they have attached to it, says Poonam Mehra, 47, who runs the restaurant with her son Sanket. It is also a known fact that you cannot leave Crystal without trying bowl of the kheer and then asking for a second helping, she adds.

Soni has been working at Maruti Pav Bhaji in Vile Parle for nine years, using the secret recipe that belongs to the owners, the Mhatre family,to make the spicy bhaji and tava pulao.

Mahindra Soni, 31, Pav Bhaji Cook

Thank him for: The heavily-spiced black pav bhaji at Maruti Pav Bhaji, Vile Parle

The eatery famous for its black pav bhaji has been serving the same dish for the last 46 years, which has patrons lining up outside their modest outlet in Vile Parle. Soni who hails from a small village in Uttar Pradesh has been working at the restaurant for nine years, using the secret recipe that belongs to the owners, the Mhatre family,to make the spicy, buttery bhaji. The reason why we are so famous is the secret masala that takes an hour to grind for the preparation of the bhaji. We prepare around 200 plates during the day at home and bring it to the outlet by evening, where it is served after heating and garnishing with a blob of butter, he says.

The founder, Maruti Mhatre set up the place in 1970 and used the masala that was specially ground at home for the lip-smacking bhajis that went on to become a huge hit among customers. Our mantra is very simple; we treat all the boys who work with us as a part of our family. They live in the same locality and we trust them implicitly with the recipe and know they will always stay loyal to us, says Vaibhav Mhatre, 24, who runs the restaurant now.

What is Sonis most treasured moment, while working at the outlet? Once the chef Sanjeev Kapoor stopped by in his car and asked for a plate of pav bhaji made by me. It felt surreal to be praised by someone of his stature and will be something I can tell my kids in future, he says.

Read: This Mumbai chef made bread upma to win US reality TV show Chopped

Kitchen manager at Soam, Prasad Samant says there is a lot of precision involved even in making a basic bowl of khichdi, that the restaurant is so famous for. (Pratik Chorge/HT )

Prasad Ramakant Samant, 52, kitchen manager

Thank him for: The smooth vaghareli khichdi garnished with a dollop of ghee and fried spices at Soam, Babulnath

Serving the restaurant for the last eleven years is Samant, the man behind the delicious khichdis and famous jowar pita pocket. To everyone it might seem like making a khichdi is no big deal, but there is a lot of precision involved. Even if one ingredient is missing or not up to the mark in quality, the entire dish has to be remade. The ratio of rice to dal, the duration of cooking time, and of course the right garnishing makes all the difference, he says. Soam serves around 20 to 25 portions of each type of khichdi on weekdays.

What does he love the most about his job? We usually have a heavy footfall during the second half of the evening and it is very stressful in the kitchen. But, it is then that I get maximum job satisfaction. Being able to serve good quality food and on a deadline is challenging and fulfilling, says Samant.

He also mentions that every time Soam bags a prize for its dishes, the kitchen staff is taken to the award ceremony, which is very motivating. The recipes might be the ones used in every household, but the skill and passion that goes into replicating it in a restaurant environment, daily with the same consistency, is to the credit of my enterprising kitchen team, says Pinky Dixit, owner of Soam.

Read:These restaurants in Mumbai prepare dishes which can be deceiving

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Remo

Director: Bakkiyaraj Kannan

Cast: Sivakarthikeyan, Keerthy Suresh, Satish

Rating: 2/5

In recent weeks, Tamil cinema has been losing its sense of originality -- which it has been lauded for in the past. Bakkiyaraj Kannans Remo with actors Sivakarthikeyan and Keerthy Suresh has liberally lifted its core idea from works like the 1982 Tootsie, the 1993 Mrs Doubtfire and the 1996 Avvai Shanmughi among others. At over two hours, Remo to me seemed like a collage of sorts, a poorly assembled one at that.

Sivakarthikeyans SK or Regina Motwani or Remo is dying to be an actor, but with zero skills, and on one occasion when he dresses up like a female nurse for an audition he meets a doctor, Kavya (Keerthy Suresh), on a bus. When he tells her his sob story, she offers him a job as a nurse in her hospital. Never mind that this pretender has no qualification to be a caregiver, and goes about the hospital without the vaguest clue about even how to administer an injection. But he is good at clowning, and the children there love him -- especially a little girl who is seriously ill (Cheeni Kum?).

However, nursing is not what Remo is keen on. Not even a job. What he is interested in is Kavya -- who is engaged to be married to a doctor from Pune. And he is boorish and a control freak -- and Kavya is not even in love with him, her parents are. And the rest of the film is all about pretences and prejudices with a moral question thrown in. Does our man Remo have the right to wean a woman away from her fiance? Remo argues that Kavya is NOT married to the guy, and hence has every right to walk out of the arrangement. Also, the director rubs into us that this fiance is no-good, and hence -- one should presume -- the lady has the right to ditch the man a day before the marriage. Would the story have been different if the fiance had been a good man?

Remo will remind you of Tootsie, Mrs Doubtfire and Avvai Shanmughi (Chachi 420 in Hindi).

If Remo has a decent theatrical run, it is not going to be because of its plot (which is jaded and ancient). It will be for its exemplary performances. Keerthy, whom we last saw as a touch-up girl for an actress in the Dhanush-starrer, Thodari, is fantastic, conveying a whole gamut of emotions -- guilt, anger, confusion and a sense of utter hopelessness. (It is difficult to control a woman, but easy to confuse her, quips Remo with the typical male arrogance seen in Tamil cinema.) She makes an intelligent use of her face to worm her way into the audience heart. Sivakarthikeyan is not far behind -- looking divinely beautiful as the nurse, walking along the hospital wards with a seductive sway. But then he often reminded me of Kamal Hassans Shanmughi. And like the veteran star, Sivakarthikeyan also turns into a he-man in the end -- a scene that is totally, totally out of place. Time Tamil cinema gave us mortals, not invincible iron-men pounding dozens of opponents into pulp.

Watch Remos trailer here:

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has started investigation into the alleged misappropriation of funds and properties belonging to Osho Foundation, the Bombay high court was informed on Friday.

A bench of Justice Naresh Patil and Justice PD Naik was hearing a petition filed by Yogesh Thakkar, a Pune resident and follower of Osho Rajnish, complaining that the spiritual gurus signature on the will was allegedly forged.

The bench also hit out at the Pune police for their casual approach in the probe.

Advocate Sandesh Patil, who represented the central agency, said, We are investigating under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. We received some of the documents on Wednesday.

The petitioner alleged that funds were diverted out of India and into private accounts of some the trustees of Osho International Foundation.

According to Thakkars counsel, Pradip Havnur, although the FIR was registered on December 8, 2013, the police have not even obtained the report of a handwriting expert to ascertain the veracity of Oshos will, which surfaced 23 years after his death in a Spanish court .

Assistant public prosecutor Sangita Shinde informed the bench that the state handwriting expert has expressed his inability to give any conclusive finding based on the photocopy of the will. The judges then asked the prosecutor what steps the police have taken to bring back the purported original document. Shinde replied that a letter rogatory has been sent through the central government, but they have not received any response.

The judges rapped the state as the investigating officer was not present in the court. That shows your seriousness in investigation, said the bench. You are taking this very casually, the bench added and expressed displeasure that a junior officer had been sent to the court, instead of the investigating officer. The court has now adjourned further hearing on Thakkars petition for two weeks expecting the Pune police to take substantial steps in investigating the case.
A two-year-old girl, Alisa Kasar, died on Saturday morning after a slab from the ceiling of her house in Virar fell on her.

The girl lived with her family in a flat in a dilapidated 23-year-old building in Shabana Manzil, Virar east.

The family had retired for the night in the living room on Friday night, and around 5:30 in the morning, a huge portion of the ceiling collapsed, and a slab from the roof fell on Alisa.

Her father, Rashid Kasar, a carpenter, rushed her to a hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival, as she succumbed to suffered severe skull injuries.

The Virar police have registered a case of accidental death and are still investigating the case.

Around 30 families live in the 23-year-old building, which has large cracks all over its structure.

The Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) has not conducted any structural audits or even warned residents about the bad condition of the building till date.

No VVMC official was available for comment.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who has received praise for assisting people who approach her on twitter, came to the rescue of a cross-border couple on Friday.

Swaraj assured on Twitter that Jodhpur resident Naresh Tewanis fiancee Priya from Pakistan would get visa to travel to the city next month for their wedding.

Priya and her family members applied for visa to India about three months ago but were yet to get one.

The marriage has been fixed on November 7, but the families had lost hopes owing to increasing tension between the two countries following the Uri terror attack and Indias surgical strikes across the Line of Control.

The Twitter reaction from the foreign minister came after Naresh, 27, requested her to grant visa to the Karachi-based family. Swaraj tweeted: Pl do not worry. We will issue the Visa (sic).

Around 15 members of Priyas family from Pakistan are willing to come to India to attend the marriage in Jodhpur and have applied for the visa.

Naresh said the ministers tweet had revived their hopes and there should not be any problem for the marriage now.

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, Naresh 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 grooms father Kanhaiya Lal said.
One of the major features of the Indian Air Forces 84th anniversary celebrations was the aerial display by IAFs latest acquisition, the light-combat aircraft Tejas. The aircraft featured in a major air display at the Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad on Saturday. It was Tejas first participation in the air forces annual celebratory event.

The dark grey Tejas thundered as its engine was started behind the main display ground and it soon zoomed past the air inventory lined up at the Hindon airbase field. It is the first advance fly-by-wire fighter aircraft to be designed, developed and manufactured in India. It was inducted into the IAFs squadron number 45, known as Flying Daggers, on July 1 this year.

In its air display, the aircraft performed a variety of manoeuvres such as loop, minimum radius turn, aerial spins and negative G-turn to showcase its agility and quick response during combat situations.

The first indigenous advance fly-by-wire fighter aircraft was inducted into the IAFs Squadron 45 on July 1 this year. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Apart from its high-speed capabilities, the aircraft also displayed slower manoeuvres, flying at a speed of 230km per hour.

The aircraft looked quick and can turn within a minimum radius. I have seen several aircraft flying at different air shows, but Tejas seems to be the fastest among all of them. What is more encouraging is that it was developed in our own country... I can only say it is bemisaal, said advocate OS Puniya, a visitor at the Hindon airbase.

While one Tejas aircraft was involved in the air display, another one was on ground display and attracted a lot of attention from visitors. Youngsters, air force personnel and their families seemed keen to take selfies with the aircraft after the event ended.

As part of the ground display, the aircraft was lined up in the middle and was flanked by fighter aircraft such as Mirage 2000, MiG 21, Hawk advanced jet trainer, and Sukhoi-30MKI, among others.

Visitors got Tejas first glimpse on October 8 itself. It was not on the ground or the air display during the full dress rehearsal held on October 6.

I had a range of queries about the fighter aircraft on how the pilot would eject in emergency situations, what is the range within which they can shoot down enemies and the type of weapons the aircraft can carry. The fighter aircraft display was a major attraction of the day, said Hritik Yadav, a young visitor at the airbase.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Amid tension along the Indo-Pak border, 12 rusted bombs were recovered near the Attari-Amritsar railway line of Samjhauta Express on Saturday.

Panic gripped the area after a farmer found a sack containing the bombs about 10 feet from the tracks, around 11am.

Army and Punjab police officials inspected the old bombs near the Attari-Amritsar railway line on Saturday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Senior officials of the Punjab police, Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) rushed to the spot near Sandhu Colony on Chheharta road.

Bomb disposal team, which reached around 2:15pm, examined the bombs. Sources said the bombs are the ones used by the defence forces, and are very old and defused.

The GRP deployed its personnel around the spot and took precautionary measures to keep people away from the recovered bombs.

Amritsar railway station house officer (SHO) Davinder Singh Randhawa said a highly equipped bomb disposal squad has been called from the Punjab Armed Police headquarters in Jalandhar to dispose of the bombs.

A case has been registered against unidentified persons under relevant sections of the Explosives Act at the GRP police station, Amritsar.
As many as 15 people were injured when a speeding Punjab roadways bus they were travelling in rammed into a truck sideways while overtaking a vehicle near Dhuri in Sangrur on Friday morning.

Five of the injured were hospitalised while others were administered first aid. The bus was on its way to Ludhiana from Sangrur.

Mohammad Ramzan, one of the injured passengers, said the bus was moving very fast and while overtaking a vehicle it hit a truck coming from the opposite side hit on its right side. The impact led to shattering of the windowpanes, and some people also complained of glass shards entering their eyes. Ramzan said despite calling the ambulance 108 many times, no help came. Finally, the injured were taken to hospital in the car of assistant labour commissioner RS Randhawa, who was on his way to Sangrur.

The bus driver, who too reportedly received minor injuries, fled after the accident. Police have initiated proceedings.
IDeA expresses its support to Syrian Armenians

The IDeA Foundation made a statement on Syrian Armenians today. The IDeA Foundation is committed to improving the lives of Armenia's citizens. Yet, we do not do this in isolation. We are aware of what is happening in the world around us and we feel an obligation to participate in doing what can be done to alleviate pain and suffering wherever possible. As we watch the continuing violence in Syria, particularly in Aleppo, we feel compelled to offer financial support to bring Syrian-Armenian refugees to Armenia. We are prepared to join other organizations and individuals around the world in this effort. This is something that must happen now. Even those who stayed and continued to stay throughout the years of fighting are now looking for safe haven elsewhere. We believe it is our duty as Armenians to help them. We are joined in this by several private foundations and we are working with the Armenian government to ensure that those who come are offered the basic official facilitation necessary to be able to legally seek refuge in Armenia. In the years following the Genocide, the Armenians of Aleppo were the first-line saviors for Armenian survivors in Anatolia. Today, they are looking for first-line saviors themselves, the statement reads.
A social studies teacher, who has been absent from the city government school for last 14 years was finally been terminated by the education department.

Sharanjit Kaur a teacher at the Government High School, Salem Tabri was terminated from services for being absent from duty since February 14, 2003 from the school.

Interestingly, Kaur, who was absent for 14 years had retired on May 31, 2012. The director public instructions (DPI) secondary, Balbir Singh Dhol has terminated her for being absent from last 14 years.

The DPI office issued a public notice on August 3, 2016 and gave the teacher 21 days to reply, but since she did not turn up, the department terminated her from services.

The DPI office stated that social studies teacher Sharanjit Kaur, has violated Volume-II of the Punjab Civil Services Rules, 1970 which says that an interruption in the service of government employees caused by willful absence from duty or unauthorised absence without leave, shall entail forfeiture of the past service.
Four e-cigarettes and six liquid refills were recovered by a task force constituted by the health department from a store 3G HUT in Mota Singh Nagar market locality on Friday morning.

The members of the force included food safety officers Rashu Mahajan, Harjot Pal Singh and drug inspector Amarjeet Singh. They recovered flavoured tobacco from the store.

The task force sealed the e-cigarettes and liquid refills under the Drug and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and sent the samples to the state lab.

The store owner was also issued challans under the Act and a case would be launched in the court of the chief judicial magistrate who may impose a fine of `2 lakh or announce jail sentence up to three years if the reports show availability of nicotine.

The task force has also issued eight challans to owners of tobacco sellers in under the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003 and collected the fine.

A member of the committee said that cigarettes and other tobacco products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution Act) prohibits smoking at all public places and slaps a fine of up to `200 fine for smoking in public.
War martyrs kin camp outside CM residence

The area around the Punjab chief ministers residence is restricted and people cant gather there. However, the families of war martyrs from across the state have been camping there for 10 days, staying put round-the-clock. Perhaps its election time and the government doesnt want to use force. Anyway, they say, the government can put them in jail but they wont go until their demands are met. They are demanding agricultural land or monetary compensation. The CM met them once, they say, but he didnt promise anything concrete. They have given a deadline until next Friday after which they plan to go on a hunger strike. But at the moment, those selling ganne ka ras and kulcha chana in the adjoining areas are having a field day.

Navratra nights turn warmer

Ramlila days are here again. Think about this time of the year, say about two decades ago, and you will be invariably reminded of people wrapped in shawls or blankets, munching on peanuts as actors played their roles from Ramayana in front of them. Nowadays that nip in the air is missing. Even the rehriwallahs selling hot peanuts havent yet appeared. We found that the minimum temperature in 1980s and 1990s used to be between 16 and 19 degrees Celsius, which has now risen to 25 degrees. Here (see chart), we have the minimum temperatures on October 5 since 1984 to explain how nights have become much warmer than they used to be.

Advisers style

UT adviser Parimal Rai has been around for over six months now. How effective he is as the top (next to the administrator) UT boss well discuss another day, but one thing about him is that hes definitely different from his predecessor Vijay Dev, who loved mingling around with people and was rather flamboyant in what he did. Rai prefers to remain low key and avoids being quoted in newspapers. Most bureaucrats take care they are nattily dressed while there are also some who wear extra-bright handkerchiefs and other accessories, and end up looking dandy. Leaving his shirt untucked, Rai, however, gives the impression of a nonchalant Dilliwala who least bothers about what hes wearing, or what people think about his dressing style.

The 33% result in MC

Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections are round the corner. The councillors are busy lobbying for tickets. The other day at a senior bureaucrats office, this writer bumped into a councillor who had an interesting take on the upcoming polls. See who wins or loses is difficult to predict but 33% of us will go through to the next corporation, he said, arousing curiosity. Well, thats what has been happening. Some dont get tickets, others lose. Over two-third of us dont come back next time. We call it a pass percentage of 33%.

100th Ashtami of Durga Parsad

Sector-32 resident Durga Parsad (Keshav Singh/HT Photo)

Meet Sector-32 resident Durga Parsad who turns 100 on Sunday. Hes been celebrating his birthday on Ashtami, the eighth Navratra. Prasad did his graduation in pre-Independence era from Lahore, has now 23 doctors and 10 engineers in his family of 59 members. While the country is talking about Beti Bachao, Beti Padao in the 21st Century, Parsad has been proponent of this in 1950-60s, when he ensured that all the four daughters were educated till post-graduation with two of them being doctors. He worked as a teacher at a village near Chandigarh and retired as the principal. He recalls how government employees were offered interest-free loan to take residential plots at nominal rates. His completing a century means he has enjoyed his pension for more number of years (42 years) than his service (36 years). Parsad, whos still pretty active and healthy, says hes been fond of eating through his life. His grandson, Sameer Goel, who works as development centre head with Infosys in Mohali, adds that hes seen him as a disciplined man and very strict about his meal timings. Discipline has been the single most reason for his longevity. He strongly believes that if you dont give surprises to your body it will not give you shocks.

arvind.chhabra@hindustantimes.com

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal during sangat darshan in Lambi constituency refuted charges of misappropriation of funds, for procurement, levelled by the Congress on Saturday.

All these allegations are figment of imagination of Congress leaders, said Badal on the charges of multi-crore scam labelled against the state government.

All these allegations are figment of imagination of Congress leaders, said Badal on the charges of multi-crore scam labelled against the state government.

The entire procurement operations were monitored by premier banking institute like Reserve Bank of India (RBI), so there was hardly any scope of misappropriation, said the chief minister (CM).

The amount of around Rs 30,000 crore questioned by Congress included funds used for procurement during their successive regimes, said Badal.

Read | Congress to move court over Punjab govts Rs 31,000-cr grain scam

Lauding the Centre for allotting express highways projects, Badal said it will act as catalyst of development and prosperity of the state, besides facilitating travel in hassle free manner.

The state government had on Friday said the Centre had given its in-principle approval to the proposed alignment of Katra-Amritsar-Delhi national highway via Jind-Barnala-Moga and Amritsar.

Centre also gave in-principle go ahead to Jalandhar-Ajmer expressway and its proposed alignment via Jalandhar-Moga- Bathinda and Ajmer.

Replying to another query on the sidelines of Sangat Darshan program in Lambi assembly segment in Tarmala on Saturday, the chief minister reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to lift every single grain of paddy from the market.

Read | Badal refutes BSFs claim; says MHA issued evacuation orders

He said the state government has already made elaborate arrangements for smooth and hassle-free procurement of the food grains. Badal said the entire procurement operation was being monitored by the top brass of state government to avoid any sort of inconvenience to the farmers.

Refuting the charges of misappropriation of funds for procurement being levelled by the Congress, the Badal said all these allegations were a figment of imagination.


Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the opposition Congress and the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab were colluding to fight the 2017 assembly elections.

Kejriwal referred to a media report that the Punjab government is preparing to withdraw a corruption case against Punjab Congress president and former chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh.

Need more proof of collusion between the Akalis and the Congress? This happening just before elections. It means the Akalis and the Congress are jointly fighting elections, Kejriwal said in a tweet, while sharing a copy of the media report.

The state vigilance bureau had registered a first information report against Amarinder Singh in the Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam case.

According to the report shared by Kejriwal, the Punjab government is set to withdraw the case.
Followers of Sikh activist Joga Singh Khalistani, who succumbed to injuries on Thursday, staged protest outside Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) demanding the arrest of main accused Sandeep Singh, a preacher at Damdami Taksal on Friday.

The protesters said that they will bring their protest on road if the police fail to arrest the accused till Saturday. They also announced that they will not cremate dead body till then.

The protestors alleged that Harnam Singh Dhumma, jathedar of Damdami Taksal and Jasbir Singh Rodey, former Jathedar of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib are giving shelter to the accused and pressuring police for not arresting him.

Meanwhile, heavy police force was deputed at the protest spot and senior officials including additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP-3) Rattan Singh Brar and ADCP (investigation) Balkar Singh were also present.

Jaswant Singh Cheema, district president of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said that they will stage protest on road by laying dead body if the accused is not arrested.

Manwinder Singh Giaspura from Nirvair Sewa Mission also slammed the state government for not being able to enforce law and order in the city. Joga Singh along with his four associates was attacked on June 30. He was admitted to DMCH hospital, where he died on Thursday after struggling for life for three months.

After his death, the police added the Section 302 (punishment for murder) of Indian Penal Code in the FIR registered against Sandeep Singh and others. The police had already arrested five of the accused, while Sandeep Singh was granted bail by Punjab and Haryana high court.
Following a petition of killers of Hoshiarpur boy Abhi Verma, a Punjab and Haryana high court bench on Friday summoned the record of the case. Abhi was kidnapped and killed in 2005.

The two killers, whose death sentence has been upheld by the Supreme Court, have moved the high court seeking stay on execution of their death sentence and commuting it to life sentence.

A Hoshiarpur court has recently issued their death warrants for execution on October 25.

The high court has also issued notices to the Punjab home secretary and DGP (prisons), seeking their replies by October 17.

The petition was filed by Jasbir Singh, alias Jassa, and Vikram Singh, alias Vicky, both residents of Hoshiarpur. They are lodged in the Patiala central jail.

Their counsel Gursharan Kaur Mann had argued that the petitioners are detained in solitary confinement for the past more than 10 years and now the Punjab government was working in haste to hang them. In several cases, the Supreme Court has accepted delay as the ground for conversion of death sentence into life imprisonment. In this case as well, there is delay of seven years in their execution after the Supreme Court had upheld their conviction, she said.

The duo and their woman accomplice had kidnapped and killed Abhi, a goldsmiths son, for ransom in February 2005. The trio were sentenced to death by a Hoshiarpur court on December 21, 2006. The high court had confirmed the death sentence on May 30, 2008. On January 25, 2010, the SC had also upheld death sentence for Vikram and Jasvir, but converted Sonias death sentence to life sentence. Their mercy petition filed before the Punjab governor was dismissed on January 22, 2016, and on August 11, 2016, the President of India also turned down their plea.
Right to Education Act (RTE) is still not being implemented in the city as no student from the economically weaker section (EWS) has been recommended by the district education department since 2011 for admission in any private school.

RTE may have made a fundamental right for children between 6 and 14 years to have education and making it mandatory for private schools to reserve 25% seats for economically weaker section of students. But, any legislation is as good as its implementation else its purpose is defeated.

ADMISSION UNDER EWS CATEGORY

To get their children enrolled under this category, parents can register themselves with the district education officer who after verifying their details will send the names of the students to schools, area wise.

Private schools are also completing the formality by merely advertising the information regarding 25% seat reservation for EWS students. But in reality, some schools are filling these seats by admitting the wards of their Class IV employees.

PARENTS RUE FLAWED IMPLEMENTATION

Pradeep Kumar, a parent, lamented, This Act is not being implemented in the state as a child is first asked to take admission in a government school, which in turn cant deny admission to any child as per governments direction. So when no government school will ever refuse admission to a child, then how the 25% EWS category seats in the private schools will be filled, he said adding, Last year, I decided to admit my child in a private school under this category but, when I contacted the district education office they asked me to get my kid admitted in a government school. How can I send my child to a government school which has no facilities? In Ludhiana, government primary schools have poor facilities and non-existent infrastructure where, students are mostly sitting in the open, under the trees or in corridors. Thats why I got my son admitted in a private school where I am paying the full fee. I cant afford to pay Rs 1,200 per month, but I want my son to get education from a good school and become a better citizen.

NEXT: RTE ACT VIOLATIONS: SCREENING FOR KINDERGARTEN ADMISSIONS CONTINUE

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Punjab revenue and public relations minister Bikram Singh Majithia chided the Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal saying that the AAP leader has brazenly acted as the apologist for Pakistan by siding with that country in seeking proofs of the surgical strikes and the people will not forgive him for this destructive ideology.

Speaking on the occasion of distribution of cheques worth `1 crore for carrying out developmental works in Begewal, Shamnagar and Dudhala, and inaugurating development projects, Majithia said that Kejriwal is so engrossed in playing politics that he has forgotten that he is striking at the morale of the army.

He said that it is not justified to point fingers at the army that is defending the borders. Questioning Kejriwal, the minister said while the country is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the army at this juncture, Kejriwal is singing a different tune and acting contrary to the demands of patriotism.
A day after an 18-month-old girl was found abandoned at a park in Sector 22-A, no one has come forward to claim her.

Police said, Two women heard the girls cries coming from the park. The girl was alone, with a polythene bag having clothes, chips and milk placed near her. The women looked for her parents but there was no one.

The girl was rushed to Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16. The police informed the child helpline officials who also reached the hospital.

The child, though healthy, was admitted and kept under observation all night. The police also deputed two women home guards to take care of the child.

The girl was discharged on Friday afternoon, after which the police handed her over to Nari Niketan in Sector 26.

A case under Section 317 (exposure and abandonment of child under 12 years, by parent or person having care of it) of the IPC has been registered.
To win over the lack of adequate passengers for Bathinda Delhi Shatabdi Express, Railways has finally extended the route of express from Delhi to Ferozepur Cantonment station from Friday.

Union minister and Bathida MP flagged off the train from Bathinda station.

The railway even changed the days and timings of the train to attract the passengers so has to increase the seat occupancy rate. Earlier the train used to run on Saturday and Monday from Bathinda to Delhi, but as per new roster, the train will now run on Friday and Monday from Ferozepur station and Delhi.

Moreover now the train will depart at 4am from Ferozepur station and will arrive at New Delhi at 11.30 am. It will start back its journey from New Delhi station on 4.20 pm and will reach Ferozepur station on 10.45 pm on Friday and Monday every week.

The Shatabdi has been facing a huge loss as it was not getting adequate passengers from the earlier route. Anticipating removal of Shatabdi from the route, union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal approached senior officials in railway ministry, urged them to take steps so that the seat occupancy increases.
A 19-year-old boy ended his life on Friday morning by shooting himself with his fathers licensed revolver at Bhola Colony of the city. He died on the spot. The deceased, Arvind Kumar, was a student of mechanical engineering at Ludhiana Polytechnic College, Katani Kalan. His father Ramjit Kumar owns a polythene factory.

The reason behind the suicide has not been ascertained yet, but the family said he was under stress for the past few days.

Ramjit said Arvind found the revolver under a mattress and shot himself in the head on Friday morning. The family heard the gunshot but mistook it for a firecracker in the street. Ramjits daughter Shilpa was the first to see Arvind lying in a pool of blood.

The family rushed him to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

Arvind was the youngest of four siblings. His elder brother is in his fathers business. One of his sisters is married, while the other is pursuing postgraduation.

The police filed proceedings under Section 174 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The police handed over the body to the family after conducting postmortem at the civil hospital.
Actor Mahira Khan has broken her silence over the ongoing controversy surrounding the demand for a ban on Pakistani artistes in Bollywood after the Uri attack, saying she strongly condemns any act of terror and prays for a peaceful world.

The 33-year-old actors comments came after Pakistani artistes like Fawad Khan and Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan condemned the Uri attack.

In a Facebook post, Mahira wrote, In the 5 years that I have been working as an actor I believe that I have tried my best to keep my countrys respect intact -- by being a professional and by representing Pakistan here and elsewhere to the best of my abilities.

As a Pakistani and citizen of the world, I strongly condemn any act of terror, any loss of human life no matter which soil it is on! I will not rejoice in bloodshed and war.

I will always hope for and dream of a world where my child can live without it, and always plead with everyone to imagine a peaceful world, she wrote.

There is a growing demand for a ban on artistes from Pakistan by certain sections in India in the wake of the Uri terror attack.

Fawad, Mahira and other Pakistani actors 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, which has a cameo by Fawad, and Raees, starring Mahira in the lead role.

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.

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 Ajay Devgn, Randeep Hooda, Sonali Bendre and Nana Patekar have supported the ban on artistes from Pakistan.

Many sections had also criticised Pakistani artistes silence over the attack.

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
The 4.3 million annual visitors to the Statue of Liberty  the most recognisable symbol of American freedom  will be greeted by a modern multimedia museum in the future, New York officials said on 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% 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 Harbour.

The celebrated statue, designed by sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, was inaugurated on Liberty Island in 1886. (Shutterstock)

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 Yorks and Americas 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.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.
Hillary Clinton told bankers behind closed doors that she favoured open trade and open borders and said Wall Street executives were best-positioned to help reform the US financial sector, according to transcripts of her private, paid speeches leaked Friday.

The leaks were the result of another email hacking intended to influence the presidential election.

Excerpts of the speeches given in the years before her 2016 presidential campaign included some blunt and unguarded remarks to her private audiences, which collectively had paid her at least $26.1 million in speaking fees. Clinton had refused to release transcripts of the speeches, despite repeated calls to do so by her primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The excerpts were included in emails exchanged among her political staff, including campaign chairperson John Podesta, whose email account was hacked. The WikiLeaks organisation posted what it said were thousands of Podestas emails. It wasnt immediately clear who had hacked Podestas emails, though the breach appeared to cover years of messages, some sent as recently as last month.

Among the emails was a compilation of excerpts from Clintons paid speeches in 2013 and 2014. It appeared campaign staff had read all Clintons speeches and identified passages that could be potentially problematic for the candidate if they were to become public.

One excerpt put Clinton squarely in the free-trade camp, a position she has retreated on significantly during the 2016 election. In a talk to a Brazilian bank in 2013, she said her dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders and asked her audience to think of what doubling American trade with Latin America would mean for everybody in this room.

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has made opposition to trade deals a cornerstone of his campaign.

Podesta posted a series of tweets Friday night, calling the disclosures a Russian hack and raising questions about whether some of the documents could have been altered.

Im not happy about being hacked by the Russians in their quest to throw the election to Donald Trump, Podesta wrote. Dont have time to figure out which docs are real and which are faked.

Podestas comments came just hours after US officials publicly accused the Russian government of directing cyber attacks on political organisations and American citizens in an attempt to interfere with US elections.

The joint statement from the office of the firector of National Intelligence and the homeland security department cited disclosures of alleged hacked emails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks as being consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts.

Read | Who hacked US Democratic emails? Putin says I dont know, but Russia didnt

Hillary Clinton campaign chairperson John Podesta speaks to members of the media outside Clinton's home in Washington. The WikiLeaks organization on Friday 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)

The statement didnt refer by name to the affected political institutions, but federal authorities are investigating cyberattacks on the computer systems of the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Republican National Committee chairperson Reince Priebus said in a statement, Its not hard to see why she fought so hard to keep her transcripts of speeches to Wall Street banks paying her millions of dollars secret.

The emails released Friday included exchanges between Podesta and other Clinton insiders, including campaign manager Robby Mook. Most were routine, including drafts of Clinton speeches, suggested talking points for campaign surrogates and suggested tweets to be sent out from Clintons account.

The excerpts include quotes from an October 2013 speech at an event sponsored by Goldman Sachs, in which Clinton conceded that presidential candidates need the financial backing of Wall Street to mount a competitive national campaign.

Running for office in our country takes a lot of money, and candidates have to go out and raise it, Clinton said. New York is probably the leading site for contributions for fund-raising for candidates on both sides of the aisle, and its also our economic centre. And there are a lot of people here who should ask some tough questions before handing over campaign contributions to people who were really playing chicken with our whole economy.

Read | Why Russia would prefer Trump enough to hack Clinton

In the same speech, Clinton was also deferential to the New York finance industry, exhorting wealthy donors to use their political clout for patriotic rather than personal benefit. She also spoke of the need to include Wall Street perspectives in financial reform.

The people that know the industry better than anybody are the people who work in the industry, Clinton said.

In an April 2013 speech to the National Multifamily Housing Council, Clinton said politicians must balance both a public and a private position while making deals. Clinton gave an example from the movie Lincoln, and the deal-making that went into passage of the 13th Amendment, a process she compared to sausage-making.

It is unsavoury, and it always has been that way, but we usually end up where we need to be, Clinton said. But if everybodys watching, you know, all of the back room discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous to say the least. So, you need both a public and a private position.

Clintons speeches often touched on technology and privacy. In an April 2014 speech to JPMorgan, she denounced National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden for going abroad, saying, if he really cared about raising some of these issues and stayed right here in the United States, theres a lot of whistle-blower protections.

But she told her audience that her time in the public eye left her sympathetic to privacy concerns.

As somebody who has had my privacy scrutinized and violated for decades, Im all for privacy, believe me, she said.

Speaking on international affairs, Clintons comments were largely in line with her positions as secretary of state, if sometimes more blunt.

The Saudis have exported more extreme ideology than any other place on Earth over the course of the last 30 years, she told the Jewish United Fund at a 2013 dinner.

The speech transcripts were produced under an agreement Clinton routinely imposed on any organization that hired her to speak. The contracts, such as ones crafted by the Harry Walker Agency, required the organizations to hire, at their own expense, a stenographer who would provide the transcripts to Clinton and not keep copies for themselves.

In some cases, the contracts themselves were obtained by news organizations under public records laws because Clinton was being paid to speak by public universities or colleges.

Read | A Russia shadow over Trump vs Hillary script after cyber attack twist
Bangladeshi security officials on Saturday killed 11 suspected militants of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in three separate raids as the country reinforced its counter-terrorism efforts.

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the operations were carried out at Gazipur near the national capital, and in Tangail district.

Acting on a tip-off, teams of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police's counter-terrorism unit took part in the raids.

Kamal said the suspects were members of the outlawed JMB, blamed by the government for a spate of attacks across the country.

The raids took place at Patartek and Harinal areas of Gazipur and in Tangail district. Security officials recovered an AK-47, bullets, bomb-making materials and meat cleavers from a spot in Gazipur.

Akash, a new leader of the splinter group "Neo JMB" was among those killed in the raid at Patartek, Khan said. Officials said Akash became the leader of the Neo JMB after Tamim Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-origin Canadian, was killed with two accomplices in a similar raid at Narayanganj district in August.

Officials said the militants were preparing to carry out attacks during the Durga Puja festival, which is going on in full swing in the Muslim-majority nation.

Bangladesh was stunned after Islamist extremists killed 20 hostages, including an Indian national and 16 more foreigners, during a siege at Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant in Dhaka's Gulshan diplomatic zone on July 1.

Since then, security agencies have killed at least 32 suspected militants in raids in Dhaka and elsewhere.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the July 1 attack but the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rejected the claim and said the Sunni extremist group has no presence in the country.
Saudi-led warplanes killed at least 82 people when they struck mourners at a hall in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday, the acting health minister in the Houthi-run administration said, but the coalition denied any role in the incident.

Ghazi Ismail also said that 534 other people were wounded in the air strike in the southern part of the city, where a wake was taking place for the father of the administrations interior minister, Jalal al-Roweishan, who had died of natural causes on Friday.

The death toll was one of the largest in any single incident since the Saudi-led alliance began military operations to try to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power following his ousting by the Iran-aligned Houthis in March 2015.

The Saudi aggression committed a major crime today, by attacking a mourning hall for the al-Roweishan family, targeting residents in the hall. As a result, 534 were wounded and 82 were martyred, Ismail told a news conference in Sanaa.

Sources in the Saudi-led coalition said there was no Arab coalition air role in the strike.

Absolutely no such operation took place at that target, one of the sources said, citing what he described as confirmation from the coalition air force command.

The coalition is aware of such reports and is certain that it is possible that other causes of bombing are to be considered. The coalition has in the past avoided such gatherings and (they have) never been a subject of targets.

Residents said aircraft fired two missiles at the hall, where hundreds of mourners had gathered to offer condolences.

One missile tore through the building, setting it on fire and sending a large plume of smoke above the area. The other landed nearby.

Scene of carnage

Witnesses described a scene of carnage, with charred or mutilated bodies strewn around. Ambulances raced to carry the wounded to hospitals, which sent out urgent appeals for blood.

A spokesman for Yemens Houthi group condemned the strike as an act of savagery.

People inspect the aftermath of a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP Photo)

The aggression continues to shed blood in an uncommon savagery and with international collusion that reaches the level of direct participation, the Houthi-run Saba news agency quoted the groups spokesman, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, as saying in a statement.

At least two local officials were among the dead. It was not immediately clear if Roweishan was in the hall when the strike happened.

Roweishan had sided with the Iran-aligned Houthi movement when President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled Yemen after the Houthis advanced on his headquarters in the southern port city of Aden in March 2015.

The Saudi-led coalition has been providing air support for Hadis forces in a civil war that has killed more than 10,000 people since March 2015 and displaced more than three million.

Fighting has intensified since August when U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait ended without an agreement.

The Saudi-led coalition had been blamed for several attacks on medical centres, including some run by international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), schools, factories and homes in the past 18 months that has killed scores of civilians.

In August, MSF said it was evacuating its staff from six hospitals in northern Yemen after a coalition air strike hit a health facility operated by the group killing 19 people.

The coalition, which says it does not target civilians, has expressed deep regret over the decision and said it was trying to set up urgent meetings with the medical aid group.
Valerie Vaz, who entered British parliament in 2010 and retained her seat in the 2015 election, has become the second Indian-origin woman to be inducted in the shadow cabinet led by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Vaz, 61, is the sister of senior Labour MP Keith Vaz and represents Walsall South constituency in the west Midlands. Her family traces its roots to Goa.

She has been appointed shadow leader of the House of Commons in the new team put together by Corbyn. This is her first front-bench job since entering Parliament and involves watching complex parliamentary processes on Labour's behalf.

Corbyn appointed human rights barrister Shami Chakrabarti on Friday as the shadow attorney general in the opposition cabinet that is mandated to scrutinise the work of corresponding ministers, develop alternative policies and hold the government to account.

The new appointments in the shadow cabinet were supposed to be a unifying exercise in the party riven by dissensions against Corbyn, but most of his trenchant critics have not found a place in it. The exercise has further strengthened his position but also increased uneasiness within Labour.

The Labour parliamentary party had passed a motion of no-confidence in Corbyn. John Cryer, chairman of the parliamentary party, wrote to Corbyn and reminded him of ongoing talks to allow elections to some shadow cabinet posts while retaining his right to appoint to other posts.

As senior Labour leader Alan Johnson insisted the re-elected Corbyn was still not up to the job of leader of the opposition, Cryer wrote: "It now seems to me that the party's leadership did not engage in the talks in any constructive way...Obviously, I deeply regret this turn of events."

However, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said the criticism of Corbyn was unfair. She told BBC Radio: "The problem is that on the one hand people criticise Jeremy for being weak and taking too long on his reshuffles and yet when he decides that he needs to do one in order to fill vacancies and reach out, people then criticise him for being too decisive and too strong. You can't play it both ways."

It was time, Thornberry said, "we stop fighting among ourselves". She added, "We have a job to do. We were elected to be MPs, represent our constituents and stand up to the government. That's what our priority ought to be and we need to get on with it."

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Bangladeshi security forces killed 11 members of an Islamist militant group on Saturday blamed for the Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka in July in which 22 people were killed, mostly foreigners.

The 11 militants, believed to be members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), were killed in three raids on militant hideouts on the outskirts of the capital, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters.

Seven militants were killed in a raid on one hideout after police were tipped off that the JMBs Dhaka unit chief and his associates were there.

We requested them to surrender but they opened fire at our officers, which prompted them to retaliate, Khan said.

The July 1 attack in Dhakas diplomatic quarter was claimed by Islamic State militants and was one of the most brazen in Bangladesh, which has been hit by a spate of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year.

The government has blamed domestic militants but security officials say the scale and sophistication of the July attack suggested links to a trans-national Islamist network.

Police have killed more than three dozen suspected militants in shootouts since the Dhaka cafe attack, including its presumed mastermind, Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.

The United States believes elements of Islamic State are connected to operatives in Bangladesh, US Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Dhaka in August.

The targeting of foreigners could hurt foreign investment in the poor South Asian economy, whose $28 billion garments export industry is the worlds second largest. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among those killed in the July attack.
The Sri Lankan government on Friday said there was no question of pulling out when there was no summit to attend, as it came under attack from the opposition for boycotting the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit to be held in Islamabad in November.

There was no question of pulling out when there was no summit to attend, foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera told Parliament.

As the members of this House are aware, the general provisions of the charters of the Saarc prescribe that the decisions at all levels shall be taken on the basis of unanimity. Therefore the moment one country says they are unable to attend the summit, a summit cannot be held, the minister said.

Therefore, there was no question of Sri Lanka pulling out of 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. In response, 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.

Read | Cross-border terrorism core issue for Saarc nations: Sri Lankan PM

On September 30, Sri Lanka issued a statement that said it regretted that conditions were not conducive for holding the Summit. It came after India opted out, followed by 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 statement read.

On the same day, Pakistan had postponed the SAARC Summit to be held in Islamabad on November 9 and 10.

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.

Also read | India cant afford to wait for an obstinate Pak and a moribund Saarc

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump scrambled to prevent his campaign from falling apart early on Saturday with a hastily prepared video statement expressing regret for making lewd comments about women.

Trump declared himself a changed man, but raised the infidelities of former President Bill Clinton and slammed his Democratic opponent in the November 8 election, Hillary Clinton, saying he would talk more about their past in coming days.

Disclosure of a 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking openly about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. Democrats have sought to highlight such behaviour to prevent women voters from supporting him with less than a month to go until the election.

The video landed just ahead of the second presidential debate on Sunday night, which had been seen as critical for Trump to try to rebound from a dip in some opinion polls after a rocky performance in the first debate.

This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues were facing today, he said, before turning to former President Bill Clintons infidelities.

WATCH: Donald Trump issues a public apology after video surfaces of him saying extremely vulgar things about women pic.twitter.com/ouTH95UWmu  BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) October 8, 2016

We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday, Trump said in his statement.

The bombshell development rocked Trumps campaign to its core and some Republican lawmakers disavowed him.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan withdrew an invitation for Trump to visit Wisconsin on Saturday and there were some calls for the New York businessman to step aside to let his vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, become the partys standard-bearer.

Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize, Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page.

Comments condemned

Trumps comments aired in a near-constant loop on US news programmes on Friday.

I did try and f*** her. She was married, Trump said about one woman, before discussing his attraction to others.

I just start kissing them, he said. And when youre a star they let you do it.

Grab them by the p****. You can do anything, Trump said.

A stream of Republican leaders condemned Trumps lewd remarks, but a few lawmakers distanced themselves further.

US Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who has been one of Clintons fiercest critics, said he had retracted his endorsement of Trump, telling CNN he would not be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he voted for Trump.

Utahs Republican Governor Gary Herbert said on Twitter he would also no longer vote for Trump. Tonight, millions of Republicans are facing a moment of truth, Herbert said.

Republican lawmaker Mike Coffman from Colorado told CBS that Trump should step aside and said his defeat at this point seems almost certain.

Trump, known for his unconventional and controversial speaking style, has made a series of gaffes in his campaign but the graphic nature of the clip would hurt his standing among women, independents, and wavering Republicans, said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

Weve never seen something like this Trump clip in a modern presidential campaign, Yepsen said, calling the incident sad for the American political system and for Trumps supporters.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said this feels like it is quickly becoming a political game over for Trump.

Unless voters dont care about these issues or believe that this is simply political dirty tricks by releasing the videos now, Trump is going to have to pull a rabbit out of his hat in order to turn things around, Bonjean said.

Still, Trumps past controversial comments have failed to shake his core supporters, said David Axelrod, a former political adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama.

Appalling as the (Trump) tape is, Im reminded of all the times we have said, THIS time hes REALLY done, Axelrod said on Twitter.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed on Saturday to remain in the race after prominent members of his party withdrew their support and called for him to drop out following news of a recording of him making lewd comments about women.

Trump sought to do damage control early on Saturday morning in a hastily recorded apology, declaring himself a changed man and attempting to shift the focus to his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump threatened, again, to focus his attacks on the infidelities of former President Bill Clinton, saying he would talk more about the pasts of both Clintons in coming day. Trump has dismissed questions about his own martial infidelities as irrelevant.

Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday morning zero chance Ill quit.

Three Republican members of the Senate publicly announced they will not vote for Trump and former rival Carly Fiorina called on him to withdraw.

There is no precedent for a major party to replace their nominee this late in the campaign and it remains unclear if there is an avenue to force him from the race. Voting has already begun in several states, including the important swing states of Virginia and North Carolina.

Disclosure of a 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking openly about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped months after Trump married his third wife, Melania.

Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning, seeming to make light of the controversy by posting on the online social media website Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!

Trump has struggled to win over women voters, lagging Clinton in the polls. Democrats have sought to highlight past Trump behavior toward women in an effort to erode his support with less than a month to go until the Nov. 8 election.

Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize, Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page.

Read| Vulgar, egregious: Republican Partys reaction to Trump being caught on tape

The video overshadowed the publication of excerpts of Clintons closed-door paid speeches that were made public on Friday by a hacker who claimed to have obtained them from the email account of John Podesta, the chairman of the Democrats campaign. In the speeches, Clinton advocates for more open borders and trade, a position she abandoned during the primary because it was politically untenable to Democratic progressives. Likewise, Trump has repeatedly criticized her for past support of free trade.

The video landed just ahead of the second presidential debate on Sunday night, which had been seen as critical for Trump to try to rebound from a dip in some opinion polls after a rocky performance in the first debate.

Comments condemned

Trumps comments aired in a near-constant loop on US news programs on Friday.

I did try and f*** her. She was married, Trump said about one woman, before discussing his attraction to others.

I just start kissing them, he said. And when youre a star they let you do it.

Grab them by the p***y. You can do anything, Trump said.

The video opened deep divisions within the Republican Party about how to respond, with a stream of Republican leaders condemning the remarks and some withdrawing their support for Trump.

US Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who has been one of Clintons fiercest critics, said he had retracted his endorsement of Trump, telling CNN he would not be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he voted for Trump.

Martha Roby, a Republican member of Congress from the conservative state of Alabama, announced she would not be voting for Trump.

Donald Trumps behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I wont vote for him, she said in a statement. Hillary Clinton must not be president, but, with Trump leading the ticket, she will be.

Utahs Republican Governor Gary Herbert said on Twitter he would also no longer vote for Trump. Tonight, millions of Republicans are facing a moment of truth, Herbert said.

Republican lawmaker Mike Coffman from Colorado told CBS that Trump should step aside and said his defeat at this point seems almost certain.

Other prominent Republicans indicated they would stick with their support of Trump. Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, both told news outlets they will continue to support Trump.

Conservatives point to the fact that the winner of the November election will get to appoint a Supreme Court justice as reason to stick with Trump despite the controversial video. Greg Mueller, a conservative Republican strategist, pointed to Clintons views on abortion as a reason religious voters will stick with Trump.

Nothing indefensible that Donald Trump said 20 years ago is going to change that, he said. Plus, to many religious voters, Mrs. Clinton is the epitome of a corrupt politician.

Representative Jack Kingston, a Republican from Georgia, argued that Trump has changed in the decade since the video was filmed.

I think 10 years ago he was a different man than he is today, I am very glad that he quickly apologized, Kingston said.

Trump, known for his unconventional and controversial speaking style, has made a series of gaffes in his campaign but the graphic nature of the clip would hurt his standing among women, independents, and wavering Republicans, said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

Weve never seen something like this Trump clip in a modern presidential campaign, Yepsen said, calling the incident sad for the American political system and for Trumps supporters.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said this feels like it is quickly becoming a political game over for Trump.

Unless voters dont care about these issues or believe that this is simply political dirty tricks by releasing the videos now, Trump is going to have to pull a rabbit out of his hat in order to turn things around, Bonjean said.

Read| How Americas top comedians are mocking Donald Trumps lewd video
Though the Nobel Peace Prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos gives the countrys troubled peace process a major boost, sealing a deal recently rejected by voters still wont be easy, analysts say.

The prize closed out a roller-coaster week for Santos, who suffered a major defeat on Sunday when Colombians narrowly voted against his signature achievement as president, a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Santos, who has staked his legacy on ending the countrys half-century conflict, has sought to battle back by opening talks with the deals top opponent, his predecessor and former boss, Alvaro Uribe.

He simultaneously sent his negotiators back to Havana, where the peace talks were held, to see whether the FARC would be open to revising the deal.

He scored a small victory in the wake of the Nobel announcement, when government and FARC negotiators said they had agreed to discuss changes to the deal and continue a bilateral ceasefire.

But Santos will still have to pull off a difficult balancing act.

The government is looking for a way out on two fronts: with the opposition and with the FARC, said political scientist Marc Chernick, a Latin America specialist at Georgetown University in Washington.

The Nobel will strengthen Santos, he said. But it might not make much difference, he added.

There isnt much room for maneuver to change the accord that was already reached.

If they manage to make any amendment, it will be cosmetic, he said. And time is running out to save it. It wont be easy.

Read | Juan Manuel Santos: Colombia rebels archfoe turned peacemaker

Santos smiles as he addresses the media next to his wife and first lady Maria Clemencia de Santos at Narino Palace in Bogota, Colombia (Reuters)

Risky game

The Colombian conflict has killed more than 260,000 people and left 45,000 missing, drawing in several leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs.

The FARC, a Marxist guerrilla army launched in 1964, is the oldest and largest rebel group.

It was to relaunch as a political party under the peace deal.

But Uribe, the right-wing hardliner leading opposition to the deal, claims the rejected agreement would have given the rebels impunity for their crimes and put Colombia on the path of Castro-Chavismo -- a reference to the far-left governments of Cuba and Venezuela.

Santos has warned the country is in a very dangerous limbo as it scrambles to salvage the peace process.

In the referendums aftermath, he had said the army would halt its ceasefire with the FARC at the end of the month if the impasse were not settled.

Although both sides have since vowed to continue the ceasefire indefinitely, they are locked in a risky game, political analyst Laura Gil said.

Santos may still pull out of the ceasefire if there is no clear and definite roadmap by October 31 in order to pressure the peace deals opponents, she said.

Read | Colombia President Santos dedicates Nobel Peace Prize to conflict victims

The opposition is panicking because they know the first person to die will come crashing down on their heads.

The ceasefire is currently worth little more than the paper its printed on -- which is to say not much -- said Jorge Restrepo, head of the Conflict Analysis Resource Center in Bogota.

Now that the peace deal that established the ceasefire has failed, it means the conflict starts again, he said.

All-out war?

The FARC, which had begun grouping its nearly 6,000 fighters together for a UN-monitored disarmament process, has now ordered its fighters back to their hideouts in the Colombian jungle and mountains.

Its a logical military decision. The implementation of the deal has been frozen, said retired army colonel Carlos Alfonso Velasquez, a specialist in the Colombian conflict at the University of La Sabana, outside Bogota.

The FARC, he said, has grown moderately mistrustful.

That could deepen what has in recent years been a low-intensity conflict, he added.

This has been a conflict with only tenuous characteristics of a civil war, he said. But if (the impasse) isnt resolved, it could now reactivate as a full civil war.

Read | The White Helmets, not Santos, should have got the Nobel Peace Prize
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs family has refuted as baseless allegations by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan that they own properties and businesses in India.

The Sharif familys spokesperson said that the prime ministers kin do not own and run any businesses in India.

Imran Khan should not misguide the nation by propaganda, said the spokesman.

He said that Imran should be ashamed of spreading baseless allegations and lies.

Imran Khan has time and again claimed that the Sharif family has businesses in India, although the allegations have always been denied by the latter as baseless, he was quoted as saying by Geo News.

In September, Pakistani politician Tahirul Qadri had also pointed out ties between the Indian workers and Sharif family which were later refuted by Yousaf Abbas Sharif, the Managing Director (MD), Sharif Group of Industries.

Yousaf Abbas Sharif had also said that not a single Indian is working in Sharif family sugar mill.

Earlier this year, Prime Ministers son Hussain Nawaz also denied any links to business partnerships in India.

Hussain had said that his family neither owns any commercial business in India, nor are they involved in a business partnership with any Indian industrialist anywhere in the world.

In 2015, Imran had claimed that Sharif has earned $60 million from his business with India including setting up of two new sugar mills.
Russia on Saturday vetoed a United Nations draft resolution demanding an end to the bombing of Syrias war-battered city of Aleppo, despite an appeal from France to save the city from destruction.

It was the fifth time that Moscow used its veto to block UN action to end the five-year war in Syria, which has claimed 300,000 lives.

The draft text presented by France won 11 votes in favour in the 15-member Security Council, but there were two votes against  including Russia  and two abstentions, notably from veto-holder China.

French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault urged the council to take immediate action to save Aleppo from being destroyed by the Russia-backed Syrian bombing campaign.

Read | East Aleppo will be totally destroyed in 2 months, UN warns

As the vote got under way, the Syrian regime pressed its assault on rebel-held areas of Aleppo, where 125,000 people are living under siege and facing almost-daily heavy bombing.

The council must demand immediate action in order to save Aleppo, Ayrault said ahead of the vote.

Russia has presented its own rival draft text that urges a ceasefire but does not make any mention of halting the bombing campaign.

Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he expected that measure also to fail.

What is at stake today is first and foremost the fate of Aleppo and its people, Ayrault told the council.

Read | UN says 2 million people in Aleppo are without running water

But its more than that  its the hope of establishing at last an end to a conflict for which we are all, all of us, paying the catastrophic consequences.

In a message directed at Russia, Ayrault said any country that opposes the French measure will give Bashar al-Assad the possibility of killing even more.

Russia and Venezuela voted against the French text, while China and Angola abstained.

The Syrian and Russian bombing campaign has escalated since the Russian-backed Syrian army launched an offensive to retake the city on September 22.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that the mounting tensions between Washington and Moscow over the conflict had created a situation more dangerous than the Cold War.

Syrian army advancing

US Secretary of State John Kerry made clear his anger at the Syrian armys Russian-backed onslaught in the battleground second city, saying that its bombing of civilians could amount to a war crime.

Its ally Damascus has made significant advances in its renewed two-week-old offensive in Aleppo, seizing territory to the north and pushing back the front line in the city center which had remained largely static since the rebels captured eastern districts in 2012.

But it has come at a heavy human cost.

Since the regime offensive began a few days after a US- and Russian-brokered ceasefire collapsed, at least 290 people  mostly civilians  have been killed in rebel-held areas, 57 them children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Read | UN releases satellite images of damage in Syrias Aleppo

And 50 civilians including nine children have been killed in rebel shelling on regime-held areas of the city, according to the Britain-based monitoring group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.

It said government forces were making further advances on Saturday ahead of the Security Council session.

The battle is unfolding in the center, particularly in the Bustan al-Basha district where the army is advancing, in Sheikh Said in the south, and on the northern outskirts where the regime has taken the Uwaija neighborhood, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The monitor reported heavy air strikes on the rebel-held Fardos and Sukari neighborhoods. An AFP correspondent said the raids mostly hit combat zones in the city.

The German foreign minister said that tensions between Washington and Moscow were now worse than during the Cold War.

Its a fallacy to think that this is like the Cold War, Steinmeier said in an interview published by Bild newspaper on Saturday.

The current times are different and more dangerous.
Is this, finally, the controversy that sends Donald Trumps turbulent and contentious presidential campaign spiralling out of control? A video in which the Republican Party nominee is heard to make lewd and sexually predatory comments about women has aroused widespread revulsion in the United States, and prompted a number of prominent members of his own party to demand that he step aside.

Trump responded with a grudging apology that satisfied none of his critics, and indicated he will step up his attacks on his rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, on the sordid sexual history of her husband, former president Bill Clinton.

He apologised twice within the span of a few hours, saying in a videotaped message: Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I amI said it, I was wrong, and I apologise.

Clinton, who called the remarks horrific, would bring them up at the second presidential debate on Sunday, to reprise her attack on Trump over his treatment of women, a persisting fault-line in his campaign.

There was talk of this being a breaking point for Trump, but he has rebounded from campaign-derailing stumbles before, on the strength of what pundits have called his calcified support base which is with him no matter what.

There were calls from Republicans, including Senators Mark Kirk and Mike Lee and Congress members Barbara Comstock and Mike Coffman, for Trump to leave the race. Jason Chaffetz, a powerful congressman who investigated Clinton over the attack on a US mission in Benghazi, withdrew his endorsement of the nominee.

Coffman said: For the good of the country, and to give Republicans a chance at defeating Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump should step asideMr Trump should put the country first and do the right thing.

Kirk tweeted Trump should drop out of the race and the Republican Party should engage rules for (an) emergency replacement.

And sickened by the remarks, Speaker Paul Ryan, the senior-most elected Republican, disinvited Trump from a joint appearance at a political event scheduled for Saturday. He was so appalled he didnt even wait for Trumps apology.

Read| Vulgar, egregious: Republican Partys reaction to Trump being caught on tape

The recording, actually on video with the most objectionable portions being off camera, was done by a crew from the show Access Hollywood, as Trump waited in a bus outside a studio with Billy Bush, a reporter and President George W Bushs cousin.

The recording, first released by The Washington Post, starts with Trump talking about a failed attempt to seduce a woman, subsequently identified as former Access Hollywood co-host Nancy ODell. I moved on her, and I failed. But Ill admit it, he can be heard saying clearly.

I did try and f*** her. She was married, said Trump, who was then 56 and married to his third and current wife Melania.

At this point in the conversation, it was time for them to disembark from their bus. As an actress from the show they were to shoot for approached the bus to receive them, they continued the conversation.

Ive got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her, Trump said. You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful  I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait.

And when youre a star, they let you do it, Trump said. You can do anything.

Read| De Niro is so angry, he wants to punch blatantly stupid Donald Trump

In his first statement on the video, Trump tried to dismiss the remarks as locker-room banter, and said Bill Clinton had made far worse remarks. He also said, unconvincingly, I apologise if anyone was offended.

But the backlash was swift and brutal.

This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president, Hillary Clinton tweeted.

Republicans were just as harsh. There are no excuses for Donald Trumps offensive and demeaning comments, said Senator John McCain, who has endorsed Trump. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences.

Read| How Americas top comedians are mocking Donald Trumps lewd video
Donald Trump was caught bragging about groping and seducing women in a 2005 conversation caught on microphone whose release on Friday caused such a firestorm many fellow Republicans felt compelled to condemn him publicly, and forcefully.

The recording, which is actually on video with the most objectionable portions being off camera, was done on way to a studio by Access Hollywood. The conversation took place between Trump and Billy Bush, a reporter for the show and nephew of George W Bush and Jeb Bush.

The recording, which was first released by The Washington Post, starts with Trump talking about a failed attempt to seduce a woman, who is not named. I moved on her, and I failed. But Ill admit it, he can be heard saying, clearly.

I did try and f*** her. She was married, Trump said, and went on: And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, Ill show you where they have some nice furniture.

I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldnt get there. And she was married, Trump said. Then all of a sudden I see her, shes now got the big phony t and everything. Shes totally changed her look.

Its time for them disembark from their bus carrying them to the studio. They saw an actress from the show they were to shoot, and continue the conversation.

Your girls hot as s***, in the purple, says Bush.

Whoa! Trump exclaimed, Whoa!

Ive got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her, Trump, who was then 56, said. You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful  I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait.

And when youre a star, they let you do it, Trump said. You can do anything.

Whatever you want, said another man.

Grab them by the py, Trump said. You can do anything.

Watch the video:



Trump issued a statement calling it locker-room banter, and said Bill Clinton, the former president Democratic nominee Hillary Clintons husband, had said worse things. He also said, I apologize if anyone was offended.

But backlash was swift and brutal.

This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president, said Hillary Clinton in a tweet.

Trumps running mate, Mike Pence, was beside himself and his wife was furious, AP reported citing a person familiar with their thinking.

And Speaker Paul Ryan, the senior-most elected Republican in the country, was sickened by the remarks and announced Trump wont be doing a joint appearance with him scheduled for Saturday, essentially disinviting him.

Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, said in a tweet: Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt Americas face to the world.

Commentators and pundits on both the right and left spoke of a breaking point in the campaign, coming as it did just two days before the second presidential debate and just a month before election on November 8.

There were calls for him from Republicans to leave the race, or for the party to dump him. Think this could be the point of no return for the GOP. Dump Trump. Or at least disassociate from him in a dramatic way, said Bill Kristol, editor of the conservative news publication The Weekly Standard. He even had a suggestion as replacement for Trump: Romney.
The US has allowed career-long religious accommodation for Sikhs to serve in the armed forces while maintaining their articles of faith like the turban and beard.

We are a stronger nation, and a stronger military, because of our respect for religious and personal freedom, and Im pleased to see the US Army once again recognise this with its new directive, Congressman Joe Crowley, who had spearheaded the campaign on behalf of Sikh Americans, said in a statement.

Sikh Americans love this country and want a fair chance to serve in our nations military on equal footing. I believe we should embrace this wish for religious freedom, not place restrictions on it, he said.

Crowley said he looks forward to reviewing this directive carefully, though it initially seems like a step forward in the right direction.

Until now, Sikhs and others must be granted a permission to serve in the US Army while maintaining their articles of faith.

Such accommodations are neither permanent nor guaranteed, and had to be renewed after virtually every assignment.

They are also required to remove their articles of faith while their accommodation request is pending, once again subjecting them to the difficult position of choosing between their faith and their job.
The US government for the first time on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organisations ahead of the November 8 presidential election.

We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russias senior-most officials could have authorised these activities, a US government statement said on Friday about hacking of political groups.

These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process, the statement said.

US intelligence officials concluded weeks ago that the Russian government was conducting or orchestrating cyber attacks against the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, possibly to disrupt or discredit the election, in which Democrat Hillary Clinton faces Republican Donald Trump.

A Kremlin spokesperson called the US allegations nonsense, the Interfax news agency reported.

The Obama administrations decision to blame Russia for the attacks is the latest downward turn in Washingtons relations with Moscow, which are under strain over Russias actions in Syria and Ukraine and in cyberspace.

Read | Who hacked US Democratic emails? Putin says I dont know, but Russia didnt

Also on Friday, US secretary of state John Kerry said Russian and Syrian actions in the Syrian civil war, including bombings of hospitals, beg for a war-crimes investigation.

In addition, a US intelligence official said on Friday that Russia is moving short-range nuclear-capable missiles into Kaliningrad, a tiny Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania, confirming Estonian news reports.

Clintons campaign chairperson, John Podesta, said public blaming for the hacks left one remaining question of why Donald Trump continues to make apologies for the Russians. Trump had previously expressed doubt about Russias involvement. In July, he suggested Russia should attempt to retrieve and publish emails from Clintons private server.

Trumps campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hours after the US governments accusation was levied, WikiLeaks posted hundreds of emails on its website purportedly hacked from Podestas private account.

Read | FBI investigates DNC email hacking; Clinton campaign blames Russia

Change in tone

Until Friday, the administration had avoided publicly naming Russia in connection with the mounting civilian deaths in Syria or the cyber attacks.

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.

However, a department of homeland security spokesperson told Reuters that US officials have concluded that the hacking attacks or probes of state voter registration systems are consistent with Russian motivations.

Concern has grown about the reliability of the US voting system as a result of the breach, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called the system rigged, but without providing specific evidence.

US intelligence officials have said there is no evidence that voting recording systems have been manipulated.

Naming Russia as the actor behind the cyber attacks on political organisations falls short of more punitive measures the United States has taken against other countries for cyber intrusions.

Lawmakers of both political parties welcomed the formal accusation. Republican Senator Cory Gardner, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity, said he planned to introduce sanctions legislation.

Earlier this year, a US grand jury indicted seven Iranians employed by two Iran-based computer companies on hacking charges into US financial sector. In 2015, Obama announced sanctions against North Korea for hacking into Sony Pictures. In 2014, the United States charged five Chinese military hackers for economic espionage aimed at US nuclear, metals and solar industries.

A senior US official said the administration is considering other retaliatory steps against Russia, but he declined to identify them. Those steps may remain covert, the official said.

Read | Why Russia would prefer Trump enough to hack Clinton

The Democratic National Committee publicly disclosed intrusions into its systems in June, blaming Russia for the attacks. Leaks of the committees emails from pro-transparency group WikiLeaks soon followed, demonstrating what appeared to be favouritism for Clinton over another Democrat, Bernie Sanders, by committee chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, stepped down.

In Fridays statement, the government said disclosures of emails by WikiLeaks and hacking entities known as DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts.

WikiLeaks has not identified the source of its leaks and criticised those who have claimed it was Russia. Guccifer 2.0 has identified itself as a Romanian hacker, but US intelligence officials have concluded it and DCLeaks are both a front for Russian spy units.

Lawmaker demands sanctions

The chairperson of a US Senate cyber security subcommittee said on Friday he planned to introduce sanctions legislation over Russias cyber criminals after Washington accused Russia of political cyber attacks ahead of the November 8 presidential election.

Republican Senator Cory Gardner said his legislation would require the Obama administration to investigate those who have engaged in significant actions undermining cyber security and aggressively pursue sanctions when appropriate.

Gardner is chief of the Senate foreign relations subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity.

Read | A Russia shadow over Trump vs Hillary script after cyber attack twist
Donald Trumps growing list of missteps during the US presidential race is usually no longer a cause of consternation round the world. But the Republican Partys reaction to Trump being caught on tape bragging about groping and kissing women has been swift, with some lawmakers saying he should step aside.

Several heavyweights of the Grand Old Party have condemned his reported remarks but stopped short of withdrawing their endorsement of the business magnate, including Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain.

Among those who asked for Trump to step down as the Republican candidate are Senators Mark Kirk and Mike Lee and Congressmen Mike Coffman and Chris Stewart.

.@realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement.  Mark Kirk (@SenatorKirk) 8 October 2016

On Friday, news outlets reported on a 2005 video that features Trump bragging about kissing and groping women that some rights activists said was tantamount to sexual assault.

I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait, Trump is heard saying in the video. And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

He can also be heard saying: Grab them by the p**syYou can do anything.

Coffman told Denver7 channel: For the good of the country, and to give Republicans a chance at defeating Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump should step asideMr Trump should put the country first and do the right thing.

In a video posted on Facebook, Lee described Trump as a distraction and said, Its time for him to step aside so we can focus on the winning ideas that will carry Republicans through to a victory in November.

Lee said if anyone spoke in the way Trump did to my wife or my daughter or my motherI certainly dont think Id feel comfortable hiring that person to be the leader of the free world.

Kirk tweeted that Trump should drop out of the presidential race and the Republican Party should engage rules for (an) emergency replacement

Following are the people who criticised Donald Trump but did not withdraw their endorsement:

Every wife, mother, daughter -- every person -- deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. https://t.co/AVSEBastVc  Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) 8 October 2016

Inexcusable. Trump's comments are inexcusable.  Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) 8 October 2016

Donald's comments were vulgar, egregious & impossible to justify.

No one should ever talk about any woman in those terms, even in private.  Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) 8 October 2016
WASHINGTON: 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 Republican hinted at the Clintons marital problems and brought up Bill Clintons infidelities directly soon after. For now, Trump says he wont discuss the subject at the debate on Sunday. But he has been known to change his mind.

Lets see what happens, Trump said at a town-hall event Thursday night in New Hampshire, referring to whether he will hold off on the topic. I think were 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 its a fraught subject for both of them. 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.

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.

Ive 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 ABCs 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.
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 far off Western Australias 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 twometre (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.
QUETTA: A powerful bomb exploded on a passenger train in southwest Pakistan on Friday, killing six people and wounding 19, officials said.

The bomb went off near the village of Mach in the Baluchistan province, a railways official Tufail Ahmad told The Associated Press.

He said the train was heading to the garrison city of Rawalpindi in the eastern Punjab province from Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan at the time. Ahmad said the casualties were taken to nearby hospitals and that some of the wounded passengers were in critical condition.

Initially three people were reported dead but three more later died of their injuries, said Mohammad Sajid, local police chief.

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 center 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 authorties 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. In a statement, he also ordered health official to provide best medical care to the wounded passengers.
Electoral disputes stretch back to the nations creation. Widespread voter suppression, however, has a particularly ugly history, dating to the aftermath of the Civil War, when authorities in the former Confederacy physically barred, intimidated, or procedurally precluded newly freed slaves from voting.

In 1865, the federal government enacted Reconstruction, a series of measures to reunite the republic while combating efforts to resurrect white supremacy. Federal troops oversaw the reestablishment of state governments, and many former Confederates were temporarily barred from voting or holding elected office. Freed Blacks and newly arrived Northerners took over state and local government, and soon Blacks held many elected positions in state and national government. By 1877, support for Reconstruction was weak, and a compromise ensuring the election of Republican Rutherford B. Hayes as president over Democrat Samuel Tilden ended Reconstruction. President Hayes ordered any federal troops remaining in the South to return to their barracks. White Southerners then seized the opportunity to reestablish the antebellum social order.

But freed Blacks, who constituted majorities in many jurisdictions across the South, had a tool denied slaves: the vote. To reassert power, white supremacists had to neutralize Black voters, who leaned Republican in the tradition of Abraham Lincoln. Retaking offices ranging from seats in Congress to sheriff, white Democrats worked to suppress the Black vote, sometimes by administrative feint, often by fear and violence. African-Americans sticking with the GOP saw their crops, barns, and houses burned. Many were whipped or lynched. By one estimate, 150 African-Americans were killed during the 1876 South Carolina gubernatorial campaign alone. After federal troops departed the South, the regions election managersthe officials responsible for keeping elections fair and accuratewere likely to be white Democrats willing to use any means necessary to keep Blacks away from the ballot box. Paramilitary groups of armed white men known as Red Shirts patrolled polls, supposedly to ensure fairnessbut in reality to intimidate Blacks.

Hard Sell: An 1872 pro-Democrat cartoon bears the title Canvassing for Votes. (Bettman/Getty Images)

Between 1865 and 1900, there were 262 disputed House elections. Most occurred in the states of the former Confederacy. The 1880 election that produced the 47th Congress of 188183 gave rise to 19 cases of alleged election fraud.

One egregious example was the race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in South Carolina. In that states First Congressional District, a one-two punch of violence and fraud wrenched political power away from a Black majority that had voted strongly Republican during Reconstruction.

The First District election of 1880 pitted incumbent Democrat John S. Richardson against Republican Samuel J. Lee. Both had served in the Confederate Army, both were wounded in combat, both had political experience. But they had little else in common. Richardson, 52, was the son of a rich white rice planter and politician. Lee, 38, was born in slavery. During the Civil War, Lee accompanied his owner, General Samuel McGowan, into combat and was wounded twice. After the war, Lee read law and in 1871 was admitted to the South Carolina bar, gaining a reputation as an outstanding attorney. He served in 1872-74 as the first African-American speaker of the South Carolina House. In 1874, running as an Independent Republican, he narrowly lost a race for the U.S. House seat representing the First District. Subsequently, Lee became a judge of the probate court. In 1878, he became involved in the prosecution of a white man, prompting threats of violence. He moved to Washington, D.C., where he spent a year as a clerk at the U.S. Treasury Department.

In December 1879, Lee returned to Sumter County, outside Columbia, to challenge Richardson for the U.S. House seat representing the First District. Lee was counting on his districts majority Black population to send him to Washington. Richardson and allies meant to overcome that racial skew. During this and other South Carolina campaigns during that year, gangs of Red Shirts roamed the countryside, urging whites to vote Democrat and terrorizing Blacks out of voting at all.

A key First District locale was Darlington, seat of Darlington County. The night of November 1, election eve, whites made a show of hauling two wagonloads of rifles into Darlington and carrying the weapons into a building next to the courthouse. That was the last anyone saw of the rifles, but by daylight on Election Day, most townspeople knew about them. That morning, a large number of African-American residents filled the market house, the usual polling place, to find that Democratic election managers had moved the polls to the courthouse, beside the supposed arsenal. To vote, a man had to climb either of two narrow staircases to the court buildings second floor. Jamming those stairs were knife- and gun-wielding Red Shirts who shoved, jostled, threatened, and otherwise deterred Blacks from voting. The Republicans stayed for hours, until the partys Darlington County chairman urged that, given the impossibility of casting ballots, they should go home. South Carolina voters could vote at any precinct, but at the nearest alternate polling place, Florence, 10 miles away, a similarly ominous scenario unfolded, and across the district Blacks consistently experienced intimidation.

Earlier, overwhelmingly Black Darlington County had voted 80 percent Republican, but the 1880 vote went more than 90 percent Democratic. Out of 31,816 votes officially counted for the entire First District, Richardson led by 8,468.

Samuel J. Lee: With Reconstruction over and U.S. troops gone, Lee lost the First District in 1880. (University of South Carolina School of Law) (University of South Carolina School of Law)

To challenge House election results, an aggrieved candidate had to notify his opponent in writing explaining his complaints within 30 days of results being announced. The opponent got 30 days to respond. Both sides then had 60 days to build cases for review by the U.S. House Committee on Elections in Washington, D.C. Even if a petitioners challenge succeeded, he might not be seated until the congressional term had nearly ended; in the interim, the contested victor served.

lee contests election results

On December 15, 1880, Lee sent Richardson a notice specifying 20 points of challenge, including ballot box stuffing and multiple violent incidents. Richardson countered that all had been in order and denied that any intimidation had occurred. During the next two months, Lee called 594 witnesses for his attorneys to question and Richardsons to cross-examine. Richardson called 151 rebuttal witnesses, handled similarly, as were Lees 52 rebuttal witnesses. Depositions ended in June 1881.

In Washington, the sworn, notarized documentation came to 825 typed pages detailing how every contested precincts election managers had been Democrats who prevented Republican poll workersand sometimes federal elections supervisorsfrom doing their jobs. For example, Elections Supervisor I.W. Gadsden, assigned to monitor a polling place in Florence, testified that town authorities or policemen forcibly kept him out of the premises until after voting had begun. Managers refused Gadsden access to voting lists and would not reveal who or how many people had already voted. Another federal supervisor told of a manager forcing him at gunpoint out of his assigned polling place, declaring his federal authority to be of no account.

black voters stuck with pins

In at least five First District precincts, managers surreptitiously moved polling places as far as a mile and a half, without notice to federal supervisors or Black voters. In one of Darlingtons largest precincts, a large number of Republicans assembled at their usual polling place very early on Election Day, only to find the polls relocated, creating confusion and a lull in which Democratic election managers could have tampered with ballot boxes. Such events occurred across the district.

John S. Richardson: Denying thugs and ballot box stuffers aided him, he got a little push from House Democrats. (University of South Carolina School of Law) (University of South Carolina School of Law)

Violence and intimidation were common in heavily Black areas. In Sumter, for example, white Democrats kept would-be Black voters from casting ballots.

Because the stairway leading to the poll was crowded with white men and boys, an African-American man testified, when I attempted to go up I would be squeezed and mashed so that I would be injured. That witness said he gave up and went home. The federal supervisor assigned to that location testified that occasionally they would let one [Black voter] in after sticking him with pins, abusing him, and cursing him, and telling him this was no damned Republican poll. At Florence, 200 to 300 Black Republicans stood outside the polls attempting to vote from 6 a.m. until closing time; a crowd of whites, including policemen and town marshals, barred their access.

County officials arbitrarily rejected returns from several precincts in their entirety, usually on the spurious pretext that the courier delivering returns to a county board did not produce a letter authorizing him to deliver them. Many other rationales also were fabricated for rejections. Officials threw out the return from Midway because Democratic managers there had closed the polls before the stipulated time of 6 p.m.; officials voided another precincts vote because the managers had adjourned for breakfast and dinner. In Sumter Precinct 1, officials rejected the vote1,499 for Lee, 9 for Richardsonwithout giving a reason. The rejected polls shared one characteristic: All involved votes tallying large Republican majorities.

For elections in Darlington and Chesterfield counties, managers provided no poll lists, official returns, or other paperwork, and afterward no one could be found to swear that the returns were true. Nonetheless, the state board counted those votes.

panel: results must be corrected

Following an intense, two-year investigation, along with inquiries into 18 other contested elections, the House Committee on Elections, chaired by Rep. William H. Calkins, R-Indiana, agreed that in South Carolinas First District fraud, violence, and intimidation were practiced and fraudulent returns were made, which must be corrected. Committee members and staff agreed to adjust most First District results, add results thrown out on technical grounds, and adjust for fraudulent ballots. But they disagreed on how to handle the Darlington results. Eight members wanted to let the Darlington vote stand; seven wanted it dumpeda critical split, since counting the Darlington results would mean Richardson won; ditch Darlington, and Lee had a lead of 284 votes.

Witness J.A. Smith testified that obstruction and intimidation in Darlington kept him and 700 to 800 fellow Republicans from voting.

I made three attempts to reach the ballot boxmyself and others, Smith said. I found it impossible to do so without a collision with the Democrats and Red Shirts who had the steps packed from bottom to top.

I couldnt get to the polls, another man testified. They were standing on the steps leading up to the box. I attempted to go up, and they said, No radicals here; no radicals in here, and all caught arms together and shoved me back.

The First Vote: On an 1868 cover, Harpers Weekly shows dramatic change occurring in the South. (MPI/Getty Images) (MPI/Getty Images)

In all, 240 witnesses swore that they had come to the Darlington polling station to vote for Lee, but had been intimidated from doing so. Several testified that 800 to 1,000 Republican men were prevented from voting at Darlington, where the results gave Richardson 1,271 votes and Lee 117. Previous elections at Darlington had tallied no more than 300 Democrat votes compared with about 1,400 Republican votes.

A minority of seven Republican members of the Elections Committee voted to reject the Darlington results. An eight-member majoritysix Democrats and two Republicansvoted to accept the results. The danger of bodily harm was not sufficient to warrant this course [that is, leaving without voting], and there was an entire lack of diligence on the part of these voters to maintain their right to vote, the majority said. Since voters could use any precinct, the majority concluded, frustrated Darlington voters could have gone elsewherethough at the polling place in Florence, 10 miles away, resistance kept 200 Republicans from voting.

The Elections Committee submitted its contradictory reports to the full House on February 24, 1883. Debate on the matter began March 3, the last day of the 47th Congress. Samuel Lee, along with John Richardson, got 15 minutes to make his case. Lee scorned the contention that Republican voters had not encountered threat enough to warrant leaving without voting.

I would like my friend from Indiana, the chairman of the committee, to make a visit down to the Southern states at some of our elections and attempt in the guise of a colored man to go to one of these polls: he will find out whether the violence is sufficient or not to keep colored men away from the polls, Lee said. What did they do at Darlington? They crowded the steps They were dressed in red shirts, armed with pistols, armed with knives, armed with guns, to prevent these colored men from going up the steps to vote We took the testimony of two hundred and forty witnesses at the Darlington poll, who testified that it was impossible for the colored men to get up those steps and vote without being killed themselves And who were on the steps? They were white Democrats dressed in red shirts, the meaning of which we in the South know very well. That uniform means in the South violence; it means to the colored man: stand back.

Richardson, like Representative Jones, said simply that Black voters could have voted if they had waited until the white men left Election Day afternoon. Richardson denied allegations of violence and intimidation, arguing that those who gave up and did not vote were negligent in not traveling to an alternate polling place to cast their ballots.

house members block voting round

The same day, the House, voting 124-114, passed a minority resolution that Darlington should be rejected, and Lee be declared elected by 284 votes. This was the first time in that session of Congress that the House voted against a majority of the Elections Committee. But Democratic shenanigans, including multiple uses of the disappearing quorumrepresentatives refusing to vote when presentprevented the additional round of voting needed to seat Lee. Just after midnight the next day, the 47th Congress adjourned for the final time.

In 1882, Lee ran unsuccessfully for a new gerrymandered black district, District 7, campaigning as an Independent Republican against Republican Edmund Mackey. Lee went on to prosper as a lawyer in Charleston, where he acted as a mentor to young African-American attorneys. Richardson did not run for re-election in 1882.

Cases like Lee v. Richardson recurred in the post-Reconstruction South until the mid-1890s. By then, the states of the former Confederacy had passed laws imposing poll taxes, literacy exams, and other measures that effectively disenfranchised African-American citizens, precluding the need to steal elections. The fight to regain voting rights would resume full force in the 1950s and bring about enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

This story was originally published in the November/December 2016 issue of American History magazine.
Seems like Finnish smartphone legend, Nokia, don't want to quit just yet after rumors broke that it is coming back to the smartphone game again after it mobile division was purchased by Microsoft Corp.

Even though Microsoft later changed it's branding to Lumia devices, Nokia's name in smartphone ended resulting in no phones further. But now, we have some good news. The new phone supposedly is named D1C. We aren't really sure behind the reasoning of the name.

Even though it's a consumer-end low/mid-range device, it's now pretty evident that Nokia have decided to come to the markets again. Let's take a look.

GeekBench, a popular benchmarking tool for all platforms, had a register logged with Nokia's brand that sparked a whole lot of enthusiasm among the Nokia loyalists. The single-core clocked in about 667 points while the multi-core score was somewhere around 3300ish.

What's more enthusiastic is that Nokia decided to jump directly to Android's latest operating system, Android Nougat 7.0, while the other competitors in smartphone segment are still trap with Marshmallow and Lollipop etc.

As per the phone listing, we have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 clocked at 1.4ghz surprisingly an octa-core processor. However, we have about 2GB of RAM.

The devices might come in two variants, one in a 5.2-inch display and the other in a 5.5-inch display OLED panel. These are all part of the rumor mill and nothing can be made out of checking at the GeekBench scores for now.

However, we're pretty excited that Nokia finally made a choice to bounce back and try their best to survive. It's pretty obvious that Nokia made one of the best range of smartphones back in the pre-smartphone days. If it's anything of the same quality, there's no absolute doubt that Nokia will be short of credits and appreciations since they are well known for their quality phones.

It's only time dependent as to when Nokia will make the big change to keep bringing in quality smartphones based on Android OS and this will give a hard time to other competitors concentrating on budget smartphones.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
There's a TENAA certification on Moto device by Lenovo being prepared for launch. TENAA is a smartphone certification portal where all releases will be upcoming shortly.

The phone, supposedly named "Moto M", has passed the certifications and could be exclusively launched for the Asian markets and could be manufactured by Lenovo and not Motorola. Lenovo saw its fair share of the smartphone market with some amazing phones for all price-segments for this year from Moto Z to Moto E3.

A recent image from TechDroider revealed "Moto M" supposedly running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with a model name XT1662.The front side of the device however has a selfie camera along with some sensors and an ear-piece at the top.

The phone size reportedly looks to be somewhere in the sizes of 5.0- to 5.5-inch. The report also revealed that it will be a full-HD display, which also comes with an on-board storage of 32GB powered by 4GB of RAM.

The rumors speculate it to have a MediaTek chipset clocked at 2.1ghz. However, there's no word on the exact chip model. Alongside, no information whether or not the storage can be expanded. The phone does have a camera at the rear with the front-camera capable of taking 8MP photos.

The battery information reveals it has a 3000mAh capacity, enough to power the phone for a whole day considering it's a full HD 5.5ish inch display. As of now, there's no official information on whether this phone is due to marketing or just a testing unit only.

However, considering the specifications and the look of the phone, we can fairly assume that it's for mid-range consumer budget friendly smartphone that can fairly see its share of sales in the market.

The only thing we have to see is whether the Asian markets will accept the phone considering it's manufactured by Lenovo which some people are not really into appreciating Lenovo made smartphones.

For the moment, it seems that the Moto M might see its release shortly but just in the Asian markets for now.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Boeing chief Dennis Muilenburg believes that his company will be the first to send people to Mars and not SpaceX as everybody thinks. At a Chicago event sponsored by The Atlantic, Muilenberg stated that he's "convinced the first person to step foot on Mars will arrive there riding a Boeing rocket."

SpaceX chief Elon Musk recently disclosed his grand plans to transport people to the red planet aboard the Interplanetary Transport System, a powerful ship the company's already working on.

While Boeing has worked on the same mission quieter, Muilenburg isn't just all talk.

Boeing has been working with NASA on building the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket yet designed to fly to Mars. Besides, the older corporation has a great track record: it helped the US beat the Soviet Union in a race to our planet's satellite. If you'll recall, the company built the first stage of the rocket (Saturn V) that took astronauts to the Moon back in the '60s and the '70s.

It seems like Musk didn't mind Muilenberg's statement, though. Even more, when he was asked at the same conference if he wanted for SpaceX to be the first to reach Mars, he replied:

"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. And so multiple companies doing it, I think, would be great. So I wanted to come describe the architecture actually in the hopes that this would encourage companies and organizations around the world to perhaps do something like this."

Last we checked, SpaceX is planning the manned mission for 2024, while Boeing and NASA are aiming to launch their first manned flight in 2030s. If we take possible delays and other factors into account, we will be witnesses of a pretty close fight.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter who gets there first: landing people on the red planet is a gigantic leap for mankind as a whole.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsung Galaxy A8 OS are now available to upgrade to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. But only dual-SIM Galaxy A8 are available to upgrade. With the upgrade, Samsung has also released a 2016 version of the Samsung Galaxy A8 that looks the same but has different features.

Just like most Android companies, Samsung does not offer Android OS updates fast. For mid-range devices, Samsung, a South Korean company, is among the last to provide major OS upgrades.

As is expected, Samsung wants customers who purchased its flagship smartphones to be up to date with the latest operating system releases coming from Google, but because not everybody can afford their flagship smartphones, there are more consumers who own mid-range smartphones which are usually getting updates very late.

Last year, Samsung released a line of mid-range smartphones. One of those is the Samsung Galaxy A8. Users would be happy to know that the Galaxy A8 is now able to have an Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow upgrade.

When it was released in August of 2015, the operating system of the Galaxy A8 was Android 5.1 Lollipop. But even after a year later, they still weren't able to provide the newest OS released by Google and offered and upgrade to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow instead. But even then, not all Galaxy A8 users can upgrade. Only those who owns the dual-SIM version are able to upgrade their smartphones.

But currently, a 2016 version of the Samsung Galaxy A8 is now available. It has the same physical properties as its successor that was released a year before but the features have changed. The newer version is thicker than the successor with its 7.2 mm all metal body.

If compared to the original's 5.9 mm profile, the original is slim and would be considered the slimmest in Samsung's smartphone portfolio. But the reason for the thicker version is because the battery is upgraded to 3,300 mAh battery from the 3,050 mAh power pack found in the original, according to Yahoo.

The 2016 version of Galaxy A8 comes along with a 16-megapixel main camera and an 8- megapixel front camera. The device also runs Android Marshmallow same as the upgradable original.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Pat Kenny was the Lifetime Achievement recipient at last night's gala affair in Dublin.

Its been a momentous week for Pat Kenny with the launch of his and Colette Fitzpatricks TV3 current affairs show  a healthy 470,000 viewers tuned in over the course of the hour  and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the IFTA TV Awards, which were helmed in Dublins DoubleTree hotel by Amanda Byram.

Last nights other big double-whammy winner was Sharon Horgan who picked up Female Performance and Soap & Comedy Writer gongs.

Male Performance went to Brendan OCarroll for Mrs. Browns Boys while Bob Geldofs brilliant BBC co-produced tribute to W.B. Yeats, A Fanatic Heart, won Specialist Factual.

There was also much deserved recognition for Red Rock (Soap & Continuing Drama), Bridget & Eamon (Comedy) and An Klondike (Irish Language).

Heres the full list of those thanking Mum, Dad, God and Ireland:

Female Performance:

Sharon Horgan - Catastrophe

Male Performance

Brendan OCarroll  Mrs. Browns Boys

Reality & Constructed Factual

First Dates Ireland - Coco Television

Documentary Single:

I Am Immigrant - Motive Television

Advertisement

Entertainment

Brendan OConnors Cutting Edge

Factual

Daniel & Majellas B&B Road Trip

Current Affairs

RTE Investigates - Standards in Public Office

Children & Young Peoples

My Life Champion of the World - Tyrone Productions

Animation

The Day Henry Met - Wiggleywoo Ltd

Comedy

Bridget & Eamon

Irish Language:

An Klondike - Abu Media

Advertisement

Soap & Comedy Writer

Sharon Horgan -Catastrophe

TV Editing

Una Ni Dhonghaile - An Innocent Man

TV Sound

Deoch an Dorais - Dean Jones, Colm ORourke and John Brennan

TV Camera

Michael ODonovan - These Walls Can Talk

Soap & Comedy Director -

Jason Butler - Bridget & Eamon

TV Director

Gerry Nelson - Wild Cities

Documentary Series:

1916: The Irish Rebellion - COCO Television

Advertisement

Gala TV Rising star

Al Porter

Sports

Hidden Impact: Rugby & Concussion - Wildfire Films

News

Ireland Live News @ 5:30 - Brexit Special - UTV

Specialist Factual

A Fanatic Heart: Bob Geldof on W.B. Yeats

Live Event:

Centenary - RTE

Soap & Continuing Drama

Red Rock
The recession had hit, business was bad, and Marvin Obasogie Aimiuwu decided it was time for a change.

The Nigerian-born artist shifted his focus from more traditional African painting and sculpture to experiment with Batik-inspired textiles designed with wax and dyes. At the Bayou City Art Festival on Saturday, he hung his booth with bright swaths of colored, textured linen, the result of years of study and practice.

"One of the most common things I hear is that my work is so different," said Aimiuwu, who now lives in California. "It really is experimental, and every day is a learning process for me."

Aimiuwu was one of many artists offering pieces with international flair at the two-day festival, organized by Houston's Art Colony Association. Bridget Anderson, the association's executive director, said the event has evolved in recent years to attract an increasing number of artists from other states and countries.

"It has become very diverse and well-known," she said.

The festival started on Westheimer Road in the 1970s and now involves one event downtown in the fall and one at Memorial Park in the spring. Of the 300 artists in attendance Saturday, Anderson estimated that half come from out of state and a fifth live or work abroad.

Aimiuwu, who lives near San Bernadino, Calif., first attended the festival last spring with similar pieces that attracted a lot of interest.

"People love abstract, people love color," he said. "I thought it was a very good chance to showcase my work."

For Miro Kenarov, a printmaker who lives in Sante Fe, the festival was an opportunity to display color-splashed images of nature and buildings that reflect techniques he learned in Bulgaria, where he was born. He said the event is one of the largest he attends each year.

"I have many good customers here," he said.

In another booth, Heather Hughley admired a painting of a city by Nha Vuu, an artist based in Fort Collins, Co., who learned much of her technique in Taiwan. Hughly first discovered Vuu four years ago at the festival and bought a painting that reminded her of Seattle, where the artist lived for 20 years.

"You could just sit and peacefully look at it," said Hughley, who works as a financial analyst for ConocoPhillips.

Alongside the out-of-state vendors, Texas artists sold artwork of all kinds in the booths that lined Bagby, McKinney and Walker streets. Tom Thomas, an leather artisan from Belton, hung his booth with bags and belts that he and his son crafted together.

He recalled his first Bayou City festival, where he found himself right next to a Dumpster on Westheimer. He pointed to the crowded downtown space as an indication of how much the festival had changed since then.

"It has always been a large show, but I've seen it grow in quality," he said. "Some of the artists get better and better every year."

About 15,000 people are expected to attend the weekend festival, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at 901 Bagby. Tickets are $17 for adults and $5 for children ages 6 to 12.

Marion Webb, a resident of northwest Houston who had never attended the festival before, arrived early with a friend Saturday and admired clay pottery by an artist from Sante Fe. She said the diversity of the artwork impressed her.

"There seems to be something for everyone," she said.
On September 26, I got an email about my swaggering old uber-boss, Mike Lacey. His lawyers, Becker & House, wrote that their client, Lacey, was attempting to develop a database of former employees of the New Times and/or Village Voice Media for communication purposes.

I wasnt sure: Did he want to send us all Christmas cards? Or to hunt us down and wreak bloody havoc? He couldnt sue us for anything, could he?

Lacey could be great, and Lacey could be awful. Fifteen years before, at the Houston Press, and at all the newspapers in the chain of alternative weeklies where he was top editor, we spent a lot of time wondering what he was up to. Mostly from a distance, I followed his exploits: the muckraking stories, the bare-knuckled fights, the awards, the threats, the wild gouts of praise, the epic flights of profanity.

Houston wasnt Laceys main focus -- that was Phoenix, where hed founded his empire; and San Francisco and Los Angeles, which were way more glamorous  but occasionally, hed blow through like a hurricane. If he liked you that day, maybe youd be invited to a big corporate dinner with bottle after bottle of expensive red wine. If he didnt like you that day, maybe youd be fired.

I sent the law firm my address.

A few days later, I got a $5,000 check in the mail. A gift from Michael Lacey, the lawyers letter said. Tax-free. No strings attached. They asked only that I mail back a form with my birthdate and signature.

Screenshot, Lisa Gray

On Facebook chat threads, a handful of Houston Press alumni and I obsessed over what had gotten into Lacey, why some of us but not others received that unexpected gift, and what, in general, was going on.

Had he joined a 12-step group and was making amends? Was he dying? Was it an elaborate trick?

The legal assistant who was handling the checks said that she couldnt give me Laceys contact information, but that she could forward an email to him.

What the hell, Mike Lacey? I wrote.

No response.

Thursday night, I found out that hes on the lam.

IN 1970, Mike Lacey was a Vietnam protester, an Irish kid from Jersey whod dropped out of Arizona State. The counterculture was ascendant, and Lacey, whod always had a problem with authority, was out front. As an alternative to the ultra-conservative Arizona Republic, he started the Phoenix New Times  a paper that would cover politics, culture and music for the sex-drugs-rocknroll generation.

Soon after, Jim Larkin joined the paper. LaceynLarkin, we called the editor-publisher duo who, over the decades, bought and started alternative weeklies across the country; at their empires peak, theyd amassed 17 newspapers, including the venerable Village Voice.

The papers were uneven, but at their best, they were terrific. They won tons of awards  sometimes for writing, sometimes for investigative stories, sometimes for stories that Lacey had written or edited himself.

They bought the cash-starved, four-year-old Houston Press in '93. Id worked there when it launched in 1989, and even though Id moved to Washington, D.C., still felt proprietary. When I heard that New Times had hired an editor, Jim Simmon, whod previously worked for the big, dull Houston Chronicle, I was dismayed.

I had a chance to complain soon after that. I was working for Washington City Paper, an alt weekly safely outside the New Times domain, and so at a Boston conference for the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, I felt perfectly comfortable walking up to Lacey and asking him who this editor was, whether he might be screwing up my old paper.

He liked that. Or maybe he was just in a good mood, planning to raise a little hell of his own.

Backpage.com

A few minutes later, in a panel discussion about story-telling, he assured us that great stories are all around us, all the time  and to prove it, he told the story of a Washington Post reporter, Richard Leiby, who was covering our conference. Lacey said darkly that Leiby wasnt really there as a reporter but as a talent scout, aiming to poach alt weeklies writers. And that, Lacey wouldnt tolerate. He ended the session with a promise: Hed pay $100 to anyone whod kick Richard Leibys butt.

A few hours later, in a bar, my City Paper boss, Jack Shafer, administered the kick.

On for line of the $100 check, Lacey wrote hit.

Lacey was right: It was a great story. I've told it for years  though never to Lacey's point, to illustrate Richard Leiby's deviousness. To me, that story was about Lacey and Shafer's butt-kicking tendencies; and more generally, about the swaggering machismo of New Times, and of alternative newspapers in general.

Eventually, both Shafer and I ended up working at New Times papers. If anyone at that conference was poaching talent, it was Mike Lacey.

Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle

THE '90s were good to alt weeklies and their reporters. The papers reached those elusive young consumers in their twenties. At the Houston Press, ads poured in.

The ad money made the journalism possible. Between the ads, there was plenty of room for long stories, and at New Times, a reporter could get the time to research and write them; a month was standard. I needn't have worried about about Jim Simmon: The Press's editor-in-chief wasn't boring. We wrote investigative stories, and profiles, and stories that were really about how it felt to be alive right there, right then -- at a karaoke bar, or a church Christmas play, or amid a knot of transgender activists. We groused about mismanagement and overwork. But now, looking back over a blasted media landscape, it seems like a golden age.

Spicy classified ads were baked into the business model. Readers often started the paper at the back, so the New Times displayed the most prominent of those little ads on the tabloids last page. The Backpage, they called it.

There were personal ads, of course: all sorts of people seeking all sorts of hookups. There were lawyers whod help you beat a drunk driving charge; help-wanted ads for staff at clubs and restaurants; ads for sex-chat lines; ads for escort services, leather shops and egg donors.

I wasnt proud of them, but they paid the bills.

Backpages

AFTER I left the Press in 2001, I followed LaceynLarkins exploits casually, the way you follow a hometown team long after youve moved away. In 2005, they bought the past-its-peak Village Voice, provoking screams from New York elitists who couldnt stand to see their hometown paper taken over by outsiders, by cowboys, by owners who were not Voice people. I wasnt sure who to root for.

But a couple of years later, I tilted firmly into the LaceynLarkin camp. In 2007, their long-time enemy, Phoenixs famously flashy, anti-immigrant Sheriff Joe Arpaio, arranged to have them arrested on flimsy charges. Supposedly, a New Times story had violated a grand jurys secrecy -- though, among other things, that grand jury had never convened.

Deputies arrived at Lacey and Larkins houses in the dead of night, waking them up, and hauling them in for mug shots. In Laceys mugshot, he looks wearily at the camera, like a mob boss coolly calculating his revenge. When I saw that mugshot online, I almost felt sorry for Arpaio; he didnt know what hed unleashed.

As details of the arrest came out, the sheriff looked ridiculous. Eventually Lacey and Larkin won a $3.75 million settlement from the sheriffs office, and donated $2 million of it to Arizona State Universitys journalism school -- specifically to increase coverage of Latino and border issues. (And, needless to say, to needle Arpaio.)

Not all the news was so fun. I watched as the internet sucked away alt weeklies readers and display ads -- ads that the free newspapers depended on even more than did daily newspapers, which at least had subscriptions to fall back on.

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

But one corner of the business thrived. The Backpage grew into Backpage.com, a classified-ad space that seemed as wide-open as the internet itself.

Its timing was good. In 2010, Craigslist stopped taking ads for escort services; attorneys general had called it the Wal-Mart of child sex trafficking and "the only player in the sex industry who is in a position to stop these ads."

But of course the ads didnt stop; they largely migrated to Backpage.com. The website became both wildly profitable and a legal hairball, the target of religious groups, state attorneys general and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. Now it was Backpage, not Craigslist, in the crosshairs.

The controversy scared away a couple of the private equity firms that had helped LaceynLarkin expand their empire. The days of growth and easy money were over.

I wasnt surprised, then, when Backpage.com split from the alt weeklies. What surprised me was that LaceynLarkin went not with the papers, but with Backpage.

Lacey, in an interview with the Phoenix New Times -- the paper he started in 1970 -- said that he and Larkin were selling their newspaper holdings to the management group so that the alt weeklies could devote full energy to the business of journalism.

He stressed that Backpage was protected by the First Amendment. And he vowed to fight for Internet freedom.

I wasnt sure which mattered more to Lacey: that Backpage could make him richer than ever; or that running it would embroil him in a gigantic fight. Lacey always loved a fight.

Andrew Harnik/Associated Press

THURSDAY, AUTHORITIES arrested Carl Ferrer, the CEO of Backpage.com, at Houstons Bush Intercontinental Airport, and they raided Backpages Dallas headquarters. The arrest warrant, issued in California, accused Ferrer of pimping conspiracy, pimping a minor, and attempted pimping of a minor. (California uses a broad definition of pimping: Accepting an ad counts.)

Investigators estimated that Backpage takes in $150 million a year. At a Dallas press conference, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton thundered: We cannot allow this evil to endure." I assume that prostitutes are, even now, moving their outreach someplace new: to apps, maybe, or the dark web.

A warrant has been issued for the arrests of Lacey and Larkin -- though as of this writing, as far as I can tell, the law hasnt found them.

I understand now why Laceys lawyer wouldnt tell me how to reach him.

But what I dont understand is this: Why did Mike Lacey send me, and God knows how many other former employees, a $5,000 check? Is it, as one friend asked, blood money? Did he expect something in return? Should I say thank you? or send the money back?

Was he emptying his bank accounts, lest the money be seized? If so, why not give it all to charities -- say, the University of Arizona?

Was he sending checks to people hed secretly liked? (This might be very secretly: At least one stunned recipient I know had been sure that Lacey hated him.)

Was he hoping to buy love from those of us who are still working journalists, and who might defend him in the press? Thats not clear either: Lots of people who seem to be on that list have either retired or arent working in media anymore. And as Lacey of all people would know, accepting a big, fat gift like that compromises us. We couldnt write about him without disclosing it.

Maybe, in the end, its his way of using Backpage money, one last time, to support his journalists -- even though we dont work for his companies anymore, even though we havent for years.

I dont know. I still want to know.

Mike Lacey, if youre reading this, please get in touch.

Lisa Gray runs Gray Matters.



Bookmark Gray Matters. It can be great, and it can be awful.




A group of 22 medical experts convened by Johns Hopkins University and The Lancet have called this week for the decriminalization of all nonviolent drug use and possession. Citing a growing scientific consensus on the failures of the global war on drugs, the experts further encourage countries and U.S. states to "move gradually toward regulated drug markets and apply the scientific method to their assessment."

Their report comes ahead of a special UN General Assembly Session on drugs to be held next month, where the world's countries will re-evaluate the past half-century of drug policy and, in the hope of many experts, chart a more public health-centered approach going forward.

In a lengthy review of the state of global drug policy, the Hopkins-Lancet experts conclude that the prohibitionist anti-drug policies of the past 50 years "directly and indirectly contribute to lethal violence, disease, discrimination, forced displacement, injustice and the undermining of people's right to health." They cite, among other things:

- A "striking increase" in homicide in Mexico since the government decided to militarize its response to the drug trade in 2006. The increase has been so great that experts have had to revise life expectancy downward in that country;

- The "excessive use" of incarceration as a drug control measure, which the experts identify as the "biggest contribution" to higher rates of HIV and Hepatitis C infection among drug users;

- Stark racial disparities in drug law enforcement, particularly in the United States;

- And human rights violations arising from excessively punitive drug control measures, including an increase in the torture and abuse of drug prisoners in places like Mexico.

"The goal of prohibiting all use, possession, production and trafficking of illicit drugs is the basis of many of our national drug laws, but these policies are based on ideas about drug use and drug dependence that are not scientifically grounded," said Commissioner Chris Beyrer of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in a statement.

For instance, the last time the UN held a special session on drugs, in 1998, it set itself the goal of a "drug-free world" by 2008. The Hopkins-Lancet commissioners also fault UN drug regulators for failing to distinguish between drug use and drug abuse. "The idea that all drug use is dangerous and evil has led to enforcement-heavy policies and has made it difficult to see potentially dangerous drugs in the same light as potentially dangerous foods, tobacco and alcohol, for which the goal of social policy is to reduce potential harms," they write.

The commissioners cite research showing that "of an estimated 246 million people who used an illicit drug in the past year, 27 million (around 11%) experienced problem drug use, which was defined as drug dependence or drug-use disorders."

"The idea that all drug use is necessarily 'abuse' means that immediate and complete abstinence has been seen as the only acceptable approach," commissioner Adeeba Kamarulzaman, a professor at the University of Malaya, said in a statement. But, she added, "continued criminalization of drug use fuels HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis transmission within prisons and the community at large. There is another way. Programmes and policies aimed at reducing harm should be central to future drug policies."

The commissioners point to successes in drug decriminalization experiments in places like Portugal, where drug use rates have fallen, overdose deaths are rare and new HIV infections among drug users have plummeted. They recommend that other countries adopt a similar approach.

And beyond decriminalization, the commissioners recommend experimenting with the full legalization and regulation of certain types of drug use, as several U.S. states have done with marijuana.

"Although regulated legal drug markets are not politically possible in the short term in some places, the harms of criminal markets and other consequences of prohibition catalogued in this Commission will probably lead more countries (and more U.S. states) to move gradually in that direction-a direction we endorse," they write.

Other countries, particularly in Latin America, are already looking toward U.S. marijuana legalization experiments as a blueprint for how they might move away from overly punitive drug laws. But one challenge toward adopting a less stringent drug policy has always been the massive UN drug control treaties, which are now decades-old and which experts say reflect outdated and even harmful ways of thinking about drug use.

Reformers are hoping that the upcoming General Assembly Special Session on drugs will mark a turning point in the drug war. But getting nearly 200 countries to agree on any change in direction will be a challenge. And early indications appear to be that negotiators are setting their sights low.

A draft document of the resolution to be discussed at the special session reaffirms the UN's "commitment to the goals and objectives of the three international drug control conventions" -- the same conventions criticized in the Hopkins-Lancet report. And it calls on countries to "actively promote a society free of drug abuse," echoing the language of the failed drug control goals of the 1990s.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

James Bryant was making air conditioners on an assembly line in 2003 when Kevin Deese, a rookie Houston police officer, called him and urged him to join the department.

Bryant signed up. In 2009, the two men were promoted to sergeant. Three years later, they both tested for promotion to lieutenant.

Nearly 15 years after Bryant joined the Houston Police Department, the two African-American lieutenants and longtime friends are among a group set to make department history.

They are expected to join three other lieutenants, two of them also minorities, in becoming the most diverse group promoted to captain, the highest rank that can be achieved without political appointment.

"That's very unusual, that's never happened before," said former Houston Police Chief Charles A. McClelland, under whose tenure the department became a minority-majority department.

With Deese and Bryant are Patty Cantu, a 46-year-old Latina; Sheryl Victorian, a 46-year-old African-American woman; and William McPherson, a 50-year-old Anglo.

Activists welcome news

Civil rights activists and police watchdogs - some of whom are persistent department critics - welcomed the news.

"We would be delighted for that to happen," said Johnny Mata, president of the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice, who has long urged HPD to improve its diversity. "Because not only is it late in coming, but  those are some of the discussions we've had in the past. And hopefully that will be accomplished."

The moves could come next month, when the department is expected to fill at least three captain vacancies following retirements of the supervisors overseeing major offenders, vehicular crimes and the Kingwood police station. At least two other positions are set to open in the coming months when other senior captains retire.

The five lieutenants in line for promotion scored highest on the rigorous promotion exam that includes written and oral assessments and does not assign points for race or gender.

The promotions are notable because the captains' positions have remained overwhelmingly white, even as the politically appointed command staff and other lower positions among the rank and file have grown increasingly diverse in recent years.

Defenders of the department have long argued that the captain's ranks would diversify as minority officers were promoted through the ranks, but just three of the department's 41 current captains are non-Anglo.

Just six of the captains are women.

Currently, 70 of the department's 211 lieutenants are minorities, according to HPD data.

The issue of diversity has taken on additional resonance as HPD and other departments across the country have come under greater scrutiny about the demographic makeups of their agencies, particularly at a time high-profile, lethal encounters between police and civilians have sown distrust and anger between the two groups.

Devotion to duty

The five lieutenants gathered to discuss the anticipated milestone Friday at HPD headquarters downtown. Color takes a back seat to police work, they said.

"When we're at work, performing our duties, we've got each other's backs," Bryant, 44, said. "We work as a unit regardless of color or gender - all that matters is we make sure we do our job.  To come from a point where [my mother] went to a segregated high school, to the next generation promoting to captain in the fourth-largest city in the country, it shows great progress."

The lieutenants interested in promoting tested in July, after weeks of grueling study.

"You sleep to read," joked Deese, 44, currently assigned to the homicide division who worked as a Baytown firefighter before joining HPD in 2001.

"You're physically ill by the end of the process," said McPherson, who joined the department after a stint in the military and now works in the vice division fighting human trafficking.

The captain's promotion list, which includes 53 other candidates, will remain valid until July 20, 2018, and includes Vietnamese, Chinese, Latino and African-American lieutenants.

James Douglas, president of the Houston chapter of the NAACP, called the news "wonderful" and said he hoped the greater diversity would help the department improve community relations and policing.

"Just because an officer is African-American does not mean they don't have implicit racism," he said. "Color alone will not cure the ills of this country. There's got to be a mindset change.  My hope is that if we increase leadership at the top rank in the Houston Police Department, that there will be people who are not just minorities, they will be people who really appreciate the issues that are presented to the public overall."

Houston Police Officer's Union President Ray Hunt declined to comment.

More progress made

The wave of incoming captains includes other groundbreakers as well.

Victorian, who works at the department's training academy, will be only the third African-American woman to promote to captain and only the second to serve at that rank. (One of her predecessors was promoted to captain while serving as an assistant chief.)

"I knew there was a process; I knew there weren't enough of us represented at the lieutenants level to take the exam," said Victorian, who only learned of her score - third out of 58 - while she was on vacation with her husband. "So I felt this was an opportunity for me, especially with the policing climate today, to want to be in leadership to effect change, in order to bridge the gap with the community."

Cantu would be only the second Hispanic woman to promote to captain in HPD's history - following Acting Police Chief Martha Montalvo.

"I'm excited about the change - that we're going to see women, and of course the diversity," said Cantu, a former Harris County sheriff's deputy who was partly inspired to join law enforcement after seeing the language barrier between police and her neighbors in the East End. "I'm excited that we're going to be able to be a part of change ... to change, maybe, the perception that law enforcement does not allow minorities.

"It's also going to show the community that their perception of [HPD] just allowing certain people to achieve a certain rank is incorrect."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Former executives of a Houston alternative weekly newspaper have been charged by California authorities in a pimping conspiracy related to Backpage.com posting sex trade advertisements.

The criminal charges were revealed following the arrest of Carl Ferrer, the 55-year-old CEO of Backpage.com, who was apprehended Thursday after his flight from Amsterdam landed in Houston. He made his first court appearance Friday before a local judge and agreed to be extradited to California.

Ferrer was taken into custody on a California arrest warrant linked to a criminal complaint accusing him of 10 felonies ranging from participating in a pimping conspiracy and pimping to pimping minors.

Also charged are Michael Lacey, 68, and 67-year-old James Larkin - both former executives in a chain of alt-weeklies that included the Houston Press. Each faces one pimping conspiracy charge, which is a felony.

The criminal complaint alleges a 6-year scheme from January 2010 to Sept. 26 this year by Backpage.com, which posts ads for escort services, erotic massages and other sexual services for sale.

That document and search warrants describe Lacey and Larkin as the founders of Backpage.com - a controversial site that some describe as the world's largest marketplace for buying and selling sex - who started the business in 2004 and initially assigned daily operations to Ferrer.

Ferrer bought Backpage in 2014 and created a new parent company based in The Netherlands to facilitate an international expansion, filings allege.

Search warrants were executed at the online outfit's headquarters in a Dallas midrise for "all business and financial records pertaining or relating to Backpage.com" connected to Ferrer, Larkin and Lacey.

The attorneys general for Texas and California said a three-year joint investigation uncovered evidence that sex trafficking victims - adults and minors - were forced into prostitution through Backpage escort ads.

'Step in right direction'

In a news release, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton described the site as the largest advertiser of adult escort services in the United States. A statement from the office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris described the site as "an online brothel" that generates "millions of dollars off the illegal sex trade."

The criminal complaints and search warrants describe an ever-expanding online enterprise that has created hyper-local classified ad sites in hundreds of cities across the globe.

After seizing financial records, investigators built a case concluding that 99 percent of Backpage's income worldwide could be attributed to the site's "adult" section during a 27-month period ending in March 2015.

The business drew a gross monthly income of $2.5 million and more than $51 million during those two years, authorities allege. California authorities also accuse Ferrer of taking photos and contact information from Backpage sites to create escort directories such as EvilEmpire.com and BigCity.com.

On Friday, victim advocacy organization leaders described the criminal charges and Ferrer's arrest as one victory in the fight against the online sex trade and human trafficking.

Backpage.com "sold" women who ended up recovering at Redeemed Ministries, a nonprofit that serves individuals who have been the victims of human trafficking in Houston and other cities.

"It's absolutely a step in the right direction as far as we're concerned," said Desirie Dougall, the faith-based organization's Houston operations director. "It's certainly encouraging for us to see that legislators and law enforcement are taking such a strong stance."

Sam Hernandez, intervention director for the Houston nonprofit Elijah Rising, said she and her colleagues were thrilled to hear about Ferrer's arrest.

"He has been making the majority of his money off the backs of prostituted women," she said. The Washington-based National Center on Sexual Exploitation has called Backpage "a global, modern-day auction block" and Ferrer "a global kingpin of pimping and sex trafficking."

$10M bonuses for execs

Texas authorities are investigating Ferrer, who resides in the Dallas area, for potentially violating state money laundering laws. Larkin and Lacey are Arizona residents who were involved in the Houston Press in the 1990s.

Houston Press editor Margaret Downing said Friday afternoon that the news organization was "not connected to Backpage" and declined additional comment.

According to documents, Lacey and Larkin each received a $10 million bonus in September 2014.

Backpage has previously defended itself and the First Amendment rights of online publishers with the Communications Decency Act, a federal law passed in 1996 that shields internet providers from liability for user-generated posts. The law was intended the protect children from pornographic online material.

At Friday's hearing, Ferrer signed an extradition waiver and surrendered his passport.

"He's looking forward to his day in court, where he gets to battle back on these charges," defense attorney Philip Hilder said.
The "war on drugs" has never been limited to one particular country: Governments all over the world have attempted to destroy drug-dealing networks and increase penalties for drug-related offenses.

But have those countries followed the wrong lead? According to an international committee under the helm of Johns Hopkins University and medical journal the Lancet, the answer is yes.

"The global war on drugs has harmed public health, human rights and development," said commissioner Chris Beyrer, an epidemiology professor at Johns Hopkins's Bloomberg School of Public Health. "It's time for us to rethink our approach to global drug policies, and put scientific evidence and public health at the heart of drug policy discussions."

Beyrer is among the authors of a new report published last week that comes ahead of a U.N. summit on the issue in April. The commission said it reached its conclusion based on publicly accessible data and analysis on drug-related violence and incarceration, for instance.

"The goal of prohibiting all use, possession, production and trafficking of illicit drugs is the basis of many of our national drug laws, but these policies are based on ideas about drug use and drug dependence that are not scientifically grounded," Beyrer said.

In the report, the international commission urged governments to decriminalize "minor and non-violent drug use, possession and petty sale; enactment of policies that reduce violence and discrimination in drug policing," among other things.

Eventually, such measures could lead to decreases in drug-related violence worldwide, the authors suggest. They refer to data from Central America and Mexico, where homicides increased following military and police action taken against drug trafficking. "This violence has led to a surge of Central American refugees crossing the United States' southern border," the report states.

Other researchers and prominent voices have also called for more lenient drug laws. On March 24, several former heads of state and business leaders published essays that reached a similar conclusion. The authors include the former presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Nigeria. Most of the essays focus on the vast costs of the "war on drugs" and its few positive impacts, according to the authors.

In one of the essays, Ernesto Zedillo, a former president of Mexico, argues that "decriminalising consumption without taking away from organised crime the provision of the supply of drugs would be counterproductive."

However, despite the prominent support for an end of the "war on drugs," it is considered unlikely that the upcoming U.N. summit will change much about current policies. Harsh approaches toward drug dealing and consumption may already be too deeply entrenched in many societies.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

SAN DIEGO - Barely half of people who entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico last year were caught, according to a report commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security that also shows sharp declines in illegal entries.

The report found 54 percent of people who entered illegally between border crossings got caught in the 2015 fiscal year. That's much lower than the 81 percent success rate that Homeland Security cited publicly using a different counting method.

The 98-page report was completed in May, and Homeland Security has declined to release it. The Associated Press obtained a copy from a government official involved in border issues who acted on condition of anonymity.

'Significant difference'

The report offers details of how secure the border with Mexico is. It includes enough material to argue that the government has made significant strides or that it is falling short.

In terms of people, 170,000 eluded capture during the 2015 fiscal year, 210,000 the previous year, and 1.7 million in 2005. The number of people who eluded capture is larger when including those who escaped detection at border crossings or who entered by sea, which is the responsibility of Homeland Security agencies outside the Border Patrol. Adding those, 200,000 people got away last year, 260,000 in 2014, and 1.9 million in 2005.

The huge drop in illegal entries over the last decade coincides with increases in border security spending, which has reached $14 billion annually. The report notes more serious consequences imposed on illegal crossers during that period, which include jail time.

Immigration experts have also cited the significant decline in job opportunities after the Great Recession in 2007. Still, sharp declines in illegal entries have continued in recent years as the economy improved.

"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.

'Work in progress'

The department 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.

"DHS does not believe it is in the public interest to release, and it would be irresponsible to make policy or other judgments on the basis of analysis that is incomplete and remains a work in progress," spokeswoman Marsha Catron said.

The Border Patrol's capture rate on the Mexican border was 55 percent in 2014 and 36 percent in 2005, according to the report prepared for Homeland Security by the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federally funded research organization.

The report does not credit the government for people who turn around or turn themselves in to agents to seek asylum, a common occurrence among Central American women and children who have entered the country in large numbers over the last five years.

The report says there were 140,000 asylum seekers on the Mexican border last year and 170,000 in 2014, compared to about 20,000 a year a decade ago. Homeland Security's practice of counting those as captures goes a long way toward explaining why its success rate was so much higher.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

STOCKHOLM - 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 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.

Student starts research

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. 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.

'Hero' to mother

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 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."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

MOSCOW - 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.

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.

Secretary of State John 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 rebel-occupied 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."

A last-minute move

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.

Harsh interrogations

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.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

AUSTIN - A federal judge has dismissed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges against Attorney General Ken Paxton, saying he had no legal obligation to tell potential investors in a North Texas tech company he would be paid a commission for soliciting their business.

The dismissal of the SEC's civil complaint against Paxton marks a major win for the embattled attorney general who maintains he did nothing wrong while encouraging friends and colleagues to invest in the company, Servergy, while he was a state legislator. However, the general is still facing similar but criminal charges for securities fraud in state district court.

"This is a victory for Ken Paxton. Obviously, we are pleased with the court's ruling today," said Matthew Martens, an attorney representing Paxton in the SEC matter.

In a muted response, Paxton said in a statement, "I appreciate the judge's thorough review and I am gratified by his dismissal of the entire case."

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant said the SEC failed to make a strong enough case to prove Paxton made false statements or had a duty to disclose his compensation to potential investors.

"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," he said 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," read the ruling.

Mazzant, appointed by President Barack Obama, tends to reject motions to dismiss cases. He permitted the hearing in September and suggested then that SEC lawyers were trying "to fit a square peg in a round hole."

In his ruling, the federal judge "conditionally granted" the dismissal of the civil suit, but gave the SEC two weeks to restate its case, the Associated Press reported.

The SEC declined to comment.

Decision is latest win

The Commission 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 $850,000 from investors for the company.

Paxton's attorneys argued he had no obligation to volunteer that he would make a commission. They said Paxton did not make false statements, and was instead silent on the matter, which they argued did not constitute securities fraud.

The dismissal of the federal charges leaves Paxton 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.

Special prosecutors handling the criminal case said Mazzant's ruling will have no bearing on their case.

"We're confident that today's ruling will have no meaningful effect on our ability to prosecute Mr. Paxton," special prosecutor Brian Wice told the Associated Press.

Defeating the civil charges is Paxton's latest win in recent months. In August, the Texas Bar Association threw out a complaint accusing him of personal misconduct for last year telling county clerks they could deny marriage licenses to gay couples. In March, a Collin County grand jury passed on pinning charges to Paxton related to a land deal resulting in a new location for the county's appraisal district headquarters.

Burden in criminal case

The federal court ruling bodes well for Paxton's chances in state district court, hinted Bill Mateja, Paxton's lawyer on both Paxton's SEC and criminal defense teams.

"Now we turn our attention to Ken's exoneration in the state matter where the prosecutor's burden is even higher," he said.

Dismissal of the civil case does not guarantee a similar outcome in the criminal case, but the decision by the judge to throw out the SEC complaint is "a clear signal into the weaknesses" of the criminal case against Paxton, said Troy McKinney, a criminal defense lawyer at Houston-based Schneider and McKinney P.C.

"I think it's extremely hard to believe there could be a criminal offense when a civil court has already thrown out civil charges. Civil charges are much less severe, and if they can't even make that burden, it's hard to believe they could make a criminal case against him," he said.
A day after a a video of GOP nominee Donald Trump making lewd comments about a woman surfaced, the group Latinos for Trump held a small rally in Houston.

The rally, which consisted of people waving signs backing the reality star turned politician, took place Oct. 8, 2016.
It's difficult to believe that after four years of negotiations and the signing of a widely-praised peace agreement between the Colombian government and the leftist FARC rebels, the Colombian people rejected the pact in an Oct. 2 plebiscite and raised the specter of continuing a war now in its 52nd year.

Only 37 percent of Colombia's voters bothered to cast a ballot and only 50.2 percent of those voted against the treaty, so it wasn't a landslide, but it was sufficient to put one of the great diplomatic achievements of recent times in serious jeopardy.

President Juan Manuel Santos, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this week, is scrambling to rescue the pact, which was signed to great fanfare a week before Sunday's disastrous vote but now must be redone to placate opponents.

Colombia needs to end this long conflict, but failure is a real possibility. The question for Santos is how can the pact be changed in a way that's palatable to both the FARC and the Colombian public?

The gulf between them is not wide, but it is deep. Those who voted against the treaty - many of whom had personally suffered at the hands of the FARC fighters - primarily opposed its light sanctions against the rebels and the provision for temporary FARC seats in the Colombian parliament.

The latter was meant to encourage the group's transition from guerrillas to a political party, but opponents wanted vengeance, which given the tragic dimensions of the war - 220,000 people died and six million displaced - was understandable.

The rebels earned their enmity as they resorted to kidnappings, extortion and cocaine production to fund a movement that began as an uprising for social justice in 1964 but evolved into a criminal enterprise to sustain its fight.

Santos' bet was that a more lenient peace was better than continuing an endless war that hampered the development of Colombia, a country with major oil reserves and other natural resources but also much poverty.

His bet might have paid off if not for former President Alvaro Uribe, a right-winger who led the anti-treaty campaign by appealing to people's worst instincts.

Now Santos is allowing him a say in the future of the peace talks, but if they fail Uribe will deservedly get much of the blame.

The treaty is not perfect, but it is the product of long, difficult negotiations in which, with much international help, both sides gave and took and finally reached a compromise to end what had been an intractable conflict.

It requires the rebels to lay down their arms, but also commits the country to addressing the economic, political and social inequality that have plagued it for centuries.

If adopted and put into practice effectively, it could a model for much of Latin America. It could also help Colombia end another ongoing conflict with the much smaller National Liberation Army rebel group.

But all could be lost if Santos does not act quickly and well. He must assure that a ceasefire now in effect remains in place and, as the Brookings Institution pointed out, he must convince FARC leaders that some will have to face justice to satisfy public demands. Uribe has insisted they be tried as murderers and drug traffickers, but that would be a deal killer.

The United States has sent Special Envoy Bernie Aronson to the renewed talks and pledged $450 million in aid in what we hope will be a major commitment to their success.

We would urge Colombians of all stripes, including the rebels, to think wisely about the future and support the peace pact, imperfect though it may be.

The simple truth is that this treaty must survive because the years of madness in their country have to end. There is no other rational choice.
To hear America's unofficial nativist-in-chief tell it, with stentorian echoes from his Indiana running mate, we're about to experience such an onslaught of Syrian refugees that muhammara, fettoush and shanklish will soon replace burgers and fries as America's favorite foods. And you can say goodbye to "hello." The Arabic "marhaban" will be our common greeting.

Those have to be likely outcomes if Hillary Clinton has her way. Or so Donald Trump and Mike Pence would have us believe. Asked during last week's vice-presidential debate how he would deal with home-grown terrorists who have struck in San Bernardino, Orlando and elsewhere, Pence sidestepped toward a favorite Trump claim: that the Democratic presidential aspirant supports a 550 percent increase in the number of Syrian refugees allowed into this country.

To be honest, Trump is right. In a September 2015 interview with CBS News, Clinton said she believes the United States should be taking in at least 65,000 refugees from the war-ravaged nation. That figure would be a 550 percent increase from the Obama administration's original goal of resettling 10,000 this fiscal year. (The Obama administration has said more recently it intends to raise its goal to 110,000.)Those numbers are shamefully small compared to the scope of the catastrophe. In addition to some 470,000 Syrians who have lost their lives, at least 11 million people have been driven from their homes by the grinding, unspeakably cruel civil war.

Think about that number, 11 million: That's Houston emptied out nearly five times over. And of that number, we accept a hundred thousand or so. Or none, if you're Trump and Pence.

Or if you're Gov. Greg Abbott. He and our feckless attorney general, Ken Paxton, have fought to bolt the Texas door to every desperate Syrian supplicant. How do we know they're not terrorists, they bleat.

Here's how we know: Refugees go through the most stringent clearance of any immigrant entering the U.S. They're subjected to extensive Department of Homeland Security background checks, biometric screenings, multiple in-person interviews and an investigation by the National Counterterrorism Center and the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center. For some refugees, the process can take more than two years.

This time, the courts have pushed back. A federal appeals court ruled last week that Pence has no authority to block Syrian refugee resettlement, noting that it amounted to illegal discrimination. That decision may be why Paxton's office moved on Friday to dismiss its appeal with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that also sought to block Syrian refugee resettlement.

Abbott has announced that Texas will pull out of the federal refugee resettlement program. Fortunately, the state's withdrawal does not affect the number of refugees settled in Texas or the services provided to them. The only change is that federal agencies will lead the efforts directly.

We choose to believe that the governor's lack of empathy and his cynical willingness to spread fear and misinformation are is not a true reflection of this great state. It certainly doesn't reflect Houston, home to the largest number of Syrian refugees in Texas. This city, to borrow the words of a former American president, remains a magnet, a beacon, "for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home."

The stirring words are Ronald Reagan's. Whether we claim ties to the Mayflower or arrived yesterday from a Jordanian refugee camp, the grand vision binds us all.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

(Thumbs down) Gerald Ford denied that Soviets were in Eastern Europe. Lloyd Bentsen let everyone know that Dan Quayle was no Jack Kennedy. But Mike Pence must have had his advisers choking on their Trump Tower taco bowls during the vice presidential debate Tuesday night when he said Tim Kaine had "whipped out that Mexican thing again."

Kaine's so-called "Mexican thing" was Trump's past comments about Mexicans being rapists and criminals.

But Twitter had different ideas about what that "Mexican thing" actually is:

"#ThatMexicanThing is my abuelita who moved to San Antonio without speaking English & slept in a barn while picking lettuce every summer."

"#thatmexicanthing just got off working a night shift keeping a library open so the next generation of students can succeed #VPDebate"

"#ThatMexicanThing when your immigrant parents who are struggling small business owners have paid more in taxes than #Trump. #VPDebate"

Here at thumbs, we have our own list of Mexican things from the past week:

(Thumbs up) If you saw people lining up at 4:30 a.m. at the Galleria, no, it wasn't for a new iPhone. Houstonians wanted to get their hands on a limited MAC makeup line inspired by Selena. They called her Tejano Madonna and then-Gov. George W. Bush declared her birthday a state holiday, but the Queen of Tejano can still bring out the crowds 20 years later. Now just imagine if Houston could get people to line up like that to vote. Just a reminder: The last day to register to vote is Tuesday, Oct. 11. Learn more at HarrisVotes.com

(Thumbs down) Early voting begins Oct. 24, but concerns about the next president are already giving stock markets a tequila-style headache. Jose Cuervo, the world's biggest tequila producer and famous Mexican thing, delayed its planned initial public offering until after the U.S. presidential election. The reason? Uncertainty about U.S.-Mexico trade relations. That's the shot, but here's the chaser: If Jose Cuervo is worried about trade barriers, does that mean we should start hoarding Topo Chico?

(Thumbs up) In better border news, Univison and Fusion have announced that they're throwing a binational musical celebration along the U.S.-Mexico border on Saturday, Oct. 15. The concert, titled Rise Up As One, will be held at Cross Border Xpress near San Diego. Artists from Spain, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico and, yes, the United States will be performing. Next stop, Brownsville?

(Thumbs down) And speaking of walls, conservative columnist and Donald J. Trump defender Monica Crowley had her own Twitter moment this week when she posted a picture of herself in front of the Berlin Wall with the caption: "Walls work."

It must be part of that Make America East Germany Again campaign that thumbs has heard so much about. Who can forget President Ronald Reagan's famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate? "Mr. Gorbachev, actually walls are good!"
In this year's controversy over Texas' voter ID laws are met two of the state's 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 Citizen's 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 County's White Man's 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 state Legislature in 1923 when it passed a law prohibiting blacks 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 Johnson's 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 - Johnson's 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's new voter ID law the attorney general's 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. That's one out of more than 86 million votes cast during those years. The report didn't give details, so Starecheski tried to reach the fraudulent voter. He didn't 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 shouldn't 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.

Casey is a former Houston Chronicle Metro columnist. This column originally appeared as Rick Casey's Last Word on KLRN-TV's "Texas Week with Rick Casey."
Houston residents will join Saturday at the annual Mayors Prayer Breakfast in downtown Houston.

The event, which is coordinated by the City of Houston and Houston Ministerial Alliance, begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Houston Storm Shelter, 191 N. First St.

Breakfast will be served by Texas County Memorial Hospital, Walmart and the Houston Community Betterment YOUTH. Speakers are local ministers.
Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print.

Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.

If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.
As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content.

When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to.

After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS!

OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK

The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those.
Every organization is designed to get the results it gets. Poor performance comes from a poor design. Superior results emerge when strategies, business models, structure, processes, technologies, tools, and reward systems align in symphonic unison. Savvy leaders shape the culture to drive innovation. Knowing that culture values, norms, unconscious messages, and subtle behaviors of leaders and employees often limits performance, they design interplay between company strategies and the ways people actually relate to one another and to the organization. Heres how to influence the soft stuff. 1. Be intentional with your innovation intent. Most visions and missions sound alike: Become the #1 provider of blah, blah, blah. Such generic, broad-based goals do little to spark ingenuity. Perhaps the worst thing you can do is give innovation marching orders without any guideposts. Thats when the focus gets lost and teams spin their wheels. The goal: Frame the way you want to change the world, and make it about the customer. For example, Intuit developer of Quicken, Quick Books, and TurboTaxmakes its mission clear: To improve our customers financial lives so profoundly they cant imagine going back to the old way. 2. Create a structure for unstructured time. Innovation needs time to develop. People get so consumed with putting out fires and chasing short-term targets that they cant think abo...
For 30 years, summer for me has meant conventions and conferences on every aspect of talent and leadership development. This year, I traveled to Dallas for ASTD and to Chicago for SHRM. It seems all keynote speakers addressed the question: Do leaders stifle or cultivate talent? Heres a sampler:  Hillary Clinton/SHRM. She focused on lessons from her travels as Secretary of State: 1) Good decisions are based on evidence, not ideology: If you dont make evidence based decisions, you can so easily get off on the wrong track. When you present with hard numbers, statistics and other compelling evidence, the discussions tend to go in your favor. 2) Leadership is a team sportwhen people share amission, its easy to work together and produce great results, regardless of differences. 3) You cant win if you dont show up: By showing up, being present, being available and being face to face with those who rely on you for leadership, you can accomplish more than a barrage of emails or phone calls ever could. 4) Follow the trends, not the headlines: leaders need to recognize the long-term challenges and the wide-ranging implications of their actions.  Blake Mycoskie/SHRM. The founder of TOMS shoes, talked about how he accidentally became an entrepreneur and a philanthropist wh...
Women: tweet me your first assaults. they aren't just stats. I'll go first:

Old man on city bus grabs my "pussy" and smiles at me, I'm 12.

 kelly oxford (@kellyoxford) October 7, 2016
FILE - In this May 28, 2013, file photo, an outdoors sign for Walmart is seen in Duarte, Calif. After enduring a severe winter that chilled business, Wal-Mart is trying to lure shoppers into its stores with the biggest weapon in its arsenal: a big sale. The worldas largest retailer is offering up to 50 percent on more than 60 outdoor items such as lawn mowers and bags of mulch, starting Friday, March 21, 2014, and ending the following Saturday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

By Al Norman

Sprawl-Busters across America are celebrating this week.

Wal-Mart announced at its October 6th Investor's meeting that it "plans to slow new-store openings," shifting its capital investments towards e-commerce technology. In its superstore segment, Wal-Mart will drop from 69 new big box stores in FY 16, to 60 in FY 17, and only 35 by FY 18.

In his comments, Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon flatly stated: "We are a company that must become more of an e-commerce and technology company. There's no doubt that e-commerce is going to become a much more important part of our business."

Advertisement

Without once mentioning his desperate fixation on catching rival Amazon, McMillon promised customers a "fast and easy" shopping experience "when, where and how they want."

Wal-Mart's super-saturation of the retail landscape with big box stores, sometimes as close as two miles apart, is well into its Ice Age. The huge Dinostores, once seen as the dominant species of retailing, are now viewed as ill-adapted to the climate change overtaking the marketplace, most notably the global warm-up of online shopping. Wal-Mart became over-reliant on these vast retail caverns, hard to navigate and time-consuming to shop. Now they are trying to catch up to the Amazon model of fulfillment warehouses strategically placed around the globe.

Wal-Mart's Retail Ice Age is a result of its own misreading of the market. As I wrote in this space nine months ago: "Wal-Mart headquarters announced January 15th that the company will close a total of 269 stores world-wide, of which 154 are locations in the U.S. This store implosion represents the end of the line for Wal-Mart's smallest format, the so-called Wal-Mart Express. But it also reveals the giant retailer's over-saturation of American markets."

Last January, McMillon, tried to put a shine on these closures by reminding the media that "we'll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it." Translation: Wal-Mart will only be opening 50 to 60 Supercenters in America this coming year---which pales to its halcyon sprawl years in the 1980s when it cut-ribbons at a 250 to 350 store clip per year. Even as late as 2007, Wal-Mart's Annual Report said the retailer's "planned expenditures will include the construction of...265 to 270 new supercenters."

Advertisement

No doubt Wall Street will reward Wal-Mart for finally showing some "discipline" in its bricks and mortar store growth--but in its own Q&A format interview with McMillon, the company disclosed a very telling metric:

"More than 95% of the stores closing in the U.S. are within 10 miles on average of another Walmart."

In other words, Wal-Mart reached the point of store saturation years ago, and is only acting on that now. No retail trade area needs a Wal-Mart every ten miles. The stores that were chalked for closure last January were, frankly, redundant.

Wal-Mart has been cannibalizing its own stores for years by over-saturating market penetration. In 2007, John Menzer, Wal-Mart's Chief Administrative Officer, told shareholders: "We also have been focused this year on reducing cannibalization of existing stores via our more strategic selection of U.S. real estate projects... As we continue to add new stores in the United States, we do so with an understanding that additional stores may take sales away from existing units." That was nearly 9 years ago.

What does this mean for local communities? The prospect of only 35 new superstore by 2018 lifts a great burden off the backs of local communities that have been fighting Goliath with slingshot coalitions since the early 1990s. I have catalogued a list of 450 communities that have blocked superstore sprawl at least once.

Advertisement

Slashing new store production by 50% means that roughly 900 acres of land will be spared a blanket of asphalt and concrete, the environmental damages from huge developments will be reduced, and hundreds of local businesses will remain open for business. As McMillon admitted, shifting the business model away from superstores means "running our business with more sustainable practices."

The Dinostores are dying. Wal-Mart knows it. Shoppers know it. Perhaps by FY 19 Wal-Mart will be announcing no new superstore units at all, and the widespread closure of its outdated concrete mausoleums.

That will be a glorious day, indeed.
The business model that generates huge profits for the drug industry depends on planned obsolescence. The big bucks are earned when a drug is still on patent, free of competition, and can be outrageously priced.

Pharma has developed all sorts of devious tricks to extend the duration of its patent monopoly on older drugs and also works hard to develop new "me too" drugs that provide no advantage to patients, but protect its monopoly pricing power.

Pharma research has failed to produce much real progress in fighting disease, largely because curing disease is not its mission. Instead, most Pharma research is tied to marketing and lobbying- with the primary goal of generating profit, not helping patients.

Advertisement

New drugs are launched with an astoundingly large marketing budget to convince doctors and patients that they are better than the old drugs. Their obscene profitability gives the drug company the motive and the means to aggressively and misleadingly peddle them as a major breakthrough, when in fact there is nothing special about them and sometimes they are downright harmful. Old, off-patent (now inexpensive) pills no longer have any marketing muscle.

The result- new pills that are no better, sometimes worse, and always outrageously expensive drive the old stand-by pills off the market. Greed triumphs over science, sound economics, and patient welfare.

Dick Bijl is a world's expert in exposing this kind of Pharma chicanery. He is President of the International Society of Drug Bulletins (ISDB). ISDB is a world wide network of bulletins and journals on drugs and therapeutics that are financially and intellectually independent of pharmaceutical industry. It was founded in 1986, with the support of the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

Dick is also chief editor of the Dutch member of ISDB, the Geneesmiddelenbulletin. The objective of the Geneesmiddelenbulletin Foundation is to promote rational pharmacotherapy, which may be regarded as the practical application of the principles of 'evidence-based medicine'. Rational pharmacotherapy can be defined as prescribing the right medication to individual patients or populations, at the time when it is needed, using a dosage scheme that corresponds to the most suitable profile in terms of efficacy, side-effects and costs. The Geneesmiddelenbulletin tries to achieve this aim by providing independent and objective information about drugs to all those involved in prescribing and providing them. The website is accessible without charge.

Advertisement

Dick uses the history of birth control pills as a specific illustration of the how the profit motive drives the development of bad new drugs, but the same sad story could also be told about most classes of drugs.

He writes: "The introduction of the first combined oral contraceptive pill in the 1950's was a milestone in the management of birth control and also in the development of drugs.

This was a great example of basic research translating quickly and directly into clinical practice. Knowledge of the mode of action and pharmacology of the estrogen and progestogen hormones in the physiology of reproduction led to the development of a practical form of contraception. Most of this work was done in the USA with private funding from Margaret Sanger and Katharine McCormick.

Combined oral contraceptive (COC) pills work predominantly by inhibiting hormones in the brain to prevent ovulation in the ovary.

Initially, the estrogen component contained 150 mcg ethinylestradiol, but when it was shown that lesser amounts did not reduce contraceptive activity, the dose was lowered progressively to 100, 50, 35, 30, and even to 20 mcg.

Advertisement

The progestogen component of the pill has been changed much more in the evolution of COC pills. The first generation progestogens were lynestrenol, and norethisterone. The 2nd generation progestogens were levonorgestrel or norgestrel. The 3rd generation contained desogestrel, gestodene or norgestimate. 4th generation COC pills contained nomegestrel and drospirenone.

A simple observation published by an English general practitioner in the Lancet in 1961 cautioned that COC pill use is associated with venous thrombosis- which can lead to the potentially fatal pulmonary embolism. Although its prevalence is low, venous thromboembolism is the most serious adverse effect of contraceptive use.

You might think the newer pills would be safer than the older ones. You would be wrong. Independent researchers have repeatedly published studies showing that the newer 3rd and 4th generation contraceptive pills have an estimated risk of venous thromboembolism that is almost two times higher than that of standard second generation pills. These studies also showed that the risk of thrombosis increases with the estrogen doses.

Doctors who prescribe these newer contraceptive pills should inform their patients of this increased risk, especially since it is not counterbalanced by increased efficacy.

The drug industry has rejected these studies and has produced its own studies showing that the risk of the newer pills is comparable to the standard pills. Their claims are shallow. In recent years, regulatory authorities have admitted that COC pills other than the 2nd generation are associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism.

Advertisement

The conclusion is that all COC pills increase the risk of venous thromboembolism. The newer pills are more dangerous, but no more effective."

Thanks, Dick. You are fighting an admirable, one sided struggle to replace Pharma greed with rationality and devotion to patient welfare. The world would be a safer place, and patients would be much better off, if doctors spent more time reading your bulletins and newsletters and less time accepting the falsely seductive blandishments of drug salesmen.
Image: Russian President Vladimir Putin denies interfering in the U.S. presidential election in support of Republican candidate Donald Trump. Pixabay.com

I love it when Russia gets caught with its pants down.

Vladimir Putin has denied for months that Russia has been interfering in the U.S. presidential election to try to get Donald Trump elected.

"We have never interfered, are not interfering and do not intend to interfere in (other countries') domestic politics," he said when asked in early September whether the Russian government was behind computer hacks that have targeted Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Advertisement

Putin also denied that the Kremlin was behind the hacking.

Most people who have not had a lobotomy have no doubts that the Kremlin has been attempting to swing the election to Trump, however.

The evidence is clear, ranging from the fact that none of the political material that hactivists have released was about Trump to the fact that the Russians' buddy, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, chirped that he would deliver an "October surprise" that would knock Clinton out of the presidential race. (That hasn't occurred, an indication that Assange has embraced the Russians' propensity to lie.)

Despite mounting evidence of a concerted Russian campaign to throw the election to Trump, the Kremlin continues to deny involvement.

But a just-released Associated Press story is likely to convince even those who have had lobotomies that Russia is trying to help Trump win.

Advertisement

The story is about Russia's United Nations ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, complaining bitterly about a ranking U.N. official's criticism of Trump.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, railed against demagogues in speeches in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 15 and in the Hague, Netherlands, on September 5. And you didn't have to be a political genius to know he was talking Trump.

Zeid said in Cleveland that a "front-running candidate to be president of this country" was engaged in "a full-frontal attack -- disguised as courageous taboo-busting -- on some fundamental, hard-won tenets of decency and social cohesion."

That speech irked the Russians, but Zeid's speech in the Hague infuriated them so much that they lodged a complaint about him with the United Nations.

In the second speech, Zeid lumped Trump in with several European politicians whom he blasted as being demagogues.

Advertisement

To make sure there was no mistaking which leaders he meant, he named them.

They included Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders; Nigel Farage, the head of Britain's pro-Brexit Independence Party, who appeared with Trump at a rally in London in August; Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico; Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban; Czech President Milos Zeman; French nationalist leader Marine Le Pen; and Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer.

Trump and several of the European leaders whom Zeid mentioned have taken anti-Muslim, anti-migrant and pro-Russian stances.

The United States and a number of European nations have accused Moscow of financing or lending non-financial support to the movements of the European politicians whom Zeid ripped. Russia's objective is to sow discord to weaken the European Union and NATO, according to those making this assertion.

Churkin's complaint against Zeid came in a closed-door meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on September 13, only eight days after Zeid's speech in the Hague, according to the Associated Press. It attributed its story to unnamed diplomats familiar with the discussion.

One of Churkin's comments at the meeting was telling because it revealed what had most upset him -- and by extension, the rest of Russia's leadership -- about the Zeid speeches: Churkin made a point of specifically condemning Zeid's references to Trump.

Advertisement

As the AP story noted, it is unusual for a U.N. ambassador to make a formal complaint about a U.N. official. Et was even more astounding that a ranking Russian official would lodge a complaint on behalf of a political candidate in the United States, a country it see as its sworn enemy.

Russia refused to comment for the AP story, saying it doesn't discuss diplomatic conversations.

You can be sure the Kremlin is as angry about the story of Churkin's complaint as it was with Zeid's speech, however.

Why?

Because the story shows how desperately Russia wants Trump to win the election.

If it were truly the disinterested observer it claims to be, the ambassador would never have complained so bitterly to Ban about Zeid.

The Kremlin knows Hillary Clinton will oppose Russian adventurism in the countries in its neighborhood, in Syria and elsewhere. It knows Trump will let it run amok.

Those in the former Soviet Union who long for democracy -- such as in my country, Armenia, which has been a Russia puppet as long as we can remember -- would like to see a Clinton victory, of course.

Advertisement

But a Trump win would let Russia accelerate its efforts to rebuild its empire.

So there's a lot at stake for the Kremlin in the American election. Enough to cause Russia's ambassador to the United Nations to choke on his borscht over the Zeid speeches.
When Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump address security challenges to America and its allies in the next four years, Vladimir Putin's Russia will loom large. This is no longer post-communist Russia attempting the transition to a market-based democracy and looking up to the West. That transformation was an epic failure. In Putin's words, "Russia is rising from its knees." And therein lies the threat.

Over the years, I have met Putin ten times. The next American president will meet the steely-eyed anti-status quo leader of a nuclear power with a long list of complaints, most recently articulated in a draft law Putin sent to the newly elected Duma this past week.

The legislation ostensibly dealing with suspension of weapons grade plutonium disposal is a Putin ultimatum, including demands that Russia be compensated for damages caused by the Western sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine, as well as Russian counter-sanctions. It also stipulates a reduction of American troops in Europe.

Advertisement

The law also calls for the end of sanctions imposed on Russia under the 2012 Magnitsky Act, named after a Russian whistle blower attorney who was murdered in detention.

Putin also suspended the Conventional Forces in Europe Agreement, banned the adoption of orphans from Russia by Americans, and many others.

All diplomatic frameworks, including those dating back to the Soviet era, such as the Helsinki Accords of 1975, which guaranteed the inviolability of borders in Europe, are under revision by the Kremlin.

The reason Putin is on the prowl is because he believes that the Europeans are weakened by the tsunami of refugees and Brexit; that populists and the extreme right are on the rise, that the U.S. is navel-gazing during the election season.

Advertisement

Based on my conversations with many Russian foreign policy experts, Putin is striving to carve out a new 19th century style sphere of influence, sanctified by new Yalta Accords. Such an agreement, he thinks, would allocate Russia hegemony in the post-Soviet space, including Ukraine; recognize the annexation of the Crimea; and give Russia equal influence and voice in Europe and the Middle East. Despite a $1,3 trillion economy the size of Spain, Russia is striving to be America's equal.

Internally, Putin is also "reformatting" the Russian political and ideological spheres. He appears to have thrown in his lot with the "party of war", which includes Russia's top siloviki, (men of power) the military industrial complex, elements of the Orthodox Church, and the military. Among these are Putin's Politburo 2.0 members such as as Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev; FSB boss Alexander Bortnikov; Rosneft chief Igor Sechin, and other "patriots."

While the Russian Constitution forbids a state ideology, Putin has called patriotism the new national ideology.

Now those who re-post "undesirable" Facebook posts, spend time catching Pokemon in a church or express heterodox opinions are subject to prosecution under Article 282 of the criminal code and can be put away for years.

What the "party of war" wants is more money for the military industrial complex and the tightening of political screws at home. Back to USSR - the future is the past! North Korea and Iran are becoming a model; and the regime will be secure for at least a couple of decades, they hope.

Advertisement

In this struggle, all instruments are valuable, including incessant propaganda on TV that the U.S. is pursuing the dismemberment of Russia; that the hidden world government which is in the hands of the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds controls the US and is out to get Russia.

The examples of America's ill will include "US-inspired" regime changes in Serbia, Georgia and Ukraine, and support of the Arab Spring. Events and countries are melded together to create a nation-wide alternative reality, that justifies a jingoistic rhetoric and a militarist budget.

The next U.S. President should look at what is coming at us unflinchingly. Russia will challenge the U.S. and the West from the Bering Straights to Bermuda, and from Afghanistan to Aleppo. The refocusing of US intelligence on Russia is a good place to start.

Appointing a capable national security leadership team, which includes Russia experts in the next Administration, including the NSC, the Pentagon, and State, would be a logical next step.

Learning from the Cold War, we should not forget the war of ideas, political warfare, including the media, and enhancing area expertise and the language skills among the foreign and defense policy practitioners and intelligence professionals. These have been allowed to go to seed for the last 25 years, as America declared victory and went home.

Advertisement

Finally, boosting alliances, and first and foremost, with NATO, Japan and Korea, and reaching out to our post-Soviet friends, from Ukraine, to Georgia, to Kazakhstan, are a must of the new Cold War v2.0 strategy. And the candidates should rest assured. This new Cold War is already here.
My twin boys, third grade students in the Boston Public School system, have begun learning one of the foundational tenets of American liberty: the right and responsibility of citizens to vote for their leaders. Benjamin Franklin. Nelson Mandela. Susan B. Anthony. Mahatma Gandhi. Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Rosa Parks. Vaclav Havel. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legions upon legions of others who have fought and sacrificed with their lives for the right to determine who governs their towns, states, and countries.

So it is with great disappointment that Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker persists in his declaration of abstinence from voting in the upcoming presidential election. As a public servant, as someone voted by the people, to lead, our families need strong role models. Leadership in democratic, open societies- as Governor Baker has demonstrated throughout his career--is about making the best decisions amidst a suite of imperfect options and difficult choices. To walk away from voting in this vital election does not represent the Governor Baker whom Massachusetts elected and whom Massachusetts families have come to respect and appreciate.

The right and responsibility of the voter is a constitutional principle central to America's long experiment in liberty. Low voter participation remains a core threat to the functioning of our democracy. Indeed, the moderate, pragmatic ideals that Governor Baker champions are only politically viable with larger civic participation. Small interest groups and factions that might threaten our unity are strong only in so far as the majority abstain from voting. We need our elected leaders to set the example.

Advertisement

The 2016 Presidential election, whatever the outcome, will be historic. We will either have America's first woman president or the most authoritarian one in our history. History will judge our leaders severely who back, through outright support or through abstaining, Trump's demagoguery. For philosophical conservatives, Hillary Clinton is the more conservative candidate than Donald Trump, who calls for vast, unfunded, deficit-creating expansion in government in the form of militarism, deportation, know-nothing protectionism, and border wall building and who looks to Statist leaders like Vladimir Putin for inspiration. He makes breath-takingly racist and misogynist statements routinely. While I personally think the most courageous stance would be to vote for Secretary Clinton, there are two moderate Republicans in the race on the Libertarian ticket for whom to vote, should Governor Baker feel compelled. A protest non-vote is not a responsible option for our elected leaders; sitting idly on the sidelines at this moment in history is unacceptable.

Governor Baker's denunciation of Donald Trump's bigoted and dangerous statements is welcome, but he needs to go farther. He needs to tell the people of Massachusetts that he will vote in this presidential election and that they should as well. Governor Baker's vote will help set the direction of the Republican party. Regardless of one's political party, our country needs an inclusive, moderate, pragmatic Republican party. Governor Baker could be a standard-bearer in the post-Trump era. Voting for Hillary Clinton would show a willingness to work with Democrats and to pragmatically support, across party lines and philosophical differences, a remarkably qualified candidate. Alternatively, a vote for the Libertarian ticket would suggest his interest in leading a more truly philosophically conservative Republican party of effective yet limited government, rather than the reactionary conservativism that currently plagues it. That, in my opinion, misses the reality of our two-party political system and the dangers of Trump, but it would be more responsible than abstaining.

Advertisement
Some Evangelicals I know are among the best people I know. And yet, Evangelicalism, the religion, demands critique. So let's review:

Evangelicalism is 'non-denominational' Christianity, which is actually just another denomination among a long list of thousands of Christian denominations. There is no escaping denominationalism since a denomination is just a 'kind' of Christianity, a type, a version. Evangelicalism claims 'non-denominational' status to declare itself the original and true version of Christianity. But all denominations claim the first decades of Christianity in their lineage, and all denominations claim they are uniquely true.

Evangelicalism idolizes the bible, elevating it to the fourth person of the Trinity, forgetting that believers existed before and while the bible was written. In other words, believers existed without a bible to read or hear for very long periods of time. How on earth did ancients get along without a bible? How did they worship, pray, extend kindness to strangers--without a bible?

Advertisement

Evangelicalism preaches Jesus but not the teachings of Jesus. Evangelicalism will tell you Jesus is God. But Evangelicalism will not tell you Jesus taught the following: 'When you give a party, invite the poor, the lame, the cripple, the blind--for they can't repay you' (Luke 14:13) or 'If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?' (Luke 6:34) or 'Anyone who calls a brother an idiot will answer for it in hell fire.' (Matthew 5:22).

Evangelicalism would howl with laughter that a Pope could be 'infallible' in doctrine (as Catholicism teaches), but how many of Evangelicalism's preachers ascend pulpits thinking they could descend into theological error? How many of Evangelicalism's preachers ever began a sermon with the words, 'I could be wrong'?

In politics, Evangelicalism's tail wags the dog: politics determines Evangelicalism's interpretation of theology, not vice versa. Jesus, a penniless wandering preacher, is pressed into conservative politics, even though Jesus taught the following: 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God' (Matthew 19: 24) and 'No one can serve two masters because you will hate the one and love the other or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other: so you cannot serve both God and money' (Matthew 6: 24) and (it bears repeating) 'If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?' (Luke 6:34) and 'Blessed are you who are poor' (Luke 6:20). These words of Jesus are filtered through right-wing moneymaking ideology and bent to mean the very opposite of what they say.

Advertisement

In 2016 Evangelicalism went so far as to perform an act of casuistry that permitted it to embrace a presidential candidate who was the very model of Christ's opposite--only because the candidate espoused conservative politics.

I hurry to repeat what I said at the beginning: Some Evangelicals I know are among the best people I know. They never degrade immigrants, never demean women, never grope good-looking strangers, never mock the disabled, never humiliate the overweight, never embarrass the ugly, never vilify a rival political party. They are, in fact, better than Evangelicalism. Better than their religion.
I was both understanding of and puzzled by the Obama Administration's reaction to Israel's announcement of new settlement construction in occupied Palestinian lands.



It was just a few weeks ago that the White House signed a new 10 year agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committing a total of $38 billion in military assistance to Israel. In announcing the deal, President Obama noted that this is the most significant support package ever offered to Israel, demonstrating his unparalleled commitment to that state's security. Shortly thereafter, Obama, speaking before the United Nations General Assembly, cautioned Israel that it "cannot permanently occupy and settle Palestinian land.".



And so it was like a slap in the face when, when Netanyahu announced that he was building new settlement units in colonies deep in the West Bank, along with ongoing plans to expand settlements in other sensitive areas of the occupied lands--in Arab areas of Jerusalem, in the heart of Hebron, and around Bethlehem. All of these are clear provocations and when seen in combination make clear Israel's intention to maintain its control over the West Bank, making impossible the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. Adding insult to injury was the fact that Netanyahu's the announcement came just two days before Obama was to travel to Israel to speak at the memorial service for Shimon Peres.



And so, I was not surprised when the reactions from the White House and the State Department were quite harsh. The White House spokesperson noted that every US Administration, since 1967, has opposed settlements in the occupied lands and reaffirmed their view that expanding settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem only served to further frustrate a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



The White House went further by accusing Netanyahu of violating his commitment to the US that he would refrain from any further settlement expansion noting, caustically that "l guess, when we're talking about how good friends treat one another, that's a concern, as well".



For its part, the State Department spokesperson "strongly condemned [the Israeli] plan that would create a significant new settlement deep in the West Bank". He referred to the expansion as being yet "another step toward cementing a one-state reality of perpetual occupation" and added that "Such moves will only draw condemnation from the international community...and further call into question Israel's commitment to achieving a negotiated peace". He went further, adding that the Administration was "deeply troubled" that Israel took this action so soon after the signing of the new massive military aid agreement.



While fully understanding that the Administration is upset, I admit to also being puzzled. Netanyahu has been playing them for almost eight years, repeatedly sticking his finger in their eye and getting away with it. In fact, it is a running joke, that Netanyahu, either before or after high level US visits, will defiantly announce new settlement plans, boasting that he knows how to control America.



On three occasions, Netanyahu used invitations to address the US Congress in an effort to stymie the goals of the President--succeeding twice. In the one instance where he lost (on the Iran deal), he ended up being rewarded with the $38 billion arms agreement.



And so after almost eight years of frustrating the Administration's efforts at peace-making, of continued settlement expansion, of systematic violations of Palestinian rights, and of repeated episodes of near unrestrained gross violence, why should anyone have been surprised that Netanyahu would pocket the $38 billion and once again flaunt his commitments to the President? He acts with impunity, precisely because there has been no accountability for his behavior. The White House and State Department may cry foul, issuing strong statements. But Netanyahu knows that it will end there--with no price to be paid for bad behavior.



As long as the US allows this pattern to continue, the spoiled child will take advantage of the situation--taunting, acting out, and getting his way.



This Administration, like those before it, will argue that their hands are tied--

that Congress will undercut them or overrule them. But in the last three months of this Administration, President Obama has an opportunity to set things right. He can, for example, restate the 1970's State Department finding (which has never been overturned) that all settlement activity is illegal. He can allow the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution declaring the illegality of settlements and imposing international sanctions against Israel for its violations of international law. And he can refuse to block an Arab effort to refer the issue to the International Criminal Court.



Israel will throw a tantrum (as spoiled children are wont to do). And Israel's lobby will, no doubt, spring into action demanding that Congress repudiate the Administration's effort. But the matter will be out of their hands and in the court of international community. A strong signal will be sent to Israel, that they cannot continue their oppression of Palestinians and their creeping annexation of the occupied territories. And it will empower and embolden Israeli and Palestinian peace forces.



Finally, such a demonstration of decisiveness will help to salvage President Obama's legacy in the Middle East. It will provide him with the opportunity to be remembered as the President who provided unprecedented security assistance for Israel, while at the same time putting his foot down and making that state's rogue leadership face the international consequences for their self-destructive behavior.
The Orphan Barrel whiskey lineup Photo courtesy Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company.

The Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company was organized in 2013, by Diageo, the world's largest spirits company, as a vehicle for commercializing a large stock of ultra-aged American whiskeys that it had maturing at the Stitzel-Weller distillery in Shively Kentucky. Although the company is relatively young, its whiskeys have deep roots in the storied and convoluted history of American whiskey.

In announcing the new company, Diageo described it as "an endeavor to rescue long forgotten barrels of rare and delicious whiskey and share them with others ... we like to think the project is founded in dark, quiet corners of rick houses around the world where artisanal whiskeys were forgotten, just waiting to be discovered." So far Orphan Barrel has only released American sourced whiskeys. According to Ewan Morgan, National Director, Diageo Masters of Whisky, it's possible that at some later date whiskies from Scotland and Ireland might also be offered.

The company is headquartered in Tullahoma, Tennessee, where Diageo owned, Tennessee whiskey producer George Dickel, is also headquartered. The whiskey is hand bottled at the Dickel bottling plant in the same town.

Advertisement

The project proved immediately controversial. Critics chastised the company for a lack of transparency about the origin of the whiskeys it was bottling and for overhyped marketing - in particular for playing up the connection to the Stitzel-Weller distillery. Noted American whiskey historian Chuck Cowdery even accused Diageo's management of "disrespecting American whiskey."

While the whiskeys had been maturing at Stitzel-Weller, none of the whiskeys released to date were actually distilled there. This iconic distillery has a unique role in the history of bourbon for, among other reasons, its close association with Julian Van Winkle and the bourbon that bears his name. Moreover, its critics pointed out, Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company doesn't actually own a distillery or distill anything.

The Stitzel-Weller distillery complex Photo courtesy Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company.

Since then, Diageo, to its credit, has been much more transparent about the origins of the whiskeys it has maturing at Stitzel-Weller, releasing information with each bottling on where the whiskey was actually distilled, details of its mash bill, and background about its aging regime - although it has still been reticent about disclosing the scope and size of Orphan Barrel's whiskey stock.

Moreover, its critics notwithstanding, Orphan Barrel was hardly the first American whiskey offered by a company that did not actually distill it. At its pre-Prohibition peak, in the late 19th century, the bourbon industry boasted thousands of brands of whiskey, many of which were offered by companies that had not actually distilled them.

Advertisement

This practice never stopped. In 1957, for example, during an acute shortage of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey, whiskey entrepreneur Frank Silverman created the Ezra Brooks whiskey brand ostensibly made by the Ezra Brooks Distilling Company, but in reality sourced from the Hoffmann Distilling Company in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

Even now, Kentucky's ten licensed distilleries sell bourbon under some 300 different labels - not all of which are owned by the company actually doing the distillation. Other famous bourbon brands from nonexistent distillers include, among others, A.H. Hirsch, Old St. Nick, Michter's, Jefferson Reserve, Redemption and Black Maple Hill.

The revered Pappy Van Winkle states on its labels, "bottled at the Old Rip Van Winkle distillery." There is no such place, however. The highly coveted bourbon is actually distilled and bottled at Buffalo Trace, although there is some question as to when the original Stitzel-Weller stocks were depleted, or if there are still any left, and the new production from Buffalo Trace kicked in.



Barrels of whiskey aging at the Stitzel-Weller warehouse Photo courtesy Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company.

Moreover, being a distiller is no guarantee that the company actually produced the whiskey it sells. Kentucky Bourbon Distilleries, the owners of such well-known brands as Willet, Johnny Drum and Noah's Mill, among others, is a distillery but sources all of its whiskey from other producers until its own stocks are ready.

Advertisement

Rebel Yell, one of the original wheated bourbons from Stitzel-Weller, eventually ended up being owned by Luxco, but the whiskey is still produced by Heaven Hill at the former Bernheim distillery. Likewise, when Brown Foreman put Woodford Reserve back into operation it initially used stocks, described as "honey barrels" of Old Forrester, until Woodford Reserve's own stocks became available.

Rye whiskey is another particular case in point. Rye, which is a particularly difficult grain for distillers to work with because of its tendency to stick to the still walls and burn, is often produced on a contract basis. Half of the rye brands in the United States are produced at the MGP distillery, the former Seagram plant in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. It is only slight differences in aging and proof that differentiates them.

For diehard American whiskey enthusiasts, there is now a comprehensive database of distilleries and their brands that existed between colonial times and Prohibition. It is based on Treasury Department records, and lists around 3,000 historic distilleries in the United States. Kentucky and North Carolina, the historic epicenter of American whiskey, accounted for about 1,700 of them.

Moreover, while the whiskeys bottled by Orphan Whiskey were not distilled by the company, all of the whiskey released so far came from stocks produced at distilleries either originally owned or closely associated with predecessor companies to Diageo. All but two of the first nine whiskeys released came from the Bernheim distillery. The exceptions, the Lost Prophet bottling, came from the George T. Stagg distillery and Whoop & Holler from George Dickel.

Until 1983, both the Bernheim and Stagg distilleries were owned by Schenley Industries, then one of the larger spirits companies, along with Seagram, Hiram Walker, Brown-Forman and National Distillers, in North America. In 1983, according to Chuck Cowdery, Schenley sold the Stagg distillery to a newly organized company called Age International. In turn, a Japanese company named Takara Shuzo acquired Age International in 1992. That same year they sold the company to Sazerac. In 1999, Sazerac renamed the company Buffalo Trace, the name under which it is known today.

Advertisement

Guinness purchased Schenley in 1987. It also acquired Stitzel-Weller and Glenmore (which included Medley and Fleischmann), which it combined into the American division of United Distillers (UD) in 1991. At its peak, UD owned seven different American distilleries and was well on its way to becoming a dominant player in American whiskey. In 1992, it shut down Stitzel-Weller and Glenmore, and all of their production was transferred to the new Bernheim distillery. All of the bottling was transferred to Glenmore's bottling facility. In 1997, Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan to form Diageo.

The historic Bernheim Distillery Photo courtesy Bourbon Archive

From 1992 through 1999, Bernheim used three separate mash bills for its whiskies. These were the original Stitzel-Weller formula of 75 percent corn, 20 percent wheat and five percent malted barley barreled at 57% ABV (114 proof), the traditional Bernheim formula of 86 percent corn, six percent rye and eight percent malted barley barreled at 62.5% ABV (125 proof) and the Glenmore formula of 80 percent corn and 20 percent consisting of a varying blend of rye and malted barley barreled at 62.5% ABV (125 proof). So far, all of the whiskeys released by Orphan Barrel, with the exception of Lost Prophet and Whoop and Holler, have been based on the historic Bernheim recipe.

The Stitzel-Weller warehouse was quite large and had good air circulation so it was used for aging some of the whiskeys produced at Bernheim. This is an unheated metal clad warehouse and experiences more pronounced temperature variations. The Bernheim warehouses were built of brick. They had steam heat, were warmer and experienced less variation in ambient temperature. Higher warehouse temperatures results in more extraction from the barrel wood, darker tints, accelerating aging, higher proof and produce more flavorful whiskey. The original stocks of whiskey distilled at Stitzel-Weller were also kept there. It's not clear if any stock from the other historic UD distilleries was also transferred for aging there.

In 1999, Diageo began selling off many of the various brands and distilleries that UD had acquired, to other companies. The Glenmore distilleries were sold to Barton. The Bernheim distillery was sold to Heaven Hill, along with the Old Fitzgerald brand. Sazerac (Buffalo Trace) purchased the Old Weller brands, and Rebel Yell went to the David Sherman Company (Luxco). All of these brands once had stock at Stitzel-Weller. The aging stock at Bernheim that Heaven Hill and the other distilleries didn't purchase was transferred to Stitzel-Weller; which is how they eventually came into the possession of the Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company.

The Lost Prophet brand is an exception to the Bernheim based bottlings. From roughly 1990 to 1992, during the period when the new Bernheim distillery was being built, United Distillers contracted with Age International for the production of some of its whiskey needs at the George T. Stagg Distillery. The stock, however, was also eventually sent to Stitzel-Weller for aging.

Advertisement

The world of American whiskey

Critics lampooned the notion of lost or orphaned barrels as a marketing ploy. In fact, however, it is a common enough occurrence for any spirit that requires long maturation. Barrels do get lost, miscounted, mislabeled, or otherwise not properly accounted for, only to be rediscovered years later. Sometimes the result is an extraordinary, ultra-aged spirit, and sometimes it is a tough, tannic, woody spirit of little use to anyone. To be sure, it is only the odd barrel that ever gets lost. No functioning distillery could "lose" thousands, or even hundreds of barrels, and expect to stay in business.

Orphaned barrels are an all-together different concept. The term is employed in a number of different instances. It is not uncommon, for example, for blenders to find barrels whose taste and aroma profiles are sufficiently different from the norm that they elect not to use them in a blend. Such stocks could sometimes represent exceptional whiskeys, so called "honey barrels," and could be bottled, before those terms became part of the marketing lexicon, for private use as "Family Reserve" or "Distiller's Choice." They could also be sold off to custom bottlers. Such practices were the genesis of the custom bottlers in the Scotch whisky industry, some of which, like Cadenhead or Gordon and MacPhail, have become Scotch whisky institutions.

When old distilleries are sold the value of their aging stocks often exceeds the value of the physical distillery itself. New owners do not necessarily want to buy all of the aging stock, only those portions that will fit into their desired whiskey portfolio and suit their blending needs. The odds and ends that are left are typically referred to as orphans and are retained by the previous owners until they can either be sold off to custom bottlers or some other use is found for them. The term is also used to refer to aging stocks of spirit from a closed distillery.

In the old days, i.e. pre-Prohibition, it would have been common for such "orphan" stocks to simply be blended into an existing brand and be used up. Today, however, master blenders place particular emphasis on ensuring consistency between bottlings in a whiskey's aroma, taste and color profile. Stocks of whiskey that don't fit in a current blending formula have to be either retained for an unspecified future use or disposed of in some way.

Diageo has not fully disclosed what other distiller's whiskeys may be maturing at Stitzel-Weller. According to Ewan Morgan, Diageo is currently aging stocks of Bulleit, Blade and Bow, and "others in our American whiskey portfolio," at Stitzel-Weller. He also noted that, "there are previous Stitzel-Weller stocks aging, and some of these became whiskeys integrated into the Orphan Barrel Project."

Advertisement

It's not clear whether some of these stocks were distilled at Stitzel-Weller or simply aged there. After 1992, it's possible that stocks from as many as seven different distilleries owned by UD might have ended up there. In addition, from 1992 to 1999, Bernheim produced quite a lot of wheated whiskies for the Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell and other brands. Stocks for the I. W. Harper blend produced at Bernheim, intended for Japanese sales, were also aged at Stitzel-Weller.

The Orphan Barrel Whiskey Company Photo courtesy Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company.

It's also possible that there may still be some of the original Switzer-Weller produced stock, although much of the stock was sold off with their associated brands and the better barrels were mostly bought back by the Van Winkle's for their own bottling needs. So far, none of the whiskeys released by Orphan Whiskey have been wheated ones.

Diageo has not disclosed the total number of barrels slated for release by the Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distillation Company. The current releases probably represent a bottling of 100 to 300 barrels each. In total, probably around 2,000 barrels of whiskey may have been released. It's not inconceivable that there are 5,000 to 10,000 barrels at Switzer-Weller eventually slated for the program. Whatever the number, Diageo isn't saying.

For the bourbon enthusiast, the thought of 10,000 barrels of ultra-aged whiskey sitting in a warehouse might seem like the ultimate treasure trove. To a company of Diageo's size, however, with some 14 million barrels of whiskey aging around the world and with a portfolio of spirit brands that sell from hundreds of thousands to millions of cases yearly, a stock of a few thousand barrels really is an orphan. Not enough stock around which to create a new brand, but probably far too much to sell off to custom bottlers.

Historically, major spirit companies did not bother with these sort of one-off bottlings. In Scotland, where the sheer number of distilleries created all sorts of opportunity for such offerings, a whole specialty bottler sector developed. Worldwide, there are now around 250 specialty bottlers of Scotch who buy barrels of mature Scotch whisky for their custom bottlings. Over the last several decades, however, major spirits companies have been cautiously moving into this "small batch/specialty bottling" sector. Not surprisingly it started in Scotland where the tradition was already well established, but it is increasingly becoming prevalent for both American and Canadian whiskeys.

Advertisement

In part this has been driven by the consumer trend towards "premiumization," drink less but drink better, and partly it is driven by the marketing and branding cache to be gained from associating spirit companies with ultra-premium offerings.

To date Orphan Barrel has released nine whiskey expressions, the last two this September. These expressions are:

Barterhouse Kentucky Bourbon 20 YO and Lost Propher 22 YO Photo courtesy Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company.

Barterhouse Bourbon Whisky, 20 YO (45.1% ABV). The whiskey was originally distilled at the Bernheim Distillery. The mash bill is 86 percent corn, eight percent malted barley and six percent. When the whiskey was first released Orphan Barrel did not release the name of the original distillery, but hardcore bourbon enthusiasts quickly recognized that mash bill as Bernheim's.

Old Blowhard Bourbon Whiskey, 26 YO (45.35% ABV). The whiskey was also distilled at Bernheim and has the same mash bill.

Advertisement

Lost Prophet Bourbon Whiskey, 22 YO (45.05% ABV). This whiskey was originally distilled at the George T. Stagg distillery. Its mash bill is 75-78 percent corn, 7-10 percent malted barley and 15 percent rye.

Forged Oak Bourbon Whiskey, 15 YO (45.25% ABV). Another Bernheim distilled whiskey with the same mash bill.

Rhetoric, 20 YO (45% ABV) 21 YO (45.1% ABV) and 22 YO (45.2% ABV). These whiskies were also distilled at Bernheim. Orphan Barrel is planning to release successive batches of whiskey that are one year older than its predecessor. The sequential bottlings are slated to end in 2019, when Rhetoric 25 YO will be released. The 22 YO has just been released and is reviewed below.

One of the interesting anomalies of bourbon aging is that unlike a lot of spirits, including Scotch whisky and Cognac, the alcoholic strength of aging bourbon typically increases over time. Each successive bottling of Rhetoric, has had a .1% increase in the ABV. Since the cask strength was undoubtedly higher and the whiskey was diluted down for bottling, it was never made clear why successive yearly bottlings where diluted down to have slightly higher ABVs. According to Ewan Morgan, however, the slightly higher ABV was because Orphan Barrel "wanted people to taste how an extra year in the barrel affects taste."

The Gifted Horse American Whiskey (57.5% ABV) has no age statement. According to Orphan Whisky it was a fortuitous accident that won't be repeated. The whiskey consists of a blend (10.4%) 4 YO Indiana corn whiskey with a mash bill of 81 percent corn, 15 percent rye and four percent malted barley; (51%) 4 YO Indiana straight bourbon with a blend of two different mash bills, 60 percent corn, 36 percent rye, four percent malted barley and 75 percent corn, 21 percent rye and four percent malted barley and (38.5%) 17 YO Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey with the Bernheim formula of 86 percent corn, eight percent malted barley and six percent rye.

Advertisement

Technically, if the whiskey had carried an age statement it would have had to be called a 4 YO whiskey. A whiskey's stated age is always based on the youngest component of the blend. It's hard to charge a premium price for what would be seen as a four-year-old whiskey. Understandably, Orphan Barrel opted to leave out an age statement.

The Stitzel-Weller warehouse Photo courtesy Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company.

The main difference in the aroma and taste profile between the Orphan Barrel whiskies produced on the Bernheim formula is their age and maturation history. For example, a whiskey only matured at Stitzel-Weller will be different from one matured at both warehouses, even if their age is the same.

The two latest releases in the Orphan Whiskey portfolio are Rhetoric 22 YO and Whoop & Holler American Whisky (note that Whoop & Holler spells whisky without an "e"). That's a George Dickel tradition and it was applied to Whoop & Holler since, not surprisingly, this whiskey is sourced from the George Dickel distillery.

According to Morgan, "George Dickel always held Scotch as the finest example of whisky and so when he began distilling, he spelled his without the "e" because he felt his Tennessee whisky was just as fine a sipping whisky as anything out of Scotland." It is the first Orphan Whiskey not sourced from the Stitzel-Weller warehouse stocks. At 28 YO, it is the oldest Tennessee whiskey available for sale. You will have to sneak into George Dickel's or Jack Daniel's rick houses to find anything older.

Ultra-aged American whiskeys pose two particular challenges for blenders. They are prone to becoming woody and tannic. Any spirit left in wood too long can suffer a similar fate, but bourbon is particularly sensitive because it is aged in new wood and its alcoholic strength increases with age. Under the best circumstances it results in a whiskey with a long, dry finish with just a hint of bitterness, a perfect counterfoil to the sweetness and spiciness created by extended wood contact. When overdone, it's excessively mouth drying, woody and bitter and tastes like trying to drink whiskey off a barrel stave. (I've done it for experimental purposes only, it's not recommended).

Advertisement

Secondly, American whiskeys are also prone to higher levels of ethyl acetate. This is an ester produced by the interaction of ethanol with acetic acid. All whiskeys have ethyl acetate, but it tends to be more pronounced in corn based mash bills. New wood, because it has higher levels of acetic acid, and higher warehouse temperatures, also result in higher levels of ethyl acetate. It's not uncommon for an ultra-aged bourbon to have three to four times the concentration of ethyl acetate than a comparably aged Scotch whisky.

Whoop & Holler 28 YO Tennessee Whisky

Photo courtesy Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company.

Human sensitivity to ethyl acetate varies dramatically. It usually expresses itself as notes of nail polish remover, glue or band aid adhesive. It is also often associated with notes of pear drops, cotton candy, banana, hard candy and even cherry drops. Ethyl acetate tends to blow off relatively quickly. The addition of a little water also makes it appear fruitier and less solvent like.

The Rhetoric 22 YO (45.2% ABV) has a deep, dark amber color with traces of orange throughout. On the nose, there is a hint of a solvent like aroma against a backdrop of sweet notes of brown sugar and caramel and hints of corn sweetness framed by a dry woody note and elements of tropical spice. The addition of a little water brings out some green banana and hard sugar candy notes and suppresses the solvent like aromas.

On the palate Rhetoric is drier than on the nose, with an initial slight note of bitterness followed by pronounced notes of pepper at the back of the mouth. There are hints of cinnamon, cloves and some licorice/anise like flavors, but these are more fresh, green and herbal than candy like. There is some cooked corn sweetness early on. The mid-palate is a bit thin, dominated mostly by pepper notes. The whiskey is very smooth, with an almost waxy like flavor note at the end. The addition of a little water gives Rhetoric a creaminess and a more pronounced palate weight, while also emphasizing, green, unripe tropical fruit notes.

The finish is medium length, smooth but not particularly complex. There is a slight bitter note and some sweetness at the end that lingers.

Advertisement

Conclusion: This is an interesting whiskey. It is smooth, subtle and generally well integrated, with a nice dry finish. The wood is distinctive, noticeable but not, as is often the case in an ultra-aged bourbon, domineering. It shows good balance, but only just. It will be interesting to see how later bottlings stack up. Bourbon doesn't change that much after about 15 years in a barrel so it's hard to see that there would be significant changes in future yearly bottlings.

If there is any criticism to levy it is that it feels a bit washed out; interesting, intriguing, still eminently drinkable, and with a fascinating history, but just past its prime. It would have been interesting to try this whiskey at 15 years of age. One wonders if there were honey barrels amongst the lot chosen for bottling that might have offered a bit more intensity or complexity of flavor and character. It's definitely worth a shot and a bottle if you like it, but it's probably not for everyone.

Appearance 8/10, Nose 25/30, Palate 27/30, Finish 25/30, Final Score: 85/100



The George Dickel Distillery Photo courtesy Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company.

The Whoop & Holler 28 YO (42% ABV), is a Tennessee whiskey produced by the George Dickel distillery. At 28 years of age it is the oldest whiskey released by Orphan Barrel and the oldest Tennessee whiskey on the market. Its appearance is a gold/dark straw color.

On the nose it is distinctly sweet, with notes of honey and maple syrup. There is that distinctive cooked corn sweetness that is typical of Tennessee whiskey, although here it is subtler and in the background. There are notes of citrus, orange peel followed by some wood spice and hints of floral aromas. Surprisingly, the wood notes that you would have expected to be pronounced are in the background and well integrated with the other aromas.

On the palate it is dry, far dryer than what was indicated on the nose with just a hint of residual sweetness, followed by some pepperiness and a slight bitter note. The wood is more pronounced, but not unpleasantly so, and adds to the sensation of dryness on the palate. There are hints of wood spice, some cinnamon and even a bit of clove, but these are very subtle. The addition of a little water tends to suppress the sweet notes and emphasize the woody ones. Definitely a whiskey to drink straight.

Advertisement

The finish is short to medium length. It is largely dominated by dry wood, with just a hint of sweetness in the beginning and a slight but prolonged bitter note that lingers in the end. It is a smooth, pleasant finish without any harshness, but it is not otherwise nuanced or complex.

Conclusion: This is an intriguing whiskey. It's pleasant to drink, generally well integrated and satisfying. It's very smooth but lacks the nuance or complexity that is typically associated with ultra-aged whiskeys. In one sense it is more sophisticated than the typical Tennessee whiskey, subtler and refined, but at the price of giving up concentration and assertiveness; like a fading Hollywood star who's past their prime but still fascinating. Definitely worth a taste.

Appearance 9/10, Nose 28/30, Palate 27/30, Finish 26/30, Final Score: 90/100
Russian President Vladimir Putin and American President Barack Obama

The Syrian ceasefire has disintegrated. At best it survived 48 hours. In reality it was still born. Washington has now officially suspended further talks with Moscow over reestablishing a Syrian ceasefire. Secretary of State John Kerry has called for an investigation of Syrian and Russian war crimes. The UN Security Council is expected to take up a resolution in the next few days calling for a new ceasefire, but given Russia's veto on the Security Council, the deliberations will go nowhere. Perhaps it's time for John Kerry to pull out his really big guns--yes, send Taylor Swift to do a concert at the Kremlin.

The Russians tried to blame the collapse of the ceasefire on the White House's inability to identify and segregate so called "moderate" Syrian rebel forces from the radical jihadist Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly the al-Nusra Front). It was a hopeless task, one that was impossible to achieve given the fluidity in the composition of the various Syrian rebel and jihadist groups as well as the ever shifting battlefield alliances.

The fact that the U.S. even consented to somehow take on this responsibility only underscores how completely inept the Kerry led State Department has been in conducting negotiations with the Russians. As noted intelligence analyst John R. Schindler of the XX Committee (who largely inspired this particular column) put it, to the KGB schooled "hard men" of the Kremlin, dealing with the Obama administration is akin to taking candy from a baby.

Advertisement

In the meantime, Syrian ground troops, backed by Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite militias and Russian air forces, have unleashed a new brutal campaign on the remaining rebel stronghold in east Aleppo. Using deep penetration bombs, so called "bunker-busters," to target hospitals, schools and shelters underground.

East Aleppo's largest underground hospital, referred to as M10, was hit three times in the last week and according to eyewitnesses was completely destroyed. Similarly, though less extensive attacks have been carried out against Hama and other rebel controlled areas, Syrian forces have also been specifically targeting the "White Helmets," the Syrian rescue organization credited with saving countless victims trapped in the rubble of bombed buildings.

White Helemts rescue operation in east Aleppo. Photo courtesy of WhiteHelmets.org

The mounting death toll in east Aleppo is staggering. The city, whose population still numbers between 250,000 and 300,000 people, is now surrounded by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to UN observers the city is desperately short of food and medicine. In the meantime, Russian air forces drop bombs with abandon. The Kremlin demonstrated a long time ago, in Afghanistan, in Chechnya and everywhere else that has experienced the Russian jack boot, that containing collateral damage to civilian areas is simply not a very large priority--if even one at all.

To add insult to injury, on October 3, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that any attempts by the United States to attack Syrian troops would be met by instant reprisals and would lead to "total war," and would produce "tectonic shifts" throughout the Middle East.

Advertisement

There is little chance that the U.S. would attack Syrian ground forces at this time knowing that it could lead to an armed confrontation with Russia. Lame duck presidents do not provoke international showdowns with a nuclear armed opponent in the waning weeks of their presidency. For the Kremlin, knowing that the challenge will go unanswered, the warning is an easy opportunity to make propaganda points at the expense of the White House.

Not that this administration ever showed much backbone in standing up to Putin and his gang, but in the waning days of its presidency the Obama administration has become even more feckless and irresolute. Putin has effectively thrown Obama out of Syria. At best they have relegated the U.S. to a minor role. Not since the ignominious retreat from Saigon has the United States been so humiliated by what is otherwise a second rate power.

In the meantime, the Kremlin keeps expanding its provocations of the U.S. and NATO forces. Russian overflights over the Baltic Republics are now a common feature, and have escalated from incursion of unarmed planes to overflights of fully armed combat aircraft operating with their transponders turned off. Russia has also announced that it is reactivating long range bomber squadrons over the western Pacific. With a range as far east as Hawaii, these aircraft are a direct threat to American naval assets in the central and western Pacific.

In addition, the Kremlin has also indicated that it is again seeking foreign bases in Cuba and Vietnam and has already activated an intelligence gathering facility just outside of Havana.

In perhaps its most provocative move to date, Russia has announced that it will be deploying the Iskander-M (SS-26) missile system in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. These missiles, the latest generation of the original Scud missile system, have a range of about 300 miles and can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. Make no mistake, this is an offensive weapons system that is designed to pose a threat and to intimidate a large area of eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

Advertisement

Russian Sukhoi-25 fighter bombers landing at the Latakia Air Base in Syria

The unwillingness of the Obama administration to even acknowledge, much less deal with the fact that the United States and Russia are in a new Cold War is inexplicable. Cold War 2.0 will not be a rehash of the first Cold War. It will be fought in cyberspace and social media just as much as it will be fought in the shadows and the inevitable proxy wars that lie ahead.

The complete collapse of Obama's Syrian policy is symptomatic of the one enduring and unmistakable legacy of the incoherence of his administration's foreign policy--a world that is far more dangerous, chaotic and disordered than the one that existed in 2008.
Donald Trump just entered his seventh bankruptcy. This time, its not a financial one. Donald Trump is morally bankrupt.

He has no heart, he has no compassion, he has no wisdom. A man entering his seventh decade who lacks these basic characteristics is poor, indeed.

It's a poverty wrapped in a wad of seven billion one-dollar bills.

Trump's daddy didn't raise no fool, but he didn't raise no gentleman, either. A gentleman would have apologized once the video came out, if not 11 years earlier.

Advertisement

Trump's apology wasn't one. His second apology wasn't one, either. And neither will be the third one or the fourth one or the tenth because we all know he doesn't mean it and won't mean it and can't mean it because he lacks the capacity to apologize, the willingness to do so.

No Nixon-style Checkers speech will salvage this dog of a campaign. Once again we've lost our faith in a man in whom we had no faith.

But is anyone surprised? Do you remember Trump's snake poem?

"You knew darn well I was a snake before you took me in."

The poem wasn't about Syrian refugees entering America. It was about Donald Trump entering the Presidential race.

Advertisement

"You knew darn well I was a snake before you took me in."

It took Trump's appalling crudity for Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to distance himself from Trump, but Ryan should never have aligned with him in the first place. Throw Ryan from the train, too, along with every Republican who didn't call Trump out as unqualified in temperament, knowledge or experience. That's been on display for more than a year now.

Let Donald Trump live out his days at Mar-a-Lago, his Xanadu. He can soak in his Olympic-size hot tub with a lithe and ever-willing Melania preening at his side. That is, until he deems her too old, too short, too fat or too un-perky. Hopefully Mrs. Trump's number four and five won't make the same mistake.

Let Trump spend his nights wrestling with thoughts of what could have been, what almost was but will not be. His tweets will find no likes, no shares, no response. Donald Trump is this generation's Citizen Kane.

After a year of Trump's vitriol directed at women, it's fitting that he will now lose the Presidency to the first serious female candidate.

Advertisement

That's the real story here. The death of the male monopoly on the presidency. That legacy is twisting slowly, slowly in the wind, just as the white monopoly ended with Barack Obama.

The November election results will proclaim the King is Dead.

Long Live the Queen.

Other articles by Marty Rudoy

Photo Credits:

Historical videos via youtube.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens to a question during a town hall with the Retired American Warriors, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016, in Herndon, Va. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

In 1995, did billionaire Donald Trump pay less for Social Security and Medicare than minimum wage workers paid? Has he paid less in every subsequent year? If he did, he probably cheated.

The only way to know for sure is to see his federal income tax returns. But there is indeed evidence already in the public domain that suggests that, on top of being a racist, a misogynist, and a xenophobe, Donald Trump is a tax cheat.

Advertisement

The first page of Donald Trump's 1995 New York resident income tax return, published by the New York Times, reveals that he reported on his 1995 federal tax return that he had just $6,108 in salary for the year. On that small salary, just $378.70 would have been paid for Social Security and just $88.56 for Medicare, for a grand total of just $467.26.

That same year, workers, earning the 1995 federal minimum wage of $4.25 an hour, made $8,840 for full time work. On those wages, $676.26 was paid for Social Security and Medicare - $209 more than paid on the reported salary of the billionaire Republican presidential nominee. (The above numbers combine the total Social Security and Medicare liability. If a worker has an employer, the amount is split evenly between the two; individuals who are self-employed are liable for both the employer and employee portion.)

Donald Trump earned a salary of only $6,108 in 1995? Less than a minimum wage worker? Hard to believe. And, indeed, it is contradicted in a report filed in 1997 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The report, which was filed by the Trump Hotel and Casino Resorts, Inc., a Trump-controlled corporation that apparently owns and operates all of Trump's properties, states that Donald J. Trump received a salary of $583,333 and "other compensation" of $4,830,000 for a total of $5,413,333. If all of that income should have been assessed for Social Security and Medicare, Trump should have paid a total of $164,575.46!

So which is it? In 1995, did Trump and his corporation pay $164,575.46 for Social Security and Medicare, just $467.26, or some amount in between? And what was he required to pay? There is no way to know without seeing his federal tax return. (The first page of the New York return shows a large amount of business income, but without his federal tax return, it is impossible to know whether any self-employment tax was paid on that income.)

Advertisement

What is known is that Social Security and Medicare are cheated out of billions of dollars of revenue every year. And Trump may be doing his part.

By law, all covered workers are required to contribute to Social Security and Medicare. It doesn't matter if you are a high school student scooping ice cream on your summer vacation or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. All covered workers are required to contribute, based on their earned income.

But do they? Most workers have their Social Security and Medicare contributions withheld from their paychecks. But those who don't, if they are dishonest, can underreport or not report their earned incomes. The stereotype of unreported income is under-the-table payments to domestic workers or payments for illegal activities like drug deals. But Donald Trump may be an example of the wealthiest engaged in this same kind of illegal activity. If you are Donald Trump and other wealthy moguls, rather than using cash payments, you can simply hire accountants and lawyers, set up Subchapter S corporations and limited partnerships, and mischaracterize salary as profits.

This scam appears to be quite widespread. Because both former Democratic Vice Presidential nominee John Edwards and former Republican Speaker of the House (current Trump adviser and surrogate) Newt Gingrich cheated the government in this way, the practice has become known as the Edwards-Gingrich loophole. But don't be confused by the name. It is not a loophole. It is a hard-to-prove mischaracterization of salary. Like paying workers under the table or labeling your employees as independent contractors, it is cheating.

How widespread is it? A GAO study reviewing 2003 and 2004 tax returns calculated that Subchapter S corporations mischaracterized earned income by a whopping $23.5 billion, resulting in underpayments to Social Security and Medicare of billions of dollars in just those two years.

Advertisement

Like most other crimes, this fraudulent mischaracterization is not victimless. When cheating is done with respect to domestic and other low-income workers, those individuals are denied the disability, survivor, retirement, health, and unemployment protection the law requires they have.

If Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, and their wealthy compatriots are illegally avoiding paying what they are obligated under the law to pay for Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, and Workers' Compensation, they may be able to get by without the benefits, but they are cheating us.

Social Security and Medicare work so efficiently and well because they are universal. Given the perilous and rising income and wealth inequality over the last few decades, I do not believe the wealthiest are paying their fair share. But, it appears that Trump and his plutocrat friends may not even be paying what they legally owe already.

Again, it is impossible to know if one of those plutocrat-cheats is Donald Trump without seeing his tax returns. But perhaps that is one of the reasons he is being audited.

It is amazing he is being audited for any reason, given the efforts of those in Congress to protect him and his fellow elites. Thanks to budget cuts, the rate of individual tax returns being audited is lower than it has been in over a decade.

Advertisement

But Congress's protection of the wealthy is even worse. One of the truly outrageous requirements imposed on the Internal Revenue Service is to spend their limited resources disproportionately on those returns of people who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit ("EITC").

The EITC was enacted in 1975 to give the working poor a better return on their work by offsetting some of their work expenses, including their contributions to Social Security and Medicare, with a refundable income tax credit. Those working Americans, by definition, have very little income.

In order to claim the EITC, those working poor must file tax returns. Those returns make up around 19 percent of all returns filed. Yet they consist of a ridiculous 35 percent of all audits. Even if those returns have errors, the amounts, obviously, are small. So why does Congress insist that their returns be audited twice as frequently as returns generally? To protect the wealthy and to spitefully make life even more difficult for those struggling to make ends meet are the logical explanations.
sad man. series

The results of the Presidential elections of 2008 and 2012 demonstrated a consensus among the voters from almost every different religious and secular groups that Barack Obama was the best choice to represent the diverse tapestry that is America. As I wrote on the day after election day of 2012 in a piece called A New Day for Religion in America :



"People of all races, ages, and cultures stood side by side as they showed their appreciation for a president who himself represents a mix of race, religion and cultures. Yesterday America voted to recognize and celebrate our diversity and reaffirm our deep commitment and responsibility to one another."

2016 is shaping up in similar ways as the new reality of demographic shifts are even more powerfully influencing this election cycle. As Robby Jones made plain, White Christian America is ending, and in its place a multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-religious nation is emerging.

Of course, not everyone is celebrating. The one religious demographic group that voted against Obama in '08 and again in '12 can be broadly described as White Christians. And this same group is the one religious group that is against Hillary in 2016 -- supporting Trump over Clinton at a 2 to 1 margin according to the PRRI/The Atlantic Survey.

At the heart of these odd bedfellow of Trump and Christian America is the fear of the loss of privilege -- privilege of a "White America', privilege of a "Christian America", privilege of a 'Straight America', and, today, we have to especially name -- privilege of a "Male America." These privileges are on their way out although far too slowly. And like an animal wounded but not yet vanquished, the claim on privilege is yielding a dangerous phase of transition in our nation.

We are in the midst of an example of the weirdness of this demise as White Conservative Christians in recent days have found themselves twisting to avoid or defend the candidate who was caught on tape saying extraordinarily derogatory things towards women, indicating a deep rooted disregard for women's bodies, wellbeing, or the sanctity of their relationships. He glorified himself indicating that his celebrity allowed him to be beyond normal rules of decency, and, in his non-apology, seemed completely unaware of the depths of his own depravity.

Advertisement

And yet, thus far, I have not seen any White Christian Trump supporter renounce him. This can only be because of their white knuckle grasp on the desperate hope that he represents for their privileged position in American society. Perhaps the captains White Christian Men America will come out and say no, this is where we must part ways. But I doubt it. All this is sad and predictable and in my language sinful in that it seems completely out of whack with their own proclaimed core Christian beliefs.

But there is good news as well!

I count myself among the growing number of White Christians who embrace the diversity that is and will continue to be America. I, and millions of White Christians with me, are praying for a more inclusive, welcoming society where no one group lives in isolated privilege from others and who recognize that I am a better Christian when my religious and non-religious neighbors have the exact same respect and dignity as I enjoy in my own faith.
The following is a transcript of a lecture given on October 5, 2016 at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana for the OPEN Faith conference.

The lecture and an impromptu Q&A with the audience were both recorded. You can listen to the recording embedded at the end of this post if you wish.

RATS

I believe in plain speaking. I believe in telling it like it is.

Sometimes this gets me into trouble.

I was in the park with my daughter a few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon. If you've never been to Central Park before, it's filled with all of these giant rocks that you can climb on. It's great fun for adults and children alike.

Advertisement

Another thing that Central Park is filled with is rats.

So my four year old and I are climbing on a rock and a boy about her same age comes running over to us looking a bit nervous and says, "Did you see that big rat over there?"

And as a person who believes in plain speaking, I answered him with the unfettered truth.

I responded, "Yeah buddy, there are rats everywhere in New York-- even in the park. They come out of the subway tunnel that runs underneath Central Park West and we're real close to it here, so there are more rats in this part of the park." I continued, "You probably don't know this because you're a kid, but there are more rats living in New York City than there are people."

And as I stood there pontificating about my extensive knowledge of rat-anthropology the kid started crying. Then he looked up at me with these big-puppy-dog-eyes and whimpered, "Are they going to bite me?"

I felt terrible that he was crying but I didn't want to to lie to him, so I just kept giving him more information. "Probably not," I said, "but it's been know to happen on occasion. Many of the rats have rabies and other diseases, so don't try to pick them up or play with them. They're not pets. They're dangerous."

Advertisement

And before I could finish my sentence, he was shuffling down the side of the rock screaming, "Momma, Momma, there are rats everywhere! I want to go home. They're going to bite us!"

Face palm.

As I said, I believe in plain speaking. I believe in telling it like it is, but I should probably make an exception when I'm talking to four year olds.

And strangely enough, this brings me to my point today.

ADULTS

This probably won't come as a surprise, but guess what? There aren't any four year olds in this room today.

We're adults.

We know the world.

And today I'd like to speak plainly, because we're grownups.

I want to share some concerns I've been having about the upcoming presidential election-- something that has the potential to alter the future of our country for better or worse. I think we need to know how to deal with the rats that crawl out from the tunnels every four years and try to infect us.

But the rats that I'm referring to are not the candidates.

MY G.O.P. FAMILY

I was born into and raised inside of a Fox News watching, Milton Friedman loving, Ayn Rand reading, politically conservative family.

Advertisement

When I got married, I married into a Fox News watching, Milton Friedman loving, Ayn Rand reading, politically conservative family.

That's my history.

To this day (to the best of my knowledge) I am the only person in my family to have ever voted for a Democrat.

I'm the lone progressive wolf in my family.



I believe in healthcare for everybody, especially for those who can't afford it.

I believe in public education. I believe that our schools should be like lighthouses for our children-- the very best schools in the world.

I believe that those who have made giant profits from those who make smaller profits should give back to the society that has made them so wealthy by paying their fair share of taxes.

Advertisement

I believe marriage to be a union between two people who love each other, regardless of their gender.

I care very little for political parties. I'll vote for any candidate of any party that I see most closely embodying the things that I believe. That is my right as a citizen of this republic.

THIS ELECTION

I've never seen an election season quite like this one in my lifetime. It's dividing our republic, the electorate, and our faith communities in ways that are alarming.

In Matthew 10 Jesus said,

I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (Matthew 10:35)

And I think we could all agree that the 2016 election is fulfilling those words of Jesus.

Many of us in this room today are supporters of progressive values, and I think that is very good.

But how do we live out those values?

Time and time again, whether it's on social media, in the press, or even in the many conversations that I have with people of faith from all over the country, I've started to see a trend that scares me. Our language has become angry and insulting. We've come to a place where many of us no longer embody the very values that we believe in and that we want to see from government.

Jesus also said this, and it stings:

"But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' (idiot) is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of hellfire." (Matthew 5:22)

Advertisement

And the concern that I have is that I hear God loving, Jesus following people saying these very things about the candidates.

"Donald Trump is an idiot."

"Hillary Clinton is a fool."

And Jesus says that doing this only brings hellfire upon the world.

We have become a people who are very gifted at articulating what we are against and why we are against it, but not so gifted at articulating what we are for, and why we are for it.

Mother Teresa, during Vietnam was invited to be a part of a march against the war. One would think, "My God, if anyone would participate in such a march, it would certainly be Mother Teresa!"

But she turned the invitation down and many were confused as to why.

When she was asked why she turned down the invitation, she said:

"I will not march against anything. But when you decide to have a march for peace. I will be there."

And it begs the question of us today. "Are we just angrily rallying against something or are we courageously rallying for something?"

We are told in the scriptures to "hate what is evil and to cling to what is good." (Romans 12:9)

We are not told to hate WHO is evil and cling to WHO is good.

The scripture makes this distinction because at their core, people are not evil. Evil is something that is learned... and therefore can be unlearned.

Advertisement

Candidates aren't evil. They may have just learned some evil things along the way.

We're all created the same.

It's why the writer of Ephesians wrote,

Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Our struggle is not with people. Out struggle is not with a candidate or a political party. Our struggle is with principle, policy, and precept.

HATRED

Hatred contaminates everything in its proximity, and if you only believe in what you believe in politically because of the people that you hate, you're struggling against flesh and blood. Your struggle is not just. You're fighting the wrong war. You are, in fact surrendering to the very thing that you are against.

Whatever happened to just living quiet and peaceable lives?

Whatever happened to gently bringing people along with us, seeking to understand instead of needing to be understood?

There's no question as to whether people of faith should be involved public discourse or not. We absolutely should, but how to do we involve ourselves? In retaliation and anger, or with love?

Advertisement

Brian McLaren, who was just up here speaking before I was said it beautifully months ago when he wrote the following,

"The real campaign is the campaign of love versus hate, prejudice, indifference, and fear." - Why Love? Why Now? by Brian McLaren

Nothing could be more relevant as we head to the polls next month.

MY HOPE

My hope for all of us who live our lives under the banner of Jesus is that we would be pillars of strength, standing tall amidst the politics, the punditry, the arguments, and the insults.

I pray that people would see us immoveable in the divisive winds of this election season.

Our union as people of faith is at stake. Will we welcome hatred into our pulpits, our classrooms, and our programming, or will we stand for love?

"If the light within us is darkness. How great is that darkness." (Matthew 6:23)

Selah.


The idea that there's a moral imperative for humans to expand beyond Earth is echoed by influential proponents of space exploration. Tamara Craiu/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

How should we understand the idea of the frontier in the contemporary world, with spacecraft sailing beyond the solar system and quantum computing taking us deeper into the heart of matter?

Many view human evolution as a continual expansion into new territories, from out-of-Africa to the "high frontier" of space. Frontiers, then, are associated with exploration, conquest, and struggles against hostile nature.

Advertisement

They can be seen as a challenge to solve with technology, going hand-in-hand with human progress. But the concept also comes with a lot of baggage.

From stone age to space age?

Once upon a time, the story goes, the world was full of space for humans to expand into. The genus Homo radiated out from temperate Africa, colonising the tundras of Ice Age Europe, and the continents and islands of Asia and Australasia.

As the climate warmed from 12,000 years ago, populations increased and people with domesticated animals and crops expanded further, turning forests into fields along the way.

On one side of the frontier was tame "culture"; on the other wild "nature". Humans proved tremendously successful at adapting to these new environments using technologies such as fire, stone tools and metallurgy.

Advertisement

By the 20th century, technology had enabled humans to move beyond the narrow band of pressure and temperature where our bodies had evolved, to explore the deep sea, the Earth's poles, and outer space. Special suits and vehicles enabled travel to these remote places where life at the extremes promised revelations about our place in the universe.

This story is captured well in a famous scene from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey in which a bone tool, flung into the sky by an ancestral being, is transformed into an Earth-orbiting spacecraft.

The other side of the frontier

What's often left out of this popular narrative is the perspective of those on the other side of the frontier. Consider colonial expansion from the 15th century onwards, when European nations sent ships to the southern hemisphere in search of new resources.

European invaders painted Indigenous people as Stone Age "savages" and cast themselves as the pinnacle of human evolution, entitled to lay claim to terra incognita and terra nullius.

Advertisement

The conquest of frontiers in the American West, the Australian outback, South America and numerous other places, was often brutal and bloody. The expanding front didn't bring "civilisation" to supposedly benighted people; the result was rather genocide, disease, environmental degradation, alienation and poverty.

Utopia did not lie waiting in the New World.

Yet, despite the weight of historical evidence, people continue to assume that new frontiers beyond the Earth can provide refuge from old injustices perpetuated on this planet.

Panspermia and the moral imperative

Panspermia is the theory that the universe is filled with life. Micro-organisms and pre-biotic molecules travel on comets and asteroids between the worlds, flourishing when and where conditions are right.

The expansion of life into every available niche is thought to be a natural process that's taken place countless times in this, and other, galaxies. The corollary of this idea is that enabling the spread of human life throughout the universe is justified.

Advertisement

To date, evidence that micro-organisms can survive journeys in space, even if encased in meteoroids, is scant. Critics also point out that the theory merely delays the real question, which is how life started.

While the panspermia theory is controversial, the idea that there's a moral imperative for humans to expand beyond Earth is echoed by influential proponents of space exploration.

Consider these thoughts) from American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, from his 1971 conversation with Carl Sagan, and Arthur C. Clarke, on the eve of NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft entering orbit around Mars:

What's the use of looking at Mars through a telescope, sitting on panels, writing books, if it isn't to guarantee, not just the survival of mankind, but mankind surviving forever!

Advertisement

We need to rupture the barriers that confine us to the land mass of a single planet. By breaking out, we can assure our survival and the continuation of Life.

Such views are increasingly attracting trenchant criticism, as scholars "decolonise" knowledge and expose how the simple narrative of frontier expansion obscures the cause of terrestrial inequalities.

Islands of the interior

Perhaps the frontiers to be conquered in the 21st century are not spatial, but virtual.

Rapid advances in computing technology and data storage have renewed speculation about the idea, so often described in science fiction, of uploading personalities into a digital environment. Here worlds can be tailored to suit individual or collective taste without environmental impact.









Russian Academy of Science





In the 1890s, Russian space pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky hypothesised that living in microgravity (when people and objects appear to be weightless) would eliminate social disparities. Basking in the full energy of the sun, with no need for houses or furniture, everyone would be equal.

Advertisement

While this vision has not been realised, digital habitats seem to offer similar potential. The trappings of status in the "real" world, with all their attendant costs, need only be imagined to come into being; a new body or an elaborate castle are just a matter of coding.

But our experience with cyberspace to date suggests that class, race and gender still structure access to resources. The impacts of colonialism have contributed to a "digital divide" that mirrors the old geopolitical frontiers.

Virtual communities can also be places where the worst of human behaviour is nurtured. Some argue that this is because people don't yet perceive the online environment as "real". Hence they think the social consequences of their aggression cannot be real.

How, then, do we define reality when human interactions and material culture become numbers stored in machines?

It may be that the ultimate frontiers of the future will be boundaries between different levels of engagement with the material world. The "haves" may withdraw into quantum computers, rather than colonising other planets, and leave the "have-nots" to tackle the global unpredictability of the Anthropocene era.

Advertisement

A thirst for the new

If crossing frontiers consistently fails to deliver utopia and instead replicates terrestrial inequalities, is there any cause for optimism?

People on Earth avidly follow the discovery of expolanets (a planet that orbits a star outside our solar system). Witness the frenzy that accompanied the announcement of the potentially-habitable Proxima b in August.

The live exploration of inaccessible ocean landscapes through remote cameras, like those of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's research vessel Okeanos Explorer, is equally compelling.

Humans, it seems, have a thirst for escape. We hope that elsewhere - wherever that is - things may be better.

But this particular version of elsewhere has proved to be elusive. In the end, frontiers are not crisp lines on maps, but complex historical processes. As legendary explorer Freya Stark (1893-1993) said, "every frontier is doomed to produce an opposition beyond it".

Advertisement

This, then, is our mission: to reconcile the opposites on the near side, before boldly going further into the beyond.

Alice Gorman, Senior Lecturer in archaeology and space studies, Flinders University
Fighting oil companies and the railroads is no easy thing, but in the last few weeks there was a win, then another, and another and the rout of the previously untouchable fossil fuel sector shows no sign of slowing down. From southern California to northern Washington, communities along the West Coast have dealt four massive blows to the fossil fuel industry over the past two months. Taken separately, each of these announcements represents years of work and tens of thousands of people refusing to put the health and safety of their families, communities and our climate at risk. Collectively, these decisions, which came in rapid succession, represent a shift in the acceptability of expanding fossil fuel infrastructure along our coast. Put simply, people are no longer willing to let the oil industry decide their future, to pollute their communities, to poison their bodies, and to irreparably harm our climate, by building new fossil fuel infrastructure.

How did this transformation in the acceptability of fossil fuel infrastructure come about? For one, the dramatic and rightfully terrifying specter of fiery oil train derailments - and the oil industry's blatant disregard for community health and safety - has ignited a broader revocation of the oil industry's social license along the West Coast. Communities will not be sacrifice zones for oil industry profit. And behind the revocation of the industry's social license is a big and beautiful movement that looks like America: a movement representing a tremendous diversity of identities and interests. In the past three years, we've seen firefighters, indigenous tribes, nurses, teachers, climate justice advocates, physicians, realtors, college students, developers, school boards and local elected officials across the political spectrum take a bold stance opposing oil trains. Communities recognize that extreme oil infrastructure is unnecessary, and they see the tangible transition to a clean energy economy on the horizon.



What does this mean for the future of the oil industry along the West Coast? Well, if Shell's announcement yesterday that it would be withdrawing its request to build a new oil train facility in Anacortes, Washington, is any indication, the writing is on the wall.



To fully understand the tectonic shift that has just occurred in the fight to protect communities and our climate against new fossil fuel infrastructure, it helps to have a sense of what exactly has gone down in the past two months;

Advertisement

On August 9, the Whatcom County Council dealt a stunning blow to big oil by starting the process to suspend all new fossil fuel proposals for two months, an immediate moratorium that was extended for six months on September 27th. Why is this a big deal? Whatcom County has found itself at the center of a national debate around fossil fuel infrastructure since it could become a gateway for exporting everything from coal to gas to oil to the growing Asia Pacific market. The county council members' August decision is likely a prelude to a permanent moratorium. The impact of this cannot be overstated - it prevents the growth of the coal industry across the west with no new markets to send it to.

Oil giant Kinder Morgan is working to push through a pipeline full of controversial tar sands oil to the Port of Vancouver, BC, and if that doesn't work they may to try deliver the toxic oil to a terminal in Whatcom County on the critical waters of the Salish Sea. Like the recently rejected coal export terminal, an oil export facility would bring the risks of spills and climate damage, with just a few jobs - a very bad deal for anyone but Kinder Morgan. Which is another reason the Whatcom County ordinance is such a big deal.

On September 20, after a 3 year fight, a city council in the small Bay Area town of Benicia denied a proposal for a new oil train terminal at the Valero refinery. This stunning decision was, according to Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, the first time the city has voted against the refinery - a business that currently provides 20-25% of the city's tax base. The city's decision was made possible by tenacious organizing by local activists who garnered powerful opposition both in Benicia and in communities along the rail route stretching to Davis, Sacramento, and beyond.

The Benicia City Council's decision came on the heels of a ruling by the Surface Transportation Board (STB), a little-known federal agency that primarily handles disputes between railroads. The STB settled a dispute over whether or not, as Big Oil argued, federal regulation of railroads extend so far as to deny local governments land use permitting discretion over oil companies' proposed oil train projects. Ultimately, the decision affirmed Benicia's right to deny Valero's project - a ruling that has already reverberated across the country and buttressed the City of Albany, NY's challenge to an oil train facility there.

The following week, on October 5, the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission stunned oil giant Phillips 66 when it denied their permit to build a new oil train facility. The decision came after a nearly three-year review process, with tens of thousands of Californians opposing the project and more than 45 cities, counties, and school boards sending letters urging the planning commission to deny it.
Hutchinson city council examines what to do about chickens

The issue is before the planning commission because chickens are part of land use codes written to address larger animals.
School and state officials toss dirt in a ceremonial groundbreaking on Friday at Mount Greylock Regional School. State Sen. Benjamin B. Downing said the project is an example of the community's values. State Rep. Gailanne Cariddi addresses the gathering. Mount Greylock Superintendent Douglas Dias passes out ceremonial shovels. School Building Committee Chairman Mark Schiek serves as emcee as Downing and Cariddi stand in front of an artist's rendering of the new junior-senior high school. Williamstown Town Manager Jason Hoch chats with Selectwoman Anne O'Connor before Friday's ceremony. Dias and the area's delegates share a laugh with MSBA's Jack McCarthy, right. PreviousNext

Mount Greylock Holds Groundbreaking for Building Project



Mount Greylock School Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Greene talks about the process that led to Friday's groundbreaking. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  It was all smiles and laughter at Friday's ceremonial groundbreaking for the renovation and addition at Mount Greylock Regional School.

But it was worth remembering the sometimes bumpy road that brought the district to what School Building Committee Chairman Mark Schiek characterized as, "one big milestone on the project path we're on together."

School Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Greene told the crowd gathered for Friday's ceremony that there were many people to thank for helping Mount Greylock reach that milestone  including folks who would have chosen a different project path or no path at all.

"I'm grateful to our elected officials in both towns for their willingness to listen, for their willingness to ask the hard questions and to challenge us to provide clarity to the voters," Greene said.

Voters in both the regional school district's member towns approved the $64 million building project earlier this year.

"I'm grateful to voters for making informed decisions, whichever position they took," Greene said.

On Friday, with renovation work on the existing building well under way and foundation work on the new academic wing planned to begin shortly, officials from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, state Sen. Benjamin Downing, D-Pittsfield, and state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, D-North Adams, joined town and school officials for the groundbreaking.

One of those school officials was Mount Greylock Superintendent Douglas Dias, who told the crowd that after his past experiences with school building projects in other districts, he swore never to work in one that was embarking on a project.

"But that was before MSBA and before I saw the commitment of the groups we've seen here," said Dias, who is starting his second year at Mount Greylock. "The strength of the communities and collaboration with the towns and partners like Williams College have helped us provide  a state-of-the-art facility worthy of our children's education."

Downing echoed that sentiment.

"You can see the values of a community from where they invest their money," the senator said. "I know there is more that needs to be done.  But today we're here to celebrate us coming together to take one of many critical steps.

"When a kid sets foot in this building, when a parent sets foot in this building, when a teacher sets foot in this building, they will know their work is valued."

Downing and Cariddi have been committed advocates of the Mount Greylock project at the state level. And the MSBA is contributing about $32 million toward the project.

On Friday, MSBA Executive Director Jack McCarthy thanked the legislators for their efforts and recognized two of the driving forces for the project at the local level: Greene and Paula Consolini, who co-chairs the School Building Committee.

"In two weeks, it will be four years ago that I met Carrie and Paula," McCarthy said. "They came to a meeting in Boston. They weren't on the agenda. They just knew we were meeting and hopefully wanted to have a chance to talk to us.

"And so, they started explaining that they had a project they wanted to build. After they got a couple of sentences in, I said, 'Look, the best thing would be for me to come out and see the project.' So, four years ago in November  Gailanne [Cariddi] joined me in that tour  we were out touring the facility. [Now-retired Superintendent] Rose Ellis surprised me with a room full of people at the end of the tour that I wasn't expecting, which was all good."

And from that initial MSBA board meeting at which Greene and Consolini took the initiative, eventually came an invitation from the authority for Mount Greylock to enter its process.

"I want to thank Carrie and Paula for doing what they did," McCarthy said. "It spoke to me in my heart  the passion they had for this project."
Thomas Harty, left, and his son, Donald Harty, pose at the summit of Mount Greylock during last year's Ramble. Harty, 93 at the time, was recognized as the oldest Rambler for more than a decade.

Tragic Death Ends Hike of Oldest Greylock Rambler

ADAMS, Mass.  The Greylock Ramble will have one less hiker at the summit this year. Thomas Harty, the oldest man to participate in the Ramble, was tragically murdered Thursday at the age of 94.



"I just remembered how much he loved doing the Ramble and thought this is going to be the first year he is not going to do it," Harty's son, Donald, of New Hampshire, said in a phone interview on Friday.



According to The Greenfield Recorder, an individual broke into the Franklin County home of Harty and his wife, Joanna Fisher, at some point overnight Wednesday. Harty was killed in the home invasion and his wife of more than 30 years has been hospitalized.



Harty, an avid hiker and mountain climber, had not missed the Greylock Ramble in years and had hiked to summit for almost 20 years. He would have turned 95 on Oct. 27. He was employed for decades at a local foundry and was still working for a family business, Donbeck Sales, in Orange.



For the past 15 years, the World War II Navy veteran had been celebrated as the oldest hiker to complete the 3.3-mile climb.



"He always liked getting to the top and signing in," Donald, one of Harty's four children, said. "Hikers always knew he would be there waiting to sign them in and he always had a group tagging along ... he would start a lot earlier because he was slower and when he neared the top, there would be a little parade behind him. He went up slowly but always got to the top."



Donald said his father loved hiking and being outdoors and started hiking Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire in 1927. Father and son hiked everywhere.



"I don't know why I like hiking, or why I like the places I've hiked," Tom Harty told The Recorder in 2015. "I just do."

Update: Two suspects in Harty's death were arrested in Virginia and will be charged with murder.
Long-distance AT hikers set up tents for this year's gathering at Carmelite Field off Oblong Road. Some of the gathering's organizers Mike 'Wingheart' Wingeart, Jim 'White Sidewalls' Sample, Sue 'Mama Lipton' Spring and Tom 'Flatlander' Evens. PreviousNext

Appalachian Trail Gathering Draws More than 400 to Williamstown



The gathering is something of a homecoming for hikers and is held in different locations around the country.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  More than 400 long-distance hiking enthusiasts and Appalachian Trail thru-hikers will pass through Williamstown this weekend for the 35th annual Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association Gathering.



Hikers from all over the country will travel to Carmelite Fields this Columbus Day weekend, some by car and some by foot, for a homecoming of sorts.



"I'm ready for them," said Carmelite Fields owner and long-distance hiker Dr. Eric White, also known as "Mini Mart," said. "This is the third time they have used my property so I think we have this part down."



The ADLHA Gathering marks the end of the hiking season and is a chance for hikers to meet old friends from the trail, swap trail stories and attend myriad workshops and presentations mostly held at Williams College.



Hikers do not go by their actual names at the Gathering, but their trail names, which are not chosen but given on the trail.



ALDHA Coordinator and President Jim Sample, also known as White Sidewalls, of Pennsylvania, said the format of the gathering pretty much stays the same. People arrive throughout the day Friday and set up their tents on Carmelite Field, on what had once been the estate of novelist Sinclair Lewis.



"We are fortunate when we have a place like Williamstown here that welcomes us in and lets us use a facility with a setting like this," Sample said. "How many places are you going to go and see the top of Greylock ... and where are you going to find a college as beautiful as Williams College?"



The gathering rotates locations each year to accommodate members from different parts of the country.



Sample said he hopes there are opportunities for the hikers to venture out into the community



"We want to get more involved with the communities that really host us," he said. "We are starting to realize that when we come here it helps the community. It's good to go out and do some shopping or go out to eat. Four hundred people is a lot of people, it has an impact, and that is becoming a new focus. It benefits everybody."



Many communities, including North Adams, have become AT designated communities. White said hikers may only just pass through town but they do spend money and they can really benefit the community.



Events really kicked off around 5 p.m. Friday, and there will be a special memorial tribute to "Baltimore Jack" Tarlin, a longtime hiker who passed this year. This year's gathering is dedicated to Baltimore Jack.



Organizer Mike Wingeart, also known as Wingheart, of Baltimore, said they will also acknowledge who hiked the Appalachian Trail by year and those who literally just got off it.



"We call it the roll call of the years and ask people to stand up. We get down to the earliest hiker, say in 1970 or something, and they will get the torch award," Wingeart said. "They are the last man standing."



Then the "class of 2016" will be called up for a certificate and a patch.



There will be about 60 different workshops that are on average 45 minutes held throughout the weekend, beginning on Saturday at 9 a.m.



"A lot of them are about different trails around the world propel have hiked and they will explain what it's like," Sample said. "There will be workshops on equipment for newer hikers, or the dreamers as we like to call them. There is really a bit of everything, and we have covered the gambit."
Former U.S. Rep. John Olver is one of the many elected officials to endorse Hinds. PreviousNext

Downing, Rosenberg, Olver, Rally Support For Hinds Senate Campaign



State Sen. Benjamin Downing endorsed Hinds on Friday to follow in his footsteps. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The common theme Friday night, when Adam Hinds relaunched his campaign for state Senate, was unity.

Hinds won the Democratic nomination for the state Senate seat being vacated by Benjamin Downing. Hinds now takes on Republican Christine Canning-Wilson in the Nov. 8 general election.

On Friday, Hinds held a kickoff for the general election campaign featuring Downing, former U.S. Rep. John Olver, and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg. To a crowd full of elected officials and local leaders, the three rallied support for Hinds around the concept of unity.

"Leaders in any part of our community, in one form or another, they are all bridge builders. It is incredibly easy to try and tear something down. It is incredibly easy to be the person who just points out what is wrong. It is easy to offer a seductively simple solution to a problem and then say somebody else ought to do it," Downing said. "What is far more difficult is to be the person who rolls up their sleeves and says 'how do we actually make this real? How do we begin to solve this problem.'"

For Downing, Hinds has shown that ability. Hinds first got into politics by working for Olver's election campaign and he returned to manage a second Olver campaign. He later worked for the United Nations in the Middle East and returned to Pittsfield to head the Pittsfield Community Connection. Most recently, he headed the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, taking leave to run for Downing's seat.

"I've seen it in Adams Hinds as well. I've seen it in the work he's done here in Pittsfield, to roll up his sleeves and tackle problems, to try to work with anyone and listen to everyone, who is willing to be part of the solution, who wanted to make this community a safer place," Downing said.

All of the speakers praised Hinds ability to build coalitions to solve problems and Hinds himself echoed his commitment to do that.

"When the next developer wants to come into town or we have a ballot initiative or we are talking about gun control versus gun rights, the intuition of a lot of folks is to retreat into my corner, the group I feel comfortable with, and lob an attack over my shoulder and hope for the best. My experience has shown me that is the exact wrong approach. We're going to be better off when we figure out how to work together," Hinds said.

"If we are talking about how we are going to spur our economy in this district, it means making sure you have not only the employers who are looking for the workforce but have the workers themselves, the ones looking for a job. You better have them all in the room if you are going to fulfill that goal of workforce development. Similarly, addressing energy costs and accelerating to renewable energy, you better have everybody in the room and you are going to get there. We are all going to get there much quicker if we are going to work together."

Hinds said his grandfather moved from England to America at the age of 17. He worked sweeping floors for the Boy's Club of America and 55 years later retired as national president. But, that hope is fading now, he said, and many people don't feel they have those same opportunities.

"I often think this district is at a bit of a crossroads as well. It is hard to follow that path my grandfather did, knowing that if you work hard you can rest in the security that you are going to have a job for the rest of your life, good retirement, and your kids are going to be safe too. That's not as easy these days," Hinds said.

He said there needs to be focus on the economics, infrastructure such as broadband, and an emphasis on tackling the population lose situation. Hinds said his focus isn't on the national scale of these issues but instead "income inequality right here, concentrations of poverty right here." He believes the way to do that is to be inspiring and bring together all players.

"We know we have so much potential here if we can come together and realize it," Hinds said. "That's part of who I am. That is my belief."

In the State House, that ability means even more, said Rosenberg. The Senate president said the Western Massachusetts delegates need to come together to support each other in order to accomplish anything because the eastern part of the state vastly outnumbers the rest.

"We here in Western Massachusetts have to build coalitions and work together across these four western counties and even extending into Worcester County to really have our voices heard in Boston. There are more legislators that represent the city of Boston than the entire western counties of Massachusetts. If we don't work together and learn each other's strengths and capacities, form teams, and push hard together then we don't get what we need out here," Rosenberg said.

He said his job to find the skills each senator possess and put them to the best use on Beacon Hill.

"You will bring some very unique talents and experience to the Senate, in particular I am really looking forward to figuring out how to use the skills and talents of a guy who worked in the United Nations trying to get nations to work together as we try to get people in this legislature and this government working together," Rosenberg said.

Downing said that is the only way to "start" on solving problems. He said the issues facing Western Massachusetts are complicated and the first step is gaining trust and finding common ground among all of the players and start making progress  in being willing to be part of solutions. He said there are a lot of people frustrated with the way things are going in the district but that there is hope if people can rally together to tackle the problems.

"You could offer people simple solutions that doesn't solve the problem at all but might make them feel good in the short term, or you can deal with people honestly and with a straightforward manner. You can listen to them and you can respect them, invite them to be part of the process, engage them and ask them to be citizens in their communities and be part of the solution," Downing said.



Rosenberg, Downing, and Hinds all worked for Olver at some point. "The thing that excites me the most about Adam Hinds being our next state senator, the reason I am excited to support him, is that in every role he has been in from his time serving our country in the UN to his time serving Pittsfield to serving his role at the head of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, in every one of those roles, it has been about bringing people together. It has been about building bridges."

Olver was one of Hinds' first major endorsements during the primary campaign. Now retired, Olver doesn't come out to Pittsfield as often but made the trip Friday to support the campaign.

"He has served this country well. He was also a staff member in my campaign for two different campaigns. I know the kind of work he can do. I know that he has served us all in the United Nations in difficult times in Iraq and then in less difficult times in New York City. That will serve him exceedingly well," Olver said.

"I am convinced he will serve you very, very well."

When it comes to serving the district Hinds said he will serve whichever role he needs to solve the problems - whether that means being a facilitator, convening groups together, bringing resources, or simply getting out of the way.

"Join me if you think politics can be inspiring. Join me if it is characterized by working together to take on the big issues that we face right here. Join me if it is about doing what is right and putting together an agenda for the region that we can really put our shoulders into," Hinds said.

The audience featured multiple elected officials including state Reps. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Paul Mark, Gailanne Cariddi, Stephen Kulik, Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer, North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright, Register of Deeds Patsy Harris, Sheriff Thomas Bowler, former state Rep. Sherwood Guernsey, Pittsfield City Councilors Donna Todd Rivers, Nicholas Caccamo, Peter White, Anthony Simonelli, North Adams City Councilor Lisa Blackmer, and Lenox Selectman Channing Gibson. Andrea Harrington, who lost the primary to Hinds, and Michael Bloomberg, who lost a primary for state representative Farley-Bouvier, were also both in the audience.




iciHaiti - France : Air Logistics Support





Thursday, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development of France declared "

France has decided to donate immediately following the call for humanitarian aid launched by Haitian authorities after the passage of the hurricane Matthew that struck the south-western tip of Haiti on October 4.



The Crisis Centre and support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinates the French humanitarian and provides the Haitian authorities its expertise in aerial reconnaissance and assessment of needs.



As part of the partnership of the Ministry with Airbus Helicopters Foundation, two helicopters will carry out reconnaissance missions to assess the damage. Two French officers of civil protection are also integrated into the European assessment mission.



France expresses its entire solidarity with the Government and people of Haiti in this event."



See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-18843-icihaiti-matthew-france-in-solidarity-with-haiti.html



IH/ iciHaiti


















Department of State Welcomes 44 Moroccan and Liberian Girls to the United States for Let Girls Learn U.S. Exchange Program

Washington, DC - On October 8, 44 girls and young women between the ages of 13 and 26 from Morocco and Liberia will arrive in the United States for the 2016 Let Girls Learn: U.S. Exchange Program. Launched by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in March 2015, Let Girls Learn enables access to quality education for girls around the world. The First Lady met with the group during her trip to Liberia and Morocco in June 2016, and has invited them to celebrate the International Day of the Girl with a dialogue and a screening of the CNN documentary, We Will Rise.

The six-day exchange program, supported by the State Departments Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through a grant to Meridian International Center, represents one part of the multi-faceted Let Girls Learn initiative. In addition to the White House events, the group will also participate in a Let Girls Learn Chat and Chai event for intercultural exchange with American girls, attend meetings at the U.S. Department of State, participate in a Learning Lab and tour the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum, and visit Washington area universities to meet with international students from around the world.

The girls and young women are beneficiaries of U.S. programs in Liberia and Morocco designed to empower and uplift adolescent girls.
Under Secretary Sewall Travels to Massachusetts

Washington, DC - Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Sarah Sewall will travel to Boston, Cambridge, Medford, and Worcester, Massachusetts October 11-14.

Under Secretary Sewall will meet with the Boston Police Department to discuss their innovative approaches to community outreach and highlight their partnership with the Department of State. She will also meet with resettled refugees at the International Institute of New England. In Cambridge, the Under Secretary will discuss challenges in strengthening civilian protection in armed conflict with students and faculty at Harvard Law School.

In Medford, the Under Secretary will deliver remarks at the Fletcher School at Tufts University on Why Civilian Security Matters for National Security. She will also travel to Worcester to deliver a public lecture at Clark University on Issues and Careers at the Nexus of Human Rights and Security.
Uganda National Day

Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry: "On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I offer my best wishes to the people of Uganda as you celebrate the 54th anniversary of your nations independence.

"The friendship between our peoples is important to the United States. My government strongly supports your aspiration for further economic and social development and respect for human rights. The United States will continue to assist you in efforts to build peace and security within the region by supporting the African Union Mission in Somalia and helping to address the ongoing threat posed by the Lords Resistance Army.

"Uganda is also known for its dedication to the well-being and empowerment of refugees seeking safety within its borders. I commend you for providing aid and hospitality to these vulnerable populations.

"On this day of national celebration, I congratulate you and hope that the year to come will prove to be one of happiness, good health, and success for all."
Secretary of State Kerry to Travel to Rwanda

Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Kigali, Rwanda, from October 13-14, 2016, to join EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and others in striving to achieve U.S. climate and environmental goals at the upcoming Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is widely regarded to be one of the most successful environmental treaties ever and was the first treaty to achieve universal ratification. This global agreement has put the stratospheric ozone layer on a path to recovery through measures to control production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances.

The negotiations in Kigali will be an opportunity to reach global agreement on an ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down the production and consumption of hydroflourocarbons, or HFCs. HFCs have become popular substitutes for ozone-depleting substances, but  while they are far better for the ozone layer  they are also potent greenhouse gases, which means they contribute to global climate change.

An ambitious HFC amendment would build on the positive momentum of the Paris Agreement and could avoid up to half a degree Celsius of warming by the end of this century.
Pakistan Parliament Passes Legislation Against "Honor Killings"

Washington, DC - The United States welcomes the Parliament of Pakistans unanimous passing of legislation against so-called honor killings today. We commend the efforts of the Government of Pakistan to end this practice.

This legislation is an important step toward protecting women and girls in Pakistan and promoting their full participation in society. Raising social awareness and holding perpetrators accountable are critical next steps, and we will continue to support Pakistans efforts. The United States regularly reports on violence against women and girls around the globe and works to prevent and respond to such violence, including advancing accountability by working with law enforcement, supporting civil societys efforts, and engaging with critical stakeholders such as men and boys.
Assistant Secretary Frank A. Rose to Travel to Middle East

Washington, DC - Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance Frank A. Rose will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Kuwait from October 8-October 18 for meetings on missile defense cooperation and other issues of mutual interest.

Assistant Secretary Rose will meet with senior officials from each country at their respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Upcoming ensemble Black Panther has added to its already impressive cast with Forest Whitaker the latest actor joining the Marvel universe.

The actor - who will next appear in Star Wars prequel Rogue One - will join Chadwick Boseman who made his debut as the eponymous superhero in this year's Captain America: Civil War.

He will play Zuri, an elder stateman based in Wakanda, the fictional country home to Boseman's King T'Challa.

33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 Show all 34 1 /34 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 1. Captain America: Civil War Release date: 6 May 2016. Iron Man and Captain America are set to face off in this superhero blockbuster that will feature nearly all the Avengers but wont be an Avengers film. It will also mark the first time Spider-Man will feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Sony having made a deal with Marvel Studios. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 2. X-Men: Apocalypse Release date: 27 May 2016. Following the success of Days of Future Past, Apocalypse will follow the young X-Men team as the battle against Oscar Isaacs titular villain as he gathers his four horsemen; Magneto (Fassbender), Angel (Hardy), Storm (Shipp), and Psylocke (Munn). Expect carnage and no Wolverine. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 3. Suicide Squad Release date: 5 August 2016. The first supervillain film, Suicide Squad is also based in the DCEU (DC Extended Universe, where Batman and Superman live) and will introduce the world to Margot Robbies Harley Quinn and Jared Letos Joker. One of the more exciting upcoming DC films thats for sure. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 4. Doctor Strange Release date: 4 November 2016. Benedict Cumberbatch will debut in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe, where Captain America and Iron Man live) as the Sorcerer Supreme. The film already has an incredible cast, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachael McAdams and Tilda Swinton. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 5. Untitled Lego Batman film Release date: 20 February 2017. Kicking off 2017 is the Lego version of Batman, who will lead his own spin-off, having already featured in the amazing Lego Movie. Will Arnett voices the titular character, while Zach Garfianakis - from the Hangover - will voice The Joker. But will he better than Leto? 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 6. Untitled Wolverine film Release date: 3 March 2017. Having not starred in X-Men: Apocalypse, Wolverine will return to the big screen in a solo film which was recently made R-Rated following the success of Deadpool. It is expected to be Hugh Jackmans last outing as the titular character. Fox 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Release date: 5 May 2017. Chris Pratt and the crew are returning to space in the sequel to the surprisingly successful Guardians of the Galaxy. According to director James Gunn, the film will not feature Thanos, even though he will to play a major role in phase MCU Phase 3. Cast includes newcomers Kurt Russell and Pom Klementieff, as well as, rumour has it, Sylvester Stallone. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 8. Wonder Woman Release date: 23 June 2017. Gal Gadot is returning to the DCEU in her very own film, marking the first female-led superhero film on this list. Chris Pine is on board to play Wonder Womans love interest. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 9. Untitled Spider-Man reboot Release date: 7 July 2017. Yes, it is another Spider-Man reboot, having previously been redone with Andrew Garfield as the lead. However, this time it is part of the MCU, with Tom Holland as the titular character, and a heavily rumoured cameo by Iron Man could be in the pipeline. We can dream. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 10. Untitled Fox film Release date: 6 October 2017. In a strange announcement, Fox decided to withhold the release of Gambit until a future, as-yet unannounced date, which could be here, or this could be a completely separate project. Many suspect Deadpool 2 could nicely fit here, Fox capitalising on the success of the first film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 11. Thor: Ragnarok Release date: 3 November 2017. Chris Hemsworth will be returning as the Norse God in his third solo MCU film. Flight of the Conchords Taika Waititi is on board to direct, and promises a fun adventure that will likely lead into Marvels next project, Infinity War. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 12. Justice League Part One Release date: 17 November 2017. Hot on the heals of Thor comes Justice League Part One, the first DCEU team-up flick which will see Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg work together to fight bad guys. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 13: Untitled Fox film Release date: 12 January 2018. Kicking off 2018 will likely be the second Deadpool film, but then again, this could very well be another X-Men team-up. Theres also talk of an X-Force film, with Deadpool and other mutants teaming up to fight evil. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 14. Black Panther Release date: 16 February 2018. The first non-white male-led superhero film in the MCU comes in the form of Black Panther, with Chadwick Boseman reprising the titular role, having also starred as the Panther in Civil War. Creeds Ryan Coogler is on to direct what could be a very exciting film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 15. The Flash Release date: 16 March 2018. The Flash will be the first DCEU film since Justice League, and sees Ezra Miller take the lead. Phil Lord and Chris Miller were supposed to pen the film before Disney snapped them up for the Han Solo-film, leaving Seth Grahame-Smith to take charge. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 16. Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 Release date: 4 May 2018. And so, we finally get to the point of all these Infinity Stones! Thanos will be the big bad, with the Avengers needing to team up to defeat their biggest foe yet. It has previously been described as the end of the Avengers as we know it. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 17. Ant-Man and The Wasp Release date: 6 July 2018. Peyton Reed will be back to direct this surprise sequel to one of the better received MCU films. While the name is ridiculous, at least Marvel are finally having a leading female superhero. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 18. Untitled Fox film Release date: 13 July 2018. Again, not much word on this one except it is thought to be X-Men spin-off New Mutants, something Josh Boone has been hit up to write. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 19. Animated Spider-Man Film Release date: 20 July 2018. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Amy Pascal - the team behind the live-action Spider-Man films - are producing this unrelated animated adaptation of the hero. Because you can never have too much Spider-Man, right? 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 20. Aquaman Release date: 27 July 2018. Another Justice League spin-off, Jason Momoa plays the leading man. Furious 7s James Wan is on to direct, but little else is known about the film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 21. Captain Marvel Release date: 8 March 2019. Weve hit 2019, and the first confirmed superhero film will be the first proper female-led MCU film. No-one is confirmed to be in the titular role of Carol Danvers just yet. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 22. Shazam Release date: 5 April 2019. Dwayne Johnson stars as the villain in this DCEU film which will be somewhat separate to the other DC films. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 23. Avengers: Infinity War Part 2. Release date: 3 May 2019. The conclusion to the long drawn MCU saga. Expect a big finish with at least a few planets being destroyed. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 24. Justice League Part Two Release date: 14 June 2019. Soon after the Infinity War story reaches its conclusion, so will the Justice Leagues. Not much is known, except Darkseid will likely be the villain for at least one of the parts. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 25. Inhumans Release date: 12 July 2019. The concept of Inhumans (or Marvels mutants) has already been introduced in TV, through Marvels Agents of Shield, yet the film is expected to introduce the Royal Family who have yet to be seen in the show. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 26. Cyborg Release date: 3 April 2020. Having debuted in Justice League Part One three years previously, Cyborg will finally be making his own outing, with Ray Fisher as the titular character. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 27. Untitled MCU film Release date: 1 May 2020. The first of three untitled Marvel films. There are a couple of contenders, the first is a likely sequel to Spider-Man with Sony, or a third Guardians of the Galaxy film, thus finishing the trilogy. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 28. Green Lantern Corps. Release date: 19 June 2020. Before you start to worry, this has nothing to do with the Ryan Reynolds-starring flick that hit cinemas a little while ago. Instead, this will be another DCEU film that will likely spin-off from Justice League after the Green Lantern Corps cameo in one of the parts. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 29. Untitled MCU film Release date: 10 July 2020. As well as Spider-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy sequels, a Doctor Strange or Black Panther one could fit in nicely here. Or perhaps Black Widow may finally get the solo-film she deserves. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 30. Untitled MCU film Release date: 6 November 2020. Some speculators also think a Blade film could fit in here, marking over 20 years since the first Blade. But many believe the character may be better suited to a Netflix series, as with Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Theres also talk of a Runaways film reaching cinemas at some stage. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 31. Untitled Ben Affleck Batman film Release date: TBA. Now were onto the TBA release dates, the first of which is a Batman solo film, written and directed by Ben Affleck. When this is due, no one is quite sure but expect it sooner rather than later if Batman v Superman is a success. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 32. Suicide Squad 2 Release date: TBA (rumoured 2017). A sequel to Suicide Squad is expected to come in 2017 according to recent reports, but nothing has been confirmed. If the first is successful, it should come as no surprise for Warner Bros to rearrange their schedule to fit in this surefire hit. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 33. Venom Release date: TBA. This is an odd one, as it has been confirmed Sony are wanting to release a Venom film completely unrelated to the upcoming Spider-Man reboot. Venom, as you may know, is a Spider-Man villain, intrinsically linked to Spider-Man, so it seems odd they would release a film unrelated to the rebooted project and not linked to the MCU. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 Anything else? Well, now you mention it, theres also that sequel to Fantastic Four that has seemingly been dropped by Fox. Plus, theres the Gambit film which has been put on hold (but will likely fill an untitled Fox slot so we havent added it extra). Then again, it could be shoehorned in somehow Marvel

Both Daniel Kaluuya (Sicario) and Florence Kasumba - who had a small Civil War role as Dora Milaje member, Ayo - have also been announced as joining the cast of the film that'll be directed by Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed).

Coogler's frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan will play the film's chief villain while Lupita Nyong'o is the female lead.

Black Panther will further explore the history of Boseman's T'Challa, the warrior king of Marvel's fictional country Wakanda, following his initial debut in Captain America: Civil War.

There's still quite a while to go before Black Panther's standalone outing with the film's release date set for 18 February 2018.
Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

IndyEats email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

You think of curry, and Friday night takeaway springs to mind or a big meal with your friends at your local curry house. Maybe a lamb bhuna or a chicken dansak  hopefully not a korma  and sharing a peshwari naan and a pilau rice. But not here. Here is all about the half plates, and full drinks, as they say. Opening in May, Talli Joe has turned eating curry  or how Brits traditionally see it  on its head. Its not white table cloths, poppadum and chutney, over-the-top decor and limited choice of drinks. Its fun, fresh with sophisticated furnishings, bright colours and, most importantly its innovative.

And to celebrate one of the themed weeks that I can really get behind  national curry week  Talli Joe has devised a regional menu showing off the flavours and dishes that we dont know from the huge and diverse country of India.

Recommended Read more Mustard fish curry recipe from Indian cook Mallika Basu

Executive chef Sameer Taneja and manager Chirag Madan have brought the smiles, flavours and talli, (meaning tipsy) from their home to this central London But talli doesnt just mean tipsy from alcohol, it also means being drunk from happiness and the overwhelming feeling of Indian life.

Chana jor garam is a vegetarian small dish to nibble while you wait

The specially curated menu, aptly named the discovery menu, journeys from the dry plains of Rajasthan, to the rich Punjab in the north and back down to Kerala in the south. It starts with a pappadam curry, served with bajra roti. The Rajastani dish has a creamy tomato base with fenugreek and a hefty kick, where papppadams are added at the last minute giving it an usual texture almost like a minestrone soup.

Food and drink news Show all 35 1 /35 Food and drink news Food and drink news Healthy living makes us more inclined to binge, research suggests Gluten-free breads, dairy-free milks and other plant-based products have been some of the most favoured foods in British supermarkets this year. However, while were busy filling our shopping trolleys with gluten-free goodness, were also jamming it with junk food and alcohol, new research suggests Getty/iStock Food and drink news Growing list of Vegan celebs Making the switch to veganism is a major lifestyle choice, one that many claim can improve energy levels, lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and clear up any skin issues. Beyonce, Natalie Portman and Jessica Chastain are among the growing list of Hollywood stars who have eschewed animal products from their diets in recent years. Theres also been an increasing number of professional athletes who have gone vegan, such as boxing champions Mike Tyson and David Haye, thus debunking the myth that following a plant-based diet will leave you feeling weak and malnourished. AFP/Getty/NARAS/iHeartMedia Food and drink news McDonald's has announced the launch of a new vegan burger on its menu in Germany This will mark the first time the German franchise of the fast food chain has offered a vegan burger to its customers. The Big Vegan TS burger consists of a patty made from soy and wheat. It is served in a classic sesame seed bun, and contains salad, tomato, pickles and red onion. McDonald's Germany Food and drink news Drinking too many protein shakes could lead to an increased risk of obesity and a reduced lifespan, a new study has claimed Researchers from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre carried out an investigation to determine the impact excessive consumption of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) has on the body. BCAA supplements are often consumed in the form of powder, which is then added to water to make a shake. Published in journal Nature Metabolism, the study found that while BCAAs help to build muscle, they can also negatively impact an individual's temperament, cause weight gain and lead to a shortened lifespan Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Britain consumes more chocolate than any other country Most people love chocolate but it turns out no one does more than the Brits  with the average Brit found to have consumed 8.4 kg of chocolate in 2017, according to new data. Chocolate consumption around the world is on the rise, according to Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD), which found that in the past year alone, Easter chocolate production has risen by 23 per cent Food and drink news 'Easter eggs should be banned for children under four' Dr Becky Spelman, chief psychologist at Harley Streets Private Therapy Clinic, is calling for Easter eggs to be banned for consumption for children under the age of four, claiming that giving them the opportunity to binge on chocolate so young will give them an unhealthy relationship with food later on. "This is a nightmare situation for parents of this generation as they have no idea how to teach their children to delay their response to cravings, she said, explaining that too many young kids binge on these chocolates because their parents dont know how to stop them. "Once a child starts overeating behaviour at a young age its very hard to turn things around for them in terms of food and their eating habits moving forward, leading to obesity from at very young age," she added PA Food and drink news Pineapple overtakes avocado as the UK's fastest-selling fruit According to Tesco, pineapple has overtaken avocado as the UKs fastest-selling fruit, with sales increasing by 15 per cent in 2017. In comparison, avocado sales rose by just under 10 per cent last year. The popular supermarket says the surge in popularity comes as shoppers buying the versatile fruit are beginning to use it as a main ingredient in everything from curries and barbecues, to juices and cocktails Getty Food and drink news Marks & Spencers launches stoneless avocados Rather than the result of genetic modification, the avocados are formed by an unpollinated avocado blossom. The fruit develops without a seed which in turns stops the growth, creating a small, seedless fruit. Whats more, the skin is actually edible, unlike a regular avocado. The flesh is much like that of a normal avocado - smooth and creamy, pale in colour and rich in flavour M&S Food and drink news Office teabags contain 17 times more germs than a toilet seat, reveals study The average bacterial reading of an office teabag was 3,785, in comparison to only 220 for a toilet seat. Other pieces of kitchen equipment also stacked up highly in their findings, with the bacterial readings averaging at 2,483 on kettle handles, 1,746 on the rim of a used mug and 1,592 on a fridge door handle Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news New study shows drinking more coffee leads to a longer life There is good news and a final hope for coffee addicts and lovers. You will now be able to drink coffee for longer as new study shows its can lead to a prolonged life. Scientists showed that those who drank between two and four cups of coffee a day had 18% lower risk of death compared to non-coffee drinkers. PA Food and drink news Coke Zero is replaced with Coke Zero Sugar Coca-Cola is pulling the plug on its Coke Zero. The much loved drink will be replaced with a new improved taste. The move, backed with a 10 million campaign, is said to come from Coca-Cola supporting people to reduce their sugar intake. Coca-Cola want people make this move while not sacrificing sugary taste of Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola Food and drink news Starbucks introduce new avocado spread The avocado craze has grown from hipster brunch restaurants to Starbucks. Starbucks have introduced their new avocado spread earlier this year and it has the internet in debate. Some argue that it not a spread but guacamole while others question if there is any avocado in there at all. When buying the new spread you can also buy an optional toasted bagel. It is a must try for all avocado connoisseurs. Starbucks Food and drink news New Mars chocolate bar The iconic British chocolate bar is about to get its partner in crime. The new bar, named Goodness Knows, will replace the gooey caramel goodness of the mars bar with oats. It is said to be more like a Florentine biscuit with a thin dark chocolate bottom. While being moderately healthy Mars says that is has good intentions. One pack has 154 calories and will sell for about 90p. Mars Food and drink news Wine prices could increase because of Brexit Wine lovers across the UK might soon have to shell out close to a quarter more for their favourite tipple after Brexit, as a weaker pound and sluggish economy takes its toll, a new study shows Rex Food and drink news Chocolate may be good for the heart A new study, published in the British Medical Journal: Heart, found that moderate chocolate intake can be positively associated with lessening the risk of the heart arrhythmia condition Atrial Fibrillation Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Brits throw away 1.4 million bananas each year British families are throwing away 1.4 million bananas that are perfectly good to eat every day at cost of 80m a year, new figures have shown PA/Armin Weigel Food and drink news Rosemary sales spike over exam time There has been a surge a surge in sales of the herb rosemary after a recent study found it helps improve memory. According to high street health food chain Holland & Barrett, sales of the herb have increased by 187 per cent compared to the same time last year Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Gluten-free diets 'not recommended' for people without coeliac disease Avoiding wheat, barley and rye in the belief that a gluten-free diet brings health benefits may do more harm than good, according to a team of US nutrition and medicine experts Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Starbucks launches two new coffee-based drinks Starbucks is launching two new coffee-based drinks in the UK, as it strives to tap into consumers growing appetite for healthy beverages. The Cold Brew Vanilla sweet cream and the Cappuccino Freddo, will both be available in stores throughout the UK from the start of May Twitter/@SbuxCountyHall Food and drink news Cadburys Dairy Milk Tiffin is making a permanent comeback after 80 years The Cadbury Dairy Milk Tiffin, first produced in 1937, is making a permanent comeback to the UK. The raisin and biscuit-filled chocolate bar is being launched after a successful trial last summer saw 3 million chocolate treats  at the cost of 1.49 for each 95g bar- purchased by nostalgic customers Cadburys Food and drink news Pizza restaurant makes worlds cheesiest 'Scottie's Pizza Parlor' in Portland Oregon has created the worlds cheesiest pizza using a total of 101 different cheese varieties. Facebook/Scottie's Pizza Parlor Food and drink news A pizza joint in Portland Oregon has created the worlds cheesiest pizza using a total of 101 different cheese varieties. Why not eating before a workout could be better for your health A study published in the American Journal of Physiology by researchers at the University of Bath found you might be likely to burn more fat if you have not eaten first Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news New York restaurant named best in the world A New York restaurant where an average meal for two will cost $700 has been named the best in the world. Eleven Madison Park won the accolade for the first time after debuting on the list at number 50 in 2010. The restaurant was praised for a fun sense of fine-dining, blurring the line between the kitchen and the dining room Getty Images Food and drink news Why you crave bad food when youre tired Researchers at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago recently presented their results of a study looking into the effects of sleep deprivation upon high-calorific food consumption. Researchers found that those who were sleep-deprived had specifically enhanced brain activity to the food smells compared to when they had a good nights sleep Shutterstock Food and drink news Drinking wine engages more of your brain than solving maths problems Drinking wine is the ideal workout for your brain, engaging more parts of our grey matter than any other human behaviour, according to a leading neuroscientist. Dr Gordon Shepherd, from the Yale School of Medicine, said sniffing and analysing a wine before drinking it requires exquisite control of one of the biggest muscles in the body Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news British dessert eating surges after people ditch healthy eating in February : In heartening news for anyone feeling guilty about quitting their New Year diet, it seems lots of us have given in to our sweet tooths once again. New data from nationwide food-delivery service Deliveroo reveals there was a surge in Brits ordering desserts in February compared to the first month of 2017 Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news US congress debates definition of milk alternatives A new bill has been created that seeks to ban dairy alternatives from using the term milk. Titled the DAIRY PRIDE Act, the name is a tenuous acronym for defending against imitations and replacements of yogurt, milk, and cheese to promote regular intake of dairy every day. It argues that the dairy industry is struggling as a result of all the dairy-free alternatives on the market and the public are being duped too Getty Images Food and drink news Cadburys launches two new chocolate bars UK confectionary giant Cadbury has launched two new chocolate bars, hoping to lure those with a sweet tooth and perhaps help combat some of the challenges it faces from rising commodity prices and a post-Brexit slump in the value of the pound.The companys new products will be peanut butter and mint flavoured. They will be available in most major super markets as 120g bars, priced at 1.49, according to the company Cadburys Food and drink news You can now get a job as a professional chocolate eater The company responsible for some of your favourite chocolate brands  think Cadbury, Milks, Prince and Oreo  have officially announced an opening to join their team as a professional chocolate taster. The successful candidate will help them to test, perfect and launch new products all over the world. Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news MSG additive used in Chinese food is actually good for you, scientist claims For years, weve been told MSG (the sodium salt of glutamic acid) - often associated with cheap Chinese takeaways - is awful for our health and to be avoided at all costs. But one scientist argues it should be used as a supersalt and encourages adding it to food. Getty Images/iStockphoto Food and drink news Lettuce prices are rising Not only are lettuces becoming an increasingly rare commodity in supermarkets, but prices for the leafy vegetables seem to be rising too. According to the weekly report from the Governments Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a pair of Little Gem lettuces had an average market price of 0.86 in the week that ended on Friday, up from an average of 0.56 in the previous week  thats an almost 54 per cent increase. Getty Images Food and drink news Do-It-Yourself restaurant To encourage more people to cook and eat together, IKEA has launched The Dining Club in Shoreditch  a fully immersive Do-It-Yourself restaurant . Members of the public can book to host a brunch, lunch or dinner party for up to 20 friends and family. Supported by their very own sous chef and maitre de, the host and their guests will orchestrate an intimate dining experience where cooking together is celebrated and eating together is inspirational Mikael Buck / IKEA Food and drink news Ping Pong menu with a twist Gatwick Airport has teamed up with London dim sum restaurant Ping Pong to create a limited edition menu with a distinctly British twist; including a Full English Bao and Beef Wellington Puff, to celebrate the launch of the airports new route to Hong Kong Food and drink news Zizzi unveil the Maamgharita Unique pizza art has been created by Zizzi in celebration of the Queens 90th birthday. The pizza features the queen in an iconic pose illustrated with fresh and tasty Italian ingredients on a backdrop of the Union Jack Food and drink news Blue potatoes make a comeback Blue potatoes, once a staple part of British potato crops, are back on the menu thanks to a Cambridge scientist turned-organic farmer and Farmdrop, an online marketplace that lets people buy direct from local farms. Cambridge PhD graduate-turned farmer, Adrian Izzard has used traditional growing techniques at Wild Country Organics to produce the colourful spuds, packed with healthy cell-protecting anthocyanin, which had previously disappeared from UK plates when post-war farmers were pushed towards higher-yielding varieties

Next is the fish dish, meen moplah. Sea bream is served with vermicelli upma, and is a popular dish from Kerala and flavoured with curry leaves. The tomato sauce doesnt overpower the fish, and its rich and dry spice is cooled with a hint of coconut.

Specialising in small plates for sharing, Talli Joe's food is bright and innovative

The third dish is perhaps the most unusual, which mixes two meats and textures serves as a tribute to a Punjabi chef who was famed for his version. The meat beli ram has an earthy spice, and uses minced lamb with cumin as the base, while a chicken drumstick sits in the middle. Each dish is 9.50, and you could eat all three for dinner, or share a few for lunch.

Executive chef Sameer Taneja created the discovery menu especially for National Curry Week

The a la carte menu is made up of its half plates made for sharing that start from 2.50 and go up to 10. Start with some chakhna  smaller plates to nibble on while you wait for the rest. A must try is chana jor garam, made up of spicy and tangy roasted black crisps and boiled black gram with chopped tomato.

And as for the drinks, which normally consist of a King Fisher or Cobra or less than mediocre wine, theyre a serious affair. Split into north, south, east and west India on the menu, the cocktails are fiercely strong with the likes of turmeric infused gin in the Eastern masala punch, or whisky with almond and cashew nut puree in the badnam milk punch, from the North.

Finishing up with sweet plates, the black gajar halwa  which translates as black carrots and salted peanuts - may sound odd, but is soft and caramelised mixed with a crunchy peanut brittle on the top  making it deliciously sweet. Surely it wont be long before more venues open  sharing that Indian talli feeling.

Food: ****

Ambience: ***

Service: ****

Talli Joe, 152-154 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8HL; info@tallijoe.com; 02078365400; Mon-Sat 12pm-11.30 pm
Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

IndyEats email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

For the first time ever, the Michelin Guide held a huge event in the centre of London to unveil this years group of Michelin star restaurants in the UK and Ireland. Still considered as the most important guide to eating out in the world, Michelin inspectors have spent the last twelve months dining in the places that encapsulate everything incredible about the world of food and drink.

There were seventeen new one-star entries this year, with The Raby Hunt in County Durham the only establishment to gain a second.

The Fat Duck regained its three stars after moving to Melbourne last year, bringing the total number of three-starred restaurants in the UK back to four.

2016 has seen quite a few Michelin star restaurants lose their chefs or close and, as a result, their stars. Legends like Phil Howard parted ways with The Square to open his new venture Elystan Street; Michael Wignall left The Latymer for Gidleigh Park to take over from Michael Caines and retained two stars and Matt Gillan moved on from The Pass in West Sussex.

Claude Bosi also closed his Michelin star restaurant Hibiscus just two days before the results were revealed, meaning the number of two-star restaurants in the UK has decreased by two to twenty-one.

There were also some new special recognition awards presented at the beginning of the ceremony  Clare Smyth took home the title of Michelin Female Chef 2017, while the front of house team at Peels at Hampton Manor (which was also awarded a Michelin star) were given the Michelin Welcome Service Award 2017.

It was a good result for the north of England, as restaurants such as Kevin Tickles Forest Side and Gilpin Hotel and Lake House in Cumbria earned their first stars. Hackney in London also gained its first star, with Ellory making the cut.

Michelin-starred restaurants that closed and therefore lost their stars include Brasserie Chavot and Arbutus in London, Mr Underhills at Dinham Weir in Shropshire and Sangsters in Fife. Other restaurants that have lost their Michelin stars this year are Londons Wild Honey, Launceston Place and LAutre Pied; Paris House in Woburn; Drakes in Surrey; Ockenden Manor in West Sussex; The Terrace at Montagu Arms Hotel and Thackerays in Kent.

Ten restaurants to vist in 2017:

Restaurant James Sommerin  Cardiff

Known as one of Wales greatest chefs, James Sommerin opens his first solo venture in Penarth

Forest Side - Cumbria

Set in Grasmere, Forest Side is a new entry this year

Raby Hunt (2*)  Darlington

Raby Hunt was the only venue to gain a second star this year

Gilpin House and Lake Hotel  Windermere

The Giplin restaurant serves up local specialities from the Cumbrian cuisine

The Wild Rabbit  Oxfordshire

The Wild Rabbit uses homegrown produce from its own garden where possible

Peel's at Hampton Manor  Solihul

Peel's also won the Michelin Welcome Service Award 2017

Sosban and the Old Butchers  Wales

Sosban opened in 2013 nad is run by husband and wife team, Stephen and Bethan Stevens

Thomas Carr @ The Olive Room  Devon

Dishes at the Olive Room are all made from just four or five ingredients

The Crown  Berkshire

Found in Maidenhead, The Crown has been awarded one star

Tudor Room at Great Fosters  Surrey

The Tudor Room is Egham is another new entry this year

This article originally appeared on The Great British Chefs website. For the full list, visit greatbritishchefs.com/michelin-guide-results
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

One of the country's top universities has insisted it will stand by its foreign academics following reports the Government had banned them from advising ministers on Brexit.

A message sent by the Foreign Office informed staff at the London School of Economics (LSE) that they were no longer able to contribute toward Government analysis on leaving the EU, because they are not UK nationals.

The decision, revealed on Twitter by an assistant professor at LSE, has been condemned by fellow academics and branded utterly baffling by former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg.

LSE interim director Professor Julia Black said in an internal school update memo that the world-renowned university had chosen to ignore the ban and stand by its academic principles of independence.

She said: 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.

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

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,

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.

Dr Hagemann, who specialises in EU policymaking and treaties, announced in a tweet on Thursday: UK govt previously sought work & advice from best experts. Just told I & many colleagues no longer qualify as not UK citizens.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office disputed the claim, insisting nothing had changed since the pro-Brexit referendum result.

In a statement, he 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.

Dr Hagemann later tweeted: I stand by fact there is new tone in UKgovt business& I had specific rejection re advisory work as not UK citizen

But am proud to be part of outstanding experts [at LSE] who value diversity, integrity in addition to professional expertise.

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 in response to the claims: 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.

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.

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.

Additional reporting by PA
Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Nadine White Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race Report Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

The Race Report email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The Sun and Daily Mail have been singled out in a report on hate speech and discrimination in the UK.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) took aim at some British media outlets, particularly tabloid newspapers, for offensive, discriminatory and provocative terminology.

Its report said hate speech was a serious problem, including against Roma, gypsies and travellers, as well as unscrupulous press reporting targeting the LGBT community.

In March 2013, a trans schoolteacher committed suicide after being outed by the Daily Mail newspaper, it continued.

Richard Littlejohn's column in the Daily Mail

Researchers were referring to the death of Lucy Meadows, who made no mention of press intrusion in a note left to loved ones before her death but had suffered what campaigners at Trans Media Watch called a huge amount of monstering and harassment.

A column published in the Mail had used photos of Ms Meadows before her transition with the headline he's not only in the wrong body... he's in the wrong job.

Michael Singleton, the coroner delivering the inquest verdict in May 2013, said the teacher had complained to regulators about harassment as photographers besieged her home and school, and criticised the sensational and salacious press coverage of the story, describing it as ill-informed bigotry.

The ECRIs report also concluded that some reporting on immigration, terrorism and the refugee crisis was contributing to creating an atmosphere of hostility and rejection.

It cited Katie Hopkins infamous column in The Sun, where she likened refugees to cockroaches and sparked a blistering response from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the same newspapers debunked claim over 1 in 5 Brit Muslims sympathy for jihadis.

ECRI urges the media to take stock of the importance of responsible reporting, not only to avoid perpetuating prejudice and biased information, but also to avoid harm to targeted persons or vulnerable groups, it concluded.

The independent press watchdog has upheld a complaint over this headline (The Sun)

ECRI considers that, in light of the fact that Muslims are increasingly under the spotlight as a result of recent Isis-related terrorist acts around the world, fuelling prejudice against Muslims shows a reckless disregard, not only for the dignity of the great majority of Muslims in the United Kingdom, but also for their safety.

The report called for the establishment of a press regulator according to the recommendations set out in the Leveson Report, saying the two competing bodies currently in place were insufficient.

It also recommended more rigorous ethical training for journalist and widening a clause of the Editors Code of Practice on discrimination

The ECRI, which is the Council of Europes premiere human rights body, examines all EU member states periodically and released its UK report last week, offering 23 recommendations for change.

It also named David Cameron and Nigel Farage as among the British politicians and institutions accused of fuelling rising xenophobia in the UK as debate continues to rage over Brexit, the refugee crisis and terrorism.

It found a number of areas of concern over intolerant political discourse and hate speech, as well as violent racial and religious attacks.

Brexit racism and the fightback Show all 9 1 /9 Brexit racism and the fightback Brexit racism and the fightback Demonstrators protest against an increase in post-ref racism at London's March for Europe in July 2016 PA Brexit racism and the fightback These cards were found near a school in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the day after the EU referendum Twitter/@howgilb Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback Romford, Essex, June 25 @diamondgeezer Brexit racism and the fightback A worker at this Romanian food shop was asleep upstairs at the time of this arson attack in Norwich on July 8, but escaped unharmed. Hundreds later participated in a love bombing rally outside the shop to express their opposition to racism and their support of the shop owners. JustGiving/Helen Linehan Brexit racism and the fightback This neo-Nazi sticker was spotted in Glasgow on June 26 Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback But after news emerged of neo-Nazi stickers appearing in Glasgow, some in the city struck back with slogans of their own. Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback More signs began to appear in some parts of the UK, created by people who wanted to show their opposition to post-referendum racism Courtesy of Bernadette Russell

Police statistics have shown a sharp rise in Islamophobic, antisemitic and xenophobic assaults over the past year, amid growing tensions in Britain and across Europe.

As well as attacks on religious buildings, migrants from Eastern Europe have been targeted since the vote for Brexit, including a student stabbed in the neck for speaking Polish in Telford and killing of a Polish man in Harlow.

It is no coincidence that racist violence is on the rise in the UK at the same time as we see worrying examples of intolerance and hate speech in the newspapers, online and even among politicians, said ECRI chair Christian Ahlund.

The Brexit referendum seems to have led to a further rise in anti-foreigner sentiment, making it even more important that the British authorities take the steps outlined in our report as a matter of priority.

In a response included with the report, the Government defended its record and noted progress with a new Cohesive Communities Programme, Hate Crime Action Plan and the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, but said it would not acquiesce to calls to ratify an anti-discrimination protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Representatives for The Sun and Daily Mail have not yet responded to The Independents request for a comment.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

We published an article on 18 April 2016 under the heading Queen's birthday: the seven dictators and leaders with poor human rights records greeted by Elizabeth II which wrongly stated that His Highness Sheikh Nasser al Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah was one of the world's most feared dictators and a leader with a poor human rights record, that he was associated with or personally responsible for numerous and consistent human rights abuses, that he is comparable to dictators like Robert Mugabe and that he was therefore not an appropriate or acceptable individual for the Queen to have met. Our article was not only wrong but was grossly defamatory of His Highness Sheikh Nasser and caused serious damage to his reputation by purporting to doubt his integrity and his respect for human rights.

We realised we had made an error on 19 April 2016 and that we had intended to refer to an unrelated third party, not Sheikh Nasser who had been the Prime Minister of Kuwait. We therefore amended the article on 19 April 2016. We recognise that there was no foundation to these allegations either in the original form of the article as published or the amended form and we sincerely regret that these allegations were ever made and that Sheikh Nasser was mentioned in the article/ an article of this nature. We apologise unreservedly to Sheikh Nasser.

We have now amended the article to remove all references to Sheikh Nasser and to ensure that syndicated copies of the article are corrected to remove the same. We greatly regret any damage and embarrassment caused to Sheikh Nassers reputation by the publication of the article and we are glad to have this opportunity to correct the record and to apologise to His Highness Sheikh Nasser.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A woman in Grimsby has been arrested after "brandishing a firearm" in the street.

Armed police were called to a suburban road in Portland Place on Saturday in response to concerned calls regarding a woman with a gun.

The area was sealed off and specialist officers, including negotiators, were deployed at the scene, as well as four ambulance teams.

The armed woman retreated inside a property off Legsby avenue and was eventually arrested.

A Humberside Police spokesperson said: Roads around Portland Place in Grimsby are now open following the peaceful conclusion of a firearms incident that had been ongoing for a number of hours.

A woman was arrested shortly before 4.15pm and is now in police custody. She will be interviewed in due course."

The arrested woman was placed into a waiting ambulance and checked over by paramedics, before being taken into custody.

Police said they were keeping her relatives up-to-date on her condition, but that nobody was hurt in the incident.

Two local residents told the Grimsby Telegraph that police had attended the rented two-storey property a couple of days previously following reports of a man laid out in drunken state in the front garden.

"Nothing much goes on down here ever," one added.

A police spokesperson said: We would like to thank the local community for their co-operation and patience whilst we dealt with the matter and express our appreciation to all those affected this afternoon.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The Metropolitan Police have launched a hate-crime investigation after literature stating that those who insult Islam must be killed was reportedly handed out at a London mosque.

The leaflets, said to be distributed at a holy gathering by the Dar-ul-Uloom Qadria Jilania mosque in Walthamstow, state that apostates deserve to be assassinated and point to a classic manual of Islamic law to justify such killings.

Imam Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, whose named appears on the front cover of the booklets, is believed to be linked to their distribution, the London Evening Standard reported, although he has strongly denied the claims.

Recommended Read more Charity Commission opens inquiry into mosque over hate crime

The booklet cites the case of Mumtaz Qadri, a fundamentalist who murdered Pakistani governor Salmaan Taseer in 2011 after he spoke in 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 deserves to be killed.

One worshipper who received the leaflet said: Two or three people delivered the leaflet. 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.

Scotland Yard responded to the reports that action was being taken to establish whether a criminal offence has taken place.

 Sadiq Khan: Donald Trump's negative rhetoric about Muslims is helping Isis

A spokesman said: We are committed to tackling hate crime in all its forms and have long since recognised the impact of hate crime on communities.

Mr Jilani said that he had no knowledge of the booklet being distributed. He said that he had not given permission for his face to be used on the front, that it had been falsely attributed to him, and that he does not agree with its message.

He said: I am not aware of if, why or how, the booklet was distributed in Dar-ul-Uloom Qadria Jilania.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A leading refugee charity is mounting a legal challenge against the Home Office for failing to meet its commitment to provide sanctuary for unaccompanied child refugees.

Help Refugees argues that the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has breached her relocation duties by wrongly applying or interpreting Mays Immigration Act.

Almost 90,000 child refugees who arrived in Europe last year were alone, according to official European statistics. The most common country they were fleeing was Syria, followed by Afghanistan and then Iraq.

The charity has provided legal papers alleging that it is incontestable the unaccompanied minors the legislation is intended to help are exposed to serious risks of abuse and exploitation, The Guardian reported.

Help Refugees' legal action could prompt a judicial review of the Home Office's actions.

The Dubs amendment to the Immigration Act in May stipulated that lone child refugees registered in France, Italy or Greece before 20 March could be resettled in the UK.

As part of the amendment, the Government pledged it would make arrangements to relocate to the UK a number of unaccompanied children as soon as possible.

Yet, several months on, it appears few children - if any - have been relocated under its provisions.

The legal action against the Home Office comes amid concern for the unaccompanied children currently living in the Calais refugee camp.

French authorities estimate there are 7,000 refugees and migrants living in the so-called Jungle camp, but charities on the ground say the figure exceeds 10,000. Among them are an estimated 400 unaccompanied children.

President Francois Hollande has vowed to clear the camp. He is under pressure to mitigate the rising tide of anti-refugee feeling and Islamophobia ahead of the upcoming French presidential election.

Yet the head of Frances human rights watchdog has indicated the demolition will start as soon as 17 October, intensifying fears about the fate of the children currently living in the camp alone.

Last time the camp was demolished, 129 unaccompanied minors from the camp disappeared.

While charity leaders acknowledge Jungle camp is not fit for human habitation, they fear for those who live there if it is demolished.

Josie Naughton, co-founder of Help Refugees, told The Guardian: We absolutely think that the camp shouldnt be there and no human being should live in those conditions, but we need to make sure that the French keep their word so that proper alternative accommodation is provided and that the eviction is carried out as humanely as possible.

Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Show all 7 1 /7 Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The Solidarity With Refugees group said Saturdays protest aimed to show our Government and the world that Britain is ready to welcome more refugees. Rex Features Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis People march through central London as they take part in a protest rally organised by Solidarity with Refugees in a bid to urge the Government to take more action on the migrant crisis Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The protest comes days before world leaders meet to discuss crisis at UN General Assembly Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Demonstrators made their way from Park Lane to Parliament Square in London on Saturday afternoon Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Marchers chanted refugees are welcome here and waved banners reading no-one is illegal and lets help people Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The march was supported by charities and groups including the Red Cross, Asylum Aid, Save the Children, Hope Not Hate, Oxfam and the UN Refugee Agency Rex Features Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis In the wake of Alans death, David Cameron pledged to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK over the coming five years but there have been additional calls to re-home those who have already reached Europe, as well as asylum seekers coming from other conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan Rex Features

Jacques Toubon, the former French minister of justice, has written a letter to the Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, urging him to establish arrangements for unaccompanied children after the camp is razed.

According to Help Refugees, the Home Office currently has the paperwork for 387 children currently in the Calais refugee camps who have the right to be in the UK  either international law or the Dubs agreement.

Many of those in the Calais camp have relatives in the UK but have found the process to claim their legal right to asylum in the UK slow.

The Government has come under intense criticism after a 14-year-old Afghan boy who had a legal right to asylum in Britain was killed on a French motorway while trying to reach the UK.

The UK's new anti-slavery commissioner warned in September the slow pace of Brtiains efforts to give sanctuary to unaccompanied child refugees in Calais was exposeig them to the risk of modern slavery and exploitation.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A woman has claimed she was denied entry to a London nightclub because of her weight.

Bobbi Jo Goldsmith had booked a table at Libertine London to celebrate her 20th birthday with nine friends on 30 September.

But Ms Goldsmith claimed her group were picked out from others in the queue and asked to leave by club staff who said the women were "too big".

I was just totally embarrassed, Ms Goldsmith told The Mirror.

They just looked us up and down and told us that we were too big.

"It completely ruined my birthday.

Ms Goldsmiths mother Deborah Kerr shared the story and her daughters photograph on Facebook. At the time of writing, the post had been shared nearly 6,000 times and had 11,000 likes.

This figure is too big (my daughter in the image below) and her friends were told by [a] club [sic], Ms Kerr said.

She said a promoter was told by a "tall French woman at the entrance of the club" that the group "weren't the look the club wanted".

They were all made to feel dreadful, pulled out from the queue and told to leave," Ms Kerr added.

"The table and arrangements were all pre-organised  it's not like they just turned up

She said the club's behaviour was discriminatory and should not be tolerated.

"No wonder young girls of today have so many hang ups!" she said.

Ms Goldsmith said she was worried about the impact door policies like Libertine's could have on other women.

I want to highlight this  it shouldn't be happening in 2016," she said. "It's horrible.

Other people said they had been turned away for being too drunk when they had barely had any alcohol and belived this was another excuse to judge and turn people away on the basis of their appearance.

Libertine London isn't the only club to be accused of size discrimination. Last year, four women claimed they were turned away by Soho club DSTRKT for being "too dark" and "too fat".

In a statement sent to the Mirror, Libertine London denied the allegation that they had turned Ms Goldsmith away because of their weight.

A spokesperson said: We would like to make it clear that, any assumptions or comments concerning the reason for not granting entry, certainly did not come from anyone employed or connected to us and are in no way reflective of our actual door policy.

The club is nearly always over-subscribed and turning people away is commonplace for us and every other venue.

On that particular night we had over 500 people through the doors and turned away 119 potential customers.

Potential customers are given priority based on who they booked with. Members and house guestlist coming first, followed by the in-house PR team and then freelance promotional companies and their sub-promoters.

On any given night our club is filled with a diverse and inclusive group of people, which is something we pride ourselves upon. We would never reject anyone based upon their dress size or physical appearance."

A history of clubbing and clobber Show all 7 1 /7 A history of clubbing and clobber A history of clubbing and clobber Debauched disco Dancers in matching pink and white costumes play with beach balls on the mezzanine of Studio 54, a nightclub in New York City, in 1981 A history of clubbing and clobber Bright young things New Romantics at The Blitz club in London's Covent Garden in 1980 A history of clubbing and clobber Spiritual home of acid house Clubbers on the main stage at The Hacienda in Manchester in 1989 A history of clubbing and clobber High fashion meets trash culture Nu Rave clubbers outside Boombox in Shoreditch, London in 2007 A history of clubbing and clobber Posing and posturing DJ Princess Julia and fashion designer Stephen Linard at The Blitz club in 1981 A history of clubbing and clobber Celebrating the ridiculous Scottee (on the right) clubbing in the Noughties Rex Features A history of clubbing and clobber Part of a secret society Mike Pickering at The Hacienda in 1988

Ms Kerr added her daughter had still enjoyed her birthday  no thanks to Libertine.

Luckily she's a strong and resilient girl so wasn't too affected by it," she said.

"But it made the night even more expensive, because they hadn't booked a table or anything like that."

She added: She's only a size 10. She's a cheerleader. I don't understand why they didn't get in.

"Having read the reviews, Libertine is known for this stuff. I think it should be boycotted."
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

All EU migrants living in the UK will be allowed to stay following Brexit after an amnesty for those who have not already received permanent residency rights, it has been reported.

More than 80 per cent of the 3.6 million EU citizens who currently live in the UK will already have the right to remain by the time Britain leaves the European Union, according to official research.

The Home Office has learned that five in six EU migrants could not be legally deported and those who can will be offered an amnesty and be offered the opportunity to stay, the Telegraph has reported.

 How the pound has struggled since Brexit

Current rules state that you receive permanent residency rights once you have lived in the UK for more than five years, which almost 2.9 million would have done by 2019  the year Britain is set to leave the EU.

The proposals are yet to be confirmed but several Cabinet ministers have made assurances the plans will go ahead, according to the Telegraph.

Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, had previously claimed he would not guarantee EU citizens could stay in the UK as it was one of our main cards during negotiations with the rest of Europe.

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

The Government has come under attack from across the political spectrum for refusing to guarantee the status of EU migrants in the UK.

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has been accused by some of treating them like bargaining chips in the Brexit divorce deal negotiations.

The news comes a Ms May and the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, spoke at the Conservative Party conference calling for an immigration crackdown.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Michael Gove has admitted he is to blame for the feud with Boris Johnson over the Conservative leadership election.

In Mr Gove's first interview since he failed to his bid to lead the party, he took responsibility for rifts with both Mr Johnson and former Prime Minister David Cameron.

Mr Gove had agreed to support Mr Johnson in his leadership bid, but then decided to run himself instead. Supporters of Mr Johnson criticised Mr Gove for his decision.

The person most to blame is me, Mr Gove told The Times, I should either have not have been so quick to say I would definitely support Boris, or, having said that I would support Boris, not have my own wobble.

Yet although he admitted to taking responsibility for the argument, he said he was unable to fully explain why he decided to run for leader after he said he would not.

I can understand why I made the decision at the time, he said.

In order to explain it fully, you need to go over the entrails of what happened in the past, and I dont want to do that because no matter how many times you rerun the movie, it has the same ending, which is me driving 100mph and crashing into a brick wall. There is no point.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty

Mr Gove, who has returned to the backbenches since losing his leadership bid, also took responsibility for a dispute with David Cameron, who he said he had not spoken recently to but probably "feels annoyed and let down".
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Labours vote share would plummet to new depths if Tony Blair returned as leader of the party, new polling has found.

In an interview this week the former Prime Minister said his political future was an open question just weeks after announcing he was winding up some of his businesses.

A YouGov survey found Labours vote share would fall from 21 per cent under Jeremy Corbyn to just 15 per cent were Mr Blair were to return as leader.

Recommended Read more Tony Blair hints at return to UK politics

Most of the lost voters would flee to the Green Party and Liberal Democrats, though this would be partially compensated for by a small number of non-voters returning to Labour.

The Tories would be left with double Labours vote share under Mr Blairs leadership, according to the polling. The headline figures are lower than most usual voting intention figures because they are a proportion of all potential voters rather than people who say they will definitely vote.

The poll dampens any suggestion Mr Blair might return to the political front line  as continental politicians such as his contemporary Nicolas Sarkozy is planning to do in France.

Some figures around Mr Blair have called for Labour to adopt a political approach similar to that advocated by the former PM, even if he is himself not personally involved.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty

Theres 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, Mr Blair told Esquire magazine when asked if he could make a political comeback. "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.

Mr Blair stepped down as Prime Minister in 2007 after having won the 1997, 2001, and 2005 general elections. He was replaced by Gordon Brown, who lost the 2010 election.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Britain would go to the front of the queue for a trade agreement if Donald Trump is elected, the Republican presidential candidates trade adviser has said.

Dan DiMicco said America would absolutely come to an agreement with the UK before the EU, and Brexit happened for the right reasons.

A strong theme of Mr Trumps candidacy has been the opposition to existing trade agreements or proposals, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Recommended Read more Donald Trump issues apology over offensive sexual assault comments

He believes they have negatively impacted American workers and industry.

But the issue of coming to new agreements with other nations has so far received little attention.

However, Mr DiMicco told the BBC: [The UK] are our friends, they have always supported us, and weve worked together, and they are leaving the EU, in our estimation, for the right reasons.

They have lost control of their economy, the job creation engine, so why shouldnt we be working with like-minded people before we do a deal with anybody else?

The comments are a stark contrast to Barack Obamas remarks that Britain would go to the back of the queue in trade negotiations during the lead up to the 23 June referendum.

Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Show all 28 1 /28 Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Dave Brown Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Brian Adcock Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Christian Adams for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Martin Rowson for The Guardian Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Christian Adams for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Morten Morland for The Times Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Bob Moran for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Christian Adams for Daily Telegraph Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Morten Morland for The Times Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' KAL for The Economist Trumped! The best cartoons on 'The Donald' Martin Rowson for The Guardian

Mr Trump has advocated a radical overhaul of international economic activity and Americas place in it.

He has threatened to place large tariffs on goods from China and Mexico, countries he blames for taking jobs from Americans. It is also part of his Seven Point Plan to Rebuild the American Economy to classify China  the worlds fastest growing major economy  as a currency manipulator.

America is being taken advantage of by foreign powers, in Mr Trumps world view, partly because of stupid trade negotiators  who he would replace if elected.

However, many economists have criticised Mr Trumps policies as protectionist.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Nearly 900 people have died in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew swept through the Western hemispheres poorest nation, destroying buildings and causing major flooding.

In a major blow to the countrys reconstruction efforts following the 2010 earthquake, some 350,000 people have been affected by the storm, many losing their homes and possessions.

Relief efforts have been hampered by significant storm damage to the countrys already-poor infrastructure.

Recommended Read more In Haiti 877 are dead but the US media does not seem to care

Meanwhile, the hurricane is heading for southern states of the US, with evacuations ordered in Georgia and the Carolinas. Matthew has already skimmed the coast of Florida, leaving four people dead and causing flooding.

Hurricane Matthew was a category four storm when it blew into Haiti at 145 mph, taking at least 877 lives, according to a Reuters count, and causing major damage to houses, infrastructure and farmland.

In the western tip of the country - where Matthew caused the most damage - the town of Jeremie was almost totally destroyed. And in Chantal, another community in the west, eighty six people died, with another twenty more people missing.

Resident Jean-Pierre Jean-Donald told of how his wife was killed: "A tree fell on the house and flattened it. The entire house fell on us. I couldn't get out. People came to lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife who had died in the same spot."

The true extent of the damage is only just being revealed as remote areas have been cut off from the rest of the country and some can only be reached by boat or aeroplane. Many people suffering injuries such as broken bones have not received treatment.

(Logan Abassi/UN/MINUSTAH (Logan Abassi/UN/MINUSTAH)

Furthermore, the situation has been exacerbated by outbreaks of cholera, which is thought to have been caused by sewage becoming mixed up with floodwater. Children are particularly vulnerable to water borne diseases, and there are an estimated 500,000 youngsters in the worst affected areas.

We expect that homes, schools and cholera treatment facilities have been destroyed and that water systems, roads and bridges have been severely damaged, said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O'Brien.

This is a major blow to Haitis reconstruction effort and the fight against cholera, so thats why immediate emergency funds now will kick start vital life-saving assistance for Haitians caught up in this crisis.

Other relief organisations have described the situation as critical and predicted it would remain so for more than a year. Hunger is expected to be a significant problem in the forthcoming weeks and months.

A man works to repair his roof after hurricane damage in Jeremie, Haiti (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

The UK is contributing 5 million towards the relief effort. The absolute priority right now is to reach those who are injured and provide them with water, sanitation, shelter and protection, said International development Secretary Priti Patel.

A US naval boat is also helping manage the emergency. The USS Mesa Verde is equipped with helicopters, bulldozers, fresh water supplies and medical facilities.

The ship leaves behind a country still dealing with Hurricane Matthew, which has now been downgraded to a category one storm. It remains powerful and is expected to move up to South and North Carolina over Saturday.

Despite fears that Florida and Georgia would be hard hit, the states have so far avoided the heavy damage they were bracing for as Matthew skimmed their coastlines, with just four deaths in Florida due to carbon monoxide poisoning and falling trees. Around 1.2 million people suffered power outages.

Hurricane Matthew hits the US Show all 18 1 /18 Hurricane Matthew hits the US Hurricane Matthew hits the US COCOA BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 07: Metal is wrapped around a palm tree due to the heavy winds of Hurricane Matthew, October 7, 2016 on Cocoa Beach, Florida. Hurricane Matthew passed by offshore as a catagory 3 hurricane bringing heavy winds and minor flooding. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US Heavy rain and wind blow in an area near Atlantic Beach, Florida, on October 7, 2016, as hurricane Matthew approaches the area. Hurricane Matthew unleashed torrential rains and up to 120 mile-an-hour winds as it hugged the Florida coast Friday, after a blast through the Caribbean that reportedly left at least 400 dead in Haiti. / AFP / Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US National Guard units 1782 and 172 of Chester and Lancaster, South Carolina, board vehicles while deploying for duty for Hurricane Matthew service in Conway, South Carolina, U.S. October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Randall Hill - RTSR201 REUTERS Hurricane Matthew hits the US A fallen tree is seen outside a house after Hurricane Matthew hits in Melbourne, Florida, U.S., October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero - RTSR89S Hurricane Matthew hits the US Sandbags are seen in front of a business ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Georgetown, South Carolina October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Keane - RTSR43O REUTERS Hurricane Matthew hits the US An elderly man rests his head at a shelter for evacuees in a high school hallway before the arrival of Hurricane Matthew in North Charleston, South Carolina on October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake - RTSR8WK REUTERS Hurricane Matthew hits the US A resident walks past a wall of sandbags protecting a store in one of the city's low-lying areas before the arrival of Hurricane Matthew, in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S., October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake - RTSR7SH REUTERS Hurricane Matthew hits the US Homeowner Don Appell prepares to board up one of the windows at his home ahead of Hurricane Matthew in Cherry Grove, South Carolina, U.S. October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Keane - RTSR2RD REUTERS Hurricane Matthew hits the US ST AUGUSTINE, FL - OCTOBER 07: Cars are seen in a flooded parking lot as Hurricane Matthew passes through the area on October 7, 2016 in St Augustine, Florida. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have all declared a state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Matthew. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US PORT ORANGE, FL - OCTOBER 07: Metal lies on the ground at a gas station damaged by the heavy winds of Hurricane Matthew, October 7, 2016 on Port Orange, Florida. Hurricane Matthew passed by offshore as a catagory 3 hurricane bringing heavy winds and minor flooding. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US DAYTONA BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 7: A view of a collapsed roof at a gas station after Hurricane Matthew passes through on October 7, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have all declared a state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Matthew. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US DAYTONA BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 7: A vehicle drives through water on International Speedway Boulevard after Hurricane Matthew passes through on October 7, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have all declared a state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Matthew. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 07: U.S. President Barack Obama (C) talks with reporters after meeting with members of his national security and disaster response teams to discuss Hurricane Matthew in the Oval Office at the White House October 7, 2016 in Washington, DC. The hurricane is now a category 3 and is headed for Florida after wreaking havoc in Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US A US flag blows in the wind in Atlantic Beach, Florida, on October 7, 2016, as hurricane Matthew approaches the area. Hurricane Matthew unleashed torrential rains and up to 120 mile-an-hour winds as it hugged the Florida coast Friday, after a blast through the Caribbean that reportedly left at least 400 dead in Haiti. / AFP / Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US COCOA BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 07: Heavy waves caused by Hurricane Matthew pounds the boat docks at the Sunset Bar and Grill, October 7, 2016 on Cocoa Beach, Florida. Hurricane Matthew passed by offshore as a catagory 3 hurricane bringing heavy winds and minor flooding. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US ORMOND BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 7: A downed tree from high winds rests against a car in a residential community after Hurricane Matthew passes through on October 7, 2016 in Ormond Beach, Florida. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have all declared a state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Matthew. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US FORT PIERCE, FL - OCTOBER 07: Tree branches that snapped off trees are seen blocking the road after Hurricane Matthew passed through the area on October 7, 2016 in Fort Pierce, Florida. The hurricane is expected to make landfall sometime this evening or early in the morning as a possible category 4 storm. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Getty Images Hurricane Matthew hits the US COCOA BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 07: Palm trees sway from the winds of Hurricane Matthew, October 7, 2016 on Cocoa Beach, Florida. Hurricane Matthew passed by offshore as a category 3 hurricane bringing heavy wind and some flooding. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Getty Images

However, the authorities have urged that the danger is not yet over. People should not be looking at the damages theyre seeing and saying this storm is not that bad, said Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to NBC.

The real danger still is storm surge, particularly in northern Florida and southern Georgia. These are very vulnerable areas. Theyve never seen this kind of damage potential since the late 1800s.

Matthew was making itself felt in South Carolina Saturday morning. Hurricane-force winds were moving onshore at Hilton Head and Pritchards Island, South Carolina, the National Hurricane Center reported. At least one wind gust of 61 mph (98 kph) was recorded at Beaufort, South Carolina.

More than 150,000 electric customers in South Carolina  most in Beaufort and the Charleston area  were without power Saturday morning.

There has already been heavy flooding in towns such as Jacksonville, where authorities instructed people to hunker down at home.

Major cities like Miami saw heavy winds and rain but escaped relatively unscathed.

In Georgia, the eastern counties are under evacuation orders and 2,000 National Guard troops have been placed on standby.

Storm surges as high as eight feet are possible in South Carolina, where residents of coastal areas have been warned to move to higher ground because of the possible life-threatening inundation.

St. Augustine in Florida - which is the oldest permanently occupied European settlement in the US and includes a 17th-century Spanish fortress and many historic homes turned into bed-and-breakfasts - was awash in rain and gray seawater that authorities said could top 8 feet.

The historic town of Charleston has already suffered significant flooding caused by storm surges.

Local government urged some people to move to higher ground because of the risk of flash flooding.

A state of emergency is in force across all four states.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

At least ten people have died as Hurricane Matthew continued to work its way up the Atlantic coast of the United States.

The storm has diminished since pulverising Haiti, causing almost 900 deaths, yet still continues to wreak havoc in the US causing serious flooding and widespread power outages in Georgia and Florida.

Recommended Read more Haiti death toll nears 900 while US braces for Hurricane Matthew

Florida officials reported at least six deaths that resulted from the storm, while two people died in Georgia, and another three died in North Carolina.

South Carolina is the latest to brace for impact, but damage is expected to be somewhat lesser as the storm was downgraded to Category 1 on Saturday. Wind speeds have fallen by half from its 75 mph peak a week ago.

Still, the National Weather Service warned of life-threatening floods through the South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina as the storm continues to work its way up the coast.

Roads up the 600-mile route between Miami and Charleston were closed due to fallen trees and downed electric lines, according to Reuters.

More than 775,000 people in Florida were left without power, state officials said. South Carolina Gov Nikki Haley said 433,000 people reported outages, while 275,000 were left in the dark in Georgia.

Earlier this week, Gov Rick Scott had urged Florida residents to evacuate the areas as the storm would prove deadly if it made direct impact with the state. Some 6,000 people stayed in shelters as the stormed skirted the coast.

Were all blessed that Matthew stayed off our coast, he said Saturday, noting that Floridians should expect to have their power returned by Sunday.

North Carolina Gov Pat McCrory expressed concerns that people would not take weakened Matthew seriously as it made its way up to the state Saturday evening.

This is a very serious and deadly storm, he said, urging residents to stay off roads and remain in their homes.

The National Weather Service expects Matthew to remain a hurricane as it works its way through the United States until Sunday, when it is predicted to move off the coast.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A UN expert on freedom of expression has voiced serious concerns over allegations that tech giant Yahoo scanned millions of customer emails at the behest of US intelligence.

Yahoo specially built software to monitor customer communications in accordance with a criteria provided by the National Security Agency or FBI, according to a Reuters report citing insiders with close knowledge of the issue.

The software - an adapatation of a filter intended for use against spam and child pornography - was searching for a specific set of characters which could have been in or attached to an email.

Now, David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, has condemned the alleged actions.

Recommended Read more Questions remained to be answered by Yahoo over data breach

Government monitoring of digital communications, when conducted as described in recent reports, could undermine the privacy that individuals depend on in order to seek, receive and impart information online, said Mr Kaye.

He added: Based on the allegations reported, I have serious concerns that the alleged surveillance fails to meet the standards of necessity and proportionality for the protection of legitimate government interests.

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

Mr Kaye previously said in a report that governments can place undeniable pressures on tech companies, which can lead to serious restrictions on the freedom of expression.

But he added that the firms are capable of establishing and exercising varying degrees of leverage in their relationships with states to resist or mitigate the harm caused by abusive application of the law.

Yahoo said in a statement in response to the initial report: Yahoo is a law abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Indiana Gov Mike Pence has broken his silence about his running mate's 2005 remarks about sexual assault.

"As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video released yesterday," he said. "I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people. We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night."

Mr Pence had earlier cancelled his appearance in Wisconsin amid the fallout from Friday release of the tape, which captured Mr Trump bragging about groping and kissing women without their consent.

 Donald Trump caught on tape talking about sexually assaulting women: "Grab 'em by the pussy"

The Indiana governor made his announcement after House Speaker Paul Ryan disinvited Mr Trump from the same event.

I am sickened by what I heard today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified," Mr Ryan after the video emerged. 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."

NBC's Vaugh Hillyard, who is embedded in Mr Pence's press pool, said that reporters were removed from an Ohio restaurant where they were covering the vice presidential candidate as he became privy to the news.

On Friday, The Washington Post posted video of Mr Trump speaking with then-Access Hollywood's Billy Bush.

Ive gotta use some tic tacs, just in case I start kissing her, Mr Trump says in the video, referring to Days of Our Lives actor Arianne Zucker. You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful  I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait. And when youre a star they let you do it, he adds. You can do anything Grab 'em by the p****.

Mr Trump issued a video apology early Saturday morning amid defection from Republican supporters. He declined to drop out of the presidential race.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Donald Trump said he will carry on as Republican candidate for president  despite numerous calls from Republicans for him to drop out  following the revelation of vulgar remarks he made about women in 2005.

Id never withdraw. Ive never withdrawn in my life, he told the Washington Post. No, Im not quitting this race. I have tremendous support.

People are calling and saying: Dont even think about doing anything else but running, Mr Trump said when asked about Republican defection. You have to see whats going on. The real story is that people have no idea the support. I dont know how thats going to boil down but people have no idea the support.

Theyre not going to make me quit, and they cant make me quit, Mr Trump said, responding to calls for him to step down. The Republicans, youve got to remember, have been running for a long time. The reason they dont win is because they dont stick together.

He claimed that running against Hillary Clinton gives him enough default support from the Republican Party, all but suggesting he still has a strong footing in the race.

It's because shes so bad. Shes so flawed as a candidate, he said. Running against her, I cant say it be the same if I ran against someone else, but running against her makes it a lot easier, that's for sure.

In a later interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr Trump said that his wife, Melania, and daughter, Ivanka, understand his situation and theyre very loyal.

Melania Trump issued a statement later Saturday afternoon, condemning the remarks, while also defending Mr Trump.

"The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me," she said. "This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world."

 Donald Trump apologises for 'grab them by the p****' remarks, says Bill Clinton has done 'far worse'

Despite the apology he issued early Saturday morning, he shifted the focus to his critics.

Go behind closed doors of the holier-than-thou politicians and pundits and see what theyre saying. I look like a baby, he said.

Mr Trumps remarks came a day after a 2005 video emerged showing the Republican candidate bragging in lewd terms about sexually assaulting women with impunity.

I moved on her actually, she was down in Palm Beach and I failed. Ill admit it. I did try to f**k her, she was married ... and I moved on her very heavily, Mr Trump is heard telling then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush.

Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Show all 12 1 /12 Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger Schwarzenegger said he will not vote for Trump Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Mr McConnell condemned the remarks, but has not unendorsed him Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks House Speaker Paul Ryan Mr Ryan disinvited Mr Trump from a Wisconsin campaign event following the remarks Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Former Sec of State Condoleezza Rice Ms Rice called for Trump to withdraw his candidacy Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Nebraska Sen Deb Fischer Ms Fischer called on Trump to step aside and give nomination to Mike Pence Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Texas Sen Ted Cruz Mr Cruz denounced the remarks, but still endorses Trump Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Former Republican candidate Carly Fiorina Ms Fiorina wants Mike Pence to take the nomination Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt Hewitt called for Trump to step down Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Utah Representative Mia Love Ms Love said she cannot vote for Trump after hearing his remarks Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Former New York Gov George Pataki Mr Pataki said Mr Trump should step down Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks New Hampshire Sen Kelly Ayotte Ms Ayotte will write in Mike Pence when she votes Getty Republican leaders backing away from Donald Trump after lewd remarks Arizona Sen John McCain Mr McCain will choose Mike Pence on Election Day Getty

After Mr Trump makes this comment, he and Mr Bush appear to notice Days of Our Lives actor Arianne Zucker, who was there to escort them to the set of the soap opera.

Your girls hot as sh**, in the purple, Mr Bush, now a host on NBC's Today show, said.

Ive gotta use some Tic-Tacs, just in case I start kissing her, Mr Trump says in the video. You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful  I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait.

And when youre a star they let you do it, he adds. You can do anything Grab em by the p****.

The video caused a massive backlash from conservative supporters in subsequent hours.

Mr Trumps running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, released a statement Saturday condemning the remarks, shortly after House Speaker Paul Ryan disinvited the Republican nominee from a GOP campaign event in Wisconsin scheduled for Saturday.

As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video released yesterday, Mr Pence said, after cancelling his appearance in Mr Ryan's home state. I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologised to the American people.

Mr Ryan issued a sharp rebuke of Mr Trump's remarks in the wake of the video's release.

I am sickened by what I heard today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified, Mr Ryan said on Friday. 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.

In the meantime, he is no longer attending tomorrows event in Wisconsin.

 15-year-old girl: I see with my own eyes the damage Donald Trump does when he talks about women

Responding to Mr Trumps comments, Hillary Clinton wrote on Twitter: This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell called on Mr Trump to take responsibility for his comments.

As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologise directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape, he said.

New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte released a statement on Saturday morning retracting her endorsement for the New York business mogul.

I wanted to be able to support my partys nominee, chosen by the people, because I feel strongly that we need a change in direction for our country, she said. However, I'm a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women. I will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton and instead will be writing in Governor Pence for president on election day.

Ms Ayottes sentiment echoed a simple statement made by Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz: I wish that Mike Pence was at the top of the ticket.

US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Show all 12 1 /12 US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump shakes hands with Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the conclusion of their first presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York Reuters US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures President Barack Obama embraces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on stage at the party's convention in Philadelphia US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Donald Trump's wife Melania delivered a speech at the GOP convention in Cleveland that was later found to have been cribbed in part from Michelle Obama's 2008 convention address AP US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Hillary Clinton talks to reporters aboard her new campaign plane on Labour Day, 5 September, her first 'press conference' since 2015 (Getty Images) US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Donald Trump held a joint press conference with Mexican leader Enrique Pena Nieto in Mexico City in August, hours before reiterating his harsh immigration plans at a campaign rally in Arizona Reuters US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Bernie Sanders officially endorsed Hillary Clinton, saying his progressive vision for a transformed America would be best served by the defeat of Donald Trump Reuters US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Khizr and Gazala Khan appeared at the DNC to slam Trump for his stance on Muslim immigration, citing the case of their son Humayun Khan, who was killed in combat while serving as a Captain in the US Army in Iraq US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is doing better in polls than any third party candidate since Ross Perot, 20 years ago Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Green Party candidate Jill Stein (centre) marches with supporters in Colorado AP US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Hillary Clinton and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine at a rally in Kaine's home state in July, days before Ms Clinton tapped him to be her running mate Getty US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Trump on the campaign trail with his vice presidential pick, Indiana governor Mike Pence AP US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage appears at a Trump rally in Mississippi in August, where he told the crowd that he 'wouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton if you paid me'.

Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt also called for Mr Trump to withdraw from the race.

For the benefit of the country, the party and his family, and for his own good, [Donald Trump] should withdraw. More and worse [opposition] coming, he tweeted.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and Republican candidate Carly Fiorina  who herself was the target of misogynistic insults from Mr Trump last year  rebuked the nominee in a statement on Facebook.

Donald Trump does not represent me or my party, Ms Fiorina said. I understand the responsibility of Republicans to support their nominee. Our nominee has weighty responsibilities as well. Donald Trump has manifestly failed in these responsibilities.

Mr Trump initially wrote off the controversy as nothing more than locker room banter among boys, but after haemorrhaging supporters for hours, he issued a video apology at 12.30am Saturday.

Nonetheless, Mr Trump denies the significance of the Republican exodus from his corner of the ring, claiming in his interview with the Washington Post that he has received thousands and thousands of letters encouraging him to carry on.

In a statement released on Saturday night his wife Melania Trump, who was pregnant at the time of the video, said: The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.

Ahead of the Sunday night debate with Ms Clinton, Mr Trump indicated that he may give a speech from New York to encourage the supporters who still remain by his side. Among public figures, however, that number remains very small.

Fox Newss Sean Hannity defended Mr Trump by invoking biblical trivia.

King David had 500 concubines for crying out loud, he said.

While conservative commentator Dinesh DSouza accused the press of conspiring to send Ms Clinton to the White House.

We have seen a biased media in my entire adult lifetime, he told Mr Hannity, but never before have I seen the media so aggressively huffing and puffing to drag this crooked hag across the finish line.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The president of Venezuela has created a new peace prize in honour of former socialist leader Hugo Chavez  and awarded it to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The award was given on the same day the annual Nobel Peace Prize was presented to Juan Manuel Santos, president of neighbouring Colombia, for his role in negotiating a peace agreement with Marxist FARC rebels.

During a televised broadcast, Prime Minister Nicolas Maduro said: Ive decided to create the Hugo Chavez prize for peace and the sovereignty I think President Vladimir Putin deserves this award.

 This is why the White Helmets should win the Nobel Peace Prize

Describing the Russian President as a fighter for peace, President Maduro unveiled a statue of Chavez designed by a Russian artist for the new award.

Mr Putin and future winners will receive a miniature replica of the statue.

Speaking on air, Mr Maduro said the prize would be offered to national and international figures who have excelled in the struggle for peace, adding that he had chosen to honour Mr Putin with the award as he is a strong ally of Venezuela.

Hundreds of thousands of people have joined pro and anti-government demonstrations in Venezuela over the past few months. The anti-government protests are led by campaigners who criticise the government for its role in the countrys failing economy.

Mr Maduro blames the problems on an economic war, however, which he says has been constructed by the opposition party with help from the US government.

President Putin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, despite ordering soldiers to invade Ukraine that same year. He lost to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai, for their work against the suppression of children and young people.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Fifteen years after US-led forces invaded Afghanistan in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the country remains at war.

More than 5,000 civilians have been killed and injured this year alone as Isis and al-Qaeda compete with the Taliban in a bloody insurgency against the Afghan government and invader forces.

The UK has lost almost 500 troops in the conflict, which it entered alongside 17 other countries in the wake of the September 11 attacks, with the stated aim of bringing down terror groups, driving out the Taliban, quashing the drug trade and furthering democracy and development.

 Afghanistan: Fifteen years since US-led invasion

But the extremists remain, opium production has increased to one of the highest levels ever recorded and 2.7 million refugees have fled, becoming the largest nationality  behind Syria  making desperate sea journeys to Europe this year.

Paula Bronstein, an award-winning American photographer, has recorded the evolution of the war through her lens, arriving as the Taliban was driven out of its last city stronghold.

Speaking to The Independent, she described witnessing the devastation wreaked by air strikes carried out by the US and UK as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Everywhere you looked there was destruction from the bombing, Ms Bronstein said. It was definitely a revenge attack.

For the Americans it was seen as essential to do something. They had hit the heart of the US, they had attacked the Twin Towers.

The death toll and the destructionthe US had never felt anything like that.

The photographer was part of a convoy of journalists travelling to report on the coalition victory in the city, which had been the Talibans capital.

The atmosphere was just weird  people were trying to cope with the fact that the whole of the south of their country had been bombed, Ms Bronstein added.

Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Show all 16 1 /16 Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2001 Afghans at the Killi Faizo refugee camp desperately reach for bags of rice being handed out to the thousands who escaped the bombardment in southern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Chaman, Pakistan, December 4, 2001) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2002 Mahbooba stands against a bullet-ridden wall, waiting to be seen at a medical clinic. The seven-year-old girl suffers from leishmaniasis, a parasitical infection. (Kabul, March 1, 2002) All photos Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2003 A mother and her two children look out from their cave dwelling. Many families who, fleeing the Taliban, took refuge inside caves adjacent to Bamiyans destroyed ancient Buddha statues now have nowhere else to live. (Bamiyan, November 19, 2003) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Students recite prayers in a makeshift outdoor classroom in the Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from India and Pakistan. (Northeastern Afghanistan, September 2, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2007 Bodybuilders in the 55-60 kg category square off during a regional bodybuilding competition. Many Afghan men, like others around the world, feel that a macho image of physical strength is important. (Kabul, August 6, 2007) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2008 A woman in a white burqa enjoys an afternoon with her family feeding the white pigeons at the Blue Mosque. (Mazar-e-Sharif, March 8, 2008) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Addicts inject heroin while trying to keep warm inside the abandoned Russian Cultural Center, which the capital citys addicts use as a common gathering point. Heroin is readily available, costing about one dollar a hit. (Kabul, February 9, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 An elderly man holds his granddaughter in their tent at a refugee camp after they were forced to flee their village, which US and NATO forces had bombed because, they claimed, it was a Taliban hideout. (Surobi, Nangarhar Province, February 7, 2009) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2009 Seven-year-old Attiullah, a patient at Mirwais Hospital, stands alongside an X ray showing the bullet that entered his back, nearly killing him. Attiullah was shot by US forces when he was caught in a crossfire as he was herding sheep. (Kandahar, October 13, 2009). Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 US Army Sargeant Jay Kenney (right), with Task Force Destiny, helps wounded Afghan National Army soldiers exit a Blackhawk helicopter after they have been rescued in an air mission. (Kandahar, December 12, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2010 An Afghan National Army battalion marches back to barracks at the Kabul Military Training Center. (Kabul, October 4, 2010) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Eid Muhammad, seventy, lives in a house with a view overlooking the hills of Kabul. He and millions of other Afghans occupy land and housing without possessing formal deeds to them. (Kabul, November 21, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Razima holds her two-year-old son, Malik, while waiting for medical attention at the Boost Hospital emergency room. (Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, June 23, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Young women cheer as they attend a rally for the Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani. (Kabul, April 1, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2014 Burqa-clad women wait to vote after a polling station runs out of ballots. (Kabul, April 5, 2014) Paula Bronstein Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear 2015 Relatives, friends, and womens rights activists grieve at the home of Farkhunda Malikzada, who was killed by a mob in the center of Kabul. Farkhunda was violently beaten and set on fire after a local cleric accused her of burning a Quran. (Kabul, March 22, 2015) Paula Bronstein

The American military will always try to be as proud as they can, they really believed they were protecting their country.

She has lost count of the visits paid to Afghanistan, returning as recently as this spring to report on the ongoing effects of the conflict.

Her work, which has been collected into a book entitled Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear, has frequently put her in the line of fire.

She recalls landing in Taliban-controlled poppy fields with teams evacuating soldiers from the frontlines, seeing dying troops and bodies removed with horrific wounds.

And the remnants of fighting continue to maim and injure today, with Ms Bronstein witnessing the civilian victims of mines in Lashkargah earlier this year.

Its was spring and where theres been lots of rain and snow melting, the mines rise to the surface, she explained.

Then the locals will accidentally dig them up or step on them. People get chewed up by the bombs, limbs are just gone. War is war and its hell.

One of Ms Bronsteins friends, the British photographer Giles Duley, narrowly survived stepping on a mine while covering the conflict in 2010  having to have both legs and one arm amputated.

US Army Sargeant Jay Kenney (right), with Task Force Destiny, helps wounded Afghan National Army soldiers exit a Blackhawk helicopter after they have been rescued in an air mission. (Kandahar, December 12, 2010) (Paula Bronstein)

At least 29 journalists have been killed in Afghanistan since 1992, including David Gilkey and Zabihullah Tamanna from National Public Radio (NPR) in June, on their first day embedded with the Afghan army.

Ms Bronstein was covering national elections in 2014 when she found herself just metres away from a Taliban terror attack on a guest house in Kabul.

She was just about to leave for a Thanksgiving dinner with American friends from where she was staying at the Wall Street Journals bureau when the shooting started.

It was just around the corner and it was deafening, and because it was at night you couldnt see anything, the photographer said.

We all went down to a safe room in the building and waited for hours, we could hear the militants battling with police. It was a little too close for comfort.

Ms Bronstein calls Afghanistan the forgotten war, sidelined in the wake of the 2003 Iraq invasion and now a minor distraction for world powers preoccupied by the meteoric rise of Isis.

She said: When I was in Afghanistan I found the fact that George W Bush could create this war, then let it disappear into the sidelines shocking, his legacy is very, very negative.

But amid the chaos and destruction, Ms Bronsteins photography shows the Afghan people continuing their everyday lives, with women being allowed to vote for the first time in decades and children being sent to school.

A woman in a white burqa enjoys an afternoon with her family feeding the white pigeons at the Blue Mosque. (Mazar-e-Sharif, March 8, 2008) (Paula Bronstein)

There are so many positive stories  they arent all negative, the photographer said, recalling local bodybuilding competitions and festivals, or families on days out at the countrys first national park.

British and American combat troops officially withdrew from Afghanistan in 2014, but thousands of international remain in the country as it continues to struggle for stability.

Among them are 500 British personnel, with David Cameron increasing the size of the mission earlier this year to help train Afghan forces.

The so-called Islamic State is now making its presence felt in the country with a series of bloody attacks by its Khorasan Province, jostling for supremacy against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Extremist groups are battling for supremacy  its terrible, Ms Bronstein added. I wouldnt say theres anything going in the right direction of peace.

She is particularly critical of endemic corruption in Afghanistan, seeing government and charity funding being siphoned off as Taliban leaders build gaudy poppy palaces.

At a conference on Wednesday, world powers pledged $15bn (12bn) for Afghanistan to fund the country over the next four years and attempt to revive a stalled peace process.

The UK has pledged a 750m package of long term support, including funding for health, education, employment and mine clearance projects.

An elderly man holds his granddaughter in their tent at a refugee camp after they were forced to flee their village, which US and NATO forces had bombed because, they claimed, it was a Taliban hideout. (Surobi, Nangarhar Province, February 7, 2009) (Paula Bronstein)

The International Development Secretary Priti Patel, said: Afghanistan has seen real progress recently but the international community must show it is willing to stay the course.

We cannot allow Afghanistans development to be undone and the country to roll back into conflict.

But United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the continuing violence has caused a record number of civilian casualties and people displaced.

This week civilians were fleeing renewed fighting between government forces and the Taliban in the city of Kunduz, with the UN recording more than 1.1 million people forced to flee their homes by the conflict.

A record 5,100 civilian casualties, including 1,600 deaths, were recorded in the first half of this year, with 11,000 people killed and injured in attacks, mine blasts and fighting between insurgents and government forces, which spread to 31 of the country's 34 provinces in 2015.

For Ms Bronstein, the initial optimism of the Afghan invasion has faded away.

My book is called Between Hope and Fear, but at the moment theres not much hope, she said.

Afghans fear for the future  what is going to happen now?
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A man and a woman have blown themselves up after refusing to surrender to police in Turkey.

Police said the suicide bombers were preparing for a terror attack in the capital, possibly linked to a Kurdish separatist group.

Erkan Topaca, the governor of Ankara, said investigators acting on a tip-off traced the suspects to a horse farm outside the capital in rural Haymana on Saturday.

Police at a farm after a blast detonated by two militants, in Haymana near Ankara, Turkey, on 8 October (Reuters)

Police called on them to surrender, he added.

They did not respond in a positive way. They blew themselves up before we could intervene.

Mr Topaca said it was highly likely that the male bomber was linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has carried out a series of terror attacks across Turkey while fighting a separatist insurgency in the south-east.

Officials said the pair were planning a suicide car bomb attack against an unknown target, adding that a Turkish flag hung on their car was an attempt to disguise their intentions.

The way the incident was carried out and planned points at the PKK," Mr Topaca said.

 Car bomb hits Turkey's Ankara for second time in weeks

No one was injured in the explosion shortly after 6am local time (4am BST), with footage showing forensic teams inspecting the site, where a car was left dented and with its windows shattered from the force of the blast.

Police seized two pieces of plastic explosives and 200kg of ammonium nitrate, an ingredient in bomb-making, the governor's office said in a statement.

The male bomber has been identified as Harun Arslan, and Turkish media named the woman as Mahide Atas, while their target is still under investigation.

The operation came two days after 10 people were wounded by a bomb mounted on a motorcycle that exploded near a police station in Istanbul.

Six people have been detained in connection with the attack, which has been claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK).

In pictures: Ankara bombing Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Ankara bombing In pictures: Ankara bombing Family members and relatives grieve for victims of a car bombing outside the forensic morgue in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing Men hold Turkish flags over the coffin of a car bombing victim during a commemoration ceremony in a mosque in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing Relatives of Feyza Acisu one of the victims who was killed in an explosion cries during the funeral in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing In pictures: Ankara bombing Relatives of Murat Gul one of the victims who was killed in an explosion pray near the coffin covered with Turkish flags during the funeral in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing Forensic experts investigate the scene of an explosion the day after a suicide car bomb ripped through a busy square in central Ankara killing at least 34 people and wounding 125, officials said, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks to hit Turkey In pictures: Ankara bombing Forensic experts investigate the scene of an explosion, the day after a suicide car bomb ripped through a busy square in central Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing Turkish police secure the area as scenes of crime officers search the area after an explosion in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing Relatives of victims who were killed in an explosion mourn in front of forensic medicine institution in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing People carry an injured person on a stretcher at the scene of a blast in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing Relatives of people wounded in an explosion in Ankara, Turkey, react as they arrive at a hospital to see their loved ones In pictures: Ankara bombing Emergency workers are seen on a bus at the explosion site in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing Forensic experts investigate the scene of an explosion in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing A burning car after a blast in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing Emergency services attend the scene in central Ankara's Kizilay Square In pictures: Ankara bombing In pictures: Ankara bombing Dogan Asik, 28, who was blown away from inside a bus by a powerful explosion speaks at the explosion site in the busy center of Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing Emergency services help an injured person following after an explosion in Ankara's central Kizilay district in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing The wreckage of a bus and a car are pictured at the scene of a blast in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing Forensic services and firemen work around burnt out taxi vehicles after a blast in Ankara In pictures: Ankara bombing In pictures: Ankara bombing In pictures: Ankara bombing In pictures: Ankara bombing At least 27 people were killed and 75 wounded in an explosion in the Turkish capital Ankara in what appeared to have been a car bomb attack according to Ankara governor Mehmet Kiliclar Getty In pictures: Ankara bombing Medics carry an injured person at the explosion site in the busy center of Turkish capital, Ankara AP In pictures: Ankara bombing The bomb exploded close to bus stops near a park at Ankara's main square, Kizilay. The news channel said the explosion occurred as a car slammed into a bus, suggesting that the blast may have been caused by a car bomb AP In pictures: Ankara bombing Emergency workers work at the explosion site in Ankara Reuters In pictures: Ankara bombing Emergency workers work at the explosion site in Ankara, Turkey Reuters In pictures: Ankara bombing A destroyed bus is seen in the street after an explosion in Ankara EPA In pictures: Ankara bombing Emergency workers work at the explosion site in Ankara, Turkey Reuters

The PKK frequently targets security forces and politicians, while TAK has claimed responsibility for several attacks including a car bombing that killed 37 people in Ankara in March.

Thousands of PKK militants and more than 600 members of the Turkish security forces have been killed since a two-year ceasefire broke down last year.

Hundreds of civilians have also died in clashes, amid concerns raised by human rights groups over abuses by security forces, ill-treatment of prisoners and the arrest of non-violent protesters and activists on terrorism charges.

Isis has also launched a wave of recent attacks in Turkey, claiming the assault that killed 45 victims at Ataturk Airport, and the jihadist group is suspect of being behind several other blasts in Istanbul, Ankara and near the Syrian border.

Additional reporting by agencies
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

German police are searching for a Syrian refugee as part of an operation to foil a suspected terror plot in Germany.

Saxony Police have issued an appeal for help tracing Jaber al-Bakr, a 22-year-old asylum seeker from Damascus province.

A spokesperson said he was suspected of preparing a bomb attack but told The Independent reports of plans to target a German airport could not be confirmed.

Jaber al-Bakr, a Syrian asylum seeker wanted by German police on suspicion of planning a terror attack (Polizei Sachsen)

The alert was put out during a lockdown in the city of Chemnitz, where authorities said they were investigating a terror plot.

The citys main railway station was temporarily closed after two people were arrested, with authorities checking baggage at the station.

Scores of armed officers had evacuated residents and cordoned off large areas of the Fritz Heckert district on Saturday morning.

A second wave of evacuations started hours later after police found highly volatile explosives during searches, sparking a wider safety cordon.

Tom Bernhardt, a spokesperson for the state criminal police, said investigators found more than 100g of the material at a flat linked to the suspect.

Police officers during a counter-terror operation in Chemnitz, Germany, on 8 October (EPA)

As to the background, motivation and so on  that we dont know, he added.

Mr Bernhardt said three people had been arrested  two at the railway station and one in Chemnitz city centre  who were all known to the suspect and may be linked to the plot.

He added that al-Bakr would be found as soon as possible, describing him as dangerous.

Currently we do not know where he is and what he is carrying with him, Saxony Police warned on social media.

Officials said a flat used by al-Bakr was searched, with officers blowing a door off to gain access, but a person of interest could not be found.

Families living in the flat block told MDR Sachsen they were woken early in the morning by police with machine guns, telling them to leave the building, when they were taken away from the area on buses.

Officials issued an appeal for residents not to share any images or footage of the operation on social media.

Major road closers and evacuations are necessary, a spokesperson said: Within the cordoned-off area, please stay in your homes and follow the instructions of police.

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

Videos and photos of a man alleged to be the suspect were circulating on social media, with footage showing a person walking down a residential road. Police would not confirm the speculation.

Security remains high in the country after two terror attacks by Isis supporters earlier this year, with a Syrian refugee blowing himself up in Ansbach and an Afghan teenager attacking train passengers with an axe in Wurzburg.

More than a million asylum seekers arrived in Germany last year, when Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the borders to Syrians fleeing the country's brutal civil war.

The decision has been heavily criticised by right-wing and anti-immigration groups gaining increasing popularity amid concern over terrorism and the mass sexual assaults in Cologne.

Europol estimates that up to 5,000 European jihadis may have undergone training at terror camps, with an unknown number exploiting refugee routes to return the continent as it faces its biggest terror threat in more than a decade.

Earlier this year, police said they were investigating more than 400 tip-offs over migrants alleged to have extremist links in Germany.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Part of a German city is on lockdown during a police operation to stop a suspected terror plot.

Police said they blew open a door as searches continued in Chemnitz but the suspect, a Syrian refugee named as Jaber al-Bakr, has not been found.

"Currently we do not know where he is and what he is carrying with him," Saxony Police warned. "Be careful".

Three other suspects with links to al-Bakr have been detained - one in the city centre and two at the main railway station - which was temporarily shut down for baggage searches.

Jaber al-Bakr, a Syrian asylum seeker wanted by German police on suspicion of planning a terror attack (Polizei Sachsen)

Scores of armed officers evacuated residents and cordoned off large areas of the Fritz Heckert district on Saturday morning.

Recommended Read more Police hunting Syrian refugee over planned terror attack in Germany

A second wave of evacuations started hours later after police found highly-volatile explosives during searches, sparking a wider safety cordon.

Tom Bernhardt, a spokesperson for the state criminal police, said investigators found more than 100g of the material at a flat linked to the suspect.

As to the background, motivation and so on  that we dont know, he added.

Mr Bernhardt said three people had been arrested  two at the railway station and one in Chemnitz city centre  who were all known to the suspect and may be linked to the plot.

He added that al-Bakr would be found as soon as possible, describing him as dangerous.

Officials said a flat used by al-Bakr was searched, with officers blowing a door off to gain access, but a person of interest could not be found.

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

Families living in the block told MDR Sachsen they were woken early in the morning by police with machine guns, telling them to leave the building, when they were taken away from the area on buses.

Officials issued an appeal for residents not to share any images or footage of the operation on social media.

"Major road closers and evacuations are necessary," a spokesperson said: "Within the cordoned-off area, please stay in your homes and follow the instructions of police."

The Fritz Heckert district, known locally as Fritz-Heckert-Gebiet, was built as one of the largest housing developments in Communist East Germany, consisting of large tower blocks once housing 90,000 people.

Many residents left after the reunification of Germany and many of the blocks have since been demolished.

Security remains high in the country after two terror attacks by Isis supporters earlier this year, with a Syrian refugee blowing himself up in Ansbach and an Afghan teenager attacking train passengers with an axe in Wurzburg.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Masoud Aqil was imprisoned by Isis for nine months, being beaten, tortured and threatened with execution for being a Kurdish journalist.

Now safely in Germany, he is helping authorities track down anyone with links to the terrorist group that destroyed his life and murdered his family and friends.

The 23-year-old was studying English literature at Aleppo University when the Syrian civil war broke out, and he fled the city after dozens of students were killed in a 2013 bombing.

He sought safety in his home town of Qamishli, in the Kurdish Rojava province, but jihadis were already gaining power to launch the advance that shocked the world.

While attempting to complete his degree from home, Mr Aqil started working as a video journalist for the Kurdish network Rudaw, but after more than a year in the job a journey to interview a local politician would end in disaster.

In an exclusive interview with The Independent, he described how he and colleague Farhad Hamo were driving to their assignment on 15 December 2014 when they saw the road ahead was blocked.

Isis were waiting on the highway, he said. I dont know if they were waiting for us or if they were there to catch anyone.

They were met by six jihadis carrying M16 rifles, grenades and wearing suicide vests, who ordered their car to stop.

When questioned, the pair said they were oil workers in an attempt to pass through, but the militants spotted their equipment in the back of the car.

One of the fighters sat in the car and ordered them to drive into Isis territory, threatening to blow himself  and the car  up if they did not comply.

A prison in Manbij where Masoud Aqil was held by Isis (Supplied)

It was the start of a nine-month nightmare for Mr Aqil, who was first transported to a house converted into a prison before being shifted around Isis-controlled cities including al-Shaddadi, Raqqa, al-Bab and Manbij.

They tortured us and interrogated us, he said. They beat us with iron bars, cables or wood, tying us to the ceiling by our hands.

Every two or three hours one of the guards would come in and tell us we will cut off your heads, we will bury you alive.

In the first week, I one hundred per cent believed it. Each time they would kill me I was thinking about how they would do it.

But after one month and then two monthsI thought maybe they needed me alive. Maybe they will let me go.

Even keeping alive was a struggle, living in filthy cells covered in excrement and riddled with parasites, while existing on little more than dirty water and mouldy bread.

In his second jail, in al-Shaddadi, Mr Aqil was surprised to be held captive with several members of Isis being punished for perceived infractions by the group.

They put them in jail and kill them too, a lot of Isis members have been killed at Isiss own hands, he said.

A prison cell where Masoud Aqil was held by Isis in Manbij, seen partially destroyed after militants were driven out of the city (Supplied)

Many of Mr Aqils cellmates would disappear during his long detention, with the sound of gunshots ringing out before militants returned to force him to watch the gory videos.

He said one man executed for an anti-Islam message on WhatsApp and others were murdered for listening to Western music, including Metallica and rap.

The guards were always playing us speeches by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and [propaganda chief] Abu Muhammad al-Adnani," the former captive recalled.

They said they were starting to send citizens to Europe and later they will carry out terror attacks. When I heard that I knew that Isis will make Europe a target.

As the horror continued, Kurdish authorities, Rudaw and Mr Aqils family were working through Arab tribes to negotiate a prisoner exchange, with the journalist finally released to the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) on 21 September last year.

I cant even describe the moment where I got out  every day I think about it, he recalled. I dont know how to describe it.

Mr Aqil returned home to find Isis on the defensive after losing swathes of territory to an onslaught by Kurdish forces backed by the US-led coalitions firepower in northern Syria.

But the groups influence kept his family on guard and after pleas from relatives, he moved first to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan before joining hundreds of thousands of refugees seeking safety in Europe.

Masoud Aqil being reunited with his parents after nine months in Isis captivity (Supplied)

I wanted to start working again but all my family told me to go to Germany because it would be safer, he said. They wanted me to have a new future and start again.

Two of Mr Aqils brothers and one sister already live in Germany after moving there in the 1990s, making the country Mr Aqil's first choice for a temporary haven in Europe.

After leaving Iraq with his mother in in December 2015, they attempted to cross the Aegean Sea but were unable to find a smuggler, instead starting the long journey on foot.

The pair walked from Turkey through Bulgaria to Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and finally arrived in Germany by train in January.

Mr Aqil was swiftly allocated refugee accommodation and has had his application for asylum accepted, but he had not forgotten the threats made by his former captors to attack not just Paris and Brussels, but the whole of Europe.

I had freedom and I was in Europe but I know Isis were sending these people, he said. When Turkey opened the border for the refugees to cross, a small number of bad people came with them too.

I could not sit down after being freed and say oh, Im afraid of them and I wont do anything again.

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

No, I wont say that. They are my enemy and they are everyones enemy.

So Mr Aqil set to work, trawling Facebook pages and his own dark memories to put together a database of Isis members who may have reached Germany.

Among them is a former Isis member from his hometown, whose Facebook profile has been scrubbed of its former photos showing the man posing with a Kalashnikov and his fellow militants  and gives his location as a city in Bavaria.

With the help of journalists at Der Spiegel, Mr Aqil has handed all his information to police in the hope that they will investigate and monitor the list of suspects, many of whom he became acquainted with either as prison guards or Isis detainees.

Its better than sitting down and closing my eyes and saying I dont care what happens in this country, he added.

Im doing my best to help authorities with all I know, with information so they can put these people under control.

I just want to help - I didnt want to do it to show that Im doing it  Im thanking Germany for receiving us.

Just days ago, Isis dealt another blow to Mr Aqils family, with 10 of his relatives among more than 30 victims of an Isis suicide bombing that hit a Kurdish wedding party in al-Hasaka.

Months before, the terrorist group bombed his home city of Qamishli, where his father still lives.

That is Isis, thats what Isis do, Mr Aqil said. I saw what they did in Paris and Brussels and Im afraid of that because European countries are the safest, and Isis wants to set the world on fire and take it to war.

Their radical mentality doesnt let them accept anything different. Youre a radical Muslim and accept them or they kill you.

As long as this mentality is on the earth, they will attack us, it wont let us live in peace.

Police officers operate on a scene following an explosion in Germany (EPA)

And Germany has not escaped the groups bloody jihad, with a Syrian asylum seeker blowing himself up in Ansbach in July after pledging allegiance to Isis and an Afghan Isis supporter launching an axe attack on a train.

Police were hunting a Syrian refugee on Saturday after a suspected terror plot was uncovered in Saxony, where highly volatile explosives were found in a flat.

Europol estimates that up to 5,000 European jihadists may have undergone training at terror camps, with an unknown number exploiting refugee routes to return the continent as it faces its biggest terror threat in more than a decade.

Like millions of other displaced Syrians, Mr Aqil said he hopes to return home as soon as possible, adding: If the war stops I want to go back and serve my people.

But for now he is making the most of his new life, studying German in the hope of returning to university to study English Literature or film.

His work on the database continues, with the information aiding investigations into more than 400 tip-offs over migrants alleged to have extremist links in Germany.

Mr Aqil hopes other Syrian refugees, and everyone in Europe, will do their bit to counter Isis poisonous ideology.

Every one of us should do what they can to attack Isis in our own way, he said. Attacking isnt only holding a gun, we can attack the mentality too.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Poland and Estonia have raised concerns after Russia confirmed it has started moving nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles into the Kaliningrad.

A Russian ministry spokesman said moving the missiles to Kaliningrad - a Russian region on the Baltic Sea, which 435 miles off the mainland is the westernmost area the country and is vital to its strategic position - was part of a routine drill.

Major General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement on Saturday: "The Iskander ballistic missile system is mobile as part of the plan of combat training, missile troops are engaged in training on a year-round basis, covering great distances of the Russian territory in various ways: by air, by sea, and under their own power."

He added that Russia had used the deployment to figure out what range a US spy satellite has.

The Russian Baltic Fleet is located on Kaliningrad, along with multiple land forces and an air force detachment with fighters, bombers, helicopters and an early-warning radar system.

Poland's Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz reacted saying Poland considers the matter of the highest concern and is monitoring the situation, which comes amid flared tensions between Russia and the West over Syria.

The chief of staff of the Estonian Defence Forces, Lt Gen Riho Terras, told Estonian broadcaster ERR he views the move as part of a larger Russian attempt to dominate the Baltic Sea.

"In the long term, Russia's wish is to bring the Baltic Sea and the passages leading to it more and more under its control, and to control it much like it does the Black Sea," Lt Gen Terras said.

Lithuania, neighbouring Kaliningrad and a member of Nato, said it would protest the move by Moscow.

"The deployment not only increases tensions in the region, but also possibly violates international treaties which limit deployment of ballistic missiles of range of over 500 kilometres," Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told a news briefing in Vilnius.

Tensions between Russia and the Western world Show all 8 1 /8 Tensions between Russia and the Western world Tensions between Russia and the Western world Russia Vladimir Putin leaves G20 early after criticism from world leaders over Ukraine. David Cameron warned Vladimir Putin, face to face, that Russias whole post-Cold War relationship with the West is at a fork in the road over Ukraine Getty Tensions between Russia and the Western world Russia A mysterious Russian object is being tracked by space agencies, giving new life to fears about the increase of space weapons. The satellite, dubbed Object 2014-28E, has grabbed the interest of official and amateur satellite-watchers because it is taking a confusing path and its purpose has not been identified Getty Images Tensions between Russia and the Western world Russia Russian warplanes are risking the security of civilian passengers as they play a dangerous game designed to test Western air defences, according to Natos secretary general FRA Tensions between Russia and the Western world Russia Russia has warned Ukraine that a resumption of hostilities against pro-Russian separatists in the east would be catastrophic for Ukraine Reuters Tensions between Russia and the Western world Russia A Swedish minesweeper searches for suspected "foreign underwater activity" near Stockholm. A Russian sub in Swedish waters has slipped away into the sea...leaving recriminations in its wake Reuters Tensions between Russia and the Western world Russia Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, is taking the European Union to court in an attempt to loosen Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis GETTY IMAGES Tensions between Russia and the Western world Russia Russian government agencies have been accused of editing a Wikipedia article to suggest the Ukrainian military was responsible for shooting down the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a Twitter account monitoring state IP addresses has claimed AFP Tensions between Russia and the Western world Russia Australias prime minister Tony Abbott has promised he will shirtfront Vladimir Putin over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which killed 38 Australian citizens AP

The Iskander can be equipped with a conventional or nuclear warhead and has a range of at least 310 miles, placing most of Poland within its reach when it is in Kaliningrad.

Mr Linkevicius said some modifications of the Iskander can hit targets 450 miles away, putting German capital Berlin in range of Kaliningrad.

On Friday, a US intelligence official described the move as a gesture to express displeasure with NATO.

Finland has also expressed concerns over the move. The Nordic country signed a bilateral defence cooperation pact with the US on Friday, pledging closer military collaboration over increasing concerns over Russias activity in the Baltic sea.

In July, a report by the Atlantic Council warned Russia could invade Poland "overnight" and easily overwhelm its Nato allies.

 John Kerry says Russia and Syria should be probed for war crimes

The timing of a Russian invasion could not be predicted, the US-based think-tank said, but the country could attack swiftly when Nato and Europe are "distracted by another crisis" or as a reaction to "misperception of Nato's activities".

The UK has promised to deploy hundreds of troops to "deter Russia from any further aggression" in the Baltic states.

A battalion of 500 soldiers will be sent to Estonia while 150 troops will be based in Poland, with the UK assuming leadership of Natos standby force early next year.

Additional reporting by agencies
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Tensions have deepened in the UN Security Council after rival resolutions on Syria backed by Russia and the West were both rejected  offering no respite for the country's besieged city of Aleppo.

Russia vetoed a UN resolution drafted by France, demanding an immediate end to the bombing campaign being carried out by Russia, the Syrian governments ally, in rebel-held districts of Aleppo.

A rival measure put forward by Russia, which called for a ceasefire but made no mention of a halt to the airstrikes, was rejected after failing to get nine votes from the 15-member council.

It was the fifth time Moscow used its veto to block UN action to end the five-year war in Syria, which has claimed 300,000 lives.

Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the current rotating council president, called the vote a waste of time" and inadmissible, claiming the Security Council met knowing that neither resolution would be adopted.

Nine countries, including the UK, France and the United States, voted against the Russian draft. Russia, China, Egypt and Venezuela voted in favour, while Angola and Uruguay abstained.

The measure presented by France won 11 votes, but Russia and Venezuela voted against. China and Angola abstained.

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

The votes reflected the deep divisions in the UN's most powerful body which is charged with ensuring international peace and security but has failed to take action to end the five-year Syrian conflict which has killed more than 300,000 people and displaced millions.

As the council meeting got underway, the Syrian regime pushed its assault on rebel-held areas of Aleppo, where 125,000 people are living under siege and facing almost daily bombing, AFP reports.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault urged the council to take immediate action to save Aleppo: "What is at stake today is first and foremost the fate of Aleppo and its people," told the council.

He compared Aleppo to Guernica during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, Srebrenica during the Bosnian war and the Chechen capital Grozny which was pummelled by the Russian army in the mid-1990s.

 John Kerry says Russia and Syria should be probed for war crimes

Mr Ayrault warned the continued bombing of Aleppo was killing civilians and destroying hospitals and schools - "and has nothing to do with combating terrorism," as Syrian president Bashar Assad's government and ally Russia claim.

Mr Churkin said the demand for a bombing halt in Aleppo was "not fleshed out" and would affect the government-controlled western part of the city as well as the rebel-held east.

When Syria's UN ambassador Bashar Ja'afari started speaking a number of ambassadors walked out, including the representatives of the UK, France, Ukraine and the US.

The Syrian and Russian bombing campaign has escalated since the Russian-backed Syrian army launched an offensive to retake the city on 22 September.

Additional reporting by Press Association
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

An air strike has killed at least 140 people and wounded more than 500 after it hit a funeral hall packed with mourners in Sanaa, Yemen's capital.

The death toll is one of the largest in any single incident since a Saudi-led alliance began military operations to try to restore President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power following his ousting by Houthis rebels in March 2015.

The acting health minister in the Houthi-run administration, Ghazi Ismail blamed "Saudi aggression" for the strike.

Witnesses said two missiles were fired with one tearing through the building in the south of the capital Saana, where a wake for the father of Interior Minister Jalalal al-Roweishan was being held.

Those at the scene said they saw ambulances ferrying casualties and a medic claimed there were charred and mutilated bodies.

The Saudi-led coalition has denied carrying out the strike.

Absolutely no such operation took place at that target, a source in the Saudi-led coalition told Reuters, citing what he described as confirmation from the coalition air force command.

The coalition is aware of such reports and is certain that it is possible that other causes of bombing are to be considered. The coalition has in the past avoided such gatherings and (they have) never been a subject of targets.

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said in a statement: "Initial reports from health officials in Sanaa indicate that over 140 people were killed and over 525 injured."

The UN aid official called for an immediate investigation and said the international community must exert pressure to ensure civilians are protected.

Houthi administration Health ministry spokesman Tamim al-Shami told television channel Almasirah the toll was likely to rise as "charred human remains" at the scene had yet to be identified and many people unaccounted for, AFP reports.

Yemenis inspect the site at the funeral ceremony in Sanaa (EPA)

In the aftermath of the strike, hundreds of body parts were found strewn in and outside the hall. Rescuers collected them in sacks.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said 300 body bags had been prepared.

"The place has been turned into a lake of blood," said one rescuer, Murad Tawfiq.

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

Yemeni security and medical officials said the dead and wounded include military and security officials from the ranks of the Shia Houthi rebels fighting the internationally-recognised government of President Hadi.

Among those killed was Major General Abdul-Qader Hilal, head of the capital's local council, according to the officials.

People inspect the aftermath of the suspected airs trike in Sanaa (AP)

Ambulances rushed to the site to ferry the wounded to hospitals. In radio broadcasts, the Health Ministry summoned off-duty doctors and called on residents to donate blood.

Rescuers, meanwhile, sifted through the rubble in search of more casualties, but a fire that erupted hindered their work.

The conflict in Yemen has resulted in more than 10,000 people being killed.

Additional reporting by agencies
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Legally, feasibly can Gatwick do this?

Yes. Assuming the Government gives Heathrow the go-ahead, Gatwick could in theory simply apply to West Sussex County Council for planning permission to build a second runway. Much of the land for the airports preferred site, south of the existing runway, has already been reserved for possible expansion. But it is more likely that Gatwicks owners would seek support from the National Infrastructure Commission, which is charged with creating effective and efficient infrastructure for the UK.

Who pays?

Not the taxpayer, according to Gatwick. Airlines believe the airports owners should fund the project, likely to cost around 8bn, and then collect revenue from the increased number of passengers. But whichever runway project goes ahead, it is likely that airport charges will rise during construction.

What about the environmental objections?

While there is a vocal lobby against expansion around Gatwick, and more widely against the increase in aviation, there is nothing like the antipathy that exists towards Heathrow. The Davies Commission acknowledged that a second runway at Gatwick would have far less impact than a third at Heathrow.

If Gatwick goes ahead regardless, what was the point in the Davies Commission and the subsequent government decision?

Cynics maintain that the Davies Commission was simply a political manoeuvre by the 2010-15 coalition government to kick the runway issue into the long grass. But Sir Howard Davies and his team carried out exhaustive research on the possible options and narrowed the Governments choice to just three options: Heathrows official plan for a third runway; the Heathrow Hub plan to extend the northern runway; and a second runway at Gatwick. It also ruled out Boris Johnsons preferred scheme for a new airport in the Thames Estuary.

It is still possible that the Government may give the go-ahead to both Heathrow and Gatwick. In any event, it would be politically difficult for Theresa May to overrule a private-sector initiative for a major infrastructure project requiring no public funds.

Could Heathrow sue?

Bosses at Heathrow are confident they will get the go-ahead to expand, and will be exasperated if Gatwicks intervention protracts the planning process. But more likely they will express public indifference to their rivals plans, knowing that passenger demand at Heathrow is much higher, and its slots are accordingly far more valuable than those at Gatwick. A single pair of take-off and landing slots at Heathrow are rumoured to have recently changed hands for 65m.
Protests were held in a number of border areas today to demonstrate against the Brexit vote.

On the Derry/Donegal border, people gathered behind an old customs building and highlighted the fears of the community over the prospect of a physical border being re-established

Northern Ireland, along with Scotland, voted to remain in the European Union on June 23, while England and Wales voted to leave.

John McGowan, chief executive of Enterprise North West, a border business park, said the region's economy would be destroyed by Brexit.

"Economic wise, long term, Brexit will destroy the economy in this region, I have no doubt, " he said.

"If you talk to any investor that's thinking of opening a factory, they look at three things- access to market, corporation tax, and access to good people."

Mr McGowan said the prospects of visas would create issues for third level colleges in the area and the economy.

The protest took place in Bridgend, co Donegal, close to the border with Derry.

Demonstrators briefly staged a mock border customs post as part of the protest.

Dermot o'Hara, one of the organisers of the protest, said Derry's natural hinterland was Donegal.

"Our message here, and there are a number of protests today, is not just for the Conservative government, but Arlene Foster, the (Northern Ireland) Assembly, Enda Kenny, the Dublin Government and the EU," he said.

"We're saying we voted to remain and we want to remain. We need at every discussion and every negotiation, we need the six counties at the top of the agenda. "

The protests, organised under the umbrella of the Border Communities Against Brexit group, took place in six locations - Carrickcarnon, Moybridge, Aghalane, Belcoo, Lifford Bridge and Bridgend.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has insisted any pensions increases announced on Budget Day should take effect from January 1.

Mr Martin has claimed the Budget is falling victim to the political jousting that is going on within Fine Gael.

However, while repeatedly insisting January was his preferred date for a 5 pension hike, he refused to say the start date was a red-line issue.

Speaking at his partys annual Presidential Dinner in Dublin, Mr Martin blamed Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar for springing his demands at a very late stage in the negotiations.

One has to look at Leos behaviour through a certain prism. I think there is an element of internal Fine Gael politics afoot here, he said, adding: We didnt set any limits to welfare spending.

Mr Martin suggested the ministers motivation was gaining political points within Fine Gael rather than worrying about vulnerable people in society.

I think theres an element that Leo feels that if he can have a go off Fianna Fail consistently, and try to undermine Fianna Fail, that that might gain him traction in whatever subsequent election he might find himself a party to, he said.

Mr Martin said he was irritated by the situation but said work would continue to secure a deal before Tuesday.

We are somewhat concerned about the 11th hour nature of some of what is now happening in terms of the overall budget that is now available in terms of the famous fiscal space and also the 11th hour suggestion that the welfare payments would go back to mid year.

We find that is unacceptable. Certainly the process will need to be improved for next year.

The Cork TD added: We are concerned about what has happened. Negotiations are still underway and our view is that welfare payments should start in January.
Liam Mac Aoidh, a 20-year-old student from Dungloe, Co Donegal, is studying songwriting at DIT and is in his second year.

He says that college itself is very inexpensive, but believes that the real challenge is in living costs.

Coming from the background that I do, having lived in Donegal, its extremely challenging to be able to afford to eat, to stay in the place I live in. Grants dont quite cover your cost to live which is a big disadvantage for students coming from outside of Dublin, he told the Irish Independent.

Liam would like to see a number of changes made in the upcoming Budget that would make life easier for young people and for students.

He is particularly concerned about funding for the Arts Council, as well as issues around social status, minimum wage and taxes.

The Arts Council has been hit very, very hard over the last couple of years which I cant help but feel suggests an apathy to the arts in Ireland. I dont think Im being terribly cynical to say so, but I do think arts are something of a backburner for the government.

As a self-employed musician, Liam earns only a small amount of money, meaning he does not qualify to pay tax on his earnings. However he believes that the Universal Social Charge (USC) should be decreased for self-employed workers in other sectors.

He also believes that the increases in tax on cigarettes in recent years has little impact on those who already smoke.

It probably helps very much with people who are considering starting smoking who would look at the cost of it and say oh, its too much. But I think for people who are smokers, I dont think the extra tax on it will actually make an ounce of difference.

Liam says that the alcohol measures are very weak  he can see why they have taxes on alcohol but thinks that it is not getting to the core of problem drinking.
LARRY Goodman's ABP, the state's largest beef processor, has been given the green light to buy out Bert Allen's 50pc share of Slaney Foods.

Yesterday, farm organisations denounced the European Commission's decision to "clear the way" for the merger.

ABP lodged its finalised application for the buy-out with the EU Commission last month.

Shortly afterwards, the Irish Farmers' Association submitted an analysis of the impact of the deal, which claimed the move would significantly weaken competition in the beef sector by increasing the firm's share of the national prime cattle kill from 26pc to 36pc.

Joe Healy, IFA president, accused the Irish Competition Authority of "turning a blind eye" to serious competition implications in the Irish market for the purchase of cattle.

"They effectively washed their hands of the ABP/Slaney deal by leaving it to the Brussels authorities," he claimed.

Angus Woods, IFA livestock chairman, said livestock farmers fear a lack of competition for cattle.

"The reality today is farmers are selling at a loss making base price of 3.70/kg, with some factories claiming they cannot take stock for another week. At the same time, prices for the equivalent beef animals in our main export market in the UK are rising 220 per head more than Irish prices."

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association is also concerned about the green light for the deal.

ICSA beef chairman Edmond Phelan said he is "dismayed".

"This decision will only add to the perception that the EU is good at regulating small enterprises but weak on big business."

He said it will leave Irish cattle and sheep farmers in a worse position than before. "Farmers are regulated to within an inch of their lives yet we have seen no regulation further down the food chain with the big retailers and processors making huge profits on the back of farmers who are lucky to break even.

"EU rules demand that producer groups cannot control more than 15pc of supply, yet ABP factories have now received the green light to control in excess of 28pc of the cattle trade and 40pc of the sheep trade," he said.

However, Meat Industry Ireland (MII), which represents business interests of the beef and lamb processing sector in Ireland, recently dismissed concerns about reduced competition in the beef sector in the deal succeeded.

MII pointed to the "phenomenal performance" of Irish beef exports selling for 110pc of the EU average this year.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness said a lot of people at a producer level will disagree with the ruling.

"As things stand they have taken the decision but it will be a couple of months until we know the background or the reasoning behind it that would suggest that there isn't a competitive problem in the sector," she said.

"There is certainly a problem with trust in the sector with producers on one level and the two companies involved on the other. The producers are fearful of the consequences and I'm not sure they will feel reassured by this ruling," she said.

Meanwhile Frank Stephenson, ceo of ABP Food Group, said the joint venture will enable both companies to grow their respective businesses by bringing a stronger product offering to international markets where they compete with much larger global players.
Screen Producers Ireland says the Film Board needs funding to keep making hits like Brooklyn

Screen Producers Ireland (SPI) has called on the Government to reverse cuts made to the Irish Film Board's budget between 2008 and 2014 in next Tuesday's Budget.

State capital funding to the Irish Film Board (IFB) plummeted by 40pc during the six-year period. The call comes after the new RTE director general, Dee Forbes, said she wanted to put a greater emphasis on developing Irish drama. SPI said Ireland would lose out on high-value jobs in the indigenous film and television sector if funding isn't substantially increased in next week's Budget.

Chief executive Barbara Galavan urged Finance Minister Michael Noonan to prioritise the board's funding.

"We appreciate that there are many demands on minister Noonan's chequebook come Tuesday but we believe that investing in indigenous productions through increased IFB funding will deliver a significant net benefit for the economy. Indigenous producers provide high value jobs, shape our national and cultural identity and market Ireland abroad," she said.

Ms Galavan argued that the cuts have had a significant impact on the sector, reducing the number of opportunities to creative talent in Ireland.

SPI wants the board's budget restored to 20m so that it can "compete on a level playing field with their international counterparts".

"It offers a pivotal opportunity for this government to show it is committed to supporting the creative industries and to nurturing growth in the indigenous production sector.

"Increasing the funding available to producers will result in significant economic and cultural dividends."
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

A third day of declines sent European stocks to a weekly drop after a US jobs report did little to diminish prospects for a Federal Reserve rate rise this year.

By the close in Dublin, the Iseq Overall Index was down 2.41pc, or 144.49 points, to end the trading day at 5,839.16. The leaders included insurance group FBD, which increased 0.1pc to 6.70, while Fyffes rose 3.6pc to 1.46.

On the other side of the board, the laggards included drinks group C&C, which dropped 6.4pc to 3.55 and Paddy Power Betfair fell 4.9pc to 94.29.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.9pc at the close, as all industry groups except miners declined. US employers added 156,000 jobs in September, a Labor Department release showed.

While that missed the average economist forecast, it followed an increase in August that was more than previously estimated.

Recent strong data have raised trader odds for another Fed hike, adding to worries about a tapering of European Central Bank stimulus.

The Stoxx 600 capped its fourth weekly decline in five, down 0.9pc, after a rally from a June low ended in early September.

Investors withdrew money from the region's equity funds for a record 35th week, a report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch showed yesterday.

By contrast, a gain of 0.9pc in the FTSE 100 Index yesterday put it within 1pc of its 2015 record close. Miners including BHP Billiton and Anglo American gained at least 2.2pc after Bank of America recommended buying the shares, calling the sector "underowned."

Exporters in the UK benchmark rallied this week as updates about Brexit sent the pound tumbling. The currency earlier plunged 6.1pc in about two minutes, a move that traders said was exacerbated by computer-initiated sell orders.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Ryanair shares were trading in Dublin yesterday at 11.49 at 2.15pm, down 2pc. Photo: PA

Merrion Stockbrokers has downgraded Ryanair from 'buy' to 'hold' amid growing pressures in the European aviation sector.

Analyst Darren McKinley said a profit downgrade coming out of EasyJet and a weakened sterling has caused the company to diminish its rating for the airline.

However, Mr McKinley said Ryanair is still viewed as a high-quality company with a long-term upside.

"Recent sterling weakness is negative for Ryanair, even though they have a partial natural hedge in place.

"Crude oil's recent rally will likely weigh on sentiment for the sector even though we see substantial benefits to Ryanair and EasyJet in the year ahead," he said in a note.

Shares in Ryanair are down more than 20pc in the year so far and slipped further yesterday.

Ryanair shares were trading in Dublin yesterday at 11.49 at 2.15pm, down 2pc.

The dip follows an announcement from Ryanair rival EasyJet on Thursday.

The British low-cost airline announced to shareholders that it would take a 90m (99.7m) hit from currencies in its current financial year.

With jet fuel priced in dollars it has become more expensive for airlines in Europe to run their aircraft.
Churchill, ridden by Ryan Moore, wins this years Goffs Vincent OBrien National Stakes. Goffs itself has announced very satisfactory results

A 1.4m sale of a prized colt at the annual Orby sales at Goffs last year contributed to the group increasing its pre-tax profits by 15pc to 2m.

Last year, group ring turnover at Goffs rose to 159.2m. Goffs plc chairwoman Eimear Mulhearn said the year to March 2016 "has been very satisfactory".

A daughter of the late Charlie Haughey, Ms Mulhearn added: "We believe that the year ahead will be one of financial consolidation.

"The effects of Brexit cannot be fully assessed at this early stage and its overall impact on the bloodstock industry is impossible to ascertain."

She added: "This calls for prudent management, constant monitoring of costs and early identification of potential risks. However, we are confident of a vibrant sales season this autumn."

Ms Mulhearn said the year had significant highlights including the Orby Yearling Sale that delivered four millionaire yearlings.

Ms Mulhearn said that despite Brexit and some global instability, Goffs was recommending a dividend payout.

Chief executive Henry Beeby, said a 2.3pc increase in revenues follows the 96pc growth over the last five years.

Goffs is proposing a dividend of 5c per share and is to be approved at the group's AGM on October 21. The 5c per share follows a 5c per share in the 12 months to the end of March last that equated to a payout of 332,000.

Net revenues from 15.5m to 16.4m. The group generated 10.3m of revenues in Ireland and 6m in 'other EU' countries.

Directors' remuneration increased to 1.16m. Group shareholder funds stood at 26m, including 10.7m in accumulated profits while cash rose to 7.5m. Compensation to key management personnel totalled 2.7m.
Central Bank deputy governor Cyril Roux faces a second grilling from TDs and senators following spikey exchanges earlier this week.

Mr Roux raised the hackles of the politicians when he appeared before an Oireachtas committee to discuss motor insurance hikes.

He was accused of failing to protect consumers and not answering questions, and was told that the Central Bank took too long to spot problems with insurance companies.

Now the chairman of the Joint Committee on Finance and Public Expenditure, John McGuinness, has said Mr Roux will be called back before the politicians to clarify some of his answers.

At one stage in this week's committee hearing, Mr Roux was asked if he was defending insurance companies or the consumer.

Mr Roux said: "I am not defending consumers."

This prompted Mr McGuinness to respond: "That's for sure."

Officials from the Central Bank later insisted Mr Roux had made a slip of the tongue and had not meant that he does not act to protect consumers.

Mr Roux also clashed with Sinn Fein's Pearse Doherty, who asked him five times when the Central Bank first became aware of financial problems in the insurance sector.

Now Mr McGuinness said the committee intends to invite Mr Roux back to answer more questions.

"When we have a report complete to a draft stage we will ask the Central Bank back to clarify a number of areas," the Carlow Kilkenny Fianna Fail TD said.

The committee will also recall representatives from Insurance Ireland.

Asked what needs to be clarified, Mr McGuinness said: "We need to challenge the Central Bank in relation to the consumer protection aspect of its role."

The committee chairman said there was an issue around the Central Bank accepting figures given to it by insurers.

"Who is looking after the rights of consumers and taking on the industry to bring down the cost of insurance? Who is questioning the figures given to the Central Bank by insurers?"

Premiums have shot up by 70pc in the past three years, as insurers have been accused of under-pricing motor policies and of not putting aside sufficient reserves to meet claims.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank will not appeal against a ruling that minutes of a historic meetings of the bank's 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 main purpose of the visit is to further strengthen the bilateral partnership. The visit will focus on promoting Danish businesses increasing interest in the Vietnamese market.

In Hanoi, Mr. Jensen is scheduled to meet with Vietnams Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, and have a courtesy meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He will also co-chair the Joint Governmental Committee Meeting on Trade and Investments with Vietnamese Minister for Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung.

He will also visit a primary school in Long Bien district to gain first experience in how Danish ODA has been implemented in Vietnam, especially in the area of childrens literature and education cooperation. In Ho Chi Minh City, the Minister will meet with leaders of Ho Chi Minh Citys Peoples Committee.

During the two-day visit, Minister Jensen will also visit Danish companies including Mascot, a workwear producer; ScanCom, an outdoor furniture manufacturer; and Osterberg, the first Danish ice-cream shop in Vietnam.

The Danish Foreign Ministers visit marks 45 years of diplomatic relations between Denmark and Vietnam. The purpose of the visit is to ensure that our two nations make our political and commercial partnership even stronger. Vietnam is a key player in South East Asia and a prime example of a successful development cooperation turned into a strong commercial partnership, says Danish Ambassador to Vietnam, Ms. Charlotte Laursen.

This will be the first visit by Minister Jensen to Vietnam, which will further expand the Vietnamese-Danish partnership focusing on political dialogue, economic and commercial activities. Denmark has maintained assistance to Vietnam, matching Danish experience and know-how within green growth, food and agriculture, health services and education to Vietnams agenda to develop a modern and higher middle income country by 2035.

About 130 Danish companies are active in Vietnam. Bilateral trade between Vietnam and Denmark has increased significantly since 2011 and interest from Danish companies in cooperation with Vietnam continues to increase./.
Daniel was always quiet and shy. Liam talked for them both. Born profoundly deaf, the two McCarthy brothers were sent from their home in Glens, outside Dingle, Co Kerry, at a very young age as boarders to St Joseph's Home for Deaf Boys in Cabra in the hope of making a better life for themselves.

And that was how it turned out.

Expand Close Gardai at the brothers' home in Bluebell, Dublin Photo: Arthur Carron / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Gardai at the brothers' home in Bluebell, Dublin Photo: Arthur Carron

"They had a good life for themselves in Dublin," said one of their closest neighbours in West Kerry.

When the brothers left St Joseph's as young men, they "fell into jobs", Liam working as a shoemaker in a small repairs shop in Terenure village while both also worked in factories for years and bought the neat little house in the Millrose Estate in Bluebell, West Dublin, "off their own steam".

Liam (76) and Daniel (73) had regular visits from their sister, Angela, who was also deaf and when their parents were alive, had spent every summer at the family homestead amid the majestic scenic surrounds of the foothills of Mount Brandon.

Only last month, they had been down to visit their younger brother Eamonn, helping out on the farm at the busiest time of the year.

They were like the rest of the McCarthy family - quiet, hardworking and sociable.

"Theirs wasn't a tragic story - though it was tragic in the end," he said, adding that what happened to Liam and Daniel McCarthy at the end "could happen anywhere."

Expand Close The brothers Daniel and Liam McCarthy Photo: Deaf Heritage Centre / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The brothers Daniel and Liam McCarthy Photo: Deaf Heritage Centre

"It's hard on the family here because it's something we often hear about but that you don't think will visit your own doorstep," he said.

The brothers' remains will return to Dingle after a funeral Mass today at the Emmaus Chapel in Deaf Village Ireland on the Ratoath Road in Cabra.

Another Mass will take place at St Mary's Church in Dingle tomorrow, with a Mass before burial together at St Brendan's Cemetery.

It follows an end of heartbreaking sadness that has left the wider community examining its conscience over how easily isolated elderly people can be left to suffer in silence amid the chronic 'busyness' of modern society.

Read More

In the early hours of Tuesday morning last, a garda - alerted by two friends from the deaf community - climbed a ladder borrowed from a neighbour and shining a torch into an upstairs bedroom window, discovered the tragic remains. It is thought Liam may have died some weeks ago and Daniel, who was more dependent, died last weekend.

Daniel had been seen by friends outside the house last Thursday but had seemed "lost for words" and he would not let them in.

In a note found at the scene, he had written that his brother was sick, poignantly adding: "I don't know what to do."

Several neighbours in the estate, who did not speak sign language, recalled them as "so quiet".

But that was refuted by friend Fergus Dunne who first met the brothers many years ago at the old Deaf Club in Rathmines in Dublin, where many members of the deaf community would meet regularly.

He and his wife had enjoyed chatting with Liam, while their children would watch his command of sign language "with awe," he said, describing Liam as "so polite and good-mannered."

He recalled a conversation which Liam had again conducted in "beautiful sign language and gestures," expressing his concerns about the dangers of using the ATM alone, "highlighting the vulnerability of any elderly person, both deaf and hearing in everyday life."

Liam had continued to work as a handiman, mostly painting, and Fergus recalled the quality of his work.

In 2011, Liam was touched by a surprise 70th birthday party organised by friends.

The deaf community are now struggling to deal with the sad end to the lives of the two brothers.

But Sean Moynihan of Alone, the elderly support organisation said, with one in three people over the age of 65 living alone, it is a "very simple journey" for anyone to become disconnected from society, even without a disability.

"People think of rural isolation but it is urban and rural alike," he said, adding that home help can act as an 'early warning system'.

"The Minister announced funding of 40m which is 300,000 home help hours but that still doesn't put us back to where we were in 2010 - and since then we have an extra 120,000 people over 65," he said.
'The doctor worked as a locum in St Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown, Dublin, for just one weekend from July 6 to July 8, 2013 before senior staff became seriously concerned about his abilities and his employment ceased' Stock photo: Getty Images

A doctor prescribed a serious medical detox procedure used for alcoholics to a 17-year-old boy, who had drunk four bottles of beer, the Irish Medical Council heard.

A fitness-to-practise hearing yesterday heard that Dr Mohamed Elhassan incorrectly noted that the boy, drank four bottles of vodka, which the council was told would have killed him if true.

Dr Elhassan appeared via telephone from Saudi Arabia at the hearing, facing allegations of professional misconduct and poor professional performance.

The doctor worked as a locum in St Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown, Dublin, for just one weekend from July 6 to July 8, 2013 before senior staff became seriously concerned about his abilities and his employment ceased.

He was reported to the council by consultant physician in geriatric medicine at the hospital, Rachael Doyle.

Among the complaints detailed by Dr Doyle was Dr Elhassan's struggling with charts and medical procedures.

He also failed to reveal on his CV that he had worked in the Cavan/Monaghan Mental Health Service, allegedly knowing that there were serious concerns about his practice there.

Dr Doyle said in the case of the detox prescription, it was never administered and the boy's mother picked up the mistake quickly.

"The boy's mother was very distressed that (the medical chart) said four bottles of vodka," Dr Doyle told the hearing.

"There's no way you'd be alive after four bottles of vodka," she added. Dr Doyle also told the hearing that Dr Elhasan texted her that she had a "black heart" after she reported him to the council.

Dr Elhassan, defending himself, told the council that he was suffering from depression at the time of the allegations.

The hearing was adjourned until Tuesday morning.
We know children should be getting outdoor play, we know that encouraging them in digital skills clubs like CoderDojo will greatly improve career prospects. We know they should be eating their five-a-day and doing 30 minutes of exercise five times a week. When it comes to our children's health and well-being, there's plenty that we already know. But what about the role the arts play in their lives - what do we know about that?

A landmark study exploring the impact of arts and culture on Irish children was published earlier this week. Commissioned by the Arts Council and conducted by the ESRI, it worked with Growing Up in Ireland data to follow children aged three, five, nine and 13 over a six-month period, and recorded the ways in which they engaged in cultural activity and what impact that engagement had.

It's the first time that activities like reading, drama, singing, dance and painting have been scientifically measured for how they affect cognitive development and the emotional well-being of children.

The fact that there hasn't been such an in-depth report carried out before now is perhaps an indication of how much importance has traditionally been ascribed to the arts. In a world so focused on tangible indicators of success - exams scores, IQ points and trophies - the more whimsical pleasures associated with acting and reading for pleasure have perhaps been overlooked.

But it turns out the arts have a very real and important bearing on our children's happiness and success. The study found that, among young children, being read to frequently and having more access to books contributed to improved vocabulary between three and five, all else being equal.

Among older children, self-directed reading and taking part in structural cultural activities outside school time contributed to improved academic ability.

"The data very clearly shows that the arts play an important part in contributing to social and emotional well-being from a very young age," reveals Orlaith McBride, director of the Arts Council. "Beyond the child's enjoyment - which is really good in itself - we now know that engaging in the arts has a positive impact on cognitive development."

'Cognitive development' is one of those terms many parents will be familiar with, but exactly what does it mean? Well, it means that through engaging in activities like art, reading and acting, children improve their thinking skills and develop a greater aptitude for articulating themselves and reasoning. Interestingly, involvement in cultural activities was also revealed to have a positive impact on numerical ability.

"Engaging in drama helps their capacity to learn, to question and to wonder. It helps them to develop empathy," adds Orlaith. "From our perspective at the Arts Council, it confirms what we already knew, but for the first time we now have robust and rigorous data to back that up."

One of the reasons such data is important is because it draws attention not only to the benefits offered to children who engage regularly in the arts, but also because it reveals which children are not getting access.

"One of the most startling things for me was the scale of the gender differences," says Dr Emer Smyth, a researcher with the ESRI. "In some cases gender was an even bigger factor than social background."

Nine-year-old girls from working-class backgrounds were revealed to be spending more time reading than middle-class boys, while girls from advantaged backgrounds had the highest level of involvement in structured cultural classes like afterschool dance, music or drama groups.

Five-year-olds from more highly educated families are involved in many more cultural activities, including reading, painting/drawing, cultural outings (with the exception of visiting the cinema) and educational visits than their peers. They also have less screen time. Among even the youngest children, girls have a higher level of engagement in the arts.

Both Emer and Orlaith fear that persistent gender stereotypes - that arts activities like drawing, reading and creative play are seen as more 'girly' in nature while boys are expected to engage in more physical pursuits - play a part in this divide.

"I think a lot comes down to gender stereotypes and we have to challenge those from an early age," says Orlaith. "Boys need to participate more. When they get older, sport is a big rival - and of course that's hugely beneficial too - but we can't underestimate the benefits of creative play, painting and drawing."

"The free pre-school years offer huge potential in terms of including academic cultural participation and challenging gender stereotypes," adds Emer. As she points out, the incongruity in regarding the arts world as 'female' at a young age is that the adult public arenas of art and music are largely dominated by men.

Socio-economic backgrounds represented the second gulf in participation, with children from less well-off families not displaying the same levels of engagement in activities like dance troops, music lessons and outings to galleries, museums and theatres.

"More advantaged families are participating more in the arts," says Orlaith. "At the Arts Council we need to look at how we are enabling children to participate at no cost and what does the State need to do."

If you're a parent reading this, you're probably wondering if your own child is 'engaging in the arts' sufficiently. The good news is that, broadly speaking, the research revealed 'yes' many children are engaging in the arts on a frequent basis. Most parents are regularly reading with their children and many children are engaged in structured activities. Even watching TV was revealed to have a positive impact on verbal skills - although prolonged viewing was poor for social and emotional development.

"This is not about making poor parents feel guilty about children watching TV," says Orlaith. "It's as much about what policy-makers, services and State providers, as well as parents, can do to encourage and nurture creativity and ensure that every child - regardless of gender or social background - has the same access to participating in the arts."

Read More:
A girl lugs buckets of drinking water after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti Photo: AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery

Ireland has ordered the airlift of emergency supplies to Haiti in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney said the suffering inflicted on the Haitian people was "beyond words", as the country was still struggling to rebuild from a major 2010 earthquake.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan and International Development Minister Joe McHugh sanctioned the airlift of supplies, which will include emergency shelters, mosquito nets and water tanks.

"This is another devastating blow to communities previously affected by the earthquake in 2010," Mr Flanagan said, adding that 350,000 Haitians require urgent humanitarian aid.

Mr Coveney paid tribute to Irish charities like Haven, which was founded by Leslie and Carmel Buckley in 2008.

"The loss of life has now extended to well over 300 people. These people have problems that make our problems look very small," the TD said at Haven's Cork fundraising lunch.

"Charities like Haven do extraordinary work in probably the poorest country in the world," Mr Coveney said.
'If you are unlucky enough to get struck by serious illness, as even the fit and healthy can be, you need to educate yourself about your condition and learn how to communicate effectively with your doctors to ensure that you are giving yourself the best chance possible' (stock photo)

'We are literally destroying our children's future by setting them on course to be the fattest children in Europe by 2030.'

No one cares about your health as much as you, except maybe your mother. And no one cares about your children's' health as much as you. And you need to care more because collectively, our health is heading for the doldrums. If the statistics are to be believed, and I think they should be, Ireland is getting fatter, less fit and more disease-prone as each year goes by.

We are literally destroying our children's future by setting them on course to be the fattest children in Europe by 2030. We are condemning them to an early death.

Obesity is the precursor to so many life-threatening and life-limiting diseases - diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many cancers, so we need to fix this urgently for their sake, as well as our own, because the HSE is in no shape to cope with the amount of us that are getting sick due to bad lifestyle choices - at an estimated cost to society of over 1bn a year.

The Government has released its Obesity Policy and Action Plan, and it has some good points.

You need to equip yourself with the information that will allow you to maintain and improve your and your family's health and well-being and keep you strong and fit and healthy. That's your responsibility as a person and as a parent.

And if you are unlucky enough to get struck by serious illness, as even the fit and healthy can be, you need to educate yourself about your condition and learn how to communicate effectively with your doctors to ensure that you are giving yourself the best chance possible.

The health landscape is changing. Our creaking HSE aside, there has been an explosion in private, consumer-driven - and often unregulated - medical and health-related industries.

We have booming cosmetic-surgery and fertility industries - both of which can involve powerful medication and often serious surgery, dispensed by doctors and practitioners whose end goal is not necessarily our overall health, nor do they claim it to be.

There has also been an upsurge in the number of dentists offering cosmetic dentistry, some of whom advertise their low prices.

The long-awaited and welcome recognition of the importance of our mental well-being has brought a surge in the number of people claiming to be counsellors and healers.

Don't get me started on this subject. While, there are no doubt some empathic and talented people outside psychology and psychiatry who can help others through trauma, an unregulated industry that pitches directly to those suffering from trauma or mental health issues is a ticking time bomb.

If the Government is so concerned about our mental health and well-being, the first stop should be the regulation of alternative and complementary therapists. And while they are at it, they should ban personal trainers from practising amateur psychology on clients. Trust me, the good ones don't.

Starting today and continuing next week in Monday's 'Health & Living' and continuing throughout the week in the feature pages of the Irish Independent, we are going to give you the tools to empower you to own your own health.

We begin with the basics - how to assess your state of health, how to disease-proof yourself and your family through the simple food choices and easy-to-do exercises for all levels of fitness. We also have a comprehensive guide to getting the best from your doctor or GP: what questions to ask, what language to use and what to do with the information you get.

We will help you negotiate the myriad of alternative and complementary therapies, decide which discretionary vaccines are useful and what health problems men need to ook out for.

Over the coming weeks, we will extend the series to focus on specific chronic conditions that affect us in Ireland, how to use medical information on the internet safely, your mental well-being, fertility and the fertility industry and cosmetic industry.

As always, we want your feedback, so if there are any areas you would like covered, just drop us an email.
Owen Reidy of Siptu arrives for talks with Dublin Bus management in Dublin last month Photo: Damien Eagers

Like the famous stadium of the same name, when the Lansdowne Road deal was shiny and new, its creators thought they were on to a winner.

The government of the day felt it was done with its industrial relations housekeeping until 2018, and had managed to keep pay aspirations around the 2pc mark that was the norm across the recovering economy.

When the deal was signed in May last year, Paschal Donohoe's predecessor as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, said the three-year deal "strikes the right balance between the legitimate aspirations of public servants for pay recovery and sustaining our improving public finances", and would secure a peaceful industrial relations environment until September 2018. How wrong could he have been? The current Government has no small hand in the blame for this, as it talked up the economy in a bid to win the election.

There was a clamour among public servants for an acceleration of the 'restoration' of the pay cuts taken during the crisis years - in the form of a pension levy and pay cut - at their conferences earlier this year.

But it soon all went quiet again. Behind the scenes, union leaders did not seem to be demanding anything extra back right away.

Some privately accepted there was little scope for further pay hikes next year, given that most public servants would already be getting around 1,000 each extra in September next under Lansdowne Road.

For the time being, they seemed OK with Paschal Donohoe calling the deal "the only show in town".

But the plan is for talks next year that could lead to some extra pay rises in 2018.

What the Government hadn't banked on was the seething resentment of gardai about what they saw as years of ill-treatment by the entire establishment.

They felt they had been shafted in successive deals by officials and, sometimes, fellow unions.

The Garda Representative Association is not recognised as a union, it has had little clout at the negotiating table and its members do not have the right to strike.

This could be seen in their pay, particularly for those starting out, when decades ago they had enjoyed parity with teachers.

The Government thought it would get away with applying a band-aid by offering them a more palatable deal, while not being seen to give more. But the decision of their delegates to reject it without even a ballot was a shock.

Garda sergeants and inspectors, who signed up to the deal, now seem to feel they are outside it and are threatening industrial action unless they get a 16.5pc pay rise, and the 18 unions that signed up to the Lansdowne Road deal but are chasing full pay restoration are waiting in the wings.

"We came into it together, we're going out of it together," said a union source.

Whether the Government likes it or not, the Lansdowne Road deal is in danger of unravelling.

It is questionable whether it pays off for Frances Fitzgerald to keep courting the gardai and teachers with separate offers and for Paschal Donohoe to call all the union leaders in for crisis talks.

When asked about the Government's dilemma, the leader of the union for lower-paid civil servants, the CPSU's Eoin Ronayne, suggested that next September's increase be accelerated to January next year.

It might provide a way of getting the teachers and gardai on board - but it could cost around 200m.

Whatever happens, a solution won't be found in a stand-off.
Gardai at the scene of the attack

A man is in hospital after he was slashed in the face in a knife attack in broad daylight.

The victim, a man in his early 20s, was set upon by an attacker in Tallaght, Dublin, yesterday afternoon.

The incident took place shortly before 1pm around the Abberley Square area, which is situated along the Belgard Road.

The knife attacker cut the victim from above his ear and down across his cheek.

An eyewitness told the Irish Independent that the object used during the attack was "small and sharp" as the victim's face began gushing blood immediately.

He said that blood was left along the pathway outside an area where dozens of people were taking their lunch break.

"There was a pool of blood and the cut opened up a lot in the middle and then widened," the witness said.

"It looked like there was something small and sharp used," he added.

The man was rushed to Tallaght Hospital, but his injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

He was then transferred to St James's Hospital, where he is understood to be still receiving treatment for the wound.

Gardai are hunting for the attacker and are examining CCTV footage.

The attacker fled the scene minutes after the attack and was picked up by an accomplice in a black car, according to witnesses.
One of Ireland's most notorious gangland criminals, dubbed 'Mr Tiger Kidnapping', was in garda custody last night after his gang were caught by heavily-armed gardai.

The 38-year-old gangster and two of his trusted associates were arrested by members of the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau just before they were about to target an estimated 500,000 due to be delivered to an ATM.

Expand Close Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

The dramatic arrest unfolded in Dunboyne, Co Meath, at around 9.30am yesterday when officers arrested two criminals hiding in a "bunker room" behind the cash machine.

A third suspect was arrested in a getaway car that was to be used to speed away from the scene.

Senior sources have told the Herald that all the arrested men were wearing "three layers of clothes" in an attempt to avoid forensic detection.

At least one of the criminals was wearing a bullet-proof vest and officers recovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun, which was being forensically examined last night.

A G4S security van, which was believed to contain over 500,000 in cash, arrived at a disused bank in Dunboyne where there was an ATM to be filled.

Gardai were lying in wait and two men were arrested at the scene. Gardai are attempting to establish how they managed to break into the empty room at the rear of the ATM. Another man was arrested a short distance away in the car.

Expand Close Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

The bust was part of a major surveillance operation that had been ongoing for weeks.

Gardai had been monitoring the gang as they carried out their own surveillance on the ATM.

The 38-year-old arrested crime lord suspected of masterminding the heist has been a major target for specialist gardai for over a decade.

Also in custody are two of his closest associates, including a well-known criminal from Hartstown in west Dublin.

Expand Close Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Arrested with him is a 39-year-old thug from Duleek, Co Meath, who recently served a lengthy prison sentence.

He was sentenced in relation to a 2006 seizure in which officers found 315,000 worth of cocaine, a bulletproof vest, a balaclava, two stolen high- powered cars and a stolen motorbike during a raid on a drugs mixing factory.

However, it is the arrest of his 38-year-old pal, a former close associate of recently freed gangster Alan 'Fatpuss' Bradley, that has brought gardai the most satisfaction.

Gardai were previously informed that the 38-year-old received military training in Bulgaria by special forces.

Expand Close Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

The north Dublin thug suspected of being behind the raid is considered one of Ireland's smartest criminals, and has a taste for the high life.

"This fella is no junkie, he likes the finer things in life and, of course, this includes the women he surrounds himself with - some of them are absolute stunners," a source said.

"He was involved in armed robberies even when he was a young lad, but he is one of these criminals that has just decided to move to the next level and he has done that in spades.

"He is a suspect in up to a dozen tiger kidnappings but has never been convicted in relation to any of them - mainly because his gang is so forensically aware," the source added.

The Blanchardstown gang boss, who has links to an international criminal network, is said to have a deep hatred of prison and was said to be "disgusted" with jail conditions after spending a few months on remand there in 2012.

Since his release from prison over four years ago, he has been monitored by specialist garda units, but he has not been under constant surveillance.

However, he was stopped by armed gardai in October 2014, and a number of suspicious of items were seized from the criminal and an associate.

It is believed they were carrying out surveillance of a target.
Scene of the stabbing on New Street, Waterford

Gardai have appealed for two young women who may have witnessed the fatal stabbing of a young man to come forward.

The victim, named locally as James Banville from Clonroche, Co Wexford, died of stab wounds following an altercation with another man in the early hours of the morning in Waterford.

Expand Close Scene of the stabbing in New Street Waterford / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Scene of the stabbing in New Street Waterford

Gardai arrived at the scene on New Street in Waterford City shortly before 3.30am in response to a call from a member of the public.

Mr Ganville was discovered and and taken to Waterford Regional Hospital.

He was pronounced dead on arrival. It is understood that he was visiting the city for the night.

A 35-year-old man was arrested nearby and is currently detained under the provisions of Section 4 of The Criminal Justice Act 1984 at Waterford Garda Station.

Now a fresh appeal has been made for witnesses.

In a statement gardai said: "Gardai in Waterford investigating a fatal stabbing in the city this morning are appealing for information.

"In particular they are appealing to two young women who were in Johns Lane at the Park Lane Apartments between 3am and 4am this morning and who may have witnessed an incident to contact the incident room at Waterford on 051-305300, the Garda Confidential Line 1 800 666 111 or any Garda Station."

The scene is currently preserved for a technical examination and the State Pathologist have been notified.

The Garda Technical Bureau has attended the scene.
The congress electing the executive board of the association (Photo: dantri.com.vn)

The event was attended by representatives, the Executive Board of the Overseas Vietnamese Association and over 80 students representing more than 300 overseas Vietnamese students in Rennes.

The congress is an opportunity for all students to meet each other and exchange issues in their daily life, to review activities of the association over the past year and to elect the new Executive Committee for the association for the purpose of solidarity, supporting and helping each other in study and daily life.

"In addition to study, which is the most important goal, the overseas Vietnamese students are cultural ambassadors, bringing Vietnamese culture to international friends. Foreigners know Vietnam partly through the students. Gathering students, creating a solidarity block to help each other, has long become the guiding principles of the association, which needs each member to preserve and promote," Deputy Head of the association Nguyen Phan Bao Thuy affirmed.

This year, the new Executive Board includes 12 members. Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, 1st graduate student of the National Institute of Science Application in Rennes, was elected as the Chairman of the Overseas Vietnamese Student Association in Rennes.

In particular, the Executive Board organized a barbecue party for more than 100 students, who also enjoyed entertaining games. It is hoped that the new Executive Committee will jointly organize helpful extracurricular activities for overseas Vietnamese students in Rennes in the 2016-2017 school year./.
Leo Varadkar is not happy that a Lidl supermarket has been granted planning permission in his constituency in Castleknock.

Residents of the area are also vehemently opposed to this development, with traffic issues being cited as one of the key causes of concern.

The planning permission, which was granted on September 28, includes: a Lidl supermarket, medical centre and a number of other shops at the site adjacent to the flower shop in Castleknock Village  covering a total area of 4,896 sq.m.

Some 98 parking spaces are also proposed, which includes 59 parking spaces beneath the proposed supermarket.

Upon hearing the news, Dublin West TD and Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar said he is disappointed Fingal County Council made this decision, which is strongly opposed by many local residents.

"I'm disappointed by the council's decision to grant permission for this new supermarket in Castleknock Village. It's a pity that the council did not take into account the strong opposition among the local community to this development.

"I will now consult with residents to get their views. If a decision is taken to appeal this to An Bord Pleanala then I will certainly support it, he said.

In 2014, Fingal refused permission for the same development as it considered it to be be inconsistent with the Castleknock Urban Centre Strategy.

Local Cllr Roderic OGorman (GP) said while he has always understood that this site needs to be developed, he believe that what is proposed here is completely unsuitable.

The opening hours facilitated under the planning permission granted are from 8:00am to 9:00pm on weekdays and Saturdays. This means the shop will be open during the morning rush hour. There are three primary schools in very close proximity to this site and a secondary school nearby. Further, deliveries will be allowed from 7:00am, adding further congestion in the village in the morning.

I am also concerned that more clear conditions have not been inserted as regards screening for nearby estates, in particular Castleknock Park. Concerns about this have been raised throughout the long planning process and I do not feel they are adequately addressed, said Cllr OGorman

Those who oppose the proposed development can make an appeal to An Bord Pleanala within four weeks of Fingals decision.
A man has been arrested over the gruesome murder of a popular DJ stabbed to death in a house earlier this week.

Leo Carolan (25) died after he was assaulted on the South Circular Road on Tuesday.

A second man, Swiss national Ludovic Thomas, survived the attack but was rushed to hospital with serious knife injuries.

Now gardai have confirmed that a man (23) has been arrested in connection with the murder.

Expand Close Victim Leo Carolan (25) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Victim Leo Carolan (25)

He was arrested after stepping off a ferry on Saturday afternoon and is currently being questioned in Kevin Street garda station.

In a statement gardai said: "Gardai at Kevin St investigating the death of a man on the South Circular Road on Tuesday have this afternoon arrested a 23 year old man in connection with this investigation.

"The man was arrested in Dublin city. He is currently detained at Kevin Street Garda Station under the provisions of Section 4  Criminal Justice Act 1984."

Gardai had been probing whether the killer may have dumped his blood-soaked tee-shirt in a nearby rubbish bin after the Tuesday bloodbath.

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

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp 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

It also emerged emerged earlier this week that the suspected killer may have bought shoes in a charity shop after the savage slaying.

Detectives spent a number of hours in hospital earlier this week interviewing Swiss national Ludovic Thomas.

However, it is understood he does not to know a third man officers had sought in relation to the attack.

The victim, Mr Carolan, 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."
The incident happened on the N52 at Hiskinstown. Picture: Google Maps

Two women have died after a road collision in Co Westmeath on Saturday afternoon.

The collision between two cars and a truck happened at Hiskinstown, Delvin, Co Westmeath at approximately 3.30pm.

One of the women, a passenger (38), was pronounced dead at the scene a short time after the collision.

In a statement, released late on Saturday night, gardai confirmed that a second female, the driver of the same car, was pronounced dead at the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar as a result of injuries received in the collision.

WESTMEATH: Collision on the N52 Mullingar/Delvin Rd EB just north of Williamstown. Diversions are in place. https://t.co/9H7eVw9Wjc  AA Roadwatch (@aaroadwatch) October 8, 2016

She was in her 20s.

The two women died in a collision involving a truck and two cars.

The female driver of the second car, its only occupant, has been airlifted to Tallaght Hospital in a serious condition. The male truck driver was uninjured.

The road is currently closed to facilitate a Garda Forensic Collision Investigation and diversions are in place.

In a separate incident a man in his 30s suffered serious head injuries in a collision involving a quad bike in Neilstown West Dublin.

Dublin Fire Brigade paramedics were called to the scene near The Finches bar in Clondalkin at 3pm where they found the injured man.

He was brought by ambulance to Tallaght Hospital where he remains in a serious condition.
'Drama unfolded in Dunboyne, Co Meath, at around 9.30am yesterday when officers arrested two criminals who were hiding in a 'bunker room' behind the cash machine' (stock photo)

One of Ireland's most notorious gangland criminals was in custody last night after his gang were caught by heavily armed gardai.

The 38-year-old gangster and two associates were about to target an estimated 500,000 contained in a security van delivering cash to an ATM.

Drama unfolded in Dunboyne, Co Meath, at around 9.30am yesterday when officers arrested two criminals who were hiding in a 'bunker room' behind the cash machine.

A third suspect was arrested in a getaway car that was primed to be used to speed away from the scene.

All the arrested men were wearing three layers of clothes in an attempt to avoid forensic detection.

At least one of the criminals was wearing a bulletproof vest and officers recovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun which was being forensically examined last night.

A G4S security van, which was believed to contain over 500,000 in cash, arrived at a disused bank in Dunboyne, where there was an ATM machine to be filled.

Surveillance

Gardai were lying in wait and two men were arrested at the scene. One of the men is a major player who is dubbed 'Mr Tiger Kidnapping'.

Gardai previously received information that the 38-year-old received military training in Bulgaria by special forces.

"He is a suspect in up to a dozen tiger kidnappings but has never been convicted in relation to any of them, mainly because his gang is so forensically aware.

"They were the first crew here to realise that bleach can get rid of all DNA evidence," a source said.

Also in custody are two of the man's closest associates, including a well-known criminal from Hartstown in west Dublin.

Officers are attempting to establish how the men managed to break into the empty room at the rear of the ATM machine.

The bust was the result of a major surveillance operation that had been ongoing for weeks.

Gardai had been monitoring the gang as they carried out their own surveillance on the ATM in the lead-up to the foiled crime.
The late Fr Eoghan Haughey - brother of former Taoiseach Charles J Haughey - with his nephew, Deputy Sean Haughey Photo: Collins

Eoghan Haughey, the last surviving sibling of former Taoiseach Charles Haughey, has died aged 82.

The Oblate priest passed away at the order's residence, the House of Retreat in Inchicore, Dublin. He was the last member of the six Haughey siblings who grew up at the family home in Donnycarney.

Fr Haughey is best remembered in the public mind as leading the requiem Mass for his older brother in June 2006. He launched a strong defence of the man who had polarised opinion over his long and controversial career.

He also recalled his brother's matter-of-fact courage in the face of his final illness and the bravery he had shown many times during myriad political and personal difficulties he faced.

The priest recalled being summoned by Charlie Haughey to be told of the upcoming funeral arrangements.

"About the funeral. It will be in Donnycarney. You will do it and you will do it with all prayerful dignity," Fr Haughey told the funeral congregation in 2006.

He also compared his brother, known in family circles as Cathal, to the great Ulster warrior hero Cu Chulainn.

News of the priest's death was announced by his nephew Sean Haughey, who tweeted: "Very sad to announce the death this morning of Fr Eoghan Haughey OMI at the House of Retreat, Inchicore, age 82. RIP."

Mr Haughey's remains will repose at the House of Retreat on Tyrconnell Road in Inchicore from 2pm to 5pm tomorrow. His funeral Mass will be held on Monday at 11.30am in the Church of Mary Immaculate, Inchicore.
Shane Ross's Independent Alliance is desperately scrambling to get some credit for next week's Budget.

The Alliance is making last minute efforts to put its stamp on Budget 2017.

Tensions have developed between the rural members of the Alliance and Mr Ross, the Transport Minister.

Mr Ross is being blamed for failing to assert the authority of the Alliance in Budget negotiations.

Sources say serious differences were aired on the group's "red line" issues among the five TDs in the Alliance during a meeting on Wednesday.

The last minute measures pushed for by the Alliance include an extension of VAT refunds for house refurbishments for another two years. Independent Alliance Junior Minister Sean Canney and backbench TD Kevin 'Boxer' Moran also want an enhanced rural Ireland package, including an improved sheep grant and the expansion of the rural social scheme.

The group has also sought confirmation the money to beef up the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) will be made available from January.

The non-Alliance Independent ministers Denis Naughten and Katherine Zappone have both signed off on their Budget deals.

The two ministers are understood to be pleased with their packages, despite some wrangling over Ms Zappone's childcare package.

The biggest focus of Mr Naughten's Budget allocation is funding for the roll-out of the national broadband plan.

The Communications Minister will also announce a series of energy-efficiency measures, including grants for retrofitting homes and incentives for more drivers to use electric cars. Sources say he has received an allocation of more than 8m to tackle illegal dumping.

Ms Zappone's new childcare scheme will give additional financial help to families on a net income under 50,000.

Under the plan, parents will be asked to enter their incomes and PPS numbers online to find out the exact size of their State subsidy.

The package will be limited to children under the age of three. The decision to settle on a 50,000 threshold will ensure that low-income families benefit first from the scheme.

However, the threshold is likely to disappoint many Fine Gael backbenchers who believe it will fail to address the financial difficulties facing middle-income families. Fianna Fail is expected to welcome the new scheme, but say the threshold needs to be increased over a number of budgets.

The first tranche of subsidies are due to be paid out in September of next year.
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 woman's direction, but 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.
The opening ceremony of the fair (Photo: vov.vn) The event is organized by Vietnams Ministry of National Defence and Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Cambodias Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of National Defence.

Nearly 130 units with more than 200 kiosks attend the fair in an area of approximately 10,000m2.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Cambodian Commerce Secretary of State Chhuon Dara stressed the practical significance of the fair.

"The organization of the Vietnam Trade Fair in Cambodia contributes to strengthening trade relations and economic development of the two countries. The fair aims to promote Vietnam's products to consumers, and shows the potential of the trade relations between Vietnam and Cambodia, two important trade partners. It also helps connect cultures and traditions between the two peoples. I know many Cambodian people support and love Vietnamese goods because they are of good quality, variety of designs and reasonable prices," he said.

The units participating in the fair introduce many products with high quality and prestige in Vietnam and exporting markets such as textiles, footwear, agricultural and forestry products, handicrafts, processed foods, electronic, mechanical, chemical products, construction materials and fertilizer.

The fair is part of the "National Trade Promotion Program 2016", which is held with the aim of supporting Vietnamese enterprises in general and army enterprises in particular to intensify the export of products and services to Cambodia and ASEAN countries.

The fair also creates conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to seek opportunities and potentials of Cambodian and regional markets, look for potential customers and business partners, expand commercial exchange relations among businesses of the two countries.
The EU has sent a strong signal to the Government's Expert Water Commission that it must include some form of water charges in its recommendations.

The Commission was set up under the Government deal between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to examine the vexed issue and is due to report next month.

The parties are opposed on the issue, with Fine Gael insisting charges are required to invest in water and sewerage services, while Fianna Fail wants them abolished at least until services are brought up to an acceptable standard.

A response from the Brussels' executive on the Expert Commission signals a big battle which will emerge shortly as the Dail must again debate the report recommendations.

The EU's Environment Commissioner, Karmenu Vella, in his first comment on the workings of the Expert Commission, has said he expects "a robust water-funding" regime which respects EU rules.

Mr Vella has already said that Ireland's EU exemption to water charges had automatically expired when charges were first imposed in 2015, and the country was now bound by the Water Framework Directive (WFD) which makes charges mandatory.

In reply to questions to Dublin Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes, the Environment Commissioner acknowledged that the Government had informed him about the review work of the Expert Water Commission set up after charges were suspended.

"The Commission reiterated to the Irish authorities its view on the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the need for Ireland to establish a robust funding system that secures the long-term quality of water and water services, especially that investment in water is clearly acknowledged as necessary by the Irish authorities themselves," he said.

"It is now for the Expert Water Commission to get on with its task of assessing the funding of domestic public water services in Ireland and to make recommendations to the Irish parliament on water pricing policy which comply with WFD requirements and allow Ireland to be able to finance the necessary improvements in water quality and infrastructure," Mr Vella added.

Mr Hayes welcomed the statement and said the European Commission had stuck to its line that Ireland must adhere to water charges in line with the Water Framework Directive.

"For the Commission, a water pricing policy means that there has to be some kind of a water charge based on consumption," the Dublin MEP said.
Superintendent David Taylor: The garda officer whose allegations of a smear campaign against a whistleblower have rocked the force and prompted the Government to launch a formal inquiry. Supt Taylor made the allegations in a protected disclosure last Friday.

Sergeant Maurice McCabe: The State's most high-profile garda whistleblower, pictured above, who it is alleged was subjected to the smear campaign and character assassination by senior Garda management.

Expand Close Former Commissioner Martin Callinan Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Former Commissioner Martin Callinan Photo: Tom Burke

Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan: The State's most senior garda, who is at the centre of this latest whistleblower controversy.

It is alleged that Commissioner O'Sullivan knew about the smear campaign - claims she has denied.

Former Commissioner Martin Callinan: The ex-head of An Garda Siochana, pictured below, who resigned in 2014. It is alleged that he was part of directing the smear campaign.

Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill: The retired judge appointed to lead the inquiry.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald: Ms Fitzgerald yesterday ordered the inquiry following consultations with the Attorney General.
Andrew Heron and Damien Grey at the Michelin Star restaurant Heron and Grey in the Blackrock Market Photo: Tony Gavin 6/10/2016

It is days after the tiny twenty-two seat Heron & Grey restaurant in Blackrock Market was awarded the country's sole new Michelin star.

You might think that the owners, front of house man Andrew Heron and Australian chef Damien Grey, might not yet have come back to earth. They might still be in London, drinking champagne, scoffing caviar, planning world domination.

Expand Close The restaurant's duck with knotweed and currant from its ever-changing menu Credit: Stitchandbear.com / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The restaurant's duck with knotweed and currant from its ever-changing menu Credit: Stitchandbear.com

But instead, they are back at work, doing their best to respond to the deluge of calls and emails looking for a table. There's a steady progression of locals coming to peer in the window of the modest little restaurant and congratulate Blackrock's newest celebrities.

"The week before we got the star was our worst week ever," says Grey. "We had lots of no-shows and people cancelling at the last minute. We were freaking out a bit.

"We'd closed for a couple of weeks and just back from Andy's wedding, thought we were starting to build momentum... then it just fell apart."

The people who failed to show up must be feeling pretty foolish now. Heron & Grey is booked out until March 2017.

Expand Close Preparing for the evening's diners Photo: Frank Mc Grath / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Preparing for the evening's diners Photo: Frank Mc Grath

It only opens three nights a week and doesn't turn tables. So only 66 people are lucky enough to eat there each week.

When Heron & Grey opened, the owners did everything from food preparation to washing up. They have since been joined by another chef, Roisin Gillen, a second-year student at Cathal Brugha Street. But they still do their own washing-up. Heron is hand-slivering orange peel for the tasting menu, while Grey is examining a tray of wild mushrooms picked that morning in the Dublin Mountains. "He cooks on the fly," says Heron.

Special

So what's so special about the food at Heron & Grey?

Grey does not restrict himself to using all-local ingredients. There are officially five courses, but most nights there will be another three or four.

This week, there's Bluefin tuna, Muscat grapes - and those foraged mushrooms. Each plate is small, so that there is not so much food that it becomes an endurance test - nor, says Grey, so little that diners will be looking for McDonald's afterwards.

The progression of dishes is plotted on a graph that analyses the dominant notes - sweet, sour, salty, umami and so on.

"If something is predominantly sweet, then we'll follow it with something rich and umami-based. Then the next course will be sweet and sour, so the taste buds get pushed back. A palate cleanser brings everything back to the middle.

"There's no eating in a straight line. If you can get someone's tastebuds to jump from extremes back to the middle, it's not shocking, it keeps the taste buds entertained."

But one ingredient that doesn't feature on the menu at Heron & Grey is beef. "All the years that I've worked in Ireland, I've been dealing with owners with that old mind-set that you need to see beef on the menu and carbs in every dish," says Grey. "We want to prove that's not true, partly because of the environmental impact. I have used potato once or twice."

They have no plans to move to bigger premises.

"Look we're not stupid," says Grey. "We know that Heron & Grey as is has a shelf life; every restaurant has a shelf life. But we have a business plan that we are going to see through.

"It's a big learning process for us and crucial that we finish this project."
Cork has added a new airline to its departures board, with Volotea set to begin flying to Verona next summer.

Volotea, the Spanish low-cost carrier, will operate a weekly scheduled service between Cork and Verona-Villafranca Airport from June to September, 2017.

The route will be operated on Boeing 717 narrow-body aircraft, adding a total of 4,600 seats to Cork's summer schedule next year.

"We have served Verona before as a charter destination, but now travellers in both Munster and Northern Italy will be able to book flights online, increasing tourism in both directions," said the airport's Managing Director, Niall MacCarthy.

Passenger numbers at Cork were up 8pc in the first six months of the year, with some 2.24 million expected by year's end - a rise of 240,000 on 2015.

New services have included flights to Dusseldorf, Madrid, Nantes and La Rochelle, although ongoing opposition to Norwegian's planned transatlantic routes mean the earliest Cork-Boston flights could now take off is March 2017.

Verona is famous as the home of Romeo and Juliet, but attractions also include its Roman arena, shopping and a mouthwatering food scene.

Verona is a delightful city, a very relaxed place to visit, and I would call on people from Cork to support this new service," said Pat Dawson, CEO of the ITAA.

Read more:
THE world has a new UN secretary general in the form of ex-Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres, whose career has included more than a decade working on one of the defining challenges of our times: the displacement of millions forced to become refugees.

For many working at UN headquarters in New York and its numerous satellites across the world, the departure of incumbent Ban Ki-moon - whose record since his appointment in 2006 was considered patchy at best - will not be lamented much.

Guterres, however, is respected and well-liked. He is known through his previous work as head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR. In that role Guterres demonstrated eloquence and a willingness to speak truth to power, both of which are key for the UN's voice to be heard around the world.

On Wednesday, Guterres was formally nominated by the UN Security Council as the next secretary general, with the next step formal approval by the 193-member General Assembly.

Guterres will set a precedent as the first former national leader to become the world's top diplomat, having served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. While many hoped Ban's successor would be a woman - several prominent women candidates were in the running for the post - and UN tradition meant it was likely to be someone from Eastern Europe this time, the choice of Guterres has been widely welcomed.

Diplomats say he could not be more different to Ban, who steps down from the position on December 31. While Ban notched up some successes - including the Paris Agreement on climate change - within the UN he was repeatedly criticised for his poor management style and inability to really project the organisation and what it stood for. Some critics accuse him of appearing reluctant to stand up to Security Council members like Russia, China and the US at a time of mounting challenges, particularly when it came to the geopolitical complexities of wars and conflicts roiling the Middle East.

It is hoped Guterres will be a breath of fresh air in an organisation much criticised for its slowness in reforming itself and adapting to a changed world faced with a host of new and rapidly shifting challenges.

When he formally takes over in January, he will inherit an in-tray that ranges from the continuing horror of the war in Syria, growing tensions between Russia and Western powers, the evolving nature of terrorism and the perennial challenge of climate change.

Linked in some way to all of those is the international refugee crisis which now spans so many corners of the globe, but is felt most acutely in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Guterres spent almost 11 years at the helm of UNHCR, giving him an intimate insider knowledge of the dynamics of the current global refugee crisis, what caused it and what continues to feed it.

He knows that solutions lie not just in the countries refugees end up in but also in the homelands they have been forced to flee. Tackling the wave of refugees that continues to stream from Syria, for example, means making a stronger effort to bring the country's bloody five-year war to an end.

Guterres's record of holding powerful states to account, rather than deferring to them, raises hopes that he will adopt a firmer approach than his predecessor.

Guterres will also have to deal with the prickly question of how the UN reforms itself.

Change comes dropping slow in an organisation of more than 40,000 people which is often criticised for being bloated and not nimble enough for the times we live in. The recently aired criticisms of Anthony Banbury, a former assistant secretary general, who resigned blaming "colossal mismanagement" for the UN's failures, including allegations of sexual abuse by its peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, showed how much needs to be done.

One of Guterres's most praised attributes is one where Ban was lacking: his skill for public advocacy, his ability to speak powerfully about the most vulnerable and the world's responsibility to protect them.

With rising anti-refugee sentiment in parts of Europe and the US, making a compelling case for the duty to help refugees is needed now more than ever.

Ensuring the UN's moral voice is heard across the world is a crucial part of being UN secretary-general.

Speaking after his confirmation, Guterres said: "Humility [is what I feel] about the huge challenges ahead of us, the terrible complexity of the modern world  But it is also humility that is required to serve the most vulnerable, victims of conflicts, of terrorism, rights violations, poverty and injustices of this world."

The first UN secretary general, Trygve Lie, described it as "the most impossible job in the world". Guterres will soon find out how true that might be.
The most useful ground rule for running an organisation to high professional standards is a simple one - agree to nothing in private that would cause embarrassment if it became public knowledge. It's a principle which flies straight to the core of transparency.

Do Garda top brass understand the importance of this modus operandi? Recent whistleblower allegations cause some concern that the traditional default setting remains in place - it's 'our' force and good governance is for namby-pambies.

Consequently, this question of how properly or otherwise the Garda is governed continues to cause trouble. Do senior gardai persist in believing the force belongs to them and not the State, so that anyone who criticises it from within is disloyal?

If such is the case, is it possible that some of them regard whistleblowers as fair game for bullying, intimidation and isolation?

We simply don't know because the Gardai continue to offer resistance to external oversight.

This we do know, however. If the force was being reformed as thoroughly as we were assured, it would not now be facing into another judge-led inquiry.

The fact that one is looming shows something gravely amiss both in the chain of command and the culture.

To guarantee legitimacy, a police force needs high standards of policing and to be held accountable for them. Internal wrongdoing must be rooted out. Whistleblowers have to be taken seriously and their claims investigated promptly and thoroughly.

Otherwise, it would be no surprise if the public began to regard its police force as a dysfunctional organisation suffering from a siege mentality.

Alarm bells are sounding at a new wave of disturbing charges within months of the O'Higgins report, which confirmed whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe as a Garda of integrity and commitment.

More whistleblowers are emerging to make admissions to the Department of Justice under protected disclosure, suggesting a smear campaign was orchestrated against the sergeant by high-ranking officers.

Let's be clear. Sgt McCabe has done the State some service. But not everyone may see it that way.

The previous Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan, described whistleblowers as "quite disgusting" and it is entirely possible that his DNA remains imprinted on some Gardai in the upper echelons.

Public confidence in the guards, who police us with our consent, is starting to turn somewhat shaky. Consider the current crop of whistleblower allegations in tandem with a threatened strike next month for the first time in An Garda Siochana's 94-year history. Manifestly, a proud tradition is undergoing a crisis.

A previous Justice Minister and Garda Commissioner have departed because of this crisis - but the same issues continue to bubble away.

We are told reforms are in hand but have not fully taken effect. A bit slow, you might think. Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan is two years in the job next month.

If proven, the allegations on her watch are extremely damaging. Equally harmful is the claim she knew about such activities.

She insists she didn't - a denial which positions her between a rock and a hard place because she ought to be fully across what's happening in the organisation. In short, where does the buck stop?

One way or another, the whistleblower allegations raise doubts about the quality of leadership within the gardai.

No wonder morale remains low among the rank and file.

Lessons from the recent past appear to have been ignored. For malpractice and cover-up claims to need investigation all over again, so soon after previous scrutiny, does little to build trust in the Gardai.

Not much sign of a new broom there. Rather, it hints at rugs lifted by the corner and problems swept under them. You can but wonder what else lies beneath them.

Commissioner O'Sullivan has articulated the need for reform and I have no doubt she has the best of intentions. But changing a long-standing culture is not easy - especially for someone who was part of that ethos for 35 years and deputy to Martin Callinan.

Perhaps an outsider to push through root-and-branch reform was needed all along, as many voices urged when the vacancy occurred.

At her appointment, there appeared to be some Garda relief about an insider being chosen - not necessarily a good sign. The Garda Representative Association spoke approvingly about leadership being found from within.

Reform takes determination. Appointing insiders rarely leads to genuine restructuring, however.

They have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, even as they talk about letting in the antiseptic of fresh air. Inevitably, they are on close terms with senior staff and may not be keen to cast a wintry eye over the activities of longstanding colleagues.

The problems in the gardai are less urgent than those which led to a loss of confidence in the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

Nevertheless, the challenges to be overcome were greater north of the Border - yet the Police Service of Northern Ireland (the RUC's replacement) is a shining example of successful reorganisation.

Crucially, new blood was brought in. Hugh Orde was a high-ranking Metropolitan Police officer when he took over as Chief Constable, and went on to deliver on his brief.

Two years ago, the previous government shirked the opportunity to appoint an outsider committed to Garda reform - someone less likely to care that worms found under upturned stones might tarnish the organisation's reputation. Is this why we are back where we started?

As for those judge-led inquiries, they are becoming too common. It seems odd that a senior civil servant - already on the payroll - doesn't read the evidence, interview all concerned and write a memo to the Justice Minister instead. Whichever course is adopted, Commissioner O'Sullivan needs to stand aside voluntarily while an investigation takes place.

Issues bedevilling the gardai must be tackled urgently. Without genuine reform, as opposed to window-dressing, they will continue in a state of crisis. Meanwhile, other Garda whistleblowers will be deterred from sharing essential information.

We are entitled to a police force wedded to the concepts of accountability and best practice. A police force with a culture which circles the wagons when valid criticism is raised, or is indignant if a serving member turns whistleblower - that's in no one's best interests. It serves neither guards nor citizens.
A slip of the tongue or a chilling insight into the attitude of a toothless watchdog?

Under fire over the role of the regulator in a motor insurance market where premiums continually spiral, Deputy Central Bank Governor Cyril Roux was asked at an Oireachtas committee if he was defending insurance companies or the consumer, when he blurted out: "I am not defending consumers."

Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness, the chairman of the Oireachtas Finance Committee, summed up the views of many exasperated members of the public when he curtly replied to Mr Roux's confession: "That's for sure."

Central Bank officials say it was a slip of the tongue and, of course, the regulator is there to defend consumers.

However, Mr McGuinness also told Mr Roux that consumers don't feel protected by the Central Bank.

Moreover, the Central Bank appears out of touch with the plight of consumers, for whom it is supposed to be standing up. The regulator stands accused of acting slowly as it simply doesn't appreciate the hardship imposed by rising premiums. The failure to force insurers to shore up their reserves when problems first emerged is costing motorists.

Premiums have shot up by 70pc in the past three years, as insurance companies have been accused of under-pricing motor policies and of not putting aside sufficient reserves to meet claims. Where was the Central Bank then?

What's more, the Central Bank doesn't seem to believe that achieving a level of public confidence is a priority for the organisation. After the economic crash, the regulator's reputation was enormously damaged. Mr Roux's predecessor, Matthew Elderfield, took tough decisions on issues like Quinn Insurance, but he saw a necessity to bring the public with him. The same cannot be said now.

Pre-Budget squabbles must now be put aside

Budget 2017 ought to be something of a cakewalk given that most of it was already signed off in a deal between the Government and Fianna Fail. But a Budget without a row would be like a cigar without smoke. No surprise then that something of a phoney war has been joined over reports about moves by the Government to delay a 5 increase in the old-age pension until the middle of 2017.

It is hard to take this showdown seriously. One can anticipate a degree of huffing and puffing and then, before any Band Aids are required, Fine Gael and the Government will retreat and the Soldiers of Destiny will be able to claim that they are not there to be trifled with, before emerging as the champions and protectors of the elderly, and thus the true heirs to the grey vote.

In any event, there is something absurd about putting back the increases until July of next year. The Budget is, after all, supposed to set out the spending limits for the year as a whole and not just a portion of it.

If the Government really was looking to pick a row, it is unlikely it would be so foolish as to pick one with pensioners, who have proven in the past that they are not to be taken as a pushover. Pitching in for Fianna Fail, Dara Calleary said: "Some in Fine Gael have had a Damascus-like conversion to caring and public service in recent weeks."

He may be right, but much of the hardship visited upon the elderly - and the country - was because of irresponsible governance by his own party. The fact that Fianna Fail agreed to back the Government and avoid a re-run of the election showed a mark of maturity and responsibility that squabbling over the Budget simply undermines.
Richie Mulholland, Paul Cumiskey, Martin Quigley, Sean McEneaney, Cora Kampes, Declan Curran and Mary McGeown at the official launch in Callans Bar of the Kilkerley Emmets GFC Vegas Experience night which takes place in The Crowne Plaza on Saturday 12th November

On Friday night I headed for Callan's Bar and Restaurant on the Castleblaney Road where a rather special night was taking place for Kilkerley Emmets GFC. The night was a double header, firstly to launch their Vegas Extravaganza night planned for the Crowne Plaza on November 12th, the second to honour one of the club's most prolific scorer Shane Lennon from Kilkerley who has notched up over 1,000 points in his career so far!

The Vegas Extravaganza is one of the most eagerly anticipated night for the club where they will transform the main hall in the Crowne Plaza into a Vegas like casino night. Admission is a mere 20, this will entitle you to some pocket money with which you can play a wide selection of games like Roulette, Black-Jack, Caribbean Stud, Texas Hold'em, Chug-a-Lug and many more. All profits on the night will go towards the upkeep of the club and its grounds and everyone is invited to come along and try their luck on November 12th.

But the big surprise of the night was for club stalwart Shane Lennon from Kilkerley who was there with his fiancee Linda Halpenny, parents Terry and Alice, brother Ronan, sisters Fiona, Michelle and Claire and huge collection of well-wishers, friends and those there specially for the raffle of a pair of All Ireland Final tickets for the following afternoon in HQ.

I wasn't too long in the door when I met up with club chairman Paul Cumiskey from Kilkerley who was with wife Gwen and he, and the club wanted to wish Shane all the best. He then went on to fill me in on the staggering facts about Shane, saying he started playing with the senior club back in 2000 but really came into his own in 2001 at the tender age of 16 when he became the club's top scorer that year with 7 goals and 48 points.

He continued this winning trend every year for the club, bar one, in total he has scored 116 goals and 1041 points. His 1000th point was scored against the O'Connells GFC on June 23rd of this year. He even found time to score 34 goals and 196 points for Louth Senior team as well.

After this amazing fact filled story, I then decided to have a look to see who was up for the celebration and met up with some of the committee members in Martin Quigley from Kilkerley, Declan Curran from Carrick Road, Richie Mulholland from Kilkerley and Eugene McGeough from the Railway Bar who wanted to wish Shane all the best on his big night, his big day next week and the club on the 12th too.

Next I headed over for a word with Neil Matthews from Kilkerley who was with Fergal Matthews from Ardcath in Meath who had managed to miss Neil's 40th birthday celebrations and were now making a belated party of it together.

I then caught up with my old mate from the Francis Street Inn days, yes it was Harry Reilly now from Kilkerley who was sitting chatting to Shane's dad Terry (another prolific player in his day too, I was reliably informed) and they wanted to wish Shane all the best on the night.

Not too long later I had the pleasure of meeting Shane's sisters Claire Clifford from Kilkerley, Fiona O'Neill from Dromintee and Michelle Fitzgerald from Kilkerley who were delighted that Shane hadn't a clue what awaited him and couldn't wait to see the look on his face when Paul called him up.

I then headed for a table where I got talking to Joe Fee from Hackballscross and John Lambe from Cortial who told me they were there for the Vegas launch, would definitely say yes if the won the All Ireland tickets, John wanted to say 'C'mon de town' and Joe took his life in his hands with his 'up the Malachys'!

After this I got taking to Shane's brother-in-law Marc Clifford who was having a laugh with Shane's brother Ronan who were up for making it a good night and wanted to wish him all the best.

Just arrived in the door was Cora and Franz Kampes from Carrick Road who were up for making the best of the night and certainly had their eyes on the Dublin V Mayo tickets.

Meanwhile up at the bar I caught up with the Kilkerley manager Paul Litchfield from Plaster who told me he was with his wife Regina and he too was there for all three reasons, but I think the tickets would have been a major bonus.

Seated close by were Barry Savage from Kilcurry and Kevin McCourt from Hackballscross who told me they were only there for the crack and to look at the women, but I secretly think they wouldn't have turned their nose up at the All Ireland tickets!

Next I headed over to a table where I had the pleasure of meeting up with some delightful ladies and they included Aine Quigley from Kilkerley, Voureen Quigley from Inniskeen, Carmel Woods from Kilkerley, Martina O'Connor from Inniskeen, Eilish Mulholland from Kilkerley, Leona Mulholland from Darver, Regina again, Roisin Duffy from Ravensdale, Andrea O'Reilly from Cavan, Annmarie Thornton from Cooley, Claire Mulholland from Kilkerley and Niamh Murphy from Louth Village who eventually told me they were enjoying Eilish Mulholland's Hen Party and she'd be tying the knot with Martin O'Hare from Knockbridge in 4 weeks' time, a rowdy night with the girls for certain. Best of luck to the happy couple in the future!

At an adjacent table I then met Shane's mum who was sitting with his fiancee Linda along with Sharon Lennon from Kilkerley, Andrea Lennon from Blackrock with husband Dessie who is Shane's cousin who were up for making the best of the night with Shane's next door neighbours Briege and Martin Quigley who wanted to wish him all the best for a well-deserved honour.

Finally, before I departed I met up with my old friend John McCarthy who was just after arriving in and wanted to wish Shane all the best for a well-deserved award and he too was casting a sideward glance at those All Ireland tickets!

A Vegas Extravaganza launch, a sharp shooting legend and a hen night, my visit to Callans was the best night I've had in ages!
Dundalk's musical teens are tuning up for a potential 5,000 boost to their career as the Fr Frank Maher Classical Music Awards, sponsored by Top Security is seeking entries for 2016.

It is Ireland's largest classical music competition for secondary schools and is open to sixth year post-primary students of strings, woodwind, brass and piano.

The 5,000 top prize will be used by the winner to attend a recognised place of tuition, a course of study in Ireland or abroad or on a purchase necessary for the development of their talent. The finalists will each receive a 250 bursary.

Dundalk has produced some top notch candidates- Juliette Morrison from St. Vincent's Secondary School was a finalist in 2015 and Maria Dawe from St. Louis Secondary School was a finalist in 2014.

The closing date for entries is October 13. Full details and application form for downloading, are on www.topsecurity.ie.
Jolyon Palmer says the current uncertainty over his future at Renault leaves him under "a lot of pressure" which makes his recent performances all the better.

The Briton is awaiting a decision on the 2017 Renault driver line-up but scored his first point in F1 with tenth place in last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix having shown his disappointment in a poor qualifying at Sepang. Palmer followed that with a Q2 appearance at Suzuka - which was then hampered by a yellow flag in the second part of qualifying - and says his performances under pressure are a boost for his confidence.

Yeah I think theres a lot of pressure at the minute on both me and Kev [Magnussen] to do the job, and to have a point in Malaysia was massive," Palmer said. "I think I was maybe more gutted after quali because I was driving really nicely in practice there and I didnt get it together in quali.

"But to recover in the race and now to get a good quali here and kind of be quick through all the sessions - I didnt know the track at the start of play yesterday - so I think its been good. Yeah the pressure is high but to be able to get good laps out and best performances of the year, its a good time.

And Palmer says an increased level of competitiveness from Renault is welcome as it allows him to show more of his potential at a crucial time.

I think the fact that weve improved the car and are working the tyres better means that the car is probably more consistent to drive Id say. Generally we are making less mistakes and we are able to extract more from it.

"Youve got that point and youve also got the fact that we are now racing with the teams further up, so we can fight with McLarens, fight with Toro Rossos, fight with Haas, which is a better chance to show what we can do as well and making a difference with the strategy.

"With getting a long stint out, if what Ive done in Malaysia, if Id done that in Austria or Silverstone then no one would have known because probably Id have ended up 12th or 13th and yeah sure it would be OK but the fact that we could beat the Toro Rosso in Malaysia was good because I got a point and people really noticed it."
G.S.D School of Drama is celebrating ten years of drama classes in the Louth area, and are delighted to announce lots of new courses on offer at the school which is based in Creative Spark, Dundalk.

The school have also just announced a new course in creative drama and dance starting this Autumn in Cooley Complex. This programme is suitable for children aged 4 years to 12 years. Classes every Friday in Cooley Complex.

For more information contact: geraldinekieran@gmail.com, 087-1914076, www.eloquence.ie
Louth TD Fergus O'Dowd, has welcomed the new nationwide Mortgage Arrears Resolution Service, Abhaile, for at-risk homeowners in Louth who are in mortgage arrears.

'The new service provides homeowners in mortgage arrears with free, independent expert advice and support on financial and legal issues. I am committed to ensuring that homeowners here in Louth who are struggling with mortgage arrears, and are at risk of losing their homes, can access independent expert advice and help on getting solutions into place.'
A new Tea Break Campaign wants to get people in Louth talking about mental health.

Suicide or Survive's annual 'National Tea Break' campaign entitled 'tea and talk' continues to grow and grow.

It aims to get the nation talking about mental health, throughout September and up to World Mental Health Day on October 10th.

This year they are making a special appeal to the people of County Louth to get involved.

The campaign, which is in its fifth year, encourages friends, family, neighbours, colleagues and community groups to come together and arrange a relaxed tea or coffee break with the intention of talking about mental health and breaking down stigma.

People can register to get involved in the campaign by going onto www.suicideorsurvive.ie or by calling 1890 577 577.
A massive cross border, multi-agency checkpoint, which took place at Major's Hollow, just off the M1 near Dundalk on Monday, led to the detention of 26 people, the Argus can reveal.

It was one of the largest checkpoints ever mounted at the location and included Gardai from Dundalk, officers from the National Bureau of Immigration and officials from the Department of Social Protection and the Revenue.

Gardai confirmed today (Tuesday) that a total of 26 people were detained at the day long checkpoint, 18 of whom were 'refused leave to land' for various reasons and were sent back over the border.

Motorists travelling south towards Dundalk were warned on the M1 of 'roadworks' which turned out to be a complete closure of the motorway at junction 18 Ballymascanlon where all vehicles were funnelled onto the Major's Hollow roundabout and checked.

There were delays of over one hour for drivers heading south at peak rush hour times, particularly in the

The details of the operation came as an Armagh vegetable grower contacted BBC NI Newsline to complain about the checkpoint after eight of his workers were detained by Gardai in Dundalk.

According to the BBC: 'The men, all EU nationals, were stopped at Dundalk on Monday morning as they crossed the border in a work van.

They were on their way to pick leeks in County Louth.

'The workers, seven Romanians and one Lithuanian, had no identification documents. They were driven to Dundalk Garda station where they were held for several hours. They were eventually allowed to leave when their employer gave guarantees that documents could be produced.

'Paddy Finn said his workers had been stopped before, but had never been asked to produce documents and had never been detained.

'Mr Finn, who relies on migrant workers, has land on both sides of the border and his workers regularly cross for harvest work.

'A Garda spokesman said such operations had been ongoing for several years. He said that under Irish immigration law, non-Irish nationals are required to carry documentation'.

Meanwhile, Louth TD Peter Fitzpatrick, has welcomed the fact that the New Road Traffic Bill will close a loophole, which meant that northern drivers disqualified for offences committed in the Republic, avoided disqualification in the North.

At present if a driver from one EU member state is disqualified from driving in another member state then the ban will only apply to the country that imposed it.

Mr Fitzpatrick said: 'This was a ridiculous situation and I am pleased that it will no longer be the case once the new Road Traffic Bill is passed. This is as a result of a bilateral agreement with the UK and will not be affected by the UK's decision to leave the EU.
Customers from far and wide came to Castlebellingham on Saturday to help Hoey's DIY celebrate a remarkable 40 years in business.

Company founders and directors, Gerard and Mary Hoey, were overwhelmed with the warm wishes and the return of many customers and friends, who came from all over the county, to the special 40th anniversary party at the Station Road.

And there was plenty of fun for people of all ages, according to Stephen Hoey, MD, who helped oversee the celebrations. He said: 'The whole day was great - it surpassed our expectations in terms of the crowd that came along and we were delighted to welcome customers old and new.

'And we were delighted to have the LMFM Roadcaster here for most of the day'. The radio station and Hoey's DIY have been great partners in coming with award-winning, humorous and imaginative advertisements.

In addition, there was a Hang Tough competition, a clown for the children, as well as a magician, giant jenga, a pig on a spit, coupled with lots of giveaways, raffles and special offers from a company that remains family-owned and independent, employing local people and serving the community in which it is located.

For more information on Hoey's DIY, go to www.hoeysdiy.ie or facebook.com/www.hoeysdiy.ie.
A Dundalk family has revealed their 'devastation' at having their late mother's personal belongings removed from her room, at the nursing home where she had been cared for, just two days after her funeral.

The family of the late Philomena Gill from Muirhevnamor told the Argus they are highlighting the incident, which happened last week at Blackrock Abbey Nursing Home, so that other families will not have to go through what they did.

Philomena's son, Brendan, highlighted the issue with Joe Duffy on Liveline last Friday. He told the Argus how his mum, who had been suffering from Alzeimher's Disease, passed away on Saturday, September 24 and was laid to rest on Monday, September 26.

He said: 'We contacted the nursing home to say that we would be in on Wednesday or Thursday to collect mum's things.

'My siblings and I, along with our father, went to the nursing home on Thursday and myself and my sister Mary went into the room. We were absolutely shocked and devastated to find that there was not one scrap of mum's belongings left.

'There would have been family photographs, paintings and drawings done by her grandchildren and other items around the bed. There was absolutely nothing there and when we asked a staff member about it, we were told mum's belongings were in bags in a storeroom along the corridor and that's where we found them.

'There were seven bags in all, mostly of her clothes, which we were going to give away to other residents anyway. After the shock, we were angry and we felt humiliated for mum that her things were treated like this after her death'.

The family insisted on seeing the person in charge of the home, Helen Murphy, who apologised on behalf of the nursing home. By co-incidence, a senior member of staff from the Talbot Group, which owns the Blackrock home, was also on the premises on Thursday and also apologised for the incident.

And while the Gills are happy with the care from the nursing and ancillary staff that Philomena received in the final two years of her life, they still feel upset by the way her belongings were dealt with.

Brendan said: 'We wanted to highlight the issue to ensure that it doesn't happen to anyone else. We are informing HIQA of what happened'.

In a statement, HIQA said: 'HIQA does not have a remit to investigate individual complaints however we monitor residential centres against regulations and standards and take all information or concerns received into account during this process.

'A service should ensure that procedures are in place for the respectful removal of the resident's personal possessions in accordance with the resident's wishes, in a timely and respectful fashion following their death. The return of personal effects is carried out in a dignified manner and is formally documented and signed.

'Each service provider has a statutory responsibility to respond to complaints. You can obtain more information on how to complain about health and social care services in Ireland from: www.healthcomplaints.ie or you can contact either of the following organisations: HSE National Information Line on 1850 241 850 or Office of the Ombudsman on 1890 223 030'.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Blackrock Abbey Nursing Home said: 'Our General Manager met with the family last week and apologised for collecting and storing Mrs Gill's personal belongings in advance of their arrival.

'All personal belongings are stored securely in bags purchased specifically for this purpose from Hospice Friendly Hospitals as part of our end of life care service.

'Arising from this incident we are re-assessing our end of life care protocols to ensure that where families do not want the Nursing Home to undertake this on their behalf, that adequate time is given to the family. At the meeting with the family it was agreed that a further meeting with the family would take place supported by the SAGE independent advocacy service'.
Sinn Fein TD Gerry Adams, last week raised the difficulties faced by citizens with disabilities and in particular the future of the Louth based Walk Peer project with the Taoiseach during Leaders' Questions and said that having met with Minister Finian McGrath the previous day, that if the minister can't find the funding to continue the initiative, 'he should resign'.

Mr Adams told Enda Kenny: 'In 2011, the Taoiseach said disability services would not be cut, but then savagely cut these supports. In my own constituency, the impact of those cuts is evident, particularly for the 5,000 citizens of Louth with an intellectual disability. Walk Peer enables young people with a disability to access opportunities in mainstream education, training and employment within their communities.

'It was one of the 14 Disability Activation Schemes jointly funded by the Department of Social Protection and the European Social Fund, until funding was withdrawn in a move that made no sense whatsoever. Only one project has survived - it is based in Louth. After intense lobbying it received temporary funding until Christmas.

'Walk Peer has undertaken fantastic work in fostering vital links between young citizens and employers, educators and the wider community. One of the participants - a young woman - has recently gained a place in college. A young man wants to be an usher here in Leinster House. A young woman who was suicidal is now training to be a make-up artist.

#These citizens and their families have the right to the modest support that is required. I met Minister Finian McGrath on this issue on Tuesday. I wish him well, but in my view, if he can't get funding for this project he should resign from the government'.
Construction works at the Redemptorist church have been put on hold as plans for the annual novena to St. Gerard and Majella get underway.

A highlight of the Dundalk calendar every year, the novena begins this Saturday, October 8th, and runs until Sunday 16th.

Novena Director, Fr. Michael Cusack explained that the works which have been ongoing at the church and monastery will be suspended over the nine days.

'There has been great activity around the Redemptorist Church and monastery over the past months and already we can see the beautiful results of the development with the new chimney pots and roof and the beautiful dormer windows of the attic having been restored to their former glory.'

'But work is now being suspended, with the scaffolding and hoarding at the front of the Church being taken down, not because the project is finished, but because Novena time has come!' said Fr. Cusack.

He explained that the theme for the St. Gerard Novena this year is 'Mercy- the Face of God'.

'The daily preaching themes are all calling us to a deeper understanding of the Mercy of God and encouraging us to be people of mercy in our daily lives and in turn agents of mercy in our world.'

He added 'We are expecting even bigger crowds attending the novena this year, as despite the talk of being 'over the recession' so many people are truly struggling and needing support.'

'This novena is always a time of great solidarity and really ignites the community spirit in the people of Dundalk and the surrounding counties, towns and villages,' said Fr. Cusack.

There are 10 daily sessions on the weekdays: 7.00am, 9.30, 11.30, 1.10pm, 2.30, 4.30, 6pm, 7.30, 9pm and 10.30. The Sunday Novena Times are 7.00am, 8am, 9.30, 11am, 12.30pm, 2.30, 4.30, 6pm, 7.30 and 9pm.

On the preaching team are Fr. Brendan Callanan (Dundalk) and Fr. Brian Nolan(Cork) and the international visitors are Fr. Peter Hill from the Caribbean island of Dominica and Ms Anne Walsh from Newfoundland, Canada, who has worked as a lay preacher with the Redemptorist order for many years.

Guest speakers this year are Garda John Brady and Garda Noel Loughran (Juvenile Liason Officers) who will speak on the topic of 'Social Media - The Opportunities and Challenges'

'The Healing Mass with the Anointing of the Sick and Aged' will be on Saturday 15th at 11.30am and 2.30pm. The 'Blessing of Babies and Young Children' will be at 2.30pm on Sunday 16th.
There was widespread sadness recently following the death of Ellen Hanna.

Ellen (nee O'Sullivan), who spent 15 years in Bray, died peacefully on July 30 in Sligo University Hospital after a short illness.

Her husband Eddie and her sister Lucy were present at her bedside, along with the caring hospital staff.

Ellen, who had recently celebrated her 76th birthday, belonged to a family of six. Ellen's parents James and Margaret O' Sullivan, and her brother Murt and sister Margaret (Weekes) predeceased her.

The O'Sullivans were a very well known farming family from Barracurragh in North Wexford.

Apart from her school years, Ellen helped on the farm and as a youngster growing up she was considered highly intelligent and talented.

Ellen had many talents which were honed at a young age. She mastered patterns and guided her younger sisters into knitting mitts, socks and Aran sweaters. She also developed a talent for writing and she won a prize or two in the junior section of Ireland's Own. She continued to perfect these abilities and other crafts throughout her life.

At the young age of 17 years, Ellen took up a job in Inniskeen, Co Monaghan where she trained in postal services, grocery and hardware. She became competent and a charge hand in all aspects of the business.

After five successful years there, Ellen moved to the Dublin Postal Services where she did stints in various offices. In one particular post office, Ellen was confronted by robbers who ordered her to hand over all the money she had in the till.

Ellen, being a hardy country woman, had no notion of handing over the money. She promptly pressed the alarm bell and the loud noise frightened the robbers who fled out the door and off. She was left a little shaken after the incident but happy to have saved the money.

In her spare time here she did a part time dress making course in the Grafton Academy and she turned out many an outfit for family and friends over the years.

Ellen enjoyed a moderate social life and in 1972 she met Eddie, a native of Fermanagh, in Dublin. They developed a lasting friendship. Four years later they married and went to live in London.

Ellen found work there and she did a long stint in a record shop which she enjoyed. After five years in England the couple returned to Ireland and acquired a shop in Taghmon which proved both interesting and challenging for the pair. During her time here Ellen completed some of her most beautiful tapestries.

One such piece depicts the Last Supper and it hung in her home garnering praise for all who saw it.

Ten years later Ellen and Eddie left Taghmon and moved to Bray. Ellen continued her working career and she had quite a successful office job for a dental supplies company in the Dublin area.

As usual she devoted much of her spare time to parish activities. She was involved in Eucharist Adoration, in the outdoor envelope collection and in the choir. Ellen was noted to have never missed a choir practice or Mass in 15 years which reflects the dedicated and committed person she was.

After many happy years in Bray, Ellen and Eddie moved to Kinlough, Co Leitrim where they retired in 2006. On settling into her new home, Ellen took delight in getting involved with local groups. She joined the ICA where she made a lot of friends and she thoroughly enjoyed their company and activities. She also enjoyed other arts, like painting, a writers group, dancing and an Irish language class.

She was very adept in IT and was the first port of call for any family member when it came to genealogy.

Ellen was a fountain of knowledge in this area and if she were asked any question on past generations she was able to give precise and correct information. She loved to be of help to others and she shared her knowledge with a generous heart.

Ellen took on another labour of love by compiling a list of names, from the headstones, of all the people who are buried in the old grave yard in Kinlough. This record can be viewed on the internet at cemetery inscriptions kinlough.net.

Over the years, Ellen found time to travel. She and Eddie have explored places in Ireland, Scotland, England, Europe, America, Canada and gone on pilgrimage to shrines at home and abroad including Lourdes and Medjugorge.

Despite living in a number of different areas Ellen never forgot her Wexford roots. She travelled there several times a year to visit her family and friends. She took delight in attending family events such as weddings, anniversaries and party get togethers.

Ellen had a strong faith, which she lived out. She reached out to people and she made friends, in all the places she lived in, over the years. She was her own woman and not easily swayed. She was always helpful to others. Those who know her well will have experienced her great kindness and hidden generosity.

Ellen was looking forward to attending the annual patron in her native parish of Killanerin, in June this year when she took ill. Both Sligo University Hospital and Beaumont Hospital, Dublin did everything possible to nurse her back to health but unfortunately were not able to.

In her heart Ellen knew she wasn't well. She graciously accepted her illness and talked about the prospect of her death. In her own words, she had a happy and fulfilled life. She was content to have achieved her ambitions in life and was ready to go.

Ellen is sadly missed by her loving husband Eddie, sisters Anne Doyle, Betty McCarthy, Sr Lucy O'Sullivan, Dilly O'Sullivan, sister in law, John Joe McCarthy, Alex Weekes, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, her Aunt Lil, the Hanna family, cousins at home, abroad and in the USA, relatives and friends.

May she enjoy the happiness of heaven and rest in God's peace forever.
Living Life Counselling celebrated its 20th anniversary with a gathering at the Esplanade Hotel in Bray.

The organisation has offices in Bray and Arklow, providing professional and affordable counselling services for people who are unemployed, in receipt of social welfare, or on a low income.

With the help of volunteer counsellors, Living Life works with 240 clients across the two centres.

Minister for Health Simon Harris was at the celebration and praised the group for its work over the years.

'Since opening its doors, Living Life Counselling has helped countless people through the Bray and Arklow centres,' said Minister Harris, speaking at the event. 'At the moment 85 volunteer counsellors are working in our community and I must commend them on their excellent work.

'It is inspiring to be in a room with so many people who have given freely of their time and expertise to assist people at difficult times in their life,' he said. 'This organisation is a true testament to volunteerism and community spirit.'

Minister Harris congratulated everyone who has played a part in such great work. 'Mental health and wellbeing is an extremely important part of my work. I am delighted that we have such excellent resources here in Wicklow with centres in Bray and Arklow. I will continue to work to strive for improved supports for our community.'

Staff and volunteers attended the event, alongside members of the board, founder Stewart Morris, Bray Lions Club members, CEO Kirsty Kirkwood, and HSE representatives.
Schoolyard Theatre audiences are in for a treat with the forthcoming production of John B. Keane's 1960's play on emigration, 'Many Young Men of Twenty,' which will be staged by the Shoestring Theatre Company and opening to general audiences on Sunday night, October 23.

Director Kevin O'Shea has given it a musical treatment with many popular songs that will be performed by an experienced cast led by Martin Hennessy, Linda Buckley, Ger Liston, Gerard Roche and Katie Holly. They will be accompanied by a five piece band consisting of vastly skilled musicians, Catherine Horgan, Lisa McAuliffe, Tadhg O'Callaghan, Isabell Cagney and Mick Culloty.

The play was a huge hit locally when it was first produced in the old Parochial Hall in the late 1960s by the now defunct St. Colman's Players Dramatic Society. A subsequent production was nominated for and performed in the All-Ireland Drama Final in Athlone in 1972.

"This is a new departure for the Shoestring Company but I can guarantee a wonderful night of music, song and fun in this treatment of what was a very popular and topical play when it was first performed some 50 years ago, when droves of people were leaving Ireland to find work abroad," said director Kevin O'Shea. "We have a hugely accomplished cast who have appeared in previous productions of Keane plays by the Shoestring Company, and we also introduce some newcomers to the stage [as is usual]."

The play's assistant director is Serena Kennedy, who has gained valuable knowledge as stage manager and actress with the group, and who has just started a theatre and film studies course at the prestigious Bowe Street Academy in Dublin.

Further information on the play may be had by contacting 087- 1804870, while booking is at 087-2530955.

Proposed music scholarship

The director of Musica Fusion School of Music in Charleville, Susie Butler, is introducing a scholarship fund for children or adults to take up an instrument in her music school, but may not be in a position to afford the lessons.

To this end Ms Butler is contacting all the businesses in Charleville in the hope of getting as many involved as possible in this charity venture.

Musica Fusion School in conjunction with local businesses hope to set up a scholarship fund for children/adults to learn how to play an instrument in the music school. This scholarship would provide one term of music lessons in the school for a child/adult who, through whatever circumstances, need the opportunity. This may be due to low income, disability or a variety of reasons.

Ms Butler explains how the scholarship would work as follows: "A term of lessons (10 lessons), costs 200. The school will pay 50 each term, (150) for the year, every year, towards this and we ask one business a term to pay the balance (150)," she said. "The more businesses we get involved in this venture the more people we can give this opportunity to.

"A panel will be created consisting of representatives from all businesses involved to choose the deserving candidate/candidates. We all need a little music in our lives, but not everyone can afford it! Please consider being part of this venture," she said.

The Musica Fusion School of Music is located in the block of industrial buildings at Baker's Road, Charleville and Ms Butler can be contacted by email musicafusionschool@gmail.com or by phone on 087-9873379.
Supporters and friends of Enable Ireland officially launched the ambitious 7.5 million fundraising campaign for the new Enable Ireland Children's Centre at Maryborough House Hotel Cork - as the official sod turning ceremony took place at the site of the new centre in Curraheen.

The new Children's Services Centre, set on a 7 acre site at Curraheen, will provide vital therapy and support services to children with disabilities and their families and will replace the charities current facility, The Lavanagh Centre in Ballintemple which is no longer fit for purpose.

Once operational, the new centre will house a hydrotherapy pool, therapy rooms and sensory rooms. The site will also accommodate a children's respite house, where children with disabilities can develop their independence skills while giving their families a much needed break.

Flag day for heritage society

St Anne's Heritage and Historical Society, Mallow, will hold their annual flag day on Saturday, October 15. St Anne's is a local society for those interested in the history and heritage of Mallow and district.

New members are always welcome and if you can give an hour to the flag day please ring Dave Buckley on 086 8900788. You can log on to their website on www.visitmallow.ie.

Bweeng tractor run coming up

Bweeng Tractor Run takes place on Sunday October 30. Registration opens at 12 noon and the starting time is 1pm. Refreshments will be served afterwards. All enquiries to Tim on (086)2656507.

'Marion' back at the Schoolyard

The Katie Holly-penned smash hit play 'Marion' is due back at the Schoolyard Theatre, Charleville at the end of November with Laura O'Mahony in the lead role.

The production played to capacity audiences in Cork in June and in September at the Schoolyard, as well as at the Mill Theatre in Dundrum, Dublin.

Those who missed it will have another opportunity to see this side-splitting show on dates which are yet to be confirmed at the Schoolyard Theatre.

The talented Katie Holly is herself among the cast of the 'Many Young Men of Twenty' production, which will precede the staging of her own play at the Schoolyard Theatre.

Family carers' Ireland Forum

Family Carers Ireland invite everyone interested to a Regional Forum for Family Carers on Friday, October 14, 2016, from 10.30am until 1pm at The Imperial Hotel, Cork. Contact Peter Cox by email at pcox@familycarers.ie.
This autumn, Ballyhoura Development is working with Limerick Volunteer Centre to deliver a Volunteer Management Training programme to local community groups and charities in its catchment area involving volunteers or those who may be overseeing TUS/RSS/CE participants.

This engaging training takes place over three Wednesday evenings of 19th October, 26th October and 2nd November, from 6pm to 9pm, at the Coote Hall Resource Centre in Kilmallock. Over the course of these workshop sessions, the staff of Limerick Volunteer Centre will support organisations to plan for volunteer involvement, explore volunteer recruitment and selection, and identify best practices on the day-to-day management of volunteers.

The training programme is subsidised through the Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme and is free of charge to charity groups with a social inclusion focus to their activities in the Ballyhoura Development area (east Limerick & North East Cork).

Places are limited to two per organisation and will be offered on a first come first served basis, on return of a completed application form by 14th October. See www.ballyhouradevelopment.com for application form.

So, if you or your organisation is working directly with volunteers to deliver your service, you will know that eective volunteer management is central to your success. But how can we identify and keep volunteers involved in the mission of the organisation?

For further information, contact David O'Grady, Ballyhoura Development, Kilfinane, by emaildogrady@ballyhoura.org or tel. 063-91739.
To the uninitiated, Japanese Knotwood may look relatively harmless but it has become the blight of council officials, posing what the authority has said is a "huge environmental and economic threat."

Residents in the village of Castlelyons may be about to find out just how destructive the invasive plant, which has spread across the county at an alarming rate and has been known to cause extensive damage to houses and other structures, can be.

This after it emerged that the plant may have caused major structural damage to a vital bridge across the River Bride - potentially closing the crossing and leading to massive detours for traffic.

The issue was discussed at the council's Fermoy Municipal meeting following a query raised by Independent councillor June Murphy who expressed her concern at the presence of the plant underneath the Castleyons/Bridesbridge crossing, which is used by hundreds of vehicles each day.

She said locals feared damage to the bridge could potentially lead to it being closed for repairs - forcing motorist to make detours of up to 20km just to cross the river at Conna or Rathcormac. This, she said would affect people going to work, parents bringing their children to school and farmers going about their daily business.

Cllr Murphy also expressed concerns that the plant, which regenerates at a phenomenal rate, could affect other communities along the river if even a sliver of it were to be washed downstream.

Senior county council engineer Brendan O'Gorman told the meeting that staff had been made aware of the problem in Castlelyons and were set to carry out a detailed structural assessment of the bridge in question and bring a report back to councillors.

He said that council engineers were currently in the process of mapping areas around the county where Japanese Knotwood had been reported. However, senior council officials recently admitted they did not have the resources to combat the plants spread across the county and would need financial aid from the government to eradicate it.

Mr O'Gorman said that when the appropriate funding is made available from central government a countywide scheme may be undertaken to combat the plant. He went on to say that landowners were "duty-bound" to prevent the spread of the plant.

Knotweed fact file

 Japanese Knotwood is now classified as being among the 100 worst invasive species worldwide due to its serious impact on biological diversity, the damage it can cause to the build environment and its capacity to spread rapidly.

 It grows readily by roadsides often causing damage to road surfaces and nearby structures. It also grows on hedgerows, often forming large thickets that kill native species, and on riverbanks where it can affect flood defences and increase the risk of flooding.

 In Britain, some people are finding it difficult to get mortgages in areas affected by the plant.

 Eradication of Japanese Knotweed can be difficult and costly. For example, its removal from the Olympic Village site in London cost an estimated 88million.

 People finding on their land are advised not to strim, cut, flail or chip plants as ting fragments regenerate within days, making it even more difficult to manage.

 It can be controlled through the use of appropriate herbicides. However, this needs to be done by a competent expert, with great care given to disposal of dead plants and the treatment of contaminated soil.
A Mallow business woman will be among the special guests at one of the country's main events celebrating National Women's Enterprise Day.

Award-winning interior designer Maura Hunter - head of Mallow-based MH Designs - is among the special guests lined up for the South Regional Women's Enterprise Day event taking place at Killarney's Brehon Hotel on Wednesday, October 19, next.

It's hoped the gathering will be inspired by Maura's business acumen and success in a day that is hoped will encourage more and more women to take the leap into self-employment.

Launched by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O'Connor launched the full programme of events for this year's Women's Enterprise Day; the 10th annual one.

"The theme for this year's National Women's Enterprise Day on October 19th is the 'road to success' and I want to encourage more women across every region to start their entrepreneurship journey by developing their business idea or expanding their business," Minister Mitchell O'Connor said,

Organised by the Local Enterprise Offices of Cork and Kerry the event is also being supported by Enterprise Ireland. EI CEO Julie Sinnamon said that one in every five 'high potential' start-ups supported by her agency is female-led.
Yet another advisory group is being appointed to look into the thorny issue of merging Cork City and County Councils - with similar terms of reference to the previous Smiddy group which came down in favour of the merger recommendations.

Minister for Local Government Simon Coveney is now calling for 'fresh-thinking' in the whole approach to the review of local government in Cork on the appointment of the new group, which is to be led by the former chief planner of the Scottish Government, Jim MacKinnon.

MacKinnon is joined by Eirgrid Chairman (and former chairman of An Bord Pleanala) John O'Connor; former president and board member of Cork Chamber Gillian Keating and chief executive of Wandsworth Prison in London, Paul Martin. The group are to examine the majority merger report and minority city boundary extension report issued by the Cork Local Government Review (or Smiddy) group in September 2015.

The report of the group - which found by a majority of three to two in favour of merging the authorities - is currently the subject of a legal challenge by Cork City Council. And the terms of reference of the new group is more expansive than the Smiddy review, charged as the members are with identifying and examining a wider range of options.

Their terms also differ from the earlier report in so far as they are being asked specifically to consider Cork City's role and potential as a centre for regional economic growth as well as the governance necessary to protect and enhance what is described as the metropolitan interests of the city.

It is expected by the Minister that the MacKinnon group will report on its progress by the end of the year with their final report to issue early next year. They will also review the possibility of a directly elected mayor, among a number of other considerations. "This will, I hope, enable me to take the necessary political decisions, build consensus and agree next steps to address the issue," Minister Coveney said.
Pat Mulcahy making a presentation to John 'Chick' O' Donoghue, an Irish American from New York (with his daughter Audra), at Bruach na Carraige in Rockchapel. Pat commended Chick for his generosity in supporting and providing funding for Project Children Interns. Photo by Sheila Fitzgerald

Denis Mulcahy, Rockchapel, meeting with the former US President Bill Clinton. Mr Clinton features in the documentary, 'How to Defuse a Bomb,' which is by Alley-Cat TV

Over four decades ago, two Rockchapel brothers based in New York were struck by the pain and suffering caused by The Troubles in the North, with scenes that were making headlines on a daily basis Stateside.

Working the beat in Americas busiest city, Pat and Denis encountered violence on a daily basis but it was back to home soil and in the troubled six counties that the duos hearts went out. And it was the children affected by violence on the streets of Belfast, Derry and other parts of the North that they felt most for, so they decided to do something about it.

Fast-forward 40-years and the Duhallow brothers have helped over 23,000 children  Catholics and Protestants  bringing them from the six counties to New York where religious differences were left at the front door of the host family home.

The visionary brothers set up Project Children which provided a once in a lifetime opportunity for children of The Troubles to spend six weeks of the summer in America. Now, their story has been told in a documentary, How To Defuse A Bomb which is narrated by Liam Neeson who, as a fledgling actor, regularly performed at Belfasts Lyric Theatre at the height of The Troubles.

The name of the documentary is indeed apt, as Denis worked as a bomb disposal expert at the New York Police Department.

The impact of Project Children speaks for itself. Denis has been nominated twice for a Nobel Peace Prize and also received an accolade from former US President Bill Clinton.

Last year, he received an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to peace building and youth development in Northern Ireland, from Britains Queen Elizabeth and in the same week was presented with an honorary doctorate in Philadelphia.

Both brothers received the People of the Year award in 1989 and also received a medal from Pope John Paul II. Bill Clinton also speaks in the documentary about the work of the men from Duhallow and The Norths Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness says that the two brothers started a peace process long before they did in Northern Ireland.

How To Defuse A Bomb features footage from a 1970s American TV film made about the Project Children and there are also contributions from many who experienced the programme as children.

Ultimately, what Project Children did was to forge life-long friendships which wouldnt have been cemented on home-ground because of the religious differences and these children quickly found out that they had far more in common with their perceived enemies than they initially thought.

The Corkman spoke to Pat Mulcahy who is back living in his native Rockchapel for many years. With a beaming smile, he said when he went to see the documentary in New York six weeks ago, he felt quite nervous as he wasnt sure what would unfold.

But any jitters were soon put aside as the documentary unfolded, revealing the history of Project Children and its impact on the thousands of children who took part.

It was marvellous and to see 40 years of work up on a screen with so many people whom I knew, it was just humbling and emotional. I just thoroughly enjoyed the documentary.

For me and Denis what we did was, we both walked that line between Unionist and Nationalists. For us, it didnt matter what religion a child was, they were still children. They deserved to see the world and be away from the harsh environment they were in. At the end of the day, a child is a child and must be taken care of, he said.

Last weekend, it was shown in Dublin at the Irish Film Institute. Up to 400 people attended, including many of the former children who had been part the Project Children programme turning up for the screening.

There were times during the screening where there was absolute silence and tears. There were also times when there was laughter. For me, it was very emotional, as I had my family around me and so many friends from Rockchapel, he said.

There was terrific feedback from the floor and huge emotions by people who had been on Project Children as, no doubt, memories came flooding back. With a devilish smile, Pat added: I had to wait until I was 75 years-old to make it to the big screen.

Of the 23,000 children brought over to America on the six week programme, seven children were shot and killed when they returned home to the North as the religious battle raged onwards.

Of the 40 year programme, Pat revealed that the saddest part, for him, was the story of one teenager, Thomas Bootsey Begley, who was just 16 years-old when he participated on the programme. Six years later he was killed, aged just 22.

On October 23, 1993, Thomas carried a bomb into Frizells Fish Shop on Belfasts Shankill Road. He was with another man, fellow IRA member Sean Kelly. The intended target of the bomb was a flat above where loyalist paramilitaries were expected to gather but the meeting was rescheduled. It was 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, a busy time of the week for the shop.

The bomb exploded prematurely and took Thomas life along with nine other people. The Shankill bombing is deemed one of the worst attrocities of The Troubles.

I do think of that boy Thomas, of course I do. But the way I look at it is that he was used by others. There are times when I think of him walking in with a bomb and what was going through his mind and him being so young with the world right at his feet, said Pat who becomes emotional as he recalls the lost life of a young man.

That for me is the saddest part of 40 years work. But I have to, and do, think of all of the good things too. Children who went on the

programme all those years ago and who are now adults visit me and my wife Kathleen in Rockchapel. That to me is the testament of the success of the programme  that life-long friendships have been formed, he said.

It took blood, sweat and more than a single bucket of tears to fund-raise the money to bring children over. As Pat explained in a previous interview with The Corkman, to bring 900 children of both Catholic and Protestant faith over to America it meant a price tag of one million dollars per year. But the brothers did it. In addition to raising the money, they had to find host families and all had to be vetted.

Pat, a gifted story-teller, spoke about two teenagers who were brought Stateside in the 1970s and who feature in the documentary. John Cheevers and Kevin Brady were of different religions and happened to be put next to each other on the plane over where they gallantly fought.

They reached Kennedy airport and both believed that they wouldnt have to set eyes on each other again until they were boarding the plane home. Imagine their shock when they found out they were staying with the same host family. However, the six weeks together meant their perception of the enemy was left by the way-side, so much so that they both were the best men for each others wedding.

Their paths wouldnt have crossed back on home ground and, if it did, it would have been fraught with tension and negativity.

Pat frequently said that it was the children themselves who drove the project to be the success which it was.

Even though Pat and Denis have hung up their NYPD hats, their children have followed in their footsteps. Pat has three children, Ellen Lynch, Donna McCann and a son, Pat who is a lieutenant in New York.

Denis family have also followed in his footsteps, as his daughter Cara works as a court officer, his other daughter Maureen is a lieutenant and his son Sean is also a bomb disposal expert.

Pat strongly praised Denis for all the work which he did over the years as Pat was injured at work in New York and had to retire in 1977 just as the project was taking off.

However, despite being so far away from New York, he wasnt left idle as he would get phone calls from Denis saying that passports needed to be sorted.

Off Id go and sort out passports and then would take a train to Belfast and along with six to seven adults including teachers, wed board a jammed 747 heading for New York, he said.

After 40 years, Project Children was brought to a close but Denis is, however, still continuing with an internship programme. Students from Ireland work with politicians in Washington along with policy law makers and students also go to the Irish Echo newspaper for six to eight weeks of work experience.

Denis now has a security firm and is also running a B&B in the beautiful surroundings of Greenwood Lake in New York.

With a smile, Pat again said how much of a drive his brother has.

Even though he is retired from the bomb squad, he is busy with his B&B. I was only talking to him the other day for over an hour on the phone and he said to me he was changing bedsheets with his grand-daughter. Well, changing sheets on a bed would be a lot safer than diffusing a bomb, said Pat with a hearty laugh.

As the interview began to draw to a close, he said on more than one occassion, how the children drove the project onwards.

He stopped and said with some emotion, Isnt it better to light a penny candle than curse the darkness. When you light 23,000 penny candles you have a massive light, he added.

Wise words from a wise and brave visionary.

Fact file

* Project Children was set up by two Rockchapel brothers, Denis and Pat Mulcahy in 1975 in New York as the brothers were horrified by the atrocities occurring in Northern Ireland.

* In 40 years, they brought 23,000 children of both Catholic and Protestant faith from Northern Ireland to America for six weeks where they stayed with a host family.

* The brothers had to raise 1 million dollars for every 900 children which they brought out.

* A documentary, 'How to Defuse A Bomb' features the work of the Mulcahy brothers which spans over four decades.
What an amazing year so far for St. Peter's Male Voice Choir, Drogheda and Musical Director Edward Holly as they celebrate the 60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Year.

On Friday 28th October they perform in concert with Bridgend Male Choir, Wales in the magnificent St. Peter's Church, West Street.

Having won the prestigious Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod, Wales as well as the Concorso Internazionale Di Canto Corale Festival, Italy, Bridgend Male Choir are the most successful Welsh male voice choir to ever perform in Drogheda. All proceeds to Malta Services Drogheda, tickets 20 are now on sale.
Move over Rocky Horror ... Following the success of last year's Interactive Murder Mystery 'A Striking Affair', a new production company Daganne are proud to announce that 'Dracula's Just Desserts' is coming to The Bracken Court Hotel Balbriggan, on October 29th.

This is a fancy dress murder mystery dinner with a difference! The central horror theme is interspersed with a 70's sound track and features original music courtesy of professional musician Pearse Halpin with lyrics by E. A. Smiddy).

St. Oliver's Community College reunion - Class of '96

A reunion marking the 20th anniversary of the Class of '96 from St. Oliver's Community College is being organised for Saturday, 15th October 2016 in the Westcourt Hotel in Drogheda. Tickets are available for purchase from Reception in the Westcourt Hotel or alternatively can be bought from Maria Nestor (nee Brodigan). For further information in regard to this event, please contact Maria on 087 970 7364.
It was stars in their eyes on the double for two local men last week as they encountered two international music stars.

And while one of them might not have known too much about Drogheda, one certainly recalled his days in Duleek.

St Margaret's Celtic Supporters Club supremo Adrian Hillman was over at Celtic Park with a crew of 80 locals for the Champions League clash with Manchester City.

And no better man than Adrian to pop into the Director's Box to meet a 'fellow son' of Duleek.

Watching on, and supporting Manchester City of course, was Noel Gallagher.

Adrian managed to have a quick chat with the former Oasis man and when he mentioned Duleek - the bond was sealed.

Noel spent time in the village, the home of his father, in his youth.

'He said he knew Duleek and asked about Big Tom's. He was a lovely fella,' Adrian remarked.

And to mark the meeting, he gladly stepped in for a picture.

'It was an incredible night for Celtic fans and the crew over with us had a great tome. There's huge interest from the area in the club now and we have 110 members,' Adrian added.

A totally different atmosphere could be found at the 3Arena when St. Peter's Male Voice Choir, Drogheda performed live on stage with international recording artist Andrea Bocelli.

Nicole Scherzinger was Bocelli's guest on the night along with Ireland's international soprano Celine Byrne plus the team from St Peter's who starred in the song 'Time to Say Goodbye'.

Never a man to miss a good photo opportunity, choir member Sean Tester was pictured with Nicole after the show.
Renowned freelance wildlife and documentary cameraman Doug Allan will visit The Barbican Centre this Autumn as part of his Irish tour.

Doug is one of the world's most respected and experienced wildlife and natural history documentary filmmakers, contributing over his thirty year career to series like Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Human Planet, Ocean Giants, Frozen Planet, Operation Iceberg and Wild Cameramen at Work.

His renowned expertise at both poles has made him a popular and charismatic speaker.

He will give a talk on what it's like to film the oceans' biggest animals at The Barbican Centre in Drogheda on Friday, October 28th.

Doug's new show 'In the Company of Giants' offers unique personal insights into the challenges of filming the biggest animals in the wildest places on Earth.

Join Doug for an unforgettable evening of extraordinary animal adventures and unique wildlife film footage. Ask Doug questions about his encounters and travels, and discover what it's like to be up close and personal with nature's biggest creatures.

Besides his trademark blue chip wildlife, Doug has been involved recently in several projects that reflect his deep concerns about climate change and conservation.

With over 25 years first hand experience of the Arctic, he has witnessed first hand the effects of the decreasing sea ice on the populations of polar bears and other sea mammals. In February 2016 the poorest winter sea ice levels ever were recorded. This evidence of change in the north reinforces his determination and commitment to raise awareness of this global issue through his filming and his speaking engagements.
As all vintage people well know, all roads will lead to the village green in Crossakiel on October 9th to enjoy a day of nostalgia and meeting up with old friends and maybe making new ones.

This event will be the last on the Meath Vintage Group's calendar, where they pool resources with Crossakiel community groups to host the Crossakiel Thrashing day. It is a day not to be missed with something for all the family to enjoy. Vintage displays, a working thrashing, an old time fun-fair, to name but a few.

Refreshments will be available throughout the day. No admission fees, but donations will be appreciated. All proceeds go to the Meath branch of MS.
Drogheda is to become the latest town in Ireland to seek the prestigious purple flag accreditation, it has been revealed.

Councillor Pio Smith raised the issue in a notice of motion at the October meeting of Drogheda Municipal District calling on the council to apply for the accreditation for Drogheda Town.

The flag is awarded for excellence in managing the night time economy.

Despite reservations from council officials on the financial burden involved in the application, councillors unanimously supported the motion at Monday night's meeting.

Speaking at the meeting Councillor Smith said: 'This process looks at the wellbeing of the town centre, the provision of safe pedestrian routes, how we manage traffic in the town centre at night time, how we create a sense of place,' he said. 'We need tourists to come in to Drogheda and stay a few days not just to pass through on a bus.'

In a written response to the motion, Louth County Council said the standards required for Purple Flag status are 'fairly onerous' and it is unlikely that Drogheda would meet the standard set. They said in the circumstances an application would seem premature.

Cllr Smith said that while he noted the response the application is a process with set criteria so the town would be able to establish working groups and workshops to work towards meeting it.

'I think the Chamber of Commerce would come on board,' he said. 'It would have a very positive effort for the town. Councillors lent their support to the motion with Councillor Paul Bell commenting: 'This is something we need to work towards, onerous or not.'

Director of Services with LCC said there was a financial implication for this accreditation and a monetary burden which would be difficult to meet, however he said the decision of the councillors would be noted.
A distraught father has appealed to people in Drogheda to keep their eyes peeled for a motorbike belonging to his son which was stolen from his family home recently.

Seamus Hennelly, said his teenage son has spent years restoring the bike and is devastated at its loss.

Seamus, who lives in Garlow Cross Lismullen, said gardai believe those responsible may be living in the Drogheda area and appealed for locals to keep their eyes peeled for the beloved bike which means so much to his son.

He said the culprits broke into the garage of their family home and stole the bike which belongs to his son Frank (15). The bike is worth in the region of 3,000.

'It was his pride and joy and he had been working on it for two years,' said Seamus. 'We are offering a 1,000 reward for its safe return.'

The motorbike is a Yamaha YZ 125 and boasts a number of special features which make it immediately distinguishable.

The name 'Frank' is printed under the 75 on the side faring. The wheels are gold and the addition of a large chrome exhaust is unique to this type of bike.

A lot of these parts were imported specially from the USA.
A 59 year old charged with punching a man outside a pub in Annagassan while the victim was waiting for a lift on a Monday morning has been found guilty at the district court.

The incident involving John Smith, Togher Road, Annagassan, was captured on CCTV at Slans bar on the morning of August 17 last year and showed a figure standing close to the wall of the pub shortly before 9am when a red car pulled up and a man got out.

The man, which Smith admitted was him, walked over to the victim and punched him in the face. He spent some moments remonstrating with the victim, waving his hands around while he talked, before he got into the car and drove away.

Smith alleged there had been an incident in the bar the night before when, he claimed, the victim had followed him into the toilets and verbally abused him, claiming Smith owed him money for work he'd done as a fisherman.

Smith told solicitor Conor MacGuill that the pair had agreed to sort it out the following morning and the solicitor put it to Judge Flann Brennan there was a context to the alleged assault.

The victim said he had been standing at the bar, waiting for a lift into Castlebellingham when Smith drove up, got out and punched him. He went to the station in Castlebellingham when it opened at 2pm and a Garda who spoke to him noticed he had swelling to his face, as well as bruising.

CCTV footage was downloaded from the pub and when the Gardai spoke to Smith, he initially denied assaulting the man, claiming that the victim pushed him and he pushed him back. But when he was told the incident had been captured on camera, Smith said there had been 'issues' between the pair 'going back years' and he declined to make a statement about the incident.

Mr MacGuill told Judge Brennan there was a 'context to what occurred', and alleged that his client had been cheated out of money by the victim. But the judge said whatever allegation was being made about any alleged incident the previous night 'would go in one ear and out the other'.

He said: 'It doesn't matter what happened the night before. I want to deal with this assault' and added whatever incident happened previously, 'even if he attempted to murder him the night before', someone couldn't go up to another person and hit them in the face.

Mr MacGuill said the offence 'is admitted, in a particular context'. He said: 'These are two people who know each other through a pub and there is a history between them. Mr Smith takes the view that he was robbed by the victim a number of times and alleges that he was assaulted the previous evening'.

He told the judge his client is not charged with assault causing harm, even though the victim alleged he received a fractured jaw in the incident. Mr MacGuill said he was trying to 'put a context on what happened and there were previous engagements that were not all to Mr Smith's liking.

'What happened at 9am that morning is admitted'. The court heard Smith has no previous convictions and Judge Brennan said he wanted to see a probation report before finalising the case on January 4.
Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has described as unacceptable the failure by the HSE to provide emergency respite beds for people with intellectual disabilities in Louth.

"Over the summer I met with the parents of adults with intellectual disabilities in my Dundalk constituency office. They sought my assistance because of the indefinite cessation of respite provision for the 40 adults and 11 children who use the service in Louth.

"These women are primarily carers for their children but they have been forced to become advocates, campaigners and activists for disability rights due to the constant erosion of services for their children. It is completely unacceptable that their summer respite was cancelled without any prior notice or warning.'

He says the reason it was cancelled was that one of the 7 respite beds in St Mary's Drumcar, a St John of God facility, was being occupied by a person who needed emergency respite provision.

"I received a reply to a parliamentary question from the HSE last week which stated that '...in County Louth there has never been a dedicated emergency respite bed service available to adults or children with an intellectual disability.

"This is unacceptable. I have raised the issue with Minister McGrath, who has an additional 31 million funding for disability services.

'The Minister assured me that respite was one of his top Budget '17 priorities so I am keen to see what additional services will be announced on the 11th October."
Senator Mullen believes that the natural end is a better way, but for those that prefer this route, it still can be. Repealing the eighth will simply give those who make a different choice to have options in Ireland

Senator Ronan Mullen's remarks in recent days in relation to the abortion debate have very much divided opinion.

While I believe his heart is in the right place, his comments haven't helped parents who are facing the reality of a fatal foetal abnormality diagnosis.

Senator Mullen spoke quite well on Monday to give greater context to the views he shared where he outlined that 'abortion providers' see the foetal remains as 'debris' and 'not the kind of thing you put into a coffin and grieve over'.

I think that to a certain extent he was unfairly criticised and it was clear in the text that these were not his own views, but rather what he perceived as the views of those who run abortion clinics.

The problem is that these clinics he speaks of are all in the UK and the fact that Irish women are often left with no choice but to avail of their services is what the whole country is up in arms over. Senator Mullen said that he represents families who have taken the decision to allow doomed pregnancies to continue to their natural end, and deal with the consequences, whether the child is stillborn or lives for just a short time.

He said that he agrees that this is a better decision and that it helps parents to grieve and that it affords the unborn child the right to a natural end of life. These tragic stories have clearly had a strong impact on him and he is entitled to hold whatever view he sees fit but isn't it important to try and support all parents faced with this terrible decision. What he says is true, but only for some families. For some, continuing the pregnancy is just unthinkable and more painful that the alternative.

The problem is that there is no choice. In truth, there is no happy outcome for those who avail of overseas abortion or those who allow the pregnancy to come to a natural end.

Both of these scenarios have their own heartache and tragedy. What differentiates them is that those who feel they cannot continue the pregnancy must leave their country to bring it to an end.

Senator Mullen spoke against repealing the eighth amendment as he believes that the natural end is a better way, but for those that prefer this route, it still can be.

Repealing the eighth will simply give those who make a different choice to have options in Ireland.
A new site development plan for a 23m, 75-bed four storey complex at Wexford General Hospital has been completed and lodged with the Ireland East Health Group.

Clinical Director with Wexford General Hospital Colm Quigley said an approval letter is in place for the appointment of a design team for the new medical block building, however no funding for the design process in place. The hospital management team plan to build a High Dependency Unit, replacement wards for the outdated, leaking 36-year-old medical building, along with improved teaching facilities at the hospital on Newtown Road.

Dr Quigley said funding is expected to be announced for the works which will future proof the hospital by providing state-of-the-art wards in keeping with HIQA standards.

'We are going through a process of having the funding freed up. Everything is on hold until January because hospital budgets are in danger of going over budget,' he said.

Dr Quigley said the hospital will survive.

'We are planning that far ahead we don't want to find ourselves in 2020 or 2021 running out of space. The hospital could fail HIQA judges and for the place to survive we need to complete these works.'

Plans were submitted to the Ireland East Hospital Groupin late 2015 when Dr Quigley confirmed that the plan was to 'build up' and create a four-storey state-of-the-art complex for patients, with one and two-bed wards, to bring the hospital in line with modern European standards.

Plans were submitted this year and hospital management are hopeful of approval and that building works will commence prior to 2020.

This follows the 20m spend on a new emergency department, which opened in June 2015, along with a new theatre and maternity ward, which is completed, but which is not fully open yet.

As part of the new plans for the hospital, up to 200 trainee nurses, physiotherapists and doctors will be taught at the hospital, which is expected to gain university status, putting it more on a par with University Hospital Waterford.

Dr Quigley said: 'It has been acknowledged by the HSE that, on the basis of our activity, we have been underfunded. The historic underfunding of Wexford General Hospital is evidenced by National Activity Based Funding data. There is a recognition that our hospital was short in resources and wasn't as well staffed as other equivalent hospitals. The board of management has been working to get the extra staff and the extra beds.'

Fundraising for MRI scanner is under way with leadership from Mr Ciaran Sheridan, Chair of Friends of Wexford General Hospital.

Dr Quigley said this project has been approved by Ireland East Health Group.

'The Friends will buy the machine with IEHG providing the build and staffing.'

Dr Quigley said a major challenge for the hospital remains nursing recruitment which is an ongoing national problem.

'We need ten nurses at least immediately and these will be permanent posts. We need more consultants and aim to have three Emergency Department Consultants shortly (we have two at present). Otherwise recruitment of doctors has been very good but as always funding is very tight.'

He said the hospital is just over budget but this reflects the work-load of the hospital which increases from three to 5 per cent yearly.

New projects undertaken at Wexford General Hospital include a blood-taking programme for general practitioner (GP) requested blood tests which is free for all patients.

The service requires GP referral with request forms and patient identifiers from the GP.

'This service was requested by our local GPs. This a challenging service due to our nursing shortage but we are determined to support our local GPs in their efforts to improve services to patients.'

The hospital has also had success with its new calorie counting initiaitve and good food menu, which involves serving no more fried food to patients.
Gorey Community School is getting ready for its annual open night which takes place on Thursday, October 13 next. Sixth class pupils and their parents will be guided around the school by staff and student leaders, and will learn about the range of subjects and activities on offer.

Principal Michael Finn will deliver an opening address at 7 p.m. and he will underline the third level academic scholarships attained by past pupils, and the excellent Leaving and Junior Certificate results achieved each year.

Song, dance and drama performances will be staged, and there will also be displays of sporting disciplines, academic achievements, school activities, Transition Year activities, and major accomplishments. Stands will give details on the supportive and caring aspects of the school such as guidance, the school completion programme, behaviour support, special needs assistants, and learning support and resource teaching.

Student work in various subjects will be on display including technology, construction, engineering, architectural drawing, science, art, classical studies and languages. The school's Irish stream (sruth), where incoming first years have the option of doing subjects through Irish, is also doing very well.

Gorey Community School has the widest range of subjects in the country. Ireland has skills shortages in languages, and graduates with language skills are sought after by multinational companies. GCS offers four modern languages: French, German, Spanish and Japanese. The school also offers the STEM subjects at senior cycle, including all the sciences, technology, engineering and maths including applied maths.
A pair of return tickets from Dublin to London and a dinner for two in a top class London restaurant by leading chef Richard Corrigan are up for grabs at Swords Men's Shed Christmas raffle which will be held at their Christmas Concert at the beginning of December.

The tickets, which have been presented to the organisation by CityJet, in a bid to raise funds to help fit out their new building which is currently being built at Seatown.

Swords Men's Shed Christmas Concert takes place on Saturday, December 3rd in the Riasc Centre where the award-winning Celtic Choristers Male Choir along with Aimee Banks, who represented Ireland in the Junior Eurovision Concert, will perform.

'We are delighted to help Swords Men's Shed raise funds to fit out their new building in the heart of Swords,' said Michael Rogers, Business Development Manager with CityJet.

'The Men's Shed movement has spread very quickly throughout Ireland and the idea is proving to be a very important part of many communities,' he said.

'And I'm sure our local Shed will contribute a lot to this area in the years ahead and I would like to wish them well.'

To compliment the CityJet tickets, leading chef Richard Corrigan's organisation has given Swords Men's Shed dinner for two.

'We gladly contribute to this most worthy cause, with a dinner for two guests with paired wines to coincide with their trip to London with CityJet,' said Mario Armani, Managing Director of Corrigan's Collection.

'This combination of flight tickets and dinner in one of London's top restaurants makes this a fabulous prize for our raffle on December 3rd,' said Matthew Graham of Swords Men's Shed.

Swords Men's Shed will be moving into their new building, which is being specially built and provided for by brothers Anthony and Paul Dunne through their company, Knife/Edge Fencing LTD, in early 2017.

'It's great to experience this kind support from CityJet, Richard Corrigan and Knife/Edge Fencing Ltd,' said Matthew.

'This recognition gives us a great boost and encourages us to work even harder to make Swords Men's Shed a great Shed.'

Tickets for the Christmas Concert and Raffle are available from 083-4875352.
Community and voluntary group leaders have attended the Fingal Public Participation Network (PPN) website and training schedule launch.

Speakers at the event at the Draiocht Theatre Blanchardstown included Paul Reid, Chief Executive Fingal County Council and Alan Connolly, Coolmine Therapeutic Centre, Kieran O Neill and Maria Tormey Fingal PPN Secretariat.

The Public Participation Network provides a structure to facilitate the two way flow of information between Fingal County Council and community, voluntary and environmental groups.

PPN members sit on decision making committees such as Strategic Policy Committees, the Joint Policing Committee and the Local Development Committee, and participate in policy making and plans for the future development of the county.

The website www.fingalppn.ie is an up to date source for information on the PPN network, with online meeting reports, a directory of local services and a platform where members can contact our representatives directly and get involved in decision making in their area.

Also launched on the night was the Training Programme for October 2016, community-based training and seminars that support volunteers across Fingal.

Kieran O Neill, PPN Secretariat, said: 'To date the PPN has achieved much with the appointment of 19 community representatives to Fingal County Council decision making committees, namely Strategic Policy Committees, the Joint Policing Committee and the Local Community Development Committee.

'Representatives are bringing local issues and concerns to these meetings and feeding back regularly to our PPN members at Linkage Group meeting. This ensures, we remain connected to the communities we represent.'

Pat Queenan, Principal Community Officer, Fingal County Council said: 'Voluntary groups are the backbone of communities in Fingal.

'From sporting groups, residents associations, local art groups to coastal clean projects, all provide valuable services.'

'A network of community and voluntary organisations is a very valuable forum as it allows like-minded groups to come together, share information and learn from each other.'

If you would like to get involved in the PPN Network please contact Sinead Wiley, Resource Worker FPPN sinead.wiley@fingal.ie telephone 086 8123070.
A trio of Fingal retailers have claimed top prizes at Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Awards in Dublin.

Maxol Mace Donabate took the Forecourt/Convenience Store of the Year Category 1: with the convenience store up to 1,100 sq ft award, while M3 Mulhuddart Services took two prizes - Newcomer of the Year, and the overall top prize of Forecourt of the Year.

Applegreen Mountgorry, meanwhile, claimed the title of Green Store of the Year.

Each site underwent rigorous independent judging, including mystery shopping visits, to overcome competition throughout the island of Ireland.

Also on the night, Applegreen PLC - headquartered in Dublin - won Training Store of the Year, while Topaz Energy Group Limited - also with a HQ in the capital - won the award for Best Oil Company Initiative.

Set in the fabulous DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Dublin, and hosted by Irish broadcaster Grainne Seoige, the awards celebrated the finest convenience retailers from across Ireland north and south.

This year's awards followed Ireland's biggest retailing conference of the year, which took place in the same venue earlier that day.

A focused Trade Exhibition, meanwhile, took place alongside the day-long conference, with over 70 exhibitors displaying some of their latest services and technologies.

The awards, conference, and trade exhibition were part of the Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Summit 2016.
By the end of the year it is expected the Government will complete the legislation required to make the Irish Aviation Authority the sole body responsible for noise control at Irish Airports, which may give the authority power to overturn two night-flying restrictions attached to the planning permission for the new runway at Dublin Airport.

The time-frame came from the Minister for Transport, Shane Ross TD, answering questions in the Dail from Clare Daly TD. Deputy Daly asked when the IAA would complete establishing the separate unit to operate the new noise control regime.

The minister said that first, the legislation must be completed and it was expected that would be done by the end of this year. The new noise control regime will mean that the new unite within the IAA will be given the power to adjudicate on two disputed planning conditions for the new runway that restrict night-time flying.

The daa want the conditions to go, saying they are too restrictive while neighbours of the airport are insisting the conditions stay in place.
Councillors have argued with the county planners over whether or not the county has enough 'headroom' in terms of its zoned lands for housing, to meet the demands of the current housing crisis in Fingal.

The Fingal County Development Plan insists that the council 'provide for sufficient zoned land to meet not just the expected demand arising within the development plan period of six years, but will also provide for the equivalent of three years demand beyond the date on which the current plan ceases to have effect'.

That extra three year provision beyond the lifetime of the plan is referred to has 'headroom'.

County planners argued that the 2017-2023 plan, currently being discussed at the council provides for that headroom and most of those extra units will be provided by zoned lands at Lissenhall, north of Swords.

But Cllr Anne Devitt (NP) raised doubts about that assertion, saying Lissenhall would not be built on until the arrival of the new Metro North and that was not scheduled to be operational for another 10 years.

She said that Lisenhall could therefore, not deliver the 'headroom' that the council was obliged to provide in the plan.

However, the director of planning at Fingal County Council, Annmarie Farrelly insisted that the headroom was available at Lissenhall.

County planner, Matthew McAleese explained that while Cllr Devitt was arguing that there was no 'headroom' available at Lissenhall within the six year lifespan of the new plan, the 'headroom' referred to what was required in the three years after the plan.

By that time, planners believe those lands at Lissenhall could be activated with the arrival of Metro North, expected to be coming down the tracks, at that stage.

Mr McAleese said there is headroom built into every plan - while there was zoning to deliver housing of over 40,000 units, the council expected about 3,000 a year to be built. Which would leave you at a figure of around 18,000 to 20,000 units actually delivered in the lifetime of the plan. That was the same figure laid out by Ms Farrelly in a recent interview with the Fingal Independent, when she was asked how many new homes she expects to be actually built in Fingal over the lifetime of the plan.

Mr McAleese also argued that there was nothing to stop the lands at Lissenhall being developed, at least in part, before the arrival of Metro if required.
A young Balbriggan student who invented a device to help her father who lives with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is now joining her father in rowing in behind the MS Readathon.

Lauren Murphy, a student at Loreto Balbriggan came up with a brand new device to aid in the physical rehabilitation of people with Multiple Sclerosis.

Lauren's father, Gerard has MS and, observing the difficulties that he and other MS sufferers experience with 'clenched fist', Lauren set about developing an aid to help her father perform exercises to improve the action of opening and closing the fist.

Having developed her first mechanical prototype and testing it with her father, Lauren has been able to record a marked improvement in his dexterity once a repeated exercise programme is carried out.

To explore how to develop her prototype further, Lauren attended the first Hackathon at Alpa, DCU's Innovation Campus, where she presented her idea to DCU software and hardware engineers and campus company, Nuwave Ventures. All were inspired with her work and together they agreed to help her to transform her rehabilitation aid into a smart device that provides feedback to patients in real time as they carry out the exercise.

The result is an autonomous device with integrated electronics consisting of a set of sensors and a micro-controller printed circuit board. The device now records data in a meaningful way so that improvements can be identified and it can also be connected to a PC to download the data. The sensors are measuring, force, range of motion and number of actions in a given time.

Laura has already proven her interest in helping those with MS and demonstrated the value of studying and of books, so who better to promote the aims of the MS Readathon which raises awareness and funds for the condition as well as encouraging children to read. Laura and her dad recently joined Deirdre O'Kane and David Rawle to officially launch the 29th MS Readathon. Young readers in schools in Fingal are encouraged to read and raise funds to support services for people living with Multiple Sclerosis

Malahide author Cecelia Ahern, who is supporting the event, this year, said: 'Books are magical. When you open the cover you are sucked into different worlds, you go on exciting adventures and learn new things. You can even make new friends.

'For a moment in your life, you have a secret world just for you, all in your head. And if it's a really good book, it stays in your mind even when you close the pages. Read, read, read - and go on one secret adventure after another.'

MS Readathon is the key annual fundraising campaign of Multiple Sclerosis Ireland, the national services, information and advocacy organisation supporting people living with MS.
A music teacher who sent a 17-year-old former student insulting and violent letters and text messages on special occasions such as Christmas, Easter and on her birthday, leaving her intimidated, frightened and afraid has been warned that he may not avoid a conviction after offering 15,000 in compensation to his victim.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted purchasing phones for the purpose of sending the abusive text messages to the teenager to make her 'feel the way he felt.'

He admitted it was 'despicable behaviour' and apologises profusely to the teenager.

The teenager started to received the letters by post and text messages on her mobile phone in 2014 after finishing up lessons with him the previous year.

She continued to receive the letter and text messages, which were 'vile and abusive, full of foul language' on occasions in April, December of the same year and in the following year.

Garda Des Martin told Swords District Court the defendant was also on the same train carriage as the teenager on another occasion where he followed her from the station and 'stared forcefully' at her while she waited for her mother to collect her.

He said the teenager had received another letter in 2015 which she did not open but handed into the gardai.

The letter read: 'Don't bother studying for your Leaving Certificate. You won't be around for it. It's a waste of time. Welcome to your nightmare.'

The man pleaded guilty to harassing and stalking the teenager on various dates in 2014 and 2015.

In a Victim Impact Statement which the teenager read out in court, she said she was horrified and very distressed by the letters and texts.

'I felt very vulnerable and I was terrified to leave my house. Nothing was made easy by him. The messages were threatening in nature. He was saying he was coming to get me,' she said.

'He intimidated and frightened me. I am still afraid. I hope he will leave me alone as I am still afraid and panic if I see someone who looks like him. It was an absolutely horrific ordeal for me.'

Taking to the stand the defendant, who has no previous convictions, said he 'felt relief' when he was arrested.

He said it was 'despicable behaviour' and apologises profusely to the teenager.'I am very embarrassed by it all and every day I think about what I did with such shame. I wish I could do something to apologise and make it better. I feel so ashamed.

'I felt so bad at the time that I wanted her to feel the same way I felt. I just hate myself for it.'

Defence solicitor Fiona D'Arcy said the defendant 'can't take back Christmas, Easter and birthdays but that the defendant is profoundly sorry.

'It is tragic that she had to go through something so horrific and scary. He takes 100 per cent responsibility and his shame is deep-seated. He hasn't stopped worrying about her.' 'The difficulty is if he receives a criminal conviction it will be the end of his music career,' she said.

Ms D'Arcy said he has saved up 15,000 to offer as compensation or to donate to a charity of the victim's choice.

She said he is also getting counselling with a psychotherapist.

He gave the court an undertaking he would not communicate with the injured party or her family by any means and would not approach her home and to stay away from her forever.

Judge Grainne O'Neill adjourned the case for finalisation until October 25 for the victim to decide whether to accept the money. 'I don't want to suggest the increase in the offer of money is a way of avoiding a conviction,' warned Judge O'Neill.

'I appreciate the Probation Service is there but as nasty as this was, I don't want to give him (the defendant) false hope.

'It is unlikely he will avoid a conviction but I haven't made any decision yet,' she said, adjourning the case until October 25.
Skerries has a new councillor in the shape of Tom O'Leary who replaces JP Browne who resigned from the council in the summer to pursue a new career opportunity.

Cllr O'Leary is well known in the area and has represented Skerries and the whole Balbriggan ward before on the council. After two years off the council benches, the Fine Gael councillor is looking forward to getting back to work and joins the council at a busy time as councillors sit down to a series of long meetings to consider the Fingal County Development Plan that will shape the county for the next six years.

Cllr O'Leary told the Fingal Independent that he was 'delighted and surprised the opportunity came up to become a councillor, once again'.

He said: 'I'm thoroughly thrilled and delighted and looking forward to getting stuck in and working for the people of Skerries, Rush, Lusk Balbriggan and the rural villages in the Balbriggan ward.'

He said the ward he represents is 'a wonderful area with wonderful opportunities and possibilities'.Laying out some of his priorities, the new councillor said that he would urge the IDA to bring a 'major employer' to Balbriggan to provide jobs for its growing population with currently 7,000 children attending school in the that town alone.

The Fine Gael councillor is also looking forward to tackling the housing crisis in Fingal and has spent some of his time away from the council working for a charitable housing body which has worked in Northern Ireland and wants to bring affordable housing south to places like Fingal. For Skerries, the new councillor believes a new nursing home is needed as well as a hotel and he wants to see further improvements to the tourism offering in the town to take best advantage of its new status as Ireland's tidiest town.

Cllr O'Leary was selected by Fine Gael to fill the seat vacated by JP Browne.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has positively evaluated the macroeconomic situation in Ukraine, but said it expects the Ukrainian government to invigorate activities in the fight against corruption, Director of the IMF European Department Poul Thomsen has said.

"The fund currently has one of the largest programs in Ukraine. And we see significant progress if to talk about the economic situation. All this became possible thanks to the measures taken by the Ukrainian government: the matter concerns budget adjustments, a transition to a flexible exchange rate, and adjusting prices for energy resources. All these measures have stabilized the macroeconomic situation, and today we can say growth is returning to Ukraine," he said at a press conference in Washington.

According to the official, the IMF is satisfied with the measures Ukraine is taking to fight against corruption, in particular, the launch of an electronic declaration system.

At the same time, the fund noted the pace of reforms might be much higher.

"The fight against corruption is the key challenge for the Ukrainian government. We expect mobilization from it in this direction. It seems to me the country's leaders understand further support for Ukraine depends on success in this area," he said.
The recent unrest at Oberstown Children's Detention Campus has been raised on the floor of the Seanad where Senator James Reilly, a former Minister for Children, said that neighbours of the campus were growing 'extremely concerned' about events at the facility.

In the Seanad, Senator Reilly, who recently attended a public meeting of concerned neighbours of the facility, said: 'I want to raise a serious issue which has been escalating over the past several months at Oberstown facility for young offenders. This is an excellent new-build, costing more than 50 million, which is very much focused on the rehabilitation and re-education of young offenders to give them a second chance, which all Members will agree they are fully entitled to and we would like them to have.

'There have been, however, an ever-increasing number of serious incidents at the facility with staff injuries. Local residents have become extremely concerned about these incidents. There are many old people in the vicinity living on their own, as well as many parents of young children. They are becoming increasingly concerned due to several absconsions and a fire on the roof causing considerable damage to the wonderful facility. There was an incident where a staff member was locked in a room and held to ransom. The Garda eventually had to go to the facility to release the staff member. The newspapers report that this day last week over 1 million worth of damage was caused to the facility.'

Senator Reilly added: 'Over the past several months, clearly whatever protocols are in place at this facility are not working. Staff feel threatened. I know many of them myself as I worked there as a general practitioner. Many of the staff have worked there for years but do not want to go back. Having been the Minister involved with the facility's development, I know it was difficult to get staff to work there. Accordingly, it makes it all the more important that they should be retained and feel protected at work.

'The facility's board has apologised for certain failures around texting alerts, etc., when there have been break-outs and will rectify these, as well as ordering a review of existing protocols. However, this needs to be done urgently as local people are concerned. I have written to the Minister responsible on this issue, seeking a meeting with local residents to re-assure them. All I have received so far is an acknowledgement. People in the area support the facility and have shown good will to it. They are deeply worried about the escalating incidents over the past two months.'

He concluded: 'I believe the protocols in place do not allow staff to deal with young offenders. These are young men, 16 and 17, some of whom are aggressive and are as large as many of us, if not larger. The staff need to be able to deal with these problems when they pass a certain point without having to resort to the Garda, which has a significant amount of other work to do and can well do without being continually called to the facility.'
Gorey Credit Union could soon be undergoing some changes if a planning application is given the go ahead by Wexford County Council.

The credit union which is located on McDermott Street is looking for permission to create an additional office area measuring 27 square metres within the existing entrance foyer of the building.

Submissions on the application can be made to the council for the next five weeks.
It was a special moment for the students of Creagh College last week when they picked up the Cycle Against Suicide Ambassador School award.

The ceremony which was held at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham recognised the immense efforts of 83 schools around Ireland who completed the Ambassador School Programme and become actively involved in mental health promotion.

The Ambassador School Programme, one aspect of a wide range of Cycle Against Suicide initiatives, is school-led, and involves the completion of 'Five Gears' over the course of a year, all of which are aimed at raising awareness of the message that 'It's ok not to feel ok and it's absolutely ok to ask for help'.

Creagh College was awarded the prestigious status of Ambassador School by Cycle Against Suicide in recognition of its fulfilment of the Five Gears and its exceptional commitment to the promotion of positive mental health.

Creagh College was represented at the event by Link Teacher, Brendan Cullen, John Redmond and students Ciarna Power and Danielle Hanney who understandably were very proud of their achievements.

Speaking at the event teacher Brendan Cullen said: 'The Ambassador School Awards ceremony was a great day. It's wonderful to attend such a positive event and have the efforts of the students recognised.

'Our participation in the Ambassador School Programme has had an enormously positive impact on our school community, fostered a school-wide approach to the promotion of positive mental health, and provided incredible opportunities for student leadership.'

Representatives from the main education bodies and trusts, the Institute of Guidance Counsellors and the Ombudsman for Children, Niall Muldoon, all attended to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the schools involved.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton congratulated the schools which completed the Ambassador School Programme.

He said: 'It is fantastic to see that 83 schools around the island of Ireland have completed the Ambassador School Programme, and become actively involved in mental health promotion. This is a hugely important issue that affects so many families. I strongly support the promotion of positive mental health awareness in both primary and post-primary schools.'

Founder of Cycle Against Suicide, Jim Breen, who has recently been appointed to Minister Helen McEntee's new Taskforce on Youth Mental Health said: 'On behalf of Cycle Against Suicide I'd like to thank each of the 83 Ambassador Schools for their extraordinary commitment to breaking the cycle of suicide on the island of Ireland.

"Each of them has gone the extra mile to raise awareness of our message, empowering themselves and others to build resilience, and seek help when necessary. The efforts of these school communities, teachers, students and parents, is changing the mind-set, behaviour and culture of an entire generation.'

The leading charity was founded by Breen in 2012 after his appearance on RTE's 'The Secret Millionaire'. Each year the movement engages with individuals, schools and communities through a variety of initiatives such as the Schools' Programmes, the 14-day main cycle around the island of Ireland, a SpinOff series of locally organised cycles, and events Against suicide, a dynamic week long programme of events which runs each September to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Week. For more information please see www.cycleagainstsuicide.com.
The new state of the art wastewater treatment plant in Courtown will 'facilitate future growth and development' in North Wexford.

The 7.2 million Gorey Courtown plant was officially opened last Thursday during a ceremony which was attended by Minister of State Paul Kehoe, local politicians and council officials.

The 7.2 million investment, which began in September 2014, has delivered an enhanced treatment plant with the capacity to treat all waste water from both Courtown and Gorey to the proper standard.

Completing this important project means that local bathing water quality is protected and enhanced, enabling the very popular beach at Courtown to retain its blue flag status. It also means that future growth and economic development in this area can be accommodated.

Speaking at the official opening, Minister Kehoe said: 'I am delighted to mark the official completion of all work on the Gorey-Courtown wastewater treatment plant. The town of Gorey and surrounding areas such as Courtown have been subject to significant growth in recent years and this marks a critical investment by Irish Water in essential wastewater infrastructure in Co. Wexford.

"It will bring economic and tourism benefits and also ensure we are protecting one of the county's most important assets - the blue flag beach at Courtown. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Irish Water and Wexford County Council for their work in delivering on this upgraded facility which will facilitate future growth and development.'

Before the completion of this Irish Water project, the previous wastewater treatment plant serving Gorey and Courtown was overloaded and unable to meet the required treatment standards or capacity required.

This project extended the capacity of the existing Courtown Wastewater Treatment Plant from 12,000 to 35,000 population equivalent. Waste water from Gorey is now pumped to the treatment plant at Courtown, and the old Gorey treatment plant has now been decommissioned. Existing buildings at Gorey are being converted to provide screening and storm water storage.

Paul Fallon, Wastewater Capital Programme Lead, Irish Water said: 'This is one of the many projects being progressed by Irish Water to support the tourism industry and future development in Co. Wexford.

Already 10 million have been invested on this and the Taghmon waste water treatment schemes, and a further 32 million will be spent on wastewater projects and 21.5 million on drinking water projects over the coming years. We are delighted to be delivering ongoing investment in critical infrastructure projects that are bringing real benefits to communities right across Wexford.'

Cathaoirleach of Gorey Municipal District, Cllr Pip Breen said that the completion of this project marks a significant upgrade to wastewater treatment facilities in Gorey and the surrounding areas.

'I am delighted that work is now fully complete and that plant can also accommodate significant future expansion. This development will have a positive effect on tourism and industry in the town and indeed in the whole of the North Wexford area.'

The project was delivered in partnership with Wexford County Council.
Two projects in Kerry are set to benefit from the Arts Council's Invitation to Collaboration Scheme, a programme that aims to forge stronger links between local authorities in relation to the arts.

The announcement was made by Minister for Arts Heather Humpreys in Dublin last Wednesday. Killorglin's K-Fest Music and Arts Festival, and Listowel Writers' Week are among six festivals in Kerry and Cork that will benefit from an award of more than 70,000 for creative mentoring in the two counties.

Caroline Lynch of Kerry County Council's Arts Office feels both festivals have done more than enough to earn that support: "They're fertile ground for creative mentors, albeit for different reasons", she says.

"K-Fest is a relatively new venture promoting disciplines such as contemporary art, so it deserves the best expertise."

"Writers' Week is hugely established but is always looking for ways to grow, so they'll also benefit greatly from creative mentoring."

The Sliabh Luachra Music Trail, an initiative geared towards promoting and protecting the Sliabh Luachra region's unique musical heritage, is also set to benefit, with Kerry, Cork and Limerick's County Councils to receive 10,000 in funding for the festival.

Kerry County Council Arts Officer Kate Kennelly said "for two Kerry projects to be among six being funded nationally is a testament to the wealth of artistic practice and events in our county."
People from Gneeveguilla and beyond came out to honour the legendary seanchai and actor Eamon Kelly last weekend, and the discipline of storytelling adored and practiced by him was aptly woven into the fabric of the second Eamon Kelly Weekend.

His memory was sparked to life on Friday (September 30) as modern storyteller Raymond O'Sullivan made a few calls into public houses in Gneeveguilla, following on from his visits to local schools beforehand.

Raymond was again at hand on Saturday for a hugely successful evening at Teach Failte, as up to 50 schoolchildren listened to stories and learned how to construct tales of their own, before music, song and dance followed from 8pm.

Gneeveguilla-born journalist Donal Hickey conducted a bus tour of the area on Sunday, with stops made at Kelly's statue, his birthplace at Gullane, as well as the birthplaces of local poets Eoghan Rua O Suilleabhain and Aogan O Rathaile.

The weekend's emphasis on this occasion was on getting people of all ages telling stories, a craft that organising committee Chairman Cormac Collins explained is synonymous with Sliabh Luachra.

"The area is already famed for its rich store of traditional music, dancing, and poetry, but the art of storytelling is also an intrinsic part of our heritage," he said.

The 2016 staging was attended by family members of Kelly's, including son Eoin, his sister Bridie Siochru, nephews and nieces, and there are already plans afoot to make the Eamon Kelly Weekend a permanent fixture on Gneeveguilla's roster on the back of this successful edition.
Sincere Sympathy: Sincere Sympathy to Noreen Sugrue Emlaghnamuck Ballinskelligs on the sudden and untimely death of her brother Batt recently. May he rest in peace. WIA will resume on Wednesday night 5th October at 7 30 in the O'Connell Centre. with knitting and crochet classes. Everyone welcome.

Boston Tea Party

Coars National School annual Boston Tea Party will be held on Friday 11th November at 8pm in Foilmore Community Centre. Music followed at 10pm with the Threshing Mill Boys. To host a table, purchase a ticket for the Threshing Mill Boys or if you have any queries please contact 0878176170/0879041013 10 per person for Boston Tea Party & music. 5 per person for entry to music only. Cutlery, tableware, tea/coffee provided.

Great raffle prizes on the night. Everyone welcome.

Baby boy

Congratulations to Patrick and Deirdre McGill Reenard on the birth of their baby boy recently. God bless the new arrival.

Scartaglen

Wedding bells

Congratulations and all best wishes are extended to the following who were married recently: Liam McSweeney, son of Sheila and Owen McSweeney of Scartaglin and Lisa Ring, daughter of Anne and Maurice Ring of Midleton Co. Cork who were married in Midleton Church. Liam and Lisa held their reception in the Garryvoe Hotel. They will reside in Castlemartyr Co. Cork.

Congrats and best wishes also are extended to Mary Horgan, daughter of Breda and Patsy Horgan of Goulane Carker and Patrick Kissane of Crosstown, Glenflesk who were married on in Our Lady of Lourdes Church Scartaglin. The nuptial mass was celebrated by Rev Fr. Sean Horgan. Mary and Patrick held their reception in Ballygarry House Hotel, Tralee and they will reside in Headford.

Wedding anniversary

If you are celebrating a special or significant wedding anniversary then you might like to go along to Castleisland Parish Church on Saturday October 22nd, where a special Wedding Anniversaries Mass will be celebrated at 6.15pm that evening. Anyone who would like to attend this Mass should contact the Parish Office (066) 7141241 and give in their names.

Boot camp

Do you want to improve your fitness and nutrition and strengthen your muscles and upper body, then Linda Kennedy is the woman to see. Linda is running a boot camp in the Heritage Centre in Scartaglin on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7.30pm to 8.30pm each night. The fee per session is 7. For further details and information, contact Linda on (076) 6223752 or (086) 1981061 or Email: lkfitness7@gmail.com

Rambling House

The next Rambling House session in Scartaglen Heritage Centre will be on Monday night October 10th at 9pm. Admission as always is free, refreshments and raffle on the night. All are welcome.

Indoor market

The Kerry Parents and Friends Association will hold their annual Indoor Market in Castleisland Community Centre on this Friday night October 7th commencing at 8pm. All support would be greatly appreciated.

Afternoon of prayer

Janice and Moss Carrig will be present at an Afternoon of Prayer in Our Lady of Lourdes Church Scartaglen on Sunday October 16th commencing at 2.30pm with The Rosary. Everyone welcome.

Youth club registration

There will be registration for Scartaglen Youth Club for the coming season in The Heritage Centre on this Friday night October 7th at 8pm. Please note a parent must accompany each child at the registration.

Southwest Kerry Women's Association

World Rural Women's Day

Celebrate World Rural Women's Day with NCCWN/Southwest Kerry Women's Association - are having an information evening on foot health care on Tuesday 11th Oct @ 7.30pm in Tech Amergin, with Podiatrist Emily Howarth and Reflexologist Deborah O'Connor

Admisson free . All are welcome.

The Glen

Fundraiser

The Glen NS fundraiser clothing collection. Bags of clothes can be dropped to the Glen Centre before 2pm on Wednesday, Oct 12. Any rewardable clothes, shoes, belts, handbags, curtains, towels, bed linen, soft toys accepted. Mile buiochas.

Deaths

The death has occurred recently of Bartholomew (Batt) Sugrue, Emlaghnamuck. Deepest sympathuies are extended to his sister Noreen, to all his relatives and a wide cirlce of friends. May he rest in peace.

Deepest sympathyies are also extended to the Stretton/Mccarthy families, Foilmore and Portmagee on the deaths of James Snr and James Jnr in England recently. To all their relatives and a wide cirlce of friends may they rest in peace.

GAA news

St Michaels Foilmore were defeated by Listry dropping to Division 3 for the coming season.

St Michaels Bord na nOg results for week ending Sept 23 and 30 were 1sr 40 Sheila Galvin, Emlagh; 2nd 20 Josephine Sugrue, The Glen.

1st 40 Gearoid and Orla O'Connor, The Glen; 2ns 20 Sarah Harty, The Glen.

Thanks for your continued support.

Courses

Courses for farmers commencing shortly in the O'Connell Centre, Cahersiveen. Computer basic training (8 weeks) starting Monday, Oct 10, 8-10pm. Cost 40.

Childcare

Martinas childcare and Naoinra open daily for further information tel 087 7613893.

Community centre

Monday: Art.

Tuesdsay: Dinners exercise bingo dinner 1.30. Meals on wheels also available. If you need transporet tel 066 9479366.

Grazing

Good grazing required in The Glen for two horses. Phone Clive at 087 9852604.

Valentia Island

Community Centre

The building at the front of Valentia Community Centre (which formerly housed a branch of Cahirciveen Credit Union) is now available for hire.

The premises has generous office space with wifi connection, smaller rooms, kitchen, toilet etc. It is available to rent per hour, per day or on a longer term basis. It may suit someone who needs office space, someone wishing to provide a service once a week or once a month to the people of Valentia/Portmagee eg.solicitor, accountant, physiotherapist etc. It may suit someone wishing to give a class in any topic or for grinds etc. It is also available to any group for meetings.

Please contact Ursula on 087 7918188 to view the premises or for more information.

Waterville

Birth

Congratulations to Aine nee Bruader and Seamus Fitzgerald of Granafulla on the recent birth of their baby son James a brother for Luke. God bless the new arrival.

Marriage

Fr John Kerin P.P. Tousist officiated at the marriage of Aine daughter of John and Noreen O' Connell of Spunkane and Ian O' Donovan of Carrigaline in St Finians Church on Saturday September 24th.

Aine's sister Siobhan Murrary was her chief bridesmaid with her sister Noreen Hanrahan, Brid and Niamh were bridesmaids. Philip Spillane was best man with Groomsmen Aaron Twohig, Mark Nolan and Conor Murphy. Nieces Aoife Murrary and Ella Hanrahan were the pretty Flower girls with page boys Sean Neary and Hugh Hanrahan. Music was by Michelle O' Brien and Ruth O' Shea, Veronica and Michael Lynch. The reception was held in Sneem Hotel and the newleyweds will live in Carrigaline where we wish them a long and happy life together.

Deaths

Patrick Curran of Kealafrehane Mastergeedy died peacefully in St Joseph's Nursing Home Kenmare. His remains were removed from Fitzgerald Funeral Home to Our Lady Of The Valley Church Killeenleigh and he was laid to rest in St Finians Cemetery after 11 a.m. Mass. Sincere sympathy to his niece Mary Clifford and his nephews.

Patrick (Paddy) O' Sullivan of Killagurteen, London and Tarmons died peacefully in St Joseph's Nursing Home Kenmare. His remains were removed from Fitzgerald Funeral Home to St. Finian's Church on Sunday evening and he was laid to rest in the adjoining cemetery after 11.a.m. Mass celebrated by Fr Gerard Finucane P.P. and Fr Padraig Sugrue of Caherciveen and late of the Philipines on Monday. Marion O' Neill sang at Mass. Pre- deceased by his son Christopher and brother Sean. Paddy is survived by his wife Bridie nee O' Shea son Anthony his wife Linda and their daughter Katie brother Donal nieces relatives neighbours and friends to whom we offer our sincere sympathy. Suaimhneas siorai da nanamacha dilise.

Bridge results

Results from Waterville Inn Thursday September 29th. 1st Kaye Neave and Michael Curran, 2nd Kathleen O' Shea and Marie- Luise Holst, 3rd Joan Rayle and Peggy White. 4th Frances Everett and Noreen Moran,

Waterville foot clinic

Good luck and every success to Specialist Podiatrist Emily Haworth of Scarriff on opening her clinic in our Main Street.

Art sale

The Leo Quinlan Art Gallery, located at the IRD offices, will hold a 2-week End-Of-Season Sale - 1st to 14th October. 15% upwards off all acrylic canvas & slate paintings. These would make excellent Christmas presents!

Clothes collection

Waterville GAA are still accepting clothes, shoes, belts, bags etc for the clothes collection- No duvets, no pillows. If you are doing a Spring Clean and want to dispose of some stuff, contact Bridie 0879504684 or Marion 0872329973

Courses during autumn

The Comhchoiste will be running a number of courses as usual during autumn, HACCP, Cookery Course and Lowland Leaders depending on demand, If you are interested in any of these please contact us on 066 9474888

Irish home visits

If you live in the Gaeltacht and are interested in Irish home visits to support the family with learning Irish please contact the Comhchoiste on 066 9474888, fill out the expression of interest form and send it back to the Comhchoiste.

Learning landscapes

IRD Waterville Ltd and co are busy organising our upcoming Iveragh Learning Landscapes symposium (14th -16th of October) a must for any educators, parents and tourism providers to find out more about our beautiful environment and great ways to learn in the outdoors with workshops and talks all weekend from international and local experts! Only 20 for the weekend workshops great value. Limited places so book online asap on Eventbrite.ie SEARCH: Iveragh Learning Landscapes
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans to attract funds from the EU for the repair of the Odesa-Reni highway.

"As you know, I had consultations with the presidents of Romania and Bulgaria. We've agreed to set up an ad hoc group for access to European Union funds, build a bridge, and this would be our key position on transit of Ukrainian goods and passengers," Poroshenko told reporters when examining the results of Odesa-Reni highway repairs.

The head of state noted the road has not been repaired for over 35 years and the uniting of efforts of the government and local authorities allowed getting things moving. And this is only the first step in expanding the volume of road repairs in the country.

Poroshenko also noted the need to accelerate conducting tenders for road construction, as well as increase the volume of tenders to repair the Odesa-Reni road and other roads in Ukraine. In his opinion, this will allow involving reliable and reputable contractors in the tenders.

"The road construction program is the strategic policy of the Ukrainian state," Poroshenko said, adding that UAH 30 million is foreseen for road repairs in the road fund in 2017.
Valentia Island Ferries Ltd has applied to Failte Ireland for 2m in funding to replace their current car ferry in time for their 2018 season.

Manager Richard Foran told The Kerryman that their current vessel was built 53 years ago, and has been operating between Renard Point and Knightstown since it was brought from Holland in 1996.

While the current ship passed its most recent annual survey by the Department of Transport's Marine Survey Office, the MSO and Valentia Island Ferries have agreed that a new car ferry will be needed soon.

A design for a new ship has been produced, and would cost 3,000,000, of which 1,000,000 has been acquired through bank loans and investments.

Mr Foran explained to The Kerryman that his group 'has applied to Failte Ireland for the other 2,000,000 under a grants scheme for large tourism projects.'

The current vessel can carry 15 cars or 90 people on its trips, but the proposed new boat's design would allow them to carry greater numbers, and would also be designed to transport busses.

The ferry service runs from April to October every year, and Mr Foran says this year's been their busiest since 2007.

"We've carried 250,000 people on our ferry's trips this summer, which is the highest we've seen since the boom years" he says.

"We need this hugely successful ferry in the area, because it makes us a feasible part of the Ring of Kerry route, and also the Skellig Loop route, allowing us to fulfil our potential as a destination for tourists."

"We're very thankful for the bridge connecting us to the rest of the county, but the ferry coming to Knightstown on the other side of the island completes the loop."

Mr Foran says that it benefits not only Valentia Island, but also the wider Iveragh area.

"Tourism is the only show in town in Iveragh right now, and the ferry is a big part of that. We're getting a lot of tourists coming here, we've great scenery, we've great history when you think of the transatlantic cable, and our tourism has been boosted further since the Star Wars filming. But we need the ferry to capitalise on that."

Failte Ireland has not set a date for a decision on Valentia Island Ferries' application.
A Killarney college student who is spending over 200 a month on bus travel to Tralee, has labelled Bus Eireann prices 'ridiculously high'.

Ruth Carey (21), a Business student in IT Tralee, says Bus Eireann's timetables are 'completely disastrous' and claims she is paying prices significantly higher than commuters typically pay on Dublin Bus.

Speaking to The Kerryman after highlighting her concerns on social media, Ruth says that while the service is a lifeline for her studies, she is not alone in feeling that timetables and prices can be greatly improved, particularly when compared to other bus companies.

"Of course, Dublin Bus may be different to Bus Eireann but you can buy a month's ticket to anywhere around Dublin for 90 and I'm ending up spending that much alone in two weeks on just 10 trips in and out.

"These are trips that people are making every day, they should not cost so much."

Ruth also questions Bus Eireann policy over their 10-trip ticket.

"I am paying 42 a week for a 10-trip ticket, which I have only recently been informed is only valid for seven consecutive days. This means that if you decide at any stage to get a lift home - or perhaps stay over in Tralee one night - you are immediately losing out on a trip.

"It doesn't make sense, you should be able to take that trip whenever you need it, they should really just call it a seven-day ticket because that's what it is."

Ruth said the company's timetable needs radically overhauled if it is to provide a student-friendly service.

"They're not there when you need them. If I'm finished college at 2pm and I want to get the bus home, I can't because they run every two hours at 10 minutes to the hour, so I've to wait around for almost two hours until next one."

"Obviously this just from my own personal experience, the timetables are convenient for some people but for many others like myself, it's baffling," she finished.

When contacted by The Kerryman, Bus Eireann said it operates two relevant routes: Tralee-Killarney and Tralee-Cork via Killarney. Both routes have trips that operate via the south and north campuses of IT Tralee on a daily basis.

"Weekdays, we have 13 services per day operating each way between Tralee and Killarney between the two routes," a company spokesperson said.

"Our timetables are designed to meet the requirements of our customers operating directly to the college each morning for 9am and returning directly from the college at 4.20pm and 5pm to Killarney each evening, as well as the 13 services from Tralee Bus Station.

"We offer a number of different ticket types to passengers such as single, day return and 10 journey tickets, as well as more long term commuter tickets via the Taxsaver scheme.

Bus Eireann confirmed that a 10 journey ticket, priced 42, is valid for seven days travel but added that the fares are significantly reduced from the regular student fares to Tralee.
Gaelcholaiste Chiarrai's new 10 million school building is set to be up and running by September 2019. On Monday, the Kerry Education and Training Board (KETB) was given the green light by the Department of Education to start work on the project.

The new school will see the number of students at Gaelcholaiste Chiarrai almost double, from the current enrolment of 360 to over 600.

Having finalised the Service Level Agreement to run the school - the contract was signed on Monday - the KETB will now begin the process of appointing a main design team and then a contractor for the construction of the new building.

Principal Austin O Seachnasaigh said the new building is a very welcome development coming at a time when the school - which had 60 students when it opened in 1989 - is experiencing huge growth.

This year the lack of space in the current building meant that some classes had to be held at Collis Sandes House on the northern outskirts of town.
Volunteers eager to help save lives in their communities in Kerry are being hampered by insurance companies hitting them with massive levies on their car premiums - by up to 20 per cent in some cases.

The price of insuring first responders for their voluntary emergency work could ultimately cost lives, frontline responders fear.

The Kerryman understands that at least one new first responder group - a community in North Kerry - is trying to set up but is being hampered in its efforts due to this very issue.

Ballybunion-based emergency rescue expert Frank O'Connor described the issue as very serious, at a time when most ordinary people are struggling to pay vastly-inflated premiums.

Many established emergency rescue personnel are now concerned about the attitude of insurance companies to their work as a result of the first responder insurance controversy.

First responder groups have sprung up right across Kerry in recent years, comprised of volunteers trained in saving lives in cardiac arrest situations to other circumstances - placed in their own communities to respond within the crucial first minutes of emergencies.

"As it is, insurance is gone through the roof and adding another 20% is insane. You must remember that in some areas, a responder may or may not even get a call or if they do it won't be often, and if they do, they won't be driving like lunatics," Mr O'Connor told The Kerryman.

He does not feel the work would compromise road safety for the responder: "These are mature people and they all know the rules which are don't break any traffic laws, drive at a normal safe speed, if you have taken a drink don't respond at all. When you get the callout text, you can refuse to go. It's entirely up to you. You're not getting paid and if you don't respond to the text, someone else will respond plus the ambulance is on the way anyway because the ambulance gets the call the same time as the responder."

But the insurance moves are leading to intense disquiet among many long-term emergency workers who, from time to time, might be forced to use their personal vehicles: "The wider picture is even more serious. Are volunteers who turn out in their own cars to coastguard, inshore rescue, mountain rescue calls also subject to this 20 per cent load? Take it even further...what about retained firefighters all over the country who have to drive to fire stations in their own cars as we all do in the voluntary rescue units. The bigger question is if anyone of us had an accident while responding to a life-threatening situation, will the insurance companies use this as a get out of jail card for them so they won't have to pay out? Are we even insured?" Mr O'Connor asked.

Meanwhile, he is also urging people to find out the new Eircode designation of their home if they don't already know it. The new Eircodes give precise mapping details on each home - detail that could make all the difference in getting ambulances and emergency responders to a location: "If the caller gives the Eircode, I can locate the house on an app which goes to Google Maps and it directs me to the house. Knowing the Eircode will benefit everyone. The ambulance and first responder won't be delayed," Mr O'Connor urged.
It's official - Listowel is one gas town! The Fealeside racing Mecca is set to become the first gas town in Kerry, in fact, following the official announcement that it is to be connected to the national gas grid in a 20 million investment set to bolster local industry and drive fuel prices down for residents.

Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) announced on Monday that it will bring a 'feeder' main from its nearest station in Foynes straight down the road into the heart of Listowel. Gas pipes are already being laid by GNI as part of the project to improve William Street underway since last week, awaiting the town's gasification come 2018 - when the fuel will begin flowing into homes as well as the industrial plant that made it all possible at Kerry Ingredients.

Talks had been ongoing for sometime between Kerry Group and the then Bord Gais to secure a feed of gas for the plant that would reduce its heavy energy bill. With Kerry Group on board as its 'anchor' customer, Bord Gais is in a position to deliver a commercially viable feed for the whole town, Head of Commercial at GNI Denis O'Sullivan said on Monday.

Cathaoirleach of Listowel Municipal District Council Aoife Thornton said the move should make Listowel even more attractive for business: "Local businesses and homes will be able to avail of the benefits of natural gas for the first time. This development also ensures that Kerry Ingredients can reduce its energy bills... It's a great economic boost for the wider area. Having a supply like this should make it more attractive for other businesses to establish and expand."
Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath delivered a hammer blow to St Mary of the Angels families this week in signalling his full support for the 'decongregation' policy behind moves to relocate long-term residents into houses scattered across the county.

Minister McGrath's comments add fuel to the fire of an increasingly embittered row, pitting families of residents at the Beaufort centre against the St John of God charity which operates the centre, and the HSE which is responsible for rolling out the decongregation policy nationally.

St John of God, the HSE and Minister McGrath said that nothing will happen without lengthy consultation with families, a point emphasised by St John of God CEO Clare Dempsey in a statement on Tuesday. Ms Dempsey insisted St Mary of the Angels 'is not closing' but in the same statement said the charity is 'committed to working with each resident, and their family to achieve the best outcomes for and with each person' in relation to the community transition plan.
Sinead Dewtrom, Maria O' Regan, Mary Fitzpatrick, Sandra Bea and Liz Galvin pictured in the Tralee Town Park on Friday evening for the 5km fundraising walk in aid of the Mater Foundation

Liz Carr, George Lynch, Con O' Shea, Noreen Kelliher and Pat Shea pictured in the Tralee Town Park on Friday evening for the 5km fundraising walk in aid of Joan Lynch and the Mater Foundation. Photo by Fergus Dennehy

A Tralee woman, who just over a year ago received a lifesaving double lung-transplant, has expressed her gratitude towards the local community after an estimated 300 people joined her in Tralee Town Park on Friday evening to help to raise funds for the Transplant Unit in the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

Joan Lynch from Manor Court in Tralee, received the vital transplant in September of last year and one year on from this she, along with her incredibly supportive family of husband George, and children Philip and Georgina, have managed to raise over 7,000 for the Transplant Unit, something they call an "amazing cause".

"I was delighted with the turnout! My uncle-in-law came all the way down from Dublin, I had cousins and neighbours and family there, I couldn't have asked for more, I was just on a high the whole day," she told The Kerryman on Monday.

"All the money will be going straight towards the unit in the Mater Hospital, towards whatever they feel is needed in any department; that money is there to help, they saved my life."

"I had my transplant in September of 2015 and, luckily for me, the call came quicker rather than later because, honestly, later wouldn't have been an option for me as I was going downhill fairly rapidly," she continued.

"I was 24/7 on oxygen, I was hospitalised quite a lot at stages, I was collapsing and they had to do CPR on me and the ambulance was called; that was the last straw for me and I was transferred to the Mater in Dublin for five weeks, I was at home a week when I got the call for the operation"

"Miracles can happen, that call was something I didn't expect to get for months or years and to get it so soon so, it was definitely miraculous and a life-saving call; I'm convinced that my mother and brother, who passed away recently, were looking down on me and helping me through it,"

"I hope that this can show others what donating can do, it has changed our family's life. They're delighted to see up and about and walking, I can't express how much it has all meant to me," she finished.

"It's just a great privilege to have Joan here at the walk tonight and just to be able to walk down the park with her after the year she had and that she was so ill, it's amazing. The support has been truly overwhelming," said Joan's husband, George, speaking to the crowd before the start of the walk on Friday.

"We'd just like to thank everyone who came out to show support; we're a year down the road today from when Joan was in hospital and the kindness and prayers from our friends, family and from people we don't even know, it has been immense," he finished.
Gardai have ended their search for the remains of missing man Charles Brooke Pickard without success.

Mr Pickard - a 42-year-old father of four - has been missing from his home in the Castlecove area since April 1991 when is it suspected he was abducted and killed by a mainly northern Irish gang led by a former INLA terrorist.

It is believed the gang thought - incorrectly - that Mr Pickard had come into a large sum of money linked to a major drug smuggling operation known to have taken place in the Caherdaniel area a few weeks before the kidnap.

However, it is generally accepted - by gardai and locally - that Mr Pickard had no involvement in the drug smuggling operation and that his abduction, and probable murder, were the result of an unfounded rumour.

Mr Pickard - who had a two year suspended sentence for a firearm offence - may once have had a limited involvement in minor criminality but he was never a major player in the drug trade as some commentators have suggested after his disappearance.

Having received new information on foot of a public appeal, gardai and a specialist army team began searching for his remains at a small section of Coilte forest land in Ballaghisheen on September 14.

The 16 day search of the site - close to where Mr Pickard's van was found burned out in May 1991 - was called off on Friday without result.

Superintendent Flor Murphy who is leading the enquiry said the inquiry continues and gardai are liaising with police in the UK and Europe to advance a number of new leads.

The Pickard family - who say they are still hopeful of finding peace and answers about what happened to their father and husband - praised the gardai whom they said had gone to 'amazing' lengths to ensure they were kept aware of all developments in the search.
The agency tasked with defending children's rights witnessed a worrying rise in complaints from Kerry last year, according to figures released in its annual report this week.

The Ombudsman for Children's Office (OCO) logged more than 50 complaints from Kerry last year alone - a period described nationally by the office as 'exceptionally busy'.

Some 1,639 complaints were made to the OCO in 2015, ranging in subject from concerns over education and health to mental health provisions, bullying and more.

Complaints from Kerry represented three per cent of the 1,639 cases logged and investigated by Ombudsman for Children Niall Muldoon and his staff.

While the report does not set out the nature of each of the complaints that arose in this county, The Kerryman understands that concerns raised in Kerry were largely in keeping with national trends in a year in which education services prompted most issues.

In all, 45 per cent of all complaints had to do with the education sector, with family support, care and protection service issues of second most concern for parents nationally (25 per cent of complaints) and health (14 per cent).

Most alarming of all from the report is the clearer picture now emerging of the impact of the recession on the children of the nation.

"The economic crisis that has beset Ireland for much of the period under review has had serious adverse consequences for many thousands of children. Data from March 2015, indicated that some 138,000 children were living in consistent poverty," Mr Muldoon told the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child this year.

In Kerry over 6,700 children are living in conditions of - or are at risk of - poverty.

Nationally, in March 2015, 1,054 children in 471 families were homeless.

Meanwhile, approximately 1,400 children nationally are spending their formative years living in direct provision centres. Exact figures are not available but roughly 60 of these children are understood to be in Kerry.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio have discussed the course of implementation of changes to the Constitution of Ukraine in part of justice, which entered into force on September 30, 2016.

According to the presidential press service, during the meeting Poroshenko noted the important role of the Venice Commission in preparations for the justice system reform.

The Ukrainian head of state thanked Buquicchio for the principled position of the Venice Commission regarding the legal analysis of events related to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, in particular, the Venice Commission's conclusions as for the unconstitutionality of the referendum in Crimea, as well as the non-compliance with international law of the changes Russia put to the procedure of accepting new subjects to the federation.

Buquicchio, in turn, confirmed the commission's willingness to continue assistance in the reform of the judicial system in Ukraine.
Kayaking on Muckross Lake in Quest Killarney, the multi-activity one-day Adventure Race event on Saturday. 2,500 adventurers competed in the race, making it the largest adventure race in the world. Photos: Valerie O'Sullivan

Killarney was the epicentre of activity last weekend as almost 2,500 daring and hardy souls converged for the annual 'Quest Killarney' contest. Billed as one of the world's largest adventure races, it's hard to argue with this assertion given the arduous trekking through some of the county's most beautiful spots.

With five destinations incorporating distances of 70km and 60km routes - as well as a 27km Sport Event - participants enjoyed the scenic climbs on the MacGillycuddy Reeks, Mangerton Mountain, Gap of Dunloe and Black Valley, with routes through Killarney National Park and kayaking on Muckross Lake.

Dessie Duffy was the winner of the 70km 'Expert Race' in a hugely impressive time of 3hrs and 42mins, while Moira O'Sullivan won the Ladies 70km race in an equally impressive 4hrs and 14mins.

Since its inception over five years ago, Killarney Quest continues to build on its solid reputation which was bolstered in 2014 when it was voted 'Best Outdoor Event' by Outsider magazine.

The race nowadays attracts thousands to Killarney from all over Ireland and further afield, creating an important end of season boost for the town's economy, a far cry from the 500 strong field that took park when it first started.

"The October weather was perfect for this Epic and mammoth Adventure Race, Killarney is truly the only location in the world that can accommodate such a race," said Oliver Kirwan, event organiser with Elite Event Management.

"What makes it special is the camaraderie after the race, competitors and spectators enjoy the festival-like atmosphere, music, food, kid's adventure race and after party in The Gleneagle."

Mr Kirwan also extended his praise to the hardworking and dedicated team of staff, volunteers, marshals and stewards who make the event a reality.
Families of residents earmarked for relocation from their home at St Mary of the Angels are considering legal action in a desperate bid to prevent their loved ones being moved into houses in towns and villages across Kerry.

The controversial move to relocate residents of the Beaufort centre is descending into a bitter feud pitting families against the St John of God care providers and the HSE overseeing the national policy of closing 'congregated' settings.

Under that policy residents of so-called 'congregated' settings are to be moved into a 'community setting', ie individual houses in estates in towns and village.

St John of God CEO Clare Dempsey told The Kerryman in a statement issued on Tuesday that 'St Mary of the Angels is not closing' however and said it is 'premature' to discuss the long-term plan for the Beaufort site.

However, the statement said the charity is 'committed to facilitating residents to transition to community living over a period of time' - but only in consultation with the residents and their families.

Families fear any such move would be devastating for their profoundly disabled loved ones. South Kerry woman Ina O'Dwyer said the move would be 'distressing' for her 40-year-old son Bernard, resident in St Mary's since the age of 5, in a letter to The Kerryman this week.

Ms O'Dwyer was informed her son would be moving to a house in Milltown under the plan in a move that completely blindsided the family.

Bernard's father Jack Fitzpatrick told The Kerryman this week that affected families are now considering seeking legal advice - chiefly over a claim that residents' names were put onto the local housing list 'without the authority of families'.

Anne Hannan, whose 47-year-old brother Johnny has been resident in St Mary's since 1974 said her family cannot make any sense of the move: "We cannot fathom a decision taken in some far away office to disrupt this tranquil life his severe autism prevents him from having anywhere else."

Minister for Disabilities Finian McGrath told media this week that he is fully behind the national 'decongregation' policy that would see residents moved out into the community, however.

Any such move would not happen overnight, but over a period of time and only in full consultation with families, he said.

The HSE moved also this week to assure families they would be fully consulted with as plans take effect into the future (see below). It described the proposed changes as in line with 'similar positive changes...across the country and supporting the move to community living."

Two units at St Mary's are earmarked for immediate closure, as part of a national pilot scheme under the HSE policy - St Brendan's and St Fidelis's.

Talk of consultation is being met with scorn among families who say they only found out about the move to relocate residents when Jack Fitzpatrick raised the issue at what was a routine meeting with St Mary of the Angels' management recently.

"Towards the end of this meeting I asked what long term plans there were for the complex. This question was not expected and we were gradually informed that plans were in place to move everybody off the property in line with national policy," Mr Fitzpatrick told The Kerryman.

Ms Dempsey's statement suggests this is not the case, but refers to a commitment on 'transition' for each resident: "This transition will take place in consultation with the person and their families over a phased period and will be based on the person's needs, wishes and preferences. We are committed to working with each resident, and their family to achieve the best outcomes for and with each person."

Meanwhile, the Principal for St Francis's Special School on the same campus, Liam Twomey, said he is fully satisfied the school will not be affected.
Journalists love full privilege. It is a right only available to us in the court of law and in the Dail.

The reason we love it is it means one less headache for us as we tightrope walk the fine line between reportage and being (considered) vampiric monsters bent on sucking the life out of our interviewees and leaving them hollowed up shells of their former selves.

I jest. Well, kind of.

Last week Christmas came early for colour writers and journalists of varying hues, (mostly political I imagine), who were priviliged enough to be in the Dail for the latest mad outburst from Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.

Adams is one of the most iconic politicans of his generation. He has been around as long as many of us can remember and has graced the telly, usually looking sombre, all eyebrows, furrowed forehead and downcast gaze peering into the middle distance. Lately, as if he has undergone some American PR training, he has been showing his teeth more and has even developed a large Twitter following of 120,000 people.

Known for his interesting, quirky take on life, he is no stranger to raising eyebrows around the world.

In 2015 he revealed that he trampolines naked with his dog, In 2013 he announced on Twitter that his two gay teddy bears Tom and Ted that got engaged and how happy he was for both of them. His teddies have become presentable mascots for a not-so-presentable leader, showing his softer side.

Last week he inflicted more teddy trauma on the ears of the nation when he announced, 'My teddy bears are virgins, a cathairleach', during a debate on Irish Water. During the debate, Sinn Fein TD Louise O'Reilly hit out at Fianna Fail's stance on water, saying the party has had 'more positions than the Kama Sutra on this issue', which most rank among the most titillating comments ever pronounced in the Dail chamber, (out of earshot of the mics). Moments later, Adams referred to his colleagues remarks, before describing his teddy bears as 'virgins'.

'I commend Teachta O'Reilly for that line and I'm sorry I didn't think of it myself. But anyway, Fianna Fail and the Kama Sutra, the mind boggles. My teddy bears are virgins, a Chathaoirleach.'

The thought process that lead to this announcement would have had Freud dancing a jig and is no doubt being studied by psychoanalysts around the world.

One presumes he was trying to steal O'Reilly's thunder by saying something even more shocking, while distancing himself from Fianna Fail and any notion of having sex with any of its members.

His comment reminded me of one almost as equally bizarre that I heard while on a junket trip to Brussels in the good old days. An Irish MEP came into a meeting on EU economic policy and declared that he liked tomatoes. 'Tomatoes are amazing. You can eat them, make ketchup from them and soup and everything,' the MEP said.

As Sinn Fein leader Adams had some success in the General Election earlier this year when his party won a record 23 seats, although there were hopes it would win more than 30. Even his histrionics and finger-pointing couldn't rescue him from defeat in the debates. His latest admission that there is a plan for his exit as leader of the Sinn Fein party show his goose will soon be cooked - but there's always Europe, and teddies travel free.
Sally was a sad dog: she's been vomiting for two days, and her owner was worried about her. My job as her vet was to discover the cause.

The digestive system is one of the busiest parts of the body: food goes in, and waste goes out, continually. It's essential that the system works effectively, and if something goes wrong, signs of illness are often very visible. The challenge for vets is to work out what exactly is causing the problem: a wide range of different causes can cause a similar outcome: vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, or in some cases, weight loss. So how do vets discover the underlying cause?

The first stage of any diagnostic process is always detailed history-taking. Before even looking at the animal, it's important to listen carefully to everything the owner has to report about what's been happening. What are the signs of illness that the owner has noticed? Vomiting, diarrhoea, or weight loss? How long has it been going on for? Is the animal eating and drinking normally? What are they normally fed on? Have they eaten anything unusual recently (such as the remains of a take-away meal)? Could they have been scavenging? This discussion can take five or ten minutes, and the information often provides the key to discovering what's going on.

The second step is to physically examine the animal. Every vet has their own standard way of doing this, systematically checking every part of the patient to ensure that nothing is missed. My approach is to start at the tip of the nose and work back to the tip of the tail. Everything is examined, noting anything that veers from the normal. What is the general demeanour of the animal? Happy, sad, excited or dull? Are the gums moist, with a healthy pink colour? Does the skin feel normal or are there signs of dehydration? Are there any enlarged lymph nodes around the body? Does the abdomen feel normal when poked and prodded? Are there any internal lumps or bumps? Using a stethoscope, does the chest and abdomen sound normal? Does the animal have a normal temperature? Sometimes an internal examination needs to be done, and this gives useful information about the faeces: is there any blood in it?

The third step is to take samples from the animal to try to learn more about their internal metabolism. Three types of samples may be collected: blood, urine and faeces.

The blood sample is most important: this can be analysed - often in an in-house laboratory, with instant results.

The simplest blood test is the so-called Packed Cell Volume: this tells the vet about the level of dehydration of an animal, a common and serious complication of many digestive diseases. A badly dehydrated animal needs to be given immediate intravenous fluids to bring their hydration level back to normal. If there's no significant dehydration, it's often possible to treat the animal at home rather than needing hospitalisation.

Other blood tests include red and white blood cell counts and measurements of a wide range of biochemicals, including enzymes, which inform the vet about the internal functions of the intestines, liver, pancreas, kidneys and other organs. The results of these tests are crucial: this is often how a vet is able to make a definitive diagnosis about the underlying problem.

A urine sample may seem like a strange request when dealing with a digestive problem, but it can provide useful extra information about a pet's state of hydration, as well as other clues about kidney function.

A faeces sample is less useful than you might think: this tends to be needed only on rare occasions for more complex illnesses. The sample may be sent off to the external laboratory for full analysis and to be cultured: some serous causes of digestive problems (like Salmonella) can only be identified by such tests.

In many cases, the collection of samples from the animal is sufficient to make a full diagnosis of the cause, but sometimes, the next stage is needed: diagnostic imaging. This uses modern technology to visualise the internal structures of an animal. The two methods that are most commonly used are xrays and ultrasound. CAT and MRI scans are possible in theory, but are only rarely used, in long term, serious illnesses such as cancer.

X-rays are the equivalent of black and white photos of the internal organs: they provide useful information in cases like obstructions caused by ingested foreign bodies. You can actually see many objects, like stones, on x-rays, and while other objects (like sponges) may be invisible on x-rays, there are gas patterns that can strongly suggest that something is causing an obtruction.

Ultrasound allows vets to see more of the precise structure of the inside of the abdomen, and it's a moving picture, like a video. This allows far more detailed analysis of what's going on.

Sally, the vomiting dog, needed a full work up to discover why she was vomiting. It turned out that she'd swallowed a corn-on-the-cob husk that had become lodged in her intestines. A vague shadow was visible on the x-ray, and ultrasound confirmed it. She needed an operation, but here's the good news: it saved her life.
Good Counsel College students were recognised for their role in this year's Cycle Against Suicide fundraising efforts at an awards ceremony in Dublin recently.

On Friday, September 23, the now annual Cycle Against Suicide Ambassador School Awards ceremony was held at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham.

These awards recognised the immense efforts of 83 schools around the country who have completed the Ambassador School Programme and become actively involved in mental health promotion.

Good Counsel College was awarded the prestigious status of Ambassador School by Cycle Against Suicide in recognition of its fulfilment of the Five Gears all of which are aimed at raising awareness of the message that 'It's OK not to feel OK; and it's absolutely OK to ask for help', and its exceptional commitment to the promotion of positive mental health.

Good Counsel College was represented at the event by Link Teachers, Sharon Murphy and Sheila Doyle and students Sean Russell and Ryan Carty Walsh who are very proud of their achievements.

Ms Murphy said: 'The Ambassador School Awards ceremony was a great day. It's wonderful to attend such a positive event and to have the efforts of the students recognised. Our participation in the Ambassador School Programme has had an enormously positive impact on our school community, fostered a school-wide approach to the promotion of positive mental health, and provided incredible opportunities for student leadership.'

Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD, congratulated the schools which completed the Ambassador School Programme.

Founder of Cycle Against Suicide, Wexford man Jim Breen, who has recently been appointed to Minister Helen McEntee's new Taskforce on Youth Mental Health. said: 'On behalf of Cycle Against Suicide I'd like to thank each of the 83 Ambassador Schools for their extraordinary commitment to breaking the cycle of suicide on the island of Ireland. Each of them has gone the extra mile to raise awareness of our message, empowering themselves and others to build resilience, and seek help when necessary. The efforts of these school communities, teachers, students and parents, is changing the mindset, behaviour and culture of an entire generation.'

The leading charity was founded by Breen in 2012 after his appearance on RTE's 'The Secret Millionaire'. Each year the movement engages with individuals, schools and communities through a variety of initiatives such as the Schools' Programmes, the 14-day main cycle around Ireland, a SpinOff series of locally organised cycles, and Events Against Suicide, a dynamic week long programme of events which runs each September to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Week. To volunteer, register, or for more information see www.cycleagainstsuicide.com .
Ramsgrange Community School held its annual open evening on Thursday, drawing a huge crowd to the school. 5th and 6th class pupils from nearly 20 different national schools began arriving from 5.30 p.m. All guests were greeted at the door by Principal Rachel O'Connor and Deputy Principal Tracey Edwards.

Guests were brought on a tour around the school meeting teachers and students who showcased their different subject areas. Science proved to big a very popular on the evening with pupils doing 'magic tricks', dissecting organs and even creating their own 'slime', Woodwork, Art and Metalwork, Maths, Geography quizzes and music were all demonstrated, while other students competd in the annual Rotary Masterchef sponsored by Floods, Centra and the winner was 1st Year student Latisha Ngouoto.

Nearly 200 national school pupils signed in on the evening.
It's business as usual at Celtic Linen.

While no one at Celtic would like to be where the company is now, examinership is probably the least worst option for a business fighting to succeed. A business with its roots deeply embedded in Wexford town and to which so many local people are reliant for their livelihoods.

Chief executive Donald Campbell is upbeat about the future of Celtic, with 100 days of examinership allowing it breathing space to re-finance, time to find new investors.

'There's new investment needed, particularly in the important areas of the healthcare factory and the hospitality factory,' said Mr Campbell in an interview with this newspaper.

He said that talks were currently taking place with potential investors and he was confident that when they studied the new business plan they would come on board, although he declined comment on how much money Celtic needs to modernise its plant and equipment.

Mr Campbell said no jobs were under threat during the period of Examinership and staff had been fully briefed on the situation facing Celtic and its workers.

He said Celtic Linen had a very supportive staff, customer base and suppliers, all of whom backed the plan to chart a new way forward for the business, one of the mainstays of the local economy.

And he said there was 'value attached' to the company's long-serving and loyal staff, customer base and significant market share in its talks with investors.

'We're hopeful of a positive outcome,' said Mr Campbell.

Asked whether the banks had been knocking on Celtic's door, Mr Campbell said they had been very supportive and viewed the decision for it to go into Examinership as a positive development. This had been particularly the case with the man creditor, AIB.

Mr Campbell, who was appointed chief several months ago, said legacy issues, such as debt which built up over past years, was a major problem.

He cited as an example the 4m in higher fuel costs the energy-hungry company had had to pay over the past seven years because of its reliance on oil for its power. It was only in the past few weeks, and following years of talks, and talks about talks, that natural gas was brought in, more than halving its energy costs overnight.

'Because we were reliant on oil, we had to pay an additional 4m on oil in comparison with what we would have spent on gas,' he said.

Asked whether Celtic Linen had lost any of its customers in recent times, Mr Campbell said the company had 'lost a volume of customers over the last period of time for a variety of reasons.' He did not elaborate.

But he said with the upturn in the economy and the growth in the hotel sector, Celtic Linen was sell positioned to win new business with its cheaper costs and hopefully new investment in plant and equipment.

'There's organic growth in the market and a positive outlook in the hospitality industry and Celtic are part of that,' said Mr Campbell, expressing appreciation for the support of all stakeholders. 'It's business as usual. I want to get that message across and that we are now focused on seeking new investment for the company.'
Three Wexford companies flew the flag for the county when they faced stiff competition in the final of the inaugural ILDN National Enterprise Awards at the Gibson Hotel in Dublin.

The Red Door Coffee Shop in Carrig on Bannow, Mairead McDaid Chartered Physiotherapy and Neurological Rehabilitation in Taghmon and Wexford Lavender Farm in Inch were all competing in the final. Although they did not win the grand prize, the businesses received great praise from judges.

Brian Kehoe, CEO WLD was in attendance at the event and had much to say about the local finalists.

'All three Wexford based finalists should be extremely proud of themselves for their achievements in their businesses to date and for reaching the national final overall. The Inaugural Enterprise Awards pay tribute and acknowledge the remarkable achievements of entrepreneurs, who were previously unemployed and set up new businesses, creating employment for themselves and others. All finalists are great ambassadors of what can be achieved through the BtWEA and STEA schemes with the support from WLD who are very proud to be part of their successful journey,' he said.

The three Wexford businesses reached a list of 18 shortlisted finalists following regional heats across the country. The overall winner of the event was Derek Walker, Simply Natural Health, a wheatgrass production company based in Donegal.

Wexford Lavender Farm, The Red Door Cafe and Mairead McDaid Chartered Physiotherapy and Neurological Rehabilitation gained vast exposure through TV, radio and press during the contest. Irish TV also featured each of them on 'Wexford Matters'.
Paddy Delaney, who retired last week after 24 years providing photographic coverage for the New Ross Standard pictured with Mary Browne from Browne's Photography who has taken over the role

One of the most experienced newspaper photographers in the region, Mary Browne, has joined the New Ross Standard team.

Mary has worked for national, regional and local newspapers for three decades, having started working with her father PJ at his studio on Bridge Street.

Along with her brother Patrick she took over running her father's business when he retired and today they run Browne's Photography.

Mary said: 'As a child I used to go around with my Dad and after I finished school I started working in the studio. I've always had an interest in photography and I started off working in the darkrooms which no longer exist as it's all computer based now.

'It's a very interesting job because of all of the different people you meet and it's my job to capture the photographs and tell the story of their lives.'

Mary is married to Jimmy Sinnott and has two daughters, Emma and Nichola.

She has covered numerous major stories and sporting occasions over the years.

'I have worked for a number of national, regional and local newspapers and I am looking forward to working with the New Ross Standard. Over the years I've covered happy and sad occasions, stories of ordinary people in all different kinds of situations and I look forward to continuing my work with the New Ross Standard which covers a large area, providing excellent coverage to its readers across the district.'
Sea swimmers and beachgoers across Wexford are being warned to be vigilant following a number of sightings of the deadly Portuguese Man o' War on Irish shores.

Irish Water Safety has issued an alert to the public on our south, west and northwest coastline warning them to exercise caution following one of the largest infestations of the man o' war in the west in over a hundred years.

Reports of the jellyfish-like creature have already been made in Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo and Donegal in recent weeks. Although he said they are less likely to wash up in Wexford than on western shores, John Leech of Irish Water Safety said that the chance of their arrival is still there.

The Portuguese man o' war is purple-blue in appearance. Their tentacles can deliver a painful sting which can lead to shock and even death. Those who are stung are advised to remove tentacles, rub the affected area with seawater and seek medical attention.
Venice Commission president promises Groysman to help in review of reformatory laws

Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio have discussed the reform of power decentralization and the judicial reform in Ukraine.

According to the press service of the Ukrainian government, Groysman told Buquicchio Ukraine has established effective mechanisms to combat corruption.

"Today all the instruments of fight against corruption, including legislative, institutional, have been actually formed," he said.

He stressed the judicial system reform "will make it possible to close the circuit of inevitability of punishment, including for corruption manifestations."

Speaking about the decentralization reform, Groysman noted the process of uniting communities is gaining pace.

Buquicchio, in turn, praised the changes in Ukraine and assured the commission is ready to continue supporting the country on the path of reforms.
Relatives of a New Ross man who died fighting for the Australian Army in World War I are being sought in the locality to give him a final resting place.

Chairman of the Dublin branch of the Western Front Association, Ian Chambers recently received an email about Peter Shannon from The Fromelles Association of Australia, a not-for-profit organisation which is run entirely by volunteers. Since 2011 it has been providing genealogy and other assistance to families who are hoping to have their soldier identified through crowdfunding.

Peter was born in 1883 in New Ross. He came to Australia in the 1890s with his parents and siblings and joined the Australian Army in 1915 after working as a shearer at Merriwa in the Hunter Valley. He died at Fromelles in France and was one of about 1,300 Australians missing after the battle. His name is recorded with the others at the nearby VC Corner Memorial.

In 2008 a mass grave of 250 Australian soldiers was discovered at Fromelles. Peter is on the list created by the German Army of men they placed into the grave. So far 150 out of 250 sets of remains have been identified but Peter's remains have not yet been identified and currently he lays beneath a headstone marked as 'Known Unto God', none of his siblings in Australia had children and so the search is now on to find a relative of his descended from the extended Shannon family in New Ross in the late 1800's.

All of the soldiers were reburied in a new cemetery in 2010. DNA had been taken and now 150 have been identified mostly through family donating DNA.

In Peter's case, none of his siblings had children so The Fromelles Association must look for the DNA, commencing in Ireland.

Mr Chambers said: 'A living male Shannon who shares a male Shannon ancestor with Peter is sought. (The Y DNA line).'

Peter is listed on our Ancestry Tree 'Fromelles Soldiers'. Anyone with information on Peter can contact marg@rickarby.net

Mr Chambers can be also contacted by telephone on 01 8958831.
Award winning Wexford author Carmel Harrington is on top of the world after the launch of her fourth novel last week.

The Things I Should Have Told You was launched last Friday night in Wexford Book Centre just 24 hours after its Dublin launch in Dubrary Books on Grafton Street.

The Screen writer said she was overwhelmed by all the support and well wishes she got from everyone over the past couple of days and said both launches had been wonderful. She said that she was delighted with all the support she received from the Wexford Book Centre which had pulled out all the stops for the launch.

'It went great. It was a really lovely evening. George Lawlor spoke very eloquently as he always does and he was very funny. What made the evening very special as well was that he sang The Green Fields of France which features in the book.

'I read the extract from the book where the song is mentioned and then George sang which was very special. We hadn't told anyone we were planning that and what was really lovely was that the whole room joined in the chorus. It was a really warm moment.

'Maria Nolan of Wexford Literary Festival also spoke and presented me with flowers and the Wayside Players from Blackwater also presented me with flowers which was very unexpected but delightful.

'I was really spoilt on the night. My publisher Tony Pardue and my agent Tracy Brennan were also there on the night and Tracy had flown in from America to attend the launch. She surprised me with a special announcement saying that The Things I Should Have Told You has already been sold to four countries and will be translated into four different languages. That was a lovely surprise.

'These countries had bought the book on the strength of my other novels so it is expected that it will be translated into other languages too.'

Afterwards Carmel's family and friends went to Freddy's Bar in Screen for the after party and Carmel said that the staff there had also gone above and beyond to celebrate her success.

'He really did us proud. The pub was decorated with balloons and it was so special. I really had a wonderful couple of days and it was fabulous to share them with my family and friends.'
To much fanfare, Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald announced during the General Election campaign in October last year that Sligo was to get a new garda station under a Public Private Partnership.

Sligo, a regional headquarters was included in a new multi million euro building and refurbishment programme which will run from 2016 to 2021. The Minister saw at first hand the cramped conditions in Sligo when she visited the station with Deputy Tony McLoughlin during her attendance at the Cabinet meeting in Lissadell in July 2015.

However, no progress has been made on securing a new green field site on the outskirts of the city and it appears the Minister is now passing the issue over to the Office of Public Works. It was stated last year that as the Sligo project is a PPP it will be advanced in conjunction with the National Development Finance Agency and planning for these initiatives "will get underway in 2016."

FG Deputy McLoughlin asked the Minister last week in the Dail if the OPW had identified a location for the new station m and when construction would begin.

Minister Fitzgerald replied: "As the Deputy will appreciate, the Office of Public Works has the primary responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation and works closely with the Garda authorities in this regard. I have requested the information referred to in the Deputy's question and will revert to him as soon as I have this hand."
Canon George Butler, Sadie Agar, Kay Leeson, Sandra Power, Barry Reid, Shane Whyte and Darragh Keogh at the launch of a series of concerts in Aughrim

A series of exciting concerts at a local church venue were announced last Sunday.

The Reid and Byrne Band, led by Barry Reid and David Byrne from Aughrim announced a number of upcoming concerts at St John's Church of Ireland.

The band has already sold out a number of boutique concerts at the beautiful church venue in Aughrim.

Barry and David had a very successful meeting with Canon George and Alan Pearse last week and the church are backing them fully with their proposed ideas.

The band play their Poets of Song concert on Friday, October 7 and it promises to be another night to remember.

Tickets are available at (086) 8486821.

The band's next gig then takes place on November 5 at Lawless's Hotel in Aughrim.

The hotel has proposed a prize of a VIP overnight weekend in the honeymoon suite with concert tickets, to promote both the hotel and the band and is up for grabs through the Reid and Byrne Band Facebook page.

Just like, share and comment to be entered into the draw. Keep an eye on local press for another exciting announcement in the coming weeks.
The next BirdWatch Ireland outing for the Wicklow branch will be to Kilcoole to look for Autumn migrants.

This joint outing with the Dublin branch of BirdWatch Ireland takes place on Sunday, October 9. The meeting point is at Kilcoole Train Station car park at 10.30 a.m..

On Saturday the East Coast Nature Reserve held a volunteer work day where the main tasks were scrub clearance and the removal of brambles and gorse which was damaging fern.
Sam's Cookies, based in Bray, has won a number of awards at the Irish Quality Food Awards for its part in the Dunnes Stores 'Simply Better' food collection.

The company won the 'large' and 'small' cake categories for its 'Simply Better handmade All butter Lemon and Irish Blackcurrant Layer Cake' and 'Simply Better Handmade Belgian Chocolate Salted Caramel Shortbreat Slices.'

The company also won the 'Christmas Confectionary' category for its 'Simply Better Irish Handmade Dark Chocolate and Ginger Florentines' and the 'Christmas Cake' category for its 'Simply Better Hand Decorated Irish All Butter Christmas Cake'.

Over the years Sam's Cookies have won many awards for their biscuits and cakes, including an impressive 32 Awards from 'The Great Taste' and 'Blas na h'Eireann Irish Food Awards'. Family run since its inception, Sam and Keith Johnson of Sam's Cookies have grown their business based on traditional values. Located in picturesque County Wicklow, Key product categories include luxury cakes, specialists tray bakes, cookies, mini tasty treats, snack bars and seasonal cakes.

'We are thrilled to have received awards for our Simply Better cakes created with Wicklow food producers, Sam's Cookies, and would like to congratulate them,' said Diarmuid Murphy, Dunnes Stores 'Simply Better' brand manager.
Carol Hogan and her partner Alan have been renting the same property privately in Arklow for the past eight years while remaining on the Social Housing waiting list for over ten years.

The couple currently live in Knockmore in a three bedroom rented property they share with their four kids aged fourteen, seven, five and two.

Carol has actually been on the list for over 14 years, four by herself and ten as a couple with Alan.

'We aren't on the RAS Scheme because it would mean we lose our place on the housing waiting list. Alan works and neither of us collect social welfare. I stay at home minding the kids. If I worked it would cost us an absolute fortune in childcare fees, around 400 to 500 for each child. We just couldn't afford that.

'I feel like we have been forgotten about. The levels of frustration would drive you mad. I have to say Wicklow County Council have been a lot more helpful than Arklow Town Council ever were. We are receiving much more feedback. Wicklow County Council seem to be doing a proper job and going through the correct procedure.'

Carol also considers herself lucky that she has an understanding landlord who hasn't placed the family unit under pressure by demanding rent increases, but the uncertainty over what the future holds remains.

'We would be in big trouble if the rent was raised but at the moment we aren't at risk of being made homeless and our landlord has been great and we are very grateful for that, but it's still not our house. We can't paint it or put our stamp on it like we could our own home. It is stressful on us. The uncertainty and lack of security is what gets to you the most. We know that we could just be given three months notice and we would have to leave.'

Carol also feels that she and her family have been left in limbo when it comes to securing a more permanent home, with a lack of savings making it impossible for them to secure mortgage, despite have spent 65,000 in rent at their current accommodation where they have been living for the past eight years.

'We only have around 40 left over every month from living expenses and rent. It makes things really hard. Because of our lack of savings, we can't get a mortgage, even though we have proved we are reliable tenants.

"The 65,000 we have spent on rent over eight years is pretty much the equivalent of paying a mortgage over that time. I think the banks should look at that as evidence that we would be a reliable couple when it came to mortgage repayments. We may have no savings but we have proved we are reliable at making payments.'

One vacant local authority owned house faces Carol's current abode and she regards that as the ideal location for her and her young family.

'It's difficult when you have four kids involved. Three of the kids have lived here in Knockmore all their lives. They have friends here and I wouldn't want to move them away from that. All the neighbour's kids are friends with us.

"My eldest found it difficult when we first moved to Knockmore. He had to leave his old friends at a young age and it was difficult for him. I wouldn't want my other kids to go through the same thing.'
Flooding at Holywell Crescent on January 7 this year

The fire brigade, civil defence and Wicklow County Council have looked at Kilcoole's Holywell estate with developers following flooding earlier this year.

At their monthly meeting last week, members of Greystones Municipal District heard that the developer has had consultants make plans and maps which council engineers have reviewed.

The council and residents are happy with the proposal.

Cllr Gerry Walsh had asked engineer Ruairi O'Hanlon for information on the matter after eight Holywell Crescent homes were flooded in the early hours of Thursday, January 7.

Members also heard that a range of severe weather works have been carried out around the district, including on the R761 at Newcastle, Sea Road in Newcastle and Church Road in Newcastle.

On Old Downs Road in Willow Grove, a contractor has been appointed to raise the level of the road.
Wicklow's talented food and drink producers are being offered the chance to showcase their skills at a national level, thanks to Ireland's artisan food festival, Bite 2016.

They also have a chance to win a free stand at the second annual festival if they manage to impress the organisers with a brief description of their services.

Festival organisers are on a nationwide hunt for talented food and beverage producers for the event, which will be held in Dublin's RDS from November 18-20.

It will be a chance for Wicklow producers to exhibit their product to the 20,000 Irish food and drink lovers who are expected to descend on the festival in the run-up to the Christmas season.

Already taking part in the festival are Brod Kearon of Nature's Gold Olive Oil in Greystones, Kathy Grace of Hawthorn Lane in Enniskerry which produces homemade chutney, jams and sauces; and Leonie Ferguson of Lainey's Handmade Foods in Kilquade, a producer of chocolate biscuit cake and Christmas pudding.

'Bite 2016 promotes Ireland's vastly expanding artisan food and craft drinks sector, letting people with an interest in food experience just how much quality that we have in the field to the plate industry,' said organiser Patrick O'Sullivan.

'Many of the artisans who will take part in the festival go on to achieve success nationally, and in some cases internationally. Now we want to offer talented people, who maybe unknown outside of their locality, the chance to bring their expertise, ideas and experiences to a wider audience,' he added.

Bite will feature top chefs and food experts as well as a huge range of producers, who are there to sell, sample and educate people about their unique products.

This year's festival will also feature a range of winners from the Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards, the biggest competition for quality Irish produce.

Presented by the organisers of the National Crafts and Design Fair, Bite is Ireland's first and foremost interactive food expo, with attractions for all the family.

Artisans in Wicklow who would like to win a free stand at the Bite festival in November are asked to write a brief 150-word description of their practice and why they deserve to be chosen. Entries, including full name and contact details and the name of this publication can be sent to info@bitefoodfestival.ie. The closing date for the competition is Friday, October 28.

Bite takes place at the RDS Main Hall from November 18-20. Full details and booking can be found at www.bitefoodfestival.ie
Deirdre Pemberton watches as her daughter Grainne Rose Allen receives her Naughton Foundation Scholarship from Dr Martin Naughton, Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD and Carmel Naughton

A former East Glendalough student has been awarded a scholarship and accepted a place at Trinity College Dublin.

Grainne Rose Allen is the County Wicklow winner of the Naughton Foundation Scholarships which was established in 2008 and has presented a total of 2 million to 135 young people over the past eight years in the fields of science, engineering and technology.

There is a guaranteed scholarship worth 20,000 for each participating county, with each scholarship worth 5,000 per annum for each year of the student's three or four year undergraduate degree.

Grainne is currently studying Science in Trinity College Dublin.

Last week, she returned to East Glendalough for their awards night and received the Nelson Cup for achieving the highest Leaving Certificate points.

Her scholarship win also saw East Glendalough presented with a prize of 1,000 toward their science facilities.
Poroshenko: it is necessary to speed up investigation into cases against Kurchenko

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko considers it necessary to speed up the investigation into criminal cases against businessman Serhiy Kurchenko.

"We will do everything to accelerate the investigation and the objects that belong to him [Kurchenko] are not stolen from the state," Poroshenko told reporters during a visit to Odesa region.

In his opinion, Kurchenko is a criminal, and therefore he is on the wanted list and a criminal case against him was initiated.

Kurchenko has been put on the international wanted list. During the investigation the pre-trial authority arrested the property and other assets of the suspects for a total of more than UAH 2.8 billion.

Kurchenko figures in the criminal proceedings as the leader of a criminal organization, which in 2010 - early 2014 committed serious crimes in the sphere of business operations with liquefied gas.
Peadar Smith laying the wreath on the grave of 1916 veteran Tom Cullen at Rathnew cemetery

A hero of the 1916 Rising was honoured at a special wreath laying ceremony held in Rathnew Cemetery.

Tom Cullen was a 1916 veteran who commanded the Wicklow Town Corps of the IRA prior to his arrest in 1918.

He went on to become Michael Collins' right hand man up until his death from accidental drowning in 1926.

Until the mid-60s, Dublin and Wicklow IRA Veterans used to hold an annual ceremony of remembrance in his honour.

The last occasion such a ceremony was held at Cullen's graveside was in September 1966.

After a 50 year absence, it was decided to mark the 50th anniversary of Tom Cullen's death by once again holding a wreath laying ceremony in his honour.

The meeting place was St Brigid's Hall, followed by a walk to Cullen's grave. After the ceremony, a talk was held in the hall about Cullen's journey from Wicklow to Collins' side in the intelligence war.

After the death of Collins in 1922, Tom Cullen lead the procession carrying his coffin to its final resting place in Dublin's Glasnevin Cemetery.

In his biography of Michael Collins, Irish Historian Tim Pat Coogan credits Cullen, and two others, with completing the intelligence team which broke the Dublin Castle spy system.

By that stage he was a seasoned veteran and was one of the closest associates Collins had, rising to the rank of Major General.
A campaign to raise 50,000 for former Emmerdale actress Leah Bracknell to undergo ground-breaking treatment for cancer has hit its target.

The sum was reached days after the appeal was launched on donations website gofundme.com as more than 2,000 donations were made.

Bracknell, who played Zoe Tate in the Yorkshire Dales-based ITV series for 16 years from 1989 to 2005, and her partner Jez Hughes set up the campaign to send her for treatment in Germany.

The 52-year-old mother-of-two has been working as a yoga instructor in recent years but is well-known for her Emmerdale storylines.

Bracknell, whose real name is Alison and is known to her family as Ali, only discovered she was battling terminal lung cancer five weeks ago.

She and Mr Hughes wrote about the devastating news and their hopes to save her life on the donation page.

In her fundraising appeal, she 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 she had an emergency procedure to remove excess fluid from around her heart but was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.

Video of the Day

She wrote: "In their opinion, that means it's terminal, not curable, not operable."

She said her priority is "getting well and strong" to be a "good mother, daughter, wife, or at least the best I can be", and that she wants to "defy expectation".

Mr Hughes explained more about what the funds were for, adding that the couple did their research and discovered "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."
Battle of Hastings re-enactors pass a pub in London on their 300-mile march to Hastings from Clifford's Tower in York (English Heritage/PA)

Armed troops loyal to the realm marched into the heart of London on Saturday - as part of a historical re-enactment marking 950 years since the Norman conquest.

Equipped with spears, shields and medieval helmets, historical actors invaded Hyde Park as the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings approaches.

Not shying away from the weight of historical authenticity, the force has spent weeks re-creating King Harold's march from Clifford's Tower in York to Battle, East Sussex, where they will arrive next week.

A "Saxon" encampment, organised by English Heritage, was installed in the central London park boasting weapons, food and pottery demonstrations among a host of other activities.

A makeshift battlefield will be created in Hastings on October 15 and 16 so that warfare can be staged between 1,066 Norman and Saxon troops.

In 1066, Harold's Saxon army had marched north to Yorkshire, where he defeated an invading Norwegian army led by Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire on September 25.

However, while they were in the north William's Norman army landed on the south coast, forcing Harold's battle-weary troops to march south to fight for a second time near Hastings.

Speaking at the encampment in London on Saturday, one of the Saxon warriors was brimming with confidence ahead of the expected encounter.

He told in Press Association: "We've just beaten the most fearsome Viking general the world has ever seen.

"Once he was the commander of the Varangian guard, an elite body of troops, and we've just soundly beaten them - so yes, we're feeling confident."

Unfortunately, history had a different plan for the defending army - who were defeated on October 14 1066.

The battle - the bloodshed of which was later immortalised in the Bayeux Tapestry - saw King Harold slain on the field of conflict, reputedly by an arrow through the eye. His demise and the subsequent installation of William the Conqueror helped reshape the course of British history.

Nigel Amos, 50, is one of the men leading the march down to East Sussex and has been involved in re-enactments around the period for more than two decades.

He said: "This march has been done before, several people have done this, 10 years ago some guys marched down on foot, but what interested me when English Heritage asked me about this was the possibility of doing it as Harold would have done, with troops on foot and on horseback."

He added: "As we've been travelling down the country we've been seeing the evidence, as the names of the towns turn from Viking names to Saxon names and then you see the Norman influence.

"You really do see that actually we were then, and continue to be so, a melting pot of people and that's what keeps us vibrant."
US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has vowed not to quit the race for the White House.

After video footage emerged which showed the Republican nominee making crude comments about women, he told the Washington Post on Saturday morning: "I'd never withdraw. I've never withdrawn in my life."

He also told the Wall Street Journal there was "zero chance I'll quit" in the battle with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

The comments came as a growing number of Republican figures urged Mr Trump to leave the race for the White House after a video surfaced which captured him making vulgar and sexually charged comments about women.

Mr Trump said he has also been getting calls of support after the footage dating from 2005 emerged.

However, his running mate, the Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, said he cannot condone or defend Mr Trump's comments about women.

Mr Pence said: "As a husband and a father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video released yesterday.

"I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologised to the American people."

He continued: "We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night."

Mrs Clinton called Mr Trump's remarks "horrific".

She said in a Twitter message: "We cannot allow this man to become president."

Republican leaders from Utah to Alabama called on Mr Trump to leave the presidential race as the party struggled to grapple with the crisis.

However, US House Speaker Paul Ryan and various other high-profile Republicans refused to abandon their nominee, who has long faced criticism from within his own party, but never to this degree.

Frustration turned to panic across the party with early voting already under way in some states, and with and election day just one month away.

Nebraska senator Ben Sasse tweeted that Mr Trump "is obviously not going to win," adding: "But he can still make an honorable move: Step aside & let (running mate) Mike Pence try."

In a videotaped apology, Mr Trump declared "I was wrong and I apologis e" after being caught on tape bragging about aggressively groping women in 2005.

He also defiantly dismissed the revelations as "nothing more than a distraction" from a decade ago and signalled he would press his presidential campaign by arguing that Mrs Clinton has committed greater sins against women.

"I've said some foolish things," Mr Trump said in a video posted on his Facebook page early on Saturday.

"But there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims."

Mr Trump addressed what was arguably the most difficult day of his candidacy on Twitter later on Saturday morning: "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!"

Republican strategist Terry Sullivan, who previously led Marco Rubio's presidential campaign, said of Mr Trump's White House battle: "It's over.

"The only good news is that in 30 days Trump will be back to being just a former reality TV star like the Kardashians, and Republican candidates across America will no longer be asked to respond to his stupid remarks."

Some Trump loyalists defended their nominee. "I still have my Trump sign on my yard and everybody on my street does too," said Pennsylvania party chairman Rob Gleason. "It's business as usual, with door-knocking today."

He went on: "I don't agree with what was said - it's not a good thing to be saying." But he added: "campaigns are filled with lots of ups and downs".

In the tape obtained by The Washington Post and NBC News, Mr Trump is heard describing attempts 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. You can do anything," he says in the previously unaired comments. He adds seconds later: "Grab them by the p****. You can do anything."

Alabama representative Martha Roby said Mr Trump's newly disclosed comments make him "unacceptable" for the presidency.

Mr Trump should "step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket," she said in a statement.

House Speaker Mr Ryan said he was "sickened" by Mr Trump's remarks, and revoked an invitation for the nominee to appear at a party event in Wisconsin. But Mr Ryan stopped short of withdrawing his endorsement.

Utah senator Mike Lee, like Utah representative Jason Chaffetz, said Mr Trump had finally gone too far.

"You, sir, are the distraction," Mr Lee told him in a video posted to his Facebook page after Mr Trump's apology. "Your conduct, sir, is the distraction."

Mr Lee called on Mr Trump to abandon his campaign, saying it was time for the Republican Party to "expect more. There is no need for us to settle".
Detectives searching for missing British toddler Ben Needham on Kos have said they are extending their stay on the Greek island.

Officers have begun looking at a second search area close to where Ben, then 21 months old, disappeared from a farmhouse in 1991.

Detective Inspector Jon Cousins told reporters initial work at this site revealed the underlying ground is compacted material deposited over the last 30 years.

Mr Cousins said the team will remove this layer in the same they excavated the first site they focused on in their two weeks on the island.

"That means I have made a decision that we're extending our stay here," Mr Cousins told the daily briefing on the island.

"We are going to be doing this to give me the confidence that I've done everything I can.

Expand Close Ben Needham's mother and sister appearing on Greek televsion to appeal for information about his whereabouts (Alpha TV) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Ben Needham's mother and sister appearing on Greek televsion to appeal for information about his whereabouts (Alpha TV)

"I am lifting all the earth behind us. We're going to work through it in similar fashion to what we've done up at the farmhouse."

He said: "The team are 100pc behind this. And every single one of them, including the volunteers, are adamant that they are staying for this period of time. It's got to be done.

"I've got to be able, when I leave Kos, I know myself, when I sit down the family, I can tell them that we've done everything we can to find an answer in relation to what happened to Ben."

Asked how much longer the team would stay, he said: "Probably at least two or three days."

Mr Cousins scotched rumours that his officers were searching a third site on Kos.

He confirmed he had been given information about another area where digger driver Konstantinos Barkas deposited rubble 25 years ago.

The current operation was prompted by information that Mr Barkas, also known as Dino, was clearing land with an excavator close to where the Sheffield toddler was playing on the day he vanished and may be responsible for his death.

But Mr Cousins said that while his team was taking the new information seriously there was no active third search area. He said the current searches are based on specific intelligence.

Mr Barkas reportedly died of stomach cancer last year.

Ben's mother, Kerry Needham, had been warned to "prepare for the worst".

On Saturday, Mr Cousins said he had had a long conversation with Mrs Needham to update her on the search and he was encouraged that the family was still supportive of what his team was doing.
Elderly people are being targeted by a fake mattress scam as con men are flogging beds which they claim have the latest hi-tech memory foam, but are actually stolen from skips and refurbished.

The UK Local Government Association is reporting a steep rise in reports of doorstep traders offering bogus "Dreams" mattresses out of the back of vans, with the figure rising ten-fold over the past two years in some areas.

Some of the mattresses it had seized and tested looked new but were "filthy" inside and contained dead human skin and urine stains.

Others had fake fire-resistant labels and failed fire safety tests, meaning the could pose a potential hazard in people's homes.

The salesmen are convincing members of the public by presenting legitimate looking paperwork for customers to sign. However it contains false or limited contact details which makes it almost impossible for a consumer to get their money back under the 14-day "cooling off period".

It comes amid a boom in legitimate companies offering "advanced" memory foam mattresses which mould to the shape of sleepers, and claim to offer a better night's rest for those with back problems.

Devon and Somerset Trading Standards Service has issued a warning to residents after it saw a tenfold increase in mattress scam complaints, from two in 2014 to 20 between January and August this year.

Meanwhile Dorset County Council prosecuted a trader for possessing 213 mattresses - and supplying two - which failed fire safety tests, and Enfield Council prosecuted a father and son who used false trade marks on mattresses and misleading van signage.

Simon Blackburn, chairman of the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: "These unscrupulous traders have no interest in the safety of the products they sell and some have now taken to selling mattresses which could create a fireball in people's homes if they catch light.

"These fly-by-night sellers don't care about the risks these mattresses pose, they just want to make a quick buck and leave you with phoney details so they can't be traced.

"Anyone offered a cheap mattress on their doorstep should not buy one. People should only buy mattresses from reputable suppliers."

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Police officers secure a residential area in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, Saturday Oct. 8,2016. German police have raided an apartment building in the eastern city of Chemnitz after receiving information someone may be planning a bombing attack. (Arno Burgi/dpa via AP)

Police officers secure a residential area in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, Saturday Oct. 8,2016. German police have raided an apartment building in the eastern city of Chemnitz after receiving information someone may be planning a bombing attack. (Arno Burgi/dpa via AP)

Three people have been arrested after German police found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided in connection with a Syrian man suspected of planning a bomb attack in the eastern city of Chemnitz.

Saxony police spokesman Tom Bernhardt said the explosives were "relatively well hidden" in the apartment, which was raided earlier in the day.

Expand Close Jaber Albakr. Picture: Saschen Police / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Jaber Albakr. Picture: Saschen Police

Police are still searching for the suspect, identified as 22-year-old Jaber Albakr, from Damascus.

Mr Bernhardt said two people who knew Albakr were taken into custody in the Chemnitz train station area, with a third held in Chemnitz centre.

The three are being questioned.

Mr Bernhardt said the explosives were not considered stable enough to move and they would likely be destroyed in place once other residents in the area have been evacuated.

The apartment was raided after local authorities received a tip from Germany's domestic intelligence agency that the suspect might be there, and that he was thought to be planning a bomb attack.

When police knocked down the door, however, no-one was inside.

Expand Close Police cars are lined up in front of an appartment building in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. No details were given so far for the operation. (Bernd Maerz/dpa via AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Police cars are lined up in front of an appartment building in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. No details were given so far for the operation. (Bernd Maerz/dpa via AP)

Saxony police put out an alert, identifying the suspect and urging anyone with any information of his whereabouts to contact authorities.

They released a photo of a dark-haired man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and said he was last seen wearing similar clothes.

"We have to assume that he is dangerous," Mr Bernhardt said.

Authorities have not said where they think the suspected attack was going to take place.

According to reports, the suspect is believed to be connected to Islamic extremist groups. Mr Bernhardt said, however, that police are still trying to determine what his motivation might be and would only say he was "known" to German intelligence.

Authorities released no details about how long the suspect had been in Germany, and Mr Bernhardt said it was unclear whether he had come in the wave of asylum-seekers in 2015.

Germany took in 890,000 asylum-seekers last year, with Syrians fleeing civil war forming the single largest group.

Neighbours reported hearing an explosion during the raid, but that was the police assault team blowing open the apartment door, police spokeswoman Kathlen Zink revealed.

Germany has been on edge since two attacks this summer claimed by Islamic State in which multiple people were injured and both assailants died.

Two other attacks unrelated to Islamic extremism, including a deadly mall shooting in Munich, have also contributed to heightened fears.
UK Independence Party MEP, Steven Woolfe, lying face-down on a walk-way inside the European Parliament building in Strasbourg in eastern France. Picture: AFP PHOTO / ITV NEWS

Steven Woolfe is being kept in hospital for another 48 hours for observation

Steven Woolfe is coming under pressure to abandon his Ukip leadership bid following his altercation with a fellow MEP which left the frontrunner in hospital.

Senior party figures suggested Mr Woolfe's apparent willingness to resort to violence rendered him unfit for leadership.

Mr Woolfe, who is recovering in hospital in Strasbourg, sought to extend the "hand of friendship" to Mike Hookem, the other MEP involved in the confrontation in the European Parliament.

But while Mr Hookem dismissed the incident as a "handbags at dawn, girl-on-girl" scuffle, he insisted he had not thrown any punches and that Mr Woolfe had been the aggressor.

Meanwhile, president of the European Parliament Martin Schultz announced that he is launching an investigation into the conduct of the two MEPs, which could see them suspended from voting and having their expenses cut.

Mr Hookem said reports that he punched the MEP were incorrect.

He told the Press Association: "That's totally wrong. I never touched him, never hit him, never punched him, never slapped him or anything else I've been accused of doing."

Mr Hookem said the flashpoint came when Mr Woolfe told him: "Well if that's the tone of this meeting, maybe me and you should take it outside the room, mano-a-mano."

He said Mr Woolfe then picked up his jacket and went out of the room.

"So, I went out of the room into this small anteroom where he came at me. And what occurred was a tussle.

"The door opened. I backed off. Steven fell through the door and I went back to sit back down again."
Poroshenko orders preparations for talks with Brazil on treaty on mutual legal assistance in civil cases

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ordered setting up a Ukrainian delegation to participate in the negotiations with Brazil on preparing a draft treaty on mutual legal assistance in civil cases.

Corresponding presidential decree No. 438/2016 of October 8, 2016 has been posted on the official website of the president.

According to the decree, the president instructed the Justice Ministry in coordination with the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine to approve instructions for the Ukrainian delegation for the talks, and the Cabinet of Ministers to provide the financing of related activities.

The document also invalidates the presidential decree on the Ukrainian delegation to participate in preparing a draft agreement with Brazil dated October 3, 2013 (No. 315).
Three people have been arrested after German police found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided in connection with a Syrian man suspected of planning a bomb attack in the eastern city of Chemnitz.

Saxony police spokesman Tom Bernhardt said the explosives were "relatively well hidden" in the apartment, which was raided earlier in the day.

Police are still searching for the suspect, identified as 22-year-old Jaber Albakr, from Damascus.

Mr Bernhardt said two people who knew Albakr were taken into custody in the Chemnitz train station area, with a third held in Chemnitz centre.

The three are being questioned.

Mr Bernhardt said the explosives were not considered stable enough to move and they would likely be destroyed in place once other residents in the area have been evacuated.

The apartment was raided after local authorities received a tip from Germany's domestic intelligence agency that the suspect might be there, and that he was thought to be planning a bomb attack.

When police knocked down the door, however, no-one was inside.

Saxony police put out an alert, identifying the suspect and urging anyone with any information of his whereabouts to contact authorities.

They released a photo of a dark-haired man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and said he was last seen wearing similar clothes.

"We have to assume that he is dangerous," Mr Bernhardt said.

Authorities have not said where they think the suspected attack was going to take place.

According to reports, the suspect is believed to be connected to Islamic extremist groups. Mr Bernhardt said, however, that police are still trying to determine what his motivation might be and would only say he was "known" to German intelligence.

Authorities released no details about how long the suspect had been in Germany, and Mr Bernhardt said it was unclear whether he had come in the wave of asylum-seekers in 2015.

Germany took in 890,000 asylum-seekers last year, with Syrians fleeing civil war forming the single largest group.

Neighbours reported hearing an explosion during the raid, but that was the police assault team blowing open the apartment door, police spokeswoman Kathlen Zink revealed.

Germany has been on edge since two attacks this summer claimed by Islamic State in which multiple people were injured and both assailants died.

Two other attacks unrelated to Islamic extremism, including a deadly mall shooting in Munich, have also contributed to heightened fears.

AP
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West at this year's MTV Video Music Awards in New York City

Kanye West has returned to his tour after cancelling dates when his wife Kim Kardashian West was robbed at gunpoint in Paris.

The rapper resumed the Saint Pablo Tour in his home town of Chicago on Friday night. He did not mention the crime at the show but did tell the crowd: "It's good to be home."

West abruptly cut short a New York concert earlier this week citing a "family emergency". It was later reported that robbers held his wife at gunpoint on Monday and locked her in the bathroom of a Paris residence before stealing jewellery worth more than 10 million dollars (8m).

The reality TV star returned to the US later and West announced that he had rescheduled for December planned concerts in Philadelphia on Tuesday and in the Detroit area on Thursday .

AP
The moderate Islamist Party of Justice and Development has won Morocco's national elections, according to official results.

The result came 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.

The Interior Ministry said the PJD won 125 of the 395 seats in the Chamber of Representatives.

The Party of Authenticity and Modernity, founded by an adviser to the king, won 102 seats.

No party won a majority, so the PJD will probably need to create a coalition government.

The party won elections in 2011, riding a wave of Arab Spring protests demanding political reform. Worries about youth joblessness and Islamic extremism were on many voters' minds.

"Today democracy won," said prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane as the results were coming in.

"After leading the government for five years, after implementing reforms, after its achievements, after carefully managing the budget and reforms with the retirement fund ... after widening health care coverage, after all of this - thanks be to God - today, the Moroccan people have given the PJD a victory."

The results are being closely watched by Morocco's neighbours, who see it as a model of relative stability and prosperity in the region, and are important for Morocco's allies in the West, who have investment deals with the North African nation and share intelligence in fighting Islamic State.

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 IS in Iraq and Syria, and earlier this week authorities dismantled a cell of women linked to IS allegedly plotting an attack on election day.

Mr Benkirane's PJD has dominated parliament since the last legislative elections in 2011, and led a government coalition composed of several parties with differing ideologies.

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.

Turnout was slightly lower than in the past national elections in 2011, at 43%.

Ninety of the chamber's seats were reserved for women and youth chosen proportionally from the lists of the winning parties.

Reports and videos surfaced online about alleged voting violations, including ballot stuffing, votes cast 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. About 4,000 Moroccan and international observers were monitoring the elections.

AP
A former social media guru for Fine Gael has been convicted of federal crimes in the United States.

Ravneet Ravi Singh (44), a self-proclaimed campaign guru, was convicted of illegally channelling over $500,000 (448,380) to support two former mayoral candidates in San Diego, California in September.

The consultants first contact with Fine Gael was in July 2010 and he then came on board to drive Fine Gaels online election campaign the following year.

While speaking in Dublin, he talked about how it was his idea to temporarily shut down Fine Gaels website and replacing it with a video of Enda Kenny, inviting people to share their views. He also claimed responsibility for the ticker tape comment feature on their website.

Singh was arrested by the FBI in January 2014 and charged over conspiring to finance campaigns using money from wealthy Mexican businessman Jose Susumo Azano Matsura. He was also charged for falsifying records of the spending.

Singh pleaded not guilty and his trial began on July 26.

Prosecutors say that Singh had been paid $290,000 (258,900) of the some $500,000 (446,380) Azano funneled to the candidates as well as the San Diego County Democratic Party and the DCCC through car dealer Marc Chase and Ernie Encinas, a former San Diego police detective.

Both men, who used straw donors to distribute the funds, pleaded guilty in 2014 trials.

According to authorities, Azano was trying to get a friendly politician into the mayors office so he could build a Miami-style development on the waterfront in San Diego.

According to Singhs LinkedIn page he has worked over 21 countries and helped over nine heads of state. He claims he has helped corporate executives, celebrities and organisations understand the full potential and importance of digital marketing and social media in today's world.

Singh was convicted on all charges by a jury in San Diego on Friday after a trial which began on July 26.

He is due to be sentenced in December.

On the conspiracy count alone, Singh faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, $250,000 (223,190)fine and a $100 (89) special assessment, according to the US Justice Department.

He also claimed to be one of the consultants responsible for digital media on President Obamas 2008 campaign, and according to Politico this helped him land work on several campaigns including for Fine Gael, a Brazilian presidential candidate, and Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos.
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

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)

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

Hurricane Matthew killed almost 900 people and left tens of thousands homeless in Haiti before plowing northward over waters just off the US southeast.

The number of deaths in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, surged to at least 877 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 triggered mass evacuations along the U.S. 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.

"The potential for storm surge, loss of life and severe property damage exists," Obama told reporters after a briefing with emergency management officials about the fiercest cyclone to affect the United States since Superstorm Sandy four years ago.

Matthew smashed through Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mile-per-hour (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.

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

Twitter

Email

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)

While highlighting the misery of underdevelopment in Haiti, which is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake, the storm looked certain to rekindle the debate about global warming and the long-term threat posed by rising sea levels to low-lying cities and towns.

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 were killed, 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."

Expand Close The roof of a gas lays collapsed in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Bahamas, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. The head of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Authority, Capt. Stephen Russell, said there were many downed trees and power lines, but no reports of casualties. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The roof of a gas lays collapsed in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Bahamas, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. The head of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Authority, Capt. Stephen Russell, said there were many downed trees and power lines, but no reports of casualties. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)

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.

FOUR KILLED IN FLORIDA

Matthew sideswiped Florida's coast with winds of up to 120 mph (195 kph) but did not make landfall in the state. 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.

There were at least four storm-related deaths in Florida but no immediate reports of significant damage in cities and towns where the storm swamped streets, toppled trees and knocked out power to more than 1 million people.

Two people were killed by falling trees, according to Florida officials, and an elderly couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator while sheltering from the storm inside a garage.

Expand Expand Previous Next Close A fallen tree is seen outside a house in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in 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 / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp A fallen tree is seen outside a house in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Reuters

Hurricane warnings early on Saturday extended up the Atlantic coast from northeast Florida through Georgia and South Carolina and into North Carolina.

Flash flood warnings were also in effect as 15 inches (40 cm) of rain was expected to accumulate in parts of the region along with storm surges and high tides, the National Weather Service said.

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..

At 1:45 a.m. EDT (0545 GMT), Matthew's eye was about 95 miles (155 km) south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and moving northward at 12 mph (19 kph), the NHC said.

After passing near or over the coast of Georgia it was on a track that would put it near or over South Carolina later on Saturday. Though gradually weakening, it was forecast to remain a hurricane until it begins moving away from the U.S. Southeast on Sunday, the NHC said.

RELUCTANT TO LEAVE

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 St. Augustine just south of Jacksonville, Florida, about half of the 14,000 residents refused to heed evacuation orders despite warnings of an 8-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.

Television images later showed water surging through streets in 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.
Donald Trump has vowed not to quit the US presidential race, despite calls from leading Republicans to step aside.

Actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger became the latest high-profile party member to withdraw his support after video footage emerged which showed the Republican nominee making crude comments about women.

Trump told the Washington Post on Saturday morning: "I'd never withdraw. I've never withdrawn in my life."

He also told the Wall Street Journal there was "zero chance I'll quit" in the battle with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Expand Close Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Photo: AP / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Photo: AP

The comments came as a growing number of Republican figures urged Mr Trump to leave the race for the White House after a video surfaced which captured him making vulgar and sexually charged comments about women.

Read More

In a statement, released on twitter, Schwarzenegger said: "As proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else - American.

"So I want to take a moment to remind my fellow Republicans that it is not only acceptable to choose your country over your party - it is your duty."

As proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else - American. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/biRvY8S3aZ  Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) October 8, 2016

The Terminator actor admits that he has been "conflicted" by the election and went on to say that for the first time since he became a citizen in 1983 he is not going to vote for the Republican candidate for President.

Mr Trump said he has also been getting calls of support after the footage dating from 2005 emerged.

Expand Close Picture @Schwarzenegger / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Picture @Schwarzenegger

Mrs Clinton called Mr Trump's remarks "horrific".

She said in a Twitter message: "We cannot allow this man to become president."

Republican leaders from Utah to Alabama called on Mr Trump to leave the presidential race as the party struggled to grapple with the crisis.

However, US House Speaker Paul Ryan and various other high-profile Republicans refused to abandon their nominee, who has long faced criticism from within his own party, but never to this degree.

Frustration turned to panic across the party with early voting already under way in some states, and with and election day just one month away.

Nebraska senator Ben Sasse tweeted that Mr Trump "is obviously not going to win," adding: "But he can still make an honorable move: Step aside & let (running mate) Mike Pence try."

In a videotaped apology, Mr Trump declared "I was wrong and I apologise" after being caught on tape bragging about aggressively groping women in 2005.

He also defiantly dismissed the revelations as "nothing more than a distraction" from a decade ago and signalled he would press his presidential campaign by arguing that Mrs Clinton has committed greater sins against women.

"I've said some foolish things," Mr Trump said in a video posted on his Facebook page early on Saturday.

"But there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims."

Mr Trump addressed what was arguably the most difficult day of his candidacy on Twitter later on Saturday morning: "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!"

Republican strategist Terry Sullivan, who previously led Marco Rubio's presidential campaign, said of Mr Trump's White House battle: "It's over.

"The only good news is that in 30 days Trump will be back to being just a former reality TV star like the Kardashians, and Republican candidates across America will no longer be asked to respond to his stupid remarks."

Some Trump loyalists defended their nominee. "I still have my Trump sign on my yard and everybody on my street does too," said Pennsylvania party chairman Rob Gleason. "It's business as usual, with door-knocking today."

He went on: "I don't agree with what was said - it's not a good thing to be saying." But he added: "campaigns are filled with lots of ups and downs".

In the tape obtained by The Washington Post and NBC News, Mr Trump is heard describing attempts 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. You can do anything," he says in the previously unaired comments. He adds seconds later: "Grab them by the p****. You can do anything."

Alabama representative Martha Roby said Mr Trump's newly disclosed comments make him "unacceptable" for the presidency.

Mr Trump should "step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket," she said in a statement.

House Speaker Mr Ryan said he was "sickened" by Mr Trump's remarks, and revoked an invitation for the nominee to appear at a party event in Wisconsin. But Mr Ryan stopped short of withdrawing his endorsement.

Utah senator Mike Lee, like Utah representative Jason Chaffetz, said Mr Trump had finally gone too far.

"You, sir, are the distraction," Mr Lee told him in a video posted to his Facebook page after Mr Trump's apology. "Your conduct, sir, is the distraction."

Mr Lee called on Mr Trump to abandon his campaign, saying it was time for the Republican Party to "expect more. There is no need for us to settle".
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 (3.5m) 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 August 28, 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 October 17, 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 settlement plus nearly $675,000 (around 602,613) 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 (78,012).

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.

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.
Rescue workers at the site of air strikes in the al-Sakhour neighbourhood of eastern Aleppo (Syrian Civil Defence White Helmets /AP)

Rival resolutions on Syria backed by the West and Russia have been defeated in the UN Security Council - offering no relief to the besieged city of Aleppo and leaving the key powers divided over a course of action.

Russia vetoed a French-drafted resolution demanding an immediate halt to the bombing campaign the Syrian government and Russia are carrying out against rebel-held districts in Aleppo.

A rival Russian draft which made no mention of a bombing halt was rejected because it failed to get the minimum nine "yes" votes needed for approval by the 15-member council.

Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the current rotating council president, said before the votes that members were engaging in "one of the strangest spectacles" in the Security Council, because they were meeting knowing that neither resolution would be adopted.

"This waste of time is inadmissible," he said.

The votes reflected the deep divisions in the UN's most powerful body which is charged with ensuring international peace and security but has totally failed to take action to end the five-year Syrian conflict which has killed more than 300,000 people and displaced millions.

The French-backed resolution received 11 "yes" votes, two "no" votes from Russia and Venezuela, and abstentions from China and Angola. The Russian resolution received four "yes" votes, nine "no" votes, and two abstentions.

It was the fifth veto by Russia of a western-backed resolution aimed at ending the Syrian conflict.

When Syria's UN ambassador Bashar Ja'afari started speaking, a number of ambassadors walked out, including the representatives of the UK, France, Ukraine and the US.

The French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who addressed the session before the vote on the French resolution, warned that the continued bombing of Aleppo was killing civilians and destroying hospitals and schools - "and has nothing to do with combating terrorism," as Syrian president Bashar Assad's government and its close ally Russia contend.

"It is the annihilation of Aleppo," Mr Ayrault said, declaring that the continued bombing will leave the city in ruins, a place where citizens will be left to their "executioners".

He compared Aleppo's likely fate to Guernica during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, Srebrenica during the Bosnian war and the Chechen capital Grozny which was pummelled by the Russian army in the mid-1990s.

Russia's Mr Churkin said the demand for a bombing halt in Aleppo was "not fleshed out" and would affect the government-controlled western part of the city as well as the rebel-held east.

He said the French resolution's adoption would have been the first where the Security Council decided on a course of action for a permanent council member without prior agreement - meaning that Russia would have been required to stop all flights and bombing of Aleppo.

Mr Churkin noted that activity in Aleppo had reduced on Friday and "we hope this is a trend that will continue".
Four Ukrainian servicemen have been wounded in the military operation area in Donbas over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzianyk has said.

"No one has been killed over the past 24 hours, but four of our servicemen have been wounded, and two others have suffered concussion. All those injured are now in the hospital, and their health status is fair," Motuzianyk said at a news briefing in Kyiv on Saturday.
People inspect the aftermath of an air strike in Sanaa, Yemen (AP)

At least 82 people have been killed in Yemen after an air strike by a Saudi-led coalition targeted a funeral hall packed with mourners.

Another 534 people were wounded after the strike in the capital Sanaa, according to Nasser al-Argaly, the Health Ministry's under-secretary.

Yemeni security and medical officials say the dead and wounded include military and security officials from the ranks of the Shia Houthi rebels fighting the internationally-recognised government of president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, as well as their allies, loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Saudi-led coalition backs Mr Hadi's government in Yemen's ongoing civil war.

Among those killed was Maj-Gen Abdul-Qader Hilal, head of the capital's local council, according to the officials.

The funeral was being held for Sheikh Ali al-Rawishan, father of Galal al-Rawishan, the interior minister in the rebel-led government. Galal Al-Rishwan was seriously wounded in the attack.

In the aftermath of the strike, hundreds of body parts were found strewn in and outside the hall.

"The place has been turned into a lake of blood," said one rescuer, Murad Tawfiq.

Ambulances rushed to the site to ferry the wounded to hospitals. In radio broadcasts, the health ministry summoned off-duty doctors and called on residents to donate blood.

Rescuers, meanwhile, sifted through the rubble in search of more casualties, although they were hindered when a fire broke out.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis' spokesman in Sanaa, angrily denounced the air strike as the latest act of "genocide" by the Saudi-led coalition.

"The silence of the United Nations and the international community is the munition of the murderers," he said.

"Those murderers will not escape divine justice."

The Saudi-led coalition backs Mr Hadi's government which, together with its own allies, is fighting the Houthis and Saleh loyalists in a civil war that broke out in 2014.

Roughly 3,799 civilians have been killed since the Saudi-led air campaign began in March of last year, according to a recent report by the UN's human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein.

The UN and rights groups estimate the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 9,000 people and displaced nearly three million more in the Arab world's poorest country.

According to the report, coalition air strikes were responsible for 60% of civilian deaths over a year-long span starting in July last year. Just under one quarter - 475 - civilian deaths were attributed to rebel forces like those loyal to Mr Saleh, and another 113 to affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

AP
Lutsenko tells EC official about inadmissibility of monopoly in investigating corruption offenses

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko and Director General for Enlargement at the European Commission Christian Danielsson have discussed the reform of the Ukrainian prosecutor's office.

According to the press service of the prosecutor general, Lutsenko told about the cleansing of the prosecutor's office system and fight against corruption within the authority.

In addition, Lutsenko drew attention to the issues of jurisdiction between law enforcement authorities in investigations into criminal offenses against officials involved in corruption crimes.

"We must together fight against corruption. There cannot be monopoly in investigation into corruption offenses," he said.

Danielsson, in turn, assured the Ukrainian side of the full support of reforms now being carried out by the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine and wished success in this area.
A day that was all green Indian equity markets ended the day strongly in green today. Nifty 50 ended the day, up by 225.4 points. Sensex ended the day, up by 786.74 points. Top Gainers today were Ultratech Cement, Eich... October 31, 2022 | 4:12 pm

Daesung Eltec and Minda corporation tie up for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems technology On Monday, the manufacturer of automotive components Minda Corporation announced a partnership with the South Korean company Daesung Eltec to provide India's next-generation solutions for advan... October 31, 2022 | 3:20 pm

Ramkrishna Forgings stock jumps 3% on winning Rs113 crore worth export order Ramkrishna Forgings Limited, one of the leading suppliers of rolled, forged and machined products announced that a major Tier 1 manufacturer of Rear & Front axles has awarded a 4-year contr... October 31, 2022 | 3:01 pm

Markets in a super rally with Nifty above 17,950; Sensex climbs 600 pts Domestic benchmark indices in a super rally today led by IT and Auto stocks outperforming. Both the Sensex and Nifty benchmarks were higher 1% each amid positive global cues gleaming all over t... October 31, 2022 | 2:00 pm

Vedanta shares tanks ~4% on subdued numbers in Q2FY23 Vedanta Limited shares fell as much as 4% to Rs274 in intraday trade on Monday after the company reported a 60.8% yoy drop in consolidated net profit at Rs1,808 crore for the quarter ended... October 31, 2022 | 1:54 pm
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry considers FSB's charges against Suschenko as Russian policy of tightening pressure on Ukraine

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has expressed protest in connection with the FSB's declaring formal charges against correspondent of the Ukrinform national news agency Roman Suschenko.

"The groundless detention and the contrived, unfounded prosecution of the Ukrainian journalist due to espionage are another confirmation of Russia's policy on increasing pressure on Ukraine and the illegal persecution of Ukrainian citizens," the ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry noted Russia's deliberate disregarding the request to immediately allow the Ukrainian consul to Suschenko demonstrates the continuation of the Kremlin's purposeful policy on the "cynical use of Ukrainian citizens for political purposes and violation of human rights."

"We demand the Russian Federation immediately release Roman Suschenko and all other political prisoners - the citizens of Ukraine," the report reads.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on the international community to increase pressure on the Russian Federation with a view to a speedy end to human rights violations and persecution of independent journalists.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's ultimatum to Pakistani actors to leave India has created a divide, of sorts, in Bollywood. Actor Ajay Devgn is very clear about what side he's on, though.

In an interview with CNN-News 18, the actor said he supported the ban on Pakistani artistes working in India and that he wouldn't want to "share screen space" either. "I am very clear on this because you are an Indian first. I dont care if my film doesnt release in Pakistan. Their artistes are standing by their nation. They are earning here but are sticking by their nation. We should learn from them," read an Indian Express report.

He later also tweeted:

Guys, pls stop the infighting & watch the whole interview. You will see that I haven't spoken against any of my friends.  Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) October 7, 2016

(Also read: Salman Khan Backs Pakistani Artists, Says They're Not Terrorists, Government Gives Them Visas)

(Also read: After MNS's Ultimatum To Pakistani Actors, Zindagi Channel May Ban All Pakistani TV Shows!)

(Also read: Shiv Sena Says Salman Khan Should Migrate To Pakistan If He Loves Pakistani Artists, After He Backed Them)

His wife Kajol came out in full support and tweeted:

So proud of my husband for taking a non political and absolutely correct stand . @ajaydevgn #ProudIndian  Kajol (@KajolAtUN) October 7, 2016

Devgn whose film Shivaay is slated for release later this month, added "There is an exchange of bullets happening and you are talking about exchange of culture? We cannot isolate ourselves from the nation."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expects decisions from the Constitutional Court, which will contribute to the development of law and the formation of legal culture in the country.

"The Constitutional Court in nature and ideally is a non-political authority equally distant from all the branches of power and is the main arbiter of political and legal contradictions. I want to emphasize that the Constitutional Court in the period of reforms and implementation of overarching changes must constantly be on guard of the rule of law and the Constitution," he said, speaking at the international conference on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

At the same time, the president noted the importance of absence of factionalism and infighting in this body.

"Definitely, there should not be division on someone's quota, including that of the president, origin, education, specialization or other status," he said.
Asserting that the Indian armed forces are prepared to take on any challenge, Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Arup Raha said there has been enough discussion on the surgical strikes across the LoC, but the forces will not talk about it.

"There has been so much discussion on this issue in the country; every section of society is giving opinion on this issue. ... the armed forces are supposed to deliver the result that the nation expects. We are not going to talk about it; we will just deliver". Read more

1. Curfew In Parts Of Srinagar After Boy's Death In Pellet-Firing

Authorities imposed curfew in parts of Srinagar on Saturday following clashes during the funeral of a 13-year-old boy who died of pellet injuries. Junaid Ahmad Bhat of Saidpora area here was admitted to a hospital with pellet injuries on Friday. He died on Saturday morning.

Hundreds of protesters, carrying Bhat's body, clashed with the security forces in Eidgah area, with the latter using tear smoke shells to disperse the mourners. Read more

2. Two Punjab Cops Get Jail For Tattooing 'Jeb Katri' On Women 23 Years Ago

23 years after policemen in Amritsar tattooed the words 'jeb katri' (pickpocket) on the foreheads of four women, a special CBI court here has sentenced three cops in the case.

Punjab Police had drawn widespread criticism for the infamous incident dating back to December 1993, when cops in Amritsar tattooed the words 'jeb katri' on the foreheads of four habitual offender women who were accused of stealing a purse. Read more

3. Maneka Gandhi Promises To Consider Providing Free Education For Children Of Uri Martyrs

After the Uri terror attack in which 19 soldiers lost their lives, an online petition to provide free education for children of the martyrs has gone viral.

The petition, posted on change.org, was started by Pune-based Maryada Prasad and has garnered the support of 81,611 people so far. Read more

4. 13-Year-Old Jain Girl From Hyderabad Dies After Religious Fasting For 68 Days

A 13-year-old girl from Hyderabad has lost her life after fasting during the Jain holy period of Chaturmas. Aradhana, a class 8 student had observed 68-days fast during the period.

Her 10-week long fast ended on the 3rd October and it was celebrated with a huge event at their house called 'Paarana'. The event was also attended by Padma Rao, a Telangana minister from Secunderabad area. Read more

5. Muslim Women Welcome Govt's Triple Talaq Stand, Want Ban At The Earliest

Muslim women cutting across sections have welcomed the Union government's decision in the Supreme Court on Friday to oppose the practice of triple talaq. From Agra to Aligarh, many said in one voice that it should be banned at the earliest.

Social activist Maria Alam Umar said in Aligarh that not just triple talaq, the Muslim Personal Law Board (PLB), too, should be abolished for its "promale stand on almost every aspect of Muslim life". Read more
Meet the man who is a cardiologist by profession, with a golden heart himself. His professional degrees of MBBS, FAGE, MD, FICA, FAIID, have helped him serve patients free-of-cost. Since 15th August 1973, Dr Rao has been involved in a noble initiative, by treating patients on every Sunday at his village clinic in T Begur village in Nelamangala taluk, Bengaluru Rural district - a location at a distance of 35 km from Bengaluru-Pune Highway.

Dr B Ramana Rao

This personal-professional affair has been going on uninterrupted since the time it all began. His ROI is the given blessings of over two million patients he has served till date.

About the rural MBBS

pexels

Dr. B Ramana Rao has an experience of 40 years in medical practice, with a specialisation in cardiology. A man of repute, Dr Rao has earned recognition for his contribution in the healthcare services field. Among his many accolades, he has been honored the Padmashree award for medicine, by the President of India. He was also conferred with the Dr. Abdul Kalam National Award, for rural medical service in 2008.

However, it is not the mere fact of obtaining a degree in medicine that highlights these achievements. He may have a reputed patient list, having treated famous personalities like Amitabh Bachchan and late Kannada acting legend Dr Rajkumar. But on Sundays, Dr Rao is a man with a different mission. He has been spending his day in a village clinic, doing community service since the 70s. His parents have been instrumental in introducing Dr Rao to community service, right after he completed his MBBS degree from Kasturba Medical College in Manipal.

His rural initiative

pexels

The cardiologist cum physician is on a social mission, every Sunday. He and his team have delivered with a natural flair for rural welfare. They treat patients at their village clinic set up in T Begur village - free of cost. Yet when we dig a little deeper, we understand the fact that it is also about the Right to live with dignity.

This on-ground level initiative (of successfully running a village clinic) practically means attending to patients, giving medicines and injections, while completely diagnosing the patients; so that they can be referred further for complete treatment (to hospitals). The clinic is now in its 44th year of operation, with over two million patients attended to by Dr Raos social brigade. They also serve food, as and when the need arises, and even give nutrition advice.

Needless to say, the good word of mouth spreads fast, and today there are patients visiting the clinic from far away corners too. These people visit the clinic from a distance of over even 100 km, and then, wait patiently in the queue (at times for more than 12 hours in a day).

The evolution

pexels

As quoted by Newindianexpress, the award-winning doctor says, The demand for free medical services has doubled in recent times with the cost of medicines escalating.

He adds, To run this clinic for one day, we need at least 1 lakh. The Himalaya Company, Surana and Microlabs help in procuring medicines. We need more people to donate funds for this cause.

As it is understood by most of us, the cost of medical services has escalated - primarily the cost of medicines. However, this has not been a deterrent for Dr Rao and his team. In fact, the team has only added to their bouquet of healthcare services, by attending to patients for oral health, skin and eye care. Already, medicines, injections and nebulisation were given free of cost to patients. Besides, free cataract surgery is also done at the clinic. The free clinic has been serving people by organising eye and diabetes camps in the past one decade.

But that still doesnt limit the social streak of Dr. Rao. The team also donates (in kind), to help out school children in the region. The list may include books, school uniforms, or any other material required by school-going students. Hygiene is another social motive of Dr Rao and his team. He has contributed in construction of more than 700 free public toilets around the village. The team has also made arrangement for clean drinking water in surrounding villages. As we say, health and hygiene are all part of the same eco-system; and it is well delivered here.

The clinical apparatus

The village clinic in T.Begur is spread over a 10-acre farm. Dr. Raos wife and his two sons (who are also doctors) have joined him in this noble endeavour. His son Dr Charit Bhograj is an interventional cardiologist, and Dr Abhijit Bhograj is an endocrinologist.
Muslim women cutting across sections have welcomed the Union government's decision in the Supreme Court on Friday to oppose the practice of triple talaq. From Agra to Aligarh, many said in one voice that it should be banned at the earliest.

BCCL/representational image

Talking to TOI , social activist Maria Alam Umar said in Aligarh that not just triple talaq, the Muslim Personal Law Board (PLB), too, should be abolished for its "promale stand on almost every aspect of Muslim life".

Umar added that the PLB was formed for explaining intricacies of Sharia, but over the years it had turned into a "dictator" or sorts, consistently favouring men.

Also Read: Demand For Ban On Triple Talaq Gets Louder, 50,000 Muslims Sign A Petition To Abolish The Practice

Umar said that according to the Quran, Muslim women have equal rights, including that of divorcing her husband (khulla). Hailing the Centre's decision to oppose the practice, Umar said that if PLB favours triple talaq then it should also support maintenance for divorced women.

BCCL/representational image

Shazia Siddiqui, an entrepreneur in Aligarh, echoed the sentiment. "The practice is discriminatory and should be abolished," she said. "How can someone have the right to end a marriage and ruin a women's life by uttering three words? In fact, some Islamic countries have banned the practice."

Also Read: Triple Talaq Is Against Article 21, Activists Tell SC As Data Shows Muslim Women Have The Highest Divorce Rate

In Agra, Dr Nasreen Begum, head of the Urdu department at Baikunthi Devi Girls Degree College, said the practices of triple talaq, polygamy and nikah halala cannot be regarded as essential part of religion.

BCCL/representational image

"I whole-heartedly support the Centre on this," she said, adding, "It is absolutely valid and righteous. It is high time the practice ended. The world has no place for such regressive thinking."

Also Read: Government To Stand By Muslim Women In Supreme Court, Will Oppose Triple Talaq

Begum said, "Islam does not advocate triple talaq and it is an arbitrary creation of the (Muslim Personal) Law Board. Women, too, should be involved in the Board's decisions on such matters."
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living, played an important role in the Colombian peace process for ending civil war, for which President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

BCCL

When the 52-year-old civil war formally ended with the signing of the peace agreement between Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the Colombian government in Cartagena de Indias on September 26, Sri Sri was invited by Santos and FARC to the ceremony.

After the event, Santos told Sri Sri: "Thank you for everything you have done for the peace process. You have been a great support and friend of this process. All your help is very useful and your spiritual guidance is so important and I'll be grateful forever."

BCCL

During his visit to Colombia, Sri Sri addressed 500 social activists, inviting them to cultivate inner peace and support the peace process. He also met Colombia's post-conflict Rafael Pardo and discussed ways to build peace and reconciliation.

Also Read: Colombian President Santos Wins Nobel Peace Prize Despite Losing Referendum On Peace Deal With FARC

In September, The Art of Living had facilitated a meeting between FARC leaders and the families of 12 persons who were kidnapped, held captive and finally killed by FARC. During this meeting, families of the victims expressed their suffering to the perpetrators.

BCCL

The meeting ended with the families and FARC leaders holding hands and praying. "Our effort to fly victims to Havana for a forgiveness programme was important in turning the tide for a yes to the referendum in Colombia," Sri Sri had tweeted about the meeting.

Miami Herald

Sri Sri reiterated his support for the process of reconciliation and forgiveness that Colombia embarked on after the plebiscite on October 2. "The challenge of peace in Colombia can make this nation the new Switzerland of Latin America if we work together to unite the hearts and minds of Colombians," he said.

I congratulate President Santos on the Nobel Peace Prize. We will continue to support your efforts in Colombia.  Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (@SriSri) October 8, 2016

Sri Sri has been invited to be the keynote speaker at Reconciliation Colombia in Cali on November 30.
23 years after policemen in Amritsar tattooed the words 'jeb katri' (pickpocket) on the foreheads of four women, a special CBI court here has sentenced three cops in the case.

cobrapost

Special CBI judge Baljinder Singh awarded three years Rigorous Imprisonment to the then superintendent of police Sukhdev Singh Chinna and sub-inspector Narinder Singh Malli, who was then SHO of Rambagh police station. He also awarded one year Rigorous Imprisonment to ASI Kanwaljit Singh.

Punjab Police had drawn widespread criticism for the infamous incident dating back to December 1993, when cops in Amritsar tattooed the words 'jeb katri' on the foreheads of four habitual offender women who were accused of stealing a purse.

The case came to the fore when during the hearing of the pickpocketing case, police produced the four in the court with their foreheads covered with a 'dupatta'.

The victims filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1994, praying for directions to the respondents, the government of Punjab, Amritsar superintendent of police, and others, for arranging plastic surgery for removal of the tattoo, giving compensation for the inhuman act and humiliation, and punishing the guilty cops.

BCCL/representational image

As per the petition, the victims alleged that they had gone to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar on December 8, 1993. After paying obeisance when they reached the bus stand, ASI Kanwaljit Singh stopped them and kept them in custody from December 8 to 15.

Later, the ASI on the directions of the SP and SHO, got the word pickpocket tattooed on their foreheads.

Police had alleged that it was the women's neighbours who had done the deed "to make people aware about their misdeeds".
Borbhuin Chetia Gaon, a remote hamlet in Sivsagar district, has upped the conservation efforts with villagers going out of their way to secure an ideal habitat for the oriental pied hornbill.

BCCL

Thanks to the community conservation initiative, the village now has a small colony of dozen-odd oriental pied hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) that are nesting and breeding in and around the locality.

Thus, the village could easily pass off as an open air zoo with a large number of colourful hornbills flying around the serene landscape, happily pecking away at the fruit on the trees the residents have very thoughtfully planted for them. Not surprisingly, the village has won a green award for the great conservation efforts of the villagers.

Vinod Bartakke

The hornbills have been living in our village for the last several years. At present there are about 20 of them. They have become a part of the daily lives of the villagers and everyone is engaged in conservation of the bird colony, said Mridul Burhagohain, a journalist and nature lover.

BCCL

The villagers hold the hornbills sacred and desist from doing anything that might harm or disturb them. They believe that hornbills are harbingers of peace and prosperity for the entire area.

Dr Chetia, who is also a resident of Borbhuin Chetia Gaon, added that a few decades back, there were just two pairs of hornbills in the village. With the growing sensitisation of the villagers on conservation, a corresponding increase was seen in the birds number. The good thing is that the birds are roosting and breeding in our village, as they are finding the habitat suitable, he said.

Signature Campaign - Assam Bandhu

The villagers have launched a signature campaign under the banner of Assam Bandhu, a voluntary organisation, for carrying the message of conservation beyond the village. The people had come forward on their own and the conservation project slowly became a successful project. The people of the village have planted banana and papaya trees in their backyards so that the birds are not short of food. Occasionally, the villagers also offer meat to the hornbills.

Facebook/beautiful birds

Moreover, since the hornbills have been nesting on some big, tall trees such as silikha, jori, etc., at Teporchali Bam, Bora Chuk for several years for breeding, the villagers are urged not to fell the trees on which the hornbills build their nests. If this is not all, the villagers are even urged to plant fruit-bearing trees so that the birds can get their food in the vicinity.

Though the birds occasionally are a nuisance to the villagers, picking fruits from the farms, the villagers have never thought of harming the birds. Thus, the villagers have ensured that the hornbills can fly around without any fear in the village. They eat the fruits on the trees generously planted by the villagers. The village has also become an example for many others in adjoining areas.

Nature

Sometimes when the hornbills are injured by strong winds and during heavy monsoons, the villagers have even treated injured birds and released them after giving them first aid. Several hoardings and posters have been put up in and around the village to disseminate information and enhance awareness about the conservation of the bird. Bharat Bora, a resident of Tepor Chali Bam, Bora Chuck said, Last year, I found a male hornbill injured by some dogs. I rescued it right from the jaws of a dog and took to the veterinary doctor at Moran. After treatment for 15 days it was able to fly again.

A tourist attraction and a paradise for bird lovers

Nested on a banyan tree near the Demou river that flows by the village, the hornbill colony has facilitated a flow of bird-lovers and tourists in the area. The hornbill colony has become a tourist attraction of sorts with large numbers of people, particularly bird watchers and nature lovers, visiting at different times of the year just to see the birds.

Uttam Ramola

Apart from tourists, the village has also been frequently visited by people from different places to see the hornbills atop the banyan tree. Bird watchers, as well as students from different universities, also visit the village to study the conservation efforts undertaken by the villagers, which is very unique. The village and its people were recently conferred the prestigious Homen Borgohain Green Award for their efforts towards conserving the hornbills as this special award would encourage them to do even more.
Considering the current political climate in the country, America couldn't have received a better reminder of liberty and honour than the $70 million soon-to-be-built museum dedicated solely to Lady Liberty herself.

libertyellisfoundation.org

Designed by FXFOWLE, an architecture firm in NYC, the Statue of Liberty Museum will be unveiled to the people in 2019 and will lie on Liberty Island in New York City.

libertyellisfoundation.org

The project is the result of a collaboration between the National Park Service and the Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation. In case you're headed there in 2019, your $18 ticket then will cover the ferry ride and entry to the museum.
In yet another apparent hate-crime against the community in US, 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.

Facebook/The Sikh Coalition

Maan Singh Khalsa, was driving home on the night of September 25, when a group of men in car threw a beer can at his vehicle.

Also Read: There Is A Crowd Around Him, But Not One Man Interfered When This Sikh Man Was Being Brutally Assaulted!

"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 nation's 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.

Facebook/The Sikh Coalition

Shouting that Khalsa's 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.

He sustained injuries to his fingers, hands, eye and teeth.

Also Read: Sikh-American Brutally Assaulted In US, Called 'Terrorist', 'Bin-Laden'

"The attackers caused physical injuries and deep harm when they targeted my Sikh faith," Khalsa said in a press statement.

Facebook/The Sikh Coalition

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.

Also Read: Sikh Man Asked To Leave Wimbledon For 'Making People Uncomfortable'
The US is on a massive evacuation-spree in Florida and Georgia as Hurricane Matthew is expected to wreak havoc in the Atlantic coast. While so far four deaths have been reported in Florida much of the attention has been on the efforts there to ensure safety to the residents there.

This is even when Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, is struggling to put up with the destruction caused by the Hurricane Matthew.

BCCL

At least 842 dead and left tens of thousands homeless earlier this week by the storm. The toll is expected to go further up as information trickled in from remote areas previously remained cut-off.

BCCL

Matthew smashed through Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 145 mile-per-hour (233 km-per-hour) 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.

While highlighting the misery of underdevelopment in Haiti, which is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake, the storm looked certain to rekindle the debate about global warming and the long-term threat posed to low-lying cities and towns by rising sea levels.

BCCL

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 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, 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 US 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.

BCCL

There were no immediate reports of significant damage in Florida cities and towns where the storm swamped streets and toppled trees and knocked out power to more than 1 million people. But CNN reported at least four storm-related deaths.

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.
Chinese police are investigating a human trafficking case after a 12-year-old girl was brought to a hospital in Xuzhou City, Chinas eastern Jiangsu province, for a pregnancy test. Police in the Tongshan district of Xuzhou city confirmed on Sina Weibo that the girl is a victim of human trafficking, and the two adults who accompanied her to the hospital were arrested and under investigation.

A very young-looking girl was brought to a hospital accompanied by a 35-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman on October 4th. The two told doctors that the young girl was 20-years-old and needed a pregnancy test. The test revealed that the girl was indeed 12 weeks pregnant. But her young appearance attracted the attention of her doctor, who then told the two adults to wait outside. In a one-on-one conversation, the doctor asked the girl a few questions and was convinced that she was underage and possibly a victim of human trafficking. The hospital rang the police after the man and woman accompanying the girl threatened to bomb the hospital for the doctor asking too many questions.

The girl was later revealed to be just 12-years-old and was abducted from her hometown in southwest China. The police said a further investigation is underway.
Following on from the highly successful Townsville event which attracted nearly 400 industry professionals, the 13th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference will be held in Perth, Western Australia.

Inaugurated in Mt Isa in 1978, this biennial conference aims to promote the sharing of knowledge in operating practices for mineral processing plants, including extractive metallurgy, process control and environmental issues.

The 13th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference will provide the opportunity for plant operators, metallurgists, engineers and operational staff to learn, share and network with others in the minerals industry.
The Nigerian Army yesterday said troops arrested no fewer than 12 fleeing suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital on Thursday.

The acting Director, Army Public Relations, Sani Usman, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

According to Mr. Usman, a colonel, 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.

The Army spokesman 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)
A couple in the US has decided to park their car in their living room as Hurricane Matthew approaches Floridas coast.

The hurricane which brings along with it dangerous winds and flooding which cause devastation of properties has made a couple in Miami to take matters into their own hands. The couple in a bid to protect their car parked it in their living room.

55-year-old Adriana and her fiance, Gary, were bracing for the worst on Thursday, as Miami-Dade County cancelled school for the rest of the week and officials urged residents to evacuate.

The widow who lives in a condo in Miami, planned to ride out the storm with Gary, also a widower, and his teenage daughter in his house further south in the city.

But Adriana knew there wouldnt be room for her Toyota Venza in Garys one-car garage that already housed his vehicle. Worried about leaving Adrianas practically brand new silver sedan outside in the potentially dangerous weather, Gary came up with a rather wild idea.

He wanted to put my car in a safe place, said Adriana. That safe place she was referring to happens to be Garys living room.

Gary removed the glass sliding doors leading into the living room from the back of his house and drove Adrianas car into the backyard.

Adriana helped guide her fiance from outside as he drove her car up two steel ramps and through the opening into the room. Garys 17-year-old daughter, Sofia Andrea, helped guide her dad from inside the house as well.

Adriana told ABC News that they had to move some furniture in the room in order to fit the vehicle.

It was kind of crazy, but it worked perfectly, she said with a laugh. It took teamwork.

67-year-old Gary also said, I was just trying to protect her car.

Fortunately, Miami-Dade County was spared the worst of the storm. Mayor Carlos Gimenez cancelled the tropical storm warning Thursday night.
Two justices of the Nigerian Supreme court, Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and John Okoro  have been arrested by men of the Department of State Services. They were arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning as officials broke into their personal residences.

It remains unclear why they were arrested but they have remained in the custody of the DSS.

Punch Newspaper quotes an aide of one of the justices as saying,

What I can tell you for now is that Justices Ngwuta and Okoro were arrested early hours of today.

We do not know the reasons for the arrest yet. Justice Onnoghen was not among those arrested.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba was also one of those whose houses were searched but he was not arrested.

There has been no official statement from the DSS on their arrest.
Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi has directed that teachers who absented themselves from work for five times in a term should be sacked.

Umahi, who gave the directive when he inaugurated the newly constructed headquarters of Nigerian Union of Teachers in Abakaliki on Friday, said those who absented themselves from work once in a month would forfeit half of their salaries for the month.

He said that all local government caretaker committee chairmen, development centre coordinators and other relevant officials had been empowered to carry out the directive.

The governor urged the teachers to the embrace the governments initiated school agriculture programme, noting it would make them productive and supplement their income.

He said, I heard that the materials provided for the programme is being stolen in some schools and I mandate the Commissioner for Education to transfer any headmaster or principal in such schools to a remote area.

The programme must be sustained and we are ready to give you soft loans even if everyone is not accommodated at the same time.

He commended the NUT chairman for erecting the edifice and paid glowing tributes to its past leaders who initiated and tried completing the project.

He said, We are going to look into ways of reviewing your Teachers Salary Structure and praying for improved resources to enhance it.

The government would also donate the sum of two million naira to the state branch of the NUT to adequately furnish the building for optimum productivity.

Mr Joseph Nweke, NUT Chairman in the state, said that the building was initiated by Mrs Franca Egwu during the military administration of retired Capt. Walter Ferghabo.

Successive leadership of the union tried to complete it and it became my leaderships main priority on assumption of office in 2010.

He commended the governor for showing sufficient concern in the welfare of teachers through prompt payment of salaries, other entitlements, among others.

He said, Your presence to inaugurate this building is a source of inspiration, joy and deepening of the spirit of comradeship between teachers and the state government.

Mr Kelvin Nwankwo, a former NUT Chairman, and current NUT Deputy National President, commended the governor for his magnanimity toward teachers and workers in general.

He said, You are promptly paying workers salaries when other states are grappling with the payment and even slashing the salaries.

You have also demonstrated unbridled commitment towards educational enhancement by providing basic facilities to ensure conducive learning in schools across the state.

The highlights of the occasion include the inauguration and inspection of the building by the governor, goodwill messages from relevant stakeholders, among others.

Source: Punch
Governor Ayo Fayose has risen to the stout defence of former Lagos State Governor and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, following alleged plans to cut him (Tinubu) to size by some political hawks.

Tinubu has recently come under fire from some groups and politicians over his calls for the national chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun to resign.

A group known as the APC Youth Democratic Frontiers had on Tuesday staged a protest at the national secretariat of the party, saying it would no longer tolerate the over bearing tendency of the former Lagos governor.

Following the purported plans to demystify him over his perceived growing influence beyond the South-West, where he wields unrivaled political influence, some Nigerians, prominent among them retired army general Iliyasu Ibrahim, ex-Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode and columnist Femi Aribisala, have rallied support for Tinubu, whose immense contributions to the success of APC in the last general elections, are indisputable.

Joining the growing list of those in support of the APC chieftain is Fayose, who warned those hoping to reap political capital from the conspiracy against Tinubu, to have a rethink.

The governor, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, in Ado Ekiti, the state capital yesterday, warned that humiliation of Tinubu is as good as humiliation of the Yoruba race.

He said he would not keep silent in the face of attack on a revered Yoruba leader like Tinubu and declared: Yoruba leaders must be protected.

Recalling similar attacks in the past on Yoruba leaders like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Chief Bola Ige, Chief Bisi Onabanjo (all late) and Alhaji Lateef Jakande, among others, Fayose said: Even though I am not a member of the APC and will never be, I have elected to stand in defence of the Yoruba nation once again by saying no to the continuous dishonourable treatment being meted to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, having paid his dues.

If Tinubu is allowed to be embarrassed and disgraced just the way our past leaders were humiliated by these same elements, the Yoruba nation would have been made to suffer for uprightness.

The Ekiti governor made specific reference to what he called a sponsored protest against the APC leader at the partys national secretariat earlier in the week, saying: It is unfortunate that Tinubu is now being vilified in a party he invested heavily in and his fellow kinsmen that he brought up politically are part of this conspiracy.

In their desperation, they have even tried to set him against the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, by insinuating that he tried to prevent his (Osinbajo) emergence as President Muhammadu Buharis running mate. This is sad!

He lamented that when other tribes protect their own, it is becoming historically common among the Yoruba to allow themselves to be used against their leaders just for momentary political gains at the expense of the collective interests of the Yoruba nation.

It should be noted that the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was sent to jail by the conspiracy and collaboration of some Yoruba with external aggressors.

Continuing, Fayose said: Tinubu is a prominent stakeholder. We should not sit back and watch while those he used his own sweat to make conspire with others to humiliate him.

Most importantly, it is my position that irrespective of political affiliation, no leader of the Yoruba nation must be vilified unduly, especially by the same people who humiliated our past leaders like Obafemi Awolowo, Adekunle Ajasin, Bola Ige, Bisi Onabanjo, Lateef Jakande and others.

To me, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu should not be seen just as an APC leader but acknowledged as a major stakeholder in the Yoruba nation that we must all protect beyond politics.

It should be recalled that these were among the issues that I raised when I visited Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State a few months ago on the need to work together beyond party affiliations.

Here in Yorubaland, it is said that if a household is at peace, it is because the bastard in the family is yet to attain the age of maturity, and those people that Asiwaju Tinubu made but are now being used against him should watch it.

I therefore condemn this conspiracy against Asiwaju Tinubu and I admonish those that are hoping to make political benefits from it to have a rethink.


Babatunde Fowler, Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has been elected President of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF).

Fowler defeated his Togolese counterpart by 13 votes to four in the Forums elections held recently in Durban, South Africa. Mauritius was voted Vice President. Also elected into the 10-country council were South Africa, Ghana, Burundi, Uganda and Liberia. The 36 member-forum is made up of tax collecting agencies across Africa.

In his acceptance speech on behalf of Nigeria, Fowler pledged to expand the membership of the Forum for the continents development. Our goal shall be to aid the generation of revenue efficiently and sufficiently for the growth of all members, Fowler said.

Launched in November 2009 in Kampala, Uganda, ATAFs mission is to provide a platform to improve the capacity, capability and performance of tax administrations in Africa. ATAF has, in the five years, made tremendous progress.
Moving! A loving father raises his sick daughter above the water on a 2 hour trek to see a doctor in India

Pangi Satibabu (pictured) carried his baby daughter for three miles through floodwaters because he was so concerned about her fever

A desperate father carried his sick baby daughter on his head and walked for two hours through deep floodwaters to reach the nearest hospital in India.

Pangi Satibabu, 30, a farmer, from Kudumusare village in Andhra Pradesh, carried his six-month-old daughter above his head for three miles to the nearest health centre after heavy rainfall led to a deluge.

Mr Satibabu was worried about his daughters high fever but all the roads connecting his village to other parts of the state and nearby hospitals were flooded.

But this week, when her temperature had still not come down, he decided to walk despite his family warning him of the risks.

The little girl was eventually admitted to the Primary Health Centre in Chintapalli, where she was tested and treated for a viral infection.

Dr Yerramsetty Venkatswararao said: The child is still in hospital but is out of danger.
Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen has been recommended to the National Judicial Commission (NJC) as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

The Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) recommended Onnoghen to the NJC, which will further recommend him to President Muhammadu Buhari for the position.

The appointment of Onnoghen as the new CJN according to Section 231 of the Constitution, will be done by President Buhari on the recommendation of the NJC subject to confirmation by the Senate.

RELATED POST: NJC To Hold Emergency Meeting Over Appointment Of New CJN

Mr. Onnoghen will succeed outgoing CJN Justice Mahmud Mohammed, whose tenure ends November 10, following his attainment of the mandatory retirement age of 70 years for justices of the apex court.

Onnoghen, a native of Biase LGA of Cross River State, was born on December 22, 1950.

He has been a Justice of the Supreme Court since 2005.
The foremost Shiite Muslim group in Nigeria, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has been banned by the Kaduna State Government.

The state government issued an order declaring the group an unlawful society, and claimed the action was taken to preserve peace and security in the state. It also claimed that the group was banned to ensure that all persons and organisations are guided by lawful conduct and with due allegiance to the Nigerian state and its constitution.

Samuel Aruwan, a spokesperson to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, said in a statement on Friday: The Kaduna state executive council approved the making of this order following deliberations at its meeting of Thursday, 06 October 2016.

The full statement read:

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.

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.

However, 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.

El-Zakzaky has been held by the government since the December clash without any court order.

Several groups have been demanding for his release both locally and internationally. Even Iran, has made appeals on his release.

SEE ALSO: Photos Of Police Crackdown On Islamic Movement In Nigeria Protest
Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the just concluded gubernatorial election in Edo State, on Friday said he received a divine instruction to recover his mandate.

Mr. Ize-Iyamu said this in Benin City while addressing some protesters in the state capital.

He alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, robbed him and his party the PDP when it announced Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the state governorship election.

He said the alleged robbery of the Edo peoples mandate would not stand, adding that he had been seeking Gods intervention in the past few days.

Mr. Ize-Iyamu said his supporters had refused to be violent despite the alleged fake result announced by INEC.

He said that it was lamentable that those who were given the victory by INEC were ashamed of celebrating the victory.

The state PDP Chairman, Dan Orbih, said the party was going to put everything in place to defend democracy.

Mr. Orbih appealed to protesters to keep the peace while embarking on the street protests, adding that the will of the people must prevail.
The Kaduna State Government has issued an order declaring the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shiite sect, 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.

The IMN, led by Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, who has been in government custody since December 2015, is headquartered in Zaria, Kaduna State.

The Shiite sect in Nigeria came to global reckoning after over 300 of its members were killed by soldiers, who accused them of blocking a road and plotting to kill the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai. 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 clash between the army and Shiite group.

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.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi on Friday in Lokoja inaugurated a seven-member panel to probe the use of state funds from May 29, 2003 to Jan. 27, 2016.

The panel is headed by a retired Kano State High Court judge, Umar Rano.

Mr. Bello said the terms of reference of the committee were clearly stated in the letters of appointment of the members.

He lamented the low development of the state since its creation 25 years ago, alleging that funds received on behalf of the state were not properly accounted for.

While I am not saying that our state has made or received all the money she needs, I make bold to insist that our problem is not the lack of money, but the theft of money.

If what we did make or receive were used better this past 13 years, we would not have the current socio- economic disaster on our hands, he explained.

According to him, the states past leaders basically engaged in a zero-sum game of shooting, in which corruption was their sharp-shooter, and the helpless populace their target.

For every kobo they hit, our people lost lives, opportunities, hopes, visions and dreams, he said.

The result is that in 25 years of existence, Kogi is barely started on her journey to development.

This is an atrocity and it should infuriate any reasonable person. We cannot bury the years of accumulated theft by politically exposed persons in the faulty foundations they laid over the years.

We must not also disregard the accumulated hurt felt by our excluded citizenry, and pretend it did not happen, or that they will forget.

That can only earn us a society festering with sublimated anger that will explode sooner than later with disastrous consequences, he said.

Mr. Bello told members of the committee not to see the assignment as a licence to witch-hunt or settle scores with anyone.

Everyone must be accorded their due respect in line with the laws of the land.

This is your chance to help this administration put Kogi firmly on the part to recovery,

Please do not allow or do anything to cast a pall of doubt over its impartiality or integrity, he warned.

The governors of Kogi during the period to be probed by the committee are Ibrahim Idris and Idris Wada, who was the immediate predecessor to Bello.

(NAN)
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, has vowed to challenge the Kaduna State Governments order banning its activities, saying the action was illegal.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai had on Friday drawn on powers vested on him by the Constitution and laws of Kaduna State, to sign an order declaring the IMN an unlawful society.

The government said the action was taken in the exercise of its 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.

Reacting to the ban, spokesperson of the movement, Ibraheem Musa, told newsmen in Kaduna on Saturday that the action was an infringement on their basic rights as citizens of the country.

He, however, stressed that We are not going to be intimidated into taking any violence or unlawful activity but will take legal action against the Kaduna State Government for the infringement.
The present trials of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the colossus of the Southwest is not surprising to those who have vision. I saw it coming and that was why over two years ago, precisely on Tuesday, May 27, 2014, I wrote a back page op-ed on ThisDay newspaper titled From Battleground to Common Ground and in that piece, I said inter alia as follows:

A comrade is not for what you are for, neither does he share the same interests as you. A comrade is simply one who is against what you are against. In other words, you are bound by a common enemy. The All Progressives Congress, APC is a party founded on this premise. Those who are enemies of the President (Goodluck Jonathan) and the PDP gathered together to form a party whose foundation is their common enemy. They share no ideological connection, neither are they friends.

In actual fact, they may even hate each other, only that they hate the President and the PDP more and are willing to temporarily suppress their hatred for each other in other to gang up against their common enemy. In my experience, it is better to have a party built on common interests than to have one built on a common enemy.

This is because as even a political novice will tell you, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies only permanent interests. Now, if the above is true, what would happen to a party that is built on a common enemy? Parties built on this foundation last only as long as the enemy is in power. Once their enemy is no longer in power the party disintegrates. It does not matter if you hate Reno Omokris guts, but ask yourself if what I said has not turned out to be the truth.

In the space of just a month, Bola Tinubu has been deliberately mystified and treated with such contempt that even those who he considered his worst enemies find themselves feeling sorry for him. But he should have seen it coming! The unraveling of Bola Tinubu actually began on the 3rd of June 2016, when President Muhammadu Buhari publicly and right in Tinubus face told him at a reception the President held for members of the National Assembly at the Presidential Villa that the All Progressive Congress had no such position as a National Leader.

I know this because a Senator who attended the function called me almost immediately after the event and told me about how the hall descended into almost pin drop silence after the President made that assertion. I can assure my readers that President Muhammadu Buhari would never have made such a remark prior to the 2015 elections. But who needs a piece of toilet paper after it has done its job! That remark was the signal that sleeper agents within the APC were waiting for to begin the unraveling of the masquerade. Teaching him a lesson in Ondo state is only the beginning. Bola Tinubus comeuppance is not yet complete in the eyes of his traducers.

And then look at the way he is portrayed in Professor John Padens biography of the president. Paden portrays Tinubu as a desperate power monger who kept throwing himself at Buhari only to be rejected at each instance. Tinubu, see how low you have fallen! I do not know why Bola Tinubu is angry at Paden. Did he not read that this was an official biography? Paden was not there during the horse trading. The book was written with the cooperation of President Buhari. The things he wrote about Tinubu were the accounts he was given by the President. So Tinubu should call a spade a spade.

President Buhari merely told the world what he really thinks of Tinubu. And look at all the men around President Buhari who got to where they are on the back of Tinubu. Has anyone of them come out to speak in his defense? Where is Vice President Osinbajo? He can blame Jonathan but cannot defend his benefactor. Where is Fashola? He can come up with excuses for giving Nigerians darkness but cannot speak up for his oga? Lai Mohammed is nowhere to be found.

Perhaps he is too busy dressing up masquerades or looking for a parastatal under him to loan him some money! At the end of the day, after all the terrible things the propaganda wing of APC said and did to Ayo Fayose and Femi Fani Kayode, who came to the help of Tinubu but the two men demonized by the very same propaganda machinery that Tinubu helped set up.

And as for Tinubu, I cannot imagine why someone will write a book and insult you in it and still invite you to the launch and you agree to go simply because he is a president. Even worse, they asked you to write a review for the book and you did! Is this the same Tinubu that was so mouthy under Jonathan? Look at how he has become a chihuahua today.

Lord have mercy! Tinubu! Your Afonja too much! Did you not see what ex-President Goodluck Jonathan did with the so-called Leadership Award. You do not honour a gathering designed to reduce you with your presence. As the late kakanfo MKO Abiola would say a man who allows his head to be used to break a coconut may not live to eat it! Even the well respected Pastor Osinbajo cannot even publicly come to your defense and tell the truth of how you helped him secure his exalted office.

Yet he is the chief beneficiary of your generosity. My advise to you, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is this: a woman who continues to make herself available to a man that only remembers her when he needs her services to satisfy his lustfulness should not be surprised when her own children deny that she is their mother! Finally, going forward, before labeling people like Ayo Fayose and Femi Fani-Kayode as enemies, remember that it is better to be insulted with the truth than flattered with a lie.

Source: Vanguard
The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has recently made a jaw-dropping announcement of a Hugo Chavez Peace Prize.

Maduro on Friday announced in a televised broadcast the creation of a peace prize in honour of the countrys late leader Hugo Chavez, and said he was awarding it to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The announcement was made the same day that the Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Juan Manuel Santos, president of neighbouring Colombia. Santos bagged the award for his role in negotiating a peace agreement with Columbias FARC rebels.

Maduro said during his announcement, Ive decided to create the Hugo Chavez prize for peace and the sovereignty.

He also unveiled a statue of Chavez designed by a Russian artist.

I think President Vladimir Putin deserves this Hugo Chavez award, he added as he described Putin as a fighter for peace.

Maduro also stated that the winners of the prize will receive a miniature replica of the statue.

Hugo Chavez himself was known globally as a Socialist.

He often challenged the US during his 14-year tenure, and made alliances with Russia and China.
The local government poll held in Ogun State on Saturday has been described as charade by the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party in the state.

The opposition political parties, therefore, called for a total cancellation of the exercise.

A factional Chairman of the PDP in Ogun, Hon. Sikirulai Ogundele, and his LP counterpart, Mr. Abayomi Arabambi, made the call in Abeokuta, the state capital, while reacting to the conduct of the election into the 20 local government councils and the 37 newly created LCDAs in the state.

Ogundele said the cancellation had become necessary because the exercise was marred by violence and irregularities.

The PDP chieftain alleged that there were many reported cases of ballot box snatching as well as other logistic challenges across the state.

He also claimed that a PDP supporter, identified as Goodluck, who was trying to prevent ballot snatching, was shot in the chest at one of the polling centres at Ilara Remo in Remo North Council Area

The Chairman said that the victim was already receiving treatment at Babcock University Teaching Hospital in Remo Council Area.

Ogundele also alleged that there were reports of sporadic shootings at Orile-Ilugun area in Odeda council area resulting from clashes between rival parties.

He said Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGISIEC) also created additional polling centres, particularly in strongholds of the APC, without the prior knowledge of opposition parties.

Arabambi, on his part, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the party had no confidence in the conduct of the poll.

The state electoral agency has de-listed our party and therefore denied us from participating in the poll, the chairman said.

The Labour Party chairman further said that the party had already filed a suit against OGISIEC and would follow the case to a logical conclusion.

The 2015 Governorship candidate of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in Ogun, Mr Rotimi Paseda, also expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the poll, describing it as a deceit.

Paseda, who spoke at his Omu residence in Odogbolu Local Government Council after the voting exercise, said that election materials were not sufficient.

He said they had to travel to Odogbolu to request for more materials.

We cannot do anything else except to make our voices heard and show our dissatisfaction.

As far as we in the UPN are concerned, this local government election has not been credible.

Some of our candidates have been getting video reports to prove the irregularities and that is what we will take to court later.

If we cannot get judgment in court, we will abide by the rule of law, but there is a public opinion court, and that is where we are going to meet.

We will ensure that we post the video recordings all over the social media and as long as they are embarrassed, it is enough for us, he said.
Stranded visitors were confined to a bare room equipped with little more than electrical sockets. Photo provided by one of the confined tourists.

More than 100 Chinese tourists were reportedly turned away after trying to enter South Korea's Jeju Island during the recent seven-day Chinese National Day holiday, the Beijing News reported Saturday.

Some of the tourists arrived at the airport on Oct. 2 and have remained there ever since, undergoing confinement for more than five days. Their activities and movements were largely limited to a room lacking furniture or facilities, with the exception of electrical outlets. The tourists sat and slept on a bare floor, with nothing offered to keep them warm. They ate simple food provided to them by the airport for 50 yuan ($7.50) per meal.

According to the law, Chinese passport-holders can stay visa-free for 30 days in Jeju Island. Nevertheless, a number of cases of border officers denying entry to Chinese tourists have recently been in the news.

One visitor, surnamed Zhang, said he and his wife had signed up to travel as part of a tour group, which arranged their hotel bookings and travel itinerary. Upon arriving at Jeju International Airport on the morning on Oct. 6, a border officer refused Zhang and his wife entry, allegedly because they hadn't prepared a hard copy of their hotel booking record. The officer confiscated their passports and their tickets back to China.

They [the border officers] told us we could either book [an earlier] flight from the same airline back to China, or else wait in the airport for our original flight, Zhang said.

A visitor surnamed Feng said she and her husband were rejected because they happened to be traveling with another three passengers from the same hometown. The border officer therefore questioned them on suspicion of illegal immigrantion and then denied them entry.

On the afternoon of Oct. 7, the Chinese consulate in Jeju told the Beijing Times that they had contacted relevant departments in South Korea to convince them to do something about the situation.

The airport provided food for stranded tourists at the price of 50 yuan ($7.5) per meal.

Stranded visitors were confined to a bare room equipped with little more than electrical sockets.
The Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria (WFAN), Kano State Chapter said over 5,000 wheat farmers had so far registered for the CBN anchor borrowers programme in the state.

The state WFAN Chairman, Alhaji Faruk Rabiu disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of (NAN) in Kano on Saturday.

He said the number was still far below the target number of 75, 000 farmers expected to participate in the programme in the state.

The chairman said the association had recently established four new offices in addition to the existing 24, to encourage more farmers to register.

According to him, many farmers that collected the registration form have not returned them.

We started the registration on Aug. 15, but we are yet to get the target number of farmers as expected.

This prompted our decision to establish four additional offices to make it easier for our farmers to register in the offices nearest to them.

Rabiu called on farmers who have not returned their completed forms to do so, pointing out that the wheat planting season would be flagged off by Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje on Thursday, Oct. 20.

I want to advise farmers to make the best use of the opportunity provided by the Federal Government to boost wheat production in the state.

The chairman disclosed that the association had recently constituted a loan recovery committee to recover all outstanding loans from defaulters.
The Federal Governments decision to drop two-count forgery charge it initiated against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu and two former senior bureaucrats of the National Assembly, has been hailed by Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed and Deputy National Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Timi Frank.

The FG said on Friday it took the decision considering that the subject matter is already pending before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.

Aside Saraki and Ekweremadu, government prosecutor, Mr. Aliyu Umar, SAN, also applied to terminate further proceeding on the forgery charge against Alhaji Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa, former Clerk of the National Assembly and his deputy, Mr. Benedict Efeturi.

Mr. Umar, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, also said the action was a mark of the Federal Governments respect for the rule of law.

Reacting to the development, Gov. Ahmed, who succeeded Saraki as governor of Kwara in 2011, said it was proper, necessary and timely.

On his part, Mr. Frank commended President Muhammadu Buhari for choosing to act in national interest instead of allowing political vendetta in the alleged forgery case.

Ahmed, 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.

Speaking in the same vein, the APC deputy spokesman, 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 also 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.
Happy Halloween Market Tea Leaves - 50 minutes ago On Friday the indices zoomed Higher. What will we see today?

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 : 695-4 (+2.17%) 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.
@PtboSpeedway  @LucasOil  PETERBOROUGH, ON  With weather conditions that were more reminiscent of mid spring than the second weekend of October, the 24th Annual edition of the Autumn Colours Classic  presented by Lucas Oil Products  rolled from Peterborough Speedways pit road staging area filled with hope and enthusiasm.

For the second season in a row, the APC Auto Parts Young Guns Showdown races put tomorrows stars in the spotlight. Close to 10 teams  comprised of drivers 21 and under  took to Canadas Toughest 3rd of a Mile Paved Oval in Mini Stock machines for a 20 lap shootout. Cayden Lapcevich took the win over Miles Tyson, Brandon McFarren, Nick Clarke and Brandt Graham. 15 drivers, 25 and younger hit the track in the Thunder Car portion of the event, with Lane Zardo rolling into Dart Heating & Air Conditioning Victory Lane, over Miles Tyson, Treyton Lapcevich, Jordan Howse and Jade Franklin.

The first round of qualifying helped set the starting field for the Sunday afternoon main events, with Mat Box and Dwayne Baker taking the Pro Late Model checkered flags. Chris Allard, Warren Paxton and Kevin Strutt took the same honours in the Jiffy Lube Mini Stocks. Luke Gignac, A.J. Emms and Cory Horner took the OSCAAR Modified preliminary rounds. Jason Praysner, Brandon Passer, Joe Adams and Nick Roth captured the Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car heats. 2016 NASCAR Pintys Series champion Cayden Lapcevich, former Peterborough Speedway track champion Craig Graham and Autumn Colours Classic winner Ryan Kimball scored Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model wins, with Nathan Mitchell, Ryan Oosterholt and Malcolm Pops MacDonald claimed the Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun victories.

Photo attachments: Jim Clarke  Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media

Andy Kamrath (#35) and Brandon Watson battle for position during Pro Late Model qualifying during the first round of action at Peterborough Speedways Autumn Colours Classic.

Travis McLean (#6M), Morgan Robson (#28) and Warren Paxton head into the turn 3-deep with the Jiffy Lube Mini Stock pack at Peterborough Speedways Autumn Colours Classic.

Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model runners Lane Zardo (#46) and Steve Munro work their way through the corner at Peterborough Speedways Autumn Colours Classic.

Bullring Bullet Points: On opening night of the weekend, the 50/50 draw paid more than $560 to a lucky fanA trio of red flags was required to allow track official the opportunity to clean-up on track incidents. No drivers were injuredFans got to see close to 180 different machines to kick-off the first night of action, with more to come throughout the weekend.

Action at the Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing continues Saturday, October 8th with the qualifying for the OSCAAR Outlaw Super Late Models, Midgets and Pro Midgets; as well as the Trailers Plus INEX Ontario Legends. Second round heats for the Pro Late Model, Paul Davis Systems Thunder Car, OSCAAR Mod, Earl Ireland Auto Sales Late Model, Jiffy Lube Mini Stock and Battlefield Equipment Rental 4Fun divisions. The show will conclude with the Midget and Pro Midget features, Mini Stock, Late Model and 4Fun B main events. Pit gates open at 10:00, with the spectator grandstands unlocked at 1:00 and the days first green flag at 3:30.

Full schedule details for the annual Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing  along with up to the minute news and results  are always available at www.peterboroughspeedway.com and selecting Autumn Colours from the drop-down choices. You can also like the track on Facebook or follow it on Twitter. Fans can download the free Peterborough Speeway app for their Smartphone.
Fee- vs. Commission-Based Advisor: An Overview

The investment advisor field encompasses a variety of professionals. Some advisors are money managers and stockbrokers who analyze and manage portfolios. Other financial advisors focus on financial planning and often help with other aspects of a client's financial life, such as real estate, college financial aid, retirement planning, and tax planning.

However, regardless of the area of focus of the investment advisor, they typically fall into one of two categories: fee-based (or fee-only) and commission-based.

Investopedia refers to investment professionals with a strict fiduciary responsibility who advise clients or manage their financial assets as "advisers." We refer to investment professionals who follow the suitability standard as "advisors."

Fee-based advisors usually charge their clients a flat rate (or an "a la carte" rate), while commission-based advisors are compensated by commissions earned from financial transactions and product sales.

Which compensation type is better is the question. The answer may come from understanding the differences between the two and, ultimately, the costs of each.



Key Takeaways A fee-based advisor collects a pre-stated fee for their services, which can include a flat retainer or an hourly rate for investment advice.

A fee-based advisor charged with actively managing a portfolio would likely charge a percentage of the assets under management.

A commission-based advisor's income is earned entirely from the products they sell or the accounts that are opened.

A hotly debated topic is whether commission-based advisors keep the investor's best interests at heart when selling an investment or security.

Some fee-only investment professionals may require a minimum account balance of $500,000 to $1 million.

Fee-Based Financial Advisor

A fee-compensated advisor collects a pre-stated fee for their services. That can be a flat retainer or an hourly rate for investment advice. If the advisor actively buys and sells investments for your account, the fee is likely to be a percentage of assets under management (AUM).

It's important to note that the income earned by fee-based advisors is largely paid by clients. However, a small percentage of the revenue can be earned from commissions paid to the advisor by brokerage firms, mutual fund companies, or insurance companies when the advisor sells their products.

Fee-Only Advisors

Within the compensated-by-fee realm of advisors, there can be a further, subtle distinction. In addition to fee-based advisors, there are also fee-only advisers whose sole source of compensation is fees paid by the client to the adviser.

For example, a fee-only adviser might charge $1,500 per year to review a client's portfolio and financial situation. Others might charge a monthly, quarterly, or annual fee for their services.

Additional services, such as tax and estate planning or portfolio checkups, would also have fees associated with them. In some cases, advisers might require that clients have a minimum amount of assets, such as $500,000 to $1 million, before taking them on as a client.

Fiduciary Duty

Fee-only advisers have a fiduciary duty to their clients over any duty to a broker, dealer, or other institution. In other words, upon pain of legal liability, they must always put the client's best interests first, and cannot sell their client an investment product that runs contrary to their needs, objectives, and risk tolerance.

They must conduct a thorough analysis of investments before making recommendations, disclose any conflict of interest, and utilize the best execution of trades when investing.

Commission-Based Financial Advisor

In contrast, a commission-based advisor's income is earned entirely on the products they sell or the accounts that are opened. Products sold by commission-based advisors include such financial instruments as insurance packages and mutual funds. The more transactions they complete, or the more accounts they open, the more they get paid.

Commission-based advisors can be fiduciaries, but they don't have to be. The laws state they must follow the suitability rule for their clients. That means that they can sell any products that they believe suit their clients objectives and situation.

The yardstick for suitability is a fairly subjective one. They do not have a legal duty to their clients. Instead, they have a duty to their employers (e.g., brokers or dealers). Further, they do not have to disclose the conflicts of interest that can occur when a client's interests clash with those who are compensating the advisor.

Criticisms of Commission-Based Advisors

Each investor can have their own investment goals, financial objectives, and risk tolerance level. One of the core criticisms of commission-based advisors is whether they keep the investor's best interests at heart when offering a particular investment, fund, or security.

If the advisor is earning a commission from selling a product, how can an investor know, with certainty, that the investment being recommended is the best option for them? Perhaps it's actually a product that primarily benefits the advisor. To better understand how commission-based advisors work, it's important to know how they're employed and compensated within the financial community.

How Commission-Based Advisors are Compensated

Many commissioned-based investment advisors (including full-service brokers) work for major firms, such as Edward Jones or Merrill Lynch. However, these advisors are employed by their firms only nominally.

More often than not, they resemble self-employed, independent contractors, whose income derives from the clients they can bring in. They receive little or no base salary from the brokerage or financial services company, though the firm may provide research, facilities, and other forms of operational support.

To receive this support from the investment firm, advisors have some important obligations. The most important of these provides the firm with its revenues. Advisors must transfer a certain portion of their income to the firm. This income is earned through commission-based sales.

The problem with this method of compensation is that it rewards advisors for engaging their clients in active trading, even if this investing style isn't suitable for that client. It also may involve selling products that don't benefit the client.

Furthermore, to increase their commissions, some brokers practice churning, the unethical activity of excessively buying and selling securities in a client's account. Churning keeps a portfolio in flux, with the primary purpose of lining the advisor's pockets with commissions from transaction fees.

The Huge Cost of Conflicted Investment Advice

A 2015 report, "The Effects of Conflicted Investment Advice on Retirement Savings," issued by the White House Council of Economic Advisors, stated that "Savers receiving conflicted advice earn returns roughly 1 percentage point lower each year . . . we estimate the aggregate annual cost of conflicted advice is about $17 billion each year."

Costs of Fee-Only Advisers

Fee-only advisers have their drawbacks too. They are often seen as more expensive than their commission-compensated counterparts. Indeed, the annual 1%-2% they charge for managing assets will eat into returns.

A small percentage charged each year can appear harmless at first glance, but it's important to consider that the fee is often calculated based on total assets under management (AUM).

For example, a millennial who is 30 years old and has $50,000 invested with a fee-only adviser who charges 1% of AUM might pay $500 per year. However, when the portfolio is valued at $300,000, that 1% fee equates to $3,000 per year. And when the portfolio reaches $1 million, that seemingly harmless 1% fee jumps to $10,000 per year. Compounded over many years, these costs add up and can make a dent in what your portfolio might have returned.

Investors need to weigh the benefits received from the adviser's services against the ever-increasing amount of fees that they pay as their portfolios grow over the years.

What's more, although fee-only professionals help investors avoid the problems of churning, there should be no misunderstanding that brokerage commissions are not eliminated entirely. Investors still need to pay a brokerage firm to actually make trades. The brokerage may charge custodial fees for accounts as well.

The Fiduciary Rule

The debate over fee-based versus commission-based compensation for advisors heated up in 2016, with the advent of the Department of Labor's (DOL) Fiduciary Rule.

The ruling mandated that all those managing or advising retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, comply with a fiduciary standard. This conduct of impartiality involved charging reasonable rates as well as being honest about compensation and recommendations.

Most of all, it required that such professionals always put a client's best interests first, and never operate contrary to their objectives and risk tolerance. Advisers could be held criminally liable if they violated these rules. Never fully implemented, the DOL's Fiduciary Rule was rescinded in 2018.

Some fee-based advisers (such as money managers) already tended to be fiduciaries. In fact, if they were registered investment advisers, they were required to be. Commission-based advisors (such as brokers) weren't required to be fiduciaries. Though never fully implemented, the Fiduciary Rule sparked fresh conversations about advisors' conflicts of interest and transparency about their compensation. Many investors were unaware of both issues.

A report conducted by Personal Capital in 2017 found that 46% of respondents believed advisors were legally required to act in their best interests, and 31% either didn't know if they paid investment account fees or were unsure of what they paid.

The Bottom Line

There's no simple answer to which is bettera fee- or a commissioned-based advisor. Commissioned services might be suitable for investors with a smaller portfolio where less active management is required. Paying the occasional commission is not likely to erode all of the portfolio's returns over the long-term.

However, for investors with large portfolios who need active asset allocation, a fee-only investment adviser might be the better option. The key for investors is to understand upfront why an advisor recommends a certain investment to ensure that it's in their best interests.
Sun Fengqing, a 53-year-old elderly Chinese man, holds up a banner to sell his labor power in Binzhou, Shandong. His 6-year-old grandson was diagnosed with leukemia this year, and he has spent all his money to help cure his illness. The family is now considering selling their house. Mr. Sun wants to sell his labor power for the next 7 years in order to save his grandson. He says that he is willing to do any job if someone agrees to pay him RMB 100,000 over the next 7 years.
What Is a Unicorn?

The term unicorn refers to a privately held startup company with a value of over $1 billion. It is commonly used in the venture capital industry. The term was first popularized by venture capitalist Aileen Lee. Unicorns are very rare and require innovation. Because of their sheer size, unicorn investors tend to be private investors or venture capitalists, which means they are out of the reach of retail investors. Although it isn't necessary, many unicorns work their way to going public.



Key Takeaways Unicorn is the term used in the venture capital industry to describe a startup company with a value of over $1 billion.

The term was first coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee in 2013.

Some popular unicorns include SpaceX, Robinhood, and Instacart.

There are more than 1,000 unicorn companies around the world, as of March 2022.

The term unicorn can also be used by human resources managers to describe their ideal candidates, who may be overqualified for a certain position.

1:43 Investing In the Tech Industry

Understanding Unicorns

A unicorn is what most people in the financial world call a startup that is privately owned with a valuation that exceeds $1 billion. Reaching unicorn status is a rare feat. In order to become a unicorn, companies must have an innovative idea, a clear vision for growth, and a solid business plan, as well as a viable way to get their message to venture capitalists and private investors.

There are several options that unicorns have when it comes to their exit options, including:

Remaining private. Founders who want to retain control tend to keep their unicorns private. But this limits the potential for growth. And they often must find ways to provide funders with a return on their investments.

Going public. Companies get access to the capital they need to grow with an initial public offering (IPO). Some unicorn executives may be slow to take their companies public because it means diluting ownership.

Appealing to a buyer. Company owners and executives can achieve their goals quicker than if they remain private or by going public.

The term was coined by Aileen Lee, founder of Palo Alto-based Cowboy Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital fund. She first wrote about them in her article, "Welcome to the Unicorn Club: Learning from Billion-Dollar Startups," in which she looked at software startups founded in the 2000s and estimated that only 0.07% of them ever reach a $1 billion valuations. According to Lee, startups that reached this mark are so rare that finding one is as difficult as finding a mythical unicorn.

According to Lee, the first unicorns were founded in the 1990s. Alphabet (GOOG)then Googleshe noted, was the clear super-unicorn of the group with a valuation of more than $100 billion. Many unicorns were born in the 2000s, though Meta (META), formerly Facebook, is the decade's only super-unicorn. Some of the other more popular unicorns based in the U.S. include home-sharing giant Airbnb, video game company Epic Games, as well as fintech companies Robinhood and SoFi.

While unicorns are startups with valuations of over $1 billion, companies with valuations of over $10 billion are sometimes referred to as decacorns.

Special Considerations

The term isn't just exclusive to the world of startups. In fact, it is also a common word used to describe s recruitment phenomenon within the human resources (HR) sector.

HR managers may have high expectations to fill a position, leading them to look for candidates with higher qualifications required for a specific job. In essence, they seek unicorns, which creates a huge disconnect between their ideal candidate and those in the pool of people available.

For example, a medium-sized firm may want to recruit someone with marketing, social media, writing, sales, and management experience. And they may seek someone who speaks three different languages. While it may be cost-effective to hire one person with all those skills instead of multiple employees to handle separate tasks, it may be too much for the new hire to handle and can lead to disappointment.

Unicorn Valuations

The value of unicorns is generally based on how investors and venture capitalists feel they will grow and develop, so it all comes down to longer-term forecasting. This means their valuations have nothing to do with their financial performance. In fact, many of these companies rarely generate any profits when they first get running.

Investors and capitalists may come across some hurdles, though. If there are no other competitors in the industrymaking the startup a first of its kindthere may be no other business model with which to compare, making it a somewhat complicated process.

Unicorns and Venture Investing

Since the publication of Lee's article, the word unicorn has become widely used to refer to startups in the technology, mobile technology, and information technology sectorsusually at the intersection of all threewith very high valuations questionably supported by their fundamental finances.

Benchmark Capital partner Bill Gurley wrote about the difference between late-stage private capital fundraising and an IPO in a blog post, saying that "an unprecedented 80 private companies have raised financings at valuations over $1B" since the 2010s, and that "late-stage investors, desperately afraid of missing out on acquiring shareholding positions in possible 'unicorn' companies, have essentially abandoned their traditional risk analysis."

The question of whether the technology sector's unicorns constitute a reinflation of the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s continues to stir debate:

People like John Mullins (who wrote the book The Customer-Funded Business) argue that the increase in the number of new companies valued above $1 billion is a clear sign of froth in markets.

Others argue that a large number of companies with high valuations is a reflection of a new wave of technologically-driven productivity, similar to the invention of the printing press nearly 600 years ago. For example, SV Angel made the most early-stage investments in companies valued at over $1 billion, according to 2019 data.

Still, others suggest that globalization and the monetary policy of central banks created great waves of capital sloshing around the globe on a hunt for unicorns since the Great Recession.



Research shows that at least one in three unicorns went public as of 2019.

Examples of Unicorns

Far from being merely mythological creatures, unicorns are a regular feature in business and finance. In fact, there are more than 1,000 unicorns around the world, as of March 2022. Collectively, they are valued at over $3,516 billion.

Some familiar U.S.-based unicorns include Uber, Airbnb, SpaceX, Palantir Technologies, WeWork, and Pinterest. China claims a number of unicorns as well, including Didi Chuxing, Xiaomi, China Internet Plus Holding (Meituan Dianping), and Lu.com.

The following are some examples of very popular unicorns.

Nuro

One hot unicorn startup is Nuro, an autonomous vehicle delivery company that was founded by two engineers from Waymo, which is Google's self-driving car project. Founded in 2016, Nuro became a unicorn startup after receiving a $940 million investment from SoftBank Group, which put the company's valuation at $2.7 billion.

Nuro found a unique space in the autonomous vehicle industry, focusing on zero-emissions local delivery vehicles. Since then, Nuro has grown and acquired other startups including Ike Robotics. The company now has a few pilots, including its R1 and R2 generation of cars that is prototyping deliveries of medical supplies in California, as well as groceries in Fry's Food and Drug and Kroger stores. In March 2022, Nuro hit a valuation of $8.6 billion.

Instacart

Grocery delivery app Instacart is also another unicorn with over $2.7 billion in funding. The company was founded in San Francisco in 2012 and boasts over 500,000 items from local stores including Whole Foods, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Costco, and Harris Teeter.

As of March 2022, the company slashed its $39 billion valuation by nearly 40% to about $24 billion. The move was motivated by market conditions and the need to appeal to a better labor pool.



What Is a Unicorn in Business? The term unicorn is used in the corporate world to describe a startup company with a valuation of over $1 billion.

How Many Unicorn Companies Are There? There are more than 1,000 unicorns around the world, as of March 2022. Collectively, they are valued at $3,516 billion.

Is Amazon a Unicorn Company? Unicorns are typically used to describe privately-held startup companies with market caps of over $1 billion, so Amazon is not considered a unicorn company, as it is public. When Amazon went public on May 15, 1997, it raised $54 million, which gave it a market cap of $438 million, which was still well below the key $1 billion mark.

Why Are Startups Called Unicorns? Startups worth over $1 billion are called unicorns because they are so rare. These companies often have skyrocketing success or market traction, which launches them into almost a mythical category, since they are so rare.
Hey folks. Its finally cool enough to suit me here in New England, but as Hurricane Michael looms over Florida and the rest of the southeastern U.S. after ravaging the Caribbean, were hoping for a swift recovery for all the folks affected. Lets get into some IoT news, shall we?

In the first of our lead stories this week, Comcast announced its new IoT product, machineQ, which the company called a new business trial venture focused on building b-to-b solutions and a platform for the Internet of Things. As a part of machineQ, Comcast will work with partners in proofs of concepts.



In one of many news items from AT&T this week, the company announced that it is working with technology leaders to show how new LTE-M technology will bring the IoT to a new generation of devices and markets. It plans to pilot the LTE-M network in the San Francisco market starting in November and it will launch the technology across its commercial LTE network in 2017.

In a great guest post from Devavrat Shah, Jamieson Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, our guest asks the question of how data scientists can extract meaningful insights and accurately predict customers preferences in the age of big data. He discusses these recommendation engines and offers three tips to taking advantage of them.

And now, the news:

Honeywell announced that it has been awarded two new regional smart grid projects in Mexico by a consortium appointed by the countrys federal electricity company, Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), to manage its smart grid initiatives.

The IoT is taking to the air over at Verizon, with the announcement of its new strategy to drive innovation and wide-spread adoption for in-flight wireless connectivity through its Airborne LTE Operations initiative. The plan has been in the works for more than two years, according to the announcement.

AT&T and Amazon Web Services have announced that they have come together in a multi-year, strategic alliance agreement to optimize delivery of integrated solutions built on the companies' respective cloud and networking capabilities. The companies said that the collaboration is designed to help customers more efficiently migrate to and utilize the AWS Cloud with the AT&T network.

The Online Trust Alliance has released its OTA Consumer IoT Security & Privacy Checklist, which includes steps that consumers should take to help increase their own security, privacy and safety in the Smart Home and with connected and wearable technology, and other IoT devices.

This week on the IoT Time Podcast, I sat down with Scott Schwalbe, CEO, NimbeLink, to talk about Automated Cars, connectivity in the IoT, and I challenged Scott to write the One Standard to Rule Them All. This episode is sponsored by the IoT Evolution Expo. To become a sponsor of IoT Time, please email or tweet me.

Theres plenty more to read, listen to and watch, so visit us on IoT Evolution World for all the IoT news, my friends. Now is the time to put into your calendar the next IoT Evolution Expo, to be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Also, please get in touch with us when you have stories. As always, if you have questions, comments, complaints or compliments, please send them to me, editorial director Ken Briodagh at [email protected] or on Twitter @KenBriodagh.
Select A TV Show

- Select A TV Show - Les Vraies Housewives Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip Real Housewives di Napoli The Real Housewives of Amsterdam The Real Housewives of Athens The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Real Housewives of Auckland The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills The Real Housewives of Cape Town The Real Housewives of Cheshire The Real Housewives of D.C. The Real Housewives of Dallas The Real Housewives of Dubai The Real Housewives of Durban The Real Housewives of Hungary The Real Housewives of Jersey UK The Real Housewives of Johannesburg The Real Housewives of Melbourne The Real Housewives of Miami The Real Housewives of New Jersey The Real Housewives of New York City The Real Housewives of Orange County The Real Housewives of Potomac The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City The Real Housewives of Sydney The Real Housewives of Toronto The Real Housewives of Vancouver The Real Housewives Slovenia Vanderpump Rules
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.

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.

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.

Anne Longfield, Children's Commissioner for England, said: "Denning callously robbed children of their childhood after dazzling them with his celebrity connections and cynically manipulating them. It's right that he may spend the rest of his life behind bars for the damage he caused to his victims.

"Although his crimes were committed a long time ago some of the methods he used, such as plying children with alcohol or showing them pornography, are still used as part of the grooming process by offenders today."
All EU nationals will be allowed to remain in the UK after Brexit, according to a report.

The British Home Office has calculated that five in six of such migrants would be unable to be deported, according to the Daily Telegraph.

More than 80% of the estimated 3.6 million EU nationals living in the UK will have permanent residency rights by the time Britain is expected to leave the EU, with the remaining 600,000 set to be offered an amnesty, the newspaper said.

Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted that the status of EU nationals in the UK will depend on how the 1.2 million Britons in the rest of the bloc are treated after Brexit.

The British Government has come under attack from across the political spectrum for refusing to guarantee the status of EU migrants in the UK.

The PM has been accused of treating them like "bargaining chips" in the Brexit "divorce" deal negotiations.

Once an EU resident has been in the EU for five years he or she is entitled to permanent residency rights.

Mrs May has insisted that Brexit will see immigration controls imposed on new migrants.
A bird's eyeview of Mount Emei.

Its a trip to southwestern Chinas Sichuan province, and more specifically to a famous scenic spot: Mount Emei.

From the base of the mountain, the vehicle climbed a steep and winding trail through dense trees. I looked out the window and saw soft light filtering through the clustered tops of the tall trees that seemed to touch the sky. As we made our way higher up the mountain, the air outside got cooler and fresher, and the rich greenery changed from temperate broadleaf forests to subalpine pine forests.

We arrived at the visitors center and took a sky tram nearly to the peak of the mountain at 3,099 meters (10,167 feet). From there, I saw a more complete picture of the location. Standing on top of a sea of clouds, the view of the forest was just magnificent. Eighty-seven percent of the mountain is covered by trees; thats the official figure and also the impression I got from my own observations.

At the terminal we met several tourists hiking down the mountain. It was around 9 a.m. Their hardy outfits, slightly bleary, tired eyes and professional camera lens hinted at the purpose of their climb. While preparing for the trip, I learned that the mountain peak is a prime spot for photographers to enjoy a sunrise shoot. As we waited for the cable car, one man showed me his pictures: the ground and sky the same dark purple, the rosy clouds, a bright purple arch and finally an orange semicircle  the rising sun. The mist and clouds shaded the mans palette of colors.

The scenic value alone justifies Mount Emeis status as a UNESCO World Heritage site under natural criteria. However, in addition to its natural sights, the attraction also houses a number of important Buddhist temples, making it a mixed (both natural and cultural) heritage site. China has only four such sites.

A few minutes walk from the terminal is a large platform where rows of large incense burners are set out. Worshipers light and burn sticks of incense in bundles, which they wave above their heads while bowing. Some are simply casual tourists, while others are full-fledged monks dressed in maroon ropes. But all exhibit the same solemnity.

Silver frost highlight the marvelous snow-capped mountains, and gilded Buddhist architectures in southwest China.[Photo provided to People.cn]

The incense gave me my first real taste of the mountains Buddhist characteristics, though only because I missed the 55 temples scattered across the slopes on my way up. Baoguo Temple, Fuhu Temple, Wannian Temple, Huazang Temple, Xianfeng Temple  all are over 1,000 years old, and they helped to attract 3 million visitors to the mountain in 2015 alone, according to my tour guide. The mountain gained its first Buddhist temple some 1,800 years ago when the religion arrived from India; Mount Emei evolved into the center of Buddhism in China around the 6th century AD. It is the true cradle of Buddhism in China, and is one of Chinas Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains.

I couldnt have missed the mountains weightiest Buddhist presence, the 48-meter-high statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, or Pu Xian Bodhisattva. The soaring object was right above my head, facing me. From a short distance, the colossal gilded statue is absolutely spectacular. Walking up to its base, there is a shrine within the statue where tourists can work toward attaining enlightenment.

Wearing a gold Buddhist crown and holding a Ruyi Rod in its hand, the Bodhisattva sits on a lotus platform placed on an elephants back. The elephant has a long nose and strong legs, with eyes looking ahead as if it is about to bring the Bodhisattva down the mountain to preach. Many visitors took pictures, some commemorating the fulfillment of a long-cherished wish to visit the sacred site. Others were simply marking the end of the arduous hike to the summit.

Next to the statue is another, much lower shrine, but with a brighter golden color so radiant that it dazzled even in the dreary overcast weather. It is the Golden Summit, the highest shrine of Huazang Temple, honoring the Manjusri Buddha. Huazang Temple is said to have been built during the Donghan Dynasty (25-220 AD), but it has since been rebuilt multiple times because of fires. The latest renovation began in 1986, when the government shelled out 3.5 million RMB to reinforce and update it. That renovation gave the shrine its eye-catching, shiny exterior. The work lasted until 2005. When the temple reopened to public in the same year, 108 eminent monks from China and abroad rallied to witness the grand event.

The Mount Emei scenic zone is actively cultivating tourism. From Oct. 11 to 13, the site is inviting visitors to view its bamboo forests. From Oct. 15 to 17, it will hold friendly mountain-climbing competitions for foreigners and locals. About 40 kilometers away is the 1,300-year-old Leshan Giant Buddha, the largest stone Buddha in the world. Approximately 130 kilometers away is Chengdu Panda Base, where visitors can witness the endangered species at play. And to fuel all that sightseeing, tourists can indulge in the local Sichuan cuisine, which always lives up to its spicy reputation. The area never lacks wonders.

The 1,300-year-old Leshan Giant Buddha, the largest stone Buddha in the world.
Hillary Clinton has described a video of US presidential rival Donald Trump making lewd comments about women in 2005 as horrific.

Republican Mr Trump issued an apology after the video emerged of him making the sexually-charged comments, calling it "locker room banter".

But Democratic candidate Mrs Clinton said on Twitter: "This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president.

Mrs Clinton has said that Mr Trump has shown a lack of respect for women, noting during the first presidential debate that he insulted a former Miss Universe. She has said it is a reason why he's unfit to be president.

Mr Trump said "I apologise if anyone was offended" after the Washington Post revealed the video of him caught on a hot microphone while talking with Billy Bush of Access Hollywood.

He is heard saying he "did try and f*** her", referring to an unknown woman. He also used graphic terms to describe the woman's body and said he frequently tried to kiss beautiful women.

He boasted that "when you're a star they let you do it", adding: "You can do anything."

Mr Trump has a long history of making crude comments about women.

Meanwhile Mr Trump has claimed that border officials have been told to allow immigrants into the US illegally so they can vote in the presidential election.

He offered no evidence to support his latest claim that presidential voting may be tainted by fraud, but claimed: "That's a massive story. They are letting people pour into the country so they can go ahead and vote."

He was speaking after a meeting with Art Del Cueto, a vice president for the National Border Patrol Council, who told him officials are being directed to ignore criminal histories of immigrants and speed up citizenship applications.

Union spokesman Shawn Moran, who was with Mr Del Cueto for the meeting in New York, said later in a telephone interview that several issues were conflated during the round-table discussion.

Border Patrol agents have seen an increase in attempts to cross the border from Mexico illegally, Mr Moran said, but he did not say any border agents had been ordered to let those immigrants in so they could vote in November.

The two issues are sometimes linked in a misleading fashion, and the brief exchange between Mr Del Cueto and Mr Trump underscored that.

Neither man offered evidence to back up the idea immigration officials are taking action to allow people who have recently crossed the border to cast ballots on election day. Newly admitted immigrants are not permitted to vote, a right that is reserved for citizens.

The process of achieving citizenship takes years. Applications are handled by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, not the Border Patrol.

There is no evidence that USCIS officials have been directed to quickly approve citizenship applications, although some lawmakers have asked the agency to address such reports.

Mr Trump has repeatedly said he fears the election will be rigged and has made a hardline stance on immigration a centrepiece of his campaign.

His latest provocative claim comes as he and Mrs Clinton prepare for their second debate, a town-hall style confrontation on Sunday night. It is a critical moment for Mr 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.

Both candidates have been treading lightly on the campaign trail in recent days, as Hurricane Matthew barrelled down on swing state Florida.

Later Mr Trump said it was "outrageous" that the original suspects in one of New York's most notorious crimes were exonerated - even though someone else confessed to the attack.

Five black teenagers were charged in 1989 with brutally beating and raping a young woman jogging through Central Park. The suspects were known as 'The Central Park Five'.

They were convicted in a racially charged case based on confessions they said were coerced.

But in 2002, another man confessed and DNA evidence matched him to the crime scene. The original suspects were released and paid 41 million dollars by New York State

Mr Trump told CNN that he condemned the settlement, declaring "they admitted they were guilty".

After the attack, Mr Trump took out a full-page ad with the headline: "Bring Back The Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police!"
Funds controlled by Qatars former prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani bought 6.1% of Deutsche in mid-2014 and increased their stake to just under 10%, including options, in July this year.

However, Germanys biggest bank has been engulfed by a crisis of confidence since last month after the US Department of Justice demanded up to $14bn to settle claims that the bank mis-sold US mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis.
John Cleary Developments (JCD), which built the two City Gate office campuses in Mahon  home to one of the largest concentrations of US multinationals in Ireland and where some 2,500 people work  is in pre-planning talks with City Hall to build around 220 apartments on part of a nearby site earmarked for a 280,000sq ft office complex.

City councillors will decide the fate of the project at a crucial rezoning meeting on Monday night.

JCD has full planning permission for its City Gate Plaza project on the former MaCom site in Mahon and is poised to break ground within weeks. But it has now proposed to replace two of the already permitted office blocks and some surface car parking to the rear of the site with four apartment buildings, and build a mixed-use development.

It says it could build up to 220 high-quality apartments on site, making it one of the most significant residential accommodation projects in the city in recent years.

The sites zoning would have to be amended from business and technology use to business, technology, and residential, before planning permission can be sought for the apartments.

Construction of the offices will start in November and will create 200 construction jobs over the next two years, said a JCD spokesman.

However, based on strong recommendations from our client companies and a willingness on our part to do something significant to relieve the housing shortage in Cork City, we are proposing to alter our permitted planning to allow for a combined scheme of grade-A offices and up to 220 high-quality apartments.

Should the council approve the variation, our intention would be to apply for planning permission for the residential element immediately. If this is granted, we would build the apartments in conjunction with completing the offices, with them being available to occupy by the third quarter of 2018.

Councillors are due to vote on Monday on a series of variations to business and technology zoned lands across central Mahon.

The sites combined have the capacity to deliver up to 700 apartments.

Dan Kiely, CEO of Mahon-based global outsourcing giant Voxpro, who warned about the citys housing shortage threatening jobs growth, backed JCDs City Gate Plaza apartments plan.

As CEO and co-founder of a growing business already employing over 1,000 staff in the local area and with plans to expand those numbers, I am concerned about the ongoing tightening supply of available housing in Cork City, he said.

The lack of adequate and affordable housing poses a major challenge to businesses in Cork trying to expand their workforce.

The issue of housing is one of the biggest challenges which Ireland faces at the moment; it isnt just a Cork problem. The lack of adequate supply coming on stream poses a real risk to businesses in Cork City and it is for this reason I believe there is a strong need and case for this mixed development in Mahon.

This development makes sense from a social point of view, given the current housing crisis; from a business point of view, enabling new businesses and current business to grow and expand; from a transport point of view, allowing people to work and live in the same area, and from an environmental point of view by encouraging more sustainable transport options.

It is an issue that has to be dealt with, and it can be overcome with developments such as this.

Mahon-based Qualcomm director Paul Ryan also backed the project. It will provide accommodation choices for our existing workforce but will also help us attract new hires from outside Cork. An added attraction is the ability to live and work in the same area, he said.

JCD built City Gate and City Gate Park right through the recession. Both are fully occupied, with companies which employ more than 2,500 people. The City Gate Plaza project has potential to create up to 1,000 jobs.

However, Mahon experiences chronic traffic congestion. Local SF councillor Chris OLeary, who attended a meeting of ward councillors on the issues last night, said he felt they were being pressurised into a decision.

My heart is torn. Yes, we need houses, but its a question of where they are built, he said.

I am against a blanket variation. Doing so would result in more houses and more office spaces being put into an area when there is no solution being put forward to address the underlying traffic issues in the area.

There is existing capacity on other sites, which should be built first. And there is capacity on Jacobs Island too.

But JCD said it recently commissioned construction of an additional lane in front of the original City Gate and the installation of traffic lights on the junction of St Michaels Drive and the Mahon Link Rd.

City Hall said it is working on several traffic management plans for the area, including the realignment of Skehard Rd.
Details of a vicious and unprovoked attack on a foreign national boy were outlined at Limerick Circuit Court during the sentencing hearing of one of the accused yesterday. The defendant, aged 16 at the time, along with a co-accused, armed themselves with stolen hurleys before chasing the terrified victim and beating him unconscious.

The defendant cornered the victim, 16, who did not speak English, in a dead end and threw a rock at him, levelling him, said John OSullivan, SC, prosecuting.
Eoghan Keating, who cannot talk and is tetraplegic, yesterday settled his action against the HSE for an interim sum of 2.5m. His counsel told the High Court there was a profound misdiagnosis when he had infectious chicken pox. The boy later suffered a brain injury of the most profound kind, counsel Liam Reidy said.

University Hospital Waterford general manager Richard Dooley in a statement read to the High Court apologised on behalf of the management and staff for the deficiencies in the care provided to Eoghan at the hospital on August 24, 2012.

I would also like to acknowledge the many challenges that you and your family have faced as a result of the treatment afforded to Eoghan, he said.

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, of 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 irritable and crying and 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 hospital if concerned.

That night it is claimed a swelling in the babys 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 Hospital. 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 antibiotics when he first presented and an alleged failure to heed the indicators of a significant evolving infection.

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 Eoghans case will be assessed. An action for nervous shock by Eoghans patents is also in the pipeline.

There is no dancing. He cannot reach out his arms to give hugs any more

Eoghan Keating cannot hug anymore. He cant talk and is tetraplegic.

The little boy was just short of his second birthday when he was brought to the A&E of Waterford Regional Hospital with a high temperature and a rash.

There was, his counsel told the High Court yesterday  a profound misdiagnosis of his chicken pox infection and the boy was not admitted for treatment. He later became ill and suffered a brain injury.

Yesterday, the High Court approved a 2.5m interim settlement for Eoghan, who is now six years of age.

University Hospital Waterford also apologised in court to Eoghan and his family for deficiencies in the care provided to him at the Waterford hospital on August 24, 2012.

His mother, Martina Keating held back tears as she described her son before and after his illness.

He was an energetic, fun-loving toddler and very sociable and he loved nothing more than giving hugs to everyone when he was leaving a room or saying goodbye. 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 is now not to be.

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 warrior, 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 any more.

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 Cross told the Keatings your suffering cannot be described or defined.

Outside court, Eoghans father, 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.
John Rogers, counsel for Ms Kerins, said Mr 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 others mentioned in it, including another ex-Rehab CEO, Frank Flannery.

Mr Rogers 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 27 and April 2014 concerning public payments to Rehab as it had.

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 hearings were 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 27 hearing she later attempted to take her life and could not attend the April 10 hearing.

The PAC argues that it had jurisdiction to conduct the hearings as it did and is entitled to scrutinise how public funds are spent in a context including 80m public monies paid annually to Rehab companies.

Yesterday, Mr Rogers said the March 2014 article by Mr Ross referred to the Rehab witnesses appearing before the PAC on February 27 and alleged that the committee was given the two-finger treatment with key questions left unanswered, including concerning Ms Kerinss 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 Mr 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 said there was the option of a defamation action, Mr Rogers argued there was no recourse in the context of the process of the committee.

Counsel also said PAC chairman John McGuinness wrote an article in the Irish Sun dealing with what Mr McGuinness regarded as Ms Kerinss refusal to appear again before the PAC.
A total of 18% said it should not be repealed; 55% said it should be repealed to allow for limited access to abortion in the cases of rape and fatal foetal abnormality; 19% said it should be repealed to allow for abortion in all cases requested, as in Britain, while 8% had no opinion.

The Pro-Life Campaign said it was reassured by the poll, Dr Ruth Cullen said: The poll clearly shows that 73% of respondents do not want unrestricted access to abortion in Ireland, along the lines of what the Repeal campaign is looking for.
Marcin Wojciechowicz, aged 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-workers 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.

Wojciechowicz, with a former address at a hostel on Gardiner St, 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.

Wojciechowicz told gardai 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 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 psychiatric services in Poland for a period of one year.
Ive a sleepwalking history  yes it is a possible, I dont 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 dont remember doing it , the now 29-year-old said. He said he was in a semi-conscious state and claimed he would never have unprotected sex. He has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of rape at an apartment in Dublin on September 28, 2008.

Anne Rowland, prosecuting, read the accuseds memo of interview with gardai to the jury, in which he admitted his then girlfriend would often wake up to him grinding his crotch against her.
Fassbender  accompanied by his partner, the Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander, and his parents Adele and Josef  was led by a piper into the formal drawing room of the historic lakeside house where Queen Victoria stayed in 1861 during a visit to Killarney.

In an emotional acceptance speech, the 39-year-old, who was born in Heidelberg in Germany, recalled how his family  his father Josef and his Co Antrim mother Adele  were actually immigrants.

They moved to Killarney when he was two years old and his sister, Catherine, was aged six.

Mom and Dad, I want to thank you take this opportunity for your wisdom and foresight in moving here and giving Catherine and myself roots in this very special place, he said.

He also thanked his primary school, Fossa National School, and the teachers who had taught him with such passion. He paid tribute too to St Brendans College, his secondary school.

There was a special mention for the actor Donie Courtney, who introduced him to drama and who was more responsible than anyone for his career.

Its only because of this town and its people that I am in a position to receive this award. Thank you to Killarney and to everyone in Killarney, he said.

Through my work I get to travel all over the world. Its one of the many perks  alongside kissing Alicia Vikander, he said to laughter from the audience.

I get to meet many different people, many different cultures but I always feel very proud and very lucky to say I come from Kerry, I come from the Kingdom, I come from Killarney, I come from Fossa.

Michael Fassbender was led by a piper into the formal drawing room of Muckross House for a civic reception.

Fassbender said always wore where he came from as a badge of honour.

The support for me here in Killarney and Fossa and Kerry takes my breath away, he said.

He felt like he had the whole county behind him when he took on a new venture.

It was a great honour for him to receive the order of Inisfallen  named after the monastic island where Brian Boru studied  which called to mind the deep and ancient history of Ireland and of Killarney.

And it was an island synonymous with healing, and education as well as one of spiritual significance, and he felt very humbled to be associated with that, he said.

Introduced as the greatest ever and most handsome ugly sister by master of ceremonies Michael Rosney, it was recalled that Fassbenders first dramatic role, cast by his drama teacher, Donie Courtney, was as one of the aesthetically challenged sisters in Cinderella.

Josef Fassbender, a chef, arrived to work at the Liebherr-owned Hotel Europe but established his own restaurant at the West End, and for 20 years the family ran what developed into one of the towns top places to eat.

Killarney mayor Brendan Cronin drew laughter when he said he too had attended The Sem, as the secondary school is known, and added: There are similarities!

On a serious note, Mr Cronin said of Fassbender: He has never shied from his roots in Killarney you have always retained your links to Kilalrney. Welcome home!

It was also recalled how Fassbender had served as an altar boy at Fossa Church.

His sister Catherine is a leading neuropsychologist based in California and his parents live in Killarney.

He was presented with a scroll and a special lapel pin at the ceremony jointly organised by the Killarney Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, the Killarney municipal council, and the Trustees of Muckross House.

Past recipients of the award include Isolde Liebherr, of Liebherr Ireland, Killarneys biggest employer, and she was present at the ceremony last night.
Yan Yiwen, born in 2009, is a primary school student in Qingdao, Shandong province. The girl has a special dream, which is to take photos with as many national monuments as possible.

Yan's dream began three years ago, when she went with her father to climb Mount Changbai. Because Yan was born premature, her father started taking her climbing when she was just 3 years old to improve her physical stamina.

Yan's father is a soldier, and he, too, has a special fodness for national monuments. When he and Yan first set eyes on the monument at Mount Changbai, he encouraged her to keep walking by pointing to the monument in the distance and urging her not to give up the chance to see it up close.

After that, Yan and her father began their national monument tour. They went to Heihe and Manzhouli in northern China last year, viewing national monuments between China and Russia. The father and daughter also traveled to Dandong in Liaoning province this National Day holiday.

"We have already taken photos with more than 10 national monuments, and my daughter is very happy," said Yan's father.
Former High Court judge Iarfhlaith ONeill has been appointed by Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald to review allegations of wrongdoing contained in two protected disclosures which landed on her desk on Monday.

He has been given six weeks to produce a report to her and recommend a course of action.

The new inquiry follows reports in the Irish Examiner earlier this week, which detailed the very serious allegations contained in the two protected disclosures.

Responding to the announcement last night, Independents4Change TD Mick Wallace described the inquiry as a mere paper exercise, but insisted that, in his view, the Commissioner will be gone by Christmas.

The news comes as a separate report compiled by a senior member of the force outlining what is claimed to be dysfunctionality at management level is due to be sent to the Department of Justice in the coming days.

The report is understood to include a number of strands of complaint including reference to a clique-based management which excludes most assistant commissioners in decision making.

Ms OSullivan is fighting calls for her to be sacked after whistleblower Superintendent David Taylor disclosed that he took part in the campaign to attack another whistleblower, Sgt Maurice McCabe.

Supt Taylor insists he was acting on orders from on high and that Ms OSullivan was aware of it.

The Commissioner yesterday refused to address Supt Taylors claims, telling reporters they would be dealt with on another day. Before allowing any further questions she said: Right now I have another meeting to go to.

In a statement last night, Ms OSullivan said she welcomed the decision by the Tanaiste and Minister for Justice to appoint Mr Justice Iarfhlaith ONeill to review recent protected disclosures.

An Garda Siochana will co-operate fully with this review process, she said.

In her statement, the Tanaiste said that Judge ONeill can make any inquiries with persons or bodies that he considers appropriate in relation to the review. After the six-week period, Judge ONeill will recommend a course of action to her.

Supt Taylor, who is currently suspended from duty with the force, was arrested last year on suspicion of leaking material to the media and went to the High Court earlier this year to stop disciplinary proceedings being taken against him by the Commissioner.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Wallace said that, in his view, the inquiry will trigger the departure of Ms OSullivan from her post.

Six weeks is very quick and it looks like a paper exercise from the Government, said Mr Wallace. :But I know what is in those disclosures and mark my word, she will be gone by Christmas.

The Government has enough evidence to justify getting rid of her without needing the inquiry.

Fianna Fail spokesman on justice Jim OCallaghan welcomed the decision by the Government to launch a formal inquiry into the latest set of Garda whistleblower allegations.

I welcome the establishment of a formal inquiry to examine these serious allegations, said Mr OCallaghan. Fianna Fail has been clear in saying that such an investigation is needed.

News: 8&9
Labour leader Brendan Howlin confirmed that he handed over a comprehensive document compiled by one of Bill Kenneallys victims detailing a litany of concerns around the handling of the investigation.

There is going to have to be an investigation of some kind and the victims must be at the heart of it, Mr Howlin told the Irish Examiner.

The matter has been referred to Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan by Ms Fitzgerald, who has in the first place, sought the views of the Garda Commissioner on the issues raised.

Mr Howlin said he had met with a victim and believed that there are many issues that must be explored.

He said: I met with the Tanaiste on Tuesday night briefly in the Dail, then I met with her again at lunchtime on Wednesday. I sat down with Frances and went through it and she accepts the significance of the situation.

He added that he expects to speak with Ms Fitzgerald again next week and hopes to meet with her and the victims to discuss the parameters of the inquiry.

Victim Paul Walsh, 45, says he is very eager to ensure that all victims are given the opportunity to tell their story.

He was abused for a number of years and waived his anonymity after the trial in February of this year when Kenneally was jailed for 14 years for abusing 10 boys in the 1980s.

Mr Walsh is one of five abuse victims who wrote to Ms Fitzgerald last month through their lawyer Darragh Mackin seeking a Commission of Investigation.

They claim senior gardai, members of the South East Health Board, members of Fianna Fail, and members of the Catholic Church were aware of the abuse and turned a blind eye.
Anthony Ward, 32, from Crumlin, south Dublin, shot himself after his girlfriend managed to escape and he was pursued on January 27, 2015 by patrolling gardai in south Dublin.

In its report, GSOC praised the strong co-operation they received from gardai which resulted in an expeditious investigation.

GSOC had been automatically referred the case by gardai as it had been one where a person was seriously harmed in an incident involving contact with gardai.

Ward had arrived at 9.30pm on January 26 at the home of his girlfriend Niamh Fitzpatrick and threatened to harm her with a knife. He took her from her apartment and forced her to drive him to a relatives house in her car. He continued to be violent and punched her in the mouth during the car journey, which caused one of her teeth to fall out.

When they got to the relatives house, Ward went in briefly. When she tried to escape he came back out and caught her and dragged her back into the car.

A witness rang Garda Command and Control about the incident.

As Ms Fitzpatrick drove away, she saw he had a gun in his hand.

The girlfriend said Ward talked about driving them up to the mountains and maybe shooting both of them, or just himself.

Ward drove towards the M50 and stopped at a service station. He told his girlfriend to go in and buy a cigarette lighter, threatening to kill her if she did not return.

At the garage, the woman ran into the shop and asked staff to press the panic alarm and contact gardai.

A marked garda car was on patrol at the time in the vicinity and the gardai saw the woman running towards the shop and a car exiting the forecourt at speed.

They pursued the car and informed Garda Command and Control. A second garda vehicle in the area also pursued the car.

The car went around a roundabout over the M50 and failed to stop at red lights, before exiting on the Tallaght Road heading towards Templeogue.

As the car approached the Spawell roundabout, a third garda patrol car stopped on the meridian markings on the roundabout and activated its blue lights.

Ward drove passed but hit the kerb, causing the car to spin 180 degrees before coming to a halt.

There was no physical contact between the car being driven by Anthony Ward and any of the Garda vehicles during the brief pursuit, said the report.

It said accounts of both gardai and independent witnesses confirmed that Ward exited with a revolver in his hand which he pointed in the direction of gardai approaching him.

Ward walked over to a grass verge and shot himself.

The GSOC report said there was no evidence of garda misconduct or wrongdoing at any stage of their involvement with Mr Ward during this incident.
These were people who didnt benefit from the Celtic Tiger and were doubly, affected by the recession, NSFR director of research Ella Arensman, told the Irish Association of Suicidology annual conference in Killarney.

The in-depth study of 307 people who took their own lives during the period 2008-2011 inclusive in Cork City and County included interviews with health practitioners who had dealt with the deceased as well as a study of coroners files.

It found a link between the three things  austerity, and economic factors and psychological vulnerability, said Prof Arensman, who is also attached to the Department of Public Health at UCC.

A persons occupation defines them very much and the impact of unemployment as well as employment on mental health is huge, contributors said. A new term, the precariate, is being used for workers because of the current precarious nature of employment and its impact on mental health.

Prof Arensman noted that Ireland at the time suffered extreme measures from government austerity plans.

The extent of the cut-backs here were much more significant, she said, noting that suicide figures are still 12% more than before the economic crisis.

Sara Leitao, NSRF senior researcher/primary care liaison manager found high rates among construction workers whom the recession had hit hard; but she also found high rates among nurses and medical staff. Of those unemployed at the time of their death, 36.1% worked in construction. Further research into the link between employment and suicide is needed, she said.

There is a big stigma about mental health among health workers, and this is not unique to Ireland, said Prof Arensman.

The nurse cannot be sick... the doctor is on a certain pedestal... they cant admit to having mental health problems.

Prof Arensman warned of the dangers of misinformation and sensationalism in media reporting of suicide. The family in the case of the recent murder-suicide in Cavan had been painted as the perfect ideal family in the community. That had resulted in phone calls to helplines, especially by mothers asking if this can happen out of the blue to them too. It caused a lot of fears among mothers, said Prof Arensman.

Meanwhile, the term suicidal should be replaced by emotional pain, the conference heard. The urge to end it all arises when people are so overwhelmed by emotional pain their focus narrows and they can not see options, and suicide is seen as a solution.

But there are always better solutions, said Declan Murray, consultant psychiatrist, HSE Mental Health Services North Dublin, and a senior clinical lecturer at University of Limerick.

Dr Murray said suicide determinations are not easy, even after the event and noted that predicting suicide is even more difficult.

Coroners vary considerably in the verdicts they give to individuals who probably died by suicide and of 593 deaths classified as suicide by researchers only 385 or 65.4% received a suicide verdict, said Dr Murray.
Ioan Lacatus, aged 33, from Hanover St, 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 (3,900) a week in wages from his uneducated prey.

Judge Patrick Lynch 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 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 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.
According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, there were 32 patients on trolleys in the Limerick ED  the highest number recorded in the country  as Mr Harris to witness the extent of the ongoing hospital trolley crisis.

Mr Harris said the scene that met him inside the hospital left him in no doubt we need the new ED as quickly as possible.

After touring the Limerick ED, so he could see the full picture, Mr Harris said: Its extraordinarily difficult for staff and patients.

A new, larger, emergency department for Limerick, due to be opened in April or May next year, is a month behind schedule due to contractor delays, the minister added.

After negotiating Limerick ED, Mr Harris said: It had an impact on me, theres no point in saying anything else. Im very conscious as minister for health that I cant do my job by just sitting behind a desk in Dublin. Thats why I have visited around 20 hospitals since I took up my job about five months ago.

He said he was struck by the exceptional care staff continued to give patients, despite the EDs most difficult of physical circumstances.

Its clearly too small, said Mr Harris. It has a low roof and packed corridors. The staff are doing a great job. It cant be an easy environment to work in.

He hinted that the Government was committed to a huge health spend in next weeks budget, to help address current problems with recruitment and retention of nurses, and create better working environments for staff.

Were now back in a period of reinvestment in our health service, said Mr Harris. After years of having to cut health budgets weve seen the HSE budget increase this year. I expect the budget will show a massive commitment to the health service, with a huge level of funding for the coming year.

He described nurses as the backbone of the health service, and while he acknowledged the barriers to attracting home Irish nurses and doctors who had emigrated, he said the Government was committed to investing in staff.

We are investing in facilities and [jobs], converting agency posts into full-time permanent posts, said Mr Harris. This is a real journey and we wont get there overnight, but Im absolutely committed to doing this.
It is the first university to retain the top title for two consecutive years in the 15-year history of the Sunday Times award. Along with the current double, UCC also won the top award in 2003, 2005 and 2011.

UCCs success is underpinned by making teaching as much of a priority as research, with 70% of its academic staff having a qualification in teaching and learning. The university is also the first in Ireland to develop an online programme in teaching staff in higher education.
Marie Dicker, aged 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 August 31, 2012.

Ms Dicker, of Cherryfield Road, Walkinstown, Dublin, told the court she felt like she had been trapped for 20 minutes but a CCTV recording 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 her 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 Squares 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 was unable to travel in lifts at all.

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.

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 result of being trapped in the lift.
On her daily commute into the city on a train that passes through their old neighbourhood, Rachel fantasizes about the perfect lives of Tom, Anna and their nanny Megan (Haley Bennett).

Then Megan goes missing, and Rachel realises a crucial detail about Megans disappearance lurks somewhere in the depths of her booze-sodden memory.

Adapted by Erin Cressida Wilson from the phenomenal bestseller by Paula Hawkins, the story is in its bare bones a conventional thriller: an amateur sleuth stumbles into a mystery armed with information that ensures only she can solve it.

What makes this one of the most absorbing thrillers since Mystic River (2003), however, is its emotional power, much of which can be attributed to a superbly nuanced performance from Emily Blunt in the central role.

Rachel is a brittle and flawed inversion of the usual heroic tropes, a normal woman struggling (and mostly failing) to cope with a life that has crashed and burned, and her desperate attempt to regain her sense of dignity and worth is the prism through which the mystery unfolds.

Brilliantly plotted, with director Tate Taylor expertly weaving together a number of sub-plots, The Girl on the Train is a gripping thriller of depth and subtlety that may well herald the advent of a new kind of Hollywood heroine.

War on Everyone (16s) stars Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Pena as Terry and Bob, two New Mexico cops from hell.

Casually brutal, Terry and Bob are cops for whom the detective shield is a flag of convenience that allows them carte blanche in their approach to fighting crime: You can shoot people for no reason and no one can do a damn thing about it.

Worse, the duo are utterly corrupt, chasing criminals not to bring them to justice, but to shake them down for bribes and backhanders.

Their latest scheme involves targeting the elaborate scam hatched by Lord James Mangan (Theo James), but are Terry and Bob about to bite off more than even these Rottweilers can chew?

Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (The Guard, Calvary), War on Everyone is a blackly comic parody of the buddy-buddy cop movie, with the characters firing off pithy one-liners designed (it seems) to insult virtually every culture, nation and minority group on the planet.

Although its laugh-out-loud funny in places, the story quickly begins to drag given the sketchy plot and crude characterisations  had McDonagh chosen to focus on a particular plot strand or theme (the hot-button topic of racial profiling by police, for example, which recurs on a number of occasions), War on Everyone would have been a much more cohesive offering, even if it might have needed a new title.

Pena and Skarsgard are as charismatic as they are repellent in the lead roles (theyre a bolshier version of Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys), but for the most part War on Everyone is a Tarantino-lite tale that sabotages itself in its eagerness to cause offence.

Mattress Men (15A) is a documentary about YouTube sensation Mattress Mick, aka Michael Flynn, the Dublin-based mattress retailer who rejuvenated his ailing business through unlocking the potential of social media.

The focus of Colm Quinns film, however, is Paul Kelly, the mastermind behind the Mattress Mick videos that went viral  heavily in debt, desperate to get off the dole, and struggling to maintain his relationships with his wife and children, Paul is a real-life character straight from the pages of Charles Dickens.

It sounds like an offbeat, quirky tale, and there is plenty of humour here  the Mattress Mick viral video features a DeLorean and a Back to the Future theme, and the documentary is spliced with scenes of Brian Traynor, dressed as a mattress, wandering the streets of Dublin  but Mattress Men is an important social documentary, a penetrating and heart-breaking account of life in post-recession Ireland.

Moreover, theres a universal message here: Pauls experience is essentially a struggle for basic human rights and needs, and its one conducted with uncommon dignity.

Irish documentary-making is going through something of a purple patch at the moment, and Colm Quinns feature-length debut is one of the finest examples of the genre.

The Girl on the Train 5/5

War on Everyone 3/5

Mattress Men 4/5
This year the President of Italy launched the event in the beautiful Carignano Theater.

There were ministers and mayors and dignitaries galore but most of the guests needed to be reminded of the Presidents name, Sergio Matarella, who doesnt appear to have reached the notoriety of his predecessor, consequently his name was unknown to many of the 7,000 delegates who had come from 143 countries worldwide.

Its the worlds biggest food event, over 900 exhibitors and 400 events and the majority of the stalls are small to medium sized artisan producers.

For the first time this year it was held out in the open across Turins beautiful parks, squares, markets, museums and along the banks of the River Po.

Carlo Petrini, the messianic President of Slow Food International gave an impassioned talk on respecting farmers all over the world who labour to produce the food that nourishes us.

Slow Food launched an appeal on behalf of the inhabitants of Amatrice, the area just hours east of Rome recently devastated by earthquake.

Amatrice is considered by many to be the birthplace of the best cooks in Italy.

Afterwards the colourful Terra Madre parade of farmers and food producers marched through Turin in their national dress proudly carrying their national flags.

The theme of this years event was Loving the Earth.

Ireland was represented by the Irish Slow Food Raw Milk Presidium. They were inundated with people queuing 3-4 deep wanting to buy tasting plates of Irish raw cheeses.

Maria Roeleveld represented the Slow Food Raw Milk Presidium. Other Irish delegates were Aidan Dunwoody from Comeragh Mountain Lamb, Joe Fitzmaurice of Riot Rye Bakehouse and Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery.

Molly Garvey came from Slow Food Irish Youth, Aisling Stone from Slow Food North West, Pat Warner from The Harmony Farm.

We found many wonderful foods - white plums from Monreale in Sicily, Saffron from Jiloca, cured herrings from Norway, wild figs from Macedonia, Mangalica sausage from Macedonia, wild pepper from Madagascar, Argan oil and dates from Morocco, Ilo coffee from Mozambique, Bitta orange flower from Sardinia, beautiful hazelnuts from Piedmont.

There is a universal realisation that we can no longer go on treating the earth that feeds us in the cavalier way we have been.

Farmers are increasingly concerned about the diminishing fertility of the soil as a direct result of the intensive farming method encouraged since the 1950s.

Even in Ireland over 50% of our land is phosphorous deficient and 10% of soils are selenium deficient. These are elements essential for life.

There are 12 Slow Food chapters here in Ireland and a huge network worldwide.

The philosophy can be summed up in just three words  Good, Clean and Fair:

Good  food should be wholesome, nourishing, delicious and good for us as well as the environment.



Clean  safe to eat and produced in a clean environment.



Fair  the farmers, fishermen, food producers and farm workers should be paid a fair price.

Roast Piedmont Peppers with Anchovies, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Flaky Sea Salt

Roasting large red or yellow peppers intensifies the sweetness and makes them far easier to peel. Choose fat fleshly organic peppers.

There are three ways to roast peppers:

1: Preheat the grill or better still use a charcoal grill or barbecue. Grill the peppers on all sides, turning them when necessary  they can be quite charred, but check the flesh is also soft.

2: Preheat the oven to 250C/475F/gas mark 9. Put the peppers on a baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes until the skin blisters and the flesh is soft.

3: Put a wire rack over a mild gas jet, roast the pepper on all sides. When the skin is charred and the flesh is soft, remove from the heat.

When roasted by whichever method you choose, put peppers into a bowl, cover the top tightly with cling film for a few minutes, this will make them much easier to peel.

Pull the skin off the peppers, remove the stalks and seeds and discard  put in the hens bucket or the compost bin.

Do not wash or you will loose the precious sweet juices.

Divide each pepper into 2 or 3 pieces along the natural division. Put 1-3 pieces on a plate.

Lay 2 beautiful anchovies on top, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Sprinkle with a few flakes of sea salt.

Serve with freshly grilled sour dough bread. Simple but divine.

Tira Misu

The name means pick-me-up and its not surprising either considering the amount of booze!

This is a fairly recent Italian pudding which seems to have originated in Venice but which is now served in restaurants all over Italy, and it always tastes different.

Weve had rave reviews for this version which is very easily put together.

Mascarpone cheese, which is an essential ingredient, is now becoming more widely available.

Serves 8

38-40 Boudoir biscuits

12 fl oz (350 ml) strong espresso coffee (if your freshly) made coffee is not strong enough, add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee)

3 tablespoons brandy

3 tablespoons Jamaica rum

3 ozs (75g) dark chocolate

3 eggs, separated, preferably free range

3 tablespoons castor sugar

9 ozs (255g) Mascarpone cheese

Unsweetened Cocoa (Dutch process)

Equipment

Dish 10 x 8 inches (25.5 x 20.5cm) with low sides or 1lb loaf tin (8 x 4 inches (20.5 x 10cm) lined with cling film

Mix the coffee with the brandy and rum. Roughly grate the chocolate (we do it in the food processor with the pulse button). Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until it reaches the ribbon stage and is light and fluffy, then fold in the Mascarpone a tablespoon at a time.

Whisk the egg whites stiffly and fold gently into the cheese mixture. Now you are ready to assemble the Tira Misu.

Dip each side of the boudoir biscuits one at a time into the coffee mixture and arrange side by side in the dish or tin. Spread half the Mascarpone mixture gently over the biscuits, sprinkle half the grated chocolate over the top, then another layer of soaked biscuits and finally the rest of the Mascarpone.

Cover the whole bowl or loaf tin carefully with cling film or better still slide it into a plastic bag and twist the end.

Refrigerate for at least 6 hours - I usually make it the day before I use it.

Just before serving scatter the remainder of the chocolate over the top and dredge with unsweetened cocoa.

Note: Tiramisu will keep for several days in a fridge, but make sure it is covered so that it doesnt pick up fridgie tastes.

*Mascarpone, a delicious rich creamy cheese which originated in Lodi in Lombardy is made by curdling cream with citric acid. It is often used instead of cream with fruit and pastries.

Barny Haughtons Bucatini all Amatriciana

The sauce for this deeply delicious and simple dish has four basic ingredients: tomatoes, shallots, chilli and bacon. But there are some rules about the ingredients:

You really need to get the right bacon; the deep flavour of a good Amatriciana comes from the rendered-down fat.

The best bacon cut is guanciale (pork cheek) but a good fatty unsmoked pancetta will do fine as well.

Bucatini, (like thick spaghetti) is best for the pasta but rigatoni or penne will also do well - but dont use fresh pasta.

And finally: use pecorino not parmesan.

The difference may not seem a big deal but what you get from pecorino (made from sheeps milk) is a sharpness which works brilliantly with the rich Amatriciana sauce.

Parmesan (made from cows milk) is sweeter and less defined in its flavour

Serves 4 people

400g guanciale or a piece of fatty pancetta

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

3 shallots very finely sliced

600g ripe tomatoes  or a 380g tin of good quality chopped tomatoes

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper

80grms aged pecorino, grated

400g bucatini

olive oil

First make passata out of the tomatoes. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350/gas mark 4, place the tomatoes on a roasting tray, toss them in a little olive oil and salt and bake them for about 45 minutes.

Leave to cool for a few minutes and then pass through a mouli or sieve, leaving behind only the dry skin and seeds.

If you have lots and lots of ripe tomatoes, for example 5 kilos, you could do as above, then reheat the passata to simmering and transfer to sterilised jars, screw the lids on tight and keep in a cool place for up to three months until needed.

Slice the guanciale into thickish rashers and then into lardons about 1cm wide.

Put a splash of olive oil in the bottom of a deep solid bottomed saute or frying pan, bring to a medium heat and put the lardon in the pan.

Once they have started to fry, turn the heat down and continue to fry gently. As the fat renders down, pour it off into a bowl. Continue doing this until the lardons become crispy.

Drain the remaining fat off into the bowl; put the lardons to one side.

In the same pan, fry the sliced shallots until soft but not brown.

Add the chilli flakes, fry a little longer, and then add the passata, bay leaves and a few twists of black pepper.

Simmer gently for 25 minutes and keep warm.

Cook the pasta in the normal way but make sure you cook it to just before its al dente.

This is because you are going to finish it in the sauce for a further 30 seconds or so.

Drain, toss in olive oil and put to one side.

Meanwhile, add the rendered fat to the tomato sauce and have the crispy lardons ready in a warm place.

Next, add the pasta and lardons to the sauce in the frying pan, simmer for 30 seconds and serve immediately with lots of grated pecorino.

Hot tips

Get Blogging: Join pro-blogger, Lucy Pearce, on a whistle-stop tour of the blogging world and discover the ingredients for a successful blog.

Youll see just how diverse blogging is, and how to find your own niche.

In just three hours you will be fired up and ready to take the online world by storm with your own blog.

Lucy will compare the different blogging platforms, highlighting their pros and cons so that you can select the best one for your blog.

Then the fun begins as she gives you a guided tour behind the scenes on a blog and shows you the most useful gadgets and gizmos to use.

Youll learn the basics of blog design, how to customise basic blogging templates, the secrets behind writing popular posts, how to spread the word about your blog, how to find and keep readers.

You will leave with a comprehensive set of notes to refer back to as you establish your blog, confident to build, design and grow your blog.

Saturday, October 15, www.cookingisfun.ie

The Ballinspittle Beef, Bacon, Beer and Barbecue Battle: Ballinspittle, close to Kinsale will host a Barbecue Battle on October 22.

There are three categories Low and Slow, Thrill of the Grill and Ethnic. Amateur and Professional entries welcome.

Entry forms from Diva Cafe in Ballinspittle, closing date: October 10. Tel: 087-2339434 or Tim on 087-9750557.

Taste of Cork Week, October 10-16: As part of Taste of Cork Week, Urru is hosting a Pop Up lunch on October 15 at No 7 Bridge Street in Barrys Tea first premises.

A long table lunch hosted by West Cork artisan producers.

For more details phone Ruth Healy at Urru on 023-8854731 or www.urru.ie

Spice Pop Up: Another pop up to celebrate Taste Cork Week, this time Arun Kapil from Green Saffron and Canice Sharkey, chef patron of Isaacs Restaurant in MacCurtain Street, Cork, will host Spice Pop Up.

Its a five course menu on Tuesday, October 11, beginning at 8pm. Tickets are 35 including aperitif on arrival.

Booking isaacs@iol.ie or 021-4503805.

Hazelnuts: Hazelnuts are in season at present, go for a foraging walk on the hillsides around the country.

They are delicious eaten fresh from the shells.
China's tourism revenue during the recently-concluded seven-day "Golden Week," which celebrates the country's Oct. 1 national day, totaled 482.2 billion RMB ($72 billion) this year. That number marks a 14.4 percent year-on-year increase, according to China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

During the vacation period, China saw a total of 593 million travelers, up 12.8 percent compared with the same period last year. According to China's railway department, a record 108 million passengers took the train during the holiday, a 9.3 percent year-on-year growth.

Thanks to the relaxation of visa requirements for Chinese citizens, China witnessed an 11.9 percent growth in outbound tourists during the holiday. From Oct. 1 to 7, the number of outbound tourists reached 1.39 million. South Korea, Japan, Russia, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, France and Singapore were the top destinations, though visa-free policies also attracted Chinese tourists to Morocco, Tonga and Tunis.
PANA is a wonderful place to glean the essentials of life. I was walking down Cork citys central artery the other day when I overheard (read: earwigged) two women discussing the virtues of coconut oil. It can take 10 years off you, said one, though I couldnt get close enough without rumbling myself to hear whether one should apply or ingest it.

I did, however, sneak a surreptitious glance and was rocked to see that my Patrick Street beauty tipsters were still in their school uniforms.

They looked no more than 16. If they were at the oldest end of school-going age, they were 19 at most. I did the sums: 19 minus 10 equals nine. Why would any teenager aspire to look like a nine-year-old? When I was 19, everyone was trying to look 10 years older, not younger.

How topsy-turvy our attitude to ageing has become. Though, youll see that attitude everywhere.

People  but women in particular  are celebrated if they are deemed to have beaten the hideous march of time. A woman who can ward off wrinkles  and a creeping roll of flesh around her middle  is a woman who has truly achieved something worthwhile, it seems.

Society will garland you if you reach a Big O birthday without looking too decrepit. Proof, if it were needed, is in those intensely annoying headlines that praise wonderfully talented women such as Helen Mirren and Sophia Loren for looking stunning for their age.

In the last few months, Sophia (81) was feted in the press for looking just as glamorous as ever when she enjoyed a girls day out with her sister in Rome.

We were directed to admire her casual yet chic look, a billowing grey knit paired with coordinating grey slacks.

Contrast that with a recent Esquire article about Clint Eastwood (86) who was trumpeted as a man who is still vital and vibrant, still pushing himself creatively.

The writer gushed: The guy is an inspiration, a reminder that we should always be evolving.

Now that I think of it, I dont recall ever seeing a picture of Clint in his swimming trucks under a caption enthusing about how amazing he looked for his age. Of course, all of this is taking place in the starry stratosphere, a world that few of us will ever inhabit.

Equally, few of us will have to worry about looking as good as Sophia Loren does at 81 because we dont look even remotely like her at 41.

Yet, those messages filter down to the real world where, as a woman wholl have to work until shes 68, Id prefer to embrace the collective attitude to Clints advancing years  that we should always be evolving  rather than be forced into Sophias ever-glamorous straitjacket.

And theres the thing. Much has been written about our changing demographics; we are all living longer and now we will be expected to work longer, too.

However, we have failed to truly grasp the radical impact that is going to have on Irish society.

In the 2006 census, 11% of the Irish population were aged 65 and over. By 2041, that number will double; some 1.4 million Irish people will be aged 65 and over.

Commentators have pointed out the serious issue of a pension shortfall, but there is much more to consider. We are going to need a seismic shift in our attitudes to ageing if we are to cope with the change.

The average life span in Ireland has increased by nearly 25 years since the 1920s, but our attitude to getting older hasnt moved with the time.

In the same way that the notion of the teenager was introduced in the last century, we need to start talking about a second middle age that stretches from about 60 to 75.

Some researchers in the UK have even suggested that 70 is the new 50, based on the belief that age should be calculated not on ones actual age, but on how long people are expected to live after retirement. By that reckoning, you reach old age when you have 15 or fewer years left to live.

This, of course, is all great news, but we need to start talking more positively about middle age first and then think about introducing the concept of a second middle age.

As it is, the focus for women has been on trying to hold all their bits in place as they get older rather than how much they have to contribute to society.

The single inspiring thing about the American Presidential election is that it includes a female candidate older than our current retirement age.

Despite what the knockers say about Hillary Clintons health, age and ability, the fact that she is in with a real chance of becoming the first woman in the Oval Office in her seventh decade is a positive message for older people everywhere.

And while this column agrees with the commentator who said Donald Trump (70) might well have been fashioned from a block of cheese, it is inspiring to see a man in second middle age follow such a gruelling schedule without batting a cheesy eyelid.

You have to ask, however, if our attitudes to the older people who run for office translate into the everyday workplace office?

It seems not. Earlier this year, a William Fry employment report Age in the Workplace showed that age was seen as a real barrier among those seeking work.

Some 38% said their age had been a negative influence on finding work, and that figure rose to a staggering 87% among the over-55s.

That might seem irrelevant to the teenagers on Pana right now, but they are the ones who are going to have to worry about being on the metaphorical scrapheap when they still have a good 30 years of life to live.

We truly are entering a new age.
Nobody should be surprised that liberal-leaning newspapers like the New York Times, or Boston Globe, have endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Most of the American dailies have actually been endorsing her and repudiating Donald Trump, who has not yet received the endorsement of even one daily newspaper.

The Boston Globe endorsed the Clinton campaign last January before the primary elections even began. The New York Times went on to endorse her in September.

Our endorsement is rooted in respect for her intellect, experience, toughness and courage over a career of almost continuous public service, often as the first or only woman in the arena. We believe Mr Trump to be the worst nominee put forward by a major party in modern American history, the New York Times wrote.

Most of the newspapers seem to consider Trump a clown, or a frightening liability. The New York Daily News carried a doctored front-page photograph depicting him as a clown. It had the bold headline: Clown Runs For President.

Clintons endorsements from the Baltimore Sun, Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Portland Press Herald might all have been considered predictable. Such endorsements do not usually count for much, because the newspapers are generally so predictable, but this year has been very different for the Republican candidate.

For the first time in three quarters of a century The Dallas Morning News has actually endorsed a Democratic nominee for president. It had even endorsed Barry Goldwater in 1964 when he was running against president Lyndon B Johnson of Texas. However, the Dallas newspaper has essentially renounced Trump.

There is only one serious candidate on the presidential ballot in November, The Morning News declared last month. We recommend Hillary Clinton. Clinton is a known quantity, the endorsement continued.

For all her warts, she is the candidate more likely to keep our nation safe, to protect American ideals and to work across the aisle to uphold the vital domestic institutions that rely on a competent, experienced president, it wrote. While admitting that Clinton has drawbacks, The Morning News concluded that the Republican nominees liabilities were even worse. Trumps values are hostile to conservatism, it warned.

He plays on fear  exploiting base instincts of xenophobia, racism and misogyny  to bring out the worst in all of us, rather than the best, it said.

The Cincinnati Enquirer has consistently endorsed Republican candidates for president for even longer than The Dallas Morning News, but it, too, has come out in favour of the Democratic candidate.

While Clinton has been relentlessly challenged about her honesty, the Enquirer editorial warned recently, Trump was the primary propagator of arguably the biggest lie of the past eight years: that Obama wasnt born in the United States.

Trump has played fast and loose with the support of white supremacist groups, the newspaper said.

He has praised some of our countrys most dangerous enemies  see Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Saddam Hussein  while insulting a sitting president, our military generals, a gold star family and prisoners of war like Senator John McCain.

The Arizona Republic never before endorsed a Democratic candidate for president in its 126 years of existence, but it had broken that trend now. The newspaper was obviously incensed by Trumps attack on John McCain, the Republican nominee against Barack Obama in 2008. McCain has been one of the US senators from Arizona for the last 29 years.

The San Diego Union-Tribune has not endorsed a Democrat for president in its 148-year history, the newspaper emphasised.

But we endorse Clinton. Shes the safe choice for the US and for the world, for Democrats and Republicans alike.

The Chicago Tribune had generally been linked with the Republican Party, but it did endorse Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Of course, he was the local candidate. Hillary Clinton is a native of Illinois, but this time the newspaper has essentially decided to stand on the fence by endorsing Gary Johnson, the nominee of the Libertarian Party.

A former governor of New Mexico, Johnson ran as a Libertarian candidate in the last presidential election, but he did not come even remotely near winning any of the 50 states, so there is little reason to suspect that he will do much better this time. He received just 3.5% of the vote in his home state of New Mexico.

Although Johnson is on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, he is not generally considered a viable candidate. Nevertheless, a number of prominent newspapers have endorsed him this year. As well as The Chicago Tribune, those include the Richmond Times- Dispatch, The New Hampshire Union Leader, and the Detroit News.

What would seem significant about this, however, is the fact that all of those newspapers endorsed the Republican candidate in the last presidential election. Their stand now could be interpreted as a rejection on Trumps candidacy. He obviously scares many Americans.

No daily newspaper in the United States had yet endorsed Trump, while nine of the 15 daily newspapers that endorsed the Republican candidate in 2012 have endorsed Hillary Clinton this time. Three of the others declared for Gary Johnson and three have refused to endorse any of the candidates. Michael Morell, the former acting director of the CIA, caused a sensation when he came out publicly in the New York Times in an op-ed column under the headline: I Ran the CIA. Now Im Endorsing Hillary Clinton. His story featured on the various television networks as well, as other newspapers such as The Washington Post and Chicago Tribune.

He worked for 33 years in the CIA, serving under six presidents. He never before publicly endorsed any candidate, but he gave two reasons for endorsing Hillary Clinton this year.

First, Clinton is highly qualified to be commander in chief, he said. Second, Donald J Trump is not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security.

He suggested Trump had unwittingly allowed himself to be used by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This evoked the shadow of the Manchurian Candidate of the famous 1959 novel.

Paul Krugman, a prominent New York Times columnist, duly depicted Trump as a Siberian candidate whose campaign amounted to a Russian intervention into the American elections. This seemed like the kind of the smear tactic Trump would use.

Morells own approach was largely positive. He said he worked with Hillary Clinton for four years while she was secretary of state. His positive contribution seemed almost startling against the backdrop of the incessant negative campaigning.
WHO are we to believe? Last Wednesday, the under-fire Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan denied she had any knowledge of any smear campaign against whistleblowers within the force.

That was the charge made in two explosive protected disclosures which landed on the desk of Tanaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald last Monday.

One of the men behind the disclosure is a former Garda press officer, Superintendent Dave Taylor, who has claimed the commissioner personally knew of the campaign to discredit the integrity of Sergeant Maurice McCabe.

Commissioner OSullivan would like to make it clear that she was not privy to, nor approved of, any action designed to target any Garda employee who may have made a protected disclosure, and would condemn any such action, was the line from the Garda Press Office on Wednesday.

Supt Taylor, it seems, met with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin in Leinster House on Thursday for 90 minutes, when he restated his claims, according to a report yesterday in the Irish Independent.

Asked for her view on the claims in the story, the commissioner reissued the exact same statement  that she was not privy to nor approved any action to destroy whistleblowers.

At a doorstep, Ms OSullivan refused to address the queries, repeatedly saying that is a matter for another day. I have another meeting to go to.

So what we are left with are not just different viewpoints, but wholly contradictory statements on a most serious matter.

So is Supt Taylor correct or is Ms OSullivan correct?

If Supt Taylor is correct and the commissioner did have knowledge of said campaign to smear Sgt McCabe, then. given her public denials, her position is without question untenable.

If Supt Taylor is wrong and Ms OSullivan can prove it, or at least do enough to get this controversy away from her door, then her position as commissioner is more secure.

Silence from her at this juncture is not an option, given that we now know Supt Taylor is the man involved.

Lets take a step back to Mick Cliffords original exclusive story in this newspaper on Tuesday.

That story said the following: Two senior gardai have made statements under whistle- blower legislation, alleging that senior Garda management conducted a major campaign to destroy a whistleblower within the force. The protected disclosures of the two officers reference a campaign that included spreading false, scandalous, and damaging allegations against the whistleblower in question.

The purpose of the campaign was to completely discredit the whistleblower to the extent of destroying his character. One of the two officers making the disclosure is admitting his role in the campaign to discredit the whistleblower, but claims he was following orders.

That day in the Dail, Independents4Change TD Clare Daly let rip as to who she thought was to blame.

Did it not seem odd to the Taoiseach when the Garda Commissioner said this morning that she wants to encourage whistleblowers within An Garda Siochana to come forward, despite all of the evidence that these people have been mistreated? Ms Daly said during leaders questions.

If the Garda Commissioner herself is not directly involved in the harassment, does the Taoiseach not have a problem with the fact that her authority is so discredited that instructions she has allegedly given for whistleblowers to be protected are being ignored, wholesale, across the ranks of An Garda Siochana?

The crucial element is that Supt Taylor is now the most inconvenient witness from Ms OSullivans point of view.

He is not some junior officer from the sticks who can easily be marginalised.

He was the senior officer authorised to deal with the media on behalf of the force.

He would have had constant access to the commissioner of the day, which was her, and Martin Callinan before her.

Central to the disclosure is that Supt Taylor was acting on orders from on-high. That means the office of the commissioner, and nowhere else.

This point has to be addressed by Ms OSullivan, and quickly, if she is to retain any credibility.

The matter has dominated the political agenda all week.

Independent TD Mick Wallace let fly his fury on Thursday in the Dail, where he called on the Tanaiste to remove the commissioner.

The Garda is in turmoil, said Mr Wallace. 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. The Tanaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality cannot leave her in position.

In response, Ms Fitzgerald said she was precluded from commenting on the matter and said there should not be a rush to judgement.

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.

Ms Fitzgerald, once again, as a member of the law and order Fine Gael party, is having to contain a major scandal in the justice area.

Previous similar scandals have taken down her predecessor Alan Shatter, former commissioner Martin Callinan, and others, and Ms Fitzgerald herself is under fire for not being prompt enough in her dealings with whistleblower complaints.

As reported in the Irish Examiner in recent days, whistleblowers Nick Keogh and Keith Harrison have claimed that their repeated pleas for help to Ms Fitzgerald have gone without any tangible response from the Tanaiste.

The prospect of yet another commission of inquiry has been met with some expressions of discontent, as a result of the raft of inquiries now in train.

While there is some fatigue with such a move, an independent examination of Supt Taylors claims is the very least that is required at this stage.

Ultimately, in the two years since Ms OSullivan has been in the job, we have heard many expressions from her about the protection of whistleblowers.

While Supt Taylors claims carry the status of allegations at this stage, they follow a very similar pattern to previous claims from gardai such as McCabe, Keogh, and Harrison.

With Supt Taylors claims now out in the public domain, the burden is now on Ms OSullivan to prove him wrong and to vindicate her statements of denial.

The Taoiseach and Tanaiste have so far expressed their confidence in the commissioner, but we know how quickly such confidence can evaporate.

Just ask Martin Callinan or Alan Shatter on that one.

An unsteady Ms OSullivan said yesterday that this is a matter for another day, but be sure of it, that day is coming fast.
I had vague memories of the story from 2007.

Meredith Kercher, a British student living in Italy, had been found dead in her bedroom, her throat slit.

Within days the police had arrested her roommate, a 20-year-old American woman called Amanda Knox, and Knoxs boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.

What followed became an international sensation, the tabloids salivating over the salacious details  was it a drug fuelled sex-game gone wrong?

Was Knox, as one paper called her, Luciferina with the face of an angel? Knox and Sollecito were found guilty, and then acquitted, found guilty again, and then in 2015 both were declared innocent by Italys highest court.

The documentary doesnt reveal any new details about the case.

I was left with the impression that I had before  that a miscarriage of justice had occurred but ultimately my sympathy lay with Meredith and the Kercher family who have never achieved any kind of real resolution.

What I did discover was a newfound appreciation of how misogynistic the media coverage at the time was and the influence that had upon the case itself.

Knoxs family released a statement saying that it was clear to them that the attacks on Amandas character in much of the media and by the prosecution had a significant impact on the judges and jurors and apparently overshadowed the lack of evidence in ... the case against her but many of us dismissed that as misguided familial loyalty.

Looking back, I think that the Knox family were accurate in their analysis, whether you believe in Amandas innocence or not.

The prosecutor in the investigation, Giuliano Mignini, was very forthright about his Catholic beliefs, and the setting up of Meredith as the Madonna in comparison to Amandas Whore becomes increasingly clear.

He said Amanda was uninhibited bringing boys home but Meredith was different, and he believed Meredith scolded Amanda for her lack of morals, causing the two to argue.

This reductive juxtaposition of the two young women was seized by the press, and Nick Pisa, the journalist featured in the documentary, says at one point, what more could you ask for in a story?.... sexual intrigue, girl on girl crime, with a delighted grin on his face.

Lurid headlines called Knox a femme fatale and a man-eater, interviewers asked her if she enjoyed deviant sex, details emerged about how Knox and Sollecito bought risque underwear in sex shop together.

A narrative began to develop that Knox was, as she said herself, a heinous whore, sex obsessed, bestial.

Such were her powers of seduction, it was whispered, that she had manipulated Sollecito and Rudy Guede (the man whose DNA was subsequently found at the murder scene) into raping and killing Meredith, the two men so besotted with the angel-faced Knox that they simply couldnt resist her demands.

A naive MySpace nickname Foxy Knoxy came back to haunt her and much was made of her physical appearance, with a reporter commenting that she looked paler and skinnier when the case came to trial and that she could maybe use some hair and makeup because apparently its the duty of all women to appease the Male Gaze, regardless of whether theyve been in jail or not.

During her initial imprisonment, Knox was falsely told that she was HIV positive and encouraged to make a list of the men that she had slept with.

These diaries were leaked to the press, Amanda described as perverted and infected (because why not shame the millions of people around the world living with HIV?).

The fact that a 20-year-old woman had slept with seven men was seen as shocking but even if Knox had sex with 107 men, was this really further proof that she had murdered her roommate?

Ive talked before about the idea of the perfect victim, particularly in cases of sexual violence.

As a culture we seem to have a finite amount of sympathy for victims and this is very much dependent on whether they have obeyed greater societal rules about how we expect women to behave.

What if a female rape victim was drinking too much, or took drugs, or walked home alone, or went back to a strangers house and then said no at the last minute, or wore a short skirt and a revealing top, or has ever engaged in sex work, or is an ethnic minority, or has committed a crime in the past, or is homeless, or has previously enjoyed unusual sexual practices such as anal sex or BDSM or threesomes (despite the fact these are a part of countless womens sex lives) or has had many sexual partners?

Sadly, as a result many women - and lets face it, that list includes most women in some shape or form - feel that they cant report what has happened to them because they dont think they will be believed.

What struck me about the documentary was that this level of perfection was also expected from the accused.

Yes, some of Knoxs behaviour was odd  the photos of her eerily smiling in court, reports that she had been turning cartwheels and kissing Sollecito outside the crime scene  but much of that could be attributed to shock and immaturity.

It was, as Nina Burleigh said in Newsweek, a story that resembled a fairy tale about things that happen to bad girls and to good girls.

Knox had committed the sin of openly enjoying her sexuality and dabbling with soft drugs, and coupled with what was seen as her lack of empathy after Meredith was found dead, she was cast as unnatural.

She did not adhere to the rules.

She was not a proper woman and therefore deserved to be punished.

And punish her they did  and continue to do. Foxy Knoxy, they shout at her. Its you, I know you, they say to her in the queue at grocery store.

And she turns around and says to them, No. You dont know me.

And I dont think we ever did.
SUPERINTENDENT David Taylor is a highly unlikely whistleblower.

He has been named as the man who has made allegations that there was an organised campaign in senior Garda management to destroy the reputation of another whistleblower within the force. Significantly, Supt Taylor is admitting his own role in the campaign, but also implicating other senior managers, including the current commissioner, Noirin OSullivan.

The commissioner has stated that she had absolutely no knowledge or involvement in any such campaign.

Supt Taylors allegations are potentially explosive. If found to have substance, the allegations point to a culture within the force that is far more corrosive than heretofore believed. It would also call into question the credibility of the commissioners repeated claims that she welcomes internal complaints from officers. At a time when the force is beset by both industrial relations problems and reports of major divisions within management, the Supt Taylor allegations represent a major threat to the continued tenure of the current commissioner.

While a number of officers have come forward in recent years with complaints of malpractice, this is the first time that somebody of Supt Taylors rank has made that leap.

As the forces chief press officer during the turbulent years of 2013 and 2014, he was at the centre of power, based in HQ, and closely liaising with then commissioner Martin Callinan, and Noirin OSullivan, who was Callinans deputy. His role provided a unique insight into what went on at the very top of An Garda Siochana.

Now he is reportedly claiming that among his duties was to furnish the media with scurrilous rumours and lies about a whistleblower, understood to be Sgt Maurice McCabe. He was also, he claims, party to texts that were circulated among senior management about the whistleblower which were designed to damage him. And he says there was an intelligence file created on Sgt McCabe, a move that is usually reserved for those suspected of serious criminal behaviour.

So how did he get to his current station? David Taylor is a native of Tipperary who joined the gardai in 1982. After a spell in Dublin he was transferred to Special Branch where he was involved in specialised operations against subversive elements at a time when the Northern Ireland troubles were particularly violent.

He was promoted to sergeant in 1997 and later to inspector. He served as a detective in internal affairs, which looks at issues including discipline and complaints among the gardai, before he moved to crime and security. One of his duties in that posting was to accompany presidents on overseas trips for which he received commendation from both the current incumbent in the Aras and his predecessor, Mary McAleese.

He had, over those years, a perfect disciplinary record and had settled in north Dublin, where he still lives with his wife and family.

In July 2012, Supt Taylor was promoted to superintendent and detailed to head up the forces press office. He may well have expected that a stint there would be followed by a promotion to chief, as this was precisely the route taken by all his predecessors in the press office.

Among the media he was regarded as professional and courteous in his role. He managed to negotiate a difficult brief in which one of the main duties is to give as little away as possible while appearing to be effusive with information.

Superintendent David Taylor: Named as the man who alleged that there was an organised campaign in senior garda management to destroy the reputation of another whistleblower. Picture: Collins

His time in the press office was dominated by the whistleblower controversies, which ultimately did for his boss, Callinan, in May 2014. The new commissioner, Noirin OSullivan, naturally wanted her own personnel in the sensitive role so Supt Taylor was not surprised when he was transferred. He didnt receive a promotion, and he wasnt happy that he was going to the traffic division but he accepted his lot.

Later that year, a criminal investigation was initiated by the commissioner into the leaking to the media in 2013 of the names of two Roma children at the centre of a media storm.

The investigation was headed up by a chief super, and the commissioners husband, Supt Jim McGowan (who has since been promoted to chief).

In December 2014, Supt Taylors phone was confiscated by the investigation. This is the same phone that would have trafficked the texts which he claims were an integral part of the alleged smear campaign against Sgt McCabe.

In May 2015, Supt Taylor was arrested and held in a cell for 10 hours for leaking the names of the Roma children to the media. He has been suspended since on reduced pay, and the shock of his changed circumstances are understood to have impacted greatly on his home life, including his familys standard of living.

The file on his case is with the DPP which has yet to officially decide whether charges be preferred.

Supt Taylor took legal action to stop the investigation, but the High Court has yet to rule on that.

His dramatic fall from the upper echelons of the force has attracted sympathy in many quarters of An Garda Siochana, anger in some, and sheer puzzlement among others.

As one retired senior officer put it: Proportionality is the big problem. If he did something wrong so be it, but the operation that was mounted against him bears no relation to the business of passing names to the media, whether or not he was involved in that.

Many right across the force have questioned the judgement and motivation of the commissioner in pursuing the investigation and particularly in appointing her husband to a central role.

Now, things have moved onto a different plane for Supt Taylor. He is willing to blow the whistle on what he claims was wrongdoing at the highest level. Sources familiar with his case say that he is motivated by attempting to right some of the wrongs within the force, having played his own part in an alleged grievous wrong visited on one of their own.

A couple of years ago, he was the one shaping the stories that emerged from the force. This week he became the story, and will play a central role in any inquiry into the latest chapter of whistleblowers in An Garda Siochana.
IF A referendum to repeal the Eighth amendment were to take place tomorrow it would fail. If it were to take place in three or even six months time it would also fail. Of that there should be little doubt.

One might not think so from perusing social media, or tapping into what is undoubtedly a major shift in attitudes towards abortion in recent years. The winds of change are blowing across this State, but not at the rate of knots that some believe. When it comes to an issue as primal as abortion, middle Ireland needs to be coaxed into change, and history suggests that theres a way to go yet.

Lets look first at the record of referendums when it comes to issues wrapped up in belief, philosophy, religion and human rights.

In the year before the same-sex marriage referendum it was obvious that attitudes towards the measure had undergone a sea change. An MRBI opinion poll a month before the vote had the approval rating at 72%, with only 20% planning to vote against it.

The body politic played its part with the swift passage of a law on adoption rights, which included same-sex couples, in the months before the referendum. This ensured that children would not be used as pawns by those who were voting No.

The Marriage Equality group ran a first-class campaign. They appealed to middle Ireland with upturned palms, rather than lecturing with wagging fingers.

They humanised the issue. They put the more radical voices in cold storage for the duration of the campaign. They sought votes on compassionate grounds rather than expecting voters to deliver human rights for all.

Such was the campaign and the widespread acceptance, it might have been considered a no-brainer that the vote would pass. It did, but only by a margin of 62% to 38%. More than a third of the electorate voted to deny same-sex couples that which has come to be widely regarded as a human right.

How would it have panned out if the pro campaign had been less political savvy? Had the Government not dealt with the adoption issue before the vote, would enough have been persuaded to vote Yes? Difficult as it might be to believe 16 months later, but the referendum may well have failed.

In 2011 we had a childrens rights referendum to extend legal rights to children. Who could be against that? Well, 42% of the electorate as it turns out.

Way back in 1995, the divorce referendum was highly divisive and nearly impossible as it is to believe now, it passed by 50.2% to 49.8%, or a mere 9,114 votes.

History cannot be ignored when facing into another campaign to repeal or amend. In fact, it is safe to say that a battle over the Eighth is likely to make the other matters look like a Daniel ODonnell tea party.

The most recent poll, in yesterdays Irish Times, suggests that 55% of people would be in favour of repealing for abortion in limited circumstances. Only 18% are opposed to any repeal, with 19% looking for a regime similar to that in Britain. For those who want to retain the status quo, these are good numbers from which to launch a campaign.

That is the context in which some of the shape-throwing on the issue should be viewed. A private members bill on repeal sponsored by the Anti Austerity Alliance is due to come before the Dail later this month.

This is an exercise in political posturing. If the Dail chamber was flooded with an intoxicant that prompted all deputies to vote in favour of the bill, it would not make a whit of difference. The people are not ready yet, simple as that.

The first and foremost requirement to ready the people for change is a degree of certainty as to the shape of a new dispensation. What will replace that which we are being asked to leave behind? And in this case, more than any of the other contentious issues of recent decades, there is still no clear agreement on what exactly change will look like.

For instance, it is safe to say that most already campaigning and marching for repeal are in favour of the UK-style regime. For that constituency its a matter of human rights in todays world; a womans right to choose what to do with her body.

Yet that is not where middle Ireland is at right now. As repeated opinion polls demonstrate, middle Ireland accepts that the current regime is too restrictive. There is compassion for those who find themselves forced, in tragic circumstances, to see out a doomed pregnancy. Some parents wonder how they might feel if their daughter was impregnated in rape and concede that yes, blood is thicker than some abstract concept of what constitutes life. But leaping to what they have in Britain? Not by a long shot, not yet anyway. So in the likely event that any proposed change would be to usher in abortion in limited circumstances, those opposed will be in a position to wreak havoc.

There are two aspects to this issue that must be resolved before there is a realistic chance of repeal. The first and most obvious is certainty on what replaces the constitutional provision.

As of now there is not even a broad consensus on what should be involved. For instance, should provision for abortion be made when a womans health as opposed to her life is in danger? Would more than 50% of the electorate buy into that?

These issues need to be teased out and some degree of consensus be arrived on what is likely to pass at the polls - which is the whole purpose of a referendum to repeal. The other matter is trust. If the most enthusiastic supporters for repeal actually want broader access to abortion than that which might form part of a proposed change, they must convince voters they are not working to a hidden agenda. If the attitude is that repeal is a first step and the day after the vote another campaign for a more liberal regime begins, then they will have a problem winning hearts and minds.

People are rightly suspicious about Enda Kennys motivation in setting up a citizens assembly to examine how to proceed on the Eighth. For 30 years politicians from the main parties have scurried for cover whenever the abortion question is dragged into the public domain. But some form of national conversation has to begin to drill down to a point where specifics can be agreed, and the process of instilling trust begun.

The amendment inserted in 1983 was an exemplar of the Irish political culture: ill thought-out, rushed, and craven to a vested interest.

Unravelling it will, in another long-standing tradition, be complicated and messy. Time to get started, but putting the cart before the horse will almost certainly invite failure.
Burma Obama lifts sanctions against Burma

US President Barack Obama talks to the media as he meets with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 14. / Reuters

WASHINGTONPresident Barack Obama formally announced the lifting of US sanctions on Burma on Friday by terminating an emergency order that deemed the policies of the former military government a threat to US national security.

I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency  has been significantly altered by Burmas substantial advances to promote democracy, including historic elections in November 2015, Obama said in a letter to the US House and Senate speakers.

A US 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 Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control were no longer in effect.

The move followed a meeting between Burmas State Counselor 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.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy won a sweeping victory in the November elections.

Obamas 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, Obamas letter said.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and democracy icon, helped persuade the West to impose sanctions on 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 countrys generals for further reforms.

Some members of the U.S. Congress have expressed concerns about the extent and durability of change in Burma and introduced legislation seeking to give lawmakers some influence on the process of easing sanctions.

Rights groups condemned last months announcement, saying it forfeited leverage on Burmas military.

Officials of the US administration have said the removal of sanctions would not apply to military-to-military assistance, given the extent of the militarys involvement in politics and rights abuses.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi herself has been criticized for doing too little to address the plight of Burmas stateless Rohingya Muslim minority.

The State Department said last month that several restrictions would remain in place, including barring visas for military leaders.
Burma This Week in Parliament (October 3-7)

Members attend a meeting at the Lower House of Burmas parliament earlier this year. / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

Monday (October 3)

In the Lower House, lawmakers voted to reject Dr Maung Thins proposal for the government to design an inclusive basic education policy by holding seminars at different levels and inviting input from different levels of society.

In the Upper House, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Dr Tun Win responded to a question from Daw Ei Ei Pyone of Irrawaddy Division (8), saying that his ministry is disseminating knowledge about good agricultural practice, soil management and the use of fertilizer and pesticides, right down to local level, while prioritizing research and development.

Tuesday (October 4)

In the Lower House, lawmakers debated a proposal from U Than Nyunt, representing Phyu Township of Pegu Division, for the government to upgrade rail transport in line with international standards. The house put the proposal on record.

The Union Parliament revoked the widely derided 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, which had been used frequently by successive military governments to imprison dissidents.

Wednesday (October 5)

In the Lower House, U Myint Lwin, who represents Twante Township of Rangoon Division, asked whether the government had plans to support Burmas film industry, with an eye to penetrating international movie markets. Minister of Information U Pe Myint replied that a dedicated motion picture law is a precondition for developing Burmas film industry and said his ministry was working with relevant individuals, associations and ministries to develop one.

The Upper House approved the draft of the hotly anticipated Myanmar Investment Law, which merges and updates the provisions of the 2012 Foreign Investment Law and the 2013 Myanmar Citizens Investment Law.

Thursday (October 6)

The Lower House approved amendments to the civil service law. Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Maj-Gen Aung Soe responded to a question from U Tun Tun, of Pwintbyu Township in Magwe Division, saying that his ministry is taking legal action against illegal liquor shops and bootleg sellers, and is making brewing plants undergo checks before extending their licenses.

In the Lower House, lawmaker U Tin Aye asked about the governments security plans in light of increasing terrorist attacks in other countries in the region. Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Maj-Gen Aung Soe replied that his ministry has blacklisted international terrorist organizations and their members, in accordance with lists supplied by Interpol, Aseanpol and partner organizations, and has developed counter-terrorism plans based on international practice.

In the Upper House, U Hla Hsan of Magwe Division (1) asked about five state-run fertilizer plants and about fertilizer imports. Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Tun Naing said that two plants, in Myaungdaga and Kangyidaunt, are still operating but manufacturing below normal levels while three others, in Sale, Kyunchaung and Kyaw Swar, have halted production because of a shortage of natural gas needed for fuel. He said that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation regulates imports of fertilizer to ensure their quality and accessibility.

Lawmakers in the Upper House also debated a new bill to protect citizens privacy and security from state intrusion, which was previously passed by the Lower House.

Friday (October 7)

The Lower Houses term formally concluded. According to the Lower House speaker, a total of 225 asterisk questions and 407 non-asterisk questions were asked throughout the term. Sixteen proposals, including two important proposals, were submittedfour were approved, nine others documented, two rejected and one was not discussed. Ten out of 19 bills were passed.

In the Upper House, divergent views were expressed over the bill to protect citizens privacy and security. The debate will continue at the Union Parliament during the next parliamentary term.

In the Union Parliament, lawmakers ratified an Asean protocol concerning an enhanced dispute-settlement mechanism.
Business The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (October 8)

A man rides across the friendship bridge at the Indian town of Moreh on the Burmese border, January 25, 2012.

Indian border trade crippled

Trade between Burma and India at the international gate between Tamu, Sagaing Division and Moreh in Indias Manipur State ground to a halt early this week after Burma closed the trading post on Monday, according to The Hindu news outlet.

The closure followed a powerful bomb explosion inside Burma near a boundary pillar located 40 meters from a neighborhood in Moreh on Sunday.

On the evening of the same day, a man believed to be an Indian insurgent was shot by five unidentified persons at Namphalong near the international gate, according to reports.

Meanwhile, loaded trucks from India were stranded at Moreh waiting for the gate to reopen, while many others returned to Imphal, the Manipur state capital, and to other cities in northeast India, The Hindu report said.

The price of imported goods has risen steeply in parts of Indias northeast since the closure, according to other sources.

Bangladesh seeks gas from Burma

Bangladesh is seeking support from India for a proposal to import natural gas from Burma, according to The Daily Sun in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

Support for the plan was due to be solicited at a meeting in New Delhi on Friday between Bangladeshs energy minister Nasrul Hamid and Indian State Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendar Pradan, the paper said.

Bangladesh has already made a proposal to Burma to export its surplus gas to Bangladesh, according to the report, which added that Burmas gas exports to Thailand and China have dropped amid a fall in gas and oil prices in the international market.

To meet ever-growing gas demand, Bangladesh wants to propose energy sector cooperation with Myanmar. Bangladeshs proposal will include a joint-venture gas pipeline and possibly a sub-regional grid line for the Rakhine and Chin states of Myanmar, Bangladeshi officials told the paper.

Bangladesh currently produces 2,700mmcfd of gas against a demand of 3,200mmcd, the report said.

KBZ insurance arm aims to list on Rangoons Stock Exchange

The KBZ banking group is seeking to list its insurance arm on the Yangon Stock Exchange by the end of next year, a senior executive told Reuters this week.

The size of the initial public offering has not yet been finalized, but the listed arm could have a market capitalization of between US$500 million  $750 million, senior managing director of KBZ group U Nyo Myint said.

The insurance arm has paid-up capital of $55 million. KBZ plans to list 40 percent of the firm, he said.

Trading started on the Yangon Stock Exchange in March this year and so far three companies have been listed.

Meanwhile KBZs banking arm is seeking a partnership with a financial technology company to boost digital and mobile banking solutions across the country, group executives said.

Thailands True Money to work with Asian Green Development Bank

Thailands True Money is gearing up to provide electronic payment services between Thailand and Burma, the Bangkok Post reported.

This would allow the company to tap into the potentially lucrative stream of remittances that passes from several million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand to their families in Burma.

In March this year, the central bank of Thailand eased regulations to allow companies holding payment licenses under the law regulating e-payment to act as international money transfer agents using websites and mobile phone apps.

True Money will team up with the Asia Green Development Bank, owned by prominent military-linked tycoon Tay Za, to develop a payments service that will be capped at 200,000 baht (7.3 million kyats/US$5,730) per day per person.

The international payment service has strong potential because Thailand was home to 3.9 million migrant workers in 2015 said Saranrat Srichiraratana, managing director of True Money.

Burmese migrants working in Thailand transfer around 77 billion baht (US$2.2 billion) home annually, with an average of 30,000 baht ($860) worth of transactions per person per year, the report said.

However, most of this remittance money passes through informal channels, including the hundi system, which involves a network of brokers spread across the two countries, despite the option of using banks since 2012.

Singapore-themed festival in Rangoon

A Singapore Festival, taking place this weekend at the Myanmar Plaza in Rangoon, will celebrate 50 years of bilateral relations between Burma and Singapore.

Organized by the Singapore Tourism Board, the event will feature games, performances and music, with appearances by movie stars Pyay Ti Oo and Eaindra Kyaw Zin. Celebrities Thun Sett and Tun Ko Ko will conduct cooking demonstrations onstage.

.Burma and Singapore marked 50 years of diplomatic relations in April this year. Visa-free travel between the two countries is set to begin in December.

Singapore is a growing destination for Burmese nationals. The city state already contains a substantial Burmese expatriate population. Annual visitor arrivals to Singapore from Burma rose by 12 percent from 2011 to 2015.

Huawei teams up with KMD

Chinas Huawei has teamed up with information technology and services provider KMD Group to boost its presence in Burmas mobile phone market, the China Daily reported.

Huawei aims to increase its market share in Burma where the brand already enjoys a strong position in the countrys growing mobile phone market.

Huaweis brand power is significantly higher in Burma than in its home market, China, according to a report on Burmas consumer market titled Spotlight on Myanmar, conducted by WPP and Millward Brown companies.

In February this year, a Huawei-backed information technology training center opened in Rangoons Thanlyin University of Science and Technology.

The Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy (HAINA), one of several set up across the globe, aims to boost human resources in Burmas information technology sector.

Thilawa SEZ Holdings proposes share split

Thilawa SEZ Holdings has proposed splitting its shares at a ratio of 1:10 in order to increase its stocks liquidity and affordability, DealStreet Asia reported.

The number of issued and paid up shares will rise from 3,892,915 to 38,929,150, while the value of shares will change from 10,000 to 1,000 kyats (US$7.85 to $0.78) per share, according to the proposal.

A date has not yet been confirmed for the stock split.

The company also announced that it has appointed a new chief financial officer, Wei Hua Tan, a former chief financial officer of UAE-based Al Maabar International Investments Company, with interests in real estate and the hospitality sector.

He will assume the position earlier held by U Tun Tun, who also acts as the executive director and chief financial officer of First Myanmar Investment (FMI), one of Burmas largest investment firms headed by tycoon Serge Pun.

Thilawa SEZ Holdings oversees the development of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, a 2,500-hectare industrial park and port development project located in Rangoons southeastern Thanlyin Township, which has attracted substantial Japanese investment.
Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye addresses a reception celebrating the 67th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in Canberra, Australia. (People's Daily Online / Ji He)

CANBERRA, Sep.30 (Peoples Daily Online)  On 29 September 2016, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye held a reception to celebrate the 67th anniversary of the founding of Peoples Republic of China.

Around 400 guests including representatives from Australian Federal Government, Parliament, business and academic sectors, as well as representatives of Chinese Community, Chinese Businesses and Overseas Chinese Students attended the reception.

Ambassador Cheng Jingye briefly introduced the great achievements of China has gained since 1949, and the development of all areas in China over the past 67 years.

Cheng Jingye said that at the G20 Hangzhou Summit concluded earlier this month, a broad consensus was reached to foster an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy. During the Summit, President Xi Jinping held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. This was the first meeting between our leaders since the new Australian government took office. The two sides agreed that it serves the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples to deepen political trust and push for sound and steady development of bilateral ties.

"Chinese immigrants in Australia have been forerunners of our bilateral relations. Over the years, they have developed their careers by working hard through thick and thin, and actively integrated themselves into the Australian society, thus making unique contributions to the social and economic development and cultural diversity of Australia. They have also played a positive role in promoting China-Australia relations", he said. (Peoples Daily Online / Luyi Zhong)
Republic of Korea (ROK) on Friday announced a new site for the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile-defense system despite of strong opposition from locals and reasonable concerns of China and other regional countries. The announcement came just days after the US military set the deployment deadline as the end of next year.

The ROK government cited the concerns of the public in Seongju county, the originally-designated site, as the reason for the alteration, but a cite change is not a prescription at all.

Despite the altered site, local public are expected to continue their opposition to the THAAD deployment. In Gimcheon, a southeastern city that is closer to the newly-chosen site, enraged residents have begun a new round of backlash.

As a matter of fact, the ROK government can neither appease the concerns of people from the designated sites, nor persuade its citizens to believe in the so-called effectiveness of the missile shield in protecting its national security.

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)s fifth nuclear test offered Seouls plan a new selling point. ROK government, by using the test as a more convincing excuse, advertised the so-called necessity to install the THAAD system, cement its military alliance with the US and resist threats through extended deterrence.

However, to avoid further deterioration of tensions on Korean Peninsula, a comprehensive and systematic solution must be found out to address both symptoms and root causes.

Past and present facts have proved that in order to sustain the peace and stability of the peninsula, efforts must be devoted to denuclearizing the peninsula, normalizing the ties between concerned countries, and building a peace and security mechanism for Northeast Asia.

The evolution course of the peninsula also showed that the so-called extended deterrence will only escalate confrontation, aggravate the tension on the peninsula and ultimately place Seouls security in a more risking edge.

Whats more, the technical clues also point to a conclusion: it is absurd for Seoul to pursue a sense of security through the THAAD system.

As early as Seoul and Washington announced the decision, experts have pointed out that with a radar range of 1,000 to 2,000 kilometers, the missile shield is designed to shoot down missiles at a relatively high altitude of 40 to 150 km. Given the geographical conditions of the Korean Peninsula, it is ridiculous to use the THAAD missile defense system to deter nuclear threats from DPRK.

Therefore, ROK has to realize that its true guardian is by no means one or two hollow weapons like the THAAD system, but a clear awareness of the reality and broader world situation.

Given the sensitive and frail security on the peninsula, the unscrupulous actions by any party may lead to an escalated tension. Against such background, the deployment of the THAAD system by Seoul and Washington will undoubtedly add fuels to the deteriorated tensions on the peninsula.

In fact, even ROK public are not convinced by the reasons given by their government. More and more locals called on the authority to reconsider the reckless decision, blaming the latters approval to deploy THAAD system as the culprit for todays dilemma.

Local media Kyunghyang Shinmun commented recently that the ROK government was stubborn in ensuring national security by deterring DPRK with armament race, but as a result made its public more upset and pulled the country further away from security goals.

The publics security worries and doubts over the guarantee provided by the US are out of historic backgrounds and reality considerations. Trapping in the whirlpool of the peninsula tension, ROK would be the direct victim with a total turn in its destiny once the situation lost control.

Whats worse, the remote US is by no means reliable helper. In recent years, in order to expand its hegemony, the superpower has fallen into a breaker of international law. Employing a puppet strategy, it repeatedly threw other countries or regions into disarray and then escaped unscathed.

China will never change its stance of opposing the deployment of the THAAD system since the missile shield, instead of easing regional tension, will pose serious threat to the strategic security balance of regional nations including China.

Like any other countries, China can neither be vague nor indifferent on security matters that affect its core interests. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China also shoulders a responsibility in maintaining world and regional peace and stability.

The US and ROK have to wake up to the facts that the Korean Peninsula is no place to take risks, and that they cannot afford the cost of such dangerous action. If the US and ROK undermine the strategic security interests of China and other regional countries, then they are destined to pay the price and receive a proper counter attack.

"We will pay close attention to relevant developments, and consider taking necessary actions to protect national strategic security and the regional strategic balance," Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman told a press conference.

"What needs to be stressed is that Chinese people mean what they say, the spokesman added, underlining Chinas determination and stance against the installment of THAAD system.
Google's unique computer science lab is now officially introduced to the public in Oakland. The science lab, Code Next, is an educational facility designed to focus mainly on young African-Americans and Latinos interested in technology. Their mission is to teach these young minds how to code and master the essentials of computer science.

According to Tech Crunch, about 51 percent of African-American students and 47 percent of Latino students in the US do not have any access to computer science classes in school. This motivated Google to pursue the program and build an army of diverse coders.

The Program Specifics

Code Next aims to get 70 eighth-grade students in Oakland, plus another 70 at Harlem. This program is scheduled to launch in 2017. Before the grand opening, New York students will presume their classes at Google's NYC headquarters.

The course of the program, developed by Google and MIT Media Lab, will educate students to master the fundamentals of coding and how to execute it properly by letting them join in hands-on activities. Students will also have the option to learn 3D modeling and game development.

Aside from the technicalities, Code Next will include core math courses to enhance computation skills (vital for coding), engineering design, and leadership development. Google assures students that the course will be free of charge, but in order to be a part of the course, students should be selected by their schools and non-profit organizations.

The Program's Mission

The program does not end in coding alone. They promised to support their students throughout high school. They will also assist them to successfully get into college. After they graduate from college, they have the option to either become fully engaged in the tech industry or pursue a different profession.

"These kids will definitely be set up to work at Google and will be highly competitive applicants," said April Alvarez, Google Student Experience Program Manager. "They will also be set up to start their own companies - to start their own next Facebook or Apple."
Samsung might be forced to make another recall if it is proven that the device that caught fire while onboard a Southwest Airlines plane is a recalled unit said to have "safe" batteries. The statement of the unusual recall - again - was made by two former safety officials of the US.

The Galaxy Note 7 incident on Southwest Airlines

Last Wednesday, Oct. 5, a passenger's phone suddenly emitted smoke while he was on a Southwest Airlines plane. The flight was about to depart from Louisville to Kentucky when the incident happened. The passengers were immediately asked to evacuate the plane while a flight attendant doused the phone with a fire extinguisher. No passenger was harmed during the evacuation.

Because of the incident, Samsung is now pressured to make another global recall with reported cases of exploding Galaxy Note 7s getting worse by the day.

Incident under investigation

The Galaxy Note 7's owner claims that his device was a replacement. The information was not yet verified and investigators are still looking into the matter.

Pamela Gilbert, former executive director of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), said that a recalled phone starting to smoke is just wrong. Gilbert also suggested that Samsung is likely to make another recall if their recalled phones are not yet fixed. Aside from the CPSC, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also looking into the matter.

Samsung under crisis

Days after its official release in the market, the Korean smartphone manufacturer has been in crisis after incidents of Note 7s exploding around the globe hit the news. Earlier reports determined faulty batteries are the cause of the exploding Note 7s. Units released in China were first believed to be safe until another report of an exploding Galaxy Note 7 was noted in the country.

Samsung has already promised to recall 2.5 million units they have sold globally during the first incidents of the Galaxy Note 7 exploding. If investigation proves that the Note 7 involved in the incident was a recalled unit, Samsung will really have to carry out another recall and scrap the first recalled devices.
TPA Sp. z o.o, a European construction company, has recently installed a bicycle path in Olsztyn, Poland. But it's not just any bicycle path that you usually see. It glows in the dark and is charged by solar power during the day.

A new bike path with a twist

The new bike path is located near Lidzbark Warminski. The path glows a bright blue color at night with the presence of the luminophore particles in the asphalt. The particles are actually made of synthetic material that lights up when it is dark. The glowing bike path is also unlikely to go out soon because it is powered by solar energy so it charges itself during the day and lights up a magnificent blue color at night.

Igor Ruttmar, president of TPA Sp. z o.o said that the luminophore particles are able to light up for as long as 10 hours. The particles are also available in many colors but the designers of the path picked the blue color to blend in well with the surrounding landscape of the Lyna River, small hills and the rugged feel of the countryside. Olsztyn director Waldermar Krolikowski emphasized that the bike path's design is to improve the safety of people who spends their night biking.

An innovation to avoid accidents

Poland's bike path looks similar to Studio Roosegaarde's glowing path in the U.K. Both paths are inspired by the famous Starry Night painting of Van Gogh, but Roosegaarde's path was designed with LEDs using a solar array for power. The bike lane designed by TPA Sp. z o.o does not need any other power source except the sun, which is readily available.

Ruttmar also explained that they made the glowing bicycle path to help prevent accidents between pedestrians and cycles, which is very common especially at night. He added that accidents are a major problem especially for rural areas that tend to be darker than the city.

The path opened publicly last Sept. 23 and is about 100 meters long. Ruttmar is still testing how the bike path would endure in the winter before he starts the plans of extending it in the future.
Tired of your job? Perhaps you've been longing to have that dream job but afraid that your employer will know. Here's good news for those wanting to quit their current job. LinkedIn introduces its new feature for job seekers to quietly look for a new job.

LinkedIn has launched its latest feature Open Candidates four months after the announcement of Microsoft to acquire the social media company for $26.2 billion. This feature gives its 450 million professional members looking for a new job an opportunity to quietly notify recruiters without their current employer knowing. This new feature is only viewable for recruiters who availed the premium service.

"The secret to career happiness is finding a job you love, however there is no way to tell the world that you're open to new opportunities without worrying about your employer finding out," Dan Shapiro wrote in a blog post. "But imagine if you could signal to recruiters everywhere that you'd like to hear from them, and by doing so increase your chances of having one of those magic moments when a recruiter reaches out with an amazing opportunity," he added.

Open Candidates provides members an option to specify the types of companies and the roles they are interested in. Millions of employers can view their profile. Basically, it's a freedom for them to match their skills to a company or getting into a job they've always dreamed of.

Despite Shapiro's statement that Open Candidates will hide the signal from the member's current company recruiters or affiliated company recruiters, a disclaimer states: "We take steps to not show your current company that you're open, but can't guarantee that we can identify every recruiter affiliated with your company."

LinkedIn also has rolled out its "Career Page" to learn all about the employer's brand and its culture and "Meet My Team" to learn about future connections with the company. Initially, Open Candidates will be available in countries like US, Canada, UK and Australia.
Two Russian nationals and a U.S. citizen were arrested in Denver due to illegal export of sensitive military technology overseas. The offense is a federal crime considered as a threat to national security, and can lead up to 20 years in prison with chances of paying up to $1 million in fines.

According to Reuters, the Justice Department said that Dmitrii Aleksandrovich Karpenko and Alexey Krutilin were arrested on charges of conspiring with Alexey Barysheff, a naturalized U.S. citizen. Apparently, their intention was to send cutting edge micro-technology to Russia from American suppliers, evading government controls.

Modus operandi

The Russian nationals represented themselves as employees of Spectra and UIP, without telling the U.S. manufacturers that they were going to export the electronics. As reported by Gothamist, these were first shipped to Finland and was intended to be sent to Russia without raising suspicion. For the moment, it is not proved that Vladimir Putins government is behind these actions, which could represent a major diplomatic issue not only for U.S. President Obama, but also for the next U.S. leader.

An attack to U.S. sovereignty

The tension between the two nations has escalated since it was known that Russian hackers tried to breach state voter registration database with the intention of interfere in the American elections. Some official says that the Kremlin could the mastermind behind this operation, which could mean an attack on the U.S. sovereignty, made directly by a foreign government.

However, presidential candidate Donald Trump questioned, during his debate against Democrat Nominee Hillary Clinton, the Russian involvement in these cyber attacks, explaining that the perpetrators could be from China or an obese person. "She says, Russia, Russia, Russia, it could be China. You don't know who broke into the DNC. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds," Trump said.
The U.S. Intelligence Community has officially accused Russia of trying to interfere with the presidential elections by hacking the computers of the Democratic National Committee and other political officials.

According to CNET, the accusation confirms prior suspicions since June, when cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike said that two different teams of hackers from Russian Intelligence agencies could be the mastermind of this operation. These cyberattacks represent an assault to the U.S. sovereignty from a foreign nation and an attempt to sabotage the elections, further intensifying the tension with Russian government.

The US could impose sanctions

"The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations.These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. 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," said a joint statement the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland.

Trump weighs in

This latest development could be a strike on the Republican candidate Donald Trump. During the presidential debate, he said that the hackers could be from China or it could be an obese person. Trump has openly admitted his admiration for Vladimir Putin.

"Look at Putin -- what he's doing with Russia -- I mean, you know, what's going on over there. I mean this guy has done -- whether you like him or don't like him -- he's doing a great job in rebuilding the image of Russia and also rebuilding Russia period," Trump told CNN.

Knowing that the suspicions were real, the world is waiting for Putins response.
On Friday, Oct. 7, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unveiled its new proposed rules for internet business connections. If approved, the updated rules will bring reforms to the market for broadband connections; often used by big businesses.

FCC's Previous Regulations

According to The Hill, the rules concern the special access market for high-capacity and dedicated broadband connections ideal for big companies. For instance, a business internet connection might be used to bring broadband to a cell tower or to link a bank's network to an ATM. There are companies that have long complained that in this lucrative field of broadband connections some major players abuse their power in order to dominate the market.

When the commission voted to formally consider his proposal earlier this year, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said that this is about planning for the 5G future rather than just being about consumers. At the time of the vote, Tom Wheeler's proposal has been modified. Now, the FCC comes with another proposal for updated rules. The commission is charged with protecting digital privacy of customers of telecommunications carriers.

Before the advent of the internet, for decades the FCC has focused its activity to requiring telephone companies to protect the customers' information associated with a phone call. The regulations in place limit how a phone company can repurpose and resell data about customers' phone activity without their consent. However, the broadband service today is not regulated by similar and this gap that must be closed in order to provide similar protections to consumers who use the internet network.

FCC's Updated Proposal

According to FCC's official website, the new proposal rules aim to provide consumers increased online security, transparency and choice. For instance, under the proposal rules, ISPs would be required to notify their customers about the information they are collecting, with whom they share the information and for what purpose that information can be shared and used. The full Commission will debate and take into consideration the proposed privacy rules on October 27, at its upcoming monthly meeting.

Before using or sharing any sensitive data, ISPs would be required to obtain affirmative "opt-in" consent. The use and sharing of non-sensitive data would be subject to opt-out consent. In the category of sensitive information, the following would be included: health information, children's information, geo-location information, social security number, financial information, app usage history, web browsing history and the content of communications such as emails or text.

>
Microsoft will be announcing updates in its Windows 10 on Oct. 26. The tech giant has already been sending out invites for the said event. Many are also expecting details about a new Surface all-in-one PC. However, Microsoft seems to be coy about it in their invitation.

Update For Windows 10

Microsoft will showcase new features on its Windows 10 operating system. Reporters have been receiving invites with this phrase "see what's next for Windows 10". They also have a good marketing strategy.

Microsoft has this written words backward "Imagine what you'll do". To prove the company's point, the said texts are displayed on a window.

Earlier in August, Microsoft had posted in their blog describing their last feature update for 2016. Microsoft's Nathan Mercer also revealed about two additional feature updates in 2017.

According to The Verge, the company might discuss which features are going to be in the said two major software updates. Microsoft is also expected to explain how these will also work with Xbox gaming.

One of the rumored major updates for next year is codenamed "Redstone 2". Microsoft may be planning to launch this along with Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Book hardware updates. Apparently, the Redstone 2 is already being developed.

New Surface PC

The PC World has previously reported about the leaked photo of a Surface-themed mouse and keyboard. These items have been listed in FCC filings.

Microsoft may have intentionally left out to mention the said new Surface PC. Though people are still anticipating for it to be unveiled in the New York City event.

Sources from Microsoft have recently disclosed about this to The Verge. They pointed out that the company is not going to refresh the Surface Pro 4 or the Surface Book devices. Microsoft will actually be highlighting devices from OEMs.
In recent years there has been much threat to marine animals. While we progress, our environment is affected by it as well. Pollution and the damage to the environment are some of its results. Other factors being studied is noise and watercraft on our oceans.

According to Science Daily the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has come out with a report that studies the effects that our activities have on marine mammals. The report stresses that it is not clear yet which factors or a combination of factors cause immediate concern.

Sound is one factor that the study highlights in its report. As human activity increase as ships and watercraft ply the seas, noise is one concern that the report notes. It is an effect most people don't notice when dealing with pollution, yet noise pollution can be a concern for marine wildlife.

The report on the whole though notes that it isn't easy to assess the various factors that affect marine mammals. Testing the various interactions among multiple stressors isn't easy. The report did recommend having a real-time, centralized way of reporting data from different populations of marine mammals.

"Current scientific theory and data for individual marine mammals or their population is not enough to predict the total risk from a combination of threats," Peter L. Tyack, Marine Mammal Biology Professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and the committee chair for the report said.

Some of the stressors cannot be reduced at once, as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine site notes. These stressors include chemical pollutants and climate change. It will take many years to reduce these. However other factors such as noise and shipping routes can be more easily managed and reduced.

The combination of these stress factors could be used in studying what ways could be to detect early warning signs for affected populations. The report also recommends having surveillance systems to monitor changing levels in population or its reproductive rate.

An earlier report also notes that deep sea creatures have been found to eat microplastics.
Ever since it has been announced that "The Vampire Diaries" will already be on their last season this year, speculations of its spin-off "The Originals" cancellation started to resurface. However, whether true or not, there is still a lot in store for the latter's upcoming season four.

The End Of "The Vampire Diaries" Also Mean The End Of "The Originals?"

"The Originals" is a spin-off series from the CW supernatural drama "The Vampire Diaries." The characters' appearance during the predecessor series has been very well recognized that the network decided to pick up a spin-off series, focusing solely on the family of the original vampires. Thus, that was when "The Originals" was created, with Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) leading the family.

According to some reports, the third season of "The Originals" only garnered an average of 0.93 million viewers. Nevertheless, the series was still renewed for the fourth season. However, due to the result of the ratings, rumor has is that season four of the series will already be their last.

Executive producer of "The Originals" Julie Plec announced during the San Diego Comic Con that "The Vampire Diaries" was coming to an end, but said nothing about "The Originals." Thus, the fans believe it is safe to assume that the series still has more seasons coming ahead. As a matter of fact, there is still a lot to be excited about in the upcoming season.

The Mikaelson Family To Face Great Danger In Upcoming "The Originals" Season 4

It has been known that the Mikaelson family is the original vampire family, making them the strongest among all of them. Klaus, the hybrid, is the most immortal one of them since he is part werewolf making him more special than the rest of his siblings. However, rumor has it that in the upcoming "The Originals" season four, they will be facing more danger than they have ever anticipated in hundreds of years they have been alive.

Since the upcoming "The Originals" season four will feature a five-year time jump, odds are the daughter of Klaus, Hope, will be the saviour of the family. She has been considered the most special of them all, as she has been conceived by an original vampire and a werewolf. Either that or Caroline, Klaus' love that he left in Mystic Falls will reportedly be the one to save the former from his unfortunate situation.

"The Originals" season four is set to premiere on January 2017.
Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) praised the great leadership demonstrated by China during the just-concluded G20 Summit as the host country.

China, as this years rotating presidency of G20, not only selected the right and well-timed agendas for the summit, but facilitated an effective collaboration between G20 members and the international organizations, he further explained.

Gurria made the statements in a recent interview with the Peoples Daily after he attended the Hangzhou Summit in early September.

According to the OECD chief, as todays world is headache with the lackluster growth, slowdown in productivity as well as unbalanced development, it is now particularly important for the international community to regain growth momentum and improve peoples livelihood together.

The G20 can be a key player in bolstering international economic cooperation, he added. Citing the agenda of digital economy as an example, Gurria illustrated Chinas leadership to this end during the Hangzhou Summit.

Thanks to Chinas efforts, G20 leaders endorsed the G20 Digital Economy Development and Cooperation Initiative, the first digital economy policy document with global significance, and agreed to renew innovation and digitization as drivers of world economic growth, Gurria further explained.

The chief also spoke highly of Chinas enormous contributions to global trade and investment, stressing that even in this juncture when global growth lost shine and globalization cannot sustain a momentum, China still scored a remarkable economic growth.

China is now not only worlds largest manufacturing economy and biggest exporter of goods, but also a major source for foreign direct investment, the official elaborated.

He at the same time suggested China further transform development model, so that it can sustain a more balanced growth amidst the new domestic and global environment.

China has already begun to do so, he hailed. Illustrating that the country has managed to raise its added-value of trade in global chain, the OCED chief also called on further reform for the sake of a more efficient allocation of resources.

Gurria added that China is now setting an example for other countries in adapting to the new normal by investing more in intellectual capital and transforming itself towards low-carbon and green economy.

China has clarified its willingness to move forwards a more inclusive, environment-friendly and sustained future. The OECD appreciates Chinas efforts and looks forward to establishing a long-term cooperative partnership with China, he concluded at last.
"Rick And Morty" Season 3 has been confirmed to be released earlier than expected, as revealed by its executive producers, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon. The two also treated the series' avid fans of spoilers and teasers for the upcoming installment.

Fans of the hit series "Rick And Morty" have been wondering about the theme of season 3. Many speculate that the show might be reusing the "interdimensional cable." However, executive producer Dan Harmon expressed his hesitation about rehashing the same material multiple times. One reason for the said hesitancy is the previous criticism with "Community" and being tagged as an inside-joke driven series relying on callbacks from previous episodes.

"I was very alarmist about callbacks because of Community getting a reputation so early on for being insular and you have to have a relationship with the show in order to decode it," Harmon revealed at San Diego Comic-Con.

Despite this, the producers are still open on using the "interdimensional cable" for "Rick And Morty" Season 3. "Possibly, yeah," Roiland noted "We're figuring it out. It's very rough on production. It's not an easy episode to make."

Meanwhile, rumors have been circulating lately, claiming that "Rick And Morty" Season 3 will have a more dramatic tone to it. According to reports, Beth and Jerry will be facing marital difficulties and will end up getting a divorce. It was also reported that Rick's wife might appear in the third season. She will assist Rick in dealing with his family struggles. However, the producers have not made any confirmation about these rumors.

On the other hand, Harmon revealed that "Rick And Morty" Season 3 will have a fast-paced storyline, saying, "I don't think anybody wants to do a third season that simply spends a whole bunch of episodes dealing with a situation that we created at the end of the second season. So I think that's a non-spoiler way of saying things should be okay pretty quickly," Harmon said.

According to reports, the pacing of the narrative will be the result of "serialized storytelling" that the series will be adapting in its third installment. Logically, the faster they get over existing plot lines, the sooner they can introduce new ones. In addition, the upcoming season is expected to be the longest in the history of Adult Swim program.
Following the highly publicized expression of love, "Twilight" actress Kristen Stewart and Alicia Cargile reportedly called it quits. Adding to fuel to the said rumor is Cara Delevingne's ex-girlfriend, St. Vincent, who allegedly dating Stewart.

According to reports, the 26-year-old actress was spotted with St. Vincent on Tuesday, strolling in New York. The pair allegedly ate lunch together as well. It was also noticeable that the two were wearing almost matching outfits.

The same source also noted that this is the second time Stewart and St. Vincent were spotted together. According to reports, the two attended the premiere of Stewart's film "Certain Women" at the New York Film Festival. They also spent time together in late August as they grabbed dinner in West Hollywood.

With the recent sightings of the pair together, fans are quick to speculate that Stewart and St. Vincent are dating. Although believed to be both single, the two never really confirmed or denied any of the allegations. This intensified dating rumors even more.

To recall, Stewart and Cargile have been in an on-and-off relationship for a while now. Just a few months ago, the "Personal Shopper" star opened up about their status. "Right now I'm just really in love with my girlfriend. We've broken up a couple of times and gotten back together, and this time I was like, 'Finally, I can feel again.'" Stewart said in an interview with Elle UK.

Stewart was also very vocal about her feelings with Cargile. The actress gushed, "Look how cute she is," Stewart told NY Times in August. "I love her so much."

However, the couple hadn't been seen together in a few weeks, which led to speculations that they had split up again. But there were claims that Stewart was with Cargile a few days before being spotted with St. Vincent.

Meanwhile, St. Vincent has been in a serious relationship with Delevingne and were even rumored to be engaged. The model also gushed about St. Vincent, saying, "I'm completely in love," she said in an interview with Vogue UK in August. "Before, I didn't know what love was - real love. I didn't understand the depth of it. I always used to think it was you against the world. Now I know the meaning of life is love. Whether that's for yourself or for the world or your partner."

Unfortunately, there were reports that the lovely couple parted ways while Delevingne was promoting her movie, "Suicide Squad." According to the same source, the pair could not handle the pressures of long-distance romance, but they still care about each other.

As of this writing, Stewart and St. Vincent haven't addressed the said rumors. With that, it's still best to wait for their official confirmation before jumping to any conclusion.
Samsung suffered a huge blow as they continue to grapple with Galaxy Note 7's defective batteries. Amid the reports, the company still pulled off a higher income return for the first quarter of 2016. Just recently, Galaxy S7 was hailed as the best Smartphone of the year. Rumors say that the new Samsung S8 would look a lot different on a better note. Here is this week's Samsung recap.

New Samsung S8 Leaks

Samsung is reportedly planning a major design overhaul for Galaxy S8, including possibly ditching the home button and minimizing the front bezel. Some of the likely Galaxy S8 features include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 830 processor, a huge 1/1.7 image sensor, and high resolution 4K/UHD display.

In 2017, Samsung plans to launch five flagship devices. Speculations pertaining a foldable Galaxy X, Galaxy S8 Edge and Galaxy Note 8 are currently underway.

Galaxy Note 7 Possible Recall

A second recall would be unusual for the Tech Company but it could happen if the reported incident aboard a Southwest Airlines flight involved a "safe" Galaxy Note 7. The Federal Aviation Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are investigating whether a replacement Galaxy Note 7 was the smoking phone that led to the evacuation of a Southwest Airlines flight Wednesday.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is "moving expeditiously to investigate this incident," Chairman Elliot Kaye said in a statement regarding the Southwest flight. He continued to recommend that Note 7 owners should turn off their phones and stressed that a refund is one possibility. Due to the plane incident, U.S. carriers have been offering their Galaxy Note 7 customers the choice of a refund or exchange.

U.S. Carriers Offer New Phones for Existing Note 7 Users

Because of the recent explosions, the replacement Galaxy Note 7 may not be entirely safe and that is why U.S. Carriers are offering several exchanges to existing Galaxy Note 7 users. Sprint gives customers "loaner devices" to use while they receive a replacement unit. Meanwhile, T-Mobile offers a "complete refund" on Note 7 devices and accessories - specifically, the full amount paid at time of purchase plus any and all associated fees. On the other hand, Verizon also offers refunds and exchanges for Note 7 buyers. Lastly, AT&T is allowing its customers to swap to another device and it will refund the difference. The carrier will also refund any Note 7 accessories.
In a world where technology is growing at an extremely fast rate, competition is always consistent - making it not so surprising for Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing CEO, to say that he is going to take the lead in bringing human beings to Mars.

With such confidence, Muilenburg said, "The first person to step foot on Mars will arrive there riding a Boeing rocket," during a conference in Chicago. According to Tech Crunch, a heavy-lift rocket project branded as Space Launch System is already in progress.

This project has an identical goal with SpaceX's Interplanetary Transport System, the details of which were publicized by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk during his keynote presentation at the 67th International Aeronautic Convention (IAC).

The Key Details

Boeing is said to provide about $60 billion for the development of the project before NASA executes a human-crewed Mars mission in 2030 - while its competitor will try to reduce their cost per candidate to be around $200,000 to make it more manageable.

Musk also said during the IAC that SpaceX could already start delivering Dragon capsules, which are unmanned, to Mars as early as 2018 and 2020, based on a report published by Science Alert. He also ambitiously said that he will land the first people on Mars in 2022.

How SpaceX Replied

Though Boeing, being the bigger company, may win the race, Musk humbly reacted that it is not about winning. "I really don't have any other motivation for personally accumulating assets, except to be able to make the biggest contribution I can to making life multiplanetary," Musk said in the IAC.

He simply was happy that competition actually brings better results and progress. "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," Mark said.

No matter how the two companies play in this competition, it will still bring in bountiful benefits for humanity. The goal is the same, to colonize and give man another giant step that will echo through history.
"General Hospital" spoilers for the week of October 10-14 reveal that Morgan will meet his death due to explosion. While Ava and Kiki both blame themselves, it is Sonny who is responsible for Morgan's demise.

"GH" Spoiler: Morgan's Early Exit Not Expected

"General Hospital" returns this week with an explosive revelation -- Morgan Corinthos (Bryan Craig) is dead. While the Oct. 10 teaser of the show only has Morgan missing in action, the actor officially tweeted about his character's demise in the ABC soap. Craig previously revealed on his Twitter account that he is quitting the show. "General Hospital" producers also confirmed then that indeed Craig resigned so he will be last seen in November. Even so, the character will have to bid goodbye this early.

The teaser also shows Jason Morgan (Billy Miller) risking himself around the burning car in an effort to save Morgan. As soon as 911 responders enter the scene, they force Jason out of the car on fire to medicate his burned hand.

"GH" Spoiler: TJ Tries To Stop Morgan

It has been known that the troubled Morgan is drunk. Not to mention that he just stole the car from Julian Jerome (William DeVry). TJ Ashford knows about all this. In fact, he tried to stop Morgan from stealing Julian's car. Julian has no idea that it was Morgan who stole his car.

"GH" Spoiler: Explosion Plot Intended For Julian

Morgan's brother, Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), was informed by TJ of what happened and worries that the situation would go from bad to worse. Dante makes his way to the accident scene and tries to find Morgan, but could not find him either.

"GH" Spoiler: Dante And Carly Furious With Sonny

Later on, Dante already has the idea that the mind behind the untoward incident is Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard). Sonny intended his plot to kill Julian. Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) is mulling angry over Sonny's move as he assured her beforehand that it is Julian who will perish. Now, Dante and Carly are furious with Sonny.

"GH" Spoiler: Ava Blames Herself, Kiki Blames Herself Too

Ava Jerome (Maura West), meanwhile, blames herself for what happened to Morgan as she has been altering meds of the latter, of which she believes caused him to steal the car. Morgan's girlfriend Kiki also blames herself. She expressed that because of her Morgan got drunk.

"General Hospital" airs weekdays at 2 p.m. ET on ABC.
HTC just released its September earnings and posted an increase in their revenue, an achievement that has been missing from the company's financial reports in 15 months. The taiwanese company is posing for more good news in the coming months with the release of Google Pixel Phones that the company worked under the hood.

Increased revenue in over a year

HTC, according to Digitimes, recorded a 41 percent increase in monthly revenue and 31.3 percent increase in year-on-year revenue hitting a record-high in over a year. The source noted the company's shipments of HTC Desire 10 smartphones, Google Pixel Phone and the HTC Vive as contributors to the growth in revenue.

Better than the second quarter

Last quarter, Wired reported that HTC suffered a loss of $133 Million and massive 44 percent decline in year-on-year comparison despite the release of the company's flagship smartphone HTC 10 and the hyped-up HTC Vive. HTC's performance this quarter is a breath of fresh air to anyone following the company's struggle that first started in October 2013.

HTC still behind last year's earning

In the same report, Digitimes however noted that though HTC posted an increase in revenue in third quarter, the accumulated earnings of the three quarters of 2016 is still 40 percent behind from last year. The market performance of the Google Pixel Phones would determine if there would be an increase again in the last quarter of the year or if it could surpass 2015 posted revenue of $3.64 billion.

HTC making another revenue growth in the last quarter of 2016 remains to be seen as it depends on the performance of Google Pixel Phones to carry the weight. It is said that if Google would employ its leadership in advertising and use some of its resources like YouTube or its search engine, the Pixel Phone would work and help HTC along the way.
As the presidential candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties begin the last sprint toward the general election, U.S. citizens are becoming more and more frustrated by the political campaign.

WikiLeaks recently promised significant disclosures on the U.S. election, war, arms and oil in the coming weeks. It is widely believed that these revelations will add more flames to the already chaotic political show.

Scandals have dogged the two main candidates throughout the 2016 election, which has further increased dissatisfaction among U.S. citizens. According to a recent Gallup poll, 60 percent of registered voters view Donald Trump as the least favorable candidates in 25 years, and Hillary Clinton as the second least favorable.

The tax-related questions for Trump, as well as worries over Clintons health and her use of a private email server, have all led to the current state of the election. In their first presidential debate, the two candidates focused more on personal attacks than policies. The Times commented in an editorial that the candidates have neglected the widening gap between the American dream and social reality.

A recent survey showed that voters now perceive the government and congress as the biggest problems needing to be addressed in American society. These concerns come ahead of issues like the economy, employment and immigration. Of course, that doesnt mean voters dont care about economic and social issues, but it does show the great and growing concerns that U.S. citizens have about their political system.

Despite protests against money-oriented politics and election scandals, Trump still plans to drop another $140 million on campaign ads. Anticipated to cost as much as $5 billion, most of which comes from special interest groups, the 2016 election is likely to be the most expensive one in history.

People are very clear about the sour fruits of money-oriented politics, and the new U.S. president is unlikely to end political confrontation or even do much to ease discontent toward the government. As British economist Martin Wolf said, growing inequality and slowing productivity have made democracy intolerant and capitalism illegitimate.

For a long time, the U.S. has boasted that its lively election is a sign of its systems superiority. However, the essential purpose of the election is to provide a driving force for development. The most important task for presidential nominees is not to win the election, but to eventually govern the country.

It's time for the U.S. to take a close, honest look at its arrogant democracy and flawed politics.

This article is edited and translated from  Source: People's Daily
Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus.
U.S. Marines on board an amphibious assault vehicle participate in the Mechanized Assault Drill as part of the 2016 Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) in Zambales Province, the Philippines, Oct. 7, 2016. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana says that his country can get by without U.S. military aid.

Lorenzana made the remarks at a foreign correspondents' forum where he also called for a reassessment of relations between the Philippines and the United States.

The Philippine defense secretary also noted that he agreed with President Rodrigo Duterte's repeated assertion that the U.S. had failed the Philippines.

Lorenzana said he favors a review of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement which Manila and Washington signed in 2014.

U.S. and Philippine defense and military officials are to meet later this month to thrash out issues concerning military-to-military ties between the two nations.
The myth that sheltered housing means the end for independent living for old people is one issue being tackled by officers next week, during

National Sheltered Housing Week from May 22 to 26.
India to seal its border, LoC with Pakistan by December 2018

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) troopers patrol at the international border with Pakistan, around 30 kms from Amritsar, India, on Nov. 3, 2014. [File Photo: Xinhua]

India says that it will seal its entire stretch of border with Pakistan by December 2018.

The statement from the Home Minister comes in the wake of alleged repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

Tensions between the two countries have heightened after a terror attack on an Army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir's Uri sector last month.

Following the attack, which left 19 Indian soldiers dead, the Indian Army had claimed to have carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir to eliminate multiple terror launch pads.

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.
As competition in the technology increases, tech giants are looking for ways to improve their services. Samsung is not exception, especially now that it has agreed to acquire Viv, and AI and assistant system created by former employees of Apple.

Viv is an artificial intelligence platform that enables developers to create an intelligent, conversational interface to anything. This is created by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham who created Siri.

"Unlike other existing AI-based services, Viv has a sophisticated natural language understanding, machine learning capabilities and strategic partnerships that will enrich a broader service ecosystem," said Injong Rhee, CTO of the Mobile Communications business at Samsung Electronics in the official statement from Samsung.

"Viv was built with both consumers and developers in mind. This dual focus is also what attracted us to Viv as an ideal candidate to integrate with Samsung home appliances, wearables and more, as the paradigm of how we interact with technology shifts to intelligent interfaces and voice control," he added.

In a report from The Wall Street Journal, the Samsung acquired Viv to incorporate Viv's features on its phones to make it more attractive to the eyes of the buying public.

One thing that makes Viv Labs different is the fact that it allows third-paryt developers to create and contribute new functions and features to it.

Earlier this year, Viv founders said, in a conference at TechCruch, that Viv is the missing ingredient to personal assistant to a completely different level.

In agreeing with the acquisition, "There isn't another company in the world...with the scale and scope of what Samsung does," Mr. Kittlaus said.

It could be remembered that Facebook and Google have made offers to buy, according to The Washington Post.

With the acquisition, Samsung is set to introduce Viv into its smartphones starting in the second half of 2017. Injong Rhee, chief technology officer at Samsung's mobile division said that Samsung is contemplating on extending Viv's capacity to other Samsung devices, including home appliances, ultimately making Viv a part of its entire lineup of products.

However, despite its acquisition by Samsung, Viv will continue to be an independent company.
The Charlotte Observer has filed a lawsuit against N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory seeking emails related to House Bill 2 that the newspaper first requested in April under the states public records law.

The suit filed Friday morning in Wake County Superior Court seeks an order compelling McCrory to disclose the records related to the controversial bill the governor signed into law in March.

On April 5, the Observer requested copies of emails sent or received by McCrory and his staff since Feb. 1 regarding a Charlotte nondiscrimination ordinance that was passed on Feb. 21 and later overturned by HB2 on March 23, according to the suit.

The Observers request included, but was not limited to, email exchanges with legislators, administration officials, companies, and Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina staff.

On April 7, Graham Wilson of the governors press office acknowledged the request, but the Observer has yet to receive the requested documents.

The suit asks for an immediate hearing on the matter and for an order compelling the governor to make the records available.

It was no surprise to the governors office that his email is a public record, said Observer Executive Editor Rick Thames. Given the impact of HB2 on our state, it is appalling that he would ignore the law and continue to withhold that record six months after we requested it.

McCrorys office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

McCrory signed HB2 into law in March to nullify the Charlotte ordinance, which had generated controversy by protecting transgender people who use public restrooms based on their gender identity. HB2 also overrode local ordinances around the state that would have expanded protections for the LGBT community.

Opponents of the law have said it discriminates against LGBT individuals.
Reddit Email 0 Shares

By Joan Cook | (The Conversation) |  

Mr. Trump, theres someone Id like you to meet.

Well, not one person per se, but the thousands of veterans Ive had the privilege to work with as a clinical psychologist over the past 20 years. Theyve served this country proudly  shouldering the responsibilities of the world while others went to college or into family business. Theyve served in war zones in Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and places some probably couldnt pronounce or find on a world map.

These men and women have seen direct combat and the aftermath of battle, and experienced extreme threats to personal safety. Theyve lived through the unthinkable  rocket-propelled grenade and artillery attacks, seeing friends bodies ripped in half or faces blown off, handled human remains, intentionally killed enemy combatants and had to live with the haunting consequences of accidentally taking the life of women and children.

In the war zone, our brave mens and womens safety is often in danger. Alert around the clock, they are in constant fear of attack, have concern over encountering explosive devices and come within inches of their own death. Even in peacetime, our military face significant stressors  assisting in disaster relief and other humanitarian efforts, exposure to hazards and harmful substances and strenuous physical demands.

I not only have treated veterans with PTSD but have studied PTSD extensively too, at several of our countrys most elite research institutions. Id like to lay out some evidence to explain why our combat veterans are not weak. They are the strongest people I have ever met.

And, they typically do not want to burden people with their pain. Most would never hold a grudge, go public on social media with their experiences or blame anyone else for their difficulties. Thus, I feel it is important, as a clinician and researcher, to defend these men and women who defended us.

Combat trauma is a powerful predictor for a number of mental health problems. PTSD is, of course, the most notable consequence, but veterans who have served in war zones also suffer alarming rates of depression, anxiety and substance abuse. And in recent years, the high suicide rates among U.S. service members have soared to an estimated 22 dying by their own hand each day.

If knowing that isnt enough to make most Americans  including you  hang their heads, pause in appreciation and potentially cry, Im not sure what would.

Sadly, veterans with PTSD also have what health care professionals call a reduced quality of life. They go to work less and use more health care services.

Unless treated, PTSD typically runs a chronic course and haunts a person for many years or decades. Thus, the substantial burden of PTSD is not just on a veterans back, but on their families, their communities and society as well.

And as for those who, as you said, cant handle war, a large research literature exists on risk factors that make a person more susceptible to develop PTSD. The science on risk factors for PTSD does not support the idea that veterans are weak! Longer deployment time, more severe combat exposure, more severe physical injury and traumatic brain injury are some of the variables that pack the biggest punch in contributing to PTSD.

Silent suffering adds to the burden

Years ago, while I was running large psychotherapy groups for Vietnam veterans and those who served in the first Persian Gulf war, one of my veterans said to me, Why do you do what you do? Without missing a beat, and straight from my heart, I said, Because there but for the grace of God go I.

I have no doubt that had I directly experienced or witnessed the things that they did, that I would come home with intrusive, gruesome nightmares, daytime replays of faces who died recurring in my mind, continuing thoughts that I could have done something differently. These are not signs of being weak. These are signs of being human. Caring, loving, wonderful souls.

Many of our nations veterans dont receive the services they need and deserve or wait decades before seeking help. Theres a host of reasons for this, including denial or minimization of problems, avoidance of trauma memories and reminders, stigma and wanting to solve problems on ones own.

But the biggest barrier, in my clinician experience, and one that has been verified in research is concern over being seen as weak. And so they suffer in silence. For way too long.

All these years, I thought was crazy

About 10 years ago, one World War II veteran was referred to me by a primary care doc. Always dutiful, he came pleasantly to my office on his physicians orders not really understanding why he was there. As I rattled off some signs and symptoms of trauma-related distress, his eyes widened as if to say, How do you know whats been happening to me? He thought he had buried the horrors deep in his soul. He was shocked when he thought I could see it. This large, strong 80-plus year-old man openly sobbed and said, All these years, I thought I was crazy, lazy, weak and bad.

I wanted to cry too. This man suffered in silence for over 60 years. How sad is that?

In the line of duty and service to our country, men and women risk lasting impact on their mental and physical well-being, as well as on their families. They deserve respect, not shaming.

Joan Cook, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Iraq War Veteran: Donald Trump Was Outrageous And Offensive | MSNBC
Reddit Email 0 Shares

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

There is big news on the solar energy front, with the price of panels and installation falling rapidly and popular adoption of it for novel purposes. It occurred to me after I made this list that two of the stories, about Yemen and Dubai, concern countries at war with one another. They are very different, with the United Arab Emirate one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and Yemen one of the poorest. Both are going solar, the UAE top-down and Yemen from the bottom up. Both stories point to a solar future.

1. The cost of building a solar power plant has fallen by 25% in the past 5 months alone. In particular, the bid let in Dubai recently for solar-provided electricity at 2.4 cents a kilowatt hour is breathtakingly low. Nuclear plants typically cost 11 cents a kilowatt hour, and cheap but deadly coal is 5 cents a kilowatt hour. Of course, Dubai is very sunny. But since in much of the world, solar is now demonstrably cheaper (often a lot cheaper) than coal, weve now reached an inexorable turning point. Solar is the future, people just dont know it yet. Unfortunately, we need a Manhattan Project style government initiative to switch everything over to renewables ASAP. The market and technology will do the job, but they will take too long for us to avoid the https://www.juancole.com/2016/10/hurricane-matthew-climate.htmlworst consequences of man-made climate change.

2. Cloudy Britain produced more electricity from solar panels for the first six months of 2016 than it did from coal-fired power plants! Coal is extremely toxic when burned, putting mercury and other nerve poisons into the air and water, causing lung problems from soot, and in addition to which it is one of the highest producers of lethal carbon dioxide, which causes global warming. This remarkable piece of good news, unimaginable only half a decade ago, is tempered by the anti-environment policies of the Conservative government of Theresa May, which has harmed the move to solar, what with being in the back pocket of BP and other big hydrocarbon interests.

3. In the past year, sales of solar panels in war-torn Yemen have increased by over 2,000 percent. Every neighborhood in the capital of Sanaa is said now to have several solar installation businesses. Intensive bombing, including of civilian infrastructure, by the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in the country in 2015, has knocked out what little electricity provision there was in the capital. North Yemen is largely held by the Houthi militia that originated among Zaydi Shiites, who are allied with Yemen Army units loyal to deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh. It had made a bid to take over the entire country, but the Saudis and their allies pushed it out of the southern port of Aden, which is largely Sunni. Sanaa residents, deprived of government-supplied electricity, have turned in a big way to solar panels.

4. The price of solar power in India has fallen 40% in the past 18 months. Since India plans to put in 100 gigawatts of solar-generated electricity by 2022, this bargain really helps the countrys bottom line. India is also planning to crisscross the subcontinent with fully solar-powered electric trains.

5. By the end of this year, 65% of the electricity used by Stanford University will come from solar. The university actually built its own solar plant in Kern County. This contrasts to the University of Michigan, a dirty hydrocarbon hog, where only 3% of its electricity comes from renewables. Divestment campaigns are all very well, but I dont understand why college students whose lives will be ruined by climate change dont protest on campus about how carbon-polluting their institutions of higher education are! Were supposed to be scientists and building responsible citizens. Universities are major carbon polluters. I think Michigan puts out over 600,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, probably more than some smaller global south countries. Its plans to fix this are anemic in the extreme and, indeed, a national disgrace.
[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit [official website] on Friday reinstated [opinion, PDF] a $120 million jury award owed to Apple by Samsung [corporate websites] in a prolonged patent infringement case involving the companies competing smartphones. In 2014 a federal jury found [JURIST report] Samsung guilty of infringing numerous Apple smartphone patents such as the iPhones slide-to-lock, autocorrect, and online linking features. Though the company was originally ordered to pay damages, a three-judge panel of the Federal Circuit overturned [opinion, PDF] the verdict in February. Sitting en banc, the full appeals court stated Friday that the panel erred by considering evidence outside the record of the current case. Samsung has therefore been ordered to pay the originally determined damages. The companies have yet to respond to the new ruling.

This is the most recent installment of the ongoing patent dispute [JURIST op-ed] between the two electronics giants. In March the Supreme Court agreed to hear [JURIST report] Samsungs appeal in another case against Apple. In July Apple filed a brief [JURIST report] asking the Supreme Court [official website] to rule against Samsung in its patent infringement lawsuit. In January the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] granted [JURIST report] Apples motion for a permanent injunction against Samsung for infringing upon three software patents. In August 2014 the US District Court for the Northern District of California denied [JURIST report] Apples request to ban Samsung from selling any of its products that infringed on Apples patented technology. Earlier in August 2014 Apple and Samsung agreed to drop [JURIST report] all patent infringement lawsuits in courts outside of the US. In June 2014 Apple and Samsung also agreed to dismiss [JURIST report] their appeals of a patent infringement case at the US International Trade Commission [official website] that resulted in an import ban on some older model Samsung phones.
[JURIST] The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child [official website] on Friday issued reports [materials] on Nauru, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, New Zealand, South Africa and Suriname following a committee session held last month. The committees independent experts commended the nations efforts to push laws and treaties intended to protect childrens rights and address human rights violations highlighted by the UN in previous evaluations. The committee, however, also mentioned growing concerns such as Naurus lack of effort to monitor and report on the mistreatment and abuse of asylum seeking and refugee children. Their reports stressed the countrys need for a more systematic method of data collection to allow the international community to observe and protect these children who sustain inadequate living conditions and are particularly victim to discrimination. The committee also expressed concern that Saudi Arabia continues to discriminate against the female population by giving too much control to male guardians, enforcing dress code policies, and upholding strict gender segregation. Reports also denounced Saudi Arabias laws allowing detained minors to face excessive punishments such as flogging, stoning and amputations. The committee has scheduled [UN report] its next session for January and plans to evaluate Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Estonia, Georgia, Malawi, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Serbia.

The international community continues its efforts to protect the rights of children being mistreated worldwide. On Monday UN childrens rights expert stated [JURIST report] that Syrias continued infliction of harm on children is a brutal abdication of human rights obligations they have committed to respect. Last month a UN reporter raised [JURIST report] international awareness for silent pandemic of childhood disease and disability caused by exposure to toxins and waste. Also last month Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] denounced [JURIST report] Nepals lacking efforts to prevent child marriages in light of a report that least 37 percent of girls are still being married before age. 18. That same week, UNICEF [official website] reported that millions of children have recently been driven from their homes due to violence and conflict.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 8

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held a meeting dedicated to the upcoming commissioning of the first phase of the transnational railway trunk - Asia international railway transportation corridor, the Turkmen government said in a message Oct. 8.

This is the construction of the Atamyrat-Imamnazar (Turkmenistan)  Akina (Afghanistan) section. The completion of the construction and installation work is scheduled for early November 2016.

It is expected that the transportation corridor passing through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, will have an access to China's extensive rail network and through it - to the rapidly developing states of the Asia-Pacific region.

Big socio-economic impact of the routes commissioning is expected in Afghanistan, wrote the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news service.

In that place, where the transnational railway trunk is being built, road, power lines, energy pipelines are built simultaneously, said the service.

As part of the first phase of the project, the 85-kilometer part of the Atamyrat-Imamnazar section has been built in Turkmenistan. Total length of the railway is 88 kilometers. The section between Imamnazar and Akina border posts is three kilometers.

The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway will be the next golden link of the Asia railway corridor, which, in turn, will be the most important segment of the international network of transportation communications between the two parts of the vast continent  Europe and Asia, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reports.

Meanwhile, the commissioning of a terminal for receiving, storage and shipping of oil products is expected in November at the Imamnazar customs post.

President Berdimuhamedov also noted during the meeting that the development of the international transportation corridors meets Turkmenistans economic interests.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8

Trend:

Armenias armed forces have 21 times violated the ceasefire on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops over the past 24 hours, said Azerbaijans Defense Ministry Oct. 8.

Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns.

The Azerbaijani army positions underwent fire from the Armenian positions located near the Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, Ashagi Veyselli and Gorgan villages of the Fuzuli district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of the Goygol, Tartar, Goranboy, Fuzuli, Khojavand and Jabrayil 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.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8

By Seba Aghayeva  Trend:

Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will make an official visit to Azerbaijan on Oct. 13-15, a diplomatic source told Trend Oct. 8.

High-level discussions on the prospects of development of bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan are expected during the visit.

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.

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.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

A recently published review by the EU entitled An EU Strategy for relations with Iran after the nuclear deal has drawn positive response from Tehran.

The European Union on October 7 published a document in which it delineated the prospect for relations with the post-sanctions Iran, emphasizing what the EU and Iran need is a strategic and structured dialogue.

The document was released by the European Parliament nearly fifteen months after Iran and key international players, including the European Union, struck a historic deal over Tehrans nuclear program.

Tehrans response is remarkable in that it has focused on the issue of human rights, on which Iran formerly had said would not consider cooperation with the West. The Islamic Republic used to say that with the nuclear deal enough was enough, because there would be no end to the Wests expectations of Iran, ranging from human rights issues to missile program and regional security developments.

However, one day after the EU document was published, Irans Human Rights chief Mohammad Javad Larijani said Iran can drastically reduce the number of death penalties issued by the countrys judiciary system in short notice.

Death verdicts should be limited to drug ringleaders. Doing so, the number of death penalties will quickly decrease. This is under discussion and I think in six to seven months we will reach the primary results in our revision, he told Brazils O Estadao daily.

Larijani, however, peppered his statement by saying that the West should not impose its lifestyle on the Iranian nation.

We do not think that universality provides any ground for imposing lifestyles, cultures, or civilizations. Americans, Germans, or the French cannot claim that lifestyle is exactly what they have in their countries.

He went on to assert that Iran shares 800 kilometers of border with Afghanistan, the worlds repository of opium, and that Tehran, as the biggest drugs fighter, expects more help from Western countries to brace its anti-drug campaign.

Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi on the same day said the country will hold human rights talks with the European Union in the near future.

Reacting to the EU review, the Iranian diplomat said although the document contains some grain of truth, some parts of it are unreal and affected by the campaigns of anti-Iran circles.

In a situation when human rights talks are about to begin between Iran and the EU, such statements are non-constructive and therefore questionable. They not only do not help at all the improvement of human rights talks, but also create ground for assumptions that what is the case is intervention in our countrys internal affairs.

However open and welcoming, Tehrans position entails some fallacy in that it restricts human rights talks to the sphere of drugs.

Official reports say some 90 percent of death penalties in Iran are drugs-related. Knowing this, Tehran is eying a drastic reduction of its overall death penalties by easing big on drugs. This way, it will provide itself with a good record of human rights status improvement and buy considerable negotiation power against the West.

However, no expectation of a decline in death sentences of other natures than drugs is raised from the recent statements.

Follow the author on Twitter @mehdisepahvand
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

The Islamic fund on microfinance may be created in Azerbaijan, a source on the countrys finance market told Trend.

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.
KEARNEY  Publicity prior to the murder trial of Casey Anthony, who told police a babysitter had kidnapped her child, affected the cases outcome, Anthonys prosecutor said in Kearney Thursday.

Thousands of people were convinced that Casey Anthony was guilty before we ever called the first witness at trial, said Jeff Ashton, one of three prosecutors who tried Anthony in 2011 for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

Ashton was the featured speaker Thursday at the 25th annual Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee and Nebraska County Attorneys Association Criminal Justice Conference in Kearney.

Casey Anthony, 26, was acquitted in July 2011 of murdering Caylee, but was convicted on four counts of lying to law enforcement for claiming that a babysitter had kidnapped the child. She is currently serving one year of probation in Florida for a check fraud conviction.

During his daylong presentation, Ashton recapped Anthonys investigation and trial for the nearly 150 law enforcement officers and prosecutors attending the conference. He told many anecdotes about the case, the forensic challenges, and about experts who testified about the odor of decomposition.

Ashton said Floridas public record law worked against prosecutors by tainting potential jurors. Under Floridas public record law prosecutors are required to share all of the evidence they have in a case with defense attorneys, Ashton said.

Once defense attorneys receive the information, it becomes public. In the Casey Anthony case, as soon as the information was made public, local and national media were saturated with it.

A month after the 911 call had been released, we had people in an uproar and wanting to crucify Casey Anthony, Ashton said.

Nebraska doesnt have the same public records requirements as Florida, said Mike Mefferd, a deputy Buffalo County Attorney. Information shared between attorneys in a Nebraska criminal case is more limited, and there is a system in place to prevent the type of situation that occurred in the Anthony case.

It wasnt until after the trial that Ashton realized the highly publicized case had eliminated most potential jurors.

By the process of jury selection, the pretrial publicity had already eliminated 90 percent of the population, and so all youre left with is people who by nature are more skeptical and need to have a greater level of certainty to convict, he said. Because of that process, we ended up filtering out all those people who couldve put the puzzle together.

Ashton is convinced Casey Anthony killed her daughter because she wanted a different, more carefree and single lifestyle, and she convinced herself she would be better off without her daughter.

Casey Anthony is the most narcissistic human being ever born, Ashton said.

Ashton believes Caylee was killed by her mother in her grandparents home in Orange County, Florida in mid-June 2008. Ashton and other Florida law enforcement officials say Casey Anthony used liquid chloroform to put her daughter into a deep sleep. Chloroform is typically used as a solvent.

Ashton said Casey Anthony then put duct tape over her daughters nose and mouth, wrapped her in her Winnie the Pooh blanket, put her body into the trunk of her car to die, and later disposed of the body less than one-quarter mile away from her parents home in a wooded, swampy area.

The Casey Anthony case, Ashton said, is a good example of how law enforcement needs to have strict communication with the agencies working with them. After Caylees disappearance a private organization volunteered to look for Caylees body.

There was confusion between police and volunteers to whether the wooded swamp area near the Anthony home had been searched. The area was never searched, Ashton said, and Caylees remains werent found until four months after the search.

You have to have real good communication and you have to know actually what people are doing. She (Caylee) was out there four months longer than she shouldve been and largely because people assumed that area had been searched, when it really hadnt been, he said.

Ashton retired from prosecuting shortly after the Casey Anthony trial and is now running for Florida state attorney. He also wrote a book about the case, Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony, and signed books Thursday after his presentation.

email to:
A number of new faces will be joining the ranks in the nations only one-house Legislature in January. They will have big shoes to fill as they try to become players quickly during a year that features the crafting of a new state budget and other routine business that might be overshadowed by on-going debate about pipelines and health care issues and the economy.

So we continue to look at what it takes to be an effective Nebraska state senator.

Last week we told you that tops on former Sen. Sandy Scofields list is broad experience. The Panhandle native said a senator also needs to be articulate, able and willing to study issues and be quick on his or her feet.

Former Sen. John Lindsay of Omaha agreed with Scofields assessment, adding that being a state senator is hard work. It is hard work and time consuming to get elected and even more time consuming to learn the issues.

A successful state senator has to be willing to adapt. You may be 100 percent certain that you are correct about an issue, but you have to realize there are 48 other senators in there and they probably think they have the right answer too, Lindsay said. Bismarck was right, he said, Politics is the art of the possible.

Keeping a sense of humor is also essential. You have to be able to laugh at yourself, no matter how tough the issue or prolonged the debate, the fight and the fallout. Take it seriously, but be able to let it go when necessary, he said.

An effective senator also has to know his or her district, something that is often learned in the door-to-door campaign for the job. The people and the issues are important, whether urban or rural. It may seem easier in Lincoln and Omaha where multiple districts and senators can relate to a like issue with natural allies. But urban senators also have to understand rural issues. He agrees with Scofield on the importance of speaking Sandhills.

When he chaired the Legislatures Judiciary Committee, Lindsay took the senators on an interim study road trip with stops in ONeill and Valentine and Chadron, among others. He said he discovered that even in rural areas, the issues many might term as farm issues were different for dry land and irrigated crop farmers.

The fundamental problem is that rural senators dont understand that urban senators are trying to understand the rural perspective.

Veteran lawmaker Ernie Chambers, who represented the inner city of Omaha, was a longtime member of the Legislatures Agriculture Committee. Its all about perspective, Lindsay said. I probably see things driving through the Sandhills that someone who has lived there for years takes for granted. The same is true for a rural senator looking at Omaha or Lincoln issues.

Be it urban or rural, it is not a bad thing that state senators work hard to understand each others perspective. It may be hard work. But nobody ever said that compromise or lawmaking comes easily.

J.L. Schmidt is the statehouse correspondent for the Nebraska Press Association and executive director of the Classic Car Collection in Kearney.
Cabelas filed on Friday a regulatory document that formally enters into the record the idea of maintaining operations in Sidney, Nebraska, and Lincoln after the buyout by rival Bass Pro Shops.

But it isnt likely that the pledge has any legally binding effect or would be enforceable if it were violated, mergers-and-acquisitions experts say.

Bass Pro Shops appreciates and understands the deep ties between Cabelas and the community of Sidney, Nebraska. Dick, Mary and Jim Cabela founded their company in Sidney in 1961, and the company has flourished with its base of operations there ever since, reads the document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that outlines for shareholders the legal and financial details of Bass Pros $5.5 billion buyout offer made this week.

It continues: Bass Pro Shops intends to continue to maintain important bases of operations in Sidney and Lincoln and hopes to continue the very favorable connections to those communities and the Cabelas team members residing there.

While the 2,000 people who work for Cabelas in Sidney  population 6,800  might take heart in that, it isnt likely to make much difference if Missouri-based Bass Pro figures it can do without duplicate back-office employees. (It already announced the combined entity would have its headquarters in Missouri.)

Nor might it mean much to Capital One, the mega national bank based in Virginia with call centers all over the country that is taking over operation of Cabelas credit-card business in Lincoln that employs more than 500 people.

It is mostly puff and fluff, said George Morgan, a business professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Just what exactly is an important base of operation? A desk, a phone and a secretary? Bottom line, they dont want to look like a bad guy, but economics will prevail.

Cabelas declined to comment for this article. A spokesman for Bass Pro, when contacted Friday by The World-Herald, said: We appreciate the opportunity, but at this point cannot comment on anything beyond what was included in the initial news release.

Gov. Pete Ricketts said earlier this week he would pitch Bass Pro on keeping jobs in Nebraska  maybe even adding to the combined companys total payroll in the state.

The important base of operations lingo appears on Page 209 of the 233-page document known as a proxy filed Friday. It is contained in a section where founder and largest stockholder Jim Cabela agrees to vote his shares in favor of the buyout. Also in that section is Bass Pros promise to include the important base of operations language in press releases about the deal. Nowhere does it say Bass Pro will maintain two headquarters or keep payrolls at any specified level.

And multiple Omaha mergers-and-acquisitions attorneys, who asked to remain unidentified because they dont have first-hand knowledge of the matter, said words such as hopes to continue and favorable connections and important bases are vague and subjective. In the end, the attorneys agreed, Bass Pro could easily argue that almost any level of employment or activity meets the open-ended definitions.

Brian Quinn, a mergers-and-acquisitions professor at Boston College law school, said none of the language in question appears binding on the buyer, in this case, Bass Pro.

I suspect the parties have an understanding between them about the future, but nothing enforceable by third parties, Quinn said. In other words, there could very well be a gentlemans agreement that Bass would keep some operations in Nebraska, but if Bass decided it changed its mind, there would be no legal recourse.

Sean Griffith, another law professor specializing in mergers and acquisitions, said it is not unusual for companies to make these kinds of promises in deals.

But they rarely, if ever, make them in the form of an enforceable contract, said Griffith, of Fordham University Law School in New York. Management may intend all sorts of things, but intentions change when, six or 18 months down the road, keeping a local presence no longer makes economic sense. At that point, local operations get shut down.

Just a brief look at the business history of company relocations and mergers and acquisitions demonstrates pledges, codicils and other corporate verbiage sometimes arent worth the paper they are written on:

 In 2011, food giant Kraft closed a chocolate plant in the United Kingdom. It acquired the factory after it won a hostile takeover battle with U.K. confections company Cadbury. About 400 people lost their jobs  after being promised by Kraft the plant would remain open if it prevailed in taking over Cadbury.

 In May, the government of Finland blasted Seattle-based Microsoft after the firm fired 1,350 workers in that Nordic nation. Microsoft wound up in Finland after it bought the mobile-phone business of Nokia, the countrys largest company. Finnish officials said the purchase came with the assurance that the country would be become a research and development hub to include a large data center. None of it ever materialized.

 Last year, a California-based semiconductor maker called Global Foundries acquired IBMs chip-making unit. USA Today reported last year the company also inherited IBMs pledge to retain a certain number of tech jobs in upstate New York as part of a state incentives program.

We have no plans for layoffs or plans for shutting the plants down in any way, was how Global Foundries Chief Executive Sanjay Jha put it in July 2015.

By October, that was out the door  jobs were cut, buyout offers on the table.

As for Cabelas, most of the Friday filing is legal and financial mumbo jumbo, laying out amendments to corporate bylaws and how an offer by a third party is to be handled should one emerge. Part of that is what Wall Street calls breakup fees. Cabelas would owe Bass Pro $126 million under certain conditions that would cause the deal to not move ahead, while Bass Pro would owe Cabelas $230 million if the deal fails for other reasons.

Cabelas operates about 85 stores, and Bass Pro about 100. Bass Pro had revenue last year of $4.5 billion, Cabelas $4 billion. The all-cash per-share offer of $65.50 represents a premium of about 40 percent from Cabelas closing price in late October after it became known that activist investor Elliot Management had taken a big stake.

Known for ramming through operational and cost-cutting moves at companies it invests in, Elliot began cashing out this week, reaping a $90 million profit by selling half its stake of almost 7 million shares.

In related news, Cabelas said Friday it would hold its annual meeting Dec. 13. A document filed with the SEC said the company expected to have a separate meeting at a time and date to be subsequently determined for shareholders to vote on the proposed takeover.
WASHINGTON - Sen. Ben Sasse has finally found the conservative presidential candidate hes been seeking.

The Nebraska Republican plans to write in the name of Donald Trumps running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Nov. 8.

The Trump campaign was rocked Friday when the Washington Post released a 2005 video of Trump making lewd comments that included bragging about how his fame allowed him to kiss and grope women at will.

Sasse wrote on Twitter Saturday morning that Trump is obviously not going to win the election and that its time to hand over the nomination to Pence.

He can still make an honorable move, Sasse wrote of Trump. Step aside & let Mike Pence try.

Sasse spokesman James Wegmann later told The World-Herald that the senator would be putting Pences name on his ballot for president.

"Sasse is likely to write in Pence because he wants to see Republican principles beat Hillary Clinton, Wegmann said.

Officially replacing Trump at the top of the ticket is complicated, however, and could be impossible in some key states. But Sasses plan for a Pence write-in could open up a new avenue.

Character matters.@realDonaldTrump is obviously not going to win.

But he can still make an honorable move:

Step aside & let Mike Pence try.  Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) October 8, 2016

Sasse was unavailable for comment himself on Saturday because hes on an official national security codel or congressional delegation trip.

The Nebraska senator was among the earliest and most prominent Republicans to say that he would never support Donald Trump for president. He wrote an open letter earlier this year, even before the businessman had captured the partys nomination.

Sasse was harshly critical of Hillary Clinton and said that he could never support her for president. But he also said that Donald Trump was not a viable contender either.

A presidential candidate who boasts about what he'll do during his reign and refuses to condemn the KKK cannot lead a conservative movement in America, Sasse wrote at that time.

He has stuck to his position even as it has rankled some among the party faithful back home and drew a rebuke at the state GOP convention.

Sasse may have more company, however, as Trumps latest controversy spreads.

A few other Republicans also were calling for Trump to step aside in the wake of Fridays video release. Those included Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Mark Kirk of Illinois, both of whom already had been critical of Trump.

Trump did not appear to be going anywhere Friday night when he issued a video statement that included both a defiant apology, an attack on Hillary Clinton and a reference to Sundays nights second presidential debate.

Sasse was not alone among Nebraska politicians denouncing the comments.

Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Neb., who supports Hillary Clinton for president, wrote on Twitter that As a father Im disgusted by Trumps comments. No one should be subject to this indecency.

Ashfords GOP challenger Don Bacon also criticized Trumps 2005 remarks.

Donald Trumps most recent comments about women are indefensible and offensive, Bacon said in a press release. I am disgusted by these remarks and no woman should ever be talked about in this way.

Bacon did not, however, indicate whether he would withdraw his support for Trumps presidential bid.
In a stunning move, Nebraska U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer called for Donald Trump to step aside today and give running mate Mike Pence the nomination.

Fischer's decision to abandon Trump is surprising in the sense that she has long been one of the Republican presidential nominee's most ardent supporters, backing him at both the Republican National Convention and in Nebraska.

However, Fischer made it clear today that she now found Trump's candidacy "unacceptable" after the recent release of an audio tape in which Trump degrades women.

Fischer is now at the same place as Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, who has long been an opponent of Trump's. Sasse also called this morning for Trump to stand aside in favor of Pence, the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Fischer's statement: "The comments made by Mr. Trump were disgusting and totally unacceptable under any circumstance. It would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party's nominee."

The comments made by Mr. Trump were disgusting and totally unacceptable under any circumstance. (1/2)  Deb Fischer (@DebFischerNE) October 8, 2016

It would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party's nominee. (2/2)  Deb Fischer (@DebFischerNE) October 8, 2016
Edward (Fast Eddy) Dostaler of Kamloops runs along Bernard Avenue in Kelowna on Friday as part of his across Canada and back run to raise funds and awareness for Alzheimers disease and breast cancer.
Travis Gilbert, from The Table at Codfathers in Kelowna, won Thursday nights Young Chefs Competition with his vegetarian creation called variations of grains. The dish was matched with the Stones Throw red blend from River Stone Winery in Oliver, held by assistant manager Julie Planiden.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 5

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

Turkey will continue its support for the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route in order to keep it preferable for carriers, said Ahmet Arslan, Turkeys minister of transport, maritime affairs and communications, in his exclusive interview with Trend Oct. 5.

Arslan noted that transportation to the Central Asian countries through Azerbaijan grew substantially in 2015 as compared to previous years.

About 8,000 trucks were sent to the Central Asian countries through Azerbaijan in 2015, said the minister.

"There is no doubt that these volumes may increase even more in a short time, if the regions countries invest in transport infrastructure," he added.

Arslan also noted that the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railways construction will create an opportunity to transport various cargos by various methods that will benefit the carriers.

He said the non-governmental organizations must also work actively to strengthen the Trans-Caspian corridor, for which Turkey is ready to provide support.

"Turkey believes the opening of the Baku International Sea Trade Port and the adjustment of systematic voyages by RO-RO vessels will help increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Trans-Caspian corridor," added the minister.

"Ankara considers the joining of the Iranian and Azerbaijani railways important," he said.

Arslan went on to add that Turkey always supports the alternative routes, because it considers them necessary for carriers in the current economic conditions.

"We think the cooperation of the regions countries should be mutually complementary and believe these projects will help increase the prosperity of the entire region," noted the minister.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route runs from China to Europe through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade
Istanbul, Turkey, Oct.8

By Elchin Huseynov  Trend:

One of the worlds largest airports will be put into operation in Turkeys Istanbul city in the second quarter of 2018, board head of Turkish Airlines Ilker Ayci told reporters in Istanbul.

The airport will have five runways and a fleet consisting of 550 aircraft. The passenger traffic is planned to be 90 million and up to 150 million at the first and second stages, respectively.

The new "smart airport" will be a high-tech and environmentally friendly airport.

The new airport will turn Istanbul into one of the largest transit air hubs in the world and approve the city as an important destination, said Ayci.

Currently, London Heathrow Airport is the largest one in Europe, followed by Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, and Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, which has already left Frankfurt Airport behind, he added.

We plan to outstrip Paris airport in the near future and will become the main rival to Heathrow Airport. This will happed within one of two years, said Ayci

He noted that Istanbul airport would outstrip the Charles de Gaulle Airport in terms of passenger traffic this year, if there were no the known events in Turkey.

We will continue to rank third this year. We will rank second in a very short period and then we plan to become the most demanded airport and a contact point of Europe with the largest number of passengers, added Ayci.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

The Azerbaijani delegation, consisting of representatives of Finance Ministry, State Oil Fund (SOFAZ), and the Southern Gas Corridor CJSC, took part in the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Washington, said Azerbaijani Finance Ministry in a message Oct. 8.

The delegation led by the countrys Finance Minister Samir Sharifov held discussions related to the financing of the Southern Gas Corridor project during the visit.

The message says that a video message of the US President Barack Obama was shown and the current situation in the world economy and main directions of its development, sustainable and balanced development strategy, poverty eradication, improvement of financial markets, effectiveness of financial aid, as well as the challenges facing the global economy were discussed during the meetings closing ceremony, which was attended by high-ranking representatives of member countries of the IMF and WB, international financial institutions, representatives of civil society and private sector.

During Sharifovs working meetings, which were held within the event, with WB Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Cyril Muller, CEO and Executive Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Keiko Honda, Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Pim Van Ballekom, Vice Presidents of the Asian Development Bank Wencai Zhang and Diwakar Gupta, as well as with representatives of several authoritative commercial banks, issues related to the second phase of development of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz gas and condensate field, the participation of the above-mentioned organizations in the financing of the Southern Gas Corridor project, which envisages the transportation of the Shah Deniz gas, and other prospects of cooperation were discussed, according to the message.

During the visit, the Azerbaijani delegation also held meetings with the US Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Charles Rivkin, Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US State Department Amos Hochstein and Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development at the US Department of the Treasury Marisa Lago.

During these meetings, the development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation, continuation of strategic cooperation in the energy sector were discussed and Azerbaijans praise regarding the US government support for the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project was noted, the importance of attempts and ongoing work for the promotion of transcontinental transportation through Azerbaijan was highlighted, and an exchange of views was held on transnational projects and other issues within the close cooperation with international financial institutions, said the message.

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.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Several members of the National Border Patrol Council Union, including the local president, met with Donald Trump on Friday morning.

The meeting was held at Trump Towers, with several members representing the Laredo, Tucson, San Diego and Northern sectors.

Local union president Hector Garza says they discussed topics dealing with the needs of Border Patrol agents and immigration policy.

"Some of the solutions that we've proposed to Mr. Trump is creating an infrastructure in the deportation process," Garza said. "That infrastructure includes hiring more federal judges that can see these cases that way the proceedings can move forward."

This is just one of several meetings the Union has held with Trump.

They have formally endorsed him since March.
Local school districts have been on high alert this past week after two killer clown threats were posted on social media.

Both school districts and Laredo Police held a press conference on Friday to address the trend of online threats.

Local law enforcement and the school district said that these threats were not going to be taken lightly.

L.P.D. also said that nobody has been injured as a result of the threats.

So far U.I.S.D. confirmed that they have already taken one student into custody, who is believed to be responsible for the threats against U.I.S.D.

Meanwhile the investigation for the threats against L.I.S.D. is still pending.

L.I.S.D. said during the press conference that the district will not celebrate Halloween or allow children to wear costumes.

U.I.S.D. said that they will allow students to dress up on Halloween, but are not allowed to wear clown costumes, face paint or masks.
United ISD says recent online threats have created a psychological effect on some of their students, who are now fearing for their safety.

According to the District, administrators at Bonnie Garcia Elementary found a knife inside a student's backpack on Friday.

They say the student carried the knife with him because he was scared for his own safety after the online threats.

"Some young students have become impressionable with the concerns and the fear," says UISD Associate Superintendent Gloria Rendon. "Their fears are legitimate, and there's concerns. Never was this knife brandished, never was it used to threaten any other students."

UISD officials also confirmed a similar incident happened earlier in the week at Judith Zaffirini Elementary School.

Both of these students are minors.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.8



By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:



An unofficial OPEC meeting could thrash out some of the details of the proposed new quota system, according to the analysts of the UK Capital Economics consulting company.



But we are sceptical that anything of substance will emerge, analysts said in a report obtained by Trend.



Earlier, Algerian Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa said that OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers plan an informal meeting in Istanbul Oct. 8-13 to discuss how to implement a production deal OPEC members reached in Algiers last month.



In September, OPEC producers agreed during the informal meeting to cut down the oil output to 32.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from current production of 33.24 million bpd.



How much each country will produce is to be decided at the next formal meeting of OPEC in November.
1 of 5

This crane is Bruce Lee of animal kingdom



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. Read More...


By Lauren Hirsch

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Canada Goose Inc, a maker of luxury winter down jackets, is interviewing banks to help prepare for an initial public offering (IPO) that could value the company at as much as $2 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

An IPO of Toronto-based Canada Goose would demonstrate the explosive growth the company has experienced, following its transition from selling jackets primarily to adventurers on expeditions to shoppers in more than 50 countries, eager to pay $1,000 for warm, high-end coats.

Canada Goose could not be immediately be reached for comment. Its majority owner, private equity firm Bain Capital LLC, declined comment.

Canada Goose, which started in a small warehouse in 1957, sold a majority stake in 2013 to Bain for an undisclosed amount, to help meet its growth ambitions.

Under Bain's ownership, the company achieved double-digit sales growth in 2014, partially driven by international demand, Chief Executive Dani Reiss told Reuters at the time.

The down used in Canada Goose coats is a by-product of the food industry, with most of it sourced from Hutterite farmers who raise free-range flocks in the Canadian prairies. Many of the other jacket components, such as the fabric, are globally sourced.

The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the IPO plans earlier on Friday.

(Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler)
WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The Swiss franc remains "significantly overvalued," the head of the Swiss National Bank said on Saturday, although he said there were no plans at present to push rates further into negative territory.

"We are convinced for the time being that our monetary policy is minus 75 basis points," SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan told Reuters at the International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington.

"We also said that we have the potential to lower rates if necessary, but for the time being this policy is working and the combination of the two pillars is the right one."

(Reporting by David Chance; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Robert Andler, 90, from Wisconsin, examines anti-aircraft guns from the battleship USS West Virginia that are now on display at Hal's Corner, at the intersection of Wheaton Way and Sheridan Road in East Bremerton. Andler manned the 5-inch guns on the West Virginia from 1944 to 1946 and was in town Friday as part of a ship reunion. (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)

SHARE From left, Dale Nitz, Tony Reiter, Chris Benafel and Bob Benafel talk during a reunion of sailors from the USS West Virginia on Friday at the Bremerton Naval Museum. Nitz, from St. Paul, Minnesota, and Bob Benafel, from Eugene, Oregon, served on the battleship; Nitz is with the Veterans Living History Museum in Port Orchard and brought West Virginia display items; and Chris Benafel was accompanying his father at the reunion. Photos of the West Virginia are in the background. (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN) USS West Virginia veteran Bob Benafel, from Eugene, Oregon, tours the Bremerton Naval Museum on Friday. He is a Pearl harbor survivor. (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN) Former USS West Virginia sailors pose for photos in front of the battleship's guns at Hal's Corner in East Bremerton on Friday. (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN) Former USS West Virginia sailors Herbert Crask, left, and Bob Benafel talk in front of guns from the ship that are on display in East Bremerton. (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN)

By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun

BREMERTON  As sailor Herbert Crask trekked through the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard one day, he came upon an "ugly looking hulk" of steel, a rusty ship raised from the depths after its sank at Pearl Harbor.

I told the fella next to me, 'Man, I don't want to be stuck on that thing,'" he joked.

Three days later, he was.

It was 1943 and the USS West Virginia, a battleship built in the 1920s, would soon join the war effort. The Navy had refloated the vessel after the Japanese attack, and she later fought in some of the war's key battles in the Pacific Theater.

The battleship's surviving crew members still gather for reunions, but one Friday at the Naval Museum downtown was different. Bremerton is sprinkled with a few USS West Virginia relics, and those who served on the ship got to witness a few things they'd not seen since the war.

The battleship was deactivated not long after the war and ultimately sold for scrap. Some of its anti-aircraft guns can still be found at Bremerton landmarks, including "Hal's Corner," at Sheridan Road and Wheaton Way, and at Illahee State Park.

Friday's journey brought back memories for the veterans.

"It was a family," said Arthur Rinetti, who served aboard the ship from 1943 to 1946. "You're sleeping two feet apart. You eat together. You get sick together."

In 1944, the ship joined a successful assault on the Japanese fleet in the Surigao Straight. It later fought at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In September 1945, the ship was the only vessel sunk at Pearl Harbor that was also in Tokyo Bay when Japan surrendered.

Rinetti remembers a time when a Japanese plane flew a kamikaze mission straight for his location on the ship. He was a fire controlman, and it appeared as though the plane was "friendly." But as it got close over the ship, "you could see the meatballs on the wings," he said, referencing the Rising Sun symbols on the plane. It crashed through the decks and a fire broke out on the ship.

"It was chaos," Rinetti said.

One of the most harrowing times of those battles that Anthony Reiter recalled was Easter Sunday in April 1945. He was in the shower when the ship came under attack. All of the hatches were locked, and he and several other men, unclothed, were stuck inside the area of the ship most susceptible to torpedoes.

"We had to remain there until the ship was secured," he said.

A 500-pound bomb ripped through at least two decks of the ship while the men waited. Fortunately it never went off, or the results would have been catastrophic.

"A lot of lives would have been lost," he said.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 8

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Representatives from Turkmenistans financial institutions and law-enforcement bodies concluded in Bucharest (Romania) a study visit, organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, focused on mechanisms to counter corruption and money laundering.



The delegation visited the countrys National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Justice Ministry and General Prosecutors Office. They learnt about the objectives and functions of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and activities of its Technical Service.



Discussions focused on the implementation of international anti-corruption and anti-money laundering documents and membership in the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism. Special emphasis was put on the development of the national anti-corruption strategy and importance of the international and interstate co-operation in this area.



The OSCE attaches special importance to efforts to combat corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing, as good governance is essential for strengthening security and achieving sustainable development, noted Ambassador Natalya Drozd, head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized this study visit to facilitate the dialogue between the representatives of Turkmenistan and their Romanian counterparts on effective good governance practices.



Representatives from the Prosecutors Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice provided a comprehensive overview of Romanias national anti-corruption and anti-money laundering system and discussed with the delegation cases related to good governance practices.



The delegation included five representatives from Turkmenistans government institutions, including officials from the Financial Monitoring Department of the Finance Ministry, Ministry of Economy and Development of Turkmenistan, the General Prosecutors Office and Interior and National Security Ministries.



The study visit was supported by the Romanian Embassy in Turkmenistan as part of the Centres project aimed at supporting the efforts of the Turkmen government in strengthening its good governance practices.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 8

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistan will continue to pay special attention to strengthening material and technical base of naval forces and to ensuring reliability and inviolability of sea borders, said the message from the countrys President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Berdimuhamedov made the remarks on the occasion of the Day of Naval Forces.

Naval forces should further serve as a reliable guarantor of Turkmenistans peaceful policy and tranquility in the Caspian Sea, said the presidents message.

He noted that guaranteeing Turkmenistans military security in accordance with its military doctrine is an important vector of the state policy.

Our country will continue to take measures aimed at ensuring the environmental well-being and preserving the biodiversity of the Caspian Sea, rational use of its richest hydrocarbon resources, strengthening the status of the Caspian Sea as a sea of harmony, friendship, good relations and effective cooperation, said the message.

Earlier, Hazar 2016 military-tactical exercises were held in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea in August, involving the personnel of Naval Forces, Air Forces and Air Defense Troops of Turkmenistans Armed Forces, military units of the State Border Service, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other branches of troops.

The total length of Turkmenistans sea border is around 600 kilometers.
A historic World War II tank landing ship, LST 325, is docking in Vicksburg until Tuesday morning. The ship is fully functioning and open to the public for tours before sailing back to its home port in Evansville, Indiana.

"It's a floating museum, [with] static displays.... Your feet on that ship, it just makes you feel good," says volunteer on LST 325 and WWII veteran, Irwin Kuhns.

The 74-year-old ship holds history from all over the world. From being built in the U.S., to storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, to once being commissioned for the Greek Navy, LST 325 is now preserved to teach people about a time many can't remember.

"I find out that some people can't forget about World War II because they don't know a thing about it," Kuhns says.

Kuhns spent three years aboard an LST as a Navy coxswain during WWII, transporting troops from the LST's smaller Higgins boats to shore for combat.

Kuhns says everything he saw back then, he will never forget.

"We had shirts or no shirts. We did what we had to do. It wasn't spit, polish, inspection - nothing like that. Just 'do what you're supposed to do' and it was okay," Kuhns says.

Life aboard an LST was not luxurious. Navy sailors and Marines slept on cots lining the side of the boat and spent much of their time preparing for possible combat.

The LST boats were the first of their kind able to beach onshore for tanks and troops to roll out on land, and LST 325 could hold up to twenty tanks.

The Higgins boats were held on the side of the LST to bring out more soldiers for combat.

"Your feet on that ship, it makes you feel good. It's not like a movie. It's not like all that. You actually do it, you're here, you're stomping on it where thousands of troops and people walked these decks. Just think about it, a lot of blood was spilt on these decks," Kuhns says.

LST 325 only makes two stops a year before porting in Evansville, Indiana, where many LST boats were built during WWII.
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.
Tehran, Iran, Oct. 8

By Emil Ilgar  Trend:

National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russian Tatneft Oct 8, the official website of NIOC reported.

According to the report, Tatneft should develop a project, aimed to increasing the recovery rate of Irans Dehloran oil field after finalizing the deal.

This is the first deal between Iran and a Russian company during the post sanctions era.

Iran and and P5+1 (the US, the UK, France, China, Russia plus Germany) reached a nuclear agreement, which was implemented in January 2016 and lifted the sanctions on Iran.

Dehloran is a brown field in Ilam province with 5.184 billion barrels of in-situ reserves, which currently produces 24,000 barrels per day.
Fall into fun at UT's Fall Folklore Jamboree with music, food, crafts



Bluegrass and gospel musicians play on a log cabin stage for Fall Folklore Jamboree guests. The all-day music and folk art event takes place Saturday, October 15, at the UT AgResearch and Education Center at Milan. Photo by G. Rowsey, courtesy UTIA.



This October an exciting and affordable family outing awaits as the University of Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center at Milan hosts the 18th annual Fall Folklore Jamboree. The event is scheduled for Saturday, October 15, from 9 a.m.  4 p.m.



Fall Folklore Jamboree boasts more than 100 folk artists who bring history to life. Watch them demonstrate more than 30 old-fashioned skills like quilting, weaving, broom making, blacksmithing  even plowing with a team of mules. Plus, you can tour the West Tennessee Agricultural Museum, which tells the story of rural life in the 19th and early 20th centuries.



If you attend the festival for the history, be sure to stay for the great food, live music and marketplace. Visitors can indulge their taste buds with a wide selection of savory foods including grilled tenderloin sandwiches, hamburgers, hotdogs and old-fashioned kettle corn. Bluegrass, gospel and string bands will play all day on an outdoor stage. Jamboree goers can also shop quality handmade goods created by folk artists. Find items for the home, like pottery, candles, soaps and brooms, or pick up a unique gift for a friend, like beaded jewelry or a handmade turkey call. A favorite take-home souvenir for repeat guests is a bag of freshly ground corn meal, prepared in front of you in an old-fashioned gristmill.



Kids will love riding in a horse-drawn wagon, inspecting antique equipment, picking cotton and even milking a goat. Our crazy corn trough is a favorite among younger children. If you need a break, catch a ride on the AgResearch Center Overview Tour. Sit back and learn more about the agricultural research taking place at the facility, while riding on a tractor-pulled wagon.



The Fall Folklore Jamboree begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children ages 3-12. Park at the Milan High School, and buses will escort you to the admission booth. There is no charge to park.



The UT AgResearch and Education Center and West Tennessee Agricultural Museum are located on Highway 70/79 in Milan. For more detailed directions or other information call 731-686-8067, visit the website milan.tennessee.edu. Published October 7, 2016
U.S. Military Troops Mobilize in Haiti Following Hurricane Matthew

By Terri Moon Cronk, DOD

OCTOBER 7, 2016 at 8:14 p.m.







More than 30 members of the Air Forces 621st Contingency Response Wing wait aboard a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., for equipment to be loaded on their way to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in response to Hurricane Matthew, Oct. 6, 2016. The CRW is supporting the government of Haiti's request for humanitarian assistance and will facilitate the movement of humanitarian aid and cargo. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Zachary Martyn



WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2016  U.S. military personnel began arriving on the hurricane-ravaged island nation of Haiti today to begin storm response efforts as Combined Task Force Hurricane Matthew mobilizes there, Navy Rear Adm. Cedric Pringle, commander of U.S. Southern Commands Joint Task Force Matthew, told Pentagon reporters today.



Speaking via teleconference from Port-Au-Prince, Haitis capital city, Pringle said aerial surveillance yesterday revealed the extent of the damage.



Theres plenty of work to be done, he said, describing leveled homes, mudslides and washed out roads and bridges -- especially along the nations southern peninsula.





All-Hands Effort



The task force is working with the U.S. Agency for International Development to begin relief efforts. As troops arrive, work is under way to prioritize hurricane response efforts with USAID, he said.



Its honestly an all-hands effort to restore some of the stability to the government of Haiti, Pringle said. Relieving the suffering of the Haitian people is critical, he noted.



It's not just a [Defense Department] effort, Pringle said. It's a whole-of-government regional effort, he said.



With troops flying in today, Pringle expects work to get under way this afternoon following the meeting with USAID. At the end of the day, we should have [about] 250 personnel, he said, adding that he expects that figure to rise to 350 within about 24 hours.



We expect a lot of the roads are just completely not passable either due to being washed away in mudslides, erosion and collapsed roads or debris  [and] a few bridges have washed away as well, Pringle said.



A couple of rivers overflowed and washed away infrastructure, he said, so the damage is pretty extensive here.





Helicopters Critical Asset



Helicopters will supply the best mode of transportation around the island, he said.



The nine helicopters on Haiti, including CH-53 Sea Stallions and CH-47 Chinooks, comprise a critical element for supporting this mission, he said, simply because of the terrain that we see here in Haiti, some of which is mountainous.



With the helicopter footprint that I have here, we can certainly start the relief operations today, he said, adding that partner nations also are assisting in the efforts.



Though Navy ships and Coast Guard cutters have not yet been assigned to the Haiti mission, Pringle said he expects they will be when more accurate assessments of the rescue operations are determined. Ships, he added, could be assigned within 24 hours. Published October 7, 2016
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Iran exported 31.76 million liters of diesel to Afghanistan during the first half of the current fiscal year, Mohammad Mehdi Gharaei, an official with the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, said.

Iran exported 17 million liters of diesel to the neighboring country in the sixth calendar month of Shahrivar (Aug. 21-Sept. 21), compared to 11 million liters of exports in preceding month, Gharaei said, Mehr news agency reported Oct. 8

He further said that the volume of diesel export to Afghanistan registered a huge increase compared to the first Iranian calendar month (March 20-April 21), when it was 4.99 million liters.

Iran exported 224.1 million liters of diesel to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries in the last fiscal year (ended March 20).

Nasser Sajjadi, managing director of National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, earlier said that in the last fiscal year, 5 million liters of diesel was being exported to global markets on a daily basis.

Alongside with Central Asia and Afghanistan, which were Iran's top diesel importers, the Islamic Republic also exported the fuel to other markets including South East Asia.

Iran eyes to export 20 million liters of diesel per day during the current fiscal year. The country's average diesel export stood at 14 million liters per day since March 20.

Iran used to feed its power plants with diesel and fuel oil but later replaced them with gas, which caused the country to save liquid fuel, including diesel.

The country stopped diesel imports in 1998, but then became a net diesel importer in 2005 until early 2015.
South Korea has emerged as the favorite overseas destination visited by Chinese travelers during a long public holiday, in spite of expectations that the strained Seoul-Beijing relations over the planned deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea would discourage trips there, a leading Chinese Internet portal said Friday.



Sohu.com Inc. said in an article that South Korea topped the list of overseas tourist spots where they spent the Oct. 1-7 National Day holiday, followed by Thailand and Japan.



Chinese tourists paid no attention to a separate diplomatic row or other issues that China has with the three countries, Sohu said.



China has voiced its objection to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea aimed at countering North Korea's evolving nuclear threats, which it contends will needlessly escalate regional military tensions and undermine their strategic security interests.



The revelation testified that South Korea's decision to deploy the THAAD system is not affecting substantial exchanges between the two countries, cautiously raising the prospects that the THAAD issue will not hurt bilateral relations even if Beijing adds pressure to Seoul over the row.



The outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in Thailand and the long-standing territorial row involving the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, claimed by China as Diaoyu, eventually had little impact on Chinese tourists' visiting either countries.



Sohu also said "There is no use for China to criticize South Korea for the THAAD issue," chiding Chinese visitors who have flocked to South Korea for having no sense of national crisis.



The article appears to reflect China's embarrassment over its people's inflow into South Korea during the holiday at a time the Chinese government has maintained its chilled relation with Seoul over the THAAD issue.



The official China Central Television also reported the same day South Korea, Thailand and Japan were popular short-term overseas travel destinations during the holiday.



The South Korean tourism industry, which also saw a solid number of Chinese travelers visit the country last year, had fret about whether the THAAD issue could potentially make a dent in the number of Chinese people visiting the country.



Chinese media have said Chinese tourists are fond of South Korea due to its reasonable prices and convenience in flights and visa issuance as well as handy shopping and "hallyu," or the worldwide spread of K-pop culture.



During the holiday, the number of outbound Chinese tourists heading South Korea and other countries reached about 6 million, with about 560 million Chinese people visiting major domestic tourist spots. According to the China National Tourism Administration, Chinese travelers' consumption from Saturday to Thursday logged 75.40 trillion won ($67.86 billion). (Yonhap)








U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law legislation authorizing the establishment of a "Wall of Remembrance" in Washington that lists the names of all American soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement that Obama signed Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Act (H.R.1475). The bill was sent to the White House after passing through the House in February and the Senate last month.

The legislation, which was introduced last year by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX), a Korean War veteran, calls for authorizing the wall's establishment at the Korean War Veterans Memorial and allowing certain private contributions to fund the project.

The proposed wall would list the names of all members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were killed in action during the Korean War and list the number of all American prisoners of war and those missing in action, Johnson's office said.

The United States led the 21-nation Allied Forces to help South Korea repel the Chinese-backed communist troops invading from the North. More than 36,000 American soldiers sacrificed their lives, and 103,000 were wounded.

The war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the divided peninsula still technically at war. (Yonhap)
By Choi Sung-jin



Until the early 1990s, women accounted for little more than 20 percent of government employees. The share of successful female applicants at state tests to hire seventh- and ninth-level employees hovered below 30 percent and the comparable portion plunged to 10 percent as the grade rose to the fifth level.



This is why the government introduced the "female employment target system" in 1996, which made it mandatory for all agencies to fill at least 20 percent of their vacant posts with women.



Twenty years later, the situation has completely reversed.



Now the government is implementing a "gender-equal employment objective system," instructing public offices to hire more men to meet the target rate.



According to the Ministry of the Interior Friday, various local public offices employed 616 additional people under the gender-equal hiring system between 2010 and 2016. Among them, men numbered 458, or 74.4 percent, nearly three times higher than women whose number stood at only 158 (25.6 percent), indicating the system benefited male applicants far more than females.



Behind the reversal was the Constitutional Court's decision in 1999 that ruled the "veterans extra point system" unconstitutional on state exams in employing public workers. The government abolished the system _ which gave extra points to test-takers with military service _ the following year. This sharply pushed up the number of successful women applicants, prompting men to complain about "reverse discrimination" and forced the government to switch to a gender-equal employment system.



Since the implementation of the new system _ which calls for additional hiring of male or female applicants if the acceptance rate of either gender fails to reach 30 percent _ women had benefited more from it than men. Since 2010, however, the share of male beneficiaries has exceeded that of females. In 2014 and 2015, more than 80 percent of the additional successful applicants thanks to the system were men.



Ministry officials described the recent phenomenon as a "whirlwind of women" _ the predominance of female applicants over males in all state tests to select government employees. Out of the 41 successful applicants on this year's exam to recruit diplomats last month, for instance, 29, or 70.7 percent, were women. Three out of the12 successful male applicants benefited from the gender-equal employment system.



According to the Ministry of Personnel Management, the number of female government employees stood at 315,290 as of the end of 2015, accounting for 49.4 percent of the total. Women are expected to outnumber men in officialdom by this year-end, officials said.



The female dominance has led to the "dearth" of male officials in public offices. As the successful female applicants' rate exceeds 60 percent at local government tests to recruit seventh- and ninth-level officials, most offices are reportedly bent on securing officials who meet "three major qualifications" of unmarried, male, and veteran.



Among central government offices, the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) has the highest rate of female employees with 75.2 percent, followed by the Ministry Gender Equality and Family (66.7 percent), the Ministry of Health and Welfare (56.9 percent) and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (56.9 percent).



The Korean National Police University is limiting the rate of women in recruiting new students. KNPA announced Friday that it has set the female recruitment rate at 12 percent for next year, defying the advice from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea to increase the rate.



"Because of the characteristics of police jobs and the differences in physical ability, the departments are limited to which we can assign women," the police agency said in a statement. "Abrupt changes in the employment ratio can adversely affect not only organizational operation but our ability to maintain public security."



Despite women's brisk advances to officialdom, the glass ceiling has not even come close to being broken in that it keeps female employees from rising to high posts amid the conservative atmosphere of public offices, officials said. As of the end of last year, women accounted for only 3.7 percent of ranking government employees in the first or second levels.



Some feminist groups are calling for the government to introduce a system that obligates public offices to fill certain portions of higher posts with women.








By Oh Young-jin





Who should get punished more severely, a small thief or a big thief?

The principle of proportionality says the bigger the crime is, the more severe the punishment should be.

If you shake your head, you must know that it is not always the case. Often the unwritten law of "too big to fail" prevails: if one commits a big crime, he or she has a better chance of staying out of jail.

Before tackling one recent such case -- alleged corruption involving Lotte Group's owner family and the Kim Young-ran law -- let's ponder whether we are accomplices to crimes by keeping silent or not

calling "thief." The chance is that we may not just be victims of the skewed plutocratic world but accessories to those oligarchs' claims by looking away from the crime in progress -- and worse, wishing to be like them. Is it a case of Stockholm syndrome?

The system looks and feels so rigged in the big thieves' favor that no matter how big a din we may make, they are bound to get away. When they are out of grasp anyway, why bother to try to catch them -- a failure of justice by choice and a sign of the societal fabric bursting at the seams.

Shin Dong-bin, winner of the long-running power struggle at the conglomerate, is still free because the court rejected the prosecutor's arrest warrant for allegedly embezzling 50 billion won and breach of trust involving 125 billion won.

The court's decision came amid rising concern in the business community and the media that Shin's arrest would jeopardize the management of the group that employs tens of thousands of workers. They also claimed Lotte would be put under the control of Japanese shareholders if Shin is thrown behind bars. Lotte started in Japan and has grown to be a multinational firm, with most of its operations moved to Korea. Then, there has been talk of the breach of trust being too broadly used against chaebol and the reduction of its application is pushed by some legal experts. They know that it would be like giving chaebol owners a key to the jail's lock just in case they spend time there.

Lotte's rap sheet runs long: Shin's father and founder of the firm, Shin Kyuk-ho, for his share of suspected wrongdoing; his brother for receiving 40 billion won in wages for not doing any work; and his sister in jail for embezzlement. The Shins are like the Corleones from the "Godfather," except for their different "collar of crime." As far as chaebol's behavior is concerned, Lotte is not an exception but the rule.

By dint of the proven facts, the arrest of chaebol heads doesn't necessarily mean a dent on their firms. In some cases, the companies work better without them. Still, society falls for this lame line of defense -- chaebol pivotal to the success of their business.

The Kim Young-ran law is an effort to clean up our society from bottom up while running the risk of becoming an attempt to cover up our inability to catch the big ones by rounding up the small ones. It is a typical case of wishful thinking, with the sum of parts exceeding the whole.

This anti-graft law, named after the judge who proposed it, boils down to the 3/5/10 rule. This rule makes it illegal for public servants, journalists, and teachers to receive a meal worth over 30,000 won, a gift over 50,000 won and 100,000 won for cash payments at funerals and weddings. Bear in mind that if one receives anything of monetary value from another who is in a relationship with a conflict of interest, it would amount to a crime punishable by a fine or a trip to jail. There have been a couple of tip-offs about a student giving canned coffee worth about 1,000 won to a professor. Since its Sept. 28 inception, only a handful of cases have been reported, with virtually everybody taking precautions. Few disagree that Kim's law will help clean up our society that has long been tainted with the culture of corruption.

But imagine that five or six months from now, the Shins -- the wealthy and powerful -- still get away with murder -- "heinous" white-collar crimes, while those who give more than the 100,000-won limit to their best friends as wedding gifts are caught, ordered to pay a fine, face disadvantage in promotions and undergo a public dress-down. Then, there are professors and teachers in hot water for taking 1,000-won canned coffees.

Can we declare we have won our fight against corruption by pointing out the trophy cases of small fries? No, but we can pretend that the success of Kim's law has solved this big-thief problem. Inside, we would wish to become big thieves in the next life. Don't worry about your kids, they will inherit your big-thief DNA by subliminal transmission. The end result is a society that is only inhabited by the big thieves and their wannabes.

Or we can shout at the top of our lungs, "Thief!" until everybody gathers together and decides to confront the issue. We can show the power of the bottom 99 percent.



Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times' chief editorial writer. Contact him at foolsdie5@ktimes.com and foolsdie@gmail.com.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Iran is negotiating with the Austrian OMW to sign a long-term oil export contract, Mohsen Ghamsari, director for International Affairs at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said.

Iran has already started crude oil sale to the company in the form of spot delivery, Ghamsari said, Mehr news agency reported Oct. 8.

No final agreement has been reached so far for a long-term contract, he said, adding that the NIOC eyes to sell heavy crude oil to OMW.

OMW said Sept. 16 that it received 1 million barrels of crude oil from Iran in a spot delivery at the Italian port of Trieste which the energy group will send to its two refineries in Austria and Romania.

The delivery was Iran's first to OMV since 2012, when sanctions were imposed on the country. The delivery included Iranian heavy and light crude.
Tehran, Iran, October 8

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Irans northern provinces will not face any problem in the cold season even if gas import from Turkmenistan is stopped, said CEO of Iran Gas Transfer Company Said Tavakoli.

Necessary measures have been taken to improve new facilities on the eighth cross-country pipeline so that no problem will surface in transferring gas, he said, Mehr news agency reported October 8.

We have already foreseen four different scenarios for gas transfer to northern areas, he pointed out.

The 48-inch pipeline from Damghan to Shahrud is one of the projects that will stabilize gas supply to the north, he said. Also, so far fundamental repair has been carried out over the first cross-country pipeline.

Recently, CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company Hamid Reza Araqi said Iran has recently announced to Turkmenistan its ability to procure gas for northern Iranian provinces from domestic resources, adding that gas import from Turkmenistan is no longer an emergency need for Iran.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has left for Bangkok, Thailands capital, on the final leg of his three-nation tour of Southeast Asia.

President Rouhnai Oct. 8 left Malaysia capital city of Kuala Lumpur for Thailand to discuss expansion of trade ties, IRNA news agency reported.

The Iranian president launched his Asian tour on Wednesday morning. The Vietnamese capital of Hanoi was his first destination.

Before departure, Rouhani briefed reporters about his agenda of talks in the three countries.

He described Asia as a highly important continent for Iran, adding, The 21st century belongs to Asia.

An economic delegation has accompanied President Rouhani during the visit where a couple of documents on cooperation have already been signed.
The Russian mission to the United Nations said that Russia has presented an alternative draft resolution on Syria at the UN Security Council, Sputnik International reported.

Russia has presented an alternative draft resolution on Syria at the UN Security Council, the Russian mission to the United Nations told journalists.

"After the voting on the French draft resolution, an alternative Russian document will be considered," the mission said.

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 has confirmed.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Friday that the French draft contains a number of unacceptable provisions.
The Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a La Jolla-based non-profit dedicated to providing opportunities for physically-challenged people that organizes the San Diego Triathlon Challenge (SDTC), has confirmed to La Jolla Light its decision to move the swim leg of the triathlon from La Jolla Cove to La Jolla Shores, one day prior to the rest of the event.

The reason behind the move is the standing beach water quality advisory at The Cove issued by San Diego County in September for the presence of bacteria concentrations.

The swim leg of the competition, which has taken place at La Jolla Cove for more than 20 years, will be held 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 at La Jolla Shores. The race will resume on Sunday, Oct. 23, with the start of the biking leg at La Jolla Cove, followed 10-mile run.

The triathlon swim was the only activity of the weekend fundraiser where participants would be in contact with the waters at The Cove. The rest of activities are scheduled at the Village beach and adjacent Scripps Park will remain in place, like the YMCA Tour de Cove Spinathon.

What are we swimming in? Experts weigh-in on beach water advisories 

The CAF has issued the following statement:

Dear Aspen Medical Products SDTC Participants,

A Water Contact Advisory Warning has been issued by the County of San Diegos Department of Environmental Health at La Jolla Cove and it is expected to stay in effect through the San Diego Triathlon Challenge. The Department of Health advises beach users to avoid contact with ocean waters where advisory warning signs are posted due to high bacterial levels. Therefore, we have made the decision to move the swim portion of SDTC to La Jolla Shores on Saturday, October 22, at 7:30am. This change is implemented so that participants will avoid contact with the ocean waters at La Jolla Cove.

Please note that the bike and run portions of the triathlon, as well as the remainder of activities surrounding SDTC, will proceed on Sunday, October 23rd. Please visit the CAF website to see the time changes to the event schedule for the weekend- https://www.challengedathletes.org/events/sdtc/

You may also visit the County of San Diego Department of Environmental Healths website to learn more - https://www.sdbeachinfo.com/

We appreciate your understanding and look forward to an amazing weekend.

Sincerely,

Ken Wheatley, CEO, Challenged Athletes Foundation
One man was killed and another one was injured as a result of a double shooting in San Francisco, Sputnik International reported.

The shooting occurred in the Oceanview neighborhood on Friday at around 7 pm local time (02:00 GMT on Saturday), NBC Bay Area reported on Friday citing San Francisco police.

The man who was killed in the shooting was in his 20s, while the injured man was in his 50s, according to police.

There was no immediate information on the suspect.
The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

Read more
PRESS RELEASE

China Backs Bioceanic Rail Route through Bolivia, President Morales Announces

Oct. 7, 2016 (EIRNS)Bolivian President Evo Morales announced Oct. 5 that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was visiting the country, had backed the proposed bioceanic rail project to link the Peruvian port of Ilo with Brazils port of Santos, going through the Bolivian cities of Cochabamba, Oruro and La Paz, Pagina 7 reported today.

Morales said he had discussed the matter with Wang Yi when the two met personally, and added that he had "convinced" the Chinese Foreign Minister that the route traversing Bolivia as well as Brazil and Peru (as opposed to the northern route, which only goes thorugh Brazil and Peru) is more important and more practical. "The Brazil-Bolivia-Peru bioceanic train guarantees trade among six South America countries," Morales said (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Peru), Agence France Presse reported, adding that Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will be able to use the Parana-Paraguay Waterway to connect to the train.

Peruvian diplomatic sources have told EIR that China is favorable to both rail routes. EIR has long proposed both routes as well, since they are both technically solid and South America clearly needs more than one high-speed rail corridor across the continent, linking the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.

In a couple of weeks, Morales will meet with Perus Vice President Martin Vizcarra to discuss the project, and then on Nov. 4, will have further discussion with Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK), when both countries cabinets meet in Sucre. At that meeting, Evo said, "we are going to consolidate the [bioceanic] train [project]."

Morales also reported that he hopes to normalize relations with Brazils President Michel Temer, "to guarantee the bioceanic train for [regional] integration." When Brazils President Dilma Rousseff was ousted by an international bankers coup, Morales had recalled his ambassador from Brazil for consultation, and relations between the two countries remained tense, although they did not break diplomatic ties.
PRESS RELEASE

Dont Intervene in Syria, Former NSC Specialists Urge Obama

Oct. 7, 2016 (EIRNS)In an op-ed published in yesterdays New York Times, two former (2011-2013) National Security Council top specialists in Middle East affairs, Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson, wrote that those proposing more aggressive American action in Syriasuch as the Vice-Presidential candidates of both parties, Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, in their recent televised debateare making a grave mistake. "The truth is that it is too late for the US to wade deeper into the Syrian conflict without risking major war," Simon and Stevenson write. They specifically point out that a no-fly zone in Syria could lead to a military confrontation with Russia, and argue that cease-fire talks are not a great option, but they remain the best choice.

"There are probably limits to Moscows deference to Mr. Assads blood lust, but it is unclear what they are... It is wiser to test unknown political limits [of Russia] than unknown military ones."

Although a useful call for sanity to prevail in Washington, the op-ed fails to mention the elephant in the room: that the Obama administration is in bed with terrorists in Syria, including al-Nusra, for the purpose of overthrowing the Assad government in that country, and that has been the sticking point with Russia.

Another warning that the Obama administration is on the verge of provoking a war with Russia, came from Pat Buchanan, who wrote: "We cannot defeat the Assad coalitionnot without risking a world war." Therefore, it is "time to stop the killing, stop the carnage, stop the war and get the best terms for peace we can get."
Hurricane Matthew's winds diminished on Saturday as it headed towards the Carolinas after killing almost 900 people in Haiti and causing major flooding and widespread power outages in the southeastern United States, Reuters reported.

The storm, which left flooding and wind damage in Florida, was soaking coastal Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday, but packing a diminished punch. Wind speeds had dropped to less than 85 miles per hour (135 kph), making it a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on the Saffir-Simpson scale of 1 to 5.

At least four deaths in Florida were attributed to the storm, which knocked out power to least 1.5 million households and businesses in the southeastern United States.

In Florida, 775,000 are still without power, according to state utilities, while in South Carolina 433,000 had no power, Governor Nikki Haley said. Georgia Power said at least 275,000 were without power in the state.

Roads in Jackson Beach were littered with wood, including sections of a historic quarter-mile-long pier, and foot-deep (15 cm) water clogged some intersections. Moderate damage could be seen on beach front businesses, with fences and awnings torn down.

"We rode out the storm. It wasn't this bad at our house, but here there's a lot of damage," said Zowi Cuartas, 18, as he watched people pick up shattered wooden signs knocked down by the wind and waves near the beach. "We were prepared to lose our house."

Streets in downtown Charleston were flooding Saturday morning up to the tops of tires on some cars. At the High Battery at Charleston peninsula's tip, waves were close to topping the sea wall with spray splashing onto East Bay Street.

"It blew like hell," said resident and writer Roger Pinckney, 70.

The toll in the United States was far less devastating than in Haiti, where at least 877 people were killed, a death toll that ticked up as information trickled in from remote areas, according to a Reuters tally of tolls from officials.

Matthew rampaged 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 hurled the sea into fragile coastal villages.

The Mesa Verde, a U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship, was en route to Haiti to support relief efforts. The ship has heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, fresh-water delivery vehicles and two surgical operating rooms.
PRESS RELEASE

Russia Presses On with Diplomacy, Despite U.S. Provocations and Threats

Oct. 7, 2016 (EIRNS)Russian officials continue to engage in intensive diplomatic activity related to the Syrian war, despite ongoing provocative behavior and commentary coming from the Washington war party.

Yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, during which both men indicated they were prepared to consider the proposal by UN Envoy for Syria Steffan de Mistura, who said that if al-Nusra and allied terrorists wished to leave Aleppo with their weapons, he would personally be willing to accompany them out of the city.

"If al-Nusra with all its armaments leaves for Idlib," Lavrov told TASS, "we would be prepared to support this approach and will be ready to ask the Syrian government to agree to this." Other groups that have merged with al-Nusra in recent weeks, Lavrov continued, would have to distance themselves from it and sign an official commitment to doing so.

Unacceptable to Russia is the resolution proposed by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, which calls for a ceasefire and establishment of a no-fly zone over Aleppo. Ayrault met with Lavrov yesterday in Moscow, and then flew to Washington to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, after which he announced that the resolution, cosponsored by Spain, would come up for a vote on Saturday at the UN Security Council. Today, de Mistura briefed the UN Security Council on his proposal behind closed doors.

Russias UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters today that the French resolution 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," Associated Press reported. It was "unprecedented," he added, that the 15-member Security Council would ask one of the five permanent members to limit its activitiesthat is, that Russia stop its military flights. "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass," he said.

John Kerry isnt helping the situation. This morning, RT reported, he effectively charged that Syrian and Russian armed forces are intentionally targeting civilians and hospitals in Aleppo, and warned that such actions should be the subject of a war crimes tribunal. Russias and Syrias actions in Aleppo are "beyond accidental" he said, and a "targeted strategy to terrorize civilians."
A long-awaited study on the feasibility of allowing international flights in and out of Long Beach Airport concluded that such flights would not exceed local noise restrictions and would generate millions of dollars in spending by international travelers.

The study by Jacobs Engineering, released this week, found that new international flights could replace existing domestic flights without exceeding current noise limits. But to screen international passengers and luggage, the airport must build a federal inspection facility at a cost of $17.3 million to $21.6 million, the report said.

The cost of the new screening facility could be paid for mostly with passenger fees and charges to airlines that would fly to international destinations, the report found.

Advertisement

JetBlue, the biggest carrier at Long Beach, called for the study. The fee for passengers could be as high as $13 per flight but could drop to less than $4 after a few years.

Some Long Beach residents who oppose expanding the airport to international flights worried that the change would generate more noise, which could hurt the reading scores of nearby schoolchildren, and would invite drug cartels to the beach-side community.

But the study shot down such fears.

The threats and relative risks would remain basically the same as these threats are already present in the area, the report said.

As a benefit, international travelers flying to Long Beach could spend $57 million to $104 million in the first five years after international flights begin service, the report said. The new international screening facility could also generate 350 new jobs.

The report will be presented to the public for the first time at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Long Beach Gas & Oil Auditorium, 2400 East Spring St.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
For Estela Slikker, life as a personal banker at a Chase branch in the East San Francisco Bay city of Martinez wasnt easy.

She worked long hours trying to open enough accounts to meet her monthly sales goals and earn bonuses that could more than double her minimum-wage pay.

After a fight with her boss, though, she had enough.

Slikker quit and headed to rival Wells Fargo & Co., but once there found something even more unpleasant  far tougher sales goals and co-workers who had figured out how to meet them by gaming a flawed incentive system.

Advertisement

The situation at Wells Fargo was 10 times or 20 times worse, she said.

At Chase, they were more interested in getting money from people  getting deposits. With Wells Fargo, they just cared about how many accounts you opened. Thats where it started with all those employees doing fraudulent activities, said Slikker, who worked for Chase in 2011 and at Wells Fargo for two years after that.

The revelation last month that Wells Fargo employees, trying to meet onerous sales goals, created as many as 2 million unauthorized savings, checking and credit card accounts has created a huge scandal for the San Francisco-based institution.

But its also prompted calls for a wide-ranging investigation into the banking industry, where sales goals are common and complaints of unauthorized accounts have been lodged against other banks.

At a recent Capitol Hill hearing during which Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf was pilloried, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Porter Ranch) said hed like top executives from all the nations big banks to testify before the House Financial Services Committee about whether workers at other institutions have created bogus accounts.

Executives at other large banks, speaking to The Times on the condition of anonymity because they do not have permission to speak about the issue, say its a near certainty that some workers have created unauthorized accounts at their institutions. Banking consultant Margaret Kane agreed.

All organizations with sales goals are going to be susceptible to falsified sales records, said Kane, who worked at Wells Fargo in the 1980s and 90s before founding Kane Bank Services, which focuses on bank sales practices.

A review of complaints submitted to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows that from late 2011 to Sept. 7 of this year  the day before the Wells Fargo settlement was announced, throwing a spotlight on the issue of unauthorized accounts  more than 1,300 consumers lodged complaints that were catagorized as credit cards issued for them without authorization.

Many of those complaints, though, seem to instead detail other problems, such as credit card billing disputes or possible identity theft  not the kind of unauthorized account creation that regulators say was widespread at Wells Fargo.

Kane said she expects regulators will find fewer problems at other institutions.

Kane once consulted for a bank that had a branch just down the street from a Wells Fargo location. Her clients branch had a goal of opening 300 new accounts each quarter  the Wells Fargo branch had a goal of more than 7,500.

They were way outside of what reasonable expectations should have been, she said.

That was Slikkers experience too. She said that compared with her old Chase branch in Martinez, the Wells Fargo branches in Lafayette and Moraga where she worked had less foot traffic, yet there were more bankers on staff, and the sales goals were higher.

Another key difference: At Chase, Slikker had monthly sales goals, while at Wells Fargo the goals were broken down into daily increments, creating huge tension in the branch.

At Chase, it didnt matter if I went one day without any accounts  it wasnt a big deal, she said. At Wells Fargo, it was per day. At the end of the day, the manager had to report how many accounts he had. And I think he really got yelled at if he didnt have the numbers. So then he, in turn, would turn around and scream at us.

Slikker said that she never created unauthorized accounts, but that a Wells Fargo co-worker opened two such accounts in the name of Slikkers teenage daughter. Given how badly employees wanted to avoid a scolding, she wasnt surprised.

I think a lot of people were just trying to keep their jobs and trying to keep managers away from them, she said.

Workers at Wells Fargo also found that they could meet those aggressive goals by gaming the system, something harder to do at Chase and other banks.

Chase bankers would only get credit for opening a single checking or savings account for an individual customer, even if the customer for some reason wanted multiple checking accounts. At Wells Fargo, such a scenario would credit a worker with multiple accounts, Slikker said.

Similarly, Chase workers would not get credit for opening a savings account unless customers deposited several hundred dollars into the account within a few months, she said.

Patricia Wexler, a JP Morgan Chase spokeswoman, said the deposits must total at least $1,000 within 60 days. The money also had to be new to the bank and not transferred from another Chase account.

At Wells Fargo, workers could get credit for opening a savings account once a minimum deposit of $25 was made, even if that money came from another Wells Fargo account and even if the account sat unused afterward.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of the federal regulators that investigated the unauthorized accounts, found that Wells Fargo workers routinely transferred money from customers legitimate accounts into unauthorized ones so they could obtain credit under the incentive-compensation program.

Ruth Landaverde, who worked for Wells Fargo in 2009 and 2010 and then for Bank of America from 2010 until last year, noted similar distinctions between sales practices at those two banks.

At Bank of America, workers only got credit for checking accounts that were still open and had a balance of at least $100 three months later, she said. Others at the bank said employees only get full sales credit for accounts that remain active  not just open  for seven months.

Another distinction: At Bank of America, when a customer opened a credit card account, Landaverde said, it wouldnt count toward her sales goal until the customer started using the card. Wexler said the same is true at Chase. Not so at Wells Fargo.

With them, you would get your points as soon as it was issued. They were more like, Just get the card to them,  recalled Landaverde, now a member of the Committee for Better Banks, a union-backed group trying to organize bank workers and pushing banks to eliminate sales goals.

Wells Fargo spokeswoman Mary Eshet said the banks sales system used a number of different metrics that  evolved over time, and that, as at other banks, workers could lose credit for opening accounts that were not used.

But Wells Fargo workers, including a former district manager and a current branch manager, say information about account activity was sometimes ignored and that most front-line workers were focused only on meeting their daily sales goals, not on whether customers were using their accounts months later.

The branch manager, who asked that his name be withheld because he fears he would fired for speaking to the media, said the bank has taken account activity reports more seriously only in the last few years.

Even if sales goals dont push employees to open unauthorized accounts, the Committee for Better Banks and some consumer advocates argue goals and quotas, which are widespread in the industry, can encourage workers to push customers into products they dont need and that could be financially harmful.

Landaverde, for instance, said that her manager at Bank of America encouraged workers to call new credit card customers and urge them to start making purchases  a practice she believes is unethical and encourages unnecessary debt.

Bank of America declined to comment on the specifics of its sales practices, but spokeswoman Anne Pace said the banks business and its incentive-compensation system are based on maintaining a straightforward, transparent and fair relationship with our customers.

Amid the heightened attention on the issue, regulators in Massachusetts this week filed a lawsuit against Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley, saying it had sales incentives that pushed wealth managers to sell potentially risky loans to clients.

As regulators press on with their review of bank sales practices, and as members of Congress and other politicians continue to rail against Wells Fargo, Kane said she imagines many banks will change their sales systems and some may even get rid of goals tied to opening new accounts.

I think banks are going to get really nervous about unit sales goals, she said. The inclination will be to overreact rather than to not react.

Wells Fargo has already made big changes.

As of Oct. 1, the bank no longer has goals tied to product sales. For the rest of this year, Eshet said Wells Fargo will determine employees incentive pay based on customer satisfaction surveys as it works out a new incentive-compensation system.

james.koren@latimes.com

Follow me: @jrkoren

MORE BUSINESS NEWS

After Wells Fargos beating on Capitol Hill, it could face local sanctions over accounts scandal

Mistakes to avoid when enrolling in benefits at work

HOA boards should think twice before taking a hard line on rules
A week of loss. A conductors return to Southern California. And a museum exhibition that crosses an ethical boundary. Im Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times. Here are the weeks most interesting cultural stories:

L.A. loses its Moses of Theater

Gordon Davidson, shown in 2012, was for years Los Angeles theaters most prominent public face. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times )

Advertisement

Gordon Davidson, the Center Theatre Group impresario who not only launched the Mark Taper Forum, but came to personify it died Sunday at 83. Gordon made a claim that theater was a place not to just reflect America, but to expand our idea of America, said Oskar Eustis, who worked with Davidson at the Taper. He did that with a showmans flair, a zest for life and the unwavering support of artists he believed in. Los Angeles Times

In an appreciation to the man often referred to as L.A.s Moses of Theater, Times theater critic Charles McNulty writes that Davidson was key to shepherding key plays through to production  including works by Tony Kushner, Anna Deavere Smith and George C. Wolfe. For Davidson, writes McNulty, the stage was a place of societal reflection and collective dreaming, a meeting hall for the voicing of grievances and the thinking through of corrective measures. Los Angeles Times

The Times David Ng looks at the artistic risks that Davidson took  such as commissioning Smiths meditation on the L.A. riots, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 and staging Luis Valdezs seminal Zoot Suit. He was a champion of artists who wrote little plays, and he put them on the big stage, Charlayne Woodard, the actress and playwright, tells Ng. He was living diversity before anyone started bandying the word about. Los Angeles Times

In a separate tribute, Valdez writes: To his everlasting credit, Gordon Davidson brought the civil rights movement into the American theater by inviting artists of color to work with his company, thus professionally integrating one of the nations major regional stages. Los Angeles Times

Neville Marriner dies at 92

Neville Marriner, at age 90, conducting the Colburn Orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2015 in what would be his final visit to Los Angeles. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times )

The British violinist who became a conductor and founded the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, one of the most renowned chamber orchestras in the world, also died on Sunday. Neville Marriners death represents an important loss for Los Angeles too, since he was the first music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Times classical music critic Mark Swed examines the parallel legacies of Davidson and Marriner, two lions who were key to establishing L.A.s early cultural ethos. Washington Post, Los Angeles Times

Esa-Pekka Salonens SoCal comeback

Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, who for 17 years led the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was recently back in Southern California with his London orchestra, the Philharmonia, for a performance at the Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. In a program that included Sibelius, Beethoven and Stravinksy, the conductor, writes Swed, led an orchestra that was propulsive and tightly focused. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Swed also checked out the L.A. Philharmonics season opener, which featured a tribute to Beethoven that included a venturesome rendition of John Adams Absolute Jest. Los Angeles Times

MOCA show crosses curatorial line

Cast-resin vessels by Gaetano Pesce at MOCA Pacific Design Center. (Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times )

A new exhibition of works by Italian architect and designer Gaetano Pesce at MOCA Pacific Design Center was curated by a prominent collector of his work. (In fact, the show is drawn largely from his collection.) This crosses a bright ethical line, writes Times art critic Christopher Knight. When a museum turns over its exhibition galleries to a private collector, he writes, you begin to wonder just what professional purpose the museum serves. Los Angeles Times

Related: Reporter Cristina Ruiz looks at why museum directors are getting increasingly cozy with private collectors. The Art Newspaper

On the allure of L.A. as creative capital

A view of downtown L.A. through artist Patrick Shearns installation The Liquid Shard, on view in August. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times )

With all the buzz of L.A. as creative center, New York arts writer Seph Rodney looks for the truths underneath the hype  that though our city is seeing new institutions rise, we are a place that is also contending with drought, rising rents and a bubbling conflict that stems from the presence of galleries in working-class districts (see: Boyle Heights). Naturally, the story contains obligatory references to Hollywood and the weather. Hyperallergic

The Trump Card

Mike Daisey performs The Trump Card at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times )

Monologist Mike Daisey took on GOP candidate Donald Trump as subject for a one-night performance at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. I cant say I learned anything new about Trump from Daisey, but he did make me rethink the way I have been prioritizing information, writes Charles McNulty. His show recalibrates the data, placing more emphasis on Trumps genius as a performer  a performer limited to one larger-than-life role, that of Donald Trump. Los Angeles Times

Roy Lichtensteins L.A. pop

A new retrospective at the Skirball Cultural Center gathers more than 70 of Roy Lichtensteins works spanning four decades  many of which evoke the artists long-running love affair with Los Angeles, cultivated by his collaboration with key print studios such as Gemini G.E.L. You see it in the colors, the shapes and that he wanted to do things that were so massive on scale, curator Bethany Montagano tells The Times Deborah Vankin. The New York art world, while burgeoning and exciting, was also pretty insular. Lichtenstein came out here, and he felt free. Los Angeles Times

Art Channeling Grief

Karon Davis Monsanto Memorial Garden at Wilding Cran Gallery. (Brian Van Der Brug / Los Angeles Times )

When artist Karon Davis lost her husband of seven years  painter Noah Davis, with whom she established the Underground Museum arts space in Arlington Heights  she says she felt like a robot. But she poured her grief into an installation now on view at Wilding Cran Gallery in Los Angeles that captures the anxiety and bewilderment of loss. Noahs everywhere in here, she tells Vankin. This shows for him. Los Angeles Times

IN OTHER NEWS

Placido Domingo performs at a benefit for the L.A. Opera in the spring. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times )

 Placido Domingo has renewed his contract with L.A. Opera through 2021-22. Los Angeles Times

 Julie Kent, the new director of the Washington Ballet, heralds a new era for that corps. Washington Post

 USC debuts a $46-million building for dance: The Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center. Los Angeles Times

 A pair of striking orchestras in Pennsylvania point to problems in the world of classical music. The Telegraph

 A tax evasion trial offers a peak into the conflicts of the prominent Wildenstein art dealing dynasty. The New York Times

 San Franciscos Mexican Museum is trying to figure out who will curate it. San Francisco Chronicle

 David Byrne and Mala Gaonkar stage a show about cognitive experiments in Menlo Park. The New York Times

 Vancouver-based architect Bing Thom, a designer whose buildings show sensitivity to the environment and social context, has died. Citylab

 Is design solving all the wrong problems? New York Times

 Beautiful  The Carole King Musical, will be back in SoCal for a short run at the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa through Oct. 16. Los Angeles Times

 Two brothers are playing the same role in an August Wilson play on opposite coasts (and you can see one of them here in L.A.). New York Times

CANT MISS SHOW

In the era before BuzzFeed, German artist Hanne Darboven made lists  of dates, of names, of the objects in her studio. Yet for all of its minimalist coolness and mathematical rigor, writes critic Leah Ollman, Darbovens work can make the heart ache and the body sigh. Through Oct. 29, Spruth Magers, 5900 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Things you didnt know you needed: Ed Ruschas recipe for cactus omelette. Hyperallergic

Sign up for our weekly Essential Arts & Culture newsletter 

Find me on Twitter @cmonstah.
Presidential debate played out as predicted

Regarding Showdown Time [Sept. 26]. My thanks to Mary McNamara and Charles McNulty, whose incisive pre-debate takes proved eerily prescient. McNamara illuminated the singularly challenging role of debate moderators, which she submits is to return television coverage of the campaign to something approaching sanity. McNulty aptly related how presidential debates once afforded intellectual drama but now amount to theatrical free-for-alls indulged to generate TV ratings bonanzas. With nothing of substance likely to change in the two remaining debates, Ill forgo further Op-Ed pages fare and simply re-read what McNamara and McNulty wrote.

Ed Alston

Santa Maria

::

That 400-pound man is the perfect subject for a political cartoon. I breathlessly await.

Advertisement

Dottie Rodman

Torrance

::

I appreciated the fact that the audience was admonished to remain quiet by keeping them in the dark. In past debates the candidates seemed to play to the audiences to get applause as a way of getting approval for their positions. I did not miss or need to see the audiences reaction. I liked making up my own mind about what was being said without being influenced by the candidates supporters.

Sheilah Palacios

San Gabriel

L.A.'s role in original Birth

Im surprised that the article on The Troubling Legacy of The Birth of a Nation  [Oct. 2] didnt mention that Los Angeles was at the epicenter of our conflicted attitudes toward the film. More than a century ago, the all-too-familiar battles about free speech versus censorship, jobs versus social justice unfolded here. Birth of a Nation was shot entirely in Los Angeles. It was to have its world premiere on Feb. 8, 1915, at Clunes Auditorium (since demolished) on Pershing Square. Citing racial prejudice, the City Council directed Police Chief Charles Sebastian to prevent the film from being shown.

D.W. Griffith went to court and secured a temporary injunction in favor of the film. Over 3,000 people attended the formal opening that night. The film went on to break all attendance records in Los Angeles and nationwide. And its feared impact on racial relations came to fruition as well. Sometimes, things dont really change as much as one would expect in 100 years.

Bob Wolfe

Hermosa Beach

::

Once more, one of your journalists couldnt help putting in a zinger about Donald J. Trump when comparing D.W. Griffiths The Birth of a Nation with Nate Parkers film of the same name. No opportunity seems to be passed up by your writers to make derogatory comments about Trump while giving Hillary Clinton wide berth on her many, many past transgressions. This is only the latest of this solidly left bent, and Ive had enough.

Rose Middleton

Northridge

Conflict at a crossroads

The Calendar section [Oct. 2] captures the essence of the conflict roiling America. You hit on the broad themes we face as a country and which are too often segmented and treated as separate. The subjugation of women with sexual violence poignantly addressed by Tori Amos [A Voice Fighting Sexual Violence]. The subjugation of black people and minorities given full license in the original The Birth of a Nation film [The Troubling Legacy of The Birth of a Nation ]; and the white boys, whose drug/alcohol-induced actions perpetuate the subjugation of women and minorities as discussed in the Youth Culture on a High in Films. The intersection of womens pain, black and minority pain, and, yes, the pain of white boys doing stupid things is all too real. Is it too much to ask the news media to begin to see that racism, misogyny and addiction are branches of the same tree.

Aviyah Farkas

Los Angeles

Sorry to have missed her show

Regarding your pop music review Dolly, Pure and Simple [Oct. 3]: Thanks for the really well-crafted review. Wish I could have been there.

Michael P. Scott

Indianapolis

Diversity in film not historical

One of your readers recently wrote praising the milestone of diversity in the recent remake of The Magnificent Seven [Feedback: Seven Sword Samurai Salute, Oct. 2] and seemed to criticize the monochromatic cast of Akira Kurosawas Seven Samurai, saying, I dont think there is a single non-Japanese actor in Seven Samurai.  If I remember correctly, Seven Samurai took place in 16th century Japan. At that time, who else lived in Japan? We should choose historical correctness over political correctness every time.

Garey Fong

Eagle Rock

Classic film is still fresh

Regarding Once Banned, Battle of Algiers  Smart, Compassionate Take on Terror and Rebellion Resonates Today [Sept. 29, latimes.com]. Its great to see Justin Chang keeping the classic film alive!

Tony Macklin

Las Vegas

An education from the best

Regarding Master Class: James Taylor and Joe Walsh Are Among the Stars Swapping Songs at Country Hall of Fame Benefit [Sept. 29]: Thank you for your fine piece. A delight to read. Some very nice touches.

Luis Torres

Pasadena

Actors costumed in the full regalia of the Ku Klux Klan chase down a white actor in blackface in a still from The Birth of a Nation. (Hulton Archive / Getty Images )

Im surprised that the article on The Troubling Legacy of The Birth of a Nation [Oct. 2] didnt mention that Los Angeles was at the epicenter of our conflicted attitudes toward the film. More than a century ago, the all-too-familiar battles about free speech versus censorship, jobs versus social justice unfolded here. Birth of a Nation was entirely shot in Los Angeles. It was to have its world premiere on Feb. 8, 1915, at Clunes Auditorium (since demolished) on Pershing Square. Citing racial prejudice, the City Council directed Police Chief Charles Sebastian to prevent the film from being shown. D.W. Griffith went to court and secured a temporary injunction in favor of the film. Over 3,000 people attended the formal opening that night. The film went on to break all attendance records in Los Angeles and nationwide. And its feared impact on racial relations came to fruition as well. Sometimes, things dont really change as much as one would expect in 100 years.

Bob Wolfe

Hermosa Beach

::

Once more, one of your journalists couldnt help putting in a zinger about Donald J. Trump when comparing D.W. Griffiths The Birth of a Nation to Nate Parkers film of the same name. No opportunity seems to be passed up by your writers to make derogatory comments about Trump while giving Hillary Clinton wide berth on her many, many past transgressions. This is only the latest of this solidly left bent and Ive had enough.

Rose Middleton

Northridge

Sorry to have missed the show

Dolly Parton performs live at the Hollywood Bowl during her Pure & Simple Tour on Saturday, October 1. (Patrick T. Fallon/ For The Los Angeles Times )

Regarding Pop Music Review: Dolly, Pure and Simple [Oct. 3]. Thanks for the really well crafted review. Wish I could have been there.

Michael P. Scott

Indianapolis

Diversity not historical

One of your readers recently wrote praising the milestone of diversity in the recent remake of The Magnificent Seven [Feedback: Seven Sword Samurai Salute, Oct. 2] and seemed to criticize the monochromatic cast of Akira Kurosawas Seven Samurai saying, I dont think there is a single non-Japanese actor in Seven Samurai. If I remember correctly, Seven Samurai took place in 16th century Japan. At that time, who else lived in Japan? We should choose historical correctness over political correctness every time.

Garey Fong

Eagle Rock

Classic film still fresh

Regarding Once Banned, Battle of Algiers Smart, Compassionate Take on Terror and Rebellion Resonates Today [Sept. 29, latimes.com]. Its great to see Justin Chang keeping the classic film alive!

Tony Macklin

Las Vegas

An education for the best

James Taylor, left, and Vince Gill perform at the All for the Hall Los Angeles at the Novo Theatre on Sept. 27, 2016. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times )

Regarding Master Class: James Taylor and Joe Walsh are Among the Stars Swapping Songs at Country Hall of Fame Benefit [Sept. 29]. Thank you for your fine piece. A delight to read. Some very nice touches.

Luis Torres

Pasadena

Intersecting conflicts

The Calendar section [Oct. 2] captures the essence of the conflict roiling America. You hit on the broad themes we face as a country and which are too often segmented and treated as separate. The subjugation of women with sexual violence poignantly addressed by Tori Amos [A Voice Fighting Sexual Violence]. The subjugation of black people and minorities given full license in the original The Birth of a Nation film [The Troubling Legacy of The Birth of a Nation]; and the white boys, whose drug/alcohol-induced actions perpetuate the subjugation of women and minorities as discussed in the Youth Culture on a High in Films. The intersection of womens pain, black and minority pain, and yes the pain of white boys doing stupid things is all too real. Is it too much to ask of reporters, news media, to begin to see that racism, misogyny and addiction are branches of the same tree.

Aviyah Farkas

Los Angeles
In 1981, a quartet of brothers who grew up in France set up a 700-square-foot office in downtown Los Angeles and designed a denim fashion line. They named it Guess, and it went on to become a billion-dollar brand, attached to everything from sunglasses to perfume, and a vital part of the global fashion landscape.

Guess unleashed upon the world an ingenue named Anna Nicole Smith, ankle-zip jeans and those iconic black-and-white ad campaigns featuring the sexiest supermodels of the day.

Now, two of the brothers behind the brand, Georges and Armand Marciano, who long ago put their Guess days behind them (on a side note, the publicly listed company installed a new chief executive officer last year after their brother, Paul, stepped down from the role), have recently embarked on their latest fashion venture.

Advertisement

Armand Marciano with designer Cinzia Simone have joined forces with brother Georges Marciano (not pictured) of Guess jeans fame, to create a new upscale clothing brand called GM Studio with a fashion goods line for the Fall 2016 season. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times )

GM Studio, which launched in mid-July, is what the former Guess customer might wear now that she is all grown up. It conveys the keen edgy instincts of the Marciano brothers, who have crafted the new offerings with Italian designer Cinzia Simone. Everything is made in Los Angeles and the looks are inspired by the luxe-yet-casual aesthetic that the city personifies.

For the Marciano brothers, GM Studio also represents a new beginning.

Guess was a great adventure, but it is part of my past, said Georges Marciano, who now lives in Canada. I left the brand in 1993 and do not feel like it represents or reflects me anymore. With GM Studio, it is most definitely a fresh start.

On a pre-launch morning, the busy, bright downtown studio was in full work mode.

This is a collaboration between Georges, Cinzia and I, said Armand Marciano. It has some vintage inspiration, and it was important to us that everything is made right here in Los Angeles. We are all of us from somewhere else, but we want to work where our laundries and tailors are close by.

Simone combed through Georges Marcianos vast archive of vintage pieces and took her inspiration cues from early Yves Saint Laurent (lean blazers and silk blouses) and military uniforms (large flap pockets).

It has some vintage inspiration, and it was important to us that everything is made right here in Los Angeles.  Armand Marciano

Her goal was to create a wardrobe of luxury basics. For spring 2017, she was inspired by iconic musical figures such as Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison and created a line featuring stretch-washed leathers and hand-distressed T-shirts in sun-faded colors such as washed mauve and old gold.

There are feather-printed silk kimono-style dresses, blouses in Lurex-shot silk and chiffon tops with 1970s-inspired bell sleeves. Denim is an integral part of the collection. Look for vintage jeans deconstructed and turned into miniskirts and a dramatic denim cape. Prices range from $80 to $1,200, and the line is available on the brands website and at American Rag on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles.

Ultimately, said Georges Marciano, GM Studio is the antithesis of Guess: small, limited-edition runs, a tightly enforced aesthetic. With it, he is hoping to convert people to buy clothing that is not disposable.

Clothes should be timeless, he said. Today, I feel that there is a necessity to look back and take from the past more than try to foresee the future.

image@latimes.com
Kering on Thursday declined to comment on a report that Hedi Slimane has launched further legal action against his former employer.

A French commercial court in June ordered the conglomerate to pay $13 million to Slimane in application of a non-compete clause following his departure from Yves Saint Laurent earlier this year.

Quoting a source close to the case, French news agency AFP said on Wednesday the designer was now seeking an additional sum close to two million euros, or $2.2 million at current exchange, corresponding to his variable compensation in his last year at the head of the fashion label.

Advertisement

In addition, it said, Slimane is asking Kering to apply a partnership agreement giving him certain rights as a minority shareholder in Saint Laurent, namely to information. It is not known what percentage of the companys capital is in Slimanes hands.

Slimanes lawyer Herve Temime declined to comment on the AFP report. Officials at the commercial court in Paris were not immediately available to comment.

Kering said in June it would appeal the $13 million award linked to the non-compete clause. Slimane, who left Saint Laurent in April after a four-year tenure as creative and image director, lodged the procedure in May. It concerns non-competition obligations that are among standard clauses for high-profile executive and creative roles in fashion, and which typically restrict a designer or chief executive officer from working for competitors for a year or more.

Kering lifted this clause at the end of Hedi Slimanes contract, thus freeing Hedi Slimane from this potential constraint. Hedi Slimane is requesting that this clause be applied still, along with the effective payment of the financial compensation that goes with it, the group said.

Slimanes legal challenge suggests he doesnt have any immediate plans to sign on with another fashion house. Before joining YSL, he spent several years concentrating on photography and art making in his post-Dior Homme career.

Anthony Vaccarello, who succeeded Slimane at the design helm of Saint Laurent, showed his first collection for the brand during Paris Fashion Week.
If its time for presidential debate No. 2, and time to start counting down the last four weeks till election day, its time for one more thing:

A visit to Tollivers barbershop  where politics is sport  to find out how the wildest presidential campaign in my lifetime is playing in the heart of South Los Angeles.

I stopped in Thursday, and there was shouting, arguing and sharper punditry than anything on cable TV. In no particular order, here are the takeaways:

Advertisement

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is seen as a flawed candidate, but less combustible and more grown up than GOP nominee Donald Trump.

The African American community is more conservative than you might think, but Trump has deeply offended black voters.

And relentless Republican Party attacks on President Barrack Obama, going back eight years, will not be forgiven any time soon.

But let me begin with Jeff Williams, an actor who said he will go to the polls, but wont vote for either Trump or Clinton.

To me, theyre both liars, said Williams. Ones a liar as a salesman, and the other is a traditional political liar.

And this was Thursday, the day before breaking news that wont do either candidate much good, particularly Trump.

Jeff Williams waits to get a haircut from Lawrence Tolliver at Tollivers Barber Shop on Thursday, Oct. 6. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times )

Wikileaks released emails in which excerpts from previously unreported Clinton speeches include her comment that my dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders.

Meanwhile, more evidence surfaced that Trumps development was permanently arrested in his horny teen years. The Washington Post got hold of a taped 2005 conversation in which Trump talked about groping and having his way with women, and when youre a star, they let you do it.

Williams, a Bernie Sanders supporter, called Trump an undisciplined, impulsive, petty buffoon.

But he didnt go much easier on Clinton. Her support of the Iraq war and her Wall Street connections, among other things, are a turnoff for him.

Clinton, he went on, reminds him of a long-ago classmate who was ambitious and well-spoken, but had trouble defending her own opinions and accomplished nothing as class president.

Williams assessment drew modest support from Jason Jenkins, an NYU-schooled marketing man who said Clinton seems to feel like shes entitled to office now. Its that sense of entitlement that landed her in the email scandal, he said.

But hes voting for Clinton, not Trump. Jenkins said he cant vote for a narcissist and a sociopath with very little to offer on policy other than tax reform that favors the rich.

Hes our fault, said Jenkins. Hes completely the fault of the American people, of politicians, of news media, of our obsession with reality TV. He is the epitome of a popularity contest. There was a direct correlation between how often he was covered in the news and how high his numbers would go.

Hes completely the fault of the American people, of politicians, of news media, of our obsession with reality TV.  Jason Jenkins

At Tollivers, whats on the rise is a sense of outrage.

If you want to hear someone cuss, said Lawrence Tolliver, just say the words Donald Trump. 

I heard plenty of cussing on Thursday. Some of it came in reference to Trumps line about not paying taxes because hes smart.

What happens if we dont pay taxes? asked Ron Simmons, who runs a drug and alcohol treatment program.

You mean if we became smart? asked James Loving, an insurance agent.

The most telling aspect of Trumps personality, said Loving, is that he dishes out criticism but cant take it, and a guy that untethered could be dangerous.

We could wake up and be at war, said Simmons.

And then hell Tweet about it, said Loving.

As Trump took his beating, one man remained conspicuously silent. That would be Tommy Mamon, 26, who sweeps floors and does other odd jobs in the shop.

Tolliver outed him, calling Mamon a Trump supporter.

Mamon shrugged uncomfortably. This would have been an excellent time for him to slip out the back door and go to lunch. I had to admire his courage, though, because he stepped right into the lions den and spoke his mind.

Im not too familiar with politics or policies, Mamon said. But he and a lot of other people are tired of the same old politicians, and Trump is different. Hes the change America needs.

Polite is the best way to describe the reaction of others, some of whom groaned. But Mamon crossed a line with his next comment about Trump.

Hes honest, he said.

 Trump comes in for a buzz cut at Tollivers clip parlor in South L.A.

The place erupted. Tolliver was in the middle of a haircut when he howled in disbelief, went over and wrapped Mamon in a headlock.

Hes not trying to fake who he is as a person, Mamon protested, repeating the line that Trump strikes him as honest.

He just makes stuff up, Tolliver protested, and he doesnt even care about it. He just moves on to the next lie.

If his lips are moving, hes lying, said Herman Perez, a retired maintenance worker.

Then how could he have gotten this far?

Hate, said Simmons.

He started off with the wall, and everybody said yeah, yeah, yeah, said Simmons. And he tapped into that hate base that always hated Obama for being there in the first place.

Trump was leader of the birther brigade, insisting Obama was born in Africa. Simmons cant forgive that, nor Trumps support from former KKK leader David Duke, nor his call for the execution of the Central Park Five  four black men and one Puerto Rican  who were accused in 1989 of assaulting a white woman but were later exonerated.

Then came Trumps comment that black people live in squalor and ought to come over to his side because what the hell do you have to lose?

Of course there are social and economic problems in African American communities, as well as other communities, said Tollivers crew. But in their opinion, Trumps fixes pretty much began and ended with stop and frisk, and he wasnt reaching out to them, anyway. He was grossly generalizing about them, and reinforcing stereotypes to nail down white votes.

He says it not to a black audience, but to a white audience, said Drew Palmer, an information technology engineer and longtime mentor in a youth leadership program. Now youre disrespecting me.

The irony, said Simmons, is that many African Americans hold conservative values on law and order, faith and various social issues. But at a time when some Republican leaders have warned that the party cant survive without appealing to more minorities, Trump has further alienated them, and this follows eight years of GOP attempts to bury every Obama initiative.

If it wasnt for racism, said Simmons, a lot of us would probably be Republicans.

Perez said it may surprise Trump to know that we dont all live in hovels. Some of us have homes, believe it or not.

And some of us actually vote.

steve.lopez@latimes.com

MORE FROM STEVE LOPEZ

Her $16,988.62 DWP bill sent this retired teacher to the emergency room

L.A. poet laureate Luis Rodriguez closing out his reign as he began: Always running

Knotts closes attraction that was insensitive to people who care about mental health
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
Russia blocked a draft UN Security Council resolution on the cessation of hostilities in Syria's Aleppo favoring a proposal by the UN Envoy to Syria that focuses on evicting al-Nusra terrorists (al-Qaeda) from Eastern Aleppo, Sputnik reported.

Russia vetoed a French-drafted United Nations Security Council Resolution on Saturday that called for the immediate end to airstrikes over Syria's Aleppo city receiving condemnation from the West which argues that Moscow is facilitating more war and fighting in the country.

Moscow opposed the draft because it did not adequately deal with the problem of the rebels being interwoven with al-Nusra Front, formerly Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate, under the umbrella group the Army of Conquest. The UN Envoy to Syria proposed a separate plan that would allow al-Nusra Front fighters to evacuate the area armed to make for a more tenable situation inside of the besieged eastern side of Aleppo.

This is the fifth time that Russia has vetoed a UN resolution on Syria during the five-year conflict with China joining Moscow in the previous four vetoes, but abstaining from voting on Saturday.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented that the text of the French resolution distorted the complexity of the situation on the ground leaving the false impression that Russia and Syria were aggressors when in reality the conflict in East Aleppo is mixed between moderate anti-Assad forces that have branched together with more radical al-Nusra terrorists.

The Ministry further noted that the draft resolution ignored the urgent challenge of beginning and resolving an intra-Syrian political process that could place the country on a path towards stability and peace.

Russian representatives further expressed their "commitment to finding a lasting political solution to the Syrian conflict" notwithstanding the move to veto the French draft United Nations Security Council resolution.

Prior to the vote, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin expressed his dismay with the French draft that he believed was poorly postulated and designed to be vetoed by Russia for the sake of scoring public relations points and instead expressed his desire that the United Nations pursue the route of supporting the UN Envoy to Syria's plan.

Reiterating this point, Russia said that the authors of the French United Nations Security Council resolution draft on Syria failed to show political wisdom by intentionally ignoring Moscow's proposed amendments to it.

Vitaly Churkin went on to say before the vote that all of those attending the Security Council meeting knew that neither the French nor the Russian resolution on the Syrian crisis would be adopted.

The Russian Foreign Ministry closed by appealing to the members of the United Nations Security Council that the world must not allow Syria to go the way of Iraq or Libya reminding that US-led regime change in those countries led to further instability making those nations hotbeds for terrorism and in large part contributing to the crisis in Syria.
A 15-year-old student was arrested Friday in connection with several threats of violence made on social media against a Temecula high school.

Temecula police began looking into a threat made against Chaparral High School shortly after 10 p.m. on Thursday, according to Deputy Mike Vasquez, a spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriffs Department. An additional threat was made Friday morning on the same social media site.

As a precautionary measure, the  bomb squad was utilized, along with bomb-sniffing dogs and officers, to conduct a thorough search of the campus, Vasquez said in a statement. No credible threats were located.

Advertisement

Officials said that investigators eventually traced the posts to a student who was booked into juvenile hall for allegedly making criminal terrorist and bomb threats. No weapons or explosive devices were involved, according to authorities, and the investigation is ongoing.

It was not clear if the student attended Chaparral or another school.

According to the Temecula Valley Unified School Districts Facebook page, two threatening tweets posted Friday detailed that harm would take place that day at 10 a.m. at Chaparral.

Students were relocated to the stadium and gym, and parents were allowed to pick up their children. After the moment passed without incident, the school decided continuing with an instructional day is not an option.

Authorities said the threats were not related to the rash of incidents taking place across the nation in which pranksters dressed as creepy clowns attempt to frighten passersby or terrorize people online.

corina.knoll@latimes.com

@corinaknoll
It is known for its giant sequoia trees, towering granite ridges and tumbling waterfalls. But one of the Wests most majestic national parks has now become the latest cauldron in an unfolding scandal over workplace harassment that has rocked the national parks system.

Just days after the abrupt retirement announcement last week of Yosemite National Park Supt. Don Neubacher, some of those long familiar with operations at the 1,169-square-mile landmark in Central California were saying the blowup could have been foreseen.

I warned Don Neubacher about that immediately after he came here six years ago, said George Whitmore, a longtime Sierra Club activist who said the park has been plagued with a toxic culture that manifests in internal vendettas and political attacks.

Advertisement

The scandal at Yosemite is only the latest in a series of revelations about sexual harassment and bullying that have roiled Americas national parks, leading to the resignations of at least four senior national park managers this year and a series of congressional hearings.

The part of the Park Service culture that facilitates these problems is ... within a militaristic hierarchy led by officials who believe they can do no wrong.  Jeff Ruch, executive director, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

What was supposed to be a year of celebration for the National Park Services 100th anniversary has turned into a year of accusation, with critics railing that the agency charged with protecting American treasures, from Alaskas Bering Land Bridge to Buck Island Reef in the Virgin Islands, has failed to protect its own employees from gender bias, bullying and harassment.

The controversy exploded in January, after the inspector generals office disclosed an investigation prompted in 2014 by a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell from 13 current and former employees  all of them women  saying that their complaints of widespread sexual harassment had not been addressed.

Congressional hearings in June led to the removal of officials at Grand Canyon and Canaveral National Seashore for their failure to appropriately handle such accusations. Then the focus turned to Yosemite.

2016 wasnt supposed to unfold this way.

Standing in June on Yosemites Sentinel Bridge, with Half Dome in the background, President Obama called the national parks the envy of the world and praised the National Park Service on its centennial.

I want to thank Supt. Neubacher and all the incredible rangers and staff for hosting us here at Yosemite, he said. They do a great job. Were so proud of them.

Neubachers career unraveled shortly thereafter  followed by his wifes.

At a Sept. 22 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said that of the 21 people federal investigators interviewed earlier this year, all but one described Yosemite as a hostile work environment as a result of the behavior and conduct of the parks superintendent.

Grilling a ranking Park Service official about the situation at Yosemite, he asked: You have somebody on your staff who is essentially protected and empowered by his wife. How do you let that happen?

Park employees, it turns out, had not only accused the park superintendent of failing to adequately address the widespread complaints of harassment. They also said they feared that his wife, Patty Neubacher, the deputy regional director of the Pacific West Region, had protected him with her influence as an official partly responsible for overseeing 56 national parks in six Western states.

Three days after her husbands retirement announcement, Patty Neubacher said that she, too, would be stepping down.

The Neubachers retirements begin in November.

Last week, as rangers struggled with budget shortfalls and traffic that can turn a beloved park into a parking lot, the congressional oversight committee threatened to hit the Park Service with a subpoena to force the release of documents including an internal report on its employees accusations.

Critics, meanwhile, are waiting to see how the agency, which oversees more than 23,000 permanent and temporary employees located in 411 units, will handle the problems some say are undermining the very concept of national parks as cherished refuges.

Jeff Ruch, executive director of the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, argues that the anguish expressed by some employees stems from the agencys basic structure.

The part of the Park Service culture that facilitates these problems is a sort of caste system within a militaristic hierarchy led by officials who believe they can do no wrong, he said. That problem is compounded by a decentralized federal agency in which park superintendents have the autonomy of a ship captain.

The result is a dysfunctional power dynamic, he added, in which problems raised by rank-and-file employees are not allowed to leave the park, or are strongly discouraged.

Indeed, the Park Service ranks close to the bottom among 320 federal agencies ranked by the annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government survey. Only one of the Interior Departments 12 subagencies had a lower score in 2015: the Office of Surface Mining.

Now the agency is playing catch-up.

In June, David Uberuaga, superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park, retired in response to complaints from 13 female employees of being bullied, belittled, propositioned for sex, physically threatened and inappropriately touched and photographed over the last 15 years by boatmen in charge of leading educational floats along the Colorado River.

In September, Myrna Palfrey, superintendent of Canaveral National Seashore in Florida, resigned after the congressional oversight committee began examining allegations of mismanagement and an ongoing sexual harassment case in which she allegedly took no corrective action.

Investigators are also looking into a complaint filed by Robert L. Hester, an engineering equipment operator at Yellowstone, of what he described as talk and acceptance of sexual exploitation of female workers in the Special Projects Division.

They spoke openly about a certain female employee with Special Projects, a laborer who never did any work, he said. This laborer was kept drunk by our supervisor and they were involved in a relationship, which was common knowledge throughout Yellowstone Park.

Based on a quote from novelist Wallace Stegner, Ken Burns titled his 2009 PBS documentary series The National Parks: Americas Best Idea.

Federal officials now say that the year of accusations against the National Park Service will also be a year of reformation.

Secretary Jewell has said that the catalog of sordid incidents may be just the tip of the iceberg. As the investigative process continues, she said, we will find there is a bigger issue, a culture that allows these things to go on, that needs to change.

Louis.Sahagun@latimes.com

@LouisSahagun

ALSO

NBA star Derrick Roses ex-girlfriend testifies in civil trial that he raped her

L.A. police commissioners weighing reforms that would improve LAPD transparency and training on using deadly force

5 killed as Hurricane Matthew makes landfall in South Carolina and continues up the East Coast
Southern California air quality officials released a proposal Friday to give more regulatory teeth to a smog-reduction plan that has faced criticism for its voluntary, industry-friendly approach.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District has revised a plan, originally released in June, to include additional regulations to cut emissions from diesel backup generators, water heaters, furnaces and other appliances. Among other changes, the agency also added a commitment to identify and consider new measures targeting oil refineries, ports, warehouses and other large facilities that are responsible for much of the pollution in the nations smoggiest region.

The changes come in response to what regulators acknowledge was a skeptical reaction to their first draft of the plan, which relies heavily on voluntary, nonregulatory measures that encourage, rather than force, polluters to adopt cleaner technology. The document, which will guide efforts to reduce pollution levels in Southern California over the next 15 years, calls for finding $1 billion a year for emissions-cutting incentive programs  a 10- to 20-fold increase over what is spent today.

Advertisement

Though the overall approach remains similar, language in the revised plan emphasizes that the agency will make full use of its legal authorities to seek a cleaner air future and will give priority to maximizing emissions reductions using battery, fuel cell and other zero-emissions technologies where possible.

The new plan also proposes giving serious consideration to ending a cap-and-trade program for smog-forming emissions from the regions largest facilities and adopting traditional regulations in its place. The current program requires polluters to buy credits to cover their emissions, which is intended to provide a financial incentive to clean up their operations.

The Regional Clean Air Incentives Market, or RECLAIM program, has come under fire recently for failing to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions to the extent promised. Partly to blame is an oversupply of credits, which has allowed oil refineries and other large polluters to delay installing costly pollution controls.

Last December the AQMD board adopted oil industry-backed changes to the program that will cut less pollution and more slowly than agency staff had proposed. That decision has faced harsh criticism from state regulators and environmentalists, who say it violated state law and will hurt public health.

The AQMD proposal released Friday acknowledges that many of the programs original advantages appear to be diminishing and generating increased scrutiny and suggests that an orderly sunset of the program may be the best way to reduce burdens on businesses while achieving greater emissions reductions.

The changes to the plan, presented at a governing board meeting in a ballroom at the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside, were greeted with skepticism and protest from environmentalists. They urged stronger measures to reduce smog-forming pollution, particularly from ports, rail yards, warehouses and other hubs of the bustling goods movement and logistics industry.

Outside the meeting, Sierra Club activists from the Inland Empire, some in ghoulish masks and costumes, staged a Halloween-themed demonstration to demand tougher action against the deadliest air in the nation.

The inland region suffers from the nations highest levels of ozone, the lung-damaging gas in smog.

We want a strong plan that is very regulatory and not just asking folks to volunteer to clean up the air, said Mary Valdemar, a Sierra Club member from San Bernardino. Were past the point of being nice.

Southern Californias polluted air is linked to thousands of premature deaths, emergency room visits and missed school days a year from asthma, heart disease and other illnesses. A recent analysis by the South Coast district found that the health benefits of meeting federal pollution-reduction deadlines would far outweigh the billions in costs to industry, the government and consumers.

Driving the plan is a 2031 federal deadline to reduce ozone pollution. Achieving that will require massive reductions in smog-forming nitrogen oxides, largely from trucks, trains, cargo ships and other transportation-related sources that release the bulk of the pollution in the South Coast region, which includes 17 million people across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Expected later this month is a proposal that will detail how smog-reduction projects outlined in the agencys plan would be paid for. One funding source under consideration by air district officials is an increase in vehicle registration fees of as much as $30 to $60 a year.

But any attempt to raise fees on millions of drivers faces serious obstacles, including a requirement that it be approved on a two-thirds vote in the state Legislature. State Senate Leader Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) opposes the idea and has called it a cynical attempt by polluters to shift the burden of cleaning up after themselves to middle- and working-class families.

A final version of the smog-reduction plan is expected to go to the air-quality board for adoption by February 2017.

tony.barboza@latimes.com
A man who fatally shot a gas station attendant in Diamond Bar as a teenager two decades ago will spend the rest of his life in prison, prosecutors announced Friday.

Lino Jesus Acero, 39, was convicted in March of first-degree murder for fatally shooting the attendant, Mahfouz Ghabour, in 1994 during an attempted robbery.

The case went cold until the mid-2000s, when LAPD detectives posted security video of the killing on its L.A.s Most Wanted page, which was featured on the news.

Advertisement

Someone who saw the video on TV called in a tip, which eventually led to Aceros arrest in 2014.

A witness at Aceros trial identified him as the shooter, prosecutors said.

He was sentenced to life without parole Friday.

Joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

ALSO

Parolee charged in execution of well-liked L.A. sheriffs sergeant

Long Beach police shoot and critically injure murder suspect in Wilmington

Man is charged with battery in punching of woman caught on video outside Venice Beach market
The Los Angeles Police Commission is considering significant changes in the way the LAPD handles shootings by officers, including releasing information to the public more quickly and expanding training designed to reduce the number of shootings.

The proposals, which the civilian panel will weigh next week, include seeking public opinion on releasing videos from those shootings, ensuring the LAPD provides accurate information about the incidents and adding more role-playing scenarios to help officers practice defusing tense encounters without firing their guns.

The proposals come after the commissions inspector general completed an extensive study, made public Friday, looking at how other major departments deal with police shootings. The report found that some provide the public with more details faster and have embraced training based on real-world scenarios.

Advertisement

How officers use force and how departments share information about deadly encounters are two of the most scrutinized issues in modern-day policing, drawing fresh attention this summer after a series of deadly police shootings across the country.

Many law enforcement agencies have traditionally resisted releasing video evidence  including footage from cameras worn by officers or in their patrol cars  while investigations are under way. But in recent months, police in Fresno, El Cajon and Charlotte, N.C., bowed to pressure and made videos of contentious shootings public.

The LAPD followed suit this week after the controversial shooting of Carnell Snell Jr. prompted protests that stretched from South L.A. to the mayors Windsor Square home. In an unprecedented move, the LAPD released security video showing the 18-year-old holding a gun moments before he was fatally shot.

Fridays recommendations from two police commissioners  Sandra Figueroa-Villa and Matt Johnson  come as the civilian board has been pushing the department to be more transparent and to find ways to minimize officers use of deadly force.

We must constantly re-evaluate what we are doing and be willing to be self-critical so that we are always moving forward, said Johnson, the boards president. These recommendations represent the desire to improve.

The report and its proposals have long been in the works. Last fall, the Police Commission directed its inspector general, Alex Bustamante, to compare the LAPDs policies, training and investigations regarding use of force with four other major agencies that have recently made changes to try to reduce force incidents.

Eleven months later, the result was a 33-page analysis also looking at how police in L.A., Dallas, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and San Diego address officers who fire their weapons, emphasize ways officers can try to avoid using force, and share information  including video  with the public.

The report notes that the information the LAPD initially provides about police shootings is generally limited to the basics: the condition of the person shot, the time and location of the shooting, why the officers were in the area and whether any weapons were found. It is not unusual for the department to take weeks before releasing the names of officers who fire their weapons.

Police in Las Vegas, however, quickly post short video statements about shootings on YouTube. About 48 hours later, the department releases the name, rank, age and length of tenure of the officers involved. Within the week, police give reporters an in-depth briefing that includes what happened in the moments before a shooting, photographs from the scene and audio from 911 calls. They also release any video collected, including footage from body cameras worn by officers.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has generally resisted releasing those videos outside of court, citing concerns over victim privacy and the need to protect investigations. He made a rare exception in Snells shooting, citing concerns over public safety and his desire to clear up what he called significant misinformation in the case.

Though the LAPD must abide by a different public records law than police in Nevada, the report noted that departments within California take different approaches to disclosing information.

For example, the report notes, some make 911 tapes and booking photos public. (The LAPD does not.) And officials in Fresno and Sacramento recently released footage from body or patrol car cameras that captured controversial shootings by police.

The reports recommendations formalized remarks Johnson made earlier in the week, when he called for a review of the LAPDs policy for releasing video. He and Figueroa-Villa directed the department to start a comprehensive process for gathering public feedback on that policy, including community forums, online questionnaires and focus groups.

If the proposals are approved, a draft set of rules would then be posted online for 30 days. When the department prepares a revised video release policy for the commission to review, it would include an overview of how the publics feedback was incorporated.

The commissioners also called on the department to determine what other information about police shootings could be released quickly and develop rules to ensure that information is accurate.

The proposals by Johnson and Figueroa-Villa would require the department to reexamine how it treats officers after they use deadly force. The LAPD should provide more support for officers as the investigation into their actions unfolds and must provide them with additional reality-based training before they go back to work in the field, the commissioners said.

Law enforcement agencies are increasingly turning to role-playing training to provide officers with a realistic simulation of stressful encounters  often involving people who appear to be mentally ill or suicidal  that can result in shootings or other serious force. The goal is for officers to practice de-escalating those moments so that it comes more naturally in the field.

In Dallas, officers must decide how to approach a person with a shovel who is acting aggressively and appears to be having delusions. In San Diego, officers practice talking a man into surrendering during a hostage situation. In Washington,D.C., police are tested on their ability to disarm a knife-wielding suspect while keeping a group of unruly bystanders calm  all without using deadly force.

The LAPD offers some reality-based training to cops, according to the inspector generals report, but other agencies use it more frequently. The commissioners directed the department to look for ways to regularly provide that training.

This type of training takes officers out of the classroom, away from the computer and puts them into role-playing situations as close to real-life scenarios as possible, Johnson said.

kate.mather@latimes.com

For more LAPD news, follow me on Twitter: @katemather

ALSO

Mother of 14-year-old boy killed by LAPD in Boyle Heights files legal claim

Backpage says criminal charges by Kamala Harris are election year stunt

I thought for a second he was going to shoot me: Victim recalls robbery with gunman in deputy killing
A man who was seen on security video knocking a woman out with one punch outside a Venice Beach market was charged with felony battery this week, prosecutors said.

Michael Joseph Fino, 44, of Santa Monica, pleaded not guilty Thursday to hitting the woman outside Windward Farms Sept. 25, knocking her unconscious and causing serious bodily injury. Police said that he and the woman had had some kind of confrontation earlier in the day and that minutes before he hit her, she had confronted him inside the store.

In security video, the woman is seen in a terse exchange with a burly man in a tank top. She waited for him outside the store and had begun following him when he quickly turned around and punched her once, sending her falling to the ground.

Advertisement

Fino was arrested Tuesday and is being held on $165,000 bail, jail records show. Prosecutors say he has previous convictions for battery with serious bodily injury in 1994, possession of methamphetamine for sale and identity theft in 2007, and second degree burglary in both 2001 and 2013.

Fino is due back in court Nov. 3.

Joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

ALSO

Gunman shoots himself after trading fire with sheriffs deputy in Norwalk

Parolee charged in execution of well-liked L.A. sheriffs sergeant

Long Beach police shoot and critically injure murder suspect in Wilmington
When Michael Maltzan visited Los Angeles in the 1980s with a group of architectural students, he was comfortable in a way that many of his fellow travelers were not.

L.A. conveyed the same low-density, car-friendly vibe that he grew up with in the Long Island suburbs -- the sense that you could just go, he recalled Friday.

Los Angeles, in some ways, still clings wistfully to that identity even as it grows up instead of out, builds light rail instead of freeways and transforms its long-neglected downtown into a cultural center and home to tens of thousands.

Advertisement

The challenges and promise of that transition were the focus of discussion at the Los Angeles Times Summit on the future of cities, held at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

I think theres a psychological change, said Maltzan, the founder of Michael Maltzan Architecture. There is more anxiety, fear around development, than decades past, when L.A. just kept pushing out and out.

Now the city is folding back on itself and the boundary pushing has to come by way of architecture and innovative infrastructure projects that wire density into commercial thoroughfares without overwhelming neighborhoods, he said.

Instead of a bridge having one use, it can be equipped with solar panels to generate electricity and collect stormwater -- as Maltzan has proposed for a reimagined Arroyo Seco Bridge in Pasadena.

For me thats the future of infrastructure, said Maltzan, whose firm designed the One Santa Fe apartment complex in the downtown Arts District and the Sixth Street Viaduct that will span the Los Angeles River.

Paul Schimmel, partner at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, said the international arts gallery found its inspiration in the past, in the form of a more than century-old flour mill in the Arts District.

It was really the space, that allowed his firm to transform the building into an enormous gallery space that is fast becoming a community hub with its courtyard and restaurant.

For much of its modern history, Los Angeles was obsessed with private space -- the joys of a backyard, a single family home and a solo drive down an open freeway.

But now there is a hunger for walkable public areas, a need that is reflected in plans for the Los Angeles River corridor, downtowns Grand Park and the popularity of neighborhoods like the Arts District.

Were returning to a sense of community, Schimmel said, adding that the city needs to improve access to pedestrian areas.

Maybe do a little work on the streets, he said wryly.

As to whether $6 coffees and upscale apartment construction were driving artists out of the Arts District, Schimmel said he suspected the neighborhood was too expensive for artists before the arrival of bars and restaurants.

But the transformation was much slower than he expected. In the early 80s I thought it would be the next Soho, he said.

People love the idea of what it was  a gritty creative community, Schimmel said. Though some of the grit has been scrubbed off the downtown arts scene, it seems to have roots, he added.

Moreover, the messy sprawl of the L.A. Basin still offers plenty of relatively cheap industrial space that artists can turn into studios, Schimmel said, citing moves to warehouses in the Interstate 10 corridor.

He also suggested it was time for Santa Monica, an arts incubator in the 1970s and 1980s, to make its next big move...This is a community that needs to step up again and take the leadership it has in the past.

Other panelists discussed a more disturbing change in the Los Angeles landscape: the explosive growth in homelessness.

In 1980, people were not living on the streets, said Tanya Tull, founder and CEO of Partnering for Change and an expert in family homelessness.

Just about everything weve done to address the homeless problem nationally, Tull said, weve done wrong.

Funneling most funding into supportive housing for the mentally ill will not end homelessness, she argued. We cannot build ourselves out of this.

Rather, Tull said, rent subsidies are critical to countering the spiraling cost of housing in Los Angeles that has driven families and individuals to the streets and kept them there, sometimes for years.

She also said local government should be more open to nonconventional housing, such as the teensy apartment units San Francisco is experimenting with.

Dont you think its better to have a tiny apartment than a tent? Tull asked.

Brian Lane, a principal of Koning Eizenberg Architecture, which designs affordable housing projects, argued that L.A. needs to shed the notion that a neighborhood always equals single-family homes.

The city has miles and miles of single-story commercial strips that can be rebuilt with greater density and create neighborhoods around transit hubs, he said.

Sam Polk is a former hedge-fund trader on Wall Street who is working on another shortage  healthy fresh food in poor city neighborhoods that he calls food deserts.

Polk founded the nonprofit Groceryships, which does educational outreach to improve eating habits in parts of the city dominated by fast-food restaurants.

He also co-founded Everytable, which prepares meals in a central kitchen and then sells them to go in storefronts. The prices vary according to what a neighborhood can afford.

Someone living in South L.A., for instance, pays $4 for the same meal that costs a buyer $8 on the Westside.

Healthy food is a human right, Polk said, pointing out that it simply took some innovative thinking to develop the Everytable business model.

In perhaps the most optimistic prediction uttered at the Summit, he declared: We are on the verge of becoming one of the great cities of the world.

bettina.boxall@latimes.com

Twitter: @boxall
In three decades of living a mere few feet from the mythical Fountain of Youth, William Coleman had never before heard such a sound.

In his low-lying neighborhood, he was accustomed to hearing water sloshing down the street, mud-stuck cars whirring to free themselves, and roaring thunderheads bearing down from the Atlantic.

Then, on Wednesday night, from a bullhorn mounted on a firetruck, a first: This is a mandatory evacuation. You need to leave now.

Advertisement

With that, Hurricane Matthew  blamed for hundreds of deaths in impoverished Haiti when it roared through the Caribbean earlier this week  announced its imminent arrival.

As in locales up and down the southeast coast, it was now the turn of St. Augustine -- a city brimming with historic charm, built on the site where legend holds that conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon, in 1513, discovered a spring with magical properties to impart eternal youth.

The storm, which briefly made landfall in South Carolina on Saturday as it surged up the coast from Florida, was blamed for at least 15 deaths in three states.

Although Matthew was losing power -- downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane early Saturday, and expected to drop back to tropical storm status overnight -- it continued to wield a powerful punch, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people, toppling trees and spawning torrential floods.

Four deaths were blamed on the storm in Florida, three in Georgia and three in North Carolina. They included two people who died in a submerged car in Bladen County, N.C., and a man who died when two trees fell on his home in Bulloch County, Ga.

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)

Even after losing some of its fury, the hurricane continued Saturday to lash the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas, including vulnerable barrier islands and the stately centers of Savannah and Charleston, where floodwaters filled some historic streets.

In South Carolina, downed trees cut off the two roads onto the resort island of Hilton Head, dotted with iconic pines, as water washed across roadways.

Governors of affected states, together with local officials and meteorologists, repeated warnings against being lulled into complacency by the relatively glancing blow dealt a day earlier to Florida, where homeowners were navigating flooded streets and assessing damage.

Before making landfall, Matthew had been the strongest hurricane to menace the Atlantic seaboard in nearly a decade. Evacuation orders covered more than 2 million people, triggering massive traffic jams and packing inland hotels.

In the end, the hurricane skirted heavily populated south Florida and battered cities farther north without its center ever coming ashore in the state. By Saturday, the powerhouse tourist attractions in Orlando  Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld  had all reopened.

But danger remained. Joining in the appeals against complacency was North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, who urged residents not to let their guard down just because Matthew had lost some of its punch. South Carolina saw some of its highest coastal tides on record Saturday.

In Georgia, which has only 100 miles of coastline, Gov. Nathan Deal doubled a National Guard activation to 2,000, and went on Twitter to urge coastal residents not to return to their homes until the safety of roads and bridges could be ascertained.

I know you want to see your homes, said South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, also urging people to remain in shelters rather than venturing back to evacuation zones.

Back in St. Augustine, as the storm bore down, Coleman had heeded the bullhorn warning. He packed what he could and drove north and inland to Jacksonville, which also found itself in the hurricanes path. In his absence, rising waters lapped just inches from his front door, a tenant who lived out back told him.

For Coleman, that was inches from complete financial ruin. He couldnt afford the prohibitively expensive flood insurance on the property, and says many of his neighbors had made the same choice.

You build your house two, three feet off the ground, you can get by without it, Coleman said Saturday, surveying the damage on his street. But then this storm came. I still cant afford it, you know. This time I almost lost what I have.

Its ironic, in a way: Water is what brought people here. Ponce de Leons spring  which did not help him escape mortal wounds from the local Calusa in 1521 -- lives on as a tourist attraction. But what benefits it affords the locals, they cannot say.

When the water from Hurricane Matthew flooded Williams Street, it pushed into the small home that Matt and Roxie Seward rent.

It was like nature invaded us, Roxie Seward said.

She attends Flagler College, which also flooded, and plans to graduate in May.

I better graduate on time, she said. Not another year here.

Matt is a bike mechanic in downtown St. Augustine, and when the warnings came, they packed what they could into their 1998 sea-green Toyota Camry and fled to higher ground in Orlando.

When they returned, it was as if their home had been broken into. The flooding pushed over garbage cans, rifled through cabinets and soaked anything within two feet of the floor.

On Saturday morning, they pulled out their possessions and tried to dry them in the front yard. Woolen ponchos hung from an oak tree.

Hey, you need a sump pump, bro? asked a neighbor driving a white pickup truck with a Trump 2016 sticker on its rear windshield.

Matt Seward thanked him and said he didnt.

The landlord said it could go either way, he said, as he wrung out floodwater from a blue blanket. If the walls dont dry out, itll mold, and then we have to get out.

He weighed that, considering the possibility of a fresh displacement.

But well sleep here tonight, he said, and wait.

Staff writer Laura King contributed to this report from Washington.

nigel.duara@latimes.com

ALSO

Where Hurricane Matthew hit hardest: Hundreds dead in ravaged Haiti

A ghost town in Florida: In the shadow of Hurricane Matthew

How much more must Haiti endure?

UPDATES:

7:05 p.m.: This article was updated with the death toll in the U.S. rising to 10 and other details.

12:15 p.m.: This article was updated with reports of additional deaths.

11:35 a.m.: This article was updated with additional reporting and comments from residents of areas affected by the storm.

This article was originally published at 8:25 a.m.
A privately funded great white shark research group has confirmed that the waters off Long Islands Montauk Point are a shark 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 wrapped up months of work in the region Friday, is generating more than just scientific intrigue as it works off New Yorks Long Island and Nantucket Island, Mass.

The Park City, Utah-based 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.

Advertisement

OCEARCH founder Chris Fischer maintains 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 from Nantucket. Were generating really priceless data. Were thrilled with what weve accomplished. We just didnt expect to take a beating along the way.

n this Aug. 23, 2016 photo provided by OCEARCH, a juvenile male great white shark named Paumanok swims away after researchers tagged and sampled him off the point of Montauk, N.Y. (Robert Snow/OCEARCH via AP )

The nonprofit group, which operates largely on corporate funding, made 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 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 normally about 5 feet long and weigh about 50 pounds, 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 that 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, 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.

The stuff were doing is groundbreaking, he said. It simply hasnt been done out here.

Marcelo writes for the Associated Press.

ALSO

The lowly earthworm poses a dire threat to this California island

Two Nobel-winning scientists left their mark on Southern California

Apes prove it: You dont have to be human to understand what someone else is thinking
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8

Trend:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not yet fixed the influence of the attempted military coup in Turkey on the countrys economy, RIA Novosti reported citing Poul Thomsen, director of the IMFs European Department.

The IMF will send a regular mission to Turkey in the coming weeks, said Thomsen at a press briefing, which was held on the sidelines of the World Banks autumn meeting.

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.
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.
Reluctant Trump supporter Paul Ryan faces a test today

Saturday was supposed to be the first joint campaign appearance by Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, with the two men appearing at an autumnal festival in rural Wisconsin to send a bucolic message of party unity.

Now, in the wake of a video showing Trump vulgarly boasting about groping women, the GOP presidential nominee wont be there  but Ryan will be the focus of massive attention as to what course he takes.

Ryan, the nations top elected Republican, endorsed Trump even as he frequently expressed discomfort with Trumps views. Now the speakers calculation is even more vexing.

If he backs away entirely from Trump, he could encourage other Republican politicians to abandon their nominee, which could hamper turnout and cost the GOP some House seats. If he sticks with Trump, the 2012 vice presidential nominee and likely future presidential contender risks his Boy Scout reputation for upright and earnest behavior.

Within hours of the videos release, members of Ryans caucus such as Reps. Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Barbara Comstock of Virginia said they had reached their breaking point and disavowed their partys standard-bearer. The question is whether Ryan will follow suit.

Aides to Ryan said he did not speak with Trump following the report about the video, which was published in the Washington Post. But his decision to disinvite Trump from the Fall Fest in Elkhorn, Wis., and his statement about the matter were striking.

I am sickened by what I heard today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified, Ryan said. 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. In the meantime, he is no longer attending tomorrows event in Wisconsin.

Its not the first time the two men have tangled.

After Trump clinched the GOP nomination, Ryan initially refused to endorse him, saying, Im just not ready to do that at this point.

Shortly after he did endorse Trump, Ryan called Trumps statements that a Mexican American judge could not fairly adjudicate a trial involving him a textbook definition of a racist comment.

Ryan rebuked Trumps attacks on the parents of a Muslim soldier who was killed in the line of duty, as well as his initial refusal to condemn support from David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

Ryan has repeatedly condemned Trumps ban on Muslims entering the nation as un-American and called on Trump to release his tax returns.

Trump, for his part, also has been critical of Ryan. He partly blamed the GOPs 2012 White House loss on Ryans budget proposal that included cuts to Medicare. This summer, Trump initially declined to endorse Ryan in his reelection bid, praising his GOP rival, Paul Nehlen, and echoing Ryans language by saying, Im just not quite there yet. He ultimately endorsed the House Speaker.
An unidentified flying object, or UFO, is any apparent anomaly in the sky. (Photo : YouTube/ Mystery Universe)

NASA was again accused of hiding evidence of extraterrestrial life after cutting a live stream from the international space station (ISS). Apparently, a UFO had been seen hovering over the station just about when the agency cut the feed.



According to Question More, viewers had observed a mysterious blue light near the station shortly after NASA reportedly terminated the live feed, which is always streamed on its popular show, Space Station Live. The anomaly was also caught by a keen UFO enthusiast, Streetcap1, who uploaded a recording of the stream on YouTube.



Advertisement

The popular UFO enthusiast highlighted the craft, hovering at a distance near the ISS, in the video. He claimed that NASA immediately cut off the live feed to hide it, which, according to him, is more proof of alien existence.



Although skeptics believe that the mysterious blue light was just a lens flare, the UFO enthusiast argued that the blue light could not be presumed to be a mere flare. This is because it is brighter on the left side as a result of light from the sun.



Streetcap1 explained that although NASA cut off the feed so quickly, he managed to get enough frames that were very distant to enlarge. The UFO enthusiast's video has since stirred speculation that NASA intentionally cut live feeds from the ISS to hide evidence of alien existence.



Other UFO hunters, including Scott Warring, who runs the UFO Sightings daily blog, commented on Streetcap1's video. He said that the blue glowing UFO appears further away from the space station although it is very close hence it seems higher up and distant.



According to The Sun, however, NASA had earlier announced that it would be cutting off live feed from the ISS in July. This report angered the UFO community who had always relied on the show to observe any mysterious occurrences that suggested the existence of extraterrestrial life.



In similar news, NASA scientists agree that the Bible prediction of the end of the world by a killer asteroid could be possible. This came shortly after an unidentified space rock fell in Australia Queensland causing a magnitude of 3.8 earthquake.



A NASA scientist also estimated that an asteroid measuring at least 60 miles in diameter was enough to destroy the earth. From his perspective, by judging from thousands of asteroids that strike the earth often, it is possible that a killer asteroid could land causing destruction to planet earth in future.



Have a look at one of streetcap1's famous UFO video:






The race to succeed Don Knabe on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has given voters little reason for enthusiasm; none of the original three candidates seemed likely to be either a disastrous failure or a visionary leader.

The Times endorsed Rep. Janice Hahn (D-San Pedro) in the June primary in part because she was better than the others at articulating the needs of the homeless, the addicted, the jailed, the ill, the poor and others for whom county government provides the safety net and, ideally, a ladder into a better life. Yet now that the race is down to Hahn and Knabe aide Steve Napolitano, mustering enthusiasm remains difficult.

By all accounts, Napolitano served capably while on the Manhattan Beach City Council, and was likewise a capable member of Knabes staff. Hahn served on the Los Angeles City Council before moving on to Congress.

Advertisement

As The Times noted before the primary, the question comes down to who is the best bet to bring change to a bureaucracy-plagued county culture. Is it Napolitano, an aide to a supervisor who has been there for 20 years? Or Hahn, an ostensible outsider who just happens to be the daughter of the late and legendary Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, after whom the county headquarters is named?

The Times is sticking with Hahn in the hope that she will blossom in the job she has long sought, and in the conviction that L.A. County government is in need of a change more sweeping than Napolitano would be likely to bring.

That said, the people of the Fourth District deserve choices that better meet the needs of its widely divergent communities. A representative of Long Beach, for example, would likely have different priorities and a different perspective than a representative of Diamond Bar or Rolling Hills Estates. And a supervisor who must represent each of those communities and about three dozen others would have a difficult enough task even without a hide-bound county culture. For now, though, we have the system we have, and we call on Hahn to do her best to help make it work.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Its hard to even figure out where to begin to respond to the 2005 audio/video the Washington Post dug up of Donald J. Trump, seemingly not knowing he was being recorded, discussing women, and sexual conquest. When youre rich and famous, Trump said, women let you get away with things, including letting you grab them by the genitalia  though he used an offensive street vulgarism instead.

Trump dismissed the exchange as locker room banter, as in, boys will be boys.

No. This is how misogynists talk. The presidential candidate of the Republican Party  the political home of the religious, family-values right  bragged about how he could use his station in life to physically assault women. Not just to try to seduce women, which he also boasted about in the exchange, but to grab women by an intimate body part.

Advertisement

That is sexual assault.

Even if Trump loses, we still have the fundamental problem of his political rise.

The audio and video were captured as Trump arrived for an appearance as himself in an episode of Days of Our Lives. He rolled up in an Access Hollywood bus with host Billy Bush, who joined in with Trumps obnoxious comments as they prepared to meet with soap opera star Arianne Zucker.

As they waited, Trump spoke in denigrating terms about a married woman who spurned his advances, and her later physical appearance. And he made sexual remarks about Zuckers physical appearance just before they alit from the bus.

Yes, Trump was not yet a candidate, but that doesnt excuse his boorish comments, nor his seeming endorsement of groping women because when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

In this election cycle, Trump has offended women, immigrants, veterans, Muslims, Mexicans, the physically disabled, and the list goes on. Yet more than 40% of voters still say they support him.

Trump is who he is: a spoiled child who lies when confronted with his outrageous comments, who blames others for his own shortcomings, who lacks a fundamental understanding of how government works, who expresses admiration for political strongmen like Vladimir Putin. His immaturity is staggering, and theres no telling how much more dangerous the world will be if he holds the most powerful chair in the most powerful government on Earth.

But that Trump has achieved this level of domestic political support despite staggering character flaws is not an indictment of Trump.

It is an indictment of American society and culture. Even if Trump loses, we still have the fundamental problem of his political rise.

How does the nation deal with the huge minority of Americans who find this kind of behavior acceptable  or at least not sufficiently objectionable to make Trump unfit for the presidency?

What do we do about that segment of the population that proudly says to the world, yeah, we think Donald Trump should be the face of the America  that this is who we are?

Scott.Martelle@LATimes.com

Follow my posts and re-tweets at @smartelle on Twitter
To the editor: God have mercy (so to speak) on Kathy Nester, the Utah public defender representing Lyle Jeffs, devout member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a splinter sect of the Mormon church. (Sect official Lyle Jeffs went missing while awaiting trial, but feds suspect its probably not rapture, Oct. 4)

While out on bail awaiting trial in federal court for fraud charges, Jeffs mysteriously slipped his ankle monitor and disappeared. Nester, left to explain his absence to the court, offered the possibility that he might have experienced the miracle of rapture, pursuant to a core tenet of his faith.

Perhaps Nesters explanation amounted to wry humor. But if she was channeling her clients sectarian conceits, whos to criticize her? Weve witnessed nationally televised interviews of presidential candidates who were pressed to relate how God talked to them.

Advertisement

If qualification for political office requires communication with an imaginary being, why shouldnt a criminal defendant be able to give a faith-based reason for his absence?

Robin Groves, Pacific Palisades

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: Luke Hardings The Snowden Files, the inspiration for the Oliver Stone film Snowden, reveals Edward Snowdens personality to be a confused mix of ardent patriotism and self-absorption. And it leaves Snowden now in a self-created limbo in Russia. (Make a deal to bring Edward Snowden home, editorial, Oct. 5)

What Snowden deserves for revealing classified information is pretty clear under the law. His defense is that he patriotically exposed National Security Agency procedures that illegally intrude on Americans privacy. In Playing to the Edge, Michael V. Haydens book on his years as head of the NSA and the Central Intelligence Agency, he tells definitively of many national and international troubles caused by Snowdens leak.

Its hard not to convict Snowden, but his punishment needs to be determined in court. If he chooses not to face that trial, he is left where he is.

Advertisement

Jim Gould, Burbank

..

To the editor: The primary reason Snowden isnt in the U.S. is the virtual torture of Chelsea Manning. Before her 2013 trial, Manning was kept in a barren cell with the lights kept on all day and night. This September, Manning staged a hunger strike to protest current mistreatment.

Snowden left behind a six-figure salary, his girlfriend and a Hawaiian lifestyle to be able to release his NSA data. That he would return to Manning-like treatment for even a reduced charge is preposterous thinking.

Bob Munson, Newbury Park

..

To the editor: The difficulty with the Snowden case is that a contractor violated his classified standing by his actions, disclosing wrongdoings while damaging our intelligence network.

But judges should have had oversight of the surveillance, but they did not stop unconstitutional action. Is the judiciary being held accountable?

Snowden may deserve prison time for the damage he has done, but not for exposing the judicial negligence that was committed.

Tony Schaffer, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Harriet Allspach has lived her entire life in this town 30 miles east of Des Moines, where a Maytag plant once employed every fourth person and summer weekends are for watching kart racing at the dirt track.

Allspach married one of those Maytag workers, took a job herself serving elementary school lunches to her neighbors children and never minded party lines, voting for Democrats as well as Republicans.

No longer.

She and her husband, Gary, who retired before they watched the plant close and decimate the local economy, are fed up. They are adamantly not backing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, despite their misgivings about Donald Trump.

Advertisement

Trump scares me a little with some of the things he says, but Im more willing to take a chance on that rather than a chance on the status quo, said Allspach, 65. The middle class, they are being squished.

Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Sign up for the newsletter | The race to 270

The Allspachs are typical of a demographic  older, white, less educated  that mostly backs Trump and is more concentrated in Iowa, where 91% of residents are white and three of four adults lack college degrees. The populace is a key reason that Trump is doing well in a state that President Obama won twice. Add to the mix an embrace of Trump by conservative leaders here and Democrats who are lukewarm about Clinton, and Iowa is suddenly regarded as the state most likely to flip from blue to red in next months election.

You look at our disproportionate amount of white, non-college graduate citizens and thats a demographic nationally Donald Trump is over-performing with, especially in many of our communities in the eastern part of the state that traditionally have supported pro-labor Democrat candidates, said former state GOP chairman Matt Strawn. Those are voters that the Democrats have really lost their way with.

Trump was ahead of Clinton by nearly five points in an average of the last four polls of Iowa voters, according to Real Clear Politics. Thats eight points better than his national standing.

Particularly among rural residents hammered by layoffs, such as those recently announced at John Deere and Flexsteel plants in the state, Trumps message about punishing companies who move jobs overseas and cracking down on international trade deals resonates here.

The states popular governor, Terry Branstad  the nations longest-serving governor with 21 years in office  has enthusiastically backed Trump, along with every other top Republican elected official in the state. Trumps organizational effort, lacking in much of the nation, appears to be stronger here. Thats partly because it includes well-connected players in Iowa politics, such as Branstads son Eric, who is Trumps state director.

He has also received the support of top evangelical leaders, a potent voting force in Iowa Republican politics. Last week, Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition president and Republican National Committeeman Steve Scheffler introduced Trump at a Council Bluffs rally by calling Clinton an evil, pathological woman.

Clinton does have a stronger get-out-the-vote effort in Iowa. But she lags behind Obamas, as evidenced by one early measure  requests for absentee ballots.

Shortly before early voting began, about 67,000 Democrats had requested them in Iowa, about half the total of four years ago, according to the secretary of states office.

Though its more than double those requested by Republicans, Democrats rely more on early voting in this state.

Clintons campaign acknowledges a close race here that could be decided by a couple thousand votes, but insist they are hitting their goals because they are focused on putting away Trump rather than trying to replicate what Obama did.

Thats a recognition that Clinton never had the network here that Obama did, or her family has in other states. In 1992, Bill Clinton did not compete in Iowa because longtime Sen. Tom Harkin was running for president. In 2008, Hillary Clinton came in an embarrassing third in the caucuses. This year, Clinton barely edged Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the contest, the first proof that the 75-year-old self-described socialist would be a potent force in the Democratic primary.

The lack of enthusiasm for Clinton is evident in Beaverdale, a liberal neighborhood of brick neo-Tudor homes in the northwest part of Des Moines that worked so hard for Obama it was deemed Obamadale.

I dont think she has the charisma that he had, said Tom Coleman, the owner of a confectionery in the heart of the tree-lined neighborhood and a devoted Democrat who said he is reluctantly voting for Clinton. Obama walked up my street, he has been in my backyard, he said.

In Iowa as elsewhere, Clinton has also struggled to hold together the coalition that propelled Obamas victories, notably millennials who backed Sanders. Her campaign sent him here to shore up support Wednesday.

But some of his supporters remain bitter about their narrow loss in the caucuses, which in some cases was decided by coin flips; their unhappiness was buttressed by hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee this summer that suggested the national party favored Clinton during the primaries.

Bernie gave them a new vision; he really kind of roused people up, said Brandon Bock, who supported Sanders in the caucuses but now backs Clinton and spent his 24th birthday watching last weeks debate at a downtown Des Moines bar. He got people excited about the political process. Shes been involved in politics so long and people just want that new face.

This is all deeply frustrating to Clinton supporters, who believe that Trump does not represent the neighborliness described as Iowa nice.

Denise Donald, a British expat who moved to Iowa as a nanny and holds weekly woman-to-woman phone banks at her sprawling, farmhouse-chic Southside Des Moines home, is perplexed. About a dozen women gather in her home to call 90 voters each every week, noshing on brie, French macaroons and crudites, trying not to step on the three lapdogs scurrying underfoot who were rescued from puppy mills.

I dont understand why its as close as it is, said the 64-year-old, who cast her first presidential vote for Bill Clinton after becoming a citizen. Were killing ourselves trying to help, and its very frustrating when you feel youre not making a difference.

seema.mehta@latimes.com

For the latest on national and California politics, follow @LATSeema on Twitter.

Why is Trump still winning our poll? White men and uncertain voters

Trump v. Clinton as cliffhanger TV: Its gone on too long, but we cant stop watching

Republicans turned off by Trump still dont want to vote for Clinton, but her campaign keeps trying
In the deluge of Republicans denouncing Donald Trumps lascivious boasts about groping women, a common refrain emerged Saturday: The GOP nominee should withdraw from the ticket.

The pleas to step aside came from many corners of the GOP universe, including Hugh Hewitt, the conservative radio host, and South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a member of the Republican congressional leadership.

Trump has so far defiantly rejected calls to withdraw. But even if Republicans managed to persuade him to bow out, their political headache would not suddenly vanish. An attempt to replace Trump on the ticket would pose staggering logistical hurdles.

Advertisement

Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Sign up for the newsletter | The race to 270

For one thing, Trumps name will undoubtedly remain on the ballot.

Across the country, election officials have already prepped and printed voting materials. Overseas and military voters must receive their ballots 45 days prior to the election, a deadline that passed last month.

And in states that offer early voting  including swing states such as Florida and Iowa  more than 400,000 people have already cast ballots, according to a database maintained by University of Florida professor Michael McDonald.

The election is already underway, McDonald said in an interview. There is no way to replace Trumps name on the ballot.

The mechanics of designating an alternative GOP nominee to Trump are also thorny.

Under Republican National Committee rules, the party has no authority to unilaterally dump the nominee. An attempt to change the rules would be really unprecedented and probably create a civil war and lawsuits, said one GOP elections expert who was granted anonymity to speak frankly.

The party does have the authority under Rule 9 of the RNC rules to name a replacement if a candidate dies or otherwise vacates the nomination. That means Trump would have to willingly step aside for Republicans to tap a new nominee.

In that unlikely event  Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday that there is zero chance hell withdraw  the RNC rules committee would then vote on a new nominee. Most of the Republicans calling for Trump to step aside have floated vice presidential nominee Mike Pence as a replacement.

But that could set the stage for yet another battle for a party still scarred by its fractious primary, when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ran a detailed but ultimately unsuccessful operation exploiting complex party rules to scoop up stray delegates who might have otherwise gone to Trump.

Even if the party were to settle on a replacement, it would then take on the tall task of persuading voters to line up behind its new pick, even though that persons name would not be on the ballot.

The voters would be confused. They would still see Trumps name on the ballot. They would still have to effectively cast a vote for Trump, McDonald said. How many people would know that vote was not actually for Trump but for another person?

Republicans could also look to an even more convoluted path to stop Trump: the electoral college.

When people vote in presidential elections, they are technically choosing their states electors, who will vote when the electoral college meets in December.

Under one scenario explained by UC Irvine law professor Rick Hasen, the Republican Party could urge electors won by Trump to give their electoral votes to an alternate candidate such as Pence.

Hasen called such a move an electoral college Hail Mary.

It requires a number of things to happen, Hasen said in an interview. It requires [Hillary] Clinton to not get a majority [of electoral votes.] It requires Trump to withdraw, which he says hes not doing, or it would require Republicans to urge a vote for him but for the electors to vote against him.

But Hasen said its far more feasible that the GOP simply cuts its losses on the presidential race and turns their focus to congressional battles.

Whats likely to happen is that Trump remains on the ballot and loses badly, and Republicans pull out everything to hold the Senate and House, he said.

Times staff writer Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

melanie.mason@latimes.com

Follow @melmason for the latest on national politics.

Heres a list of the Republicans who have condemned Trump or demanded he quit

What the mics caught Donald Trump saying in 2005 and what he said in his taped apology

To win Sundays town hall debate, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump should take a page from Bill Clintons book
The release of a recording of Donald Trump bragging about groping women drew harsh statements from both Republicans and Democrats condemning the GOP presidential nominee.

Some who spoke up had already said they would not vote for Trump, but others withdrew their support in the hours after the video was released.

There were also calls for him to step down. Heres what some politicians and prominent figures had to say:

The full list: Love Trump or Leave Trump 

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence

"As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video. I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. ... We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night."

The back story: Pence joined the ticket as Trumps running mate this summer. He earned accolades for his performance against Tim Kaine in the vice presidential debate, but many noted he did little to defend his running mate. The day after the release of the video, Pence was a no show at a Wisconsin event where he was supposed to fill in for Trump. His campaign schedule was changed to read: Please check back later for an updated schedule.

Read more >>

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan

I am sickened by what I heard today. 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.

The back story: In recent months, Ryan, who is still supporting Trump, has criticized the GOP nominee for making what he called "the textbook definition of a racist comment. He was referring to Trump's argument that the Mexican ancestry of an Indiana-born judge made it impossible for him to preside impartially over a federal fraud suit against Trump University, the nominee's defunct real estate education program.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

"There are no excuses for Donald Trumps offensive and demeaning comments. No woman should ever be victimized by this kind of inappropriate behavior. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences. [Oct. 7]

"In addition to my well known differences with Donald Trump on public policy issues, I have raised questions about his character after his comments on Prisoners of War, the Khan Gold Star family, Judge Curiel and earlier inappropriate comments about women. Just this week, he made outrageous statements about the innocent men in the Central Park Five case

I have wanted to support the candidate our party nominated. He was not my choice, but as a past nominee, I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set. I thought I owed his supporters that deference.

But Donald Trumps behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy. Cindy, with her strong background in human rights and respect for women fully agrees with me in this.

Cindy and I will not vote for Donald Trump. I have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate and we will not vote for Hillary Clinton. We will write in the name of some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be President." [Oct. 8]

The back story: McCains backing of Trump was never rock solid. Trump suggested earlier in the campaign that McCain should not be considered a war hero for being captured during his service in Vietnam.

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

For the first time since I became a citizen in 1983, I will not vote for the Republican candidate for President.  But as proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else - American.

The back story: Schwarzenegger this year took over as host of NBC's "The Apprentice," the show that made Trump a reality star. In his statement, Schwarzenegger did not back another candidate. He has never voiced support for Trump. Schwarzenegger faced allegations of sexual harassment when he ran for governor during the 2003 recall election. The allegations, first reported in The Times, included women who came forward to say he had groped them on movie sets. He ultimately beat sitting Gov. Gray Davis and a slew of other candidates.

Read more >>

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)

"His comments are totally inappropriate and offensive." [Oct. 7]

I wanted to be able to support my partys nominee, chosen by the people, because I feel strongly that we need a change of direction for our country. However, Im a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women. I will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton but instead will be writing in Governor [Mike] Pence for president on election day. [Oct. 8]

The back story: Ayotte is up for reelection and had previously struggled to justify her support for Trump.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich

Nothing that has happened in the last 48 hours is surprising to me or many others. Many people were angry and questioned why I would not endorse Donald Trump or attend the Republican Convention.

The back story: Kasich has long been a foe of Trumps, assailing his caustic rhetoric throughout the GOP primary. hes remained steadfast in his opposition to Trump.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert

Donald Trump's statements are beyond offensive & despicable. While I cannot vote for Hillary Clinton, I will not vote for Trump.

The back story: Herbert had previously supported Trump.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)

These comments are obviously very inappropriate and offensive and his apology was absolutely necessary"

The back story: Corker is on Trump's national security advisory council and is still supporting his candidacy.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)

"As a woman, a mother, and a grandmother to three young girls, I am deeply offended by Mr. Trump's remarks, and there is no excuse for the disgusting and demeaning language. Women have worked hard to gain the dignity and respect we deserve. The appropriate next step may be for him to reexamine his candidacy."

The back story: Capito had expressed reservations about Trump in the past but more recently had been supporting him. She is not up for reelection, and her states five electoral votes have gone to the GOP for the last four elections.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

"These comments are repugnant, and unacceptable in any circumstance. As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape."

The back story: McConnell, who spoke at the Republican National Convention, had previously said he planned to support the nominee. He has not withdrawn that support.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)

Donald's comments were vulgar, egregious [and] impossible to justify. No one should ever talk about any woman in those terms, even in private.

The back story: Rubio, who vied for the Republican nomination himself, had spoken harshly about Trump during the primaries. More recently hes been actively campaigning for his former opponent, saying the voters chose him.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush

As the grandfather of two precious girls, I find that no apology can excuse away Donald Trump's reprehensible comments degrading women.

The back story: At one time, Jeb Bush was considered a top contender for his partys nomination. Instead, he faded fast. Bush has made it clear hes not a Trump fan but has said neither that he will or will note vote for him. Its worth noting that Bill Bush, the former Access Hollywood host also heard in the 2005 recording, is his first cousin.

Mitt Romney, 2012 Republican nominee

Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America's face to the world.

The back story: Romney, his partys nominee four years ago, has been the most prominent member of his party to actively denounce Trump. Romney had previously called Trump a phony and a fraud.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.)

"It is never appropriate to condone unwanted sexual advances or violence against women. Mr. Trump must realize that it has no place in public or private conversations today or in the past."

The back story: McMorris Rodgers is the highest ranking GOP woman. Ahead of the May primary in Washington she endorsed Trump with the caveat that she wouldnt shy away from criticizing him. She has not said she is withdrawing that support.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)

These comments are disturbing and inappropriate, there is simply no excuse for them.

The back story: Cruz and Trump had numerous bitter exchanges during the primaries and Cruz did not endorse the nominee in his speech at the GOP convention. Trump has suggested Cruzs father played a role in John F. Kennedys assassination and insulted Cruzs wife. In September, Cruz surprised many by giving Trump a clear endorsement, giving a lengthy explanation. Bottom line: He thought Hillary Clinton was worse.

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)

[Trump] should drop out. GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement.

The back story: Kirk made it clear prior to the new revelations that he would never vote for Trump.

Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.)

For the good of the country, and to give Republicans a chance at defeating Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump should step aside.  Mr. Trump should put the country first and do the right thing.

The back story: Coffman, who served in the Marines, previously said he would support Trump if he was elected but did not offer a clear endorsement of his candidacy.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah)

Im out. I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine.

My wife, Julie and I, we've got a 15-year-old daughter. You think I can look her in the eye and tell her that I endorse Donald Trump for president when he acts like this?

The back story: Chaffetz had been supporting Trump up until the release of the lewd audio and video.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)

Donald Trump is a distraction. It's time for him to step aside so we can focus on the winning ideas that will carry Republicans through to a victory in November."

The back story: Lee led the fight against Trump at the GOP convention.

Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.)

We deserve a candidate that can ask themselves at the end of the day 'did I live my life with honor, and do I deserve to be elected President of the United States? ... I believe our only option is to formally ask Mr. Trump to step down."

The back story: Heck is in a tough Senate race against former Nevada Atty. Gen. Catherine Masto Cortez. He previously supported Trump.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

I cannot and will not support Donald Trump for president. He has forfeited the right to be our partys nominee.

The back story: Murkowski is up for reelection in Alaska and had previously indicated she would support Trump. She, along with her colleague in Alaska, Dan Sullivan, withdrew their support.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska)

Ive worked to encourage men to choose respect and change the culture of abuse against women and children, which is at epidemic levels in Alaska and many parts of the country. We need national leaders who can lead by example on this critical issue. The reprehensible revelations about Donald Trump have shown that he cant.

The back story: In recent months, Sullivan indicated he would support Trump. Yet after the release of the recordings of Trump making lewd comments, he, along with his colleague, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), withdrew their support.

Condoleezza Rice

Enough! Donald Trump should not be president. He should withdraw. As a Republican, I hope to support someone who has the dignity and stature to run for the highest office in the greatest democracy on earth.

The back story: Rice is a former secretary of State under George W. Bushs administration and has for the most part remained out of the presidential campaign. She had not endorsed Trump.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

Going around media filters you clearly see one candidate offering a bold vision with solid plans to build a stronger, safer, greater America, while the career politician in the race offers only tired, sad, unsustainable, illogical ways of the past that will leave our children unsafe, broken and abused.

The back story: Palin, who was John McCains running mate in 2008, has been an ardent supporter of Trump. She endorsed his campaign during the GOP primary and is not wavering in her support of his candidacy.

Rob Portman (R-Ohio)

Donald Trump's comments were offensive and wrong. I had hoped to support the candidate my party nominated in the primary process. I thought it was appropriate to respect the millions of voters across the country who chose Donald Trump as the Republican Party nominee. While I continue to respect those who still support Donald Trump, I can no longer support him. 

The back story: In recent months, Portman has stressed that he would support whoever is the Republican presidential nominee. Yet whenever Trump traveled to his state to hold rallies, Portman was a no-show, often citing scheduling conflicts.

Additional images courtesy of the Associated Press, Getty Images and CQ Roll Call.

For more political news follow @kurtisalee

kurtis.lee@latimes.com

MORE ON TRUMP

Trump apologizes amid Republican uproar over his boasts about groping women

Transcripts: What the mics caught Trump saying in 2005 and what he said in his apology

Opinion: Audio of Trump's misogyny is stunning -- but will it make voters flee him?

'Today' co-host Billy Bush apologizes for crude sex banter with Trump

UPDATES:

4:01 p.m.: This article updates with Palins continued support and comments from Rice.

3 p.m: This article updates with Ryans statement and comments.

2:11 p.m. This article was updated with additional comments from McCain.

12:47 p.m.: This article was updated with additional background on Schwarzeneggers 2003 run for governor and comments from Sullivan.

12:15 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Schwarzenegger, Kasich and Heck.

11:12 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from Pence.

10:33 a.m.: This article was updated with reaction from Herbert and Moore Capito.

Oct. 8, 10:05 a.m.: This article was updated with Ayottes decision to withdraw her support, comments from Herbert and information about each persons previous position.

10:10 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Reps. Mike Coffman and Jason Chaffetz, and Sen. Mike Lee.

This article was originally published at 8:55 p.m., Oct. 7
Boeing Still Believes it will Beat SpaceX to Mars -- Seriously?

SLS launch (illustration). (Photo : Boeing)

Call it braggadocio but Boeing truly believes it can beat SpaceX to Mars because its building the only other rocket that can beat SpaceX's Falcon Heavy to the Red Planet and despite a one-year delay in the first flight of its first crewed spacrcraft.



"I'm convinced that the first person to step foot on Mars will arrive there riding on a Boeing rocket," said Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg.



Advertisement

Like SpaceX, Boeing believes the future of commercial space travel lies with private firms transporting people and cargo between numerous locations beyond Earth. Boeing is also working on technology to transport astronauts to Mars.



Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Dragon V2 crewed spacecraft will be used to ferry the space agency's commercial crew to the International Space Station (ISS).



Boeing, however, will have a lot of catching up to do.



Last May, Boeing announced it was delaying to 2018 from 2017 the first crewed flight of its CST-100 Starliner. This means SpaceX and its Dragon spacecraft has all but won the race spawned by NASA's Commercial Crew Program.



Elon Musk's SpaceX remains on track to send its Dragon V2 with its first crew of NASA astronauts on a 14-day mission to the ISS by April 2017. On the other hand, a crewed flight carrying one NASA astronaut and one Boeing test pilot to the ISS originally set for 2017 is now scheduled for February 2018.



SpaceX is still scheduled to send an uncrewed flight of its Dragon spacecraft to the ISS in December 2016 followed by its first crewed flight test to the ISS. The crewed version of Dragon is called the Dragon V2.



The only thing or things that can prevent SpaceX from crossing the finish line first would be a set of unexpected circumstances similar to the ones that derailed Boeing's bid. In Boeing's case, these were a series of technical issues and new requirements from NASA.



"We're working towards our first unmanned flight in 2017 followed by a manned astronaut flight in 2018," said Leanne Caret, Boeing executive vice president, confirming the delay.



Despite acknowledging the delay, Caret still hopes Boeing will be the first company to fly its commercial crew vehicle.



"It is our vision that the CST-100 will be the first of the new American capsules to take astronauts to space," she said.



Which is another way of saying she wishes something will derail SpaceX winning this race. And there's a chance that might occur, as Boeing can attest to in this case.



The last American spacecraft to travel to the ISS was the space shuttle Atlantis. The space shuttle also flew the last shuttle mission on July 21, 2011, capping close to 30 years of spectacular missions that began on April 12, 1981 when Columbia took to space.



Since then, the U.S. has been paying the Russians to fly Americans to the ISS on Russian Soyuz capsules at some $70 million a passenger.



SpaceX has already achieved notable firsts in this space race against Boeing. On May 25, 2012, a Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with and attach to the ISS. Previously, in December 2010, Dragon became the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to be recovered successfully from orbit.


Republican elected officials, who had stuck by Donald Trump through months of controversy, began to flee his campaign Saturday even as the embattled GOP nominee vowed not to quit the presidential race.

One day after a video became public in which Trump could be heard boasting that he could grope women because when youre a star, they let you do it, his campaign appeared on the verge of melting down.

Trump struck a defiant tone, rejecting demands by a growing number of fellow Republicans that he step aside. I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! the candidate tweeted Saturday. He made similar statements in several newspaper interviews.

But throughout the day, one prominent Republican after another rescinded support for him.

Advertisement

By late afternoon, the list of elected officials saying they would not vote for Trump included five of the six female Republicans in the Senate and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the partys 2008 nominee. Several called for Trump to step down from the ticket.

As more potentially damaging quotes from Trumps past began to surface  including excerpts from radio interviews with Howard Stern in which Trump talked about his sexual practices and disparaged women older than 35  party officials scrambled. Their goal was to try to prevent what they see as a now-inevitable collapse at the top of the ticket from destroying their chances of retaining control of the House and Senate.

Trumps own running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, said Saturday he cannot defend Trumps comments about women.

As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video, said Pence, who skipped a campaign stop in Wisconsin where he was to fill in for Trump alongside House Speaker Paul D. Ryan. I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them.

For the first time in many weeks, Pences official campaign schedule was blank except for a note saying, Please check back later.

If Trump were to quit, despite his promises to continue, the Republican National Committee could replace him with Pence or someone else, according to Rule 9 of the partys bylaws.

But election law experts said the party does not have the authority to dump Trump without his agreement.

If the candidate resigned, the national committee could meet to elect a new nominee. That would take a majority vote, which could prove difficult, and with election day less than a month away, the timing would be extraordinarily difficult.

It also would be unprecedented, and probably launch a civil war within the party  and lawsuits, said one senior GOP rules expert.

Among the first elected officials to say she no longer would back Trump was Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who is locked in a close battle for reelection in New Hampshire. Ayotte said she would write in Pence on her ballot rather than vote for Trump.

I cannot and will not support a candidate who brags about degrading and assaulting women, she wrote.

Less than a week ago, in a televised debate, Ayotte had said that Trump could be a role model  a remark she tried to take back the next day, but which her Democratic opponent already had featured in an attack ad.

Sens. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska followed. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said Trump should reexamine his candidacy. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine had said in August that she would not support Trump. The one exception among the GOP women in the Senate, Joni Ernst of Iowa, put out a statement condemning Trumps remarks but not withdrawing her endorsement.

A few hours after Ayotte released her statement, Republican Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada, who also is in the middle of a closely contested race, said at a rally in Las Vegas that he, too, would not support Trump.

I can no longer look past the pattern of behavior and comments that have been made by Donald Trump, he said. Therefore, I cannot in good conscience continue to support Donald Trump.

Hecks statement drew some boos from the crowd, an indication of the potential trouble that Republicans running for office may face as they try to distance themselves from the partys nominee without alienating voters who still support him.

The states Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, soon issued a statement joining Hecks stand. So did former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Late in the afternoon, McCain joined the parade, saying in a statement that Trumps behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the third-ranking Republican in the chamber, and Sen. Mike Crapo, from reliably Republican Idaho, also called for Trump to step down from the ticket. So did Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama, whose statement early Saturday appeared to trigger a growing number of others.

Detailed results from the USC Dornsife/LAT daily tracking poll 

And Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard who briefly sought the GOP nomination, said Pence should replace Trump at the top of the ticket.

As the groundswell built, Hugh Hewitt, an influential conservative radio host, urged Trump to step down as the nominee, predicting that more damaging revelations from Trumps past would be unearthed.

Hewitt had been a reluctant, but ultimately committed, Trump supporter. In the spring, he had called for Republicans to change their nominating convention rules to replace Trump as the nominee.

But he embraced Trump in June, arguing that the GOP candidate would be better in fighting terrorism than Hillary Clinton. In July, he said that of course he was voting for Trump, citing the power to appoint Supreme Court justices as his top concern.

On Saturday, he said Trump should step down for the benefit of the country, the party and his family.

Later in the day, Melania Trump issued a statement saying, The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me.

However, she added: This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.

Twitter: @DavidLauter, @melmason

ALSO:

Trump posts video apology, tries to limit damage from vulgar remarks about women

Mike Pence cannot defend Trumps comments, scraps filling in for him at Saturday event

Mitt Romney says hes offended and dismayed by video but stops short of calling on Trump to quit

UPDATES:

3:50 p.m.: This article was updated to correct that Sen. Susan Collins statement that she would not support Trump was made in August, not in the fall.

2:15 p.m.: This article was updated with statements from Sen. John McCain and other elected officials.

12:50 p.m.: This article was updated with Trumps comments on Twitter and a statement from his wife.

11:15 a.m.: This article was updated with a statement from Rep. Joe Heck.

The article was originally published at 10:30 a.m.
With less than a month to go until election day on Nov. 8, Glendale Councilwoman Laura Friedman has out-fundraised opponent City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian in their bid for state Assembly in the 43rd District.

Friedman reported receiving $308,706 in campaign contributions from July 1 to Sept. 24, while Kassakhian received $247,590, including non-monetary contributions, during that same period, according to the Secretary of States financial records. Friedman had no non-monetary contributions.

The two Glendale city officials are vying to succeed Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale), who is termed out at the end of the year.

After shelling out $169,920 in expenditures  mainly for campaign consultants, campaign mailings and polling research  Friedman ended the filing period with $254,636 cash in hand.

Friedmans camp criticized Kassakhians spending after he reported having $124,223 in cash, after spending $157,855 during the three-month filing period. The city clerk has already spent $825,284 since the beginning of the year.

Kassakhian has spent an awful lot of money leaving him with very little for the final weeks of the campaign, wrote Parke Skelton, Friedmans campaign consultant, in an email.

Larry Levine, a campaign consultant for Kassakhian fired back, saying that Friedman continues to take contributions from venture capitalists and billionaires who want to make it easier for politicians and bureaucrats to fire teachers they dont like.

These same people want to drain money from our public schools to fund their own corporate-run schools, Levine wrote in an email.

During the last filing period in June, Kassakhian called out Friedman for receiving campaign contributions from special interest groups outside of the 43rd District.

The Fisher family, the billionaire Bay Area family behind the Gap clothing company, contributed $16,800 during the three-month filing period. The Fishers have donated $33,600 so far this year, according to state financial records.

As far as the Kassakhian campaign is concerned, we have the resources we need to conduct an aggressive and winning campaign, Levine wrote.

--

Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
Keys on Main, a dueling piano club, is coming to The Triangle in downtown Costa Mesa in March, according to a news release.

It will be the chains first location in California. Keys on Main has other clubs in Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.

The venue will take up an 8,500-square-foot space and feature two performers on baby grand pianos who pay songs requested by the audience. Food will include American favorites and a full bar.

Halloween Bootique, a holiday shop, also recently opened at The Triangle.

After Halloween, the shop will relocate to another permanent space within the complex and offer vintage and alternative clothing.

*

Limon returns to NRM as partner

Former Newport Beach Mayor Rush Hill, owner of NRM, a real estate company, has named Alan Limon as partner.

Limon has worked Hills Newport Beach-based company before as a real estate consultant. He also served as Hills chief of staff when he served on the City Council.

Through his strategic thinking, analytical approach, and personal candor, Alan is a true asset to the firm and to our clients, Hill said in a statement. He began his career working for me, and I am truly pleased that due to his accomplishments, he is now my trusted business partner.

*

First Foundation acquires Seal Beach bank branch

First Foundation Bank based in Irvine has entered into an agreement to acquire the Seal Beach branch of Pacific Western Bank, according to a news release.

First Foundation expects to complete the transaction by the end of the year after regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

*

Former Cat Clinic owner starts new practice

Dr. Kelly Wright, former owner of the Cat Clinic of Orange County in Costa Mesa, has opened a new practice.

The feline veterinarians new company is called The Purr Doctor. She offers mobile vet visits to client homes.

For more information, visit thepurrdoctor.com or email drkelly@mypurrdoctor.com.

*

QSC acquires audio company

QSC, LLC, a Costa Mesa-based audio systems supplier, has acquired Ultra-Stereo Labs, Inc.

USL, based in San Luis Obispo and founded in 1982, provides audio signal processing and audio-visual test and measurement products.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

As the first major acquisition in the nearly 50-year history of our company, we naturally wanted to find a company that would be an excellent strategic fit for QSC, Jatan Shah, QSCs chief executive officer, said in a statement.

We recognize the many valuable contributions that USL has made to the cinema industry over the years and are confident that the integration of the two companies will provide an even more powerful total value proposition for our customers, he said.

*

Sagacity to offer mental health class

Sagacity | HR, a Costa Mesa-based human resources consulting firm, is offering a mental health first aid training course on Oct. 26.

The class goes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa hotel, 3050 Bristol St., Costa Mesa.

Registration is $259. For more information or to sign up, visit sagacityhr.com or email Noma Bruton at noma@sagacityhr.com.

*

Cole Haan coming to South Coast Plaza

Cole Haan, an American lifestyle brand and retailer, is opening a new flagship store at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa this month.

South Coast Plaza is the ideal place to showcase our innovative footwear and accessories as we expand our presence for our West Coast customers, David Maddocks, chief marketing officer and general manager of business development at Cole Haan, said in a statement.

*

Mothers Market hosts 38th anniversary event

Mothers Market and Kitchen, a Costa Mesa-based natural and organic foods retailer, is having its 38th anniversary event Oct. 15.

The Harvest Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Santa Ana Mothers Market, 151 E. Memory Lane.

The event includes free samples of products, a drawing and live music.

It has been an honor to have served the Orange County community these past 38 years by providing high-quality natural and organic foods, and a wide selection of supplements, Mo Payette, CEO of Mothers Market and Kitchen, said in a statement. We look forward to continuing to support the community and hope Orange County families will join us for our 38th anniversary celebration as it promises to be a fun day with lots of enjoyable family activities.
Four months after the Costa Mesa Planning Commission gave it thumbs down, a proposed self-storage project on Bristol Street is back  retooled and resubmitted for the citys consideration.

The most notable feature this time isnt necessarily what the project applicant hopes to build but what it proposes to maintain: some of the existing businesses that faced the wrecking ball earlier this year.

The reconfigured project on Mondays commission agenda still calls for demolishing much of the existing Autoplex strip mall at 375 Bristol St. to make way for hundreds of new storage units.

The current plan would retain 12,500 square feet  roughly one-third  of the existing retail space. The rest would be demolished to make way for 719 new storage units in a two-story facility on the 3.2-acre property.

The previous proposal called for leveling the entire strip mall and building 774 storage units, along with a freestanding 5,000-square-foot food hall.

The revised plan, a joint venture of property owners Sanderson J. Ray Development of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa-based Cardinal Development, scraps the food hall element.

The new project is really more of a dramatic facelift on the property, project spokesman Paul Freeman said. It doesnt have that same separate food hall element, but it will look a lot nicer, and it will be viable.

On June 13, planning commissioners voted 4-1 to recommend that the City Council deny the original proposal, saying developers should do more to work with business owners who would be displaced. Chairman Robert Dickson dissented.

We wanted to look for redevelopment that made sense, Freeman said in a recent interview. We heard what the Planning Commission said, to try and work with the tenants, and thats what we did.

Given the constraints of the site, particularly its proximity to John Wayne Airport, Freeman said finding anything that works is a good outcome.

Among the establishments proposed to stay open on the site are Sandwich World and Sushi Imari  two restaurants whose proposed closure caused heartburn for some residents when the project originally went before the commission.

Automobile-related businesses also would remain.

Weve reached out to all the tenants and, while theres not room to accommodate all of them, we made plain that we wanted to know who had an interest in staying, Freeman said. We do have signed agreements with a number of tenants as a result of that effort.

A collection of Autoplex business owners strongly opposed the original project and lobbied against it.

Dan Krogh, who runs Dans Autocare Express in the Autoplex, was among them.

He told the Daily Pilot last summer that he had been unable to find space in Costa Mesa to relocate and was worried about possibly having to move miles from his customers.

In a letter to the city Sept.10, Krogh wrote that he appreciates the projects proponents working to address tenants concerns.

We believe the changes made to the original plan will make for a better and more successful project, he wrote. It will help my business and the people we serve here in Costa Mesa.

If approved as proposed, the self-storage leasing office would be open from 8a.m. to 6p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 9a.m. to 5p.m. Sundays.

Customers would be able to access the facility between 7a.m. and 8p.m. daily.

City staff is recommending that the commission endorse the revised project, which would still be subject to City Council approval.

Mondays commission meeting starts at 6p.m. at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter: @LukeMMoney
The Balboa Theater, a longtime community fixture on the Balboa Peninsula, would be sold to a Costa Mesa developer for $1 million under a proposal the Newport Beach City Council will consider Tuesday night.

The council voted in April to enter a nine-month exclusive negotiating agreement to work with Lab Holding LLC, the company behind The Lab and The Camp in Costa Mesa, on a proposal to rejuvenate the 88-year-old theater building, which has been vacant for years.

The agreement was intended to give the city and Lab Holding time to finalize a plan and negotiate a sale of the city-owned property to Lab, which proposes to update the Balboa Boulevard venue and maintain it as a theater.

Lab Holding is proposing to restore the theaters original architecture, including the marquee, which likely would reflect the 1920s wrought-iron style. The venue is proposed to have a cafe that would open to the street, a small stage for live music and a second stage for private events. The live-music stage would have an indoor pub but no seating.

The theater likely would not show films, according to preliminary plans.

We are excited by the opportunity to resurrect this community amenity for Balboa Village, Lab Holding founder Shaheen Sadeghi wrote in his proposal to the city.

The theater, built in the late 1920s during a time when building codes were limited, needs significant work before it is safe to reopen, officials say.

The building is considered structurally deficient, according to a city staff report. It also needs new plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems.

The theaters value in its current condition is $890,000, according to appraisals commissioned by the city. When it is remodeled and updated to comply with building codes, its value is expected to be about $1.6million.

Lab Holding officials estimate they will spend about $2million to remodel the theater to meet current requirements, the staff report states.

The venue first opened in 1928 as the Ritz Theater and originally hosted vaudeville shows before operating briefly as a speakeasy during the tail end of the Prohibition era, according to historical accounts.

In 1939, the site became known as the Balboa Theater and began showing films. In the early 1970s, it was an adult theater showing X-rated movies under the name Pussycat Theatres. By the late 70s, it had transformed again, showing revivals of popular films.

The city bought the property in 1998 for $480,000. The theater fell on hard times and was shuttered in 1992.

In the years after its closure, some residents held out hope that the theater would again entertain the masses.

The Balboa Performing Arts Theater Foundation launched a fundraising effort in 2010 to renovate the building with plans to transform it into a 320-seat multi-use venue featuring musical acts, dance and theater performances, films and performing-arts education. But the fundraising did not prove fruitful.

In 2014, the city proposed turning the theater into a city-run fine-arts center offering exhibitions, movies, live performances and workshops in arts, crafts and music. But it was difficult to find widespread support for a city-run theater, council members said.

Tuesdays council meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 100 Civic Center Drive.
An attorney whose house was raided by Orange County sheriffs deputies this week accused the agency of retaliating against him for repeatedly suing the county and advocating for marijuana legalization.

Matthew Pappas, whose clients include marijuana dispensaries in Costa Mesa and Santa Ana, said deputies removed confidential papers and digital video recorders from his home office in Mission Viejo.

Orange County sheriffs Lt. Mark Stichter said the Tuesday evening search was related to a narcotics investigation regarding Pappass adult daughter  not her fathers law practice.

Stichter said deputies found an unspecified amount of methamphetamine, heroin, a syringe and a digital scale in the home.

Stichter said no arrests were made, but the sheriffs department was compiling evidence tor turn over to the district attorneys office.

Pappas has represented marijuana dispensaries in lawsuits against the county since 2010. One of his clients is Costa Mesa Collective, a marijuana store that operated in the 2000 block of Harbor Boulevard. A lawsuit alleges Costa Mesa police did not have a proper search warrant in January when several employees were arrested there.

A video was released on the Internet in January showing the raid on the marijuana store, where Pappas claims police disabled security cameras but missed a hidden recording system.

Pappas said authorities raided his home because of his contentious history with the county, not because they believe his adult daughter is a drug dealer.

They know shes not some drug kingpin, he said, adding that she developed a drug problem after doctors prescribed her opiods for a 2011 head injury.

My daughter has an addiction issue, but she is not a drug dealer, and they know it, Pappas said. She can barely walk.

Pappas asserted that deputies searched his home in retaliation for his legal practice. He said one of the deputies mentioned his past cases against the county.

They were in my room for almost the entire time, despite being there for [my daughter], Pappas said. They were going through my office, and they ordered me to open my safe with confidential papers. Why would they do that, if they were there for [her]?

Stichter said deputies followed protocol during the search.

It was a search warrant, so whenever we are serving that warrant, we dont know the dangers that will be in that house, Stichter said. We do the same things every time we serve a warrant to protect our officers.

Pappas also said authorities mistreated another one of his children, a minor who was studying with a friendat the time of the search.

Pappas said that child, a teenager, suffered an injury to her back after being thrown against a wall and that a deputys handcuffs cut one of her wrists.

The guys that came in had guns pointed ... " Pappas said.

Stichter said he was not aware of the teens alleged injuries, adding that handcuffs were used because the child was uncooperative.

Following Tuesday nights events, Pappas checked into a hotel with all of his confidential papers and computers because he said he needed to protect client information.

My house is in shambles, Pappas said. I have a duty to keep these things confidential.

Deputies did not remove any papers or digital devices from the home, Stichter said.

benjamin.brazil@latimes.com

Twitter: @benbrazilpilot
Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church in Eagle Rock began more than 100 years ago. According to one of its adherents whos compiling a history on the church, it was made possible by what might now be called crowdfunding.

It only seats 75 people, said Anita Britt, a parishioner who is leading an effort to document St. Barnabas past.

Founded as a mission in 1908, services were held in private residences and a Masonic temple  now an American Legion hall  until a church was built at the corner of Norwalk Avenue and Ellenwood Drive. Todays church, paid for entirely by private donations, was built in 1924.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

I started going as a teenager, Britt, a retired child psychologist, recalled. My mom was buried there in 1990. My daughter was married there.

Shes lived in Eagle Rock on and off for more than 30 years and said she considers St. Barnabas to be an integral part of Eagle Rock.

I could walk there, Britt said.

Britt, who said she recently counted 15 people at a Sunday service, said that the rectory is now a halfway house because St. Barnabas has no priest  the diocese considers the congregation to be too small  so the Episcopalian Church provides priests every week.

St. Barnabas fell below the threshold, said Britt, citing controversial issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage and female clergy as factors in declining church attendance.

Everything was changing and people became disillusioned, she said.

If attendance continues to decline, she said, the property may be sold.

That would be unfortunate to at least one resident who is not Episcopalian. Eric Warren, vice president of the Eagle Rock Historical Society, described St. Barnabas as the prettiest little church in Eagle Rock during a recent interview.

Im not a believer, he said. But my childhood best friends mother was very active at St. Barnabas and Id see her embroidering beautiful altar cloths and ceremonial dresses worn by priests. So, besides being a nice piece of architecture, its part of Eagle Rocks history.

Warren said that the historical society is cooperating with the history project.

Of course, were interested in seeing this lovely little church preserved, he said. The interior is graced by a number of [artisan] windows by the Judson Studios in Highland Park, where theyve manufactured stained glass windows for over 100 years.

Church windows include a depiction of the landmark eagle rock, Britt said, adding that stained glass research is in progress.

We have a couple of saints to identify, she said, noting that scenes include loaves and fishes, the enunciation and the virgin birth.

Were trying to find out more about the pipe organ, she said.

Britts efforts, she said, are bearing rewards.

Im going through boxes of old clippings, she said. We know basic things  that Eagle Rock was all farmland, and my house was probably an avocado orchard  and that priests went out on horseback inviting people to come to church.

Britt said that the churchs namesake remains a mystery. All I know is that Barnabas wrote some of the New Testament and was a cousin to St. Paul, she said, noting that saints are not as revered in Episcopalian faith.

At the church, weekly meals are served to the homeless and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings have been held there for the past 27 years, so St. Barnabas provides private charity, she said.

However, she said that a bulletin board needs fixing, restrooms need painting and an upstairs meeting hall needs work. So, she figures that generating interest in the churchs past might somehow secure its future.

For me, its a connection to history  its connected to everything in Eagle Rock  with building materials supplied by Eagle Rock Lumber, outreach programs such as AA and Head Start that use the church and the halfway house. I care a lot about this building.

Holleran is a contributor to Times Community News.

ALSO

Glendale YMCA hoping for funds through Purple Purse Challenge

Longtime JPL manager looking forward to new role

Glendale police add pink vehicles in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month
The latest round of campaign finance reports for the California State Senate race in the 25th District reveal a slight lead in total money raised by the Republican challenger.

During the most recent filing period, which covers July 7 through Sept. 24, Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich received $645,428.59 in total monetary and non-monetary contributions  $21,496.92 more than his Democratic opponent, former state Assemblyman Anthony Portantino.

At the time of filing, more than $335,000 of outstanding debt was disclosed by Portantinos campaign, which according to a financial database by the Sacramento Bee, is more than any other candidates running for the California legislature. The campaign, however, also reports an ending cash balance of almost $440,000.

State law requires campaigns to list bills that are unpaid at the close of a financial reporting period  even if they are paid before the report is actually filed a few days later, said Tim Kirkconnell, a spokesperson for the Portantino campaign.

Thats exactly what happened here. The Portantino campaign had more than enough cash on hand to cover all unpaid bills  and most were duly paid in the days after the reporting period ended. The payments will show up, as they always do, in the next report. End of story.

Among Portantinos accrued expenses at the time of filing were unpaid bills for credit card payments as well as print and TV media, among other expenses.

Antonovichs share of debt, listed at slightly more than $46,000, is attributed to similar expenses, such as consulting and advertising.

Both candidates are competing for the 25th District state Senate seat held by Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Canada), who is termed out. During a June primary, four others were defeated by Antonovich and Portantino, who received roughly 39% and 28% of the vote, respectively.

---------------------

FOR THE RECORD

10/12, 11:23 a.m.: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Sen. Carol Liu chose not to run for re-election. She is termed out.

10/18, 12:25 p.m.: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Senate candidates Michael Antonovich and Anthony Portantino were recently polling at roughly 39% and 28%, but those were the percentages of the votes they received in the June primary election.

---------------------

At a recent candidate forum, a debate between Portantino and Antonovich centered on the issues of homelessness, public employee pensions and an extension of the 710 freeway.

Our campaign is very pleased with the grassroots response of our local fundraising and the support of the Democratic Party, Kirkconnell said. Our momentum is building. We feel great about our position heading into the last month, and we anticipate ending a victorious campaign debt-free.

Antonovich did not immediately return requests for comment.

--

Jeff Landa, jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
A Glendale nonprofit focused on providing services for survivors of domestic violence and abuse is for the second time competing for a shot at winning $100,000 in grant funds.

YWCA of Glendale is the local segment of the national YWCA, organized around providing safety services for women and children including emergency shelters, crisis hotlines and counseling. Locally, the YWCA has the Sunrise Village emergency shelter, which provides a safe location for women and children for up to 45 days.

Along with more than 150 other nonprofit domestic-violence organizations, the Glendale YWCA has entered the sixth annual Purple Purse Challenge.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

The friendly competition is sponsored by the Allstate Foundation, a charity organization that strives to help end domestic violence, along with providing financial education and readiness to survivors who frequently are left with a quality-of-life change.

---------------------

FOR THE RECORD

10/8, 12:13 a.m.: A previous version of this story included an incorrect headline. It is the YWCA, not YMCA.

---------------------

A total of $650,000 is up for grabs this year, split among two divisions based on the budget of the organization.

Tara Peterson, executive director of the Glendale YWCA, joined the organization this past July. Peterson came to the Glendale YWCA after a decade at the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.

She said she recognizes the need to address domestic violence and the importance to participate in the challenge.

Its an opportunity to raise awareness about financial abuse because a lot of people ask the question why doesnt [the victim] just leave? and its not always that easy for very many reasons, Peterson said. Fear is a reason, but also figuring out how they will take care of themselves  and if you add on the fact that they may have children  that creates another barrier.

In addition to funding local services and programs, there are other more modest needs that could be addressed with the grant of the Purple Purse Challenge, according to Peterson.

Something we would love to do is upgrade our computer lab. We have about 12 to 13 computers and theyre just really outdated, Peterson said. We really need to update them so our clients can actually use them to help them find employment or write a resume or different tasks.

All Peterson has to do is perform the everyday struggle of nonprofits  raise lots of money.

The Purple Purse Challenge started Sept. 28 and gives participants until Oct. 25 to receive enough donations to qualify them for the $100,000 grant.

There are still financial rewards for those organizations that dont reach the top spot. The second-place finisher will receive $50,000, and the third-place winner will get $25,000. Organizations that finish in fourth and fifth places will be awarded $20,000 and $15,000, respectively. The Allstate Foundation will also dole out grants during weekly bonus challenges.

Grand prize or not, participating in the challenge still raises money to help domestic-violence survivors during a month dedicated to awareness of the issue. If the Glendale YWCA were to walk away with the grand prize, however, Peterson offered a few long-term ideas of where the donation could go.

We really want to try to figure out how to partner with schools and younger people, Peterson said. There [are] a lot of great opportunities to do that through prevention. To go out to schools, do presentations at schools, to really talk to young people about helping them recognize the signs not just of what is an abusive relationship but what healthy relationships look like.

--

Jeff Landa, jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda

ALSO

State Senate candidates Antonovich and Portantino debate pensions, homelessness and 710 Freeway extension

Bookfest to highlight Glendales history, culture

Sahakian announces bid for Glendale Unified School Districts board
Nine candidates running for six seats on the Crescenta Valley Town Council participated in a forum Thursday evening where they hashed out plans to beautify Foothill Boulevard, push for historical preservation and, for some, take La Crescenta schools out of the Glendale Unified school district.

Joshua Wade, a patent lawyer, told the 20 people in attendance that he was running on a simple platform to control our own destiny and shared his fear of the unincorporated portion of La Crescenta being annexed into the city of Glendale.

He suggested that La Crescenta become its own city and that La Crescenta schools form their own district outside of Glendale Unified.

Longtime town council member Charles Beatty said the council should support a La Crescenta resident to run for the school board  none currently serve on the board. As a last result, he said, the council should look into having our own school district.

This summer, the CV Town Council surveyed residents about forming a smaller district, although Glendale school board President Christine Walters said then a new district would be more damaging than helpful to students.

First-time candidate, Sophal Ear, a Cambodian refugee and Occidental College professor, said he is running to support the areas success. The idea of La Crescenta creating its own school district, he said, needs to remain a credible threat to Glendale Unified.

Jo Ann Stupakis, who works for Glendale Unifieds human resources department, was asked by mediator and current CV Town Council President Robbyn Battles, who is not seeking reelection, if the town councils ongoing concerns with her employer makes her uncomfortable.

I am willing to listen to both sides, she said. It is kind of uncomfortable, but its something I can do.

Stupakis later said that if elected, she would work to preserve the Rockhaven site.

With Battles and member Kyle Studebaker not seeking reelection, there are six seats open on the council, including three alternate seats.

Current member and candidate Mike Claessens said he does not want to see La Crescenta become lost in the shuffle with the election of a new board supervisor stepping into the 5th District seat next year.

Fellow candidate, Aram Ordubegian, who is president of the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce, said he would work to beautify Foothill Boulevard to benefit residents and businesses.

Lisa Griffin, a current alternate on the council, wants to improve communication between La Crescenta businesses and the council and build on the councils vision for urban planning.

Kevin Kang, a college student and fellow alternate, said he was running to give youth in the area a bigger voice, something first-time candidate Alexandra Mirzakhanian also supported.

The election will occur on Nov. 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 7 in Sadler Hall at St. Lukes of the Mountains Episcopal Church, located at 2563 Foothill Blvd.
The concern in Glendale for pedestrian and traffic safety presents a question: Why are so many cars allowed tinted front windows and why are the drivers of these vehicles not being cited? How is one to recognize driver distraction, be it texting or otherwise, if all is hidden behind darkened windows? A visible nod from a driver assures a pedestrian of safe crossing, as does a go-ahead from one driver to another at intersections.

Much has been spent on enhanced crosswalks and other means to reduce accidents, but citing the blackened windows by authorities  windshields and front passenger windows  presents an inexpensive and productive improvement toward increased safety on Glendale streets.

Judith Springborn

Glendale

..

GPD should be less wasteful

For the last few years, the Glendale Police Department headquarters on Isabel has been open for business only 40 to 50 hours per week (the day shift, Monday through Friday). Residents who seek assistance the other hours in the week are routed to 911 operators. This significant reduction in services is blamed on budget shortages.

Yet, waste by GPD continues. Three Saturdays ago, while on an early morning walk along Brand, I observed four police vehicles parked in front of Starbucks, with their engines running. On my return trip 25 minutes later, the vehicles were still there, engines still running, the drivers still in Starbucks. Why are officers taking a break so early in their shift? Why werent the vehicles engines turned off?

A week later, while walking to the courthouse on Broadway, I passed the police station on Isabel on two consecutive days. Each day there were police vehicles parked unoccupied in front of the station between 8:30 and 9 a.m. with their engines running. Is it GPD policy to leave cruisers running while their occupants are in the station?

Is GPD unconcerned about wasteful spending or adding to Glendales air pollution problems? How can these practices be sanctioned in light of the alleged budget shortfall?

Noel Johnson

Glendale

..

Why would anyone set rent below fair market?

Interesting letter from Katherine Hall in the News-Press: Rent prices are set by owners. Of course rental prices are set by owners. Who else should set the price?

A piece of rental property is an investment and as the landlord/owner of that property, part of my job is to maximize the return on that investment, just like anything else I invest in.

If you own a hamburger stand, you get to decide how much you are going to charge for a hamburger. Charge too much and nobody buys the hamburger. Charge fair market and you sell hamburgers.

The same thing applies to rental property. Set rent too high and nobody applies. Set rent at fair market and many people fill out applications. Why would you ever set rent below fair market?

I wonder how the letter writer would feel if some governmental agency jumped in and told her how much money she could make on her investments. I hope she would be angry.

Enough already about the high cost of housing. Glendale gave up on that when they approved 4,200 new apartments with rents ranging from $2,200 for studio to $3,400 for a two-bedroom unit. No city agency told the developers what they could charge so why should they be allowed to tell any landlord/owner what they should charge? The answer is simple. The market should dictate.

Jim Kussman

Glendale

..

Support Portantino for state senate

I had the pleasure of working with Anthony Portantino during our time on the La Canada Flintridge City Council and I have continued to work with him in my professional capacity as a government affairs director for several Realtor associations in our area. I was very pleased that the California Assn. of Realtors voted to support his campaign for the state Senate.

Our 25th Senate District would be well-served by electing Portantino. Frankly, I dont always agree with him  but 100% agreement isnt the point when electing a representative. What counts most are the integrity and priorities of our elected leaders. In Portantinos case, he has a record of fighting for the types of reforms we need and he puts public education at the top of his list.

Portantino understands our Foothills cities and our desire to have our children excel in outstanding public schools. He and his wife, Ellen, are active public school parents and PTA members. Please join me in supporting Portantino as our next state senator.

Laura Olhasso

La Canada Flintridge
India and Pakistan are at it again.

The South Asian rivals are locked in another escalating confrontation over Kashmir, the ruggedly beautiful Himalayan territory they have tussled over for seven decades.



For the record: An earlier version of this article said that since June, after a 21-year-old militant was gunned down, the Kashmir Valley has seen its deadliest violence in six years. The militant was killed in July.

The countries have fought two wars over Kashmir, but the prospect of fresh hostilities is particularly worrisome because both now have nuclear weapons. Heres a look at the conflict and what could happen next.

What triggered the current crisis?

Advertisement

Tensions reached their highest point in years after four anti-India militants raided an army base inside the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir on Sept. 18, killing 19 soldiers. India said the attackers came from Pakistan, which denied involvement.

India responded to the attack nine days later by sending commandos to strike militant outposts a short distance inside the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir. Although the countries regularly trade fire across the border in contravention of a decades-old cease-fire, this was the first time India publicly acknowledged such a strike.

In recent days, India has accused Pakistan of violating the cease-fire more than two dozen times. On Thursday the Indian army said it killed three militants who fired on another military camp and four others attempting to cross into Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Pakistani protesters rally against India during a protest in Islamabad, Pakistan on Oct. 7, 2016. (B.K. Bangash / Associated Press )

How did the Kashmir dispute begin?

When Britain gave up control of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, splitting it into a predominantly Hindu India and a predominantly Muslim Pakistan, the northern princely state of Kashmir  slightly larger than California  initially decided to remain independent.

Pakistan lay claim to Kashmir because most of its residents are Muslim. Shortly after independence, Pakistani raiders entered Kashmir, prompting the states then-ruler to agree to join India if it sent troops to help him.

The ensuing war ended with Kashmir being divided into Indian- and Pakistani-controlled portions along a 435-mile cease-fire line. The countries went back to war in 1965 but fought to a stalemate.

A 1972 agreement designated the cease-fire line as the Line of Control, which remains in effect.

India controls eastern Kashmir and the southern Kashmir Valley, slightly more land than Pakistan, which holds the north and west. China also claims a chunk of northeast Kashmir, a high-altitude desert that is part of a long-running territorial dispute with India.

How many have died in the conflict?

Separatist groups that oppose Indian rule in Kashmir  including some that desire independence  have long done battle with the half-million Indian troops stationed there. India estimates that more than 47,000 civilians and police have been killed in the territory since 1989, although human rights groups say the toll is much higher.

Since July, after Indian paramilitaries gunned down a 21-year-old militant, the Kashmir Valley has seen its deadliest violence in six years.

More than 80 civilians have been killed in clashes with police, who have been accused of using excessive force. India blames Pakistan for stoking the violence, although Pakistan denies it.

Some Indian analysts saw the Sept. 18 raid on the army base as an attempt by Pakistan-based militants to test Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was already under international pressure over the deaths of demonstrators.

India and Pakistan have gone to the brink of war four times since 1987, but India has recently been reluctant to use force to avenge incursions in Kashmir, gambling that restraint earns it prestige globally.

But Modi  an ardent Hindu nationalist who took power in 2014 vowing to project a more muscular foreign policy  opted to strike back publicly after his high-profile efforts to patch relations with Pakistan failed.

Is the conflict likely to escalate?

Experts say its unlikely. While the loudest voices in India demand revenge against Pakistan, analysts say neither country gains if things get worse.

India is the worlds fastest-growing major economy, and Modi wants to focus on development, not defense. Several crucial state elections over the next year will hinge on how voters rate his Bharatiya Janata Partys handling of the economy.

Pakistan lacks Indias conventional military capability. Its prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is weak, and its powerful army chief is weighing retirement  an unsteady time for Pakistan to step into a major conflict with its more powerful neighbor.

Pakistan has denied that Indian commandos carried out surgical strikes after the Sept. 18 attack, characterizing the incidents as routine cross-border shelling. Hawks in India snigger at the denial, but Modi and other senior officials have not provided details that would confirm the operation, perhaps figuring that chest-thumping could make Pakistan more likely to retaliate.

The consequences of an all-out war between nuclear powers would be bleak: One study projected that if India and Pakistan exchanged fire from 100 nuclear weapons  less than half their combined arsenal  the war would kill 20 million people in a week and endanger 2 billion worldwide.

Kashmiri Muslims protesters throw stones at police and Indian paramilitary soldiers during a protest after Friday prayers in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. (Farooq Khan / EPA )

How are other countries responding?

The United States, which forged an alliance with Pakistan to fight terrorism, has recently grown closer to India.

Modi and President Obama have held several warm meetings and the bilateral trade and defense relationship is growing fast. Meanwhile, U.S. relations with Pakistan are souring, as shown by the Pentagons decision to withhold $300 million in military funding because Islamabad failed to demonstrate it had taken action against terrorist groups attacking U.S. interests in Afghanistan.

The White House recently called on Pakistan to do more to rein in militant groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad, which India blames for several attacks, including the raid on the army base.

Pakistan finds itself increasingly isolated. It had to postpone a South Asian summit scheduled for November in Islamabad after India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan all withdrew in protest of the army base attack.

Its most powerful friend, China, has said it attaches importance to Pakistans standpoint on Kashmir. But according to reports, Beijing has quietly signaled to Islamabad that it must take a tougher line against militants.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia

ALSO

Pakistan set minimum sentence of 25 years in prison for those convicted of honor killings

These Afghan boys were born the year the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. Heres what their lives are like today

Duped into selling his kidney, this 23-year-old exposed an illegal organ racket in India
The Philippines government has informed the Pentagon that it has suspended joint naval patrols with the U.S. military in the disputed areas of the South China Sea.

Philippine Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana told reporters Friday he informed the commander of the U.S. militarys Pacific Command of the decision to halt the missions, which were launched this year to send a message to China.

They know it already, he said of U.S. officials. There is no patrol in the South China Sea.

Advertisement

The patrols were part of President Obamas plan to shift U.S. focus from the Middle East to East Asia, a strategy often termed his Asia pivot.

China in recent years has made aggressive territorial claims after building artificial islands off the mainlands southern coast, sweeping east of Vietnam, down near Malaysia and Brunei, and then looping back up west of the main Philippine islands.

The Philippine government has worried that such claims could lead China to assert full sovereignty and control over all the land, water and air in the area, so U.S. and Philippine naval ships have passed through the area on multiple times this year as a show of strength.

We take note of Secretary Lorenzanas public comments, and will be seeking clarification through direct dialogue, Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Gary Ross said in a statement. We will continue to consult closely as we always have with our Filipino partners to appropriately tailor our assistance.

It is the first concrete example of the Philippines backing up the words of recently elected President Rodrigo Duterte, who this week said that President Obama could go to hell and that he lost  respect for America, before threatening to completely break ties with the United States.

Last month, Duterte called Obama a son of a bitch in Tagalog.

The relationship between the nations soured after Obama criticized Dutertes violent crackdown on drug cartels, dealers and users.

Rodger Baker, who leads Asia Pacific analysis for the global intelligence company Stratfor, said the Philippine governments comments could be more than bluster, at this point.

The Philippines could be angling for closer ties to China, he said. Its a big risk, but they may think they have something more to gain here.

Until Duterte took office for his six-year term on June 30, the U.S. and Philippines were believed to have a strong alliance. Washington and Manila have had a mutual defense treaty since 1951.

Just this week, hundreds of U.S. Marines and sailors practiced amphibious landings and other joint exercises with Philippine troops at several coastal locations between Luzon and Palawan.

The exercise, one of 28 such annual exercises, began Tuesday and are scheduled to run until Oct. 12. But Duterte said last week it would be the final round of joint exercises with the U.S. military.

Under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which has been criticized by Duterte, the U.S. has access to Philippine military bases in exchange for providing maritime security and humanitarian aid during emergencies.

The deal was initially signed April 28, 2014, and upheld as constitutional by the Philippine Supreme Court on Jan. 12, 2016.

The Pentagon said about 300 to 500 troops are in the Philippines to support regular bilateral training, exercises and activities.

In addition, the number of U.S. special forces in the Philippines ranges from 50 to 100, and they provide advice and assistance against Muslim extremists in the southern part of the country. Lorenzana on Friday dismissed their importance.

All they do is operate their drones and some intelligence equipment to help our troops in the south, Lorenzana said.

He added, President Duterte said he doesnt want them to leave immediately but maybe in the future  after the Philippines is able to operate its own drones.

We think comments like this, whether they are or will be backed up by actual action or not, are really at odds with the closeness of the relationships that we have with the people of the Philippines, State Department spokesman John Kirby said Friday in Washington.

william.hennigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @wjhenn

ALSO

Heres how the U.S. is dealing with Philippines leader Rodrigo Durertes blitz of rants, insults and ultimatums

Russia and Syria should face war crimes probe for civilian attacks, Kerry says

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos wins Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to end his nations 52-year civil war
Jislene Jean-Baptiste and her neighbors had little before Hurricane Matthew, and now they have a lot less.

A grandmother who lives with her three daughters and their children in a one-room house in the devastated coastal town of Jeremie, Jean-Baptiste was surveying what remained of her home after Matthew tore across southwestern Haiti on Tuesday.

There wasnt much. The storm surge pushed the Caribbean across the road and drenched everything she owns in waist-deep salt water, washing away the stores of rice and sugar she sells at the market to support her family. Then the wind tore off her roof.

Advertisement

That storm was the most terrifying thing that ever happened here, she said.

Many of her neighbors are in a similarly dire situation because of a storm that killed hundreds of people in Haiti. Its 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.

Katrina Legner, a 23-year-old mother of two, also saw the storm destroy her small, concrete-block home before she fled to the house of a cousin that was then also wrecked. We have very little food and Im getting worried, she said.

Amid the suffering, aid began pouring in to 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 Richard David, 22. I havent had anything but water today and Im hungry.

At least 470 people have died in Grand-Anse, the department where Jeremie is located. But the coordinator for the local Civil Protection Agency, Fridnel Kedler, told the Associated Press on Saturday, that officials still have not been able to reach two communities.

The death toll is sure to go up, he said.

Haitis overall death toll remains unknown. Death counts 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.

Reports of deaths in those areas were slow to reach the Civil Protection Agencys headquarters in Port-au-Prince, where authorities said Saturday that the official death toll for the whole country so far was 336 people.

It wasnt immediately clear whether some of the 470 deaths in Grand-Anse were included in that count. The agency also said that more than 60,000 people remained in shelters.

The storm left signs of devastation all around the southwestern peninsula. Outside Jeremie, home after home was in ruins. Drew Garrison, a Haiti-based missionary who flew in Friday, said several fishing villages were submerged and he could see bodies floating in the water.

Anything that wasnt 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. 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 U.N. base where Nepalese peacekeepers were deployed.

Petuelle Fontaine, a health worker overseeing the open-air cholera treatment center in a corner of Jeremies main hospital, said they were ill-equipped to deal with patients. The area was strewn with broken tree branches.

We have no cholera vaccines here. None, she said as sweat dripped from her brow while she tended to the sick.

Eighteen patients arrived on Friday, and another nine showed up early Saturday.

Among them was Bellot Phafoune, a heavily pregnant woman who said she started getting cholera symptoms on Friday after eating a meal.

I didnt want to take any chances and rushed here, said Phafoune, who was from a rural village about an hours drive away from Jeremie.

U.N. emergency relief coordinator Stephen OBrien called the hurricanes damage a major blow to Haitis reconstruction effort and the fight against cholera.

We expect that homes, schools and cholera treatment facilities have been destroyed and that water systems, roads and bridges have been severely damaged, he said in a statement that also announced that the U.N.'s Central Emergency Response Fund was releasing $5 million to help Haiti. Earlier this week, the fund released a loan of $8 million to UNICEF to scale up response to Haitis cholera epidemic.

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 airstrip. She said they were hungry and desperately in need of food.

Jeremie might get rebuilt after Im dead, maybe, but I doubt it, she said.

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.

Among those killed were 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.

International aid groups are already appealing for donations for a lengthy recovery effort in Haiti, the hemispheres least-developed and most aid-dependent nation.

ALSO

A ghost town in Florida: In the shadow of Hurricane Matthew

Where Hurricane Matthew hit hardest: Hundreds dead in ravaged Haiti

After Florida dodged a bullet from Hurricane Matthew, South Carolina braces for major storm surge

UPDATES:

2:05 p.m.: This article was updated with a death toll of at least 470 in Grand-Anse and other details.

This article was originally published at 7:55 a.m.
The leader of the net-toting group is Mark Williams, who has traveled widely, fending off baboons and dodging hippos and snakes, in search of his obsession.

South African butterfly expert Mark Williams shows one of his finds. In the case of butterflies that are nearly extinct, the act of killing the insect may surprise outsiders, but lepidopterists insist that taking a few specimens of rare species is essential, given the complications of identifying the insects accurately.

Mark Williams was out with his butterfly net in his favorite South African mountain range when a flutter of gray-blue wings sailed by. They were almost as small and nondescript as the other gray-blue butterflies drifting past.

Almost.

Heart pounding and net flailing, he dashed after the bobbing sliver of color, hope fluttering like a wind-blown flag. He hooked in the tiny creature, its wingspan just over 11/2 inches. It was a Lotana blue, believed to be extinct. Nobody had seen one alive in decades.

"I ran it down and caught it with a huge  swipe, because they can move," Williams said of that moment five years ago. "I knew straight away I'd rediscovered the Lotana blue."

His search for the Lotana blue had taken eight years. Yet a lepidopterist's life  the childhood bedroom stuffed with bird's nests, pebbles and butterflies, the years of research, the wild goose chases  can be distilled into such wild, joyful moments.

Dashing through the scrub, net aloft, is a passion that has not changed much over the decades  except that like certain butterfly species, the South African lepidopterist population has dwindled to a few dozen fiercely competitive fanatics, most of them middle-aged men.

And the 63-year-old Williams, a man who has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles with his trusty net, confronting angry baboons, dodging bull hippos and narrowly avoiding snake bites, is one of their gods.

I'm being called the Butterfly Whisperer."  Mark Williams

"I'm being called the Butterfly Whisperer," Williams said with a smile, carefully moving the remains of rare and common species from one pinboard to another. "I'd love to go out with that title. Mark Williams, the Butterfly Whisperer," he said, rolling the words as if savoring wine.

When Williams first announced his 2009 find, fellow collectors found it hard to believe until he published photographs online. Since then, Williams, who earns a living as a veterinary pathologist, has netted two other species not seen in decades: the Juanita's hairtail last year, and the Waterberg copper in March.

The Waterberg copper was so intensely sought that the Lepidopterists' Society of Africa distributed "wanted" posters with pictures of the insect, and offered a reward of about $1,000.

Searching for the copper, Williams used Google Earth to pinpoint an isolated plateau in South Africa's Limpopo province at the same elevation as the butterfly's former habitat, but 25 miles east. He took a weekend off and forged along a bush track, trailed by his wife.

As soon as he saw the orange flutter of wings, he laughed, not so much at the joy of finding it, but at the irony that he, as the founder of the society, would be collecting the reward. He plans to invest it in future butterfly searches.

Although Williams is gregarious and talkative, he's happy staring at Google Earth on a computer screen, shifting locations, sifting for possible sites. He will spend hours looking up rainfall data for various locations (to help him get the timing of his expeditions right) and analyzing vegetation cover (to find the plants the caterpillars eat).

Mostly, though, he has an edge because of the knowledge gained in more than half a century of tracking the insects in this land rich with butterfly species  about 650 of them.

Since Williams founded the Lepidopterists' Society in 1983, the hunt for endangered species has grown more urgent, with habitat loss and climate change threatening some species, particularly those that have retreated to the tops of mountains, looking for cooler air, and may soon run out of altitude if the highest peaks become too warm for them.

At the end of this year, Williams will launch a quest to rediscover the Bashee River buff  the holy grail for South African butterfly experts. If the buttery-winged creature still exists, it's most likely to be found on the densely forested banks of the Mbashe River, in the wilds of Eastern Cape province.

Williams likes to put himself in the shoes of collectors such as James Henry Bowker, a British colonel who in the 1860s was the first and last person to see the Bashee River buff, capturing three females, which he promptly pinned to a board and sent on to Cape Town.

Williams gets a faraway look in his eye at the thought of becoming the second person ever to lay eyes on the Bashee River buff, and perhaps the first to capture a male.

One of Bowker's specimens remains mounted in the South African Museum in Cape Town, the other two in British museums.

"It's 1 1/2 centuries it's been missing," Williams said. "We don't even know what the male looks like."

One problem with Williams' mission is that the buff might really be extinct.

"The cost of the trip is around 20,000 rand [$2,000] to go and look for a butterfly that I might not even find," he said.

Williams has read Bowker's letters about the buff, which is said to flutter around the tops of trees. He has gone back to Google Earth for any clues on habitat.

But when asked for details, Williams clams up. If he ever finds the creature, he says, then he will share such information. South African lepidopterists might be a tiny community, but competition can be cutthroat.

Williams stopped collecting most butterflies some years ago and instead began collecting eggs to hatch caterpillars. But when he finds a particularly rare one, he does capture and "set" it  a euphemism for pinning it to a board  to verify its identity.

The act of killing a near-extinct species may surprise outsiders, but lepidopterists insist that taking a few specimens of rare species is essential, because mere sightings are not accepted as scientific evidence, given the complications of identifying the insects accurately.

"No knowledgeable lepidopterist would find it ironic. In fact, they would mostly likely be flabbergasted if voucher specimens were not collected," Williams said. "Five pairs of rhinoceroses, breeding remorselessly, would not reach a total population of a hundred in 10 years. Five pairs of African monarchs would reach about 36 million in six months. Laypersons don't understand this, unfortunately."

A friend and fellow member of the lepidopterists' society, Jeremy Dobson, said the scientific value of identifying and keeping track of rare and endangered butterflies outweighs the damage of capturing and setting small numbers of them.

Dobson, a soft-spoken, gentlemanly Englishman, is awed by Williams and other South African lepidopterists, and seems ready to pinch himself at the honor of being a member of such a society.

There are gentlemen's rules about sharing information in butterfly science, broken by one South African collector who, Williams said, was so possessive about lepidopterology that he regarded the insects almost as his own property.

Williams said he shunned the community, they shunned him, and "he died a lonely man."

At some point in his childhood, Williams' bedroom metamorphosed from a clutter of messy kid's curios into the beginnings of a serious butterfly collection. He started collecting at 5 and says he was an avid lepidopterist by 7.

He doesn't really know why he was attracted by butterflies.

"I'm a very curious guy," is all he will say.

As a schoolboy in the mid-1960s, Williams, accompanied by two friends, stumbled into a bush camp to find an old Chevy beside a tent and the well-known South African lepidopterist David Swanepoel, who had gorgeous azure butterflies pinned on a board.

Williams managed to annoy the old man, who had been collecting since the early 1900s, and who offered to show the boys where to find the creature. Though tantalized, Williams said he'd find it himself and watched in disgust as his two camping companions trotted after Swanepoel, "like obedient puppies."

"He called me a hard head and a little bliksem  a little rascal, or literally a lightning strike  and said I'd never find them. It took me three days. I worked my butt off.

He's had a couple of close encounters with leopards and deadly black mambas.

"And I came back and held it up and I said, 'I found it.' He leaned over conspiratorially. He said: 'Those other two will give up butterflies. But you will do this for the rest of your life.'"

In years of bushwhacking, he's grown used to sprinting across rocky ledges, looking both down (to avoid a broken ankle) and up (to avoid losing a butterfly). He's had a couple of close encounters with leopards ("You just run at them with a butterfly net") and deadly black mambas ("You just back off. You're in his territory").

Once, he scrambled up a tree in his red underpants when two bull hippos starting fighting just outside his tent. But his scariest moment came one morning at dawn when, as a long-haired young man in his 20s, he disturbed a baboon colony and was charged by four huge males.

"I stuck my net up over my head and stood on tiptoes. I bared my teeth. I gave a thunderous, inhuman screech which stopped them all in their tracks 15 meters away."

Then there was the angry farmer armed with a shotgun, who grabbed him for trespassing and took him to the police (but later gave him coffee and cookies in his kitchen as Williams showed him his specimens).

Williams conceded that the Bashee River buff search could prove fruitless. But if he finds it?

Well, that would leave him with one last great quest, for a species seen and collected just twice in the 1870s. The wily old butterfly hunter David Swanepoel went looking for it. But even he couldn't find the Morant's blue.

Contact the reporter

Follow Robyn Dixon (@latimesdixon) on Twitter
When Hurricane Matthew slammed Haiti this week, it unleashed a new wave of suffering on a country already besieged by challenges. The storm hammered the Caribbean nations poor and densely populated southern coast, damaging up to 80% of homes and leaving at least 350,000 people in need of immediate aid.

Preliminary official estimates put the death toll at 300, but some media reports quoting local authorities put the figure at more than 800  a devastating blow to a nation already traumatized by social, economic and political woes.

Since 2000, Haitis 10.4 million people have endured repeated natural disasters, health crises and political unrest. And it remains one of the worlds poorest nations.

Advertisement

Girls help each other wade through a flooded street after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti. (Dieu Nalio Chery / Associated Press )

Poverty problems

More than 6 million people live below the national poverty level, surviving on less than $2.42 per day, and 24% of the population lives under the extreme poverty line of $1.23 per day, according to World Bank data. The poverty situation has been worsening over the past decade. And according to the United Nations, about 50% of urban Haitians are unemployed.

The countrys overall social indicators are generally bad, World Bank data show. Life expectancy is only 57 years compared to the 69-year average in Latin America. Less than half of the population is literate. Only about 1 in 5 children of secondary-school age actually attend secondary school. Some 100,000 children under 5 years of age suffer from acute malnutrition, while 1 in 3 children are stunted, or irreversibly short for their age, according to the U.N. World Food Program.

Less than 50% of households have access to safe water and only a quarter of the population has adequate sanitation, the agency said.

With so many Haitians lacking proper sanitation and clean water, It is feared that the hurricane will worsen an already precarious situation, the U.N. Childrens Fund reported.

Garbage litters the street of Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince, in this 2003 photo. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. (Thony Belizaire / AFP/Getty Images )

Earthquake

Before Matthew wrought havoc, Haiti was still struggling to recover from a 7.0 earthquake that struck the country in 2010, killing at least 220,000 people.

The devastation was staggering. According to data from the Disasters Emergency Committee, a collaboration of 13 leading aid agencies in the United Kingdom, the earthquake destroyed at least 105,000 houses, badly damaged an additional 188,383, and rendered 1.5 million homeless. In addition, 80% of schools in the capital, Port-au-Prince, were destroyed or damaged. The U.N. put the cost of the damage and losses at about $8 billion.

According to UNICEF, 55,000 people were still living in shelters  thousands of them in tents  when Matthew struck.

The earthquakes destruction came six years after more than 3,000 people were killed in flooding and mudslides triggered by Hurricane Jeanne in 2004.

The devastated downtown area of Port-au-Prince, Haitis capital, is shown after the 2010 earthquake that is estimated to have killed at least 220,000 people. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times )

Cholera crisis

Health crises have also plagued Haiti. Months after the earthquake, an outbreak of cholera sparked another humanitarian emergency. The disease has killed at least 9,100 people and sickened hundreds of thousands. More than 27,000 suspected cholera cases have been reported already this year, according to UNICEF.

In August, the United Nations acknowledged responsibility for introducing the waterborne illness after scientists traced the outbreak to a base housing U.N. peacekeepers who had been dispatched from Nepal to help with the recovery.

The nonprofit organization Partners in Health warned of a looming health crisis.

Cholera cases will spike as a result of this storm, Charles-Patrick Almazor, chief medical officer in Haiti for Partners in Health, said in a statement. The conditions on the ground with contaminated water are setting the stage for the next wave of this disaster.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that in addition to cholera, diseases such as dengue fever and the Zika virus could worsen as a result of damage to sewage infrastructure and water sources.

In this 2010 file photo, two men suffering from cholera rest while receiving treatment at an emergency cholera clinic run by Samaritans Purse outside Cabaret, Haiti. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times )

Drought dries up food supply

The hurricane has exacerbated an already critical food shortage. According to the U.N. World Food Program, at least 3.6 million Haitians do not have enough to eat, and among them more than 1.5 million are facing severe hunger.

Drought caused the main 2015 harvest to fall below average with losses of up to 70% in some areas, the U.N. agency reported earlier this year, noting that this was a severe blow to food security in Haiti, where agriculture employs half of the working population.

Political instability

The hurricane threatens to strain an already fragile political situation that has mired Haiti in instability. The country has been without an elected president since February. Several rounds of elections have been postponed due to claims of fraud and concerns over the potential for violence.

The nation had been scheduled to hold a new presidential election Oct. 2, but the vote that had drawn 27 candidates has been postponed indefinitely.

Candidates for Haitis presidency participate in a debate in September 2016. The vote was postponed indefinitely due to Hurricane Matthew. (Hector Retamal / AFP/Getty Images )

The lack of governance has aggravated Haitis social and economic woes. According to the World Bank, corruption and misuse of public funds have resulted in a decline in the quality of all public services, including fundamental areas of traditional governmental responsibility, such as the police, the justice system and the provision of basic infrastructure.

The international financial institution attributed Haitis endemic poverty to the lack of proper governance.

There have been 45 leaders since the country achieved independence from France in 1804, and for the most part they have pillaged and plundered, ruled as despots, stifled opposition and violated human rights  largely with impunity.

Times staff writer Alexandra Zavis contributed to this report

ann.simmons@latimes.com

For more on global development news, see our Global Development Watch page, and follow me @AMSimmons1 on Twitter
Prince William said he and his wife, the former Catherine Middleton, could not be happier about the birth of their baby boy.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the babys great-grandparents, were delighted.

Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, were overjoyed.

Advertisement

PHOTOS: Royal baby arrives

But what about the rest of the world?

From across the British Commonwealth and beyond, messages of congratulations poured in Monday, even as the speculation quickly moved on to when the baby would make his first public appearance and what name he would be given.

Twitter lit up with news of the highly anticipated royal birth. And in a decidely modern twist, Clarence House responded with a tweet inviting people to sign a Google+ card for the couple.

Want to send your congratulations to Their Royal Highnesses? You can sign the Google+ card here: https://t.co/mMgjmPzf3s Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) July 22, 2013

Clarence House, which is the official home of Prince Charles and his sons, also invited parents of other new arrivals to share their photos using #WelcometotheWorld.

From America, President Obama said the child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations.

Michelle and I are so pleased to congratulate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the joyous occasion of the birth of their first child, Obama said in a statement. We wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings.... Given the special relationship between us, the American people are pleased to join with the people of the United Kingdom as they celebrate the birth of the young prince.

Earlier, as royal watchers around the world waited for word of the birth, the White House tweeted:

Oh, hello there! pic.twitter.com/WvoZ2WiIrs The White House (@whitehouse) July 22, 2013

British Prime Minister David Cameron called the royal birth a wonderful moment for a warm and loving couple who have got a brand new baby boy.

It has been a remarkable few years for our royal family -- a royal wedding that captured peoples hearts, that extraordinary and magnificent jubilee and now this royal birth -- all from a family that has given this nation so much incredible service, Cameron told reporters in London. They can know that a proud nation is celebrating with a very proud and happy couple tonight.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said:

I am delighted to congratulate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the arrival of their baby boy. Along with millions here and around the world, I share in their joy at this special time. May God bless this family with love, health and happiness in their shared life ahead.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada tweeted:

On behalf of all Cdns, I offer our heartfelt congratulations to the Royal Couple & the entire Royal Family https://t.co/YQNM9NMqAI #royalbaby Stephen Harper (@pmharper) July 22, 2013

FULL COVERAGE: A royal baby is born

This is a happy day for our close friends in Britain and the Commonwealth, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement.

Prince William holds a special place in the hearts of many Australians. Some of us remember his first visit to this country as a 9-month-old baby more than 30 years ago with his mother Diana and father Charles. In more recent times, Prince William demonstrated deep compassion when he met with families in Victoria who had lost everything during the Black Saturday bushfires of February 2009. We share in the joy of the Royal Family, particularly Prince Charles on the birth of his grandson and Queen Elizabeth II on the birth of her great-grandchild.

But for those getting a little tired of the international media frenzy about the royal baby, the Guardian newspaper in London provided some relief. By clicking on Not a royalist? readers could opt out of seeing the minute-by-minute coverage that dominated British and American media sites.

ALSO:

Royal baby born: Its a boy!



Royal baby born: Read the palaces official statement



#RoyalBabyWatch: Twitter reacts to royal baby madness

Twitter: @alexzavis

alexandra.zavis@latimes.com
Cllr Willie Aird has slammed Laois County Councils provision of housing as a total disaster, saying this is the first time ever he could recall no landbank being available locally.

His remarks came at the recent meeting of the Portlaoise Municipal District, where he proposed a motion calling on the councils housing strategic policy committee to acquire property adjacent to the day care facilities on the New Road in Portlaoise.

The biggest headache is housing, he said. I cant get houses for people out there, I have a person in my book with two kids whos been there for five years and two months.

Cllr Aird said it was the first time ever since he had become a public representative that the council did not have a landbank.

He went on to say that it behoves us to keep ahead of the posse.

Every five years there are 12 people who need emergency accommodation, he said, adding: Weve really gone backways.

He said that it was the job of the councillors to provide housing.

Rent allowance is no answer, people are in dire straits at the moment, said Cllr Aird.

He told the meeting he had recently asked the council to purchase a house and they quoted a figure of 170,000 to do up the property.

Thats an absolutely crazy figure, I said do it up for forty to fifty thousand. People in Dublin are flying kites with the figures, he fumed.

Our housing is a total disaster, we didnt build when we should have been building.

Supporting the motion, Cllr Mary Sweeney said the councillors should put a lot of pressure on to acquire the site on the New Road.

Its a dream site for elderly people. We cant afford not to purchase it, she said.

Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald proposed that a delegation meet with the chief executive of the council to discuss the idea.

Director of services, Mr Kieran Kehoe said that the proposal to buy the site on the New Road should be brought to the councils new housing action team.

He also said that the council is buying land all the time, with 17million of houses bought.

In reply to Cllr Airds motion, a written reply from Mr Ian McCormack, senior executive officer, said that it was agreed that the matter may be considered at the next meeting of the councils housing strategic policy committee.
Areas zoned as flood risk in Portlaoise are causing insurance hikes for homeowners, and may be hindering development, councillors say.

There are 76 properties at risk of flood in Portlaoise, but it is not economically viable to install flood protection measures, the OPW has told Laois councillors.

Portlaoise would need flood embankment walls 0.8 metres high, along 1.5km of the Triogue river, to protect 63 homes and 13 non residential properties which lie in the 100 year flood risk zone.

The cost benefit analysis of such works is however so low that it is on the edge of whether it happen or not, said the OPWs project engineer Gerry Gallagher at the September council meeting.

Portlaoise Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald argued the case.

Does this mean we will be forever at the bottom of the league table? That is very worrying. Its not much comfort for people in that category. Their home insurance is affected. Certain areas get very badly affected, she said.

Cllr Caroline Dwane listed housing estates zoned at risk that she said never flood.

In Woodlawns, Lake Glen and Rossvale, the cost of home insurance has gone through the roof, she said.

Mr Gallagher told them dont despair yet as a closer examination is to be done.

The zoning include 8 acres of development land for sale in the town centre, by the Parish and Presentation sisters, over the Triogue river.

One of the towns oldest areas, where the schools and the parochial house are, show that very little development can take place because of the flood risk, Cllr Willie Aird said, pressing a need to build the flood defences to make the land easier to develop.

You have the flooding money, we should put these measures in place, so we can provide housing. We have a huge land bank, in a pivotal part of town, I never saw it flooded, he said.

He said the motorway pushed Portlaoise into a higher flood risk category.

The motorway puts a lot of pressure on the Triogue. An amount of water comes off it and we took the brunt of it so our colour zone changed. Thats a reason why no development can take place in the convent plan. Funding wont be any good unless we see dredging, he said, adding that he never saw flooded a nuns graveyard on the land.

I never saw that land flooded either, agreed Cllr Noel Tuohy.

Development can still take place in flood risk zones, Mr Gallagher told them.

A lot of towns are built around rivers. The guidelines dont prohibit development. You just have to prove to planning that you must build there, it cant be avoided. That is only good practice. You must show what you will do to mitigate a flood, and not make it worse for others. So even though Portlaoise is in a Zone A, some development can happen, he said.

The OPW is creating flood risk maps of Ireland, with a budget of 430 million over six years to build defences.
Rathdowney marked its commemoration of the Easter Rising with the unveiling of a plaque and seat at Mill Street, on the banks of the Erkina, last Sunday afternoon.

An afternoon of song and speech saw a wreath laid at the plaque by Minister Charlie Flanagan and the raising of the Tricolour by Hannah Finane and Mark Whelan.

The 1916 Proclamation itself was read by Grainne Moore and Sarah Prendergast, while Barbara Maher took the guests on a historical recap of Rathdowney and some of its most well known residents and places.

Oliver Kennedy thanked the local Tidy Towns and Men's Shed for their work in the project, and Cllr John King for co-ordinating it. He also thanked the sponsors, St Canice's Credit Union, Laois County Council, Supervalu, Bank of Ireland and McCabe's Towbars.

The stone work on the plaque was done by local stone mason, William Aylward, while Jim Holohan did the engraving, and Mick Madden and John Curran made the bench.

Mr Kennedy said the project was a perfect example of community self help working together, as a community, for the community.

He hoped, this great community effort would lead to a new and local revolution of positive community spirit working together as partners in making Rathdowney a better place to be enjoyed by all.

The plaque was blessed by Fr Martin Delaney PP and Rev Seymour Whiteley.

Following the event, local poet Michael Creagh took the guests on a walking tour of the town, recalling places and people that feature in his first book of poetry, 'Rhymes of a Rustic Boy.'

Aided by host of young local actors in costume he recited his poetry and recalled personalities such as Jackie Malone and Mary Farrell and places such as the Coliseum Cinema and local mart.
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.

Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.

If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .

Support our mission and join our community now.
Its been quite a week in British politics. The Tory conference and the UKIP self-combustion serve to crystallise a distinct change. A sea change, if you like.

We heard Amber Rudd saying companies will have to register foreign employees (next step getting them to wear badges?) and Theresa May hard Brexiting.

We see that the Tory party have pulled the rug from beneath the feet of UKIP. The Tories have stolen the immigration obsession spotlight from UKIP, who are consequently showing all the signs of looming self-immolation.

The Tory party, whether it be through Camerons hapless referendum gamble or through Mays shameless and shocking nationalism, are failing to lead. They are following.

We are in the century of Asia and of fighting climate change. The government should not be chasing Daily Express headlines by threatening even to leave the European customs union.

This all highlights the wisdom and courage of Tim Farrons very clear stance on the EU and the post-Brexit questions.

The course which the Tories are following is utterly crazy  both economically and socially. Full marks to Tim for firmly setting our partys sails in the opposite direction.

* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
It is a common dictum that politicians should be judged by their actions not by their words. Well it would appear that on many fronts the government could be rightly accused of double-speak after this weeks Conservative Party Conference.

Theresa May was Home Secretary for six years. During that time she deported almost 50,000 students with dubious legality and yet still failed to meet her own unrealistic targets. She also oversaw a big reduction in the number of immigration officers at ports and airports. However rather than accepting targets will never be met and giving the Home Office the staff they need, it has now become the job of head teachers and property owners to control immigration. If you cannot do it yourself outsource to someone who can is the leitmotif of the May government.

Landlords now face the risk of prosecution if they fail to check the right of their tenants to live in the U.K. Yet when a Tory Minister for immigration in the last government failed to check the papers of his cleaner he simply went to the back benches only to be reappointed to a Ministerial job. The A country which works for everyone slogan needs more small print than the average insurance policy.

Secondly the PM likes to pick out and demonise groups of people no matter what good they do. She took a cheap shot at Human Rights lawyers this week. But she conveniently ignored the fact that were it not for their work the 96 families of the Hillsborough victims would never have seen the verdict of unlawful killing they had waited 27 years for. Ironically this was a cause she herself had supported.

Liam Fox launched an attack on foreigners who come to Britain and consume our wealth. How about the British born Health Secretary who took Mandarin lessons on the state which enabled him to converse with the in-laws, a skill which has no relevance to his day job? Is he not paid enough to avoid burdening the taxpayer?Finally it was a collection of blame thy neighbour speeches. Rather than celebrate the diversity of our workforce, Theresa May chose to allow the Home Secretary to attack Companies who employ foreign workers instead of British ones. Meanwhile David Davis has very recently worked as a paid advocate for German companies.

The government needs to put its own house in order if it is to have any shred of credibility left.

* Chris Key is dad of two girls, multilingual and internationalist. He is a Lib Dem member in Twickenham who likes holding the local council and MPs to account.
Its all politics: Read the winning entries of the September cartoon caption contest

May 2, 2021, 4 PM

The winning line in the nonphilatelic part of the cartoon caption contest for September using a 1969 6 Beautification of America stamp inscribed Plant for more beautiful cities poses a conundrum that many on Capitol Hill might be thinking. It is the wo

By John M. Hotchner

The difference between flowers and politics  be it the odor, the view or the level of enjoyment  dominated the entries in the September cartoon caption contest featuring the 1969 6 Beautification of America stamp showing the Capitol with azaleas and tulips (Scott 1365).

The stamp bears the message Plant for more Beautiful Cities.

These entries can be summed up by this suggestion from Lawrence Segel of White Plains, N.Y., Flowers and trees make the Capitol building look beautiful; what goes on inside is something else!

Connect with Linns Stamp News:

Sign up for our newsletter

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Elgin Sink of New Cumberland, Pa., prefers action to diagnosis with Great job on the outside; now how about the inside?!

C.A Stillions of Washington, D.C., has an unusual entry, a wonderful line he overheard some years ago from a staffer with the Office of the Architect of the Capitol. It proves that everything depends upon ones perspective: The Capitol  thats that pile of bricks and stones in the middle of my park!

The philatelic line winner comes from Donna Smith of Wilmington, Del., who puts her line in the context of the congressional franking privilege. She has a U.S. representative (who hasnt bought a stamp since he was elected) saying, With my mailing privileges I cant use this pretty postage stamp!

Another pearl from the lips of an anonymous representative is suggested by Merle Farrington of Medway, Mass. He wins the nonphilatelic part of the contest.

Both winners will receive Linns Stamp Identifier published by Amos Media Co., or a 13-week subscription to Linns (a new subscription or an extension). The book has a retail value of $12.99.

Here are the best of the runners-up.

What do we have to do to get candidates that are more politically beautiful? by John Hostetter of Lancaster, Pa.

To hear the candidates speak, you would think they were more interested in beatification than beautification! from Steve Kotler of San Francisco, Calif.

Okay, who planted the marijuana? by Nina Jackson of Culver City, Calif.

What a capital idea to plant for more beautiful cities! sent in by George Schaetzle of Sheboygan, Wis.

Our hot air produced a perfect greenhouse effect for the Capitol flowers. Unfortunately it also greatly accelerated global warming! by Wayne DeWald of Arlington, Texas.

Thanks and a tip of the hat to all who entered.

The next cartoon caption contest will be announced in the Nov. 14 Linns.
Oct 8, 2016, 10 AM

The 1928 Spanish Andorra 20-centimo Pegasus and Crest special delivery stamp with control number on the back (Scott E2) is in demand in unused hinged conditon and is selling at or above the 2016 Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 184

By Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

Some countries have more than one postal administration because they are, in effect, partitioned: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, and St. Martin, for example. A few others have had dual postal administrations operating side by side without partition: the former Anglo-French condominium of New Hebrides and Andorra, with joint Spanish and French administrations.

Connect with Linns Stamp News:

Sign up for our newsletter

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

The first stamps of Spanish Andorra were issued in 1928 with French administration stamps following in 1931. Stamps of the French administration of Andorra have a natural appeal to French collectors, while Spanish collectors are naturally drawn to those of the Spanish administration. Andorra, one of the classic postage-stamp kingdoms, has a natural appeal on its own beyond French and Spanish collectors.

The 2016 Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 values the 1928 Spanish Andorra 20-centimo Pegasus and Crest special delivery stamp with control number on the back (Scott E2) at $50 in unused hinged condition. This stamp is in demand and is currently selling at or slightly above Scott catalog value.
While TV presenter George Rashad praised ousted president Mubarak, the Egyptian Radio and Television Union suspended him for comments against January Revolution protesters

Egypt's state TV decided on Thursday to suspend a presenter of a morning show for two episodes for offensive remarks against January 25 Revolution protesters, and not for praising Hosni Mubarak's role in the 6 October War, the head of the news department of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU), Khaled Mehanna, told Ahram Online

"TV presenter George Rashad was suspended for two episodes for his encroaching on the rights of of those who protested on 25 January 2011," Mehanna told Ahram Online, refuting reports that Rashad was suspended for hailing Mubarak's role in airstrikes during the 6 October War.

Rashad had criticised 25 January protesters' claims that airstrikes accredited to Mubarak should not be attributed to him. Rashad was suspended from the morning show for two episodes but will continue to present newscasts.

Mubarak's Facebook support page, "I'm sorry, Mr President," said Wednesday that Rashad was suspended for accrediting Mubarak's role, launching a hashtag "I support George Rashad" and "In Solidarity with George Rashad" while describing the move by ERTU as a "mark of shame" on the state owned TV.

"A TV presenter should be a conveyor of truth who doesn't state his personal opinion. The decision came along the TV's professional role as we are a respectable institution," Mehanna added.

In Wednesday's programme's episode commemorating the 43rd anniversary of 6 October War, Rashad saluted former presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar El-Sadat for their roles during the War of Attrition and 6 October War, respectively.

He also hailed ousted President Mubarak's role during the war, slamming those who claimed that the first airstrike against Israel in the 1973 war, which was led by Mubarak as head of the Air Force, should not be accredited to him.

"A salute of love and gratitude to the former president Hosni Mubarak, the leader of the airstrike, that due to his wise leadership our army defeated Israel," he said.

"There is no room for those who went out for protests in January 2011 and later to promote ideas that the airstrike was not attributed to Mubarak. This is slander and a rigging of history. Those are the Muslim Brotherhood, and 6 April, and anyone similar who want to defame anyone and anything in this beautiful country," Rashad said.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The US and Canadian embassies in Cairo issued security alerts Friday, urging their citizens to avoid gatherings and public spaces in the capital over the weekend

Related US and Canada embassies warn citizens to avoid gatherings in Cairo over weekend

Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised Friday a US Embassy in Cairo security alert urging US citizens to avoid gatherings and public spaces in the capital over the weekend. The embassy did not identify any "security threats," a ministry statement read.

The US Embassy did not coordinate with the foreign ministry or notify Egyptian authorities of the reasons behind the security alert, the foreign ministry statement read.

"[This] sheds question marks on the reasons behind issuing the [security warning] in this manner," the statement added.

The foreign ministry also said that officials called the US Embassy in Cairo following the release of the security alert to inquire about reasons behind it. The ministry said the embassy denied there was a particular reason for issuing the warning, adding that it is a routine procedure during extended weekends.

During the phone call, the ministry told the embassy "it rejected such security alarms, that don't give a reason, and that could have negative impacts and harm the country's economy."

The Canadian Embassy in Cairo issued a similar security alert Friday, without giving reasons.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Egypt's foreign ministry earlier criticised the US Embassy's security alert, saying Egyptian authorities were told alert was a 'routine warning' for long weekends

The UK Embassy in Cairo warned its nationals Saturday to avoid large gatherings and public spaces in Cairo until Sunday, 9 October, a UK embassy statement read.

The UK embassy, which joined the US and Canadian embassies in issuing such security alert, did not similarly give reasons for the warning.

On Friday, Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised the US Embassy's security alert, saying that the embassy did not coordinate with the foreign ministry or notify Egyptian authorities of the reasons behind the security alert.

The foreign ministry also said that officials called the US Embassy in Cairo following the release of the security alert to inquire about reasons behind it. The ministry said the embassy denied there was a particular reason for issuing the warning, adding that it is a routine procedure during extended weekends.

During the phone call, the ministry told the embassy "it rejected such security alarms, that don't give a reason, and that could have negative impacts and harm the country's economy."

Over the past five years, foreign embassies in Cairo have often issued similar warnings.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Egypt's High Administrative Court adjourned on Saturday to 22 October its decision on a government appeal against a verdict overruling a controversial deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

The maritime demarcation accord, which has sparked public outrage, was announced by the government in April during a visit to Cairo by Saudi King Salman.

In June, an administrative court ruling annulled the signing of the deal and said that the Islands of Tiran and Sanafir remain Egyptian. The government has appealed the ruling.

The government lawyer told the court Saturday that the deal was only preliminary, describing it as a sovereign decision and arguing that only parliament has jurisdiction over the matter.

Khaled Ali, the rights lawyer who filed the June lawsuit to annul the maritime deal, presented the court in today's hearing with what he described as evidence which proves the two islands are Egyptian, including an army-published book highlighting the strategic importance of the islands to Egypt.

Ali also presented letters between Saudi Arabia and Egypt discussing the dispute over the ownership of the islands, which he says prove the kingdom's original right to them was never established.

Also on Saturday, the Supreme Constitutional Court set 13 November to rule on another appeal brought by Egypt's State Lawsuits Authority  the body that represents the government in legal cases, to suspend the annulment of the island deal and challenge the jurisdiction of the administrative court that issued it.

Egypts decision to transfer the islands  which lie between Saudi Arabia and Egypt at the southern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba  into Saudi hands sparked widespread public outcry in Egypt.

Dozens of people have been arrested and put on trial for protesting the deal, though most have since been released.

Late in September, the Court of Urgent Matters suspended the annulment ruling, a decision criticised by legal experts who say the lower court, under the Egyptian constitution, has no right to rule on matters related to public administration.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Check out our latest E-Edition

Accessible anytime and anywhere on your desktop, tablet and smart phone devices. The Lodi News e-Edition is enhanced with the latest digital tools, including RSS feeds, social networking and much more.

Check out our latest E-edition!
Egypt's Ministry of Interior dismissed on Saturday security alerts issued by a number of foreign embassies in Cairo about potential threats in the capital, saying that there are no reports or information that support such "claims."

A number of embassies in Cairo, including those of the US, the UK, Australia and Canada, issued warnings to their citizens on their websites against being around large gatherings and crowded spaces in Cairo on Sunday 9 October "due to potential security concerns," without giving further details.

Deputy interior minister for media relations Tarek Attia said in a statement on the ministry's official Facebook page that the security situation in the country is under control.

The Egyptian parliament's foreign relations committee denounced the embassies statements on Saturday, saying that such security alerts were not issued in countries where terrorist attacks have taken place such as the US, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

The committees statement added that these warnings coincide with a return of tourism to Egypt, which "implies that they [these countries] are targeting the Egyptian economy."

Egypts Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised on Friday the US embassy's security alert, saying that the embassy did not notify the foreign ministry before issuing the alert.

The foreign ministry also said that the US embassy denied there was a reason for issuing the warning other than it being part of routine procedures during extended holidays.

Foreign embassies in Cairo have repeatedly issued security warnings over the political unrest that followed the 2011 uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Nature & Weather, Local News, National & World News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: October 08 2016

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that New York will be dispatching emergency management personnel to help Florida recover in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.
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
Kuwait's interior ministry said on Saturday that it arrested an Egyptian expat over a "terrorist attack" after he rammed his car into another vehicle carrying five American nationals, state-run Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.

The ministry's statement, which identified the Egyptian as Ibrahim Soliman, said that initial investigations suggest that he might be linked to the so-called Islamic State militant group.

The statement added that none of the intended victims were injured, though the assailant suffered multiple injuries.

The spokesman of Egypt's foreign ministry was not available for comment.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


In September, Israeli security forces arrested a terror cell of seven Israeli Arabs from the northern town of Ghajar, on the border with Lebanon, who were allegedly planning to carry out mass casualty attacks on orders from Hezbollah. The incident was kept under gag order until Thursday, when indictments were filed against the men in a Northern District court in Nazareth. Six of them were charged with espionage, contact with a foreign agent, planning to and actually aiding an enemy during wartime, cross-border drug and arms smuggling, and other offenses linking them to Hezbollah.

According to the charges, three of the indictees are Diab, Jamil and Youssef Kahmuz. They are the sons of Saad Kahmuz, a known drug dealer who fled Israel to Lebanon in 2006. The others are their cousins, Muhsen Kahmuz and Madmouh Ibrahim, both 21, and their friend Adel Aweinat, 29. The seventh man, Maher Harbawi from the Druze village of Yarka, is suspected of selling drugs and smuggling night-vision equipment to Hezbollah in 2007, but did not take part in the cells terrorist activities.

In May, Jamil drove Diab and Youssef to the Israeli-Lebanese border fence near Ghajar to meet with Hezbollahs operatives. The older brothers exchanged encrypted files with the Shiite group, and its operatives threw them a bag containing two improvised explosive devices and $5,000 over the fence. Diab subsequently hid the bombs in a grove near the northern Israeli town of Metula, bordering Lebanon, while waiting for orders regarding a target. According to Shin Bet, Diab was also due to take a second delivery of explosives in August.

After being instructed by his Hezbollah handlers to plant the bombs at important centers and major hitchhiking stops in Haifa, Diab and his brother Youssef toured the northern Israeli city to search for suitable sites. They failed to locate one, concerned that the best locations were monitored by security cameras. Instead, after another scouting mission with Youssef, Diab suggested placing the explosives at the Golani Junction in the lower Galilee, near the Israeli Arab town of Turan, which is a major gathering point for Israeli soldiers.

Diab surveyed the Junction and surrounding area, taking pictures and sending them to his handlers with his brother Jamils assistance. With Muhsen, he then returned to the grove in Metula to retrieve the explosives, but forgot where he had placed them. In late July, The bag containing the explosives was discovered by a farmer. Israels subsequent investigation determined that the explosives came from Hezbollah, leading to the arrest of the seven indictees, and three other suspects from the village of Ghajar.

The crew of six plotters was arrested over a 16-day span ending on Sept. 20. Though Youssef and Jamil had burned Diabs computer, Israeli investigators were still able to recover images of possible attack sites sent to Hezbollah, including army bases as well as sensitive sites within Ghajar, from the smartphones and computers of the accused.

After uncovering a string of recent attempts by the Shiite organization to carry out attacks in Israel, Shin Bet commented that Hezbollah has made it a top priority to spark terror acts, doing so from far away, while attempting not to make its involvement clear. According to Israeli police, the explosives given to the Kahmuz brothers had the potential to be very destructive.

David Daoud is an Arabic-Language Analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
During a briefing on Oct. 6, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said US officials have confirmed the death of Ahmed Salama Mabrouk (or Mabruk), who was targeted in an American airstrike three days earlier.

We have now determined that Egyptian national Abu al-Farai al-Masri, also known as Ahmad Salamah Mabruk, one of Al Qaedas most senior leaders, was killed in an American airstrike near Idlib, Syria on Oct. 3, Cook said. His death is a significant disruption to Al Qaedas senior leadership, and again a blow to their ability to plot external attacks.

As The Long War Journal previously reported, Mabrouk was part of Al Nusrah Fronts rebranding effort. On Jul. 28, Al Nusrahs leader, Abu Muhammad al Julani, announced that his group would subsequently be known as Jabhat Fateh al Sham (JFS, or Conquest of the Levant Front). Mabrouk sat to Julanis right as he read the announcement.

Cooks statement is interesting because the Pentagon explicitly tied Mabrouk to al Qaedas plotting of external attacks, that is, terrorist operations outside of Syria. Usually this wording refers to plots in the West or against Western interests.

In the weeks leading up to Al Nusrahs rebranding effort and thereafter, the al Qaeda branch desperately tried to convince the world that it didnt intend to carry out attacks outside of Syria. Al Nusrahs representatives denied that they posed an immediate threat to the West, even though Al Nusrah itself has openly celebrated the 9/11 hijackings in its propaganda.

For instance, Al Nusrah was quick to deny a July 19 account written by the Washington Posts David Ignatius. American officials report increasing evidence that the group [Al Nusrah] is plotting external operations against Europe and the United States, Ignatius wrote.

Abu Ammar al Shami, a spokesman for Nusrah, took to Twitter to dispute Ignatius sources. Abu Ammars denial was first reported by NOW. We in Nusra emphasize that [our] interest is maintaining a strong and standing Jihad in Syria, and all other desired interests to target the US and the West will be marginalized and absent, Abu Ammar tweeted.

After Al Nusrah was renamed JFS, another spokesman for the group, Mostafa Mahamed (also known as Abu Sulayman al Muhajir), similarly downplayed the jihadi threat to the West. When we were part of Al Qaeda, as our 5 year track-record shows, our core policy was to focus all our efforts on the Syrian issue, Mahamed told CNN. That was our policy before; it is our policy today; we do not intend to change that policy. What Mahamed didnt say was that he had previously praised the 9/11 attacks on Twitter.

Moreover, the policy Mahamed mentioned came directly from al Qaedas emir: Ayman al Zawahiri.

During an interview with Al Jazeera that aired in 2015, Julani explained that the directives that come to us from Dr. Ayman [al Zawahiri]are that Al Nusrah Fronts mission in Syria is to topple [Bashar al Assads] regime, and not to strike the West at the time. Concurrent with Assads planned downfall, Al Nusrah was ordered to reach a mutual understanding with other factions to establish a righteous Islamic rule. That could change, Julani explained, should Zawahiri order them to launch a terrorist attack in the West.

We have received guidance to not use Syria as a base for attacks against the West or Europe so that the real battle is not confused, Julani said. He conceded that maybe the mother al Qaeda organization is plotting against the West, just not from Syria. Julani emphasized that this directive came from Zawahiri. Al Jazeeras interviewer pressed Julani on the matter, asking if Al Nusrah will respond to the US air strikes targeting the groups leadership. Julani reiterated that his organization is committed to the orders of Dr. Ayman [al Zawahiri] and the al Qaeda leaders directionsup until now have been to avoid targeting the West or the US from inside Syria. [See LWJ report, Analysis: Al Nusrah Front committed to Ayman al Zawahiris orders.]

However, the implication of Cooks statement is that Mabrouk was directly involved in al Qaedas external attack plotting. If that was the case, then the Pentagon doesnt buy the story pitched by JFS (formerly Al Nusrah) concerning its supposed lack of international terrorist aspirations.

Mabrouk compiled an extensive terrorist dossier dating back to the 1980s. So, it is easy to see how he could have been involved in plotting external attacks immediately prior to his demise. Still, it is possible that any such attack, if successful, would not have been claimed by JFS.

A key document for understanding al Qaedas thinking in this regard was discovered in Mali and first reported on by Rukmini Callimachi, then of the Associated Press and now at The New York Times. The missive was authored by Abdulmalek Droukdel, the emir of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Droukdel was especially concerned with the jihadists efforts to build an Islamic emirate in northern Mali. [See LWJ report, Libyas Terrorist Descent: Causes and Solutions.]

Droukdel concluded that AQIM had two missions and combining them created a true dilemma. AQIM wanted to both build an Islamist state and also continue its global jihadi project. The latter was a reference to AQIMs commitment to carrying out terrorist operations throughout the region, especially against Western targets.

Droukdel and his advisors came up with two proposals. In the first scenario, AQIM would subordinate itself to the local ruler. AQIM would be under the emirate of Ansar Dine, an AQIM front group, such that AQIMs emir would follow their emir and AQIMs opinion would follow their opinion. This would be the case for all internal activity, meaning all activity connected to participating in bearing the responsibilities of the liberated areas. But all external activity connected to the global jihadwould be independent of them [Ansar Dine] and AQIM would ensure that none of that activity or its repercussions is attributed to them [Ansar Dine], as care must be taken over negative impacts on the project of the state.

Therefore, as Droukdel made clear in his letter, AQIM didnt want its external plotting to have negative repercussions on the jihadis nation-building project. That is, AQIM didnt want the nascent state it was building along with its allies to be blamed for any high-profile terrorist attacks. As it turned out, Droukdel didnt need to follow through on his proposals, as a French-led invasion quickly toppled the jihadis sharia-based effort.

Regardless, it is easy to see the parallels between Droukdels thinking and al Qaedas approach in Syria. Julani himself told Al Jazeera that Zawahiri ordered Nusrah not to attack the West so that the real battle is not confused. That is, Zawahiri didnt want an attack in the West to interfere with al Qaedas effort to topple Bashar al Assads regime and replace it with an Islamic state. It is easy to see how a mass casualty attack launched from Syrian soil (independently from the Islamic State) could create even more problems for the jihadists. To date, America has targeted only select al Qaeda leaders, not JFS as a whole.

None of this means that US officials should assume that al Qaeda wont target the West from Syria. Indeed, the Pentagon clearly doesnt make that assumption. As Julani made clear, the stand down order was a tactical decision on the part of al Qaedas leadership. Al Qaeda also dispatched a team commonly known as the Khorasan Group to Syria. This cadre included operatives who were tasked with planning operations in the West. US officials previously told The Long War Journal that the Khorasan Groups members were ordered to lay the groundwork for plots outside of Syria, but were not given the green light to go through with them.

Droukdels letter suggests another possibility. Al Qaeda could have a terror team launch strikes from Syria or elsewhere without implicating JFS. Al Qaeda could claim that such operations were independent from the jihad being waged by JFS against the Assad regime. In reality, there is no firm dividing line between these two aspects of al Qaedas jihad.

As Mabrouks life shows, key al Qaeda personnel have been simultaneously involved in the two missions outlined in Droukdels letter: Islamic state building and plotting external attacks. And JFS cant help but threaten the US.

Earlier today, a senior JFS official known as Abu Abdullah al Shami released a eulogy for Mabrouk. Abu Abdullah denounced the US for killing the Egyptian jihadi. His audio eulogy was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

[I]n the face of this crime America will only harvest from the battle of Sham [Syria] the fate which Assad awaits, Abu Abdullah said, according to SITEs translation. It [America] has put itself in front of a free, dignified Muslim people, whose dignity and pride motivate it, and it conspires with its enemy and kills its sons the mujahideen.

Abu Abdullah continued: The mujahideen and their Ummah [worldwide community of Muslims] will not forget to take vengeance for their martyrs, for before every martyr there are hundreds of men who bear his weapon and continue his path, Allah permitting.

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
The Syrian regime pressed its assault on rebel-held areas of Aleppo on Saturday ahead of a showdown at the United Nations between Western governments and its ally Russia.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that the mounting tensions between Washington and Moscow over the conflict had created a situation "more dangerous" than the Cold War.

US Secretary of State John Kerry made clear his anger at the Syrian army's Russian-backed onslaught in the battleground second city, saying that its bombing of civilians could amount to a war crime.

The UN Security Council is to vote on two rival resolutions on the fighting, one drafted by France calling for an end to air strikes and a second by Russia that calls for a ceasefire but makes no mention of halting the bombings.

Moscow has said it will veto the French draft.

Its ally Damascus has made significant advances in its renewed two-week-old offensive in Aleppo, seizing territory to the north and pushing back the front line in the city centre which had remained largely static since the rebels captured eastern districts in 2012.

But it has come at a heavy human cost. Since a US- and Russian-brokered ceasefire collapsed on September 19, at least 305 civilians have been killed in rebel-held areas, 57 them children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based monitoring group said that government forces were making further advances on Saturday ahead of the Security Council session.

"The battle is unfolding in the centre, particularly in the Bustan al-Basha district where the army is advancing, in Sheikh Said in the south, and on the northern outskirts where the regime has taken the Uwaija neighbourhood," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Russia is expected to use its veto to block the French-drafted resolution backed by the United States and Britain that also calls for a halt to all military flights over Aleppo.

The council will then move to a second vote on the Russian-drafted text.

It "urges immediate implementation of the cessation of hostilities, in particular in Aleppo" and demands that all parties allow deliveries of humanitarian aid."

British ambassador Matthew Rycroft dismissed the Russian draft as a political ploy.

"This is a cynical attempt to divert attention away from the need to stop the bombing of Aleppo," he said.

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 use the veto powers Russia wields as one of the council's five permanent members.

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."

Kerry made clear his anger, declaring: "These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation -- war crimes."

The German foreign minister said that tensions between Washington and Moscow were now worse than during the Cold War.

"It's a fallacy to think that this is like the Cold War," Steinmeir said in an interview published by Bild newspaper on Saturday.

"The current times are different and more dangerous."

The Security Council session begins at 1900 GMT. If Russia blocks the draft, it will be its fifth veto of a UN resolution on Syria.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Lifestyle / Alcohol

Care to learn more about the wonderful world of whisky? Then join us as we meet Mathieu Musnier of La Maison de Whisky to find out more.

Oct 08, 2016 | By Vimi Haridasan

If you are around Robertson Quay, Singapore, and in the mood for some rare whiskies and spirits, then La Maison du Whisky is the place to go. Under the direction of General Manager Mathieu Musnier, the establishment brings a wide array of rare and collectible spirits to those who simply cannot resist a dram or two. We speak with Musnier to find out more about the growth of whisky appreciation in Asia and more about the Whisky Live 2016 (November 12-13) that is currently in its seventh year.

How has the whisky appreciation scene grown over the years in Singapore / Southeast Asia?

Whisky and spirits enthusiasts in Singapore have been very dedicated in the exploration and growth of whisky appreciation. The general understanding and knowledge about whisky and craft spirits are already advanced among these fans, and will without a doubt rival those from traditional markets very soon.

There has been a noticeable rise in the Asian market in the demand for the spirit. The increasing affluence in Asia creates a demand for high-end whisky for collection, personal enjoyment or even as an investment. A growing number of distilleries have also been eyeing the growth of the middle class in Asia.

Additionally, we noticed that with the younger generation, whisky is no longer a typical masculine indulgence. In some events, we have actually more women coming to us and they are very eager to learn.

Whisky Live 2016 is the 7th installation in Singapore. What can guests anticipate or expect from this years Whisky Live event?

We are very happy and excited with the line-up of distilleries this year. There is a significant increase in exhibitors, especially big and iconic distilleries such as The Macallan, Kilchoman and Littlemill who are joining us this year for the first time. Guests can also look forward to visiting last years favorites again, such as Teeling and Nikka. Whisky Live is about discovering the big stars of tomorrow and seeing established distilleries from a new perspective, and I believe that we have reached that goal this year.

How do you ensure that this event stays interesting and exciting for the increasing number of guests attending the event each year?

It is important to grow, improve and offer new attractions each year. For 2016, we are proud to introduce our guests to the four different zones at the venue for a holistic experience: The main Whisky Plateau, the Tasting room (for Rum and Brandy), the Patio (for live experiences and food) and the Erasmus Bond Cocktail zone.

For the first time in Singapore, we welcome prolific Whisky writer Dave Broom to Whisky Live; He will be conducting several masterclasses as well as book signing sessions. We are also excited to present a new bar experience for attendees with the recreation of the (renowned) bar Trench from Tokyo, helmed by Master Mixologist Rogerio Igarashi Vaz.

Executive Chef of the Capella Hotel Singapore Chef David Senia has also curated a very special menu for our guests, which we believe will bring their experience with whisky to a whole new level. Potato Head Folk will also offer tasty burgers for a small fee.

On the cocktail front, crowd-favorite Monkey 47 has prepared a very intense weekend with some of the islands best bartenders, and guests will definitely be spoiled for choice with the return of our most popular Whisky Live Pop-up bar where (bartenders from) 10 of Singapores best bars take turns to make the best cocktail for Whisky Live.

Ultimately, we want our guests to enjoy themselves with the best experience at Southeast Asias largest whisky and spirits show.

Is there an increasing number of female attendees at Whisky Live each year? If yes, could you offer an indication of statistics and consumer insights on this group?

We always had a large female attendance due to the casual approach that Whisky Live offers when it comes to experiencing and appreciating whisky. From last years event, we have seen a double-digit growth in terms of the number of female attendees, and they account for more than 35% of the entire attendance.

Whisky Live has a very educational feel to it and everybody is free to interact with the makers at the booth and ask as many questions as they like. We expect this years Whisky Live to garner the same turnout, and of course it would be fantastic if there would be more female attendees!

How has Whisky Live catered to the rise of women appreciating whiskies?

Women do not attend the event just to keep their other halves company; they are passionate about learning, and sometimes they can be even more dedicated to developing their understanding of whisky than their male counterparts.

Additionally, we also recognize that spending an entire day going around and experiencing whiskies can be daunting. This year, we have reserved a special room for our female guests with VIP tickets called the Ladies Room. This room will feature a special set of complimentary beauty services provided by Vaniday to help them refresh before continuing their tasting journey.

Asian whiskies have been rapidly gaining popularity in recent years, bagging awards at an international scale. What do you think it signifies in terms of market trends?

In recent years, many talented distillers realized they could make great whiskies, just as the distilleries from Japan have done, as long as they can acquire a good supply of raw materials and a source of clean water in an adequate climate.

There are whiskies from more than 20 countries currently available in Singapore and there is an increasing number of enthusiasts who are willing to discover products from these markets. They know that the next golden nugget might come from the most unexpected location. Whisky Live is no exception as we welcome great whiskies coming from traditional whisky markets (such as Scotland and Ireland) as well as new ones (such as Taiwan and India).

Do you foresee more Asian-made whiskies at Whisky Live in the near future?

In the immediate future, I know that existing Asian distilleries will come to Whisky Live in (ever larger numbers). The current demand for these products is often higher than their production capacity and most importantly, consumers really like their whiskies! As for having more distilleries joining the event, only time will tell where the next great whiskies are going to come from.

La maison du Whisky  80 Mohamed Sultan Road #01-10 The Pier  Singapore (6733 0059)

More info on Whisky Line 2016 on their website (November 12-13)
Saudi-led air strikes on a funeral in Sanaa on Saturday killed at least 82 people and wounded 534 others, the rebels in control of the Yemeni capital said in a new toll.

Senior health ministry official Nasser al-Argaly warned that the toll from the air strike that targeted a building where mourners had gathered in southern Sanaa could rise further. An earlier rebel toll said "dozens" were killed.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Srinagar : A policeman was killed while another cop and a civilian were injured tonight when some terrorists fired at a security post guarding minority community in Shopian district of Kashmir. "Militants fired at the police guard posted at minority picket Jamnagri in Herpora area of Shopian at around 8:30 pm," a police official said here.

He said the policemen retaliated, forcing the attackers to flee. In the gunbattle, a constable Nazeer Ahmad was killed and constable Zahoor Ahmad was injured, the official said.

A civilian was also injured in the incident. The injured policeman was shifted to the Army's Base Hospital here. The area has been cordoned off and a search launched to track down the terrorists, the official said.

PTI
France's President Francois Hollande warned Saturday that vetoing a French-drafted UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to air raids on Syria's Aleppo "would be discredited in the eye's of the world".

"A country that vetoes this resolution would be discredited in the eyes of the world. It would be responsible for continuing abuses," Hollande said.

Russia is expected to use its veto to block the French-drafted measure that is backed by the United States and Britain that also provides for a halt to all military flights over Aleppo.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Golds, Miners Stops Run

Gold, silver, and their miners stocks plummeted out of the blue this week, shattering their bull-market uptrends. Gold-futures speculators had been holding excessive long positions for months, weathering all kinds of selling catalysts. But once gold slipped through key support, long-side futures stop losses started to trigger unleashing cascading selling. Understanding this event and its implications is crucial for traders.

This weeks precious-metals carnage was a big surprise, erupting suddenly with no technical warning. Gold had been faring quite well after hitting its latest interim high of $1365 in early July. That was driven by heavy fund buying of gold-ETF shares in the wake of late Junes unexpected pro-Brexit vote. After those big capital inflows dried up, gold consolidated high. At worst by late August it had pulled back 4.1% to $1308.

Then gold spent all of September grinding higher along its bull-market uptrends support, which was an impressive show of strength. Speculators were holding large near-record long positions in gold futures. Since these bets are so hyper-leveraged, that greatly elevated the risks of a snowballing selloff. I wrote extensively about golds record selling overhang back in mid-July, and that threat has lingered ever since.

But despite all kinds of excuses to do so, the futures speculators never rushed for the exits. Every week their collective bets on gold are detailed in the CFTCs famous Commitments of Traders reports. Back in late June, speculators gold-futures long contracts climbed above 400k for the first time in history. Then a couple weeks later in early July, they climbed to an all-time record high of 440.4k contracts as gold peaked.

That presents a big selling risk due to the extreme leverage inherent in futures trading. Every contract controls 100 troy ounces of gold, worth $135,000 at $1350. Yet back in July, the minimum cash margin speculators were required to deposit for each gold-futures contract they traded was just $6000. This week it is running $5400. That works out to maximum leverage to gold of 22.5x and 25.0x, insanely high!

For many decades the legal limit in the stock markets has been 2.0x, making gold futures more than an order of magnitude riskier. At extreme 10x, 15x, 20x, and 25x leverage, mere 10.0%, 6.7%, 5.0%, and 4.0% adverse moves in gold against speculators positions would wipe out fully 100% of the capital they risked! So when these guys are wrong, they have to be quick to exit their trades or risk total annihilation.

As late 2015s huge gold-futures selloff battering gold to deep 6.1-year secular lows proved, there is nothing these speculators fear more than Fed rate hikes. Despite history proving in spades that gold actually thrives during Fed-rate-hike cycles, this group of traders wrongly views them as golds nemesis. So they tend to sell aggressively when data or news increases the likelihood of more rate hikes sooner.

Yet some remarkable events this past summer made it look like gold-futures speculators were coming around to golds historical strength in rate hikes. For 13 of the 15 CoT weeks since late June when their collective gold-futures longs first climbed over 400k, these same excessive 400k+ levels held. That was despite golds summer doldrums, new record stock-market highs, and a vastly-more-hawkish outlook on the Fed.

Fed-rate-hike odds at upcoming FOMC meetings are calculated in real-time based on federal-funds futures trading. The hedgers and speculators participating in this market are very sophisticated and the best-informed in the world on likely Fed policy. This market is so important that historically the FOMC has never hiked until these futures-implied rate-hike odds exceed 70%, in order to avoid shocking the markets.

Back on August 12th, these rate-hike probabilities had collapsed way down to 6%, 8%, and 39% at the FOMCs next few meetings. Over the next couple weeks culminating with Janet Yellens highly-anticipated Jackson Hole speech on August 26th, these rate-hike odds rocketed to 36%, 41%, and 64%! That was without a doubt the most-hawkish couple-week span of economic data and Fedspeak seen in many years.

Amazingly in light of last years panicking precedent, gold-futures speculators held firm with their excessive longs. During those two CoT weeks closest to that rocketing-rate-hike-odds span, speculators only dumped a collective 9.8k gold-futures contracts! Thus gold only slid 1.2% lower. That was an incredible display of strength in the face of a soaring rate-hike threat, so speculators high longs looked durable.

Until this Tuesday, which started out rather unremarkably with no gold-futures-moving news at all. Gold had closed at $1313 on Monday, still above August 31sts pullback low of $1308. Gold was trading right there when the US trading day rolled around. Those futures-implied rate-hike odds at Mondays close ran 11%, 62%, and 64% for the FOMCs next few meetings in early November, mid-December, and early February.

So there was virtually no chance of an imminent rate hike in early November right before the critical US elections. Provocatively, Fed hawkishness wasnt a factor at all in Tuesdays plunge. While there was some hawkish Fedspeak on Tuesday, it was nothing out of the ordinary for recent months. By the close Tuesday after gold had plummeted, those rate-hike odds had barely budged to just 13%, 59%, and 62%.

So why did gold plunge 3.3% lower on Tuesday, its worst daily loss in 3.3 years, after weathering all kinds of selling catalysts all summer? This first chart showing speculators collective long and short bets in gold-futures contracts helps illuminate that wild selling anomaly. This data comes from those weekly Commitments of Traders reports, which are published on Friday afternoons but current to preceding Tuesdays.

While gold had carved higher lows in September along its bull-market uptrends support, since its early-July peak its high consolidation had also suffered from lower highs. Thus hyper-leveraged gold-futures speculators were wary of a breakdown, so they set extensive stop losses right below late Augusts $1308 low. There were a bunch of these contingent sell orders clustered around $1305, and even more near $1300.

Heading into Tuesday, speculators gold-futures longs remained near record highs. While the latest CoT data current to Tuesdays selloff wont be available until a few hours after this essay is published, total spec longs were way up at 412.1k contracts the week before. That was the 7th highest out of 926 CoT weeks since early 1999! So these near-record longs heading into Tuesday really exacerbated golds plunge.

This overwhelming gold bullishness also extended to short-side futures trades, bets gold would head lower. Total spec shorts were only running near 97.5k contracts in the latest CoT data, not far above their lowest levels of 2016s young gold bull of 93.0k in late August. With gold-futures speculators heavily long and not very short, gold was at risk of suffering intense selling pressure with little buying to offset it.

Early on Tuesday as gold drifted below $1305, breaking late Augusts low, the futures selling intensified as stops were hit. Stop-loss orders are very wise even for stock investors with no leverage or margin at all, and are absolutely essential for futures speculation given its extreme leverage. As these stop losses triggered, more automatic gold-futures selling piled on. This pushed gold even lower, tripping still more stops.

And with speculators so heavily long gold, there were tons of stops to trigger as gold broke through its key psychological support at $1300. Watching this all unfold in real-time, the selling looked orderly but relentless. I didnt see any sense of panic, just mechanical forced selling cascading as stop levels were hit in succession. There was no apparent gold-futures shorting attack either, like the one perpetrated in July 2015.

Sometimes short sellers try to instantly force the gold price lower with the explicit intention of unleashing cascading futures selling from triggering enough long-side stops. Within a matter of seconds, a large short seller will dump 10k to 20k gold-futures contracts to hammer the gold price. I was suspicious of that kind of thing Tuesday morning, but didnt see the telltale huge-volume-spike signature it generates.

The timing was excellent for a shorting attack as the Chinese markets are closed all week for a major national holiday. That means Western futures speculators playing gold downside wouldnt have to fear Asian buying offsetting and nullifying their shorting. There were rumors of a large hedge fund stuck in a forced-liquidation scenario, but that only arose well after gold had already started plunging that morning.

We cant know for sure what happened in speculators collective longs and shorts until this latest CoT weeks data is released late Friday afternoon after this essay is published. But I strongly suspect the data will show a sharp plunge in speculators long contracts due to forced selling as their stops were hit, along with a sizable but not major jump in short contracts. This new CoT report should illuminate much.

While I was well aware of the risk of cascading gold-futures selling due to speculators excessive longs, and have warned about it in all of our newsletters for several months, Tuesdays running of the stops was still a major surprise. Since gold-futures speculators had weathered golds technical weakness and that enormous Fed-hawkishness ramp in late August, I figured the risks of them selling en masse were waning.

No such luck though. Tuesdays surprise plunge was exceptionally damaging to sentiment, naturally spawning a vast surge in bearishness. And it definitely shattered golds bull-market uptrend. Still, the technical damage to 2016s young gold bull is fairly modest. Gold was merely driven back to pre-Brexit-vote levels that were first seen in this bull in mid-March. That does nothing to invalidate or threaten golds bull.

As of Wednesdays close, the data cutoff for this essay, golds total pullback since early July extended to just 7.2%. Thats still fairly mild, and vastly smaller than bull-slaying territory. In addition, golds plunge forced it back near its 200-day moving average. 200dmas usually prove strong support within ongoing bull markets. So odds are high gold will catch a bid very soon here and bounce right back up into its bull uptrend.

Obviously given futures speculators Fed-rate-hike obsession, this mornings monthly US jobs report is a key factor in the timing of golds bounce. This essay draft was finalized Thursday after close, before that jobs data arrived. By the time you read this, youll know if jobs missed expectations which is dovish for Fed-rate-hike expectations fueling a gold rally on a futures bid. Or jobs couldve beat, pushing gold the other way.

But theres one thing we can be absolutely sure of, speculators gold-futures trading was the sole culprit behind Tuesdays gold plunge. While speculators drive short-term gold action, its new bull this year is the result of heavy stock-market capital inflows into physical gold bullion via shares in the leading GLD SPDR Gold Shares gold ETF. If investors played a role in Tuesdays gold plunge, GLDs holdings would reveal it.

This chart looks at GLDs physical gold-bullion holdings held in trust for its shareholders, which this ETF reports daily. GLD is exceedingly important because it acts as a direct conduit for stock-market capital to flow into gold, driving it higher. In order to keep GLD achieving its mission of mirroring gold, this ETFs managers have to quickly equalize any excess buying or selling pressure on GLD shares directly into gold itself.

GLD shares have their own supply-and-demand profile independent from golds. So when American stock investors bid up GLD shares faster than gold is being bought, this ETF threatens to decouple from gold to the upside. GLDs managers must shunt that excess demand into gold to maintain tracking. So they issue enough new shares to offset the excess demand, and use the proceeds to buy more gold bullion.

Differential GLD-share demand is actually the whole story of 2016s gold bull! In the first quarter of this year, the GLD holdings build of 176.9 metric tons represented a whopping 80.6% of the total worldwide gold-demand growth year-over-year. In the second quarter, the GLD holdings builds share shot up to a staggering 93.6% of total global gold-demand growth! Differential GLD-share buying is golds dominant driver.

The reason golds young bull stalled out in the third quarter is because American stock investors GLD-share demand evaporated. The Q1, Q2, and Q3 GLD builds of 176.9t or 27.5%, 130.8t or 16.0%, and -0.2% or -2.1t fully explain why gold surged in the first half of this year before consolidating high last quarter. With stock-market capital inflows so dominantly critical to golds bull, they were a suspect in Tuesdays plunge.

But the hard daily holdings data released by GLDs managers conclusively proves that stock investors had nothing at all to do with Tuesdays gold plunge! These holdings were dead flat at 948.0t the very day that gold plummeted 3.3%, indicating GLD shareholders were selling no faster than the gold-futures speculators. On Wednesday, GLD experienced an utterly trivial 0.0% draw taking its holdings to 947.6t.

This was a big relief too, and very bullish for gold. If Tuesdays plunge had been driven by the investors who fueled golds new bull market, that could be the vanguard of more investor selling. And if investors abandon gold now, its young bull is doomed since their buying is the only thing that pushed gold higher this year. As of the data cutoff for this essay, thankfully investors remain strong hands and arent fleeing.

Unlike futures speculators ultra-short-term focus necessitated by their super-risky hyper-leverage, gold investors are long-term players. Their gold positions are held outright, so a 3% drop in gold is just a 3% unrealized loss, not orders of magnitude greater like futures speculators amplified losses. As long as investors dont start dumping gold, its bull market remains alive and well and due for a major rebound higher.

But when investors are away, the speculators will play. Gold investment buying via GLD shares stalled in Q3 because stock markets soared to new record highs on hopes of more central-bank easing after that Brexit vote. Since gold generally moves counter to stock markets, investment demand wanes when stocks thrive. The lack of investor buying gives futures speculators an outsized impact on golds price.

Thankfully wild gold-price moves driven by extreme gold-futures trading are very short-lived. The great leverage inherent in futures necessitates that major position shifts occur rapidly. These traders cant afford to react gradually to adverse gold moves, so they all act at once resulting in quick violent action that soon fades. Since Tuesdays gold-futures stop running didnt spill into Wednesday, its probably over.

The worst impact of that surprise mass liquidation of gold-futures longs came in the gold miners stocks. Since their profits amplify the gold price, gold stocks took a colossal hit on Tuesday. The leading gold-stock benchmark HUI NYSE Arca Gold BUGS Index plummeted 10.1% to golds 3.3% loss on Tuesday! While that 3.1x leverage was reasonable for such a sharp gold plunge, it was gold stocks worst day in 14.5 months.

The gold-stock carnage sparked by that futures-driven gold plunge was breathtaking. Any stock traders who prudently had stop losses to protect their capital, including us, watched their gold stocks plummet to their stops and get sold. This stop running was automatic forced selling just like that seen in futures, exacerbating the sharp gold-stock plunge. It made for an exceedingly-challenging day for gold-stock traders.

Just like in gold, this bull-market-uptrend-breaking gold-stock plummet was a total surprise technically. The gold stocks as measured by the HUI had already suffered a massive correction of 22.0% between their early-August bull-to-date high and the end of that same month. That looked like a durable bottom sentimentally and technically, as gold stocks spent all of September grinding higher along bull-uptrend support.

But unfortunately they were just below that support line when Tuesdays cascading gold-futures selloff hit. So the resulting capitulation-like snowballing selling fueled by stop losses being triggered in rapid succession also shattered the gold stocks young-bull uptrend. The HUI was battered back down to mid-April levels, extending this sectors total correction to an enormous 28.4% over 2.0 months! It was brutal.

Naturally this calamity wreaked tremendous sentiment damage among gold-stock traders that will take some time to repair. Nevertheless, just like in gold Tuesdays plummet did nothing to put the new gold-stock bull in jeopardy. While its uptrend was reshaped, this sector was still up an astounding market-dominating 83.1% year-to-date at Tuesdays close. And it left the HUI right at its 200dma, major bull support.

So once gold inevitably catches a bid again soon here, likely on the Fed-levitated stock markets rolling over, gold stocks are going to surge higher again. Despite the technical damage, the core fundamentals of this sector remain very strong. Remember that in the second quarter, the latest data available, the elite gold miners of GDX and gold juniors of GDXJ had average all-in sustaining costs of just $886 and $887!

So the gold-mining sector remains very profitable at $1250 gold or even lower. And interestingly, the gold miners third-quarter operating results coming out in the next 5 weeks or so are going to prove way better than the second quarters. Q3s average gold price powered 6.0% higher quarter-on-quarter, so the next batch of quarterly gold-miner results are going to be very appealing to investors and drive much buying.

If you suffered a mass stopping this week, youre not alone. Such an extreme gold-stock down day that erupted from just over correction lows had to trigger the vast majority of stops out there. While it is certainly discouraging seeing much or most of your gold-stock and silver-stock portfolio stopped out, it is merely a setback on the road to huge major-upleg gains. They are well worth suffering an occasional selling anomaly.

Heres the math. Assume the capital you have invested in gold stocks for the next upleg has an indexed value of 100. Even if all your positions are stopped at 20% losses, that takes the value to 80. But the key is remembering uplegs in gold-stock bulls are massive. In early 2016 the HUI blasted 131.8% higher in just 3.3 months for example! 50% to 100%+ upleg gains within gold-stock bulls are totally normal and common.

Take that 80 indexed portfolio value after the mass stopping and redeploy into the resulting capitulation lows, and 50% to 100% upleg gains will catapult it back up to 120 to 160. Those are total portfolio gains of 20% to 60%, typically in well under a year! While suffering a stopping is suboptimal and frustrating, it doesnt great impede capital growth and wealth multiplication if redeployed since gold-stock uplegs are so big.

Tuesdays anomalous futures-driven stop running hammering gold, silver, and their miners stocks truly changed nothing whatsoever on the fundamental front. The precious metals remain in strong new bulls almost certain to mean revert radically higher from here following their extreme secular lows of late 2015. This sector is extremely oversold, and due for a sharp rebound higher kicking off the next major uplegs.

Investors and speculators can play them in the leading gold and gold-stock ETFs of GLD, GDX, and GDXJ. But as always the greatest gains will come in the individual gold stocks and silver stocks with superior fundamentals. While they were slammed this week on snowballing stop-loss selling, they are going to come roaring back with a vengeance once gold inevitably catches a bid. Todays buy-low opportunity is fleeting.

At Zeal we too suffered a mass stopping on this weeks improbable anomalous plunge. But decades of experience have taught me that extreme gold-stock selloffs late in bull-market corrections have to be quickly bought to ride subsequent sharp V-bounces higher. So even on Tuesday afternoon before the dust settled, we already started aggressively redeploying in the beaten-down gold stocks at amazing prices.

We bought 10 fundamentally-superior gold stocks and silver stocks in our acclaimed weekly newsletter published Tuesday afternoon, with more buying to come. That along with our monthly draws on our vast experience, knowledge, wisdom, and ongoing research to explain whats going on in the markets, why, and how to trade them with specific stocks. This expertise is most valuable and essential when traders are most scared, since thats when the best bargains are found. Subscribe today for just $10 an issue!

The bottom line is gold suffered an anomalous futures-driven selloff this week. As the gold price drifted lower through key support levels, futures stop losses were triggered. This automatic mechanical selling forced gold even lower, tripping more stops so futures selling cascaded. The resulting plunges in gold, silver, and their miners stocks shattered their young-bull-market uptrends and greatly damaged sentiment.

But these bull markets are very much alive and well despite this technical carnage. Investors werent dumping gold, and extreme gold-futures selling is always short-lived. So the precious metals are due for a sharp rebound higher out of deeply-oversold conditions, likely fueled by gold catching a bid on stock-market weakness. This will ignite these bulls next major uplegs, yielding huge gains for brave contrarians.

Adam Hamilton, CPA

So how can you profit from this information? We publish an acclaimed monthly newsletter, Zeal Intelligence , that details exactly what we are doing in terms of actual stock and options trading based on all the lessons we have learned in our market research. Please consider joining us each month for tactical trading details and more in our premium Zeal Intelligence service at  www.zealllc.com/subscribe.htm

Questions for Adam? I would be more than happy to address them through my private consulting business. Please visit www.zealllc.com/adam.htm for more information.

Thoughts, comments, or flames? Fire away at zelotes@zealllc.com . Due to my staggering and perpetually increasing e-mail load, I regret that I am not able to respond to comments personally. I will read all messages though and really appreciate your feedback!

Copyright 2000 - 2016 Zeal Research ( www.ZealLLC.com )

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




The Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of Yemen's internationally recognised government denied carrying out air strikes on a funeral in Sanaa which rebels said killed more than 100 people on Saturday.

The coalition said in a statement that it had no operations at the location and "other causes" for the incident must be considered.

It said the alliance "has in the past avoided such gatherings and (they) have never been a subject of targeting."

The Iran-backed Houthis swept into Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced across much of Yemen, forcing the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee the capital.

More than 6,700 people -- most of them civilians -- have been killed in Yemen since the coalition intervened in support of Hadi in March last year, according to the United Nations.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


BOSTON A Boston woman has been charged with stabbing her husband to death.

The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Karen Edwards, 36, of Roxbury,was expected to be arraigned Friday afternoon.

Edwards is charged with stabbing her husband during a domestic dispute. Police were called to the couple's Roxbury home just after midnight Friday and found Edward's husband suffering from stab wounds. He was taken to a local hospital where he died a short time later.
Nate Parker

Nate Parker, the director, screenwriter and star of "The Birth of a Nation," poses at the premiere of the film at the Cinerama Dome on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016, in Los Angeles. Robert Romer will speak at the Jones Library Oct. 15 in a series inspired by the film.

(Chris Pizzello)

AMHERST -- As part of a nationwide lecture series inspired by the new film "The Birth of a Nation," local historian Robert Romer will speak about five people who resisted slavery in the Connecticut Valley.

His talk, "Slavery in the Valley: Five Unsung Heroes Who Resisted," is Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m. at the Jones Library.

Slavery was widespread in the Connecticut Valley in colonial times, where most of the "important people," including ministers, owned two or three black slaves, according to a Jones Library press release.

Romer will talk about how not all those enslaved passively accepted their status as the property of white owners. He will focus on five who, in various ways, actively resisted.

Romer is Amherst College emeritus professor of physics and author of "Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts."

Created by the American Library Association, the lecture series is inspired by actor and director Nate Parker's "The Birth of a Nation" and runs from Aug. 21 through Oct. 30 to commemorate the slave rebellion launched by Nat Turner, which lasted during those dates in 1831.

The film depicts Turner's rebellion and shares a title with a 1915 Ku Klux Klan propaganda film. It opens next month.

The lecture series also marks the 185th anniversary of Turner's rebellion and the United Nations International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, observed annually on Aug. 23.
WATERTOWN, Conn. A veteran teacher was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault and disorderly conduct after two students alleged that he touched them inappropriately during the past year.

Stanley Mikrut, 61,has been a high school teach in Watertown for the past 15 years, school officials told the Hartford Courant.

The two students told authorities that Mikrut assaulted them during the past academic year between November 2015 and June of 2016.

As soon as the allegations were made, school officials contacted Watertown police and the state Department of Children and Families.

Mikrut was arraigned in court and released on $25,000 bond pending a later hearing.
A Nigerian state where clashes between the military and Shia Muslims led to over 300 deaths last year has banned the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), saying it was a security threat.

Two days of violence began on December 12, when supporters of the pro-Iranian cleric and IMN head, Ibrahim Zakzaky, refused to allow the chief of army staff's convoy to pass through the northern city of Zaria in Kaduna state.

In April, rights group Amnesty International accused Nigeria's military of shooting dead more than 300 Shia Muslims, burying them in mass graves and destroying evidence of the crime.

The Kaduna state government later confirmed the Amnesty report, saying that the army used "excessive force" and that those responsible for the killings should be prosecuted.

But in a press release issued late Friday, Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai said IMN was a threat to Nigeria.

"The Kaduna state government has issued an order declaring the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) an unlawful society," a statement said.

It said the term applied to "any organisation whose activities are dangerous to the security and good governance of the state."

The IMN said it would challenge the move. "We are not surprised by this decision of the Kaduna state government to ban the IMN," spokesman Ibrahim Musa told AFP.

"What do expect from someone that attacked you in your house, killed people in hundreds and demolished homes for no just reason?" Musa said.

"We condemn this illegal decision in the strongest terms and we will challenge this decision through all legitimate means."

IMN leader Zakzaky, who lost an eye and was left partly paralysed in the violence, has been held in custody since December.

He has previously been imprisoned for calling for an Iranian-style revolution to create an Islamic state in the country's north.

There have been fears the military action against the Shiite group in Zaria could trigger another violent uprising similar to that of Boko Haram, whose insurgency has left some 20,000 dead since 2009.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Missoulas streets could see an additional 30,000 vehicle trips by 2045 if local officials opt to maintain the status quo rather than add resources to other travel modes, transportation officials said this week.

Metropolitan Planning Organization http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/1465/Transportation-Planning

The city will host its third and final public meeting and open house on Oct. 20. The session will be held in City Council chambers from 5-7:30 p.m.

By Martin Kidston

Full Story: http://www.missoulacurrent.com/growth-and-development/2016/10/missoula-transportation-plan/

***

"The whole idea of owning a car, parking it for $1,000 a month, and not using it 95% of the time is ludicrous." General Motors vice president of urban mobility to an auditorium full of automotive executives in New York City

The Car-Centric Future of Planning Data  Its no longer about "Carcatecture" http://www.matr.net/article-73017.html

Futuristic Simulation Finds Self-Driving "Taxibots" Will Eliminate 90% Of Cars, Open Acres Of Public Space http://www.matr.net/article-73038.html

Will Driving Your Own Car Become the Socially Unacceptable Public Health Risk Smoking is Today? http://www.matr.net/article-73511.html

Why Smarter Cars Need Smarter Cities http://www.matr.net/article-73521.html

One town is subsidizing commuters Uber rides for $2 each instead of building a new parking lot http://www.matr.net/article-73651.html

Subscribe and drive service promises car ownership alternative http://www.matr.net/article-73439.html

Lyfts John Zimmer shares his vision for autonomous transportation future http://www.matr.net/article-73379.html

Sharing Economy Hits Home as Developers Ditch Parking Spaces http://www.matr.net/article-73317.html

More about Transportation in the very near future: http://www.matr.net/news.phtml?showall=1&catlabel=Transportation&cat_id=19
SBA 504 Loans offered statewide! Real estate and equipment, acquisitions, renovation, and new construction. Low, fixed-rates up to 25 years with as little as 10% down.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump scrambled to prevent his campaign from falling apart early on Saturday with a hastily prepared video statement expressing regret for making lewd comments about women.

Trump declared himself a changed man, but in making his own defense he raised the infidelities of former President Bill Clinton and slammed his Democratic opponent in the Nov. 8 election, Hillary Clinton, saying he would talk more about their past in coming days. Trump has dismissed questions about his own martial infidelities as irrelevant.

Disclosure of a 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking openly about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped months after Trump married his third wife, Melania.

Democrats have sought to highlight such behavior in order to encourage women voters not to support Trump with less than a month to go until the Nov. 8 election.

The video overshadowed the publication of excerpts of Clinton's closed-door paid speeches that were made public on Friday by a hacker who claimed to have obtained them from the email account of John Podesta, the chairman of the Democrat's campaign.

In the speeches, Clinton advocates for more open borders and trade, a position she abandoned during the primary because it was politically untenable to Democratic progressives. Likewise, Trump has repeatedly criticized her for past support of free trade.

The video landed just ahead of the second presidential debate on Sunday night, which had been seen as critical for Trump to try to rebound from a dip in some opinion polls after a rocky performance in the first debate.

"This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we're facing today," he said, before turning to former President Bill Clinton's infidelities.

"We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday," Trump said in his statement.

The bombshell development rocked Trump's campaign to its core and some Republican lawmakers disavowed him.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan withdrew an invitation for Trump to visit Wisconsin on Saturday and there were some calls for the New York businessman to step aside to let his vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, become the party's standard-bearer.

"Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page.

COMMENTS CONDEMNED

Trump's comments aired in a near-constant loop on U.S. news programs on Friday.

"I did try and fuck her. She was married," Trump said about one woman, before discussing his attraction to others.

"I just start kissing them," he said. "And when you're a star they let you do it."

"Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything," Trump said.

A stream of Republican leaders condemned Trump's lewd remarks, but a few lawmakers distanced themselves further.

U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who has been one of Clinton's fiercest critics, said he had retracted his endorsement of Trump, telling CNN he would not be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he voted for Trump.

Utah's Republican Governor Gary Herbert said on Twitter he would also no longer vote for Trump. "Tonight, millions of Republicans are facing a moment of truth," Herbert said.

Republican lawmaker Mike Coffman from Colorado told CBS that Trump should "step aside" and said "his defeat at this point seems almost certain."

Other prominent Republicans indicated they would stick with their support of Trump. Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, both told news outlets they will continue to support Trump.

Conservatives point to the fact that the winner of the November election will get to appoint a Supreme Court justice as reason to stick with Trump despite the controversial video. Greg Mueller, a conservative Republican strategist, pointed to Clinton's views on abortion as a reason religious voters will stick with Trump.

"Nothing indefensible that Donald Trump said 20 years ago is going to change that," he said. "Plus, to many religious voters, Mrs. Clinton is the epitome of a corrupt politician."

Trump, known for his unconventional and controversial speaking style, has made a series of gaffes in his campaign but the graphic nature of the clip would hurt his standing among women, independents, and wavering Republicans, said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

"We've never seen something like this Trump clip in a modern presidential campaign," Yepsen said, calling the incident "sad for the American political system" and for Trump's supporters.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said "this feels like it is quickly becoming a political 'game over'" for Trump.

"Unless voters don't care about these issues or believe that this is simply political dirty tricks by releasing the videos now, Trump is going to have to pull a rabbit out of his hat in order to turn things around," Bonjean said.

Still, Trump's past controversial comments have failed to shake his core supporters, said David Axelrod, a former political adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama.

"Appalling as the (Trump) tape is, I'm reminded of all the times we have said, THIS time he's REALLY done," Axelrod said on Twitter.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Heres why that may be controversial.

If Facebook succeeds with its U.S. agenda for Free Basics  which has not been previously reported  it would mark a major victory for the company as it seeks to connect millions more to the Web, and to its own platform.

By Brian Fung

Full Story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/10/06/facebook-is-talking-to-the-white-house-about-giving-you-free-internet-heres-why-that-may-be-controversial/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_facebook-130pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
A pair of local businesses were honored as part of the 23rd Annual Family Business Day hosted by Montana State Universitys Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship.

Bozeman baked goods company Elliotts of Montana and retailer Wild West Shirt Company were among the six businesses awarded at Fridays event. Busted Knuckle Brewery in Glasgow, Cooper Hereford Ranch in Willow Creek, General Distributing Company in Great Falls and MARS Stout, Inc. in Missoula rounded out the winners.

By Lewis Kendall Chronicle Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/economy/family-business-day-honors-tight-knit-montana-entrepreneurs/article_ed5365e9-c86d-52d9-aea4-a02fc8bb1a09.html
Demonstrators took to the streets Saturday in several towns across France to protest the government's plan to relocate migrants from the squalid Calais "Jungle" camp that is being shut down to their communities.

Around 250 people joined a march in Forges-les-Bains, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) southwest of Paris, against a migrant reception centre which opened Monday, housing 44 Afghans, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.

"The state forced this centre on us but I for one don't intend to just put up and shut up," said Lea, a young mother of two, who declined to give her surname.

Valerie Rigal, a leader of the marchers who are calling for a "moratorium" on further arrivals, insisted the villagers were not opposed to all migrants.

"We're not against migrants. We would have happily taken migrant families. What we didn't want was single men only," she said.

"My daughter takes the bus outside the centre every day. She's worried about running into groups of strange men."

The leafy hamlet of 3,700 residents, surrounded by woodland and corn fields, is expected to receive 91 asylum seekers. They are to be accommodated in an imposing disused hospital surrounded by high fencing.

In Pierrefeu-du-Var, southern France, a disused part of a psychiatric hospital has been chosen by authorities to house 60 asylum seekers currently in Calais who will be relocated from November.

Opposition to that plan brought out some 600 people to a rally in the village about 20 kilometres from Hyeres near the Mediterranean coast, police said.

Patrick Martinelli, mayor of the village of 6,000 residents, with the local council voted against the state's plan to send 60 men to Pierrefeu-du-Var, arguing that "a rural village was unsuitable for receiving such a population".

The far-right National Front (FN) party later on Saturday afternoon staged in its own anti-migrant protest with around 650 supporters, according to police.

But not everyone agreed with the efforts to block the migrant centres.

Another demonstration in Pierrefeu-du-Var, organised by anti-far-right and leftist groups, took place with around 250 people carrying banners saying "Yes, to solidarity and welcome for migrants and refugees," an AFP correspondent there reported.

Also in Forges-les-Bains onlookers at the anti-migrant protests criticised the demonstrators' attitude.

"It's shameful," said Jennifer Sandalian, who works in a retirement home, fighting back tears.

"We all have a role to play in welcoming migrants, as human beings. We have to show them another image of France."

In Montpellier, southern France, around 100 protesters opposed to "the migrant invasion" and the "Islamisation" of the country were met by roughly the same number of anti-fascist demonstrators.

Riot police were deployed to separate the two groups.

And in Allex, south east France, 80 people gathered to protest the plans to resettle migrants currently in Calais across the country.

President Francois Hollande had announced during a visit to Calais last month that the makeshift camp which houses up to 10,000 people, would be dismantled by the end of the year and the asylum seekers relocated to centres around France.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Regulators in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen are considering tighter rules for the ride-hailing industry, including requiring drivers to have a local residency permit for the city they work in.

The three major cities rolled out draft rules on internet-based ride-hailing businesses on Saturday, two months after the country legalized the industry. Regulators in the three cities said that only those drivers with a local hukou can be in the business and they can use only cars registered in the city in which the drivers are working.

The draft rules are open for comment until late October and early November.

The ride-hailing businesses is a part of the taxi industry so it should follow regulations that forbid taxi drivers from operating outside the city where they are registered, the Shanghai government said on its official WeChat account.

The draft rules upset Didi Chuxing Technology Co., the biggest car-hailing platform in the country. The pending regulation will "raise the entry bar" and control the number of cars on the street "in disguise," Didi said in a public statement. In Shanghai, fewer than 10,000 out of 410,000 drivers providing ride-hailing services are local residents, the company added.

Didi bought Uber Technologies Inc.'s Chinese business in August.

When the central government lifted a cloud of regulatory uncertainty hanging over ride-hailing companies, Liu Xiaoming, vice minister of transport, said the industry should provide a "differentiated" service with better quality and not directly compete with taxi drivers.

However, Didi said the local governments' interpretation of the policy will increase fares and reduce drivers' income.

"What can I do?" said 27-year-old Li Aqiang, who just came to Beijing at the beginning of this year from Henan province. "I might just continue doing business illegally."

State-owned Dazhong Transportation Group Co. Ltd., which provides traditional taxi service in Shanghai, said it welcomes the government's move to rein in the industry.

Contact reporter Chen Na (nachen@caixin.com); editor Ken Howe (kennethhowe@caixin.com)
Authorities said Friday they arrested a Marion man and charged him with assault.

Deputy Steven McPeters of the McDowell County Sheriffs Office charged Tom Xayavong, 32, of 1267 Pinnacle Church Road in Marion with assault inflicting serious injury.

Xayavong and the victim, 52-year-old Hermon McDaniels, are both residents of Cedarbrook Residential Center.

At approximately 7:35 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6, the pair got into an argument and then an altercation at the facility.

Xayavong beat McDaniels, causing facial injuries to the victim.

Xayavong received a $500 bond.
On Thursday, two local authors will have a joint book-signing event at MACA to celebrate their works.

Writers Rita Silver Hollifield and Karen Nilsen will together talk about their books and sign copies at the McDowell Arts Council Association on Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. Both of their works are novels and this is their first-ever book signing.

Hollifield, who writes under the name of Rita Silver, should be familiar with a lot of McDowell High School graduates who took English courses there. She taught English at McDowell High School for several years and then was a teacher at R-S Central High School. She worked part-time at Western Piedmont Community College until this semester.

Hollifield has always enjoyed writing and literature. She just released her new novel Keep Off the Grass, which she finished in August.

Its a cozy mystery, she said. It about three retired teachers who live together and they find a dead naked man on the front lawn. And things go downhill from there.

Someone is messing with their golden years and they dont like it, reads a flier for the book-signing.

Hollifield said this novel is a humorous story which unfolds in 317 pages.

Nilsen will promote and sign copies of her short novel Fledgling Witch. It is a prequel to her much longer series The Landers Saga.

Nilsen and her parents moved to western North Carolina from northeastern Minnesota when she was just 11. Both of her parents were artists. Her father Glenn Nilsen was a skilled woodcarver who specialized in highly detailed wildlife sculpture while her mother Cynthia Nilsen was a potter and painter. Karen Nilsen has used her mothers paintings and drawing for the cover art of her books.

Nilsen graduated from McDowell High in 1997 and attended Wingate University where she majored in history and minored in English. She worked for a few years at the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer and now works as the office manager of the Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort. She helps write Historys Dibs and Dabs, which are short segments about regional history presented on public radio station WNCW. Nilsen has worked and still does some contract work for SUWS, the therapeutic camp near Andrews Geyser.

Nilsen has been writing fiction since she was a teen-ager. Her multi-volume Landers Saga takes place in the world of Tudor England and is a skewed Renaissance world of witch burnings, sword fights and court intrigue. She started writing this series when she was 14 and had written a million words when she finished the first draft in 2004.

In 2010, The Witch Awakening: Book One of the Landers Saga was published. This was followed by more books in the series. The third book was published in 2011.

The short volume Fledgling Witch is a prequel to the entire saga even though it was written after the first few books were produced.

Its amazing shes produced what she has, said Hollifield of Nilsen.

Nilsen has been working on another series of fantasy books, the Phoenix Realm series. Her next book in this series should be complete by 2017.

Both writers said finding the time to devote to your work can be the hardest challenge. Theres so many things that take up your time, said Hollifield.

Its an intuitive process, said Nilsen. I need silence to hear the characters talk to me. You have to carve out these niches of time to commit to it. You have to find what works for you.

Both are in a book club together and they got the idea of holding a joint book-signing.

Im one of her fans, said Hollifield of Nilsen.

Well, Im one of yours, said Nilsen back.

Fledgling Witch sells for $5 while The Witch Awakening goes for $15. Keep Off the Grass sells for $12.

For more information, contact MACA at 652-8610.
The fear of clowns is called coulrophobia and it is sweeping the nation, or at least popping up in the news between Kardashian robberies and Trump tweets.

Creepy clown sightings, or the 2106 round of creepy clown sightings, began in South Carolina in August. Creepy clowns were reportedly trying to lure people into the woods to do what creepy clowns do, which is unspecified but probably unpleasant.

In an essay for CNN, psychology professor Frank T. McAndrew notes creepy clowns have stuck their big, red noses into the national consciousness before.

He writes, This isn't the first time there has been a wave of clown sightings in the United States. After eerily similar events occurred in the Boston area in the 1980s, 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).

Back in South Carolina, authorities were trying to calm a panicked public.

Many of you have inquired about clowns being spotted in the woods near Fleetwood Manor Apartments, Greenville County Deputy Drew Pinciaro said in a statement, according to WYFF News 4. As of todays date, there has been one incident report filed with our office regarding this.

And, from there, creepy clown sightings, reports, social media posts and hoaxes exploded, showing up in nearly every state. Authorities charged several people with making false creepy clown reports  seriously  and at least two teens in Virginia for chasing children while in clown masks, according to NBC News.

The Washington Posts Ben Guarino reported that on Oct. 4, a Bloomberg reporter asked White House press secretary Josh Earnest if President Obama was aware of the clown reports and associated arrests. Earnest said he did not know if the president had been briefed on creepy clowns, and deferring to the FBI and Department of Homeland Security on the jester specifics.

Stephen King, author of the creepy clown classic It, even weighed in on the controversy, tweeting Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria  most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.

As the fourth most popular columnist for this award-winning publication, I feel an obligation to help ratchet down the clown hoopla and ease unwarranted fear with the following public service announcement:

Hello. Im Scott Hollifield, the fourth-most popular columnist for this award-winning publication after the recent round of cutbacks.

Are you afraid to leave your home because of creepy clown reports? Have you been caught up in this media circus, a circus that features only creepy clowns and no lion tamers or tight-rope walkers or $11 boxes of stale popcorn?

No need to worry. Creepy clowns are just a fad fueled mainly by social media, mass hysteria and our desperate need to be distracted from the most frightening presidential race in the history of our nation.

A majority of clowns  I would say 55 to 60 percent  are not homicidal maniacs who hope to lure passersby into the dark and forbidding woods to perform unspeakable acts of horror upon them.

Most real clowns are talented performers practicing an art with roots going back to ancient Egypt, individuals who hope to spread laughter and smiles one confetti-filled bucket and squirting flower lapel pin at a time.

Sure, some of you legitimately suffer from coulrophobia and are understandably frightened by these latest reports. I suggest those afflicted with this fear avoid places frequented by clowns, such as circuses, childrens birthday parties and congressional committee meetings. Also, those suffering from coulrophobia should not accept rides from people driving small cars with a dozen others inside.

For the rest of us, though, there is no need to panic. At least not until Election Day.

Scott Hollifield is editor/GM of The McDowell News in Marion, N.C. and a humor columnist. Contact him at rhollifield@mcdowellnews.com.
by Sara Guaglione , October 7, 2016

Bloomberg Media is expanding its marketing services capabilities with the hire of Steven Feuling.



He will oversee and grow a team that will help B2B advertisers create marketing strategies and content for Bloomberg Medias properties and other outlets.

Feuling, who was most recently U.S. CEO of the Dentsu Aegis agency Vizeum, will take on the role of global head of marketing services on October 10.

He will also work with Kinection, Bloomberg Media's custom content studio.

"The role that a publisher -- especially one founded in data and technology -- can play in helping a brand authentically connect through storytelling is growing exponentially. We are doubling down with the best strategic, analytic and creative talent to help brands meet their business outcomes," stated Bloomberg Media COO Jacki Kelley.

Kelley added that she and Feuling had worked together previously at Yahoo.

The appointment is an effort by Bloomberg Media to build out its content studios and marketing services to diversify its revenue streams beyond its existing outlets.

The effort is also being led by CEO Justin Smith and Kelley, who have helped Bloomberg Medias global advertising revenue grow more than 8% year-to-date through the end of September, compared to the same time period last year. Custom content revenue has grown more than 70% year-over-year, according to the company.

Bloomberg Media is moving forward with several new global initiatives with the potential for high growth. Marketing services is high on that list," stated Smith.
by P.J. Bednarski , Staff Writer @pjbtweet, October 7, 2016

All those shrimp arent going to waste.

As reported by eMarketer, new research from Advertiser Perceptions concludes that 51% of respondents to a survey believe attending upfronts and NewFronts this year had a positive influence on their spending decisions. Last year, that figure was 44%.

Since its a pretty nebulous question, it might be that the questioners just found 6% more Speak-No-Evil ad executives.

From the chatter I overhear, people at NewFronts, at least, spend quite a lot of energy talking about the showcases theyve attended. I wouldnt say its half the conversations I hear, but its probably 20%. Which, Id say, is pretty good.

But really, many arent sure of NewFronts. Usually a survey that includes a big percentage of respondents who fall in the dont know basket is saying something not altogether positive.

advertisement advertisement

This year, 42% of the respondents said their view of NewFronts and upfronts as a useful tool rated no more than a neutral, a very nice way of saying theyre really not sure.

Thats down from 55% a year ago. But at the same time, last year only 1% thought upfronts and NewFronts had a negative influence on their ad spend. And this year that number is up to 7%.

Upfronts seem to be a staple in the TV business with broadcast networks and just about everybody in cable. NewFronts is more complicated by the sheer volume of content hawkers, but as a show-and-tell event, its probably necessary.

It is somewhat aspirational, really. At the last NewFronts many presenters promised--they promised!--theyd actually produce the programming they were talking about on stage. And they promised that on stage, too.

The idea of convening around a subject seems tribal, and when those things start to fall apart, it is a signal of big change. Last week, cables trade group, the NCTA, cancelled its annual trade show, 65 years old.

Once it was called The Cable Show and could draw up to 30,000. Last year it was renamed the Internet and Television Expo and attracted 8,000.

In a space marked by innovation and disruption, an organization must have the courage to make more dramatic transformations if it truly wants to adapt and remain a leading voice. the NCTA said in a statement. Michael Powell, the former FCC chairman and current NCTA president, called the cable show an anachronism.

Just last month, in the tradition of ESPN and TLC the NCTA just skipped on what its organizational letters even stood for. Once the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, it awkwardly renamed itself NCTA-The Internet & Television Association.

A Website called StopTheCap.com, reports this is the fourth iteration of NCTA, which started as the National Community Television Association and then the National Cable Television Association and then the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. All those names, including this new NCT-Ahh-Whatever, could make good chapter headings in the history book of cable television. There's probably a lesson for the online video business in there.

pj@mediapost.com
Can digital display advertising continue to be profitable for publishers? Only if it evolves, according to Michael Friedenberg, CEO of IDG Communications. "I predict it will be the new print, he said.

Media companies with a similar business model to IDG  which publishes tech sites like Computerworld, MacWorld and NetworkWorld and is 100% digital in the U.S.  will continue to feel pressure on CPMs, with issues like ad fraud and ad blocking, Friedenberg said.

The future of digital display is what he calls cognitive media, where ads will move from predictive to prescriptive.

Publishers will have to layer firmographic, demographic and contextual data with when the reader hits the site with the right message.

Thats where the market is going to have to progress. And this will accelerate as that media gets transacted through a programmatic channel, Friedenberg said.

In other words, publishers will have to marry data with IP addresses with the right messages.

Friedenberg does not think digital display revenue will completely go away, but media companies will have to transition to a much more scientific, data type of environment.

Friedenberg believes that modern publishers must balance the art and science of the media industry to either deepen the engagement with your readers or drive revenue and grow your business."

Going into 2017, a key issue for publishers will be transparency, Friedenberg said. He thinks Its essential to build a trustworthy relationship with readers and advertisers alike.

Its really upon us as media companies... to be transparent about what you are delivering. And I dont think you see that much in the industry," he said.

"If your business model is not transparent to the advertiser or the reader, thats where mistrust occurs. We need to return to the fundamental basics. Maybe its old-school, but its something we should revisit as an industry. For example, at IDG we do not buy traffic.

As a 52-year-old company, IDG has both the benefits and challenges of being an older media company. Friedenberg admitted there were issues of "legacy and culture" when IDG pubs went digital-only in the last few years.

But I would much rather have a well-established business than try to grow in this environment, he said.

How did IDG make the transition?

You really need to have a digital-first mindset and learn where is your future, versus what is your past, he said, and you end up making hard decisions along the way, he said.

Someone once told me... in order to let the flowers grow, you need to pull the weeds. And sometimes over time what was once a flower is now a weed.

Businesses that were once successful now have declining revenue streams, he said. What publishers need is the right talent, ownership and investments to make the transition happen effectively.

Its not easy, he said.

For example, Friedenberg said IDG was once primarily focused on content. Now, its just as committed to commerce and data, as well as content marketing, video, mobile, social and native.

We are set up nicely. If digital display takes a hiccup  which Im predicting  our business isnt going to crater.

What alarms Friedenberg are the media companies that are still 70% -80% print."

"I know where that ends. Its not going to last, he said.
Advertisement

The surgery was performed by pioneering Swedish doctor Mats Brannstrom, who is the only person in the world to deliver babies  five so far  from women with donated wombs.Around the time Ms Eriksson was 15 years old, she began wondering why she had not got her period. A number of tests later revealed that she had been born without a womb and doctors said she would never be able to carry her own children.Ms Eriksson began reading about scientists attempting to create organs from stem cells and was told about the womb transplant research being pursued by Dr Brannstrom, when she was in her 20s.Ms Eriksson's mother Marie Eriksson, 53 years old decided to offer her womb to her daughter."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'." she said.Ms Eriksson emailed Dr Brannstrom and after dozens of medical tests for both Ms Ericksson and her mother, they were accepted into his trial testing the pioneering transplant.Finally, Ms Eriksson's husband, Daniel Chrysong could see some light at the end of the tunnel.Ms Eriksson had two mild rejection episodes in the months after the surgery, but doses of steroids helped them pass.After a year, Ms Eriksson was finally ready to attempt to get pregnant and Dr Brannstrom's team transferred a single embryo into her womb, which Ms Eriksson and Mr Chrysong had created during in-vitro fertilisation.An initial pregnancy test returned a negative result, but another a week later revealed a baby had been conceived.And finally Ms Eriksson gave birth to a healthy baby boy Albin in 2014.Ms Eriksson's agreed to share her story 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.Dr 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.After successful uterus transplants in mice in 1999 and tests in rats, sheep, pigs and monkeys, the surgery was first performed on humans in 2012.No other doctor in the world has succeeded, despite attempts in the US, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and ongoing efforts in China, Britain, France, the Czech Republic and elsewhere.The first of Dr Brannstom's patients' babies was born in 2014 and the fifth arrived in January; another is due in early 2017.Other fertility 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.Dr Brannstom said he believed the operation would one day be common, and he is working with doctors elsewhere, including at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic in the US, to perfect the procedure.Source: Medindia
As the temperature rises on the political campaign trail, some voters are saying Donald Trump will perhaps be a dictator. Some are saying, Hillary Clinton knows how to work the White House so well, the general public wont have any idea about whats going on.

Many people are still unable to commit to a candidate and many are so frustrated they are saying they will not vote. As I see it, if you dont vote its a confirmation and approval of the way the government is being run.

Lets reflect: the current Congress that actually runs the country, is doing a great job. They dont pass any bills and are pretty much giving our country away. They have lost control of all of their powers and are content to let the executive branch, or other top officials, do whatever they please.

Take a look at the changes in our everyday lives. Every news report confirms that Homeland Security has failed to provide security. They have an unlimited budget and yet the job is not being done. Last month, a person who set off homemade bombs in New Jersey and New York was apprehended, aided by luck and technology according to news reports. The man, Ahmad Khan Rahami, who created fear around the country was not on any watch list in spite of prior knowledge of him and his familys frequent visits to Afghanistan. Rahami also spent a year in Pakistan and was questioned upon his return and cleared without any concerns noted. Homeland Security was aware, or should have been, of all the turmoil around the familys restaurant. So with all this knowledge, why did they not have him on a watch list?

After his picture was put forth in all the media sources, the Homeland folks announced that we knew about him. Did they know he was making bombs? Did they know how frequently he visited his homeland or why he spent a year in Pakistan? Sure they made a quick arrest, but not until the bomber had struck twice and had a third attempt fail. Did they arrest his father, who also traveled frequently to the homeland?

As I mentioned earlier, if you dont vote or at least pay attention to what is occurring right in front of you, it means you support all of the actions that have taken place the past several years. One of them involves everyones medical insurance, which is handled by the Department of Health and Human Services. Sounds pretty impressive right, so lets take a look at how they are doing.

It was declared what we had for health care wasnt working, too many people were not insured. In 2010, six years ago, the Health Care Reform act  all 1,990 pages, was signed into law by President Barack Obama. It is still being contested and causing total chaos throughout the medical industry.

Of greatest concern is the impact on the nations physicians. They have strict limits regarding time spent with each patient and must post a report online regarding the visit. Their fees are also limited and strictly controlled thus you are not working with your doctor, you are being cared for by the government.

Because of the drastic changes taking place, thousands of private practice physicians are retiring or just closing up their offices.

Those of us who had the governments prescription drug plan remember well President Obamas promise when the Affordable Care Act was put into place. He would get rid of the doughnut hole. Not only has it not gone away, it has grown bigger and many, many critical medications are being withdrawn from the formularies or moved up in cost dramatically.

How about the promise that everyone would be insured without raising the cost to those who carried their own insurance. That promise was not kept either, as everyone is well aware. Insurance companies have raised their rates 100 to 200 percent and cut coverage. There are volumes of data being published about just how the Affordable Care Act has failed to resemble anything affordable. Even Bill Clinton had a comment about it.

I have only shown a light on two of the 15 executive departments. We could look at most of them and conclude the same thing. No one in Washington is doing their job. Why? Still think you want to pass on voting? Just about every government department is failing to represent the American people who elected them.

It really is time to pay closer attention, do not tune out because a horse and pony show is being put on to distract you. And after the spotlight was turned on the vice presidential choices, its difficult to hope one of them will be of much help.

Capt. Fred Davis is a retired charter captain and nationally published author of boating articles. As I See It columns appear Saturday in the Huron Daily Tribune and his Boat Smart articles are published online at www.captainfredsboattips.com.
When Michigan House member Peter Pettalia died several weeks ago in a motorcycle crash, it was a great loss for his district.

Pettalia, 61, a Republican from Presque Isle, was a strong supporter of the outdoors, snowmobiles and lighthouses.

The governor praised him as an advocate for northern Michigan who was passionate about life and helping his community. His loss was a shock to many in his district as well as in Lansing.

His loss was also felt by advocates of open government. Pettalia was a champion of open government, winning a Michigan Press Association Sunshine Award in 2015 for his leadership in promoting transparency in government.

It is common for lawmakers to have pet projects they enjoy supporting. For some, it is the environment or clean water. For others, it may be schools of choice or a business tax.

But to be an advocate for transparency in government takes a keen understanding of the purpose of government, and how it operates effectively for everyone.

Secrecy in government is a problem for all Americans  Republicans and Democrats, left and right, from a township official to the president of the United States. The only thing worse than a government making bad decisions is for that government to make those decisions in private.

Government is designed to serve the people, and that is best done in the open. Not in secret rooms, using secret messages, and getting supported with secret money.

We have laws to keep government open, although our lawmakers often do not like to make those laws nor follow them.

Pettalia was obviously from a different mold. Even though his party was the party of power at the moment, Pettalia was an advocate of the Michigan Press Associations efforts to defend free speech and open government.

We do not have a personal link to this representative, although we are sure he is well known by our local leaders who work in Lansing. But we feel saddened by his passing, especially knowing that he fought for a free press and open government. We suspect he, truly, will be hard to replace.
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.

Read More
American Water Works Company, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.4 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems. It also provides water and wastewater services on various military installations; and undertakes contracts with municipal customers, primarily to operate and manage water and wastewater facilities, as well as offers other related services. In addition, the company operates approximately 80 surface water treatment plants; 480 groundwater treatment plants; 160 wastewater treatment plants; 52,500 miles of transmission, distribution, and collection mains and pipes; 1,100 groundwater wells; 1,700 water and wastewater pumping stations; 1,300 treated water storage facilities; and 76 dams. It serves approximately 14 million people with drinking water, wastewater, and other related services in 24 states. American Water Works Company, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey.
State Street Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The company offers investment servicing products and services, including custody; product accounting; daily pricing and administration; master trust and master custody; depotbank services; record-keeping; cash management; foreign exchange, brokerage and other trading services; securities finance and enhanced custody products; deposit and short-term investment facilities; loans and lease financing; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; performance, risk, and compliance analytics; and financial data management to support institutional investors. It also engages in the provision of portfolio management and risk analytics, as well as trading and post-trade settlement services with integrated compliance and managed data. In addition, the company offers investment management strategies and products, such as core and enhanced indexing, multi-asset strategies, active quantitative and fundamental active capabilities, and alternative investment strategies. Further, it provides services and solutions, including environmental, social, and governance investing; defined benefit and defined contribution; and global fiduciary solutions, as well as exchange-traded fund under the SPDR ETF brand. The company provides its products and services to mutual funds, collective investment funds and other investment pools, corporate and public retirement plans, insurance companies, foundations, endowments, and investment managers. State Street Corporation was founded in 1792 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its advice centers, RBC insurance stores, and mobile advisors; digital, mobile, and social platforms; independent brokers; and travel partners. Its Investor & Treasury Services segment provides asset servicing, custody, payments, and treasury services to financial and other investors; and fund and investment administration, shareholder, private capital, performance measurement and compliance monitoring, distribution, transaction banking, cash and liquidity management, foreign exchange, and global securities finance services. The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, advisory services, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, private equity firms, and governments. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
WESCO International, Inc. provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS). The EES segment supplies products and supply chain solutions, including electrical equipment and supplies, automation and connected devices, security, lighting, wire and cable, and safety, as well as maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products. This segment also offers contractor solutions, direct and indirect manufacturing supply chain optimization programs, lighting and renewables advisory services, and digital and automation solutions. The CSS segment operates in the network infrastructure and security markets. This segment sells products directly to end-users or through various channels, including data communications contractors, security, network, professional audio/visual, and systems integrators. It also provides safety and energy management solutions. The UBS segment offers products and services to investor-owned utilities; public power companies; and service and wireless providers, broadband operators, and contractors. This segment's products include wire and cable, transformers, transmission and distribution hardware, switches, protective devices, connectors, conduits, pole line hardware, racks, cabinets, safety and MRO products, and point-to-point wireless devices. This segment also offers various service solutions, including fiber project management, high and medium voltage project design and support, pre-wired meters and capacitor banks, meter testing and metering infrastructure installation, personal protective equipment dielectric testing, and tool repair, as well as emergency response, storage yard, materials, and logistics management. The company was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The littoral combat ship Montgomery is once again in need of repairs after suffering a hull breach in rough waves off Florida.

Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Haggard, a spokeswoman for Naval Surface Force Pacific, told Military.com the ship sustained a crack to its hull while departing Naval Station Mayport, Florida, under orders to sortie Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Matthew's landfall on the coast.

The mishap is under investigation, but a Navy official said it's strongly suspected that the ship collided with its tugboat.

Ships are often ordered out of port as a precaution ahead of significant storms. Haggard said the Montgomery was not the only ship told to sortie Oct. 4. Ahead of the storm, conditions were already choppy: Naval Station Mayport recorded maximum wind speeds of 28 miles per hour and maximum gusts of 38 miles per hour on Oct. 4.

The crack resulted in a minor leak, but the crew of the LCS contained the seawater intrusion, Haggard said. The damage did not necessitate an immediate return to port.

The mishap, first reported by Navy Times, is the latest in a recent series of incidents involving damage to the Navy's newest class of surface ships, but it's by no means as serious as some other recent problems.

"It's not going to be some multi-million dollar, months-long repair," Haggard said.

The Montgomery is in Mayport for repairs following previous mishaps.Three days after the ship's Sept. 10 commissioning, it suffered two unrelated engine casualties within a 24-hour period.

The ship first experienced a seawater leak in its hydraulic cooling system, apparently due to a faulty seal. Then, later that day, it took a casualty to one of its gas turbine engines, Navy officials said.

The combined damage was enough that the ship abandoned its planned transit to its San Diego homeport and set course instead for Mayport for repairs. As a result of this stint in Mayport, the ship was forced to cancel its much-anticipated appearance at Fleet Week in San Francisco, an event that began Oct. 3.

The Montgomery is the fifth littoral combat ship to sustain engineering problems in a year, a trend that likely provided part of the motivation for the Navy's decision to turn the first four LCSs into test ships and overhaul the program with engineer retraining and a revamped deployment plan.

Fortunately, apart from an engineering casualty that kept the LCS Fort Worth sidelined in Singapore for eight months, most of the damage has been repaired quickly.

In late September, Navy officials announced that the Coronado, sidelined during a Pacific transit in August, had completed repairs to its propulsion system and was en route to Hawaii to complete the remainder of its 16-month deployment in the region.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.
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.
Earlier this summer, at least one team of Raiders from Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command deployed to Iraq with a new drone that will give them a broader picture of what's happening on the battlefield.

The RQ-21A Blackjack, which reached initial operational capability for the Marine Corps in January, is deployed with MARSOC as part of a wide-ranging experimental effort to get new equipment and technology into the hands of Marines more rapidly.

Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, commander of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, said the drone's deployment was one element of a strategy to incorporate MARSOC into these broader Marine Corps efforts.

"We can benefit from what [U.S. Special Operations Command] does, from what we're doing, bring that back and go, 'OK, this is what we need to do with equipping the RQ-21,' or concepts of employment that they will use in real-world operations, and not just training," Walsh told Military.com in a September interview. "We'll be able to get them out there with their [Marine Special Operations Teams] in Iraq, operating with Iraqis as part of their special ops forces."

The Blackjack, made by Boeing subsidiary Insitu, weighs about 80 pounds unloaded and has a range of about 50 nautical miles, with the ability to fly for 16 hours at a stretch. Uniquely, the Blackjack uses a tail hook recovery system that makes it capable of operating from a ship -- a key capability for the Marine Corps.

A spokesman for MARSOC, Maj. Nicholas Mannweiler, could not speak about how the drone was being used in Iraq or how many systems were deployed, but said the command planned to assess its usefulness and share findings after the operators returned home.

"At the end of every deployment, there is a pretty comprehensive after-action and lessons learned series," he said.

The Blackjack is already testing its operational sea legs elsewhere: The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed to waters around Europe and the Middle East in late June with one of the systems, which includes five aerial vehicles.

The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, the lead ship of the amphibious ready group carrying the MEU, has been a launching platform for airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Libya since early August.

WIth fleet Marines and MARSOC both employing the drone, Walsh said the Corps had the opportunity to test various payloads, including some developed for SOCOM, to determine the best fit for the platform and the mission.

While officials are saying little publicly about the payloads that MARSOC may use with its Blackjacks, Walsh said the MEU was employing a package that could view signals on the electromagnetic spectrum, both to seek out the enemy and to assess friendly visibility.

"If you're not watching your signature, you're going to quickly be getting precision fires coming in against you with higher tech, higher-end capabilities, that a peer or near-peer competitor would have," he said.

This is not the first operational outing for the Blackjack, which deployed with Marines on a limited evaluation basis to Afghanistan in 2014. The Marines' requirement for the drone is relatively small, with some 100 systems planned for purchase by the end of this fiscal year. But using MARSOC as a test force, Walsh said, allows the Corps to leverage the resources and insights of SOCOM for the benefit of Marines.

"We're working with them, partnering with MARSOC. Give them the platform, RQ-21, now they can put their own stuff on there," he said. "We can learn from that, we can buy off their contract, we can learn from it, develop our own. There's a lot of opportunities here from working with SOCOM in that area."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.

Related Video:
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 UN 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 UN 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."
All indications are that Jorge De La Rosas nine-year run with the Rockies is at an end. The southpaw, who largely thrived at Coors Field, spoke with MLB.coms Thomas Harding about the possibility that hell be looking for a new organization this winter. De La Rosa, 35, ended the year with a 5.51 ERA and 7.3 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9. He also allowed 10.5 basehits per nine in what was his worst season in Colorado (excepting a truncated 2012). De La Rosa spoke well of his time with the Rockies and did not rule out a return, while noting that he battled through health and mechanical issues this year. He added that he liked pitching out of the bullpen, though he added that he still believes he can succeed as a starter. It remains to be seen how the market will view the southpaw, and whether hell be pursued in some capacity by his long-time organization, but there figures to be a fair bit of interest in a pitcher who has proven able to supply solid innings in a tough pitching environment.

There are also questions moving forward for Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe , though he remains under Minnesotas control for one more year. As Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports, the 30-year-old acknowledged that his future with the organization is uncertain. Plouffe dealt with injuries for much of the year, which he says was especially problematic because he tried to rush a return. With a $7.25MM base salary heading into a final run at arbitration, where hell tote a .260/.303/.420 batting line and a dozen homers over 344 plate appearances, Plouffe could be non-tendered or perhaps tendered and traded by a Twins team that suffered through an abysmal 2016 campaign.

third baseman , though he remains under Minnesotas control for one more year. As Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports, the 30-year-old acknowledged that his future with the organization is uncertain. Plouffe dealt with injuries for much of the year, which he says was especially problematic because he tried to rush a return. With a $7.25MM base salary heading into a final run at arbitration, where hell tote a .260/.303/.420 batting line and a dozen homers over 344 plate appearances, Plouffe could be non-tendered or perhaps tendered and traded by a Twins team that suffered through an abysmal 2016 campaign. The Cardinals still view Michael Wacha as a starter, as MLB.coms Jenifer Langosch reports, though thats in greater question than ever after an injury-riddled 2016 season that was easily his worst as a big leaguer. Skipper Mike Matheny suggests that Wachas shoulder health could be improved by building up his upper-body strength. As you start to look for some compensation and where there might be weaknesses, how can he build up some parts of his body muscularly that will help support maybe the arm and the demand that comes with being a starting pitcher? asked Matheny. When his health is right, youre seeing the right arm action. The next step is going to be the one thats missing right now. Thats consistency in the strike zone. Hes a rare talent that we need to figure out how to get into a consistent spot.

still view as a starter, as MLB.coms Jenifer Langosch reports, though thats in greater question than ever after an injury-riddled 2016 season that was easily his worst as a big leaguer. Skipper Mike Matheny suggests that Wachas shoulder health could be improved by building up his upper-body strength. As you start to look for some compensation and where there might be weaknesses, how can he build up some parts of his body muscularly that will help support maybe the arm and the demand that comes with being a starting pitcher? asked Matheny. When his health is right, youre seeing the right arm action. The next step is going to be the one thats missing right now. Thats consistency in the strike zone. Hes a rare talent that we need to figure out how to get into a consistent spot. Sticking with the Cardinals , Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at some options for the team in center field  which increasingly seems to be a target area this winter. He runs through a variety of trade and free agent targets, some of whom seem more achievable than others. At this stage, its tough to handicap from the outside, though GM John Mozeliak has certainly hinted that defense will be a priority in the search.

, Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at some options for the team in center field  which increasingly seems to be a target area this winter. He runs through a variety of trade and free agent targets, some of whom seem more achievable than others. At this stage, its tough to handicap from the outside, though GM John Mozeliak has certainly hinted that defense will be a priority in the search. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild will be back with the Yankees for his seventh year with the organization, per a club announcement. He had been the only member of the coaching staff who had yet to agree to terms with the team to return. With his re-signing, Joe Girardi and the rest of the uniformed staff are all set to repeat in 2017.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - James Mellick showed a wide range of emotion in the wake of winning ArtPrize 2016's $200,000 public vote award.

His entry, "Wounded Warrior Dogs," is a series of six wood-carved canines, which he says function as allegories, telling the stories of soldiers injured during wartime. The dogs circle a small coffin draped in an American flag - an element inspired by real images he saw of a soldier's coffin being taken off an airplane, followed by a smaller box containing the soldier's dog.

Mellick's voice cracked as he spoke about meeting wounded veterans, some of whom said they "walked in the footsteps of their dogs to stay alive." Those emotions, he said, also were experienced by people who visited "Wounded Warrior Dogs" in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel lobby.

"There were a lot of tears," he said during a press conference after the ArtPrize Awards ceremony Friday, Oct. 7. "The Amway had me putting out boxes of tissue for people."

Mellick was also understandably elated, having won the 3-D category award earlier in the evening, which was trumped by the grand prize about an hour later.

Winning the category prize "felt like being pinched a little bit," but taking the $200,000 was like "being kicked hard in the butt, if pleasure can be derived from that," he said, grinning.

Although Mellick is based in Milford Center, Ohio, he has a connection to Grand Rapids. He was head of the sculpture program at Calvin College from 1989-91, and one of his works, "Da Vinci's Dog," which he carved in 1986 in response to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, is on display at Calvin's Covenant Fine Arts Center.

Per ArtPrize rules, his $12,500 category prize is forfeited in the wake of winning the grand prize.

Mellick has been a wood carver since 1976, and has been carving his "dog allegories" since 1985, using the dog as a "totem animal" to address the human condition.

Asked why he doesn't carve images of soldiers instead of dogs representing them, Mellick said, "people have trouble looking at wounded soldiers. The dogs bring out a completely different emotion."

He said he normally drops off his work at exhibitions and hears feedback second hand, but being at ArtPrize allowed him to witness the public's reactions in person.

"The work has really been completed by the visitors and the stories they share," he said. "There's catharsis in the exhibition. It was an emotional event, a healing event for people."

ArtPrize-goers look at James Mellick's entry "Wounded Warrior Dogs" at Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. (Cory Morse | MLive.com)

Three additional winners in the public vote took home $12,500 in individual categories.

"Portraits of Light and Shadow," by Joao Paolo Goncalves of Pompano Beach, Florida, won in the 2-D category. Located in DeVos Place Convention Center, the piece features "pixel portraits," made of angled wood, depicting Martin Luther King Jr., Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring. Without strategic lighting, the work is abstract. ArtPrizers were invited to flip a switch shining a light on each portrait, revealing its subject - an interactive aspect he hadn't included in previous showings of his work.

"(People) thought it was painted," Goncalves said. "I wanted people to experience that before they made a decision about voting.

"Sweeper's Clock," a 12-hour video in which men swept garbage in lines forming clock hands moving in real time, won the in the time-based category. The entry, by Maarten Baas of Den Bosch, North Brabant, Netherlands, is notable for being the only ArtPrize entry to make both the public-vote and juried finalist category lists. It is on display at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Baas was not present to accept his award.

The installation category winner was "The Butterfly Effect," by Allison Leigh Smith and Bryce Pettit of Durango, Colorado. The work consists of 1,234 bronze Monarch butterflies, which fill a large corner of the skywalk within the DeVos Place Convention Center.

"We came knowing we wanted to connect with the public," Pettit said. "We want to create a lot of meaning and feeling, and I think we achieved some of that... We knew we needed to make 1,000 butterflies, to create an immersive experience."

ArtPrize officials said 37,433 registered visitors cast 380,119 votes in two rounds of voting in this year's contest. Between the public vote and juried awards, a total of $487,500 in prizes were given away.

All ArtPrize works will be on display through 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9. A complete, ranked list of the public vote category finalists can be seen at the ArtPrize website, or on the ArtPrize mobile app.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- "As a queer woman in the South, I've been contemplating where I fit and who my community is," artist Stacey Kirby said after winning the $200,000 Juried Grand Prize for ArtPrize Eight.

Kirby's "performative interaction," The Bureau of Personal Belonging, posed those questions to ArtPrize visitors who stopped by the 1960s-era office she created on the ground floor of the office building at 50 Monroe Ave. NW.

"With this work, I am really asking questions that I've asked myself over many years," Kirby said on Friday, Oct. 7, after accepting the top award chosen by three art experts appointed by ArtPrize leaders.

Wearing a red and white lapel sticker that declared, "I Am Valid," Kirby said 98 percent of the persons who visited The Bureau of Personal Belonging responded positively to her themes of "identity, community, civil rights and belonging."

"I can't control how people feel, but what I hope that I'm conjuring up is a feeling of empowerment to share their voice," said Kirby, who recruited members of the LGBT community in Grand Rapids as performers.

"I had people say things to me like, 'I'm going to think about this for the rest of my life - in a positive way," Kirby said.

"Stacey's piece was so thoughtful and so ambitious that it stood out," said Paul Ha, one of the jurors who chose Kirby's installation. "The production was so high. And you walked in and you weren't quite sure if you were in an acting studio or part of a piece.

"Then after you engage with the artist and the actors, you realize they are letting you know there are some points out there that we should be aware of."

Kirby, a resident of Durham, N.C. who is employed by the North Carolina Museum of Art and used a "Kickstarter" fundraising appeal to fund her work, said she will use the prize money to fund future performances.

"I will use this money to fund my work, which doesn't generate a lot of income, to be honest," she said.

The jurors also awarded $12,500 prizes to finalists in the competition's four categories:

 Two-dimensional: les betes, at the City of Grand Rapids Water Building, by Isaac Aoki from Grand Rapids. The entry consists of a series of nude photographs shot in the winter on the beach near Saugatuck.

 Three-dimensional : Excavations, at SiTE:LAB/ Rumsey St. Project, by William Lamson from New York, NY. Lamson created his work by using a saw to cut patterns in a concrete driveway at 341 Franklin St. SW. He removed the cut-out chunks and repositioned them around the site.

 Time-based: Search Engine Vision "ISIS", at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, by Eric Souther from Mishawaka, Ind. The video and wallpaper presentation is based on the results of a YouTube search of the words: "ISIS goddess."

 Installation: This Space is Not Abandoned, at 912 Grandville Ave, by 912 CollABORATIVE from Grand Rapids. This collaborative of local artists used murals, paintings, photographs, multi-media installation, fashion, dance, and theater to explore themes of race, cultural identity, and personal experience


When the snow starts to fly this year, there's one more driver who may be willing to take the wheel in a pinch to plow city streets.

Mayor Amna Seibold took first-place honors as well as the dented mailbox "Roadeo traveling trophy" in this year's celebrity division of the annual contest for snow plow drivers.

The American Public Works Association competition was hosted this year by the city of Wyoming. The East Grand Rapids team placed eighth out of the 32 teams entered.

"Our staff has consistently been in the top tier for years and proved once again this year they are very talented," said Doug LaFave, assistant city manager. The EGR drivers this year were Jeff Stults and Ben Poll.

The contest is an opportunity for area snow plow drivers to show off their skills. Points are awarded for such challenges as close turns, narrow drives, and negotiating around stationary items.

The "celebrity division" is made up of anyone who wishes to try their hand at handling the snow plows, and often includes members of the media or elected officials from the municipalities entered.

This trophy that travels to the winning Public Works Department each year will get a dented plaque with Mayor Seibold's name on it added to the base.

East Grand Rapids grabbed the top two places in the 2016 competition, which was held in late September. Commissioner Chad Zagel took second. There were 10 entries in the division.

The trophy, which travels with the annual first-place winner, spent the last year in Walker.

"I love this trophy and we get to keep it for a whole year," said Seibold, who planned to put the trophy in her office for a couple of weeks, after which it will be transferred to the Public Works Department.

Seibold said that while she was teased by other competitors at the event for practicing, she is glad that "she took a few rounds with the guys before she went."

"There wasn't any snow yet," she said. "I am amazed at how well they manage the plows during the real work."
FINAL

N.C. State 10, Notre Dame 3

PREGAME

Notre Dame (2-3) is looking to beat North Carolina State (3-1) as well as Mother Nature this afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. Can both teams beat Hurricane Matthew? That's one of the big questions surrounding this game, as some forecast models had the severe storm moving up the Carolina coast. The Irish also contended with rain-soaked conditions in their trip to South Carolina last season when they played at Clemson.

There will not be regular scoring updates in this post, so track the action via the live scoring and stats function at the top of this post.


IMG_2624.JPG

Gloria Steinem encourages people to vote for Hillary Clinton at a rally in Ypsilanti on Oct. 8.

(Lindsay Knake | MLive.com)

YPSILANTI, MI - Gloria Steinem made a surprise stop in Ypsilanti Saturday, Oct. 8 to speak at a rally to get women out to vote.

The Washtenaw County chapter of Michigan Democratic Women's Caucus hosted a rally at the Partridge Community Center in Ypsilanti. Speakers included Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

Steinem arrived after an event in Royal Oak to a standing ovation in Ypsilanti.

The political activist and author campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and urged people to get out and vote.

She there is a great contrast between Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

"I don't support Hillary just because she's a woman. Otherwise I'd be voting for Sarah Palin," she said. "The first reason people give for supporting Trump is that he is a business man. He is a successful con man."

Steinem said his comments about groping women from 2005 that came to light Friday showed his "extreme insecurity."

She described this year's presidential election as the most important in her lifetime.

This time in American history is most comparable to domestic violence, she said. When a woman leaves her abuser, that's the time she's in the most danger.

"This is a time of maximum danger," she said. "We are about to be free."

More than 100 people attended the rally.

Dingell and Weingarten urged attendees to vote and encourage their family and friends to get to the polls.

"We're at a country at war with herself," Weingarten said. "What makes America great is in this room."

Weingarten stumped for Clinton, and described her as the most qualified person to ever run for president and a candidate who will fight for woman, children and working class people.

In an impassioned speech, Dingell denounced Trump and his recent comments about women and keeping

"Donald Trump is spreading hatred and intolerance across this country and we must stand up to it," she said. "We can take nothing for granted for the next 30 days...Elect Hillary Clinton president for the future of this country."
Todd Keith

SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN - Authorities have located and arrested a clown-masked suspect in a spree of crimes in the past week in Southeast Michigan, according to a report.

The FBI has been seeking 37-year-old Todd Raymond Keith of Ypsilanti, who faces bank robbery charges for two incidents in the past week in Washtenaw County and is a person of interest in several others.

WWJ News Radio reports the FBI and several police agencies caught Keith in a barn just after 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7 east of Cincinnati near the Ohio-Kentucky border.

He's a suspect in two armed robberies in Ohio, WWJ reports. Keith will face federal charges Tuesday in Ohio, and likely will face federal charges in Michigan, according to the report.

The FBI and Michigan State Police suspect Keith in two bank robberies, one in Ypsilanti Township on Sept. 30 and the other in Augusta Township on Monday, Oct. 3.

Keith is a person of interest 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.

During the robberies, he was wearing a clown mask.

On Friday, the FBI said Keith was last seen driving a stolen black Lexus with the Michigan plate BGQ815, in Tiffin, Ohio.

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.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- The University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security is investigating an incident in which a student was allegedly sexually assaulted near the entrance of Nichols Arboretum on Friday, Oct. 7.

The incident occurred around 8 p.m near Geddes Road, east of the Arboretum. As reported to University Police, the student was running down a path when an unknown male grabbed her arm, pulled her to the ground, punched her in the face and sexually assaulted her.

The student was able to break free and run out of the Arboretum.

If you have any information, please contact the U-M Division of Public Safety and Security at 734-763-1131.
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.
Sorry, we can't find the content you're looking for at this URL.
Early turnout had been low in Rabat with many people waiting till after the weekly noon prayers to cast their ballots. By Fadel Senna (AFP)

08.10.2016 LISTEN

Rabat (AFP) - Morocco's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), which has headed a coalition government since Arab Spring-inspired protests five years ago, has won parliamentary elections, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's PJD secured 125 seats against 102 for its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party, which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society, the ministry said after all ballots were counted.
The British High Commission, in conjunction with Barclays Bank of Kenya, yesterday held an event in Nairobi bringing together leading players in the local renewable energy sector with investors from the United Kingdom.

The UK-Kenya Renewable Energy Conference (REC 100) aimed to secure investment into Kenyas growing renewable energy sector, building a strong pipeline of deals to accelerate the nations pace of affordable electrification.

The Conference brought together 100 representatives from Kenyan and British firms across a range of low carbon solutions. Speakers included Energy & Petroleum Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge, British High Commissioner to Kenya Nic Hailey, CEO of Barclays Kenya Jeremy Awori, and Lord Clive Hollick the UK Prime Ministers Trade Envoy to Kenya & Tanzania.

The collaboration between the UK and Kenyan renewable energy sectors is underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Governments in May of 2016, which saw the UK commit Ksh 70 billion to support the development of strategic renewable energy projects in Kenya. The MoU also promotes opportunities for private sector trade and investment by the UK in Kenyas renewable energy sector.

Speaking at the Conference, the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Nic Hailey said:

The UK and Kenya are at the vanguard of renewable energy, clean technology and innovation. Kenya has one of the most active renewable energy sectors in Africa, and the UK is a global leader in many of the sectors for which Kenya has greatest demand.

We are excited by this growing UK-Kenya partnership in renewables, working together to bring clean, sustainable energy to the Kenyan people and accelerate Kenyas development and economic growth.

Barclays Bank of Kenya CEO Jeremy Awori said:

Our expertise in investment financing and knowledge of the energy sector and its technologies position us to take advantage of falling renewable energy costs by partnering with the right investors to help Kenya achieve the governments 5000MW plan by 2017.

Kenyas energy sector has experienced strong growth over the past decade with the country bringing online 576MW of new base load capacity since 2013. This increased energy production has coincided with higher grid connectivity, improving Kenyas grid electricity access rate from 27% in 2012 to 55 % in 2016.

Despite this, the country still has a low electrification rate by development standards, meaning that more power projects must be developed in order to meet demand, achieve the Government of Kenyas targets and deliver accessible pricing.
Ethiopia is about to complete one of the largest and most successful seed distribution campaigns in the country's history, aimed at helping farmers to stay on their feet in the face of a blistering drought caused by El Nino, FAO said today.

More than 32 000 tonnes of seed have been distributed to around 1.7 million food and nutrition insecure households across Ethiopia's six major regions by the Government, FAO, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other humanitarian agencies.

FAO has coordinated this massive campaign in close collaboration with the Government. These joint efforts have enhanced preparations for the critical summer meher planting season, from which an estimated 85 percent of Ethiopia's food supply is derived.

FAO's impact on household food consumption

To date, FAO has directly distributed close to 4 000 tonnes of seed to 168 000 households. An estimated 78 000 hectares of land have been cultivated and will likely yield close to 170 000 tonnes of crop production.

With an estimated average of one tonne of crops per household per annum, or about 0.2 tonnes per person, the beneficiary families may now be able to meet their minimum food requirements for at least eight to ten months.

The El Nino-induced drought resulted in two failed planting seasons in 2015 in heavily agriculture-dependent Ethiopia, decimating household seed supplies across the country and severely compromising national food security. The drought led to 10.2 million people requiring emergency food and livelihoods assistance at the start of 2016. It is now estimated that around 9.7 million Ethiopians still require assistance.

Making a difference in the livelihoods of Ethiopia's farmers

A recent FAO assessment concluded that the emergency seed distribution operation will have a significant positive impact on the 2016/17 harvest.

"Projections are that Ethiopia's 2016/17 harvest will be average to above average - a massive achievement coming on the heels of one of the worst droughts in recent memory," said Amadou Allahoury, FAO Representative in Ethiopia. "Both the Government and humanitarian agencies moved quickly to assist communities impacted by the drought crisis, an effort we are proud to support," he added.

FAO conducted the assessment in August and September 2016 in areas that were most impacted by the drought, with particular focus on the heavily crop-dependent regions of Amhara, Oromiya, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples and Tigray. About half of the beneficiaries from randomly selected households surveyed after the distribution indicated that their livelihoods would have been in jeopardy had they not received emergency seed for the meher cropping season.

"I thought that I would not be able to plant any wheat this year. When the village committee notified me that I would receive seeds I was so relieved that I would be able to continue to work my land and feed my family," said Mitiku Tefera, a smallholder farmer in Werababo, South Wollo, located in the highlands of Amhara region.

Over 93 percent of beneficiaries reported that agricultural inputs had been distributed to them on time for the 2016 meher season and that they received their preferred type of seed. Critically, they overwhelmingly reported that the seed was of good quality.

"While input distributions were essential for the cropping season and enabled farmers to plant, it is now critical to continue building their resilience to withstand climate-related extreme events. These are becoming more and more frequent - a new normal' in Ethiopia and more generally in eastern Africa" said Dominique Burgeon, Director of FAO's Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, following his visit to the worst drought affected areas.

"Pastoralists have also been badly hit, and efforts must be accelerated to protect their livestock, particularly core breeding stock, in order for families to rebuild their livelihoods," Burgeon added. FAO undertook a comprehensive livestock response, including providing emergency fodder seed, feed along the migratory routes, water point rehabilitation and animal treatments and vaccinations.

Future work and needs

It is estimated that Ethiopia needs an additional $45 million for the crop and livestock sectors to rehabilitate affected farmers and pastoralists, bringing the total requirement for the country's agriculture sector to $91.3 million since the beginning of 2016.

The bulk of this funding, about $36.2 million, aims to support animal health activities, such as vaccinations and treatments, with more than 2.4 million livestock-dependent households now requiring assistance until the end of the year.

As of October 2016, FAO mobilized about $14 million to respond to the crisis. The Organization is urgently requesting an additional $14 million to support livestock-dependent families in affected regions until the end of 2016.

In order to boost the resilience of crop and livestock-dependent communities, FAO is currently developing a resilience strategy for Ethiopia to support the Government and partners' efforts with technical expertise and capacities.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) (www.DBSA.org) has financed 21 renewable energy projects since the launch of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPP). This was revealed today at the annual SA Gas Options conference in Cape Town and follows the announcement of South Africas Gas to Power Project Information Memorandum (PIM). Ms Lucy Chege, General Manager for Energy Financing at the DBSA, said The DBSAs achievements in the renewable energy space confirms our role as an instrumental partner in developing integrated solutions for and on behalf of the Department of Energys IPP office and National Treasury.

This announcement comes two weeks after the release of the DBSAs financial results which revealed that the bank had delivered a net profit of R2.6bn and sustainable earnings of R1.4bn in the 2015/2016 financial year. In this 12 month period ending March 2016, the DBSA delivered R28bn across the total infrastructure value chain, with development assets now standing at R77bn and total assets at R82bn.

To date, the DBSA has contributed to 2512 megawatts of power being installed on the national grid through the funding of 21 projects across South Africa. This has significantly addressed the energy crisis challenges across South Africa and the region. Approximately R14.9bn of commitments have been made by the DBSA to support government programmes in the energy space. Some of the successes include the construction of two IPP Peaking power plants in South Africa - Avon 670MW and Dedisa 335 MW.

The 21 projects funded by the DBSA with a total capacity of 2512MW are part of SAs REIPP Programme and the Department of Energys s Peakers IPP Programme. All projects are currently operational and delivery power to the national grid. These projects include 5 Commercial Solar Panels, 9 Solar PVs and 5 wind projects.

Approximately R2, 167 billion has been provided to enable the participation by BBBEEE players and local community trusts in various energy projects. Funding has been provided in the form of senior debt, mezzanine debt and BEE funding.

The bank has also financed numerous gas fired plants and infrastructure throughout the continent as part of regional integration efforts to address the power crisis. Regional projects include Cenpower, Ghana powership and funded the Bulk Oil Storage Terminal of Ghana.

The energy portfolio accounts for the banks largest exposure and this signals our commitment to working with all partners and promoting the DBSAs regional integration and infrastructure programme, says Ms. Chege.
At least 20 soldiers have been killed in Niger in an attack on a camp for Malian refugees, officials say.

The attack took place in the western Tahoua region, Prime Minister Brigi Rafini told state TV.

Assailants targeted a military post near the camp, a local official told the Associated Press.

Northern and central Mali remain unstable nearly four years after France led a military intervention to drive out jihadists.

Niger battles terrorism threats on all fronts

Three soldiers were also injured in the attack, the local official said, and Prime Minister Rafini said the death toll could rise.

Last month, two refugees were killed when unidentified gunmen attacked a security post near Nigers Tabarey-barey camp, which also houses Malian refugees.

Nigers military is currently battling Boko Haram militants launching raids across the countrys southern border from Nigeria as well as attempting to prevent violence spilling over from Mali to the west.

-bbc
Unidentified fighters have killed nearly 700 civilians in a series of massacres that began two years ago in Beni territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo , Human Rights Watch said today.

In one of the largest recent attacks, on August 13, 2016, fighters killed at least 40 people and set fire to several homes in the Rwangoma neighborhood in the town of Beni, despite a large presence of Congolese army soldiers and United Nations peacekeepers.

The Congolese government and UN peacekeepers need a new strategy to protect civilians in Beni and to hold those responsible for attacks to account, said Ida Sawyer , senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. After two years of brutal killings, many people in Beni live in fear of the next attack and have all but lost hope that anyone can end the carnage.

Human Rights Watch research and credible reports from Congolese activists and the UN indicate that armed fighters have killed at least 680 civilians in at least 120 attacks in Beni territory since October 2014. Victims and witnesses described brutal attacks in which assailants methodically hacked people to death with axes and machetes or shot them dead. The actual number of victims could be much higher.

It is unclear who is carrying out the attacks. The Congolese government blames one armed group that has been active in the area, while other sources have also implicated other groups and army officers in some of the attacks.

The Human Rights Watch findings are based on five research trips to Beni territory since November 2014, and interviews with over 160 victims and witnesses to attacks, as well as with Congolese army and government officials, UN officials, and others.

A 10-year-old boy said that he had been taken hostage during the Rwangoma attack and witnessed several killings: Men in military uniform came and took me and my big brother and grandmother. They tied us up and made us walk with them. Along the way, they started to kill some of us, including my 16-year-old brother. They killed him and some of the others with axes and machetes.

Congolese army soldiers and UN peacekeepers only deployed to the area after the attack had ended and the assailants had long fled.

Human Rights Watch documented other incidents in which community members had alerted the army, but it did not respond.

In one case, on July 4, 2016, four local farmers warned the army about the suspicious presence of armed men near the town of Oicha, 30 kilometers north of Beni. The farmers later told Human Rights Watch how an army officer responded: We have taken all necessary measures to respond to all eventualities. Go home but dont tell anyone. Dont scare people for no reason. The next morning, unidentified fighters fired shots in Oicha. Later, the bodies of nine gunshot victims were found close to two army positions in town.

An army officer based in Oicha told Human Rights Watch that some soldiers were angry when their superior ordered them to leave a nearby position and not engage the assailants as the attack was unfolding.

Senior UN and Congolese army officials have repeatedly asserted that the attacks in Beni territory have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan-led Islamist rebel group that has been in the area since 1996. Human Rights Watch research and findings by the UN Group of Experts on Congo , the New York-based Congo Research Group , and Congolese human rights organizations, however, point to the involvement of other armed groups and certain Congolese army officers in planning and carrying out some of these attacks.

ADF fighters from Uganda and Congo have been responsible for scores of kidnappings, mostly for recruitment or carrying goods in recent years, Human Rights Watch said. Civilians who had earlier been held in ADF camps told Human Rights Watch they saw deaths by crucifixion, executions of those trying to escape, and people with their mouths sewn shut for allegedly lying to their captors. In January 2014, the Congolese army officially opened a new phase of military operations against the ADF with some limited logistical support from the UN Stabilization Mission in Congo, MONUSCO, and its Intervention Brigade, a 3,000-member force created in mid-2013 to carry out military operations against armed groups. The series of massacres began several months after the Congolese army pushed the ADF out of their main bases.

The UN Group of Experts found that Brig. Gen. Muhindo Akili Mundos, the Congolese army commander responsible for military operations against the ADF from August 2014 to June 2015, had recruited ADF fighters, former fighters from local armed groups known as Mai Mai, and others to establish a new armed group. This group was implicated in some of the massacres in Beni territory that began in October 2014, according to the Group of Experts.

In a March 2016 report, the Congo Research Group found that certain army elements as well as armed groups other than the ADF might be involved in the massacres.

The forces responsible, chains of command, and motivations behind these attacks remain unclear. Congos international partners should support credible government efforts to determine responsibility for the attacks and to improve protection for civilians, Human Rights Watch said.

Given the alleged involvement of some Congolese army officers in the massacres, MONUSCO should ensure full respect for the UN Human Rights Due Diligence Policy when supporting Congolese army operations and withhold all support to units or commanders that may be implicated in the attacks or other serious human rights violations. UN peacekeepers should also improve ties with local communities and immediately deploy to threatened areas.

Human Rights Watch urged the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to collect information to determine whether an ICC investigation into alleged crimes in the Beni area is warranted. The ICC opened an investigation in Congo in June 2004, and has jurisdiction over serious international crimes committed on Congolese territory. The ICC can step in when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute grave crimes in violation of international law.

The frequent massacres in Beni have fueled popular anger at the Congolese government for failing to stop the killings, prompting numerous city-wide shutdowns or villes mortes (dead cities), peaceful marches, and some incidents of vigilante violence in the east. Protests against the Beni killings have in some cases been linked to demonstrations against election delays and attempts to extend President Joseph Kabilas presidency beyond the end of his constitutionally mandated two-term limit, which ends on December 19. In many cases, government officials and security forces have responded to protests with brutal repression.

With Congo embroiled in a broader political crisis, the government is less capable of keeping the attacks in Beni from spiraling out of control, Sawyer said. Sustained, high-level international attention is needed now to help end the killings in Beni and to identify and bring to justice those responsible for the attacks.
The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, is expected to arrive in Lome, Togo, next week for the African Unions Extraordinary Summit on Maritime Security, Safety and Development in Africa, scheduled to take place from 11-15 October 2016. The Chairperson confirmed her arrival to President Faure Gnassingbe when they met at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Wednesday 5 October 2016.

President Faure Gnassingbe was in Ethiopia on a two-day official visit during which, together with the AU Commission Chairperson, discussed the state of preparations of the Extraordinary Summit.

We're looking forward to the Summit. The sea is a huge resource for us. We're very excited to have the Charter in Lome, which will guide Africa in dealing with maritime issues. The world is looking at the sea as the next economic frontier, and so Africa cannot afford to lag behind, Dr. Dlamini Zuma highlighted during her meeting with President Gnassingbe.

Dr. Dlamini Zuma and President Gnassingbe also discussed the need to have a team of lawyers as well as an AU body to help in determining every Member States continental shelf. The two leaders underlined the importance of tapping into the resources of the sea to increase Africas prosperity, instead of allowing those resources to become a source of conflict.

The Summit is expected to adopt an African Maritime Security Charter. Therefore, the Heads of State and Government will take the discussions beyond security to include issues of fishing, transport, mining, and tourism, which can help boost job creation and employment for African countries.

President Gnassingbe assured Dr. Dlamini Zuma of the advanced state of readiness in Togo, and looked forward to welcoming the Chairperson in Lome.
The African Union Commission (AUC) and the Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum which holds the Chair of the Association of Eastern African Chamber of Mines and Petroleum hosted from 5-6 October 2016, a high level Conference in Kampala, Uganda under the theme: Attracting Exploration Investment to Ugandas Mineral Sector to realize its maximum value.

The purpose of the Conference was to bring together the Directors of National Geological Surveys and the Captains of industry from the Eastern African Region with particular focus on developing a Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework for mobilizing exploration investments. The conference covered African countries and also brought together expertise from the African Union Commission, the Organization of African Geological Surveys (OAGS), the Mining Industries Association of Southern Africa (MIASA), the African Minerals and Geoscience Centre (AMGC), as well as experts from Australia and Brazil.

Addressing the Conference, the President H. E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni mentioned that although the Government has established an Exploration Department within the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, the Private Sector was welcome to partner with the Government in the exploration. He emphasized that Uganda was only interested in value addition. He gave example of the iron ore deposits which have a quality content of up to 99% or steel and as such exporting it in raw would be exporting a lot of jobs. Ugandan President, who was attending the Conference as the Guest of Honour, also welcomed the Partnership Public Private in the Minerals Sector. He highlighted the importance of the Minerals Sector, which he said, contributes a lot to the growth of African economies. He hailed the African Union Commission for constantly engaging the Private Sector in its Mineral Resource Development Policies.

In his keynote speech on behalf of H.E. Mrs. Fatima Haram Acyl, the Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Mr. Frank Mugyenyi, Senior Industry Advisor for the Department of Trade and Industry of the AUC, observed that the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) which is a forward-looking African Union framework for mineral resource development, seeks to create a transparent, equitable, and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and social-economic development. He explained that the vision is motivated by the widely recognized need to unleash the broader value of the minerals sector beyond just mining and beyond just taxing and collecting rents to one that leads and contributes to the broader vision of industrialization and structural transformation of African economies. According to the Senior Industry Advisor, a global Strategy to optimally use Africas resources that benefit all Africans is urgently needed for Africa. Africa cannot afford to have it wrong this time around, there is no room for error and this can only be achieved through broadening partnerships and bringing the private sector on board in policy planning and implementation, he stressed.

He recalled all the mineral resources related decisions made by the AU Heads of State and Governments and highlighted the progress made by the Commission in implementing these decisions. Mr. Mugyenyi furthermore underscored the fact that Africa has a clear sight of where it is going and urged participants to re-focus on how to achieve the aspirations of the African people expressed in agenda 2063 and Common African Position on Agenda 2063. This enquires collective and concerted efforts of everybody involved in the Minerals sector development. The private sector, the public sector, the academia, the media, the civil society and other non-state actors, women, youth and indeed everyone involved in the minerals resource development he emphasized.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (www.Ecobank.com), the leading Pan-African financial institution, through its Foundation, has renewed its partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for a further three years. The relationship between the two organisations began in 2011,and the new agreement formalises Ecobanks support for the Global Funds work in Africa.

A selected high-level audience composed of business leaders and development experts were present at the signing ceremony on September 16 2016, in Montreal, Canada. The event, Changing Africa: Enabling growth through the private sector, led by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ecobank Foundation, Ms. Julie Essiam, took place on the side-lines of the Global Funds Fifth Replenishment Conference. According to the terms of the agreement, Ecobank Foundation will work with the Global Fund to build the partnership into an engagement and advocacy platform for organisations and individuals who share a vision of accelerating the transformation of Africa.

Ade Ayeyemi, Ecobank Group Chief Executive Officer, pledged USD3 million at the Global Fund's Fifth Replenishment Conference in Montreal. Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosted the event attended by Heads of State, government officials and hundreds of private sector and development leaders from across the globe. The Fifth Replenishment raised USD 12.9 billion with a goal of saving 8 more million lives.

Mr. Ayeyemi said, Our job as bankers is to build the technical infrastructure that brings tens of millions more Africans into a more formal financial system. Ecobanks founding fathers established a Pan-African bank to support Africas transformation. We are pleased to renew our productive partnership with the Global Fund. I am confident that we are a step closer to enabling prosperity across Africa.

Through its Foundation, Ecobank will continue to take a prominent role with the Global Fund To Fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on the African continent.

Julie Essiam, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Foundation signed the agreement with Mark Dybul, Executive Director, Global Fund. She said, The Ecobank Foundation is pleased to be part of a historic moment with the Global Fund and what we are trying to do in Africa, which is to create a thriving Africa, and a prosperous continent. It is important for the private sector to collaborate to ensure that we use our platforms to unlock funds which will deliver sustainable progress and prosperity to Africa.

Programmes supported by the Global Fund partnership have put 9.2 million people on antiretroviral treatment for HIV, provided 15.1 million people with TB treatment and distributed 659 million mosquito nets to protect families from malaria.

Mark Dybul, Executive Director, Global Fund said, We are excited about the Ecobank partnership, which improves the impact of our grants in numerous ways. When you workto advance financial management, all the way down to sub-recipients in rural areas, thats hugely important for development.

The Global Fund is an organization designed to accelerate the end of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria as epidemics. As a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by diseases, the Global Fund mobilizes and invests nearly US$4 billion annually to support programmes run by local experts in more than 100 countries and supports attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations.
PAD-EVA Ltd dealers in office furnishing has opened a plush facility and showroom at a short but exquisite ceremony in Accra, Friday.

What began as a dream at dining from a young ambitious lady in the early 90s has turned into a multi-million dollar business now housed in a state of the art facility at Asylum down, a suburb of Accra.

Managing Director Ms Amanda Owusu-Twum told the PAD-EVA story of struggle, pain, applied persistence and success, that punctuated her journey from the humble beginnings till now.

She also exemplified a strong family bond which she sealed by naming her company-PAD-EVA- which is the abbreviations of the names of her siblings and mother.

From office furnishings, desk and chairs for lectures, PAD-EVA also offers same day deliveries, Saturday services as well as after sales service.

Ms Amanda Owusu-Twum said quality is the hallmark of the company, adding, the furniture she supplied 16 years ago are still being used by her loyal customers some of whom were present to share in the success story of PAD-EVA.

She said her customer oriented services and competitive pricing have always been to the satisfaction of her loyal customers.

Ms Owusu-Twum paid tributes to her employees whose sacrifices and hardwork have brought the company this far.

CEO of Dalex Finance Mr Kenneth Thompson who played an instrumental role in PAD-EVA's acquisition of the new office space charged Amanda Owusu-Twum not rest on her oars.

Mr Kenneth Thompson and Amanda Owusu-Twum

He charged her to work harder in order for her to open many showrooms of PAD-EVA across the country.

Messers Daniel Bediako PFC Auditing Services and Mr Duncan Osebre of Frontiers Printing both of whom are loyal clients of PAD-EVA gave testimonies of the customer centred services and comfortable payment arrangements they have with PAD-EVA.

Mr Osebre said the success of PAD-EVA gives credence to the saying that the harder you work, the luckier you become.

Mr Duncan Osebre

Together with the Dalex Finance CEO, Ms Amanda Owusu-Twum and Pastor Joseph Adjatey of the Royal House Chapel cut the tape for the grand opening of PAD-EVA.

Clients, guests and the media were taken on the tour of the showroom in an exhibition of the new furniture and accessories on sale.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
Rabat (AFP) - The Islamist Justice and Development Party, which has headed Morocco's coalition government for the last five years, came top in parliamentary polls on Friday, according to provisional results released by the Interior Ministry.

The Islamists took 99 seats while the the liberal opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party took 80, with 90 percent of the vote counted.
Rabat (AFP) - The Islamist party which has headed Morocco's coalition government since Arab Spring-inspired protests five years ago has beaten liberal rivals in parliamentary elections, results showed Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats out of 395, the interior ministry said after all ballots were counted.

Its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society, won 102 seats, the ministry said.

Istiqlal, the party which historically fought for independence from France, came third with 45 seats.

The PJD, headed by Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, came to power in 2011, months after massive street protests prompted concessions from the monarchy

In any case, 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.

Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said that the election was "transparent" and had gone well, rejecting accusations of voter fraud from both sides.

The PJD had earlier 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.

Ilyas El Omari's Party of Authenticity and Modernity has criticised the government's economic record as "catastrophic" and pledged to roll back the "Islamisation" of society

An Islamist candidate was attacked and wounded outside a polling station in Rabat, according to local media.

A video shared on social networks also showed a man stuffing a ballot box, leading the PJD to file a complaint, media reported.

Participation was at 43 percent, or roughly 6,750,000 voters, Hassad told a press conference in the capital Rabat.

Early turnout had been low in Rabat with many people waiting until after the weekly noon prayers to cast their ballots while others trickled to the polls after office hours.

Scandals

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.

To make life easier for the illiterate, the 30 parties in contention were marked on ballot papers with symbols such as a tractor or camel

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.

A video shared on social networks also showed a man stuffing a ballot box, leading the PJD to file a complaint, media reported

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, had hoped to take advantage in 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.

Several parties fielded ultra-conservative Salafists, in a sign that Islamists are becoming a feature of Moroccan politics.

Moroccan pro-reform activists take part in a 2014 rally in Rabat

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.
Tigo Business, the enterprise arm of Tigo is offering world class information and Communications Technology Solutions for Corporates and Small and Medium Enterprises.

This is as a result of a partnership it has entered into with Microsoft, Lenovo and IT Worx to support small to medium businesses in Ghana with relevant connectivity to maximize their operations and boost productivity through an initiative called the Tigo Business SME Empowerment Road show.

The project is on the theme 'Welcome Tomorrow--Propelling Your Business Beyond Limit'

Tigo Business is purposely to manage finances of SMEs, market their products, enhancement of skills of SMEs through training and acquainting themselves with the necessary procedures in dealing with technological devices that can help promote their business in the long run.

Speaking at the official launch in Accra, Director for Tigo Business, Stephen Essien, indicated that the world class information and communication Technology Solutions for Corporate bodies and SMEs is purposely to boost production for over 10,000 customer base SME Tigo clients in the country.

"Information Technology is quite risky considering the number of fraud activities in the country and it is better for Tigo clients to have professionals who will work on their various sites for business purposes."

The roadshow is intended to run from now till November with visits from Tigo Business and its partners to major SME outlets in Ghana including the Okaishie market in Accra, and Kumasi.

According to Mr. Essien, SMEs constitute about 92percent of the companies in Ghana and create over 70percent of employments in Ghana.

"We dont need to take them lightly. The more they grow the more the economy also grows."

The roadshow team would focus on training including aiding SMEs with some finances and how to manage it, how to market themselves, skilltraining and help them adapt to appropriate technology that would improve their productivity.

On her part, Rashida Abdulai, Tigo Business executive in charge of SME Solutions mentioned during the launch some packages that Tigo Business will provide for SMEs that they encounter.

"We give basic connectivity to our clients by giving them call credits to call their clients and transact their business smoothly.

...We are also looking at giving more to SMEs to help them communicate more and do more digitally. Embracing digital for SMEs, helps them to widen their market size in the sense that, they can leverage on internet services to give advertisement to their customers for free. We also want to assist improve customer experience, by helping SME owners reach their customers through email, and online chat platforms, she explained.

Tigo Business also intends to introduce the closed user group (CUG) to SME owners they visit to help them communicate with their customers and collogues at work for free at no cost. Representatives from Microsoft, Lenovo, IT Worx and Zepto, during the launch extensively talked about what offers they are presenting to facilitate the roadshow.

Through this partnership, IT Worx has offered Ghanas SMEs an all-in-one Software as a Service (SaaS) offering that puts all the services and tools needed to improve business operations together.

Microsoft unveiled the Office 365 as a multitask software that allows access to Office applications and other productivity services enabled over the Internet (cloud services).Lenovo together with Zepto promised to make technological devices available with easy access to call minutes and internet data with the tigo sim.

Img 20161004 114708
The Electoral Commission has welcomed the dismissal of an injunction suit brought before an Accra High court by the Progressive People's Party (PPP), on filing fees for presidential and parliamentary nominees in this year's election.

The commission had ealier suspended the acceptance of the fees following the case.

The PPP had protested the collection of the amount of GHc50, 000 and GHc10,000 for both presidential and parliamentary nominees claiming it was arbitrary.

The PPP told the court that it does not have enough money to pay the fees of its presidential candidate, and the 275 parliamentary candidates across the country, which will amount to almost Ghc2.8 million.

However the court went ahead to dismiss the injunction suit against the commission; thereby giving the Electoral Commission the go-ahead to collect the fees.

Details of the ruling are to be made known on Monday October 11, whereas the substantive case challenging the legality of the process of setting the fees, is to be heard on Tuesday. Another contempt suit the party filed against the EC Chair for collecting the bankers draft for their presidential nominee during the filing of nominations is also pending.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Friday, Head of Communications at the EC, Eric Dzakpasu, said they would commence the nomination processes on Monday.

It's a very welcoming news. We had to put on hold the nomination process until such time that the court determined this case so that we can receive the nomination fees before we can accept the nominations of the various candidates. So with this ruling by the court, it is good news because we are going to resume the nomination process and hopefully early next week we will finish up and come up with the list of candidates who will officially stand for this year's election, he said.

Submit your filing fees on Monday

Meanwhile the EC has directed aspirants for this year's election to pay their filing fees by Monday , October 10, 2016.

All nominated candidates for the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary elections are hereby advised to submit the banker's draft in respect of their filing fees to the Electoral Commission not later than 12:00 noon on Monday October 10, 2016, a statement from the EC stated.



By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has launched a policy to guide the promotion of local goods and services with a commitment to pursue the enactment of legislation to back its implementation.

The policy is to encourage institutions, especially public ones to procure locally made products and services.

Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah said he would look at passing the law to compel public institutions if the policy implementation does not receive the necessary support and goodwill from stakeholders.

He said there had been concerns over the effectiveness of policy implementation in the country in general and there are fears that the Made in Ghana policy can be ignored since it is based on moral persuasion and encouragement.

You start with a policy that is based on moral persuasion, on encouragement, on us trying to do the right thing, he said.

The goal of the policy is to promote made in Ghana goods and services to support the attainment of Ghana's vision to attain middle income status through structural transformation of the economy.

This would serve as a guide to enable Ghanaians exercise a preference for buying and promoting the purchase of goods and services made or produced in Ghana.

Dr Spio-Garbrah noted that public institutions especially are responsible for ensuring that tax-payers' money, which they use in the discharge of their duties stays in the local economy.

As public servants, we don't spend our own money, we spend money collected from taxpayers, so we must make sure that that taxpayers' money we're spending goes back to Ghanaians and not foreigners, he stated.

He said private institutions, though they use their own money for procurement, should patronise other locally made products and service to support other private companies.

He called on more Ghanaian public and private companies to support the MiG campaign either in cash or kind, adding that by supporting, you also help to address youth unemployment in the country.

Mr Carl Lokko, Director Policy and Strategy at the Public Procurement Authority, who launched the policy, said stakeholders, must play their roles in creating the necessary environment to help economic activity associated with Made in Ghana goods to flourish.

The minimum requirements in terms of standards will not be compromised, in the interest of consumer safety, he said.

He called for increased awareness creation of the need for and how to patronise made in Ghana products and services.

Dr Nana Dankawoso I, President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who chaired the launch, said the policy would inure to the benefit of the private sector in particular and Ghanaians in general, including increased demand and production, and ultimately an improvement in Ghana's trade balance.

Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, Head of the Policy sub-committee of made in Ghana campaign committee noted that the launch of the policy is only the beginning of its work as the most important aspect is monitoring and evaluating to ensure it is implemented effectively.

The Ministry also commissioned some 27 people drawn from various industries including the media, to be ambassadors of the made in Ghana campaign.

Papa Dankwa Arkhurst, who represented the ambassadors, pledged their commitment to advocate and promote the purchase and use of made in Ghana products and services.

Blow-Chem Industries limited, producers of Bel-Aqua Mineral water presented a cheque for GH25,000.00 to the ministry to the campaign.

The Ministry also announced that GHACEM and Goil, key partners of the MiG Campaign had also presented GH100,000.00 each to the campaign.


Washington (AFP) - World economic leaders gathered in Washington this week to defend globalization, delivering a single message in unison: Protectionism will not save you.

But this glosses over the plight of Africa, which is sinking further into poverty despite years of free trade.

According to the International Monetary Fund, which held its annual meetings this week with the World Bank, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is in free-fall this year, with a growth rate of 1.4 percent, down from 3.4 percent in 2015, its lowest in a quarter century.

The regional economy will therefore grow more slowly than the population, at the risk of deepening poverty in a region already home to more than half of the 766 million people on earth who live on less than $1.90 a day.

"I am actually concerned about Sub-Saharan African countries," said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

"I am actually concerned about Sub-Saharan African countries," says the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde

As the most rarified circles of economists gathered this week to ponder globalization's failures, the African region seems to offer a prime case in point.

Despite opening its economies and the explosion of trade with China, Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world to have actually seen the number of people living in extreme poverty rise since 1990.

"The growing number of the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa stands out as an exception," the World Bank said in a recent report.

With a recession in Nigeria, ravaged by the collapse of crude prices, virtual stagnation in South Africa and a booming Ivory Coast, where this year's growth rate is forecast at 8 percent, circumstances of course vary widely depending on the country.

Climate, security situations and political instability can also weigh heavily on economic outlooks.

Failure

Ethiopia is forecast to see strong growth in 2016 of 6.5%

But, according to NGOs, the region's general prognosis primarily reflects the failure of full-borne free trade, brought in by the structural adjustment plans of the 1980s and 1990s and the World Trade Organization.

"Africa did well in recent years because prices for oil and other raw materials climbed higher," Antonio Gambini, of the National Center for Development Cooperation, told AFP.

"But prices have collapsed and with the free trade imposed on them these countries spiraled downwards because they were unable to diversify," he added.

Contrary to the traditional prescriptions, a dose of protectionism could help African countries shore up their economies, sheltered from foreign competition.

"If we want to see a more inclusive global growth than it has to have a space for protection," said Max Lawson of Oxfam GB.

"It's just not as simple as more free trade mans less poverty," he added.

Some Asian countries, such as Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan, built their own economic expansions on strong exports and severe restrictions on imports to protect their domestic markets.

On the African continent, Ethiopia, which is forecast to see strong growth in 2016 of 6.5 percent, has jealously guarded its own telecoms and financial sectors.

Makhtar Diop, World Bank vice president for Africa, still has no faith in inward-looking trade policies.

"In times of crisis, there's a protectionist reflex because we think it's the answer but all the evidence shows that international trade has been a factor in development," he told AFP.

According to Diop, a former Senegalese finance minister, the region's persistent poverty is tied to poor revenue redistribution policies, particularly when oil was above $100 a barrel.

Once in place, protectionist barriers are hard to remove because they are supported by interest groups seeking to preserve their advantages, he said.

"We have to find a middle ground," he said, particularly by allowing nascent industries the time to size up foreign competition. But the priority, he said, is to strengthen trade, particularly among African countries.

"Sometimes it's cheaper to export a product out of Africa than to a neighboring country," he said.
Twenty-eight (28) people with severe burns have successfully undergone free reconstructive surgery to correct their post-burn deformities at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

The surgery was performed by a team of plastic and reconstructive surgeons from the United States (US).

They were in Ghana as part of a health outreach project of the Restore Mission, a US-based non-governmental health organization.

Dubbed Restore KATH Humanitarian Mission 2016, the goal was to bring relief to needy and underprivileged burnt victims.

Dr. Oheneba Owusu Danso, Consultant and Head of the referral facility's plastic and reconstructive surgery, told journalists that the exercise started, last month.

He said many more people could have benefitted from the free surgical treatment but for the constraints of inadequate equipment.

He therefore made an appeal to the government and corporate entities to do more to provide the hospital with state-of-the-art medical equipment to enhance its capacity to efficiently handle complicated cases.

Dr. Danso indicated that quality healthcare could be achieved only through deliberate effort and massive investment by the government.

The health facilities needed to be adequately resourced, he added.

Dr. Michael K. Obeng, Founder of Restore Mission, underscored the need to step up public education on the effects of burns and how to significantly reduce such incidents.

Parents must be vigilant to protect children from fire, he counseled, adding that acid attacks on people must also stop.


Illegal mining remains the biggest challenge confronting cocoa farmers in their bid to increase production of the countrys leading cash crop.

Farmers of local buying company, Cocoa Abrabopa, raised the concern among others at their eighth Annual General Meeting in Kumasi on Thursday.

Chairman of the farmers and the companys council of board, Pomasi Ismail, tells Nhyira FM artisanal mining, also known as galamsey is responsible for the recent drop in cocoa production.

He mentioned destruction of water bodies in farming communities as one of the major effects of the menace.

Other factors include non-payment for inputs supplied to farmers, abandonment of communal farming method, known in Akan as nnoboa, adjustment of weighing scales and climate change.

He said the drop in yield has compelled the company to pay farmers GH18.00 premium on a ton of cocoa, compared to Gh23.80 two years ago and Gh 20.00 the previous year.

Mr. Ismail believes traditional leaders must urgently intervene to prevent further destruction of the environment to save the cocoa industry.

He appeals to government and all stakeholders to help curb the galamsey threat before the countrys farm lands are totally taken over.

Despite the challenges, Mr. Ismail said Cocoa Abrabopa remains committed to its corporate social responsibilities.

The company is currently embarking on an initiative to provide 25 mechanized bore-holes across its operational areas to give farmers good drinking water.

Mr. Ismail stressed periodic monitoring of the free weighing scales provided to purchasers, adding measures will be put in place to eliminate all bottlenecks.

The AGM saw all member farmers from the five main cocoa producing regions of the country, including Volta Region, elect new regional leaders.
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 years 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 governments 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 organisations 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.
The Presidential Candidate of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) Dr. Paa Kwesi Ndoum has appealed to the people of the Upper East Region to choose his party if they indeed want to massive development.

According to Mr. Nduom, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are indifferent about the developmental needs of the people in the area.

Addressing party faithful in Zuarungu during a one day campaign tour of the region, Dr. Ndoum expressed worry at the state of development in the area.

According to the PPP Flag bearer, for the region to receive its share of the national cake, electorates must vote out the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and give the PPP the mandate come Dec 7.

So why is it that, the people of the Upper East Region they have been voting for the NDC to go to power yet your roads are like this? The roads are bad and terrible.

In many places common water to drink is a problem, In many places the schools need help, the schools that I have seen they dont qualify to be called schools.

In many other places too, the health facilities are not there and the we have farmers in this region who need help but cant get help so there are many problem but if these problems are going to be solve then we need the PPP.

Dr. Ndoum appealed to Ghanaians to vote overwhelming for the victory of the PPP in the upcoming polls since where the Jobs Ghanaians are yelling for is the PPP.

For his part, PPP's Parliamentary candidate for Bolga East Constituency, Baba Starling accused incumbent Member of Parliament Dr. Dominic Ayine of investing in projects the constituents don't need.. According to him, the people will experience real development when he is voted into office.

It is a misplaced priority to build an ultra modern NDC party office at about GHC250,000.00 while road network in the constituency are in a deplorable state. This party office has no use to constituents when these monies could have been used in other sectors including revamping the Zuarungu meat factory to create jobs for the youth.

When voted into office, I will establish an education fund with a seed capital of GHC100,000.00 to support children in the education. I will also establish another fund to support traders particularly women in their businesses among others.



By: Frederick Awuni/Citifmonline.com/Ghana
08.10.2016 LISTEN

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.

Govt will support new drug

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.


08.10.2016 LISTEN

Akim Swedru (E/R), Oct. 8, GNA - A scrap dealer who was caught stealing electricity cables has been jailed by the Akim Swedru Circuit Court.

The convict, Daniel Oppong ,18, who pleaded guilty, would serve a six month term in hard labour.

Police Inspector William Arko Nyarko told the court presided over by Mr Alexander Owrae that the convict resides at Akim Oda and Mr David W. Amemasor, the Oda District Manager for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), is the complainant.

He said on October 4, at about 1000 hrs, an eyewitness in the case saw the convict on a ladder by an electricity pole cutting a copper service cables with a pliers.

He said these are the power transmission cables which supplies power to the Akim Aboabo - Adotei, areas.

Inspector Nyarko said the eyewitness raised the alarm and Oppong took to his heels with his booty of 30 yards of 16mm cables valued at GH900.00, but was later arrested with the exhibit in his possession.

Mr Amemasor in an interview with the press called on the public to protect public property and report any illegality to the Police.

GNA
The weak leadership of President John Mahama is to blame for the excessive and extravagant use of state funds by public officials, Abuakwa South MP says.

Samuel Atta Akyea portrays the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) as lax on rooting out profligate spending and corruption in the country.

Contributing to discussions on the Joy FM/MultiTV's news analysis programme, Newsfile Saturday, the legislator says President Mahama has given currency to the culture of impunity because of the way he handled public officials who were found culpable of misusing state funds.

When you don't have strong leadership the culture of impunity will go on. In this Mahama regime when people treat the kitty in [wrong] manner they go unpunish, he said.

His comments come after news of Ghana's Central bank buying $504,000 worth of gold watches for its retiring staff came to public attention.

The New Statesman newspaper reported the Bank of Ghana (BoG) had submitted a document to the Public Procurement Authority to authorize it to single source the procurement of ladies and gents gold watches each valued at $7,200 to Messrs 'A' Swiss Watch Company Limited.

Dated July 22, the document revealed the Bank wants to purchase 72 pieces of the gold watch, 18 karat of ladies gold watches which is 25 units and 18 karat of gents which is 48 units.

Although the Bank had explained it did not err in seeking to use the sole sourcing system, it has come under intense pressure from the public for what has been described as its show of opulence.

They say the Bank's decision contradicts the economic challenges in the country which calls for austere measures.

Member of Parliament for Effutu Constituency, Alexander afenyo Markins told Joy News the workers of BoG are sufficiently motivated and do not need gold watches. He indicated he would call for a bi-partisan committee to investigate the matter.

But Mr Atta Akyea who is also the Vice Chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says the Bank would have been judicious in the use of taxpayers money had the right tone been set by government in the handling of public officials who misuse state funds.

Somebody should tremble, he said, adding what the BoG is seriously unconscionable.

He cited the handling of the rot in the National Service Scheme (NSS) where at least 22,616 ghost names were paid allowances in more than 100 districts in July 2014. The information came to public attention following investigation by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

The misappropriation of public funds, fraudulent transfers, illegal payments and receipts of public funds by public officials home and abroad under the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA).

He says as far as the NSS and GYEEDA issues are concerned Mahama regime has given the option to impunity and Bank of Ghana is part of this.

He believes leadership is symbolism and if the leader demonstrates his dislike for excessive spending and corrupt activities, subordinates would do what is expected of them.

In Mahama's government if you are caught or not the state will romance you and ask you to pay on your own terms, he said.

-myjoyonline
The Police have vowed to arrest some students of the University of Ghana believed to have instigated the violence that nearly marred the school's matriculation on Saturday.

The clashes were between students of Commonwealth hall and Mensah-Sarbah hall.

According to eyewitnesses, the clashes began when a member of Mensah-Sarbah was attacked by Commonwealth boys which led to a retaliatory reaction from the Mensah-Sarbah camp.

Reports indicate that the procession of some level 100 students to the Matriculation ground was ongoing when students began throwing stones.

The timely intervention of the Police prevented the violence from escalating.

Speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer at the Accra Regional Police Command, ASP Effia Tenge said the Police have intensified their investigations to apprehend the suspects.

This morning the Police received information that some disturbances had ensued between the Common Wealth Hall and the Mensah Sarbah hall but through the swift intervention of the Police, the situation was brought under control. As we speak what might have degenerated into the disturbances is unknown and so far one Toyota Corolla which was parked at the entrance of the main Sarbah hall was set ablaze but also through the swift response from the Fire Service, the fire was extinguished.

A team of Police personnel have been deployed to prevent any reprisal attacks as investigations continue.It is our duty to find out those who set the car ablaze and what really might have sparked up these clashes and those who are found culpable will be brought to book.



By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Fadi Dabbousi

08.10.2016 LISTEN

I have often spoken of rumors as terrorism, of how you can kill a person with the tongueIf this is valid for an individual person, in the family or at work, so much more its valid for journalists, because their voice can reach everyone, and this is a very powerful weapon

Criticism is legitimate, as well as the denunciation of evil, but this must always be done respecting the other, his life, his affectionsbecause an article is replaced from one day to the other, but the life of a person unjustly defamed can be destroyed forever

I understand that in todays journalism, with an uninterrupted flux of facts and events told 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, its not always easy to get to the truth, or even to get close to it

Even in journalism, its necessary to discern between the shades of gray of the events being told (Pope Francis)

DABBOUSI AND THE PROBLEM OF BAD JOURNALISM

It has also widely been reported that Ken made a similar hate speech against Gas in which he allegedly called upon Asantes specifically to butcher Gas, a directive reminiscent of events culminating in the Rwandan Genocide.

What has been Fadi Dabbousis take on these hate speeches, genocidal sentiments?

In other words, let us rephrase this question as he did at the end of his article I Am Not Charlie and I Am a Proud Moslem:

So on which side of the scale do you stand in this lopsided justice system of erroneous belief in a shameful freedom, which I am inclined to reject so long as it borders on the dignity and respect of mans rights to doctrine of choice? This may be a tardy wake-up call but one worth the calling.

His response:

Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie (I Am Not Charlie), an unfortunate riposte to popular French line Je Suis Charlie (I Am Charlie) which served as a commiserative solidarity with the gruesome massacre of the satirists and their families and as an endorsement of press freedom and freedom of speech, both of which are dear to Fadi Dabbousi.

Again, this is not to ignore Western war crimes against the Arab and Muslim worlds, given that George Bush and Tony Blair should have placed before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes just like Charles Taylor faced it (ICC).

Rather, it is to reinforce the idea that what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander. There is no doubt in our minds that this fact is lost on Dabbousi.

Has anyone read his articles Dumelo, Montie FM Trio: Terrorism Wont Be Tolerated and Kwadwo Twum BoafoWhy Implicate Thyself in Terrorism yet?

And what these articles mean in the context of his double standards?

What is more, his Je ne suis pas Charlie underscores his frigid unsympathy toward the victims of the massacre, press freedom and freedom of speech. Reaching all the back to the Code of Hammurabi of Ancient Babylon/Mesopotamia, he described his unsympathy as Tit for tat and butter for bread.

Was Dabbousi implying that if, for the sake of argument, the Charlie Hebdo incident is replicated in Ghana he is going to stand with Muslims and Islam rather than with Ghana and its secular constitution?

What has he got to say about Islamic theocracy? Unless he convinces us otherwise that he is not a Muslima Muslim but not a practicing or observant onethen we might as well take the question back.

And if he is then we should begin to question his attachment to the country. He has said that Muslims are, usually, passionate about their religion and one wonders if this religious passion or fervor does not exercise precedence over the secular prerogatives and privileges of the state.

Here, we are concerned about the issue of a citizens patriotism or loyalty to the state in the context of obvious contradictions between personal convictions as they relate to the supremacy of the secular state on the other hand and religious convictions on the other hand.

This question also points to Akufo-Addos incendiary phraseology Yen Akanfuo and its political connotation, ethnocracy, in that it elevates ethnicity and thus a particular ethnic group (s), mostly Asantes and Akyems, above the nation-state which does not bode well for the continued geopolitical stabilization, integrity, or preservation of the unitary state.

Therefore, Dabbousis schadenfreude indictment of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre to the outright exclusion of the terrorists is cause for alarm, as his selective approach offers a subtle insight into a character that can easily be torn between his religious convictions and loyalty to a secular state. This is merely a working hypothesis ideally meant for illustration purposes only.

We are, therefore, hoping on the basis of this working hypothesis that his recent brief detainment by the BNI had nothing whatsoever to do with national security concerns, of the nature of subversion, say, for if it were he would not have been allowed to go scot-free.

Nevertheless, there appears to be more to his detainment than meets the eye, a running speculation we will not dare push further for lack of adequate intelligence information.

That said, let us make it also clear it is quite unfortunate that the massacred victims were not sensitive enough to have warmed up to the religious sensibilities of Muslims. It appears they brought their sad fate upon themselves. This was Dabbousis primary contention.

Yet both Akufo-Addos and the latters approach are unacceptable given that humanism trumps parochialism, whether of a religious or political nature.

On the other hand, Nyarho Tamakloe would criticize Akufo-Addo for showing no sympathy toward and neglecting Kumi Preko victims. He has reminded us thus:

Out of Kumi Preko we lost about eight people and up until this very day nothing has been done for the families of these fallen ones. Believe me or not, through Kumi Preko, a young man of thirteen years, Ahunu was shot in front of the Adabraka Primary School so you can imagine if he was alive today what his age would be.

But when we came to power under President J.A Kufuor, we had then promised to help these people but we did nothing for them. They are there at Adabraka as I talk now. This same family approached Nana Addo but he did nothing for them when we were in power

When President Mahama came to power recently, one time he called and asked me how he could see Ahunus father. I went and luckily I found the father and mother who are alive and came back and told the President that I found them. And in his usual quiet way, he [Mahama] went there to see the family and he asked the old man what the state could do for his departed son. The old man replied that one of the principal streets in Accra be named after his son

Politics needs to be done with open mind and open heart because you are dealing with human beings. I will never and ever allow anybody to take me for a ride in my life.

Here Tamakloe was accusing Akufo-Addo of being insensitive to the plight that befell some of the Kumi Preko protest participants. Many years down the line one of Akufo-Addos sycophantic right-hand men, Dabbousi will be replicating same in a situation that had nothing to do with Ghana, or with its national security.

It seems Machiavellian Akufo-Addo has lost any sense of patriotism, selflessness, humanism, philanthropy, and political intelligence and vision once he crossed carpet from the Nkrumahist camp to the unappealing ethnocentric NPP under his fragile leadership.

In other words, Tamakloe is advising us to look at this man Akua Donkor aptly described as more dangerous than the Gitmo 2 closely.

Ironically, Madam Akua Donkor is proving to be a far more discerning politician with a formidable presence in our body politics than Akufo-Addo, even when her running mate Madam Patricia Asante does not appear to know her age.

But then Comedian Agya Koo asks her, Madam Donkor:

Who is a comedian in Ghana than Akua Donkor?

This questionable should have been directed at Akufo-Addo who is rather just as clueless as Patricia Asante when it comes to his vision for Ghana and Africa.

It could mean other among other things, that Akufo-Addo is not an effective political player in a broken system where even Madam Donkor accords him no respect.

It could as well be that he, namely Akufo-Addo, is one of Ghanas respected political comedians to come along in a long time, a line that also includes the likes of J.B. Danquah, K.A. Busia, Prof. Mike Oquaye, Allotey Jacobs, Chairman Wontumi, Kennedy Agyapong, Fadi Samih DabbousiAkua Donkor!

Ghanaian politics now Comedy Central!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

And if Dabbousi says members of Boko Haram, ISIS, AL-Queda, Al-Shababare not Muslims, then what are they, if not the same way we should describe Joseph Konys Lords Resistance Army as Judeo-Christian?

Then again his statement that If anyone has ever practised syncretism, it is the neo-Christians of the USA who have mixed the doctrines of Judaism with that of Christianity is equally applicable if not typical of Islam as it too, primarily, is a syncretic concoction of the traditions of pre-Islamic Arabia, Judaism and Christianity (see Ivan Van Sertimas African Presence in Early Asia and Cheikh Anta Diops The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality).

Regardless, we will have to agree with Dabbousis on certain aspects of his provocative write-up. Here is Desmond Tutu:

The then leaders of the United States [Mr. Bush] and Great Britain [Mr. Blair] fabricated the grounds to behave like playground bullies and drive us further apart. They have driven us to the edge of a precipice where we now standwith the spectre of Syria and Iran before us

On these grounds, alone, in a consistent world, those responsible should be treading the same path as some of their African and Asian peers who have been made to answer for their actions in The Hague

To repeat the old canard that we lied about the intelligence [on weapons of mass destruction] is completely wrong as every single independent analysis of the evidence has shown

And to say that the fact that Saddam massacred hundreds of thousands of his citizens is irrelevant to the morality of removing him is bizarre.

We have just had the memorials both of the Halabja massacre, where thousands of people were murdered in one day by Saddam's use of chemical weapons, and that of the Iran-Iraq war where casualties numbered up to a million, including many killed by chemical weapons

In addition, his slaughter of his political opponents, the treatment of the Marsh Arabs and the systematic torture of his people make the case for removing him morally strong. But the basis of action was as stated at the time."

In short this is the same argument we have had many times with nothing new to say. But surely in a healthy democracy people can agree to disagree.

I would also point out that despite the problems, Iraq today has an economy three times or more in size, with child mortality rate cut by a third of what it was. And with investment hugely increased in places like Basra.

Sir Geoffrey Bindman, Human Rights Lawyer:

It's now almost certain that the war was illegal because it breached the United Nations Charter provisions.

We shall return with Part 4, the concluding segment.

REFERENCES

Ines San Martin. Pope Says Journalism Based On Rumors and Fear Is Terrorism. September 22, 2016. Retrieved from https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/09/22/pope-says-journalism-based-rumors-fear-terrorism/

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. Akufo -Addo neglected 'Kumi Preko' victimsNyaho. May 12, 2016.

Desmond Tutu Calls for Blair and Bush to be Tried Over Iraq. September 2, 2012. BBC News.

Ghanaweb. Akufo-Addo more dangerous than Gitmo 2Akua Donkor. January 15, 2015.

Thomas Sowell. (October 20, 2008). Believers in Obama. Townhall. Retrieved from http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2008/10/20/believers_in_obama

Tsedaka Emeth. (2016). Comparing George Bush With Adolf Hitler. Tentmaker. Retrieved from http://www.tentmaker.org/Quotes/bush_hitler_quotes.html

Ghanaweb. Who Is a Comedian Than YouAgya Koo Fires Akua Donkor. October 4, 2016.

Ghanaweb. Fadi Dabbousis Write-ups on Mahama Hugely OffensiveKweku Baako. October 1, 2016.

Ghanaweb. My Running Mate Does Not Know Her Date of BirthAkua Donkor. October 4, 2016.

Ghanaweb. My Articles About Mahama Were Without MaliceDaboussi. October 2, 2016.

Ghanaweb. I respect President MahamaFadi Dabbousi. September 26, 2016.
08.10.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Oct. 8, GNA - Leading noodles brand, Indomie Instant Noodles, has set out to feed over 1.5 million pupils of first cycle institutions before the current academic term ends.

This is part of its regular free feeding programme at various schools across the country.

There is a dedicated School Feeding Unit which carries out this feeding programme in the schools. There are two teams each from the Unit operating in Accra and Kumasi while Takoradi, Cape Coast, Koforidua, Ho and Techiman have one team each. Tamale, Wa and Bolgatanga also have one team each.

The General Manager of De United Foods Industries Ltd (DUFIL), brand representatives of Indomie in Ghana, Mahesh Shah said a total of 3,500 schools will be covered before the end of the term.

He said the programme is part of Indomie's contribution to fighting malnutrition in schools.

He said the meals are nutritious and prepared under hygienic conditions to ensure good health among the children.

He said 'Indomie will continue to expand the programme to give many more children the opportunity to enjoy the hotly prepared meals'.

Mr Shah said the feeding programme falls within the broader agenda of supporting the growth and development of the young ones.

The feeding programme by Indomie has been going on since 2006 and keeps expanding, Events Manager Agnes Botchway said, adding that the company has employed people to undertake this Corporate Social Responsibility.

She said the reception the team receives from the schools clearly shows how much they appreciate the feeding programme.

GNA
08.10.2016 LISTEN

Gbi Avega (VR), Oct. 8, GNA - Accra Brewery Limited (ABL) has handed over a 91,000 completed solar powered irrigation plant to farmers of Gbi Avega in the Hohoe Municipality.

The project, under the 'Eagle Farmer Project', is aimed at supporting rural farmers with a mechanized borehole to help them carry their activities in lean seasons.

Jerry Gokah, Senior Brands Manager, ABL, said the Region was chosen as a 'launchpad' for the project because it supplied the raw material for the brewing of their products.

He said food security could be improved by growing farming communities through 'agro-base and social intervention programmes'.

Madam Helen Ntoso, Volta Regional Minister, commended the company for taking the initiative of making sure farmers and youth of the area farmed all year round, adding that food production in the area would multiply.

Madam Ntoso said government was investing massively in the agricultural sector with various interventions such as the Youth in Agriculture Program in the country.

She blamed the prevailing situation of climate change on human behavior and warned that a joint 24-hour patrol team drawn from the Military and the Forestry Commission would deal with illegal chain saw operators.

The Regional Minister entreated the chief and the people of the area to consider the facility as their 'own property' and maintain it.

The Eagle Farmer Project forms part of ABL's annual support to the National Farmers' Day celebration. The project is expected to be replicated in Huniso in the Western Region and Paga Kajelo in the Upper East Region.

GNA
08.10.2016 LISTEN

By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA

Accra, Oct. 8, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court has struck out a case involving one Andrew Asante, building contractor, for fraudulent breach of trust and stealing.

The case was struck out for want of prosecution.

Andrew, who pleaded not guilty to the charge was remanded in police custody.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police A.A Yirenkyi told the court that complainants in the case were bank officials.

He said sometime in 2013 and 2014, the complainants came into contact with accused person, who promised to construct various types of building projects for them.

He said the first complainant bought 50 bags of cement at the cost of GH1,425.00 to be sent to his site but accused person failed and diverted all to an unknown place.

The Prosecution said the first complainant again bought electrical cables at the cost of GH11, 200.00 and entrusted it into care of the accused person but all cables were nowhere to be found.

'The first complainant further gave an amount of GH1,500.00 to the accused person to purchase materials for the installation of 'Earth Arrester', which Andrew squandered the money,' he added.

ASP Yirenkyi said the second complainant gave cash sum of GH20,900.00 to the accused person to construct foundation to oversight level project but Andrew also failed to do the job.

He said the third complainant also gave cash the sum of GH30,000.00 to the accused person to also construct a foundation oversight level project but failed to do the job.

All efforts made by the complainants to get the accused person to do the job proved futile until on January 1, 2015, a complaint was lodged at the New Weija police station and he was arrested and detained.

In his caution statement, he admitted the offence.

GNA
Tamale, Oct. 8, GNA - Northern Television (NTV), a television station transmitting from Tamale, has been launched to amongst others produce local content for the benefit of the people of Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

NTV seeks to tell the stories of the three regions as well as focus on the potentials of the area to attract the needed interventions for enhanced development.

Mr Siita Sofo Hissan, Chief Executive Officer of NTV, said NTV's mission was to build a world class television station to contribute to the development and promotion of peace and unity in the country.

Mr Sofo Hissan said NTV, which had been transmitting for about 10 months now, would work to create wealth and help unearth and nurture talents in the northern parts of the country.

He urged the business community amongst other stakeholders to partner with NTV to collectively contribute to the development of the three regions.

Mr Alhassan Mohammed Sorugudoo, District Chief Executive for Sagnarigu, said the government appreciated the roles of the media in the socio-economic development of the country and would continue to support the media to grow.

Alhaji Abdul Razak Saani, Northern Regional Director of National Commission for Civic Education, advised management of NTV to come out with programmes that addressed issues of importance to the people.

GNA
By Amadu Kamil Sanah, GNA

Koforidua, Oct. 8, GNA - Zongo chiefs in the Eastern Region have affirmed their commitment to vote massively and endorse the re-election of President John Dramani Mahama.

The chiefs said this when a delegation of the Council of Elders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Zongo Caucus led by Alhaji Shamsu Kwakwa, a member of the NDC National Campaign Committee, called on them at various locations including Koforidua, Suhum and Nsawam in the Eastern Region.

Alhaji Shamsu Kwakwa said the institution of the Eidul-Fitr and Eidul-Adha Muslims holidays was made by the NDC under the former President Jerry John Rawlings.

He said the Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo Addo, by then a Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa, was amongst the first to oppose the holiday meant for Muslims.

Alhaji Shamsu Kwakwa said the President Mahama Government has shown much love to the people of the Eastern Region by providing them with potable water, roads, school building and health facilities amongst other infrastructures.

He said there is the need to reciprocate the love shown the region by voting massively for him to continue his second term.

Alhaji Shamsu Kwakwa said the promises made by President Mahama during his first term campaign has been fulfilled and that the promises include the completion of the first phase of the Tamale International Airport and the lifting of pilgrims from the Northern Zone to The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the construction of the Community Day Senior High Schools.

'The projects also include the expansion of the Tema and Takoradi harbours, the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and Kasoa interchanges, the Eastern Corridor Roads, Regional and District hospitals and the construction of Ho, upgrading of Kumasi and expansion of Kotoka International airports.'

He said President Mahama has offered and will every year offer full scholarship to 80 female Muslims to study medicine in Cuba.

Alhaji Shamsu Kwakwa said this has never happened in the history of any Government in the country and that the commitment towards the development of Muslims and Zongo communities is embedded in the heart of President Mahama.

Mr Kwabena Okyere Kusi, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for New Juaben, said President Mahama needs a second term to continue with the unfinished projects that is aimed at further transforming the nation.

He said Nana Addo as an MP failed to develop his constituency and that the progress of the country would be retarded should he be given the nod to rule.

Alhaji Yussif Captain, Chairman of the Zongo Caucus Council of Elders, said the unemployment rate among the Zongo youth have reduced through the NDC Government's Youth Employment Agency's social intervention engagement in agriculture, health, teaching and community policing.

He appealed to the electorates to vote for President Mahama to continue with his efforts at improving our standards of living.

Madam Margret Ansei, the MCE for Suhum, also appeal to the electorates to maintain the President for more development, social interventions and jobs.

Chief Ali Haruna Kurmi IV, Zongo chief of Koforidua, said the Zongo and Muslims chiefs recognize and appreciate the efforts of President Mahama towards the development of their communities in the country.

He said there has been constant consultations between zongo chiefs and the Government of the NDC in relations to the development of their areas.

Chief Kurmi IV pledged his support for President Mahama and urged him to ensure that the peace of the country is maintained.

GNA
Accra, Oct. 8, GNA - The third edition of the Volta Heroes Awards is slated for the 28th of this month, at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra.

The award was instituted by the Volta Heroes Foundation to recognise and honour people who have dedicated their lives and contributed immensely towards the development of the region.

The award is being held for the first time in Accra and it is to honour the past Chairman of the Volta Heroes Foundation and a celebrated engineer, Torgbui Kporku III, the late Fiaga of Alakple Traditional Area.

Torgbi Kporku III who chaired the Council of the Foundation from its inception, will be honoured posthumously.

The current Chair of the Foundation and Paramount Chief of the Likpe Traditional area, Nana Soglo Alloh IV, said though this year's awards would honour his predecessor, it still will go a long way to encourage people to be selfless, knowing that they will be recognised for their dedication to humanity.

Nana Alloh IV, who is also the Vice President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs, challenged the youth to develop the spirit of volunteerism and be involved in the activities of their communities.

Mr Rockson Dogbegah, the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the awards, said the deceased traditional leader and diplomat dedicated his life to the growth and development of the region.

He said despite his immense contribution and stature in the region and the entire country, he could not be honoured when he was alive because he was the Chair of the Foundation and he considered it inappropriate.

'I have no doubt Torgbui was going to be nominated and honoured a hero the moment he handed over as Chair of the Foundation, but sadly he passed on to glory before that could happen,' Mr Dogbegah said.

He said in honour of Torgbui Kporku III, nominations have not been opened for this year's awards as in previous cases, because it will be a single award event.

Mr Dogbegah, who is also the Executive Chairman of Berock Ventures, said the awards will return to its normal format from next year where the public will be invited to nominate people to be honoured as Volta Hereos.

Previous winners of the awards have come from different parts of the country including an Indian medical doctor.

GNA
By Dennis Peprah, GNA

Berekum (B/A), Oct. 8, GNA - The revenue performance of the Berekum Municipality in Brong-Ahafo Region has witnessed significant increases in the past two years, Mr Wisdom Kporngor, the Municipal Budget Analyst, has said.

This is as a result of the implementation of the Social Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (SPEFA) project in the municipality.

Mr Kporngor told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview on the sidelines of a town hall meeting on the project in Berekum that hitherto the project revenue generation in the municipality was extremely poor.

The meeting, organized by the MIHOSO international, a development oriented non-governmental organisation with support from the Netherland Development Organisation (SNV), a Dutch-based organization, was attended by market women, traders, artisanal workers and entrepreneurs.

Mr Kporngor said the assembly was able to generate GH600,443.00 of the revenue target of GH653,954.00 for 2014, adding that in 2015 it raked in GH749,801.38 of the revenue target of GH890,040.00.

He said though the assembly has not been able to realize the revenue target, the revenue performance had improved saying as at August 2016 the assembly had generated GHC466,851.63 of the year's revenue target of GH933,740.00.

The revenue comprises of rates, fees, fines, licenses and rents.

Mr Kporngor said citizens' participation in decision making is also encouraging noting that the participation of traders and entrepreneurs in especially the assembly's fee fixing meetings are highly appreciable.

He said the assembly is conducting a Citizens Satisfaction Survey in the municipality to assess the work and impact of the assembly on the local people.

The survey covers all the 13 decentralised departments under the assembly and is being conducted in 50 major communities.

Mr Thomas Benarkuu, the Project Coordinator of MIHOSO International, said there is the need to ensure that citizens played active roles in all decision making processes in the assembly.

He said if tax payers and residents are actively engaged in the decision making process it would not be difficult for the assembly to identify the immediate needs of the people and address them.

Mr Isaac Appiagyei-Boachie, an official of SNV, said the project, which would end by 2017, had also empowered the assembly.

He said revenue performances at many of the project implementing assemblies in the country had been enhanced and commended stakeholders and the project partners for their efforts.

Mr Appiagyei-Boachie lauded the contributions of MIHOSO international towards the sustainability of the project, and asked the various assemblies to include the project in their medium tern budget.

GNA
08.10.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Oct. 8, GNA - Professor Nii Narku Quaynor, the Chairman Internet Society (ISOC) Ghana Chapter, has said that Computer Science and Information Technology researchers in academia stand to benefit a lot from the activities of the Internet Engineers Taskforce (IETF).

He said this is because academics create and share a wealth of knowledge through research.

'Industry might be more reluctant to share their work, but academia has the culture of sharing," he said.

A statement issued by ISOC Ghana Chapter and copied to the Ghana News Agency said Prof Quaynor, who urged university researchers take an interest in perusing IETF documents, was speaking at a forum organized for researchers of Ghanaian universities at the Ghana Korea Information Access Centre at the University of Ghana Legon in Accra.

In all, over 40 participants, including students attended the forum.

The forum, which was held on the side of the InterCommunity 2016 event to introduce universities researchers to the activities of the IETF so that they can participate in its activities, which include research activities, thus contributing to global knowledge.

To give an overview of the IETF was Mr Alain Patrick Aiana, a Senior Network Engineer at West and Central Africa Education Network (WACREN).

He said that primarily, the aim of the IETF was to engage countries, particularly those in the developing countries like Africa in discussions and activities to make the internet work better.

Mr Aiana said Africa's participation at the IETF leaves a lot to be desired.

'Africans struggle to find their way in the IETF community, but African voices have to be heard otherwise all decisions on the Internet will be done by the North,' he said.

He expressed the hope that through such fora, more Africans researchers would understand the workings of IETF and would actively participate in its activities.

He said that participation in IETF was at an individual level, whose interactions are done via email discussions working groups, and three face-to- face meetings in a year for further discussions to building consensus.

Explaining the organizational structure of the IETF, Mr Aina, said the working groups were led by area directors who, were the only paid staff of the IETF and the organization is volunteer-based.

Speaking on how protocols and documents are approved, Mr Aina said that the submission of an idea for a new protocol was done through writing a draft to one's working group.

The draft would be you discussed till a consensus is reached, then the document would be sent to the Steering Group or the Area Directors to review document.

The document is approved within four weeks or sent back to the working group for comments.

The IETF has different types of documents, which include informational, best story practices and standards, experimental documents.

Internet Society's Intercommunity event which was pioneered in 2015 brings the Internet community together to among others, highlight regional accomplishments; remember and highlight ISOC's mission; celebrate and reflect on the community's work and provide ISOC members with a sense of belonging through opportunities to act.

GNA
you are here:
The chronicle of a life split between urban Manhattan and rural Montana.
Tickets are now on sale for an upcoming event to support the work of the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina. The seventh annual Flavors of the Foothills event is set for Oct. 29 from 5:30-9 p.m., with tickets remaining on sale until Oct. 21.

The event will take place at the Morganton Community House, located at 120 N. King St. Tickets are being sold individually for $50 and to couples for $100. Tables for six can be reserved for $500. Tickets can be purchased at foothillsconservancy.org/flavors, by calling 828-437-9930 or by visiting the conservancy office at 135  W. Union St.

Flavors of the Foothills will be highlighted by beer offerings from Morgantons Fonta Flora Brewery and wine selections from Morgantons Brown Mountain Bottleworks. Food will be served by the community house and prepared by chef Sarah Sasser Williams. There will be both a live auction and silent auction, offering unique local items and flavors, including crafts, artisan products and vacations. Music will be provided by the Morganton-based BearWallow Bluegrass Band.

Conservancy Development Director Beth Willard-Patton said all proceeds from the event will go to organizations conservation mission.

Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina is a nationally accredited, nonprofit regional land trust based in Morganton. The conservancy works cooperatively with landowners and public/private conservation partners to preserve and protect significant natural areas and open spaces. Focus areas include watersheds, forests and farmland across the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains and foothills in eight counties: Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Lincoln, McDowell and Rutherford.

Since 1995, Foothills Conservancy has protected more than 50,000 acres, including lands added to South Mountains, Lake James and Chimney Rock state parks; Wilson Creek, South Mountains and the Johns River state game lands; Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Willard-Patton said the event will offer an atmosphere of fun for everyone in attendance.

Its fun. Its a laid-back event, said Willard-Patton. We have a cocktail hour at the beginning.  Its a really good time. We had probably our largest attendance on record (of about 150 people) last year, so were hoping for a really great turnout again this year.

Willard-Patton said that she hopes to see about 160-175 people at the event this year. While some invitations were sent for the event, it is not invitation-only. Some invitations also have received a response, but Willard-Patton said that many tickets still remain available.

We always hope that people will come out and learn more about what the conservancy does, Willard-Patton said. We run into people all the time that say, Oh yeah, Foothills Conservancy, I love you guys. What do you guys do?

So, we always like to meet new people and educate them about our work and about our organization. Our entire staff attends this event, so lots of times, people are calling in to the office and talking to different people. Its a good way to socialize and put a name to a face for us and for our supporters.

For more information, visit foothillsconservancy.org or call 828-437-9930.

Justin Epley can be reached at jepley@morganton.com or 828-432-8943.
Maintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive.

To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research.

Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process.
Be measured in the margins you ...
Salvation Army emergency response crews will head to the east coast Saturday morning to assist families affected by Hurricane Matthew.

Hot meals will be supplied for Matthew victims

Goal is to provide comfort during time of need

If you'd like to help or volunteer, see below

For the past few days, staff members have closely monitored Matthew from the Emergency Disaster Office and Warehouse in Tampa. Theyve packed supplies and filled their mobile feeding units with food and water to take into communities dealing with damage.

"Each of our mobile feeding units has the capacity to do about 1,500 meals, and those are hot meals," Director of Emergency Disaster Services Kevin Smith said. "Things you would do in your kitchen at home, and the idea is in the time of chaos as this storm goes by and people's lives have been up-rooted, shattered, they have a little bit of comfort."

The field kitchens are able to prepare meals that are distributed to dozens of mobile canteens that will be spread out along the coast.

As families start to move forward, Major David Erickson will be traveling up and down the state, checking on his crews and community members to make sure they have support.

"We try to be there to help people in their lowest point and time of need. We don't know when that's going to happen, but not everyone has the resources to prepare for storms for multiple days," Erickson said.

Salvation Army officials said that if youre interested, the best way to help survivors and relief workers is to make a financial contribution.

Monetary donations allow disaster responders to immediately meet the specific needs of disaster survivors as the needs are assessed. The Salvation Army asks people who want to help those directly affected by the storm to visit http://give.salvationarmyusa.org/hurricane_matthew, call 1-800-SAL-ARMY or text STORM to 51555.

To become a volunteer, please visit www.salvationarmytampabay.org to contact your local Salvation Army unit for details.
The Coast Guard Commander for the Atlantic Coast was in Clearwater Saturday for a plane tour of Hurricane Matthew damage.

Coast Guard surveyed FL/GA coastline Saturday



Vice Admiral says 'Florida was quite lucky'



Crews are mobilizing in Miami now preparing to help

"Its important to come down here and get the eyes on and make sure we are fully supporting our coast guard entities so they can support various fronts and we have good visibility for the states involved, Vice Admiral Karl Schultz said.

The crew left the Clearwater Coast Guard station on a C-130 and headed to Daytona. From there, the plane dropped to 1,000 feet and surveyed the damage on the Florida and Georgia coasts.

"They will feed that information back to the Coast Guard district in Miami and they have folks there coming in behind us to figure out what needs to be done, Schultz said.

The plane traveled as far as Brunswick, Georgia before having to turn around because of the high winds caused by Hurricane Matthew.

"We were up to about 80 knot winds and the visibility got down to zero, thats when they decided to turn back and do assessments along the Georgia and Florida coast, Schultz said.

The crew surveyed submerged docks, damaged homes and high waters along the coast, but Schultz said the damage wasnt as bad as expected.

"I think Florida was quite lucky in terms of damage, Schulz said.


Hurricane Matthew forced the evacuation of the entire city of St. Augustine, and many will not be able to get home until Saturday.

Wind gusts and storm surge pounding St. Augustine

Historic downtown flooded

Residents not allowed east of U.S. 1 until at least Saturday

COMPLETE HURRICANE MATTHEW COVERAGE



The city issued the evacuation order Thursday, and St. Johns County says the area east of U.S. 1 is barred to residents until Saturday at the earliest. This include the entire historic downtown area.

Pictures showed the downtown area under several feet of water Friday. Officials say rain and seawater from the Mantanzas Bay could top 8 feet in that area.

The National Guard is in the area securing the bridges to the barrier islands throughout St. Johns County. Officials say they need time to evaluate damage and restore critical infrastructure in the historic district.

Trees and power lines are also known to be down, along with widespread flooding.

Law enforcement will control access to St. Augustine east of U.S. 1 for the time being.

Matthew was still a Category 3 storm as it swept up the Northeast Florida line. Jacksonville and points north also sustained heavy winds and flooding from the storm surge.

More than 500,000 people were ordered to evacuate from the Jacksonville area.

St. Augustine, originally a Spanish settlement dating to the 1500s, is considered the oldest city in America.

There's a concern about some of the oldest buildings, including the many historic homes that are now bed-and-breakfasts.

One place officials are sure to be checking on is the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park, on Anastasia Island.

The staff spent two days bring animals inside and keeping them safe, from young alligators in tubs to a stork in a bathroom. Pictures are in the gallery.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.


Thirty-five years ago this month, Virginia Samarripa walked into Ramsowers Furniture, then at 725 N. Broadway, to shop.

I went in one afternoon just to look around, Samarripa said from the comfort of Ramsowers showroom at 3210 Olton Rd. With four children, I wasnt really looking for a full time job or anything. But while I was there, as asked the sales person if they needed someone to help clean. They said the position was already filled, but they took my number.

Two months later, in December 1981, she was hired as a housekeeper at Ramsowers.

I never expected to work in a furniture store for this long, but Ive really enjoyed it here and the people I work with are very pleasant. My children and grandchildren grew up in the downtown location, and now in this store. Everyone is just like family.

Although her husband, Librado Jr., is retired, Samarripa doesnt have any plans to slow down herself. I plan to keep on working for now, because I enjoy it so much. When I take some off, after two or three days Im ready to come back to work.

She credits business founders Rex and Ethel Ramsower for creating and maintaining both a professional and family atmosphere which has promoted loyalty among their employees. The pleasant working conditions continue under the leadership of their grandson, Jason Ramsower, who now operates the business which now has locations in Plainview and Lubbock.

I remember Jason coming down to the store on Broadway in 2003 and 2004, and we all taking care of him when it was just a boy, she recalls. Ive truly enjoyed working with him and his entire family through the years. They have been good to me, and they all are still my friend.

Samarripa worked as a housekeeper at Ramsowers for about two years before she had an opportunity to move into the office. At that time, the office manager was fixing to leave and Mr. (Rex) Ramsower gave me the chance to do some office work so I could learn. I hadnt touched a computer since high school, but I told him that I was willing to learn, if he was willing to teach me.

Although she was nervous about making mistakes, Rex worked with her to learn the proper procedures because he wanted me to do things right. After I made the first mistake, I never made that same mistake again.

Shes glad her boss was insistent that she handled each accounting task properly since she learned to do things correctly. I still do my work as if I was doing it for him, she says.

Samarripa worked in the office at Ramsowers for more than 20 years before becoming a sales associate some 12 years ago. I enjoyed every bit of my time in the office, and I still enjoy my work in sales. I never expected to be here this long - I had planned on joining the service to become a nurse - but the time here has gone so fast. I guess that God didnt want me to leave because Im still here.

Among her fondest memories of the past 3 1/2 decades at Ramsowers are the Christmas parties that Rex and Ethel Ramsower hosted in their home for employees. That would have a catered meal for us, and we would sit around the table and talk and laugh and play games. We had such a good time.

The Ramsowers also took Samarripa to market to look at furniture for the store. Thats an experience Ill never forget. We went to some of the fanciest restaurants in Dallas . . . places I never would have dreamed.

When Ramsowers Furniture moved from downtown Plainview to its present location on Sept. 2, 2006, her entire family helped out. She adds that business increased significantly after the relocation. For the first four or five years, we drew quite a few new customers from different communities, and they are all still with us. We are on our second and third generation of customers. The parents bring their children in, and when they grow up they bring their kids in.

Through the years, shes noticed furniture styles have changed dramatically.

Everything has grown so much larger, she says. Compared to now, the furniture from years ago almost looks like kids furniture. The couches, chairs, tables and beds are so much larger. Its all still good quality, but just so very different.

One of the most rewarding aspects of sales, she notes, is being able to visit with so many different customers. Some of our elderly clients like to come in and tell stories of what it was like back when they were growing up. Its really wonderful to have a chance to listen.

Her four children literally grew up at Ramsowers. They include daughter Laura who is back home after 17 years, and sons Librado III who lives in Bastrop with his wife, James who lives in Kansas and Joshua who lives in Plainview with his family. She and her husband have seven grandchildren, including three who spent time in the store with Samarripa, and four great-grandchildren including a 2-year-old who now is in the store quite a bit. Mr. Ramsower didnt mind having the children come in.

Samarripa and her husband have been active members of New Life Church and now Trinity Life Church for 23 years. We love our church and church family, she says. Our life is surrounded by work, church and family, which really keep us busy.
Plainview Fire and EMS Captain Bobby Gibson rings a ceremonial fire bell while fellow firefighters like Carson Johnson salute and pay tribute to fallen firefighters across the country. The Plainview Fire Department participated in their first ever Bells Across America ceremony Saturday morning at their Southwest Third firehouse. The ceremony was conducted in conjunction with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to honor those firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2015 and previous years. The Plainview Fire Department and PFD Honor Guard paid respect to the firefighters who have been killed in the line of duty in the State of Texas in 2015.
There's a lot of irony in Matt Drudge accusing someone else of overly hyping a threat for political purposes.

On Thursday afternoon, while Hurricane Matthew was still over the Bahamas, the political commentator and news aggregator tweeted skepticism about the dire warnings of weather forecasters. (Drudge regularly deletes his new tweets.)

"The deplorables," he wrote, referring to supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, "are starting to wonder if [the government] has been lying to them about Hurricane Matthew intensity to make exaggerated point on climate."

The tweet (and a similarly dismissive article on his site the Drudge Report) was quickly lambasted as irresponsible: Suggesting that the storm wasn't that dangerous might convince people that there was no need to evacuate, leaving them at risk from the storm's effects.

But the political conspiracy at the heart of the idea is also worth calling out. Drudge, like the presidential candidate he supports, is prone to assuming that there's a broad conspiracy of political actors working to hide the truth from the American people.

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

In this case Drudge's idea (offered in another tweet) is that meteorologists and scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center were producing exaggerated data to make the threat of climate change seem worse. That data includes things like wind-speed measurements from sensors all over the Caribbean and on the Florida coast.

The data are made publicly available for analysis. Those measurements help provide future predictions and estimates. The predictions on Thursday were for high-speed gusts, not sustained winds; Florida so far seems to have gotten lucky, in that the eyewall - where winds are fastest - has remained offshore.

It's natural that Drudge's assumption would be that someone was hyping a threat for political purposes. That's what Drudge does nearly every day. Between September 2013 and June 2014, for example, he promoted stories about the "knockout game" 19 times, according to Drudge Report Archives. The "knockout game" was a purported trend in which young men (mostly black) were dared to go punch someone (often white) without provocation. There was no basis to the suggestion that this was a broad trend, and the subtext behind the weird media frenzy was hard to miss.

More regularly, Drudge hypes stories about undocumented immigrants ("Illegal Alien in Phoenix Deadly Crash Drank 12 Beers and Used Cocaine..."), the Islamic State ("ISIS to send 'serial killers' to the West in bloody new terror tactic") and crime ("Murder Rates Soar In 25 Largest Cities..."). His relationship with Trump is symbiotic, however unintentionally: He hypes the purported danger, and Trump promises to fix it.

The difference between Drudge's hype and the warnings of the weather forecasters, of course, is that there actually is a massive hurricane on Florida's coast. It actually is an immediate risk to life and property. Drudge criticizing forecasters for basing warnings on worst-case scenarios is the flip side to Drudge constantly hyping one-off polls that show Trump with significant leads in the presidential race. He's cherry-picking the best-case scenario to reassure his readers; the scientists are isolating the worst case to potentially save lives.

It's also worth noting that there may be a link between climate change and more powerful hurricanes. The Washington Post's Chris Mooney interviewed a researcher Thursday who explained how a warmer climate may have helped power Matthew. Hurricanes have occurred for millennia, of course, but more atmospheric warmth (or, put another way, energy), warmer, higher seas and more atmospheric moisture can help create bigger, more powerful storms when they happen, scientists say. "These storm traits aren't proof of anything, of course," Mooney writes of Matthew. "They're merely consistent with the notion of warming making storms worse."

Conservatives, though, are much less likely to accept the scientific consensus that climate change is occurring, much less that it's caused by human activity and greenhouse gas emissions. In a recent Pew Research survey, only 11 percent of conservative Republicans said that they felt that scientists understood what was causing the Earth to warm, and only 15 percent said they trusted scientists to give accurate information about the causes. Conservative Republicans were also the most likely to say that the news media was exaggerating the threat climate change poses.

Drudge takes advantage of that skepticism - on climate change, yes, but also more broadly. There's no higher-profile member of the media who's been more effective at sowing distrust of the media overall. In this case, the distrust that Drudge sowed held real risks for readers. But his habit of doing precisely what he was criticizing - hyping outliers and worst-case scenario to score political points - is why he's got so many fans, and helps explain a lot about American politics in 2016.
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.
Fire Department investigators Saturday were looking into the cause of a fire that raced through a Sunset District apartment building Friday night, sending three people to the hospital.

Firefighters rescued three people from the fire at 1814 Noriega St., including one resident on a third-floor fire escape.

The two-alarm blaze was reported at 6:41 p.m. and drew eight engines, three trucks and about 66 firefighters to fight the blaze.

Emergency crews rescued the man on the fire escape, as well as two women on the second floor, where the fire reportedly started, said Battalion Chief Jose Velo.

Three people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries and smoke inhalation, said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the San Francisco Fire Department.

The building was home to nine people, and Baxter said six of them will have to find another place to live.

The fire spread to adjacent buildings but was knocked down quickly.

Thanks to the hard work of our crews, we stopped it before it got too bad, Velo said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Baxter said there was extensive damage to the second floor and the rear of the building.

When the fire broke out, flames could be seen shooting through the roof, witnesses said.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency rerouted bus service through the area to accommodate fire crews.

Jill Tucker and Jenna Lyons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com, jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker, @jennajourno
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Two men suspected of shooting and killing a health clinic office assistant in San Franciscos Tenderloin this summer were identified Friday, officials said.

Homicide investigators launched a probe into the July 17 slaying of Joshua Mejia that led them to arrest 25-year-old Oakland resident Tony Gonzalez. The second suspect, 23-year-old San Francisco resident Francisco Heredia, was already in custody at the San Francisco County Jail on unrelated charges that include drug offenses.

Both men were booked on suspicion of homicide, attempted homicide, assault with a firearm and conspiracy. Officers arrested Gonzalez Friday on Sixth street in the South of Market district. Police have not released mugshots, citing pending identification matters.

Mejia was a Marin County behavioral health clinic employee who touched hundreds of lives as he helped those in psychiatric crisis, according to his co-workers.

More for you Man killed outside Tenderloin bar in SF was Alameda resident

Mejia, an Alameda resident, was among a group of people leaving a bar on Geary Street near Larkin Street around 2 a.m. July 17 when a fight broke out, police said.

The run-in seemed to have calmed down when police said a black BMW rolled up on the group and a person got out and opened fire on the crowd.

Mejia was shot in the upper torso and pronounced dead a short time later at San Francisco General Hospital.

Hours before the incident, he had celebrated his seven-year anniversary with his girlfriend, Marlene Deleon.

We had an amazing night. An amazing, beautiful, happy night, Deleon said in July. He felt so accomplished. He felt like good things were happening. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mejias colleagues at the Behavioral Health Recovery and Support Services gathered at his empty desk to mourn shortly after his death.

Heredia and Gonzalez were being held without bail at the San Francisco County Jail.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJouro
Residents from neighborhoods all across San Antonio are getting into a peanut mood this weekend by heading out to the Floresville Peanut Festival.

Running through 11 p.m. Saturday, in Floresville, the annual event celebrated every second weekend in October offers games, music, parades, food and of course, all things peanutty.
A furious food-hour fight led to the arrest and suspension of nine Bassick High School students Friday.

It took approximately 20 minutes to gain control, Bassick High School was placed in, lock in and lock out for the rest of the day, said Lt. Paul Grech, in an email.

Two guards were sent to the emergency room at St. Vincents hospital with unspecified injuries, according to Grech. None of the students were seriously injured.

One parent said that the brawl may have been exacerbated by a lack of security.

PTO president Albert Benejan Grajales photographed the tail-end of the fight, which broke out around noon. He took to Facebook Friday afternoon to criticism the removal of Student Resource Officers, the school-based law enforcement staff that were included in the district budget until the end of August.

Im so angry, Benejan wrote in a public post in all caps. They are short of security because we dont have our (SROs) ... (the kids) are going crazy because (it is) an (expletive) fight.

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

Police say that a number of fights have broken out since the start of the fall semester between residents of the PT Barnum housing project and the Greene homes housing project.

On Thursday, two students, both PT Barnum residents, jumped another juvenile, from Greene Homes, as he was registering for classes, according to Grech.

Its unclear if Fridays incident was a spur-of-the-moment scuffle, or a pre-mediatated brawl. Police did not identify the residencies of the students arrested, and its unclear whats behind the feud.

At this time, we are not sure what started the fight or if it is gang related, Grech said.

If you see social media footage of this incident please e-mail cattanasio@ctpost.com or tweet @viacedar

Staff writer Linda Lambeck contributed reporting for this story.
On this date in ...

1916: At a dinner of officials and employees of the New York Telephone Company at Keeler's Hotel in Albany, a special wire was installed with more than 300 telephone connections, enabling attendees to communicate with more than 6,000 other people at simultaneous dinners in Buffalo, Syracuse and New York City. After listening to speeches on the line from the telephone company's president and vice-president in New York, a transcontinental connection was made.

1966: Sister Clarence Paul Keeshan was installed as the fourth president of The College of Saint Rose before 800 delegates and guests, including her brothers and sisters. A native of Albany, she had graduated from Saint Rose 17 years ago. One of her brothers, the Rev. Paul J. Keeshan, pastor of Our Lady of Angels Church in Whitehall, gave the invocation.

1991: Construction of a new Iroquois Indian Museum had begun on a 45-acre site on Caverns Road in Howes Cave. Since 1984, funding for the $1.3 million facility had been coming from many sources, including donations from individuals, businesses and foundations, and grants from the Urban Development Corp.'s Regional Economic Development Program, Appalachian Regional Commission, Farmer's Home Administration and the Bank of Richmondville, to name a few. Later in the fall, a ceremony to give thanks in the traditional Iroquois way would take the place of a "ground-breaking" ceremony.

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

Want to read more about the Capital Region's past? Have any memories or thoughts about how our history relates to today's events? See http://blog.timesunion.com/history/
High school students in Conroe, Montgomery, and Willis ISDs will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from colleges and universities Tuesday.

CISD, along with MISD and WISD, is sponsoring College Night at the Lone Star Convention and Expo Center at 9055 Airport Road in Conroe on Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office has teamed up with the Montgomery County Women's Center to launch the first-ever Domestic Violence Collaboration for Outreach & Advocacy Program.

As the community raises awareness in October about domestic violence, the two entities are highlighting its yearlong pilot program, which started in September.

The partnership focuses on education, communication and prosecution. It starts by providing a space for MCWC employee and advocate Victoria Flores in the DA's Family Violence Division. After an arrest is made, prosecutors focus on the case, while the advocate reaches out to the victims to provide support within 24-48 hours.

Assistant District Attorney Tyler Dunman said the quick interaction aims to break the cycle of domestic violence by guiding the victims toward a safe and stable environment as well as the prosecution of the individual who commits the offense.

Part of that support is navigating the victim through options, programs and resources, such as for housing.

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

"One of the things we really recognized is it is so important to have that advocate role when you have someone who has been a victim of a conflict, especially with domestic violence, sexual assault. ... It is critical at that time to have an advocate" MCWC CEO Sarah Raleigh said. "While we fill that role right now at the hospitals when someone comes in for an exam, we have not had that ability at the DA's Office to have that same impact."

Flores not only engages with people throughout the process, but also motivates them, according to Raleigh.

Since September, Flores has noticed a positive response from the individuals she has connected with.

"It's already making an impact," said Flores, who has served the MCWC for three years. "I think victims feel like they are being judged constantly; and knowing we're not going to judge them and we have resources available within minutes, we can schedule something immediately. Everything is confidential with our agency, so they don't have to fear anyone talking about their situation to the public or anyone else."

In 2015, there were 1,045 family violence cases filed in Montgomery County. Of those, 129 were felony assault family violence with prior conviction; 102 were felony assault family violence with strangulation, felony assault family violence with prior conviction and strangulation; 37 were felony continuous violence against the family; and 764 were misdemeanor assault family violence offenses.

"One of the reasons why this is so important to us is because we do a thousand domestic violence cases a year in this county; the vast majority of those victims are females," District Attorney Brett Ligon said. "Everybody's got a mom, a lot of people have sisters and cousins. ... These victims in your mind, you may be thinking they are a state or county away, but they may actually be in the house next door to you."

More than 100 women lose their lives to family violence in Texas every year. One in three people involved in a deadly enforcement encounter with law enforcement has been a defendant in a domestic violence case, Ligon said.

"Our office is committed to the successful investigation and prosecution of domestic and family violence cases," he stated. "But, we know to do this effectively, we need the assistance of local partners and community groups. We are very excited to partner with the Women's Center to more effectively reach victims and provide them with the resources they need to break out of these very dangerous situations. Most of our murders and murder-suicides are domestic violence related. I have no doubt that lives will be saved through this program."

For more information visit www.mctxdao.org or www.mcwctx.org.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

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.

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

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
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.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Police have arrested a man suspected of shooting his ex-girlfriend in the head Thursday morning.

Juan Sosa, 40, has been charged with aggravated assault, San Antonio police said.

The 30-year-old victim, who survived the shooting and was undergoing surgery at University Hospital Friday night, was driving to work in the 1600 block of Ceralvo Street at 7 a.m. Thursday when Sosa allegedly pulled his vehicle alongside hers, drew a gun and opened fire. Sosa allegedly pumped out at least 10 shots, three of which hit the victim in the head, arm and torso, according to police.

Detective Robert Valadez said the victim had recently ended her relationship with Sosa.

They had been living together for a short time, Valadez explained. She had left (Sosa) for good and he was not happy about that.

After the shooting, the victim was able to name Sosa to investigators and provide his address, where police found a vehicle still warm from being driven but not Sosa himself, said Valadez.

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

Sosa was eventually tracked down through his cell phone use, in a joint effort between the SAPDs SVU and homicide units, and the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Task Force.
A San Antonio police officer was involved in the shooting of a man they say was attempting to commit suicide early Saturday morning.

When officers arrived at a home in the 11500 block of Ballerina Court, a woman said her husband was in the back with a gun, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.

The chief said that when officers opened the back gate, they found a 39-year-old man holding a gun to his head.

McManus said one of the officers shot the man once in the arm after the had put the gun down, but then picked it up again and pointed it at the officers.

"The officer at that time felt compelled to fire, for fear of his life, and hit the man one time," McManus said.

EMS transported the man to a local hospital with non-life threatening wounds.

Two other people in the home at the time were not hurt during the incident.

McManus said the officer who fired the shot has been on the force for four years and has been placed on administrative duty pending an investigation.

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

vtdavis@express-news.net
Thursday, Oct. 6

12:26 a.m. - Police investigated what turned out to be a false police report in the 4900 block of Universal Drive.

Wednesday, Oct. 5

8:55 a.m.  A deputy responded to a report of a suspicious, possible drug-related, smell coming from a Coleman apartment. No drugs were found.

9:45 a.m.  Police investigated a case of fraud in the 800 block of Chapel Lane.

9:48 a.m.  A deputy was sent to a report of a found motorcycle and discovered the bike was in the city. The case was turned over to city police.

11:58 a.m.  Officers investigated a case of fraud in the 5200 block of Hawks Nest Drive.

2:37 p.m.  Property was stolen from the 2300 block of Carol Court.

3:08 p.m.  Officers were called to the 1000 block of Corrine Street to investigated a case of fraud.

5:02 p.m.  A deputy responded to a car fire in Mills Township.

5:25 p.m.  Police investigated a case of fraud in the 5800 block of Woodcliff Drive.

More for you Greg Casar gets major boost from political superstar

6:29 p.m.  Police investigated a hit and run crash in the 2200 block of Tennessee Street.

7:15 p.m.  A camper in Jasper Township was broken into and non-narcotic prescription medication was stolen.

8:42 p.m.  Masonry tools, valued at a total of $150, were stolen from the back of a truck while the owner was hunting in Edenville Township.

8:46 p.m.  A deputy investigated a hit and run crash in Midland Township.

10:38 p.m.  A deputy was sent to a report of a possible drunken driver in the form of a pickup truck being driven recklessly on westbound U.S. 10 in Lincoln Township. The truck was not found.

Tuesday, Oct. 4

3:10 a.m.  Officers were called to the 900 block of Joe Mann Boulevard to investigate a case of retail fraud. While at the scene, officers made an arrest for driving on a suspended license.

11:45 a.m.  Police responded to a traffic offense in the 600 block of Cambridge Street, and sent a driver reexamination form to the state as a result.

2:51 p.m.  Gasoline, valued at $35.74, was stolen from a Coleman gas station.

3:05 p.m.  A motorist was arrested at North Saginaw Road and Chelsea Street for driving on a suspended license.

5:26 p.m.  A Jerome Township garage was broken into. Property, valued at a total of $600, was stolen.

6:39 p.m.  A deputy was sent to a report of a drunken driver in Lincoln Township. The vehicle was found and stopped, and the driver was not intoxicated.

6:54 p.m.  Police investigated a case of fraud in the 2100 block of Eastlawn Drive.

7:36 p.m.  A Midland man, 44, reported being threatened during a telephone call from a person he did not know. The call was found to be an IRS scam telephone call.
The United States and China recently ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change, with the Obama administrations contribution being the Environmental Protection Agencys proposed Clean Power Plan  the largest climate-change regulation ever attempted in the United States.

Its legality is currently being argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately, the public seems to know little about the Clean Power Plan, a point brought home to me recently when I spoke about energy to 200 accountants employed by a large accounting firms.

When I asked the group how many had heard of the Clean Power Plan, only about 10 people raised their hands.

The plan is being promoted as a means to accelerate a shift away from carbon dioxide-generating electricity fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, to lower CO2-generating sources, such as wind and solar.

The EPAs website clearly states the overarching goal: Nationwide, by 2030, the Clean Power Plan will help cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 30 percent from 2005 levels, while starting to make progress toward meaningful reductions in 2020.

Regardless of your perspective on climate and carbon, or on the legalities of the plan, it is valuable to examine some facts.

The year 2005, the base year of the Clean Power Plan, is essentially tied with 2007 as the year with the highest CO2 power-sector emissions in the U.S. at about 2,400 million metric tons. The 2030 emissions goal is a 30 percent reduction from 2005, or roughly 1,680 million metric tons.

In 2015, U.S. power sector emissions were 1,900 million metric tons, already a 20 percent reduction from 2005. In fact, from 2005 to 2015, the U.S. reduced CO2 emissions more than any other major economy in the world.

In other words, by 2015, we had already reduced emissions by 20 percent without a Clean Power Plan or a government carbon price signal. Not only does the 30 percent goal in the plan not seem very ambitious, it appears misleading to trumpet a 30 percent target when 20 percent has already been achieved.

The 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from 2005 to 2015 happened in three ways: renewable energy such as hydroelectric, wind and solar increased; there was a recession, which dampened energy demand; and the use of natural gas nearly doubled. This made the biggest impact.

Natural gas supplies grew quickly because of hydraulic fracturing of shales, which caused natural gas prices to plummet. If the pace of CO2 reduction from 2005 to 2015 continues through to 2030, CO2 emissions would be around 1,300 million metric tons  a 45 percent reduction from 2005 and substantially lower than the goals of the Clean Power Plan.

Confused? So am I.

Why push for a Clean Power Plan if we are already two-thirds of the way there and headed  without federal intervention  to a level lower than the ultimate goal of the plan?

As with most things in energy, politics are involved. Take the proposed EPA rate-based CO2 reduction burdens recommended by the Clean Power Plan for each state.

If you arrange the states from left to right on a graph, youll see that the half on the left with the least proposed CO2 reduction burden voted 75 percent Democrat in the 2012 presidential race, and the half on the right with the greatest burden voted 66 percent Republican.

We should not judge political motivation or intention, but we do need to look at actual outcomes.

Government carbon interventions have not worked very well in other countries and in fact have often had the opposite effect on actual CO2 emissions. In contrast, the U.S has made great progress thus far, even if not orchestrated, without federal policy or agency rules.

Back in the early 2000s, the Kyoto Protocol  a precursor to the Paris Agreement  set out a similar goal, but it had the reverse impact. CO2 emissions in developed nations remained essentially flat, but emissions in developing nations increased sharply.

Nonetheless, some still argue the Clean Power Plan is needed, perhaps on philosophical or moral grounds. But if the goal is actual reductions in CO2 emissions, the road to green is not always a federal highway.

Scott W. Tinker is the state geologist of Texas, the director of the Bureau of Economic Geology and the Allday Endowed Chair in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin.
Given how intensely Latinos detest Donald Trump, many Democrats assumed that Americas fastest-growing group of voters would flock to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton  and by such margins that Democrats running for Congress could ride her coattails.

This is not happening. With just a few weeks until Election Day, Democrats must look at the level of enthusiasm that Latinos have for Clinton and wonder: Wheres the love?

According to a recent article in the Washington Post, with support lagging among Latino voters for Clinton and congressional candidates in key races, Democrats are worried that theyre squandering the opportunity to lock down the Latino vote as a permanent part of the Democratic coalition.

Clinton still holds a roughly 4-to-1 lead over Trump in polls, with nearly 80 percent of Latinos disapproving of the Republican nominees words, deeds, policies and character.

But what has Democrats concerned is that Clinton isnt measuring up to where President Barack Obama was with Latino voters in 2012. And that enthusiasm gap could translate into a lower-than-expected turnout among Latinos that would hurt Clinton in battleground states with substantial Latino populations.

When it comes to selling Latinos on her candidacy, Clinton just cant close. Here are six reasons why:

Latinos are more cynical than they were eight years ago because Obama betrayed them. While running for president in 2008, Obama promised to make immigration reform a top priority and blasted the George W. Bush administration for deporting illegal immigrants. But once he got into office, Obama put the issue on the back burner during his first term and ratcheted up deportations to record levels.

With Latinos, a little respect goes a long way. The Clinton campaign had early stumbles. First, it likened the former secretary of state to a Latino grandmother, hoping that the emotion that Latinos have for one would transfer to the other. That backfired because many Latinos would just as soon leave their grandma out of politics.

Latinos never forget. Clinton was once a hard-liner on immigration, boasting to a conservative New York radio host in 2003 that she was adamantly against illegal immigrants. And of course, in 2014, when more than 80,000 refugees from Central America  most of them women and children  crossed the border, Clinton sounded callous when she said, during a CNN town hall, that the youngsters should be sent back. She later softened her stance.

As Clinton has noted, a Mexican proverb says: Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres. (Tell me with whom you walk, and I will tell you who you are.) Voters are right to ask whether she shares the views of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who militarized the U.S.-Mexico border in 1994 and signed into law a dreadful immigration bill in 1996 that made it easier to deport folks and harder for them to return.

The selection of Tim Kaine as Clintons running mate, as opposed to Housing Secretary Julian Castro or Labor Secretary Tom Perez, symbolized the Democrats priorities.

Finally, according to the Post, many Latino Democrats complain that the Clinton campaign was late rolling out Spanish-language ads in key markets. The campaign was more preoccupied with wooing English-speaking Latino millennials who, ironically, are now the least excited about Clinton.

Democrats are learning a hard lesson. They assumed the fact that Latinos hated Trump would translate into them loving Clinton. But, in politics, it does not always follow that those who oppose your adversary are necessarily your allies.

You make allies by treating people with respect and not approaching them as an afterthought. Votes are earned.

Which brings us to the main reason Clinton isnt getting a warmer reception from Latino voters. She hasnt earned it.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act required states with a history and pattern of voting discrimination against minorities to have changes in their election systems precleared by the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court before they could be implemented.

Texas needed this preclearance requirement when Section 5 was applied to the state from 1975 to 2013. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Section 5 in 2013, Texas still deserves to be covered by the provision now.

Texas continues to discriminate against Latinos and African-Americans in voting. Texas implements discriminatory policies, suffers their overruling in court, complains about court and national overreach, and then designs new ingenious ways to reinstitute the discriminatory policies.

Congress applied Section 5 to Texas because of this pattern.

Now, Texas and many other states are following the same pattern  again. Texas and these other states deserve the reimposition of the Voting Rights Act, whether by court order or legislation.

To understand some of the techniques these states have used over the past 100 years, lets look at some examples from Texas and explore why preclearance is necessary.

In 1927, the U.S. Supreme Court held unconstitutional a Texas law that denied African-Americans the right to vote in the Democratic primary. Texas immediately passed a law giving political parties the right to control who could vote in their primaries. Then Democrats decided not to allow African-Americans to vote in their primary.

In 1932, the court declared that law unconstitutional. Always ingenious, Texas then passed a law guaranteeing political parties the right to control their membership. Democrats, who controlled the Legislature that wrote the law, determined that only white citizens could be members of their party. In 1944, the court declared that unconstitutional.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Supreme Court declared that Texas had the most restrictive registration practices in the country. In its first case declaring multimember districts unconstitutional, the Supreme Court declared in 1973 that the Texas system of electing state representatives from county multimember districts rather than single-member districts discriminated against African-Americans and Latinos.

This sad history of discrimination  combined with Texas policy of using English-only ballots in places where many voters could not understand English  led Congress to apply Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to Texas in 1975.

I was fortunate to work on the first Voting Rights Act cases in Texas. These cases are good examples of why the Voting Rights Act was so needed here.

For decades, Texas paid for the primary elections of political parties that won more than 2 percent of the vote in the previous gubernatorial election. Republicans and Democrats each won more than 2 percent, so the state paid for their primaries. In 1972, the Raza Unida Party, formed by Mexican-American activists, won 6 percent of the vote for governor. In 1973, Texas changed its statute to pay only for primaries of political parties that won more than 20 percent of the vote in the last election.

The same year, Texas purged the voting rolls of all registered voters and required everyone wanting to vote to re-register. Latinos and African-Americans had a legitimate historical fear of the voting process; that purging of the rolls would have decimated minority voting rolls.

Texas could not show that the primary financing and registration bills were not discriminatory and, based on the Voting Rights Act, federal courts stopped those two bills from going into effect.

Both Republican and Democratic Justice Departments enforced the Voting Rights Act in Texas from 1975 to 2013. Texas continued to design discriminatory redistricting plans and registration and voting procedures. Section 5 stopped some of these plans in 2011 and 2012.

The state redistricting plans in 2011 were designed to increase white-dominated districts and reduce districts in which Latinos and African-Americans could elect the representatives of their choice.

Texas voter ID bill is one of the most restrictive in the country. During the legislative session in 2011, House and Senate members offered amendments to make very harsh requirements of the act more humane and less discriminatory against Latinos, African-Americans and the poor. Texas Republicans resisted these efforts to amend the voter ID bill, passing a bill that was unnecessarily demanding in requiring documentation to vote

Texas could not show that its voter ID bill and Texas House and congressional redistricting plans did not discriminate, so these laws could not be enforced. A federal court held that Texas could not show that the voter ID bill did not discriminate.

Tragically, the Supreme Court declared the preclearance provisions unconstitutional in June 2013  in effect reinstituting discriminatory laws. The next day, Texas and the other states previously covered by the Voting Rights Act began to implement discriminatory voting laws.

Even though Section 5 is no longer in effect, minority plaintiffs and the Justice Department have brought suit against the voter ID bill. Texas has lost the battle to uphold voter ID three times straight. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Texas to substantially modify the discriminatory parts of the voter ID bill. However, Texas continues to change the rules and fight the ruling  the state wants to take the battle to the Supreme Court.

After the demise of the Voting Rights Act protections, Texas fought in federal court in San Antonio to preserve its discriminatory election districts for Congress and the Texas House. The federal court has not yet made its final decision. It could decide not only that Texas discriminated but also that Texas must again be subject to preclearance in major voting changes.

North Carolina and Ohio are joining Texas in passing and vigorously defending changes in voting rules that have been proven to discriminate against minority voters. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the North Carolina Legislature targeted African Americans with almost surgical precision and impose(d) cures for problems that did not exist.

That is an accurate description of so much of Texas voting history.

Clearly many states, including Texas, have reverted to their old ways of playing whack-a-mole with minority voting rights. Every time one discriminatory system is struck down, the states implement another.

The pattern must be stopped.

I hope that the Texas and North Carolina courts use their statutory powers to require these states again to preclear voting changes. Alternatively, Congress could pass a new Voting Rights Act to meet the objections expressed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The preclearance system actually reduces litigation by deciding almost all issues administratively and more quickly than the court system.

Preclearance also has a very strong prophylactic effect. States, counties, cities, school districts and other governmental bodies understand they must show new voting rules do not discriminate. This leads to fewer discriminatory changes.

And, ultimately, this understanding by governments leads to a more equitable and fair election systems at all levels.

Stop the pattern of discrimination. That would be good for Texas.

Al Kauffman is a law professor at the St. Marys University School of Law in San Antonio. He has litigated and taught civil rights issues for 40 years.
To hear the rhetoric from Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump this election year, the North American Free Trade Agreement has wrecked the U.S. economy, fueled the loss of manufacturing in the Rust Belt, and crushed the auto industry as jobs are moved to Mexico.

There are winners and losers with any trade agreement, and NAFTA is no exception. But the reality is that most studies have found NAFTA to be modestly good for the U.S. and Texas, helping to spur significant growth in trade across North America.

Theres also an argument to be made that NAFTA has saved manufacturing jobs in the United States that otherwise likely would have been outsourced to China.

Since NAFTA took effect in 1994, U.S. trade with Mexico and Canada has thrived, rapidly outpacing the rest of the world, according to a 2015 report from the Congressional Research Service. That same report noted that most economists view NAFTA as a modest net gain for the U.S., boosting GDP by 0.5 percent, adding several billion dollars in annual growth to the economy.

There are two takeaways from this that reflect the kind of nuance that doesnt fit in an angry, dismissive tweet.

First, again, NAFTA has widely been viewed as a net positive to the U.S. economy.

Second, its effects havent been all that big compared to GDP, undermining the argument that NAFTA  in particular trade with Mexico  has wreaked havoc on American manufacturing.

As the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics has noted, yes, the United States has lost about 15,000 jobs a year due to rising imports from Mexico. But those job losses are offset by lower prices, a broader range of products and improved efficiency in the economy.

Beyond this, millions of jobs rely on trade with Mexico and Canada, and about 200,000 export-related jobs are created each year, thanks to NAFTA. These jobs, by the way, pay about 15 percent to 20 percent better than the manufacturing jobs lost, according to a 2015 report from the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Harder to see are the jobs the United States hasnt lost thanks to NAFTA.

This is a point most effectively argued by Gordon Hanson, an economist specializing in NAFTA with the University of California, San Diego. In research published this year, Hanson and others found the recent decline in U.S. manufacturing is mostly attributed to China joining the World Trade Organization, as well as developing technology.

The U.S. has a much more significant trade imbalance with China than Mexico. If anything, NAFTA likely has kept auto manufacturing jobs here that otherwise would have been moved to China.

Without the ability to move lower-wage jobs to Mexico we would have lost the whole industry, Hanson told the New York Times in March.

While auto manufacturing jobs moved to Mexico due to NAFTA, there are still about 800,000 such jobs in the U.S., the Times reported.

And because Mexico is our neighbor, free trade has created immense manufacturing links. Parts and components are manufactured on both sides of the border.

The benefits to a state such as Texas, which leads the nation in exports, are obvious. Texas exported roughly $93 billion in goods to Mexico in 2015, according to the International Trade Administration. And again, jobs tied to exports generally pay better than the jobs weve lost to trade. Beyond trade with Mexico, a 2006 analysis from the Dallas Federal Reserve found NAFTA opened other global markets for Texas exporters.

In creating a straw man out of NAFTA and free trade, Trump has proposed massive tariffs and an economic wall. Tough talk, but at what cost?

Brandeis University economist Peter Petri, a leading trade expert, told the Wall Street Journal in March that Trumps massive tariffs for Mexico and China would likely increase the U.S. trade deficit by as much as $275 billion.

NAFTA has its flaws. It has not done much to improve living standards in Mexico, and the U.S. could do better training workers who have lost jobs for a new economy. But NAFTA is not the scapegoat Trump has made it to be. Unfortunately, he has quieted many former proponents of free trade.

Much like the manufacturing jobs NAFTA arguably saved, the fallout of such abandonment is hard to see. It means less investment, fewer choices, potentially higher prices and fewer opportunities.
My husband and I have taken our two young grandsons to Siclovia the past several years, and we commend all who are responsible for promoting, sponsoring and supporting it.

This year, we became aware of and took advantage of the free helmets provided to anyone who wanted one. Our sincerest thanks to the organization that made this important safety equipment available, and I hope many other people in attendance took advantage, as well.

Colleen Flynn

Cultural invasion

Re: Shutting doors on refugees is un-Texan, Editorial, Sept. 29:

This reveals the typical progressive/liberal bias against reflective thought and in favor of feelings and emotions.

While no person of reasonable sensibilities could not be moved by the pictures of Middle Eastern children in desperate situations, the conclusion that their parents should be admitted en masse is flawed. The problem is assimilation.

While immigrants arriving here before 1920 were primarily Europeans from Christian countries, these newest people are not. Without hundreds, if not thousands, of years of familiarity with Western cultural norms, their general tendency is to form enclaves, islands of cultural identity. I travel often to Europe and have seen firsthand this refusal to assimilate. The sophisticated coastal elites who dominate current conversations deny this, labeling their opponents racists, bigots, etc.

The recent terrorist attacks, though, have in large part come from first- or second-generation immigrants who have chosen to embrace the values of their native cultures and reject our values of personal responsibility and tolerance.

Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal expressed the problem clearly when he said, Immigration without assimilation is not immigration; its an invasion.

Steve Weakley

Agneses time past

Im tired of reading letters singing the praises of Lou Agnese while condemning Charles Lutz and the University of the Incarnate Word board that fired him.

Agneses behavior at the UIW luncheon that brought about his downfall was despicable. If the board had not removed him, I would never have encouraged anyone to attend the university again. I understand he may have been right for the university at one time, but his time was over.

Thanks for all the great coverage on this issue.

Katherine Hess

Trump and women

Re: Mansplaining too familiar to women, Front Page, Sept. 28:

I must take exception to the male-bashing and overgeneralizations in this article. Is this really front-page news? Whenever men generalize about womens proclivities, we are set upon in a most vicious fashion by the libbers and told to shut our misogynist mouths.

The writer compares men in general with Donald Trump, especially in the tendency to talk over women. Im not Donald Trump. Hes from New York. They talk over each other all the time there, and I dont like it, either. Here in the genteel South, were taught better manners.

Heres a generalization for you: Any point a husband or boyfriend makes in an argument with their beloved is most often merely the beginning of another argument!

William Jones, New Braunfels

The harm factor

Ive read and heard many Americans say that they will vote for the D (that stands for Donald, not Democrat) for their own reasons, and I respect that.

But there is one important question they have not asked themselves, and that important question is this: Whom do you honestly believe will do the most harm to our beloved country?

An inquisitive mind would like to know.

Oscar Cortez Sr.

True patriotism

There are vile comments being made that when Hillary Clinton becomes president, some patriots will be armed and rise up. That is treason.

These people need to understand that what has made this great nation we call America the envy of the world is our ability to govern ourselves.

Every four years our government changes hands, not with bullets but with ballots. Thats what sets the United States apart from the rest of the world. If you want to change that system, you are not a patriot.

Richard Caldwell, Boerne

PC nothing new

We had political correctness way back in the 50s when I was growing up. The only difference  back then it was called being polite.

Charles R. Allen

Voting blind

I have seen and reviewed the interviews with the independent candidates on television several times. I cannot get any steam to have interest in either individual. I am 71, and I have never before felt that I had no one to vote for in the presidential election.

I guess I can just take a blindfold that says I voted, put it on before entering the booth, and just push buttons pretending that it means something. It means we are in trouble.

Al Blomberg, Converse

Release quarterback

If Colin Kaepernick thinks the U.S. is so bad that he should not honor the national anthem, then he should not do so.

But I think his employer should void his contract, which means he would not have to suffer the indignity of accepting all those U.S. dollars.

Herman L. Evans

Preventive medicine

Every San Antonio-area driver and his dog ought to know not to drive into high water crossings. Yet many still do.

Whatever the rescue costs to police, fire and emergency units, I would like to see local government enact a policy advertised and enforced by a warning such as this: Drive into high water and dont make it through? Itll cost you $5,000 or your vehicle. Now turn around, and stop wasting our time.

Stephen Maynard
1 Economic sanctions lifted: President Obama on Friday lifted U.S. economic sanctions on the former pariah state of Myanmar. Obamas move marks the culmination of years of rapprochement between the U.S. and Myanmar that Obama has worked to facilitate. The U.S. has already eased broad economic sanctions, 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. Myanmar has pursued political reforms over the last five years following decades of oppressive military rule.

2 Missing jet: The Australian government said Friday that a piece of debris that washed up on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius in May was from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. 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. Authorities believe it finally went down in the southern Indian Ocean.
HE has been in prison for eight years, serving an 18-year rap_e sentence, but it could all change for a Gokwe man. There are plans...
A 12-YEAR-OLD boy was electrocuted at the Luna Park during the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show on Saturday.

Police said the boy touched the metal body of an electric swing known as the paratrooper and was electrocuted.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said: The ZRP reports a sad incident in which a 12-year-old boy was electrocuted after he touched the metal body of an electric swing known as paratrooper on September 3, 2022 at Zimbabwe Agricultural Show Luna Park, Harare.COFFIN

The victim died upon arrival at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. Investigations are in progress.

Meanwhile, Asst Comm Nyathi said police in Ruwa are investigating a case of murder in which a three-year-old girl died on Saturday at Mabvazuva after she was assaulted with a belt by her uncle, Ronald Moda, last Friday.

The victim had allegedly messed herself after falling ill and this did not go down well with the suspect. The suspect is on the run, he said.

 Herald

Breaking News via Email
Josh Williams, Sherry Pollex and Jes Ferreira recognized as 2022 Comcast Community Champion of the Year finalists Comcast is honored to announce Josh Williams, Sherry Pollex and Jes Ferreira as the finalists for the 2022 Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award.
The government has also decided to enforce salary parity in public sector institutions.
On behalf of the Augustinian community in Fethard, permit me to say hello to those who worship in the Augustinian Abbey Church and indeed to all the lovely people of Fethard.

I first arrived in Fethard in December 2012, under the cover of winter darkness to begin my missionary work as an Augustinian from Nigeria. Since then I have happily integrated in the Fethard community and quickly adjusted to discussing the weather in the absence of any other topic with people I meet on my travels.

For the past three years I have also being making mission appeals in the Abbey Church to support the Augustinian foreign missions. Every year, people have been very generous in their donations to this appeal and I would like to sincerely express my deep appreciation to this response of generosity. Your donations have touched lives and saved lives in the missions. Indeed, Im also happy to mention that the mission appeals have also helped in my education and in making me a priest. I remain forever grateful to all of you for that.

This years appeal comes up again at all masses on Saturday, October 22, and Sunday, October 23, in the Abbey Church. As usual I count on your kind support and generosity. Like in all charity appeals one euro can change and save a life. You have done it before and I believe you can do it again and receive the Lords blessings.

This appeal is always open so you can drop your donations at anytime, any day, to the Augustinian Abbey Church in Fethard.

Thank you to all.

Fr. Lazarus Barkindo OSA
(NaturalNews) Technology has always been a double-edged sword, having major benefits for humanity but also coming with drawbacks. The Digital Age is certainly no different.The same is true with scientific breakthroughs. Though, most often they benefit human beings, some newly developed techniques can be quite frightening and, in the wrong hands, can be abused. Like changing a person's memory of certain events or, worse, implanting false memories.Julia Shaw, a criminal psychologist, has done the latter. As reported by, Shaw specializes in the science behind memory, admitting that she was a kind of "memory hacker" in which she used "the science of memory to make you think you did things that never happened."And, as it happens, implanting a false memory in someone's mind is very easy to do.What could go wrong with? And, as a, when would you everto convince a patient they had done something they really hadn't?Whencaught up with Shaw, born in Canada but now living in London, she had traveled back to Toronto to promote her new book, "The Memory Illusion." In its pages she provides details as to how it is possible to deliberately place false memories in a person's mind, which can then. It is even possible to implant " memories " of being abducted by "aliens" that, of course, did not happen.In her interview with the tech Web site, she said that memories are really just "a network of brain cells." She further explained that the network actually stretches across various regions of the brain and are continually updated. "It's an important function that allows us humans to learn new things and to problem-solve, among other skills." But, as she reveals, that process and network "can be manipulated."Every time a person verbally recounts a story they change it somewhat, Shaw said. Humans add or leave out small details, sometimes adding in bits of information heard from someone else. This can lead to the creation of new and, very possibly, inaccurate connections and accounts.For instance, she continued, if a person believes they can accurately recount anything before the age of two-and-a-half years, that's not a valid memory . Shaw said the period before reaching that age is one in which our brains are simply not developed enough to preserve and share memories due to a condition called childhood or infantile amnesia.Memories from birth to two years old were "either given to you through photos, you saw a picture, or maybe your parents told you a story," said Shaw, as recounted by. "You can internalize them quite readily."But being able to manipulate memories because they are so interchangeable actually has important uses for the criminal justice system, among other things, said Shaw  a senior lecturer and researcher in the Department of Law and Studies at London South Bank University. Indeed, that is the primary focus in her research.She says in her lab she will convince subjects via memory hacking that they have committed crimes that never happened. She added that she hacks memories "to show that the interrogation process can really distort memories, in consistent ways."In order to implant a false memory, Shaw says it is necessary to make the subject confused about their "imagination with memory...get them to repeatedly picture it happening."Here's the thing, however: If Shaw has been able to master this technique, then it is fairly safe to assume that others have as well, or at least they have the ability to. That would includethe world over, who could arrest virtually anyone (like a "troublemaker") and 'convince' them they had committed a terrible crime.Welcome to the new world, where our perception of reality is malleable and subject to someone else's definition and interpretation.
(NaturalNews) While some regard ethanol as a cleaner, safer and more environmentally friendly biofuel than gasoline, critics say its effect is as bad or even worse for nature than regular oil, as concluded in a report by Malaysia'sNew research regarding the so-called eco-friendly fuel came as a surprise to scientists when they discovered that drivers using ethanol in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was linked to more ozone in the local environment. Ozone is a major pollutant made from chemical reactions between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds like methane and carbon monoxide, from the burning of fossil fuels, as described in a report byExperts say that breathing in ozone can cause inflammation in the deep lung, affecting functionality, according to a review reported [PDF] in thein 2008. Additionally, further data analysis discovered ozone pollution to be responsible for around 200,000 premature deaths annually.The study, published in the journal, was initiated after drivers in Sao Paulo switched from burning ethanol to gasoline due to price hikes. At least 40 percent of light-duty vehicles in the city are capable of running on either fuel. Researchers set up a lab to study the effects after the percentage of those using petroleum increased dramatically from 14 to 76 percent.During the percentage increase, ambient ozone concentrations fell by about 20 percent, according to researchers."The study is the first large-scale effort to measure how switching between ethanol and petrol affects air pollution," reported. "It arrives amid a debate in the United States and other industrialised countries over the environmental benefits of ethanol, a renewable fuel made from plant matter."While the findings were unexpected, researchers warned not to generalize the study to include other major cities, because each region's "specific climate, vehicle fleet, local industry and traffic patterns," are all contributing factors that differ according to place."Ozone and nitric oxide are both contributors to urban smog, so depending on how well a city is able to mitigate air pollution, ethanol may not be the 'green fuel' that it is often called," said Franz Geiger, a professor of chemistry at Northwestern University who worked on the study.U.S. expert Sasha Madronich published a written response to the research, agreeing that the findings "did not represent a thumbs up for burning gasoline," according toIowa is the lead producer of ethanol in the U.S., supplying nearly 30 percent of all biofuel, which is made primarily from corn containing octane and oxygen. According to the Iowa Corn Growers Association , global ethanol production reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 100 million metric tons last year, which is equivalent to removing 20.2 million vehicles off the road.With nearly 40 percent of U.S. corn cultivation going toward ethanol production, food prices have increased significantly, leaving some questioning whether or not using food for fuel is the best solution.Brazil uses sugar cane to produce ethanol, and the prices fluctuate according to the market, unlike gasoline, which is controlled by the government.Researchers suggest that the reason ozone concentrations worsened after ethanol use rose in Sao Paulo could be because burning gasoline creates more nitrogen dioxide emissions."At certain high levels, nitrogen dioxide combines with hydroxyl radicals, a short-lived type of atmospheric chemical that cleans the troposphere of ozone, among other pollutants," reportedScientists note that petrol was linked to other problems like increases in carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, but the effect of other pollutants, such as fine particles, was not studied but is expected to be reviewed next.An expert at the Renewable Fuels Association said the Sao Paulo results were not applicable to the U.S. because vehicles in America comply with different emissions controls requirements that are more "stringent" than in Brazil. http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com [PDF]
There are two species of "sea dragons" or Ichthyosaurs -- both discovered during Victorian era -- that have been declared as "new" to science. This now brings to six known species of "sea dragons," which are reptiles who swam the seas during the Jurassic era.

Ichythyosaurs is a marine reptile that resembles a dolphin that has a large teeth. They lived during the Mezosoic era and appeared 250 million years ago. They disappeared after the dinosaur era, according to Science Daily.

These two fossils were excavated in 1800s in Somerset. During Victorian era, there was such ichthyosaurs skeleton craze that everyone was practically looking for it, such as Mary Anning from the Dorset coast, who first found it. One of the fossils is found at the Bristol University while the other was donated to Philadelphia by Thomas Hawkins, a well-known Victorian fossils collector. Hawkins had a collection of marine reptiles that were discovered in Somerset during the first half of the 19th century.

"These are two new species -- brand new species to science,'' paleontologist Dean Lomax told BBC News. Lomax, together with another paleontologist, Judy Massare, studied hundreds of ichthyosaur fossils found in Europe and North America.

"They show that during the early Jurassic -- around 200 million years ago -- the ichythyosaur, and specifically this particular type, was a lot more diverse than previously thought."

The fossil at Bristol University is called Ichythyosaur larkini, named after British paleontologist Nigel Larkin, whose family lived in Bristol. The second fossil that is housed in Philadelphia is named Ichythyosaur somersetensis, named after the place where several fossils are excavated.

The paleontologists' basis on recognizing these fossils as "new to Science" is because of the distinctive features of the reptiles' skulls and other bones.
















There's a disadvantage in using wind turbine for energy -- it's killing birds. A team of researchers has found that this technology for wind energy is not only deadly to local birds but also those migrating from hundreds of miles away.

According to the study published in the journal Conservation Biology, a team of researchers from Purdue University has discovered that wind energy fields could kill birds not local to the area including large species like the endangered golden eagle.

In order to assess how deadly wind turbines are, the team used the DNA and isotopes from the dead golden eagle's feathers. By using the stable isotopes in the bird's feather, scientists were abe to determine where the bird originated. The researchers found out that about 75 percent of the 63 birds found dead in the area were local birds while the remaining 25 percent were migratory birds.

Read: Wind Farms Threaten Breeding Success Of White-Tailed Eagle, New Study Shows

Results also showed that the golden eagles found dead at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA) located in Northen California came from hundreds of miles away, specifically in the western U.S.

"Eagles tend to use that habitat around the turbines. It's windy there, so they can save energy and soar, and their preferred prey, California ground squirrels, is abundant there," Purdue University professor J. Andrew De Woody explained via Science Daily.

"As they soar, these eagles are often looking straight down, and they fail to see the rapidly moving turbine blades. They get hit by the blades, and carcasses are found on the ground under the turbines," he added.

APWRA, one of the oldest and largest wind farms in the world, has been responsible for 140,000 to 328,000 bird deaths and 500,000 to 1.6 million bat deaths. Todd Katzner, co-author of the study, said that to evaluate the effect of a wind farm to the environment, local birds are not the only that should be taken into consideration but migratory birds too, such as golden eagles.

This new discovery is important because of the growing concern in the golden eagles' declining population in several states. Unerstanding the effect of wind turbines to the birds' fatality rates could shed more light to the population loss.
A San Diego priest is facing charges for having sex with a woman in Minnesota while religiously advising her, allegedly paying her to keep quiet about their relationship.

Jacob Andrew Bertrand, 32, a priest at the Diocese of San Diego, was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the 3rd degree for having sex with the woman in 2010, according to a complaint filed in the County of Dakota in Minnesota.

The compaint alleges that Bertrand and the woman met while they were both studying in Rome, Italy in 2009. He allegedly engaged in sex with her while she was seeking religious advice from him after they had moved back to the U.S. The complaint states that Bertrand contacted the victim, writing her a letter and apologizing for his actions.

The complaint claims Bertrand used religion to prey on the womans desire to find a husband, claiming he was the man she was sent to Rome to meet. When the two flew to Minnesota later that year they stayed with the woman's family.

The complaint claims two sexual encounters took place during that trip  one while he was performing a mass for the woman in her parent's basement.

After the ceremony, the complaint claims he told the woman that what happened between them was so mystical, no one should know about it.

The woman claims Bertrand then sent her $1,000 to pay for school. The woman also claims that, in a conversation over the phone, the priest told her: The Devil tempts me to think that you will tell someone and ruin my ministry.

The complaint says the woman reported the sexual acts to church officials in 2012; her claims were forwarded to the Diocese for investigation in 2014. She filed a police report in April 2016.

The Diocese of San Diego confirmed Friday that Bertrand is facing these charges in Minnesota.

According to Aida Bustos, spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, Bertrand filed for a leave of absence when he learned of a possibility of charges being filed. The leave of absence was granted.

The statement in part, read: "There have been no allegations lodged against Fr. Jacob here in San Diego, where he remains on a leave of absence and currently has no faculties. The diocese is not involved in his legal defense. Out of respect for all parties and for the legal process, the diocese will make no further statement at this time.

Bertrand served at the St. Rose Lima Parish in Chula Vista from 2010 to 2013 and at the Santa Sophia Parish in Spring Valley from 2013 to 2015.

Fr. Devdas Masillamony, of Santa Sophia Church, spoke with NBC 7 Friday and said he was shocked by the allegations against Bertrand, whom Masillamony said is beloved by many.

"Hes a very caring person. He loved the people. Loved his ministry. Hes a man of prayer and a very charismatic person," said Masillamony. "What comes to mind is the Lord is my shepherd there's nothing I shall want. I think God knows the truth."

Another religious colleague of Bertrands told NBC 7 the priest has had a major impact on his familys spiritual health, and the allegations against Bertrand dont sound like the man he knows.

Bertrands attorney, Marc Carlos of San Diego-based law firm, Bardsley & Carlos, told NBC 7 Friday that he will not be releasing a formal statement about his clients case, but said they will fight against these allegations, which are not true.

Bertrand faces up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.
An armed robbery investigation in Fremont's Sundale neighborhood on Friday prompted police to play one school under lockdown and urge students at two other campuses to shelter in place, officials said.

Officers responded to an armed robbery report, involving a woman carrying a purse, at 12:30 p.m. They spotted a suspect vehicle fleeing into the neighborhood near Walters Junior High, police said.

Police said the suspects exited the vehicle and fled. Two suspects were taken into custody, but two others were able to get away, prompting the hunt.

Walters Junior High School on Logan Drive was placed under lockdown as a precaution. Students at Brier Elementary and John F. Kennedy High schools were ordered to shelter in place during the investigation, police said.

The lockdown and shelter in place orders were lifted just before 4 p.m.

The two outstanding suspects are described as a male in a black shirt and a female in a crewneck, police said.

No other information was immediately available.
Add tech companies to the list of how the Bay Area is stepping up its efforts to help those affected by Hurricane Matthew.

Local tech companies are working on drones to provide phone and wireless service to areas affected by natural disasters.

"So, instead of the cell site planted on the ground, which is our traditional way of doing business, we've lifted the equipment into the belly of this very small aircraft, and placed it over the affected area," said.

Bay Area tech executives are working to raise money together to help victims.

Meanwhile, Red Cross relief workers from all over the Bay Area are heading out to affected areas to help provide care and shelter.

"When the water starts rising, there's nowhere for the water to go,"

Relief workers plan to stay in the affected areas for as long as three weeks.

Other tech companies stepping up include Google, which is donating $500,000 to the relief effort and Airbnb, which is offering free rentals to those displaced by Hurricane Matthew.
Its a matter of money for the two incumbents who would not support consolidating water resources in San Mateo County.

We do not need to make other districts' problems ours, Kathryn Slater-Carter, a current Board of Director up for reelection, said. We would keep our debt and they would take our water.

The issue goes back to 2001, according to Scott Boyd, MWSD incumbent and a current Board Member on the Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside, which is responsible for ensuring wastewater is cleaned before it enters the ocean.

He said he wouldnt support consolidation, because it should stay with those that paid for it.

When Montara residents were owned by a private utility company, the district voted to invest money to buyout the company and take it into local control.

The board says with that authority, its been able to give Montara District residents lower utility rates than it had in 2001 while allocating $3 million annually to water and sewer improvements.

Newcomer Thomas Peterson, a consultant who has previously worked as a water engineer for the California Department of Public Health, offered a different perspective.

Peterson said that while he doesnt think consolidation would be right at this time, he does support sharing water resources in emergencies and believes benefits to consolidating the water resources could allow the district to develop parks.

Developing the districts parks was voted the second biggest priority for Montara residents during a previous a public forum, just after not consolidating water resources.

About a dozen community members came to the forum organized by the Midcoast Community Council and the League of Women Voters.

The next forum will be on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at Lipman Middle School, 1 Solano St. Brisbane, CA 94005 and include candidates for the Brisbane School District.
The "creepy clown" threat continued in the Bay Area Friday when a clown was reported seen in Fremont, police said.

Fremont police received at least one report of a clown sighting, but the clown was not acting suspiciously.

The appearance is another sighting and may be part of a social media "creepy clown" threat directed mainly toward schools in the Bay Area and across the country this year.

Also on Friday, schools in the Oakland Unified School District were placed on lockout after school officials decided the "creepy clown" situation was getting out of hand, a district spokesman said.

The lockout, which means officials at each school put strict controls on traffic and people coming in and out of the school, began at around noon and was lifted at 2 p.m.

District spokesman John Sasaki said the idea behind the lockout was to prevent anyone wanting to engage in "creepy clown" antics from coming on campus so teachers wouldn't be distracted.

Police in Richmond on Friday confirmed that a clown was seen around 2 p.m. Wednesday near Planet Fitness at 4925 MacDonald Ave., police spokesman Lt. Felix Tan said.

Tan said officers searched the area and did not find the person.

Police said the sighting and threats must be taken seriously and they want to assure residents they are aware of the effect on public safety.

The social media threats began earlier this year on the East Coast of the U.S. and have spread to the West Coast. Most of the threats have been hoaxes.

The clowns that have been seen have scared people but few have been dangerous.

But on Wednesday afternoon in Concord, police responded to a report that a "creepy clown" tried to kidnap a 1-year-old child from his mother.

The woman kicked the clown in the shin and the person fled.

The latest school district to issue a warning is the East Side High School District in San Jose and district officials asked students and residents to avoid responding to any threats made.

It's unclear whether threats have been made to schools in the district, but school officials will take any threat seriously and officials are on alert.

Schools officials have decided that for Halloween they will not allow anyone to wear a clown costume or any costume that hides the identity of the student.

Whether students will be allowed to wear costumes at all will be decided by officials at each school.

In Antioch, police were dispatched at 10:57 a.m. Tuesday to Dallas Ranch Middle School on a report of posts saying clowns were going to shoot at the school.

Burlingame police said they were made aware of posts claiming that people dressed as clowns were going to show up at Peninsula schools including some in Burlingame.

Similar threats have been made in other parts of the country, police said.

On Monday at around 7:45 p.m., threats were made toward schools in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, Fairfield police said.

Fairfield police Lt. Rob Lenke said the threats received Monday night on Twitter said, "Be ready, we're coming to your school" and "We're coming to get you."

There were also specific references to a killing and a kidnapping that might occur at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Lenke said.
No one was injured in a fire Friday afternoon at a hospital in Martinez that prompted the evacuation of several hundred people, a fire marshal with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District said.

The fire was reported at 2:06 p.m. in a second-floor boiler room near the emergency rooms of the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center at 2500 Alhambra Ave.

The fire affected the entire hospital but did not affect the emergency rooms because the emergency rooms are isolated from other parts of the hospital, fire Marshal Robert Marshall said.

But as of 3:40 p.m. the emergency room was not accepting any new patients.

Each hospital room is isolated from other rooms in case something like this happens, Marshall said.

All non-essential staff members were evacuated and patients who could have been affected by smoke from the fire were moved to safe areas, Marshall said.

Firefighters also isolated smoky areas from the rest of the hospital and the fire was extinguished at about 2:45 p.m.

Firefighters found the fire was fueled by one of two fuel sources, either natural gas or diesel fuel.

Firefighters haven't pinpointed which fuel was burning, Marshall said.

The hospital can run on both fuels in case one source is cut off for some reason such as a natural disaster.

The damage to the boiler room was minimal.

The cause is under investigation.
Demonstrators marched into the San Francisco Hall of Justice on Friday and demanded answers from the district attorney.

The group wanted updates on several police shooting investigations. District Attorney George Gascon was not in his office when demonstrators arrived, but his representatives got an earful from the group.

"What we have to do is make sure to get this right," said Alex Bastian, San Francisco district attorney's spokesman. "What we have to do is make decisions based on all the evidence, the full investigation."

Mario Woods' mother during the rally talked about her son, who was shot by police last December, and demanded justice.

"Prosecute these officers who have taken the lives of our loved ones here in San Francisco," a demonstrator said during the rally.

Woods was a stabbing suspect. Police said they fired after he raised a knife at officers, but supporters said the video told a much different story.

Friday's demonstration comes as police enact reforms and a Blue Ribbon panel has made recommendations.

Just hours before the rally, a federal civil rights lawsuit was announced on behalf of the family of Luis Gongora, a homeless man shot by police after allegedly brandishing a knife.

"This man was killed unnecessarily and unlawfully," said Adante Pointer, an attorney representing the Gongora family.

Gongora's family questioned police accounts of the shooting, saing he posed no threat.

"Their version of the facts claim he lunged at them with the knife," Pointer said. "But we know different."

Sean Connolly, San Francisco deputy city attorney, issued the following statement:

"Multiple eye-witnesses have 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."
Melania Trump condemned her husband's comments Saturday, joining ranking Republican party officials in denouncing crude comments about women made by Donald Trump over a decade ago, with a handful withdrawing their endorsement of the presidential candidate or calling for him to step aside as the GOP nominee.

In a statement published on the GOP presidential nominee's website, Melania Trump said: "The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world."

Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, was "beside himself" and his wife was furious, according to a person close to the couple, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the private discussion, the Associated Press reported.

After refusing to respond to questions from reporters Friday night, Pence released a statement Saturday saying he was "offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump" and "cannot defend them." But, he added, "I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people."

It is the first time Pence has publicly condemned controversial statements made by Trump. During the vice presidential debate Tuesday, the governor repeatedly dodged challenges to defend some of Trump's most inflammatory comments about women and immigrants when pressed by Hillary Clinton's runningmate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said he was "sickened" by Trump's remarks and angrily revoked an invitation for the real estate mogul to appear at a GOP event Saturday in Wisconsin. Pence canceled a scheduled appearance at the same event amid fallout from Friday's video.

"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," Ryan said.

Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus has been a champion of the billionaire businessman's campaign since Trump won the party's nomination, but he was among the first Republicans to criticize the latest revelations from Trump's comments about women in a curt response.

"No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever."

Newly released audio from 2005 revealed Trump bragging about trying to have sex with a married woman and made a series of profane, sexually charged comments about women. The recording was published Friday by The Washington Post and NBC News.

[NATL] Highlights From the 2016 Campaign Trail

Sen. John McCain, who offered grudging support for the Republican candidate, withdrew his support for Trump Saturday, saying "Cindy and I will not vote for Donald Trump."

"Donald Trumps behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy, McCain said in a statement. "Cindy, with her strong background in human rights and respect for women fully agrees with me in this."

Two Utah Republicans, Gov. Gary Herbert and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, also withdrew their endorsements Friday, while former Gov. Jon Huntsman called for the candidate to step aside and let Pence take his place.

Chaffetz, who is chairman of the House oversight committee, told a Utah television station he can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. He called Trumps comments some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell weighed in after more than five hours, calling the comments repugnant and unacceptable.

"As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape," McConnell said.

Rep. Mike Coffman, a Republican congressman in Colorado, also called on the candidate to step aside for the good of the country and to give the Republicans a chance of defeating Hillary Clinton. Coffman had previously refused to endorse Trump.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote in tweet that he was "never comfortable with Donald Trump as our party nominee" and conservative Alabama congresswoman Martha Roby admitted to previously tolerating Trump's "antics" because she wanted to support the party's nominee. Now, she says Trump should "step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket."

The highest-ranking female Republican in the House, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, released a statement declaring that "it is never appropriate to condone unwanted sexual advances or violence against women. Mr. Trump must realize that it has no place in public or private conversations today or in the past."

Ryan's spokesman and several others who criticized Trump's comments sidestepped the question of whether he should stay in the race.

Former Secretary of State and George W. Bush advisor Condoleezza Rice took to Facebook to announce that she would not support Trump, either.

"Enough!" she posted. "Donald Trump should not be President. He should withdraw. As a Republican, I hope to support someone who has the dignity and stature to run for the highest office in the greatest democracy on earth."

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a former GOP primary opponent who has not endorsed Trump, called Trump's comments "wrong and offensive."

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, who have never been Trump fans, also took to Twitter to denounce him.

Make no mistake the comments were wrong and offensive. They are indefensible.  John Kasich (@JohnKasich) October 7, 2016

But Trump's Virginia campaign chairman, Corey A. Stewart told The Washington Post that women voters wouldn't be moved by Trump's comments.

When people voted for Donald Trump, they knew he wasnt an angel, said Stewart, a 2017 contender for Virginia governor and chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. They are not concerned that, at times, Donald Trump acts like a frat boy. Sometimes he does, but thats okay.

Trump held his ground in a video statement released early Saturday that made it clear he was staying in the race. Anyone who knows me, knows these words dont reflect who I am, he said, before apologizing and claiming he has changed.

See you at the debate on Sunday, he said.

NBC's Danielle Abreu contributed to this report.
President Barack Obama, back in Chicago this weekend, hopped around from one fashionable downtown locale to the next in the presidential motorcade Friday night.

Obama first went to Sepia in the West Loop where he met with supporters of his eponymous foundationbut didn't eat there. After Sepia, the president went to Swift & Sons on West Fulton Market for dinner.

With much speculation swirling about the president's possible attendance to Friday night's Cubs game, it seems the commander-in-chief opted for a night out in his hometown.

"The president is having dinner with friends and supporters to continue his conversations regarding future plans for his foundation, including the library and programming," said Eric Schultz, principal deputy press secretary for the White House.

A Zagat review of the eatery heralds it as a sprawling steakhouse that also offers cold-storage seafood. It is owned by the renowned Boka Restaurant Group.

The motorcade left about 10 p.m. to return the president to his residence in Kenwood.

While in town Friday, Obama also cast an early ballot for the upcoming November election.

"Hey what's my date of birth?" Obama joked, suggesting he was born on Aug. 4, 1981, to which a poll worker responded, "Nice try."

When asked who he was voting for, the president simply smiled and declined to answer, NBC News reports.
A science teacher at a CPS charter school in the University Village neighborhood on Chicago's West Side has been charged with sexually assaulting a student.

June Kendall, 29, was charged with two felony counts of criminal sexual assault of a victim between 13 and 17 years old, Chicago Police said Saturday.

In her position as a teacher, Kendall engaged in inappropriate acts on school grounds, with a student on more than one occasion in the 1300 block of West 14th Place, police said.

Kendall, of the 4900 block of North St. Louis Avenue, was expected to appear in bond court Saturday.

A LinkedIn account and personal website list Kendall as a science teacher at Urban Prep Academy, 1326 W. 14th Place.

Urban Prep Academies operates a network of all-boys public schools where most of Urban Prep students come to the schools from economically disadvantaged households, according to the schools website. It also has campuses in the Bronzeville and Englewood neighborhoods.

A representative for the school did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday morning.
A 12-year-old was issued a juvenile summons for his connection to clown threats targeting the New Britain school district.

The boy was charged with breach of peace and two counts of harassment.

Several other middle school students, plus the boy charged, created clown posts on social media that were harassing and threatening to harm at least three New Britain schools this week, New Britain police said.

Additional arrests are expected, Capt. Thomas Steck said.

The boy was released to his parents and is expected to appear in court.

On Thursday, school officials in New Britain are in contact with police over creepy clown social media posts and said there will be an extra police presence in all neighborhoods to ensure students feel safe walking to and from school.

Our staff is responding quickly to all possible threats that are brought forward, Supt. Nancy Sarra said in a statement.

Sarra urged that students intending to bring weapons to school to protect themselves need to understand that it is a violation of the school districts rules to bringing weapons to school.
Fired bus drivers said Friday they have received unfair discipline from managers with Dallas County Schools after NBC 5 Investigates uncovered video and records of hundreds of driving infractions.

The video clips showed buses crossing intersections after the signal was red. Buses also passed other buses' extended stop arms.

Dallas County Schools provides transportation service to 11 North Texas school districts, including the Dallas Independent School District.

The NBC 5 investigation uncovered records of more than 400 infractions over a period of two-and-a-half years but no record of discipline for drivers in that time.

After the NBC 5 Investigates inquiry, DCS said it disciplined 229 drivers and terminated 13. Two managers who were responsible for handling the past infractions were demoted but not fired.

DCS policy calls for driver suspensions in the first and second red light or stop-arm infraction and termination for a third.

Terminated driver Randall Lyles denied any infractions. The 11-year-veteran of Dallas County Schools said he never received prior notice of a first or second infraction before he was terminated Monday.

"You can't say you're terminating drivers according to policy when you're not adhering to the policy. I never knew anything," Lyles said.

The termination letter Lyles received from a supervisor lists two infraction dates from 2014 for stop-arm camera violations. Lyles said he knew all the buses have stop-arm cameras.

"Why would I pass a school bus in the school bus, knowing very well that the cameras are operational?" Lyles asked.

The notification letter includes no location or time of day for the alleged infractions.

"You don't have any kind of proof that this was the driver that was driving the bus because we have a lot of drivers that fill in," said drivers' union leader Linda Barrett.

She said many disciplined drivers have similar complaints about old accusations surfacing now.

"Notify them, that's number one. Have the bus number there on the paper. Put the time, put the street where this happened," she said.

Terminated driver Charlotte Sheets said her termination letter lists accusations from March and April 2016 and November 2015 without locations noted.

"I'm saying I didn't run a red light, but they're saying that I did," she said. "This is my seventh year. So I've never had a situation. Never an accident, never. And I really pride myself in coming in and doing the very best I know that I'm supposed to out there."

Sheets and Lyles said they are appealing their terminations and Barrett said other disciplined employees will also appeal.

Dallas County Schools officials declined an interview but representative Carey Marin provided a statement:

"Dallas County Schools remains steadfast in its decision to enforce its policy regarding red-light running and stop-arm violations. The drivers were terminated because they each had three or more of these serious traffic violations. Every driver knows the law and is well-aware that safety is our highest priority and responsibility. As with any similar employee action, there is an appeal process available for any driver to contest the termination."
Several Texas politicians have sharp rebukes for the 2005 comments made about women by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

On Saturday, a defiant Donald Trump says he will "never" abandon his White House bid. A growing number of Republicans are calling on him to do just that following the release of his vulgar and sexually charged comments caught on tape in 2005.

On Sunday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted the following: "Deeply disturbing rhetoric by Trump. An insult to all women & contrary to GOP values. Absent true contrition, consequences will be dire."

Rep. Michael Burgess was the first GOP member of the North Texas delegation to respond publicly. Via Twitter, Rep. Burgess said he cannot condone the remarks.

"However as Mr. Trump stated, this campaign has changed him as a candidate and a man and this election needs to be about which candidate will advance our conservative principles," wrote Rep. Burgess. "Based on comments made by Hillary Clinton in paid speeches, there is no doubt Mr. Trump remains the best candidate for President."

Trump was slapped by his own running mate, Mike Pence, who said he was "offended by the words and actions" Trump described in the video.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas agreed. On Saturday, he tweeted: "These comments are disturbing and inappropriate, there is simply no excuse for them."

Sen. Cruz recently endorsed Trump after refusing to say his name during the 2016 Republican National Convention. The two engaged in a bitter primary battle. Sen. Cruz said he cannot support a candidate who attacks his family. In July, Trump re-tweeted a tweet with an unflattering photo of Sen. Cruz's wife, Heidi, opposite his wife Melania. The caption read "the images are worth a thousand words."

Fellow Republican, U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas also tweeted his reaction: "I am disgusted by Mr. Trump's words about women, our daughters, sisters and mothers."

Late Saturday, Phillip Huffines, chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party issued a statement. "Women and all people should be treated with the utmost dignity and respect," said Huffines. "His comments are not reflective of the Republican Party or that of any gentleman. It is my hope that Mr. Trump will demonstrate stronger leadership in the future."

The Tarrant County GOP chairman said the following: "What Donald Trump said 11 years ago was awful and not representative of the values and beliefs we share as a party," wrote Tim O'Hare. "He has apologized, and we are called to forgive people for their thoughts and actions, even if they are as disturbing as these. I hope his heart has changed in these 11 years, but to say this is very troubling is a serious understatement."

Democratic North Texas congressman Marc Veasey said he was not surprised by Trump's comments. "Trump's words and his actions are vile and offensive, making him unfit to lead this great country," wrote Rep. Veasey in a statement.
An SEC civil charge against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleging he deceived investors has been tossed out, NBC 5 has learned.

Federal regulators filed civil securities fraud charges in April over allegations Paxton deceived investors, the same claim that brought a felony indictment that rocked the tea party-backed Republican's first 16 months on the job.

A U.S. District Judge dismissed the suit Friday saying Paxton didn't have to disclose his financial arrangement.

Friday's decision is unrelated to the criminal fraud charges that Paxton is fighting in state court. Paxton has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and won't stand trial until 2017 at the earliest.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed the civil lawsuit against Paxton and former executives of Servergy Inc., a high-tech startup that paid Paxton in the form of 100,000 shares for bringing on wealthy investors in 2011.

The SEC said Paxton and a former member of the company's board of directors raised $840,000 for Servergy without telling investors that he was being paid. By filing a civil lawsuit, federal regulators weren't seeking prison time but instead wanted Paxton to pay back "any ill-gotten gains or unjust enrichment" and be ordered to pay additional financial penalties.

SEC investigators said Paxton intended to invest $100,000 of his own money into Servergy but that company founder Bill Mapp refused. The lawsuit alleges Paxton said Mapp told him, "I can't take your money. God doesn't want me to take your money."

SEC investigators allege that one investor considered Paxton "a personal friend" and believed that Paxton was also investing in the company.

On Friday, United States District Judge Amos L. Mazzant wrote an opinion that Paxton did not have a legal obligation to disclose his financial arrangement with the startup.

"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. 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," Mazzant wrote.

Any amendment to the allegations against Paxton that might support a future claim must be filed within 14 days.

Paxton Opinion

[[396354121,C]]
Family and friends of a firefighter killed while battling flames at a struggling restaurant more than 35 years ago are urging Gov. Jerry Brown to deny parole to a man serving 25 years to life in the murder.



The letter-writing campaign aims to keep Mario Catanio, then 42, behind bars for torching Cugee's Restaurant and Coffee Shop on Jan. 28, 1981 in an attempt to collect on a $175,000 insurance policy.



Los Angeles Firefighter Thomas Gregory Taylor, 34, died and eight other firefighters were injured when the roof collapsed in the fire. Taylor, who had been with the department for seven years, left behind a wife and two sons. He also left behind a father and brother who were LA firefighters and were working at different stations when he died.



The California Board of Parole Hearings last week granted parole to Catanio, now 76. Gov. Brown has 120 days to either grant or veto the decision.



"Mr. Catanio should never get out of prison," said Kenneth Barshop, who prosecuted Catanio, is now a semiretired lawyer and is considering writing Brown a letter. "He torched the building for $2,500. He didn't care what happened. He should never get out."



Catanio's attorney couldn't immediately be reached.



But Steve DeFilippis, who represented him during a parole hearing in 2004, said at the time his client had been a model inmate, according to the Los Angeles Times.



"All these years he has stayed out of trouble; he has excellent psychological reports from counselors," DeFilippis said, according to The Times. "He doesn't present a danger to anyone."



LA Times archives describe the dramatic fire scene.



Firefighter Thomas Shrout grasped for Taylor after he lost his grip on burning metal.



"They locked fingers twice, but their gloves were wet from the rain and they could not hold on," The Times said. "Taylor let go and fell into the raging fire, where he died."



Shrout, who was cited a year later for valor in the incident, couldn't talk about it.



"I still have nightmares about it," he said, according to The Times. "It's tough. I had hold of his hand. I just couldn't pull him out."
Funeral services for Carnell Snell Jr., who was fatally shot by police in South Los Angeles last weekend, were held at noon Saturday.

The officer involved shooting occurred at 1 p.m. last Saturday at 107th Street and Western Avenue.

Police were trying to stop Snell for driving a light blue Nissan with paper plates that did not match the year of the car, prompting officers to suspect it may have been stolen.

"Officers observed a vehicle that had paper plates that could be possibly stolen," LAPD Sgt. Barry Montgomery said. "They initiated or attempted to initiate an investigative stop. That vehicle failed to yield and the officers showed themselves in pursuit."

Snell, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene and a .40-caliber handgun was recovered a few feet from his body. No officers were injured.

Security video of the chase, taken from a nearby business, shows Snell running with his left hand in a sweatshirt pocket, and at one point he removeshis hand to reveal a handgun. He holds the gun at his side briefly, then tucks it in his waistband, turns and runs away from the camera, out of sight, with officers in pursuit.

In the days since the shooting, activists have held protests at the scene, outside Mayor Eric Garcetti's residence in Hancock Park and during a meeting of the Los Angeles Police Commission.

Snell's service was held at First AME Church of Los Angeles, 2270 S. Harvard Blvd. It was open to the public.
A San Pedro man who helped prosecutors dismantle the alibi of an Orange County engineer who was subsequently convicted of the 1979 murder of a Torrance woman was among four people honored Friday as "courageous citizens."

Charlie Abbott, a 60-year-old seasoned skipper, was lauded by Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey for donating his time to conduct research and analyze records for the prosecution in the case of Douglas Gordon Bradford, who maintained he was sailing off the coast of Long Beach the evening Lynne Knight was killed.

The District Attorney's Office said Abbott also helped prosecutors to understand, simplify and clearly explain to jurors the complex concepts of currents and wind conditions, as well as weather patterns, to challenge the alibi of Bradford, who had briefly dated the 28-year-old victim.

Bradford was sentenced in December 2014 to 26 years to life in state prison, although he maintained that he was "an innocent man wrongly convicted" of killing Lynne, a neonatal nurse at Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance.

Also honored as courageous citizens were:

Hollie Bowers, 21, of Anaheim, who got out of her car to help motorcyclist Jerry Frey after he was struck by a drunken driver and thrown about 100 feet on the eastbound Riverside (91) Freeway in Cerritos on Jan. 5, 2015. Bowers spoke with the motorcyclist, relayed his information to paramedics when they arrived, called the victim's wife to notify her about the crash, then showed up in court to support the victim's wife. The driver, George Edward Allison Jr., 33, of Long Beach, had three prior DUI convictions and was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison after pleading no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Mandeep Kumar, 33, and Robert Espina, 53, both of Los Angeles. Kumar was slashed on the arm after he went to the aid of a woman screaming in Los Angeles' Westlake district on July 23, 2015, and Espina approached police officers to report what he had witnessed. David Michael Hernandez, 21, was convicted in May of assault with a deadly weapon and criminal threats, and was sentenced in August to 10 years in state prison.

"Each of these individuals stepped into extremely difficult situations and remained dedicated to the pursuit of justice," Lacey said. "Their actions were driven by a belief in doing the right thing, even when there was great pressure to do otherwise."

The awards are presented several times a year to people who have performed extraordinary acts of selflessness in assisting in criminal prosecutions, aiding victims, preventing crimes or capturing suspects.
Miami fire stations and Perez Art Museum Miami are joining in the relief efforts for Haiti and encouraging others to do the same Saturday following the devastation left behind by Hurricane Matthew.

PAMM in collaboration with the City of Miami and Food For The Poor will join hurricane relief efforts through PAMM Postcards for Haiti.

Artists are encouraging visitors to write inspirational messages on postcards to be included in care packages being sent to Haiti. Visitors will also have a chance to bring canned goods for those affected by the storm.

Being so close to the Caribbean, our thoughts are with the people in Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and the Bahamas who were hit hard by Hurricane Matthew, as well as the millions still in its path, said PAMM Director Franklin Sirmans. The museum is a site for people to connect and inspire each other, so our hope is that PAMM Postcards engages our community to connect with those in need through artistic messages of support and encouragement.

While South Florida was spared by Hurricane Matthew, Haiti was battered leaving hundreds of homes shredded and life-threatening conditions in its wake. According to the United Nations, the death toll continues to climb while hundreds of thousands of others remain in a humanitarian crisis.

In times like this, South Florida needs to show its generosity to those affected by this devastating hurricane, said City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado.

Angel Aloma, executive director, said Food for the Poor has been helping the "poorest of the poor" get out of poverty for more than 30 years in Haiti, and will be going to Haiti to help them rebuild their lives after the storm.

Food for the Poor suggests donations of canned meats, canned fish and canned milk. Starting October 8-15, all City of Miami fire stations will collect specific items for Haiti including dry foods (rice and beans), baby food and powdered formula, first aid supplies and diapers.

Miami fire stations will also be accepting donations for Haiti relief efforts beginning Saturday through October 15 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

You can make donations at the following locations:

Station 1, 144 N.E. 5th Street

Station 2, 1901 N. Miami Avenue

Station 3, 1103 N.W. 7th Street

Station 4, 1105 S.W. 2nd Avenue

Station 5, 1200 N.W. 20th Street

Station 6, 701 N.W. 36th Street

Station 7, 314 Beacom Blvd.

Station 8, 2975 Oak Avenue

Station 9, 69 N.E. 62 Street

Station 10, 4101 N.W. 7th Street

Station 11, 5920 W. Flagler Street

Station 12, 1455 N.W. 46th Street

Station 13, 990 N.E. 79th Street

Station 14, 2111 S.W. 19th Street

This is a very difficult time for Haiti. Our entire community needs to show support and love during this crisis, said Commissioner Ken Russell. We were very fortunate by not being hit by Matthew. Lets do what we can to collect and provide needed items as well as emotional support to all Haitians.

Saturday morning the storm was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane though a dangerous storm surge and powerful winds were battering parts of South Carolina, the National Hurricane Center reported.
Police are investigating an apparent domestic-related murder Saturday that resulted in the death of an elderly man and woman in southwest Miami-Dade.

According to investigators, police responded to reports of two elderly people dead inside of a home, located at 14101 SW 147 Court in Miami neighborhood of Country Walk.

Authorities discovered Gumersindo Perez Rodriguez, 55, barricaded inside of the home. Officers made entry into the residence and were able to convince Perez Rodriguez to surrender himself without incident.

Officers also discovered the elderly man and woman dead inside of the home.

Perez Rodriguez is charged with two counts of second degree murder with a deadly weapon.

There is no additional information at this time. The investigation on-going.

Check back with NBC 6 for updates on this developing story.
Meteorologists say radars are showing birds flying inside the eye of Hurricane Matthew, apparently taking refuge from the storm's winds.

The center of the swirling hurricane was showing "biological returns, probably birds," according to meteorologist Jeff Last.

One Atlanta meteorologist said on air: "Those are seagulls and birds that are flying inside the eye of the storm, trying to escpae the strongest part of the storm which is in the north and northeastern center of it."

Winds are calm in the eye of the hurricane, USA Today reports.

The newspaper cites bird expert Kenn Kaufman, who explains: "The birds get into the end of the hurricane's spiral and they move toward the eye of the hurricane. They may not necessarily do that in any organized way; more likely theyre out there in all this wild wind and when they chance into the calm of the eye they may make an effort to stay there and travel with it rather than fighting the winds again."

A slightly weakened Hurricane Matthew was continuing to pound northern Florida and crawl up the Atlantic coast Friday.
What to Know Lisa Coico, the president of the City College of New York, resigned Friday

Federal investigators looked into Coico's finances in February

Mary Driscoll will serve as interim provost

The president of the City College of New York has stepped down amid questions about her administration's handling of over $150,000 of her personal expenses.

The New York Times reports that Lisa Coico resigned Friday. City College is part of the City University of New York system.

City University Chancellor James Milliken says the resignation is effective immediately.

Mary Driscoll will serve as interim provost until an interim president can be named later this month.

Coico took office in 2010. She announced her resignation in a statement Friday but did not offer an explanation.

She and a nonprofit affiliated with the college are under investigation as part of a federal inquiry into her finances and the use of federal research grants.
What to Know Four men were shot and wounded by three masked gunmen in an early Saturday morning shooting at a Brooklyn deli

The clerk said he didn't see the shooting, but ducked down once he heard gunshots

All four victims were taken to Lutheran Medical Center and listed in stable condition

Four men were shot and wounded by three masked gunmen in an early Saturday morning shooting at a Brooklyn mini-market, police said.

Three men wearing black shirts and white masks fired shots at the M&S Mini Market on Third Avenue near 73rd Street shortly before 4 a.m., The Daily News reports.

The manager present during the shooting told NBC 4 New York that he didn't see much, but got down once he heard gunshots fired. He also said that one of his employees was shot.

One of the victims, a 44-year-old man, was shot in the chin, police said. A 28-year-old man was hit in the buttocks and armpit.

The suspects fled on foot, according to authorities.

All four victims were taken to Lutheran Medical Center for treatment, and are listed in stable condition, police said.
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.
Republican members of New Jersey's congressional delegation and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno on Saturday slammed comments made by GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, while Gov. Chris Christie was in New York helping Trump prepare for Sunday's second debate.

Reps. Scott Garrett and Frank LoBiondo both issued statements Saturday decrying Trump's remarks and praising his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. LoBiondo said he would write in Pence for president because Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton are "two horribly flawed choices," while Garrett  who is involved in a tough re-election fight  said Pence would be "the best nominee for the Republican Party" but did not say if he would vote for Trump.

Trump apologized for the comments but vowed Saturday to continue his campaign, saying the "media and establishment want me out of the race so badly."

The Washington Post and NBC News obtained and released video of Trump from 2005, who is heard describing attempts to have sex with a married woman. He also brags about women letting him kiss them and grab their genitals because he is famous.

Rep. Chris Smith said Trump's words "11 years ago were offensive and demean women and it is important that he has recognized this and has apologized," while Rep. Leonard Lance also issued a statement calling Trump's words "as offensive and vulgar today as they were 11 years ago." And in a Twitter message sent in response to a newspaper editor's note seeking her opinion on the matter, Guadagno wrote that "No apology can excuse away Mr. Trump's reprehensible comments degrading women. We're raising my 3 boys to be better than that."

As his fellow Republicans were speaking out on the issue, Christie didn't respond to reporters as he entered Trump Tower in Manhattan on Saturday afternoon, wearing a New York Mets hoodie. Trump had issued a statement that said Christie would be helping him prepare for Sunday's night's presidential debate.

Christie has been a top adviser to Trump since he ended his own bid for the GOP nomination and now heads Trump's White House transition team. He has not commented publicly on the vulgar and sexually charged comments, and the governor's spokesman did not respond Saturday to a message seeking comment.

Representatives for the state's two other GOP congressmen  Tom MacArthur and Rodney Frelinghuysen  did not respond to requests seeking comment Saturday.




A man has been sentenced to two to five years in the shooting death of another man in a car on a western Pennsylvania interstate more than a year ago.

Twenty-year-old Keontre Easley was sentenced Friday in Allegheny County on earlier pleas to involuntary manslaughter and a firearms charge in the August 2015 death of 24-year-old Shaka McGhie.

Prosecutors said McGhie had forced Easley and his girlfriend to drive in search of drug money he said he was owed and was killed in a struggle over a gun on Interstate 376 in Pittsburgh.

Defense attorney Casey White said Easley had been a promising student but fell into the ``easy-money'' life of guns and drugs. Easley apologized in court Friday, saying he hoped the victim's family would someday forgive him.
The ban on UberX and Lyft in Philadelphia has been temporarily reversed thanks to a newly issued ruling by a Commonwealth Court judge.

But that won't stop the Philadelphia Parking Authority from ticketing drivers and impounding their cars.

They're the latest developments in the ongoing saga over whether the 21st century transportation services will be permitted to operate in the city.

Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson issued a preliminary injunction against the PPA on behalf of Uber late Friday afternoon. In the court order, Simpson ruled the PPA's ban is causing irreparable harm to the ridesharing company.

Lyft was not part of Uber's court filing, but a spokesperson tells NBC10 they'll continue to operate as if the stay also applies to them.

For more than a year, UberX and Lyft have been flipping between legally and illegally operating as the PPA, lawmakers and taxi drivers argue over regulations and whether the services should be allowed to exist.

UberX and Lyft were granted the right to temporarily operate in Philadelphia over the summer to alleviate surges in demand during the Democratic National Convention and SEPTA's regional rail troubles. That agreement ended on September 30.

The app-driven ridesharing services hire everyday people, who use their personal cars, to transport passengers to a destination. Taxi drivers say it's unfair that they pay the PPA high fees for licenses and carry large insurance policies, while UberX and Lyft drivers don't.

The state legislature is expected to take up a measure this month that would permanently allow the services to operate.

Without a permanent agreement, the PPA said earlier this week it planned to return to enforcing the ban -- meaning drivers could get slapped with a $1,000 fine and have their car impounded. They also risk arrest.

UberX or Lyft users will not face legal action or fines, PPA general counsel Dennis Weldon told NBC10.

Following news of the judge's temporary stay, a spokesman for the parking authority said Friday night the decision won't deter the agency from enforcing the ban.

"The Authority is permitted to continue with normal enforcement activities and will do so," PPA spokesman Martin O'Rourke said.

Weldon said the PPA wouldn't take action against drivers while they're transporting passengers.

The fight hasn't Uber's signature service, Uber Black, which is similar to a limosouine service.

UberX and Lyft have carried out more than one million rides in Philadelphia since launching.
Family members gathered Saturday for the funeral of Alfred Olango, the unarmed black man shot and killed last month by police officers in El Cajon.

Alfreds death is going to be a changing point for the United States, his father, Richard Olango, said Saturday. Its more than it looks. This has shaken the whole world."

The funeral, open to the public, began at 11 a.m. at Bayview Baptist Church on Benson Avenue in San Diego. The burial of Olango followed; he was laid to rest at Greenwood Cemetery on Imperial Avenue.

After the burial, the San Diego chapter of the National Action Network (NAN) held a public celebration of life for Olango at the East African Community Center on Fairmount Avenue. San Diego NAN leader Rev. Shane Harris, and other civil rights activists, were there, as well as Olangos family members.

Olango, a 38-year-old refugee who came to the U.S. from Uganda in 1991, was shot and killed on Sept. 27 during an encounter with El Cajon Police Department (ECPD) officers Richard Gonsalves and Josh McDaniel in the parking lot of a shopping center in the 800 block of Broadway in El Cajon.

Police said Olango was acting erratically and refused to comply with the officers orders. The officers told him to get his hands out of the pockets of his pants. Instead, the ECPD said Olango pulled a 4-inch vaping device from his pocket and pointed it at Gonsalves and McDaniel in what police described as a shooting stance.

McDaniel deployed a Taser at Olango; Gonsalves fired multiple rounds from his gun, critically striking Olango.

The police shooting of Olango sparked days of protests on the streets of El Cajon, some of those demonstrations peaceful, some violent.
A fire burned one acre of vegetation near Valley Center Saturday morning, sparking a large, swift response from fire crews.

My wife called me and told me there was a fire near to the house, homeowner Jacinto Becerril told NBC 7. But by the time I got here the fire was already out thanks to the fire department, they responded right away.

The fire began around 10:45 a.m. near Couser Canyon Road and the 11000 block of Calle Oro Verde, Cal Fire officials confirmed. One NBC 7 viewer said she counted multiple fire engines rushing to the blaze; she said planes could be seen tackling the fire from above.

There were a couple helicopters flying over the fire and then a bunch of trucks came over  If youre a little bit up the hill you can see the guys are still working on it, which is really nice.

@CALFIRESANDIEGO at scene of a half acre vegetation fire near the 11000 blk of Calle Oro Verde in Valley Center. #CouserFire pic.twitter.com/kz3Gqgv8ll  CAL FIRE/SAN DIEGO COUNTY FIRE (@CALFIRESANDIEGO) October 8, 2016

Cal Fire officials said many units were dispatched to the "Couser Fire."

By 11:43 a.m., Cal Fire said the forward rate of spread of the fire had been stopped. Officials said firefighters would remain at the scene for at least three hours to monitor the situation.

Just before 3 p.m., Cal Fire confirmed the blaze was fully controlled and holding at one acre. Crews remained on the scene extinguishing hot spots and mopping up. No further details were immediately released, including the cause of the Couser Fire.

#CouserFire [update] IC reports forward rate of spread stopped. Resources to remain at scene for approx 3 hrs. pic.twitter.com/5g0hk5S6YN  CAL FIRE/SAN DIEGO COUNTY FIRE (@CALFIRESANDIEGO) October 8, 2016

The temperature in Valley Center Saturday was 90 degrees, as San Diego County endured a hot, dry weekend. Earlier this week, Santa Ana conditions were forecasted and a fire weather watch was issued by the National Weather Service, but that advisory was later cancelled. Still, NBC 7's Whitney Southwick said Friday that the county was in for very hot temperatures and dry conditions, also known to fuel October wildfires in San Diego.

Kimi Evans Morning Forecast for Saturday October 8, 2016
Authorities arrested a man in connection to a brutal attack on a gas station employee in San Marcos Friday night.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) says the attack occurred on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at the Chevron on the 1200 block of W. San Marcos Boulevard around 8 p.m.

Surveillance video of the attack appears to show the suspect walk into the store and punch the clerk in the face multiple times. The suspect then knocks the clerk to the ground and appears to kick him in the face before leaving the store.

The clerk lost consciousness after hitting the ground and was later taken to a local hospital with injuries to his face and head.

According to SDSO, the suspect was arrested in Encinitas on Friday night after deputies recognized him from the surveillance video.

UPDATE: A man has been arrested in connection with a brutal attack on a gas station clerk in @sanmarcoscity. Thanks for your assistance.  San Diego Sheriff (@SDSheriff) October 8, 2016

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story.
As Republican leaders across the U.S. decry Donald Trump following the release of vulgar comments he made about women on a bus with Access Hollywood's Billy Bush 10 years ago, congressmen in San Diego are also reacting to the crude chatter caught on tape.

On Friday, a decade-old recording of Trump resurfaced in which he bragged about being able to do anything he wants to women, including grabbing a womans genital area and wooing a married woman.

Republicans across the country have denounced Trump for the offensive comments.

In San Diego, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa released this statement about Trump Friday evening via Twitter: This type of behavior has no place in American politics, especially not from those seeking to lead our great nation.

Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Duncan Hunters chief of staff, Joe Kasper, released this statement on Hunters behalf:

In many ways, I'm sure Donald Trump is learning he's not the same person he was 20 or even ten years ago. What sounds like bar room talk to some is very insulting to others  and he should explain how that's reflective of his character today, something many folks recognize but need to feel is sincere. And not to excuse but rather put in context, Trump was building a brand and a business empire without an expectation he'd ever run for office, much less President. In that regard there was no real consequence but that's definitely not the case when running for President.

This type of behavior has no place in American politics, especially not from those seeking to lead our great nation https://t.co/X0B3fQHII6  Darrell E. Issa (@TeamIssa) October 8, 2016

Democratic Congressman Scott Peters spoke with NBC 7 Saturday afternoon, calling Trumps comments reprehensible.

Im not surprised, given what he said about Mexicans, about women in the past, about Muslims, said Peters. "Scapegoating and name-calling comes naturally to him.

Peters said Trump trying to direct attention at Bill Clinton's behavior in the past on the heels of the release of the recording appears to be an attempt to direct the attention of voters aways from his own behavior.

Bill Clinton is not on the ballot; Donald Trump is on the ballot," Peters added.

NBC 7 has also reached out to Democratic Congressman Juan Vargas and Democratic Congresswoman Susan Davis. Vargas could not be reached, while Davis said she would not be making a comment on this matter at this time.

Meanwhile, local voters also had strong reactions to the comments made by Trump on that 2005 recording.

Carla Picket, who is voting for Hillary Clinton, told NBC 7 shes not voting for Trump because hes, in her words, a disaster.

I wasnt terribly surprised, said Picket. It made me very angry but everything he does makes me angry. I dont even know how Americans are even considering him.

Fred Grammar, who plans to vote for Trump, called the release of the tape a political ploy to dig up dirt on the Republican presidential candidate.

People change. It was 10 years ago; Im definitely not the same person I was 10 years ago, said Grammar. Yeah, okay  Trumps been married three times, so what? I think hes just the one who is most qualified to get the job done. Period.

Sharon Wilson, an undecided voter, told NBC 7 that she feels that the presidential election has been tainted by mudslinging by both parties.

Instead of focusing on issues, theyre focusing on each others personalities which is a shame. The issues are primarily important, Wilson said. I think theyre both out of their mind half the time. Its an unfortunate election year. We dont have good candidates right now, I dont believe.

Trumps runningmate, Mike Pence, said he was offended by the comments and released a statement saying, in part: I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. Trumps wife, Melania Trump, also issued a statement, calling her husbands comments about women unacceptable and offensive.

Trump released an apology in which he pledged "to be a better man" but despite the intensifying backlash, insisted he would never abandon his bid for the White House, even if Republican leaders across the nation call on his to quit the race.
San Diego's Red Cross is recruiting volunteers to help those affected by Hurricane Matthew, as they shelter over 27,000 people from the storm with partner organizations.

On Friday morning, the entire Red Cross team met at the U.S.S. Midway for their annual Real Heroes breakfast from 7 to 9:30 a.m.

As the storm touches off in the southeast, 12 people from San Diego County are already out there providing support, according to San Diego's Red Cross. Most Red Cross volunteers will work in shelters, offering help and compassion to residents by distributing food, moving supplies and more.

More San Diego volunteers are expected to be deployed as conditions in the southeast worsen over the weekend. Red Cross officials say that includes five volunteers who headed out to help on Friday, even as flights were canceled or delayed.

The Red Cross says it doesn't matter if you aren't a trained volunteer. Everyone can still help by donating money or blood to those who have been hugely impacted by the hurricane.

There are five Red Cross sponsored blood drives taking place in San Diego just this weekend. To find the closest donation center, visit the Red Cross blood donation website here.
After two seniors killed themselves since the beginning of the school year, a Maryland high school is bringing in a suicide prevention program.

After the two students at Blake High School in Silver Spring killed themselves about three weeks apart, the school made a crisis team, a grief room and other resources available to students.

Parent and Parent Teacher Association officer Amy Creel spearheaded a campaign to raise money to bring SOS, or Sources of Strength, to the school. Here donation campaign was so successful it exceeded the goal to fund the program and keep it going several years.

The program employs school staff and students to focus on prevention, hope and getting help.

The program is being implemented by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Montgomery County. It is already in nine other county schools.
A woman who pulled over to the shoulder of a Fairfax County highway to get something from her trunk was struck and killed in a fatal hit-and-run.

Virginia State Police said the collision occurred at about 2:20 a.m. on Saturday.

Police said the woman, who has not yet been identified, was driving a Toyota Solara and traveling westbound on Interstate 66 when she pulled over. When she got out of the car, another car hit and killed her.

Police said the fleeing vehicle is a charcoal gray or black sedan that is missing its passenger-side mirror and has damage to its passenger side wheel well. They are seeking the public's help in finding and identifying the car and its driver.
A report from the District of Columbia auditor said the city's school system should stop turning over food service to outside contractors.

The report released Friday said outsourcing food service has not saved the city money as school officials promised and will continue to cost the system millions of dollars a year.

In their response to the auditor's report, school officials said they continue to oppose bringing food services back in-house. Former schools chancellor Kaya Henderson repeatedly argued that food service was not a "core competency" of the school system.

The system's previous food-service contractor, Chartwells, paid the city $19 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit. The Associated Press later found that weeks after the lawsuit was filed, Henderson asked Chartwells for a $100,000 contribution to a gala honoring teachers.
District of Columbia police arrested a 14-year-old girl for calling in false threats to a middle school.

Police said the girl called the administrative office of McKinley Middle School several times on Friday to report that clowns were coming to the school with weapons and advised that the school should be evacuated. Police said the suspect then hung up the phone without giving them her name.

Police arrested the girl on Friday. She was been charged with filing a false report of a weapon of mass destruction.
Residents in a single-family home development in Silver Spring, Maryland, say they couldn't count on mail carriers to deliver their mail.

Mail delivery is an uncertainty every day, resident Nevin Martell said.

Sometimes they would receive nothing at all. Other times they'd receive their neighbors mail or expected deliveries would go missing altogether.

My dad took some beautiful pictures and sent them just in a first-class envelope, and they never arrived, Martell said.

There's also no consistency with postal carriers, he said.

Theres been a rotating cast of people who have been delivering our mail, he said.

After numerous calls to the post office and the post master with no change, Martell called NBC4 Responds.

The U.S. Postal Service responded in part, "The postal service takes customer concerns very seriously and is committed to providing its customers with the best possible service. Postal officials have contacted community representatives and are working together to address their mail concerns."

The postal service delivered on its word. Martell said he saw immediate changes. In fact, theyre getting their mail delivered by a supervisor.
A Maryland animal shelter has taken in dogs from South Carolina so shelters there could make space for pets that might get lost or stranded during Hurricane Matthew.

The Humane Society of the United States evacuated 57 dogs from the Charleston Animal Society in South Carolina ahead of the storm. The animals arrived at the organization's Maryland headquarters on Thursday.

The SPCA of Anne Arundel County of Annapolis was one of a handful of shelters that agreed to take in the dogs. They took in six dogs.

They are expected to be ready for adoption in the coming days. Shelters in Pennsylvania, New York and Washington also agreed to help out.
Two Maryland high schools strayed from tradition during their homecoming festivities on Friday night.

For the first year, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School held a gender-neutral homecoming court in which students could elect two girls, two boys, a boy and girl or include transgender or gender non-binary students instead of the traditional king and queen.

In each grade, two people were chosen from a court of several students. They were given the option to be crowned as "homecoming royalty" or the traditional king or queen titles.

"For me it's a really big deal because I identify as a transgender male and to have this new gender-neutral homecoming court in place really makes it feel like I don't need to go around anything to fit in," said student Camern Pinkus, who was elected to homecoming royalty.

"B-CC is a very activist school and it seems that we're always kind of in the front of change," said John Molyneaux, another student elected.

Walt Whitman High School's Student Government Association recently voted to get rid of the homecoming court tradition, telling Bethesda Magazine that crowning a homecoming king and queen could make some gender non-binary or transgender students uncomfortable.

At Whitman, the homecoming court is never really a big deal, its not really instilled in our school culture, Student Body President Ari Gutman told the magazine. We decided that instead of having the court, we would just not have it at all, so no one was left out.
New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte says she will not vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump after controversial comments he made about women have come to light.

In a statement, Ayotte said:

"I wanted to be able to support my partys nominee, chosen by the people, because I feel strongly that we need a change in direction for our country. However, Im a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women. I will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton and instead will be writing in Governor Pence for president on Election Day."

This comes after Ayotte made headlines for saying she thought Trump was a good role model for children.

Ayotte joins a number of Republicans who have said they do not back Trump. Recently Utah Republicans Gov. Gary Herbert and Rep. Jason Chaffetz withdrew their endorsements.

Meanwhile, Trump supporters are standing by their candidate and speaking out against Ayottes decision not to vote for him.

New Hampshire Trump Coalition for Women, Paula Johnson, is one of the supporters.

Its an unfortunate thing that she feels this way," Johnson said." "Mr. Trump has a vision for America thats her right as an American Citizen what she feels in her heart that she feels is right."

New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan, who is running for Ayottes senate seat, spoke about the Ayottes decision at an event supporting Hillary Clinton in Manchester on Saturday.

It took her an awful long time and it really reflects that she is somebody who consistently puts her party the corporate special interests that back her first and that everything is a political calculation, Hassan said.

A long list of republican leaders have condemned Trumps comments but some of his supporters are unwavering.

I think she should have stood with her party and what was said was unfortunate but its not like it was said on purpose on National TV during the campaign or something, it was said almost as a mistake over a decade ago, said voter, Paul Hudsteiner.
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.
If you take the Massachusetts Turnpike or the Tobin Bridge, you're supposed to pay a toll.

However, necn Investigates has learned thousands of drivers are using the EZ-Pass lane and choosing not to pay.

"I think that's awful. I think everybody should pay," Claire Lovell said.

More than a million notices have been sent to delinquent drivers within the last year. The state argues it money it needs and used for a variety of things.

"Fix[ing] the guardrails, the potholes, capital construction, policing it," said Tom Tinlin, MassDOT's Highway Administrator.

The transportation agency is currently replacing the state's 26 toll plazas with 16 All Electronic Tolling (AET) gantries. MassDOT expects it will significantly reduce the number of drivers who don't pay.

Last year, necn Investigates has learned, 309,014 drivers opted not to pay between Jan. 1 and July 30. During the same period this year, 345,450 opted not to pay. That's an increase of more than 36,000 drivers between 2015 and 2016.

"There are some people getting away with it? That doesn't seem fair," said driver Gina Whipple.

It's not just Massachusetts drivers avoiding the tolls. The state says from July 2015 to July 2016, eight percent of the delinquent drivers were from out of the state. One of every six drivers was from Connecticut. New Hampshire wasn't far behind, making up 13 percent of out of state violators.

The state says the new gantries will capture violators red handed. The new gantries will capture a driver's license plate, car and speed. The information could be kept for up to seven years.

"You don't pay, you go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles to re-register your vehicle or renew your driver's license," said Tinlin. "We can put a hold on those transactions and say, 'Hey, you need to pay MassDOT and pay your tolls."

MassDOT says once your ticket is paid, your information will be purged from their system.

The new electronic system has already been successful along the Tobin Bridge.

"We collected between 95-96 percent of all monies owed to the taxpayers on our existing pay by plate program." Tinlin told necn Investigates.

The new electronic tolling debuts Oct. 28.
Police are investigating multiple vehicle fires that occurred early Saturday morning in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts.

Officers were first called to a home on King David Road at 2:26 a.m. where two scooters were on fire in the driveway. Authorities said the fire spread and damaged two vehicles.

A few minutes later, a call came in reporting that two other vehicles were on fire in the driveway of a residence on Bowers Avenue.

At 2:41 a.m., police said they received a third call for a vehicle on fire in the driveway of a home on Chester Avenue.

Homeowner Lisa Trearchis said whoever set fire to her truck was on a path of destruction.

We had just gone to bed about an hour before, and our neighbor was banging on the door, trying to wake us up, Trearchis said.

Trearchis grabbed her cell phone and quickly recorded the fire, which she says her neighbor heard starting.

She said it sounded like a gunshot, so she looked out and that's when she saw the fire under the truck, recalled Trearchis.

The damage didn't stop there. At 3:05 a.m., police received a call for three vehicles on fire in the driveway of two different residences on Mascuppic Trail.

Police said a total of 10 vehicles and one home was damaged due to the fires and that accelerants were found at the scenes of the crimes.

Tyngsborough Police and Fire Departments, Massachusetts State Police and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshals Office are jointly investigating the incidents.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Tyngsborough Police Department at 978-649-7504 and press 9 for the anonymous tip line.
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.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Sunil Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, blamed the high price of the premium 700 Mhz band for the lower than expected number of bids during the just concluded spectrum auction. However, he credited the government for having harmonised the spectrum and correcting the woeful inadequacy of spectrum availability in India.

Pointing out that a lot of spectrum had been put on the table, but parts of those were very highly priced, he said, Missing out on the 700 MHz spectrum, which I think is a very high quality spectrum, should have been put to good use. Three to four good networks working around the 700 MHz would have helped build rural broadband network. This is a missed opportunity, said Mittal.

But a lot of spectrum has been made available, which should improve the broadband speed, massive improvements should be expected in the next few months Mittal conceded.

Data prices, he pointed out, will come down and that will also help companies become become financially viable. He also warned that India has to ensure that its knowledge workers are not blocked from getting jobs abroad.

Artificial Intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, robotics  put all that in a cloud and we are looking at a massive disruption. bots will take over jobs in law firms, hospitals and research firms we are looking at displacement of jobs. Politicians need to worry about this, said Mittal.

Meanwhile, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law and Justice, Electronics and Information Technology, said during his address that the digital ecosystem in India has gone into auto pilot mode  over 40 mobile manufacturing companies have set shop in India and more are in the pipeline.

Four million documents, he pointed out, are in the digital locker which has over two million people users.

A study needs to be done on how many people are using digital systems in agriculture, said Prasad, pointing out that this would prove the benefits that people can get from technology in the future.

Prasad also highlighted the Governments thrust toward providing internet to every Indian. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a advocate of digital use and supports it at all levels, said Prasad, stating that every Indian has the right to access the internet.

NEW DELHI: Sunil Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, blamed the high price of the premium 700 Mhz band for the lower than expected number of bids during the just concluded spectrum auction. However, he credited the government for having harmonised the spectrum and correcting the woeful inadequacy of spectrum availability in India. Pointing out that a lot of spectrum had been put on the table, but parts of those were very highly priced, he said, Missing out on the 700 MHz spectrum, which I think is a very high quality spectrum, should have been put to good use. Three to four good networks working around the 700 MHz would have helped build rural broadband network. This is a missed opportunity, said Mittal. But a lot of spectrum has been made available, which should improve the broadband speed, massive improvements should be expected in the next few months Mittal conceded. Data prices, he pointed out, will come down and that will also help companies become become financially viable. He also warned that India has to ensure that its knowledge workers are not blocked from getting jobs abroad. Artificial Intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, robotics  put all that in a cloud and we are looking at a massive disruption. bots will take over jobs in law firms, hospitals and research firms we are looking at displacement of jobs. Politicians need to worry about this, said Mittal. Meanwhile, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law and Justice, Electronics and Information Technology, said during his address that the digital ecosystem in India has gone into auto pilot mode  over 40 mobile manufacturing companies have set shop in India and more are in the pipeline. Four million documents, he pointed out, are in the digital locker which has over two million people users. A study needs to be done on how many people are using digital systems in agriculture, said Prasad, pointing out that this would prove the benefits that people can get from technology in the future. Prasad also highlighted the Governments thrust toward providing internet to every Indian. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a advocate of digital use and supports it at all levels, said Prasad, stating that every Indian has the right to access the internet.
Shevlin Sebastian By

On a recent September afternoon, Captain Puneet Chadha looked relaxed in his office on the 57-year-old warship INS Viraat, at the Cochin Shipyard. We are here to finish the essential repairs and dry docking, the commanding officer says.



The reason for this is the ship, inducted into the Indian Navy in 1987 (after being acquired from Britain), is being decommissioned.That means it will no longer be operational. And funds will no longer be allotted for its upkeep, he says. There are a lot of underwater openings, which will be blanked, to prevent flooding. Fire risks will also be reduced. This will make the ship safe for disposal.



The repairs of the 742-foot long ship are expected to be completed by October. Thereafter, it will be towed away to Mumbai for the decommissioning ceremony early next year.In fact, there have been talks that it would be set up as a museum at Visakhapatnam, but nothing conclusive has been decided yet, he says.



Nevertheless, it is a ship that is steeped in history. In February when senior British engineer Conrad Walker of the HMS Defender arrived at Visakhapatnam to take part in the International Fleet Review, he was told that the INS Viraat was also participating.



He immediately got permission to board the aircraft carrier. The reason: he had served three years on it when it was the HMS Hermes and took part in the 1982 Falklands War.Conrad went around and saw his old work,and mess areas, says Captain Chadha. He was surprised because the ship looked better than it was during his time. And that gave us a lot of pride. It speaks volumes of the dedication of our men, and support staff.



The carrier is an impressive one with a large hangar and runway. The ship can carry 24 aircraft in various combinations, says Captain Chadha. These include the Sea Harriers, Sea Kings and Chetaks.

Viraatthe Sanskrit word for gianthas spent 2,250 days at sea, and sailed a distance of 10,94,215 km. An analogy would be that the carrier has circled the globe 27 times.



When it was fully operational, it had a crew of 1,500. The ship also has a 12-degree ski jump and can accommodate 750 troops. The Viraat played a major role in Operation Jupiter in 1989 (Sri Lankan Peace-Keeping Force), while in Operation Vijay (1999) it created a blockade against Pakistan during the Kargil War.

The ship has also participated in international joint exercises like Malabar (with the US Navy), Varuna (French Navy), and Naseem-Al-Bahar (Oman Navy). It also holds the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest serving warship.



Interestingly, five chiefs of naval staff, including the present incumbent Admiral Sunil Lanba, have served on board. In fact, there is a saying in the Navy, Once a Viraatee always a Viraatee, says Captain Chadha. That is the pride we have felt while serving this mighty ship.As a swift monsoon breeze blows, Captain Chadha looks sombre. I feel sad that we will be leaving the ship, but at the same time I am happy that it can now enjoy a well-deserved retirement, he says.

On a recent September afternoon, Captain Puneet Chadha looked relaxed in his office on the 57-year-old warship INS Viraat, at the Cochin Shipyard. We are here to finish the essential repairs and dry docking, the commanding officer says. The reason for this is the ship, inducted into the Indian Navy in 1987 (after being acquired from Britain), is being decommissioned.That means it will no longer be operational. And funds will no longer be allotted for its upkeep, he says. There are a lot of underwater openings, which will be blanked, to prevent flooding. Fire risks will also be reduced. This will make the ship safe for disposal. The repairs of the 742-foot long ship are expected to be completed by October. Thereafter, it will be towed away to Mumbai for the decommissioning ceremony early next year.In fact, there have been talks that it would be set up as a museum at Visakhapatnam, but nothing conclusive has been decided yet, he says. Nevertheless, it is a ship that is steeped in history. In February when senior British engineer Conrad Walker of the HMS Defender arrived at Visakhapatnam to take part in the International Fleet Review, he was told that the INS Viraat was also participating. He immediately got permission to board the aircraft carrier. The reason: he had served three years on it when it was the HMS Hermes and took part in the 1982 Falklands War.Conrad went around and saw his old work,and mess areas, says Captain Chadha. He was surprised because the ship looked better than it was during his time. And that gave us a lot of pride. It speaks volumes of the dedication of our men, and support staff. The carrier is an impressive one with a large hangar and runway. The ship can carry 24 aircraft in various combinations, says Captain Chadha. These include the Sea Harriers, Sea Kings and Chetaks. Viraatthe Sanskrit word for gianthas spent 2,250 days at sea, and sailed a distance of 10,94,215 km. An analogy would be that the carrier has circled the globe 27 times. When it was fully operational, it had a crew of 1,500. The ship also has a 12-degree ski jump and can accommodate 750 troops. The Viraat played a major role in Operation Jupiter in 1989 (Sri Lankan Peace-Keeping Force), while in Operation Vijay (1999) it created a blockade against Pakistan during the Kargil War. The ship has also participated in international joint exercises like Malabar (with the US Navy), Varuna (French Navy), and Naseem-Al-Bahar (Oman Navy). It also holds the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest serving warship. Interestingly, five chiefs of naval staff, including the present incumbent Admiral Sunil Lanba, have served on board. In fact, there is a saying in the Navy, Once a Viraatee always a Viraatee, says Captain Chadha. That is the pride we have felt while serving this mighty ship.As a swift monsoon breeze blows, Captain Chadha looks sombre. I feel sad that we will be leaving the ship, but at the same time I am happy that it can now enjoy a well-deserved retirement, he says.
Mohan Das Menon By

It may be a given that a centralised regime compared to a democratic one would have an edge in formulating and executing agendas linked to an effective strategic fulcrum at the core of national decision-making. A fulcrum is an apparatus for translating policy decisions into action mode in the realm of foreign and strategic responses by converting national security-related tactical goals to fruition, faster and smoother. Ever since its inception in 1947, the Indian state has been befuddled in reacting to major strategic moves from its neighbourhood. The British-inspired war games in the post-Partition phase could not be sufficiently assessed, either by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, or by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the maker of modern India.

Trusting the British and their tactical devices to leave the Partition and indeed the Kashmir issue as open-ended eventually resulted in a mayhem of inter-religious killings that created chasms between India and Pakistan. These still play out with vehemence.

Forces of history later led the Pakistan state crumbling under weak civilian leaderships, caving in to military autocracies mentored by Chiefs of Army Staff, especially on foreign policy and the strategic terrains. One over-reaching military dictator even had the cheek and temerity to hang to death a duly elected Prime Minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, in April 1979 on a concocted charge of murder and a sham investigation to declare Bhutto guilty. No elected leader, including present Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, can ever relax in office or at home with an overawing military shadow over their lives and times whilst in power or for the lack of it.



Resultantly, when the Pak military-inspired terrorists attacked Uri base camp on September 18, mainly with the intent of bringing PM Sharif under global pressure, India initially seemed driven to a wall of indecision yet again. The same sense of inbred democratic procrastination to launch an effective counter-attack that was witnessed post Chinese aggression of 1962, terrorist attack on Indias financial capital in March 1993, Parliament attack of 2001 and the Mumbai terror strike on November 26, 2008. All these ISI-inspired armed assaults rankled many and profusely angered the Indian nation.



Fortunately, the chain of such historical indecisions was broken, and quite decisively so, by PM Narendra Modi. Choosing the time and place of counter-attack with near precision, the Indian Army hit out with discretion by entering hostile territory to eliminate scores of trained terrorists whom the Pakistan Army was to exfiltrate into India for reinforcing the Uri damage to Indias global reputation. Notably, the Indian Army struck the decisive blows with substantive display of its inherent tactical superiority over its traditional military rival. Modi with a keen sense of history seemed to adhere to Indira Gandhi-like strategic impulses to take unitary military decisions, an art of war which she exhibited to bring Pakistan to its knees in 1971. Like Indira, Modi followed a brilliant strategy combined with tactical genius of a rare variety.



Modi and his team of advisers planned the gamut of responses at different levels. The first one was to isolate Pakistan in South Asia wherein he attained success commensurate with expectations. The SAARC Summit in Islamabad slated for November has since been postponed indefinitely with Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka pulling out, citing support to Indias relentless campaign against cross-border terrorism and Pakistans inability to stem the flow of organised terrorists to neighbouring realms.



Second, Indiasteadily with its pacific postures to continued provocations from Rawalpindimade known to its friends in South-east Asia, West and East Europe through an empowered campaign, mentored by Modi and his external affairs minister, that there is a time to endure and a time to act. Barring China, the Big Five in the UN Security Council maturely received and accepted stances and positions put out by South Block about Pakistan using terrorism as an avowed means of state policy.



In the Big Five league, China alone has so far been an ardent supporter of Islamabad in stifling terror investigations and denying India its legitimate position in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Derivatively, in nuclear power dynamics of the day, Beijing appears keen to mentor an Asian nuclear power bloc consisting of Pakistan, North Korea and China to eventually pressurise India and the Western world allies and friends of Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. Hopefully, even in the face of such hostile forces playing out, New Delhis strategic fulcrum would rise to the occasion whenever needed.

The writer is former additional secretary, Cabinet Secretariat

mdmenonconsulting@gmail.com

It may be a given that a centralised regime compared to a democratic one would have an edge in formulating and executing agendas linked to an effective strategic fulcrum at the core of national decision-making. A fulcrum is an apparatus for translating policy decisions into action mode in the realm of foreign and strategic responses by converting national security-related tactical goals to fruition, faster and smoother. Ever since its inception in 1947, the Indian state has been befuddled in reacting to major strategic moves from its neighbourhood. The British-inspired war games in the post-Partition phase could not be sufficiently assessed, either by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, or by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the maker of modern India. Trusting the British and their tactical devices to leave the Partition and indeed the Kashmir issue as open-ended eventually resulted in a mayhem of inter-religious killings that created chasms between India and Pakistan. These still play out with vehemence. Forces of history later led the Pakistan state crumbling under weak civilian leaderships, caving in to military autocracies mentored by Chiefs of Army Staff, especially on foreign policy and the strategic terrains. One over-reaching military dictator even had the cheek and temerity to hang to death a duly elected Prime Minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, in April 1979 on a concocted charge of murder and a sham investigation to declare Bhutto guilty. No elected leader, including present Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, can ever relax in office or at home with an overawing military shadow over their lives and times whilst in power or for the lack of it. Resultantly, when the Pak military-inspired terrorists attacked Uri base camp on September 18, mainly with the intent of bringing PM Sharif under global pressure, India initially seemed driven to a wall of indecision yet again. The same sense of inbred democratic procrastination to launch an effective counter-attack that was witnessed post Chinese aggression of 1962, terrorist attack on Indias financial capital in March 1993, Parliament attack of 2001 and the Mumbai terror strike on November 26, 2008. All these ISI-inspired armed assaults rankled many and profusely angered the Indian nation. Fortunately, the chain of such historical indecisions was broken, and quite decisively so, by PM Narendra Modi. Choosing the time and place of counter-attack with near precision, the Indian Army hit out with discretion by entering hostile territory to eliminate scores of trained terrorists whom the Pakistan Army was to exfiltrate into India for reinforcing the Uri damage to Indias global reputation. Notably, the Indian Army struck the decisive blows with substantive display of its inherent tactical superiority over its traditional military rival. Modi with a keen sense of history seemed to adhere to Indira Gandhi-like strategic impulses to take unitary military decisions, an art of war which she exhibited to bring Pakistan to its knees in 1971. Like Indira, Modi followed a brilliant strategy combined with tactical genius of a rare variety. Modi and his team of advisers planned the gamut of responses at different levels. The first one was to isolate Pakistan in South Asia wherein he attained success commensurate with expectations. The SAARC Summit in Islamabad slated for November has since been postponed indefinitely with Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka pulling out, citing support to Indias relentless campaign against cross-border terrorism and Pakistans inability to stem the flow of organised terrorists to neighbouring realms. Second, Indiasteadily with its pacific postures to continued provocations from Rawalpindimade known to its friends in South-east Asia, West and East Europe through an empowered campaign, mentored by Modi and his external affairs minister, that there is a time to endure and a time to act. Barring China, the Big Five in the UN Security Council maturely received and accepted stances and positions put out by South Block about Pakistan using terrorism as an avowed means of state policy. In the Big Five league, China alone has so far been an ardent supporter of Islamabad in stifling terror investigations and denying India its legitimate position in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Derivatively, in nuclear power dynamics of the day, Beijing appears keen to mentor an Asian nuclear power bloc consisting of Pakistan, North Korea and China to eventually pressurise India and the Western world allies and friends of Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. Hopefully, even in the face of such hostile forces playing out, New Delhis strategic fulcrum would rise to the occasion whenever needed. The writer is former additional secretary, Cabinet Secretariat mdmenonconsulting@gmail.com
By PTI

PATIALA: 23 years after policemen in Amritsar tattooed the words 'jeb katri' (pickpocket) on the foreheads of four women, a special CBI court here has sentenced three cops in the case which had sparked widespread condemnation.



Special CBI judge Baljinder Singh yesterday awarded three years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) to the then superintendent of police Sukhdev Singh Chinna and sub-inspector Narinder Singh Malli, who was then SHO of Rambagh police station. He also awarded one year Rigourous Improsonment to ASI Kanwaljit Singh.



Punjab Police had drawn widespread criticism for the infamous incident dating back to December 1993, when cops in Amritsar tattooed the words 'jeb katri' on the foreheads of four habitual offender women who were accused of stealing a purse.



The case came to the fore when during the hearing of the pickpocketing case, police produced the four in the court with their foreheads covered with a 'dupatta'.



One of the women showed to the court the tattoo on her forehead and the story hit the headlines.



The National Human Rights Commission had also taken a serious view of the incident.



The victims filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1994, praying for directions to the respondents, the government of Punjab, Amritsar superintendent of police, and others, for arranging 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 in the case, but also sent a letter to the Punjab chief secretary, seeking a report on the matter.

NHRC had also submitted an affidavit in the court, demanding a CBI probe.



After hearing the counsel of the NHRC and petitioners, the high court handed over the probe to the CBI, and also directed Punjab government to arrange for plastic surgery for the victims and pay compensation of Rs 50,000 to each of them, as recommended by the rights body.



CBI filed a 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.



As per the petition, the victims alleged that they had gone to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar on December 8, 1993. After paying obeisance when they reached the bus stand, ASI Kanwaljit Singh stopped them and kept them in custody from December 8 to 15.



Later, the ASI on the directions of the SP and SHO, got the word pickpocket tattooed on their foreheads.

Police had alleged that it was the women's neighbours who had done the deed "to make people aware about their misdeeds".

PATIALA: 23 years after policemen in Amritsar tattooed the words 'jeb katri' (pickpocket) on the foreheads of four women, a special CBI court here has sentenced three cops in the case which had sparked widespread condemnation. Special CBI judge Baljinder Singh yesterday awarded three years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) to the then superintendent of police Sukhdev Singh Chinna and sub-inspector Narinder Singh Malli, who was then SHO of Rambagh police station. He also awarded one year Rigourous Improsonment to ASI Kanwaljit Singh. Punjab Police had drawn widespread criticism for the infamous incident dating back to December 1993, when cops in Amritsar tattooed the words 'jeb katri' on the foreheads of four habitual offender women who were accused of stealing a purse. The case came to the fore when during the hearing of the pickpocketing case, police produced the four in the court with their foreheads covered with a 'dupatta'. One of the women showed to the court the tattoo on her forehead and the story hit the headlines. The National Human Rights Commission had also taken a serious view of the incident. The victims filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1994, praying for directions to the respondents, the government of Punjab, Amritsar superintendent of police, and others, for arranging 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 in the case, but also sent a letter to the Punjab chief secretary, seeking a report on the matter. NHRC had also submitted an affidavit in the court, demanding a CBI probe. After hearing the counsel of the NHRC and petitioners, the high court handed over the probe to the CBI, and also directed Punjab government to arrange for plastic surgery for the victims and pay compensation of Rs 50,000 to each of them, as recommended by the rights body. CBI filed a 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. As per the petition, the victims alleged that they had gone to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar on December 8, 1993. After paying obeisance when they reached the bus stand, ASI Kanwaljit Singh stopped them and kept them in custody from December 8 to 15. Later, the ASI on the directions of the SP and SHO, got the word pickpocket tattooed on their foreheads. Police had alleged that it was the women's neighbours who had done the deed "to make people aware about their misdeeds".
Abhijit Mulye By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: Child deaths in the tribal district of Palghar have not abated. On Friday, a 12-year-old girl died at the rural hospital at Vikramgad, while another girl from the same government-run residential school is critical and has been admitted to a government hospital in Nashik.

Kaushalya Bharsat (12), a sixth-standard student of the Adivasi Ashram Shala (tribal residential school) at Sakhre, was suffering from fever and nausea for the past few days.

She was brought to the rural hospital on Thursday, where the doctors said she needed to be admitted as some blood tests had to be done. However, she was taken back to the school against medical advice. Her condition worsened and she had to be brought back to the hospital on Friday morning. The doctors declared her brought dead, Vivek Pandit, head of the NGO Shramajivi Sanghatana, told Express. Calling it a clear case of negligence on the part of the teachers, Pandit added, Her condition was not communicated to her parents and she was moved back to school against medical advice.

Leader of the Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said the post of woman superintendent in the school was vacant and only one doctor, out of a total of four, was available at the Vikramgad hospital.

This is serious. The government appears to be unmoved even after the deaths of over 600 children in the district in past 8 months, he claimed and added that Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Savara, who is also the MLA from Vikramgad, needed to be prosecuted for culpable homicide.

Thousands of tribals had recently gheraoed the tribal development ministers 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 were demanding 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. The agitation, which went on amidst heavy rains, was organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha.

(With PTI inputs)

MUMBAI: Child deaths in the tribal district of Palghar have not abated. On Friday, a 12-year-old girl died at the rural hospital at Vikramgad, while another girl from the same government-run residential school is critical and has been admitted to a government hospital in Nashik. Kaushalya Bharsat (12), a sixth-standard student of the Adivasi Ashram Shala (tribal residential school) at Sakhre, was suffering from fever and nausea for the past few days. She was brought to the rural hospital on Thursday, where the doctors said she needed to be admitted as some blood tests had to be done. However, she was taken back to the school against medical advice. Her condition worsened and she had to be brought back to the hospital on Friday morning. The doctors declared her brought dead, Vivek Pandit, head of the NGO Shramajivi Sanghatana, told Express. Calling it a clear case of negligence on the part of the teachers, Pandit added, Her condition was not communicated to her parents and she was moved back to school against medical advice. Leader of the Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said the post of woman superintendent in the school was vacant and only one doctor, out of a total of four, was available at the Vikramgad hospital. This is serious. The government appears to be unmoved even after the deaths of over 600 children in the district in past 8 months, he claimed and added that Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Savara, who is also the MLA from Vikramgad, needed to be prosecuted for culpable homicide. Thousands of tribals had recently gheraoed the tribal development ministers 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 were demanding 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. The agitation, which went on amidst heavy rains, was organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha. (With PTI inputs)
By PTI

JAMMU: Pakistani troops today violated the ceasefire by firing on a forward post along the LoC in Poonch district, leaving an army jawan injured. "There was firing on forward area in Krishnagati-Mendhar sector along the LoC by Pakistani troops in which an army man was injured this morning", IG Police (Rajouri-Poonch range) Johny Williams said.

However, Defence PRO Col Manish Mehta said there was no ceasefire violation. The ceasefire violation took place after two days of lull. A senior Army officer had said yesterday that there have been over 25 ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after surgical strikes by Indian Army in PoK to dismantle terror launching pads.

JAMMU: Pakistani troops today violated the ceasefire by firing on a forward post along the LoC in Poonch district, leaving an army jawan injured. "There was firing on forward area in Krishnagati-Mendhar sector along the LoC by Pakistani troops in which an army man was injured this morning", IG Police (Rajouri-Poonch range) Johny Williams said. However, Defence PRO Col Manish Mehta said there was no ceasefire violation. The ceasefire violation took place after two days of lull. A senior Army officer had said yesterday that there have been over 25 ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after surgical strikes by Indian Army in PoK to dismantle terror launching pads.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRI NAGAR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the deadly September 18 attack on the Army base in Uri, has taken over investigation in Thursdays failed militant attack on the Army camp at Langate in the border district of Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir in which three militants were killed.

NIA sources said the agency registered an FIR on Friday into the militant attack on the Rashtriya Rifles camp at Langate.

A large cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants, who are said to be Pakistani nationals.

The sources said a team of 10-12 NIA sleuths arrived in Srinagar from Delhi on Friday. After landing in Srinagar, they visited the RR camp at Langate that was targeted by the militants.

According to the sources, Army officials handed over key evidence to the NIA team for further analysis.

The Army handed over three Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, four radio sets, mobile phones, maps and matrix sheets to the NIA sleuths, they said adding the items and medicines recovered from the militants, which had Pakistani markings, have also been handed over to NIA sleuths.

Sources said the NIA team will also be collecting DNA samples from the bodies of the three militants killed in the failed attack on the Army camp at Langate and added that the same team of NIA will be probing both the attacks because both were aimed at security installations and the weapons and materials recovered from the militants at Langate on Thursday indicates that they too were on a fidayeen mission.

SRI NAGAR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the deadly September 18 attack on the Army base in Uri, has taken over investigation in Thursdays failed militant attack on the Army camp at Langate in the border district of Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir in which three militants were killed. NIA sources said the agency registered an FIR on Friday into the militant attack on the Rashtriya Rifles camp at Langate. A large cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants, who are said to be Pakistani nationals. The sources said a team of 10-12 NIA sleuths arrived in Srinagar from Delhi on Friday. After landing in Srinagar, they visited the RR camp at Langate that was targeted by the militants. According to the sources, Army officials handed over key evidence to the NIA team for further analysis. The Army handed over three Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, four radio sets, mobile phones, maps and matrix sheets to the NIA sleuths, they said adding the items and medicines recovered from the militants, which had Pakistani markings, have also been handed over to NIA sleuths. Sources said the NIA team will also be collecting DNA samples from the bodies of the three militants killed in the failed attack on the Army camp at Langate and added that the same team of NIA will be probing both the attacks because both were aimed at security installations and the weapons and materials recovered from the militants at Langate on Thursday indicates that they too were on a fidayeen mission.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Amid repeated ceasefire violations by the Pakistani Army and unabated infiltration attempts by militants, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the India-Pakistan border would be completely sealed by December 2018. An action plan has already been prepared and efforts are on to implement it, he said. The government is also looking at technological solutions to guard the border.

Nations security will not be risked and we must have faith in our Army,Rajnath said. The minister also sought active participation of the border states - J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat - in installing physical and non-physical barriers to secure the international border. He also called for faster implementation of infrastructure projects, intelligence sharing and inter-agency cooperation in view of the prevailing scenario.

The Chief Ministers of states sharing a border with Pakistan also gave their inputs to enhance security measures. Hinterland security, farmers with lands across the border and smuggling of drugs were discussed.

NEW DELHI: Amid repeated ceasefire violations by the Pakistani Army and unabated infiltration attempts by militants, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the India-Pakistan border would be completely sealed by December 2018. An action plan has already been prepared and efforts are on to implement it, he said. The government is also looking at technological solutions to guard the border. Nations security will not be risked and we must have faith in our Army,Rajnath said. The minister also sought active participation of the border states - J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat - in installing physical and non-physical barriers to secure the international border. He also called for faster implementation of infrastructure projects, intelligence sharing and inter-agency cooperation in view of the prevailing scenario. The Chief Ministers of states sharing a border with Pakistan also gave their inputs to enhance security measures. Hinterland security, farmers with lands across the border and smuggling of drugs were discussed.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In a bid to improve transparency and accountability in the government, the government is looking to make effective use of the Right of Information (RTI) Act and for this purpose, representatives from civil society and journalists will be roped in.

The government, through the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), has decided to offer 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 Central government ministries. The DoPT is the nodal agency for the RTI Act.

According to sources, attempts are being to with an objective to contribute towards better understanding of the success of RTI and constraints in its implementation. A DoPT order said, 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.

An official said that it could be in the nature of a monograph of about 10,000 words which is ready for publication or features, news 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.

According to the order, issued by the DoPT on Friday, the copyright of the research output will vest in the government of India which may publish and use it in any other way for strengthening the working of the RTI regime in the country. Each selected fellow will receive a stipend of `2 lakh, including a grant of up to `50,000 for books, research material, travel, printing, production of creatives etc.

NEW DELHI: In a bid to improve transparency and accountability in the government, the government is looking to make effective use of the Right of Information (RTI) Act and for this purpose, representatives from civil society and journalists will be roped in. The government, through the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), has decided to offer 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 Central government ministries. The DoPT is the nodal agency for the RTI Act. According to sources, attempts are being to with an objective to contribute towards better understanding of the success of RTI and constraints in its implementation. A DoPT order said, 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. An official said that it could be in the nature of a monograph of about 10,000 words which is ready for publication or features, news 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. According to the order, issued by the DoPT on Friday, the copyright of the research output will vest in the government of India which may publish and use it in any other way for strengthening the working of the RTI regime in the country. Each selected fellow will receive a stipend of `2 lakh, including a grant of up to `50,000 for books, research material, travel, printing, production of creatives etc.
By PTI

BARMER: Amid rising tension in Indo-Pak ties, Union Minister Rajnath Singh will assess security arrangements on the border in Barmer district of Rajasthan. Singh along with Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju today arrived at Barmer from Jaisalmer, accompanied by Border Security Force (BSF) officials, sources said.

The Home Minister yesterday chaired a meeting in Jaisalmer with the home ministers and senior officials of four states that border Pakistan. 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.

The security arrangements are being reviewed 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

BARMER: Amid rising tension in Indo-Pak ties, Union Minister Rajnath Singh will assess security arrangements on the border in Barmer district of Rajasthan. Singh along with Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju today arrived at Barmer from Jaisalmer, accompanied by Border Security Force (BSF) officials, sources said. The Home Minister yesterday chaired a meeting in Jaisalmer with the home ministers and senior officials of four states that border Pakistan. 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. The security arrangements are being reviewed 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
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Making its involvement in mitigating the conflict in the Middle East more concrete, India is mulling to propose a BRICS fund for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Syria at the upcoming Summit in Goa where the Heads of the worlds 5 major emerging national economies will meet.

Last year when the five countries established the New Development Bank, it showed willingness to pool together resources to provide reconstruction aid to Syria and other war-torn countries across the world.

Sources indicated that India might be putting the proposal to provide this reconstruction aid by pooling in resources. While Russia has been playing an active role in the conflict by deciding to fight on the side of the Syrian President Bashar-al Assad and its armed forces targeting the rebels, other member countries do not have immediate stake in the conflict. So the adoption of the proposal, sources said, would depend on the cooperation of the member-states.

In its first major outreach to the region since the conflict began in the country in 2011, Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar had traveled to Syria in August this year and held a meeting with President Assad. The meeting signaled India siding with the ruling dispensation in Syria, even as the Western countries especially the US has been in favour overturning the Assad government. The Syrian President while appreciating Indias objective position on the conflict invited New Delhi to play a greater role in the reconstruction of the war-torn country.

Akbars visit came close on the heels of a high ranking Chinese official. The Syrian regime has been seeking Indias support for long, but despite opposing to oust the Assad government through foreign intervention, New Delhi has not been vocal about its views on the issue. The proposal would change this and would be in sync with Indias growing aspiration for increased weight in the international arena. Also stability in the Middle East is of Indias interest as the region remains its major source of energy.

Also as India has been vying for a permanent seat the UN Security Council a step-back from the traditional non-aligned policy and configuring its foreign policy on international conflict would be desirable.

The Heads of State of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will be present during the summit to be organized in Goa on October 15-16.

According to the UN estimates Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt will collectively need $5.5 billion a year to fund their response to the Syrian crisis. But the international community has been able to put together only a little more than 1/5th of the estimated requirement. Brazil has also pledged $ 5 million last year at an international pledging conference on the crisis.

NEW DELHI: Making its involvement in mitigating the conflict in the Middle East more concrete, India is mulling to propose a BRICS fund for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Syria at the upcoming Summit in Goa where the Heads of the worlds 5 major emerging national economies will meet. Last year when the five countries established the New Development Bank, it showed willingness to pool together resources to provide reconstruction aid to Syria and other war-torn countries across the world. Sources indicated that India might be putting the proposal to provide this reconstruction aid by pooling in resources. While Russia has been playing an active role in the conflict by deciding to fight on the side of the Syrian President Bashar-al Assad and its armed forces targeting the rebels, other member countries do not have immediate stake in the conflict. So the adoption of the proposal, sources said, would depend on the cooperation of the member-states. In its first major outreach to the region since the conflict began in the country in 2011, Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar had traveled to Syria in August this year and held a meeting with President Assad. The meeting signaled India siding with the ruling dispensation in Syria, even as the Western countries especially the US has been in favour overturning the Assad government. The Syrian President while appreciating Indias objective position on the conflict invited New Delhi to play a greater role in the reconstruction of the war-torn country. Akbars visit came close on the heels of a high ranking Chinese official. The Syrian regime has been seeking Indias support for long, but despite opposing to oust the Assad government through foreign intervention, New Delhi has not been vocal about its views on the issue. The proposal would change this and would be in sync with Indias growing aspiration for increased weight in the international arena. Also stability in the Middle East is of Indias interest as the region remains its major source of energy. Also as India has been vying for a permanent seat the UN Security Council a step-back from the traditional non-aligned policy and configuring its foreign policy on international conflict would be desirable. The Heads of State of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will be present during the summit to be organized in Goa on October 15-16. According to the UN estimates Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt will collectively need $5.5 billion a year to fund their response to the Syrian crisis. But the international community has been able to put together only a little more than 1/5th of the estimated requirement. Brazil has also pledged $ 5 million last year at an international pledging conference on the crisis.
By ANI

SHOPIAN (Jammu and Kashmir): Terrorists open fire at a police post in Jamnageri area in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing one policeman and leaving policemen and a civilian injured.

Yesterday, three Pakistani terrorists were eliminated after they attacked a camp at Langate in Kupwara district, confirmed Commanding Officer of the 30 Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Rajiv Saharan.

Three AK-47 rifles, two UBGL launchers, three GPS, four radio search, maps and metric sheet, and medicines were recovered from them.



When asked about how they identified the terrorists, Colonel Saharan said, "The medicines recovered have 'made in Pakistan' markings on them, this ascertains that these three terrorists were from Pakistan."

The attack comes days after terrorists attacked a Bolder Security Force (BSF) and adjoining camps in Baramulla district, where one 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, the terrorists had attacked the army brigade headquarters at Uri, killing 19 soldiers.

SHOPIAN (Jammu and Kashmir): Terrorists open fire at a police post in Jamnageri area in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing one policeman and leaving policemen and a civilian injured. Yesterday, three Pakistani terrorists were eliminated after they attacked a camp at Langate in Kupwara district, confirmed Commanding Officer of the 30 Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Rajiv Saharan. Three AK-47 rifles, two UBGL launchers, three GPS, four radio search, maps and metric sheet, and medicines were recovered from them. When asked about how they identified the terrorists, Colonel Saharan said, "The medicines recovered have 'made in Pakistan' markings on them, this ascertains that these three terrorists were from Pakistan." The attack comes days after terrorists attacked a Bolder Security Force (BSF) and adjoining camps in Baramulla district, where one 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, the terrorists had attacked the army brigade headquarters at Uri, killing 19 soldiers.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: Defending the Centres opposition on the triple talaq system, Union Electronic and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday asserted that in a secular nation like India, women cannot be allowed to suffer under such an arbitrary and derogatory system.

Listing out the Centres three-fold stand which was given in response to the Supreme Court over certain petitions filed by Muslim women, Prasad told ANI that firstly, the issue concerns only and only about the dignity, non-discrimination of women, respect to them and gender justice and India being a secular country governed by a constitution, the abiding values of its constitution about gender justice, dignity of women needs to be respected.

The second is, India is a secular country. Secularism is a basic structure of the Constitution. Can we, where we have got a secular India, allow the women to suffer a kind of a system which is derogatory and arbitrary? he said.

Illuminating the third point, the Union Minister mentioned that in more than a dozen Islamic countries ranging from Bangladesh to Syria and even Pakistan, matrimonial laws have been regulated by law including triple talaq.

If in acknowledged Islamic countries, change of matrimonial laws is not found to be violating Sharia, how can such a plea be raised in a secular country like India? he said.

Yesterday, the Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Triple Talaq and polygamy validity.

According to the affidavit, the Centre said that there is no reason women in India should be denied their constitutional rights.

"Validity of Triple Talaq and polygamy have to be seen in light of gender justice, equality and dignity of women," stated the Centre in its affidavit.

The Government also said that polygamy and triple talaq do not adhere to constitutional values and, therefore, cannot be accepted.

The Muslim law board had earlier claimed that triple talaq is a 'personal law' and, hence, cannot be modified by the Centre.

NEW DELHI: Defending the Centres opposition on the triple talaq system, Union Electronic and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday asserted that in a secular nation like India, women cannot be allowed to suffer under such an arbitrary and derogatory system. Listing out the Centres three-fold stand which was given in response to the Supreme Court over certain petitions filed by Muslim women, Prasad told ANI that firstly, the issue concerns only and only about the dignity, non-discrimination of women, respect to them and gender justice and India being a secular country governed by a constitution, the abiding values of its constitution about gender justice, dignity of women needs to be respected. The second is, India is a secular country. Secularism is a basic structure of the Constitution. Can we, where we have got a secular India, allow the women to suffer a kind of a system which is derogatory and arbitrary? he said. Illuminating the third point, the Union Minister mentioned that in more than a dozen Islamic countries ranging from Bangladesh to Syria and even Pakistan, matrimonial laws have been regulated by law including triple talaq. If in acknowledged Islamic countries, change of matrimonial laws is not found to be violating Sharia, how can such a plea be raised in a secular country like India? he said. Yesterday, the Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Triple Talaq and polygamy validity. According to the affidavit, the Centre said that there is no reason women in India should be denied their constitutional rights. "Validity of Triple Talaq and polygamy have to be seen in light of gender justice, equality and dignity of women," stated the Centre in its affidavit. The Government also said that polygamy and triple talaq do not adhere to constitutional values and, therefore, cannot be accepted. The Muslim law board had earlier claimed that triple talaq is a 'personal law' and, hence, cannot be modified by the Centre.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: Echoing the Centres stand on the triple talaq system, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday asserted that the controversial system implicates injustice on Muslim women and it has no relation with any religion.

Speaking to ANI here, BJP spokesperson R.K. Singh advocated for One Nation  One Law policy, where the law made by the central government is applicable to all irrespective of their religion.

Centre is right by saying that just by pronouncing talaq-talaq-talaq, injustice is being implicated on Muslim women. This is not a religious issue and even in many Muslim countries this practice has been banned, he said.

Even the polygamy has been banned in majority of the Muslim countries. Central governments stand is right and I personally believe that there should be one nation - one law, he added.

If you make a law then it should be applicable to all and not be discriminatory for different religion. In a secular government, the regime does not think on the lines of religion but thinks for all. When government makes law, then it is there to be followed by all. So this is the meaning of One Nation-One Law, Singh told ANI here.

Today, Manish Tewaris tweet gave a counterview to centres stand on triple talaq, where he said, Regressive marital practices discriminating against women must go by internal reform/judicial diktat there is no case for #uniformcivilcode!.

Meanwhile, Muslim Cleric, Hina Zaheer condemned Congress leader Manish Tewari statement on triple talaq and said that what is the need of law if one has to bring reforms from within.

"If the reformation has to be done from inside that what is the need of constitution, law or court of conduct. To bring these changes some forces are needed, people can't change themselves. If he can bring changes in himself than why would he make a mistake at the first place," she said.

On Friday, the Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Triple Talaq and polygamy validity.

According to the affidavit, the Centre said that there is no reason women in India should be denied their constitutional rights.

"Validity of Triple Talaq and polygamy have to be seen in light of gender justice, equality and dignity of women," stated the Centre in its affidavit.

The Government also said that polygamy and triple talaq do not adhere to constitutional values and, therefore, cannot be accepted.

The Muslim law board had earlier claimed that triple talaq is a 'personal law' and, hence, cannot be modified by the Centre

NEW DELHI: Echoing the Centres stand on the triple talaq system, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday asserted that the controversial system implicates injustice on Muslim women and it has no relation with any religion. Speaking to ANI here, BJP spokesperson R.K. Singh advocated for One Nation  One Law policy, where the law made by the central government is applicable to all irrespective of their religion. Centre is right by saying that just by pronouncing talaq-talaq-talaq, injustice is being implicated on Muslim women. This is not a religious issue and even in many Muslim countries this practice has been banned, he said. Even the polygamy has been banned in majority of the Muslim countries. Central governments stand is right and I personally believe that there should be one nation - one law, he added. If you make a law then it should be applicable to all and not be discriminatory for different religion. In a secular government, the regime does not think on the lines of religion but thinks for all. When government makes law, then it is there to be followed by all. So this is the meaning of One Nation-One Law, Singh told ANI here. Today, Manish Tewaris tweet gave a counterview to centres stand on triple talaq, where he said, Regressive marital practices discriminating against women must go by internal reform/judicial diktat there is no case for #uniformcivilcode!. Meanwhile, Muslim Cleric, Hina Zaheer condemned Congress leader Manish Tewari statement on triple talaq and said that what is the need of law if one has to bring reforms from within. "If the reformation has to be done from inside that what is the need of constitution, law or court of conduct. To bring these changes some forces are needed, people can't change themselves. If he can bring changes in himself than why would he make a mistake at the first place," she said. On Friday, the Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Triple Talaq and polygamy validity. According to the affidavit, the Centre said that there is no reason women in India should be denied their constitutional rights. "Validity of Triple Talaq and polygamy have to be seen in light of gender justice, equality and dignity of women," stated the Centre in its affidavit. The Government also said that polygamy and triple talaq do not adhere to constitutional values and, therefore, cannot be accepted. The Muslim law board had earlier claimed that triple talaq is a 'personal law' and, hence, cannot be modified by the Centre
Avantika Dhingra and Tarun Jain By

The New Education Policy 2016 lays strong emphasis on teachers, referring to them as the fulcrum around which school education revolves. McKinsey, the consultancy, captures this sentiment by writing that the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers. Yet teachers are often an afterthought in education policy. Emphasizing how important reform in the role of teachers is, the Subramanian committee report advocates merit based selection and development of teachers, giving the profession a much needed brand of legitimacy and prestige.

Teachers, like all professionals, prefer to have both authority and responsibility for their work, be recognized and rewarded when they do a good job, and have the opportunity to improve when they receive constructive feedback on their performance both inside and outside the classroom.

The Subramanian committee implicitly recognizes the importance of professionalising teaching, but with a disproportionate focus on teacher accountability as a tool for improving teacher performance, excluding key stakeholders such as parents, schools and teachers themselves from the process. The report goes a step further to recommends that the government integrate student outcomes and relate them to teacher performance - this should be the predominant criterion for making teachers accountable for their performance (pp 70).

What does effective governance of teachers look like? What should be the role of the government, school administration, teachers and parents in the governance process? Constructive policies on these questions are not easy to generate or implement, especially in an environment where political interference is rife, public funds are scarce, teacher unions are strong and parents are unempowered. Yet extensive academic research on the role of teachers yields some useful guidelines.

Students rarely learn when teachers dont show up. A survey of schools in rural India estimated that 24% of teachers were absent from the classroom on any given day, with absenteeism as high as 42 per cent in states such as Jharkhand. Battling this absenteeism through routine administrative steps isnt easy. Attendance monitoring using simple technologies might offer a solution. In one study, teachers were given cameras to take a picture of themselves with students every day at the school opening and closing time. (The cameras stamped the date and time on photographs). A teacher received the regular salary if she was present at least 21 days in a month, along with bonuses with extra attendance and penalties for lower attendance. The scheme resulted in an immediate improvement in teacher attendance, which persisted during the entire year. The absence rate of teachers was just 18% in the camera schools compared to 36% in schools where the scheme was not offered. A more modern version of this scheme might use CCTV cameras or even biometrics to record attendance, an initiative the Delhi Government is also actively thinking about.

Teachers rarely get informed feedback on the quality of their instruction, so they stick to a lesson plan irrespective of whether students are learning or not. And given large variation in students academic and social backgrounds, its no wonder that what is taught is mismatched with what students need. With teacher capacity being constant, one way to solve this problem is to offer teachers systematic diagnostic feedback. A study in Andhra Pradesh that conducted frequent student tests and reported the results to teachers found that teachers put in more effort as a result of this feedback, but this did not improve eventual student learning. The scope of receiving crucial feedback could also be expanded to include students, peers, school leaders as well as parents, with each stakeholder providing feedback for specific teacher competencies.

Involving parents in the process of teaching might be more promising, especially since parents are keenly interested in the progress of their children, have the highest stake in their childs success, and are likely to speak up when students struggle in school. Yet, the barriers to parent involvement are high.

A study conducted in Uttar Pradesh reported that only 28 per cent parents visited schools to complain or monitor. Frequent parent-teacher meetings and active parent involvement in school management committees might be a straightforward and low cost way to give teachers and the school feedback on where the learning gaps are.

Anecdotal evidence supports this approach. The Delhi government recently invited parents to its schools and parents were positively surprised about participating in school activities. For the first time I felt that my children are also studying in a big private school, a parent commented after attending the meeting in West Delhi.

One policy that is likely to fail is linking teacher performance explicitly to student test scores. This approach of high-stakes testing has been tried in the United States to disastrous results. When school funding was tied to student tests under the No Child Left Behind Act, teachers immediately started to focus on the students in the middle of the class, i.e. those they could help pass the exam, rather than the weakest students who were not going to pass anyway.

In a study conducted in Kenya where public school teachers were compensated on the basis of student exam performance, teachers immediately started to hold test-prep sessions, teaching to the test and ignoring all other aspects of their jobs. In the worst cases, public school teachers in Atlanta and Chicago changed exam answer scripts because their own salaries were a function of student performance.

Teachers are critical for our childrens future. Efforts need to be made to make teachers feel supported in their roles enabling them to perform to the best of their abilities. Better and more thoughtful policies will help revitalizing and professionalizing their work.

Avantika Dhingra

is a Senior Program Manager at Central Square Foundation managing grants and research for CSFs Human Capital Development work

Tarun Jain

is an Assistant Professor, Economics and Public Policy at the Indian School of Business

Email: tarun_jain@isb.edu

The New Education Policy 2016 lays strong emphasis on teachers, referring to them as the fulcrum around which school education revolves. McKinsey, the consultancy, captures this sentiment by writing that the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers. Yet teachers are often an afterthought in education policy. Emphasizing how important reform in the role of teachers is, the Subramanian committee report advocates merit based selection and development of teachers, giving the profession a much needed brand of legitimacy and prestige. Teachers, like all professionals, prefer to have both authority and responsibility for their work, be recognized and rewarded when they do a good job, and have the opportunity to improve when they receive constructive feedback on their performance both inside and outside the classroom. The Subramanian committee implicitly recognizes the importance of professionalising teaching, but with a disproportionate focus on teacher accountability as a tool for improving teacher performance, excluding key stakeholders such as parents, schools and teachers themselves from the process. The report goes a step further to recommends that the government integrate student outcomes and relate them to teacher performance - this should be the predominant criterion for making teachers accountable for their performance (pp 70). What does effective governance of teachers look like? What should be the role of the government, school administration, teachers and parents in the governance process? Constructive policies on these questions are not easy to generate or implement, especially in an environment where political interference is rife, public funds are scarce, teacher unions are strong and parents are unempowered. Yet extensive academic research on the role of teachers yields some useful guidelines. Students rarely learn when teachers dont show up. A survey of schools in rural India estimated that 24% of teachers were absent from the classroom on any given day, with absenteeism as high as 42 per cent in states such as Jharkhand. Battling this absenteeism through routine administrative steps isnt easy. Attendance monitoring using simple technologies might offer a solution. In one study, teachers were given cameras to take a picture of themselves with students every day at the school opening and closing time. (The cameras stamped the date and time on photographs). A teacher received the regular salary if she was present at least 21 days in a month, along with bonuses with extra attendance and penalties for lower attendance. The scheme resulted in an immediate improvement in teacher attendance, which persisted during the entire year. The absence rate of teachers was just 18% in the camera schools compared to 36% in schools where the scheme was not offered. A more modern version of this scheme might use CCTV cameras or even biometrics to record attendance, an initiative the Delhi Government is also actively thinking about. Teachers rarely get informed feedback on the quality of their instruction, so they stick to a lesson plan irrespective of whether students are learning or not. And given large variation in students academic and social backgrounds, its no wonder that what is taught is mismatched with what students need. With teacher capacity being constant, one way to solve this problem is to offer teachers systematic diagnostic feedback. A study in Andhra Pradesh that conducted frequent student tests and reported the results to teachers found that teachers put in more effort as a result of this feedback, but this did not improve eventual student learning. The scope of receiving crucial feedback could also be expanded to include students, peers, school leaders as well as parents, with each stakeholder providing feedback for specific teacher competencies. Involving parents in the process of teaching might be more promising, especially since parents are keenly interested in the progress of their children, have the highest stake in their childs success, and are likely to speak up when students struggle in school. Yet, the barriers to parent involvement are high. A study conducted in Uttar Pradesh reported that only 28 per cent parents visited schools to complain or monitor. Frequent parent-teacher meetings and active parent involvement in school management committees might be a straightforward and low cost way to give teachers and the school feedback on where the learning gaps are. Anecdotal evidence supports this approach. The Delhi government recently invited parents to its schools and parents were positively surprised about participating in school activities. For the first time I felt that my children are also studying in a big private school, a parent commented after attending the meeting in West Delhi. One policy that is likely to fail is linking teacher performance explicitly to student test scores. This approach of high-stakes testing has been tried in the United States to disastrous results. When school funding was tied to student tests under the No Child Left Behind Act, teachers immediately started to focus on the students in the middle of the class, i.e. those they could help pass the exam, rather than the weakest students who were not going to pass anyway. In a study conducted in Kenya where public school teachers were compensated on the basis of student exam performance, teachers immediately started to hold test-prep sessions, teaching to the test and ignoring all other aspects of their jobs. In the worst cases, public school teachers in Atlanta and Chicago changed exam answer scripts because their own salaries were a function of student performance. Teachers are critical for our childrens future. Efforts need to be made to make teachers feel supported in their roles enabling them to perform to the best of their abilities. Better and more thoughtful policies will help revitalizing and professionalizing their work. Avantika Dhingra is a Senior Program Manager at Central Square Foundation managing grants and research for CSFs Human Capital Development work Tarun Jain is an Assistant Professor, Economics and Public Policy at the Indian School of Business Email: tarun_jain@isb.edu
By Express News Service

TUMAKURU : Fearing that her two daughters would marry outside their caste, a woman from a Tumakuru village allegedly tied and locked them up inside the house for a decade. The bizarre story, which came to light when the older daughter died of malnutrition, happened in Sarthavalli village near Tiptur.



Gangamma, 66, had allegedly kept her daughters Bhagya (38) and Srilakshmi (35) tied up in their thatched hut amid a desolate field, far away from the village. It was only after Bhagya died of malnutrition that the gram panchayat intervened. GP member Chandrashekar said the younger daughter Srilakshmi, who was rescued, was in trauma and pale. She is being rehabilitated at the district hospital here.

Younger daughter Srilakshmi



However, Gangamma denied the allegations and challenged the rescue team that visited the village on Friday to prove the charges. Police have not filed a case yet. We have rescued Srilakshmi but cannot file an FIR against her mother as there is no evidence of torture, said Honnavalli police sub inspector N Lakshmikantha.



Chandrashekar said that since Gangamma was quarrelsome and didnt allow anyone, including her relatives, near her house, villagers rarely interacted with her. Sarthavalli village has 350 households and a population of about 1,000, he added.



Years ago, Srilakshmi, who had passed SSLC with a first class, and her sister Bhagya used to work in a biscuit factory at neighbouring Annapura village. Slowly Gangamma turned suspicious and believed that her daughters would fall in love with other boys working in the factory.Fearing they would marry outside their Vokkaliga caste, she stopped them from working and allegedly confined them inside the hut, by tying their legs.

TUMAKURU : Fearing that her two daughters would marry outside their caste, a woman from a Tumakuru village allegedly tied and locked them up inside the house for a decade. The bizarre story, which came to light when the older daughter died of malnutrition, happened in Sarthavalli village near Tiptur. Gangamma, 66, had allegedly kept her daughters Bhagya (38) and Srilakshmi (35) tied up in their thatched hut amid a desolate field, far away from the village. It was only after Bhagya died of malnutrition that the gram panchayat intervened. GP member Chandrashekar said the younger daughter Srilakshmi, who was rescued, was in trauma and pale. She is being rehabilitated at the district hospital here. Younger daughter Srilakshmi However, Gangamma denied the allegations and challenged the rescue team that visited the village on Friday to prove the charges. Police have not filed a case yet. We have rescued Srilakshmi but cannot file an FIR against her mother as there is no evidence of torture, said Honnavalli police sub inspector N Lakshmikantha. Chandrashekar said that since Gangamma was quarrelsome and didnt allow anyone, including her relatives, near her house, villagers rarely interacted with her. Sarthavalli village has 350 households and a population of about 1,000, he added. Years ago, Srilakshmi, who had passed SSLC with a first class, and her sister Bhagya used to work in a biscuit factory at neighbouring Annapura village. Slowly Gangamma turned suspicious and believed that her daughters would fall in love with other boys working in the factory.Fearing they would marry outside their Vokkaliga caste, she stopped them from working and allegedly confined them inside the hut, by tying their legs.
R Sivakumar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Causing ripples in political circles in Tamil Nadu, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi made a surprise landing in Chennai on Friday to visit Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, undergoing treatment for over a fortnight at Apollo Hospitals.

Amid his tight schedule in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, he had made himself free to visit Apollo Hospitals and spent about 35 minutes. Presumably, he was briefed by hospital chairman Dr Pratap C Reddy on the health conditions of Jayalalithaa, who has been under observation since the night of September 22.

Emerging out of the hospital at 12.25 pm, Rahul wished Jayalalithaa a speedy recovery. Let God give all his blessings for her full recovery, he told the waiting reporters outside the hospital.

He informed that Jayalalithaa was recovering well. Let her get maximum energy so that she gets well soon, the Congress leader added.

Rahul Gandhis visit is viewed as a politically loaded one, given the bitter relations his party and its president Sonia Gandhi have with Jayalalithaa for more than one-and-a-half decade.

Informed sources said he could have been persuaded by the newly-appointed Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president S Thirunavukkarasar, a former AIADMK strongman, who had stood by Jayalalithaa during the turbulent times after the demise of party founder and former chief minister, late M G Ramachandran.

Rahul Gandhis visit has sent a strong message to DMK, overshadowing the protest fast observed by the partys treasurer M K Stalin at Thanjavur during the day to protest the Centres somersault in setting up the Cauvery Management Board.

Rahul Gandhi had never visited DMK chief M Karunanidhi despite his party being an ally. But his visit to Apollo Hospitals to inquire about the health conditions of Jayalalithaa assumes significance, a political observer said, adding that it indicated the Congress leaderships readiness for a shift.

Several leaders of the Congress in Tamil Nadu are unhappy that they were taken for ride by the DMK on seat-sharing for the local bodies, elections to which were stayed by the Madras High Court.

Meanwhile, speaking to Express, senior politician Panruti S Ramachandran said Rahuls visit was a courtesy call to convey regards from himself and his mother, Congress president Sonia Gandhi. This is probably a way to repair the strained relationship Sonia Gandhi had with our leader during the UPA regime. Anyhow, we welcome this as it is a healthy trend in politics, he said.

Echoing him, a party veteran added, Political weather can change at any time. Though opponents in politics, Sonia Gandhi respects Jayalalithaa as a mass leader, and the latter is not a person to hang on parroting the past that party did this or that to us etc.

Striking a cautious note, State BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan said it was normal to visit someone who has fallen ill. It is a sign of healthy politics, she added. However, senior leaders, on condition of anonymity, expressed their scepticism that this was a normal visit. Rahul is exploring every minor possibility for political advantage and I perceive this as an attempt in that direction, said a senior leader.

(With inputs from T Muruganandham)

CHENNAI: Causing ripples in political circles in Tamil Nadu, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi made a surprise landing in Chennai on Friday to visit Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, undergoing treatment for over a fortnight at Apollo Hospitals. Amid his tight schedule in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, he had made himself free to visit Apollo Hospitals and spent about 35 minutes. Presumably, he was briefed by hospital chairman Dr Pratap C Reddy on the health conditions of Jayalalithaa, who has been under observation since the night of September 22. Emerging out of the hospital at 12.25 pm, Rahul wished Jayalalithaa a speedy recovery. Let God give all his blessings for her full recovery, he told the waiting reporters outside the hospital. He informed that Jayalalithaa was recovering well. Let her get maximum energy so that she gets well soon, the Congress leader added. Rahul Gandhis visit is viewed as a politically loaded one, given the bitter relations his party and its president Sonia Gandhi have with Jayalalithaa for more than one-and-a-half decade. Informed sources said he could have been persuaded by the newly-appointed Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president S Thirunavukkarasar, a former AIADMK strongman, who had stood by Jayalalithaa during the turbulent times after the demise of party founder and former chief minister, late M G Ramachandran. Rahul Gandhis visit has sent a strong message to DMK, overshadowing the protest fast observed by the partys treasurer M K Stalin at Thanjavur during the day to protest the Centres somersault in setting up the Cauvery Management Board. Rahul Gandhi had never visited DMK chief M Karunanidhi despite his party being an ally. But his visit to Apollo Hospitals to inquire about the health conditions of Jayalalithaa assumes significance, a political observer said, adding that it indicated the Congress leaderships readiness for a shift. Several leaders of the Congress in Tamil Nadu are unhappy that they were taken for ride by the DMK on seat-sharing for the local bodies, elections to which were stayed by the Madras High Court. Meanwhile, speaking to Express, senior politician Panruti S Ramachandran said Rahuls visit was a courtesy call to convey regards from himself and his mother, Congress president Sonia Gandhi. This is probably a way to repair the strained relationship Sonia Gandhi had with our leader during the UPA regime. Anyhow, we welcome this as it is a healthy trend in politics, he said. Echoing him, a party veteran added, Political weather can change at any time. Though opponents in politics, Sonia Gandhi respects Jayalalithaa as a mass leader, and the latter is not a person to hang on parroting the past that party did this or that to us etc. Striking a cautious note, State BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan said it was normal to visit someone who has fallen ill. It is a sign of healthy politics, she added. However, senior leaders, on condition of anonymity, expressed their scepticism that this was a normal visit. Rahul is exploring every minor possibility for political advantage and I perceive this as an attempt in that direction, said a senior leader. (With inputs from T Muruganandham)
Mouli Mareedu By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Mohammed Nayeemuddin alias Nayeems death in an encounter in August has opened a can of worms for the police and politicians alike in Telangana. Even as reports of the student leader-turned-Naxalite-turned gangsters many crimes steady trickle out to the media, few seem to believe that his victims will find justice at the end of the Special Investigation Teams probe as his reported collusion with senior police officials is considered an open secret in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.



Evolution of a gangster



Born to a poor family in Bhongir, Nalgonda district, Nayeem started off as a student leader. In time he was drawn to the Naxalite movement and joined the Radical Students Union and then CPI-ML (Peoples War) in 1990.

Just three years later, as part of a gang of four he allegedly murdered IPS officer K S Vyas, the founder of the anti-nNaxalite police unit, Greyhounds.

The killing was a sensation but Nayeem, arrested 10 months later in December 1993, was subsequently acquitted for lack of evidence. Eventually the young Naxalite was expelled by his party.

After being released on bail in 2000, Nayeem turned against his former comrades, and allegedly began to work for the police as an informer against the Maoists, even killing several of those who had surrendered. This was part of his evolution into a gangster known for murder and extortion. By the time he was gunned down in August this year, he was an accused in 100 criminal cases, including 20 murders.



A can of worms



Days after his death, the Telangana government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by senior police officer Y Nagi Reddy. The investigation is giving sleepless nights to the powerful, retired or otherwise. Speculation is rife in police and political circles about who may have had links with Nayeem.

Sree Ram Tiwari, a retired IPS officer who headed the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) from 1997 to 2000 has stated on record that Nayeem would sometimes visit the SIB office in Begumpet to provide information against Maoists..

Another retired DGP V Dinesh Reddy, speculated to be connected to Nayeem, spoke to the media shortly after the encounter and claimed he had seen the gangster for the first time on TV.

Political leaders such as TDP leader and former minister Uma Madhava Reddy, MLA R Krishnaiah and former MlA Malreddy Ranga Reddy have accused MLA Machireddy of having teamed up with Nayeem to grab land. Some TRS leaders have also been mentioned in connection with this.

Of all these politicians, however, only Krishnaiah has said he knew Nayeem when he was a student leader but lost touch after Nayeem moved towards extremism. But he did speak to Krishnaiah a few years ago after some of the gangsters victims sought his help. Krishnaiah claimed he warned Nayeem to stay away from illegal activities. Prior to being elected as an MLA, Krishnaiah was a key agitator for backward class rights.

Since his killing, more accusations are being made against Nayeem. A businessman from Bhongir, Gampa Narender, has lodged a police complaint alleging that Nayeem demanded Rs 2 crore from him as mamool (protection money).

The businessman refused to pay and stated in his complaint that TRS leader Neti Vidyasagar called him and asked him to pay up.

Other politicians from Nalgonda who are under the scanner include TRS leader Dubbaka Narsimha Reddy and Congress leader Chintala Venkateswar Reddy. However, they have denied having links with Nayeem.

Apart from politicians, as many as 20 police officers including a retired DGP are alleged to have had ties to Nayeem. The SIT recently questioned a retired additional superintendent of police who had been DSP of Bhongir.



The fact that many of these politicians are from Nalgonda district, particularly the town of Bhongir, is reflective of Nayeem locus of activity. However, his links are said to have spread far and wide in both Telugu-speaking states.



Separating the wheat from chaff

Since its formation, SIT has seized hundreds of sale deeds along with crores of rupees in cash in connection with cases against Nayeem.

The detectives are also said to have found a 200-page diary in which the slain gangster allegedly penned down valuable information about his activities.

The focus of the investigation is on three areas. First, the information in Nayeems diary. Second, SIT is pursuing leads from the Call Detail Record (CDR) of phones seized from Nayeemj. Third, the team is looking into complaints lodged by people claiming to be victims of the gangster.

According to SIT chief Nagi Reddy, 83 persons have been arrested so far in 99 cases in Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Khammam, Karimnagar, Warangal and Ranga Reddy districts.

The SIT control room has received 372 calls from victims regarding the atrocities of Nayeems gang. Most of the victims are from Bhongir, SIT officials told New Indian Express. Some of the complaints are from non-resident Indians (NRIs).



Credibility of police investigation low

Given the gangsters alleged ties with the establishment, and the suspicious circumstances of his death, few believe that a police-led investigation will lead to justice.

One example of his work for the establishment was the murder of CITU leader Belli Lalitha in Bhongir. Allegedly at the behest of then home minister, the late A Madhava Reddy, Nayeem killed Lalitha, cut her body into 18 pieces and disposed of them in different places.

It is believed to be an open secret that Nayeems murders of Maoist-turned-political leader Sambasividu, former Maoist Patolla Govardhan Reddy, Eedanna, Azam Ali and Purushottam were committed on the orders of certain police officials.

Various groups have called for an independent investigation into Nayeems crimes. For instance, the All India BCs Welfare Association vice-president Peram Siva Nageswara Rao, alleging that the government was intentionally using Nayeem to damage the reputation of some political leaders, demanded that it have the investigation handled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Supreme Court judge.

Some of the findings of SIT are also raising questions. For instance, during a raid on Nayeems residence in Puppalguda near Hyderabad, SIT seized AK 47s and other lethal weapons. However, it has not been explained how he came to possess such weapons. It was also revealed that Nayeem possessed immovable assets worth crores of rupees and land in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana and Maharashtra.

The government has directed police officials to be transparent. Additional DGP (law and order) Anjani Kumar was appointed to monitor the progress of the SIT investigation.

HYDERABAD: Mohammed Nayeemuddin alias Nayeems death in an encounter in August has opened a can of worms for the police and politicians alike in Telangana. Even as reports of the student leader-turned-Naxalite-turned gangsters many crimes steady trickle out to the media, few seem to believe that his victims will find justice at the end of the Special Investigation Teams probe as his reported collusion with senior police officials is considered an open secret in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Evolution of a gangster Born to a poor family in Bhongir, Nalgonda district, Nayeem started off as a student leader. In time he was drawn to the Naxalite movement and joined the Radical Students Union and then CPI-ML (Peoples War) in 1990. Just three years later, as part of a gang of four he allegedly murdered IPS officer K S Vyas, the founder of the anti-nNaxalite police unit, Greyhounds. The killing was a sensation but Nayeem, arrested 10 months later in December 1993, was subsequently acquitted for lack of evidence. Eventually the young Naxalite was expelled by his party. After being released on bail in 2000, Nayeem turned against his former comrades, and allegedly began to work for the police as an informer against the Maoists, even killing several of those who had surrendered. This was part of his evolution into a gangster known for murder and extortion. By the time he was gunned down in August this year, he was an accused in 100 criminal cases, including 20 murders. A can of worms Days after his death, the Telangana government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by senior police officer Y Nagi Reddy. The investigation is giving sleepless nights to the powerful, retired or otherwise. Speculation is rife in police and political circles about who may have had links with Nayeem. Sree Ram Tiwari, a retired IPS officer who headed the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) from 1997 to 2000 has stated on record that Nayeem would sometimes visit the SIB office in Begumpet to provide information against Maoists.. Another retired DGP V Dinesh Reddy, speculated to be connected to Nayeem, spoke to the media shortly after the encounter and claimed he had seen the gangster for the first time on TV. Political leaders such as TDP leader and former minister Uma Madhava Reddy, MLA R Krishnaiah and former MlA Malreddy Ranga Reddy have accused MLA Machireddy of having teamed up with Nayeem to grab land. Some TRS leaders have also been mentioned in connection with this. Of all these politicians, however, only Krishnaiah has said he knew Nayeem when he was a student leader but lost touch after Nayeem moved towards extremism. But he did speak to Krishnaiah a few years ago after some of the gangsters victims sought his help. Krishnaiah claimed he warned Nayeem to stay away from illegal activities. Prior to being elected as an MLA, Krishnaiah was a key agitator for backward class rights. Since his killing, more accusations are being made against Nayeem. A businessman from Bhongir, Gampa Narender, has lodged a police complaint alleging that Nayeem demanded Rs 2 crore from him as mamool (protection money). The businessman refused to pay and stated in his complaint that TRS leader Neti Vidyasagar called him and asked him to pay up. Other politicians from Nalgonda who are under the scanner include TRS leader Dubbaka Narsimha Reddy and Congress leader Chintala Venkateswar Reddy. However, they have denied having links with Nayeem. Apart from politicians, as many as 20 police officers including a retired DGP are alleged to have had ties to Nayeem. The SIT recently questioned a retired additional superintendent of police who had been DSP of Bhongir. The fact that many of these politicians are from Nalgonda district, particularly the town of Bhongir, is reflective of Nayeem locus of activity. However, his links are said to have spread far and wide in both Telugu-speaking states. Separating the wheat from chaff Since its formation, SIT has seized hundreds of sale deeds along with crores of rupees in cash in connection with cases against Nayeem. The detectives are also said to have found a 200-page diary in which the slain gangster allegedly penned down valuable information about his activities. The focus of the investigation is on three areas. First, the information in Nayeems diary. Second, SIT is pursuing leads from the Call Detail Record (CDR) of phones seized from Nayeemj. Third, the team is looking into complaints lodged by people claiming to be victims of the gangster. According to SIT chief Nagi Reddy, 83 persons have been arrested so far in 99 cases in Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Khammam, Karimnagar, Warangal and Ranga Reddy districts. The SIT control room has received 372 calls from victims regarding the atrocities of Nayeems gang. Most of the victims are from Bhongir, SIT officials told New Indian Express. Some of the complaints are from non-resident Indians (NRIs). Credibility of police investigation low Given the gangsters alleged ties with the establishment, and the suspicious circumstances of his death, few believe that a police-led investigation will lead to justice. One example of his work for the establishment was the murder of CITU leader Belli Lalitha in Bhongir. Allegedly at the behest of then home minister, the late A Madhava Reddy, Nayeem killed Lalitha, cut her body into 18 pieces and disposed of them in different places. It is believed to be an open secret that Nayeems murders of Maoist-turned-political leader Sambasividu, former Maoist Patolla Govardhan Reddy, Eedanna, Azam Ali and Purushottam were committed on the orders of certain police officials. Various groups have called for an independent investigation into Nayeems crimes. For instance, the All India BCs Welfare Association vice-president Peram Siva Nageswara Rao, alleging that the government was intentionally using Nayeem to damage the reputation of some political leaders, demanded that it have the investigation handled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Supreme Court judge. Some of the findings of SIT are also raising questions. For instance, during a raid on Nayeems residence in Puppalguda near Hyderabad, SIT seized AK 47s and other lethal weapons. However, it has not been explained how he came to possess such weapons. It was also revealed that Nayeem possessed immovable assets worth crores of rupees and land in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana and Maharashtra. The government has directed police officials to be transparent. Additional DGP (law and order) Anjani Kumar was appointed to monitor the progress of the SIT investigation.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: A US appeals court today handed Apple a victory in one of its battles with rival Samsung, reinstating a USD 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. Today'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 USD 2.2 billion at trial, only to have a jury award the California-based company USD 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 USD 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.

WASHINGTON: A US appeals court today handed Apple a victory in one of its battles with rival Samsung, reinstating a USD 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. Today'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 USD 2.2 billion at trial, only to have a jury award the California-based company USD 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 USD 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.
By The Daily Telegraph

It's wrong, really, to tease Theresa May for saying that "Brexit means Brexit". It's an elegant and memorable soundbite that says, simply: trust me. If you voted to leave the European Union, you won't be tricked into Britain staying a member in all but name. No more European Court of Justice, no more "free movement of peoples". British voters will live under their own laws, control their own borders and set their own democratic future.



But what kind of future does she have in mind? This is proving the far thornier question.

We learnt, this week, that the Prime Minister believes Brexit means a whole lot more than Brexit. It means the start of a new approach to immigration, where companies are asked to draw up a list of the foreigners in their workforce and make the figures public.

An approach where voters are told that they may have lost their job, or be suffering low pay, due to these immigrants (who "take jobs British people could do") in spite of employment being at a record high. And those who might have reservations about such language? The sneering metropolitan elite, who disparage the patriotism of the working class. No one doubted that the vote to leave the EU was dramatic. But this? It's all very new indeed, and a radical departure for Conservatism.



Mrs May sees this as following the momentum of the Brexit vote. Intriguingly, Brexit Britain is one where the frontiers of the state are rolled forward, rather than back. To a great many grassroots Tories, this is a courageous, timely and welcome overture to the millions of Ukip and Labour voters - at a time when both parties are in chaos. To others, it's a terrifying sign that the nasty party is making a comeback.



An American visitor to this week's party conference in Birmingham spotted the conundrum. Why was it, she asked me, that the Brexiteers were the ones most uncomfortable about this more robust language on immigration? And why are those who backed Remain far more at ease with cracking down on these Europeans? And isn't this a tad hypocritical: if the Brexiteers rode to victory on the back of anti-immigration sentiment then how can they be surprised when the PM acts on these concerns?

The answer is that, from the offset, the Tories who campaigned to leave the EU were very keen to portray it as an internationalist endeavour - not a nativist yawp. A mission to raise the national sights to more distant horizons; to go out into the world.



Boris Johnson, Liam Fox, Michael Gove, Daniel Hannan, all spoke of Britain as a globally minded country straining at the leash of the EU. As they knew, the Remainers were keen to portray Brexit as a sinister, xenophobic cry from Little Englanders who wanted to stop immigration. No, they replied, immigration is good and we want more of it, but in a way fully controlled by an elected government.

The Vote Leave campaign said plenty about what Brexit should mean: to end discrimination against non-EU migrants, with a points-based system that would be "fairer, more humane, and better for the economy". And the unachievable pledge to reduce net migration to the "tens of thousands?" The Brexiteers did not repeat it.



Even in government, Boris Johnson has warned that making such pledges leads to disappointment. Liam Fox argued in Cabinet for loosening immigration controls with Australia. Both were slapped down and reminded: the Government is playing the numbers game.



The Brexit vote was a reset moment, a chance to abandon the immigration pledge. In her first few days as Home Secretary, Amber Rudd had thought the target was being abolished because no one had mentioned it to her. Now, she's in charge of meeting it. Hence the ever-more-desperate ideas, like naming and shaming of companies that employ too many foreigners. This dismays Brexiteers because it sends out such a toxic message. The world is still asking: what just happened in Britain? Why is it now talking about making lists of foreigners?



The same divide can be seen over the fate of the three million EU nationals in Britain. The Brexiteers want to offer them immediate assurances that they can stay, no matter what assurances are given to Brits abroad. David Davis told me this week the chances of their staying are "100 per cent". Michael Gove told me that this may be a weak negotiating tactic but "decency comes first". It's the two most senior Remainers, Philip Hammond and Theresa May, who are adamant that no such assurances be given. So in this way, the Polish nurses and Italian mechanics now find themselves collateral in negotiations and it's mainly Brexiteers who find this repugnant.



In her speech, Mrs May said her main enemies are the socialist Left and the "libertarian Right" - a faction whose troops are perhaps even thinner on the ground than Lib Dems. I suspect what she really had in mind was liberal Conservatism, the type that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove were preparing to champion had their joint leadership bid not ended in such a debacle. They would have carried on the type of Tory liberalism that underpinned David Cameron's leadership, and made the coalition possible.



Mrs May is appealing not to Lib Dems, but what she sees as the abandoned working class. And who can deny the scale of the opportunity? Steven Woolfe, who was favourite to be the next Ukip leader before he was assailed in Strasbourg yesterday, would have spoken just as robustly and eloquently about patriotism and immigration.

His Ukip might have supplanted Labour in the north of England, as the SNP has done in Scotland. "We could do business with Woolfe," one Cabinet member told me this week. "He's our kind of kipper." Mrs May sees it differently: why bother with a deal, or a coalition, if you're not too squeamish to take Ukip voters for yourself?



It's a fascinating, daring and audacious move but it has precious little to do with leaving the European Union. Indeed, much of it is the very opposite to the direction the Brexiteers would have taken had any of them gone on to succeed. Brexit, it turns out, means a very new type of muscular Conservatism - whether the Brexiteers like it or not.



It's wrong, really, to tease Theresa May for saying that "Brexit means Brexit". It's an elegant and memorable soundbite that says, simply: trust me. If you voted to leave the European Union, you won't be tricked into Britain staying a member in all but name. No more European Court of Justice, no more "free movement of peoples". British voters will live under their own laws, control their own borders and set their own democratic future. But what kind of future does she have in mind? This is proving the far thornier question. We learnt, this week, that the Prime Minister believes Brexit means a whole lot more than Brexit. It means the start of a new approach to immigration, where companies are asked to draw up a list of the foreigners in their workforce and make the figures public. An approach where voters are told that they may have lost their job, or be suffering low pay, due to these immigrants (who "take jobs British people could do") in spite of employment being at a record high. And those who might have reservations about such language? The sneering metropolitan elite, who disparage the patriotism of the working class. No one doubted that the vote to leave the EU was dramatic. But this? It's all very new indeed, and a radical departure for Conservatism. Mrs May sees this as following the momentum of the Brexit vote. Intriguingly, Brexit Britain is one where the frontiers of the state are rolled forward, rather than back. To a great many grassroots Tories, this is a courageous, timely and welcome overture to the millions of Ukip and Labour voters - at a time when both parties are in chaos. To others, it's a terrifying sign that the nasty party is making a comeback. An American visitor to this week's party conference in Birmingham spotted the conundrum. Why was it, she asked me, that the Brexiteers were the ones most uncomfortable about this more robust language on immigration? And why are those who backed Remain far more at ease with cracking down on these Europeans? And isn't this a tad hypocritical: if the Brexiteers rode to victory on the back of anti-immigration sentiment then how can they be surprised when the PM acts on these concerns? The answer is that, from the offset, the Tories who campaigned to leave the EU were very keen to portray it as an internationalist endeavour - not a nativist yawp. A mission to raise the national sights to more distant horizons; to go out into the world. Boris Johnson, Liam Fox, Michael Gove, Daniel Hannan, all spoke of Britain as a globally minded country straining at the leash of the EU. As they knew, the Remainers were keen to portray Brexit as a sinister, xenophobic cry from Little Englanders who wanted to stop immigration. No, they replied, immigration is good and we want more of it, but in a way fully controlled by an elected government. The Vote Leave campaign said plenty about what Brexit should mean: to end discrimination against non-EU migrants, with a points-based system that would be "fairer, more humane, and better for the economy". And the unachievable pledge to reduce net migration to the "tens of thousands?" The Brexiteers did not repeat it. Even in government, Boris Johnson has warned that making such pledges leads to disappointment. Liam Fox argued in Cabinet for loosening immigration controls with Australia. Both were slapped down and reminded: the Government is playing the numbers game. The Brexit vote was a reset moment, a chance to abandon the immigration pledge. In her first few days as Home Secretary, Amber Rudd had thought the target was being abolished because no one had mentioned it to her. Now, she's in charge of meeting it. Hence the ever-more-desperate ideas, like naming and shaming of companies that employ too many foreigners. This dismays Brexiteers because it sends out such a toxic message. The world is still asking: what just happened in Britain? Why is it now talking about making lists of foreigners? The same divide can be seen over the fate of the three million EU nationals in Britain. The Brexiteers want to offer them immediate assurances that they can stay, no matter what assurances are given to Brits abroad. David Davis told me this week the chances of their staying are "100 per cent". Michael Gove told me that this may be a weak negotiating tactic but "decency comes first". It's the two most senior Remainers, Philip Hammond and Theresa May, who are adamant that no such assurances be given. So in this way, the Polish nurses and Italian mechanics now find themselves collateral in negotiations and it's mainly Brexiteers who find this repugnant. In her speech, Mrs May said her main enemies are the socialist Left and the "libertarian Right" - a faction whose troops are perhaps even thinner on the ground than Lib Dems. I suspect what she really had in mind was liberal Conservatism, the type that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove were preparing to champion had their joint leadership bid not ended in such a debacle. They would have carried on the type of Tory liberalism that underpinned David Cameron's leadership, and made the coalition possible. Mrs May is appealing not to Lib Dems, but what she sees as the abandoned working class. And who can deny the scale of the opportunity? Steven Woolfe, who was favourite to be the next Ukip leader before he was assailed in Strasbourg yesterday, would have spoken just as robustly and eloquently about patriotism and immigration. His Ukip might have supplanted Labour in the north of England, as the SNP has done in Scotland. "We could do business with Woolfe," one Cabinet member told me this week. "He's our kind of kipper." Mrs May sees it differently: why bother with a deal, or a coalition, if you're not too squeamish to take Ukip voters for yourself? It's a fascinating, daring and audacious move but it has precious little to do with leaving the European Union. Indeed, much of it is the very opposite to the direction the Brexiteers would have taken had any of them gone on to succeed. Brexit, it turns out, means a very new type of muscular Conservatism - whether the Brexiteers like it or not.
By Agencies

NEW YORK/GENEVA: Donald Trump made cameo appearances in two more Playboy videos, it has emerged, adding to revelations last week that the Republican presidential candidate once featured in a softcore porn film. Trump is fully clothed in the videos.

But the same films include scenes in which women are shown completely naked and acting suggestively, according to CNN, which obtained the footage but did not publish the more graphic content. One of the videos found by CNNa 1994 tapeshows Trump taking part in Playboys search for its 40th anniversary Playmate, the top model to pose in the magazines centrefold. In a further embarrassing setback for the Trump campaign, the Wharton business school Trumps alma materdisowned him on Thursday.

The business tycoon has often used his time as a student there as part of his business credentials. But the faculty and its students said in an open letter that they were outraged that an affiliation with our school is being used to legitimise prejudice and intolerance.

We have been deeply disappointed in your candidacy, they wrote. Meanwhile, Russia lodged a formal complaint last month with the United Nations over a top UN officials 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.

But 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.

NEW YORK/GENEVA: Donald Trump made cameo appearances in two more Playboy videos, it has emerged, adding to revelations last week that the Republican presidential candidate once featured in a softcore porn film. Trump is fully clothed in the videos. But the same films include scenes in which women are shown completely naked and acting suggestively, according to CNN, which obtained the footage but did not publish the more graphic content. One of the videos found by CNNa 1994 tapeshows Trump taking part in Playboys search for its 40th anniversary Playmate, the top model to pose in the magazines centrefold. In a further embarrassing setback for the Trump campaign, the Wharton business school Trumps alma materdisowned him on Thursday. The business tycoon has often used his time as a student there as part of his business credentials. But the faculty and its students said in an open letter that they were outraged that an affiliation with our school is being used to legitimise prejudice and intolerance. We have been deeply disappointed in your candidacy, they wrote. Meanwhile, Russia lodged a formal complaint last month with the United Nations over a top UN officials 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. But 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.
By AFP

The Kremlin on Friday labelled allegations by the United States that the Russian government was behind the hacking of American political organisations "rubbish".

"This is again some sort of rubbish," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agency Interfax.

"Every day (President Vladimir) Putin's website gets attacked by several tens of thousand of hackers. 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."

US officials on Friday formally accused the Russian government of directing cyber attacks on American political organisations, saying the hacks were "intended to interfere with the US election process".

"We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorised these activities," said a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The statement was the first official accusation by Washington officials against Moscow in the spate of cyber attacks, although many analysts had said the hacks appeared to be from Russia.

The Kremlin has previously strenuously denied previous claims that Russian officials had anything to do with the attacks on organisations in the US.

The Kremlin on Friday labelled allegations by the United States that the Russian government was behind the hacking of American political organisations "rubbish". "This is again some sort of rubbish," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agency Interfax. "Every day (President Vladimir) Putin's website gets attacked by several tens of thousand of hackers. 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." US officials on Friday formally accused the Russian government of directing cyber attacks on American political organisations, saying the hacks were "intended to interfere with the US election process". "We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorised these activities," said a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The statement was the first official accusation by Washington officials against Moscow in the spate of cyber attacks, although many analysts had said the hacks appeared to be from Russia. The Kremlin has previously strenuously denied previous claims that Russian officials had anything to do with the attacks on organisations in the US.
By IANS

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council is scheduled to have an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the current situation in Syria as Russia and the United States are at odds over the airstrikes on Aleppo.

In the emergency meeting, council members are expected to vote on a draft resolution on Syria, diplomats said.

Russia, the council's president for this month, said on Friday a draft resolution demanding an end to airstrikes over Aleppo was unacceptable, Xinhua news agency reported.

Though the resolution, which also calls for a ceasefire, is to be considered on Saturday, Russian UN ambassador and council President Vitaly Churkin said: "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass."

The council's decision to meet in its emergency session came shortly after the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, called on parties to halt hostilities in civilian area in Aleppo on Friday.

The special envoy made the statement as he was briefing the 15-nation UN council on the latest developments in the Middle East country, where the conflict has been dragging on for more than five years.

"We are talking about 900 people, who are becoming the main reason for 275,000 people being attacked. Would this be the excuse for the destruction of the city," de Mistura said about the impact of airstrkes on Aleppo.

On Friday, French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters that there is a strong determination for a vote on the draft resolution. This could lead Russia to use its veto power as a permanent member of the council.

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council is scheduled to have an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the current situation in Syria as Russia and the United States are at odds over the airstrikes on Aleppo. In the emergency meeting, council members are expected to vote on a draft resolution on Syria, diplomats said. Russia, the council's president for this month, said on Friday a draft resolution demanding an end to airstrikes over Aleppo was unacceptable, Xinhua news agency reported. Though the resolution, which also calls for a ceasefire, is to be considered on Saturday, Russian UN ambassador and council President Vitaly Churkin said: "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass." The council's decision to meet in its emergency session came shortly after the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, called on parties to halt hostilities in civilian area in Aleppo on Friday. The special envoy made the statement as he was briefing the 15-nation UN council on the latest developments in the Middle East country, where the conflict has been dragging on for more than five years. "We are talking about 900 people, who are becoming the main reason for 275,000 people being attacked. Would this be the excuse for the destruction of the city," de Mistura said about the impact of airstrkes on Aleppo. On Friday, French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters that there is a strong determination for a vote on the draft resolution. This could lead Russia to use its veto power as a permanent member of the council.
By Associated Press

ANKARA: Two suicide bombers refused to surrender during a police operation in the outskirts of the capital Ankara Saturday and blew themselves up, a senior official said. No one else was hurt in the incident.

Governor Erkan Topaca said police, acting on a tip, launched an operation to catch the pair who were suspected of planning a suicide car bombing in Ankara. They were hiding at a horse farm in the district of Haymana, just outside of the capital.

Topaca told reporters the two bombers were a man and a woman. It said it was "highly likely" that the one of the attackers was linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has carried out a series of suicide car bombings over the past year.

"The organization they are connected to is not clear yet but according to information we have received it is highly likely that (the man) is linked to the PKK. The way the incident was carried out and planned points at the PKK," he said.

ANKARA: Two suicide bombers refused to surrender during a police operation in the outskirts of the capital Ankara Saturday and blew themselves up, a senior official said. No one else was hurt in the incident. Governor Erkan Topaca said police, acting on a tip, launched an operation to catch the pair who were suspected of planning a suicide car bombing in Ankara. They were hiding at a horse farm in the district of Haymana, just outside of the capital. Topaca told reporters the two bombers were a man and a woman. It said it was "highly likely" that the one of the attackers was linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has carried out a series of suicide car bombings over the past year. "The organization they are connected to is not clear yet but according to information we have received it is highly likely that (the man) is linked to the PKK. The way the incident was carried out and planned points at the PKK," he said.
By PTI

NEW YORK: Describing Donald Trump's lewd remarks about groping women, shortly after his third marriage in 2005, as "unacceptable and offensive", his wife Melania Trump today exhorted the people to accept his apology, just as she has.

"The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader," Trump's wife said in a rare public statement, following a video that surfaced recently in which Trump was caught on mic making extremely lewd and sexually offensive remarks against women.

Melania, Trump's wife of 11 years and a former Slovenian model, said she hopes people will accept her husband's apology "as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world."

Trump, 70, had married his third wife Melania, 46, in 2005.

He was newly married in 2005 when he spoke in an uncovered video about trying to have sex with married women and groping others without permission.

Earlier, the Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence said that he won't "condone his (Trump's) remarks and cannot defend them."

"We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night," the Indiana governor said.

Meanwhile, Trump remained defiant in the face of the severe backlash and criticism within his own party over his remarks in the video, telling the Washington Post that he will not quit the presidential race.

NEW YORK: Describing Donald Trump's lewd remarks about groping women, shortly after his third marriage in 2005, as "unacceptable and offensive", his wife Melania Trump today exhorted the people to accept his apology, just as she has. "The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader," Trump's wife said in a rare public statement, following a video that surfaced recently in which Trump was caught on mic making extremely lewd and sexually offensive remarks against women. Melania, Trump's wife of 11 years and a former Slovenian model, said she hopes people will accept her husband's apology "as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world." Trump, 70, had married his third wife Melania, 46, in 2005. He was newly married in 2005 when he spoke in an uncovered video about trying to have sex with married women and groping others without permission. Earlier, the Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence said that he won't "condone his (Trump's) remarks and cannot defend them." "We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night," the Indiana governor said. Meanwhile, Trump remained defiant in the face of the severe backlash and criticism within his own party over his remarks in the video, telling the Washington Post that he will not quit the presidential race.
By PTI

UNITED NATIONS: India has strongly rejected Pakistan's references on Kashmir at the UN, saying such remarks are a self-serving attempt by Islamabad to bring extraneous issues to the world body for its "territorial aggrandizement".



India, exercising the Right of Reply after Pakistan's envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi raised the Kashmir issue at the UN, said yesterday Pakistan had made references to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in a self-serving attempt to bring extraneous issues before the Committee.



Such efforts were a flagrant misuse of the body for Pakistan's own territorial aggrandizement, India said, recalling that the Special Committee on Decolonisation was concerned only with Non-Self-Governing Territories. It asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.



Pakistan responded by saying that the United Nations recognised that all people under alien subjugation had a right to self-determination.



Exercising its Right of Reply, Pakistan said India continued to perpetrate misinformation on the Kashmir issue year after year.



Raking up the Kashmir issue again at the UN, Pakistan had said the non-implementation of UN Security Council resolutions for a plebiscite in Kashmir is the "most persistent" failure of the UN.



"The decolonisation agenda of the United Nations will remain incomplete without resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, among the oldest items on the UN's agenda," Lodhi had said yesterday at a debate of the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee in the General Assembly.



She said for over six decades UN Security Council resolutions promising a plebiscite under UN auspices to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their destiny, have not been implemented.



"This is the most persistent failure of the United Nations," she said, adding generation after generation of Kashmiris has only seen broken promises and brutal oppression.



She asserted that Jammu and Kashmir "never was and can never be" an integral part of India but is a disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council.



Lodhi said the UN has a moral responsibility towards people suffering under colonial domination and foreign occupation.



"There is an urgent need to bring the work on this unfinished agenda to closure and eliminate the last remaining vestiges of colonialism. We hope that we will be able to achieve this shared goal sooner rather than later," she said.

UNITED NATIONS: India has strongly rejected Pakistan's references on Kashmir at the UN, saying such remarks are a self-serving attempt by Islamabad to bring extraneous issues to the world body for its "territorial aggrandizement". India, exercising the Right of Reply after Pakistan's envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi raised the Kashmir issue at the UN, said yesterday Pakistan had made references to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in a self-serving attempt to bring extraneous issues before the Committee. Such efforts were a flagrant misuse of the body for Pakistan's own territorial aggrandizement, India said, recalling that the Special Committee on Decolonisation was concerned only with Non-Self-Governing Territories. It asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Pakistan responded by saying that the United Nations recognised that all people under alien subjugation had a right to self-determination. Exercising its Right of Reply, Pakistan said India continued to perpetrate misinformation on the Kashmir issue year after year. Raking up the Kashmir issue again at the UN, Pakistan had said the non-implementation of UN Security Council resolutions for a plebiscite in Kashmir is the "most persistent" failure of the UN. "The decolonisation agenda of the United Nations will remain incomplete without resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, among the oldest items on the UN's agenda," Lodhi had said yesterday at a debate of the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee in the General Assembly. She said for over six decades UN Security Council resolutions promising a plebiscite under UN auspices to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their destiny, have not been implemented. "This is the most persistent failure of the United Nations," she said, adding generation after generation of Kashmiris has only seen broken promises and brutal oppression. She asserted that Jammu and Kashmir "never was and can never be" an integral part of India but is a disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council. Lodhi said the UN has a moral responsibility towards people suffering under colonial domination and foreign occupation. "There is an urgent need to bring the work on this unfinished agenda to closure and eliminate the last remaining vestiges of colonialism. We hope that we will be able to achieve this shared goal sooner rather than later," she said.
By AFP

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump rejected calls that he step aside as the Republican presidential nominee over lewd videotaped remarks about women, telling The Wall Street Journal on Saturday there is "zero chance I'll quit."

"I never, ever give up," the newspaper quoted Trump as saying following calls by some Republicans that he quit the race after being caught in a 2005 videotape boasting of groping women's genitals with impunity.

The videotape, released Friday by The Washington Post, forced a rare apology from Trump on the eve of a crucial debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton, and set off an uproar in his Republican party.

"Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," Trump said early Saturday in a videotaped statement posted on his Twitter account.

It was believed to be the first apology of his 16-month White House campaign, one peppered by controversies over his treatment of women.

But Trump then undercut his words, calling the disclosure a "distraction," defiantly attacking the Clintons for husband Bill Clinton's past infidelities, and hinting strongly he would have more to say on the topic in Sunday's debate in St Louis, Missouri.

"We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday," he said.

In The Wall Street Journal interview, Trump denied his campaign was in crisis, and predicted the controversy would blow over.

"The support I'm getting is unbelievable, because Hillary Clinton is a horribly flawed candidate," he said.

On Twitter, he said: "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!"

'Sickened'

Republican reaction to the videotape came fast and furious, with some calling on him to step aside and others withdrawing their endorsement.

Even Trump's running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, said that as a husband and father he was "offended" by Trump's remarks.

"I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them," he said in a statement, adding that Sunday night's debate was an opportunity for Trump "to show what is in his heart."

Trump's Republican critics want Pence, the vice presidential candidate, to replace the New York billionaire at the top of the ticket.

"Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately," said Senator John Thune, a member of the Republican leadership.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican officeholder, said he was "sickened" by what he had heard.

Trump was supposed to appear Saturday with Ryan at a campaign event in the congressman's home state of Wisconsin, but the Republican nominee was disinvited. Pence was to go in his place, but he canceled.

By Saturday, three senators, at least three members of the House of Representatives, and a former governor -- all Republicans -- had called on Trump to bow out of the White House race. Others withdrew their endorsements.

"I respectfully ask you, with all due respect, to step aside," urged Utah Senator Mike Lee.

Illinois Senator Mark Kirk echoed the sentiment.

".@realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement," Kirk said on Twitter.

Campaign in crisis

With the November 8 elections one month away and Clinton leading in the polls by nearly five percentage points nationally, the latest uproar has plunged Trump in the deepest crisis of his turbulent campaign.

He had already been seriously hurt by a sloppy performance in his first debate with Clinton on September 26, a damaging Twitter war against a former Miss Universe and reports he may have paid no income taxes for 18 years.

Clinton, who is seeking to become the nation's first female commander-in-chief, is almost certain to call out Trump about the videotape during the debate.

"This is horrific," she said on Twitter. "We cannot allow this man to become president."

In the video from 2005, Trump uses vulgar and predatory language as he describes hitting on a married woman and grabbing women's crotches.

The three-minute video captures Trump reacting to an actress he was about to meet as he arrived on the set of daytime soap opera "Days of Our Lives," for the taping of a segment in which he was to have a cameo appearance, the Post said.

"I've gotta use some Tic Tacs (breath mints), just in case I start kissing her," Trump says to Billy Bush, then host of the "Access Hollywood" show about celebrities.

"You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet," he says.

"I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything."

Trump also is heard bragging about trying to have sex with a married woman.

"I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there. And she was married," Trump says.

The tape was recorded months after Trump married his third wife, Melania, according to the Post.

"I've never said I'm a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone I'm not," Trump said in his apology.

"I pledge to be a better man tomorrow."

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump rejected calls that he step aside as the Republican presidential nominee over lewd videotaped remarks about women, telling The Wall Street Journal on Saturday there is "zero chance I'll quit." "I never, ever give up," the newspaper quoted Trump as saying following calls by some Republicans that he quit the race after being caught in a 2005 videotape boasting of groping women's genitals with impunity. The videotape, released Friday by The Washington Post, forced a rare apology from Trump on the eve of a crucial debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton, and set off an uproar in his Republican party. "Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," Trump said early Saturday in a videotaped statement posted on his Twitter account. It was believed to be the first apology of his 16-month White House campaign, one peppered by controversies over his treatment of women. But Trump then undercut his words, calling the disclosure a "distraction," defiantly attacking the Clintons for husband Bill Clinton's past infidelities, and hinting strongly he would have more to say on the topic in Sunday's debate in St Louis, Missouri. "We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday," he said. In The Wall Street Journal interview, Trump denied his campaign was in crisis, and predicted the controversy would blow over. "The support I'm getting is unbelievable, because Hillary Clinton is a horribly flawed candidate," he said. On Twitter, he said: "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!" 'Sickened' Republican reaction to the videotape came fast and furious, with some calling on him to step aside and others withdrawing their endorsement. Even Trump's running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, said that as a husband and father he was "offended" by Trump's remarks. "I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them," he said in a statement, adding that Sunday night's debate was an opportunity for Trump "to show what is in his heart." Trump's Republican critics want Pence, the vice presidential candidate, to replace the New York billionaire at the top of the ticket. "Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately," said Senator John Thune, a member of the Republican leadership. House Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican officeholder, said he was "sickened" by what he had heard. Trump was supposed to appear Saturday with Ryan at a campaign event in the congressman's home state of Wisconsin, but the Republican nominee was disinvited. Pence was to go in his place, but he canceled. By Saturday, three senators, at least three members of the House of Representatives, and a former governor -- all Republicans -- had called on Trump to bow out of the White House race. Others withdrew their endorsements. "I respectfully ask you, with all due respect, to step aside," urged Utah Senator Mike Lee. Illinois Senator Mark Kirk echoed the sentiment. ".@realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement," Kirk said on Twitter. Campaign in crisis With the November 8 elections one month away and Clinton leading in the polls by nearly five percentage points nationally, the latest uproar has plunged Trump in the deepest crisis of his turbulent campaign. He had already been seriously hurt by a sloppy performance in his first debate with Clinton on September 26, a damaging Twitter war against a former Miss Universe and reports he may have paid no income taxes for 18 years. Clinton, who is seeking to become the nation's first female commander-in-chief, is almost certain to call out Trump about the videotape during the debate. "This is horrific," she said on Twitter. "We cannot allow this man to become president." In the video from 2005, Trump uses vulgar and predatory language as he describes hitting on a married woman and grabbing women's crotches. The three-minute video captures Trump reacting to an actress he was about to meet as he arrived on the set of daytime soap opera "Days of Our Lives," for the taping of a segment in which he was to have a cameo appearance, the Post said. "I've gotta use some Tic Tacs (breath mints), just in case I start kissing her," Trump says to Billy Bush, then host of the "Access Hollywood" show about celebrities. "You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet," he says. "I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything." Trump also is heard bragging about trying to have sex with a married woman. "I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there. And she was married," Trump says. The tape was recorded months after Trump married his third wife, Melania, according to the Post. "I've never said I'm a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone I'm not," Trump said in his apology. "I pledge to be a better man tomorrow."
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Areas of patchy fog early. Periods of rain. High around 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 43F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
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."
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.
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."

"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?"

Source: University of California - Riverside
Stuttering, an interruption in the flow of speech, affects about three million Americans. It begins most often in childhood, affecting four men for every woman. A precise cause of this complex communicative disorder is not known.

A genetically influenced condition, stuttering appears to originate when various aspects of a young child's development interact, and is best addressed with early intervention. No cure for it has been found, but behavioral treatment options are available. Currently, no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug treatments are available.

In an attempt to find a new medicine, a research team at the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside, in partnership with the speech pathology laboratory at the University of Redlands, will conduct a study at CITrials in Riverside, Calif., to determine how effective ecopipam, an orally administered medication, is as treatment against stuttering.

Lab Diagnostics & Automation eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today

Ten volunteers will be selected to participate in the FDA-approved clinical trial. The study, scheduled to begin next month, is seeking volunteers, although space is limited. People interested in participating in the study may contact Gerald Maguire, M.D., the chair of psychiatry and neuroscience at UC Riverside and the associate dean for graduate medical education, who is leading the study: [email protected]

"The study is exploratory," Maguire said. "We are the only site in the world conducting this trial; ecopipam has never been tested for stuttering. It has been tested for treatment of tics in Tourette syndrome, a neurological disease, with some encouraging results. Stuttering shares some similarities to the vocal changes seen in subjects with Tourette syndrome. We are hopeful ecopipam will yield beneficial effects in stuttering."

Ecopipam is a first-in-class drug that selectively blocks the actions of the neurotransmitter dopamine at its receptor. Dopamine receptors can be broadly classified into two families based on their structures: D1 receptors and D2 receptors. Ecopipam blocks dopamine only at D1 receptors, and thus acts differently than other commercially available medications. This mechanism explains why ecopipam is being tested as a potential treatment for stuttering.

The 10 patients selected for the clinical trial next month will undergo a physical examination and their medical history will be recorded. To ensure that their stuttering symptoms are sufficiently severe, their speech patterns will be analyzed by Professor Lisa LaSalle, a speech pathologist at the University of Redlands, and co-investigator on the study. Each patient will receive ecopipam for a limited time.

"We believe we could have results from our analysis in as soon as nine months," Maguire said. "A placebo-controlled clinical trial may then follow, pending approval. If ecopipam is found to be effective in controlling stuttering, we may have a viable solution for a disorder that can be traced back centuries."
Bhubaneswar: The toll due to Japanese Encephalitis disease has gone up to 39 in Odisha's Malkangiri district, an official said on Saturday.



Taking a review meeting here, Health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said while 116 persons were undergoing treatment apprehending they might be suffering from the disease, more than 25 others have returned home after recovery.



He said a team of nine doctors and staff nurses have gone to the affected villages to take stock of the situation and treat those affected by the disease.



The minister, however, said they could not carry out the vaccination process to prevent the disease at this juncture.



The Union Health Ministry, in a reply to a letter from the state government over the outbreak of the disease, has said it will be futile to undertake vaccination in the affected areas now.



According to the ministry the vaccination programme will backfire if carried out now and such a programme can only be undertaken prior to the outbreak, said Nayak.



He also said the government expects to carry out the vaccination process in November this year.



Meanwhile, a central control cell has been set up to tackle the situation even as the state government is seriously contemplating to go for mass culling of infected pigs to check the situation.



The Malkangiri district administration has kept about 2,400 pigs in an enclosure, away from the affected villages.
Tamil Nadus popular and all-powerful chief minister J Jayalalithaa has been under treatment in Apollo Hospital, Chennai, for the last two weeks. On Friday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi dropped by wishing maximum energy to the CM, making him one of the many praying for her speedy recovery. Opposition parties have been demanding regular updates on her health, and the Madras High Court has dismissed a PIL asking more details on her medical condition. In fact, Jayalalithaa has always been a mystery except for a small group of close confidantes. Her media interactions are rare and her public appearances are only for poll gatherings.



Chennai-based journalist Vaasanthi has been tracking J Jayalalithaa for a while. Her first attempt at writing her biography hit a judicial hurdle in 2011 as the book got banned. Vaasanthi is now back with Amma: Jayalalithaas journey from Movie Star to Political Queen. She speaks to CNN News18s Poornima Murali on Jayalalithaas persona and her two-year struggle to know more about the reclusive Amma.



Biographies, especially political biographies, almost always end up as hagiographies in India. Will Amma be any different?

Biography becomes hagiography when you feel obliged to the person you are writing about. That happens when you meet the person, interview and tell the person that you are going to write a book on that person. Then you feel there is a kind of a commitment to always say nice words about the person. I wanted to avoid that and I didnt want to see her before writing the book. I have met her once in 1984 and I have watched her for about 10 years when I was the editor of India Today, Tamil edition. I knew her, I kind of marvelled at her, the way she behaved and she was full of surprises and some of her actions are shocking and unbelievable. Then, I gathered a lot of information from her close friends and other politicians.



Why Jayalalithaa? What about her really fascinated you?

I didnt do it on my own, it wasnt my venture. It was Penguin that asked me to write a biography on her and I hesitated. I didnt want to do it because I knew that she was a very complex person and she doesnt trust the media. I knew she wouldnt want to meet me or she wouldnt even allow me to write if I ask her. I was so hesitant because it was so difficult to get news about her. As journalists, we used to break our heads to get quotes from officials or administers during an important occasion or crisis. We werent able to do that. We couldnt get a single quote from anyone who worked in her government. And she, of course, didnt open her doors to any journalist. It was easy to meet Karunanidhi but not Jayalalithaa. I was very hesitant and I knew she wasnt very tolerant of any criticism. I couldnt write just praising her. So it had to be an honest, balanced view of her profile. So I hesitated to even accept this suggestion by Penguin. But they kept on persuading me and I finally succumbed to their request.



Penguin suggested that you write her biography. Why did they not appeal to the higher courts when the book was banned by the lower courts?

It was exasperating. The case in the lower courts took about one year. Fighting a political power, especially somebody as powerful as Jayalalithaa was not to our advantage at all and Penguin thought enough is enough and it is not worthy of such a fight. It was devastating and I went into depression for two years.



Your book was all set for release by Penguin in 2011 but it was banned. Now it has finally hit the stores. What changed in five years? Did you have to make alterations or cut out a few portions to ensure it saw the light of the day?

Writing about her never crossed my mind. But Juggernaut came to me with a request for a short biography that is a new book. They wanted a new book; it was not the old one at all. They just said a new book about less than 30,000 words that will be suitable for phone apps. Reading on a mobile phone is faster and easier and it doesnt take much of your time. I then consulted my lawyer on whether I could accept because the original book has a permanent injunction from the court. My legal adviser gave me a go ahead and that is how I came to write on this book, which is a short version. The book is just a smaller version and kind of highlights the positive aspects. Many of the things from the big book are not here but I suppose it says enough of Jayas persona.



Is this book a combination of secondary sources and research available online? Have you met people who know her?

I have met a number of people. First, I was very frustrated because I couldnt get hold of her classmates and friends because she moved away from them all. I was about to tell Penguin Im not going to write this book. But a friend of mine gave me a tip: the number of a source. So I got hold of them, through close friends of hers. They gave me a lot of insight into her younger days, which was very revealing of her character and the way she shaped later on. I met a number of her political opponents and her admirers. So it was a long journey. I took two years to write this book.



One leaping anomaly here is that the closest person to Amma, Sasikala is missing from your book. Why so?

I havent missed much. I personally never believed all these kinds of tales her opponents spread about her relationship with Sasikala. I have written about Sasikala but not in great detail. I feel Sasikala is as enigmatic as Amma is. She has not spoken a single word to any journalist. She has been very discreet. I suppose this is her quality that Jayalalithaa likes about her. People say Sasikala sits even in the official meetings that Jayalalithaa has in the house but I dont know how much of it is true. Sasikala has shown that she is very loyal. Because of her closeness to Jayalalithaa, partymen who are not able to approach Jaya feel that all the hurdles are because of Sasikala. They feel Sasikala is behind everything. One will never come to know what the truth is.



The standard portrayal of Jaya is that of a reclusive person who can be vindictive, who is not exactly open to criticism. Did you find her different in person compared to her depiction by the media and in the political circles?

She is not different. She became a dictator because she had to be in the male world, challenging the male world. All women who come to power in a male-dominated field start becoming more and more aggressive. She is by nature vindictive. She arrested Karunanidhi as soon as she came to power because he arrested her, his government arrested her.



Jayalalithaa as a politician has shown exceptional aversion to news about her health in the press? Her reaction to such news has been legal action...

All these leaders, from MGR to Karunanidhi, were intolerant of criticism. MGR was very careful to see that nothing came out about his health problems. He was also secretive, they are all like that. They feel insecure and that is why they dont like any forms of criticism. They want to project themselves as all powerful immortals.



While Jayalalithaa had taken over the mantle from MG Ramachandran after his demise, her political method appears to take after her mentor in some ways but with a few departures. In your observation of the two leaders, where does Jayalalithaa differ from MGR and which character traits has she absorbed?

Jayalalithaa is ruthless, more ruthless than MGR. She is very unforgiving. MGR was like that, but she is more. People tremble before her. She has the party in her grip with such an iron hand because people know they dont exist without her. In MGRs period, there were quite a number of stalwarts and he moved with them in a friendly way. Jaya has no friends except for Sasikala. In the political arena, she is all by herself. She is stricter and more aggressive than MGR was. The charisma is a common trait. She made people believe that she was the chosen heir of MGR. She did copy the populist actions that MGR did, smiling at people, shaking their hands, etc. She would appeal to the emotions of people. Otherwise she had her own style. She did not have to copy MGR, though she did acquire the legacy of MGR.



Have you observed Jaya as a single-woman navigating the ruthlessly male-dominated political landscape in India? I mean, how would you compare her political journey as compared to a Mayawati or a Mamata Banerjee, or even an Indira Gandhi?

Jayalalithaa came from a film background. For a woman to be a film actress was looked down upon by the general public. She came from a Brahmin family. It is amazing how she became the head of the Dravidian party. It is a conventional society in the South and very sexist. Mamata doesnt have to face that kind of an atmosphere in Bengal. She could speak freely to men and have discussion with her ministers in the open which Jayalalithaa cant do. In Tamil Nadu, it will be taken amiss. If you take Indira Gandhi, both of them were courageous but they are totally different. Indira Gandhi had a pedigree support but Jayalalithaa came with no political pedigree to boast of. She came up on her own whereas Indira Gandhi was made the Prime Minister. You cant compare the two.



You have made some observations about how Indira admired Jayalalithaa when she was an MP. Can you elaborate?

Jayalalithaa was fresh, pretty, sophisticated and spoke impeccable English. Her maiden speech in the Parliament was well appreciated by the likes of Khushwant Singh. Even Indira Gandhi was impressed by her presence in Parliament and the way she stood up for issues.



DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this interview are the personal opinions of the interviewee, and News18.com does not warrant its accuracy. The facts and opinions expressed in the interview do not reflect the views of News18.com and are solely attributable to the interviewee. News18.com does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
Modi has the capacity to spring a surprise. One good thing about him is that he is flexible enough to do U-Turns. So I expect a good U-Turn probably in the coming months in our relations and we might see pleasant surprise in relations with South Asia, because Modi and Sharif have a good rapport and I think, Modi is preparing his people for this U turn," Syed said.

Aziz, however, lashed out at India saying Islamabad had been resisting New Delhi's "hegemonistic" attitude in the region and wanted to have bilateral ties on an equal basis.

Indo-Pak relationship has been on a downward spiral ever since the Uri attacks of September 18 when a terror suicide squad attacked an Indian Army brigade HQ in Kashmir after crossing over the Line of Control (LoC).

: The divide in Islamabad on how to handle Narendra Modi as India's Prime Minister came into the open once again on Saturday when two key advisors of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spoke in two different voices: one claimed relations can never improve so long as Modi is PM, while the other felt that if anyone could break legacy in Indo-Pak hurdles it was PM Modi.Sartaj Aziz, Sharif's advisor on foreign affairs, felt that there could be no breakthrough in relations between Pakistan and India so long as Modi is the PM. However, within hours his observations were contradicted by Mushahid Hussain Syed, Sharifs Special Envoy on Kashmir.Hussain who is on a tour to the US told reporters that "Modi was not from the Indian-Delhi establishment, where you have unsmiling crusty old men who are always sulking and who are stuck in old cold war mentality as he is an outsider.""I feel that there would be SAARC Summit in Islamabad. Modi will come there. And he would embrace Nawaz Sharif. I think Modi would realise that this is the way forward," Syed added.Incidentally, Syed is on a US tour to submit to the White House a dossier on India's alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.Meanwhile, Aziz who also doubles up as Pakistan's foreign minister welcomed Home Minister Rajnath Singhs statement that Indias border with Pakistan will be sealed by 2018. He said there was no harm in sealing the Pak-India border if public movement and trade were maintained.Syed, the Kashmir envoy of Pakistan PM, sounded more positive. He said Modi realizes the importance of having normal relationship with Pakistan "because he realises that two important core interest of India are linked with that. Number one relationship with Pakistan and the Kashmir conflict are the biggest impediment in the rise of India. India wants to rise, they want to be on the high table, Nuclear Suppliers Group, UN Security Council etc."Syed said for all these India will have to have a better relationship with Pakistan.In return India managed to diplomatically isolate Pakistan by getting three other south Asian nations to boycott a Saarc summit slated to be held in Islamabad in November.And on September 30, Indian Army staged retaliatory surgical strikes inside Pakistan destroying terror infrastructure across LoC inflicting "significant damages".(With agency inputs)
Chandigarh: 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.




Srinagar: An Indian soldier was injured on Saturday morning as the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked shelling and firing on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.



Police said the Pakistan Army resorted to heavy mortar shelling and firing in Mendhar sector of the LoC.



"Pakistan shelling started at 5am. and continued till 6.30am. The Indian Army retaliated effectively using same caliber weapons," the police said.







The latest ceasefire violation comes a day after Union home minister Rajnath Singh said India aims to completely seal its border with Pakistan by 2018. "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 had said.



Recent weeks have tensions escalate with Pakistan following 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 LoC by the Indian Army.


The Law Commission is asking the people of India to give their opinion on the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code in the country. The Commission plans to release a questionnaire that anybody can fill out and send back within 45 days. The referendum of sorts could ruffle the feathers of many religious groups.



Law Commission Chairman Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan talks to News18.coms Debayan Roy on the application of personal law in India and other issues surrounding the judiciary.



With a lot of debate revolving around the Uniform Civil Code, is there any deliberation over this issue. Reports suggested that the Commission is relying on the Portuguese Civil Code...

No, we have not taken the Portuguese Civil Code in consideration in particular. We are just studying it and we have collected vast material. Muslim personal law needs special attention. We are studying what triple talaq is, what the law governing inheritance is among other issues. Even in Pakistan and Bangladesh, they do not permit more than one wife. Hence, we are at a very preliminary stage.

Now, we have to make a questionnaire and put it up on our website. Whoever wants to reply can do so. The questionnaire will take into consideration all the complaints and suggestions received by us. It will be translated into regional languages. Many people have approached us on this issue. I keep getting postcards every day stating that it is a bad idea and must be scrapped. The questionnaire will give us a perspective on how people react.



But do you think Muslim women have most of their fundamental rights violated on the pretext of the application of the personal law?

The court has held that it does not. After the Shah Bano judgment, The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 came into force. Then it was stated that the Act does not violate any fundamental right. But now, I see a change with so many educated women coming forth. Hence, we are basing our future course of action on the response to the questionnaire. Many mullahs have come to us and discussed these issues as well. They have expressed their objections and we have heard them out. We are even discussing their apprehensions with our legal experts.



There are some serious problems brewing within the Supreme Court collegium and the stalemate between the Chief Justice of India and Justice Chelameswar persists. Is there any end to this conflict?

The issue has been wrongly presented as a case of appointing more judges. The real problem lies elsewhere. We need to fill up the existing vacancies, and this starts at the lower levels. Recently, there were 80 vacancies at the Delhi High Court. Out of that, only 12 could be filled. Rest of the judges could not be appointed and this is because there is a difference between eligible and suitable candidates. You are eligible because you have been practising for years, but I interview you and find that you are not suitable. This may happen even after you clear the written tests. Everybody blames the system but nobody blames our legal education system, which is unable to churn out suitable candidates. I agree that there is a huge pendency of cases, but if there are no proper persons to fill those positions, how do we solve the problem? What purpose will expanding the recruitment drive serve? Lets say the existing vacancies are 5,000. If you enhance the strength to a thousand more, how will you fill them up?



Is there an alternative to this chaos?

Comparatively, Delhi and Mumbai have the best lawyers. If we are unable to fill vacancies in these cities, how do we fill them up at other high courts? We cannot ask an unsuitable person to sit in court and pronounce a death penalty. Nobody knows that we dont get suitable candidates from the huge pool of those available. Hence, enhancing the strength of the judiciary will serve no purpose until the existing vacancies are filled up. We have been the part of the profession, so we know where the thorn pinches.



There has been severe criticism in the media recently of the 21st Law Commission headed by you for not coming out with any reports, whereas the one headed by your predecessor, Justice AP Shah, presented 19 reports in two years. Why the delay?

We have submitted reports, but we do not advertise the fact. People who have written us off saying we do not come up with reports only seem to be addressing personal grievances against me, because, honestly, I was a very unpopular judge. We are doing our work, but we dont want to give the report half-heartedly. We file notices, we hear the people out and then make our own observations. There have been reports that have questioned the Commissions credibility by calling it a Low Commission. The author has gone to the extent of stating that, as a judge, Justice Chauhan used to cite so many laws, precedents, and areas where reforms were needed, but while chairing the Commission, has not delivered any reports. Do you think we should present half-baked reports? Every agency is to be heard and consulted before drafting a legislation. Some agencies request an extension of a few weeks, and we have to give them the extension.

I was a party to the Bombay blast case and that was the biggest case the country ever faced. The file ran into 90,000 cases. We poured 10 months into it. There were 48 appeals against the order, where all those convicted had appealed. So we had to compile all the data and deal with it. So you see, we do not want to advertise the work we do. Its not required. Should we publish something just for the sake of the public or advertisement? Once its ready, it will be presented to the government.



What is the status of the legislation on the issue of parental abduction?

Punjab and Haryana had asked us to look into the issue of parental abduction. We are in the final stages of drafting the legislation and we should release the report anytime now. The issue is a very sensitive one. Suppose the parents are separated and the childs custody has been given to the father. But the mother runs away with the child, violating the court order. What should be done especially when there is no law to handle this. We consulted a lot of lawyers and subject matter experts. A similar case was decided by me, where the mother who abducted the child was in a remote Tamil Nadu village for almost four years. This child was later sent to the father, but the four years the child lost on education and nutrition was irreparable.



After the Bihar High Court struck down the states Liquor Prohibition Act, Nitish Kumar echoed sentiments of bringing in another legislation imposing a liquor ban. Is it defiance of the courts verdict?

Absolutely not. The High Court struck down that piece of legislation because certain provisions were ultra-vires the Constitution. Now, if the Nitish Kumar government can remove these unconstitutional provisions and bring in a new law, then it may be acceptable. Let me tell you from my own experience, many people challenge a particular law, but when the court hears it, the state comes to know of all the problems. If the state removes all these defects, then a new legislation can be presented to the public. The court never bars you from bringing a new piece of legislation. However, the vicious circle continues even with the new Act being challenged in the court.



There have been murmurs in the civil society that the Law Commission must delve into the menace of honour killing. Do you think a legislation on this is the need of the hour?

Here is the point where knowledge among the public plays a crucial role. First, let me clarify, we do not need any specific legislation to deal with honour killing. It is essentially murder with a motive, and hence is liable to be prosecuted under Section 302 (Murder) of the Indian Penal Code. People have to be educated about this issue. Before the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, sagotra vivah (marriage within the same gotra) was prohibited but this bar was removed by the 1955 Act. But people do not know about this and hence this entire problem of honour killing has arisen. Sagotra vivah was prohibited 2,000 years ago. Nobody knows the change to the law, hence the older generation is not ready to accept this change. It is not a legal problem, but only a clash of generations now. The problem is, with no knowledge among the public, such a thing is considered a sin, and is bound only by customs.



After a recent case where the SC upheld the conviction of a Uttar Pradesh-based advocate for criminal contempt for intimidating and threatening a judge in Etah, and recent cases of strikes and violence by lawyers, the Law Commission was asked to regulate the area of misconduct of lawyers. Any developments?

The problem of misconduct of lawyers was highlighted by me in the High Court, where I had passed certain orders, and then the SC upheld them. According to me, only 3% of the entire lot of Indian practitioners create problems. The rest 97% suffer, and along with them, court work also suffers a setback. Most of the lawyers, come here, argue and retire to their respective homes. But the nuisance of strikes and protests is mostly by these 3% jobless lawyers who have nothing to lose. Yes, there is a need to regulate the advocates of this 3% category and for this we have asked every HC in the country to give us recommendations on how to reform this. Chief justices of all high courts have been requested to address the same. Most of the state bar councils have submitted their response. We are still waiting for a few others.



Prashant Bhushan recently submitted a letter to CJI TS Thakur alleging certain professional misconduct of bribery and nepotism against a sitting judge with no response for almost four weeks. Does this nullify the illusionary dream of charging even the powerful for wrongdoings?

Nobody can prosecute a judge without the sanction of the Chief Justice of that particular High Court. Otherwise, a judge would always be under the fear of being charged for any grievance caused to any individual. This is a very internal process, hence cannot be made public. When a letter is submitted to the Chief Justice, he judges the veracity of such claims. If he comes to the conclusion that such complaints are bogus, there is no need for him to proceed. CJI or the Chief Justice of a High Court is a very coveted position. Having said that, one must notice that they are in no way protected. They are in the worst position because if you make any allegation against them, they cannot reply to it, and hence it is often people who answer on their behalf.



You have been the chairperson of the previous Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. In the current atmosphere of a particular state government continuously disobeying the Apex Courts order, is a solution to this crisis a far-fetched dream?

These are political problems. There are looming apprehensions that the Karnataka government may lose the next elections solely on this ground. The Supreme Court knows how to deal with the continuous disobedience of its order. It keeps on extending the time, because it feels that the court will not invoke its power of contempt so soon. There is no ground that a decision taken by the Assembly can bypass the Supreme Court verdict. No one can defy the orders of the Apex Court. Indeed, a request can be made to modify the order, but no disobedience. Hence, the Prime Minister is also now intervening in this matter. Political people do not want to sit together and decide the issue, because it wont have the judiciarys backing and, thus, people would not accept it. Primarily, it is a political problem and not a legal tussle. I am happy that I am no longer a part of it.



Recently, there was an ugly spat in the Supreme Court between senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan and the Honourable Bench. Do you think an Apex Court Bench can deliver judgments based on a fit of anger or revenge, as alleged?

Judges are also human beings and susceptible to losing temper. But a courtroom is paralysed if lawyers and judges do not work together. But a judge certainly never delivers a judgment in anger. The real crux of the Sahara debacle was because of the continuous defiance of the courts orders. At the initial stage, if they would have apologised and stated that they would arrange the money to repay the affected ones, then this situation could have been averted. But they opted for the reverse mechanism where they questioned the courts power. Who were they to interfere? So now, they have to face the wrath of the court. Article 142 is the Bramhastra of the court and it can be used if the situation demands. Sahara could have avoided this by requesting for installments because even the court knows that such a huge amount cannot be recovered in one go.



Advocate Abhay Bharadwaj from Rajkot who defended the accused in the Gujarat riots case has been appointed as a part-time member of the Commission. Do you think his past would hound the Commissions functioning?

I have been a lawyer, I have defended rapists, criminals etc. But the question is, does that make me ineligible to be considered for any position? No. A person should be competent and must deliver at the work front. Nothing else is an impediment.



DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this interview are the personal opinions of the interviewee, and News18.com does not warrant its accuracy. The facts and opinions expressed in the interview do not reflect the views of News18.com and are solely attributable to the interviewee. News18.com does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.


New Delhi: CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday said the Narendra Modi government had created a climate of hate and hostility across the country during its over two-year rule at the Centre.



Referring to various incidents like the lynching of a Muslim in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Budh Nagar on the beef issue and forcing actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui to pullout of a Ram Leela show, the Communist Party of India-Marxist leader said these incidents were not isolated.



"The incident (that happened) in Akhlaq's (Bishada) village, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, slitting of a Dalit's throat and throwing of cow urine at a dandiya event are not isolated ones.



"These are the outcome of a climate of hate and hostility created in the last few years by a government run by an ideology that fans divisiveness," Yechury said on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook.



"While each incident must be handled by the law and order machinery, this politics/ideology of hate and hostility has to be defeated by all Indians," he added.
Dhaka: Bangladeshi security forces killed 11 members of an Islamist militant group on Saturday, most of them dying in a three-hour gun battle on the outskirts of the capital.



Authorities said the dead were believed be members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), blamed for an attack on a cafe in Dhaka in July in which 22 people were killed, mostly foreigners.



The militants were killed in three separate raids on hideouts on the outskirts of Dhaka, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters.



Seven militants were killed in one raid after police were tipped off that the JMB's Dhaka unit chief and his associates were there.



"We requested them to surrender but they opened fire at our officers instead and also exploded grenades, which prompted them to retaliate," Khan said, adding the three-hour gun battle left seven militants dead.



"The dead militants include JMB's Dhaka military commander Akash, which is his organisational name. We are trying to find out his real identity."



Explosives, weapons and machetes were recovered from all three hideouts and three police officers were injured, police said.



The July 1 attack in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter was claimed by Islamic State militants and was one of the most brazen in Bangladesh, which has been hit by a spate of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year.



Police have killed more than three dozen suspected militants in shootouts since the Dhaka cafe attack, including its presumed mastermind, Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.



Chowdhury is reported to have been the subject of a profile in an Islamic State journal called Dabiq that identified him as its top operative in Bangladesh. The Syria-based militant group also published "selfie" photos of the cafe attackers on its propaganda channels while the hostage crisis was continuing.



The government has consistently denied the presence in the country of any transnational militant organisation such as al Qaeda or Islamic State.



But police believe that JMB, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was involved in organising the cafe attack.



The targeting of foreigners could hurt foreign investment in the poor South Asian economy, whose $28 billion garments export industry is the world's second largest. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among those killed in the July attack.



In the past year, al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims over the killings of liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim nation of 160 million.



While authorities blame the violence on domestic militants, security experts say the scale and sophistication of the cafe attack suggested links to a trans-national network.
Beijing: President Xi Jinping on Saturday appointed Luo Zhaohui, a senior diplomat with previous assignments in Pakistan and Canada, as China's new ambassador to India.



Luo, 54, who had also served as Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan previously was China's envoy to Canada from 2014 to 2016.



He is familiar with India as he worked as third and later Second Secretary in Chinese Embassy in India from 1989 to 1993.



He had a four year stint as Ambassador to Pakistan starting from 2006.



Later Luo served as director general of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2014.



He will take over from former Chinese ambassador to India Le Yucheng who left New Delhi in April, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.


Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family has rejected the allegations levelled against it by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, saying that it does not own any business in India.



According to Geo News, the Sharif family's spokesperson said the Prime Minister's kin do not own and run any businesses in India.



Imran Khan should not misguide the nation by spreading such propaganda, and should be ashamed of making baseless allegations.



Imran Khan has time and again claimed that the Sharif family has businesses in India, although it has always been denied by the latter as baseless.



In September, PTI's Tahirul Qadri had also pointed out ties between Indian workers and the Sharif family which were later refuted by the Managing Director (MD) Sharif Group of Industries Yousaf Abbas Sharif, saying that not a single Indian is working in the Sharif family sugar mill.



Imran Khan last year said Sharif had earned $60 million from his business with India including setting up of two new sugar mills.
Cape Town: Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu shed tears of gratitude on his 85th birthday Friday as he presided over a cathedral Mass despite his poor health. And in a newspaper column, the former archbishop said he would like to have the option of a "dignified assisted death" when the time comes.



Tutu was brought into St. George's Cathedral in a wheelchair but 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 humor, drawing laughter. He was comforted by another priest and his daughter, Mpho Tutu van Furth.



Tutu, an anti-apartheid campaigner who spoke on human rights long after the 1994 end of white minority rule in South Africa, has been hospitalized 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," Tutu wrote.



He said he supported initiatives for assisted dying laws in Britain, the United States, 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," Tutu 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."



Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his peaceful campaign against apartheid. His birthday this year fell on the same day that Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the prize for efforts to end war in his country.



South African President Jacob Zuma said Tutu made big 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," Zuma said.


Washington: President Barack Obama on Friday lifted U.S. economic sanctions on the former pariah state of Myanmar, the culmination of years of rapprochement that Obama has worked to facilitate.



The Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, has pursued political reforms over the last five years following decades of oppressive military rule.



Obama had announced plans to lift the sanctions last month, when Myanmar's new civilian leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, visited the Oval Office. Suu Kyi concurred it was time to remove all the sanctions that had hurt the economy and urged Americans to come to the country and "to make profits."



The U.S. has already eased broad prohibitions on investment and trade but had retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta. U.S. companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asia's last untapped markets.



Friday's executive order lifts those restrictions. It removes the national emergency with respect to Myanmar  the executive order authorizing sanctions that has been renewed annually by U.S. presidents for two decades. It also lifts a ban on the importation of jadeite and rubies from Myanmar, and removes banking restrictions.



"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," Obama wrote in a letter to the leaders of Congress. He said the U.S. intends to use other means to support Myanmar in the "significant challenges" it still faces.



Some Myanmar nationals remain on the Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals under other sanctions authorities, such as those intended to block the drug trade, a Treasury statement said. This bars them from any business dealings with the U.S. They include alleged drugs kingpin Wei Hsueh Kang and other figures from the United Wa State Army, one of Myanmar's biggest ethnic armed groups.



Among those taken off are the ex-junta chief, Than Shwe, and the founder of one of the nation's largest conglomerates, Stephen Law, whose late father was once described by Treasury as one of the world's key heroin traffickers. Also taken off were military officials added to the blacklist since 2013 for alleged arms trading with North Korea, such as Lt. Gen. Thein Htay, chief of the Directorate of Defense Industries.



Treasury said that while all those designated under the Myanmar sanctions authority have been delisted, it retains the authority to designate any individuals or entities under other sanctions programs, including on North Korea and counter-narcotics, if it determines they meet the criteria.



Human rights groups have argued that lifting sanctions is premature as the U.S. will lose leverage over Myanmar's powerful military. Despite the election victory by Suu Kyi party last year, the military still wields major political and economic influence.



Sen. Ben Cardin, top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced support for the sanctions action but concern over the plight of Rohingya Muslims, ethnic reconciliation and reform of a junta-era constitution that guarantees the military a quarter of parliamentary seats.



"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," Cardin said in a statement, noting that Suu Kyi had raised the issue when she met with senators during her Washington visit last month.



Obama's outreach to Myanmar has reflected his willingness to engage with American adversaries  others being Cuba and Iran. The administration has also sought to promote U.S. strategic interests in Asia. During its years of international isolation, Myanmar was heavily reliant on its northern neighbor China, which remains a key source of trade and investment.




Lahore: A lawmaker from Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party has questioned the government over its continued patronage to JuD chief and mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack Hafiz Saeed, describing it as a reason for international isolation of the country.



"Which eggs is Hafiz Saeed laying for us that we are nurturing him? The efficacy of our foreign policy speaks for itself when we could not curtail Hafiz Saeed," PML-N parliamentarian Rana Muhammad Afzal said during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday.



India has built such a case against us about the JuD chief that during the meeting on Kashmir, foreign delegates mention Saeed as the bone of contention between Pakistan and India, Afzal said.



He recalled his recent trip to France, where he had been tasked to explain the worsening situation in Kashmir and said that the name of Saeed was brought up time and again by foreign delegates as he is considered a notorious character in international circles.



Furious over Afzal's remarks, Saeed asked Sharif to take action against such people in the ruling party.



"I caution Nawaz Sharif to be aware of his foolish friends who are hurting the Kashmir cause. They must have some hidden agenda which the premier should dig out, Saeed said in response.



He said such elements are trying to create differences between the Pakistan army and the civilian government and this will be very dangerous for the country.



Saeed also asked the prime minister to give extension to Army Chief General Raheel Sharif who is retiring next month.


Pakistans spy chief faces an early exit from his job, a newspaper report said on Saturday, days after the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes to dismantle the terror infrastructure in Pakistan-held territory.Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, director general of the power Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is likely to be replaced within the next few weeks, Pakistans The Nation newspaper said citing official sources.The report quoted an unnamed official who said Akhtar will likely switch places with Karachi commander Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar. The swapping makes sense as Akhtar has already served in Karachi as Director General of the Sindh Rangers, The Nation quoted the official as saying.The change of guard, however, depends on when Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif retires, the official said. It depends on whether the army chief gets an extension or retires as announced. I dont think the notification of other changes in military command will come before that. There are a lot of variables involved, the official told The Nation.General Sharif, whose political ambitions, have kept Pakistans political fraternity, particularly Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on tenterhooks, had announced earlier this year that he would not seek an extension and retire as planned in November.The Nation said a spokesman for the countrys military denied the report, saying Akhtar will serve until his three-year term ends November next year.The development comes amid increasing friction between the government and army in Pakistan over the Uri attack, its diplomatic fallout and the Indian Armys retaliatory surgical strikes.Highly-placed sources in the Pakistani government told CNN-News18 that an increasingly assertive Sharif is of the view that the Army and its support to non-state actors like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba is spoiling the image of the country and his government abroad. Sharif has also taken it up with the Army the Pakistan Foreign Offices concerns on four neighbouring nations siding with India in boycotting the SAARC summit following the Uri attacks.On the other hand, the Pakistani Army establishment is livid over the CNN-News18 expose where a senior intelligence officer in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir confirmed the surgical strikes by Indian Special Forces that took place on September 30. The Army is furious that a civilian officer gave away details that Army had been steadfastly denying, including its hand in terror movement across the Line of Control (LoC).Meanwhile, the civilian administration has told the Pakistani Army that it is difficult to keep a permanent lid on such information.
Washington: Pakistan felt the need to develop close ties with Russia after the "U-turn" in US policy towards India, one of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's special envoys has said and alleged that America is strengthening ties with India for "political gains".



In a programme organised by the think tank Atlantic Council in Washington, Mushahid Hussain Syed said, "We (Pakistan) are observing a change in US diplomatic policy".



Hussain said "every action has a reaction, and Pakistan felt the need to develop close ties with Russia after President Barack Obama's two visits to India.



"This was the start of a new chapter in Pakistan-Russia ties," Hussain was quoted as saying by Dawn News.



The senator added that Russia is in favour of building a working relationship with countries of the region and it has also started a dialogue process with Afghan Taliban through back-door channels.



He said the US State Department had refused to give visa to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2006, but when Modi was elected as Prime Minister, the US changed its policy for "political gains".



"This U-turn of US policy can be traced back to the time of Bush administration, when the US-India nuclear deal was signed which was against the law of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Hussain.



"Stability of Afghanistan and eradication of terrorism is a top priority of the US, which needs Pakistan to play a role in the peace-process. Pakistan is not only providing its assistance in the peace process but also facing damages," the senator said.



He also said that violating Indus Waters Treaty will be an "act of war".





"Apart from Pakistan and India, the World Bank is also a stakeholder in the treaty," said Hussain.



Commenting on the Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir, Husain said, "UN military observer group for India and Pakistan should investigate the Uri attack. Crossing the Line of Control to attack any target in India is not possible for any militant."


The town of Jeremie suffered the full force of the category 4 storm, leaving tens of thousands stranded. The windstorm passed over Haiti on October 4, with heavy rains and winds. While the capital Port au Prince was mostly spared from the full strength of the class 4 hurricane, the western cities of Les Cayes and Jeremie received the full force sustaining wind and water damage across wide areas. (Photo Credit: AFP)
RICHMOND  Twenty-three people accused of trespassing in front of the Governors Mansion were arrested Wednesday following a peaceful, three-day protest urging Gov. Terry McAuliffe to reject a pair of proposed fracked-gas pipelines, require power companies to clean up or move coal ash ponds before closing them, and pass measures to prevent rising sea levels.

Were fed up, said Russell Chisholm, of Newport in Giles County. Were not professional activists. Were real people who are being impacted by and care deeply about these issues. Enough that were willing to risk arrest to make our point.

The protesters, organized by Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a Maryland-based nonprofit fighting global warming, totaled about 50 people on their third day of activity around the capitol grounds. About half stepped up their efforts by blocking the mansions entrance in hopes of sending a stronger message to McAuliffe. The group said the governor has failed to meet with them time and time again and their opposition has fallen on deaf ears.

I am here today to remind Governor McAuliffe that when called to serve I did not shrug my shoulders and claim, Not my job, Chisholm, an Army veteran who served in Desert Storm, told the crowd. He was referencing McAuliffes response in a recent interview where the governor stated he could not stop the pipeline project, even if he wanted to, which is in the midst of a lengthy environmental review process by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The governors office did not respond to requests for comment.

Chisholm lives within walking distance of the Appalachian Trial and just a few miles from the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline that would extend almost 300 miles from Wetzel County, West Virginia, to an existing pipeline hub in Pittsylvania County. He smiled and held a clenched fist in the air as officers from the Virginia Capitol Police escorted him to a tent set up in area cordoned off crime scene tape.

Nelson County resident Deborah Kushner also was among the 23 people arrested Wednesday.

The Atlantic Coast Pipelines route comes within five miles of my home, and I'm lucky, Kushner said in a news release. I know people whose land is in the direct path of this pipeline.  If it takes marching, picketing and getting arrested, so be it. We are fighting for our survival.

Lee Williams, of Richmond, said she wanted to be arrested because she felt her voice wasnt being heard through the other means.

I have testified at water board meetings, talked about cancer clusters and the ill effects of fracking. Ive called my senators, delegates, local lawmakers. I written letters, Williams said. Ive gotten blank stares. I feel like my voice is not being heard. Ive tried democracy.

Instead, the group resorted to an act of civil disobedience. On Wednesday at about 12:30 p.m., the group, ranging from college students to an 83-year-old woman, lined up in front off a gate that leads to the governors mansion and chanted. They even notified Capitol Police ahead of times saying some of them wanted to be arrested to make their point.

Officers asked each protester individually to disperse and warned that they would be arrested if they did not comply. When they did not leave, the protesters were issued summons for trespassing and escorted off the premises. They will have to appear in Richmond General District Court in November for a hearing.

Nearly all of those arrested smiled and joked with the officers who never raised a hand or weapon.

These are regular people and they have a cause, said Capt. Raymond Goodloe, deputy chief of operations for the Division of Capital Police. Everyone was compliant  well, except when they were asked to move from blocking the driveway.

Katharine Layton, of Fort Valley, said she hopes their actions will inspire more people to speak out.

We want people to know they dont have to take things lying down, Layton said.
GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us.
Day the sky opened

The story goes, according to agloablworld.com/holidaysaround- the-world, Korea was founded in southern Manchuria in the basins of the Liao and Taedong Rivers. Going by the legend, at the beginning the world did not exist. A deity named Yul-ryeo and a goddess named Mago appeared.

Yul-ryeo then died and Mago in turn gave birth to two goddesses: Gung-hee and So-hee. They in turn each gave birth to two Men of Heaven and two Women of Heaven.

After the appearance of the Heavenly People, Yul-ryeo is revived and through her re-birth heaven, earth, and the oceans were created, along with soul, fire, water, and earth. These four elements in turn mixed and became herbs and plants, birds and animals.

There were four Heavenly Men guarding each cardinal direction of the fortress, who were children of So-hee. They in turn married the four Heavenly Women, and gave birth to twelve children, who would become the ancestors of the humans. This is believed to be the creation of Mankind. On October 4 at the Hyatt Regency, Trinidad and Tobago the Republic of Korea celebrated its National Foundation Day. The sky opened to give a glimpse between the relations between South Korea and TT.

South Korean Ambassador Doo-Young Lee spoke to deepening cultural ties with Trinidad and Tobago. He said, It is one of the most auspicious and important days for the people of Korea. He said he hoped one day a united Korea would be possible. He noted that the North Korean nuclear issues remained its biggest challenge to peace and security in the country.

Lee said that at the recently concluded UN Security Council meeting that appropriate and comprehensive sanctions were taken against North Korea.

He agreed with sentiments shared by Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dennis Moses at the UN General Assembly that the use of nuclear weapons constituted a crime against humanity and a violation of international law. He said since diplomatic relations between TT and South Korea began in 1985 the two countries extended their friendly co-operation to all areas. Moses brought greetings on behalf of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and the people of TT. He said it was clear that Korea was founded on strong fundamentals.

Over the last 12 months, he said, TT and Korea have, worked toward strengthening our relationship. A major development has been an agreement to commence in December 2016, the first round of negotiations of an agreement to get rid of trumped-up taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion, he said. The finalisation of this tax treaty would, serve to boost foreign direct investment and create an atmosphere for increased bilateral economic activity, Moses said TT nationals also continued to enjoy access to scholarships provided by the Korean Government, two of whom began their education in Korea in 2016, Moses said. Past participation in the programme has created an awareness of the Korean experience and increased the language capacity in the foreign service, Moses said.

Culture, Moses said, has been used as a tool to deepen ties between the two countries. Regionally, Korea was set to host later this month a forum for Korean/Caribbean partnership on the theme of climate change and security.

Although TT was not participating in this forum, such dialogue was always welcomed, Moses said.

Among the guests at the event were Chief Justice Ivor Archie, House Speaker Bridgid Annisette- George and chairman of Port Authority Board Christine Sahadeo.

Guests at the event were treated to performances by the Korean Traditional Music Association of America which was established in 2012. The group began by performing a dance with the Janggu Chum (a double- headed drum shaped like an hour-glass). Approximately six women dressed in fuchsia and green Hanbok  the traditional Korean wear worn daily until 100 years ago, danced and sang to songs reminiscent of the Indian Tabla. This was then followed by a riveting performance on the Gayageum - a Korean board Zither with 12 or 25 strings. The performer began by playing an identifiable American classic and then shifted to a more traditional sound then moved to an up beat EDM style sound.

This was followed by the Hwea Sang a dance which represented the transience of life and which showed a character that was reminiscent of one seen in many Kung Fu movies.

This was followed by the singing of traditional Korean folk songs known as Pansori and Arirang.

The event ended with Ipchum Sogo - a dance which employs the use of a, tabor-like small drum that is used toward the end of the dance as a way to release the energy.
Haiti needs our help once more

While Jamaica was also under a storm watch, it was not hit as badly as Haiti.

I do hope we understand what Haiti is going through - loved ones killed, some missing, farms and lifestock destroyed, and life just suddenly thrown into chaos and confusion.

While we in TT have been lucky to escape the impact of a storm or hurricane, we must reach out for those in Haiti with compassion.

We may be in our own storm with our present economic situation, but so are many others and maybe it is an opportunity for us to practise the principle, Give and it shall be given unto you. I do hope that both the Government and the Opposition will take the people of Haiti into consideration, those who were not speared the venom of Matthew, as they debate the Budget in Parliament.

We must give Haitians our support.

The same way we reached out to Venezuela, we must reach out to Haiti and with our hearts and our help.

As citizens we can always keep them in our prayers and if there are any arrangements by NGOs to do something we can in our own small way contribute.

Remember, we are our brothers keeper and love is more understood when it is demonstrated by doing.

ARNOLD GOPEESINGH via email
Barber shop gunplay

Hassan Ali of Farfan Street, Diego Martin remains warded in critical condition after being shot in his head. The other injured men were identified as Jonathan Vincent (shot in the buttocks); Antonio Credlo (shot in the shoulder) and Afzard Khan who was shot in the lower back, right arm and stomach. Inspector Kenneth Morgan was shot near his groin. According to reports, at 12.15 pm, two men entered the barber shop with one asking for tickets for the Chinatown Jouvert party which is expected to be held next Monday.

The other man drew a firearm and announced a robbery. The bandits quickly began relieving the patrons in the barber shop of their valuables and demanded that the cash earned from the sale of the party tickets be handed over. They were unaware that one of the customers awaiting a haircut was Insp Morgan. The officer drew his personal, licensed firearm and challenged the bandits and a shootout ensued.

During the shootout, one the bandits tried to escape but one was shot by Insp Morgan. The bandit, who is not yet identified, slumped to the ground and bled out, a gold chain clutched tightly even in death in one of his hands. The other bandit jumped into a car parked nearby and drove off. A report was made to police and officers led by Snr Supt Basdeo Ramdhanie visited the scene. Morgan was rushed to West Shore Medical while the injured civilians were taken to Port-of-Spain General Hospital. A manhunt was underway last night for the other bandit.

Alis relatives last night said they were praying for his recovery saying that he is a caring and friendly person. When I heard that he had been shot, I just broke down in tears, said a relative who asked not to be named. He is such a lovely person. I knew that something had to be wrong because he was never involved in anything like this. Acting Commissioner of Police Harold Phillip commended Insp Morgan, who is on vacation leave, describing him as a hero for confronting the two bandits despite staring down the barrels of the criminals guns.
Government not surrendering to crime

To date there has never been an approved national security policy for Trinidad and Tobago, Dillon told the House of Representatives yesterday in his budget presentation .

Noting that there have been drafts before, he said, that former national security minister Brigadier John Sandy had begun a draft and he continued with it .

I give him credit for that, he said. Without that policy, he said, the agencies of national security will almost be fishing. The policy, he said, informs the strategies for the law enforcement, defence, immigration, prisons, and fire services. While crime and security issues are being dealt with on a daily basis, he said, it was important to have the overarching long term national security policy .

Describing the national security policy as a major game changer, he said, the establishment of a Joint Border Protection Agency will be another that will make a difference in the issues of crime and criminality as far as the movement of guns and drugs are concerned. The establishment of a JBTA along with a national security policy document are among initiatives to curb crimes in Trinidad and Tobago .

To move the JBTA initiative, Dillon said that a team has worked on the project moving it from the conceptual stage to a policy document which he received two weeks ago. He will take the policy document to Cabinet, he said, in the shortest possible time. I believe that the Marine security environment is one of our vulnerabilities. Another game changer, he said, is the upgrading of the Forensic Science Centre with ISO certification, the recruitment of a DNA custodian and staff, and a location to house them have been identified .

The DNA custodian, he said, is at present negotiating with the Chief Personnel Officer a remuneration package and he expected to be fully on board by next month. In response to Tabaquite MP Dr Suruj Rambachan that Government was surrendering in the war against crime, he said he will not surrender to crime and call a State of Emergency .

It means in the area of national security, when you call a State of Emergency. That is when you surrender, he said .

Crime did not start yesterday, he said, but goes way back with the problem getting out of hand when the countrys borders were left to the threats that now confront it .

The opposition has contributed to the delay in the hiring of a Commissioner of Police, he said, and the failure to support the Bail Bill and Anti Gang Act has led to over 600 gangsters being granted bail. Due to the disarray of the state of national security, he said that a two-prong approach - to treat with policy and strategic interventions and to deal with the realities on the ground had to be taken .

To deal with issues pertinent to national security such as the movement of illegal guns and drugs coming across the borders, terrorism, and cyber crime that is wreaking havoc, Dillon said, Government has engaged the help of agencies in the Ministry of National Security, chambers of commerce and the international community .

On the increase in murder by about 4.2 percent for this year compared to last year, he said, it was intolerable. Gang related murders accounted for 99; drug related, 60; revenge, 49; domestic violence, 43; and altercation, 29. To curb the murders, he said, increased patrols are being conducted from operational bases set up in hot spot areas with support from the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force .

In the Central area, he said, a number of hot spots have been identified and joint patrols are in effect. Negotiations are in place, he said, to operationalise a base for both police and army in the area. Based on the patrols, he said, 7,976 have been arrested and charged .
Sleeping mom smothers baby

Next to the baby was his (the newborn) mother who was asleep. On realising his son was barely breathing, the man awoke his wife and they both rushed the babe to the Chaguanas Health Centre.

Police said that despite attempts to revive the baby, he died shortly after arriving at the centre. A report was made and police officers later interviewed the deeply traumatised mother.

Officers said that the death of the baby is being deemed an accident and no further investigation will be carried out. Officers extended their condolences to the Felicity family and offered counselling to the grieving parents via the Police Victims Support Unit.
Veteran masman Stephen Derek dies

President of the National Carnival Bands Association David Lopez, told Newsday that Derek was at his (Derek) mas camp DMidas Associates in Woodbrook when he complained of feeling unwell.

He was rushed to the hospital where he died. Lopez described Derek as one of this countrys prolific mas designers and wire benders.

He was an artist, he created costumes for his bands, he also produced Carnival bands, regionally and internationally.

He also produced many winning kings and queens and he occupied winners row for many years with some of his major presentations.

The mas fraternity is pooper for his passing, he said. Lopez said the NCBA has a mas academy which is sponsored by Republic Bank, where they work with schools throughout the country teaching students about mas and he hopes to archive the works of Dereks and other mas men for the younger generation to see the work they produced. In an interview with TV6 last night Dereks son Stephen Jr, said funeral arrangements are still yet to be made.

He added this father passed doing what he loved best, making mas.
SC remebered as a patriot and family man

He was one of several to pay tribute to Alexander who died on October 1. He was 88.

His funeral service was held yesterday at the St Charles Roman Church, Tunapuna, after which there was a private cremation.

There was standing room only as many of those within the legal fraternity paid their respects to this man who also had strong roots within Trinidad and Tobagos labour movement.

Among those attending were Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his wife Sharon, who is an attorney, President Anthony Carmona, Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Stuart Young, Israel Khan, SC, Senate President Christine Kangaloo, attorney Gregory Delzin and former president of the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC), Robert Guiseppi.

Armour said Alexander, a former president of the Law Association, and who acted as an Independent senator on several occasions, had always hoped to improve the transparency of the legal fraternity.

He said Alexanders lifes work had impacted on a great many of todays practising members of the law fraternity.

Armour added that in his lifes work, Alexander protected Trinidad and Tobago in all manners of the law.

The law was his life. It was his work to support and maintain justice and rule of law.

We salute his perennial search of truth, Armour said of the man who was born to Grenadian parents and grew up in Point Fortin. He was also a Queens Royal College old schoolboy.

Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) leader, David Abdulah, said Alexander was committed to improving humanity.

He said he was an activist in the union movement and the law was his weapon.

He said to say that Alexander was a wonderful human being was to say the obvious.

Alexanders grandson Caleb Frederick, who delivered the eulogy, described his grandfather as extremely hardworking, adding that his work ethics were very important to him.

Frederick recollected the times his grandfather took the family to annual trips to Toco where he insured that they spend quality time together.

He was an intelligent man, he was extremely hardworking. His career was very important to him, and so were his work ethics, he said.

Despite his devotion to his work, however, Alexander made sure he kept his family on the straight and narrow path.

Frederick said Alexander had a love for jazz mausic, something that transferred to him.

He added that during Carnival, for his grandfather, Desperadoes was the steel band of choice.

Fr Clyde Harvey, who was officiant and delivered the homily, said while Alexander was a lawyer, he saw it not as a questioning of abusing the legal system, it was embodying the law.
Baby mysteriously burnt, dad seeks answers

Khan said on the morning of September 24, he reported the matter to the Princes Town Police Station but is still awaiting word in relation to the matter.

As a father, if I had handed over my infant son to his mother with these type of marks about his body, I know police would have held me already. To support his claims that someone burnt his son, Khan, a vegetable farmer of Lengua Road, Indian Walk also burnt the inside of his own right hand with a cigarette lighter to demonstrate that the scars are similar.

Pointing to his hand, he added: Look the scars, they are the same. Khan said police officers sent him to the Princes Town Health Facility where he received a medical certificate.

Just as the doctors examined him they called the police, Khan recalled.

Speaking yesterday at his home as he held Ibrahim in his arms, the father of two said the youngster, who is just learning to walk, is forced to stand on his toes because of the injury to his foot. According to Khan, his suspicions first arose when the relative only brought his two-year-old son Khaleel to his home. He said he questioned the whereabouts of Ibrahim and was told that he was with other relatives. Khan said he was uncomfortable with the response and questioned further only to be informed that the child had been burnt. She said she was afraid to tell me because I would get on. One week later, she brought Ibrahim to his home and he discovered what he said appeared to be burn marks. He reported the matter to the police.

Doctors, Khan said, counted 11 marks on Ibrahims right leg, eight on his left leg, six marks between his neck and shoulder and a wound under his foot.

Khan gave clear time lines and displayed saved text messages of conversations he had with the relative regarding his sons injuries.

Khan says he pays a weekly maintenance for his children of $600 and has a verbal arrangement that they spend weekends with him. Yesterday, police confirmed that the matter was reported.
Medical tests for injured fire officer

According to Acting Chief Fire Officer Roosevelt Bruce, six fire fighters were injured from the high tension wire on Thursdays rescue mission.

He said Gibson and five other fire fighters were rendering rescue aid to several stranded commuters and a maxi taxi driver on the Priority Bus Route (PBR), in the vicinity of Barataria when the fire officers came in contact with a live electrical wire.

All six officers, rested comfortably at Mt Hope hospital, and the doctors are still running some tests on officer Gibson. He sustained burns on his body and they are checking to ensure that there are no unseen injuries, like internal organs, Bruce explained.

On Thursday, several communities across the country were affected by flood waters and fallen trees due to gusty winds, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.
Clean-up continues after South floods

One of the areas severely affected was the district of La Romaine as many residents including schoolchildren were unable to attend classes as their uniforms and school textbooks were damaged.

The nearby La Romaine Secondary School also remained closed.

Trucks were seen transporting gravel, dirt and damaged furniture and appliances out of many homes.

Speaking to Newsday yesterday, resident Dianne Williams of George Street, La Romaine said that residents were still in a state of shock.

I went to work, but my husband stayed home to clean and wash out the mud and silt that remained inside the house and everyone around was also cleaning.

All we can do is clean and there is still so much more cleaning to be done, the mother of three explained.

Williams said many of the residents are still traumatised.

Something like this has never happened in this area before and everyone is hurting because they have lost so much.

This is going to be really hard. Williams said many of the children will also suffer as they would not be able to attend classes.

All we have is each other now and we must be there for each other.

Everyone is coming together to help out each other, Williams told Newsday.

Thursdays flooding was preceded by heavy rains across the country.

Fire appliances were also called out to assist many of the residents who were marooned in their homes.
Lawyer calls on title registration reform

Attorney Sarfraz Alsaran is again calling for a reform of the system of title registration and for stricter scrutiny of the process.

Alsaran made the call after High Court judge, Justice James Aboud ordered that a fraudulent deed be expunged from the system.

The case before the judge was Alsarans second involving land fraud. Alsarans client, Joan Augusta Lowhars late husband ,Osmond Selassie Lowhar, left her 25 acres in St Anns.

She continued using the land for agricultural purposes after lawfully transferring the property in her name in 2001.

Four years later, Lowhar entered into agreement for sale of the land when it was discovered by the prospective buyers that the lands had been sold by the widow in 2011.

According to Lowhars case before the court, the deed which purportedly sold the land to a Shamatie Kandhar s i ngh-De Leon was dated August 2011, but registered four years later in 2015.

The deed was prepared by attorney Dr Wesley Debideen, who was gunned down at the Grand Bazaar mall in 2013. Lowhar said she did not know who Kandaharsingh-De Leon was since she never met her and was never at Debideens offices in Port-of-Spain to execute any deed of conveyance. She also said she never met any Sheldon Gonzales who allegedly witnessed the transaction and signed the fraudulent deed as being a witness to the transaction.

A les pendens (formal notice) was immediately filed to prevent the land from being conveyed to a third party and a High Court action to set aside the deed was initiated by Lowhars attorney.

After investigations, it was discovered that the address for Kandharsingh- De Leon did not exist, nor could she be found and there was no record of her on the Elections and Boundaries Commission registered voters database.

An advertisement for service was published in the daily newspapers in January of this year and Kandharsingh-De Leon never appeared.

A trial was held on October 3, and Justice Aboud ruled that the fraudulent deed be struck out and ordered it to be expunged.

Alsaran said, Land fraud cases like this one and many others before are by no means isolated events . These cases have been happening over a period of time and until the necessary steps are taken by the relevant authorities to totally curtail such fraud, situations like this will continue to occur with frequency. Reform of the whole system of title registration and its requirements should be scrutinised. In March, Alsaran also appeared alongside attorney Larry Lalla in a similar land fraud case which arose after bailiffs demolished the home of pensioner Deonarine Sookdeo in St Augustine by a man who had fraudulently obtained a deed for the property. When Sookdeos attorneys conducted a search in the land registry they found that three false deeds had been affixed to documents relating to the ownership of the property, including one from April 2001, which purported to show that Sookdeos brother Ramnarine effected the sale to a Moonie Mungal.

In the two other deeds, originating in May and November 2013, the property was transfered from Mungal to William Bovell and then to Christopher Tiwarie, who allegedly commissioned the bailiff to evict Sookdeo.

In January, the Law Association made a similar call to police as Lalla, as it said it was aware multiple incidents of land fraud, some of which were perpetrated by attorneys.

The association is in the process of collating a database of these suspicious deeds and questionable transactions, as well as meeting with several stakeholders in order to address this problem, it said
Death Toll in

Bridge Collapse Hits 132 UPDATED

advertisement

Woman: My Dad Was

Serial Killer; I Helped

Bury the Bodies in case you missed it

advertisement

Superheroes Keep

Romance at Bay box office

First They Found Her Sandals,

Then a Bloated Snake in case you missed it

advertisement

Obama Heckled as He Talks

About Political Civility video

advertisement

For 77 Years, Nobody Noticed

It Was Hanging Upside Down

in case you missed it

Town Balks at $110M Mansion

Teardown: 'It's Kind of Gross' IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

advertisement

State Watchdog Agrees With

NTSB on Blame in Limo Crash updated

Stampede at Halloween Event

Kills at Least 146 in Seoul updated

Airline Gets Creative in Getting

Travelers to Take Middle Seat IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

advertisement

The Cardboard Box

Just Got Political longform

advertisement
(Newser)  Not only do cod "speak" to each other, but they have "regional fish accents"kind of like the aquatic version of a southern drawland that could be bad news for fish-and-chips lovers, Wired reports. According to the Boston Globe, marine biologist Steve Simpson recently started a two-year project to study the sounds surrounding cod. Cod "speak" by vibrating their swim bladders, but the noises they make vary based on where their breeding grounds are located. For example, US cod make a "deep thumping sound," while cod in Norway make a "higher-pitched sound, with a long growl," USA Today reports. Similar "regional dialects" have been detected in birds and various mammals, including, obviously, humans.

The problem is that rising ocean temperatures are forcing cod north, and they're bumping up against groups with different accents. Simpson says this could hurt their ability to successfully breed, the Telegraph reports. Male cod use sounds to convince females to release their eggs. That process would be difficult if they can't understand each other. But that's not the only problem. Noise from boats and other man-made sources could be making it harder for the cod to hear each other. "We may find that the gossip essential to their society is being drowned out," Wired quotes Simpson as saying. "If we value our fish stocksor our Friday night fish supperwe need to understand this. (The "holy grail" of ornamental fish is disappearing.)
(Newser)  Police in Dundee, Scotland found themselves in the news across the country after publicly wondering why a chicken was crossing the road. Police appealed for information after the bird was found "giving passing motorists cause for concern" Friday morning, the BBC reports. Three officers chased the chicken through the city's streets what social media users described as "the funniest thing ever," reports the Courier. They eventually caught the bird, which was taken to a police station and will remain in custody until the owner can be traced. (Read more Scotland stories.)
(Newser)  The US bluntly accused Russia on Friday of hacking American political sites and email accounts in an effort to interfere with the upcoming presidential election, the AP reports. Moscow dismissed the accusations, which significantly worsen US-Russia relations that already had deteriorated to the lowest point in years. The White House declined to say whether the hacking accusation would trigger sanctions against Russia. A senior Obama administration official said the US would respond "at a time and place of our choosing." The official said the public wouldn't necessarily know what actions the US has already taken or will take against Russia involving cyberspace.

"This is a huge deal," said Michael Morell, the former deputy and acting director of the CIA. "I can't think of any time in our history where we have blamed another government for trying to interfere with our elections." Late Friday, the US Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence accused Russia of hacking American political sites. "These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process," a statement by the two agencies said. "The Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia...We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities." A Kremlin spokesperson dismissed the US statement but didn't deny Russia's involvement. (Read more Russia stories.)
(Newser)  British police have warned about people in clown outfits acting suspiciously and sometimes wielding knives as they follow people. The warning Saturday follows a string of incidents in recent days in an apparent effort to copy clown-related threats in the United States, the AP reports. Police in Gloucestershire said there have been six reports of clowns acting suspiciously and sometimes in a threatening way. Police say no arrests have been made because the people dressed as clowns have left the scene before police arrived. The incidents in Gloucestershire followed earlier reports of clown-related disturbances in other parts of Britain.

Police said a masked man with a knife jumped out and threatened children in Durham on Friday and that several people dressed as clowns chased a young boy the day before in Suffolk. "We are aware of the current trend in America of people dressing up as clowns, which has reached the UK and received some publicity in the media," a Cheshire police spokesperson tells the Manchester Evening News. "While we appreciate Halloween is just a short time away, scaring peopleespecially children and vulnerable peoplein this way is completely unacceptable and could constitute an offense." (Police in Utah say you can't shoot clowns just for being dressed as clowns.)
Mac Book Pro 2016 is set to be released in the last week of October. The demand for this latest product has been high even if it did not appear on Apple's event last month.

According to University Herald, Apple Inc. is likely to release the Mac Book Pro 2016 this month together with the company's other new devices. The new device is also set to be launched together with the 13inch MacBook Air and with the iMac 5k display.

The have been speculations for the Mac Book Pro to have leaks and is hinted to be towards an OLED touchscreen panel that will replace the keyboard. A Touch ID is also rumored to be incorporated to the device for the Apple Pay to come in handy and the newly confirmed MacOS Sierra.

In a report from Inquisitr, the Mac Book Pro 2016 is said to have a gold edition for its 12- inch model. This model is also going to be thinner and lighter. The new device is also rumored to have a new hinge design.

The Mac Book Pro 2016 is also going to have the sixth generation Skylake processors. It gives power to the device with powerful graphics card. This time, Apple is setting high standards for the latest device. The previous model only had the fifth generation Broadwell chips.

Skylake has some features that Broadwell lacks. It includes support for WiGig and WiDi short-range. It also supports a high speed data transfer and has wireless charging. The Mac Book Pro 2016 may also have the butterfly clip mechanism.

The Mac Book Pro 2016 model has a 13-inch and also a 15-inch one. This device does not go out of style on its own. There are those who believe that the tablet may overtake the laptop's capability, but this device stays the same as still has a high demand.

Mac Book Pro 2016 is set to be released on October 24, 2016 together with other new Apple products.
The chairman of Donald Trump's campaign in Alaska says Trump and Ronald Reagan had much in common
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.
Islamabad:

Pakistan Parliaments joint sitting on Friday passed two important bills, one seeking to curb murders in the name of honour and the other to punish rapists by use of modern technology of DNA testing in probes involving rape cases.

Both the bills, initially moved by former Senator Sughra Imam, were passed unanimously by the Senate sometime back and subsequently moved in the Joint Sitting of the Parliament by Senator Farhatullah Babar on the expiry of Imams 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, he said.

He said that the anti-honour killing Bill was passed by the Senate Committee in 2014 when it was headed by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Senator. Subsequently it was passed by the 104 member Senate by consensus including the religious parties.

He said that under the anti-terror laws murder was not compoundable and Qisas and Diyat did not apply. Similarly, Women Protection Act of 2004 also excluded from compoundability murders. If it was not an issue of ideology and religion, how can it be an issue of ideology now, he asked.

He said that opposition to exclude from Qisas and Diyat law and to make non-compoundable murders in the name of honour was motivated by politics and not religion. The legislation passed by the Joint session today makes 25 years jail mandatory in case of honour killings even if the murderer has been pardoned by other close family members.

About the Anti-Rape Bill he said that a recent study had shown that conviction in rape cases was a mere 2 per cent which means that 98 per cent rapists potentially got scot-free. The 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 relating 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.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday expressed his frustration over the ongoing political slugfest in the name of surgical strike and its video proof.



Speaking at a public event in New Delhi, Parrikar urged everyone to respect Indian Army, "Everyone should acknowledge and respect the contributions made by brave Indian Army soldiers. We should observe some limits while questioning Indian Army."



"I do not want to comment on any particular leader, but politicising Indian Army actions'is wrong," said Defence leader.



Parrikar, who was attending ramlila staged by famous Luv-Kush Ramlila Committee, denied any political motives behind his presence.

"I am here to watch Ramlila because I am an HIndu, now you can make out any meaning you want from this," Parrikar said.

Also read:

Terrorist attack on police post in Jammu and Kashmirs Shopian, one policeman dead

Political temperature soars over Rahul Gandhi's 'khoon ki dalali' remark on PM Modi: Who said what?



For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

India is celebrating 84th foundation day of Indian Air Force on Saturday. This year, the commemorative annual Air Show at Hindon air base near New Delhi is slated to be extra special as coveted fighter jet Tejas is going to make its first flypast to a captivated audience.



The LCA Tejas for the first time will demonstrate over the Hindon Airbase just outside New Delhi as part of the 84th Air Force Day. The Tejas will be part of the official ceremony on 8th October 2016, said an official release from Indian Air Force.



Tejas: Top 10 things to know about Indias indigenous marvel in the air



1. Developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Tejas is an Indian single-seat, single-jet engine, multi-role light fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency for the Indian Air Force and Navy.

2. HAL and ADA handed over the first two Tejas aircrafts to Indian Air Force on July 1, 2016.



3. The new jets will make up the 'Flying Daggers' 45, the name of the first squadron of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters.



4. Tejas has a pure double delta wing configuration (wing root leading edge sweep 50, outer wing leading edge sweep 62.5 and trailing edge forward sweep 4), with no tailplanes or canard and a single dorsal fin.



5. It integrates technologies such as relaxed static stability, fly-by-wire flight control system, multi-mode radar, integrated digital avionics system, composite material structures, and a flat rated engine.



6. It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft.



7. The Tejas is the second supersonic fighter developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after the HAL HF-24 Marut. As of 2016, the Tejas MK1 was in production for the Indian Air Force and the naval version was undergoing flight tests for Indian Navy.



8. The projected requirement for IAF is 200 single-seat fighters and 20 twin-seat trainers, while the IN expects to operate 40 single-seat fighters.



9. Initially being stationed at Bangalore, the first squadron will be placed at its home base at Sulur, Tamil Nadu.

10. Saturday (Oct 8) is the first public appearance of Tejas in Hindon Air Show, organised on the occasion of 84th foundation day of Indian Air Force.



Here is a Short Clip of LCA Tejas over the Years Participating at the Bahrain International Airshow 2016 (Video credit: ADA)









For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The United States appreciated Pakistan for its legislation against honour killing on Saturday. USA termed it an important step towards ensuring protection of women in Pakistan.

According to John Kirby, Spokesperson of the Department of State of the United States, passing of the bill is an important step towards safeguarding the rights of women.

Kirby said in a press brief that this would encourage female participation in the country and added that it was important to spread social awareness and bring criminals to justice.

Kirby also commented on relations between India and Pakistan saying that both these countries should engage in dialogue over the issue of Kashmir. He also stated that, USA wanted to end tensions between both countries.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in 2004 and has a current strength of approximately 1080 personnel. The unit derives its name from Garuda, a divine bird-like creature of Hindu Mythology.

History: After attempts were by terrorists to attack two major air bases in Jammu and Kashmir in 2001, Indian Air Force commanders contemplated the need for a specialized force to protect these critical elements and to have a dedicated Commando Force trained in Special Forces techniques, Combat Search and Rescue, Reconnaissance, Counter Insurgency Operations and Emergency in response to terror-threats to airfields.

The first plan in October 2002 was to raise a specialized force with 2000 commandos. The group was originally called "Tiger Force", but was later renamed as "Garud Force"

In September 2003, the Government of India authorized a 1080 strong force to be raised and trained on the lines of the Para commandos of the army and MARCOS of the Indian Navy with the mandate of performing niche, Air Force specific operational tasks.

The first batch of 100 volunteers from the IAF No.1 Airmen Training Center at Belgaum, Karnataka were earmarked to undergo Garud Training at Gurgaon. The Garuds were first unveiled on 6 February 2004, when the first batch of 62 "Air Commandos" passed out of training in New Delhi.

The Garuds were first seen publicly during the Air Force Day celebrations at New Delhi on October 8, 2004.

Watch: Top 10 things to know about indigenous fighter Tejas

In the aftermath of the Pathankot Terror Attack, Indian Air Force decided to raise ten additional squadrons of Garud commandos, comprising about 700 personnel, bringing the total strength of the force to 1780.

GARUD COMMANDO FORCE OVERVIEW

Founded: 2004

Headquarters: New Delhi

Country: India

Branch: Indian Air Force

Type: Special Forces

Role: Direct Action, Airfield Seizure, Special Reconnaissance, Airborne Operations, Air Assault. Unconventional Warfare, Counter Terrorism, Foreign Internal Defence, Special Operations, Combat Search and Rescue

Motto: Defence by Offence

Engagements: UN Mission - MONUC (Congo), Security during Aero India 2005- 2013, Counter Insurgency in Kashmir conflict, 2016 Pathankot attack

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
#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...
Jammu:

Pakistani troops on Saturday violated the ceasefire by firing on a forward post along the LoC in Poonch district, leaving an army jawan injured.

There was firing on forward area in Krishnagati-Mendhar sector along the LoC by Pakistani troops in which an army man was injured this morning, IG Police (Rajouri-Poonch range) Johny Williams said.

However, Defence PRO Col Manish Mehta said there was no ceasefire violation.

The ceasefire violation took place after two days of lull.

A senior Army officer had said on friday that there have been over 25 ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after surgical strikes by Indian Army in PoK to dismantle terror launching pads.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Amid burgeoning tensions, ceasefire violations by Pakistan and terror attacks in Kashmir, Air Force Chief Arup Raha clearly stated that the armed forces are prepared to give a befitting reply to sub-conventional threats and any other challenge facing the country.

Raha said that the armed forces "are there to deliver and they are doing the job" as he refused to comment on the political slugfest over the cross-LoC surgical strikes on terror camps.

Rahas remarks come on the 84th Foundation Day of IAF. Celebrations for which are going on at Air Force Station Hindon in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district.

The most spectacular air display was made by the most awaited Tejas India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft.

Also Read: (Top 10 things to know about indigenous fighter Tejas debuting at Indian Air Force Day aerial show in Hindon)

World is in a flux today. Terrorists attacks in Uri and Pathankot show the troubled times we live today., Raha said in his customary address.

In his message on official Facebook page of the IAF Indian Air Force, Power to Punish launched today, the Air Force chief said the force is operating some of the most modern weapons and equipments and the air warriors exercise ceaseless vigil of skies.

We continue to train to take up any threat and are fully prepared to undertake any challenge in most befitting manner, Raha said.

Asked about the rising threat from Pakistan, Raha asserted that the armed forces are well prepared to take on any sub- conventional threats. Sub-conventional threats refers to proxy war that Pakistan indulges in against India through the use of terrorists.

Raha said that terrorists can always get better but the armed forces can neutralise them. With each incident, the forces are getting smarter and learning new lessons. he said.

Also Read: (Indian Air Force Day: Tejas makes debut at Indian Air Force Day's aerial show in Hindon)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Thiruvananthapuram:

A case has been registered against a Kochi school for allegedly teaching objectionable content to students and encouraging them to die for the sake of Islam. Further, police even suspect that the school's curriculum has been drafted after consultations with people close to controversial preacher Zakir Naik.

The Peace International School at Thammanam in Ernakulam is run by a trust headed by some "influential local businessmen". Police have registered a case under Sect 153A and 34 IPC against the school principal, administrator and three trustees, police sources told PTI.

The case was registered on the basis of a report filed by the Ernakulam District Education Officer, stating that "what was being taught was not secular". "The case was registered for teaching students objectionable content in the syllabus... what was not secular. Islamic curriculum was being followed and students were being exhorted to lay down their lives for Islam", the sources said.

The school has classes from the LKG to eighth standard. "We suspect that this school's curriculum has been drafted with persons close to controversial preacher Zakir Naik, of Mumbai based Islamic International School," the sources said.

Naik, an Islamic televangelist, was in the eye of of a storm recently for allegedly preaching radical views. Abdul Rashid, one among the 21 persons from Kerala who had gone missing and is suspected to have joined ISIS, had worked as Public Relations Officer at the school there.

His wife Mariam, had worked as a teacher in the school. Recently, six persons were arrested in Kerala for suspected links with the ISIS.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Lahore:

A lawmaker from Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs party has questioned the Pakistan government over its continued patronage to JuD chief and mastermind of the dreaded 2008 Mumbai attack Hafiz Saeed, while describing it as a reason for international isolation of the country.

Which eggs is Hafiz Saeed laying for us that we are nurturing him? The efficacy of our foreign policy speaks for itself when we could not curtail Hafiz Saeed, PML-N parliamentarian Rana Muhammad Afzal said during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday.

India has built such a case against us about the JuD chief that during the meeting on Kashmir, foreign delegates mention Saeed as the bone of contention between Pakistan and India, Afzal said. H

e recalled his recent trip to France, where he had been tasked to explain the worsening situation in Kashmir and said that the name of Saeed was brought up time and again by foreign delegates as he is considered a notorious character in international circles.

Furious over Afzals remarks, Saeed asked Sharif to take action against such people in the ruling party.I caution Nawaz Sharif to be aware of his foolish friends who are hurting the Kashmir cause. They must have some hidden agenda which the premier should dig out, Saeed said in response.

He said such elements are trying to create differences between the Pakistan army and the civilian government and this will be very dangerous for the country. Saeed also asked the prime minister to give extension to Army Chief General Raheel Sharif who is retiring next month.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Beijing:

China on Saturday defended its second technical hold to prevent a UN ban on Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar saying there were different views on Indias application and that Beijings move will allow more time for the relevant parties to have consultations.

Reacting to Indias criticism that its second hold on attempts to ban Azhar sends a dangerous message, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the listing application member states submitted to the 1267 Committee of UN must comply with specific requirements of relevant resolutions of UN Security Council (UNSC).

Though China is the lone member among the 15-member UNSC to oppose the ban on Azhar, Beijing claims that different views existed about Indias application against Azhar.

There are still different views on Indias listing application made this March. The technical hold on it will allow more time for the Committee to deliberate on the matter and for relevant parties to have further consultations, the ministry said in a written reply to PTI to a question seeking its response to Indias strong criticism.

The reference to further consultations apparently referred to direct consultations between India and Pakistan over the issue. China had put the first technical hold six months ago on Indias application following Azhars alleged involvement in the Pathankot terrorist attack.

China had extended the second technical hold valid for three months during this week despite several consultations between New Delhi and Beijing at various levels.

It is expected to figure again during the expected meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to be held in Goa from October 15-16.

While opposing the ban against Azhar, the Chinese Foreign Ministry however said China firmly supports combating all forms of terrorism, stronger international cooperation against terrorism, and supports the central and coordinating role of the UN in international counter-terrorism cooperation.

It said, China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 Committee should stick to the principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the Security Council.

Without naming China, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on October 6 that only one country had put the technical hold, blocking the ban by another three months, and criticised the completely non-transparent and anonymous manner of designating individuals by the UN Sanctions Committee.

India has been highlighting the cross-border terror threat emanating from Pakistan and tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad are on the rise since last months Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir which killed 19 Indian soldiers.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Beijing:

President Xi Jinping Saturday appointed Luo Zhaohui, a senior diplomat with previous assignments in Pakistan and Canada, as Chinas new ambassador to India.

Luo, 54, who had also served as Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan previously was Chinas envoy to Canada from 2014 to 2016.

He is familiar with India as he worked as third and later Second Secretary in Chinese Embassy in India from 1989 to1993. He had a four year stint as Ambassador to Pakistan starting from 2006.

Later Luo served as director general of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2014. He will take over from former Chinese ambassador to India Le Yucheng who left New Delhi in April, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Islamabad:

Pakistan sees no hope of a breakthrough in relations with India under the Narendra Modi government, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said, accusing India of adopting a hegemonistic attitude.

Pakistan had been resisting the Indian hegemonistic attitude in the region and had been calling for the promotion of bilateral ties on equal basis, Aziz said.

There is no hope for a breakthrough in relations with India under Modi for a breakthrough in relations with India under its current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Aziz saying in TV interview.

Also Read: (Home Minister Rajnath Singh talks tough, says India wont count bullets if attacked)

Aziz said the joint session of the parliament yesterday had unanimously adopted a resolution that encompassed all issues, including the condemnation of Indian brutalities in Kashmir, ceasefire violations, condemnation of Indian threat to revoke Indus Waters Treaty and Indian intervention in Balochistan.

The adviser said the focal point of all these efforts was to show the world that entire Pakistan was united to condemn Indian brutalities in Kashmir and extend moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiri people.

Aziz said during interactions at various platforms across the globe the majority viewed that the dialogue should resume between the two states. He said there was no harm in sealing the Pak-India border as planned by India, if the points of public movement and trade were maintained.

Also Read: (Pakistani markings confirmed on grenades seized from slain terrorists in Naugam of Kashmir)

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Beijing:

China justified its move to block a tributary of the Brahmaputra and construct a dam, while trying to allay apprehensions that it would affect river flow into India. Moreover, the Chinese side also claimed that it will not have any adverse impact on downstream areas.

Terming the Lalho dam project on the Xiabuqu river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra which is locally called as Yarlung Zangbo, as an important livelihood project to address food security and flood safety in Tibet, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the tributary river is located completely within the Chinese side.

"The reservoir capacity of the project is less than 0.02 per cent of the average annual runoff of the Yarlung Zangbo- Brahmaputra. It cannot have an adverse impact on the downstream," Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a written reply to PTI to a question on India's concerns over the dam.

Brahmaputra flows from Tibet into Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and later into Bangladesh. On October 1, China announced the blockade of Xiabuqu river in Tibet as part of the construction of its "most expensive" dam project.

The Lalho project on Xiabuqu River a tributary in Xigaze in Tibet involves an investment of USD 740 million. Referring to the Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on trans-border rivers between India and China, the Chinese foreign ministry said both the countries have been carrying out good cooperation on trans border rivers for a long time.

"Proceeding from the larger picture of China-India friendship and from the humanitarian angle, the Chinese side has overcome all kinds of difficulties, and has provided services to the Indian side such as flood season hydrological data and emergency management, and has played a positive role in areas such as flood and disaster control along the banks of the relevant rivers," the ministry said.

"China is willing to continue relevant cooperation with the Indian side through the existing expert level mechanism on trans-border rivers," it said. Stating that Brahmaputra is rich in water and a major hydrological resource for Tibet, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the development and utilisation of the Chinese side at present is just one per cent".

"The water quality that crosses the border is good and is basically at its natural state," it said. Brahmaputra flows through economically less developed ethnic minority regions of China, it said. "Legitimate use of the water and hydrological resources is an important component of the rights of the people of this region to live and develop," it said.

"The Chinese side has always held a responsible attitude towards exploitation of water resources of the Yarlung Zangbo, and carries out a policy of actual development and protection at the same time. Scientific planning, adequate justification, prudent decisions and orderly exploitation are in line with international practice," it said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
NEW MILFORD  Police are searching for the man they say was an accomplice in a kidnapping and home invasion that Christopher Valedon, 23, of Church Street, was charged with on Thursday.

Valedon was arrested at the New Milford police station. He went there to discuss an ongoing investigation, police said, unaware that police had obtained a warrant for his arrest. He is charged with first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit kidnapping in the first degree and conspiracy to commit home invasion and is being held on $250,000 bond, police said.

According to the Republican-American, police say Valedon and others slashed two men with a box cutter after luring them to an apartment on Canterbury Court on Oct. 1. The report says that one of the victims owed the suspects $390 for drugs.

Once inside, the report said, one man was attacked and suffered a severe and disfiguring wound to his face and another victim was slashed on his back.

Police are searching for others involved, including Tyler Brown, for whom police have issued an arrest warrant. Police say that Brown, 23 of Lanesville Road in New Milford, faces the same charges as Valedon and is also suspected of stealing a firearm, criminal use of a firearm and criminal possession of a pistol.

According to the Republican-American, a gunshot was fired in the apartment complex during the incident, which prompted neighbors to call police. The weapon, the report said, was stolen from the victim and is still missing.

Both Valedon and Brown have a history of drug arrests.

According to court records, Valedon was convicted in 2013 for sale of hallucinogens/narcotics and sentenced to a three years in prison. That same year, Brown was convicted of being an accessory to the sale of hallucinogens/narcotics and sentenced 18 months in prison.

In February, Valedon pleaded guilty to second degree threatening and in 2015 Brown pleaded guilty to violating his probation.

More arrest warrants are anticipated, police said.

Valedon is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Bantam on Oct. 18.

Police ask anyone with further information about Brown or the missing firearm to call the New Milford Police Department at 860-355-3133.
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.
Rouhani urges Malaysia to invest in Iran's oil, gas

Turkey,Business/Economy, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Tehran, Oct 8 (IANS) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has invited Malaysian companies to invest in Iran's oil, gas and petrochemical industry, a media report said.

Iran seeks an increase in economic ties with Malaysia and "it supports investments by Malaysian companies in the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors," Tasnim news agency quoted Rouhani as saying on Friday.

The Iranian President, who visited Kuala Lumpur on Friday, urged for cooperation with Malaysia in the Halal food industry, academic and technological fields and tourism industry.

Rouhani also said Iran and Malaysia can facilitate each other's access to markets in West and East Asia.

In a meeting between Rouhani and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, both sides vowed to double trade volume within the shortest possible time.

With reference to the impacts of restrictive western sanctions against Iran's monetary and financial systems over the past years, both sides agreed to work together to find mechanisms to enable the private sectors of both countries to conduct business in an efficient way, Xinhua news agency reported.

Leading a political and economic delegation, President Rouhani embarked on a tour of Southeast Asia on Wednesday that first took him to Vietnam.

--IANS

ask/vm
Lumpen communalism can be shamed, but will media help? (Comment: Special to IANS)

Delhi,National,Politics,Religion,Opinion/Commentary, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Kash Hindustan mein hota janam Abbas ka

Barh ke hum Hindu utha lete alam Abbas ka

(If only Abbas were born in Hindustan,

We Hindus would have held aloft his emblem)

-- A "noha", or Moharram dirge, from Awadh.

Abbas was Hussain's younger half-brother, known for his valour, loyalty, commitment and character.

In AD 680, barely 48 years after Prophet Mohammad's death, forces of Yazid, who ruled the Arab world from his headquarters in Damascus, surrounded the 72 relatives and friends of Hussain, the Prophet's second grandson, on the banks of the Euphrates in Iraq. The entourage included women and children. Yazid wanted Hussain's endorsement for his universally-recognised corrupt rule. He needed legitimacy; Hussain said no. He was determined to preserve the sanctity of the Prophet's message of peace and just society.

What followed on the banks of the river is what history remembers as the Battle of Karbala, the central theme of Moharram observances everywhere for the past nearly 1,400 years.

On the 10th day of Moharram -- Aashura -- Hussain, in consultation with his younger sister Zainab, announced an important decision: the "standard" (alam) of Ali was to be entrusted to the bravest, Abbas. Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law had raised this emblem in every battle Mohammad was forced to fight with Arab tribes.

To put extreme pressure on Hussain, Yazid's troops blockaded the river. In the scorching heat, supply of water was cut off to the 72 in Hussain's camp. This is when Abbas rode out, fluttering his banner, determined to fill his water bag particularly for his favourite niece Sakeena, fainting with thirst.

Never did Urdu poetry reach such peaks of grandeur in the epics called Marsias written by masters like Munshi Channulal Dilgeer, Mir Anis, Mirza Dabeer, Josh Malihabadi -- particularly Marsias with Abbas as hero. The emotive power of the Abbas narrative, the way both his arms were cut off, his utter helplessness at the sight of his water bag pierced with an arrow and his standard falling, had popular resonance. Abbas's alam is therefore a mandatory part of all Moharram processions, accompanied by soulful "nohas" or dirges. In some Qasbahs and districts these processions were led by Hindus.

The dirge quoted above is virtually the theme "noha" of a Hindu procession. It virtually taunts Arabs for their shoddy treatment of "Ahle Bait" or the Prophet's family.

"Oh, if only Abbas were born among us Hindus; we would never have allowed his alam to be so desecrated." It may be somewhat romantic, but it is an uplifting cross-cultural sentiment. And these Moharram processions are going on quite literally today because Moharram observances are in full swing. October 3, after all, was the first of Moharram. It is all building up to a crescendo till October 12, Aashura, the day when Hussain and all the male members of his entourage were martyred. Women were taken prisoners.

It may no longer be as grand as it was in the past but anyone interested in the aesthetics of Moharram should visit Lucknow, Mahmudabad and smaller Qasbahs like Mustafabad to experience the poetry, music and popular dirges sung in large choruses. Naushad, the renowned Bollywood music director, borrowed his choruses from the "nohas" of Lucknow and the Qasbahs of Awadh.

Moharram in our Qasbah of Mustafabad was incomplete without a sermon or two by Pandit Brij Mohan Kachar. Today the best known writer of Soz and Salams focused on Karbala is Sanjay Mishra of Lucknow. I deliberately mention all this, even on the pain of being repetitious, because our collective tragedy is that most of the time lumpens run away with the limelight: images of the murder in Dadri or cow dung paste being thrust down the throats of Muslim boys is brought into focus ad nauseam. Such incidents, which frighten (and anger) Muslims, only end up embarrassing an overwhelming number of Hindus.

Lumpens have once again come into focus in Budhana village in Muzaffarnagar. The village happens to be the ancestral home of the brilliant theatre and Bollywood actor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui. He was eager to play a role in the village Ram Lila during Dussehra. Local Shiv Sainiks said this would happen over their dead bodies. Nawazuddin was a Muslim. How can he act in Ram Lila?

This kind of vulgarity does not need to be dignified by public breast-beating. If only there was an authentic public service media, or even an independent TV channel with minimal aesthetics, I would have had Josh Malihabadi's revolutionary couplet, deriving heavily from the Ramayana legend, either sung or recited in Josh's declamatory style:

Aa rahi aag Lanka ki taraf barhti hui

Aaj Ravan ka mahal Sita ka zindaan hai to kya?

(Raging fires are advancing on Lanka

So what if Ravan's palace is Sita's prison today)

I am sure, the Shiv Sainiks of Budhana would have difficulty understanding the couplet, but their political patrons would certainly be embarrassed.

I would then dwell on Abdul Rahim Khan e Khana's life not so much as Akbar's courtier but as a Bhasha, or an Awadhi poet. I would set to music his Sanskrit verses (with subtitles) on Lord Rama. Patrons of the present government would probably be ashamed when they learn that the scholar on Rahim's Sanskrit verse on Lord Rama was the late RSS litterateur, Vishnu Kant Shastri.

(A senior commentator on political and diplomatic affairs, Saeed Naqvi can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com. The views expressed are personal.)

--IANS

naqvi/mr/vd/sac
US eases more sanctions on Iran post nuclear deal

United States,Diplomacy, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Washington, Oct 8 (IANS) The US has announced new measures which will further ease sanctions on Iran and make it easier for foreign companies to do business with the country following last year's landmark nuclear agreement, a media report said.

The Treasury Department published new guidelines on Friday allowing businesses to do dollar transactions with Iran through offshore banking institutions as long as they do not enter the US financial system, Press TV reported.

The department also removed a blanket ban on foreign transactions with Iranian firms that may be run by individuals who were subject to US sanctions. The Treasury described those people as "specially designated nationals" or SDNs.

Iran and the P5+1 group -- the US, Britain, France, China, Russia plus Germany -- reached the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on July 14, 2015.

In accordance with the JCPOA, which took effect in January, Iran has undertaken to put limitations on its nuclear programme in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.

The US, however, had continued to maintain sanctions on Iran and a number of Iranian companies and individuals, prompting complaints from Tehran that Washington was failing to implement its side of the deal.

Iran said the US was scaring foreign companies from doing business in or with the country, as they fear punishment for violating sanctions, Press TV reported.

"As has been stated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has remained committed to its commitments," The Guardian quoted Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization, as saying on Friday.

"While the other side -- it is very clear now to public opinion and it is not a secret -- has not really delivered on the promises; that the sanctions would be removed and that banking transactions would go back to normal, that trade would speed up and economic relations would be enhanced. These have not been materialised to the extent that we expected," he added.

According to the new Treasury guidelines, foreign transactions with non-sanctioned entities that were "controlled in whole or in part by an Iranian or Iran-related person on the SDN list" were "not necessarily sanctionable".

--IANS

ask/rn/bg
Bihar 'court' bans Made in China goods

Bihar,National,Business/Economy, Sat, 08 Oct 2016 IANS

Patna, Oct 8 (IANS) A Gram Kachahri (village court) in Bihar's Aurangabad district on Saturday banned the sale and purchase of 'Made in China' goods, after declaring China an enemy for supporting Pakistan.

It also passed a provision with consensus to punish people found violating the order by imposing a fine, officials said.

It is a first of its kind happening in the state when a village body banned 'Made in China' products .

The village court of Obra panchayat decided to ban the products manufactured in China, impacting the sale of Chinese goods in the panchayat area with a population of over 10,000, a district official said.

Gudiya Devi, sarpanch of the village court, said that she had called a meeting that was attended by members of the village court and local residents.

"We have decided to ban 'Made in China' goods and appealed to people not to use any Chinese goods," the sarpanch said.

"China is an enemy as it is supporting Pakistan against India," Gudiya said.

A village court member, locally known as 'Panch' Baban Mehta said: "We should not purchase and use Made In China goods...that would weaken its economy."

Gudia said local residents also supported the move to ban the sale and purchase of such products.

According to her, there are over two dozen shops in Obra panchayat that sell 'Made in China' goods. Last year, during the festival season, they sold China manufactured items worth lakhs of rupees.

A majority of these goods include toys, fancy lights, gift items, plastic ware and decorative goods.

In rural India, there is a huge market for Chinese products as they are cheaper, compared to those produced in India.

--IANS

ik/pgh/bg
EDMONTON, Oct. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. ("AutoCanada" or the "Company") (TSX:ACQ) will release its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 on Thursday, November 3, 2016 after market close. The Company will hold a conference call and webcast to discuss the results on Friday, November 4, 2016 at 9:00am Mountain Time (11:00am Eastern).

The conference call will include prepared remarks from Steven Landry, Chief Executive Officer and Chris Burrows, Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer. After the prepared remarks, the Company will accept questions from analysts and institutional investors.

Date: Friday, November 4, 2016 Time: 9:00am MT (11:00am ET) Call: 1.888.231.8191 (Canada and USA)

Participants are asked to call at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. For those unable to participate on the live call, a replay will be made available until Friday, November 11, 2016 by dialing 1.855.859.2056 (Canada and USA), passcode 54470705. The public is invited to listen to the live conference call or the replay.

This conference call will be webcast live over the internet and can be accessed by all interested parties at the following http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1138785&s=1&k=71992EB23C7877EDC7B62D0F33310B90.

To listen to the live webcast, visit the weblink at least 10 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. For those unable to listen during the live webcast, an audio replay will be available shortly after the conclusion of the conference call for a period of 90 days.

About AutoCanada

AutoCanada is one of Canada's largest multi-location automobile dealership groups, currently operating 53 franchised dealerships, comprised of 60 franchises, in eight provinces and has over 3,700 employees. AutoCanada currently sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Audi, Volkswagen, Kia, BMW and MINI branded vehicles. In 2015, our dealerships sold approximately 62,800 vehicles and processed approximately 848,000 service and collision repair orders in our 912 service bays.

Additional information about AutoCanada Inc. is available at www.sedar.com and the Company's website at www.autocan.ca.

SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.

For further information: Christopher Burrows, Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer, Phone: 780.509.2808, Email: [email protected]
LEVIS, QC, Oct. 7, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Desjardins Group is joining the Canadian Red Cross in its efforts to help Hurricane Matthew victims in Haiti by making a $30,000 donation.

"We want to be there for the Haitian community during this difficult time by helping the Red Cross to provide the necessary assistance to the victims of this devastating hurricane," says Guy Cormier, Chair of the Board, President and CEO of Desjardins Group.

About Desjardins Group

Desjardins Group is the leading cooperative financial group in Canada and the sixth largest cooperative financial group in the world, with assets of more than $260 billion. It has been rated one of the Best Employers in Canada by Aon Hewitt. To meet the diverse needs of its members and clients, Desjardins offers a full range of products and services to individuals and businesses through its extensive distribution network, online platforms and subsidiaries across Canada. Counted among the world's strongest banks according to The Banker magazine, Desjardins has one of the highest capital ratios and credit ratings in the industry.

SOURCE Desjardins Group

For further information: (media inquiries only): Jean-Michel Laberge, Public Relations, 514-281-7000 or 1-866-866-7000, ext. 5555350, [email protected]
OTTAWA, Oct. 8, 2016 /CNW/ - The Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund has been activated in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew, allocating urgently needed resources to meet humanitarian needs in the Caribbean nations of Haiti and Cuba.

Early reports show more than 800 people have been killed in the Caribbean, with close to 100,000 people displaced and 350,000 people in need of assistance.

Save the Children is using $375,000 to assist approximately 5,000 of the most vulnerable children and their families in Haiti with immediate life-saving assistance and will create Child and Youth Friendly Spaces to ensure children and adolescents have a safe place to go.

In Cuba, Oxfam Canada will use $270,000 to assist close to 5,000 people with immediate life-saving assistance, particular with access to safe drinking water, hygiene kits, sanitation and shelter.

Both organizations will also promote the importance of safe water management in order to limit the risk of spreading waterborne diseases such as cholera.

The Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund, a joint mechanism between the Humanitarian Coalition, its member agencies and Global Affairs Canada, enhances Canada's capacity for early response by leveraging the established local presence maintained by the Humanitarian Coalition member agencies.

SOURCE Humanitarian Coalition

For further information: visit www.together.ca or to speak with an expert on the ground, contact: Yose Cormier, Communications Advisor, Humanitarian Coalition, 613-292-2687, [email protected]
MONTREAL, Oct. 7, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - National Bank will donate $50,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to support their efforts in helping the victims of Hurricane Matthew.

"The devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew has left thousands of people in need. National Bank is eager to lend its support to the Red Cross and help ensure that immediate assistance is available to those affected. Many of our clients and employees come from the areas damaged by the hurricane and still have family there. Our hearts go out to them," said Louis Vachon, President and Chief Executive Officer at National Bank.

About National Bank of Canada

With $230 billion in assets as at July 31, 2016, National Bank of Canada, together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading integrated financial groups. The Bank has close to 22,000 employees and is widely recognized as a top employer. The Bank's securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA). Follow the Bank's activities at nbc.ca or via social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE National Bank of Canada

For further information: (The telephone number provided below is for the exclusive use of journalists and other media representatives.): Jean-Francois Lauzon, Advisor - Public Affairs, National Bank, Tel.: 514-394-6097
TORONTO, Oct. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - TD Bank Group will donate $200,000 to the Red Cross to assist with initial response efforts in the affected areas of the Caribbean, with a focus on Haiti, and with ongoing efforts to prepare for the full impact in the Carolinas, Florida and Georgia.

"Although details are still emerging, we want to provide some assistance to help with the devastation on behalf of our customers and employees," said Scott Mullin, Vice President, Community Relations, TD Bank Group. "Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this tragedy and their loved ones."

About TD Bank Group

The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves approximately 25 million customers in three key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Retail, including TD Canada Trust, TD Auto Finance Canada, TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in TD Ameritrade; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with approximately 10.8 million active online and mobile customers. TD had CDN$1.2 trillion in assets on July 31, 2016. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

SOURCE TD Community, Environment and Music

For further information: Natasha Ferrari, TD Bank Group, [email protected], 416-983-7180
Over the last 25 years, land forces (armies) have been high-demand consumers of joint force capabilities, operating beneath an umbrella of air and maritime supremacy. If the joint force is to succeed, the land force must now give as well as receive and be a capable supporter of operations in other domains.

The US Army can use land-based M109 Paladin 155mm self-propelled howitzers or the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) truck-based rocket launcher to go after enemy ships, which he analogized as killing the enemys archer rather than dealing with the arrows when it comes to protecting ground troops ashore or naval forces operating in the littorals.

Army Gen. David Perkins, commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), said today at a panel at the Association of the U.S. Armys annual meeting and exposition that simply using air forces to amplify the capability of ground or maritime forces is no longer sufficient.

If we constrain ourselves (to two domains), the enemy can fracture us, he said.

If you take a look at whats going on in Ukraine and other places, they are fracturing our way of war by using other domains. You can see separatist forces being able to gain air superiority via the land, without even an air force. Weve seen them be able to take down large land forces with a combination of electronic warfare, cyber, autonomous systems, drones, et cetera  not with a close-in battle. So what weve said, what we have to do is come up with a very difficult-to-fracture concept.



SOURCES- War on the Rocks, USNI
Hurricane Matthew is battering the coast of Florida, where it has left more than 820,000 people without power. The system, which has not ...

Hurricane Matthew is battering the coast of Florida, where it has left more than 820,000 people without power. The system, which has not yet made landfall in the US, has been downgraded to a Category Three, with winds of up to 120 mph (195 km/h). Floridas governor said the hurricane, which would be the first to make US landfall since 2005, still had time to make a direct hit. In Haiti, Matthew left a death toll of more than 840 in its wake.At 11:00 local time (15:00 GMT) Matthew was hugging the Florida coast, about 35 miles east of Daytona Beach and moving north-west at about 13mph, the National Hurricane Center said.Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have all declared states of emergencies. On Friday morning, President Barack Obama addressed fears that the storms winds could fuel a wave of seawater that might wash over coastal communities along a 500-mile stretch from South Florida to Charleston, South Carolina. The UN has warned it could take days for the full impact of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti to emerge, as the death toll soars to more than 800 dead. The death toll has doubled, and may rise, as rescue teams gain access to southern areas cut off by the storm.The World Food Programmes Carlos Veloso says some of the hard-hit towns can only be reached by air or sea. Many of the deaths in Haiti were in the south-western coast, which suffered the full force of the hurricane this week. Rescue efforts are under way to assess the destruction left in the wake of the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade. Haitis Civil Protection Agency on Friday doubled the death toll from the hurricane from 400 to more than 800.A definitive number is taking time to obtain because of the intensity of the damage to remote areas that are inaccessible because of flood water.At least one major town in the south  Jeremie has been 80 percent destroyed, with aerial footage showing the scale of destruction with hundreds of flattened houses.
The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC has described the alleged failed abduction of a Federal High Court Judge...

The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC has described the alleged failed abduction of a Federal High Court Judge and the attempt on the life of Gov. Wike as false.In a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of Rivers State APC, Senibo Chris Finebone said early this morning, the media space was once again putrefied with a bizarre account by Gov. Nyesom Wike of his encounter with a detachment of security personnel and how he [the governor] was allegedly manhandled.The statement reads: To give the incident more prominence in the media space, the governor, through his media assistant, Simeon Nwakaudu, issued a statement which opened with an assertion that what happened was part of a siege on Rivers State by the Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari.Ordinarily, this mornings macabre dance by Gov. Nyesom Wike should not merit any serious interest from anyone, because everyone has become sick and tired of such from him, but for the innocent people and residents of Rivers State whom he subjects to unbridled lies and misinformation under one phantom excuse or the other.There is no question that the melodrama is just one of the many chapters in Gov. Wikes book on political demagoguery. Or how can anyone explain the many obvious inconsistencies that fly in the face of his highly mendacious account to the media this morning?Indeed, we ask: How come the governor said he did not know the occupant of the house? How did he find his way to the gate of a house he did not know the occupant? Is the judge of a federal high court under the governor of Rivers State? May be, yes but why? Is the federal high court, its judges and the DSS not belong to the same federal government?The APC believes that the governor is once again up to his dishonest self. We do not believe his account. We believe that the bizarre stunt of bravado being peddled by Gov. Wike is just for the purpose of convincing his collaborators in the judiciary in Rivers State that he will always protect them.The claim by Gov. Nyesom Wike that his presence at the scene of the incident was to help resist abduction is typically dishonest. He was there to obstruct justice. Simple! And the reason is that crime connects much more than innocence does.But how far really can the governor go in shielding his cohorts from the law? Can the governor, for example, appear with those that have been dragged before the National Judicial Council [NJC]? Can he?We thank God that Gov. Wike is in a position to tell the story [for whatever it is worth] by himself. If there was a role change in the morning, the security people would not be alive to tell their story now.The APC believes that recklessness is a choice which attracts consequences. May be Gov. Nyesom Wike learnt a lesson or two this morning. Please, let him deal with it and stop hawking insinuations or attempt to drag the APC or Mr. President into the matter.
President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week in Berlin with the Boko Haram menace topping th...

President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week in Berlin with the Boko Haram menace topping the agenda.Also due to meet Mekel on the issue is President Idriss Deby of Chad whose country is one of Nigerias three neighbours badly hit by the Boko Haram insurgency. The others are Niger Republic and Cameroun.The Germany leader is arriving Bamako, Mali tomorrow at the start of a three-nation visit to Africa. She will also visit Niger before heading to Ethiopia where she is to visit the headquarters of the African Union in the capital, Addis Ababa.Merkel is expected to discuss ways to stem a migrant influx to Europe and the battle against jihadist groups with her hosts. On Wednesday, a day after her return to Berlin, she will host President Deby and cap off the week by meeting with President Buhari.The well-being of Africa is in Germanys 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 said.Berlins ambassador to Niamey said on Wednesday that his country would build a military base in Niger to support the UN mission fighting jihadists in neighbouring Mali.Germany has troops stationed in Mali and Niger as part of the UN mission MINUSMA, and Merkel is due to visit the soldiers during her upcoming tour.
In a recent interview, one time Vice President of Nigeria, Dr Alex Ekwueme disclosed that Igbo people were not treated well by ex-presiden...





In a recent interview, one time Vice President of Nigeria, Dr Alex Ekwueme disclosed that Igbo people were not treated well by ex-president Goodluck Jonathan.Ekwueme claimed that Jonathan failed to undertake meaning developmental projects in the South-east region of Nigeria during his tenure as president."As I said in an interview in the past, Jonathan didnt treat us very well for the support he got in 2011; which he confessed to me himself was more than what he got from his people in the South-South.He gave an example, that the people who were running against him tried to get a running mate from the Southeast, but none of them succeeded in getting a running mate from the Southeast to run against him; but even in his own South-South, Oyegun was a running mate to somebody; and when the election was over the Youth Corps members who were brutalised in Bauchi were people from the Southeast, not people from the South-South. He told me this himself.So, he had every reason to be fair-minded and equitable in his distribution of resources. But we could not go from Enugu to Onitsha on a federal road, you couldnt go from Enugu to Port-Harcourt on a federal road, we couldnt go from Aba to Okigwe on a federal road; you couldnt go from Owerri on the federal road. None of the federal roads in the Southeast was motorable," Ekwueme said.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja said that his greatest wish from God was the courage to be fair to all Nigerians irrespect...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja said that his greatest wish from God was the courage to be fair to all Nigerians irrespective of religious, tribal and cultural backgrounds.He said his administration would continue to promote unity and peaceful co-existence of all Nigerians by ensuring fairness and social justice to all. The president spoke while receiving Sheikh Abdul-Muhsin Muhammad Al-Qassimi, Imam of the Mosque of the Holy Prophet in Medina, Saudi Arabia at the State House, Abuja.President Buhari said God had a purpose of bringing people from different ethnic backgrounds into one country- Nigeria. 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, he said. President Buhari urged Muslims and all other citizens to imbibe and practice social justice as a norm and prayed to Allah to guide his government in doing the same. I pray that God gives us the courage to be fair to people he put in our charge so that we can enjoy his mercy, he said.Citing several personal life lessons from the countrys political crisis in 1966, the civil war, his incarceration for three and half years in solitary detention, and his attempts to win presidential election, President Buhari told the visiting Imam that he had learnt an important lesson about social justice. The President commended the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their efforts to create a better understanding and practice of Islam. He welcomed the visit of the Imam to Nigeria, noting that it would strengthen the bond of ties between the two countries.A statement by senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said that Sheikh (Dr) Al-Qassimi in his remarks commended the peaceful co-existence of Nigerians of different faiths. He expressed satisfaction with the cordial relations between government and religious leaders and called for a better teaching and practice of Islam devoid of extremism. Speaking to State House Correspondents after the meeting, Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari said that peace was central to the development of country. He urged Nigerians across all religious strata to embrace peace for the progress of the country.
Former governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori will become a free man in December, after spending half of his jail term in prisons in...





Former governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori will become a free man in December, after spending half of his jail term in prisons in the United Kingdom.Ibori was jailed for money laundering offences by Southwark Crown court in 2012.But it was not clear whether he will immediately return home because legal proceedings concerning the confiscation of his assets worth tens of millions of dollars, were unresolved.They were supposed to have been resolved years ago, but have ground to a halt due to the allegations of police corruption and the prospect of Ibori taking his case to the Court of Appeal.A London court was told on Friday that Ibori would appeal against his conviction on the grounds that British police and lawyers involved in his case were themselves corrupt.Ibori, who as governor of oil-producing Delta State from 1999 to 2007 became one of Nigerias richest and most powerful men, is serving a 13-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering. While in office, Ibori acquired luxury properties in Britain, the United States, South Africa and Nigeria.He is the most senior Nigerian politician to have been held to account for the corruption that has blighted Africas most populous nation.His jailing in Britain, where he had laundered millions of pounds and sent his children to an expensive private school, was hailed as a high point in the international fight against graft and an important signal to other corrupt politicians. But his lawyer Ivan Krolick told Southwark Crown Court on Friday that Ibori was 95 percent certain to challenge his conviction in the Court of Appeal based on documents that have only recently been disclosed to the defence by the prosecution.At the same hearing, Stephen Kamlish, a lawyer for Ibori associate and convicted money launderer Bhadresh Gohil, said the documents showed there had been widespread police corruption followed by a cover-up that was still going on now.The main allegation is that a police officer involved in the Ibori probe took payments for information in 2007 from a firm of private detectives working on Iboris behalf.At the time, Ibori had not been arrested and was still in Nigeria, but knew that British police were investigating his finances.Kamlish said prosecution lawyers had known there was evidence of police corruption but had failed to disclose it to defence lawyers. Krolick told Reuters on the sidelines of Fridays court hearing that Ibori did not know about the payments at the time. The police have said that the allegation was thoroughly investigated and that no one was arrested or charged, and no misconduct identified. The officer against whom the allegations have been made is still in active service.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), after a lengthy internal investigation, said in September it was confident that the convictions of Ibori and Gohil remained valid. The CPS has said it found material to support the assertion that a police officer received payment in return for information.It did not use the word evidence, suggesting it did not consider the material in question amounted to proof.But the CPS conceded in September that the material should have been disclosed to the defence, and handed over thousands of documents to defence lawyers. Those were the documents that Kamlish and Krolick were referring to in court on Friday. Gohil has already filed an appeal against his conviction. Krolick said Ibori was likely to do so once his legal team had finished going through all the newly disclosed documents.As is normal under British procedures, Ibori is due to be released in December after serving half his sentence, taking into account pre-trial detention.Gohil, a British former lawyer, has already been released after serving half of a 10-year term for his role in laundering Iboris millions.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday granted N10 million in damages to controversial Nigerian senator, Di...

Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday granted N10 million in damages to controversial Nigerian senator, Dino Melaye, over a lawsuit filed by the senator against the Inspector General of Police.Mr. Melaye had filed the lawsuit in 2014 after the police stopped him from protesting against former Aviation minister, Stella Oduah, who had just been exposed by SaharaReporters for a scam in which she authorized the purchase of two overpriced bulletproof BMW cars for her personal use.Police had manhandled and briefly detained Mr. Melaye as he led a group of protesters against the former minister, who is now a senator representing Anambra State. The police had justified their actions on the grounds that Mr. Melaye and fellow protesters had not obtained permission to stage their protest.Justice Kolawole ruled that the police had violated Mr. Melayes rights, and awarded N10 million in damages to the senator.However, in a parting shot, the judge mocked Mr. Melaye as a self-styled anti-corruption activist. He said he awarded the cost to the plaintiff because Nigerians have a right to peaceful protest, but also noted that Mr. Melaye has now become a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.The usually loquacious Melaye made little noise about his court victory apparently because he and Ms. Oduah, the target of his aborted demonstration, are now both senators and part of a cabal at the Senate that backs Senate President Bukola Saraki who is facing trials for falsification of his asset declaration as well as money laundering.
The kidnappers that invaded Lagos State Model College, Igbonla in Epe Thursday and went away with four students, a teacher and a vice...

The kidnappers that invaded Lagos State Model College, Igbonla in Epe Thursday and went away with four students, a teacher and a vice principal ,are now demanding a ransom for their release.It was learnt yesterday that the kidnappers contacted families of three of their hostages early yesterday to make the ransom demand.The families refused to disclose how much was demanded of them,keeping to a warning by the hoodlums not to announce the sum.The abduction is particularly excruciating for the parents of one of the abducted students,Ruth,whose father was away in Benue State to make arrangement for the burial of his own father when he received news of Ruths kidnapping.He took the next available vehicle to return to Epe to see how he could get his daughter out of the kidnappers den.Ruths was all tears yesterday as she,accompanied by friends and relations,stormed the school to seek information on her daughter.Sources said the kidnappers contacted three families at 2am, 2:50am and 4am yesterday askig for ransom.This informed an emergency meeting of the parents and school management yesterday.It ended at about 5:30pm.The kidnappers, it was learnt, warned the parents to not disclose the ransom demanded to security agencies.They warned that failure to keep to their instruction would jeopardise the safety of their loved ones.A relation of one of the victims said: My sisters phone rang and a male voice instructed her to leave the place if there was anyone with her.The stranger said he was calling in respect of our kidnapped relative. He warned that details of the conversation should be divulged to security agents.He threatened that if the instruction was not adhered to, the family would be held responsible for anything that happens to the victim.Yes, they demanded for ransom. But I cannot tell you in order not to jeopardize the safety of our relative. But they demanded of millions of naira. My sister pleaded with them to bring down the amount that her husband was at the moment out of job but the stranger did not respond.She also asked to speak with our relative with them, but the request was not granted. She was told that she would be allowed to do so after agreement was reached on the payment.According to a source, some personal effects of the victims, including a mobile phone which fell down while they were being whisked away were recovered.Security agents yesterday intensified their search and rescue operations around Epe, Ikorodu and Ijebu-Ode, using air, land and waterways .It was gathered that the security agencies were also tracking the kidnappers to ascertain their identities and exact location.Efforts to get the police commands spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP) failed at the time of filing this report.It was also gathered that Ruths parents were in his home state of Benue on Thursday to plan for his own fathers burial when news reached them about their daughters kidnap.They quickly abandoned the burial arrangement to return to Epe.Ruths mother wept uncontrollably yesterday as she alighted from the vehicle that conveyed the family to the school. The visibly worried father paced sorrowfully behind his wife as other relations also betrayed emotions.Speaking with newsmen, one of the relations who identified herself as Ruths aunt, said:  My aunt travelled with the husband for the father inlaws burial. It was her friend who also has a child in the school that called to inform her about the incident. I live in Epe but wasnt aware of the incident until my father called to inform me. I quickly made contact with the woman and ran down to the school to check. When I got here, we searched everywhere for Ruth but didnt see her. We were told she was one of the victims.My sister and her husband returned from Benue today (Friday). They are inside the school with the management. We are yet to hear from the kidnappers. They are yet to call us to ask for ransom.
The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC said yesterday that the number of active mobile network subscribers in the country has hit 1...

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC said yesterday that the number of active mobile network subscribers in the country has hit 152 million as at August 2016.Its Executive Vice Chairman, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, also said Teledensity, which is measured as one Telephone to 100 of population, is above 107 percent while internet penetration has continued to rise with more than 97 million.Professor Danbatta, who made the remarks while delivering a keynote address on the NCC Day at the on-going Abuja International Trade Fair, said the development was a major leap for the NCC and the nations economy.He said that the eight-point agenda unfolded by the current leadership at the NCC was aimed at providing enhanced quality services, deepen broadband penetration and address issues of infrastructure development and deployment in the industry.Professor Danbatta who was represented by the Head of Public Relations, Mr Reuben Mouka, said: We presented a performance account of eight-point agenda of the EVC and one of the major highlights is that Nigeria has achieved more than 20 percent penetration as reported by the International Telecommunications Union.This is very good news because it shows we are nearer to the 2018 target of 30 percent broadband penetration as proposed by the National Broadband Strategic Report.Professor Danbatta, however, expressed concern on the increasing menace of pre-registered SIM card across the country, saying the commission had taken steps alongside security agencies to arrest the situation.He said the activities of agents of telecom companies indulged in pre-registered SIM was not only fraudulent, but pose serious threat to the security of the country. The attention of the commission has been drawn to this menace and the commission is leaving no stone unturned to arrest the situation. We have sent directives to the service providers to ensure that their agents are not used to perpetrate this fraud.But we urge the consumers to be wary of this fraud to avoid being victims of the circumstances. Members of the public are advised to desist from buying or using pre-registered SIM cards and to report anybody selling or buying pre-registered SIM cards, Professor Danbatta said.He urged telecom consumers to take advantage of the Do Not Disturb Code 2442 launched by the commission to get rid of unsolicited messages, adding that service providers have been mandated to ensure that they not only provide the solution to consumers but also create awareness about it.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says Nigeria is currently meeting with China, International Monetary Fund (...

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says Nigeria is currently meeting with China, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank on its economic objectives.Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington, Emefiele said the country is in discussion with Chinese delegates on investing in Nigeria.Basically, there is a lot of networking meetings going on, and I can assure you that meetings are going on with some of our partners, China particularly, Emefiele said.We are going into a meeting with Chinese delegation. I know that with the meeting that would be held with the Managing Director of IMF as well World Bank Group, we are going to achieve some of the objectives.Speaking on the IMF three-pronged approach on using fiscal, monetary and trade policies to achieve economic growth, the governor said Nigeria had been doing that before IMF spoke of it at this meeting.Basically there is no gainsaying the fact that, that has to be the direction everybody has to go and I think that we are doing that in Nigeria, he said.There is serious coordination and collaboration between the monetary and fiscal authorities, and I believe that if we continue in this direction, we would achieve that objective.We have done a couple of reforms, such as the flexible exchange rate regime. It is picking up gradually. When you are in the type of situation that we are in, naturally you find out that people are a little bit skeptical.But with time, as we develop the confidence, we would begin to see more of them coming into the country.On diversifying foreign reserves into Renminbi, Emefiele said: I believe in the course of time, we would achieve it. Nigeria happens to be one of the foremost countries in the world that adopted the Renminbi as a reserve currency.We would work together with China to ensure that we also get our fair share of the benefit from this arrangement.ADEOSUN: NIGERIA TOO BIG TO FAILOn her part, Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, said: If we can invest in critical infrastructure, we can improve productivity, create jobs and that would be very comforting for our people. Nigeria is too big to fail.We are too significant in the region to under-perform. So, what we are trying to do is to reset the Nigerian story so that we can grow. To grow, we need to have the enabling infrastructure.We need to have power and we have gotten some commitments. We also need to improve transport, rail, housing. We are really confident that we would get back to growth.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday it had commenced wide consultation with major stakeholders of the party to address th...

The All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday it had commenced wide consultation with major stakeholders of the party to address the bad blood generated by the partys recent governorship primaries in Ondo State.APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, whose handling of the dispute drew flak from the partys national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, called for truce yesterday.He stressed the need for the APC to go into the election as a united body instead of dissipating energy on issues that could be resolved with the aid of the partys internal mechanism.Oyegun who also responded to Tinubus call to resign for allegedly overruling the APC National Working Committee (NWC) vote on the Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee Report said he felt insulted by the allegation.He said : 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.He added: 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 the 2016 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 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.On the allegation that he used the period of prayer interlude to excuse himself and went to submit the name of Akeredolunto INEC, he said 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.On the allegation of corruption, he said: 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.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).
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria on Saturday said it would institute a legal action against the Kaduna State Government for declaring the...

The Islamic Movement in Nigeria on Saturday said it would institute a legal action against the Kaduna State Government for declaring the group illegal.Spokesperson of the movement, Ibraheem Musa, told newsmen in Kaduna that the ban announced by the government was illegal.He said, Its an infringement on our basic right as citizens of the country.We are not going to be intimidated into taking any violence or unlawful activity but will take legal action against the Kaduna State Government for the infringement.The government had on Oct. 7 declared the IMN an unlawful society.The government in a statement said that it took the decision to preserve peace and security in the state.He said, The action is also taken to ensure that all persons and organisations are guided by lawful conduct and with due allegiance to the Nigerian state and its Constitution.(NAN)
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress,APC, Chief Odigie Oyegun has responded to a letter written to him by the partys Nati...

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress,APC, Chief Odigie Oyegun has responded to a letter written to him by the partys National Leader, Bola Tinubu, saying the issues raised were reckless and false.He also pleaded with party members to avoid displaying their grievances in the media, adding that internal dispute resolution mechanisms should be explored.Oyegun in the letter yesterday noted that engaging in intra-party rivalry would prevent the party from fulfilling the promises made to Nigerians.The letter partly reads: 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 September 19, 2016 to Thursday, 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 September 22, 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. 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. Read more here Nobody has the kind of money that can buy my conscience, Odigie-Oyegun tells Tinubu.
Governor Nyesom Wike has explained why he intervened early Saturday as the State Security Services laid siege on the home of a federal j...

Governor Nyesom Wike has explained why he intervened early Saturday as the State Security Services laid siege on the home of a federal judge in Port Harcourt.Operatives of the SSS launched an overnight assault on the residences of senior judges across the country between Friday and Saturday in search of evidence linking the judges to corruption.Multiple sources said the clampdown began in Gombe State where the SSS arrested Muazu Pindiga who served on the elections tribunal in Rivers State.The operation continued in Abuja on Friday night into early Saturday morning.Mr. Wike arrived as the operation to arrest Justice Mohammed Liman, residing at Number 35 Forces Avenue in Port Harcourt, began, the governors spokesperson, Simeon Nwakaudu, said in a statement.Mr. Wike was quoted as telling journalists that he would not allow the SSS and other security agencies perpetrate needless impunity in the state.He said if the security agencies had a lawful directive to implement, they must follow due process.Not under my watch will I allow this kind of impunity to take place, the governor was quoted as saying. That is why we are here. I dont know which judge they were detailed to abduct. I didnt bother myself to know which judge. All I am interested in is that, at this level, it is not allowed.He is not a criminal and he is not an armed robber. If the person has committed an offence, invite him. It is only when he refuses to honour the invitation that you can adopt this commando style.Mr. Wike said he had been threatened by armed agents who wanted to attack him.The Commissioner of Police is here, the Director of DSS is here. Their operatives cocked their guns and threatened to shoot me. I have never seen that before. Again, this is to tell you what we are facing. We know that more will come. For us in this state, we shall continue to resist it, he said.Mr. Wike added: It doesnt matter what it will cost. When you talk about liberty, sacrifices must be made. We are not trying to stop an arrest. All we are saying is that things must be done decently and in line with the rule of law.Rivers State is under siege. For you to see a governor out at this time of the day, something is wrong. A siege is an understatement. If this type of thing happens next time, the people will resist it to the last.
ATLANTIC CITY -- A proposal to cut the number of wards in Atlantic City from six to four drew harsh criticism from five council members who called it "insulting and racist."

Council President Marty Small

Led by Council President Marty Small, the quintet issued a statement calling the idea a "deceitful scheme" to minimize African-American representation on the council.

In addition to a council member from each ward, there are three at-large council members.

Kaleem Shabazz, William Marsh, Jesse Kurtz and Aaron Randolph joined Small in issuing the statement, which argues "concentrating more people into less Wards will diminish the individual character of the city's neighborhoods in political representation."

The city clerk's office already turned down the request to put the question on the ballot, saying it doesn't comply with state law. One of the three councilman who made the pitch, Frank Gilliam, responded by suing the clerks' office.

George Tibbitt and Chuen "Jimmy" Cheng also support putting the question on next month's ballot.

Each council member is paid $28,000.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MULLICA TOWNSHIP -- A federal court has dismissed a suit by a teacher who claimed she was targeted by school district officials after an incident in her kindergarten classroom where two children reportedly said they were engaged in sexual play.

A Mullica Township teacher has had her lawsuit against her school district dismissed. (File Photo)

U.S. District Court Judge Robert B. Kugler, sitting in Camden, tossed the claim by Mullica Township School District teacher Kelly Mascio brought against the district and its then-superintendent of schools.

Mascio had sued, claiming that the district and Superintendent Brenda Harring-Marro were guilty of violating her civil rights, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation in how they treated her after the incident.

The suit stems from an incident on Sept. 30, 2014 in which, according to court documents, Mascio, a longtime teacher in the district, was showing students an education film.

According to court filings, during the film one male and one female student went into a bathroom attached to the classroom and "removed some of their clothing and touched each others' private parts ..."

When Mascio was told by another student that the pair were in the bathroom, she immediately got them out and, according to court documents, reported the incident to the school psychologist.

After the incident the school district sought to terminate her and filed tenure charges against Mascio for conduct unbecoming of a teacher and unprofessional conduct for "failure to properly supervise her students."

The district sought Mascio's termination, according to court records. While she was suspended for a time -- despite a large public show of support for her -- an arbitrator from the New Jersey Department of Education ruled against her termination. The arbitrator did say that the district "had proper cause to discipline plaintiff due to her failure to properly supervise the two students."

The arbitrator ordered a 10-day suspension for Mascio and ruled she should receive all back pay and benefits.

Mascio, in her federal suit, claimed that school officials accused her of being on her cellphone when the children went in to the bathroom.

The teacher said officials "harassed and retaliated against her" and "conspired to revoke her tenure and terminate her." Mascio also claimed in her suit that school officials began "issuing her negative performance reviews and subjecting her to 'selective, intrusive and unnecessary observation.'"

Mascio claimed the actions caused her to suffer "damage to her reputation and severe emotional distress."

In the federal court opinion on Mascio's suit, Kugler found there were not enough facts to support Mascio's claims that her civil rights were violated, there was negligence in the school district's handling of the case involving her or that she suffered intentional infliction of emotional distress.

On her claim of defamation, the court said statute of limitations had passed for her to file a claim.

Attorney Brett Gorman who argued the case in federal court on behalf of the school district had no comment on the ruling.

Telephone messages left at the offices of the school district attorney and Mascio's attorney seeking comment on the dismissal were not returned Friday.

Mascio is still employed as a kindergarten teacher in the district. Harring-Marro is no longer working as the district's superintendent.

Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Donald Trump

FILE In this April 5, 1990 file photo, Donald Trump raises his fist during ceremonies for the opening the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump once owned three Atlantic City casinos, but cut most ties with the city by 2009. On Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, the last vestige of Donald Trump will vanish from Atlantic City when the Trump Taj Mahal casino shuts down. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

(Charles Rex Arbogast)

Another one bites the dust.

The Taj Mahal, once the crown jewel of the Trump family business in Atlantic City, will close Monday, the fifth casino to close in less than three years in the struggling city.

More than 3,000 workers will be affected.

The Taj has struggled since 2003, when the Borgata opened. That casino had its best month ever in July.

The city has gone through several booms in the last century.

A building boom hit in the early part of the 20th century with larger hotels replacing smaller boarding houses along the boardwalk.

Later, during Prohibition, Atlantic City became known as "The World's Playground" due to the city's lack of enforcement of the law. Illegal ambling and drinking regularly took place in the back rooms of nightclubs and restaurants.

Between the 1930s and 1960s, nightlife was king, with many nightclubs popping up around the city.

By the mid 1960s, many of the once-thriving resorts were suffering, and by the 1970s and 1980s, many were demolished.

Legalized gambling officially came to the city in 1978 as an effort to revitalize the city.

By the end of the 1980s, Atlantic City became one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States.

But the boom was short-lived as casinos came to Connecticut in the late 1990s and then later to Pennsylvania, cutting into AC's market, especially from north Jersey gamblers.

Four of the city's casinos closed in 2014, including Revel, which had only opened two years prior. The high-end casino and hotel was the first new hotel in nearly ten years. Many mega resorts were planned but scrapped during the recession.

Many fear that opening casinos in north Jersey, which is on the ballot next month, will kill Atlantic City for good despite the promise that revenue from north Jersey casinos would go to help the struggling city.

The clock is also ticking on a state takeover.

Atlantic City has been on the brink of bankruptcy on and off for more than a year, as state and local leaders have argued over how to prevent the city from financial ruin.

Gov. Chris Christie signed a rescue package this year that gave the city until Nov. 3 to come up with a five-year financial plan. If the state does not accept the plan, it can take over large parts of the local government. A $73 million loan was designed to tide the city over.

Since 1921, the city has been the site for the Miss America Pageant, but that doesn't mean the annual affair helps the city economically.

The city where big names like Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra once came to play is now a shadow of that glorious past.

Has Atlantic City lost its luster?
Legal links to sprout on Silk Road Updated: 2016-10-08 01:49 By Zhang Yan(China Daily)

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".
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.
Deutsche Bank 'to weigh capital options with lenders' Updated: 2016-10-08 09:59 (China Daily)

A woman walks in front of a branch of Deutsche Bank in Cologne, Germany.[Photo/ Agencies ]

Deutsche Bank AG is holding informal talks with securities firms to explore options including raising capital should mounting legal bills require it, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Senior advisers at top Wall Street firms are speaking to representatives of the German lender about ideas including a share sale and asset disposals, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

The banks are offering to help underwrite a stock sale to raise about 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) should the bank need it, the people said. That is about the maximum amount in discounted shares Deutsche Bank can sell without needing shareholder approval, if the firms decide to raise capital, the people said. The firm could also go to shareholders to request approval for more funds.

Deutsche Bank is deliberating whether to sell the shares once it reaches a settlement with the US Justice Department of a probe tied to residential mortgage-backed securities, said the people. No final decisions have been made and the bank could decide against a capital increase, they said. The result will largely depend on the size of the fine, which Bloomberg Intelligence estimates may range from $4 billion to $8 billion based on settlements of similar investigations of other banks, the people said.

JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp are the top-ranked advisers on share sales globally this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Some bank managers are also offering public words of encouragement, which could help secure mandates down the road. JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, said the German lender should be able to weather its problems.

Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan told Germany's Bild newspaper late last month that he doesn't plan to raise capital.

Deutsche Bank has also informally spoken to potential anchor investors, including new and existing shareholders, to back a possible capital increase, the people said.

Some of Germany's biggest publicly traded companies are prepared to buy shares in Deutsche Bank to prop up the lender in the event of a potentially crippling legal fine in the US, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Thursday. Some of the bank's biggest shareholders include the Qatari royal family, BlackRock Inc and Norges Bank, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Record low

Deutsche Bank shares touched a record low last month after the government initially requested $14 billion to settle the probe, more than twice the 5.5 billion euros that the lender had set aside for litigation as of the end of June.

Deutsche Bank may also face a penalty in a money-laundering probe tied to its Russia operations, with analysts at Barclays Plc speculating it could cost them as much as 2 billion euros.

Cryan has sought to reassure investors that he's able to boost profitability as concerns about mounting legal costs prompted investors to question the lender's financial health. Deutsche Bank has long struggled to adapt to an era of tougher capital requirements and diminished trading revenue.

Cryan has already said that the lender may fail to be profitable this year, calling it a peak restructuring year, as he eliminates thousands of jobs and cuts risky assets.

The lender's CET1 ratio, a measure of financial strength, was at 10.8 percent at the end of June. It seeks to reach a ratio of at least 12.5 percent by the end of 2018.

'Unattractive' options

Investors and bankers have also called on Deutsche Bank to provide clarity on its business strategy.

The debate revolves around whether the firm should retain its status as a universal financierthat provides investment banking, asset- and wealth management and retail while shrinking fixed income and cutting costs to muddle throughor if it should retreat to its roots of being a German and European corporate lender and retail bank, jettisoning the investment bank.

Bloomberg
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.
Tourist trips, revenue hit record high during National Day holiday Updated: 2016-10-08 11:02 (Xinhua)

BEIJING - 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) 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.
Community

Its now easier than ever to connect and chat with others in your local area. You can connect with your community by asking general questions, give area updates and recommendations and even let your community know about local events that are taking place.
IMF, World Bank leaders call for inclusive globalization Updated: 2016-10-08 12:50 (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON - 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.
Xinjiang sees growing gas imports from Central Asia Updated: 2016-10-08 14:53 (Xinhua)

URUMQI - Natural gas imports to China through Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have grown this year, local customs said.

As of the end of August, more than 16.75 million tons of natural gas had been imported through Xinjiang this year, up 15.58 percent year on year. Trade volume totaled 28.1 billion yuan (about $4.5 billion).

Eighty percent of the imported gas came from Turkmenistan, and the rest was imported from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.

More than 99 percent arrived through gas pipelines, and the rest was transported through highway and rail routes.

The China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, which started operating in 2009, has delivered 108 million tons of gas to date, customs figures showed.

The project, which has three lines in operation, are China's first major energy cooperation project in central Asia, stretching from Turkmenistan across Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China.

Customs officials said the growth in natural gas imports can be attributed to multiple cooperation projects between China and Central Asia under the Belt and Road initiative.

The initiative includes the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, which make up a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.
So lethal it could pose a terrorism threat, chemical remains available online

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 per 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 its 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 itself.

Its a weapon, said Andrew Weber, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense 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 theater in 2002.

The chemicals are banned from the battlefield under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In fiscal year 2014, U.S. authorities seized just 8.1 pounds of fentanyl. This fiscal year, through just mid-July, they have seized 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 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.

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.

***

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 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.

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.

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.

***

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. 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 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 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.

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 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.

***

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
The Titans are in position to add a further three players to their roster for the 2017 season but insist they do not have the cap space to sign another marquee player.

With confirmation that Luke Douglas is leaving this week to take up a three-year deal with St Helens, the Titans have lost more than 800 games of NRL experience from this year's team and added only Jarrod Wallace (Broncos) and Dan Sarginson (Wigan) as new faces.

2017 NRL player transfers





The club has been linked with moves to sign both Paul Vaughan from the Raiders and Kevin Proctor from Melbourne but Titans chief operating officer Tony Mestrov said that they had bowed out of the race for Vaughan's signature and have made no approach to Proctor, who is contracted to the Storm for a further season.

Much of Neil Henry's success in taking the Titans to the finals for the first time in six years this year was attributed to his patience with the club's salary cap and having the space to add the likes of Nathan Peats, Konrad Hurrell and Jarryd Hayne mid-season.

While Mestrov told NRL.com that they will be again be prepared to wait for the right players to a certain extent, he would like to have the 25-man squad all but finalised when pre-season training begins in a month's time.

"Every club at the moment is having a look to see who they've got and who they might be able to buy and we're definitely looking to fill probably three spots on our roster," Mestrov said.

"Mainly forwards that you would hope come through and play quite a number of games of first grade, they're the type of players we're looking at at the moment.

"We're in a different situation to last year where we had room in the cap and money to spend. I'm not sure if we're going to have that luxury this year."

Proctor recently expressed a desire to return to Queensland to be closer to family which immediately threw the Titans into the mix but Mestrov confirmed no official approach had been made by the club.

"Our position hasn't changed. Melbourne haven't released him and there's been no offer from us," he said.

Mestrov also stated that lock forward Greg Bird is now a "year-by-year" proposition at the Titans and that either Bird or his management would have to approach the club if he wanted a release from the final year of his contract.
Coordinated development for optimized growth Updated: 2016-10-08 07:23 By Robert Lawrence Kuhn(China Daily)

Workers at a steel factory in Dalian, Liaoning province. [Photo/China Daily]

Coordinated Development is the second of the Five Major Development Concepts, President Xi Jinping's guiding strategy to transform China's economy. In order to optimize economic development, both the efficient allocation of resources and equitable access to resources are essential.

Historically, from the beginning of reform, China's single-minded focus on economic growth, necessary at the time, generated inevitable problemsespecially imbalances across geographies, sectors and classesthe disparities between urban and rural and between the eastern/coastal and western/inland regions. Moreover, economic competition among provinces and cities encouraged inefficient allocation of resources and exacerbated industrial overcapacity.

While China now recognizes that the market must play a "decisive" role, there are still issues, such as how to integrate diverse regions and how to rebalance urban and rural areas.

That's why the Chinese government has designated "Coordinated Development" as a prime policy to optimize economic transformation. Coordinated development means addressing and reducing diverse kinds of duplications and imbalances: it means different regions, especially adjacent regions, specializing in complementary not competitive industries and centers of excellence; and it means integrating the developmental planning of richer and poorer areas, such as rural regions of poverty on the outskirts of modern cities.

Nationally, coordinated development means comprehensive regional initiatives integrating multiple provinces and cities, such as the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei province urbanized region. Internationally, coordinated development means the Belt and Road Initiative, involving more than 60 countries in infrastructure development.

In examining the Five Major Development Concepts for Closer to China with R.L. Kuhn, my weekly show on CCTV News (Sundays 9:30 am and 9:30 pm), I learned that a national example of coordinated development is the city of Luzhou in southwestern China's Sichuan province. I wanted to find out why.

Located at the intersection between Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, Luzhou was traditionally a marginal area. I met Luzhou Mayor Liu Qiang, who explained how the city has been transformed from a center for producing Chinese liquor (baijiu) into a prime coordinating center in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

"Luzhou has incongruities," he said, "uneven urban-rural development, especially in education and health. Also, neighboring Yunnan province has poverty-stricken counties in its mountainous areas. We must invest, especially in technology and the training of personnel, and we are implementing the national mandate for 'precision poverty reduction'. The burden is heavy."

Luzhou is a major port on the Yangtze River and the largest in Sichuan. The Yangtze links half of China, and the Yangtze River Economic Belt connects nine provinces and two of China's major cities, Chongqing, the great western center, and Shanghai, China's economic engine on the sea.

Liu explained how Luzhou works with the megalopolises. "With Chongqing, we cooperate in tourism, agriculture, complementary industries and transportation interoperability. With Shanghai, we have agreements in science and technology and innovation-driven development, and we invite Shanghai companies to Luzhou."

Due to its geographic location, Luzhou decided to become a transportation huband at its center is the Luzhou port, which connects the city with the entire Yangtze River Economic Belt. Cargo goods from Luzhou can now reach the Republic of Korea via Nanjing in Jiangsu province, and Taiwan via Wuhan, Hubei province. Additionally, in 2011, the government spent 500 million yuan ($74.97 million) to build the first railway-river combined transportation system.

More than raw economic growth is required though. To improve standards of living in one of China's least developed regions, Luzhou's strategy is also to become a regional educational and health center.

Liu does not fear competition. "Competition is the driving force of development," he said. "I find competition good, even necessary. Besides, there is now more cooperation. For instance, Luzhou and its neighboring cities are coordinating infrastructure, industry, environmental protection, and various exchanges. Sichuan is signing agreements with Chongqing, Yunnan and Guizhou. We tell each other what we want, and where we need support. Since the Five Major Development Concepts were raised, the cooperation between provinces has been more and deeper."

Coordinated development is especially important in China where provincial rivalries have contributed to industrial duplications and overcapacities. Similar risks remain. The challenge is to get provinces and cities to cooperate as well as to compete in order to optimize development.

The author is a public intellectual, political/economics commentator, and international corporate strategist.
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.
Nearly 100 employees will lose their jobs when Kmart closes its 42-year-old Merrillville store in December.

Kmart filed a WARN notice with the state of Indiana warning that it will lay off around 99 workers when it permanently closes its Merrillville store on Dec. 11. A company spokesman said the store at 101 W. Lincoln has been underperforming and that most of the laid-off workers will be part-time, hourly workers.

The layoffs are set to begin on Dec. 4, according to the WARN notice. WARN stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which is the name of the law that requires employers to file the layoff notices.

In the latest round of store closures, the beleaguered retailer is shuttering 64 of its big-box locations nationwide. This summer, Kmart closed its Lansing location at at 17355 Torrence Ave.

The Hoffman Estates-based company was once the second largest retailer in the United States and remains the third largest big box operator after Walmart and Target. It still has locations locally in Griffith, Chesterton, Valparaiso and LaPorte.
There's only room in this town for one Texas-themed steakhouse, a big national chain asserts.

Texas Roadhouse, which is actually based in Louisville, Kentucky, is fighting a court battle with the much smaller Northwest Indiana-based Texas Corral over alleged trademark infringement in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana.

Founded in Southern Indiana in 1993, Texas Roadhouse now has 460 locations in the United States and five more in the Middle East. It's suing Texas Corral, a Northwest Indiana-based chain that dates back to 1996 and has 10 locations in southwest Michigan and Chicagoland, including in Highland, Merrillville, Michigan City, and Portage. The lawsuit contends that Texas Corral and the Amarillo Steakhouse in Schererville are too similar to Texas Roadhouse in name, logo, street signs, menu, website design and even the look of their buildings.

Texas Roadhouse filed the federal lawsuit against various companies that own Texas Corral franchises, including Texas Coral Restaurants Inc. of Highland, Crown Point-based Switzer Properties, Texas Corral of Michigan City, Schererville-based Chicago Roadhouse Concepts, and Texcor, which runs the Portage and Merrillville steakhouses.

The Kentucky-based steakhouse chain alleges Texas Corral is violating its registered service mark on a design that includes an outline of the state of Texas wearing a cowboy hat inside a circle. Texas Roadhouse argues in the federal lawsuit that Texas Corral copied its signs, buildings, interior design and even jukeboxes.

"Texas Corral's use is likely to cause confusion, cause mistake, or deceive consumers, prospective consumers and the public as to whether Texas Corral's services are endorsed by, sponsored by, or somehow, affiliated with Texas Roadhouse or whether Texas Corral has permission from Texas Roadhouse to use the infringing names, marks, logos and designs," Texas Roadhouse's lawyers argued in the lawsuit, which was first filed in Michigan in 2014, but was transferred to Indiana earlier this year. "Upon information and belief, the actions of Texas Coral were undertaken with an intentional, willful, or malicious intent to trade upon the goodwill associated with the Texas Roadhouse marks."

The international steakhouse chain is asking a judge to order Texas Corral to stop using its name, logo, and other service marks that could be confused with the Texas Roadhouse brand. Texas Roadhouse is also asking for damages and "all profits" associated with use of its name and look.

After the case was moved to federal court in Hammond earlier this year, Texas Corral owners asked for lawsuit to be dismissed against individual defendant Paul Switzer, who's listed as the owner of Texas Corral steakhouses in Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo, Mich. Texas Corral contended Texas Roadhouse failed to "allege factual allegations which rise above a mere 'speculative level,'" and that statutes of limitation have expired.

Late in September, Texas Corral owners filed a motion asking the case to be broken up since there are 10 different defendants.

"Given the large number of issues and parties involved in this case, the discovery and disposition of the issue of liability, alone, will require a burdensome amount of discovery," Texas Corral's lawyers argued.

Texas Roadhouse is fighting against that motion, arguing the owners of the 10 steakhouses in Northwest Indiana, Illinois and southwest Michigan work in tandem.
CROWN POINT  For the ninth time in two years, Lake County Criminal Court Judge Clarence Murray confirmed a jury trial date for James Lee Taylor, who is charged with murdering Alex Lenore on April 24, 2013, in East Chicago.

Past trial dates were canceled when the Lake County prosecutors office filed additional charges against the now 27-year-old man, including that he allegedly conspired to have five witnesses killed.

Taylor also is charged with armed robbery in Hammond in May 2013. That intertwining of cases came up again during Fridays 13th pretrial conference. Defense attorney Arlington Foley Sr. told the judge he is filing motions including a motion to withdraw my motion to sever the cases for trial and to preclude the DNA evidence taken from his client in 2014.

Foley said he received a fax about DNA evidence in the case from Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Bruno just the day before.

The state has had this since Nov. 16, 2014, Foley told Murray. There is new evidence. It is possible that I will file a motion to continue.

However, Murray confirmed the jury trial date to begin with jury selection Oct. 17. Bruno said the prosecution planned to call between eight and 10 witnesses during the trial that could last a week or 10 days.

Taylor faces charges of murder, battery, criminal gang activity and being a habitual offender in the original case.

The witnesses in the murder case told detectives Taylor was angry Lenore had taken him to a rival gangs territory in East Chicago, because Taylor has gang-related face tattoos, according to court records.
GARY -- Two 29-year-old Gary men were found shot, with one pronounced dead on the scene, Saturday morning in an alley south of 20th Avenue and Virginia Street, according to police.

The Lake County coroner's office identified the deceased man as Akeem Oliver, 29 of the 4200 block of 20th Ave., Gary. Police declined to name the other shooting victim Saturday.

Gary police were dispatched to the area at approximately 8:30 a.m. after receiving a call of shots fired. En route to the scene, the call was upgraded to gun shot victims, police said.

Police discovered a vehicle in the alley upon arrival, with one of the gunshot victims found outside it, according to a news release. He was transported to a hospital for treatment.

Oliver was found inside the vehicle with a gunshot wound. He was later pronounced dead on the scene by the Lake County Coroner's office.

Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact Detective Ed Gonzalez of the Lake County/Gary Metro Homicide Unit at (219) 755-3855 or the Crime Tip Line at 866-CRIME-GP.
Union Township School Corp. Superintendent John Hunter was recognized this week by his peers for his leadership of the school district in a time of state funding decline.

Hunter was named 2017 District I Superintendent of the Year by members of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, according to the association.

He was selected by other superintendents who consider the accomplishments of colleagues during a time of limited resources.

Hunter has been Union Township superintendent since 2005. Per-pupil funding in Union Township has fallen from $5,168 to $4,967 in the past eight years, according to the association.

In 2010, the district cut its budget by $350,000. The district also reduced spending and passed a referendum for additional operating funds in 2013 by a 58 to 42 percent margin.

In the past two years, the district increased its cash balance from 4 percent to 10 percent.

During his time at Union Township, the district has increased the number of electives for high school students, added counseling and art teaching staff and lowered class sizes at the elementary schools.

Hunter is a member of Kiwanis International, is president of the Porter County Insurance Trust, and is chair of the Northwest Indiana Superintendents Study Council.
WASHINGTON  Russia cannot be ignored. Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has never posed such a vexing problem to U.S. policymakers as it does now. From Eastern Europe to the Middle East and increasingly Asia and the Americas, Russia is making its voice heard and its presence felt.

After a brief period of looking inward during much of President Barack Obamas first term, Russia has returned to the international stage with zeal under Vladimir Putin. Russia is militarily involved in Syria, supports separatists in eastern Ukraine and areas of Georgia and has even been accused of trying to meddle in the U.S. presidential race. At the same time, the Obama administration has been forced to accept that working with Russia is probably the only way to achieve results on many complicated international issues. Thus, Russia was central in the Iran nuclear negotiations and is a player as well as negotiator in the Syria truce effort.

Where they stand

Republican Donald Trump advocates improved relations with Russia  Wouldnt it be nice if we actually got along with Russia? has been a standard line in his campaign speeches  and has been strikingly complimentary of Putins strong leadership style, contrasting it favorably with that of Obama. Some of Trumps current and former top advisers have been criticized for being too close to Putin, and Democrats have accused the businessman of pandering for Russian praise. Trump, however, is not the first politician to champion better U.S. ties with Russia.

In fact, one of Hillary Clintons first initiatives as secretary of state in 2009 was to reset relations with Moscow, an effort that produced decidedly mixed results.

The reset policy had some successes while Putin was taking a break from the Russian presidency. On Putins return, though, the reset began to unwind and Russia started to take positions directly opposed to the U.S., notably in support of President Bashar Assad in Syria and then in Ukraine. Clinton has had direct negotiating experience with Putin and his aides and that has left her wary of cooperating with Moscow. Her campaign says she will stand up to Vladimir Putin, deter Russian aggression in Europe and increase the costs to Putin for his actions.

Libertarian Gary Johnson also sees the nation working as a partner with Russia. We need to join hands with Russia diplomatically to deal with Syria, Johnson said last month on Bloombergs With All Due Respect.

Why it matters

Relations between the former Cold War foes  the owners of the most nuclear weapons on Earth  are arguably some of the most important to leaders in both the White House and Kremlin. Animosity or cordial friendship can bring profound changes in international affairs and the next president will have to engage or confront Russia on a variety of matters, not least of which are allegations that Russia is behind the hacks of Democratic National Committee emails.

The conflicts in Syria and Eastern Ukraine will not end without Russian buy-in, and Russia will have to be involved in any new effort to bring North Korea back to denuclearization talks. In the meantime, Russia is a driving force behind the co-called BRICS group of nations  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  that sees itself as a balance to the U.S. superpower and may also present problems for the U.S.
EAST CHICAGO  Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb said state government is attending to the medical needs of residents living near the city's USS Lead Superfund site.

Holcomb traveled here early Saturday to visit the "One Stop Shop" at the 151st Street Recreation Center in the West Calumet Housing Complex where several people took advantage of free testing and immunizations as well as state health insurance sign ups.

"It was good to watch the One Stop Shop's working. The residents deserve nothing less than to have access to all the services they need. I had a fantastic meeting with the mayor, (City Health Commissioner) Dr. Gerri C. Browning," Holcomb said.

Holcomb said he asked Mayor Anthony Copeland if the state could do more. "The mayor said he just appreciates the beautiful relationship they have had with the state. We will continue to be there to work together with the mayor," Holcomb said.

Holcomb, the Republican candidate for governor, said his stop here wasn't a political event or a response to critics complaining of Gov. Mike Pence's failure to visit earlier this year.

Jeff Harris, spokesman for John Gregg, the Democratic candidate for governor, said Saturday Gregg toured the West Calumet neighborhood five weeks earlier so Holcomb is a little tardy in recognizing the crisis over lead- and arsenic-tainted soil there.

"It was nice of him to finally make his way there and we are glad for any help they provide," Harris said.

"The state has long been on the ground with staff and funding, making sure the state is doing everything we can to assist East Chicago and the mayor in working with EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and HUD (U.S. Housing and Urban Development) at the federal level to ensure this process moves forward," Holcomb said.

"This is not a political issue. We are focused primarily on making sure residents have not just free blood lead testing, but also flu shots and immunizations and birth certificates as well as state ID's, and state-financed health insurance before they move to the next location," he said.

Additional events are planned from noon to 4 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 15, noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 21, and noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 28 for The One Stop Shop at 4925 Gladiola St.
MICHIGAN CITY  Mayor Ron Meer seems to have support for a pay raise, but not 19 percent.

The City Council has decided to knock down Meer's request to 10 percent and vote on that figure before the year is over.

City Council President Tim Bietry said he agrees with the mayor that he's underpaid, but close to 20 percent at one time is a bit much.

"We all knew there was going to have to be an increase, so we tried to find some medium ground," said Bietry.

It's been close to a decade since the mayor has been given a raise. Currently, over 40 city employees receive more pay.

In comparison, the mayors of Hammond, Gary, East Chicago and South Bend all earn over $100,000, while communities like Crown Point, Whiting and Lake Station pay their top office holder in the $80,000 range.

If a 10 percent pay hike is granted, the mayor's salary will be over $75,000, a figure still less than what's earned by the city attorney and several other employees, like the general managers of the sanitary district and water department.

Chris Schwanke, one of two members of the council opposed to giving the mayor a 10 percent raise, feels 5 percent is more appropriate.

He said that's what city employees will receive when adding their raise from three years ago to what's being proposed for them in 2017.

"My opinion was the mayor is only entitled to what the employees have received. Not any more," said Schwanke, who called 19 percent all at once "an unwarranted amount."

Meer is not surprised he won't receive the whole amount he was seeking and knows it could hurt him politically, but feels it's deserved.

He took note of the revitalization occurring in the downtown and other parts of the north end. The increase would not come from tax dollars but, instead, from the water and sewer departments that operate totally on user fees.

If anything else, he said, the mayor's salary should command respect for a position that oversees a $50 million budget and should be high enough to attract quality individuals in the future.

"I think it's important from that point," Meer said.
INDIANAPOLIS  Gary Roosevelt school leaders said the school is continuing to make strides with students, improving academics and attendance, and reducing the number of suspensions.

The Roosevelt College and Career Academy is a turnaround academy operated by EdisonLearning, a Tennessee-based private management company. The Indiana State Board of Education approved turning over the failing high school to EdisonLearning in 2011 to improve academics at the school. While the school has made some improvements, it continues to get a failing grade from the Indiana Department of Education.

Gary Roosevelt Superintendent Sabrena Davis and Principal Donna Henry provided a slide presentation and made a report to the Indiana State Board of Education by telephone Wednesday.

The pair said there are 606 students in grades seven through 12 at the school. They said the number fluctuates due to new enrollments and transfers.

Davis said they have reduced the number of suspensions from year-to-year and month-to-month. At this time last year in September, there were about 83 suspensions compared to 55 this year.

Our referrals are also lower, she said. The security staff is working with administrators to ensure we have proper protocols in the classroom.

Davis said theyve been able to create a healthy and safe school environment for teachers and students. She said the student attendance rate is currently above 90 percent.

Davis said school corporations across the state have been challenged to find and retain quality teachers. We have maintained a high percentage of staff retention, she said.

Henry said they are seeing improvement in student test scores as a result of an extra math lab that students are taking. She said the focus is on teaching students the concept and process for solving problems.

Davis outlined some of the goals including setting high expectations for all students and staff by ensuring student work is intellectually challenging and demonstrating mastery of skills and ensuring that all students receive meaningful feedback. Davis said administrators have outlined professional development priorities for teachers and all staff.

Davis said administrators are working with community members, including the Purdue University Extension Program, which provides nutrition classes for pregnant/parenting teens and supports those teens for two years after the childs birth.

Earlier this year, the State Board of Education extended the contract with EdisonLearning to operate Roosevelt College and Career Academy in Gary for an additional year.

The contract extension allows EdisonLearning and the Gary Community School Corp. an opportunity to finalize plans to work together and operate the school, transitioning it into a transformation zone/innovation network.
What tourists mean for the 'eye of heaven' Updated: 2016-10-08 07:33 By Zhang Zhouxiang(China Daily)

Aerial view of the world's largest radio telescope called FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope) in Pingtang county, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou province, 25 September 2016.[Photo/IC]

"The eye of heaven is open for tourists now!" The news quickly spread across the internet. The "eye of heaven" refers to the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (or FAST), the largest in the world, used to gaze into the depths of the universe.

Parts of the FAST zone, in Pingtang county of Southwest China's Guizhou province, were opened to tourists in late September. By paying 368 yuan ($55.18) for a ticket, tourists can visit certain parts of the observatory. And as expected, 140,000 people visited the FAST zone during the just-concluded weeklong National Day holiday.

Opening parts of the FAST zone to tourists has its advantages. For one, it can generate some income.

FAST is rather expensive: Its telescope arrays alone cost 700 million yuan ($105 million). Its control center was built with carefully selected materials and decorated with nothing but wood panels to minimize the influence of external electromagnetic waves. And a huge amount of money will be needed every year for maintenance of the observatory. Moreover, FAST will not make any immediate returns and its team must apply for State funding which involves complicated procedures. So the ticket revenue will be a welcome source of income (even if small).

As the largest radio telescope in the world, FAST is already well known among Chinese astronomers and astronomy fans, the partial opening of the zone to visitors will give other people an opportunity to experience it firsthand.

According to reports, the parts of the FAST open to tourists include an astronomy experience museum, in which people can feel as if they are among the stars thanks to three-dimensional simulation technology, and a telescope area where people can peer into the sky through optical telescopes. On the sightseeing platform, they can have a glimpse of FAST, albeit from a distance. Most pictures of FAST we see online were taken from this platform.

The partial opening of the FAST zone to tourists seems to be a win-win move at present: It will not only help generate some revenue to support scientific research, but also help infuse the love for science among youngsters and ordinary people.

But there are some problems, too. FAST has strict environmental requirementsreports say that every light bulb in the control center of FAST is specially manufactured and has to pass dozens of tests before being installed. That is why those entering the tourist area are not allowed to carry, let alone use, electronic devices such as cellphones.

Besides, one of the reasons a mountainous area was chosen as the location for FAST is the low population densityboth the device and the scientists need silent surroundings. With the FAST zone being partly opened to tourists, and many people visiting the site, some locals are building new hotels in the area. As a result, the peaceful, serene place could soon become a tourist hub.

The FAST observatory employees and tourists must be careful not to break the noise limits and other rules, but still it cannot be guaranteed that the surroundings will not be disturbed. For example, their original rule is to limit the number of tourists to within 2,000 a day, but the actual number of tourists entering the FAST zone on Oct 1 exceeded 10,000. A local policeman in Pingdu is even reported as saying they had to persuade tourists to change their minds.

If the upper limit of tourist number is broken, there is reason to worry that other rules, which are aimed at protecting FAST from external disturbance, might be broken, too. How to minimize the disturbance will be a major challenge for the FAST zone administrative staff and related governmental authorities.

The author is a writer with China Daily. zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn
HAMMOND  Indianapolis Boulevard continued to be blocked Saturday afternoon between 167th and 165th streets as environmental investigators sought the source of an oily smell and crews installed shutoffs on each side of a water main break.

The water main break, near the site of a massive fuel pipeline rupture 21 years ago, was spotted about 9 a.m. Saturday.

"Folks out here are trying to contain this as quickly as possible, that's what's going on here right now," said Hammond Environmental Department Director Ron Novak at about 11 a.m. Saturday.

No evacuations were necessary and nearby businesses continued to operate.

It appears that section of Indianapolis Boulevard will be closed for an indeterminate amount of time as repairs are made and the site is investigated, said Hammond Police Lt. Richard Hoyda in the late afternoon.

The 1996 leak from a BP fuel pipeline spilled at least 52,000 gallons of refined petroleum into the sandy soil and potentially explosive vapors into the city's sewers, according to an article in The Times. The cleanup took months. About 11 years later, more petroleum was discovered from the 1996 fuel line break and another cleanup operation was undertaken. Indianapolis Boulevard was closed both times.

There are also two active BP pipelines adjacent to the water main. One carries refined fuels from the BP Whiting Refinery, which is a few miles north of the street corner, and one carries crude oil into the refinery.

As of 11 a.m. there was no indication either pipeline was leaking, said BP spokesman Tom Keilman. The pipeline carrying refined product was shut down in response to the situation. Both pipelines appeared to be holding pressure, so a leak was not suspected at that point, Keilman said.

The oily smell could be from sediments stirred up from the 1996 fuel spill, Novak said. Indiana Department of Environmental Management personnel and staff from BP's Pipeline Group arrived around 11:30 a.m. to investigate further.

Novak said their were multiple concerns, with the main ones being that oily residue stirred up by the water leak could migrate to a sewage pumping station on Kennedy Avenue and then make its way into the Grand Calumet River. The other concern was that vapors could build up in the pumping station.

As of late afternoon the migration of residue did not appear to be a problem, Novak said. But the situation was being monitored. There was also some concern the road could be undermined by the gushing water leak.
MICHIGAN CITY  The Police Departments street crimes unit Thursday arrested a 28-year-old man who authorities say was a fugitive wanted for escape, violation of probation and criminal mischief.

Joseph Antonio Williams was being held Friday at the LaPorte County Jail on a $20,000 cash bond after being charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. His initial court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday in LaPorte County Superior Court. According to Sgt. Ken Drake, Williams was on parole for robbery, serving his remaining time in work release, when he basically failed to return.

According to Michigan City police, officers on Thursday were in the 1200 block of Kentucky Street when Cpl. Al Bush saw someone pulling the screen off a window at 1208 Kentucky St. As other units arrived, the man who was later identified as Williams allegedly fled on foot through several streets and yards.

Police said Detective Mike Oberle used his stun gun to cause Williams to fall to the ground. Williams then allegedly attempted to take a a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun from his pants pocket. Police used the stun gun a second time and detained Williams in the 600 block of West 11th Street.

Police said Officer Kyle Shiparski then retrieved the handgun from Williams pocket. According to police, the gun had been reported stolen.
PORTAGE  Dorothy and Kenneth Coons didnt want to miss a minute of the dedication ceremony of the Amphitheater at Founders Square.

The Coons, who have been married 60 years and lived in Portage most of their lives, brought lawn chairs which they set up just yards from the front of the stage.

This is just beautiful, Dorothy Coons said following Fridays dedication.

The dedication included speeches by Mayor James Snyder and former mayors Sammie Maletta and Doug Olson.

The Coons, who last week attended the ceremony for the newly opened fire and police stations nearby, said they were amazed at all the improvements being made to the citys center.

I remember when this used to be all farmland, Kenneth Koons said.

Dick and Wendy Sader also came to the dedication ceremony after their great granddaughter, Aubrey Giles, 3, heard the music being played by the Portage High School Jazz Ensemble and Choraliers.

She heard the music and wanted to come. Im glad we did. It was a happy mistake, Wendy Sader said.

Bill Phillips said he and his wife lived in Portage for 30 years but moved to Westville 15 years ago.

Phillips, who returned for the dedication and to see his daughter and family who still reside in Portage, said he was pleased to see all the changes.

Its beautiful. They made some great improvements, Phillips said.

Snyder, who spoke after former mayors Maletta and Olson, called the evening amazing.

We were here last Saturday and opened the new police and fire departments and had 3,000 residents walk through. What an amazing city to serve, Snyder said.

Snyder honored with plaques two men who had been key to the citys recent improvements including Jim Fitzer, former executive director of the Portage Economic Development Corp. and A.J. Monroe, former director of community development.

This is an exciting time for Portage. Just a year and a half ago they were dropping wood chips in this area. Today is a celebration and culmination of years of hard work, Snyder said.

Maletta, who was mayor from 1988 to 1999, also called the evening an amazing one for the city.

Its great to see so many friends here who have made this city so great, Maletta said.

Maletta said he moved to Portage in 1963 at the urging of his wife.

I didnt want to come here but since 1963 Ive seen the city grow, Maletta said.

Olson, who served as mayor from 2000 to 2007, said the city has come a long way.

We planned and invested in a downtown gathering place which brings us here tonight. All this growth and planning didnt happen in a vacuum, Olson said.

In addition to the dedication, city officials also launched the Founders Club which will be part of the citys effort to raised $2 million over the next five years.

Funds raised will be placed with the Porter County Community Foundation and used to program the amphitheater and Founders Square in perpetuity, Snyder said.

Snyder announced that naming rights for the amphitheater will go to Indiana American Water Co. which has pledged $25,000 a year for five years in support.

Programming at the amphitheater wont likely begin until the spring, but the city-sponsored trunk or treat event, tagged Founders Scare, will be held at the park on Friday, Oct. 28. The citys Christmas celebration will also be brought to the area with the annual tree lighting inside the police station and hot cocoa at the fire station.

Snyder said the opening of the amphitheater will provide residents with a place to hear music and enjoy other activities ranging from movies in the park to festivals. The area is anchored not only with the amphitheater, but with the splash pad and the newly opened police and fire departments. He said he believes the location of the various venues together will help residents connect with the city.
VALPARAISO  Debbie Rigg savored her shrimp-based dish while her husband, Tom Rigg, went back for seconds of various tastings.

The Valparaiso resident said it was impossible for him to pick a favorite and he had enjoyed all the dishes he had sampled on Thursday at the Chefs Around the Table fundraiser.

How can you pick one? Im liking everything, Tom Rigg said.

For the second year in a row, nearly 100 chefs from around Porter County baked, sauteed and cooked up their favorite recipes for guests at an event held at the Porter County Expo Center.

Some $72,00 was raised from the event which will be used to benefit Empower Porter County, an initiative of the Porter County Community Foundation, which is to build strong families, resilient teens and reduce substance abuse in Porter County, foundation spokewoman Eryn Leonhard said.

Guests, including the Riggs, were able to taste test the various homemade dishes from the chefs who were made up of residents, school superintendents, prominent business leaders, elected officials and fire and police officers from throughout Porter County.

One of the younger guests, Nick Hill, 10, of Valparaiso, gave a thumbs up to the spaghetti and meatballs he had sampled as well as the fudge brownie and cookies.

Bam Brownies was the offering of chef Steve Antonetti, director of business operations for Valpo Parks.

Antonetti, who credited his wife, Pam Antonetti, for providing him with the brownie recipe and know-how, said the secret ingredient was lots of love.

Rick Urschel and Garner Tullis served as co-chairs of the event while also serving as chefs.

Both Tullis and Urschel said the event is important for them because of the Around the Table project.

The concept, which is taught in Porter County Schools as early as kindergarten, supports the idea of building strong families and reducing substance abuse by promoting such events as families sitting down to dinner to talk.

This years top chefs included Nick Popovich, best appetizer for Grilled Tequila Lime Shrimp; Steve Lunn, best chili for Pot Roast Chili; Stu Summers, best side for Homemade Applesauce; Jason Myers, best entree for his brisket; and Rick Urschel, for best dessert and top tips for Bourbon Pecan Pie.
NEW YORK  After being 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 he claimed the astonishing revelations amounted to "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," Trump said in a taped apology posted on his Facebook page. "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."

Trump's 90-second statement capped a jarring day that threatened to sink his presidential campaign and sent Republicans into a panic just over a month from Election Day.

On Friday afternoon, The Washington Post and NBC News released a 2005 video in 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."

A one-sentence response from the head of Trump's 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.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said he was sickened by Trump's comments.

"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."

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."

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.

For all the condemnation, there was no widespread clamor for Trump to bow out. However, two Utah Republicans, Gov. Gary Herbert and Rep. Jason Chaffetz withdrew their endorsements, and former Gov. Jon Huntsman did call for the candidate to step aside and let Pence take his place. Ryan's spokesman and several others who criticized Trump's comments sidestepped the question of whether he should stay in the race.

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 after the scope of the damage began becoming 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.

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 with 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 revelations 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.

While Trump has survived numerous controversies that would have sunk other candidates, Friday's developments came at a crucial moment. Less than five weeks from Election Day, he needs to expand his support and is struggling in particular with minorities and women.

The unearthed tape of his comments can hardly help with female voters.

___

AP writers Kathleen Hennessey, Alicia A. Caldwell, Julie Bykowicz, Erica Werner and Alan Fram contributed to this report.
Traditional Panamanian food and music take over a part of Brooklyn for a cultural celebration.

New Yorkers paid tribute to Panamas heritage at the 21st annual Pre-Independence Day Parade. The parade marches down Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights and ends with a street fair.

While the event officially celebrates Panamas separation from Colombia in 1903, parade-goers say it's also about keeping their culture alive.

"Im very proud to be Panamanian, and Im very happy to celebrate this day," said one.

"Its really good because you get to be happy about your heritage and be glad of where youre from," said another.

"I love to see the people out here in their different costumes and different shades of color and different styles of hair dress," said a third. "Its just wonderful."

Panamas Independence Day is celebrated on November 3rd.
Austin Kalish, a television writer who took on sensitive social issues in his scripts in the 1970s, including the fiercely debated abortion episode of the Norman Lear sitcom Maude, died on Wednesday in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 95.

His death, at the Motion Picture and Television Fund retirement home, was confirmed by his son, Bruce.

Network television in the 1970s was taking its first steps away from the sanitized, taboo-heavy sensibilities of the 1950s and 60s, tentatively embracing a new social and political frankness. Mr. Kalish and his wife, Irma, were a significant part of that trend.

They wrote the All in the Family episode, for instance, in which Edith Bunker, the long-suffering wife of the blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker, believes she has breast cancer. They also wrote the episode in which Ediths daughter, Gloria, is the victim of an attempted rape.
Showtime devotes the evening to women in love, with Oscar-nominated performances by Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years and Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in Carol. And Lin-Manuel Miranda makes his Saturday Night Live hosting debut.

Whats on TV

45 YEARS (2015) 7:15 p.m. on Showtime and SHO.com. In Andrew Haighs haunting portrait of memory and desire, a happy marriage is thrown into crisis when, on the cusp of celebrating her 45th wedding anniversary, a woman (Charlotte Rampling, who was nominated for an Oscar) receives news about a long-dead former girlfriend of her husband (Tom Courtenay) and starts to wonder, What if? Mr. Courtenay, a naturally demonstrative actor, registers a convincing blend of longing, confusion and shame, A. O. Scott wrote in The New York Times. Ms. Rampling, a stiller, deeper-running pool, conveys emotions so strange and intense that they dont quite have names. The film, he added, suggests that even after decades together, two people can remain perfect strangers.
It had the flavor of a City Hall confessional: For 15 minutes, Mayor Bill de Blasio took pains in a nighttime phone interview to explain why the leader of the nations largest city would embark on a seemingly hopeless war with The New York Post, one of the most recognizable tabloid newspapers in the world.

He pleaded his case. He beseeched New Yorkers to come to his side. He spoke from the heart.

And in doing so, he went against the grain of typical political combat in New York, where the conflicts are usually of the hand-to-hand sort, and not broad frontal attacks on powerful antagonists they cannot control.

For the second time in his tenure, Mr. de Blasio has chosen to go public with his feud against the most virulent of his enemies. The first instance came last year, when Mr. de Blasio spoke openly of his divisive relationship with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, accusing the fellow Democrat of undercutting his administration at the expense of New Yorkers.

The strategy seemed to backfire then; the conflict with the governor only deepened, and endures to this day.
As Ms. Renna described it, the governor, a Republican, and his top aides freaked out on Ms. Kelly over an episode involving a box of Christie Creme doughnuts, yet did almost nothing to find out the true story behind the lane closings  perhaps, as the defense argues, because they all already knew and were hoping the questions would just go away.

Ms. Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie, is on trial with Bill Baroni, the governors top staff appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge. Another ally of Mr. Christies at the Port Authority, David Wildstein, has pleaded guilty to orchestrating the lane closings and this week finished eight days as the star prosecution witness.

Ms. Renna testified earlier that Ms. Kelly had asked her to delete an email that recounted how the mayor of Fort Lee had called the governors office during the closings, which were putting his town in a gridlock, and said he was suspicious that the lane closing were government retribution.

Questioning Ms. Renna, a lawyer for Ms. Kelly cast doubt on that account. And using a series of Ms. Rennas profanity-laden text messages to another co-worker, the lawyer portrayed Ms. Renna as seeking to sabotage Ms. Kelly, her former boss, after Ms. Kelly passed her over for a promotion.

Im upset, Ms. Renna wrote to her closest colleague, Peter Sheridan, adding, Im a grudgeholder which is a problem for BK. She sent the message in April 2013, as it became clear that Ms. Kelly was becoming deputy chief of staff and planned to give someone else the job Ms. Renna wanted.
Lisa S. Coico, the president of the City College of New York, the flagship of the largest urban public university in the country, abruptly resigned on Friday, a day after The New York Times contacted officials with questions about her administrations handling of more than $150,000 of her personal expenses.

Ms. Coicos resignation is effective immediately, said James B. Milliken, chancellor of the City University of New York, the colleges parent body, in a statement. She will be replaced temporarily by Mary Driscoll, the colleges new interim provost, pending the appointment of an interim president at the next meeting of the universitys board of trustees, which is set for Oct. 26.

The Times had been investigating whether Ms. Coicos expenses were accurately recorded, or whether some had been postdated. The Times presented its findings to officials on Thursday, and by late Friday, Ms. Coico had submitted her resignation.

In a statement on Friday, she announced that she was stepping down but did not give an explanation.

Ms. Coico  along with the 21st Century Foundation, a nonprofit affiliated with the college  is currently under investigation as part of a federal inquiry into her finances and the use of federal research grants.
These cases get a lot of public attention and interest, said Jonathan Moore, the lawyer who represented the family of Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after he was wrestled to the ground by police officers on Staten Island, in a civil suit against the city. If youre not going forward with the case, its a good idea to explain why. More information is always better than less.

The report comes as law enforcement in New York and around the country face heightened racial tensions over the deaths of black men at the hands of the police. It also follows a failed effort by activists to unseal the transcripts of the grand jury hearings at which the officer who placed Mr. Garner in a chokehold was not charged, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos executive order appointing the state attorney general as a special prosecutor in police-related civilian deaths.

In the early morning hours of April 17, Mr. Tillman, an electrical lineman visiting from Maryland, was stopped by plainclothes officers who spotted him standing by his S.U.V. with an open bottle of vodka in his hand, according to the report. The officers told Mr. Tillman, who was black, that he could not have the open bottle out and that he was not in a condition to drive. Mr. Tillman handed the bottle to a friend, and the officers began to leave without arresting him.

Then, the report said, one of the officers saw what looked like a gun in his waistband and tried to talk to him. Mr. Tillman took off running, holding his waist with his right hand. He ignored calls to stop, and other officers who were in the area joined the pursuit.

He turned to his left and pointed the weapon at an officer. Four officers opened fire, hitting him several times; the medical examiner found that he was killed by a shot to his left temple. The weapon he carried, prosecutors said, was a loaded and operable .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol.
The chief executive of Rentboy.com, who led what federal authorities said was once the nations largest online male-escort service, pleaded guilty on Friday to promoting prostitution.

The chief executive, Jeffrey Hurant, 51, had been charged by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn in August 2015, along with six other people connected with the website. Rentboy.com was founded in 1997 and was stocked with escorts profiles listing various sexual services and fees. For prices that ranged from $59.95 to $299.95 a month, escorts advertised their primary interests, from vanilla (nice and clean) to leather to role playing to other fetishes.

Mr. Hurant faced a maximum of five years in prison, although, under his plea deal, he agreed not to appeal a potential sentence if it was no more than two years, and included a fine of $10 million or less.

According to a criminal complaint against Mr. Hurant and the others, the site, which had offices on 14th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, had $10 million in sales from 2010 to 2015. Mr. Hurants first lawyer, Charles Hochbaum, had initially tried to fight the charges, arguing that his client was simply exercising his First Amendment right to create a marketplace, for escorts who wanted to accompany people and be paid.
4. It is nobodys obligation to pay more tax than the law demands. If Donald Trump could order his affairs in such a way that his income tax responsibility was ZERO for any particular year, or series of years, thats fine with me.

But whether or not Donald Trump pays taxes is NOT the issue. The issue is whether or not the tax system is fair.

If the law is such that Donald Trump could have the kind of money he has and actually owe no federal income tax, then the law needs to be changed drastically.

So ask yourself: Which party, and which candidate, do you think is sincerely interested in changing the income tax laws to make them fairer for the vast majority of us, rather than something to be manipulated by the wealthy?

 Boneisha in Atlanta.

The Vice-Presidential Debate
Chicago  For eight years, I worked as a housecleaner for a millionaire who lived in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. I took the bus across town three times a week, often to work in an empty house because my employer was frequently away, traveling for business.

That also meant I got paid only when I saw him  in lump sums, often months apart. At first, I didnt mind this setup, but soon, months would pass. By the end of 2008, my employer owed me $10,000  and had stopped returning my calls.

I was frantic. It wasnt just that these were wages for weeks and weeks of work Id already done, but I had bills to pay and my sons tuition at a special high school.

I went over to my employers place one day, hoping to confront him, and finally found him home. I asked when Id get paid what I was owed. He didnt answer, but instead offered a one-off payment of $1,000 to settle the debt. When I refused that, he told me to leave and, obviously assuming I was undocumented, threatened to have me deported. (In fact, I had legal status as a permanent resident on grounds of political asylum.)
Hurricane Matthew battered Florida and points north on Friday, having already wreaked deadly havoc in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti. All those along its path need aid and protection and, when the wind and rain end, swift help in rebuilding.

But Haiti needs it most.

The southwestern part of the country, already isolated before being cut off by the storm, has been ravaged. In the city of Jeremie, about 80 percent of the buildings were flattened. The aerial photographs are heart-wrenching: What last week was an urban grid is now a smear of sticks, bricks and mud. The rough estimates of the nationwide death toll on Friday fluctuated  200, 500, 800. All that seemed certain was that the number would rise.

Natural catastrophes are tragically familiar in Haiti, which was devastated by an earthquake in 2010  an acute emergency laid cruelly upon chronic poverty and underdevelopment. But equally familiar is the tragically misguided disaster response. Charity flows in all directions, many of them wrong. It is sent to organizations with shallow connections in the country, to be managed by and for the benefit of non-Haitians, soaked up in overhead or misspent on projects that languish and development that never comes. Much pledged aid never arrives.
It is fitting that Maines motto is the way life should be. I believe ranked-choice voting represents what democracy will be. Its a solution to the problem of how to uphold majority rule and give more voice to voters by presenting them with more than two options.

Ranked-choice voting is already used by tens of millions of voters, including in Australia and Irelands national elections, London, Minnesotas twin cities and eight other American cities when electing mayors. It is also used in picking the Oscar nominees for best picture, and in electing student leaders at more than 50 American colleges.

Its as easy as 1-2-3. Voters have the option to rank the candidates from first to last, and any candidate with a majority of first choices wins, just as in any other election. But if no candidate has a majority, you hold an instant runoff tally in order to compare the top two candidates head to head. Candidates in last place are eliminated, and their backers votes are counted for their next choice. When its down to two, the winner earns a majority of the vote.

I learned to appreciate ranked-choice voting in 2000, when seeking re-election as governor of Vermont. I faced strong challenges from the Republican and Progressive Parties. With votes split three ways, I barely won a majority. In Vermont, the Legislature elects the governor if no one achieves a majority. I think the voters should do that. Major parties can take two approaches after such an election: fight the very existence of minor parties, or change laws to handle increased voter choice.

Ranked-choice voting represents the latter  and better  approach. Voters can support their favorites while still voting effectively against their least favorite. Having more competition encourages better dialogue on issues. Civility is substantially improved. Needing to reach out to more voters leads candidates to reduce personal attacks and govern more inclusively.
If Mayor Bill de Blasio has decided that he is going to answer questions only from real media outlets, and not The New York Post, why doesnt he just go all the way? Revoke The Posts credentials, and bar its reporters from City Hall and make an example of them. Let the other reporters learn not to offend His Honor. And if they dont learn, he can stop taking all questions.

Then the mayor will be free to do his business in peace and quiet, his message unfiltered, his administration shown only in its best light, through news releases and photo ops.

That is the absurd logic of Mr. de Blasios eruption at a news conference on Thursday. He snapped at reporters questions as unfit to be answered. And he refused to respond to Yoav Gonen, City Hall bureau chief of The Post, which he belittled as a right-wing rag.

Q. Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor 

A. You can keep calling all you want. Go ahead.

Q. Are you going to call on me today? Hey, are you  ?
Dale B. Schenk, a scientist and industry leader whose discoveries opened new paths into research on Alzheimers disease, died on Sept. 30 at his home in Hillsborough, Calif. He was 59.

The cause was pancreatic cancer, said Ellen Rose, the head of communications at Prothena, a Dublin-based biotechnology company that Dr. Schenk had led as president and chief executive since its founding in 2012.

Alzheimers is the most common form of dementia. It affects 5.4 million people in the United States and is the sixth-leading cause of death. There is no cure or means of prevention, and current treatments cannot stop it from eating away the brain.

Dr. Schenk made a major contribution in the 1990s by proposing and testing the idea that the bodys immune system  which normally fights infection  might be enlisted to fight Alzheimers through the use of vaccines and other immune-based treatments.
By this Wednesday, when Mr. Benioff spoke at an investor meeting at a San Francisco hotel, his language about any deal had turned conciliatory and defensive.

I read all of your notes, you probably know that, Mr. Benioff said. I also read your emails. And as I digest all of that information, this is actually the No. 1 thing that has been on my mind. In some cases we have been unusually surprised and we have had to do a reset.

The pushback offers a window into how big investors can exert pressure on would-be deals behind the scenes. Salesforce is particularly vulnerable to what its large institutional investors think because the unprofitable online software company relies heavily on its stock to make acquisitions and pay employee compensation. As a result, the company needs to keep investors happy for its share price to continue going up.

Salesforce declined to comment, as did a representative from Fidelity.

It is unclear whether or not Mr. Benioff will continue to pursue Twitter. One person involved in the negotiations said that, for now, Salesforces shareholders have halted a potential deal.

For Twitter, that would mean that its options have narrowed. The social media company had been talking to potential buyers, as well as considering divestitures and layoffs to focus its business. But companies including Google, Apple and Disney are not interested in buying Twitter, people at those companies said, and Salesforce appeared to be one of the last interested parties.
Chicago follows several other major cities in reconsidering its use-of-force policies, a trend that comes at a time of heightened awareness of police shootings nationwide. Last year, New York established rules for documenting and restricting force. And just this week, the Cleveland police proposed changes to their rules that would require de-escalation tactics before using force.

Chicago is putting forward, I think, some of the most progressive policies in the country, said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum. Mr. Wexlers organization has released its own set of best practices for using force, a document that was cited in the Chicago policy.

Chicago residents and police officers will have 45 days to comment on the proposals and suggest revisions. Superintendent Johnson said he hoped to have a policy completed by the end of the year, and to have it take effect in 2017 after every officer has been retrained.

But Dean Angelo Sr., president of the union representing Chicagos rank-and-file officers, said he worried that the new rules would place too many restrictions on the police and limit officers ability to respond to a split-second threat. Mr. Angelo said that Chicago officers received too little recognition for saving lives and resolving tense situations without injury, and that he would encourage union members to provide honest feedback to the department about how the new policies would affect them.

At the end of the day, when an officer is confronted in that alley or an officer is confronted in a life-or-death situation, theyre going to do what they think is necessary to go home, Mr. Angelo said. If they get written up for it, so be it. My concern is that these guys and girls go home to their families.
When Rosa Parks stayed there in the late 1950s, the house on South Deacon Street in southwest Detroit was modest  two stories high, with white shutters and a chimney peeking from the top.

In recent years, it suffered the same fate as thousands of other houses in blight-stricken Detroit: abandoned, ransacked by thieves looking for scrap metal and inhabited by only a few friendly raccoons. In September, it was demolished.

Yet there may be an afterlife for one of Ms. Parkss former homes. The houses materials have been shipped to an artist in Berlin, who wants to reconstruct the house to honor Ms. Parkss life and her extraordinary role in the civil rights movement.

The idea was to repurpose the home and turn it into a work of art, said Rhea McCauley, Ms. Parks niece, who helped arrange the project.
HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla.  As Hurricane Matthew doused the north Florida coast with floodwaters, high winds and rain, the mood across much of the state shifted from alarm to relief on Friday as the worst of the storm passed by without the catastrophic effects forecasters had predicted and some residents began to return to areas that had been evacuated.

The hurricane continued to churn its way northward just offshore. For Georgia and the Carolinas, the worst still lay ahead, with the storm expected to threaten coastal cities like Savannah, Ga.; Charleston, S.C.; and Wilmington, N.C. And in Haiti, which suffered a disastrous strike by Matthew on Tuesday and Wednesday, the toll continued to mount as residents dug out and communications and travel were restored to areas that had been cut off. Reuters estimated that more than 800 people in Haiti had been killed.

But for many Floridians, exposed to days of alerts that this might turn out to be the most damaging storm to hit the state since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, there was a sense of having dodged a freight train.
In Charleston, the wind picked up as the storms eye wall  with the most damaging winds and rain  rolled through. Water filled many downtown streets, and flowed over the sea wall along East Battery Street, along the southeastern edge of this peninsular city.

Pools of standing water remained around the city into the afternoon, and black pipes snaked out of first floors, carrying water back to the street.

We knew that a flood was coming, said Darlene Kelly, who rode out the storm at a friends bed-and-breakfast in the citys southernmost neighborhood, parts of which had been transformed by the standing water into a kind of lagoon. Just a matter of dealing with it now.

Still, some residents insisted they had not been too worried.

My house has been here for 150 years or so, said John Michael Flynn, 70. Nevertheless, he found water under his bed during the storm after his house began to leak.

The hurricane brought the highest tidal surge  more than nine feet  since Hurricane Hugo, the catastrophic 1989 storm etched deeply into this citys consciousness. Officials urged people to say inside during the day on Saturday, although a few took to the citys temporary canals with kayaks and even tried to ride through on bicycles.

Now is when the frustration sets in, because the anxiousness is when the storm is coming, said Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina, during a news conference. She added: What I am going to ask for you is patience. Most injuries, most fatalities occur after a storm because people attempt to move in too soon.

Parrish Rowland, a resident of a public housing complex on Charlestons King Street, was among many in the city who did not heed that advice, and waded through waist-deep water, hoping to find something to eat.

I just figured Id make it my way, said Mr. Rowland, who spoke casually, even though the water was so deep it reached halfway up the gas pumps nearby. I like to make it my way.
WASHINGTON  Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday called for a war crimes investigation of the bombing campaign by Russia and the Assad government in the Syrian civil war, charging that they were continuing to attack hospitals as part of a deliberate strategy to terrorize civilians.

Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and children and women, Mr. Kerry said before meeting at the State Department with his French counterpart.

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, Mr. Kerry added. This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians.

Mr. Kerrys remarks came one day before the United Nations Security Council was expected to vote on a French-drafted resolution that calls for a cease-fire in Aleppo and the grounding of Russian and Syrian warplanes that have been pummeling the besieged city.
Now the hurricane has presented yet another hurdle to a nation still grappling with the devastation of the 2010 earthquake and a cholera epidemic inadvertently introduced to the country by United Nations peacekeepers.

Etienne Navuson, 27, waited out the hurricane this week in his concrete home as the wind lashed his village on the southwestern peninsula. When he awoke, almost everything had vanished: cattle, crops, fields and homes.

Had the rain fallen more than it did  had it gone for just one more hour  we would have lost even more, Mr. Navuson said.

At least 90 percent of the village was destroyed, he said. Residents are searching for food and water buried in the rubble.

Those who find something are fortunate, he said. Seven more family members have taken refuge in Mr. Navusons home after losing their own to the storm. The tiny home is now packed with people sleeping on plastic sheets for bedding.

There will be food shortages in the days to come, Mr. Navuson said.

Msgr. Pierre-Andre Pierre, the head of the Catholic University of Notre Dame of Haiti, encountered chaos when he reached the coastal town of Jeremie. Trees were gone, leaving an empty field. Someone had discarded a body in front of a Catholic bishops house, not knowing where else to dispose of it.
Brock Yates, an automotive journalist who founded an anarchic, cross-country road race in the 1970s, then fictionalized it in the script for the 1981 Burt Reynolds film The Cannonball Run, died on Wednesday in Batavia, N.Y. He was 82.

The cause was complications of Alzheimers disease, his son Brock Yates Jr. said.

With literary flair, Mr. Yates wrote more than a dozen books about cars and motor sports. He also wrote for The Washington Post, Playboy, The American Spectator and other publications, and worked in different capacities for Car and Driver magazine from the mid-1960s until about a decade ago.

He also had a rebellious streak, which was on display in the early 1970s when he and some colleagues from Car and Driver met for beers at a bar in New York City and discussed the state of racing. They decided that the sport had become staid and that an informal, cross-country race would be one way to enliven it.

They called it the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, more commonly known as the Cannonball Run. Named after Erwin Cannonball Baker, a record-setting cross-country driver, it had only one rule: The vehicle that finishes first wins. The only prize was bragging rights. Mr. Yates planned the first race for the spring of 1971.
The last time Congress thoroughly overhauled the regulation of personal care products like cosmetics and shampoo, World War II had not yet begun.

Nearly 80 years later, personal care is a multibillion-dollar business, and many of the ingredients used in soaps and face creams are complex  and potentially dangerous  chemical compounds. But the laws on the books have not kept up with the times: If a shampoo makes your hair fall out, no government agency can easily compel a recall.

That could change soon. Legislation that would introduce a far more serious degree of regulatory oversight to the personal care products industry is proceeding in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Consumer safety groups are pushing for stricter laws. And the call for more stringent oversight of the industry is coming from a coalition of companies that includes Beautycounter, a plucky start-up that is pitching natural face creams as well as regulation.

Beautycounter is the brainchild of Gregg Renfrew, a retail executive who has embraced the cause of cleaner cosmetics. In 2006, after a career working with women including Martha Stewart and Susie Hilfiger, Ms. Renfrew watched An Inconvenient Truth, the Al Gore documentary on global warming. It was an incredible wake-up call for me, she said.
Perhaps youve seen the new TV series whose pilot episode begins this way: A man and a woman are having sex, but something soon goes awry, and the whole production wraps up on an ungainly, awkward note.

If youre having trouble naming the show, its because there isnt just one that commences this way. The tone-setting awkward sex scene has become a staple of the modern television series opener. And while it can seem like merely a (now hackneyed) storytelling device, its prevalence may also reflect recent tectonic shifts in heterosexual politics.

First, a rundown of some examples (with a tip of the hat to Benjamin R. Cohen, a professor in engineering at Lafayette College, who alerted me to the trend):

In Love, we are treated to no fewer than three sex scenes within the first six minutes, the most dramatically significant one being the male protagonist having stiff, monotonous sex with his aloof girlfriend, both of them still wearing tops, as he asks her to move in with him. (She says yes; a month later, in their next scene together, she breaks up with him.)

In Togetherness (canceled by HBO after its second season), the male lead attempts to initiate early-morning sex with his wife. When rebuffed, he begins masturbating, hoping she wont notice. She does, and kicks him out of bed, but not before asking him to take the baby monitor with him.
Little Kitty doesnt hide anymore. In fact, shes more like her old self: sunbathing on the living room carpet, playing with Ms. Mastramicos other cat, Valentina. When Ive given it to her, shes never acted high: falling face-first into her food bowl, chowing down, Ms. Mastramico said. She comes out and socializes, wants to be in your lap, wants to be petted. Its a very noticeable difference.

Other animal lovers who have turned to cannabis-based products to alleviate a host of pet maladies, including seizures, inflammation, anxiety and pain, are reporting similar results. Although they have not been approved by regulators, marijuana-based treatments are being used not only for cats and dogs, but for pigs, horses and domesticated wild animals.

Maria Ellis Perez, 55, a mold inspector from Pompano Beach, Fla., gives Treatibles chews made from hemp to one of her pets, a domesticated female skunk named Ricochet. At age 12, Ricochet limps and has cataracts. At one point, she had grown so withdrawn that she refused to eat. We thought it was her time, Ms. Ellis Perez said.

But after a few days of nibbling hemp, Ricochet seemed more content. She was turning her head and looking up with the good eye, Ms. Ellis Perez said. She showed up for breakfast.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved cannabis for pets, in part because there is little research showing its effectiveness. Veterinarians are not allowed to write prescriptions for the products and, in states where marijuana is illegal, are wary of discussing the idea. Last year, a proposed state law was defeated in Nevada that would have made it possible for veterinarians to prescribe cannabis to pets with chronic illnesses. Still, users swear by the products.
Abbie Marie Sorrendino and Andrew Ryan Brenner were married Oct. 8 in Ithaca, N.Y. Liam Fitzsimmons, a friend of the couple who became a Universal Life minister for the occasion, officiated at Willard Straight Hall at Cornell University.

The couple met at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, from which they graduated, he cum laude.

Ms. Sorrendino, 33, is keeping her name. She is a senior policy adviser in Washington to Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, and is a staff member for Senator Schumer on the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. She received a masters degree in political science from Northeastern.

She is the daughter of Linda A. Sorrendino and Alfred M. Sorrendino of Manlius, N.Y.

Mr. Brenner, 31, is the senior manager of global communications in New York for 100 Resilient Cities, an initiative funded by the Rockefeller Foundation that helps cities with a variety of challenges. He received a masters degree in public administration from Cornell.

He is the son of Anne Migliore Brenner of Scotia, N.Y.

The couple had been together for a decade, but the idea of a wedding had somehow never crept to the top of the agenda.
The workplace, like almost all places where people interact, can be a petri dish of conflict. Offensive remarks, unrealistic demands, people taking credit for others work, bullying  the transgressions that occur can take many forms. They also have the potential to escalate out of control and permanently damage relationships.

Gabrielle S. Adams, an assistant professor at the London Business School and a visiting fellow at Harvard University, has examined the role that empathy and forgiveness can play in resolving these conflicts.

In recent studies, Professor Adams found that misunderstandings often exist between the victims of harm and the people who committed the harm. In many cases, the transgressors did not intend a negative effect, whereas the victims tended to think that the damage was intentional. In addition, transgressors frequently felt guilty and wanted to be forgiven much more than their victims realized.

When someone feels wronged, it can help to actively empathize with the person who is perceived as the wrongdoer, according to a study that Professor Adams conducted along with M. Ena Inesi, also of the London Business School. That can enable the victim to realize that the transgressor may well wish to be forgiven, their study found.
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.
The social norm of taxpaying is one reason tax compliance in the United States is very high by international standards. Certainly our system of tax withholding and reporting is crucial to ensuring tax money is collected. Nonetheless, taking account of the actual risks of being caught and fined by the I.R.S., economists have suggested that most individuals, behaving rationally, would evade their taxes entirely. But in reality, more than 140 million households file their taxes every year, and about 83 percent of the total tax liability is paid to the I.R.S. on time. Social scientists studying tax compliance explain this paradox by saying Americans have a culture of high tax morale.

This does not mean Americans are always happy with their taxes. Of course not. But what really upsets people about the United States tax system is tax returns like Donald Trumps. Mr. Trumps 1995 tax documents, obtained by The New York Times this month, show that Mr. Trump could have avoided paying any federal income taxes for nearly two decades. When the rich can get away with paying less than middle-income people, Americans get very angry indeed.

Asked what bothers them most about taxes, Americans overwhelmingly say the feeling that the wealthy and corporations are not paying their fair share. This is the top issue for nearly two-thirds of Americans. In contrast, 8 percent of Americans say that their biggest concern is the amount they personally pay in taxes. What upsets most people about taxes is not the amount they contribute. They are angry about the amount that the wealthy can avoid contributing.

Their anger is not limited to out-and-out cheating. That wealthy people and companies can avoid taxes legally does not make the practice acceptable to most Americans. For instance, when big corporations avail themselves of overseas tax havens, a majority of Americans call that behavior very unpatriotic. Even when corporate tax avoidance is legal, most Americans believe corporations should be punished for taking advantage of the system. More than three-quarters of Americans say companies benefiting from international tax shelters should not be eligible for government contracts.

In interviews I conducted alongside my survey research, Americans often, of their own accord, raised the question of special tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. Tax avoidance  not tax fraud  was the first issue raised by one interviewee, a 30-year-old Democrat from Connecticut. Not tax dodgers so much, but people whose companies are headquartered in the Caribbean and get away with paying less than they should, she said. Ive heard of a lot of corporations that have a good enough lawyer where they dont pay, a 56-year-old Republican woman in Texas told me. I think its a travesty when a business is having the benefit of being in this country, but theyre not paying their fair share.
Mx. Cession grew up in a conservative Pentecostal family, a preachers kid in the small town of Rural Hall, N.C. Affirming Christianity now requires a 30-page footnote breaking down what I mean, but Mx. Cession sees Black Lives Matter in spiritual terms: We are the messiahs of our generation. We are the people that the ancestors were praying for.

Mx. Cession rhapsodized about a rally in Cleveland that erupted in spontaneous chanting and drum circles. Inspired by traditions ranging from Yoruba religion to Native American practices, people were singing, dancing, burning sage  its this energy, this beautiful energy, that cant be recreated through enforced religion, Mx. Cession told me.

Black Lives Matter may lack the classic marks of a religious movement: phalanxes of clergy arm-in-arm, leading the marches; or heavy reliance on the space and staff of churches. Many of its leaders are women, gay and transgender people historically marginalized by religious institutions. But when Mx. Cession described Jesus as a radical brown-skinned Palestinian man who was a political prisoner, who was about fighting the authorities, I heard an echo of the late 1960s: the black liberation theologians who fused a Marxist analysis of white imperialism with the prophetic tradition.

God is black, the theologian James Cone wrote in 1970. He warned that African-Americans should not make the mistake of picturing God as a God of all peoples. Either God is identified with the oppressed to the point that their experience becomes Gods experience, or God is a God of racism.

To many activists then and now, the test of theology is not Scripture, church tradition or scholarly consensus, but whether it empowers the oppressed. If it does, then it is true. This is the test that Black Lives Matter activists apply to their grab bag of spiritual traditions. It may seem like the cynical adoption of spiritual authority for political purposes, and in a sense it is. All humans embrace ideologies that explain our reality and help us survive.

Nonetheless, Black Lives Matter spirituality is not just a slightly more left-wing version of Dr. Barbers faith (he calls himself a theologically conservative evangelical biblicist). It is radically subjective: Any creed other than the dogma of self-empowerment is a form of oppression. This do-it-yourself religion may be radical, but it is not necessarily liberal. Many Black Lives Matter activists are skeptical of liberalisms most fundamental assumptions: the human capacity for empathy  the notion that it really is possible for people of all colors to understand one another  and the faith that we can rely on the democratic process to manage conflicts between us.

No one represents this anti-establishment spirituality and mistrust of mainstream politics better than Micah White, who is biracial and one of the founders of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Mr. White, 34, was once a proud nonbeliever who protested for the right to organize an atheist student club at his high school in Michigan. But he is not an atheist any longer. Today Mr. White calls himself a mystical anarchist and is fascinated by magic and kabbalah.
Come on, women. You know this man. I can name the ones in my past  name yours and imagine each as president, with every womans life in his care. Would you even trust him to watch your dog? (Thats a trick question because he would never do it. His defining characteristic is that he does not care about you.)

When Mr. Trump tells Mr. Bush that hes gotta use a Tic Tac just in case he cannot restrain himself from non-consensually affixing his perfectly round, gasping lamprey mouth over Ms. Zuckers, he is talking about sexually assaulting a co-worker.

When he says he grabs womens genitals, he is talking about sexually assaulting anyone he feels like, at any time. Female Trump voters: Its fine if youve come to terms with not being a full human being in the eyes of your party, but what about your daughters? Is that the life you want for them? You want old men to grab their genitals? You want the president of the United States to go around grabbing genitals?

Mr. Trump is rape cultures blathering id, and Sunday night Hillary Clinton (who, no doubt, has just as many man-made scars as the rest of us) has to stand next to him on a stage, and remain unflappable as shes held to an astronomically higher standard, and pretend that he is her equal while his followers persist in howling that sexism is a feminist myth. While Mr. Trump boasts about sexual assault and vows to suppress disobedient media, cable news pundits spend their time taking a protractor to Mrs. Clintons smile  a constant, churning, microanalysis of nothing.

Many people, well, many men, are expressing their disgust with Mr. Trump the only way they know how: By invoking their mothers and daughters and sisters  people, presumably, with the anatomy Mr. Trump feels free to assess and knead. Hillary Clinton has been showing us all year, and all her life, that, sure, women can be cherished if you want, but they also can be president.

Meanwhile, right-wing lawmakers are scrambling, sanctimonious and pathetic, to distance themselves from their own hideous progeny, clearly hoping to salvage some personal credibility and perhaps even save their party. But here is the thing, the big thing, that Paul D. Ryan and Reince Priebus and Mike Pence and all the spineless Billy Bushes of the world (and plenty of progressive men too, for that matter) dont understand: Most of you are no better than Mr. Trump; you are just more subtle.

If you have spent your career brutalizing and dehumanizing women legislatively rather than personally, you are no better. If you were happy to overlook months of violent racism, xenophobia, transphobia and Islamophobia from the Trump campaign, but now youre mad that he used a bad word and tried to sleep with another mans wife, you are no better. If you have derided and stigmatized identity politics in an effort to keep the marginalized from organizing, you are no better. If you snicker or say nothing while your fellow men behave like Donald Trump, you are no better.

The truth is that all of you have failed women for generations, and you deserve to lose our votes. Next month we will grab you where it hurts. By your ballots.
Readers discuss David Brookss lament that there is no uplift in the presidential race.

To the Editor: Re The Death of Idealism (column, Sept. 30): David Brooks writes that this boomer-versus-boomer campaign has decimated idealism.

Hillary Clinton, as she herself has admitted, is not a natural politician. Yes, in her speeches the poetic, aspirational quality is entirely absent and she fails to make an emotional connection. But no, that does not mean that she has lost her idealism. Mrs. Clinton became a fiery social activist in college, where she led protests to increase African-American admissions to Wellesley. As first lady she worked for universal health care; when her idealism hit Washington reality she persisted, helping to gain health care coverage for children. As a senator from New York she worked across the aisle, compromising and gaining the respect of her Republican colleagues. After being defeated in the 2008 Democratic primaries, she worked as secretary of state to extend American ideals around the world.

For myself, an older baby boomer, I would like to think that, while I have scaled back my immediate goals as I have become more pragmatic and realistic, I have retained the idealism and humanity that determine my long-term goals. And I would like to think that of Hillary Clinton.

ALLAN D. GREENBERG

Scarsdale, N.Y.

To the Editor: David Brooks has succumbed to the cynicism and distrust that he decries in his dismissal of the two leading presidential candidates. He apparently listens to Hillary Clintons campaign with selective inattentiveness to her appeals to idealistic principles and the common good  the higher angels of our nature. And how is it that her extensive, informed familiarity with governmental policy amounts to an arid hodgepodge of uninspiring details, offered merely out of political self-interest?
The Snowden revelations prompted important reforms. Still, the debate over the proper balance between privacy and security remains far from settled. Disappointingly, the two candidates vying to replace Mr. Obama have failed to outline clear and comprehensive visions for one of the most consequential sets of choices the next president will face.

Image Credit... Victor Kerlow

One big issue is what to do when a key provision of the law that gives the N.S.A. the authority to collect the electronic communications of foreigners  which inevitably sucks in their correspondence with Americans  expires at the end of 2017. Before reauthorizing that part of the law, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the next president and Congress should craft a more narrow authority that ensures that the data of Americans cannot be searched without a warrant.

How best to respond to encryption technology, which is evolving rapidly, will be another major challenge. Earlier this year, the White House supported the Justice Departments heavy-handed order to compel Apple to disable a security feature that would have allowed the government access to a locked iPhone that belonged to a mass shooter. That request, withdrawn before the legal fight was settled, would have forced the company to develop a capability that it argued would have undermined the privacy of its customers. The next president should refrain from forcing technology companies to build encryption systems that can be breached, which would make everyones private information more vulnerable to hackers.

The next president should be more forthcoming in disclosing the legal rationale and effectiveness of the governments surveillance programs. Just trust us, its default response to reasonable requests for more information, simply isnt enough. The latest instance involved reports earlier this week that Yahoo was compelled last year to screen all messages for a specific type of correspondence the government was interested in spotting, as part of surveillance of a state-sponsored terrorist organization. Left unsaid was whether it worked and whether other email providers have been issued similar secret orders.
Each Saturday, Farhad Manjoo and Mike Isaac, technology reporters at The New York Times, review the weeks news, offering analysis and maybe a joke or two about the most important developments in the tech industry.

Farhad: Hello, Mike! Hows it going? Im preparing for a trip to Hong Kong and Singapore to talk to some people about the growing divide between Asian and American tech companies. But now that I think about it, maybe I should just pull a Fox News and visit New Yorks Chinatown instead. What do you think?

Mike: Im going to go with, uh, no on that one. Unless you want the whole internet to come down on you like they did that reporter.

Also, man, I need to get some Southeast Asian writing gigs. Can you at least bring me back a souvenir?
You do not need a statistical model to know that Donald J. Trump is in a lot of trouble.

His chances were already in jeopardy heading into the second presidential debate Sunday. Hillary Clintons lead has grown steadily over the last two weeks, and she was ahead by five to six percentage points before a videotape revealed Mr. Trump bragging about groping women and getting away with it because hes a celebrity.

Now its fair to wonder whether hell drag down the whole Republican Party.

The timing could not be worse for Mr. Trump. Absentee voting is already underway in many states, and in-person early voting is about to start in Ohio and North Carolina.

Even if the revelations did no damage to Mr. Trumps standing, they would still be big trouble. With one month to go and his current polling deficit, Mr. Trump cant afford to tread water.

He had only an 18 percent chance to win the election Friday morning before the videotapes release, according to The Upshots model, with that number set to shrink almost daily unless Mr. Trump could make inroads.
FLINT, Mich.  By the sunken standards of life in Flint, Kenneth Glover is lucky.

Last month, a construction crew arrived at his house, removed the aging, corroded lead waterline leading up to it and installed a new copper pipe in its place. His house became one of fewer than 200 in Flint to have received a new pipe through a city-run program, with thousands more on the waiting list.

That matters not a whit to Mr. Glover. He still will not drink the water.

I dont even give it to my dog, said Mr. Glover, who works in a General Motors plant, as he stood outside his home last week. I dont care how many filters they give us. I dont care what they say. How can I trust them again?

It has been one year since officials in Flint urged city residents not to drink the water.

Since then  as an investigation continues into the failed response at the city, state and federal levels  the authorities have pointed to progress in repairing the citys lead-tainted water system: Water from the Flint River is no longer used in favor of the citys former source, the Detroit system, which gets water from Lake Huron.
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.  Sabine Juskowiak looked at the display case that, just a few days ago, showcased dozens of colorful French macarons. She surveyed the flooded shop floor, and she found it hard to believe that her store was only two months old.

We lose all this, Ms. Juskowiak, who moved here over the summer from Chamonix in the French Alps, said in her tentative English. Pointing two feet up the wall, she added, The water come in up to here.

Hurricane Matthew and the floodwaters that followed have left Ms. Juskowiaks shop, set in the town that reminded her of Europe, a muddy mess. And all along the coastlines of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas on Saturday, people were getting their first glimpses of the recovery ahead.

At least 11 deaths were attributed to a storm that left more than a million people without power, and had prompted officials to urge around three million people to evacuate. In South Carolina, the cities of Charleston and North Charleston were still under curfews Saturday night, and a number of North Carolina cities, especially Fayetteville, were dealing with substantial flooding.

But the hurricane, which made landfall on Saturday morning as a Category 1 storm near Charleston, still seemed destined to be remembered mostly as an enormous inconvenience and a series of isolated calamities, not a catastrophe that would disrupt the region for months. The authorities, mindful of the clearing skies and returning electricity, asked residents not to rush back to their homes.

When the storm hits, youre praying, and then now the frustration sets in, said Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina. And what I am going to ask for you is patience. Most injuries, most fatalities, occur after a storm because people attempt to move in too soon.
WASHINGTON  The federal government will choose health plans for hundreds of thousands of consumers whose insurers have left the Affordable Care Act marketplace unless those people opt out of the laws exchanges or select plans on their own, under a new policy to make sure consumers maintain coverage in 2017.

Urgent: Your health coverage is at risk, declares a sample discontinuation notice, drafted by the government for use by insurers. It tells consumers that if you dont enroll in a plan on your own, you may be automatically enrolled in the plan picked for you.

That may make for a jarring start to the health laws fourth annual open enrollment period, which starts Nov. 1, a week before Election Day, and runs through Jan. 31. While the administration says 20 million people have gained insurance through President Obamas signature health law, it has suffered setbacks: Nonprofit health insurance co-ops created by the law have shut down; major health insurers have withdrawn from its marketplaces; and the ones that remain have raised premiums sharply.

Now, as the administration struggles to adjust to those changes, consumers may be surprised to learn that they have been placed in a health plan offered by a different insurance company, which is likely to have different doctors, benefits and drugs that are covered.
WASHINGTON  Republican leaders began to abandon Donald J. Trump by the dozens on Saturday after the release of a video showing him speaking of women in vulgar sexual terms, delivering a punishing blow to his campaign and plunging the party into crisis a month before the election.

Fearing that his candidacy was on the verge of undermining the entire Republican ticket next month, a group of senators and House members withdrew support for him, with some demanding that he step aside. Mr. Trump, however, vowed to stay in the race.

The list of party figures publicly rejecting Mr. Trump included a host of prominent elected officials, perhaps most notably Senator John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 nominee.

I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set, Mr. McCain said in a statement. But Donald Trumps behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy.
The recording that emerged on Friday revealing Donald J. Trump speaking in vulgar and demeaning terms about women prompted extraordinary backlash from Democrats and Republicans, raising questions about whether the Republican Party could dump its nominee at the last minute and find someone more viable a month before Election Day.

While the idea of replacing Mr. Trump has been a fantasy for some Never Trump Republicans for months, the reality is that removing him from the ticket at this point would be exceedingly complicated.

Heres a look at some of the questions that Republicans are mulling.

Is it too late for Republicans to replace Trump?

Its the equivalent of a triple bank shot, really, said Benjamin Ginsberg, a lawyer at Jones Day who was national counsel for the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and George W. Bush.

Mr. Ginsberg said that the Republican Party did not have a mechanism to replace a nominee just because it wants to. The partys rules state that the Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for president of the United States.
For months, Speaker Paul D. Ryan had chosen to remain largely silent, hoping that his partys nominee for president would simply get across the finish line, dragging congressional Republicans across with him.

But a 2005 recording made public on Friday of Donald J. Trump speaking in extraordinarily vulgar terms about women became a new bridge too far across a seemingly endless landmass separating civil behavior and Mr. Trumps campaign for the presidency.

Mr. Ryan responded by uninviting Mr. Trump from a rally in his home state, Wisconsin, on Saturday, and said he was sickened by Mr. Trumps remarks. But even as many congressional Republicans, including some very conservative House members, pulled away from Mr. Trump on Saturday, Mr. Ryan did not go so far as to withdraw his support for the businessman and former reality TV star.

Mr. Ryans decision keeps him in the political purgatory of endorsing the Republican nominee for president while continually having to say why he finds his remarks and policy positions despicable.
It was first noticed as a bit of meteorological arcana. An alert from the National Hurricane Center at 2 p.m. on Sept. 22 noted that a tropical wave had been detected moving off the west coast of Africa but gave it little likelihood of developing into a major storm.

Still, develop it did, becoming a textbook example of how storms follow no textbook. It then mushroomed into the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic since Hurricane Felix in 2007, killing, by some estimates, more than 800 people in Haiti, slamming into the Bahamas and then skirting a razors edge that, had it been a few miles south and west, could have caused catastrophic damage in Florida.

By Saturday, it was barely a hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, but it still had the potential to bring heavy rain and flooding to the Carolinas.

Dieulifaite Derlus, Maria Ageeb, Ed Kelley and Todd Neville had nothing in common  until the storm hit, leaving behind stories of disaster and disaster narrowly averted. Here are some of them.
DHAKA, Bangladesh  Eleven militants were killed on Saturday in three separate raids on the outskirts of Dhaka, law enforcement officials said, in the deadliest day of a monthslong crackdown on Islamist groups.

The militants were affiliated with Jamaatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, the group the government has blamed for an attack on a Dhaka restaurant in July, officials said. Bangladeshs security agencies increased their crackdown on Islamist groups after the assault, in which 22 people, most of them foreigners, were killed.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack and several others, but the government insists the terrorist group does not have a presence in the country. Instead, officials have blamed a homegrown group that they call the New Jamaatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh.

On Saturday, two militants were killed in one raid in the Gazipur district by the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion. Seven others were killed there in a raid by the police, said Sanwar Hossain, the deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Everything is governed by law if we look very carefully, he said. The sun that shines, because its always shined. The plant that grows from the ground. What we feel.

Asked if these ideas could be chalked up to youthful idealism, Mr. Peil, the schools vice dean, said he did not think so. The countrys recent push to frame law as something that can complement, rather than compromise, traditional notions of justice may have made inroads with this youngest generation, said Mr. Peil, who was recruited himself, in part, because of his background in running international law programs.

They were taking a very all-encompassing view of what the word law means, Mr. Peil said. What these guys just told us is formalism doesnt mean anything, that even if a law appears out of the mists of time and nobody knows where it came from, its still a law.

In an American legal classroom, where the definition of law has crystallized under a common law system inherited from the British, these answers would not hold up, Mr. Peil added.

In Bhutan, he said, the law includes not just the words of a judge or a legislature, but also unwritten rules of conduct passed down through centuries of Buddhist tradition uncorrupted by colonialism or violent upheaval. If that means Bhutanese have a binding obligation to respect the environment, to honor familial duties and to negotiate disputes through community justice, these are values the countrys first homegrown lawyers will be trained to defend, Mr. Peil said.

Were not trying to marry Western liberal democracy to Bhutanese culture, he said. Were trying to come up with a Bhutanese solution.
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 from 1981 to 2003, Dr. Mahathir detained opponents, fired top judges, controlled the news 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 that is on view at Ilham Gallery here until Nov. 20, is evidence of that inattention. Despite their critical nature, many of the pieces in the show appeared in state-funded institutions like 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.
Before the United States permitted a terrifying way of interrogating prisoners, government lawyers and intelligence officials assured themselves of one crucial outcome. They knew that the methods inflicted on terrorism suspects would be painful, shocking and far beyond what the country had ever accepted. But none of it, they concluded, would cause long lasting psychological harm.

Fifteen years later, it is clear they were wrong.

Today in Slovakia, Hussein al-Marfadi describes permanent headaches and disturbed sleep, plagued by memories of dogs inside a blackened jail. In Kazakhstan, Lutfi bin Ali is haunted by nightmares of suffocating at the bottom of a well. In Libya, the radio from a passing car spurs rage in Majid Mokhtar Sasy al-Maghrebi, reminding him of the C.I.A. prison where earsplitting music was just one assault to his senses.

And then there is the despair of men who say they are no longer themselves. I am living this kind of depression, said Younous Chekkouri, a Moroccan, who fears going outside because he sees faces in crowds as Guantanamo Bay guards. Im not normal anymore.

After enduring agonizing treatment in secret C.I.A. prisons around the world or coercive practices at the military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, dozens of detainees developed persistent mental health problems, according to previously undisclosed medical records, government documents and interviews with former prisoners and military and civilian doctors. Some emerged with the same symptoms as American prisoners of war who were brutalized decades earlier by some of the worlds cruelest regimes.
ANKARA, Turkey  Two people suspected of being militants blew themselves up after refusing to surrender to the police on Saturday on the outskirts of Ankara, the capital, a senior Turkish official said. No one else was killed or hurt.

The police, acting on a tip, carried out an operation to catch a man and a woman who were suspected of planning a suicide bombing in Ankara, said the official, Erkan Topaca, the governor of Ankara. They were hiding inside a hut at a horse farm in the district of Haymana.

Police called on them to surrender, Mr. Topaca told reporters at the scene. They did not respond in a positive way. They blew themselves up before we could intervene.

Mr. Topaca said it was highly likely that the man was linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or P.K.K., which has carried out a series of suicide car bombings over the past year.
ISTANBUL  A Kurdish politician who had been missing from southeastern Turkey since May resurfaced in Iraq on Friday after months of speculation that the Turkish authorities had detained him.

The politician, Hursit Kulter, 33, a provincial leader of the Democratic Regions Party in the predominantly Kurdish southeastern town of Sirnak, disappeared on May 27. The area was under a curfew imposed by the Turkish government as part of a counterterrorism military campaign against Kurdish militants in the region.

I wont get out, Mr. Kulter wrote in a text message to his family on that day. Give my greetings to everyone.

Hours after he was reported missing, Twitter accounts that claimed to be associated with Turkish special operations teams in the area said he had been taken into custody and was being interrogated. The Turkish government denied those claims.
But enough sanctions remained that Western banks refused to finance commerce with Iran without specific licenses from the United States Treasury. That seemed to choke off most business opportunities outside the oil and gas sector and the airlines. But for whatever reasons, AT&T decided to move ahead, apparently determined to shun publicity about its moves.

It remains unclear how AT&T and RighTel will settle accounts. A representative for AT&T said the company would not disclose information on financial arrangements made with the Treasury or with its Iranian partner. One possible clue: RighTel is owned by the Social Security Organization of Iran, a state entity that has large stakes in several domestic banks.

The Treasury would also not speak about the deal, saying in a statement that it generally does not comment on specific licenses or engagement with private parties.

Nevertheless, having working American mobile phones in Iran sends a powerful message that times are changing, albeit very slowly.

Now we are, of course, hoping that the United States lifts all trade restrictions on Iran, Mr. Daneshmand said. In return, we will lift visa restrictions for Americans.

In the past, Iranian interest in AT&T was of a different nature. In 2011, Iranian hackers targeted the carrier along with several other companies, dozens of banks and even a small dam in a suburb of New York, the Justice Department wrote in a complaint this year. Seven Iranian computer specialists who regularly worked for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps were accused of carrying out the attacks.

AT&T still faces the many hurdles that all companies have in doing business in Iran. In addition to its endemic corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency, Iran works on a calendar different from the Wests, with different months and a Thursday-Friday weekend. The communication infrastructure is poor but improving, and many websites are blocked by the government.
What to do about Syria?

It is an urgent problem that has consumed foreign policy discussions for the last few years. But much more is involved than the fate of a single country in the Middle East. Underlying the Syria issue is a set of questions that have animated every major debate over foreign policy for a century: What is Americas role in the world, what are its obligations, and what happens if it falls short of meeting them?

One strain of thought holds that America has a mission to champion democracy and human rights, granting it a unique role in the world, along with special powers and obligations. But that idea has always been controversial, with skeptics arguing it is an alluring myth  and a potentially dangerous notion.

Joseph S. Nye Jr., a Harvard political scientist, said the Syrian war, like previous conflicts, had become a surrogate for this debate.

Thats a recurring theme throughout our history, Professor Nye said, going back to the founding myths that the Americans are different.
SANA, Yemen  Fighter jets from a Saudi-led military coalition repeatedly bombed a crowded reception hall in Sana where mourners were gathered after a funeral on Saturday, killing more than 100 people and wounding hundreds of others, according to Yemeni health officials and witnesses.

The strikes destroyed the hall and so overwhelmed the citys hospitals that the Health Ministry broadcast pleas on radio stations to summon off-duty doctors to help tend to the wounded, and families beseeched passers-by outside hospitals to donate blood.

Yemeni officials said the scale of the carnage made it hard to quickly compile a complete death toll.

Tamim al-Shami, a spokesman for the Health Ministry, said at least 104 people had been killed and 550 wounded. He added that the death toll was likely to rise, as rescuers were still working to remove bodies from the rubble.
In this episode, a Haggler intervention and then a pair of updates about previous columns. There is a lot of ground to cover and consumer justice to dispense. So lets go.

Q. In August of last year, I purchased three bean bag chairs for my kids from PBTeen, Pottery Barns teen-targeted store. In March, I realized that one of the inserts had burst, because when I unzipped the cover, thousands of those little white foam beads scattered all over the place. I called PBTeens customer service and spoke with a representative, who said I needed to send a photo of the defective insert to an email address. I did that.

After hearing nothing for a couple of months, I called again. A different rep said that PBTeen doesnt make those inserts anymore. I asked for a refund, but she said that wasnt possible. I asked to speak to her supervisor, but she refused to put me through and then hung up. I called back and spoke to yet another rep and was told that, actually, PBTeen does still make those inserts, and Id be sent one within 10 days.

That was weeks ago. The last rep I spoke with said that all of PBTeens customer service reps work from home and therefore no supervisors are available to assist customers. Ive tried looking for corporate info from PBTeen or its parent, Williams-Sonoma, but I havent been able to reach anyone who can help.
HOW MR. RYAN RESPONDED

If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry. This party does not prey on peoples prejudices. We appeal to their highest ideals. This is the party of Lincoln.
Among a number of highly controversial measures on the Nov. 8 ballot, Proposition 54 is pretty straightforward. Prop. 54 would require a minimum 72-hour cooling-off period between the time a new or amended bill is posted online and distributed to legislators and the time a branch of the Legislature votes on the bill. An exception is made for public emergencies.

Prop. 54 would also require audiovisual recordings of Legislative proceedings (other than closed session proceedings) to be posted on the internet  most, but not all, committee meetings are currently live streamed and archived for several years  and would allow anyone to make their own recordings of public proceedings.

The centerpiece of the measure, the three-day waiting period, is intended to allow for public information and debate, particularly on lengthy, complex legislation. It also combats the insidious practice of adopting last-minute gut-and-amend bills, in which the amendment process is used to swap out most or all of the substance of an existing bill, oftentimes just a placeholder bill never really intended for passage, with completely new language which may cover a different topic altogether.

Prop. 54 is supported by a broad coalition spanning the political spectrum, including the California Chamber of Commerce, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, League of Women Voters of California, California Forward and California Common Cause.

Prop. 54s common-sense provisions will offer legislators, the media and the general public a greater opportunity to expose and debate the results of deals made behind closed doors, discussed only on obscure committee meetings or rushed through at the end of legislative sessions. It brings more transparency and accountability to the legislative process, which is particularly important since trust in government has deteriorated to such incredibly low levels.

The Editorial Board recommends a yes vote on Proposition 54.
An automotive-repair chain has agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle a consumer-protection lawsuit over accusations that it sold unnecessary and faulty parts and not-needed services, authorities said Friday.

The Orange County District Attorneys Office filed the suit against Certified Tire and Services Center and owner Jeffrey Darrow alleging unfair business practices and false and misleading advertising.

Certified Tire has 41 locations in California, primarily in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The lawsuit accused Certified Tire of selling unnecessary parts and services and charging customers for services that were never performed. Darrow did not return a phone call on Friday.

Prosecutors said Certified Tire admitted no fault or liability.

The District Attorneys Office launched a joint investigation with the California Bureau of Automotive Repair after receiving complaints of unfair business practices.

Investigators conducted undercover car-repair runs in Orange and Riverside counties, driving specially prepared cars not needing repairs, prosecutors said.

Nearly all of the undercover runs resulted in recommendations for additional unnecessary repairs or included charges for services not performed, the District Attorneys Office said in a statement. Certified Tire also deceptively advertised special discounts only available for customers with a Goodyear credit card.

Under the settlement, filed in Orange County Superior Court on Thursday, Certified Tire agreed to pay more than $1.4 million in civil penalties, in addition to restitution, prosecutors said. The settlement is pending approval by a judge.

Consumers who filed complaints with the Bureau of Automotive Repair or Certified Tire from January 2011 to Sept. 30, 2016 are eligible for restitution, prosecutors said.

Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com
Local public defenders, frustrated by the District Attorneys practice of barring certain judges from key homicide cases, have taken their argument to the California Supreme Court.

The high court was asked in late August by the Orange County Public Defenders Office to take the case. The 4th District Court of Appeal recently ruled that the D.A.s practice of blocking certain judges, known as blanket papering, was legal. But appellate justices also said the practice was disruptive and abusive and should be revisited by the Supreme Court.

Its unclear if that will happen. Supreme Court justices can refuse the case and let the appellate ruling stand, or they can take the case and issue their own ruling.

The Orange County District Attorneys Office issued a legal brief in September asking the high court not to get involved.

For almost 60 years, (state law allowing papering) has been a valuable tool for litigants to ensure judicial fairness and integrity and to avoid even the suspicion of unfairness, wrote Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Fitzpatrick. It guarantees an extraordinary right to disqualify a judge when the litigant does not believe the judge can be fair or impartial.

At issue is a state law allowing attorneys on both sides to disqualify any judge  no questions asked  for bias. The action is called a peremptory challenge.

The District Attorneys Office is accused of misusing this law against Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals, who was disqualified from at least 46 cases in an 18-month period.

The removals came after Goethals began ruling against prosecutors in some major cases, including a decision in March 2015 to boot the District Attorneys Office from the sentencing phase of the trial of mass killer Scott Dekraai.

Dekraai killed eight people at a Seal Beach salon in 2011, the largest mass killing in Orange County history.

The case has been turned over to California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who doesnt want it and is appealing.

District Attorney Tony Rackauckas has denied any organized effort to punish Goethals and to keep him from presiding over murder cases.

Rackauckas has said prosecutors are papering Goethals on their own.

The public defenders office disagrees and is calling on the state Supreme Court to intercede.

Contact the writer: tsaavedra@scng.com
With pomp, ceremony, balloons and, of course, the Trojan Marching Band, the University of Southern California welcomed the newest major addition to its campus last week: The USC Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center.

Many of Southern Californias dance world luminaries were on hand for the midday ribbon-cutting ceremony, including American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe, also a judge on So You Think You Can Dance; renowned choreographer William Forsythe, the most famous member of the faculty; and Laguna Beach resident Jodie Gates, director of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Gates, a former Joffrey Ballet principal, was lured away from a position with UC Irvines dance department to help found the institution  the first new school at USC in four decades.

The schools namesake, dance philanthropist Glorya Kaufman, was the ceremonys guest of honor. She gave a touching and occasionally teary address to the crowd in front of the red-brick structure, designed in USCs traditional Collegiate Romanesque style.

I know that my husband would have been a wonderful partner in this, had he lived, she said, referring to developer Donald Kaufman, who died in a 1983 plane crash. He was the person who really made this happen.  I dedicate this day to him.

We couldnt have done it without her, said USC President C.L. Max Nikias of Kaufmans contribution. She gave us the largest gift in the history of American dance. She really had the vision from the beginning.

Robert Cutietta, dean of the USC Thornton School of Music, was instrumental in bringing the new dance school to life. He, Gates and others persuaded Kaufman to donate an eight-figure sum (the exact amount has never been divulged). The university, in return, committed funds of its own and dedicated space in a coveted part of the main campus to build the 54,000-square-foot, $46 million building  no small accomplishment for an institution straining at the boundaries of its compact urban footprint.

Nikias made sure the building was given a spot near the schools of music and film, which will figure prominently in its plans for interdisciplinary collaboration. I picked (the site). It had to be here in the arts neighborhood, he said. A student medical center was torn down to make room for the new structure. Ground was broken in April 2014.

Cutietta took an unorthodox approach when he talked to Kaufman about what kind of dance school was needed.

I remember telling Glorya, We dont need just another dance school in this country. What we need is a dance school that fills a unique need. We asked people, What is needed in the dance community? And then we built the school around what people told us.

The result is a place that aims to train dance students to excel in the 21st-century job market, said Forsythe. That starts with learning about all genres of dance. All the different disciplines have equal value here. We develop respect for every discipline, whether its hip-hop or ballet or modern or folk.

The Kaufman Schools concern for its dancers continues after they graduate, Forsythe added. We worry like parents about what theyll do after graduation. Thats one of the things you cant put in the syllabus.

Other intangibles that are part of the schools New Movement philosophy include a respect for professionalism, Forsythe said. How you manifest excellence plays a crucial part in your future success. Professionals who are hiring notice things like good work habits (as much as) technique.

Designed by William Murray of Pfeiffer Partners Architects, the building is designed to serve the New Movement approach. The 3,592-square-foot Performance Studio transforms from a rehearsal and teaching space into a black box theater or a film-screening venue, among other things. Studios are equipped with large, flat screen video monitors and high-quality sound systems. Students have access to a collaborative space as well as dedicated lecture classrooms.

The building was built for the curriculum, and that doesnt happen every day, Gates said. The concept of hybridity is a really critical part of this program. We want our students to be prepared for any career possibility that involves dance, so that required some innovative thinking. And I think weve achieved it in this facility.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7979 or phodgins@scng.com
The Orange County School of the Arts Film & Television Conservatorys ninth annual fall film festival marks a big step for the program.

The event will showcase five documentaries produced in Alaska as part of the conservatorys first long-distance filmmaking trip. The documentaries, each about five minutes long, were produced in July by students as they traveled through some of the states notable cities and parks, including Anchorage and Denali. Conservatory leaders hope to make such long-distance trips a regular part of the program.

For Aaron Orullian, director of the conservatory and leader of the Alaska trip, it was important that there be a community service aspect to the trek.

I want every trip that we do to have some kind of a service component to it, so that were not just going in like tourists, Orullian said. Thats part of how you get to understand and know the place youre going and meet the people who you are actually serving.

The 18 students who made the trek were split into five teams. Each would produce a different film  four about Alaska and one documenting the trip itself.

The trip was designed to be journalistic in nature. The students would go to an area with only a general understanding of it and find out what was happening there. Only then would they decide what to film. The students were armed with minimal equipment, mainly relying on their Canon 60D DSLR cameras and the areas continuous natural light. Most of them didnt even bring a laptop.

The vastly different day-night cycles took some serious getting used to. The sun is in the sky for more than 18 hours in Anchorage in July, rising at around 5 a.m. and setting at around 11 p.m. Though it was beneficial for the camera crews, which didnt have to lug heavy lighting gear, the students found the cycles somewhat taxing.

The light was a bit of a problem, Jaxon Schriever said, chuckling. It was very easy to stay up late. We had to force our blinds closed so we could sleep.

The first stop and first filming location was the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, near Anchorage. The students spent time with some of the rangers, learning about the work they did with the local wildlife. The information gained here became the basis of the first documentary, which is about bison reintegration.

Once finished, the students hit the road to Denali, where they remained for a few days to film in enormous Denali National Park, which is about the size of Vermont. They produced a documentary about the dog sled program and the park system in general. As part of the service aspect of the trip, they helped cull invasive plants.

Later in the trip, they made their way to Valdez, a town demolished by an earthquake in 1964. They met with a local historian for their third documentary, about the relocation of the town. Near the end of the trip, they volunteered at and filmed a documentary about a food bank in Anchorage.

The fall film festival is a vehicle for showcasing student work produced during the summer. This year, 15-20 films totaling about 90 minutes are expected to be shown.

You dont really think about it when youre in production, or even preproduction or postproduction, said Andrea Bedoya. It doesnt really hit you that you have to show this to a bunch of people. In the end its all worth it because you get to see something you started. You get to build something from scratch and then premiering. That is worthwhile no matter how difficult it was to start out with.

The event will take place Friday, the same day as Back to School Night, to encourage parents and alumni to attend. Any OCSA student may enter a film in the festival, and admission is free.

The event also marks the opening of the recently renovated symphony hall on campus.

Contact the writer: 714-796-2258 or varsityarts@ocregister.com
John Wayne Airports flights were all running on time Friday, unaffected by Hurricane Matthew hitting the East Coast.

Deanne Thompson, spokeswoman for the airport, said Friday afternoon that there were no reports of delays or cancellations since the hurricane hit Florida on Thursday.

The Orange County airports flights dont go directly to Florida, Thompson said, but there are connecting flights just north in nearby Atlanta.

Los Angeles National Airport officials said 23 of their arriving and departing flights were canceled. The flights involved airports at Miami, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale.

Hurricane Matthew also swept through southern Haiti killing hundreds, destroying homes and leaving villages under water.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7865 or afausto@scng.com
A Los Angeles federal court judge on Friday granted a temporary restraining order to halt the slaughter of chickens during an annual Jewish holiday ritual in Irvine.

Virginia-based United Poultry Concerns last week filed a federal lawsuit against Chabad of Irvine alleging that the Jewish center is violating state law during the ritual.

The roughly 2,000-year-old tradition of Kapparot  which means atonement in Hebrew  is practiced in some traditional Orthodox Jewish communities between the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

During the ceremony, a chicken is swung over a persons head to symbolize the persons sins being transferred to the bird. The chicken is then slaughtered in a kosher manner.

The meat was traditionally donated to the poor, but today the carcasses are typically thrown away due to state licensing laws regarding the slaughter of animals for human consumption.

In the lawsuit, Irvine attorney David Simon and San Diego attorney Bryan Pease allege that Chabad Irvine is violating state law, including penal codes that prohibit any intentional and malicious killing of an animal not used for food.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Andre Birrote Jr. granted the temporary restraining order and set a hearing for Thursday in which Chabad Irvine will have the chance to contest a preliminary injunction that would prevent the ritual practice.

Leaders of Chabad of Irvine could not be reached for comment on Friday. Chabad of Irvine did not file an opposition to the restraining order.

Pease said the judges ruling sends a message that the practice is cruel and unlawful. He said the group is now considering action against other Jewish centers that use live chickens.

This is a first step in the ultimate goal to show that it is illegal in the state of California and most other states to intentionally kill an animal as punishment for your sins, he said.

Pease said many centers will begin practicing the ritual on Sunday and Monday. If Chabad of Irvine wishes to continue using live chickens, they must be killed in a slaughterhouse or the center must show that the animals will be used for food in accordance with the law.

Jewish leaders have maintained that the slaughter of the chickens is done in a humane fashion. They have described opposition to Kapporat as coming from extreme animal-rights groups attempting to trample on religious rights and expression.

However, some synagogues are now choosing to use coins rather than live chickens.

A similar lawsuit, filed last year by Simon on behalf of the San Diego-based Animal Protection and Rescue League against Chabad of Irvine and the Chabad Hebrew Academy-Lubavitch of Orange County, is pending in state court.

Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com
WASHINGTON  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.
He reached for the side of his head and felt his protruding skull, which had shifted in the accident. Through the blood and alcohol haze, he could feel part of his skull was not where it should be, and there was a gaping hole.

He remembers looking at the stars, as he lay waiting to be rescued in the tall weeds down the embankment by the side of the road, and thinking how wrong his life was. He had been an art student with unusual ability, but he had blown that.

His paintings had been tight, precise re-creations of the work of the masters, while his life was loose, out of control.

If I go, I go, he said to himself.

Brian Menish, who is now 27, lost so much that day  the ability to speak, walk and use his right hand.

And he gained so much.

In the years since, Menish has regained his speech and ability to walk and has taught himself to paint with his left hand. And now his art is loose, a more abstract look at the world, while his sober life is tight.

Menishs paintings will be on display beginning today at an exhibition called Hidden Truths, the Mind Unraveled at the Gray Matter Museum in Costa Mesa. The exhibit is an annual fundraiser for epilepsy research. More than 50 art pieces were created by people with epilepsy. Among his many problems, Menish began having epileptic seizures after the accident.



When he was a teenager in Virginia, Menish used drugs and alcohol, sold drugs and was arrested several times for public intoxication. It got so bad, his parents sent him off to a school for addiction treatment in Utah.

Menish hated the program and didnt want to be there.

Except for art class.

He had an art teacher  he doesnt remember his name  who somehow made art interesting in the midst of his teenage wasteland.

He was calm and peaceful, Menish said. My life was not at all like that.

Menish painted Eshers Orb, a portrait of a man holding a mirrored ball that showed his reflection. The teacher matted and framed Menishs work. There werent too many times Menish felt good about himself.

That was one.

The art lessons would stick with him. The sobriety did not.

When Menish left Utah, he returned to Virginia and celebrated by getting blotto drunk. On July 7, 2007 (he remembers it easily because it was 7-7-07), he was drunk again. He got on his motorcycle at 3 a.m. to go to the ATM to get money for cocaine.

He lost control, went over the handlebars and smashed into a tree. A passing driver ran for help and saved his life.

Youve got to want to be sober and willing to work, he said. I wasnt.

Menish had two surgeries and was in an induced coma for a week. He was in the hospital for two months.

At this juncture of the story, you might be expecting a turning point.

But addiction, at least Menishs addiction, has sent him on a jagged, downhill trajectory.

There were more drugs, more booze. He considered suicide. He got into fights.

I couldnt cope on lifes terms, Menish said.



He says hes been sober for almost three years.

And he says that aside from intoxication, the only thing consistent in his life is art.

His brain doesnt fire like it once did. His thoughts come a bit more slowly. His memory is a bit scrambled.

Hes not sure if it was him or his mother who came up with the idea of painting left-handed.

It was very, very frustrating at first, Menish said. It was weird, strange. But when a person has no other option, you do it.

Seven months after he got sober, Menish painted Arm of Addiction. Its a portrait of a young man sitting on a bed with a third arm coming out of the middle of his chest. Hes proud of that one because its good, and because he did it when he was sober.

Art is very important to him, said Dr. David Millett, the head of Hoag Hospitals epilepsy program in Newport Beach. Its a major mode of his personal expression. Learning to pick up a paintbrush again is a statement about who he is in the universe.

Millett has worked with Menish for about two years.

Id like to see him take his art to another level, Millett said. I hope hes teaching. He can teach through his experiences.

Menish is finishing up classes at Orange Coast College. Hes planning to attend either Long Beach State or Cal State Fullerton next year.

Hes working at Honda Center as a server at the Standing O restaurant.

Hes training for a triathlon.

And hes got a girlfriend.

I hope to paint her portrait some day, he said.

Contact the writer: ksharon@scng.com
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 Russias borders.

Responding to a lawmakers question if the military could return to Cuba and Vietnam, Pankov said the military is reviewing a decision to withdraw from them, but didnt 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 amid strain over Syria and Ukraine.

Moscow has lamented that Washington never appreciated Putins goodwill gesture.

Asked Friday about the possibility of the Russian militarys return to Cuba and Vietnam, Putins 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 governments coffers with petrodollars, allowing the Kremlin to fund an ambitious 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 navys 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

Its time to reach agreements to return to faraway outposts if they dont understand the language of diplomacy, he said during debates.
Saddleback Valley Unified School District officials began removing wood chips from Lake Forest Elementary School on Friday, two days after a mite specialist determined one of the schools three playgrounds was infested with mites that are likely the cause of skin irritations on students and adults.

The specialist, Steve Bennett, collected 25 samples from the playground closest to The Learning Center, the schools after-school program, earlier this week and made the identification Wednesday.

Tammy Blakely, assistant to SVUSD superintendent Clint Harwick, said in an email Friday that even though mites were only found on one of the playgrounds, the wood chips were being removed from all three playground areas out of an abundance of caution. She said the process would take a few days.

Once the removal process is complete, we will work with (Orange County Mosquito and) Vector Control and Safety 1st Pest Control on treatment recommendations, Blakely said in the email.

All three playgrounds remain closed.

For two weeks, Safety 1st Pest Control sprayed and vector control placed traps on the campus with no leads, before Bennett discovered mites of the Mesostigmata order.

These mites are known to be blood-feeding, unlike chiggers, which feed on surface skin material, said vector control spokesman Jared Dever.

As of Friday, Blakely said vector control had not determined where the mites came from. She said the wood chips were delivered to Lake Forest Elementary in July, about two months before students and staff began experiencing skin irritations and bug bites.

Vector control doesnt know if the wood chips are the source of the problem or if the chips are simply where the mites concentrated, she said.

They will feed for a while, then fall off, Dever said of Mesostigmata mites.

He said theres a good chance theyve moved to different parts of campus by latching on to people or clothing.

For those afflicted, Dever said a family physician could provide the best course of relief. For those concerned that mites could have come home with the students, he recommended washing clothes thoroughly.

Contact the writer: npercy@scng.com
As year-end deadlines and the holidays approach, along comes the annual tradition of selecting workplace benefits for the following year.

Health insurance and other perks helped draw you to the job. But when a bazillion projects fill your inbox, its tempting to cruise through open enrollment on autopilot.

This is one task worthy of your attention, though. Here are five common mistakes to avoid:

1. Choosing the same coverage mindlesslyThe biggest mistake is tuning out, says Kelly Moore, president of Moore Benefits Inc. in Irvine, California. Many people will spend more time looking at what kind of phone or TV theyll buy than planning for their financial security.

Ninety percent of employees elect the same plan year after year, according to a 2014 survey by Research Now for Aflac. But some things may change inside the plans.

While one change may seem small on the face of it, it may have a big impact on the family, says Greg Hodges, principal of Hodges-Mace, an employee benefits adviser in Atlanta. For example, the health plan might change its provider network and exclude your doctor.

The employer might also offer a greater selection of plans and new perks.

The fix: Attend the open enrollment meeting at work and use the tools provided to compare plans. Take questions to your employers human resources department or benefits consultant, Moore advises.

2. Misunderstanding tax-advantaged accounts for out-of-pocket expensesMany employers provide tax-advantaged accounts that you can use to pay for child care, commuting or out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Theyre all helpful, says Peter Mace, principal of Hodges-Mace. But employees really need to understand the rules associated with them.

Each type of account works a little differently. For example, with health savings accounts, or HSAs, all the unused money rolls over to the following year. Many medical flexible spending accounts, or FSAs, let you roll over $500 of unused money to the next year. But you lose any unused money above that amount.

The fix: Understand how the accounts work and estimate your annual expenses before you decide how much to contribute.

3. Choosing a health plan on price onlyThe amount deducted from your paycheck for health insurance will vary depending on the plan.

Employees start in the wrong place, says Carolyn Goodwin, president of Goodwin Benefits Group in Dallas. They look at price before they pick a plan and then complain because the plan they picked has a higher deductible and extra copays that they cannot afford.

The fix: Dig into the details to learn how the plan works. Are the doctors and hospitals you want to use in the plans provider network? Is there coverage outside of the network? What will you pay out of pocket when you visit a doctor, specialist or hospital? What is the maximum youd pay out of pocket annually?

4. Undervaluing disability insuranceDisability insurance replaces a portion of your income if you get injured or are too sick to work for an extended period.

Behind health insurance, disability insurance should be priority No. 1, Hodges says.

Todays 20-year-olds have about a one-in-four chance of experiencing a disability sometime before retirement, according to the Council for Disability Awareness. Yet most people underestimate the risk.

The fix: Say yes if your employer pays the full cost of disability insurance. If the employer offers it but doesnt pay for it, seriously consider buying it.

5. Skimping on life insuranceAn employer might pay for a small amount of life insurance, such as one or two times your annual salary. Thats terrific, but probably not enough if you have a growing family thats financially dependent on you. And usually life insurance paid for by the employer ends when you leave the company.

The fix: You might be offered the opportunity to buy more coverage through the employers broker. Usually you can take that coverage with you if you leave the job. Getlife insurance quotes on your own to compare with the rates offered through your employer. You may get a cheaper price by buying through your employer if you have a health condition.

Meanwhile, keep the big picture in mind.

Open enrollment is a great time to plan for the year ahead and set goals, not just for choosing a health plan, but for your overall financial plan, Hodges says.

Barbara Marquand is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:bmarquand@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @barbaramarquand. The article 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Enrolling in Benefits at Work originally appeared on NerdWallet.
Nine OCTA bus routes are being discontinued Sunday as part of the final phase of changes in the Orange County Transportation Authoritys biggest service overhaul in six years.

Under the 2016 Bus Service Plan approved by the OCTA board in February, the bulk of route cuts take effect in this second phase of the plan. The first phase, in June, saw service improvements.

The hope was to give passengers as much time as possible to learn about the changes and understand what they were and what alternatives they may have if their route was being discontinued or the frequency was being reduced, OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said.

OCTA board members passed the plan, which transfers resources from lower- to higher-demand areas, in an attempt to reverse declining ridership. Boardings dropped from 69 million in 2007 to 47 million in 2015 and the plan, part of the OC Bus 360 program, seeks to add 1.3 million new riders over three years.

In all, 22 bus routes will be affected starting Sunday.

The nine routes being discontinued are the 20, 175, 187, 188, 191, 193, 464, 757 and 758. In addition, four routes will be reduced on Saturdays or the entire weekend (the 82, 85, 87 and 167) and nine routes will have increased frequency (the 26, 37, 47, 71, 72, 79, 206, 211 and 463).

Besides allowing riders more time to adjust, the majority of cuts were scheduled for this wave instead of the first to give cities more time to implement community circulator programs meant to fill service gaps. Cities applied to OCTA for funding through Measure M, the countys half-cent sales tax.

The Mission Viejo Circulator will travel in a loop from the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Metrolink Station to the Murray Community Center starting Sunday. The Westminster Little Saigon Circulator will operate in a loop through Magnolia Street, Bolsa Avenue, Brookhurst Street and Bishop Place beginning Oct. 31.

Earlier this month, San Clemente approved a contract with Lyft for on-demand ride services along discontinued routes 191 and 193.

In June, the bus service plan implemented changes to 13 routes, including increased frequency to four routes and two new routes  Route 150, running from Costa Mesa to Santa Ana and Bravo! Route 560 traveling along Westminster Boulevard and 17th Street from Santa Ana to Long Beach.

About 100 OCTA employees in the Transit Ambassador Program were deployed starting Sept. 19, and will continue through at least Tuesday, onboard affected buses and along routes to alert passengers of the changes and answer questions.

Weve made every effort to let all of our passengers know about the upcoming changes, Zlotnik said.

Separately, adjustments are being made Sunday to 18 bus routes as part of OCTAs scheduled revisions every February, June and October.

Sunday also marks the reduction of the bus day pass from $5 to $4 for a promotional six-month stretch. The transportation agencys OC Bus mobile app launches Sunday as well, allowing customers to purchase fares and check real-time arrivals.

For more information on the bus service changes, visit octa.net/Bus/October-2016-Service-Change.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7762 or jkwong@ocregister.com or on Twitter: @JessicaGKwong
MOSCOW  Russia is working to re-establish its former military bases in Vietnam and Cuba, a senior official said Friday, reflecting Moscows growing ambition to reassert itself on the world stage.

The official, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai 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, Pankov said, without giving any details.

The Russian government has complained over the years that the West never appreciated the good will Russia showed in closing the bases. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters Friday that circumstances had changed since 2002.

The global situation is not static, it is in flux, Peskov said, according to Russias Interfax news agency. You see that the last two years have made significant changes to international affairs and security. Therefore, its quite natural that all countries assess these changes in line with their national interests and take certain steps in the way they consider appropriate.

Russia has an agreement with Vietnam to allow Russian ships to enter Cam Ranh Bay under a simplified procedure, and the Russian air force has been using an airfield in Vietnam since 2014.

President Vladimir Putin has often said that because Russia has very few military bases abroad, it cannot be considered a belligerent country. Russia has full bases only in Syria, in former Soviet republics and in its own territory.
SANTA ANA  An Army National Guardsman and former soldier was sentenced to four years in jail Friday for attacking a female jogger on a trail near Laguna Niguel.

Prosecutors had argued that Sean Luke Salaber, 23, of Riverside attacked the woman last year in Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park with the intent of sexually assaulting her. The defense argued that Salaber, a cash-strapped former Army infantryman, had only wanted to steal the womans iPod so that he could pawn it for cash.

A jury last month found him guilty of felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor counts of assault, battery and brandishing a replica gun. Jurors acquitted him of more serious charges of intent to commit a sexual offense and a misdemeanor sexual battery.

Standing at a courtroom podium Friday, the victim, 24, read a statement expressing outrage that Salaber was not convicted of a sexual offense and will not be required to register as a sex offender.

The victim, identified only as Lauren, said the jury let him off the hook.

If he wanted to rob someone, why did he drive to a running trail? she asked. What do runners have of any monetary value? If his intention was to rob me, why did he grope my breasts? Why did he shake his head no when I offered my iPod?

He never intended to rob anyone, she said. He thought he could get away with rape because he knows no consequences.

The victim said the fact that Salaber will likely be free in two years and will serve time in jail rather than prison misses the mark on justice.

I fought him with every fiber in my being refusing to let him rape me, and he gets a lesser sentence? she said. Letting him off with a (lesser) charge is a grave injustice not just to me but to all the women across the world.

Calling the crime cruel, vicious and premeditated, Orange County Superior Court Judge Cheri Pham sentenced Salaber to the maximum of four years in custody. The judge said Salaber is required to serve the term in jail because of prison realignment.

He was given 760 days credit for time served.

His defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Sara Ross, said Salaber was ashamed and remorseful for his actions.

Deputy District Attorney Heidi Garrel said the victim was running in September last year when Salaber ran up to her from behind, wrapped his arms around her and tackled her to the ground. He then held an imitation gun to the womans head and sexually groped her as he told her to shut up, Garrel said.

A witness heard the woman scream and rushed to help, scaring off Salaber, Garrel said.

Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com
Whats going on in Orange County this weekend? The Halloween season is underway and apart from visiting a local pumpkin patch or going to an Oktoberfest event, you can see an auto show, see a musical based on Carole Kings life or go to a beer and music festival. Here are our 15 picks:

ALL WEEKEND

ORANGE COUNTY AUTO SHOW: You can see more than 600 of the newest automotive vehicles at the Anaheim Convention Center through Sunday. Attractions include a gallery of exotic vehicles and a collection of work trucks and vans, as well as opportunities to test drive more 100 vehicles. 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. $12. 800 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim. Information: 323-216-7557 or autoshowoc.com

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL: The true American story behind the songs that skyrocketed pop music icon Carole King from unknown songwriter to selling out Carnegie Hall is told in the hit Broadway jukebox musical being featured at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts through Oct. 16. Her hits include I Feel the Earth Move, One Fine Day and Youve Got a Friend. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. The 2 p.m. performance Oct. 15 will include audio description, open captioning and sign-language interpretation. $29 and up. 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Information: 714-556-2787 or scfta.org.

ITALIAN AMERICAN RECONCILIATION: This is the tale of Huey, a man who is safely divorced from his shrewish first wife (who shot his dog), but he feels he cannot regain his manhood until he woos and wins her one more time. By John Patrick Shanley; directed by Maria Cominis. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Through Oct. 30 at Cal State Fullertons Hallberg Theatre, 800 N. State College Blvd. Tickets are $12-$14. Information: 657-278-3371 and fullerton.edu.

THE 17TH DOOR HAUNTED HOUSE: Over a dozen new rooms have been created, including a mini escape room, to take things to a whole new level. This years haunt will be larger and longer, featuring over 34 minutes filled with more monsters, more scares, more of what you love and more of what you hate. 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 2856 El Camino Real, Tustin. Tickets are $22-$27. Information: the17thdoor.com.

SATURDAY

HERITAGE FESTIVAL AND PARADE: The 52nd annual Placentia Heritage Festival and Parade on Saturday will have a 1.28-mile route on Kraemer Bouelvard and a festival at Tri-City Park, which includes a car show, arts and crafts and food vendors. A pancake breakfast begins at 6:30 a.m. and the parade starts at 9:30 a.m. near Yorba Linda Boulevard and heads north along Kraemer. Information: placentia.org.

LAKE FOREST HARVEST FESTIVAL: Bring your family to a fun-filled adventure at the Autumn Harvest Festival held at the Heritage Hill Historical Park. The park will be transformed into a spooky Halloween festival. Enjoy the Indiana Jones Trick or Treat Stations, Under the Sea Adventure Maze and the Haunted School House. Children can participate in ghoulish games, costume contest and mini pumpkin decorating zone. Dress in costume and bring your trick-or-treat bag. $5 for adults and children with games included. Saturday 4 to 9 p.m. Heritage Hill Historical Park, 25151 Serrano Road, Lake Forest. Information: lakeforestca.gov.

POKER RIDE: The county and OC Parks will host Whiting Ranch Poker Ride, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at the Glenn Ranch staging area, 27901 Glenn Ranch Road. Mountain bikers compete for prizes by collecting poker hands. Preregister at 949-923-2245.

BEER & MUSIC FESTIVAL: The Orange County Beer and Music Festival brings guests to the Grove of Anaheim and Anaheim Lot to hear live music and sample craft beers and more. The featured bands are Lit (My Own Worst Enemy, Miserable) and The Ataris (The Boys of Summer cover). Throughout the festival, guests can try unlimited samples of more than 80 craft beers, wines and spirits. Live bands and DJs set the stage at the indoor concert hall while the beerfest takes place in the outdoor Anaheim Lot. Food trucks will be in attendance with a special tasting menu for small bites. $35 until Friday, then $50 at the door. 21 and up. Information: orangecounty-beerfestival.com/.

BOOK-SHARING EVENT: Mission Viejos third annual Books are Better Shared event takes place from 10:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center, 24932 Veterans Way. A $38 registration fee includes lunch and refreshments, programming, an on-site bookstore and giveaways. To register: booksarebettershared.com.

HOT RODDIN ON MAIN STREET: One of the hubs of hot rod nation, downtown Huntington Beach, plays host to the Main Street Cars & Cruise Car Show, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday along Main Street. Event is for pre-1972 American hot rod, custom, muscle, classic and vintage cars. Information: 714-831-1888 or hbhotrodnews.com.

BOOK SALE: The Laguna Niguel Library will hold a book sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at 30341 Crown Valley Parkway. Proceeds from the book sale will go to the library. Normal weekend hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information: ocpl.org or 949-249-5252.

RESTAURANT WEEK: About 18 restaurants are participating in the inaugural Fountain Valley Restaurant Week, which wraps up Saturday. Participating restaurants have special offerings at special prices. Information: 714-677-2559 or fvrestaurants.com.

SUNDAY

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS: Harbor Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has scheduled its annual event at 4 p.m. at the church campus, 2401 Irvine Ave., Newport Beach. All are welcome to bring their pets or pictures of them to receive the blessing of all of Gods creatures. Meet other pet owners, too.

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS: Comprising 15 of the finest jazz soloists and ensemble players today, the orchestra has been the Jazz at Lincoln Center resident since 1988. This versatile orchestra performs and leads educational events in New York, across the U.S. and around the globe in concert halls, dance venues, jazz clubs, public parks and with symphony orchestras, ballet troupes, local students and an ever-expanding roster of guest artists. 3 p.m. at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tickets start at $49. Information: scfta.org.

NEWPORT FIRE DEPARTMENT OPEN HOUSE: The Newport Beach Fire Department is holding an open house at its fire station in Santa Ana Heights, 20401 S.W. Acacia St., 9-11 a.m. Sunday. The free event is in recognition of Fire Prevention Week. There will be live demonstrations of vehicle extractions and a tour of the station.
FULLERTON  Three  two  one 

The pint-sized producer motions to Gloria Rice to start as four iPads aimed her way begin recording.

My dad was in the Navy, so he was gone all the time, Rice, 85, shares of her life as a child with a father in World War II. We had no television  no video games.

The resident of the Morningside of Fullerton retirement community sat at the head of a table talking about growing up during the Great Depression  hoping for just one Christmas present, a pair of roller skates  and the following war years for four Laguna Road Elementary fifth-graders who know nothing of either except what theyve read in their textbooks.

Rices story and others recorded Friday by the tech-savvy students will be produced into digital biographies as part of the Fullerton School Districts new Story Angels program.

The students are using Adobe Spark to edit the footage with old photographs. In November, the children will return to Morningside for a screening of the completed multimedia projects.

The curriculum is designed to get these kids communicating with someone from a different generation, to take their words and make them into a story, said Pam Chow, project liaison with the superintendents office. And the byproduct of this is the connections made between the students and the seniors.

The school has 100 students participating, grouped in quartets with residents of the retirement community.

Theres a lot of joy, a lot of enrichment, and not only for the children, but for our seniors, said Diana Blidy, Morningside community life and services director. They love seeing the look on the childrens faces when they tell their story and when the children say it back.

Those (seniors) participating had been talking about this day for months.

The students previously interviewed their seniors, taking notes and writing biographies in class.

Let her group tell it, and Patsy Zima slept in a barn with her pet goat. She set the record straight when her interviewers returned to Morningside on Friday with follow-up questions.

What did you have to give up during the Great Depression? students asked their subjects. After you were drafted, what did you do before you had to leave for Korea?

What are War Dogs?

Vi Barrett, 87, told her group about being the first female radio dispatcher in Los Angeles FBI office. She showed the students a photo of herself taken in the 1940s, sitting at her desk with a typewriter in the background, a gooseneck microphone and a rotary telephone.

I want these kids to realize they can go apply for anything that they think they can have fun doing, she said.

Virginia White, 86, walked into the Catalina Club at Morningside with four students prepared to record her story.

The students set up their iPads to capture her from different angles as she read about a trip she and her son took to the Colorado rapids 41 years ago.

Bye, bye, Ms. White, one fifth-grader said after filming.

These children are showing empathy with older people as we tell them stories about what happened to us in our lives, White said. Theyre learning the ability to talk to older people. Very bright children.

Sophia Lopez, 10, was one of the students who interviewed Rice. Harder than recording and editing a digital biography, Sophia said, was coming up with questions and writing a script to be read on camera.

We learned how impactful these moments were in their lives, and why we should be grateful for things we have, said Alana Alvarado, 10, who wrote her biography on Joan Ditmore, who spoke about her time helping refugee children in Africa. There are life lessons we can learn from these senior citizens.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7724 or bwhitehead@scng.com
MOSCOW  International diplomatic pressure increased on Moscow Friday to end the joint Russian-Syrian siege of the city of Aleppo, but Moscows U.N. ambassador says he will most likely veto a Security Council resolution that would ground Russian warplanes.

Russias 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 citys 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.

The United States and Russia support opposite sides in the war  Moscow has been a staunch Assad ally and Washington backs Syrian rebels trying to oust him.

As Aleppos misery dragged on, Russias United Nations 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.

Instead, he said, that the Security Council should instead rally around the proposal made Thursday by U.N. envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura for an al-Qaida-linked militant faction to leave Aleppo in exchange for an end to Russian and Syrian government bombardment.

Russias air campaign in Syria, launched a year ago, has reversed the tide of war and helped Assads 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 Syrias coastal province of Latakia, Assads 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 Syrias 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 Assads 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 Fridays 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 Washingtons 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 militias 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.

Syrias 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 Aleppos 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.

Britains U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft echoed de Misturas 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 its only the third biggest killer of innocent civilians in Syria that is al-Qaida, al-Nusra and all the other terrorists.

Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that Moscow backs the de Misturas 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 groups gunmen will not leave Aleppo, adding that they intend to stay to defend eastern parts of the city.

He said the groups fighters would only leave if the Shiite militias withdrew from Aleppo.
WASHINGTON  Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday called for a war crimes investigation of the bombing campaign by Russia and the Assad government in the Syrian civil war, charging that they were continuing to attack hospitals as part of a deliberate strategy to terrorize civilians.

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 said before meeting at the State Department with his French counterpart.

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 added. This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians.

Kerrys remarks came one day before the U.N. Security Council was expected to vote on a French-drafted resolution that calls for a cease-fire in Aleppo and the grounding of Russian and Syrian warplanes that have been pummeling the besieged city.

Russia has asserted that it is targeting terrorist groups, and Moscows envoy to the United Nations, Vitaly I. Churkin, threatened to veto the measure.

I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass, he said Friday.

Still, the United States and its Western partners appear to be hoping they can build pressure on Russia and the Syrian government to ease their offensive by highlighting attacks on civilians.

Russian fighter jets have been bombing eastern Aleppo for the past two weeks, joined by their allies in the Syrian Air Force. Russia says the targets are the Nusra Front, a banned terrorist organization. The U.N. envoy, Staffan de Mistura, this week offered to personally escort Nusra fighters out of the city, saying pointedly that their presence was being used as an alibi to destroy the city; for that to happen, of course, Russian and Syrian airstrikes would have to stop.

At least 376 civilians have been killed by Russian and Syrian strikes in eastern Aleppo since Sept. 23, de Mistura said.

His humanitarian adviser, Jan Egeland, said by email that the civilian population is now in a free-fall. He predicted that food would run out in weeks, water is extremely scarce and there is little or no electricity.

In his comments Friday, Kerry said that 20 people had been killed and 100 wounded in a recent attack on a hospital. A State Department spokesman said later that Kerry was referring to a recent spate of attacks against hospitals near Damascus, which have been documented by the humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders.

It is not clear how Kerry thinks a war crimes investigation might be carried out in the face of Russian opposition. In 2014, Russia and China used their vetoes to block a Security Council resolution that would have authorized the International Criminal Court to investigate the perpetrators of war crimes in Syria.

The secretarys not getting ahead of a process here, said John Kirby, the State Department spokesman. But he does think this is a conversation worth having inside the international community.

The suspension of U.S.-Russian talks on the reduction of violence in Syria has led the White House to take a fresh look at options, including the possibility of military force, to head off the fall of Aleppo and deter the government of President Bashar Assad from continuing its offensive.

But there is no indication that President Barack Obama has dropped his strong reservations about deepening U.S. involvement in the conflict, which currently consists of a modest covert program to train and arm the Syrian opposition to the Assad government.

While U.S. intervention appears highly unlikely, the Russian Ministry of Defense has sought to discourage any consideration of a military strike against Syrian forces. The ministrys spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, warned this week that U.S. warplanes could become targets of Russian antiaircraft missiles if they strike Syrian government positions.
WASHINGTON  Donald Trumps campaign was teetering Saturday after the release of a video in which he speaks of women in vulgar sexual terms, with more Republican leaders calling for him to leave the ticket and demanding that the party shift focus to down-ballot races.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., said Saturday that the party, which has been helping the Trump campaign financially and organizationally, should no longer defend the indefensible. He urged the party to abandon Trump if he refuses to withdraw and focus solely on electing the rest of the ticket.

The priority for the Republican Party has to be protecting our congressional majorities, he said.

There were no signs Saturday morning that Trump might heed the mounting calls for him to stand down, nor did party leadership appear willing to abandon him. People close to the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee roundly denied that there was any effort afoot to ease him from the race.

On Saturday morning, Trump told The Wall Street Journal there was zero chance Ill quit and that the support Im getting is unbelievable.

The video released Friday and recorded in 2005 showed a bus that had Trump aboard, and included an audio recording of him privately bantering with other men. Trump, then newly married to his third wife, Melania, crassly boasted about groping womens genitalia, vulgarly commented on their bodies and generally described women as sex objects who could not resist his advances.

In a response released on video just after midnight Saturday, Trump said: Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.

I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never, ever let you down, he added, before ending the message on a defiant note, promising to bring up the sex scandals of Bill Clintons presidency and Hillary Clintons response to them.

For many in the party, the video amounted to a breaking point. The comments marked the last humiliation they were willing to suffer after months of being made to disavow or play down remarks about race and gender from their nominee that were as inflammatory as they were routine.

This cant continue, said Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, appearing anguished in a video he posted on Facebook. Mr. Trump, I respectfully ask you with all due respect to step aside. Step down.

In Alabama, a deeply conservative state, some elected Republicans said they could no longer support Trump and implored him to leave the race.

Donald Trumps behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I wont vote for him, said U.S. Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama, adding, Hillary Clinton must not be president, but with Trump leading the ticket, she will be.

And even Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, one of Trumps strongest states, said she was taken aback by the nominees behavior, adding that he should consider what is best for the party. The next step may be for him to re-examine his candidacy, Capito said in an interview Saturday.

Jim Hobart, a Republican pollster, said the disclosure of Trumps 2005 comments would hit him especially hard with a critical group that already largely opposes him: suburban women. He and other Republicans said the new uproar placed immense pressure on Trump to demonstrate on Sunday, in his second debate with Hillary Clinton, that he is capable of true contrition and the sort of presidential temperament that most Americans believe he lacks.

Tomorrows debate performance is everything, Matt Borges, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, said Saturday. If theres a chance to recover, thats it.

But many in the party have concluded that Trump is a surefire loser and now only hope that he will not further imperil Republican prospects when he meets Clinton on Sunday night in St. Louis.

Its important not just for his sake to have a better debate in order to stabilize his campaign, but also to mitigate any damage down-ballot, Dent said.

Dent, who spent Friday with former President George W. Bush at a fundraiser for the endangered Pennsylvania Sen. Patrick Toomey, said he hoped Trump would not inflame his own controversy by using the debate to invoke Bill Clintons infidelity. In my view, thats not a wise strategy, he said.

Yet holding up Bill Clintons sexual affairs is precisely what Trump did at the end of the apology video he was urged to record by panicked aides and party officials. And he vowed to keep it up.

Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims, Trump said. We will discuss this more in the coming days.

Others in the party, though, expressed hope late Friday and Saturday that they would no longer have to discuss Trump much in the coming days. U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia, facing a competitive re-election in an affluent suburban Washington-area district, excoriated her partys standard-bearer and urged him to withdraw his candidacy.

This is disgusting, vile and disqualifying, Comstock said in a statement, adding that Trump should step aside and allow our party to replace him with Mike Pence or another appropriate nominee from the Republican Party.

Another House Republican facing a difficult re-election, Rep. Mike Coffmann of Colorado, also demanded that Trump bring an end to his campaign, calling the nominees defeat almost certain. And an array of Utah Republicans, including Gov. Gary Herbert and U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, withdrew their support, raising the once-unthinkable prospect that a Republican nominee for president might have trouble carrying the heavily conservative and Mormon state.

It is unclear that even those stern rebukes of Trump will be enough to spare other Republicans political backlash. Democratic candidates and lawmakers have insisted that such a late rejection of Trump amounts to a hollow gesture, given the mountain of crude and offensive pronouncements Trump has offered since announcing for president in July 2015.

When will elected Republicans, especially Republican women, quit apologizing for this miserable excuse for a leader? said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. Im confident they also find this disgusting.

Many Republicans were closely watching the actions of two elected party members who face competitive races this year and hold influential platforms in the party. Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, one of the most prominent women in the party, and John McCain of Arizona, the former POW and presidential nominee, both sharply criticized Trump for his language.

On Saturday morning, Ayotte went further.

Im a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women, she wrote on Twitter. She said she would write in Trumps running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, for president on her ballot.

Trump was already plummeting in the polls last week, unnerving Republicans who were watching independent voters flee from his candidacy after his disastrous first debate was worsened by a prolonged diatribe about the weight of a beauty queen.

He has prepared more rigorously for the second debate, allowing Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey to pepper him with questions designed to unnerve him  but nothing as jarring as the explosive disclosure of the graphic audiotape.

Betty D. Montgomery, a former Republican attorney general in Ohio, predicted Trumps comments would make a huge difference in dissuading her states remaining undecided female voters from supporting his candidacy.

It just makes me so angry and more certain of where I am, said Montgomery, who previously said she would not support Trump.
Former Republican presidential hopeful and Arizona Sen. John McCain withdrew his support of Donald Trump in light of a recently released recording that showed the presidential nominee bragging about groping and kissing women without their consent, joining the number of partymembers who are increasingly distancing themselves from their partys presidential nominee.

California Republicans are among those calling for presidential hopeful Donald Trump to resign or are urging their fellow Republicans to vote for another candidate.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tweeted Saturday morning that this year would be the first in his 33 years of citizenship that he doesnt plan to vote for a Republican candidate. The states former leader and Terminator star did not say who will get his vote, but said it wont be Trump.

I want to take a moment today to remind my fellow Republicans that it is not only acceptable to choose your country over your party  it is your duty, Schwarzenegger tweeted Saturday.

Republicans closer to home also condemned their partys nominee. Chapman University professor and former Orange County Register columnist Hugh Hewitt urged Trump to step down.

For the benefit of the country, the party and his family, and for his own good, @realDonaldTrump should withdraw. More and worse oppo(sition) coming, Hewitt wrote on Twitter early Saturday.

In the three-minute recording first published by the Washington Post, Trump can be heard saying that as a celebrity you can do anything to a woman. In the recording Trump told former Access Hollywood anchor Billy Bush he felt compelled to kiss beautiful women like a magnet.

Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang who represents North Orange County and parts of east Los Angeles has vocally disavowed Trump for months, and strongly criticized the presidential nominees words about women.

Trumps comments are disgusting, offensive and an embarrassment to the Republican Party, said Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang in an email to the Register. He cant apologize enough to the women he insulted. As I have publicly stated before, America would be better off with a better choice, as Trumps boorish behavior is unacceptable and Hillarys dishonestly is appalling.

Others, some of whom are in hotly contested elections themselves, had more tepid words of condemnation.

This type of behavior has no place in American politics, especially not from those seeking to lead our great nation, tweeted Congressman Darrell Issa, who represents south county and a handful of San Diego cities. As of Saturday morning he had not withdrawn his endorsement of Trump.

Earlier this year Issa supported presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, but after Rubio bowed out of the race he firmly backed Trump, penning an opinion piece encouraging other Republicans to do the same.

Some experts speculate that resounding endorsement may have cost him constitutents at home. In previous years Issa was overwhelmingly reelected, but in Junes primaries the margin shrank between him and political newcomer Doug Applegate, who was vastly outspent by Issa.

Assemblywoman Young Kim is in a close race against Democratic challenger Sharon Quirk-Silva, who she unseated in 2014. Late Friday she issued a brief statement on Twitter about the leak.

As a mother of 3 daughters Im shocked at Trumps remarks re: women. Some of the most disgusting comments Ive ever heard & I condemn them, wrote Kim, who has stayed clear of endorsing Trump this year.

Others, like state Sen. John Moorlach who represents central Orange County cities from Huntington Beach to parts of Laguna Niguel said Trumps actions are par for the course in politics.

The sexual escapades of influential and prominent people has been the staple of tabloids and romance novels for centuries, said state Sen. John Moorlach said in a statement provided to the Register.

We have a choice between two flawed presidential candidates, both who have abused their positions of wealth and power, Moorlach said. And we have a society that is confused about morality, marriage, and proper boundaries. Although inappropriate, it seems like most people are guilty of some form of trash talk. But, it is usually not done near a microphone.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Congresswoman Mimi Walters did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Staff writer Martin Wisckol contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: lawilliams@scng.com
November 8 could be the last time Orange County voters can drop into one of the 1,000 or so neighborhood polling places to cast a ballot.

Instead, the mail ballots that begin going out Monday to those requesting them would automatically be delivered to all 1.5 million voters in the county.

There would also be the option to vote in person at some 28 vote centers up to 10 days before traditional Election Day, including weekends. The number of vote centers would increase to about 140 beginning the Saturday before traditional Election Day.

The provision allowing this massive overhaul of California counties voting systems was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sept. 29, with the final decision now residing with each county.

Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley, who headed the state elections officials association until stepping down in August, has been a leading advocate and expects to propose the change to the county Board of Supervisors.

The new approach, used in Colorado since 2014 and gaining a foothold in several other states, is intended to address changing voter habits and a long-term decline in voter turnout.

More voters are opting to cast mail ballots  60 percent of the countys primary voters this year. The number dropping those ballots off at Election Day polls rather than mailing them has quadrupled in the last four years, Kelley said.

Voting systems are starting to catch up with what voters want, which is convenience and more time, he said, adding that turnout in Colorado is up slightly under the vote-center approach.

Machines of future

The new law coincides with the need to replace the countys 12-year-old polling place machines, an electronic system for which some replacement parts are no longer made.

Kelley said its too early for a precise estimate of replacing the multimillion-dollar system, but that the vote-center approach would cost about a quarter of the amount of replacing existing machines and sticking with the current system. Thats because far less hardware would be needed for 140 vote centers than 1,000 polling places.

The physical act of casting a ballot would probably change too.

If you vote on the paper ballot received in the mail, you could mail it back or drop it off at a vote center. There would also be about 90 military-grade drop boxes throughout the county. While there have been few complaints regarding the postal services handling of mail ballots, Kelley said some voters have expressed discomfort with posting their election choices.

If you show up at a vote center to cast a ballot in person, you would be checked in via computer rather than the current practice of being matched against a paper printout, if the county follows the Colorado model. The computer would determine if you have already cast a ballot. If not, it would print out a ballot customized for the districts where you live.

After completing the ballot, you would feed it into a scanner, which would also store the paper ballot.

An early taste

Since joining the county elections office in 2004, Kelley has frequently been at the forefront of innovation. When California began establishing a statewide voter database last year to allow counties to share registration data and avoid duplications, Orange was one of the first two counties to be online.

Kelley has also experimented with early voting in malls, grocery stores and at John Wayne Airport. Prior to online voter registration in 2012, he set up drive-through registration in Santa Ana.

This year, hes rolling out six vote centers that will operate the same the 140 vote centers envisioned under the Colorado model. Theyll be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Oct. 29 to Nov. 4, and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Nov. 5 to Nov. 7.

Voters can drop off mail ballots and cast ballots. Two of the locations will have a drive-through ballot drop off. Addresses and further details are in the county sample ballot mailed to registered voters.

Contact the writer: mwisckol@ocregister.com
Andy Pope, a Police Community Support Officer for West Midlands Police, in the UK, has come to be known as memory cop, thanks to his incredible photographic memory, which has helped him successfully identify over 850 suspects in the last four years.

Every day, PCSO Pope arrives at work half an hour early, logs on to his computer, and browses the pictures of suspects in the days internal police briefing. He has been doing it even since he joined the West Midlands Police, in 2008, and as his brain stores more faces year-on-year, his record of recognizing bad guys keeps getting better. His exceptional identification skills have made him somewhat of a secret weapon, and when detectives exhaust all other possible options trying to put a name to a suspects face, they turn to him.



Inspector Gareth Morris, Popes chief officer, remembers that only two days after joining the West Midlands Police, memory cop came to him with a photo saying he knew who the robbery suspect was. I told him I would struggle to pick out my own mother in a picture like that. One and a half hours later Andy had stopped the guy in the city centre and the suspect had admitted being present at the scene. But he was only getting started. In the last four years, PCSO Pope has been able to identify over 850 suspects, averaging about one recognition every other shift.

If you look at a picture enough times, there is usually something that sticks in the mind as distinctive. Maybe I cant pinpoint what that something is at the time, but when I see the person in the flesh, it triggers that recognition, Pope says. Thats what happened in March of 2011, when a simple glance at a computer screen was enough for him to recognize an offender. Detectives had been analyzing the footage for hours, but he just saw the suspects distinctive bum fluff and knew he had seen the guy before. He once identified a robber whose photo he had looked at a year before, and another from a grainy CCTV video, by a tiny mole on his face.

PCSO Andy Pope first attracted the attention of the media in 2012, when he was already hailed as a phenomenon, after identifying about 250 suspects, some of which he had brought in himself after recognizing them on the street. But according to a recent ITV report, Popes record has improved substantially in the last four years  850 successful recognitions.

I thought I was just normal until Inspector Morris told me I was identifying far more people than anyone else, Pope told The Telegraph in 2012. I dont know whether I have a photographic memory. My wife has to deal with things like birthdays and anniversaries. When it comes to remembering dates, Im useless.
Whenever a visitor enters the Nebraska Sand Hills theres a moment when you peer out the windshield and the vastness engulfs you. For a moment the landscape is no background wallpaper, not landscape at all but rather the main character in the story. The story itself.

When this happens, you can feel so tiny. When this happens, you can feel so whole.

I had only felt that feeling of being swallowed by the Sand Hills with my own two eyes, until I stepped into the Joslyn Art Museum this week and stared at the enormous pictures of photographer Andrew Moore.

For the past decade Moore has moved from his apartment in lower Manhattan to a spare bedroom in Rushville, Nebraska. He befriended a crop-duster pilot named Doug and worked with the grease monkeys down at the airstrip to build a one-of-a-kind contraption enabling him to take one-of-a-kind aerial photos.

He grew close to ranchers and other locals named Butch and Buck and Uncle Teed and attended a dozen high school graduation parties and asked hundreds of questions about raising cattle and who is related to whom and ate countless cheeseburgers with iceberg lettuce salads in nearby Gordon.

And in the end he produced a series of images that capture something crucial about the western part of our state, as well as that stretch of land running from North Dakota to West Texas that we once called The Great American Desert.

The 42-photo exhibition, Dirt Meridian, which opens Sunday at the Joslyn, is neither soaked in cowboy nostalgia nor dripping in desolation.

Instead, these photos are beautiful and terrible and wild and human and very, very real. Just like the Sand Hills.

When you are there in person, its almost a transcendent experience, Moore told me this week. But how do you translate that vastness into a photograph? That was the great challenge for me: How do you portray a certain kind of emptiness without making blank pictures?

After starting the project in 2005, Moore said he flailed for years, struggling to capture the real nature of the place without falling back on an outsiders cliches of the Sand Hills.

Then he met Doug Dean, a Rushville-based pilot with a deep knowledge of the area and a love for photography. And then he met the mechanics at the Chadron airport, who helped him build a contraption allowing Moore to attach a high-resolution camera under the planes right wing and operate it remotely, in real time, from the cockpit.

Soon the New York photographer and the Rushville pilot were flying up and down the 100th meridian  the north-south line that runs through western Nebraska  and finding a part of the country that most Americans never see.

They flew over cattle drives and oil pipelines, abandoned houses and other homes that look sturdy enough to stand for another 150 years. They flew through snow and rain and scorching heat. They often flew extremely low so Moore could capture a view that allows you to see for miles, but also still feel rooted to the land. And, memorably, they once flew in a 70-mph tailwind over Sheridan County that got the plane going faster than an Indy car and enabled Moore to capture Storm Blow, a remarkable image of topsoil disappearing in a dust storm.

Together Moore and his pilot captured the timelessness of the land, what we are doing to it, and also what it is doing to us.

But the stunning landscapes werent quite enough for Moore, who has completed extensive projects in Cuba and Detroit and has work in more than 40 major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Which is why he went to all those graduation parties, and got to know ranchers, and asked so many questions about who is related to whom.

He was searching for a connection, a connection that over time began to yield more personal images of western Nebraska.

He spent weeks locating and getting to know Uncle Teed, a 93-year-old sheepherder who lives without hot water on a remote homestead in Sioux County. And he spent a day exploring the property of the Abbott Ranch in Cherry County before snapping a photo of the ranch family relaxing at days end.

Toby Jurovics, the Joslyns chief curator, considers that photo of the Abbotts one of the finest portraits ever taken in Nebraska.

It isnt hard to make a photo of the Grand Tetons, but how do you relate to a place with this flat horizon and this endless sky? Jurovics asks as he gives me a tour of Dirt Meridian. He moved people into the frame, Jurovics says, partially answering his own question. He put their stories forward. Hes telling their stories.

Countless photographers have captured the wonders of our slice of the country, so in one sense what Moore has done with Dirt Meridian is nothing new. But its the way hes done it, balancing the 19th century and the 21st, balancing a land and its people, balancing the remoteness of an airplane with the closeness of the Abbotts, that makes it feel extraordinary.

Im no cowboy, Moore says. What do I know about that stuff? So I just finally figured out I gotta keep this super simple. Its the land, how we have affected the land, good and bad. Its these traces, footprints on the moon. Its evidence of what has happened, what our ambitions have been, what our successes are, and what our failures are, too.

It leaves me feeling both tiny and whole, like Im peering out of every Sand Hills windshield. Like I can see forever.

******

Dirt Meridian

Today: open to Joslyn Art Museum members only, with a private preview from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a discussion and reception with photographer Andrew Moore and Joslyn chief curator Toby Jurovics from 6 to 8 p.m.

Sunday: opens to the public, $10 for adults and free for children, students and museum members; tickets are half price on Thursday evenings

Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m.: a gallery talk hosted by Jurovics

Dec. 11, 2 p.m.: a conversation with pilot Doug Dean, the Rushville-based pilot who spent years flying Moore up and down the 100th meridian

Jan. 8, 2017: exhibition closes
Lisa Smith and Cherri Yost have been friends for 30 years, since they were students at Omaha Northwest High School. For a good chunk of their friendship theyve wanted to make a childrens book together.

But the ambition got put on hold. The women, both 45 now, got busy with starting families and careers. Smith now teaches fifth grade at Rockbrook Elementary; Yost teaches art in the Blair Community Schools. For years they taught together in the Westside district.

But when Yost was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago, she didnt want to put off the book any longer.

I told Lisa Well, lets just do it,  Yost said. At a certain point those little dreams that you have, you dont want to put them on the back burner anymore.

Yost had a year of treatment and has been in the clear for four years. Shes come out of the experience with the book she and Smith had always wanted to make.

The book is called The Sneaky Sock Gremlin. Self-published earlier this year, the childrens title was written by Smith and illustrated by Yost and answers the question What happened to all your socks?

What happened was the titular sock-stealing creature.

Yost had the idea back in college, when she could never figure out where all her socks went.

The teachers said their students have gotten a kick out of the book. This summer the two women traveled to libraries in southeast Nebraska to donate copies of their book and read at storytimes.

The book is mainly for fun, Smith said, though its representative of something more.

Weve got to find silver linings, Smith said. We somewhat look at her recuperation like that. It gave us the time and motivation to say What are you waiting for?

You never know what the future holds.
COUNCIL BLUFFS  The steel man is kneeling. His exposed muscles look almost like a suit of armor, except for his bronze combat boots. His gaze is fixed downward  contemplating, eternally, the contents of his right hand.

Here, as if its too delicate to grip tightly, he closes his fingers around a human heart.

Its an aggressive image. But maybe it should be.

The statue, Wounded Warrior, now kneels in the lobby of Pottawattamie Countys recently dedicated Veterans Affairs Building. Its there, administrators say, to serve as a reminder of the sacrifices made by members of the military. When they return from service, many suffer from physical or mental wounds.

Its subject matter that Omaha artist Kelly Wold understands more than most. The steel-and-bronze statue was something of a labor of love for Wold, 40, who grew up in a military family, was married to a soldier and previously worked for the Marines as a civilian trainer.

They are providing an environment for us to live and have freedoms, Wold said. I couldnt be more grateful. Its mostly a way to say Thank you, and to find a way for them to get the help they need.

It began as a school project. In 2014, Wold was completing a fine arts degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. For her capstone, she pledged to sculpt the life-size figure of a soldier who would represent the struggles faced by many veterans when they return from service.

Mo Neal, professor emeritus in UNLs Hixson-Lied College of Fine & Performing Arts and Wolds capstone adviser, was wary. Students, she said, often dont realize what theyre getting themselves into when they take on a full-size sculpture project. But Wold, she said, was one of her most eager students.

Probably her greatest trait is her own ambition and drive and stick-to-itiveness, Neal said.

Wold, who now owns Studio K Sculpture in Omaha, knew she would see the project through. It was a personal subject for her, after all.

As a child, Wold traced the tattoos on her grandfathers arm  the ones that recalled his days in the Navy during World War II. She remembers her father, as he was dying of cancer, reliving his days in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.

She grew up and married a U.S. Marine, spending years living through the ups and downs of the deployment cycle. Before she had her two sons, she worked as a civilian fitness trainer for the Marines, creating programs for soldiers to stay active.

She saw how service changed them. She saw how it was difficult for many to come home, where people spoke differently and acted differently. Some were injured physically, some mentally, battling conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury.

It seemed that they kept saying the hardest part was knowing what was next, she said.

So she listened. And slowly the image of the steel soldier began to take shape.

A life-size metal statue is not a cheap endeavor. Despite an anonymous donation and grant from the college, Wold began selling her blood plasma to afford the raw materials for her soldier, whom she named Stanley. She gave baked goods to construction workers on the UNL campus and they let her salvage scrap metal.

Wold built the statue as an ecorche  the soldiers rough steel muscles, uncovered by skin, are trimmed almost like a suit of armor.

Stanley would eventually need a home, Wold knew. She mentioned it to an acquaintance at the gym, who gave her the name of an Iowa state official. Several phone calls later, she reached Darlene McMartin, administrator for veterans affairs in Pottawattamie County.

The county was planning a new building in Council Bluffs to house its veterans affairs office. Wold offered to donate Wounded Warrior, which she had already begun, to the new building. Eventually, the county agreed. Wold and county staff began asking local veterans associations for donations to help complete the statue.

It was a very big risk for her, McMartin said. Even though we committed to it, she started the project without knowing if we were going to raise those funds.

Eventually, they raised the more than $2,000 necessary to bring Stanley to life.

But the veterans building wasnt ready yet. So the statue spent time in Wolds studio, in storage and at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse until the building was ready.

Two weeks ago, administrators cut the ribbon on the 6,300-square-foot veterans building, which stands near 6th Street and 6th Avenue in Council Bluffs. It is a place for veterans to access assistance programs and learn about benefits theyre eligible for.

In the plan for the building, McMartin said, the architects were told to accommodate one particular feature.

Near the front window, often silhouetted against the sun, Wolds statue kneels clutching his heart. An artists statement printed nearby outlines part of Wolds story.

Maybe, Wold hopes, the statue will show those passing through the doors that theyre not alone in their struggle. Maybe hell inspire a civilian to thank someone in uniform.

Because now, Wold said, hes home.
Gov. Pete Ricketts climbed aboard a CLAAS combine to take it for a drive while at the companys manufacturing facility in Omaha on Friday.

The company, which has 11,500 workers worldwide, produces combines and other agricultural equipment at its facility in Omaha, which also serves as its North American headquarters.

Its parent company, CLAAS Group, is based in Germany; it reported $4.3 billion in sales last year. Ricketts, U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Neb., and CLAAS officials celebrated national Manufacturing Day in conjunction with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, a trade group.
KEARNEY, Neb.  A Kearney man faces up to five years in prison for trying to entice an underage girl to have sex.

Eddie Rivas, 28, pleaded no contest this week in Buffalo County District Court to two counts of felony enticement by electronic device and contributing to the delinquency of a child, a misdemeanor.

Judge John Marsh ordered the state probation office to complete a presentence investigation on Rivas. Sentencing will be in November.

In April a Kearney police officer was reviewing electronic files obtained through a search warrant when he found a sexually explicit conversation between the girl, then 15, and a man later identified as Rivas.
On Oct. 8, 1988, Kim and Peter Castellano of Bellevue exchanged I dos at St. Marys Catholic Church in Bellevue.

That same day, eight miles away at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in South Omaha, Chris and Sandy Brazeal also walked down the aisle as newlyweds.

Today, both couples will celebrate their 28th wedding anniversaries in an unusual way: going to the wedding of their children  Jessica Castellano and Brian Brazeal, both 24.

The Bellevue couple will be married at 2 p.m. at St. Cecilias Cathedral, 715 N. 40th St., with a reception to follow at Truhlsen Campus Events Center, 619 S. 42nd St.

It was really easy for us to pick our wedding date, Jessica said. We figured that out before he actually proposed.

The couple started dating in the spring of 2010, about three weeks before they graduated from Bellevue West High School. Jessica went on to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Brian attended Bellevue University.

After six months of dating, their families met for dinner at Brians family home. Thats where the conversation took a surprising turn. Kim said she was looking in the Brazeals china hutch when she noticed a familiar Precious Moments wedding cake topper statue.

I said Oh, we have the same wedding cake topper!  she said. I asked her when her wedding anniversary was, and when she said Oct. 8, we about fell off our chairs.

Turns out, the Castellanos, of Bellevue, and the Brazeals, of Plattsmouth, had more in common than their children.

Kim looked at me and said, Thats when we got married,  Sandy said. It was like it was meant to be. But it still caught us all off guard; we didnt know what to say.

Through the following years, the Castellanos and the Brazeals spent holidays together as a family  even though they werent officially there ... yet.

Jessica graduated from UNL in December 2014. Following the graduation ceremonies, Brian took her to Cascios Steakhouse  a favorite of both families  for a special dinner. There, surrounded by their parents and other family members, he popped the question. She obviously said yes.

They seemed to be soulmates, Sandy said. Six months in, I probably wasnt thinking wedding, but then they went off to college and stayed together through all of that. And we all meshed really well as a family. We were in-laws when the kids were just dating. Its been a good match altogether.

Brian, who works as an IT analyst for Marketsphere, and Jessica, who is an industrial engineer for First Data, have included their parents anniversaries in their engagement and in todays events.

When Brian and Jessica had their engagement photos taken, they included their parents in several shots.

At the reception today, in addition to Brian and Jessicas cake, both the Castellanos and the Brazeals will have special anniversary cakes featuring their own wedding cake toppers.

I feel very honored that they had enough respect for both parents that they wanted to include us and to follow in our wedding day tradition, Kim said.

Jessica said family is important to her and Brian.

Were fortunate enough to have parents that are still married and who value family, she said. I think honoring them and putting our anniversaries together is a way to thank them for making family a priority in both of our lives and, hopefully, we are just as happy on our 28th anniversary.
Pancake breakfast: Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 20844 Bonanza Blvd., will host a pancake feed from 7 to 10 a.m. Sunday. This is an all-you-can-eat event. All donations will be used for start-up costs for the churchs new child-care program. For more information, go online to LordofLifeElkhorn.org.

Luncheon: Sts. Peter and Paul Churchs annual soup and salad luncheon will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday in the church gym on X Street between 36th and 37th Streets. There will be 20 different soups served in bowls, cups or tasting cups. There also will be a variety of sandwiches and open salad bar with a variety of homemade salads. Cost is $8 for adults; $5 children ages 3 to 10. Desserts and drinks are $1 each.

Craft fair: Benson Baptist Church, 6319 Maple St., will hold its fall craft and vendor fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 22. Admission is a freewill donation. The fair also will feature chili, hot dogs, coffee, apple cider and cookies. Proceeds will benefit the churchs youth programs.

Special service and dinner: Percival Community Church, in Percival, Iowa, will have a special service and dinner on Oct. 23 to celebrate its deep roots in southwest Iowa and the long ministry of its pastor. The service will be 10 a.m. followed by a dinner at 11:30 a.m. The church has a history that goes back to 1847 and the Rev. Blaine Pritchett has been in ministry for 40 years. He has been at the Percival church since 2009.

Heritage Mass and Harvest dinner: St. Stanislaus Church, 4002 J St., is having a Polish Heritage Mass at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 16. Following Mass, the St. Stanislaus Ladies Guild and Mens Club will serve their annual Harvest Dinner in the parish hall from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner includes roast pork, Polish sausage, sauerkraut and dumplings, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, white or rye bread. Cost is $8 for adults; $5 for children 5-10 years old; free for children younger than 5 years old. Choice of desserts, 50 cents. For more information, call 402-731-4152.

Fall festival: Church of the Holy Spirit in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, will hold its Jump into Fall Festival on Sunday. Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The day will feature games, pumpkin painting, hayrack rides, raffles, food and more. The church is at 520 S. 18th St. For information, go to holyspiritplattsmouth.com.

Forum series: First Central Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, will continue its Open Forum series Sunday. Sessions are free and begin at 9:10 a.m. This weeks topic will be The Grimke Sisters, the founding mothers of American Feminism. The featured speaker will be Fred Nielsen of the UNO history department. For more information, call 402-345-1533.

Rummage sale: The Trinkets and Treasures rummage sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at All Saints Episcopal Church, 93rd and Blondo Streets. Use the north door of the church, which has ample parking nearby.

Concert: St. Matthew Lutheran and Countryside Community Church will present Psalms Reborn Encounter at 4 p.m. Sunday at Countryside Community Church, 8787 Pacific St. The event is a musical innovation that explores the Book of Psalms using the language of modern music. To purchase tickets, go online to eventbrite.com use promo code: stmatthew. Tickets are $10 in advance; $14 at the door.

Mortgage burning: Clair Memorial United Methodist Church, 5544 Ames Ave., is celebrating its mortgage burning at 3 p.m. on Oct. 16. Clair Methodist is a 103-year-old congregation that has been in four locations: 22nd and Seward Streets, 22nd and Miami Streets, 25th and Evans Streets, and its present location at 56th Street and Ames Avenue. The guest speaker will be Bishop Reuben Saenz, Jr. of the Great Plains Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Other churches in Omaha have been invited. Everyone is welcomed to attend. For more information, contact the church office or the Rev. Portia Cavitt at 402-350-0783.

Retreat: Msgr. Andrew J. Vaccari and Teresa Monaghen will present a retreat titled Saints Come in Clusters  The Three Ts at the St. Benedict Center, Schuyler, Nebraska. The retreat begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday and runs through Oct. 16. For more information, call 402-352-8819 or go online to StBenedictCenter.com.

Quilt Show: The Prairie Piecemakers Quilt and Needlework Guild will present its Black & White and Read All Over show Friday through Oct. 15, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fremont, Nebraska. Approximately 150 quilts, needle crafts and barn quilts will be on display. Visitors also can expect a silent auction, mini-raffle, scissor sharpener, quilters cafe, vendors and a chance at winning the raffle quilt, Nebraska Pioneer Spirit.Show hours are: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct 15. Admission is $5 for adults.

Seminar: On Thursday, Fresh Hope for Mental Health will host a seminar on The Church & Mental Health at Christ Community Church, 404 S. 108th Ave. The seminar will take place from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Speakers include Amy Simpson, the author of Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Churchs Mission and Anxious: Choosing Faith in a World of Worry; Joe Padilla, the co-founder and CEO of Mental Health Grace Alliance, and the Rev. Brad Hoefs, the senior pastor of Community of Grace and the founder of Fresh Hope. Go online to FreshHope.us for more information.

Heritage tour: On Sunday, Trinity Episcopal Historical Society will present a mini-tour of the churchs Clarkson heritage. The mini-tour is a part of the History in Our Midst series which features different areas of the cathedral, 113 N. 18th St. The mini-tour will be presented after both services.
Throwback bingo: The Center hosts a retro bingo game at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Stop in at 714 S. Main St., Council Bluffs, for a cash prizes, snacks and more. The event is for those 18 and older.

Fashions galore: Enjoy a colorful presentation of historical and contemporary fashions at the American Girl Fashion Shows this weekend. Participating models will walk the runway in American Girl clothing while carrying a matching doll from the American Girl collection. During each of seven shows, attendees will enjoy refreshments, enter to win door prizes and discover how clothing has changed over the years to reflect history, culture and girls individual styles. Shows will be held at 10 a.m., 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m., 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday at Shadow Ridge Country Club, 1501 S. 188 Plaza. To register, go online to jlomaha.org. Tickets are $25 for children and $50 to $75 for adults.

Fiddlin fun: Check out lots of fiddling at Greenblatt & Seays 20th annual Schoolhouse Fiddling Bee at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, downstairs in the Old Avoca, Nebraska, Schoolhouse. In the open division, fiddlers will play a hoedown, a waltz and a tune of choice. There also will be a singing fiddlers contest and Fee-Fi-Faux fiddlers contest, featuring fiddle tunes played on any instrument other than a fiddle. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students and $1 for children. Go online to greenblattandseay.com for more information.

Costume time: Halloween is right around the corner. Check out Dundee costume institution Ibsen Costume Gallerys Halloween open house, 4981 Hamilton St., from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The event will include discounts, a popcorn machine, snacks and a drawing for a free costume rental.

Chili fest: The annual Arrowhead Park chili fest will warm area residents Saturday. The event in Neola, Iowa, will run from 4 to 8 p.m. Admission to the chili feed is a free-will donation. The event will feature games and activities for children, pumpkin painting, hayrack rides and, of course, chili. The event will be held at Breezy Lodge on the Arrowhead grounds.

Food Day Omaha: As part of a national celebration, Food Day Omaha Saturday will offer dozens of free activities for families to help teach the value of eating real. Food Day Omaha activities, from 8 a.m. to noon, will be offered adjacent to the Omaha Farmers Market in the Old Market, between 10th and 11th Streets on Howard Street. The event is free. Cooking and food preparation demonstrations will be featured along with a variety of kid-friendly activities. At 10 a.m., the first-ever Food Day Omaha Awards will be presented to organizations and individuals leading the charge locally to advocate for healthy food and healthy food policy. Five honorees will be named: Producer of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, Retailer of the Year, Nonprofit of the Year and Food Day Champion of the Year. For more information, go online to fooddayomaha.com.
AMES, Iowa (AP)  Iowa State University President Steven Leath received flight lessons from a former Republican lawmaker who was appointed about 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 universitys single-engine plane by himself.

In November of that year the school announced that it had canceled 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.

The acknowledgment adds another layer to the questions surrounding Leaths use of university planes for official duties and personal business.

Seven months after obtaining an instrument rating to fly the schools Cirrus SR22 plane, Leath damaged it in a rough landing while returning from a vacation in North Carolina in July 2015. Leath has blamed windy conditions, but the Federal Aviation Administration required him to undergo a re-examination of his flight skills. Leath passed and kept his certification.

After the Associated Press revealed the accident last month, Leath vowed to stop flying the plane, which was purchased with private donations for $498,000 in 2014. He also paid $15,000 to the universitys foundation to cover the damage and related costs.

This week 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 job opening, Leath said. Leath said the position didnt report to him at the time and that he wasnt involved in hiring Kurtenbach.

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 FAA that month.

It wasnt clear whether Leath paid for the lessons, which typically cost $35 per hour for the instructor plus plane rental. Friday afternoon, a university spokeswoman said she would look into the question.

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 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 to Sept. 25, Leath and his aides hadnt responded to inquiries about Kurtenbachs role in his flight training. Kurtenbach, a former co-chairman of the Iowa Republican Party who served in the Iowa House from 2003 to 2007, also hasnt returned messages.

Kurtenbach had worked at Iowa State as an accounting professor since 1991 and served as associate engineering dean from 2010 until 2013.

In announcing Kurtenbachs appointment, Wickert said that it made sense to appoint an interim leader with institutional knowledge rather than conduct the search, because the school was looking to save money.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Just 30 days before the election, a group of candidates addressed their plans to meet the priorities of the north Omaha community.

To a group of about 50 gathered at Omaha North High School on Saturday morning, congressional candidates Brad Ashford and Don Bacon and the two candidates running for the Legislature in District 13, Justin Wayne and Jill Brown, spoke as part of the Empowerment Networks Raise the Vote event.

The candidates had seven to 10 minutes apiece to speak on their plans for economic development and improvements in education and housing issues in north Omaha.

Its really encouraging that leaders in north Omaha have committed to these priorities and its really important that our candidates have a chance to hear those, said Willie Barney, president of the Empowerment Network.

Ashford said if re-elected he would want to find ways to create jobs for black men ages 18-35, a group that has a high unemployment rate. He also said he hopes to boost small businesses, particularly in north Omaha. He repeated his commitment to veterans and to easing regulatory burdens on providing affordable housing.

Ive spent most of my adult life in north Omaha and Im darn proud of that, Ashford said.

Challenger Bacon also mentioned the need to support the growth of small businesses in Omaha and said he would want to invest in more technical and vocational training programs.

Im really looking forward to working with city leadership to help make these things better in north Omaha, he said. Theres a wealth of opportunities there.

Ashford and Bacon both said they would work to promote home ownership in north Omaha and support re-entry programs to ease the transition for those released from incarceration.

If elected to the Legislature, Wayne said he would want to create jobs in wind energy production, continue investing in education and make communities safer by improving the juvenile justice system.

Brown said she would also prioritize job development as well as improvements in access to mental health services and home-ownership programs.

I think District 13 is the best part of Omaha, Brown said. But wherever you are born in Omaha, I want to make sure you have all the opportunities.

Its so important that the community gets the chance to see these candidates face to face, Barney said. This district really could have the power to decide where the election goes.

The event also encouraged attendees to register to vote. Election Commissioner Brian Kruse said this year Douglas County has more than 341,000 registered voters. Thats an all-time high, and Kruse said he expects the numbers to rise as the election nears.

Its one thing to register but its another thing to get out and vote, said Vickie Young, president of Omaha NAACP. She said she hopes to see more young people from north Omaha and across the city get out to vote.

Its so crucial that not only the candidates engage but that the voters get out to the polls, she said.

Saturdays event also included a performance of the one-woman play The Fannie Lou Hamer Story, about the civil rights activist who helped African-Americans register to vote.
Don Bacon says the time has come for Donald Trump to step aside.

The Republican congressional candidate who is running against Democrat Brad Ashford in the Omaha-based congressional district says he believes Trump cannot win.

"Trump should allow a strong conservative candidate, like Mike Pence, from the GOP to win in November. His continued candidacy guarantees a Clinton victory," said Bacon.

However, Bacon stopped short of saying he could never vote for Trump. If the combative New Yorker remains on the ticket next month, Bacon says he may have no choice.

"I'm grappling with it, because I do not believe Hillary is the right person. I'm in a quandary. I hope he steps down and does the right thing," said Bacon.

Bacon joined a chorus of Republicans nationwide and in Nebraska who called for Trump to remove himself from the presidential ticket in the wake of a lewd video.

Three members of Nebraska's congressional delegation  Deb Fischer, Ben Sasse and Jeff Fortenberry  all called for Trump to step down and give the nomination to vice presidential nominee Mike Pence.

U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith of Gering was the sole GOP congressmen from Nebraska who neither condemned Trump's statement or called for his removal today.
Nebraska U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry joined a chorus of voices calling for Donald Trump to step down, while Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert issued statements condemning Trump's comment.

Fortenberry says he will now vote for GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence. The Republican congressman from Lincoln has said previously that he would vote for Trump, although he once questioned Trump's views about women.

"As Americans we are faced with two strikingly bad choices: Donald Trump, who has abused women, and Hillary Clinton who has enabled the abuse of women. It's all wrong. For my part, I ask that Donald Trump step aside and allow Mike Pence to become the Republican nominee," Fortenberry said in a press release.

As for Ricketts, he did not explicitly call for Trump to stand aside. He also did not say whether or not he still planned to vote for Trump on Nov. 8. However, he did make clear that he had no plans to financially back Trump's campaign.

Ricketts' statement: "Donald Trump's comments are not only reprehensible and offensive, but they are dangerous. His apology video was inadequate."

In a Facebook post, Stothert said she may or may not be able to vote for the controversial nominee in the November election.

"A persons vote for President should be cast with confidence and enthusiasm in their choice; sentiments difficult for many to find this year," Stothert wrote. "Im no longer certain how I will vote but I've always wanted to support our nominee. But, Ill decide by Election Day along with everyone else."

Stothert has long been open about the fact that Trump was not her first choice, but she has said she would grudgingly vote for him, saying he was better than Clinton.

More coverage
WASHINGTON  Sen. Ben Sasse has finally found the conservative presidential candidate hes been seeking.

The Nebraska Republican plans to write in the name of Donald Trumps running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Nov. 8.

The Trump campaign was rocked Friday when the Washington Post released a 2005 video of Trump making lewd comments that included bragging about how his fame allowed him to kiss and grope women at will.

Sasse wrote on Twitter Saturday morning that Trump is obviously not going to win the election and that its time to hand over the nomination to Pence.

He can still make an honorable move, Sasse wrote of Trump. Step aside & let Mike Pence try.

Sasse spokesman James Wegmann later told The World-Herald that the senator would be putting Pences name on his ballot for president.

"Sasse is likely to write in Pence because he wants to see Republican principles beat Hillary Clinton, Wegmann said.

Officially replacing Trump at the top of the ticket is complicated, however, and could be impossible in some key states. But Sasses plan for a Pence write-in could open up a new avenue.

Sasse was unavailable for comment himself on Saturday because hes on an official national security codel or congressional delegation trip.

The Nebraska senator was among the earliest and most prominent Republicans to say that he would never support Donald Trump for president. He wrote an open letter earlier this year, even before the businessman had captured the partys nomination.

Sasse was harshly critical of Hillary Clinton and said that he could never support her for president. But he also said that Donald Trump was not a viable contender either.

A presidential candidate who boasts about what he'll do during his reign and refuses to condemn the KKK cannot lead a conservative movement in America, Sasse wrote at that time.

He has stuck to his position even as it has rankled some among the party faithful back home and drew a rebuke at the state GOP convention.

Sasse may have more company, however, as Trumps latest controversy spreads.

A few other Republicans also were calling for Trump to step aside in the wake of Fridays video release. Those included Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Mark Kirk of Illinois, both of whom already had been critical of Trump.

Trump did not appear to be going anywhere Friday night when he issued a video statement that included both a defiant apology, an attack on Hillary Clinton and a reference to Sundays nights second presidential debate.

Sasse was not alone among Nebraska politicians denouncing the comments.

Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Neb., who supports Hillary Clinton for president, wrote on Twitter that As a father Im disgusted by Trumps comments. No one should be subject to this indecency.

Ashfords GOP challenger Don Bacon also criticized Trumps 2005 remarks.

Donald Trumps most recent comments about women are indefensible and offensive, Bacon said in a press release. I am disgusted by these remarks and no woman should ever be talked about in this way.

Bacon did not, however, indicate whether he would withdraw his support for Trumps presidential bid.

More coverage
Maybe someone should start a list titled Russias Latest Ridiculous Bully-Boy Behavior. The examples are plentiful.

Two Russian bombers this week went on a bizarre grandstanding route that took them close to airspace from Norway down to Spain and France and back. Four NATO nations scrambled fighter jets to shadow the Russian planes.

Such antics are part of the pattern of the Russian militarys regular violations of airspace in the Baltics, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, plus stepped-up harassment of U.S. naval vessels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin this week made his own contribution by issuing a widely mocked list of demands that the United States end all economic sanctions over human rights issues, pay Russia full compensation and roll back NATOs force levels to those of 2000.

This, as he withdrew from a 2000 U.S.-Russian nuclear security agreement to remove plutonium inventory from possible military use.

The award for most absurd Russian behavior perhaps should go to the weather forecast this summer in which the Russian telecaster singled out Nebraska  yes, thats right, his weather map highlighted the Cornhusker State  and matter-of- factly described the effects that a mass nuclear blast would have on Nebraska.

Then there are the computer hacking efforts, whose seriousness the Obama administration underscored Friday when it said it is confident the Russian government is responsible for the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and other political organizations in recent months.

These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S. election process, U.S. homeland security and intelligence officials said.

Experts say that what Russia is doing is seeking respect from the U.S.  respect in the Russian sense, meaning it wants to be feared. That aim certainly seems clear, but it only adds to the absurdity of what Russia is doing, since no one is disputing the Russian governments ruthlessness.

For sure, Russias government has shown itself to be brazen in its contempt for moral constraints, whether its the crackdowns against domestic opponents or the conveniently unsolved Mafia-style murders of opposition politicians and journalists.

And now the whole world is watching in horror at the Russian governments shameless support for Syria as military assaults are carried out on civilian populations and hospitals in Aleppo  atrocities that critics are justifiably describing as war crimes.

No, no one denies that Russia is tough. But Russian leaders need to understand that our country, too, is just as resolute in defending its interests.

Russian leaders claim U.S. actions are destabilizing relations, but its Russia that is engaging in a protracted series of military provocations and doing nothing to end the carnage in Syria.

For all its swagger and arrogance, the Russian elite seems oblivious to the fact that its appetite for hoarding power and adopting bully-boy tactics does nothing to help its people build a modern economy able to achieve the kind of innovation and dynamism needed in the 21st century.

That all-important fact hangs starkly over Russias future, no matter how tough the countrys leaders talk or how many cheap provocations they dream up to demonstrate their juvenile approach to international relations.
This diver takes the selfie of his life under the ocean

Mystery! Giant whale found dead in Brazil jungle how did it reach there?

14-feet whale found dead off Guhaghar beach in Maharashtra

India

oi-PTI

Mumbai, Oct 8: A 14-feet-long whale was found dead off the Guhaghar beach in Ratnagiri district in coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra, a senior official said today.

"The whale was found dead yesterday morning. The forest officials along with district collectorate carried out the primary investigation to find out the cause of the death.

The whale was buried on the beach by afternoon itself", Ratnagiri District Collector Pradeep Prabhakar told PTI. The villagers staying near the beach complained of foul odour and alerted police.

Police and the local forest officials rushed to the spot and found the whale dead, Prabhakar added. "There was similar case in Jaigarh port a few days back. A whale had come ashore but with the help of locals and forest officials, we succeeded in sending it back into the deep sea," he said.

According to the District Collector, the whale, found dead off Guhaghar beach, could have been disoriented and beached itself.

PTI
Loudspeaker row: Notices issued to 1,400 persons in Thane, massive police deployment in place to maintain peace

2 MNS corporators held for humiliating BMC engineer

India

oi-PTI

Mumbai, Oct 8: Two MNS corporators from the city were arrested today, days after they forced a civic chief engineer to hold a placard on a potholed road in Dadar, which read "I am responsible for potholes," police said.

Sandeep Deshpande and Santosh Dhuri surrendered before Shivaji Park police station officials in Dadar this evening, following which they were formally arrested.

"The corporators were arrested under IPC Section 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (34) (criminal intimidation)," Deputy Commissioner of Police Paramjit Singh Dahiya told PTI tonight.

The incident had occurred in the afternoon on October 5 when a group of workers, led by MNS leader in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Sandeep Deshpande and corporator Santosh Dhuri met BMC Chief Engineer (Roads department) Sanjay Darade at his office in Worli, an official of Shivaji Park police station said.

BMC to file court case against Shahid Kapoor

They asked Darade to accompany them to a spot between Sena Bhavan and Plaza Theatre in Dadar area and after reaching the spot, he was forcibly made to hold a placard which read, "I, Chief Engineer of Roads Department, Iam responsible for these potholes.

Citizens should take note of this." Following the incident, Darade had approached the Shivaji Park police on Thursday night and filed an FIR against the corporators and others involved.

Over 4,000 civic engineers had held protest marches outside BMC's engineering hub in Worli on Thursday and threatened to resign if action is not taken against the corporators before October 10.

Sainath Rajadhyaksha of the Municipal Engineers Union said, "Not just arrested, we need them disqualified from the BMC. The number of such incidents is on the rise.

Despite assurances from municipal commissioners in the past, nothing has changed." Making a case for a law to protect engineers, like doctors, Rajadhyaksha added, "Unless there is a strong deterrent, these incidents will continue."

PTI
Did this TN ISIS operative plot his return to strike India?

India

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Oct 8: While going through the interrogation report of Suahani Mohammad, there is something that does not add up. He says that he was shaken by the violence and misery of war in Mosul and hence decided to quit the ISIS. He also states that the ISIS court had sentenced him.

Further he also says that after spending sometime in an ISIS jail in Syria, he was one day released without any reason. Following this he returned to India and a few months later he was back with the ISIS. This could just be a ploy, officials say.

Since the past year, the ISIS has been losing territory in Syria and Iraq. One could say that they are losing the battle. The ISIS has been telling its foreign recruits to return to their home lands and carry out attacks.

This was noticed in the Paris attack. A few of the fidayeens had in fact joined the ISIS in Syria only to return to Paris and carry out that horrific attack.

Also read: Kerala, ISIS and the Gulf: The connection is back again

Plotting his return

Mohammad's case appears to be similar in nature. He gives no reason to the National Investigation Agency as to why he was let off by the ISIS. The ISIS does not like deserters. They usually kill them instead of sentencing them. The word mercy does not exist in their dictionary.

Mohammad says on conveying his decision to quit the organisation, he was impassioned by the ISIS and subjected to extreme torture. He also says along with other deserting foreign fighters he was produced before a judge of the ISIS.

Also read: Tamil Nadu under NIA radar after arrest of suspected ISIS operative

He says he was sent to a jail in Raqqa, Syria. However, for reasons unknown he along with five others was allowed to leave the jail and return to Turkey. From Turkey he contacted his family and then returned home.

Back in Tamil Nadu, he took up a job as a salesperson. However, six months later he was back with the ISIS and trying to procure weapons among other materials to carry out a Nice and Paris styled attack.

This could well be part of a larger ploy, officials say. The ISIS commanders themselves must have told him to return and carry out attacks in India. The ISIS clearly wants its fighters in every corner of the world. In India it has not achieved much success and hence he must have been sent to plot a major strike down South.

Officials say that there is no other logical explaination for the ISIS letting him off. The ISIS is not known to pardon people. Moreover to let off an operative who has been with them for seven months is strange. Be it a terrorist outfit or a crime syndicate, they are extremely harsh with deserters.

There is only one sentence for deserters and that is death.

OneIndia News
Forces will not talk but deliver: Raha on surgical strike

India

oi-PTI

Hindon Air Base (Ghaziabad), Oct 8: Forces will not talk but deliver, IAF chief Arup Raha said today amid bitter political discourse over the cross-LoC surgical strikes, and asserted that the military was ready to give a befitting reply to any challenge.

"There has been so much discussion on this issue in the country, every section of society is giving opinion on this issue. The armed forces are supposed to deliver the result that the nation expects. We are not going to talk about it, we will just deliver," Air Chief Marshal Raha said here.

His response came on a query about the ongoing political bickering over the surgical strikes undertaken by the Army on September 29 with the opposition accusing the government of taking political mileage from the operation.

Raha was speaking at an event to celebrate the Indian Air Force's 84th Foundation Day with a spectacular air display at Air Force Station Hindon in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district, 30 kms from Delhi.

For the first time, India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft performed stunts at the air show, amid loud cheers from the audience. In his customary address at the celebrations, Raha, who is also the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee said, "World is in a flux today.

Proof of surgical strikes? You should not, you cannot and you shall not

Terrorists attacks in Uri and Pathankot show the troubled times we live today." In his message on official Facebook page of the IAF  Indian Air Force, Power to Punish  launched today, the Air Force chief said the force is operating some of the most modern weapons and equipments and the air warriors exercise ceaseless vigil of skies.

"We continue to train to take up any threat and are fully prepared to undertake any challenge in most befitting manner," Raha said. Asked later about increasing threat from Pakistan, he said the armed forces are well prepared to take on any sub- conventional threats.

Sub-conventional threats refer to proxy war that Pakistan indulges in against India through the use of terrorists. Raha said that terrorists can always get better but the armed forces can neutralise them. With each incident, the forces are getting smarter and learning new lessons, he said.

The surgical strikes had come in the wake of the September 18 terrorist attack on an army camp in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir in which 19 soldiers were killed. The Air Force Day commemorates the establishment of the armed force on October 8, 1932.

PTI
HRD to come up with announcement for students who are not in same district of board exam centre

HRD ministry to give more autonomy to IIMs

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Oct 8: The HRD ministry has decided to give more autonomy to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) and reduce government control over them under a proposed Bill, with Union Minister Prakash Javadekar reworking the provisions introduced under his predecessor Smriti Irani.

According to sources, among the key provisions that the HRD ministry has decided to revise include those related to the Visitor's office.

It is learnt that the new Bill draft has dropped previous references to the President having the power to review their work as the Visitor Another change from the earlier proposed draft is that the HRD ministry has given more powers to the Board of Governors of the IIMs to appoint their directors.

It is understood that the HRD ministry under Irani did not favour some of these changes, but with the PMO apparently supportive of more autonomy, her successor Javadekar has accepted them.

The new draft bill is now learnt to have gone to the Law ministry for vetting. Among other provisions which have been changed relate to minimising government control over IIM coordination panel, the sources said.

PTI
When is Dev Diwali 2022? November 7th or November 8th? Know timings, significance and more

Home Ministry should address acid attacks: Maneka Gandhi

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

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.

IANS
Imran Khan's party rejects ISI chief's allegations; says he never made unconstitutional demands

Why is 'Mr. Bean controversy trending on Twitter after Zimbabwe beat Pakistan?

Pak off the FATF grey list doesn't mean it's not under scrutiny anymore: MEA secretary

Imran Khan again targets Pakistan's establishment on Day 2 of protest march; govt rules out talks over snap polls

News flash: Abandoned bag with 11 rusted bombs found in Amritsar

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Oct 8: One policeman was dead and one civilian injured after terrorists attacked a police post in Jamnageri area in Shopian district (J&K).

Get all the latest news updates of the day:

9:30 pm: Bastariya Battalion" to be formed comprising only tribal men and women from Bastar to combat Naxal activities.

9:15 pm: Terrorists snatch two weapons from policemen in Tumlahal village of Pulwama

8:50 pm: At least 4 people were injured after a part of under construction building collapse in Patel Nagar area in Delhi.

8:20 pm: Three naxal commanders arrested by police in Dumka; detonators, transistors and Rs35000 in cash seized.

8:15 pm: Mumbai: MNS workers protest over FIR against two of its corporators by BMC

8:00 pm: Cauvery issue: Karnataka BJP delegation met high level technical team and submitted a memorandum.

7:50 pm: Colourful procession taken out in several parts of India on the ocassion of Durga Puja.

7:35 pm: Heavy traffic in south Delhi due to Durga Puja celebrations

7:15 pm: International Olympic Committee orders the World Anti-Doping Agency to set up a new testing body (AFP)

7:00 pm: Kanpur: Man arrested with counterfeit currency with face value of Rs 4 lakh.

6:50 pm: Abandoned bag with 11 rusted bombs in it found nearChheherta road in Amritsar.

6:35 pm: 13 year old girl died under suspicious circumstances after observing 68-day long fast in Hyderabad.

6:15 pm: Navjot Kaur Sidhu resigns from BJP.

5.48 pm: All the other comprehensive measures including nutrition, supportive therapy and passive physiotherapy are underway: Apollo Health Bulletin.

5.47 pm: The respiratory support is closely watched and adjusted. Lungs decongestion treatment is being continued: Apollo Health Bulletin.

5.44 pm: TN CM Jayalalithaa continues to be under constant monitoring by the intensivists and the consultants in the panel, says Apollo Health Bulletin.

5.36 pm: Goddess Durga adorned with 22-Karat gold jewelries and American diamond worth Rs 4 crores in Agartala on the occasion of Durga Puja in Tripura.

4.45 pm: Virat Kohli scores his 13th century. India 255/3 in 84.4 overs in Indvsnz 3rd Test, Day 1.

4.36 pm: TRS MP K Kavitha celebrates Bathukamma festival with Australian Telangana State Association in Sydney.

4.30 pm: High level expert team visits Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya, Karnataka on Cauvery water issue.

4.26 pm: Pakistan origin markings are also seen on the medicines and eatable items recovered: Northern Command, Indian Army on Oct 6 Naugam operation.

4.25 pm: Jeep carrying villagers met with an accident near Chhattisgarh's Gongpal Pahari, driver dead and 16 injured.

4.18 pm: Pak Ordinance fctry markings on hand grenades,UBGLgrenades recovered frm terrorists confirm Pak complicity in abetting,equipping terror: Army.

4.15 pm: Four terrorists were eliminated by Army on the Line of Control while trying to infiltrate in Naugam sector on October 6th: Northern Command.

4.10 pm: Recoveries of Naugam Operation (October 6th) confirm Pakistan connection, says Northern Command, Indian Army.

4.07 pm: Your (Govt) job is to protect nation,stop doing politics over it. Nobody is going to benefit from this: Brinda Karat, CPI(M) on surgical strike.

4.00 pm: Happy that Shourya Smarak is finally built. It has been built to pay homage to our soldiers who lost their lives for nation: Shivraj Chouhan.

3.45 pm: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan visits Shourya Smarak in Bhopal.

3.25 pm: BJP MP Babu Lal's controversial remarks on Rahul Gandhi on surgical strike.

3.15 pm: Eleven suspected Islamist extremists killed in Bangladesh: Police (AFP).

3.09 pm: Nothing suspicious found in the bag.

3.00 pm: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visits border areas of Munabao in the Barmer district, Rajasthan.

2.40 pm: Abandoned bag found in the Sunder Nagar area of Varanasi, bomb squad at the spot.

2.20 pm: Complaint filed against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Chandauli Court over his 'Khoon ki dalali' comment against PM Modi.

1.44 pm: An auto-driver Sugumar offers free ride to patients from Apollo Hospital where Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa is undergoing treatment in Chennai.

Chennai: An auto-driver Sugumar offers free ride to patients from Apollo Hospital where Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa is undergoing treatment pic.twitter.com/7q92An9pIQ  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016

1.43 pm:Islamic countries including Bangladesh, Sudan, Iraq and Pak have regulated matrimonial laws including triple talaq: Law Min Ravi Shakar Prasad.

1.30 pm: If acknowledged Islamic countries don't consider change of matrimonial laws a violation of Sharia,how can such plea be raised in India, says Ravi Shankar Prasad.

1.21 pm: CM Raman Singh and his family offer prayers at Maa Bamleshwari temple in Chhattisgarh.

1.16 pm: I would certainly support the women in this: Sharmila Tagore on triple talaq issue

12.54 pm: Not in favour of Uniform civil code, seeking codification of Muslim Personal Law: Noor Jahan, Petitioner in triple talaq case.

12.27 pm: She's fine and recovering.She fought for rights of Tamils in Cauvery Issue and won it: MDMK Chief Vaiko after meeting TN CM Jayalalithaa at hospistal.

12.11 pm: It does bring bad reputation; we're very concerned. We've investigated deep into the matter and are taking a lot of steps: Arup Raha.

12.10 pm: Sad; Should've detected it ourselves, much before it came to this shame:Arup Raha on IAF Wing Commander who was involved in drug trafficking.

12.02 pm: Curfew imposed in old Srinagar after a protester was killed in clashes with security forces

12.02 pm: We are getting smarter and smarter and are fully prepared for any contingency: Air Force Chief Arup Raha on terrorist attacks.

11.45 am: IndvsNZ third test Day 1: India are 75 for 2 at lunch. Kohli (7*) and Pujara (29*) at the crease.

11.30 am: PC-7 Aircraft shows its prowess at Air Force Day celebrations at Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad.

11.18 am: Two suicide bombers blow themselves up in Turkish capital Ankara after being stopped by police.

11.10 am: Army jawan injured as Pakistani troops violate ceasefire in Mendhar sector of Poonch district: PTI.

10.33 am: Air Force Day celebration underway at Hindon Air base in Ghaziabad; Vintage aircraft displayed.

10.18 am: EC orders that no party will use or allow use of public funds or public place or Govt machinery for promoting self or symbol given to it. Any violation of these directions would be treated as violation of a lawful direction and party will be suspended or derecognised : EC.

10.13 am: Pakistan violates ceasefire in KG sector of Poonch (J&K).

10.08 am: Acquisition of 36 Rafale aircrafts in next few years could greatly enhance our operational capability in near term: Air Force Chief Arup Raha.

9.54 am: Army Chief Dalbir Singh and Sachin Tendulkar at the Air Force Day celebrations at Hindon Air base in Ghaziabad.

Army Chief Dalbir Singh and Sachin Tendulkar at the Air Force Day celebrations at Hindon Air base in Ghaziabad pic.twitter.com/kLtEmrLjOu  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016

9.35 am: Chhattisgarh: Eyes of 400 people infected after six Chinese bulbs exploded during a cultural event in Rajnandangaon.

9.14 am: DG ISI Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar likely to be replaced reports Pakistan media. Chief military spokesman denies report.

8.40 am: Air Force Day being celebrated at Hindon Air base in Ghaziabad.

Air Force Day being celebrated at Hindon Air base in Ghaziabad. pic.twitter.com/Xnr16dS7AS  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016

8.15 am: Gujarat: Muslims take part in traditional Garba dance in Surat.

8.00 am: Dipa Karmakar inaugurated a Durga Puja pandal in Agartala on Friday

Tripura: Dipa Karmakar inaugurated a Durga Puja pandal in Agartala (7.10.16) pic.twitter.com/oukEyGztPG  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016

OneIndia News
Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa under constant monitoring: Hospital

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Chennai, Oct 8: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa continues to be under constant montoring by specialist doctors, said Apollo Hospital on Saturday.

In a statement issued here, Apollo Hospitals said she is under constant monitoring by intensivists and consultants in the panel.

"The respiratory support is closely watched and adjusted. Lungs decongestion treatment is being continued. All other comprehensive measures including nutrition, supportive therapy and passive physiotherapy are underway," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the debate whether an interim Chief Minister will be named is going on in the state after Apollo Hospitals earlier said Jayalalithaa requires a longer stay. The ruling AIADMK has however ruled out any need of such a measure.

This issue also gained weight as Governor Ch.Vidyasagar Rao met two senior ministers on Friday and discussed the state's general administration in the aftermath of Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation, while BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Friday urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to impose President's Rule in the state following the prolonged hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa and her remaining incommunicado.

Jayalalithaa in hospital: TN Guv meets ministers, chief secretary

However AIADMK continues to maintain its stand that there is no legal necessity for a substitute Chief Minister.

Speaking to IANS, AIADMK spokesperson Avadi Kumar maintained: "There is no need for a temporary or substitute Chief Minister at the current juncture. There is also no legal necessity."

Kumar said when there were legal hurdles in Jayalalithaa holding the post, Finance Minister O.Panneerselvam was chosen as the Chief Minister, and once the legal problems were sorted out, Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the Chief Minister again.

He recalled that AIADMK founder M.G.Ramachandran won the assembly election in 1984 while he was in a hospital in the US and was sworn in as Chief Minister on his arrival.

Political commentators say one method to clear the issue is to distribute the portfolios handled by Jayalalithaa to other senior ministers.

"The situation cannot continue for long. The portfolios handled by Jayalalithaa may most probably be distributed to senior ministers," political commentator Maalan Narayanan told IANS.

With Jayalalithaa in the hospital, it is unthinkable for the party to elect another person even as an interim Chief Minister.

The 68-year old Jayalalithaa handles the portfolios of Public, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Forest Service, General Administration, District Revenue Officers, Police and Home.

Jayalalitha was admitted to Apollo Hospital on September 22 for fever and dehydration.

On Thursday, Apollo Hospitals said that the consensus opinion of all experts is that Jayalalithaa will require a longer stay in the hospital and the line of treatment given to her be continued.

"The present treatment regimen includes continued respiratory support, neubilisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supportive therapy," it said, adding she Jayalalithaa is making gradual progress but not disclosing how long she may have to stay in the hospital.

IANS


As per constitutional norms: Goa Speaker on merger of Cong MLAs with BJP

Brutal murder in Goa: Famed perfumer Monika Ghurde raped, robbed before murder?

India

oi-PTI

Bengaluru, Oct 8: The naked body of a renowned woman perfume specialist was found at her residence in a village near Panaji in Goa, with police suspecting that she was raped and murdered.

"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.

Monica Ghurde (39), the famed perfume specialist, was living in a rented three-bedroom flat in Sangolda village, about 10 km from Panaji, since July after shifting from the adjoining Porvorim village, police said.

Her hands and legs were found tied to a bed, they said.

"The house is burgled but we can't ascertain what things are stolen from the flat as she was living alone," Kumar said.

The building's watchman has been quizzed but he has no information about anyone entering her flat, he said.

"We have sent the body for postmortem. Only after the postmortem report is received we will be able to know the exact cause of death," the inspector said, adding suspicion of rape has not been ruled out and marks on her neck indicate that she was strangulated.

Police have rounded up several persons from the village, which is about 5 km from the famous Calangute beach, in connection with the case.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Saturday, October 8, 2016, 7:46 [IST]
'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

Rajnath Singh to review security at Indo-Pak border in Barmer

India

oi-PTI

Barmer (Raj), Oct 8: Amid rising tension in Indo-Pak ties, Union Minister Rajnath Singh will assess security arrangements on the border in Barmer district of Rajasthan.

Singh along with Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Saturday arrived at Barmer from Jaisalmer, accompanied by Border Security Force (BSF) officials, sources said.

The Home Minister on Friday chaired a meeting in Jaisalmer with the home ministers and senior officials of four states that border Pakistan.

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.

The security arrangements are being reviewed 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.

PTI
As per constitutional norms: Goa Speaker on merger of Cong MLAs with BJP

Goa: Man arrested for recording video of girl in hostel bathroom in Panaji

Goa: Two held for stabbing cab driver, his father over parking row

Scent of a Woman: Murdered perfumer Monika Ghurde was passionate about her art

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Bengaluru, Oct 8: The Twitter account of murdered perfumer and researcher Monika Ghurde is a reflection of her immense passion and love for everything that smells sweet to the senses.

Her last tweet was about her workshop on September 18.

However, there was nothing "aromatic" about the way her life came to an end. Rather it was brutal and horrific, which has shocked her friends and acquaintances immensely.

The naked body of the 39-year-old perfume specialist Ghurde was found at her residence in a village near Panaji in Goa on Thursday. Police suspect that she was raped before her murder.

"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.

Her hands and legs were found tied to a bed, police added.

Also read: Brutal murder in Goa: Famed perfumer Monika Ghurde raped, robbed before murder?

"The house is burgled but we can't ascertain what things are stolen from the flat as she was living alone," Kumar said.

According to a news report, Goa Police has sent teams to neighbouring states to nab the absconding accused in the high-profile murder case.

Ghurde was also a graphic designer and photographer, before she started her career as a celebrated perfumer. According to a report published in The Times of India, her friends recalled Ghurde as a friendly and passionate person, who was a born artist.

Several of her friends and acquaintances expressed their grief and anguish over her shocking death on the micro-blogging site, Twitter. Here we bring you few of the tweets:

Am I the only one seeing parallels between Monika Ghurde and Hema Upadhaye murders? Too many to ignore...  Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) October 8, 2016

Shocked to hear about #MonikaGhurde ... Why can't we have stricter laws to protect women in India!! Is this not priority? @narendramodi  Pearl (@PearlMiglani) October 8, 2016

Horrible, Shocking and Sad !  RIP #MonikaGhurde https://t.co/jEhbL2Jsrx  The Good Bad Girl (@insane_case) October 7, 2016

#MonikaGhurde @MonikaGhurde still cannot fathom that you are no more thank you for the beautiful pictures , rip my friend pic.twitter.com/GeBU9DjLv7  Sriya Reddy (@sriyareddy) October 8, 2016

Some people took to Twitter to express their shock over the news of Ghurde's murder:

Hurts so much confronting the brutal murder of #MonikaGhurde. This is a very cruel world. It really is.  Megha Ramaswamy (@SuddenlySparrow) October 7, 2016

The way in which Monika Ghurde's tragic, shocking death has been reported is sickening, SICKENING. Complete lack of sensitivity.  Faiza S Khan (@BhopalHouse) October 7, 2016

OneIndia News
China again blocked UN ban on Azhar over 'different views'

International

oi-PTI

Beijing, Oct 8: China today defended its second technical hold to prevent a UN ban on Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar saying there were "different views" on India's application and that Beijing's move will allow more time for the "relevant parties" to have consultations.

Reacting to India's criticism that its second hold on attempts to ban Azhar sends a dangerous message, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the listing application member states submitted to the 1267 Committee of UN "must comply" with specific requirements of relevant resolutions of UN Security Council (UNSC).

Though China is the lone member among the 15-member UNSC to oppose the ban on Azhar, Beijing claims that "different views" existed about India's application against Azhar. "There are still different views on India's listing application made this March.

The technical hold on it will allow more time for the Committee to deliberate on the matter and for relevant parties to have further consultations," the ministry said in a written reply to PTI to a question seeking its response to India's strong criticism.

India criticises UNSC for not sanctioning Masood Azhar

The reference to "further consultations" apparently referred to direct consultations between India and Pakistan over the issue. China had put the first technical hold six months ago on India's application following Azhar's alleged involvement in the Pathankot terrorist attack. China had extended the second technical hold valid for three months during this week despite several consultations between New Delhi and Beijing at various levels.

It is expected to figure again during the expected meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to be held in Goa from October 15-16.

While opposing the ban against Azhar, the Chinese Foreign Ministry however said "China firmly supports combating all forms of terrorism, stronger international cooperation against terrorism, and supports the central and coordinating role of the UN in international counter-terrorism cooperation".

It said, China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 Committee should stick to the principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the Security Council.

Without naming China, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on October 6 that only one country had put the technical hold, blocking the ban by another three months, and criticised the completely "non-transparent and anonymous" manner of designating individuals by the UN Sanctions Committee.

India has been highlighting the cross-border terror threat emanating from Pakistan and tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad are on the rise since last month's Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir which killed 19 Indian soldiers.

PTI
Haiti in pain as hurricane toll soars, aid sought

International

oi-PTI

Jeremie, Oct 8: The full scale of the devastation in hurricane-hit rural Haiti became clear today as the death toll surged past 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 biggest city, 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, said several localities were still cut off by flooding and mudslides. A scene of desolation greeted visitors to Jeremie, a town of 30,000 people left inaccessible until Friday.

With power lines down, people have been cut off from communications since the storm struck Tuesday -- and had yet to hear that a presidential election due to take place this weekend 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.

US military sends help to hurricane-battered Haiti

A ship carrying nine containers of food and medical supplies was headed for Dame Marie, further west in Grand'Anse department.

"It's probably the hardest hit department and the conditions don't allow for a helicopter to land there," Interior Minister Francois Anick Joseph told AFP.

"So we're doing our best to help those affected." Convoys were headed to other affected areas by land, sea and air, he said, including two helicopters provided by the US military to transport 50 tonnes of water, food and medicine elsewhere in Grand'Anse.

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.

"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 tree.

AFP
Racial attack in US: Sikh techie faces brutal assault, civil rights group demands justice

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Oct 8: 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 nation's 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 Khalsa's 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 attorney's 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.

PTI
At UNSC, US calls on world to tell Russia to stop its nuclear threats

US blames Russia for hacking political groups

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Washington, Oct 8: The United States on Friday blamed Russia for hacking US political sites, an accusation immediately dismissed as "nonsense" by Moscow.

Shortly after the White House claimed in a statement that US intelligence was "confident" that Russia was behind recent hacking of emails from US citizens and political organisations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly dismissed the accusation.

"Every day there are tens of thousands of attacks on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's website. Many of the attacks can be traced to the US but we're not blaming the White House or Langley every time," Xinhua news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

In July, WikiLeaks disclosed a trove of emails hacked from the accounts of staff at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) which appeared to discredit Democratic Party's claim of neutrality in the primary elections.

According to contents of the almost 20,000 emails, DNC officials -- who are supposed to remain neutral during the primary contest -- appeared to conspire against Hillary Clinton's rival Bernie Sanders.

After the disclosure, the DNC blamed Russia for the hack of emails despite the fact that a hacker, with the name of "Guccifer 2.0" claimed responsibility for the cyber attack.

IANS
Surgical strikes: Each terror launch pad was destroyed within 15 minutes

New Delhi

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Oct 8: They went, they destroyed and they returned. This is how the surgical strike by the Special Forces of the Indian army can be summed up. After the targets had been identified, the plan was to cross the Line of Control and destroy the targets. "We never intended to engage any of those terrorists, an officer informed.

Getting to the targets which were in a five kilometer radius was not easy. The special forces had to dodge thermal imagers and also anti personnel mines which had been laid out. However, there was not one mistake committed by the armed forces as the operation was planned to perfection.

Destroy and return

The operation was meant to be a quick one. The mission had to be accomplished in a specified time. The forces could not afford to waste anytime, the officer also noted. They crossed over the LoC, got to the targets and destroyed them. The forces had with them Russian Shmel of the flame thrower which helped in destroying the targets.

There were seven launch pads which were targeted. These launch pads were located in a five kilometer radius. The teams were split up and each of these targets were targeted simultaneously. Each of these teams took less than 15 minutes to destroy the targets. The launch pads that were hit were located at Lipa, Kel, Bhimber, Athmuqam, and Tattapani.

Also read: Now Indian hackers unleash surgical strikes on Pakistan cyberspace

The special forces were told to return immediately after the objective was achieved. It was important that the forces returned to the base immediately. There is no definitive figure on the number of terrorists who were killed in this strike.

The forces were told to just hit them and return. The figures that are out in the media are based on an estimate. In each of the launch pads, there are an average of 5 terrorists. This is the basis on which the estimate was reached, officials also say.

All pumped up

The forces were pumped up and had sworn to accomplish the mission at any cost. The strike was to avenge the Uri attack in which 19 soldiers had died. Although this incident was at the back of their mind, they did not display any emotion. It was more important to get the job done and in such missions, the forces cannot let emotions stand in the way.

All of them were focused on the mission. All they said before crossing over is that they would return successful. The confidence levels were so high that they even said that they would return unhurt.

At the war room in the South Block in New Delhi, the message that was received from the forces after the operation was completed was,"mission accomplished, we have returned without a scratch."

OneIndia News
Sky News 30 Oct 2022

Packed into narrow alleyways lined with bars and clubs, thousands of people travelled to Itaewon, an area of Seoul, for the city's..
 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd.

All rights reserved.

One News is a registered trademark

of One News Page Ltd.
by  Graham Pierrepoint



Hes remained a divisive figure in US politics over the past year  and a regular focal point for One News Page articles  and Donald Trump has arguably gone far beyond anyones imagination in terms of mounting a campaign to become the US Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. Trump has remained popular with millions of prospective voters across the US despite consternation from many members of his own party  and several campaign setbacks and controversial comments seem to have done little to rock his nerve. That is, until a certain video clip from 2005 emerged on Friday  now, at least as far as the media and certain high-profile members of the Republican Party are concerned, could very well be the beginning of the end for the Trump campaign.

A clip from an interview that Trump took part in with Billy Bush  cousin to former President George W and 2016 hopeful Jeb  featured the would-be President making a number of obscene remarks regarding objectifying women and how his star status allowed him to get away with groping and other lewd acts. The video has been unearthed not long after what was regarded by many as a shaky performance against Hillary Clinton in the first televised Presidential debate, and after concerns regarding the moguls tax history came under scrutiny. Taking into account all of the controversial comments, asides and retorts Trump has made over the election campaign, it certainly appears that the re-emergence of these harmful comments will be doing the most damage.

High-profile Republicans such as Speaker of the House Paul Ryan condemned Trumps words, opting to remove himself from an upcoming appearance with the candidate in Wisconsin. John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush  all previous hopefuls in the running for the Republican nomination  publicly decried Trumps comments as degrading to women, vulgar and indefensible. Widely-read media in the form of the New York Times and the Washington Post equally decry Trumps comments  and it appears that his initial apology did little to win people over.

Trump initially made a brief apology shortly after the clip emerged, stating that he had done and said things that he regretted, but then aimed to turn fire on Bill and Hillary Clinton, advising that they had done far more abuse and belittling of people in actuality. While this line of defence has become typical for Trump, it appears that this time it may not wipe clean. The candidate has since made a fuller statement, however, the damage may well already have been done on a global scale.

Whether or not the candidate will bounce back from the revelations a month ahead of polls remains to be seen  however, many Republicans  and even some who have staunchly defended Trump to the hilt  appear to be conceding the damage done by the candidates harmful remarks.
BANG Showbiz 14 May 2022

Teddi Mellencamp defended getting a neck lift, saying it was because her "body lost that elasticity" while being interviewed by..
Rumble 20 Oct 2022

Fourteen guests, most of them Ukrainians, and three staff were in the half-timbered thatch-roofed Hotel Schaefereck in the north..
Rumble 27 Oct 2022

Chuck Schumer was caught on a hot mic telling Joe Biden that the Democrats are in danger just two weeks out from the 2022 Midterms...
Eurasia Review 28 Oct 2022

Kuwait is an oil-rich emirate, tucked up in the north-western corner of the Persian Gulf. Its immediate neighbors are Saudi..
Sydney Morning Herald 11 Oct 2022

The decision by the Saudi-led OPEC group last week was particularly irksome for Joe Biden, who met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed..
OK! Magazine 14 Jul 2022

Wendy Williams recently admitted she wants to 'f**k' during a recent interview as she continues battling several health woes.
Summarizing G2E 2016: Industry Leaders Continue Down the Path of Innovation

Published October 7, 2016 by Ivan P

G2E 2016 has been concluded in Las Vegas, after three days of fruitful discussions on relevant topics, and some very innovative products being showcased.

Another Global Gaming Expo is now behind us and it is time to look back and see what G2E 2016 had to offer. There was a lot going on during the three day conference, with many keynote speakers presenting innovative ideas and numerous exhibitors showcasing their new, exciting products.

Virtual Reality & Skill-Based Games Take the Center Stage

This year's G2E was especially highlighted by an increased focus on virtual reality products and skill-based games solutions, looking to offer a solution for the problem of the Millennials. Many discussions revolved around what casinos and game developers could offer to the millennial generation to rekindle their passion for gambling.

Chuck Underwood, the founder of The Generational Imperative Inc., emphasized during his address that young generations shouldn't and mustn't be ignored.

An interesting suggestion which addressed the Millennials problem at least in part was presented by the company called ACS PlayOn. Realizing that young people are not used to carrying cash around and don't appreciate having to go to the ATM every time they bust at the tables, they presented a device that should facilitate buying chips using your credit or debit card. This would save customers from having to walk to the ATM every time they need more chips and should improve their overall gaming experience.

A number of virtual reality casino games has been presented as well, which combine the power of new technologies and gambling elements to create an exciting gaming atmosphere and really help people have fun while playing for real money.

USA and Online Gambling Laws

Online gambling legislation in the United States was another hot topic during the G2E 2016. The online gambling in the States has been in the stalemate position for a long time now, and this naturally frustrates many of those involved with the industry.

New Jersey DGE Director David Rebuck and MGC Chairman Stephen Crosby touched upon a number of regulatory topics during one of the G2E 2016 panels, explaining how prohibition simply doesn't work and how the regulation needs to change and evolve together with the industry.

By properly adjusting the regulations, Rebuck emphasized, game developers and innovators will be encouraged to their thing.

G2E 2016 a Proof of Industry Development

Everything we've seen at this year's Global Gaming Expo clearly shows that the gaming industry experts and insiders are willing to put in time, effort, and resources required to keep up with the changes and come up with the solutions that customers require.

Overall, all those attending G2E 2016 returned home with words of praise about what the conference had to offer and with a lot of new experiences, ideas, and business contacts, all of which should serve them well in the future.
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"In Bottom-Up, Rob Kall offers important insights on why our society is in such disarray and what we must do to change it. He demonstrates how "top down" thinking is what has produced our current mess, and how bottom up thinking is much more efficient for solving problems and producing change. Rob shows how lasting change must come from the people themselves and not from the leaders. This was as true in the days of the Magna Carta as it was for the Bill of Rights as it was for the Union movement that first gave workers' rights and protection in this country, as it is today. Indigenous elders have told me, "if you want to change the world, start talking and keep talking." Rob is doing this with this book and with his OpEdNews, and he is making a difference. I recommend this book to all who wish to see lasting, human-friendly, compassionate change that will sustain humanity is this crazy world of today."



Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, author of the Coyote trilogy that discusses healing practices from Lakota, Cherokee, and Cree traditions and how they intersect with conventional medicine
See original here

By Jim Naureckas



(Image by FAIR) Details DMCA



On the home page today of the New York Times, the lead story (10/5/16) bears the headline: "Contractor for NSA Charged in Possible New Theft of Secrets." Describing the arrest of Harold T. Martin III, a contractor for the National Security Agency accused of taking classified documents, the home page teaser reports, "The arrest raises the embarrassing prospect that for the second time in three years, a contractor managed to steal secrets."

The main story's headline continues the same emphasis: "NSA Contractor Arrested in Possible New Theft of Secrets." The second paragraph states:

"The arrest raises the embarrassing prospect that for the second time in three years, a contractor for the consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton managed to steal highly damaging secret information while working for the NSA. In 2013, Edward J. Snowden, who was also a Booz Allen contractor, took a vast trove of documents from the agency that were later passed to journalists, exposing surveillance programs in the United States and abroad."

The article goes on to say, "The information believed to have been stolen by Mr. Martin appears to be different in nature from Mr. Snowden's theft, which included documents that described the depth and breadth of the NSA's surveillance."

The problem with all this talk about the "theft" and "stealing" of secrets is that while Snowden, one of the most prominent whistleblowers of the modern era, has indeed been charged by the federal government with theft -- along with two violations of the Espionage Act -- he's been convicted of no crime. Were he to stand trial, he would no doubt try to offer a public interest defense of his actions -- as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has urged that he be allowed to do -- saying that the need to expose government wrongdoing overrode the law against unauthorized release of government documents.

The Times may believe that such a defense would be unsuccessful -- and no doubt many legal experts would agree with that assessment. Still, it's unusual for journalists to assume that someone accused of a crime is guilty, in effect taking the role of judge and jury upon themselves.

Such an assumption is particularly problematic in this case, because the same section of the legal code that is used to charge Snowden with theft of "any record, voucher, money, or thing of value" also criminalizes "whoever receives, conceals, or retains the same with intent to convert it to his use or gain, knowing it to have been embezzled, stolen, purloined or converted." There is no explicit exception for journalists there, any more than there's an exception for whistleblowers.

If we're going to call Snowden's documents "stolen," then journalists frequently receive "stolen" records from sources and use them as the basis for stories -- as the Times itself has done with documents released by Snowden. If Snowden is a thief, then the New York Times is a fence.

One shouldn't have to point out to journalists that this interpretation of the law is fundamentally incompatible with the First Amendment and, ultimately, with democracy: When exposing evidence of government crimes is a crime, there is no check on the power of the state.

__________

You can send a message to the New York Times at letters@nytimes.com, or write to public editor Liz Spayd at public@nytimes.com (Twitter:@NYTimes or @SpaydL). Please remember that respectful communication is the most effective.


When few countries can end HIV transmission from parents to children, then why cannot we?

(Image by CNS (Citizen News Service)) Details DMCA



(CNS): The joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is mobilizing governments and other partners to achieve new set of targets, referred to as, '90-90-90 by 2020', but with current set of tools, approaches, funding commitments, and challenge that HIV poses to the world, the goal seems certainly a bold and ambitious one. '90-90-90 by 2020' targets include increasing to 90% the proportion of people living with HIV who know their diagnosis, increasing to 90% the proportion of people living with HIV (PLHIV) receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) and increasing to 90% the proportion of people on HIV treatment who have an undetectable viral load.

"Among the evidence-backed programmes to prevent transmission of HIV, one of which has proven to work so effectively so as to eliminate that form of transmission from a population is: eliminating mother to child transmission of HIV. Mother to child transmission has been eliminated from some nations already, such as Cuba, Thailand and Armenia. What is holding India back from joining nations that have ended HIV in infants" said Dr Ishwar Gilada, President of AIDS Society of India (ASI).

On the first day of 9th National Conference of AIDS Society of India (ASICON 2016) in Mumbai, the buzz was unanimous: how to accelerate progress towards eliminating mother to child transmission of HIV in India as well. This is perhaps one of the closest goalposts to 90-90-90 targets which India and other nations have promised to chase and rightly so.

Where are we now?

In 2015, there were an estimated 2.17 million people living with HIV in India, 40.5% of them being women and 6.54% children (142,000). Out of the 86,000 new infections in 2015, 10,500 were in children. 35,000 HIV positive pregnant women were still in need of prevention of parent to child transmission (PPTCT) services.

Dr Glory Alexander who founded ASHA Foundation in Bengaluru, who was conferred upon one of the most coveted awards in medicine in India, Dr BC Roy Award, by the President of India this year, was among the key speakers at ASICON 2016. She said that HIV positive children are indeed a tragic consequence of the epidemic. More than 90% of children get HIV from their mothers through parent to child transmission route, and without treatment 50% of them die by their second birthday. So if we can prevent parent to child transmission of HIV, we can eliminate HIV in children.

The most effective strategy for zero HIV infections in children is PPTCT, which the developed world has already implemented effectively. While India struggles with ensuring PPTCT for every eligible woman, few countries such as Cuba, Thailand etc have already eliminated parent to child transmission of HIV. Cuba was the first country to achieve it in 2015 and then Thailand followed suit in 2016, becoming the first Asia Pacific country to do so.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the criteria of elimination of parent to child transmission of HIV is when there are less than 50 new HIV infections in children per 100,000 live births; less than 5% HIV transmission in children in breastfeeding population and less than 2% in non breastfeeding population; more than 95% coverage of antenatal care, and more than 90% ART coverage of HIV positive pregnant women.

Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
Progressive Content Not Found

Sometimes, authors delete their progressive content after publishing.



To see if the progressive content was renamed or re-published, please click here.
Jazzy2.jpg

Jazzy, one of Brad Avakian's online fundraisers

(Andrea Petkus)

I never know how I land on the fundraising e-mail lists of Oregon's political elite, but the perks and insights are incredible.

Just last spring, I heard from Jazzy, Brad Avakian's dog.

"It's National Pet Day, so Brad left me a treat before he went to work today to celebrate!" Jazzy wrote. "I'd really like to throw him a bone. Would you chip in $7 today for Brad?"

That's not what I do. But give Avakian, who's running for Secretary of State, credit. He brings a mellow dog to the increasingly rabid bombards in these mass emailings.

Case in point: I've been on Knute Buehler's extensive list since writing a column about the Bend Republican last fall.

In September, I heard from Quinn Burket, Buehler's campaign coordinator. Burket said he and Jennifer Stephens, another ardent fundraiser, were concerned I hadn't responded to Knute's latest cash call.

"Jennifer just asked me to check and see if you had stepped up yet, and I still didn't see your name on the list," Burket wrote.

"I need to let you know: She's only a couple of hours away from sending the donor update to Knute and as of right now, your name won't be on it."

Holy junior high! A private shaming! A loyalty test for everyone on Buehler's contact list.

It would be one thing if Buehler - who is paying national firms to handle his online marketing - really needed the money.

And you might think he does after an Aug. 29 email in which the orthopedic surgeon declared an emergency in his Oregon House race.

Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend

"I just got word that in the last five days alone, $14,300 has poured in from Oregon's Democratic leadership and their entrenched special interests for my opponent," Buehler wrote.

"This influx of new cash concerns me, and I'm afraid of what will happened (sic) if we don't counter it."

Buehler is running for re-election against Gena Goodman-Campbell, a wilderness coordinator with the Oregon Natural Desert Association.

As of Oct. 4, Buehler had received $592,8044 in cash contributions, Goodman-Campbell ever so slightly less:

$63,863.

I believe the emergency has abated.

If you consider it unfair to highlight a Republican on the subject of aggressive email fundraising programs, you're probably right. No one has cranked up the volume, and lowered the bar, as dramatically as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

A caucus can get away with stuff a candidate can't, and in recent weeks, the DCCC has flooded inboxes with emails headlined "All Hope is Lost," "Trump Elected," and "We're Losing."

When Vice President Joe Biden isn't begging for help, Barbra Streisand is. If the besieged Democrat doesn't make an immediate contribution, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives to say she's "disappointed":

"President Obama asked twice. Michelle Obama asked twice. Joe Biden asked twice ... I need you to make a choice today."

This theatrical marketing approach has inspired a nifty Tumblr montage, but it's tough to find comfort in parody when Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., is involved.

At the end of September, Brad Schneider, a Democrat running for Congress in Illinois, emailed supporters with a solicitation featuring the storied civil-rights leader.

Twenty-four hours later, the Schneider campaign was back, obnoxiously asking why the donor was "ignoring John Lewis" and his "stunning call to action."

What's stunning here is that these high-pressure online sales tactics are effective.

"People wouldn't do this if it didn't work," says Lori Hardwick, the leading Republican fundraiser in Oregon. "They do it because it makes money.

"You can't do online fundraising in a cold political climate," Hardwick adds. "When you have a hot political climate, people are driven to help. On both sides of the aisle, there is a motivating factor for their donors to give."

Those motivators debate again Sunday night. I need not speak their names.

As the Washington Post reported last week, the DCCC raised $33 million more than the National Republican Congressional Committee - Rep. Greg Walden's baby - in this election cycle, "thanks in part to $50 million in small-dollar donations from the party faithful - most of them collected online."

Buehler's admonition to his supporters that he has a list and he's checking it twice has left him with $307,000 cash on hand, more than 18 times what Goodman-Campbell has available.

Avakian and his Bernese Mountain dog? They only have a $125,000 fundraising edge over Republican Dennis Richardson, but the campaign recently raised $10,000 through Our Revolution, the next stage of the Bernie Sanders' campaign.

Old dog. New tricks.

-- Steve Duin

stephen.b.duin@gmail.com
Portland Air Monitoring Station

An air quality monitoring station in Southeast Portland monitors particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.

(Mark Graves/The Oregonian/OregonLive)

Reps. Rob Nosse, Kathleen Taylor and Barbara Smith Warner

Earlier this year, the discovery of dangerously high concentrations of toxic heavy metals in Portland sparked an urgent conversation about air quality and created new momentum throughout the state to clean up our air. As parents, neighbors and legislators, we are working on multiple fronts to make sure this renewed energy leads to lasting change in our communities.

In April, Gov. Kate Brown announced the launch of Cleaner Air Oregon, an initiative to broadly reform industrial air toxics regulations and align them with public health risks. This is a critical step toward ensuring all Oregonians can breathe clean air.

Ultimately, the impact of these reforms will be determined by a two-year rule-making process led by the Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon Health Authority. As the new industrial regulations are developed over the next 15 months, we will advocate for our communities every step of the way and hold both agencies accountable for the promises they have made about the reform process.

During the upcoming session, we will also work on legislation that will increase data collection on industrial pollution and make the information easily accessible to the public. Every Oregonian has a right to know if there are dangerous emissions near their child's school, their home, or in their community.

We also know our air quality problems are not limited to industrial emissions. One of the biggest problems in the metro area is caused by older diesel engines, which create serious health risks and disproportionately affect communities of color. According to a recent report released by the Oregon Environmental Council, diesel exhaust in Oregon causes up to 460 premature deaths each year and creates up to $274 million in climate damage. We will support legislation in the 2017 session to begin moving Oregon away from older diesel engines and toward a healthier future for our families and our environment.

We also recognize that reform at the state level is not the only opportunity to improve air quality. If communities are ready to take local action to protect their air, we would support their efforts to explore creating a regional air pollution authority.

Share your opinion

Submit your essay of 700 words or less to commentary@oregonlive.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification.

If you have questions or concerns about air toxics or want to know more about our ideas as they develop, please contact our offices anytime.

This problem could not be more personal to us. Our children go to schools near many of these polluters. We have raised our families in air toxics hot spots. For our families, and for families across the state, fighting for air toxics regulation will be a top priority in the 2017 legislative session.

Rep. Rob Nosse represents northeast and southeast Portland. Rep. Kathleen Taylor represents Milwaukie, Oak Grove and the Southeast Portland neighborhoods of Sellwood/Eastmoreland, Westmoreland and Brentwood-Darlington. Rep. Barbara Smith Warner represents northeast Portland, Parkrose and the City of Maywood Park. All three are Democrats serving in the Oregon House of Representatives.
Did Ammon Bundy's nearly 10 hours of testimony help or harm his case?

Bundy told the judge this week that she left him no choice but to take the witness stand in his own defense.

U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown had restricted defense lawyers from eliciting testimony from witnesses about the principle of adverse possession or who owns the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge unless it related to a defendant's state of mind in explaining motivation for occupying the refuge.

Facing those limitations, Marcus Mumford, Bundy's attorney, said it was crucial for his client to tell his full story.

"We put him on because he wanted to explain why he did what he did,'' Mumford said. "The jury got to see him and hear him speak with candor.''

Legal experts weigh in:

Margaret L. Paris, University of Oregon law professor:

"If you have a defendant who can appeal to the jury, you give them as much time as you can. If he comes across as sincere, that he really believes this - that may be the best defense available.''

But if the testimony is repetitive and too long, Paris added, "you risk losing the jury.''

"It's a calculated risk a defense lawyer takes. And, it's always a crap shoot.''

On the prosecutor's brief cross-examination, Paris said it's not unusual.

"If you're facing an effective witness, as a cross-examiner, you want to get your points out without giving him too much more time on the stand. The prosecutor went in for the points he needed to make, got in and got out.''

Defense lawyer Matthew Schindler, standby counsel to Kenneth Medenbach, one of Bundy's six co-defendants. Medenbach plans to take the witness stand next week.

"It's his right to get up and tell his story. A protester should not invoke their right to remain silent.''

Of Ammon Bundy's testimony, "All I can tell you is it seems authentic.''

The decision allowed Ammon Bundy to humanize himself to jurors, Schindler said.

"It's fairly unusual to have a defendant who can come across as sincere and handle a cross-examination.''

Schindler wasn't surprised by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight's 15-minute cross-examination.

"This is the U.S. government. These guys let the evidence do the talking.''

Tung Yin, Lewis & Clark Law professor:

If the defense is seeking jury nullification - meaning the government has proved its case with the evidence presented but a juror won't convict because he or she likes or feels sympathy for the defendant or their cause -- then it was probably useful for Ammon Bundy to take the stand, Yin said.

"It would be useful to make his client seem likeable, not crazy and halfway reasonable."

Ammon Bundy remained calm and composed on the witness stand, often looked at jurors as he spoke and became emotional as he described his past experience with federal agents at the 2014 standoff outside his father Cliven Bundy's ranch in Nevada.

As for the short cross-examination, that makes sense for several reasons, Yin said.

"Because it was so short, it was pointed and sharp. It's unlikely the jury was bored, or dozing or or not paying attention. The jury is likely to remember the entire exchange. Second, it limited the scope of redirect, meaning that Bundy's lawyer could only ask further questions relating to what Bundy was crossed on.''

Andrew Chongseh Kim, Concordia University law professor:

It appears that Ammon Bundy's lawyer wanted to spend time delving into his client's intentions, motivations, reasoning and background that played into his decision to stay at the refuge for nearly a month.

In contrast, the prosecutor's decision to limit his cross-examination may demonstrate "that they think the vast majority of the previous three days' testimony is irrelevant to whether Bundy is guilty'' of the federal conspiracy charge.

The charge accuses Bundy and co-defendants of conspiring to use intimidation, threats or force to prevent employees from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management from carrying out their work during the 41-day occupation of the refuge.

"Such a stark contrast could make the jury think the prosecution failed to respond to the defense's strong evidence, or it could make the jury think the defense spent three days trying to distract them from the real issues of the case.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
Tyler Petite

Southern California tight end Tyler Petite (82) celebrates his touchdown with teammates during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Colorado, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in Los Angeles.

(Jae C. Hong/AP)

AP RECAP: USC 21, Colorado 17

LOS ANGELES (AP) Tyler Petite caught his second touchdown pass from Sam Darnold with 8:28 to play, and Southern California overcame four turnovers to earn a 21-17 victory over No. 21 Colorado on Saturday.

Daniel Imatorbhebhe also caught a TD pass from Darnold, who passed for 358 yards and three scores along with two fumbles and an interception. USC (3-3, 2-2 Pac-12) shredded one of the nation's top defenses for 539 yards, but Colorado's takeaways kept an otherwise one-sided game close.

In the Buffaloes' first game as a ranked team since Nov. 7, 2005, receiver Bryce Bobo threw a 67-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and caught a tying TD pass with 10:20 to play.

Colorado (4-2, 2-1) kicked a field goal with 4:49 left after Petite's tiebreaking score , but the Trojans coolly ran out the clock.

Justin Davis rushed for 83 yards before leaving with an ankle injury early in the second half for USC, which improved to 11-0 against Colorado in the schools' history.

***

Pregame: A pair of blowout wins by Colorado and USC last week set up an intriguing matchup at the Coliseum with the Buffaloes seeking their first-ever win over the Trojans:

What: No. 21 Colorado Buffaloes (4-1, 2-0) vs. USC Trojans (2-3, 1-2)

When: 1 p.m. PT, Saturday, Oct. 8

Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

TV: Pac-12 Network

Watch online: Live stream on Pac-12.com or the Pac-12 Now app

Line: USC -4.5 | Over/Under: 65

Series history: USC has won all 10 meetings with Colorado.

Previous meeting: The Trojans edged the Buffaloes 27-24 last season in Boulder.

Follow along for live scores and updates from Colorado-USC.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Mike Pence has long described himself as a "Christian, a conservative and a Republican in that order."

Now, the GOP vice presidential nominee and his priorities are facing a critical test as Donald Trump, staggered by his recorded vulgarities about women, careens toward Sunday's presidential debate against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump has vowed to stay in the race.

Pence's advocacy for Trump came to a screeching, perhaps temporary, halt Saturday in the hours after Trump released a video apologizing for 2005 remarks in which he describes his aggressive conduct toward women.

Pence said in a statement about Trump that he won't "condone his remarks and cannot defend them."

"We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night," the Indiana governor said.

It's more evidence of the trial by fire for the GOP's No. 2, and the challenge may serve Pence well if he runs for the top spot in 2020.

Pence dare not speak about that possibility. To do so would assume Clinton prevails on Nov. 8.

But plenty of people are engaging in presidential talk about Pence, including Republican member of Congress, former presidential candidates and more.

Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Mike Crapo of Idaho are calling on Trump to quit the campaign so Pence can lead the ticket. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire says she'll write in Pence's name on the ballot -- not Trump's.

Pence canceled his appearance at a Wisconsin rally Saturday with House Speaker Paul Ryan. Pence would have been expected to advocate for Trump.

"I'm sure he's horrified," said Mike Murphy, an Indiana public relations strategist who's known Pence for more than two decades. "We impeached Bill Clinton and we cannot impeach Trump off the ballot. But I wish there was a mechanism to do so."

Pence raised his political stock Monday night during the only debate against Democrat Tim Kaine. During the 90-minute event,Pence managed to not defend Trump's indefensible behavior, yet still sound supportive and show off his own expertise on foreign policy.

The performance highlighted the gulf in political sophistication between Trump and his running mate.

Pence addressed the awkwardness with a savvy statement acknowledging his own performance and preserving his alliance with Trump.

"People are saying that I won the debate," he said Wednesday in Harrisonburg, Virginia. "From where I sat, Donald Trump's vision to make America great won the debate."

But on Friday, Trump's behavior put Pence to an even tougher test.

The Washington Post and NBC broke the story of Trump's words about women as Pence advocated for Trump him in Ohio.

"With Donald Trump as president, we'll have a president of the United States who respects all the American people," Pence said as news of Trump's comments was breaking.

Pence went on to defend, as he has previously, Trump's outspoken nature as a refusal to "tiptoe around those thousands of rules of political correctness."

Pence went on to defend, as he has previously, Trump's outspoken nature as a refusal to tiptoe around those thousands of rules of political correctness."

Pence ignored shouted questions about Trump, and he was quickly whisked out of reach of the news media.

What followed: Pence's silence, the scrapping his Wisconsin appearance and finally, his statement.

An influential Indiana conservative, Jim Bopp, who helped draft this year's Republican Party platform, said Pence "should stay the course."

Trump's words are "ill-considered and crude," Bopp said, and also "statements Mike Pence would never make."

The election is bigger than that, said Bopp, a lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana.

"In the grand scheme of things, this is trivia vs. real life-and-death problems that we face in our foreign policy and the serious challenges that everyday Americans face because of the Obama-Clinton economy."

--Associated Press
The catastrophic flooding that hit southern Louisiana in August has had a long-lasting impact extending into the beginning of the school year. To help teachers and students recover from the disaster, The Dow Chemical Co. has stepped forward, announcing the funding of 52 projects at 17 schools totaling $60,000.

This is the 60th anniversary of Dows operations in Louisiana, and we are proud to contribute $60,000 to support the schools and teachers who have had to overcome so much this year, said Eduardo Do Val, site director, Dow Louisiana Operations. Empowering quality education and contributing to sustainable communities are important to Dow and this is a situation where we can provide valuable help to our educators at a time when they really need it.

Dow funded the requests through DonorsChoose.org, which is a website that makes it simple for anyone to support educators. The website allows teachers to post a description of classroom needs and enables site visitors to contribute money toward specific requests. The nonprofit organization that runs the site verifies the authenticity of each request and when enough donations arrive to fully fund a request, the organization purchases everything and delivers it to the teacher.

Last months flooding in Louisiana destroyed hundreds of classrooms, and so many teachers and students have resumed the school year without some of the most basic resources, said Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose.org. Were so grateful for our partners like Dow who are helping these teachers rebuild their classrooms and replace many of the tools they need to get students back to learning.

In the weeks since the flooding, hundreds of teachers in the affected area have posted pleas for help on a special page on DonorsChoose.org. In Baton Rouge, for instance, a teacher from Park Forest Elementary School hoped to acquire study carrels and education technology after the class was forced to relocate to a different building. In Lafayette, a teacher at Westside Elementary School requested vinyl materials and a special vinyl cutter that will allow her students to express themselves artistically in new and constructive ways.

People are truly hurting, and we want to do as much as we can to help get them back on their feet as quickly as possible, said Abby Cook, Dow public affairs manager for Louisiana. Southern Louisiana will bounce back, and Dow will be part of the solution.

The announcement continues Dows comprehensive effort to support the recovery of communities in southern Louisiana. On Aug. 16, The Dow Chemical Company Foundation announced $250,000 in flood relief support, including $50,000 for the Louisiana Capital Area local chapter of the American Red Cross, which provided meals and shelter to more than 10,000 people displaced from their homes, and $50,000 to the Capital Area United Way Flood Emergency Fund to address flood relief in the greater Baton Rouge region. The remaining $150,000 is being allocated for long-term recovery efforts.

This collaboration aligns to Dows 2025 Sustainability Goal of Engaging Employees for Impact, where Dow has committed to encouraging its employees, customers and communities to work together to positively impact the lives of 1 billion people.
Chainsaw Man Season 1: The anime community is now buzzing about Chainsaw Man. Although the manga has been out for 

Read more
This is What True Courage Looks Like, America

By Brian Byrd | Politics | October 8, 2016 |

Americans often look to the past for inspiration. This is understandable. Our greatest heroes  Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Adams, Jefferson, Whitmore  lie interred beneath the earth. Leaders of their magnitude havent risen to fill the void left by their absence.

Yet unlikely heroes emerge from unforeseen places during moments of national crisis. Ordinary individuals who, when thrust into extraordinary circumstances, display bravery and character typically reserved for Arthurian legend. If theres one positive by-product of Donald Trumps historically embarrassing quest for the presidency, its that his rise created a new generation of American heroes. Patriots who, through sheer will and love for country, stand tall against the coming tide. Who refuse to go quietly into the night. Who can muster the fortitude to look disaster square in its Tang-dusted face and say, No more. Not on my watch. These supermen deserve our highest respect. Let us enshrine them for posterity.

Our first and perhaps greatest champion is Paul Ryan, Republican Speaker of the House. When leaked audio revealed to the world that the man he endorsed for president and praised at his partys convention is in fact a disgusting pervert who brags about sexual assault to tabloid reporters, Ryan didnt dally. He acted. Boldly. Decisively. The leader of a party that works tirelessly to deny women rights and equal treatment under the law immediately released a stern four-sentence statement excoriating Trumps comments. I refuse to appear with this man, Ryan proclaimed in this modern-day Gettysburg Address. Instead, to show the GOPs commitment to women, I will host his surrogate, a man who believes women should be forced to have funerals for their aborted fetuses. The original copy of Ryans statement is already on display in the Library of Congress.

NEWS: Paul Ryan says he is "sickened" by Trump's comments, says Trump is NOT going to Wisconsin tomorrow: pic.twitter.com/gpmLmjdbDt  Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) October 8, 2016

Ryan may have been first off the PT boat, but his audacious stance inspired others to do the same. Scott Walker, Wisconsins Eeyore-looking Republican governor who was scheduled to appear at the event with Ryan and Trump, also came out strongly against Trump.



Inexcusable. Trump's comments are inexcusable.  Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) October 8, 2016

Few politicians respect women more than Walker, which is why he repealed Wisconsins equal pay law in 2012, signed a bill that required women to have ultrasounds before getting an abortion, and slashed Planned Parenthood funding by $1 million. But his five-word Tweet matters far more than his shameful history. Why were putting a woman on our currency before Walker is a mystery well probably never solve.

Like Dolores spreading sentience through Westworlds hosts via coded phrases, Ryans courage contagion quickly escaped Wisconsin to reach all our nations great states as well as Florida. Marco Rubio, a man who fearlessly condemned Trump before endorsing him at the Republican Convention via video, denounced Trump in the strongest possible terms. He appeared via video rather than in person because he was busy heroically running for the Florida Senate seat he told his constituents he wasnt going to seek after dropping out of the presidential race. Rubio, a lifelong womens rights champion who believes abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape or incest, is a true American hero whose brave online repudiation of utterly indefensible statements should eradicate a decade of anti-women advocacy.

Donald's comments were vulgar, egregious & impossible to justify.

No one should ever talk about any woman in those terms, even in private.  Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 8, 2016

Any discussion of modern American political courage must involve Texas Senator Ted Cruz, one of our most principled public officials. When confronted with Trumps comments, Cruz did not equivocate. He bravely took a position against the language, PC culture or safe spaces be dammed.

Every wife, mother, daughter  every person  deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. https://t.co/AVSEBastVc  Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 8, 2016

Hey, why are you giving Cruz credit here? Hes still endorsing the guy. So is Ryan, Rubio, Walker, and John McCain. You dont understand because youre operating under an antiquated definition of political strength. Courage isnt yanking the endorsement you initially refused to grant. Courage is secretly selling your donor list to  and cold calling for  a man who called your wife ugly and accused your father of assassinating John F. Kennedy.

Mitch McConnell, a man so feminist he is often confused for a woman, also refused to let Trumps sexism slide. The Senate Majority leader who voted against the Lily Ledbetter Act, the Violence Against Women Act, and the Paycheck Fairness Act simply cannot sit idly by while someone treats women poorly. Trump needs to take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments, McConnell said in a statement. McConnell correctly believes the reprehensible man Republicans selected as their nominee for president in no way reflects the partys decades-long crusade against womens rights. Denouncing grotesque sexism by an exceptionally unpopular candidate isnt the politically expedient thing to do, but Mitch McConnell has never been a slave to orthodoxy.

Imagine (if you even can) the courage required to abandon your partys toxic candidate when hes facing nationwide condemnation and an all but insurmountable deficit in the polls. Our lexicon lacks a word to properly describe this level of intestinal fortitude. Calling men like Ryan, Walker, Rubio, Cruz, and McConnell heroes cheapens their actions. Their names will echo in eternity. Their pictures will grace living rooms across the land. Mount Rushmore is an adequate memorial for adequate men. These new champions deserve better. NASA should find a way to etch their faces into the moon so they are forever immortalized in the heavens like the deities they are.






In a good book entitled "The Luminous Web," theologian Barbara Brown Taylor describes the contentious history of the relationship between science and faith. She recounts the day, back in the 16th century, when the Polish scientist Nicholas Copernicus suggested that the Earth revolved around the sun and not the opposite. He was ostracized by church leaders, both Protestants and Catholics, and widely berated by them for putting his beliefs above the beliefs of the Bible.

A few years later, the astronomer Galileo looked at the heavens through his telescope, confirming what Copernicus had suspected. He was summarily brought before a church inquisition and ordered to recant his findings. When he refused, he was sentenced to eight years under house arrest.

To this day, a struggle persists for many to reconcile the worlds of science and faith. Some say that to take the Bible seriously means that one must reject scientific findings, and embrace not just the Bibles spiritual insights, but also the pre-scientific worldview of those who wrote it a literal six-day creation, a three-tiered universe and flat earth, mental illness and epilepsy caused by demon possession, and all the rest. Others, equally sincere, say, The only way I can be faithful and keep my intellectual integrity is to embrace the spiritual truths of the Bible, but also recognize the time-bound limitations in perspective of its ancient authors, just as I know that my own perspective is limited.

I find the second alternative the more compelling one to be sure, though its worth pointing out that both those approaches have in common a good thing; namely the desire to affirm that creation is purposeful and not random, that it is wondrous and God is to be found in it.

But beyond that, I think its important in a day when scientific inquiry is often portrayed as anti-religious, to suggest that scientific inquiry and religious inquiry need each other. They are not contradictory but complementary. A good way to describe the difference between science and faith is to say that science best answers the questions of how: how did the universe occur?... how did we get here? And religion best answers the questions of why: Why am I here, what is my purpose in life, what is the meaning of life? What is most important in life?

That view is by no means original to me. It was wonderfully affirmed a few years back by Pope Benedict just before his retirement.

His words on the subject were particularly well-spoken: In the great human enterprise of striving to unlock the mysteries of man and the universe, I am convinced of the urgent need for continued dialogue and cooperation between the worlds of science and of faith in the building of a culture of respect for man, for human dignity and freedom, for the future of our human family and for the long-term sustainable development of our planet. Without this necessary interplay, the great questions of humanity leave the domain of reason and truth, and are abandoned to the irrational, to myth, or to indifference, with great damage to humanity itself, to world peace and to our ultimate destiny.

Pretty well said, if you ask me.
BLOOMINGTON  Two supporters of Jamie Snow's efforts to exonerate himself on murder charges have filed a lawsuit against the city for withholding records they claim are needed to prove his innocence.

Snow was convicted in 2001 of the Easter 1991 killing of 18-year-old Billy Little during an apparent armed robbery of a now-closed Bloomington service station where Little worked.

Tammy Alexander and Raymond Wilson have filed more than 30 Freedom of Information Act requests since 2011 for evidence in Snow's case. Alexander, of Tennessee, became interested in the case in 2009 after reading media coverage and an interview with Snow. Wilson, of New Jersey, is married to Snow's longtime friend, Pam Wilson. The two started working together on Snow's case about five years ago.

In their lawsuit filed by Matthew Topic, a lawyer with Loevy & Loevy, the Chicago firm that is working on Snow's appeals with the Exoneration Project, Alexander and Wilson claim the city is unfairly refusing to disclose public records.

In their June 2016 FOIA request, the pair asked for eight items related to Snow's case, including recorded interviews of witnesses, requests to judges for covert recording of witnesses and records of any reward money paid in the case.

Also requested was an audio recording of the police dispatch made by former Bloomington officer Jeff Pelo as he approached the gas station the night of the killing. Pelo, who is serving 375 years for raping four women, was a witness at Snow's trial; his recollections of the crime scene have been questioned by the defense.

The city complied with portions of the request but denied others.

In a comment on the lawsuit, the city's corporate counsel Jeffrey Jurgens said Friday that "the city was just served with this complaint earlier this week and we are in the process of reviewing it."

Recorded interviews of witness Karen Strong were not turned over based on the city's contention that the material would unavoidably disclose the identity of a person who provided information to police as part of an investigation.

Alexander and Wilson asked the city to restore information redacted from some documents. The city refused, arguing that such disclosure will only be made in response to a subpoena.

According to Alexander, she has obtained a considerable amount of information for the defense through the public records process, some of it material not introduced during Snow's trial.

The lawsuit asks that the city be ordered to provide the information and pay the plaintiff's attorney fees and a civil penalty.

So far, Snow has been unsuccessful in convincing a court to reverse his conviction or order a new trial. A decision is expected in late November on Snow's latest petition, filed in 2013 with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Snow has argued that he was denied access to effective trial counsel and evidence that if disclosed would have changed the outcome of his case. For example, the identification of Snow by state witness Danny Martinez in 2000 is unreliable, according to the defense, based on statements Martinez allegedly made to a polygraph examiner in 1991.

The state has opposed Snow's exoneration efforts, arguing the evidence questions related to Martinez and other witnesses are not new.
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 jailed 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 also testified about a criminal sexual assault case against Houser in which he was accused of attacking his then-estranged wife on Sept. 20, 1990. He was out on bond when she was killed 15 days later.

Houser was tried and acquitted in that case in May 1991.

He repeatedly told her the divorce would never go through, and she would never leave him, Dumonceaux said, describing Sheryl Houser's statement to police.

On Sept. 24, 1990, she obtained an order of protection against Houser.

About 7:40 a.m. Oct. 5, first responders went to Sheryl Houser's house to check on her welfare when she did not show up at work. The 6-year-old boy reportedly told them 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 pipe on the ceiling.

Fingertip pieces from latex gloves were found in the knot of the rope and beneath a nearby ladder. She was not wearing gloves, and 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 his estranged wife since August.

Sanborn argued there was no evidence to hold his client on the charges.

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.
BLOOMINGTON  The American Red Cross Central and Southern Illinois Region is sending 21 volunteers  including one from the Bloomington-Normal area  to Florida to assist people hit by Hurricane Matthew.

Emily Barr of Bloomington is on her way to West Palm Beach, Fla., said Red Cross regional CEO Lyn Hruska. Barr is a mental health supervisor and will lead efforts to provide mental health services to residents and emergency responders in the storm's aftermath.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, two other Red Cross volunteers  Kathi Knope of Taylorville and Peggy Ore of Champaign  will depart from Bloomington, driving the Red Cross Bloomington area emergency response vehicle (ERV), Hruska said Friday evening.

They will drive to South Carolina, where Knope will take the ERV to areas where people need assistance. ERVs are equipped with food, water and supplies.

Ore will provide health services to people in South Carolina, Hruska said.

More volunteers will be sent from central and southern Illinois in the weeks to come, she said.

Other disaster relief crews in The Pantagraph area were poised to rush to Floridas aid on Friday but most were called off as Hurricane Matthew spared much of the states Atlantic coastline.

The storm hit Floridas east side Friday morning and continued north through the day, toppling trees and ripping down power lines, cutting off electricity to more than 1 million people.

Ameren Illinois spokeswoman Stacey Shangrow said more than 150 Ameren personnel and contract crew members had been prepared to head to Florida to help restore power.

Florida Power and Light recalled their request Friday morning for the Midwest group so we will no longer be going because things didnt happen as anticipated, said Shangrow. It is possible, depending on how the storm continues, that we may be called by other utility groups.

Florida State Farm spokeswoman Michal Brower said Friday, Its too early to tell what kind of claims the insurance company will receive from storm damage.

"The Salvation Army is currently treating this as a territorial disaster, which means Southern Territory will take the lead," said Rich Draeger, The Salvation Army tri-county director of development, based in Peoria.

Storm damage will determine whether The Salvation Army's Southern Territory asks for help beyond that territory, Draeger said.

Coastal residents in Georgia and South Carolina were urged to evacuate inland as the hurricane moved up the coast. Projections show a risk for major flooding from ocean surges as the storm passes.

In Bloomington, flight schedules to and from Central Illinois Regional Airport to Florida remain unchanged, said CIRA spokeswoman Fran Strebing.
BLOOMINGTON  Congressman Rodney Davis has withdrawn his support for Donald Trump and hopes running mate Mike Pence will move to the top of the ticket.

Davis, a Taylorville Republican who represents the 13th District, released a statement Saturday in which he said he also has asked to be removed from Trump's agriculture advisory committee.

"As parents of a teenage daughter and teen twin boys, my wife and I teach them to respect women and that they will be judged by their words and actions," Davis said in the emailed statement. "The abhorrent comments made by Donald Trump are inexcusable and go directly against what I've been doing in Washington to combat assaults on college campuses. Because of this, I am rescinding my support for Donald Trump and asking to have my name removed from his agriculture advisory committee. With the terrible options America has right now, I cannot cast my vote for any of the candidates, so I hope Donald Trump withdraws from the race so the American people can elect Mike Pence as our next president."

In August, Congressman Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, dropped his lukewarm support after Trump made comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gold Star parents.

Kinzinger, a former member of the McLean County Board who represents the 16th District, told The Pantagraph editorial board earlier this week that his decision did not go over well but his first loyalty is to America.

No statement has been issued by the office of Congressman Darin LaHood, a Peoria Republican from the 18th District who previously told The Pantagraph and others that he supported and would vote for Trump.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk withdrew his endorsement of Trump in June and on Friday called for him to drop out of the race, suggesting the national Republican Party "engage rules for an emergency replacement."

Nationally, several congressmen and congressional candidates withdrew their support for Trump after news broke Friday of an audio tape in which Trump used vulgar language toward and about women.

Davis and LaHood both face challengers in the Nov. 8 election. Kinzinger is unopposed. Kirk is in tight battle with Democrat Tammy Duckworth.
It has been a known fact that parental alienation has remained prevalent in the United States in spite of the emergence of the now popular, shared parenting bill, a proposal in which the egalitarian approach of parenting is widely advocated. In fact, High Point University psychology assistant professor Sadie Leder Elder has once stressed that the degree of parental alienation in America has been quite alarming.

Parental alienation first emerged in the '80s when forensic psychiatrist Dr. Richard Gardner recognized an occurrence where a parent brainwashes a child to denigrate the other parent, particularly in high conflicting divorce battles. However, parental alienation remains to exist up until now.

According to High Point University, a study published in the journal Children and Youth Services Review revealed that 13 percent of parents are victims of parental alienation in the United States while more than 22 million adults have been identified to be at risk to be alienated from their children. Due to this heartbreaking phenomenon, parental alienation has been considered a form of child abuse as it promotes an unhealthy parent-child relationship and this psychological manipulation has bred unwarranted distress, insolence or aggression to the other parent involved.

As the holiday season looms, The Canadian Jewish News urged the society that it's about time to stop parental alienation and ex-couples with children should end the practice of using their kids as weapons to hurt the other parent. As a matter of fact, parental alienation could lead to negative ramifications to both the parents and children, citing depression and anxiety disorders as the adverse outcomes of this parenting practice.

With that said Avrum Rosensweig urged parents to share childcare responsibilities, stressing parental alienation is only killing the children's spirits. Aside from this controversial parenting approach, Ontario's equal parenting law has been recently making headlines as it reportedly passed the second reading.

Equal parenting law is not the same to the widely advocated shared parenting law, which promotes the practice of egalitarian parental approach after a divorce or separation. Equal parenting law, on the other hand, is a bill that focuses on the parental rights of queer and trans-parents, Daily Xtra reported.

What do you think is the most effective way to stop parental alienation? Share your thoughts below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
To replace the controversial No Child Left Behind Act, U.S. President Barack Obama signed a new federal education law that aims to provide states greater flexibility and control. Teachers in Toledo, Ohio are seizing on this education law to cut back standardized testing, which was viewed as excessive and harmful.

On Thursday, Toledo Federation of Teachers president Kevin Dalton met outside Oakdale Elementary (before class hours) to bring attention to the Every Student Succeeds Act. President Obama signed the new law in December last year.

Teachers aim to reduce standardized testing system, as well as enhance public education. On Thursday, teacher unions in Toledo, Oregon, Port Clinton, and across Ohio held events billed as "Walk-ins for Public Education," the Toledo Blade cited.

"Our teachers want less testing," Dalton said. "Parents want less testing. Our teachers want authentic assessment and a realistic view of how their child is doing. Our parents don't believe their students are doing F work, and our teachers know they're not."

In replacement of the standardized testing, Dalton and other teachers want a reflective tool. As a matter of fact, they want a tool or platform that emulates the hard work of the children. They also want to have an opportunity to look for other ways to test the student's performance.

Meanwhile, the Ohio Department of Education is is devising a plan in response to the new legislation that tackles assessments and school accountability. Teachers in Ohio want to launch authentic assessments such as portfolios, rubrics, etc. rather than multiple choice questions.

In other related news, the state held a survey by conducting public meetings and gathering feedback from residents, school officials etc.Education department spokesperson Brittany Halpin said there are 9,000 responses to an online survey about the new law, which can be found on education.ohio.gov.

"It's been very instructive and informative," she said.

According to Halpin, the survey is "very instructive and informative." The survey's inputs will be developed into a plan by the education department. The said plan will be forwarded to the federal education department and is expected to be implemented next school year.
This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions
Saturday Link Love is a new feature where I collect and post links to various articles Ive come upon over the past week. Feel free to share any interesting articles youve come along as well! The more the merrier.

Stop Calling Donald Trump a Child, on Unfundamentalist ParentingChildren are better than the stereotypes we reduce them to in order to insult others.

Im So Damn Tired of Slave Movies, on JezebelIts obvious at this point that Hollywood has a problem with only paying attention to non-white people when theyre playing a stereotype.

Protecting Kids in an Age of Sharenting, on The AtlanticParents who post regularly can talk about the internet with their children and should ask young children if they want friends and family to know about the subject matter being shared.

Im sorry thats all Ive got, but Ive been blogging on a lot of articles and things I see this week, so everything else Ive shared in some fashion or another. It feels like these weeks leading up to the election are getting progressively harder.

I have a Patreon! Please support my writing!
I guess it was a little over 2 years ago now that I spied a biography on Doreen Valiente at the Seattle Esoteric Book Conference and promptly did a little dance on the spot as I bought it. I luckily had found Doreen very early in my journey, so to say I was thrilled to finally see a bio on her is an understatement. However, my joy changed to frustration as I dove in, finding the language clunky and editing leaving much to be desired. It made me angry on so many levels, as the book was just not worthy of Doreen.

Doreen Valiente was such a gifted writer and visionary. She is responsible for much of what is beautiful and soulful (IMHO) about The Craft today. She deserved something better, more eloquent, and better edited.

Then I heard ANOTHER biography was coming out, and I held out hope for better, stalking Edge of the Circle Books until it landed on this side of the pond. That book was Doreen Valiente: Witch by Philip Heselton, and published by the Centre for Pagan Studies in association with The Doreen Valiente Foundation.

Sadly though, due to my schedule, the new biography sat on my nightstand for quite a while, waiting to be read at a time where I could settle in and enjoy it. That was a REALLY long time, though somewhat appropriately happened as I was recently flying to New England to officiate the wedding of one of my students in Salem, Massachusetts.

It did not disappoint  this biography was definitely a much better step up in all the ways from the previous one. Though not perfect (though can any biography really be perfect?), its a much more enjoyable read that makes you feel that Doreen is in the next room over relaying over bits of her life. Theres definitely some careful conjecture to fill in the blanks about missing sections of her life  which, I wonder if only 17 years after her passing the authors extensive research cant find, that we may just never know. And as someone VERY familiar with Doreens work, I found the summary of her own books in certain sections a bit tedious, but I understand that many are probably NOT as familiar. That aside, I truly loved getting more insight into Doreens life, and found myself on the verge of tears a few times  the good kind.

You see, when Doreen died in 1999, I was crushed. I was personally sad I would never have the chance to meet her in person, and I was deeply concerned and heartbroken by various reports that said she had passed without friends on hand, unappreciated, or felt the recognition for the magnitude of work she had done. But neither was the case (SPOILER ALERT)  she indeed did not die alone and she did know how much she was appreciated to some degree. Nor did I know about her last partner in life, and the joy that they had together  or that she was such a tall woman!

It made me so very happy to read these things.

I also marked up the book quite a lot underlining and starring things  something I hardly EVER do to a book. But I felt there were certain messages that I needed to make note of and will come back to. Doreen Valiente: Witch is truly inspiring, and I recommend that anyone interested in witchcraft should read it, in addition to reading ALL of her work. Its being distributed in the US via Llewellyn, so its much easier to get a hold of now then when it first came out  so go get it!
This weekend might be the last time the Medical Cannabis Cup is held at the National Orange Show Events Center while most cannabis use is illegal in the rest of the city.

Thats part of the goal for the event, which will include a Roll to the Polls pavilion and discussions of Proposition 64, the statewide initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana.

With only 30 days left before the momentous Prop. 64 vote, High Times is bringing together our community to discuss why you need to vote, what it will mean to you, your business, your rights and your countrys future, the schedule states.

The Roll to the Polls will include a rally stage for activists, panels on legal and veterans issues, nonprofit exhibitors and the opportunity to hear from government representatives, according to the event website.

Founded by High Times magazine in 2010, the Cannabis Cup has made San Bernardino a regular stop, along with Northern California, Michigan, Colorado and Washington.

This year, it comes just as mail-in ballots are being sent to voters asking if they want to make California the largest state to allow recreational marijuana, and as local cities prepare to decide their own marijuana measures.

In San Bernardino, for instance, three measures would each replace the citys ban with a different approach to regulation.

 Measure N, submitted by San Bernardino resident Katharine Redmon, would establish a 5 percent tax on gross receipts and allow at least 20 medical marijuana dispensaries, if at least 20 apply.

 Measure O, submitted by resident Vincent Guzman, would establish an application fee of $250 and annual fees of $5 per square foot of canopy for cultivation, $5 per square foot occupied by the business for manufacturing/testing, $100 per vehicle used in transportation, $5 per square foot of dispensary and $1 per square foot of canopy for nurseries.

 Measure P, prepared by the City Attorneys Office, was intended by the City Council as a way to maintain more control over marijuana businesses if residents are inclined to allow them. Because of that, state law would allow fees equal to the cost of enforcement.

In Adelanto, residents will vote on Measure R, which would allow the city to impose up to a 5 percent tax on businesses involved in the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution/transportation, testing and dispensing of marijuana.

A town hall at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at Heritage Field in Adelanto will allow residents to ask questions about Measure R.

We feel strongly that an educated and informed voter is a smart voter, said Mayor Rich Kerr, so we want people to come and learn why the tax is being proposed and the benefits for Adelanto if it is approved.

Tony Tesla, who sells marijuana seeds for Cali Connection, said hes looking forward to the festival and to legalization.

The musical acts are always a good time there, he said. The awards are always fun, to see what products are coming out, and connecting with others in the industry.

Roll to the Polls sounds like a good idea, he said.

Were hoping its going to pass, he said. If it does, were going to hit the ground running. Itll increase our business because well have more people able to grow.

Tickets are $55 for either Saturday or Sunday, and $90 for both days.

For more information, go to www.cannabiscup.com/socal.

Contact the writer: rhagen@scng.com or @rmhagen on Twitter
Tucked away on a meandering side street in southeast Yucaipa is a small sign that reads simply, Casa Carolina.

It is in front of a large, Spanish-influenced house that was the dream house of one couple who might have been one of the most unlikely home builders in the area.

Casa Carolina was the brainchild of Emil and Caroline Schmidt, for whom the house is named. Emil Schmidt was born Jan. 13, 1889, in Konigsberg, Germany. According to research by the Yucaipa Historical Society, in the 1920s, Emil Schmidt was working in Caracas, Venezuela, for an import-export company. There, he developed a love for Spanish architecture that eventually would find its way into the house.

By the 1930s, he was in New York working as an income tax expert and government official who negotiated international contracts. By 1943, he had it with his job and auctioned off his belongings and packed himself, his wife and their young son David into a car and traveled west to Southern California. The family ended up in Yucaipa, where they built and sold a few houses.

By 1946-1947, they were ready to start construction of their house. However, building materials were still in short supply after World War II, so they scavenged stuff.

Dilapidated and torn-down buildings in the area gave Emil Schmidt many of his materials, especially the concrete blocks from which the house was built. Caroline Schmidt worked as the mason, and Emil Schmidt hauled sand and gravel from a nearby wash, mixed mortar and formed concrete. Old railroad bridge lumber from San Timoteo Canyon was used for many of the huge beams. Emil Schmidt even reused roof tiles that had been discarded by Jack Benny when he remodeled his Hollywood home.

Because the couple built the house by themselves, one way they saved on labor was to contour the home to fit the slight hillside on which it rests. As a result, several of the rooms are at different levels, adding to the uniqueness of the home.

Construction took about five years, with inspiration coming from his home in Venezuela, the Mission San Juan Capistrano and various publications related to Southwest design. Caroline Schmidt, an artist, made many of the hand-painted tiles herself and used wood from old chicken coops for the cabinetry.

By 1951, the house was completed, but that didnt mean the work was done. For the next 20 years, Caroline Schmidt continued to improve the house, painting various designs on the beams, furniture and tiles. Several of her sculptures adorned the property, too.

Emil Schmidt died in September 1961. Caroline remarried four years later. The new couple sold the house in 1971, and it underwent several use changes over the years. In 1994, David Schmidt bought his parents old home and renovated it, bringing back much of the original charm. The house remains in private hands.

If you have an idea for a future Back in the Day column about a local historic person, place or event, contact Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson at backinthedaype@gmail.com.
The automotive industry in the United States enjoyed a very healthy year in 2015, and there are indications that the current year will be just as good.

But if you run a dealership that sells Volkswagen models, especially the vehicles that run on diesel fuel, there is a very good chance that the last few months of last year and all of 2016 will more closely resemble the slow sales seen during the Great Recession than a boom time.

Thats because a little more than 12 months ago, it became a global scandal that German-owned Volkswagen had installed software devices on emissions controls that allowed the vehicles to cheat on tests of the exhaust coming from the tailpipes of its diesel engines. Volkswagen has admitted that the altered emissions data could have affected more than 11 million cars worldwide.

Gary Sherman, owner of Ontario Volkswagen, said the retail effect of the emissions scandal has created a sizable hit for his dealership since the news became public in September 2015.

Its been significant, theres no question about it, Sherman said. I havent been able to discuss raises or to hire new employees. Every day I look at ways to cut costs.

Volkswagen will end up paying billions of dollars to fix the vehicles and will pay fines to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board and others.

The company has also announced a plan to try to compensate dealers, who had no fault in the cars deficiencies but now are suffering from a serious sales slump.

In the first nine months of the year, VW sales nationally are down 12.5 percent. And, the Ontario location is down 17.8 percent.

This happened at a time when most automobile dealers across the country were enjoying robust sales. According to data compiled by automotive research group Edmunds.com, about 17.5 million new vehicles were sold nationally in 2015. Jessica Caldwell, chief analyst for Edmunds.com, said that the industry was on track to match that figure this year.

This compares with about 10.4 million vehicles sold during the worst years of the economic downturn, and Sherman said that the current drop in sales seems painfully familiar.

Other manufacturers are increasing their sales, Sherman said. Volkswagen is back to where they were in 2009.

Car lot activity plays a considerable role in the Inland Empires economy. Vehicle sales play a major part in many cities sales tax revenue. Also, almost 25,000 residents of San Bernardino and Riverside counties work at car dealerships and parts stores, according to state Employment Development Department data. During the recession about 6,000 fewer workers had those types of jobs.

The problem has been exacerbated in the Inland area because many consumers have been looking favorably at diesel engines. Sherman said diesel-powered vehicles account for about 35 percent of his dealerships sales.

Its been tough because the consumer is aware of whats going on, he said. They see us as part of Volkswagen.

Caldwell agreed that local dealers have suffered financial pain from the emissions scandal.

Its not the case that the dealers have moved on from this, Caldwell said. They have taken a hit and it hasnt gotten any better for them.

In August, Volkswagen said it would propose a settlement to compensate some 650 dealers in the United States. The formal terms of that settlement, announced Sept. 30 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, call for Volkswagen to pay the dealers a total of about $1.2 billion, with each likely to receive about $1.85 million. The money would be paid over an 18-month period.

Additionally, dealers would be allowed to sell used vehicles back to Volkswagen at roughly the same price a consumer would have paid for the cars.

A federal judge is expected to rule on this offer Oct. 18. Dealers can agree to accept the settlement, or they can opt out and sue Volkswagen individually.

Hinrich Woebcken, head of Volkswagens North American business, said in a statement released in August that the agreement was a very important step in our commitment to making things right in the United States. Our dealers are our partners and we value their ongoing loyalty and passion for the Volkswagen brand.

Dealers across the country made it clear that the carmakers actions negatively affected the retail side of the business, said Alan Brown, chairman of Volkswagens National Dealership Advisory Council. The initial reaction to the proposed settlement, Brown said, has been very positive.

I cant speak for all of them, but the ones Ive spoken with thus far have said that Volkswagen has stepped up to the plate, and in a larger way than expected, said Brown, who is a partner in two Volkswagen dealerships in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The dealers are saying theyll be in good position, better than they have been in the last 10 or 12 months.

Caldwell said the effect on dealerships operations  and the value they might place on the proposed settlement  will likely vary depending on the emphasis they had put on selling diesel vehicles and the investments they had made. Some modified their showrooms and other facets of their facilities to market those cars.

A lot of business was heavily skewed toward the diesel models, so the settlement will definitely be on a dealer-by-dealer basis, Caldwell said.

Sherman said he was happy that the court has agreed to review the settlement, although he declined to discuss his own legal options.

The settlement might help us recover, but it wont replace the value weve lost in our dealerships, he said.

Caldwell said sometimes automotive brands bounce back quickly when problems make headlines, which she said was the case when Toyota had a massive recall because of accelerator and floor mat issues in 2009 and 2010.

Theres a lot about Volkswagen thats still unresolved, and there are more questions, she said.

Contact the writer: business@pressenterprise.com
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah says persuasion and appeal to the national pride, will culminate in achieving the objectives of the made in Ghana campaign.



Though the Minister admits the 23 priority products will face competition from imported ones, he is confident an appeal to Ghanaians will increase patronage.



All the products that we have will definitely have imported ones as substitutes. But the Made In Ghana policy is primarily about persuasion, encouragement and an appeal to our national pride and sense of patriotism, he stressed.



A Consultant to the Governor, Franklyn Belnye had suggested that banning the importation of some goods as a remedy to solve the countrys forex exchange challenges may not suffice as a pragmatic solution.



According to him, Ghana risks similar reactions from other countries if such policies are not carefully applied.



But reacting to this, Dr. Spio Garbrah opined that government would not consider banning any of the imported substitutes for Ghanas top priority products in its campaign.



None of the imported products for the priority commodities are being banned; we are just asking Ghanaians to consume their own.



Government has since 2013, intensified its campaign to increase patronage of locally manufactured goods in a bid to increase production and reduce imports.



A new policy on the Made in Ghana campaign has been completed as part of efforts to push the agenda for the Made in Ghana campaign.



Speaking at the launch of the new policy, Dr. Ekow Spio Garbrah was highly optimistic Ghanaians will ultimately share in the idea for government to achieve its set targets.



America decided to flood Japanese markets with their rice but the Japanese never banned them rather expressed their disapproval by not patronizing the products from the US. I believe Ghana too can follow suit with the path that we are taking as a Ministry and campaign committee, he observed.



Top priority areas



The top priority areas for the made in Ghana campaign are; poultry products, textile and garments, cement, roofing sheets, furniture, pharmaceutical, printing, steel products, processed foods, sugar, vegetable oil and fruit juice. Other are; rice, biscuits, paint, shoes, flour, electric cables and related products, ceiling materials, tilapia, plywood and lumber, tomatoes and cosmetic products.

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.

Featured Video
There has been increased calls on Ghanas media to check the veracity of claims made by politicians especially in this election season.



The absence of the Right to Information law makes it very difficult for the media to do so; having to rely on data from think tanks and personalities whose motivations are questionable.



While we aspire to hold our politicians to a high standard, how will our men of God fare if they are fact checked?



Daniel Obinim is one of Ghanas controversial pastors; never shy of making the headlines.



In August, the self-styled bishop whipped a teenage couple in his church for having sexual intercourse that resulted in a pregnancy. This incident was shown on television network he owns causing massive outrage in the country.



He was also criticised for yelling at his wife publicly during the incident. In his response, he stressed how much he loved his wife repeatedly; but the area of interest was an analogy he used from the Bible.



If you read the Bible; in Genesis it says, Joseph had made up his mind to divorce Mary privately. But an angel of God told him not to do so because she was pregnant with the Holy Spirit



The facts



There are 66 books of the Bible; divided into Old and New Testaments. The Old has 39 books while the new has 27 books.



Joseph and Mary are not mentioned anywhere not just in the book of Genesis but the entirety of the Old Testament. The first mention of Joseph and Mary is in the book of Matthew instead in the story of the life of Christ.



There is at least 400 years of between Malachi (the last book in the Old Testament) and Matthew according to some theologians. Some also say that the Old Testament (from Genesis to Malachi) spans at least 3,000 years.



Bottom line



Joseph is indeed mentioned in the book of Genesis for his life and times in Egypt. However, this is a completely different personality; very much unrelated to the situation with Mary and Jesus life story.



The verdict



So what is the verdict when you put Obinim under the microscope? This was just a slip or he probably just does not know the Bible that well for a bishop.



Obinim is a very polarising figure in Ghana. While his thousands of followers say he is an Angel of God, many Christians in Ghana are very critical of his style. They say he does not truly the tenets of their faith and the message of the Bible which Christians are expected to live by.





Watch video below





Source: Ghanaweb









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
The First Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti region, Frederick Freduah Antoh has described the leadership of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) as day dreamers over the 1 million votes target in this year's election.



The NDC has targeted 1 million votes in the Ashanti region.



The party says they are working hard to garner their target. President John Dramani Mahama has recently expressed strong optimism that, the NDC will garner the 1 million votes in the Ashanti region, a stronghold of the NPP; considering the infrastructural projects the governing party has undertaken during its time.



But FF Antoh in an interview with sit-in-host for Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, Kwabena Agyapong said, the Mahama led administration has brought nothing but misery to the people in the region.



According to him, the NDC has achieved nothing in their term despite the resources at their disposal.



He described President Mahama as a wicked person who hates the people in the Ashanti region.



He noted that, President Mahama to make matters worse, recently insulted residents in the region indicating that, if he [President Mahama], should asphalt their roads with gold, they will still not appreciate his efforts.



FF Antoh said, the 1 million votes targeted by the NDC is a mirage, its impossible because of the untold hardship, mismanagement, incompetence and youth unemployment, energy crisis which has affected businesses. So the NDC is only dreaming, he stressed.



He questioned if the so-called achievements being touted by President Mahama in the region, could be compared to what has been done in other regions. The residents in Ashanti region have always voted for Mahama but he has failed to give them their fair share of the national cake. When he was asked if the NPP has failed to identify the achievements of the NDC in Kumasi including the Military Hospital, he said, the funding for the hospital was procured by the erstwhile Kufour administration. On the Sofo Line expansion project in the region, FF Anto posited that, the NDC administration has only planted flowers around the project and nothing more.



Defeat according to him, is starring the NDC in the face. He said, maybe those who declared the 1 million target were not in their right frame of mind when they made the declaration.



Meanwhile, Joseph Yamin the Deputy National Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), has chided his colleague politician for making such comments. According to him, the NPP in Ashanti are only engaging in radio campaigns instead of going to the grass root to campaign.



The NPP he said will be extremely shocked after the December 7 results are declared.



The NDC he stressed is working extremely hard to ensure that, they achieve their target of 1 million votes in the Ashanti region.

Source: rainbowradioonline.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
More than 870 people are reported to have died in Haiti in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, while emergency aid is just beginning to reach some of the more isolated regions devastated by the storm.

Drone footage taken after Matthew passed through shows the sheer scale of destruction.

This drone footage shows just some of the devastation caused by #HurricaneMatthew in Haiti, where at least 339 people have died in the storm pic.twitter.com/kbBl6Kfeeo  ITV News (@itvnews) October 7, 2016

The hurricane passed parallel to Floridas coast overnight, where another five people have died. Millions of residencies have also been left without power after the hurricane did considerable damage to the coastline.

.@weshchopper2 gives us a glimpse of the damage Hurricane #Matthew left behind in #CentralFlorida. pic.twitter.com/2M2XtMZVJe  WESH 2 News (@WESH) October 8, 2016

While the storm was downgraded from a Category 4 to a Category 2, the south-east coast of the US is still expecting winds of up to 177 km/h as Matthew travels north.

Currently, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina are also under states of emergency, and the National Hurricane Center reports almost 12 million people are under some kind of hurricane warning.

Its not just the intense winds that those residents need to worry about. President Barack Obama warned people in affected areas about the possibility of damaging coastal flooding, and referenced the impact of 2012s Hurricane Sandy.

The big concern at this point is storm surge. Many of you will remember Hurricane Sandy, where initially people thought this doesnt look as bad as we thought, and then suddenly you get a massive storm surge and a lot of people are severely affected.

Its expected that Savannah, Georgia, will face the worst of the storm surges. Meteorologist Michael Lowry posted a prediction that the storm surge there could even top the highest tide ever recorded in the region.

#Savannah has a very real possibility of breaking an 80+ year storm #surge record tonight w/ #Matthew. High tide at 1:22 AM ET. #gawx pic.twitter.com/xyorKSJlUT  Michael Lowry (@MichaelRLowry) October 8, 2016

Hurricane Matthew is expected to reach Savannah in several hours. Well update this story as it develops.

Source: ABC / BBC / The Guardian.

Photo: @itvnews / Twitter.
Its been a weird goddamn week.

Somehow, an honest spate of mass hysteria over evil clowns has swept the United States. That statement is true in a figurative sense, but rampant allegations of abuse perpetrated by clowns have actually spurred some kind of nascent social movement.

Professional entertainers who don the face paint are legitimately worried this newfound anti-clown fervour may end in violence. In fact, that fear is so real that Insane Clown Posse frontman Violent J has penned a think-piece for TIME on the matter.

Like we said: weird goddamn week.

In his punchy essay, Violent J (real name Joseph Bruce) immediately downplays this new clown menace, likening it to a similar series of hoaxes from his childhood.

 Way back in 1981, when me and my partner in rhyme and best friend Shaggy 2 Dope were in grade school, there were reports of so-called phantom clowns supposedly driving around in vans, harassing kids, and in some reports, wielding weapons like machetes. Despite the many reports, police could not confirm one incident of this wave of sightings and not a single phantom clown was ever arrested.

In short, he says what we kinda already knew: this whole thing has been blown way out of proportion, and yall should live without the mortal fear of some frill-necked fuckboy ruining your life.

What follows is a downright political screed that might come as a surprise to anyone unaware of the ongoing legal battle surrounding ICPs adherents, aka Juggalos.

ICYMI  and we wont judge you for missing the memo on this particularly niche subculture  the FBI actually branded Juggalos as gang members back in 2011. Thats a decision Violent J has been fighting ever since.

After savaging the keystone-cop clowns shooting unarmed citizens, to racist clowns burning down Islamic centers or clowns in the NSA spying on us through our cell phones and laptops, Violent J reminds readers the real enemies arent imaginary figures lurking in the woods  but real-life lawmakers who needlessly discriminate against a bands fans:

[Juggalos] have been targeted, profiled and blatantly discriminated on by law enforcement agencies across America Recently, there was a probation officer who was let go for being identified as a Juggalo, and her employer had no problem writing it as the reason for her severance in her termination paperwork. Others have lost their jobs, custody of their kids and been subject to illegal search and seizure.

He closes the piece with a reminder that Insane Clown Posse and its fans will march on Washington D.C. next year in an attempt to make the Department of Justice remove Juggalos from their list of gangs:

Just know that, despite these sensationalized reports about killer clowns wreaking mischief across the nation, there are real clowns out there killing ours and your very rights as an American citizen.

Pretty well-put, tbh. Someone should ask if he wants to be the Republican nominee for President, hey?

Source: TIME.

Photo: Psychopathic Records / YouTube.
Last month, the CBS documentary The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey titillated viewers with supposed new details of the infamous 1996 murder case, and became a ratings juggernaut in the process.

The documentary placed Burke Ramsey, the brother of murdered child beauty queen JonBenet, squarely back the public eye, and he is not at all happy with the intimation that he played a part in his sisters death.

Overnight, it emerged that Burke has filed a $US 150 million defamation lawsuit against pathologist Werner Spitz, who appeared in promotional interviews for the show, and flat-out accused him of being a killer.

In an interview with CBS Detroit, Spitz claimed that Burke bludgeoned his sister with a flashlight, and that subsequent interference with her body  including the duct-taping of her mouth and binding of her hands  was an attempt to cover this up.

The interview appears to have been scrubbed from the CBS Detroit website, but a transcript of Spitzs comments read:

If you really, really use your free time to think about this case, you cannot come to a different conclusion  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.

A lawsuit, filed Thursday in Michigans third circuit court, called the accusations outrageous, and said that Spitz is a publicity seeker whose comments have no place in an orderly society. The filing continued:

Defendant 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  This lawsuit is the first step to holding Spitz accountable for his wrongdoing  [he has] once again interjected himself into a high-profile case to make unsupported, false, and sensational statements and accusations.

Spitz has previously testified as a defence witness in the murder trials of O.J. Simpson, Phil Spector and Casey Anthony, and was involved in the autopsies of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

Burke Ramsays lawyer L. Lin Wood said that he has asked CBS to retract the story, and that if they do not do so before the appropriate window of time closes, he will also file a suit against them.

Source: Rolling Stone.

Photo: Dr Phil.
The concierge who was present last week during the violent robbery of Kim Kardashians Paris hotel suite has penned an open letter, defending himself and denying a role in the crime.

As the incident unfolded, a group of masked assailants allegedly handcuffed the concierge and forced him to take them to Kardashians room at gunpoint. US Weekly claim that they asked him: Where is the wife of the rapper?

Kim was held alongside the unnamed 40-year-old man for some time, and in her statement to Paris police, she said that at one point, she asked him are we gonna die?, to which he responded I dont know.

Kardashian  who was tied, held at gunpoint and robbed of millions of dollars in jewellery  told police that the concierge displayed a suspiciously calm demeanour while in the midst of the robbery.

Overnight, he responded to these claims, in a letter published in French magazine Closer. He wrote:

Dear Kim: When you feel the cold steel of a gun at your neck, it is the moment when remaining calm can mean the difference of life or death, both our lives.

He concluded his letter by telling Kim: I hope you are feeling better.

Police in France are currently seeking five men of European appearance in connection with the robbery. Kim has returned to Los Angeles to be with her family, and filming of her reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians is on indefinite hiatus.

Source: Harpers Bazaar.

Photo: Getty.
"Wonderful things happen when God is a part of our lives. I believe a deepening awareness of God's presence is one of the gifts of old age. It is His way of getting our undivided attention.! It moves you to deeper prayer and reflection. What will I say I have done with my life when I stand before God? My answer will be: I tried to be a good priest and to bring others to Christ. It might sound simple, but it's what it all comes down to."

That was the message of Monsignor Vincent Topper, the oldest and longest-serving priest in the United States, on the 80th anniversary of his ordination on May 24 in St. St. Catherine Laboure Church in Harrisburg, according to the Diocese of Harrisburg.

Monsignor Vincent Topper, the nationa's longest-serving priest, died Oct. 7 at age 104.

"We are all united to each other as children of God. Whether you are a relative or friend, religious sister, or my brother priest or deacon, I thank God that He put you in my life and made it happier because of you. I am so grateful for your prayers, love and goodness!"

Monsignor Topper died Oct. 7 at St. Catherine Laboure, the Diocese of Harrisburg said. He was 104, and the diocese said that, according to Zenit News, he may have been the longest ordained diocesan priest in the world. The Archbishop Emeritus Peter Leo Gerety of Newark, N.J., born July 19, 1912, was previously the oldest bishop in the world, according to the National Catholic Register. He died Sept. 20.

"His life was a shining example of fidelity and cooperation with God's grace in a selfless and dedicated manner," Bishop Ronald Gainer said in a news release. "He has seen and personally experienced so much in his lifetime," the bishop remarked. "Throughout the many changes in our Church and culture that he has experienced, he maintained amazing fidelity and flexibility to continue to be what Christ called him to be and to what he said yes to so many years ago, to be a priest of Jesus Christ."

Monsignor Topper had been in residence at St. Catherine Laboure since 1999 but continued to concelebrate Mass.

Road to the priesthood

Monsignor Topper was raised in St. Joseph Parish, Hanover. His mother and several of his siblings died when he was young.

"We were a tubercular family," Monsignor Topper, the third of seven children born to Vincent and Flora Topper, told the National Catholic Register earlier this year, before his 104th birthday on July 28. Indeed, two brothers, one sister and his mother all died of tuberculosis, and Vincent himself was born with the disease.

"They didn't expect me to live," he said, and he was baptized on the day of his birth. "But God had another plan."

He entered the seminarian program under Bishop Philip McDevitt at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe. He was ordained by Bishop George Leech ordained at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg on June 6, 1936.

His assignments included:

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in York (1936-1943)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Mount Carmel (1943-1948)

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Fairfield (1948-1950)

St. Joseph Parish in Milton (1950-1957)

St. Columba Parish in Bloomsburg (1957-1963)

St. Joseph Parish in York (1963-1977)

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in York, administrator, in 1979

He was named an Honorary Prelate to His Holiness Pope Paul VI and given the title of Monsignor on May 27, 1970.

"Why does anyone become a priest? Surely, the major part is God's calling. A vocation is the most personal experience of a lifetime. It is humbling! And then there is the goodness I found among the many parishioners in all the parishes I have served. The support and love of the People of God has sustained and continues to edify me. They have brought and still do bring innumerable blessings to my life," Monsignor Topper said during his 80th anniversary Mass.

Funeral arrangements

Friends may call Friday, October 14, from 4:30 to 9 p.m. at St. Catherine Laboure, 4000 Derry St., Harrisburg. There will be evening prayer service at 4:30 p.m. with Mass of Transferral at 7. The funeral will be Saturday with Mass at 10:30 in St. Catherine Laboure. Friends may call at 8:30. There will be a prayer service at 8:30. He will be interred at Annunciation Cemetery, 298 North Fifth Street, McSherrystown.
Pennsylvania answered the call Friday to assist Florida in its response to Hurricane Matthew, the massive category 2 storm that's currently battering the United States coast after killing more than 300 in Haiti.

Jeff Jumper, the state meteorologist, will be heading to Florida on Saturday to assist in the response and recovery from the storm. He expects to stay for a week.

Pennsylvania State Meteorologist Jeff Jumper

"The meteorologists down there are working round the clock for the past week preparing for this," Jumper said Friday evening. "They put the request out and I cleared my schedule."

Florida will be paying all expenses and Jumper's salary during his time outside Pennsylvania. The trip was organized via the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, or EMAC, which allows states to exchange resources to respond to disasters or other incidents that tax local resources.

The goal of that system, Jumper said, is to "get help as quickly as possible and deploy resources from across the country so you don't deplete them in any one area."

Jumper said the two states waited until the danger to Pennsylvania had cleared to send him.

The most recent National Weather Service forecasts show that the storm is expected to churn slowly northward off Georgia and South Carolina before heading out to sea. It is currently a category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph.

Pennsylvania's state meteorologist expects to remain in Florida through next Friday.

"When people think emergency management, they think about the response part," he said. "But one of the biggest things that happens is recovery. Even after the initial threat passes through the day tomorrow, as they give some of their folks a breather, there's still going to be many missions to get things back in order."
CHARLIE DENT HEADSHOT ART.jpg

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-15th, is calling on the GOP to abandon Donald Trump.

(File photo)

Rep. Charlie Dent is calling on the Republican party to abandon its presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The GOP has been backing the Trump campaign financially and managing its ground game in Pennsylvania and across the country.

Dent said the party can no longer "defend the indefensible," according to the New York Times.

"The priority for the Republican Party has to be protecting our congressional majorities," Dent said to the Times.

Trump recorded saying lewd things about women: graphic video

The Lehigh Valley Republican has been a frequent critic of Trump's, but this time he's being joined by many others in his party.

Numerous other Republicans are calling on Trump to step down in the wake of The Washington Post's bombshell report that revealed his lewd and vulgar comments on women.

House Speaker Paul Ryan uninvited Trump from a fundraising event, and Trump's running mate said he was offended and could not defend his presidential nominee's words.

Pence offended by Trump's lewd comments on women, issues statement

Some in the party have said they will write in Pence for president on Nov. 8, as down ballot races now become the priority for the GOP.

Trump told the Wall Street Journal there is "zero chance" he'll drop out of the race, and a Politico story suggested it's impossible for him to withdraw because his name is already on the ballot and early voting has begun.
WILLIAMSPORT -- The government is seeking a 25-year-term, which is tantamount to a life sentence, for the former executive director of the Boal Mansion Museum in Centre County.

Christopher Lee

Christopher G. Lee, 68, "is a monster who preys on child victims," assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith A. Taylor wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed Friday in U.S. Middle District Court.

"Twenty five years is not an outrageously high punishment given the egregious nature of the defendant's conduct," she wrote. Lee is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.

He is seeking a sentence less than the 15-year mandatory minimum for the charges of possessing, receiving and producing child pornography on which he was found guilty in March.

The probation office has concluded the advisory guideline imprisonment range for Lee would be 235 to 293 months, which his attorney Kyle W. Rude contends is excessive and unnecessary.

Taylor disagrees. "This is not a run-of-the mill offender," she wrote. "Lee is the worst of the worst and court should sentence him accordingly.

She described him as a repeat hands on contact offender who has been victimizing children for at least 10 years. She cited 2005 State College police charges that accused Lee of sexually assaulting two minors.

Those charges were resolved by Lee being accepted into the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program.

"Lee has demonstrated his inability to control his deviant urges and his sexual interests," Taylor wrote referring to a 2014 incident.

Days after State College police seized his computer and electronic equipment, he bought another computer and began again to amass his child pornography collection, she said.

"This type of irrational, dangerous behavior is a hallmark of serious pedophilia - the kind of person the court must protect children and society from in the future," Taylor argues.

A video with an August 2005 date the FBI and State College police found provides further evidence of Lee's sexual abuse of minor boys, the prosecutor claims.

Jurors found Lee took videos in 2005 and 2006 of boys then 14 and 15 years old, cropped them to focus on the genital area and included them in sexually explicit narratives.

Taylor claims Lee took these relatively innocuous images and videos and turned them into something deviant and perverted for his own sexual gratification.

During trial, jurors were shown examples of the 69,704 images of child pornography found on the computers, thumb and hard drives seized during June and October 2014.

To this day Lee maintains his innocence and has shown no remorse, Taylor wrote in pleading for a 25-year-jail sentence followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

Taylor's memorandum does address the obstruction of justice charge on which he also was found guilty.

That count was based on calls Lee made from the Columbia County Prison asking his cousin, John Thompson, to make arrangements to retrieve his cell phone from the FBI and have it wiped.

Lee, a descendant of the museum founder, was its executive director between 1966 and when he was arrested except for a five-year period.

He also served three terms as a Harris Twp. supervisor and founded the Boalsburg Village Conservancy.

Lee has been held without bail since his arrest Oct. 2, 2014, and, according to Rude, has lost 40 pounds and suffers from vertigo and a staph infection.

Lee could face a second trial on counts that were severed from the ones on which he was found guilty.

They accuse him of enticing and transporting two boys, 14 and 17, with the intent to engage in sexual activity at the museum where he lived.
Screen Shot 2016-10-07 at 10.30.53 PM.png

(Submitted photos)

LOCK HAVEN -- "We're here today because you can't control your temper," Clinton County Judge Michael F. Salisbury told a Renovo man who had admitted killing his wife on Easter Sunday in 2015.

The judge Friday then sentenced William J. Snyder to 20 years, 1 month to 42 years in prison. He fined him $5,000.

The 20 to 40 years he imposed on the third-degree murder charge was the maximum. Snyder, 36, received a consecutive 1 month to 2 years on an abuse of corpse charge.

The plea agreement would have allowed Salisbury to sentence him to as little as six years on the murder charge.

He had pleaded guilty in December to those counts and charges of tampering with evidence and making unsworn statements to law enforcement for which he received concurrent terms of probation.

"I know a price has to be paid and I accept that," Snyder said prior to being sentenced.

He admitted killing his wife Kelley Jo on April 5, 2015, putting her body in the basement in a sleeping bag and later deposing of it in Halls Run State Park next to a stream.

Her body was found following an extensive search on April 11, 2015. An autopsy determined she had been strangled.

To cover up the crime, Snyder reported her missing, prepared a $60,000 ransom note and went on television pleading for her safe return.

He told police he last had seen his wife when she left their home in the 200 block of Fourth Street about 5:45 p.m. April 5, 2015.

He claimed she took only a small wallet, bank card and money to walk a few blocks to a store to get sweet potatoes for Easter dinner. Store surveillance did not show her being in the store.

"I never meant for this to happen," said Snyder, who kept his head bowed during most of the 90-minute court proceeding.

"I never thought in a million years I would be sitting in court today," the Renovo native and Army veteran told the judge.

He blamed his conduct on post-traumatic stress disorder caused by being wounded by a mortar while deployed in Iraq. He suffers flashbacks and nightmares, he said.

He also acknowledged he has an anger management problem for which he has received counseling.

For the first time Snyder gave his version of what happened about 5:45 p.m. on April 5, 2015.

He said they argued, she threw a bottle of hair spray by his head, she punched him in the chest, they grappled and they fell to the floor with him straddling her and his hands around her neck.

"I had complete loss sense at that time," he told the judge. Several moments later when realized what happened his wife was not breathing, he said.

"I tried covering it up," he said, admitting he gave false information to police. "I did not know what to do," he said.

"I should have instantly called 911. To this day I don't know why I didn't. One lie turned into another lie I didn't know how to get out."

Snyder claimed it was relief to finally tell police the truth to police after he was arrested in a Horseheads, N.Y., motel that April 9.

Salisbury said he would not accept PTSD as an excuse because Snyder was offered tools to address it but did not accept them.

Had he lost his senses as claimed, he would have done something to help his wife when he regained them, the judge said.

Snyder claimed the day he killed his wife was their first physical altercation.

He apologized to his wife's family and to those who wasted their time and put their lives in jeopardy looking for her.

Deputy Attorney General Michele L. Kluk asked for the maximum sentence, arguing there is no defense that can justify what Snyder did.

She pointed out he initially attributed the death to a drug overdose, then abandoned the children and fled to Horseheads.

Kelly Joe was mother of three children. Snyder had adopted her oldest, Ty, now 15. The other two children are Ethan, 10, and Eden, 5.

Kelly Jo's sister, TT Bixler, called Snyder a monster and asked the judge not to show any compassion. She read a statement from Ty in which he said "my life was forever changed."

Kelley Varner, the murdered woman's mother, fought back tears as she described the emotional, physical, fiscal and psychological impact the death has had on the family.

"Our lives will never be the same," she said, "Our hearts are broken,"

"I think he should get what she got - death," said Kelly Jo's father, John Wertz. The judge cut him off when his comments toward Snyder became threatening.

Defense attorney David Lindsay said his client's actions shocked everyone who knew him.
Donald Trump

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, File)

By Dennis Roddy

It's almost impossible to process the sickening videotape in which my party's nominee for President carries on like a pig in rut, discussing as objects what the rest of us acknowledge as female humans.

Dennis Roddy (PennLive file photo)

Donald Trump's hot microphone remarks are at once an insight into male weakness and male predation, a discouraging interlude for those of us who believe in common decency, social conscience, maybe even evolution.

There is not a man out there who has not behaved awkwardly, if not disgracefully, with a woman at some moment.

Reading cues, taking hints, and appreciating boundaries are social skills that must be learned.

Sexual impulse is hardwired. We try. We fail. We grow.

At least most of us.

What is also hardwired into the male psyche - the healthy ones at least - is a capacity for shame.

If "no," or even, "excuse me," are not adequate hints, a hearty slap in the head should be enough. Trump's remarks suggest that in some people, nothing works.

Consider his own, unguarded words. He laughingly recounts his attempt at seducing the co-host of the program on which he was appearing.

He brags about his attempt, expresses chagrin at his failure, then offers a quick appraisal of the authenticity of the woman's breasts.

These comments, by the way, spring from the same lips that spoke wedding vows a few months earlier.

Special note must be made of Billy Bush, the Access Hollywood anchor who hears Trump's remarks about his colleague and laughs with the kind of jollity reserved for a seventh grade lunch table when someone tells a rape joke.

I have not watched The Today Show since 1977 and was surprised to learn it is still on the air.

The only greater surprise will be to hear, a week from now, that Billy Bush is still helping to host it.

The conflation of celebrity, political coziness, and the news industry brought us this man and this moment.

As the Access Hollywood bus pulls into the lot, Trump says one of the most grotesque things I have heard a member of my gender say in public, private, or in the depths of a vodka binge. He speaks of how fame allows him license, even to "grab them by the p***y. You can do anything."

It is language that beggars the imagination and defies processing. I played that video over and over and cringed every time.

At last, Donald Trump has achieved a level of disgust that won't wear off.

This is when Donald and Billy Bush espy soap star Arianne Zucker, resplendent in a slinky dress.

Billy Bush insists that she give "The Donald" a hug, which she does with all the gusto of someone picking up a large cactus. Billy then requests one for himself. What if she had known what these men were saying in the moments before that bus door opened?

The rest of us now know what he was saying. This is not mere braggadocio and silly refusal to be politically correct. Nor can it be written off as the "locker room talk" that I have never heard in my 60 years of visiting locker rooms.

Trump's is the language of the worst kind of privilege: a rhetoric that illuminates the intersection of wealth and celebrity - a nasty crossroad at which the less powerful may be run down, backed over, and devoured.

Dennis Roddy, of Pittsburgh, is a Republican consultant and frequent PennLive Opinion contributor.
Donald Trump in Manhieim

Thousands listen to Donald Trump speak at Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manhime, Oct. 01, 2016. James Robinson | jrobinson@pennlive.com

Both of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate candidates decried lewd comments by Donald Trump that became public Friday.

In a 2005 video released by The Washington Post, the Republican presidential nominee talked about groping women while he was being recorded on a live microphone. He also discussed his failed attempt to have sex with a married woman after his own marriage to Melania Trump

"Donald Trump has spent his entire career demeaning and degrading women," said Katie McGinty, a Democrat and former state environmental secretary, in a written statement. "Young girls and women across this nation deserve better. What further evidence do we need that Donald Trump is completely unfit to be president of the United States."

Sen. Pat Toomey aired his opinion via Twitter.

"Donald Trump's comments were outrageous and unacceptable." -PT  Pat Toomey (@PatToomey) October 8, 2016

Toomey, like many incumbent Republicans, has walked a fine line on Trump. He's criticized several of Trump's most controversial statements without renouncing him as the party's presidential candidate. So far, Toomey hasn't formally endorsed Trump, either.

At a Harrisburg appearance last month, he said Hillary Clinton was "completely unacceptable" and that having Trump in the White House would help the Republicans make progress on policy goals.

PennLive is not sharing much of the Trump exchange in print due to the explicit material. You can view the video in its entirety below. Please note that the conversation is graphic:
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
People inspect the aftermath of a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Yemeni security and medical officials say at least 45 people have been killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike that targeted a funeral hall in the capital, Sanaa. The officials say at least another 100 have been wounded in the Saturday strike. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrhman)
PHOTOS: Downtown Petoskey Halloween 2022

Check out some photos from downtown Petoskey's Halloween celebrations on Saturday.
If you've been hit by Hurricane Matthew, you're probably taking inventory of the damages. If you're not in a high-risk area, your homeowner's policy will most likely cover most of the damage caused by the hurricane's relentless gusts. Most policies cover damage from rain, wind, hail, lightning and other storm-related elements.

Even damages caused by vehicles slamming into homes (hopefully that didn't happen to yours), and vandalism and theft are usually covered, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III). So if you evacuated to a shelter and looters raided, you're likely covered.

"Hurricane Matthew's wind-caused property damage will be covered under most standard homeowner's, renter's and business insurance policies," said Michael Barry, vice president of media relations for the III.

But there are some things that might not be covered under your policy, at least not without extra coverage. Even if Mother Nature spared you, or you're a renter, it is still a good time to comb over the fine print of your insurance contract to see what might not be covered. It's likely time to update it and put aside some savings to cover the deductibles for the next blustery day. If you don't, you might be left in the lurch if you don't have enough coverage in your policy. No one wants to risk falling into debt or carrying a high balance on their credit card because of one stormy day.

1. Flood

"If a tree falls into your roof, or rips your roof off, and rain gets in your house, you're typically covered," said Nancy Kincaid, spokeswoman for the California Department of Insurance (CDI). But damage from rising water or surges typically need extra flood insurance. This is the biggest category that often gets overlooked. Hopefully you've got flood insurance from your carrier or from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). If you don't, damage from surges and rising waters to your home will likely not be covered by the average homeowner's policy unless you have additional flood insurance.

Story continues

You might have another option, however. "If someone's home or business is flooded, and they did not have a FEMA NFIP policy covering their property, they will usually have to request financial assistance directly from FEMA (individuals) or the Small Business Administration [if they are a business owner]," said Barry.

If your car was the victim of a flood, it might be covered under your automotive insurance.

"Flooded cars are covered under standard auto insurance policies so long as the driver purchased comprehensive coverage, something nearly 80% of drivers nationwide choose to buy, even though it is an optional coverage," said Barry.

2. Your Deductible

Hopefully, you've got enough savings to cover your deductible, which is usually at least several hundred dollars. In most cases, the deductibles are subtracted from the reimbursement you'll get. For windy storms, there are two kinds of wind damage deductibles: those that apply to damage specifically from hurricanes, and those that apply to any kind of wind damage, according to III. You'll need to find out how yours works, and talk with your carrier.

"In some states, policyholders have the option of paying a higher premium in return for a traditional dollar deductible. However, in high-risk coastal areas insurers may not offer this option, instead making the percentage deductible mandatory," according to the III website.

3. Expensive Items

Pricey items such as jewelry and electronics might exceed your policy limits and need a separate policy, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) website.

4. Damage Caused By Mold, Sewer, Drain Backups & Sump Overflow

You might need to buy endorsements to cover damage like these, since most homeowner's policies offer limited or no coverage for these types of events, said NAIC's website.

5. If You're a Renter

Most homeowner's policies have a gap in their coverage if the property is being used to make money, said Kincaid. So if you're renting, it's likely your personal items won't be covered under your landlord's policy, so unless you have a renter's insurance policy, you could be out of luck.

6. Damage From Sinkholes

Some sources said they are caused by heavy rains. But you'll have to prove it, since many homeowner's policies have a gap when it comes to sinkhole coverage.

7. If the Ground Shifts During the Storm & Causes Damage

In this case, engineers and possibly even seismologists will need to come to make an evaluation and determine what kind of shift it was, because things like landslides are rarely covered by insurance, said Kincaid, and earthquakes often require extra coverage. "If it's storm inundation, it's possible (that it will be covered)," said Kincaid.

8. Replacement Costs vs. Cash Value

If you have a cash-value policy, that television you bought for $500 a few years ago might now only be worth $200 due to depreciation, and that's what you'll get. If you have a replacement cost policy, they'll likely reimburse you to replace it new.

"Replacement cost is the amount it would take to replace or rebuild your home or repair damages with materials of similar kind and quality, without deducting for depreciation," according the NAIC's website. "It is important to insure your home for at least 80% of its replacement value. Actual cash value is the amount it would take to repair or replace damage to your home after depreciation."

9. Trees

This is a tricky one, and it depends on where the tree falls. "In most states, if your neighbor's tree is blown down in a storm and it comes down in your yard, it is your responsibility to remove it," said Mark Huffman at Consumer Affairs, a consumer news and advocacy organization. Even if the neighbor's tree crushes your fence, it's your responsibility to remove it, said Huffman, but if it strikes and damages a building on your property, you can file a claim.

10. Wind Damage If You're in a High Risk Area

Some areas, like those along the coast, require extra coverage for wind damage.

11. Replacing Your Mobile Home

If you own a mobile home and have a stated amount in your policy, that's the amount you'll receive if your home is destroyed, according to the III  even if the replacement homes are much more expensive. (You may want to check with mobile home dealers to make sure your value is current.)

12. Identity Theft

Thieves sometimes break into homes just to steal the information that's in your drawer, and insurance companies don't always cover the resulting problems. For this reason, it's a good idea to keep an eye on your credit after a storm for any signs of identity theft, such as a sudden drop in your score. (You can get a free snapshot of your credit report, updated every two weeks, on Credit.com.)

In the meantime, if you're you think you've been treated unfairly, you can contact your state's insurance regulator for advice. The regulator will also help you if you don't understand your policy's coverage.



More from Credit.com


Kelly Ayotte

Republicans are fleeing Donald Trump's camp in droves as a firestorm of criticism over comments he made in a leaked recording continues.

Several prominent Republican figures and politicians have announced they're withdrawing their support for the GOP presidential nominee since the recording surfaced Friday.

The 2005 recording shows Trump making vulgar comments about women. Trump, who was newly married to his wife Melania at the time, boasted of trying to sleep with a married woman and talked about being able to "grab" women "by the p---y" because "when you're a star they let you do it."

Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire withdrew her endorsement Saturday.

Ayotte, locked in a tight re-election fight, announced on Twitter on Saturday morning that she would no longer be voting for Trump and would instead write in a vote for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Trump's running mate.

"I wanted to be able to support my party's nominee, chosen by the people, because I feel strongly that we need a change in direction for our country," Ayotte said.

"However, I'm a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women," she added. "I will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton and instead will be writing in Governor Pence for president on Election Day."

This isn't the first instance of Trump endangering Ayotte's Senate race. She's up for reelection in New Hampshire, and the race is close.

During a debate earlier this week, she gave an awkward answer when asked whether she thinks Trump is a good role model for kids.

"I would tell a child to absolutely aspire, certainly, to be their best, and to be president, to seek to run for the presidency, absolutely," she said.

She later issued a statement saying she "misspoke" and that "neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton have set a good example, and I wouldn't hold up either of them as role models for my kids."

Story continues

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota also rescinded his endorsement of Trump on Saturday.

"Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately," he tweeted.

Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho also withdrew his support for Trump on Saturday. He said in a statement that Trump's "repeated actions and comments toward women have been disrespectful, profane, and demeaning." He also called for Pence to replace Trump on the Republican ticket.

Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio joined the chorus late Saturday evening, issuing a statement calling Trump's comment "offensive and wrong" and saying he could no longer support him. "I will be voting for Mike Pence for President," Portman said.

Several other Republicans had issued similar statements on Friday:

Bryan Logan and Michelle Mark contributed to this report.

NOW WATCH: Clinton opens up a massive lead against Trump, with lopsided support from a key voting demographic





More From Business Insider


(Correcting story first sent on Thursday without changes to text. Subscribers please note that the earlier text version went out with a set of pictures that have since been withdrawn. An updated set of pictures has been released.)

* Samsung says not considering management change over Note recall

* Mobile chief under pressure to show quick recovery

* Continued reports of defects undermine Samsung

* Samsung says giving Note 7 full marketing push

By Se Young Lee

SEOUL, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Heated meetings, sacrificed holidays and teams monitoring social media round-the-clock to track whether there have been any new smartphone fires: Samsung Electronics is still desperately trying to limit the damage of a record global recall announced more than a month ago.

Samsung said most of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7s have been recovered in major markets, including the United States and South Korea.

But the trouble is not over for either South Korea's largest listed company or mobile division chief Koh Dong-jin, who bowed in a public apology last month, less than a year into the job.

Samsung's hopes of finally getting ahead of the crisis took a knock on Wednesday. A replacement model began smoking inside a U.S. plane on Wednesday, the family that owns it said, prompting fresh investigations by safety regulators.

And on top of that, Samsung is being pressured by one of the world's most aggressive hedge funds, Elliott Management, to split the company and pay out $27 billion in a special dividend.

UNLUCKY TURN

Ahead of the Note 7's August launch, Koh told other executives how lucky he was: taking charge of the world's largest smartphone business just before it began to reverse two years of declining sales and market share.

Instead, he was soon weathering international aviation bans on the phone, online jokes and criticism over Samsung's handling of the process. It initially wiped almost $16 billion off the company's market value.

The crisis is worse than any other the company has faced, said one Samsung insider, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject. "It directly impacts our products, our brand, and trust with consumers," this person said.

Story continues

Samsung told Reuters in a statement it was not thinking about management or organisational changes, and is focused on the Note 7 replacement process.

Samsung insiders say that the unassuming Koh needs to get sales moving again so that the company can salvage the fourth quarter and defend market share against Apple Inc and other rivals.

"If this doesn't get fixed quickly, everybody loses," said a second Samsung source, who didn't want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, adding that as yet there was no finger-pointing at Koh or other executives.

TV ads for the Note 7 resumed in South Korea last week, with additional incentives for those buying the device in October.

"We will give Note 7 all the support we were going to give it in the first place," David Lowes, Samsung's chief marketing officer in Europe, told Reuters. "There is no backing away from it."

TOO MUCH, TOO SOON?

Some of the toughest criticism levelled at Samsung has been over its fumbling of the recall.

It warned affected users to immediately turn off their phones only after the same warning was issued by the U.S. consumer protection agency. The regulator criticised Samsung for not following proper recall procedures.

Some consumers also complained about the replacement phones, either saying they lose power too quickly or run too hot.

In China, where Samsung says its Note 7 uses safe batteries, some users claimed their phones caught fire, while it was forced to delay resuming sales in South Korea due to a slow recall progress.

Eric Schiffer, brand strategy expert and chairman of Reputation Management Consultants based in Los Angeles, said Samsung needs to woo its customers.

"They need to be very transparent. Invite customers who have been affected to the plants...let go of whoever was in charge of this debacle, and accept responsibility and show goodwill by sending new phones, giving discounts - anything to show the importance of the customer relationship," he said.

Samsung has formed a dedicated team of public relations staff to speed up decision making and contain damage, the sources inside the company said.

"We share information instantly and far more widely than usual. We try to reply more promptly," said one of them, who noted how complex it was to deal with a recall across 10 nations spread across the globe.

Samsung employees say the recall has dominated internal meetings since the Sept. 2 announcement, whether it be efforts to get the recalled phones off the streets or deal with a continued stream of claims and reports of damages or problems.

Long hours, weekends and cancelled tie off are commonplace. The long Korean thanksgiving holiday - the biggest holiday of the year - coincided with the U.S. consumer protection agency's mid-September recall of 1 million Note 7 phones.

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

Koh, 55, is a Samsung veteran with previous roles in human resources and research & development. His elevation had been a shot in the arm for the mobile business, company insiders said, as he boosted morale by delegating more responsibility to subordinates and stressing a bottom-up approach.

At a Galaxy S7 launch event in March, he confessed to sleepless nights agonising over how to rejuvenate a business battling falling profits and market share losses to Apple and others.

With signs of a recovery - first-half mobile profits grew by nearly half - Koh had started to focus more on how to ensure steady long-term profit growth, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

That all changed with reports of battery fires weeks after the Note 7 launch.

Missed sales and recall expenses could cost Samsung nearly $5 billion this year, analysts say. The risk to its brand is as yet unquantifiable.

Samsung's quarterly earnings forecast on Friday will provide an initial glimpse of the recall impact.

It has been particularly painful because many insiders thought the Note 7 could be a landmark product. Pre-orders for the 988,900 won ($895) device were stronger than expected, and the recall cost Samsung a month-long sales window before Apple launched its new iPhone.

The latest twist created by activist fund Elliott may be unwelcome to Samsung's founding Lee family, which still controls the company through a complex web of cross shareholdings.

However, for investors generally it has been a shot in the arm as Samsung shares have recovered to be well above the pre-recall levels and hit all-time highs on Thursday.

($1 = 1,105.4000 won)

(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard in FRANKFURT, Deborah Todd and Jessica Toonkel in NEW YORK and Sijia Jiang in HONG KONG; Editing by Miyoung Kim, Tony Munroe and Martin Howell)
Image: Sierra Wireless

Sierra Wireless, provider of fully integrated end-to-end solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, has announced the availability of the AirLink MG90, a high-performance LTE-Advanced vehicle networking platform designed to provide secure, always-on mobile connectivity. The MG90 builds on the success of the oMG Mobile Gateway, which is the world's most widely deployed multi-network solution for mission-critical first responder, field service, and transit applications, according to the company.

"Sierra Wireless is the market leader in volume shipments of cellular gateways and routers, with a large installed base of high-speed mobile gateways for first responders in the North American market," said Sam Lucero, Senior Principal Analyst for IoT at IHS Markit. "Platforms like the MG90, with its focus on multi-network switching capability, are addressing a key customer need for robust, highly-available connectivity technology options.*"

Today's mobile workforce needs to connect more technology in and around their vehicles than ever before, and these devices need to remain securely connected at all times, even as the vehicle moves from one coverage area to another. The MG90 provides:

The world's fastest vehicle area network to support multiple high-bandwidth applications working simultaneously

Guaranteed, "always-on" connectivity with sub-second switching of multiple simultaneous integrated WAN links, including:

o Dual-LTE-Advanced

o FirstNet Band 14 option

o Gigabit Wi-Fi WAN

o Gigabit Ethernet

o Extensions to satellite and Land Mobile Radio (LMR)

Connected vehicle awareness with built-in vehicle-ready I/O, Bluetooth and Vehicle Telemetry interface for in-depth visibility of engine health and remote monitoring of axillary devices, such as light bars, sirens and gun racks

Mobile multi-network security using the AirLink Connection Manager (ACM) to retain static IP addresses across all wide area networks without interruption, consolidating the security for all technologies connected to the vehicle area network

Advanced network management software using the AirLink Mobility Manager (AMM) for instant network insight and control, enabling centralized and remote management, monitoring and configuration, available as a hosted service or in the enterprise

"First responder, transit, and field service fleets increasingly require multiple wireless networks to ensure always-on, secure communications in the field," said Jason Krause, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Solutions for Sierra Wireless. "The AirLink MG90 platform is designed to meet the demands of fleets today and in the future, enabling more informed and better equipped mobile workforces, by providing guaranteed connectivity for mission critical applications."

The MG90's multi-networking capability is optimized for the world's most demanding wireless applications, such as in law enforcement vehicles, which host multiple systems (body worn cameras, laptops, electronic citation systems, live digital video surveillance and automated license plate recognition systems) that all need to remain securely connected as the vehicle travels.

Dep. Josh Hearen of the Brazos County (TX) Sheriff's Office, said: "Since we deployed the new AirLink MG90 in our test vehicle, we've been particularly impressed with its ability to connect to our two core networksVerizon and FirstNet Band 14at any one time. Because it switches between both networks so quickly, the transition is invisible, resulting in almost no network downtime. When connected to the MG90, our officers are able to complete all of their research, paperwork and reporting remotely from the vehicle via their laptops, increasing productivity and saving the department, and taxpayers, money and superfluous man hours."

Felix Arenas, IT Analyst for the Town of Paradise Valley in Arizona, said: "For us, the biggest benefit of the AirLink MG90 is reliabilityit just works. It provides a constant and secure connection wherever it's located. The MG90 has allowed us to connect more in-vehicle applications than ever before. All the data is secure, so our officers are able to transmit sensitive information from their vehicles."

George Barlow Brown, Communications & IT Chief for the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said: "One of the main reasons we chose the AirLink MG90 is because it's FirstNet, Band 14 deployable. When the network is turned on, we won't need to purchase new technology, saving considerable costs and time. We've also been very impressed by the MG90's performance on our current Verizon network. It's enabled us to be more informed, respond faster and be better equipped to manage an emergency."

About the AirLink MG90 LTE-A Multi-networking Platform

Together with the AirLink Connection Manager, the MG90 consolidates the security for all connected technologies in the vehicle area network, simplifying deployment and enabling the enterprise to retain management control over network access and connected mobile assets.

The MG90 integrates with the AirLink Mobility Manageran end-to-end network management solutionto enable simplified, remote and real-time insight and control of connected mobile assets and mission critical applications, and supports vehicle tracking, telemetry and asset management applications.

For more information about the MG90 and the company's solutions for the mobile IoT market, visit https://www.sierrawireless.com/products-and-solutions/routers-gateways/.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

CNNs Corey Lewandowski is claiming that Hillary Clinton has also made lewd comments about women, just like Donald Trump.

Video:

Lewandowski: For all we know, Hillary Clinton was saying "the same things" in Wall Street speeches. pic.twitter.com/kq38wmdtH0  Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) October 7, 2016

Lewandowski tried to defend his boss while also getting paid by CNN by claiming that Hillary Clinton has said the same things about women, You know, people understand that. They know Donald Trump. That is what has attracted this massive amount of people to Donald Trump through the last two years of this campaign. You know, they had the opportunity to find the politician. You know, what we dont know? And Im not trying to change the subject here. We dont have any understanding what Hillary Clinton has said in those meetings with Wall Street where she was paid for those speeches. She never released those transcripts. For all we know, same things are being said in that regard. Now I dont know if thats the case.

We can be 100% certain that Hillary Clinton did not talk about sexually assaulting women and getting away with it because she is a celebrity. She also didnt talk about big fake t*ts or grabbing women by the p*ssy.

Donald Trumps defenders are already desperately trying to create a false equivalency by claiming that Hillary Clinton does it too. She doesnt do it. No normal human being with a shred of respect for others talks the way that Trump did on that tape.

If this is the best that Republicans can come up with, they are in deeper trouble than anyone can imagine.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Trumps Republican running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence was beside himself when he heard Donald Trump bragging about sexual assault on a leaked tape.

The AP reported, Trumps 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.

Pence initially responded to the leaked tape by fleeing reporters and going into hiding.

Mike Pence doesnt exactly have the record of a feminist, or even a politician who cares about womens health at all. When Mike Pence thinks youve gone too far in your comments about women, youve really jumped the shark.

Donald Trumps non-apology apology wont make things any better either, since he basically said sorry if youre offended but this was a private conversation.

Mike Pence knows this means the death knell for his political future, because hes tied himself to a man who isnt just a horrible candidate, but is horrible human being.

Republicans have no one to blame but themselves and their willingness to excuse anything Donald Trump did and said, including his comments suggesting that Hillary Clinton might be assassinated. That was a big clue that this was not a man with whom one should tie their political fortunes.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois is calling on Donald Trump to immediately drop out of the presidential race so that the GOP can replace him with another candidate.

Sen. Kirk tweeted:

.@realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement.  Mark Kirk (@SenatorKirk) October 8, 2016

Donald Trump isnt going to drop out of the presidential race, and even if he did, his name would still appear on ballots across the country. Even if Trump did drop out, Republicans would have to ask their voters to write in the name of another candidate.

However, Trump isnt going anywhere. Donald Trump doesnt care about Mark Kirk or any of the other Republican senators who likely to lose their seats if he stays in the race. Trump doesnt believe that he did anything wrong, so he doesnt see a reason to drop out of the presidential race.

Even if Trump did do something wrong, his behavior as a candidate has made it clear that what Donald Trump wants comes before the Republican Party. In his mind, Trump is the Republican Party now.

Nice try, Sen. Kirk, but unless the RNC moves to remove Trump as their nominee, a whole lot of Republican incumbents better get used to the idea of losing on election day, because Donald Trump isnt going anywhere.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has kicked Donald Trump out of a scheduled Wisconsin Republican event and announced that the Republican presidential nominee.

Ryan said in a statement:

Paul Ryan kicks Trump out of his Wisconsin event tomorrow, not out of the party yet pic.twitter.com/kLRs9Bn7VP  Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) October 8, 2016

The Speaker of the House just gave the boot to the Republican presidential nominee, because he is too toxic to be near.

Make no mistake, Ryans actions had nothing to do with doing the right thing for women. Trumps record of sexism was well documented before Speaker Ryan ever endorsed him.

Republicans are fleeing Trump in an attempt to save their own skins. The big move by the GOP is substitute Pence for Trump, which is the equivalent of Republicans swapping the gay and woman hating half of their ticket for the woman assaulting half of the ticket. In other words, Pence for Trump isnt a big improvement.

If Speaker Ryan really wanted to earn the respect of the American people, he would take back endorsement of Trump and apologize for ever supporting him. Such a move would take courage, and if there is one thing that Paul Ryan lacks it is the courage to lead his party.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

The leaked audio tape of Donald Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women is the final straw that will take down every Republican who supported Trump.

Audio of Trump bragging about sexual assault:

The audio from a Trump appearance on Access Hollywood leaves no wiggle room for Republicans to defend their nominee.

Here are some of the quotes from Trump via The Washington Post:

At that point in the audio, Trump and Bush appear to notice Arianne Zucker, the actress who is waiting to escort them into the soap opera set.

Your girls hot as s, in the purple, says Bush, whos now a co-host of NBCs Today show.

Whoa! Trump says. Whoa!

Ive gotta use some tic tacs, just in case I start kissing her, Trump says.You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful  I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait.

And when youre a star they let you do it, Trump says. You can do anything.

Whatever you want, says another voice, apparently Bushs.

Grab them by the py, Trump says. You can do anything.

Also on the tape, Trump bragged about trying to seduce a married woman months after he had married his current wife Melania. The audio is loaded with Trump bragging in vulgar terms about how he can get away with groping and sexually assaulting women because he is rich and famous.

The Trump tape goes beyond Donald Trump and the presidential election. It speaks volumes about the Republican Party that they would allow this man to be their presidential nominee. Every single elected Republican in the United States who endorse, support, or announced that they will vote for Trump should be required to answer for their nominee.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan will be campaigning with Trump in Wisconsin tomorrow. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, not only endorsed Trump, but spoke at his Republican convention. Sen. Kelly Ayotte recently called Trump a role model for children during the New Hampshire Senate debate.

Donald Trump is a vile, vulgar, disgusting human being who views women as nothing more than objects. This much was already known, but the American people must punish the party that enabled, nominated, and supports Trump.

Republicans must be held accountable for Donald Trump.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Nevada Republican Senate candidate Rep. Joe Heck withdrew his support and called for Trump to drop out. The Republican crowd responded by booing him.

Video:

Video: Rep. Joe Heck, in close senate race in Nevada, calls on Trump to drop out as some in crowd boo him https://t.co/uHHVupSykb  Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) October 8, 2016

Heck said:

My hope is that this will not divide us and that we can unite behind principles. Republican principles. We deserve a candidate that can ask themselves at the end of the day did I live my life with honor and do I deserve to be elected President Of The United States.

I believe our only option is to formally ask Mr. Trump to step down and to allow Republicans the opportunity to elect someone who will provide us with the strong leadership so desperately needed and one that Americans deserve.

Today, I stand here disappointed in our choices for president but more committed than ever to bringing the same code of honor, decency, and respect to the US Senate.

Because he asked that Trump drop out in favor of a candidate with honor, Rep. Heck was booed. The majority of Republican voters dont want honor, decency, and respect. They want Trump.

Republican candidates, like Joe Heck, have been placed in a classic damned if they do and damned if they dont situation by Trump. The Trump supporters arent going to leave their candidate no matter what he does, and any Republican on the ballot who speaks out against Trump risks losing the base of the Republican electorate.

There was nothing brave about Hecks call for Trump to drop out. Republicans at every level view replacing Trump as their only chance of victory. If Trump stays on the ballot, the odds are that Republican candidates like Joe Heck are going to lose.

Republicans have a choice between sticking with a presidential candidate who brags about sexual assault, or breaking with him and losing the Republican base. Either way, Democrats win.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Donald Trump has lost Alaska as both US Senators in the deeply red state have called for the Republican nominee to quit the presidential race.

In a statement, Sen. Dan Sullivan said:

0



Sen. Lisa Murkowski tweeted:

I cannot and will not support Donald Trump for president. He has forfeited the right to be our partys nominee.  Lisa Murkowski (@LisaForSenate) October 8, 2016

The Alaska senators arent alone. Republicans in some reddest parts of the country, led my Mormon Republicans in Utah, have been abandoning Trump since the audio of him bragging about sexual assault was published.

What voters are witnessing is the Republican Party abandoning Donald Trump. His Republican voters are showing no signs of leaving him, but a party that hasnt lifted a finger to campaign for him is formally moving towards the door.

Losing public GOP support is one thing, but the death blow will come for Trump when he loses the financial and organizational infrastructure that the Republican Party is providing. The next step after the loss of public support is going to be a call from these same Republicans that the party stops wasting resources on Trump that could be used to save down ballot candidates.

Donald Trump has lost Alaska, but the worst is yet to come for both the GOP and their nominee.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*

There isnt much that should surprise the poor souls tasked with closely following and commenting on politics these days, but the regular cast of conservatives plagued with Obama Derangement Syndrome (ODS) came fairly close late this week. Throughout the Presidents tenure in the White House, conservative talking heads, and some Republican politicians, have come up with some truly bizarre conspiracy theories alleging that the President is involved in some nefarious acts against the American people to advance his agenda.

Besides creating conspiracies due to their ODS issue, conservatives are dependably dreaming up various schemes to demean science that doesnt fit their agenda or the dictates of their money machine the Koch brothers.

The latest conspiracy theory targeting the President is both a result of conservative Obama Derangement and science denial syndrome(s) and is exceedingly vile because they make light of hundreds of human beings deaths.

Hurricane Matthew has claimed at least 843 souls in Haiti and four in Florida as of Friday afternoon, and yet conservatives claimed it was either non-existent, a fabricated construct of the National Weather Service, or a ploy by President Obama to advance the idea that climate change is real and a clear and present danger. Republican standard bearer and serial misogynist Donald Trump didnt follow the same path he took during Hurricane Sandy and it is surprising, but the danger is far from over and Mr. Trump never fails to deliver untoward comments at the right time.

Some of Trumps conservative supporters, though, couldnt wait to wade in and proffer their theories on a devastating weather event they believe is a hoax. For example, Rush Limbaugh wasted little time pleading his Case of Fake Global Warming that now involves the Obama Administrations Case of Fake Hurricanes. As reported over at Wonkette, Limbaugh thinks the Obama Administration and liberals want the massive Hurricane Matthew to kill Americans to aid them in promoting policies to address climate change, and that they are fabricating hurricane tracking and forecasting into a potent political tool. Limbaugh said,

Ive become an expert in spotting the politics in hurricane tracking and hurricane forecasting. And by that I mean people that work at the  the National Hurricane Center is part of the National Weather Service, which is part of the Commerce Department, which is part of the Obama administration, which by definition has been tainted just like the DOJ has.

With hurricane tracking and hurricane forecasting, Ive been able to spot where I think they might be playing games because its in the interests of the left to have destructive hurricanes because then they can blame it on climate change, which they can continue desperately trying to sell.

Limbaugh adds that he thinks this particular hurricane, this deadly super storm, is probably a legitimate weather event; something over eight-hundred dead Haitians, four dead Floridians, and a million or so displaced Florida residents make hard to deny. However, Rush says no matter that the current maybe hurricane is likely legit, it is the past ten years of post-Katrina storms that have been overhyped by the Trilateral Commission Subcommittee on Climate Change. It is something that only he and his crack research team have the proof of and that no other American is privy to. According to factually brilliant Rush Limbaugh,

We had 11 years of no hurricanes11 straight years of no major hurricanes striking land in the United States, which just bores a hole right through the whole climate change argument.

Now it is relatively common knowledge that Limbaugh has, in fact, abused prescription opioids and likely affected his cognitive abilities, but opioids dont cause memory loss; at least not short-term loss. He is just a blowhard liar as verified by Politifact that debunked his statement about disproving climate change with a pants on fire rating.

Anyone with a memory knows it was less than four years ago that Hurricane Sandy struck land in the United States causing nearly immeasurable destruction in New Jersey, among other states. And, if Limbaugh had even a rudimentary understanding of the effects of the whole climate change argument he would know the devastating wildfires, historically severe droughts, unusually extreme rainfall and the resulting flooding that have decimated land in the United States all substantiate every aspect of the whole climate change argument. And those effects have increased exponentially during the 11 years Limbaugh claims there were no hurricanes.

Limbaugh wasnt alone in proposing the Administration is manipulating weather, or at least the federal agencies that warned of the impending disastrous hurricane, to advance a climate change agenda. Matt Drudge said that he was joined by Donald Trumps supporters in wondering if the government was lying about the intensity of the deadly hurricane and questioned the legitimacy of the National Hurricane Centers data. Alex Jones, another anti-Obama conservative conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter agreed with Drudge and tweeted this is exactly why they want to eradicate free speech so you cant question official global warming narrative.

It is bad enough that global warming is not any kind of narrative, but a real and present danger that is responsible for the increased severity of hurricanes without idiot conservatives making light of literally hundreds of deaths and massive destruction. It is noteworthy that the conservative conspiracy nuts were accusing the Obama Administration of hijinks after the hurricane claimed 800-plus hundred Haitians lives and before it made landfall in the United States.

It takes a special kind of vile human being to devise a conspiracy blaming the President of the United States of manipulating weather data to advance a climate change agenda, and the regularly dependable cast of suspects stepped up and fulfilled their despicable roles. What is telling is that President Obama did not utter the words climate change or global warming in any comments or orders regarding the impending damage from the hurricane and it verifies that despite his term in office is winding down, Obama Derangement Syndrome is alive and flourishing in the conservative wing nut wing of the Republican Party.
To prepare for asking her boss for a raise, a woman might want to try negotiating for a free breakfast each time she stays at a hotel.

Practicing negotiation skills such as this could help women navigate high-stakes requests at work, where they are less likely than men to request raises or promotions and are turned down more often when they do, said Megan Costello, director of Boston's Office of Women's Advancement.

She hopes to bring negotiating tips, such as asking for free breakfast or wheeling and dealing over meeting times with colleagues, to 85,000 of the city's women through a free two-hour training course on how to negotiate in the workplace.

It is just one way the city is trying to whittle away a national salary gap that leaves female workers making 80 percent of what their male counterparts earn, a gap that could take more than a century to close.

It's another way state and local governments are attempting to reduce the gap, in addition to mandates on employers and protections for workers, while a proposed Paycheck Fairness Act that would expose employers to lawsuits if they offered different salaries for comparable work for reasons other than education and experience remains stalled in Congress.

ADVERTISEMENT

"We're seeing states like California and Massachusetts and Maryland pass bills that have a lot of similarities to the Pay Check Fairness Act, and we can see states act as pilots and incubate different ideas," said Kate Nielson, a policy analyst with the American Association of University Women, or AAUW, a nonprofit that promotes education and equality for women and girls.

Massachusetts, where women earn 83 percent of what men make, a slightly narrower wage gap than the national average, passed the first state law that prohibits employers from asking for job candidates' salary history. A similar measure is expected to be introduced in the U.S. Congress.

The Massachusetts bill also requires men and women be paid equally for the same work and protects workers from retaliation for discussing how much they get paid.

Groups such as the AAUW say deciding how much to pay workers based on what they previously earned hurts women because they likely were paid unfairly in their former jobs.

But opponents of the bill argue it replicates existing state law, that it won't reduce the wage gap and that it likely will hurt small businesses.

The inability to ask about a potential worker's past compensation creates a liability concern for small businesses because potential employees might disclose their existing salary anyway, putting a company in violation of the law, according to Elizabeth Milito, a lawyer for the National Federation of Independent Business.

"I think, a lot of times, applicants are going to say, 'I'm making X amount, so that's what I need, to come and work for you,'" she said.

This type of legislation also presumes that pay differentials are caused by intentional discrimination, Milito said, and opens new avenues for lawsuits against business owners.

ADVERTISEMENT

More than any other state, New York has narrowed the wage gap. But even there, women only make 89 percent of men's earnings. No state has been able to close the gap for women completely, but Minnesota has eliminated the pay gap for women in the public sector.

The state requires its government, at the state and local level, to track salaries for all public sector workers who do comparable jobs, including teachers, and to raise wages if salaries do not match.

But researchers in Minnesota, where women on the whole make 81 percent of men's income, say closing the gap completely will be impossible until men and women are equally represented in all types of jobs.

This year, at least 36 states introduced and several passed legislation to narrow the gap.
The campaign to give workers paid time off when they're sick is picking up momentum.

A bill that would give workers for the Illinois county that includes Chicago one hour of paid sick time for each 40 hours they work was approved Wednesday. Sick leave referendums are on the November ballot in Arizona and Washington state. Proposals also are expected to be voted on next year in Duluth and Albuquerque, N.M., says Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values @ Work, an organization that advocates for paid sick leave.

Most companies do give their employees paid time off when they're sick. The Labor Department estimates, last year, 61 percent of workers in private companies got sick time averaging six to 10 days a year. But there's no federal law mandating all companies give staffers paid leave, and those businesses that don't tend to be very small, often with blue-collar workers.

The move toward paid sick leave has accelerated in the last three years as 31 states, counties and cities approved laws, according to Bravo's group. All told, 38 jurisdictions have such laws, starting with San Francisco in 2006 and now other places such as New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, Oregon and Vermont also have laws.

These measures tend to have an impact at smaller companies that are less likely than mid-size or large enterprises to offer sick leave. They generally allow workers to accrue sick time according to the number of hours they work each week. Many grant workers five days off a year.

ADVERTISEMENT

Before California enacted its law, caterer Olivia Colt had given paid leave to her salaried managers as a way to retain employees in an industry with high turnover. Now, hourly employees get sick leave as well, accruing one hour for each 30 hours they work. Colt, the owner of Salt & Honey in Berkeley, sees several benefits: She has less staff turnover, and her 20 workers take better care of their health.

"They're not coming to work in the middle of the flu and getting everyone else sick," she says.

But there's opposition to the laws. Some small business advocacy groups say mandatory paid sick leave can drive up companies' expenses  for example, if they have to hire replacement workers. Bills introduced in Congress to mandate paid sick leave have failed. President Barack Obama signed an executive order requiring companies with contracts or subcontracts with the federal government to give workers up to seven paid sick days each year. That order takes effect Jan. 1.

Very small companies with manual or industrial jobs are the most likely to not offer paid sick leave, says David Lewis, CEO of Operations Inc., a human resources provider based in Norwalk, Conn. Owners may be cash-strapped.

"A lot of these companies are incapable of offering what they view as a luxury-type of benefit," Lewis says.

Owners with staffers in different states or cities and who are required to provide sick leave in some locations may decide to give everyone the same benefit, even though that may increase expenses.

Emily LaRusch has one employee in California and 10 scattered among Florida, Texas and Arizona, which don't have sick leave laws. She used to give staffers 10 days off to be used for illness or vacation. In light of the California law, she has added three sick days for everyone.

"If this one person gets preferential treatment for sick time, vacation, I couldn't do it for that one and not for the rest of the team," says LaRusch, owner of Back Office Betties, which provides receptionist services such as remote phone answering.

ADVERTISEMENT

LaRusch says sick time raises her expenses by $4,000 a year, a lot of money for a small company. But she recognizes that by providing sick time, she's making her business more competitive in an industry not known for giving generous benefits.

Rocana, which creates systems to monitor computers and other technology, has about 60 workers in about two dozen states, including some with sick leave laws. The company gives workers unlimited vacation and sick leave  they take as many days as they need, and the company keeps track of what category each one falls into. Managers believe it's a good policy for employee relations, and it also has made it easier to comply with the varying sick leave laws, chief financial officer Steve Wietrecki says.

In places with sick leave laws, companies also must report to the government how much time staffers accrue and take. Giving staffers more time than the law mandates doesn't relieve companies of that duty. Many companies ask their payroll providers to handle the paperwork.

"It's a minor burden," Wietrecki says.
Small businesses would get more information from the government about internet security under a bill that has passed the U.S. House.

The Improving Small Business Cyber Security Act of 2016, which now goes to the Senate, calls on the Small Business Administration and Department of Homeland Security to create a strategy to increase business owners' awareness of internet attacks. They also would learn about the need to make their companies more secure from hackers, phishing attacks and other such threats. The nearly 1,000 Small Business Development Centers that provide training and counseling to small companies would become a resource for education about internet security.

Small businesses are increasingly vulnerable to such attacks, which include having bank accounts hacked, websites and computer systems invaded and data compromised or stolen. While all businesses and individuals can be targets, small companies in general are more at risk; they usually don't have technology departments or the financial resources to get some of the protections that larger businesses have.

The SBA has tips about internet security on its website, http://tinyurl.com/z8ronta. The Federal Communications Commission has information as well at www.fcc.gov/general/cybersecurity-small-business.

It's not known when the Senate will be taking up the bill, which has support from both parties. Congress is expected to be in recess for much of October, returning for what's known as the lame duck session after the Nov. 8 elections.
A Mantorville man sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for sexually assaulting a girl over a period of about two years has taken his case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Andrew Russell Severtson, 33, was sentenced June 29 to 270 months in prison, with credit for 643 days served. He was found guilty in April after a three-day trial in Olmsted County District Court, where he'd been charged in 2013 with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct-penetration with a person under 13.

Rachel Bond represented Severtson Thursday in oral arguments before a three-judge panel that traveled to Rochester to hear six appeals cases, including Severtson's.

Her client deserves a new trial, Bond told the panel, because the prosecution violated Rule 9.01, subdivision 1a. The rule says, in part, that the prosecutor is obligated to turn over to the defense any material and information "in the possession or control of members of the prosecution staff ... "

Specifically, a videotape made by the Midwest Children's Resource Center in St. Paul that contained victim interviews, documented the child's injuries and the opinion of a medical expert.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I'm not saying the prosecution intentionally hid anything," Bond said. "It wasn't (initially) clear there was a videotape that could be used."

The defense eventually requested the tape on the third and final day of the trial, asking also for a continuance of the case to allow time for attorneys to review it.

Olmsted County District Court Judge Debra Jacobson denied the request.

The refusal, Bond argued, meant there was "no defense expert to view the video. Had it been disclosed, that could've provided additional lines of cross-examination" of the prosecution's expert, allowing for a disagreement about the doctor's findings.

Not true, said James Spencer, senior assistant county attorney for Olmsted County.

"The state did disclose the existence of the video," he told the judges. "Its obligation was to disclose it, and make it available (to the defense) to view it or copy it ... On the last day of the trial, with the jury in the box, suddenly they request it. They had months and months of opportunity and they didn't ask."

"But they did ask, and they asked for a continuance," said Judge Peter Reyes, who presided over the day's hearings. "Why shouldn't they have been allowed?"

A delay like that, Spencer replied, "would have substantially disrupted the trial. (A defense expert) would have disputed the state's expert, and she'd already been released" from testifying.

ADVERTISEMENT

"The video wasn't what was important," he said. "What was important was the doctor's testimony of what she observed." The defense had her written report, Spencer said, and could have used that.

Severtson was convicted of abusing the child in Olmsted County in 2011 and 2012.

According to the criminal complaint, the reports and a video recording from the victim gave detailed descriptions of multiple incidents of sexual contact by Severtson. A video interview with the victim's mother confirmed the dates; the woman said that when the child told her about the abuse in August 2012, she reported it.

A medical report from Midwest Children's Resource Center in St. Paul indicated the child had injuries consistent with "blunt force penetrating trauma," the complaint says.

 In another area case, attorney Charles Clippert argued for a reversal in the conviction of Daniel Irlas, a Lyle man who was convicted last year by a Mower County jury and sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a stabbing the day after Christmas 2014.

One of Irlas's co-defendants  his cousin  accepted a plea agreement that carried a five-year prison term, on the condition he testify in Irlas's trial. Instead, the cousin took the stand and asserted his Fifth Amendment right on nearly all of the questions he was asked.

That, Clippert said, amounted to Irlas's trial attorney "bootstrapping in testimony from another trial," which he claimed prejudiced the outcome of the case.

Megan Burroughs, assistant county attorney with the Mower County Attorney's Office, said it was the cousin's "valid right to invoke the Fifth." Though it violated the plea agreement, the cousin had already been sentenced.

ADVERTISEMENT

"Everybody was shocked when he took the stand," Burroughs said, "but it wasn't a key piece of evidence. It was the victim's testimony that was the key piece of evidence."

"But you hit on it yourself," Reyes said. Irlas "didn't have the opportunity to cross-examine the witness  because of the Fifth  as is his right, but it also didn't go down the path that everyone expected... It had to be important."

A ruling on both cases, as well as the other four argued Thursday, will be made within 90 days.
WABASHA  A man accused of punching, stomping and kicking a woman has been sent to prison for two years, but with credit for jail time already served, will likely spend less than a year there.

Joseph Ernst Marshall, 28, of Wabasha, pleaded guilty in April to one count of third-degree assault, a felony, and one count of gross misdemeanor domestic assault. In exchange for the plea, single felony counts of second-degree assault and false imprisonment were dismissed at Thursday's sentencing.

Wabasha County District Court Judge Terrence Walters handed down concurrent sentences of 24 months in prison and 222 days in jail, with credit for 222 days already served. Marshall was also ordered to register as a predatory offender.

The case began Nov. 21, when the woman took a child to a home in Wabasha to see Marshall. He looked at her phone, the report says, and began to pace around when he saw she'd been communicating with a man. The woman got her keys to leave, but Marshall began to punch her.

He shut off the lights in the house and dragged her into the kitchen, where she ended up on the floor. Marshall kicked the woman in the head, stomped on her and continued to punch her, telling her she wasn't going to leave, court documents say.

ADVERTISEMENT

Marshall made her lie on her stomach, refused to let her get up, then put his knee in her back and pushed her head into the floor. Marshall told the woman to crawl into the living room; when he turned his back, she hit him in the head with a dish and started to run away.

Marshall caught her and dragged her to the floor by her hair, again punching her in the face. The woman was able to kick him several times in the groin; he eventually let her go.

A female relative called police; the woman went to the hospital, where an officer photographed her injuries. Her eyes were described as "swollen shut and weeping blood," the report says.
Chelsea Clinton will be in Rochester on Monday to campaign for her mom and encourage supporters to cast 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."

Details about the time and location of the event still are being finalized. The public can RSVP for the event by going to HillaryClinton.com and searching under events for Rochester.

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

Clinton and Trump are set to face off in their second debate at 8 p.m. Sunday at Washington University in St. Louis. The debate will be in a town hall format and moderated by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.
AUSTIN  After what was considered to be an indefinite halt to the city's $35 million recreation center project, it appears that Austin will indeed move forward.

The city council voted 5-1, with Council Member Michael Jordal casting the dissenting vote, during its work session to have the amended recreation center lease agreement voted on at the next full board meeting on Oct. 17.

From other news reports , the council previously was going to vote on Monday's regular board meeting, but Council Member Steve King was absent and other officials wanted a full board to vote.

"This new lease agreement provided a new way of approaching how things would move forward," said Craig Clark, city administrator. "We're optimistic (that) the council will approve it at the next council meeting and we can continue to the project toward a realization of a fabulous amenity for Austin."

Regarding the project site, the property would still be owned by the city and leased to the YMCA. Much of the lease terms that were approved in June would still be in place. Austin is responsible for maintenance and future upkeep of the public areas in the facilities while the YMCA would be responsible for its own areas.

ADVERTISEMENT

Originally, the project was stopped when Austin and the YMCA were at an impasse with the lease agreement, with the city focusing on affordable access for taxpayers, and the Y board wanting to maintain membership and budget.

The new arrangement allows the YMCA to operate their areas of the facility while Austin's financial commitment is lowered to only those specific areas  $100,000  that are free and open to the public such as the Youth Activity Center and indoor playground

The previous lease agreement stated that Austin would commit $200,000 annually for operating costs for public access areas. The city also plans to develop a scholarship program that would help modest-income Austin residents to access the recreation center, aquatic center, and gym through this provision.

Under this stipulation, the city would have the final say in how the fund would operate since the lease agreement doesn't specify.

The recreation center will be funded by $25 million pledged by The Hormel Foundation, $5 million from Hormel Foods Corp. and another additional $5 million will be raised through a community campaign, meaning that the project would start without debt.

"As we continue to improve our amenities, while keeping them affordable, presents another great reason to call Austin home," Clark said. "It's truly a transformational moment for Austin."
Goodhue County

Zumbro community cleanup on Oct. 15

ZUMBROTA  The Zumbrota fall trash and leaf cleanup will be held from 8 a.m to noon on Oct. 15, according to the city of Zumbrota.

Advanced Disposal Services will provide one-day pickup of grass and leaves to all residents in Zumbrota free of charge. Household items can be dropped off at the city maintenance garage at 311 Kennedy Drive for reduced rates including car and pickup truck tires, and appliances with and without freon.

Items that will not be taken include hazardous waste such as oil and paint cans, fluorescent bulbs, batteries and general household garbage, according to the city.

ADVERTISEMENT

Winona County

Tour part of Farm to School Month

WINONA  Winona High School will be a host site for a Farm to School tour Oct. 18.

The visit is part of "Farm to School Month." Farm to School Grant awardees, farmers and producers, distributors, the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture will be involved.

Winona is one of the schools in Minnesota to receive a grant from the MDA that helps the school purchase equipment that will enable to save more locally grown and raised foods.

Houston County

Spring Grove Fire Jam set for Oct. 22

The Spring Grove Fire Department's Relief Association will host the 2016 Fall Fire Jam Oct. 22.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Groove Station will play music at the Fest Building (110 N. Division Ave) starting at 8 p.m. There will be time for gathering with local fire departments and the community.

Fillmore County

Chatfield couple receive Century Farm honor

Scott and Heidi Hanson have been honored with the Century Farm designation from the Minnesota Farm Bureau.

The Hansons are residents of rural Chatfield. Scott Hanson's mother's family has been farming there since 1916.

Wabasha County

Woman awarded conservation scholarship

Allison Harvey of rural Lake City has received a scholarship from the Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry Scholarship Endowment Fund.

ADVERTISEMENT

Harvey is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and hopes to work for an agency like the Natural Resources Conservation Service to help farmers find the best methods for taking care of their land.

The mission of the scholarship fund is to provide financial aid to individuals committed to sustainability in agriculture and forestry, and who are from southeast Minnesota.

Dodge County

Triton plans Service Learning Day

Triton High School will hold a Service Learning Day Oct. 18 during school hours.

Triton High students will be going to Claremont, Dodge Center and West Concord to help citizens with fall cleanup. Some of the work they will do includes raking leaves, picking up branches, pulling weeds and cleaning out gutters.

Contact the high school office at 507-418-7520 for more information.
LA CRESCENT Law enforcement isn't clowning around.

With recent hysteria over creepy clowns and social media, authorities are looking to calm some of the worries people might have.

While it isn't a criminal offense to dress as a clown and stand in a public area, it is considered disorderly conduct to engage in activity that would "anger, disturb, or alarm others," including making threatening posts on social media.

La Crescent Police Chief Doug Stavenau noted that while there haven't been any confirmed clown sightings in town, he did receive one call from someone saying they had spotted a clown at Old Hickory Park.

"There wasn't really anything criminal about it," Stavenau said. "It was a quick appearance. Those types of things aren't concerning to us. What we're worried about is when people jump out of bushes and take the prank a little too far."

ADVERTISEMENT

Stavenau said that while it might be somewhat humorous and surprising how social media has driven clown hysteria, the topic has saturated conversations among younger students.

"It blows me away on what social media has done and how much of a conversation is driven," he said.

Under Minnesota state statute, disorderly conduct is considered a misdemeanor. It can be punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine of $1,000, or both. Threatening to harm someone could be considered a felony.

This goes both ways, for those dressing up as clowns, and for those who make threats about "going after" the clowns, Stavenau said.

"There's no wiggle room for that," he said. "Crimes of violence takes this to a whole new level.  Just because you're feeding a hoax doesn't give you a pass to go outside and actually make threats."

Bloomington police recently arrested a 13-year-old boy who wrote a Facebook post that "implied violence" at Valley View Middle School.

Hopkins police are pursuing charges against a 15-year-old Bloomington girl posing as a clown and made Facebook posts threatening to kill people.

After receiving several reports of clown sightings, the Houston County Sheriff's Office issued a statement on Facebook addressing the matter.

ADVERTISEMENT

"Let me point this toward those that have or may be planning to dress up as clowns with the purpose of scaring kids and adults alike," Sheriff Mark Inglett's wrote. "It's not funny, it's stupid. Parents are on edge about this type of thing. It could get you hurt, you need to change your plans."

Administrators in the La Crescent-Hokah school district administrators are considering whether the hype over clowns might warrant some type of restriction, especially as Halloween approaches. For now, it seems that clown costumes will be frowned upon.

"We're discouraging any of kind of clown dress ups," Superintendent Kevin Cardille said. "We'll keep talking about it. We'll probably continue to discourage it, but I don't know if we'll do an all-out ban."

Stavenau noted that it was important for everyone to use common sense, clown or not.

"We just want to say to exercise common sense," he said.

"If a clown is standing on the street corner for whatever reason, obviously we're going to attempt to make contact," he said.
The tragic death of 4-year-old Eric Dean in 2013 shocked Minnesotans to make changes to the state's child protection system.

Some of the bigger changes took effect statewide earlier this year, and in some cases, the results have been drastic  and some are cause for concern, according to child protection employees at Olmsted County and the state of Minnesota.

Eric's case came to light in 2014, after a series of articles published by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. At the time he was killed in 2013, Eric was living at home with his mother, despite more than a dozen reports of abuse. Pope County investigated just one of those reports and found no maltreatment.

In May 2014, Eric's mother, Amanda Peltier, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Later that year, the state jumped into action to address the glaring inadequacies of the system. In the years following, increased attention on child protection has driven a sizable increase in the volume of reports of child abuse.

ADVERTISEMENT

The state's changes also have had noticeable effects in 2015 and 2016: county child protective services are receiving more reports of abuse and, with new guidelines for screening reports, they are investigating more of those cases.

Olmsted County is seeing another effect of the changes: More children are being placed in foster care.

The county last year placed 195 children in out-of-home care. Foster care placements related to child protection cases increased 50 percent from 2014 to 2015, according to Olmsted County Jodi Wentland, director of the county's Child and Family Services Department.

The state's changes to the system have provided consistency said James Koppel, Minnesota assistant commissioner for child and family services.

Would the state's child services department be concerned if out-of-home placements for children continue to rise?

"Absolutely," Koppel said.

Following changes to the state's child protection system, Olmsted County is receiving more reports of child abuse and investigating a greater share of those reports. County staff have noticed another trend: More children are being placed in foster care.

The data period for this trend is short because the changes are so recent, but it is enough to worry staff members at both the county and state levels.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I would say that, in general, a foster care placement for a child or children is a trauma. We consider that a trauma," said James Koppel, Minnesota assistant commissioner for child and family services.

In addition to the immediate trauma of foster placements, children can experience mental health effects and negative outcomes later in life, Wentland said. Children who "age out" of foster care have higher likelihoods of incarceration and unemployment. The leading cause of homelessness among 18- to 24-year-old Minnesotans is aging out of foster care, Koppel said.

"That cannot continue," Koppel said. "We cannot let our foster care system fail the very children that we have chosen to take out of homes due to maltreatment. We cannot fail those children in our foster care system."

Out-of-home placements also are more expensive for counties and the statewide system. Spending on child protection statewide has increased 20 percent since 2014, according to a report compiled by Olmsted County. But state funding to county programs has not kept pace with changes in the system; local tax revenue has paid for about 75 percent of the spending increase, the county report said.

Olmsted County last month redirected $600,000 in funding from its Child and Family Services department budget to accommodate increased costs for out-of-home placements.

More attention

Reporting on Eric Dean's death placed intense scrutiny on the state's child protective services. Lawmakers were pressured to review which reports of child abuse were accepted for further review  "screened in"  by county child protection agencies for assessment or investigation, when law enforcement became involved in cases and whether past reports of abuse should be considered in determining responses to reports.

In 2014, Gov. Mark Dayton assembled a task force to address the issue: the Governor's Task Force on the Protection of Children .

ADVERTISEMENT

Department of Human Services Commission Lucinda Jessen chaired the task force, and Gov. Dayton appointed legislators and experts from across the state, including Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi.

The task force made 93 recommendations for changes to state law and county policies. The first was to revise Minnesota's Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act to state "child safety" as the paramount consideration for decision making.

A second significant change was to repeal a statutory provision that prevented consideration of dismissed reports when caseworkers reviewed a new report of abuse.

The task force also revised screening guidelines for child protective services, the framework for deciding which cases are reviewed and investigated. The screening guideline was reviewed by the Minnesota Legislature and became law on Jan. 1.

The most immediate effects of the screening change have been an increase in the number of reports accepted for review by county child protection agencies and the intensity of counties' responses to those reports.

County caseworkers have two paths of action available when a report of child abuse is received: Caseworkers can conduct a family assessment or a family investigation. A family assessment focuses on connecting parents and children with social services. Investigations take a forensic approach and involve law enforcement.

An investigation also results in a legal finding  or no finding  of child maltreatment.

The state's new screening requirements already have driven an increase in investigations. More than 36 percent of reports this year have resulted in investigations, Koppel said, compared to about 26 percent last year.

Of those investigations, Koppel said 47 percent of cases have resulted in a finding of child maltreatment. Many, but not all, of those cases where maltreatment was discovered led to a child being placed in a foster care situation.

The combined effect of counties taking more reports, screening in those reports and handling more reports as investigations could be contributing to the outcomes Olmsted County is experiencing  more children being placed in out-of-home care.

"We're seeing both things, so it's a compounding effect of more reports screened in and a higher percent of the reports screened in going to an investigation," Koppel said.

Olmsted County still conducts more assessments than investigations, but the balance is shifting. In 2013, the county screened in 412 cases; it conducted investigations in 77 of those cases. In the first half of this year, it has conducted 78 investigations in 269 total cases.

Child protective services statewide screened in about 19,500 reports in 2013 and 20,000 in 2014. The state saw a dramatic increase in 2015 with more than 24,000 screened-in reports, and this year is on pace to show another jump to about 26,000 screened-in reports, Koppel said.

Philosophical shift

Investigations and out-of-home placements are what child protection workers call "back-end" services  resource-intensive responses to serious issues. Front-end services aim to address serious issues before they occur by providing social, economic and health supports, Wentland said.

"There's a philosophical shift, or a philosophical pressure that's happening, at a state level around the use of out-of-home care," Wentland said.

Wentland has tried to balance the department's resources to cope with new requirements while also directing adequate funding to front-end services.

"My perspective, from an Olmsted perspective, we need to do even more work to try to slow this entry into (out of home) placement," Wentland said. "In clarifying that, children need to be safe. It's paramount. So placement decisions need to be around (keeping) children safe."

Investing in front- and back-end services is not a "one or the other" situation but a careful balance, Wentland said. The county's investments in workforce development, education and housing could have direct effects on reports of maltreatment and out-of-home placements.

"We can't do that on our own," Wentland said. "It's not going to happen in six months or a year. This is a long-term commitment for us."

Supporting prevention

The state's changes have seemed reactionary, said Olmsted County Community Services director Paul Fleissner.

"The whole system is moving toward a reaction of pulling kids (out of homes)," Fleissner said.

While the county has seen past successes in focusing on front-end services, those services are not tied to reliable funding sources. Mandated changes, such as the screening guidelines, are directly tied to funding allocated to counties.

"What I've been concerned about is we've spent more time looking at what's wrong than at what's working," Fleissner said.

Koppel said the changes at the state level have provided consistency that was lacking in the child protection system.

"I believe that we did not have consistent practices around the state on how we treated calls and how we screened calls, how we screened cases. I think there are more consistent responses now across the state," he said.

As for front-end services, the state has one prevention program, the Parent Support Outreach Program. The program has an annual statewide budget of $2 million.

"That's the part that to me we ultimately need to be focused on is preventing families from entering our child protection system that is very expensive and in which children have already received, or in many cases experienced, trauma  and in too many cases (will) experience more trauma," Koppel said.

Reaction to changes

Olmsted County's child and family services workers regularly have updated the county's decision-makers, the Board of Commissioners, said board member Sheila Kiscaden. The move toward foster placements for children is worrying, she said.

"We generally don't believe that that out-of-home placement for children is the solution," Kiscaden said.

"There's real consequences to children when you take them out of their home. You might be protecting their physical safety, but there are mental health effects," Kiscaden said.

The state's reforms made it clear  child safety is paramount, Koppel said. As counties continue to enact the 93 recommendations of the governor's task force, agencies at the state and county levels will continue to monitor another measure, in addition to safety: well being.

"(Well being) includes that a child is safe, but it's much more aspirational, which is that a child is actually developing and has assets and is headed in a much more positive direction," Koppel said.

"We want to make sure nothing bad happens to a child, but we strive for the well being."
At 51, DeArra Foster had double bypass surgery after a heart attack.

Her father had died at 57 of heart disease, but she hadn't dreamed something like that could put her, a woman, at risk.

"I was scared for a while. I thought I had a time bomb in my chest," Foster said Friday. As she moved into the recovery phase of her treatment, she was the only woman at the hospital doing cardiac rehab.

"I thought, 'What did I do to deserve being here with these old men?'" she said.

A year later, in 2002, Foster traveled to Rochester to take part in a WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic. For the first time that year, the national volunteer training organization brought together women from around the country  it also was the first time Foster realized she wasn't alone and that many other women throughout the country were struggling with the same chronic illness.

ADVERTISEMENT

The event brought the group of women together. They learned the anatomy of the heart and went through extensive public relations training, Foster said. "When we left, we thought, maybe we could even perform a bypass."

She took that training back to her community in Des Moines, Iowa, and she realized something important: "Even though I was the mother and the caregiver, if I didn't take care of myself, I couldn't take care of others. Self care is not selfish, and every woman needs to hear that."

This year is the 15th year of the symposium. Foster and other alumni, as well as the newest class of about 60 women, gathered Friday to learn about heart disease and treatment through WomenHeart. They are part of a group of more than 750 women who have received training throughout the country.

The goal is that when they return to their communities, they can start support groups to educate their communities about heart disease, said Dr. Sharonne Hayes, founder of the women's heart clinic and professor of medicine and cardiovascular disease at Mayo, which has been involved with the organization since 1999.

"That first year, I won't say we didn't know what we were doing, but it had never been done before," Hayes said. "It was very clear that it was magic, that it worked, that it was good for the women."

"I remember the first year, a bunch of women came in that perceived themselves as victims," Hayes said. "And they left gunning for bear, out to overcome the world."

Since that time, Hayes said, the curriculum and training has evolved, but the one thing that hasn't changed, she said, is that it supports women, let's them know they're not alone and gives them a new purpose in life: advocating and educating women with heart disease.

The women create support networks in their communities They get extensive training in how to be a community educator and how to establish and run monthly peer-led support groups for other women at their hospitals because heart disease can be a lonely one for women. Now, they also focus on secondary prevention, using educational modules, resource guides and videos, said Mary McGowan, CEO of WomenHeart.

ADVERTISEMENT

What we hear them say all the time, said McGowan, is "I don't want what happened to me to happen to any other woman."

"It takes women from a victim, to giving them a new purpose in life," Hayes said.
MINNEAPOLIS  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 wasn't doing anything, just walking down the street," Sanders recalled. "They thought I was in a gang, but I wasn't."

ADVERTISEMENT

After more than a dozen stops, he'd just run out of fear.

But things have changed in the past couple of weeks.

Sanders and three other young black men spent a weekend in the nation's 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 it's so much richer as a result."

Iovino, who's 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.

ADVERTISEMENT

Follow-up trip

Last year a contingent from the police department that included Iovino went to Selma, Ala., for the 50th anniversary of Selma's "Bloody Sunday" March. Iovino said the trip was a follow-up to last year's.

"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 6-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 organization's 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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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, 'It's 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 weren't really told about in history class, I don't think there are any words that can express those moments you experience going through that museum," Deidrick said.

A profound experience

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 everybody's 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."
ST. PAUL  A St. Paul man was found guilty Friday of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole in the killing of a law clerk.

Ryan Petersen, 37, was convicted after a three-day bench trial, after he waived his right to a trial by jury. He was also convicted of second-degree intentional murder and illegal possession of a firearm in connection with the April 7 shooting of Chase Passauer.

Prosecutors say Petersen shot Passauer eight times as the 23-year-old was working as a law clerk at North Star Criminal Defense in St. Paul's Cathedral Hill neighborhood. Petersen went to the office because he was upset with his attorney in unrelated case.

He admitted during trial that he shot Passauer in a fit of rage, but he said the shooting was not premeditated. Prosecutors disagreed, and said Petersen told the mother of his children that he was going to shoot his attorney and he went to the office with a gun.

Petersen didn't speak before he was sentenced Friday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ramsey County District Judge William Leary said the crime's brutality was self-evident, but no one is beyond redemption.

"When no person is beyond redemption, that includes you," the judge said to Petersen. "I hope you'll do your best to do whatever you can to make up for this unfortunate event."

Some of Passauer's family and friends were in court. His father, Christopher Passauer, wrote a victim impact statement that was read by prosecutors.

"I will never get to hear him say, 'I love you, dad' ... I will miss my son . every second of every day for the rest of my life," the statement said.

North Star Criminal Defense released a statement after the sentencing that said Passauer was a "firm believer in our criminal justice system" and would have been proud of the case's outcome.
ST. PAUL  The Mississippi River has a communication problem, and Mary deLaittre is in charge of keeping its message flowing.

"First and foremost, we have to be clear  the Mississippi is one of the three great rivers of the world," said deLaittre earlier this month, on her fourth day as manager of the city of St. Paul's "Great River Passage" initiative.

The initiative is actually a series of initiatives  250 pages of wide-ranging projects and visions for the 17 miles of river corridor in St. Paul as outlined in the Great River Passage master plan.

St. Paul's city council adopted the document in 2013.

The plan calls for making the somewhat-industrial river corridor "more natural, more urban and more connected."

ADVERTISEMENT

It covers everything from ongoing improvements to Lilydale Regional Park to a proposed "river balcony" along Kellogg Boulevard, as well as a planned environmental learning center at Watergate Marina near Crosby Farm Park. On top of outlining future projects, the document notes that the river could use better marketing to let residents and visitors know how to get to what's already there.

And the master plan now has a new leader to help do that. She knows none of this will be easy.

"I think St. Paul faces challenges, just like every single city across the country, which is public dollars have diminished for civic projects," said deLaittre, who was recently a lakefront planning consultant for the city of Wayzata.

Those dollars have dried up a bit "not only for building civic projects, but also for operations and maintenance of civic projects," she told the St. Paul Pioneer Press (http://bit.ly/2cQtj7c ) "My job is also creating a leadership structure so we can make sure this initiative goes forward and so we can engage the private sector."

That means private fundraising for public river programs and facilities. It's an approach she helped oversee with the city of Minneapolis' RiverFirst initiative, and one that is gaining ground in Wayzata, where deLaittre helped establish the Wayzata Lake Effect, five strategic steps adopted by the city to boost the lakefront.

The Wayzata plan includes new lakefront amenities such as bike paths and improved connections to existing trails, and transforming a parking lot into an urban park adjoining a parking ramp.

Her projects along the shore of Lake Minnetonka found a private funding partner in the Lake Effect Conservancy. She also served as executive director of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, where she launched the "Next Generation of Parks" initiative.

Trained in architecture and urban design, deLaittre taught for nine years at the University of Minnesota's College of Design. She worked for the Metropolitan Design Center and the Design Institute, both within the university.

ADVERTISEMENT

The stretch of Mississippi in St. Paul isn't a simple river corridor to plan. It's not even a simple corridor to describe: downtown bluffs overlooking busy traffic routes; housing, rail yards and natural forest areas that all compete, on some level, for attention. The Watergate marina, a band shell, multiple islands and a science museum all call the river home, as do barges and passenger boats.

Planning will require an almost intimidating four-way balance between recreation, residential real estate development, commercial uses and natural preservation.

"Yes, but that's complicated in a good way," deLaittre said. "Particularly downtown, these are the kinds of projects that designers live for. ... You've got a whole series of obstacles between the river and the rail yards. You've got that great tension between the natural environment and industrial archaeology, as I like to call it, and urban living."

Her next step is to identify four or five priority projects, find funding sources and craft a strategic plan to get them done.

"I don't want that to sound complicated," deLaittre said. "For Wayzata, I put together a four-page strategic plan. I should be very clear: Here in St. Paul, you already have projects going under way. It's a question of how do we pick up those projects and keep them going?"

So far, she's met with city staff related to the Ford plant in Highland Park, the proposed downtown river balcony and the Watergate marina.

"I am excited to welcome Mary to the team," said Mike Hahm, director of Parks and Recreation, in a written statement. "The Mississippi River is St. Paul's greatest environmental and economic asset and I have full confidence that she will be a great leader to continue the work to make the river more accessible for all the city's residents."
In the Wall Street Journal Andrew Ogles and Luke Hilgemann argue that Obamacares meltdown has arrived (their column is accessible via Google here. They take Tennessee as their proving ground, citing state insurance commissioner Julie Mix McPeak approving premium increases of up to 62 percent in a bid to save the exchange set up under the Affordable Care Act. I would characterize the exchange market in Tennessee as very near collapse, McPeak said.

And thats not all. Last week BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee announced it would leave three of the states largest exchange marketsNashville, Memphis and Knoxville. We have experienced losses approaching $500 million over the course of three years on ACA plans, the company said, which is unsustainable. As a result, more than 100,000 Tennesseans will be forced to seek out new coverage for 2017. All told, Ogles and Hilgemann observe, more than 60% of our states ObamaCare consumers will lose their coverage heading into 2017. When they go in search of a replacement plan, they will confront two unfortunate realities: a dearth of options and skyrocketing costs.

Well, it sounds like Minnesota to me. Obamacare is something like an unnatural disaster in Minnesota as well. Here I will simply quote Sharon M., an admirable lady who lived with us for a summer when she was a college student after we had our third daughter. Sharon moved on to graduate from college and marry her boyfriend. She and her husband support their family with a small business they have built together. This week Sharon posted this protest against what Obamacare has wrought in Minnesota on Facebook:

Before Obamacare, we paid $481 per month for decent health insurance. Just got notice that we will have to pay $1140 PER MONTH next year!!! I am not kidding and yes you read that right..thats a mortgage payment! On top of that, we will now have a $6550 deductible per person with no prescriptions covered. All of our doctors and clinics are no longer in-network and if we travel outside of the cities, there are no clinics or doctors covered! So if we are traveling and get sick or are in an accident, it will ALL be out of our own pocket! It is absolutely ridiculous!!! Even though I am not crazy about my other options, I WILL NOT VOTE FOR HILLARY..who is just carrying on what Obama started. We are just normal people working hard to run our own business.why should self-employed people be so penalized to cover all of the uninsured?!?!? We are hoping we can switch plans, but have already been told by our insurance agent that the options arent much better, uggghhh!

Sharon tells me via email that she has posted similar comments on President Obamas Facebook page: I think the American people need to realize that Obamacare is significantly affecting real middle-class entrepreneurs and things need to change.
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.

Related stories

Twitter Sale: Disney, Google Are Out of the Running (Reports)

Google Exec Confirms Plans to Bring Voice Assistant to Third-Party Home Audio Hardware

Everything Google Announced at Its October 4 Hardware Event
The State Security Service, SSS, has said that it raided the homes of some judges in various states early Saturday for alleged corruption.

State operatives carried out overnight raids on the residences of judges in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Gombe, Kano, Enugu and Sokoto.

At a press conference Saturday in Abuja, an official of the service, Abdullahi Garba, said a huge amount of money was recovered from the judges homes. The monies were found in local and foreign currencies.

Below is a full copy of the press conference:

Good afternoon gentlemen of the Press.

2. The Department of State Services (DSS) in the past few days, has embarked on series of special sting operations involving some Judges of the Supreme, Appeal and High Courts. These operations were based on allegations of corruptions and other acts of professional misconduct by a few of the suspected Judges. The Service action is in line with its core mandate, as we have been monitoring the expensive and luxurious lifestyle of some of the Judges as well as complaints from the concerned public over judgment obtained fraudulently and on the basis amounts of money paid.

3. The judges involved were invited, upon which due diligence was exhibited and their premises searched. The searches have uncovered huge raw cash of various denominations, local and foreign currencies, with real estate worth several millions of Naira and documents affirming unholy acts by these Judges. Meanwhile, some of them have made useful statements while a few have declined even with the glaring evidences that were found against them in terms of material cash, documents and property recovered pointing to their compromise.

4. In one of the States where the Service operations were conducted, credible intelligence revealed that the Judge had Two Million United States Dollars ($2,000,000 USD) stashed in his house. When he was approached for due search to be conducted, he in concert with the State Governor, mobilized thugs against the Service team. The team restrained itself in the face of unbridled provocative activities by those brought in by the Governor. Unfortunately, the Judge and Governor also engaged the tacit support of a sister security agency.

5. The Service surveillance team noticed that upon frustrating the operation, the Judge with the active support of the Governor craftily moved the money to an unknown location which the Service is currently making effort to unravel.

6. Meanwhile, large amount including foreign/local currencies have been recovered. Summaries of these include:

SUMMARY OF RECOVERED MONEY

1. NAIRA  N93,558,000.00

2. DOLLARS  $530,087

3. POUNDS  25,970

4. EURO  5,680

7. Other foreign currencies were also recovered. This were recovered from just three (3) of the judges.

8. These in addition to other banking documents, including real estate documents have been recovered. Meanwhile preparations are ongoing to arraign them in a competent court of jurisdiction in line with the laws of the nation.

9. The Service would want to clearly state that it has never invited Justice Walter NKANU ONNOGHEN for investigation, neither is he being investigated by this Service. In addition the Service would like to put it on record, that it has tremendous respect for the Judiciary and would not do anything to undermine it or its activities. The Service will also join hands with this noble institution in its fight to rid it of few corrupt Judges whose actions is undermining not only the Judiciary but the common bond of our national life.

10. Ladies and gentlemen, this current operation will be sustained and followed till sanity and sanctity is restored to the esteemed third arm of government and public confidence is regained.

11. Members of the public are also encouraged to avail the Service of any information which could assist in this drive to rid our nation of corrupt practices and tendencies.

THANK YOU.

Abdullahi GARBA,

Department of State Services,

Abuja.

8th October, 2016.
Controversial Nigerian Senator, Dino Melaye, on Thursday declined comments on the source of his wealth to afford his ostentatious lifestyle and knack for luxury cars.

On Thursday, PREMIUM TIMES reported Mr. Melaye to have acquired a 93-year-old Rolls Royce estimated at N180 million.

Mr. Melaye, a first-time senator who represents Kogi West, owns a fleet of luxury and antiquated cars worth billions of naira.

He has at least 28 of the expensive cars parked at his upmarket residence in Maitama Abuja, according to news website, Sahara Reporters.

Ive never seen that collection of exotic cars in any single persons home before, a journalist who was among several others Mr. Melaye took round his home said.

But when approached in his office in the Senate late Thursday, the lawmaker said the purchase was private to him. He attacked PREMIUM TIMES for its first report on the development Thursday morning.

The report sparked wide condemnation of the Senator.

Did you talk to me before you did your earlier report? a visibly infuriated Mr. Melaye queried. The way you got the other news go, and get another one.

I am entitled to my privacy and I should be respected.

Mr. Melaye was asked how he came by his wealth and what the car actually cost  since he disputed our estimate in the report.

In February, Mr. Melaye, who once led a nongovernmental organisation campaigning against corruption, posed in a 2015 Slingshot estimated to cost about N4.78 million.

In September, he arrived at a Senate function at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, in a Mercedes Benz 190 (1958 Model) and a Hindustan Ambassador, used for his security aides.

The Benz had a customized number plate KOGI DINO 10.

The Rolls Royce has the registration number MELAYE 2 and is believed to cost some $400,000.

A source said the car was purchased in Las Vegas, in the United States of America.

Senator Dino Melaye is very smart, he actually got the car from Las Vegas two years ago. At that time, he was busy committed with anti-graft crusade as Executive Secretary of Anti-Corruption Network (ACN) but decided to keep it in secrecy, the source said.

SOURCE OF WEALTH

If Mr. Melaye had lived only on his legitimate earnings, he may not have been able to afford the exotic cars.

Going by the remuneration approved by Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, the annual take-home (excluding estacode, Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) and some sundry allowances which they are paid as necessary), a Nigerian senator like Mr. Melaye earns 19.66 million annually.

This means Mr. Melaye would have to be in the Senate for at least 10 years, and spend no dime of his earnings to be able to afford just the Rolls Royce.

Before joining the Senate in 2015, he was in the House of Representatives for four years, 2007 to 2011, where he earned even less legitimately.

This legitimate earnings do not, however, include the illegal but hefty allowances lawmakers pay themselves such as the office running cost.

The Kogi lawmaker is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and chairman of the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory.
The lawyer representing Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, on Friday told a federal court that no government agency had come forward to claim ownership of the $15.5 million for which his client is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Gboyega Oyewole said the former first lady, Patience Jonathan, had continued to lay claim to the money, even filing a fundamental rights enforcement suit before a court.

Neither the Federal Government nor any of its agencies; neither any state nor its agencies have claimed the fund as their own or that it was stolen from them, said Mr. Oyewole.

The money, which the EFCC had since frozen in four Skye Bank accounts, was opened in the name of the companies  Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development & Investment Co. Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited.

The companies were arraigned alongside Mr. Dudafa, who served as Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to Mr. Jonathan; Amajuoyi Briggs, a former presidential aide; and Adedamola Bolodeoku, a former Skye Bank official for money laundering, stealing, forgery, and conspiracy before Justice Babs Kuewunmi of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court.

In a dramatic twist on the day of arraignment, last month, all the companies pleaded guilty to the 15-count charge.

Messrs Dudafa, Briggs, and Bolodeoku pleaded not guilty before the judge.

The judge had adjourned to September 27 for the EFCC to review the facts of the case before he would determine the fate of the companies.

But on the date, Mr. Oyewole and Tochukwu Onyiuke, counsel to Mr. Briggs, appeared in court with two separate applications, urging the court to change the plea of the four companies from guilty to not guilty.

Mr. Oyewole said there was no document before the court to prove that the four people who had pleaded guilty on behalf of the companies were authorised to take the plea, adding that they had in their statement to the EFCC stated that they were neither directors of the companies nor had anything to do with the companies.

He also said in the face of Mrs. Jonathans claim over the money, allowing the guilty plea by the four companies and convicting them of money laundering charges would amount to a gross abuse of the judicial process and an attack on the principle of fairness and justice.

Mr. Oyewole said his client was afraid that the guilty plea entered by the four companies would adversely affect him since the proceedings were joint proceedings and the first count bordered on conspiracy.

On his own part, Mr. Onyiuke challenged the jurisdiction and competence of the judge to even entertain the arraignment of the four companies in the first place.

The condition precedent to this honourable court assuming jurisdiction, to wit: authority to represent the 4th to 7th defendants by their purported representatives further to Section 477(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, was completely lacking, said Mr. Onyiuke.

He said accepting the guilty plea of the companies who admitted that they conspired with his client to launder the money would be a miscarriage of justice against his client.

But the EFCC lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, urged the court to throw out the two applications, which he described as an abuse of court processes.

He argued that it was too late for Mr. Briggs to challenge the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the charges after the defendants had already submitted themselves and had been arraigned.

He also pointed the attention of the court to the statements of accounts from Skye Bank where the $15.5 million was kept, showing that those who took the plea on the companies behalf were the authorised persons with the mandate to operate the accounts.

He said the accounts were opened pursuant to documents from the Corporate Affairs Commission where they were registered as directors in the companies.

The prima facie evidence before Your Lordship is that those who appeared before Your Lordship are the directors of the 4th to 7th defendants, said Mr. Oyedepo.

In his ruling on Friday, Justice Kuewumi dismissed the applications brought by Messrs Dudafa and Briggs, describing them as an abuse of court process.

The judge noted that Mr. Dudafa had already gone before the Court of Appeal to challenge the guilty plea entered by the four companies and, as a result, he could no longer take a decision on the issue.

Once an issue is pending in the Court of Appeal, it will be inappropriate for a lower court to pronounce anything on the same issue, Mr. Kuewunmi said.

The instant application constitutes an abuse of court process; same is hereby dismissed.

The judge adjourned till November 2, 2016 for the EFCC to open its case.
The State Security Service on Friday executed an overnight raid on the residences of senior judges across the country, recovering huge cash and documents linking the judges to exotic properties and suspected corrupt practices.

The reason for the raids are not immediately clear, but sources said the operatives stormed the residences in search of evidences linking the judges to corruption.

The judges were however not arrested.

The operation was carried out simultaneously in the capital Abuja and in Sokoto, Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu and Gombe.

Multiple sources said the clampdown began in Gombe State where the SSS moved against Justice Muazu Pindiga, who served on the elections tribunal in Rivers State.

In Abuja, official quarters of Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and John Okoro of the Supreme Court were besieged by the SSS for several hours overnight. The operation continued into early Saturday morning.

Also in the capital, the SSS stormed the homes of Nnamdi Dimgba and Adeniyi Ademola, both of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, located inside the Apo Legislative Quarters.

Both judges are neighbours on Samuel Ogbemudia street of the Apo quarters.

A source, who pleaded anonymity, said Mr. Dimgbas residence was surrounded on Friday night.

It is not clear why he was targeted but the judge recently gave a decision against the continued detention of a retired Air Commodore, Mohammed Umar.

Mr. Umar was arrested following allegations of fraud, illegal possession of firearms and abuse of trust. He was granted bail with a bond of N100 million.

Justice Dimgba had in his ruling ordered the SSS to release Mr. Umar or risk being committed by his court, the source, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, explained. The SSS failed to obey the order and continued to hold Mr. Umar.

In Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike and the police prevented the SSS from accessing the home of Justice Mohammed Liman of the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court.

The officers reportedly stormed the home of the judge at 35 Forces Avenue, Port-Harcourt, the state capital.

A statement by Mr. Wikes spokesman, Oraye Francis, said the operation was led by the Rivers State Director of SSS, Tosin Ajayi.

The operatives, rough-handled Governor Wike, pushing him around and injuring his hand, Mr. Francis said. A few of the operatives cocked their rifles and threatened to shoot the Governor.

No reason has been officially given by the SSS for Saturdays raids and the agency currently has no spokesperson.

EDITORS NOTE: THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OBTAINED BY THIS NEWSPAPER.
The State Security Service raided the homes of some senior Nigerian judges late Friday and early Saturday to gather evidence of corruption, officials have told PREMIUM TIMES.

The raids on multiple residences in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Gombe, Kano, Enugu and Sokoto, were not aimed at arresting the judges, they said.

An official said the operation was ordered after months of investigations, during which the secret police established credibly that the affected judges were involved in questionable financial dealings.

The SSS initially submitted parts of its findings to the regulatory body, the National Judicial Council.

Officials said the SSS moved in after the council merely recommended two of the judges for retirement, and not prosecution.

The council also refused to cooperate with the SSS as the agency launched wider investigations into the cases for more evidence.

The source explained that judges whose homes were raided include Adeniyi Ademola, and Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja as well as Sylvester Ngwuta and John Okoro of the Supreme Court.

In Kano, the source said the home of a high court judge, Kabiru Auta, was raided along with another residence in Enugu belonging to the Chief Judge of the state, A. I. Umezulike.

The two judges were earlier recommended for retirement recently by the NJC.

The residences of a Gombe State judge, Muazu Pindiga, as well as that of his counterpart from Sokoto state, Justice Samia, were also raided during the operation.

Our source said during the search, documents linking Mr. Ngwuta or Okoro to estates worth over N1.5 billion were recovered.

At the residence of Mr. Ademola, the SSS recovered at least $400, 000 and N39 million in cash, in addition to documents of landed properties belonging to the federal judge.

The raid at Justice Mohammed Limans residence in Port Harcourt, our sources said, was ordered to allow operatives search the house because he was believed to be in possession of $2 million.
A national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has described the federal governments withdrawal of forgery charges against presiding officers of the Senate as a welcome development.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, Mr. Tinubu said the governments decision would help the APC focus on bringing progressive change it promised Nigerians.

New legislation will be required to help pull the nation out of the economic mire, Mr. Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, said in the statement issued by his media aide, Tunde Rahman.

With these forgery charges found not to apply, it is good that they be dismissed so that the national assembly may focus on this important work ahead.

The Nigerian government of Nigeria on Thursday filed a motion to withdraw the charge of criminal conspiracy against Senate President Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

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.

The government, however, initially amended the charge to prosecute only Messrs Maikasuwa and Efeturi, but later withdrew the entire case.

Messrs Saraki and Ekweremadu had promptly issued a statement on Friday saying the decision was a vindication of their positions that they were innocent of the charges.

But Mr. Tinubu said this was no time for celebration.

While those involved may understandably feel a sense of relief or vindication, this is no time for them to celebrate or to believe all is well with the nation simply because all has turned out well for them on this matter, said Mr. Tinubu.

All is not well. Throughout the nation, the people stagger and groan under the weight of economic hardship. This government and our party must hear and respond to their plea. We must lead the way.

The former governor also said that a mind unburdened by the specter of possible legal liability is free to devote itself to the pressing matters of state.

Consequently, this action presents a unique window of opportunity for the national assembly to reset its bearings and to focus on the real issues at hand, he said.

History will not look kindly on those involved if they were to squander this fine chance, as never before, Nigerians look to the various arms of government to perform their roles so that the country can walk the path of change and renewal.

May those who are the beneficiaries of this legal outcome now rededicate yourselves to fulfilling the progressive tenets of the APC and to honoring the promises we made to the people with regard to their governance and well being.

Now that you have overcome this legal battle, you must dedicate yourselves to helping Nigeria win the greater war against poverty, despair and failure.
An attempt by the State Security Service to raid the residence of a federal judge, Mohammed Liman, in Port Harcourt early Saturday, resulted in a prolonged standoff that almost turned deadly, several officials have told PREMIUM TIMES.

The sources said the SSS clashed with the police as they tried unsuccessfully to gain access into Mr. Limans home. The SSS reportedly acted on a tip-off that the judge was in custody of $2 million cash.

The officials said at some point Governor Nyesom Wike, who arrived the scene shortly after the start of the operations, vowed that he would rather be killed than allow the SSS operatives access the judges home.

Mr. Wike later said in a statement that he would not allow such impunity take place under his watch as governor.

He is not a criminal and he is not an armed robber, he said of the judge. If the person has committed an offence, invite him. It is only when he refuses to honour the invitation that you can adopt this commando style.

Mr. Wike added: It doesnt matter what it will cost. When you talk about liberty, sacrifices must be made. We are not trying to stop an arrest. All we are saying is that things must be done decently and in line with the rule of law.

Our sources said when SSS operatives arrived at the residence of the judge at Number 35 Forces Avenue in Port Harcourt, they were prevented from gaining entry.

As agents made efforts to enter the house, Mr. Liman reportedly contacted the governor, who promptly raced to the scene.

The governor reached out to the commissioner of police, Francis Odesanya, who arrived the scene with three truckloads of police men, an official said.

When the commissioner arrived there and saw the SSS director, he did not withdraw. Instead, he sided with the governor and together they provided cover for the judge, against SSS agents, one source said.

The officials said the standoff dragged on for hours, and later, under the cover of police, a vehicle left the building. SSS said it believed the vehicle conveyed the $2 million.

As the vehicle left, SSS vehicle followed but was outmaneuvered, the source said.

By 4 a.m., over three hours after the start of the operation, SSS agents withdrew from the scene after receiving instructions to do so.

The SSS alluded to that incident in its statement late Saturday.

The service said the operation was to recover $2 million from the judges home.

In one of the States where the Service operations were conducted, credible intelligence revealed that the Judge had Two Million United States Dollars ($2,000,000 USD) stashed in his house, the SSS said while explaining its nationwide raid of senior judges homes.

When he was approached for a due search to be conducted, he in concert with the State Governor, mobilised thugs against the Service team.

The team restrained itself in the face of unbridled provocative activities by those brought in by the governor.

Unfortunately, the Judge and Governor also engaged the tacit support of a sister security agency, the SSS said.

The sources said Mr. Odesanya might have colluded with Mr. Wike to move the fund away from the house.

But both the spokesman to Mr. Wike, Oraye Franklyn, and the police spokesman in Rivers, Omoni Nnamdi, denied the allegations against their respective principals.

If we are to assume that they are right, which court authorised the arrest of the judge and why at the dead of the night? Had the judge been formally invited? Mr. Frankly said.

Mr. Nnamdi said the allegations were too dangerous to comprehend and called for caution.

We only moved in to broker peace between the governor and the SSS people and there was no way the commissioner could have done such a thing, Mr. Nnamdi said.

We need to be careful when throwing up allegations that could cause a crisis.
Nigerian bloggers are canvassing the creation of a union that could defend the interests of its members, after the arrests of several bloggers and journalists by the government.

Federal and state agents have arrested more than a dozen bloggers and journalists deemed critical by political authorities in the last three months.

The latest arrest involved a blogger, Jamil Mabai, arrested in Kaduna more than two weeks ago.

Mr. Mabais offence was posting a report critical of Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State.

A few days after the arrest, Mr. Mabai was arraigned before a Magistrate court in the state, which after adjourning the case to September 29, later said it had no jurisdiction on the matter.

Yet, the court dismissed his application for bail.

The blogger will remain at the Katsina Central Prison where he is held, till at least October 31 when the state high court is scheduled to hear a fresh application for his bail.

More bloggers have been arrested in Nigeria in the last one year. Still, many cases of arrest or harassment go unreported, says Mercy Abang, a blogger.

Ms. Abang said this is because, unlike other professionals, bloggers have no association to defend their interests.

It is an attempt to check freedom of speech in Nigeria, Ms. Abang told PREMIUM TIMES. I just think it is an attempt to break the freedom that the internet offers. And for a government that had the luxury of riding on that freedom to power, it is rather unfortunate.

Ms. Abang said bloggers should team up to defend their interests.

It is important for bloggers to come together, put their voices together and talk about it, to try and lobby even the policymakers not to turn it into a cycle where on Monday Mr. A is picked, and on Tuesday another Mr. B is picked, Ms. Abang told PREMIUM TIMES.

She expressed surprise that the development had come up under the All Progressives Congress-led administration that benefitted from the power of internet and social media.

Social media gave this government an opportunity to push the kind of conversation that would have been composed by the previous government of the PDP, she said.

And even part of the success of the election was also linked to social media. So how come you get into office now and you said these guys are now enemies, lets shut them down.

So what they are trying to tell us is that stay in your office, we will send you our statement, then you will use it. The stories the government sends are 99% lies. Are they telling us that we should consume and keep to such lies? she asked.

Another blogger, Japhet Omojuwa, who also spoke to PREMIUM TIMES, believed that a law passed by the seventh National Assembly gave room for the arrests of bloggers.

Well, the Seventh National Assembly, among the 38 bills passed in 2015 that were assented by the then President Goodluck Jonathan, actually give rooms for the authorities to make such arrests, he said.

I think one of the big moves that is being made right now is the conversation on the Internet Rights Act that has passed first reading in the current National Assembly and is recognized globally.

If it is passed into law, it might be able to scuffle this other law that allows bloggers to be picked at will by the authorities, he said

Mr. Omojuwa also called for a national professional body to represent bloggers and other internet publishers.

There are different associations of bloggers and online practitioners. I also know that organisations like Teen Nigeria that is led by Gbenga Sesan, and Enough is Enough Nigeria are working very much on things like this.

Maybe this situation calls for a big one that get to protect the interest of bloggers, the way you have the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), NUJ and others like that. Maybe this calls for something like that, he said.
A Lagos-based lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has urged the Nigerian Bar Association to boycott all the courts in the country following the State Security Services invasion of the homes and arrest of some judges.

Mr. Adegboruwa, in a statement on Saturday, described the action as full blown dictatorship now in action.

An overnight assault on senior judges across the country by the State Security Service had resulted in the arrest of a Federal High Court judge and alleged brutalisation of a sitting governor.

Attempts were also made to arrest two Supreme Court judges.

The official quarters of Walter Onoghen, who was recently recommended to President Buhari as the next Chief Justice of Nigeria, and Sylvester Ngwuta also of the Supreme Court were besieged by the SSS for several hours overnight.

It is now a case of anarchists in power, said Mr. Adegboruwa.

The clampdown on judges has been on for a long time, through agents of government in the various institutions of oppression.

We are now back to the 1984 jackboot system of intolerance, where all dissenting views and opinions must be silenced.

It is condemnable for the DSS, which is an arm of the executive, to be breathing down on the judicial arm of government, under the guise of fighting corruption, he said.

Mr. Adegboruwa said the SSS raids had cleared any doubt that the President Muhammadu Buharis anti-corruption was a hidden agenda to perpetuate the administration in office beyond 2019.

It is meant to silence the opposition and to cover the inefficiency and cluelessness of this administration, he said.

The 1999 Constitution in sections 4, 5 and 6 prescribes the system of separation of powers between the three arms of government.

But since 2015 when this government was sworn in, the executive arm under Gen Buhari has dominated and brutalized the other two arms of government. The leadership of the National Assembly is under trial and it is now the turn of the judiciary.

Mr. Adegboruwa said democracy prescribes independence of the judiciary, which allows judges an unfettered right of taking decision according to law and according to their consciences.

It is in this regard that the mindless invasion of the homes of judges by the DSS is totally condemnable, he said.

It should never happen that the executive is indirectly threatening and intimidating members of the third estate of the realm.

As judges have no voices to speak officially, I call on the Nigerian Bar Association to declare an indefinite strike so that all courts of law in Nigeria will be boycotted until there is respect for the rule of law and the Constitution, commencing from Monday, October 10, 2016, until further notice, he said.
The Shiite Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, has vowed to challenge the Kaduna State Governments decision to ban the organisation.

The Kaduna State Government had on Friday, 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 spokesperson of the movement, Ibraheem Musa, while reacting to the ban on Saturday in Kaduna, said the decision infringed on their basic right as citizen of the country.

We are not going to be intimidated into taking any violence or unlawful means.

Very soon, we shall challenge this ban through legal and peaceful means, he added.
A judicial advocacy group, Access to Justice, has condemned the midnight raids on the homes of some senior judges, describing the action as an attack on the independence of the judiciary.

Joseph Otteh, the groups Director, described the raid, which occurred late Friday and early Saturday as disgraceful and an abuse of power.

The form which the raids and arrests took is degrading, abrasive and traumatizing, said Mr. Otteh.

It is despotic for officials of one branch of government to treat those of another branch in a manner that completely lacks respect and decorum: these attacks represent an invidious and insidious threat to the independence of the Judiciary.

An overnight assault on senior judges in six states across the country by the State Security Service resulted in the alleged brutalisation of a governor.

Officials of the SSS told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday that the operation was ordered after months of investigations, during which the secret police established credibly that the affected judges were involved in questionable financial dealings.

Mr. Otteh said breaking into the judges homes, assaulting their relatives, and arresting them in the middle of the night over-reached the boundaries of how the SSS can legitimately conduct its business in a democratic government.

The SSS says the raids were part of corruption investigations, he said.

Access to Justice, and other stakeholders have often expressed concerns about corruption in Judiciary and the slow progress being made to tackle it, but this is no legitimate way to tackle corruption.

The tactics used by the SSS in these incidents are scare-mongering, and we are concerned that it may be calculated to intimidate judges who are opposed to the governments persistent disobedience of court orders.

If the government or its agencies have any suspicions against judges, the government is entitled to pursue these complaints in a procedurally fair and legitimate way.

Judges would be expected to honour any invitations from government agencies where an investigation is being done. This is the way anti-corruption agencies have treated many of those it is currently prosecuting. Why is the government denying judges this procedure?

Access to Justice called on President Muhammadu Buharis government to respect the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary and rein in the excesses of its agencies.

There is something yet more portentous about what these incidents represent: if judges can be treated in this way, what rights do ordinary citizens have?, Mr. Otteh continued.

Is this government serving notice that it will not anymore observe restraints or protocols that regulate inter-branch relationships, but will ride rough-shod over everything in its way, including the due process rights afforded by the Constitution to any and everyone?

The government must denounce the actions of the SSS, investigate this assault on the Judiciary, express its regrets and reassurances to the Judiciary and ensure that those who authorized these assaults on judges and their households are disciplined.

The government must further address concerns that its agencies may be using the investigation of corruption allegations as a means to cower judges, and cajole them into silence, or as a way to intimidate judges who question the administrations fledging respect for the rule of law and court orders.
Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River has said that he was called by God to govern Cross River to provide needed dividends of democracy to the people.

Mr. Ayade made the statement on Friday while addressing thousands of supporters who came to receive him at Margaret Ekpo International Airport in Calabar on arrival from Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the supporters besieged the airport in solidarity with Mr. Ayade ahead of the December 9 Supreme Court judgement in a case of alleged falsification of his age.

The case was instituted by Joe Agi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Mr. Agi, who contested the 2015 PDP governorship primary with Mr. Ayade, had challenged the eligibility of the governor to contest the primary.

Mr. Ayade told his supporters at the airport that since power comes from God, he was called by God to govern the state at this particular time.

He said: I was preparing to run election for the senate when God called me and said I should come and be governor. I am a servant of God and I urge you all to put me in prayers.

God shall not forsake us at this point; His miracle will prevail at the appointed time. When the righteous people are ruling, God will take control.

God has the final say in this case. You can have the capacity to manipulate man, but you cannot manipulate God.

I came into this office as governor under the inspiration of God.

Today, we are before the court of man to decide the faith and destiny of Cross River people. God shall take control and establish himself.

Truly, in the name of God, I am totally innocent. If I come before the court of man, I come with supplication for clemency from God, he said.

The governor said that his administration had not failed in paying salaries of civil servants in the state and urged the people to continue to support his administration.

I dedicate today to God that if I truly came to serve the people, He will surely see us through. If the worst happens, then it is Gods will.

We have no capacity to appeal at this level. We are now appealing to God that knows our hearts in this case in question, Mr. Ayade said.

George Ekpungu, the state Commissioner for New Cities Development, told NAN in an interview at the airport that the people of the state would resist any attempt to remove Mr. Ayade from his seat.

Mr. Ekpungu said that the people of the state voted massively for him, hence they entrusted him with their mandate. (NAN)
Governor Nyesom Wike has explained why he intervened early Saturday as the State Security Services laid siege on the home of a federal judge in Port Harcourt.

Operatives of the SSS launched an overnight assault on the residences of senior judges across the country between Friday and Saturday in search of evidence linking the judges to corruption.

Multiple sources said the clampdown began in Gombe State where the SSS arrested Muazu Pindiga who served on the elections tribunal in Rivers State.

The operation continued in Abuja on Friday night into early Saturday morning.

Mr. Wike arrived as the operation to arrest Justice Mohammed Liman, residing at Number 35 Forces Avenue in Port Harcourt, began, the governors spokesperson, Simeon Nwakaudu, said in a statement.

Mr. Wike was quoted as telling journalists that he would not allow the SSS and other security agencies perpetrate needless impunity in the state.

He said if the security agencies had a lawful directive to implement, they must follow due process.

Not under my watch will I allow this kind of impunity to take place, the governor was quoted as saying. That is why we are here. I dont know which judge they were detailed to abduct. I didnt bother myself to know which judge. All I am interested in is that, at this level, it is not allowed.

He is not a criminal and he is not an armed robber. If the person has committed an offence, invite him. It is only when he refuses to honour the invitation that you can adopt this commando style.

Mr. Wike said he had been threatened by armed agents who wanted to attack him.

The Commissioner of Police is here, the Director of DSS is here. Their operatives cocked their guns and threatened to shoot me. I have never seen that before. Again, this is to tell you what we are facing. We know that more will come. For us in this state, we shall continue to resist it, he said.

Mr. Wike added: It doesnt matter what it will cost. When you talk about liberty, sacrifices must be made. We are not trying to stop an arrest. All we are saying is that things must be done decently and in line with the rule of law.

Rivers State is under siege. For you to see a governor out at this time of the day, something is wrong. A siege is an understatement. If this type of thing happens next time, the people will resist it to the last.
An 18-member disciplinary committee has been set up in Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area to monitor and punish any herdsman found disturbing the peace.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee was set up after a meeting between leaders of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACABA) and Eggon Cultural and Development Association (ECDA), on Saturday in Nasarawa Eggon, Nasarawa State.

The ECDA is also expected to set up similar committee to identify and monitor trouble makers in the community, and take appropriate action to preserve the peace.

The meeting identified alcoholism and intake of hard drugs among youth as the major cause of clashes between farmers and herdsmen, and between communities in the area.

The meeting, therefore, called on the state government to ban the sale of hard drugs and close down any outlet engaged in the practice.

In their separate speeches, the state chairman of MACABA, Muhammad Hussaini, and the ECDA President, James Manza, restated their commitment to jointly preach peace to their members.

They agreed that peaceful co-existence between farmers and the herdsmen was necessary in boosting agricultural production and socio economic development.

The two leaders, therefore, urged their members to live peacefully with one another and report anyone engaged in acts that would compromise the peace and stability of the community.

They said that, henceforth, any breaches recorded should be promptly reported to security agencies, traditional and community leaders as well as leadership of the associations, for amicable settlement.

Earlier, Akolo Success-Ahmed, the Chairman, Interim Management Committee of the local government, urged farmers and herdsmen to embrace dialogue in settling their differences.

As a politician and a stakeholder, my role is to preach peace, unity and to advise my subjects and others Nigerians to live in peace and tolerate one another irrespective of ethnic, religion and political affiliation for the overall development of the country.

Because no nation or society can develop in an atmosphere of rancour and confusion.

The security challenges facing some parts of the country had affected our lives and socio-economic development of the country negatively.

It is in view of this, I want to call on all of us, especially the farmers and herdsmen, not to take the law in to their hand but to embrace dialogue and report their grievances to the appropriate authority in order to fast track development in the state and the country at large.

Violence can only do more harm than good to a society, hence the need for Nigerians especially the farmers and herdsmen to see dialogue as the best conflict resolution mechanism, so as to boost food production and achieve speedy development in the society.(NAN)
Its fall in South Jersey, which means the rush of tourism has quieted, leaves are changing color and the couch potato ways of winter are about to set in. One way to stop premature hibernation is to get outside while the weather is still mild and experience South Jersey walking tours.

Shore towns offer a variety of guided historic tours that take you through their rich history. Pick up the pace with Diane Stopyra and Kashi Davis in Cape May for a running tour through the resorts Victorian center. Still not thrilling enough? Try taking a stroll through some of South Jerseys most haunted hangouts, where some Victorian shore visitors are said to never have left.

Atlantic County

Atlantic City Boardwalk tour

Start your morning with A1 Tours as your guide takes you back to the time of prohibition and Nucky Johnsons reign as city boss. Just dont let the gulls snag your saltwater taffy.

The tour spans a century along the first boardwalk in the United States. The tour includes points of interest, such as the spot where Mr. Peanut held court from the 1930s to the 1970s and the site of the former Traymore Hotel, described as the Taj Mahal in the 1920s, long before Donald Trump built a casino resort of that name. The tour also recounts some of the biggest hurricanes to hit the city and the devastation they caused, shaping the Boardwalk we see today.

If you go: Tickets are $38.95, $19.95 with a $20 Resorts Casino Hotel meal voucher. Tours run 9 a.m. daily when there are enough participants. Visit atlanticcitynj.com for more information.

Trump Gambling Heritage Walk

Take a walk through Donald Trumps controversial career in Atlantic City in a tour fit for this years heated election. Jersey Shore Tours guides guests from the soon-to-close Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort to the already shuttered former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.

If you go: 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Saturday through Election Day, Nov. 8. Visit jerseyshoretours.com for tickets.

Cumberland County

Bridgeton Historic Houses Walking Tour

Step back into pre-Revolutionary times in Bridgeton after picking up a complimentary walking tour map downtown. Potters Tavern has been standing since 1775. It was popular in its earliest days because of its proximity to the Cumberland County Courthouse.

If you go: For more information, visit co.cumberland.nj.us/bridgetonhouseswalkingtour

Cape May

Cape May Historic Walking Tour

Get an up-close look at the Emlen and be transported back to 1879. The estate is just one of the Victorian buildings you will see among the bed-and-breakfasts, churches and hotels throughout downtown Cape May. These tours last about an hour.

If you go: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sunday Tickets: $10, $7. Visit capemaymac.org for more information.

Cape May Running Tour

Join the RunCape team, Diane and Kashi, to experience the history of Cape May at a brisker pace. The pair promises that people of any ability can keep up and that theyll include some of the grittier details of Cape Mays history that may not be provided elsewhere.

Runners have the choice of a Cape May City or Cape May Point tour. Try a morning tour on Saturdays and Sundays or take in the sunset Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

If you go: Visit runcape.net to search the location and dates available through October. Tickets: $25 plus tax.

Haunted tours

Elaines Ghost Tours, Cape May

Head down the dark, cobblestone streets of Victorian Cape May in the evening to learn about superstitions, past residents who just dont want to cross over to the other side and all of the chilling folklore that surrounds the city.

If you go: Ghost tours are conducted nightly in season. Visit elainescapemay.com to reserve your spot. Tickets: $10, $5.

Ghost Tour of Ocean City

This tour through the historic town center is done by candlelight. Tales of shadows on the beach and the Jersey Devil might make you look over your shoulder on this dark, 90-minute tour.

If you go: Tour groups meet at 9th Street and Asbury Avenue outside City Hall. Visit ghosttour.com for more information. Tickets: $15, $10.
Clinton Energy 4x3

Solving America's energy problems, like reducing dependence on foreign oil and moving the country to a lower-carbon economy, will be a major election issue and a top priority for the next president.

Hillary Clinton's energy plan is thoughtful and detailed, to the level of addressing funding sources. Her campaign has placed a priority on investing in and incentivizing renewable-energy technology to help create jobs and transition the US to a lower-carbon economy.

She mentioned boosting domestic solar power production  which is an increasingly profitable market  as a priority for her campaign, in the first debate in September.

Here's where Clinton stands.

Clinton_Energy

Renewable energy

Clean technology  solar, wind, and hydroelectric  is a rapidly growing sector of the US economy.

Clinton's campaign has the stated goal of generating half of the US's electricity from renewable resources by the end of her first term. Her campaign has specific strategies for accomplishing this, including launching a $60 billion Clean Energy Challenge to partner with local municipalities to cut carbon pollution and expand clean-energy technology to lower-income families.

Clinton also wants to cut oil and gas subsidies and invest in clean-energy research, specifically installing a half-billion solar panels by the end of her first term, according to Science Debate.

oil rig

Oil drilling

Oil drilling is an efficient yet highly destructive and invasive process for obtaining fossil fuel.

In March, the Obama administration announced that it would not open new oil reserves near the southeastern Atlantic coast for drilling. Obama, however, did free up three massive reserves on sensitive habitat in Alaska earlier this year, though environmental activists say the land should never be drilled.

Story continues

Clinton opposes Arctic drilling and has expressed skepticism for oil production off the southeastern Atlantic coast, according to CFR.

Some experts say that closing the southeastern Atlantic to oil drilling is a smart move.

Installing wind power off of the southeastern Atlantic coast could produce more jobs and more energy over the next two decades than drilling for oil, according to a study from Oceana, a conservation-focused environmental nonprofit.

water fracking oil well drilling

Hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking'

Fracking is a method of injecting liquid deep into the earth's crust to release previously inaccessible natural-gas reserves. Fracking has helped the US significantly increase domestic fuel production, and it's a popular method anywhere there's shale, like North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma.

Fracking has also come under intense scrutiny for its environmental impact. It has been shown to contaminate groundwater  used for drinking  in Wyoming, and there have been multiple reports all over the US of similar issues. Wastewater disposal from fracking, which is injected deep into the ground, has also been linked to earthquakes in Texas.

Clinton's campaign has expressed that domestically produced natural gas can play an "important role in the transition to a clean energy economy." Her campaign also said that they'll focus on creating new standards and safeguards to make fracking safer and less environmentally destructive.

Keystone

Keystone XL pipeline

The Keystone XL pipeline is a proposed $8 billion oil pipeline that would bring crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf coast of Texas, reports The New York Times. It was the subject of massive protests over the past few years and was ultimately vetoed by the Obama Administration.

Most of the oil produced in Alberta's oil sands  a process with notorious environmental repercussions  is bought by American companies.

The Clinton campaign opposes construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, saying that the project, "distracts from U.S. efforts to combat climate change," according to CFR. Clinton echoed Obama's comments regarding the pipeline, when he said in a 2015 statement that the pipeline "has occupied what I, frankly, consider an over-inflated role in our political discourse."

The pipeline, according to Obama, would not lower gas prices for American consumers, nor would it make any "meaningful, long-term contributions," to the US economy. The Obama Administration rejected Trans Canada's application last year.

Clinton has remained silent on the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been the subject of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe on the border of North and South Dakota in recent weeks. The pipeline could pose a threat to the local environment and water resources.

coal miner

Coal power

Coal is one the cheapest and most polluting fuel sources. Coal production has fallen over the past decade, and it's critical to the economies of many Appalachian and Rust belt states.

Coal power is the US's top source of carbon dioxide  a primary cause of global warming  in the air, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

Clinton's campaign announced a $30 billion initiative to invest in the "economic diversification" of former coal-mining towns. Clinton's plan, while supporting long-term healthcare for retired coal miners, will also focus on redeveloping former coal-mine sites for different uses. She'll finance her plan using "unappropriated" resources from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund.

Steam and other emissions are seen coming from a power station in Wollongong, some 89 km (55 miles) south of Sydney November 17, 2009. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz

Emissions

Reducing harmful emissions from power generation is one of the key tenets of the Paris climate accords, an international agreement ratified by over 60 countries.

Clinton's campaign called for reducing gas emissions based on the terms set by the Paris agreement by up to 30% by 2025, relative to 2005 levels, and to "put the country on a path" to cutting emissions more than 80% by 2050.

NOW WATCH: 'CHECK OUT SEX TAPE': Trump goes on raging tweetstorm ripping Miss Universe contestant





More From Business Insider


A Mays Landing woman and a Galloway Township man are accused of stealing personal information from more than 40 credit-card customers from a Galloway bank.

The pair then used the information to make more than $20,000 in unauthorized purchases.

Kyesha Muhammad, 33, and Larry Gilliam Jr., 38, were charged Aug. 22 with second-degree identity theft and conspiracy to commit identity theft and third-degree identity theft, theft by deception, credit-card theft, fraudulent use of credit cards and money laundering, acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton said Friday.

Muhammad used her position as a banker at the Wells Fargo branch to obtain the credit-card information of 42 customers, according to the Prosecutors Office. She then provided that information to Gilliam and made fraudulent transactions on the credit cards, resulting in a net loss to Wells Fargo of $23,605.

An investigation by the prosecutors Financial Crimes Unit, the banks Corporate Investigations Department and management of the Route 30 branch led to Muhammads arrest Aug. 23 in her home.

She was free Friday on $100,000 bail, pending a court hearing. Gilliam was found in police custody in another state this week on an unrelated matter and was extradited to New Jersey. He was charged Friday and taken to the Atlantic County jail on $100,000 bail.

A conviction for a second-degree crime carries a potential five to 10 years in state prison. A conviction for a third-degree crime carries a potential term of three to five years.

Anyone with information about a crime is asked to call the Prosecutors Office at 609-909-7800 or Crime Stoppers at 800-658-TIPS (8477), the anonymous (confidential) tip line 609-652-1234 or text TIPCOP plus your tip to 274637.
ATLANTIC CITY The president of the Atlantic City Republican Club is proud of his Puerto Rican heritage and has a message for the Hispanic community.

Ev-eryone is welcome in this club. There are more Hispanics involved in the club than ever before, and we want to get more of them involved, Mike Lopez said.

Lopez said because he is the son of parents who moved here from Puerto Rico, it is important for him to assist those in the region who need help with the immigration process.

Lopez said his parents came to the United States in the early 1960s and met in Philadelphia, married and had five children. His mother had three children from a previous marriage.

Lopez was 7 when his family moved to New Jersey from Philadelphia.

The Hispanic population has exploded in this city, and I think we are now at 37 percent (2010 Census figures show 30.4 percent). Thats huge, he said.

Lopez said despite the fear they may have, these individuals must force themselves to come out and be helped by the process.

There are great immigration lawyers out there, so come to me. Ill help. Its really empowerment through information, and I understand there are those who are hiding and scared, he said.

Lopez, 51, has been president of the Republican Club for a year and was previously its secretary.

He retired from the Atlantic County Department of Corrections in 2009, after 25 years of service, and moved to Atlantic City. He now works for St. Monicas Parish as a facilities employee.

Lopez volunteers with Atlantic County Toys for Kids, the Salvation Army and Covenant House, and he is a board member with the Hispanic Leadership Association of New Jersey.
BRIGANTINE  Hurricane Matthew has complicated efforts to get the 280-pound loggerhead sea turtle rescued by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center to a North Carolina turtle hospital.

But she is eating, after many days of not doing so, said center Director Bob Schoelkopf.

The problem is, she is a picky eater and mainly wants the difficult-to-get whelk, he said.

Weve only been able to get three to four a day. The baymen give them to us, Schoelkopf said. She would eat six a day if we could get them.

Whelks are large marine snails called gastropods with spiral shells prized by collectors.

Schoelkopf said the center had a flight arranged with the Air Force for the turtle to go Thursday to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Topsail Island in North Carolina, but it was canceled because of Matthew.

Were hoping for better weather next week, he said.

After treatment at the hospital, the plan is to release her in the wild.

The turtle was rescued Sept. 26, when she was found flailing in the surf in Avalon. She was breathing but not able to swim, then began swimming but not eating.

So staff was relieved when she started eating.

She is in a pool with a 140-pound loggerhead sea turtle, which has paralysis of the back fins. The smaller animal will have to go to some kind of zoo or other facility, he 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.
We spend less as a nation on mental health and addiction services than we do on physical health, and that needs to change, former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy  a local author and mental health advocate  said this week.

The Press of Atlantic City published a six-part series exploring mental health and illness in South Jersey this week to mark National Mental Health Awareness Week, which ends Saturday.

From organizations to family members whove experienced first-hand the challenges of achieving mental well-being, reaction to the series came from throughout South Jersey. Kennedy, of Brigantine, contacted The Press during the series to offer his thoughts.

We have to flood the system with more money to build it up with more counselors, to build more facilities, get reimbursement for therapies, for treatment in schools, the criminal justice system and the workforce, he said. This thing has got to be a key part of us, as a nation, so that we can be all that we can be.

Kennedy has struggled with bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, binge drinking and opiate dependence. He chronicled what it was like to succumb, recover and advocate for better mental health and addiction services in his book, A Common Struggle.

His story tells deeply personal details of his life and his familys, much like South Jersey residents who opened up about their own experiences with depression, anxiety, alcoholism, caregiving, recovery and work within the mental health field.

People do this at great personal sacrifice to stand up and be counted, because the stigma continues, Kennedy said. The only way were going to change attitudes is by getting the conversation going about how antiquated these attitudes are.

Musician and New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen talked about a history of depression in his new memoir, Born to Run, which Kennedy admired. He said Springsteens message shows how mental illness can affect seemingly happy, successful famous musicians and the everyday person alike.

Policy and legislation are what often determines the quality of healthcare for consumers and family, and Kennedy said people should pay attention to what people in power and running for positions like the presidency are saying about mental health.

Kennedy, a Democrat, had praise for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, but he said his support was not simply partisan. Clinton spoke about how she would put mental health care on par with that of physical health in August, he said.

Messages like that show people which politicians are taking action in mental health and addiction treatment and which ones are not, Kennedy said.

The words common and equal are running themes in Kennedys mental health and addiction policy outreach. He and his late father, Ted Kennedy, helped pass the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act in 2008, which just recently started taking effect.

The law makes it illegal for health insurers and group health plans to cover mental health and substance abuse disorders any differently than they do medical conditions and procedures. Putting mental health and addiction health care on the same level as medical heath care is just one of his many goals.

It needs to be a parity of coverage, he said. If its good enough for cancer, it should be good enough for mental health and addiction. When someone has diabetes or cancer, theres chronic treatment, support for family. You get everything you need to stay well and we need that same approach to mental illness and addiction.

Kennedy lives in Brigantine with his wife, Amy, and their four children. He continues to traverse the country to speak to communities, politicians, organizations about the current and future state of mental health and addiction.

He said he hopes that leading by example will provide his children with a strong foundation for social and emotional development. He continues to attend 12-step meetings in Linwood, Absecon or Atlantic City, and afterward, returns to his family after getting his head squared away.

I feel Im more present in their lives when I take care of my mental health, Kennedy said. I can pay more attention to them, which I think is key to their mental health. I can be expressive in my love for them and bring reassurance to them on how important they are to me.
ATLANTIC CITY  Nov. 2 marks the 40th anniversary of the vote that brought casinos to Atlantic City, a milestone that comes as a vote next month could bring more casinos to New Jersey.

But the seeds for casino gaming here were planted more than a decade before, in 1964, when the city hosted the Democratic National Convention at Boardwalk Hall.

Lyndon Johnson had already assumed the office of president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, so his nomination was not in doubt. Instead, the visiting reporters focused on Atlantic Citys decay and the greed of the hotel owners.

That painful expose was a necessary step toward legalizing gambling, said Sharon Schulman, executive director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University. The stories galvanized the movement that led to the historic 1976 referendum.

They needed to create a new revenue stream that was going to allow Atlantic City to be a year-round resort instead of a summertime resort. And gaming is a year-round commodity, Schulman said.

Atlantic City finds itself in a similar spot now. Four casinos closed in 2014. Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort will close Monday. The tax base shrunk, and the state is threatening to take over government operations.

Meanwhile, a state ballot question asks voters on Nov. 8 whether allowing two casinos in North Jersey is the answer.

Polls: New Jersey residents oppose casino expansion Voters are overwhelmingly opposed to North Jersey casinos, according to recent polling from 

The long view of legalized gambling in New Jersey shows casinos ushered in decades of prosperity for both Atlantic City and the tourism industry. From 1976 to 2008, the height of the casino industry in the resort, the value of the citys property base grew by more than 6,750 percent, topping out at $20.5 billion in 2008.

But since 2008 and the introduction of casino gaming in neighboring states, the city has seen a 64 percent loss of value, leaving it on the brink of financial collapse.

Bryant Simon, a professor of history at Temple University and the author of Boardwalk of Dreams: Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America, said casinos, wherever theyre built, have failed to rejuvenate cities.

Essentially casinos are anti-urban institutions, Simon said. The point of casinos is to suck people in, take their money and then let them go. The casinos make it hard for people to find the Boardwalk, let alone Pacific Avenue. I dont blame Atlantic City. What I find fascinating is that no one wants to learn from Atlantic City.

Counting from that landmark 1964 Democratic convention, the process of bringing gaming to the resort took more than 12 years, two public referendums and a number of legislative hearings, many featuring impassioned pleas from local lawmakers.

Atlantic City to me, and I think to most people in the country, is the show window for New Jersey. Our show window is in need of repairs, 2nd District Assemblyman Howard Kupperman testified during an April 1976 hearing on the proposal.

In 1974, the first referendum introducing casino gaming to the state failed by a 60 percent to 40 percent margin. The referendum lost in 19 of 21 counties. That referendum lacked specifics about where New Jersey casinos would be located. The public question on the 1976 ballot, which succeeded, limited casinos to Atlantic City.

Two years later, Resorts Casino Hotel, the citys first casino, opened.

Could history repeat itself with North Jersey casino vote? If history is any indication, the defeat of a November ballot question on North Jersey casin

The 1976 referendum also specified that the tax revenue raised through casino gambling would be used to finance new programs for senior citizens, said Michael Pollock, managing director of Spectrum Gaming Group.

Thus, gambling proponents were able to neutralize fears of casinos in the middle-class suburbs of New York and Philadelphia while bringing a sizable voting bloc  the senior citizens  into the pro-gambling corner, Pollock said.

In 1976, Nevada was the only state with legal casino gambling.

The idea of casino gaming outside Nevada was unique back in the 70s, a far cry from the regional casino-ization market we see across the country today, said Robert Ambrose, an instructor at the Center for Hospitality and Sport Management at Drexel University. A box with slots and a hotel was the norm in 76, but todays customers have embraced a more sophisticated presentation that includes more than just a casino.

The ongoing debate about expanding casino gaming to North Jersey mirrors those in the 1970s. Opponents and some supporters of the current referendum have said there arent enough details, such as exact locations for the new casinos and the tax rates they would pay.

Polls have shown a lack of public support for expanding gambling beyond Atlantic City. Last month, a pro-North Jersey casino group dropped its marketing campaign.

Meanwhile, Atlantic City and County officials are pushing for a rebirth in the resort. A region that grew because of casinos is looking to expand its technology centers, wineries, academic campuses, residential development and transportation hubs.

In other words, anything but gambling.
ATLANTIC CITY  As a woman police officer and a single mother, Desiree Perez credits her success to determination and her 7-year-old daughter.

Perez, 31, of Mays Landing, is the only Spanish-speaking female officer in the Atlantic City Police Department.

She has been a police officer for nine years.

Perez said because of her fluency, she has been able to understand different dialects among the citys Spanish-speaking communities.

Raised in a traditional Dominican household, she was only allowed to speak Spanish at home.

I spoke English at school, but Spanish is my first language even though I was born and raised in America, Perez said.

What is National Hispanic Heritage Month? From Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of Ameri

And my daughter is fluent in Spanish, and she is being raised the same way, she said of 7-year-old Brianna Lee Growalt, who is ranked in the top 50 in the nation for gymnastics and who models when shes not in the gym, Perez said.

Our Dominican cultural background is strong, and you are raised as a housewife, not to get an education, to take care of a husband and children and you are last, she said.

Perezs mother was also a single mom and, like her daughter, was the breadwinner and a housewife.

As much as I wanted to break that cycle, I wish I was married for my daughter, too. But I love to inspire other women that its OK to be single and do it on your own, she said.

She graduated from Pleasantville High School and attended Delaware State University, where she was studying to be a nurse.

She worked as an emergency room technician at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center for four years, and thats where she met Officer Michael Wamsher, who convinced her to go into police work.

He would come in when he was working, and he always told me to take the test and that I should do it because I have the right attitude to be a cop, Perez said.

Vineland councilwoman in limelight of Hispanic leadership VINELAND  Mayra Arroyo has served on City Council and the local Board of Education, worked with parent-teacher organizations and the Red Cros

She took her friends advice, took the test, attended the academy and was hired by Atlantic City.

It was a humbling experience to become a police officer. He was my inspiration, she said of Wamsher, who was killed in an off-duty car crash in Tampa, Florida, in 2011.

A regular day for Perez sees her hanging up her police uniform and gun belt to rush her daughter from school to gymnastics class to modeling jobs in New York City. She said she loves every single second of it.

My happiness is coming home every day to my daughter. I know what I signed up for as a police officer. I love helping people. When I leave for work, I always tell Brianna I love her and its OK if mommy doesnt come home because Ill always be your heart, she said.
ATLANTIC CITY  Evan Sanchez is the co-founder of This Is AC, a community movement that seeks to highlight the beauty of Atlantic City, its amazing attractions and awesome people, according to the groups website.

Ive been told about the potential of Atlantic City for my entire life  what it was and what it could be  and I wanted to be a part of that movement, said Sanchez, 32.

He is the son of Dr. Armando Sanchez, who emigrated to the United States in his 20s after studying medicine in Mexico. His father settled first in Atlantic City, where a friend of his lived. He met Evans mother, Elsa, at Los Amigos restaurant, and two years later, they were married.

As the son of a Mexican immigrant, Sanchez said hes intensely proud of Atlantic City, which he left to attend college in New York, only to return in hopes he could help the city prosper.

Growing up amid the diversity of the citys year-round population of 35,000 and its vibrant Hispanic community was a memorable experience, he said.

Its like the League of Nations or the U.N. here in this city in its 48 blocks, he said.

He said his father wanted him to speak Spanish growing up, but it was a secondary language to English.

Sanchez graduated from Holy Spirit High School in Absecon and attended Columbia University, where he graduated with a bachelors degree in American studies. Hes worked for the past decade for an online ordering company he helped start in college.

Last year, he decided it was time to come home, he said. This Is AC launched in July 2015, and Sanchez continues his work with co-founder Dawn Belamarich. Sanchez said This Is AC recently submitted an application to become a nonprofit organization.

The overwhelming perception of Atlantic City is negative, but there are so many good things going on every day, he said.
Keep UEZs while studying them

Regarding the Sept. 18 editorial, Perhaps theres a better urban renewal tool than UEZs:

Unlike Gov. Christies corporate welfare of extravagant tax breaks for large companies, like $1.1 billion in incentives to 17 companies relocating to Camden, the UEZs actually create new jobs and businesses in the zones. Of the several thousand jobs the companies promised for their $1.1 billion in tax breaks, only about a third are new to New Jersey. The rest already exist elsewhere in the state, already filled by employees. A similar thing will happen when South Jersey Gas moves from Hammonton to Atlantic City through millions of dollars in tax incentives.

Sen. Jeff Van Drew held a hearing when Christie last decimated the Urban Enterprise Zones. Many mayors, officials and experts testified that thousands of new jobs and businesses were created for residents of the zones. UEZs return more to the treasury than they cost.

As with most public programs, improvements can be made. But a wiser recommendation from the editors would have been to agree to the study while continuing the UEZ program, which creates jobs in distressed cities and towns.

Paul Raetsch

Mays Landing

New jobs in terrorism

Regarding the Sept. 26 political cartoon depicting President Obama holding a bloody shovel labeled Islamic terrorism and calling the murder weapon this metal bladed, digging thingamabob:

Oh! Is this what Obama meant by shovel ready jobs?

Lynn Fittipaldi

Galloway Township

Emissions fight goes too far

Regarding the Sept. 28 letter, Leave natural gas in the ground:

The writer neglected to mention the largest producer of carbon dioxide and methane  us!

Since the beginning of time, human existence has produced carbon dioxide and methane in vast quantities. Simply the act of keeping warm in winter produces carbon dioxide as a by-product. Eating anything produces some methane in everyone. Burning wood, coal, oil, peat or anything else produces a gas. Its necessary to keep warm.

Methane is produced because its a natural product common to Earth. The largest producer of methane is probably animals. Cows in the Midwest produce loads of methane through the natural digestion of grass. Man produces this same gas through simple digestion. Even after we die our bodies produce gas through the process of decay. Multiply this by billions of humans and then add in all the animals and you have a stupendous amount of gas.

At least the proposed pipeline will control the amount of gas released to the environment. Clean natural gas as fuel is necessary. When burned, it will produce carbon dioxide but understand that every human exhale includes it as well.

Should we stop breathing, eating or keeping warm in winter? We can and have developed uses for these byproducts of life. We need the pipeline. Its existence will reduce pollution.

James Aumack

Cape May
ATLANTIC CITY  The Stop the Heroin organization, based in Egg Harbor Township, held a memorial walk Saturday to raise money so people who have completed rehabilitation can afford to spend time in a sober-living facility afterward.

Even though it rained for part of the morning, at least 200 people marched from Kennedy Plaza along the Boardwalk to talk about loved ones lost to addiction and to provide testimonials for people who were helped by sober-living facilities.

Were getting requests all the way from North Jersey down to Virginia for us to hold rallies, said Kenneta Fabing, event manager. Were getting a lot of people from across the country who are interested. We heard from people in St. Louis who were like, When are you coming out here?

Fabing, of Atlantic City, hoped to raise $15,000 Saturday.

Bill Schmincke, co-founder of Stop the Heroin, said a spaghetti dinner raised $6,000 and a pancake breakfast generated $3,000, he said. The cost to enter a sober-living facility can range from $600 to $900.

Our organization rallies money so that people can get into sober living, which is a huge transition for some people, and we scholarship their first month and entry fees, Schmincke said.

Schmincke and the co-founder of the organization, his wife, Tammy, lost their 26-year-old son Steven to a heroin overdose March 26.

Mayor Don Guardian spoke to the crowd after the walk but before it started raining. When someone has cancer or is dying of another disease, people jump to help them and their families, but those suffering from drug addiction dont receive the same treatment, he said.

Yesterday, I think, I received 10 emails from different organizations I belong to asking for money, clothing and food who people who died in Haiti, Guardian said. But I do not know who died from a heroin overdose yesterday, because no one bothered sending that out. No one told me about their family. ... We have to be the change.

Susan Taylor-Razo traveled from Norfolk, Virginia, to attend the walk. She started a foundation called End Heroin in the 757, which is the area code that includes the Tidewater area of Norfolk. She carried a poster featuring the faces of almost 30 people who died from drug overdoses.

These people were people. They werent junkies. They were family, and they were loved, Taylor-Razo said. These people, their lives mattered, and we will continue to fight everyday until there is no more people dying from this epidemic.

Kristin Keubler, 30, Hammonton, said her fiance, Raymond Hampton, 30, Hammonton, died in July after he was clean for four years after their son, Nicholas, was born in 2012. She and her group wore Reppin For Ray T-shirts.

Today, I came to bring awareness to the disease of addiction for one. Second, I believe this is helping my children cope with his death, said Keubler, who added Raymond had a 12-year-old stepson he helped her raise. I know this is what he would want me to do.
SEA ISLE CITY  Residents and visitors, proud of their Italian heritage, did not let a little rain stop them Saturday at the Columbus Day Parade and Italian Festival.

Rain delayed the 2 p.m. parade and caused some participants to ride in cars instead of walk. Parade founder Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio walked the route to show that overcast skies would not dampen his sunny disposition.

Parades keep people together. They bring a community together. My family has been sponsoring both parades (including the Irish parade). This is our 26th year, Desiderio said.

The Ocean City High School Marching Band with its horns and drums braved the elements along with Desiderio. Rain did scare off the live bands, but a DJ spun tunes and held karaoke sessions inside Kix McNutleys at 63rd Street, which was where the parade ended.

There were fewer food trucks than usual, but Maries Seafood and Braca Cafe had trucks at Kix McNutleys to feed people after the parade.

Rodney Greco, 66, was named the Italian man of the year. His father is Sicilian, and his mother is from Naples, Italy.

Im honored to be selected, said Greco, who is retired.

A former freeholder from Camden County, Greco is always involved with community events. He makes red wine in his garage and shares it with people.

Vincent James Farina, 4, was named the prince of the festival. He wore a sash with his title. His mother, Lisa Farina, 41, a lifelong resident, told him it is an honor.

He said he wanted to be the mayor, Farina said. He is a really good boy.

Lisa Farinas grandfather, who died in 1988, was from Genoa, Italy. She said she lived with him for a little while. Contact: 609-272-7202 VJackson@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPpressJackson
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.




For the year ended 30 June 2016, in US dollars

EASTAMPTON, New Jersey, Oct. 8, 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.

For further information: Mr. William P. Long (Chief Executive Officer) USA. Tel: 609-267-9118, Email: Investors@EpicoreBioNetworks.com

Related Links

http://www.epicorebionetworks.com



SOURCE Epicore BioNetworks Inc.
LONDON, October 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Burgeoning British start-up eve Sleep has secured a significant 13.9m boost to its war chest at the close of its Series B funding round, led by Woodford Investment Management, taking its total funding to date to over 17m, super-charging its NPD, marketing and European expansion plans.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161007/416520 )



Launched by entrepreneurs Jas Bagniewski, Kuba Wieczorek, Felix Lobkowicz and James Fryer in February 2015, eve Sleep is forecasting revenues in excess of 40m for the next financial year.

eve Sleep, which will soon be expanding its European presence to the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Austria, and Switzerland, has a number of high profile, experienced backers, including Woodford Investment Management, Octopus Ventures, DN Capital and Channel 4.

Paul Pindar, who built Capita into a multi-billion-pound business, has also invested and is joining the company's board as Chairman. Mr Pindar will be tasked with steering the brand to global success.

The hugely competitive mattress industry is worth more than 800m and eve Sleep's business is growing at 25% per month with eve selling almost 45,000 mattresses, pillows and sheets to date.

Paul Pindar said: "eve Sleep is a high-growth business with big ambitions and a relentless, entrepreneurial leadership team, so I was keen to get involved. We believe that with the high-profile backers investing in the brand, we will help the business to cement its position as a global lifestyle brand."

Jas Bagniewski, CEO and co-founder of eve Sleep added: "Closing our third funding round at almost 14m is a testament to the tireless work of the whole team here, the quality of our product and relevance of our proposition and the transformational effects on happiness, health and productivity to be found from a good night's sleep.

"Consumers and investors alike are backing our vision and we are pleased to welcome Paul to the board and his guidance, experience and support will be crucial in delivering our ambitious growth plans."

Since launch, the online retailer has expanded into the US, France and Germany and has grown their product offering to now include premium pillows and sheets with a duvet launching in late October.

Funding history:

Seed funding - 600k in May 2015- Initial backers DN Capital and FJ Labs were joined by venture capital investor Octopus, which put in 225,000, and by international angel investors.

Series A: 2.5m in November 2015 - DN Capital & Octopus adding further funds

Series B: Closes at 13.9m. Additional funds from Woodford Investment Management, Paul Pindar, Octopus, Channel 4 and DN Capital. (Investment from Channel 4's Commercial Growth Fund that launched in June 2015 in advertising)

For further information on eve Sleep visit http://www.evemattress.co.uk

SOURCE eve Sleep
NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The recent launch event of 2015 Report on the Sustainable Development of Chinese Enterprises Overseas kicked off at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, hosted by United Nations Development Programme, the Research Center in State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) and Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC). Shen Haixiong, Head of Guangdong Provincial Publicity Department and Chairman of Guangdong International Culture Association, participated and delivered a keynote speech.

Shen stated that the report was in accordance with the development vision that "China hopes to work together with all parties to build an innovative, open, interconnected and inclusive world economy, to achieve robust, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth." He said, Guangdong enterprises were in the period of strategic opportunities of going global. In recent years, a great number of Guangdong enterprises have succeeded in participating in the international investment, which has achieved win-win results with the hosted countries and won good reputations.

Statistics in the report show that Chinese overseas enterprises had paid taxes of 31.19 billion USD to host countries in 2015, with an increase of 62.9% compared to that last year. They have hired 1.225 million foreign employees, which have added 392,000 compared to that at the end of last year. Guangdong enterprises represented by Huawei and Tencent have integrated into regional development all over the world with the ideas of "openness, cooperativeness and win-win."

Shen pointed out that Guangdong has attached great importance to information communication and cultural connection with the world. It makes most of our advantages as a great media and Internet province to provide strong support for enterprises and citizens to go global and achieve sustainable development abroad. In recent years, with strengthening news and culture communication as the link and to enhance international communication capacity and work for Belt and Road Initiative as the focus, Guangdong has geared up to advance international communication methods and expand communication channels, attracting large audiences at home and abroad. The province also creates excellent global conditions for promoting jointly discussing, building and sharing.

SOURCE News Office of Guangdong Provincial Government of China
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has inducted its newest class of members. One of the nation's oldest learned societies and independent research centers, the Academy includes among this year's new members prominent scientists, artists, literary figures, and leaders of academic, business, philanthropic, and cultural institutions from across the United States and around the world.

Members of the 2016 class include winners of the Fields Medal, the Wolf Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Grammy Award, and MacArthur, Guggenheim, and Fulbright Fellowships.

The three-day event began with a celebration of the arts and humanities, featuring readings and presentations by poets Eavan Boland and Yusef Komunyakaa; landscape architect Kongjian Yu; essayist Diane Ackerman; curator Mikhail Piotrovskiy; violist Kim Kashkashian; and conductor JoAnn Falletta.

The Induction Ceremony included a reading of the letters of John and Abigail Adams by new members MIT Corporation Chair Robert Millard and President of Ariel Investments Mellody L. Hobson as well as remarks by five new members, representing the five classes of the Academy: geochemist and Columbia University professor Terry A. Plank; University of California, Berkeley professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering Jay D. Keasling; MIT professor of political science Andrea Louise Campbell; artist and professor of visual art at the University of Chicago Theaster Gates, Jr.; and President and CEO of The Aspen Institute Walter Isaacson.

"This weekend the Academy formally welcomes into its membership a group of esteemed leaders from across the nation and the world," said Don Randel, Chair of the Academy's Board of Directors. "We are honored to include these new members, who have demonstrated both excellence in their fields and a commitment to serving society."

The weekend concludes with a presentation by Temple Grandin, world-renowned autism spokesperson and professor of animal science at Colorado State University, on educating students who have different kinds of minds.

"We look forward to the participation of the new members in the work of the Academywork that is intended to advance the common good," added Academy President Jonathan F. Fanton. "Our new members will join in the Academy's long tradition of collaborating across disciplines on research projects and other initiatives that illuminate the pressing issues of our times."

Among the 164 new Fellows are:

Melanie S. Sanford of the University of Michigan , whose research is at the interface of organic and inorganic chemistry.

of the , whose research is at the interface of organic and inorganic chemistry. Terry A. Plank , geochemist, volcanist, and professor of earth sciences at Columbia University and the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory.

geochemist, volcanist, and professor of earth sciences at and the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at Colorado State University and a world-renowned expert in human animal handling as well as a global advocate for autism awareness.

professor of animal science at and a world-renowned expert in human animal handling as well as a global advocate for autism awareness. Jeffrey A. Dean , Google Senior Fellow in Systems and Infrastructure, who has made field changing contributions by developing new approaches to large-scale systems for distributed computing.

Google Senior Fellow in Systems and Infrastructure, who has made field changing contributions by developing new approaches to large-scale systems for distributed computing. Andrea Campbell , MIT professor of political science, whose work has opened new frontiers in the study of the ways in which public policies influence mass political attitudes and behaviorsincluding how Social Security changed the attitudes, voting, and contacting behaviors of elderly U.S. citizens.

professor of political science, whose work has opened new frontiers in the study of the ways in which public policies influence mass political attitudes and behaviorsincluding how Social Security changed the attitudes, voting, and contacting behaviors of elderly U.S. citizens. Jay Keasling , professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and chief executive officer of the Joint BioEnergy Institute, who engineers microorganisms to synthesize hydrocarbon biofuels with properties identical to those of petroleum-based fuels.

professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering at the and chief executive officer of the Joint BioEnergy Institute, who engineers microorganisms to synthesize hydrocarbon biofuels with properties identical to those of petroleum-based fuels. Kevin Young , Emory University professor and poet, whose diverse body of work explores African American history and culture.

professor and poet, whose diverse body of work explores African American history and culture. Theaster Gates, Jr. , installation artist and professor of visual arts at the University of Chicago , whose work includes the Dorchester Projects on the South Side of Chicago that restored dilapidated buildings and turned them into cultural institutions with artifacts from the South Side.

installation artist and professor of visual arts at the , whose work includes the Dorchester Projects on the South Side of that restored dilapidated buildings and turned them into cultural institutions with artifacts from the South Side. Robert Millard , chairman of the MIT Corporation, who in that capacity chairs the Corporation meetings and the Executive, Membership, and Development Committees as well as presides over MIT's Visiting Committees.

chairman of the MIT Corporation, who in that capacity chairs the Corporation meetings and the Executive, Membership, and Development Committees as well as presides over Visiting Committees. Walter Isaacson , President and CEO of The Aspen Institute, known for the exploration of issues and ideas in education, communication, philosophy, education, and defense and security.

President and CEO of The Aspen Institute, known for the exploration of issues and ideas in education, communication, philosophy, education, and defense and security. Mellody L. Hobson , President of Ariel Investments, Chair of the Board of Directors of DreamWorks Animation, and a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy and investor education.

President of Ariel Investments, Chair of the Board of Directors of DreamWorks Animation, and a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy and investor education. Edythe Broad , lifelong philanthropist of the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, who has advanced causes in education, scientific and medical research, the arts, and civic endeavors in Los Angeles . With her husband, Eli Broad , she built and endowed The Broad, a new contemporary art museum in Los Angeles that opened in September 2015 .

Among the 21 new foreign honorary members are:

Louise Richardson , vice chancellor of the University of Oxford , who helped to reshape and modernize Scottish higher education at the University of St Andrews , where she was the first woman to lead a university in Scotland .

vice chancellor of the , who helped to reshape and modernize Scottish higher education at the , where she was the first woman to lead a university in . Eavan Boland of Stanford University and one of the foremost female voices in Irish literature ; and

of and one of the foremost female voices in Irish literature and Chunli Bai , president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, whose achievements include the development of new technologies and methodologies for use in molecular and materials sciences.

About the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is among the nation's oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers, convening leaders from the academic, business, and government sectors to respond to the challenges facing the nation and the world. In its work, the Academy focuses on higher education, the humanities, and the arts; science and technology policy; global security and international affairs; and American institutions and the public good. Academy research has resulted in reports such as The Heart of the Matter , Restoring the Foundation: The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream , Public Research UniversitiesRecommitting to Lincoln's Vision: An Educational Compact for the 21st Century, and A Primer on the College Student Journey. The Academy's work is advanced by its approximately 4,800 elected members and 600 foreign honorary members, who are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs from around the world.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151010/275919LOGO

SOURCE American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Related Links

http://www.amacad.org


GENEVA, Oct. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- October 6, 2016, in Geneva, Switzerland, at the World Trade Organization meeting, the International Trade Centre released their flagship report titled SME Competitiveness Outlook, Meeting the Standards for Trade; the report features a written thought leader contribution from DHgate.com Founder and CEO Diane Wang, which details the effects of cross-border e-commerce on SMEs and SME competitiveness.

Ms. Wang's thought leader contribution is titled "The Standards and Regulations of Cross-Border E-commerce Trade and Their Effect on SME Competitiveness," and highlights high survival and success rates for small-and-medium sized traditional trading companies who adopt technology, as opposed to those who do not; how trust and safety is a necessity for cross-border e-commerce platforms, and due to increasing rates of adoption, cross-border e-commerce platforms are becoming the de facto regulators of international trade; and then highlights DHgate.com's use of Trust and Safety mechanisms.

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the only development agency that is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Established in 1964, the International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.

About DHgate.com

DHgate.com is the first to market and the biggest transactional cross-border B2B e-commerce marketplace in China, aiming to provide global buyers with quality products at competitive prices. Founded in 2004, DHgate.com has approximately 12 million global buyers from 230 countries and regions, with 1.4 million global sellers offering 40 million products. DHgate.com's business enables buyers to directly access global manufacturers of the world's top brands with rich product selections. DHgate.com is an all-in-one platform with integrated services for international logistics, cross-border payments, internet financing, etc. DHgate.com's US, UK, Spain, and UAE product distribution warehouses allow for 24 hour delivery and convenient product returns & refunds, bringing great convenience to buyers at http://www.dhgate.com.

SOURCE DHgate.com

Related Links

http://www.dhgate.com


SINGAPORE, Oct. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kenon Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KEN, TASE: KEN) ("Kenon") is publishing its consolidated results for the second quarter of 2016, and providing additional updates relating to Kenon and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, Ltd. ("ZIM").

Kenon reported the Q2 2016 results of IC Power Pte. Ltd. ("IC Power") and Qoros Automotive Co. Ltd. ("Qoros") in Kenon's Form 6-K dated September 7, 2016. That report did not include the Q2 2016 consolidated results of Kenon because ZIM postponed the publication of its Q2 2016 financial statements. As ZIM has recently published its Q2 2016 results, Kenon is publishing its consolidated Q2 2016 results in this report. Except as noted herein, this report does not update or modify the disclosure presented in Kenon's Form 6-K, dated September 7, 2016.

See Appendix A for Kenon's unaudited consolidated financial information as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016.

ZIM

Set forth below is a discussion of the Q2 2016 results of ZIM based on ZIM's consolidated financial statements.

ZIM publishes its results on its website. For more information, see www.ZIM.com. This website, and any information referenced therein, is not incorporated by reference herein.

Discussion of ZIM's Results for Q2 2016

ZIM carried approximately 617 thousand TEUs in Q2 2016, as compared to approximately 577 thousand TEUs in Q2 2015. ZIM's revenues decreased to $612 million in Q2 2016, as compared to $763 million in Q2 2015, primarily due to a decline in freight rates (as discussed below), partially offset by the increase in TEUs carried. ZIM's net loss attributable to ZIM's owners was $75 million in Q2 2016, as compared to net income of $10 million in Q2 2015.

Conditions in the Container Shipping Industry

In recent years, the container shipping industry has experienced instability as a result of prolonged global economic crises, reduced market demand, increased capacity and increased uncertainty due to the realignment of global alliances. The container shipping industry continued to experience an imbalance of supply and demand in the first half of 2016, as market demand for shipping remained weak, while new vessel capacity was added to the market. The excess capacity has resulted in historically low freight rates across various major trade zones. The impact on net income from the declines in freight rates has been partially offset by the current relatively low price of bunker, one of ZIM's significant costs. A continuation of the trend of low freight rates could negatively affect ZIM's business, financial position and ability to comply with its financial covenants.

ZIM's Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of June 30, 2016, ZIM's cash and cash equivalents amounted to $221 million, as compared to $219 million as of December 31, 2015, while ZIM's long-term loans and other liabilities (including liabilities with current maturities) amounted to $1,235 million, as compared to $1,262 million as of December 31, 2015.

As of June 30, 2016, ZIM's total equity amounted to a negative balance of $63 million (compared to positive balance of $78 million as of December 31, 2015), and its working capital amounted to a negative balance of $70 million (compared to positive balance of $5 million as of December 31, 2015).

In light of the continued unfavorable container shipping market conditions, ZIM has reported that it has taken various steps since June 30, 2016 to address its liquidity and financial position. Accordingly, ZIM approached certain of its creditors to reschedule upcoming payments. ZIM has reported that its creditors have agreed to allow ZIM to defer payments in a total amount of approximately $115 million during a period of up to 12 months from September 30, 2016. Repayments of the deferred amounts will begin on January 1, 2018, and ZIM is required to secure the deferred amounts with a receivables-backed facility. This agreement remains subject to final documentation and approval.

ZIM has also reported that the fixed charge cover ratio and total leverage ratio covenants which ZIM is subject to pursuant to its July 2014 financial restructuring have been waived for the period from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2017, and revised for periods thereafter.

Additional Kenon Updates

Kenon's Impairment of its Interest in ZIM

As a result of current conditions in the container shipping market, Kenon conducted an impairment test in relation to its 32% equity investment in ZIM as of June 30, 2016. Kenon concluded that as of June 30, 2016, the carrying amount of its investment in ZIM was higher than the recoverable amount, and therefore, Kenon recognized an impairment loss of $72 million with respect to its investment in ZIM in Q2 2016. After the impairment, the carrying amount of Kenon's 32% equity investment in ZIM is $90 million.

Recognition of a Provision for Guarantees of Certain Qoros Debt

In 2015, Kenon provided back-to-back guarantees to Chery Automotive Co. Ltd. (Qoros' other major shareholder) ("Chery") in respect of Chery's guarantees of certain Qoros indebtedness. Set forth below is an overview of the guarantees provided by Kenon in respect of Qoros' indebtedness:

Date Granted Qoros Credit Facility Kenon Guarantee Amount Spin-Off / November 2015 RMB3 billion credit facility RMB750 million (approximately $112 million)1 May / November 2015 RMB700 million EXIM Bank loan

facility RMB350 million (approximately $52 million)

(plus interest and fees of up to RMB60 million

(approximately $9 million))2 Total

RMB1,100 million (approximately $164

million) (plus certain interest and fees)1,2

1. In the event that Chery's liability under its guarantee exceeds RMB1.5 billion, Kenon has committed to negotiate with Chery in good faith to find a solution so that Kenon's and Chery's liabilities for the indebtedness of Qoros under this credit facility are equal in proportion. 2. In the event that Chery is obligated under its guarantee of the EXIM Bank loan facility to make payments that exceed Kenon's obligations under the guarantee, Kenon and Chery have agreed to try to find an acceptable solution, but without any obligation on Kenon to be liable for more than the amounts set forth in the table above.

Consistent with Kenon's strategy to support Qoros while limiting cross-allocation between its businesses, Kenon is exploring various possibilities with respect to its existing back-to-back guarantees to Chery in respect of Qoros' debt, including facilitating and supporting Qoros' fundraising efforts while simultaneously seeking to reduce Kenon's total potential exposure with respect to Qoros. Kenon does not intend to increase its total financial exposure to Qoros.

Between April and September 2016, Qoros' shareholders made loans of RMB 900 million (approximately $134 million) to Qoros, of which Kenon's share of RMB 450 million (approximately $67 million) of these loans was funded by way of back-to-back loans from Ansonia Holdings Singapore B.V. ("Ansonia"), which owns approximately 53% of the outstanding shares of Kenon. To support Qoros in light of Qoros' financing needs, Kenon worked with Ansonia to facilitate Ansonia's provision of these loans to Qoros.

In light of Kenon's strategy and Qoros' limited liquidity, Kenon increased the amount of the back-to-back guarantee obligations to Chery recorded on its statement of financial position to $160 million as of June 30, 2016. As a result, Kenon recorded a $129 million provision of financial guarantees on its statement of profit or loss in Q2 2016. There was no change to Kenon's guarantee obligation to Chery as a result of the increase in the amount recorded in the balance sheet for the guarantee.

Loss for the Period

Kenon recorded a net loss of $280 million in Q2 2016, primarily as a result of Kenon's recognition of a $129 million provision of financial guarantees in respect of its back-to-back guarantees to Chery, the $72 million impairment of Kenon's investment in ZIM, and the losses recognized by Kenon in respect of its associated companies, Qoros and ZIM.

Kenon's (Unconsolidated) Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of June 30, 2016, cash, gross debt, and net debt (a non-IFRS financial measure, which is defined as gross debt minus cash) of Kenon (unconsolidated) were $56 million, $216 million and $160 million, respectively.

Kenon has fully drawn its $200 million credit facility from Israel Corporation Ltd. As of June 30, 2016, $200 million, plus interest and fees of $16 million, was outstanding under the facility.

For a discussion of Kenon's guarantee obligations in respect of Qoros' debt, see discussion above.

In May 2016, IC Power entered into a $100 million loan facility. IC Power has fully drawn this facility, and pursuant to its terms, IC Power is required to use a portion of the loan proceeds to fully repay its $75 million note payable to Kenon (which note was issued in connection with the reorganization of IC Power in March 2016) by early November 2016. The proceeds that Kenon expects to receive are intended to provide Kenon with additional cash resources in light of its liquidity position and its obligations under its back-to-back guarantees of Qoros' indebtedness.

About Kenon

Kenon is a holding company that operates dynamic, primarily growth-oriented businesses. The companies it owns, in whole or in part, are at various stages of development, ranging from established, cash-generating businesses to early stage development companies. Kenon's businesses consist of:

IC Power (100% interest)  a leading owner, developer and operator of power generation and distribution facilities in the Latin American, Caribbean and Israeli power markets;

and Israeli power markets; Qoros (50% interest)  a China -based automotive company;

-based automotive company; ZIM (32% interest)  an international shipping company; and

Primus Green Energy, Inc. (91% interest)  an early stage developer of alternative fuel technology.

Kenon's primary focus is to grow and develop its primary businesses, IC Power and Qoros. Following the growth and development of its primary businesses, Kenon intends to provide its shareholders with direct access to these businesses, when we believe it is in the best interests of its shareholders for it to do so based on factors specific to each business, market conditions and other relevant information. Kenon intends to support the development of its non-primary businesses, and to act to realize their value for its shareholders by distributing its interests in its non-primary businesses to its shareholders or selling its interests in its non-primary businesses, rationally and expeditiously. For further information on Kenon's businesses and strategy, see Kenon's publicly available filings, which can be found on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Please also see http://www.kenon-holdings.com for additional information.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to statements about (i) with respect to ZIM, conditions in the container shipping market and ZIM's arrangements with its creditors and (ii) with respect to Kenon, Kenon's expected use of its cash, and Kenon's strategy, including its strategy to limit cross-allocation between its businesses, support Qoros in Qoros' fundraising efforts and efforts to reduce its potential exposure to Chery and its intention to not increase its total exposure to Qoros. These statements are based on Kenon's management's current expectations or beliefs, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Kenon's control, which could cause the actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements. Such risks include (i) with respect to ZIM, risks relating to developments in the container shipping industry, bunker prices and freight rates and ZIM's ability to receive the final documentation and approvals required to execute its agreement to defer payment to its various creditors (ii) changes in events and circumstances with respect to Qoros and Kenon and other, future events that could affect Kenon's strategy generally, or in particular with respect to its investment in Qoros, and the guarantees to Chery in respect of Qoros' debt and other risks and factors, including those risks set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in Kenon's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC and other filings. Except as required by law, Kenon undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact Info





Kenon Holdings Ltd.

Barak Cohen VP Business Development and IR [email protected] Tel: +65 6351 1780 Jonathan Fisch Director, Investor Relations [email protected] Tel: +1 917 891 9855



External Investor Relations Ehud Helft / Kenny Green GK Investor Relations [email protected] Tel: +1 646 201 9246



Appendix A

Kenon Holdings Ltd.

Unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial position



June 30 2016 December 31 2015

$ Thousands Current assets



Cash and cash equivalents 301,071 383,953 Short-term investments and deposits 85,321 308,702 Trade receivables, net 254,159 123,273 Other current assets 70,848 45,260 Income tax receivable 12,183 3,926 Inventories 86,286 50,351 Total current assets 809,868 915,465





Non-current assets



Investments in associated companies 224,761 369,022 Loan to associated company 46,150  Deposits, loans and other receivables, including financial instruments 109,029 88,475 Deferred taxes, net 21,520 2,693 Property, plant and equipment, net 3,487,335 2,959,878 Intangible assets 356,219 147,244 Total non-current assets 4,245,014 3,567,312 Total assets 5,054,882 4,482,777

Kenon Holdings Ltd.

Unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial position, continued



June 30 2016 December 31 2015

$ Thousands Current liabilities



Loans and debentures 339,795 352,668 Trade payables 283,291 145,454 Other payables, including derivative 100,160 108,873 Guarantee deposits from customers 63,545 - Financial guarantees 159,869 - Provisions 847 41,686 Income tax payable 7,711 4,705





Total current liabilities 955,218 653,386





Non-current liabilities



Loans 1,980,913 1,674,800 Loan from related company 46,150  Debentures 839,119 655,847 Derivative instruments 44,029 35,625 Deferred taxes, net 195,217 138,083 Financial guarantees - 34,263 Other non-current liabilities 50,876 27,218





Total non-current liabilities 3,156,304 2,565,836





Total liabilities 4,111,522 3,219,222 Equity



Share capital 1,267,450 1,267,210 Translation reserve (20,523) (16,916) Capital reserve (4,480) 2,212 Accumulated losses (508,649) (191,292)





Equity attributable to owners of the Company 733,798 1,061,214 Non-controlling interests 209,562 202,341





Total equity 943,360 1,263,555 Total liabilities and equity 5,054,882 4,482,777

Kenon Holdings Ltd

Unaudited condensed consolidated statements of profit or loss



For the Six Months ended

For the Three Months ended

June 30 2016 June 30 2015

June 30 2016 June 30 2015

$ Thousands

$ Thousands Revenue 881,181 655,247

459,329 333,089 Cost of sales and services (excluding depreciation) (644,393) (412,251)

(342,738) (181,887) Depreciation (71,722) (54,121)

(38,840) (28,506) Gross profit 165,066 188,875

77,751 122,696 Selling, general and administrative expenses (71,476) (47,487)

(40,558) (21,379) Impairment of investment in associated company (72,263) -

(72,263) - Dilution gains from reductions in equity interest held

in associates - 32,829

- 404 Other income 6,288 6,540

4,031 6,016 Other expenses (994) (1,948)

(693) (1,475)











Operating profit/(loss) 26,621 178,809

(31,732) 106,262











Financing expenses (85,263) (61,326)

(47,244) (35,612) Financing income 8,094 13,283

3,871 5,077











Financing, expenses, net (77,169) (48,043)

(43,373) (30,535) Provision of financial guarantees (129,010) -

(129,010) -











Share in losses of associated companies, net of tax (107,673) (63,378)

(66,735) (29,677)











(Loss)/profit before income taxes (287,231) 67,388

(270,850) 46,050 Income taxes (20,995) (37,277)

(9,174) (24,729)











(Loss)/profit for the period (308,226) 30,111

(280,024) 21,321











Attributable to:









Kenon's shareholders (317,430) 14,284

(281,373) 11,007 Non-controlling interests 9,204 15,827

1,349 10,314











(Loss)/profit for the period (308,226) 30,111

(280,024) 21,321











Basic/Diluted (loss)/profit per share attributable

to Kenon's shareholders (in dollars):









Basic/Diluted (loss)/profit per share (5.91) 0.27

(5.24) 0.21

Kenon Holdings Ltd.

Unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows



For the Six Months ended

June 30 2016 June 30 2015

$ Thousands Cash flows from operating activities



(Loss)/profit for the period (308,226) 30,111 Adjustments:



Depreciation and amortization 77,836 58,537 Financing expenses, net 77,169 48,043 Share in losses of associated companies, net of tax 107,673 63,378 Gain from changes in interest held in associates - (32,829) Provision of financial guarantees 129,010 - Impairment of investment in associated company 72,263 - Bad debt expense 10,636 - Other capital (gains)/loss, net 523 3,471 Share-based payments 590 (1,336) Income taxes 20,995 37,277

188,469 206,652 Change in inventories (34,627) (1,449) Change in trade and other receivables (46,474) (9,811) Change in trade and other payables (3,493) (29,966) Change in provisions and employee benefits (40,077) (36,331)

63,798 129,095 Income taxes paid, net (20,423) (19,983) Dividends received from investments in associates - 4,487 Net cash provided by operating activities 43,375 113,599

Kenon Holdings Ltd.

Unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows, continued



For the Six Months ended

June 30 2016 June 30 2015

$ Thousands Cash flows from investing activities



Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 235 221 Short-term deposits and loans, net 229,814 23,641 Business combinations, less cash acquired (206,059) - Investment in associated company (88,549) (129,234) Acquisition of property, plant and equipment (198,761) (357,912) Acquisition of intangible assets (3,852) (7,287) Interest received 2,979 3,425 Payment of consideration retained (1,448) (2,800) Sale of securities held for trade and available for sale, net 5,894 - Net cash used in investing activities (259,747) (469,946)





Cash flows from financing activities



Dividend paid to non-controlling interests (17,837) (4,254) Proceeds from issuance of shares to holders of non-controlling interests in

subsidiaries 1,684 5,310 Receipt of long-term loans and issuance of debentures 602,466 296,890 Repayment of long-term loans and issuance of debentures (373,890) (51,511) Purchase of non-controlling interest - (20,000) Short-term credit from banks and others, net 12,692 (5,631) Contribution from parent company - 34,271 Payment of consent fee to bond holders (9,515) - Bond issuance expenses (25,904) - Interest paid (58,857) (47,974) Net cash provided by financing activities 130,839 207,101





Decrease in cash and cash equivalents (85,533) (149,246) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period 383,953 610,056 Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on balances of cash and cash

equivalents 2,651 (341) Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period 301,071 460,469

Information regarding reportable segments Information regarding activities of the reportable segments are set forth in the following table.



I.C. Power*







Generation** Distribution*** Qoros**** Other Adjustments Total

$ Thousands For the six months ended June 30,

2016:











Total sales 640,628 240,488 - 65 - 881,181 Adjusted EBITDA***** 149,772 38,471 - (11,523) - 176,720 Depreciation and amortization 71,183 6,486 - 167 - 77,836 Financing income (2,848) (1,846) - (8,094) 4,694 (8,094) Financing expenses 65,895 13,061 - 11,001 (4,694) 85,263 Other items:











Impairment of investment in

associated company - - - 72,263 - 72,263 Provision of financial guarantees - - - 129,010 - 129,010 Share in (profits)/losses of associated

companies (343) - 71,415 36,601 - 107,673

133,887 17,701 71,415 240,948 - 463,951 (Loss)/profit before taxes 15,885 20,770 (71,415) (252,471) - (287,231) Income taxes 15,124 5,847 - 24 - 20,995 (Loss)/profit for the period from

continuing operations 761 14,923 (71,415) (252,495) - (308,226)

* The total assets and liabilities of I.C. Power are $4.8 billion and $4.0 billion at June 30, 2016, respectively. ** Includes holding company. *** Operating since January 22, 2016. **** Associated company. ***** Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure. We define "Adjusted EBITDA" for the period for each entity as (loss)/profit for the period from continuing operations before depreciation and amortization, financing income, financing expenses, impairment of investment in associated company, provision of financial guarantees, share in (profits)/losses of associated companies and income taxes. Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure used by us, and our businesses, to assess financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA is also used by our competitors, ratings agencies, financial analysts and investors to assess the financial performance of companies within our and our businesses' industries. Adjusted EBITDA presents limitations that impair its use as a measure of each entity's profitability since it does not take into consideration certain costs and expenses that result from each entity's business that could have a significant effect on each entity's profit for the period from continuing operations, such as financial expenses, taxes, depreciation, capital expenses and other related charges.



I.C. Power*





Generation* Qoros** Other Adjustments Total

$ Thousands For the six months ended June 30, 2015:









Sales to external customers 649,907 - 225 - 650,132 Intersegment sales 5,115 - - - 5,115

655,022 - 225 - 655,247 Elimination of intersegment sales (5,115) - - 5,115 - Total sales 649,907 - 225 5,115 655,247











Adjusted EBITDA*** 221,511 - 15,835 - 237,346 Depreciation and amortization 58,318 - 219 - 58,537 Financing income (4,315) - (8,968) - (13,283) Financing expenses 57,254 - 4,072 - 61,326 Other items:









Share in losses (income) of associated

companies (116) 73,864 (10,370) - 63,378

111,141 73,864 (15,047) - 169,958 (Loss)/profit before taxes 110,370 (73,864) 30,882 - 67,388 Income taxes 37,277 - - - 37,277 (Loss)/profit for the period from continuing

operations 73,093 (73,864) 30,882 - 30,111

* The total assets and liabilities of I.C. Power are $4.0 billion and $3.0 billion at June 30, 2015, respectively. ** Associated company. *** Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure. We define "Adjusted EBITDA" for the period for each entity as (loss)/profit for the period from continuing operations before depreciation and amortization, financing income, financing expenses, share in losses (income) of associated companies and income taxes.

Segment Information (Cont'd)



I.C. Power*







Generation** Distribution*** Qoros**** Other Adjustments Total

$ Thousands For the three months ended June 30,

2016:











Total sales 319,428 139,901 - - - 459,329 Adjusted EBITDA***** 65,184 23,404 - (6,113) - 82,475 Depreciation and amortization 38,954 2,910 - 80 - 41,944 Financing income (2,358) (353) - (5,189) 4,029 (3,871) Financing expenses 41,513 4,826 - 4,934 (4,029) 47,244 Other items:











Impairment of investment in

associated company - - - 72,263 - 72,263 Provision of financial guarantees - - - 129,010

129,010 Share in (profits)/losses of associated

companies (144) - 45,603 21,276 - 66,735

77,965 7,383 45,603 222,374 - 353,325 Profit/(loss) before taxes (12,781) 16,021 (45,603) (228,487) - (270,850) Income taxes 4,705 4,464 - 5 - 9,174 Profit/(loss) for the period from

continuing operations (17,486) 11,557 (45,603) (228,492) - (280,024)

* The total assets and liabilities of I.C. Power are $4.8 billion and $4.0 billion at June 30, 2016, respectively. ** Includes holding company. *** Operating since January 22, 2016. **** Associated company. *****Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure. We define "Adjusted EBITDA" for the period for each entity as profit/(loss) for the period from continuing operations before depreciation and amortization, financing income, financing expenses, impairment of investment in associated company, provision of financial guarantees, share in (profits)/losses of associated companies and income taxes.



I.C. Power*





Generation* Qoros** Other Adjustments Total

$ Thousands For the three months ended June 30, 2015:









Sales to external customers 330,835 - - - 330,835 Intersegment sales 2,254 - - - 2,254

333,089 - - - 333,089 Elimination of intersegment sales (2,254) - - 2,254 - Total sales 330,835 - - 2,254 333,089











Adjusted EBITDA*** 142,007 - (6,418) - 135,589 Depreciation and amortization 29,239 - 88 - 29,327 Financing income (2,755) - (869) (1,453) (5,077) Financing expenses 34,159 - - 1,453 35,612 Other items:









Share in losses (income) of associated

companies (124) 38,104 (8,303) - 29,677

60,519 38,104 (9,084) - 89,539 (Loss)/profit before taxes 81,488 (38,104) 2,666 - 46,050 Income taxes 24,729 - - - 24,729 (Loss)/profit for the period from continuing

operations 56,759 (38,104) 2,666 - 21,321

* The total assets and liabilities of I.C. Power are $4.0 billion and $3.0 billion at June 30, 2015, respectively. ** Associated company. *** Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure. We define "Adjusted EBITDA" for the period for each entity as (loss)/profit for the period from continuing operations, before depreciation and amortization, financing income, financing expenses, share in losses (income) of associated companies and income taxes.

Information regarding associated companies



Carrying amounts of investment

in associated companies as at Equity in the net earnings (losses) of associated companies









For the six months ended

For the three months ended

June 30 2016 December 31, 2015 June 30 2016 June 30 2015

June 30,

2016 June 30,

2015

$ Thousands $ Thousands

$ Thousands ZIM 89,996 201,285 (36,825) 11,432

(21,177) 6,465 Tower - - - (798)

- 2,102 Qoros 125,933 158,729 (71,415) (73,864)

(45,603) (38,403) Others 8,832 9,008 567 (148)

45 159

224,761 369,022 (107,673) (63,378)

(66,735) (29,677)

SOURCE Kenon Holdings Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.kenon-holdings.com


When the night began, most of the guests had heard of Moutai, but with few taste. However, after the first bottle was opened, everyone was instantly attracted to its enchanting aroma.

"I feel I've fallen into its unique taste." Hollywood actor Justin Eaton said. He felt that the flavor was a bit strong at the first sip but after two or three drinks, he remarked that the taste became very smooth and not as strong as he had first imagined.

"Moutai is different from vodka, its taste is unique, great!" Travis Wong exclaimed as Aubrey Denver and other guests gathered to discuss the complex taste of Moutai.

During the event, guests began to drink happily and more freely after their first careful tastes. The night quickly became a celebration and a series of heartfelt toasts as more and more people raised their glasses to exclaim "Ganbei!" the traditional toast of China.

"This activity is very local." Media representative Sarah said. "Chinese baijiu can be integrated into local culture in this way."

"Through Facebook and other social media as a means of communication, the Moutai World Fan Club provides a platform for customers to communicate both online and offline. Additionally, fans can learn more about Moutai culture and make new friends. This is our goal." Event coordinator David Tang remarked.

With the intensify of brand publicity, Moutai has already entered the best duty-free shops in Asia, Europe, America, Oceania and Africa. What's more, there are currently 90 distributors of Moutai in over 60 countries and regions around the world. Moutai's share of exports accounted for half of all Chinese liquor exports last year.

At the Moutai International Distributors Conference, Chairman Yuan Renguo of the Moutai Group stressed that in the next five years, overseas markets should strive to achieve an average annual growth rate of more than 15%. Recently, Secretary Mr.Li Baofang of Moutai Group Party Committee emphasized that overseas sales should account for over 10% of total sales. The sales networks of Moutai are becoming more complete by the day. In recent years, Moutai has developed 90 distributors abroad and is working to change their consumer groups' makeup, from a mainly Chinese market to a western mainstream market.

From January to April of 2016, the export of Moutai increased 40% year on year which completed 32% of their annual plan. Guizhou Moutai Import & Export Company is full of enthusiasm about the ever-expanding overseas market.

The Moutai Group Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other overseas new media social platforms are also driving brand internationalization. They have attracted a large number of fans who love Moutai products and culture. Through a series of strategic moves, the Moutai Group is taking their products, brand and culture to the world stage.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161007/416364

SOURCE Kweichow Moutai
GOP leaders expressed disgust and outrage Friday night over lewd remarks about women made 11 years ago by Donald Trump but none went as far as to revoke their endorsements of their controversial candidate.

As 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, the GOP's elite began putting out statements on Friday night, more than six hours after the tape first went public.

"These comments are repugnant, and unacceptable in any circumstance," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape."



in the recording, caught on on open mic and made public Friday, Trump describes trying to have sex with a married woman and brags about women letting him kiss and grab them because he is famous.



House Speaker Paul Ryan reportedly refused to stand on stage with Trump at a planned rally on Saturday in Wisconsin. Trump's running mate, Mike Pence will attend instead. Ryan said Friday: "I am sickened by what I heard today. 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. In the meantime, he is no longer attending tomorrow's event in Wisconsin."

Former presidential challenger and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who only recently endorsed Trump, said on Friday: "These comments are disturbing and inappropriate, there is simply no excuse for them. Every wife, mother, daughter  every person  deserves to be treated with dignity and respect."





Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer denied that party officials met on Friday night to discuss alternatives if Trump was not the party's candidate. The meeting was first tweeted about by a New York Times reporter. The reporter, Yamiche Alcindor, told MSNBC that the RNC has not yet asked Trump to pull out of the race. She said RNC rules prohibit the party from forcing him to resign.

Story continues

Utah U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz went on local TV news on Friday and said he was pulling his endorsement of Trump. "I'm out," he said.

A top aide to Hillary Clinton told NBC News on Friday night that the campaign's strategy going forward is to show that the tape is just part of a pattern with Trump.

On a campaign stop in Phoenix, Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine challenged voters and members of the press to challenge every single Republican who has announced support for Trump and ask whether they think he is still qualified.

Here are some of the other reactions from GOPers:

SENATORS' STATEMENTS

Joe Heck, Nevada: "I condemn in the strongest possible terms Donald Trump's comments. The language he used was disgraceful and there are no circumstances where such behavior is acceptable."



Rob Portman, Ohio: "The comments were offensive and wrong and he was right to apologize."

Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania: "Donald Trump's comments were outrageous and unacceptable."

Richard Burr, North Carolina: "The comments are inappropriate and completely unacceptable.



Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire: "His comments are totally inappropriate and offensive."

Mark Kirk, Illinois: "DJT is a malignant clown  unprepared and unfit to be president of the United States."

John McCain, Arizona: "There are no excuses for Donald Trump's offensive and demeaning comments. No woman should ever be victimized by this kind of inappropriate behavior. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences."



Marco Rubio, Florida: "Donald's comments were vulgar, egregious & impossible to justify. No one should ever talk about any woman in those terms, even in private."

Ron Johnson, Wisconsin: "Donald Trump's recent comments are completely indefensible and I refuse to even attempt to try and do so."

Jeff Flake, Arizona: "America deserves far better than @realDonaldTrump."

HOUSE



Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington: "I have said before that I would not hesitate to voice my disagreement with Mr. Trump when he says something that I believe should not be part of our political dialogue. It is never appropriate to condone unwanted sexual advances or violence against women. Mr. Trump must realize that it has no place in public or private conversations today or in the past."

OTHER

Mitt Romney: "Hitting on married women? Condoning assault? Such vile degradations demean our wives and daughters and corrupt America's face to the world."

Jeb Bush: "As the grandfather of two precious girls, I find that no apology can excuse away Donald Trump's reprehensible comments degrading women."



John Kasich, Ohio; "Make no mistake the comments were wrong and offensive. They are indefensible."

Jon Huntsman: "In a campaign cycle that has been nothing but a race to the bottom  at such a critical moment for our nation  and with so many who have tried to be respectful of a record primary vote, the time has come for Governor Pence to lead the ticket," he told the Salt Lake City Tribune

Gov. Gary Herbert, Utah: "Donald Trump's statements are beyond offensive & despicable. While I cannot vote for Hillary Clinton, I will not vote for Trump."

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus: "No woman should ever be described in these terms or talked about in this manner. Ever."



NBC News contributed to this report.









More From CNBC


RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Electric cooperatives reporting 60,000 outages as of 4:30 p.m. ; numbers expected to rise.

; numbers expected to rise. Crews will begin restoration efforts as soon as conditions are safe, navigating flooded terrain and clearing trees before making system repairs.

Cooperatives remind members that downed lines can be covered by debris; stay vigilant.

North Carolina's 26 electric cooperatives are collectively reporting 60,000 power outages as of 4:30 p.m. Hurricane Matthew is forecasted to be closest to our state around 8 p.m., and the cooperatives anticipate that outages will climb as the storm moves closer.

The outages are widespread, and the counties experiencing the most significant outages are: Orange, Harnett, Scotland, Cumberland, Moore, Bladen and Richmond.

Electric cooperative line crews, including those who are locally based as well as support crews from western parts of North Carolina and Virginia, will be out in force as soon as conditions are safe, which is likely to coincide with first morning light. They will navigate flooded terrain and downed trees, as well as clear trees and debris before they can begin to make system repairs. Restoration efforts will continue until power has been restored to all cooperative members, and this effort is expected to last several days.

Saturated grounds and flooding are creating an unstable environment for trees, and when coupled with Matthew's winds, falling trees are bringing down power lines. The electric cooperatives urge North Carolinians to NEVER touch a downed power line, and remember that sometimes debris can cover fallen lines, making them difficult to spot. Be vigilant.

North Carolina's 26 electric cooperatives collectively serve approximately 2.5 million people in 93 of the state's 100 counties. Six electric cooperatives serve 16 North Carolina beaches, and many more serve hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in other parts of eastern North Carolina.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161008/426614LOGO

SOURCE North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thousands of people in the path of Hurricane Matthew are looking to the American Red Cross for help as the deadly storm continues to pummel the southeast coast. More than 18,000 people across four states woke up Saturday morning in 183 Red Cross and community evacuation shelters.

"For the second night in a row, we have seen more people in evacuation shelters than during the height of Superstorm Sandy. Right now we're focusing on keeping people safe, providing shelter, and feeding thousands of evacuees," said Brad Kieserman, vice president, Disaster Operations and Logistics for the Red Cross. "We're working with the entire response community to be ready for what people will need when Matthew makes his exit."

PLATELET DONATIONS CRITICALLY NEEDED FOR PATIENTS

The storm has also impacted the nation's blood supply. This week, Hurricane Matthew has forced the cancellation of more than 30 Red Cross blood drives in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, resulting in more than 1,300 blood and platelet donations to go uncollected. More cancellations are likely along the Southeast coast of the U.S.

"We are asking eligible individuals in areas unaffected by the hurricane to make an appointment to give blood or platelets as soon as possible to help patients in need," said Shaun Gilmore, president of Biomedical Services for the Red Cross. "In particular, the need for platelet donations is critical right now. Blood products are currently being distributed to hospitals as quickly as they come in."

Platelets are a key clotting component of blood often needed by cancer patients that must be transfused within five days of donation. Appointments for blood and platelet donations can be made by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

U.S. DISASTER RESPONSE

On Friday night. there were 74 evacuation shelters in Florida with nearly 6,000 people; 30 shelters in Georgia with nearly 6,000 people; 63 shelters in South Carolina with 6,300 people and 16 shelters in North Carolina with 200 people.

In addition to mobilizing more than 2,200 trained disaster workers, the Red Cross has also deployed 95 emergency response vehicles and pre-positioned 94 trailers stocked with relief supplies including water, ready-to-eat meals, cleaning items and comfort kits, insect repellant, gloves, masks, shovels, rakes, coolers and more. As soon as it is safe to do so, the Red Cross will be coordinating with partners to support people as they return home.

If someone needs to find a shelter, they can visit redcross.org, check the Red Cross Emergency App or call 1-800-768-8048. The free Red Cross Emergency App gives users emergency weather alerts, safety and shelter information on their mobile devices. Red Cross apps are available in smartphone app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps.

MAKE A DONATION The Red Cross depends on donations to provide immediate relief. Help people affected by Hurricane Matthew 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.

HAITI RESPONSE

The American Red Cross is working closely with the Haitian Red Cross to assess the extent of damage and get much-needed supplies to the 61,000 residents displaced by Hurricane Matthew. Due to the extent of the damage and the continued difficultly in reaching several of the affected areas, the American Red Cross is playing a key coordination role with local authorities and international humanitarian organizations to ensure life-saving support and supplies reach all those in need.

Basic infrastructure such as communication systems, water systems and electricity are highly damaged and non-functional in some locations. Major needs include shelter, clean water and sanitation, and 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.

Destroyed communication systems coupled with poor road accessibility are preventing people from reaching their family members in affected areas. Those searching for non-U.S. citizen family members can contact the American Red Cross Restoring Family Links unit at redcross.org/reconnectingfamilies. The best way to locate U.S. citizens living or traveling overseas is to contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or +1 202-501-4444.

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


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
Cape Town, Oct 8 : South Africa's Constitutional Court (ConCourt) on Friday refused to hear the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA's) appeal on the judgement handed down by the North Gauteng High Court, which reinstated the 783 fraud, racketeering and corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma.

It would not be in the interests of justice to hear the NPA's request for leave to appeal the reinstatement of corruption charges against Zuma at this stage, the ConCourt ruled, Xinhua reported.

In response to the ruling, the Presidency said it has noted the decision.

The president awaits the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal in respect of a petition which he launched on the same matter, presidential spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga said.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said the NPA's move highlights yet again the deliberate attempts by the NPA and Zuma "to do everything possible to delay Zuma 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 is time for Zuma and his captured institutions of state, to stop delaying the inevitable, the party said.

Zuma, like every other South African charged with a crime, must have his day in court and answer for the 783 charges against him, the DA said.

In April last year, a full bench of North Gaugeng High Court ruled that the NPA's 2009 decision to drop the corruption charges against Zuma was null and void and thus set it aside.

However, Zuma and the NPA lodged an application asking for leave to appeal the decision on the grounds that it allows the court to interfere with the prerogative of the NPA to independently decide whether to prosecute or not.

In early 1999, Zuma was charged with fraud and corruption in contracts worth about 30 billion rand (about 2 billion U.S. dollars at current rate) in an arms procurement deal with European countries.

The NPA withdrew the charges, citing conspiracy against Zuma, weeks before the 2009 election in which Zuma won the presidency.
Washington, Oct 8 : The United States on Friday blamed Russia for hacking US political sites, an accusation immediately dismissed as "nonsense" by Moscow.

Shortly after the White House claimed in a statement that US intelligence was "confident" that Russia was behind recent hacking of emails from US citizens and political organisations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly dismissed the accusation.

"Every day there are tens of thousands of attacks on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's website. Many of the attacks can be traced to the US but we're not blaming the White House or Langley every time," Xinhua news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

In July, WikiLeaks disclosed a trove of emails hacked from the accounts of staff at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) which appeared to discredit Democratic Party's claim of neutrality in the primary elections.

According to contents of the almost 20,000 emails, DNC officials -- who are supposed to remain neutral during the primary contest -- appeared to conspire against Hillary Clinton's rival Bernie Sanders.

After the disclosure, the DNC blamed Russia for the hack of emails despite the fact that a hacker, with the name of "Guccifer 2.0" claimed responsibility for the cyber attack.
Panaji, Oct 8 : Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao, religious leader of Goan Catholics who account for more than a quarter of Goa's population, has appealed for special prayers for peace for "Mother India", especially in the light of simmering hostilities with Pakistan.

"I call upon members of other religious communities in our Archdiocese to join us in praying for our Mother India," Ferrao said in a statement issued here on Saturday.

"Ironically, it (peace) is one of the most eluding goods in today's society. The fragile peace along the Indian border with neighbouring Pakistan is regularly disturbed by exchange of fire and other forms of violence, revealing a simmering state of hostility and suspicion between two countries that otherwise share linguistic, cultural, geographic and even economic links," Ferrao said.

The archbishop said that instructions had been issued to the church and parish networks to conduct special prayers "for one another and for peace in our land".
Srinagar, Oct 8 : An Indian soldier was injured on Saturday morning as the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked shelling and firing on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Police said the Pakistan Army resorted to heavy mortar shelling and firing in Mendhar sector of the LoC.

"Pakistan shelling started at 5 a.m. and continued till 6.30 a.m. Indian Army retaliated effectively using same calibre weapons," the police said.
New York, Oct 8 : Technology giant Google will shut down Panoramio, the location-centric photo sharing service that the company used to augment its Google Maps and Google Earth services, in November, a media report said.

Panoramio, the service which Google acquired in 2007, will show its last image on November 4. Google previously tried to shut the service down in 2014. At the time, its users successfully petitioned the company to keep it open, Tech Crunch reported on Saturday.

"Today, with photo upload tools in Google Maps and our Local Guides programme, we are providing easy options for you to share your photos with an active and growing community. As such, we've decided to now close down Panoramio," Google wrote in an email to Panoramio users on Saturday.

Google is also encouraging Panoramio users to join its Local Guides programme and to upload photos directly to Google Maps.

The users who have linked their Panoramio and Google+ accounts need not worry about their photos as Google will automatically copy their images to a Google Album archive.

Users will still be able to access their photos in Panoramio for a year after November 4.
Agartala, Oct 8 : Departing from the normal, a Durga Puja pandal (marquee) here is paying tribute to the 19 Indian Army soldiers martyred in a terrorist attack on their camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir last month.

Thousands of puja revellers thronged the Agantuk Club Durga Puja pandal (marquee) here to pray before the goddess and pay their respects to the martyred soldiers.

"We have displayed the photographs of those martyred in Uri to keep alive the memory of their sacrifice," Kanraj Sarkar, a senior member of the Agantuk Club, told IANS.

"TSR (Tripura State Rifles) troopers also paid their homage to the slain soldiers," he added.

Sarkar, who conceptualised the pandal, said several especially-made oversized candles would illuminate the area.

"After the Uri attack, we changed the design of the pandal and decided to pay homage to our soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation. And, after the surgical strikes (across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir), we felt there is utmost need to show our gratitude to them," Sarkar said.

Meanwhile, though at least 2,515 community Durga Pujas, including 1,495 in rural and interior areas and about 100 family events are being held in Tripura, the one at the Durgabari temple of the erstwhile royal family remains the main attraction for numerous reasons, including for its centuries-old customs that are kept alive to this day.

The erstwhile royal family closely oversees the 500-yeaqr-old Durgabari temple's Durga Puja, which is sponsored by Tripura's ruling Left Front led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist. The state government's sponsorship is mandated under the agreement by which the Tripura merged with the Indian Union on October 15, 1949.

With 'Maha Sasthi' or 'Bodhan' -- the welcoming of the Durga idols -- the five-day long Puja began on Friday at the Durgabari temple, located in front of the 115-year-old Ujjayanta Palace, eastern India's biggest royal mansion, now turned into a museum.

Traditional themes, prevailing issues and events continue to dominate Puja pandals in the state with historical events forming part of the theme for decorations.

Since Friday afternoon, people have started visiting the pandals to see the imaginative decorations and Durga idols across the state. Teenagers and children are adding to the festivities.

"Unlike in the past, there are no reports about extremists creating problems or asking people not to organise the Puja. The number of Durga Pujas has also increased in rural and remote areas," Tripura Director General of Police K. Nagaraj told IANS.
Srinagar, Oct 8 : Separatist guerrillas on Saturday snatched two weapons from police guards at a 'minority post' in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said.

"Militants snatched two weapons from policemen guarding members of minority community at Tumlahal village in Pulwama," a police official said here.

On Friday, a policeman was killed and two other persons including a policeman and a civilian injured in a shootout in Shopian district when guerrillas tried to snatch weapons from the police guards at a minority post in Reshnagri village.

Minority posts were set up by the security forces in villages where members of the Kashmiri Pandit community continue to live.

Majority of the local Kashmiri Pandit community migrated out of the Valley in the early 1990s with the outbreak of the separatist violence.
Baharampur (West Bengal), Oct 8 : President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday inaugurated a new military station in Murshidabad district in West Bengal.

Mukherjee, who had also laid the foundation stone of the Berhampore Military Station in 2014, said that the station has great importance because it is the only such station between Siliguri (in north Bengal) and Kolkata which is very near to Bangladesh border.

In his address, he also appreciated the sacrifices of Indian soldiers and said that they have shown exemplary courage in every battlefield. He saluted the brave hearts whose sacrifices are unparalleled.

Mukherjee, who is on a five-day visit to West Bengal, also inaugurated the Kamoda Kinkar Mukhopadhyay Sarani, a street named after his freedom fighter father, at Suri in neighbouring Birbhum district. He also launched the silver jubilee celebrations of Dishari Club.

He said Mukhopadhyay was among the freedom fighters who fought relentlessly to free the country from British despotism.

He said that during the freedom struggle, several renowned patriots followed Mahatma Gandhiji's principle of non-violence and there were many others who followed the stream of revolution and there was another stream too which posed organised threat to British imperialism and they were the tribals. Birbhum is one of the districts from where the Santhals rose up to fight the British hegemony.

The president lauded the 'Clean India' initiative of the Narendra Modi government and said that the entire country and all its villages and cities should be kept clean and pollution-free.

He said everybody should come forward and work unitedly under this initiative.
Chennai, Oct 8 : DMK leader M.K.Stalin on Saturday visited Apollo Hospital to enquire about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa's health condition.

Speaking to reporters later, Stalin said: "DMK President M.Karunanidhi had ordered us to visit Apollo Hospitals. He had asked us to enquire about Jayalalithaa's health with the doctors and Tamil Nadu ministers."

He said that while he was not able to meet Jayalalithaa, the doctors and state ministers like Finance Minister O.Panneerselvam and others briefed him about her health.

Stalin wished Jayalalithaa a speedy recovery on behalf of Karunanidhi and the DMK party.

The 68-year old Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospital here last month for fever and dehydration.

The Apollo Hospitals later said she needs a longer stay at the hospital as she is suffering from infection and is on respiratory support.
JVS Christmas Lighting, presently at http://jvschristmaslighting.com/, will now be hosted, effective Tuesday, September 20th, at http://www.jvschristmaslighting.net. Please enjoy browsing our exciting new website. The present website will remain until September 30th, but we encourage you to contact us on our new website instead.

Our email addresses are also being migrated to jvschristmaslighting.net. Our generic email will be info@jvschristmaslighting.net.

The specific individual email addresses will remain the same, at the exception of .net versus .com.

Please take note of these changes as our present.com domain will phased out effective September 30th, 2016. We thank you in advance for your attention regarding this matter.

The Elves at JVS Christmas Lighting

JVS Christmas Lighting

15 Charles Street

Westwood, NJ 07675

201.664.4022

844-642-XMAS (9627)

info(at)jvschristmaslighting(dot)net
American IRA CEO, Jim Hitt Many people simply assume that one can only invest in stocks and funds with their retirement accounts. The truth is that through Self-Direction, there are a lot more possibilities allowed by the Internal Revenue Service. Past News Releases RSS American IRA Responds to Increases...

American IRA Responds to The Best...

Self-Directed IRA Administrator...

On October 10th, a team member from American IRA, LLC-a national Real Estate IRA administrator, will attend the monthly Carolina Real Estate Investors Association event, to be held at the Hilton Bilmore Park in American IRAs home of Asheville, North Carolina.

American IRA, a Self-Directed IRA administration firm, regularly sends its team members to local real estate investor events in order to stay on top of the latest knowledge while sharing in the networking opportunities at REIA and CREIA events.

These events are always a lot of fun for us, said American IRA CEO, Jim Hitt. And we like meeting people who are curious about real estate investing as well. One thing many people dont know is that they can utilize a Real Estate IRA in their retirement efforts. At the Carolina Real Estate Investors Association events in particular, youll meet a lot of people with an entire range of experience. There are old hands at real estate investing and people who have never attended an event like this before.

For Jim Hitt and American IRA, real estate represents more than just an investment opportunity. As a Self-Directed IRA administration firm, American IRA understands that people sometimes invest in real estate not simply for monetary gain, but for the stability it can provide in retirement. By directing their own IRAs, investors can use tax-protected accounts and invest in real estate.

We dont provide financial advice for Self-Directed IRA investors, Jim Hitt pointed out. But he noted that many people are not even aware of the possibilities of investing in real estate through an IRA. Many people simply assume that one can only invest in stocks and funds with their retirement accounts. The truth is that through Self-Direction, there are a lot more possibilities allowed by the Internal Revenue Service.

These possibilities go beyond even real estate and extend to private equity and even precious metals.

Those who want to learn more about real estate investing can attend the CREIA event on October 10th at Hilton Biltmore Park, 43 Town Square Blvd., Asheville, NC 28803. Members attend free, but the cost for non-members is low at only $15. The networking happy hour begins at 5:30 p.m. local time.

About American IRA, LLC:

Click here to claim one of our 7 Self-Directed IRA guide(s).

American IRA is committed to providing every client with gold-level service, regardless of account size. Experience their expertise through their certified IRA services professionals. Enjoy the value with one low annual fee of $285 with unlimited assets and unlimited account values. American IRA clients love the benefit of no charge for "All Cash" accounts. The performance of the American IRA staff is unmatched, with quick and efficient processing within 48 hours.

American IRA services thousands of clients and has over $300 million in assets under administration.

American IRA was built by investors for investors, and brings their successful investment experience to the table, providing excellent educational material showing the public that their Self-Directed IRA account can invest in a variety of assets such as real estate, private lending, limited liability companies, precious metals and much more.

American IRA is conveniently located in Asheville, NC and Charlotte, NC, and serves clients nationwide.
Greenberg Traurig Litigation shareholders Ricardo A. Gonzalez, Angelika Hunnefeld and Francisco O. Sanchez from the Miami office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig P.A., participated as speakers at the 7th Annual CLE Conference, Vote USA 2016: In HouseYour Voice and Your Matters, hosted by The Association of Corporate Counsel, South Florida Chapter. Greenberg Traurig also served as a sponsor of the conference which took place on Sept. 30 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Gonzalez, Hunnefeld and Sanchez provided their insight and recommendations regarding Key Considerations for Drafting an Effective Arbitration Clause. The attorneys are part of Greenberg Traurigs Latin American Arbitration Practice which consists of skilled litigators, with broad experience in all aspects of international commercial arbitration. They have a deep understanding of the Americas and the Caribbean, and counsel clients on dispute resolution strategies.

Ricardo A. Gonzalez represents clients in a wide range of commercial disputes before state and federal courts and domestic and international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution tribunals. Rick has represented and counseled clients in fraud, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair and deceptive trade practices, securities fraud, and probate matters. In addition, he has represented and counseled clients in the defense of regulatory investigations and civil enforcement proceedings.

Angelika Hunnefeld is a Board Certified Specialist in International Law by The Florida Bar. She practices in the areas of commercial litigation, international business arbitration and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Angelika is experienced in matters involving multi-jurisdictional issues, enforcement of foreign judgments and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. She also assists clients with matters relating to issues arising under the anti-bribery and record-keeping provisions of the FCPA. Angelika is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese and French.

Francisco O. Sanchez is a business litigator who focuses on assisting clients in resolving disputes and achieving business objectives in the most cost-effective manner possible. In addition to handling complex commercial matters of various types, including federal and state court litigation, administrative proceedings, and international and domestic arbitrations, Francisco's practice includes conducting internal corporate investigations and advising clients regarding a variety of regulatory compliance and other internal corporate issues. Francisco's current client base consists of a variety of corporations and businesses with international operations in Latin America and elsewhere abroad.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is No. 1 on the 2015 Law360 Most Charitable Firms list, second largest in the U.S. on the 2016 Law360 400, Top 20 on the 2015 Am Law Global 100, and among the 2015 BTI Brand Elite. More information at: http://www.gtlaw.com.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
The headquarters of Odebrecht SA is pictured in Sao Paulo, Brazil, March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The eldest member of Brazil's Odebrecht family is personally spearheading negotiations between executives of his namesake engineering conglomerate and federal prosecutors for a potential plea deal in Brazil's biggest-ever corruption probe, O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported on Saturday.

According to Estado, patriarch Emilio Odebrecht is leading a team of executives and lawyers of Odebrecht SA that have set up Brasilia's Windsor Plaza hotel as their headquarters for the negotiations. The talks seek to engage as many as 53 Odebrecht executives in cooperation deals with authorities, Estado said.

Representatives for Odebrecht declined to comment on the article.

A Brazilian government official with direct knowledge of the negotiations with Odebrecht acknowledged they were going on, but said, "We're not even close" to a deal. The official did not provide any other details.

A second Brazilian government official confirmed on Saturday to Reuters that negotiations were in progress.

Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL] is the largest of Brazil's engineering firms accused of colluding to overcharge state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA) and other state firms for contracts, then using part of that to channel donations and bribes into the former ruling Workers Party and allies.

According to the report, federal prosecutors in charge of the so-called "Operation Car Wash" want Odebrecht SA to pay fines of at least 6 billion reais ($1.9 billion).

Marcelo Bahia Odebrecht, Emilio's son and the group's former chief executive, has been in jail since June last year for his involvement in the scandal. Bahia Odebrecht, who has been already sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for participating in the scheme, is willing to collaborate with the probe, Estado said.

Patriarch Emilio and his lawyers are trying to convince prosecutors to allow other group executives to serve shortened sentences in exchange for cooperation, the paper reported, adding that negotiations could last at least another week.

Story continues

Analysts have said that testimony by Odebrecht executives could broaden the Car Wash investigation.

According to the Estado article, among the executives involved in negotiations is Alexandrino de Alencar, Odebrecht's former head of institutional relations.

($1 = 3.2220 reais)

(Reporting by Bruno Federowski and Brad Brooks; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Andrea Ricci)
The internet is currently in a frenzy following a video posted by The Washington Post featuring Donald Trump and television personality Billy Bush in a deplorable and objectifying conversation involving women.

The clip shows then-Access Hollywood co-host conversing with Trump on the set of the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives. Trump tells Bush of a failed attempt at seducing Nancy ODell, Bushs co-host at the time, saying, I moved on her and I failed. Ill admit it. I did try and f**k her. She was married.

The Republican presidential candidate goes on to say, Im automatically attracted to beautiful  I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait. And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

Trump then states, Grab them by the p***y, you can do anything.

Needless to say, the Twitter-verse is livid.

Women have the power to stop Trump.  Senator Hillary Clinton

This kind of behavior is disgusting. It makes me sick to my stomach. https://t.co/mOUKgr6axl  Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) October 7, 2016

This kind of behavior is disgusting. It makes me sick to my stomach.  Senator Tim Kaine

As the grandfather of two precious girls, I find that no apology can excuse away Donald Trump's reprehensible comments degrading women.  Jeb Bush (@JebBush) October 7, 2016

As the grandfather of two precious girls, I find that no apology can excuse away Donald Trumps reprehensible comments degrading women.  Jeb Bush

Story continues

I never heard him "apologize" for talking to me & others about his family member's spouse, and especially her breasts. THIS IS WHO HE IS. https://t.co/W9RH1otj0t  ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) October 7, 2016

I never heard him apologize for talking to me & others about his family members spouse, and especially her breasts. THIS IS WHO HE IS.  Ashley Judd

LADIES WE R NOT DISPOSABLE BLOW UP DOLLS,4RICH MENS PLEASURE.I HAD SCARY EXPERIENCE W/RICH IMPORTANT FILM PROD.& I WAS CHER

I WANTED JOB  Cher (@cher) October 7, 2016

LADIES  WE R NOT DISPOSABLE BLOW UP DOLLS,4RICH MENS PLEASURE.I HAD SCARY EXPERIENCE W/RICH IMPORTANT FILM PROD.& I WAS CHER I WANTED JOB.  Cher

If there was a popular male equivalent experience, being #grabbedbythepussy would be cause for capital punishment.  Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) October 8, 2016

If there was a popular male equivalent experience, being # grabbedbythepussy would be cause for capital punishment.  Lena Dunham

Hi @realDonaldTrump u actually CANT grab women "by the pussy" &youre a predator in every sense of the word. Cant lie yr way outta this one.  jenny slate (@jennyslate) October 7, 2016

Hi @realDonaldTrump u actually CANT grab women by the pussy &youre a predator in every sense of the word. Cant lie yr way outta this one  Jenny Slate

I'm just gonna start saying "I'm not a polished politician" when I've done something bad. Seems to be an acceptable answer for many people.  Jesse Tyler Ferguson (@jessetyler) October 7, 2016

Im just gonna start saying Im not a polished politician when Ive done something bad. Seems to be an acceptable answer for many people.  Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Well, there goes my Billy Bush vote.  Ron Perlman (@perlmutations) October 7, 2016

Well, there goes my Billy Bush vote  Ron Perlman

Trump says misogynist things all the time. The video is still sickening. https://t.co/Q3VrOe0t6S via @doublexmag  Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) October 7, 2016

Trump says misogynist things all the time. The video is still sickening.  Joyce Carol Oates

Somebody better ask Trump about rape culture at the next debate  Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) October 8, 2016

Somebody better ask Trump about rape culture at the next debate  Jessica Valenti

Well. You can stop tweeting "delete your account." Enjoy your weekend. https://t.co/5H7qNXR2og  Aisha Tyler (@aishatyler) October 8, 2016

Well. You can stop tweeting delete your account. Enjoy your weekend.  Aisha Tyler

I am disgustednot surprisedbut disgusted.  Zendaya

As it turns out, this entire election has been one long rape joke.  Saeed Jones (@theferocity) October 7, 2016

As it turns out, this entire election has been one long rape joke  Saeed Jones

Donald Trump thinks "when you're a star" you "can do anything" to women? Well you can't make me vote for you, you misogynistic entitled pig.  Emmy Rossum (@emmyrossum) October 7, 2016

Donald Trump thinks when youre a star you can do anything to women? Well you cant make me vote for you, you misogynistic entitled pig.  Emmy Rossum

I'm calling for a total and complete shutdown of Donald Trump interacting with women until we can figure out what is going on  Ariel Edwards-Levy (@aedwardslevy) October 7, 2016

Im calling for a total and complete shutdown of Donald Trump interacting with women until we can figure out what is going on  Ariel Edwards-Levy

Only privileged dudes like Trump and Billy Bush get to play the boys will be boys card when they're fully grown men  Allison Kilkenny (@allisonkilkenny) October 7, 2016

Only privileged dudes like Trump and Billy Bush get to play the boys will be boys card when theyre fully grown men -Allison Kilkenny

Comedian Samantha Bee took the humorous route, parodying the video:

BREAKING: Samantha Bee recorded having extremely lewd conversation about men in 2016. pic.twitter.com/UBYUJFGayy  Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) October 8, 2016

She added:

An Official Statement From The Full Frontal Team pic.twitter.com/nwiaR2g5bS  Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) October 8, 2016

Related stories

Donald Trump Says He Will 'Never Withdraw' From Presidential Race (Report)

Donald Trump Apologizes for Lewd Remarks: 'I Pledge to Be a Better Man'

Donald Trump: Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, Samantha Bee React to GOP Nominee's Vulgar Comments
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:

Home Regional News East
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





More From Business Insider


This year, in the run-up to the Frankfurt Book Fair, interest in psychological suspense is holding steady. Despite a huge boom in titles sharing literary DNA with Gillian Flynns 2012 bestseller, Gone Girl, and Paula Hawkinss 2015 hit, The Girl on the Train, editors are still spending big money in this subgenre. Although some say theyre tired of seeing these kinds of books, many are betting that readers feel differently.

A concrete definition of the subgenre is hard to come by among editors, but, generally, these titles are distinguished from general crime novels by a focus on the frame of mind of the central characters. Peter Cannon, a senior reviews editor at PW who handles mystery and suspense titles, said these books often feature an innocent person caught up in a crimeusually a woman who is trying to figure out what happened to her and why.

With Frankfurt opening October 19, a number of the novels that have just sold in big-money deals to U.S. editors have been categorized as psychological suspense. One is a debut effort called The Chalk Man by British author Caz Tudor. Acquired by Crown, the novel is about a young man being pulled back into a mystery from his childhood. (Chalk drawings he made as a boy led him and his friends to a dead body.) Another, Beautiful Things, by Barnes & Noble Discoverwinner Gin Phillips, which went to Viking, is set over the course of three hours and focuses on a mother trapped in a zoo with her young son and a crazed gunman. Both books fetched sums rumored to be in the high six figures. Though neither novel has a setup that echoes the calling cards of Gone Girl or The Girl on the Traina whodunit constructed around a kidnapping (Gone Girl), dueling narrative threads (Gone Girl), or an unreliable and unlikable female narrator (both books)the novels are being touted as psychological suspense.

But a third book that just sold, called The Woman in the Window, does bear a notable resemblance to The Girl on the Train. Written by William Morrow executive editor Dan Mallory under a pseudonym, the novel features an unreliable female narrator who believes she has witnessed a crime. Like The Girl on the Trains Rachel, this heroine has a drinking problem, and part of the books conceit is the question of whether she can accurately recall what she claims to have seen. The Woman in the Window was bought for a rumored seven figures by Mallorys own imprint.

Given the success of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, its unsurprising that the market has seen a surge of titles in the psychological suspense subgenre. What is surprising is how much of an impact both books are having on new work currently being producedand bought.

This is womens fiction right now, until some new category comes and busts it, said Alison Callahan, v-p and executive editor at Gallery Books and Scout Press. Callahan has experienced firsthand just how hungry readers still are for books that feature dark, twisty, narratives and, often, unreliable female narrators. Ruth Ware, a British author Callahan publishes (at Scout Press), has proven to be a major success in the States; according to Scouts parent company, Simon & Schuster, her two books, 2015s In a Dark, Dark Wood and the July release The Woman in Cabin 10, have a combined 700,000 copies in print. Right now it seems that a certain book club reader wants to have their bell rung, Callahan said.

Most editors cite Gone Girlaccording to its publisher, Crown, it has sold more than nine million copies (in all formats) in the U.S. aloneas having started the current craze in psychological suspense. The success of The Girl on the Train, following Gone Girl, has not only driven more writers to try their hand at psychological suspense, it has also resulted in a wave of books being published with marketing materials comparing them to one of the two novels.

Of course, publishers have never been shy about comparing a new book to an existing bestseller. It is one of their standard marketing techniques. Consequently there has been a steady stream of recently released psychological thrillers featuring the word girl in their titles. (To cite just a few, theres Jessica Knolls 2015 hit, Luckiest Girl Alive; Gilly Macmillans September release, The Perfect Girl; and Megan Mirandas June release, All the Missing Girls.)

That all crime books of a certain ilk are being clumped into the girl category is worrisome to some in the industry. Bestselling crime author Laura Lippman said shes concerned that the proliferation of girl titles will make people think all these books are the samewhen theyre not.

When people compare Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, [even these two titles] dont have that much in common, Lippman said. Noting that Gone Girl is a whodunit, whereas The Girl on the Train is not, she worries about new authors whose books will enter the market touted as part of this craze, only to find that the trend has reached its saturation point. This, she feels, is one of the problems with the sometimes-reductive nature of the comparison.

One editor who specializes in crime fiction and spoke under the condition of anonymity said the industry has become too casual in its use of the psychological-suspense tag. The term psychological suspense has been overused for financial reasons, he said, referring to the fact that too many publishers are trying to sell new titles by either calling them psychological suspense, or directly comparing them to Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train.

The downside of this approach is that books within the genre that are excellent are treated with a broad brush and any crime novel written by a woman is being dubbed psychological suspense. Furthermore, as an editor, he admitted to being fatigued with these titles, having read so many that have come across the transom.

Carrie Feron, executive editor at William Morrow, has worked on a few books in the mold of The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl and said that finding really great ones is not easy. Like many editors, Feron said she wants something that, if it recalls these books, does so without feeling derivative. There are only so many ways a person can be unreliableeither theyre directly lying to you, or they have a problem.

Though some editors might be getting tired of seeing familiar tropes in the works of psychological suspense theyre reading, and others may be tiring of the subgenre altogether, readers still seem hungry for the material. The Girl on the Train dominated the bestseller list throughout the summer and remains a constant atop Publishers Weeklys paperback bestseller list. According to its publisher, Riverhead, it has sold more than six million copies (in all formats) in the U.S. alone.

More fundamental to the sustained interest in psychological suspense going into this years Frankfurt Book Fair is the fact that no larger market trend has emerged to replace it. For the first time in years, the fair is occurring without the shadow of a hugely successful franchise hanging over it. From Harry Potter and the Twilight saga to the Hunger Games, the Millennium Trilogy, and Fifty Shades of Grey, almost all recent Frankfurt and London book fairs have taken place while a major series was dominating not just the bestseller lists but pop culture at large. Surveying the current landscape, the biggest book-launched phenomenon going into this Frankfurt is still The Girl on the Train, the movie adaptation of which opened in U.S. theaters this week.

Of course, many editors have thought about what Lippman mentionedthat with the surge in psychological suspense titles, the market saturation point is looming. The question is when that saturation point will be reached. A few U.S. editors said they felt the subgenre is more popular in the U.K., where, some believe, readers like darker fiction.

Jennifer Enderlin, executive v-p and publisher at St. Martins Press, said she has heard that, in the U.K. and Germany, books like this get bought practically overnight. American publishers, she felt, are being a little more cautious given the number of psychological suspense titles already on shelves.

There are some numbers that bear out the theory that psychological suspense is more popular among British readers. Authors such as Clare Mackintosh, Fiona Barton, and L.S. Hilton, who all write psychological suspense, are faring notably better across the pond.

Mackintoshs two books, I Let You Go and I See You, have, according to Nielsen BookScan U.K., sold more than 280,000 copies; in the U.S., where only I Let You Go has been released (with I See You slated for February 2017), BookScan reports print sales of just over 12,000 copies.

Barton has also found success in the U.K. while struggling Stateside. Her novel The Widow, per BookScan, has sold nearly 70,000 print copies in England, compared to just over 41,000 copies in the States.

Hiltons racy thriller, Maestra, acquired in the U.S. by Putnam for a rumored seven-figures after the 2015 London Book Fair, has also faltered in this country, while doing quite well in the U.K. According to BookScan, print sales of Maestra top 63,000 in England; in the U.S., print sales sit at just above 15,000.

Felicity Blunt, a British agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. who handled the U.K. sale of The Woman in the Window, said theres no question that the psychological suspense genre is huge in her country. Noting that the level of success Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train have achieved has moved them from being a publishing success story to a global pop-culture phenomenon, she believes there is an appetite right now for similar books around the world.

When you talk to scouts, psychological suspense [is the thing] that people are moving on very fast, she said. She cited The Chalk Man, the aforementioned psychological suspense novel Crown just acquired in the U.S., as an example of a book that fits this trend. She said she heard that the novel became the fastest-selling title ever for its U.K. agent, Madeleine Millburn.

Joshua Kendall, v-p and editorial director at Mulholland Books, thinks the success of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train has reawakened readers interest in something broader, namely suspenseful stories centered around flawed human beings. As a result, he believes categories other than crime fiction are being affected. Look at literary novels like The Orphan Masters Son and A Little Lifetheyre playing with elements in the genre as well, he said, referencing the fact that both works employ a mystery, albeit a subtle one, in their plot lines.

But armed with the knowledge that acquisitions made at (or just before) this years Frankfurt Book Fair wont hit the market for another one to two years, editors are trying to gauge what material is fresh enough to appeal to readers who may soon become wary of works in the Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train mold.

This [trend] has hung on for a lot longer than many thought it would, Callahan said. Ive been saying to agents that this is the first fall I can remember, in a while, where I dont know what Im looking for. This, she explained, creates a sense of both freedom and anxiety. [We fiction editors] are all sitting here, and well pounce on the same thing. To a certain degree we have to wait for [that big book] to come along, and patience in that can sometimes be trying.
Cheers to news from U.S. Sen Dick Durbin that Thomson will have a fully operational prison beginning in late 2017. It will bring 100 jobs initially and around 300 by next year, he said.

The Springfield Democrat, who helped lead the way in securing the federal Bureau of Prisons OK to buy the unused Thomson prison from Illinois four years ago, said the facility has been undergoing extensive renovation.

The good news is this: Were moving forward on schedule, he said Tuesday. Thomson is expecting a soft target date of receiving prisoners and inmates at the end of next year. In the meantime, theres a lot of work to be done. That includes working with schools and community colleges to ensure local residents have the skills they need to win these well-paying jobs. As the U.S. continues overhauling the criminal justice system, the role of Thomson also may change. But the good news is, theyre thinking ahead, he said. Among the things the future may hold for Thomson, for example, could be as home to repeat offenders with mental illnesses.

Whatever role the federal facility at Thomson ends up taking on, join us in celebrating that the prison built in 2001 and never fully opened will at last become the economic engine locals were promised so many years ago. We applaud the community and elected officials, such as Sen. Durbin, for never giving up on making it happen.

Jeers to the mess Illinois lawmakers have made of an otherwise welcome effort to make registering to vote easier.

The problem began when the Illinois General Assembly rushed through a same-day voter registration bill that much of the state is currently incapable of accommodating.

As result, only voters in larger Illinois counties are eligible to take advantage of the new registration method at their voting places on Nov. 8.

Its hard to discount suggestions that the bill was largely politically motivated. Indeed, the piecemeal way in which the change is being implemented, along with the way the bill was rammed through the Democrat-dominated state Legislature, provide ample evidence to suggest the reasons behind the reform were political rather than inclusive, especially given that the areas which will be able to take advantage of the new method are Democratic strongholds.

Questions of partisan advantage aside, the way this law was written and the discriminatory way it will be rolled out is patently unfair to the vast number of Illinoisans who wont be able to take advantage of it because their counties lack the technical wherewithal to do so.

Geography and wealth should never be barriers to the ballot and, frankly, were surprised that so few good government watchdog groups have expressed their opposition to this unfair same-day registration launch.

That voter discrimination did lead a U.S. district court judge to declare the law unconstitutional and to call a halt to same-day registration at polling places on Nov. 8. But on Wednesday a federal appeals court granted a stay of that ruling while the case moves forward.

That means that same-day registration this November is on -- unless some other court action kills it again. However it shakes out, we can be sure of this: Some voters will win and some will lose. What an awful way to conduct fair and inclusive election.

Cheers to a suburban Chicago businessman whose courage continues to astound us. Given his high profile, no one would have blamed Scott Cross for remaining silent about abuse he suffered while a high school wrestler competing for a man who would later become one the most powerful men in the nation. Instead, he faced that former Yorkville High School teacher in a federal courtroom to demand Dennis Hastert go to prison for abusing him and other high school athletes who were under his care.

Those victims had good reason to worry that the former U.S. House speaker wouldnt get prison time. The statute of limitations had run out on the sexual abuses he was alleged to have committed. So even though federal investigators found ample evidence to suggest that he was, as the judge said, a serial child abuser, Mr. Hastert could only be charged with a banking law violation in connection with efforts to hide the money he paid to buy the silence of one of his victims. As a result, this still largely unrepentant politician is expected to be released from prison in August.

Mr. Cross cant do much about that. But hes not done fighting for other young victims of similar crimes.

This week he again went public. This time his aim was to convince a committee of state senators to back Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigans effort to eliminate the statute of limitations that protects these awful criminals from being punished for 26 felony sex crimes against children.

Hastert is rightly in prison and for the rest of history, he will be a national disgrace, Mr. Cross told the Chicago Tribune. Hasterts only political legacy should be that his crimes, and complete lack of repentance, led to changing laws that empowered survivors over their sexual abusers.

We join in urging lawmakers to give the laws a careful review with an eye toward following in footsteps of other enlightened states which have done so already.
A man on parole from state prison is accused of being the home invader who used a knife to threaten an 11-year-old child in a Rock Island home.

Edward Roberson, 28, of Lockport, Ill., has been charged with home invasion, armed violence, residential burglary, resisting a police officer and possession of controlled substance in relation to the attack, which happened Thursday in the 4400 block of 6th Avenue, according to Rock Island County court records. The home invasion charges allege he entered the occupied residence and threatened the child and a man with the knife.

The Illinois Department of Corrections website states that Mr. Roberson is on parole from Stateville Correctional Center on a Cook County drug charge. He was released on Aug. 15, and his prison term was scheduled for completion on Aug. 15, 2017. Stateville is in Joliet.

The home invasion happened around 12:10 a.m., and Mr. Roberson was arrested at the intersection of 42nd Street and 6th Avenue a short time later, according to Rock Island Police Department reports. In the report, the suspect was unidentified, but the report number matches the one listed in the court records.

Authorities allege in the court records that Mr. Roberson struggled with at least one officer during the arrest, and that officer suffered abrasions on his knees and left arm.

Mr. Roberson allegedly had less than 15 grams of cocaine in his possession at the time of his arrest, court records state.

He was being held Friday on a $500,000 bail, according to the Rock Island County Jail.

His next court date was scheduled for Oct. 25, records state.
DAVENPORT  Afghanistan War veteran Sonia Kendrick, of Cedar Rapids, broke down in tears as she talked about her experiences at an Afghan War Observance on Friday night.

"I do know that war kills everybody involved because you can be upright and still be dead," Ms. Kendrick said. "I went to the military so I could get an education, because I was poor and living in my car, and that's how they get most of us, but they ended up paying for only half of my education anyways."

The Afghan War Observance was held Friday night outside the Federal Courthouse building, 131 E. 4th St. It was organized by Progressive Action for the Common Good and Veterans for Peace.

Bob Babcock from Progressive Action for the Common Good, told the gathering that the war in Afghanistan was not about fighting terrorism, but a hunt for their material resources.

"This war in Afghanistan in my opinion is not about any terrorism," Mr. Babcock said. "They don't care about the opium that is being turned into heroin and killing our kids. What I am seeing is it's about the lithium in the mountains. The other wars in the Middle East are about the oil."

Ms. Kendrick said that everybody is someone's child, and that Americans don't understand why the people in Afghanistan hate the U.S.

"When I was in Afghanistan I was with a group of people who knew where Bin Laden was, and that's when I knew it wasn't about terrorism," Ms. Kendrick said. "That's when I woke up."

War veterans and attendees held signs asking for peace. Two people helped hold up a giant red banner that read "Stop the War." Drivers honked and waved as the gathering of 21 stood in the cold discussing peace and the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

Ed Flaherty from Veterans for Peace said that there appears to be no end in sight for the longest running war in United States history. He said most people don't know or even care about it.

"It's really sort of surrealistic to think that we are here 15 years after Oct. 7, 2001, when we invaded Afghanistan," Mr. Flaherty said. "Even if you were a supporter of the war, even if you wanted to classify yourself as a neocon, you would be very hard put to say 'well this is a good war.'"

He described the situation as "fubar."

"What has it accomplished other than spending $750 billion , 2,400 U.S. service people killed, tens of thousands of Afghans killed?" Mr. Flaherty said. "We are still spending $100 million a day on this war."

The names of several Iowans killed in the war were read, and a moment of silence was held. Near the end of the ceremony, attendees sang "Down by the Riverside."

Pastor Scott Roser from Iowa City said he grew up wishing he had lived in more exciting times, such as the civil war or World War II rather than the era of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Having grown up around action movies and comic books, he was happy to hear that his generation was going to participate in something great after 9/11 happened.

He said he has changed a lot over these 15 years, and read from a Facebook post he found that was written by a retired Navy veteran. The post talked about how 19 "dirtbags" killed 3,000 of us, but the U.S. killed 300,000 or more of them.

"I'm tired of this national 9/11 PTSD," Pastor Roser said. "I did my bit for revenge, I went to war, I'll remember the dead in my own time in my own way. We got our revenge many times over, for whatever good it did us."
MOLINE -- Two new employees at Homewood Evangelical Free Church in Moline echoed "Wizard of Oz" visitor Dorothy Gale's sentiment that "There's no place like home."

Youth pastor Andy Martinez said he grew up in the Quad-Cities and in the church, but after graduating, decided to "spread my wings" and flew off to Georgia. He became home and Homewood sick, so he decided to come back.

Barb Montgomery said she was working as a children's director at Christian Friendliness Youth Hope, but felt more at home at Homewood.

"It was a God thing," she said. "I felt God was directing me here, and it feels like I'm home."

When working at Christian friendliness, Ms. Montgomery often found herself telling other organizations about Homewood's programs, projects and, especially, the heart of the church's members.

"I think in this crazy world, we need a place like Homewood," she said. "We need to be a haven."

Mr. Martinez also felt God steered him back to Homewood.

"I'm so glad to be back," he said. "I see a great need to help people here really find Christ."

Youth attendance at church events has at least tripled in the past two months since Ms. Montgomery has been on staff.

Mr. Martinez had almost an eight-month start compared to Ms. Montgomery, and has spent the year exploring what needs to be done. He also helped form a new college-aged group that meets 4:30-6 p.m. Sundays at a church member's home.

The group is studying a "Truth Project" designed to show good reason for people to believe in God, he said. The 18 to 22 age group often is a "missing generation" in the life of a church, but Mr. Martinez is dedicated to making Jesus better known to the generation and others in the community.

"We want the church to be a place for people to be loved, not a place to feel judged," he said. "It's all about loving God and loving one another."

Ms. Montgomery said she wants the church to be a place to work beside people, to help them on their spiritual journey.

"And it's exciting to work in such a family environment," she said.

Sunday School classes are 9:45-10:45 a.m. Tuesday Awana programs are 5:45-7:30 p.m. Wednesday night youth group meetings are 6-7:30 p.m. for sixth- to eighth-graders and 7:30-9 p.m. for ninth- to 12th-graders.

For information, call the church, at 3303 60th St., Moline, at 309-797-2000.

"We'll have many more family activities in the future," Ms. Montgomery said.

For example, a family fall festival will be held in the church lot at noon Sunday, Oct. 30, right after church services. It will feature a free meal to everyone and family fun games such as painting a pumpkin, decorating Rice Krispie treats, three-legged races and a bouncy house.
MOLINE  A Night to Honor Israel will celebrate its bar/bat mitzvah year Thursday, Oct. 20.

The 13th annual event will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at Calvary Church of the Quad Cities, 4700 53rd St.

Jewish boys and girls celebrate their bar/bat mitzvahs at age 13.

The honor Israel celebration will feature a lot of singing, dancing and praying, event chairman Tom McGovern said.

It's a time for Christians and Jews to come together to support the state of Israel, he said.

The free event will be sponsored by the Quad Cities Association of Evangelicals. An offering will be taken to support new Jewish immigrants between the ages of 18-23, from around the world join Israeli Defense Forces and be housed at the an immigrant absorption center in Southern Israel.

These young immigrants are called Lone Soldiers because they have moved to Israel alone without their parents, and they do not have any local family support systems, Mr. McGovern said.

In addition to absorption housing, "Lone Soldiers" will get access to counselors to mentor them; Shabbat and holiday meals; and will have adoptive families to help with their transition to Israeli society, he said.

For information about the celebration, visit qcnthi.com.

The annual event has raised more than $589,000 for Israeli humanitarian efforts in its 13-year history.

Guest speakers will include the Rev. Steven Khoury, of Jerusalem, and the Rev. Dumisani Washington, of Stockton, Calif., Christians United for Israel diversity outreach coordinator.

Rev. Khoury is an author, renowned speaker, television personality and religious write for Al-Quds, the largest Arabic newspaper in the Holy Land.

"Pastor Steven Khoury shepherds the largest Arab Evangelical church in Israel and the Palestinian territories," Mr. McGovern said. "His transformation from a boy involved in the First Intifada with Israel-turned believer is a message for all to hear."

The First Intifada was a major large-scale Palestinian insurgency in the West Bank and Gaza, lasting from December 1987 to 1991, according to internet information.

"Preaching the message of Christianity to Arabs in the region has often put him in the most precarious situations, making this church a target of retaliation over the years," promotional materials read. "Even such, Pastor Steven Khoury has made it his mission to be on the forefront in reconciliation between Jews and Arabs."

He attended a Bible College in Springfield, Mo., and has a Bachelor of Science in pastoral ministry and basic masters in theology. He belongs to the National Christian Foundation and a Premiere Speakers group.

Rev. Washington is a pastor, noted composer, author and music teacher in Stockton, Calif.

Pastor Dumisanis Israel journey began in the early 1990s in a quest to better understand the

roots of his Christian faith," Mr. McGovern said. "The trek became cultural as he studied the Jewish Diaspora and became intrigued by Israels multi-ethnic identity; and the return of the Diaspora from Ethiopia, India/Burma, Kaifeng and the world."

Rev. Washingtons first book, Zionism & The Black Church: Why Standing with Israel will be a Defining Issue for Christians of Color in the 21st Century," was released in September 2014, and his fist album, "The Hebrew Project, Vol. 1: From Beyond the Rivers," is a musical and cultural standard with the nation of Israel, according to Mr. McGovern.

Rev. Washington graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is director of The Zion Academy of Music in Stockton, where he also serves as senior pastor of the Congregation of Zion.
Almost 50 Illinois counties have filed lawsuits against Democratic Governor, JB Pritzker, and the ill crafted SAFE-T Act. Introduced in the General Assembly by the Illinois Black Caucus, the Act passed the Democratic-led General Assembly in the wee hours of Jan. 13, 2021. Amongst many of its weaknesses and deficiencies, the Act eliminates cash bail, emboldens criminals, and makes it even more difficult for law enforcement to keep offenders off our streets. Public Safety personnel and States Attorneys across our great State have decried the legislation, noting that it was drafted and written with very little constructive input from Public Safety leadership, from either party; potentially impacting every Illinois community with dangerous consequences. Allowing perpetrators to bail out of jail, based on their good word that they will be glad to return to court is laughable, at best, and both ludicrous and dangerous, at worst. Soon after the SAFE-T Act was passed at the State level, the Republican-led Henry County Board drafted a resolution, requesting that the General Assembly repeal and replace the SAFE-T Act with a new criminal justice bill, this time with input from professional law enforcement, States Attorneys from across the State, and other Public Safety officials. We unanimously passed our resolution on May 19, 2022, and encourage all County Boards in Illinois to follow our lead. Our Republican-led Board in Henry County believes we all, Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, deserve effective and fair law enforcement in our communities.
Workers in Colombia have accused Millicom of gradually dismissing employees from telco UNE-EPM, which it gained control of in 2014 via its Latin American subsidiary Tigo.

According to Sintraemsdes , one of the unions forming the Comite de Unidad Sindical (CUS) which groups 11 of the 15 workers associations represented in the company, Tigo has fired or forced to quit over 1,000 workers since it gained control of UNE-EPM.Sintraemsdes president Gildardo Lopez Arcila has explained that many of the layoffs were forced resignations, as the working conditions changed since the Millicom-UNE merger was approved. According to Lopez Arcila, former UNE-EPM workers have been forced to accept the new reality or face being fired.As Rapid TV News found out through local news sources, at least 400 workers quit their jobs voluntarily following the plan described by the union. The company admitted to almost 200 dismissals during 2015, with 170 of them without a fair reason.The unions forming CUS claim more layoffs have been carried out since then, while the company states new workers are being hired. According to Sintraemsdes president, this highlights an outsourcing process, which is downgrading working conditions while dodging Colombian labour legislation, which bans the firing of more than 5% of the workforce within a six-month period".The intervention of the city council of Medellin , where UNE-EPM is headquartered, has also been required in order to stop a process that breaks some of the promises made during the negotiation of the merging operation.Created in 2006, UNE-EPM was a 100% public telco until Millicom bought 50% of shares minus one through its Latin American subsidiary Tigo in 2014. Although the operation initially aimed to keep public control of the telco, UNE-EPM agreed a few months later to delegate managing tasks to Millicom.The company offers a wide range of telecom services across Colombia, including cable TV and a recently deployed direct-to-home (DTH) service.
Four decades can be a watershed. For Thailand, what happened on Oct 6, 1976 when a right-wing backlash brutally crushed a budding, left-leaning political movement has now come full circle. The imperative for the country is to internalise the lessons of the past and find ways to move forward into the future. As ever, a spirit of compromise and accommodation not just across colour-coded divides but also across generations and political fault lines is imperative.
Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale

Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada.

Search Real Estate
Porterville, CA (93257)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 77F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low around 50F. Winds light and variable.
FILE- In this November 17, 2000 file photo, Saudi men talk and browse the internet at a hotel in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. When a teenager in Saudi Arabia began chatting up an American woman online, he first found fame and then notoriety before he was arrested over concern his clumsy cyber flirtation violated the kingdoms conservative norms. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

SHARE

By AYA BATRAWY, Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  When a teenager in Saudi Arabia began chatting up an American woman online, he first found fame and then notoriety before he was arrested over concerns that his clumsy cyber flirtation violated the kingdom's conservative norms.

The teenager, known only by his online name of 'Abu Sin,' a reference to his crooked teeth, speaks almost no English. Christina Crockett, a 21-year-old vlogger from California, speaks no Arabic.

Even so, they managed to create goofy, light-hearted videos in which they appear fascinated by one another. The spectacle of the two trying to communicate attracted millions of viewers both inside the kingdom and abroad. As a result, Abu Sin shot to fame on the livestreaming site YouNow, receiving nearly 6.5 million views of his videos.

In one of their most-watched videos from YouNow, Abu Sin tells Crockett: "I am Saudi Arabia." Wearing a low-cut tank top, she smiles and responds with a flick of her blonde hair: "That's cool, I'm America."

Throughout the conversation, he periodically blurts out in Arabic, "what's she saying!?" Appearing nervous and excited, he later offers her some of the few English words he knows, proclaiming: "I love you too. I love you too. I love you too."

She tells him: "Aw, I don't even know what you're saying, but I love you so much."

Their exchanges took on extra significance in Saudi Arabia, where unrelated men and women seldom see one another. Almost all public spaces are gender segregated and most women cover their face, hair and bodies in billowing black cloth.

While the conversations appear harmless, Saudi media outlets say the teen was detained late last month for "unethical behavior" due to the videos. Footage posted online on Sept. 25 purports to show his arrest, and Abu Sin's YouNow site, on which he used to post almost daily, had not been updated for 13 days.

In Saudi Arabia, where the internet has become the preferred forum for young Saudis to meet and express themselves, his arrest sparked mixed reactions.

Abu Sin's videos could constitute a violation of the country's cybercrime law, which prohibits producing material that harms public order, morals or religious values, according to lawyer Abdulrahman al-Lahem. He may also be found in contempt of the kingdom's sometimes unyielding interpretation of Islamic law. Al-Lahem was quoted in the Saudi newspaper, Okaz, as saying the teenager could consequently face between one and three years in prison.

In comments to the Saudi Gazette daily, Riyadh Police spokesman Col. Fawaz Al-Mayman said Crockett and Abu Sin made "enticing videos" that "became famous and received negative attention." He said police had received requests from the Saudi public demanding Abu Sin be punished. After his arrest, the case was forwarded to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution, al-Mayman said.

The Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for further details on the case. Abu Sin's real name has not been made public. Al-Mayman said he is 19 years old.

The Saudi daily Arab News wrote that people in the kingdom argue the teenager deserves to be tried because his videos "made people laugh (at us)." In an op-ed for the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, prominent Saudi commentator Mishari al-Thaidy said the incident raised serious questions about how young people in the kingdom are being raised.

Yet in an editorial published Sunday, Arab News wrote that if Abu Sin was indeed arrested based on the demands of public opinion, then "let it be known that this published opinion believes Abu Sin should be released ... and given his own television show!"

"When did being 'silly' ever become a crime?" the editorial continued.

Crockett released a video saying she doesn't really understand the situation in Saudi Arabia, but that many people are blaming her as the reason for his arrest.

"Obviously, I think this whole situation is totally crazy and unfair, but I don't feel I should be getting any hate for this because I have no control over it," she said. "It's not my fault that it went viral. It's not my fault that he got this fame from it or that I got it. Neither of us asked for it."
FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 file photo, a member of the audience holds a sign that reads, "227 Years of Men. It's HER Time!" during a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It's a complicated time for gender relations in the U.S., as the campaign pitting Clinton against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has underscored. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

SHARE

By EMILY SWANSON, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)  Young adults are more likely to trust Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump on handling wages, income inequality and personal finances, but they're divided on which candidate would better handle job creation, a new GenForward poll shows.

Young Hispanics, blacks and Asian-Americans favor Clinton on all four economic issues, but young whites are more likely to favor Trump on both job creation and their personal finances.

GenForward is a survey of adults age 18 to 30 by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The first-of-its-kind poll pays special attention to the voices of young adults of color, highlighting how race and ethnicity shape the opinions of a new generation.

Things to know about what young people think about the economy and the presidential campaign:

CLINTON PREFERRED ON INCOME INEQUALITY

The GenForward poll shows that young adults under 30 are more likely by a 29 percentage point margin to say they trust Clinton than Trump to handle income inequality, a major element of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' primary campaign earlier this year that received overwhelming support from young people. That preference crosses racial and ethnic lines, with young African-Americans saying Clinton would be better on income inequality by a 50-point margin, Asian-Americans by a 43-point margin, Latinos by a 39-point margin and whites by an 18-point margin.

Most young adults say efforts to reduce income inequality have not gone far enough over the last eight years.

Young people from each racial and ethnic background are also more likely to say Clinton than Trump can best handle increasing wages, by 22 points overall: 10 points among whites, 33 points among Latinos, 35 points among Asian-Americans and 46 points among African-Americans.

YOUNG WHITES CONFLICTED

Young Americans are divided over who would better handle job creation. Overall, they are split nearly evenly, with 36 percent saying they think Clinton could better handle the issue and 35 percent saying Trump could. But young whites are 20 points more likely to say Trump could better handle job creation than Clinton. Young Asian-Americans and Latinos are more apt to trust Clinton than Trump by about the same margin, while young blacks prefer the Democrat over the Republican by 45 points.

A similar divide emerges on which candidate young people trust more to improve their personal financial situation. Overall, young people are more likely to trust Clinton than Trump, 32 percent to 23 percent. But while young African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Latinos are significantly more likely to trust the Democratic nominee, young whites are slightly more likely to trust the Republican, 32 percent to 25 percent.

Three in 10 young adults, including similar percentages across racial and ethnic lines, say they trust neither candidate on improving their personal financial situation.

The results reflect overall support for the two candidates. While young people of color are much more likely to say they're supporting Clinton than Trump in the presidential race, young whites are about equally divided between support for Trump and Clinton. That's not a new development  exit polls show that young whites were more likely to support Republican Mitt Romney than Democrat Barack Obama four years ago.

WHAT'S IMPORTANT?

Young people are largely united on which economic issues they want to hear the presidential candidates talking about. When asked to choose which issues they found most important, top issues included reducing student debt (32 percent), increasing job growth (30 percent), increasing wages to keep up with the cost of living (28 percent) and reducing the gap between rich and poor (26 percent).

About three-in-10 young blacks and Latinos, but only about half as many whites and Asian-Americans, said raising the minimum wage was among their top issues.

Young whites were especially likely to say protecting the future of Social Security is among their top economic issues, at 26 percent.

___

The poll of 1,851 adults age 18-30 was conducted Sept. 1-14 using a sample drawn from the probability-based GenForward panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. young adult population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The survey was paid for by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago, using grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone.

___

Online:

GenForward polls: http://www.genforwardsurvey.com/

Black Youth Project: http://blackyouthproject.com/

AP-NORC: http://www.apnorc.org/
SHARE

By Joe Szydlowski of the Redding Record Searchlight

Those voters grappling with 17 statewide ballot measures  not to mention the local Measures D and E  aren't alone, and one organization is trying to help voters understand at least some of them at an event Sunday.

"There's 17 issues on the ballot. There's no way we could do a proper job on all of them," said Alice Bell, of the League of Women Voters of Shasta County, which will host a presentation on seven of those propositions and Measures D and E, which would levy a half-cent sales tax geared toward public safety, at the Redding Library from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

"We could have done all the propositions but then you'd have been there for three to four hours," she said.

Instead, the presentation will focus on seven propositions:

- Proposition 55, which extends Proposition 30's taxes on income above $250,000.

- Proposition 56, which would hike taxes on tobacco products, such as cigarettes' prices that would rise $2.

- Proposition 58, which would allow those learning English as a Second Language to receive more instruction in their native language.

- Proposition 59, which tells the state to work toward overturning the Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which allows unions and corporations access to nigh-unlimited political spending.

- Proposition 62, which abolishes the death penalty in California.

- Proposition 64, which legalizes cannabis in small quantities for adults and sets up a regulatory framework for the recreational marijuana industry.

- Proposition 66, which would shorten the timeline and tighten the rules of the appeals process in death-penalty cases.

It will also include information on Measures D and E, Bell said.

"It was one that seems to be of interest in our local area. That's why we included them  it seems to be an important issue," Bell said.

This presentation's format will also be more interactive compared to previous years, she said. It will begin with asking the audience to vote their guts on the ballots, and then an analysis of the ballot measure, she said.

Then they will have audience members read the arguments for and against before a second vote.

"I asked how many changed their mind on an issue (at a previous presentation) and a few raised their hands," she said. The material is from the state's League of Women Voters' guides, which are all available in several languages online at http://www.easyvoterguide.org.

Those who can't make it Sunday will have a second chance the following Sunday, Oct. 16. It will take place at the First Methodist Church, 1825 East St. It is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m.

If you go

Who: Open to the public

What: League of Women Voters of Shasta Countys Pros and Cons event, which will discuss some statewide propositions and Reddings Measures D and E

When: 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday (A second, similar-style event will take place at the First Methodist Church, 1825 East St., from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 16)

Where: The Redding Librarys community room

Propositions in brief

The League of Women Voters will tackle seven out of 17 state ballot propositions, and public safety tax Measures D and E, at its event Sunday. Here are brief explanations of the propositions, from the Office of the California Attorney General:

Proposition 55

What it does: If passed, it would extend for another 12 years the voter-approved Proposition-30 taxes on singles making more than $250,000 a year, joint filers making more than $500,000 or $340,000 for heads of the household. The money would go first to schools and community colleges, though depending on financial circumstances, the state could spend up to $2 billion on low-income health care programs. It would bring in an estimated $4billion-$9 billion from 2019 through 2030. It would not extend the temporary sales tax from Proposition 30.

Proposition 56

What it does: It would hike the tobacco tax by $2 per pack for cigarettes and by similar margins for other tobacco products. The money would go toward health care for low-income people and research. It would raise $1 billion-$1.4 billion per year, though that could decline if people stop smoking due to higher prices. However, if that funding dips, it transfers tax revenues to existing tobacco-funded programs.

Proposition 58

What it does: It calls on schools to provide more options for students learning English as a second language and allows them to teach students English partly using their native language. Currently, the school and situation must meet certain conditions in order to use a students native tongue in English as a Second Language class. No major fiscal impacts to the state are expected.

Proposition 59

What it does: It orders the state Legislature to do everything in its power to undo the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. In that ruling, the court said that its unconstitutional to place certain limits on political spending by corporations or unions. No major fiscal impacts to the state are expected, though it isnt clear what steps the Legislature could take beyond an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Proposition 62

What it does: It repeals the death penalty and is retroactive for all death row inmates, who automatically are sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Those found guilty of murder and sentenced to life without parole would be required to work in prison. It also increases the portion of a life-sentence inmates wages that may be used to compensate a victim. It would save the state approximately $150 million within a few years, though various factors could adjust that figure by tens of millions.

Proposition 64

What it does: Legalizes use and possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults (at least 21 years old). They can also grow up to six plants inside their home. It establishes an excise tax of 15 percent on retail sales, and a tax on commercial cultivation. Medical marijuana is exempt from some of those taxes. It establishes state agencies to regulate all commercial marijuana activities. Local governments can choose to regulate or outright ban those commercial activities. It also prohibits marketing directly to minors. Those with previous marijuana convictions can apply for clemency or resentencing. It would bring in hundreds of millions to more than $1 billion annually. It also could decrease criminal justice costs by the tens of millions.

Proposition 66

What it does: It would change the law regarding the death penalty in several ways with the goal of shortening the timeline of death penalty cases, specifically the appeals process. It would have most appeals begin with the trial judge at the local Superior Court, though the California Supreme Court would still hear direct appeals, which are ones that come straight to the high court. Proposition 66 would also limit the time period for all appeals to five years post-sentencing, though in some cases attorneys can ask for delays. It also loosens the requirements for defense attorneys representing death row inmates, such as expanding the list of eligible defense attorneys to argue direct appeals. It is estimated to cost state courts tens of millions of dollars in the short term, but its savings to the state prisons are estimated in the tens of millions as well.
Jim Schultz/Record Searchlight

A Redding police officer stands guard as another officer questions a man inside a vehicle about Friday's stabbings at a Canby Road apartment complex.

SHARE Tyler Schweizer Jason Scott Harsin

Man arrested in stabbings

A 22-year-old Redding man was arrested Friday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly stabbed two men during an altercation with them in the parking lot of a Canby Road apartment complex, Redding police say.

Nicolas Murray was booked into Shasta County Jail, police said.

Police said Murray got into a fight with neighbors Robert Williams and Joseph Williams, both 18, around 12:45 p.m.

The men know each other and have had disagreements in the past, police said.

During the altercation, police said, Williams suffered a stab wound to his head, while Ryan received a laceration to his left shoulder.

The wounds to both men were not life-threatening, police said, adding that both men were taken to area hospitals for treatment.

Knives used in the stabbings were recovered, police said.

Burns planned at Whiskeytown

The Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is planning a series of prescribed burns starting next week, depending upon favorable weather conditions.

Park officials say a prescribed burn is planned in the high-elevation Coggins project area near the western boundary of the park. As weather and conditions become cooler and wetter through the fall, they say, additional lower elevation project sites and park-wide pile burning will begin.

Smoke from these burns will be visible from the Redding and Anderson areas.

The planned burn within the Coggins project area is approximately 215 acres.

The project area lies within the upper Crystal Creek drainage near the Shasta-Trinity County boundary.

The primary goals of the project are to maintain forest ecosystem health, reduce fire hazards and improve public and firefighter safety in the event of a wildfire.

Trial delayed in 2014 case

A Jan. 10 trial date was set Friday in Shasta County Superior Court for a 37-year-old Palo Cedro man charged with second-degree murder in connection with a fatal 2014 traffic wreck on Highway 44.

Jason Scott Harsin had been scheduled to begin standing trial next week, but the trial was delayed at the request of his defense attorney.

Harsin, who remains in Shasta County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, is accused of driving drunk on Oct. 24, 2014, when his westbound pickup crossed over the highway's centerline and ran head on into an eastbound 2011 Subaru Impreza driven by Richard Lee Bates, 68, of Shingletown, the California Highway Patrol has said.

Bates later died at Mercy Medical Center in Redding.

Court no-show in custody

A 31-year-old Redding man who skipped a Sept. 28 court appearance, prompting the issuance of a $750,000 bench warrant, is back in Shasta County Jail.

Tyler Christopher Schweizer was taken into custody Oct. 1 by Shasta County sheriff's deputies. He was back in Shasta County Superior Court earlier this week as his trial date was set for Nov. 29.

Schweizer is charged with second-degree murder in connection with a Feb. 11, 2015, crash on Highway 273 that killed 77-year-old Wallace "Pete" Shelton of Anderson.

Schweizer is accused of driving nearly 100 mph down Highway 273 just before he broadsided Shelton's pickup coming out of Thomas Road.

Schweizer remains in jail in lieu of $770,000 bail.

Man pleads guilty to double murder

A 40-year-old Escondido man pleaded guilty Thursday in Trinity County Superior Court to two counts of murder in the April deaths of a Hayfork couple, according to the Trinity Journal newspaper in Weaverville.

Jason Paul Brady, who deputies said confessed to the killings following his arrest, was charged with murder in the deaths of Amanda Patton, 21, and James Jachna, 41.

Their bodies were found on the night of April 4 at their Carter Gulch Road residence in Hayfork.

Deputies have said they discovered the bodies after responding to a report of suspicious circumstances at the residence.

Sheriff's deputies have said they also found Brady, who is facing life in prison without parole, inside the residence.

He was arrested following a chase when he bolted out the back of the house, deputies have said.

Driver injured in I-5 wreck

A driver was taken to a Redding hospital Friday night with major injuries following a crash on Interstate 5 that backed up southbound traffic about four miles.

California Highway Patrol officials said the crash happened around 6 p.m. when a van hit a semi-truck south of Knighton Road between Redding and Anderson and then rolled over.

Emergency personnel needed to free the driver from the overturned van.

The crash clogged traffic all the way from south of Knighton Road to the South Bonnyview Road exit in Redding.
SHARE

By Alayna Shulman of the Redding Record Searchlight

The California Secretary of State's Office acknowledged for the first time Friday that it asked Siskiyou County law enforcement to accompany investigators looking into alleged voter fraud  an investigation that led to a federal lawsuit from Hmong residents who said the gun-clad deputies terrified them.

Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey has insisted that was the case since the allegations came to light in early June. But before Friday, the state office hadn't acknowledged how Lopey's department got involved, a "cowardly and totally inappropriate" omission according to Lopey, who has complained the silence left him the target of a smear campaign that painted him as a bigot.

Sam Mahood, a spokesman for Secretary of State Alex Padilla's office, previously had only confirmed by email to a national political reporter that the office does sometimes request local protection for its unarmed investigators, but didn't say whether that was the case in Siskiyou County. Mahood also had declined to specify to the Record Searchlight whether the office asked for navigation and protection, and simply told reporters that Siskiyou County "recommended" deputies join the investigators. That's something Mahood said again Friday, but with the added context that it was the state office that initiated the conversation.

The admission comes as other new details in the case have emerged through the paper's California Public Records Act request on the case, including that an American Civil Liberties Union official knew the Secretary of State's Office was at the helm of the June investigation but told officials there in an email she had "advised (Hmong residents) not to implicate the Secretary of State's office in any way" when talking to the media.

Lori Shellenberger, the ACLU's California voting rights director, now says "advised" was the wrong word to use, and that she actually just supported a call made by members of the local Hmong community.

It was, she said Friday, those residents' "strategic decision" not to mention the office's role in the investigation because it would scare away other Hmong voters. After all, the state office also was sending poll monitors to protect the vulnerable group from the alleged intimidation, she said.

Interviews and other emails released to the Record Searchlight this week reveal that Shellenberger did not seem to believe the state office had a role in any of the alleged intimidation that later led to the suit against the county and one Secretary of State employee.

She omitted the office's role in the investigation from a press release and repeatedly blamed Siskiyou County alone for any of the grave psychological impacts the investigation allegedly caused.

"The people I was communicating with (at the Secretary of State's Office) ... assured me, 'We would not (ask for armed protection),'" Shellenberger said.

When the story of alleged intimidation just before the June primary went national, Shellenberger was a leading voice condemning the sheriff. What emerged, Lopey said, was a portrait of a conservative county's rogue lawman going on a power-trip against Hmong immigrants. Lopey has denounced that portrayal as a vicious falsehood.

Confusion in Sacramento

The case is full of contradictory accusations, including that Lopey's deputies overstepped their protection role by warning the residents not to vote and that they brandished their weapons in an intimidating way.

As one Secretary of State employee said in an email to a friend at the state Assembly: It's a complex case that "will take a few beers to talk about."

Their exchange was another illuminating element found within the more than 300 emails obtained through the records request. The Record Searchlight asked for all documents that had been provided to Lopey's attorney under his own earlier request.

The assembly employee is clearly irked at what his friend, James Schwab, has already revealed via email: Siskiyou County law enforcement officials allegedly intimidated Hmong residents by telling them they couldn't vote just before the June election. He's also confused: A news release linked into the email says Siskiyou County officials were helping an unnamed state agency with an investigation when the alleged intimidation happened.

"Do you know who the 'state investigators' are that are investigating? And [] what is Cal-Fire doing involving itself in voter registration fraud investigations?" Ethan Jones, chief consultant at the Assembly's Elections and Redistricting Committee, writes in the June 7 email. "Lots of bad behavior at this election "

In fact, one of those state investigators now is being accused in the suit of participating in the alleged intimidation.

The lawsuit that makes those allegations was filed by 10 Hmong residents who allege they were the direct victims of a wider case of intimidation that disenfranchised about 250 out of 360 potential voters in their community. The suit served to the county in mid-September names Lopey, Siskiyou County Elections Clerk Colleen Setzer, Secretary of State employee Alex Nishimura, Siskiyou County and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as defendants.

Siskiyou County's interim attorney said the county has hired outside counsel to defend the suit and is preparing a response.

Focus on Siskiyou

After claims came in that some Hmong residents were terrified by the investigation, the ACLU's Shellenberger said she's the one who contacted the Secretary of State's Office and California Attorney General's Office for help.

"When you hear that people are getting visited on their property with guns, that raises flags," she said.

Shellenberger said she did know that the Secretary of State's Office was involved in the investigation that generated her concern. But the ACLU's news release on the case simply says the agency is working with the Attorney General's Office to help deter intimidation from Siskiyou County.

She said Friday that she doesn't remember why the office's role was left out of the news release, but said some Hmong residents decided they shouldn't mention the office to the media because it would scare other residents who didn't know about the office's involvement.

"If we go into detail and say, 'But actually, one of those employees was here ...' that would undermine people's security," she said. "I would characterize it as a strategic decision" not to discuss the role of the Secretary of State investigators.

She said she also told those residents that the state poll monitors didn't have to come if they would frighten people, and state officials themselves agreed it might not be the best idea.

"They were also concerned that, 'Will our presence have a positive or negative effect?'" she said.

She continues to believe the real problem was with authorities in Siskiyou County.

"Yes, there was a Secretary of State investigator and the sheriff there ... But among the people that I was speaking with at the time, I think there was the feeling it was the sheriff more," she said.

Not everyone felt that way, according to the lawsuit.

One plaintiff, Jesse Vang, says in the suit that a Secretary of State investigator refused to give him his name at first, then told him he'd go to jail if he voted June 7, which left him "terrified." Vang also said the armed deputies made him feel "particularly threatened."

Shellenberger's appreciation for Padilla's office as a whole and its efforts to protect voting rights is evident in multiple emails.

"I cannot overstate the impressive response by Secretary Padilla's team and the support provided by the Attorney General and her deputies. Their commitment to protecting the Hmong vote was unwavering," she wrote in a June 8 email to members of the Future of California Elections, a collaboration of state organizations aimed at addressing the "unique challenges facing the State of California's election system."

She also said in a June 6 email to two Secretary of State employees that she told some Hmong residents if interviewed by the media to speak carefully.

"I have briefed them and let them know that the Secretary is very concerned about this and is flying in two representatives tonight and committed to getting to the bottom of this," she wrote. "I have advised them not to implicate the Secretary of State's office in any way."

She said Friday that was a "poor choice of word" and she "would never advise them."

When asked whether finding out the agency may have requested armed backup for the investigation would change her opinion on who's to blame for the intimidation, Shellenberger dismissed the idea, but also noted that she didn't know the answer.

"My experience (with the Secretary of State's Office) was, as soon as I alerted them, they were very alarmed; they immediately responded. I don't have any evidence that (they asked for protection)," she said. "I think that would be highly unusual."

But later Friday, Mahood confirmed that "investigators reached out to the Sheriff to seek assistance in finding (the locations)." Mahood said the investigators reached out because "various parties" had told them the areas affiliated with the "suspicious" voter applications Setzer, the county clerk, had flagged were "remote, difficult to find, and posed a potential security risk."

He didn't say who the various parties were, but apparently Lopey wasn't among them, as "the sheriff reaffirmed the concerns ... and it was subsequently agreed that Sheriff's personnel would escort our investigators to the sites."

'Uncertainty and mistrust'

Additional emails between Lopey and the Secretary of State's Office reviewed by the Record Searchlight paint a clear picture of his dilemma as the events unfolded.

At first, Lopey doesn't seem to suspect there will be a problem.

"Let me know if you have any issues with the (news) release," Lopey writes in an email to a Secretary of State's Office investigator June 3.

Then, after apparently not getting a response, Lopey carbon-copies another investigator.

"Please let me know if you have any issues with the text of the message."

No response. Lopey writes back again after about an hour.

"Do you have any feedback for the news release?" he asks both investigators.

Still no response. Lopey waits about two hours before he pushes for approval from the state agency again.

"We are getting a lot of media inquiries. When will your agency OK this release? People already know you were here and that we assisted," Lopey writes.

One investigator, Martin Deffee, finally gets back to Lopey about 12 hours later, the next morning.

Deffee says Secretary of State officials told him the agency "should not be mentioned in any current or future press releases."

"It has always been the position of The Secretary of State that we do not confirm or deny any investigative activities conducted by The Secretary of State's Investigative Services Office. Any press release naming the Secretary of State and/or its investigators could potentially affect the integrity of an investigation, the testimony of witnesses and impede investigative efforts. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter," he writes to Lopey.

Lopey writes back that afternoon, frustrated but begrudgingly compliant.

"I personally think that the lack of transparency in these types of matters are detrimental to the image of your department and you miss the opportunity to showcase your agencies work and achievements. It is important for people to know that there are consequences for breaking the law and neither denying or affirming an investigation just fuels the fires of uncertainty and mistrust. I will remove the Secretary of State from the news release," he writes.

Then, the news breaks. Across the country, news stories repeat the ACLU charge that Lopey's office had intimidated would-be voters in the Hmong community  stifling the rights of immigrants who fought alongside America during the Vietnam War.

By July 26, Lopey apparently is fed up.

In an email titled "CONFIRMATION OF ASSISTANCE REQUEST," Lopey implores Deffee to admit that he personally was in Siskiyou County and the sheriff's office only went along to provide security.

"As you may know, I have personally received a lot of scrutiny and inaccurate comments in some media channels (that) have misrepresented what occurred during the investigation we assisted your organization with May 31st thru June 2nd. I am not asking you to confirm or deny the investigation but I am asking you to confirm that assistance was requested from the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office for your investigative team during these dates. I have a record of 4 to 5 phone calls requesting assistance with the effort," Lopey writes.

No response was included in the documents provided to the paper. Lopey said Thursday that he never got one.
SHARE

I too was and am a skeptic about Redding (Stanislav Fritz, Speak Your Piece Saturday, Oct. 1). The difference is I was born and raised in Redding. I have witness the whole story of the deterioration of the community.

There was a day when progressives ran this town and county. Admittedly there was a thriving wood products industry; the New Deal was not a long-forgotten thing, and World War II vets were growing their families, building public schools and the community college while the Central Valley Project employed thousands of people building the Whiskeytown and Trinity dams.

In short, there was public money everywhere. And progressive Democrats got that money for Shasta County and Redding by long-term service in Congress and the state legislature. We had representation then in powerful places.

This was before the conservative anti-tax and yes, anti-growth illness hit the state of California. We suffered through Prop. 13, a host of anti-tax and anti-growth state initiatives, conservative governors and electing nothing but conservatives to local offices.

And now we have: Potterville. I use that term a lot but not without thought.

Potterville was the fictitious town in "A Wonderful Life" that was run by a ruthless banker who was trying to manipulate the town for his own selfish purposes. Jimmy Stewart was the small businessman who used morality and friendship to run his business without profit as his only motivation; he was the hero as a progressive businessman.

And the choice the town faced was the stark broke and brutal world of Mr. Potter or the progressive egalitarian approach of Jimmy Stewart.

Of course the progressive approach wins in the end; it's a truly feel-good movie that many still watch at Christmas time.

And the message is loud and clear, especially for Redding. We all sink or swim together. We need to take care of all, not just the rich and well-positioned. Those who advocate "me first" and cannot address the public interest have no place in our leadership. Anyone who takes a "no tax increase pledge" is against the public interest.

I am a Democrat and a progressive. What has happened to Redding over the past forty years breaks my heart. I have seen repressive and reactionary leadership at every level from school districts to Congress; and the result is grinding poverty, a huge homeless problem, deterioration of the school system and yes, a growing theocratic movement that is seeking to make things even worse.

So this is a pessimistic viewpoint right? Not really, because in the rest of the state young people are acting more progressive all the time. The state is firmly in Democratic progressive hands and this is not changing anytime soon. We hear chants for the State of Jefferson, which only proves the power of progressivism in the state. To go into a State of Jefferson would be economic and political suicide.

But there is optimism and that is in those moderates who want to bring more progressive businesses to the area, who realize that education and infrastructure are vital. Moreover, they realize that good local government, well-funded police and fire departments and an inclusive attitude toward all citizens of all colors, are what has made California the sixth-largest economy on earth.

Inclusive, caring, progressive leadership means solving the homeless problem by spending money to do it; solving the epidemic of heroin addiction by working on rehabilitation programs, investing in a progressive view to solve problems rather than continuing to deny or run from them.

There is a way for Redding to prosper and not become Potterville; but it does not lie in the conservative approach, which right now on a national scale has given us the horror show of Donald Trump. Reject those selfish fools who say, like Trump just did, "I'm smart" in not paying his taxes. People who avoid taxes are stealing our future.

The way is in teamwork, caring and, yes, expensive local government that invests in the future. Sacrifice for the public interest is not a bad thing. Blind opposition to taxes never was a good thing.

That was what our grandfathers did not do during the Great Depression and that was what they did do to win World War II. We, not me! Pay your fair share. And provide for your children's future through mutual sacrifice.

Public interest means some sacrifice of individual interest. That will keep us from falling further into Potterville.

Greg Beale lives in Redding.
The Modi governments appalling inefficiency and lack of purpose stand exposed, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

My archives on India-Iran relations include a clipping from DNA newspaper from Mumbai, going back to May last year. It is a Press Trust of India report, Irans Chabahar port to be operational by December 2016: Nitin Gadkari, based on an exclusive interview with the Union minister of transport, coinciding with his visit to Teheran to finalise the Chabahar project.

Gadkari was quoted as saying, Work has started on the Chabahar port. There is a joint venture of Kandla Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust We will start port activities in a year or a year-and-a-half I have given the orders to bring out tenders for purchasing cranes for the port. An agreement will be signed within a month.

Last week, however, when PTI took another exclusive interview with Gadkari, it transpired that the goal post has been shifted. Gadkari said: The work on the (Chabahar) project will begin soon once the tender is over. He was speaking after holding a trilateral with his Iranian and Afghan counterparts in New Delhi (according to the Times of India).

A sense of unease arises. What is going on? Will Chabahar container port ever see the light of day? As far back as February, the Union Cabinet had given approval for the proposal by the ministry of shipping for provision and operationalisation of credit of $150 million from EXIM Bank for the development of Chabahar port. The PMO website took note of the rationale behind the cabinet decision:

Chabahar Port lies outside the Persian Gulf in Iran and will help in expanding maritime commerce in the region. India is negotiating this project to facilitate the growing trade and investment with Iran and other countries in the region, notably Afghanistan and also to provide opportunities to Indian companies to penetrate and enhance their footprint in the region.

Indeed, Chabahar is the most strategic project that India ever undertook abroad. It is a lynchpin that could hold together on a single platform our diverse yet inter-related policies toward three key countries to the west in our extended neighbourhood -- Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Chabahar region is fast shaping up as the epicentre of the geopolitics of the Southwest Asian region where the strong undercurrents in regional politics over Giligt-Baltistan, One Belt One Road, CPEC, Baluchistan, Gwadar, etc crisscross. In fact, foreign devils have been sighted on the Silk Road in that region -- including, allegedly, someone with an Indian name Kulbhushan Yadav. (Dawn)

On Wednesday, Bloomberg dropped a bombshell. The Hong Kong-based paper simply sent down a man to Chabahar to check out what is going on out there. This is how the depressing report began:

When the leaders of India, Iran and Afghanistan gathered in Tehran in the spring for a ceremony marking Indias development of a strategic Iranian port, they recited Persian poetry and said their partnership would alter the course of history.

On a recent visit, roughly 13 years after India first agreed to develop the port of Chabahar, a single ship floated at the main jetty. Most of the cargo containers scattered in an asphalt lot bore the logo of the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. In an adjacent harbor, a dozen wooden dhows, or traditional fishing boats, bobbed in the water.

Months after the ceremony in May (during PM Modis visit to Iran) and pledges by India to inject $500 million into the project, the much-heralded port of Chabahar remains a sleepy outpost -- as well as a shadow of the Chinese-built port of Gwadar, 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the east across Irans border with Pakistan.

Despite PM Modis imprimatur on the Chabahar project and despite one of the handful of able ministers in the Indian Cabinet piloting the projects implementation, if we are moving at such glacial pace, it is a sad state of affairs. The Modi governments appalling inefficiency and lack of purpose stand exposed.

Iran attaches high priority to the development of Chabahar, which is located in the eastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Pakistan. At a recent meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani showed interest in collaborating with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Image: A speed boat passes by oil docks at the port of Kalantari in the city of Chabahar, 300km east of the Strait of Hormuz. Photograph: Raheb Homavandi/Reuters.
'Modi's brilliance seems to be in combining Indira Gandhi's 'feel' for the Indian pulse and Narasimha Rao's cynicism.'

'By the time the Opposition leaders caught up with Modi over the surgical strikes, he had already moved on,' says M K Bhadrakumar.

The cacophony over India's 'surgical strikes' against Pakistan on September 29 only goes to underscore that India's Opposition politicians are kids on the block who can't grasp what a gifted magician they deal with in the persona of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a matter of some 72 hours, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi swung from one extreme to the other -- from eulogising Modi for his prime ministerial mettle in ordering 'surgical strikes' to scorning him as a coward hiding behind the Indian Army.

Our red comrades fared hardly any better. The cerebral mind of Sitaram Yechury, unsurprisingly, smelt a rat and suspended opinion. Indeed, Communists are credited with scientific temper.

But then, not all Communists are alike. Sitaram's comrades in Kerala went berserk. The Kerala state assembly passed a resolution congratulating the 'surgical strikes.' People's Democracy, the CPI-M weekly newspaper, has since demanded details from the Modi government on the 'surgical strikes.'

Rahul Gandhi could have sought the advice of two elder statesmen in his party -- former PM Manmohan Singh and former defence minister A K Antony -- about the Indian Army's code of conduct on the Line of Control.

They would have told him that Indian Army began crossing the LoC since the time Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and that there were several instances of such cross-border strikes (by us as well as the Pakistanis), but neither acknowledged committing the blasphemy of breaching the sanctity of the LoC, which used to be, after all, the anchor-sheet of the relationship enshrined in the Simla Agreement.

Rahul Gandhi, equipped with that proper information, could then have begun wondering why Modi decided to resort to such high octane publicity for the 'surgical strikes' at all. He lost that opportunity to think and strategise.

Similarly, if only the comrades in Kerala had reached out to the erudite mind of Sitaram before jumping the gun, they would have looked more like Communists with a rational mind.

Where is it that battle-hardened politicians like Pinarayi Vijayan and Rahul Gandhi have gone hopelessly wrong?

The answer is simple. Neither went wrong, actually.

They acted instinctively in the best traditions of bourgeois politicians with an eye on electoral politics. Period.

Their mortal fear was that the Bharatiya Janata Party would outrun them on the wicket of 'patriotism' and the safe thing would be to bandwagon with Modi's followers so that they didn't look like stragglers.

Ex-servicemen are a potential vote bank. Why surrender it to the BJP?

The heart of the matter is that it has become virtually impossible today to outdo the BJP in 'patriotism.'

The BJP spokesmen, including ex-generals, weep in front of us on live television at the slightest reference to the army's 'sacrifice.' Yes, tears well up in their eyes, moistening their handle-bar moustaches.

In such a bizarre country, what option do bourgeois politicians have except to wear patriotism on the sleeves?

Indeed, it is about time to ponder where our political class immersed in the bourgeois skulduggery is leading the nation.

In particular, we are doing a terrible thing to the Indian Army in not discussing openly and with transparency the corruption, cronyism and careerism eating at the vitals of that fine institution, which now looks a pale shadow of what the departing British handed down to us.

What matters today is the glaring disconnect between the statement by the Director General of Military Operations Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh in the forenoon of September 29 and the highly embellished interpretations of it given without attribution by the 'Deep State' that duly appeared in the media.

To my mind, the DGMO made an uncharacteristic statement. Faujis are very precise and factual because they take war as very serious business -- or, because that's how Sandhurst trained them in the old days. But the DGMO's statement looked as if it was drafted in the Prime Ministers Office. It was needlessly verbose, scanty in precise details.

If the GHQ in Rawalpindi knew what happened, what was the point in keeping details away from the Indian public once the leadership decided to publicise the 'surgical strikes'?

To be sure, Modi's doosra caught the Opposition parties napping. Look how magnificently he handled a tricky situation to his great advantage.

Within 24 hours of the 'surgical strikes', while the media blitzkrieg in India was only peaking and the war hysteria was rising, Modi made sure National Security Advisor Ajit Doval phoned up his Pakistani counterpart Nasser Khan Janjua in a quiet aside to calm them down.

Simply put, the Pakistanis understood that Modi was grandstanding and their army was the last thing on his mind.

The great beauty about the India-Pakistan relationship has always been this: The DNA of the Punjabi establishment in Pakistan and our political class in the Hindi heartland is virtually identical.

To a South Indian from his remote vantage point in a settled community, their mutual animosities and tribalism always looked contrived and emotional, belying logic and reason.

Of course, whether Doval succeeded in wrapping up a deal with Janjua, time only will tell. That is because no one really is in charge in Islamabad. Out there, as W B Yeats wrote, the 'falcon cannot hear the falconer.'

Be that as it may, it should not detract from Modi's brilliance in combining Indira Gandhi's 'feel' for the Indian pulse and Narasimha Rao's cynicism.

By the time Pinarayi and Rahul Gandhi caught up with Modi, he had already moved on to another planet.

Modi had already issued a clarion call to avoid 'chest-thumping.' By sequestering himself from the BJP's relentless 'chest-thumping.' Modi ensured that Rahul Gandhi's diatribe against him personally looked as petulance and the People's Democracy editorial as tardy pedantic.

How does the balance sheet of 'surgical strikes' look like, a week later?

One, Modi apparently got the DGMO to read out a PMO handout. The imprimatur of the Indian Army, however, comes handy, providing an alibi for not disclosing the facts regarding the 'surgical strikes.'

The issue has been turned into casting aspersions on the Indian Army's integrity. Who wants to be a traitor?

Two, Modi managed to 'de-escalate' -- temporarily, at least -- which was also what Washington expected of him.

Three, Modi sanctioned high-profile publicity to the 'surgical strikes' and probably hopes to exploit it in the upcoming state elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Four, Modi kept the RSS core constituency happy that he is indeed what he was reputed to be.

Five, Modi threw a few bits from the high table at the strategic community. Our 'hawks' are in delirious excitement that a 'jaw-for-tooth' strategy toward Pakistanis unfolding.

Six, Modi ensured that the Opposition followed him like a Pied Piper.

Finally, India's attention has wandered away from the eye of the storm -- upheaval in the Kashmir valley. Perhaps, forever.
Despite facing severe backlash for his lewd remarks against women in a 2005 video, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday remained defiant and said he will not drop out of the race under any circumstances.

"I'd never withdraw. I've never withdrawn in my life," Trump told The Washington Post in a phone call from his home in TrumpTower in New York.

"No, I'm not quitting this race. I have tremendous support."

"People are calling and saying, 'don't even think about doing anything else but running," Trump said when asked about Republican Party defections.

Trump said "running against" Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton makes keeping the party behind him easier.

"It's because she's so bad. She's so flawed as a candidate. Running against her, I can't say it'd be the same if I ran against someone else, but running against her makes it a lot easier, that's for sure."

Trump's comments came less than 24 hours after The Post published a video where the New York business tycoon bragged in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women during a 2005 conversation caught on a hot microphone. He later offered what many say was an insincere and even defiant apology.

In the wake of sharp criticism by Republican leaders, Trump issued a short video statement in which he offered a rare apology for his remarks.

"I said it, I was wrong, and I apologise," he said in the video statement. He however said the video was "a distraction from the issues we are facing today."

He said that his "foolish" words are much different than the words and actions of Bill Clinton, whom he accused of abusing women, and Hillary Clinton, whom he accused of having "bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims."

Trump acknowledged in the phone call with the Washington Post that the video "certainly has" consumed the presidential race but said he has endured past controversies, not only during his 2016 bid but during his career.

"I've been here before," Trump said.

Trump said "thousands and thousands" of backers have sent him letters and emails since the Post's story was published.

Trump referred to the past incident in which he had insulted Senator John McCain, by saying that he was not a war hero, as an example of how he has weathered political storms.

"Everyone said, It's over, it's over. The people didn't say that but the reporters said that," Trump said.

He said he had met with his advisers and family Friday night at Trump Tower, his campaign headquarters, and agreed to record a video response.

Trump said he may make a speech or remarks in evening, as a way of encouraging his supporters but insisted that any possible speech would not be a departure from the race.

"Forget that," Trump said dismissively of the suggestion. "That's not my deal."
The German city of Chemnitz was in lockdown on Saturday after armed police launched a huge manhunt for a Syrian suspected of planning a bomb attack, as the country grapples with a weakened sense of security following recent terror assaults.

IMAGE: A German policeman guards a check point at a housing area in the eastern city of Chemnitz on suspicion that a bomb attack was being planned in Germany. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

Police, who told people to stay in their homes, named the suspect as 22-year-old Syrian Jaber Albakr. Photographs posted on social media showed armed police clad in black balaclavas and helmets at an apartment building in the eastern city.

Germany has been on edge after suffering two attacks claimed by the Islamic State group in July -- an axe rampage on a train in Wuerzburg that injured five and a suicide bombing in Ansbach that left 15 wounded.

In the latest alert, police in the state of Saxony issued a search warrant for Albakr, saying he was born in Syria in January 1994.

They said Albakr was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and was "suspected of preparing a bomb attack".

IMAGE: German policemen clear the area of a controlled detonation of explosives at a housing area in the eastern city of Chemnitz on suspicion that a bomb attack was being planned in Germany. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

A search of an apartment in Chemnitz detected traces of explosives but failed to capture the suspect or find a bomb, a police spokesman said.

He said police launched Saturday's operation after receiving information from domestic intelligence services.

"We are carrying out in Chemnitz a large-scale operation due to suspicions that a bomb attack was being prepared," police said on Twitter, urging residents to stay at home.

"The explosion heard in the area was a police entry measure. The wanted person has not been found," police added.

The attacks in July rattled Germans' sense of security and fuelled concerns over the country's record influx of migrants and refugees last year.

IMAGE: German special policemen SEK search a housing area in the eastern city of Chemnitz on suspicion that a bomb attack was being planned in Germany. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

German police said previously they had identified 523 people who posed a security threat to the country, around half of whom were known to be currently in Germany.

On September 21 German officials said a 16-year-old Syrian refugee had been arrested on suspicion of planning a bomb attack in the name of IS.

The youngster, thought to have been radicalised only recently, was detained in a special forces operation at a shelter for asylum-seekers in the western city of Cologne, police and prosecutors said.

Initial information gathered from the teenager's mobile phone showed that he had expressed an "unmistakeable willingness" to carry out an attack, Klaus-Stephan Becker of the Cologne police told reporters.

A week earlier, German police detained three men with forged Syrian passports accused of being IS militants and labelled a possible "sleeper cell" with links to the assailants behind the November attacks in Paris.
Pakistani troops on Saturday violated the ceasefire by firing on a forward post along the Line of Control in Poonch district, leaving an army jawan injured.

There was firing on forward area in Krishnagati-Mendhar sector along the LoC by Pakistani troops in which an army man was injured this morning, Inspector General of Police (Rajouri-Poonch range) Johny Williams said.

However, Defence PRO Col Manish Mehta said there was no ceasefire violation.

The ceasefire violation took place after two days of lull.

A senior Army officer had said on Friday that there have been over 25 ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after surgical strikes by Indian Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to dismantle terror launching pads.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assessed security arrangements on the border in Barmer district of Rajasthan.

Singh along with Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju arrived at Barmer from Jaisalmer on Saturday, accompanied by Border Security Force officials, sources said.

The home minister on Friday chaired a meeting in Jaisalmer with the home ministers and senior officials of four states that border Pakistan.

The meeting was attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarats Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma.

Poonch : Indian army soldier on alert near the Line of Control in Balakot Sector, Poonch on Thursday. PTI Photo
IMAGE: IAFs ALH team performs a manoeuvre during the 84th Air Force Day parade at Hindon airbase in Gaziabad on Saturday. All photographs: Atul Yadav/ PTI Photo.

The Indian Air Force celebrated its 84th anniversary on Saturday at the Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad with a large parade and an air display.

The air display commenced with flag bearing sky divers of famous AKASH GANGA Team dropping out of AN-32 aircraft in their colourful canopies.

The flypast included the vintage aircraft, modern transport aircraft and frontline fighter aircraft.

IMAGE: Air Forces Surya Kiran aerobatics team performs a manoeuvre.

The ceremony concluded with a scintillating aerobatic display.

For the first time, India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft performed stunts at the air show, amid loud cheers from the audience.

IMAGE: India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas performs stunts.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweet saluted all the Air Force personnel by saying, Saluting all air warriors & their families on Air Force Day. Thank you for protecting our skies. Your courage makes India proud.

President Pranab Mukherjee also greeted the IAF on its anniversary and said in a message that the nation is proud of the capability and competency of the IAF as over the last eight decades, it has emerged as an immensely professional and combat-ready force.

IMAGE: Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha inspecting guard of honour.

In his customary address at the celebrations, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said that the terror attack in Pathankot and Uri are a stark reminder of the times we live in, and added, that the Indian Air Force is ready to counter such attacks in the future.

The terrorist attack on Pathankot airbase and Uri Army base are a stark reminder of the times we live in. To counter any sub-covenantal threat to our bases, we have instituted various new security measures, said Air Chief Marshal Raha said.

IMAGE: Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag being greeted by honourary Group Captain of IAF Sachin Tendulkar.

He said various courses are being conducted, that have increased security training, consciousness, physical fitness and combat efficiency of air warriors to handle such situations more efficiently.

He further said that the IAF has achieved distinction in defending.

IMAGE: Members of Akash Ganga Sky diving team display their skill.

The Air Force chief said, Armed forces are well prepared to take on any sub-conventional threats. We have had one or two cases and a determined terrorist can always get the better people, but aim is to prevent it.

IMAGE: Globemaster, centre, is escorted by two SU- 30 fighter aircrafts.

A deterrence to prevent any such intrusion, any such attack right in the beginning and so that we can neutralise them, so that they cannot actually cause any damage to armed forces property, armed forces people or our own people inside our whole nation, he added.

IMAGE: Air Force soldiers march during the parade.

Raha further said that IAF is becoming smarter saying that, We are learning lessons every time something happens and I think we are very well prepared now to face any such contingency, he added.

IMAGE: IAFs ALH team flies past.

The Air Force Day is celebrated to commemorate the day the force was officially established, October 8, 1932.
Most villagers decided to stay back to harvest crops, their only source of livelihood. Sahil Makkar reports.

Darshan Singh, an octogenarian, who lives one km from the Indo-Pak border at Dhanoe Kalan village in Punjab, has experienced the wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1999, and a military standoff between the two countries during 2001.

He and other elders in the village believe the latest tension because of India's strike against terrorists in Pak territory shall also pass without repercussion.

"Nothing happened when India and Pakistan were at war. Nothing will happen now," says Singh, looking at the machines he hired to harvest his premature paddy crop. He says he would have left his crop in the field for another week in normal circumstances. "But this is my only source of livelihood. So, as a precaution, I am harvesting it," he explains, leaning on his walking stick.

Most in the village and nearby areas had decided to stay back, despite the recent government decision to move them to safer areas. Political parties and their leaders, including state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, had rushed to placate the villagers and provide support.

After which, responding to the unrest over the evacuation order for villages in a 10-km belt along Punjab's border, the Union government on Friday, October 7, revoked its decision.

Villagers will be allowed to return after nine days, the state government said. The evacuation was ordered on September 29, following India's strikes across the Line of Control.

Punjab shares around 550 km with Pakistan, with six districts in close proximity of the international border. From news reports, nearly 1,000 villages within the 10-km radius of the IB were evacuated, in anticipation of shelling from the Pak side.

"The Punjab government is doing politics because of impending elections in the state. If the situation is so dire, why is the government not vacating villages in Rajasthan?" asks Sucha Singh, who has sent his wife and children to relatives in Chandigarh.

Punjab assembly elections are due early next year and the stakes are high for the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance.

IMAGE: A soldier during a search operation in a village near the International Border in the Suchetgarh area of R S Pura, Jammu. Photograph: PTI Photo
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.
VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE

This is a reminder that the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 8 general election in Texas is Tuesday.

To register, applicants are required to complete a voter registration form, print, sign and mail it. The form is available at VoteTexas.gov. Applications must be turned in or postmarked on or before Tuesday. On VoteTexas.gov, voters may also check their registration to make sure their information is current and correct.

Voters with questions about the registration process and how to cast a ballot can visit VoteTexas.gov or call 800-252-VOTE. Texans can join the #VoteTexas conversation this election by following Vote Texas' Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social platforms.

Early voting for the Nov. 8 election begins Oct. 24 and ends Nov. 4.

PILLAGE-THE-VILLAGE AND GHOST TOURS

The Buffalo Gap Historic Village brings history to life with a spooky twist.

Pillage-the-Village takes place today. From 3 to 5 p.m., children ages 12 and under can trick-or-treat throughout the Historic Village, knocking on creaky old doors asking characters from the past for candy. Once you've finished pillaging, enjoy an array of historic games, crafts, face-painting, and more. Don't forget to dress in your favorite costume. Admission is $3 per person (regardless of age) and BGHV members are free.

A little old for trick-or-treating but still want to get into the Halloween spirit? Consider the Buffalo Gap Historic Village's guided Ghost Tours. Listen to historically based stories from the Mesquite Storytellers of Abilene on a 45-minute adventure winding through the haunted Village. Tours start at 8 p.m. and run every 20 minutes on Oct. 15, 22, and Oct. 29. Tickets are $10 per person. For group rates, call the Village at 325-572-3974.

OPERA ON THE BIG SCREEN

The 11th season of 'The Met: Live in HD,' the Metropolitan Opera's popular Peabody and Emmy Award-winning series of live transmissions in movie theaters around the world, continues Saturday with a new Metropolitan Opera production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.

This performance, the 100th transmission in the series' history, will be on the big screen at 11 a.m. today at Century 12, 3818 John Knox Drive. For complete information on locations and tickets, visit www.metopera.org/hdlive or call 800-638-6737.

MINERAL RIGHTS

The Energy Institute at Texas Christian University offers a three-day training program, 'Wealth Management and Estate Planning,' for mineral and royalty owners in Abilene and West Central Texas from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 18-20 in Radford Auditorium Bishops Hall on the McMurry campus.

The non-degreed, adult education program is aimed at mineral owners who want to level the playing field and get everything that they are entitled to when they interact with oil and gas companies. The Royalty Owner Program is open to new or prospective royalty owners, who want to master the basics of mineral ownership.

The first course, 'The Foundation of Energy Law in Texas,' will be held on Oct. 18. The second course will be 'Leasing the Mineral Estate' on Oct. 19. The final course is 'Critical Issues after Production Begins' on Oct. 20.

Instructor is Glen Webb, an experienced attorney and mineral owner who lives in the Abilene area.

The program is $1,375 (discounted) rate for all three days or $525 per day, which includes all materials, handouts, snacks, and lunches. The program is sponsored by the Texas Bar and offers MLE/CLE/CE credits.

For more information or to register, call 1-800-255-1261 or go to energyinstitute.tcu.edu.

Mail information to Jan Woodward in care of 'Around Town,' Abilene Reporter-News, P.O. Box 30, Abilene, TX 79604. Email address is jan.woodward@reporternews.com or fax information to 325-670-5242. Deadline for submission is noon seven working days before publication.
Encourage your pastor to tell us the upcoming week's sermon topic. It's free, and it's open to churches throughout the Big Country. Email it to publishme@reporternews.com by 2 p.m. each Tuesday. Please put 'sermon' in the subject line. Include the topic, who will deliver it, a short synopsis, when services begin and the name and street address of your place of worship.

Baker Heights Church of Christ, 5382 Texas Ave.

Services: 10 a.m. Sunday

Speaker: Wes McAdams

Topic: 'Why Do We Baptize for the Forgiveness of Sins?'

Synopsis: Most of the religious world believes that baptism is an 'outward sign' that a person has already been saved. They argue that a person is saved when they believe and then are baptized later to show that they are already saved. Would you be surprised to learn that teaching is not found in the Bible? Would you be surprised to learn that, according to the Bible, baptism is actually the moment at which a penitent believer is saved? If that surprises you, then we want to invite you to join us this Sunday morning and learn the truth about what the Bible teaches on baptism.

Belmont Baptist Church, 2117 Palm St.

Services: 10:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday

Speaker: Jimmy Griffith

Topic: (a.m.) 'I Am the Vine' (John 15:1-17); (p.m.) 'The Fruit of the Spirit is Joy' (Galatians 5:22)

Synopsis: This passage speaks to us of our relationship with the Father through the Son. It also speaks to us about productivity, pruning, abiding in Jesus, obedience and prayer. (p.m.) Joy begins when we get saved, and it continues as we walk with the Lord and obey Him. Trials often come to us as they did to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). James reminds us that we are to count it joy when we face trials because the testing of our faith produces perseverance.

Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St.

Services: 8 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday; 1 p.m. Swahili prayer service; 5 p.m. Blessing of the Animals

Speaker: Amanda Watson

Topic: 'Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost' (Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Luke 17:11-19)

Synopsis: In the Gospel story, Jesus' command brings about the cleansing of ten lepers, but only one, a Samaritan, returns to give thanks.

First United Methodist Church, 202 Butternut St.

Services: 8:45 and 11 a.m. Sunday

Speaker: Jeff V. Zirkle

Topic: 'Turning Point Adventures'

Synopsis: Americans often make 1,500 decisions daily. Our nation, churches, schools, businesses and relationships face daily adventures and turning point decisions. Acts 15-16 describes key adventures and decisions of the early church and a missionary named Paul. Come explore how you can navigate life's adventures and make decisions leading you to fulfill your God-imagined vision, calling and destiny.

Grace Lutheran Church, 1202 S. Pioneer Dr.

Services: 10:15 a.m. Sunday

Speaker: Patricia Dodini

Synopsis: It's a miracle! Multiple miracles! The waters of holy baptism have healed us. The body and blood of Jesus in holy communion have made us clean. We have died with Christ and been raised with Him. For all this, we have returned to offer thanks. From this place, we are sent on our way rejoicing to share the good news.

Northwest Church of Christ, 1141 N. Willis St.

Services: 10:30 a.m. Sunday

Speaker: Pat Andrews

Topic: 'Grow Up For Goodness' Sake!'

Synopsis: 1 Corinthians 3:1-7, 'Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly, mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.' Spiritual immaturity was at the root of all the many problems we meet in Paul's two letters to the church at Corinth. Unfortunately, thousands of years later, we still suffer from the same malady. We will explore ways of developing spiritual maturity.

Oakridge Church of Christ, 3250 Beltway South

Services: 10 a.m. Sunday

Speaker: Steve Smith

Topic: 'According to Scripture, Can We Today, As Christians, Celebrate Special Days? Sure!'

Synopsis: In context, Paul's admonition is to not go into Judaism by keeping Jewish holidays (Galatians 4:1-11).

Oldham Lane Church of Christ, 5049 Oldham Lane

Services: 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday

Speaker: Chris McCurley

Topic: 'Deacons: Shock Absorbers of the Church'

Synopsis: A true servant distinguishes himself through humble acts of service to those who don't expect it and are unable to repay it. That's being relationship oriented and mission minded. That's what it takes to make and grow disciples. That is essential to being a deacon in the Lord's Church.

St. James United Methodist Church, 3100 Barrow St.

Services: 10:30 a.m. Sunday

Speaker: Donita 'Dot' Lea

Topic: 'Children's Sabbath'

Synopsis: Children's Sabbath is a time to stop and focus on the children in our worship service. We welcome all children, and we will include them in the worship service this Sunday. Join us, and bring your children that they may experience worship that includes their perspective and participation. In addition, we will celebrate the sacrament of baptism.

Woodlawn Church of Christ, 841-A North Judge Ely Blvd.

Services: 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday

Speaker: Larry Fitzgerald

Topic: 'Did He Really Say That?'

Synopsis: Who is Jesus to you? Many people, including members of other faiths and some atheists, believe something good about Jesus. When they discover that Jesus requires us to go against some cultural norms, that's when they say in unbelief, 'Did He really say that?' They try to redefine Jesus into someone they can understand. We will look at the real Jesus.

Wylie Baptist Church, 6097 Buffalo Gap Road

Services: 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday

Speaker: Donny Harbers

Topic: 'Deity on Display' (John 2:12-25)

Synopsis: In the final 13 verses of chapter 2, John continues to point us to the deity of Jesus Christ. While He came in the flesh  and experienced all the suffering, pain and temptation the human experience has to offer  Jesus was more than an ordinary man. He was God, deity in the flesh.
Apparently something took hold of Abby Lynch when she was a child growing up in the mission field with her family in Mexico.

She lived there until age 7 and attended kindergarten there. Now 18, Lynch is returning to the mission field, although this time she won't be accompanied by her family. A May graduate of Sweetwater High School, Lynch left for Atlanta last week, for a few days of last-minute training before setting off on a nine-month venture to Cambodia, Thailand, Malawi and Guatemala before returning home to Sweetwater.

Even though Lynch's family won't be with her, she will hardly be alone. She signed up over a year ago for World Race Gap Year, a mission trip designed for recent high school graduates who want to take off a year before going to college or joining the workforce.

The program is sponsored by Adventures in Missions, an interdenominational missions organization located in Gainesville, Georgia.

'I felt really called to go on this trip,' Lynch said in a telephone interview before departing.

The calling was strong enough that Lynch committed to raising the $13,805 required to pay for the trip. She did everything from designing and selling T-shirts to organizing a 5K run in May. She found that lots of folks were supportive or her efforts, especially the 5K.

'It was awesome,' she said. 'We had a great turnout.'

When Lynch first shared her dream with her parents, Ralph and Kelly Lynch, they weren't as enthusiastic as she was. They wanted her to get a college degree before going into ministry or the mission field.

But then, they realized they had met on a mission field when they were young and spent the early years of family life in Mexico. They listened to a sermon titled 'All In' one morning at their church, Emmanuel Fellowship in Sweetwater, and were convinced that their daughter was answering a true call.

'We had to trust God that God knew what was best for her, not us,' Kelly Lynch said in an email.

Abby Lynch joined a squad of 51 young ladies last week in Atlanta for final training. They were divided into teams of six and set off on their grand adventure.

Abby didn't know it until the last minute, but her mother prepared a special treat for her that was designed to last until she gets back. Her mother wrote letters for all the holidays, Abby's birthday and some 'just for days that are rough.' She sealed the letters, with opening dates on them, and gave them to Abby just before departure.

Abby first got interested in the mission trip when her youth pastor mentioned it a year ago.

'I looked at the different routes,' she said, 'and felt like I was supposed to go on this one.'

She also applied to several universities and got accepted. Despite her parents' wishes, she didn't have a strong feeling about college  not yet, anyway.

'I really wasn't sure about what I was going to do,' she said.

But then, the World Race Gap Year kept coming back to her and she made a decision to spend nine months after high school on a mission trip that would take her to far-flung parts of the world.

Once the teams get to their destination, they will stay in guest homes, and at times in tents. They will do outreach work of various types.

Before going to the first training session in Atlanta Aug. 10-20, Lynch had never been away from home more than a week. But with support from her family, church, and friends, she felt ready to go.

While on the trip, she hopes to decide on the next phase of her life. She wants to go into some type of ministry but isn't sure what that is.

'I think this will help solidify what I want to do,' she said.
As construction along State Highway 351 nears completion, stores and restaurants along the route have reported fluctuations in business amid lane and driveway closures.

The Texas Department of Transportation expected to finish the access management and safety improvement project in September, but above-average rainfall during the summer and 'contract-related delays' contributed to the delay, said Mary Belle Turner, spokeswoman for the Abilene district of TxDOT

On Wednesday, the work, now expected to be finished by late fall, narrowed the highway to one-lane traffic in both directions, causing traffic to congest from East Lake Road to Judge Ely Boulevard. All traffic signals have been disabled and turned into stop signs, contributing to the traffic jam.

All lanes should be open by Saturday, despite the rain that fell early Friday morning, Turner said.

'As a project moves forward, lane shifts and closures can change the route of travel,' she said in an email. 'Even though it's the same work zone a driver traveled through yesterday doesn't mean they will take the same path through it tomorrow.'

The multimillion dollar project that extends from Treadaway Boulevard to the city limits east of Interstate 20 has caused problems in particular for restaurants on the stretch of road from I-20 to East Lake Road. The cost of that portion of construction, which began more than a year ago, is almost $7 million, according to the TxDOT website.

Access to businesses along that stretch has been intermittent, with some entrances and exits closed at various times.

Casey Kilborn, general manager of Jason's Deli on Highway 351, said the roadwork definitely has affected business at the restaurant, although he understands the project must be done. Jason's Deli has been at that location for more than five years.

'We're up against last year's sales. We're trending higher, but I think if we didn't have the construction, then we'd be even higher,' Kilborn said.

The project will widen the road and provide bicycle lanes, as well as a raised median, curbs and gutters, and 5-foot sidewalks on both sides of the corridor, according to the project plan.

Driveways to businesses along the route will be consolidated, and three traffic signals have been added  at East Lake Road, Enterprise Drive and the entrance to Walmart.

Other businesses that have reported being affected by the construction include H&H Beverages, Dairy Queen and Oscar's Mexican Restaurant.

Leticia Abila, one of the owners of Oscar's, said the construction has been going on for such a long time that it has caused business to drop slightly. The restaurant has been in its location for 13 years next month.

Dara Hollar, manager at Dairy Queen, said the restaurant was practically empty Thursday when lanes adjacent to the store were closed. She said business has been slow since construction began but not as bad as this week.

When the lanes on the eatery's side of the road opened up Friday, Hollar said, it started getting more traffic.

Turner acknowledged minor issues with businesses along the route but said TxDOT will work with businesses to resolve any problems.

Twitter: BrookeCrum_ARN
Republican women to meet in Sweetwater

The Republican Women of West Texas will host a dessert and coffee meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday in Sweetwater.

Trayce Bradford, president of Texas Eagle Forum, will be the speaker.

The Eagle Forum uses grass-roots techniques to promote conservative women's and family issues in public policy.

Bradford served as president of Dallas Eagle Forum from 2012-2015. Additionally, she founded Tarrant County Eagle Forum in 2012.

The meeting is at the 4th and Elm Church of Christ activity center, at the corner of Elm and Fifth streets.
We value your privacy.

Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy.
J. E. James, Stamford

John Compere once again has shared a treatise on (the) opinion page regarding the Constitution (Reporter-News, Sept. 25). And again he starts with a false premise.

He says the Constitution created three equal branches of government. This is nonsense. The Congress holds virtually all the power of government. Not the president, not the Supreme Court. Congress is the only branch that can raise revenue, enact legislation, and spend money. It can impeach the president or any federal judge, including Supreme Court justices. Can the president or the court remove a member of Congress? Of course not.

There are hundreds of executive branch agencies that issue thousands of regulations. But Congress created the agencies and can abolish them or rescind their rules. The Supreme Court does indeed have enormous power to declare laws unconstitutional. But that is not a power granted to them by the Constitution. They usurped it, saying their 'implied power' (as oppose to an explicit power granted by the Constitution) gave them the right to do so.

The view that there are three 'equal' branches of government is widely held. It is a failing of the elementary civics courses taught in our schools.
AUSTIN  GOP Congressman Will Hurd issued his harshest rebuke yet Friday of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. However, Hurd, who is locked in Texas' only competitive congressional race, stopped just short of saying he'd withdraw his support from the controversial real estate mogul.

Hurd issued his statement, one of the harshest denunciations by a Republican congressman in response to questions from the El Paso Times.

The newspaper asked about revelations Friday by The Washington Post that in 2005, Trump was taped bragging about groping women. On the set of a soap opera, Trump boasted that because he was a 'star,' he could grab women by the most intimate parts of their bodies.

Hurd, who has in the past criticized Trump, but said he would wait to decide whether to support him, scorched the GOP nominee Friday night.

'I find Donald Trump's comments that were released today to be utterly sickening and repulsive for all women and Americans,' Hurd said in a text message. 'As a proud son of a wonderful mother, brother of a strong and successful sister, the uncle to four beautiful nieces, I am ashamed that any person, much less a nominee for president of the United States, would speak that way of women. We deserve better.'

Asked if the statement means that Hurd has abandoned the idea of supporting Trump, campaign spokesman Justin Hollis said, 'That's all we have for now.'

Heavily Latino District 23 runs from San Antonio to eastern El Paso County and along a big stretch of the Mexican border. Geographically, it is the largest congressional district in the Lower 48 states.

Hurd's Democratic opponent, former Rep. Pete Gallego, has worked to hang Trump around Hurd's neck and did so again in a Facebook post Friday.

'Congressman Hurd has remained silent on issues surrounding Donald Trump's candidacy for president for too long,' Gallego said.

Analysts have said that Trump has put Hurd in an unenviable position. The former CIA officer represents a district that has flipped between the parties in each election since 2010.

While Trump's rhetoric alienates many swing voters  particularly Latinos  Hurd also doesn't want to alienate core constituents who support Trump. However, the clock might have run out Friday on Hurd's pleas for more time to decide whether he'll support his party's nominee, said University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus.

'If Hurd is going to make a decision, this is it,' Rottinghaus said. 'I don't know if there's a downside anymore.'

Hurd has gotten high-profile support from Republicans such as Gov. Greg Abbott and a visit to his district from House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., so he no longer needs to prove his Republican bona fides, Rottinghaus said.

Meanwhile, saying he's waiting to decide whether to support Trump has become counterproductive for Hurd, Rottinghaus said.

'He's re-litigating this battle every day,' he said.

Marty Schladen can be reached at 512-479-6606; mschladen@gannett.com; @martyschladen on Twitter.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

This just in...
At least three police officers have been killed by a Taliban attack in Kandahar Province, according to a spokesman for the provincial governor.



The spokesman, Samim Khpolwak, said at least four other officers were wounded by the attack late on October 7 in the Maiwand district on the western edge of Kandahar Province.



The Associated Press quoted other Afghan officials who suggested that the death toll could include as many as 20 police.



The provincial government's media office said at least 20 militants were killed when Afghan forces responded to the attack.



Afghanistan's vitally strategic "ring road" highway that circles within the countries borders passes though Maiwand in a segment that links Kandahar city with the town of Gereshk in neighboring Helmand Province.
Explosions targeting military personnel on a passenger train killed at least three people and wounded 13 others in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on October 7, 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 kilometers east of Balochistan's provincial capital Quetta.

"We have rushed the rescue teams to the accident site," said provincial Home Secretary Akbar Harifal, who added that the identity of the passengers was not immediately clear.

A spokesman for the Baloch Liberation Army said the attack had targeted "military personnel who travel to Rawalpindi by this train."

Oil- and gas-rich Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanistan, and has been roiled for years by violent separatist, sectarian, and Islamist insurgencies.

Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif "strongly condemned the attack and directed authorities concerned to find the culprits and bring them to task immediately."

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
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
A young man armed with an ax and a chainsaw has attacked people at a shopping center in Belaruss capital, killing one woman and injuring another.

Officials told RFE/RLs Belarus Service that the October 8 attack took place at the Europa shopping center in central Minsk.

Police later arrested the suspect, described as a 17-year-old man from Belarus.

They said surveillance video showed the attacker had brought the chainsaw and the axe to the shopping center in a guitar case.

Authorities said the wounded woman, who is 46 years old, was being treated at a hospital in Minsk after receiving ax blows to her chest and shoulder.

Police did not immediately comment on a suspected motive for the attack.

With reporting by AP
Dozens of men clashed with Georgian police on October 8 when they tried to storm a polling station in the village of Kizilajlo, some 40 kilometers southwest of the capital, Tbilisi, as the post-Soviet, Caucasus country went to the polls to elect a new parliament. Police were inside the polling station when groups of people outside began throwing stones and breaking windows. The police then held people back to prevent them from entering the station. The Georgian Interior Ministry has blamed the opposition United National Movement for the violence. The ministry also said two police officers had been injured in the incident. (Georgia's Television Rustavi 2 via AP)
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, accompanied by his wife Maka Tsinadze and one of their sons, was among those who cast their votes early in the capital Tbilisi in the Caucasus country's parliamentary elections on October 8. Besides regular polling stations, mobile ballot teams were also sent out to the homes of elderly voters with limited mobility. Some 3.5 million eligible voters are faced with a choice of nearly three dozen parties and blocs vying to fill the unicameral parliament's 150 seats. (RFE/RL's Georgian Service)
The Georgian Dream party has declared victory in parliamentary elections shortly after polls closed on October 8 in the former Soviet republic.



Deputy Prime Minister Kakha Kaladze, a member of Georgian Dream, told Reuters after the October vote, that data gathered by the ruling coalition suggested Georgian Dream had won at least 58 percent of the vote.



Speaking to a cheering crowd of supporters gathered outside the Georgian dream headquarters late on October 8, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said a "huge victory" had been won.



But opposition leader Giga Bokeria said he still thought his United National Movement (ENM) could win the elections and that the Georgian Dream had "certainly failed to get enough votes to form the cabinet."



Because of Georgias complicated election rules, the final composition of the 150-seat parliament may not become clear until late November.

Two exit polls suggest the ruling Georgian Dream party won the ballot -- although they suggested widely varying margins of victory for the governing coalition.

An exit poll conducted by the international market research firm Kantar Public suggested Georgian Dream was on track to win an absolute majority with about 53.8 percent of the vote.

The Kantar Public poll showed the opposition United National Movement (ENM) with about 19.5 percent of the vote.

But an exit poll ordered by the Rustavi-2 television channel and conducted by the research firm GfK, suggested that Georgian Dream had won about 39.9 percent of the vote compared to 32.7 percent for the ENM.

GfK was founded by Georgias former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who is from the ENM.

The center-left Georgian Dream coalition was formed by Saakashvili's rival, the billionaire businessman and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Both polls also suggested that the pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots would clear the 5 percent threshold needed to secure seats in the 150-seat parliament.

The party has risen in popularity recently, and its steadfast support for the Georgian Orthodox Church and conservative values are popular among nationalists.

WATCH: Georgians Vote In Parliamentary Elections (natural sound)

Before the elections, analyst Thomas de Waal, a senior associate at Carnegie Europe and a Caucasus specialist, told RFE/RL that Georgia's pro-Western foreign policy and desire to join NATO and the European Union are unlikely to be significantly affected by the vote.

I think maybe there's not such great love for the West in Georgia at the moment, but I think it's the only game in town, he said. Russia really offers nothing [to Georgia].

De Waal said a move by the EU -- just days before the elections -- on visa liberalization for Georgia was "a positive [thing] and the countrys "pro-European movement vector will continue, maybe in a slightly more pragmatic way [after the elections]."

He added that a "peaceful" vote was of great importance and Georgia needed to deliver a "normal European-style election...in which there are no obvious, flagrant irregularities."

An explosion on October 5 under the car of United National Movement lawmaker Givi Targamadze, an associate of Saakashvili who was unhurt by the blast, had raised security concerns, as did reports of a foiled terror plot on a gas pipeline and authorities' publicly expressed suspicions that a postelection coup might be in the planning.

There were some reports of violence during the October 8 vote.

WATCH: Crowd Tries To Storm Georgian Polling Station (natural sound)

In the village of Kizilajlo, about 40 kilometers southwest of Tbilisi, about a dozen men who tried to storm into a polling station clashed with police.

Georgias Interior Ministry said two police were hurt in that incident, but authorities prevented the men from entering the polling station.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, TASS, Rustavi-2 TV, and RFE/RL's Pete Baumgartner
The Russian government has directed the Rosneft state oil company to acquire a majority stake in the Bashneft regional oil firm, calling into question whether the sale amounts to a "privatization" as advertised by the Kremlin.

A decree signed by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov this week directs government representatives on Rosneft's board of directors to approve the purchase of 50.1 percent of Bashneft's stock by October 15 for no more than 330 billion rubles or about $5.3 billion.

While the Kremlin continues to call the deal a "privatization," it would further consolidate state-controlled Rosneft's growing control over the country's vast oil resources under chief executive Igor Sechin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Rosneft, when combined with Bashneft, would control 42 per cent of Russia's oil production, 37 per cent of its refining capacity, and a quarter of its gas stations, according Otkritie Capital.

Moreover, the deal will be consummated without opening the sale up to other bidders, including Lukoil, Russia's second largest oil company and one of the only private firms left in the oil sector, which had expressed an interest in buying Bashneft.

"This is not privatization, it's a continuation of creeping de-privatization," Mikhail Krutikhin, a partner at the RusEnergy consulting firm, told the Wall Street Journal.

Moreover, with one state company acquiring another, the transaction amounts to a sleight of hand which will not actually raise much cash to reduce Russia's budget deficit over the long term, as originally intended, Krutikhin added.

"If Rosneft spends money on acquisitions, they will report less income, and that means less revenue for the Russian budget," he told the Journal.

Earlier this year, Kremlin officials had said they would bar Rosneft from participating in the sale of Bashneft, a regional producer with most of its assets in the republic of Bashkortostan, because of Rosneft's government-owned status.

However, the Kremlin last month relented under pressure from Sechin.

On October 7, Rosneft announced that is has enough cash on hand from daily operations to complete the acquisition without taking on debt.

Rosneft itself is the next major state asset to be partially sold, with the Economy Ministry committed to divesting a 19.5 percent interest by the end of the year. The value of the stake has been set at 700 billion rubles.

Rosneft is considering buying part of the states offering of those shares as well, spokesman Mikhail Leontyev said on October 6. He said the company is confident that the share price will rise after the sale.

With reporting by Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, Financial Times, and TASS


The northern Afghan city of Kunduz is under assault again, a year after it was briefly captured by the Taliban. Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced to flee as the Afghan military and Taliban militants fight it out on the streets.

In late September 2015, when the Afghan military retook the city, the Taliban did not flee very far away, making the current battle to a large extent predictable.

What happened in the year between the Taliban attacks on Kunduz? Did the Afghan government take any measures to prevent a repeat of the September 2015 fiasco? And how is it that the Taliban could attack the same city?

RFE/RL gathered a majlis, a panel, to look into those questions.

Moderating the discussion was RFE/RL Media Relations Manager Muhammad Tahir. From Afghanistan, Kamal Safi, a parliamentarian representing Kunduz Province, joined the talk. Also from Afghanistan, the former governor of Kunduz Province, Omar Safi (no relation), took part. From Washington D.C., Barmak Pazhwak, the senior Afghanistan program officer at the U.S. Institute of Peace, participated. And as usual, I was in Prague and had a bit to say also.

The Taliban's brief capture of Kunduz city in September 2015 was a shock to most. The Taliban had been active in the northeastern provinces of Badakhshan, Kunduz, and Takhar but had never seized a provincial capital since it had been driven from power in Afghanistan by the U.S.-led invasion 14 years previously.

The militants were driven out of Kunduz in just a few days, but villagers near Kunduz, and members of the government in Kabul, said many times that the Taliban had only retreated to areas outside the city -- in some cases only a few kilometers away.

Kamal Safi described the current situation, as of October 5. "Apart from a few buildings like the governor's house, the police chief's office, and [a few others], the rest of the city is still [under] the Taliban and they are resisting the offensive of the security forces," he said.

The parliamentarian said civilians were faced with "no electricity, no water. There is no food, all the food shops are closed ... and if any bread is available in some parts of the city, the cost is four or five times higher [than usual]."

Former Kunduz Governor Omar Safi said the problem now was the same as last year. "There is no coordination and there is no interest from the government security forces' side to fight against the enemy." He pointed out that when this latest battle started there were "only one or two dead of the government forces," a sign, Safi said, that government troops had retreated almost as soon as the attack started. (Editors' note: Government forces have since launched a counter-offensive.)

Corruption Hampering Government Efforts

The former governor said that when the Taliban staged the September 2015 attack on Kunduz "we had only one regiment in Kunduz." The Afghan government did reinforce troops in Kunduz. "There are three battalions," Safi said, "So there are around almost 18,000 troops in Kunduz Province."

Pazhwak said: "The Afghan government hasn't been able to establish a control and command structure for this war in Kunduz that is unified and well-coordinated among the different security forces of the country."

But as has happened in so many other places in Afghanistan, corruption is playing a large part in the failures of government forces. [Omar] Safi said, "President [Ashraf] Ghani approved 550 million Afghani to Kunduz city, just to make a security belt for Kunduz." But unfortunately, "this money was all lost, misused" and he added none of the planned 17 security bases that were to have surrounded Kunduz city were ever built.

There are other reasons why government forces were struggling to pacify Kunduz Province. Pazhwak noted: "Kunduz, unfortunately, is practically a divided province. It is divided among a few power brokers, warlords, and a patronage system that could be traced all the way to Kabul."

Parliamentarian Safi added: "Kunduz is known as a small Afghanistan in the sense that all tribes who live in Afghanistan live in Kunduz as well, from all the small tribes [and] big tribes."

'Russian Buffer Zone'

But former Kunduz Governor Safi offered another interesting reason the Taliban were so difficult to suppress in Kunduz Province. "Most important is their [Taliban] recent ties with the Russians to keep this as a buffer zone for Russia to prevent [Islamic State] infiltration to a former Russian state like Tajikistan."

Tajikistan's Asia-Plus independent news agency reported on December 29, 2015, that Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov confirmed that Taliban representatives from northern Afghanistan met with Russian officials at an air base Russia's military used in Tajikistan. The Asia-Plus report named one of the Taliban officials as being "Qori Dinmuhammad Hanif, a commander of the Taliban from northern Afghanistan," and the report said Russian officials had met not once, but several times with Taliban officials at the base in Tajikistan, seemingly without the Tajik government's knowledge.

The report continued that government forces were unable to dislodge Hanif's forces from a district in Badakhshan Province, east of Kunduz Province, because "it [the district] is guarded with Russian weapons."

Former Governor Safi said local militiamen, called Arbaky, often simply paramilitary groups loyal to local warlords, had "seen some huge ammunition ships coming from the Tajik side to the Taliban side to distribute."

Outside of Ambassador Kabulov's comments, Russian officials have not spoken publicly about meetings or contacts with Taliban representatives.

Parliamentarian Safi would say only that "Kunduz has a long border with Central Asia and ... regional interests have changed." He added: "We also cannot deny that some of the local commanders, apart from the Taliban, have [made] frequent visits [to] the Central Asian states."

Our guests discussed these topics in greater detail, especially providing information about the complicated situation in Kunduz that seems to indicate there is no possibility for any resolution, anytime soon.

An audio recording of the Majlis can be heard here:

Listen to or download the Majlis podcast above or subscribe to Majlis on iTunes.

The views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL.
The United Nations Security Council on October 8 will vote on two competing resolutions to stop fighting in Syria, one from Russia and the other from France, in a showdown that is likely to end in a diplomatic stalemate.

The council will first vote on a French proposal to stop all aerial bombardments of Aleppo by Russian and Syrian forces, in a move designed to put Russia on the spot by forcing it to defend the killing of hundreds of civilians if, as expected, it vetoes the measure.

The council debate is likely to prominently feature accusations from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other top Western leaders that Russia and Syria are guilty of "war crimes" for intentionally bombing hospitals and civilians in Aleppo.

The vote will be a "moment of truth for all the members of the Security Council," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on October 7. "Do you want a cease-fire in Aleppo, yes or no? And the question is in particular for our Russian partner."

But Russian officials made no secret that they would veto the French resolution, saying it amounts to asking for a "unilateral withdrawal" from the fighting because rebel ground forces could continue to bomb government strongholds in Aleppo.

"We see this as a political blackmail attempt," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency.

"Unfortunately, there has been less and less common sense in Washington's and Paris's actions. The stakes are extremely high."



Following the vote on France's proposal, the council will vote on a Russian resolution urging the immediate implementation of a U.S.-Russian cease-fire agreement that was abandoned last month as a result of the escalation of fighting in Aleppo.

The United States, France, and other western powers are expected to veto the Russian proposal.

"This is a cynical attempt to divert attention away from the bombing of Aleppo," British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said.

Russia continues to insist that its bombing campaign is targeting "terrorists."

On October 7, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had killed about 35,000 militants in Syria since last year, including 2,700 Russians who joined Islamic militant groups fighting in Syria.

As an alternative to its own resolution, Russia is also backing a proposal by the UN's Syrian envoy Steffan de Mistura to help an Al-Qaeda-linked militant group evacuate from Aleppo so it no longer poses an excuse for Russia and Syria to keep bombing the city.

However, the group, Fatah al-Sham Front, formerly the Al-Nusra Front, rejected that offer on October 7, saying on Twitter that it is "determined to break the siege" on the city's rebel-held neighborhoods by Russia and the Syrian regime.

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and Interfax


The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed the movement of nuclear-capable missiles into Kaliningrad, a tiny Russian exclave on the Baltic coast between Poland and Lithuania.

It said the deployment is part of routine drills with the tactical Iskander-M missiles, which have a range of around 500 kilometers, across Russia.

The ministry also said one of the missiles was deliberately exposed to U.S. spy cameras.

Western news and intelligence officials initially reported that Russia was moving the short-range Iskanders, and an Estonian radio report on October 7 said they were en route from St. Petersburg to Kaliningrad, formerly known as Koenigsberg, in a civilian transport ship.

Russia has frequently threatened to place a missile system in Kaliningrad, right on the doorstep of the European Union and NATO military alliance.

Russia's reasons for shipping the missiles to Kaliningrad "could be innocuous," a U.S. officials told the Reuters news agency. "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," the official said.

Tensions between Russia and the United States as well as other Western powers have escalated in the past two weeks since the collapse of a negotiated cease-fire in Syria.

Based on reporting by Reuters, dpa, and Estonian radio




Moscow has accused the United States of "dirty tricks" to whip up "unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria" through what it claims are unsubstantiated allegations that Russia was behind computer hacks against Democratic Party groups ahead of U.S. elections.

"This whipping up of emotions regarding 'Russian hackers' is used in the U.S. election campaign, and the current U.S. administration, taking part in this fight, is not averse to using dirty tricks," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in comments posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website on October 8.

Against a backdrop of increasingly strained relations over issues from ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Syria to nuclear disarmament, U.S. officials have repeatedly warned of attempts by Russia and its intelligence agencies to influence or undermine the November vote.

But for the first time, President Barack Obama's administration on October 7 explicitly pointed to Russia as the alleged director of recent cyberattacks and leaks seemingly aimed at disrupting the elections, citing e-mails and digital intrusions on a range of election-related institutions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, initially described the U.S. officials' accusations of Russian hacking as "again some kind of nonsense."

The two leading candidates for president, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump, have frequently clashed over how best to respond to Putin and his increasingly assertive foreign policies.

Clinton on October 7 suggested that Russians were behind a fresh dump of stolen digital documents published by Wikileaks -- some of which related to her views on trade and open borders, as well as financial reform -- that included private e-mails among her staff written as recently as the past few months.

We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities, a statement by U.S. director of national intelligence James Clapper and the Department of Homeland Security said on October 7.

In his October 8 statement on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website, Ryabkov said Moscow repeated its offer from last year to hold consultations with the United States on fighting cybercrime.

Based on reporting by Reuters
The United Nations Security Council has rejected two resolutions calling for an immediate cease-fire in the besieged northern city of Aleppo.



A resolution drafted by France and Spain that called for the grounding of all military flights as part of a cease-fire plan was vetoed on October 8 by Russia.



Later, a Russian-drafted alternative resolution, which called for a cease-fire but did not mention the grounding of military flights over Aleppo, failed to gain the minimum of nine votes needed for adoption by the 15-member council.



The Russian-drafted resolution received four votes of support, nine votes against it, and two abstentions.



Hundreds of civilians have been killed by Russian and Syrian government air strikes in rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo since a U.S. and Russia-brokered cease-fire broke down on September 19.



Washington has called for war crimes investigations against Russia and Syrian President Bashar al-Assads regime over the targeting of civilian areas in Aleppo.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and Interfax
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.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading.
At least three Republican U.S. senators are calling on Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race following the release of a 2005 tape in which Trump made lewd comments about women.

None of the three were Trump supporters, but the senators are among the most prominent Republicans in their states.

U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, tweeted this morning:

"Character matters. @realDonaldTrump is obviously not going to win. But he can still make an honorable move. Step aside and let Mike Pence try."

(Pence, the Indiana governor, is Trump's running mate.)

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted a video from his home late Friday night in which he reflected on Trump's comments.

Lee said that if someone spoke to a woman in his family the way Trump spoke on the video:

"I wouldn't hire that person, wouldn't want to be associated with that person. I certainly don't think I would be comfortable hiring that person to be the leader of the free world."

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois, tweeted Friday night that "@realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement."

Sasse and Lee had not endorsed Trump. Kirk had, but withdrew his backing of Trump in June.
Rep. Barbara J. Comstock, R-10th, is urging Donald Trump to drop out as the Republican presidential nominee following Friday's reports about a 2005 tape in which Trump lewdly spoke about women.

Late Friday night Trump apologized in a video statement and acknowledged that he had made the recorded comments in which he crudely spoke of trying to have sex with a married woman and talked of grabbing women by the genitals.

"This is disgusting, vile and disqualifying," Comstock said in a statement first reported by The Washington Post.

"No woman should ever be subjected to this type of obscene behavior and it is unbecoming of anybody seeking high office.

"In light of these comments, Donald Trump should step aside and allow our party to replace him with Mike Pence or another appropriate nominee from the Republican Party.

"I cannot in good conscience vote for Donald Trump and I never would vote for Hillary Clinton."

Comstock is seeking a second term representing a diverse Northern Virginia district that stretches west from Fairfax and Loudoun counties to Winchester.

Trump is highly unpopular in the booming Northern Virginia suburbs. In the Virginia poll that The Washington Post released Aug. 16, Clinton led Trump in the D.C. suburbs by 68 percent to 23 percent.

Hours before Comstock issued her statement late Friday night, her Democratic opponent, LuAnn Bennett had called the congresswoman's silence unacceptable.

"Trump's actions are vile and disgusting," Bennett said. "These latest revelations are shocking, but they are sadly not surprising.

"Donald Trump has demeaned women since before he ran for public office, and the Republican Party, with a few exceptions, have stood with him and enabled him every step of the way."

The Washington Post reported that Comstock's response came out late Friday night because she had been attending the rehearsal dinner for her son's wedding.

Comstock has worked for months to distance herself from Trump.

In December she condemned Trump's call for a "total and complete shutdown" on Muslims entering the U.S. Comstock called it "unconstitutional" and "unAmerican."

In March Comstock returned $3,000 in donations from Trump. In May, she told The Winchester Star that Trump had not yet earned her support.

"I can't support Hillary Clinton, but I'm like any voter, a candidate has to earn my vote, and at this time Donald Trump has not done so," Comstock said at the time.

Comstock reportedly did not mention Trump's name on Thursday when she and Bennett met for their first debate at a forum sponsored by the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. Bennett, a former wife of ex-Rep. Jim Moran, D-8th, tried to tie Comstock to Trump during the debate.

Comstock is among the Republicans Virginia pundits mention as a potential candidate for the seat of Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. if he is elected vice president on Nov. 8.
Republican congressional candidates running for seats in central Virginia are condemning Donald Trumps lewd comments about women in a 2005 video, but are stopping short of calling on him to drop out of the race.

None has joined Rep. Barbara J. Comstock, R-10th, who is urging Trump to step down, calling his comments vile and disgusting.

Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th, wrote in a Facebook Post: Donald Trumps comments are crude and I reject them totally. We all have an obligation to work every day to make sure that our language is precise and lifts everyone up at all times.

But Brat also alluded to former President Bill Clintons behavior in the White House.

The left and the press is now in full attack mode claiming that Trumps unethical remarks are disqualifying for the presidency, but that same ethical standard was not to be found when a sitting president acted out even more crudely in the Oval Office, Brat wrote.

Democrat Eileen Bedell, a lawyer from Chesterfield County who is running against Brat, said in a statement: It took Dave Brat 20 hours, a full day, to find his moral compass and attempt to avoid the backlash on Donald Trump, but Brat is standing by his man and still supports The Donald.

Dave Brat is a bad fit for Virginia and his continued embrace of Donald Trump, a man who brags about sexually assaulting women, is just further evidence of that fact.

State Sen. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham, the GOP nominee for Congress in the 5th District, also criticized Trump.

In a move that may surprise some, I join my opponent in condemning the words of Donald Trump in the strongest possible manner, he said in a statement.

We need to join together to protect our daughters so that they are respected in both word and deed. As a prosecutor, I stood on the front lines defending women and children. As a soldier, I stood on the front lines defending the principled ideals of our nation. There is no place for rhetoric such as this in the national discourse.

Democrat Jane Dittmar, a former Albemarle County supervisor who is running against Garrett, said of the GOP presidential nominee: These disgusting attitudes and abhorrent abusive criminal actions are rightfully condemned throughout our society. I am appalled to see them embraced by Donald Trump.

Unfortunately, my opponent, Tom Garrett, has advocated his strong support for Trumps candidacy. I cant fathom how Garrett can now continue to endorse these admitted actions that constitute a felony aggravated sexual battery charge. I urge Tom Garrett to disavow his support for Trump.

Rep. Robert J. Wittman, R-1st, does not condone the objectification of women under any circumstances, his communications director, Farahn Morgan, said in a statement.

He is a father and a grandfather and has a reputation in Congress as a leader in creating professional opportunities for women. Many of the leadership roles in his office are currently filled by women, and both of the chiefs of staff who have served in his office have been female.

Wittmans opponent, Democrat Matt Rowe, a member of the Bowling Green town council, said on Twitter: As a husband & father of 2 wonderful daughters, I find Trumps comments disgusting and disqualifying. Still support him, @RobWittman?

Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade, the Republican candidate for Congress in the 4th District, said in a phone interview Saturday afternoon that he had not seen or heard the Trump video remarks, but he bemoaned the state of the national campaign.

I just wish we had a campaign where people were talking about the issues instead of talking about each other, Wade said between campaign stops.

Were getting ready to elect a president not based on who we like the most, but who we hate the least. I want to talk about the issues.

Wade faces state Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico.
In 1831, Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in Southampton County. For generations, the event received scant historical attention. Americans did not want to confront slavery period; the South in particular did not want to concede that slaves rose against a system that, according to mythology, had been accepted docilely. William Styrons Confessions of Nat Turner, published in 1967, brought the struggle to national attention. The book won the Pulitzer Prize, even as it generated considerable controversy. Nate Parkers The Birth of a Nation tells the story in film.

The movie and Parker have won accolades, and provoked unease. Birth has been considered a contender for the Academy Award. It has ranked among the so-called must-see movies. It also has generated threats of boycotts. Parker was charged with rape while a college student. He was aquitted; another suspect was convicted but had the verdict overturned. The victim committed suicide. The allegations against Parker have resurfaced. Debates regarding campus safety have intensified the discussion. Parker went through the legal programs and emerged with an acquittal. We intend to see the movie, which bears a symbolic name, as followers of cinematic history will recognize.

The Richmond Forum will open its new season on Nov. 19 with an appearance by Parker. John Railey, editorial page editor of the Winston-Salem Journal, a sister newspaper of The Times-Dispatch, will moderate the session. As an investigative journalist, Railey broke stories about North Carolinas compulsory sterilization program. He told a story many preferred not to tell. The circumstances did not bolster the reputations of the states elites; individuals with impeccable progressive credentials were seen as stained. Raileys writing took courage.

On March 22, The Times-Dispatchs Op/Ed page published a Railey column about the Turner revolt and the Parker movie. Railey grew up in Southampton. He probed historys reality and the ways communities deal with it. The RTD has reprinted other excellent contributions from him. His is a voice for truth and reconciliation. Journalism is an honorable profession.

Speaking of an honorable profession: Journalism lost one of the favored few with the passing of Albert Lee Johnson, the first full-time black reporter hired by The News Leader or The Times-Dispatch. He started as a general assignment reporter and went on to cover other beats. Colleagues remember him with with admiration and affection. His presence opened doors. We salute his memory.

History recognizes the Community Foundation as one of Richmonds most valuable assets. It promotes philanthropy and helps those who want to bless society. The Community Foundation works on behalf of education, health and revitalization, among other causes. The organization has announced the Dec. 31 retirement of Susan Brown Davis, senior vice president of the community engagement team. She was the face of the foundation to many who sought its wise counsel. She assembled a strong staff. Although Richmond will miss her, it can be confident the good she inspired will continue. We wish her well.

Longwood University starred in the vice presidential debate it sponsored. The coverage appeared almost universally favorable. The campus looked lovely. It also presented numerous opportunities for students and the greater community to participate in the proceedings. The entire school and its neighbors became involved.

Longwood set up a huge outdoor screen so people unable to sit inside the auditorium could watch Tim Kaine and Mike Pence in a festive atmosphere. A visitor reports that the young crowd was pro-Trump. Kaines remarks received polite applause; Pence statements generated cheers.

Kaines snippy performance dismayed Virginians who hoped one of their senators and a former governor would set standards for civility. He let them down. We have never seen him worse.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, a not-for-profit advocacy group based in Cambridge, Mass., recently issued a report that drew immediate response from news outlets. UCS projects 17 U.S. military facilities, including Norfolk Naval Base, will have to deal with frequent flooding events from rising seas by the year 2050, and suggests the bases may be awash in 2100.

Dire predictions are based on model projections suggesting a future atmospheric temperature rise of 2 degrees or more accompanied by partial melting of the massive glaciers that cover Greenland and Antarctica. But climate models, not yet validated, deserve criticism because of poor correlation between increasing CO2 and a global temperature that has not risen in close conformity with model predictions. Absent global temperature increases, significant melting of either polar icecap would not occur.

Warming oceans contributes to rising sea level, since volume expands as upper ocean layers warm. For several thousand years sea levels have risen at a rate of about 7 inches per century, with a dip during the Little Ice Age. Reports of accelerating sea level rise (SLR) may be attributed to a switch in instrumentation (tidal gauges to satellite measurements).

Shifting weather patterns and changes in ocean-atmospheric circulation such the El Nino/La Nina events in the equatorial Pacific are also responsible for short-lived changes. A five-inch rise projected from historic trends would be entirely manageable for the DOD. The Dutch have battled a rising North Sea for centuries.

UCS report does not properly refer to on-shore tide gauge measurements as Relative Sea Level (RSL). RSL reflects average sea level of the nearby open ocean as measured at the shoreline referenced to a permanent stationary structure usually located in a harbor.

Relative Sea Level Rise (RSLR) is phenomenon whereby sea level appears to rise if either or both the ocean rises or the land settles. The latter is called subsidence. To determine what contributes to observed changes requires detailed analysis of coastal features aided with satellite altimetry. RSLR determines the increased risk of flooding during spring tides and more dramatically from tidal surges accompanying hurricanes or tsunami.

Norfolk Naval Base is located near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, an embayment encompassing the drowned river valleys of the James, Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers (and tributaries). It is a prime example of land undergoing subsidence accompanying the relaxation of the forced downward tilt of the North American tectonic plate now returning to its position before the previous glacial age.

Subsidence along the bays perimeter is proceeding at a rate of half an inch to as much as two inches per decade. Research at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science also concluded somewhat more than half the RSLR observed from 1976 to 2007 resulted from subsidence.

Increasing sea levels projected by UCS depend on an appreciably accelerated melting of polar ice and thermal expansion of the oceans, not yet observed in the 21st Century. Consistent departures of actual temperatures from EPA model projections raise further questions and relegate predictions of future ice melt and ocean expansion to the status of speculation.

Many experts had predicted sea ice in the Arctic Ocean would melt completely by 2008. Yet the ice remains in late summer. Although fluctuating somewhat year to year, it does not show indications of disappearing. The Arctic Ocean refreezes each winter.

Sea ice surrounding Antarctica has been expanding for nearly two decades despite earlier predictions to the contrary. It is generally agreed that for melting of landed ice to proceed, contributing to SLR, Arctic sea ice and that ringing Antarctica would need to disappear. The extent of sea ice, although not affecting sea level directly, is considered a bellwether for potential melting of the icecaps.

Perceived threats posed by rising oceans to U.S. bases in 2050 hinge on climate models that have not been validated. The threats remain speculative. And with CO2 sensitivity revised down one degree Celsius for a doubling of CO2, there is reasonable doubt that warming this century would induce sufficient melting or enough thermal expansion to fulfill USC predictions.

Yet subsidence causes problems wherever coastal lands are sinking, whether in Norfolk, New Orleans or Venice, and will proceed independently of any global warming alleged from the combustion of fossil fuels.

The Department of Defense is advised to plan accordingly.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
BLACKSBURG  Political scientists, like most Americans, have no idea how the presidential election will shake out, particularly with unpredictable Republican Donald Trump in the mix. But a handful gave their perspectives this week.

About 200 people attended a panel discussion Tuesday on the Hillary Clinton v. Donald Trump match-up at the German Club of Virginia Tech. It was sponsored by the Montgomery County League of Women Voters and the Lifelong Learning Institute at Virginia Tech.

League President Mary Houska said that it was important to get experts, not just commentators, to talk about the issues.

The panel featured four political scientists, who all specialize in the study of the U.S. presidency and elections: Caitlin Jewitt and Charles Walcott of Virginia Tech and Daniel Reed of Radford University. Karen Hult, chair of Techs political science department, moderated the discussion.

Despite their experience, research and knowledge, this election is too different to allow for predictions.

Were all experts up here, which doesnt really mean much, except we know how things used to be, Walcott told the assembly.

The group had a wide-ranging discussion, mostly about how different Trumps candidacy is from most past campaigns.

Trump has set up very little in the way of ground-level offices in important states, and he has mostly eschewed running ads, according to Jewitt and Reed. Meanwhile, Clinton has hewed to a traditional campaign, spending significant sums on advertising and opening a large number of campaign offices, especially in battleground states such as Virginia.

Jewitt said one Trump strategy is particularly interesting. Rather than setting up volunteer offices to drum up the vote, the candidate is using his rallies to encourage early voting.

In many ways, this is brilliant, Jewitt said. Whip up support and excitement and capture the vote in its wake. But there is a downside, she said. Trump can only do so many rallies per day. And the question remains: Will those rallies reach the number and diversity of voters he needs to win?

While somewhat different in tone from other modern elections, America has seen some of the more controversial aspects of Trumps campaign before.

Anti-immigrant sentiment has been a current in the stream of American politics several times in the past, Walcott said. Anti-tax and anti-establishment feeling has been growing over the past decade in movements such as the Tea Party, and in the phenomenon of Sarah Palin, Reed said.

Walcott pointed out that Americans have long taken a dim view of government and of taxes.

You have to remember that this government was born in resentment. We honor as heroes of the Revolution people who didnt pay their taxes, and weve been moonshining ever since, he said. Resistance to government isnt new.

What is concerning for many who watch elections closely is the questioning of the U.S. system occurring during this cycle. Trump has suggested that if he loses, his followers may not accept it. And he has several times referred to the election system as rigged.

Similarly, supporters of former Democratic primary candidate Bernie Sanders have questioned the fairness of the partys choice of Clinton as its nominee, suggesting the leadership showed favoritism or even rigged primary voting.

Voters also are concerned at reports that Russian hacking may undermine the presidential election, Reed said.

None of the experts Tuesday were sure that either Clinton or Trump would accept a loss and call for their constituents to support their rival, as all other major party candidates have done in recent memory.

Despite her highly traditional campaign, Clinton is doing one thing differently, Hult said. The Democratic nominee is using a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that removed donation limitations. Her campaign is encouraging supporters to make larger donations that are being channeled through the national Democratic party. The national party then is passing them through to state Democratic parties. This may have an impact on both Clintons ground game and in state races, Hult said.

The panel chewed over the strengths and weaknesses of polls, too. Despite many controversies and much criticism of Trumps comments and actions on the campaign trail and on Twitter, his poll numbers remain fairly constant.

Some of that may be what Reed called soft support. People who say they support Trump may not in the end make it to the polls, Reed said.

Poll results also vary based on who is interpreting the underlying survey data. Jewitt pointed out that recently data from a national survey was given to four different reputable pollsters, and all four came up with very different interpretations.

Some people are putting their money where their support is, though.

Reed said he followed the betting markets during the last presidential debate, where people put real money on who would win based on candidate performance.

Those markets gave Clinton a 74 or 75 percent chance of winning, Reed said. Those tend to be pretty accurate, he added.
Republican congressional candidates running for seats in central Virginia are condemning Donald Trump's lewd comments about women in a 2005 video, but are stopping short of calling on him to drop out of the race.

None has joined Rep. Barbara J. Comstock, R-10th, who is urging Trump to step down, calling his comments "vile and disgusting."

Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th, wrote in a Facebook Post: "Donald Trump's comments are crude and I reject them totally. We all have an obligation to work every day to make sure that our language is precise and lifts everyone up at all times."

But Brat also alluded to former President Bill Clinton's behavior in the White House.

"The left and the press is now in full attack mode claiming that Trump's unethical remarks are disqualifying for the presidency, but that same ethical standard was not to be found when a sitting president acted out even more crudely in the Oval Office," Brat wrote.

Democrat Eileen Bedell, a lawyer from Chesterfield County who is running against Brat, said in a statement: "It took Dave Brat 20 hours, a full day, to find his moral compass and attempt to avoid the backlash on Donald Trump, but Brat is standing by his man and still supports The Donald.

"Dave Brat is a bad fit for Virginia and his continued embrace of Donald Trump, a man who brags about sexually assaulting women, is just further evidence of that fact."

State Sen. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham, the GOP nominee for Congress in the 5th District, also criticized Trump.

"In a move that may surprise some, I join my opponent in condemning the words of Donald Trump in the strongest possible manner," he said in a statement.

"We need to join together to protect our daughters so that they are respected in both word and deed. As a prosecutor, I stood on the front lines defending women and children. As a soldier, I stood on the front lines defending the principled ideals of our nation. There is no place for rhetoric such as this in the national discourse."

Democrat Jane Dittmar, a former Albemarle County supervisor who is running against Garrett, said of the GOP presidential nominee: These disgusting attitudes and abhorrent abusive criminal actions are rightfully condemned throughout our society. I am appalled to see them embraced by Donald Trump.

Unfortunately, my opponent, Tom Garrett, has advocated his strong support for Trumps candidacy. I cant fathom how Garrett can now continue to endorse these admitted actions that constitute a felony aggravated sexual battery charge. I urge Tom Garrett to disavow his support for Trump."

Rep. Robert J. Wittman, R-1st, "does not condone the objectification of women under any circumstances," his communications director, Farahn Morgan, said in a statement.

"He is a father and a grandfather and has a reputation in Congress as a leader in creating professional opportunities for women. Many of the leadership roles in his office are currently filled by women, and both of the chiefs of staff who have served in his office have been female."

Wittman's opponent, Democrat Matt Rowe, a member of the Bowling Green town council, said on Twitter: "As a husband & father of 2 wonderful daughters, I find Trump's comments disgusting and disqualifying. Still support him, @RobWittman?"

Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade, the Republican candidate for Congress in the 4th District, said in a phone interview Saturday afternoon that he had not seen or heard the Trump video remarks, but he bemoaned the state of the national campaign.

"I just wish we had a campaign where people were talking about the issues instead of talking about each other," Wade said between campaign stops.

"We're getting ready to elect a president not based on who we like the most, but who we hate the least. I want to talk about the issues."

Wade faces state Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico.
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 ...
Nobel peace prize revives hopes of Colombia's peace process with Farc

Colombias president, Juan Manuel Santos, has been awarded the Nobel peace prize for his work on a peace deal that was defeated in a referendum this week, in a surprise move that could breathe new life into flailing efforts to end the 52-year war with Farc rebels.I receive this recognition  as a mandate to continue to work without rest for peace for all Colombians, Santos said in an early morning address after receiving news of the prize.I accept it not on my behalf but on behalf of all Colombians, especially the millions of victims of this conflict that we have suffered for more than 50 years, he said.More than 220,000 people have died and six million have been internally displaced by the war that began in 1964 as an uprising of a small group of peasants. After four years of intense talks in Havana, government and Farc negotiators finalized a deal in August , which Barack Obama called a historic achievement. But the whole process was thrown into turmoil this week after Colombians narrowly voted to reject the deal in a national plebiscite.The Norwegian Nobel committee said it hoped the prize would encourage all parties to continue working toward peace. There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again, said the committee chairwoman, Kaci Kullmann Five.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, she said.The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said the prize came at a critical moment and proved Colombia had come too far [along the path to peace] to turn back.The award to Santos came as a surprise to many Colombians who believed his chances had been scuttled by the rejection of the peace deal.The government and groups who opposed the deal, led by former president Alvaro Uribe, have begun discussions on how to introduce changes to the agreement to address their concerns, principally provisions that would allow Farc leaders responsible for war crimes to avoid jail and run for public office.The Farc, although they have said they remain faithful to the deal already signed, have indicated they are open to discussing proposals for changes. The proposals for changes and clarifications that result from the process (between the government and No promoters) will be discussed by the government and the Farc to give everyone guarantees, Farc and government negotiators said in a statement on Friday.Sergio Jaramillo, the governments peace commissioner, told RCN radio from Havana that the negotiators recognized the outcome of the plebiscite. We heard the no, but we also have to listen to the yes.Rebel commanders have started to move their troops to secure positions to prevent provocations but both sides have vowed to maintain a bilateral ceasefire in effect since 29 August. Farc and government negotiators announced they had agreed on mechanisms to maintain the truce with verification by United Nations monitors, considered crucial to avoid a return to hostilities while all parties seek a solution to the current crisis.The Nobel prize provides a boost to those efforts, according to Cesar Rodriguez Garavito, director of Dejusticia, a Colombian thinktank. The Nobel prize adds a positive halo to the process, he said. It doesnt change the results of the plebiscite, but it reminds the parties that what is at stake is the end of the war, not political calculations, he said.Ivan Marquez, chief negotiator for the Farc said on Twitter: We hope that the Nobel peace prize gives President Santos strength to give life to the final agreement and dignity for all Colombians.Others were more conciliatory. Carlos Holmes Trujillo of the opposition Democratic Centre party and a member of the committee designated to search for a way out of the crisis told local radio that the prize was a well-deserved recognition by the international community to the efforts he has been making for peace.Santos, 65, is a member of one of Colombias traditional elite families that controlled the influential newspaper El Tiempo for nearly 100 years.He is an economist by training and holds a masters degree in public administration from Harvard University. Santos has served as minister of trade, finance and defence under different presidents.As head of the defence minsitry under Uribe, Santos oversaw some of the most devastating blows against the Farc, including the controversial bombing of a rebel camp over the border in Ecuador in 2008, in which Raul Reyes, a member of the Farc secretariat was killed. The incident sparked a tense diplomatic row with Colombias neighbors.That same year he oversaw the operation to rescue 15 hostages held by the Farc, including the politician Ingrid Betancourt and three American defence contractors, by duping rebels into thinking they were being transferred by the International Committee of the Red Cross.But after hitting them hard on the battlefield as minister, when Santos was elected to the presidency in 2010 he immediately began to seek negotiations with the Farc, staking his political legacy on negotiating an end to the countrys internal conflict.Betancourt described the award as an extraordinary boost to the peace process  and said that the prize should have been shared with the rebels who she said had transformed themselves.Though celebrated internationally, Santos is widely disliked at home, with an approval rating that hovers around 25%. His aloof, patrician air makes him a clumsy politician who struggles to communicate with the public. It doesnt help that Colombias economy has slowed with the fall of oil prices.The Nobel prize should give him more leverage with the opposition, said Darwin Bolanez, who works at a corner store in downtown Bogota. This will put pressure on the opposition to be reasonable, he said. Otherwise theyll come off as clowns.
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.
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.

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.
Its conceivable that 30 September 2016, is not a date that the Justice of the Supreme Court, Mata Tuatagaloa, is likely to find that easy to forget.

Since it was on that day that she told the Court:

The defendant should have never left the country without an application before the Court.

It does not make him look good. He is a politician, this is the judiciary, this is the justice (system) and for something like that to have happened, what does that make us look like?

That politicians are above the law?

Shes got a valid point there.

In any case, the defendant in this case is the Associate Minister, attached to Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaois Office, Peseta Vaifou Tevaga.

Accused of forgery and fraud, his trial has been going on for sometime, and now that the final day for submissions was 30 September 2016, Peseta was expected to be in court and yet when the court convened, he was nowhere to be seen.

So where was he?

At the time he was in Tuvalu, thousands of miles way, and then amazingly enough, he was in the company of Prime Minister, Tuilaepa.

And what were they doing in Tuvalu?

They were the distinguished guests of the Tuvalu government on their Flag Day Celebrations, so that it was quite obvious they were having a wonderful, memorable time there.

Anyway, it was when they returned home that sparks started flying. They did when Tuilaepa held his first press conference since their return.

Asked for a comment on why the Associate Minister, Peseta, had been allowed to accompany him to Tuvalu when Tevaga knew well, that he was supposed to appear in court around that time, Tuilaepa was abrasive, scathing.

He said: I gave the instructions to come as he is the Associate Minister of my Office.

Ministers dont tell me that they will be at this certain place at 7 oclock and will be here and there at 8 and 10 oclock.

I only give instructions to come with me but I do not own their common sense.

Now is that so?

But then what common sense is he talking about now?

Does a cabinet minister who has been charged with forgery and fraud care any more about what the words common sense mean?

Indeed, does he care any more about the safe-keeping of the publics properties that are being entrusted to his management and control, now that he is being charged with forgery and fraud?

At his press conference though, Tuilaepa told reporters he had washed his hands clean of the claims that he disrespected the judiciary, when he invited the Associate Minister who is accused of fraud and forgery, to travel with him in the middle of his Court hearing.

So how clean are his hands now, if he would not mind us asking him now? Squeaky clean, or just clean?

Anyway, that was when Tuilaepa told reporters he gave the instructions to the Minister to come with me but I do not own their common sense.

Incidentally, the Minister in question, Peseta, had pleaded not guilty to charges of forgery and fraud. They arose from a complaint filed by the senior H.R.P.P member and former Speaker of Parliament, Laaulialemalietoa, and two business associates.

The two associates are Martin Schlwalger, a businessman, and Apulu Lance Polu, the owner and editor of one of Samoas prominent media companies, the Talamua Media.

Their complaint is a bit unusual; they are claiming that Peseta had forged the signature of Mr. Schwalger, in order to transfer shares from his son to his name.

Whose name, it is not spelt out.

Still, Tuilaepa insisted that when he invited Peseta to travel with him to Tuvalu, it was on the understanding that Peseta would exercise his freedom, to either accept or deny.

It was his call, Tuilaepa told reporters.

Besides, Tuilaepa reckoned that since Peseta was his Associate Minister, he felt that the trip to Tuvalu would be an important one for him.

Who knows, Tuilaepa said, he might be Prime Minister one day, but at least he will understand what my work entails.

That is the whole reason there are these trips where I take a Minister, in case one day I slip on a fruit skin, but at least there are people who understand what I used to do.

He does not need to worry though. Everyone knows.

They all know that without him, corruption in this country might have been trimmed right down to the bare bones, a long time ago.

Oh yes, they know.

Still, that was when he zeroed in on the judiciary and attacked Justice Mata Tuatagaloa, saying she should have thought deeply first about what he was trying to do, before criticizing Peseta for being absent from court that day.

And then as if that was not harsh punishment enough, he dumped salt on the wound by adding that the issue was just as shallow as some judges.

So what is he talking about now?

What does he mean by that seemingly well-camouflaged diatribe, as if he is actually accusing Justice Tuatagaloa of being shallow?

The mind cringes!

What is going on here anyway?

Is it possible that our prime minister has a sizeable vocabulary of colorful epithets for all occasions stashed away in his head, so that the moment the right one is needed, all he has to do is click it into life, and then he sits back and listen as its splurging all over the place for everyone to hear.

Indeed, does a minister who is accused of forgery and fraud have the time and energy to think deeply about putting his country first, when all the worries are now zooming agitatedly around inside his head?

Well, the writer should know.

He has been attacked by our prime minister - not once but a number of times  as an idiot and a fool for telling the truth, and yet he is still here.

In fact, hes slyly admitting  if thats all right with you anyway - that hes become quite used to being the target of our prime ministers venomous wrath, so that he truly believes he would be quite lost without it.

Incedentally, now that Prime Minister Tuilaepa, under his tutelage, has virtually destroyed the respect that once made the Samoan Parliament the envy of the democratic world, is it also his intention now to turn the judiciary into a hollow institution to be frowned upon by everyone, both near and far?

Still, its been a fun week.

So lets wish all the children of Samoa a very meaningful White Sunday, and may the love of God inspire you, guide you, and be with you all the time.
Dear Editor,

There is a simple solution to the problem of kids being on the streets.

Foreign aide that the government is receiving for education should pay for all the school tuition. There is enough annual aide to pay teachers and have money left for the crooks in the cabinet.

If the problem exists, we can shift the blame to the parents.

But the government must take the first step in allocating the money that foreign country is committing to Samoa under so called Education Grant.

Keith Alderson
Attorney General, Lemalu Herman Retzlaff, says they have yet to decide on who will prosecute the suspended Director of the National Prosecution Office, Mauga Precious Chang.

Mauga has pleaded not guilty to charges of negligent driving causing injury and dangerous driving, for which she has been suspended. She is represented by former Attorney General, Aumua Ming Leung Wai.

Last week, it emerged the clash between the Attorney Generals Office and the National Prosecution Office (N.P.O) over who would prosecute Mauga had been resolved.

The clash started when the matter was called in the District Court before Judge Vaepule Vaemoa Vaai and two prosecutors showed up. One was former Attorney General, Taulapapa Brenda Heathe- Latu and the other was a New Zealand based lawyer, Satiu Simativa Perese.

Last week, Mrs. Lamb confirmed that the parties have agreed to settle the matter.

They have resolved all the issues between them and you will hear from the Attorney General later. At least the proceedings is discontinued.

Asked on Friday if they have made a decision yet, Lemalu said no.
Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, blames what he calls uneducated parents for the growing number of children hawking goods in Apia at night.

Speaking during his weekly media conference, Tuilaepa said the government formulates policies, monitors the laws while parents have a responsibility to protect their children.

The government has its own role but parents too have their own part to play, Tuilaepa said.

He added that the government is mindful of the disturbing trend.

The government is trying to help them but the parents are at fault. They are only looking at the money but not the safety of their children.

These parents are uneducated

Tuilaepa called on parents to value their roles in protecting their children.

If children continue to walk around after dark there will come across drunks and bad people who are rapists, he said.

Everyone has a role to play, he said.

The government has to work together with parents.

The Police should also be proactive.

The Police should enforce this in their patrol in town because its not just children it includes other people who are doing bad things under the coconut trees.

Earlier this week, a concerned parent sent a photo of a child vendor sleeping at the Mc. Donalds drive thru in town.

The parent, who only wanted to be identified as Tula, said the sight was sad.

It was getting late at night and we drove into McDonalds for a feed when I saw this kid slouching, fast asleep inches from the drive thru, Tula wrote in an email to the Samoa Observer.

I swear he couldve been killed, especially given the number of drunk drivers who go through Maccas drive through at night. He was fast asleep and looked so out of it while still holding on to the stuff he was instructed to sell.

Tula woke him up, bought him some food and told him to go home.
Tears of joy were shed freely by members of four families who will have an extra special White Sunday celebration today.

The families whose stories of struggles and hardships featured in the Village Voice section of the Samoa Observer Newspaper were visited by the staff of Betham Brothers Enterprises Ltd.

Office Supervisor of B.B.E. Ltd, Ruta Williams, said their company always gives gifts to their employees before White Sunday.

However, this year, they decided that instead of giving it to the employees, they would give it to some of the families who are in need as their gift to them for White Sunday.

Our first option was the hospital, but then our Manager thought that it would be great to give it to these families instead, said Ruta.

The money was spent on the gifts was from a fundraising activity by the employees of the company. Each of the four families received food supplies, kids toys, a $150 voucher and $500 cash.

The total donation was worth $5,000.

The first family they donated to was a family at Tiavi. Mr. Saveatama and Mrs. Silafaga Atina have two children. The story about this family was published on the 6th of September, 2016.

Silafaga Atina was in tears.

We didnt think that we would be receiving such gifts today, said Silafaga.

But thank you very much for your kindness and for your generosity.

The second family was the family of Alofa Taeaoalii, 60 years old from the village of Lepa. Her story was published on the 31st of August, 2016.

Alofa was shocked by the unexpected visit.

So shocked, she broke into tears, extremely grateful.

All I can say is that I am very grateful, said Alofa. Who am I to receive such kind gestures and gifts? Thank you very much.

The third family was the family of Faatali Maaveave of the village of Falevao.

Her story was published on the 4th of September, 2016.

Faatali thanked the team from B.B.E. Ltd on behalf of her whole family for choosing them as one of the families to donate to.

The last family was a family, whose story was published on the 11th of September, 2016. Its the family of Soo Papaaulila from Manono.

The 42-year-old couldnt stop her tears from falling when her family hosted an unexpected visit from the good Samaritans from B.B.E. Ltds company.

God really helps us in mysterious ways, said Soo.

I woke up this morning without even knowing that we will be getting these things for free. Who am I to get such blessings? I am very grateful and I can only pray that the good Lord may continue to bless all of those who contributed to these gifts and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
No matter how much care goes into developing a new treatment, surprises (often unpleasant) will almost invariably occur the first time its tested in people.

Companies in the evolving field of cell and gene therapies are encountering these surprises as their projects run into the complicated and messy facts of human biology. And theyre busy figuring out how to deal with them in order to deliver these promising new therapies to patients.

Scores of these companies told their stories this week at the Cell and Gene Therapy Meeting on the Mesa in La Jolla, which ended Friday.

Advertisement

San Diegos ViaCyte, one of the presenters, is developing a treatment for Type 1 diabetes from human embryonic stem cells that holds the promise of a functional cure. Its a combination of progenitor cells that form pancreatic islet cells, along with an enclosing structure containing a semi-permeable layer.

The device, called the Encaptra Drug Delivery System, is about 1/2 of a millimeter thick  thin enough to allow nutrients to flow in and hormones such as insulin to flow out by diffusion. It also keeps out the immune system to prevent rejection.

But early clinical testing found that the human immune system tends to wall off the implant, called PEC-Encap, as a foreign object. This limits the ability of blood vessels to develop around the implant to provide important nutrients like oxygen and glucose to the cells, and pick up carry insulin and other hormones to the body.

This wasnt totally unexpected, said Paul Laikind, ViaCytes chief executive. Preclinical studies of the human cells were done in animals without functioning immune systems, a necessity to prevent cross-species rejection.

We had to get into the clinic to understand what the challenge would be, so that we could make the improvements needed to achieve functional engraftment of the implant. he added.

On the positive side, the testing found the implants were safely tolerated and that the Encaptra device is protecting the implanted cells from the immune system. ViaCyte said its learning from the clinical trial and progressively improving the engraftment.

Recognizing the potential challenges, ViaCyte has been developing another product in parallel  one that contains small perforations allowing blood vessels to directly grow into the device to reach the pancreatic progenitor cells.

Called PEC-Direct, this second potential treatment is being prepared for human trials, incorporating the lessons learned with the first product. Patients trying out the second treatment would need to take drugs that suppress the immune system, so the therapy is being aimed at patients with severe Type 1 diabetes.

About 10 percent of Type 1 diabetics are considered high-risk, mainly for uncontrolled hypoglycemic events, Laikind said. These are the same patients who are candidates for treatment with cadaver islets, which is a very effective treatment. But theres a very limited source of cadaver pancreases needed to prepare the islets.

With stem cell technology, an unlimited amount of these pancreatic cells can be grown, relieving the bottleneck, Laikind said.

Based on what has been learned with PEC-Encap and preclinical studies, only a small safety study in patients is expected for PEC-Direct, he said, and then ViaCyte can expects to move directly to a Phase 2 study of efficacy.

Meanwhile, ViaCyte continues to work on improving PEC-Encap to improve blood vessel vascularization. Because there is no direct cellular contact, there wont be a need for immuno-suppressive drugs. That means more patients, who are not at high risk of diabetes complications, can benefit from the therapy.

ViaCyte is looking to raise more money for ongoing development of its products, Laikind said. It has already received $60 million from the states stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Turnaround in progress

Sangamo BioSciences, a cell therapy company in the Northern California city of Richmond, is going through a more difficult transition.

Sangamos new president and CEO, Sandy Macrae, told an audience at the La Jolla conference that the companys board of directors had concluded its previous strategy wasnt working.

As a positive, they said we have fantastic scientists and they said we have a unique technology, Macrae said. But they also said we had failed to deliver on that promise, that we didnt have a clear strategy, and we hadnt communicated it well.

Sangamo treats diseases by a gene-editing technology using whats called zinc finger nucleases. It requires more preparation than the newer CRISPR Cas9 technology, which can perform a search-and-replace in a genome to make every specified change. But zinc finger technology is more accurate, Macrae said.

At Sangamo, the most inspiring thing I found is that the science is better than I thought, Macrae said. Its better than most people realize, with the froth of CRISPR and the excitement around gene editing, to find a technology thats been developed slowly and carefully over 20 years.

Sangamo has clinical trials in progress. One of the most-anticipated uses zinc finger gene editing in an HIV patients immune cells to make them resistant to HIV infection. Another trial with the technology has begun recruiting patients with hemophilia B. Sangamos trials can be found at j.mp/sangamotrials.

Macrae said he has challenged Sangamos scientists to avoid getting caught up in competition with CRISPR, but rather to focus on treatments that can take advantage of its technologys accuracy to do things that cant be done otherwise.

Next year well have four things in clinical studies, Macrae said. This will be the first time for three of them that a new gene has been put into a human being, into the liver.

In all cases, he said, Sangamo must ensure that its treatments address important diseases, and that gene therapy is the appropriate and necessary treatment.

As for the ongoing HIV trial, Macrae said Sangamo will tell the world about its status at the beginning of next year.

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1020
Big data researchers in San Diego and elsewhere have received funding from the National Science Foundation for a smart cities project centered on traffic, water, energy consumption and sustainability.

Called MetroInsight, the project aims to build an end-to-end system for tapping urban sensor data and other information and applying predictive analytics to help cities operate smarter.

This project takes data sources and in simple terms tries to paint a picture out of it, said UC San Diego Computer Science and Engineering Professor Rajesh Gupta, principal investigator for MetroInsight.

Advertisement

A few years ago, UCSD researchers began collecting energy data for campus buildings, trying to predict how much power would be used based on weather and some other data.

What we found is that if you looked at the collective traffic data coming out of Cal Trans, you could build a predictive model that was pretty accurate that would tell you hours in advance what the energy use of buildings would be on the UCSD campus, said Gupta.

That was a surprise, he said, since overall traffic would seem to have little direct correlation to UCSDs indoor power needs. The project highlighted the subtle interdependence of energy, water, transportation, telecommunications, safety and other systems in a city.

What we are beginning to find out is one data stream, even though it looks different from another data stream, often has connections, said Gupta. We call them teleconnections. We are building algorithms that can discover these teleconnections.

The National Science Foundation grant, announced last week, is part of the NSFs nationwide Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs initiative. It awarded a total of $11 million to 10 projects across the country.

UC San Diego is part of a team that includes UCLA and Arizona State researchers. They are partnering with San Diego, Carlsbad, MetroLab, San Diego Gas & Electric, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, fire agencies, corporations including Qualcomm and others in the smart cities project.

More than half of the worlds population lives in cities today. But thats expected to rise to 60 percent  or an additional 1.4 billion people  by 2030, according to research firm McKinsey & Co.

Many cities already collect data on infrastructure systems such as traffic, energy use, water quality and air pollution. Using predictive computer modeling to anticipate and solve problems is the next step in helping cities become smarter.

One example of how big data analytics can help the region comes from Southern Californias back country.

The WiFire project, also funded by NSF, analyzed data from a connected network of weather stations and mountain top cameras to pinpoint high fire danger areas as much as a week in advance.

In the past we would have information on the fire weather the day before, said Ilkay Altintas, a UCSD professor and chief data scientist at the San Diego Super Computer Center who is working on the WiFire and MetroInsight projects. It is not enough time for a fire department to plan for staffing the situation. Now, with what they are getting from the SDG&E fire weather index, they are able to staff for the fire danger.

In addition to collecting data and building predictive computer models, MetroInsight will also has education and policy components. UC San Diego plans to develop online courses in sensor data analytics to help train the next generation of data scientists. Altintas will teach classes in UCSDs data science masters program this year where students will use smart cities data.

Training teams will have access to metropolitan sensor data and the predictive models to better understand the city infrastructure and sensitivity to hazards, population changes and development, she said.

mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com;

Twitter:@TechDiego

760-529-4973
The fall reading series at Grossmont College is set to feature a documentary film screening, a book release party and readings from the original works and spoken word by creative writing students.

Ticket to Write: The Golden Age of Rock Music Journalism will be shown at 7 p.m. Oct. 25 in Room 26-220. The documentary looks back at the origins of rock music journalism popularized in Rolling Stone and Creem from 1966 to 1981.

The film was written and produced by English instructor Raul Sandelin. It will be featured as the Eighth Annual Lester Bangs Memorial Reading. The late rock writer Bangs, an Escondido native, was a Grossmont College alum.

Advertisement

Denise Benavides, a performance artist, educator and queer Xicana poet, will read from her new book Riot Girl during a launch part from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 17 at Griffin Gate.

The Oakland-based Benavides is a graduate of the colleges creative writing program. She holds a masters in writing from Mills College. Her work focuses on themes of xenophobia, relocation, sexuality, religion and love.

The series concludes with New Voices: A Student Reading at 7 p.m. Dec. 5 at Griffin Gate. The program features creative writing students reading their original poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama and spoken word.

All events are free and open to the public.

Grossmont College is at 8800 Grossmont Center Drive, El Cajon. For more information, call (619) 644-7842.

Follow me @HuardSDUT
The first symptoms seemed so benign.

After his 10th birthday last summer, Axton White didnt have much of an appetite and started taking more naps.

But such things could be easily explained.

His mom, Crystal, knows children go through times of having bigger or smaller appetites and when the weather is warm, people often dont feel like eating as much.

As for the naps, the Fremont boy was getting up earlier than normal to say goodbye to his dad, Justin, before he went to work. Other symptoms seemed to point to constipation.

So Axtons parents were shocked when told their son might not survive a very life-threatening condition. And they couldnt have anticipated  after many tests  the diagnosis of a very rare disorder called Addisons disease.

Now, as they work to help Axton, his parents face large medical bills. To help with those, a fundraiser is being planned from 6-9 p.m. Oct. 15 at Does Place, 148 N. Main St., in downtown Fremont.

The event will feature a chili feed, silent auction and raffle along with music by the easy listening rock band, Tortured Souls. The public is invited. Meal tickets are $5 and raffle tickets are $1. Proceeds will be used to help the family pay for medical and living expenses. An account for donations also has been established under Axtons name at First National Bank of Fremont.

Looking to the future, Axtons parents hope to educate others about a disease the late President John F. Kennedy was diagnosed with in the 1940s.

With Addisons disease, the adrenal glands dont produce enough of the hormone cortisol, which affects blood pressure, blood sugar and metabolism, or aldosterone, which helps regulate potassium and sodium levels.

Addisons is incurable and can be life-threatening. Data from the Mayo Clinic website states that symptoms can develop slowly and often over several months.

At first, Axtons symptoms only included the decreased appetite and increased napping. Then he began to complain of stomach pain. A doctor told Axtons mom that he was constipated and he was given a laxative. The doctor also told Crystal to call if Axton started vomiting  which he did. The physician said Axton needed to go to the hospital.

One of the nurses took his blood pressure and they saw the numbers, and then it seemed like there was a lot of activity, a lot of talk outside of the room, his mom said.

From there, Axton was sent by ambulance to the intensive care unit at Childrens Hospital in Omaha.

Based on everything they were seeing, they thought he was in septic shock, she said. When he was admitted into Childrens, they said he had acute respiratory failure.

Axton also had low blood pressure, a potassium deficiency, kidney injury, metabolic acidosis (too much acid in body fluids), a rash and other conditions.

His parents were stunned.

It was unbelievable, she said.

Axtons parents were sent to a waiting room. A physician met them in the hallway.

The doctor was very serious, she remembered. He said, Were going to do everything we can to save your boy. We just sank to the floor. He (Axton) was in shock physically. We were in shock mentally.

Crystal said Axton was put on a ventilator and had three IVs. The doctor would tell them something else:

He went as far as to say, If it would have been five minutes later, we could have been having a very different conversation.

That was on Aug. 9.

The next day, Chaplain Scott Jensen from Fremont Health Medical Center came to visit the Whites.

We said a prayer for Axton and then it started raining, Justin said. We looked out of the window and there was a double rainbow outside.

The couple was encouraged.

To me, that was a message, that was positivity, Crystal said. The chaplain thought it was so neat, he took a picture of it with his phone.

The family would face more challenges, however. Crystal learned shed lost her job.

Hospital staff tried to wean Axton off the ventilator the next day.

It didnt work out, Crystal said. He was too sedated. That was really hard. When you see your child lying there  with all these tubes and wires and things and you have that hope of him waking up and being able to talk to you, and then you find out its not going happen  for me, that was really difficult.

Axton was taken off the ventilator the following day, Aug. 12. He woke up the next day. He was moved out of the ICU on Aug. 14 and got out of the hospital on Aug. 18. Many doctors and physical therapy appointments followed.

Then on Sept. 7, Axton began showing all the signs hed had initially  stomach pain, vomiting.

We couldnt figure it out, because the doctor said the odds of this happening again were slim to none, she said.

Due to the rash Axton had earlier, doctors figured hed had Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a bacterial infection transmitted by a tick. Since the Whites had been on vacation in South Dakota before Axtons symptoms emerged the first time, they figured he must have been bitten by one of the arachnids.

An ambulance transported Axton back to Childrens Hospital, where a doctor ordered a test for the adrenal glands. The test showed that it was as if Axton had no cortisol. An endocrinologist ordered lab work and her suspicions were confirmed: Addisons disease.

Axton is treated with hydrocortisone three times daily and fludrocortisone once a day.

If he gets sick, we have to triple his dose of hydrocortisone, his mom said.

Should Axton not be able to keep down his medicine or have broken bones, he must have a shot of the cortisone and be rushed to an emergency room.

I have a kit in my purse that I have to take with me everywhere we go and the school also has a kit on the off chance that they would have to administer it, Crystal said.

The Whites also have a sheet of paper from Childrens Hospital stating that if Axtons taken to an emergency room, hes not to be placed in a waiting room, but must be given cortisone and fluids immediately.

The hard thing about this is, the disease  at any time  can be life-threatening, Crystal said. That creates a lot of fear in a mother and a father. I dont think that either of us have really wrapped our minds around that fully yet.

And whereas other boys and girls bodies will release more cortisol if theyre running or playing, his body cant do that. Thus, hell tire more quickly than the other children, his mom said.

Axton, a fifth-grader at Johnson Crossing Academic Center, returned to school in mid-September two days a week. He got sick and needed triple doses of his medicine and be monitored closely.

The schools been great. Theyve worked with us. He is doing half days for right now.  Hes able to go to the counselors office to rest when he needs to, Crystal said.

Axtons parents describe him as a smart, happy child. The family enjoys spending time together.

Were taking it day by day, his mom said. Thats all we can do  just be positive for every day he is feeling well.
A man was arrested Friday on suspicion of beating and kicking a San Marcos store clerk unconscious late last month during an attack that was caught on tape.

Sheriffs deputies spotted Frederick Cato, 32, driving away from a Walmart on Leucadia Boulevard west of El Camino Real about 4:30 p.m. They recognized him from the surveillance video that released earlier in the day, sheriffs officials said.

Cato was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of violating the conditions of his parole and assault likely to cause great bodily injury.

Advertisement

The Sept. 28 attack at the Chevron gas station and convenience store, on West San Marcos Boulevard at South Las Posas Road, left the victim with injuries including bleeding inside his skill, authorities said.

Surveillance video of the assault shows the clerk near the front door, by the stores coffee bar, when the suspect walks in about 8:15 p.m. The assailant appears to say something before suddenly punching the clerk in the head.

Most of the ensuing attack happens just outside of the frame, but authorities said the clerk was repeatedly punched. The victim then returns fully into view as he falls to the floor on his back, unconscious.

The assailant kicks the fallen man in the head before walking out and getting into the passenger seat of a light-colored sedan waiting just outside the door.

The man did not appear to steal anything.

Sheriffs Detective Reynaldo Dominguez said the motive is unknown. But, he said, moments before the attack, the female driver of the sedan had been in the store making a purchase.

The woman and the clerk appeared to have a pleasant conversation before she left and got into the car.

Nothing seems inappropriate about it, Dominguez said.

The detective said the woman left and was in the car for perhaps 10 to 15 seconds before her male companion flew into the store and attacked the clerk.

The victim was hospitalized for a few days, but is now recovering, Dominguez said.

The woman is not wanted for wrong doing, Dominguez said.

She was with Cato again when sheriffs deputies pulled over their vehicle Friday afternoon. She was questioned, then released.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
A voting-rights lawsuit was filed this week against the San Marcos Unified School District by the same attorney who recently pressured the city of San Marcos to move to district elections.

The suit  filed Tuesday by Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman, on behalf of two district residents  seeks sweeping changes in San Marcos school-board elections, arguing the current system disenfranchises Latino voters in violation of the California Voting Rights Act.

Latinos make up roughly one-third of residents in San Marcos Unified, but in each of the last five board elections Latinos ran for seats and lost, according to the suit. It says the disenfranchisement of the Latino community is so complete, that it is believed that no Latino has ever been elected to the district board.

Advertisement

Thats disputed by district officials including Stacy Carlson, a Latina who was elected to the board in 2014 after campaigning in English and Spanish. She said the lawsuit was disingenuous.

Its hard to say how anyone could say there is a lack of diversity on the board, given my ties to the Latino community, said Carlson, whose father was born in Mexico, and who is active in Latino civic groups.

San Marcos school Superintendent Kevin Holt said Friday he hadnt seen Shenkmans lawsuit, but that the district had already looked at moving to zoned elections about three years ago. He said a study by an outside law firm concluded San Marcos Unifieds existing election system wasnt disenfranchising Latinos.

We felt confident that we werent polarized, Holt said.

The school district was put on notice in December that a lawsuit was possible when Shenkman sent a letter warning of alleged voting-rights violations. The same day, he sent a similar warning letter to the city of San Marcos.

By this summer, the city had started a public-hearing process to move toward zoned elections. City Council reluctantly approved the change, saying that going to court would be a waste of taxpayer dollars. Jurisdictions targeted by such lawsuits have yet to win a case in California, officials said, and typically must pay plaintiffs attorneys fees.

San Marcos Unified never responded to his letter, Shenkman said.

I really expected the San Marcos school district to say they didnt realize (the alleged disenfranchisement) and they would change  and that would be the end of it, he said.

After 10 months, Shenkman filed the lawsuit on behalf two district residents, Eduardo Preciado and Christina Villarreal Linden. Preciado could not be reached for comment this week and Linden referred all questions to Shenkman.

Holt said its too soon to know what the districts next steps may be.

San Marcos school board President Janet McClean said Friday she also hadnt seen Shenkmans lawsuit, but was disappointed to learn it had been filed.

We consider ourselves to be open and accessible, McClean said.

McClean said that after getting Shenkmans warning letter, the district opted to wait until after the November election to consider the change. Moving to a zoned election system requires painstaking work to draw boundary maps that ensure a strong Latino voting district, she said.

We felt it was too close to an election cycle to do that analysis, McClean said.

In neighboring Vista and Escondido, school districts have dumped at-large voting. Further down the state Route 78 corridor, Oceanside and Carlsbad schools still have at-large representation.

San Marcos Unified has five board members, and three of those seats are up for election this fall. Six candidates are in the hunt, including two incumbents.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

@TeriFigueroaUT
After San Marcos struck a deal in 2005 to rent an old reservoir  a small lake near Double Peak  at $1 a year for 50 years, city officials planned to create a park on the 45-acre property, with boat rentals and an amphitheater.

The city eventually sunk more than $2.9 million into the project, including nearly $1.9 million to buy 10 acres of land off South Twin Oaks Valley Road so users could access the lake, and $850,000 on design work for the park.

But Mother Nature and the California legislature had different ideas.

Advertisement

The state abolished redevelopment agencies in 2012, leaving San Marcos without funding to build the park. Since then, years of devastating drought have shrunk the man-made lake to a little more than half its typical size.

Now, after years stuck on pause, a sliver of the project is poised to move forward: an overlook with shaded picnic tables and a parking lot on those 10 acres of access land. If feasible, the work could include a small fishing dock.

In need of a new design, the city in June hired a firm for nearly $200,000 to redesign the project. Tack on other $1 million for construction, and San Marcos expects to spend nearly $1.2 million to get the South Lake overlook open for business.

The design of should be done by next summer. The overlook should open in 2018.

City Manger Jack Griffin said last week that he will recommend that the City Council move forward with the scaled-down project

The community is expecting the park to be there, City Manger Jack Griffin said last week. Its been in the plans for a long time.

Back in 2007, residents attended workshops to come up with a wishlist of amenities. In 2010, the city hired a firm to design the look, handle paperwork and even come up with a park theme  Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer emerged as possibilities. The initial idea also included an amphitheater, boat rentals, a concession stand, a caretaker residence and more than 100 parking spots.

The trouble for South Lake came two years later, when the state killed off redevelopment agencies. It meant significantly less funding that the millions San Marcos had banked on. It was not alone; the demise of the agencies led to the demise of projects across the state.

Do I wish that we had not spent that money at that time? Sure, Griffin said of the $850,000 for the old design. But hindsight is 20/20. Nobody knew what was going to happen in 2012.

Griffin said it might be possible that some of that old design work is salvageable. He also noted that the money for the downsized park will come from proceeds from redevelopment bonds  money that can be used solely on redevelopment projects on the books before agencies went away.

San Marcos spokeswoman Sarah MacDonald acknowledged that while the South Lake project has changed scope dramatically, the city is still committed to providing the overlook. And, she said, the hope is that someday South Lake will have trails that link up to paths leading to Double Peak and Discovery Lake, which is owned and operated by the city.

South Lake is not accessible to the general public. It sits behind locked gates, and behind an in-the-works development of 346 two-story homes at the end of Village Drive (where Hanson Aggregates had operated a rock quarry until 2008). It is separate from a roughly 20-acre park that the new housing development will provide to the city.

North County residents might be surprised to learn that the reservoir is there, not far from Double Peak. But some may have caught a glimpse of it while driving along South Twin Oaks Valley Road, shortly before the road crests the hill. A few others may remember fishing there.

South Lake reservoir, which has an earthen dam, was build in 1959. It was used as a source of drinking water until 1984, when the state changed the rules and standards for water treatment.

South Lake now serves as an emergency water storage reservoir, according to Vallecitos Water District, which owns the lake and rents it to San Marcos. An aeration system runs along the bottom.

Even though Vallecitos does not stock the little body of water with fish, there are fish in it. Water district officials said it the water also hosts mud hens, mallard and sometimes Canadian geese.

The reservoir can hold about 73 million gallons. But natural runoff is its only source of water, so its typically less than half full.

Now, after years of drought, there are only about 20 million gallons of water in it.

In 1996, fire crews drew water from South Lake for helicopter water drops to fight the Harmony Grove fire.

There was too little water to draw from it during the 2014 Cocos fire.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
Ten months ago, the Navys littoral combat ship Fort Worth was stuck in Singapore, its engine gears gone from lack of lube and facing repairs estimated to top $20 million.

But the warship steamed into San Diego on Friday afternoon under its own power, crossing the Pacific Ocean under its four main diesel engines and with a final price tag for the fixes just under $5.7 million.

Im extremely proud of our crew. We did phenomenal work in Singapore, said Cmdr. Michael D. Brasseur, 41. Extremely proud of the maintenance team that helped bring the ship back to life. And you should be proud as an American, too.

Advertisement

An initial Navy probe into the Jan. 12 breakdown determined that sailors from a previous team -- Crew 101 -- failed to feed enough oil to the gears linking the ships high-speed gas turbines to its main propulsion diesel engines.

Saying that the Navy had lost faith in his ability to command the Fort Worth, Cmdr. Michael Atwell was relieved of duty in March.

His firing was another black eye for a $35 billion littoral combat ship program thats been plagued with cost overruns, maintenance mishaps and concerns in Congress that the high-tech vessels lack enough firepower and durability to survive modern warfare.

Proponents counter that warships like the Fort Worth are the pocketknives of the Navy -- cheap, fast and agile vessels that can perform a range of missions like sniffing out submarines, delivering supplies, sweeping mines and inserting special operations troops ashore for secret missions.

Although praised for their utility, malfunctions and human error have sidelined the littoral combat ship fleet over the past year.

In July, the Freedom suffered extensive seawater damage to its propulsion system, leading to months of repairs.

In August, the Coronado experienced an electrical system failure and limped into Hawaii to get fixed.

On Sept. 5, the Navy ordered a stand down of the entire littoral combat ship fleet to review procedures and standards for their engineering departments.

Then on Sept. 13  three days after its commissioning in Mobile, Alabama  the Navys newest littoral combat ship, the Montgomery, sprang a leak in its hydraulic cooling system before losing its gas turbine engine and both port shafts.

The Independence-class warship diverted from its trip to San Diego for repairs at Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville, Florida. With Hurricane Matthew bearing down on Tuesday, however, Navy officials ordered the Montgomery to ride out the storm at sea.

While under tow, the Montgomery struck a tugboat. The littoral combat ships aluminum trimaran hull cracked, triggering what the Navy called a minor seawater intrusion in an official statement to The Union-Tribune.

Officials will continue to probe the latest snafu while the Montgomery undergoes more repairs in Mayport, according to Naval Forces Pacific spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Haggard.

The Pentagon originally hoped to station the Fort Worth and up to three other littoral combat ships in Singapore for years at a time, rotating in fresh crews to conduct patrols and train with navies across the Pacific Ocean.

But in a 2013 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office cautioned that the warships limited fuel range and meager electronic-warfare capabilities might make them unfit for duty in Asia and recommended that the Navy consider moving them to the Persian Gulf.

The cheers of 189 family members and fellow sailors lining the dock for the return of the Fort Worth drowned out all littoral combat ship controversies on Friday.

Cmdr. Brasseur said that by traveling over 8,500 nautical miles to Malaysia, the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and Kwajalein Atoll after its engines were fixed, the Fort Worth proved its an awesome warship and hes extremely proud to be her captain.

Engineman-1 Gary Garcia echoed Brasseurs words, calling his boss a good skipper and bragging about a tight crew who loved to work hard for the guy during their 128 days at sea and away from their families.

But mostly I missed doing this, said Garcia, 37, as he took turns hugging his wife Minerva, 34, and their sons Isaiah, 5, and Ruben, 9.

cprine@sduniontribune.com
Nearly two weeks after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by an El Cajon police officer, street protests and demonstrations have faded but scrutiny of the citys police force and its relations with the diverse East County city remain.

An analysis of officer-involved shootings by local agencies shows El Cajon police have shot 12 people over the past decade  the highest per capita rate of any agency in San Diego County.

Those 12 shootings  five of which were fatal  give El Cajon the highest rate of shooting per 100,000 people of any law enforcement agency in the county, according to an analysis of police shootings by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Advertisement

 Also see: Official data fails to capture hundreds of police shootings

The dozen shootings are the third highest of any agency in the county, trailing only the larger San Diego Police Department and the San Diego County Sheriffs Department.

While the rate is high, 11.83 shootings per 100,000 population over the decade, the raw numbers are low  12 since 2006 for a police force in a city with a population a bit larger than 100,000.

City officials have said that relations between the department and its diverse population are good. In fact, the City Council formally rejected in August a recommendation from the county civil grand jury to establish a citizens review board that would review police conduct and complaints.

In its response to the grand jury, the city cited a remarkable statistic: In 2015, there were 93,000 citizen contacts by El Cajon police officers and only a single formal complaint was filed with the department.

It was not an unusual year for the department. In 2014, two complaints were filed out of 89,000 contacts, and the year before eight complaints were made out of 95,000 contacts.

Estela De Los Rios, a longtime civil-rights advocate in El Cajon who has lived there for more than 40 years, said she thinks the number of formal complaints is misleading.

Thats not a credible number, she said. Theres no logical connection or correlation to what I hear. There are people in the community who are fearful of the police. Something is definitely wrong.

The shooting analysis comes as the city continues to deal with the fallout from the Sept. 27 shooting of Alfred Olango, 38. Officer Richard Gonsalves fired the fatal shot, while Officer Josh McDaniel shot a Taser. Both officers are 21-year veterans of the force.

They were responding to a call, made nearly an hour earlier, by Olangos sister saying he was acting strangely and needed assistance. The shooting occurred in a parking lot behind a taco shop after Olango suddenly crouched into a shooting stance and pointed an object at Gonsalves.

Police later identified the object as a silver, L-shaped electronic vaping device. The shooting triggered several days and nights of street protests that became increasingly violent. Protesters called for the public release of two videos of the shooting.

After first refusing to do so, Police Chief Jeff Davis released the videos on Sept. 30 to counter what he called an emerging false narrative of the shooting and to quell the protests. Since then the protests have faded.

The shooting data is compiled from a Union-Tribune database of all officer-involved shootings in the county.

After being shown the data Friday, a department spokesman said the agency wanted to review the information before commenting further.

You provided the information to us and we are going to look at the statistics, confirm they are accurate, and figure out what the data means, police Lt. Rob Ransweiler said.

El Cajon is a diverse city that has become a landing spot for refugees from the Middle East and other strife-torn countries. The city is 57 percent white, 28 percent Hispanic or Latino and 6 percent African-American.

Of the five fatal shootings there in the past 10 years, three of the people were white and two were black.

City leaders, including Mayor Bill Wells, have said in the wake of the shooting that police make a concerted effort to interact with the citys diverse populations.

Wells said that the low number of formal complaints is proof that the department interacts well with the community.

Overall, if we thought we had a serious problem, a citizens review board is something we would have considered, he said. We feel the system we have has been working well. The statistics bear that out.

The grand jury report recommended a review board for El Cajon and six other cities  Oceanside, Carlsbad, Escondido, La Mesa, Coronado and Chula Vista. Each city rejected the call, said Melinda Richard, forewoman of the 2015-16 grand jury.

Richard said the low number of complaints cited by El Cajon in its response could reflect that citizens dont have confidence in the system.

It wouldnt surprise me if people dont complain as much because they dont feel they are being heard, she said. I think in some ways that clearly supports our position that they should have an independent board to review these things.

But Ransweiler said the low number of complaints is a credit to a department that has worked hard to connect with its community.

I like to think it says we do our job well, the department spokesman said. We have a remarkable group of professional officers. We preach taking the time to listen to people and resolve situations.

De Los Rios, executive director of the fair housing group CSA of San Diego County, said the department often does good work trying to reach out to the community.

But she added that she thinks citizens are too often talked out of making complaints by police.

Theyre told dont put the complaint in. We will fix this problem, De Los Rios said.

Citizens can file complaints by going to the station and filling out and signing a form or by downloading the form from the citys website, Ransweiler said. The process is open and easy, he said.

El Cajon has had two fatal officer-involved shootings this year, including Olangos. On Jan. 15, Kelsey Rose Hauser was killed by Officer Samson Pak, who had been with the force three years. The 25-year-old woman was a passenger in a stolen car that led police on a high-speed chase that ended with the driver smashing into police vehicles in a cul-de-sac and steering his car toward an officer on foot.

Pak fired four rounds at the driver, Geoffrey Sims, but struck Hauser and a dog who was also in the front seat. Sims and two other passengers were not hurt.

Veteran San Diego civil-rights attorney Michael Marrinan is representing Hausers family, who filed a legal claim against the city over the shooting.

What was he thinking shooting through the passenger window, ostensibly to hit the driver? the attorney said.

Marrinan said that he knows the department has made efforts to reach out to the various communities in the city, but the complaint data for the agency is surprising.

But Wells said the data reflects his own experience in the city.

As mayor, I get lots and lots of complaints, but I dont get complaints about the police, he said. If people thought we were shutting them down and not allowing them to make complaints, we would have heard about it.
Family and community members gathered Saturday to remember Alfred Olango, the unarmed black man killed in an El Cajon officer-involved shooting, and to call for unity against similar shootings.

After a private funeral and burial, more than 150 people gathered in City Heights to mourn Olango, 38, who was remembered as a cheerful man of peace who helped others in times of need.

This is a painful time, a grieving time, said Walter Lam, president of Alliance for African Assistance, a San Diego refugee aid organization. All I can say is, we are all in it together. What we will do in our power is to push for justice to be done.

Advertisement

We want whoever is responsible for this (shooting) to face justice.

Olangos father, Richard Olango, also spoke at the gathering at the East African Community and Cultural Center, saying his sons death is going to be a turning point in the United States. This death has shaken the whole world.

Alfred Olango (Hayne Palmour/U-T )

He said his son was buried in San Diego, and not his native Uganda, so that his children and friends can visit his grave.

A viewing and funeral was held for Olango in the morning, drawing more than 150 mourners to Bayview Baptist Church in Encanto.

Two large black limousines brought more than 20 family members, most dressed in black, who quietly filed into the church for the service.

Members of the media were not allowed inside.

Lam said he spoke at the funeral, saying how important community support is for the Olango family, and that Olango was a loving, giving man who gave us hope.

Olango was fatally shot on Sept. 27 behind an El Cajon taco shop. His sister had called police saying she wanted help for him because he wasnt acting like himself, police have said. Other callers said a man was walking into traffic on Broadway, near the taco shop.

Two officers approached him, one with a handgun drawn, the other with a Taser. Cellphone and security camera video released by police show Olango backing up against a pickup, then pulling a shiny object from his front pants pocket and aiming it at the officers. Both officers fired their weapons.

Pallbearers carry the casket of Alfred Olango, who was shot killed by an El Cajon police officer, to a waiting hearse after a funeral service at Bayview Baptist Church in San Diego on Saturday. (Hayne Palmour/U-T )

They found out later that the object Olango held was a vaping device with a silvery cylinder.

Family members later said Olango had been distraught over the recent death of a close friend.

The shooting sparked a week of protests, some turning violent with crowds throwing rocks and bottles at officers and sheriffs deputies. Pepper spray was used to disperse the demonstrators.

Peaceful marches and rallies also were held in El Cajon and downtown San Diego.

At a protest march last Saturday, family members and clergy encouraged the community to turn their anger into action to encourage better police training and community collaboration.

El Cajon police, the District Attorneys Office and the FBI are investigating the shooting.

Olangos father called for San Diegans to hold an international unity gathering. The Rev. Shane Harris, president of National Action Network San Diego, said such an event is already planned for Balboa Park next Saturday.

Olango moved to San Diego with his family from Uganda more than 20 years ago, after spending years in a refugee camp in Kenya. He attended San Diego High School, but dropped out and started getting into trouble, with juvenile misdemeanor charges.

In 1999 he was convicted of receiving stolen property, and in 2001 was convicted of selling cocaine. He moved to Denver and in 2005 was sent to federal prison for being a felon in possession of a gun. Afterwards, he moved to La Mesa and, friends said, began to settle down and turned to professional cooking at various restaurants.

El Cajon Shooting On Now Dumanis rules El Cajon police shooting of Alfred Olango justified 2:09 On Now Justice for Alfred Olango 1:33 On Now Video: Protests in the weeks following Olango shooting 1:43 On Now El Cajon City Council Meeting 10.11.2016 1:49 On Now Protest still present after El Cajon Shooting 2:49 On Now Video: Faith leaders, demonstrators rally in El Cajon 3:32 On Now Video: Rally after El Cajon shooting 1:45 On Now Video: Prayer vigil draws crowd in El Cajon 1:12 On Now RAW: Full video of Alfred Olango officer involved shooting 1:46 On Now Angry crowd grows after man is shot by police in El Cajon 1:15

pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
Private funeral services are scheduled Saturday for Alfred Olango, the unarmed black man killed last week in a police-involved shooting in El Cajon and whose death sparked protests in that city over several days.

The family has asked that the services not be open to the public. They will be held at Bayview Baptist Church in Encanto. A viewing will be at 10 a.m., followed by the funeral at 11 a.m.

Olango, a 38-year-old Ugandan refugee who came to the United States when he was young, was fatally shot Sept. 27 during an encounter with two El Cajon police officers.

Advertisement

Police said they had received reports of a man getting into traffic near Broadway and Mollison Avenue, and that the man was behaving erratically.

Olangos sister had called 911 asking for help for her brother because he was not acting like himself. Family members said later that Olango was not mentally ill, as some reports indicated, but was distraught over the recent death of a friend.

The officers found Olango in a parking lot behind a taco shop. Police said one officer fired a Taser and the other fired his gun when Olango pulled an electronic cigarette, or vaping device, out of his front pants pocket and aimed it at the officers.

The officers mistook the device for a gun, police said.

Initially, city and county officials had released only a still image from cellphone video a bystander had recorded, showing Olango in what police described as a shooting stance. Days later, they released the entire video from the cellphone recording and from a security camera.

The shooting remains under investigation by the city, District Attorneys Office and the FBI.

El Cajon Shooting On Now Dumanis rules El Cajon police shooting of Alfred Olango justified 2:09 On Now Justice for Alfred Olango 1:33 On Now Video: Protests in the weeks following Olango shooting 1:43 On Now El Cajon City Council Meeting 10.11.2016 1:49 On Now Protest still present after El Cajon Shooting 2:49 On Now Video: Faith leaders, demonstrators rally in El Cajon 3:32 On Now Video: Rally after El Cajon shooting 1:45 On Now Video: Prayer vigil draws crowd in El Cajon 1:12 On Now RAW: Full video of Alfred Olango officer involved shooting 1:46 On Now Angry crowd grows after man is shot by police in El Cajon 1:15

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @danalittlefield
The parents of a well-known San Diego musician killed in January when a large tree fell on her car in Pacific Beach have filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming the tree had a defect that made it hazardous to the public.

The tree, which was about 80 feet tall and had a diameter of about 6 feet, fell across Ingraham Street near Fortuna Avenue on Jan. 31, shortly after 3 p.m., according to San Diego fire authorities.

It crashed on to three parked cars and a fourth car that was passing by.

Advertisement

Nicki Lyn Carano, the driver of the passing car, died at the scene.

Her parents, Anthony and Carole Ann Carano, filed the lawsuit last week in San Diego Superior Court. In the complaint, they contend that the city failed in its duties to keep the area safe for the public and warn of any hidden danger.

The plaintiffs say in the document that the city had a duty to inspect the trees near the roadway for flaws and to have a hazardous tree management plan to keep people in the area safe. They also argue that city authorities had actual and/or constructive knowledge of a defect in the tree that caused Caranos death.

Firefighters worked to move large tree which fell across all the lanes of Ingraham Street in Pacific Beach and crushed cars including one that was occupied, (John Gastaldo/San Diego Union-Tribune )

Los Angeles-based attorney James OCallahan, who represents the Caranos, did not return a call seeking comment on the lawsuit.

The suit doesnt say who owns the tree, which fell during a powerful storm. The county and the state are named as alternative defendants because they could have owned or controlled the property where the tree was planted.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.

Gerry Braun, a spokesman for the City Attorneys Office, said authorities are reviewing the lawsuit, and he did not comment further.

The tree, estimated to be about 100 years old, was so large that it took firefighters about two hours to cut away enough of it to get to Caranos car, which had been crushed. It took city workers four more hours to clear enough of the tree to open a lane of traffic.

They worked through the night to clear the rest.

Carano was a drummer and a member of a prominent San Diego music family. On Jan. 31, she was on her way to Ocean Beach to perform with her band Spider Tree when she was fatally injured.

She also played in an all-woman band called Nectarine, as well as the band Donna Cristy & The Camel Tones. She taught drums at Nightingale Music School.

San Diego has faced lawsuits in the past over fallen trees.

In 2013, a Superior Court judge upheld a $7.6 million jury verdict against the city for not taking care of a soaring palm tree on public land that fell over in a 2010 storm, striking a Mission Hills man and paralyzing him.

But last year, a Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought $25 million in economic and punitive damages for a woman who was hurt in July 2013 when a tree branch fell on her while walking near the De Anza Cove boat launch. The judge said the womans claim that the city was responsible for the condition of the Mission Bay path was without merit.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @danalittlefield
The stack of bills vetoed on deadline by Gov. Jerry Brown last week includes legislation that would have called for stepped up charter school transparency.

That Brown killed the bill came as little surprise to state leaders and community groups that had banded together under the Kids Not Profits campaign to advocate for AB 709, sponsored by Mike Gipson, D-Carson.

The bill would have held Californias 1,200 charter schools to state laws governing open meetings, open records and conflict of interest laws  just as are traditional public schools.

Advertisement

Brown, who opened charters as mayor of Oakland, vetoed similar legislation two years ago. In his Sept, 30 veto statement, Brown cited the 2014 bill and said his views have not changed since he rejected it.

Starting a charter school requires the strong commitment of dedicated individuals willing to serve on a governing board, the governor wrote in a statement.  While I support transparency, this bill goes further than simply addressing issues of potential conflicts of interest and goes too far in prescribing how these boards must operate.

Among other provisions, the bill would have required charters to disclose how they spend taxpayer money, including budgets and contracts. The legislation would have also banned charter board members and their families from profiting from their schools.

Although not surprised, advocates of the bill said they were disappointed. They vowed to continue to push for greater transparency of charters.

With so much evidence documenting the waste, fraud and abuse by privately-managed charter schools, which have cost taxpayers millions at the expense of our students, we hoped the governor would have signed such an important bill, said California Teachers Association President Eric Heins in a statement. The impact is far too widespread.

A string of recent news reports have highlighted incidents of fraud, mismanagement and unfair admissions policies at charters, which have underscored the need for stepped up charter accountability, Heins said.

An ACLU report, Unequal Access, issued in July found more than 20 percent of Californias charters have biased admissions policies that allow charters to weed out low-performing students, English learners, and students with disabilities.

State Treasurer John Chiang, Los Angeles Unified School District School Board Vice President Dr. George McKenna, and Anaheim Union High School District Superintendent Mike Matsuda are among those who supported the legislation.

The California Charter Schools Association opposed Gipsons legislation, saying it would have restricted financial flexibility of charters. Whats more, since the vast majority of charter schools are non-profit corporations, they already follow the Corporations Code procedures and restrictions to address concerns over potential self-dealing on non-profit boards.

In 2014, Brown vetoed legislation that would have imposed restrictions on charters that operate outside their home school districts  instead assigning a team to analyze the matter and report back. No follow-up report has been issued on the matter.

Nearly 25 years old, the California Charter Schools Act gives charters freedom from some local and state education laws in exchange for a promise to use innovative measures to improve student achievement. Charters are publicly financed and independently operated schools.

In San Diego County, school districts continue to challenge charter schools and where they can locate in court.

The San Diego Unified and Grossmont Union school districts are suing the Julian Union School District and two of its charters accused of violate the law by operating centers in their boundaries.

Following Julians lead, dozens of far-flung charters and resource centers have been authorized by small East County school districts, including some that candidly acknowledged the arrangements were forged mostly for the money since districts can receive up to 3 percent of a charters revenue to offset the cost of providing oversight and other services. Costly lawsuits have ensued.

Earlier this year, Steve Van Zant, the former superintendent of the Mountain Empire Unified School District, pleaded guilty to a felony conviction of the Political Reform Act while brokering charter schools. Under his leadership, the tiny district authorized 13 charters, often for the revenue, including some that went on to hire Van Zants charter consulting business. Van Zant also earned a stipend for every charter authorized by the district under the terms of his contract.
A visit from a cow and her calf last week offered students at Vista del Mar Elementary a glimpse at where the cartons of milk in their cafeteria come from.

They also got a real hands-on learning experience with a chance to touch the large animals at the end of the assembly.

The free mobile dairy classroom program was sponsored by the California Dairy Council. It incorporates Common Core learning in English language arts, math and science with lessons on cow anatomy, farm animal care, the five food groups and agriculture technology.

Advertisement

Dairy Council instructor Steve Miller taught the excited youngsters cow-related words, used math to talk about the scale of milk production, and explained bovine biology and the technology used in dairy production.

The stars of the program, however, were a cow named Ms. Melinda and her young steer, which elicited squeals of delight from the assembled students when their trailer was opened.

Vista del Mar, one of seven schools in the San Ysidro School District, serves about 500 students in kindergarten through third grade.

The Dairy Council program was put on in conjunction with a federal grant that was awarded to the school last spring.

The $18,700 U.S. Department of Agriculture Team Nutrition grant received in March will be used to make healthy changes to school lunch menus and educate students about healthy eating habits. The aim is to link classroom learning with healthy choices at school and beyond.

Superintendent Julio Fonseca told students that by making better food choices, they can become better learners and, ultimately, better citizens.

As part of the grant, the district will also partner with the UCSD School of Medicine to research which foods children eat and which ones they throw away.

The plate waste study seeks to refine federal nutrition regulations that require children who eat a school lunch to take certain foods, regardless of whether they want them, and reduce food waste.

Pamela Lambert, the districts director of nutrition services, said the study would be conducted at Vista del Mar and Smythe Elementary starting next month.

Follow me @HuardSDUT
The funeral will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Grace Lutheran Church with the Rev. Jean Vargo officiating. Visitation will be from noon to 6 p.m. Monday at Stokely Funeral Home in West Point with family receiving friends from 4-6 p.m. Burial with military honors will be in Mount Hope Cemetery with lunch following at the church hall.
While schools at all levels have emphasized science, technology, engineer and mathematics in recent years, a new $2. 6 million grant being shared by UC San Diego and the San Diego Community College District is intended to spark interesting in the dwindling humanities field.

Constance Carroll, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, said the grant is expected to reverse a trend that emphasized STEM over humanities, which had some unintended consequences.

Community college enrollments have remained steady, but people have become too workforce-oriented at the exclusion of everything else, she said.

Advertisement

Carroll noted that China is re-thinking its past emphasis on STEM courses after finding that students who didnt study the humanities were less imaginative and had poor communication and critical thinking skills. Those skills are needed in many different fields and can be developed through the humanities, she said.

This is an old lesson that America needs to re-learn, and were happy to participate in that, she said.

The grant comes from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the largest supporter of humanities programs, and will provide $1.42 million to UC San Diego and $1.17 to the community college district.

New programs paid for with the grant will allow some students at City, Mesa and Miramar colleges to take classes and have summer internships at UC San Diego. It also will pay for faculty members from the university and college district to collaborate on a new humanities curriculum that will lead to guarantee admission into UC San Diego for community college students in the program.

A recent analysis from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences found the number of bachelors degrees awarded to students majoring in the humanities fell 8.7 percent from 2012 to 2014 and is trailing far behind the number of degrees conferred in the natural sciences, business and management, and behavioral and social sciences. Just 6.1 percent of bachelors degrees in 2014 were in core humanities disciplines, which include English, history, languages and literature other than English, linguistics, classical studies, and philosophy.

Carroll said that beginning next semester, 30 to 60 community college students will take philosophy, English and history classes at UC San Diego. Another 30 will participate in a summer internship at UC San Diego, where students will live in dorms.

Carroll called the grant a win-win for the university and district because it will help UC San Diego improve its undergraduate humanities programs while creating a pipeline for more community college students to advance to the four-year school.

UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said the funding also will help the school increase it commitment to the humanities and to local students.

We will be recruiting prepared and diverse transfer students and making sure they receive the support they need to be successful not only in their transition but also through graduation and beyond, he said.

Carroll is recognized nationally as a leading advocate for the humanities, having been appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011 to serve on the National Council on the Humanities, which works with the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Mellon Foundation grant is the largest the district has ever received for humanities and is just the third grant of its kind from the foundation.

Similar collaborations funded by the foundation are between Case Western Reserve University and Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, and between the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and LaGuardia Community College.

As part of broader humanities initiatives at UCLA and the University of Washington, the Mellon Foundation also supports collaborations between those institutions and community colleges in Los Angeles and Seattle.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
The Black Panthers are back.

Founded 50 years ago, the revolutionary black nationalist party reached the apex of its influence in the late 1960s and early 70s. This month, the groups golden anniversary will be marked across the country, including San Diego County.

San Diego State University will host several functions:

Advertisement

Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 6 p.m.: The documentary Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution will be shown in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union Theater.

Saturday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m.: The student union plaza will be the site of a 50th anniversary party.

Monday, Oct. 17, at 3 p.m.: A panel discussion in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union Theater will explore the Panthers legacy. Panelists will include Henry Wallace, a former member of the Panthers San Diego chapter; Roberta Alexander, former member of the Panthers Oakland chapter; Mychal Odom, black history professor, Mesa College; Arturo Casares, MEChA veteran and Brown Beret associate; and Melina Abdullah, a Pan-African Studies faculty member at CSU Los Angeles and Black Lives Matter organizer. Antwanisha Alameen-Shavers, assistant professor in SDSUs Africana Studies Department, will moderate.

Those three gatherings are sponsored by SDSUs Afrikan Student Union.

In addition, the universitys library addition is exhibiting archival Black Panther materials now through December.

All of these events are free. Admission to an 8 p.m. Saturday anniversary after-party at 4014 Bonita Road, Chula Vista, is $10.

The Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland in 1966. The official 50th anniversary Commemoration and Celebration is planned for Oct. 20-23 in that East Bay city.

RELATED STORY: When Black Panthers roamed San Diego
No one knows exactly why premature babies, especially those who weigh less than three pounds, are so susceptible to deadly intestinal infections. But study after study has shown that breast milk dramatically improves their chances of survival.

For preemies, breast milk is a wonder elixir also shown to reduce blood infections, blindness and readmission to the hospital in the first year of life. Its packed with moms antibodies, which boost premature babies immune systems and provide nutrients needed for development.

But mothers cant always provide enough of this critical liquid on their own. Some may be on medications that could harm their child. Others may have trouble developing an adequate supply before their tiny infant is strong enough to nurse vigorously.

Advertisement

This is where milk banks come in. They collect, test, pasteurize, package and deliver donated milk from mothers who have extra to give.

Many hospitals in San Diego County have been buying ounce after ounce of donated milk for their tiniest patients, but it has come from as far away as San Jose.

That is expected to change next year as the Division of Neonatology at UC San Diego creates the regions first breast-milk bank with the help of a financial gift from local couple Hannah and Zachary Johnson.

Having crewed on collegiate rowing teams, Hannah Johnson said she and her husband learned the value of nutrition and its connection to delivering the best possible performance. Though her son was not born premature and did not require milk from a bank, Johnson said she wanted to find a project that would have lasting impact on children. Helping at-risk newborns avoid disease in their first few weeks of life had the promise of lifelong benefits she was seeking.

Nutrition has definitely always been my passion. Im a busybody, and I am always looking for something more to do, Johnson said.

She had no problem finding willing participants in Dr. Lisa Stellwagen, lactation director for the universitys Supporting Premature Infant Nutrition Program, and Dr. Jae Kim, the programs medical director.

Both have contributed to the growing knowledge base about breast milks benefits for preterm babies, and both said they have wanted to create a local breast-milk bank for years. Funding was always the sticking point.

The Johnsons, who asked that the amount of their gift remain private, were just the people to push the project from idea to implementation.

Stellwagen said a big part of the bank will be working with local hospitals and other health-care providers to create a collection infrastructure that allows women to donate their milk without having to drive too far out of their way. Talks are also underway with the San Diego Blood Bank to seamlessly provide blood tests required of each donor to rule out infectious diseases.

And then, there is the challenge of raising awareness about the opportunity to donate.

We need to get that message out so that women arent dumping their milk out when they dont need it anymore, Stellwagen said.

At least initially, the San Diego breast-milk bank will not do its own processing. All collected milk will be shipped in coolers to the Mothers Milk Bank in San Jose, which has already invested in the necessary processing equipment.

They do a great job, theyre interested in partnering with us and they have the extra capacity, so we think its going to be a great collaboration, Stellwagen said.

Once the milk arrives back at local hospitals  at the cost of about $4 per ounce  it will be fortified with additional nutrients, a task that each hospital will typically handle on its own.

Kim, the premature infant programs medical director, said the use of donated milk has been around for decades but did not really take off for babies in neonatal intensive care units until adequate fortification methods were developed. Babies born before their due dates, he explained, will not get enough of what they need from breast milk alone.

A preterm babys growth rate is far faster than a term babys, Kim said. They add over 20 grams of weight per day for every kilo of body weight. I tell my parents thats like an adult needing to gain three pounds per day.

Fortification has been a controversial point of entry for for-profit milk banks, which, according to a recent piece by California Healthline, charge up to $180 per ounce after adding nutrients to breast milk they buy from mothers. The industry has recently come under criticism for paying women to donate, a practice that generated publicity in Detroit in 2014 with accusations that a program bought from moms whose own babies needed every ounce.

Stellwagen said the San Diego program will not accept any donations from women within three months after they have given birth to avoid similar issues.

We want to be very cautious that were never having a mother donate milk that might be needed by their own baby, Stellwagen said.

Breast milk, which is often collected using special pumps, is good in a normal freezer for up to six months and in a deep freeze, which stores food at minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit, for up to one year.

It will take about a year for the local program to get up and running. In the meantime, mothers who want to donate their breast milk can contact the San Jose program. Call (877) 375-6645 or email donate@mothersmilk.org for more information.

paul.sisson@sduniountribune.com

(619) 293-1850

@paulsisson
At least 376 people have been fatally shot by law enforcement in San Diego County since 1980, according to a running tally kept by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The at least is important here  its difficult to know how many people are killed by law enforcement because reporting to official data sources like the FBI or the California Department of Justice is inconsistent.

Groups pushing for police accountability in shootings have repeatedly called out the lack of complete data as an obstacle to discussions about reform, especially for conversations about policing tactics and people of color. In recent weeks, Californias Attorney General Kamala Harris introduced new monitoring tools and an online form for law enforcement to report use of force incidents to the state justice department.

Advertisement

 Also see: El Cajon police log 12 shootings in 10 years

As an example of the limitations of official data sources, the California Department of Justice reported that nine people were killed by law enforcement in San Diego County in 2015.

The Union-Tribunes independent tracking of officer-involved shootings  compiled from news clippings, District Attorney reports and other sources  lists 11 deaths.

While the discrepancy for 2015 might seem small, over time it adds up. Between 2000 and 2015, the state data records 81 fatal officer-involved shootings in the county. For the same time period, the U-T recorded 165 deaths  more than double the state count.

A representative for the Attorney Generals Office did not provide answers to questions about the data discrepancy.

At the national level, the official tallies are also less comprehensive than those kept by the media  by a similar margin.

One reason is, the official data is limited by strict definitions of the kinds of shootings that are counted. The FBI tracks a portion of officer-involved shootings called justifiable homicides, which, for those involving law enforcement, the agency defines as the killing of a felon by a peace officer in the line of duty, according to its crime data reports.

The FBI reported 442 justifiable homicides by law enforcement nationwide in 2015. The Guardian and The Washington Post began independently tracking fatal officer-involved shootings in 2015 in response to an outcry for data. The Guardian counted 1,146 deaths in 2015, and The Washington Post counted 991, both well over double the official FBI total.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics used to report national figures for arrest-related deaths as well, but it hasnt released data since 2009 after issuing a report that estimated it was missing at least 50 percent of the annual data, in part because reporting by local agencies was voluntary, rather than being required by law.

In 2009, 42 of Californias 509 agencies reported at least one arrest-related death, just over 8 percent, according to the bureaus data. It is not clear from the data how many chose not to report  and how many had no deaths to report. The U.S. Department of Justice said in August that it was looking into re-implementing data collection with new methodology.

According to the Union-Tribune data, both blacks and Hispanics in San Diego County had a higher rate per population, based on 2010 census data, of being killed by law enforcement than whites between the years 2000 and 2015.

The rate for blacks was 15.6 deaths per 100,000 people. The rate for Hispanics was 5.6 per 100,000 people, and the rate for whites was 4.2 per 100,000 people. The rate for Asians was lower than that for whites, at 1.8 per 100,000 people.

Arrest data from the California Office of the Attorney General indicates that the shooting statistics reflect general trends for interaction with law enforcement for people of color.

Blacks in San Diego County have a significantly higher likelihood of police encounters than other groups. For every 100,000 blacks, there were 159,397 arrests between 2000 and 2014  thats one and a half arrests for every black person in the county.

The white and Hispanic arrest rates were similar  about 48,500 for every 100,000 people in those demographic groups.

What cannot be determined from the data is the actual crime rate per group, as the same claims of bias in officer-involved shootings could be at work in the arrests themselves.

Compared to the list of fatal shootings from the Union-Tribune  which tracks closely with tallies in the Washington Post and Guardian databases  many of the countys law enforcement agencies were missing entries in the state database.

One of the most notable omissions was Customs and Border Patrol, which accounts for 27 of the 376 people killed by law enforcement since 1980 in San Diego County. While state data also goes back to that year, there are no entries for Border Patrol.

When asked about officer-involved shooting reporting, Customs and Border Patrol spokeswoman Jackie Wasiluk cited an agency Use of Force Statistics report, which only indicates the type of force used. It does not indicate whether the person was killed, much less the persons race. According to the report, San Diego Field Operations used a firearm five times in fiscal year 2016 and a less-lethal device 32 times.

A Congressional committee directed Customs and Border Patrol in 2014 to report deaths from use of force to the committee, and according to the fiscal year 2015 report, six people nationwide died as a result of use of force by CBP officers.

Wasiluk was not able to find out whether the agency reports fatal shootings to the California Department of Justice in time for publication.

Representatives for San Diego Police Department, Chula Vista Police Department and La Mesa Police Department said they report information to the California Department of Justice and were not sure why entries were missing for their departments.

La Mesas Captain Matt Nicholass said that the most recent fatal shooting, of Andrew Joseph Yacko in 2011, fell through the cracks at first because shootings happened so rarely, but it was eventually reported to the state. Nicholass said the department had missed the states deadline, so the information was not included in the database.

According to California Government Code 12525, law enforcement agencies have 10 days from the date of death to submit information to the state. Following the passage of Assembly Bill 71 in 2015, law enforcement agencies will have additional use of force reporting requirements beginning in 2017.

Reports that have tried to use existing data on officer-involved shootings to study potential racial disparities have come up with mixed results.

Roland Fryer, Jr., an economics professor at Harvard University, studied the racial differences in police use of force and found that blacks and Hispanics are more than 50 percent more likely to experience some kind of force during a police encounter. His study also found that for officer-involved shootings, the most extreme use of force, it did not find disparities between racial groups.

The study was widely reported before it received peer review, and critics questioned its methods, particularly that it used a single departments data  Houston  in its analysis of officer-involved shootings. The study also appears to use a single departments data, from New Yorks stop-and-frisk program, in its conclusion that people of color are more than 50 percent more likely to experience force.

Though the study used two other data sets as well, it is not clear how they factored into the reports main conclusions. The study says that none of the four sources were ideal.

A study from University of California, Davis used data from fatalencounters.org, a crowd-sourced project to document police shootings across the country, and found that disparate use of force against people of color was no more likely to occur in communities with high crime rates among minority residents.

kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate
Republican challenger Kristin Gaspar has outpaced incumbent Democrat Dave Roberts by every measure in the latest round of campaign financing in the county supervisors race.

Gaspar, the mayor of Encinitas, received $150,138 in cash and non-monetary contributions in the reporting period spanning July 1 through Sept. 24, nearly three times as much as Roberts who collected $55,554.

In the final weeks leading into the Nov. 8 general election Gaspar had $132,699 cash on hand to Roberts $114,155. While she leads not only in fundraising and money in the bank, an outside group funded by the Chamber of Commerce, the Lincoln Club and developer interests have raised another another $177,260 to help get Gaspar elected.

Advertisement

The Public Integrity League of San Diego, a group opposed to Roberts, did not report any income in the regular campaign finance reporting period, but it did file a document that shows it received a $31,000 contribution after the official reporting period closed.

With more income, Gaspars campaign spent more. She had $86,047 in expenses and accumulated $24,532 in new debt. Roberts spent $69,698 and has $10,604 in new debt.

In the latest reporting period Gaspar raised more and spent more, and had more cash on hand. She has also raised more than Roberts in all of 2016, having received $388,815, including a $50,000 loan she made to her campaign. Roberts has received $312,479 including a $75,000 self-loan, his sole debt. Gaspar has $67,741 to repay inclusive of the loan to herself.

While Gaspars campaign leads in fundraising, a group called Citizens for Fair and Honest Leadership supporting Kristen Gaspar for Supervisor 2016 raised another $185,000 in contributions to boost her candidacy. The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce gave $100,000 in the latest period, while political action committees from the Building Industry Association of San Diego County, the California Association of Realtors, and the Associated General Contractors local chapter gave the remaining $85,000. Land use policy and permitting is one of the primary duties of county government.

It has raised $397,000 through the election, but most of its spending was in support of Gaspar ahead of the June 7 open primary.

The anti-Roberts group received $31,000 from Job Creators for a Strong Economy, an organization nearly exclusively funded by the Lincoln Club, a Republican-leaning political organization. With the latest contribution it has $40,036 in the bank.

Roberts is the sole Democrat on the board of supervisors. He finished first in the primary, ahead of Gaspar, who finished second, and Escondido Mayor Sam Abed.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
After San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconers re-election in June, this editorial board urged the mayor to make homelessness more of a priority and to tackle a rising problem realistically. This week, to his credit, he elevated the issue and owned the problem, which has worsened on his watch.

Faulconer did so by creating a new position and hiring a senior adviser for homeless solutions to coordinate efforts underway throughout the city and across the county and to work more strategically on reducing the citys homeless population. He did so amid calls by a Union-Tribune columnist and others for him to hire a homeless czar and as more jurisdictions  Seattle and Orange County, to name two  are making such hires.

Anyone who spends any time in downtown San Diego knows the problem is severe. Anyone who has read the latest annual report from the Regional Task Force on the Homeless knows its pervasive countywide and more people are living on the street. Faulconers move comes as the task force dismantles its board and merges with the San Diego Regional Continuum of Care Council in a bid for increased regional efficiency on homeless issues.

Advertisement

A big part of Faulconers legacy will now be decided by whether homelessness is reduced significantly before he leaves office.

Faulconer deserved all the criticism he received from this editorial board and from homeless advocates for installing rocks under a bridge on Imperial Avenue leading up to last summers All-Star Game at Petco Park. That callous construction project merely moved the homeless along with nothing approximating a long-term solution. On the other hand, Faulconer deserves praise for his laudable and realistic goal of trying to get 1,000 veterans off the streets around a City Hall whose leaders all too often set up unrealistic goals by flatly stating they can end homelessness.

It sounds good, but its impossible.

Thats why it was encouraging to hear Faulconers new homeless adviser, Stacie Spector, a consultant who worked as a deputy communications director in the Clinton administration in the late 1990s, eschew the word end and focus on the issue. Specific goals will follow, Spector said.

Spector will be paid $175,000 a year, and Faulconer hopes that she will outlast him at City Hall and that the importance of her position will be self-evident.

Prior San Diego mayors have made reducing homelessness a talking point. Maureen OConnor famously slept on the streets for 48 hours. But since then, the issue hasnt been much of a priority. When Jerry Sanders was mayor, a lawyer suing the city over illegal-lodging tickets told San Diego CityBeat, Since OConnor, the policys been simply to ignore homeless people and pretend they arent there.

On Friday, Faulconer told an editorial writer, We need to make a difference. Were spending more dollars than we ever have, and we need to make sure were helping people and were going to help change the trajectory.

The mayor dismissed a question about the political risk associated with elevating the problem to such a high priority, saying, The risk is if we do nothing. Added Spector, We cant make it worse.

In a city where mayors historically defer to council members or tend to ignore the homeless issue, the fact that Faulconer has made it a priority drives home the point that street dwellers are San Diegans, too, and in helping them we help ourselves.
Every year, the Little Italy Association throws a giant festa, an event that has been celebrating the Italian-American community since 1994. On Sunday, the tradition continues as this iconic neighborhood welcomes more than 120,000 visitors to the 22nd annual family-friendly event. At the festival, which covers more than 12 blocks, attendees can eat their way through traditional Italian cuisine, be serenaded by Italian music on three stages and watch chalk artists create erasable masterpieces on the sidewalk. Also on tap: cooking demonstrations, Kids Fun Zone, bocce ball tournament, street stickball and an Italian Motorsport Show. Fans of the popular lip sync television battles will be entertained at the FESTA! Lip Sync Competition. The almost-singing contest starts at 1 p.m. on the Date Street Stage. The audience votes for the winning act.

Little Italy FESTA! 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Along India Street from West Grape to A streets, downtown. Free admission. littleitalysd.com

Advertisement
Maryland's health officials have issued a warning to hospitals, healthcare providers and others against the use a particular brand of syringes that may be causing a bacterial blood infection.

The state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in a statement, suggested the immediate discontinuation and isolation of Nurse Assist pre-filled saline flush syringes of 3, 5 and 10 milliliter capacity until further notice. The warning came after 11 cases of Burkholderia cepacia bloodstream infections were reported in Maryland. The officials believe that there is a possible link between the syringes and blood infections.

Burkholderia cepacia may not pose any serious threat to a healthy person but can cause major health issues if a person with weakened immune system or chronic lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis is infected, according to Cosumnes Connection. This group of bacteria is often resistant to common antibiotics and does not cause any major symptoms.

The New Jersey Department of Health had been intimidated last week by the Pennsylvania and Maryland Departments of Health about the presence of clusters of blood infections in patients who had been in the healthcare facilities since a long time and who had histories of receiving medications through central lines.

The investigations are still being carried out. The department has reported two cases from New Jersey as well that are associated with this outbreak. Both these patients had cystic fibrosis, had undergone a lung transplant surgery and both were quite sick. No death has been reported yet.

On Tuesday, Nurse Assist Inc. based in Texas informed the health officials from various states that it would voluntarily call back saline flush syringes since they might be causing blood infections, according to CBS Baltimore.

A statement from state health department said that though all healthcare providers known to use syringes of the above mentioned brand have been notified, there is a possibility of other facilities that may not have been reached.

The state health agency is not teaming up with the U.S Food and Drug Association, Centers for Disease Control and other states in response to the outbreak of this blood infection. Details of the infected people in Maryland have not been released by the officials.
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient and an anti-apartheid campaigner revealed that he is in support of the option of assisted death.

On his 85th birthday, he wrote in the Washington post newspaper that "he did not want to be kept alive at all costs". Desmond Tutu came forward in commendation of assisted death in 2014 but did not specify whether he would opt for it himself or not, according to BBC News. He was hospitalized last month for a procedure for recurring infections.

"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," Mr. Desmond Tutu wrote.

He advocated assisted death for people who are suffering from unbearable pain and wish to end their trauma as a matter of choice. He stated that when an open option of assisted death is put in front of such a patient, it brings about an immense feeling of comfort and that people should not be denied the right to make this choice.

Though there is no discrete legislation in South Africa that governs assisted death, in a historic ruling in April 2015, a court in South Africa granted the right to assisted death to a terminally ill man. This verdict prompted calls for a clarification of laws regarding such cases that demand assisted death.

The Anglican Church, of which Mr. Desmond Tutu is a member, is unwaveringly against the ideology of assisted death. However, this is not the first time that Desmond Tutu has spoken anything against the belief of the Church.

He has always been an outspoken supporter of gay rights, and has even openly criticized the conservative attitude of Christians to homosexuality. In 2013, he stated that he "would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven" and prefer going to "the other place".

Earlier this year, he attended the wedding of his daughter Mpho with her female partner and showered his blessings on the couple despite the fact that this marriage was against the Anglican law of matrimony which states that "holy matrimony is the lifelong and exclusive union between one man and one woman".

During his tenure as the archbishop of Cape Town, he controversially supported the amendment citing to make abortion more readily available in South Africa inspite of some personal and traditional reservations.
A US federal court on Friday reinstated a $120 million award to Apple in a year long on-going case. The case pertained to Samsungs' infringement on Apple's patent for slide-to-unlock, tap-to-call, and autocorrect features.

First Court Decision

The earlier decision by the same court was to not in favor of Apple. The Court had overturned the case earlier for the same there patents. According to the court, it was a result of using information not raised in the trial and relying on the points not raised in the appeal by Apple. As reported in Digital trends.

Friday' s decision in favor of Apple

On Friday the US court Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. In an 8-3 ruling admitted to the earlier blunder by the court. The full slate of judges thus reinstates Apple $120 million patent win over Samsung.

Both representatives of Samsung and Apple have refrained from commenting on the matter.

Samsung's Victory

The jury also came to a conclusion that Apple had infringed on Samsungs' patent on digital photo technology. Apple was asked to pay $158,400 in damages. Although the amount was nothing when compared with Samsung was asked to pay, but Samsung did have a minor moral victory.

Apple Vs Samsung, Court Cases

This was not the first case between the two mobile giants Apple and Samsung neither it will be the last. In next few weeks Court is going to hear on another case of Patent infringement between Apple and Samsung. That makes Apple's victory a crucial one.

In the past too, Samsung had lost a patent case to Apple with regards to phone designing. Samsung was asked to pay a huge sum $548.2 million. As reported by the Verge.

Samsung seems to be in rough waters, lately. With Galaxy Note 7 battery issues and recalls Samsung has already incurred billions in losses. Some of the court cases for battery catching fire are also in US courts.

Samsung can hope it will get some respite but for now, it will have to swallow the loss of $120 million to Apple in the patent case.
New reports suggest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti might get a January 2017 release date. Rumors tell that the highly anticipated graphic card will be unveiled by NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang at the Consumer Electronics Show 2017 in Las Vegas, which is scheduled to happen next year in January.

Notably, NIVIDIA hasn't yet confirmed GeForce GTX 1080 Ti January release date rumors. However, it did release a clip which listed automated cards, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning and games as subject matters about which Jen-Hsun would be mentioning in his CES 2017 speech, reported PCGamesN.

All rumors point to a CES 2017 launch for the GTX 1080 Ti. Here's why that makes sense https://t.co/YmJsBIBE00 pic.twitter.com/yc0sTAuEP0  PC Gamer (@pcgamer) October 2, 2016

Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti Specs, Price-

Rumors reveal that GeForce GTX 1080 Ti will use Nvidia's Pascal GP102 silicon, which is already used in the Titan X. The rumored graphics card will have a 1.6 and 1.5 GHz clock speed, 3328 CUDA cores, 1503 MHz base clock and 1,623 MHz boost clock. The GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is expected to come powered with a total of 12GB of video random access memory.

As far as NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti price is concerned, the next gen graphics card is expected to be priced in between $700 to $800.

Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti vs AMD Radeon RX 490-

Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti is expected to face tough competition from AMD Radeon RX 490, which is also expected to get an early 2017 release date. The RX 490 is rumored to be the first AMD graphics card to be based on the Vega 10 architecture. The upcoming graphics card is expected to feature 9,830 GFLOPS of computing power with a base clock of 1200 MHz, a dual-GPU system, a 16384 MB memory size, a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 interface, a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s along with a thermal power of 200 W.

Readers are advised to take the information with a pinch of salt as nothing yet has been officially announced by NVIDIA.

Tune into SWR for more updates and latest news on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti release date, specs and pricing details.
Thumbs up to our public safety officials. That goes to the big shots, but we mainly want to recognize the workers who have to be at their best on our worst days, braving miserable conditions. Hurricane Matthew and its effects are the latest elements to test these people who sometimes risk their lives to save others. Shame on those who dont heed evacuation warnings and then put their own life at risk as well as the lives of people on rescue missions. Maybe were patting public safety officials on the back prematurely, but we know what kind of day it could be today when the wind howls, the rain pours, the trees snap and the power goes out. Sunday wont be easy, either, when the creeks and rivers rise and roads wash out. We also know a good deal of effort went into preparation for this storm. Lets pray that conditions dont get as bad as expected. Just in case they do, lets pray for the safety of all.

Thumbs up to evacuees from the coast. Some of them are in our shelters. Others are in our hotels. We know this is no vacation. They did the right thing by following orders. We know how hard it is to leave a home and most possessions behind, but anything that is lost can be replaced. Our heart bleeds for those who left pets behind. We wish more shelters could accommodate our four-legged friends.

Thumbs up to S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley. On Tuesday, she called for coastal evacuations to start on Wednesday. She has been criticized for making that call too soon, while Hurricane Matthew was still in Haiti, 1,000 miles away. In more than half of the states counties, she ordered school districts and government offices to close. She also ordered lane reversals on Interstate 26 to help motorists evacuate Charleston and get to Columbia. Some parents werent happy because they had to stay home to care for children who could have been in school. But, as they say, hindsight is 20-20. Many schools are used as shelters for evacuees. Those shelters needed to be prepared. Former Gov. David Beasley told The State that Haley made the right call. It's got to be an orderly process and, if you wait too late, the roads get jammed and then tempers flare and there's catastrophe, Beasley said. You err on the side of caution. You can't err on the side of convenience. In 1996, Beasley ordered the evacuation of the Grand Strand when Hurricane Bertha threatened the coast. He was nervous when the storm turned toward the Isle of Palms, which he did not order evacuated, but the island ultimately was not hit. In 1999, with Hurricane Floyd on the way, Gov. Jim Hodges ordered a coastal evacuation, but he didnt order the reversal on I-26 until a massive traffic jam had occurred. That makes him sympathetic toward Haley. There are a lot of tough decisions that need to be made, Hodges told The State. She (Haley) has much better information than any of us have about the storms path and what it will take to keep people safe. Second-guessing her or the team is inappropriate.

Thumbs up to the Florence County Council for things it did two or three years ago. Led by then-Chairman James Schofield, the council pushed for a new digital radio system that is more reliable and modern than the functionally obsolete analog system that it replaced. The project cost roughly $15 million. It is being paid for with funds that have been coming in since a second penny sales tax referendum passed in 2013. This has been money well spent. Imagine public safety officials trying to communicate today on the old system, which suffered coverage problems on the outskirts of the county.

Thumbs up to new Florence City Councilwoman Pat Gibson-Hye Moore and others for pushing for changes in the annual Christmas parade through downtown Florence. The parade now will be held on the second weekend in December. This year, the parade will be on Saturday, Dec. 10. Previously the parade was on the third weekend in December. Because of the move, the parade will include more local high school bands. In the past most high school bands werent able to participate because school was out for winter, said Moore, a parade coordinator. This year theyll be able to be in the parade. The parade committee hopes to have stage on South Dargan Street with live music and caroling, among other activities. Were trying to make it bigger and better than before, Moore said. We applaud these efforts.

Thumbs up, thumbs down is a regular feature of the Morning News and appears each Saturday on our Opinion page. We seek nominations for both good and bad deeds from our readers. Send nominations to us by email at letters@florencenews.com. Be sure use the word thumb in the subject and include a contact number. Thumbs can also be mailed to us c/o The Morning News, 310 S. Dargan St., Florence, S.C., 29506.
A weakened Hurricane Matthew churned just off the coast of the US states of Georgia and South Carolina Saturday, threatening deadly floods after leaving more than a million people without power in Florida and claiming five lives.

At 0600 GMT, Matthew -- now a Category 2 system with top sustained winds of 105 miles per hour (165 km/h) -- was closing in on a stretch of coast near historic colonial-era cities of Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia.

"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 (part of) the North Carolina coast," warned the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storm was 45 miles (70 kilometers) south of Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Authorities in South Carolina ordered thousands to evacuate inland to shelters, where people sprawled out in school gyms.

RELATED: Tracking Hurricane Matthew by Drone, Satellite and Big Data

Millions of Americans were subject to evacuation orders and curfews were slapped on cities as the lethal storm barreled north after killing nearly 900 people in Haiti, and storming through Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic -- where it left four dead -- and the Bahamas.

"The weather experts have described Matthew as a once in a 100-year type of storm," said Mayor Lenny Curry in Jacksonville, Florida, home to 850,000 people -- nearly half of whom had been evacuated.

"We want our citizens to be safe. Our focus throughout this event has been public safety."

Matthew savaged Haiti as a ruinous Category Four hurricane, but weakened as it approached the US mainland, where emergency services were on lockdown and millions of people were urged to evacuate.

The NHC has warned that with torrential rains and storm surges of up to 10 feet (three meters), Matthew's storm surge is capable of devastating damage.

"This is still a really dangerous hurricane," said President Barack Obama. "The potential for storm surge, flooding, loss of life and severe property damage continues to exist."

WATCH VIDEO: Is the Butterfly Effect Real?
The reason they're able to get away with this is because of a somewhat ambiguous loophole in the whaling regulations. International law states that governments can allow whaling for scientific purposes. Since the 1980's, Japan has maintained this as the reason for their whaling practices.

But that doesn't mean Japan stopped whaling. Even though commercial whaling gradually lost support during the second half of the 20th Century, and in 1986 the International Whaling Commission put an indefinite prohibition on commercial whaling altogether, Japan continues to do it.

It wasn't until post-WWII, after Japan suffered such devastation, that they somewhat changed their tune. In 1951 they joined the International Whaling Commission, which sought to regulate whaling globally.

Oka turned out to be right. Throughout the early 1900's Japan was among the top whaling nations in the world, along with Norway, Germany and the U.K. However, in the 1930's, overfishing started to become a problem. The U.K. and U.S. started to regulate whaling, but Japan chose to ignore these rules.

Whaling has a long history in Japan and was once deeply rooted in their culture. Around the turn of the 20th century, a Japanese researcher named Juro Oka went to Europe to learn the trade of whaling. Upon his return, he vowed that Japan would become "one of the greatest whaling nations in the world."

Despite a ruling from the International Court of Justice insisting that Japan stop hunting whales, they continue to hunt and kill hundreds of whales every year. Their excuse is that it's for scientific research, but the real reasons are much more complex than that.

But that doesn't sit well with many people worldwide. Especially because much of that whale meat still ends up on dinner plates across Japan. One Japanese official went on record in 2012 saying that whale meat is "said to have a very good flavor and aroma when eaten as sashimi and the like."

Japan also insist that not only does whale meat taste good, but they are legally obligated to use the meat, somehow, from the hunted whales.

"The fact that the whale meat - which we call by-product - is sold is because the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling specifically requires that the by-product of research be processed. It is a legally binding obligation," Dan Goodman, councilor to Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research told told BBC News in a 2008 article.

RELATED: Japan Repeatedly Falsified Whaling Reports

Yet one of the most peculiar things in all of this is that Japan primarily hunts Minke whales, and in fairly low numbers, usually less than 1,000 annually. Not only are Minke whales not at all endangered, but other countries like Norway and Iceland also hunt them. They don't even use scientific research as a scapegoat, they just continue to do it in open defiance of international law.

So why is Japan the main country being criticized for their whaling practices? Well one reason is that eating whale meat is a big deal to some people, and even though it is consumed in fairly low numbers, it's still being eaten in Japan. But the argument that whales shouldn't be eaten is culturally subjective.

In a 2001 article, Setsuo Izumi, who at the time had been whaling for 37 years, told the Guardian, "What we eat is different from country to country. It's a cultural thing. In Australia they eat kangaroo but I don't want to eat kangaroo."

In India, most people don't eat beef as cows are considered holy to Hindus, but in 2012, Americans consumed nearly 60 pounds of beef per person.

A lot of of the judgement around Japan's whaling also has to do with how vague they seem to be about the whole operation. They continue to insist that they're hunting whales for scientific research, but in 2015 the International Court of Justice ruled that Japan's whaling could not reasonably be considered scientific and ordered them to stop.

RELATED: Japan Fleet Kills 333 Whales in Antarctic Hunt

Japan didn't stop though, and during their 2015 - 2016 whaling season, they killed 333 Minke whales in the Antarctic.

So if whaling for scientific research isn't really a thing, and the number of people who actually eat whale meat is significantly declining, why then does Japan continue to hunt and kill whales?

Earlier this year, Rupert Wingfield-Hayes of BBC News spoke with a high-ranking member of the Japanese government about why Japan continues its whaling practices. His answer was vague but gives somewhat of an explanation.

"Antarctic whaling is not part of Japanese culture," he told BBC News. "It is terrible for our international image and there is no commercial demand for the meat. I think in another 10 years there will be no deep sea whaling in Japan [but] there are some important political reasons why it is difficult to stop now."

RELATED: Do Whales Communicate In Different Accents?

Junko Sakuma, who worked for Greenpeace in Japan and has studied Japanese whaling extensively, believes the government official was referring to the fact that if whaling in Japan ceases, it will mean job layoffs under bureaucrats currently in office, which would reflect badly on them.

"If the number of staff in a bureaucrat's office decreases while they are in charge, they feel tremendous shame," she told BBC News. "Which means most of the bureaucrats will fight to keep the whaling section in their ministry at all costs. And that is true with the politicians as well. If the issue is closely related to their constituency, they will promise to bring back commercial whaling. It is a way of keeping their seats."

Essentially, Japan's refusal to give up whaling entirely might be due to certain government officials wanting to preserve their image.
Besides their owners finding them cute, short-nosed dogs are more affectionate and make better guard dogs than long-nosed dogs, a new study suggests.

The research, published recently in the journalPLOS ONE may help explain the growing obsession in some countries, including Australia, with short-nosed dogs.

Animal welfare experts are concerned about evidence that such dogs suffer health effects and are more likely to die younger than dogs with longer noses.

Dogs are given breed awards for extreme features such as flat faces, but the flatter the faces, the more breathing problems there are, often leading to a need for surgery, said Professor Paul McGreevy, an animal behaviour and animal welfare expert at the University of Sydney, who co-authored the new study.

"If people accept short-skulled dogs are likely to cost more, suffer health problems and die earlier, then there must be something else that gets people across the line," Professor McGreevy said.

"Yes the dogs look cute, but I think it's their beguiling behaviour that compensates for the disadvantages of owning them."

There are more than 400 recorded dog breeds of all shapes and sizes, ranging from chihuahuas that are just 20 centimetres high and two kilograms in weight, to Newfoundlands that can reach 70 centimetres and weigh 60 kilograms.

Skull length varies from seven to 28 centimetres in length.

At the short and wide end of the spectrum are the pugs, bulldogs, French and British bulldogs - the so-called brachycephalic dogs.

Then there are the dolichocephalic dogs, with long narrow heads like greyhounds, whippets and Afghans.

In a previous study of 8,000 dogs, McGreevy and colleagues found that small dogs are more likely to be aggressive, unruly and prone to 'humping' compared to larger dogs.

In their latest research, they have analysed data over 60,000 dogs, covering 45 breeds, to examine the relationship between a dog's physical characteristics and its behaviour, assessed using over 60 standardised tests.

Confirming some of the results of the earlier smaller study, the researchers found that, independent of a dog's size, the shape of its skull also strongly influences behaviour.

The latest study found short-nosed dogs were more likely to be affectionate and follow commands than dogs with pointy faces. They were also more likely to chase a toy being lured around the ground, which meant they could be easier to train.

But when threatened by a strange presence, short-nosed dogs were more likely to have the characteristics of a good guard dog - demonstrating defensive aggression such as biting, barking and lunging at a human standing under a sheet, or a cardboard cut-out of a human.

By contrast, dogs with long pointy faces were more likely to be shy and cautious and less aggressive towards strangers, Professor McGreevy said.

"This helps explain why greyhounds don't generally excel as guard dogs and Afghans tend to be aloof, less playful and more fearful than shorter-skulled dogs."

Apart from their behaviour, short-nosed dogs are likely to be more appealing to humans - and hence the star of toilet paper adverts - because the shape of their skull means they have more forward-facing eyes that are spaced further apart, said Professor McGreevy.

He said it's also likely their vision is more like a human's and there is also some evidence that they are better than the long-skulled dogs at following a human's pointing.

But, said Professor McGreevy, the latest evidence shows there is more to our love for these dogs than cuteness.

The issue is, while snub-nosed pooches might be more fun to be with and make better guard dogs,growing concern over their health effects is pause for thought, he said.

"The Norwegian Kennel Club has said that because of the health problem in short-skulled dogs, they're going to change the breed standards so the dogs won't be so short-skulled after all," Professor McGreevy said.

He said while the increasing popularity of short-nosed dogs may well be because most people want dogs to be friendly, good with children and trainable, there is a trade-off to be made.

"We also want long-lived dogs and we're not getting that if we follow this trend," he said.
Scott Braun pulls up a big swirl of color overlaying a map of Florida on his laptop screen. It's Hurricane Matthew chugging up the Florida coastline, flirting with disaster alongside millions of coastal residents.

Braun adjusts his owlish spectacles and traces a red line across the map. It marks the zig-zag path of an unmanned drone that's probing the hurricane during a nine-hour mission.

"It was trying to pass over the storm, but there were some deep thunderstorms up to 60,000 feet," says Braun about the Global Hawk scientific aircraft. "They had to deviate around it and ended up doing this weird pattern."

RELATED: Terrifying Images of Hurricane Matthew's Fury

Braun is inside the data visualization center at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center just outside Washington, DC. A bank of big video monitors display multi-colored maps of the storm. While forecasting Matthew's path is the job of meteorologists at NOAA's National Hurricane Center in Miami, Goddard is where scientists are asking big-picture questions.

For one: why did Hurricane Matthew jump from a Category 1 to a monster Category 5 story so suddenly last Friday?

Even though satellites, drones, airplanes and ocean-going drifters are giving Braun and others huge amounts of data, hurricanes remain a complex natural disaster to both predict and study in real-time. How hurricanes form, intensify and fall apart are still questions that need answers.

"When you are in the middle of an event its not always easy to figure out what you are going to learn from it," Braun said. "There's going to be a lot of people trying to figure out how this storm was able to intensify so rapidly given the appearance of unfavorable conditions."

WATCH VIDEO: Is the Butterfly Effect Real?
Press Release

October 8, 2016 Gordon to UN: Probe Chicago killings too! Senator Richard J. Gordon has questioned the reason for the United Nations (UN) appearing to pick on the Philippines due to the rising number of killings in the country but is quiet about the killings in President Barack Obama's home city, Chicago, USA. During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights on the recently reported killings in the country, Gordon pointed out that, as of October 1 this year, there have been 545 killings in Chicago, which is but one city in the US with a population of 2.9 million. "Nabasa ko ito. Chicago is where President Obama comes from. That was his district. Doon sya galing. Alam niyo ba na in 2016, the City of Chicago has become the crime capital or the murder capital of the United States of America? Bakit hindi ginugulpi ng UN iyan? Bakit hindi ginugulpi na andaming namamatay, presidente pa ng Amerika iyan, dito, presidente ng Pilipinas taga-Davao, bakit ginugulpi naman ang buong Pilipinas?" the senator pointed out. "As of October 1, 2016, there have been 545 killings in Chicago--545! In the Philippines, sa atin, tatlong libo. The whole country with 42,000 barangays, 1,490 municipalities, you have 3,000 killings. Isang siyudad lang sa America limang daan apat na pu't lima, sa atin tatlong libo sa buong Pilipinas. Tama po ba iyan? Kahit na papaano, hindi parehas. Hindi ho ba? When you compare the statistics, one nation against one city, mukhang tagilid, ano? " he added. While stressing that he is not defending anybody in mentioning the Chicago killings, Gordon said the UN should also investigate the situation in Chicago, at the same time gave assurances that the Senate is already investigating the killings in the Philippines to ensure that the rule of law is being followed and the rule book has not been thrown out the window. "So ang tingin ko, one dead is one dead--too many, sobra, kailangang imbestigahin. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. Hindi naman tama iyon. We have not thrown out the rule book. Because the Senate is investigating extrajudicial killings whatever way you want to define it. The law has not been thrown out the window. Kaya huwag kayong matakot sa Pilipinas because the Senate is investigating," he said. Reports said a United Nations rights rapporteur, Agnes Callamard, has disclosed intentions to visit the Philippines to investigate President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on crime, but was seeking security guarantees for people she planned to speak with. Callamard said that she would insist on a range of measures to ensure that those who spoke with her did not face retribution. Duterte earlier said he would allow UN and European Union experts to look into the reported killings since he took office on June 30, however he also challenged them to face him in public debates.
Extortionists posing as Lacson's Senate staff arrested in Bulacan sting

Impostors and namedroppers, be warned. Three persons who claimed to be staff members of Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson and who demanded money from a woman were arrested in a sting operation in Malolos City, Bulacan on Friday, October 7.

Police investigators said the group offered to intercede in a criminal charge, in exchange for money.

A report by Superintendent Ruel Cagape of the Philippine National Police Region 3 Regional Intelligence Division's Special Concerns Unit identified the three as:

Dina Joson Castro, 34 Roberto Fajardo, 51 Ariel Balotro, 35

Seized from them were three mobile phones, two ID cards, and bills including two marked P500 bills. The three now face charges of robbery extortion and usurpation of authority.

Investigation showed Castro introduced herself to Mercedez dela Cruz, whose son faces charges for violating the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition.

Castro, claiming to be a part of Lacson's staff, promised to talk to the inquest prosecutor about the speedy resolution of her son's case so he can post bail. Her group initially convinced dela Cruz to fork out P320,000, assuring her the charges against her son will be dismissed through "intercession" by Lacson's office.

On Oct. 6, Castro contacted Mrs. dela Cruz and demanded another P30,000 for the "early resolution" of her son's case, not knowing Mrs. dela Cruz had reported the matter to the SCU last Sept. 28 and confirmed that Castro is not connected to the senator.

The office of Senator Lacson assures the public it does not engage in - and will not tolerate - actions similar to what Castro and her group did.
Photo courtesy T.W. Ryan Architecture, painting by Wyatt Kahn

Adrian Rosenfeld, who left a major role at the Matthew Marks Gallery last year, has moved to San Francisco and will open his own space. Called simply Adrian Rosenfeld, the gallery will be located at 1150 25th St., next door to the much-anticipated new location of Altman Siegel Gallery. A third space in the same building  which itself is part of the ever-expanding Minnesota Street Project  will house an as-yet-unnamed private collection showcase.

Rosenfeld joined the Matthew Marks Gallery in New York in 1999, where he was a director. One of the most influential galleries internationally, Matthew Marks represents such top figures as Jasper Johns, Nan Goldin, Ellsworth Kelly and Brice Marden. The San Francisco sculptor Vincent Fecteau is also among the gallery artists.
Two teacher couples in San Francisco have managed to do the impossible. No, not score same-day reservations at the French Laundry or walk downtown without smelling urine. Even crazier.

They bought their very own single-family homes. In the city. On their meager salaries.

Its totally, totally crazy, said Bridget Early, 40, a social worker at Everett Middle School in the Mission District who just moved into a $1.1 million home in the Outer Sunset with her husband and two little kids. Its literally completely changed our lives for the better.

Oh my gosh, it feels surreal! agreed Earlys friend, Harini Madhavan, 38, a social worker at James Lick Middle School in Noe Valley. She and her husband and their daughter will move next month to a $967,000 home in the Parkside neighborhood. The move comes just in time, as another baby is on the way.

How did these outlandish events happen? In an unlikely twist, its largely because of city government.

The couples bought the houses with new-and-improved loans from the Mayors Office of Housing, as well as an in-the-know real estate agent, some very patient sellers and just plain good luck.

The odds were certainly stacked against them. The San Francisco Unified School District employs about 3,300 teachers. A Chronicle investigation in May found their average pay of $65,240 ranks 528th out of 821 school districts in the state, despite the citys sky-high housing costs.

Many teachers rent other peoples living rooms or dining rooms, pack together in small apartments or commute very long distances. A few have even lived in single-room-occupancy hotels, hostels or their cars. Many more are just leaving the city and the school district altogether.

The district has 99 vacant teaching positions, many of them in hard-to-staff areas such as special education, math and Spanish.

To help address the affordability crisis for teachers and other middle-income families, the mayors office raised the limit of its Downpayment Assistance Loan Program in July from $200,000 to $375,000. The money must be paid back along with a portion of the appreciation value when the home is sold.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle Show More Show Less



The income limits to qualify for the program were also raised. A family of four may now make up to $169,650 annually to qualify  before, that was capped at $129,250. Two mid-career teachers tend to make just above the old limit.

Jeff Buckley, senior adviser to the mayor on housing, said $19.5 million is available for these loans and that the income rules were changed because middle-income families like those headed by teachers were making too much to qualify for affordable housing programs but far too little to buy homes.

Programs like this will help families buy a home and stay in the city, he said.

Through another teacher friend, Early and Madhavan met Jennifer Rosdail, a real estate agent who has helped several teachers secure city loans. (Full disclosure: She also helped my family buy a small home in Glen Park in 2010.)

Both of the teacher families were on the verge of leaving San Francisco for less-expensive locales and viewed the raised income limits for the Downpayment Assistance Loan Program as their last-ditch effort to stay in the city. When the changes went into effect in early July, the hunt for homes was on.

Like seemingly everything associated with government bureaucracy, nothing about scoring a Downpayment Assistance loan is easy.

For starters, its very hard to qualify. There are way too many requirements to list, but some highlights include not having owned any property of any sort in the past three years, being able to put down 5 percent of the purchase price, and monthly housing costs after purchase cannot be less than 33 percent of household income or more than 40 percent. Also, the property must be a single-family home or condo and not a tenancy-in-common unit.

We barely threaded the needle on five or six things, said Kai King, Earlys husband and a teacher at a private school. With the exception of King, because he doesnt work in the public school district, the teachers also qualified for the citys $20,000 Teacher Next Door loans, which dont need to be repaid if the recipient works in the district for another 10 years.

The Downpayment Assistance loan must follow a first mortgage, which must be a 30-year, fixed-rate loan from a lender approved by the city. For the teacher couples, that came from All California Mortgage. Loan adviser Laura Levine said it is harder working with city government on real estate deals, but its worth it.

People say, Who are the people buying these homes in these different programs? Levine said. Theyre working in your dentists office. Theyre police officers, firefighters, teachers. We want them here.

Only after the first mortgage is done and a deal is struck on a particular house can the buyers apply for the Downpayment Assistance  so the sellers must be OK with a much longer closing period than normal.

In a city where all-cash offers are king, deals have been known to close in five to 10 days. Somewhere around 25 days is normal. Earlys deal took 74 days to close, and Madhavans took a whopping 78 days.

I think for both sellers, there were times they regretted accepting our offers instead of others, but at the end of the day they feel good these families got the house, Rosdail said.

She already has more teachers lined up to go through the Downpayment Assistance Loan Program, but hopes the process becomes quicker. The time it took to get answers from city officials was a zillion years in real estate terms, she said.

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.

The city doesnt really get how the bigger market works, she said.

Buckley said the city understands this problem and is trying to make Downpayment Assistance deals happen more quickly, including allowing buyers to be preapproved before putting offers down on homes.

That was something we heard loud and clear, he said.

Some other steps to improve teacher housing in San Francisco are slowly, but surely, moving forward, too. The school bond on Novembers ballot includes $5 million to build teacher housing, and a bill by state Sen. Mark Leno to allow school districts to build housing for teachers was just signed by the governor. The school district and city have identified two potential plots of land on which to build teacher housing.

While addressing the teacher housing crisis is a very slow process, the two teacher couples are quickly adapting to life as homeowners.

Madhavan, whose husband works for a charter school and didnt want to be named, said she cant believe she has her own backyard just 10 minutes from the beach.

I see this as an amazing experience for my kids, which I didnt think we would ever be able to offer them here in San Francisco, she said.

Early said its a delight to see her kids bounding around the house without downstairs neighbors complaining of the noise. Even the little things, like having her own garbage disposal, make her ecstatic.

Her husband, King, said he still cant believe his family owns a house in San Francisco.

The biggest trip is we dont have to think about moving to Colorado or Portland or Seattle anymore, he said. Were just going to be here until were old, you know?

Heather Knight is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer who covers City Hall politics. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf
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.

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.

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.
Dr. Melvin Grumbach, a San Francisco pediatrician and internationally famed expert on the often controversial issues of hormone development in children, died Tuesday after a heart attack. He was 90.

A longtime professor of pediatric endocrinology at UCSF, Dr. Grumbach pioneered research in the development of sexual differentiation in children before birth, in the gender identity of children born with ambiguous genitalia, and in the varied hormones active in puberty.

In the early days of the technology known as genetic engineering, Dr. Grumbachs research into the nature and function of human growth hormone set the stage for the epochal synthesis of the hormone through recombinant DNA that led to years of controversy over the ethics of its use.

A major question was whether synthetic hormones should be used only for children with an established deficiency in the natural hormone or whether they could be prescribed for any child or teenager with somewhat short stature.

Dr. Grumbach weighed the controversy and ultimately argued vigorously against the medicalization of a childs stature. He counseled that in most cases, the varied height of children was natural and should not be considered as a medical issue.

At the UCSF School of Medicine, where he would be a member of the faculty for 50 years, Dr. Grumbach was recruited from Columbia Universitys medical school in 1966 to become chairman of the department of pediatrics. He served in that role until 1986, crucial years when the school was undergoing a major transformation to a new era of health care, biomedical research and education.

Mel was a true UCSF giant, and he will be missed, said Chancellor Sam Hawgood. In 2010, Dr. Grumbach was awarded the UCSF Medal, the universitys highest honor.

A major issue for parents and their physicians has long revolved around children born with ambiguous genitalia, and many specialists have argued that a childs anatomy should define the childs gender. For example, a genetically male infant born with a very short penis should be considered as female and assigned surgery to correct the supposed defect, those doctors counseled parents.

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.

Dr. Grumbachs views evolved over the years, and he became an influential voice calling on parents and their doctors to allow children with ambiguous genitals to grow up and determine their own gender identity before considering surgery.

He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and during his medical residency at Columbia, he met his future wife, Madeleine, who graduated from the medical school there in 1951. The two were married for 55 years until her death in 2007.

Dr. Grumbach is survived by three sons: Ethan, a psychoanalyst in Los Angeles; Kevin, a UCSF professor and chair of family and community medicine there; and Anthony, a San Francisco attorney; his brother, Lee of Staten Island, N.Y.; and by five grandchildren, Jake, Matt, Aimee, Zoe and Fletcher.

David Perlman is The San Francisco Chronicles science editor. Email: dperlman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @daveperlman
St Lowitsch / Getty Images

A three-alarm fire that tore through a three-story apartment complex in Concord on Friday left four people with minor injuries and 25 without a place to live, officials said.

The fire was reported at 9:30 p.m. at 4625 Clayton Road. Firefighters from Concord, Pleasant Hill, Clayton, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Pittsburg, Bay Point and Antioch all responded to the scene.
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.

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.

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.

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
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

No matter how many stores Blue Bottle Coffee opens  currently 25 and ticking up  there is always a line for espresso. It is a democratizing force even in the power center of Silicon Valley. At the Oakland companys Palo Alto cafe, an army clad in high-end khakis slow-marched Thursday toward a barista station bracketed in gilded curlicues and scuffed Spanish tile, the only measure of their impatience the speed at which thumbs flicked iPhone screens. A few of the pre-caffeinated paused to study the boxes of Blue Bottles newest product: packets of ground coffee that have longtime observers of the company agog.

The Perfectly Ground Coffee release is just one sign of the Oakland companys rapid, well-funded growth. Another: On Monday, 14 years after James Freeman started selling coffee at the Oakland Farmers Market, the company announced that it was expanding to Boston, Miami and Washington by 2018. Blue Bottle is a test case for how big the beyond-Starbucks generation of coffee companies can grow without sacrificing their standards.

We dont talk about expansion, said CEO Bryan Meehan, who joined Blue Bottle in 2012 when a group of investors he led purchased a majority stake in the company. The thing we talk about is improvement.

The companys funding is certainly ever-improving. Unlike Intelligentsia and Stumptown, fellow pioneers of its generation that have been acquired by German holding company Joh. A. Benckiser, Blue Bottle has grown by taking on new investment. The latest round, led by Fidelity in 2015, brought in $70 million, more than doubling the total amount raised in two previous rounds in 2012 and 2014.

Given the pedigrees of the venture capital firms and individual investors who back Blue Bottle  including Morgan Stanley, Index Ventures, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams, and actor Jared Leto  online news sites Recode and Wired have tracked Blue Bottles investment rounds almost as closely as coffee trade publications have.

One source of the close links between Blue Bottle and tech investors, said Jordan Michelman, co-founder of coffee-industry blog Sprudge, may simply be proximity. The two grew up side by side in the Bay Area. So much commerce, deal-making, and tech development has happened in their cafes or over their coffees over the last 15 to 20 years that has seeped back into the destiny of the brand itself, he said.

Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

A case in point: When payments company Square released a new card-swiping stand in 2013, it chose Blue Bottles Mint Plaza cafe as the venue for its introduction. And Blue Bottle has used its venture-backed financial power to buy smaller coffee businesses like Tonx and Perfect Coffee, a strategy straight out of a Silicon Valley playbook.

Blue Bottle opened its first New York store in 2010, and each subsequent round of fundraising has allowed it to move into new cities. In addition to nine Bay Area locations, with three more due this fall, there are seven cafes in New York City, five in Los Angeles and four in Tokyo. The company has 500 employees worldwide.

With the three newest cities, where Blue Bottle will open a total of 10 cafes, the company is changing its growth strategy as well. Unlike the previous four cities, Blue Bottle will not enter each new market with a roastery. Freeman said that, instead, beans will travel quickly from a 20,000-square-foot roasting facility soon to open in Brooklyn, N.Y. Boston and Washington are only hours away. Miami is more of a logistical test, and the company has an older roasting machine ready to ship to Florida if quality dips.

Freeman founded Blue Bottle at the dawn of a nationwide movement to source, roast and brew coffee differently, commonly called the third wave. Rapid expansion isnt the only difference between Blue Bottles approach to growth and that of smaller Bay Area third-wave roasters like Verve and Ritual. Many of its competitors talk up their farm-to-mug approach to brewing coffee, building direct-sales relationships with coffee growers. An almost punk-rock stance toward authenticity pervades the movement.

Blue Bottle, though, has focused from the beginning on creating urban experiences. It bathes in white space, which dominates the companys packaging. Each cafe is polished in the manner of a high-end eyeglass store, not a corporate restaurant chain. There are no brand messages in sight, only customers snapping Instagrams.

Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

Locations are a key part of its strategy. He and Meehan have a lot of shared affinities toward finding buildings we like, Freeman said. That has included stately ones like the Morse Building in Oakland and 115 Sansome in the Financial District, as well as the High Line elevated park in New York City and sites in stylish neighborhoods in Tokyo and Los Angeles.

Though Freeman, now chief product officer, has ceded many of the logistical details of the companys operations and expansion to Meehan and the growing team, his personality  self-effacing, charming, persnickety  continues to be the companys guarantee of quality.

The cafes have refused to grind beans for customers since the beginning, explaining that they didnt want to compromise their own product. In June 2015, Blue Bottle shut down its wholesale business over concerns about how the cafes that bought its beans prepared drinks.

At the same time, the new funding has allowed Blue Bottle to release several packaged goods: New Orleans iced coffee, made with chicory and organic milk, in 2012, and, more recently, small cans of cold-brewed coffee.

Even its Perfectly Ground Coffee shows a mix of high tech and attention to detail. It uses methods developed by Neil Day, a former chief technology officer at Sears and Shutterfly who developed a process to minimize the oxidation that leaves packaged ground coffee tasting flat and stale.

Freeman acknowledges the shock he felt the first time he entered the lab and saw envelopes with Blue Bottles name on them. That was a bad scene because I knew preground coffee was horrible, he said. And (head of quality control) Benjamin Brewer suggested I should try it. We tasted it blind, and it was really good. Blue Bottle acquired Days company, Perfect Coffee, in February 2015, hiring the inventor as principal of coffee technologies.

The company is initially releasing six coffee varieties in packets, each variety ground in several ways according to the users preferred brewing method. Boxes of five single-serving packets retail for $17.50 and have a six-month shelf life. Freeman said Whole Foods may eventually carry the line.

Meehan and Freeman say that their primary focus continues to be the retail stores, which make up 75 percent of their business. The link between the packaged products and the cafes is control. If you buy a New Orleans carton in Whole Foods, the only instructions you need are Open, Freeman said. Its easy for us to be the primary owner.

Meehan says there are no target numbers for new stores or cities. We just want to make sure that when we ask people, is Blue Bottle better in a years time, the answer has got to be yes, he said.

Jonathan Kauffman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jkauffman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jonkauffman

Slow brew for fast growth

August 2002: James Freeman sets up shop at the Oakland Farmers Market

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

December 2003: Starts at the Ferry Plaza Saturday Farmers Market in San Francisco

January 2005: Opens first store, a kiosk in Hayes Valley

January 2008: Opens flagship cafe in Mint Plaza, San Francisco

March 2010: Expands to New York, opening first cafe in Brooklyn

October 2012: Freeman sells controlling share of Blue Bottle, raises $20 million in funding; Bryan Meehan joins the company as executive chairman

January 2014: Announces new $25.75 million round of financing

March 2014: Releases packaged New Orleans iced coffee

April 2014: Acquires Tonx subscription service and Handsome Roasters in Los Angeles, which allows Blue Bottle to open a store in that city

February 2015: Opens first store in Tokyo; acquires Perfect Coffee

May 2015: Announces merger with Tartine Bakery

June 2015: Announces $70 million round of investment

December 2015: Announces Tartine merger will not go through

May 2016: Releases Cold Brew in cans

October 3, 2016: Announces expansion to Washington (3 cafes by 2018), Miami (2 cafes by 2017), and Boston (5 cafes by 2017)

October 4, 2016: Releases Perfectly Ground, packets of ground coffee
Applying for college financial aid just got easier.

Starting this year, students can file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid this month for academic years starting the following fall. Thats three months earlier than the old Jan. 1 start date.

More importantly, applicants will now enter income information from two years before the start of the academic year, rather than the year before. That means more people will be able to transfer information directly from their federal tax return into the application using an Internal Revenue Service data retrieval tool. This tool fills in many parts of the aid application, making the process smoother, more accurate and less likely to trigger a verification request.

Prospective and continuing college students should learn about the new rules so as not to miss out or mess up on financial aid.

For the 2017-18 academic year, students can begin filing the application now rather than waiting until Jan. 1. They will use information from their 2015 tax return.

For the 2016-17 school year that just started, students could not file until Jan. 1, 2016, also using information from their 2015 tax return.

Thats right: For two years in a row, applicants will use their 2015 income. After that, they will always use information from what is being called the prior-prior year. For 2018-19, they will use their 2016 income.

Families must enter information about their assets as of the date they file the application.

Students must file the application, widely known as the FAFSA, to get any type of federal aid including Pell Grants, work study and subsidized or unsubsidized loans. Most states, including California, use the same application to award state aid.

Although students can apply for federal aid at any time, most states require that they file the application by early March to get state aid for the next academic year.

In California, students have until March 2 to file the FAFSA (or the California Dream Act application if they are undocumented) and submit a certified copy of their grade point average to be considered for a Cal Grant for 2017-18.

However, 13 states award state aid on a first-come, first-served basis. Some colleges dole out institutional aid from their own resources the same way. Students seeking this type of aid should apply as soon as possible after Oct. 1, before it runs out.

The Obama administration made these changes to better align tax, financial aid and college admissions deadlines.

Under the old rules, most families who had to file a FAFSA by early March to meet a state deadline had not yet finished their prior years tax return, so they could not use the IRS data retrieval tool. Instead they had to guesstimate their income for the prior year, and update the application after they finished their tax return.

Moving up the start date to Oct. 1, and using the prior-prior years income, allows more families to use the data retrieval tool. This will help more than 4 million families take advantage of the process because their tax data will be readily available, said Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access and Success.

It also reduces the chance of being selected for verification, which requires students to submit documentation to the college financial aid office to support their application. Anything transferred from a tax return, unmodified, is not selected for verification, said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Cappex.com, a financial aid website.

Families who file early also could find out sooner what type of federal, and in some cases state aid, they might receive.

In California, most students who submit their FAFSA or Dream Act application and GPA after Oct. 1 will find out within a week or two if they are eligible for a Cal Grant. In California, public and charter schools are required by law to electronically submit sophomore and junior grades for high school seniors to the California Student Aid Commission, which awards Cal Grants.

We had a 93.7 percent electronic GPA submission rate for the 2016-17 academic year, said Patti Colston, a spokeswoman for the commission. However, the law does not say when schools must upload the grades, and only 13 percent of public and charter schools, mostly in Los Angeles and San Diego, have submitted them for this years high school seniors. Students applying now for 2017-18 might have to submit grades themselves.

Many private colleges require an additional application, called the CSS Profile, to award their own institutional aid. This application is also available Oct. 1.

The U.S. Department of Education is urging colleges to send out financial aid award letters earlier, without moving up their own financial aid deadlines, so that students will have more time to make an informed decision before choosing a college. Most schools require a deposit by May 1.

Its too soon to say how many colleges are complying with this request.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Santiago Mejia/Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Santiago Mejia/Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less



For the University of California system, We are not expecting this will change when new students hear about their financial aid packages. Continuing students may hear a bit earlier, but not significantly earlier, said Shawn Brick, the UC systems associate director for student financial support.

Students have until Nov. 30 to apply for admission to a UC campus. For Cal Grants and UC grants, they must file the FAFSA by March 2. UC campuses begin admitting students in February and March and send out financial aid offers by early April. They will have all of April to review aid packages and make a decision by May 1, Brick said.

While most families will benefit from the new rules, some wont if their 2016 income was lower than their 2015 income, because they must use 2015 income on the application.

Those families can appeal to the school for a review. The school wont substitute the 2016 income, but they will ask, is this a temporary reduction? They might ask for three to five years of tax returns and substitute an average income, Kantrowitz said.

At a FAFSA workshop at Carlmont High School in Belmont Thursday night, Helen Geimer, who was helping fill out an application for her daughter, said she had no problem getting tax data imported into the form. The hardest part of the process, she said was setting up a Federal Student Aid ID, which identifies students and parents when they access federal student aid websites and acts as their electronic signature. Its a much more secure version of the personal identification number it replaced last year.

Its tedious, a burden, but in the best interests of students and families, said Holly Morrow, a vice president with uAspire, a nonprofit focused on college affordability. To minimize confusion, she recommends setting up the ID before starting a FAFSA.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
An 88-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries and died early Saturday morning after a brutal home invasion in September left her in critical condition, police said.

Flo Douglas died at 1:50 a.m. after suffering significant facial and head trauma, said Sgt. Rich Glennon of the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office.

We are deeply saddened by the news, completely shocked, Glennon said.

Zachary Cuen, a 19-year-old San Jose resident, was arrested Sept. 14 for the attack against Douglas and will now be facing murder charges, Glennon added.

The robbery and assault occurred around 8 p.m. on Sept. 12 at Douglas home in the 200 block of North Cragmont Avenue in an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County, near East San Jose.

The jewelry Douglas was wearing and her car were stolen, officials said. Her home was also ransacked.

Sheriff deputies went to her home after her stolen car turned up a block away, causing suspicion, officials added.

Cuen was arrested after being put on around-the-clock surveillance. Carl Neusel, the undersheriff of Santa Clara County, would not say what evidence, if any, the surveillance on Cuen turned up.

A second robber was also suspected in the burglary, but Glennon said police are unable to confirm a second persons involvement. The investigation is continuing.

Douglas nephew, the Rev. Michael Wallace of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Oakland, said his aunt had been living in the community since 1964.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

This petite 88-year-old woman, who is just the bastion of the community and neighborhood we live in, Neusel said of Douglas in a news conference in September. We highly regard her as the sweetest and most kindest person.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
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.

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.

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.

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
Only two handfuls of his hair are gone, but Maan Singh Khalsa says a big part of himself is missing.

As a practicing Sikh, Khalsa said his hair is sacred, and when a group of men attacked him in Richmond and slashed his locks with a knife last month, he felt his faith was under attack.

Without the hair, youre not a full-fledged Sikh, he told The Chronicle on Friday. They would rather die than get their hair cut off. A lot of Sikhs sacrifice their life rather than cut their hair.

The Sikh Coalition, one of the countrys largest advocates for Sikh civil rights, sent a letter to Richmond Police Chief Allwyn Brown and Contra Costa County District Attorney Mark Peterson on Friday urging officials to consider hate crime charges in the Sept. 25 assault of Khalsa.

Chase Byron Little, 31, and Dustin Michael Albarado, 25, were arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon after the incident. A third suspect has not been arrested.

Apart from his hair, Khalsa said he might lose a finger from the knife attack. He also needs three root canals for the damage to his teeth from the blows to his face, he said.

The district attorneys office received the case Friday and plans on charging the suspects next week, said Deputy District Attorney Simon OConnell. Both suspects were currently out on bail.

Khalsa, a 41-year-old information technology specialist, told police he was stopped at a red light at Blume and Hilltop drives about 8:45 p.m. when a white, four-door F-150 Ford pickup truck pulled alongside him.

He said one of the men in the truck threw a beer can at his car, prompting Khalsa to get out of his vehicle, pick up the beer can and chuck it back at the men while yelling, You forgot something.

As the light changed to green, Khalsa turned right on Hilltop Drive and the truck followed him to the next stoplight at the intersection at the Interstate 80 overpass. When the truck pulled up next to him, he called 911 as he waited at the red light, he said.

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.

Khalsa said three men got out of the truck and punched him through his open car window, which caused his turban to fall off. One man shouted, Cut his f hair off, and another began slicing a knife through his locks.

Trying to fend off the attack, Khalsa raised his arm and the knife slashed his right hand. He then sped off to escape the assailants, who were detained that night by police. Although the suspects did not use racial epithets, their decision to cut the victims hair suggests the crime was motivated by Khalsas religion, said Harsimran Kaur, legal director for the Sikh Coalition.

In its letter, the coalition demanded officials appropriately punish any violence potentially fueled by bigotry, Kaur said.

Hate crimes dont only terrorize individuals, they terrorize communities, she said. This has really raised concerns of the broader Sikh community in the Bay Area. We want to make sure the biased nature of the crime is investigated and prosecuted.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
The very nice people at the Adobe studio in the Minnesota Street Project invited me to check out their ongoing dialogue with the artists who work in studio spaces at the building.

As my colleague Leah Garchik explained in her column this week, Adobe, the San Jose computer software company, has a studio space at the project for one of its technology research teams. Adobe subsidizes the cost of artists studio spaces at 1240 Minnesota St., across the street from gallery spaces that are open to the public.

So far, so good, I thought  were talking about a classic patronage model, like Renaissance Italy.

In a classic, Renaissance-style patronage model, the new wealthy class demonstrates not just its taste but also its social and economic power by providing handpicked artists with reliable incomes in exchange for products demonstrating the patrons greatness.

I wondered: So what were the products Adobe was getting out of this?

I believed that rent subsidies for studio space in the Dogpatch neighborhood in 2016-era San Francisco were every bit as valuable to local artists as stable incomes and reputations for genius were to Botticelli and Tintoretto. But Adobe isnt the kind of company to commission portraits of the companys founders. And the Minnesota Street Project is, as artist studio director Brion Nuda Rosch told me, a philanthropic for-profit venture.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

What Adobe wants in return for its patronage is something that sounds complicated at first. In reality, its quite simple.

When I arrived at the studio, Lisa Temple, Adobes head of community innovation and collaboration, told me all about the companys desire to position our staff in a place where they can have innovative conversations.

I nodded and smiled brightly, and then I went back to asking gauche questions about money. How much was Adobe providing in the way of rent subsidies for the artists?

We dont disclose that, Temple said. This is about conversation and dialogue.

I asked Rosch how much Minnesota Street charged the artists for rent.

He shook his head. No dice.

Temple talked some more about creating connections between staff and the artists in the space and added that the possibilities are endless.

Clearly, Id need to take another tack.

In Adobes studio space, designer-programmer Erik Natzke was working on virtual reality projects. He told me about the difficulty of trying to work with three-dimensional tools on a two-dimensional screen.

I must have looked confused  I was thinking about paintbrushes and canvas, a two- and three-dimensional combination that human beings have used perfectly well for centuries  so he strapped me into the VR helmet and let me dance around with the wands.

It was great fun, even if the experience left me skeptical that the promised VR revolution will come as immediately as technology companies keep claiming it will. (Feeling seasick comes with the territory, and even early adopters arent eagerly chasing nausea.) But I really tuned in when Natzke started talking about what he got out of working at Minnesota Street.

I wanted to leverage the creative process, Natzke said. The creative process is more analog, more intuitive than logic and engineering. This is elevated user research.

Leverage  influence or power used to achieve a desired result, according to Merriam-Webster. In this case, the desired result is better software, which will continue to make Adobe far richer than any of the artists in those subsidized studios can imagine.

We walked through the studio spaces and met some of the artists, all of whom were just as nice as their patrons.

Later, I looked at the bios of the studios artistic residents. Theyre an impressive group, with loads of awards, residencies and degrees, ranging from multidisciplinary artists such as Miguel Arzabe to photographers like Erica Deeman.

None of these artists needs patrons to ensure their professional success. Yet the cost of rent in the Bay Area is such that they need patrons for that most basic of things  studio space  and what a devil of a deal theyre getting for it.

Unlike those Italian Renaissance patrons, Adobe is using the artists to develop its own wealth rather than to reflect its own glory. The artists will help Adobes bottom line, and Adobes richer employees will continue putting pressure on the cost of living in the Bay Area, thereby forcing them to seek more patronage. At least Botticelli and Tintoretto got to hear about their genius.

Caille Millner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cmillner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @caillemillner
When chef Thomas McNaughton thinks about what went wrong in the first four years of his recently revamped Mission restaurant, Central Kitchen, alliums are high on the list.

Central Kitchen is the follow-up to his hugely successful northern Italian spot, Flour + Water, but it never quite caught on with diners or critics. Its not like the alliums themselves  the plant genus that includes onions, ramps, leeks and chives  were to blame for the restaurants lackluster reception. But looking back, McNaughton sees the words frequent presence on the menu as part of Central Kitchen 1.0s cardinal sin: It was trying so hard to be different that it veered into becoming pretentious.

The perception of a dish starts with how you write the menu item, McNaughton says. We went down this rabbit hole at Central Kitchen, where the mantra for so long was: Is this dish going to sound interesting? Interesting always leads to weird. Its an onion. Just call it out for what it is.

When most of us think about our experience at a particular restaurant, we usually think of the food, or the decor, or the companions. If we think about the menu at all, it's as little more than a road map to get through the meal.

But that piece of paper is actually influencing your night in large and small ways. Its length, typography and paper type give you subtle clues about the class of restaurant youre in. Its layout steers you toward the meal that the kitchen wants you to have.

Most importantly, the dishes on a menu  and the way theyre described  can have a profound effect on your comfort level. If you dont know what an allium is or how to pronounce it, would you order that dish? And if too many dishes on the menu are too complicated or foreign-sounding, would you come back?

The modern San Francisco establishment is not looking for that one-time big-hit thing  theyre looking for repeat customers, says Robert Van Horne, whose firm, r.vH design, works with midrange restaurants like Frances, Delfina, Belcampo and Union Squares forthcoming Rambler. What theyre really trying to do is say, through price and layout: How can we coax our guests to have the best experience? How do we get someone to understand what were doing here?

Like so many aspects of the restaurant industry in San Francisco right now, this can require a bit of innovation. As restaurants deal with thin margins, high rents, labor costs and all the other struggles of operating in the city in 2016, some are looking to the menu to rewrite the dining experience. This could be something as small as listing meat as a side instead of a main course, like Als Place does, or offering family-style tasting menus, like at Mister Jius. Cocktail bar Trick Dog keeps current with frequent and fanciful design changes, while State Bird Provisions has done away with its menu almost entirely.

Are these gimmicks? Some of them could be construed as such. But in another light, theyre strong tools to help diners adapt to the realities of eating out in this day and age  and perhaps pushing the restaurant world forward in the process.

Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle

The modern menu, as in a list of foods that the kitchen will prepare for you, has been around for about 200 years. Its optimization has become a science in the last few decades. Menu consultants like Gregg Rapp have been advising both major chains and mom-and-pop spots for 35 years against such blunders as putting dollar signs next to the price, which reminds people that theyre spending money, or calling a dish Joes Special instead of Joes Lasagna Special, which makes them think too much.

Reading is work to a person, and when youre out for dinner, you want to do the least amount of work to get the best result, says Rapp. When someone gets overwhelmed or frustrated, they shut down and default to the easiest and safest thing on the menu. Its his job to make sure that they dont just order the burger or chicken fingers.

To keep diners from doing this, menu designers have a number of tools at their disposal. Many believe that people read menus like they read newspapers, so the most important things should be in the upper right corner, where the eye goes first. Boxes can call attention to something the kitchen wants you to order, like a rib eye steak for two. You can put a very expensive item next to the sort of expensive item that you actually want to sell, like a half seafood tower instead of a whole one  it makes people think theyre getting a bargain. And theres an entire science around the psychology of pricing, as in making something $17 instead of $20.

Theres also a more subtle, almost unconscious, language to writing a menu, says Dan Jurafsky, a linguistics professor at Stanford University and author of The Language of Food. He and a team of peers recently analyzed the language of 6,500 menus from seven cities in the United States. They then compared those findings to historical menus from a century ago.

They found that the language of menus is universal and consistent over the past century. Fancier restaurants, which included the Saisons and Lazy Bears of the world, but also the Octavias and Rich Tables, had significantly fewer words on their menu  a call to the minimalism of luxury goods, perhaps. But those words often had several more syllables than the less-expensive restaurants, not necessarily intentionally. Our senses of whats fancy are very innate and very intuitive, Jurafsky says.

More affordable restaurants, on the other hand, used a lot more words to tell stories about their dishes. They emphasized customer choice (chicken or beef, fries or salad, white or wheat, scrambled or over-easy) while the higher-end restaurants emphasized chefs choice. And more expensive restaurants rely more on staff to interpret the menu and to keep people from defaulting to that burger; less-expensive restaurants rely on descriptors like crunchy and delicious, or frequent callbacks to home cooking.

An interesting mix of the two reveals itself in the new generation of fine-casual San Francisco restaurants like Souvla and Little Gem, which mimic the minimal menus of higher-end restaurants but offer lower prices and casual service. The abbreviated menus help with kitchen efficiency, but the restaurants are designed to appeal to customers who may not be drawn to the home-style, low-end restaurants.

Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle

Then there are the places that are taking real risks, like State Bird Provisions, that ever-popular Fillmore restaurant that serves California cuisine dim-sum style via carts, and barely has a printed menu at all. For chef and co-owner Stuart Brioza, the menuless format allows for two things. First, it helps the kitchen use all of the parts of the whole animals that they butcher in-house, thus cutting down on food costs: They can use the fillets of fish for more composed entrees, then send around the extra bits, like fried fish tails, on dim sum trays that are often picked up by diners.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Theres another cause at play, however: Brioza suspected that he could sell more food if people saw it in front of them. Food printed on paper doesnt sell nearly as well as when its right in front of you in all its glory, he says. Early in State Birds life, he tried an experiment with one of their most popular dishes, the pork-kimchi-tofu stew. When it was put on a paper menu, they sold just three by 9:30 p.m. Then he put six on a tray and they were gone in three minutes. We can sell anything when its right in front of you, he says. Its so easy.

The experimentation at State Bird and its family-style sister restaurant, the Progress, has led the team to create a new language in the kitchen to fire orders and expedite. Its also been inspiring to other restaurants. When Brandon Jew was opening Mister Jius, the 6-month-old Chinatown restaurant that serves a banquet-style tasting menu, he took cues from the Progress. Not only did he have to develop stations differently than any other restaurant hed worked in, but he had to rethink how he sent out courses to keep customers comfortable with the new format. Ive had to learn on the fly a lot of how to make this experience feel good for people because its so new to them, Jew says.

Of course, we live in San Francisco, where most of us are happy to be persuaded to eat duck hearts and sea beans and whatever else. Most of us thought that adding the meat as a side at the Missions tiny Als Place was weird at first. Now, chef Aaron London says theyve had to create a new section in their point-of-sale system for people who had started to order multiple sides of hanger steak for the table as theyre eating, the same way theyd order mashed potatoes at a steak house.

But even with our experimentation, we still seek comfort. At Flour + Water, McNaughton has seen this play out in a fundamental way: a dish of maltagliati, a type of pasta from Italys Emilia-Romagna region thats made from the off-cuts, wont sell, no matter how much braised pork or other popular ingredients he piles on it. Then he changes to more popular pasta styles like rigatoni or pappardelle  and it sells like crazy.

He applied some of those lessons to Central Kitchen, whose menu, scrubbed of the word alliums, now includes more pasta and other easy-to-love items as well as the weirder bits.

We still have the pig ears, McNaughton says. Its just how we make the pig ears sound that makes the difference.

Anna Roth is a freelance writer in San Francisco. Email: food@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annaroth
CHICAGO  Jeff Samardzijas three-run, 47-pitch first inning at Wrigley Field on Sept. 1 did not dissuade the Giants from giving him the ball for Game 2 on Saturday night rather than holding back for a potential Game 4 at AT&T Park.

Jeff has been throwing the ball well, manager Bruce Bochy said. You look at his work the last six, seven weeks. Really, its his turn, so he gets the start.

Samardzija will face Kyle Hendricks in Game 2, with Madison Bumgarner against Jake Arrieta in Game 3. If there is a Game 4, Matt Moore will face John Lackey.

Bochy said Samardzija will be available in relief when the series moves to San Francisco.

Samardzija appreciated Bochys faith in him.

We didnt really get too far in depth why he made his decision, he said. Im going to take it as he has confidence in me, and Im not going to let him down.

Samardzija was with the Cubs from his 2008 big-league debut until his midseason trade to Oakland in 2014. The emotion of retaking the Wrigley mound might have affected his pitching, although he would not concede that. He said he pitched well after the first inning until his exit after four innings. Indeed, he did not allow another run.

Obviously, everything is a little different when you pitched in one place for so long and you have to go do it on the other side, Samardzija said. Im really not worried about that much. Im just excited that Im getting an opportunity to pitch in a playoff game, which, for me, have been few and far between.

In fact, Samardzija has one postseason inning, as a rookie, and allowed a run against the Dodgers in the Division Series.

Roster moves: Moores addition to the 25-man Division Series roster was one of six changes from the wild-card roster. The Giants added reliever Ty Blach and third baseman Eduardo Nunez, and removed reliever Steven Okert, infielder Ehire Adrianza and outfielder Jarrett Parker.

Yusmeiro Petits six shutout innings in the Giants 18-inning win in Game 2 of the 2014 Division Series at Washington played into the Giants decision to add Blach, who can provide multiple innings.

Its hard to go into a series like this without a long guy, Bochy said. We saw what happened in Washington. We had two long guys there, Petit and (Tim) Lincecum. Id love to have Okert, too, but we had to trim it down.

The Giants added Nunez when they were persuaded he could pinch-hit in Game 1. He did so in the ninth inning (for Brandon Belt), and grounded out to second.

Sticking with Cueto: Bochy said he would have pinch-hit for Johnny Cueto in the eighth Friday night had the Giants gotten baserunners. Hunter Strickland would have pitched the eighth. Instead, Bochy let Cueto hit with two outs and pitch the eighth, when he allowed the Javier Baez homer.

Briefly: Baezs homer broke a 23-inning postseason scoreless streak by Giants pitchers going back to the third inning of Game 7 of the 2014 World Series. ... The Cubs won a 1-0 postseason game for the first time since Game 4 of the 1906 World Series.

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
This is one motha of a cover.

The Chronicles front page from Oct. 8, 1963, features a story about a son suing his mother, and that might not be the most ridiculous story on the page.

John C. Hickey, a proud lawyer from Reno, is not one to sit idly by while someone goes around telling everybody hes nothing but a drunkard, the story read. Thats why hes suing his mother for $700,000, he said yesterday.

The suit that Hickey, 63, filed in Superior Court here charges his mother, Grace B. Hickey, 86, with defamation and invasion of privacy.

Accusing the woman who birthed you with invasion of privacy? Cmon, John.

Other classic stories that somehow made this front page:

An extended photo caption headlined So Naaaaah! tells the story of a jilted lover who crashed the wedding of his former flame. Her response, captured by an Associated Press photographer and slapped on The Chronicles front page: a tongue lashing, so to speak.

A story near the top of the page relays the information that Frank Sinatra planned to relinquish his gambling interests in Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas. Apparently he had done enough winning in his life.

And, near the bottom of the page, The Chronicle published this gem:

State narcotics agents solved one mystery and developed a new one yesterday.

Last week they dumped a batch of contraband drugs into the ocean about 12 miles off San Francisco.

On Sunday, sunbathers found bottles of drugs (primarily Methedrine, a powerful stimulant) washed up on Daly Citys Thornton Beach.

Narcotics agents rushed to the spot and took over the scavenger hunt, which netted some 130 vials.

Had the bottles of contraband returned to shore?

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.

A pure coincidence, said Matthew OConnor, San Francisco chief for the state Narcotics Bureau.

See more front pages: Go to SFChronicle.com/covers to search a database of hundreds of Chronicle Covers articles that showcase the newspapers history.

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

(Click to enlarge)




The unorthodox Donald Trump campaign is not only rejecting mainstream media, mainstream media are rejecting him to a historic degree. As of late last week, Trump had not been endorsed by a single major American newspaper, an unprecedented shutout for a Republican or Democratic nominee.

Editorial boards that have been reliably Republican for a century or more have turned against Trump and endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton or Libertarian Gary Johnson (see chart). USA Today, which has not endorsed a presidential candidate in its 34-year-history, emerged from the neutral zone to declare Trump a serial liar who traffics in prejudice and is unfit for the presidency. It stopped short of explicitly endorsing Clinton, but admonished readers not to resist the siren song of a dangerous demagogue.

Will the cascade of condemnation make a difference?

The conventional wisdom, supported by an succession of studies over the years, suggests that the influence of newspaper editorials is inversely proportional to the profile of the race. Readers have shown more willingness to defer to outside judgment on a judicial election or an arcane ballot measure than on a gubernatorial, U.S. Senate or presidential campaign.

In fact, 69 percent of respondents to a 2008 Pew Research Center study said the endorsement of their local newspaper would have no effect on how they voted for president. Of the rest of the respondents, about half said they would be more likely to vote for the endorsed candidate and half said they would be less likely to vote that way.

However, there is an exception: the impact of the surprise endorsement.

A 2008 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research of Cambridge, Mass., found that endorsements that break from an editorial boards anticipated allegiances have enhanced clout.

Endorsements for the Democratic candidate from left-leaning newspapers are less influential than are endorsements from neutral or right-leaning newspapers, and likewise for endorsements for the Republican, the authors observed.

This election has produced no shortage of such surprises.

The Chicago Sun-Times had stopped making presidential endorsements in 2012, but reversed course this year, explaining, the best way to avert a train wreck is to wave a warning flag as soon as possible. The Atlantic magazine endorsed Clinton, just the third time in its 160-year history that it made a presidential recommendation. The others? Abraham Lincoln over Stephen Douglas in 1860 and President Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater in 1964.

The usually Republican-leaning Houston Chronicle drew attention for its emphatic endorsement of Clinton just a day after the Democratic convention in July. As with many endorsements this year, the forceful language was as striking as the bottom line: his erratic temperament, his dodgy business practices, his racism, his Putin-like strongman inclinations and faux-populist demagoguery, his contempt for the rule of law, his ignorance  is enough to be disqualifying, the Houston Chronicle said of Trump.

I should note that both the Houston Chronicle and San Francisco Chronicle are owned by the Hearst Corp., which allows it newspaper editorial boards to draw their independent judgments. Houstons 2008 endorsement of Democrat Barack Obama was a rare exception; it had previously endorsed Republicans going back to 1964, when it broke with tradition to recommend Johnson. Our newspaper has endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee since 1996; before that it had consistently endorsed Republicans, with the 1964 exception. We endorsed Clinton on Aug. 7.

I dont think anyone would argue that even a surprise presidential endorsement could make more than a small percentage difference with a newspapers readership. Yet in this polarized nation, with the race essentially reduced to a few battleground states, a point or two could be consequential.

Donald Trump may argue that the media are against him, but the opposition from some of the nations most devoutly conservative newspapers shows that he cant blame it on party preference or liberal bias.

Its about him.

John Diaz is The San Francisco Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com On Twitter: @JohnDiazChron

Running from the Republican ticket

Among the traditionally GOP-supportive publications that have endorsed someone other than Donald Trump in 2016:

San Diego Union-

Tribune

History: Has not endorsed Democrat since Union was founded in 1868

2016 choice: Hillary Clinton

Editorial: Terrible leaders can knock nations off course ... Trump could be our (Hugo) Chavez, our (Cristina) Kirchner. We cannot take that risk.

Detroit News

History: Endorsed every Republican presidential nominee since its 1873 founding

2016 choice: Gary Johnson

Editorial: Donald Trump is unprincipled, unstable and quite possibly dangerous.

Arizona Republic

History: Endorsed every Republican presidential nominee since its 1890 founding

2016 choice: Hillary Clinton

Editorial: The 2016 Republican candidate is not conservative and he is not qualified.

Cincinnati Enquirer

History: Endorsed every Republican presidential nominee since 1916

2016 choice: Hillary Clinton

Editorial: Trump is a clear and present danger to our country.

Dallas Morning News

History: Endorsed every Republican nominee since 1940 (except 1964, when it was neutral on Goldwater-Johnson)

2016 choice: Hillary Clinton

Editorial: Trump plays on fear  exploiting base instincts of xenophobia, racism and misogyny  to bring out the worst in all of us.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Even Alan Cumming, who is famous for playing the seductive, provocatively clad emcee in Cabaret on Broadway  as well as for his LGBT activism and what he calls his all-around sex positivity  can be overwhelmed by modesty.

On the Castro Theatre stage for a recent Commonwealth Club event celebrating the publication of his new book, You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams: My Life in Stories and Pictures, the Scottish actor found himself momentarily tongue-tied when moderator Cleve Jones asked him to read aloud a particularly racy chapter titled Fleshbot.

Ooh, I cant believe you asked me to do this with my mother-in-law here, said a suddenly bashful Cumming. His husband of nine years, illustrator Grant Shaffer, grew up in Piedmont, and the couple frequently visit the Bay Area.

Sorry, Randi, said Cumming, 51, laughing as he buried his salt-and-pepper hair in his hands.

It was a moment of uncommon reserve for Cumming, who is no stranger to the nude selfie and has been outspoken about his bisexuality. (He was previously married for eight years to actress Hilary Lyon.)

Yet the veteran entertainers public persona as a cheeky and charming provocateur quickly kicked in as he read his witty account of receiving a long-coveted sex toy in his celebrity goody bag at the sex blog Fleshbots Sex Fashion Awards.

I used to be a little bored and even bothered by the whole Hes this naughty pixie characterization in the media, Cumming said over a drink at his hotel before the Commonwealth Club event.

I felt being infantilized in some way demeaned my strength, my masculinity, he said, casually dressed a black T-shirt and bright red Crocs. But its in the right ballpark. I am sexually fluid. Im good at androgyny and mischievous, but Im not at all femme-y. Im a real man, so that childlike thing was hard to make sense of. Now what I think they meant was that I am all about joy.

Cummings delight in lifes unexpectedly joyful experiences  of which hes had plenty in his fortunate career  runs throughout the 45 essays in Youve Gotta Get Bigger Dreams, his third book. (He wrote a best-selling 2014 memoir about growing up with an abusive father, Not My Fathers Son, and a loosely autobiographical 2012 novel about a hedonistic bisexual Londoner, Tommys Tale.)

Cumming quickly rose to fame in the U.S. for his stage and screen work after moving to New York from London in 1998. He won a Tony Award that year for Cabaret, in the role he reprised, with Michelle Williams, to great acclaim in 2014.

Will I do Cabaret again in another 16 years? he jokes. Sure. And Ill play Fraulein Schneider next time.

Cummings movie credits include X2, Spy Kids and Any Day Now, and in May he wrapped up seven seasons on The Good Wife as hardball political consultant Eli Gold, who was loosely based on Rahm Emanuel.

Im really glad I was a part of the series all the way through, Cumming said. I felt it was a great triumph of an artistic process in what is usually a very unartistic medium.

Cumming has recently been touring the world with his one-man cabaret show, Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs, and he will star as a former CIA operative in a new CBS series, Dr. Death, now in development.

Cummings new book is rife with entertaining anecdotes, as well as personal reflections and at times shrewdly insightful commentary on his adopted country. (He became an American citizen in 2008.)

The actor describes awkwardly meeting, then riotously bonding over a dirty joke, with Elizabeth Taylor at a party at Carrie Fishers house; his ultimately disheartening friendship with Gore Vidal (There was no joy in him, which I found terribly upsetting, he says); and his Oprah-obsessed friend Eddies dream-come-true moment of having his photo taken with Winfrey, who delivered the one-liner that became the book title.

A lifelong photographer who started snapping selfies (old school, with a self-timer) decades before the term existed, Cumming illustrates his essays with quirky snaps of himself, his husband; his beloved dog, Honey; famous friends (Monica Lewinsky, Cyndi Lauper, Iman); and numerous close-ups of body parts: Eva Mendes breasts, Glenn Closes back, Iris Apfels hands, and loads of outstretched legs on hotel beds and anonymous hairy chests.

Cumming admits he loves to dish, but his stories frequently revolve around his most loyal friendships. He calls Lewinsky one of his dearest friends and really a kind of martyr in terms of how modern, early Internet America vilified her.

Monicas a big leftie and will still vote for Hillary, he says, but obviously, having Hillary back in the news is a double-edged sword for her because shes trying to get on with her life.

Even when discussing theater, Cumming, who describes himself as more left-wing than middle-ground American parties, circles back to the subject of politics.

Part of the reason I did Cabaret again was because it deals with issues that are so relevant right now, the idea of being vigilant as a society about what can creep in when there is fear mongering and vilifying the Other, he says. I look on with such horror at the rhetoric of fear in this election, just as I did at the Brexit vote. It really is fascism for dummies.

I love this country, but I dont understand the idea on the right that you dont have to take care of other people, Cumming said to applause at the Castro. I think of it like having a party. If someones not having fun at my party, then Im not having fun, either, and its, well, just not a good party. Life should be just like that.

Jessica Zack is a freelance writer who frequently covers art and film for The San Francisco Chronicle.
It has been six months since the Justice Department backed off on demands that Apple help the FBI break the security of a locked iPhone.

But the government has not given up the fight with the tech industry. Open Whisper Systems, a San Francisco maker of a widely used encryption app called Signal, received a subpoena in the first half of the year for subscriber information and other details associated with two phone numbers that came up in a federal grand jury investigation in Virginia.

The subpoena arrived with a court order that said Open Whisper Systems was not allowed to tell anyone about the information request for one year.

Technology companies contend that court-imposed gag orders are being used too often by law enforcement and that they violate the Bill of Rights. The companies also complain that law enforcement officials are casting a wide net over online communications  often too wide  in their investigations.

Justice Department officials argue that these gag orders are necessary to protect developing cases and to avoid tipping off potential targets. The officials say that they are simply following leads where they take them.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the case.

The information request made of Open Whisper Systems is particularly sensitive, since its encryption app is used around the world, and it is often recommended to journalists and human rights activists.

Microsoft sued the Justice Department over the gag order practice in April, arguing that law enforcement was relying on these orders too often. Specifically, the software giant said the gag orders violate the Fourth Amendment right of its customers to know if the government searches or seizes their property and also the companys First Amendment right to speak to its customers.

Microsoft also complained that the orders often came without time limits, unlike the Open Whisper Systems order. Dozens of other technology, media and civil liberties groups filed briefs supporting Microsoft last month, and the case is pending.

Part of the gag order on Open Whisper Systems was lifted after a court challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union, and redacted versions of documents related to the information request were made public last week. But the company was still not allowed to tell specific account holders about the investigation.

The documents made public show that the government asked Open Whisper Systems to turn over data associated with two telephone numbers, including Web browsing histories and data stored in the tracking cookies of the Web browsers attached to those accounts. But one of Signals biggest draws is that it does not collect most of that information.

The Signal service was designed to minimize the data we retain, said Moxie Marlinspike, the founder of Open Whisper Systems. Marlinspike said Signal uses a technology called end-to-end encryption that keeps the service from gaining access to the contents of its users messages. The company also does not store information on those with whom its users are communicating.

Civil liberties lawyers argue that the Justice Department request fell well outside the bounds of what is typically covered by a subpoena, including basic subscriber information. Additional information, such as computer logs or content, would require a search warrant under the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

The Justice Department is pushing the envelope, said Jennifer Granick, director of civil liberties at the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society. Big companies like Apple and Microsoft have the wherewithal to push back, she said. But smaller companies may cave, rather than risk an expensive fight.

The Justice Department came to Open Whisper with a menu of information needs, including subscriber details, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and method of payment. The request went on to demand information on Internet addresses, browsers and Internet providers that the account holders could have used, according to court records.

One of the phone numbers the government was investigating was not a Signal user after all. For the other phone number, Open Whisper turned over the only pieces of data it could: the time the users account had been created and the last time it had connected to the service  far less than the government sought.

In other circumstances, the government has tried to force companies via court order to re-engineer their services to collect missing pieces of information, as it did with Apple earlier this year and in a similar case in 2013 against Lavabit, a small encrypted-messaging service used by former defense contractor Edward Snowden. The government did not make that request of Open Whisper Systems.

They need to pick those cases carefully, Granick said. They are only picking cases where they think theyre going to have the people on their side.

Companies are having some success in getting courts to lift gag orders. Last year, Nicholas Merrill, the owner of a now-defunct Internet service provider, got a gag order lifted, though it took more than a decade. After the court decision in Merrills case, a federal judge in New York denied gag orders in more than a dozen cases related to Facebook subpoenas in May. And in June, Yahoo got a court to lift gag orders on a number of law enforcement information requests.

Gag orders should be used in exceptional cases, said Brett Kaufman, the staff attorney with the ACLU who represented Open Whisper Systems. This one demonstrates that the exception has become the rule in routine proceedings.
Only two handfuls of his hair are gone, but Maan Singh Khalsa says a big part of himself is missing.

As a practicing Sikh, Khalsa said his hair is sacred, and when a group of men attacked him in Richmond and slashed his locks with a knife last month, he felt his faith was under attack.

Without the hair, youre not a full-fledged Sikh, he told The Chronicle on Friday. They would rather die than get their hair cut off. A lot of Sikhs sacrifice their life rather than cut their hair.

The Sikh Coalition, one of the countrys largest advocates for Sikh civil rights, sent a letter to Richmond Police Chief Allwyn Brown and Contra Costa County District Attorney Mark Peterson on Friday urging officials to consider hate crime charges in the Sept. 25 assault of Khalsa.

Chase Byron Little, 31, and Dustin Michael Albarado, 25, were arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon after the incident. A third suspect has not been arrested.

Apart from his hair, Khalsa said he might lose a finger from the knife attack. He also needs three root canals for the damage to his teeth from the blows to his face, he said.

The district attorneys office received the case Friday and plans on charging the suspects next week, said Deputy District Attorney Simon OConnell. Both suspects were currently out on bail.

Khalsa, a 41-year-old information technology specialist, told police he was stopped at a red light at Blume and Hilltop drives about 8:45 p.m. when a white, four-door F-150 Ford pickup truck pulled alongside him.

He said one of the men in the truck threw a beer can at his car, prompting Khalsa to get out of his vehicle, pick up the beer can and chuck it back at the men while yelling, You forgot something.

As the light changed to green, Khalsa turned right on Hilltop Drive and the truck followed him to the next stoplight at the intersection at the Interstate 80 overpass. When the truck pulled up next to him, he called 911 as he waited at the red light, he said.

Khalsa said three men got out of the truck and punched him through his open car window, which caused his turban to fall off. One man shouted, Cut his f hair off, and another began slicing a knife through his locks.

Trying to fend off the attack, Khalsa raised his arm and the knife slashed his right hand. He then sped off to escape the assailants, who were detained that night by police. Although the suspects did not use racial epithets, their decision to cut the victims hair suggests the crime was motivated by Khalsas religion, said Harsimran Kaur, legal director for the Sikh Coalition.

In its letter, the coalition demanded officials appropriately punish any violence potentially fueled by bigotry, Kaur said.

Hate crimes dont only terrorize individuals, they terrorize communities, she said. This has really raised concerns of the broader Sikh community in the Bay Area. We want to make sure the biased nature of the crime is investigated and prosecuted.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
PALM SPRINGS  Two Palm Springs police officers trying to resolve a family dispute were shot to death Saturday when a man they had been speaking with suddenly pulled out a gun and opened fire on them, the citys police chief said.

A third officer was wounded, and the shooter was not immediately apprehended.

It was a simple family disturbance and he elected to open fire on a few of the guardians of the city, said police Chief Bryan Reyes.

The chief, near tears, identified the slain officers as Jose Gil Gilbert Vega and Lesley Zerebny.

Police said Zerebny recently returned to the force from maternity leave after giving birth to a now-4-month-old daughter. Vega, the father of eight, was a 35-year veteran who planned to retire in December. The wounded officer was not identified.

Reyes said the three officers were standing near the front door speaking with the man, trying to negotiate with the suspect to just comply, when he suddenly shot them. He said the shooter was not apprehended and may still be in the house. SWAT officers had the residence surrounded.

Dozens of law enforcement officers converged on the normally quiet residential neighborhood in the high desert resort city after the shooting. They sealed off several blocks and evacuated some residents.

Police Sgt. William Hutchinson said officers were warning people already inside their homes to stay there, lock their doors and not answer them until further notice.

A neighbor, Frances Serrano, said she called authorities after the father of the shooting suspect came to her house across the street and told her his son was acting crazy.
CHARLESTON, S.C.  A weakening Hurricane Matthew lashed Georgia and the Carolinas on Saturday in what appeared to be the last leg of its march up the East Coast, leaving in its wake millions of Americans relieved that the powerful storm wasnt as ruinous as feared.

The hurricane was blamed for at least 10 deaths in the U.S., including that of a 68-year-old Georgia man who died when two trees fell on his home. And hundreds were killed by Matthew in Haiti.

But in many places along the Southeast coast, the damage consisted mostly of flooded streets, flattened trees and power failures.

As the storm passed and the skies cleared, many people were already cleaning up, reopening their businesses or hitting the beach. The power started coming back on. And all three major theme parks in Orlando, including Walt Disney World, were up and running.

We are all blessed that Matthew stayed off our coast, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. We are blessed that we didnt have a direct hit.

On Saturday, Matthew sideswiped two of the Souths oldest and most historic cities  Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, S.C.  and also brought torrential rain and stiff wind to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Wilmington, N.C. From there, it is expected to veer out to sea, lose steam and loop back around toward the Bahamas and Florida, too feeble to cause any trouble.

For almost its entire run up the coast from Florida, Matthew hung just far enough offshore that communities did not feel the full force of its winds.

Its storm center, or eye, finally blew ashore just north of Charleston on Saturday, but only briefly. And by that time, Matthew was barely a hurricane, with winds of just 75 mph.

Within an hour of residents being allowed to return Saturday to Jacksonville Beach, Fla., David Villmow had fired up the two pizza ovens at his restaurant, the Art of Pizza. He was hoping to start serving customers in a few hours.

We could be looking at a whole lot worse, he said. All you see are downed signs, downed fences, a few gas station sign letters missing.

An estimated 2 million people in the Southeast were ordered to evacuate their homes as Matthew closed in on the U.S. By hugging the coast, the storm pretty much followed the path forecasters had laid out. A shift of just 20 or 30 miles could have meant widespread devastation.

People got incredibly lucky, Colorado State University meteorology professor Phil Klotzbach. It was a super close call.

While Matthews wind speed had dropped considerably by the time it hit the Southeast coast, the storm will still go down as one of the most potent hurricanes on record, based on such factors as wind energy and longevity, and one of the most long-lived major hurricanes, too. It was a major hurricane  that is, with winds of at least 110 mph  for 7.25 days.

The storm swamped the streets of Savannah, Ga., a historic town of moss-draped squares and antebellum mansions. A homeless woman was seen staggering through waters up to her neck. She made it across safely.

Property data firm CoreLogic projected the storm would cause $4 billion to $6 billion in insured losses on home and commercial properties. That compares with Hurricane Katrinas $40 billion.
1 Sex trafficking: The chief executive of a website authorities contend is a hub for the illegal sex trade has been transferred from Texas to a California jail, wheres hes being held without bail. Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer was booked into the Sacramento County jail late Friday on felony charges that include pimping a minor. The 55-year-old was arrested Thursday after arriving in Houston on an overseas flight. The Dallas headquarters for Backpage was raided by authorities in conjunction with his arrest. Authorities allege that adult and child sex-trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site. His attorney has said Herrer will fight the trumped- up charges.

2 Ship christened: Thousands gathered in the shadow of the John P. Murtha in Philadelphia on Saturday to send the ship into active service and honor its namesake. The U.S. Navy commissioned the ship named for the late congressman and decorated Marine Corps veteran from western Pennsylvania during a ceremony at Penns Landing. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, a friend of Murthas, said he dedicated his life to serving the U.S. and established an unparalleled legacy of strength and leadership. Murtha became the longest-serving congressman in Pennsylvania history shortly before his death in 2010. He was 77.
Influential Republicans began to abandon Donald Trump by the dozens Saturday after the release of a video showing him speaking of women in vulgar sexual terms, delivering a punishing blow to his campaign and plunging the party into crisis a month before the election.

Fearing his candidacy was on the verge of undermining the entire Republican ticket next month, a group of senators and House members withdrew their support for him Saturday, with some demanding that he step aside. Trump, however, pledged to stay in the race.

Foremost among them was Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the partys 2008 nominee. I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set, McCain said in a statement. But Donald Trumps behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy.

By Saturday night, no fewer than 36 Republican members of Congress and governors who had not previously ruled out supporting Trump disavowed his candidacy, an unprecedented desertion by the institutional Republican Party of its own standard-bearer.

Aides described Trump as shaken. Shortly after midnight Friday, he released a videotaped statement, saying: Ive said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them.

In a brief telephone interview Saturday, he shrugged off the calls to leave the presidential race, saying he would never drop out of this race in a million years.

A couple of hours later, the campaign released a statement from his wife, Melania. The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me, she said. This does not represent the man that I know.

But the situation had grown so dire that many in the party were all but pleading with him to withdraw and let his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, serve as the partys standard-bearer. On Saturday morning, Pence called Trump and told him he had to handle the next 48 hours alone because he did not think he would be an effective surrogate.
As Hurricane Matthew continues to pound Florida and the East Coast with rain and fast winds, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is keeping an eye on an unlikely food chain: Waffle House.

FEMA Director W. Craig Fugate coined the phrase the "Waffle House Index" after after noticing that Waffle House restaurants tend to reflect how well communities weather storms, according to the magazine EHS Today.

If the Waffle House is open and serving a full menu, the community and its other businesses are probably doing reasonably well. If, however, Waffle House is closed, many other businesses are also likely unable to operate.

READ MORE: Shephard Smith's doomsday Hurricane Matthew prediction: 'You and everyone you know are dead'

The index uses a three-color scheme to indicate how many menu items are being served at Waffle House and how well the community as a whole is functioning.

Green means the Waffle House store is open and has a full menu. Yellow means the store is open with a limited menu. Red means the Waffle House is closed.

According to EHS Today, Waffle House keeps food in temporary storage and can operate without a full menu. FEMA considers Waffle House one of the best prepared businesses for natural disasters. If Waffle House can't operate, FEMA usually assumes most area businesses are struggling.

READ MORE: Weather satellite image of Hurricane Matthew appears to show a human skull

As Florida braced Friday morning for Matthew, at least one Waffle House remained open and "packed," according to Twitter user Jacksonville Marine.

In case anyone was wondering the Waffle House is open

Another storm, Hurricane Nicole, was building up momentum in the Atlantic and could make Matthew even more dangerous.
BOGOTA, Colombia  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end Latin Americas longest-running armed conflict, an honor 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 honoring both sides of a peace process, the five-member committee conspicuously left out Santos counterpart, rebel leader Rodrigo Londono, from the honor.

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 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 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.

Santos, the Harvard-educated scion of one of Colombias wealthiest families, is an unlikely peacemaker. As defense minister a decade ago, he was responsible for some of the biggest military setbacks for the rebels.

The award is Colombias second Nobel honor after beloved novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez won the prize for literature in 1982.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WASHINGTON  Evidence of what scientists are calling the planets Sixth Mass Extinction is appearing in San Francisco Bay and its estuary, the largest on the Pacific Coast of North and South America, according to a major new study.

So little water is flowing from the rivers that feed the estuary, which includes the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, Suisun Marsh and the bay, that its ecosystem is collapsing, scientists who conducted the study say.

Human extraction of water from the rivers is not only pushing the delta smelt toward extinction, they say, but also threatening dozens more fish species and many birds and marine mammals, including orca whales, that depend on the estuarys complex food web.

The findings by scientists at the Bay Institute, an environmental group, underline conclusions already reached by state regulators and are intended to buttress the environmental case for potentially drastic water restrictions in San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area, and among farmers in the northern San Joaquin Valley.

The State Water Resources Control Board moved last month to require that Californians leave far more water  40 percent of what would naturally flow during spring  in the San Joaquin River and its three main tributaries, the Tuolumne, Merced and Stanislaus rivers, in an effort to save fish species.

That would double the amount of water protected from human use in most years, according to the board. Last year, only 10 percent of the San Joaquin River, the second-largest in the state, reached the delta, as the rest was diverted or stored upstream. The Tuolumne, which is San Franciscos main water supply, is one of the states most over-tapped rivers, with about 80 percent of its normal flow directed to human uses.

Jon Rosenfield, the lead scientist on the Bay Institute report, said people take so much water from the rivers that the estuarys entire ecosystem is in collapse.

Our estuary is being choked by a lack of fresh water, Rosenfield said. Over the past four decades, he said, urban users and farmers have diverted so much water from the rivers that in all but the wettest years, severe drought has become a permanent condition for wildlife.

UC Davis fish biologist Peter Moyle, who is not connected with the study and had not viewed its results, confirmed in a telephone interview that native fish species in the estuary face dire conditions.

You dont have to look far to find documentation of the Sixth Extinction, Moyle said. Its happening now in California.

Moyle said that of the roughly 120 native freshwater fish species in California, over 80 percent of those are faced with extinction by the end of the century if current trends continue.

I always tell people theres always going to be an ecosystem out there; it just may not be one we like, Moyle said, and its increasingly headed in that direction.

The study, which was sponsored by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, a quasi-governmental agency, found that lack of freshwater flows, especially during the ecologically critical winter and spring months, has had profound effects. These include:

Looming fish extinctions. In addition to the delta smelt, which farmers often blame for water cutbacks, five other native fish species are severely endangered. Among them are two runs of chinook salmon, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and Central Valley steelhead. Dozens of others, such as fall run chinook salmon, white sturgeon and the Sacramento splittail, are in severe decline, listed currently as species of concern.

Starvation of fish-dependent species. Orca whales off the coast rely on chinook salmon for food. As salmon populations plummet, the whales are exhibiting signs of food deprivation and reproductive failure. Other marine mammals such as seals and fish-eating birds  pelicans, terns and cormorants  are also affected. Twenty-two species of birds in the estuary are listed as endangered, threatened, or species of concern. Habitat loss is the main stress, but it is compounded by a decline in available food.

Diminished freshwater to the Gulf of the Farallones. This national marine sanctuary just outside the Golden Gate is a hot spot of marine and avian life fed by a plume of brackish water  part fresh and part saline  that has declined as river flows into the estuary have fallen.

Increased salinity. Lack of freshwater has harmed zooplankton that lie near the base of the food chain, providing food for fish and birds. Salinity changes encourage invasive species such as the overbite clam, which in turn reduces phytoplankton at the base of the food web.

Lack of sediment. Reduced river flows mean less sediment is deposited on the bays beaches and tidal marshes.

The bottom line is weve simply diverted too much water for fish to be able to survive, said Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, in announcing the draft rules last month. The board is taking public comment until Nov. 15 and plans to issue final rules next spring.

The boards 40 percent target for river flows is a third lower than the 60 percent level that the board recommended in 2010. The new target is a compromise to try to help wildlife without imposing draconian cutbacks on cities and farms.

Rosenfield said the 40 percent target is too low and wont work. Forty percent isnt a river, he said.

But modeling by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which opposes the plan, found that even a smaller target  35 percent  would lead to water supply cuts of 42 percent to 52 percent in drought years, said commission spokesman Charles Sheehan, who added that up to 188,000 jobs would be lost among the agencys 2.6 million Bay Area customers.

Its hard to see how our community continues to thrive and prosper with that level of water rationing, Sheehan said.

Chris Scheuring, a lawyer for the California Farm Bureau, a farmer group, said farmers in the northern San Joaquin are expected to put up a stiff fight.

I hear talk from our membership up on the (tributaries) that they are not in a lay-down mode on this one, Scheuring said. Its just too big for them to not push back.

Scheuring said that in a vacuum, a biologist would want all the water back in the river, but thats just not human reality.

With close to 40 million people in California, he said, the idea that we can just sort of stop diverting from our rivers  the argument hardly even needs to be made against it.

Carolyn Lochhead is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: clochhead@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carolynlochhead

To read the Bay Institutes summary and study: http://thebayinstitute.org/sf-bay-freshwater-starved-estuary
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
MASON CITY | Globe Gazette reporter and columnist John Skipper will hold a book-signing on Thursday, Oct. 13, for his new book, "The 1964 Republican Convention: Barry Goldwater and the Rise of the Conservative Movement."

The book traces the rise of Goldwater, a maverick Republican, to the Republican nomination despite much opposition from within his own party  similar to what has occurred in 2016.

The event will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Mason City Public Library. A short program will precede the book-signing.

Skipper, who has been in newspaper work for more than 50 years, has written 15 books, many of which will also be available at the book-signing.
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.
JEREMIE, Haiti  At least 470 people have died in one district of Haitis hard-hit southwest region as authorities slowly reach marooned areas devastated by Hurricane Matthew, a civil defense official said Saturday.

Fridnel Kedler, coordinator for the Civil Protection Agency in Grand-Anse, said officials still have not been able to reach two communities in the department since the Category 4 storm hit Tuesday. The death toll is sure to go up, he said.

Officials are especially concerned about Grand-Anse, located on the northern tip of the southwest peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest. When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

Haitis overall death toll remains unknown. Death counts 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.

Most of the storm deaths appeared to have been caused from falling debris from the winds that tore through the area at 145 mph.

In Jeremie, the main city of Grand-Anse, Jislene Jean-Baptiste surveyed what remained of the one-room house that the grandmother shares with her three daughters and their children. There wasnt much left. Storm surge flowed across the road and drenched everything she owns in waist-deep water, washing away the stores of rice and sugar she regularly sold at the market to support her family. Then the wind tore off her roof.

That storm was the most terrifying thing that ever happened here, she said.

Many of her neighbors are in a similarly dire situation. 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 a devastating earthquake in January 2010.

Amid the suffering, aid began pouring into Jeremie, where thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed and many people were running low on food and facing an increased risk for cholera.

The Pan American Health Organization and others warned of a surge in cholera cases because of the widespread flooding. Haitis cholera outbreak has killed roughly 10,000 people and sickened more than 800,000 since 2010, when it was introduced from a U.N. base where Nepalese peacekeepers were deployed.
1 U.S. troops wounded: Two U.S. service members were wounded in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday when their vehicle struck a roadside mine, the military said. They were on a security patrol near the airport on the outskirts of Jalalabad when their vehicle hit the explosive, Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland said. The troops were not immediately identified. The incident follows the death earlier last week of a U.S. service member, also in Nangarhar province, where American military are involved in counter-terrorism operations against the Islamic State group and the Taliban. So far seven U.S. service members have died in Afghanistan this year, according to an Associated Press tally.

2 Germany manhunt: Investigators found several hundred grams of explosives in an apartment they raided Saturday in the eastern city of Chemnitz as they sought a Syrian man suspected of planning a bombing attack. The suspect remained on the run but three contacts were detained and questioned, police said. The apartment was raided after local authorities received a tip from Germanys domestic intelligence agency that the suspect might be there and that he was thought to be planning a bombing attack. However, no one was inside. Saxony police identified the suspect as Jaber Albakr, 22. Authorities did not say where they think the suspected attack was going to take place.
JEREMIE, Haiti  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 in the impoverished country.

Aid has begun pouring into the hard-hit coastal 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 havent had anything but water today and Im hungry.

The countrys 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. Some estimates said that more than 800 people had died.

Passage to many areas remained blocked, thwarting efforts to assess the destruction and to help survivors. A single, remote village reported 82 dead Friday while others said they were waiting to account for dozens of missing people. The government, which requires visual proof to count a death in its toll, could hardly keep up with the accounts of loss stitched together from hospitals.

The storm left signs of devastation all around the southwestern peninsula. Outside 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 wasnt 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.

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.
MASON CITY  Those who died as a result of domestic violence, in North Iowa and other parts of the state, were honored Friday during the annual Remember My Name event in Mason City.

Among those who attended was Lynane Kofoot of Mason City, whose fiances mother, Joni Manning, was murdered by her boyfriend in 2001 in Fort Dodge.

Kofoot, who said she experienced domestic abuse herself in the past, said the most important thing about Remember My Name is the victims are not forgotten.

Joni Manning, who was a nurse, was beaten to death and her body was in the house for two days. Kofoots fiance, Brandon Manning, found her body when he came home from college.

The killer was on the run for eight years before turning himself in. He is now serving a life sentence for first-degree murder.

The names of people who died because of domestic violence in Iowa  including men, women, children and bystanders  are read aloud for each year between 1995 and the present during Remember My Name.

Some of their stories are also read aloud.

Ribbons are tied on a tree with each ribbon representing someone who died of domestic abuse between 1995 and the present.

If any of the victims loved ones are present and wish to do so, they are the ones who tie the ribbon on the tree.

The number of ribbons on the tree is now 272.

Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley told those in attendance Friday not to forget the names we talked about today.

Mary Ingham, executive director of Crisis Intervention Service in Mason City, said it is important to remember those who were murdered at the hands of someone who was supposed to love them.

Sadly, more and more names are being added to the list each year, she said.

However, the support network for loved ones of the victims is growing, according to Ingham.

When the Remember My Name event began in Mason City, families would sit at different tables and not interact with each other, she said.

Now friendships are being formed, as have informal support groups, which is actually the best kind, Ingham said.

Remember My Name is sponsored by the North Iowa Domestic Assault & Sexual Abuse Community Coalition.
An unexpected hike in energy bills from Alliant Energy over the past few months has left many North Iowans angry and overwhelmed.

Lori Riha lives with her husband in a three-bedroom home in New Haven. Their bill for electricity typically runs about $120 per month.

Last month it was $276 and this month its $249, Riha said.

Their home was rewired in 2013 after a fire. The couple put in an energy-efficient water heater six years ago.

I could see if we had five kids running around, but its just us, Riha said. I was pretty upset.

Though Alliant offered to spread the payments over 12 months, Riha doesnt like the idea of being behind on an electric bill.

The couple feels Alliant is taking advantage of them and others.

We have no other options, Riha said.

Alliant issued an apology Oct. 2 to Iowa customers for the high bills, saying they were caused by a combination of higher energy use due to hotter weather and a new billing system.

The billing system resulted in many customers receiving estimated bills that were lower than actual use, then much higher bills when the system caught up and charged for actual usage during the estimated months.

We let many of you down, Alliant said.

Added Alliant Energy spokesperson Justin Foss: This is not how we want to operate.

A consumer group, however, has asked the state to push for more answers.

According to Don Tormey, communications manager for the Iowa Utilities Board, the board was informed by Alliant of an issue Oct. 3. By that time, the board had already received complaints from customers.

The next day the Office of Consumer Advocate requested the state board formally investigate Alliants billing problems.

The board will be reviewing this request from the OCA and rule if they will grant or deny the request, Tormey said.

More than 160 people commented on the Globe Gazettes Facebook page to voice complaints and surprise at the higher bills, many claiming that their bills doubled or even tripled.

Angie Tomkowiak-Ackley of Mason City said her bill is through the roof!

We did an energy audit and put new water heater, upgraded furnace, have efficient washer and dryer new fridge put in the light bulbs they suggested, Tomkowiak-Ackley said. And our bill went up considerably!

Customers have been affected across the state. Amanda Reynolds of Monona said that her bill placed a financial burden on her household.

I know we used more energy and we never got a chance to shut it off, but $300 seems a little high, Reynolds said.

Their bill was usually about $100 per month but jumped to $300.

My fiance was laid off and opening that bill was a surprise, Reynolds said. They ended up with $600 past due.

We just paid it off this week, Reynolds said. It sucked, but they worked with us.

New system, new problems

Foss, the Alliant spokesperson, said that it was not a meter reading issue but a combination of higher temperatures and a new billing system.

This summer was hotter than normal, Alliants apology post said. Our customers used more energy than last summer.

Some customers arent buying it. Several commented on Facebook that they dont believe Alliant.

I find it peculiar that they say it was so much hotter than last year, yet our bill says it was an average temp of 68 this year and 66 last year, Camille Cook Lee of Mason City said.

Foss said that the average temperature does not account for cooling degree days.

Alliant acknowledged some of the bills were surprising, but said they are accurate.

We are sorry for this surprise. We were not expecting this either, Alliant said.

The new billing system was put in place earlier this year. A computer system, also new, checks monthly usage against previous usage. Each time the system finds usage that is notably higher or lower than normal, it forwards the bill to a representative for a manual review.

Foss said the time frame between the electronic and manual review is much tighter. The triggers, he said, happened so frequently during the the higher temperatures that the staff members could not keep up with the reviews.

Since the bills could not all be reviewed, the system automatically sent estimated bills to customers based on the previous years usage, according to Foss.

We werent giving them bills that showed their actual usage, Foss said.

Once the actual usage was reviewed, the bills increased to make up for the difference between the estimated bill and actual use.

Now they are receiving catch-up bills, Foss said. Thats why theyre seeing the big bill.

For those struggling to pay their bills, Alliant said that the company will work with them.

Officials said they will spread the additional charges over the next 12 months with no negative impact to the account or credit score.

We are stopping disconnection for those affected, and weve stopped late payment fees, Foss said.

Alliant/Interstate Power and Light Co. filed a request for temporary waivers with IUB.

Alliant looks to suspend late payment fees and disconnection of service until Dec. 31.

The utility company said it is adjusting the billing process to prevent estimates for multiple months during periods of extreme hot or cold temperatures in the future.

In addition, the company is recruiting more employees to handle the review process.

That hasnt been enough for some.

Not a happy customer here, Stacy Krein said on Facebook. Our bill has pretty much doubled and last month we didnt even run the central air!
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen is laying franchise growth strategy in new markets in the Middle East. The upscale casual Italian restaurant which is known for its unique, chef-driven menu is also showcasing coal-fired ovens and mozzarella bars. Chef Anthony Russo will be exhibiting at the Global Restaurant Leadership conference October 10th - October 12th at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, and will be seeking new multi franchise partners to meet growth plans that call for over 50 restaurants by 2020.



After successfully launching seven franchise locations of his Russos New York Pizzeria concept in the United Arab Emirates since 2013, Chef Anthony Russo will be expanding his presence in the UAE with the opening of his first Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen and Mozzarella Bar at The Pointe in Dubai in spring 2017, with franchisee partner Prime Hospitality. The UAEs inaugural Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen will be home to the regions first coal-fired brick pizza oven, bringing the authentic flavors that only coal-fired baking can impart. The chef-driven restaurant concept that marries the freshness of premium ingredients with the warmth and hospitality of classic Italian culinary culture will undoubtedly be a standout destination on the Dubai dining scene.

We are thrilled to be the first restaurant to use a coal-fired oven in the Middle East and to introduce this delicious, unique style of pizza to our growing fan base and new customers in the region, said Chef Anthony Russo, Owner and CEO of Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Russos New York Pizzeria. We are unique because we have cooked authentic family recipes since 1978 and we anticipate that coal-fired pizza will be an instant success in Dubai. We are excited by the expansion of our coal-fired concept across the UAE.

Russos 2-ton, custom designed coal fired pizza oven will be imported from the U.S. to serve as the centerpiece of an open-air kitchen, unlike any other. The oven will be heated by 50 lbs. of coal imported from Pennsylvania reaching temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees to perfectly cook pizzas in approximately 4 minutes. Russos signature pizza is known for its delicious, crispy New York style thin crust. Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen will serve favorites including fresh hand crafted mozzarella, Osso Buco, Risotto di Mare and NY Prime Steak. The menu will also blend local flavor profiles with Russos traditional recipes, utilizing fresh ingredients unique to the region like Saffron Risotto, Fresh Seafood Pizza with local fresh seafood fare and Hammour. Chef Anthony Russo and his kitchen team create all recipes from scratch and exclusively use ingredients that are all natural with no preservatives, no additives and zero trans-fats. As promised by the Russo family and maintained by each and every franchisee, If it isnt fresh, dont serve it!

As Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen is slated for a spring 2017 opening in Dubai, the markets enthusiasm for Chef Anthonys New York-style pizza has also secured the development of 10 new Russos New York Pizzeria locations in the UAE and 10 more in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The seven current locations of the Russos New York Pizzeria concept located in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai notably serve the largest pizza in the UAE, offering the giant 28 pie. Always prioritizing customer service and convenience, Russos also has an elite delivery program in the Middle East. The tremendous demand for Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen and Russos New York Pizzeria provides an exceptional franchise opportunity in the region and signals continued international franchise growth for Russos both brands.

For more information about Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen and Russos New York Pizzeria, please visit https://www.facebook.com/RussosUAE or follow us on @RussosNYRest.

About Russos Restaurants

Russos Restaurants is a 44-location national and international franchisor of the fast casual and casual dining brands Russos New York Pizzeria and Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen. Based in Houston, Russos Restaurants is composed of a mix of corporate and franchised locations across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and Hawaii. Russos has entered international markets as well, with locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. There are an additional 20-plus units in development both in the United States and internationally. Chef Anthony Russo has created his concepts from years of applying his unique, family recipes featuring New York-style pizza, along with a broad variety of handcrafted pasta creations, calzones, salads, sandwiches, soups and desserts, reflecting his commitment to his Italian roots where food and family come first.

To learn more about Russos franchise development opportunities, visit www.nypizzeria.com, http://www.russoscoalfired.com/, or call toll free 855-978-7767.

For International development please contact Anthony Russo at anthony@nypizzeria.com. For Domestic development, please contact Jerell Denton, Director of franchise development, at j.denton@nypizzeria.com or by phone at (972) 983-9024.
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
Filmmaker Phil Giordano, a Staten Island native.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Phil Giordano became a man this year.

Six years ago, he was just a typical South Shore kid deciding where to go to college. He knew he wanted to pursue a career in film but also didn't want to stay in New York due to his limited "exposure to culture."

After being placed on the wait list for New York University, the former Oakwood resident decided to pack his bags and attend NYU'S Tisch School of the Arts Asia in Singapore.

Quite a big move for a native New Yorker, no? In Giordano's case, relocation paid off.

"I knew I didn't want to do one of those 'white guys to go Asia' movies," Giordano told SILive. "I wanted to make a film from the perspective of a child in the culture."

That's when Giordano found the inspiration for his haunting thesis film "SUPOT." Translated, Supot means someone who is uncircumcised. His 12-and-a-half-minute film is about the fear and anxiety a young boy faces when it's his time to become a man.

We've seen it -- and it's a richly accomplished work from a man who can no longer be described as a "student" filmmaker.

"It's a story of father and son," said Giordano. "Without giving too much away, the theme of the movie is about the bond of manhood."

The Staten Island filmmaker christened the "Werner Herzog of the Phillipines" lensed his new project in Magallanes -- a fourth-class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines.

Giordano looked to the streets and slums to cast the children of "SUPOT." Andrei Fajarito, who plays the lead role of "Rene-boy," was found in city of Batangas.

Fajarito had no prior acting experience, but caught the eyes of the crew. Giordano gave Fajarito a scenario of his father being mad at him for going out past his curfew. Giordano asked him to act out how he would apologize to him. Fajarito said nothing, began to sob and walked over to his "father" and hugged him.

Once the scenario was over, Fajarito simply wiped his tears and began to laugh. That was the deciding factor for Giordano.

John Arcilla of America's "The Bourne Legacy" and "Heneral Luna," one of the highest-grossing Filipino films, plays the role of Rene-boy's stoic father. Cora, Rene-boy's nurturing mother, is played by Mercedes Cabral. The actress is known as the "Indie princess of the Philippines" and a Cannes Film Festival veteran who is "very selective of her roles," according to Giordano.

Asian critics already have praised Giordano's exploration "of the Filipino masculine psyche" in his depiction of a cultural rite of passage.

"It happens," said Giordano when asked why he chose the concept of circumcision as the film's premise. "This is still a practice that is happening. The men that do this aren't doctors, they were taught the practice by their uncles or fathers in the village."

Despite the smoldering heat and limited water supply in the village during production, the finished film is evocative and gorgeously filmed. "SUPOT" makes its 2016 Busan International Festival debut on Saturday, Oct. 8. (The film already won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2016 New York Screenplay Contest, among other festival honors.)

"This is a big deal for me," said Giordano on getting the chance to film "SUPOT." "Most of my films have been in English. I jumped in head first with this."

Giordano now spends his days filming commercials and short films in the Philippines with his wife, Karen. He predicts that "SUPOT" will make it's way to American film festivals in about a year. For now, us Staten Islanders can watch this excerpt from "SUPOT" online:

SUPOT '30 Second Excerpt from Phil Giordano on Vimeo.
NEW YORK, Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against MGT Capital Investments, Inc. (MGT or the Company) (NYSE:MGT) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, and docketed under 16-cv-07449, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired MGT securities between May 9, 2016 and September 20, 2016 both dates inclusive (the Class Period). This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act).



If you are a shareholder who purchased MGT securities during the Class Period, you have until November 21, 2016 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

[Click here to join this class action]

MGT, together with its subsidiaries, purports to acquire, develop, and monetize assets in the online, mobile, and casino gaming space. The Company operates through two segments, Gaming and Intellectual Property.

On May 9, 2016, MGT announced that it had entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire certain assets and technology from D-Vasive Inc. (D-Vasive), a provider of anti-spy software (the D-Vasive Transaction). In conjunction with the transaction, MGT announced the proposed appointment of Defendant John McAfee (McAfee) as the Companys Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and that the Company intended to change its corporate name to John McAfee Global Technologies, Inc. MGT further advised investors that [m]ajor terms of the deal include the payment to D-Vasive Inc. stockholders of 23.8 million restricted shares of MGT stock and $300,000 in cash. The proposed share issuance is expected to amount to roughly 47% of the Company on a pro-forma diluted basis at closing.

On May 26, 2016, MGT announced that it had entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire certain technology and assets from Demonsaw LLC (Demonsaw), which the Company touted as a provider of a secure and anonymous file sharing software platform. MGT further advised investors that [m]ajor terms of the deal include the payment to Demonsaw LLC members of 20.0 million restricted shares of MGT common stock. The proposed share issuance is expected to amount to approximately 28% of the Companys common stock on a pro-forma fully diluted basis at closing, inclusive of shares of common stock to be issued in connection with the Companys previously announced transaction with D-Vasive, Inc. The Company and D-Vasive would subsequently arrange for D-Vasive to purchase Demonsaw in advance of the D-Vasive Transaction, in order to simplify these transactions, and meet certain customary tax issues, so that MGT would acquire Demonsaws assets as well as D-Vasives via the D-Vasive Transaction.

On September 9, 2016, MGT announced that at the Companys 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, its stockholders had approved, inter alia, the issuance of a total of 43.8 million shares of common stock in connection with the D-Vasive Transaction.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the NYSE was unlikely to approve the listing of the 43.8 million additional shares that the Company was required to issue to consummate the D-Vasive Transaction; and (ii) as a result of the foregoing, MGTs public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On September 19, 2016, pre-market, MGT announced that on September 15, 2016, the Company received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting certain information from the Company. MGT stated that it had no reason to believe that the Company is or will be the subject of any enforcement proceedings and was fully cooperating to comply with the SECs request.

On this news, MGT stock fell $0.74, or 22.7%, to close at $2.52 on September 19, 2016.

Then, on September 20, 2016, pre-market, MGT announced that the NYSE had informed the Company on September 19, 2016 that it would not approve the listing on the Exchange of the 43.8 million shares that the Company is required to issue in order to complete the closing of the D-Vasive [sic] merger, and that [t]he Company and John McAfee remain committed to closing the transaction and are exploring alternatives.

On this news, MGT stock fell $0.63, or 25%, to close at $1.89 on September 20, 2016.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com




STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A passenger severely injured last year when another man savagely stabbed him aboard a city bus in Stapleton is fighting back now with a lawsuit.

Mmombadoe Zeahwon has sued New York City Transit, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and his assailant over the Oct. 13, 2015, incident.

The episode occurred about 1:40 p.m. aboard an S74 bus near Canal and Water streets.

The assailant, Franklin Bethea, then 19, pleaded guilty in February to first-degree assault in a separate criminal case and is serving a five-year prison sentence, the Advance previously reported.

Filed in state Supreme Court, St. George, Zeahwon's complaint alleges the defendants allowed him to be "maliciously attacked" and failed to protect him from "foreseeable harm."

Jonathan D'Agostino, whose Eltingville law firm is representing Zeahwon, said the bus driver did nothing despite a passenger advising him there was a "ruckus" in the back of the bus before the plaintiff was stabbed.

"It really comes down to the fact that the operator of the bus when made aware that a passenger is at risk should take some affirmative action," such a stopping the bus or pulling over to see what's going on, said D'Agostino.

Zeahwon seeks unspecified monetary damages.

He was living in Stapleton when the incident occurred, but now resides in Minnesota, D'Agostino said.

According to Advance reports, police said the incident unfolded when Zeahwon, 25, and a woman in the back of the bus began arguing over who should get a seat.

The woman slapped him, and Zeahwon raised his hand to protect himself, said an NYPD spokeswoman.

At that point, a man accompanying the woman stabbed the victim, said police.

According to a criminal complaint filed after his arrest on Oct. 16, Bethea stabbed Zeahwon in the stomach, left armpit and hip, lacerating his liver and an artery, and causing heavy bleeding.

He was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton for surgery. Authorities, at the time, feared the wounds might prove fatal, but Zeahwon survived.

D'Agostino, the lawyer, said his client underwent several other surgeries.

He said Zeahwon had given his seat to a woman when another woman took issue with him.

Some men who were in the front of the bus moved to the back, and an argument ensued for a few minutes, said D'Agostino.

He said a passenger went up to inform the driver of the situation, but the driver took no action.

Meanwhile, the dispute intensified, and Bethea pulled out a knife and started stabbing Zeahwon, said D'Agostino.

A spokesman for Transit and the MTA declined comment, saying the agencies had not yet seen the suit papers.
Campaign 2016 Pence

Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks during a campaign stop at the the Rossford Recreation Center in Rossford, Ohio, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016.

(Nick Thomas/The Blade via AP)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Mike Pence has long described himself as a "Christian, a conservative and a Republican in that order."

Now, the GOP vice presidential nominee and his priorities are facing a critical test as Donald Trump, staggered by his recorded vulgarities about women, careens toward Sunday's presidential debate against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump has vowed to stay in the race.

Pence's advocacy for Trump came to a screeching, perhaps temporary, halt Saturday in the hours after Trump released a video apologizing for 2005 remarks in which he describes his aggressive conduct toward women.

Pence said in a statement about Trump that he won't "condone his remarks and cannot defend them."

"We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night," the Indiana governor said.

It's more evidence of the trials facing the GOP's No. 2 that could serve Pence well if he runs for the top spot in 2020.

Pence dare not speak about that possibility. To do so would assume Clinton prevails on Nov. 8.

But plenty of people are engaging in presidential talk about Pence, including Republican member of Congress, former presidential candidates and more.

Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Mike Crapo of Idaho are calling on Trump to quit the campaign so Pence can lead the ticket. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire says she'll write in Pence's name on the ballot -- not Trump's.

Pence canceled his appearance at a Wisconsin rally Saturday with House Speaker Paul Ryan. Pence would have been expected to advocate for Trump.

"I'm sure he's horrified," said Mike Murphy, an Indiana public relations strategist who's known Pence for more than two decades. "We impeached Bill Clinton and we cannot impeach Trump off the ballot. But I wish there was a mechanism to do so."

Pence raised his political stock Monday night during the only debate against Democrat Tim Kaine. During the 90-minute event, Pence managed to not defend Trump's indefensible behavior, yet still sound supportive and show off his own expertise on foreign policy.

The performance highlighted the gulf in political sophistication between Trump and his running mate.

Pence addressed the awkwardness with a savvy statement acknowledging his own performance and preserving his alliance with Trump.

"People are saying that I won the debate," he said Wednesday in Harrisonburg, Virginia. "From where I sat, Donald Trump's vision to make America great won the debate."

But on Friday, Trump's behavior put Pence to an even tougher test.

The Washington Post and NBC broke the story of Trump's words about women as Pence advocated for Trump him in Ohio.

"With Donald Trump as president, we'll have a president of the United States who respects all the American people," Pence said as news of Trump's comments was breaking.

Pence went on to defend, as he has previously, Trump's outspoken nature as a refusal to "tiptoe around those thousands of rules of political correctness."

Pence ignored shouted questions about Trump, and he was quickly whisked out of reach of the news media.

What followed: Pence's silence, the scrapping his Wisconsin appearance and finally, his statement.

An influential Indiana conservative, Jim Bopp, who helped draft this year's Republican Party platform, said Pence "should stay the course."

Trump's words are "ill-considered and crude," Bopp said, and also "statements Mike Pence would never make."

The election is bigger than that, said Bopp, a lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana.

"In the grand scheme of things, this is trivia vs. real life-and-death problems that we face in our foreign policy and the serious challenges that everyday Americans face because of the Obama-Clinton economy."
NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until October 24, 2016 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG), if they purchased the Companys securities between January 7, 2016 and June 3, 2016, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.



What You May Do

If you purchased shares of Signet and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com). If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by October 24, 2016.

About the Lawsuit

Signet and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

The alleged false and misleading statements and omissions include, but are not limited to, that: (i) Signet was experiencing difficulty ensuring the safety of customers jewelry while in the custody of the Companys brands; (ii) Signets employees at stores under at least one brand, Kay, were swapping customers stones for less valuable stones; (iii) Signet was experiencing a decrease in customer confidence; (iv) Signet had increasing competitive pressures; and (v) as a result, Signets financial performance was being negatively impacted.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.
By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent.

Agree
Orangeburg, New York, Oct. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novastep, Inc., and its affiliates (Novastep or the Company), a global medical technologies company specializing in the foot and ankle, has further expanded its coverage of midfoot and rearfoot indications with the addition of a full range of Nexis 5.0 and 7.0mm headless, cannulated compression screws.

The implants feature all of the hallmark design attributes inherent to the Companys Nexis brand, including helical thread flutes that are self-drilling, self-tapping and reverse-cutting; Torx drive recess interfaces for optimal force distribution and tapered, self-penetrating compression cones. Loic Girod, Novasteps Vice President of Research and Development, noted that The Nexis system provides surgeons with a complete and versatile selection of sterile packaged, low-profile, cannulated screws that are designed to address a broad spectrum of midfoot and hindfoot pathologies.

The system is likewise supported with a robust instrumentation platform that is neatly stored in a versatile, light-weight, space-saving tray to combine the Nexis 5.0 and 7.0mm instruments with interchangeable Nexis 4.0mm headless screw or Arcad 18/20/25mm nitinol compression clip instrument modules that serve to further enhance its versatility. Operating room efficiency and cost reduction are prime areas of focus for Novastep said Joseph Larsen, DPM of ProHealthCare Foot & Ankle in New York; adding that Novasteps implant and cleanSTART deployment technologies provide a systematized logistics platform that is easily customizable to fit virtually anyones needs and substantially reduces inventory requirements and sterile field volumes.

All Novastep implants are packaged sterile in quickSTACK containers or quickTUBE nested cylinders, depending on the size and configuration of the product. The STACKS and TUBES are housed and organized in the cleanSTART Implant Dispenser console, which may be uniquely tailored to address individual surgeon preferences.

Nexis and other key elements of Novasteps portfolio will be featured at the Desert Foot 2016 meeting on October 1922 in Phoenix, AZ and the upcoming 2016 Global Foot and Ankle Symposium in New York City on December 23.





About Novastep

Novastep is a global medical device company specializing in the design, development and commercialization of advanced technologies that treat conditions affecting the foot and ankle. The Company is focused on optimizing clinical efficiencies, inventory management and healthcare economics by transforming the way foot and ankle products are deployed and utilized in the surgical environment. Novastep has allied itself with a strategic network of key international opinion leaders to deliver breakthrough technologies, innovative services and compelling medical education programs to the foot and ankle community. Novasteps portfolio, services and distribution platforms are uniquely positioned to address foot and ankle trauma, deformity corrections and Charcot fracture management.

For further information concerning this announcement and/or Novastep, Inc., send all inquiries to info@novasteportho.com or call 877.287.0795.





Related Links

For general information visit: novastep-us.com
While funding another candidate could siphon votes away from Trump, the GOP's biggest donors have little leverage even if they threaten to withhold money for the rest of the campaign. Trump's campaign has relied far more on small contributors across the country - giving a few bucks here and there, mostly online  than from the party's stalwart donors who write the biggest checks possible.
The spring sun finally shone down on Canberra on Saturday and plenty of people took advantage of the warmth.

The National Arboretum's open day offered the rare opportunity to drive on roads usually closed to the public, which attracted more than 200 people in the first hour.

Justin Smith, Selita Canton-Smith, 3, and Isabella Smith, 15 fly a kite at the National Arboretum Forest open day. Credit:Elesa Kurtz

While families frolicked in the forests and large groups gathered for free guided walks, a steady stream of cars went on the unique driving experience through forests that will one day be magnificent, but many of which are still knee-high.

Friend of the Arboretum and volunteer guide, Janet Edstein, said it was the second time they'd held the event, run mainly with volunteer manpower.
It's a little known fact about me that if I had to pick one era to travel back in time to and live forever it would be the Wild West. I've often pictured myself as the hard but soft-hearted and somewhat sassy madam who heads up the best little whorehouse. Looking after my girls and the men who come to visit us. Downing a whisky with the gun slingers, tender with tough men leading tough lives. Don't mess with me. I know how to handle a shotgun, I've got a knife tucked in my garter and I'm not afraid to use them. But come on in and let me find you some lovin' for the night if your money is good.

Well, there you go. Crazy admission of the week. A week where I've been thinking about my other life thanks to a viewing of The Magnificent Seven.

The politically correct posse ride in to clean up a Wild West town in Antoine Fuqua's awful remake of The Magnificent Seven>.

And, despite some reviews, magnificent it was. I love a western. As a child I loved nothing better than curling up on the lounge with my father on a rainy Sunday afternoon and watching John Wayne mess with the bad guys. True Grit is my favourite movie of all time. I loved The Cowboys and cry even now when I watch it. The Comancheros, Rio Bravo, North to Alaska, The Searchers, Rooster Cogburn and The Shootist, the Duke's last film. Now there's a filmography worth binge watching.

I remember, years back, we ran a Relax cover entitled something like Where have all the real men gone? I indulged myself and put John Wayne on the cover and the story questioned the idea of whether today's leading men compared to the likes of Wayne.
Real estate agency Ray White has topped the list of the most complained about businesses in NSW, the latest official figures show.

The agency leapt four places on the NSW Fair Trading's complaints register between July and August after the number of complaints against it grew from 23 to 34.

Most of the complaints related to its poor handling of residential tenancy problems such as repairs, rent increases and disputes over bonds.
It took until 1996 for the US to reach a settlement and express deep regret over the loss of life. As far as I can recall no Australian leader, or for that matter any Western leader, called for the captain of the warship, or any of his crew, or any higher placed US official to be brought to trial. The media coverage of the MH17 and the Iranian flight 655 incidents and the political reaction in the West stand in sharp contrast. At the time of the MH17 crash the then Australian prime minister Tony Abbott said the shooting down of the plane was not an accident, it was a crime and criminals should not be allowed to get away with what they had done. He wanted to shirt-front Russian President Vladimir Putin. Abbott has now been joined by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who said last month: "The perpetrators, the criminals, the killers that did this should be brought to justice."

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has proposed a tribunal to prosecute those responsible. But if those responsible for the MH17 downing should be prosecuted, should we not also prosecute those responsible for the Iran 655 downing? The Vincennes was a fully functioning warship with a highly professional crew. Reading various accounts of the incident the kindest interpretation I can find for the actions of those on board the Vincennes is one of criminal negligence. But no one has ever been prosecuted.

Surely there is no statute of limitations on such matters? The Dutch-based joint MH17 investigation team from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine reported on September 28 that this plane was shot down by a BUK missile on July 17 2014. The team identified the launch location as an agricultural field near Pervomaiskyi which, at the time, was controlled by pro-Russian fighters. During the autopsy of the bodies of the cockpit crew several fragments were found that belonged to the warhead of a 9M38 series BUK missile. One of these fragments found showed traces of cockpit glass on the surface. A metal piece identified as a part of a 9M38 series BUK missile was also found in the frame of one of the cockpit windows.

The investigating team said they would work on the criminal investigation into the crash. There is no doubt about the physical cause of the crash. But what of intent? Just as the Americans would gain nothing from shooting down an Iranian civilian airliner, pro-Russian separatists would gain nothing from shooting down a Malaysian airliner. The most likely explanation is that the separatists fired a missile at what they thought was a Ukrainian military aircraft.

It should not be forgotten that Ukrainian planes had been bombing pro-Russian towns in the region. In the week before the downing of MH17 the BBC reported that 11 people had died when the rebel-held town of Snizhne in the Donetsk region was bombed. The BUK missiles were most likely brought in to respond to the Ukrainian warplanes bombing the separatist regions. Just as the Americans did not initially take responsibility for the Iranian aircraft disaster, the Russians are unwilling to own up to the MH17 disaster. Russia vetoed a 2015 UN Security Council resolution to establish an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for crimes connected with the downing of MH17 and would do so again if the matter arose.
Georgia: Hurricane Matthew slammed into South Carolina on Saturday, packing a diminished yet still powerful punch after killing almost 900 people in Haiti and causing major flooding and widespread power outages as it skirted Florida and Georgia.

Now weakened, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007 left flooding and wind damage in Florida before moving slowly north to soak coastal Georgia and the Carolinas. Wind speeds had dropped by nearly half from their peak about a week ago to 120 km/h, reducing it to a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on the Saffir-Simpson scale of 1 to 5.

Matthew, which topped out as a ferocious Category 5 storm more than a week ago, made landfall near McClellanville, a village 48 km north of Charleston that was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane in 1989.

The National Hurricane Service said Matthew was over Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday afternoon, and warned of potentially life-threatening flooding in Georgia and North Carolina even as the storm slowed as it ploughed inland.
One of the nine Australian men detained in Malaysia for publicly stripping down to their underwear at a Formula One race has quit his job in cabinet minister Christopher Pyne's office.

Jack Walker tendered his resignation to the Defence Industry Minister on Saturday, shortly after returning to Australia.

"Jack Walker has today offered me his resignation and I have accepted it," Mr Pyne said in a statement.



"Jack indicated to me his deep regret for causing any embarrassment to the government and apologised.



"One lapse of judgement does not detract from the fact that Jack has been an outstanding staff member, a significant contributor to my office since late 2013 and I believe he will have a bright future."

Mr Walker, a 26-year-old policy adviser, dropped his daks alongside eight friends at the Grand Prix in Sepang last Sunday, revealing budgie smugglers emblazoned with the Malaysian flag.
Lesbian and gay people and their families suffered serious emotional trauma as the "yes" and "no" cases on same-sex marriage were publicly debated in Ireland in May 2015, new research reveals.

The findings come as Australian MPs prepare for a plebiscite - with federal government-funded "yes" and "no" cases being prepared.

Rory O'Neill, known by the Drag persona Panti, celebrates with yes supporters at Dublin Castle after the result of Ireland's same-sex marriage vote was announced in 2015. Credit:Peter Morrison

The University of Queensland and University of Victoria researchers used Facebook and other social media to survey more than 1600 people involved in Ireland's May 2015 referendum to recognise same sex marriages.

The information was obtained in an online anonymous survey.
ModelCo founder Shelley Barrett is no longer.

Or that should be brand "Shelley Barrett" is over after the tan-in-a-can doyenne married her long-time friend turned partner (now professionally and privately) Anthony Sullivan in an intimate ceremony at their Point Piper home on Saturday.

Model Co Shelley Barrett has married accountant Anthony Sullivan in an intimate ceremony at their Point Piper home.

The Apprentice star will be changing her name and taking on Sullivan's surname, a move that has shocked her friends and business associates.

"Everyone I've told has been really startled by my decision to take Anthony's name. Everyone. The reaction has been quite interesting considering it used to be such a normal part of getting married," she told The Sun-Herald.
A few years ago I was told by one of James Packer's closest pals that the billionaire "didn't want to appear flashy with his money".

I remember the comment well because at the time I had been writing about a new $100 million super-yacht the casino mogul had on order and the vast new $70 million private palace kitted out with every conceivable luxury imaginable he was building with his then wife, Erica, in Vaucluse.

Indeed, Packer was raised in a generation which lived by the adage "old money, not showy money" and my coverage had not gone down well.

Boy, how times have changed.
Money reader Mendy Amzalak wins the four-week Shares Race, with his original $100,000 worth $132,816  one of the most emphatic wins ever.

His picks are not for the faint-hearted. His high-risk plays such as Niuminco Group, which operates gold and silver mines in Papua New Guinea and tin and tungsten mines in Tasmania and tech company Syntonic, have done very well.

Another strong performer among Amzalak's picks include Tawana Resources, which is exploring for lithium in Western Australia. Sovereign Gold has also made a strong contribution to the overall performance of Amzalak's portfolio.

The performance of his portfolio is broad-based. Of his 10-stock portfolio only one, Variscan Mines, lost money; though not that much, with his original $10,000 worth $9500.
The principal of a NSW Catholic school has come under fire for using an "inappropriate and offensive" image during a speech to high school graduates and their families.

The image, which was removed by Facebook from its social media network last year, shows a mother and her two daughters gagged with tape and tied up with Christmas lights, while her husband sits holding a sign saying "peace on earth" and his son gives the thumbs up.

It was used by McAuley Catholic College principal Mark O'Farrell as a backdrop during his graduation speech in September at the school in Clarenza, near Grafton in northern NSW.

Mr O'Farrell, the former director of curriculum at Waverley College in Sydney's eastern suburbs, projected the image while espousing "gospel values" to the year 12 students set to begin their HSC this week.
Australian Army soldiers have been providing support to regional NSW following major flooding caused by heavy rainfall last month.

Soldiers of the 5th Brigade include members form the engineer regiment and combat service support battalion have provided assistance to local services in Forbes, Condobolin and surrounding areas.

An Australian Army Unimog truck from 5th Brigade moves through inundated roads during flood relief operations in Forbes. Credit:Kyle Genner

Hydrologist Wei Wang from the Bureau of Meteorology said: "The river levels at Forbes are falling very slowly and moderate floodings continue, but are easing."

She said light rain is expected on Monday, but will not cause more flooding in the area.
The Baird government hasn't seen a crisis like this before. Whatever course Mike Baird ultimately decides to take upon his return to NSW Parliament on Monday carries grave risk.

Stay firm on the greyhound racing ban, and febrile Nationals MPs may well attempt to bring down their leader, Deputy Premier Troy Grant. The threat of blowing up the Coalition, by voting with Labor to overturn the greyhound ban, has even been dangled, although it is a remote chance.

But back down, in recognition of the resentment in regional NSW, and risk tarnishing the personal brand of a premier who has built his reputation as a conviction politician prepared to stay the course because it is "the right thing to do". Particularly among urban Liberal voters who support the ban.

Dent the Mike Baird brand, and would a Coalition government be electable?
Under scrutiny: Newtown police station Credit:Louise Kennerley On Saturday, a police spokesman said the force had a "zero tolerance" for homophobia and any action which could be deemed a breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act, adding: "This matter is currently subject to legal proceedings which makes it inappropriate to comment." While Senior Constables Housego and Rapisarda have been in a relationship spanning 15 years, the four officers had never previously socialised as a group. All deny using prohibited drugs. In explosive signed statements filed with NCAT they accuse Newtown police hierarchy of having "generated" a "complaint", in May last year, so a "fishing expedition" could target "the only gay officers at Newtown LAC". They further claim that, far from being an isolated case, the incident reflects a "culture of discrimination" rife within the station. Christian McDonald, one of four police officers who who was allegedly victimised at work because of their sexuality. Credit:Janie Barrett In his testimony, Senior Constable McDonald, who has now left the force, recounts a series of flashpoints in which he was allegedly bullied by bosses at the station. In 2013, he was hospitalised and sustained head injuries after falling and hitting his head on a pavement. Upon returning to work, he says he was approached by a manager who remarked: "You should be used to having your head down, arse up in the concrete."

Last year, he requested annual leave for his same-sex marriage anniversary, only to allegedly be told by another superior: "Same sex marriage is not OK with me. It disgusts me." The six month drug investigation against four gay officers was supported by "strong supposition". Credit:Janie Barrett In his statement, Constable Sheehy paints a similar picture: "Since I have worked at Newtown, I have heard a lot of homophobic, negative and derogatory comments made by police officers, particularly among senior officers in management positions. While I have found some of these comments outrageous, I do not feel as if I have been able to report them due to fear of repercussion," he said. Between November and December last year, all four officers received phone calls from a detective senior constable, attached to the NSW Police Professional Standards Command advising they had been the subject of an "anonymous complaint" into the use of prohibited drugs. The manager explained that upon review, there was no case to answer. Bullied: Newtown Senior Constable Christian McDonald.

However, for four officers who had always served the force  and community  with pride, the accusation and related implications came as a bombshell. In the testimonies lodged with NCAT, they describe the "significant anxiety" that followed. Constable Sheehy, who was photographed laying a wreath of flowers in Martin Place on behalf of colleagues following the 2014 Martin Place siege, said: "Christian called me from work. He sounded very upset and was crying. He advised me a he had similarly received a phone call informing him he was was the subject of a drug investigation." Constable Sheehy revealed he later took exception to a Newtown superior who, he says, dismissed the episode as being nothing "to worry about". "Sir, with all due respect, you and I both know that even a non-sustained complaint still stays on your record and ... an investigation by PSC into drug use is a little more sinister than a customer service complaint. I would hate to think this is because I am gay ... I hardly drink and I do not take drugs." Like his fellow colleagues, Senior Constable Rapisarda says he was informed by management that no further information would be provided because there was a "caveat" on the file and he should be "happy" the complaint was "not sustained".

"I am extremely concerned about the extent to which public resources were used in pursuit of an investigation ... which was based solely on my sexual orientation," he said. Senior constable Housego, meanwhile, said there was "no reasonable basis" to have ever suspected that he had engaged in such behaviour. "I suspect my calls were recorded and we were being followed as part of surveillance. I believe the investigation into us was based on lies and sexual prejudice and deceit." In February, Fairfax Media revealed how a magistrate threw out a case against a drag queen brought about by Newtown police because the way they had gathered evidence against him was illegal. "I had two cops at my door, four days running," he said after he attempted to urinate behind a tree and was fined for improper conduct. "They became really angry. Then they demanded my phone. When I said no, they threatened to break the door down and bring in the riot squad. I was terrified." Constables Sheehy, Housego and Rapisarda, who are still employed by the Force, declined to speak with Fairfax Media.

A police spokesman said: "The NSW Police Force is now more diverse and accepting than at any other time in its history. It reflects the community it serves." He added: "All officers, regardless of their sexual orientation, have appropriate avenues for reporting inappropriate behaviour in the workplace." Do you know more? eduff@fairfaxmedia.com.au 'Culture of prejudice' Extracts from signed statements lodged with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal

Newtown Constable Christopher Sheehy: "I have been told to my face that I am less 'flamboyant' or 'camp' than other gay officers; with the inference that I am more acceptable." "I have heard a lot of homophobic, negative and derogatory comments made by police officers, particularly among senior officers in management positions ... "I do not feel I have been able to report them due to fear of repercussion." "Common terminology and phrases used around the station are faggot, poofter, gay as aids, homo, hommus and eat a dick." Newtown Senior Constable Christian McDonald:
Police are on the hunt for a man who rammed a Holden Commodore into a police car on the Calder Freeway in Faraday, north-west of Melbourne, before he stole another car from a rural property.

A chase had started on Saturday morning about 8am after police saw the car being driven erratically.

The man then crashed into the police car, damaging both the vehicles. However, no one was injured and the man took off.



The man then drove into a property in Jennings Hill Road, Sutton Grange, near Elphinstone.



Victoria Police spokesman Adam West said it is believed the man entered the home and demanded car keys from the occupants, stealing a black BMW and driving off.



"The purple Commodore was recovered at the home in Jennings Hill Road," Leading Senior Constable West said.



Police are continuing to search for the man and anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A drug haul worth more than $50,000 was seized by police after pulling over a man who was driving with his high-beam lights on the south west coast of Victoria.

Police were patrolling in Bree Road, Hamilton, early on Saturday morning after hearing reports of suspected drug activity in the area.

Methamphetamine use is affecting a much smaller number of people than alcohol, say doctors.

Two constables spotted a car driving with his high-beam lights on travelling south, just after 1.30am.

They searched the car and found cannabis.
Seoul: New satellite images show an increase in activity at North Korea's nuclear test site potentially signalling preparations for a new test, a monitoring group said on Friday.

The US-based 38 North group, run by Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, said the images show activity at all three tunnel complexes at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site involving a large vehicle and personnel.

A missile is launched during a drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Credit:AP

"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.

North Korea conducted its fifth and biggest nuclear test on that date 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 October 10 anniversary of the founding of its Workers' Party with a sixth detonation.
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) registers its sadness at the loss of life and property following the passage of Hurricane Matthew throughout the Caribbean.

We send our thoughts and prayers to the families and communities that have been impacted by this powerful storm, and convey our earnest hopes for a timely recovery to the people of our region.

We are especially concerned about the people of Haiti where the loss of life has been great. Many more are now struggling to pick up the pieces there and in other nations impacted by the storm.

CHTA remains at our members' disposal to assist them during these trying circumstances. We are proud of the way our members are supporting each other and our guests to the region; and as they open their doors to our communities.

We are humbly reminded once again that sometimes, despite our best planning and preparation efforts, we are vulnerable to these types of disasters.

CHTA will work closely with our public sector partner, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, and our Diaspora communities to help coordinate relief to the region.

Meanwhile, let us unite in support of those who have borne and are continuing to bear the brunt of this powerful storm.

As we have experienced on numerous occasions, our resilience and reliance on one another will take us through.

Karolin Troubetzkoy

President, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association
What you need to know about Powerball and the $1 billion jackpot
Welcome to SwanseaOnline - your home for the best news, sports and what's on coverage of the city.

Never miss a Swansea story with our daily newsletter Sign up to comment on our stories here

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Swansea City news | Ospreys news | InYourArea
The Mars Society's Mars 160 Twin Desert-Arctic Analog simulation is underway at the Mars Desert Research Station (shown here) in the Utah desert. A seven-member crew is spending 80 days at the habitat for this first phase of the two-part mission.

On Sept. 24, The Mars Society launched the ambitious two-phase Mars 160 Twin Desert-Arctic Analog simulation to study how seven crewmembers could live, work and perform science on a true mission to Mars. Mars 160 crewmember Annalea Beattie is chronicling the mission, which will spend 80 days at the Mars Desert Research Station in southern Utah desert before venturing far north to Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island, Canada in summer 2017. Here's her first dispatch from the mission:

Hello all,

It's the 22nd of September here in the loft of the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah. It's my first night and I try to call home. There is a time delay from Mars to Tasmania and no response from Mum, no surprises there.

Annalea Beattie is chronicling her mission as part of The Mars Society's Mars 160 Twin Desert-Arctic Analog simulation. She is an artist and writer who lives and works in Melbourne, Australia. (Image credit: The Mars Society)

This is the first of our two-phase Mars 160 mission. You might already know that the second phase of our expedition is at Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station in the Arctic circle next year in the Canadian summer. Though there is a break between the two phases, this doesn't matter. Mars 160 is a comparative study in terms of science and science operations.

[See more Mars 160 photos here, and get daily images by the Mars 160 crew]

Downstairs, I can hear the conversation around the table as our crew has a cup of tea before bed. Australian geologist Jon Clarke is talking about how we are the only MDRS crew ever to be able to study two analogue environments in a twin desert study in a way that will help us understand more about conditions on Mars.

An analog is something similar to or representative of something else, like an analog clock. In planetary science, terrestrial analogues enable us to use counterparts of features seen on other planets (in this case, Mars) to better understand them and/or prepare for missions to them.

Analog research is typically field-based and is different from simulation (usually a mathematic or computer model, such as an MIT study of Mars One life support) and laboratory studies (where variables are tightly controlled, such as Mars 500 or at the Human Exploration Research Analog).

Mars 160 crewmembers prepare for lunch inside The Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. They are (from left): Anushree Srivastava, Biologist, of India; Annalea Beattie, Artist, of Australia; Claude-Michel Laroche, Engineer, of France; and Yusuke Murakami, Executive Officer, of Japan. (Image credit: The Mars Society)

In terms of examples of analogue research, these could include scientific, engineering, operations and human factors, for instance as in previous missions at Mars Desert Research Station, Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station, Hi-SEAS and Concordia Station in the Antarctic.

It's true we are on a space simulation though of course some conditions in space can't be replicated, for instance Martian gravity. High in the southern Utah desert at MDRS our crew will be isolated and confined in a tiny space in an immense and extreme environment. We will eat dehydrated astronaut food and never leave the hab without suiting up, except in an emergency. Otherwise we would be breaking mission rules.

Yet the main aim of Mars 160 is not an isolation study of humans in space like recent Hi-Seas where only some of the crew went outside twice a week. Our goal is to see where we can get the most science return in terms of field science and field science operations. The point of our mission is that the two halves of our research links geology and biology in an analogous way to inform our knowledge of an extraterrestrial environment like Mars.

Mars 160 crewmember Annalea Beattie tries on a new spacesuit helmet for outside excursions. (Image credit: The Mars Society)

Characterized by the geology, biology for the mission focuses on halophiles in evaporite deposits, (easy to get to here but not so easy in the Arctic circle), lichens and their patterns, (studied more on Devon than here), hypoliths, found usually on the undersides of rocks and stromatolites, (those fossil structures and habitable environments that show the earliest visible signs of life and may have appeared at a time when Mars was habitable).

And btw here we will use the sexy MinION instrument tested on the International Space Station.

Our second goal for Mars 160 is to examine science operations. These are the practices of science. We are especially interested in how Earth-Mars collaborations might function in field science, for instance, how science operations are best conducted on an EVA (extravehicular activity). The kinds of resources used, the tools, the processes the people and the communication procedures all underpin and support good science in the field. In terms of partnerships and outreach our mission has unprecedented Earth-based support for field science. More on this later as over the next few months I introduce our crew and our projects.

Meanwhile downstairs I can hear the "zzzzzzzzz" sound of Mars Society's President Robert Zubrin's new invention, the vacuum washing machine.

I'm washing a few sweaty shirts in this with its upside-down pressure.

Here's our Mars 160 Commander Alex Mangeot's explanation of this great machine:

For cleaning clothes you have to kill the bacteria that sticks to the fabric and remove all mineral and organic substances (such as oil, for instance). Usually soap kills bacteria by toxic chemical reactions and the water dissolves the stains (which are the mineral and organic substances). Here, with the vacuum washing machine, we are killing the bacteria and removing organic substances. Only the mineral stains will remain after the wash.

But that is fine because stains do not smell. This is not a hygiene issue, it is just a stain. In space we do not care that much about fashion. So in short, the physical process is basic thermodynamics. At sea level atmospheric pressure, we are used to seeing water boiling at 100 degrees Celsius. When you decrease the pressure, the water boils at a lower temperature. So if you decrease the pressure to 50 mbar (1/20th atmospheric pressure) water will boil at room temperature. Basically, at this pressure you can boil water without burning yourself!

This is what happens in the vacuum washing machine. It is a chamber where you put your clothes to wash in which the pressure is dropped to less than half an atmosphere. The water inside the bacterial cell boils, eventually breaks down the cell wall and deprived of its water, the bacteria dies (just like if you were deprived of the water contained in your body). The good thing is that the bad smell on your dirty clothes comes mostly from bacterial byproducts. No bacteria, no smell, happy crew.

This machine is perfectly fit for a space journey and for planetary exploration. It does not require water, or chemicals. The low pressure required for this machine to work is found on Mars where the atmospheric pressure is 6 mbar. In space vacuum is an unlimited resource. -- Alex

Here's the vacuum washing machine in action minus a pair of socks I missed.

A look at the vacuum washing machine in use by the Mars 160 crew at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. (Image credit: The Mars Society)

Outside there is thunder and lightning and heavy rain. The desert floor is on the move as it turns to pink mud There was a wild tornado in Utah somewhere today causing havoc. Our crew member, storm chaser and geologist Paul Knightly is elated. He grabs his tripod and heads out into the night. Inside, I am more concerned with the sound of an occasional drip which might indicate a leak.

Goodnight from Mars.

Editor's note: To follow The Mars Society's Mars 160 mission and see daily photos and updates, visit the mission's website here:http://mars160.marssociety.org/. You can also follow the mission on Twitter @MDRSUpdates.

Annalea Beattie is an artist and writer based in Melbourne, Australia, and her art practice is based on space science. She is a member of The Mars Society's Mars 160 Twin Desert-Arctic Analog simulation, where her art-based research explores how observation is key to the role of all field geologists, including those on a planetary exploration crew. Follow The Mars Society on Twitter at @TheMarsSociety and on Facebook. Original article on Space.com.
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 any 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.

Compositions for a simulated Proxima b. Left: At 94% the diameter of Earth, Proxima b would be domiated by a massive metal core and smaller rocky mantle. Right: At 140% the diameter of Earth, Proxima b would be an ocean-covered world. Middle: Somewhere in between, Proxima b would approximate Earth. (Image credit: CNRS)

Assuming the rocky world has the smallest physical size allowed for its mass (94 percent Earth's diameter), according to planetary formation models this would consist of a metal core, making up for 65 percent 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 percent 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 percent 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:

(Image credit: ESO)

In August 2016, astronomers announced that a potentially Earth-like planet orbits Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the sun. Learn about the exciting discovery in this infographic. See our full infographic here

Alas, this version of Proxima b is just one possibility over a huge range of scenarios. So, yeah, from this study alone, Proxima b is probably not very Earth-like.

But wait, there's more.

Habitable Zones Not So Habitable?

Just because a planet orbits its star in the habitable zone, it doesn't mean it has the same life-giving qualities as Earth (keep in mind that both Mars and Venus also orbit the sun within our solar system's habitable zone).

Proxima b orbits very close to its star. It's the nature of the beast; red dwarf stars are small and therefore cooler than sun-like stars. Proxima Centauri's habitable zone is therefore one hell of a lot more compact than our sun's. The Proxima Centauri habitable zone is well within the orbit of Mercury. If a planet got that close to our hot sun, it would be burnt to a crisp; for a planet in orbit around Proxima Centauri, this location is an oasis.

But when you orbit so close to a red dwarf, a planet starts to succumb to some tidal difficulties. One face of an orbiting planet around a red dwarf will be constantly facing the star, meaning the planet's spin matches its orbital period. One hemisphere of the planet is in constant light while the other hemisphere is in constant darkness  a situation called "tidal locking."

So, in this case, let's imagine the orbiting exoplanet really is a textbook "Earth-like" world with just the right composition. A world with an iron core, rocky mantle and enough water on the surface to create liquid water oceans that could support life. But this world is tidally locked with its star  that's got to cause some problems, right?

RELATED: Could Proxima Centauri Be Our Interstellar Getaway?

Let's assume that this planet somehow possesses an atmosphere (more on that later), to have one hemisphere being constantly heated while the other hemisphere is constantly frozen certainly doesn't sound like a good time. Many simulations have been run in an attempt to model the complexities of the atmospheric conditions in this situation and most outcomes aren't good. Some scenarios predict planet-wide hurricanes that act like a blast oven, other scenarios predict a dry wasteland on the star-facing hemisphere and a frozen solid dark hemisphere.

Eyeball Earths?

There are, however, some planetary models that could save the day for these unfortunate wannabe "second Earths." One fun prediction is the possible existence of "Eyeball Earths." These peculiar planets would still be tidally locked to their star, with one hemisphere a constantly baked desert and the other hemisphere in deep freeze, but there would be a region between day and night where the conditions are just right for a liquid water ocean to circle the world between the darkness and light. Oh, and it would look like an eyeball, seriously:

In other research around atmospheric dynamics of tidally locked exoplanets, there could be a situation where the world has efficient "air conditioning"  hot air from one hemisphere is distributed about the planet in such a way to balance global temperatures. But this assumes a high degree of friction between the lower atmosphere and a craggy, rocky surface and efficient high-altitude air flow.

But the ultimate kicker when considering "Earth-like" exoplanets around red dwarf stars is that just because red dwarfs are small, it doesn't mean they are docile. In fact, red dwarf stars can be downright violent, frequently erupting with powerful flares, flooding any nearby planets with ionizing radiation. This radiation, plus inevitably powerful stellar winds, would likely blow any atmosphere away from our hypothetical burgeoning Earth 2.0. Without an atmosphere, the only vaguely habitable location on that planet would be under the surface, perhaps in a sub-surface ocean protected by an icy crust like Jupiter's moon Europa.

But, like Earth, if these planets have a powerful global magnetosphere, perhaps the worst of the stellar storm can be deflected and an atmosphere could form, who knows?

Just the Beginning

Though there are many challenges facing our search for "Earth 2.0," we are only just beginning our quest to seek out alien worlds orbiting other stars. Yes, it is an incredible stroke of luck to find a small world orbiting a neighboring star, but as red dwarfs are the most populous type of star in our galaxy, the odds are that a handful may well have just the right ingredients to support a habitable atmosphere. But is Proxima b one of those diamonds in the rough?

For now, with the tools at our disposal, we simply do not know. Perhaps with the launch of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in 2018 we might be able to tease out the spectroscopic fingerprint of an atmosphere, but that would likely be beyond its capabilities. So we might just have to send an interstellar probe there to find out if Proxima b is really the habitable exoplanet everyone hopes it will be.

*In Proxima b years, I'm over 1,200 years old...

Originally published on Discovery News.
Lusaka, October 8, 2016 (SPS) - Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Salem Ould Salek, who is on a working visit to Zambia, was received Friday by President Edgar Lungu Chagwa.

President Edgar Lungu assured the Sahrawi Minister that Zambia will continue to promote relations between the Sahrawi Republic and the Kingdom of Morocco so that both parties to the conflict engage in dialogue in order to find a just and definitive solution, indicated a statement of the Zambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting, the Republic of Zambia and the Sahrawi Republic decided to enhance their bilateral relations to the benefit of the well-being of their two peoples.

The statement reiterated the commitment of the Zambian government to the principles of the constitutive act of the African Union, which stresses the need to resolve all conflicts through dialogue.

For his part, the Sahrawi Minister conveyed congratulations of President of the Republic, Brahim Ghali, to his Zambian counterpart, Mr. Edgar Lungu, following his reelection as the President of the Republic of Zambia.

Mr. Ould Salek expressed appreciation to the government and people of Zambia for the continued support to the Sahrawi people's struggle for the independence of the SADR, a position that Zambia has maintained since its independence. (SPS)

062/090/TRA
New York, October 8, 2016 (SPS) - Permanent Representative of the Republic of Namibia to the United Nations, His Excellency, Wilfried I. Emvula, has called for bring an end to the Saharawi decolonisation process, before the UN Special Political And Decolonization Committee.

Namibia calls on Morocco to demonstrate their respect for and adherence to the principles and institutions of the United Nations through their implementation of the United Nations Resolutions, particularly Resolution 1541, and all other relevant decisions, in order bring an end to the Saharawi decolonisation process, said the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Namibia to the United Nations before the UN Special Political And Decolonization Committee.

The people of Western Sahara should be allowed to enjoy their inalienable rights to self-determination. The legitimacy of any claim over Western Sahara, should be decided by the Saharawi people themselves, and not by any outside power, including Morocco. The people of Western Saharan must be allowed to choose their own future.



We assure Morocco that Namibia will most certainly accept whichever way the referendum goes. The fairness and legitimacy of such a process would need to be closely monitored in order to prevent non-qualified persons from influencing the results.

We are gravely concerned about the recent increased troop movements in the Gargarate buffer strip. During the last few months we have watched how Moroccan and Polisario forces have moved closer to each other. Current reports indicate that a war could be triggered at the slightest mishap as they are standing within eyesight of each other. We remind the belligerent Member State to respect the 1991 cease-fire brokered by the United Nations.

It was a wretched day for us when UN staff were expelled from an occupied territory. Furthermore, it is sad to see that UNSC remained indecisive for quite some time and that resolution 2285 (2016) was not strong enough on this point leaving some Security Council states unable to support its weak language. We call for the re-admission into that area of the expelled UN personnel attached to MINURSO.

Namibia, also calls on the UN Security Council to work with the Moroccan Government to ensure the implementation of the referendum.

Namibia equally calls on countries such as France and Spain to work with Morocco to encourage them to implement the said UN Resolutions and to impress upon Morocco that the time for the implementation of the referendum has come.







Namibia reaffirms full and unequivocal support for the inalienable rights of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and national independence if they so desire. In this context, we once again call upon the United Nations and in particular, the Security Council, to assume its full on the question of Western Sahara. We equally call for the urgent implementation of all Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, aimed at the holding of a free and fair referendum in Western Sahara, added the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Namibia to the United Nations. (SPS)

062/090




In issuing his decision in the CCJEF school-funding case last month, Judge Thomas Moukawsher claimed he was faithfully following the dictates of the Connecticut Supreme Court. However, it is clear that the judge ignored a major warning by our highest court: that the judiciary is ill-equipped to deal with educational policy matters. Nowhere is this disregard of the courts warning more evident than in Moukawshers rulings on high school and teacher evaluation. In these rulings, the judge contravened the mountain of academic and experiential evidence showing that what he proposes is dead wrong.

First, the judge declared that Connecticut should institute standardized high school exit exams. The judge decided that because Connecticut does not have rational and verifiable high school standards, meaning standards measured by a high school exit exam, Connecticut diplomas for students in poor districts are patronizing and illusory. He concluded that the cure for this problem is standardized, objective exams that students must pass to graduate.

In pushing this proposal, the judge relied heavily on one defense witness, Dr. Eric Hanushek, a witness whose testimony has been flatly rejected in school funding cases across the country. Hanushek claimed that Massachusetts status as the education leader in the country was a result of instituting an exit exam.

Had the judge examined the evidence, however, he would have discovered that Massachusetts high school exit exam has increased dropout rates for the states most vulnerable students. In fact, as the New America Foundation reported, decades of research on exit exams nationwide show two things: students are not any better off with exit exams, and exit exams have a disproportionately negative impact on the graduation rates of poor students and students of color. That is why the trend among states is to drop exit exams. Exit exams would widen the graduation gap in Connecticut.

Again, had the judge examined the evidence, he would have also learned that the actual major factor in Massachusetts improvement was the very measure he refused to order Connecticut to implement: school finance reform that dramatically increased the amount of school funding statewide. No fewer than three studies have shown that increasing school funding significantly improved student achievement in Massachusetts. Recent major studies confirmed those findings nationwide, demonstrating that school finance reform has the most profound positive impact among poor students.

The judge also missed the mark by a wide margin in his ruling on teacher evaluations; which again he insisted be rational and verifiable from his unstudied perspective. Anyone who has been paying attention to education matters the past few years has surely noticed the understandable uproar over the attempt to rate teachers based on student standardized test score growth.

Experts across the country confirm, as the American Statistical Association pointed out, that a teacher has a tiny effect on the variance in student test scores: from 1 percent to 14 percent. Thus, it is now widely understood that any system that attempts to rate teachers on student test scores, or the growth in student test scores, is about as rational and verifiable as a coin toss.

Courts that have actually examined the evidence on systems that rate teachers on student test scores have rejected these systems. Last year, a court in New Mexico issued a temporary injunction barring the use of test scores in that states teacher evaluation system. And in April, a court in New York ruled that a teachers rating based on her students growth scores  the foundation of New Yorks teacher evaluation system  was arbitrary and capricious; the opposite of rational and verifiable.

Yet despite the reams of evidence debunking the use of student growth scores in evaluating teachers, and despite these two court rulings, Judge Moukawsher insisted that rating teachers on student growth scores would satisfy his demand that Connecticuts system for hiring, firing, evaluating and compensating teachers be rational and verifiable. His ruling defies the evidence and logic.

These and all of the judges other rulings are now being appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court by both sides: the state and the CCJEF plaintiffs. One can only hope that that our highest court will steer this case back on course, away from these ill-advised educational policy rulings and toward a proper finding that the state is failing to provide our poorest schools with adequate funding and is consequently failing to safeguard the educational rights of our most vulnerable children.

Wendy Lecker is a columnist for the Hearst Connecticut Media Group and is senior attorney at the Education Law Center.
Contributed photo

We already know theres no love lost between Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. First it was Indianas religious freedom act that, according to critics, unfairly targeted Indianas LGBT community. And then it was Pences refusal to accept a Syrian refugee family, which Malloy subsequently allowed to settle in Connecticut. So Tuesday nights vice-presidential debate between Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., presented Malloy with a perfect opportunity for snarky tweets.

And tweet he did.
This blog has nothing to do with gorillas (though I love 'em)...fellow bloggers have inspired me to share vintage images of Disneyland from my personal collection. But don't be surprised if you see something from a World's Fair, Knott's Berry Farm, or someplace else that is cool!
O n its 400th anniversary, the Queens House at Greenwich is to reopen, featuring new artwork by Turner Prize winner Richard Wright.

The 17th-century building, originally designed in 1616 for Queen Anne of Denmark as a villa between the grounds of the Palace of Greenwich and the Royal Park, has previously been closed to the public for 14 months to undergo refurbishment.

Richard Wrights no title artwork comprises gold leaf, ornamental design on the ceiling of the Great Hall, becoming the first artist to work on the Queens House ceiling in almost 400 years.

Curator Sue Prichard told London Live: This is really exciting to open the House with a new, contemporary piece.

Artist Richard Wright

Its been thrilling to see the whole journey the House has undertaken from a building site, to having the walls repainted, seeing conservation projects like the Tulip Stairs, and then the exciting part is always the hang[ing artworks on the wall].

Another 50 works on loan from British art galleries will be on display, including Orazio Gentileschis Joseph and Potiphars Wife which was originally commissioned by Queen Henrietta Maria and King Charles I and will return to the House for the first time since the 1650s.
L ondon Zoo is one of the capital's most famous and well-loved institutions and the site of many a first memory for anyone brought up in the city.

Spanning more than 36 acres of prime land on the northern boundary of Regent's Park, London Zoo has been attracting hordes of visitors, both local and international, since its doors opened to the public in 1847.

It actually opened in 1928 as a scientific zoo - making it the world's oldest.

Some of its main attractions include the high tech Tiger Terriroty (opened in 2013), which features a swimming pool for its five Sumatran inhabitants and Land of Lions, which was opened by the Queen earlier this year.

But how has animal life at the zoo changed over the past century? One thing's for certain, the experience was much more immersive back in the day before health and safety got involved.

This adorable series of photographs, which begins in 1914 before the outbreak of the First World War, shows how children used to enjoy everything from camel rides to chess games with chimpanzees.

One picture, dating back to 1930, shows a giraffe eating from the hand of a small child.

The pictures also showcase some of London Zoo's most famous inmates, from 'Jumbo' the elephant (the largest known at the time) in 1935, having his morning brushdown, to Chi Chi the giant panda being carried back to her enclosure after she tried to escape in 1958.

As well we celebrity animals, London Zoo was visited by celebrities of its own - in 1931 Spanish opera star Conchita Supervia (1895 - 1936) serenaded Joey the cockatoo.

The photo series also reveals the close nature of the keepers' relationship with the animals. In one image, a keeper receives a slobbery kiss from a sea lion; in another, two chameleons clamber over a keeper's hat.

Click through our gallery above for a bit of animal magic over the years at London's famous zoo.

London Zoo has launched its first Zoohackathon event to find digitial solutions to help tackle the illegal wildlife trade; zsl.org./zoohackathon

Follow us on Twitter @eslifeandstyle
T hree police officers accused of racially discriminating against a black firefighter have officially complained about the independent watchdog which handled the case.

Inspector Sutinderjit Mahi and PCs Daniel Roberts and Mark Gatland made official allegations to Scotland Yard over the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) probe into their treatment of Edric Kennedy-Macfoy.

Mr Kennedy-Macfoy was helping officers identify a teenager who had thrown a rock at a police van in Harrow, north London, in September 2011 when he was Tasered and arrested.

He was later cleared in court of obstructing police and received damages from the Metropolitan Police.

Mr Mahi and PC Roberts were accused of using abusive and offensive language motivated by racial discrimination and/or racial stereotyping.

Firearms officer PC Gatland - who used the Taser - was accused of using unreasonable force motivated by racial discrimination and/or racial stereotyping.

But a misconduct hearing against the three in July collapsed when the IPCC withdrew its case over "procedural shortfalls".

The officers' lawyer, John Downes, from Slater and Gordon, said: "We welcome the news that officers from Scotland Yard are assessing the criminal claims against the IPCC.

"My clients have suffered for the past five years since the original incident and the spurious claims against them have tarnished their lives.

"They now hope the allegations they have made against the IPCC are taken seriously by the Metropolitan Police and look forward to being updated soon."

The IPCC admitted at the July hearing that it failed to take into account statements corroborating the officers' accounts from independent witnesses, did not interview those witnesses and failed to disclose those statements during disciplinary proceedings.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said on Saturday: "We can confirm that in September the MPS received two linked allegations of crime, relating to issues arising from a misconduct hearing in July 2016 which was halted because of issues with disclosure.

"The allegation has been recorded and is being assessed."

An IPCC spokeswoman said: "The MPS has made us aware that two linked allegations are being assessed and as such it would be inappropriate to say more at this stage."

Mr Kennedy-Macfoy's lawyer, Shamik Dutta, said he had yet to be informed by the Metropolitan Police of any complaints and would expect Mr Kennedy-Macfoy to be notified. He also said the firefighter should be "invited to participate" if there is an investigation.

Mr Dutta added: "It is worth reiterating that after Mr Kennedy-Macfoy was found not guilty in the magistrates' court, both the Metropolitan Police and the IPCC investigated his police complaint. In the course of those investigations, independent witnesses supported Mr Kennedy-Macfoy's account.

"Senior Metropolitan Police officers have invited Mr Kennedy-Macfoy to a meeting to discuss my client's concerns about the case and my client intends to help them learn from his terrible experience."
A ctivists sparked traffic chaos today after staging a sit down protest on a busy south London street.

Dozens of campaigners brought traffic to a standstill in Clapham this afternoon.

Police were called to the scene at 2.43am after the protesters sat down in the middle of the road near Clapham Common.

Pictures emerged on social media of traffic backed up along the street on either side of the group of activists, who were carrying large banners.

On Twitter, bus passengers and motorists complained of being stuck in large queues.

Chaos: The protest sparked huge queues of traffic

One Twitter user wrote: "What is this protest about in Clapham Common? Messing up all the surrounding traffic."

Another said: "A group of people are staging a sit in the middling of the road in Clapham. Holding up all the traffic and I can't get home."

The protest was organised by the group Stand Up to Lambeth to campaign against changes made by the council.

The activists walked from Brixton to Clapham to raise awareness of several grievances including racial and social inequality, housing issues and the closure of libraries.

Transport for London wrote on Twitter: Protest march - Brixton to Clapham Common. Participants have reached Clapham Common, now blocking Clapham Common South Side / Long Road.

The road was cleared shortly after 3pm.

A Met Police spokesman confirmed it had assisted with the protest and that no arrests had been made.
F ilm fans today told of their excitement as plans to build a cinema in Ealing moved a step closer after a date was agreed to start building work - following an eight-year wait.

The west London district has not had a cinema showing the latest blockbusters since a former Empire Cinema in Ealing Broadway shut in 2008.

Work to reopen the cinema has been hit by a series of delays including a change in ownership of the development site.

But a long-awaited breakthrough came this week when council bosses and developers agreed a date to start building work.

Ealing Council leader Julian Bell said construction is due to start in December following talks with current owners St George.

Last year, planning permission was granted for an eight-screen, 1,000-seat cinema to be operated by Picturehouse as part of the major Ealing Filmworks redevelopment which includes homes, shops and restaurants.

Cllr Bell branded it a disgrace that Ealing had no cinema despite its rich heritage within the film industry.

The district is famous for housing the worlds operating film studios, known as Ealing Studios, where a series of classic films were produced post Second World War.

Recent films shot at the Ealing Green studios include hits Notting Hill, Shaun of the Dead and The Imitation Game.

World famous: Ealing Studios / Alex Lentati

Cllr Bell told the Standard: The people of Ealing had waited long enough. For the past eight years they have been looking at a building site.

We are really delighted we are finally getting some progress. The feedback I have had so far has been really positive  everyone is fed up waiting.

Of all the places Ealing should have a cinema. To have the longest operating film studios in the world and not have a cinema is a disgrace.

Residents told the Standard excitement has begun to build at the prospect of walking to the local cinema instead of watching releases at nearby Wembley.

Teacher Fay Block, 37, said: It seemed like a great loss at the time. Ive lived in the area for a number of years but worked longer so I can remember when we had one and it seemed a shame to not have it.

I know a lot of people are excited to have a cinema back.

While Ben Furber, 26, a digital manager, said: There is so much history of film in Ealing it does seem to be shame when you have to go to Wembley to watch a film.

Ive lived in Ealing for six years so Ive never been able to walk to the cinema to watch a film which is always a special experience for when you were younger."

And receptionist Lydia Snodin, 23, added: "When I was a teenager we had a cinema and that was amazing so I feel sad that people growing up now don't have that. I feel this is part of the area getting better."

Cllr Bell said no completion date had been earmarked on the project but added he wanted to see the cinema open by early 2019 at the latest.
A 21-year-old man has been charged with trespass after scaling a gate to break into Buckingham Palace.

Daniel Sheehan gained access to the palace grounds yesterday by climbing the south gate at about 1.45pm and jumping down the other side.

But on-duty police officers quickly spotted him and detained him as soon as he touched the ground.

Mr Sheehan was today charged with two counts of trespass and will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday.

He was taken straight into custody following the attempted break-in and underwent a mental health assessment.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said he was not found in possession of any offensive weapons.

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 residence has regularly 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.
Mayor de Blasio's $41 billion plan to build and preserve 200,000 affordable apartments is geared toward for-profit developers who are trying to maximize their returnsif the rents are set too low or if the number of affordable units in the building is too high, the administration argues, nothing will get built.

"Land and construction costs [are high]," Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen told reporters this summer. "We don't have a gazillion city-owned buildings to put into the sausage maker. We have to be much more creative and work with the private sector."

But advocates argue that the for-profit model doesn't generate enough housing to accommodate the full third of the city's households who have an annual income of less than $35,000. The current homelessness crisis is a good indicator of what's at stake.

In a report published Friday [PDF], Public Advocate Letitia James argues that the city's tax lien salean annual event where the Department of Finance auctions off the right to collect outstanding tax debt on delinquent buildings to banks and private investorsis a lost opportunity for the de Blasio administration to fix up and preserve deeply affordable apartments.

The motivation for the sale, from the city's perspective, is to make back some of what it's owed in outstanding taxes on an annual basis. In the process, the report posits, the city is also perpetuating a cycle of apartment neglect and tenant abuse in a city in dire need of housing.

In some instances, James's office found, distressed buildings enter the tax lien sale multiple years in a row, compounding more and more fees and interest. (Nearly 2,000 vacant and tax-delinquent buildings across the city end up in the city's tax lien sale year after year, according to a recent report from Comptroller Scott Stringer's office.) These same buildings tend to fall into disrepair, and often harbor vacancies.



685 St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights in August 2014. A vacate order was placed on the entire building in 2011 (Google Maps).

When the debt on these delinquent properties becomes untenable, landlords tend to sell. "The landlord flips the building, and the only people who are going to buy it are speculators who, in order to make their money back, are going to kick long time tenants out," said Cea Weaver, research and policy director for New York Communities For Change, a coalition of housing advocates that contributed research to the report.

For example, 468 West 145th Street in Hamilton Heights went through the tax lien sale for the fifth consecutive year last August, and is currently on the market for $1.7 million, even though the Department of Finance estimates its current value at $444,000.

Instead, James argues, the city should set up a so-called "Preservation Trust," which would channel some of the buildings in the tax lien sale to nonprofit developers committed to preserving them at affordable rents. The city would recoup less of the money owed, but advocates argue that tax revenue isn't the city's only priority.

Under the current system, buildings with five or more hazardous violations per unit can be exempt from the tax lien sale, and instead transferred to the Third Party Transfer Program for renovations (that program has preserved 5,000 units of affordable housing since the late 1990s). The report recommends that any building placed in the tax lien sale multiple years in a row, or that has accumulated three hazardous violations per unit, should be eligible for that kind of treatment as well.

James's report focused on 22 buildings across the city that have gone through the tax lien sale more than twice in the last four years, 19 of which contain rent-regulated units. Across all of the buildings, public records show, only 13 of a total 109 liens have been discharged, leaving over $2.5 million in active liens.

At 931 Fulton Street in Crown Heights, tree roots grew into parts of the exterior walls, causing them to split and leak. At 685 St. Marks Avenue, records show, defective plumbing caused inches of sewage to accumulate in the basement, drawing mosquito larvae. A full vacate order was placed on the building in 2011, and plans for a brand new eight-unit building on the site were approved this January.

"The city just sells off the tax liens, and then they do no due diligence," Weaver said. "Before this report, nobody had looked at what happens to the buildings after that. Instead of just allowing the Bank of New York Mellon and bondholders to collect a lot of money from these bad landlords, the city should use the opportunity to create affordable housing."

"We have found that the lien sale program is an effective tool to collect delinquent municipal charges," said Mayoral Spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein, adding, "HPD removes distressed properties from the lien sale where it can use its affordable housing programs, and will continue to look at how all available tools can be used to create affordable housing."
P olice are investigating after a 50-year-old woman was killed in a flat fire in south London.

The woman, who was left fighting for life after the blaze ripped through the flat in Morden last night, died in hospital today, police said.

Dozens of firefighters battled the fire in a ground floor flat of The Holt apartment block in London Road.

Emergency services raced to the blaze after receiving 999 calls at about 8.10pm.

The woman and a man, aged 48, managed to flee the property before firefighters arrived at the scene, London Fire Brigade said.

Paramedics rushed the pair to hospital where the man remains in a non life-threatening condition.

Scotland Yard said the cause of the fire is under investigation by LFB and police.

Four fire engines and 21 firefighters from Wimbledon, Mitcham, Sutton and New Malden stations attended the scene. The fire was under control at 9.20pm.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: Next-of-kin have been informed.

"A post-mortem examination will be held in due course. Formal identification awaits.

At this early stage the fire is being treated as unexplained.
A ll EU nationals currently in the UK will be allowed to stay after Brexit, it has been claimed.

The status of over 3.5 million people from other countries in the EU has been up in the air since Britain voted to leave the union in the June 23 referendum.

But now the Home Office has calculated that five in six of such migrants would be unable to be deported, according to the Daily Telegraph.

This is because EU residents are entitled to permanent residency rights if they have been in the UK for five years, which will be some 80% by the time Britiain officially leaves.

The remainder, around 600,000, are set to be offered an amnesty in a potentially controversial move, the newspaper said.

Prime Minister Theresa May has always insisted that the status of EU nationals in the UK will depend on how the 1.2 million Britons in the rest of the bloc are treated after Brexit.

The Government has come under attack from across the political spectrum for refusing to guarantee the status of EU migrants in the UK, with Mrs May accused of treating them like "bargaining chips" in the Brexit "divorce" deal negotiations.

Highlights from Theresa May's Tory conference speech

One petition demanding the government protect the rights of EU nationals living and working in the UK has been signed by over 60,000 people.

The Prime Minister has also insisted that Brexit will see immigration controls imposed on new migrants.
J eremy Corbyn was heckled by protesters today as he attended a conference of peace activists in central London.

A handful of campaigners launched a tirade as the Labour leader politician as he arrived at Stop the War Coalitions conference.

The famously anti-war politician was yelled at as he took his seat alongside a panel on stage at the TUCs Congress House.

The group claimed they were angry at Mr Corbyn's failure to call for regime change in Syria.

Speech: Jeremy Corbyn address activists at the conference / PA

Oz Katerji, 29, who was standing close to the stage, was escorted out of the building after shouting in the direction of the Labour leader.

Two women at the back initially started the volley of accusations, saying: "Jeremy Corbyn, where were you?" and "Your silence is complicit".

Their protests were soon drowned out by a chant of "no more war" from the hundreds of campaigners in attendance at the conference, who are thought to be among Mr Corbyn's core supporters.

A man yells at Jeremy Corbyn as he delivers a speech / PA

When the Labour leader, who has been embroiled in fresh disputes within his party following a shadow cabinet reshuffle, eventually started his speech, he was again interrupted by one man, who called out: "What about Aleppo?"

Mr Corbyn called for a "political solution" to the long-running conflict in Syria during his address to the room.

Speaking outside, Mr Katerji said he had acted because Mr Corbyn had "deliberately marginalised Syrian voices".

He added: "Jeremy Corbyn himself will never say the words 'Assad must go', he will never say there needs to be a transition in Syria out of the Syrian government's power - that is why we're protesting."
A manda Holden has rushed to her sister Debbie's bedside as she fights for life following a serious car crash.

The Britain's Got Talent judge, 45, travelled from London to Cornwall after hearing about the crash on Thursday morning.

She had been partying at Simon Cowell's lavish 57th birthday party the night before.

Her younger sister Debbie, 44, was placed in intensive care and her condition was initially described as critical but stable.

A spokesman for the family has now said she is "expected to make a full recovery".

"Debbie is through the worst and is now in a stable condition," he said.

A source close to the family told the Sun: Amanda is in absolute agony. Shes very close to her sister.

Its been a very difficult 48 hours and the whole family have been pulling together and trying to keep positive.

Amanda is very close to her sister. Theyre only a year apart and theres something about them together which is really special. Amandas still with her in hospital.

Debbie Holden works as a diving instructor, splitting her time between Cornwall and Thailand.

She was lucky to escape the earthquake which killed 9,000 people in Nepal last April, where she had been doing charity work.
A German city was placed on lockdown today as armed police launched a hunt for a man suspected of planning a bomb attack on an airport.

A blast was heard as armed officers forced their way into a flat in the city of Chemnitz this afternoon.

The area outside the apartment was placed on lockdown with neighbours warned to stay indoors.

Details of the suspected plot have not been released by police but local media reported a suspect was planning an attack on a German airport.

Lockdown: Police officers surround an apartment in the eastern city of Chemnitz / AP

Police revealed they are hunting for a man named Jaber Albakr, who is originally from a Damascus, Syria.

Photographs of the 22-year-old suspect were released by officers pleading for anyone with information on his whereabouts to come forward.

Suspect: Jaber Albakr

It is not known if he is armed.

Three people have been arrested in connection with the investigation.

Two people who were known to Albakr were taken into custody at Chemnitz train station and a third in downtown Chemnitz.

Officers received information from Germany's domestic intelligence agency on Friday night about the alleged attack plans, said Saxony police spokesman Tom Bernhardt.

Police are hunting for 22-year-old Jaber Albakr

Neighbours reported hearing an explosion, but that was the police assault team blowing open the apartment's door, said police spokeswoman Kathlen Zink.

She said police found nobody in the apartment, and they are now searching for the suspect.

Manhunt: Police officers secure a residential area in Chemnitz / EPA

Police said "several hundred grams" of explosives have been found in a raided apartment linked to an alleged bomb plot.

Saxony police spokesman Tom Bernhardt told reporters Saturday that the explosives were "relatively well hidden" in the apartment, which was raided earlier in the day.

Germany has been in a state of high tension after two attacks this summer claimed by the Islamic State, in which many people were injured and both assailants died.

Two other attacks unrelated to Islamic extremism, including a deadly mall shooting in Munich, have also stoked fears.

This page is being updated.
P olice are questioning three people after explosives were found hidden in an apartment raided in connection with a suspected bomb plotter who is on the run in Germany.

Officers are hunting for prime suspect 22-year-old Jaber Albakr, from Damascus, Syria, after armed police swooped on an apartment block at lunchtime.

The surrounding area was placed on lockdown and neighbours warned to stay indoors in the eastern city of Chemnitz.

The three people arrested knew Albakr, who is understood to have been under police surveillance, and are in custody.

Arrest: Police detain a man in Chemnitz / EPA

The German news agency dpa, citing unidentified German security sources, said the suspect is believed to be connected to Islamic extremist groups.

But police officials said officers are still trying to determine what his motivation might be.

Police appealed to the public to call them with any information on Albakr, who was last seen in Chemnitz wearing a black hooded top with a bright pattern on the front.

Photographs of the suspect were released by officers pleading for anyone with information on his whereabouts to come forward.

Suspect: Jaber Albakr

"The search for the suspect is ongoing," Saxony state police tweeted. "At the moment, however, we do not know where he is and what he is carrying with him. Be careful."

"Questioning (of the detainees) is continuing. The results are still to come," said Tom Bernhardt, spokesman for the Saxony state criminal investigation office.

Bernhardt said police did not immediately find the several hundred grammes of explosives when searching the apartment as they were well hidden.

Search: German special policemen surround a housing area in Chemnitz / REUTERS

He told reporters the explosives were found by investigators who combed carefully through the apartment, which was raided at midday.

"They were not just lying out on the kitchen table, they were relatively well hidden," he said.

Police officers secure a sealed-off residential area of Chemnitz / EPA

About 100 people were evacuated from the five-story apartment building in Chemnitz as the bomb squad removed the explosives, which were not considered stable enough to move far. They were then destroyed in a controlled detonation, police said.

"It's a highly volatile mixture," Bernhardt said, adding that experts said it was considered it more dangerous than TNT. He did not identify the type of explosive.

Hundreds of police including specialist commandos combed a residential area in Chemnitz looking for Albakr.

The police deployment followed a tip-off from the domestic intelligence service, though the "where, when, how and why" of the planned attack remained unclear, said Bernhardt

A blast was heard as armed officers forced their way into the flat in Chemnitz.

Police initially asked local residents to remain indoors and but later began an evacuation after discovering the explosives. Bernhardt said it was unclear how many suspects might be involved.

Germany has been in a state of high tension after two attacks this summer claimed by the Islamic State, in which many people were injured and both assailants died.

Two other attacks unrelated to Islamic extremism, including a deadly mall shooting in Munich, have also stoked fears.
H urricane Matthew has killed six people in Florida and left entire towns underwater after first wreaking havoc in Haiti.

The death toll is close to 900 with the storm now battering Georgia and South Carolina with 100mph winds and 7 ft waves.

Described as the the most dangerous storm in living memory, Hurricane Matthew has triggered mass evacuations along the east coast of the US.

More than 120,000 households are currently without power in Georgia, with the worst of the storm expected today. Tornado warnings have also been issued.

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

The Caribbean island of Haiti suffered the worst, with over 800 people killed and tens of thousands made homeless over Wednesday and Thursday.

Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm pushed the sea into fragile coastal villages.

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.

Loading....

As the storm moved onto America, entire towns in Florida were flooded and left without power.

President Barrack Obama issued a stark warning, saying: "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."

Loading....

Over 20,000 people remain in shelters across the state where more flash floods are still predicted.

Emergency services were forced to stop responding to calls in the worst hit areas, contributing to the deaths of six people.

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.
H illary Clinton and Donald Trump are set to go head-to-head in the second of three live TV debates ahead of the US presidential election.

The US Presidential election candidates had their first duel last week in a debate watched by a record breaking 83 million people.

With just one month to go until the US elects its new president in November, the two candidates will field tough questions from undecided voters in the next 90-minute debate live from St Louis, Missouri.

The debate is sure to be fiery after a video leaked on Friday showing Trump making lewd remarks about women sparked controversy.

US presidential debate: Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton / REUTERS

What time is the first debate?

The live debate is being aired live from Washington University in St Louis, Missouri at 9pm US time on October 9 - or 2am here in the UK (October 10).

How can I watch in the UK?

The 90-minute debate will be live streamed on Twitter by clicking the link debates.twitter.com.

On YouTube, American news outlets including NBC, PBS, Fox and CNN will all be live streaming the debate.

ABC will also be streaming the debates on their Facebook page.

For those on Snapchat, the photo messaging app is also reportedly running a live story which users can view, made up of peoples live pictures and video from the debate.

Both Sky and the BBC are also offering live coverage of the 90-minute long debate.

What format will the debate take?

The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which half of the questions will be posed directly by members of the public.

The other half of the questions will be posed by the moderator based on topics of broad public interest as reflected in social media and other sources.

The candidates will have two minutes to respond and there will be an additional minute for the moderator to facilitate further discussion.

The town meeting participants will be undecided voters selected by the Gallup Organisation.

Loading....

Martha Raddatz, chief global affairs correspondent and co-anchor of This Week for ABC, and Anderson Cooper, an anchor at CNN, are to host the on-screen clash.

When is the final US presidential debate?

The third and final presidential debate will take place at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas on Wednesday, October 19 from 9pm US time.

This means it will broadcast live from 2am on Thursday October 20 here in the UK.
S trictly headed over to Tinseltown this week, as the contestants looked to top the leaderboard with their movie-inspired moves.

Movie Week always brings a heap of extra style and flair to the Strictly Ballroom, and this year proved no exception, kicking off with a dazzling group number backed by the best of Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Danny Macs Zorro-themed Paso Doble kept him atop the leaderboard, with his chandelier-dangling antics scoring a mighty 36 on the golden paddles.

For week three, this is amazing, Darcey said, while Len praised his swashbuckling dance, and even Craig was impressed.

Timing, shaping, the lines were all absolutely excellent - a virtuoso performance.

Claudia Fragapanes cheery Charleston also blew the judges away, with her Bugsy Malone routine - ending in a classic cream pie all over the judges - being described by Darcey as absolutely outstanding.

Meanwhile Ore Adubas Singing in the Rain dance brought a flood of tears to Elsetree, with gushing praise from the judges causing Ore to well up - as well as partner Jo and half the other contestants!

Bruno applauded his American Smooth, saying that Gene Kelly himself would have been proud.

Strictly Come Dancing 2016 Line-up 1 /25 Strictly Come Dancing 2016 Line-up Melvin Odoom, Anastacia, Greg Rutherford, Laura Whitmore, Daisy Lowe, Ed Balls MP, Louise Redknapp, Danny Mac, Tameka Empson, Will Young, Ore Oduba, Claudia Fragapane, Judge Robert Rinder, Lesley Joseph and Naga Munchetty Jay Brooks/BBC Laura Whitmore Jay Brooks/BBC Ed Balls Jay Brooks/BBC Daisy Lowe Jay Brooks/BBC Anastacia Jay Brooks/BBC Will Young Jay Brooks/BBC Louise Redknapp Jay Brooks/BBC Greg Rutherford Jay Brooks/BBC Claudia Fragapane Jay Brooks/BBC Naga Munchetty Jay Brooks/BBC Melvin Odoom Jay Brooks/BBC Lesley Joseph Jay Brooks/BBC Judge Robert Rinder Jay Brooks/BBC Tameka Empson Jay Brooks/BBC Ore Oduba Jay Brooks/BBC Danny Mac Jay Brooks/BBC Daisy Lowe Jay Brooks/BBC Ed Balls Jay Brooks/BBC Laura Whitmore Jay Brooks/BBC

Despite giving her a telling-off last week when she and partner Aljaz snuck a lift or two into their Cha-Cha, Len remains sweet on Daisy Lowe, saying that she pulled out all the stops tonight with a Spoonful of Sugar quickstep, that also went down smoothly with the rest of the judges.

All eyes were on Anastacia for her Viennese Waltz, after an injury last week stopped her from performing in the dance-off, leading to the controversial departure of Melvin Odoom.

While it was high noon last sunday for Anastacia, this time her Twilight turn was well-received by the judges.

While both Bruno and Craig were concerned about her balance in the turns, Len was glad to see she was feeling better and dancing better.

Strictly Come Dancing 2016 1 /58 Strictly Come Dancing 2016 Ed Balls with his dance partner Katya Jones during Saturday's live edition of the BBC1 show, Strictly Come Dancing. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Saturday October 8, 2016 Guy Levy/BBC host Tess Daly with Tameka Empson and her dance partner Gorka Marquez after she was voted off Strictly Come Dancing Guy Levy/BBC Judge Robert Rinder with his dance partner Oksana Platero during Saturday's live edition of the BBC1 show, Strictly Come Dancing Guy Levy/BBC Claudia Fragapane with her dance partner AJ Pritchard during Saturday's live edition of the BBC1 show, Strictly Come Dancing Guy Levy/BBC Ed Balls with his dance partner Katya Jones during Saturday's live edition of the BBC1 show, Strictly Come Dancing Guy Levy/BBC Will Young with his dance partner Karen Clifton during a dress rehearsal Guy Levy/BBC Tameka Empson with her dance partner Gorka Marquez Guy Levy/BBC Danny Mac with his dance partner Oti Mabuse during a dress rehearsal Guy Levy/BBC Ed Balls Guy Levy/BBC Claudia Fragapane with her dance partner AJ Pritchard Guy Levy/BBC Lesley Joseph with her dance partner Anton Du Beke Guy Levy/BBC Naga Munchetty with her dance partner Pasha Kovalev Guy Levy/BBC Danny Mac with his dance partner Oti Mabuse Guy Levy/BBC Daisy Lowe with her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec Guy Levy/BBC Will Young with his dance partner Karen Clifton Guy Levy/BBC Louise Redknapp Guy Levy/BBC Laura Whitmore with her dance partner Giovanni Pernice Guy Levy/BBC Ed Balls with dance partner Katya Jones Guy Levy/BBC Melvin Odoom and Janette Manrara leaving the competition, during the results show Guy Levy/BBC Anastacia with her dance partner Brendan Cole Guy Levy/BBC Laura Whitmore with her dance partner Giovanni Pernice Guy Levy/BBC Ore Oduba with his dance partner Joanne Clifton Guy Levy/BBC Daisy Lowe with dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec Guy Levy/BBC Ore Oduba with his dance partner Joanne Clifton Guy Levy/BBC Naga Munchetty with her dance partner Pasha Kovalev during a dress rehearsa Guy Levy/BBC Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly Guy Levy/BBC Louise Redknapp with her dance partner Kevin Clifton Guy Levy/BBC Naga Munchetty with her dance partner Pasha Kovalev Guy Levy/BBC Will Young with his dance partner Karen Clifton Guy Levy/BBC Lesley Joseph with her dance partner Anton Du Beke Guy Levy/BBC Judge Robert Rinder with his dance partner Oksana Platero Guy Levy/BBC Pasha Kovalev (right) and Naga Munchetty Guy Levy/BBC Lesley Joseph (left) and Anton Du Beke Guy Levy/BBC Natalie Lowe (left) and Greg Rutherford Guy Levy/BBC Ed Balls with his dance partner Katya Jones Guy Levy/BBC Ore Oduba with his dance partner Joanne Clifton Guy Levy/BBC Greg Rutherford with his dance partner Natalie Lowe Guy Levy/BBC Anastacia with her dance partner Brendan Cole Guy Levy/BBC Robert Rinder Robert Rinder and Oksana Platero dance the cha cha Guy Levy/BBC Greg Rutherford Natalie Lowe and Greg Rutherford dance the jive Guy Levy/BBC Ore Oduba Joanne Clifton and Ore Oduba dance the tango Guy Levy/BBC Naga Munchetty Pasha Kovalev and Naga Munchetty dance the waltz Guy Levy/BBC Laura Whitmore Laura Whitmore and Giovanni Pernice dance the Cha Cha Guy Levy/BBC Lesley Joseph Lesley Joseph and Anton Du Beke dance the waltz Guy Levy/BBC

Elsewhere, Judge Rinders Flintstones-inspired neanderthal number got the audience on their feet, while Naga Monchettys Mission Impossible Tango may have left her in the firing line, with the judges commenting that she lost focus and was let down by sloppy and careless footwork.

Although no one was green with envy for Eds Mask-influenced Samba moves, the former shadow chancellors madcap antics were certainly left an impression.

100% crazy, fabulous, I couldnt take my eyes off you, proclaimed Darcey Bussell, while Len noted that Youre not the best dancer but youre definitely the most fun.

While Ed and Katya are still sitting at the bottom of the leaderboard, well have to see who walks the red carpet all the way home in the results show on Sunday.
We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today
The Department of Transportation announced today that it will be cracking down on locks and other items left on the Brooklyn Bridge as signs of enduring love. And violators will have to pay!

The placing of love locks, a tradition popularized by an Italian book and movie, has spread rapidly through major cities and made its way to New York's own Brooklyn Bridge. Visitors have taken to attaching inscribed padlocks to the bridge gratings, lampposts, and overhead wirespretty much anywhere they'll fitto immortalize their trip to New York City and their undying love for each other. Signs on the bridge now warn specifically against locks, so tourists have begun to get creative: headphones, hairbands, string, and other items have all sprung up in their place.



The Brooklyn Bridge, in June (Jen Chung / Gothamist)

The phenomenon gained traction in 2013 when the DOT started counting the number of locks removed each yearnearly 34,000 according to DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. She said the removal is time-consuming, requiring DOT crews to traverse the bridge a few times a week to remove unwanted detritus, and has cost the city $120,000 this year alone.

But what seems like a "harmless romantic gesture," according to Trottenberg, has now become a safety issue. Trottenberg held up an overhead light support dangling with headphones and locks that had snapped from the added weight and fallen onto the roadway.



An overloaded light support in June of this year (Jen Chung / Gothamist)

Nearly 60 million tourists visit the city each year, with the Brooklyn Bridge high on their list of landmarks to hit. The recent headphone phenomenon stems from tourists using guide group headphones to mark their visit to the iconic bridge. The DOT has recently contacted tour companies to inform them of the problem and to ask for help in curbing the behavior.

Four million people traverse the bridge annually, and many use its picturesque image as the backdrop for their wedding or engagement photosa handful were posing during my trek across the bridge. DOT workers with bolt cutters dutifully clipped locks into buckets as I walked by. They claimed they had been there since nearly 6 a.m. and that they could barely keep up with the influx of new debris each morning.

With the help of former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz (the genius behind the 'Fuhgeddaboutit' signs), the DOT has decided to post new "No Locks, Yes Lox, Fine $100" and "Yes Love, No Locks, Fine $100" signs on the bridge to deter tourists.

"Our maxim here is 'Take nothing but selfies, leave nothing but footprints'," Trottenberg joked.
Cops are looking for an alleged subway pervert who struck in Manhattan last month.

The incident occurred during the morning commute on Wednesday, September 28, around 8 a.m.: According to the NYPD, "The victim, a 34 year-old female, was riding aboard a south bound Q train when an individual did expose himself and made physical contact with her. The individual did flee the train when it stopped at the 59 Street station."

Police released an image (at right) of the suspect, who is described as being 6' and 170 pounds with black hair.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

If you see or experience sexual misconduct in the subway (this includes seeing a masturbator, being groped, being grinded on, etc.), you can report it to the MTA and police on this website. There's also a place for you to upload photos and/or video. Don't let the perverts win.
Back in January 2016, we shared an interview with Hollywood newcomer Cailey Fleming, who played young Rey in the Forceback vision form Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Back then we concluded that her character was a late addition to the movies story, which was pretty interesting. Now the 9-year-old actress revealed some tiny bits about her filming experience of her brief role in the movie, and shared her thoughts on who Reys parents are in a new interview with the Nerdist.

Cailey Fleming was at the Louisiana Film Prize, where she was promoting her latest role in the new sci-fi short Memoir. Heres what she told the Nerdist.

On the secrecy of The Force Awakens:

Indicative of the high level of secrecy of Abrams productions, those auditioning for Young Rey did so with no idea what movie they were signing up for; Fleming herself remembers submitted a tape for Untitled Feature Project. No context clues were found in the audition sides, as no selections of the Force Awakens script was provided. Fleming was simply asked to cry. You had to cry for one minute straight, the petite starlet said. I just started crying for a minute. Maybe a minute and three seconds. Did she know why her character was crying? Nope. I didnt until I got on set. Because I didnt even know it was Star Wars.

J.J., I said, What is this film even called? He said, Have you ever heard of Star Wars? Its called Star Wars. Which Id heard of it. But I didnt watch it or anything. So, the first Star Wars movie the Mississippi-native ever saw was the one she starred in!

On who she thinks Reys parents are:

So who does Young Rey think Reys parents are? I dont know, she shrugged, before adding, My brother knows her dads Luke Skywalker. I dont know who her mom is. I have no clue. Flemings 13-year-old brother and her mom have watched every Star Wars movie, and both believe Luke is Reys long-lost father. Fleming sides with her brother because, He figured it out because of Darth Vader and stuff. He did a family tree and figured it out from there. Pressed if she had any official behind-the-scenes knowledge, she shook her head no. But Fleming had plenty to share about the production of her big scene.

On the filming of the Forceback scene:

The flashback was not shot on one of Force Awakens lush overseas locations, or even a meticulously decorated soundstage. Fleming revealed, We shot on top of the roof of Bad Robot headquarters. So, I was like, I can see everything! But she could also be seen. Paparazzi hungry for Star Wars spoilers soon took to the skies. There was a helicopter taking pictures, she recalled. And [Abrams] had to block them out of the way because we were in the middle of shooting. So we put this big cardboard thing up so nobody could come and take pictures. Asked if shed acted opposite Simon Pegg, who lent his voice to Jakkus junkboss Unkar Plutt, a puzzled Fleming admitted, I dont know who that is. (She also struggled to remember Plutts name, describing him as that monster dude at the concession stand.) Though a man in a monster costume was on set to grab her arm and drag her away, it wasnt Pegg. The only main cast member Fleming got to meet was Daisy Ridley, of whom she says, She was nice!

For the full interview make sure to go to Nerdist.

The scene with young Rey from The Force Awakens continues to raise many questions. While Caileys brother is certain in his speculation about Reys parents, the real answer to that question is not that simple. This answer may go in any direction, especially considering that this scene was a late addition to the script. The biggest question still remains  what kind of a parent would leave their child in the hands of a junk boss and gangster for so many years? This doesnt sound like something a master Jedi would do, right?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments below or join the discussion in The Canitna.
Countries & Areas

Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe
Statesville's Mark O. Vogel, 53, has produced and published his first book and it is a pleasure to behold. In the 8-by-11-inch horizontal format of a hard cover coffee-table book, it came out in July. The book retails for a reasonable $24.99. It is also available as an eBook for $2.99.
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Bloomsdale will probably host a major fireworks display. The pyrotechnics will not take place until 2024, however. During the Oct. 12 board of aldermen meeting, Kevin Wehner and city officials again discussed the possibility of a July 4 fireworks display at the youth soccer fields on land leased by the city
National Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc and his Portuguese counterpart Jose Alberto de Azeredo Lopes discussed on Friday new potential directions for their countries' military cooperation, the National Defence Ministry informed in a press statement on Saturday.

The two ministers met at the National Military Club in Bucharest, in the context of the Portuguese delegation's participation, at the 86th Air Base "Flt. Lt. George Mociornita", in the handover ceremony of the first six F-16 fighters bought by the Romanian Air Force from Portugal.

"In continuation of the discussions held a week ago in Portugal, the two ministers reviewed the areas where bilateral military cooperation can be deepened in order to capitalize on the special potential created by the successful development of the F-16 program. On this foundation, potential new directions of cooperation were discussed, such as research on military equipment and technology and cyber defence," the cited source informs.

According to the release, the sides also looked at Portugal's request to get involved in the implementation of Romania's initiatives for the accomplishment of the forward allied presence on the national territory in the three specific areas - land, air and sea. Minister Azeredo Lopes expressed the openness of the Portuguese authorities to this subject, affirming Lisbon's intention to stay committed to the Alliance and make a concrete contribution to strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense posture.

Minister Motoc also underscored the need for the excellent results of the F-16 program to inspire a wider development of bilateral relations, particularly in the economic field. He also mentioned that, given that Romania and Portugal are NATO and EU border states, moments like those in Monte Real and Fetesti should lead to a more sustained cooperation on implementing the decisions of the NATO Warsaw Summit and the EU Global Strategy. The sides also agreed on the importance and potential added value created by the two countries' coordinating their stances on major cases on the North-Atlantic Alliance and European Union agenda, which could lead, among others, to the presentation of bilaterally agreed reflection documents, the Defence Ministry's release also says.

agerpres.
President of the Slovak Republic Andrej Kiska will be paying a state visit on Monday and Tuesday to Romania, at the invitation of his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis.

According to a release of the Presidential Administration, the official reception will take place at the Cotroceni Palace on Monday.

The main objective of the visit, according to the release, is the consolidation of the positive dynamic of the relation between Romania and Slovakia, on a political, economic and sectoral level, as well as the cooperation on European current topics, in a context marked by the numerous challenges.

"The two high officials will discuss and decide new methods of strengthening the excellent bilateral politic relationship. (...) Taking into account that Slovakia holds this semester the presidency of the Council of the European Union, the discussions will mainly focus on the European agenda. President Klaus Iohannis will be presenting Romania's vision in regards to the reflection process on Europe's future, launched at the informal Summit in Bratislava held on 16 September 2016. The two presidents will also have wide exchange of opinion regarding other European and regional current topics, the EU's expansion policy and its relating to the Eastern vicinity, included," the Presidential release points out.

In regards to the cooperation within NATO, President Iohaniss will reiterate the necessity of maintaining the Alliance's attention on the Black Sea region, an important component of the Euro-Atlantic security, especially in the context of the security challenges in the region.

The discussions will also target current topics of the international agenda, the Middle East situation included.

According to the press release, in regards to the economic component of the Romania-Slovakia relation, President Klaus Iohannis will underline the need to further consolidate it, starting from the historic record of commercial exchanges which reached in 2015 the amount of 2.4 million Euros and is still on a growing trend.

On Tuesday the two presidents will be opening the Romanian-Slovak Business Forum and with this occasion messages of stimulating the business environment of the two states will be sent, in order to further develop the bilateral relations, investments included.

Moreover, the presidents of the two states will meet on Tuesday in Nadlac, with Slovak communities representatives of Romania, an eloquent example of a good and successful integration in the Romanian society and the Romanian inter-cultural model, the release adds.

agerpres.
Even the world's oldest profession has not been immune to digital disruption. Advertising online has increased the supply and reduced the costs of illicit sex in the United States, data suggests. Advocates say it has improved safety for sex workers, as well.

These trends have continued despite law enforcement's best efforts. Authorities have periodically forced sites to close and on Thursday arrested the chief executive officer of one of the industry's most popular websites, Backpage.

"Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the world's top online brothel," said California Attorney General Kamala Harris in a statement. The executive, Carl Ferrer, was arrested in Houston. The company's controlling shareholders, Michael Lacey and James Larkin, were also charged with felonies in the investigation by California and Texas authorities.

Over the past couple of decades, advocates say online advertising has helped prostitutes avoid the dangers of walking the streets to find clients, where they are easier targets for criminals. By meeting online first, sex workers can better negotiate terms of their service and weed out customers who seem suspicious.

According an analysis of online listings published last year by the Economist, the price of sex worldwide has declined by roughly a quarter since 2006, from nearly $350 to just over $250 for an hour with a prostitute. The magazine suggested that online advertising also protects sex workers from the stigma, making the industry more attractive and increasing competition.

Maxine Doogan, who founded the Erotic Service Providers Union, a California group that advocates for workers in the industry, recalled how Craigslist brought new competition for experienced prostitutes with well developed networks of clients.

"They're undercutting the already well-established erotic service providers," Doogan said.

Backpage is a classified advertising service similar to Craiglist  sellers post their own ads and pay Backpage. The site gained prominence only after Craigslist shut down its adult-services section and federal authorities raided RedBook, a site that served the same clientele on the West Coast.

Some of those more established sex workers were pleased by the news of Ferrer's arrest Thursday, Doogan said, since they hoped the arrest would limit competition. Doogan also warned, however, that if the site stops serving the sex industry, many of those now advertising on Backpage could be forced to return to streetwalking to find customers  putting themselves in danger and losing an important opportunity to vet their clients before meeting them.

"That's absolutely what happened when Craigslist went down," Doogan recalled. "You saw a bunch of people hit the streets."

Systematic research on the illicit sex industry is scant, but there is evidence that legal obstacles to prostitution can create costs for society as a whole.

For instance, when lawmakers inadvertently legalized prostitution in Rhode Island due to a drafting error, economists found an abrupt decline in the number of rapes and the rate of gonorrhea infection among women compared to other, similar states where prostitution remained illegal. It is possible that removing criminal sanctions from their industry gave sex workers more leverage in negotiations with clients, and they could take more measures to protect their safety.

Law enforcement, however, has argued that shutting down sites such as Backpage will protect women from exploitation.

"Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal," said Harris, the attorney general, who is running for U.S. Senate.

Whether shutting down Backpage and similar sites reduces trafficking is disputable. Experts suggest that allowing sex to be advertised online makes it easier for police to identify these victims  who would otherwise be on the street or on other Web sites that are more difficult to monitor.

"It seems like there are more reasons to allow it to continue to function, than to shut it down and close off that avenue," said Ronald Weitzer, a criminologist at George Washington University, in an interview in 2014.

Elizabeth McDougall, the lawyer representing Backpage, made a similar argument to the New York City Council in 2012. "Taking down the adult category of Backpage is not an effective countermeasure to human trafficking," she said.

"What terrifies me is the notion that what is going to happen is that this content, this advertising, is going to go to what are known as the 'black hat' websites, the underground websites, and ultimately the off-shore websites," she continued. "When that happens, not only will these websites not care to cooperate with law enforcement, but when they are off-shore, they are outside the jurisdiction of U.S. law enforcement."

McDougall could not immediately be reached for comment.

Doogan, of the Erotic Service Providers Union, denounced Harris' statement as "hypocrisy," saying that arresting senior Backpage officers would not make sex workers safer.

"We're not her constituents. She doesn't care about us," Doogan said. "We're not making any big contributions to her Senate campaign."
For author Paulette Jiles, opposites not only attract  they make great stories.

In Enemy Women, a Confederate teen from southern Missouri is jailed in St. Louis and falls in love with a Union soldier.

Her new novel brings together a young Indian captive and an aging Texan soldier.

I look for strong contrast between characters, Jiles says. They work like a wheel: balance and counterbalance.

Shell be in St. Louis on Friday to discuss News of the World, a small but mesmerizing story of one Captain Jefferson Kidd, paid to return young Johanna to her German relatives.

As they journey through post-Civil War Texas, Kidd brings far-off news to residents who pay to hear him read information about things like the just-ratified 15th Amendment and a sunken polar exploration ship.

Johanna, meanwhile, barely speaks English. The deerskin-wearing girl had been taken years before by Kiowa Indians, who killed her parents. Threatened with force from the U.S. cavalry, the Kiowa finally return the girl they call Cicada for 15 blankets and a set of silver dinnerware.

Kidd doesnt want to take Johanna, and she doesnt want to go. She wants to go home to Turning Water and Three Spotted, her Kiowa parents.

Texas in particular had many cases of white citizens captured by Indians, Jiles says: Thousands. She read old newspapers, which would sometimes mention in an off-hand way that, say, two boys had been taken.

At 73, she appreciates doing more research on the internet, a boon for historical information. For 2002s Enemy Women, her first novel, shed lived in San Antonio and walked every day to the library. Now, after an amicable divorce, Jiles lives on 30 acres about 90 miles west of her previous home, with one each of a cat, dog, horse and donkey.

I dont really like cities, she says.

As a girl in Missouri, her parents moved around, but she always spent some time with her grandparents in Salem. She remembers her grandfather, the town barber, as a fine man, and everyone would sing country songs and bluegrass. About a year ago, Jiles took up the Irish tin whistle, and she sings in a church choir. The activities evoke warm family memories.

A graduate of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Jiles majored in romance languages. Her first job out of school took her far north and introduced her to Obijwe tribes near the sub-Arctic. A job with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. eventually involved helping towns use FM radios to broadcast their own programs in Obijwe.

The Canadian project even convinced Olivetti to create a typewriter with the syllabic characters that the Obijwe would need for typing up news reports. Starting newspapers was difficult, Jiles remembers, with distribution involving dropping trash bags full of papers from bush planes.

Jiles says she can still recognize some of the different dialects of the language. She wonders whether such a program might have helped Kiowa in Oklahoma retain more of their language. Fewer than 400 people now speak Kiowa fluently, experts say.

For News of the World, which is a finalist for a National Book Award, the author read plenty of material on Indian captives. She found a photo of someone identified as Kiowa Dutch, a blond, blue-eyed man raised by a tribe.

Those who took captives were usually young men, Jiles says, who raided for glory, prestige. If they came back with a captive it would add to their social status.

In the novel, people regard Johanna the way people do when they come upon something strange they have caught in a trap, something alien whose taxonomy is utterly unknown and probably dangerous.

Jiles has the girl delivered by Britt Johnson, a real-life former slave whose rescue of his own wife and daughters from Indians has been credited with inspiring the book The Searchers. (Johnson, though, was a black man  not the John Wayne character from the movie.)

Jiles used Britt and Captain Kidd in a previous novel, The Color of Lighting, and she felt that Kidd was such a great character that I couldnt let him go.

Kidd, too, was inspired by a real person. A friend told her his great-grandfather traveled through North Texas reading news. Although proud of a blurb from Charles Frazier that puts Kidd alongside other classic Western characters such as Rooster Cogburn, Jiles considers Kidd distinctive from the one-eyed fat man Wayne played in True Grit.

As Kidd protects and gets to know Johanna over their 400-mile journey, he shows himself to be the kind of strong character Jiles likes.

Novels these days are too full of victims, she says: Its almost too much. She cites Katniss of the Hunger Games series as an exception.

Johanna, too, is nobodys victim. At 10, shes lively and funny as she adapts to wearing a striped dress and calling her companion Kep-dun.

Four of Jiles five novels have quests in them, but shes not sure why. Maybe a genetic inclination to wander, she agrees with a laugh.

After her St. Louis visit, shell head to the Ozarks for her annual fall trail ride with a cousin and friends. Jiles has returned every year for more than 20 years. Because the women ride through federal and state land, the woods are familiar and seem to fit with Jiles love of the past.

It has pretty well stayed the same.

Paulette Jiles

When  7 p.m. Friday

Where  St. Louis County Library, 1640 South Lindbergh Boulevard

How much  Free
CREVE COEUR  Officials have asked people to avoid contact with Creve Coeur Creek after more than 50,000 gallons of sewage overflowed from a manhole near Conway Village Drive Thursday.

Crews with the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District started cleaning the creek Thursday afternoon after it was discovered by a contractor. Cleaning will continue through the weekend and into next week for areas of the creek that pass through:

Maryville University

St. Lukes Hospital

Ladue Farm Estates subdivision

Ladue Road/Highway 141 interchange.

MSD put up warning signs asking people to avoid the creek.

The overflow poses no immediate threat to public health or safety, but anyone who comes in contact with the creek or affected banks should immediately wash themselves with soap and water, according to MSD.

The district says sewer service to nearby homes won't be affected by the overflow.

The sewage overflowed from a manhole near Conway Village Drive. The manhole is in a wooded area along a tributary of the creek.

Tree roots had grown in to the sewer and blocked the pipe, according to the sewer district. Crews removed the roots and repaired the pipe late Thursday night.

The district reported the overflow to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
ST. LOUIS  For 80 years, teachers educated St. Louis children at Wilkinson School. But amid declining enrollment, the handsome multistory brick school building suffered in 2008 the same fate as so many schools in St. Louis: It closed.

Now, a new plan would return teachers to Wilkinson, but this time as tenants.

In an effort to keep teachers from migrating to suburban districts, St. Louis Public Schools Real Estate Director Walker Gaffney said school officials sought proposals this summer to turn school buildings into affordable housing for teachers.

The district invited developers to present concepts for one or more such projects. Thus far, the Wilkinson project is the first under development. Project developers said the school could be converted into around 40 apartment units chiefly marketed to teachers.

Converting schools into apartments is nothing new in St. Louis. Several of the school systems former school buildings now serve as housing.

Nor is it new for affordable housing projects to target teachers specifically. Cities such as San Francisco and Baltimore have successfully created cost-effective housing for teachers.

In St. Louis, the Teacher Corps provides aspiring educators in city Catholic schools with training, housing them in a former convent at St. John the Baptist in south St. Louis.

But putting all those elements together is a first for the St. Louis district  one that those behind the Wilkinson project said might catch on elsewhere.

Wed love to see this as a pilot that could be replicated in not only other SLPS buildings, but maybe other cities and states that are struggling to retain quality teachers, said Donna Smith, of Smith NMTC Associates, LLC.

In September, the Special Administrative Board that oversees St. Louis Public Schools selected a business led by Smith and her husband, Howard Smith, along with real estate developers Kathy and Richard Sorkin, to transform Wilkinson School on the 7200 block of Arsenal Street.

Smiths company works with groups in St. Louis and around the country to invest in low-income communities by creating affordable housing, manufacturing facilities and community centers.

The Wilkinson School building was among the districts properties listed in good condition and a good candidate for housing units. Three companies submitted proposals to the board to purchase the former school listed at $602,000.

The vacant school is among 22 recently marketed buildings by St. Louis Public Schools. Over several weeks in 2015 the district opened its doors to developers, held open houses and consulted with neighbors about best uses. As the abandoned buildings fall into disrepair they can attract crime and become eyesores.

So far the district has entered into contracts in recent months with buyers for other projects including initiatives to rehab vacant school buildings into senior living facilities and community centers, Gaffney said.

Gaffney said the concept turns buildings that were once liabilities into community assets that can attract and retain good teachers that might otherwise leave for better paying jobs in the county. The need for affordable housing is great here, even though St. Louis has relatively lower rent costs than many other large cities.

Smith said the project with the district is in the delicate first stages of planning. She said next steps, which include thorough building inspections, cost assessments and ensuring financing options and property ownership, could leave room for misfortune that might compromise the deal with the district.

A few years ago, McGowan Brothers Development had multimillion-dollar plans to turn the vacant Jefferson Arms building downtown into affordable housing for young educators and regional headquarters for Teach For America, but the plan never came to fruition after a series of setbacks.

Smith said its too early in the planning process to determine unit sizes and prices. Fair market rent in the St. Louis metro area is almost $700 for a one-bedroom apartment, based on data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

But some apartments in parts of the city can run closer to $1,000 or more for a one-bedroom. Further, a report by the National Association of Realtors found rent rates between 2009 and 2014 in a number of metropolitan areas, including St. Louis, outpaced growth in income of adults ages 25 to 44.

That reality can especially put pressure on new public school teachers, whose salaries tend to be among the lowest of college-educated professionals.

Smith is the daughter of a former teacher and understands educators are often underpaid and underappreciated.

Being involved in a project that could help retain quality teachers, she said, is an added benefit for her.
ST. LOUIS  He gets a few minutes with each presidential candidate Sunday before he speaks before a crowded debate hall, introducing himself and welcoming everyone to Washington University on behalf of the student body.

But come November, he doesnt get to vote.

Kenneth Sng, the president of Washington Universitys student body, is an international student finishing up his senior year before he heads back to Singapore in May.

Rightly, Im not a citizen of this nation, so it makes sense, Sng said about not getting to vote. But in my capacity as (student body) president, I cannot let up on my efforts to increase political engagement on campus. I shouldnt let the fact that I wont be voting stop me from that.

And he hasnt.

Each presidential debate hosted on Washington Universitys campus provides a new opportunity for the student leaders to maximize interest. It was the same for now-assistant professor Michelle Purdy when she led the student government back in 2000 during the George W. Bush and Al Gore debate. But Sng and his cohorts found a way to boost engagement in a different way.

We wanted to work from the ground up, he said. We decided to have a program fund so every student can apply for funding for their programs centered around the debate.

They divided up a $70,000 allowance among all of the groups and individuals who applied.

That money went toward events such as the debate between the College Democrats and College Republicans a few weeks ago.

But Sunday night, televised on CSPAN, Sng has to find a way to speak on behalf of all students  and in his capacity as an international student. He has 60 seconds. No pressure.

One of those two will be the most powerful person on earth, he said. I have to make that time count.

Sng is Washington Universitys first international student president, so he feels obligated to emphasize the gravity of a presidential election on the world.

I think a lot of Democratic institutions around the world are being undermined by their own national events, and I think the United States, from an outsiders perspective, we always see the U.S. as the epitome of democracy, the standard bearer, he said. If America could send a message of renewed confidence in democratic ideals, I think that would mean a lot to a lot of people around the world.

Getting all of that in 60 seconds might be hard, but hes going to try. Hes passionate about politics and policy, coming to Washington University on a scholarship from the government in Singapore with plans to go back and work in public policy when he graduates.

Sng is one of 2,700 international students at Washington University, or a group that comprises about 20 percent of the student body. For weeks the universitys Office of International Students has sought ways to engage international students in a political process in which they cant fully participate.

Friday afternoon, international students attended a seminar called Elections 101. Thats one of three events planned before the election to help bridge a gap of understanding for students who grew up outside the U.S. system of government.

Because this election includes so much discussion about immigration issues and issues about foreigners in general, a lot of (international students) are very interested in the election, said Martha Turner, director of international advising. Our students have always been interested during debates, but theres a particularly strong interest this time.

She said the feeling among the large population was not one of apathy simply because theyre not from this country.

Cathy Raymond, assistant director of English Language Programs, is hosting another event later this month on how to talk politics with Americans.

She recalls a forum a few weeks ago, talking with students about the election and promoting her upcoming seminar, when one student raised his hand and asked her, Are you a Democrat or a Republican?

Its so much a part of the fabric of our culture of understanding what you can or cannot say or ask, or what might be dangerous to say or ask, Raymond said. They dont know that.

During her seminar on Oct. 21, Raymond plans to give students language that they can use if theyre disagreeing that will avoid a confrontation, as well as ways to get out of a difficult situation.

The outreach to international students culminates with a mock election on Nov. 8. The ballot will definitely include the presidential candidates, but it also could include statewide Missouri candidates.

Its important to make them feel like part of the process, Raymond said. Theyre here, theyre part of the community, and its important that theyre part of it.
LULANG FOLK VILLAGE, CHINA  The original Tibetan village here was bulldozed five years ago. What has replaced it is Lulang Folk Village, a postcard-ready replica, a Disney-esque version of an age-old settlement in the high forest.

Grand, ornate buildings in Tibetan style, built by Chinese real estate developers but still vacant, are here, and an empty primary school, and a brand-new luxury hotel offering rooms between $150 and $1,000 a night.

Soon Chinese restaurant owners will move in, and Chinese tour groups will follow.

Lulang is paradise on Earth, located on the roof of the world, community volunteer He Yilin said.

This is Tibet, sanitized for tourists from the rest of China, complete with Mandarin-speaking guides, Chinese food and a whitewashed view of Chinese rule.

Though foreign tourists still face restrictions on travel to Tibet, domestic tourists are arriving in extraordinary numbers. The government is investing heavily and eagerly promoting tourism as a pillar of the economy.

Tourism is the new engine for development in Tibet, Penpa Tashi, vice chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, told reporters shortly before the glitzy opening ceremony of the Third China Tibet Tourism and Culture Expo in the capital city, Lhasa, last month.

The aim, he said, is to create the tourism infrastructure and services that will turn Tibet into a world-class tourism destination.

Yet critics say domestic tourism is being used in another way, as part of a grand economic and strategic plan to bind Tibet ever more tightly into Chinas embrace  in the process trivializing its culture, marginalizing its people and polluting its pristine environment.

It is very similar to how the United States treated its developing West 100 years ago, said P. Christiaan Klieger, a cultural anthropologist, historian and author. They are commodifying the native people and bringing them out as an ethnic display for the consumption of people back east.

Elliot Sperling, an Indiana University professor, said China had a narrow, materialist view of development as the solution to all Tibets problems, and warned that tourism risked turning parts of Tibet into a Lama Disneyland where locals would be outnumbered by Han Chinese.

1951 takeover

Chinese troops moved into Tibet in 1951, two years after the Communist Party rose to power in Beijing. Many Tibetans, who say their land was largely independent from China, still fiercely resent that takeover, and complain of religious, cultural and linguistic repression, as well as economic and social discrimination. Others, including Tibets spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, have fled into exile abroad.

These days, large parts of Lhasa feel increasingly like any modern Chinese city, with hundreds of old buildings knocked down to make way for shopping malls and apartment houses for immigrants, drawn from Chinas ethnic Han majority.

Now, Tibetans have to adjust to a new flood of arrivals, after China opened a train route across the high-altitude Tibetan plateau, from Xining to Lhasa, in 2006.

Chinese tourism statistics about Tibet are opaque and confusing, but one count suggests about 8 million tourists will come this year. Thats a roughly 12-fold rise since the first train arrived. Officials predict a further rise, of 50 percent, by 2020.

That will dwarf the permanent population of just over 3 million people, and attract even more immigrants from elsewhere in China to build infrastructure and support the tourism industry, experts say.

The government has already started to build another major train route, from the major western city of Chengdu to Lhasa, an ambitious project traversing 1,000 miles across some of the worlds most mountainous terrain.

Multinational companies are arriving fast, too: Lhasa already has an imposing Intercontinental Hotel, as well as a Sheraton, a St. Regis and a Shangri-La. Officials predict another 10 luxury hotels there by 2020.

Foreign visitors are less welcome: They have to obtain special permits and visit on organized tours and currently make up just over 1 percent of arrivals.

Penpa Tashi said the central government had ordered that Tibet should be open to the world, and promised that restrictions on foreign visitors would be eased as soon as the region had upgraded its tourist infrastructure.

What he didnt say: Backpackers have been blamed by China for supporting the cause of Tibetan nationalism, and for informing the world about Tibetan uprisings in the late 1980s. Foreign journalists are completely barred, except on rare government tours.

Hiding reality?

The real reason for the restrictions, says the Tibetan government-in-exile in the Indian town of Dharamsala, is to hide the actual reality in Tibet.

By contrast, domestic visitors are a much safer bet.

Some are inspired by a sense of patriotic duty, others by a renewed interest in Buddhism or increasingly by a growing fascination with an exotic people living in a timeless Shangri-La.

I am not Buddhist, but we have Buddha in our heart, said Zhu Chunhua, a young Chinese woman from the eastern province of Jiangsu, photographing a friend after turning prayer wheels outside a small temple in Lhasa. The local people are very simple and pure.

Already, Tibetan Buddhisms holiest site, the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, is bursting at the seams with Han tourists, who flock through its darkened shrine in droves before emerging onto the roof and into the light in a flurry of selfies. In the process, some of the temples magic seems to dissipate.

Some are respectful of what they are seeing, but Tibetans on social media complain of cameras thrust in pilgrims faces and of sacred prayer flags trampled underfoot.

On a recent visit, one tour guide committed a grave breach of religious etiquette by walking the wrong way around a statue of Buddha.

At the landmark Potala Palace, a tourist stood beside a sign banning photographs, taking a photo, while a Tibetan tour guide expressed exasperation at how little Han tourists knew or understood.

Lhasa has been turned from a holy place of pilgrimage into a tourist site, said Tibetan writer Woeser, who last visited the city three years ago. Most tourist shops in the Tibetan old town are owned by Han Chinese, she said, and many supposedly Tibetan artifacts are manufactured in other parts of China.

Benefits, drawbacks

So is Tibetan culture being swamped?

Wang Songping, deputy director of the Tibet Tourism Development Commission, says tourism has both positive and negative effects everywhere in the world. But the influx of money will encourage people to protect their intangible cultural heritage, he argues, and help transform the economy in places like Lulang from cutting down trees to watching trees.

Tourism accounts for a fifth of the local economy and provides 320,000 jobs in Tibet, Wang said, with some 97,000 herders and farmers now involved in the industry. Hundreds of residents have been given government grants to convert their houses for tourist homestays.

Some Tibetans do benefit from tourism, and there is a growing number of small tour agencies offering responsible, eco-friendly travel for foreigners and better-educated domestic tourists.

But mostly, critics say, Tibetans are neither consulted nor empowered as their land is transformed. The top jobs and most of the profits are being cornered by companies and people from elsewhere in China  fueling the kind of inequality and resentment that contributed to riots in Tibet in 2008.

One young man, who looked over his shoulder to check he was not being watched before speaking to a small group of reporters in Lhasa, said tourism was good for the economy  but then complained that Han Chinese visitors did not always respect sacred mountains and holy sites. Many tourists move rocks and run anywhere inside temples, he said. Its not good.

They just keep coming

Lulang Folk Village sits at 12,000 feet above sea level in what officials have designated the Switzerland of the East, a region of forested mountains in southeastern Tibet near the Indian border.

It has been built by some of Chinas biggest real estate companies, with help from the southern provincial government of Guangdong, ostensibly as part of efforts to spread the nations wealth to its poorer hinterlands.

Yet Han Chinese construction workers have done most of the building. Local Tibetans, one worker claimed, simply do not have the skills.

Tibetans who lost their homes in the original village of Zhaxigang will be given new accommodation here, officials said, but their opportunities to make money may be limited. Restaurants in a nearby site are overwhelmingly run by Han Chinese.

Some shops will be run by people from inland, but some will be run by local people, said Tu Hang, a foreign ministry official from Nyingchi prefecture, told reporters on a guided tour, adding, with unconscious condescension about Tibetans: They will have shops to sell small things like biscuits and sweet tea.

But those modest opportunities may be scant consolation for many Tibetans, who worry that their land is drowning in the influx from the east.

There are two problems with the Han Chinese, one Tibetan said. The first one is theyre always brainwashing us. Always, he said. And the second problem is they just keep coming here, more and more.
So my question is, if the department is defunded, and low pay continues, what will happen the next time the police are desperately needed and only a handful of them are available?
Each Saturday and Sunday well post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of buy, hold, or sell.

Macanudo launched Estate Reserve in 2013 to challenge the perception that the best-selling brand in the U.S. is only for rookie cigar fans who havent yet graduated to fuller-bodied, more complex smokes. At the time, it was a very pricey ($16-18) three-vitola line, but now you can find it for considerably less if you poke around. I recently decided to fire up a No. III (5 x 50) that had been aging in my humidor for a couple years. The blend of Dominican tobaccos surrounded by a golden Connecticut Shade wrapper yielded mild flavors of almond, cream, dry cedar, and a little sweetness. It was not indifferent from how the cigar smoked when I first got it. This is no doubt an interesting mild cigar, but its hard to justify a full recommendation given the price, even if you can find the robusto-sized smoke for under $10.

Verdict = Hold.

Patrick A



photo credit: Stogie Guys
The logo of Qatar Airways is pictured at the International Tourism Trade Fair (ITB) in Berlin, Germany, March 9, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

By Alwyn Scott and Mike Stone

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gulf carrier Qatar Airways ordered 40 Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) 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 (NYSE: AIR).

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.

The three Gulf carriers deny receiving subsidies, and other powerful U.S. businesses, including FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) and Boeing, oppose changes to Open Skies agreements with Gulf nations.

(Additional reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Lisa Shumaker)
ZURICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

LafargeHolcim (Paris: LHN) announces it has signed an agreement with Inversiones Caburga Limitada, a company of the Hurtado Vicuna Group, for the divestment of its 54.3 percent interest in Cemento Polpaico in Chile for an enterprise value of approximately CHF 220 million (on a 100 per cent basis). The transaction will be executed by way of a public tender offer by Inversiones Caburga Limitada to all shareholders of Cemento Polpaico.

Cemento Polpaico operates one integrated plant and two grinding plants with an annual cement capacity of 2.3 million tonnes. The company is also a leading ready-mix concrete producer operating 25 plants and produces aggregates. The launch of the public tender offer is subject to the approval of the Chilean competition authorities which is expected for the first half of 2017. Following the successful completion LafargeHolcim would exit Chile completely.

LafargeHolcim has exceeded its divestment target of CHF 3.5 billion for 2016. The Group announced in August that it would be extending the program to CHF 5 billion which it expects to complete by the end of 2017.

About LafargeHolcim

With a well-balanced presence in 90 countries and a focus on cement, aggregates and concrete, LafargeHolcim (SIX Swiss Exchange, Euronext Paris: LHN) is the world leader in the building materials industry. The Group has 100,000 employees around the world and combined net sales of CHF 29.5 billion in 2015. LafargeHolcim is the industry benchmark in R&D and serves from the individual homebuilder to the largest and most complex project with the widest range of value-adding products, innovative services and comprehensive building solutions. With a commitment to drive sustainable solutions for better building and infrastructure and to contribute to a higher quality of life, the Group is best positioned to meet the challenges of increasing urbanization.

More information is available on www.lafargeholcim.com

About Inversiones Caburga Limitada

Inversiones Caburga Limitada is a company of the Hurtado Vicuna Group which is a Chilean diversified group with investments in the insurance, telecommunication and mining sectors in Chile, participating in the Chilean ready mix market through Cementos Bicentenario (BSA).

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161008005021/en/

LafargeHolcim Ltd

Media Relations: [email protected]

Zurich: +41 (0) 58 858 87 10

or

Paris: +33 (0) 1 44 34 11 70

or

Investor Relations: [email protected]

Zurich: +41 (0) 58 858 87 87

Source: LafargeHolcim
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A group of Native and non-Native educators and activists gathered on the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Oglala Lakota people in South Dakota to celebrate the opening of the Pine Ridge Girls' School, the first nondenominational independent college-prep girls' school on any Native reservation in America.

The school was founded in part to respond to the epidemic of youth suicides that have plagued the reservation in the last few years, and is grounded in Lakota culture and life ways, as well as traditional college-prep courses.

The school is already making a big difference, since girls who are both empowered in their own culture and know they are going to college aren't thinking about ending their lives," said founder Victoria Shorr. "They are too busy learning the geometry of the tipi and playing volleyball and winning art contests.

In celebration of its grand opening, the school hosted a "Founding Open House," which included a drum ceremony, and sage purification for the school and everyone in attendance - in true Lakota fashion.

Honored guests included School Council member Cheryl Crazy Bull, Head of The American Indian College Fund, Board members Carole Goldberg, former Vice Chair and current Native law professor at UCLA, Shorr, co-founder of the Archer School for girls, and distinguished Lakota educator and Board member Ethleen Iron Cloud Two Dogs with her husband medicine man Rick Two Dogs, who led the blessing.

For more information or if you'd like to donate, visit http://www.pineridgegirlsschool.com/.

About Pine Ridge Girls' School: The Pine Ridge Girls' School was founded by a group of education advocates and Native Americans with the vision of a culturally rooted education that is guided by the best practices of all-girls education. The founders of the Pine Ridge Girls' School are dedicated to the revitalization of tribal ways of living, especially as those ways ground our students in their journey to adulthood. We value the beliefs and and traditions of the Oglala Oyate (nation) and view those beliefs and traditions as the foundation of the education that our school will provide.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pine-ridge-girls-school-celebrates-grand-opening-as-first-independent-college-preparatory-girls-school-on-any-reservation-in-america-300341585.html

SOURCE The Pine Ridge Girls School
By Marine Pennetier and John Irish

PARIS (Reuters) - France reacted angrily on Friday after Poland scrapped a multi-billion-dollar helicopter deal with Airbus, warning it would review defense 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, beaten by the Law and Justice (PiS) party in elections last October, had agreed the provisional deal, but on Oct. 4 the new authorities said they were scrapping the contract altogether.

Members of the new euroskeptic 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 defense 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 had earlier said President Francois Hollande had decided to cancel a visit to Warsaw next week for intergovernmental consultations, in protest.

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 defense 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 defense 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 defense."

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 defense industry, buying Sikorsky helicopters could further strengthen Warsaw's ties with Washington, already its closest ally.

"Before we had a center-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 defense 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)
An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, January 15, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

VIENNA (Reuters) - The implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers is still fragile, the head of the U.N. 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 U.S. sanctions still in place.

Earlier this week, the speaker of the Iranian parliament canceled 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 U.S. president, Donald Trump, has strongly criticized 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.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy, editing by Larry King)
By Fatos Bytyci

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo's parliament voted late on Friday to put a huge mining complex under government control and save it from bankruptcy, despite objections from Belgrade and protests by local Serbs.

The Trepca lead, zinc and silver mines, which before the armed conflicts that swept through the Balkans in the 1990s accounted for two thirds of Kosovo's gross domestic product, are currently operating at minimum capacity with creditor claims at 1.4 billion euros ($1.57 billion).

The complex's ownership structure has been the subject of dispute between Kosovo and Serbia. Belgrade claims 75 percent of Trepca, part of which is on its territory.

Trepca straddles Kosovo's Serb-Albanian ethnic divide and, since the territory broke away from Serbia in 1999, the mine has been held in trust and readied for sale by an agency created by the United Nations.

However, the Privatisation Agency of Kosovo (KPA) has failed to come up with a plan for the mine's future, partly due to its murky ownership structure.

Seventy-nine deputies in Kosovo's 120-seat parliament voted late on Friday to put the mine under government control, adopting a law giving the state an 80 percent stake and miners 20 percent.

The new legislation makes the government the guarantor of the company's debt. The complex had been due to face bankruptcy proceedings on Nov 1.

"The mineral resources are the property of the Republic of Kosovo and with this law Trepcas assets are and will remain in Kosovo," Prime Minister Isa Mustafa told parliament.

Serb lawmakers boycotted the vote while local media said hundreds of protesters, together with Serb ministers, blocked a road for few hours in the Serb-dominated part of northern Kosovo, where the complex is located.

Once a mainstay of industrial production in the former Yugoslavia, Trepca employed 20,000 people at its height and accounted for most of the country's mineral wealth.

Serbia considers the complex as belonging to a list of "socially-owned enterprises" and would view its appropriation by the new Balkan state as theft.

Kosovo says Serbia lost rights to state-controlled enterprises on Kosovar territory when forces under late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic massacred and expelled ethnic Albanians from Kosovo in a 1998-99 counter-insurgency campaign.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008.

In Belgrade, the Serbian government office in charge of negotiations with Kosovo called a news conference for 0900 GMT on Saturday in response to the new legislation.

($1 = 0.8929 euros)

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Ivana Sekularac and John Stonestreet)
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights investigator for Iran called on Friday for the immediate release of three Iranians with dual nationality whose health is a matter of concern.

Ahmed Shaheed, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, in particular highlighted the case of the Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in April with her 2-year-old daughter and tried in August.

An Iranian revolutionary court sentenced her to five years in prison on charges that remain secret, her family said last month.

"Sentencing individuals for charges that are kept secret from defendants and their defense lawyers is a mockery of justice," Shaheed, a former foreign minister of the Maldives, said in a statement. He said her health had "seriously deteriorated" since her arrest.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a London-based charity that is independent of Reuters News. Her daughter, now also trapped in Iran, is being looked after by Zaghari-Ratcliffe's parents.

Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards have accused Zaghari-Ratcliffe of trying to overthrow Iran's clerical establishment, an accusation that the Foundation and her husband have dismissed.

"I am convinced of Nazanins innocence," Thomson Reuters Foundation Chief Executive Monique Villa said in a statement. "She had no dealings with Iran whatsoever in her professional capacity as the Thomson Reuters Foundation does not operate in Iran, directly or indirectly."

Iran does not recognize dual nationality, which prevents Western embassies from visiting such detainees.

Shaheed said that two elderly men held in Tehran's Evin prison required urgent medical attention and must also be freed.

Baquer Namazi, an 80-year-old retired official at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) who also holds American nationality, has been detained since February on unknown charges and without access to a lawyer, Shaheed said.

A website ( http://freesiamak.com ) dedicated to freeing Namazi and his son Siamak, a businessman also being held in Iran, describes Baquer as an international civil servant and civil society volunteer. His supporters say on the site he has never been involved in any other business, activity or capacity.

Kamal Foroughi, 77, is an Iranian-British businessman arrested in May 2011 who is serving an eight-year prison term on charges of espionage and possession of alcoholic beverages, Shaheed said.

Foroughis son, Kamran, told Britain's Guardian newspaper last October. "My dad has always strenuously maintained his innocence and we believe him."

Shaheed welcomed the release last month of Homa Hoodfar, an Iranian-Canadian national arrested in June. The Montreal academic was released a week after the two countries began talks on a restoration of diplomatic ties, broken off in 2012.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
In a program organised by the think tank Atlantic Council, Hussain said, "We [Pakistan] are observing a change in US diplomatic policy".

Hussain said every action has a reaction, and Pakistan felt the need to develop close ties with Russia after President Obamas two visits to India.

This was the start of a new chapter in Pakistan-Russia ties.

The senator added that Russia is in favour of building a working relationship with countries of the region and it has also started a dialogue process with Afghan Taliban through back-door channels.

Also read: COAS reviews Pak-Russia joint military exercises near Attock

He said the US State Department had refused to give visa to then Gujrat Chief Minister Narinder Modi in 2006, but when Modi was elected as Indian Prime Minister, US changed its policy for political gains.

"This U-turn of US policy can be traced back to the time of Bush administration, when the US-India nuclear deal was signed which was against the law of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Hussain.

"Stability of Afghanistan and eradication of terrorism is a top priority of the US, which needs Pakistan to play a role in the peace-process. Pakistan is not only providing its assistance in the peace process but also facing damages," stated the senator while addressing the audience.

Also read: Russia turns focus to Pakistans energy market

The senator stated India can not violate the Indus Waters Treaty, as that will constitute as an act of war.

"Apart from Pakistan and India, the World Bank is also a stakeholder in the treaty," said Hussain.

Commenting on the Uri attack in India-held Kashmir, Husain said, "UN military observer group for India and Pakistan should investigate the Uri attack. Crossing the Line of Control to attack any target in India is not possible for any militant."

He added that if India has any evidence or intelligence regarding the attack, it should be shared with Pakistan.

Read more: First ever Pakistan-Russia joint military exercise begins in Gilgit-Baltistan

A contingent of Russian ground forces arrived in Pakistan earlier in September for the first ever joint Pak-Russian military exercise.

The two-week-long exercise is expected to continue until Oct 10. The exercises with Russian ground forces come at a time when tensions between Pakistan and India are running high following an attack on the Uri military camp in India-held Kashmir.

Around 200 military personnel of both countries will participate in the drills.
CM praises German Government donations for development projects in the region.

German government has shown interest for investment in establishment of blood transfusion centers and grid station in Gilgit-Baltistan.

It was expressed by the German Ambassador Inalepel during a meeting with Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan in Islamabad.

Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan has praised German Government donations for development projects in the region.
This journal serves a community of small businesses worldwide. Here John Wiley Spiers addresses topics on business start-up and expansion and reports relevant daily headlines.John Wiley Spiers is a small business international trader, author of HOW SMALL BUSINESS TRADES WORLDWIDE , and lecturer at various colleges.



For those interested in becoming members of this community, contact John at john@johnspiers.com.
If you wanted to know how arts groups in Montana are doing, you would typically pick up the phone and call Arlynn "Arni" Fishbaugh at the Montana Arts Council.

That is until Sept. 30, when she retired as MAC executive director after serving in that job since November 1992.

Last weekend she was honored with a 2016 University of Montana Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes outstanding alumni who have distinguished themselves in their field.

But Fishbaughs contributions to the art world are known far beyond Montanas borders.

And it makes for a fascinating story how a girl from Carter, Montana, took center stage in some of the most powerful arts organizations in the country.

Nationally lauded

Nationally, shes been lauded as a leader among leaders and for making MACs work a model for the state arts agency field.

Fishbaugh was honored in 2010 by her peers nationally with the prestigious Gary Young Award for making an extraordinary contribution to public support for the arts. She was also chairman of the board for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

During her tenure at MAC, it launched the Montana Artrepreneur Program that has guided more than 400 Montana artists in how to successfully market their works.

A 2014 study found that the artists saw a 275 percent increase in their net art sales since they started in the program.

Its been so successful, the National Endowment for the Arts is looking at it as a model for other states.

Work with Legislature

Shes also raised arts profile in Montana and has been praised for her work with the Legislature.

Shes been really instrumental in bringing people across the aisle to the arts, said Tom Cordingley, former longtime director of Grandstreet Theatre and a MAC board member.

In my time here, her real great strength has been how supportive shes been, said Steven Young Lee, an award-winning artist and resident artist director at the Archie Bray Foundation.

Shes been a real cheerleader for the arts, Lee said. Thats something Ive really appreciated -- how encouraging shes been. Shes just done a lot ... to showcase the phenomenal arts organizations in the state. You can really sense how proud she is both of the state of Montana and the arts and culture that are happening here.

Art in schools

Shes also advocated for art in the schools. MAC worked hand in hand with the Montana Office of Public Instruction to revamp the states arts standards, which hadnt been revised since 1999.

It was in school that Fishbaugh was first touched by that special creative spark art brings to ones life.

I grew up on a wheat farm and went to high school in Fort Benton, she said. I got interested in the arts because my best friend was a piano player. He was a classical musician but also played  at the Fort Peck summer theater. ... I just fell in love with it.

She headed off to the University of Montana thinking shed major in theater and wound up doing a lot of publicity and marketing -- skills that would set her on her career path.

She went on for a degree in theater management at UCLA, initially planning to do theater management for a regional theater.

She worked at arts marketing jobs with the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and later the Houston Grand Operas Texas Opera Theater, which was their touring division. Then she was off to New York as the associate marketing director at the Metropolitan Opera.

They were just fabulous jobs -- really incredible learning experiences, she said. I worked with the best in the business.

Back in Montana

After a stint with the National Video Corporation out of London, the premier producer of opera and ballet videos, which ran into financial problems, she returned to Montana. I was ready to come home. Im a Montana girl at heart.

While she was doing marketing for Montana Rep Theatre, the MAC directorship opened and she was encouraged to apply.

I wanted this job with all my heart. I was so enormously excited when I got it, she said.

Looking back at changes at MAC since she took charge 24 years ago, Fishbaugh said, I think the agency has been very entrepreneurial in how we sought other kinds of partnerships and funding.

In the early 2000s, We really changed the way we do business," shifting MACs focus outward to the public instead of just inward on artists and art educators.

MAC also brought in $850,000 in outside funding to launch the artrepreneur program.

Were enormously proud of that program, she said.

One of the agencys strong pursuits has been to help artists make a better living and to help arts organizations be more stable and grow their businesses," she said.

MAC has found new ways to partner with the Office of Public Instruction, she said, and (reinforce) how important the arts are as a core curriculum subject.

Return on investment

In the political realm, we talk a lot more about return on investment, Fishbaugh said. Montana artists and arts organizations are speaking to their legislators about the value of public funding for the arts.

Fishbaugh lists a number of benefits of art, from boosting local economies and tourism, to improving education and giving a community "character of place."

We hear stories how doctors wont move to a community that doesnt have a strong arts environment, she said. Businesses wont move to a community that doesnt have a strong cultural component.

Our ability to talk to legislators about these things in a way that is meaningful to them is another big change over the years, she said. Were really proud of the respect the arts council has garnered from the legislators of both parties."

Among the many people who have lauded her work is Greg Johnson, Montana Rep's artistic director, who wrote of her, "I can think of no one...who has done more to promote the arts and culture of Montana for all of us."

The MAC board is continuing a national search for Fishbaugh's replacement. Her job responsibilities are now split between two longtime MAC staff members, Cinda Holt and Kristin Han Burgoyne.

For more information, visit http://art.mt.gov/
Angry shareholders reject troubled City Finance accounts By Quintus Perea CIFL fraud suspect Deepthi Perera BLAMED FOR abusing funds in this company too View(s): View(s):

The annual accounts of the struggling finance company, the City Finance Corporation Ltd (CFCL) was rejected by shareholders for the second year in succession after directors were unable to respond convincingly to a barrage of questions over missing funds. The company AGM was held at the Colombo Public Library auditorium last week. After completing reading of the annual report and its accounts, CFCL Deputy Chairman M.A. Chandrasagara, presiding in the absence of the chairperson Ms. K. Kulatunga, called for a vote. But shareholders instead demanded answers to a barrage of queries on missing funds valued at Rs. 800 million.

With no favourable response, shareholders opposed the accounts which was rejected by a majority vote, following a similar situation last year. CFCL, among many finance companies that have collapsed over the years in the aftermath of the 2008 Golden Key debacle, had Rs. 5 billion in deposits owned by 2,200 depositors which appeared to have been embezzled, according to the CFCL Depositors Protection Association (CFCLDPA). Lakshitha Bogollagama, CIFLs majority shareholder with a 71.5 per cent stake, told the AGM that around Rs. 800 million is missing and written off and pointed out that a fund of Rs. 1.5 billion has eventually dropped to Rs. 198 million.

He demanded an explanation as to what happened to these missing funds. The Deputy Chairman accepted that the assets were accepted without proper deeds and they have been transferred without proper documents. Then Mr. Bogollagama questioned as to why the assets were written off and why no action was taken against the directors who were responsible at that time for this fraudulent act. Disgruntled shareholders also requested that a more reputed auditor should be appointed and a comprehensive forensic audit should be undertaken to find out the exact situation of the assets and liabilities of CFCL

According to the CFCLDPA, this company was earlier known as Industrial Finance and in 2008/2009 Deepthi Perera transferred funds of around Rs. 1.5 billion in liability from a company known as CIFLAM (Central Investment and Finance Ltd Asset Management). According to the association CIFLAM was created in 2007 and it raised deposits to the tune of Rs. 1.5 billion from the public which was transferred to Industrial Finance in 2009. According to the same source in 2010 ownership of Industrial Finance was transferred to one Upali de Soyza for just Rs. 10 and though that person promised to bring in funds that never happened.

An association official told the Business Times that the current state of affairs of the company arose as Deepthi Perera, main suspect in the CIFL fraud case, was allegedly running a complex financial scam which had in fact two companies named CIFL of which only one was licensed. CIFL marketers induced people to invest in the legally set-up CIFL but in fact the deposits went to the unregistered CIFLAM. The association said that in 2014 an international investor offered to rescue the CFCL with the Central Bank promising matching funds. But after the foreign investor pumped in Rs. 200 million on the promise of matching funds by the Central Bank, the banking regulator pulled out of the deal.
Dilmah founder urges setting of Special Tea Authority to revive Ceylon Tea View(s):

The urgent formation of a Special Tea Authority that would take Ceylon Tea to the next level has been proposed by veteran tea producer and trader Merrill J. Fernando. Founder of tea brand Dilmah, Mr. Fernando  a long-time campaigner for a high-end Ceylon Tea brand  has said that the industry needs to be placed under the full responsibility of this proposed authority. It will work on a 5-year plan to revive tea, establish a meaningful marketing plan to take Ceylon Tea back to all previously Ceylon Tea dominated nations and take control of all existing institutions geared to the interests of tea (same can be replicated for rubber and coconut industries among others). It would seek approval from government for a 5-year plan and proceed to implement it without fear or favour, the 86-year-old-still-active Dilmah founder said in the recently released 2015-16 Ceylon Tea Services PLC report.

The company said it would be renamed Dilmah Ceylon Tea Co. PLC. There should be no government interference, once the 5 year plan is approved. Political favours towards any particular sector should be avoided at all cost, Mr. Fernando, who has expressed his opposition to large-scale import of teas for blending purposes and in that context a tea hub, said in the report. In terms of its performance, group revenue was down marginally to Rs. 7.3 billion as at end March 2016 from Rs. 7.4 billion. Post-tax profit also fell to Rs.729.9 million from Rs. 884 million earlier. The company which practices a philosophy where business is a matter of human service has pumped in large sums of socially beneficial projects. In the year under review it donated Rs.100 million, same as last year, to the MJF Charitable Foundation while other donations totalled Rs.4.1 million against Rs.600,000 in 2013-14.

In his comments, Mr. Fernando said: The importance of Russia and other CIS countries to Ceylon tea continues, though on reduced volumes of bulk tea and value added exports. This trend is likely to continue. As I pointed out in several of my previous reports, this misfortune is our exporters own creation; developing importers own brand names at very cheap price levels which are extremely harmful to long-term interests of our tea industry. My warnings, sounded year after year, on this pending danger were not heeded by tea interests or by the government. Now, we have begun to pay the penalty for this neglect resulting in far less demand for bulk tea resulting in lower prices and negligible demand for value added tea from the very sources that benefited from our exporters generosity towards establishing their own brand names at low cost. Those brand names now purchase cheaper tea from other sources such as Vietnam, Indonesia, China, causing serious harm to the quality and image of Ceylon tea by supplying under the same brand names and labeling cheap blends as CEYLON TEA.

They inflict even greater harm by re-exporting their CEYLON TEA to other countries at price levels which are 40 per cent to 50 per cent below the genuine Ceylon Tea exported from Sri Lanka. Such are the rewards reaped by our exporters, who helped build Russian brand names at the expense of our own Ceylon Tea! All exporters, as well as Ceylon tea, are paying the penalty for the folly of a few tea traders. Government and semi government bodies as well as private sector institutions watch helplessly while our most valuable industry is destroyed. I sincerely hope the new government, we elected last August, will realize the desperate need to salvage Ceylon tea from the deep pit it has been driven into by exploitation, not only by foreign traders but also by our own traders, our own producers and by our own governments too.

State of plantations

Plantations require complete restructuring today following successive governments failure to monitor their progress although tools for doing so are in place. As a result, while some regional plantation companies have done well by investing in the development of their properties, others have ruthlessly exploited theirs. Several estates have been leased out at high rates, completely disproportionate to the lease rentals paid to government by RPCs. Lease extensions to RPCs should be reviewed, based on performance and on specific terms and conditions which should be monitored by a very experienced, competent management body formed from the private sector. Tea, today, functions in several sectors  plantations, smallholders, private factory owners, brokers and exporters.

Each one protecting ones own interests and not the interests and welfare of the tea industry in general. If each sector wakes up or is woken up to the reality and understands the plight of the industry, a new dawn may await Ceylon Tea. With a strong and knowledgeable Tea Authority, it should be possible to develop a common marketing strategy with the likes of India, Indonesia and Kenya with the aim of retaining the wealth we export in the form of raw materials to enrich foreign traders within the respective countries themselves. Dilmah undertook this mission 30 years ago and it is now prepared to show the way towards eliminating poverty in our countries by developing value adding industries which will enrich our countries instead of foreign traders.
Elephant House to grow in UK market View(s):

Sri Lankas iconic Elephant House has signed up with a UK-based bottling facility for the production of 1.5 litre PET plastic variants of Necto, Cream Soda and Orange Barley beverages. Planned to ultimately facilitate increased exports into the European market, this new bottling deal by Sri Lankas beverages pioneer immediately targets sustained expansion into key European markets such as Switzerland, France, Italy and Germany. This undertaking will be accomplished with the support of Universal Suppliers Ltd, Elephant Houses official beverages distributor for Europe, according to a company media release.

The new agreement follows more than 13 years of continuous European market growth for Elephant House Beverages, which already exports to UK, Switzerland, France, Germany, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Additionally, the companys beverages unit also exports to most countries in the Middle East, as well as even China, India and Korea. Europe is the next big step for Elephant House in terms of export growth, and we are gearing up for it by expanding our range of offerings so as to meet our strategic goal of significantly expanding our presence, said Ceylon Cold Stores PLC Head of Beverages/John Keells Holdings Vice President Daminda Gamlath.
Fresh protests over Colombo Port City View(s):

Thousands of fishermen and their families launched a fresh protest over the Colombo Port City project last week saying their livelihoods would be affected if dredging of the sea is done just 3 km away from the shore instead of 30 km away. Seen here are protestors in Negombo. Pix by Quintus Perera. (See story on Page 6)
Obsession with awards View(s):

Good awards, bad awards, fake awards  Sri Lankans are obsessed with awards and getting recognition for achievements at whatever cost. The corporate sector is filled with awards being presented across all segments of business: There are awards for the best citizen, the best exporter, the best HR company, the best this and the best that! The we are the best carnival, it seems, never ends. Yes, while there are awards schemes run by organizations with a high level of integrity and credibility, quite a few  many from abroad  are in for the money. Pay up and you get an award: Its like buying fast food or taking a self-photo at an overseas amusement park with an instant sticker on your clothes saying I was there.

Check out the newspapers and not a day passes where a company has either issued a statement or taken out an advertisement on an award it has won, secured or being conferred with. Are consumers really interested? Maybe, maybe not but the fact remains that somewhere down the line this self-glorification borders not only on absurdity but affects the credibility and integrity of the real awards: Those categories that have been respected and revered for years by society. Rather than self-praise, the best rewards and achievement must come from the public in endorsing a product or service. That is the real thing.

Achievement and fulfilment are through receiving letters or other communication from your customers praising a product or service. What is the Sri Lankan experience? After-sales service is one of the biggest problems people have with companies, many belonging to the we have won many awards and honours category. At the end of the day, these claims cheat and deceive the public into believing that company A or product B was hailed by some organization for being an exemplary company, exemplary citizen or a good product. When in reality, it is not. Here are two examples: A couple of years ago, a foreign organization was promoting a best brands scheme.

What surprised many was that when the best brands in Sri Lanka were declared, some of them were simply not the best. Further investigation revealed that while the best brand label is bestowed on a company at a gala ceremony, those selected were asked to pay a fee to use that best brand tag on their product. Inclusion in a coffee table book on best brands was also based on a generous fee to the organization, a well-known gimmick in many countries. Last week a friend related a similar story. Working in the financial services industry, he got a call from a UK-based media group saying the company had been picked as an award winner in a best competition.

I asked them on what basis was the selection made when we hadnt even applied? he said and the response was: Oh we went through your company background (on the web). What also aroused his suspicions was that the call came on a free Skype line when high-profile organizations like this would normally pick up a phone and call any part of the world irrespective of the cost. Then came the catch; We are pleased to present your company this award. However to be able to use this tag in your own promotional activity, there is a one-off fee of 2000 sterling pounds, the caller said.

Are these genuine achievements that one can be proud of and boast about? Isnt it unethical and goes against good governance principles corporate Sri Lanka keeps persistently talking about? Many are the examples of such awards where companies spend millions of rupees, firstly to apply for the award and secondly to fly overseas to receive the award. There is one particular award presentation in Spain where some unknown Maradana/Panchikawatte shops have also been winners. Companies are respected for good, clean, quality products and services. There are also companies in Sri Lanka that do social service silently, sharing their profits with those in need.

There are others where service to humanity is their philosophy in business. These are your winners, the best of the best but who also dont indulge in self-praise or self-glory. Good service is like the response I got from the Abu Dhabi Airports Authority within a month of my complaint about a particular service area at the Abu Dhabi airport. On a stopover in July, I filled one of the customer service forms raising some issues about service and submitted it and forget about it (thereafter). Exactly a month later, with an apology for the delay the authority provided a satisfactory answer to my query. Fancy asking the Colombo airport to respond to a customer query or for that matter some Sri Lankan company? There are nice contact us or write to us on company websites but the response is slow or there is no response at all.

A couple of years ago, a now-defunct telecom company informed the media about being crowned the best HR company in Asia at a grand ceremony in Mumbai. Hidden in that accolade was the fact that it was one of the worst HR practitioners, having informed its staff  at that time  to look for new jobs, cutting benefits and looking for a buyer! Following this craze-for-awards syndrome for many years, I was drawn to an article appearing in a foreign magazine in January this year by Amir Kassaei, chief creative officer of ad firm DDB Worldwide, whose opening line was Youll be seeing less work from DDB at award shows in 2016. Heres why. He said: There is something fundamentally wrong in ad land. Everybody knows it but nobody has been willing to fix it or really even talk about it. Until now.

As of today, were more than just talking openly about it, were going to walk the talk. And hopefully recalibrate some of the most important values in our industry to show the way forward in terms of how this industry should think, act and create. He went on to say: Too many of us in the industry have bought into the idea that winning awards is proof of creative effectiveness, so much so that were willing to sacrifice our integrity to get them. And in turn that has lessened the integrity of the awards themselves. So if we believe that we are a great creative or an amazing agency or a great network because we won such and such meaningless award in a sub-sub-sub-category at an advertising awards show where ad people award ad peoples irrelevant solutions for problems that often do not even exist, then wed better think again.

The article drew bouquets and brickbats and stirred a lot of debate. Was the writer trying to be the nice, honest guy in a crowd and pick a few clients with this masterpiece of self-criticism or was it a sincere effort to raise a serious issue? The jury is still out on that discussion but this is one illustration of what a fake world we live in where misleading and payment-driven awards meant to deceive the public are acclaimed in a rugby scrum-like-behaviour of  who is the best of the best.
Of family councils, risk-takers, riding a bicycle and mentoring View(s):

A new concept of family councils and the need for Sri Lankan SMEs to be considered as entrepreneurs just like the case in Singapore, emerged last week at a day-long workshop in Colombo on family businesses and its transition to professional units with external expertise. Organised by the VEGA/BIZ+ Program of the US Agency for International Development in collaboration with the International Institute of Development Training cordially, the workshop titled Transitions in Management and Leadership in Family Businesses on Event on September 27 at the BMICH drew many owners, directors and others attached to family businesses in Sri Lanka.

A range of experts and owners of family businesses shared their experiences, with one experience in particular  that of the founder of the Rainco umbrella group  standing out as an example of how a self-made entrepreneur who could barely speak English and worked as a peon at Ceylon Cold Stores made good in the world of business. Family councils are a mechanism through, which family members of a family-run business which is managed with external expertise, communicate their vision and direction to the board of directors. Opening the workshop, Brian Wittnebel, acting Director of Economic Growth, USAID Mission to Sri Lanka and Maldives, spoke on USAID projects and in doing so referred to some 10,000 households which are run by widows and how their programmes have helped empower these people.

Ismail Azeez , General Manager International Institute of Development Training, said the workshop was to motivate and encourage family businesses and sustainability of these units. In a family business, unlike any others, there is a lot of energy and a lot of love in running the organisation. Citing research, he said globally 2/3rds of businesses are controlled by families. In most countries 75-90 per cent of businesses are family-owned. In a global survey by PWC in 2014, the most challenging issue in family business was cited as conflict. It also revealed the need for more professionalism, need to adapt to digital, need for the right talent and right skills set.

Succession was also cited as a major issue, Mr. Azeez said, noting that research shows that only 12 per cent of family-owned firms go into the third generation and beyond that only 3 per cent of these firms survived. Some of the key findings of this research were the late appointment of successors and (kind of) success after new appointments are made; a successful changeover and an unrelated manager-successor showing good performance. It also revealed that turnover suffers when there is interference from non-qualified family members while salary benefits for well-performing managers should be equal or better that remuneration for family members in the business.

Raincos rag-to-riches story

The Rainco example was a rags-to-riches story on the likes of the mudalalis in the past who struggled on the pavements of Pettah (the late A.Y.S. Gnanam is one example) selling their products. A diminutive man and speaking in Sinhala (saying my English is weak), Rainco founder S. L. M. Fausz regaled the audience with a tale of a company that started after his great learnings in a great company (Ceylon Cold Stores). I worked as a peon but I learnt a lot working for other people. My experience at Elephant House was much more than a wage-padi, I learnt many things, he said sharing his success story.

Mr. Fausz said he believes in looking after the workers and as a result, there hasnt been a single strike or a single worker going to courts on a wage issue over the past 40 years at Rainco. Asked about the transition where his children have successfully taken the company to a different level, he said: Take the bicycle. When my children were young I would hold the bike until they are able to manage on their own. If they fell, it didnt matter, thats learning. Similarly if they make a wrong decision (in the company), that doesnt matter. We must allow them to make decisions. It doesnt matter if sometimes goes wrong. Learning is also through making mistakes.

His eldest son, Fazal Fausz, managing director of the company, spoke on how the company was started by his father and mother after his father in 1977 got a permit to open an umbrella factory under the name, Kandurata in partnership with another investor. In 1990 the company split and Rainco was launched as a wholesaler with a shop in Pettah. We depend on monsoons and monsoons were erratic. There werent many in this business because of good and bad weather patterns. My father ran the show and decision-making was top-down. When my father was invited to speak at a

Family businesses in Sri Lanka

MBA forum, he was asked what would happen to the business if he died tomorrow. That woke him up and he immediately hired a CEO. I trained under him, Mr. Fazal said explaining how the company expanded to more products, hiring more staff and growing in the process. Discussing the period of transition, he said his father realised he had to hand over to the sons and that process began, slowly at the beginning as my father had to believe, and have trust and faith in our being able to manage.

Permit risk-taking

He allowed us to take risks. We worked together and that process of mentoring helped me and then I was able to convince my brothers to come into the business. The transition thus was smooth. He said an important part of the mentorship was that the family met at the dinner table at least once a week and discussed business. Initially our large customer base was loyal to the person  my father- but then we worked out a strategy of customers being loyal to the brand. It took about 5-8 years for this phase but it worked, he said adding that there are now 18-19 companies in the group, each with a CEO with full autonomy. What next? We are working with KPMG to plan a family structure and business with the objective being to building passionate brands that change peoples lives.

A family council is also being set up, he said, adding that in his view a professionally-managed family business should bring more togetherness in a family than conflict. Chandula Abeywickrama, a former DGM at HNB and a micro-finance specialist, said many of the family businesses in Sri Lanka dont belong to the family any more citing Browns Group and HNB under the Edmund J. Cooray family and Richard Peiris under the Peiris clan as some examples. He said one of the problems is that conventional leaders keep things in their mind and dont share with wife or family listing one example where a man who imported a lot of equipment suddenly died and his family didnt know what to do with it.

Needs of millennials

Stressing that a family business should move from a tunnel vision to more expert vision, he said many such businesses doesnt exist anymore as their businesses become irrelevant. Todays businesses need to look at the needs of millennials; open lines of communication and be more proactive than reactive (as the case is today); with competence being the measure of success not sticking to tradition. Change must come with changing trends, he said. Other case studies of family businesses at the workshop came from food companies MAs Tropical Foods and FAB, and ACL (cables). During a panel discussion with the participation of Shiromal Cooray, Managing Director Jetwing Travels;

Jonathan Alles, MD/CEO, HNB and Thamali Rodrigo, Partner, Head of Family Business in Sri Lanka, KPMG, a range of issues was discussed including the advent of family councils; the right time for transition from first to second generation; the challenge of ownership in which the larger the business, the larger family members want a stake and benefits; succession planning; that children should not be forced into their family business; and separating management and family members. It was revealed that there are few companies that have gone beyond the third generation like Hirdaramanis which is now owned by the fifth generation while another good example of family-owned but run professionally is the Hemas group. (Feizal)

Family Councils Also called Family Supervisory Board, Inner Council and Family Executive Committee, the family council is a working governing body that is elected by the Family Assembly among its members to deliberate on family business issues. The council is usually established once the family reaches a critical size, i.e. more than 30 members. In this situation, it becomes very difficult for the family assembly to have meaningful discussions and make prompt and qualified decisions. The family council is established at this point as a representative governance body for the family assembly in coordinating the interests of the family members in their business.

Purpose: The composition, structure and functioning of family councils differ from one family business to another. However, the duties of a typical family council would include:

- Being the primary link between the family, the board, and senior management.

- Suggesting and discussing names of candidates for board membership.

- Drafting and revising family position papers on its vision, mission, and values.

- Drafting and revising family policies such as family employment, compensation, and family shareholding policies.

- Dealing with other important matters to the family.

(Courtesy  IFC Corporate Governance)
Regional FTAs to centre on job potential By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

The Sri Lankan government is looking at the future potential of hiring overseas labour and getting jobs for locals in countries like India, Singapore and China by inking bilateral deals. Releasing the countrys policy on trade, the government has stated that Sri Lanka should consider liberalizing other three modes while keeping mode 4 unbound until such time the country is equipped with necessary regulatory mechanisms to protect domestic interests. The scope of liberalizing the trade in services would depend on the potential opportunities for Sri Lanka in the partner country and the ability of the local service sectors which would involve the competitive nature of the local workforce and the availability of the regulatory mechanisms, according to the draft National Trade Policy of Sri Lanka, a copy of which was received by the Business Times.

The draft setting out the countrys trade policy framework has been circulated to commerce chambers, professionals and other stakeholders for comment. It says that each FTA (Free Trade Agreement) would be treated differently although there would be some common principles applied to all FTAs. It was noted that this would be carried out with the aim of ensuring that Sri Lanka is able to become a services hub for some areas of services. Moreover, an effective regulatory structure would be developed by the government to ensure that all products and services have a level playing field with proposed regulatory reforms to be established while bilateral agreements are still under discussion. In improving the countrys export growth plans are afoot to engage in trade ties with Asian nations and joining regional mega trading blocs like Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement.

Moving out of the countrys dependence on its traditional markets the aim would be to diversity both exports and markets. Sri Lanka has chosen Asia and the West in linking their trade ties to be taken up bilaterally on a cost benefit analysis and preferential agreements respectively, it said. The reasons for giving priority to the Asian countries in trade ties like India, China and Singapore include the shorter geographical distance, low cost connectivity, relevance of trade development model, reduced dependency and diversification of markets and cultural similarity. Going West, Sri Lanka is looking at capitalising on its smallness by seeking preferential treatment including a larger negative list, a longer phase-out liberalisation schedule and strategised timing sequencing to protect local efficient producers and manufacturers, the draft says.

The government is also looking at readying the country to achieve the commitments of mega transnational trade agreement like the TPP. The European Union and the US are focus markets but it was pointed out that with the phasing out of the preferential trade on GSP + concessions to Sri Lanka when the country reaches upper middle income country status authorities are working on gaining comprehensive partnerships with these countries to ensure Sri Lanka remains competitive. The government will be discussing with their Indian partners to address the outstanding issues on the full implementation of the India Sri Lanka FTA and negotiate alongside the Economic Trade and Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) to remove quota, establish trade facilitation focal points and mutual recognition agreement between the parties.

Future trade ties would focus on creating international champions of the electronics and machinery industry, edible fish, fruits and vegetable, apparel, rubber based products, tea, gems and jewellery and coconut products and spices and essential oils and boat building industries. Achieving trade facilitation by reducing transaction costs through the development of a national single window facility for exporters and importers to conduct their trade transactions at a single place or through one window within a shortest possible time has been mooted. As part of the governments trade liberalization programme non-competitive industries unable to face upto competition would be affected with jobs lost in these sectors.

However, the government plans to identify these sector that would be affected, identify jobs in these sectors, barriers to prevent such workers from moving out of these sectors. Workers in these areas would be given a retaining programme and consulting business associations regarding support for local companies, it said. In view of the local tariff regime, the draft points out that it is non-transparent, complex and unpredictable, which needs to be rectified by undertaking appropriate trade policy reforms including liberalisation of import. Currently there are seven types of taxes on imports of which four (customs duty, Port and Airport Development Tax (PAL),

Cess and Special Commodity Levy) are only on imports while VAT, Nation Building Tax and Excise Tax are imposed on both imports and domestic sales. There are three tariff bands (0, 15 and 30) and 51 per cent of tariff lines (e.g. essential goods and machinery) are duty free. On average, imports of agricultural products taxed at around 22 per cent while it is around 9 per cent for non-agricultural imports. One can observe tariff escalation with lower customs duties on essential goods, machinery and basic raw materials and a higher a rate for imported finished products. In addition, imports are subject to five other taxes (PAL, SCL, VAT, NBT and excise) resulting in high combined rate of tax at the border.

As a result there is an urgent need to (a) convert all specific duties and levies into ad valorem rates, (b) combine all types of levies including customs duties into a composite rate, and (c) develop a plan to phase out high import taxes gradually, it said. In addition Sri Lanka, though it follows international standards related to IPRs, much needs to be done to:(a) strengthening enforcement of existing laws, (b) introduce more product specific IPR laws, (c) encourage the business sector and inventors of new technologies to patent such inventions in time, (d) the accession to the Madrid Protocol of registering international trade marks should be accelerated as was proposed by the last budget.

Discussion on draft policy The Sri Lanka Association for (a) Political Economy has organised a discussion on the draft policy with the participation of Prof. W.D. Lakshman, (Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Colombo), Dr. Ravi Ratnayake (former Director and Chief Economist at UN ESCAP, and Advisor to the Ministry of International Trade), Samantha Kumarasinghe, Chairman  Natures Secrets), Anushka Wijesinha, Chief Economist  Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa, Director/Econsult Investment and Advisory Services on Wednesday October 19 at Room 42, Department of Economics, University of Colombo.
Heart of Compassion presentation Sunday

Lama Padma Gyatso will give a teaching on The Heart of Compassion: A Teaching on Bodhicitta on Sunday, Oct. 9, at the lower level choir room of St. Pauls Methodist Church, from 3-6 p.m. Gyatso is resident Lama at Rigdzin Ling in northern California and was ordained in 1996, and has been teaching and practices with study groups and meditation centers around the world. All welcome.

Auction/art fundraiser upcoming

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.

Bolivian Bazaar to raise funds for missionaries

Grace Community Fellowship is sponsoring a Bolivian Bazaar Fundraiser for missionaries in Bolivia.

The bazaar will be held Saturday, Oct. 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church, located in the Dunphy Building, across from the Park Avenue Bakery. Authentic alpaca wool items will be for sale. There will also be a bake sale, rummage sale and a drawing for gift baskets. The church has an elevator that assists all visitors in reaching the Sanctuary.

The church supports the Kayuparu mission in La Paz, Bolivia.

The public is invited to the bazaar, and all funds will be distributed to the mission in La Paz, to help fund the building of this unique church and for the solar pane project. People are also invited to visit the churchs table at the downtown Fall Fest for kids in Pioneer Park.

St. John's hosting Fall Fest event

St. John's Lutheran Church, 1000 Helena Ave., is holding the third annual Fall Fest in the downstairs Fellowship Hall of the church on Sunday, Oct. 16, starting at 3:30 p.m. A gift basket silent auction and bake sale will be in the Guild Room.

All proceeds from the auction and bake sale will go toward the church building renovation fund. Games, prizes and other activities will be available throughout the afternoon for kids and adults. Bidding on auction items will end at 5 p.m. A dinner of soup, rolls and dessert will be served at 5:45 p.m. (free will offering). All are invited to attend and enjoy this wonderful time of year. For more information, call 442-6270.
Thousands of fishermen in fresh protest over Port City saying shallow-water fishing jeopardised By Quintus Perera View(s): View(s):

Thousands of fishermen, mooring their boats and forfeiting a days catch on Saturday (October 1) joined family members as people got onto the street at various points from Poruthotha  Kammalthota to Uswetakaiyawa on the western coastline in a fresh protest over the Colombo Port City, demanding  among other matters  that the agreement with Chinese authorities should be made known to the public. The controversial project, now renamed the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC), has cleared all hurdles and work is due to resume shortly on the Galle Face site. Carrying placards and shouting slogans protestors accused the government of being diabolical liars, saying the project would severely affect livelihoods and lose jobs. Protesting fishermen told the Business Times (BT) that they would take their protest to the Ministry of Fisheries and the Chinese Embassy and would mobilise the entire fishing community of the country against the project.

Port citiya hakulaganeu, Ape muhuda apita diyavu and Thopita Muhuda, apita maha paara (Give us our sea back and do away with the Port City. You invade the sea and we are pushed on to the road), were some of the slogans chanted across Poruthota, Kammalpattuwa to Hekiththa, Palliyawatte covering around 50,000 fisher folk. In some places, traffic was blocked with police seen discreetly following these protests. Protestors allege that the project construction would wash away the thin strip of land between the Negombo lagoon and the sea. They recalled how Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, when in opposition, said that not only the Port City would affect the fishermen from Hikkaduwa to Kalpitiya but there would be other environmental issues affecting towns and villages.

They accused the government of lying saying that the sand would be mined from a distance of 30 km from the sea shore when in fact the sea is being dredged from a distance of less than 3 km from the shore, and that the dredging would continue for three years. Even the government has agreed that the fishing in the sea during this period would be disturbed, the protestors pointed out. Malani Nonis, a protesting grandmother from Seththappaduwa, told the BT that the sea was her lifeline for her entire life helping her husband and their two sons in livelihoods. She said she lost one of her sons in the sea and lamented Our bread-giver is the sea. Tourism has affected the industry to a great extent and the Port City would throw us out altogether. Anura Bambarawana of Pitipana said that the development strategies of successive governments have turned out to be a big farce.

He said they suspect that the politicians are promoting these projects as they could obtain commissions while the common man gains absolutely nothing apart from losing their livelihoods and sending the cost of living sky-rocketing. Rev Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda, the main organizer behind this massive protest and a veteran campaigner against violation of the peoples rights, told the BT that fishermen along the coast from Mount Lavinia to Kammampattu in Kochchikade are agitating as they fear the impending disaster which would compel fishermen to stop fishing in the shallow waters which would be affected due to dredging the sea in close proximity to the shore.

He said that the people have a right to know the contents of the new agreement the present government has entered into with Chinese authorities. The government should publicise it forthwith, he pointed out. Rev Fr. Wickrama Fonseka, who is also involved in the protest, said that all the rich and fertile sediments that flow along the Kelani river would disappear and with that all the fish and prawn breeding grounds would vanish as more than 70 per cent of the sand would be scooped and dredged. These fishermen not only make a living but also do a great service by providing fish at the lowest cost to poor people, he pointed out.

Their catch is small fish like Saalayas, Sudayas, Sprats and Karattayas which are sold at prices ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs.150 per kg whereas other fish would be higher than Rs. 800 per kg, he said. The sand mining would create a huge pit in the sea affecting coral reef barriers, rock barriers and fish breeding grounds, some of the protestors lamented. They alleged huge amount of dynamite were being used. Where is the justice? When a bucket of sand is taken from the beach, people are punished while millions of cubes of sand are mined without any fuss and with government consent, one protestor asked.
Arise and grow more food View(s):

Food is essential. Though we had terrorism and war, few people died of hunger. We often do not give much thought to our plate of rice. Our colonial masters drew us into the habit of eating wheat flour products at a time when most of us were having three meals of rice. They are now trying to introduce some rare rice varieties. Today only a few people can identify local rice varieties. Earlier, most people were able to identify trees and plants by just looking at the leaves or a piece of the bark. Today we do not have many people with this capability and some cannot even identify wild animals.

Many people got a rich harvest from the Paddy Lands Act introduced in 1956. But the children of most farmers do not know this. Three fourths of our paddy fields have become fallow today.

There is no major scarcity of food in Pakistan and India. They have won the food war, though rain is irregular. Despite the scarcity of water, they have become successful because of hard work. We have lost in the areas of industrial and food production. Though there is a development of agricultural machinery in the rest of the world, we dont see in Sri Lanka an emphasis on the production of the common mammoty, spade, or the scythe. Most of those in authority do not know even their prices, and most farmers and consumers are silent. Those who talk of the cost of living do not do much to obtain these items for the farmer at affordable prices. The blacksmith industry here is long dead. The agricultural implements imported are of poor quality. Most of those who talk about the tea industry do not know the price of a pruning knife. Today it is difficult to find a rubber tapping knife. Those who have their feet on the ground and those who are convinced that we cannot live in hunger must find ways to deal with the food problem.

The price of rice has increased, and more rice is being imported. Though there is a labour shortage in Japan, all their fields have been cultivated and standards are maintained. Can we buy rice from the market and keep it in good condition for one or two years? We are unable to do so. If there is a worldwide famine we will not be able to find even a blade of grass for our sustenance. Even our animals have no food. We fall sick after drinking milk from these animals and eating their flesh is dangerous as they are given artificial food.

If no proper legal action is taken with regard to agricultural lands, the little we have will also go fallow. If we dig two or three feet we can find water in any paddy field. India and other agricultural countries are doing this. The hand tiller is an invention of a Sri Lankan. We can do much agricultural activity with it. We can dig a well in the paddy field and draw water with a water pump. With the hand tiller we can plough the field, harvest the rice, winnow it and even provide electricity and transport.

Let us create the hand tiller culture. Religious institutions, societies, loan committees, death donation societies and schools in villages need to think of cultivation work. Otherwise, there will be food scarcity if not a famine in our country. That is one reason why the Gangaramaya began the project to sell a packet of rice at Rs. 50.

If we work earnestly for a few months to improve agriculture, we can control the increasing prices. Those who are clamouring for higher wages must reflect deeply on whether they are cooperating with the project to grow more and protect the economy. At present, we are going through a severe drought. If we organise Pirith ceremonies for rain and make vows to the deities, we will have rain in due course.

At one time, we seldom had scarcity of water. We were self-sufficient in food. Drugs, gambling and indecency were seldom heard of. What has gone wrong with us? We cannot blame others. We need to realise our own faults. Be conscious about good health and earnestly work to give priority to food production. The parents need to set an example to their children. Let each one grow whatever is possible. Even the water dropping from the roof should not go waste.

There are many who talk about good health. But today kidney ailments and cancer are spreading. I learnt from the National Geographic magazine that Batu is good for the cure of cancer. We tried to make popular Thibbatu, Katuwelbatu and Wambatu. We did our best to make these popular. Batu leaves are the ideal medicinal herb for the cure of diseases connected with phlegm. We made efforts to plant these on a large scale.

Last week we came to know of a Gabo Street sales point where they were selling Katuwelbatu leaves with the fruits intact. They were in gunny bags. These have been imported from India and the price was Rs. 400 a kilo. I bought them all and now we are preparing nursery beds to have them planted. In about a month, we will be able to supply Katuwelbatu plants to those who wish to grow them.

The plant grows anywhere in whatever climate and there are no dangers to this plant from wild animals either. There is a good income from this. The plant can be grown in fallow paddy fields and will grow like Mimosa even without fertilizer.

Thalanabatu is expensive in the market these days. During the past two months we planted more than 25,000 Thibbatu plants around the Beira Lake, in the land donated to us by Edwin Thillakeratne in Seenigama, at Nugadandawatte in Ingiriya, in Urumuttawatte, Suriyawewa, Weeraketiya and Wanduramba. Those who wish to increase their income can plant these.

Unfortunately, most people appear to be lazy these days. In several countries people are working 10 or 12 hours, but many of us do not put in the minimum number of hours at our work places. This is a tragedy. We are digging our own grave. We must realise this weakness. It is better to plant trees that are medicinal or have food value. If we start doing it now for the next three months, we could be self-sufficient by January.

Rise up, be vigilant and work. Bless those who produce your food and be grateful to them. Blessings will be on you. Plant something that is useful.
Double standards  heres more of the same View(s):

Last Sunday I was prompted to write about the double standards practised by Britain after reading reports of the lucrative arms trade she pursues with countries that have little compunction in turning the same weaponry against their own people or neighbours. Last Sunday I was prompted to write about the double standards practised by Britain after reading reports of the lucrative arms trade she pursues with countries that have little compunction in turning the same weaponry against their own people or neighbours.

Those media reports mainly drew attention to arms deals with Saudi Arabia which is using British jet fighters and weaponry to pound Yemeni villages to the ground killing hundreds of civilian men, women and children in mounting air assaults that destroy what little vital infrastructure is still standing.

The sad irony is that Britain  and the US which also does a profitable trade  defends these arms deals while preaching lofty principles from their political pulpits to more vulnerable nations as though she is a paragon of moral virtue.

The current British Prime Minister Theresa May and her unpredictable Foreign Minister Boris Johnson have defended such arms deals implying that the British Pound has a higher moral worth than the aerial pounding of innocent civilians in remote villages.

When I wrote last Sunday I hardly expected to return to the subject of these moral pulpiteers abnegating the very responsibilities they vociferously demand that others should faithfully follow.

It happened last week at the annual conference of the governing Conservative Party held at Birmingham when both the Prime Minister and her secretary of defence laid into what Theresa May jeeringly called activist left wing human rights lawyers who harangue and harass Britains armed forces.

So what do the brave leaders of this right-wing Conservative Party do to save the men and women of the finest armed forces known to man from harassment by left wing human rights lawyers armed only with the law instead automatic weapons?

Why, thats simple. Just tear a page off from their own ten commandments on human rights so liberally advocated for the greater glory of their former colonies which were systematically savaged during the long years of their occupation.

Henceforth in conflict, said May with her characteristic disdain for defenders of human rights, British soldiers will be exempt from European human rights laws, to thunderous applause of the faithful gathered in Birmingham.

Whether such applause was the natural reaction of like-minded party supporters to May and her faithful Fallon or was also to be seen as an open invitation to those brave men on active duty to go ahead and break a few more bones or join in the American sport of water- boarding of the perceived enemy, is not quite certain.

But then Theresa May does not seem particularly concerned whether she leaves a trail of ambiguity that would have even experts trying to unravel her linguistic mysteries. It was after she became Prime Minister that she came up with the celebrated remark Brexit means Brexit.

This might have earned plaudits for a clever coinage leaving Britains second female Prime Minister looking like an intellectual godzilly but to many including some of her ministers enlightenment is still to blossom.

Still others from Beijing to Belarus find it turning into a tired cliche. Things would have been much clearer if she simply said Brexit means exit  if that is what she meant. Right now she is turning on the steam with more rhetoric that borders on jingoism lite than clarity.

Rhetorical idiocy such as the finest armed forces known to man and bravest of the brave would no doubt further inflate the over-blown egos of the uniformed kind at the Ministry of Defence just as it did back in Sri Lanka with the much-trumpeted triumphalism in the days after the victory over the LTTE.

At least it might be said that the public adulation of our armed forces that was justified even if the political praise seemed more propagandist and self-serving. The Sri Lankan armed forces had defended their country against a vicious and ruthless enemy intent on dividing the nation and defeated it despite the many western political and military assessments which said that it could not be done.

But what have the finest armed forces known to man achieved in Afghanistan and later in Iraq? It has left the countries in even greater shambles than they were in, created social schisms and sectarian conflicts in the two countries whose sovereignty Britain violated defying international laws.

Moreover what does she mean by the finest armed forces known to man. Does she mean since the dawn of history or does this accolade cover more recent times? By finest does May mean the best combat forces or does she mean armed forces that also rigorously observe the rules of war and other international laws that protect captured enemy soldiers, civilians caught up in the conflict and the civilized treatment of suspects? All this is well set out in international treaties and conventions.

It surely could not be the latter-armed forces that observe the rules of war  that May meant when she praised British forces last week. For if that was the meaning May intended to convey then why derogate from the articles on human rights in the European Convention and exempt British forces engaged in future conflicts from the applicable human rights provisions?

What May and her faithful Fallon argue is that British troops cannot engage in combat operations with one arm tied behind. But this is what is expected when countries became signatories to various international instruments that set out how troops should conduct themselves in war and the states should behave as occupying nations.

This was precisely what Britain and the US were demanding of Sri Lankan forces and when these two countries led the charge at the UN Human Rights Council with resolutions demanding the condemnation of Sri Lanka and calling for the UN to put Sri Lanka in the dock.

Now they fear the mounting cases of human rights violations and abuses arising from the conduct of British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and are worried that they would end up before the European Court in Strasbourg.

To escape from the ignominy of having a stream of cases filed against British troops or the Ministry of Defence, the new Conservative leadership is blaming human rights lawyers for bringing frivolous suits to harangue and harass the gallant British soldiers, so gallant that they could not finish the tasks they set out to do in Afghanistan and Iraq to name just two.

But these arguments have been rubbished by retired or serving military officers some of whom had firsthand knowledge of the abuses and violence practiced by British troops. The fact that there were such honourable men and women among the troops, soldiers who stood by the rules of engagement and their commitment to follow them in battle, showed there were many good men standing who were not ready to sacrifice their principles to prop up political and military leaders who had lost their backbone.

Interestingly within a couple of days of Fallon and May trying to save their own posteriors by raising their patriotic escutcheon, a retired military officer who was virtually hounded out of the service by Defence Ministry tin hats trying to save their bloated reputations, rubbished the argument about leftist human rights lawyers rushing to file cases over abuses by the military.

Lt. Colonel (retired) Nicholas Mercer who was the most senior military lawyer at the start of the Iraq War wrote a scathing piece in the Guardian about the attempts of politicians and military chiefs to hide the truth from the public.

He wrote that the idea that the claims are largely spurious is nonsense. The Ministry of Defence has already paid out 20m in compensation to victims of abuse in Iraq. This is for a total of 326 cases, which by anyones reckoning is a lot of money and a shocking amount of abuse. Anyone who has been involved in litigation with the MoD knows that it will pay up only if a case is overwhelming or the ministry wants to cover something up.

Second, allegations have been made about abuse of prisoners and civilians from the outset of the Iraq war in 2003. Three colonels in the divisional headquarters complained about mistreatment of prisoners within the first four weeks. In two public inquiries (into the deaths of Baha Mousa and Hamid al-Sweady), it was revealed that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)  the most respected body in the world in matters of international humanitarian law  had complained about prisoner abuse.

Third, the complaints before the Ihat (Iraq Historic Allegations Team) are not just from lawyers. They are also from serving and former members of the armed forces with no financial interest in the outcome, concerned merely that the government abides by the rule of law. These cases are sub judice but they are likely to be the tip of the iceberg. Some witnesses are too frightened to speak.

Baha Mousa was beaten to death in a unit interrogation facility, with no fewer than 93 sites of injury over his body. Fifteen-year-old Kareem Ali drowned in front of British soldiers who had forced him into a canal, then stood back and did nothing. And in the case of Faisal al-Saadoon, currently in the court of appeal, it appears that an Iraqi was gratuitously shot in the stomach and had his car vandalised whilst his head was being smashed into a pavement. Are these cases really spurious or vexatious?

Mercer goes on to say that some of these inquiries might lead to the very door of the MoD. The inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa, a civilian working in a Basra hotel, heard that his military interrogators were using the so-called Five Techniques that subjects a suspect to physical and mental abuse, which Britain banned in 1978 and is a violation of the Geneva Conventions. The interrogators had said they answered to London and not to the chain of command.

If that is so then the fault lies with the MoD. The Five Techniques, Mercer says, now amounts to torture.

There is so much that could be said about the conduct of British troops in the past  in Ceylon, India, Africa and Northern Ireland to name a few  but is better left unsaid so as not to insult the best of them.

But one needs to say that it was not just last week that Theresa May and her loyalists thought up this idea of exempting British troops in times of conflict from human rights provisions so that they could go ahead using the Five Techniques (that could be explained at a later date).

Her predecessor David Cameron had been toying with the idea of withdrawing from the European Convention all together and coming up with a Human Rights Act of his own. Had he world enough and time his human rights act would have turned out to be a remarkable piece of human rights law. One has only to recall the crafty manner in which he acted with regard to media regulation voting for a Royal Charter in the stealth of the night.

As for Tony Blair there is no need to delve into his views. After all it is he who inducted British troops into Afghanistan and Iraq and started this mess from which he might get away free despite the Chilcot report strictures.
Judicial upholding of the right not to be violated View(s):

Last weeks affirming by the Supreme Court of a female school teachers constitutionally protected right to talk to the media in the face of prolonged sexual harassment and intimidation at a leading educational establishment in Colombo calls for a multipronged deterrent approach to an all-pervasive problem in Sri Lanka. Last weeks affirming by the Supreme Court of a female school teachers constitutionally protected right to talk to the media in the face of prolonged sexual harassment and intimidation at a leading educational establishment in Colombo calls for a multipronged deterrent approach to an all-pervasive problem in Sri Lanka.

Emphasizing two broad principles of value

It is common knowledge that the complaint upon which the Court acted this time around is not rare. Indeed, this country ranks disgracefully high in South Asia when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace. A mandatory code within the work place in general and the educational system in particular needs to be enforced with efficacious and independent inquiry mechanisms. The legal framework in this regard also needs to be revised. Clearly, penalising sexual harassment has not been a deterrent given the reluctance of many to undergo the traumatic ordeal of the criminal justice system.

Let us see exactly what the Court said. Two broad principles of equal importance were emphasized, namely the constitutional right to expression and information and the right to equality together with the constitutional regime of affirmative protections. Here, Manohari Pelaketiya, a female school teacher had petitioned the court alleging that a fellow teacher and the principal of Mahanama College had attempted to force unwanted sexual favours on her.

Upon refusal, she was subjected to constant harassment including the deprivation of increments. Unable to bear the strain and with no immediate relief forthcoming, she had aired her grievances on a television channel after which she was interdicted for infringing the Establishments Code which expressly prohibited such public utterances.

Deploring long and oppressive sexual harassment

Defending themselves, the authorities argued that her interview included allegations that the Ministry of Education had not taken measures to punish those responsible whereas, shortly before that interview, an internal inquiry had recommended that the offending school principal be compulsorily retired and the fellow teacher be interdicted.

It was also forcefully argued that if the Court was to rule in the petitioners favour, this would amount to a precedent that would make it impossible for government institutions to prevent public officers from disclosing information on internal disciplinary matters when such matters are being inquired into. However, the severity of the harassment to which the petitioner had been subjected to, clearly dominated the mind of the Court.

In the words of Justice Anil Gooneratne writing for the Court (with K. Sripavan CJ and Upali Abeyratne J. agreeing), the petitioner had snapped under the stress and strain occasioned by oppressive and burdensome conduct under colour of executive office, carried out for a long time. Indeed, the Courts outrage in this regard is quite remarkable. Thus, it was opined that it is not possible for a female to resist such abuses unless she is a strong personality who could react and retort to such abuses and harassment and make the abuser to shamelessly withdraw, being exposed to the public at large of his indecency.

Echoing liberal jurisprudence of the nineties

Consequently, it was held that, even if she acted contrary to the Establishments Code, that would not deprive her of her constitutional protection. Quoting precedents of the Indian and US courts, the petitioners freedom of expression was ruled to trump the Establishments Code.

There is firm domestic precedent supporting this view, though not explicitly quoted as such by the Court. Thus, in a norm-setting decision during the mid nineties, Justice MDH Fernando declared that the arbitrary stopping of the Non Formal Educational (NFEP) programme of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) that it caused public unrest was unconstitutional. The Court asserted that . it is well to remember that the media asserts, and does not hesitate to exercise, the right to criticise public institutions and persons holding public officesuch criticism must be deplored when it is without justification, (but) the right to make and publish legitimate criticism is too deeply ingrained to be denied.

The September 2016 decision of the Court thus reflected its sweepingly liberal jurisprudence in the mid to late nineteen nineties before it became entangled in the ugly politicization of the Office of the Chief Justice.

Affirming the right to equality

Of equal importance is the second principle emerging from the Pelaketiya Case which emphasizes the right to equality of a female school teacher who became helpless in the hands and control of indecent public servants within the school premises. As Justice Gooneratne observed, sexual harassment or work place stress and strain occasioned by oppressive and burdensome conduct under colour of executive office, amounts to unconstitutional action infringing the right to equality. Here too, it was held that the right to equality as well as the regime of affirmative rights in the Constitution cannot be restricted or limited by the provisions of the Establishments Code

Undoubtedly this is a judicial salutation of the exemplary courage of a female school teacher in employing the media to stand up to the male establishment and against conduct that, (in the words of the Court), would be unacceptable to any decent society. This stands as a categorical assertion of the fact that if internal procedures are futile, then public complaints are justified.

In this instance, the offender was an educational institution. Yet a warning is implicit therein for other organizations, including those of the private sector and the non-governmental sector. Taking disciplinary action against an individual on the basis that internal institutional grievances are ventilated to the media where there is no other option available, will now be frowned upon. Even though such action may not be constitutionally challenged given that the constitutional remedy is limited to executive or administrative action, the unequivocal judicial stance reflected in the Pelaketiya Case remains of general legal importance.

Enforcing compliance to a policy of deterrence

In a wider sense, Sri Lanka may do well to look across the Palk Strait where the celebrated Vishaka case (1997) did not merely result in token legislation but gave rise to country-wide awareness and anger against sexual harassment in the Indian workplace, forcing policy makers into reluctant compliance.

If Sri Lankan authorities fail to give serious attention to this issue, others who have been similarly violated should publicly discuss what they have faced. This would be a welcome opening of the floodgates as it were.

In sum, the Pelaketiya Case must not be allowed to rest as one lonely judicial view. Given its singular value, it must attract a critical mass to propel compliance to reformed policy and legal standards, ensuring the right of both Sri Lankan men and women not to be violated in the workplace and to publicly protest thereto if needed. This is crucial.
From MDGs to SDGs: Can Sri Lanka be a model for implementing the SDGs? View(s):

Most countries have achieved the landmark UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).World leaders agreed on these goals 15 years ago in order to tackle poverty and climate change and to pave the way towards a more gender equal global society.

The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been accepted by the world as the way forward to resolve the worlds most pressing issues by 2030. Achieving growth with equity and all inclusive growth are among the foremost goals that pose serious challenges to achieving globally and in Sri Lanka.

Gamani Corea foundation lecture

Sir Richard Jolly, former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, Special Adviser to the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (1996 to 2000) and Principal Coordinator of the widely-acclaimed Human Development Report addressed issues regarding the MDGs and SDGs in his Gamani Corea foundation lecture on Development: Can Sri Lanka be a model for implementing the SDGs? on September 28 at the BMICH.

MDGs

There was significant progress in meeting the MDG targets. Global poverty was halved; ninety per cent of children in developing countries now enjoy primary education; the number of people lacking access to improved drinking water has halved; and the fight against malaria and tuberculosis has shown significant results.

Nonetheless, numerous challenges persist. About 73 million young people in the world are looking for work and many more are trapped in exploitative jobs. As many as two and a half million more children in affluent countries fell into poverty in recent years, bringing the total number of poverty stricken children above 76 million.

Furthermore an estimated 805 million people worldwide are chronically undernourished. Since many persons with disabilities live in absolute poverty, these two large populations overlap to a considerable extent, making food security of utmost importance.

Momentous shift

Richard Jolly said that the momentous shift was that while the MDGs had established an initial consensus on what the development goals for the 21st century should be, the SDGs remained fundamentally and strategically different. The SDGs are expanding the MDGs and reframing the agendas and policies for the next decade and a half. The SDGs are universal. Instead of the North speaking to the South, were now really recognizing that all countries need to take action for all peoples.

He stressed that the North and the South have similar problems. They must learn from each other. Most important is the fundamental shift of the SDGs to integrate sustainability and climate change into the goals.

Development strategies

Professor Jolly advocated development strategies that did not enhance income inequality. He suggested that development strategies should not try to achieve high growth and distribute the gains more equitably, but adopt growth strategies that ensure growth with income equality.

The goal of the SDGs is to achieve more equitable growth: Growth with equity. He stressed that Sri Lanka has the potential to produce a model of sustainable development in which a high quality of life can be achieved without pursuing the goals of ever-increasing consumption and growth. He inquired whether it would be possible to base the countrys economic growth strategy on Buddhist values.

Sri Lankas HDI

Sir Richard highlighted Sri Lankas achievement of the MDGs well ahead of time and the countrys high placement on the Human Development Index (HDI) that was much above some countries, such as Turkey that had much higher per capita incomes. He pointed out that the countrys early social policies had much to do with these achievements.

Serious challenges

Despite these achievements he said Sri Lanka had serious challenges ahead in meeting the SDG goals of inclusive growth and income equity. Peaceful conditions, harmony among the diverse communities and religions and the garnering of adequate revenue to invest in education and health were preconditions for achieving the SDGs.

Quoting Mick Moores study on taxation, he said, Sri Lanka held the world record for the steepest decline in government revenue. Much more than the current 13 per cent of GDP is required to adequately fund education and health that are key drivers of human development.

Inequality

Sir Richard pointed out that one of the important problems the world over both in the North and the South was the growing inequality of incomes. In Sri Lanka too the increase in per capita incomes has been accompanied by the Gini coefficient, which measures inequality, showing higher income inequality.

There were however countries in Latin America that have succeeded in reducing their historic high inequality, unlike most other countries in the world where inequality of incomes has increased in tandem with economic growth. This lessening of inequality in Latin America that is a reversal in their long term trend was an achievement worth emulating.

Inclusive growth

Sri Lanka faces the momentous challenge of inclusive growth after a near thirty years civil war. How all communities are brought together in a united country would be a serious challenge. His understanding was that the government was making a steadfast effort to achieve unity among all communities and enable growth and development among all communities.

The second challenge is in finding the fiscal space to promote growth. The current revenue of about 13 per cent was quite inadequate to pursue economic policies that ensure growth with equity. Expenditure on health and education and other social services especially caring for the countrys growing number of elderly is vital. Financing these require a much higher revenue collection.

Research agenda

Professor Jolly, who was the second Director of the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Sussex was here at the invitation of the Gamani Corea Foundation. He briefly reviewed the research agenda of the Foundation, endorsing its main thrust. He said that the elements of the research agenda of the Foundation to understand the critical human development issues and develop an economic strategy that enhances human development with economic growth and equity was in the right direction. It was in conformity with Dr. Gamani Coreas vision of global development: development with equity.
Lessons from Colombia View(s):

In the faraway continent of Latin America, a peace treaty between the Government and a rebel group has been rejected by the majority of the people.

The Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary (a euphemism sometimes for a terrorist group) Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed to a ceasefire and signed a peace package that included land reform, jobs, subsidised agricultural support, light sentences for senior guerrilla commanders and seats in Congress in return for a cocktail of issues including the stoppage of murders, kidnappings and bombings, and disengagement in the countrys notorious narcotic trade.

But the No vote pipped the Si vote at a referendum and now the Government is desperately trying to salvage the peace accord that was to end more than 50 years of civil strife in that idyllic South American nation  the oldest running civil war in the world. At one time in its recent history, Colombia was split into three parts  one part run by FARC, another by narco drug cartels led by the infamous Escoba, and the Government controlling only one part of the country. No one was spared  from senior Government figures to ordinary folk, people were getting killed like flies in their thousands. There was an exodus of Colombians to neighbouring countries that had imposed visas to restrict the inflow of refugees. It was a situation far worse than what prevailed in Sri Lanka. The Colombian Government almost lost control of the state apparatus; anarchy was rampant.

There were striking similarities too with Sri Lanka of yesteryear; mostly, the scourge of terrorism.

With the end of the cold war, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Marxist-Leninist FARC lost its sponsorship (somewhat like when India closed the tap on the LTTE after the assassination of its one-time PM Rajiv Gandhi). Then came a heavy-handed regrouped Government military campaign against the guerrillas in their jungle hide-outs and the killings of their senior leaders. Hit from both ends, FARC moved in desperation to the lucrative cocaine business seeking funding which raised the ire of the United States to which most of the drugs were exported.

FARC realised, however, the end was nigh, and went into peace talks with the Government brokered interestingly by one-time adversaries, the US and Cuba. Even the Pope hailed the peace accord and on Friday night the Colombian president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Why then have the people of Colombia rejected the peace accord? Do they not want peace? Or is this not peace with honour? Do they not want reconciliation and a united Colombia?

The answers are not straightforward: the peace deal was promoted by the elitist liberal-minded good guys at the centre of power, while the ordinary people saw things more cynically. The latter felt FARC was a spent-force anyway, gasping for breath. They felt the guerrillas would rot in the jungles and were getting off lightly for the atrocious crimes they had committed over decades. The reign of terror they had unleashed had got under the skin of the vast majority of the people. Reconciliation with these murderers, they felt, was a pipe-dream.

There is a point of departure here with the situation in Sri Lanka. The LTTE is completely vanquished. It does not come into the equation now as a terrorist group. Reconciliation is not necessarily objected to by the vast mass of the people of Sri Lanka, but devolution of power is viewed with extreme suspicion in the South. The recent Eluha Thamil (Rise Tamil) uprising, if one can call it an uprising, has only raised or rekindled those suspicions.

These demonstrations in the North organised by those now having the freedom to engage in democratic politics with the defeat of the LTTE, and the vituperative and racial language used only helped stoke the dying embers from the ashes of the LTTE. In the circumstances, it would be naive for the Government to pack up its Security Forces and Intelligence units from the North and leave just yet.

The scuttled Colombian peace accord and the West Asian peace accords of the past have shown that the International Community (usually the West), whether having its own agenda or however bona fide is divorced from the ground realities and wishes of the majority of the people. The Brexit vote earlier in the United Kingdom also showed very clearly that these days, the people are reluctant to trust their Governments  even if they voted them into power and place.

People paying for colossal blunders

It was announced this week by the Minister of Finance that the people of this country will have to fork out as much as Rs. 25 billion for aircraft that were ordered by the previous Government for the national carrier, but which are found to be of no use to the debt-strapped airline.

This payment had to be made in default of a contract signed for what the new dispensation at SriLankan Airlines say were long-haul aircraft not needed for the airlines current routes. What the people could do with this money is mind-boggling. While the Minister maybe somewhat exaggerating when he says we could have built another Mahaveli project with that money, he makes the point. How many rural schools can have science labs, hospitals have the equipment they so desperately need, in fact the airline could have even run for months without further burdening the Treasury, giving discounted tickets in the process.

The Minister, however, did not say who was responsible for this loss  and if so, why nobody has even been questioned for this order, leave alone charge-sheeted and put behind bars if found to have made a buck out of the deal. On the other hand, the airlines incumbent Board has swept things under the carpet and rejected any criminal liability for those responsible for this terrible miscalculation.

There has been a history of bungling by state ventures that has escaped the scrutiny it deserves. Soon after the Central Bank bombing in 1995, the UDA together with Ceylinco launched a joint project to re-design the Colombo Fort area as a Financial Centre with a Government-backed guarantee to a US company, Evans International. The Government reneged on the contract and ended up paying some US$ 450 million as compensation  for nothing. In the CPC oil hedging case, more than Rs. 8 billion was paid to foreign commercial banks and millions were lost in counsel fees and travel for arbitration proceedings. In the Greek Bonds case, again millions of US dollars amounting to billions of rupees were coughed up. Where are those responsible for these colossal blunders?

The Supreme Court went into some of these dubious deals, but those responsible got off scot-free without even going to Remand Prison for a week, while those going in now seem to have committed petty theft in comparison. How have the corruption busters got their priorities in such a tangle?
Arrested Development Concert in Colombo View(s):

The two time Grammy Award winning and Rolling Stone Band of the year- Arrested Development will come alive in Sri Lanka on 22nd October at CR & FC grounds. The two time Grammy Award winning and Rolling Stone Band of the year- Arrested Development will come alive in Sri Lanka on 22nd October at CR & FC grounds.

Arrested Development is an American alternative hip hop group that formed in Atlanta in 1988. The band hit the peak in the 1990s and produced a brand of music that was a far cry from the Gangsta rap to Mr. Wendal, will take music fans into the 90s and party all night long on Saturday, 22nd.

AD has ground-breaking artistes shaping the 90s hip-hop culture and industry in America. AD is a legendary band that produced a brand of music that paved the way for more contemporary acts like the Fugees and the Black Eyed Peas. Giving us chart topping hits like Mr. Wendal, Tennessee, People Everyday, Ease my mind and so many others, the group is very much a household name all around the world.

Giving all their music fans chart topping hits like Mr. Wendal, Tennessee, People Every day, Ease my mind and so many others, the group is still very much a household name all around the world. Arrested Development became the rst ever hip-hop band to receive the best new artiste Grammy in 1993. That year, they won two Grammy Awards including the above mentioned Best New Artiste as well as Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, and were also named Band of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine.

More than 20 years on, they are still releasing albums and touring the world, spreading their unique blend of sound.

By exposing the harsh realities of everyday folk, AD held a mirror to societys ignorance and poor treatment of their fellow human beings making their music resonate with contemporary audiences across the globe. In fact, they are reportedly the first African-American group to donate to the ANC in its fight against apartheid and thereafter shared the stage with Nelson Mandela in 1994. After a brief pause the bands returned in the year 2000 with riveting, pulsating beats and have travelled across several nations spreading their music of hope, joy and compassion.

The Band was in action at the Delicious Festival at Midrand, South Africa on Saturday, 8th October. They will be in action at the unset Music Festival in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on 21st October, just before they come alive in Colombo.

The Band will be performing at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California, USA on 28th October after a short vacation in Hawaii soon after the Colombo Concert.

Tickets will be out soon. Gold tickets are priced at Rs. 3,000 and Platinum at Rs. 5,000

For more details, call us on 011 555 1078 or visit www.redfm.lk, RED 107.8 or Mainstage Events.
TNL Onstage 2016 continues to support local talent View(s):

TNL Onstage celebrates its 16th year of creating and supporting local musical talent and the competition has grown and evolved to encompass a wide variety of genres and performances that have catapulted Sri Lankan talent into the international spotlight.

This year, the competition has changed its format to give a larger number of contestants the opportunity to perform in front of audiences and the response has been overwhelming. The introduction of Live Auditions and Knockout Rounds has ensured that the event is fresh and exciting and appealing to a new generation of music lovers and hopeful musicians alike.

Hutch, as the Official Internet Provider for the second year has been immensely encouraging in creating a new way of taking TNL Onstage to greater heights. Their unstinting support has been a valuable part of the event along with their enthusiasm to promote the abundance of musical talent that Sri Lanka has to offer.
Girls Final : Comedy and tragedy at its best The girls final hosted Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Newstead Girls College Negombo, St. Lawrences Convent, Colombo and Visakha Vidyalaya. It was an evening with both comedy and tragedy at its best. The contrast, variation and dedication of each piece brought its own flavour making the competition a diversified one. The first performance by St. Lawrences Convent started off the evening setting a high benchmark with their take on Romeo and Juliet. The seriousness, intent and coordination that flowed through the play reflected a united and in synch cast and crew. The courage with which the character of the nurse was played was highlighted particularly by the judges. The next performance was the comical Twelfth Night by Newstead Girls College, Negombo. The play had a vibrant beginning while the actors made the script their own  as the language they used sounded in Mr. Whites words, pleasurable in their mouths. The bold interpretative choices made the play stand out. The character of Sisario was the heart of the play as the actor did not portray the role as a weak Paige or how most would play the role, but brought her own brashness and bravery making the play different and refreshing. Manvolio too was hilarious with well-placed and robust acting. Next was Romeo and Juliet by Visakha Vidyalaya. This play had the audience at the edge of their seats from the moment it began. The use of lighting, music, sound, costumes and acting blended together to bring a brilliantly choreographed performance. The opening scene itself immersed the audience in the woeful tale in a very personal perspective. The Visakhians made a bold choice by choosing to make friendship the focus of the play instead of the more traditionally used theme of love. This interpretation truly shone a new light on the play giving it more clarity and intensity. The character of Mercutio was played to perfection in what was described by the judges as something that was a pleasure to be a part of. It was clear that the actor had truly made the role her own as every wave of her hand or uttered word sounded natural and not forced. The role was played as warm, provocative and rebellious sending both peals of laughter and fits of panic throughout the audience. The use of live music and dance too made the play a joy to watch. The final play of the evening was As You Like It by Devi Balika Vidyalaya. This tripping, light, rhythmical performance had its own enchanting feel closing the night in fitting fashion. The actors made the language seem to flow and maintained good rhythm and a jovial spirit and wit throughout the play. The judges commended the cast for making a brave choice in selecting this particular play and highlighted how they didnt patronise each character but showed the reality of each one of them. The use of the stage was clean and precise with innovative props. The character of Rosalind was beautifully played with elegance and wit, binding the play together in a captivating performance. Her epilogue was dealt with beautifully bringing a charming end to the evening.
Cinnamon Air flight makes belly landing at BIA By Chris Kamalendran View(s): View(s):

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched an investigation into a mishap involving a Cinnamon Air domestic flight at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Friday.

On Friday, a Cinnamon Air flight had been on approach to land at the BIA after completing a training mission when the planes landing gear had apparently malfunctioned. The pilot had been forced to make a belly landing on the runway, resulting in the planes belly suffering minor damage.

When contacted, Romesh David, a Director of Cinnamon Air, confirmed the incident.

While the plane had developed landing gear problems, a SriLankan flight from Kuala Lumpur had also been on approach to land at the BIA. However, Air Traffic Control had contacted the flight and instructed the pilots to remain airborne while the damaged plane was removed from the runway.

CAA Additional Director General Parakrama Dissanayake told the Sunday Times they had received a complaint from the pilot of the said domestic flight regarding the incident. Our officials have started a probe to find out what happened, he stressed.

The flight landed 20 minutes later than scheduled.
Montana's congressman Republican Ryan Zinke said Saturday the way his party's presidential candidate Donald Trump talks about women in a 2005 video leaked Friday is wrong, but did not say he was pulling back his endorsement of Trump.

"The language is shocking and wrong, and should never be used, ever," Zinke said in a statement. "My wife, Lola, and I have talked about it and we pray he has grown from his mistake."

Zinke's spokeswoman did not directly answer if the congressman still supports Trump, replying, he "and Lola will never vote for Hillary."

As the list of Republicans denouncing Trump and calling for him to drop out of the race continued to grow Saturday, the presidential candidate told the Washington Post he will not withdraw.

Zinke has been one of Trump's more steady supporters in an election where prominent party leaders even before the video have distanced themselves from the candidate or publicly said they do not endorse him. Zinke formally endorsed Trump on the cable news show "Fox and Friends" on May 25.

Zinke is running for re-election against Democrat Denise Juneau, Montana's superintendent of public instruction.

Juneau held a press conference in Helena on Saturday criticizing Trump's comments, saying he has no respect for women and is violent against them, and called on Zinke to rescind his endorsement.

"Anyone who still supports him is complicit in his comments," Juneau said.

"Enough is enough," she continued, saying even Trump's strongest supporters in Congress are distancing themselves from him. "But Congressman Zinke continues to stand by his man no matter what."

Juneau also said Zinke must apologize to "all Montanans for joking about Trump's consistently degrading language," referencing a statement Zinke made earlier this week to the Billings Gazette editorial board that Trump does not offend women more than anyone else.

Montana GOP Sen. Steve Daines said, "These comments are completely inappropriate and offensive. No woman should ever be demeaned or described in this manner.

The Montana Democratic Party on Friday night released on YouTube the video with clips of Zinke's appearance at the Gazette's editorial board cut in. In the clips, Zinke said "I think Mr. Trump has been an equal opportunity offender. I don't think he offends women any more than he offends anyone else."

Republican candidate for governor Greg Gianforte joined in criticism of Trump, releasing a statement saying: "As parents of a young woman, Susan and I are deeply disappointed and offended by Mr. Trump's past remarks. As someone who is both a husband and a dad, this is not how women should be treated. Montanans are facing great uncertainty over the presidential election. This is all the more reason we need to have effective leadership at the state level."

In the video, published by the Washington Post late Friday, Trump uses vulgar language to talk about women, at one point saying he tried to have sex with a married woman and that he grabs and kisses women. He also says he gropes women, adding "you can do anything" when you are a star. The video was recorded in a bus with Billy Bush, then a reporter for Access Hollywood, while taping a segment of the program about Trump's cameo on a soap opera.

Trump said, "You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful ... I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait.

He continued: And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ... Grab them by the p---y. You can do anything.

Earlier this year Zinke spoke at the Republican National Convention, telling attendees to rally behind Trump. He has also appeared on news programs in support of the candidate and at one point suggested he could be Trump's running mate, telling Montana radio station KGVO: We talked about it, but he has not made up his mind.

He also told the conservative commentary site Breitbart he would be honored to serve in whatever capacity" and was open to being vice president or a member of the cabinet if asked.

Last month Zinke told the Lee State Bureau he supported Trump but didn't agree with everything he says.

"It's just time to shake it up and status quo is not working for either side," he said. "I don't agree with everything Mr. Trump says but I cannot support corruption."

Trump issued a video in which he apologized late Friday, saying he was not a perfect person.

"Ive said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am."
Former Customs official charges delay in CITES listing of endangered reptiles By Kasun Warakapitiya View(s): View(s):

A delay by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) to submit a proposal to include newly discovered endangered reptiles to the CITES list (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is preventing international action against those smuggling reptile species out the country, a former Customs Deputy Director claimed.

Mr. Samantha Gunasekara, the founder of the Customs Biodiversity Protection Unit (BPU) told the Sunday Times that he provided the DWC a Scholarly Document requesting rare engendered reptile species be added to CITES ensuring that action could be taken internationally against those smuggling these species.

However, he said though he provided the document well ahead of time, the DWC provided the document to the Foreign Ministry only two days before the closing date.

Therefore the proposal could not be included before the 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES held at Johannesburg from September 24 to October 5. A delegation from Sri Lanka too participated in the convention and proposed the inclusion of Thresher Shark in the CITES list.

However, DWC Acting Director General W.S.K.Pathiratna said though he was unaware of any document being provided on proposing endangered Sri Lankan lizard species to be included in CITES, yet support for anyone who submits such a document would be given.

However, Mr. Gunasekara said the document was submitted through the Ministry to the Department, but the officials had taken up the position that there was no necessity to submit the document.

Mr. Gunasekara claimed at first a foreign scientist had provided the document to the DWC but due to lack of response it was forwarded to him.

Thereafter he had informed the minister in-charge of Wildlife Conservation and appointed a committee of foreign and local scientists who were willing to send a proposal to CITES free of charge.

Meanwhile I investigated and learned that several organised groups were engaged in smuggling Sri Lankan endangered reptile species he said.

He explained that he was unable to identify individuals but was able trace how the highly organised smugglers operated their multi-billion rupee business of capturing and exporting endangered and newly found rare species avoiding international detection by exporting reptiles not included in the CITES.

Mr. Gunasekara explained that many Sri Lankan gecko species, lizards and snakes are endemic and make rare exotic pets for which there is a high demand.

The trade is carried out in a process where experts pinpoint where the reptiles are found and inform a separate capture team to go to the selected region of the forest. Then they provide the transport to fly the animals abroad.

The CITES is an international document which covers endangered species in captivity and therefore is stronger than the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance which does not cover animals bred in captivity.

The CITES protected species is an animal which has to be exported with a CITES document from the DWC and when the animal is internationally recognised as an endangered specimen Interpol, Customs and foreign countries can ban or place restrictions, or take legal action against the smugglers, he said .

Fined for keeping endangered lizards By Prasad Mutukuda A businessman who was arrested during a raid by Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) officials for keeping 18 endangered Horned and Leaf-nosed Lizards was released on bail of Rs. 200,000 after being produced before the Negombo Additional Magistrate Kapila Dushayantha Epitawela. He pleaded guilty to four offences including removing an animal from its natural environment and keeping animals illegally. The man was fined Rs. 50,000 for each offence. The man identified as Suren Cooray (41) was arrested at Kanuwana in the Ja Ela area by the DWC flying squad on a tip-off. DWC Acting Director General W.S.K.Pathiratna said the man was engaged in the reptile smuggling racket and providing reptiles to foreign dealers. According the Wild Life Act it is illegal to capture, exhibit or rear wild life specimens mentioned in the Protected List. Even the remains of a dead specimen cannot be kept in custody, he said.
Northern Governor Cooray gets distinction in Tamil View(s):

It was tuition time again for the one-time school teacher who became the Governor of the Northern Province.

Reginold Cooray, somewhat fluent in Tamil had begun learning advanced Tamil during his off hours in Jaffna. The result  he delivered a speech in impeccable Tamil at Neerveli after commissioning an electricity plant. Governor Cooray was in for praise by civilians in the area.
Sand for Port City: No-go zone off Negombo lagoon View(s):

The Government has declared a no-go zone for fishermen off the Negmobo lagoon in view of sand mining operation required for the International Financial City (Port City) project.

Megapolis and Western Development Ministry Secretary Nihal Rupasinghe said they had sought the assistance of the Defence Ministry to provide security for the site from where sand mining would begin soon.

The request came after at least 11 buoys to mark the location of the sand mining area had gone missing.

An area of about 50 Sq Km has been declared as the no-go-zone to extract sand for three years.

Mr. Rupasinghe said that fishermen had been warned that entry into the pathway of the machinery could be dangerous as the machines were operated automatically.

We have appealed to fishermen not to be instigated by various groups and not to sabotage the operation, he said.
Son, you will be in our boots someday View(s):

Pensioners from all parts of the country marched upto Lotus Road in Colombo on Friday in support of their demands for an enhanced pension as promised by the Government. Significantly the protesting groups including police pensioners faced a barrier with their present day colleagues in the service on the other side equipped with riot gear. The police pensioners appeared to be telling their younger colleagues that someday they too may have to be on the other side of the barrier.
SriLankan dismisses Weliamuna report By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

The controversial Weliamuna Report which accused SriLankan Airlines top officials and employees of financial misappropriation has been dismissed by the airlines chief Ajith Dias.

Speaking to the Sunday Times on the sidelines of a media briefing, the SriLankan Airlines chairman said there was no financial misappropriation with regard to the 15 persons mentioned in the Weliamuna report.

Some of those against whom allegations were made are the former Chairman Nishantha Wickremesinghe, former CEO Kapila Chandrasena, cabin crew member Chathurika J. Muhandiram, the airlines New York representative Dilan Ariyawansa, senior cabin crew member Senanaya Senanayaka, Human Resources Head Pradeepa Kekulawala, Security chief Piyadi Chandrawansa, Finance Head Yasantha Dissanayaka and Chief Operations Officer Druvi Perera.

The Weliamuna report had also referred to Udayanga Weeratunga, Sri Lankas former Ambassador to Russia. He was accuse of influencing the airlines operations and picking General Sales Agents in Russia.

Mr. Dias said four current directors had been appointed to a committee to look into the findings of the report.

Following this investigation carried out internally by the airline it had been found that there was no financial misappropriation as stated in the report prepared following an investigations by lawyer and human rights activist J.C. Weliamuna.

Mr. Dias said the findings by the four directors were submitted to the committee established by the Prime Ministers office and this committee was said to have been satisfied with our findings.

Mr. Dias while admitting that there were certain things we couldnt find was apparently irritated by the persistent questioning and ended it by saying, I dont know why people are harping on this.

During the media briefing, he noted that the Weliamuna report was based on what people said. Mr. Dias said they had studied the report and made a some organisational changes on the structure and also took in some senior management executives.

Mr. Weliamuna, a former chairman of Transparency International Sri Lanka, said those responsible for the decision to purchase four Airbus A350 super-luxury aircraft at an inflated price should pay for this dreadful crime.

There is no question that the people who took this decision (should) be held accountable in terms of criminal law, he said at a good governance meeting in Colombo on Wednesday.

Apart from Mr. Dias, the airlines current board comprises Rakitha Jayawardena, Sunil Peiris, Joseph. M.S. Brito, Mahinda Haradasa, R. Chanaka De Silva, Niranjan De Silva Deva Aditya and Harendra K. Balapatabendi.
Wiser counsel prevails: Criminal Procedure Code amendment put on hold View(s):

Storm clouds are building over Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshes move to deprive suspects arrested and detained by Police access to lawyers prior to recording their statement. This is through amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code.

One of the main areas from which there are signs of strong opposition is the European Union. It fired its first salvo in a tweet on Monday. It said; The EU is a leading supporter of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) and wants to see the full implementation in Sri Lanka including the right of a suspect to see a

lawyer immediately after arrest.

Diplomatic sources said yesterday that the Justice Ministers move, if approved by Parliament, may go as far as costing Sri Lanka the restoration of the GSP Plus tariff preferences. At present the Government is making strong efforts to urge the EU to restore this facility. The EU has continued to emphasise the need to ensure the full implementation of the ICCPR.

The GSP (General System of Preferences) Plus scheme was suspended by the EU during the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa administration. It was on the grounds that the then Government had not paid heed to the enforcement of the ICCPR. There were ten different reasons given by the EU. One of them (item 6) said, Adoption of planned amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure which provides for the right of a suspect to see a lawyer after his arrest.

We do not want to see the present administration, which has shown transparency and willingness to make changes, revert to old practices, the diplomatic source said.

No formal reason has been given for moves for the amendments. However, one source claimed that an influential Government official below the rank of Secretary was pushing for it.

Sri Lankas Human Rights Commission also said it was concerned that the new provision would impinge on Fundamental Rights of a fair trial guaranteed to an Accused under the Constitution. The lack of a fair and impartial investigation will result in the deprivation of a fair trial to an accused, the Commission said in a letter to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka later wrote to President Maithripala Sirisena also objecting to the move. This week, despite Minister Rajapakshes advocacy for the amendment saying what about the rights of the victims, the Government put on hold the passage of the amendment. Wiser counsel seems to have prevailed.
The voyage of HMS Trincomalee through the ages By Richard Boyle View(s): View(s):

Moored at Hartlepool, England, is a unique example of maritime history, a frigate built exactly 200 years ago, restored and now part of the Royal Navys National Museum. She is the oldest British warship afloat, a sleek fighting machine, a heavy interceptor with excellent weaponry. And her name just happens to be HMS Trincomalee.

Two new Leda Class Frigates for the Royal Navy were ordered in 1812. One, HMS Trincomalee, was named after the 1782 Battle of Trincomalee, fought between a British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren. This was one of four battles between the two fleets off the coast of the Indian subcontinent during the Anglo-French War (1778-1783).

The frigates could not be built in England due to the plunder of oak-tree forests for shipbuilding during the recent Napoleonic Wars. So the decision was taken to construct the ships in Bombay by the East India Company for the Admiralty from Malabar teak.

During the voyage to India, HMS Java, the vessel carrying the construction plans, was attacked and defeated by the USS Constitution (the worlds earliest warship afloat, 20 years older than second-place HMS Trincomalee). HMS Java was taken in tow but sank during this indignity, together with the plans, causing a two-year delay while the Admiralty dispatched a duplicate set.

In May 1816 work finally began on HMS Trincomalee and her sister frigate Amphitrite at the Wadia Shipyards, Bombay. Master shipbuilder Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia supervised the construction: he built 14 vessels for the Royal Navy. In conformity with Zoroastrian tradition, a silver nail was hammered into the keel to ensure HMS Trincomalees good fortune.

She was the twelfth of 47 Leda-Class Frigates, based on a French design, to be built between 1800 and 1830. To be precise, her length was 179.87 ft (54.86m), beam 17.48 ft (5.33m) and depth 13.48 ft (4.11m). She cost 23,000 to build (relative value today 1 million). A crew of 315 officers and sailors was required. She was heavily armed with 46 guns: on the gun-deck alone were 28 18-pounders.

HMS Trincomalee was launched on October 12, 1817 with temporary masts, yards and rigging, and four 12-pounder carronades  short, large-calibre cannons  for the maiden voyage of delivery to England. Escorted by HMS Fowey, she left Bombay initially for Ceylon: Lady Fate decreed the first stop was to be her namesake port to board guns, ammunition and stores  seven tons of water (7,100 litres) and live, but doomed, pigs, sheep and fowl.

John and Eliza Bunt

There were wounded personnel to be repatriated from the British Squadron based in Trincomalee. In addition were recently-widowed Eliza Aricha Bunt and her two children. Born around 1790, Eliza became the partner of John Bunt, boatswain (in charge of equipment and crew) of HMS Victory (Nelsons flagship of the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar),from 1810 to 1816. That ultimate year John was appointed boatswain at the Trincomalee Dockyard and possibly because of this, the couple, who had a daughter, got married.

The family sailed to Trincomalee, arriving in March 1817. John started work in the dockyard earning the substantial salary of 250 a year and a 30 housing allowance. Life was looking good for the family, the offspring of which consisted of child Charlotte and baby John Hope Jnr, born in 1816 on the voyage off the Cape of Good Hope, and William, 15, Johns son from his first marriage. He was employed as a Trincomalee dockyard clerk at the surprising salary for someone so young of 75 a year.

However in June 1818 John contracted a fever and despite being moved to Jaffna, where the air was considered more curative, died on July 3, 1818, aged 48. He was laid to rest in the burial ground on Jaffnas esplanade, fittingly close to the sea. As Eliza was legally married it was the Royal Navys responsibility to return the family to England, which turned out to be aboard HMS Trincomalee. Eliza and children embarked on October 28, 1818. Stepson William decided to stay, but returned to England later.

Eliza resolved to write a diary of the five-month voyage (and beyond as it transpired), which was discovered, then transcribed and annotated, by relative Mary Hope Monnery (John Hope Jnr was her great, great grandfather), and published as From Trincomalee to Portsea: The Diary of Eliza Bunt featuring her Voyage on HMS Trincomalee 1818-1822 (2001). The information above regarding the Blunt family is courtesy of Ms Monnerys introduction.

Regarding the purpose of the diary, Monnery reveals: It soon becomes apparent that sometime between the death of her husband and joining the ship she had fallen passionately in love with the foreman of the dockyard, Thomas Craven. He appears to have befriended Eliza and led her to believe he would follow her home to England and that they would marry.

I think the journal was written with Thomas in mind, so that when they were married they could read it together and share Elizas experiences, laughing and crying over all the events of the voyage.

Eliza Bunts diary

October 27 1818: Dined with my best friend [Thomas Craven] and spent the night with my family at the beloved little cottage. Left it with sincere regret at gunfire the next morning October 27 and proceeded with my friend and family to embark for England in the Trincomalee

October 31: Arose at seven oclock. Point de Galle in sight . . . came to an anchor 10 oclock . . . ship rolling dreadfully . . . brought some eggs fruit & bread . . . gave the butcher a gulp of grog being a Saturday night for taking care of the stock.

November 13: Nothing to be seen but the same sameness the sky and the sea each day doomed to the same sad reflections . . . one of my sheep died and obliged to kill another sheep [as it was] dying.

November 14: Shocking weather again heavy rains and tremendous sea. Our cabin floating with water cannot sit in our chairs  carried away from one side of the cabin to the other. Sent my large liquor case and a small box of rice down into the magazine.

Eliza made no proper diary entries for six weeks from early January 1819 due to sickness, so did not record an important event of the voyage. HMS Trincomalee arrived at St Helena on the 24th where she stayed for six days, leaving with an additional passenger, surgeon John Stokoe who had attended Napoleon on the island. Eliza does not mention him.

March 27: Blowing hard a man fell overboard and lost in an instant our cabins all floating not a dry place in the ship . . . the children completely washed out of their beds. My chair broke to pieces, dishes and plates flying about.

March 30: Anchored in Spithead [off Portsmouth] at 7 oclock.

The diary continues until an auspicious event on July 18, 1822, much of it spent in agonizing, heart-rending passages devoted to Tom:

August 16 1820: Heard Mr Thomas Craven was married married married. Shall make no comments on the strange news I have heard. What my feelings are can only be known to myself.

The story has a happy ending however, for Eliza writes:

July 17 1822: William Bone was married to Eliza Bunt.

HMS Trincomalee: History and restoration

After HMS Trincomalee reached Portsmouth (the journey cost 6,600, a quarter of the construction), the ship was permanently fitted out for 2,400. It is astonishing she was then placed in reserve for 26 years until 1845, when she was commissioned for service in areas lacking coaling stations to fuel the modern steam vessels. She was re-armed with fewer guns but which had greater firepower; her stern was modified to a striking elliptical style; and she was reclassified as a spar-decked corvette.

Of her military service Wikipedia reports: Trincomalee departed from Portsmouth in 1847 and remained in service for ten years, serving on the North-Western and West Indies station. During her time she was to help quell riots in Haiti and stop a threatened invasion of Cuba, and serve on anti-slavery patrol. In 1849, she was dispatched to Newfoundland and Labrador before being recalled to Britain in 1850. In 1852 she sailed to join the Pacific Squadron on the west coast of America.

In 1857, after her stint of Pacific patrols, she was put into reserve once again, later became a training ship, and eventually sold to shipbreakers in 1897. Fortunately, entrepreneur and philanthropist George Wheatly Cobb acquired HMS Trincomalee, restored her, and renamed her Foudroyant in 1901 in honour of HMS Foudroyant, his earlier, but wrecked, training ship. Foudroyant remained in service until 1986 (in too many forms to reference here) and a year later the Foudroyant Trust decided to transport the vessel in a colossal semi-submersible barge to Hartlepool.

Hartlepool was chosen as it was there that HMS Warrior (1860), the Royal Navys first iron-clad battleship, had been restored. Its now on display at Portsmouth. The highly-skilled team that had worked on the HMS Warrior was retained for the restoration of the Foudroyant, the daunting task begun on January 1, 1990.

Indeed the restoration covered a decade, during which, in 1992, the Foudroyant Trust became the HMS Trincomalee Trust with the Duke of Edinburgh as its patron. Fittingly, the ship reverted to her original name. But it was a period more chaotic than her naval service: she caught fire three times and sank at her moorings. Restoration funds, however, kept materialising and in 1998 it was revealed that a visitor centre would be built around the small dock containing the ship.

The UKs National Historic Ships Committee initially declined to add HMS Trincomalee to the National Historic Ships register (containing over 1,000), arguing that the vessel was not built in Britain. Fittingly, after much consideration the committee not only added HMS Trincomalee to the register but placed the ship in a special sub-group, The National Historic Fleet, consisting of some 150 vessels of great variety and distinction.

Today HMS Trincomalee is the much-visited centrepiece of the Hartlepool Maritime Experience, a recreation of an 18th-century seaport. The decks are filled with period items, replica cannons and crew effects. Audio clips, some motion activated, give a touch of authenticity. And a viewing balcony overlooking the ship provides a great perspective. Though restored the ship retains 65% of the original timber due to the high quality of the Malabar teak. Surviving vessels of similar age, generally of oak, have mostly been rebuilt.

I doubt many Sri Lankans know of HMS Trincomalees existence; fewer still of the widow from Trincomalee who sailed to England aboard her, writing one of the best accounts of sea passage of the era. And I doubt many visitors to the ship in temperate, often fog-bound Hartlepool will understand what the name Trincomalee conjures up for those who know and love this tropical magnificence, the second-largest natural harbour in the world, overlooked by terraced highlands and its entrance guarded by two outstanding headlands.
The Lankans who protected Edward Snowden By Snejana Farberov * Meet Hong Kongs asylum seekers who let US whistleblower sleep in their beds * Refugees share stories of hiding the most wanted man in the world after bombshell NSA leak View(s): View(s):

Vanessa Mae Bondalian Rodel, a Filipino refugee living in a tiny subsidized apartment with her daughter in Hong Kong, had no idea that the young bespectacled American who showed up on her doorstep one night in May 2013 asking for shelter was the most wanted man in the world.

It was not until the following day, when her mysterious houseguest asked for a newspaper, that Rodel recognized him from a photo on the front page depicting Edward Snowden, the fugitive NSA contractor who had just leaked a massive cache of highly classified information exposing government surveillance to The Guardian.

Rodel and other members of Hong Kongs marginalized community of asylum seekers opened their humble homes to the high-profile whistle-blower, who for a while bounced between them to avoid detection by the authorities before fleeing to Russia.

That spring, the former intelligence contractor had quit his job with the National Security Agency and travelled to Hong Kong where he initiated one of the largest data leaks in US history, fuelling a firestorm over the issue of mass surveillance.

Although Snowden stayed in the five-star Mira Hotel before the leak, little was known of his situation afterwards.

But a report last month revealed he had been given shelter by some of the citys 14,500 asylum-seekers.

One of them was Ms. Rodel. In an interview with CNN, the woman recalled the moment she realised who her new acquaintance was: I said, Oh, my God. The most wanted man in the world is in my house!

Rodel revealed that she and her daughter, then a toddler, offered their bed to Snowden while they slept on the kitchen floor for the duration of his stay, which lasted several days.

During that time, Rodel would go out to buy Snowden sweets and equipment for his laptop.

Ajith Puspakumara, 44, a former soldier from Sri Lanka who has been living in Hong Kong since 2003, in a similar fashion opened his home to Snowden in 2013, giving up his bed for several nights before it was time for the American fugitive to move on to another asylum seekers home.

At one point during his turbulent stay in Hong Kong in May of 2013, Snowden lodged with the family of another Sri Lankan national, Supun Kellapatha, who also gave up his familys bed to his notorious guest.

We are part of history because we did good things, he told CNN.

The idea to hide Edward Snowden in the midst of the 14,000-strong community of asylum seekers living on the fringes of Hong Kongs society came to his Canadian attorney Robert Tibbo, who represented some of the refugees on a pro bono basis.

I advised Mr. Snowden it would be in his best interest to be placed with the refugee families in a populated area, as that would be the last place that anybody would look, Tibbo told the network.

The lawyer praised the families who agreed to take Snowden in after his escape from the luxury Mira Hotel, saying: People with the least to give, gave the most.

The poverty-stricken refugees selfless efforts to help the beleaguered former contractor were immortalized in Oliver Stones new thriller, Snowden.

In the film, an actor playing Tibbo brings a jittery Snowden, portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, to an asylum-seeking family, reassuring him that his hosts are good people who would not talk to the authorities because they themselves are stateless.

Americas most wanted fugitive was dressed in all black and disguised in a dark hat and glasses when his lawyers smuggled him to slum-like districts such as Sham Shui Po.

The 33-year-old stayed with at least four refugees, according to a National Post report, all clients of Robert Tibbo.

Other refugees from Sri Lanka said they were not worried about hosting Snowden, and felt he was taking a greater risk than they were.

One family told how he left money for them under a pillow before he left.

Snowden has since sent sent each of the refugees $1,000 each for the danger they put themselves in. Vanessa Rodel said her former houseguest helped send her daughter to kindergarten.

On September 30, Rodel and Ajith Pushpakumara, who also briefly sheltered Snowden, attended a special screening of Stones film in Hong Kong.

Their attorney, Mr Tibbo, says he hopes the star-studded thriller will shine a spotlight on the plight of an estimated 14,500 asylum seekers living in Hong Kong, where they are not allowed to legally work.

They had a hundred chances to betray me while I was amongst them, and no one could have blamed them, given their precarious situations. But they never did, Snowden told the National Post.

If not for their compassion, my story could have ended differently. They taught me no matter who you are, no matter what you have, sometimes a little courage can change the course of history.

Snowden came to Hong Kong on May 20, 2013 and began a damaging series of leaks about the NSA eavesdropping of phones and computer systems that triggered concern from governments worldwide.

Media were clambering to find the whistleblower from the time he checked out of his five-star hotel on June 10 to the day he left the city for Moscow on June 23, escaping the clutches of US justice.

He never meant to call Moscow his home but his passport was cancelled mid-flight meaning he could not travel to South America as hed planned.

In July 2014, Snowden was reunited with his long-term girlfriend Lindsay Mills in Russia.

The dancer joined Snowden after it emerged he wasnt going to be heading back to the States anytime soon.

Earlier this year, speaking via Skype from Russia, Snowden told an audience of supporters in New Hampshire that he is willing to be extradited to the United States if the federal government would guarantee he would get a fair trial.

He faces US charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.

Ive told the government I would return if they would guarantee a fair trial where I can make a public interest defense of why this was done and allow a jury to decide, Snowden told his audience.

Snowden has previously spoken of making offers to the government to return home and his willingness to discuss a plea deal and even go to jail.

 Daily Mail, London
The final few voting papers of the 2016 Local Body Elections are coming in across Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty this morning, as residents make a last minute dash to make their votes count.

Residents are encouraged to cast their votes into ballot boxes at council offices or city libraries by midday today, after the deadline for voting by post closed on Wednesday, October 5.

Fleur Sweeney, who is accepting voting papers at Western Bay of Plenty District Council this morning, says while its a bit early to tell how much higher voting returns are compared to last election theres been a few people coming in to cast their votes this morning.

Weve been open since 9am and about half a dozen people have come in to vote. The last three have been in their early 20s.

Yesterday we were about three per cent up on the 2010 total which is good. Were really pleased with that."

WBOPDC has had their voting caravan visible in the district and all area offices open for people to vote today which Fleur says is helping people remember to vote.

Fleur, who cast her vote by post, says its important for people to vote because they need to make positive choices for their communities for the future.

A record 11 mayoralty 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.

Sue Somerfield casting her vote at the Western Bay of Plenty District Council office at Barkes Corner.

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.

Voting is open until 12pm today. Postal votes are closed, but you can still drop off your voting papers in a ballot box at council offices and in all city libraries.

SunLive will have full coverage of the elections as the results are released after voting closes at midday.

Keep checking SunLive both Saturday and Sunday for up-to-date results.
It follows discussions between the Minister, a delegation and Committee members in Geneva last month, regarding New Zealands fifth periodic report under the UNCROC convention.

I was able to highlight the real progress that our country continues to make on childrens rights, such as the overhaul of care and protection featuring the voices of children, says Mrs Tolley.

I also explained the $790 million child hardship package which has seen benefit rates for families rise for the first time in 43 years, alongside increased Working for Families payments and increased Childcare Assistance payments, as well as free doctors visits for children aged up to 13, Childrens Teams and welfare reforms which have led to more than 40,000 fewer children in benefit-dependent households.

Its important to provide context. Out of over 250 questions, I was asked one question by the Committee about child poverty. I acknowledged that there are too many children in hardship and outlined the important work above.

I then took the time to go through the findings of MSDs recent Household Incomes Report which showed that income poverty is either flat or falling, and that there has been no rise in poverty or material hardship trends for children, which the report says are either flat or falling depending on the measure used.

New Zealand is among the best in the world at monitoring and analysing long-term data and I also explained to the Committee that child poverty is too complex and multi-faceted to use just one simplistic measure.

Its disappointing that the Committee appears to have ignored this detailed analysis carried out by MSD.

We will continue to monitor trends and take necessary action, and the Household Incomes Report in 2018 will provide valuable information on the effects of the $790 million child hardship package which was introduced in April this year.
Police say cigarettes and tobacco were taken. Police would like to hear from anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in the area around 4am.

Specifically Police are interested in sightings of a white early model Toyota Caldina in and around Methven at the time.

Criminal activity targeting cigarettes and tobacco is a concern for Police.

"We know that cigarettes and tobacco have always been popular with thieves, with some anecdotal evidence suggesting that these small, high value items are targeted in small business burglaries and robberies."

Police continue to work with large and small retailers providing advice and support to help improve security and make their premises less attractive for thieves.

Police would like to remind members of the public that purchasing cigarettes and tobacco they know are stolen can result in prosecution.

"If an offer seems too good to be true, then it usually is."

Anyone with Information about the burglaries is asked to call Christchurch Police on 03 363 7400.

Alternatively information can be shared anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The downside is noise  umpteen hundred cars, trucks and buses rumbling through each day. And the incessant sound of horns, tortured tyres and occasional stressed metal.

The Oropi Rd roundabout on State Highway 29A  thats where a couple of spur-winged plover set up home to raise their chicks.

In terms of a safe nesting site, thats an insane spot, says Western Bay Wildlife Trusts Paul Cuming. You would think they had a bit of nous where they nested. They scoped that spot and decided there werent many humans.

And he expects the plovers will learn the folly of their ways when the chicks come along and wander from the nest.

But why a roundabout? Why would they come to New Zealand in the first place would be a wider arching question. says Paul. Even as a bird enthusiast he is not enamoured. Not many people are.

A fascinating-looking bird with its black crown or hood and yellow mask. But appearances can be deceiving. They are also variously described as noisy, boisterous, bad-mannered and vicious. And Australian. They have bad rep. A bit like the magpie, says Paul. And about that screeching cry, a colleague likens the call to steel talons clawing at glass. Its a loud staccato rattle like kerr-kik-ki-ki-ki.

And is it tom-eh-toe or tom-are-toe, and is it ploh-ver or pluvver? Pronounced pluvver apparently.

Apparently they do like mown grassy areas for nesting. They simply scoop out a small patch and line it with paper, leaves and scraps, anything handy.

Two spur-winged plover arrived in Invercargill in 1932 and now there are swathes of them throughout the country. They are classified native but one of the few native birds, along with the black backed gull, that are no longer protected.

They do know a predator when they see one, says Paul. And that is their advantage. New Zealand birds dont know a thing about predators and so they dont recognise them. To their own cost.

And these Ozzie interlopers are a threat to our very own endangered NZ dotterels. There are only a couple of thousand dotterels so having a plover walk up and eat your eggs isnt so good, says Paul.

But he is diplomatic. He says the plover has a mixed reputation. But no, I am not a fan. And their choice of nesting sites is senseless.
HAMILTON -- 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.
SCRIBA, N.Y. -- An Oswego County woman is accused of leaving her disabled child home alone for hours and then crashing her car on the way home, the New York State Police said.

Andrea M. Myers, 28, of 483 county Route 29, Scriba, was charged with DWI-Drugs (prescription medication), third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, and felony first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent/physically disabled person.

Andrea M. Myers

About 5:40 a.m. Friday troopers responded to county Route 29 and O'Connor Road in the town of Scriba for a report of a car crash in that area.

Troopers arrived and found a 2016 Kia in a ditch, but with no driver. They found the driver, identified as Myers, walking on county Route 29 near county Route 51A. State police said she told troopers she had been in an accident and was walking home.

State police said Myers was driving home from Wal-Mart when she went off the road, hit a stop sign and her car ended up in a ditch.

She also admitted to leaving her physically disabled 6-year-old child home alone for several hours, state police said. Troopers rushed to her home and found the child in a bedroom.

Myers was arraigned in Scriba Town Court and released on her own recognizance. She is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday.

State police said Oswego County Child Protective Services is assisting troopers with their investigation.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A city man was found with a loaded revolver after being chased through several buildings and falling down a hill, Syracuse police said.

Officers Darren Ettinger and Jeremy Decker were working at 4:32 p.m. Thursday when they saw a "suspicious vehicle trespassing" at the Parkside Commons apartment complex at 2121 E. Fayette St. and went to investigate, police said.

Manuel Ocasio

When they approached the vehicle a man, later identified as Manuel Ocasio, ran away.

Ettinger and Decker chased Ocasio, who police said jumped through the window of an entrance door at 2119 E. Fayette St. and then ran into the basement of the building. Then he is accused of running outside and down Croly Street before entering 104 Croly St. and running out the back of the building.

Police said Ettinger and Decker kept chasing Ocasio, who fell face first down a steep, grassy hill just north of the building he had run from. At that point he was arrested.

Officers Matthew Erwin and Brendon Cope responded to the chase. As Cope was searching Ocasio, he found crack cocaine, a bullet and a loaded Charter Arms revolver, police said.

Ocasio,18, 107 Peck Ave., was charged with third-degree criminal trespass, second and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, resisting arrest, and third and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

He was arraigned in Syracuse City Criminal Court and ordered held at the Onondaga County jail on $100,000 bail or bail bond. He remained in jail Friday night.

Ocasio was arrested last fall on multiple charges as part of a police crackdown on gang activity in Syracuse.

Ettinger, Decker, Erwin and Cope are part of the police department's Crime Reduction Team a hand-picked unit focusing on proactive policing in high-crime areas. Ettinger and Decker were involved in a similar incident in September when they chased an armed suspect near South Salina Street. The suspect gave up his gun and surrendered.

Contact Ken Sturtz: 315-766-7833 | Email | Twitter | Facebook | Google+
VOLNEY, N.Y. -- A man was killed Friday evening after his car crashed into trees in Oswego County.

Paul J. Switzer, 37, of 540 County Line Road, Phoenix, was driving south on County Route 6 in Volney around 8:20 p.m. when his car veered off the west side of the road, said the New York State Police.

Switzer's car crashed into trees -- partially ejecting him from the car, troopers said. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

It does not appear Switzer was wearing a seat belt, troopers said. The accident remains under investigation.
Chick fil A Culture Wars

A Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

(Mike Stewart | AP Photos)

After an agonizing wait, Chick-fil-A appears to finally be headed to Upstate New York with a location in the Capital Region.

Developer Scott Earl revealed that Chick-fil-A and Fresh Market will be part of a 60,250-square-foot retail complex on Route 146 in Halfmoon, the Times Union reported.

The proposed development goes before the Halfmoon Planning Board on Tuesday. The five buildings on the complex will include a 21,000-square-foot location for Fresh Market, a 4,200-square-foot location for Chick-fil-A, a 24,000-square-foot building for outlets and retail, another 6,050-square-foot restaurant and a 5,000-square-foot office/commercial building.

No other tenants have been revealed. The developers are aiming for construction to begin next spring.

Right now, the nearest of Chick-fil-A's 2,000 locations are in Chicopee, Mass. and southwest Connecticut, according to the Times Union.

Talk of a Chick-fil-A in the Capital Region began last year, but until now the only New York location was in New York City.
flyowners.JPG

Owners Bill and Brenda Michaels at the Fly Creek Cider Mill, just outside Coopertown, NY. The Michaels have written a new cookbook featuring more than 100 sweet and savory apple-based recipes.

((c)Mitch Wojnarowicz Photographer)

This fall's crop of Upstate New York apples will likely be turned into tens of thousands of pies, and surely some doughnuts, fritters and cakes.

But if your taste in apple cooking runs toward the savory as well as the sweet, you might want to check out the Fly Creek Cider Mill Cookbook. It contains more than 100 recipes, from a classic Apple Pandowdy to a main dish of Trout with Apples and Dill and a holiday Apple and Sweet Potato Bake. There's even Thai-Chicken Apple Skewers and a Hard Cider Mac 'n' Cheese.

It comes from the Michaels family, who have run the historic 160-year-old mill near Cooperstown since 1962.

The current owners, Bill and Brenda Michaels, combed through 50 years of family favorites and included plenty of modern cooking ideas to come up with more than 100 recipes. They include sauces, syrups and condiments, breakfast ideas, starters and snacks, soups and salads, side and main dishes, breads, desserts and drinks.

All make use of apples or apple-based products, like apple sauce and sweet or hard cider.

"Apples are such a basic, time-honored fruit that it was hard to select just the right recipes to honor traditions of the past while providing interesting flavors to tempt today's culinary adventurist," the Michaels said in a Q&A that accompanied the release of the book.

The recently renovated Fly Creek Cider Mill operates year-round at 288 Goose St., in Fly Creek, just a few miles west of Cooperstown. The centerpiece of the place is the historic water-powered mill or cider press, primarily used for making sweet cider. Fly Creek also makes its own hard (alcoholic) ciders, and has a gift shop/ marketplace, restaurant and bakery on site. It hosts its Ciderfest this weekend (Oct. 8 and 9).

You can find the book at the Fly Creek gift shop, or buy it online.

RECIPES

Here are three of Bill Michaels' favorite recipes from the book:

Hard Cider Mac 'n' Cheese

Hard Cider Mac 'n' Cheese from the Fly Creek Cider Mill Cookbook.

1 (13 1/2 ounce) box macaroni

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing

1 tart apple, peeled, cored and finely diced

1 small yellow onion, trimmed, peeled and finely diced

3 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1 cup hard cider

1 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper, to taste

1 1/2 pounds grated fine quality cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Generously butter the interior of a 2-quart baking dish or casserole. Set aside

3. Cook the macaroni according to the manufacturer's directions. Drain and pour into the prepared baking dish.

4. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the apple and onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 7 minutes, or until the apple and onion have softend and exuded some liquid.

5. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, stirring to evenly coat. When the flour has ben absorbed by the liquid and no lumps appear, slowly pour in the cider, whisking constantly, followed by the cream. Raise the heat and bring to a boil.

6. When boiling, add approximately 3/4 of the cheese, stirring constantly until it has melted into the sauce. Immediately pour the sauce over the macaroni, stirring to blend. Taste and, if necessary, season with the salt and pepper.

7. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and place in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges are bubbling and the top is golden brown.

8. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Notes: Makes 6 servings. Michaels recommends using Fly Creek's 5-year old Extra Sharp Cheddar and Original Hard Cider.

Apple Pizza

Apple 'Pizza' from the Fly Creek Cider Mill Cookbook.

4 medium Crispin (or heirloom tart) apples, peeled, cored, halved, and cut lengthwise, into paper-thin slices

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons apple cider

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons Wondra flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 single pie crust

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar

1. Place the apple slices in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon juice, add the cider, and toss to keep them from discoloring.Add the sugar, flour, and cinnamon.Toss to coat well.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

3. Lightly flour a clean, flat work surface. Place the pastry in the center and, usinf a rolling pin, roll the dough, working from th center out, into a circle approximately 11 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. Carefully transfer the dough circle to a pizza pan or pizza stone.

4. Fold about 1/2 inch of the edge under itself all around to give the pastry circle a double thickness around the rim. Using your fingertips, crimp a neat, fluted rim of dough.

5. Working from the outside edge toward the center, make concentric circles of slightly overlapping apple slices, with the outside edge of the slices toward the outside edge of the dough. When the center is reached, drizzle the melted butter over the apples and sprinkle the entire top with cinnamon sugar.

6. Place the pizza in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the apples are tender, caramelized, and beginning to brown around the edges and the crust is golden brown.

7. Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes before cutting. May be served warm or at room temperature.

Notes: Makes 1 10-inch pizza. Bill Michaels says: "Our kids - Henry (12) and Sadie (17) love it!"

Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin from the Fly Creek Cider Mill Cookbook.

3/4 cup sugar, either granulated or light brown

1/4 cup cold water

1 stick unsalted butter

4 large tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters

Flour, for dusting

1 piece frozen puff pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine the sugar with the cold water in an 8-inch nonstick, oven-proof frying pan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Allow to cook, without stirring, at a gentle boil for 8 minutes, or until a golden syrup has formed. Add the butter and continue to cook, stiring until completely blended.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully arrange the apples, cut sides facing up, in a slightly overlapping circle in the caramel.

4. Lightly flour a clean, flat work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry out to 10 inches around; then cut it into a circle 9 inches in diameter. Place the pastry circle over the apples and fold th excess edge under to enclose the apples.

5. Using a paring knife, cut at least 4 slits in the center of the pastry to allow steam to escape.

6. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 35 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed and is golden brown.

7. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to rest for 5 minutes.

8. Using a small, sharp knife, loosen the edges from the pan and then carefully turn the tart out onto a serving plate. Serve warm with whipped cream, frozen vanilla or coffee yogurt, or caramel ice cream, if desired.

Notes: Makes 1 8-inch tart. Use puff pastry made with butter, if possible, "Always a classic," Michaels said.

Don Cazentre writes about food, beverages, restaurants and bars for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact him by email, on Twitter, at Google+ or via Facebook.
2016-08-15-mtm-antonacci2.JPG

Onondaga County Comptroller Bob Antonacci talks to the editorial board of Syracuse Media Group, Aug. 15, 2016. A group of minority business owners is suing Antonacci for racial discrimination.

(Marie Morelli | mmorelli@syracuse.com)

A trio of African-American men are suing Onondaga County Comptroller Bob Antonacci for allegedly violating their civil rights.

A lawsuit filed in federal court Friday claims Antonacci created a hostile environment for three minority business owners who do work for Onondaga County.

The plaintiffs -- Dino Dixie, Eli Smith and Cheyenne Talbert -- claim Antonacci singled them out, making surprise visits to work sites and intentionally delaying payments.

"Antonacci's conduct has not change and has had a chilling effect upon minority-owned businesses and resulted in many such businesses not seeking work with the County," the lawsuit claims.

Smith, whose company was hired to paint several county facilities, said in the lawsuit he would no longer seek to do business with the county as a result of Antonacci's behavior.

Other allegations made in the lawsuit include:

Antonacci had a separate file on his computer for payments to Dino Dixie, called "The Dino Dixie File." While fulfilling a Freedom of Information Law request last year, a county employee noticed the file on the desktop of Antonacci's computer.

Antonacci changed his policy for responding to FOILs in response to a request for information about payments to Dixie.

Antonacci sent checks to the three minority business owners in different envelopes than is protocol, "ominously indicating" that he was watching them

Antonacci singled out Cheyenne Realty Corp., which won a parking lot contract with the county in 2014, by auditing the contract -- the only audit that year of a county vendor.

These examples show Antonacci singled out minority business owners, the lawsuit says.

Reached Saturday, Antonacci said he has not seen the lawsuit yet and couldn't comment on its details.

"I will say that I'm looking forward to not only defending myself against these allegations but am glad certain county operations will now come out of the shadows and into the sunlight," Antonacci said. "My guess is when this process unfolds and the whole story is told you will be proud of your comptroller. There are many details to come... stay tuned."

The suit seeks an unspecified amount in damages and requests Antonacci be ordered to stop harassing minority business owners doing work with the county.

Onondaga County is also named in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs are being represented by two law firms: Devaprasad PLLC in Albany and Wolf, Haldenstein, Adler, Freeman & Herz LLC in New York City.
First, it was flaming smartphones. Now its exploding washing machines.

Thats the situation Samsung found itself in last week when the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning about certain top-load washing machines made by the company between March 2011 and April 2016.

CPSC is advising consumers to only use the delicate cycle when washing bedding, water-resistant and bulky items, reads a statement at the commissions website. The lower spin speed in the delicate cycle lessens the risk of impact injuries or property damage due to the washing machine becoming dislodged.

Samsung and the CPSC have been discussing how to address safety issues associated with the washers, Samsung noted in a statement issued last week.

In rare cases, affected units may experience abnormal vibrations that could pose a risk of personal injury or property damage when washing bedding, bulky or water-resistant items, the company explained.

However, it is important to note that Samsung customers have completed hundreds of millions of loads without incident since 2011, it added.

Class-Action Lawsuit

The CPSC warning comes a month after the filing of a class action lawsuit in federal court over problems with the washers, The Washington Post reported.

The lawsuit, filed by three women from Texas, Indiana and Georgia, maintains Samsung has known about the problem with the washers for years but has done little to inform consumers about it.

A vulnerable washing machine may vibrate violently when taxed by a heavy load, the lawsuit points out, which can cause its tub to become unfastened, resulting in a centrifugal explosion that can destroy the machine and anything next to it.

A different brand of washer caused a similar problem for Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

My wife and I had to jump on it to keep it from destroying the laundry room, and it still punched a big hole in a brand new wall, he told TechNewsWorld.

His washers problem was caused by a faulty installation, Enderle explained.

The installer had failed to remove the securing harness for the harmonic balancer, so the tub was massively out of balance, he said.

Brand Damage

Coming as it does on the heels of the Galaxy Note 7 problems, the washing machine issue likely will do massive damage to the Samsung brand, Enderle maintained.

It showcases Samsung as a vendor that builds unsafe products, accentuates their historically horrid service and support, and resonates across very different product lines  reflecting more on the parent brand than any one product, he said.

This makes it look like Samsung is a brand that should be avoided like the plague, Enderle continued. This is the kind of thing that can destroy a vendor.

Its possible Samsung can weather its recent storms, suggested Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

Samsung appears to be following proper procedures in regard to working with consumer safety organizations and alerting customers about the problem, he told TechNewsWorld. I doubt this will have a lasting impact on the companys brand or reputation.

Galaxy Note 7

Samsung last month announced a voluntary recall and exchange program for versions of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone sold in the United States before Sept. 15.

The devices can overheat and pose a safety risk, the company said in a statement.

In an update on the recall posted last week to its China website, Samsung reported more than 1 million consumers around the world were using safe Galaxy Note 7s with batteries not in danger of exploding.

Currently, the brand new Note 7 products that have been swapped in overseas markets are using identical batteries to those that were supplied and used for the Chinese version, the update says.

Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines this week evacuated a plane after one of the safe phones reportedly began sparking and smoking.

Another safe new phone, purchased by a tech worker in China, reportedly burst into flames after being charged overnight.
Apple has purchased medical records startup Gliimpse, Fast Company reported Monday, in order to broaden its presence in the personal healthcare information management market.

Apple confirmed that the purchase took place earlier this year, according to the magazine.

Apple in recent years has delved into healthcare with offerings such as HealthKit, CareKit and ResearchKit. The Gliimpse acquisition is seen as an extension of those efforts.

Apple is highly committed to creating products and services around health, said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies.

Gliimpse gives Apple another powerful data-tracking tool to tie to their health ecosystem of products and services, he told TechNewsWorld.

Magical Machine

Gliimpse has been working for three years on its technology, which it refers to as a magical machine.

The aim is to eliminate the tower of babble plaguing medical data today by converting medical records that can appear incomprehensible into information that both humans and machines can digest and use.

Apple so far has focused on healthcare information gathered outside the clinical spectrum, said Roeen Roashan, senior analyst for healthcare technology at IHS Markit.

With Gliimpse, youre opening up the system with hospital records, lab records, and data from pharmacies, he told TechNewsWorld. That not only expands Apples reach and strengthens its product, but it also enhances its analytics capabilities in terms of providing better patient care.

Guessing Game

What Apple will do with Gliimpses technology is anyones guess, as the company is known for keeping its plans under tight wraps.

Apple might consider Gliimpse a critical technology to an overarching healthcare service, or it may simply see it as complementary to other Apple health and fitness solutions, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. At this point, its impossible to say.

Purchasing Gliimpse could signal a new direction for Apple, noted Bob ODonnell, chief analyst at Technalysis Research.

I think were seeing arguably the beginning of a new type of Apple thats looking outside its core into a number of different areas and seeing how they can be a disrupter, he told TechNewsWorld. Healthcare is one of those areas.

Formidable Challenge

Healthcare can be challenging for vendors who are already in the business, let alone for newcomers like Apple.

The main challenge in this space is interoperability across systems  not only within Apples platforms, but also across provider networks and the rest of the healthcare sector, IHS Roashan explained.

Numerous challenges face any company doing business in healthcare, Pund-ITs King told TechNewsWorld. They include a lack of consensus among healthcare providers and services, a reliance on proprietary technologies, and fierce competition among stakeholders.

Even initiatives like electronic medical records can result in confusion  at least when it comes to sharing records with nonaffiliated doctors and facilities, he added.

The problems only get worse when you go outside the United States, noted Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.

Each country has its own compliance schema and laws, making things complex, he told TechNewsWorld, which plays against the consumers need for ease of use.

Baby Steps

With Gliimpse, Apple may be able to reduce some of the healthcare system friction that so frustrates its users.

This is a baby step toward democratizing healthcare information and creating a more empowered consumer of healthcare, said Jeff Dachis, CEO of One Drop.

The first step in doing that is giving consumers their own healthcare information, he told TechNewsWorld. Gliimpse potentially offers that to them.

Giving consumers control of their own health data could be beneficial to both patients and the vendor that cracks the data-sharing problem.

The idea of patients owning and managing their health information could make medical visits simpler, and diagnosis and treatment safer and more relevant, suggested Pund-Its King.

The company that gets it right could become massively successful and prosperous, he added.At the same time, meeting healthcare regulations and security requirements is not for the faint of heart, and numerous healthcare stakeholders are likely see such efforts as endangering the well being of their businesses.

Neither Apple nor Gliimpse reponded to our requests to comment for this story.
Google has finally officially announced its Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. The huge event was a successful one filled with many surprises despite juicy details being given out piecemeal through rumors and leaks online.

Even though the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL were built by Taiwanese company HTC, Google seems to be taking full ownership of the devices with the branding "Phone by Google" visible in the official ad plus the engraved "G" at the back of the phones.

"The Pixel name has always represented the best in hardware and software, designed and built by Google, together," Rick Osterloh, Google's newly hired hardware chief officer said. During the Pixel Event, they highlighted five main features of the new Google Pixel phones  Google Assistant, unlimited Google cloud storage, new camera, Daydream View VR headset compatibility and fast charging.

Google Assistant

Pixels are the first phones to have a built-in Google Assistant feature. If you're familiar with the Google Allo app, you might already know how the Assistant works.

Users can chat with the Assistant and command it to search for topics or create to-do-lists, among others. It can be accessed by pressing the phone's home button or by saying "Ok Google".

Unlimited Cloud Storage

Unlike its Google apps with limited storage across different operating systems, Google Pixel and Pixel XL sport free unlimited full resolution cloud storage for pictures and videos shot using the Pixel phones. This privilege includes even 4K videos shot with the phone.

Camera

Both Pixel phone variants sport a 12.3-megapixel shooter with an f/2.0 aperture and large 1.55-micron pixels for capturing lots of light. The camera also scored 89 in DxOMark, which is the highest rating in a smartphone camera ever, claims Google. Capture times for still and moving shots are shortest with the Google Pixel phones. Unfortunately, optical image stabilization is not present for taking photos with the mobile device.

Virtual Reality Compatibility

Google also announced that they will be selling its Daydream View VR headset at the event for $79. The Google Pixel smartphones are the first ones to be compatible with the said headset.

Other Features

Google Pixel phones ship with the latest Android 7.1 Nougat out-of-the-box and will be directly getting updates from Google as times go by. It comes in two sizes, 5-inch and 5.5-inch, with three colors to choose from  Quite Black, Very Silver, and a limited "Really Blue" color edition for U.S. customers.

The Google Pixel phones are available for preorders in the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia and Germany for $649. Preorders for India will start on Oct. 13 with no official announcements for worldwide release dates yet.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A team of researchers have likely cured a British man from HIV with the help of a new therapy that targets the disease even in the dormant state.

A 44-year-old, whose name is not disclosed, is one of the 50 HIV patients that participated in the trial conducted by researchers from five universities in Britain, including Cambridge, Oxford, King's College London, University College London and Imperial College London.

According to the researchers, no virus could be detected in the 44-year-old's blood, however, that could be because of consumption of regular antiviral drugs as well. On the other hand, if dormant cells are cleared completely as a result of the new advanced therapy, it is certain that he would be the first patient in the world to have gotten cured of HIV completely.

Mark Samuels, managing director of the National Institute for Health Research Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure, said that it is the first ever therapy that is aimed at finding a complete cure for HIV. The researcher who noted that the team is exploring ways to find cure for the fatal infection added that though the trial is in its initial stages the progress is very impressive.

Finding a cure for HIV is a big challenge for researchers as the virus targets and bonds with the DNA of the T-cells and makes it undetectable by the host immune system. In addition, the virus also multiplies exponentially inside the T-cells without being attacked by the immune cells.

The traditional antiviral therapies fight the viruses but don't target the dormant cells that pose potential risk to the host. On the contrary, the new therapy fights the virus as well as targets the dormant cells. It acts as a vaccine that helps the body's immune system to recognize and fight the virus while another drug named Vorinostat activates the dormant cells which in turn is recognized by the immune system as well.

"This therapy is specifically designed to clear the body of all HIV viruses, including dormant ones," said Professor Sarah Fidler, a consultant physician at Imperial College London. "It has worked in the laboratory and there is good evidence it will work in humans too, but we must stress we are still a long way from any actual therapy."

Fidler, who said that the medical tests will be continued for next five years, also noted that HIV patients are not recommended to give upon their antiviral medications until the drug is proven effective.

Photo: NIAID | Flickr

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Sony unveiled its new flagship APS-C sensor camera, a6500, along with the RX100 Mark V, the flagship model for the Cyber-shot RX100 series.

Both flagship sensors debuted during a New York event held Friday, Oct. 7. The Japanese image sensor manufacturer says that both cameras sport record-breaking autofocus speeds. Sony also claims that the a6500 has the world's highest number of AF points among other interchangeable lens cameras while the RX100 Mark V has the world's fastest continuous shooting for a compact camera.

The a6500 (Model ILCE-6500)

"We are continuing to push the boundaries of modern innovation in digital imaging, in particular within the mirrorless space," says Sony Electronics vice president of digital imaging Neal Manowitz. "As our flagship APS-C camera, [the a6500] far exceeds the performance threshold of any camera in its class, and many above its class as well."

The words "world's fastest" may be enticing, but what Sony actually did was port the a6300's 4D Focus system, which is capable of capturing and locking onto moving subjects in just 0.05 seconds, to the a6500. The hybrid AF system also comes with 425 phase detection AF points and high-density autofocus tracking technology. The combination greatly enhances tracking performance and subject detection.

The a6500 is also fitted with the same 24-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor and BIONZ X image processor as the a6300. However, to separate the new E-mount mirrorless flagship from its predecessor, Sony equipped it with a front-end LSI for quicker internal processing. The buffer was also expanded, which grants the a6500 model 307 frames for continuous shooting. This equates to roughly 28 seconds of continuous shooting while on continuous autofocus.

Note that the a6500 is capable of shooting images on continuous autofocus at up to 11 frames per second and 8 fps while in live view mode.

What really distinguishes the a6500 from its older brother, however, is the 5-axis image stabilization system. This crowns the a6500 as the first Sony APS-C sensor camera to feature the in-body stabilization system.

Moving beyond stills, the a6500 can shoot 4K (3,840 x 2,160) videos. It can also record Full HD at 120 fps with speeds of up to 100 Mbps. Moreover, the new camera incorporates the "Slow and Quick" mode, which, as the name suggests, supports both quick (up to 60 times) and slow motion (up to five times).

To complement the autofocus system and video recording capabilities of the new flagship, Sony fitted the a6500 with a touch-screen, which owners can use to lock the focus on a subject with a simple tap. The touch-screen also doubles as a touchpad for shifting focus points.

Improved durability also comes with the a6500 that has a magnesium alloy body and a shutter that lasts up to 200,000 release cycles.

The Sony a6500 will be on retailers' shelves by November for $1,400.

The RX100 Mark V (Model DSC-RX100M5)

"Featuring a level of power and performance that has never before been achieved in a compact, the new RX100 V redefines what it means to be a 'pocket camera'," Manowitz comments on the new Cyber-shot RX100 series flagship. "This camera is yet another example of Sony innovating to a level far beyond what exists in the conventional marketplace."

The RX100 V also features Sony's autofocus system, which allows it to match the a6500's AF acquisition speed at 0.05 seconds. 315 dedicated AF points complement the high-speed autofocus system.

Moreover, the RX100 V can continuously shoot at speeds of up to 24 fps, which is an improvement compared with the IV's 16 fps. This is possible with the 20.1 MP Exmor RS CMOS sensor that got refreshed with a DRAM chip.The V also has a larger memory buffer that allows for up to 150 continuous shots.

Just like its predecessor, the RX100 IV, the V is fitted with an F1.8-2.8 24-70mm equivalent ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* lens. The pop-up 2.35 million dot OLED electronic viewfinder has also remained unchanged.

"Other advancements to AF performance on the new RX100 V include the addition of AF-A mode, which allows the camera to automatically switch between continuous and single-shot AF modes," says Sony in a press release for the RX100 V.

There are also significant improvements in its video capture aspect. The new camera offers 4K video shooting without pixel binning and full pixel readout. There's also a super-slow motion option that records at 40 times slower than the normal speed. The RX100 V can record super-slow motion at up to 960fps.

Note that, according to Sony, the V almost doubles the IV's recording time for super-slow motion recording.

Same with the more recent RX100 series cameras, the RX100 V comes with Wi-Fi and NFC. Sony says that an underwater housing will be made available as a separate accessory.

The Sony RX100 V ship later this month and will have an accompanying $1000 price tag.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Sprint will now let Samsung Galaxy Note 7 replacement units be exchanged for other devices.

The network carrier's announcement comes after a reported incident last Wednesday, Oct. 5, in which a replacement Galaxy Note 7 unit allegedly exploded while aboard Southwest Airlines Flight 994 that was supposed to depart from Louisville to Baltimore. Luckily, the alleged explosion happened prior to takeoff. The flight was canceled due to the incident.

Bear in mind that the Federal Aviation Administration deemed the exploding Galaxy Note 7 handhelds as illegal for use on U.S. flights.

Responding to inquiries by Recode, a Sprint representative says that the company is working together with Samsung to get a better understanding of the most recent concerns regarding the replacement units of the Galaxy Note 7.

"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," the Sprint representative tells Recode.

While T-mobile does not have a direct response to the issue, it points customers to its remorse policy that allows customers to exchange/return devices within two weeks (14 days). The other major American network carriers, Verizon and AT&T, are yet to make their comments.

Samsung says that it's yet to retrieve the Note 7 smartphone unit from the incident and thus, it currently has no additional information to share.

CPSC Investigation

The reported incident is currently being investigated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"CPSC is moving expeditiously to investigate this incident," says CPSC chairman Elliot Kaye. "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. Consumers should know that one of the remedies is a refund."

The refund option is one of three that Samsung offered in its exchange program. Owners of affected Note 7 smartphones can also opt to exchange their devices with the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. Samsung will pay for the difference in price.

Note that the CPSC has been on top of the exploding Note 7 issue even before Samsung issued a global recall last Sept. 2. It was also the commission that approved of Samsung's exchange program, which was announced mid-September.

During the time that the Note 7 exchange program was announced, Samsung reported 92 incidents of the exploding handheld within the United States alone. The South Korean phone maker says that 26 people have suffered burns as a result.

A well-known incident of a Note 7's explosion involved a family car that was set afire.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
DECATUR -- The Macon County Jail is about to get a technology update to help officers when they make the rounds.

The system, known as the Guard #1 Plus, will allow correctional officers on their mandatory cell checks to digitally mark what cells they have inspected and the exact time it was done.

With Thursday mornings approval by the Decatur Public Building Commission, the order will be placed "immediately," and the system should be installed with the next few months. The commission will cover the $25,000 cost of the system and will self-install the technology.

This will make our lives just a little bit easier, said sheriff's Sgt. Matt Reynolds, jail superintendent

As of now, officers are required to do 30-minute cell checks during which they walk through the jail and then make a written report. As they do this, superintendents watch them through cameras to verify the checks were done and at the times listed.

The new system, operated by Ohio-based Timekeeping Systems Inc., will provide officers with a "digital wand" that, when pressed against a device next to the cell, will send a digital recording that would allow officials to know exactly when cells were checked.

Aside from creating an easier recording system than a handwritten log book, commission Trustee Mark Cheviron suggested it could also help officers in liability cases in which an inmate attempts to harm themselves.

With this, we can prove that they (correctional officers) made their rounds, he said.

In other business, the commission approved a request from the county to provide court security at their facilities for the immediate future. The cost of security has generally come from the countys Law Enforcement Safety Tax, which is a sales tax that collects 25 cents for every $100.

But with countywide budget concerns, which include making more than $1 million in cuts to the sheriffs office that normally funds court security, county officials had asked the commission for some help to cover costs.
US Cellular rolls out the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

The American network carrier's Marshmallow over-the-air update for the Galaxy Note 4 is one of the tardiest. In fact, the release comes a month after AT&T rolled out its Note 4 Marshmallow update, which many deemed to be pretty late compared to other major carriers.

Verizon released Android Marshmallow for the Galaxy Note 4 back in June, which is four months ago. Sprint's release in March of this year was way ahead of the other mentioned network carriers.

Moreover, a good portion of the current premium mobile devices now runs on Android 7.0 Nougat, which was released in August 2016. Still, better late than never.

On the brighter side of things, US Cellular's Marshmallow rollout for Note 4 is just in time for the mobile OS' anniversary. Note that Google first rolled out Marshmallow on Oct. 5, 2015, for both the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X, the first mobile devices to have a taste of Android 6.0.

This Android Marshmallow update brings a pack of features to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which includes various bug fixes, a new app drawer design, better stability, greater control over app permissions and improved battery life thanks to the OS' Doze mode that kills all background processes when the device is sleeping and prevents apps from waking up the device when its display has been off for a while. While hardly noticeable, Marshmallow also packs some changes to the phablet's user interface, especially with icon shapes.

Marshmallow also brings the updated S Pen functionality, which was previously exclusive to the Galaxy Note 5, to the Note 4. By pulling out the S Pen, users can access the Air Command menu, which presents options that include Action Memo, Smart Select, Screen Write, S Note and Add Shortcuts.

There's also the Off-screen memo that lets users write notes using the accompanying S Pen on the phablet's display without the need to turn on the phone.

Bear in mind that this is an OTA update, and therefore, it won't get rolled out for everyone at the same time. US Cellular customers who are eager to get Marshmallow running on their Galaxy Note 4 phablets can manually check for the update.

How To Manually Check For OTA Updates

 Go to Settings.

 Tap on About Device.

 Click on Software Update.

 Tap on Update Now.

It is recommended that the device is plugged in to an outlet or at least fully charged prior to updating.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Pirate Bay has been blocked from use with a warning on both the Google Chrome and Firefox browsers. Users of the site may access it by bypassing the warning page, or using The Pirate Bay mirror sites, including one with a Kickass Torrents skin, or other alternative file sharing sites such as Extratorrent.

It has been a rocky period in the world of torrenting and file sharing lately. In the past several months, three of the biggest 10 torrenting websites have shut their doors. It began in July with the government shutdown of Kickass Torrents, which at the time was the most popular site of its kind in the world. Shortly thereafter, torrent meta search engine Torrentz threw in the towel voluntarily, making two of the three largest torrent sites history close shop within just a few weeks' time. Soon after, another popular file sharing site, Torrenthound, also ended its run voluntarily.

While alternative clones and mirrors of the closed sites soon popped up, many users chose to migrate directly to the other sites that were still up and running, and the most obvious beneficiary of that move was The Pirate Bay. With former number one site Kickass Torrents out of the race, The Pirate Bay soon shot to the top of the list of most used file sharing websites.

While The Pirate Bay has remained remarkably stable during all of this turmoil thus far, a new hiccup has emerged for users of the site. Users who attempt to access The Pirate Bay via both the Google Chrome and Firefox browsers are being blocked from access with a warning message displayed:

"Deceptive site ahead: Attackers on Thepiratebay.org may trick you into doing something dangerous like installing software or revealing your personal information," reads the Google Chrome warning. "Google Safe Browsing recently detected phishing on thepiratebay.org. Phishing sites pretend to be other websites to trick you."

Firefox and other browsers operating under the Google Safe browsing protocol are also blocking users and displaying similar warnings. Speculation is that the blocking is a result of malicious third-party advertising, but others have blamed Google for intentionally discouraging use of The Pirate Bay to appease record and film industry advocates.

While the issue is expected to be worked out, there's an easy workaround for users who aren't particularly concerned about the malicious ads, which is just to click on "Ignore This Warning" in the bottom right corner of the warning page. Those users who want to avoid the malware can still freely access other popular file sharing sites such as Extratorrent, Rarbg and 1337X. They can also access one of the various The Pirate Bay clone and mirror sites, including the popular Kickass Torrents skin-bearing clone without being redirected to a warning page.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Fossil fuels have long been blamed for global warming because of the greenhouse gases they produce. However, researchers from Royal Holloway, University of London say that fossil fuels might not actually be to blame, at least where methane is concerned.

In a study published in the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles, the researchers showed that recent increases in methane levels in the atmosphere are actually caused by biological sources like rice fields, swamp gas and cow burps, and not fossil fuel emissions. They also noted that the spike in methane levels was particularly evident in the tropics.

For the study, Euan Nisbet and colleagues worked with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to analyze measurements and air samples taken from various parts of the globe, like Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, Alert in the Canadian Arctic and Cape Point in South Africa.

"Our results go against conventional thinking that the recent increase in atmospheric methane must be caused by increased emissions from natural gas, oil and coal production," said Nisbet, the study's lead author, adding that an analysis of methane isotopes pointed to a higher level of emissions from microbial sources, like agriculture or wetlands.

According to him, atmospheric methane is considered one of the most potent of the greenhouse gases. It largely increased in level during the 20th century because of emissions from the coal and gas industries, but it had started to stabilize at the beginning of the new century. However, methane in the atmosphere started rising again around the globe since 2007, reaching extreme levels (double that of the previous years) in 2014.

Changes in weather patterns were one reason why methane was increasing in the atmosphere, with natural processes that remove the gas slowing down, but it was likelier that there was an increase in gas emissions from tropical areas around the world.

In another study, researchers from the Washington State University have discovered another unlikely source of greenhouse gases: hydroelectricty. Hydropower has been in use for decades as a clean energy source, but it turns out man-made reservoirs and dams are contributing emissions that yield almost a gigaton of carbon dioxide each year. That much carbon dioxide is equivalent to more than the total of all of the greenhouse gases Canada can produce.

How exactly are reservoirs and dams contributing emissions? They create ideal conditions for microorganisms to thrive and generate greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane.

According to study author John Harrison, bubbles rising from the bottom of lakes or reservoirs are usually methane.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The United States government has officially accused Russia of being behind the recent wave of hacking attacks, in a bid to interfere with the country's upcoming national elections.

The accusation was made through a joint statement released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security.

According to the statement, the United States Intelligence Community is said to be confident that Russia directed the hacking attacks that breached the emails of people and institutions in the country, including 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," the statement said, adding that all these activities have the goal of interfering with the national elections, which will start on Nov. 8.

The statement also said that, based on the sensitivity and scope of the hacking attacks, only the top officials of Russia could have given the signal to go ahead with them. Russian President Vladimir Putin was not named, but that appeared to be the statement's intention.

The allegation made against the Russian government and Putin was welcomed by both Democratic and Republican senior lawmakers, who are calling for the outgoing Obama administration to retaliate against the Kremlin to discourage such attacks in the future.

"The United States must upend Putin's calculus with a strong diplomatic, political, cyber and economic response," said Senator Ben Sasse, who is Homeland Security Committee member.

What kind of retaliation could the United States government be thinking in response to Russia's alleged cybersecurity breaches? Among the possible forms are targeted economic sanctions and covert actions against the computer servers in Russia and in other locations that were said to be where the attacks have come from. No formal recommendation has been made to the president so far, however.

Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, has dismissed the accusations of the United States government, stating that Russia receives tens of thousands of hacking attempts daily originating from the United States but does not blame the government to be behind them.

The latest hacking attack believed to have been initiated by Russia was revealed just a few days ago, as Guccifer 2.0 uploaded documents that were said to have been acquired from the systems of the Clinton Foundation. It is believed that Guccifer 2.0 is a cover for Russian intelligence agents.

The documents reveal donor information, including the fact that certain banks have donated some funds that they received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program to the Democratic party.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
AT&T is said to be thinking about stopping all sales of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 due to the continuing safety risk presented by the smartphone.

Samsung launched a global recall for the Galaxy Note 7 due to cases of the device's battery exploding. The replacement units that the company has offered in exchange for the potentially defective smartphones were said to be safe from the exploding battery issue, but one such device still caught fire while its owner was inside a Southwest Airlines airplane.

Thankfully, the airplane was still at the gate when the incident happened, which allowed all passengers and crew members to evacuate the aircraft. While there were no injuries, the explosion of a replacement unit presented an even bigger problem. If investigators confirm that the Galaxy Note 7 that caught fire was indeed a replacement unit, Samsung might have to launch a second recall program for the smartphone.

With Samsung still failing to address the safety problems of the Galaxy Note 7 though the replacement units, the confidence in the company that it would be able to fix the issue once and for all has dwindled. This could be the reason for the internal discussions in AT&T on ending sales of the smartphone, as Bloomberg reported, citing a source who is familiar with the matter.

According to the source, a final decision on whether AT&T will continue or stop selling the Galaxy Note 7 could come as soon as this evening.

If AT&T does decide to stop sales of the smartphone, it would be a massive blow to Samsung, as the carrier is its third biggest customer. In addition, if AT&T would pull the plug on Galaxy Note 7 sales, other carriers in the United States could choose to do the same, which would effectively cancel the smartphone's release in the country.

With the safety concerns surrounding the Galaxy Note 7 and the trust that consumers have in the smartphone almost completely obliterated, the only logical thing that Samsung can do would be to officially cease the production of the device and to move forward from the debacle by identifying what caused the issue and ensuring that it will never happen again in future products.

Samsung still has a good chance of bouncing back from the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, with the company still expecting to post an improvement in its third-quarter operating profit due to the success found by its chip and display businesses. It will likely be able to do so with another smartphone, however, and not with the Galaxy Note 7.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
LeEco, vaunted as the "Google of China," shelled out $2 billion to purchase Vizio back in July, implying the Chinese tech company's official entry into the U.S. market.

It's gearing up for an Oct. 19 launch event, where it's expected to unveil its own line of smartphones and a video-on-demand service that will compete with Netflix, bolstering the idea of an official U.S. entry.

However, ahead of its debut, LeEco seems to have accidentally published the official listings of the new devices on its own website, replete with full specifications and pricing. The listings have now been removed from the site.

The leaked listings, if proven to be accurate, which is most probably the outcome considering the nature of "leaks," reveal six new devices, four of which are TVs and the remaining two are smartphones.

Both smartphones are LeEco's mid-range Android offerings. The Le Max2 was previously announced in April this year, featuring a 5.7-inch quad HD display at 515 ppi, a 21-megapixel rear-facing camera that can record 4K video at 30 fps and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with an Adreno 530 GPU. It comes in 32/64 GB of internal storage with 4 GB of RAM or 64/128 GB of internal storage that comes with 6 GB of RAM. The website says the Le Max2 will cost $289 after a discount of $60.

The Le S3, on the other hand, will retail for a discounted $169 per the site's listing. However, according to Android Police, this price tag may simply be a placeholder, since the standard price is listed as $299 with a $60 discount. Slashing $60 off the MSRP gives a total of $239, so it's unclear how the $169 price fits in the narrative.

The Le S3, as per the listing, appears to be a renamed LeEco Le 2. If the listing proves true, then the Le S3 will have a 5.5-inch full HD display at 401 ppi, a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera that can also record 4K video at 30 fps, and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor with 32 GB of internal storage and 3 GB of RAM.

Three of LeEco TVs are prefixed by "Super4," and all four models have 4K resolution running on Android TV, according to the listings. The four TVs are named Super4 X43 Pro, Super4 X55, Super4 X65 and uMax85. The Super4 X55 appears to be the only listing with an accurate pricing at $799, while the remaining models were labeled with a pricing placeholder. Oddly enough, LeEco is marketing its new line of TVs under its own namesake and not under the Vizio brand, which it now owns.

The listings are potentially close to what we can expect the company is set to unveil on its Oct. 19 launch event in San Francisco. Should the unveiling reveal any significant changes from the accidental leak, expect due coverage.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Earlier in the week, reports broke out on software that was installed by Yahoo in its systems to help the United States government search through the emails of all its users from January to June 2015.

It was believed that the tool was a simple program that was a modification of the existing scanning system used by Yahoo to sniff out email for things such as spam, malware and child pornography. However, according to an exclusive Motherboard report, the software was much worse than that.

Two people familiar with the matter told Motherboard that the tool more closely resembled a form of malware known as a rootkit, which embeds itself within a system and essentially provides hackers with full access.

One source, a former employee of Yahoo, said that the tool was found by an internal security testing team of the company during one if its checkups and assumed that it was a rootkit that was installed by a hacker. According to the source who wished to remain anonymous, the tool was not a slight modification on Yahoo's scanning system, because if it was, the security team would not have noticed it and "freaked out."

The source went on to say that the program's contents did not look like something that Yahoo would install, especially as it was installed in such a way that presents a security risk to all the company's users.

Another source narrated that after the tool was discovered, the report on the security issue moved up to Alex Stamos, the head of security for Yahoo at the time. Stamos then found out that the rootkit-like software was purposely installed and spoke to management about it. Afterward, the report on the tool was quickly closed, preventing other employees working under the security team to even find out about it.

Many questions about the reported tool remain, which is why Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who is a member of the intelligence committee, along with civil groups against surveillance practices, have called for the United States government to publicize the alleged secret order in 2015 that directed Yahoo to scan all the emails of its users.

The order contains interpretations of federal law that the American people could find troubling and surprising, Wyden said, adding that the USA Freedom Act requires the declassification of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinions, which involve such interpretations.

Among the other unanswered questions surrounding the issue is what exactly the government was looking for in the emails, how long the tool was used and why Yahoo decided to not involve its security team.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Pharmaceutical company Mylan revealed on Friday that it has agreed to pay $465 million to settle claims that it has overbilled Medicaid by misclassifying its anti-allergy product EpiPen, which has also recently faced intense scrutiny after drastic price increases.

Mylan has faced criticisms from consumers and lawmakers alike by increasing the price of the life-saving device by about sixfold. The device is used to deliver the epinephrine drug that can counter the potentially deadly effects of allergic reaction.

In 2008, the price for a two-pack EpiPen only costs about $100, but it is now priced at over $600, making the device unaffordable for many families who need it. Some allergy sufferers turned to potentially dangerous DIY syringe methods as a result of the price increase.

The settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice followed claims from lawmakers and health officials that the company wrongly classified EpiPen as a generic product instead of a brand product, which allowed it to evade paying for steeper rebates to the Medicaid program.

Such rebates are required by law for patients of Medicaid, which is funded by both states and federal government, but there are differences in amounts among brand and generic drugs.

In a letter sent to lawmakers this week, Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said that the generic classification of EpiPen allowed the pharmaceutical company to pay smaller rebates on EpiPen sales, underpaying the health program for the poor by millions of dollars over a period of five years.

Since it classified EpiPen as generic, Mylan only paid rebates of 13 percent, or about $163 million, when it should have been paying at least 23 percent rebate for EpiPen being a brand name drug.

The company, which moved to Netherlands last year for tax purposes but is still managed from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, however, said that the terms of settlement do not mean it admitted wrongdoing on its part.

"The question in the underlying matter was whether EpiPen Auto-Injector was properly classified with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services ('CMS') as a non-innovator drug under the applicable definition in the Medicaid Rebate statute and subject to the formula that is used to calculate rebates to Medicaid for such drugs," Mylan said in a statement.

Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said that entering into the settlement is the right course of action at the moment for Mylan and its stakeholders as well as the Medicaid program.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A volcano, which lies on Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture, erupted early morning on Saturday. Japan's Meteorological Agency said that Mount Aso, the country's largest active volcano, spewed volcanic ash 7 miles into the skies.

The eruption started at 1:46 a.m. local time on one of the peaks of the 5,222 feet-mountain. It was the first eruption at the peak since 1980. In 1979, three tourists on Mount Aso were killed by large rocks that were thrown up during an eruption. Mount Aso is among the most active peaks in Japan but it also happens to be a popular hiking spot.

No injury or major damage has been reported in the latest eruption so far albeit many buildings and cars were left cloaked with thick ash.

Alert level for the volcano, however, has been raised to level 3, which means that people should not approach the mountain and there are threats of falling rocks.

A Meteorological Agency official said that the mountain is in an unstable condition and there is a possibility that it could erupt again. The official also warned residents of the dangers posed by rocks, gas and volcanic ash from the volcano.

It is not yet clear if the eruption is linked to powerful earthquakes that hit Kumamoto and Oita Prefecture in April this year, which killed 49 people.

The city government of Aso already opened shelters at 10 locations.

Japan sits on the so-called Ring of Fire where a large chunk of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. The country is known to have 100 active volcanoes.

Volcanic eruptions can be very deadly. Two years ago, the unexpected eruption of Mount Ontake killed 63 people in what is considered as the country's worst volcanic disaster for nearly 90 years.

Preparedness during these natural catastrophes is very crucial to survival that Japanese researchers have been conducting studies to improve prediction of volcanic eruptions.

Last year, researchers from the Tohoku University and meteorological agency officials, triggered an artificial earthquake on 6,040 feet Mount Zao, which straddles Miyagi and Yamagata Prefectures, to learn how they can better predict when a volcanic eruption is about to happen.

Last month, researchers who used a new method for imaging the underground plumbing system of volcanoes, have warned that the Sakurajima volcano, which last erupted in 1914 and caused massive flooding in the nearby city of Kagoshima, could erupt again in the next few decades. The volcano killed 58 people when it last erupted.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
U.S. carriers are offering customers to swap their Samsung Galaxy Note 7 replacement unit with another available smartphone.

Samsung has announced a global recall of Galaxy Note 7 after reports that the battery in some units caught fire or exploded while being charged. Various airline operators and aviation agencies across the world also banned the use of the Galaxy Note 7 in their flight because of safety concerns.

Samsung has recalled about 2.5 million potentially hazardous Galaxy Note 7 units and the company has replaced the majority of faulty devices. However, the question about the phablet's safety has started once again after smoke started to emerge from a passenger's replacement Galaxy Note 7 just before takeoff on a Southwest Airlines flight.

All passengers and crew members disembark the airplane safely.

The incident has raised safety concerns of Galaxy Note 7 replacement units. A previous Tech Times report highlighted that AT&T is thinking of stopping all sales of Galaxy Note 7. Sprint is also allowing customers to exchange their replacement Galaxy Note 7 for any other smartphone. Other carriers in the U.S. are also following suit.

"Customers can bring their Galaxy Note7, along with accessories they purchased from T-Mobile, to a T-Mobile store and exchange it for a new CPSC-approved Note7 replacement or a full refund and choose from any device in T-Mobile's inventory. This applies to recalled, replacement and newly purchased Note7s," says T-Mobile.

T-Mobile has also announced that it will waive off the restocking charges, and customers who purchased the Galaxy Note 7 during preorder can also keep the free Netflix subscription and Gear Fit or SD card they received with the device.

"Any Verizon customer concerned about the safety of their replacement Note 7 smartphone may take it back to the original point of purchase to exchange it for another smartphone beginning Saturday, October 8," says Verizon Wireless in a statement. "Verizon online customers may also exchange their replacement Note 7 smartphones at Verizon stores beginning Saturday, October 8."

The recall has cost Samsung about $1 billion. However, the company's reputation is also at stake, especially after the replacement Galaxy Note 7 units, deemed to be safe, also caught fire.

Samsung is investigating into the incident that occurred on the Southwest Airlines flight. The entire battery exploding issue has definitely resulted in loss of sales for the company. However, if carriers are offering customers to swap their Galaxy Note 7 replacement unit with another available smartphone, Samsung might lose a lot of its business to rivals.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The excitement of someplace new can lead vacationers on a merry chase trying to see and do everything.

Giving in to that temptation, however, can turn what should be relaxing and fun into an exercise in exhaustion. The older you get and the less energy you have, the more likely it is to happen.

My husband and I have fallen into this trap a time or two.

Case in point: Our recent stay in Adirondack Park in upstate New York, the largest park in the continental United States, proved to be a challenge when it came to keeping our daily itinerary realistic.

The truth is, on our last night in the park, we could not summon the energy to walk a few yards to enjoy the spectacular view of Long Lake and nightly campfire built for us outside the cabin where we stayed.

For shame.

Yet what we felt was a good kind of tired, the result of an awesome adventure in the Adirondacks, which I'll go into more detail about in Sunday's Life section.

But back to the dangers of overdoing. What we should have done because of the distances involved was head back by mid-afternoon instead of waiting for early evening. So what saved us from total collapse was Andy's proposal we take a five-mile wagon ride to Newcomb Lake on our last day.

After putting more than 700 miles on our rental car the previous seven days, it was an absolute joy to adopt the pace of three beautiful horses from Newcombe Farm for the better part of a Sunday.

We'd been captivated by the park's beautiful forest and lakes, but now we could admire trees and brooks as we made our way along a former carriage road to Camp Santanoni, one of the largest of the great camps built in the Adirondacks by successful businessmen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

After riding for a couple hours, we then had about the same amount of time to enjoy the picnic lunch we'd brought with us and explore the primitive camp, which is in early stages of restoration.

It's amazing to think we might have experienced this wilderness setting in much the same way original owners Robert and Anna Pruyn did.

Among their regular guests was Theodore Roosevelt, who was actually staying nearby when word reached him of his imminent ascension to the presidency once it became clear President William McKinley would succumb to the gunshot wounds he suffered a week earlier, on Sept. 6, 1901.

An environmentalist like Roosevelt was powerfully drawn to remote places like Camp Santanoni, situated as it is on a spring-fed lake and accessible only by mountain bike, foot or by horse-drawn wagon.

Our drivers had plenty of time to tell us about our horses, a trio named Andy, Abe and Mark, explaining why one of them jumped down to walk in front of Mark every time we crossed a bridge.

It eased his natural claustrophobia while in training.

We also enjoyed getting to know their dog, a friendly Australian shepherd named Piper, who'd obviously taken this trip before.

The ride was the perfect bookend to our visit a week earlier to the Ulysses S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site outside Adirondack Park near Wilton, N.Y. There we saw the quiet home and grounds where our 18th president spent his last days writing his memoirs until he died of throat cancer on July 23, 1885.

Adirondack Park, long home to a tuberculosis sanatorium at Saranac Lake, has historically been a place of healing and rest.

It was good to be reminded of that, not once but twice, as we made our own journey there.
Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu has advocated assisted death option for the terminally ill as an act of "compassion" in ending their pain and suffering.

The archbishop emeritus of Cape Town himself is battling prostate cancer and has been in and out of the hospital. He said he would not mind accepting "dignified assisted death" at an appropriate time.

Tutu, who turned 85 on Oct. 7, expressed his thoughts in an article.

"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," Tutu wrote.

He called up politicians, lawmakers and religious leaders to show courage in supporting the choices of terminally ill for deciding when to depart Mother Earth.

So far no laws support assisted dying in South Africa. However, in 2015, a South African court allowed a terminally ill man to end his life.

In 2014, Tutu gave up his lifelong opposition to assisted dying by writing an op-ed in The Guardian articulating his new stand. However, it was vague at the time whether he himself would exercise that option.

Assisted Death As Compassion

Hailing the strong stand taken by Lord Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, Tutu has urged similar initiatives in South Africa, the United States and all over the world.

In his view, disallowing the right to die with dignity for the terminally ill amounts to a denial of compassion that is at the core of Christian values. To justify his cause, Tutu said his own life is heading to an end and it will be virtuous to support the idea of dignity in dying.

"Just as I have argued firmly for compassion and fairness in life, I believe that terminally ill people should be treated with the same compassion and fairness when it comes to their deaths," the South African church leader added.

Tutu is known for his unconventional stand on many issues. He has been an avid supporter of gay rights and even blessed his daughter Mpho's same-sex marriage a few months ago. He also made news by supporting a controversial amendment that relaxed South Africa's abortion laws in the 1990s.

Assisted dying is fully legal in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Canada.

Even in the U.S, states have passed laws on assisted dying or euthanasia, this includes Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California and New Mexico.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Only a few days after an alleged replacement unit of the Galaxy Note 7 caught fire on a Southwest Airlines plane, another Note 7 device reportedly exploded  this time in Taiwan.

The latest incident proves that the problem of defective Note 7 devices spans the globe and might not go away anytime soon.

Galaxy Note 7 Replacement Issues

The unit in question, a replacement received only on Sept. 27, was said to have exploded in the back pocket of the owner while she was out walking her dog late night on Friday, Apple Daily, a Taiwanese newspaper, reported.

The 26-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Lai, allegedly heard a loud bang and felt something burning in her back pocket. She pulled her Note 7 out and found it was starting to emit smoke furiously. At that point, she quickly threw the device on the ground and waited some time for the smoke to clear before picking it up again.

Lai purchased the device in August but was among the countless owners affected by Samsung's global recall due to the Note 7's exploding batteries.

Samsung Taiwan is yet to confirm, however, if Lai's device was, in fact, a replacement unit, but photos surfaced by local media suggest the unit may have been a replacement.

Officials from the company stated on Saturday that they intended to reach out to the owner, recall the device, and further investigate the cause of the explosion. But the owner has since expressed dismay.

"[I] might as well not get a new phone," Lai said.

Another Galaxy Note 7, also believed to be a replacement, caught fire on Wednesday morning, Oct. 5, just before the owner took flight aboard a Southwest Airlines plane.

Brian Green, owner of the device, recounted how he had turned off the unit and tucked it into his pocket as part of the flight protocol when it began to spew smoke. He allegedly threw the device on the floor where it ended up burning the carpet of the aircraft. The mishap led to the passengers being evacuated and the flight canceled.

Will Samsung Finally Stop Selling The Note 7?

If the Galaxy Note 7 that caught fire on a Southwest Airlines plane turns out to be a replacement unit, then Samsung may be bound for another global recall.

But, until such time, the company might be able to continue on with business as usual.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are keeping a close eye on any more cases of explosion.

Amid the volatility of the situation, U.S. carriers the likes of AT&T might pull the plug on the Galaxy Note 7 on their own. AT&T is reportedly considering ending the sale of Galaxy Note 7  even of those deemed "safe"  for good if Samsung fails to act immediately.

All this could lead to Samsung finally drawing the curtains to a close on the Note 7.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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
BLOOMINGTON  U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis has withdrawn his support for Donald Trump and hopes running mate Mike Pence will move to the top of the ticket.

Davis, a Taylorville Republican who represents the 13th Congressional District, released a statement Saturday in which he said he also has asked to be removed from Trump's agriculture advisory committee.

"As parents of a teenage daughter and teen twin boys, my wife and I teach them to respect women and that they will be judged by their words and actions," Davis said in the emailed statement. "The abhorrent comments made by Donald Trump are inexcusable and go directly against what I've been doing in Washington to combat assaults on college campuses.

"Because of this, I am rescinding my support for Donald Trump and asking to have my name removed from his agriculture advisory committee. With the terrible options America has right now, I cannot cast my vote for any of the candidates, so I hope Donald Trump withdraws from the race so the American people can elect Mike Pence as our next president."

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk withdrew his endorsement of Trump in June and on Friday called for him to drop out of the race, suggesting the national Republican Party "engage rules for an emergency replacement."

In August, U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, dropped his lukewarm support after Trump made comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gold Star parents.

Kinzinger, a former member of the McLean County Board who represents the 16th District, told The Pantagraph editorial board earlier this week that his decision did not go over well but his first loyalty is to America.

No statement has been issued by the office of U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, a Peoria Republican from the 18th District who previously told The Pantagraph and others that he supported and would vote for Trump.

Nationally, several congressmen and congressional candidates withdrew their support for Trump after news broke Friday of an audio tape in which Trump used vulgar language toward and about women.

Davis and LaHood both face challengers in the Nov. 8 election. Kinzinger is unopposed. Kirk is in tight battle with Democrat Tammy Duckworth.
SPRINGFIELD  Voters will get to decide Nov. 8 whether the Illinois Constitution should be amended to prohibit the use of dedicated transportation funds for other purposes.

During difficult budget times, General Assemblies and governors have tapped revenue from gas taxes, license plate fees and other sources that are supposed to be used exclusively for transportation costs to pay for state expenses that arent related to roads, bridges or other infrastructure.

The state has diverted $6.8 billion in transportation funds since 2002, according to an analysis by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. Mostly recently, the current Democratic-led Legislature and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner agreed to sweep $522 million from transportation funds to plug holes in the fiscal year 2015 budget.

The result of these diversions is crumbling roads and deteriorating bridges across the state, supporters of the proposed amendment say, and the only way to stop the practice is to write a prohibition into the state constitution.

This measure is about better accountability in Springfield, said Mike Sturino, president and CEO of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, a trade organization representing about 370 contractors, engineering firms and others in the industry. Its about enhancing the safety of our transportation infrastructure, and its about growing our economy through having a great transportation network.

At a time when divisions between Republicans and their allies in business and Democrats and their supporters in organized labor have created unprecedented gridlock in Springfield, the idea of creating a lockbox for transportation funds enjoys widespread support.

The measure was approved 98-4 in the House, where it was sponsored by state Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg, and unanimously in the Senate, where it was sponsored by state Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton.

The proposal has the backing of groups that have been at odds over countless other issues facing the state, including the state Democratic County Chairmens Association, the Republican County Chairmens Association, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois AFL-CIO.

Show me a person in the state of Illinois that doesnt use a mode of transportation, and Ill show you someone that doesnt care about this issue, said Marc Poulos, executive director of the Countryside-based Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting, a labor-management group. And theres nobody.

The campaign committee backing the amendment, Citizens to Protect Transportation Funding, has raised nearly $3 million to support its cause, including $1 million from a group called the Fight Back Fund.

Poulos said the fund is a nonprofit social welfare organization affiliated with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. That type of organization isnt required to disclose its donors, but Poulos said the Fight Back Fund gets its money from union member contributions.

Citizens to Protect Transportation Funding has purchased $1 million worth of airtime on TV stations across the state to run ads in support for what its calling the Safe Roads Amendment. The annoucements began airing late last month.

Passing the amendment will require approval from either 60 percent of those voting on the issue or a majority of those voting in the election.

A recent poll from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University suggests the proposal may easily clear that bar. The survey of 865 likely voters, taken Sept. 27 to Oct. 2, found support for the proposed amendment at 80 percent statewide.

Not everyone is ready to jump on board, however.

Rauner hasnt had to take a position because the governor doesnt have a role in the amendment process, and hes declined to say publicly how hell vote.

He told reporters last month that he can see the benefits and drawbacks of the proposal, noting that one of the drawbacks would be restricting how governors and lawmakers can deal with budget crises.

Its a concern thats also been raised by critics of the proposal, including Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan budget watchdog based in Chicago.

Maintaining safe roads is an important goal, but its not more important than maintaining safe schools or maintaining higher education or maintaining services to the mentally ill or providing a reasonable payment schedule for the states creditors, Msall said. It is part of an overall state budget and should be treated as part of an overall budget.

Creating lockbox for transportation funds would essentially wall off one interest groups funding from other interest groups, he said, which is of questionable benefit to the overall state.

In a blog post published Friday on the Civic Federations website, the organization also disputes the claim from amendment supporters that $6.8 billion has been diverted from transportation funds since 2002.

Supporters define diversions too broadly and have been inconsistent in how theyve calculated the figures from year to year, according to the Civic Federation. By its measure, the diversions from the states three main transportation funds occurred only in fiscal years 2004 and 2015 and totaled less than $520 million.
Sheriff Marlin Gusman checks his watch for the start of press conference before the first Orleans Parish Prison buses transport prisoners to the new $150 million parish prison built in part with FEMA money in New Orleans, La. Monday, Sept. 14, 2015.
President Barack Obama and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards tour Castle Place, a flood-damaged area of Baton Rouge, Aug. 23. Obama is making his first visit to flood-ravaged southern Louisiana as he attempts to assure the many thousands who have suffered damage to their homes, schools and businesses that his administration has made their recovery a priority. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
NEW YORK (AP)  A defiant Donald Trump insisted Saturday he would "never" abandon his White House bid, rejecting a growing backlash from Republican leaders nationwide who disavowed the GOP's presidential nominee after he was caught on tape bragging about predatory advances on women.

Trump's own running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, declared he could neither condone nor defend Trump's remarks in a 2005 videotape that sparked panic inside Trump Tower and throughout the Republican Party with early voting already underway exactly one month before Election Day.

"We pray for his family," Pence said in a statement after canceling a Wisconsin appearance scheduled with House Speaker Paul Ryan and the Republican National Committee chairman, Reince Priebus, both of whom had condemned Trump's remarks the day before but stopped short of withdrawing support altogether.

The furor places enormous pressure on Trump to try to tamp down a crisis sure to spill into Sunday night's presidential debate.

But even as the fallout deepened fractures in a party already torn about Trump, many remained loyal to the political outsider. Wisconsin voter Jean Stanley donned a shirt proclaiming "Wisconsin Women Love Trump" and called Ryan a "traitor" for denouncing the presidential contender's comments.

"He's a real human," Stanley said of the New York businessman, surrounded by Trump supporters at the Wisconsin rally where he was set to appear before the videotape emerged.

Ryan and Priebus did not join a chorus of GOP officeholders from Utah to Alabama to New Hampshire who decided the former reality television star's bombshell was too much to take. More than a dozen Republicans  senators, congressmen and sitting governors  announced Saturday they would not vote for Trump.

Among them was the party's 2008 nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who had stood by Trump even after the billionaire questioned whether the former POW should be considered a war hero because he got "captured."

"He was not my choice, but as a past nominee, I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set," McCain said in a statement. But given Trump's "behavior this week," McCain said, it is "impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy."

Many went farther and called on Trump to quit the race altogether.

"I thought supporting the nominee was the best thing for our country and our party," Alabama Rep. Martha Roby said in a statement. "Now, it is abundantly clear that the best thing for our country and our party is for Trump to step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket."

Republican leaders have scheduled a Monday morning conference call for House GOP lawmakers, who are out of town for Congress' election recess. The email obtained by The Associated Press doesn't specify the topic for the 11 a.m. EDT call, but rank-and-file lawmakers believe it's about Trump. Such calls are rare and usually held to discuss important matters.

His party in chaos, Trump spent Saturday with a close circle of advisers in his campaign's midtown Manhattan headquarters. Among them: former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who said calls for Trump to bow out are simply the "wishful thinking of the Clinton campaign and those people who have opposed him for a long time."

Most of Trump's staff and network of supporters were left in the dark about the fast-moving developments. Conference calls were canceled and prominent supporters were given no guidance about how to respond to the explosive development, according to a person close to the Trump operation. The person insisted on anonymity, lacking the authority to discuss internal campaign matters publicly.

Trump addressed the dire situation on Saturday with a light-hearted tweet: "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!"

He later tweeted he would not yield the GOP nomination under any circumstances: "The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN!"

The political firestorm was sparked by a 2005 video obtained and released Friday by The Washington Post and NBC News. In the video, Trump, who was married to his current wife at the time, is heard describing attempts to have sex with a married woman. He also brags about women letting him kiss them and grab their genitals because he is famous.

"When you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything," Trump says in the video. He adds seconds later: "Grab them by the p----. You can do anything." He said of his impulse to kiss beautiful women: "I don't even wait."

In a video statement released by his campaign after midnight early Saturday morning, Trump said, "I was wrong and I apologize." But also dismissed the revelations as "nothing more than a distraction" from a decade ago. Foreshadowing a likely attack in Sunday's debate, he also suggested that rival Hillary Clinton has committed greater sins against women.

"I've said some foolish things," Trump said. "But there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims."

Trouble seeing the video? Click here.

While still publicly backing Trump, the Republican National Committee is considering how to move forward.

One possibility: re-directing its expansive political operation away from Trump and toward helping vulnerable Senate and House candidates. Such a move would leave Trump with virtually no political infrastructure in swing states to identify his supporters and ensure they vote.

"We are working to evaluate the appropriate messaging going forward," said RNC chief strategist Sean Spicer.

Election law experts suggest it would be logistically impossible to replace Trump on the ballot altogether, with early voting underway in some states and overseas ballots already distributed to military servicemen and others.

Ryan fundraising chief Spencer Zwick, however, said he's been fielding calls from donors who "want help putting money together to fund a new person to be the GOP nominee."

Zwick told The Associated Press that a write-in or "sticker campaign" relying on social media could "actually work." While there has never been a winning write-in campaign in a U.S. presidential contest, such an effort could make it harder for Trump to win.

The release of the recording and ensuing backlash almost completely overshadowed the release of hacked emails from inside the Hillary Clinton campaign that revealed the contents of some of her previously secret paid speeches to Wall Street.

The Democratic nominee told bankers behind closed doors that she favored "open trade and open borders" and said Wall Street executives were best-positioned to help overhaul the U.S. financial sector. Such comments were distinctively at odds with her tough talk about trade and Wall Street during the primary campaign.

___

Peoples reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire in New York, Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Julie Bykowicz and Alan Fram in Washington, Julie Pace in Syracuse, New York, and Scott Bauer in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
Greater Western Sydney midfielder Jack Steele "just wants to be playing footy" and thinks St Kilda is his best chance of doing that.

And his manger felt while his young charge might be leaving one emerging AFL force, he could be joining another.

Steele met with Giants coach Leon Cameron on Saturday morning to let him know he was asking for a trade to the Saints after two seasons with the expansion club. It's understood Steele has been offered a three-year deal at St Kilda. Steele, has played 17 games for the Giants since he was drafted with pick 24 two years ago.

He said it was a tough decision and he didn't want to leave the place he's called home since 2014. But he felt with the plethora of riches in the Giants midfield he would struggle to establish himself over the next few years.
I have been feeling that terrible tightness in the chest, the crippling fatigue, the sleeplessness and the restlessness that are common signs of anxiety disorder. As it turns out, it is the direct, mongrel effect on my metabolism of a tumour in my pituitary gland  which is almost certainly benign but is certainly growing and so is about to come out. The prognosis is excellent, and the surgery relatively low risk  although the thought of it has probably added to the feelings of anxiety. In all probability, I'll be fine  and meanwhile have benefited from having an insightful taste of what it must be like to suffer clinical anxiety. Should you suspect you or someone else might be experiencing undue anxiety, there is a checklist on the beyondblue website.

My recent unpleasant experience has buttressed my view that one of the key reasons the proposed plebiscite on marriage equality is a monumentally stupid idea is the risk it poses to young LGBTIQ people. It's a view informed by research. For the past five years, I have been a board member of the Young and Well Co-operative Research Centre, a national collection of private-sector firms, universities, government and not-for-profit organisations that funded and conducted research into mental health and the wellbeing of young people.

One of the most important studies done by the Young and Well CRC is a report called Growing Up Queer. It proves that the unfair treatment of non-heterosexual people is a life-and-death matter. The study found 16 per cent of GLBTIQ young Australians had attempted suicide and a third had harmed themselves, largely due to homophobic harassment. It found more than four in 10 had thought about self-harm or suicide  making them six times more likely to consider taking their own life than their heterosexual peers. As many as two in three LGBTIQ young people have been bullied about their sexual orientation. The study found widespread homophobic harassment and violence in schools, at work and at sporting events.

It's not just young people in danger should the massively wasteful, hurtful and utterly unnecessary plebiscite proceed. One in five LGBTIQ people in Australian is currently experiencing depression  more than triple the rate of heterosexuals. And as many as one in three LGBTIQ people is currently experiencing an anxiety condition  twice the rate of heterosexuals.

These facts are at the heart of a national push to get our politicians to dump the plebiscite and do their bloody job by voting in Parliament on a same-sex marriage bill. One of the nation's leading advocates for early intervention and for raising awareness about mental health, former Australian of the Year Professor Patrick McGorry, is publicly warning that the plebiscite increases the risk of self-harm and suicide by LGTBTIQ people. It's a message he delivered personally in recent days to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, who has rightly been raising such concerns for months.
The granny flat she had built out the back to serve as a second source of income sits similarly unfinished and empty. Evelyn is an educated professional. She works for a good company for a good wage. She's not on welfare or drugs. She's just been a victim of what appears to be terrible mismanagement by Day's Huxley Homes. Endless delays and a revolving door of site managers and other staff means even now her home is nowhere near complete. She complains, too, of bullying, threats and harassment from Huxley staff. "It's making me insane, I'm going through post-traumatic stress disorder now. It has been an absolute torture," she said.

"And it's affecting my relationship with my son. I can't afford to feed him properly, I can't afford to entertain him. He couldn't go on a school excursion because I simply could not afford a $25 one-off payment." She's become isolated from her friends because she can't stand the embarrassment of her own situation. Huxley is the NSW arm of Day's national building empire. All told, he has five companies under his national Home Australia umbrella. The Victorian arm, Ashford Homes, has also been the subject of numerous complaints. But Huxley appears to be in particular trouble. Customers and contractors alike are questioning whether it's still solvent. Its licence is up for renewal on October 14 but it's unclear whether the company has or will even apply.

Even if the company does apply its renewal could be refused based on an ever-growing mountain of customer complaints, unpaid tradies, unheeded rectification orders and mounting fines.



Fair Trading NSW has fined Huxley and Senator Day more than $40,000 for failing to comply with rectification orders, with the latest fines coming just two weeks ago. "Under home building legislation, a licence cannot be renewed if the licensee has not complied with tribunal orders made against it. Huxley has several outstanding tribunal orders. If it has not complied with the orders, any renewal application may be refused," a Fair Trading spokeswoman said. If the company goes under, it could drag Day's empire down with it. If Day is ultimately declared bankrupt, the pro-government crossbencher could be booted out of the Senate seat he retained on July 2. In the meantime, dozens of families have been left in the lurch. Twenty-five of Huxley's 61 NSW customers, all suffering financial distress due to delays or shoddy work, have banded together to take on the company. Evelyn's story is among the most dramatic but she's not alone.

Melinda and Stuart Bunt just recently managed to get out of their contract with Huxley after the construction of their home in Mona Vale ran more than a year over schedule, with months of work remaining. They estimate Huxley did just 22 days of actual on-site work in all of 2015. They've now hired their own tradies to finish the job  hopefully by mid-November, 16 months late  leaving them at least $40,000 out of pocket. "It's been terrible, financially and emotionally," Ms Bunt says. "We've been paying two mortgages for two years when it shouldn't have been anywhere near that long."

The Bunts have met with Senator Day but only after pestering him into a meeting in August. They say they even managed to extract a begrudging apology from him but he spent most of the time blaming others. "He really doesn't care," she says. "His mantra is 'for every Australian a job and a house' and that really riles us. "He is a senator, getting paid by us the taxpayer, but putting so many of us through financial and emotional heartache. "We don't have our homes, he's sending us into bankruptcy  but at the same time he's funding his political party." Official records show Senator Day has donated and loaned an estimated $2 million to Family First over the past few years.

It's understood he has now put his own Adelaide home up as security in a bid to cover his company's unpaid debts. Asked a list of detailed questions about the state and future of Huxley and Home Australia, Senator Day's office responded with a short statement. "When I became a senator I left the building business. I only stepped back in to help after others' poor management decisions affected some customers and suppliers," he said. "It is important to fix the problems and I am working to ensure everyone who is owed money is paid and every customer's home is finished  as the company has done for over 30 years. Secondly, all businesses have problems. The only reason Fairfax are interested is that the business is linked to a sitting senator." The last financial statement to ASIC from Home Australia, for the year ending June 2012, included a warning from its independent auditor that the company's liabilities exceeded its assets by nearly $30 million.

If Huxley goes under, customers will be able to make claims under their insurance. Until then, it's continued uncertainty. Another customer  whose house had to be demolished and rebuilt from scratch because the original build was so poor  offers some colourful descriptions for Senator Day that cannot be reprinted here. "He doesn't give a crap about customers," is one of the milder things the man has to say. "If Huxley fails the whole house of cards will come down, he'll lose everything. And frankly, he deserves it. "He's the scum of the Earth." Evelyn agrees.
Retired federal politicians will get bigger pensions and more free travel paid by the taxpayer if the High Court rules in their favour this week.

The judgement will be handed down as the Turnbull government continues to drag its feet on reforms to the entitlement system for current MPs.

Former Labor minister Barry Cohen is one of four former MPs who launched a High Court bid for better taxpayer-funded retirement benefits.

The court will give its ruling on Wednesday after it heard a challenge by four former MPs  Labor's Barry Cunningham, Tony Lamb and Barry Cohen, and Liberal John Moore  seeking a big boost to their entitlements.

But if they're successful, the ruling won't just benefit the four of them. It could benefit up to 350 former MPs  including recently retired politicians like Bronwyn Bishop and Philip Ruddock  and 100 spouses.
Burning Bright: No longer the next big thing, and with a clutch of films coming out, Felicity Jones is now getting all the attention she deserves. Credit:David Slijper Jones' character Brooks, a lab-coat-wearing environmentalist, is quickly Langdon's right-hand woman, racing with him across Europe to a) help him recover his memory and b) quash a deadly virus aimed at wiping out half the world's (over) population. Brooks isn't what she seems, of course. Nothing is. This time the clues are to be found in Dante Alighieri's epic 14th century poem about his journey through hell, which Langdon and Brooks pore over in galleries and on laptops, and which is visualised via a series of cryptic psychedelic dream sequences conjured on hand-held cameras by Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard. "Ron's style of shooting here is much more immediate than his other Dan Brown films. Shooting in real locations"  including the medieval piazzas of Florence and on the roof of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice  "matched the tone of the film and made it this very pertinent situation we're facing today with climate change and overpopulation. One reason I took on the film is because it felt so current." Howard's immersive rehearsal techniques dovetailed with those of Jones, a method actor who goes deep into researching her characters, building them from the inside out. Brown's book, which gives Brooks a backstory as a former child prodigy with a formidable IQ, was used as a reference, a springboard.

"We had months of reading through the script and making changes and correcting mistakes in rehearsal, so I felt part of a family." She pauses, grins. "But the day before any shoot is always vomit inducing." Watching Hanks at work helped to keep Jones grounded. "Tom is always absolutely focused and there's no messing around on set; his priority is making the best film possible. "He's also incredibly down to earth," she says, her green eyes wide with admiration. "He never takes any of his fame or success for granted." Neither, indeed, does Felicity Rose Hadley Jones, who grew up Bournville, an upscale suburb of Birmingham in the English Midlands, the second of two children born to a journalist and a saleswoman who met while working on the local newspaper and split when she was three. Felicity and her elder brother, a film editor whose wife hails from Brisbane ("Briz Vegas? Ha! That's so funny"), were brought up by their mum. "I was raised to live in the moment." Currently splitting her time between north London and Brooklyn, New York, Jones' crisp vowels belie her consonant-dropping Brummie origins, which are obvious, she says, once she's had a drink or three and offer scope "to be teased if I ever got a big head".

Success, creatively speaking, came early, after a 10-year-old Jones began attending after-school workshops held by Central Junior Television, an influential youth drama group. There was a part in a children's TV series and the film The Treasure Seekers with Keira Knightley (18 months her junior). And for over a decade, from the age of 15 and right through her English literature degree at Oxford, she played wild child Emma Grundy in much-loved BBC Radio series The Archers. "It's a British institution, and where I learnt my craft," she says. Since then she's hopped from period drama (Brideshead Revisited) and Shakespeare (The Tempest) to the romantic comedy Chalet Girl (for which she spent months learning how to snowboard) and 2011's entirely improvised coming-of-age drama Like Crazy. There's been a mystery thriller (True Story), a role as Charles Dickens' mistress (The Invisible Woman) and another as a mysterious assistant in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Oh, and she's also done theatre, including Michael Grandage's production of Luise Miller, by 18th century German playwright Friedrich Schiller, at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2011 (Jones turned down the lead alongside Julia Roberts in the film Mirror Mirror to do it). Her 2014 portrayal of Jane Hawking in the film The Theory of Everything (alongside her friend Eddie Redmayne as famous physicist Stephen Hawking) got her nods from the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and Britain's BAFTAs. And little wonder: Jones' performance as the woman who cares for Hawking and his three children as his motor neurone disease progresses and his scientific celebrity increases, is a master class in roiling, finely nuanced emotion. "I'm obsessed with subtexts," she told The Guardian newspaper. "I love that we don't often say what we feel. The gap between the two  I like it when actors reveal a lot without having to say it."

Just as she likes being tested, forced out on a limb, as she was when filming Rogue One with maverick British director, Gareth Edwards: "He loves to bring the improvisation process to his films and often holds the camera himself, changing position depending on what the actors are doing and trying to find something unexpected and spontaneous in the moment." Even in the kung fu scenes? That buck-toothed smile. "Even in the kung fu scenes," she says. Jones underwent intensive daily martial arts sessions to prepare for her role, making kung fu another specialised skill in a career filled with them. "I've never done anything anywhere near that level of physical preparation for something," she says, "which was partly why I wanted to do it. "As an actor you get very skilled at these obscure things that you may never use again. For Inferno I learnt about six phrases in Italian that will be totally useless in real life. Maybe at parties they'll be useful to bring out; I could do some kung fu while speaking Italian, then if it's snowing leave on my snowboard." All of which would certainly leave potential suitors awe-struck, should Jones be the slightest bit interested. Her last documented relationship was with sought-after British sculptor and internet artist Ed Fornieles, with whom she split in 2013 after a 10-year relationship.

His response was to create a kitsch illustration of himself and Jones and their three imaginary children in front of a suburban home. "You're also mourning the death of the future you were going to have with that person," Fornieles told the London Evening Standard at the time. "I have had love and lost love," Jones, ever dignified, told Britain's The Telegraph. "I learnt so much from that relationship and I am glad that person was very, very important to me and I had him in my life." If Jones is seeing anyone now, she's not saying. She'd rather talk about art. "I've loved art since school, where I had this great teacher who was very glamorous and would show us paintings by contemporary artists like Georgia O'Keefe and encourage us to just get out there and draw." Speaking of which, might there be an exhibition  works on paper by Felicity Jones, say  in the pipeline? "Ha, no way." She flashes a grin. "Acting is more than enough." 
CHICAGO (AP)  Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has granted clemency to five people and denied another 235 requests.

The Republican announced the action Friday. The governor's office says each grantee has recently undergone a criminal background check.

The grantees include two people convicted of drug charges. The others were convicted of obstruction of justice, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and burglary.

Rauner took office facing a docket of petitions dating to previous administrations. Rauner says this is the 12th set of petitions he's acted on since taking office last year. There are fewer than 50 remaining in the backlog. Those he acted on Friday dated back to January 2014.

A clemency granted allows a petitioner to go to court to seek expungement of his or her criminal record.
Police are concerned for the welfare of a missing 19-year-old woman who was last seen in the Bondi Junction area more than two weeks ago.

Bee Bollard, also known as Rubi, was reported missing after she failed to return home in Marrickville. She was last seen at the Bondi Junction bus interchange on Friday, 30 September about 10:30 am.

Bee Bollard was last seen at Bondi Junction two weeks ago.

Police said the 19-year-old may have been with two males aged about 16 years.

Concerns are held for Ms Bollard's welfare, as she suffers a medical condition and is without her medication.
Homeless couple Dave and Kellie were evicted from their makeshift camp at Enterprize Park in the city in June. Credit:Pat Scala This week, I spent some time talking to each of the serious candidates for lord mayor: incumbent Robert Doyle, planning chair and sitting councillor Ken Ong, Greens candidate Olivia Ball, pollster Gary Morgan, and former independent federal MP Phil Cleary. Only two of them even thought to bring up homelessness during the course of our chats. One of them, the Greens' Olivia Ball, says over two months of doorknocking residents, homeless people are the issue brought up the most. Highly visible: But homelessness in Melbourne has been relegated to a minor role in the upcoming elections. Credit:Arsineh Houspian "People say 'I will vote for the person who is going to do the most for homelessness'. Rough sleeping  shocks people and they want something done about it." Ball compares education and health to housing. "No child will ever be denied a place in their local school. The same with health: no-one will ask how you will afford to pay for it. But we don't regard housing as a universal human right."

Cleary too brings up homelessness as a core issue in his campaign. "There is growing dislocation outside the city," says Cleary. "Youth unemployment, the cutback of resources in the hinterland, that's driving people into the the city, and what we're seeing inside is a reflection of what we are seeing outside the city." "There are pluses and minuses to being lord mayor for eight years": Robert Doyle. Credit:Joe Armao Doyle talked of homelessness during his campaign launch and has led the council taskforce set up with the state government. The council has also brought forward funding for a Salvation Army drop-in centre and is considering at least $1 million more for a North Melbourne refuge. But for something that even the council refers to in its communications as "a crisis", it seems curiously absent from lord mayoral campaigns thus far for Doyle and others (Ong, for instance, mentions it only in a response to a voter question in his campaign documents). Flashpoint: Phil Cleary at the Queen Victoria Market. Credit:Joe Armao

And homelessness is just one of the pressing big-picture dilemmas that really should be a source of ferocious debate in this campaign. Instead, like other pressing agendas the city council could be a high-profile actor in  the state government's intention to funnel thousands of cars from Transurban's Western Distributor toll road into central Melbourne, or the failure of the booming apartment market to put a dent in housing affordability  it is all but missing from discussion. Phil Cleary's Town Hall campaign began because of a battle over the $250 million Queen Victoria Market redevelopment. Credit:Joe Armao There are now 134,000 voters on the electoral roll for Melbourne, up from 108,000 just four years ago when former Liberal planning minister Matthew Guy's skyscraper frenzy was hitting its stride. Despite all the new apartments, however, just 55,000 voters live in Melbourne. The remaining 79,000 votes come from businesses which under the Bracks-era act establishing the city council get two votes to every one residential vote. It places pro-business candidates like Doyle ahead before a single vote is cast and puts progressive candidates like Ball and Cleary at a clear disadvantage.

Lord mayor Robert Doyle looks down from Town Hall at Occupy Melbourne protestors in 2011. Credit:Joe Armao Doyle proudly points to significant jobs growth in the central city over his time as mayor as an achievement that can't be ignored, with the revenue generated in Melbourne City Council's 38-square-kilometres going from $70 billion to $91 billion a year since he started in 2008. (Although council data shows gross local product was growing at roughly the same before Doyle arrived.) He and other conservative candidates are less keen to discuss the downsides of the surge in skyscraper construction: darker, windier streets, congested roads in part from all the construction, or the precariousness of a building industry largely predicated on housing overseas students. Like homelessness, the ultimate driver of this issue is not Town Hall  the planning minister approves all towers bigger than 25,000 square metres  but its effect is felt on the streets the council controls. The Greens policies on planning are the most comprehensive released so far, and seek to tackle both affordability and the loss of "human scale" at the street level. Others, notably Ong and Gary Morgan, seem to have almost nothing to say about it.

Indeed, ask Ong about what he would do and it is almost as if he hasn't just spent his last four years chairing the council's all-important planning committee. "One of the key issues is looking at the ground level," he says during our talk this week. "We need to spend a bit more capital on street improvements and certain areas of the city where the footpaths are getting too narrow; the city safety needs improvement, lighting and too many areas are too dark." Ong argued this week that, along with ditching the lord mayoral car, there should be a two-term cap on the number of times someone can be lord mayor  a none-too-subtle dig at Doyle. If Doyle wins, it will be his third term. If a lord mayor is in office too long, Ong says, "it becomes an empire". As the incumbent, Doyle is used to attacks like this. "There are pluses and minuses to being lord mayor for eight years," he says. "[People] know what you stand for and how you operate. But because you make decisions, the more people you irritate." Doyle says the Greens are his big threat, because of their success at harvesting preferences from the other candidates  including people like Ong who declared himself a "true Liberal" ticket, only to put the Greens ahead of Doyle. Doyle says even if he wins more than 40 per cent of the primary vote (he won 41 per cent last time), having every serious candidate directing their preferences away from him could cause an upset.

But he says he has done enough to deserve re-election. "The jobs growth we have generated  the economic prosperity  is important," says Doyle. Doyle's successful promotion of, and narrative for, Melbourne is a marked departure from the near incoherence of the John So days at Town Hall, when the leader was a figurehead unable to articulate where the city was headed, why, or how it would get there. Doyle has been less keen to talk about one major issue over the last four years. It's an issue he freely admits The Age forced him to change his ways on: donations from property developers. In 2012, Doyle took tens of thousands of dollars from developers  forcing him to sit out more than a dozen planning votes since because of conflicts of interest. He angrily rejects any suggestion he did anything wrong taking the 2012 donations, saying The Age blew the matter out of all proportion. "It's not about doing the right thing  I absolutely have." But this time, under intense pressure over the issue, he is not taking money from property developers. It is worth pointing out that many of the developers who donated last time have flourished since, although there is no evidence the two are related.

Doyle also points to city safety during his years in office as a key achievement. It is borne out by last week's crime statistics that showed the total number of crimes fell by 0.5 per cent in postcode 3000. "That bucks the trend for the rest of metropolitan Melbourne," says Doyle, who on Thursday promised more city CCTV cameras if he is re-elected. Phil Cleary's Town Hall campaign began because of another of Doyle's key battlegrounds: the $250 million Queen Victoria Market redevelopment. Cleary, a former independent federal MP, shops at the market, and traders upset at Town Hall implored him to run against the plan, which involves burying services underground and a major revamp, partly funded by construction of apartment towers on the market's southern borders. Of the market traders he's supporting, he says: "I thought 'This group of people are quite magnificent'," and joined them in their campaign to stop Doyle. Doyle says with frustration that the Queen Victoria Market plans have hardly come as a shock, even if they were always going to be contentious. The proposal has been widely discussed and voted upon since 2013. Political opportunism has brought people like Cleary out of the woodwork, he says. "It has become a flashpoint," Doyle says. "I don't mind debating the ins and outs of the Queen Victoria Market deal, but it should be put in the context of a five year process, not an election."

But Cleary says to him the market is "emblematic of everything wrong with Melbourne City Council". "Everything about it is completely mad. We bought the Mercat Hotel site at $76 million and then [the council] make a deal that you get an $80 million compensation if you don't go high enough?" (Under the plan approved by councillors, developer PDG Corporation gets $50 million to develop the Mercat Hotel site, if Planning Minister Richard Wynne approves a high-rise tower. If it there's no approval, PDG gets $80 million.) "I see the Queen Victoria Market as emblematic of the way the mayor engages with the community," says Cleary. "It says we have got a serious problem here." The candidates

Robert Doyle: Incumbent since 2008. Running for third term. Tarnished last time by taking campaign donations of $400,000  including more than $40,000 from property developers. This time around he is not taking developer donations. Has been in office while city has flourished financially, while crime rates have remained steady or dropped. His big project is the $250 million Queen Victoria Market refurbishment. Ken Ong: Planning chair for the last four years, Ong is independently wealthy from running a chain of childcare centres. In February he offered Robert Doyle a $200,000 donation to stand as his deputy, an offer Doyle declined. While Ong stands little chance of winning, he is passing the baton to Philip Le Liu, a fellow Liberal Party member, who recently stood for the federal seat of Melbourne. Gary Morgan: A perennial lord mayoral candidate, the East Melbourne pollster has been virtually invisible this time around, and when he has surfaced, his venom against Robert Doyle has been noticeable. Believed to be running mostly as a means to get ally and lead council candidate Jackie Watts voted in for another four years. Olivia Ball: The Greens candidate who ran against Bill Shorten in the federal seat of Maribyrnong recently. A human rights activist who has been strong on door-knocking but not outspoken thus far on city issues like planning and transport. If Doyle's primary vote goes down or preferences to the Greens are very strong, Ball stands a slim chance of being Melbourne's first female lord mayor in 27 years. Ron Hunt: A Docklands resident and retired company director whose campaign is being managed by former Labor state MP Janice Munt. Hunt is understood to be running to help elect East Melbourne resident Robin Matthews as a councillor.
Every Victorian public school student will be $848 worse off every year under the Turnbull government's plans for school funding, according to state Education Department figures.

As the school funding wars heat up, Victorian Education Minister James Merlino has warned of a widening gulf between wealthy private schools and poor state schools.

A department analysis released by Mr Merlino shows that Victorian public school students would bear the brunt of the federal government's decision to abandon the final two years of the Gonski agreement, while each private school student would be short-changed by $66 a year from 2019.

"Having the federal government ripping Victoria off in the order of $1 billion hurts us all immensely," Mr Merlino said.
A rail link to Melbourne Airport could end up being built regardless of who wins the next state election, with both major parties declaring they are open to the idea as part of a broader plan to meet the city's long-term needs.

With new research revealing a train line from the CBD to Tullamarine could generate benefits of up to $1.40 for every $1 spent, the government and the opposition have not ruled out taking the policy to the Victorian poll in 2018.

Both major parties are interested in adding a rail link to Melbourne Airport.

In a notable strengthening of language this week, Premier Daniel Andrews said the proposal had merit, but it was important to get the government's other transport priorities  including level crossing removals and the Metro Rail Tunnel  ticked off first.

"There'll be a time when an airport rail link stacks up. It's not an unworthy project  but it's about the sequence in which you build these things," he said.
An SES spokesman said 15 residents and campers were affected. A relief centre set up at the Numurkah Showgrounds was closed due to lack of patronage.

About 100km upstream of Ulupna in Wahgunyah, the owners of the Riverside Motel, Coral and Terry Young, sandbagged to fight the rising Murray River this week. Credit:Mark Jesser

Popular bushwalking and camping site Ulupna Island became inaccessible from about 2pm on Saturday after floodwater spilled over a levee bank blocking off access to the island bound by the Murray River and Ulupna Creek.

Tourists have evacuated a popular camping spot along the Murray River as floodwater spilled over a levee.

The Country Fire Authority was called in about midday to support Victorian State Emergency Service crews sandbagging the levee near the Ulupna Island Bridge, which is the only road in and out of the island.

SE

Shepparton incident controller Michael Masters said 30 people had been advised to evacuate. About 15 people were holidaying at Red Gum Retreat and another 15 people live on the island just south of the Victorian and New South Wales border.

Earlier Mr Masters said there was about 30 centimetres of water over Ulupna Bridge Road just before 2pm.

"Quite soon access to the island will be impossible," he said. "It's in their best interests to get off the island because if not they'll be stuck there for a week."
A home undergoing renovations was badly damaged in an early morning fire on Sunday in Melbourne's inner north east.

Crews were called to the fire after a working smoke alarm was activated at the single fronted, weatherboard home in Abbott Grove at 5.30am.

Firefighters have evacuated 100 shoppers at Abbotsford. Credit:Paul Jeffers

There was no one in the house at the time.

The fire in the front of the house spread to the roof space.
Welcome to Victoria, the stolen car state of Australia.

Damning figures out this week showed more than 18,000 cars were stolen in the past year, a 33 per cent jump in 12 months, making Victoria the nation's car theft leader.

Dale Imlach, director of a car wreckers in Springvale, is one of few compliant wreckers in operation. Credit:Daniel Pockett

NSW experienced a 13 per cent drop to almost 12,000 car thefts over the same period.

The National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council statistics, collated from police and insurance groups, have led to renewed calls for an overhaul of an industry that police and experts say is overrun with rogue operators.
New Delhi: In a pivotal courtroom scene, a young woman charged with injuring a man who tried to sexually assault her is asked a series of questions to establish her 'character'.

Has she had sex before? Has she slept with more than one man? Does she drink? Is she friendly and relaxed while talking to men? Does she laugh with them? She answers yes to all of them.

A scene from Pink, Bollywood's first truly feminist film.

In any Indian film, this would instantly put her into the category of "loose", that is, a woman who can't complain if a man forces himself on her.

But not in a new film called Pink. In perhaps India' first truly feminist film, legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan plays the lawyer defending the woman. In his trademark baritone, he tells the court that when a woman says "no", it means no, whether she is drunk, flirtatious or is a sex worker.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High near 80F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Low 58F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Post Holdings, Inc. operates as a consumer packaged goods holding company in the United States and internationally. It operates through five segments: Post Consumer Brands, Weetabix, Foodservice, Refrigerated Retail, and BellRing Brands. The Post Consumer Brands segment manufactures, markets, and sells branded and private label ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal and hot cereal products. It serves grocery stores, mass merchandise customers, supercenters, club stores, natural/specialty stores, and drug store customers, as well as sells its products in the military, ecommerce, and foodservice channels. The Weetabix segment primarily markets and distributes branded and private label RTE cereal, hot cereals and other cereal-based food products, breakfast drinks, and muesli. This segment sells its products to grocery stores, discounters, wholesalers, and convenience stores, as well as through ecommerce. The Foodservice segment produces and distributes egg and potato products in the foodservice and food ingredient channels. It serves foodservice distributors and national restaurant chains. The Refrigerated Retail segment produces and distributes side dishes, eggs and egg products, sausages, cheese, and other dairy and refrigerated products for grocery stores and mass merchandise customers. The BellRing Brands segment markets and distributes ready-to-drink (RTD) protein shakes, other RTD beverages, powders, nutrition bars, and supplements. It serves club stores, food, drug and mass customers, and online retailers, as well as specialty retailers, convenience stores, and distributors. Post Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.
The IDeA Foundation issued the following statement regarding the plight of Armenians in Syria:

The IDeA Foundation is committed to improving the lives of Armenia's citizens. Yet, we do not do this in isolation. We are aware of what is happening in the world around us and we feel an obligation to participate in doing what can be done to alleviate pain and suffering wherever possible.



As we watch the continuing violence in Syria, particularly in Aleppo, we feel compelled to offer financial support to bring Syrian-Armenian refugees to Armenia. We are prepared to join other organizations and individuals around the world in this effort. This is something that must happen now. Even those who stayed and continued to stay throughout the years of fighting are now looking for safe haven elsewhere. We believe it is our duty as Armenians to help them.

We are joined in this by several private foundations and we are working with the Armenian government to ensure that those who come are offered the basic official facilitation necessary to be able to legally seek refuge in Armenia.



In the years following the Genocide, the Armenians of Aleppo were the first-line saviors for Armenian survivors in Anatolia. Today, they are looking for first-line saviors themselves




On Friday evening, The Washington Post released their October Surpriseand it came from a very unlikely source. The paper released a video of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has a well-documented history of rank misogynyand whose own ex-wife, Ivana, once accused him of a violent rapebragging about his ability to sexually assault women due to his fame.

Trump told Access Hollywoods Billy Bush in 2005 that his then B-list celebrity status allowed him to just start kissing women. I dont even wait. And when youre a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.

The former reality show host, whose program The Apprentice aired on NBC alongside Access Hollywood, was caught on a hot mic chatting with George W. Bush and Jebs cousin on the gossip shows bus. So on his program Real Time with Bill Maher, the titular political satirist went after Trump for his vile, sexist comments.

Looks like we dodged a bullet a little bit with [Hurricane Matthew], however with Donald Trump talking about women, it has been upgraded to a Category 5 Shitstorm, said Maher.

This is what he says! Grab them by the pussy? Sounds like what Hillary did to him at the first debate, Maher added. I cannot wait for the Sunday morning talk shows to see what the Trump surrogates are going to spin this into: Look, George, people are tired of Washington politicians who wont grab the voters by the pussy. Donald Trump and Mike Pence are making sexual assault great again.

The grab them by the pussy comment wasnt the only lewd remark in the leaked Trump video. Trumpwhod recently married to Melania Trumpalso boasted to Bush about trying to seduce a married woman named Nancy, whos since been identified as former Access Hollywood co-host Nancy ODell.

I did try and fuck her. She was married, Trump said of ODell. And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping... I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldnt get there. He went on to describe ODell, who he later tried to fire off the Miss USA pageant while she was 5 months pregnant, of having big phony tits and everything.

And this is a week where, only just a few days ago, Donald Trump out on the stump accused Hillary Clintonwith no evidenceof cheating on Bill, said Maher. Donald Trump: the only person hes ever been able to stay loyal to is Vladimir Putin. And what does Mike Pence [say], evangelical Catholic choirboy-Boy Scout-values person, a guy who said, For thousands of years, marriage has served as the glue that holds families and societies together? Mike: when Donald Trump hugs your wife, thats not glue.
The fact that Donald Trump said in 2005 that he could grab women by the pussy because hes famous doesnt seem to be changing how social conservative leaders feel about him.

Evangelicals who opposed him before still arent fans. And the ones in his camp arent phased by the recording. Thats because this isnt about how much they like the brash billionaire; its about how unflinching they are in their opposition to Hillary Clinton.

People of faith are voting on issues like who will protect unborn life, defund Planned Parenthood, defend religious liberty and oppose the Iran nuclear deal, said Ralph Reed, who heads the Faith & Freedom Coalition. A ten-year-old tape of a private conversation with a talk show host ranks low on their hierarchy of concerns.

Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and a member of Trumps Evangelical Executive Advisory Board, said the comments were lewd, offensive, and indefensible.

But, he added, hes still voting Trump. He said he moderated a meeting between the candidate and Evangelical and Catholic leaders, and he was forthright about his hesitations about Trumps moral

I said at that time, with Trump sitting next to me, I would not necessarily choose this man to be my childs Sunday School teacher, Jeffress said. But thats not what this election is about.

He added that he doesnt think Hillary Clinton is morally superior to Trump.

Here is a woman who lied to the families of the Benghazi victims, she destroyed 33,000 emails while under subpoena, and shes attacked the women who attacked her husband, he said. The fact is were all sinners, we all need forgiveness, and God doesnt grade people according to their level of sin.

And David Bozell, a Roman Catholic who heads the conservative group ForAmerica and supports Trump, said the audio wont change how conservative voters view the candidate.

Bill Clintons history of being a sexual predator, including affairs with interns, dwarfs any locker room banter, he said. The clip is unfortunate, but then again, were not electing saints in November.

Meanwhile, Russell Moore, who heads the Southern Baptist Commissions Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, tweeted out that the audio undergirds his long-held concerns about Trump. And he posted a statement hed released more than a year ago explaining his opposition to Trump.

In the 1990s, some of these social conservatives argued that If Bill Clintons wife cant trust him, neither can we, Moore wrote in that statement. If character matters, character matters. Todays evangelicals should ask, Whatever happened to our commitment to traditional family values?

Trump won white Evangelicals comfortably in the Republican primaries, according to NBC News exit polling. And a Pew Research survey from July found that 78 percent of white Evangelical voters back him, and noted that his support with that cohort was stronger than Mitt Romneys was at that point in the 2012 race.

After all, Evangelicals have forgiven Trump for bragging about sleeping with married women, cheating on his own wife, and appearing on the cover of Playboy.

The comments Trump made are gross, as his social conservative backers concede. But, to these Evangelicals, grab them by the pussy doesnt sound quite as bad as President Hillary Clinton.
As Donald Trump dealt with the fallout from his disgusting comments about women in a 2005 tape, Hillary Clinton had her own unwelcome October surprise.

On Friday, WikiLeaks announced that it had obtained nearly 50,000 emails from the personal inbox of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, and leaked more than two thousand of them. The Clinton campaign would not confirm the authenticity of the emails, but a series of tweets by Podesta seemed to indicate that his email was compromised.

The statements by Clinton, which were gleaned from documents that have yet to be authenticated by The Daily Beast, were made in private settings to big banks and Wall Street firms. The speeches appear to paint her in the worst possible light: two-faced, out of touch, secretive and subservient to Wall Street. And in the most explicit way possible, they validate many of Bernie Sanders criticisms of her during the Democratic primary.

Sanders, the independent senator and self-described democratic socialist, led a credible challenge to Clinton based on frustration with Wall Streets access to lawmakers, the revolving door between regulators and those they regulate, and how Washingtons political class has lost touch with Americas middle class.

The emails show that Sanders, who has since endorsed Clinton, had a point.

In one email from Podestas inbox, as first reported by BuzzFeed, the Clinton campaign appears to summarize their candidates most shocking statements that were made during private speeches to Wall Street firms and other business organizations.

Apparently anticipating the possibility of a leak of private speech transcripts, which were a controversial issue during the Democratic primary earlier this year, Clinton Research Director Tony Carrk put together a memo with the most damaging quotes she had made in private speeches. Ironically, these were later leaked.

I represented and worked with so many talented, principled people who made their living in finance, she said in one 2014 speech to Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, a firm that specializes in complex securities litigation on behalf of investors, according to the email that was sent to Podesta and other senior aides.

In a series of speech excerpts from April 2013 to January 2015, Clinton said she supported open markets and open borders in the Americas; spoke of the need for a public and private position while back room discussions are taking place; and complained that conflict of interest divestments were unnecessary for politicians.

For Clinton, it is an embarrassing revelation that highlights her greatest vulnerability: the perception that she cant be trusted, doesnt mean what she says and is too close to the big banksall at a time when she is struggling to generate enthusiasm among the young progressives who backed Sanders over her in the primary.

Perhaps the most damaging for Clintonand most validating to Sanderswill be her fawning speeches about Wall Street, to Wall Street. In her remarks, Clinton appears to prove Sanders right. At a Goldman Sachs symposium in 2013, Clinton said that when she began traveling as secretary of state, people would yell at me for the United States and our banking system causing the financial crisis.

Now, thats an oversimplification we know, Clinton assured the banking firm audience, in what is purported to be a quote from one of her speeches. But it was the conventional wisdom.

In another excerpt, Clinton says those who work inside a regulated industry are best poised to then regulate the industry. Too much or too little regulation is bad, she says, and those who understand the right balance are often in the industry.

How do you get to the golden key, how do we figure out what works? And the people that know the industry better than anybody are the people who work in the industry, she allegedly said.

Speaking about her prior run for president in 2008, Clinton also suggests she is beholden, in a way, to special interests such as the big banks, because it would be very difficult to run for president without raising a huge amount of money and without having other people supporting you because your opponent will have their supporters.

In another instance, Clinton appears to acknowledge that shes out of touch: Im kind of far removed, she said, from the struggles of the middle class and growing sense of anxiety and even anger in the country because of the fortunes that she and former President Bill Clinton currently enjoy.

She illustrates this in another speech, when she complains about the need for politicians to avoid conflicts of interest.

There is such a bias against people who have led successful and/or complicated lives, she said during a speech to Goldman Sachs, according to the leaked email. You know, the divestment of assets, the stripping of all kinds of positions, the sale of stocks. It just becomes very onerous and unnecessary.

The leaked Podesta emails also show Clinton attacking Sanders over a position she supposedly supports. In a 2013 speech, Clinton said single-payer healthcare systems can help reduce overall costs, but cautioned that patients might have to wait longer to receive care.

Despite Clintons praise of single-payer healthcare, Carrk, the campaigns research director, blasted out an opposition research memo to senior aides on October 28th, 2015, which included criticism of Sanders for his support of a Medicare-for-all style plan for healthcare reformspecifically calling him out on how to pay for it.

His plan would repeal the Affordable Care Act, as well as Medicare, TRICARE [military healthcare program], Medicaid, and SCHIP [State Childrens Health Insurance Program], according to the memo. His proposal would cost roughly $15 trillion. Vermont tried to implement a single payer plan but scrapped it because it would cost too much.

Without disputing the leaks, the Clinton campaign has refused to formally authenticate them. However, the campaign did acknowledge that documents had been stolen, and went on the offensive by alleging that the Russian government has directed WikiLeaks to influence the U.S. election.

We are not going to confirm the authenticity of stolen documents released by Julian Assange who has made no secret of his desire to damage Hillary Clinton, Clinton spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement. Earlier today the U.S. government removed any reasonable doubt that the Kremlin has weaponized WikiLeaks to meddle in our election and benefit Donald Trumps candidacy.

In a series of tweets, Podesta confirmed that his email account was breached.

Im not happy about being hacked by the Russians in their quest to throw the election to Donald Trump, Podesta wrote on Twitter, adding that he does not have time to figure out which docs are real and which are faked.
After The Washington Post released a 2005 audio recording of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump making graphic comments about women, various GOP lawmakers have taken to Twitter to condemn the graphic remarks.

To date, Republican National Convention chairman Reince Priebus, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) are among many Republicans who have spoken out against Trumps comments. As of now, none of these politicians have withdrawn their support of Trump.

Thus far, only Utah Governor Gary Herbert and former Utah Governor John Huntsman have withdrawn support from Trump because of his comments. Several Republicans who already said they won't be voting for Trump, such as Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush, have spoken out against the former reality star's taped boasting about sexual assault. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), who unendorsed Trump in June, has called for Trump to drop out.

Besides an initial non-apology, Trump's campaign hasn't officially commented further on the 2005 tape. Trump's Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence has remained silent as well, along with high profile supporters such as Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, and others.

This article has been updated throughout.
Martin Shkreli is really fucking around with me here.

Lucian Wintrich is pacing the floor of his East Village walkup, chain-smoking cigarettes and drinking white wine. It is 2:30 in the afternoon on a Thursday, and a little more than 48 hours until Wintrichs performance art show, #DaddyWillSaveUs, which Wintrich is billing as the first pro-Trump art show in the nations history, is set to open.

Art show, however, is perhaps not the right phrase. #DaddyWillSaveUs was more of a chance for liberals, or, for that matter, mainstream Americans most hated villains to come together to see if they could offend people further. The show is a museum piece of precisely the kind of degraded public culture that Trump had unleashed, dropping its pants before anyone who dares believe civil norms can still be saved.

Besides infamous tech bro Shkreli, who has apparently taken up sculpture in his spare time (and who seems to be under the impression that Wintrich will actually assemble the installation, hence the fucking around), Wintrich said the show is slated to feature Internet provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos bathing in a tub of pigs blood (to showcase Islamic anti-gay violence), Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes dressed as a white slave, and a number of paintings parodying George Soros and other liberal luminaries. James OKeefe, the video saboteur who helped bring down ACORN, insisted on donating the pimp coat he used for that expose, but Wintrich convinced him that the show was more creatively focused than historical.

Except that the morning before, Pierogi, a prestigious art gallery in Williamsburg that was slated to host the show, abruptly cancelled, because, gallery owner Joe Amrhein told the website Artnet, he had been conned about the true nature of the show.

Our understanding of it, up to this point, is as a satirical, Andy Kaufman-esque project by the comedian/artist, he said, pledging to donate any money raised from the now-nonexistent show to the Hillary Clinton campaign, which he said would serve as a hopefully fitting irony for this narcissist asshole.

Wintrich says that Amrheinwho didnt return a phone call seeking commentis lying, and that instead he buckled under pressure after receiving nearly a hundred emails excoriating him for participating.

And so now Wintrich and his business partner, Baton Rouge-based Republican political operative Ali Akbar, are calling seemingly every empty warehouse, gallery and event space in the five boroughs. They had until 5 oclock on Thursday, or they would have had to cancel the entire show, since people are flying in from all over the country for it and at least 50 press outlets are expected to cover it.

This is the first time since the days of Robert Mapplethorpe that a gallery has tried to restrict free artistic expression, Wintrich says with evident delight. We are going to make international news. This is not only the first conservative art show in the countrys history, as far as I can tell, but it is the first time that the New York art scene is trying to make not happen.

Wintrichs tiny apartment has been turned into a war room, with a mattress on the floor for Akbar and an intern to sleep on, and a warren of laptops and cords covering every flat service. Homoerotic art lines the wallsincluding a brightly colored painting of a young boy holding a machine gun on the beach. The bookshelf is crammed with works by authors both conservative and outre: Ayn Rand, Roger Ailes, Dennis Miller, Charles Murray, and a copy of Mein Kampf. The bathroom doesnt have a light switch, so anybody who wants to use it has to screw in the light bulb hanging overhead. The bathtub is in the kitchen, and has been turned into a makeshift table.

The show was in part supposed to launch Wintrichs and Akbars newest venture, Rabble, which Akbar describes as a Gawker-meets-Vice media company pulling in voices from the Trump right and the Occupy left. Akbar once helped run an annual gathering of Southern Republicans, which is where he once met Trump, who backstage among assorted GOP dignitaries loudly told Akbar he looks like a young Sammy Davis, Jr.

He was a friend of mine, Trump told the room, according to Akbar. You wouldnt believe how much pussy he got.

Wintrich and Akbar first met at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee conference in Washington, D.C, where Akbar was certain Wintrich was an OKeefe-type mole from the left. In January, Wintrich got the idea to get some of his male model friends togetherI have slept with all of them. And I only sleep with good-looking peopleand photograph them in Make America Great Again hats and in various states of undress.

The resulting series, Twinks4Trump, has become something of a viral sensation and landed him a feature on NBC News. It also, he says, lost him his job as an advertising agency, and turned him into waging a year-long war against what he sees as an insidious political correctness.

And so, in addition to the art of others that he solicited for the show, Wintrich will be auctioning off photographs from his Twinks4Trump series while male models in pointed bamboo hats sell gold-flaked egg-rolls (to show Chinas role in currency manipulation.) Other little Twink boys, as he called them, will don sombreros and serve mini-taco bowls. Pierogis cancelling meant that the miniature particle board wall he planned to have constructed out front by day laborers hired for the occasion would have to go unrealized.

Oh look at this! Wintrich says, opening up a package that arrived. Inside were second and third-grade arithmetic books. We are going to have a Socialist bonfire too. This is for liberals who cant do math.

When asked if all of this seems to be a little much, not to mention in bad taste and hurtful, Wintrichs eyes roll seemingly across the room.

When did we say as a country that we cant have a sense of humor anymore? When did college students start crying because someone wore a cap on campus that represented a conservative, he said, in reference to one of OKeefes recent provocations. He cited how Irish and Italians were discriminated against and mocked when they first arrived in this country en masse, as if somehow perpetuating the shameful moments of the countrys past was a hazing ritual necessary to build a more cohesive nation.

This is the way assimilation always works in this country. If you have people come here and you say, you cant touch our culture, you cant make fun of our culture, that never works. If it seems incendiary, thats because it is designed to be so that people will realize how limiting the discourse is in this country.

And so like much of the Trump movement, #DaddyWillSaveUs is a big-fuck you response to what conservatives see as the fuck you aimed at them by the mainstream culture. If a bunch of pranksters can put a statue of Trump with a micropenis in Union Square and have the mayor of New York City applaud them for it, then these right-wing pranksters will put up in the gallery a statue of Trump with a penis the size of a spear.

The PowerPoint that Wintrich and Akbar put together to sell donors on the concept included a quote from the art website Hyperallergic: Trump has a micropenis. Trump is a pile of poop with a toupee. Trump is a barf bag. Trump has a face made of menstrual blood. When it comes to depictions of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, the more grotesque, the better.

The alt-right is trying to learn something from the left, said Akbar. You go to conservative rallies, and they are like a church service. Speech, applause. Speech, applause. You dont see drag performers on our side. The right should be able to have more fun than the left.

#DaddyWillSaveUs got it name because Trump is the only one trying to shield us, Wintrich says. There is a real war against Islamic terrorism and then there is a culture war going on in this country too, a war of intellectuals and ideologues. So Daddy will save us from the other side should he ascend to the presidency.

There are people who legitimately believe that people should not hold opposing views or fringe views, he continued. Go ahead and cancel the show just because you dont like conservatives if you want. This is the first time that the hypocrisy of the left has been exposed. There is this narrative that conservatives are the ones who are on the wrong side of history, that conservatives are opposed to arts and culture and that we are the ones who limit self-expression.

As news of the cancellation broke, both mens cell phones started buzzing. Fox News called, McInnes texted, Milos people were wondering what to do. Many sent condolences. They kept writing back that it wasnt over, that everyone should be patient, that they were just searching for a new venue. The show must go on, even as strangers pleaded with them to stop.

Why do you support the company of hate in this country, an elderly woman pleaded to Wintrich. Please back down and stop this horrid show.

Wintrich showed the message to Akbar. They were delighted. He thought for a moment of what to write back. He bowed over his phone. We need a strong father figure so we can avoid the pussification of the country by the hands of folks like you, he replied.

The more they got rejected, and the more hate mail they received, the more Akbar and Wintrich seemed to be enjoying themselves. They promised that they would put every space that rejected them into a press release. It was further proof of the delicate sensibilities of the New York art scene. And as far as they were concerned, why did it matter that they were pro-Trump? It wouldnt be too much of a stretch to imagine a group of anti-Trump artists getting together and putting on much the same show. It would be read differently, of course, as mocking the excesses of the real estate moguls campaign, but it wouldnt receive the same level of vitriol. Akbar and Wintrich see themselves as the art worlds last renegades.

The alt-right is the new punk rock, Akbar said.

They couldnt talk about what they were doing on its own merits, however. If the left can insult their nominee, why cant they insult the left? If the left can be transgressive in the anti-capitalist, or anti-religious art, why couldnt they be just as transgressive in the name of country and capitalism? If some of their pranks were hurtful and personal, so what?

I get death threats. I get hate mail. You think that only happens to liberals? Wintrich said.

What about Alicia Machado, the Miss Universe who Trump fat-shamed, or Rosie ODonnell, whom he still cant stop talking about, or Leslie Jones, the African American Ghostbusters actress whom Milo Yiannopoulos ran off the Internet?

Famous people and people in the public eye can fend for themselves, Wintrich said.

It was because of Yiannopoulos that one of their back-up places fell through. The space didnt have two exits, which Yiannopouloss security team said is necessary since his performances so often attract death threats. Other back-ups were falling through too. The Columbia University College Republicans offered to help find a space, but it would have required everyone to be pre-registered. A place in Long Island City looked promising; but Wintrich and Akbar wanted the commotion, or at least to plant a flag in the heart of the gallery district of Brooklyn. Another feared that as soon as word got out about the show, the owner of the building, a flaming liberal, would demand its cancellation. They thought of reaching out to Trump, but didnt know how to get hold of him. They called New York Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, who brushed them, and the American Civil Liberties Union, which said they couldnt much help them either.

I dont want to be one of those conservatives who see a conspiracy everywhere, said Wintrich. But there is a real conspiracy here.

He pointed to an email that the culture writer Jamie Peck sent to some hundreds of her writer friends suggesting that they collectively ignore Daddy Will Save Us. Someone on the list sent it to Wintrich, who promptly sent it to Breitbart, fanning the flames even further. Proceeds from the showtickets cost between $65 and $125were meant to go to a charity that helped gay veterans. But another liberal media outlet shamed the non-profit from participating, and they said they wouldnt accept the money. Oh now look at this, Wintrich said holding up his laptop. James Michael Nichols of the Huffington Post is calling me a homo-nationalist.

He doubled over with laughter.

This was of course the point too. The bigger the protest, the more publicity they would get, and the whole point of the whole thing, about who is entitled to free expression and who isnt, would be confirmed. The culture wars would have at last flipped sides. Whereas before it was conservatives from the Catholic League protesting Andres Serranos Piss Christ, now it would be liberals protesting drag queens lying in vats of pigs blood, never mind that they would be protesting not the art or the expression so much as the unapologetically racist and provocative performances.

Just after 5:00, a gallery in Chelsea at last came through. The deal was they couldnt use the gallerys name in any of the promotional materials, just the address: 132 West 18th street. They put on the Abba song Money Money Money and sent the intern out to secure the lease. We were lucky that someone had an opening on a Saturday night and could use the money, Akbar said. They contacted a butcher to arrange for the delivery of cows blood, since pigs blood was unavailable (something about a Jewish holiday, Akbar said with a shrug.) A bathtub would need to be procured. Wintrich called his mom, who was coming in from Pittsburgh on a bus, to tell her the good news.

The show, such as it is, is set to go on.
The 2016 campaign trail is now littered with clapped-out arguments from pundits and politicians that America can and should go it alone in the world, without the need to deeply engage with foreign nations or to accept immigrants on its own soil. The words they use to describe thisAmerican Exceptionalism, American Greatness, America Firstare the same expressions that have been deployed in previous elections and during times of perceived crisis to whip up popular sentiment against The Other. Ann Coulters Adios, America is a full-on jeremiad about the loss of American Exceptionalism to foreign-born ideas and people. American Greatness has become a meme of the alt-right movement, pointedly excluding anyone who does not fit their narrow profile of an American. And Donald Trump has repeatedly called his worldview America First, arguing that our international alliances are not commitments but rather contracts which can be renegotiated upon non-payment.

These terms are often tossed off with little thought to their historical underpinnings and with scant regard for their significance. In actual fact, their first stirrings meant something completely opposite to the isolationist and nativist passions that they evoke today. American Exceptionalism had its roots in John Winthrops City upon a Hill sermon of 1630, which exhorted the English settlers of Massachusetts to be part of the wider world by serving as an example to it. The foundations of American Greatness, the future Yale president Timothy Dwight pronounced in his 1776 valedictory address, just weeks after the Declaration of Independence was signed, required Yale graduates to act, not like inhabitants of a village but like citizens of a world. Even America First got its start in World War I with Woodrow Wilson attempting to position the United States as an international leader. In each case, these rallying cries were subsequently turned on their heads to argue that, rather than striving towards leadership, America should instead disengage from the world and pull up the drawbridge.

This pervasive belief that America can go it alone in the world was greatly bolstered by its own creation myth, which was first articulated in the mid-19th century while Manifest Destiny was pushing Americas frontiers westward. In that highly nationalistic fabrication, the Revolutionary War saw the United States fighting alone against the British under the unwavering command of George Washington and his all-American generals, while Lafayette was there just to help out and Rochambeau only arrived at Yorktown at the very end.

But just as the terms American Exceptionalism and America First were twisted to the exact opposite of their original meanings, so too did this legend of the nations birth completely distort the international nature of the war. In fact, France and Spain played crucial roles throughout the conflict, sending billions of dollars in munitions and supplies to support the fledgling nation, while their volunteers arrived in the United States in their thousands to fight and die in an American war that also became their own. American Independence, in short, was saved by the alliances forged between these nations and by the immigrants who came to fight for it.

For the Founding Fathers, many of them from the merchant class, the road to American Greatness had always led overseas. Much of colonial Americas prosperity was bound up in trade with Europe and the Caribbean, and it was the increasing British restrictions on this trade, more so than burdensome taxes, that led to the American Revolution. But when America began its fight for independence in 1775, it was stunningly incapable of fending for itself, like a rebellious adolescent who takes leave of his family without a penny to his name. It had no navy, little in the way of artillery, and a ragtag army and militia that were bereft of guns and even of gunpowder. The colonists knew that without the help of France and Spain, Britains erstwhile enemies, they could not hope to prevail against the superior British army and navy.

The Continental Congress understood that neither nation would come to Americas aid unless it was seen as a sovereign power fighting a war with a common enemy, and not simply engaged in a civil dispute with its mother country. Even John Adams admitted that Foreign powers could not be expected to acknowledge us, till we had acknowledged ourselves as an independent nation. The Declaration of Independence was therefore commissioned, not as a message to King George III, but rather as an engraved invitation to King Louis XVI of France and King Carlos III of Spain, asking them to go to war alongside the Americans.

For their parts, the kings of France and Spain, and even more so their ministers the Comte de Vergennes and the Conde de Floridablanca, had to decide whether to support the nascent American nation. Just 13 years had passed since their countries had fought the disastrous Seven Years War (1754-1763) with Britain, in which France lost Canada and much of its influence over European affairs, while Spain lost Florida and much of its control over the Gulf of Mexico. A new war, on the side of the rebellious Americans, could redress their old humiliationsor plunge them into ruination.

France and Spain, allies under the Bourbon Family Compact, had long been contemplating a rematch with Britain. But even within that alliance, their kings and ministers first had to consider their own national self-interest before committing to war. For Vergennes, his France First policy meant weakening Britain sufficiently to regain the balance of power in Europe. For Floridablanca, Spain First meant recovering the territories of Gibraltar and Minorca, and driving the British from the Gulf of Mexico. If America saw cooperation with France and Spain as a way to throw off the British yoke, then Vergennes and Floridablanca saw supporting American Independence as a means to weaken Britains grip in Europe and around the world.

At first, France and Spain only provided the insurgents covert aid in the form of arms and materiel, although eventually they supplied $30 billion equivalent in aid and 90 percent of all the guns used by the Americans in the war. Private merchants like Diego de Gardoqui of Spain and Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais of France became the front men for these operations. In the early years of the war, this aid kept the militia in the Western Theater and the Continental Army in the East from defeat. In 1777, a timely shipment of French muskets, gunpowder, and cannon sent via Beaumarchais allowed the Continental Army to capture General Burgoynes troops at the Battle of Saratoga. This dramatically changed the nature of the war, and gave Vergennes the pretext he needed to agree to a formal military alliance with the Americans.

Benjamin Franklin, who was the principal envoy to the French court, fully understood that an alliance had to satisfy the national interests of both sides. The treaty he negotiated with Vergennes included Americas requirement that the war could only conclude with Britains recognition of a sovereign United States, and Frances demand that no separate peace with Britain be agreed to by the Americans. With the treaty in place by early 1778, the French navy arrived in American waters, limiting the free movement of the British army by sea and forcing them to consolidate their forces in New York City. Spain entered the war a year later, and though it did not formally ally with America, it too agreed that the war could end only with Britains recognition of the United States.

The entry of Spain fundamentally changed the war from a regional clash to a global conflict. The British navy and army were spread ever thinner, needing to also simultaneously shield the homeland from the threat of invasion by France and Spain, defend against the siege of Gibraltar and assault of Minorca, and protect its colonies in the Caribbean and India from attack.

Meanwhile, the British forces in America had to contend with a newly-professional Continental Army that had been reinvigorated by an influx of volunteers from France and other European nations. Washington depended upon these immigrants who got the job done, men like Louis Lebegue Duportail, the Baron von Steuben and the Marquis de Lafayette, who directed sieges and fortifications, trained Washingtons soldiers in European-style warfare and led American troops into battle. Even if these foreign volunteers were more animated by fighting their long-time British adversaries than by any notions of liberty and freedom, they came to adopt the American cause and make it their own.

At the same time, Spanish troops under Bernardo de Galvez drove the British from Florida, further weakening their presence in North America. When Comte de Grasses fleet kept the Royal Navy from reinforcing Cornwallis, it paved the way for the joint French/American army under Rochambeau and Washington to win the stunning victory at Yorktown. In the end, about 200,000 French and Spanish fought in the War of American Independence, compared with the estimated 250,000 to 380,000 Americans who served.

The real story of the American Revolution is that the United States was born as the centerpiece of an international coalition, which together worked to defeat a common adversary. The newborn nation built upon the legacy of its French and other European volunteers, many of whom remained to help it create a modern military system. Even to this day, American Greatness has been bound up with its ability to adopt immigrants and absorb ideas from around the world. Over time, it has also built upon the bonds it had forged overseas to help create an interconnected world, in which the ideals of America First are not confined within its borders but rather are intimately linked to maintaining and protecting the global economic system in order to ensure prosperity at home. In short, America has always proved itself exceptional when it returns to its roots and leads a coalition of nations in pursuit of a common good.

Larrie D. Ferreiro is the author of Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It from Alfred A. Knopf (coming in November 2016).
They had their chance.

Republican leaders had every opportunity to dump Donald Trump. To fully vet him and respond to his ever-growing collection of vile, hyper-misogynistic, racist vitriol. They failed to do it.

Conservative voters across the land had ample opportunity to walk into a ballot box and renounce him. They failed to do it.

With few exceptions, Republicans stood, however reluctantly, behind a flawed candidate who they must have known had more skeletons in his gilded closest than a county morgue. Of course, there were several voices who were courageous enough to challenge the former television personality, but none of them had the political might nor the financial heft to combat the string of conservative standard bearers-- on talk radio and cable newswho circled the wagons around Trump. Political naysayers were laughed off as cucks and RINOs as Trump kept on winning.

And now, with 30 days left in activate campaigning, Trump is hobbling to the finish lineweighed down by a cavalcade of controversies, including a 2005 videotape made public Friday of him making gross, sexual remarks about a soap opera actress and a married E! host. I moved on her like a bitch, he said of his unsuccessful quest to sleep with a married woman, who he later reportedly tried to fire because of how she looked while pregnant.

Party leaders are said to be convening a high-level meeting in D.C. to discuss their options, according to MSNBCs Rachel Maddow, including preparing for the possibility that Trump might voluntarily drop out of the race. RNC rules permit the removal of a candidate, but it's too late for that now and Trump wont step down. GOPers looked at ballot rules on replacing Trump during the Khan meltdown, tweeted Meet the Press host Chuck Todd, referring to the prolonged dust-up with a Gold Star family. Bottom line: If he didnt vacate by Sept. 1, they were stuck.

Mired in his own morass of bankruptcies and vanity-driven profiteering schemes, as well as an apparent inability to maintain any semblance of message discipline, both his business acumen and personal character have been called into question.

He has proven, time and time againwith his verbal assaults against women, racial and religious minorities-- that he isnt interested in big tent politics and he isnt interested in growing his party or the conservative movement, let alone in governing. For him, the White House is simply another quality addressa chance to throw fabulous State Dinners in honor of foreign leaders, to command the comings and goings of Air Force One and extend invitations for sleep-overs in the Lincoln Bedroom.

The race was over before it started.

Fridays revelation that Trump was caught on a hot mic, making repulsive, salacious comments about a woman hed never met, sealed the deal. There is simply no way to spin remarks about grabbing a woman by the pussy. There is no explanation for trumpeting his celebrity as a free pass to force himself on a woman. When youre a star, they let you do it, he was caught telling Access Hollywood host Billy Bush.

I moved on her, and I failed. Ill admit it, Trump said at another point in the now infamous, leaked video. I did try and fuck her. She was married.

For his part, the real estate magnate issued a half-baked apology and attributed it all to locker room banter.

If anyone was offended

House Speaker Paul Ryan has cancelled a joint appearance set for Saturday, saying he was sickened by the remarks. RNC chairman Reince Priebus called the tape indefensible. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, himself the father of three daughters, deemed the statements repugnant. Sen. Ted Cruz, who once refused then endorsed Trump? Disturbing and inappropriate. Sen. Marco Rubio? Unjustifiable.

None of them vacated their endorsements. Doing so would upset the GOP base and could further endanger the Republican congressional majority. A senior-level Trump source with direct knowledge says the RNC is standing with Trump for now, reported ABCs John Santucci.

For the good of the country, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colorado) wrote in a statement, and the give Republicans a chance of defeating Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump should step aside Mr. Trump should put the country first and do the right thing.

But no principled, Christian conservative can justify backing a thrice married, serial philander who essentially confessed to sex crimes. However, this race was never about principle. It was never about Republican themes like small government, personal responsibility or family values. From the start, Trumps campaign has been predicated on sexism (and ethno-nationalistic racism). It is and always has been about white male resentment and anguish. Trump bottled that antipathyfor women and minorities and put it on a chartered flight to Iowa.

Until now, Trumpwho has more than once called women pigs and dogshas met nearly every criticism with a shrug. He was apparently oblivious to what impact that may have on his support among women, which had already been falling precipitously. This time might well be different. There is no way for him to wake up tomorrow morning and move ahead, business as usual.

For the first time, he may have to reckon fully with his history of debasing those he believes are weak and exploitable. No apology, no matter how full throated, will be acceptable. Ardent supporterswomen among themare already rallying to his defense. Washington State Republican Party Chair Susan Hutchison defended Trumps comments, saying the statements were made when he was a Democrat and he was channeling Bill Clinton. But, Trump simply cannot roll back decades of atrocious behavior in the span of a press conference or a recorded statement.

A 90-second video, released by Trump just minutes after midnight, was a feeble attempt to write-off his behavior, deem the damning tape a distraction, and raise the specter of former President Bill Clintons alleged infidelities. I never said I was perfect I said it, I was wrong and I apologize.

His lackluster apology and his pledge to be a better man tomorrow will do nothing to salve the searing wounds. Trump vowed to keep talking about Bill and Hillary Clinton, and ways he believes theyve done worse.

The real problem is that there are likely more instances of Trumps unchecked bravadowhether on tape or witnessed by othersand Republicans have only themselves to blame. With no meaningful campaign organization and the apparent inability to self-fund his candidacy, as he falsely promised to do, Republicans have been left holding a bag of sand. Now, there is no turning back.
Editors Note: This column now reads as a classic example of why prediction is a bad business to be in. That said, we dont believe in erasing our mistakes on The Beast.  John Avlon, Editor-in-Chief

Mark down the date: October 7, 2016, is when Donald Trump lost the presidency.

Im usually reluctant to play the pundit-prediction game but Independent and Republican women arent going to bounce back from this one. Not when the GOP nominee is caught on tape talking about hitting on a married woman with big phony tits like a bitch and how part of his M.O. is grabbing pussy because when youre a star you can do anything.

This entire campaign has been an exercise of the electorate being slowly simmered in a pot of boiling water, losing our sense of outrage amid a steady of onslaught insults and lies. But sex and cruelty resonates in a way that financial scandals or demagoguery just dont.

Character is what you do when nobodys looking. And this video captures Trump in the middle of the day, sober, a few months after being married, talking with a man he barely knows, bragging about sexual assault, while wearing a microphone.

This is, apparently, the real Donald Trump. So much for any claims to having great judgment and the best temperament. So much for indignant campaign spin, like the Baghdad Bob-esque denial issued from Trump Tower this week after allegations of sexism emerged from The Apprentice set: These outlandish, unsubstantiated, and totally false claims fabricated by publicity hungry, opportunistic, disgruntled former employees, have no merit whatsoever. Add to that the now-classic insincerity of nobody respects women more than I do.

Conservative supporters have been played for fools by Con Man Donald. Shouting back Benghazi! isnt going to help. You cant deflect; you have to deal with the reality of this situation. Even Mike Pence wont be able to shake his head over this one to make it go away. Trumps own VP nominee will have to distance himself from this particular disgrace because it cuts against his political brand and undercuts his 2020 ambitions.

For Republicans, this is a time to head to the lifeboats. The GOP has been preparing plans to run away from the top of the ticket in an attempt to save the senate and now its too late to replace their nominee. He is on the ballot. The modest gains Trump had made in September have been definitively dashed. The CNN/ORC poll issued after his disastrous first debate showed Trump trailing by 14 points among women, 9 points by independents and 27 points by moderates. These numbers are all going to nosedive further, and though I suspect Donald Trump will slightly outperform the polls on election day, all the self-inflicted wounds will prove too much to build a winning coalition beyond his populist base. On the most basic level of political math, Trump is losing support in the final stretch instead of winning new converts. This does not end well.

For all the #NeverTrump supporters who have been softening over the past few weeks, rationalizing why they must fall into line behind someone they know is irresponsible, and all the reluctant Republicans who feel that they have no political choice but to support their partys nominee, remember what John F. Kennedy once said: sometimes party loyalty asks too much.

On Friday night, Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, who is leading the ongoing Hillary Clinton investigation/witch hunt in the House, revoked his endorsement of Trump along with his home state Governor and Utah Senator Mike Lee. Former Utah Governor and former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, who had inexplicably endorsed The Donald, called on Trump to step down. Independent conservative presidential candidate Evan McMullen just had a good night as an anti-Trump and anti-Hillary alternative.

Now, Republicans who ought to know better, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain will need to move beyond their reluctant endorsements and initial denunciations to actually revoke their support. This doesnt mean endorsing Hillary Clinton, but it does mean taking responsibility for fixing what has gone so wrong for the Party of Lincoln that it fell for Con Man Donald.

This is the most devastating October surprise in historywith a far more visceral impact than Nixons secret 68 negotiations with the Viet Cong, Irans final refusal to release the hostages in 1980, George W. Bushs long-lost D.U.I., Hurricane Sandy or Mitt Romneys 47% comments. The fact that it occurs against the first female presidential nominee just makes the contrast more politically lethal. The Clintons have always benefitted from enemies who ultimately over-reach and destroy themselves.

There will be more disasters ahead in the thirty days to the Election. There will be new tapes and emails, plot twists and insults. Sunday nights second debate could serve up an epic ego meltdown on live TV. This surreal and sordid election has felt like a dystopian novel at times, A cross between The Plot Against America and Amusing Ourselves to Death. But in the end, an ancient bit of wisdom finally asserted its authority: Character is Destiny.
This very arty week, which saw the opening day of the Frieze art fair in London, was hardly the ideal week for what could be the biggest forgery story since the World War II-era Vermeer scandal to break.

But, just as Regents Park was a-swirl with hundreds of galleries, thousands of artists, and tens of thousands of amateur and professional buyers, Sothebys, one of the two grand old firms of the global art world, and a key presence at Frieze, was forced into a humiliating admission that it is at the center of a multimillion-pound forgery scandal, involving what could be tens of millions of dollars worth of bogus Old Master paintings.

Specifically, a painting authenticated by Sothebys as the work of Dutch artist Frans Halsand sold on that basis for almost $10 millionhas now been reassessed by the auction house and declared a fake.

Sothebys released a statement saying that a new technical analysis had revealed that the work was a forgery. The sale was annulled and the clientbelieved to be an American collector based in Seattlewas reimbursed, Sothebys said.

In other words, the gallery was comprehensively hoodwinked. Even worse, however, is that now the authenticity of up to $200 million-worth of other Old Masters which allegedly appeared across European galleries from the same sourcea little known French collectoris under question.

The analysis was carried out in the wake of a controversial police swoop in March this year, when a supposed 1531 work, Venus With A Veil, owned by the Prince of Liechtenstein, was seized by French police from a public gallery.

French law allows for the seizure of works that are suspected forgeries for investigation without a court judgment, but the prince, one of the most powerful collectors in the world, was understandably furious at the public way the picture was grabbed.

The results of the analysis have not been made public. However, it is widely believed in the art world that the picture has been found to be inauthentic.

The Venus picture was at one stage owned by the same collector as the Hals, a 72-year-old Frenchman named Giulano Ruffini.

According to The Art Newspaper, Ruffini also at one time owned several other paintings said to be under investigation, including a painting of St. Jerome said to be by the circle of Parmigianino which sold for $842,500 at Sothebys, New York in 2012.

Ruffini told the website that he was the former owner of another paintingDavid Contemplating the Head of Goliath, painted on lapis lazuli, and reportedly bought by a British collector as a work by Orazio Gentileschiwhich has also been drawn into the scandal.

The Art Newspaper says that Ruffini claims that most of the pieces are alleged to have derived from the collection of a French civil engineer. When the engineer died in 1971, his daughter inherited the collection and subsequently gifted and sold several of the paintings to Ruffini, with whom, he says, she had an eight-year affair.

Ruffini denies having presented the works for sale as genuine Old Masters. I am a collector, not an expert, he has said.

Mark Weiss, a London dealer who is integral to the story, having bought two of the paintings from Ruffini (including the recently declared fake Hals) told the Financial Times that he was yet to be convinced that the Hals was not genuine and declined to comment further.

It is believed Sothebys is now going after him to reimburse them for the money they lost on the forged Hals.

The use of the word forgery in the Sothebys statement is deeply significant.

In the art world, there is a difference between fakes and forgeries. Fakes are works by other artists that are passed off as works by more important artists.

Fakes can also be copies of a work done at the same time or in the same era as the original, which are very hard to identify, as the canvas, paint, and even the technique are all of the correct period.

In centuries past, it was absolutely normal for an owner of a fine painting to have a competent artist come and make one or more copies, which they would hang at a different house, if they had several houses, or give to a relative or a friend. If they sold a valuable picture, they would always have a copy made.

For this reason in particular, Old Mastersthe term is usually used to refer to the most prominent European (especially Dutch) painters of the 13th to 17th centurieshave always been something of an easy target for forgers.

Works of art are authenticated by eyethat is to say an expert judge (or panel of judges) looks at the piece, and simply declares if it corresponds to the style of the claimed artist.

Date-testing of materials is dismissed as irrelevant by these experts who argue the work may have been restoredand forgers are now clever about using recycled, date-appropriate materials.

Forgeries, on the other hand, are what most of us are thinking of when we imagine art crimebogus works made by accomplished modern-day artists deliberately to resemble the real thing.

The revelation that Sothebys has been the victim of a sophisticated forgery comes at an inconvenient moment for the firm.

Although rather few visitors to Frieze would be specifically interested in Old Masters, Sothebys uses the Frieze fairs to counteract the idea that it is a fuddy-duddy old fashioned auction house, and push its contemporary offering with several specially curated sales.

Fridays Evening Auction, for example, was due to be led by a selection of works by contemporary masters such as David Hockney and Gerhard Richter.

No dealers or gallerists contacted by The Daily Beast would comment on the record about the Sothebys scandal, most pleading that they were too busy with a deluge of Frieze-related work.

I only know what I read in the papers, said one gallerist who deals with Old Masters.

It certainly sounds as if these guys now have done an excellent job, said another art world figure. But remember, fakes have been around forever. Michelangelos first commission was to create an imitation Roman statue for a Cardinal.

Yan Walther, Global Manager of SGS Art Services, which operates a forensic testing service in Geneva, London, and New York, told The Daily Beast: Every year sees a new forgery or faking scandal, and every year its always dismissed as a one-off. Without forensic analysis being carried out systematically for high-value artworks, these scandals are inevitable.

Walther, who said such analysis usually costs less than $10,000, professed to be amazed that works worth millions of dollars are still not subject to rigorous testing before sale by auction houses.

In an era of high-technology, these scandals shouldnt happen. Rigorous testing and verification costs less than the carriage, the insurance or certainly the commission on a sale/purchase. Buying a high-value painting without technical analysis is like buying a car without opening the hood.

Amidst the controversy, there is one institution that is likely feeling a deep sense of relief; the Louvre tried to buy the portrait attributed to Hals at an earlier stage in its march to infamy, even launching a fundraising campaign, but the institution missed out when it failed to make the 5 million price tag.

Now thats money well not spent.
The first presidential debate was seen, by many at least, as an outright victory for Hillary Clinton. While Donald Trump may have pulled off some of the greatest acting of his career by appearing somewhat presidential in the first twenty-or-so minutes, by the end he had fully revealed his true self to more than 80 million viewers.

On Sunday, October 9th, at 9:00 pm ET at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, Trump will have another chance to try to convince the American people to view him as a legitimate candidate, this time in a town hall-style meeting.

Half of the questions for the candidates will be posed by undecided voters , selected by the Gallup Organization. The other half of the questions will come from moderators Martha Raddatz (Chief Global Affairs Correspondent and Co-Anchor of This Week on ABC) and Anderson Cooper (CNN Anchor). Each candidate will have two minutes to respond to questions based on public interest topics from social media and perhaps taken from PresidentialOpenQuestions.com .

According to former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani , Trump spent the first weekend in October being prepped by another GOP darling, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie , who has been recognized for his successful performances in town hall forums.

It is unclear whether the second debates format will be to Clinton or Trumps advantage, although the Trump camp seems confident that their candidate will succeed by engaging the viewers. On the other hand, the Clinton campaigns Chairman, John Podesta, has predicted his candidate will excel on Sunday.

Podesta stated in an interview that [Clinton] is very used to the format. She likes it. She likes answering questions from individual citizens and that is a format that Donald Trump isnt as used to I think its a natural format for her.

Tune in to see the second presidential debate at 9:00 pm to 10:30 pm ET on Sunday, October 9th.

How to Watch, Live Stream, and Listen to the Second Presidential Debate

The debate will be broadcast live on C-SPAN , ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC and all cable news channels including CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. All the major news networks will also be offering free live streams in addition to those provided by YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter .

Viewers without a cable subscription can view the debate live on CNN.com , for free and without a cable provider login.

Satellite radio subscribers can listen to the debate live on more than a dozen SiriusXM channels, including CNBC (Ch. 112) and CNN (Ch. 116).
Can you believe such a crude know-nothing, immigrant-bashing, trash-talking, fickle rich guy exploiting working man nativist white prejudices could advance so far politically? He was one of those partying brats with a strict father who turned serious after college, yet still struck many as a candidate as ridiculous as satire could invent. But immigration arrivals had quintupled in ten years. Crime and poverty relief budgets soared. The system was so broken down that, as one senator acknowledged, The people were tired of the old parties and they have made a new channel. So, this market-savvy businessman shrewdly shifted from peddling to politicsadjusting key positions to maximize popular disgust.

Yes, in 1854, the once-wayward youth, Henry Gardner, stopped selling wool and started spinning political yarns, stoking the anti-establishment anger identified by Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner. On Election Day, Gardner won a HUUUGE victory in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race, attracting 63 percent of the vote along with the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrisons contempt. The new legislature consisted of one Whig, one Democrat, one Republican, the historian David Herbert Donald wrote  and 377 Know-nothings.

Surprisingly, the Know-Nothings saddled themselves with their unflattering name. This anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, anti-liquor, protest party originated in organizations protecting Protestant prerogatives as Catholics streamed into the cities. This was the time of NINANo Irish Need Apply. Harvard hosted annual Dudleian Lectures devoted to detecting, convicting, and exposing the idolatry, errors and superstitions of the Romish Church.

Groups like The Sons of Sires, The Druids, The Order of United Americans, came and went, while The Order of the Star Spangled Banner built a nationwide coalition into The American Party. Delighting in secret passwords and elaborate handshakes, members initially dismissed questions about their partycode named Samsaying I know nothing.

Since 1846, more than 100,000 poor Irish Catholics had immigrated to Massachusetts alone. Worcester became 25 percent Irish. Boston became majority Irish. And Henry Gardners promise to Americanize America became relevant.

Born in Dorchester in 1818, educatedand entertainedat Bowdoin College, this dry goods merchant abandoned the Whig Party, joining what one abolitionist called the battle of freedom, temperance and Protestantism against slavery, rum, and Romanism. Surprisingly, his appealsweetened with populist, progressive reformsworked.

This inexperienced demagogue became Governor of Massachusetts. The Whig orator Edward Everett considered Gardner a man of some cleverness, but no solidity of character. Surely, Anything more low, obscene, feculent, the manifold heavings of history have not cast, the former Whig Congressman and Boston Brahmin Rufus Choate wrote. We shall come to the worship of onions, cats and things vermiculateworm-infested.

Gardner kept his word, enacting some odious plansand lovelier reforms too. He deported over 1000 illegal aliens. He banned foreigners from the police force. The Massachusetts Constitution still has an Anti-Aid amendment, updated in 1917, outlawing public subsidies to schools run by any religious sect. Gardner and his legislative allies also ended imprisonment for debt, lightened bankruptcy laws, limited child labor, curtailed alcohol sales, mandated childrens vaccinations, let women own property, democratized more state offices, and invested in infrastructure.

Gardners bill forcing immigrants to wait 21 years before voting failed. Instead, immigrant-voters had to be citizens for two years and residents for seven. Eventually, Gardner overstepped, as bigots do. An investigation into convents and Catholic boarding houses triggered Americans characteristic decency after the lead investigator insulted nuns and hired prostitutes. Gardner served three one-year terms, with waning legislative strength.

As with Joe McCarthys libels in the 1950s, and Donald Trumps racism today, some political allies feared confronting the demagogue. The fiery Senator Charles Sumner, who saw Gardner angling for his Senate seat and approved the Know Nothings anti-Slavery stance, initially kept quiet. Sumner even submitted to the Congress, without comment, a petition demanding a tax of $250 per immigrant.

Sumner finally attacked in 1855, when Gardner sought re-election: I am not disposed to place any check upon the welcome to foreigners, Sumner proclaimed. Ourselves the children of the Pilgrims of a former generation, let us not turn from the Pilgrims of the present. Still, Gardner won. And in 1856, the new anti-Slavery Republican Party was guilty, some Republicans charged, of dabbing in the dirty pool of Know-Nothingism, pursuing a cautious, timid, and time-serving policy.

Abraham Lincoln also avoided attacking Know Nothings publicly because he sought anti-Slavery nativists for his fledgling Republican Party. Yet Lincoln was not a Know-Nothingthat is certain, he wrote a friend on Aug. 24, 1855. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes be in favor of degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that all men are created equal. We now practically read it all men are created equal, except negroes. When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read all men are created equals, except negroes and foreigners and Catholics. When it comes to that I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving libertyto Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.

The Know Nothing Party soon fizzled. The Republicans anti-slavery fight upstaged nativism. Know Nothings used the party as a way station in drifting toward Republicanism. In Massachusetts and elsewhere, the American Partys success also defeated itself, as the ideological movement became a political machine. By 1857, Senator Sumner sneered: You have no real principles on which you stand. You are nothing but a party of Gardnerites. Gardner lost after three terms, retiring in 1858 into obscurity until he died in 1892.

This summer, former Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn and the Pioneer Institute demanded repeal of the anti-Aid amendment and the removal of Gardners portrait from the Massachusetts Statehouse. The repeal is a nonpartisan no-brainer: Conservatives object that the amendment blocks vouchers and other government financing of charter schools, while they and liberals detest this symbol of bigotry.

However, while making necessary legal changes makes sense, sanitizing our history doesnt. Progress progresses progressively not directly. Gardners portrait should remain, demonstrating Lincolns insight. Those five wordsall men are created equalsparked a second American Revolution. The meaning of all and men and equal have expanded exponentially. Better to remember and learn from our temporary wrong turns, than to tell a Disneyfied story that doesnt prepare us to fight the demagogue, the bigot, who hasnt learned from the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, from Sumner and Lincolnat their best.
Hes finally toxic. Donald Trump is finally toxic, said Mark Cuban.

The billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericksand star of the reality competition series Shark Tankwas of course referring to the leaked video published by The Washington Post late Friday of the Republican presidential nominee, in a 2005 hot mic moment with Access Hollywoods Billy Bush, bragging about his ability to sexually assault women with impunity because of his fame.

Trump told Bush, the cousin of Dubya and Jeb!, that his then B-list celebrity status afforded him the right to just start kissing random women. I dont even wait. And when youre a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything, said Trump.

Cuban addressed the heinous video during the panel segment of Fridays edition of Real Time with Bill Maher. But later on in the program, Cuban, who once offered Trump $10 million to agree to a sit-down interview with him, put his financial chops to use, breaking down the recent revelation by The New York Timesthanks to leaked income tax formsthat Trump lost a whopping $916 million in 1995, thanks to his cratering Atlantic City casinos, airline, and the Plaza Hotel. The Times called it a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years.

After Cuban claimed that, unlike Trump, he was a for real billionaire, the entrepreneur took on the real estate heirs tax imbroglio.

Thats crazy! First of all, when you look at that tax return, it shows he didnt have a billion dollars in cash. You can work backwards from the amount of tax and interest that he earned, said Cuban. That means if he didnt have it, he didnt have it to loseso he had to borrow it. So not only did he lose it, he lost someone elses money. How the fuck do you do that! [Trump] actually took the loans that he got from somebody else for we dont know what, sold those loansbecause he had personal guaranteessold them to the shareholders of those casinos, so not only did he fuck the people that he borrowed $915 [million] or a billion dollars from, he then fucked the casino shareholders who are little guys who are just trying to own a stock and make some money. So he got double the fun, Cuban continued.

Maher then read the Trump Campaigns official response to the Times story: Mr. Trump is a highly-skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required. That being said, Mr. Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes, along with very substantial charitable contributions. Mr. Trump knows the tax code far better than anyone who has ever run for President and he is the only one that knows how to fix it.

Bullshit! exclaimed Cuban. Hes horrible. Heres how you know, right: has there been anyone whos come forth and said, Donald Trump was a great mentor to me, I learned so much and it helped me build my business? Has there been anybody whos come forward and said, You know what, I invested in Donalds business and I made so much money? Has there been anybody who came forward and said, Donald Trump invested in my business and he helped me make [money]? No! All you see is, He took this, he stiffed me, he sucks. Hes horrible at everything! He hasnt been successful at anything!
Heres an obvious fact: If you want to round up and deport 11 million men, women and children who entered the United States illegally, then the rest of us have to have a way to prove we are legal.

The core supporters of Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump should be especially concerned about this, loathing as they do the intrusion of the federal government into their lives, because the answer to the problem of proof of citizenship is clear. Well all have to carry national or, if you will, nationality ID cards.

Right now, what does the average citizen have that proves he or she is, in fact, a red-blooded American? Look at your drivers license.  Nope. At least not on its face. Do you carry a birth certificate with you? (Do you even know where it is?)

Somewhat fewer than half of the people in the United States have passports or passport cards (theres been a huge increase in the last 15 years), but even if youre among that number whove paid up and papered up, chances are you wont have the passport on your person.

In an era of mass deportations, that just wont do. To be caught without your papers is to risk being detained or even imprisoned while your status is checked.

The cards will be biometric, of course, the IDs will have, at a minimum, a digital photo and digital fingerprints and machine-readable technology, which usually means a chip.

But why stop there?

After all, making America safe again, in Trump terms, means registering all Muslims. So their religion will have to be on their IDs  and ours will have to be on ours.

And what else might go on that chip?

One would expect that under a Trump administration, non-citizens and Muslims would not be allowed to buy guns. So citizens will have to show their IDs to buy firearms, and that information will go into a database. Bingo. National gun registration. Which may be a good idea, but not one that many of Trumps cheerleaders are likely to support.

This possibility  a uniform national ID card with a chip full of information about you  has been creeping up on us for a long time, especially since the shock of September 11, 2001.

A Gallup poll in July 2002 showed a majority of Americans, 54 percent, supported "a law requiring all adults in this country to carry a government-issued national identification card that includes information such as their fingerprints."

Polls since then have been scarce. But in 2005, the REAL ID act set standards for federally compliant identity cards, and as of January 22, 2018, you wont be able to get on a plane or enter a federal facility if your only ID is a drivers license or other state-issued card that is non-compliant.

Some American liberals have supported the idea of a free national ID card as a way to empower voters in states where local identity requirements, tied as they are to travel and to car ownership, are used to disenfranchise the poor. In 2014, former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young proposed turning the Social Security card into a national photo ID.

But conservatives hated this proposal. Sen. Rand Paul denounced it as a really bad idea headed down the slippery slope toward the despised national ID, and over the years Republican opposition has created a series of torturous workarounds to avoid creating a straightforward federal identity card.

In 2008, in fact, for just such ideological reasons, Arizona passed a law that specifically prohibited the states department of transportation from issuing driver licenses that complied with the REAL ID program.

Last year, when Arizona lawmakers realized that this would mean anyone from Arizona who wanted to fly on a commercial airliner would have to get a U.S. passport ($110) or a passport card ($30), they reversed course.

Short of a passport or passport card, none of these approaches establishes definitively that you are in fact a citizen of the United States. And none is plugged into a national database that would determine whether you are Muslim or not.

Indeed, you never needed such documents inside the United States until now  or rather, until that hypothetical moment when Trump starts to turn his vague plan into an oppressive reality.

After the first debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump complained that nobody asked him about immigration or about The Wall that is the rock on which his political church is built.

A better question for the debates to come (once we get past the sexual assault and harassment issues) would be about the national ID, and his own plan tells us why.

Item number three in Trumps 10-point immigration strategy announced in Arizona in August is Zero tolerance for criminal aliens, which sounds sensible enough at first, then starts to sound crazy as he elaborates.

In addition to those in jails or prisons, there are a vast number of additional criminal illegal immigrants who have fled or evaded justice, Trump declared. But their days on the run will soon be over. They go out and go out fast.

We will issue detainers for all illegal immigrants who are arrested for any crime whatsoever, he says, and they will be placed into immediate removal proceedings.

Any crime whatsoever 

Moreover, under Trumps grand plan to solve what he keeps telling us is an immigration crisis, a major component is to enlist local cops and sheriffs deputies in the operation, an approach that Arizona has tried with popular political results but a negative impact on law enforcement.

For you the normally law abiding United States citizen, what this meansand this is no exaggerationis that if you get stopped for a minor traffic offense or other misdemeanor the local cop wont be saying license and registration, please, he will be saying (indeed he will be required to say) something like show me your papers. And if you dont have them you could wind up spending time behind bars.

At this point, maybe youre one of those people thinking, Not me! (Im white.)

And thats the not so subtle subtext here that reassures Trumps core supporters: If youre a middle aged working class white guy, hey, nobodys going to question your American-ness, so theres no need to carry a federal ID.

But even the most reactionary federal judges in the United States would not let that affront to the Constitution slide by. Equal protection under the law has to mean equal protection. And without a proof-of-citizenship ID that everyone equally would have to show, You would have to engage in racial profiling, says Scott H. Decker, a professor of criminology at Arizona State University and co-author of Policing Immigrants. It couldnt be done otherwise.

So, whatever Trumps intentions, if he is serious about building his wall and deporting 11 million people or, as he sometimes suggests, 30 million people, which would be approaching 10 percent of the population, a national ID card will have to be part of the picture. As an old ad campaign used to say, Dont leave home without it.
There are very few people in the world who do not have a smart phone. There are even fewer people of that number who...
Council candidate has worked harad to support College Station

I support Linda Harvell, candidate for College Station City Council, Place 3.

Linda was born and raised in College Station, graduated from A&M Consolidated High School and attended Texas A&M. During my tenure on the council and as Mayor, I saw the importance of an elected official who brought to the council knowledge, experience and expertise of our city.

Linda has been active in the community in numerous capacities. Her dedication to College Station is well-known and greatly appreciated. She was the chair of the City 75th Anniversary Celebration and did an outstanding job. She is president of the College Station Police Alumni Association and a member of the College Station Fire Department CART (Community Action Response Team). She is on the College Station Sister City Program and a member of the B/CS Chamber of Commerce, College Station Noon Lions Club and the Brazos County A&M Club.

She was on the CIP 2015 Transportation Bond Citizen Advisory Committee, chair of the Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals, alternate to the City's Zoning Board of Adjustment and Historic Preservation Committee.

Linda is a graduate of the Citizens University, Citizen Police Academy and Citizen Fire Academy.

Linda is a successful independent small business owner, voted Best of the Brazos Valley for six years. Linda is a strong advocate of neighborhood integrity. She has been endorsed by the College Station Police Association and has been endorsed by all six living former mayors of College Station, including myself.

Please vote for Linda Harvell for City Council Place 3, the candidate that has the experience, knowledge and dedication to do a great job.

BEN WHITE

College Station

Candidate leads others with gentleness and humility

I met Jeremy Osborne more than three years ago when he first started training at CrossFit Aggieland. Our lives have intermingled in various ways over the years and today I am working directly for him at Pegasus Optimization Managers. Jeremy is a highly-respected person with diverse experiences and skills that greatly will impact College Station, and I enthusiastically support his candidacy for the city council.

On a personal level, Jeremy's loyalty knows no bounds. He selflessly gives his time and talents to support and care for his family and friends. Jeremy takes pride in developing meaningful relationships, and treats others with kindness and respect, regardless of circumstance.

Interacting with Jeremy in a professional setting at Pegasus, I am privileged to witness his management and leadership skills firsthand. Jeremy possess an inordinate amount of knowledge, and yet he leads others with gentleness and humility. His organization and "get it done" attitude enable his co-workers and employees to work efficiently and effectively alongside him. He patiently provides explanation to ensure clarity across confusing situations, and is often the voice of reason for the company as a whole.

Jeremy's ability to see projects through to completion while maintaining a humble and selfless spirit throughout the process will serve him well in a role of service for our community.

I am eager to vote for Jeremy, and I encourage all College Station residents to learn more about him, and see for themselves how fortunate we all would be to have Jeremy Osborne working diligently for us on our city council.

MELODY SHULSE

College Station
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.
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.




This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 CCL /Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 CCL /Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3





New York Citys longest-running show  more than 10,000 in more than 30 years  comes to Stamfords Palace Theatre for two shows in the next few months: Friday, Oct. 14, and Friday, Jan. 13.

The improvisational comedy troupe, according to the theater, is renowned for walking out onto a blank stage. There is no script, no set, no preconceived ideas. Suddenly the stage lights flash and the show starts. Some call this the actors nightmare.
The Jacob Family includes (from left to right): Kevin Jacobs and Stephanie Benoit, Yan Jacobs and Veronic Premont, Marian Ghielen and Jean Jacobs, Ysabel Jacobs and Tyler Doiron, Laurie Jacobs, and Mathieu Jalbert. photo by Carl Saucier

The Jacobs Family of Cap-Sante, Quebec, have been selected by the Klussendorf Association as the eighth recipient of the Robert Whitey McKown Master Breeder Award. This award recognizes a well-managed breeder herd that has been successful at showing and judging, and emphasizes all qualities of the Klussendorf Award, including ability, character, endeavor and sportsmanship. The award was formally presented on Friday, October 7 during the 50th World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis.

Leo and Nellie Jacobs made the long, yet exciting journey from the Netherlands to Canada in 1951. They then made the decision to purchase Ferme Jacobs in 1965. The farm, or ferme in French, is now co-owned with their son, Jean, and his wife, Marian, whose four children also help manage the establishment. Jean and Marians two oldest children, Yan and Ysabel, partnered with Ferme Jacobs several years ago and now help oversee the herd as well as work with the young stock. Kevin and Laurie, the two youngest children, are also involved in farming. Kevin, along with his wife, Stephanie, maintain their own herd under the Intense prefix, while Laurie works for Lely and helps out at the farm during her free time.

The farm has sustained impressive production records over the years and currently milks 183 Holsteins with a rolling herd average of 11,000 kilograms or 24,255 pounds of milk, 4.2 percent butterfat, and 3.24 percent protein. Not only do the cows excel in the parlor, but many have also made appearances in the showring. The Jacobs family has established a tremendous herd of high-quality type and production animals that have stood at the top of their classes at national and international levels.

Jean and Marians son, Yan, has had much to do with the herds genetic success throughout the years. Yan and Ysabel took over the responsibility of breeding decisions at the farm and currently overlook the herds embryo program. Each year, the farm typically sells 200 animals along with 250 embryos from the herds flush program. With an impressive number of animals sold, it is estimated that 60 percent of the farms income comes from the sale of Ferme Jacobs genetics while 40 percent comes from the sale of milk

T.he farm has always focused on breeding for type and production traits over the years. Their methods have reaped success, as Ferme Jacobs has secured the Premier Breeder Award at World Dairy Expo each of the past five years. The 95 percent homebred herd currently has one Excellent 96, three Excellent 95, 20 Multiple Excellent, 23 Excellent, 105 Very Good, and 42 Good Plus cows. The family has also had several well-known animals emerge from their herd, such as Jacobs Goldwyn Britany, Excellent 96; Goldwyn Valana, Excellent 95; Jacobs Atwood Vedette, Excellent 95; and Jacobs Fever Cael, Excellent 95.

Other important honors at World Dairy Expo include winning Grand Champion Bred and Owned in both 2014 and 2015, and taking home the Supreme Champion honors in 2013. They bred the 2015 Intermediate Champion and bred and owned the 2014 Reserve Intermediate Champion. Throughout the years, Ferme Jacobs has also secured 81 All-Canadian and 44 All-American nominations, a feat that only a few have accomplished. The total of 125 nominations has resulted in 16 All-Canadian and 12 All-American awards, as well as numerous reserve and honorable mention titles.

Working at Ferme Jacobs is a family affair. Currently, 10 people work full time at the farm, most of who are family members, along with interns. Jean and Marians grandchildren also seem to share the passion for exhibiting high-quality cattle. The next generation at Ferme Jacobs can regularly be found leading heifers or practicing their judging skills in the show barn. It is clear that the grandchildren at Ferme Jacobs are passionate about success and top-notch cattle, just like their parents and grandparents before them.

Past winners of the Robert Whitey McKown Master Breeder include: Walk-Era, Wisconsin Dells, Wis., 2015; Pond View Farm, Danville, Vt., 2014; Quality Holsteins, Vaughan, Ontario, 2013; New Windsor Farm, New Windsor, Md., 2012; Moondale, Monona, Iowa, 2011; Snider Homestead, New Enterprise, Pa., 2010; and Windy Knoll View, Mercersburg, Pa., 2009.

The Robert Whitey McKown Memorial Breeder Award was made possible by the family and friends of the 1992 Honorary Klussendorf honoree. Whitey joined the Holstein World staff in 1956 and became widely respected as he traveled nationally and internationally, reporting on shows, sales, meetings, and other Holstein events. The 1987 National Dairy Shrine president also developed MooKown Holsteins in Belleville, N.Y. Whitey had a great admiration for the farmer breeder.

The Klussendorf Association, considered by many as the Hall of Fame for dairy cattle exhibitors, began in 1937 in memory of Arthur B. Klussendorf, who was considered to be an outstanding dairy cattle showman of his time. Each year, the Klussendorf Association votes to add a new dairy cattle exhibitor to its ranks with lifetime membership for their cumulative work, including ability, character, endeavor, and sportsmanship.

Recognized as the meeting place for the global dairy industry, World Dairy Expo attracts more than 70,000 attendees from over 90 countries to Madison, Wis. each year. The annual event will take place October 48, 2016, with the theme of Celebrate 50! to commemorate its golden anniversary.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WILTON  Hundreds gathered at Temple B'nai Chaim at 82 Portland Ave. on Rosh Hashanah this year.

That Sunday night, Rabbi Rachel Bearman and Cantor Jon Sobel led the congregation in welcoming the Jewish New Year through worship, reading of the Torah, blowing of the shofar and other customs.

Its a service where we pause and take stock of the year thats concluding and look forward and express our hopes for the year thats coming, said Bearman, who was appointed as Rabbi in 2014.

Rosh Hashanah, meaning Head of the Year in Hebrew, marks the beginning of High Holy Days, or Days of Awe: a 10-day period dedicated to prayer, repentance and self-examination that concludes with a day of atonement, known as Yom Kippur.

The metaphor of the Holy Days is that were tying to get our prayers to God through these metaphorical gates and the gates are closing at the end of Yom Kippur, Bearman said, who was appointed as Rabbi in 2014. So its more urgent, in the metaphor of prayers.

Yet, although the ten days bear an attitude of solemnity, there is also room for joy.

The general feeling is not penitential; its more improving ourselves, improving our world, Bearman said. And the self-reflective part of it is a step toward the improving, the hoping  rather than being the main goal of it.

More Information Upcoming Services for High Holy days Shabbat Shuva Shabbat Service Friday, Oct. 7: 7:30 p.m. Yom Kippur Kol Nidre Service* Tuesday, Oct. 11: 7:45-9:45 p.m. Yom Kippur Day: Wednesday, Oct. 12 Morning Service*: 9-11:15 a.m. Family Service*:12-1:15 p.m. Study Session: 1:45-2:45 p.m. Afternoon Service*: 4:30-5:30 p.m. Yizkor Service: 5:30 p.m. Neilah Service: 6 p.m. Sisterhood Break-Fast, Time: 6:30 pm (need to RSVP) *Note: Services marked with an asterisk require a ticket. For more information, call 203-544-8695 or visit templebnaichaim.org. See More Collapse

One way congregants practiced this idea was by tossing bread into a nearby river, at the end of Rosh Hashanah on Tuesday. This ritual is called Tashlich, which means casting off in Hebrew.

The tradition is repenting by thinking about things you have done wrong  whether its sins or wrongdoing  and throwing the bread by making it physical and casting it off,  Bearman said. We talked about how there are lots of things that we struggle with and think of the things that we want to leave behind, and thats what we throw.

Holy Day services will continue throughout the week up until Yom Kippur on Wednesday, Oct. 12; some services require a ticket for admission.

If people are interested in learning more about Judaism ... it shouldnt feel like something so foreign that people cant see their way to it, Bearman said. We aim to create services that are spiritually uplifting and moving and powerful and provide different avenues for people to connect to God or the community or the Jewish world.

Temple B'nai Chaim is a Jewish Reform synagogue in Georgetown that was established in 1976, with most of its congregants from Wilton, Weston, Ridgefield, Redding and Westport. The original sanctuary still remains and has been enlarged to the temple that exists today.

SKim@hearstmediact.com; 203 354-1044; @stephaniehnkim
Caught in the undertow of the reality TV loop that is campaign 2016, Americas voters discovered this week we must now hold one more truth to be self-evident:

If Bill Clinton didnt exist, Donald Trump would have had to invent him.

We watched for days (see also: daze) the stunning spectacle of the Republican presidential nominee digging himself deeper into an apparently bottomless hole of contemptible conduct toward women  this time featuring his fixation for publicly scorning and bullying women he thinks weigh too much. He had begun his compulsive digging during the presidential debate, when Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton baited him by recalling his crude weight-gain insults of a former Miss Universe. Trump only wanted to know how Hillary found out about it. Then, for days, he kept repeating his insults. Maybe he felt it was better than his other big bad news: how Trump, who is the only major party candidate in the modern era not to make public his tax returns, apparently used legal loopholes to avoid paying any income taxes for years.

But on Monday, Trump was rescued from the unrelenting glare of the media spotlight. Most bizarrely, his rescuer was none other than his opponents famous husband.

Bill Clinton rescued Trump from the spotlight by jumping into it himself. Then he uttered one of the most politically wacko sound bites you ever heard. At a rally in Flint, Mich., the city plagued by a toxic water crisis, Clinton seemed to trash President Barack Obamas proudest legacy trophy: the Affordable Care Act, which voters know better as Obamacare.

So youve 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, Bill Clinton said. Its the craziest thing in the world.

No Republican in campaign 2016 ever sounded more convincing in attacking Obamacare, or in voting dozens of times to repeal it without ever trying to fix it.

Bill Clinton stuck it to Obamacare just a day before first lady Michelle Obama was at North Carolina State University, vigorously urging millennials to end their antipathy toward Hillary and elect her  because she is their only real hope for the future.

Heres where our tale gets downright psychoanalytical: Last Friday, President Obama flew to the funeral of Israels legendary Shimon Peres  and brought Bill Clinton with him. But when Obama boarded Air Force One for the flight home, Bill Clinton kept Obama waiting onboard while he gabbed and glad-handed on the tarmac. Bill! Lets Go! an impatient Obama hollered down from the doorway of Air Force One, not once, not twice but three times. Finally, Clinton double-timed it up the stairs. If Obama had known what his guest would be saying in Flint on Monday, he might have ordered a quick wheels-up while Bill was still working the tarmac.

EPILOGUE: Bill Clintons full Obamacare message is worth our serious consideration. He told the Flint folks Obamacare works well for seniors on Medicare and also the poor who get Medicaid and persons with lower incomes who receive ACA subsidies. But low-bracket earners whose incomes are just above subsidy limits and small-business owners are getting killed in this (ACA) deal. Clinton suggested converting ACA into a plan allowing everyone to purchase Medicare or Medicaid insurance.

I just felt a twinge while writing that last sentence  because throughout the Obamacare battles, thats just what my best friend for half a century, Michael Bromberg, Washingtons legendary health care lobbyist who died just weeks ago, always suggested to me was the one single-payer reform that could work  because its the simplest. In the 1990s, Mike led the industrys battle that defeated the Clinton White Houses health care reform, led by Hillary. He had met with Hillary and urged her to accept a reform that would be less than she wanted but a real reform nonetheless. She refused, insisting the White House would ram its plan through Congress  which never happened, of course.

Now, writing this column, I sure wish my best source  the smartest person I knew on this and also the wittiest  was around for one last chat. I mainly want to replay for Mike the exact words of Bill Clintons proposal in Flint: Heres the simplest thing. Figure out an affordable rate and let people use that. ... (L)et people buy into Medicare or Medicaid.

I would really like to see the look on Mikes face the moment he heard Bill Clinton say those familiar words. Just for laughs.

Martin Schram, an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, is a veteran Washington journalist, author and TV documentary executive. Readers may send him email at martin.schram@gmail.com.
I read Gage County appeals $28.1M verdict won by exonerated inmates (Oct. 6). I have family throughout Nebraska, so I am not playing favorites. In my opinion, a wrongful incarceration deserves restitution made by the county.

I have the utmost sympathy for the senseless killing of the 68-year-old Beatrice woman, Helen Wilson. No amount of money will bring her back to life. However, it is also an injustice when six innocent people spent a combined 77 years in prison before DNA evidence cleared them in 2008.

Clearly, those people deserve to have some significant recompense for having roughly a decade stolen from their lives by wrongful incarceration. I realize that the monetary judgment is high; but multiple people were wrongly incarcerated.

In theory, a judicial award could be negotiated a bit lower. The article said that even a 1-cent levy in Gage County would only raise just over $322,000. However, the countys two insurance companies could come up with $7 million. The article further noted that if Gage County were forced to pay-up now, the county would have to consider filing for bankruptcy. If that is what it takes for Gage County to do appropriate penance and restitution, so be it.

I firmly support our police and sheriffs officers. I have cousins in other counties (one in another Nebraska county), and I applaud them for doing their best to protect us all.

I think the crux of the matter lies with fast-acting attorneys, improperly collected evidence, poorly presented evidence and juries that may not be adequately informed. A jury may act in good faith, but if all evidence doesnt come to light, it can result in a bad verdict.

In such egregious cases of wrongfully jailing innocent people, I simply believe that wrongful incarceration requires a remedy. Nobody floated the idea of Gage County collecting a 4-cent levy. Sadly, taxpayers would pay the burden. But, perhaps it would prompt counties to slow down and not convict people too hastily.

Mistakes can and do occur; but making things right in prompt fashion should be the priority, instead of appealing to stall for time.
As one walks through the cattle barns at World Dairy Expo, it is hard to miss the creative displays that exhibitors have built to celebrate the past 50 years. Over the past half century, it has become a tradition for exhibitors to build elaborate exhibits highlighting their herd and representing the theme of Expo. With this years theme being one of the most memorable yet, exhibitors have dusted off their banners and trophies from years past to put on display for World Dairy Expos 50th birthday.

Favorite memories forever captured in photographs hang throughout the cattle exhibits, usually with a constant stream of people shuffling by to take a look. Some exhibits touch on the evolution of the show, while others feature special moments that have occurred over the years at Expo.

One popular stop throughout the barns is at the Voegeli Farm display.

Voegeli Farms Display

The display features dozens of banners, medals, and trophies, along with show shirts worn by Howard Voegeli himself, one of the founders of World Dairy Expo. The Brown Swiss herd took the dust off their memorabilia stored in their attic in preparation for the show.

Another crowd favorite has been the Gil-Bar Jersey and Ma-Brown string, as it brings life to former World Dairy Expo artifacts.

Gil-Bar Display

Angela Davis-Brown, Dodgeville, Wis., explained just how much work went into building the display. We tried to stay true to the theme, Angela said. This is only one-fourth of the stuff. Other pieces of Gil-Bar history can be found at the 50th World Dairy Expo display.

Random Luck Display

The Random-Luck string took a unique approach this year by showing off the evolution of clippers. Clippers from the early years of cattle shows to present day can be found in their exhibit along with precious family photographs.

Smith-Crest Display and Majestic View Genetics

Lastly, Smith-Crest Holsteins and Majestic View Genetics bring back to life the former days of showing bulls. One tent stands out above the rest, as it displays a black-and-white photo of a Holstein bull being shown. Many crowd goers stop in their tracks once they set their eyes upon the life-size bull.

As you walk around the cattle barns at World Dairy Expo, what is your favorite display?



Return to Hoard's at Expo

Taylor Leach
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Inforial (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia  Sat, October 8, 2016

Countless international forums over the years have focused on the roles that governments, businesses and the public can play in creating a more sustainable civilization.

Rarely, however, is culture's potential role in nurturing sustainability ever taken into account. This explains why the government has initiated the holding of the World Culture Forum (WCF), which seeks to change this by encouraging and promoting culture as a driver and enabler of sustainable development.

Following a success of organizing the first WCF in 2013, the government through the Culture and Education Ministry will hold WCF 2016 from Oct. 10 to 14, with the island of Bali once again being chosen as host.

The central theme of WCF 2016 is "Culture for an Inclusive Sustainable Planet". Over 1,500 participants from 65 countries around the globe are expected to attend this forum.

Participants will discuss, debate and contest established ideas and approaches for how culture can have a place in the narrative for sustainable development. They will also figure out ethical frameworks for ensuring community engagement and stakeholder benefits.

"A platform like this needs to be supported by policy makers that have a political and economic impact on society. As long as that platform doesn't exist, it's hard to imagine discussions of culture having any real results," said Hilmar Farid, director general of culture at the Culture and Education Ministry.

There will be six main symposiums throughout the forum discussing different topics related to the main themes of cultural inclusivity and sustainability.

Discussions cover subjects such as "Culture in the New Digital World", "Reviving Culture for Rural Sustainability" and "Reconciling Socioeconomic Growth and Environmental Ethics".

The emphasis on multicultural inclusivity throughout the event is important, especially for Indonesia, according to WCF steering committee member Azyumardi Azra.

"Indonesia is a huge country that certainly also has a big responsibility. This is mainly to create a safe and orderly world away from violence. The basic idea of this second WCF is still the same as the first. Indonesia wants to play a more assertive role in the development of an inclusive and peaceful multicultural society," Azyumardi said.

Delegates at the forum will come from across the globe. They range from government leaders, international figures, artists, academics, indigenous community members, NGOs and cultural stakeholders from all walks of life.

These include people such as Bandung mayor Ridwan Kamil, Europeana Foundation executive director Jill Cousins, environmental activist Satoko Kishimoto, MBC president and CEO Ahn Kwang-Han, and University of Sousse professor Moncef Ben Abdeljelil.

Keynote speakers include UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon, UNESCO secretary general Irina Bokova, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former Indonesian presidents B.J. Habibie and Megawati Soekarnoputri.

A number of supporting events during WCF 2016 have been arranged to accentuate the forum's cultural themes. Key among these events is a cultural visit to the UNESCO-designated world heritage sites of the traditional subak farming and irrigation system in Bali.

The visit is designed to help participants understand the rhythm of cultural development and cultural life in Bali.

"We want people to experience culture, not just talk about it. We want participants to see the problems faced by people directly, so that these problems aren't just viewed abstractly," Hilmar said.

International Youth Forum

Another notable highlight of WCF 2016 will be the International Youth Forum, which runs from Oct. 9 to 14 in parallel and in conjunction with the larger forum. A total of 160 youths from across the globe have been invited to take part in this event. They will be there to discuss and interact with Balinese locals to directly experience the problems being discussed at WCF 2016.

"We want to give them their own place where they can discuss the role that youths in developing a more inclusive and sustainable world," Hilmar said. "By having them visit villages with problems like water scarcity, they can better understand the problems faced by these villages, where some villagers need to walk several kilometers just to get a bucket of water. It builds empathy."

It's not just the distinguished delegates who are expected to experience culture at WCF 2016. The public is also invited to take part in WCF 2016's Oct. 11 cultural carnival. It will bring together more than 20 countries to showcase their cultural diversity through art communities, dance performances and street foods.

Other cultural exhibitions at the forum include a display of Indonesia's weaving products and an exhibit that examines underwater life through portraits.

All of these events are designed with the overarching goal of putting culture front and center when thinking about development.

"I am confident that this is the time for us to create a platform of mutual understanding and of valuing cultural diversity," Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy said. "This forum provides an opportunity to show how culture can support sustainable development."

WCF(-/-)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Associated Press) Amsterdam, The Netherlands  Sat, October 8, 2016

Five Dutch Golden Age paintings that were among a trove of artstolen from a Dutch museum more than a decade ago have been returned after being recovered in Ukraine earlier this year.

Now the Westfries Museum in the northern town of Hoorn is crowd-funding to pay to restore the paintings, which were badly damaged during or after the January 2005 burglary in which they were snatched.

Museum Director Ad Geerdink said Friday that the recovered paintings "have suffered incredibly."

(Read also: Van Gogh paintings stolen in 2002 found in Italian farmhouse)

Four of the paintings were recovered by Ukrainian officials. The museum says the fifth was handed to the Dutch embassy in Kiev in May by a person who had bought it in good faith.

Another 19 paintings and 70 pieces of silver remain missing.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8, 2016

Following news that giant companies, including Disney, Google and Apple, were interested in acquiring microblogging service Twitter, sources are now saying that all three companies have decided against placing bids.

As reported by Recode, neither Google nor Apple had placed a bid, while Disney had also recently backed out from purchasing the social media platform.

(Read also: Twitter: We suspended 360K accounts over 'violent extremism')

Disney was previously said to be the most suitable candidate as its CEO Bob Iger is a friend of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Dorsey is already a member of Disney's board. The acquisition will also increase Disney's opportunity to distribute its content.

San Francisco-based cloud computing company Salesforce is now regarded as the most likely potential buyer, despite no official confirmation having been made. (kes)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Marcel Thee (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7 2016

(Courtesy of Peonies)

On their debut record Landscape, Jakarta-based trio Peonies create a playful escapade of dreamy alternative-pop built on whimsical melodies and imagery.



Formed little over a year ago, the trio of Jodi Setiawan, Cinta Marezi and Paramitha Citta quickly made waves within the local independent scene through strong networking and an equally determined work ethic.



The story of Landscape is as old as its creators. The writing began immediately after the bands formation in February of last year, compiling material written by all band members  both individually and as a group. Oftentimes, says Jodi, he would have a rough guitar part, or Citta would have an idea on her keyboard, which the band would then work on as a team.



Citta would have ideas on her ukelele too, and Cinta would want to write something about her beach holiday  that would be the seed of song ideas. I myself had a song I wrote in 2009 but never felt like it was complete until I arranged it with my bandmates, explains Jodi



The recording itself started this year, with the band having a clear picture of how they wanted the end product to sound: like something straight out of the 1980s dream-pop playbook. Jodi explains that the group referenced late-eighties early-nineties British band Pale Saints lush-sounding record, The Comfort of Madnes



While it is obvious that this eighties fixation goes further, with influence also coming from US bands such as DIIV and Wild Nothing, Peonies manage to make their own sound.



Jodi says the Pale Saints taught them that the floating quality of their influences, which is often assisted by reverb-drenched production, should not obscure the vocals.



We like the Pale Saints because their dreaminess never got in the way of sustaining the vocals clarity, he says, adding that the members of Peonies listen to everything from shoegaze music, post-punk, to jangle pop.



Lyrically, the band aims to keep things simple, utilizing what they consider to be a naive perspective when looking at everyday things.



What is it about the day, Wednesday?, Jodi rhetorically asks, using the main point of the song Wednesday as example. On Marmalade, we try to sing about riding bicycles, and on Summer, we try to tell a tale about someone who isnt yet able to swim. The songs contain plenty of childlike humor, explains Jodi



The band does try to inject some seriousness through the tracks Runaway, Wishlost/ Falling, and Whispering  the last of which is the bands favorite song as a collective.



With that last song, we try to sing about the differences between [Indonesians] and how those differences can be a great thing.



For the band, the goal is introduce their music to even more people, with the hope that it will make them even better at their craft.



A year is certainly a short time to be in existence. But as a young band, we feel like there are already so many things weve learned and want to continue learning about.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7 2016

State-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina has stepped up its overseas expansion in upstream projects with the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russias Rosneft oil company.



The two companies agreed earlier this week to soon sign a legally binding document that will allow Pertamina a 20 percent stake in Rosnefts project on the northern tip of the Chayvo field on Sakhalin Island in Russia.



The project is cited to have a maximum production capacity of 1.5 million tons of oil per year starting from 2017, as it has a reserve of around 15 million tons of oil and 13 billion cubic meters of gas, according to Rosnefts official website.



The two companies also signed on Tuesday an MoU to allow Pertamina to hold a 37.5 percent stake in Rosnefts Russkoye field in Tazovsky district. Russkoye is one of the largest fields in Russia with recoverable reserves estimated at 410 million tons of oil and 85 billion cubic meters of gas.



Pertamina president director Dwi Soetjipto expressed optimism about the two companies future cooperation and reaffirmed that it was a step forward in Pertaminas long-term plan to increase overseas oil and gas production.



The cooperation between Pertamina and Rosneft acts as a strategic milestone in our commitment to boost Pertamina as a global energy player and its chosen partners in Pertaminas international businesses. This will also help us reach our target of participating and operating upstream assets abroad, he said recently.



Pertamina has a long-term plan to boost its current oil and gas production to 1.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by 2025 from a measly 624,000 boepd in 2015.



Up to 473,000 boepd is set to be acquired from fields overseas. Pertamina currently has participating interests in several oil and gas fields in Algeria, Iraq and Malaysia, with a total production of 120,600 boepd in August.



Upstream is not the only sector Pertamina and Rosneft will partner up on. The two companies have signed a joint venture agreement for the construction of the Tuban refinery in East Java, Pertaminas first oil refinery to be built in 22 years.



Through the agreement, it was established that Pertamina will have a controlling stake of 55 percent while Rosneft will hold the remaining 45 percent.



The Tuban refinery will be completed by 2021 with a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). Though a final investment decision has yet to be reached, it is estimated the project will cost between US$12 million and $14 million.



I am confident that we will keep up the pace of the development of our partnership for the benefit of our companies and both countries, said Rosneft president director Igor Ivanovich Sechin.

----------------

To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 7 2016

Indonesia is at risk of missing the opportunity to benefit from its demographic dividend  which will peak in 2025 to 2030  as it struggles to keep its youth at school in order to produce a quality workforce.



A demographic dividend is when the proportion of people in the productive age group (15 to 64 years) reaches a maximum and the dependency ratio is at its lowest level.



It is perceived as a demographic bonus as the country in question will have the opportunity to utilize its working-age population and maximize its economic productivity.



The current composition of the countrys workforce may indicate that the demographic bonus could be more of a bust than a boon for the worlds fourth largest country.



According to 2014 data from the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), 42 percent of the workforce were elementary school graduates, while 26 percent had graduated junior high school and 22 percent finished senior high school. That leaves only 10 percent who graduated from university.



The current workforce composition will eventually phase out, but not until 2030, when Indonesia is also estimated to lose its demographic bonus.



The current composition will be reversed by 2030, when elementary school graduates will only make up 20 percent of our workforce, while high school graduates will jump to 30 percent, the Culture and Education Ministrys senior advisor on innovation and competitiveness, Ananto Kusuma Seta, told The Jakarta Post recently.



The current workforce is dominated by elementary school graduates because they were products of the past educational system, when it was only mandatory for people to attend school for six years as mandated in the six-year compulsory education program launched in 1984.



Junior high school graduates also make up a large percentage of the workforce because it was not until 1994 that the nine-year compulsory education program kicked off. A 12-year compulsory education program was launched just last year.



Though it has just kicked off, Ananto said he was optimistic that the country had enough time to ensure high school graduates would dominate the workforce by 2030.



We just have to make sure that the current middle school students continue to high school, he said. By 2030, we are hoping all Indonesian children have at least graduated from high school. Its not too late [to secure the demographic bonus], but we have to work hard.



The government has been working to bring dropouts back to school through the Indonesia Smart Card (KIP), a signature program from President Joko Jokowi Widodo, in order to ensure a quality future workforce.



Recent figures on school dropouts are not encouraging.



In the last four years, about 5 million children have dropped out of elementary school or decided not to continue to junior high school, according to the ministrys data.



The government is planning to encourage 4.1 million of them back to school, Ananto said. So that in the next 15 years, they will become productive, he said.



Many students dropped out because of economic and cultural reasons, Ananto said. In rural areas, he explained, boys were expected to help their parents in agriculture, while some girls were married off by their parents at a young age.



University of Indonesia (UI) economics and demography expert Mayling Oey-Gardiner said the current workforce composition was extremely alarming.



If we have the people but theyre not productive, how can we call it a bonus? A bonus is when we have quality and hardworking people, not when we have people, she said. Besides the low number of high school and university graduates, quality also left a lot to be desired, Mayling said.



According to the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), which assesses the skills of adults in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries aged 16 to 65 years, Indonesian adults performed abysmally.



In the survey, Indonesian university graduates aged 25 to 65, youth aged 20 to 24 without university degrees, youth aged 16 to 24 with high school certificates and those who only had primary school education scored the lowest in literacy among all 34 OECD countries.

______________________________

To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.

Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Kevindra.P.Soemantri (The Jakarta Post)  Sat, October 8 2016

When Bistecca, an Italian-American steakhouse, opened in the lobby of 18 Parc Tower C in Jakartas SCBD early August, it immediately generated hype in the city, especially after TV reality star Dorothy Wang paid a visit to Bistecca with her wealthy Indonesian friends and posted their photo on Instagram.

A month later, I was invited along with other media people to visit Bistecca. My alter ego as a citizen of urban society soared as I stepped into the must-eat-at place for Jakartans. The very first thing I noticed was the similarity of the facade to the trendy Caffe Milano. Once again I was intrigued. As the wooden and glass door opened and cold air blew from inside, as noise from the street gradually changed to the buzz of dining patrons and the clinking of plates and rushed waitresses dashed about, I knew I had entered Bistecca.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Grand Champion Ayrshire

Tears of joy flowed at ringside as the Grand Champion winner was announced by Judge Molly Sloan at the conclusion of the International Ayrshire Show. Margot Patagonie, the winning Aged Cow, was presented with Grand Champion honors. Patagonie was bred and owned by Ferme Margot of Ste Perpetue, Quebec.

After the traditional playing of the bagpipes, shouts of excitement echoed in the Coliseum as Patagonie circled the ring with her new Grand Champion banner.

Judge Sloan complimented the Ayrshire breeders on their Phenomenal quality from top to bottom, as well as upping their numbers by 22 percent, one of the biggest Ayrshire shows in years. With the conclusion of the 2016 World Ayrshire Conference taking place at World Dairy Expo, seats were full as Ayrshire enthusiasts packed the stands.

Meanwhile, Bear-Ayr Burdette Ray, winner of the 4-year-old class, was named Reserve Grand Champion. Ray was exhibited by Budjon Farms and Peter Vail of Lomira, Wis.

In the Junior Show, Cedarcut Burdette Clove Colata took Grand Champion honors for the second consecutive year. Colata, who was the winning 4-year-old cow, was bred and owned by Erin Curtis-Szalach of Cazenovia, N.Y. No newcomer to the Grand Champion stage, Colata and Curtis-Szalach will once again shine beneath the spotlight at the Supreme Champion Junior Show.

Scapeland DB Sicily, owned by Dacey Anechiarico of Whiting, Vt., was named the Reserve Grand Champion of the Junior Show. She was also the winning Junior 3-year-old cow and Intermediate Champion of the Junior Show.

In the heifer show, Judge Sloan selected Woodman Farm Lochinvar Adele, the first-place Winter Heifer Calf, as her Junior Champion at the International Junior Ayrshire Show. Stephen and Tyler Woodman of Claremont, N.H. own Adele. Spring-Run Prime Deedee, the winning Summer Yearling Heifer, was presented with Reserve Junior Champion honors at the Junior Show, and is owned by Rebecca M Vales of Wooster, Ohio.

GVP Dreamer Gabriella-ET, a Spring Yearling Heifer, was announced as the Junior Champion Ayrshire and is owned by David and Linda Hanson and Palmyra Farm of Hagerstown, Md. Meanwhile, Woodman Farm Lochinvar Adele, was also presented with the Reserve Junior Champion award.

Ferme De La Plaine of Ste-Franscoise, Quebec, was given the Premier Breeder award while Vieux Village Florent Foley, Piopolis, Quebec took home the Premier Exhibitor award.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8 2016

In an effort to maintain the stability of cement prices, the government is preparing a regulation to curb the aggressive expansion of cement producers feared to trigger oversupply.

Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said his side was formulating a ministerial regulation that would stipulate a moratorium on the issuance of permits for new cement factories.

Weve been talking about the moratorium [policy] as well as some other ways to accommodate existing [cement] oversupply, he told reporters recently.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8, 2016

In an effort to maintain the stability of cement prices, the government is preparing a regulation to curb the aggressive expansion of cement producers feared to trigger oversupply.

Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said his side was formulating a ministerial regulation that would stipulate a moratorium on the issuance of permits for new cement factories.

Weve been talking about the moratorium [policy] as well as some other ways to accommodate existing [cement] oversupply, he told reporters recently.

The ministrys director general for chemicals, textile and miscellaneous industry, Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono, has also confirmed the proposed regulation.

God willing, he said, when asked whether the regulation would be issued this year.

Sigit said the regulation would also include tougher requirements for opening new factories, including the availability of advanced production technology and the implementation of environmentally friendly practices.

The country saw a slight increase in nationwide cement sales of 1.6 percent to 61 million tons last year, way below the industrys heyday in 2012 when sales had grown 14.5 percent, data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) shows.

The robust growth then attracted more producers from abroad to tap into the huge market. The number of cement producers in Indonesia surged to 19 this year from only nine in 2012.

Total annual production capacity has nearly doubled from 59.3 million tons in 2012 to 92.7 million tons this year, while demand is predicted to only reach up to 65 million tons, creating excessive production capacity by 27.7 million tons.

This really concerns industry players as sales continue to decrease every year, ASI chairman Widodo Santoso said.

Widodo urged the government to implement the moratorium immediately. If demand stabilizes, the government can lift the moratorium in the future.

As a result of the overcapacity, major players, such as state-run Semen Indonesia (SI) and privately owned Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, have inevitably seen their sales performance slow.

SI, the countrys top cement producer, booked 1.19 percent sales volume growth during the first semester, while Indocement, the second biggest, saw sales volume down by 2.3 percent.

SI corporate secretary Agung Wiharto said the firm supported the governments plan to put the brakes on expansion to minimize the current price war.

In times of oversupply, firms compete to offer the lowest price. This is not healthy because the bigger producers can eat the smaller ones, he said over the phone.

To manage excessive production, firms such as SI have been trying to increase exports to the Maldives, Taiwan and Timor Leste as well as increase the local production of precast concrete, which uses cement as raw material.

SI, however, reported that its export proportion only stood at between 2 and 3 percent from overall sales, as domestic demand for cement is still vast, only with tighter competition.

Data from Indocement, meanwhile, shows that during the first six months of 2016, the volume of cement sales from all industry players dropped 0.13 percent in Java and 10.79 percent year-to-date (ytd) in Kalimantan, unlike eastern region demand, which grew, with Sulawesi leading at 21.37 percent followed by eastern Indonesia at 18.31 percent.

Minister Airlangga also urges local firms to expand production in eastern Indonesia, where supply is still low.

Chinese cement maker Conch has built a factory with 6 million capacity in West Papua. We need to appreciate this because it wants to support infrastructure construction in the area at a lower price. The question is why dont our own state enterprises build factories there? he said.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin A. Kurniawan Ulung (The Jakarta Post)  Sat, October 8 2016

The hunt for good coffee is a never-ending adventure for die-hard devotees of the brew.

In Aceh, are coffee beans roasted with marijuana? was the question on the mind of comic writer and self-confessed coffee lover Beng Rahadian.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8, 2016

CD

News Desk

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo must issue a moratorium on the death penalty in the government's upcoming legal system reform package, Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) executive director Supriyadi Widodo said on Friday.

"President Jokowi could begin legal reform by implementing a moratorium on the death penalty and ask the [Attorney Generals Office] not to carry out executions until there is an improvement in the criminal justice system," he said as quoted by kompas.com.

As the most severe criminal punishment, the death penalty must have a different standard from other punishments, Supriyadi said.

"Guarantees of effective legal assistance, no torture, strong evidence standards and legal certainty in the context of the law must be guaranteed," he said.

Indonesia has been under international scrutiny since President Joko "Jokowi" Widodos administration executed 18 drug convicts in three rounds. Accusations of unfair trials have also marred Indonesia's image globally, Supriyadi noted.

"This can of course cause harm to Indonesia's credibility in the eyes of the international [community], which could lead to national stability," he said.

State Secretary Pratikno previously announced the government was preparing a legal reform package by involving input from the Law and Human Rights Ministry, Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, State Secretariat, as well as the office of the presidential staff.

Pratikno said the reform package would ensure a stronger foundation for legal certainty and push development. (liz/rin)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8 2016

A fire has damaged dozens of houses in Palmeriam subdistrict, East Jakarta, leaving 116 people homeless and requiring assistance.

About 30 buildings, occupied by 44 families, and some 20 cafes in the area were burned by the fire, which raged from just after midnight until around 4 a.m.

The victims are being accommodated at a student dormitory on Jl. Bunga, Palmeriam.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8, 2016

Along with the go-green concept, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta inaugurated the Sinar Mas Building at the universitys School of Biology on Saturday.

Built on more than 5,800 square meters of land in Padukuhan Sendowo, Sleman, the building adopted green architectural concepts for its construction.

We hope this partnership can contribute to strengthen UGMs research and development culture, which can later benefit all of society said Sinar Mas managing director G. Sulistiyanto.

Together with Sinar Mas board member Franky O. Widjaja, who is also Sinar Mas Agribusiness & Foods chairman, Sulistiyanto attended the inauguration of the UGM School of Biologys Sinar Mas Building by UGM rector Dwikorita Karnawati in Yogyakarta on Saturday.

CEO Sinar Mas Group Franky O. Widjaja, Sinar Mas Managing Director G. Sulistiyanto, and Chairman Barito Pacific Prajogo Pangestu attend the inauguration of the UGM School of Biologys Sinar Mas Building. (JP/Nezar Patria)

UGM deputy rector for human resources and assets, Budi Santoso Wignyosukarto, School of Biology dean Suwarno Hadisusanto, Gadjah Mada Alumni Family chairman Ganjar Pranowo, and UGM consultative assembly chairman Pratikno, as well as academics and representatives of private companies contributing to the development of the building, were also present in the event.

The five-story building has three classrooms and several research facilities, including plant physiology, plant microtechnics, plant taxonomy, general biology and teaching laboratories. It is also equipped with a library and a monitoring room.

The groundbreaking ceremony, which marked the start of building construction, was conducted on June 13, 2015.

Sulistiyanto said the Sinar Mas Building development was in line with the government's vision, having on several occasions encouraged the private sector to play a greater role in research.

One of patterns we have chosen is through a partnership with universities that have a long tradition of research, such as UGM, he said. The development of the Sinar Mas Building was not the companys first partnership with UGM, he went on.

Sinar Mas Building adopts green architectural concepts for its construction.(JP/Nezar Patria)

Through the Eka Tjipta Foundation, supported by Asia Pulp & Paper Sinar Mas (APP), Sinar Mas inaugurated an education partnership with UGMs School of Forestry on March 7, 2011. It included the development of a forestry education program and the inauguration of a graduate and post-graduate building.

Through the foundation, Sinar Mas has provided 114 scholarships for UGM students.

On Oct. 3, Sinar Mas launched a similar initiative with the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) by inaugurating the Sinar Mas Auditorium in Sukolilo, Surabaya, East Java. The auditorium complements the education facilities at ITS School of Industrial Engineering.

Franky said countries that were strong in research and development had first developed a strong partnership between their universities and the private sector.

We are trying to adopt a similar concept. Hopefully, this will produce eco-technopreneurs and science and technology experts who have a pro-environment, conservation mindset, from which they can make findings useful for society, said Franky.

Based on this, he said, every Sinar Mas-built building, with rooms named after institutions contributing to their development, would be built on the green-building concept with standards compliant with those of the Green Building Council Indonesia.

All aspects, from the architectural design, to materials, composition, energy and water supplies, and the arrangement of supporting facilities, are based on efficiency, said Franky.

It adopts an earthquake-resistant structure and provides adequate access for the disabled. (ebf)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8, 2016

Indonesia has officially offered Japan the opportunity to take part in the semi high-speed rail construction project connecting Jakarta to Surabaya in East Java, a senior minister said.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan delivered the official letter offering the project to the Japanese government during his working visit to Tokyo on Friday, according to a statement released by the ministry's office.

"Personally, I am sure Japanese technology is suitable for this project," he said in the statement released on Friday. The semi high-speed railway would have trains running between 180 and 200 kilometers per hour and would shorten the travel time between Jakarta and Surabaya to 3.5 hours, Luhut added.

The government planned a double track railway so that it could be utilized to support the transfer of containers in dry port between Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya.

Should Tokyo accept the offer to work on the project, Luhut further said he hoped that Japan would implement technology transfers with Indonesia and comply with the country's regulations that prioritized the use of Indonesian-made products. (rin)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8 2016

There is only a slim chance that domestic workers in the country will be free from various kinds of mistreatment if there is no legal umbrella to improve their protection, labor activists have said.

The Coalition for Protection of Domestic and Migrant Workers (KA-PPRTBM) said both the government and the House of Representatives had made initiatives to provide regulations to safeguard domestic workers nationwide, but moves were lacking to make their commitments a reality.

KA-PPRTBM secretary general Agus Toniman said it had been five years since then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland, that Indonesia would support the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 189 on decent work for domestic workers. There had been no concrete action to ratify it so far.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post) Mataram  Sat, October 8 2016

The University of Mataram (Unram), in collaboration with Massey University of New Zealand, will develop quality horticulture and cow farming in the province of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

The horticulture project is being developed in North Lombok regency while the cow breeding and livestock food production project is in Dompu regency.

Both Unram and Massey University have been cooperating in the fields of agriculture and husbandry.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8 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 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.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Muninggar Sri Saraswati (The Jakarta Post) Perth, Australia  Sat, October 8 2016

As Indonesia gears up for nationwide regional elections next year, the National Police have announced that they will monitor social media during the electoral campaign periods. The initiative has received support from the General Elections Commission (KPU), Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), House of Representatives (DPR) members, a number of NGOs, IT pundits and even Twitter.

The main goal of the initiative is to control possible hate speech being expressed and distributed through the new media. The prominent role of social media in Indonesias electoral politics can be traced back from the use of Facebook and Twitter in the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election and the 2014 presidential election.

A lack of regulation on the use of social media in electoral politics has been widely blamed for the wild proliferation of campaign messages deemed to be provocative and libelous concerning ethnicity, race and religion (SARA) in both elections. Although the police plan to impose the Criminal Code and the Electronic Information and Transaction Law on perpetrators of hate speech in the upcoming regional elections, surveillance of social media remains largely unregulated.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8, 2016

The Jakarta gubernatorial race has become dangerously sectarian after Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent, was accused of defaming the Quran, the holy book of Islam, the religion professed by a majority of Jakartans.



The governor, who attended Islamic schools for nine years, has denied the accusation, saying that he meant to criticize the people who abused the Quran to attack him and not the holy book itself.



But a number of Muslim groups, including Muhammadiyah, the nations second largest Islamic organization, rejected his clarification and decided to report him to the Jakarta Police to have him charged with blasphemy.



The uproar broke out after a video showing Ahok speaking to a group of fishermen in Thousand Islands regency went viral on social media.



In the video, Ahok told the fishermen that they did not have to vote for him in the election because his programs would continue regardless of the result of next years election.



He said it would even be fine with him if any in the audience believed that voting for a non-Muslim like him was forbidden by their religion.



Dont believe those people. It is possible that deep in [your] heart you cannot vote for me. [You are] deceived [by other people] using Al-Maidah 51 and other things, he said, referring to a verse in the Quran used by some Muslims to discourage people from supporting him.



According to the English translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the verse in question reads: O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.



The verse has long been a subject of debate among Muslim scholars. Some of them have argued that the verse should not be taken literally, as it usually is, but contextually.



Muslim scholar Akhmad Sahal, for example, has argued that the verse was revealed to the prophet during a time of war and it should be understood in that context.



Nevertheless, some preachers in the capital have been using the verse as scriptural grounds to ban Muslims from electing a non-Muslim, specifically Ahok in this election.



In his defense, Ahok compared his statements to Muslims criticism of the Islamic State (IS) group, the ultra-radical terrorist movement that has shocked the world with its extreme interpretation of the Quran and prophetic traditions.



Is IS [trying to] fool us by using different verses [from the Quran]? It clearly is. So, if we are saying that [members of] IS are deviants because they are [trying to] fool us with verses from the Quran, are we insulting the Quran? the governor said as quoted by Antara News Agency on Friday.



Those who have insulted and defamed the Quran are the IS members. To me, those who are racist and cowards are the ones who insulted the Quran, he added.



A group calling itself the Forum Against Religious Defamation (FUPA) filed a police report against Ahok with the Jakarta Police on Friday.



We are protesting against Ahok, who insults Islam by saying that Al-Maidah is fooling [people], FUPA coordinator Syamsu Hilal Chaniago said.



Before FUPA, another group also filed similar reports with the National Police. Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the force would study the reports.



Zainut Tauhid Saadi, vice chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), has called on Ahok to apologize for his statements, saying that it is unethical for the governor to comment on other peoples faiths.



Ahoks nomination in the Jakarta gubernatorial race is a historic moment in the nations political history. He has gained significant support from the citys Muslim constituents despite his race and religion.



A survey released on Friday by the Jakarta-based Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) showed that religious sentiments surrounding the election had to some degree influenced public opinion on the poll.



The number of Muslim voters who believe a non-Muslim cannot lead a Muslim community had increased to 55 percent in September, up from 40 percent in March, according to the survey.



Muslim voters in Jakarta account for 90 percent of more than 7 million registered voters.

___________________________



To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News.

For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8 2016

The Jakarta gubernatorial race has become dangerously sectarian after Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent, was accused of defaming the Quran, the holy book of Islam, the religion professed by a majority of Jakartans.



The governor, who attended Islamic schools for nine years, has denied the accusation, saying that he meant to criticize the people who abused the Quran to attack him and not the holy book itself.



But a number of Muslim groups, including Muhammadiyah, the nations second largest Islamic organization, rejected his clarification and decided to report him to the Jakarta Police to have him charged with blasphemy.



The uproar broke out after a video showing Ahok speaking to a group of fishermen in Thousand Islands regency went viral on social media.



In the video, Ahok told the fishermen that they did not have to vote for him in the election because his programs would continue regardless of the result of next years election.



He said it would even be fine with him if any in the audience believed that voting for a non-Muslim like him was forbidden by their religion.



Dont believe those people. It is possible that deep in [your] heart you cannot vote for me. [You are] deceived [by other people] using Al-Maidah 51 and other things, he said, referring to a verse in the Quran used by some Muslims to discourage people from supporting him.



According to the English translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the verse in question reads: O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.



The verse has long been a subject of debate among Muslim scholars. Some of them have argued that the verse should not be taken literally, as it usually is, but contextually.



Muslim scholar Akhmad Sahal, for example, has argued that the verse was revealed to the prophet during a time of war and it should be understood in that context.



Nevertheless, some preachers in the capital have been using the verse as scriptural grounds to ban Muslims from electing a non-Muslim, specifically Ahok in this election.



In his defense, Ahok compared his statements to Muslims criticism of the Islamic State (IS) group, the ultra-radical terrorist movement that has shocked the world with its extreme interpretation of the Quran and prophetic traditions.



Is IS [trying to] fool us by using different verses [from the Quran]? It clearly is. So, if we are saying that [members of] IS are deviants because they are [trying to] fool us with verses from the Quran, are we insulting the Quran? the governor said as quoted by Antara News Agency on Friday.



Those who have insulted and defamed the Quran are the IS members. To me, those who are racist and cowards are the ones who insulted the Quran, he added.



A group calling itself the Forum Against Religious Defamation (FUPA) filed a police report against Ahok with the Jakarta Police on Friday.



We are protesting against Ahok, who insults Islam by saying that Al-Maidah is fooling [people], FUPA coordinator Syamsu Hilal Chaniago said.



Before FUPA, another group also filed similar reports with the National Police. Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the force would study the reports.



Zainut Tauhid Saadi, vice chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), has called on Ahok to apologize for his statements, saying that it is unethical for the governor to comment on other peoples faiths.



Ahoks nomination in the Jakarta gubernatorial race is a historic moment in the nations political history. He has gained significant support from the citys Muslim constituents despite his race and religion.



A survey released on Friday by the Jakarta-based Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) showed that religious sentiments surrounding the election had to some degree influenced public opinion on the poll.



The number of Muslim voters who believe a non-Muslim cannot lead a Muslim community had increased to 55 percent in September, up from 40 percent in March, according to the survey.

Muslim voters in Jakarta account for 90 percent of more than 7 million registered voters.

__________________________

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Semarang  Sat, October 8, 2016

Semarang Police have ordered the Elang Team, comprising of 45 policemen, to shoot violent motorcycle thieves (begal) caught in the act.

Semarang Police chief Sr. Comr. Abiyoso Seno Aji said Friday his subordinates would not hesitate to shoot the thieves.

We try verbal persuasion, if they obey, praise the Lord, but if they insist on committing crimes, I would be glad to reduce the Semarang population, Abiyoso said.

Elang Team will work 24 hours, seven days a week. They will take turns in shifts. I myself will check the field if I dont have any sudden meetings, he said.

He said the capacity of the police detention center had been overloaded. The maximum number should have been 80 detainees but now we have more than 100 detainees, Abiyoso said.

He promised to speed up investigations so the detainees could move to the prosecutors' office detention center. We know, prisons everywhere are overcrowded, he went on.

There have been reports on violent thieves operating on the streets of Semarang lately. Last month, six alleged thieves were in an altercation with locals who mobbed them after one of the suspects allegedly attacked a local with a machete, nearly decapitating the victims arm. (evi)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8, 2016

Despite the governments wish to see more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) join the tax amnesty bandwagon, encouraging them to participate has not been as easy as falling off a log.



The government has turned its sights to SMEs following the end of tax amnestys first phase on Sept. 30.



According to data, SMEs accounted for less than 20 percent of the total number of asset declaration statements and less than 5 percent of the total amount of penalty or redemption payments during the first phase.



Their low involvement is expected to change in the second and third phases, as stated recently by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. We will continue familiarizing them with it and hope they will dominate the program.



An SME is defined as an individual or a business entity with an annual turnover of Rp 4.8 billion (US$369,600) or lower.



The penalty rates  for both declaration and repatriation  are set at 0.5 percent for SMEs with total assets of Rp 10 billion and 2 percent for those with total assets above Rp 10 billion.



Unlike non-SME participants that see rates climb higher entering the second and third phases of the amnesty program, the rates for SMEs remain flat throughout all three periods.



However, businesspeople claim that they are not yet ready and need more than flat rates to get them to apply for the pardon. Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairwoman for SMEs Nina Tursinah said they needed assistance in several fields, such as completing the required paperwork.



If theres no one assisting them, some mistakes may occur as shown in several cases in which they paid higher redemption payments, she said on the sidelines of an event held by the Taxation Directorate General on Thursday.



The higher rates were charged because the SMEs were not aware of special rates available to them.



Apindo recommended the tax office hold information dissemination events for SMEs, using simple and easy explanations, so that the government could inch closer to its target.



Indonesia currently has around 55 million SMEs across the archipelago. Approximately 90 percent are micro scale businesses, according to Apindo.

(-/-)



As previously reported, the government expects to obtain at least Rp 165 trillion in penalty payments to cover this years state budget deficit. Data from the tax office showed that as of Friday afternoon, the penalties had reached Rp 93 trillion, 56.4 percent of the target.



Going forward, the overall redemption payment realization will be insignificant, including from SMEs because of the low rates applied to them, said Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA) executive director Yustinus Prastowo.



An additional Rp 10 trillion to Rp 15 trillion of penalty payments will already be good, he said.



He argued that the government should prepare specific strategies to lure SMEs to the program, for example by offering incentives.



Such incentives are on the minds of around 28,000 micro, small and medium enterprises that currently work with retail chain Transmart Carrefour as suppliers.



For example, they could get tax reductions in the future if they

join the program now, Transmart Carrefour corporate communications general manager Satria Hamid said.



Meanwhile, the Taxation Directorate General has said it will issue a regulation to ease procedures for SMEs.



Among things to be included is a provision that SMEs will be allowed to fill out amnesty forms by hand and pool the documents at a business association, with the latter submitting the paperwork to the tax office.

___________________________



To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News.

For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8 2016

Despite the governments wish to see more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) join the tax amnesty bandwagon, encouraging them to participate has not been as easy as falling off a log.

The government has turned its sights to SMEs following the end of tax amnestys first phase on Sept. 30.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 8, 2016

The Foreign Ministry handed over three Indonesian hostages freed by the notorious Abu Sayyaf group to their respective families on Friday afternoon.

The three sailors are Ferry Arifin from Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Edi Suryono and Muhammad Mahbrur Dahri from South Sulawesi. The three men were crew members of tugboat Charles that were taken hostage by the militants on June 21.

The handover ceremony held at the ministry in Jakarta on Friday was also witnessed by representatives of PT. Rusianto Bersaudara, the owner of the tugboat, according to a statement from the ministry.

"This is a result of collaboration between all government elements. Even though [we worked] quietly, the government worked continuously to secure the release of the sailors," Retno said in the statement.

The three hostages and the company thanked the government while also urging them to speed up securing the release of the two sailors that remain in captivity.

Retno said the government was pushing efforts to secure the release of the two sailors under the coordination of the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister, noting that efforts were being carried to ensure a safe release.

The government also urged companies to comply with the safe shipping corridors that had been agreed to under the Trilateral Agreement between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. The corridors are meant to ease the supervision of security authorities from the three countries, she added. (rin)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Sat, October 8 2016

India and China have agreed to jointly combat terrorism. The two Asian giant economies need to strongly support one another to fight the deadly terrorism that has been spreading across Asia with particular emphasis on South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia.

China needs to realize that positive engagement with India will only benefit the huge populations of both countries but also help a vast section of Asia get out of the shackles of home-grown terrorism.

China herself is facing the challenges of deadly terrorism in the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province; off course the atrocities committed against the local, ethnic Uighur communities by the Chinese state cannot be underestimated as a contributing factor toward such rise of regional terrorism.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Sat, October 8 2016

The opinion piece published by The Jakarta Post, which quoted from the New York Times article Poisonous Smoke in Darfur from Oct. 5, contains allegations which constitute a smear campaign to tarnish the image of Sudan.

The utterly unfounded report has been released at a time of official declaration, nationally and regionally, of the end of conflict in Darfur and as the People of Sudan celebrate the conclusion of the tenure of the Darfur Transitional Authority, which had been mandated since 2011 with the implementation of Doha Peace Agreement.

The United Nations African Union Hybrid Force in Darfur (UNAMID) has been deployed in the region since 2007 and it comprises 17,500 troops and personnel to monitor all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in the entire region of Darfur. So far and during this year it has submitted around five reports to the Security Council of the United Nations, none of these included a single reference to such allegations that Amnesty International stands to clarify.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
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.
Lucy Lopez has not been able to cook in her apartment for 39 days. Like the other residents of 200 apartments at 131 Broome St., shes been without gas service all that time. The stove-top is out of commission and hot plates handed out by building management are no substitute.

Last night, exasperated tenants of the Grand Street Guild Apartments, a Section 8 complex, met with a representative from the management company. Liaisons from the offices of several elected representatives were also in attendance.

The gas was shut off in August, after a leak was detected during an inspection in the buildings laundry room. According to tenants, management has said the repairs are taking so long because workers have had trouble gaining access to some apartments. Three of six gas lines have finally been repaired, but its anyones guess how long it will take to restore service to the entire building.

In an interview today, Tenant Association President Daisy Paez told us that residents, have nowhere to cook. Theyre of a culture that likes to cook big pots of rice and beans, have food cooking all day. Without use of their stoves, a lot of people in the building are ordering takeout and eating in restaurants. Its costing them a lot of money, she said.

After Paez asked the building owner (a not-for-profit controlled by the Archdiocese of New York) to compensate tenants, $200 rebates were offered. Residents last night made it clear the offer is inadequate. Many of them are thinking of filing lawsuits.

During the meeting, Paez said the landlord could be doing a lot more to coordinate with tenants and to expedite the repairs. If this was a non-minority complex, she told tenants, you people would not have to put up with this. The co-ops across the street (meaning the market-rate Seward Park Cooperative) would never put up with this. Im sorry to say it.

The elected officials wrote an Oct. 4 letter to Wavecrest Management, which operates the complex, urging speedier repairs and more financial assistance for tenants. The letter was signed by State Sen. Daniel Squadron, Assemblywoman Alice Cancel, City Council member Margaret Chin, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

One resident last night, Dashia Imperiale, called on the elected representatives to do more. How are you going to follow up on this letter?, she asked. Imperiale said Maloney in particular should be putting pressure on the owner, since the building receives federal subsidies. Cancels representative, Monica Guardiola, told tenants that her office has made several attempts to contact the Archdiocese. There has been no response.

This building, 131 Broome St., has a checkered past. Last New Years Eve, 25-year-old Stephen Hewett-Brown was crushed by a malfunctioning elevator. Residents say its still common for elevators to break down and that, months after the tragedy, repairs are still being made.

We have reached out to Wavecrest Management for comment. This story will be updated if a representative from the company responds.
(front page, Socialist Workers Party statement)

Socialist Workers Party backs independence fight

Below is a message delivered by Alyson Kennedy, Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. president, at the Sept. 23 Grito de Lares celebration in Lares, Puerto Rico, in support of independence from U.S. colonial rule. Kennedy led a nine-day SWP fact-finding and solidarity visit to the island.

It is an honor to join you here today for the Grito de Lares. The Socialist Workers Party in the United States stands shoulder to shoulder with you and extends our solidarity to all those fighting for an end to U.S. colonial domination and for the independence of Puerto Rico.

The economic crisis that is battering Puerto Rican working people today is not of your making. It is part of something much larger, a world economic situation unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes. The disaster of unknown proportions that is looming over us all has come crashing down on you before many others, however, because of the colonial bondage in which you are held by the ruling families of U.S. capital.

Across the United States, as we go door to door talking with working people about this crisis, my party is urging everyone we talk with to join the campaign that is gaining strength every day to tell the US government: Free Oscar Lopez now! Because of their own experiences with the capitalist justice system, many workers in the United States can identify with Oscar and his fight for freedom. And today we are working with others to organize as many people as possible to go to Washington, D.C., Oct. 9 to demand the release of our brother Oscar.

On our return from Puerto Rico, we will tell workers and farmers in the United States what we have learned from your experiences and struggles. The fight to end Washingtons colonial domination of Puerto Rico is also in the interests of working people in the United States because we face a common enemy  the imperialist ruling class and its government.

For example, two weeks ago I was part of a rally of 5,000 coal miners in Washington, D.C., demanding the U.S. government live up to its commitments to guarantee miners pensions and health care benefits. As you here in Puerto Rico will understand well from your own experiences with similar multinational corporations, many coal companies in the U.S. have declared bankruptcy precisely to get rid of their health care and pension obligations to tens of thousands of retired miners, many of whom face serious illnesses like black lung because of their years of work in the mines.

We embrace the thousands of Puerto Ricans who have been forced to migrate to the United States because of the devastating crisis here. We will find ourselves fighting side by side, and they will help strengthen the solidarity between workers in both countries.

Unlike the Democratic and Republican candidates, the parties of the U.S. capitalist class, I am not here in Puerto Rico to seek votes in a U.S. election. We are here to offer solidarity. We are here to support your right to self-determination. We are here to join your protests against the U.S. fiscal control board and other struggles by workers and youth to defend jobs, wages, health care, education, and living standards.

We oppose efforts to make the Puerto Rican people pay the billions in debt to the wealthy bondholders. As the independence movement explains so well, the board shows the real face of colonial domination.

Revolutionary Cuba, which for more than half a century has defended its sovereignty and freedom in face of the mightiest empire in history, is a powerful example for us. It shows that when workers and farmers take political power out of the hands of the capitalist minority, we can use it to reorganize society in the interests of the vast majority, and against all odds, we can win.
(front page)

US imperialism faces quandary as bombing in Syria escalates

As Moscow and Damascus step up indiscriminate bombing of Aleppo, U.S. officials Oct. 3 formally suspended negotiations with the Russian government on relaunching a truce in the civil war in Syria. Reaching a deal with Moscow has been the central focus of Washingtons policy for months. The break, like the policy itself, reflects the weakness of U.S. imperialisms position in the region, and has sharpened debate within the U.S. ruling class over how to proceed.

Meanwhile, the horrific toll on Syrian workers and farmers continues to mount, as fighting escalates and all of the capitalist powers intervening in Syria  from Washington and Moscow to the governments of Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia  cold-bloodedly maneuver to advance their own interests.

A recording of a Sept. 22 meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and civilian opponents of the Bashar al-Assad regime points to the contradictions facing Washington.

The New York Times released excerpts in which Kerry complains that hes one of three people, four people in the administration who have all argued for use of force in Syria. I lost the argument.

Kerry points out the political limits to Washington using its massive military force in Syria. Weve been fighting in the region for 14 years, he says. A lot of Americans dont believe that we should be fighting and sending young Americans over to die in another country. Thats the problem.

The breakdown in talks has revived an internal discussion over giving U.S.-vetted Syrian rebels new weapons systems, the Wall Street Journal said Oct. 4. Or, Washington could give a green light to partners in the region, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to provide the rebels with more weapons, it added.

At the same time, Kerry said in Brussels Oct. 4 that the administration held out the possibility of once again working with Moscow. He said Washington was pursuing talks through the International Syria Support Group, which includes Moscow.

The Assad regime and allied forces  including Moscows warplanes, Iranian troops, Lebanese Hezbollah forces and Iraqi Shiite militias  have intensified their murderous offensive against government opponents in the eastern half of the city of Aleppo.

Targets of their bombing include hospitals, markets and residential areas. The M10 hospital in eastern Aleppo was completely destroyed Oct. 3 when it was bombed for the third time in six days.

The day before, another hospital that was built inside a cave was forced to close after being struck by bunker-buster bombs in an opposition-held part of the Hama region, south of Aleppo.

Part of the cease-fire deal that collapsed last month was that Washington and Moscow would coordinate attacks on Islamic State and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, until recently known as the Nusra Front and affiliated with al-Qaeda. But many of the opposition groups that Washington backs in Syria fight alongside Fatah al-Sham, and are increasingly driven to do so as they face the government offensive in Aleppo.

Washingtons policy is built on its inability to use its imperialist army in Syria. They instead press Moscow for a deal. Their unending wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have rendered U.S. imperialism weaker.

Ankara seeks greater role in war

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pushing ahead with plans to take control of a 1,930-square-mile security zone in northern Syria. Turkish troops and militias from the Free Syrian Army, backed by U.S. airstrikes, launched an offensive Oct. 2 on the town of Dabiq, held by Islamic State.

From the outset, the Turkish government has made clear its Operation Euphrates is aimed not only against Islamic State, but above all at preventing the Syrian Kurds from connecting the autonomous cantons that theyve gained control of in northern Syria.

Erdogan has also sought to improve relations with Moscow, a move that would give Ankara more leverage with Washington. He is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Oct. 10 in Istanbul.

Washington has sought to balance its relations with Ankara, a NATO member, and with the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which it counts on in combating Islamic State in Syria.

The Turkish parliament approved a one-year renewal of the governments mandate to deploy troops in Iraq and Syria Oct. 1. This comes as Washington, Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq prepare to launch a long-discussed offensive to drive Islamic State out of Mosul.

The Iraqi parliament voted Oct. 4 to reject extending permission for Turkeys 2,000 troops to remain in northern Iraq, some just nine miles northeast of Mosul. While Ankaras main goal there is to target forces of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Erdogan has also raised participating in the assault on Mosul alongside Sunni militias his troops have trained. We will play a role in the Mosul liberation operation and no one can prevent us from participating, he said Oct. 1.

I fear the Turkish adventure could turn into a regional war, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told Iraqi state TV Oct. 5.





Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home




Washingtons pivot to Asia hits snag with new Philippine regime

As part of the Barack Obama administrations pivot to Asia to counter the growing power of China, Washington has been expanding its air, naval and military forces in the Pacific. This includes re-establishing a military presence in the Philippines, a former colony and strategic ally. But this part of the pivot has become less dependable since the May election of President Rodrigo Duterte, whose politics are marked by nationalist and anti-American demagogy.

At the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Laos, Duterte called Obama a son of a bitch  for which he later apologized  and a few days later announced he was canceling any future joint naval patrols with Washington in the South China Sea.

Philippines Pivots Away from the US and Americas Pacific Pivot Is Sinking, noted headlines in the Sept. 14 and 19 Financial Times. China is now in power, and they have military superiority in the region, Duterte said that week.

Duterte was elected May 9, getting the highest total with 38 percent of the vote. Running as the anti-establishment candidate, he mixed profanity-laced nationalist speeches, promises to ease poverty and a pledge to use violence and murder to end rising crime and drug trafficking.

Duterte has long-standing relations with Stalinist political forces in the Philippines. He is backed by the leftist Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), which has accepted posts in the government.

Duterte presided over hundreds of anti-crime killings during his years as mayor of Davao.

He has said that if the Supreme Court or anyone else seeks to curtail his murderous war against drug-induced crime, he will impose martial law. But he intends no inroads against capitalist rule.

Business friendly

By assuring there is peace and order, Carlos Dominguez, Dutertes governmental finance officer, told Bloomberg News, he has been business friendly.

Dominguez, who owns the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao, said the government will work to assure business regulations are not restrictive.

The Philippines, a colony of Spain, was seized by emerging U.S. imperialism in 1898. Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos were killed over the next few years resisting U.S. military occupation. Following independence in 1946, Washington maintained its military presence and backed a succession of semicolonial regimes, including the brutal Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship that ruled for over two decades, most under martial law.

The U.S. rulers viewed supremacy in Asia and the Pacific as the spoils of its bloody victory over Japan in the second worldwide imperialist war. It established military bases throughout the area, patrolled by the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Next to Hawaii, home of the Pacific Command, the Philippines played a pivotal role. The Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Base there were the largest U.S. bases outside its borders. Both were logistical hubs for Washingtons wars in Korea, Vietnam and the first Iraq War.

Under the impact of its defeat in Vietnam, Washingtons ability to control the region against anti-colonial revolts weakened. In the Philippines a mass rebellion toppled Marcos in 1986. Sustained popular protests continued against the U.S. military bases, and in 1991 the Philippine Senate refused to ratify a new treaty for their lease. Washington was ordered to leave the next year. As Chinas economy and reach has grown, Beijing began building military bases on reefs throughout the South China Sea, including off the Philippine coast.

In response, Washington has sought to shift the weight of its armed forces to the Pacific, opening new bases, increasing military exercises in the region and positioning 60 percent of its naval warships there by 2020. Countering Beijing in the South China Sea has been a centerpiece of Washingtons course.

Since 2002, some 500 U.S. troops have been stationed in the southern Philippines, conducting operations against Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist terrorist group. Another 6,000 U.S. military personnel have been engaged in ongoing training exercises. U.S. naval visits have increased.

In January, the Philippines began implementing a military pact that would allow thousands of U.S. troops and military equipment to be stationed at Philippine bases, opening the way for Washington to re-establish a large-scale military presence. In March the two countries began joint naval patrols in the South China Sea.

But Duterte says that he intends to pursue an independent foreign policy. While abiding by Manilas treaties with Washington, he wants to open alliances with Beijing and Moscow as well. The Philippines is not a vassal state. We have long ceased to be a colony of the United States, he said Sept. 5.

Duterte announced Sept. 12 that he wants U.S. forces to withdraw from the southern Philippines. And as joint military exercises were preparing to get underway in early October, he said that they would be the last, because China does not want them.

War on drugs targets workers

A hallmark of Dutertes election campaign was the pledge to wage a war on drug sellers and users. Do your duty, and if in the process you kill, he told police officers July 1, the day after his inauguration, I will protect you.

Since then, over 3,500 people have been murdered by police or police-organized vigilantes in this war on drugs. Some 20,000 have been arrested, cramming the countrys already grossly overcrowded jails. Those targeted in this campaign are overwhelmingly working people.

In this atmosphere, seven union leaders and activists were killed in vigilante murders in September.

Following his inauguration, Dutertes government declared a cease-fire and opened negotiations with the Communist Party of the Philippines and the two main armed organizations fighting for the rights of Filipino Muslims, known as Moros, in the south. The armed wing of the Maoist CP, the New Peoples Army, is reported to have dwindled to less than 4,000 from 26,000 in the 1980s. Its activity today centers on assassination, extortion and kidnapping in parts of the countryside.

Duterte has included figures associated with the CP in his cabinet, saying he wants an inclusive government. The CP has praised him for standing up to Washington. It has also backed his anti-crime campaign.





Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home




(feature article)

NJ train crash shows need for bigger crews, workers control

The New Jersey Transit train crash in its Hoboken station Sept. 29 that killed one person and injured more than 100 was not the first sign of serious problems at the railroad. There have been 160 NJ Transit accidents since 2011.

The capitalist news media has printed reams of speculation to direct blame toward train engineer Thomas Gallagher. Was the train going faster than the 10 mph speed limit in the terminal? Did the engineer have a health problem? A blood test rapidly confirmed that Gallagher was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Some papers publicized unsubstantiated claims that the passenger train was traveling at 30 mph. But the train was equipped with a cab signal that automatically applies the emergency brakes if it exceeds 19 mph in the terminal. Gallagher has told investigators that the last thing he remembers before the crash is entering the terminal at 10 mph.

New Jersey Transit bosses disregard of elementary safety  from running trains with only the engineer in the locomotive cab to refusal to carry out essential maintenance  is responsible for a disaster that was waiting to happen, Jacob Perasso, Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. Senate in New York, wrote in an Oct. 4 letter of solidarity to Gallaghers union, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Perasso is a freight rail conductor and member of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers union. While there have been reports of the deteriorating condition of New Jersey Transit trains and rail infrastructure  even one of the black box event recorders recovered was broken  there has been almost no discussion on crew size or union control of safety. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

Decades ago, it was standard to have a helper in the locomotive or control cab alongside the engineer on both passenger and freight trains. But in the drive for profits at private railroads and to cut costs at government-owned ones, bosses have pushed back the unions and slashed crew sizes.

The facts show disasters like the one in Hoboken are preventable, along with thousands of other on-the-job deaths that take place in industries across the country, Perasso wrote. Increasing the crew size and having an assistant engineer or conductor ride at the controls with the engineer would add greatly to the safety of train crews and passengers.

All the main public transport systems in the New York area have deteriorating infrastructure. Bloomberg News reported Jan. 6 that New Jersey Transit trains are breaking down more frequently due to lack of maintenance. According to the New Jersey Star Ledger, Gov. Chris Christie has put 222 transit projects on hold  including track rehabilitation, bridge and tunnel repair, improved signals and rail car overhaul  to narrow the states budget deficit.

The Federal Railroad Administration conducted a safety audit of NJ Transit earlier this year after an uptick in incidents, finding dozens of violations, reported the Wall Street Journal. NJ Transit  the third busiest commuter line in the country  paid $70,000 in fines for safety violations in 2015.

Instead of a larger crew, which would cut into the profits, the bosses Association of American Railroads says installing a system known as positive train control, which would automatically slow down trains that go over speed restrictions, is safety enough.

However, they delay putting the government-mandated PTC on their tracks, saying its too expensive. The government has granted an extension on installing PTC, now requiring completion by the end of 2018.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen are backing a proposed minimum crew law. In the July issue of their newspaper, the union explains that while PTC provides an additional level of safety, the new technology makes safety worse if it is used to cut crew sizes.

We must fight for workers control over conditions on the jobs, Perasso wrote. We are the ones who can enforce safety for ourselves, our passengers and those who live along the tracks we run on.
Oscar Lopez: Join fight for Puerto Rican independence!

A letter from Oscar Lopez Rivera  jailed in the U.S. for more than 35 years for fighting for independence for Puerto Rico  was read by his daughter Clarisa at a Sept. 24 program at New Yorks El Museo del Barrio, where longtimeRafael Cancel Miranda was the featured speaker. Theprints the slightly abbreviated letter below. Subheadings are by the. Cancel Miranda was one of five Puerto Rican Nationalists who were imprisoned in the 1950s for carrying out armed protests in Washington, D.C., to bring attention to U.S. colonial rule over the island.

Born in Puerto Rico, Lopez moved to Chicago when he was 14 years old and was later drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Vietnam. He grew to oppose the war and joined the fight to win freedom for the five Nationalists and independence for Puerto Rico. He was arrested in 1981 and railroaded to jail on frame-up charges of seditious conspiracy. Despite more than 12 years in solitary confinement and being required to report to prison authorities every two hours during the day, the U.S. government has been unable to break Lopezs spirit or opposition to U.S. colonial rule.





It is an honor and a privilege for me to share with you what Rafael Cancel Miranda means to me and how he has influenced my life. When I came home from Vietnam I felt the need to search for a transformative path in order to find new meaning and purpose in my life. It was a time when the Puerto Rican youth were talking about Puerto Rican independence and that we should get involved and do something about it.

I used to go every Saturday to get a haircut and I heard the barbers and another client talking about Puerto Rican independence and the five political prisoners who were in federal prisons. They caught my attention. Up to that moment I knew nothing about the Five  Lolita Lebron, Irving Flores, Andres Figueroa Cordero, Rafael Cancel Miranda and Oscar Collazo Lopez. The gentleman who was explaining what was going on was a Nationalist who often made the rounds where young people were hanging out. He would talk to us about them and ask us to get involved in the struggle. And that was how I started to take interest in the campaign for the freedom of our Five National Heroes.

Unjust and criminal Vietnam War

Because those were times when the issue of the opposition to the U.S. war in Vietnam was very prevalent, one of the first things I discovered about Rafael was that he had dared to refuse being drafted by the U.S. armed forces. He had done what I had refused to do. Because I didnt want to go to prison I allowed myself to be drafted by the U.S. Army and ended up participating in an unjust and criminal war.

I became an opponent of the war once I had experienced it and knew how devastating and horrible it was. But Rafael at a very young age had had the courage to stand strong on his patriotism, on his profound love for Puerto Rico, for freedom and justice and had opted to go to prison rather than be used as cannon fodder in the wars the U.S. government was waging. He was about the same age I was in 1967 when on the first of March 1954 he had decided along with Lolita, Andres and Irving to bring the issue of Puerto Ricos colonial status to the U.S. Congress to let the world know what the U.S. government was doing to Puerto Rico. And what he and his companeros did and the fact they were willing to sacrifice their lives to save our beloved homeland meant a great deal to me. They had set an example I chose to try to emulate.

Campaign for freedom

Soon the campaign for their freedom started to take shape in Chicago. The campaign was already gaining momentum in Puerto Rico and in New York City. When I started knocking on doors and talking with community residents I was surprised to find out that some of them remembered both cases  the 1950 attack on Blair House carried out by Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo Lopez and the 1954 one carried out by Lolita, Irving, Andres and Rafael  and that most of them thought they were no longer in prison. They showed interest and concern for their plight and responded positively to the campaign for their freedom. While working on their campaign one of the moments I remember most was when Rev. Jose A. Torres suggested we name our escuelita puertorriquena Rafael Cancel Miranda. And for a decade we were able to see the campaign gain more and more support until Sept. 10, 1979, when four of our Five National Heroes came home from prison.

During the 37 years that Rafael has been out of prison he has stood firm on his patriotism with his profound love for Puerto Rico, for freedom and justice, with his solidarity with the different factions of the independence movement and with Cuba, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, with the FMLN in El Salvador, with the Palestinian struggle, with the Zapatistas in Mexico et al. He is not only our national hero but also a real universal citizen.

Only 23 months after the release of our Five National Heroes I was sent to USP Leavenworth, the same prison where Oscar Collazo and Irving Flores had been released. But from the moment I walked into that gulag I knew I had the example of our Five National Heroes. And for over 35 years, especially Rafael has been my fountain of strength, hope and courage.

In 1986 I was sent to USP Marion, from where Rafael had been released. There were there several prisoners who knew him. They constantly asked me about him and how he was doing. The love and respect they had for him was immense and to this day I still run into prisoners who ask about him. I share with them photos, books and articles I have of Rafael. And when I have had the opportunity to talk with Rafael I tell them how he is doing.

I have seen Rafael only twice, in courts while on trial. We have not had many conversations. But there have been moments when I have heard him being interviewed. There is one interview that stands strong in my mind, it was by Radio Havana Cuba and he was accompanied by his beloved Angie. And I could sense in the middle of the night how much love Rafael has for our beloved homeland, but also for the struggle for a better and more just world.

I also heard an interview made in Nicaragua and again his words were the ones of the patriot who stands on his commitment to fight for freedom and justice and of the universal citizen who will never stop struggling for the independence and sovereignty of our beloved homeland, and supporting every organization that needs his support.

He is my mentor, my brother and my companero forever. Lets keep his example alive and lets honor him every day by making his example our legacy. Much love to all. Lets dare to struggle and lets dare to win.

En resistencia y lucha,

Oscar Lopez Rivera

Terre Haute, Indiana

Widespread support for Lopez in Puerto Rico
Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here

You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. Please check our main navigation pages for other content: 

Home Page
A history of political violence

BANGKOK: All victims of political violence, including marginalised members of society, killed in times of turmoil deserve as much recognition as the intellectuals slaughtered in the brutal bloodshed of Oct 6, 1976, say media and political activists.

politicsviolencemilitaryopinion

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 8 October 2016, 10:00AM

A Thammasat student hangs posters on campus to promote an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of the October 6, 1976 student massacre, in Bangkok. Photo: AFP

State-sponsored killings had taken place, and perpetrators walked free, before the crackdown on anti-dictatorial demonstrators of October 1976, they say.

Among those killed were 33 leaders of the Northern Farmers Confederation, state enterprise employees who were hanged and the thousands of people burnt to death in the notorious Red Drum Killings in the southern province of Patthalung believed to be associated with the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT).

More recently, 98 red-shirt protesters were killed during the 2010 military crackdown, but these small people do not receive the proper recognition, said Sarayut Thangprasert, a primary researcher of the now-defunct Peoples Information Centre on the April-May 2010 Crackdown.

The casualties from 2010 were seen as victims of politicians manipulation while the Oct 6, 1976, deaths were seen as innocent victims as they were intellectuals,' said the 47-year-old activist, who has been assisting the families of red-shirt victims in post-crackdown court cases and imprisonments.

Mr Sarayut, a native of the Northeast, recalled two other incidents in Kalasin province in which people were arbitrarily killed by the state in the 1960s and 1980s. Villagers in Na Ku district were beheaded by security personnel to intimidate potential CPT supporters. Another group of young villagers in Khaowong were assassinated on suspicion of providing supplies to communist rebels.

Pimsiri Petchnamrob, another activist traumatised by the military crackdown on red-shirt protesters some six years ago, said the quest for reconciliation simply hit the wall as Thailand lacked basic elements for transitional justice.

Pursuing justice, preventing impunity, providing financial assistance, uncovering the truth, remembering the victims, and reforming national human-rights legislation and law enforcement agencies have all lagged behind, said Ms Pimsiri.

Porntip Munkong, 28, a former lese majeste prisoner following her involvement in a play commemorating the 1976 massacre three years ago, said she truly respected and felt sad for the losses of so many young people. However, she says only when people from all corners of Thailand can relate to the loss of life that occurred that day will the issue not be forgotten.

Could we see the similarities of Oct 6, 1976 and those who died in the Krue Se and Tak Bai incidents? We may need to rewrite history so all those people are remembered as heroes, said Ms Porntip.

Tyrell Haberkorn, a human rights expert from Australian National University, said the stories of marginalised victims should be more widely documented.

Experiences from other societies show the quest for an answer usually comes from civil society and not government officials, she said.

In Indonesia, there has been a wide-ranging movement to uncover the truth about the 1965-1966 killings and the series of political imprisonments that followed. Part of this is the passage of time and another part is the change in government. It is over 50 years since the violence and close to 20 years since Suharto was pushed out of power, said Ms Haberkorn.

In the cases of Argentina and Brazil, the nullification of the amnesty laws that protected the dictatorships by the Inter-American Court for Human Rights has caused a transformation, both in terms of being able to bring criminal cases against the former dictators and also in terms of catalysing social and political questioning of the past and its meanings for later generations.

But an attempt to uncover the truth of the 1976 massacre was never recognised by the state.

A committee concluded a report in 2000 after interviewing eyewitnesses, examining extensive court evidence.

The report was presented to then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but there was no state response.

Thai society must decide how to deal with many forms of damage and injury resulting from the bloodbath of Oct 6. They must study the wider picture of historical events which lead to that morning, said the report.

Read orignial story here.
Chemicals found in dismembered body

BANGKOK: Certain chemicals have been found in the dismembered body found in a freezer during a raid on an alleged passport forgery racket in Bangkok late last month and the victim might have run a small print-media business, police said on Saturday (Oct 8).

crimedeathpolice

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 8 October 2016, 07:29PM

Police put on display guns and passports seized during a raid on a fake passport racket in Phra Khanong district, Bangkok, on Sept 23 when a dismembered male body was also discovered. Photo: Tourist Police

The investigators were waiting for details on the chemicals from the Department of Forensic Medicine at Chulalongkorn University and for a confirmation from the American embassy in Bangkok whether the victim was really Charles Edward Ditlefsen, metropolitan police commissioner Sanit Mahathavorn said.

He expected the answer from the embassy in a few weeks. If the identity of the body is verified, police can seek an arrest warrant for a suspect, Pol Lt Gen Sanit said.

He also said that the victim had probably run a small print media business but did not say how he came to the conclusion.

They are also investigating 10 aspects in the case and progress on some of them should be known next week.

The chopped male body was found in a freezer at a shophouse on Sukhumvit Rd Soi 56 in Bangkok where police raided an alleged passport forgery ring on Sept 23.

Three foreigners were arrested there. One of them, Herbert Craig La Fon, a 63-year-old American, shot and wounded a tourist policeman during the operation. He later admitted to dismembering the victim but denied killing him.

The others are also Americans: Aaron Thomas Gabel, 33, and James Douglas Eger, 66. Police suspected Mr Gabel of being involved with a spy agency.

Earlier, a team of Chulalongkorn University forensic specialists who conducted an autopsy found the victim, 179.5 centimetres tall, might have died of a lack of oxygen and/or use of drugs.

Investigators believe the man was probably killed in 2007, which was about the same time Mr La Fon allegedly bought the big freezer.

The Straits Times of Singapore reported on Tuesday (Oct 4) the case had drawn the interest of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible links with terrorists, citing sources.

It said the three men arrested in the house on Sept 23 had several fake passports, which were provided by a Pakistani national now jailed in Thailand.

The sources said 61-year-old Babu Rafiq, arrested in Bangkok in April last year, had been told to provide the fake passports by someone in Pakistan whom security agencies believe may be the rackets kingpin.

The Pakistanis involved in the fake passport ring are said to be linked to at least one individual, Atiq ur Rehman. He is suspected of having provided passports to the Al-Qaeda operatives who set off a series of coordinated bombings on commuter trains in Madrid in 2004, according to the report.

Read original story here.
Dive instructor confesses, charged for road rage incident

PHUKET: Police have filed three charges against a dive instructor after he angrily confronted another motorist in a road rage incident yesterday (Oct 7).

transportcrimepolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Saturday 8 October 2016, 05:37PM

The man confessed and apologised for the road rage incident, but was charged with three traffic violations anyway. photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

The man confessed and apologised for the road rage incident, but was charged with three traffic violations anyway. photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

The man confessed and apologised for the road rage incident, but was charged with three traffic violations anyway. photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

The dive instructor, who police declined to name, was charged with reckless driving, improper overtaking and dangerous driving and threatening others, Col Nikorn Somsuk of the Wichit Police confirmed to The Phuket News today.

Col Nikorn declined to name the man charged.

The man presented himself to Wichit Police Station this morning (Oct 8), Col Nikorn said, noting that the man had yet to be asked by police to do so.

The man presented himself to the police after a video called Please help me. Am I wrong? was posted on YouTube yesterday by Jirapong Yanasan. The video drew many angry comments from viewers. (See video here.)

The video shows the dive instructor in a gray Honda Accord attempting to cut into traffic while turning right from Muang Chaofa Rd onto Chao Fa West Rd from the right-hand lane in Wichit.

In the video, the dive instructor honks at Mr Jirapong and cuts across traffic to stop in front of Mr Jirapong to prevent him from driving away.

The instructor exits his car and approaches Mr Jirapong, who remains seated inside his car. Mr Jirapong rolls down his window and the instructor shouts at Mr Jirapong, Do you know who I am?

Mr Jirapong politely explains, You were in the wrong lane.

To which the angry instructor replies, Dont teach me the law before returning to his car and driving away.

The man apologised for his behaviour, which was a good thing to do, but he has been charged with three traffic violations anyway, Col Nikorn said.
French tourist, 27, found dead in Phuket hotel room

PHUKET: Police are waiting for doctors to confirm the cause of death of a 27-year-old French tourist who was found collapsed in his hotel room in Patong this morning (Oct 8).

patongdeathtourismpolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Saturday 8 October 2016, 06:43PM

The young French tourist checked in to the hotel on Thursday (Oct 6). Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Staff at the hotel on Nanai Rd notified police at 9:30am after the mans body was discovered.

At this stage we suspect them man died from food poisoning or a severe allergic reaction, said Lt Sirinath Cheuchutakulthong of the Patong Police.

The man, who checked in to the hotel on Thursday, was found naked, collapsed against a set of drawers in the rooms hallway, she explained.

Although his room was in disarray, there seemed to be no signs of a struggle, Lt Sirinath said.

The man*, from Montreuil, France, seemed to have suffered a severe gastronomic reaction. The rooms bin was found full of fluid, and there were streaks of blood on the floor.

We believe he died about six hours before his body was found, Lt Sirinath said.

The mans body has been sent to Patong Hospital for doctors to determine the cause of death. We will learn more then, she said.

* The mans name is being withheld until his family of been notified.
Man blasted with shotgun near Phuket housing estate in suspected jealousy attack

PHUKET: Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man in Kathu early this morning who was blasted in the back with a shotgun in an attack that his wife says was most likely motivated over her husbands romantic affairs with another woman.

crimeviolencepolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Saturday 8 October 2016, 04:42PM

Doctors managed to remove two of the six projectiles that had entered Mr Jumnongs back. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Doctors managed to remove two of the six projectiles that had entered Mr Jumnongs back. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Doctors managed to remove two of the six projectiles that had entered Mr Jumnongs back. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Kathu Police first learned of the shooting after staff at Phuket International Hospital called at 1am today (Oct 8) to report that a Mr Jumnong Kaewphrod, 41, was being treated for shotgun wounds to his back.

Doctors managed to remove two of the six projectiles that had entered his body.

Police arrived at the hospital to question Mr Jumnongs wife, who said the attack occurred in front of Golden View Village in Kathu, where the couple live.

Police soon arrived at the scene to find blood and Mr Jumnongs shoes on the ground beside a van, but no evidence of a gun or shotgun cartridge, said Lt Col Sawanya Eidthrong of the Kathu Police.

The attack apparently happened at about 11pm. Neighbours heard gunfire and came out to see what happened, and saw Jumnong on the ground, Lt Sawanya said.

One neighbour said that while he was pulling up to park his car in front of his home, he saw a tall man wearing a full-face helmet shoot at Mr Jumnong. The neighbour said that the man started fighting with Mr Jumnong, then ran away, he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Jumnong was transferred across town to Mission Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead from his injuries.

We are now checking CCTV in the area and checking Jumnongs phone for any leads as to who attacked him, Lt Sawanya said.

However, Mr Jumnongs wife and his friends told us that Mr Jumnong had many girlfriends. They believe the attack resulted from conflict over a woman. This seems to be the reason why the person shot him, he said.

We are continuing our investigation, Lt Sawanya said.
During the 2015 Wisconsin Science Festival, visitors had a chance to check out a robot built using a 3D printer.
Actress Rosario Dawson takes part in a protest April 15 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Protesters were advocating for reforms as part of what organizers have dubbed the "Democracy Awakening" movement, demanding Congress amend campaign finance laws and restore the Voting Rights Act, among other actions. PHOTO BY PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ghost hunters seek spirits at Sisseton orphanage, Watertown auditorium

The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Paranormal Society have explored dozens of locations, including the Sisseton orphanage and the Watertown city auditorium.
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.

Prosecutors are expected to file charges next week.
A Racine man was arrested Thursday after reportedly fighting and attempting to disarm an officer  a fight that could have turned out a lot worse if a local restaurant manager hadnt stepped in and helped the officer.

At about 6:54 p.m. Thursday, a Racine police officer responded to the intersection of State Street and Lake Avenue for a report of a man having a seizure. There, officers found Tyran T. Pinkins, 31, of the 500 block of Sixth Street. When Pinkins got up, the officer advised him to sit down because he appeared unsteady on his feet and was heading toward traffic, the complaint said.

The officer put his hand on Pinkins shoulder and Pinkins allegedly responded by punching the officer in the head. The officer took Pinkins to the ground and, in the process, the officer struck Pinkins and attempted to detain him, according to the complaint.

Austin Schwartz, 30, a manager at The Ivanhoe Pub & Eatery, 231 Main St., was outside at the time when he saw the incident unfold. He asked the officer if he needed help; when he said he did, he stepped in.

During the tussle, Pinkins attempted to bite Schwartz and Pinkins reached for the officers firearm, at which time Schwartz was able to grab Pinkins arm just as another officer was arriving to assist, according to the complaint.

The officer suffered pain to his left temple, two abrasions to his left index finger and knuckle, a laceration to his right ring finger, pain to his right pinky finger, a scratch to his right wrist/forearm and abrasions to both of his knees, the complaint said.

Both the officer and Pinkins were transported to Ascension All Saints Hospital for treatment of their injuries, according to the complaint.

Pinkins faces two felony charges for battery to an officer and disarming a peace officer, and two misdemeanor charges for resisting and obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct.

He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Oct. 12 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. Pinkins remained in custody as of Friday night at the County Jail, online records indicated.

As for why Schwartz, a former Army medic, stepped in, he said: I didnt want anyone to get hurt. He was getting attacked. I felt like he probably needed someone there to help him.
With transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft siphoning business from traditional cab service providers, Badger Cab Co. of Madison has adapted to the changing marketplace to remain competitive.

Like its competitors, Badger Cab has a smartphone app that can be used to request a ride. Customers also can pay fares with credit and debit cards, a practice it adopted in December 2009.

This kind of business evolution which has been a cornerstone of the Madison-based company since its launch in 1946 by founders Robert Cnare, Harold Bergdorf and Norbert Schmidt, who started the business to provide affordable rides to residents and jobs to returning World War II veterans.

The original business model was to provide transportation for people of limited means to be able to get to work, and at the same time, provide jobs for the many returning veterans, said Robert G. Frick, commercial business manager for Badger Cab, which was acquired from the original owners by Tom Melms in 1978.

Badger Cab, 700 Cottage Grove Road, provided package delivery as well as passenger services at its inception mostly in the greater Madison area and occasionally to other cities including Milwaukee and Chicago. It followed a shared-ride model, which meant passengers and packages traveling to roughly the same area would share a cab.

The shared-ride system itself is a model of conservation, moving many more people per mile traveled than the more traditional meter-based taxis, while conserving fuel, Frick said. The system was effective in controlling costs.

Many companies today with large fleets are taking advantage of clean or alternative fuel vehicles, not only for their environmental benefits but to manage fuel costs. Badger Cab was ahead of the curve and has operated an all-propane fueled fleet since 1981.

Frick said it was decided to convert the companys fleet to propane as gasoline prices rose rapidly in the late 1970s. A vehicle that runs on propane also has a longer engine life and needs fewer oil changes, which keeps maintenance costs down.

In another nod to resource conservation, about 90 percent of the energy Badger Cab uses for its maintenance center and offices is provided by solar power.

More operational efficiencies came in June 2013 when the company changed its dispatch methods to a system of dispatchers assigning calls to drivers based on GPS mapping of cab locations. The result was less driver distraction, better accuracy and less waiting time for customers.

Package delivery remains a part of Badger Cabs business. Document delivery has declined because of widespread use of email, but requests for material transport  from dry ice to the regions various biotech firms to laboratory samples for hospitals and medical clinics  have increased.

More than 100 people work for Badger Cab, including independent contractor drivers, full-time administrative personnel, and dispatch and vehicle maintenance staff.

Many employees have been with the company for more than 25 years, including several with more than 40 years experience. Frick said that type of longevity in a position is uncommon and practically unheard of in the taxi business.

Frick, 60, started with Badger Cab as a part-time driver in February 2006. He began doing part-time sales in June 2010 then moved into administration full-time a year later. Badger Cab managers have worked many positions in the company including driving and dispatching so they know the business inside and out.

New drivers get two full shifts of one-on-one training and are taught to operate the board system for processing calls as well as how to use provided materials to help them navigate the Madison area.

Drivers also learn how to prioritize calls and how to follow basic protocol for handling various types of calls.

New drivers must attend a four-hour sensitivity training course where they learn about diversity and assistance for persons with special needs.

New drivers work a total of 25 training shifts to ensure they understand the companys processes and can find their way around the area.

Frick said the emergence of transportation network companies has affected business at Badger Cab, specifically requests for evening rides. Additionally, persons who might otherwise be interested in driving cab as a career might try a (transportation network company), making it more difficult in some ways for us to recruit, Frick said.

Frick said transportation network drivers soon learn that business may not be as lucrative as it is billed especially when they have to shoulder the operating costs.

For individuals who are serious about driving for a living, we like to point out to them that as a driver for Badger Cab, they can have the freedom of scheduling that is nearly as flexible as with Uber, but they will use a Badger vehicle, Badger fuel and Badger insurance to make their living, he said.

Frick said Badger Cab customers represent a wide array of people and organizations.

The company also provides transportation services for clients of many public and private agencies including Dane County, the city of Madison and the UW Medical Foundation.

Any persons who find themselves without a means of transportation, on either a permanent or conditional basis, for a variety of reasons will choose Badger Cab as their method of getting around, due to our reputation of providing safe, timely and efficient low-cost transportation, he said.
Home Security of America, a provider of home warranty products, will close its call center at 1861 Ludden Drive in Cross Plains.

According to a Wisconsin Business Closing and Mass Layoff notice received by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development on Friday, the call center employs 121 people. The company said most employees will be offered alternative positions working from home.

The company expects the closure will eliminate a total of 15 positions. The company offered no reason in the notice why it was closing its call center.

The company said Dec. 6 will be the last day of employment for those who do not accept or are not offered other positions. Employees not offered jobs will be eligible for severance benefits.
The future of an iconic ice cream shop in Watertown has become further muddled.

Troy Milbrath, owner of Mullens Dairy Bar & Eatery, has been arrested and charged with identity theft, fraudulent use of a credit card and forgery.

Milbrath, 44, of Watertown, was charged Friday in Jefferson County Circuit Court with 16 felonies and three misdemeanors for allegedly opening and using credit cards and loans in the name of his business partner and his business partners wife with balances that exceed $65,000.

Milbrath, who closed the shop on Main Street on Sept. 11 after his landlord refused to renew the lease and was the subject of a Wisconsin State Journal story on Sunday, was arrested by Watertown Police on Thursday. Milbrath made an initial appearance Friday and was released on a $25,000 signature bond.

Mullens has been an institution in Watertown since 1932 and has been at 212 W. Main St. since 1939. For decades the business was known for its milk delivered in bottles, ice cream produced in the back of the store, a soda fountain and U-shaped counter. The business was founded and owned by the Mullen family until 1997 when it was sold to Ron Luepke. In 2006, Luepke sold the business to Milbrath but retained ownership of the building located across the street from the citys library.

Milbrath filed for bankruptcy in 2010 but was able to keep the business open. Luepke, who financed part of the purchase of the business for Milbrath, lost more than $300,000 during the bankruptcy. Luepke said last week that his loss was one of the reasons he chose not to renew Milbraths lease.

Milbrath, who was issued an eviction order asking him to be out by Oct. 17, has been looking for a new downtown location for the business. Meanwhile, an online auction through United Jones Auction & Realty started Tuesday to sell antiquated manufacturing equipment and some of the memorabilia from the business, and is scheduled to close on Thursday.

But the charges Friday make it unclear what will become of the Mullens name and business. Luepke has refused to say if he plans to open an ice cream shop in his building or if he intends to try and use the Mullens name.

According to the criminal complaint, Watertown Police began investigating Milbrath in April after Milbraths business partner, Todd Narkis, said he found in 2015 a credit card in his name that had a $20,000 balance. Narkis, who had bought into the business in October 2014, was told by Milbrath that the credit card was used to buy items for the business, according to the complaint.

Further investigation by Narkis led him to find loans and other credit cards with his name and that of his wife, Carrie Narkis, that they had not given permission for Milbrath to take out. In addition, Narkis found a business agreement with his name and Milbraths that allowed a financial company to take 35 percent of all credit card swipes at the business in order to pay off a loan. Narkis said he never signed the agreement, according to the complaint.

Narkis said he found two loans and six credit cards in his name but that there were four other loans taken out with his name with two cards used to close out the loans on the other four. In addition, Milbrath used an American Express Card that included Narkis name to pay for a $325 charge for a U.S. patent trademark on the Mullens name.

The charges include 12 counts of identity theft for financial gain and four counts of forgery, all felonies.

Milbrath was also charged with three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, all misdemeanors. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 11.
But the tribe has a long way to go
Earlier this year, Whovians were disappointed that season 10 of Doctor Who would not be releasing until April 2017. But now, Whovians have a new series to look forward to, ending the dry spell of over 11 months after the last season. Class, the latest spin-off, is centred around the Whovian universe but takes us deeper into the horrors of time travel. The spin-off series will premiere on BBC Three on October 22.

Doctor Who, the British sci-fi series about the time travelling Doctor (or Time Lord) debuted in 1963 and has had nine seasons until 2015. The Time Lord travels the universe in his TARDIS, thinking up ingenious ways to fight and prevent monsters, Daleks, Cybermen and others from taking over or destroying the world.

Every once in a while, the Time Lord takes on a new body and personality. Currently, the Twelfth Doctor is portrayed by Peter Capaldi. Doctor Who already has three other spin-off seriesTorchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, K-9which ended in 2011. Class will have eight episodes in its first season.

Here's a quick lowdown on what the series will be about:

Class is set in Coal Hill Academy

Previous Doctor Who seasons had multiple references to the Coal Hill school, but this series will focus entirely on the Academy, four students and a few school staff. Mr Armitage, who appeared often in season 8, played by Nigel Betts, will also feature here. Katherine Kelly (from Coronation Street) plays a physics teacher, Miss Quill. Peter Capaldi (the Twelfth Doctor) makes a guest appearance, as he does in the trailer. The protagonists are played by newcomers Greg Austin, Sophie Hopkins, Fady Elsayed and Vivian Oparah.

The Doctor leaves London in their hands

While not much is revealed about the plot, the story reportedly goes thus: in modern-day London, all kinds of dangerous monsters and aliens are ripping through the walls of space and time. Already busy trying to save the rest of the universe across timelines, the Doctor says in the teaser that he can't be there to handle London all the time. Sometimes you have to take survival upon yourselves, he says. He leaves it to the young, utterly terrified students from Coal Hill to fix things.

Class seems young, vibrant and fresh

If there's one big difference between the Doctor Who series and Class, it is the age of its protagonists. While it doesn't seem to be like a coming-of-age story, it does have a lot of elements that concern young adults: sex, trying to find the reason for existence, discovering oneself, even dealing with overprotective parents. They have fancy gadgets, drive cars, and equate the tear in space-time to Hellmouth from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The team behind Class

Patrick Ness, who has written books in the young adult and sci-fi genres, is the creator and writer of Class. Steven Moffat, the venerable creator of Sherlock and showrunner of Doctor Who, is an executive producer of the show. Last year, he announced that he wouldn't be working on Doctor Who after season 10 because of his Sherlock commitments, but rest assured that Class would still involve him.


The ongoing political slugfest around the surgical strike took an ugly turn on Saturday after a BJP MP made a controversial remark questioning Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhis parentage.

Babu Lal, BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradesh, hit out at those who were asking proof of the surgical strike carried out by the army across the Line of Control. He said that people asking for proof or questioning the army should be sent to either Pakistan or Dubai.

What proof is Rahul Gandhi asking for? He himself doesnt have proof who his father is, Babu Lal said in his comment. Babu Lal, who had served as minister in the Uttar Pradesh government in 2007, had courted controversy earlier also by making objectionable comments.

Babu Lal's comments are likely to further aggravate the political slugfest over the LoC operation.

Referring to the stray comments made by some of his partymen, BJP chief Amit Shah had on Friday said they were not the view of the party.

Meanwhile, a complaint was filed against Rahul Gandhi in Chandauli court in Uttar Pradesh over his 'khoon ki dalali' comment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The battle had escalated between Congress and the BJP after Rahul Gandhi hit out at Modi saying the prime minister was hiding behind the blood of soldiers. Amit Shah accused Rahul of crossing all limits, while Congress leader Kapil Sibal raked up Shahs past when he was in jail.
In a significant order, the Election Commission on Saturday directed that no political party shall either use or allow use of public funds or public place or government machinery to carry out an activity that amounts to advertisement for the party or propagation of its election symbol.

The order comes as a follow up of the Delhi High Courts judgment in a case filed by the NGO Common Cause against the Bahujan Samaj Party for misuse of public funds and public places for propagation of the election symbol of the party.

The BSP, when it was in power in Uttar Pradesh, built parks in Lucknow where statues of elephants were installed, and this was criticised as being intended to propagate the election symbol of the party, the elephant.

The Delhi High Court had directed that the Commission issue appropriate direction or guideline to prevent such misuse. Before taking the final decision, the EC obtained the views of the recognised parties, which supported the idea of having guidelines in this regard.

In its order, the Commission said that it is of the view that utilising public funds or public place for promoting any political party or propagating its election symbol would be antithetical to the concept of free and fair election and the principle of level playing field for all stakeholders.

Accordingly, the Commission has directed that no political party shall henceforth either use or allow the use of any public funds or public place or government machinery for carrying out any activity that would amount to advertisement for the party or propagating the election symbol allotted to the party.

The EC made it clear that any violation of the directions would be treated as violation of a lawful direction of the Commission within the meaning of paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa continues to be under constant montoring by specialist doctors, said Apollo hospital on Saturday.

In a statement issued in Chennai, the hospital said she is under constant monitoring by intensivists and consultants in the panel.

"The respiratory support is closely watched and adjusted. Lungs decongestion treatment is being continued. All other comprehensive measures including nutrition, supportive therapy and passive physiotherapy are underway," the statement said.

The latest medical bulletin from Apollo doesn't say any progress. But passive physiotherapy as treatment today pic.twitter.com/awk6PGugXY  Lakshmi Subramanian (@lakhinathan) October 8, 2016

Meanwhile, the debate whether an interim chief minister will be named is going on in the state after the hospital earlier said Jayalalithaa required a longer stay. The ruling AIADMK has however ruled out any need of such a measure.

This issue also gained weight as Governor Ch.Vidyasagar Rao met two senior ministers on Friday and discussed the state's general administration in the aftermath of Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Friday urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to impose President's rule in the state following the prolonged hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa and her remaining incommunicado.

However AIADMK continues to maintain its stand that there is no legal necessity for a substitute chief minister.

AIADMK spokesperson Avadi Kumar maintained: "There is no need for a temporary or substitute chief minister at the current juncture. There is also no legal necessity."

Kumar said when there were legal hurdles in Jayalalithaa holding the post, Finance Minister O.Panneerselvam was chosen as the chief minister, and once the legal problems were sorted out, Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the chief minister again.

He recalled that AIADMK founder M.G.Ramachandran won the assembly election in 1984 while he was in a hospital in the US and was sworn in as chief minister on his arrival.

Political commentators say one method to clear the issue is to distribute the portfolios handled by Jayalalithaa to other senior ministers.

"The situation cannot continue for long. The portfolios handled by Jayalalithaa may most probably be distributed to senior ministers," political commentator Maalan Narayanan said.

With Jayalalithaa in the hospital, it is unthinkable for the party to elect another person even as an interim Chief Minister.

The 68-year old Jayalalithaa handles the portfolios of Public, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Forest Service, General Administration, District Revenue Officers, Police and Home.

Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo hospital on September 22 for fever and dehydration.

On Thursday, the hospital said that the consensus opinion of all experts was that Jayalalithaa would require a longer stay in the hospital and the line of treatment given to her be continued.

"The present treatment regimen includes continued respiratory support, neubilisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supportive therapy," it said, adding Jayalalithaa is making gradual progress but not disclosing how long she may have to stay in the hospital.
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.
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.
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.'
The girlfriend of a 78-year old ex-paratrooper facing prison is calling on the government to investigate the litigation funding industry because she claims her partner is being harassed by one of the UKs biggest funders.

Emmy Ettema has written to Liz Truss, the Justice Secretary, demanding an inquiry into litigation funders, and the way her partner, Guy Brooke, has been treated by Therium Capital Management. Therium is pursuing Mr Brooke for a E3.8m settlement award which it alleges he owes after reneging on a litigation deal.

Guy Brooke, who fled the UK after a litigation funding business which gave him 1m launched legal proceedings against him, has been jailed at the High Court in London

Ms Ettema wrote in her letter: I am writing to express my deep concern with the conduct of the litigation funding industry in the UK and I would like to highlight how my own experience demonstrates the need for the UK government to investigate its practices to prevent others from enduring a similar situation.

In the High Court last week, Mr Brooke was sentenced to 21 months in prison for contempt of court, with the judge commenting that Mr Brookes criticism of Theriums conduct was wholly unjustified and its claim legitimate.

Mr Brooke and Ms Ettema left the UK in April and are living in exile in Europe to avoid Theriums legal case which Ms Ettema claims has led to worries that he will not survive the episode. However, it is understood that Mr Brooke may be open to a resolution.

The dispute relates to a long battle between Mr Brooke's Dutch telecoms company, Cable Plus (Netherlands) BV, and its former lawyers over their alleged mishandling of a claim against the Dutch government for the loss of broadband licenses in the country. In 2011 Mr Brooke, who was a director of Cable Plus, entered into an agreement with his lawyers, Kemp Little and Therium, to fund a professional negligence claim against the Dutch lawyers.

The claim was valued at 32.8m by an independent valuation company. Mr Brooke won the case although the winnings were 3.8m, some 10 per cent of the expected damages. The settlement sum was then paid to Cable Plus BV in Curacao by the lawyers who were found negligent in the Dutch proceedings.

In her letter to Ms Truss, Ms Ettema claimed that Mr Brooke approached Therium to agree a compromise and offered an even 50/50 split of the monies recovered from the claim but they dismissed the offer out of hand and filed legal proceedings against them in April2016.

She added Theriums claim that they have made a formal settlement offer of 400,000 is simply not true, adding that even if Brooke were fit to return to the UK, which he is not, we are afraid to do so.

A Therium spokesman had no comment.
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.
I am Kerry Burgess. This is what I think.
Music Industry Uncharacteristically Silent On Lyor Cohens YouTube Hire

Lyor Cohen ran Def Jam and then all of Warner Music Group. He's mentored several generations of hip hop stars. So when he was named as YouTube's Global Head of Music, I expected a collective industry high five. Instead, there's been almost total silence.

_________________________________________



Last week when Lyor Cohen was named YouTube's Global Head Of Music and tasked with improving music industry relations, I asked for comment. Some expressed skepticism, others predicted failure and a few just plain had to share how much they disliked the former music exec. "He's a blowhard and a bully," said one, who like all the rest spoke only on the condition of anonymity. "He's the last person I'd want to sit across the negotiating table from," said another.

Missing was the usual flood of ready made quotes from PR teams. "If you're doing a story on Lyor's hiring, here's what __________ had to say!"

The New York Post tried to poll the major labels for reaction to Cohen's hiring, and got no response."Not a single label would offer any comment on his arrival as YouTubes new boss of global music."

Manager and industry veteran Irving Azoff did release a statement that reminded Cohen that he has a difficult task ahead. As a prolific manager, label executive and label owner, Lyor has a long history as a defender of artist rights," Azoff wrote. We are counting on you, Lyor, to lead YouTube to provide fair payments to artists and give them more creative control. Congratulations, Lyor, I know you can get it done.

Never afraid to speak his mind, pundit Bob Lefsetz wrote, "The only problem is people HATE HIM! Expecting Lyor Cohen to make peace with labels is like believing Roger Waters will get back together with David Gilmour for a concert in support of Israeli statehood.

This shows how out of touch YouTube is, I hope the ink isnt dry," ee added, "As for Lyor himselfKUDOS! He crawled from the wreckage into a brand new car."

Share on:
Cardinal Health, Inc. operates as an integrated healthcare services and products company in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home. The company operates in two segments, Pharmaceutical and Medical. The Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded and generic pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical, and over-the-counter healthcare and consumer products. The segment also provides services to pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers for specialty pharmaceutical products; operates nuclear pharmacies and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities; repackages generic pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter healthcare products; and offers medication therapy management and patient outcomes services to hospitals, other healthcare providers, and payers, as well as provides pharmacy management services to hospitals. The Medical segment manufactures, sources, and distributes Cardinal Health branded medical, surgical, and laboratory products and devices that include exam and surgical gloves; needles, syringe, and sharps disposals; compressions; incontinences; nutritional delivery products; wound care products; single-use surgical drapes, gowns, and apparels; fluid suction and collection systems; urology products; operating room supply products; and electrode product lines. The segment also distributes a range of national brand products, including medical, surgical, and laboratory products; provides supply chain services and solutions to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, and other healthcare providers; and assembles and sells sterile, and non-sterile procedure kits. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.
The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The Health and Wellness segment offers cleaning products, such as laundry additives and home care products primarily under the Clorox, Clorox2, Scentiva, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Tilex, and Formula 409 brands; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brands in the United States. The Household segment provides cat litter products under the Fresh Step and Scoop Away brands; bags and wraps under the Glad brand; and grilling products under the Kingsford brand in the United States. The Lifestyle segment offers dressings, dips, seasonings, and sauces primarily under the Hidden Valley brand; natural personal care products under the Burt's Bees brand; and water-filtration products under the Brita brand in the United States. The International segment provides laundry additives; home care products; water-filtration systems; digestive health products; grilling products; cat litter products; food products; bags and wraps; natural personal care products; and professional cleaning and disinfecting products internationally primarily under the Clorox, Ayudin, Clorinda, Poett, Pine-Sol, Glad, Brita, RenewLife, Ever Clean and Burt's Bees brands. The Clorox Company sells its products primarily through mass retailers; grocery outlets; warehouse clubs; dollar stores; home hardware centers; drug, pet and military stores; third-party and owned e-commerce channels; and distributors, as well as a direct sales force The company was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.
The following companies are subsidiares of Tyson Foods: APF Legacy Subs LLC, Advance Food Company LLC, AdvancePierre Foods, AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc., AdvancePierre Foods Inc., Aidells Sausage Company Inc., Allied Specialty Foods Inc., American Proteins Inc, Artisan Bread Co. LLC, Australian Food Corporation Pty Limited, Australian Food Corporation Trust, BRF, Barber Foods LLC, Bosco's Pizza Co., Bryan Foods Inc., C.S. Grain LLC, C.V. Holdings Inc., CBFA Management Corp., Central Industries Inc., Chefs Pantry LLC, Clovervale Farms LLC, Cobb (Hubei) Breeding Co. Ltd., Cobb (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Cobb Ana Damizlik Tavukculuk Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Cobb Columbia S.A.S., Cobb Europe B.V., Cobb Europe Limited, Cobb Peru (Andina) S.A.C., Cobb-Heritage LLC, Cobb-Vantress Brasil Ltda, Cobb-Vantress Inc., Cobb-Vantress New Zealand Limited, Cobb-Vantress Philippines Inc., Coominya AFC Pty Limited, Coominya AFC Trust, DFG Foods Inc., DFG Foods L.L.C., Don Julio, Egbert LLC, Equity Group - Georgia Division LLC, Equity Group - Kentucky Division LLC, Equity Group Eufaula Division LLC, Equity Meat Corp., Flavor Corp., Flavor Holdings Inc., Foodbrands America Inc., Foodbrands Supply Chain Services Inc., Gallo Salame Inc., Global Employment Services Inc., Grow-Out Credit LLC, Grow-Out Holdings LLC, Haimen Tyson Poultry Development Co. Ltd, Hudson Foods Company, Hudson Midwest Foods Inc., Hybro Genetics Brasil Ltda, IBP Caribbean Inc., IBP Foodservice L.L.C., IBP Inc., International Affiliates & Investment LLC, Jiangsu Tyson Foods Co. Ltd, Keydutch Finance B.V., Keydutch Holdings I LLC, Keydutch Holdings II LLC, Keydutch Investments B.V., Keystone CLJV Holdings Limited, Keystone County House Road LLC, Keystone Foods, Keystone Foods (AP) Limited, Keystone Foods Holdco LLC, Keystone Foods Intermediate LLC, Keystone Foods LLC, Keystone Foods Pty Limited, Keystone Management Inc., Keystone Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, LD Foods LLC, M & M Express LLC, M&M Restaurant Supply (MI/OH) LLC, MFG (USA) Holdings Inc., Mac Food Services (Malaysia) SDN. BHD., Madison Foods Inc., McKey Food Services (Hong Kong) Limited, McKey Food Services (Shandong) Limited, McKey Food Services (Thailand) Limited, McKey Food Services Limited, McKey Luxembourg Holdings APMEA S.a.r.l., McKey Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., McKey Luxembourg S.a.r.l., McKey VI Holdings Limited, Myung Seung Food Company Ltd., National Comp Care Inc., New Canada Holdings Inc., Oaklawn Capital Corporation, Oaklawn IT Solution Private Limited, Original Philly Holdings Inc., PBX inc., Pierre Holdco Inc., River Valley Ingredients LLC, Rizhao Tyson Foods Co. Ltd, Rizhao Tyson Poultry Co. Ltd, Rural Energy Systems Inc., Sara Lee - Kiwi Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Diversified LLC, Sara Lee Foods LLC, Sara Lee Household & Body Care Malawi Ltd., Sara Lee International LLC, Sara Lee International TM Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Mexicana Holdings Investment L.L.C., Sara Lee TM Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Trademark Holdings Australasia LLC, Saramar L.L.C., Shandong Tyson-Da Long Food Company Limited, Smart Chicken, Southern Family Foods L.L.C., Southwest Products LLC, TF 20 B.V., TF 5201 B.V., TFA Leasing LLC, TFA Opportunity Zone Fund LLC, TFI of California Inc., Tecumseh Poultry LLC, Texas Transfer Inc., The Bruss Company, The Hillshire Brands Company, The IBP Foods Co., The Pork Group Inc., TyNet Corporation, Tyson (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Tyson Americas Holding Sarl, Tyson Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Tyson Breeders Inc., Tyson Chicken Inc., Tyson China Holding 2 Limited, Tyson China Holding 3 Limited, Tyson China Holding Limited, Tyson Deli Inc., Tyson Europe Holding Company, Tyson Farms Inc., Tyson Farms QOZB LLC, Tyson Foods Brasil Investimentos Ltda., Tyson Foods Canada Inc., Tyson Foods Europe (Netherlands) B.V., Tyson Foods Europe GmbH, Tyson Foods France S.A.R.L., Tyson Foods Germany GmbH, Tyson Foods Group Limited, Tyson Foods Holland B.V., Tyson Foods Huadong Development Co. Ltd, Tyson Foods Iberia Alimentos S.L.U., Tyson Foods Italia S.p.A., Tyson Foods Korea, Tyson Foods Netherlands B.V., Tyson Foods Products Limited, Tyson Foods Scotland Europe Limited, Tyson Foods Scotland Sales (Europe) Limited, Tyson Foods UK Limited, Tyson Foods Wrexham Limited, Tyson Foods oosterwolde B.V., Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats Sales and Distribution LLC, Tyson Global Holding Sarl, Tyson Hog Markets Inc., Tyson India Holdings Ltd., Tyson International APAC Ltd., Tyson International Company Ltd., Tyson International Holding Company, Tyson International Holding Sarl, Tyson International Service Center Inc., Tyson International Service Center Inc. Asia, Tyson International Service Center Inc. Europe, Tyson Mexican Original Inc., Tyson Mexico Trading Company S. de R.L. de CV., Tyson New Ventures LLC, Tyson Opportunity Zone Fund LLC, Tyson Pet Products Inc., Tyson Poultry Inc., Tyson Prepared Foods Inc., Tyson Processing Services Inc., Tyson Refrigerated Processed Meats Inc., Tyson Sales and Distribution Inc., Tyson Service Center Corp., Tyson Shared Services Inc., Tyson Storm Lake Holdings LLC, Tyson Warehousing Services LLC, Tyson of Wisconsin LLC, Uninex SA, Universal Meats (UK) Limited, WBA Analytical Laboratories Inc., Wilton Foods Inc., Xamol Consultores e Servicos, and Zemco Industries Inc..

Read More
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.
KBR, Inc. provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. The company operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Its services cover research and development, advanced prototyping, acquisition support, systems engineering, cyber analytics, space domain awareness, test and evaluation, systems integration and program management, global supply chain management, and operations readiness and support, as well as command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services. This segment also provides various professional advisory services to deliver high-end systems engineering, systems assurance, and technology to customers across the defense, energy, and critical infrastructure sectors. The Sustainable Technology Solutions segment holds a portfolio of approximately 70 proprietary process technologies for ammonia/syngas/fertilizers, chemical/petrochemicals, clean refining, and circular process/circular economy solutions. This segment also includes advisory and consulting practices that focuses on energy transition and net-zero carbon emission consulting; and provides engineering, design, and professional services, as well as industrial solutions through KBR INSITE, a proprietary, digital, and cloud-based operations and maintenance platform that identifies opportunities for clients to achieve sustainable improvements in production, reliability, environment impact, energy efficiency, and profitability. KBR, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in banking, trust, securities, and other businesses related to financial services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Retail & Business Banking Company, Corporate & Institutional Company, Global Corporate Company, Global Markets Company, and Asset Management Company. The company provides deposit products; syndicated, housing, and card loans; business matching services; and advisory services related to overseas expansions, and mergers and acquisitions-related services. It also offers consulting services, including asset management and asset succession; payroll services; and sells lottery tickets issued by prefectures and ordinance-designated cities. In addition, it offers financial solutions, such as bonds, mergers and acquisitions advisory, risk hedging products, etc. for corporate customers to meet their needs in fund-raising, investment management, and financial strategies; solutions based on their capital management, business strategy, and financial strategy; real estate agency services; advisory services and solutions, such as advice on proposals on various investment products to financial institutions; and financial services that include funding support and public bonds underwriting. Further, the company offers sales and trading services to meet needs for customers; investment products for individual customers; and consulting services for institutional investors. Additionally, the company provides products and services related to trust, securitization and structured finance, pension, and stock transfers; securities services; and research, private banking, and information technology-related services. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
KAR Auction Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides used vehicle auctions and related vehicle remarketing services for the automotive industry in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. The company operates through two segments, ADESA Auctions and AFC. The ADESA Auctions segment offers whole car auctions and related services to the vehicle remarketing industry through online auctions and auction facilities. It also provides value-added services, such as auction related, transportation, reconditioning, inspection, title and repossession administration and remarketing, vehicle research, and analytical services, as well as data as a service. This segment sells its products and services through vehicle manufacturers, fleet companies, rental car companies, finance companies, and others. As of December 31, 2021, this segment had a network of approximately 70 vehicle logistics center locations in North America. The AFC segment offers floorplan financing, a short-term inventory-secured financing to independent used vehicle dealers; and sells vehicle service contracts. The company provides wheel repair and hail catastrophe response services. It serves vehicle manufacturers, vehicle rental companies, financial institutions, commercial fleets and fleet management companies, and dealer customers. The company was formerly known as KAR Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to KAR Auction Services, Inc. in November 2009. KAR Auction Services, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.
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.
Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company worldwide. It provides test preparation services and materials; data science and training services; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global. The company also offers training, test preparation, and degrees for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates three colleges, a business school, a higher education institution, and an online learning institution. In addition, it owns and operates seven television stations; and provides social media management tools to connect newsrooms with their users, as well as produces Foreign Policy magazine and ForeignPolicy.com website. Further, the company publishes Slate, an online magazine; and two French-language news magazine websites at slate.fr and slateafrique.com. Additionally, it provides social media marketing solutions; home health and hospice services; burners, igniters, dampers, and controls; screw jacks, linear actuators and related linear motion products, and lifting systems; pressure impregnated kiln-dried lumber and plywood products; cybersecurity training solutions; digital advertising services; and power charging and data systems, industrial and commercial indoor lighting solutions, and electrical components and assemblies. The company also owns and operates 11 restaurants and entertainment venues; and engages in automobile dealerships business. The company was formerly known as The Washington Post Company and changed its name to Graham Holdings Company in November 2013. Graham Holdings Company was founded in 1877 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.
Kennametal Inc. engages in development and application of tungsten carbides, ceramics, and super-hard materials and solutions for use in metal cutting and extreme wear applications to enable customers work against corrosion and high temperatures conditions worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Metal Cutting and Infrastructure. It offers standard and custom products, including turning, milling, hole making, tooling systems, and services, as well as specialized wear components and metallurgical powders for manufacturers engaged in various industries, such as the manufacturers of transportation vehicles and components, machine tools, and light and heavy machinery; airframe and aerospace components; and energy-related components for the oil and gas industry, as well as power generation. The company also provides specified product design, selection, application, and support services; and standard and custom metal cutting solutions to aerospace, general engineering, energy, and transportation customers. In addition, it produces compacts, nozzles, frac seats, and custom components used in oil and gas, and petrochemical industries; rod blanks and abrasive water jet nozzles for general industries; earth cutting tools and systems used in underground mining, trenching and foundation drilling, and road milling; tungsten carbide powders for the oil and gas, aerospace, and process industries; and ceramics used by the packaging industry for metallization of films and papers. It provides its products under the Kennametal, WIDIA, WIDIA Hanita, and WIDIA GTD brands through its direct sales force; a network of independent and national distributors; integrated supplier channels; and through the Internet. The company was founded in 1938 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Nelnet, Inc. engages in loan servicing, communications, education technology, services, and payment processing businesses worldwide. The Loan Servicing and Systems segment provides loan conversion, application processing, borrower updates, customer service, payment processing, due diligence procedures, funds management reconciliation, and claim processing services. This segment also provides student loan servicing software; business process outsourcing services specialized in contact center management, such as inbound calls, outreach campaigns and sales, and interacting with customers through multi-channels. The Education Technology, Services, and Payment Processing segment offers financial management services; school information system software; website design and cost effective admissions software; FACTS Giving, a donation platform; and customized professional development and coaching services, educational instruction services, and technology products that aid in teacher and student evaluations. It also offers tuition payment plans, and service and technology for student billings, payments, and refunds; solutions for in-person, online, and mobile payment experiences on campus; payment processing services, such as credit card and electronic transfer; faith community engagement, giving management, and learning management services and technologies; and an integrated commerce payment platform, financial management, and tuition payment plan services, as well as a school management platform that provides administrative, information management, financial management, and communication functions for K-12 schools. The Communications segment provides fiber optic service to homes and businesses for internet, television, and telephone services. The Asset Generation and Management segment acquires, manages, and owns loan assets. The Nelnet Bank segment operates internet industrial banks. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services. It serves corporate, middle market, and commercial real estate developers and investors. The Consumer Bank segment provides consumer banking products and services related to residential first mortgages, home equity lines and loans, consumer credit cards, and other consumer loans, as well as deposits. The Wealth Management segment offers credit related products, and retirement and savings solutions; and trust and investment management, asset management, and estate planning services to individuals, businesses, governmental institutions, and non-profit entities. The company also provides investment and insurance products; low-income housing tax credit corporate fund syndication services; and other specialty financing services. As of March 01, 2022, it operated through a network of 1,300 banking offices and 2,000 automated teller machines across the South, Midwest, and Texas. Regions Financial Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
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.
The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. Ltd., Abbott (UK) Finance Limited, Abbott (UK) Holdings Limited, Abbott AG, Abbott Asia Holdings Limited, Abbott Asia Investments Limited, Abbott Australasia Holdings Limited, Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Abbott B.V., Abbott Bahamas Overseas Businesses Corporation, Abbott Belgian Investments, Abbott Bermuda Holding Ltd., Abbott Biologicals B.V., Abbott Biologicals LLC, Abbott Bulgaria Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Capital India Limited, Abbott Cardiovascular Inc., Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., Abbott Delaware LLC, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care Limited, Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corporation, Abbott Diagnostics GmbH, Abbott Diagnostics International Ltd., Abbott Diagnostics Technologies AS, Abbott Doral Investments S.L., Abbott Equity Holdings Unlimited, Abbott Equity Investments LLC, Abbott Established Products Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Finance Company SA, Abbott Financial Holdings SRL, Abbott France S.A.S., Abbott Fund Tanzania Limited, Abbott Gesellschaft m.b.H., Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. Limited, Abbott Informatics Spain S.A., Abbott Informatics Technologies Ltd, Abbott International Corporation, Abbott International Enterprises Ltd., Abbott International Holdings Limited, Abbott International LLC, Abbott International Luxembourg S.ar.l., Abbott Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Ireland, Abbott Ireland Financing Designated Activity Company, Abbott Ireland Limited, Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Abbott Knoll Investments B.V., Abbott Korea Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Bangladesh) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco (Dos) SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Laboratories (Mozambique) Limitada, Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Philippines), Abbott Laboratories (Puerto Rico) Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Private Limited, Abbott Laboratories A/S, Abbott Laboratories Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Abbott Laboratories B.V., Abbott Laboratories C.A., Abbott Laboratories Finance B.V., Abbott Laboratories GmbH, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Abbott Laboratories International LLC, Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited - Laboratoires Abbott Limitee, Abbott Laboratories NZ Limited, Abbott Laboratories Pacific Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Laboratories Products B.V., Abbott Laboratories Residential Development Fund Inc., Abbott Laboratories S.A., Abbott Laboratories SA, Abbott Laboratories Services Corp., Abbott Laboratories Slovakia s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. 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.

Read More
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.
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.
Times Record News File Photo King and Queen candidates line the stage with their parents during Cinco de Mayo festivities at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in this file photograph.

SHARE

By Lana Sweeten-Shults

When it comes to celebrating Mexican heritage, Cinco de Mayo is the whole enchilada, along with Mexico's independence day, el Dieciseis de Septiembre, or Sept. 16th.

The congregation of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church doesn't take the holiday lightly, so expect a grand celebration on the church grounds Saturday.

"It's for everyone. It's not just catered to the Hispanic community," said Maria Luna, secretary of the Cinco de Mayo committee.

The jamaica (pronounced ha-my-kuh), or festival, begins at 2 p.m. Saturday on the church grounds at 421 Marconi. It is an intimate church festival where everyone seems to know everyone, and even if they don't know you, you're welcome to come and celebrate right along with them.

Oddly, Cinco de Mayo isn't celebrated in Mexico itself as much as it is in the United States. The holiday is popular in the Mexican state of Puebla and among Hispanics in America who embrace the date as a way to embrace their heritage.

It was in that state in Mexico during the French occupation that the Battle of Puebla wrote itself into history. Mexico, heavily in debt after a series of wars, decided to suspend debt payments to other nations for two years. France took that declaration as an opportunity to try to take the country and landed ashore in Veracruz in late 1861, marching toward Mexico City.

But Mexico would not make this invasion so easy.

It was on May 5, 1862, that a small Mexican army of about 4,000, under the leadership of Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin, attacked the much larger French army, which was double the size of the opposing side. The Mexicans won the battle, though the French would eventually take the country a year later and would be ruled by Emperor Maximilian I (the French ruled from 1864-1867).

Although the fight wasn't considered a significant one in the whole France vs. Mexico picture, it boosted the country's morale and to this day symbolizes Mexican pride.

It's a good reason to celebrate, in other words, and Our Lady of Guadalupe intends to do just that.

"Wednesday is when everything gets started," said Luna on Monday afternoon. "It's when we start ordering the hamburgers and begin setting up the booths."

The jamaica kicks off tonight with a teen dance from 7-11 p.m. at the church before the big party Saturday.

A lot of work goes into putting on this event, which is famous for serving authentic Mexican food.

Tale is told of the famous gorditas at the gorditas booth, where festival-goers can see the ladies of the church patting out the balls of dough that will make the soft bread for the gorditas. Past jamaicas have included everything from aguas frescas (punch and fruit beverages flavored with such things as chunks of cantaloupe or watermelon) to elotes, or roasted corn on the cob, and hamburgers, too.

And for those who might want more of a meal, head inside the church for its Famous Enchilada Dinner.

"There's going to be a lot of food everywhere," Luna said.

The church grounds will be peppered with plenty of games, such as a cake walk and children's activities outside and bingo inside the church. And bring a little cash for "la tiendita," or little store, where you can buy a few trinkets for the children.

Disc jockeys will spin a few tunes throughout the day, and the church's ballet folklorico dancers will perform Mexican folk dances in their dazzling costumes, while a lot of other talent, from vocalists to guitar players, will also take the stage.

"We're going to close the street down on Marconi for the inflatables," Luna said. "And also, we'll have a train. It was pretty popular last year.

"One thing that's new is bracelets for $20, which gets you unlimited times on the inflatables and on the train."

The party really gets going Saturday night.

Around 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m., the Cinco de Mayo King and Queen candidates will be introduced and the winners announced. The King and Queen are determined by how many raffle tickets they sell.

By the way, the raffle is a big moneymaker for the church. The big raffle prize is a 2010 Toyota (raffle tickets are $5).

And then a Mexican band will perform for a dance from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., which will wrap up yet another festive Cinco de Mayo celebration.
SHARE

Mrs. Linda Trumpf Benninghoff, 67, passed away peacefully at her home on September 28, 2016. Linda was born in Wichita Falls, TX, on January 13, 1949, to Walter and Mavis Trumpf, and graduated from Wichita Falls High School in 1967, where she was renowned in the community for her soprano singing voice. She met her husband, Hank, while working in Dallas, TX, and they were married in 1972. Linda and Hank have resided in the Topside Community in Knoxville, TN, since 1975.

In life, Linda was most proud of her husband, Hank, a retired engineer with the Tennessee Valley Authority; her daughter, Abby, an associate professor at Utah State University; her daughter, Karen, a senior director with Marriott International; her grandson, Tanner, an Eagle Scout and currently a freshman at the University of Maryland; and her grandson, Ryan, currently a sophomore at North Hagerstown High School in Maryland.

Linda strongly believed in service to her community. She served in numerous leadership roles and as president of her daughters' Parent Teachers Associations at Mount Olive Elementary School and South-Doyle Middle School from 1980 to 1990. She was a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts of America and volunteered with the organization since the time her children were in Brownies through their high school years. She was a troop leader, regional council member, Chair of the Tanasi Girl Scout Council, and served as Executive Director of the Tanasi Girl Scout Council for several years, now known as the Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians. Linda's impact on scouting and as a role model to young women in the Knoxville community was so immense that she received the highest honor that an adult in Girl Scouting can receive  the Thanks Badge, which recognizes an individual whose commitment, leadership, and service had an exceptional, measurable impact on the Girl Scout movement.

She was a phenomenal seamstress and quilter and loved to crochet, sew, knit, quilt, and stitch needlepoint. Linda was most generous in providing gifts of her beautiful work to family, friends, and her community. She lovingly stitched the needlework for the wedding kneeler, among others, at the bequest of Church Street United Methodist Church. As Linda courageously fought her battle with cancer over the last few years, she chose to spend that time also making the most of her talents by giving back, and her last gift is the donation of crocheted baby blankets and handmade quilts made for Children's Hospital.

Whether cheering on her daughters' alma mater the University of Tennessee Volunteers or driving on the Cherohala Skyway to see the stunning fall colors, Linda always found the best in life and embraced the beauty and spirit of Tennessee. She loved to travel with her family throughout the Smoky Mountains, as well as on adventures with her husband from the Northwest corner of our beautiful country to her home in Tennessee. She was most happy when surrounded by family who always knew a delicious meal would be their bonus for every visit. Linda continuously provided for the needs of others as a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, neighbor, seamstress, quilter, and friend and will truly be missed by all.

Linda was preceded in death by her father Walter Ernest Trumpf, mother Mavis Holcomb Trumpf, and sister Mary Anne Trumpf Stout. She is survived by her husband Henry (Hank) Norman Benninghoff, Jr. of Knoxville, TN; daughter Abby Diane Benninghoff of Wellsville, UT; daughter Karen Benninghoff Barnett, son-in-law Cliff Edward Barnett, and grandsons Tanner Blake Barnett and Ryan Scott Barnett all of Hagerstown, MD; sister Nora Trumpf Story of Highland Village, TX; and brother Walter (Buddy) Ernest Trumpf, Jr. of Wichita Falls, TX.

The family of Linda wishes to extend their sincere appreciation to the doctors and staff at the Cancer Institute at The University of Tennessee Medical Center and University Family Physicians for their care, as well as their many friends, neighbors, and community members for their prayers.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Sunday, October 9th at 2 p.m. in the chapel at Church Street United Methodist Church in Knoxville, TN. Receiving of friends will follow the chapel service.

In honor of Linda and her service to others, memorial donations may be made to East Tennessee Children's Hospital (2018 W. Clinch Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37916).
SHARE

Warren Moeller, Wichita Falls

Famed economist John Maynard Keynes, when asked why he changed his mind on monetary policy during the Great Depression, replied, "When my information changes, I alter my conclusion. What do you do, sir?"

Today's generation of media "experts" and political strategists should heed the guru's advice, a statement which was made years ago is still being used to vilify an opponent as flip-flopping on an issue. These types must assume that no one can "learn" and alter their positions. Have these people never changed their minds?

Maybe they should learn their ABCs: Anybody But Clinton.
SHARE

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 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 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.
Schoharie County quilts make debut

ALBANY  The Albany International Airport Art & Culture Program will present the Schoharie County Quilt Barn Trail exhibition in the Annex Gallery through Dec. 20.

In August 2011, severe flooding from two tropical storms devastated parts of Schoharie County.

The nonprofit Schoharie County Quilt Barn Trail formed as part of a nationwide movement to attract tourism and build regional spirit through the placement of vivid, hand-painted square quilt blocks on public and private buildings throughout rural hamlets and small towns.

Today, there are more than 110 quilt block paintings along the trail.

The exhibit of photographs by Debra Bechtold documents a selection of paintings dotting Schoharie County's bucolic landscape.

For more information about the exhibition, go to http://www.quiltbartrail.com.

Schenectady JCC hosts film festival

SCHENECTADY  The second film in the Schenectady JCC's Jewish Film Festival series will be screened at 7 p.m. Sunday, at the Robert and Dorothy Ludwig JCC of Schenectady, at 2565 Balltown Road in Niskayuna.

"Raise the Roof" (2015, 85 minutes, English and Polish with English subtitles) tells the story of an international team that set out to reconstruct one of the lost wooden synagogues of Poland.

At one time, there were close to 200 elaborately decorated wooden synagogues across the Polish-Lithuanian countryside. None survived destruction during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

The film follows the journey of Rick Brown and Laura Brown of Handshouse Studio and their team of more than 300 students and professionals from 16 countries as they reconstruct the elaborate roof and painted ceiling of the Gwozdziec Synagogue.

Filmmakers Yari Wolinsky and Cary Wolinsky, also an award-winning National Geographic photographer, go behind the scenes to reveal the Browns' decade-long endeavor to re-create a nearly lost piece of Polish Jewish history.

Following the film, there will be a discussion led by Stephen Berk, professor of history at Union College and holder of the Henry and Sally Schaffer Chair of Holocaust and Jewish Studies.

In addition, an exhibit titled "Raise the Roof" will display stills from the movie through Oct. 28.

Admission, including the film, discussion and light refreshments, is free for students, $10 general and $5 for JCC members.

To register, call Judy Ben-Ami at 377-8803 or go to http://www.schenectadyjcc.org.

Acting classes for kids at theater

SARATOGA SPRINGS  Fall acting classes for students ages 7-16 start next week at Home Made Theater.

All classes are taught by Marc Christopher and will be held on Saturdays on Oct. 22 and 29 and Nov. 5, 12 and 19 at the Spa Little Theater in Saratoga Spa State Park.

In Discovering Theater, students ages 7-8 will be encouraged to think on their feet while developing characters from their own imaginations, forming a foundation for future work with scripted material. The class meets from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and costs $70.

Elements of Acting, for students ages 9-11, begins the process of developing an acting technique in order to build characters. The class runs from 10:45 a.m. to noon and costs $75.

Acting for Teens, for students ages 12-16, explores various methods of acting and teens will begin to make choices about what works best for them in the development of an acting technique and approach to character development. The class meets from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m. and costs $80.

Class size is limited to 12 students, and reservations are accepted in the order they are received.

Home Made Theater will present "Shrek The Musical," beginning Saturday through Oct. 30.

For information about the programs, call 587-4427 or go to http://homemadetheater.org.

Compiled by Jennifer Patterson
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

9
Washington

Former Republican Reps. Sherwood Boehlert and Amo Houghton Jr. served in a more genteel era of American politics, when lawmakers weren't ashamed to reach across the aisle and a party's presidential nominee represented the best it had to offer.

Now the two veterans, living in retirement, are channeling those instincts right into the vitriolic 2016 race. Both have signed on to a "never-Trump'' letter signed by a total of 30 Republican ex-lawmakers. And they did so before a video became public Friday in which Trump could be heard boasting that he could grope women because "when you're a star, they let you do it."

"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,'' they wrote. "Donald Trump fails on each of those measures, and he has proven himself manifestly unqualified to be president.''

The letter is another brick in the wall of establishment Republicans turning their backs on Trump. Former President George H.W. Bush is said to be voting for Democratic nominee and former New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. And a Boehlert predecessor in the Utica-to-Binghamton 22nd Congressional District, retiring Rep. Richard Hanna, a Republican, has said he will vote for Clinton.

In an interview, Houghton, 90, whose ancestors started what is now Corning Inc. in 1851, said he has supported every Republican nominee practically since his return from service in the Marine Corps during World War II. He recalled attending the GOP presidential convention in 1948, in which Republicans selected former New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey as their nominee.

"This guy doesn't represent the things I think are important,'' he said. "He's not the type of guy you'd want to lean on in a crisis. You wouldn't know where he was.''

Houghton represented the Corning, Steuben County, area in the House from 1987 to 2005.

Boehlert, 80, represented the Utica-to-Binghamton area from 1983 to 2007. He, too, was motivated to sign the letter in revulsion over what he termed "outrageous'' statements by Trump on Muslims, Mexicans, the appearance of women and a host of other topics.

"He's delusional,'' said Boehlert, who lives in a retirement home in New Hartford, Oneida County, outside Utica, with his wife, Marianne. "He lives in a fantasy land.''

Both former Congressmen spoke Friday as news broke of a 2005 recording in which Trump talked about groping women, saying "when you're a star, they let you do it.'' The recording appeared to be a further dent in Trump's hope of regaining momentum after a less-than-stellar performance in the first debate against Clinton, with the second debate scheduled for Sunday night.

Houghton and Boehlert are not in unison on whether to support Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee.

Houghton said he has not made the decision whether or not to support Clinton.

But Boehlert said he will vote for Clinton, based in large measure on his positive interactions with her when she represented New York in the Senate from 2001 to 2009.

He recalls her as hard-working, detail-oriented, devoted to New York and "exceptionally charming to deal with.''

In a two-hour meeting she arranged after her arrival as New York's junior senator, Clinton "knocked my socks off,'' Boehlert said.

Boehlert also listed a host of issues on which he agrees with Clinton and not Trump, including abortion, Planned Parenthood, climate change, campaign finance reform and what kind of justices they'd appoint to the Supreme Court.

He insists he doesn't recognize the demonized "crooked'' Hillary that Trump plays on in his campaign appearances.

"I don't think there's ever been a time in history where so much money has been spent to demonize a public figure like Hillary Clinton,'' Boehlert said. "She's not what they make her out to be, just like climate change is not a Chinese hoax.''

Both Houghton and Boehlert insist they remain loyal Republicans.

Houghton, who was CEO of Corning Inc. for over 20 years before running for Congress in 1986, helped form the Republican Main Street Partnership, which advocates "governing in a thoughtful and pragmatic manner.''

The 70 current Republican lawmakers who make up the coalition are "people with good instincts,'' Houghton said. "That's what I don't like about Trump. His instincts are not good.''

Boehlert laughed at the question of Republican loyalty. "I'd rather fight than switch,'' he said. "Hope springs eternal. I think my party will come to its senses and move back to the center. Let's hope so.''

New York's Republican Party, however, remains committed to Trump, the New York real-estate developer turned reality TV star.

"There is no such thing as a perfect candidate for president,'' said Anthony Casale, a Republican former state Assemblyman and adviser to state GOP chair Edward Cox.

"But this is an election with bad behavior on both sides,'' he said, referring to controversy surrounding Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state, as well as foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation. "I am convinced Trump knows enough to run the country. With Clinton, you get four more years of Obama.''

dan@hearstdc.com
Albany

A conservation group says $100 million of conservation measures are needed during the next decade to protect New York's Finger Lakes, where five of the waterways had significant outbreaks of toxic algae last year.

In a report released this week, The Finger Lakes Land Trust said agricultural runoff and the warming climate are lowering water quality. It's advocating buying land and conservation easements to help buffer the 11 waterways, create new wetlands, preserve farms, protect drinking water and leave remaining shoreline undeveloped.

"Soil erosion from farm fields and contamination from lakeshore septic systems both increase the likelihood of future toxic algal blooms," the report said. "All 11 lakes are at risk."

The algae can cause nausea and throat irritation if swallowed. It also can cause and skin and eye irritation and can make animals sick.

Last year, it affected parts of two smaller and shallower lakes that warm more readily  Conesus and Honeoye  and deeper, colder Owasco, Canandaigua and Seneca lakes.

The trust manages or monitors nearly 20,000 acres of nature preserves and easements in 12 counties, about one-third of them open to the public. The report was based on a yearlong assessment with input from 40 other nonprofits, county and regional planning departments and government conservation agencies.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation maintains online listings statewide of harmful algae blooms and showed 125 last year. They ranged from Central Park Lake in Manhattan, on the list for 22 weeks, to Lake Placid in the Adirondacks, listed for five weeks.

"It's a much broader phenomenon," said Andrew Zepp, trust executive director. "It's whatever moves dirt and nutrients into a lake."

For the Finger Lakes, long known for their clean waters, the issue is critical, according to the trust. The lakes provide drinking water for a million people in western New York and support an estimated $2 billion in annual tourism alongside $1 billion in agriculture.

Last year's especially wet spring washed lots of nutrients into the lakes followed by a warm and sunny summer, while this year's relative drought meant less runoff, Zepp said.

Blooms were found this year in Cayuga, Honeoye, Canandaigua, Seneca and Owasco, according to the DEC. The agency said Friday anecdotal reports indicate blooms have increased in frequency and duration within the last decade, but a well-documented record is lacking.

New York is spending more than $5 million to study why blooms are happening in Owasco Lake and doing projects in its watershed to reduce them, DEC spokeswoman Erica Ringewald said. The state will keep working with local officials to find effective ways to reduce occurrences in the Finger Lakes and across New York, she said.

The trust has contacted state conservation, parks and agriculture agencies about possible funding, Zepp said. They're looking into federal funding and possible private support as well.
Saint Rose graduate on magazine cover

Not often does someone get onto the cover of a magazine unless you are Kim Kardashian or Brad Pitt.

Or Elissa Ebersold.

Ebersold, a Capital Region resident who graduated with a BFA from The College of Saint Rose and works as a graphic designer, has won a handful of awards for her artwork.

But this summer, she won a lifetime of notoriety when a "VOTE" design she made was used on the cover of the summer edition of Ms. magazine.

The design was originally done for the American Institute of Graphic Arts Get Out the Vote initiative, and won a local student ADDY award as well from the Albany Ad Club.

ZEN tenants silent during recent tour

About a week before U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed felony criminal complaints against SUNY Polytechnic Institute president Alain Kaloyeros and a host of developers across the state for allegedly rigging construction bids, the Times Union had a very strange experience on the SUNY Poly campus.

Officials had scheduled a tour of the new $191 million ZEN, a "zero energy" building set up as a living lab for renewable energy and conservation technologies, to have a reporter specifically talk to tenants.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter.

One meeting was with an Irish company called DPS Engineering that is a ZEN tenant and has worked on SUNY Poly's Solar City factory in Buffalo.

When the Times Union and some SUNY Poly officials walked into the DPS office, they flat out refused to meet.

Slightly embarrassed, the SUNY Poly officials offered to have ZEN tenant M+W, another SUNY Poly contractor, meet with the Times Union. The M+W executive politely refused to talk as well.

Perhaps they knew something was going on. Schneiderman's complaint against Kaloyeros says companies that won SUNY Poly contracts were pressured to take space in ZEN.
Come for the race, stay for the friends, fun & marriage proposals
October 07, 2016



Imagine going into a restaurant where you have to prepare your own food, serve yourself, clean up your own mess and then pay a bill at the end. The company provides the food and overhead  and nothing else.

This is the level of service your customer will get if he or she buys a public cloud package through a hyperscale cloud provider such as Google (News - Alert) or Amazon.







A hyperscale cloud provider will offer the bare metal infrastructure that is needed for running a public cloud environment. The infrastructure will even be of premium quality. But it will be your customers job to manage that infrastructure on a daily basis.
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.
Introduction

8/19/2017 Update: added an entry for AMD Radeon Vega RX on the last slide.

ATI entered the graphics card market in 1986, and it continued to operate independently until 2006. Even after its acquisition by AMD, products were sold under the ATI brand for several more years.

In the face of many ups and downs, ATI/AMD is clearly determined to make its mark on graphics. Over the last three decades, most of the competition rose and fell. And over the next several pages, we'll look at the best boards ATI (and, later, AMD) created to keep it in a very unforgiving game.

We're primarily focusing on flagship GPUs. Although we discuss lower-end models, there are dozens of other notable GPUs, too. There's not much talk of dual-GPU solutions, since the purpose of our story is an examination of ATI/AMD's architectural march forward.



MORE: Best Graphics Cards

MORE: Desktop GPU Performance Hierarchy Table

MORE: The History Of Nvidia GPUs



ATI Wonder (1986)

ATI produced several models in its Wonder family between 1986 and the early 1990s. All of them were extremely simplistic, designed to handle text and rudimentary 2D images.

One notable entry in the ATI Wonder line was the VGA Stereo-F/X, which combined a 2D graphics accelerator and Creative Sound Blaster audio processor on a single add-on card.

ATI Mach 8 (1990)

ATI continued to improve its display technology, culminating in the Mach series of 2D graphics accelerators. The first implementation was the Mach 8, which introduced more advanced 2D features.

Image Credit: VGAMuseum.info

ATI Mach 32 (1992)

ATI later incorporated the functions of both its Wonder and Mach product lines into a single card, which became known as the Mach 32.

Image Credit: VGAMuseum.info

ATI Mach 64 (1994)

The Mach 32 was succeeded by the Mach 64, which accelerated 2D graphics like the rest of the family. Later, ATI added 3D graphics processing capabilities. This marked ATI's first entry into the 3D gaming market, and the end of the Mach line-up.



ATI 3D Rage (1995)

ATI sold its first 2D/3D graphics accelerators under two brand names. We already mentioned the Mach 64. Now we need to discuss its successor: 3D Rage. The first 3D Rage-based cards were identical in every way to the 3D-capable Mach 64s. They even used a Mach 64 2D graphics core.

A later revision of the original 3D Rage, named "3D Rage II," improved 3D performance significantly while also adding new multimedia and CAD features. It was used on several motherboards as an integrated solution. The 3D Rage II core was typically clocked at 60 MHz, and graphics cards shipped with 4 to 8MB of on-board memory.

Image Credit: VGAMuseum.info

ATI 3D Rage Pro (1997)

The 3D Rage Pro incorporated several improvements over the 3D Rage II. For instance, it was designed to work with Intel's Accelerated Graphics Port. ATI also added support for several new features like fog and transparent images, specular lighting, and DVD playback. It also upgraded the triangle setup engine and made numerous tweaks to the core to boost performance. The 3D Rage Pro operated at 75 MHz, or 15 MHz higher than the 3D Rage II. Maximum memory jumped to 16MB of SGRAM. But while performance did increase compared to ATI's own 3D Rage II, the 3D Rage Pro failed to distinguish itself against Nvidia's Riva 128 and 3dfx's Voodoo.

ATI Rage 128 (1998)

ATI's next project was much more ambitious. The company incorporated support for 32-bit color and a second pixel pipeline, which allowed the Rage 128 to output two pixels per clock instead of just one. It fed the architecture with a 128-bit memory interface, too. As a means to further improve performance, the Rage 128 leveraged what ATI called its Twin Cache Architecture consisting of an 8KB pixel cache and an 8KB buffer for already-textured pixels.

The Rage Fury card was highly competitive for its time. It wasn't quite as fast as the Voodoo3, which beat it in 16-bit mode, but the Rage 128 chip outperformed Matrox's G400 and Nvidia's Riva TNT when 32-bit color was used (the Voodoo card didn't support 32-bit at all).

ATI Rage 128 Pro (1999)

The Rage 128 Pro supported DirectX 6.0 and the AGP X4 interface. ATI also updated aspects of the triangle setup engine, increasing theoretical geometry throughput to eight million triangles/second. These enhancements landed the Rage Fury Pro around the same performance as 3dfx's Voodoo3 2000 and Nvidi's Nvidia's Riva TNT2.

ATI complemented the multimedia features of its Rage 128 Pro with an on-board chip called the Rage Theater. This allowed the Rage Fury Pro to output video through composite and S-video connectors.

Image Credit: VGAMuseum.info

ATI Rage Fury MAXX (1999)

Unable to beat the competition with its Rage 128 Pro, ATI took a page out of 3dfx's book and created a single graphics card with two Rage 128 Pro processors. That card came to be known as the Rage Fury MAXX, and it employed Alternate Frame Rendering technology. Using AFR, each graphics chip rendered all of the odd or all of the even frames, which were then displayed one after the other. This differed from 3dfx's SLI technology, which broke the frame down into even and odd scan lines. AFR is still in use today.

Although the Rage Fury MAXX outperformed most of its competition (except Nvidia's GeForce 256 DDR), it was doomed to a short life. Microsoft's Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems did not support two GPUs on the AGP bus, instead utilizing a single Rage Fury Pro. Rather, the MAXX was best paired to Windows 98 and ME.



MORE: Best Graphics Cards

MORE: Desktop GPU Performance Hierarchy Table

MORE: The History Of Nvidia GPUs

ATI Radeon DDR (2000)

In 2000, ATI switched to the Radeon branding still in use today. The first member of that family was simply called the Radeon DDR, and it was based on the R100 GPU. The R100 was an evolution of the Rage 128 Pro, but it featured a hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L) engine. It also had two pixel pipelines and three TMUs. ATI added a feature called HyperZ consisting of three technologies: Z compression, Fast Z clear, and a Hierarchical Z-buffer, which combined to conserve memory bandwidth and improve rendering efficiency.

The Radeon DDR also marked ATI's transition to a new 180 nm fabrication process, which helped the company push clock rates as high as 183 MHz on the 64 MB version (a 32 MB card was also available with a 166 MHz GPU).

Image Credit: VGAMuseum.info
Kansas City Return Trip

Northeast Kansas City Robbery

Today's Metro Runaround

Dead Tree Media Late To Tragic Kansas City Homicide Trend

Kansas City Confrontation

Golden Ghetto Gun Play Aftermath

EPIC Doggie Adoption Event

always seems to be making news with her hot body and right now she has inspired thislink look:And this is thefor right now . . .
Salon Picks Up Crosby's Teapot Tempest

Homeboy From The Inner Suburbs Charged With Girlfriend Beat Down Captured

Show-Me Debate Discord

Cruel JoCo Crook Steals Bike

Fanboys Admit 2016 Defeat Already

Brit hottieand right now we celebrate her better days along with this collection of Kansas City mainstream media links.Take a look:And this is thefor right now . . .
Kansas City Newsie Elite Chatter





Here's Kansas City public TV chatter and the official story from these local newsies discussing topics our blog community has kicked around all week . . .



"Nick Haines, Lynn Horsley, Jay Senter and Dave Helling discuss the future of a new downtown convention hotel, the InterContinental Hotel receiving blight designation, the latest setback for the Mission Gateway project, the debate over tax returns in the MO Governor's race, Kansas 3rd District campaign ads, a new approach to reporting KS budget numbers, KCMO tax incentives & election readiness."



More in a bit . . .
Given that nobody's going to be looking at. . . Here's a resource for safe and better people watching . . ."With the end of daylight saving time just around the corner, the City is encouraging residents to be safe when out and about after dark. Kansas Citys Public Works department is leading thecampaign to remind pedestrians and bicyclists that they must be seen to be safe.Glow Before You Go will visit First Fridays in the Crossroads Art District on Oct. 7 at 5 p.m. A booth with safety information and giveaways will be set up at Keller Williams Skyline Reality, 1724 S. Main St., and the Art and Bike Clubhouse at 512 E. 18th St. Roving cyclists, including KCPD Downtown Bike Patrol officers, will also distribute safety lights.To learn more about Glow Before You Go and for additional tips on how to stay safe when traveling at night, visit."###########
It's nonsensical to get mad at Donald Trump for saying stupid things given that his entire political career and rise to power is predicated on provocative, nasty, divisive remarks that are either ignored or more often endorsed by his legion of fans. More the the point: This is your guy. Warts and all.

RATHER THAN SUBMIT TO POLITICAL TALKING POINTS . . . WE WANT TO SEE WHAT OUR BLOG COMMUNITY THINKS ABOUT THIS TRUMP "GRAB HER BY THE PUSSY" HOT MESS!!!





Fox News: Trump apologizes for lewd remarks in video statement amid GOP uproar





The Atlantic: Trump Brags About Groping Women









Honestly, I don't know how to feel about this one other than the fact that feigned (self) righteous indignation is just about the most boring of all mass-mediated emotions in this digital age.Don't get it twisted . . . We respect anger, rage and real emotion . . . But so far what we've seen is nothing more than politicos and media people attempt to use this unfortunate "hot mic" (love that term) mess to their advantage.TKC quick take:Furthermore . . . Given that this race is closer than anybody wants to admit, the entire episode feels like a manufactured media ploy rather than a massive outpouring of outrage over a dumb remark that nobody would dare defend.Best of all . . .Even better . . . We like thatand has to pussyfoot around the statement.Is this finally, at long last Donald Trump's Waterloo ??? Or just another "distraction" from how muchreally wants to vote for Hillary Clinton.Background links from both sides . . .You decide . . .
The EuroWorking Group (EWG) will meet on Monday to approve the disbursement of the 2.8-billion-euro loan sub-tranche

The EuroWorking Group (EWG) will meet on Monday to approve the disbursement of the 2.8-billion-euro loan sub-tranche to Greece, a senior Eurozone official told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Friday.

Earlier this week, the same source had said that the EWG would only be called only if the institutions certify that all the prior actions required by the countrys lenders have been implemented.

This means that the official approval for the disbursement at Mondays Eurogroup is very possible.

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
Greece's current reforms under the third bailout programme cannot deliver primary surplus targets exceeding 1.5 pct of GDP, the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) European Department, Poul Thomsen, said

Greece's current reforms under the third bailout programme cannot deliver primary surplus targets exceeding 1.5 pct of GDP, the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) European Department, Poul Thomsen, said in a news briefing in Washington on Friday.

"We can support a programme that is based on a primary surplus of 1.5 percent. If Greece and its European partners want to agree on a programme with a more ambitious fiscal target, we need to see how it adds up," he said, repeating the standing IMF position on the issue.

Greece has yet to implement important reforms in the public sector, Thomsen pointed out, while he also noted the high deficits generated by the Greek pension system and problems with exceptionally large tax exemptions of households, reaching as high as 60 pct.

"It urgently needs a better social system to target the vulnerable, it needs an unemployment compensation system in order to be able to modernise," he said.

Thomsen repeated that Greece's debt is not sustainable, which prevents the IMF from participating financially in the Greek programme.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
The recent problems in the relationship between the Church and State were discussed between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Archbishop Ieronymos on Wednesday evening in an effort to overcome the recent crisis, tovima.gr reports.

Also present at the meeting were the Ministers of National Defense Panos Kammenos, Education Nikos Filis, as well as government spokesperson Olga Gerovasili. The Archbishop was accompanied by the Metropolitan Bishops of Sparta Eftasthios, Fthiotida Nikolaos, Mesogaia Nikolaos and legal adviser Theodoros Papageorgiou.

The government side argued that the circular regarding the religious education course in schools cannot be repealed; however it can gradually be improved in coordination with the Church, with a full review at the end of the year.

The Church officials complained about recent statements from the Education Minister, specifically on how the Church has contributed to the moral decline of society, as well as that the religious education reform was carried out without a final discussion.

In response the government expressed its frustration over the Archbishops recent statements on the Left and underlined that a debate took place. As argued during the meeting, close associates of the Archbishop participated in the drafting of the new school program.

Eventually both sides agreed that there is a need for a mutual, dignified compromise for both sides. The Education Minister also noted that he has no problem revising his statement on the Churchs contribution to the moral decline of society. Church sources estimated that a lot need to be done, but that Wednesdays meeting was a first step. It remains to be seen how this may affect the rumored cabinet reshuffle.

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 15 percent of jobs in the Greek public sector will be filled by persons with disabilities

A 15 percent of jobs in the Greek public sector will be filled by persons with disabilities, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday said in a special event to honour the members of the Greek mission to the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Tsipras announced that the relevant bill will be tabled in parliament in the next few days.

Addressing the athletes with disabilities, the prime minister underlined that the measure served as "tangible support to your daily struggle, but also a constant reminder to society that you are not second-class citizens," adding that the quality and the morals of a country are primarily reflected in the treatment of its weakest members, so as to make them even stronger.

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
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Friday, with whom he discussed the progress made by Greece in its reform program

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Friday, with whom he discussed the progress made by Greece in its reform program, as part of the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington DC.

According to information, Lew said that Europe must implement its commitment to make Greeces debt sustainable through significant debt relief, which must be supported by reliable growth and fiscal adjustments that are vital for the long-term economic stability in Greece.

Tsakalotos also met European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici and German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble. He is scheduled to meet Italian counterpart Pier Carlo Padoan at 23:00 (Greek time) and have dinner with Adewale Adeyemo, deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) for International Economics.

On Saturday, he will meet with the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem and French counterpart Michel Sapin. Tsakalotos is accompanied by Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Chouliarakis.

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
Brussels is closely following talks on the Greek issue taking place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington

Brussels is closely following talks on the Greek issue taking place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington but holds little hope for a quick resolution of outstanding issues, a Community source said on Friday.

"The elephant in the room is nothing other than the IMF's own participation in the Greek programme," the source told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA). Germany's stance was also at odds with the decision taken at the Eurogroup in May, creating further obstacles, the source said.

"We have an agreement and this says that the IMF leadership is in a position to ask the Fund's board to approve a new programme with Greece before the end of the year," the source said. In order for the IMF to decide, however, it had said that there must first be "clarity" on what is to be done about Greek debt.

The Eurogroup's decision in May had stipulated that a discussion on the debt will begin once the first review is successfully concluded. "We are at that point now," the source added.

He noted that European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici, who is currently in Washington, will have a meeting with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde to discuss these issues. The aim will be to find a compromise, the source said, since the Commission's role was that of mediator.

Another well-informed source, talking to the ANA, noted that a breakthrough may be achieved if there was a realisation soon that the EU had much more serious issues to worry about, and if both the Eurozone and the IMF backed down. Then the IMF could join the Greek programme in November or December, provided that the second review was concluded promptly.

The source predicted that the speed of reviews will accelerate significantly, pointing out that the current Greek programme was extremely frontloaded, so it was natural for the first review to take a long time.

"Most of the reforms have been carried out. The next reviews will focus on checking their implementation," the source said.

Regarding the disbursement of the 2.8 billion euro sub-tranche, there was "guarded optimism" in Brussels that this might be approved by the Eurogroup on Monday. The institutions were currently examining the bill on civil aviation issues passed on Thursday and the EuroWorking Group was awaiting their report in order to convene on Monday, before the Eurogroup.

"Everyone involved in the Greek programme is in Washington at this time and is working from there to complete the review," the source 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
Greece and Europe with neither tolerate attempts to dispute the Lausanne Treaty nor leave them unanswered, President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos said

Greece and Europe with neither tolerate attempts to dispute the Lausanne Treaty nor leave them unanswered, President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos said on Saturday. The Greek president was visiting the Aegean island of Limnos to attend celebrations marking the 104th anniversary of the island's liberation from Ottoman rule in 1912.

Pavlopoulos warned "our friend and neighbour Turkey" that to dispute the Lausanne Treaty was a violation of international law that "irreparably damaged" its standing as a member of the international community. In addition to this, it showed open designs against the borders of both Greece and the European Union, "and for this reason will not be tolerated nor, of course, left unanswered," he added.

The Greek president noted that Limnos, due to its geographic position, was an important part of Greek territory but also that of the EU. Under European law, which defined European borders as those of its individual member-states, the borders of Greece also coincided with the borders of the EU, he added.

During his visit, President Pavlopoulos was named an honorary citizen of Limnos.

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
Hotel stayovers in the greater Athens area fell over the first eight-month period of the year even as international arrivals at the Athens International Airport (AIA) posted record results

Hotel stayovers in the greater Athens area fell over the first eight-month period of the year, compared to the same period last year, even as international arrivals at the Athens International Airport (AIA) posted record results.

The drop was confirmed by the H1 results announced by three out of four listed hotel operators on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), which reported lower stays in the face of a 4.32-percent increase in international arrivals at Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos Airport.

According to data released by the GBR Consulting firm and commissioned by the hotel federation that represents units in the greater Athens area and adjoining Saronic Gulf isles, the Jan-Aug 2016 period witnessed a drop in overnight stays by 1.1 percent. The figure for international arrivals at Athens airport during the same period was up 6.4 percent, yoy.

The negative trend was partially offset by the fact that the average room rate increased by 4.2 percent, to stand at 94.78 euros per overnight stay; and up 3 percent, to 72.43 euros, for available rooms.

A slight improvement was recorded in July and August 2016, where overnight stays increased by 1 and 0.3 percent, respectively, in comparison to the same period last year. Nevertheless, even the slightly improved figures lagged far behind the increase in tourists arriving in Greece via the Athens airport.

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
For most travellers Greece is synonymous to sand, sea, sunshine and the majestic Greek islands. However, Athens can also offer tourists some great options, while en route to the dreamy Greek island on their itinerary. You soak up the rich history and incredible archeological sites the Greek capital is famous for. Start your experience in the capital by going to the famous Syntagma Square in the centre of the city. We give you a list of 25 things to do at Syntagma Square in Athens, as presented by greecelists.wordpress.com, one of the best sources on all things Greece in the blogosphere:

The steps at Syntagma Square have been a traditional meeting point for people as all roads seem to lead here. Youll find commuters rushing during peak hour traffic, children feeding the pigeons and backpackers dipping into the fountain to cool down during a heatwave after a spot of Athens sightseeing.

Sit still, listen carefully to the undercurrents of the pulsating crowd and tap into the next chapter of modern Greek history in the making. After all, every major event has either been mourned or celebrated here.

Named after the Constitution (Syntagma) that King Otto  Greeces first royal  granted following a popular revolt on September 3, 1843. The riots took place right at the doorstep of his palace that has housed the Greek Parliament since 1934. Stimulated by the goings on within its 19th-century neo-classical crowning landmark, the crowds sometimes turn to mobs with violent civil battles between post-war commies and royalists or, more recently, the angered political cries of youths armed with explosives.

Worst still are the moments of silence when the square is stunned by Nazi occupiers or tanks heralding the start of a 7-year dictatorship or even retired pharmacist Dimitris Christoulas blowing his brains out one morning in 2012, unable to cope with the burden of austerity measures.

Things to do at Syntagma Square:

1.Photograph the evzones during the main changing of the guard ceremony at 11:00 Sunday or every hour on the hour 247.

2. Take a close look at the tomb of the unkown soldier.

3. Feed the pigeons.

4.Take a free tour of Parliament house.

5. Make a wish and throw a coin in the fountain.

6. Or cool down on a hot summers day.

7. Read the notes occasionally pinned to the red-painted suicide tree.

8. Attend a free lecture or workshop at Public Bookstore.

9. Enjoy brunch with a birds eye view of the square at Public Bookstore.

10. Visit the museum of ancient artifacts found during the excavation works at Syntagma metro station.

11. Find George Zongolopoulos atrium of flying umbrellas at Syntagma Metro.

12. Stroll through the walkway from the metro ticket booth to the Panepistimiou Street.

13. Attend one of the numerous fairs and bazaars at the conference center of the Syntagma metro station.

14. Attend the Dancing Athens street festival at squares around Athens  including Syntagma Square on October 1 with a presentation of works by choreographer Cie Willi Dorber, titled Bodies in Urban Space.

15. Take a selfie at the designated selfie spot at the historic Grand Bretagne Hotel rooftop.

16. People watch at one of the sidewalk cafes.

17. Join a protest rally or riot or any other gathering, such as the Athens Gay Pride Parade.

18. Play Pokemon Go.

19. Watch the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in December.

20. Buy a lottery ticket from the vendor just outside the metro station.

21. Have a Big Mac at McDonalds.

22. Admire the portion of the Peisistratian aqueduct on display at Syntagma Square.

23. Visit one of the remaining florists on Vas. Sofias Avenue, just beneath Greek Parliament, before they disappear forever.

24. Search for democracy.

25. Listen to the crowds.

Getting there: Syntagma Metro Station, Syntagma Tram Station, X95 Airport bus

Source: greecelists.wordpress.com

by Mary Sinanidis

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
Alltours is aiming for 4.5% growth next year with an expanded summer programme and new destinations after lower bookings but stable profits this year

Alltours is aiming for 4.5% growth next year with an expanded summer programme and new destinations after lower bookings but stable profits this year.

Germanys fifth-largest tour operator today unveiled expected pre-tax profits of 52 million for the year ending October 2016 even though customer numbers are likely to fall by 241,000 to 1.63 million. The revenue figure was not disclosed. However, the company maintained its profits by sharply cutting back on full charter flights.

Despite lower customer numbers, the Alltours Group is very satisfied with the financial results, said managing director Markus Daldrup.

The volume decline was largely due to an overall loss of 260,000 bookings for Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt. In contrast, Alltours and its last-minute holidays brand byebye saw good growth for Spain, with a 6.9% rise in customer numbers, while there was also strong demand for Bulgaria (+38%), Greece (+6%) and Mexico (+20%).

Looking ahead, Alltours is targeting a 4.5% rise for both customer numbers and revenue in the 2016/17 year. Winter bookings are currently going to plan, although demand for Turkey remains below last year.

Europe programme

For summer 2017, Alltours has expanded its Europe programme significantly with new destinations, including Spains Costa Brava, Costa Dorada and Costa de Almeria as well as Corsica and Scandinavia. Capacity has been increased especially for Spain, Greece, Portugal and Bulgaria. Among new long-haul destinations are Mauritius and Curacao.

The overall hotel portfolio has increased from 2,900 hotels this summer to 3,355 for next summer, with about 10% of these exclusively bookable through Alltours. The groups Allsun hotel chain will have 32 hotels, including 26 on Majorca.

There are diverging price trends, but overall prices will be stable. Alltours holidays will be cheaper in Egypt and Turkey (-5%), Tunisia (-4%) and Greece (-2%) as well as the UAE and Asia, but Spain will be between 2% and 2.7% more expensive.

We see ourselves very well positioned with the summer programme for 2017 and will grow in the 2016/17 business year, Daldrup stated. We hope that Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt recover from the general weak demand so that we can adjust our growth upwards.

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
Leading specialists in pension and human-resource benefits administration, asset management and long-term investment plans will be in Bahrain for a key finance summit this month.



The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) Pensions Conference will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Manama on October 18.



It will bring together, for the first time, private and public sector representatives, regional and global institutions and leading employee benefits consultants to discuss how the region can reflect global practices in pension schemes for citizens and expat workers.



With almost 250 registered delegates to date, momentum is building for the summit, said Takaud, the specialist provider of savings and pension solutions for the Mena region.



The support we have received has been overwhelming, remarked Ebrahim K. Ebrahim, Takauds chief government business and communications officer, and the leader of the conference initiative.



We are most grateful for the high level commitment demonstrated for the Conference and its important goals, he stated.



The conference has drawn prominent speakers, including representatives of international organisations such as the World Bank, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the World Pension Council.



Public pension entities from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco will provide their perspective to the audience of distinguished and expert delegates. Delegates from across the region will be joined by international delegates from the countries of Albania, Mongolia, Nigeria and Namibia.



Official Conference partners include the Economic Development Board, Bahrain Bourse, the SIO (Social Insurance Organisation) and other national institutions.



Ebrahim pointed out that the event is meeting a need in the region by bringing together public pension administrators, private-sector pension providers, economic advisors, financial services regulators, asset managers, and specialist financial firms.



According to him, the conference mandate supports public and private pension provision.



"Globally, there are challenges in sustaining social security benefits due to changes in economic, demographic and social conditions, he stated. This conference will explore and present options beyond sole pension-provision by governments, in line with the World Banks three-pillar pension format," stated Ebrahim.



"Moreover, with the presence of substantial numbers of expatriate workers throughout the region, there is a need to ensure that this working population has access to regulated private-sector pensions, assuring them of some sort of retirement security. In many companies the End-of-Service Benefits (ESBs) for expat workers are not adequately managed in accordance with global best practices," he explained.



"In our region alone, private sector pensions are currently a $30 billion business. Experts have calculated that by 2023, just seven years from now, if this region invests in private and corporate pensions at a level that reflects the average of the 16 countries studied by Towers Watson in 2015, pensions will represent $1.9 trillion in assets under management, which in turn can turn the region into a super financial centre," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The UAE Ministry of Economy has signed a strategic agreement with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (Kipo) to further promote and protect intellectual property in the UAE.



The MoU was signed by Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Undersecretary for Economic Affairs and Choi Donggyou, Commissioner, Kipo on the sidelines of the 56th series of Meetings of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which runs till October 11 in Geneva, Switzerland.



Al Shehhi, who is heading the participating UAE delegation, said the MoU follows in the direction of previously signed agreements between the UAE and Kipo - all focused on the development of a system that can promote and protect intellectual property rights in the country.



The move is expected to encourage more creativity and innovation among inventors and creators while also providing an attractive economic and investment environment in compliance with the set objectives and goals of UAE Vision 2021, he stated.



Under the terms of the agreement, both countries will be working closely to help establish and operate the International Centre of Patent Registration (ICPR) at the UAE Ministry of Economy, a new international center that will oversee the registration of patents in the emirates.



The facility will house an international body of patent experts that will review and evaluate patents based on a special intellectual property system.



The new centre will run training programs for professionals in the field of intellectual property to further develop their skills and abilities. It is also expected to develop key research and studies covering issues and topics concerning intellectual property.-TradeArabia News Service
The Duqm Special Economic Zone Authority (Sezad) is offering new investment opportunities for the local private sector that includes the construction of a commercial centre (suq) as part of efforts to boost private sector investment in Oman.



According to a press release, an area of 80,000 sq m located in a vivid location within the populous Sai District has been assigned for the construction of the commercial centre.



The land is also located near a project for 150 residential units for people of Duqm, and near commercial banks and the centre of commercial activity in the Wilayat of Duqm.

Sezad aims to see market become the nucleus of the modern city of Duqm and to be developed by the investor in a manner that meets the needs of the local community and residents. - TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain's government will soon start work on the East Sitra Housing Project which will see the construction of 5,000 residential units across the kingdom, said a report.



The announcement comes following a directive from His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa to start the work before the end of this year, reported the BNA.



The project, to be funded through international partnership in co-operation and co-ordination with the Eskan Bank, will implement the royal directives, and achieve the goals set in the Government Action Plan, stated the report.



HRH Premier tasked the Housing Ministry to cooperate with the Ministry of Finance and the other relevant parties to take the necessary procedures in this regard.



The Premier affirmed that the government will intensify its housing projects and chart new programmes that will bring about a positive change in the planning, construction and management of Bahraini cities, it added.
The UAE has announced the launch of two international initiatives aimed at harnessing the spirit of tolerance among the global community  the Mohammed Bin Rashid Award for Tolerance and the International Institute for Tolerance.



These initiatives were launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Saturday.



"The UAE is a melting pot of different global cultures and represents a model of tolerance. We are proud of the spirit of solidarity in UAE society but we now aim to transform this social value into a sustainable institutional framework that benefits all the peoples of the Arab world and beyond," stated Sheikh Mohammed while speaking at the launch.



"Tolerance is a guarantee for sustainable development and stability in all countries of the world. Today there is a vital need for an intellectual and cultural renaissance that spreads the message of tolerance and coexistence," he added.



The Mohammed bin Rashid Award for Tolerance will recognize significant achievements in tolerance in the domains of human thought, literary creativity and the arts.



The award aims to build Arab youth leaders and hone their capacities and spirit of tolerance in the intellectual, cultural and media arenas to promote greater openness in the Arab world.



Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, State Minister for Tolerance, has been directed to head the board for the award while His Excellency Ahmad Khalfan Al Mansour will serve as the Secretary General.



The International Institute for Tolerance is the first-of-its-kind institute in the Arab world and will provide advice, consultation and expertise in developing to promote and instil the value of tolerance in society.



The institute will publish studies and reports focused on tolerance and work in collaboration with concerned cultural institutions in the Arab world to spread the principles of tolerance among new generations.



It is also mandated to investigate and document the roots of bigotry, narrow-mindedness and sectarianism. Furthermore, the institute will serve as a think tank supporting Arab researchers and international specialists engaged in the field of tolerance.



Dr Hamad Al Shaikh Ahmed Al Shaibani has been appointed the managing director for the Institute for Tolerance.



These two initiatives are the latest efforts by Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives (MBRGI), the global organization concerned with the development of human societies - that spearheads more than 30 humanitarian, charitable, knowledge, health and educational programs.



MBRGI, headed by Sheikh Mohammed, aims to improve the lives of 130 million people in the upcoming decade.



"We need to provide our youth with knowledge resources and intellectual vigour for them to grow and achieve their potential. With the award, our focus will be on Arab youth who are our future hope in standing up against bigotry and exclusion," said Sheikh Mohammed.



"The award will acknowledge the symbols of tolerance in all creative and intellectual domains. We see this award as an urgent initiative under the present circumstances," he added.



Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, the secretary general of MBRGI said these initiatives are a practical response from Sheikh Mohammed to the main causes of tension and decline in the region that include bigotry, narrow-mindedness and prejudice against beliefs, sects and nationalities.



"These will highlight models of openness and tolerance and support intellectual and aesthetic creativity. This will in turn encourage tolerance and coexistence in the region," he noted.



The Mohammed bin Rashid Award for Tolerance will be presented across five categories. Three will acknowledge achievements of tolerance in human thought, literary and artistic creativity. While, the remaining two will take the shape of contests dedicated to youth projects and new media.



In human thought, the award will honour a figure who has contributed to spreading tolerance through his/her works and exemplifies tolerant attitudes and the ability to bring cultures together.



The literary creativity award will acknowledge authors for multiculturalism, the preservation of human heritage and promoting mutual understanding and equality among people.



In the field of aesthetic arts, the award will be presented to a leading artist in theatre, painting, cinema or other arts who has dedicated his/her work to building bridges between cultures and celebrating coexistence and tolerance. The award will also announce a contest to select tolerance ambassadors for youth, focusing on the social media and online environments.



The International Institute for Tolerance for its part will guarantee the sustainability of projects related to tolerance and organize programs that increase awareness and allow the transformation of ideas into reality to benefit societies at large.

The institute will help build leaders and capacities, and spread a culture of tolerance. The institute will also organize activities and training and supports researchers across the world in identifying the roots of bigotry and narrow-mindedness in societies.-TradeArabia News Service


Qatar Airways has reached an agreement with Boeing to purchase 30 787-9 Dreamliners and 10 777-300ERs valued at $11.7 billion at list prices in line with its fleet expansion strategy.



The airline also signed a Letter of Intent for up to 60 737 MAX 8s, valued at $6.9 billion at list prices, said a statement from Boeing.



One of largest fleet announcements in Qatar Airways' history validates the value, reliability and performance of Boeing's twin-aisle airplanes.



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, Qatari national carrier boosts its firm order backlog of Boeing widebody airplanes from 65 to 105, including 60 777Xs.



The announcement was made in the presence of Qatar's Minister of Finance Ali Shareef Al Emadi, US Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and the Ambassador of Qatar Mohammed Jaham Al Kuwari.



On the new deal, Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker, said: "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."



"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," he stated.



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, said Al Baker.



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 US 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," he added.



Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive Ray Conner said: "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."



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.



"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," remarked Conner.-TradeArabia News Service
New Delhi, October 7

The government will garner as much as Rs 37,000 crore this fiscal from just-concluded spectrum auction after taking into account close to Rs 5,000 crore of service tax that telecom companies will pay.

The government received commitment of Rs 65,789 crore by selling 964.80 MHz of spectrum, more than the combined amount of airwaves sold in past four auctions, in a sale that concluded yesterday. Of this, winners have to deposit Rs 32,000 crore within 10 days of receipt of allotment letters.

While the allotment letters may go out as early as Monday, the spectrum would be assigned to the winning companies within one month of their depositing the money, Telecom Secretary JS Deepak said.

The proceeds from spectrum sale for this financial year would be bolstered by additional Rs 5,000 crore on account of 15% service tax that is applicable (on the sale consideration)...this means that the realisation for the current fiscal would be close to Rs 37,000 crore, he said.

Asked if he was satisfied with the spectrum auctions, Deepak said, yes...our expectations are met...Government has not sought to profiteer...the amount of spectrum sold is more than the cumulative spectrum sold in the past four years. Upfront payment from spectrum sale this fiscal is also going to be the highest in the past five years, he noted.

The Telecom Secretary conceded that lack of interest in 700 Mhz band was on account of higher prices and lack of ecosystem for the band.

But he declined to comment on when the government plans to put the unsold spectrum on the block or whether the same would be done at reduced reserve prices.

The auctions have ended the spectrum scarcity that was faced by the telecom industry in India, he said adding that against total of 930 Mhz of spectrum sold over the last four years, the government sold 965 Mhz of spectrum in the 2016 auctions. This will improve the quality of services, he added.

The five-day spectrum auction logged in bids worth Rs 65,789 crore. Bids were received for 964.80 MHz of spectrum out of 2,354.55 MHz across seven bands put on offer.

UK-based Vodafones India unit was the most aggressive, taking home Rs 20,279 crore worth of spectrum. Airtel, the nations biggest telecom company, bought Rs 14,244 crore worth of spectrum, while Idea Cellular put in Rs 12,798 crore of bids. pti
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 7

The CBI today arrested an accountant, Gurdeep Singh, posted at the office of the Accountant General, Punjab and UT, Sector 17, in a graft case.

A Ludhiana resident, Kesar Singh, complained to the agency that Gurdeep had demanded Rs 1,500 from him to clear his loan file.

He asked Kesar Singh to come to his office to give the money. Kesar complained to the CBI, which laid a trap and arrested Grudeep.
Chandigarh/Pkula, Oct 7

Taking cognizance of the report published in The Tribune about alarmingly high number of fever and dengue cases in peripheral colonies, the authorities have woken up and d swung in to action today.

In the Rajiv Nagar colony, Panchkula, the Health Department has started a two-day awareness camp to inform people about safety measures on dengue. Various challans were conducted and larvae were destroyed, Panchkula Civil Surgeon Dr VK Bansal said. In Vikas Nagar Colony, Chandigarh, the Health Department carried out fogging and the Municipal Corporation lifted garbage of the area, Dr Rakesh Kumar Kashyap, Director, Health Services,said.

Chandigarh Tribune had reported that almost every house in the area was complaining of fever and the number of dengue cases was very high. The residents claimed that fogging was not done regularly and health officials rarely visited the area.  TNS
Chandigarh, October 8

A 38-year-old domestic help, who hailed from Nepal, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a house in Sector 18 here this morning.

Suspectinsg it to be a case of suicide, the police have started inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC.

The police said they got a call from the owner of the house, Sanjeev Kumar, that his servant, Dinanath, did not come out of his room till 8 am. He grew suspicious and went to the room only to find him lying on the bed. He was taken to the GMSH- 16 where doctors declared him dead. The police said the exact cause of the death would be known after the post-mortem examination.  TNS
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 7

Thousands of passengers were at the receiving end for three hours this morning as the movement of trains from the Chandigarh railway station came to a standstill due to a protest by railway employees in the washing area of the station. The departure of five trains, including the afternoon Shatabdi, was delayed.

The Shatabdi (12046), which leaves the station at 12 noon, started from the station at 12.40 pm.

Though the protest was called off at 11.30 am, it took time to clear the tracks near the washing bay which were blocked by the protesters. As a result, the Shatabdi could not be shunted to Platform No. 1 on time. The train reached Delhi nearly an hour late.

Similarly, an incoming train, the Unchahar Express, was stopped at the Ghaggar station because of the protest and got delayed by two hours. It reached the Chandigarh station at 11.15 am instead of the scheduled 9.15 am. The Lucknow-Chandigarh Express (12231) also reached Chandigarh late by a little over an hour. The scheduled arrival was at 10 am and the train reached at 11.05 am as it was halted at Dappar. The Amritsar-Chandigarh Express (12242), scheduled to arrive at 9.25 am, reached Chandigarh at 11.50 am. The train was stopped at the Industrial Area, Phase I, Chandigarh.

Similarly, the Nangal Dam-Ambala train was halted at the Mohali station for two hours. It reached Chandigarh at 12.55 pm instead of the scheduled 10.55 am.

The Jaipur-Chandigarh Intercity Express (19718) left the station 35 minutes late. It was scheduled to depart at 12.45 pm, but left at 1.20 pm.

DRM marks inquiry

Ambala Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Dinesh Kumar said he had marked an inquiry into the delay and action would be taken against those found responsible.
Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 7

While rejecting most of the objections raised by web-based cab aggregators  Uber, Meru and Ola  the Administration is all set to make the panic button mandatory in taxis. Sources said the Transport Department had finalised the policy after reviewing the objections received from different stakeholders.

An officer close to the development said the department had sent the recommendation to the higher authorities and the final decision would be taken by the Administrator.

The Transport Department held a meeting on the draft policy, On-demand Transport Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016, to run web-based taxis in the city last month. Most of the cab aggregators opposed the panic button condition, saying that their mobile app had every security feature and customers could send a message to the police if they found anything amiss during the travel. Another objection of the aggregators against having a digital meter and a printer inside the cab has also been overruled. The department had favoured it in its recommendations. The department has also not agreed to give any relaxation in the conditions set for drivers.

The two-year experience condition for drivers for running web-based taxis was also opposed by the aggregators.

The department agreed to drop the condition of installing CCTV cameras in taxis to protect the privacy of customers. Yellow signage will be made compulsory for taxis for identification purposes despite objections raised by the aggregators.

The policy has been framed by the UT after an advisory was sent by the Centre in October last year asking it to frame a policy to run web-based taxis.
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 8

A wave against war with Pakistan must be generated across length and breadth of the country. This was demanded by participants at a seminar held by Folklore Research Academy in collaboration with Alami Punjabi Foundation and other like-minded organisations.

They also sought complete end to use of terrorism for achieving political goals. The participants unanimously opined that a long- term peace and progress in South Asia could be achieved only when India and Pakistan buried the hatchet and decided to sit on table to resolve their all outstanding differences.

Former MLA and communist leader, Hardev Arshi, who presided over the seminar said, Pakistan can never get Indian Kashmir. Similarly, India can never take over the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Therefore, they must shun their demands and help in progress of peace and the people of subcontinent.

He said both neighbouring countries should take confidence building measures to tone down confrontational posture.

A senior journalist with a Punjabi daily, Satnam Manak, said both nations must resolve their bilateral issues in the SAARC meetings. He said the people of India and Pakistan had been living together from ages. Even their customs, traditions and language are common, he added.

The governments of both nations must abandon their belligerent posture and work for rapprochement, he added. He said war had been politicised in India and Pakistan, which was an affront to humanity. He appreciated peace marches carried out in various cities of Pakistan during the past few days.

Another Communist leader, Mangat Ram Pasla, said power struggle between capitalists had created an environment of war hysteria.

Farmer leader, Datar Singh, said a positive decision should been taken on Kashmir after both the countries gained Independence. Folklore research Academy president Ramesh Yadav coordinated the stage.
Suitable match for Jatt Sikh smart fair 29/5-6, highly educated divorced girl issueless, belongs to highly educated, landlord & business class family. Preferred Officer Rank/Business Class/landlord well-educated reputed family boy. Dowry seekers and marriage bureau please excuse. contact: 97803-66453, 81466-70999. NA6-49752

Looking for handsome, educated, tall, well settled groom for very beautiful, fair, slim, tall girl belonging to well placed family, working as Govt. teacher (permanent) in Education Deptt., Punjab, 5'-7", MA English, B.Ed., 06.12.1985, 10:40 am, Jalandhar. Family business. Brother Class-I officer. Send biodata and snaps. Whatsapp: 8591565651. E-mail: rameshchander1906@gmail.com C6-55632

MDS Medico PQM business match 4 Khatri girl MDS 5'-3", Oct. 1982, Chandigarh business family. 98766-94037, geet1966@rediffmail.com C6-58449

Professionally qualified match for beautiful, fair, Punjabi Khatri working girl, 5'-2", 24 November 1986, 4:00 a.m., Rohtak, MBE, B.A. English (Hons), B.Ed. Father Bank Manager, mother Government Lecturer. Chandigarh based family. glmalhotra58@gmail.com C6-59990

UK, 50 +, Sikh woman divorcee, 5'-2", similar age or younger. Caste no bar. Contact: 077325-19108. isg1982@hotmail.com looking for Sikh man similar age. C6-58515B

Match for Lobana girl, 5'-4", 1989 born, CA, MCA, B.Com (H), working in Gurgaon. 90418-25966. C6-58581

IAS/PCS/Medico match for Ramdasia Sikh girl 5'-2", 87, MDS Doctor, doing job. Father businessman, mother Class (I) Officer Punjab Govt. Sister IIT married, brother B.Tech. Thapar University. dgp_sidhu@yahoo.com C6-58617

Match for slim,fair complexioned, beautiful girl MCA, 1.8.88/5'-6". Mohali based Punjabi Brahmin vegetarian family require Sikh/cleanshaven working match from Punjabi Brahmin/Khatri/Jatt Sikh family. Send biodata aa29032903@gmail.com 99155-02092. C6-58797

Kumhar divorcee Sikh girl 1979/5', double MA, B.Ed. Father mother retd. Pb. Govt. Education Deptt. Brother Bhabhi Doctor. Caste no bar. 98729-06519. NA6-48194

Medico match US preferred for high status Jat Sikh girl 1988 born, 5'-3", MBBS, doing residency in General Surgery in USA. 98785-54134, 0019058028449. aman617@gmail.com A6-56294

Looking for MD, JD Jat Sikh boy from USA for a US Citizen Jat Sikh girl 30 year, 5'-10", tall, Corporate attorney working in well respected law firm. Contact with full bio-data and recent picture at girljatsikh@gmail.com C6-51865

Parents seeking Jatt Sikh match for their daughter, 23 years old 5'-7" tall, US citizen working as a LVN Nurse, looking for tall, handsome, non drinker, family oriented professional in medical field such as registered Nurse or Doctor wanting to settle in US. If interested, please send bio data and picture to hkaurb1234@outlook.com C6-53469

Only clean shaven Jat Sikh Punjabi boy 36-39 above 6' well-settled Articulate Compassionate Professional preferably overseas for 1982/5'-6" fair beautiful Jat Sikh girl Masters from UK doing well in corporate field in India. Early marriage. Contact: paramjits03@yahoo.com C6-53762

Qualified match for Canada PR, Jatt Sikh girl, 1981/5'- 8", MBA and working in reputed bank. Elder sister married in USA. 98883-90907. shaganshubh@gmail.com C6- 54741

Mumbai based Jat Sikh family seeks cleanshaven PQM for their convent educated, very fair & smart, MBA daughter, April 1987, 5'-5". Contact with full bio- data & photographs. E-mail : ssm2312@gmail.com C6-55331

US-based well-settled Jat Sikh match for 25 yrs., 5'- 8", convent educated girl, B.Sc. Nursing from PGI, Chandigarh, 7.5 Bands, having US Visitor Visa, brother settled in US. WhatsApp 94534-78007. C6-55462

Canada based Jat Sikh Grewal educated family seeks professional match with Masters/Bachelor Degree (Engineer, Doctor, CGA or Lawyer) from Canada, USA, UK, Australia or India for their India born, Canadian citizen, convent educated, Canadian university degree holder, fair complexioned daughter born 1977, 5'-3.5". Well versed in both cultures. Permanently employed with Canadian Federal Govt. as a Senior Officer. Brief marriage got annulled. Divorcees with children please excuse. Serious inquiries only. Family visiting India in the last week of October. Respond with complete qualifications, profession, family details with recent pictures to: canadamatri@rogers.com C6-55785

Australia PR (Sydney) Chandigarh Gill Jatt Sikh girl, 09.01.1987, 5'-7", B.Tech. Contact Australian Jatt Sikh boy. Contact: 70876-49821. Email: yuvigill2010@gmail.com C6-55791

Looking for well-settled Jat Sikh professional Canadian, USA or Indian match for 30 years 5'-4", beautiful, slim girl. Girl is a Canadian PR and professionally working in Managerial position in a Fortune 500 Company in Canada. Please respond with biodata and picture. 70561-76404. Email: singhbuland86@gmail.com C6-56842

PQM for Jat Sikh August 1987/ 5'-5" BDS, persuing research, having 10 year multipurpose USA visa. 98554- 67009. matrimonal7009@gmail.com C6-57354

USA born Jat Sikh MBBS girl (USMLE clear) 1984/5'-5". Doctors family well-settled in USA. Seeks professionally qualified from status family. Preferably Doctor. Email: bm1984jalandher@gmail.com C6-57476

Affluent Jat Sikh US settled Sandhu family seeking professional qualified US based match for their beautiful daughter, 5'-3", Sept. 1986 born, Aerospace Engineer at a renowned company. Only serious Jat Sikh inquiries should contact with biodata and a recent picture at: jaswantsandhu77@gmail.com , 080549-25000. C6-57544

Suitable match Indian/abroad for 79 born, 5'-3", BDS, Diploma Clinic Research, fair, beautiful, Jat Sikh girl, innocent divorcee, working MNC, Chandigarh. Parents retired gazetted officer. Respond with biodata, photo. e-mail : matrimonial9100@gmail.com C6-57727

Well-educated Sydney based Jat Sikh family seeking highly educated, well-settled match from status family for their Australian citizen daughter 36, never married, 5'-5", looks younger fair, slim, family oriented. Highly qualified with double Master (IT) degrees working with top MNC Sydney Overseas preferred. Send biodata, picture. sandhusydney3@gmail.com C6-57893

Suitable match for Jat Sikh girl, Sept. 1988 born, 5'- 3", M.Sc. IT, employed Defence deptt. (contract basis). Father Defence employee. Preferred Govt job/NRI. Contact: 9872803173. C6-57919

Seeking Jatt Sikh preferably turbaned, MS/MD Medico match for 1989 born, 5'-6" tall, fair, slim girl with Army background doing MD . E-mail: kiran101265@gmail.com C6-58225

Alliance required for May 90, BDS girl doing Masters in USA. 5 ft. 2 in. fair, slim and well-educated from Army Officers family. Only US/Canada match reply email bdsmatch@gmail.com Mob 94171-00755. C6-58451

Beautiful fair MBBS Doctor USA citizen 24/5'-6", landlord Officer family with commercial properties, looking for Doctor in USA doing Residency. Affluent Jat Sikh family background. orangemax2015@gmail.com C6- 58953

Well educated Jat Sikh family invites alliance for their 5'-7" born daughter, M.Sc., B.Ed., working in a reputed school in Chandigarh & legally divorced after a very short marriage. Father class 1 Officer in Punjab Govt. Boy should be well educated & well settled. Send details along with photo at simpleliving1963@gmail.com C6-59071

Well Settled Qualified from India/ Canadian match for beautiful Jat Sikh Randhawa girl 1986/ 5'-3'', MBA (Canada), Working as General Manager in reputed Company in Canada, Handsome package. Girl coming India in November, Chandigarh based family. Whatsapp 98886- 04944, E.Mail: barinderrandhawa9@gmail.com C6-59459B

Army officer's daughter, 1987 born, 5'-5", convent educated, B.Sc. Delhi University, MBA, serving in reputed International company. Army, Air Force, Navy Air-line officer/Engineer BE, M.Tech of International company preferred India/Abroad. kulwant1710@gmail.com 09958630377, 09988372398. C6-59532

PQM for Jan.1984 born, 5'-5", tall beautiful girl, done two Masters in US, working in Newyork. Boy must be educated, US Citizen/ Green card. Email: recent photo/ biodata: preetsvirk@gmail.com C6-59549

Looking for a suitable match for a family oriented Jat Sikh 30 year old girl 5'-9" with Bachelor's in Dental Hygenist and Masters in Public Administration and Healthcare Management who is well versed in both cultures. Looking for a well-settled boy in U.S. only. Send inquiries to familymarriage99@gmail.com. C6-59725

Match for Jat Sikh Pandher well cultured girl Canadian PR 21 Dec., 1987, MBA, B.Ed, well-settled family of Canada or USA preferred for enquiry reply at jagdeeppandher1@yahoo.in C6-59759

Panchkula based highly educated Sikh Brahmin family seeks a compatible match settled or willing to settle Abroad, for convent educated, very beautiful , slim, 5'-3'', Professionally Qualified, 1977 born, looking much younger, never married, Working in New Zealand, PR Expected soon, Father retired Professor, Brother Doctor settled abroad, Caste, Religion no bar, Girl visiting India early November. Contact with photo details at sumeetsukhi1971@gmail.com C6-57603

SM 4 unmarried beautiful Punjabi Rajput (Thakur) girl, 5'-7"/ Nov.78 born, brought-up & working in Vancouver Canada. Proposal from India also invited. Contact 0172- 2630080, 80541-48633, narenderkakur@gmail.com C6-58155

US Master Degree with good job or Work Permit holder, cleanshaven match required for US Green Card professional/educated/beautiful 1981/5'-7" girl. Contact with picture and details at jkcgeejay@gmail.com C6-58383

USA citizen girl, 30 years old Software Engineer, Manager, beautiful, smart, 5'-8". Looking for handsome boy, Software Engineer, height 5'-11", speaking English, smart boy, clean-shaven Jat Sikh, age 28 to 32 year, non-drinker. Interested call USA number 9162898867. C6-58397

PQMF Mair Rajput Bagga 85 born, 5'-00", B.Tech India, MS USA, working H1B. Amercian citizen/Greencard/H1B preferred. E-mail: mtrymny@gmail.com 9915949434. C6- 58411

Medico/Non-Medico match for Rajput slim, fair, beautiful Doctor (MBBS) girl. Feb. 83/5'-6", Doing MBA in U.S.(N.Y.). Send BHP : gbeti2016@gmail.com C6-58691

Match for Sain (Nai) fair, slim, beautiful girl, March 90/5'-3", B.Sc (Nurs.) studying in Canada, PR applied. Looking for suitable, Canadian PR boy. Caste no bar. Contact: 7837525652. C6-58717B

Medico match for UK born and brought up Medico Punjabi Saraswat Brahmin beautiful, fair complexion girl 32 yrs, 5'-4" tall. Reply with photo. Contact sarino7@hotmail.com C6-59681

Non-drinker match for April 1984 born, Jat Sikh girl, 5'-4", Qualified and settled Medicine Doctor in USA. Mobile 98143-68695. Email : trehanramesh49@gmail.com C6-59773B

Well qualified employed match for Hindu Nai (NP) Sept. 88 born girl, 5'-7", Ph.D Biotechnology, working SRF at Delhi University. 98555-27198, 098733-78758. C6-59643

Seeking suitable match preferably IAS, HCS, Allied, Class-I officer for well educated Sept. 89 born, 5'-4" girl, IIT Roorkee pass out, working as Excise & Taxation Officer (H.C.S. Allied Services) batch 2013. Father Ex. Bank Manager (Not Alive), Mother Associate Professor Govt. college, Megh Bhagat Punjabi family. Email: akdogra70@gmail.com 97287-74433. C6-59683B

Alliance invited for Rajput girl, 5'-4"/ 06.05.1983, MBA, working reputed Bank, Mohali. Email biodata at: sonia6583@gmail.com , Contact 99889-84210. C6-57216

Well settled qualified match for Himachali Jaswal (Rajput) girl fair complexion, 5'-4", 12.01.1984, LL.M. Family settled Chandigarh. Tricity preferred. Contact 97795-85318. Mail cmseth02@yahoo.co.in C6-57562

Suitable match for Dadhwal Gotra Kashyap, fair girl, 5'-4"/ 1989, B.A., pursuing MBA, working in Diplomatic Mission Delhi. Preference Delhi/NCR. Contact: Mukesh Thakur 098110-35567. Email: mukeshthakur.370@gmail.com C6-57651

Suitable match for smart Minhas Doaba Sikh Rajput, Dec. 1988, 5'-6", Masters of Fine Arts, Graphic Designer teacher. Father's business in Dubai & mother Pb. Govt. teacher. Contact: 76969-65451. C6-57665

Professionally qualified, tall match for Sikh Rajput beautiful girl, 1988/5'-9", PR Canada, teacher. Contact: 9888128239. C6-57911

Professionally qualified match for Mair Rajput beautiful, slim girl 29.12.1986, 4:13 p.m., Chandigarh, 5'-3", pursuing Ph.D., under UGC Scholarship. Upper caste welcome. 98141-14824. E-mail: karamjit.verma@gmail.com C6-58793

Match for Himachali Rajput Pathania girl, Bank officer (Assistant Manager, SBI), M.Com., 5'-5", 16.11.1989, 1:26 p.m., Chandigarh. Parents Bank employees, settled Chandigarh. 94177-80058, 76963-47302. rajaspathania@yahoo.co.in C6-58889

Suitable match for fair, Chandigarh based Himachali Thakur girl (Manhas) 5'-3", 26-10-1987, 4:43 a.m. Chandigarh, working as Clerk on contractual, PU Chandigarh. Tricity preferred. Upper caste no bar. Watsapp: 99157-84485, 98150-24080. C6-59605

USA Citizen parents invite alliance for Saraswat Brahmin daughter with high moral values, only child, very beautiful, 29/ 5'-4", US Citizen, Doctorate of Law USA. Doctor/ Dentist/ Engineer preferred. shiv8164@gmail.com , 096465-95393. C6-56858

Match for Himachali based Saraswat Brahmin girl, B.Sc., MBA (HR). 10.06.1987/12:40 p.m./Chandigarh. 5'-1". Working in MNC Noida as Asstt. Manager. Family permanently settled in Chandigarh. Contact 94177-75847, 0172-2673580. Email : sharmavijay9395@gmail.com C6- 57675

Suitable match for Punjabi Brahmin, working girl, 5'- 3", January 1980, fair looking, Graduate, Fashion designer looking for Punjabi non-smoking Manglik/Non- manglik boy. Phone: 9810448028, 9855556577. C6-57886

Match for Saraswat Brahmin Non-manglik girl, 29/5'-3", B.Tech, MBA, working as Grade B Manager in Nationalized bank. Well qualified Gazetted status preferred. 9463702040. kumaranil.jal@gmail.com C6-58085

Match for Punjabi Saraswat Brahmin Manglik 5'-4" girl, 27.7.1990, 1:32 a.m. Yamuna Nagar, M.Com., B.Ed., working PGT (Commerce). Parents Govt. servants. Tricity preferred. Kundli must. 98157-39209. C6-58129

Match for Chandigarh settled Saraswat Brahmin girl, 06.01.86, 01:20 a.m., Chandigarh, 5'-3", B.Tech., Team Leader MNC, Chandigarh. anitabakshi03@gmail.com C6- 58201

Brahmin Bhat Non Manglik girl, 20.8.1988/12:20 p.m./5'/Nangal. B.Sc. Nursing. Govt job Chandigarh, Contract salary 35000. IELTS 6.5 Band, Experience 2 year as Staff nurse. Upper caste Hindu no bar. 87288- 87207. C6-58955

Match for Saraswat Brahmin girl 30.04.1983, 8:20 a.m., Chandigarh, 5'-2", M.Com., Deputy Manager reputed bank Chandigarh. Khatris welcome. Contact: 098726-61417, sbhsawal@gmail.com C6-59011

Seeking Suitable match for Saraswat Brahmin fair, beautiful 5'-3'', anshik manglik, Post- graduate girl DOB 1.3.1985, Time 5.34 pm, Nangal Dam. Una to Ropar area preferred. Contact: E.Mail: vashishat1098@rediffmail.com, Call Phone No. 9653377394 between 10.00 am to 06.00 pm. C6-59187

Suitable match for convent educated Brahmin fair girl, 28/5'-5", B.Tech., PG in Journalism. Working as Editor in reputed newspaper Chandigarh. Email : uttamrajsharma123@gmail.com , Phone 96467-38704. C6-59443

SM4 Brahmin girl Canada PR 5'/85, Hoshiarpur. Convent Edu. MA English, B.Sc.-B.Ed. GMAT-700. Contact: jasprashar30@gmail.com/ 94653-94024. C6-59451

Professionally Qualified & well settled match for Saraswat Brahmin Convent educated beautiful homely girl BA LLB Panjab University Chandigarh 32/ 5'-3'', Father Senior Advocate High Court, Status family. Contact 8146833440, E.mail: asharma2220@gmail.com C6-59530

SM4 Brahmin vegetarian good-looking girl 08.03.1991, 6.15 am, Amritsar, 5'-3'', B.Tech (CSE) MBA, Himachali tricity family preferred, kundli/ details. E.mail: vnkvsharma@gmail.com, Mob. 9878675389. C6-59623

Well settled, professionally qualified match for Saraswat Brahmin, non-manglik, 13.02.1986, 5'-2", 2:15 p.m. Chandigarh born Himachali (B.E. Electrical & Electronics) girl working MNC Bangalore, would like to settle there/ abroad. Status educated family settled at Chandigarh. Send complete details, recent photograph at akschd12@gmail.com , 98722-82900. C6-59631

Well qualified professional Doctor, Engineer, C.A., Physio match for 30 yrs 5'-2", Doctor girl, working as Veterinary Doctor in reputed Animal Hospital in Canada. Status family. Parents retired Class-1 Officer. WhatsApp 94172-92585. C6-59761

Panchkula based vegetarian, teetotaller Punjabi Saraswat Brahmin family (Kaushalaya Gotra), seeks alliance from CA/Medico/Dentist/Govt. Officer, well- settled match for their beautiful daughter, BDS (Punjab University), 24/5'-4", 11.09.1992, 8:50 pm Kanpur. Father Senior Government Officer. Email: pksharma1169@yahoo.co.in NA6-48036

Suitable/qualified match for UT Govt. employed, Chandigarh, very beautiful, Punjabi Saraswat Brahmin girl, 1974, 5'-1", very fair, MFC, M.Phil., B.Ed., educated/well-placed family, Tricity preferred, upper caste no bar, 098147-06866. sharma_rajivasso@yahoo.com NA6-49862

PQM4 b'ful B.Tech., MBA, 27/5'-2" girl, non-Manglik, wkg. Asst. Mgr in Delhi. NCR settled Punjabi Jat status family. Mob. 98182-33235. Em: dinsh1989@gmail.com C6- 59323B

PQ/well settled match from high status family for never married, beautiful Khatri girl, fair, 5'-7", August 82 born, M.Sc. (Hons.), teaching in college. mkbhills@gmail.com 9888617544. C6-57707

Khatri BDS girl, working Fortis, 5'-4"/1988, parents Govt. employee. Preferred NRI/Engineer/Doctor. Reputed family. 94175-59649. C6-57781

PQM4 34/5'-6" Punjabi Ph.D working Chandigarh. Well educated family. Divorcee excuse. Call/Whatsapp: 9041472503. Email: skvmatri49@gmail.com C6-57789

Professionaly qualified well settled match for Hindu beautiful 5'-2" girl 29 years Masters in English, French, MBA. Working as Testing Lead in B'lore MNC, 11 l p.a. Father retired SDO Chandigarh. yashbir9@gmail.com C6-58437

Match for Arora/Khatri girl B.Tech., 27 years, 5'-1", working MNC. Seeks B.Tech., MBA Groom ( 27 to 30 yrs.)preferably in Delhi NCR. 84279-49948. bskukreja2014@gmail.com C6-59327

Hindu Khatri girl, 27.8.88, 12:50 a.m., Mohali, 5'-3", MBA, LL.B. 84370-20032, 94172-20032. C6-59351

Suitable match for Panchkula based Manglik Khatri girl, 5'-3", 02.10.89, 5:07 p.m., Chandigarh, B.Com., LL.B., LL.M., working on Contract basis. Father Gazetted Officer, mother Govt. job. Tricity preferred. Upper castes welcome. Contact after matching Kundli. 094171- 40274. smtverma88@gmail.com C6-59486

Status match for beautiful slim girl, 23.10.91, 2:15 p.m. Chandigarh, 5'-4", B.Tech., MBA Second year. Punjabi Khatri Chandigarh Medico family. Contact 98726- 72886, drpkjagota@yahoo.co.in C6-59534

Professionally qualified match for Hindu Khatri smart Non-manglik girl, 89 born, 5'-5", B.Tech Computer Science, working for US based MNC at home, 6 LPA, eligible to work in any country with this job. Looking for NRI boy Australia/Canada/USA/New Zealand. Contact: 9780828832. C6-59555

MDS/MD/MS MBA tall, smart match for MDS (Prostho) Sikh Ramgarhia, 5'-6", Dec. 87, Wheatish smart girl, running own speciality Dental Clinic, Amritsar, parents Doctors, no bars, +91-98554-72323, maganjeet18@gmail.com C6-58513

Suitable well educated match for Ramgarhia Sikh beautiful issueless divorcee girl, 1978 born, 5'-2", GNM Staff Nursing. Jat Sikh also apply. NRI preferred. Contact: 9872318802. C6-59427

Match for Ramgarhia girl, 5'-3", 1980, beautiful, 10+2, Art and Craft knowledge. NRI preferred. Upper caste no bar. 9530544032. C6-59439

Well educated match for 28/5'-4", MFC, CA (Inter) Gursikh Khatri girl. Working with outsourcing firm. Preferred abroad. 094173-39894. E-mail: bssethi496@gmail.com C6-57164

Professionally qualified match for beautiful, slim, B.Tech., MBA, 5'-3", 1986, working girl. Highly educated respectable family. 98761-46361. skbjal@yahoo.com C6-59833

Match for Sikh Ramgarhia, never married, fair, slim, born 27.9.1977, 1:10am, Ludhiana, convent educated, M.Com. Family of professionals. Well settled match. p.s.virdi1943@gmail.com C6-58327

Status match for Sikh Tonk-kashatriya beautiful girl, February 1988, 5'-6", MBA/B.Tech., Canada PR. Presently Team Lead, Chandigarh, package 8.25 Lac. matrichg50@gmail.com C6-59512B

Suitable match for Sikh Tonk-kashtriya, slim, beautiful girl, Jan. 85, 5'-3", B.Tech (ECE) with distinction, working on H1B work visa in reputed MNC in USA, handsome package, educated family, brother doing MS (C.S) in USA. Contact: 9417199243. E-mail: hari.singh2227086@gmail.com C6-59538

Professionally qualified match for Sikh Tonk-kashtriya beautiful, MBA, Bank employed girl, 25 years, 5'-2". Govt. employee preferred. Contact: 095495-50888. bedipritpal1@gmail.com C6-59950

Born broughtup India March 1977, 5'-4", B.Sc, B.Ed India, M.Ed USA, divorcee khatri girl, no issue. US & Indian citizen. Indian/US boy acceptable. Caste no bar. walia1945@gmail.com 9417656796 C6-58727

Match for extremely beautiful issueless Khatri girl, 5'-1", 32, M.A., PGDMC, working Chandigarh. Caste no bar. Email: family.matrimeet@gmail.com C6-59946

Parents looking turbaned Sikh Khatri, educated boy for their highly educated Canadian citizen daughter, Oct. 86 born with 5 ft. 3 inches height. Those who wanted to settle in Canada may only contact us. Early marriage. Contact: jpsphull@gmail.com Phone: 19056713411 and Cell 16477193411. C6-58735

USA settled match for non-manglik Garg beautiful, smart, slim girl, 1983 born, 5'-6", M.S.(C.S.) from USA, pursuing Ph.D. possibly upto May-2017. Visiting India by end October-2016. Caste no bar. M: 91- 8146100675. Email: nguptapkl@gmail.com C6-54897

MD/MS/DM/M.Ch/IAS/IPS match for MD Anaesthesia 2nd year, 5'-3", 18.06.1990, non-Manglik slim, beautiful Singla girl from Punjab, Decent marriage. Father Senior Officer. 96970-17627. singlajc2007@gmail.com C6-58579

Wanted well settled Gursikh/cutsurd boy for beautiful Sikh Arora girl, 1991 born/5'-4", M.Sc Hons, pursuing Ph.D at Panjab University. Tricity boy preferred. Contact/Whatsapp: 99888-21050. C6-58011

Suitable match for Kamboj girl 1983/5'-2", MBA (IT)/HR working contact 98712-78248. Email: singhharbans@rediffmail.com C6-54967B

Professional match for Gur Sikh Kamboj girl, slim, fair 1989, 5'-2", MS (Computer Science) from USA and now working as a Software Professional in USA. Brother settled in USA. Preferred alliance USA and Canada, strict vegetarian, strict non-alcoholic. Please respond +91-98156-02331 or gursikh0908@gmail.com C6-57158B

Suitable match for Ad-dharmi smart girl 20.11.1984, 08:15 am, Ropar, ht. 5'-6", MBA (HR) from Wale university UK. Presently working in HDFC Bank as a Deputy Manager in Chandigarh. Contact: 8146524248, bhagwandass50@yahoo.in C6-56490

Suitable match for Nov. 1989 born, 5'-3", SC (Ravidasia) girl, M.A., B.Ed., IELTS 6 Band. Only NRI with PR will be considered. Vegetarian preferred. Early marriage. Contact 99142-36007, 99152-29005. C6-57446

Match for SC Ad-dharmi girl 33/5'-2" double MA B.Ed., Govt. Teacher contract. 91157-38042. C6-58031

SC girl MBA (HR) M.A. (Pub. Ad), Chandigarh based 87 born, 5'-3". Caste no bar. IELTS 6.5 Band. NRI preferred. Ph 70098-33505. C6-58711

Suitable match for Mahasha girl, 28/5'-1", BAMS Doctor at Chandigarh. Own Flat in Chandigarh. Teetotaller Radha Soami in and around Chandigarh preferred. 98728- 90940. C6-58753

PQM for Sikh Ad-dharmi Ramdasia Australian Citizen girl, MIT Australia, Aug. 82/5'-6". Preferred Indian/NRI. Contact: 9803708876. Email: kulbir6969@gmail.com C6-58767
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal lost his cool recently such that he ordered the immediate transfer of five of the eight doctors posted at Punjab Bhavan in New Delhi. It was because none was available when he felt uneasy at night during a visit to the Capital. This week, Union Minister of State Vijay Sampla gave a dressing down to the Director Principal of the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Jalandhar, when he found his cousin was not being attended to as per his expectations. It would be a matter of curiosity to know whether they were angry at the doctors or themselves.

It was on Sukhbir Badals watch that former Punjab Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawlas order of transferring out more than 10 doctors posted at Punjab Bhavan was overturned. She saw no reason  and rightly so  for there to be so many doctors posted in Delhi when Punjab hospitals were crying for staff. But then most of these doctors belong to the families of the states political and bureaucratic elite. Sampla is the chief of the states BJP unit, members of which head both health and medical education ministries in the state. He did not raise questions when the stillborn PIMS went from bad to worse over the past decade. Perhaps what is sadder than doctors not performing their duties is the political leadership throwing a temper only when they personally or someone in their families is unable to get medical attention; not when the states masses make the same complaint.

Distortion in Punjabs priorities over the years becomes clear if we note that in 1970, 11 per cent of the states budget was reserved for health. Today it is around 4.5 per cent. Per capita government spending on health in Punjab is currently less than half of Himachal. It is not a surprise that the tale of sorrow in every other suicide-struck household includes a chapter on health misfortune of a family member. The SAD-BJP government made it a point to go to the polls in 2012 on claims of development. The subject rarely finds mention in their political speeches now. Somewhere down the line, welfare lost its position in public discourse.
Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, October 7

Farmers from various districts in the state under the aegis of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) today took out a march in protest against the Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

The protesters organised a kisan panchayat outside the local residence of Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar.

The farmers served a seven-day ultimatum on the minister to hold a parley with the BKU leaders over the issue or they would boycott his government programmes. We will show Dhankar black flags during his functions if he fails to respond to the ultimatum, said Ratan Singh Mann, state chief of the BKU. Earlier, the farmers gathered at the Silani gate and decried the BJP government. They then started a protest march, which concluded at the local residence of Dhankar after passing through various places of the city.
New Delhi, October 8

Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar, who was injured in a clash between two party factions on Thursday, was on Saturday shifted from RML Hospital to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where doctors said he has sustained "head and cervical spine injury".

Supporters of 40-year-old Tanwar and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had clashed near Bhairon Mandir in central Delhi around 5.30 pm on Thursday, half an hour before Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was due to arrive, after finishing his 'Deoria to Delhi Kisan Yatra'.

He was then admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

"He was shifted to the SGRH at 4 pm," hospital authorities said today.

"He has been admitted today under the care of Dr Ashish Goyal and his team from Department of Neuro & Spine Surgery.

He has head and cervical spine injury.

"His condition is stable but he is under observation," according to Dr D S Rana, chairman (Board of Management), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

An FIR was yesterday lodged against supporters of Hooda after Tanwar's supporters filed a complaint against them at the Tilak Marg Police Station.

Also, yesterday, there was an argument between Tanwar's supporters and RML Hospital authorities, following which the number of bouncers deployed there were increased.  PTI
Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 8

Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwars alleged manhandling by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hoodas supporters on October 6 has reignited old rivalries in the state unit where factionalism has resurfaced like never before.

Even as Tanwar was shifted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital this afternoon and was under observation for head and spinal injuries, politics of the incident played out at the residence of Congress general secretary and in charge of Haryana Kamal Nath.

The Tribune has learnt that state Congress MLAs loyal to Hooda met Kamal Nath today to present their version in the developments.

Congress Legislature Party leader Kiran Choudhry met Nath separately this evening and narrated to him the sequence of events leading to Tanwars manhandling at Bhairon Mandir in Delhi.

Choudhry was the one who called the police when Tanwar was allegedly beaten up by Hoodas men accused of pulling out Tanwars posters at the location. She personally says she narrowly escaped the alleged attack that day since she was away from the heat of the moment.

With Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi taking note of these unsavoury developments (as a party leader put them), there is pressure on Nath to resolve the matter with Tanwars men seeking disciplinary action in the issue.

A section of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee also met Nath to demand an inquiry into the matter saying what happened on October 6 has never happened in the history of the state Congress.

Nath has assured us of action. He heard us patiently and also told us that both Sonia and Rahul were deeply hurt by what had happened, Pankaj Punia, state Congress secretary, part of the state party delegation that visited Nath, told The Tribune.

The matter assumed political colour after Rahul personally visited Tanwar at RML Hospital on October 6 night, where he was first admitted to the ICU before being shifted out. Later, Congress leaders Motilal Vora, Janardan Dwivedi, Digvijay Singh and Mallikarjun Kharge also visited Tanwar.

Sources said the issue was likely to snowball into a major power tussle in the party with an FIR also being lodged in the matter yesterday and pressure being mounted on the Congress leadership to balance rival factions, both denying each others claims.

This is not the first time Hooda and Tanwar factions have clashed in Congress rallies. The war of turbans between the two factions, to display respective strengths, is now legendary.
Nitish Sharma

Tribune News Service

Ambala, October 7

A day after supporters of Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Ashok Tanwar factions clashed in Delhi, Health Minister Anil Vij today advised Congress leaders to wear helmets instead of Gandhi caps in their events.

After the fight between Hooda and Tanwar groups in Delhi, the Congress must make helmets mandatory in its events instead of Gandhi Cap, he tweeted.

Supporters of former Chief Minister Hooda and state Congress chief Tanwar had clashed while waiting to receive Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his rally on the completion of his kisan yatra in Delhi on Thursday. Tanwar was injured in the head.

In another tweet, Vij targeted Rahul for his khoon ki dalaali remark and wrote, The party (Congress) always played politics with blood to get votes, got the country partitioned in 1947 and over a million people massacred. Hundreds of Sikhs were massacred after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. In the Congress-ruled states, riots and murders always take place. The party sees blood and khoon ki dalaali in everything. Rahul has insulted the Army, the country and 125 crore people of this country by saying this. He can never be forgiven for this.
Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 7

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked Haryana to explain why Gurgaon-based SGT University was excluded from the ambit of centralised counselling for this academic session. Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia also asked the state to explain the reasons which prevailed with the state to take such a decision, which prima facie are apparently discriminatory.

Justice Sandhawalia also admitted the suo motu or court on its own matter. The case has its genesis in a petition filed in public interest by Dr Mohinder Kumar for directions to Haryana and other respondents to include SGT University in the process of admission through online counselling for the MBBS/BDS courses against the state and management quota seats for 2016. Directions were also sought for a CBI inquiry to identify real culprits behind this multi-crores MBBS admission scam and fraud played on people of Haryana.

Taking up the matter, Justice SS Saron and Justice Lisa Gill dismissed the petition after holding that the petitioner was not having any locus standi to file the same. The Bench added: As the matter appears to be of some importance relating to MBBS admissions, suo motu action is taken on the basis of the present order.

Before parting with the case, the Bench directed counsel for the state Counsel to verify whether SGT University was included in the process of admission through online counselling for the MBBS/BDS courses against the state and management quota seats for 2016. If not included, the reasons for the same, the Bench added.

As the suo motu case came up for hearing, Justice Sandhawalia referred to a related pending petition to say the case of the petitioner-institute was that the SGT University, Gurgaon, had been excluded from the ambit of notification dated August 31, which included all other institutions in Haryana.

Justice Sandhawalia added the apex court in its order dated September 22 in the case of State of Madhya Pradesh versus Jainarayan Chouksey and others had ruled that the centralised entrance test was to be followed by the centralised state counselling to be conducted by the state to make it one composite process.

Justice Sandhawalia added the affidavit furnished by the state prima facie did not give a clear picture as to why the discrimination has been made and on what ground one of the medical institutes in Haryana has been excluded from the ambit of centralised counselling.
Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, October 8

India could still face a major AIDS epidemic if the country does not invest adequately in educating people about safe sex, said a prominent American Congressman on Saturday.

Known for his work in improving healthcare to those affected by HIV and AIDS in the US, Dr Jim McDermott, who is all set to retire from the US Congress after 14 terms, said that awareness and education alone could help combat fatal disease.

Every year millions of Indians and Americans become sexually active. They need to be taught about the problems caused by unsafe sex and dangers of AIDS, Dr McDermott, who is in Mumbai to be felicitated at the 9th National Conference of AIDS Society of India- ASICON 2016, said. If you don't educate the children about the problems caused by AIDS, you will have major problems a few years down the road.

When pointed out that the doomsday scenarios predicted by experts who spoke of wildfire epidemic 20 years ago haven't come to pass the Congressman, also a doctor, likened it to a small hole on the roof. It is not much to worry about now. But you pay for it later, he said.



McDermott first came across the problem of AIDS in his country in 1990. He said the political class was slow to react to the problem. For the last 25 years I have been working on the problem to create awareness and improve healthcare and medical facilities for those affected by AIDS, he said.

The Congressman said AIDS is now perceived as a private disease rather than as a public epidemic, but victims needed life-long care, which involves involve huge costs. It is a challenge to keep funds flowing and continue educating people about the dangers of AIDS, he said.

McDermott, who saw the devastation cause by AIDS in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is credited with several programmes for the welfare of those suffering from the disease. Among the programmes he is associated are the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS and the Congressional HIV/AIDS Task Force.



Known for pushing affordable care for those afflicted by the disease, McDermott is all praise for Indian pharmaceutical companies that manufacture low-cost treatments in this field. India produces 80 per cent of the treatments (for AIDS) for the third world, McDermott said.



However, he felt, Indian politicians need to work on releasing funds for increasing AIDS awareness in India, especially since very little is available from global sources. The US does fund for improving AIDS awareness in India, but it is not much, says McDermott.



Founder of the India Caucus, McDermott will retire from the Congress shortly. I am looking forward to doing something different. Haven't decided yet, he said.
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 7

Levelling serious corruption charges against ministers in Virbhadra Cabinet, state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti today alleged that two ministers were busy collecting money to foot the bills of lawyers engaged to contest the cases faced by the Chief Minister in various courts of law.

Addressing a press conference here today, Satti said the BJP had raised questions about this in the past and would continue to make it an issue. In case our allegations are not true then the Chief Minister must inform the people of the state from where he is raising money to foot the bills of lawyers whom he has engaged to contest his cases, said Satti.

Our allegation is that the Chief Minister is misusing government machinery and state government helicopter to be present at the court attendance and travel to Delhi in connection with his cases, he remarked. He said the BJP would make this a big issue as public money cannot be mis-utilized for personal purpose.

Satti also said that once the charge-sheet committee prepares the document, it will not only be submitted to the President of India and the Governor but will also be probed once the BJP returned to power.

The fact that the BJP will hand over its charge-sheet against the Virbhadra regime to the investigating agency will only be a continuation of the precedent laid down by the Congress Government, he remarked.

The BJP chief refuted claims of ministers in Virbhadra Cabinet that BJP suffered from serious infighting. The party if fully united and there is no questions of any differences and how can the Congress ministers make this claim as they were not present at the Una meeting, he said.

He also declined to make any statement about projecting a chief ministerial candidate before the elections. This is a decision which is taken by the partys parliamentary board and whatever it is, it will be acceptable to all, he said.

He added that the party was fully united and all geared up to take on the Congress which will be wiped out of power by the people of the state.
Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 7

Anticipating early Assembly poll in the state, the Opposition BJP has got into the election mode as visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah have been planned to the hill state during the next three months.

With a little over one year left for the Assembly elections, the party today announced its campaign committee and unveiled the blueprint prepared to achieve the target of securing more than 50 seats in the 2017 Assembly polls.

The BJP will virtually kick-start its election campaign with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 18 to inaugurate three mega hydro power projects in the state in Kullu, Rampur and Bilaspur. He will address two rallies at Nahan and Mandi on the same day and is expected to make a second visit to the state for laying foundation stone of the Kangra Central University and Dharamsala Smart City, shortly.

We are anticipating early Assembly polls and the BJP is fully geared up to take on the corrupt Congress regime headed by Virbhadra Singh, said state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti, here today. He added that the party would get into an aggressive election mode. Party president Amit Shah will extensively tour the state for three days in the month of November.

The blueprint for ensuring partys victory in the Assembly polls was chalked out at the three-day state executive meeting of the BJP held in Una earlier this week. The party strategy is to target Virbhadra and his ministerial colleagues and expose rampant corruption and irregularities in various departments.

The campaign committee will chalk out the strategy to highlight the rampant corruption and acts of omission and commission during the Virbhadra-led Congress regime, said Satti. The committee will play an important role in the run-up to the poll. The committee comprises all senior leaders, including Srikant Sharma, national BJP secretary and in-charge of Himachal, state BJP chief Satti, former Chief Minister PK Dhumal, MLAs - Jai Ram Thakur, Rajiv Bindal and Randhir Sharma, besides others.

The campaign committee will seek guidance and suggestions from the senior party leaders, both in the state and the Centre from time to time, said Satti.

Satti confirmed that the Prime Minister would inaugurate three big hydro projects of Kol Dam (800 MW), Rampur Project (412 MW) and Parbati- III (520 MW) on October 18.

The earlier constituted charge-sheet committee headed by senior leader and Shimla legislator Suresh Bhardwaj will visit various parts of the state to collect documentary evidence and interact with people to prepare the document which will be submitted to the President of India and the Governor. The charge-sheet will be ready before December 15 so that it can be submitted by December 25 when the Congress government will complete four years in office.

The party has also decided to set up a fund called Ajivan Sahyog Nidhi where BJP members and sympathizers who wish to make monetary contribution can do so. Shimla MP Virender Kashyap has been made the state convener.
Our Correspondent

Chamba, October 7

Chamba Zila Parishad (ZP) chairperson Dharam Singh Pathania has urged the state government to solve the issue of about 18,000 bighas of forest land stretching from Khundi Maral to Padhri Pass, which, as per the revenue record, falls in Salooni subdivision of Chamba district. However, the area is in occupation of the Jammu and Kashmir Government in between the borders of two states.

Talking to mediapersons here, Pathania said this tract of forest land fell between the borderline of Chamba district in Himachal adjacent to Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir stretching from Khundi Maral to Padhri Pass.

Pathania said the issue of the occupied forest land should be taken up with the J&K Government and the actual area of forestland belonging to the Himachal Government should be taken back with mutual understanding and consideration.

The issue of occupied forestland needs to be resolved from the security point of view, which would go a long way in maintaining communal harmony and fraternity between the two states, Pathania said.

Regarding this issue, residents of the area, led by Pathania, had already met Dalhousie MLA Asha Kumari. On her directions, the Deputy Commissioner of Chamba had further directed the Salooni tehsildar to carry out demarcation of the border forestland and submit a report.
Our Correspondent

Kangra, October 8

The state government has taken steps to conserve mahseer, endangered species, by developing artificial breeding habitat, popularly known as machials.

The state Forest Corporation Vice-Chairman, Kewal Singh Pathania, said Rs 14 lakh would be spent on machial, to be constructed at Nalleti village in Shahpur constituency, for the conservation of mahseer. The foundation stone of it was laid by him yesterday.

He said the Government of India had approved the state governments proposal of setting up a national mahseer fish farm in the state involving financial assistance of Rs 2 crore.

Kewal Singh said the state government was committed to preserving mahseer and under the Blue Revolution programme each village moving in the direction of conservation of mahseer would be provided Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh for the breeding of mahseer.

Pathania said a hatchery would be developed at a cost of Rs 20 lakh in villages where mahseer was found and conserved. He said the government had fixed a budget of Rs 11 crore for fish farming in the state.

In recent years due to the proximity of mahseer to human habitats, mahseer is facing multifaceted dangers posed by the construction of dams, barrages, weirs across the rivers and over-exploitation. The unchecked fishing and destructive fishing devices have adversely affected the riverine population, the construction of dams are acting as a barrier to this migratory species, tending to prevent their access to their usual breeding and feeding grounds.

The ever-diminishing catches of mahseer from the Satluj, Giri, Beas, Chenab and their tributaries clearly indicate towards the effects caused by the construction of Pandoh, Chamera, Pong, Bhakra and Giribata barrages.
Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 8

As the tension has escalated on the Line of Control (LoC) to an undeclared war level, the flag meeting system between the Indian and Pakistani armies at the local levels is virtually over.

These meetings were being held earlier to defuse the tension whenever there was a spike in ceasefire violations on the LoC.

It used to be standard procedure between the two armies to hold a meeting at Zero Line and discuss modalities to defuse the situation whenever firing and shelling escalated. However, the last such flag meeting was held on April 12 this year at the Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing in Poonch district on the LoC at the commanding officers level.

Since the Army carried out surgical strike across the LoC on September 29, killing militants present at terror launch pads, the tension between India and Pakistan has increased tremendously and the armies of both countries on 744-km-long LoC, especially in the area falling in Jammu region, are on loggerheads. Shelling and firing from both sides have increased in the past few days and it has escalated to a level where border dwellers have been force to move to safer places.

There are no plans of any kind of flag meetings between the two armies so far, said Brigadier PS Gotra, media pointman of the Udhampur-based Northern Command.

Now, whatever steps have to be taken to defuse the situation on the LoC will have to come from the government level as the situation is not in the control of commanders at the local levels. So far, no efforts are being made to bring the situation back to normal at the highest level as well.

War cries from both sides have left border resident in a great distress as they are being forced to leave their homes. This time of the year is important for the border dwellers as they have to harvest the crop before the onset of winter and store the food for next six to eight winter months.
Ehsan Fazili

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 8

A 13-year-old boy, Junaid Ahmad Bhat, who was injured in the clashes between protesters and police forces in Eidgah area here yesterday, succumbed in the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) early this morning.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The administration, in view of the mounting tension following the death, has decided to impose restrictions in the areas falling under seven police stationsNowhatta, Kahnyar, Rainawari, M R Gunj and Safakadal in the down town and two police stations of Maisuma and Batamaloo.

The restrictions have been imposed to maintain law and order, said the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad Lone.

Junaid, 13, received pellet injuries during the clashes between protesters and the police forces in Eidgah area here after Friday prayers.

He was shifted to the SKIMS in a critical condition where he succumbed early this morning, officials said.

The police lobbed teargas shells to quell the demonstrators that took to streets with the body of the deceased boy at Eidgah.

With this, the death toll in the current unrest, which entered day 92 today, has gone up to 87, including two policemen, since the unrest began following the killing of a militant commander, Burhan Wani, and two of his associates in South Kashmir on July 8.

Normal life continues to remain paralysed due to the restrictions in the capital city and other major towns of the valley across 10 districts.

All the shops and business establishments are closed and traffic is off the roads, with the relaxation as per the protest calendar issued jointly by the separatist organisations.

They have already called for shutdown from October 6 to 13.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 8

Joining the ongoing debate on the last Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh, Union Minister Jitendra Singh today blamed successive state governments of demonising the ruler who was a revolutionary and social reformer.

Jitendra Singh was addressing a function organised in connection with the release of a book titled, Jammu-Kashmir Ka Jan Nayak  Maharaja Hari Singh, authored by Dr Kuldeep Chander Agnihotri, Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Himachal Pradesh at Jammu University here today. The function was organised by Jammu Kashmir Study Centre (JKSC) with the collaboration of Post Graduate Department of History, University of Jammu.

Elaborating on how the last Dogra ruler was projected negatively by the successive state governments for years together, he pointed out that talking about contributions of Hari Singh was a taboo for first 25 years after 1947. He regretted that Hari Singh became a soft target of the successive rulers.

Highlighting his contributions, the Union minister recalled that it was the last Dogra ruler who had enacted a law for establishing local self-government to decentralise power at the grassroot level in the year 1940. Despite being an autocratic ruler, he was a great democrat because he believed in decentralising power, Jitendra Singh said.

Taking a dig at the so-called democratic governments in J&K, he pointed out that successive governments had failed to extend 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution to decentralise powers at the grassroot level. He was of the opinion that the successive governments in the state were not ready to extend these amendments in J&K because they wanted that Central funds should be under the control of the Rural Development Ministry.

Jitendra Singh further said that the Union government headed by Narendra Modi was committed to restore J&K of the time of Hari Singh. He mentioned Parliament resolution passed in the year 1994 to liberate parts of J&K which were under the illegal occupation of Pakistan.
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 7

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the investigation into an attack on the 30 Rashtriya Rifles base at Langate which was foiled by the Army. Three heavily armed Pakistani militants were gunned down when they tried to breach the fence of the Army base at Langate, over 75 km from here, along the Baramulla-Handwara highway in the wee hours on Thursday.

The NIA team, headed by an Inspector General-rank officer, today inspected the site of the gunfight and interacted with officers for the firsthand account of the attack, sources said. They added, the NIA team was briefed about the sequence of events that led to the gunfight by senior security officers.

The J&K Police have already registered a case and it has been transferred to the NIA

The NIA has taken over the probe, said Deputy Inspector General of Police, north Kashmir, Uttam Chand.

The NIA team, which is camping in Handwara, is likely to take send arms, ammunition and other things recovered from militants for forensic examination. The NIA would be also taking DNA samples of the three militants, believed to be fresh infiltrators, for examination.

Apart from a large quantity of arms and ammunition, the Army had recovered Global Positioning System (GPS), maps, radio sets, metric sheets, medicines and food items, with Pakistani marking. This is the second attack in Kashmir after the deadly Uri that is already being probed by the NIA.

The attack in Langate came just four days after the militants made an abortive bid to storm an Army base in the garrison town of Baramulla in which a BSF jawan was killed and another injured. However, the militants had managed to escape after the attack. Earlier on September 18, four heavily armed Pak-based militants had managed to penetrate the Army base in Uri, killing 19 soldiers besides injuring nearly two dozen others, following which the Army launched surgical strikes along the LoC at multiple points to destroy terror launch pads in PoK.
Our Correspondent

Poonch, October 8

The Pakistani army resorted to heavy shelling and gunfire at Indian forward positions along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district this morning, resulting in injuries to a jawan of the 22 Sikh Regiment.

This was the 25th incident of ceasefire violation by Pakistani soldiers along the LoC since the surgical strikes carried out by the Army on September 29.

Pakistani soldiers resorted to heavy shelling and firing on the Kranti post at 4:30 am. The firing lasted over an hour, injuring a soldier of the 22 Sikh Regiment, official sources said.

He said the injured jawan was taken to the Army hospital in Udhampur. He was identified as sepoy Yashpal Singh of the 22 Sikh Regiment.

After the surgical strikes against terrorist launch pads across the LoC, the Pakistani army had stepped up cross-border firing.
Do touch screens enhance fine motor skills in toddlers?

A recent study suggests that early touch screen use in particular actively scrolling the screen correlates with increased fine motor control in toddlers. The American Academy of Pediatrics, however, advises that children should not be exposed to any screens, including touch screens, before the age of two.

Despite the guidelines, many toddlers in reality use touch screens from a very early age. Tim J. Smith from the University of London realised there is a need for more solid data and set up an online survey for UK parents to answer questions about their childrens touch screen use. This included questions about whether the toddlers used touch screens, when they first used one, and how often and how long they use them.

The survey also included specific questions to assess the development of the children, such as the age that they first stacked blocks, which indicates fine motor skills or the age they first used two-word sentences, which indicates language development.  ANI
Amarjot Kaur

Who could possibly understand deadline pressure more than the delivery boy riding his way, through the stormy night, to the required destination on a condition 30 minutes, nahi toh free! Talking of occupational hazards, heres to the late-night food delivery boys who have been keeping Tricity well-fed while battling the drunken after-party drivers, food snatchers, and deceitful customers. Shall we spare a thought for these courageous night riders?

Ashok, 21, has been working at The Night Factory for over a year-and-a-half. A diploma holder in electrical engineering, Ashok studies B. Tech during the day and, to make both ends meet, he becomes a delivery boy at night. About six months ago, I was asked to deliver food worth Rs 2,000 in Sector 56 at half hour past midnight. On my way, two people between the age of 30 and 40 looking to find a house stopped me and just when I began telling the route they put a sharp knife around my neck, got on my motorbike and drove me to a stranded location. They robbed me off my mobile phones, the food I carried, my money, and the bike too. They even beat me up, he shares.

Though a complaint was registered, and the company got its bike back a couple of months ago, Ashok still fears for his life. I dont carry any weapon or even a pepper spray. But now I have learnt a very important lessonnever stop for anyone at night, he quotes from his wisdom and experience.

He narrates another experience of his colleague, Mohinder Singh, who too was asked to deliver an order worth Rs 1,700 and was duped by the ones who ordered the food. The food was to be delivered at the society gate, and since we have a strict policy of not ringing the doorbell, Mohinder waited for the customers to come and collect their food. They asked for Rs 300 change, saying that theyll get money from home within minutes. As Mohinder waited at the front gate, customers fled from the back gate and switched off their phones, he says.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old Vicky at Late Night Munchies fell for the oldest trick in the book. Since we deliver food in Kharar till KFC, a bunch of guys were to collect their order at KFC, Kharar, who came in their car. Theyd kept the engine on and as I handed them their food, they drove as fast as a bullet from a gun, he shares.

However, for a gentleman that he is, he has learnt more than messing with a woman. This another time when I went to deliver food in Mohali, a girl came out to collect the order. She went back, switched off her phone and never returned the call. Also, I couldnt ring the doorbell as thats a policy we follow so religiously, but imagine even if I could, I could have got myself in a mess, considering it was late night and that I am a man, he says.

Now, Kamlesk Kumar, 20, of The Kitchen Knight, is a fresher and we got talking to him on his very first day on the job. Like all freshers, he was scared and nervous. More so because he had to keep this job a secret from his parents, who wanted him to study instead. He says, I was working in a call centre before this. I have a few +2 compartments to clear, and there is a severe lack of funds at home, so I thought instead of troubling mom and dad, Id earn my pocket money. However, I must tell you, I am really scared. Most people dont obey traffic lights at night and I dont know a few locations. With as many as five or six deliveries at different locations, one has to respect the time limit too. You cant keep them waiting for their food forever. 

Though Jitender Singh, the general manager at the Midnight Chef, says, We have their motorbikes insured. They also give insurance to the bike rider. Ankit Mahajan, head of operations at Sundown Chef, shares, I feel there should be strict policies for employee safety in any organisation. For now, the only preventive measure we are taking is to avoid tricky areas.

amarjot@tribunemail.com
Ludhiana, October 7

The week-long Festaweek of the PCTE Group of Institutes concluded today. An inter-school competition, Turf was inaugurated by Dr Mbuya Isaac G Munlo, ambassador of Malawi to India. Munlo appreciated the efforts of the college for organising the cultural and literary festival.

As the Festaweek ended today, the college witnessed a huge participation from different schools and colleges, including PCTE. With the increasing participation every year, the competition had become tougher.

Festaweek comprised three events intra-college competition, Koshish; inter-school event, Turf and inter-college show, Ehsaas.

As many as 43 colleges from the city and adjoining areas participated in Ehsaas, wherein events such as debate, solo-song, group dance and quiz took place. Around 40 schools from the city participated in Turf, wherein events such as dumb charades, solo-song and group dance were held.

From PCTE, 43 teams took part in an itra-college event, Koshish which included 'British parliament debate', quiz, group discussion and a fashion show. TNS
Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 7

Over 14 years after a decorated Brigadier became eligible for promotion to the rank of Major General, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has finally granted him the higher rank after a long multiple litigation that went up to the apex court.

The officer, Brig NJS Sidhu, retired in 2002. He would now be entitled to pension and associated benefits of a Major General. The MoD has also released the costs awarded to him by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).

His legal battle started when despite the creation of a vacancy of an Additional Director General (ADG) in the rank of Major General in the Army Aviation Corps in 1997, the Army took a stand that it was an unspecified vacancy and that it wanted to post an officer from some other branch as the head of Army Aviation by seeking to retire him as a Brigadier without considering him for promotion.

A Division Bench of the high court (HC) comprising Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice SS Saron, however, struck down the action of the Army in 2002 and directed the government to consider him for the promotion. The MoD appealed against the order in the Supreme Court and was granted a stay on the matter. Ultimately, in a detailed judgment, the SC upheld the HC decision by ruling that promotional avenues of Aviation Corps officers had been marred by the Army.

After the SC order, a promotion board was held, but he was declared not approved for promotion. The rejection was, thereafter, challenged in the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), where it was averred that being the only officer eligible for promotion to the sole vacancy, the action of the Armys promotion board aimed at defeating the fruits of success in a long-drawn litigation.

The AFT bench comprising Justice Surinder Singh Thakur and Lt Gen DS Sidhu came down heavily on the Military Secretarys Branch at the Army Headquarters for raising wrong contentions that the officer could not make it to the next rank because of comparative batch merit when there was no such batch and the petitioner was the sole candidate.
Beijing, October 8

China on Saturday defended its second technical hold to prevent a UN ban on Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar saying there were different views" on India's application and that Beijing's move will allow more time for the "relevant parties" to have consultations.

Reacting to India's criticism that its second hold on attempts to ban Azhar sends a dangerous message, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the listing application member states submitted to the 1267 Committee of UN "must comply" with specific requirements of relevant resolutions of UN Security Council (UNSC).

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Though China is the lone member among the 15-member UNSC to oppose the ban on Azhar, Beijing claims that "different views" existed about India's application against Azhar.

"There are still different views on India's listing application made this March. The technical hold on it will allow more time for the Committee to deliberate on the matter and for relevant parties to have further consultations," the ministry said in a written reply to PTI to a question seeking its response to India's strong criticism.

The reference to "further consultations" apparently referred to direct consultations between India and Pakistan over the issue.

China had put the first technical hold six months ago on India's application following Azhar's alleged involvement in the Pathankot terror attack.

China had extended the second technical hold valid for three months during this week despite several consultations between New Delhi and Beijing at various levels.

Issue may figure in Modi-Xi meeting

It is expected to figure again during the expected meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to be held in Goa from October 15-16.

While opposing the ban against Azhar, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, however, said, "China firmly supports combating all forms of terrorism, stronger international cooperation against terrorism, and supports the central and coordinating role of the UN in international counter-terrorism cooperation".

It said, China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 Committee should stick to the principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the Security Council.

Without naming China, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on October 6 that only one country had put the technical hold, blocking the ban by another three months, and criticised the completely "non-transparent and anonymous" manner of designating individuals by the UN Sanctions Committee.

India has been highlighting the cross-border terror threat emanating from Pakistan and tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad are on the rise since last month's Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir which killed 19 Indian soldiers.

Noting that the UN Sanctions Committee has already proscribed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, he said the panel, however, ignored the need to take action against Azhar, the organisation's main leader, financier and motivator who continues his terrorist actions unhindered.

Responding to the extension of the hold, he said, "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 organisation's most active and dangerous terrorist.
Chandigarh: The Centre on Friday revoked its decision that led to the mass evacuation of villagers in a 10-km belt along Punjabs border with Pakistan. Following this, the Punjab Government has issued directions to allow the return of people to their homes in the border villages in all six districts. The villagers will be allowed to return after nine days.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The evacuation was ordered on September 29 following the Indian Armys surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC). Over four lakh people of nearly 1,000 villages in six border districts of Fazilka, Ferozepur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Pathankot were affected due to the evacuation.  TNS
Panaji, October 8

Celebrity perfumer Monica Ghurde was strangled, police said on Saturday, although it is yet unknown if she was raped before being murdered.

"Post-mortem report has confirmed that she died due to smothering," Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahesh Gaonkar said on Sunday, after doctors of the Goa Medical College and Hospital submitted their findings.

Police found the 39-year-old striped naked and tied to a bed in her three-bedroom rented flat at Goas Sangolda village on October 6. Her house bore signs of burglary.

Police have not discounted rape, but said it could be confirmed only by a medical examination.

Ghurde, a former photographer, lived alone in the flat that she had moved into in July from a neighbouring village. Originally from Nagpur, Ghurde moved to Goa after she separated from her husband Bharat Ramamrutham, also a photographer.

Police investigations revealed she was killed on October 5.  PTI
Beijing, October 8

China today defended its second technical hold to prevent a UN ban on Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar saying there were different views on Indias application and that Beijings move will allow more time for the relevant parties to have consultations.

New envoy to India

President Xi Jinping on Saturday appointed Luo Zhaohui, 54, a senior diplomat with previous assignments in Pakistan and Canada, as Chinas new ambassador to India. PTI
New Delhi, October 7

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) today warned of halting state transport in four northern states if they did not introduce CNG, saying most particulate matter in the air inhaled by Delhi residents emanated from there.

What have you done with regard to introduction of CNG stations in your areas? What are you doing about this? We had asked you to submit your response on the issue. What have you done?

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

I am being told that over 50 per cent of pollution in Delhi is caused by fine particulate matter that originates from neighbouring states. The air quality in Delhi is getting worse. You should take every measure to introduce CNG stations in your states. If you dont introduce CNG in you state, we will stop your state transport, a Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.

The observations came during the hearing of a case filed by Vardhaman Kaushik on the deteriorating air quality in Delhi. The tribunal directed officials from Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, besides officers of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, to appear before it on October 19.

In September, the NGT had asked the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments to consider the possibility of setting up CNG stations in the NCR.  PTI
Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 7

Its called the parking lot of influential wives in official circles. The 91-room Punjab Bhawan in New Delhi has only one sanctioned post of doctor, but till recently eight were posted there, all of them women and two dental surgeons among them.

Edit: Unhealthy anger

Five of the eight doctors were recently transferred to various places in Punjab for not turning up to examine Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal when he felt uneasy. Bhawan officials said against one sanctioned post, two doctors were posted there since the mid-1990s and three joined in early 2000. On September 16, five doctors  Dr Sangeeta Bhagat, Dr Suneet Pal Kaur and Dr Ravneet Kaur were transferred to Mansa, Ferozepur and Bathinda, respectively, while dental surgeons Sonali Singh and Minakshi Sood were also given transfer orders.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Three doctors have stayed back at the Punjab Bhawan: Manjeet Kaur, Neerja Gupta and Dimple Srivastava.

The influence these doctors wield can be gauged from the fact that even a former health minister, BJPs Laxmi Kanta Chawla, could not bring them back. She said, During my tenure there were 13 doctors there. I tried to bring them back to Punjab. These doctors are so influential that they isolated me in the government as well as in my party. I was forced to issue a fresh order cancelling the transfers on March 31, 2008, she said.

Chawla said there were three dental doctors posted at the Punjab Bhawan but there was no infrastructure for treatment.

According to the Indian Public Health Standards, eight doctors can be enough to serve a population of around one lakh but these eight were deputed to take care of 91 rooms.

In a letter to The Tribune, Chawla said Sukhbirs decision has once again proven that only the blood of those in power is blood. Peoples blood comes cheap.
Islamabad, October 8

Pakistan sees no hope of a breakthrough in relations with India under the Narendra Modi government, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said and accused India of adopting a "hegemonistic attitude".

"Pakistan had been resisting the Indian hegemonistic attitude in the region and had been calling the promotion of bilateral ties on equal basis," Aziz said.

There is no hope for a breakthrough in relations with India under its current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Aziz saying in TV interview.

Aziz said the joint session of the parliament yesterday had unanimously adopted a resolution that encompassed all issues, including the condemnation of "Indian brutalities" in Kashmir, ceasefire violations, condemnation of Indian threat to revoke Indus Waters Treaty and Indian intervention in Balochistan.

The adviser said the focal point of all these efforts was to show the world that entire Pakistan was united to condemn Indian brutalities in Kashmir and extend moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiri people.

Aziz said during interactions at various platforms across the globe the majority viewed that the dialogue should resume between the two states.

He said there was no harm in sealing the Pak-India border as planned by India, if the points of public movement and trade were maintained. PTI
Srinagar, October 8

The Army on Saturday said Pakistani markings were found on grenades seized from four slain terrorists in Naugam sector of Kashmir on Thursday, confirming the complicity of the neighbouring country in abetting terrorism.

Pakistan Ordinance Factory markings on hand grenades (ARGES 84) and UBGL grenades seized from the terrorists confirms Pakistan's complicity in abetting terrorism, an Army spokesman said.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

"Pakistani markings are also seen on medicines and eatable items seized by the force," he said.

Four terrorists were killed in a gunbattle with the Army in Naugam sector on Thursday while they were trying to sneak into the Valley from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

He said highly inflammable material, including six plastic explosive slabs, six bottles of petroleum jelly, six bottles of inflammable liquid and six lighters were also seized.

"Similar type of inflammable material was used at Poonch on September 11 and in the Uri attack on September 18. This shows the sinister design of Pakistan to aid terrorists is causing maximum destruction," he added.  PTI

Read:
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 7

Today was one of the rare occasions when the ruling BJP held a follow-up press conference after party president Amit Shah had already held the centre-stage, lambasting Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his khoon ki dalali statement and the accusation that PM Narendra Modi was exploiting sacrifices of soldiers for political gains.

In a retaliatory attack, Congress leader Kapil Sibal had labelled Shah tadi paar (a criminal), forcing the BJP to launch senior minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to counter him

Notably, even as Shah lambasted Rahul for using the word dalali (a negative word in Hindi), accusing him of crossing all limits and insulting the bravery of Indian Armed Forces, he was clear that the BJP would go to the people over the issue of surgical strike in the PoK to boost the Armys morale.

He rejected the charge that the saffron party was using the surgical strike for political benefits, saying that none of its top party leaders made any statement and it was the DGMO and not the Defence Minister who addressed a press conference to announce the cross-border attacks.

Though Shah also reminded Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal that he was trending in Pakistan with statement, Rahul was his main target. Apart from potato factory dig against him, Shah also wondered about the mool of the Congress vice-president. The Congress read it as a barb on Rahuls roots, though as per the BJP president he was just talking about the basic mindset of the grand old party.

Prasad, apart from countering Sibals frontal attack on Shah, also castigated him for the accusation that the saffron party had created terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) by releasing Masood Azhar during the Kandahar standoff in 1999.

What does Congress mean by BJP created JeM? The kind of language used by the Congress is shameful, regrettable and full of venom. But we cannot expect anything more from Sibal. Does he know that Pakistan and the ISI will take advantage of his remarks, Prasad said, as he slammed the propagator of the zero loss theory (Sibal) for calling the BJP president criminal.

I want to ask Kapil Sibal what he has to say about the cheating case against the President and the Vice-president. Does this behove a national party, Prasad said.

Rahul knew what he was talking about: Sibal

New Delhi: A day after Rahul Gandhi accused PM Modi of trading in the blood of soldiers, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, You have to understand the sentiment behind Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhis remarks. His first statement was in support of the Armys surgical strikes and government action. Thereafter, they (BJP) started politicising the issue and portraying the Prime Minister as Lord Rama. They started making political capital out of something on which they should have kept quiet. Rahul's message is against politicising the issue. If you politicise, questions will be asked. TNS

Give free education to Uri martyrs kids: Maneka

Hours after writing to HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar seeking a response on providing free education to the Uri attack martyrs children, Woman and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said, I will also write to the states seeking their help to provide free education to these children. The move comes after she received a petition signed by 70,000 citizens on Change.org on behalf of the martyrs children. TNS

Threatened by gangster Pujari: Nirupam
Chennai: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday visited 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. Rahul said, "I wanted to give my support and Congress presidents support to the CM She is improving and going to be alright PTI
Jaisalmer, October 7

India will completely seal its border with Pakistan by December 2018 by using effective means, including technological solutions, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here today.

Proposing a border security grid, he said suggestions had been invited from all stakeholders, including states that shared borders with Pakistan.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Speaking to the media after reviewing the security situation on the border with ministers and officials of four states, he said the government planned to seal the entire border with Pakistan by December 2018 and a proper monitoring mechanism would be in place for it.

This project will be periodically monitored by the Home Secretary at the Central level, the BSF from the security forces perspective and Chief Secretaries at the state level, the Home Minister said. In riverines and Sir Creek area in Gujarat, we will make use of technology to seal the border.

Rajnath chaired a meeting which was attended by Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, Deputy CM of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gujarat and Rajasthans Home Ministers and the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary.  PTI

By making khoon ki dalali remarks, Rahul Gandhi has crossed all limits. He insulted the bravery of our soldiers, 125 crore people question is why you (Cong) are not happy and proud of this (surgical strikes) Amit Shah, BJP chief

It (sealing border) is sheer rhetoric since the India-Pakistan border is already adequately sealed with two-tier fencing and a flood-lit concrete area between the two fences. Capt Amarinder Singh, PPCC Chief
Thane, October 8

The multi-million dollar call center racket allegedly claimed the life of an elderly American woman, who was threatened after refusing to meet the demands of the call centre employees posing as US revenue officials.

According to Thane Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, who is credited with exposing the racket, the probe team hit upon the vital information when it was scanning the seized call record hard disks.

Read: 70 call centre employees held for fraud

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The unidentified American national is said to have died after allegedly suffering a stroke following a threatening call by an employee, Singh told a section of media here yesterday without elaborating further.

The incident was revealed from a call record wherein the son of the woman is heard abusing the caller for the death of his mother.

The probe team is trying to locate the call (its place and time) and fix the employee in question after which the police are likely to slap additional charges under Section 304 of the IPC on the accused, he said.

The callers used to seek financial and bank details of US citizens and if the victims refused the information, they would allegedly threaten them with dire consequences including legal action and penalties.

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 conned them after speaking in American accent by posing as officials of US Internal Revenue Service.

According to police, some of the call centre employees earned up to Rs 1 lakh per month as a reward by the racket operators for making US nationals cough up money.

The 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 used to make at least 100 calls per day of which 10-15 calls would materialise and of these 3-4 people would make payment under threat by the conmen, police said.

The daily turnover of these call centres is said to be to the tune of nearly Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.50 crore, and the annual turnover could be well above Rs 300 crore. PTI
Washington: 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 that also pose a threat to India.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

State Department spokesperson John Kirby 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. The US also called for a meaningful dialogue between India and Pakistan to address differences.  PTI
Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 8

A case against former Chief Minister and Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh and 17 others, alleging a scam in granting exemption for transferring 32.1 acres of prime land of the Amritsar Improvement Trust to a private developer, has fallen flat eight years after the Vigilance Bureau (VB) registered it on the Vidhan Sabhas recommendation.

The co-accused included former Vidhan Sabha Speaker Dr Kewal Krishan and former Punjab ministers Chaudhary Jagjit Singh and Raghunath Sahai Puri (all three now deceased).

The VB has filed a cancellation report before a Mohali court and sought the discharge of all accused persons.

Neither any mala fide nor any offence had been committed. Also, no incriminating evidence to prove the charges had come to the fore during the fresh investigation, a senior VB officer told The Tribune today.

On the Punjab and Haryana High Courts directions, issued on December 22, 2014, the VB had constituted an SIT, headed by DIG Rajinder Singh, to conduct a fresh investigation.

This investigation concluded that the allegations pertaining to tampering with Vidhan Sabha records, misuse of power and illegality in exemption of land, tampering with Trust records and corruption could not be proved.

The 21-page report was filed yesterday after being approved by the VB Director. Additional District Judge Anshul Berry has issued a notice to the Vidhan Sabha Speaker for October 25.

Amarinder, Sidhus at loggerheads

Chandigarh/Amritsar: PPCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh said on Saturday that negotiations could be held with Awaaz-e-Punjab leaders only if they dropped their impractical pre-conditions. Amarinder said he did not favour talking to Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu as they were indulging in theatrics. Meanwhile, claiming that they were still in touch with the Congress, Dr Sidhu said, Amarinder must be frustrated as we directly approached the high command. No state party leader is involved in our talks. TNS

Sidhu & Co should join us: AAP

Chandigarh: AAP spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira said on Saturday that Awaaz-e-Punjab leaders Navjot Singh Sidhu, Pargat Singh and the Bains brothers should join AAP instead of the Congress. This is a group of good politicians. Joining the Congress would neither benefit them nor Punjab. If they are keen to join AAP, we are ready to work things out, he added. On being asked whether deliberations were going on between AAP and Awaaz-e-Punjab, Khaira said, I can only say that talks are going on behind the scenes. TNS

State Cong leaders to meet ticket applicants

Chandigarh: Senior Punjab Congress leaders will interact with about 800 ticket applicants on Sunday. They were shortlisted from among the 1,600 applicants during the first phase of screening done at the PPCC level. PPCC president Capt Amarinder Singh, Punjab affairs incharge Asha Kumari and Harish Chaudhary are among the leaders who will meet the ticket seekers. TNS

AAP a bunch of disgruntled elements: SAD

Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal said on Saturday that the 61 candidates announced by AAP so far showed that the party was a bunch of disgruntled, discarded and desperate politicians who had jumped on the AAP bandwagon to realise their political ambitions. TNS

Left parties announce alliance

Chandigarh: Four Left parties on Saturday announced to jointly contest the Assembly elections. This was decided at a meeting of the state coordination committee of the CPI and CPM here on Friday. The Left front will be open to an alliance with any secular party or front, except the Congress and the SAD-BJP combine. In a press release, CPM state secretary Charan Singh Virdi said the Left would offer a democratic alternative to the people. TNS

Mann snubs party candidate

Mansa: AAP MP Bhagwant Mann on Saturday met party volunteer Gurlabh Singh Mahal, who had allegedly conducted the sting operation on former state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur. However, Mann did not inform the party candidate from Mansa, Nazar Singh Manshahia, about his visit. Within a few hours of Manns meeting with Mahal, Mansa circle incharge Satpal Singla resigned, alleging that Manshahia was named in a corruption case in 2013. However, Manshahia, who was an Executive Engineer of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, claimed that he had no role in the case. TNS
GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 7

The Amritsar-Lahore Punj-Aab bus service has resumed with ease in India-Pak border tension, but with just few passengers from either side.

Today not even a single passenger was there in the bus for Lahore and the Dosti bus that reached the Attari-Wagah terminal from Lahore too didnt have a single occupant.

The Punj-Aab bus that runs every Tuesday and Friday was halted by the Punjab Roadways since October 1, following the border unrest.

On October 4 when the service was resumed only three passengers boarded the bus for Lahore. The same day, two passengers arrived in Amritsar through the Dosti bus from Pakistan.

Officials said with the disturbed Indo-Pak relations following the surgical strikes coupled with tedious visa issues, the number of passengers in the Amritsar-Lahore bus would remain less.

However, the Delhi-Lahore bus, officially known as Sada-e-Sarhad, continued its 500-km service from Delhi to the Attari border through the Attari-Wagah joint check-post.

The 'Punj-Aab' was flagged off by the then PM, Manmohan Singh, on March 24, 2006. The bus runs between Amritsar and Nankana Sahib. The Amritsar-Lahore service started on January 24, 2006.

The Sada-e-Sarhad service began in 1999, with the then PM, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, travelling on its inaugural run.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 7

The Environment Protection Control Authority, set up by the Supreme Court, today directed Punjab and Haryana to strictly implement the action plan drafted to stop the burning of paddy straw. Meanwhile, Punjab has demanded special funds to curb the menace.

In a meeting held with officers of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh here today, the authoritys chairman Bhure Lal said that effective steps must be taken to check this menace.

Both states must realise that its pollution is affecting the populace in both these states far more than in Delhi, he said.

Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal, however, sought liberal allocation of funds while adding that Punjab was very serious about tackling the problem.

Kaushal urged the authority to impress upon the Centre to allocate liberal funds to the state for this purpose.

Additional Chief Secretary of Punjab NS Kalsi said that the state government was giving 50 per cent subsidy on purchase of implements like happy seeder and rotavator, the use of which help in avoiding paddy burning.

Chairman, Punjab Pollution Control Board, Manpreet Singh told the authority that the board has set up environment monitoring committees in every district to make the people aware of the menace.
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, October 8

An 18-year-old Dalit youth, who had reportedly refused to sell liquor for some smugglers, was found murdered on the Bura Gujjar road here this morning. The family of the deceased held a protest at Maseet Wala Chowk in the town, seeking action against the accused.

The deceased, Ajay Singh alias Pahwa of Gandhi Nagar here, had recently lodged a complaint to the police alleging that some persons had threatened to kill him, sources said.

Some children playing in the morning spotted his body in a vacant plot, after which the police was informed. Eyewitnesses said that Ajays head was found severed from his body and his face was badly damaged.

Judge Singh, father of the deceased, who is a rickshaw-puller, said, Sagar and Rohit alias Nada of our locality used to threaten my son to sell liquor for them. They had even thrashed him in the past. My son worked at a flex board printing shop. He was last night spotted sitting in the corner of our street around 10.30 pm. He did not come home.

Gurinderjit Singh, SHO, Muktsar police station, said, A case of murder has been registered against Sagar and Rohit on the statement of the deceaseds father. Besides, some unknown persons too have been booked. We are investigating.

The SHO further said that as per the statement of complainant, the accused had forced his son to sell liquor.

Local Congress MLA Karan Kaur Brar, too, joined the protesters and assured justice to them. The protesters alleged that the accused were nephews of a SAD councillor, which was why they were not being arrested.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 7

Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the Union Government had revoked its decision to evacuate the residents of border villages of Punjab following surgical strikes across LoC last week.

The decision was taken after a review of the situation along the entire border with Pakistan in a meeting held in Jaisalmer yesterday. The meeting was presided over by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The Deputy CM informed Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal about the decision. Kaushal further informed the deputy commissioners of all districts concerned to take steps to ensure smooth return of the affected people back to their villages.

Meanwhile, Sukhbir requested the Home minister to give Punjab permission to raise five armed battalions that would act like a second line of defence behind the BSF.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 8

Dubbing the offence of snatching as a menace, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that the snatchers do not deserve relief. The assertion by Justice AB Chaudhari came on a regular bail plea by an accused in a chain snatching case.

The accused was arrested by the Punjab Police after an FIR was registered under Section 379-B-2 of the IPC on February 22 at the Sadar police station in Pathankot.

Justice Chaudhari said: The petitioner is the snatcher of the property. In view of the nature of the offence, namely chain snatching, which in my opinion is a menace to the society, the petitioner does not deserve any relief.
Treatment of Sampla's sister

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 7

A day after the Jalandhar Police booked members of the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) management and the doctor treating the sister of state BJP chief Vijay Sampla for lapses in her treatment, a three-member committee formed to conduct an inquiry into the issue have found the PIMS authorities negligent in the matter.

Hinting at negligence in the treatment of the ministers sister, Surinder Kaur, the report has made two prime recommendations  the CCTV footage of the orthopaedic ward at the PIMS where the patient was housed should be checked and the price of the injection administered to the patient should be determined from the PIMS pharmacy.

The findings of the three-member committee comprising medical specialist Dr Kashmiri Lal, orthopaedic surgeon Dr Ankur Sacchar and a forensic expert were submitted to the police today.

The major allegations made by the patient were that she was charged Rs 2,600 for an injection administered to her for which no prescription was provided nor an entry was made in her file. It had been alleged both by the minister and the patient that despite repeated requests no doctor had attended to her for the past few days.

While the patient also tested positive for chikungunya once she was shifted to the civil hospital, at PIMS she was kept in the orthopaedic ward all through. The report observed that the patient was kept in the orthopaedic ward on the advice of the doctor formally treating her.

The SHO, Jalandhar, said, The key observations of the report are checking of the CCTV footage of the ward and checking of the price of the injection administered. Investigations on both these matters will be started at the earliest. Further action will be initiated based on the result of the investigation.

Meanwhile, sources said the PIMS management was also making efforts to meet the minister regarding the issue.
Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Lambi/Muktsar, October 8

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today refuted the Congress allegations of misappropriation of funds for foodgrain procurement.

Badal said, The procurement operations are monitored at the highest level and there is hardly any scope for misappropriation. The sum of around Rs 30,000 crore being highlighted by Congress leaders also includes the funds used for procurement during their partys rule. They are misleading the people to score brownie points.

He said the top brass of the state government was supervising the ongoing paddy procurement. When some farmers complained of harassment by rice millers, Badal directed the Deputy Commissioner to visit all mandis to redress their grievances.

Meanwhile, Badal sanctioned three gymnasiums at Kandukhera village.

Farmers lodge protest

Muktsar: Farmers and labourers on Saturday lodged a protest against the slow pace of paddy procurement at the local grain market. They also blocked the entrance to the grain market for a few minutes. Raj Kumar, president, Labourers Union, Muktsar, said, The officials of procurement agencies said the produce had high moisture content and could not be purchased yet. Then they must not allow it to enter the grain market.
Amritsar, October 8

Panic gripped the Chheharta area when 11 rusted bombs were found in a bag close to the Amritsar-Attari railway line here today. The bag was found near fields when the owner of the land was de-weeding the area. He immediately sounded an alert, following which city police and the Government Railway Police reached the spot.

Police Commissioner Amar Singh Chahal said the bombs were old and without any explosive material. He said still the Army had been informed and it would be handed over to them for necessary action. He said they were also ascertaining as to who abandoned them. Iqbal Singh, owner of the land, said he was cleaning the area in when he found the plastic bag containing bombs.  TNS
Manish Sirhindi

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.
Harish Khare

On October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, I found myself, of all places, in Edmonton, capital city of the province of Alberta in Canada. I had been asked by the Punjabi Media Association of Alberta to give a talk on the political situation in India, particularly in Punjab.

Edmonton, it appeared to me, was a perfect showcase for Canadas multiculturalism, invigorated and institutionalised. As I was driven around the city, I was rather pleasantly surprised to have spotted an Ahmadiyya mosque. I was in for a greater surprise when I was told that the Indians and Pakistanis enjoyed the best of relationships, and that a few years ago when a Pakistani community centre was being constructed, the Indian Punjabis had gone out of their way to contribute very substantially towards its completion.

I was also pleased to learn that the very banquet hall where I was to give my talk was owned by a Pakistani, by the name of Javed Chaudhry. And, I was also informed that many Pakistanis would be in attendance at my talk. Indeed, they were there. And they asked questions, too. I expressed a desire to have a chat with some of them after the lecture.

An impromptu gathering was organised. Chaudhry played the amiable host. Copious quantities of samosas, burfis and chai were produced. The conversation with the Pakistanis  most of them professionals or businessmen  was expectedly polite and civilised. No voices were raised. It was just two days after the surgical strikes and the Pakistanis questions were laced with apprehension about the conflict getting out of hand. I did my best to quell the possibility of a wider confrontation.

It was also obvious to me that India and Pakistan had managed to invent two different versions of the same shared history, each version self-contained with its own certainties. I was pointedly asked: India is never an issue in Pakistans electoral politics. Why is it that Pakistan is always an issue in Indian political discourse? There was no easy or obvious answer.

Curiously enough, in this group of Pakistanis were two Ahmadiyyas who had come armed with a gift (of two books) for me. The present was gratefully accepted, and when I remarked that at least in Edmonton there was an Ahmadiyya mosque, the reply came, without rancour: Ham ek tabeez the, in logo ne fek diya (we were a talisman, they discarded us).

This pleasant conversation with these Pakistanis fitted very much with the spirit of Gandhi Jayanti, even though it was at odds with the violent anti-Pakistani sentiment being whipped up back home in India.

And, equally at variance with the mood back home was the Gandhi Jayanti celebration in the evening, organised by the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace. At a time when back home we were giving in to the temptation of the beating of war drums, here in Edmonton, they were singing Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, Patit Paavan Sita Ram....

This was, in fact, the 28th time when such an annual celebration was taking place. The occasion saw the presence of quite a number of provincial political leaders, paying respect to this prophet of peace. An annual gathering that enabled the local Indians and Canadians to renew a spiritual link with the Mahatma.

Within two days, it was easy to gain an appreciation of the multicultural arrangements in Alberta. The various ethnic groups  the Ukrainians, the French, the English, the Chinese, the Indians  had their own spaces, without any expectation or demand to merge themselves in the mainstream. No group was too big to be too dominant to make the other feel vulnerable. And, since Alberta is a rather rich province, with an overabundance of natural resources, the economic pie is big enough for all to have a sense of partnership and participation. Each ethnic group, it seems, has managed to create a self-sufficient economic platform for itself, with the added advantage of having to work within the legal framework of Canadian laws and rules.

The Alberta model breaks down when it comes to the native Indians, the aboriginals. A visit to the reservation made a depressing excursion. Katherine Swampy, a political activist, was generous with her time and her opinions on the extreme deprivation and near-destitution of her community. Only in recent years has the mainstream begun to acknowledge the past injustices done to these original natives of the land that is now known as Canada.

All the familiar maladies  factionalism, tribal animosities, political opportunism  have left these aboriginals a divided lot, increasingly unequal to the task of readjusting to a very fast changing economy. Those belonging to the younger generation, such as Katherine Swampy, feel entitled to have an acute sense of grievance at the historical injustice done to the community  how the original treaties between the First Nation and Canada were violated to deprive the aboriginals of their share in natural wealth. And then, there is a new mood, unaccommodating and unapologetic, among the conservatives in the political class that borders on resentment at the perpetual whining and complaining from them.

The Indians  as also other ethnic groups  are very actively involved in the political transactions of electoral politics. They even manage to import loyalties from back home  Majha versus Malwa, Ludhiana versus Jalandhar, etc.

The Punjabi Media Association, it seems, has sufficient clout and connections in the provincial Assembly. Three MLAs were on hand to greet me when I visited the Assembly. A minister also dropped in for a photo-op.

Rod Loyola, MLA from the Edmonton-Ellerslie constituency, was our host. He and his colleague had just finished a meeting of the ethics committee. They are attempting to change the funding rules, so as to provide a level playing field. They want to minimise the influence that money can buy.

Alberta has a new ruling political dispensation after decades of conservative rule. The new government has suddenly raised the minimum wages for the province and has gladly incurred a heavy public debt.

An animated discussion on the minimum wage rate hike followed. And, lo and behold, Loyola is quoting John Maynard Keynes to buttress his argument that more money in the hands of the working class would mean a more vibrant economy. Even if it means that the provinces public debt would go up considerably.

Over coffee, Loyola wants to know about the shifting moods in Punjab politics. He has a Sikh gentleman for a chief of staff. A trade unionist, a political refugee from Pinochets Chile, Loyolas politics is of working class loyalties and sympathies, though incongruously enough, he chooses to dress up very conservatively. He has a handsomeness that reminds one of Leonardo DiCaprio.

Dr Prem Singhmar was my gracious host in Edmonton. He has made it big in the world of real estate and the hotel industry. He is accepted and respected in the mainstream.

He has made a very handsome contribution to the citys educational and cultural life. Two buildings bear his name. Not bad at all. Very atypical immigrant Indian behaviour. Naturally, he is quite active in the conservative politics in the province.

Unsurprisingly, he is an admirer of Narendra Modi. But he was too suave to voice his disappointment that I did not subscribe to any such admiration.

At the local gurdwara, the talk was only of the forthcoming elections in Punjab. The community elders, who congregate every day, vocally told me that they would be getting involved in the elections. They want to influence the outcome in favour of the AAP because of its promise of a new politics.

And at the local mandir, the communitys new prosperity was very much in evidence.

Both at the mandir and gurdwara, it was obvious that more than being religious centres, these were sites of community solidarities and fellow-feelings.

Back home, I was told of something very curious. Air Force Day is celebrated on October 8. Since ages, the Air Force Chief hosts At Home reception on the day, and the President, the Vice-President and the Prime Minister put in an appearance.

This year, curiously enough, the At Home was held a few days in advance. It was learnt that the President was not available on the Air Force Day. Inexplicable. And, interestingly enough, the Defence Minister was not able to attend the Air Chiefs reception.

Certain traditions and rituals should be sacrosanct.

Such as the tradition of coffee. Do join me.





kaffeeklatsch@tribuneindia.com
Ashima S Batish

Words matter, as Hillary Clinton, who may as well become the first woman President of the US, said. The word modern, especially in the context of woman, can be the anti-thesis of traditional. It can be a challenge to the feudalistic mindset. It can also be a sign of empowerment. It is, you see, a heavy word.

It burdens the Indian women with she-can-do-it-all-anytime belief. When she puts this into practice, the first thing to crack is societys mask of being modern. Underneath lies a big fat rulebook for women, which enlists guidelines for their safety  dont stay out till late, dont wear skimpy clothes, dont drink, dont party, dont. You violate a dont, and thwart a moral plea and the likes of Rajveer Singh (a character in a recent path-breaking film Pink, which brought forth the issue) get angry. Really angry! Like he fumed, declaring, Girls from respectable families dont consume alcohol.

Unlike women, men can drink. A man being able to guzzle alcohol is a measure of his machismo. And seldom has a diktat come from a political leader on how men should behave or what they should wear. A woman wearing a burkini is a problem. She wearing a bikini, an even bigger problem! On the contrary, men make their briefs pop out of their jeans but that is never a measure of their character. Its dismissed in a single thought  Heres a cool man. At worst, a hippie. End of the story!

Equality? What equality!

Both sexes welcome the new role of woman  she is well-qualified, financially independent, decision maker  but where the change hasnt set in is their conventional role-playing. A deviation isnt welcomed.

We are pseudo moderns. There are behaviour manuals for women and these are different for women of the family and those outside of it. Ours is a society of double standards. Independent women here must be depended on not to deviate from their traditional role, while mens domain is just their work, says Ranjan Lakhanpal, a lawyer and chairman of World Human Rights Protection Council.

Need to examine

While we blame the past for our patriarchal society, the present will only change if the ills are acknowledged and worked upon. In the process, women have an even more significant role to play. Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary, Health, Punjab, explains, As women grow, they internalise the social norms. Parents need to ensure that they dont teach the girls the same set of rules as the women of their generation. She adds that equality is a cultural issue. Even in the West, equality in the written word is different from how it is practiced. The stringent abortion laws are an indicator of that.

Crime files

A woman turns down a proposal only to be taught a lesson with an acid attack. A woman travels solo in public transport, she first has to identify a spot, where she will be safe enough. She enters a crowded area, a nudge here, a grope there... how do you stop all this? Stringent laws, yes, but if the implementation was good enough, modern Indian woman wouldnt have suffered at the hands of the modern Indian society.

Deepti Gujral, a model, asserts, Rather than brushing issues under the carpet, it is important we counter these.

A truly liberated woman, she says, is the one who lives on her own terms, doesnt seek validation from others of her lifestyle or habits, doesnt make conscious efforts to be the good girl at the cost of her health and peace of mind.

At the same time, it is vital to mould the mindset of our boys and their mothers, who treat them like demigods. Teach men that their wives are equal, and that they are not a replacement of their mommas. The khayal rakhna syndrome needs to be diagnosed and treated early to avoid a chronic, diseased mindset.

Home schooling

Making children understand the concept of equality is imperative but how do you teach it and when do you start? Sherry Sabbarwal, professor of sociology, Panjab University, has the answer, You cant teach children equality by telling them about it. It has to be demonstrated in daily life. If there is equality at home, it will be automatically imbibed by children, and then they would object to any discrepancy.

Telling snapshots

Rhea, 23 (name changed) is elated. Her brother is getting married. She has told her mother that now that the sister-in-law is coming, she must rest. After all, she has really slogged to bring up her two kids and worked hard on their studies too. She needs a break from the kitchen too. She being the well-educated, modern Indian girl, hasnt ever entered the kitchen. Her mother also never allowed her. She just wanted me to study. The rules, however, change for the sister-in-law. She is more qualified than Rhea but she must manage everything. No kitchen might be a luxury at her place, but post marriage, only Rhea qualifies for it.

Rima and Sia, 17, study in Delhi. They usually take the luxury bus to travel to Delhi. This time, however, they hopped on to the public transport. Mid-way, a man sitting next to Sia begins to nudge her. Sia keeps quiet. In her own way, she tries to convey the message but the man doesnt budge. When Sia tells Rima about it, she beats the man blue. There is pindrop silence in the bus. Nobody comes forward to help the girls. After the man is thrown out of the bus, five women speak up. This happens to them everyday, but none could ever muster the courage to lodge a protest. No girl was drunk. They werent wearing skimpy clothes, and definitely not dropping any hints. Yet, Pink happens.
Renu Sinha

A cultured voice with flawless diction greets one at the other end of the phone. For a minute one is taken aback at the accent in which the Queens language flows smoothly from the other side. For, subconsciously, you expect Ssumier Pasricha to be like his famous alter ego, Pammi Aunty, the ever-critical, acerbic, Punjabi-speaking mother-in-law, whose diatribes are often as rough and uncouth as her language.

In the past few months, this gossip-loving, sarcasm-dripping middle-aged aunty has taken our digital consciousness by storm, dominating Whats App groups, conversations, even become the toast of friendly neighbourhood kitty parties, timelines, Instagrams and social networking sites. Seems justifiable though, born as she was on Snapchat.

What started as a casual prank for a few friends on Snapchat has found millions of followers on YouTube and other sites, something which Ssumier still finds hard to believe. But then the 36-year-old actor, with a theatre background, is a great believer in destiny, astrology and numerology, as is evident from the extra s in his name. Not that the added alphabet has made his journey any easier, for the tinsel town has never been known to lay down the red carpet for anyone.

The journey

Ssumier had been dabbling in theatre since school. He left for Australia to pursue higher studies but returned to the Capital to pursue theatre, his passion. Soon, thanks to his hard work and dedication, he was working with the likes of Shekhar Kapur, Sohaila Kapur, Vivek Mansukhani and Lushin Dubey. Satish Kaushik saw Ssumiers performance one day and advised him to move to Mumbai and pursue acting full time.

In 2010, Ssumier, who belongs to a business family, came to Mumbai for a conference. Kaushiks advice was at the back of his mind and he decided to go for a few auditions. He never went back. The initial days were tough. Work was sporadic, so was the money. An ad here and there, bit parts in small documentaries  these were hardly enough to survive Mumbai. His parents, though unhappy at his decision, were supportive but Ssumier wanted to test himself. Almost after an year and a half while reality was dimming hope, and he was desperate enough to contemplate a job at a call centre, a call from Colors came offering him the role of Shailu in Sasural Simar Ka.

The desperately awaited breakthrough gave him the toehold he was looking for. But then as he puts it, All my breakthroughs have been chance or destiny because I have never got any work through auditions.

The struggle

Ironically, before he could even venture out to try his luck in Mumbai, he had to struggle hard to convince his own family about his dreams. In Ssumier's own words, "In Punjabi families they can never appreciate guys leaving the family business and going for this kind of thing. Everything is measured in terms of money. And I was doing theatre, hardly a paying profession. My dad never liked it. He would support me but he always called it faltu ka kaam. He wanted me to concentrate on business and not waste time in useless pursuits.

I would always tell him that business was not for me. My three-year stint with Colors was not enough to convince him. Even now, just a couple of months back, with 20 Pammi Aunty videos already in circulation, he was still asking me kya socha hai, wapis aana hai? laughs Ssumier.

The success

Seemingly destinys favourite child at the moment, Pammi Aunty that started on a lark has taken a life of its own and brand Ssumier is riding high. Post Pammi Auntys popularity, Ssumier has been swamped with work. There is Comedy Nights Bachao on Colors. Many international and domestic brands are collaborating with him for promotions such as Jordan Tourism, Harpic, Limeroad and iPhone 7. There are movie offers, proposals for talk shows and reality shows. Ssumier is being careful because he realises Pammi Aunty has a shelf life and he doesnt want to be typecast. In his own words, Ssumier is not just about Pammi Aunty but Ssumier is a versatile actor who has a good comic sense. Whatever I do as an actor, be it a negative, comedy or a serious role, I would love to play challenging roles.

The show

Says Ssumier, Initially, there was no planning or thought process behind it. It started as a casual video to share a few laughs. How it became a rage, I have no clue. But one thing was clear that saas-bahu cribbing was a perennial favourite. So thats where I picked the idea and started on it. I also started commenting on current topics. I soon realised that commenting on current topics elicited more views than normal content. Because current issues are something people could always relate to, even if sometimes you could not relate to the saas-bahu stuff.

The unknown facets

Ssumier is a trained Hindustani classical and Carnatic music vocalist. He is also a trained Kuchipudi dancer, having learnt the dance form from Radha and Raja Reddy. Fluent in six languages, he is a travel writer and an accomplished photographer who has done many shoots for National Geographic and other international magazines.

The icon

Pammi Auntys language may be Punjabi but her character is not. She is a hit even among non-Punjabi viewers. They may not understand some words but they all have a Pammi Aunty in their house or neighbourhood  a frank, forthright, wise, old woman who is not afraid to call a spade a spade but calls it a bloody axe.

Fun facts

First video: May 14

Total videos: More than 70 (till date)

Favourite Bollywood comedy: Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Chupke Chupke

Favourite Hollywood comedy: Home Alone, Hangover-1, Mrs. Doubtfire

Comic inspirations:

My dad. I inherit this comic sense and sarcasm

from him

Others: Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan

Favourite food: Rajmah-chawal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 7

Congress leader Asha Manorma Sharma has demanded that work on the war memorial at Cheerbagh be started at the earliest.

In a letter to Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar, she has raised questions on the functioning of the BJP-led Central Government.

She said the Defence Minister had laid the foundation stone of the war memorial at Cheerbagh a few months ago but the Centre had not released any funds for the same till date.

This had resulted in a delay in the construction work and lack of maintenance of the war memorial project.

Asha said Uttarakhand was the land of martyrs and everyone got excited when the government approved the war memorial at Cheerbagh. The Congress-led state government had also released Rs 2 crore as a contribution to the project but neither the Centre nor the Union Defence Ministry released any funds for the same.

Any delay in the project was an offence to the valiant war heroes who had sacrificed their lives for the safety of the nation, she lamented.

Earlier, Asha and other Congress workers decorated the foundation stone of the war memorial with flowers and lighted candle on it. They also paid tributes to martyrs and demanded that the work be started without any further delay.

Sunita Bhatt, Harish Nagpal, Sardar Harjeet Singh, Pradeep Dobhal and Bharat Kumar were also present at the occasion.
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, October 7

An upper caste schoolteacher killed a Dalit villager with a sharp-edged weapon in Bheta village of Bageshwar district yesterday. The teacher accused the Dalit of daring to grind his grains first in the water mill that was owned by an upper caste member of the village. He became infuriated as he felt the water mill had become impure to grind grains to be offered to local deities during the ongoing Navratras, sources said in Bageshwar today.

Bageshwar SP Sukhbir Singh said schoolteacher Lalit Karnataka killed Sohan Ram (35), a resident of Kararia village, near the town with a sharp-edged weapon as the Dalit had touched the watermill and tried to grind his grains in it. The teacher passed derogatory and castiest remarks and attacked the Dalit youth with a sharp-edged weapon and killed him. He has been arrested and charged with murder and also booked under the provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, said the SP.

According to the sources, Kundan Singh Bhandari, a resident of Bheta village, owns the water mill that is used by both upper caste people and Dalits. But during Navratras, the upper caste people had cautioned Dalit families of the village to grind their grains after the grains to be offered to the local deities on the occasion of Navratras were grind.

Sohan Ram dared to defy the warning. The infuriated teacher reached the water mill and started abusing Sohan who also returned abuses. The teacher attacked him with a weapon that he was carrying, said the sources.

Protest against killing

Dehradun: Activists of the Aradhna Gramin Vikas Kendra Samiti held a protest at the District Magistrates office here on Friday demanding death penalty for a primary teacher who allegedly slit the throat of a Dalit youth in Bageshwar district on Thursday. The protesters demanded immediate action in the matter. The activists led by samiti patron Daulat Kunwar raised slogans against the state government during the protest. They expressed concern that Dalit youth Sohan Ram was killed by a teacher over a petty issue. The accused primary school teacher should be given the death penalty. A monetary compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh should be given to Sohans family members, they said. The protesters submitted a memorandum to Dehradun District Magistrate Ravinath Raman for forwarding to Governor KK Paul. Govind, Jalaam Singh, Sunder Singh, Satpal, Gajendra Singh, Manoj Kumar Singh, Dilip Chander and Chattar Bharti took part in the protest. TNS
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 7

A delegation of retired defence personnel met Chief Minister Harish Rawat and apprised him about their grievances here last evening.

Lt Gen (retd) GS Negi, former commandant of Indian Military Academy (IMA) took up the case of former servicemen and war widows living in far-flung areas.

The delegation demanded that boarding and lodging arrangements be made in hilly areas by the state government so that Dehradun Ex-Service League members could make retired defence personnel aware about various beneficiary schemes.

Rawat heard them patiently and promised to solve the problems at the earliest. The state government had already allotted Rs 2 crore for the war memorial at Cheerbagh, Dehradun, and Rs 1 crore for a memorial at Pithoragarh, he added.

Brig (retd) KG Behl, patron, Dehradun Ex-Services League, took up the issue of excise duty on CSD rates which led to an increase in the rates in CSD. The extra burden on ex-servicemen should be removed immediately, he demanded.
Neena Sharma

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 7

The state government is increasingly looking at the Karnataka citizen participatory model for establishing a forecasting system.

The Department of Disaster Management is planning to establish a weather system comprising 95 odd rain gauges and 95 automatic weather stations to be established at 93 block levels in Uttarakhand in the first phase.

This system will monitor activities which are specific to the state such as snowfall, rivers and other telemetric conditions such as humidity and rainfall level for better weather forecast, said C Ravi Shankar, Additional Secretary, Disaster Management.

The entire gamut of systems is expected to throw up profusion of numerical data leading to refinement in weather forecasting in real time, which will benefit locals and farmers.

While the state relies on the IMD for weather forecasts, recent disasters in the state has forced the Department of Disaster Management to set up a credible local weather system with the participation of locals.

The Karnataka model will help us create a better weather informed system. Chief Secretaries of the two states have already signed a memorandum of understanding wherein Karnataka will help us in replicating the system here, said C Ravi Shankar.

The department will utilise Rs 60 crore provided by World Bank to set up the weather paraphernalia. Karnataka will help us only in putting up the system and their role will be that of an adviser, said Shankar.

As Karnataka has adopted the Space Application Model by tying up with the Ahmadabad-based Space Application Centre for inferring data, Uttarakhand will have a similar arrangement.

However, to spread the system across gram panchayats, which the department intends to do in the second phase, it will have to ensure there is global positioning response system (GPRS) connectivity at the panchayat level.

The state had suffered a huge loss of infrastructure in the natural disaster of 2013. A credible weather monitoring mechanism can help the state in minimising loss of life and property.
KABUL, October 8

Parmi fled the fighting in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz with 13 members of her family this week, in shock at how quickly the city's defences had collapsed to the Taliban.

Now in Kabul, she speaks bitterly of the failure of the government to protect the city, a year on from the last time it was overrun by the Islamist militants.

"There is blood and dead bodies everywhere in Kunduz. Our young people are dying and the government hasn't done anything for us," she said, in the hotel she has been staying since Thursday with scores of other refugees from Kunduz.

Her comments, and similar accounts from others, who speak of a blacked-out city running out of food, water and medicine, underline the despair of Kunduz residents and the anger building up against the government of President Ashraf Ghani.

Parmi, 42, who like many Afghans goes by only one name, managed to escape with her family, putting a chain on the door of their house and leaving with only the clothes they were wearing after artillery and mortar fire hit their neighbourhood.

"We had to crawl out of the area; there were bullets everywhere. We left home empty-handed, now my clothes are dirty and I have nothing to wear," she said but added that she and her family were relatively lucky.

"Anyone who doesn't have money is left there under threat of mortars and gunfire," she said.

Special forces units, backed by American advisers and air strikes, have been battling to drive Taliban fighters from the city, which the insurgents entered unexpectedly at the start of the week, and fighting continues in many areas.

Following widespread reports of security forces abandoning their positions, poor coordination and rivalries among commanders, there has been heavy criticism that the government failed to learn from last year, when the Taliban seized and held the city for two weeks before pulling out.

"Even as the security situation got bad, we didn't believe Kunduz would collapse," said Shogofa Bahar, a medical assistant who fled the city for Kabul this week. "But the situation got worse and worse."

Pressure on prices

The United Nations said on Thursday that as many as 10,000 refugees had arrived in Kabul and northern towns, including Taloqan and Mazar-i-Sharif.

But Kunduz is only one of the many hotspots that have flared in the past few weeks, with heavy fighting seen in Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern province of Helmand, Farah in the west, Baghlan in the north and Nangarhar in the east.

Afghanistan already has more than 1.2 million internal refugees, with some 260,000 forced to flee their homes across the country this year as the fighting has continued.

In Takhar, the neighbouring province to Kunduz, Sunatullah Timor, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said 5,000 families had been registered with authorities but their arrival was putting pressure on local food prices.

Hundreds of families have also arrived in Baghlan but many had moved on to safer areas because of the fighting.

Aid agencies and government authorities have been providing assistance to the latest arrivals from Kunduz but there has also been help from other sources, including private citizens.

Hikmatullah Shadman, a businessman from the southern city of Kandahar, has paid for food and shelter for Parmi and the other families staying in her hotel and is ready to provide more, according to Hassib Naser, an aide.

"He wants to show to Afghans and the world that we Afghans are the same," Naser said.

However, with winter approaching, most of the Kunduz refugees are keen to return home as soon as possible.

"Most people in Kunduz are poor and can't start living in other parts of the country," said Shogofa Bahar. "As soon as it becomes calm they will go back to their homes."  Reuters
Lahore, October 7

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. 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. I believe we owe it to our children who will shape our tomorrow, Fawad wrote on his Facebook.  PTI
PORT-AU-PRINCE/DAYTONA BEACH, October 8

Hurricane Matthew killed almost 900 people and displaced tens of thousands in Haiti before plowing northward on Saturday just off the southeast US coast where it caused major flooding and widespread power outages.

The number of deaths in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, jumped to at least 877 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 rampaged 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 hurled 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 couldn't get out," said 27-year-old driver Jean-Pierre Jean-Donald.

"People came to lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife who had died in the same spot," said Jean-Donald, who had been married for only a year. His young daughter stood 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 floodwater mixing with sewage.

The Mesa Verde, a US Navy amphibious transport dock ship, was en route to Haiti to support relief efforts. The ship has heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, fresh-water delivery vehicles and two surgical operating rooms.



Four killed in Florida

At 5 am EDT (0900 GMT), Matthew's eye was about 20 miles (30 km) south-southeast of Hilton Head, South Carolina. It was moving northward at 12 mph (19 kph), packing 105 mph (165 kph) winds, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Wind gusts of 80 mph (130 kph) in Hilton Head were reported by the hurricane center and it predicted the storm possibly striking the coast on Saturday morning or afternoon.

"Regardless of whether or not the center makes landfall, hurricane-force winds in the northern eyewall will lash much of the coast of South Carolina," an NHC advisory said.

Matthew sideswiped Florida's coast with winds of up to 120 mph (195 kph) but did not make landfall there. The storm was a Category 2 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity. Category 5 is the strongest.

There were at least four storm-related deaths in Florida but no immediate reports of significant damage in cities and towns where Matthew swamped streets, toppled trees and knocked out power to more than 1 million households and businesses. About 300,000 households and businesses were without power in Georgia and South Carolina, according to utility companies on Saturday.

Two people in Florida were killed by falling trees and an elderly couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator while sheltering from the storm inside a garage.

Hurricane and flash flood warnings extended through Georgia and South Carolina and into North Carolina early on Saturday.

Forecasters warned of flooding as 15 inches (40 cm) of rain were expected to fall in parts of the region along with storm surges and high tides.

Several major roadways were inundated in Charleston, South Carolina, where water topped a wall at The Battery and was inundating White Point Gardens, a large downtown park, local media reported.

Standing water closed both directions of the Interstate 95 highway in Georgia. Some 8 inches (20 cm) of rain had fallen in the Savannah, Georgia area where Matthew downed trees and caused flooding of streets.

Earlier on Friday in Daytona Beach, Florida 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.

Though gradually weakening, Matthew was forecast to remain a hurricane until it begins moving away from the US Southeast on Sunday, according to the NHC.

Matthew triggered mass evacuations along the US coast from Florida northward through Georgia and into the Carolinas.

President Barack Obama along with federal and local officials urged people not to be complacent and to heed safety instructions. Coastal residents were warned that storm surges could still pose a danger by flooding entire neighborhoods even as Matthew departs the region.  Reuters
BEIRUT, October 8

Islamic State militants captured several villages from Syrian rebels in a counter-attack near the Turkish border that forced the foreign-backed insurgents to retreat, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday.

The rebels, whom Turkey has supported with tanks and air strikes, had been pushing towards Islamic States stronghold of Dabiq, a village with symbolic importance to the jihadists.

The IS attack, which began late on Friday, retook villages including Akhtarin and pushed towards Turkman Bareh, some 3 km (2 miles) east of Dabiq, said the British-based Observatory, which tracks the war using contacts on the ground.

Turkey's military said two Syrian rebels had been killed and nine wounded in fighting against the Islamic State. It said Turkish warplanes had hit 14 Islamic State targets over the last 24 hours and that an air strike by the US-led coalition killed two IS militants.

Ankara launched its first major military incursion into Syria in August, deploying tanks and warplanes to support insurgents it backs in an operation dubbed "Euphrates Shield".

The operation has separately targeted Islamic State and Kurdish militants, whose presence along its border Turkey sees as a threat.

Turkish attacks against the Kurdish YPG militia have caused tension with Washington, for whom the YPG has been an effective partner on the ground for its air campaign against Islamic State.  Reuters
tugtechnologyandbusiness.com

This Domain Name Has Expired - Renewal Instructions
CINCINNATI  A three-day field trip to Cincinnati left Tulsa-area business and government leaders coveting the Queen Citys economic-development toolbox.

Over 100 business and community leaders from Tulsa, Claremore, Bixby, Owasso, Jenks and other cities went on the trip.

More than anything, the Oklahoma tourists salivated over Cincinnatis development and redevelopment with older buildings being restored to their former glory or re-envisioned for new futures.

This years Whats Next? intercity visit was especially relevant, as it was the first of the Tulsa Regional Chambers annual iteration to immediately precede a new city hall administration.

From economic development and innovation to open data and performance-based policies, Mayor-elect G.T. Bynum was taking notes as he prepares for his inauguration on Dec. 5  a deadline Bynum referenced several times.

Thursday was 59 days to the big event, Bynum mentioned in a group session.

Queen City redevelopment

The big-ticket thing Bynum and others eyed the most was Cincinnatis downtown-development group.

Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., or 3CDC, is the nonprofit, public-private partnership that Cincinnati is using to flood the city with redevelopment projects.

Bynum called 3CDC Cincinnatis economic-development a juggernaut.

We have a lot of redevelopment efforts in Tulsa, but they are spread out, so its hard for people to appreciate whats happening, Bynum said. Thats one thing theyve done very well here is pick a specific area and focus all the resources they can pull together on it.

Everywhere the Tulsa-area group went, redevelopment projects were underway or construction was complete under the 3CDC banner.

The most famous and transformative is Over the Rhine, the redevelopment of a neighborhood in Cincinnatis heart that had been lost to poverty and crime but is now a gentrified center of art, restaurants and high-priced housing.

While gentrification can go too far, city leaders told Tulsas leadership that the project was about saving the center of Cincinnati from continuing as the nations most-dangerous neighborhood.

Councilwoman Yvette Simpson, who is running for mayor of Cincinnati, referenced former Mayor Mark Mallory, saying you couldnt get anything but a quick fix  now you can get Belgian waffles and a cup of coffee.

We did get a bit of gentrification that we didnt expect, Simpson said. Gentrification is a good thing, but you dont want it to become extreme.

As a result, 3CDC and other redevelopment areas near Over the Rhine are specifically focusing on affordable housing, she said.

Were intentional about making sure we do a little more mixed-income development, Simpson said. What we know is that communities that are mixed income are the strongest communities across the world.

Tulsa City Councilor Phil Lakin voiced his support for asking 3CDC leadership to visit Tulsa to give a more in-depth consultation on how it developed the program in Cincinnati.

Its all around 3CDC: how it works and its revenue sources, Lakin said. If I look into anything in more detail, its that.

Bynum prepares for term

Bynums extracurricular activities on the Cincinnati trip revolved around getting to understand best practices out of Cincinnatis City Hall.

He said his team had met with Cincinnati city officials, and their strengths are something he wants to bring to the 15th floor of Tulsas City Hall.

So much of what I think I ran on and what were laying the groundwork for right now and that youre going to see right out of the gate, comes from these trips that weve done, Bynum said to the intercity visit group on the final day.

These trips allow us to get out of the rut that I think we fall in too often, which is competing with each other and competing with Oklahoma City.

One of the major movements championed by Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black during a Thursday session was performance management, which stresses data-backed policy and data-measured success.

That movement goes hand-in-hand with the open-data concept that Bynum began at City Hall several years ago to make the citys data more available for public and private application.

In recent years, Bynum has also stressed the concept of moneyballing civic government.

I think thats one thing they are doing well here, Bynum said. That type of focus on data and having it readily available, you get citizens more engaged and more interested in what the city is doing because it isnt just a theoretical discussion anymore. It is a topical one about how their money is being sent.

Bynum said Cincinnati has been thoroughly behind that effort for about two years, and its already yielding better-educated, more-engaged residents.

Thats not on the citizens, Bynum said. Thats on the city for making it more opaque historically.
BBC has released a behind the scenes peek at this years Doctor Who Christmas special, The Return of Doctor Mysterio.

Peter Capaldi as the Doctor joins forces with an investigative journalist, played by Charity Wakefield (Wolf Hall, The Player) and a superhero to save New York from a deadly alien threat.

Steven Moffat, Writer and Executive Producer, says: Ive always loved superheroes and this Christmas Doctor Who dives into that world. My favourite superhero is Clark Kent. Not Superman, Clark Kent.

Justin Chatwin (Orphan Black, War of the Worlds) who plays Grant in the special, says: 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.

Matt Lucas (Nardole) will also be joining the cast of the special with Adetomiwa Edun (Lucifer, Bates Motel), Aleksandar Jovanovic and Logan Hoffman.
Next Match: Arizona 10/9/2016 | 11:00 AM PAC-12 NETWORKS Next Match Full Schedule Oct. 09 (Sun) / 11:00 AM Arizona



WVB on Twitter | WVB on Facebook | WVB on Instagram















LOS ANGELES - Junior Reily Buechler hit a season-best .571 with 12 kills and no errors in 21 attempts to go with four digs and three blocks, as the 18th-ranked Bruins swept Arizona State on Friday at Pauley Pavilion. Set scores were 25-23, 25-12, 25-22.



The Bruins (12-3, 3-2 Pac-12) hit .253 for the match behind the setting of freshman Kylie Miller (18 assists, seven digs) and junior Ryann Chandler (12 assists, six digs). Chandler also tied a career high with three service aces. Senior Taylor Formico added 13 digs and seven assists, while senior Jordan Anderson posted nine kills. Freshman Torrey Van Winden had eight kills, senior Claire Felix recorded four kills and five blocks and sophomore Zana Muno notched four kills, four digs and three blocks.



The first set featured seven ties and four lead changes, as the Bruins came back to win the opener. Arizona State (7-11, 0-6 Pac-12) jumped out to a 6-2 lead before the Bruins went on a 9-3 run to go ahead 11-9. Buechler was a part of five of the points on three kills, a solo block and a combo stuff. Arizona State responded to go back ahead by a score of 13-11 before the Bruins scored three in a row on two Anderson kills and one by Felix to take a 14-13 edge. Despite two more ties, the Bruins didn't trail for the rest of the set, seeing their lead reach as many as three. At 23-all, kills by Felix and Anderson wrapped up a 25-23 win. Anderson recorded a team-high seven kills, Felix added four, Buechler notched three kills and four digs and Formico had five digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .158 to .143.



It was all Bruins in set two. Even at one, the only tie of the set, UCLA scored four in a row and 16 of 19 to take a set-best lead of 13 at 17-4. The Bruins had seven blocks in the second set, with Felix recording three block assists and senior Jennie Frager notching two solos and a block assist. UCLA's lead stayed in double figures for the rest of the set, as the home team won 25-12. Buechler led the Bruins with four kills, while Van Winden added three. Formico notched six digs. The Bruins hit .350 and held the Sun Devils to a -.138 percentage.



The third set featured five ties and three lead changes. Down 4-3, the Bruins scored the next two on a Buechler kill and a Chandler ace and didn't trail for the rest of the set. At 10-9, five in a row on two kills and a solo block by Van Winden, a Felix solo stuff and an ASU attack error brought the lead to a set-best six at 15-9. The closest Arizona State would get the rest of the way was two. Van Winden's fifth kill of the third finished off the 25-22 win. Buechler also had five kills, while Muno added three, as the Bruins out-hit the Sun Devils .333 to .143.



UCLA hosts Arizona on Sunday at 11 a.m. at Pauley Pavilion. The match will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Network National and Los Angeles, along with free live audio on UCLABruins.com.
No Ukrainian soldier was killed, but three servicepersons were wounded in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone in the past day, Ukrainian Defense Ministrys Spokesman for ATO issue Andriy Lysenko said.

The Ukrainian army sustained no losses, but three soldiers were wounded as a result of combat actions over the past day, he said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. iy
The detention and arrest of Ukrainian journalist and correspondent of the Ukrinform National Information Agency, Roman Sushchenko was not random, as Russias FSB has the objectives of instructions on who can be accused and of what. This is what Ukraines Ambassador to Ukraine, Roman Bezsmertny said in an interview on the TV channel 112 Ukraine.

"The more resonant the figure, the greater the likelihood that he can be held as a hostage (in Russia - editor.) The FSB has written objectives of instructions, who can be charged and on what basis. Sushchenko was not chosen by chance. This goal without surnames has been outplayed for a long time now," he said.

Bezsmertny added that there is also a category to which the FSB cannot present any claims. "We are, in fact, dealing with the post-soviet system of intelligence. One should not ignore these things. Including on the territory of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan, because this is a common customs frontier zone," he added.

pd
The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), in support of an appeal by the Parliament of Ukraine on October 5, 2016, calls upon the international community, including human rights organizations, to assist with efforts to secure the release of Ukrainian journalists and all political prisoners detained unlawfully by Russian authorities.

This has been stated by UWC President Eugene Czolij, according to UWC press service.

The Ukrainian World Congress calls upon Ukrainian communities around the world, and the entire international community to actively defend the rights of detained journalists Roman Sushchenko and Mykola Semena, and all unlawfully detained Ukrainian political prisoners by the Russian Federation, and pressure Russian authorities for their immediate release, UWC President Eugene Czolij stated.

Roman Sushchenko and Mykola Semena are victims of the hybrid war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

Roman Sushchenko, a Paris-based correspondent with Ukraine's Ukrinform news agency, was arrested in Moscow on September 30, 2016 on charges of espionage while in the Russian Federation on a personal visit. Following closed proceedings on 1 October 2016 the court ordered his detention for two months. Contrary to international norms and a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, Roman Sushchenko was being denied the basic right to see a lawyer and a Ukrainian consul.

Mykola Semena, a pro-Ukrainian journalist and contributor to RFE/RL's Crimean news website, Krym.Realii (Crimea Realities), was arrested in April and charged with separatism for an article on the de-occupation of Crimea. Court proceedings are scheduled for October in the case of Mykola Semena who has been denied the right to leave the Crimean Peninsula for medical treatment.

ish
In the framework of the working trip to Odesa region, President Petro Poroshenko visited border crossing point Mayaky-Palanka-Udobne at the Ukraine-Moldova state border together with Prime Minister of Moldova Pavel Filip.

This has been reported by the press service of the Head of State.

The parties examined the course of construction of the border crossing point planned to be opened in 2018.

The parties agreed that in the framework of the Eastern Partnership project and the project of integrated border management, the modern border crossing point with modern equipment will be built jointly with the EU. The President noted that the EU allocated funds for the implementation of the given project.

The parties also reached an agreement to build the common modern border crossing point Kuchurgan-Pervomaisk with participation of the EU.

The President informed the Prime Minister of Moldova that he had instructed to intensify construction of Odessa-Reni road and all the necessary infrastructure.

ish
| By Patricia Fanning

The University of Maryland School of Dentistry (SOD) served more than 700 patients in desperate need of dental care during a two-day Mission of Mercy clinic held in conjunction with the annual Project Homeless Connect (PHC) in downtown Baltimore.



(View a photo gallery.)

Lines had formed when the doors to the Baltimore Convention Center opened at 5:30 a.m. on both days  Sept. 29 and Sept. 30  despite pouring rain the first day. Some people said they had arrived as early as 3 a.m. to secure a slot because they otherwise would have been unable to afford or gain access to the treatment they needed. WBAL-TV aired a report featuring a relieved woman who had been in great pain.







UM School of Dentistry students provide free dental care under the supervision of SOD faculty at the Mission of Mercy at Project Homeless Connect.

The SOD made an unprecedented commitment to help organize and to take part in the Mission of Mercy, shutting down all of its other clinics and rearranging its academic schedule so that hundreds of students, faculty, and staff members could provide free oral health care.



Jay A. Perman, MD, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), recognized them in his remarks on Sept. 30, when he joined leaders of PHC to kick off the overall delivery of services. Baltimore City Health Commissioner Leana Wen, MD, MSc, FAAEM, was among those who spoke.



A project of the United Way of Central Maryland, PHC was being held for the fifth time in Baltimore. It is a national model to help the poor by bringing together services to meet every need into one place at one time.



Our dental and dental hygiene students, faculty, and staff have gotten the jump on all of us, Perman said. Theyve been here since about 5 a.m. yesterday morning triaging patients . for X-rays, cleanings, fillings, extractions.



Perman said its times like these that he feels so very proud to be a Baltimorean.



When I talk about the love that UMB has for this city  this community  Im talking about them, he said of the UMB contingent at the Convention Center, which in addition to the SOD on Sept. 30 included representatives of the schools of Pharmacy, Nursing, Social Work, Law, and Medicine, which this year offered ophthalmology.



Perman emphasized the SOD in his acknowledgments given the scope of its Mission of Mercy, which also drew alumni with dental practices in the region.



He recognized SOD Dean Mark A. Reynolds, DDS, PhD, MA; Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs Louis G. DePaola, DDS, MS; Clinical Assistant Professor Ramsay Koury, DMD; and Material Services Manager John McDaniel as well as Alumni Association board member Chris Liang, DDS 98; and Eric Biagioli of the Foundation of the Maryland State Dental Association (MSDA). Elsewhere in the state, the MSDA foundation had led many Missions of Mercy, complete with dozens of chairs, sterilization, and digital X-ray equipment.



But this was the first time that one was held in Baltimore. And it was the first time that third- and fourth-year students, supervised by SOD faculty, could directly provide care to patients. Recipients said they had been eager to get help in the form of long-delayed cleanings, oral cancer screenings, and, in many cases, extractions.



One man had three teeth pulled. Afterward, George Willis of Baltimore praised his care team that included third-year SOD students Dana Short and Julie Wheeler. "This service is unreplaceable," said Willis. "These are very nice people. They do an excellent job. And for the service they provide to the homeless, they cant get that anywhere."



View the video below to see more of SODs role in the massive Mission of Mercy.
Sometimes, it takes a dog to make a difference. Samspons, the golden retriever likes to listen to kids who read to him. You can see him at the Smithfield Public Library in Utah.

Sampson helps kids with their reading. Now, how can a dog do that? With his tail wagging while settling on a soft blanket, he does what dogs do best.

For a year now, between 4:30 PM and 5:30 PM, on every first and third Thursday of the month, according to HJ, young readers can set an appointment to read to Sampson. Sampson is no ordinary golden retriever. He is a trained therapy dog.

He is certified under the Intermountain Therapy Animals' Reading Education Assistance Dogs or R.E.A.D. program. And he supports readers by letting them practice on him with their reading skills with the addition of a nonjudgmental, supporting partner. Barbara Abbott is his partner. She is a retired teacher who has been using her dogs to supplement her lessons for the past 39 years. She claims that dogs like Sampson are miracle workers especially with kids. They urge kids out of their shells and calms them when they are anxious.

Karen Bowling, director of the library, says that everyone gets excited about Sampson. She states that there is always someone who wants to read to Sampson. Abbott says, "It makes a big impact when kids have a dog to listen to them. There's no judgement, no correction. There's just love and acceptance."

Sampson also goes to the Newton Town Library every other Tuesday and makes visits to the Utah State University with Star, another one of Abbott's certified therapy dogs.

Star also has a job. She helps second graders at the Bear River Charter School with their reading skills.

Early education and development is important, so using dogs like Star and Sampson is a big help for kids' self confidence and reading skills.
Page Content

The traditional Mexican holiday, Dia des los Muertos (Day of the Dead), will be celebrated throughout October at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with an exhibit and events at the Carlsten Art Gallery.

The exhibit will be on display Monday, Oct. 10, through Sunday, Oct. 30, at the gallery on the second floor of the Noel Fine Arts Center on campus. It will include traditional and contemporary Dia des los Muertos ofrendas (altars) with sugar skulls and displays created by members of the Latino Student Alliance, Spanish Club and Carlsten Gallery Student Advisory Committee at UW-Stevens Point. The exhibit and events are open to the public, free of charge.

An opening reception will be held from 6-9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, in the Carlsten Art Gallery. Anju Reejhsinghani, an assistant professor of history, will present a talk about the holiday and its traditions.

A screening of the film "La Vida y Los Muertos" will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in room 221 of the Noel Fine Arts Center. Directed by Carolyn Kallenborn, associate professor in design studies at UW-Madison, the film presents the rich and vibrant celebration of the holiday in Oaxaca, Mexico.

A celebration will be held from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at the gallery and Noel Fine Arts Center balcony. The evening will include Mariachi music, face painting, kids crafts and refreshments, including the dessert bread, pan de muerto.

Dia des los Muertos is celebrated throughout Mexico and in parts of the United States. It is connected to ancient Meso-American beliefs surrounding death and rebirth. The Aztec ritual was moved to coincide with All Saints Day and All Souls Day, and includes visiting a cemetery where loved ones are buried to clean and decorate graves and celebrate the deceased with food and music.

Guests are invited to add objects to a community ofrenda. Items may include candles, candy, corn, flowers, fruit, bread, incense, instruments, nuts, squash, pumpkins, photos of lost loved ones, personal mementos, skeletons, sugar skulls, soda, religious decorations and toys.

The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. and on weekends from 1-4 p.m. For more information, contact gallery curator Leigh Wilcox at 715-346-4797.
Page Content

Discover autumn's natural beauty this October through programs at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's Schmeeckle Reserve, including the annual Fall Candlelight Hike Festival.

Taught by UW-Stevens Point students, the free programs meet at the reserve's Visitor Center, located at 2419 North Point Drive, Stevens Point, unless otherwise noted. For more information, call 715-346-4992 or go to www.uwsp.edu/cnr/schmeeckle. Dress for the weather, as most programs are outdoors.

October programs include:
Church News  October 20, 2022 LIGHT OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH Needing Answers We want God to be like FedEx and deliver overnight. Things dont happen that way, but in...

Church News  October 13, 2022 LIGHT OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH Natures Therapy The pine tree with its solemn dignity lifts its branches to the sky as if to give...


One of the most anticipated openings of 2016, celebrated chef Gordon Ramsays fourth Las Vegas restaurant, Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips, is now open at The LINQ Promenade (Photo  Erik Kabik / www.ErikKabik.com).

It was a real tradition for me growing up, so Im excited to deliver that same nostalgia at Fish & Chips, taking it to the next level with fresh, sustainable ingredients, paired with hand-crafted shakes, lemonades or ice-cold beer, said Ramsay.

The authentic takeaway-style British eatery introduces guests to the true crown-jewel, fish and chips. The fish is sustainable Alaskan True Cod, coated with custard powder batter for the perfect golden crisp. The chips are hand-cut and served natural with sea salt or dirty with truffle, parmesan and chives; chipotle, jalapeno and crisp chorizo; or cacciatore spice and fresh basil. Alternatives like marinated shrimp with basil and lavender or chicken and chips are also available.

Photo credit: The LINQ Promenade.

Other menu highlights include:

The Fishwich, served in a pita with malt vinegar slaw, tomato, two fish filets, arugula and shishito peppers

Ramsays take on a corn dog with authentic New York sausage stuffed with Fontina cheese and coated in batter

A variety of dipping sauces are available, including Gordons dill tartar sauce for the traditionalists or the curry and mango for the adventurous

Two featured shakes, the Biscoff cookie shake and, as tradition in all of Ramsays Las Vegas restaurants, the sticky toffee pudding shake

A variety of artisan grab-and-go toffees and brittles

Fresh-squeezed lemonades in peach and ginger or orange and vanilla

A wide-selection of domestic and import beers make for perfect pairings

Fish & Chips seats more than 30 guests with indoor, outdoor and counter seating. The restaurants color scheme is reflective of the Union Jack with blue and red with industrial hardware touches. White subway tiles line the sleek kitchen space. The menu is posted on a chalkboard, reminiscent of the casual approach of traditional fish and chips shops across the pond.


Tropicana Las Vegas is teaming up with the Military Hospitality Alliance to host the 13th annual Military Culinary Competition on Saturday, Nov. 12 (Pictured: Robert Irvine  Photo  Erik Kabik / www.ErikKabik.com).

The culinary event will make its debut in Las Vegas this Veterans Day weekend and will be hosted by Tropicana Las Vegas newest chef, Robert Irvine.

We are honored to be a part of such an incredible event alongside our newest restaurant partner, Chef Robert Irvine, said Aaron Rosenthal, General Manager of Tropicana Las Vegas. Were thrilled to host the annual Military Culinary Competition here in Las Vegas, and create unique opportunities for our guests and locals alike to experience a premiere culinary affair, while also paying tribute to those who have fought and served for our country.

Over 50 active duty military from across the world will face off during the ultimate food fight for the title of Armed Forces Culinary Grand Champions. The military chefs will work in fifteen teams of four, bringing together military members from all branches of the Armed Forces during this hand-to-pan competition. Co-sponsored by the Veterans Support Network, the teams will cook their way through the day-long event for prizes, pride and more.

Las Vegas is continuing to thrive as a top culinary destination, and I am excited to host this one-of-a-kind culinary competition at the Tropicana Las Vegas, said Irvine. As a former member of the British Royal Navy, I am looking forward to seeing the top culinary talent among the military branches come together in celebration of Veterans Day weekend.

To complement the culinary competition, Chef Robert Irvine will host a special meet and greet from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Guests are invited to mix and mingle with the celebrity chef. Chef Irvine will be signing copies of his newest book, Fit Fuel: A Chefs Guide to Eating Well, Getting Fit, and Living Your Best Life. The book will be available for purchase for $29.99 at the event.

The Military Culinary Competition will take place inside the Trindad Pavilion from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Entry to the event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will also be available for purchase.

In addition, Beach Cafe at Tropicana Las Vegas will host a Veterans Day Lunch Buffet priced at $24.95 per person, available Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Australia begins investing applying anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties against galvanised steel exported into Australia from Viet Nam, India and Malaysia.-File Photo

As part of the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, the ADC took up the case on August 22, 2016, on the request of BlueScope Steel Limited, an Australian steel manufacturer, after the company alleged galvanised steel (steel with a protective anti rust zinc coat) from Viet Nam and other countries was being dumped in the Australian market.

The application from BlueScope cited material injury from the steel exports to Australia's domestic industry, beginning in 2013 and still ongoing.

However, the Vietnamese government claimed that the argument from BlueScope for the existence of material injury was not convincing.

The Vietnamese government mentioned a majority of economic factors and indices within the company's own submission to the ADC which indicated a 1000 per cent growth in production for BlueScope Steel between 2013 and 2016 with a surge in profits, which it said the company failed to explain in lieu of the impact of imports from Viet Nam.

The Vietnamese government also mentioned a lack of adequate evidence from the company to initiate the investigation, with evidence based mostly on assumptions over how Viet Nam's exported steel would receive benefits and not on factual grounds, even subsidies for Vietnamese steel in Australia was assumed to be just above negligible.

The parties concerned are required by the ADC to submit detailed summaries to the commission, without disclosing confidential information or causing harm to the other party.

A temporary decision on the matter will be issued 60 days after the investigation is initiated, when temporary measures to prevent dumping may be taken.

A statement consisting of primary data will be issued on January 25, 2017 or later with permission from the Parliamentary Secretary. The parties concerned may make comments on the statement in the following 20 days.

The last report by the ADC with suggestions on the matter will be issued on March 11, 2017 or later. The final decision must be made in the following 30 days or later if there are extraordinary factors preventing the decision from being made.
The local fishing industry continues to face many challenges toward reaching its year-end export target of US$7 billion, according to experts.-Photo angiang.gov.vn

The Viet Nam Association Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP) said that first nine months of this year showed stable export value growth for seafood products, excluding cuttle-fish and octopus. Many export markets trended up, creating solid conditions for local enterprises to promote seafood exports at this year end.

In particular, the free trade agreement between Viet Nam and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) that came into effect on October 5 should create favourable conditions for Viet Nam's fishing industry to increase seafood exports to EAEU member countries.

However, VASEP general secretary Truong Dinh Hoe reported that in the last three months of this year, shrimp export volume sent to the US might remain stagnant or even reduce. The US Chamber of Commerce has decided to raise its anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese shrimp at rate 5 time higher than previously suggested.

Meanwhile, exports of tra catfish to the US have continued to grow since the beginning of this year. However, local exporters fear anti-dumping duties on the fish and the US tra fish inspection programme, the association said. The tra fish exports to the EU grew slowly in the first nine months while competing with other kinds of white-meat fish.

Tran Van Linh, chairman of Thuan Phuoc Seafood Joint Stock Company, said hitting the yearend export target of $7.1 billion will require great effort from the nation's fisheries.

By the end of December 2016, tnhe industry will almost certainly have gro, but there likely will not be many more large export contracts signed, he said. Enterprises already have orders for Vietnamese seafood products for the Christmas and New Year occasions from main markets.

Seafood exports were expected to increase in Japan and South Korea by end of the year, he said.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in this year's nine-month period, seafood exports brought home more than $4.9 billion, surging 4.3 per cent year-on-year. The US, Japan, China and South Korea were the four main importers of Vietnamese seafood, making up 53.7 per cent of the total export revenue.

If Viet Nam were to earn $7.1 billion in export value of seafood for this whole year, the figure would be 7 per cent higher than 2015.
Aerial view taken by the UN Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) over the town of Jeremie, Haiti on Oct 6, 2016. (Photo: Logan Abassi/UN/MINUSTAH/AFP)

As Matthew threatened the US coast, President Barack Obama urged Americans to mobilise 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 centre 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 neighbourhood 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.

"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 levelled all the crops in the community's fields, promising lean months ahead even by Haiti's impoverished standards.

Up to 80 per cent 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 specialise 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 they're 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 programmes in place since the quake have also been criticised for failing to build local capacity while spending millions on their own short-term programmes.

Many ordinary Haitians are sceptical 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."
Accompanying the premier were his deputy Vu Duc Dam, Ho Chi Minh City chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Xuan Cuong, and other high-ranking officials.

The delegation set off at around 5:45 am, when it was raining heavily, with the first stop at Tu Anh Co. Ltd, a facility that provides meals for workers in the outer district of Binh Chanh.

Tasting a bit of rice, the head of government asked the producer about the products origins, preservation and processing methods.

The dish is tasty and eye-catching, but hygiene should not be forgotten, PM Phuc commented, noting the supplier that the tray is a bit oily.

He also requested the facility owner to show all contracts and papers regarding the food quality and safety, while underlining that food quality is the matter of great importance.

For that reason, it should not be inspected only on paper, the premier pressed.

PM Phuc then left the food supplier for a pho (Vietnamese noodle with beef soup) eatery named Phu Cuong in Tan Phu District at 7:45 am.

After examining the broth, the premier decided to have breakfast and coffee with his entourage at the venue. He then spent most of his time asking the restaurateur about the ingredients origin and how the food is processed.

He also paid his consideration onto customers in the eatery and expressed his desire for all people to have a safe and tasty dish.

After finishing his dish, PM Phu visited a Vietnamese bologna shop nearby to ask the seller questions regarding their business operations and income.

Tran Thi Thu, the shop owner, wished to give the premier the merchandise for free, but PM Phuc told her to let him purchase, reminding her that food safety is the prior and core element to develop a brand.

In late September, the head of the government also paid a visit to Long Bien Market and a vegetable farm, both in Hanoi, to examine food safety there.
Welcome to the Best of the Weekend party. If you are in the path of Hurricane Matthew, I hope you stay safe. The storm is missing my area of Virginia but we are getting soaked with rain. My mom and I arent letting the rain stop us from touring homes on the Smith Mountain Lake Charity Home Tour. Weve been looking forward to the all summer and wont let a bit of rain stop our fun! We are also hoping to visit Bedfords Centerfest over the weekend.

Id love to know what you are doing this weekend. October is a great month for weekend activities! Leave a comment and let me know what fun things are going on in your area. Amy, Ginnie, Jenna, Cindy,and I enjoy hosting the Best of the Weekend Party each Friday night at 8pm.

If you dont already follow us in some way, wed love for you to do so.

Amy, Ms. Toody Goo Shoes | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Paula, Virginia Sweet Pea | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | G+ | Instagram

Ginnie, Hello Little Home | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | G+ | Instagram

Jenna, 24 Cottonwood Lane | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | G+ | Instagram

Cindy, Little Miss Celebration | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | G+

What I Shared This Week

Im celebrating my 40th Stitch Fix box with a $25 Stitch Fix card giveaway. If you havent entered, please do!

Last weekend I had a craving for a fall dessert and tried a recipe from the September 2016 issue of Southern Living. Apple-Spice Bundt Cake with Caramel Frosting didnt last the week at my house.

Most Clicked

Penny Pinching Jenny shared Deep Cleaning Your Home in Just Seven Days. Id like to have seven days in a row to clean. Just sayin.

My Features

Live from Julies House shared her Fast and Easy Fiesta Black Beans and Rice.

Lines Across Shared a Free Printable Apple Coloring Page. Im going to print out a few of these to keep at school for kids who finish their work super fast. I think theyll love coloring this!

Heart Handmade UK shared 10 Charming DIY Projects to Make ASAP.

I look forward to seeing what you share this week for Best of the Weekend!






A chained dog tries to break away from a container in a flooded garden after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in the Pinewood Gardens subdivision of Nassau on Friday. Matthew tore roofs away, toppled trees and caused flooding that trapped some people in their homes.
File photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump makes a point during a Sept. 26 debate with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Their next debate is Sunday.


remaining of

Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.
Civil servants earning less than 1 million riel (about $250) per month will no longer have to pay income tax under a draft budget for 2017, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced in a speech on Thursday.



The move would be the latest in a series of attempts by the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party to court the influential sector ahead of elections scheduled for 2017 and 2018.



Hun Sen said the current tax-free threshold would be raised from the current rate of 800,000 riel, or about $200.



Benefiting most from the changes would be teachers, the armed forces, and other civil servants, he said.



A parliamentary session is scheduled for October 21 to approve the bill, which would be formally adopted in early November.



To cut down the difficulties of the civil servants, the armed forces, especially teachers and nurses ... we moved from 800,000 riel to 1 million riel, that will not be taxed on their salaries, Hun Sen said.



The announcement came just days after the premier announced that the base salary for teachers would be increased by April to 950,000 riel (about $237).



Sorn Chey, a rights worker with the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific, said the government must also institute changes to the way tax was collected from wealthy members of society.



The state must have a mechanism to collect taxes from all the rich, and I think our national budget will see a huge increase, therefore we can use it to promote welfare services for low-wage people and their living conditions, especially the poor, he said.
Security forces in Bangladesh killed 11 suspected members of an Islamist militant group in an ongoing crackdown against extremism in the country.

On Saturday, Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the suspects were members of the banned group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB), blamed for an attack on a cafe in the capital Dhaka in July. Twenty-two died in the attack, including 17 foreigners.

Acting on tips, security forces raided suspected hideouts in the Gazipur suburb just outside Dhaka early Saturday morning.

"We requested them to surrender but they opened fire at our officers, which prompted them to retaliate," Khan said, adding that forces seized money from these extremists that they got through robbery.

Firearms, meat cleavers found



Firearms, bullets and meat cleavers were found during the raids, said Mufti Mahmud Khan, a spokesman for the Rapid Action Battalion involved in Saturdays operations.

Police have killed more than 35 suspected militants in shootouts since the cafe massacre, including its presumed mastermind, 30-year-old Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the cafe attack, but authorities have denied that, saying it was a JMB plot, and that IS has no presence in the Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Long dormant after its top leaders were executed in March 2007, the JMB has recently regrouped with young, university-educated extremists taking the leadership.
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 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.

Long-term problems

While global demand for coffee is rising, both main species, arabica and robusta, are climate-sensitive and under threat over the 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.

Growing appetite

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. 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 change

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 replanted 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 wakeup 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.
Thousands of marchers took to the streets of Yemen's capital, Sana'a, Sunday to protest an apparent Saudi-led coalition airstrike that killed more than 140 people at a funeral on Saturday. A United Nations observer said more than 500 others were wounded.

Protesters gathered outside of U.N. offices in the capital chanting "death to al-Saud," the Saudi royal family.

The protests came a day after bombs hit a funeral hall where mourners marked the death of the father of a prominent Houthi rebel official. Reports and video from the scene showed widespread destruction and rescuers collecting body parts scattered through the ruins of the wrecked facility.

Saudi coalition officials initially denied any role in the bombing, but later announced an investigation of what they described as a "regrettable and painful" attack.

Yemeni officials said the dead and wounded included military and security personnel from the Shi'ite Houthi rebel regime seeking to oust the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi.

In a televised address Sunday, Houthi leader Abdul-Malek al-Houthi described the dead as martyrs, and said the bombings had been carried out with U.S.-made weaponry. He also urged his followers to launch further attacks on Saudis at the Yemen-Saudi border.

Late Saturday, the Obama administration announced an urgent review of U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said "we are deeply disturbed by reports of today's airstrike," which appear to "continue the troubling series of attacks striking Yemeni civilians.

"U.S. security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check," Price said, adding that U.S. support for the Saudi-led operation in Yemen has already been "significantly reduced."

A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said "any deliberate attack against civilians is utterly unacceptable and calls for a prompt and impartial investigation."

By late Sunday, authorities had produced no definitive evidence on details of the blasts, and at least one early report suggested the involvement of suicide bombers.

But most accounts said the devastation was caused by missiles fired by one or more warplanes - possibly the most damaging attack since the Saudi air campaign in Yemen began last year.

The Saudi-led coalition of regional Sunni governments that has been attacking Houthis in Yemen in support of President Hadi Since March of 2015. A U.N. report says the coalition airstrikes have killed nearly 4,000 people.

Houthi rebels, alleging years of discrimination by the Sana'a government, launched a rebellion in 2014 aimed at wresting power from President Hadi. Since then, more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed.
Preliminary results in Moroccos 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 Fridays 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.

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.

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.

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 Moroccos 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.
Unhappy with the portrayal of her community in the mainstream press, single mother Carla Siccos decided to create her own media platform to highlight a different side of life in Rio de Janeiros infamous City of God.

The growth of community-run media in the City of God, internationally notorious because of the gangster movie that bears its name, is part of a broader trend in Rios often-violent slums, or favelas, media experts said.

The explosion of free social networking platforms has allowed poor residents of favelas, communities where residents often lack formal property rights and worry about being displaced, to tell their own stories.

Reporters from outside come for the bad news, but the good news just flows away, said Siccos, editor of CDD Acontece (City of God Happenings), a volunteer-run media portal covering the community.

I created this to show people the good news inside the community, she told Reuters.

I work to tell stories that connect people to each other, she said, standing beside small brick houses in the neighborhood 20 km (12 miles) from central Rio.

With more than 53,000 likes on its Facebook page and several thousand more receiving updates through a WhatsApp group, the platform publishes news about local events, new training courses, business openings or parties.

Community media boom

The site has shone a spotlight on local residents who have made it big, including a dancer who went on to join the Cincinnati ballet in the United States, Siccos said.

Judoka Rafaela Silva, who grew up in the City of God, won Brazils first gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, bringing a wave of positive local media coverage to the community.

City of God Happenings is part of a boom in community-focused media in Brazils favelas, said Stuart Davis, a communications professor at Texas A&M University.

While the site focuses on good news stories, other favela media projects tackle controversial issues, such as rights abuses, corruption or displacement in untitled neighborhoods, he said.

There is a rise in very local media projects: people focusing on neighborhood issues, Davis told Reuters.

One of the best known is media collective Papo Reto (Straight Talk), which was set up in the Complexo do Alemao favela to document abuses by security forces and counter stereotypes.

There isnt a lot of data on how many favela-based news services are operating in Rio or nationwide, said Vicky Mayer, a professor at Tulane University who studies independent media, as volunteer-run projects frequently shut down or shift focus.

But the platforms are important because citizens who dont have secure ownership of their homes and can face displacement need to have representation in the media, Mayer told Reuters. Its about establishing ones citizenship in the favela.

Precarious communities

Home to more than 20 percent of Rio de Janeiros population, many of the citys favelas began as hillside squatter communities whose residents lacked formal property titles or land rights.

The City of God, in contrast, was purpose-built in the 1960s for Brazilians displaced by natural disasters in other parts of the country or people forced out of favelas near wealthy enclaves of Rio.

Initially a planned neighborhood, its first wave of residents had formal property title deeds allowing them to buy and sell their small homes in the market, unlike nearby favelas.

Designed for 15,000 people, City of God now has more than 60,000 residents, said community activist Rodrigo Vieira.

Most of the people here have a formal postal code and addresses unlike other favelas, Vieira told Reuters.

A volunteer at an old folks home, he welcomes media projects challenging the stereotypes of the area that followed the movie City of God, in 2002.

The community was the second favela in Rio to receive police units under the citys so-called pacification program, which combined aggressive enforcement targeting gangs with public investment in low-income areas.

But violent crime persists and has grown worse in the last 18 months, Vieira said, as Brazils recession leaves people desperate.

Gangsters will sometimes call and say Dont let the old people out of the home tonight, theres going to be a shooting, Vieira said.

Walking past a graffiti mural of gun-toting characters from the City of God movie, Siccos the editor said she wants to focus on positive coverage of the neighborhood, despite its problems.

Since its launch in 2011, the site has expanded quickly.

Siccos attended journalism school to pursue the project, but has no plans to move the site beyond digital platforms.

I dont want a print version: just look at how the city deals with its trash, she said pointing to a stagnant water canal full of garbage in the City of God.
The Dutch government said Friday that it would continue its peacekeeping mission in Mali in 2017 but would 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 Dutch officials' 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-Qaida-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, plus transport helicopters to evacuate sick or wounded soldiers.

Military sources say time is running short to find a country to supply replacement helicopters, because it takes months to prepare such a mission.

Merkel to visit

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 Defense 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 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.
Greece's coast guard said that 131 migrants were rescued Saturday off the western coast after their vessel sent a distress call and was found rudderless at sea.

According to initial reports, the migrants were believed to have been trying to reach Italy. Neither their nationalities nor the boat's point of origin were reported.

Harbor police helped the boat make it to the docks at the western Greek port of Methoni. All aboard were safe.

Hundreds of people each day try to reach the European Union as smugglers explore new migrant routes after the closure the trails through Balkans in March. Last year nearly one million migrants cross to European Union countries that way.

About 142,000 migrants have reached Italy this year and around 3,100 have died making the trip across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Also Saturday, villagers in Pierrefeu in southeast France protested the arrival of migrants who are being dispersed around the country as the government shuts down the refugee camp in Calais. The camp, called the Jungle has become a symbolic flashpoint in Europe's migrant crisis.



Pro-migrant residents of the city called for solidarity, but protesters said they feared the newcomers will threaten security.
A top Russian diplomat has criticized the U.S. of creating "unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria" when it publicly accused Russia of launching a series of cyber attacks that were aimed at undermining the upcoming U.S. elections.

"The supercharging of emotions about Russian hackers is being used in the pre-election fight. The current administration, taking part in this fight, is not averse to dirty methods," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Saturday on the ministry's website.

Late Friday, the U.S. administration stopped short of calling Russia's intrusions an act of cyberwar but said it is confident Russia directed the hacks of the Democratic National Committee in July, leaking thousands of emails that embarrassed the party in the days leading up to its national convention.

These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process, according to the statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security.

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 added.

For several weeks, intelligence officials said they suspected Russia of orchestrating the attacks, noting that Russia has used similar tactics and techniques to influence public opinion across Europe and Eurasia.

But U.S. intelligence community decided to go public with the attribution after newly uncovered information allowed them to reach a higher degree of confidence, one official told VOA.

The U.S. also said a series of recent cyber intrusions into state and local election-related systems originated from servers operated by a company in Russia, though it was not yet able to say whether those actions were also directed by Moscow.

Theres an urgency here to release as much information as possible so the state and local authorities can fortify their [election] infrastructure, a senior administration official told VOA on condition of anonymity. Were committed to making sure our election process is secure.

At least 21 U.S. states have already sought cybersecurity assistance from the Department of Homeland Security, and officials are encouraging more state and local election officials to reach out.



Range of responses

Despite publicly naming Russia as the culprit behind the hacked emails released by Wikileaks and DCLeaks.com, U.S. officials do not expect the attacks to stop.

Instead, they expect Russia to continue with a stream of activity, enough to foment tensions but below the threshold that would trigger a severe escalation in hostilities.

The U.S. warned it will not sit idly by.

Some responses you may see and others you may not, a U.S. intelligence official cautioned.

But so far, the U.S. is leery of labeling the Russian cyberattacks as acts of war.

A senior administration official said even though the attacks targeted systems critical to the countrys democracy, it is more useful to look at each individual situation, and that a response could include diplomatic, economic or cyber actions.

That full range of tools will be considered, the official said. Thats going to happen at the time and place of our choosing.

National security expert Nicholas Rostow, a professor at the National Defense University, said he is not surprised that Russia is believed to be behind the hacks. While acknowledging that such a security breach is a very bad thing, he says its hardly surprising in this day and age. Russian President Vladimir Putin, he noted, is an intelligence specialist who spent years working for the KGB, Russias intelligence agency.

Rostow said he would not classify the U.S. statement as an act of war, but rather one more incident in a long session of cyber struggle with Russia. He said he would be surprised if Russia is the only one trying to interfere, noting that the United States also has a contentious relationship with China, and with Cuba. Theres a constant effort to get at each others computers, to defend the computers, the communications, and all the rest of it, he said.

Reassuring voters

Meanwhile, U.S. officials are trying to reassure voters that they system is safe. They say the hacks are meant to undermine confidence in the voting system.

"What people need to know about this is that our voting infrastructure is really quite resilient," Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco told a Cyber Warfare Summit hosted by the Washington Post on Thursday. "We ought to be very confident in our election system."

In reality, hacking the U.S. election would be incredibly difficult, since it is not federalized into a single entity. Instead, the election is spread across about 8,000 localities, with each one using its own methods, systems and rules. In many jurisdictions, the process is offline altogether.

"Our system is decentralized," explains Thomas Hicks, commissioner of the Election Assistance Commission, who spoke at the forum Thursday. "And with a decentralized system, you'd need an army of folks to try to get into the system."

But there are still vulnerabilities. Hackers have recently targeted voter registration systems in more than 20 states, the Department of Homeland Security said last week. In at least a "few cases," officials said the hackers succeeded in gaining access to state voting-related systems.

So far there have been no reports of manipulation. But the threat is real and could be highest in the handful of so-called swing states that typically determine the winner of U.S. elections.

Campaigns, parties, vulnerable

It's not just the voting process that is susceptible to hackers. Other parts of the U.S. election apparatus, including political parties and individual campaigns, are also at risk.

Though the DNC has so far experienced the worst of the hacking attacks, Republican Party operatives have also been targeted, said Brett DeWitt, the senior policy advisor for cybersecurity for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security.

"Both political parties have been hacked," DeWitt says. "They're trying to undermine the integrity and confidence of the entire election system, Republican or Democrat."

The problem is complicated by the fact that many political campaigns and committees are traditionally reluctant to spend much money on cyber protections, preferring to throw their funds into political ends.

"All these political organizations want to put all their resources into winning races and promoting candidates and building their party," says Michael Sussman, a former Department of Justice cybercrimes prosecutor, who is on the DNC's newly formed cyber security board.

Sussman expects more emails to be released by the hackers who broke into the DNC networks. And he wouldn't be surprised to see more attacks.

"We know it's Russian state-sponsored, and we know that the groups doing it are very sophisticated, and in fact, it is their day job." he says. "They're not going to go away, and they're going to be very persistent."

Friday's announcement came amid escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow over a range of international disagreements, including U.S. charges that Russian airstrikes in support of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been hitting hospitals and other civilian targets in rebel-held eastern Aleppo.
German police searched Saturday for a Syrian man after receiving intelligence that he was planning a bombing attack.

Authorities detained three people known to Jaber Albakr, 22, after they found explosives in an apartment they raided while looking for him in the eastern city of Chemnitz, Saxony police spokesman Tom Bernhardt said. Two were taken into custody near the Chemnitz train station, and a third was apprehended in downtown Chemnitz.

Police were questioning the three, hoping they had information that might help them find the suspect.

"We have to assume that he is dangerous," Bernhardt said.

Authorities didn't say how long Albakr had been in Germany, and Bernhardt said it was unclear whether he was one among the close to 1 million asylum-seekers who entered the country in the last year.

Police called on the public to phone them with any information on Albakr, who was last seen in Chemnitz wearing a black hooded top with a bright pattern on the front.

"The search for the suspect is ongoing," Saxony state police tweeted. "At the moment, however, we do not know where he is and what he is carrying with him. Be careful."

A series of attacks hit Germany this summer. The Islamic State group claimed two in late July  one on a train near Wurzburg and another at a music festival in Ansbach  that wounded 20 people. Police shot and killed the assailants in both incidents.

Two other attacks, including a deadly mall shooting in Munich, were unrelated to Islamic extremism, police said.
The U.N. high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, is calling on richer countries to shoulder more of the burden of caring for the millions of refugees who mainly have sought asylum in poorer countries.

Grandi says he is hopeful the renewed commitment made by governments attending the UNHCR's annual refugee conference in Geneva will translate into concrete actions to help resolve the world's burgeoning crisis.

"The majority of those 65 million that we always talk about are not in the rich world, he said. They are in the poorer countries. And, those poor countries need more of the rich world to share their responsibilities."

Richer countries can help in many ways, Grandi says, such as giving more money to the poor host countries or resettling more refugees.

It is a crisis that is growing, he says, noting that during the four-day refugee conference, 13,000 new South Sudanese refugees fled into neighboring countries. During the same period, he says, 10,000 refugees and migrants were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, while people in eastern Aleppo remained trapped in their besieged city.

The European Union's plan for relocating 160,000 Syrian and other refugees has not been implemented, Grandi says, adding that much of the refugee crisis could be resolved if EU member states shared the burden.

Instead, Greece has shouldered the lion's share of the problem.

"They have 50,000 people that were blocked there when the borders got closed, Grandi said. Through relocation and perhaps resettlement outside Europe, most of that problem would be solved very quickly. And, Greece is ready to absorb those that cannot go through these other channels."

Grandi acknowledges that some protracted refugee problems  such as those stemming from Somalia and Afghanistan  are very difficult to resolve.

However, he says, there are numerous examples of progress. He cites Ivory Coast, Mali and Myanmar as examples of countries that have largely put their refugee problems to rest.
The commander of U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan together with the countrys defense minister Saturday traveled to a nearly besieged southern Afghan city and assured residents they would not let it fall to the Taliban.

The visit to Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand, the largest Afghan province, came after overnight battlefield advances brought the insurgents extremely close to the city.

A security source told VOA the Taliban captured four outposts around the provincial capital and both sides suffered heavy casualties in the fighting. He refused to give any figures for Afghan security forces.

The fighting in the area raged into Saturday, raising fears among residents the insurgents are about to force their way into the town.

General John Nicholson, commander of NATO's Resolute Support mission told tribal elders in Lashkar Gah that international air power and enablers will be available to Afghan security forces. He promised the city will never fall to the opposition. He added that his coalition will increase consultant missions to help Afghan army and police personnel to improve the situation in Helmand.

The Afghan government and security forces are getting stronger each day and eventually they will be able to secure the entire province, Nicholson said.



Standing with Afghanistan

He reiterated that Afghan forces have secured most of the population centers throughout Afghanistan and explained to the elders it will take more time before the Taliban are expelled from the country.

We are building an army while we are fighting a war. But because of the belief of the international community in the Afghan people, in the government and in how hard the security forces are fighting, the international community is standing with Afghanistan, the general said.

Afghan Defense Minister General Abdullah Habibi promised the gathering new security operations will launch soon to push back the Taliban and retake control of other areas in the province.

A number of residents in Lashkar Gah told VOA that they are extremely worried about their safety and could not sleep all night because of clashes and heavy gunfire.

The Afghan government is believed to be in full control of only two of Helmands 14 districts.

Separately, sporadic clashes have continued to rage in the embattled northern Afghan city of Kunduz for a sixth day on Saturday.

Afghan officials requesting anonymity confirmed to VOA that two soldiers were mistakenly killed and several others wounded in overnight airstrikes by government helicopters against Taliban positions. The air raid in Bala Hesar area inside Kunduz was reportedly conducted in defense of Afghan forces who came under attack from the insurgents.

Confusion on casualties

The Afghan defense ministry has denied killing of any soldiers in the attack, saying an investigation is underway to ascertain details.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed a U.S. aircraft carried out the attack that killed at least nine Afghan soldiers and wounded 30 others but no harm was done to Taliban fighters.

It was not possible to ascertain authenticity of the insurgent claims and the U.S. military has not yet commented on the development. It has acknowledged carrying out airstrikes this week in defense of Afghan forces in Kunduz.

Afghan military commanders are reported to have confirmed that dozens of border police personnel surrendered to the Taliban Friday night in Bala Murghab district of northwestern province of Badghis.

Local officials and politicians told reporters the insurgents had besieged the police base for several days before they surrendered. Taliban ambushes and landmines prevented supplies and reinforcements from reaching the area, which borders Turkmenistan.

Separately, a U.S. government watchdog reported Friday its concerns over reports of thousands of Afghan non-existent or ghost soldiers and police personnel on the payroll of the Afghan National Defense and Security Force (ANDSF).

Ghost soldiers

John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), conveyed his concerns through a letter he recently wrote to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Persistent reports indicating discrepancies between the assigned force strength of the ANDSF 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, Sopk wrote.

Local media have quoted the new Afghan police chief of Helmand saying that of the approximately 26,000 ANDSF personnel assigned to the province 40 to 50 percent of the force did not exist physically when we asked for help during operations, Sopko noted.

ANDSF is believed to be losing thousands of personnel because of heavy casualties it is suffering in the battlefield and to a high attrition rate. There are concerns salaries of these soldiers as well as those of ghost" personnel are going to the pockets of corrupt Afghan leaders.

Sopko acknowledged the Pentagon, in responding to his questions, has outlined actions it is taking to improve the systems used for ANDSF personnel management.

The U.S. government has allocated more than $68 billion since 2002 to creating and funding ANDSF to fight the Taliban and provide national security. But recent battlefield setbacks have raised questions about the capacity of the Afghan forces.
A weakened Hurricane Matthew neared the end of its weeklong charge through Caribbean islands and along the U.S. Atlantic coast after killing nearly 1,000 people, most of them in Haiti. The storm also flattened communities and wrecked agriculture in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas.

Haiti has declared three days of national mourning, President Jocelerme Privet's office said, "in solidarity" with the parents and friends of the victims of Matthew and residents of the region who are suffering from the hurricane's impact.

Matthew is moving northeastward over North Carolina's Outer Banks with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour - half as strong as they were a week ago.

Serious flooding was reported in many areas along a 950-kilometer stretch of the U.S. East Coast from Florida north to North Carolina. U.S. President Barack Obama declared states of emergency in four states, where at least 10 deaths were reported due to the storm.

Matthew was the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. coast in nearly a decade, and one of the longest-lasting major hurricanes on record, but damage to property was much less than had been predicted.

Casualties still rising

The hurricane was at its most powerful when it ravaged the Caribbean nearly a week ago with winds of 235 kilometers per hour. Although more than 900 deaths have been reported in Haiti, many areas of that impoverished country have not yet been thoroughly surveyed.

Haiti says 1.5 million people have been affected the the hurricane and 350,000 are in need of immediate assistance as most are homeless.

The U.S. military has been deploying aid to Haiti by air and sea; food and medicine as well as equipment, including heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, water-delivery vehicles and mobile operating rooms.

UNICEF says the conditions in Haiti are "perfect breeding grounds for waterborne diseases." Marc Vincent, UNICEF's representative in Haiti says, "Every day that goes by increases the threat of cholera."

As Matthew passed over Haiti it also raked the eastern tip of Cuba. Few reports of casualties or damage have emerged since Tuesday, but the island nation is expected to need massive quantities of relief supplies.

The Dominican Republic, which lies on the eastern half of Hispaniola Island, bordering Haiti, also felt Hurricane Matthew's power. The storm later coursed through the Bahamas before traveling north along the U.S. East Coast, slowly weakening but remaining just offshore until it finally made landfall in South Carolina Saturday.

Haiti hit hardest

The catastrophic damage this week in Haiti was made worse because the impoverished country is still recovering from a devastating earthquake in 2010. Thousands of people who have been living in flimsy shelters since the earthquake saw those washed away by the hurricane, which also destroyed a bridge that is the only link between a large portion of southern Haiti and the rest of the country.

Officials have warned the list of casualties will likely climb - perhaps significantly - as rescuers finally manage to reach remote villages.

Video images from Haiti showed entire landscapes of metal shanties that lost their roofs in the winds and driving rains, along with downed trees and fields of mud from overflowing rivers.

CARE Haiti director Jean-Michel Vigreux said just one Haitian town with a population of 30,000, Jeremie, is completely destroyed.

The International Red Cross has issued an emergency appeal for $6.9 billion in relief aid for Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Residents and aid workers in eastern Cuba were still assessing storm damage. There were no immediate reports of casualties, but workers from a Roman Catholic charity organization spent nearly 16 hours trying to reach Baracoa, a community of 82,000 residents. Locals said the trip from Guantanamo to Baracoa normally takes just over two hours.

The Miami Herald reported that one local church official found Baracoa with ruined roads, damaged communications and neighborhoods near the coast reduced to rubble.



WATCH: video footage of devastation in Les Cayes, Haiti
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.
What a guy. Photo: Getty Images

After the Washington Post published a video on Friday of Donald Trump  and former Access Hollywood host Billy Bush was unknowingly recorded condoning sexual assault (Grab them by the pussy, you can do anything, Trump says)  Bush has come under fire for his own offensive behavior. In the tape, recorded in 2005 on the set of Days of Our Lives, which Trump was visiting to tape a cameo, Bush is seen and heard encouraging Trump to inappropriately engage with Days actress Arianne Zucker. Sheesh, your girls hot as shit, in the purple. Yes, the Donald has scored! Bush says, later forcing Zucker to hug Trump and the Bushy. As expected, Bush is now being routed online, with several comments under his last Facebook post calling him a pig, scummy, and demanding that he be fired from NBC, where he currently appears on the Today show.

Meanwhile, TV-business veterans are already anticipating NBC will have to take quick action against Bush in response to Fridays revelations. It was 11 years ago, but they have to do something, one TV-industry insider tells Vulture. Bush is a co-host of arguably their top brand, and his audience is primarily women. The executive predicts at minimum an on-air apology, [but] more likely a suspension of Bush, adding that NBC may ultimately go even further. Misogyny is no laughing matter, [so they] could also just let him go, the insider said. A rep for Access Hollywood told Vanity Fair they had no comment, and that they will address the story during tonights show; Bush has deleted his Twitter account, so dont expect any comments from him there.

Update: In advance of tonights Access Hollywood coverage, NBC sent out a statement from Bush to various media outlets that said, Obviously Im embarrassed and ashamed. Its no excuse, but this happened eleven years ago  I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. Im very sorry.

Additional reporting by Josef Adalian.
Tick embodies two of High Maintenances most enduring qualities: self-awareness and compassion. A series about mostly white, mostly socially mobile pot smokers living in New York has the potential to be disastrously myopic, but High Maintenance rarely if ever falls into this trap because it has a sense of humor about its subjects, poking fun at their affectations and behavior. Crucially, the series never devolves into smug potshots, but instead it engages with difference from a place of appreciation, even if its tempered by proverbial spitballs from the back of the classroom. Its a tough balancing act, but one that the series pulls off regularly, and Tick is the best example yet.

The episode features two stories, the first involves aging Asian couple Joon (Kristen Hung) and Wei (Clem Cheung), who earn their living as waste pickers in Brooklyn. Were first introduced when the Guy walks while Wei is picking up trash from a ritzy, gentrified neighborhood. We watch as the two of them bring the boroughs garbage to a landfill and then retire peacefully to their modest yet comfortable apartment, which stands in sharp contrast to previous apartments seen on the series. Series creators Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair communicate a familiar intimacy between Joon and Wei during their conversations in the apartment, which feature a steady rhythm of bickering that never once devolves into a fight. These are people who have been doing this for a long time.

Soon we learn that their son (Stephen Lin) is a professional musician/avant-garde performance artist who lives in Berlin with his hip girlfriend. While in town for a show, the four get lunch and the unspoken tensions between Joon, Wei, and their son appear immediately. Joon is supportive and joyful of their sons success, basking in the glow of his fame and very appreciative of his girlfriend. Wei, on the other hand, is decidedly reserved, only speaking to his son to exchange curt statements about his health and money. Its a fairly common dynamic between immigrants and their first-generation children, but take note that Weis strained relationship with his son has another component: He is an amateur musician, and he keeps his instrument locked underneath his bed.

The second, more whimsical story in Tick falls more in line with the shows superficially hipster image, if only because it involves day ravers and uptight parents. Jim (Peter Friedman), an aging former workaholic who actively tries to be up on millennial slang, spends most of his time attending day raves and getting high. His daughter Quinn (Bridget Maloney), her husband (Paul Thureen), and their baby live upstairs in his brownstone and struggle to adjust to Jims lifestyle. Quinn tries to engage by joining him at a rave, but finds it to be a little much, especially after seeing her dad try so hard to be young and cool. Tensions eventually come to a head when Quinn comes home to find Jim and the Guy getting high while the kettle is smoking on the stove and her child asleep in the house.

On the surface, its a difficult plotline to pull off without dipping into outright condescension or arrogant grandstanding. There are three or four different traps in this setup: a Boomer using phrases like on fleek and cray, Brooklyn parents constantly kvetching about their child, and of course, the most outrageous hippie shit this side of a drum circle. Blichfeld and Sinclair deserve praise for avoiding the easy pitfalls, but they deserve even more for mining a compelling story and treating everyone, even the glitter-covered ravers, with at least a modicum of respect.

Jim might be trying a little too hard, but he gets legitimate, revitalizing joy from raving and being around a younger crowd. He explains to the Guy that he spent 30 years divorced from his childrens lives and working like a madman, so hes determined to embrace youth and life with all of his heart. Though Jims antics might be a little forced, they become sweet with a tinge of the melancholic once he opens up about his previous life.

Blichfeld and Sinclair go to lengths to demonstrate that Quinn and her husband arent just lame yuppies, either. They crack wise and roll their eyes, but theyre generally supportive of Jims life, especially since hes putting them up in his apartment and helping them with their baby. When Quinn blows up at her father for leaving the kettle on, its a legitimate grievance and not just a minor issue blown out of proportion, unlike the Guy accidentally throwing away a bottle that contained the tick that bit their child. Their argument is a generational one, and Tick understands both sides of the divide. The episode concedes that both sides have their flaws, even as the scenes framing suggests that Quinn has the literal higher ground. It even ends with the two coming to a place of peace over text: Quinn and Jim wind up joking around about emojis, all-caps text usage, and GIFs. Again, the fact that this scene is sweet and not cloying is a testament to the High Maintenances masterful control of tone.

Contrast this second story with the shorter, more reserved first one. Blichfeld and Sinclair understand that communication and relationships function differently in various communities, but they depict these difference without an ounce of liberal back patting. Joon and Wei are not standard High Maintenance subjects and Tick acknowledges that, especially in a key moment when Wei picks up trash in the background of a shot that features Quinn and her husband entering their home. Joon and Weis story is an attempt to expand the shows purview to communities in New York that dont always receive the TV treatment, much like Eeshas story a couple weeks ago. Yet it doesnt read like tokenism, but rather an extension of Blichfeld and Sinclairs empathetic approach. Joon and Wei may engage with their children in clipped, passive-aggressive statements rather than dramatic arguments, but the problems on display are accessible and familiar, largely because modern human struggles overlap across cultures and races.

Put it another way: The final shot of the Guy stopping to watch Wei play his instrument on the subway platform wonderfully captures the humanistic nature of High Maintenance  how people with open hearts can reasonably engage with difference. Its a brief, genuinely touching moment that evokes what this series tries to accomplish week in and week out.

Stems and Seeds
Photo: Joey Foley/Getty Images

The Insane Clown Posse is concerned about your civil rights. In light of the recent rash of disturbing clown sightings being reported across the United States, Time reached out to Americas most popular clown-themed entertainers, the Insane Clown Posse, to get their input on the rise of these emotional-terrorist clowns that are freaking people out for no good reason at all. So, Violent J took up the pen and didnt write a defense of clowns so much as he did a takedown of plainclothes villains who are trying to strip the American people  and especially their dedicated Juggalo Army  of their inalienable rights. Violent J begins his op-ed by saying, After 25 years of unquestionably being The Worlds Most Hated Band, Insane Clown Posse has just about seen it all. And while J seems to be willfully ignoring the existence of the band Nickelback, anyone who performs at the Gathering of the Juggalos probably has seen it all. But the point is: J doesnt want you to be distracted by the people in grease paint when you should be keeping your eye on the Man.

As ICP has discovered over the last decade, theres a whole army of scary, terrifying and dangerous clowns out there in this country trying to suppress the rights of thousands of people to exercise the most basic part of the Declaration of Independence, which evokes the freedom to Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

He goes on to point out the many ways ICP fans have been harassed by law enforcement and persecuted for wearing Posse-related apparel and logos, and calls out the FBI for labeling the Juggalos a hybrid gang.

These clowns threaten the very fabric on which our nation was supposedly founded uponand for some fing crazy-a reason, theyre getting away with it. From keystone-cop clowns shooting unarmed citizens, to racist clowns burning down Islamic centers or clowns in the NSA spying on us through our cell phones and laptops, America has turned into something far more terrifying than Insane Clown Posses Dark Carnival. Even a scrub like me who dropped out of school in ninth grade can see whats going on. Todays reality is scarier than anything youll ever hear on one of our albums.

Violent J closes the piece by inviting any and all to join the Juggalo family for a civil-rights march and free concert in Washington D.C. next September, where they will send our message directly to the U.S. Department of Justice: The discrimination against Juggalos must be seen for the unconstitutional travesty it is.
Between the blood oaths and the murderous vendettas, being a hit man seems like a lot of emotional work. While the first John Wick kicked off with the death of his wife and his poor, innocent puppy, John Wick 2 sees the retired assassin pulled back out of retirement to help a friend seize control of a shadowy organization, and to deal with the revolving door of assassins coming after him thanks to an international contract thats been placed on his head. The erstwhile hit man must travel to Rome, where there are plenty of puppies, but from the looks of things, they are all safely excluded from the films massive amount of violence. See the teaser previously released at New York Comic Con below, and the new, full trailer above.
In 2005, Donald Trump was left alone in a press bus with Billy Bush while taping a segment for Access Hollywood, and even though the camera crew was waiting for the pair outside, Trump was still connected to a hot microphone, which recorded him making lewd comments about how celebrities are permitted to treat women. On tonights episode of Access Hollywood, host Natalie Morales broke down the play-by-play of events that led up to Trumps comments, and clarified that the Republican presidential nominees remarks about trying to have sex with a married woman with big phony tits were in reference to former Access host Nancy ODell.
After Mouni Roy, Aashka Goradia gets questioned on her alleged lip-job, and we have to say that she handled the situation impressively.

By India Today Web Desk: Ekta Kapoor's supernatural drama Naagin 2 is going to premiere tonight, but it has not stopped making news ever since it was announced that the show is returning to the small screen with a brand new season.

But all is not going well with the show's promotions. After Naagin 2 actress Mouni Roy, who is the main female lead of the show, walked out when she was questioned on her alleged lip-job in a recently held press conference; another Naagin 2 actress has been thrown a similar question. Also read:'Naagin' Mouni Roy slams a reporter for asking about her alleged lip-job



advertisement

Yes, we are talking about Aashka Goradia.

A promo poster of the show. Picture courtesy: Instagram/imouniroy

The former Bigg Boss contestant who will now be seen in Naagin 2 was also asked whether she had had any work done on her lips. Aashka being Aashka replied with some anger, "Tell me, in what capacity, can you ask me a question like that."

"As long as a lip-job is concerned, if I ever have the need to do it, I will not shy away from that because I will pay for it. Besides all this, answer is no," DNA quoted the actress as saying.

Wow! Now that is how you should handle such questions.

Naagin 2 will premiere tonight at 8 pm on Colors TV.



--- ENDS ---
The Historic Waco Foundation will present the Victorian funeral and spiritualism exhibit Sitting Up With the Dead exhibit Saturday to Nov. 5 at East Terrace House, 100 Mill St.

Twilight tours will be presented from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday and Oct. 15 and 22. A midnight tour will be presented from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Oct. 22.

Tours also will be available from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

The eerie and unique house tour will include a replica of President Abraham Lincolns casket, an authentic Victorian hearse, funeral cakes and a selfie station.

Twilight tours also will include refreshments, a tarot card reader and other funeral demonstrations.

Cost is $10 for twilight tours, $20 for the midnight tour or $5 for afternoon tours.

For more information, visit www.historicwaco.org or call 753-5166.

Free food distribution

Capital Area Food Bank of Texas and The Shepherds Heart Food Pantry will have the Wheels of Sharing Mobile Food Pantry available for a free food-distribution event from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the parking lot at 3300 Franklin Ave.

Participants will receive a variety of fresh food, including meat, beans, canned vegetables and fruit, soup, cereal, potatoes, rice, pasta and more.

Clients must bring a box, basket or container to carry their food.

For more information, call 799-8810 or 716-7064.

Hollywood garage sale

The Hollywood Neighborhood Association will have a neighborhood garage sale beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday.

The neighborhood is bordered by Herring Avenue, Dan Rowe and Dallas streets.

For more information, call Paula Parrish at 855-2586.

Snakes at Mayborn

Baylor Universitys Mayborn Museum Complex, 1300 S. University Parks Drive, will host a Sacred Snakes program with Cameron Park Zoo at 11 a.m. Saturday in the museums SBC Theater.

Educators from the zoo will discuss how people often learn to either fear or revere snakes and other animals based on their religious or cultural beliefs and teachings.

Before the presentation, zoo representatives will be in the rotunda with snakes from their collection.

Visitors also can check out the museums new temporary exhibit, Curious Creatures: Traditions of Animal Imagery.

Museum admission costs $8 for adults and $6 for ages 2 to 12.

For more information, visit www.baylor.edu/mayborn.

Pro-Life Waco lunch

Pro-Life Waco will meet from 1 to 2 p.m. Sunday in Parish Hall at St. Marys Church, 1424 Columbus Ave.

The meeting will include a video of the David Daleiden speech from the Values Voter Summit in September.

An Italian buffet luncheon will precede the meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Meal cost is $3 for adults.

For more information, email prolifewaco@gmail.com or call John Pisciotta at 644-0407.

Submit items for Briefly in printed or typed form to Briefly, P.O. Box 2588, Waco 76702-2588; fax to 757-0302; or email to goingson@wacotrib.com at least one week before an event.
Blame OPEC, not Hurricane Matthew, for rising gasoline prices in Texas, industry observers including GasBuddy.com say.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded has risen 6 cents statewide the past two weeks, and Patrick DeHaan, the senior petroleum analyst for Gasbuddy.com, said the surge is because of rising oil prices.

Oil supplies worldwide remain adequate to keep prices at the pump from climbing, but instead they are rising because the petroleum industry is reacting with jitters to OPECs announcement of a tentative deal to curtail production in the near future, DeHaan said.

Such a move by OPEC could mean less oil available for refining, but DeHaan has said he thinks Russia, the United States, Mexico and Canada would increase output to take up the slack. OPEC members will meet Nov. 30 in Vienna, Austria, to hammer out details of their plan.

Since it recently raised the possibility of curtailing production by 700,000 barrels a day, oil prices have risen 11 percent, though they dropped 3 percent on Friday, according to published reports and the CNBC.com website. DeHaan said the increase has been mostly caused by uncertainty over OPECs plans.

AAA Texas, the auto club, released its weekly report Thursday showing the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded had risen 4 cents to $2.01.

While national prices have been steady, pump prices in some regions have increase over this same period, largely due to disruptions on the Colonial Pipeline and refinery maintenance, AAA said in its news release. Drivers may continue to see pump prices wobble in the next few weeks as the market reacts to the OPEC production agreement, continued refinery maintenance and any disruptions Hurricane Matthew may cause along the East Coast.

This is the time of year gasoline prices typically fall as driving decreases from summer levels and less expensive winter gasoline blends become the norm, DeHaan said.

Texans are currently paying about $28 for a tank or regular unleaded gasoline for an average family sized vehicle, said Doug Shupe, AAA Texas and New Mexico representative. Texas remains one of the top 10 states with the cheapest statewide gas price averages in the nation.

In Waco on Friday, the average price for regular unleaded stood at $1.99 per gallon, up 4 cents from $1.95 a week earlier.

DeHaan said he could see gas prices surging in the Southeast in the wake of damage caused by Hurricane Matthew, but he does not see that trend spreading to Texas.
McLennan County commissioners have allocated $159,500 to address Americans with Disabilities Act violations at three justice of the peace offices.

Work could begin soon, and the justice of the peace Precinct 3 office in West could temporarily close during the work.

Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace David W. Pareya said hes meeting soon with the architect and other officials to discuss the timeline of improvements to the building. Pareya said he could temporarily hold court in Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace James E. Lee Jr.s courtroom to help keep operations moving forward.

The renovations to the justice of the peace offices in Precincts 2, 3 and 5 are part of the countys settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, which includes more than 350 ADA violations in county-owned buildings identified in 2011.

Mazanec Construction Co. was the sole bidder for the justice of the peace project.

County leaders are also looking for a new home for the Precinct 4 justice of the peace in McGregor after discovering ADA repairs would cost more than the building is worth. The building at 307 S. Madison Ave. has a tax value of $83,510, according to county records. Correcting the ADA violations would cost about $147,000, county leaders have said. The county bought the building for $18,000 in 1994, when it was the Lone Star Gas Building, according to county documents.

County staff and the Department of Justice agreed on a 145-page settlement in November outlining required fixes.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Will Jones said the settlement gives one-, two-, and three-year deadlines for each of the violations for completion of repairs.

While there is no final price tag yet to complete all the repairs, the county dodged a bullet in not having to bring the McLennan County Jail up to ADA compliance, Jones said. County staff in negotiating the settlement helped save the county millions by creating a new policy to have all handicap inmates be housed in the Jack Harwell Detention Center, which already is ADA-compliant.

Bruce Thacker, with The Wallace Group Inc., said the Precinct 3 office needs the most work. The courtroom and restroom are not handicap accessible, and several doors need handles that are levers instead of knobs, he said. Drainage problems also will be addressed in front of the building, he said.

In October 2015, commissioners approved hiring The Wallace Group Inc. as part of the U.S. Department of Justices settlement, which required them to retain an independent licensed architect to provide officials with reviews, certifications and other architectural services for the repairs.

Pareya said his judges bench will be lowered 2 inches, and the jury box and witness stand will need to be renovated to be accessible to wheelchairs.

Jones said the slanting sidewalk that runs in front of the Precinct 3 building will be completely redone.

Thacker said crews will lower the counter inside the Precinct 2 office to make it accessible to anyone in a wheelchair.

In the Precinct 5 building, the courtroom will also undergo renovations to make it accessible.

He said the cost for the project is spread fairly evenly across the three county buildings. But, the Precinct 3 office also has to have asbestos removed from the floor of the courtroom, hallway and lobby area.

Each of the locations has some custom, fairly custom woodworking thats required to modify the existing judges benches, so we dont have to rebuild and replace those, he said.

Purchasing Director Ken Bass said he didnt have a breakdown of costs per building.

Its just little things all and all, but its trying to get everything into compliance, Bass said.
"We continue to train to take up any threat and are fully prepared to undertake any challenge in most befitting manner," said IAF chief Arup Raha.

By India Today Web Desk: The Indian Air Force celebrated Air Force Day today at Hindon Air base in Ghaziabad.

PREPARED TO DEAL WITH ANY CHALLENGE: IAF CHIEF

"IAF is prepared to deal with any challenge in most befitting manner," said Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha.

"We continue to train to take up any threat and are fully prepared to undertake any challenge in most befitting manner," said Arup Raha.

advertisement

Talking about the Pathankot terror attack, Air Force Chief Arup Raha said that "Attack on Pathankot airbase is a stark reminder of the times we live in."

Attack on #Pathankot airbase is a stark reminder of the times we live in: Air Force Chief Arup Raha pic.twitter.com/YlJ2R8k5aM ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016



The Air Force Day is celebrated to commemorate the day the force was officially established, October 8, 1932.

IAF OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE LAUNCHED

The official Facebook page of IAF was launched today on 84th Air Force Day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his greetings on the 84th anniversary of the Air Force Day and thanked the force for protecting skies.

THANK YOU FOR PROTECTING OUR SKIES: PM



"Saluting all air warriors and their families on Air Force Day. Thank you for protecting our skies. Your courage makes India proud," said PM Modi.

Saluting all air warriors & their families on Air Force Day. Thank you for protecting our skies. Your courage makes India proud. pic.twitter.com/bCusPOV1nf

--- ENDS ---
A Waco dentist said she is smiling ear to ear after being named Texas Dentist of the Year last month for her ongoing commitment to patient care.

Dr. Donna Miller was named the 2016 receiptment of the honor after being nominated by the Central Texas Dental Society for the Texas Academy of General Dentistry in August. Miller, a native of Plains, was one of 18 dentists nominated this year and received the award during the Texas Academy Awards celebration in Austin on Sept. 23.

I was not expecting this at all. It was probably one of the biggest surprises of my life, Miller said. I am still kind of pinching myself, because it is such a huge honor. When I look at the previous winners, they are my mentors, so to be considered in that same group is just incredible.

A dentist with Creekwood Dental Arts, 7911 Woodway Drive, Miller received her doctorate of dental surgery from Baylor College of Dentistry in 1985 and immediately began her work in local, statewide and national organizations.

She held several leadership positions, including the role of Texas Academy of General Dentistry president in 2013 and 2014, according to a press release from the academy.

Certainly my team has been very proud of me and proud to work with me, Miller said. I could not have done this without (my team), because they support me and help me be who I am and the dentist I am.

Academy President Dr. Marc Worob issued a statement, saying Dr. Millers work made her deserving of the honor.

Donna is truly an extraordinary individual who is always willing to accept great responsibility, Worob said. She has always put others needs above her own and has served our profession in an exemplary manner. Its an honor for me to work with her at the Texas Academy of General Dentistry, and I cant think of a more deserving recipient for Texas dentists highest honor.

Throughout her experience in Waco, Miller has served as a volunteer in dental care programs including with Mission Waco, Texas Mission of Mercy and the Texas Dental Associations Smiles Foundation.
When it came to religious and scholarly credentials in the White House, Woodrow Wilson stood apart. His father and grandfather were Presbyterian preachers, and his mothers side of the family numbered preachers over six straight generations.

Wilson was the only president to hold a Ph.D. and had been president of Princeton University. He believed God had ordained him to be president and felt the social and governmental reforms of the Progressive movement were part of Christianitys work in redeeming the culture.

Yet when Baylor University historian and author Barry Hankins looked for how Wilson expressed his faith publicly, he found the Presbyterian teachings Wilson was raised on took a back seat to a positive idealism where Christianity was more assumed and implied than explicit.

That idealism eventually would prove a fatal flaw when the American president tried to engineer a framework for international cooperation, the League of Nations, in the aftermath of World War I. Ironically, the teachings of his upbringing, particularly the Presbyterian Westminster Confession of Faith and its belief in the total depravity of man, might have provided him a sobering pragmatism necessary to navigate compromise and support for his plan, Hankins said.

The Baylor professor and interim history department chairman looked at Wilsons religious life and practice as part of an Oxford University Press series Spiritual Lives. His book Woodrow Wilson: Ruling Elder, Spiritual President was published in August. The series will feature, in upcoming books, Benjamin Franklin, Queen Victoria, John Stuart Mill, Christina Rossetti and Ebenezer Howard.

The Baylor scholar, whose books include Jesus and Gin, which looked at evangelicalism in the 1920s, and Gods Rascal, a biography of flamboyant Texas fundamentalist J. Frank Norris, found that as much as Wilsons Christian faith flavored his strong sense of morality in public service, he rarely mentioned it in his private correspondence and writing.

The surprise was that simultaneously he was still very religious personally and how little he talked about it, Hankins said.

Born in Virginia and raised in Georgia and South Carolina, Wilson was an academic for two decades before entering public office on the wave of the reformist Progressive movement, which assumed that man and society could be improved.

Many like Wilson, particularly Northern Protestants, saw Progressivism as the essence of Christianity working itself out in culture. He seemed almost indifferent to other issues that stirred the passions of other American Christians of the time, including evolution, which he accepted, and Prohibition, which he didnt support, Hankins noted.

How faith expressed itself in his actions as president also led to a split with another prominent evangelical of his time, William Jennings Bryan, who served as Wilsons Secretary of State.

Wilson and Bryan had kept America neutral in the early years of World War I. He kept us out of war was a campaign slogan during his 1916 reelection bid. But Bryan, arguing Christianity was a religion of peace, resigned his office when Wilson and the Congress ended American neutrality in 1917. For Wilson, the war became a moral cause on the world stage.

League defeat

That moral sense led to Wilsons leadership in drawing up a post-war world, but his inflexibility ultimately proved his undoing in international negotiations of the Versailles Treaty that formally ended the war, and in a failed attempt to win Senate approval for the treaty containing the League of Nations proposal. A serious stroke in 1919 after a cross-country tour urging treaty approval effectively ended his work as president, and he died five years later, bitter at his last political defeat.

Versailles broke his health, but its hard for me to imagine things would be much different if he hadnt had his stroke, Hankins said.

Despite the failure that marked his post-war years, Wilson achieved considerable success on the domestic front as president, seeing the creation of the Federal Reserve, establishment of the income tax and a curbing of corporate trusts.

In researching Wilsons personal life, the Baylor historian also discovered that the personally upright Wilson had a tendency to go girl-crazy. As a young man, he became infatuated with a first cousin. Later, while married to his first wife Ellen, he carried on a relationship with Mary Hulbert, whom he had met while vacationing in the Bahamas. Theres no indication that Wilson and Hulbert had a physical relationship, Hankins said, but Wilsons personal letters and time spent with her showed a romantic dimension to their friendship that suggests an emotional infidelity.

It was way over the line, he said.

Ellen died in 1914, and Wilson remarried the next year, wedding Edith Galt.

While Wilsons religious faith didnt play out in his public life as one might expect, its an interaction that bears examination, Hankins said.

I think public religion informed by Christian doctrine can be healthy and I think that it might have been healthier in Wilsons case if he had retained more of the doctrines of his faith, he said. Just thinking deeply about the relationship and integration of these things is healthy.
The site of the old Torreys Trading Post No. 2 is today nothing more than a brushy hilltop five miles east of Waco, visited by more buzzards than cars.

But for a young nation called Texas, it was a strategic hub of commerce and diplomacy with Native Americans, located on the western edge of Anglo settlement.

The post was established in 1844 at the behest of Republic of Texas President Sam Houston, who negotiated peace treaties with several Texas Indian tribes at a nearby council grounds.

The state recognized the importance of the site in 1936 by erecting one of its coveted Centennial Markers, etching in granite the history of a frontier superstore.

But today, that marker lies face-down under the brush, on fenced private property more than 100 yards from the nearest county road, creating a conundrum for guardians of local history.

Officials with the McLennan County Historical Commission, which oversees local historical markers, say they would like to renovate the marker and figure out a way to make it more publicly accessible.

But for the past four years, the commission has been unable to get permission to maintain the site, said Ken Brittain, the commissions marker committee chairman.

It really needs a lot of work, Brittain said. What wed like to do is get a monument company to go out and build us a substantial base and set that marker up so it wont fall over again.

The site off Highway 6 is owned by the Jim McDonald family, which has bought up thousands of acres of eastern McLennan County property during the past couple of decades. Tom Felton, a rancher who leases the trading post site and other McDonald properties, has let commission volunteers onto the property in the past but not in the past four years.

Cautious owner

In an interview this week, Felton said hes mindful of the importance of the site to Texas history, but the owner is cautious about letting people onto the property without a written agreement.

I would visit with any of them, but Id tell them basically the same thing: That its up to Mr. McDonald, Felton said.

He said the site has had problems over the years with trespassers, and the more attention drawn to the site, the more risk there is of vandalism, unauthorized treasure-hunting or damage to livestock.

You let the public in, and it just creates too much liability, he said. The public cannot be trusted to any extent. You give them an inch, and theyll take a mile.

Brittain said this week that hes been unable to contact McDonald, who has several residences around the country, but he would like to reach an agreement with the landowner.

Felton said he has thought about the possibility of a historical marker near the road recognizing the history of the trading post and council grounds, but hes concerned about traffic hazards.

It would be very dangerous with people stopping on that narrow road, he said.

Brittain said the commission would be open to putting up a roadside marker, perhaps with a cutout from the road where visitors can park. He said he would even like to explore the possibility of buying the site for a county park of about 12 acres, but Felton said the landowner wouldnt be interested.

Brittain said he doesnt think the Texas Historical Commission would allow the marker itself to be moved. The local historical commission asked the state historical commission in 1966 and again in 2014 to move the granite marker to Highway 6, but state officials opposed moving it.

The 1966 effort resulted in a small metal historical marker placed at Highway 6 and Harrison Road. After the 2014 request, Texas Historical Commission officials suggested putting up a larger metal marker at that location and continuing to discuss access with the property owner at the original site.

We recognize that the monument is currently inaccessible to the public. However, moving the monument may result in the original location of that historic site being lost forever, Texas Historical Commission historical marker coordinator Bob Brinkman wrote to the county commission on March 25, 2014.

Texas Historical Commission spokesman Chris Florance said its unusual to have a historical marker on inaccessible private land.

We do try to place those in a public right-of-way so people can see them and interact with them, Florance said. Its hard for us to say what happened. This might have been publicly accessible in 1936.

A hand-drawn map from 1966 in county historical commission records states that the marker even then was off its foundation and was covered in weeds and brush. The map shows where the buildings of the trading post complex had been. The last of the log buildings had burned in 1929, so the geography of the location was still within local memory, according to the document.

Tied to Waco history

The story of Torreys Trading Post No. 2 is intertwined with Waco history.

George Barnard, who started the post near Tradinghouse Creek in 1844, later settled in the newly surveyed town of Waco and established a new store at Lot 1, Block 1, becoming one of the towns most prosperous and influential citizens.

But when he built his first log trading post, he was just a 25-year-old entrepreneur who was still recovering from a scrape of bad luck south of the border.

Barnard came to Texas from Connecticut in 1838 and joined up with the frontier merchant firm John F. Torrey and Bros, according to an entry on Barnard in the Handbook of Texas Online.

In 1841, he headed southwest with the ill-fated Texas Santa Fe expedition, ending up a prisoner of the Mexican government at the infamous Perote Prison in Veracruz, Mexico.

After his release and return to employment with the Torrey Brothers, he was assigned to go scope out a Central Texas location for a new trading post.

President Houston in 1843 started a series of treaty negotiations at the council grounds near Tehuacana Creek, the exact site of which is still unknown. Provisions included protected hunting grounds for natives and an agreement that they would shop at government-approved trading posts, according to the entry. Texas officials later broke the treaties over Houstons objections.

Barnards trading post, of which he soon became full owner, traded items including gunpowder, hatchets, bullet molds, beads, combs, refined bear oil, tobacco and whiskey for animal hides, according to Roger Congers A Pictorial History of Waco.

The trading post shipped to Houston stacks of deer, buffalo, bear, raccoon, fox, beaver, bobcat and panther hides. Between 1844 and 1853, Barnard processed 75,000 deer hides.

Amid the trading, Barnard was often called on to mediate disputes among rival Native American tribes.

As Native Americans moved up the Brazos under pressure from white settlement, Barnard and his brother Charles also established frontier mercantile operations in Fort Graham and Glen Rose.

By 1851, Barnard had moved to Waco, where he established a leading store for the new village. He acquired a large estate that includes what is now Old Waco High School, became a pioneer Waco Mason and helped bring the Waco Tap Railroad to town.

He died on March 6, 1883, having seen Waco evolve from a riverfront outpost to a prosperous small city.
Hurricane Matthew continues to threaten parts of the East Coast, potentially bringing winds with speeds in the triple digits and the promise of flooding.

Hundreds of miles away, in Texas, preparations were continuing Friday to mobilize relief efforts that would take food, water and temporary shelter to the people bearing the brunt of Matthews assault.

The Salvation Armys Texas Division deployed its 53-foot kitchen to the disaster site, and 10 Texas-based mobile kitchens are headed to Tallahassee, Florida, to provide assistance, said Christy Huffman, spokesperson for Salvation Army operations in McLennan County.

Huffman said Wacos mobile kitchen had not been deployed as of Friday, but that could change.

Meanwhile, Texas Baptist Men, a volunteer organization that works closely with the Southern Baptist Convention to assist with relief and construction efforts, will partner with Mississippi Disaster Relief to open several feeding centers capable of serving 50,000 meals a day in Florida and adjacent states.

We have 6,000 trained disaster volunteers statewide, including many from Waco, Temple and Killeen, all the way to Austin in Central Texas, said Terry Anderson, state disaster relief director.

About 40 volunteers will leave for Mississippi on Sunday, carrying with them a feeding unit, shower trailer and vehicle for hauling chain saws, Anderson said.

Well see more about what the needs are once we get to Florida, he said. The hurricane kind of missed the southern area we thought was going to get hit, so were in kind of a waiting mode until Saturday in terms of where exactly were going to go.

He said the Southern Baptist Convention relief team is making preparations to provide at least 300,000 meals a day.

Trevor Sikes, disaster program specialist for the Heart of Texas Chapter of the American Red Cross, said he was spending the day Friday calling a list of volunteers and asking about their availability to travel to Florida.

As of mid-afternoon, I had received commitments from six people, Sikes said.

He said the Red Cross will involve itself in sheltering and feeding those in need, with focus on the states of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Bedford-based Carter Bloodcare, which is represented locally by Carter Bloodcare Central Texas on Woodway Drive, has not been specifically asked by authorities to have a presence near the hurricanes path.

But I know there are ongoing communications at the highest levels, and should there be a need for blood, we would gladly assist, spokeswoman Linda Goelzer said.

Goelzer said the natural disaster that has pummeled Haiti, Cuba and now Florida could prompt more people to donate blood in Central Texas and statewide.

Mission Waco in Haiti

Mission Waco has for nearly 30 years been involved in development projects in Haiti, where Hurricane Matthew left a trail of devastation and killed 800 people, according to the New York Times. But the community of Ferrier in northeast Haiti, where the ministry spends most of its time, was spared, Mission Waco executive director Jimmy Dorrell said.

The 276 sponsored children and the villagers we work with all said they were safe, Dorrell said in an email. Since our focus is more on development, not relief, we often go in after the disaster and help work with the villagers.

The Office of Gov. Greg Abbott said the Texas A&M Forest Service All-Hazards Incident Management Teams, consisting of 30 personnel, has been dispatched to Florida to provide assistance. Other Texas agencies are on alert to respond to other requests for aid, according to a press release from the office.

Abbott said he has spoken to his counterparts, Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia and Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, to offer Texas support, according to the press release.

As Hurricane Matthew prepares to impact the United States, it is crucial that our fellow Americans receive the assistance they need, Abbott said in the press release. I am confident that Texas dedicated emergency response professionals will strengthen the disaster response efforts at a time when local resources may be strained. I ask that all Texans keep those in the path of Hurricane Matthew in their thoughts and prayers as they brace for the impact of this major hurricane.

The hurricane spared Floridas most heavily populated stretch 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.

It sideswiped Floridas Atlantic coast early Friday, swamping streets, toppling trees onto homes and knocking out power to more than 1 million people.

At least four people died in Florida.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Now is a tumultuous time in our nations history. From blatant acts of disrespect toward our nations flag, which started as a way of garnering media attention, to constant news stories about another person shot by police, we definitely live in trying times. The latter is particularly troubling. Police shootings cost lives, justified or not.

It seems every day a news story erupts somewhere in our nation about an officer-involved shooting of a black man. In fairness, we should always wait to see the evidence, then make a judgment as informed observers and citizens  and on the strength of reputable news sources, not those increasingly infecting social media.

In some of these cases I stand on the side of the victim; in other cases, I side with law enforcement. Then there are those in which I cant choose a side because of a lack of solid, indisputable evidence. The shootings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown are examples in this last category. Theres no reliable evidence. Witness testimony is questionable because of conflicts in accounts of the events.

Nonetheless, more often than not people are being shot and nothing is being done about it. Sure, we see the occasional charge filed against an officer, but its probably more infrequent than it should be. You cant convince me that 99 percent of police shootings are clean and justifiable anymore, especially given officers failure in many cases to comply with specific directives from their own departments.

Public trust

This poses a real problem for law enforcement as well as the public at large. Maintaining public trust and confidence is a responsibility of our law enforcement.

We all understand there are those in uniform who should not be. Many law enforcement officers acknowledge this. When law enforcement is opened up to the ranks of citizenry, there are bound to be bad eggs and trigger-happy officers who somehow make the cut. The real crisis, however, is the failure by officers and those who command them to weed out such individuals before problems of temperament, impulsiveness and maturity finally explode.

Instead, in too many cases, some officers back one another, even when they know theyre wrong, by mishandling key evidence or just flat-out not producing key evidence, such as footage from video-recording devices shot by officers.

And when you finally add a racial component to all this  the feeling in black communities that men of color simply dont get a fair shake from police and may even be approached more aggressively than white citizens  the problem is compounded. The fuse is lit.

In recent years, surveys with Latinos and African Americans suggest that confidence in law enforcement is lagging. Large portions of minority communities believe police are likely to use excessive force on suspects. A 2014 Pew Research Center survey reflects stark racial divisions in response to the Ferguson police shooting.

Training needed

Department directives and training are vital to help reverse this trend. If every department had a set of concrete rules, such as ours in the U.S. military, outcomes might be different. Situations might be defused before an unnecessary loss of life heaps tragedy upon some black family. This might prevent communities from erupting into demonstrations sometimes prone to violence and destruction. This might prevent chaos and upheaval in police departments that sometimes take a toll on good officers as well as bad, the innocent as well as the guilty.

There are problems within our law enforcement agencies and they need to be addressed. Perhaps a more energetic outreach and more proactive approach in recruiting by law enforcement are good first steps. Then we can begin to mend the wounds that now separate our officers and the citizenry theyre charged to protect.

But we in the community have a major responsibility as well. We need to positively engage law enforcement in community solutions, even as proud law enforcement rank-and-file work to mend their image in the eyes of those of us who feel betrayed. Then we can truly begin to heal as a nation, one healthy community at a time.

Terry Commander, of Bellmead, is a six-year veteran of the Navy, having served aboard the USS Vella Gulf for three years and 11 months as a fire controlman. His ship participated in overseeing a hostage crisis between Somali pirates and the crew of the MV Faina, which was carrying important military cargo.
Time and again I have seen people fail because they had unrealistic expectations as to what authority they held or thought they should hold.

Thomas Vorderkunz

Begone, Baylor haters!

Enough is enough! All of the Baylor haters need to step back and look at themselves. Baylor University is not the problem. Society is the problem.

With the greatest of intentions, society has been creating people who put themselves first and others a distant second. Baylor and all institutions of higher learning were saddled with Title IX policies that did not exist till given the force of law by the resident idiots in the White House. No consideration was given to the consequences that more lives would be destroyed than saved.

Regarding former Title IX Coordinator Patty Crawfords complaint this week that she was excluded from pivotal meetings: I have been part of the workforce for more than 55 years and I have never seen everyone in any organization or business included in every single meeting that was held by that group, regardless of their title. I have learned that each individual is responsible for his or her own success.

I have also learned that every time a new protocol is adopted or embraced, a learning curve accompanies it. Time and again I have seen people fail because they had unrealistic expectations as to what authority they held or thought they held. For instance, whenever a government official issues an order without a clear plan as to how it will be implemented, disaster will follow.

It is unclear if the individuals who felt something more needed to be done for victims of sexual assault really understood the best way to solve the problem. It should be clear that no university should be the first line of law enforcement. Yes, they should play a role making everyone aware of their rights. If any organization needs a victims advocate, it should be the police department in that community. It should be a requirement that any victim who reports a crime should be represented by a properly trained advocate of victims rights.

Thomas Vorderkunz, Woodway

No excuse on photo ID

On the way to the polls to cast your ballot, another person also eager to vote rams into your car as you were stopped at the red light. Nobody is injured, but significant damage is done to your car and that of the other person who hit you from behind. You ask for police assistance and in a matter of minutes they show up.

You and the person who struck you are talking to the policeman/policewoman and he/she asks each of you for your drivers license and proof of insurance. You present both to the officer. The person who hit you says, I have a copy of my electricity bill you can use as my drivers license and a copy of my water bill that you can use as proof of my insurance.

The officer says, OK, that will work since you are just not able to transport yourself to get your license or to visit an insurer to purchase liability insurance.

You are thinking: What the hell just happened here?

Bottom line: If you can get to the polls, you can get a real ID with your picture on it. Excusing people through life is just not rational to most of us hard-working, middle-income citizens.

Stephen Williams, Hewitt

Three shooting scenarios

After a review of the video involving the shooting of a black man by police in Charlotte, North Carolina, unanswered questions remain and the following scenarios should be considered:

Scenario 1: Black man exits auto with gun in hand with intention of shooting police. If he had no intention of shooting police, he would have left the gun in the auto before exiting.

Scenario 2: Black man exits auto with gun in hand, knowing the police will shoot him after continuing to tell him to drop his gun. In short, a suicidal mission.

Scenario 3: Black man exits auto with gun in hand, not knowing what he is doing, result of extreme brain injury from motorcycle accident. If this scenario is the case, then he was operating with an illegal drivers license and an illegal firearm license.

Don Collins, Waco

Remember your pet!

Hurricane Matthew, continuing its march of destruction up the U.S. coast after ravaging Haiti, underlines the urgent need for emergency preparedness in any similarly pressing situation, including precautionary measures to keep your beloved pets safe when disasters strike.

American Humane reminds pet owners everywhere to put together kits containing essential emergency supplies, including: enough water and nonperishable pet food for several days; an extra leash or harness; a week-long supply of any medications your pet requires, stored in a waterproof container; copies of your pets medical records and vaccinations; and recent photos of your pet.

Pets should always wear collars with up-to-date identification information, including a cell phone number, in case of disaster-related power outages or evacuation. American Humane also recommends microchipping your pet to increase the likelihood of reunification in the event of separation.

Above all, pet owners should follow one simple rule to keep their animal companions safe in disasters: If you evacuate, bring your pets with you.

Dr. Robin Ganzert, President and CEO, American Humane, Washington, D.C.

Osler prosecutes Jesus!

The Tribune-Herald is always happy to spread the word about books authored by members of its Board of Contributors. Thats especially true of former Baylor Law School professor and former federal prosecutor Mark Osler, one of the most original thinkers among todays scholars, both in law and societal issues. Now teaching at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Osler is author of the newly released Prosecuting Jesus, which focuses on a mock trial of Jesus mounted at his church using contemporary criminal justice standards. The book chronicles this trial as it tours a variety of venues across the United States, offering Osler and others enlightenment about faith, justice and society along the way. Eminently readable, engaging and edifying all at once, the book will be discussed by Osler at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Seventh and James Baptist Church, 602 James Avenue. See you there!
Ajay Devgn's patriotism should be taken with a grain of salt and considered in terms of what he stands to gain from his recent comments.

By Devarsi Ghosh: If there is anything that the media coverage of the September 29 'surgical strikes' in both India and Pakistan, and the subsequent political debate around the proof of the strikes' existence have taught us, then it is this: Question everything.

Anyone with half a brain knows that criticising somebody in the present political climate for questioning the official government stand regarding the surgical strikes, or speaking against Pakistani artists working in India will gain you brownie points. And if you are a public figure, you will become a hero for a day or two...

advertisement

And when the public figure in question is none other than Ajay Devgn, one of Bollywood's leading actors, who has a big-budget film releasing in a few weeks on October 28, and when his film is clashing with Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, it gets pretty easy for someone like Ajay to decide where exactly to put himself in the present political scenario. Doesn't it?





ALSO READ: Ajay Devgn to not work with Pakistani artists, says country comes before money

ALSO READ: Ajay Devgn has no emotional connection with industry, KRK bares all in press conference

ALSO READ: Karan Johar's dignified response to the ADHM vs Shivaay feat KRK controversy



In an exclusive interview with India Today, Ajay Devgn said that banning Pakistani artists is a show of support to the Indian Army at a juncture when both India and Pakistan are fighting it out at the border.

Watch the Exclusive interview of Ajay Devgn with India Today here:





Before that, in an interview with CNN News18, when the Singham actor was asked whether he would be working with Pakistani artists, he 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."

But the interesting part in the interview came when Ajay was asked to comment on his peers in Bollywood who are in support of Pakistani artists working in the country.

"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," the 47-year-old actor said.



Watch Ajay Devgn speak about his stance on working with Pakistani artists:







Right after the terror attacks at Uri, Jammu and Kashmir on September 18, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) issued a 48-hour-ultimatum to Pakistani artists to leave India and they also threatened to halt the release of Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil which had Pakistani actor Fawad Khan in an important role.

advertisement

If one goes back a month, to a time before the Uri attacks, one might recall the crazy fiasco surrounding Karan Johar who allegedly paid Rs 25 lakh to Kamaal Rashid Khan to badmouth Devgn's Shivaay and praise Ae Dil Hai Mushkil on Twitter.

Devgn's business partner Kumar Mangat made a phone recording of a conversation with KRK public where he is heard saying that he has to praise ADHM because if Mr Johar has paid him Rs 25 lakh, he is obliged to help out.







Ajay Devgn milked the incident to portray a negative image of Karan Johar and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. He even demanded an official investigation into this alleged bribery.







Tables turned when KRK organised a press conference and told his side of the story. The Deshdrohi actor and the independent film critic said that Ajay Devgn was using him as a scapegoat in his fight with Karan Johar.

KRK then recalled the time when Ajay refused to shift the release date of his 2012 film Son of Sardaar even after being requested to do so in memory of Yash Chopra who had died a few weeks back. Finally, Yash Chopra's last directorial venture Jab Tak Hai Jaan released on the same day as Son of Sardaar. KRK used that example to state that Devgn has no 'emotional' connect with the industry and that the ADHM vs Shivaay situation centered around KRK was reminiscent of what happened in 2012 during Son of Sardaar and Jab Tak Hai Jaan's release.

advertisement

"He had slapped a legal case against YRF in which his contention was that in a competition you can't do anything that is not fair. He wants to do something similar in this case too. He wants to fire the gun off my shoulders with Karan as the target. He wants to show that with Karan paying me money the rules of the competition have not been fair and wants to prove the same in the court of law," KRK was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.

So, before one jumps on the bandwagon and begins heralding Ajay Devgn as Bollywood's most selfless and patriotic beacon of nationalism, let us just chill. Bollywood is about money. Big budget films need to make money and the people backing these films will try anything to make sure their film works. If that requires its star to take a politically correct stand or a filmmaker to chop off a Pakistani actor's entire role (looking at MS Dhoni: The Untold Story), so be it.

advertisement

Ajay Devgn has put in a lot of time and effort into Shivaay and that has showed in the trailers so far.







To release your film against the behemoth that is Ae Dil Hai Mushkil will obviously rattle you and force you to do things like record KRK's voice on the phone to give your film some mileage. Ajay's thoughts in the exclusive interview with India Today and the recent one with CNN News18 is just another promotional antic by the actor to see his film sail through come Diwali, that is all.



--- ENDS ---
The 11 militants, believed to be members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), were killed in three raids on militant hideouts on the outskirts of Dhaka.

By Reuters: Bangladeshi security forces killed 11 members of a Islamist militant group today blamed for an attack on a cafe in Dhaka in July in which 22 people were killed, mostly foreigners.

11 MILITANTS OF JMB KILLED

The 11 militants, believed to be members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), were killed in three raids on militant hideouts on the outskirts of the capital, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters.

advertisement

Seven militants were killed in a raid on one hideout after police were tipped off that the JMB's Dhaka unit chief and his associates were there.

"We requested them to surrender but they opened fire at our officers, which prompted them to retaliate," Khan said.

Also Read: Bangla cafe attack masterminds aide arrested

DHAKA CAFE ATTACK LINKED TO TRANS NATIONAL ISLAMIST NETWORK

The July 1 attack in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter was claimed by Islamic State militants and was one of the most brazen in Bangladesh, which has been hit by a spate of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year.

The government has blamed domestic militants but security officials say the scale and sophistication of the July attack suggested links to a trans-national Islamist network.

Also Read: Bangladesh clears Canadian student of cafe attack charges

Police have killed more than three dozen suspected militants in shootouts since the Dhaka cafe attack, including its presumed mastermind, Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.

The United States believes elements of Islamic State are "connected" to operatives in Bangladesh, US Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Dhaka in August.

The targeting of foreigners could hurt foreign investment in the poor South Asian economy, whose $28 billion garments export industry is the world's second largest. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among those killed in the July attack.

Also Read: Suspected militant in Dhaka cafe attack commits suicide: Bangladesh Police

--- ENDS ---
First floated in a white paper, Defence has admitted, five months after it was first asked, it is moving ahead with modifications of one of its $204 million refuellers to give the Prime Minister an office in the air.

After years of deliberations and political hesitancy, the Defence Department has been given the go-ahead to convert a KC-30A air-to-air refuelling aircraft, essentially an Airbus A330, into the VIP jet, replacing the ageing leased fleet.

Military personnel salute as Air Force One, with President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton aboard, departs Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, in July. Credit:AP Photo

The new VIP jet is to be kept "modest" with only the minimum required modifications, remain capable of acting as an air-to-air refueller, but will also allow for "the continuance of Government business whilst in transit", meaning the Prime Minister will remain in contact at all times.

The government has chosen the cheapest of the options available to it, following former British prime minister David Cameron's lead. Defence confirmed it was "managing the modification", with the cost to come from $190 million already set aside to alter planes according to the air force's needs. Britain managed it for 10 million, which equates to about $16.5 million.

The current Australian VIP jets, which include two Boeing Business Jet 737s as well as three smaller planes, are shared between the Prime Minister, dignitaries, visiting royal family members, the Governor-General and ministers.

Leased in 2002 during the Howard years, frustrations have recently risen over the fleet's limitations, of which size is one. The 737s can carry fewer than 40 people, meaning business delegations and (paying) media cannot travel on the same aircraft, raising issues during multi-stop trade missions.
JDU MLC Manorama Devi's house, which was sealed following the recovery of several bottles of liquor, was found robbed after it was reopened today.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: The house of JDU MLC Manorama Devi was found robbed when it was re-opened after a gap of four months by the excise and police officials. The administration had sealed the house following the recovery of several bottles of liquor from the house of the MLC in May this year.

According to sources, cash and jewellery worth lakh was missing. Manorama Devi is mother of Rocky Yadav, accused in the Gaya road rage case. Rocky had gunned down teenager Aditya Sachdeva in a fit of rage after Aditya's car overtook Rocky's SUV.

advertisement

During the investigation, police had raided Manorama Devi's house hunting for Rocky who was absconding since the incident. That is when the police recovered several bottles of liquor in the house following which Manorama Devi was arrested and her house was sealed according to the liquor law.

However, after Court's order recently, the house was opened again today. Excise officials and police teams were shocked to find that during the period the house was sealed, huge burglary had taken place.

All the wardrobe locks in the house were broken. The cash and jewellery that was in the wardrobe was missing. It was found later that the burglars had intruded into the house from the back gate and robbed the house.

"My house was opened today and we found ou that it was robbed. I don't know how this happened. All my jewellery and cash is missing," said Manorama Devi.

The police has lodged an FIR in the case and began investigations.

"When the house was opened today, it was in a complete dishevelled conditions. Everything was thrown here and there. We have begun investigation after registering an FIR," said Alok Kumar, DSP.

Manorama Devi was arrested for possessing liquor in her house and was also sent to jail. Later she was released on bail. Manorama's husband and dreaded don Bindi Yadav was also arrested in the road rage case and later released on bail. Rocky Yadav is still in jail.

--- ENDS ---
No doubt there will be a few camera lenses trained on celebrity fat fighter Michelle Bridges next week, as the millionaire fitness guru is expected to be present at Wednesday's hearing at the Downing Centre Local Courts over a restraining order to keep a young paparazzo away from her.

However, the lawyer representing 20-year-old photographer Liam Mendes, celebrity legal eagle Chris Murphy, told PS his client would be maintaining his defence that he had "done nothing offensive" when he was confronted by Bridges inside her local Woolworths supermarket as he took photos of her shopping.

Reporter Taylor Auerbach with photographers Liam Mendes and Jonathan Marshall on holidays in Bali. Credit:Facebook

In May Bridges, the mother of a baby boy to fellow celebrity fitness instructor Steve "Commando" Willis, filed the AVO request after Mendes filmed The Biggest Loser trainer as she shopped inside the Potts Point Woolies.

Murphy has previously said his client's actions were "not illegal" and were only brought to her attention by someone else. After he and Bridges spoke, a Woolworths manager asked Mendes to leave the store and he did so.
Phillip John Vellio, convicted of two counts of possessing child abuse material, with former partner Leah Mouatt. In July, Vellio, 33, was convicted of two counts of possessing child abuse material after police examined more than 32,000 images and 854 videos on his laptops, finding many that depicted babies, toddlers and teenagers in various sexual acts with other children and adults. But the worst was yet to come for Mouatt. "My world imploded," she says. "Everything was destroyed. I lost my friends, I was taken to [court] by [some members of his family] who didn't want me to get a cent. I lost my home, my car. I've lost my trust in other people. I've had to rebuild a whole life." Forgotten in the aftermath

Australia is in the midst of what some have described as an explosion in online child sex exploitation. Investigations by the Australian Federal Police jumped by almost 250 per cent in a year to 11,000 in 2015. Of particular concern has been a growing trend of Australians streaming live videos of child sex abuse made overseas, like those of former Melbourne businessman Peter Scully, whose depraved home-made videos have led the Philippines to consider reviving the death penalty. Yet not much is known about the wives and partners of those who access child abuse material online. Their voices are rarely heard. They are not considered "victims" and are often forgotten in the aftermath. Many are assumed to have known about their partner's offending but a world-first study by Melbourne's RMIT University, published last year, found that most of the small number of women surveyed first found out when police knocked on the door.

"The women were just in so much pain," study author Dr Marg Liddell says. "Most participants reported mental health issues, with many seeming to experience post-traumatic stress disorder. The fact the pain was still extraordinarily raw years later indicated to me that the system didn't work for them." Women reported being stigmatised and ostracised by friends and family. Relatives often tried to minimise the offending and close ranks around the offender. Shame, guilt, anger, hurt, disbelief and feelings of responsibility often infiltrated every area of their lives. Half of the women interviewed had children, about half stayed with their partner. Others were left without a home, a breadwinner or a social circle. Analysis of NSW convictions shows offenders are mostly male (99 per cent) with an average age of 42 and three-quarters have no criminal record. With a knowledge-base slowly emerging, advocates are pushing for non-offending partners to be classified as secondary victims of crime and for support services to be funded.

"Because partners don't exist in the research, they don't exist in policy. Because they don't exist in policy, they don't exist in funding," says Natalie Walker, founder of PartnerSPEAK, the country's only support group for affected partners of online child abuse offenders. "I think that often confounds the trauma; you're feeling stigmatised and there's nowhere to go because no one recognises your trauma." She is at the forefront of a global push to understand and recognise the trauma suffered by non-offending partners.

Walker, from the Dandenong Ranges, discovered child abuse material on her then-husband's computer 15 years ago and was fobbed off by police in South Australia who she says treated her like a vengeful ex-wife. Great strides have been made in prosecuting people who access material online  maximum penalties have been increased to 10 years in NSW and Victoria and resources for child abuse squads have been bolstered. But she believes society, particularly the judicial system, still tends to see possession offences as "just looking at pictures". Data compiled for Fairfax Media by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics shows that the average prison sentence for offenders last year was 11 months. Vellio received a 12-month good behaviour bond on the condition he see a psychiatrist monthly. "If everyone's minimising it, saying 'what's the big deal?', you're made to look hysterical," Walker says.

Criminologists, academics and police have backed changing the commonly-used terminology from "child pornography" to "child abuse material", reflecting the fact that a child was abused in order to make the pictures. "Every image of child sexual abuse is a crime scene," the acting Children's eSafety Commissioner Andree Wright said recently when releasing the agency's 2015-16 report showing that 7456 sites containing child abuse were removed in a year. The terminology was changed in NSW legislation in 2010 and Victoria indicated in July that it would follow suit. "It may seem like a small thing but that's how we gradually change the thinking," Walker says. 'I felt like I should have known earlier'

There is one thing that saved Mouatt from giving up: a counsellor provided to her for free under Victims Services and Support. NSW is the only state to allow non-offending partners to apply for therapeutic help. "I wouldn't be here without it," she says. After the police raid, Vellio admitted himself to a psychiatric hospital for two months. In a haze of shock and anger, compounded by chronic fatigue, Mouatt endured financial battles with her in-laws and was eventually forced to go to the Salvation Army for food and petrol vouchers. She moved in with her parents in a small town near Bathurst and despaired as friends slowly dropped off, either unable or unwilling to provide support. Her partner's family and friends were not interested in knowing what he'd done, she says. "Their motivation throughout has been reputation and I got scapegoated," she says. "I felt like it was my fault. I felt like I had betrayed him. I felt like I should have known earlier."

Two years on, she finally feels strong enough to speak publicly in order to empower herself and other victims. Increasingly, the suffering of women like Mouatt is being considered part of the continuum of domestic violence. Julie Oberin, chair of the Australian Women Against Violence Alliance, said abusive men share the same sense of entitlement as those involved in child abuse material. Coercion, control and manipulation is often at the heart of the behaviour. "Many women we support in refuge tell us similar things. The betrayal, the shame, the reactions from others, the blame," she says. Mouatt is rebuilding her life, studying psychology and volunteering at Lifeline with a view to counselling other victims of crime.
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.
Perth brides-to-be who are short of cash now have a 'fairy-godmother' in the form of Karen McCommell.

The owner of Perth boutique Bridal by Aubrey Rose is giving away wedding dresses worth thousands of dollars to brides in need.

Perth wedding boutique Bridal by Aubrey Rose is giving away wedding dresses to brides in need. Credit:Bridal by Aubrey Rose

She took to Facebook in order to publicise the event she is calling "Aubrey Rose gives back".

She has set aside two hours on Monday morning, starting at 9.30, for brides who are short of cash to choose a free wedding dress - worth around $3000.
Robert Andrew Fiddes Ellis arrives at a Bali police station. In 2014, Fairfax Media reported that Indonesia had eclipsed Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia to become the number one destination for Australian sex tourists over the previous three years. Most started in Bali. "Paedophilia is a big problem in Bali," Mr Hulley said. "What a lot of people don't understand is you won't see a lot of this stuff going on in tourist areas ... it's bad for business." He said remoter areas, such as Karangasem and Amed in Bali's east, had been identified as child sex exploitation hot spots. "These are also a gateway to Lombok, the Gili Islands and Sumba  we have a lot of evidence of children trafficked from Sumba to Bali for child exploitation. Many end up in orphanages in Bali or on the street." In 2014, there were about 255 instances of an Australian registered sex offender travelling to Indonesia  the equivalent of 21 a month.

However the Australian Federal Police said this has dropped significantly since a deal between the two countries in November 2014. Indonesia agreed to refuse to allow Australian registered child sex offenders to enter the country when notified by Australian authorities. Since 10 November, 2014 an estimated 166 Australian-registered child sex offenders were refused entry to Indonesia. "Co-operative arrangements between the AFP and Indonesian authorities have contributed to an overall reduction of registered sex offender travel to Indonesia," an AFP spokesperson said. "The average number of registered child sex offenders travelling to Indonesia per month has been reduced from 21 in the year 2014, to 10 in the year 2015, and currently five in the year 2016 to date."

Mr Hulley said there are three types of paedophiles in Indonesia: expats, such as Ellis, sex tourists and locals. "Research shows that in south-east Asia, 85 per cent of child sex crimes are committed by local people but most NGOs only focus on foreigners who have committed these crimes." Last week a 10-year-old girl was allegedly sexually molested after being lured into a car outside her home in Bali's capital, Denpasar. Project Karma, an Australian-registered charity reliant on donations, is about to start training 20 Balinese civil police, known as Pecalang and Jaga Baya, as a joint taskforce of investigators to combat child sexual abuse in the Karangasem regency. "Once those 20 are trained there is a program to train around 400 of these civil police," Mr Hulley said.

In May of this year Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced a regulation  effective immediately  that would allow judges to sentence child rapists to death or order that they be chemically castrated. However Ellis will not be affected because the new regulation cannot be applied retrospectively. Instead prosecutors have requested 16 years' jail, which Ellis' lawyer argued is too severe. Mr Hariyono said his client's actions were not intentional but done out of a "grandfatherly affection towards the children". He said parents of the victims knew what was going on and had also received payments and gifts from Ellis. Luh Putu Anggreni, from Lentera Anak Bali, an NGO specialising in children, said last month that it really upset her that Ellis felt his actions were justified because he paid the girls. "That he has every right to molest the girls because he already paid them."
Lesley Zerebny, 27, a married mother of a four-month old daughter, had recently returned to the department from maternity leave. Riverside Country Sheriffs Deputies walk along a street in Palm Springs after two officers were shot dead. Credit:AP "They gave it all for you," Chief Reyes said. "I'm awake in a nightmare right now." He declined to comment on the situation of the female caller. The third officer who was shot outside the house is alert and assisting with the investigation. There have been no further reports of injuries. Police shut down the streets as they hunt the gunman. Credit:AP

Police surrounded the house in Palm Springs and locked down nearby streets. Residents were warned to stay inside as Police conducted a city-wide manhunt. SWAT teams were deployed to help track down the suspect on Saturday. "We have multiple SWAT teams responding and several officers from multiple agencies here to assist," said Sergeant William Hutchinson. Police Officer Jose Gilbert Vega was killed in the Palm Springs shooting. Credit:Palm Springs Police Department via AP Frances Serrano, who lives on Cypress Road, across the street from where the shooting took place, was coming out of her garage about noon on Saturday when her neighbour came bursting out of his own garage. The man sought Ms Serrano's attention.

Police Officer Lesley Zerebny was killed in the Palm Springs shooting. Credit:Palm Springs Police Department via AP "He said, 'Help. I need help. My son is in the house, and he's crazy. He has a gun. He's ready to shoot all the police,' " Ms Serrano told The Los Angeles Times. The father "was very nervous", Ms Serrano said. "He was afraid of his son." Ms Serrano, 65, said she called authorities, and as soon as she began walking back into her house, she heard gunshots, "starting with a loud - I mean really loud - bang". "There were police everywhere," Ms Serrano said. "I looked out the window and saw police with rifles."

Ms Serrano said her neighbour's son, who she believed was in his mid-30s, was "a very nice young man - very polite". Juan Graciano, 67, who lives a block away from the suspect's residence, said he saw officers trying to revive Officer Zerebny. He said he was out in the yard about 1pm when he noticed a crowd gathering at the corner of Cypress and Delgado roads. "I saw a woman officer who had been laid down in the trunk of a police cruiser," he told the The Los Angeles Times. "There were about four officers around her. I watched as they picked her up and laid her down on the street and began administering CPR. A few minutes later paramedics arrived and took her away."

Ms Serrano said she was "really scared" and had locked her windows and doors. "Some are saying [the suspect] is still in the father's house. Others say he's on the run," she said. "I knew there were problems before between the father and this young man. But I never imagined he would do something like this. I don't want to believe it. "I feel so sad for the officers," she added. "It's like a nightmare."
Robert De Niro has delivered a scathing attack on Donald Trump in a new video, saying he would "like to punch him in the face".

"He's so blatantly stupid. He's a punk, he's a dog, he's a pig, he's a con, a bullshit artist," the Hollywood legend says.

"A mutt who doesn't know what he's talking about, doesn't do his homework, doesn't care, thinks he's gaming society, doesn't pay his taxes," the 73-year-old continues.

Known for his fearsome roles in The Godfather where he certainly doesn't mince words, De Niro didn't hold back on the video either, delivering an impassioned appeal to Americans.
Patrick Norman Pat Chapman is a 34-year-old, Caucasian male who was last known to be in Piedmont which is near the area of Greenville, Missouri on May 10, 2020.

Pat had stayed the night with a friend and his wife at their home. In the early morning when the friend woke to go to work.

Pat was gone in his own Burgundy color 1995 Ford Escort. That is the last anyone was known to have seen him. The vehicle was later recovered on May 29, 2020 in Mill Spring, Missouri.
On April 5 this year, Bihar became the second largest state in India to impose total prohibition, after Gujarat. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's sudden announcement had surprised everyone as the new excise policy, notified in December 2015, had only spoken about a ban on country liquor. Indeed, on March 12 this year, liquor manufacturers had been issued fresh licences for new vends in urban areas. While Nitish ascribed his decision to the "overwhelming will of the people", many linked it to his political goals to grow beyond Bihar. The speculation gained traction when, just a week later, he took over as national president of his party, the Janata Dal (United). The two developments, one administrative and the other political, were clearly part of a well-thought-out strategy for the 65-year-old politician who is fixated on emerging as an alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. The liquor ban could be his vehicle to Delhi.

Since the time he imposed prohibition, Nitish has kept up the pace, trying to sell his idea to the people. He has travelled to Uttar Pradesh (where his party is set to contest elections), Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, and everywhere he has gone, at every meeting he has addressed, he has spoken about how prohibition would lead to prosperity in Bihar, presenting his case as that of a leader who cares for his people rather than revenues. That it is key to the Bihar CM's future political plans became abundantly clear when his government promulgated the 'new' Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, on October 2 - an even more stringent one-a day after the Patna High Court quashed the earlier one enacted in April, calling it "ultra vires the Constitution". Indeed, the high court had identified clauses in the act pertaining to "personal punishments, both physical and monetary, punishment of confiscation of premises and punishment to the community... as unreasonable and draconian".

advertisement

It was a rare act of defiance, with Nitish clarifying that his government would move the Supreme Court against the high court order. "With the new Prohibition Act in force, the previous one stands repealed. But we are going to appeal because it may have an adverse impact on decisions taken when the previous law was in force," he said.

The new dry law contains most of the "draconian" provisions of the old amended Act, but now includes provisions like jail terms from 10 years to life for consuming alcohol; adult family members to be held guilty if prohibition is violated at home; company in-charge to be held guilty if an employee drinks on the premises etc. It also gives sweeping powers to an excise/police official to search the premises without a warrant. Then there are the collective fines on villages, towns or communities if repeated violations occur; and confiscation of the property of violators.

Nitish obviously hopes that prohibition will be the fuel to fire up a countrywide support base. As the JD(U) national president, he hopes to lead the negotiations with other parties while staying in the national spotlight and questioning the PM on ideological and public issues. While PM Modi and Nitish may like to think of themselves as chalk and cheese, there are similarities. Both are men with a popular reputation for good governance, and both have had three consecutive terms as chief ministers. The only difference is, unlike Modi, Nitish lacks a party with a pan-India organisation. Again, it's the prohibition gambit that Kumar is banking on here, his supporters arguing that the backing it garners across the country will help him along.

The Liquor high

Liquor consumption within India is, quite literally, on a high. A 2015 study by the Office of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found per capita consumption of alcohol in India growing at 55 per cent between 1992 and 2012, the third fastest in the world. A second study, by the World Health Organisation Report in 2014, found that per capita consumption had increased 38 per cent in the last decade, from 1.6 litres in 2003-05 to 2.2 litres in 2010-12.

advertisement

It also found that over 11 per cent of India's population are binge drinkers (the global average is 16 per cent). This has translated into the socially debilitating malaise of alcohol abuse. In Tamil Nadu, for instance, some seven million of the 68 million population, mostly from the lower social strata, are addicted to alcohol. Booming liquor vends deliver alcohol to the doorsteps of drinkers, even on credit, fuelling a vicious cycle of debt, alcoholism and domestic violence.

In neighbouring Kerala, where per capita consumption of alcohol is twice the national average - 8.3 litres of hard liquor - the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre of India links 69 per cent of crime, 40 per cent of road accidents and 80 per cent of divorce and domestic violence cases to the consumption of drugs and alcohol.

Recent attempts to bring this menace to nought, though, have failed spectacularly. In the 1990s, both Haryana and Andhra Pradesh tried banning the bottle. Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal imposed prohibition but was forced to repeal it after a surge in hooch production and smuggling. Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu restricted the ban to country-made arrack, and lifted the ban on 'Indian Made Foreign Liquor' in 1997, citing huge revenue losses. Both states had imposed the ban as part of electoral promises.

advertisement

Today, politics is once again at the heart of prohibition's rebirth. When Nitish promised total prohibition in Bihar just three months ahead of the November 2015 assembly polls, he was consolidating a caste-neutral constituency he had cultivated a decade earlier-women. Analysts say his move to reserve 50 per cent seats for women in panchayats helped in the big wins in the 2009 Lok Sabha and 2010 assembly polls. A defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw the dispirited Nitish reach out to this constituency again. He gave in to their persistent demand to ban alcohol and was richly rewarded. The prohibition call is believed to have been a big factor in his getting the mandate in the 2015 assembly polls. "Ya to hum rahenge ya sharaab peene wale (It's either me or the tipplers)," Nitish had told a gathering of women's groups in Darbhanga in May, reiterating his war on spirits. More recently, he had a wisecrack to offer to media persons: "Turn off the lights and drink juice, you will feel the same."

Politics has been behind the partial prohibition imposed in Kerala since 2014 too. It is already floundering and in ways that were predicted even then. Alcoholics are turning to drugs for cheap fixes, the increase in demand reflected in the higher seizures. This year, the state has already seized 577 kg of ganja, equal to the entire seizure in 2013. Kanam Rajendran, state secretary of the CPI, an alliance partner of the ruling CPI(M), holds the figures out as evidence of how the previous Congress-led United Democratic Front's policy has boomeranged. "It was a farce and a poll gimmick," he says. This view now seems to be shared even by ex-UDF ministers. "I was forced to implement an impractical liquor policy," says K. Babu, the former excise minister. "If the liquor policy was a big success, why did the Congress lose in the polls? Even the women voters did not endorse our policy." Babu himself lost from Tripunithura in Ernakulam district (though that may have more to do with a bribery scam he was implicated in).

advertisement

The new Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government is formulating a new liquor policy which it claims will minimise alcoholism. "Prohibition is impractical in a state like Kerala," Vijayan says. "The LDF is committed to promoting abstinence...but it has no intention of telling the people what they should or should not drink or eat." Incidentally, the LDF now has Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador of the state anti-liquor and drug abuse campaign.

Neighbouring Tamil Nadu, where the pre-election buzz had all parties promising at least a partial liquor ban, saw J. Jayalalithaa announce the closure of 500 of the 6,776 state-run liquor vends, on May 23, the day she was sworn in. Since then, though, despite sporadic protests, things have moved slowly on the prohibition front.

Everywhere though, anti-bottle crusaders are making themselves heard. Like in Maharashtra, where prohibition is in force in some districts, finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar even turned down BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha's invitation for cocktails. "How can I attend?" Mungantiwar apparently asked a red-faced Lodha. "My voters look at me as a champion of prohibition." Mungantiwar had made prohibition in his tribal-dominated Ballarpur constituency (Chandrapur district) a big poll issue two years back.

In Madhya Pradesh, the opposition Congress party has hit on prohibition as a plank for the 2018 assembly polls. The party has lost three elections in a row and failed to find traction with the Vyapam scam issue. "Alcohol abuse is an issue dogging every family, especially in rural areas. Prohibition is a recurring demand whenever I tour the state, especially from women," says state Congress president Arun Yadav who has asked party workers to support agitations against liquor. BJP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan doesn't have a positive view towards drinking but does 'tolerate' it. Asked about prohibition recently, the CM said "it was not the answer to the problem of alcoholism". State finance minister Jayant Malaiya says, "We want to take the awareness route to make people quit...prohibition isn't a practical solution."

Two-faced approach?

On the face of it, Nitish's relationship with prohibition looks absolute, but look a little closer and things already seem to be cracking. For one, while the CM has been relentlessly demanding a nationwide ban on liquor, his government has offered a tax holiday to liquor manufacturers in the state. In a cabinet decision on September 27, the government waived all taxes plus bottling fee and export duty for liquor manufacturing units. Bihar already has nine of them, and the new rules are clearly intended to attract more such facilities. The decision could be called pragmatic, aimed at retaining the liquor manufacturing units, and the resultant jobs, as many beverage companies had been looking to move out post-prohibition. But considering Nitish's political posturing over the last six months, it seems a bit hypocritical.

Meanwhile, Bihar's anti-liquor drive, which begun with much enthusiasm in April, has also been flagging of late. There was the hooch tragedy on the night of August 15, when at least 16 people died in Gopalganj after consuming spurious liquor, and now there is the more serious charge of political nepotism. It all started with the arrest and suspension of excise SI Deepak Kumar after he raided the house of Chandrajit Sen, JD(U) leader from Nalanda on August 30 and recovered 168 bottles of liquor from there. Sen, a former block president of Harnaut in Nitish's home district, blamed the CM for hatching a conspiracy (although he has failed to explain why the bottles were in his house).

Shortly after, principal secretary, excise, K.K. Pathak, considered an upright IAS officer, proceeded on leave, which was seen as a mark of protest as he had earlier asked the Nalanda district administration not to take coercive action against Kumar. The government finally replaced him on September 10. What effect this has on the department's morale only the coming months will show. Already, the number of arrests and seizures have dipped for the month.

Another challenge in the prohibition war is Bihar's borders - 22 of the state's 38 districts share boundaries with Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Nepal where there are no bans on liquor. None of these states share Nitish's anti-drinking sentiments. Managing the 1,751 km long and porous Indo-Nepal border with its numerous open transit points is also proving to be a tough ask.

"Prohibition isn't possible in India because there has to be a national consensus on the issue," says Karnataka CM Siddaramiah. "I can support prohibition only if all states simultaneously take up the cause. It is practically not possible, as it will automatically encourage illicit liquor."

Tamil Nadu officials drafting Jayalalithaa's prohibition policy are also caught in a conundrum. The state cannot continue to bleed revenue and wish away a huge revenue source. About a quarter of the state's revenue last year, Rs 24,000 crore, came from taxes on the sale of alcohol. This income has, since 2006, enabled successive governments to spend huge sums on social security schemes. "Alcohol abuse is compounded by the freebie culture which has made the poor increasingly dole-dependent. Only effectively implemented prohibition can redeem the state," says social activist M.G. Devasahayam. This is easier said than done, say TN officials. The strategy for implementing prohibition in a staggered manner has to be placed for Jayalalithaa's final stamp of approval. "The budget deficit exceeds Rs 9,000 crore, prohibition would lead to significant annual losses in income and it cannot be recovered by removing subsidies," admits one official. Officials are already saying it will be slow in coming in Tamil Nadu. That will be no surprise. The problem of alcoholism will need more political silver bullets than it has in its belt now.

With Amarnath K. Menon, Jeemon Jacob, Rahul Noronha and Kiran Tare



A shocking high

Telangana is unwaveringly focused on earnings from liquor, oblivious to any adverse impact the policy might have.

Telangana, contrary to the clamour for temperance in other states, is looking to raise its revenues from liquor sales. At the start of 2016-17, excise minister T. Padma Rao boasted about the improved revenues of Rs 12,144 crore in 2015-16, with the target for 2016-17 at Rs 14,161 crore. The prohibition and excise department, perhaps a misnomer in the current scenario, is set to top up the state's kitty with a revenue growth of 20 per cent.

Strangely, the state is pursuing this strategy for resource mobilisation even though the Finance Commission had at the time of Telangana's birth, two years ago, pointed out that it is a revenue-surplus state. It has its reasons, though-the many innovative welfare schemes launched need more financial investments, and there's no better way to raise these monies.

A liberal approach to the production, distribution, sale and regulation of liquor is in place, apparently part of the plan to project Hyderabad as a global city. So, among the slew of concessions, bars are allowed to remain open till midnight. The state has relaxed norms to set up bars from October 1, which will add 40 more bars in Hyderabad and another 20 in the districts taking the total to 874. The fee to open a bar has been raised from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 40 lakh in the city and to Rs 35 lakh in the districts. The government hopes to net Rs 3,500 crore through licence fees from F&B outlets. "Ours is a proactive policy considering all factors including revenues, changing lifestyles, and Hyderabad emerging as a global destination," says excise commissioner R.V. Chandravadan, about the new policy.

A pub culture is also being promoted, 20 micro breweries have so far got permits to serve beer on tap and six new distilleries are on the anvil even as capacities are being added to existing facilities. At the same time, Telangana has doubled the fee it collects from the liquor industry, from one rupee to two rupees a litre.

Industry sources complain that while Telangana has increased its liquor revenues, manufacturers are being denied their due-there has been no revision in prices since 2012. The state also seems unworried, unlike many others, that this 'liberal' approach to the consumption of alcohol could become a handicap, vis-a-vis votebank politics. Indeed, on a recent visit to the US, the uninhibited Padma Rao even posed for photographs holding bottles in a mall.

Social activist V. Lakshma Reddy is troubled by those developments. "Telangana has even ignored an SC mandate that all liquor shops within 100 metres of the highway be shifted to internal roads by December 31 last year to discourage drunken driving," he laments. The impact has been alarming. Drunken driving is on the rise though the police are active with their breathalysers, car seizures and fines. "While 55,000-odd cases were booked in 2015, we have booked 2.67 lakh cases of drunk driving in the first five months of this year," says joint transport commissioner B. Venkateshwarlu. Indeed, it took a horrifying accident on July 1 in which three people, three generations of a family, were killed when their car was hit by another with a few inebriated youth (including one at the wheel without a licence) for the government to wake up.

"There is need for a stern law to punish drunk drivers," says P. Radhika, mother of the youngest victim Ramya, 10, who is still recovering from a fractured thigh and requires plastic surgery on her face. Consequently, the excise authorities have closed a Thank God It's Friday outlet, while city bars keep breathalysers at hand to caution tipplers driving in an inebriated state. "We have been orally cautioned about cancellation of bar licences if we don't follow guidelines to ensure 'safe drinking'," says a bar owner. He says it's embarrassing to ask patrons who among them is staying off liquor as a 'designated driver', or ask about taxi bookings, or, worse still, asking tipplers to show proof of age.

by Amarnath K. Menon

Why Gujarat likes it dry

Despite a Rs 10,000 crore revenue hit, the ban remains popular here.

In 2008, then chief minister Narendra Modi was keen on relaxing prohibition in Gujarat. He felt the state would benefit from an increase in excise and tourism revenues and the money would also augment his ambitious development schemes.

But as unlikely as it may seem now, two of Modi's ministers, Amit Shah and Anandiben Patel, opposed the move then. Prohibition may have famously bred corruption in the state and among a section of its political class- liquor is available like dial-a-pizza in the state-but both leaders looked at the benefits. It was the main reason for women feeling so secure in Gujarat and also the relatively peaceful life the labour class led. Modi had to settle for something halfway-easing liquor permits for outsiders and allowing it in the state's SEZs.

Gujarat's coffers take a massive annual hit from prohibition. The direct revenue loss is estimated at Rs 10,000 crore. The absence of alcohol has also led to sluggish tourist arrivals. Even roping in Amitabh Bachchan as brand ambassador hasn't boosted numbers. "Gujarat has 25 per cent of India's coastline, but has failed to develop a single beach for tourism...singularly due to prohibition," says Dinesh Hinduja, an Ahmedabad-based businessman and fervent anti-prohibition campaigner. The worst effect of the policy is the culture of hypocrisy and guilt it has bred. It is a convenient handle for people to settle personal scores by tipping off a publicity-hungry police force.

The state government, however, seems quite happy with the situation. As a government source put it, "One good it has done is that tipplers drink on the sly and refrain from public brawls for fear of attracting the police. This has a positive effect on law and order and women's safety issues." Voices against prohibition are still feeble. The state's ban on the bottle is likely to continue for a long time.

by Uday Mahurkar



--- ENDS ---
Ruby had reportedly 'topped' this year's Class 12 examination conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) in the humanities stream.

Ruby Rai scored 444 out of 500 marks but her result was cancelled when she failed a re-test conducted by the Board of Secondary Education

By Indo-Asian News Service: Ruby Rai, an accused in the Bihar toppers scam, did not write her examination copy herself but it was written by someone else, police said on Saturday on the basis of a forensic science lab report.

Acoording to the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL),that probed Ruby's writing sample, someone else wrote the exam for her.

advertisement

ALSO READ: Bihar topper scam: Ruby Rai fails re-examination, arrested



Ruby had reportedly 'topped' this year's Class 12 examination conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) in the humanities stream.

She scored 444 out of 500 marks but her result was cancelled when she failed a re-test conducted by the Board of Secondary Education. Ruby claimed she was innocent and has been the victim of a conspiracy.

PROXY EXAMINEE

Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who is also heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the toppers scam, said a fresh FIR may be filed in the toppers scam case.

"After the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) that has made it clear that Ruby Rai has not written copy, the SIT may interrogate some of the main accused in the case again," he said.

Ruby got into trouble after a sting by a television news channel showed her giving ludicrous answers to elementary questions related to her subjects. She was detained in June by the SIT after the scam surfaced.

ALSO READ: Bihar toppers scam: Intermediate exam board chief quits, 5 detained



The sting suggested that the so-called toppers might have cheated in the examination. Following the sting, the SIT of Bihar Police registered an FIR against Ruby, Saurabh and three other 'toppers'.

20 ARRESTED IN TOPPER SCAM

After being detained, Ruby told police that it was one Bachcha chacha (uncle) and her father who helped her to score high marks. She was referring to Bachcha Rai, the alleged kingpin of the scam and former director of VR College.

Bachcha was arrested and is currently in jail.

Till date, over 20 persons have been arrested in connection with the scam, including former Chairman of Bihar School Examination Board Lalkeshwar Prasad and his wife Usha Sinha.

ALSO READ:

Bihar fake topper's latest: I asked dad to just help me pass, he made me a topper

Bihar topper scam: No one comes second at Baccha Rai's college



--- ENDS ---
China Mobile Limited provides mobile telecommunications and related services in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The company offers local calls; domestic and international long distance calls and roaming services; and value-added services, such as caller identity display, call waiting, conference calls, and others. It also provides wireless Internet service, as well as digital applications comprising music, video, reading, gaming, and animation; wireline broadband services; and wireline voice services. In addition, it offers dedicated line and IDC services to corporate customers in a range of industry sectors; and basic corporate communication products comprising corporate VPMN and SMS, and tailor made solutions. Further, the company provides international telecommunications services, which includes IDD, roaming, Internet, MNC, and value added business services. Additionally, it offers telecommunications network planning, design, and consulting services; roaming clearance, IT system operation, and technology support services; value-added platform development and maintenance services; mobile data, and system integration and development services; network construction and maintenance, network planning and optimizing, and training services; electronic communication products design and sale of related products; and non-banking financial services. It also provides mobile cloud research and development services; call center services; e-payment, e-commerce, and Internet finance services; and mobile Internet digital content services, as well as operates a network and business coordination center. The company serves 950 million mobile customers and 187 million wireline broadband customers. The company was formerly known as China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited and changed its name to China Mobile Limited in May 2006. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Central, Hong Kong. China Mobile Limited is a subsidiary of China Mobile Hong Kong (BVI) Limited.
NASDAQ is an acronym for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. The NASDAQ stock exchange is owned by Nasdaq, Inc. and serves as an international electronic marketplace where investors can buy and sell securities. It is the second largest stock exchange in the world.

The NASDAQ exchange lists stocks from virtually every sector of the economy. Although they are heavily weighted in technology, you will also see them as a leader in fields such as healthcare and biotech, energy and industrials and financial services.

And the NASDAQ is also an index which is referred to as the NASDAQ Composite. When you hear that the NASDAQ was up or down, they are referring to the index.

This index measures over 3,000 stocks listed on the NASDAQ exchange and includes the worlds leading tech stocks including the FAANG stocks. The index is a mathematical average of the stocks that are listed. The NASDAQ index cant be traded. However, investors can purchase an index fund that is similar to a mutual fund or an ETF and is made up of the stocks in the index.

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief history of the NASDAQ, explain how its different from the NYSE and the Dow Jones Index, and why the NASDAQ is important to investors.

What Were the Origins of the NASDAQ?

The NASDAQ started trading on February 8, 1971. It was created as an alternative to the NYSE so as to give new, emerging companies a way into the stock market. Since the NYSE is made up of primarily blue-chip companies with a large market capitalization, many financially sound companies with modest assets had to look for alternate means to raise capital.

At first, the NASDAQ only provided quotations and matched buyers and sellers with dealers. As it started trading, it became a source for speculative, over-the-counter (OTC) stocks to raise capital. However, when it became the first U.S. stock market to conduct online trading, it soon became the go-to exchange for technology stocks that saw it as a more modern way to list their stocks. In a way, it reflected the innovation that those companies represented.

What Are the Listing Requirements for the NASDAQ?

For starters, the NASDAQ is a company. So every company that wishes to be listed on the NASDAQ has to pay an initial listing fee. This fee can be between $50,000 and $75,000. In addition, there is an annual fee to remain as a member. This fee can be as lows as $42,000 or as high as $155,000 depending on the companys size.

But being part of an exchange is not just a matter of paying dues. To be listed, a company must meet a set of requirements. These include but are not limited to:

Quantitative financial requirements (earnings, market cap, and assets)

Corporate governance standards that give clear guidance about issues like shareholder rights and annual meetings

Once a stock is listed, they must continue to meet regulatory requirements by making financial information about the company and the stock available to the public. And, the companies listed on the NASDAQ must meet SEC requirements, including the filing of financial reports. All of this is done to provide transparency to investors. For this reason, as the NASDAQ has grown up it is no longer the domain of speculative over-the-counter stocks.

How is the NASDAQ Different from the NYSE?

Initially, the primary difference between the NYSE and NASDAQ was in the way trades were conducted. The NYSE is an auction market. As the word auction implies, trades occur between buyers who offer a bid price for a stock and sellers who have an ask price. The highest bidding price is matched with the lowest asking price. The NASDAQ, by contrast, started as a dealers market where these dealers served as middlemen between buyers and sellers.

With the advent of trading technology, the difference in methodology between the two exchanges is more subtle. The NASDAQ now automatically matches buyers and sellers similar to an auction system. And the NYSE relies heavily on computers to facilitate their trades. One of the differences remains the presence of human brokers who still man the trading floor of the NYSE.

Another subtle difference comes with how the exchanges ensure liquidity and security. On the NYSE, each security has a Designated Market Maker (DMM) who serves as an auctioneer of sorts. Unlike the NYSE, each security on the NASDAQ has multiple Market Makers to help ensure liquidity. Apple, for example, has 54 registered Market Makers.

Yet another difference can be found in the size and profile of the companies listed with each exchange. As of June 2022, the NYSE includes approximately 2,400 companies with a market capitalization of over $28.2 trillion. The NASDAQ has over 3,300 listings with a total market capitalization of $11 trillion dollars. Why is this significant? The NYSE has been around since 1792 making it the oldest stock exchange and for almost 200 years the only game in town. As a result, it is home to many of what are seen as the blue-chip companies. The NASDAQ, by comparison, generally consists of stocks that are more volatile and growth oriented. In recent years, it is for housing the FAANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google/Alphabet).

How is the NASDAQ Different from the Dow?

Both the Dow and the NASDAQ are predictive indicators of the market direction. In the case of the Dow, the stocks can be listed on the NYSE or the NASDAQ exchanges.

The Dow Jones (also known as The Dow) is an index of what are considered the 30 biggest companies in terms of scale and firm returns. When stock reports are given you usually hear reference to The Dow was up X number of points or The Dow was down X number of points. This is referring to the average of these 30 stocks. It is considered to be a broad view of the market in general. You may also hear the phrase advancers versus decliners. This refers to how many stocks in the Dow 30 made gains for the day (advancers) and how many had losses (decliners).

The companies in the Dow 30 make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Some investors may buy an index fund which contains only the securities that make up the Dow 30.

The NASDAQ is also an index, but it is also an exchange that is made up of over 3,400 individual securities. Many of these securities are in the technology sector. Some of these securities may be part of the Dow 30, but the index as a whole is separate from the Dow. Like the Dow, many investors choose to invest in index funds that are tailored to stocks in the NASDAQ. The USAA NASDAQ 100 Index Fund (USNQX) is one such fund. This fund includes the 100 biggest stocks (non-financial) that are listed on the NASDAQ exchange.

What Does the NASDAQ Say About Investor Sentiment?

The NASDAQ offers growth investors a cue to how much risk the market is willing to absorb at a given moment. For example, when you hear that the Dow is up (which usually means the NYSE is up), it typically signals a time of where investors may be less inclined to take risks. But when the NASDAQ is up and the Dow is down or trailing, it usually signifies that investors are more confident about the overall economy and are willing to assume more risk.

And as we stated earlier, the NASDAQ still plays a critical role in how many young companies go public. There were 34 initial public offerings (IPOs) posted on the NYSE in 2016. This was just three percent of the total volume of IPOs worldwide. By contrast, in that same year, the NASDAQ held 77 IPOs which was seven percent of global IPOs, more than double that of the NYSE.

Some Final Thoughts on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange

The arrival of the NASDAQ stock exchange in the 1970s created a choice for investors that meant more than just choosing Coke or Pepsi. By offering a lower cost of entry and welcoming start-ups with a focus on innovation, the NASDAQ gave these companies a stock exchange that looked like them.

Today, the NASDAQ is the largest electronic stock market with over 3,000 companies listed. And ironically, the five largest companies in terms of market cap are listed on the NASDAQ. However, although this stock exchange has grown up a bit, it still retains its rebellious cache. With its focus on technology stocks, many of the worlds most nimble and innovative companies look to get listed on the NASDAQ as a way to raise capital. It is almost synonymous with technology and serves as a predictor of the broader markets appetite for risk.
State governments are increasingly becoming dependent on alcohol revenue to fund their schemes. For most of the states, upto one-fifth of their budgets are funded by booze, which has registered a very high growth rate in the country.

By India Today Web Desk: As the court battle is being fought over the prohibition law of Bihar, the old ethico-economic question back in the public discourse.

Should governments across India implement the relevant directive principle mentioned in the Constitution?



The fact is that for most of the state governments, upto one-fifth of their budget is funded by booze.

advertisement

Apart from Bihar (after the supreme court stayed Patna High Court order), Gujarat, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur, where liquor is prohibited, booze revenue is a major contributor to state exchequer.





Here are the top earners





States

Revenue from alcohol

Tamil Nadu Rs 29,672 crore Haryana Rs 19,703 crore Maharashtra Rs 18,000 crore Karnataka Rs 15,332 crore Uttar Pradesh Rs 14,083 crore Andhra Pradesh Rs 12,739 crore Telengana Rs 12,144 crore Madhya Pradesh Rs 7,926 crore Rajasthan Rs 5,585 crore Punjab Rs 5,000 crore



According to a study conducted by the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), per capita liquor consumption in India grew at 55 per cent between 1992 and 2012.

Another study by the World Health Organisation found an increase of 38 per cent in the per capita alcohol consumption in India. Naturally, increased consumption has led to better income for the states.



Figures for 2015-16 (Source: state excise departments).

--- ENDS ---
Citigroup Inc. is one of the worlds largest financial institutions. It is the 13th largest bank globally by assets and 8th by market cap with operations in consumer and institutional banking. In the US, Citigroup is the 3rd largest bank by assets and one of the Big Four deemed systemically important and too big to fail.

Citigroup Inc. was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York. The bank was run by Samuel Osgood who led the company with success for many years, even throughout the War of 1812. The bank was later renamed the National City Bank of New York in 1865 and by 1895 is the largest bank in the US. In 1913 it was the first contributor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a few years later it began to expand into overseas territories.

The bank became the First National City Bank of New York after another merger in 1955 and then later, the New York part was dropped off as part of the 150th-anniversary celebration. By 1974 the company is known as Citicorp which is still the operational branch of the business and a global banking powerhouse. A merger with Travelers insurance group in 1998 resulted in the name Citigroup but the joint venture did not last. By 2002 Travelers was publicly traded once again but Citigroup retained the new name.

Today, the company is headquartered in New York, New York but boasts more than 200 million customer accounts in 160 countries worldwide. As of mid-2022, it operated 2,649 branches in the United States, Mexico, and Asia. The company reports nearly 725 branches in the US and 1499 in Mexico with the rest scattered throughout its territory. Total annual revenue topped $75 billion in 2022.

Citigroup is a diversified financial services holding company that owns Citicorp among other assets. The companys mission is to serve as a trusted partner providing responsible financial solutions to its clients. Citigroup provides financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions. The company operates in two segments, Global Consumer Banking (GCB) and Institutional Clients Group (ICG).

The GCB segment offers traditional banking services including deposit and saving accounts, credit cards, personal loans, home loans, and investment services. This segment operates through local branches and digital means. The ICG segment offers wholesale banking products and services to corporate, institutional, public sector, and high-net-worth clients.
[October 07, 2016] Smartphone Maker Honor Announces Columbus Day Deal

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Honor, a global smartphone brand, is offering its flagship Honor 8 device with a $50 discount, for one day only. The one-day deal kicks off October 10 exclusively for online orders made through Best Buy, Amazon or Newegg. Regularly sold for $399, the Honor 8 sets a new standard for what U.S. consumers can expect in an unlocked device. Amazing Picture Quality

An innovative 12MP dual-lens camera features one RGB and one monochrome sensor, to capture more light and vivid color for great results in daylight or nighttime settings. In addition, Honor 8's hybrid auto-focus takes advantage of laser, contrast, and depth focus to deliver greater speed and accuracy. Sleek, Elegant Appearance

The Honor 8 features a double-sided glass design with a unique light-reflecting aurora effect. The compact Honor 8 combines perfect dimensions with a stylish finish for a balanced, comfortable-to-hold mobile device. Convenient, Smart Fingerprint AccessInstantly

A dual-purpose fingerprint scanner provides instant, secure access to your device, and unlocks popular functions such as the camera, call answer and more. Press the smart key to access more customizable features, for example: Click to capture a screenshot, double-click for the flashlight, or long press to launch your favorite applications. Fingerprint data is encrypted and stored only on the device for added security. Power to Last and Then Some More

Powered by a GHz ota-core CPU with a 3000 mAh battery and Huawei's proprietary power saving technologies, the Honor 8 features fast-charge technology that will recharge the batteries by almost 50% in about 30 minutes.1



Featuring a 16 nanometer FinFET Kirin 950 chip and four gigabytes of LPDDR4 RAM, Honor 8 offers smooth and seamless multitasking and gaming experiences. The i5 intelligent co-processor manages the sensors inside the phone efficiently with the Kirin 950 SoC chipset to provide increased processing speeds, response times, and extended battery life. Running Android 6.0 on EMUI 4.1, Honor 8 offers the perfect user experience. For more detailed information, visit HiHonor.com/us/.

About Honor

Honor is a leading smartphone e-brand under Huawei group. In line with its slogan, "for the brave", the brand was created to meet the needs of millennials through internet-optimized products that offer superior user experiences, inspire action, foster creativity and empower the young to achieve their dreams. In doing this, Honor has set itself apart by showcasing its own bravery to do things differently and to take the steps needed to usher in the latest technologies and innovations for its customers. For more information, visit http://www.hihonor.com or any of the following social media sites:

https://www.facebook.com/USAhonor

https://www.instagram.com/HonorUSA

https://twitter.com/Honor_USA

https://plus.google.com/HonorUSA Media contacts:

Raphel Finelli

408-667-5970

[email protected] Natalie Sauve

High Road for Honor

(613) 688-1187

[email protected] All products/services and trademarks mentioned in this release are the properties of their respective companies. 2016 Honor. All rights reserved. 1 Based on internal Honor lab tests To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smartphone-maker-honor-announces-columbus-day-deal-300341507.html SOURCE Honor

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 07, 2016] FDA Approves Carnexiv (carbamazepine) injection as Intravenous Short-Term Replacement Therapy for Certain Seizure Types

Lundbeck announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Carnexiv (carbamazepine) injection as a short-term replacement therapy for oral carbamazepine formulations in adults with certain seizure types when oral administration is temporarily not feasible. Carnexiv received orphan drug designation for this indication and will be the first available intravenous (IV) formulation of the antiepileptic drug (AED) carbamazepine. Lundbeck plans to make Carnexiv commercially available in the United States in early 2017. Carnexiv is a short-term (=7 days) intravenous replacement therapy for oral carbamazepine formulations that provides continuity of care for adult patients who are unable to take carbamazepine by mouth and have the following seizure types: Partial seizures with complex symptomatology

Generalized tonic-clonic seizures

Mixed seizure patterns which include the above, or other partial or generalized seizures As with the oral carbamazepine formulation, there is a risk of serious dermatologic reactions during treatment with Carnexiv, including toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), as well as a risk of aplastic anemia and agranulocytosis. "Carbamazepine has been an important treatment standard for people with epilepsy,1 but oral administration isn't always possible, especially during hospitalizations or other circumstances where they are temporarily unable to take medication by mouth," said Peter Anastasiou, President, Lundbeck North America. "As part of Lundbeck's ongoing commitment to the epilepsy community, we are proud to offer Carnexiv to help meet the need for continuity of care for these patients." Partial seizures and generalized tonic-clonic seizures can often be difficult to control.2 As a result, many patients with epilepsy are on a daily regimen of one or more AEDs that has been carefully adjusted to obtain a therapeutic response. Switching or an abrupt discontinuation of AEDs can lead to seizure recurrence or breakthrough seizures.3,4 Researchers at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy helped conduct early clinical proof-of-concept studies, which were instrumental in developing the formulation of Carnexiv, making intravenous administration possible. James Cloyd, PharmD, Angela Birnbaum, PhD, and Ilo E. Leppik, MD at the University of Minnesota partnered closely with Lundbeck during the clinical trial and approval process for Carnexiv. "Carbamazepine is very difficult to make as an aqueous-based injectable formulation, which means that doctors have not had an IV formulation of the drug available when needed. This approval is the result of years of work to create a novel and stable injection formulation to support patients who need an alternative to oral carbamazepine," said Cloyd, director of the Center for Orphan Drug Research at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. "We're proud to partner with Lundbeck and appreciate the company's dedication to overcoming development challenges and making this therapy option available for patients and clinicians." About Carnexiv (carbamazepine) injection Carnexiv is an intravenous antiepileptic drug developed in the United States by Lundbeck and approved for use in the United States. Carnexiv is a short-term (=7 days) replacement therapy for oral carbamazepine for patients who are unable to take medication by mouth. When switching from oral carbamazepine, the total daily dosage of Carnexiv should be 70 percent of the total daily dose of oral carbamazepine, divided equally into four separate 30-minute infusions separated by 6 hours. At the end of the intravenous replacement period, patients should be switched back to their previous oral carbamazepine total daily dose and frequency as soon as clinically appropriate. Indications and Usage CARNEXIV (carbamazepine) injection is indicated as replacement therapy for oral carbamazepine formulations, when oral administration is temporarily not feasible, in adults with the following seizure types: Partial seizures with complex symptomatology

Generalized tonic-clonic seizures

Mixed seizure patterns which include the above, or other partial or generalized seizures Limitations of Usage CARNEXIV is not indicated for the treatment of absence seizures (including atypical absence). Carbamazepine has been associated with increased frequency of generalized convulsions in these patients. Important Safety Information WARNING: SERIOUS DERMATOLOGIC REACTIONS

and APLASTIC ANEMIA AND AGRANULOCYTOSIS See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning. Serious Dermatologic Reactions Serious and sometimes fatal dermatologic reactions, including toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), have occurred with carbamazepine. Discontinue CARNEXIV if these reactions occur

Patients of Asian ancestry have a 10-fold greater risk of TEN/SJS, compared to other populations. Avoid use of CARNEXIV in genetically at-risk patients, including those positive for the HLA-B*1502 allele Aplastic Anemia and Agranulocytosis Aplastic anemia and agranulocytosis can occur with CARNEXIV

Obtain complete CBC prior to initiation of CARNEXIV. Consider discontinuing CARNEXIV if significant bone marrow depression develops Contraindications: Bone Marrow Depression, Hypersensitivity, and Concomitant Drugs Patients with bone marrow depression or a known hypersensitivity to carbamazepine or tricyclic antidepressants. If patient or immediate family member has history of hypersensitivity, consider benefits and risks and closely monitor for symptoms

Concomitant use with boceprevir, nefazodone, and delavirdine or other non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors

Use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) within the past 14 days before beginning carbamazepine treatment Toxic Epidural Necrolysis (TEN), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), HLA-B*1502 Allele, and Aplastic Anemia and Agranulocytosis (see Boxed Warning) Renal Impairment CARNEXIV should generally not be used in patients with moderate or severe renal impairment. Closely monitor patients with renal impairment. Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) DRESS, also known as multiorgan hypersensitivity, has occurred with carbamazepine. These events can be fatal or life-threatening. Advise patients to report signs and symptoms such as fever, rash, lymphadenopathy, and/or facial swelling immediately, and discontinue CARNEXIV if an alternative etiology cannot be established. Suicidal Behavior and Ideation Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), including CARNEXIV, increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior. Monitor patients for the emergence or worsening of depression, any unusual changes in mood or behavior, or suicidal thoughts, behavior, or thoughts of self-harm; and instruct families and caregivers to report behaviors of concern immediately. Pregnancy Registry and Nursing Mothers CARNEXIV can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. If used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant while taking CARNEXIV, inform the patient of the potential risk to the fetus and carefully consider both the potential risks and benefits of treatment. Encourage patients to call the toll-free number 1-888-233-2334 to enroll in the Pregnancy Registry or visit http://www.aedpregnancyregistry.org/.

Discontinue CARNEXIV or discontinue nursing, taking into consideration the importance of the drug to the mother. Abrupt Discontinuation and Seizure Risk Do not discontinue CARNEXIV abruptly because of the risk of seizures, status epilepticus, and other withdrawal signs/symptoms. Hyponatremia Hyponatremia can result from treatment with CARNEXIV, and in many cases appears to be caused by the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). The risk of SIADH appears to be dose-related. Elderly patients and patients treated with diuretics are at a greater risk. Consider discontinuing CARNEXIV in patients with symptomatic hyponatremia. Neurologic Function Carbamazepine has the potential to impair judgment, cognition, motor function, and motor coordination, and it may also cause dizziness, ataxia, and drowsiness. Caution patients about operating hazardous machinery, including automobiles, until they are reasonably certain that carbamazepine does not affect them adversely. Hepatic Toxicity Hepatic effects, ranging from slight elevations in liver enzymes to rare cases of hepatic failure, have been reported, and may progress despite drug discontinuation. Rare instances of vanishing bile duct syndrome have also been reported. Evaluate liver function before and during treatment, particularly in patients with a history of liver disease. Discontinue CARNEXIV based on clinical judgment in the case of active liver disease, or with newly occurring or worsening clinical or laboratory evidence of liver dysfunction or hepatic damage. Avoid using CARNEXIV in patients with a history of hepatic porphyria. Increased Intraocular Pressure Carbamazepine has mild anticholinergic activity. Consider assessing intraocular pressure before initiating and periodically during therapy in patients with a history of increased intraocular pressure. Hepatic Porphyria Avoid using CARNEXIV in patients with a history of hepatic porphyria, as acute attacks have been reported in such patients and CARNEXIV increases porphyrin precursors in rodents. Drug Interactions (News - Alert) Carbamazepine may reduce plasma concentrations of concomitant medications metabolized by CYP1A2, 2B6, 2C9/19 and 3A4; closely monitor carbamazepine levels and make appropriate dose adjustments. CYP3A4 inhibitors can increase plasma carbamazepine levels. CYP3A4 inducers can decrease carbamazepine levels. Adverse Reactions The most common adverse reactions with CARNEXIV (incidence =2%) were dizziness, somnolence, blurred vision, diplopia, headache, infusion-related reaction, infusion site pain, and anemia. The most common adverse reactions with oral carbamazepine were dizziness, drowsiness, unsteadiness, nausea, and vomiting. Important Dosing Information Use of CARNEXIV for more than 7 days has not been studied and is not recommended. At the end of intravenous (IV) replacement therapy, switch patients back to oral carbamazepine at their previous total daily oral dose and frequency as soon as clinically appropriate. Please see the full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning for serious dermatologic reactions and aplastic anemia and agranulocytosis, for complete details; or go to www.CARNEXIV-US.com for more information. CARNEXIV is a trademark of Lundbeck. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. About Lundbeck Lundbeck is a global pharmaceutical company specialized in psychiatric and neurological disorders. For more than 70 years, we have been at the forefront of research within neuroscience. Our key areas of research focus are depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. An estimated 700 million people worldwide are living with psychiatric and neurological disorders and far too many suffer due to inadequate treatment, discrimination, a reduced number of working days, early retirement and other unnecessary consequences. Every day, we strive for improved treatment and a better life for people living with psychiatric and neurological disorders - we call this Progress in Mind. Our approximately 5,000 employees in 55 countries are engaged in the entire value chain throughout research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sales. Our pipeline consists of several late-stage development programs and our products are available in more than 100 countries. We have research centers in China and Denmark and production facilities in China, Denmark, France and Italy. Lundbeck generated core revenue of DKK 14.6 billion in 2015 (EUR 2 billion; USD 2.2 billion). In the U.S., Lundbeck employs nearly 1,000 people focused solely on accelerating therapies for brain disorders, including epilepsy. With a special commitment to the lives of patients, families and caregivers, Lundbeck U.S. actively engages in hundreds of initiatives each year that support our patient communities. For additional information, we encourage you to visit our corporate site www.lundbeckus.com and connect with us on Twitter (News - Alert) at @LundbeckUS. Sources







1. Glauser T, Ben-Menachem E, et al. ILAE Treatment Guidelines: Evidence-based Analysis of Antiepileptic Drug Efficacy and Effectiveness as Initial Monotherapy for Epileptic Seizures and Syndromes. Epilepsia. 2006. 47(7):1094-1120. 2. Mattson R, Cramer J, et al. A comparison of valproate with carbamazepine for the treatment of complex partial seizures and secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures in adults. N Engl J Med. 1992. 327(11):765-71. 3. Finamore JM, Sperling MR, et al. Seizure outcome after switching antiepileptic drugs: A matched, prospective study. Epilepsia. 2016:57(8):1294-300. 4. Wang SP, Mintzer ST, et al. Seizure recurrence and remission after switching antiepileptic drugs. Epilepsia. 2013. 54:187-193.

CAR-C-00004 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005827/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 07, 2016] TENET INVESTIGATION INITIATED BY FORMER LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates Tenet Healthcare Corp. - THC

Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC). On October 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Tenet and two of its hospitals have agreed to pay more than $513 million and enter guilty pleas to resolve criminal and civil claims accusing the companies of conspiring to defraud the government concerning payments of kickbacks to clinics for referrals of pregnant immigrants, who would falsely be told that Medicaid would cover the cost of childbirth and newborn care only if they delivered at a Tenet hospital. Under the pleas, the subsidiaries will forfeit $145 million, which is the amount the hospitals netted from Medicare and Medicaid for services provided to patients referred as part of the scheme. Tenet will pay $368 million to settle aleged False Claims Act violations in a whistleblower lawsuit, with the U.S. getting $244 million and the state of Georgia getting most of the remainder.



KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Tenet's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to Tenet's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Tenet shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]).

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005150/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
We all remember that child in school who excelled at everything, New York is that child. Whether it is the legendary scene featuring Audrey Hepburn strolling down the street in that famous black Givenchy dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's or the bedridden James Stewart spying on his neighbours from his small Greenwich apartment in Rear Window, Hollywood has always been in love with New York.

An unobstructed view of the Pierre, A Taj from central park.

It smugly juggles multifarious titles with relative ease and won't stop to answer if you inquire 'how'. Over the last century, the most famous actors, musicians, and artists have flocked to New York but where did they live and who indulged their idiosyncrasies? We look at five hotels in the heart of New York City which exemplify luxury, with enticing history to boot.

advertisement

THE PIERRE A TAJ

If you walked into The Pierre, New York in the 1960s, you could have run into the alluring Elizabeth Taylor who lived in one of the hotel's lavish apartments, or the 1980s where you might have glimpsed the prince of pop art Andy Warhol at breakfast. The Pierre is the holy grail of jaw-dropping chance encounters. Despite being inaugurated on the eve of the Great Depression in 1930 by hotelier Charles Pierre, The Pierre was unanimously regarded as the new epicentre for the rich and famous, serving only those who could afford its opulence.

The Rotunda

Located in the heart of New York City, on the intersection of 5th avenue and 61st street, this 41-floor Georgian structure has a French chateau-style copper roof giving it the informal title of 'chateau in the sky.' Unfortunately the hotel could not hold out against the economic slump and filed for bankruptcy in 1932, before it re-emerged in 1938 under oil baron John Paul Getty.

Since being acquired by the Taj Group of Hotels in 2005, the interiors have undergone an extensive and much-needed redesign, infusing The Pierre with a contemporary, minimalistic vibe. Walls adorned with exceptional , and occasionally rare Indian artwork lend an Indian aesthetic while retaining its quintessence. We assume the one timeless feature that drew so many to it, was its unrestricted and absolutely breathtaking view of Central Park nestled within New York's ever-evolving cityscape.

The Presidential Tata Suite

Be it a gold-tinged sunset or a starlit night, the view from the large windows overlooking either the city or Central park will entrance. Essaying old world charm with remnants of 30s-inspired glamour, the lavish lobby harks back to the hotel's glory days. The baroque rotunda is swathed from floor to ceiling in intriguing trompe l'oeil murals. Back in the day, this space served as a popular cocktail lounge centred on a plexi-glass birdcage housing the bar, an exciting image to conjure as you pass through to the recently inaugurated French-American restaurant Perrine.

The rooms and suites are the epitome of indulgence, replete with plush furnishing in calming shades of pastel and mood-lit bathrooms that tempt you to linger. The more avant-garde elements include a Bose home theatre system with an iPod docking station and a customised menu of mattresses and pillows. Even though the time-machine is still to be invented, a visit to The Pierre is sure to take you back in time and if you're lucky you may just spot a starlet or two dawdling about.

advertisement

THE PENINSULA

There is a slight chill in the air as you sit blanketed under the stars, at Salon de Ning, with a perfectly linear and seemingly infinite view of 5th Avenue; the mind drifts back into the recesses of time. History seldom paints a pretty picture, especially so in the case of The Peninsula, which was marred by turbulence. With a name that transports you straight to Batman's dark and brooding universe, this hotel was called Gotham when constructed in 1906. By contrast, it was then known for its bright summer restaurant with large French doors opening onto an enclosed terrace. Unfortunately, it didn't survive past 1908 due to bankruptcy and extended litigation. Gotham was reopened in the 1930s by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, who readily compromised on its aesthetic value by setting up shops on its ground floor in place of palatial public rooms which were mercilessly ripped out.

advertisement

It was not until 1988, when the Hongkong based Peninsula Group took over this mistreated hotel, that it rose like a phoenix. Over a decade, they gutted the entire hotel; the overhaul cost them over $45 million to rebuild in a Parisian tone. History stands testament to The Peninsula's penchant for attracting the city's night owls. At a time when most discotheques operated underground and were considered meeting points for the wayward, New York's first public discotheque called L'interdit was started in the hotel's basement in 1979. Which draws us back to our best-loved spot in the hotel, the 1930s Shanghai inspired rooftop cocktail bar, Salon de Ning. A regular haunt for New Yorkers and travellers alike, its claim to fame is its specially curated cocktail menu.



A delightful view of 5th avenue from The Peninsula's rooftop bar Salon De Ning.

Although favouritism among cocktails is a purely subjective decision, our recommendation would be the Ning Sling, a gin concoction with refreshing mint, lychee and passion fruit. After a cool evening on the roof, an elaborate dinner beckons our rumbling bellies at the restaurant Clement. Chef Remi Van Peteghem's hearty specials for six nights of the week range from the Bourbon glazed 'double cut' prime pork chop to our favourite-the whole roasted green circle heritage chicken, a delicacy rubbed in a mix of tantalising spices and served with a cilantro-garlic dip. The Clement's fixation with fresh farm produce extends to breakfast as well, which not only covers standard fare but also a generous range of organic mixed berries with yogurt. Designed in an innovative triple themed format, your choice of seating can be provided in a room dominated by either books, mirrors or etched with the cityscape in yellow. The Peninsula's hospitality betrays its Chinese roots in the careful thought put into every service, may it be their sumptuous food or their elegant rooms.

advertisement

Elements such as a study desk with a printer and a convenient luggage bench near the closet, give their rooms the feeling of a home away from home. Mindful of the fact that you are here to relax, its oversized bathroom indulges you with a television and sound system lining the bathtub. A treat for audiophiles, guests can opt to request signature audio products from Beats by Dr Dre for complimentary use. If decadence had a physical form, it would manifest as The Peninsula suite. Complimentary services not only include packing, unpacking and pressing services but also a chauffeur-driven Mini Cooper for up to three hours a day. The Peninsula leaves no stone unturned to make sure they spoil the residents of this suite during their stay. We hear that absurd requests like ordering an unusual canine breed or a rare kind of food are undertaken with great gusto by The Peninsula staff.

The indulgence doesn't end here, and your trip can be further customised through The Peninsula Academy, which features tailor-made experiences for guests that range from scouring sea oysters on Long Island to personalised excursions around the city and a culinary tour for children, leaving not a second to waste in the city that never sleeps. But it's tough to stay awake with your perfect pillow that can be selected from the pillow menu provided in each room. Just like the changing seasons in New York, this hotel has morphed character with each owner over the last century. From the winter of Gotham, it seems to have finally blossomed in to the golden spring of the Peninsula that is highly coveted today.

WALDORF ASTORIA

If there was any hotel so steeped in history it could play museum, it would be the Waldorf Astoria. The tallest hotel building in the world till 1963, its Art Deco walls have been privy to some of the world's most significant political happenings. It played a paramount role during the Cold War and was the venue for the World Peace Conference 1949 and the secret negotiation for the Dead Sea Scrolls in its basement in 1954. Today the rooms and bar at this hotel on 301, Park Avenue are named after former regulars like Frank Sinatra and British explorer Sir Harry Johnston. Rack rates $290- $10,000 (Presidential suite) www.waldorfnewyork.com

The imposing exterior of the Waldorf Astoria on 301 Park Avenue.

ST REGIS

Birthplace of the 'Red Snapper', the cocktail that parented the Bloody Mary and home to the famous 'Old King Cole' mural, the St Regis has been a star among its own kind. It was the tallest hotel in New York when it was built by American businessman John Jacob Astor. A haunt for artists of every kind, the St Regis regularly accommodated in their favourite rooms, celebrity visitors like Alfred Hitchcock and Salvador Dali with his pet ocelot in tow. Located on Two East 55 th street, at 5 th Avenue, this hotel is noted for the King Cole Bar, which is a New York landmark in itself. Rack Rates $660-$35,000 (Presidential suite) www.stregisnewyork.com

Part of the elegant lobby at St Regis.

THE PLAZA

Seduced by the vintage glamour of The Great Gatsby (2013), it would be criminal not to pay a visit to The Plaza, where parts of the movie were filmed. Beset with an air of drama and grandeur in equal measure, The Plaza has been an important Hollywood and pop-culture icon since its inception in 1907. It's almost impossible to imagine that when this hotel opened, the cost of one room was $2.50. It still offers a white-gloved butler service to those who want a taste of classic luxury. It was well-known as one of the first pet-friendly hotels in New York, accommodating even a lion that belonged to a Hungarian princess after she was turned away from the Waldorf Astoria. The Plaza, located on 5th Avenue, was also featured in Home Alone 2, Scent of a Woman, The Sopranos and American Hustle. Rack Rates $580-$30,000 (Presidential suite) www.theplazany.com

--- ENDS ---
[October 08, 2016] New KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) Data in Advanced Urothelial Cancer Demonstrate Overall Response Rate of 24 Percent in Cisplatin-Ineligible Patients

Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced positive findings from the phase 2 KEYNOTE-052 study investigating the use of KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), the company's anti-PD-1 therapy, in previously untreated patients with unresectable (inoperable) or metastatic urothelial cancer who are ineligible for cisplatin-based therapy. Data presented at the ESMO 2016 Congress, the annual meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology, showed an overall response rate (ORR) of 24 percent (n=24/100) (95% CI, 16-34) in the total study population, which included patients with and without PD-L1 expression. "We have a growing body of evidence of KEYTRUDA's activity in a range of cancers and treatment settings including the first-line treatment of patients with advanced urothelial cancer who will not tolerate cisplatin-based therapy," said Dr. Roger Dansey, senior vice president, oncology late-stage development, Merck Research Laboratories. The KEYTRUDA clinical development program includes more than 30 tumor types in more than 350 clinical studies, including more than 100 trials that combine KEYTRUDA with other cancer treatments. Merck has the largest immuno-oncology clinical development program in bladder cancer with 27 trials involving KEYTRUDA, including four registration-enabling studies currently underway. "There have been very few advancements in the treatment of bladder cancer in the past several decades, and patients with urothelial cancer who are ineligible for cisplatin-based therapy are in significant need of new approaches to care," said Dr. Dean F. Bajorin, study investigator and medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "These data are exciting and demonstrate the potential for an anti-PD-1 therapy, such as pembrolizumab, to address the unmet treatment need that exists today for cisplatin-ineligible patients with this type of urothelial cancer." Findings from KEYNOTE-052 are being presented at the ESMO 2016 Congress by Dr. Arjun V. Balar, medical oncologist and assistant professor of medicine at the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, on Oct. 8 from 9:30 - 9:45 a.m. CEST (Abstract: # LBA32_PR) and are featured in the official ESMO press program. Additional Findings from KEYNOTE-052 KEYNOTE-052 is an open-label, phase 2 study evaluating KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) (200 mg every three weeks) monotherapy as a first-line treatment in an estimated 350 patients with unresectable (inoperable) or metastatic urothelial cancer (a type of bladder cancer) who are ineligible for cisplatin-based therapy. The primary endpoints include ORR in all patients enrolled in the study (total study population) and in patients with PD-L1 positive tumors (expression of one percent or more). Secondary endpoints include duration of response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Tumor response was measured according to RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors) v1.1 as assessed by blinded independent central review. Findings presented at the ESMO 2016 Congress are from the planned interim analysis of the first 100 patients, which was intended to evaluate ORR and determine the PD-L1-high expression cut-point as examined by expression in tumor and immune cells. Forty-five percent of patients (n=45/100) had an ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) Performance Status (PS) score of two, 30 percent (n=30/100) had a PS score of one, and 24 percent (n=24/100) had a PS score of zero. In the total study population, ORR was 24 percent (n=24/100) (95% CI, 16-34) with a complete response rate of six percent (n=6/100) (95% CI, 2-13). Review of the outcomes based on PD-L1 expression showed that in patients with PD-L1 expression of less than one percent, ORR was 18 percent (n=6/33) (95% CI, 7-36) with a complete response rate of three percent (n=1/33) (95% CI, 0.1-16); in patients with PD-L1 expression greater than or equal to one percent and less than 10 percent, ORR was 15 percent (n=5/33) (95% CI, 5-32) with no complete responses; and, in patients expressing PD-L1 at levels equal to or greater than 10 percent, ORR was 37 percent (n=11/30) (95% CI, 20-56) with a complete response rate of 13 percent (n=4/30) (95% CI, 4-31). Among the 24 percent of patients in the total study population who were responding to treatment, the median duration of response had not been reached (range 1.4+ to 9.8+ months), with 83 percent of patients (n=20/24) having responses of six months or longer. The safety profile of KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) was consistent with that observed in previously reported KEYTRUDA studies. The treatment-related adverse events observed in this trial (any grade occurring in five percent or more of patients) were fatigue (n=14), pruritus (n=12), pyrexia (n=8), decreased appetite (n=7), diarrhea (n=7), rash (n=7), chills (n=6), hypothyroidism (n=6), and nausea (n=6). Grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events observed (occurring in 2 or more patients) were fatigue (n=4), muscle spasms (n=2), decreased appetite (n=1), and diarrhea (n=1). Immune-mediated adverse events of Grade 3-4 were nephritis (n=1) and pneumonitis (n=2). Five patients discontinued due to a treatment-related adverse event; there were no treatment-related deaths. About Bladder Cancer Bladder cancer begins when cells in the urinary bladder start to grow uncontrollably. As more cancer cells develop, they can form a tumor and spread to other areas of the body. Urothelial carcinoma, the most common type of bladder cancer, starts in the urothelial cells that line the inside of the bladder. In 2012, approximately 430,000 people worldwide were diagnosed with bladder cancer and 165,000 died from the disease. The incidence of bladder cancer is elevated in North America, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. About KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) KEYTRUDA is a humanized monoclonal antibody that works by increasing the ability of the body's immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells. KEYTRUDA blocks the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes which may affect both tumor cells and healthy cells. KEYTRUDA is administered as an intravenous infusion over 30 minutes every three weeks for the approved indications. KEYTRUDA for injection is supplied in a 100 mg single use vial. KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) Indications and Dosing Melanoma KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma at a dose of 2 mg/kg every three weeks. Lung Cancer KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express PD-L1 as determined by an FDA-approved test with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy, at a dose of 2 mg/kg every three weeks. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberrations prior to receiving KEYTRUDA. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. An improvement in survival or disease-related symptoms has not yet been established. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials. Head and Neck Cancer KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy at a fixed dose of 200 mg every three weeks. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials. Selected Important Safety Information for KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab)



Immune-mediated pneumonitis, including fatal cases, occurred in patients receiving KEYTRUDA. Pneumonitis occurred in 32 (2.0%) of 1567 patients with melanoma, including Grade 1 (0.8%), 2 (0.8%), and 3 (0.4%) pneumonitis. Pneumonitis occurred in 19 (3.5%) of 550 patients with NSCLC, including Grade 2 (1.1%), 3 (1.3%), 4 (0.4%), or 5 (0.2%) pneumonitis and more frequently in patients with a history of asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (5.4%) or prior thoracic radiation (6.0%). Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of pneumonitis. Evaluate suspected pneumonitis with radiographic imaging. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater pneumonitis. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for Grade 3 or 4 or recurrent Grade 2 pneumonitis. Immune-mediated colitis occurred in 31 (2%) of 1567 patients with melanoma, including Grade 2 (0.5%), 3 (1.1%), and 4 (0.1%) colitis. Immune-mediated colitis occurred in 4 (0.7%) of 550 patients with NSCLC, including Grade 2 (0.2%) or 3 (0.4%) colitis. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of colitis. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater colitis. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2 or 3; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 4 colitis.

Immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in patients receiving KEYTRUDA. Hepatitis occurred in 16 (1%) of 1567 patients with melanoma, including Grade 2 (0.1%), 3 (0.7%), and 4 (0.1%) hepatitis. Monitor patients for changes in liver function. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater hepatitis and, based on severity of liver enzyme elevations, withhold or discontinue KEYTRUDA. Hypophysitis occurred in 13 (0.8%) of 1567 patients with melanoma, including Grade 2 (0.3%), 3 (0.3%), and 4 (0.1%) hypophysitis. Hypophysitis occurred in 1 (0.2 %) of 550 patients with NSCLC, which was Grade 3 in severity. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of hypophysitis (including hypopituitarism and adrenal insufficiency). Administer corticosteroids and hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; withhold or discontinue for Grade 3 or 4 hypophysitis. Hyperthyroidism occurred in 51 (3.3%) of 1567 patients with melanoma, including Grade 2 (0.6%) and 3 (0.1%) hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism occurred in 127 (8.1%) of 1567 patients with melanoma, including Grade 3 (0.1%) hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism occurred in 10 (1.8%) of 550 patients with NSCLC, including Grade 2 (0.7%) or 3 (0.3%) hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism occurred in 38 (6.9%) of 550 patients with NSCLC, including Grade 2 (5.5%) or 3 (0.2%) hypothyroidism. New or worsening hypothyroidism occurred in 28 (14.6%) of 192 patients with HNSCC, including Grade 3 (0.5%) hypothyroidism. Thyroid disorders can occur at any time during treatment. Monitor patients for changes in thyroid function (at the start of treatment, periodically during treatment, and as indicated based on clinical evaluation) and for clinical signs and symptoms of thyroid disorders. Administer replacement hormones for hypothyroidism and manage hyperthyroidism with thionamides and beta-blockers as appropriate. Withhold or discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or 4 hyperthyroidism. Type 1 diabetes mellitus, including diabetic ketoacidosis, occurred in 3 (0.1%) of 2117 patients. Monitor patients for hyperglycemia or other signs and symptoms of diabetes. Administer insulin for type 1 diabetes, and withhold KEYTRUDA and administer anti-hyperglycemics in patients with severe hyperglycemia. Immune-mediated nephritis occurred in patients receiving KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab). Nephritis occurred in 7 (0.4%) of 1567 patients with melanoma including, Grade 2 (0.2%), 3 (0.2%), and 4 (0.1%) nephritis. Monitor patients for changes in renal function. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater nephritis. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or 4 nephritis. Other clinically important immune-mediated adverse reactions can occur. For suspected immune-mediated adverse reactions, ensure adequate evaluation to confirm etiology or exclude other causes. Based on the severity of the adverse reaction, withhold KEYTRUDA and administer corticosteroids. Upon improvement to Grade 1 or less, initiate corticosteroid taper and continue to taper over at least 1 month. Based on limited data from clinical studies in patients whose immune-related adverse reactions could not be controlled with corticosteroid use, administration of other systemic immunosuppressants can be considered. Resume KEYTRUDA when the adverse reaction remains at Grade 1 or less following corticosteroid taper. Permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for any Grade 3 immune-mediated adverse reaction that recurs and for any life-threatening immune-mediated adverse reaction. The following clinically significant, immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred in less than 1% (unless otherwise indicated) of 1567 patients with melanoma: arthritis (1.6%), exfoliative dermatitis, bullous pemphigoid, uveitis, myositis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, vasculitis, pancreatitis, hemolytic anemia, and partial seizures arising in a patient with inflammatory foci in brain parenchyma. The following clinically significant, immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred in less than 1% of 550 patients with NSCLC: rash, vasculitis, hemolytic anemia, serum sickness, and myasthenia gravis. Severe and life-threatening infusion-related reactions have been reported in 3 (0.1%) of 2117 patients. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of infusion-related reactions including rigors, chills, wheezing, pruritus, flushing, rash, hypotension, hypoxemia, and fever. For Grade 3 or 4 reactions, stop infusion and permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA. Based on its mechanism of action, KEYTRUDA can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. If used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant during treatment, apprise the patient of the potential hazard to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use highly effective contraception during treatment and for 4 months after the last dose of KEYTRUDA. In KEYNOTE-006, KEYTRUDA was discontinued due to adverse reactions in 9% of 555 patients with advanced melanoma; adverse reactions leading to discontinuation in more than one patient were colitis (1.4%), autoimmune hepatitis (0.7%), allergic reaction (0.4%), polyneuropathy (0.4%), and cardiac failure (0.4%). Adverse reactions leading to interruption of KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) occurred in 21% of patients; the most common (=1%) was diarrhea (2.5%). The most common adverse reactions with KEYTRUDA vs ipilimumab were fatigue (28% vs 28%), diarrhea (26% with KEYTRUDA), rash (24% vs 23%), and nausea (21% with KEYTRUDA). Corresponding incidence rates are listed for ipilimumab only for those adverse reactions that occurred at the same or lower rate than with KEYTRUDA. In KEYNOTE-002, KEYTRUDA was discontinued due to adverse reactions in 12% of 357 patients with advanced melanoma; the most common (=1%) were general physical health deterioration (1%), asthenia (1%), dyspnea (1%), pneumonitis (1%), and generalized edema (1%). Adverse reactions leading to interruption of KEYTRUDA occurred in 14% of patients; the most common (=1%) were dyspnea (1%), diarrhea (1%), and maculopapular rash (1%). The most common adverse reactions with KEYTRUDA vs chemotherapy were fatigue (43% with KEYTRUDA), pruritus (28% vs 8%), rash (24% vs 8%), constipation (22% vs 20%), nausea (22% with KEYTRUDA), diarrhea (20% vs 20%), and decreased appetite (20% with KEYTRUDA). Corresponding incidence rates are listed for chemotherapy only for those adverse reactions that occurred at the same or lower rate than with KEYTRUDA. KEYTRUDA was discontinued due to adverse reactions in 14% of 550 patients with NSCLC. Serious adverse reactions occurred in 38% of patients. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in at least 2% of patients were pleural effusion, pneumonia, dyspnea, pulmonary embolism, and pneumonitis. The most common adverse reactions (reported in at least 20% of patients) were fatigue (44%), cough (29%), decreased appetite (25%), and dyspnea (23%). KEYTRUDA was discontinued due to adverse reactions in 17% of 192 patients with HNSCC. Serious adverse reactions occurred in 45% of patients. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in at least 2% of patients were pneumonia, dyspnea, confusional state, vomiting, pleural effusion, and respiratory failure. The most common adverse reactions (reported in at least 20% of patients) were fatigue (46%), decreased appetite (22%), and dyspnea (20%). It is not known whether KEYTRUDA is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, instruct women to discontinue nursing during treatment with KEYTRUDA and for 4 months after the final dose. Safety and effectiveness of KEYTRUDA have not been established in pediatric patients. Our Focus on Cancer Our goal is to translate breakthrough science into innovative oncology medicines to help people with cancer worldwide. At Merck Oncology, helping people fight cancer is our passion and supporting accessibility to our cancer medicines is our commitment. Our focus is on pursuing research in immuno-oncology and we are accelerating every step in the journey - from lab to clinic - to potentially bring new hope to people with cancer. As part of our focus on cancer, Merck is committed to exploring the potential of immuno-oncology with one of the fastest-growing development programs in the industry. We are currently executing an expansive research program that includes more than 350 clinical trials evaluating our anti-PD-1 therapy across more than 30 tumor types. We also continue to strengthen our immuno-oncology portfolio through strategic acquisitions and are prioritizing the development of several promising immunotherapeutic candidates with the potential to improve the treatment of advanced cancers. For more information about our oncology clinical trials, visit www.merck.com/clinicaltrials. About Merck For 125 years, Merck has been a global health care leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. 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). Please see Prescribing Information for KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) at http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/k/keytruda/keytruda_pi.pdf and Patient Information/Medication Guide for KEYTRUDA at http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/k/keytruda/keytruda_mg.pdf. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161007005842/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 08, 2016] Merck Announces Longer-Term Follow-Up of Overall Survival Data for KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in Patients with Advanced Melanoma from KEYNOTE-002 Presented at ESMO 2016 Congress

Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced findings from the final overall survival (OS) analysis from the KEYNOTE-002 study investigating the use of KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), the company's anti-PD-1 therapy, compared to investigator-choice chemotherapy with a crossover to KEYTRUDA design, in patients with ipilimumab-refractory advanced melanoma. Results presented at the ESMO 2016 Congress, the annual meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology, in Copenhagen include follow-up of up to 35 months for the study's co-primary endpoints of OS and progression-free survival (PFS). Data showed prolonged OS with KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg), with a median OS of 13.4 months and 14.7 months and a two-year OS rate of 35.9 percent and 38.2 percent, respectively, compared to a median OS of 11.0 months and a two-year OS rate of 29.7 percent with chemotherapy. "Now, with longer follow-up, we continue to show clinically meaningful outcomes with KEYTRUDA as monotherapy in these ipilimumab-refractory patients," said Dr. Roger Dansey, senior vice president, oncology late-stage development, Merck Research Laboratories. "These results provide further evidence supporting the use of KEYTRUDA as a standard of care for patients with advanced melanoma." Today, KEYTRUDA is approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma in more than 50 countries, including the United States and throughout Europe. The KEYTRUDA clinical development program includes more than 30 tumor types in more than 350 clinical studies, including more than 100 trials that combine KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) with other cancer treatments. The final analysis from KEYNOTE-002 is being presented at the ESMO 2016 Congress by Dr. Omid Hamid, director of the Melanoma Center at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, on Oct. 8 from 2:45 - 4:15 p.m. CEST (Abstract: #1107O). Additional Findings from KEYNOTE-002 KEYNOTE-002 is a multicenter, randomized, controlled phase 2 study of KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg every three weeks) compared to investigator's choice chemotherapy (paclitaxel plus carboplatin, paclitaxel, carboplatin, dacarbazine, or temozolomide) in patients with ipilimumab-refractory advanced melanoma (n=540). The co-primary endpoints were PFS and OS; secondary endpoints included overall response rate (ORR), duration of response, and safety. Tumor response was assessed at week 12, then every six weeks through week 48, followed by every 12 weeks thereafter as assessed by independent central review using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1. Per the study protocol, after three months, patients who experienced disease progression on the chemotherapy arm were eligible to cross over to receive KEYTRUDA. In total, 55 percent (n=98/179) of patients in the chemotherapy arm crossed over to receive KEYTRUDA monotherapy. In the final analysis, which included the 98 patients who crossed over from the chemotherapy arm to receive KEYTRUDA, the median OS was 13.4 months with KEYTRUDA 2 mg/kg (95% CI, 11.0-16.4 months) and 14.7 months with KEYTRUDA 10 mg/kg (95% CI 11.3-19.5 months), compared to 11.0 months with chemotherapy (95% CI, 8.9-13.8 months) (hazard ratio: 0.86 [95% CI, 0.67-1.10; p=0.1173] and hazard ratio: 0.74 [95% CI, 0.57-0.96; p=0.0106], respectively); the two-year (24-month) OS rate was 35.9 percent and 38.2 percent with KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively), compared to 29.7 percent with chemotherapy. While improvements in OS between KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg) and chemotherapy did not meet the protocol-specified significance threshold, longer follow-up continued to show a clinically meaningful improvement in PFS, the study's co-primary endpoint, with PFS of up to 31 months in patients treated with KEYTRUDA. Median PFS was approximately three months for each of the patient groups (95% CI of 2.8-3.8 months with KEYTRUDA 2 mg/kg; 95% CI of 2.8-5.2 months with KEYTRUDA 10 mg/kg; and 95% CI of 2.6-2.8 months with chemotherapy) (hazard ratio: 0.58 [95% CI, 0.46-0.73; p<0.0001] and hazard ratio: 0.47 [95% CI, 0.37-0.60; p<0.0001], respectively). The two-year PFS rate was 16.0 percent and 21.9 percent with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) (2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively), compared to less than one percent (0.6 percent) of patients treated with chemotherapy. ORR was 22.2 percent and 27.6 percent with KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively), compared to 4.5 percent with chemotherapy. At the time of analysis, 50 percent and 58 percent of patients who responded to KEYTRUDA (2 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively) were alive with no subsequent progression or anti-tumor therapy, compared to 12 percent of patients who responded to chemotherapy. With longer follow-up, adverse events have remained consistent with previously reported safety data. Treatment-related immune-mediated adverse events of Grade 3-4 were pneumonitis, colitis (10 mg/kg only), adrenal insufficiency, severe skin toxicity, hypophysitis, hepatitis, nephritis (2 mg/kg only), pancreatitis (10 mg/kg only), and myasthenia (10 mg/kg only). About Melanoma Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of pigment-producing cells. The incidence of melanoma has been increasing over the past four decades - approximately 232,000 new cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2012. In the U.S., melanoma is one of the most common types of cancer diagnosed and is responsible for the vast majority of skin cancer deaths. In 2016, an estimated 76,380 people are expected to be diagnosed and an estimated 10,130 people are expected to die of the disease in the U.S. alone. The five-year survival rates for advanced or metastatic melanoma (Stage IV) are estimated to be 15 to 20 percent. About KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) KEYTRUDA is a humanized monoclonal antibody that works by increasing the ability of the body's immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells. KEYTRUDA blocks the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes which may affect both tumor cells and healthy cells. KEYTRUDA is administered as an intravenous infusion over 30 minutes every three weeks for the approved indications. KEYTRUDA for injection is supplied in a 100 mg single use vial. KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) Indications and Dosing Melanoma KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma at a dose of 2 mg/kg every three weeks. Lung Cancer KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express PD-L1 as determined by an FDA-approved test with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy, at a dose of 2 mg/kg every three weeks. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberraions prior to receiving KEYTRUDA. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. An improvement in survival or disease-related symptoms has not yet been established. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.



Head and Neck Cancer KEYTRUDA is indicated for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy at a fixed dose of 200 mg every three weeks. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

Selected Important Safety Information for KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in Melanoma Immune-mediated pneumonitis, including fatal cases, occurred in patients receiving KEYTRUDA. Pneumonitis occurred in 32 (2.0%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 1 (0.8%), 2 (0.8%), and 3 (0.4%) pneumonitis. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of pneumonitis. Evaluate suspected pneumonitis with radiographic imaging. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater pneumonitis. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or 4 or recurrent Grade 2 pneumonitis. Immune-mediated colitis occurred in 31 (2%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 2 (0.5%), 3 (1.1%), and 4 (0.1%) colitis. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of colitis. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater colitis. Withhold KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for Grade 2 or 3; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 4 colitis. Immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in 16 (1%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 2 (0.1%), 3 (0.7%), and 4 (0.1%) hepatitis. Monitor patients for changes in liver function. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater hepatitis and, based on severity of liver enzyme elevations, withhold or discontinue KEYTRUDA. Hypophysitis occurred in 13 (0.8%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 2 (0.3%), 3 (0.3%), and 4 (0.1%) hypophysitis. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of hypophysitis (including hypopituitarism and adrenal insufficiency). Administer corticosteroids and hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; withhold or discontinue for Grade 3 or 4 hypophysitis. Hyperthyroidism occurred in 51 (3.3%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 2 (0.6%) and 3 (0.1%) hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism occurred in 127 (8.1%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 3 (0.1%) hypothyroidism. Thyroid disorders can occur at any time during treatment. Monitor patients for changes in thyroid function (at the start of treatment, periodically during treatment, and as indicated based on clinical evaluation) and for clinical signs and symptoms of thyroid disorders. Administer replacement hormones for hypothyroidism and manage hyperthyroidism with thionamides and beta-blockers as appropriate. Withhold or discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or 4 hyperthyroidism. Type 1 diabetes mellitus, including diabetic ketoacidosis, occurred in 3 (0.1%) of 2117 patients. Monitor patients for hyperglycemia or other signs and symptoms of diabetes. Administer insulin for type 1 diabetes, and withhold KEYTRUDA and administer anti-hyperglycemics in patients with severe hyperglycemia. Immune-mediated nephritis occurred in 7 (0.4%) of 1567 patients, including Grade 2 (0.2%), 3 (0.2%), and 4 (0.1%) nephritis. Monitor patients for changes in renal function. Administer corticosteroids for Grade 2 or greater nephritis. Withhold KEYTRUDA for Grade 2; permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for Grade 3 or 4 nephritis. Other clinically important immune-mediated adverse reactions can occur. For suspected immune-mediated adverse reactions, ensure adequate evaluation to confirm etiology or exclude other causes. Based on the severity of the adverse reaction, withhold KEYTRUDA and administer corticosteroids. Upon improvement to Grade 1 or less, initiate corticosteroid taper and continue to taper over at least 1 month. Based on limited data from clinical studies in patients whose immune-related adverse reactions could not be controlled with corticosteroid use, administration of other systemic immunosuppressants can be considered. Resume KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) when the adverse reaction remains at Grade 1 or less following corticosteroid taper. Permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA for any Grade 3 immune-mediated adverse reaction that recurs and for any life-threatening immune-mediated adverse reaction. The following clinically significant, immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred in less than 1% (unless otherwise indicated) of 1567 patients: arthritis (1.6%), exfoliative dermatitis, bullous pemphigoid, uveitis, myositis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, vasculitis, pancreatitis, hemolytic anemia, and partial seizures arising in a patient with inflammatory foci in brain parenchyma. Severe and life-threatening infusion-related reactions have been reported in 3 (0.1%) of 2117 patients. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of infusion-related reactions including rigors, chills, wheezing, pruritus, flushing, rash, hypotension, hypoxemia, and fever. For Grade 3 or 4 reactions, stop infusion and permanently discontinue KEYTRUDA. Based on its mechanism of action, KEYTRUDA can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. If used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant during treatment, apprise the patient of the potential hazard to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use highly effective contraception during treatment and for 4 months after the last dose of KEYTRUDA. In KEYNOTE-002, KEYTRUDA was discontinued due to adverse reactions in 12% of 357 patients; the most common (=1%) were general physical health deterioration (1%), asthenia (1%), dyspnea (1%), pneumonitis (1%), and generalized edema (1%). Adverse reactions leading to interruption of KEYTRUDA occurred in 14% of patients; the most common (=1%) were dyspnea (1%), diarrhea (1%), and maculopapular rash (1%). The most common adverse reactions with KEYTRUDA vs chemotherapy were fatigue (43% with KEYTRUDA), pruritus (28% vs 8%), rash (24% vs 8%), constipation (22% vs 20%), nausea (22% with KEYTRUDA), diarrhea (20% vs 20%), and decreased appetite (20% with KEYTRUDA). Corresponding incidence rates are listed for chemotherapy only for those adverse reactions that occurred at the same or lower rate than with KEYTRUDA It is not known whether KEYTRUDA is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, instruct women to discontinue nursing during treatment with KEYTRUDA and for 4 months after the final dose. Safety and effectiveness of KEYTRUDA have not been established in pediatric patients. Our Focus on Cancer Our goal is to translate breakthrough science into innovative oncology medicines to help people with cancer worldwide. At Merck Oncology, helping people fight cancer is our passion and supporting accessibility to our cancer medicines is our commitment. Our focus is on pursuing research in immuno-oncology and we are accelerating every step in the journey - from lab to clinic - to potentially bring new hope to people with cancer. As part of our focus on cancer, Merck is committed to exploring the potential of immuno-oncology with one of the fastest-growing development programs in the industry. We are currently executing an expansive research program that includes more than 350 clinical trials evaluating our anti-PD-1 therapy across more than 30 tumor types. We also continue to strengthen our immuno-oncology portfolio through strategic acquisitions and are prioritizing the development of several promising immunotherapeutic candidates with the potential to improve the treatment of advanced cancers. For more information about our oncology clinical trials, visit www.merck.com/clinicaltrials. About Merck For 125 years, Merck has been a global health care leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. 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. 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). Please see Prescribing Information for KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) at http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/k/keytruda/keytruda_pi.pdf and Patient Information/Medication Guide for KEYTRUDA at http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/k/keytruda/keytruda_mg.pdf. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161008005027/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 08, 2016] ITC Flagship Report Released Featuring DHgate.com Founder and CEO

GENEVA, Oct. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- October 6, 2016, in Geneva, Switzerland, at the World Trade Organization meeting, the International Trade Centre released their flagship report titled SME Competitiveness Outlook, Meeting the Standards for Trade; the report features a written thought leader contribution from DHgate.com Founder and CEO Diane Wang, which details the effects of cross-border e-commerce on SMEs and SME competitiveness. Ms. Wang's thought leader contribution is titled "The Standards and Regulations of Cross-Border E-commerce Trade and Their Effect on SME Competitiveness," and highlights high survival and success rates for small-and-medium sized traditional trading companies who adopt technology, as opposed to those who do not; how trust and safety is a necessity for cross-border e-commerce platforms, and due to increasing rates ofadoption, cross-border e-commerce platforms are becoming the de facto regulators of international trade; and then highlights DHgate.com's use of Trust and Safety mechanisms.



The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the only development agency that is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Established in 1964, the International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. About DHgate.com

DHgate.com is the first to market and the biggest transactional cross-border B2B e-commerce marketplace in China, aiming to provide global buyers with quality products at competitive prices. Founded in 2004, DHgate.com has approximately 12 million global buyers from 230 countries and regions, with 1.4 million global sellers offering 40 million products. DHgate.com's business enables buyers to directly access global manufacturers of the world's top brands with rich product selections. DHgate.com is an all-in-one platform with integrated services for international logistics, cross-border payments, internet financing, etc. DHgate.com's US, UK, Spain, and UAE product distribution warehouses allow for 24 hour delivery and convenient product returns & refunds, bringing great convenience to buyers at http://www.dhgate.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/itc-flagship-report-released-featuring-dhgatecom-founder-and-ceo-300341572.html SOURCE DHgate.com

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
LEESVILLE -- Hicks High School and Leesville High School will battle it out Saturday night at the Leesville Lions Club Rodeo for the 2016 Today's Country 105.7/Vernon Parish 4-H Big Dog Bull Roping Contest at the West Louisiana Forestry Festival.

The qualifying round was held Thursday night during the rodeo.

Sponsors for this event are Koury Auto Sales and Doctors Hospital at Deer Creek, a physician-owned hospital.

Hicks team members are Kelsie McFarland, Deshay Sigler, Zack Harper and Trace Williams.

Leesville team members are Madelyn Phillips, Ryleigh Hicks, Ethan Dupree and Theron Westerchil.

The finals will be at the intermission of Saturday's rodeo.

The winning school will get a $1,500 scholarship for someone from their 4-H club, as well as belt buckles for team members, courtesy of Triple J Western Wear.

Special thanks to Lee Hills Cinema 6, Mighty Thomas Carnival, Popeyes and Fat Boy and Skinny's for providing prizes for the participants.

See a photo slideshow of Thursday night's event HERE.
Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required.

Your Full Name: (optional)

Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required.
Fiji Bati have staged an incredible comeback to upset Toa Samoa 20-18 in Apia on Saturday afternoon in the first Test match played in Samoa in over 30 years.

Trailing 18-0 mid-way through the first half, Mick Potter's side produced a memorable defensive effort to hold out their opponents for the remainder of the match and steal the win.

It didn't take long for the home side to hit the lead, with Bulldogs forward Sam Kasiano dummying and crashing his way through the line after just four minutes of play.

Matthew Wright added the extras from in front to give Samoa a 6-0 lead.

After holding out several attacking sets from Fiji, Samoa would be rewarded for their efforts with a quick double to Warriors winger Ken Maumalo giving the home side an 18-0 advantage.

Staring down the barrel of a huge defeat, Fiji began to mount a comeback in the 26th minute when Bulldogs winger Marcelo Montoya finished off a lovely pass from Brayden Williame.

Captain Kevin Naiqama was unable to add the extras, however, leaving it at 18-4.

James Storer would show tremendous strength to grab Fiji's second try of the day moments later, carrying defenders with him over the line to plant the ball over the line.

Sitiveni Moceidreke took over the goal-kicking from Naiqama, and nailed his first conversion to reduce Samoa's lead to 18-10 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the half.

The visitors would cap off a spectacular first half comeback when Williame was first to a grubber kick from Henry Raiwalui, taking the score to 18-16 at the half-time break.

Samoa would begin the second half the better of the two sides, and looked destined to post first points of the half with an attacking barrage on the Fiji Bati line.

However, Tyrone Phillips would have other ideas, with a superb intercept on his own line seeing him run 95m to score in the corner and give Fiji a shock lead.

What a way to open the scoring in the second half!#PacificTest #NRL pic.twitter.com/7NabtQENGq  NRL (@NRL) October 8, 2016

Moceidreke's conversion was unsuccessful, giving Fiji a 20-18 lead after 63 minutes.

Desperate to win their first home Test in over 30 years, Samoa would continue to attack the Fiji line in the final 20 minutes, but were unable to crack through some stirring goal-line defence.

And despite finishing the match out on their feet, Fiji would hang on to record an upset 20-18 win over Samoa in what will be remembered as another fantastic Pacific Test.



Fiji Bati 20 (Montoya, Storer, Williame, Phillips tries; Moceidreke 2/3, Naiqama 0/1 goals) def. Toa Samoa 18 (Maumalo 2, Kasiano tries; Wright 3/3 goals) at Apia, Samoa
China today issued a statement saying that its new dam on Xiabuqu, a tributary of Brahmaputra (or Yarlung Zangbo) in Tibet, will have no impact on its downstream flows as it can only store 'less than 0.02 percent' of the total flow of Brahmaputra.

By Ananth Krishnan: China today assured India that its new dam on a tributary of Brahmaputra would have no impact on downstream flows as its maximum capacity can only store "less than 0.02 per cent" of the river's average run-off.

China had announced on October 1 that it had dammed the Xiabuqu, a tributary of the Brahmaputra or Yarlung Zangbo as it is known in Tibet, for a $740 million hydropower project at Lalho.

advertisement

Work on the project had begun in June 2014.

Also Read: China dam: Tributary brings less than 1 per cent to Brahmaputra, says data

DAM'S STORAGE CAPACITY LESS THAN 0.02 PER CENT OF AVERAGE FLOW OF BRAHMAPUTRA

The Chinese Foreign Ministry told India Today in a statement today that the dam's storage capacity is less than 0.02 per cent of the average flow of the Brahmaputra.

"The Xiabuqu river on which this project is located, is an upstream tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo and lies totally within the Chinese side," the statement said.

"The reservoir capacity of the project is less than 0.02 per cent of the average annual runoff of the Yarlung Zangbo-Brahmaputra. It cannot have an adverse impact on the downstream."

According to official hydrological data, the average discharge of the river is 25.8 cubic metres per second (cumecs), which is only 0.15 per cent of the Brahmaputra's average discharge in lean periods, measured at around 19,000 cumecs. In normal periods, it is estimated at 40,000 cumecs.

The storage of the dam will be only 0.02 per cent, the Chinese government said, meaning it would have a negligible impact on downstream flows when the contribution of the catchment areas in India is taken into account.

Also Read: China teases India, blocks a Brahmaputra tributary in Tibet to construct dam

INDIA TO STUDY HOW MUCH BRAHMAPUTRA IN TIBET CONTRIBUTES TO THE COUNTRY'S FLOW OF WATER

India is monitoring the volumes of the river, and is provided hydrological data from May 15 to October 15 every year.

India is also commissioning a study to ascertain how much the Yarlung Zangbo, as the Brahmaputra is known in Tibet, actually contributes to flows in India and how much comes from the catchment area in India itself, where the river's flows are consistently measured at much higher volumes than in Tibet.

Many experts estimate the Tibet contribution at not more than 40 per cent.

Also Read: China's first hydropower dam on Brahmaputra is fully operational

CHINA- INDIA COOPERATION TO CONTINUE

The Foreign Ministry added that China and India "have been carrying out good cooperation on transborder rivers for a long time".

"Proceeding from the larger picture of China-India friendship and from the humanitarian angle, the Chinese side has overcome all kinds of difficulties. It has provided services to the Indian side, such as flood season hydrological data and emergency management, and has played a positive role in areas, like flood and disaster control along the banks of the relevant rivers," the statement added.

advertisement

"China is willing to continue relevant cooperation with the Indian side through the existing expert level mechanism on trans-border rivers."

The Foreign Ministry said the project was aimed at providing energy for an "economically less developed ethnic minority region of China".

"Legitimate use of the water and hydrological resources is an important component of the rights of the people of this region to live and develop," it said.

"The Chinese side has always held a responsible attitude towards exploitation of water resources of the Yarlung Zangbo, and carries out a policy of actual development and protection at the same time. Scientific planning, adequate justification, prudent decisions and orderly exploitation are in line with international practice."

Also Read:

China blocks tributary of Brahmaputra in Tibet to build dam



Stronger India-China economic engagement can trump China-Pakistan security ties: Panagariya

China says in touch with India, Pakistan; hopes for improvement in ties

advertisement

China firm to build mega dam in PoK despite India's strong opposition



--- ENDS ---
Ignoring global opinion, China has once again favoured most wanted terrorist and Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar by blocking a UN ban on him for the second time in a row.

By India Today Web Desk: China has once again shown that it does not care about the dominant perception about the realities of Pakistan and terror outfits operating from its soil. China blocked for the second time a UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar over 'different views' on India's application.

China is the lone member among the 15-member UNSC to oppose the ban on Masood Azhar. The tenure of its previous hold ended on Monday and had been put for further action on Saturday when China decided to block it again.



advertisement

Reacting to India's criticism that its second hold on attempts to ban Masood Azhar sends a dangerous message, the Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing defended its position on the most wanted terrorist.

READ: Pakistan's Masood Azhar a terrorist: India to press upon China with evidence

CHINA GIVES LEVERAGE TO PAK

In a written reply to PTI question, the Chinese foreign ministry said, "There are still different views on India's listing application made this March. The technical hold on it will allow more time for the Committee to deliberate on the matter and for relevant parties to have further consultations."

The reference to "further consultations" apparently referred to direct consultations between India and Pakistan over the issue.

China had put the first technical hold six months ago on India's application following Azhar's alleged involvement in the Pathankot terrorist attack. China had extended the second technical hold valid for three months during this week despite several consultations between New Delhi and Beijing at various levels.

READ: Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar among 3 Pakistanis India believes are behind the Uri attack

AZHAR IN MODI-JINPING TALKS

It is expected to figure again during the expected meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to be held in Goa from October 15-16.

While opposing the ban against Azhar, the Chinese foreign ministry however said, "China firmly supports combating all forms of terrorism, stronger international cooperation against terrorism, and supports the central and coordinating role of the UN in international counter-terrorism cooperation".

China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 Committee should stick to the principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the Security Council, it said.

READ: BJP created Jaish-e-Mohammad by releasing Masood Azhar: Congress

INDIA'S RESPONSE

Without naming China, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on October 6 that only one country had put the technical hold, blocking the ban by another three months, and criticised the completely "non-transparent and anonymous" manner of designating individuals by the UN Sanctions Committee.

India has been highlighting the cross-border terror threat emanating from Pakistan and tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad are on the rise since last month's Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir which killed 19 Indian soldiers.



advertisement

With PTI inputs



ALSO READ:

After blocking India's move to ban Masood Azhar, China now wants action against global terrorists







--- ENDS ---
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/10/2016 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Last weeks announcement that governments are getting serious on carbon pricing is just one example of how rapidly and dramatically the economic, environmental and social climate for farmers is changing.

Agriculture generates 40 per cent of Manitobas greenhouse gas emissions, making it the largest single contributor. So it stands to reason the sector is going to be part of the solution while ensuring it remains competitive at producing food and fibre.

But when you set policy plays such as this one against the backdrop of ongoing federal and provincial consultations for the next round of farm policy, you have to wonder whether its time to reframe those discussions.

At least thats the position taken by three agricultural economists with the independent consulting and research company Agri-Food Economic Systems. Longtime policy analysts Al Mussell, Doug Hedley and Bob Seguin have produced a paper challenging Canadas agri-food sector to start thinking outside the traditional box when renewing the Growing Forward national farm policy in 2018.

They suggest the existing policy framework isnt keeping up and warn the sector is at risk of falling behind a multitude of emerging trends rather than staying abreast. They cite climate change as an example.

Nationally, agriculture produces about 25 per cent of methane in Canada and about 70 per cent of N2O (nitrous oxide) emissions, so the industry cannot blithely talk about beneficial management practices and environmental farm plans when federal and provincial governments are already underway on greenhouse gas and climate change adaptation approaches, along with carbon tax or cap-and-trade initiatives, they wrote in a policy paper released last month.

The industrys operating environment is volatile on many fronts. Financially, it appears the boom times are over for the foreseeable future; farm incomes are down, and farm debt is up.

Britains vote to leave the European Union and the outcome of the U.S. presidential race could have major implications for trade.

Canadas supply-managed sectors, particularly dairy, are under siege, facing increased competition due to trade concessions as well as changes in milk-processing technology that were not anticipated when the rules setting border protections were first written. Canadas food processors have seen a loss of $7 billion in net trade balance over the past decade.

The paper says the existing framework is too producer-centric and focused on programs rather than strategy. Programs have defined policy, instead of policy analysis and strategy defining the type and nature of programs needed for the sector, the paper says.

It also questions whether one-size-fits-all program payments to farmers are doing whats necessary for either small or large farmers. Payments to small farms may be too small to support them or assist their transition to profitability, while big farms periodically receive large payments that strike the public as corporate welfare. At the same time, public interest in how food is produced, the links between food and health and how farming affects the environment is growing.

These present big, difficult and longer-term challenges to which sound agri-food policy can contribute, they say. In the face of these developing issues, more of the same types of programming will eventually break down.

The biggest enemy the process faces is inertia, the tendency to talk about the future but base policy on the past.

These analysts call for a value-chain approach, noting the food-processing sector faces many of the same challenges as primary agriculture.

And they call for a renewed commitment by governments to public-good research, saying the current approach of requiring matching industry investment has narrowed the research focus to short-term immediate fixes.

Perhaps the most important message emerging from this paper is its call to broaden the discussion to include more than industry stakeholders and to include the perspectives of multiple ministries spanning the links between farming, food and health, climate change and environment.

Much of the dialogue occurs behind closed doors, and consultations include a significant element of what amounts to government communications activity, they write.

For something this important, that just doesnt cut it.

Laura Rance is editorial director for Farm Business Communications. She can be reached at laura@fbcpublishing.com or 204-792-4382.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/10/2016 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Is Winnipeg the next southern New Hampshire or Baku, Azerbaijan, when it comes to tech hubs?

Thats the question out-of-the-way-tech-hub writer Ben Fischberg is trying to determine.

Fischberg is an investment banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and a contributor to online publishers of technology industry news such as TechCrunch and VentureBeat.

Hes lived in Rwanda and Azerbaijan and in the past year has written about burgeoning tech clusters in places such as Manchester, N.H. and Baku.

This week, he reached out to Marshall Ring, the CEO of Manitoba Technology Accelerator (MTA) inquiring about the Winnipeg scene, in particular how technology in Manitoba is taking advantage of the areas unique attributes.

MTA is working with companies such as a meal-delivery service called Skip the Dishes that now employs more than 200 people in Winnipeg as well as Sightline Innovation, a machine learning technology company that is developing a number of applications.

When someone from a centre like Palo Alto calls you to say they want to do a story about you, it is great reinforcement about what we are doing, Ring said.

Ring pointed out the Skip the Dishes founders moved to Winnipeg from Saskatoon and Sightlines owners came from Toronto.

In an email exchange, Fischberg said, Tech in the Midwest is taking off, so I wanted to see if I could find examples of exciting companies in the equivalent part of Canada. Ive just started talking with people (about Winnipeg) but Ive been very excited about what Ive heard so far.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/10/2016 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From Mayor-Elect to Mayor

The inauguration was a celebratory event. On the evening of Nov. 3, 1992, I was sworn in as the City of Winnipegs 40th mayor. More than 250 people were in attendance, including many close friends and family members. My inaugural address clearly declared that my priority was to work for the betterment of our city. I also made it known that I was going to follow the will of the people. Winnipeggers had made it clear that they wanted a change. I tried to emphasize this in my address: A model of a well-run, forward-thinking city is one that nurtures its assets and pays attention to the needs of its people. The citizens of Winnipeg had clearly had enough of old boys club politics and they were looking for a change. That is what I was elected to do and my mandate now was to follow through on my platform.

FREE PRESS FILES Dennice Leahey, Royal Banks vice-president for Manitoba (right), greets Mayor Susan Thompson and then-premier Gary Filmon at a news conference in 1997.

One of the best memories I have of my first week in office was how the mayors office was transformed into a full-fledged flower shop. I received many, many beautiful arrangements from friends, colleagues, acquaintances, even complete strangers, all congratulating me on my win and sending me best wishes. The messages were heartfelt and joyful. I received countless cards and letters  even one from Prime Minister Brian Mulroney  and was quite touched by the overwhelming response from the citizens of Winnipeg. This of course was a great contradiction to what I was feeling from within the walls of city hall. Political gamesmanship was already starting to rear its ugly head, as councillors and senior administration began to let me know where they stood on my new role.

Once I was sworn in, my priority was to meet with my newly-appointed executive policy committee and get the ball rolling. I asked them to meet with me informally in my office. I purposely held it there in the hopes that my new team would get a taste of what I foresaw as regular informal meetings with this core group. I saw the EPC as the key leadership group for our city government. In recent polls, city councillors had received a 10 per cent approval rating on their performance from the citizens of Winnipeg. Clearly, I wanted to change that. I welcomed them to the meeting and thanked them for agreeing to serve on this committee. I emphasized how important it was that we should all work together to accomplish great things for our city. Over time, these informal meetings got better. I introduced a process whereby we could all discuss matters pertaining to the city in a confidential setting. These meetings were meant to give us the opportunity to discuss, deliberate and if necessary, vent. Eventually, my EPC became a much more cohesive group and they did become the leadership group for civic government and effected significant change. By the end of my six years in office, we had a positive and respectful relationship with each other.

Following the first informal EPC meeting, I invited all city councillors for lunch in a city hall meeting room. I personally paid for this luncheon so that there wouldnt be any criticism about spending city funds. My intention was to do a round table, with each council member sharing with me what they saw as the top three priorities they wanted to achieve. I saw this as an opportunity to listen and see what my colleagues thought. It started with a number of councillors refusing to eat lunch because I had personally paid for it and they werent about to be bribed by the new mayor. Seriously! And it went downhill from there. Again welcome to politics!

Settling In

Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press Susan Thompson was sworn in as mayor of Winnipeg Nov. 3, 1992. The next six years would be an education in civic politics.

Physically, the mayors office was of significant size. It served as a reception area for dignitaries and guests, and also as a real working office. When I arrived, I found the area to be quite sparse. The walls were bare, the furniture was out-dated and there was one plant in the entire office, and it was barely alive. The desk was very simple  no front privacy panel, more like a long table, really  and it had a matching credenza. There was another credenza on a far wall, which housed a small television set. This is where we could watch council meetings in action, as they were televised at that time. In another part of the office there was a sitting area with a chesterfield and a few chairs.

My first priority when I saw the office was to get a conference table and chairs in there, so that we could hold meetings. I was advised that there was no budget available to acquire the basic necessities for the office. Thus began my quest to give the mayors office a historic look. This initiative was spearheaded by MaryAnne Rudy, who was the manager for the citys corporate office and buildings. She was able to create a very eclectic look. She arranged to get various items donated from a number of city departments and over time, collected some of the citys most historic pieces. The fire department lent me a fabulous brass antique fire bell to hang on the wall. The police department lent me one of the original, solid-iron call boxes, which were used back in the day when officers also wore buffalo coats. Winnipeg Hydro lent me their first electric wall clock a magnificent piece with all kinds of history. St. Boniface City Hall graciously lent me their original conference boardroom table. Local businesses also helped out.

Air Canada lent me an antique desk from their vice-president of finance. A simple thing such as a decent chair for the mayors desk was solved by having one of my employees at Birt Saddlery take my office chair and wheel it down two blocks to city hall. I used that chair the entire time I was in office.

The historic pieces from the citys various departments gave visitors a definite feel that they were at city hall. As for artwork, there was one piece available, and it hung in the reception area. We had no budget, so we had to use some ingenuity to add items to the remaining walls. Again, emphasizing our goal to make the office a peoples place, we began to put up framed photographs of various city events and some of the many visitors to our city. In time, it became a peoples photo gallery. Most of this collection of framed photographs now resides in the City of Winnipeg Archives. To further beautify the office, Wendy Mackie, the floral horticulturist from the citys parks department, came in and added greenery to our surroundings no more nearly dead plants. In a few short months, we had transformed the mayors office and city hall. With a lot of co-operation and help from local businesses and departments within the city of Winnipeg, we were able to make city hall more inviting for citizens, and more importantly, one that celebrated our history.

I was taken aback that no policy, research or communications positions existed within the mayors office. In due course, changes were made, and two additional jobs were created  research co-ordinator and communications manager. I believe these two positions still exist today.

It was shocking to find out that the mayors office was not computerized, especially since other city departments were. Apparently, we were on the list for computerization. This may have been the first of many discussions I had with my chief of staff about the state of affairs in this important office. I made it abundantly clear that if we were to be effective, we had to have proper systems and equipment in place. Shortly thereafter, we were computerized. Over the next three years, members of my staff would be instrumental in developing systems, plans and forms to make the mayors office more efficient than it had ever been in the past.

One of the more peculiar things that happened came about when I was asked to sign official documents. Once a week, administration would send over a number of documents that required my signature. This is not so peculiar, but what was odd (to me at least) was that the documentation had His Worship printed to the left of where I was to sign my name. When I first saw this, I commented that this would now need to be changed. I was advised that there was a large supply. Clearly, no one ever conceived that there would be a Her Worship when formulating these documents. It was agreed upon that until the supply ran out, we would use these documents. However, I did improvise. Many legal documents I signed until the supply ran out had His crossed off with a red marker and I added Her.

At the end of my first week in office, the reality of politics, power and gamesmanship was more than evident. I didnt exactly get the welcome I thought I might get when I arrived at city hall. I do savour many happy moments in that first week, but I also remember the share of challenges presented to me as well. I do recall thinking to myself, Surely, it couldnt get any worse, but it did.

Excerpt from Her Worship  Moments in History, Moments in Time, by Susan A. Thompson, with Terry Letienne. In 1992, Thompson became the first woman to be elected Winnipeg mayor. She released her memoir last Sunday at a book launch at McNally Robinson Booksellers
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/10/2016 (2215 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A second hospital patient in Winnipeg was upgraded to alive several weeks ago after a nurse made a mistaken death notification call to a family member.

Lorna Paisley says she was recovering from a respiratory infection at Victoria General Hospital in July when a unit nurse called her husband to tell him he was a widower. A few minutes later, the nurse realized her error and called Paisleys distraught husband to inform him of the mixup before running to his wifes room to let her know.

It was very traumatic, Paisley, 61, said Friday. I was just panicking. I thought he would have a heart attack. I dug in my purse for my phone. I wanted him to hear my voice to know for sure.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Lorna Paisley was in the hospital when her husband was wrongly notified of her death.

The same blunder knocked Daniel Nemis off his feet in September; a Seven Oaks General Hospital nurse called to tell him his 99-year-old mother Sophie, who was being treated for a sprained ankle, had died. In that case, the nurse corrected the error later in the same phone call.

Paisleys 61-year-old husband Tom said he was stunned when he got the call.

I just lost it  I was crying, he said. I was trying to figure out what the hell happened. I was saying, I just saw her last night and she looked good.'

He said he sent a message for his son to call him and his boss was driving him home when he got the nurses second call.

I thought it was around 12 to 14 minutes later, but they say eight minutes. Either way, it seemed like a lifetime, he said. I was pretty shook up and I said, Thank God, Im sorry someone had passed away, but Im glad to hear Lorna is OK.'

Hospital officials have told the family the nurse picked up the wrong chart and called the wrong next of kin.

We deeply regret the pain these mistakes have caused, a Winnipeg Regional Health Authority spokeswoman said Friday, referring to both cases.

The families involved have experienced tremendous stress as a result of these incidents. The staff, the hospitals involved and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority are extremely sorry for what theyve endured. Additional training and review have taken place at the sites where the incidents occurred, and in addition, a review of patient identifier policies is being undertaken region-wide, to emphasize the need for the greatest of care when contacting families under what are extremely difficult circumstances.

Lorna Paisley said she received two apology letters from WRHA staff in the wake of the error.

In the first, dated Aug. 3, the letter said they wanted to express our sincere apologies.

We realize that this was stressful for you and your family. We are sorry for that experience.

The letter also said the unit manager was going to remind staff to take extra care in future when notifying families.

In the second letter, dated Sept. 23, Chief Operating Officer Catherine Robbins told Paisley the mistake was taken very seriously.

The nurse that made the error was given additional training to reinforce the importance of following the hospitals patient identification policy. In fact, as a result of this incident, refresher training on this policy will be a key feature in an upcoming nursing education session that is mandatory for all nurses on our medical units.

Victoria General Hospital also offered the family a few days of free parking as compensation.

Tom Paisley said he was glad his son didnt contact him until after the nurse made the second call.

We all went to the hospital and when we got there they already had PR people there and doctors, he said. But I was thinking if I had been driving when I got the first call, who knows what would have happened?

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/10/2016 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A year after the election that swept Justin Trudeaus Liberals into office, the government, in general, appears to be in good shape.

A Forum Research poll conducted in September found the Liberals held the support of 48 per cent of Canadians, compared to 30 per cent for the second-place Conservatives. Trudeau himself scores a personal approval rating of 55 per cent, far ahead of NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair at 31 per cent and interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose at 30 per cent.

Despite this, however, storm clouds are forming.

SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna criticized the Harper government's GHG emissions targets, but has announced the Liberal government will stick with the same targets.

For example, Nanos recently released the results of an annual poll of Canadians on their confidence in government to successfully address a range of problems. On several economic issues, Nanos found Canadians have less confidence in the current Liberal government than they did in the Conservatives they threw out of office a year ago. Further, in recent months, the Liberals have suffered through several spending missteps from both ministers and staff.

But there is one cloud on the horizon in particular that should worry the Liberals: voters who cast their ballots for Trudeau in the 2015 election in order to help defeat former prime minister Stephen Harper.

Anti-Harper strategic voters were an important component of the Trudeau coalition in the 2015 election. The Local Parliament Project (which, along with Peter Loewen and Daniel Rubenson, Im a member of) fielded the largest public opinion survey of Canadians ever undertaken throughout the 2015 election campaign. Near the end of the campaign, expectations the Liberals could form a government began to rise rapidly. In contrast, expectations the NDP could win nosedived. Strategic voters hoping to defeat the Harper Conservatives on election day realized, we believe, the Liberals were the viable vehicle for doing so given the perception that Trudeau, not Mulcair, had the wind in his sails.

Accordingly, Trudeau benefited from the support of strategic left-of-centre voters who might not normally have cast their ballots for the Liberals, but who were desperate enough to end Harpers time in office they were willing to do so.

But two decisions made by the government since the election suggest the prime minister may be taking these new soft supporters for granted.

The first decision relates to the governments greenhouse gas emission targets. Liberal politicians in opposition criticized the former Conservative governments withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change and what they referred to as unambitious emission targets. Prior to the 2015 COP21 international climate conference, Environment Minister Catherine KcKenna characterized the former governments targets as the floor and promised to try to do better. She proclaimed at the same conference: Canada is back!

Yet in September, McKenna announced the Liberal government would be sticking with the same emission targets the previous government had set.

The second decision relates to health-care funding, particularly financial transfers from the federal to the provincial governments. From 2004 to 2011, the provinces received guaranteed six per cent annual increases in their health transfers. However, in 2011 former prime minister Harper slashed that annual increase in half. Provincial governments were hoping Harpers defeat would see an enhanced investment in health care through a return to the six per cent transfer.

Instead, Health Minister Jane Philpott announced in September the annual escalator would remain at three per cent. Once again, the Liberals had chosen to stick with the standard set by the previous Conservative government.

In fairness to Trudeau, his government is still early in its mandate. Governments generally engage in what they view as necessary but unpopular actions early on in the electoral cycle.

The hope is they can weather any dip in popularity and win back support in advance of the next election. The Liberal party has historically found success from the simple formula of campaigning on the left and governing on the right.

Nevertheless, these recent decisions illuminate the fragility of the coalition Trudeau built in order to win in 2015. Strategic voters cast their ballots for the Liberals in order to prevent Stephen Harper from winning another four years in office. But Harper will be long gone from federal politics by the time of the next election. Depending on the outcome of the Conservative leadership race, it may be challenging for Trudeau to use a new Conservative leader as a bogeyman to convince left-of-centre voters to hold their noses and vote to re-elect a Liberal government.

And the challenge of luring these strategic voters back may be that much more difficult given the governments decision to stick with Conservative standards on both carbon emissions and health-care spending.

Royce Koop is an associate professor and head of the department of political studies at the University of Manitoba.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/10/2016 (2214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

That didnt take long.

The nastiness returned to Broadway as the Manitoba legislature began its fall session. And it wasnt even over a union bill that is expected to create controversy. No, instead the sparks flew Thursday over discussions on a private members bill dealing with sexual violence at universities.

This had previously been tabled as an NDP bill when the party was still in power and resurrected as a private members bill. The Tories are supposed to come up with their own bill, perhaps as soon as next week.

You could almost see some brainiac political strategists wheels turning as the debate began. After all, the NDP likes to see itself as champions of social justice, as the progressive voice for Manitoba and, by contrast, to paint the Conservatives as anti-gay, anti-women and anti-progress.

What better way to drive home that point than by attacking the Conservatives for nixing the bill?

Three NDP members  Rob Altemeyer, James Allum and Andrew Swan  yelled shame at the female members, and only the female members, as they rose to speak.

Paint those Tory women as the big blue meanies who hate their own gender, may have been the thought.

Well, it backfired. Instead of looking progressive, the NDP now looks silly.

Its particularly hard to stomach when the NDP MLA who has made a career of standing up for women  Nahanni Fontaine  initially denied that it happened.

Instead, it was Wab Kinew, a potential leadership hopeful who demonstrated he can do the right thing by coming forward and setting the record straight and said he had seen the targeting of women by his NDP colleagues.

On Friday, Mr. Allum and Mr. Swan talked with the Free Press and agreed they had gone too far.

Mr. Altemeyer, meanwhile, claims he was not involved in the incident. Now, Mr. Swan and Mr. Allum have to make that apology an official part of the legislative record.

Theres little doubt the NDP is floundering right now. Theres no permanent leader. Theres no direction. Theres no plan. The NDP is desperately trying to gain some traction and convince the people of Manitoba they made the wrong decision this spring.

And it follows the desperation the party demonstrated during the campaign when they called Brian Pallister homophobic.

This isnt acceptable, and the NDP knows that.

The party has pushed for years trying to get more women running in provincial politics. Under premier Gary Doer, the NDP government had at one point the highest percentage of women in Canadas provincial legislatures  at over 30 per cent.

Women have said one of the reasons they are reluctant to become a political figure is because of the nastiness during debate.

For the NDP to resort to the same type of behaviour all in the name of scoring political points is difficult to stomach.

Shame on you NDP. Take your signal from Mr. Kinew, who took the high road on this one.
A first-time candidate versus an incumbent who has spent the better part of a quarter-century serving southeast Minnesota at the Capitol is attracting a lot of interest this election season  not to mention cash.

Thomas Trehus, DFL-Spring Grove, is working to unseat Greg Davids, R-Preston, who has served for 12 terms in House District 28B. Davids has held the seat with little competition for decades, outside of losing it in 2006 to Ken Tschumper, and then winning it back two years later.

According financial reports by political committees filed at the end of September with the state, Trehus has pulled in just over $113,000 in support from the DFL-aligned group Alliance For a Better Minnesota.

Republican fundraisers have responded in kind, with over $50,000 in anti-Trehus ads, including the Pro-Jobs Majority, an affiliate of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, which has contributed over $36,000, according to the reports.

Davids has always been a prodigious fundraiser; what makes the money in this race different this fall is whats flowing in to Trehus camp as he works to unseat the powerful Republican tax committee chair.

The candidates, for their part, say theyre continuing to knock on doors and connect with people in their district.

Trehus said he has been surprised by the amount of money dedicated to his campaign, but said it is indicative of the confidence in his ability to win.

Its a testament to the hard work of our campaign ... and the peoples frustration, Trehus said. I think its going very well.

Trehus said the people he talks to have been become tired of the back-and-forth in the Capitol with few results, which along with the national election climate means many of the constituents in the district feel disconnected from state government.

We can be an advocate for them at the state and local level, Trehus said.

Davids said dissatisfaction was evident in the conversations he has had, too but said it was directed at the DFLers in state government.

Davids laid the failure to pass a tax bill or bonding bill at the feet of the Democrats in the Senate and Gov. Mark Dayton, as well as problems he saw with MNsure, which has caused substantial price hikes for Minnesotans and hadnt been supported by Republicans.

Im trying to fix the mess, Davids said.

Davids isnt worried about the money coming in against him, and said that previous elections he has seen worse.

Were working very hard and its going very well, Davids said. It comes down to where you are on the issues.

Davids narrowly lost to Tschumper in 2006, and reclaimed the seat in 2008. He said he is still hoping for a special session to put through both the tax and bonding bills.

The $260 million package of tax cuts and credits for Minnesota farmers, college students and parents with childcare costs was allowed to die off, failing to get Daytons signature due to a mistake in wording that would have cost over $1 million in tax revenue.

The bonding bill never made it to Dayton after disagreement on the late-night, end-of-session addition in the Senate of funding for light rail derailed discussions and they ran out of time.

Republicans didnt agree with the stipulations demanded by Dayton on both the bonding bill he wants to see, and the process for the special session, before he is willing to call lawmakers back, demands that include projects added in transportation, higher education and public safety.

Trehus is concentrating on promoting tax relief for small business and farmers, and more support for rural schools.
A school bus taking kids home on Friday afternoon collided with a vehicle on Hwy. 14, but no kids on the bus were injured.

The bus, driven by Robert Stark, 63, of Winona, was southbound on Rollin Sunset Drive when it entered the Hwy. 14 intersection about 3 p.m. and struck an eastbound Toyota Camry driven by Jeanne Kramer, 58, of Owatonna, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

There were seven children on the bus at the time, and none were injured, according to the Patrol. Kramer suffered injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening and was transported by ambulance to Winona Health. Stark was uninjured in the crash, the Patrol said.

The Lewiston Police Department and Winona County Sheriffs Department assisted at the scene.
Heavy deployments of security forces have been made by authorities at various railway stations, metro stations, crowded markets and the busy Indira Gandhi International Airport.

By Shalini Lobo: Keeping in view recent terrorist attacks in the country, the national capital has been put on high alert on the occasion of Durga Puja.

Heavy deployments of security forces have been made by authorities at various railway stations, metro stations, crowded markets and the busy Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Central Industrial Security Force, Delhi Police and Quick Response Teams have been deployed in crowded areas and have been asked to step up vigil.

advertisement

Passengers have been asked to cooperate with all the security measures and alert the airport and railway staff in case of any suspicious activity. Airports and railway stations across the country have been asked to pad up their security. Passengers are thoroughly checked, their baggage screened and vehicles parked within the vicinity are also monitored.

Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat have asked to take extra care as they share their borders with Pakistan. This high alert is due to the recent cross border strikes between Indian and Pakistan.

ALSO READ:

Terrorists killed in Naugam were sent by Pakistan; Indian army lists evidence



--- ENDS ---
State Attorney General Brad Schimel has been a stand-up guy when it comes to open government issues in Wisconsin since he took over the Department of Justice in 2015.

He created an office of open government, held a summit on government transparency, worked to improve records request response times within his own office, and took forceful issue with some of his fellow Republicans attempts to gut the states public records law last year. In April, he was given the Political Openness Award by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

All of which makes Schimels stubbornness on the release of some training videos made for the DOJ in 2009 and 2013, when he was Waukesha County district attorney, all the more puzzling. The case, which has been wending its way through the courts, may appear to be just another political fight because it was the Democratic Party that brought suit. But look deeper and its clear that the public has a stake in the case, and that the videos should be released.

The Democratic Party wants the videos released to see if they show Schimel making any questionable comments. Schimel says they dont, and the circuit judge who reviewed them in 2014 said they didnt show any misconduct. The judge and the appellate court have said the videos should be released under the states open records law. Arguments were made before the state Supreme Court last month.

Solicitor General Misha Tseytlin told the justices the videos should be withheld to protect law enforcement techniques and prevent victims from being re-traumatized by the release of sensitive information.

DOJ spokesman Johnny Koremenos said in an email that, while the release of these videos would be more politically convenient for the attorney general and consistent with his track record as a strong proponent of open government, we arent going to play politics when the playbook for how to catch a predator is at risk of being released. He noted that the decision not to release the videos was made by others within the DOJ before Schimel took office.

But former Assistant Attorney General Michael Bauer, the Democrats attorney, said criminals could learn more about how investigators do their work by watching television shows about catching bad guys.

Christa Westerberg, an attorney and vice president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, said in an email last week that Courts have to carefully scrutinize government claims that records cant be released, given the laws presumption in favor of disclosure. Two courts have already found that release of the videos would not reveal sensitive law enforcement techniques and prior court rulings have affirmed the publics right to know how law enforcement is performing, she said.

The Supreme Court should order the release of the videos.
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).
Wet weather has bogged down some Sauk County farmers in their efforts to bring in the fall harvest.

Frequent rain starting in mid-September left some fields soft and others submerged. The weather has delayed the harvest and created additional challenges. Some fields are so wet, they cant support heavy machinery. Mold has struck some crops.

Farms in low-lying areas along the Baraboo River have been especially hard-hit. The ground is so soft, you cant get the equipment into the fields, said Marsha Luther of Luther Farms along Highway 33 east of Baraboo.

The trouble is that there hasnt been enough sunny weather to dry out the ground. Luther said yields look good for her farms corn and soybeans, but the harvest will start a couple weeks behind recent years.

Each farmer has different concerns, said George Koepp, a former Baraboo High School teacher who now serves as the UW-Extension ag agent for Columbia County. The standing water in some fields may not affect the yield very much, but it is beginning to affect the quality of the crop that will come off that field.

Matt Larsen said dry breezes must blow in before he can harvest soybeans at his familys farm off Sauk County Highway T. You need real nice weather to get the soybeans out of the field, he said.

Larsen estimated the weather has delayed his harvest about 10 days. You need to get the bean crop off so we can get the wheat planted, he said.

Koepp said farmers concerns vary greatly and depend on their fields locations. Some are only seeing some water on their corn stalks. Others are finding their bean pods under water.

Every farmer I talk to, every place I go, they have a little different set of circumstances, Koepp said.

Farmers are being encouraged to contact their insurance agents before harvesting crops that might be moldy. We are concerned about an increase of molds and fungi on corn and soybeans that will affect their usefulness as livestock feeds, Koepp said.

Matt Balfanz of Premier Insurance Solutions said he has seen isolated incidents of problems in area fields, but ideal weather during the growing season helped generate above-average yields this year. Its not as bad as we first anticipated, Balfanz said.

He said problems such as rotting corn cobs seem tied to the brand of corn planted. Everybodys situation is a little bit different, Balfanz said.

So far, wet weather has created delays and headaches, but not a widespread disaster. Farmers hope sunny skies and fall breezes will dry out the fields. It would be nice if the rain would stay away for a week or two, Koepp said.

Larsen said this years harvest should be fine, weather permitting. As long as we dont have any more 5-inch drenchers like weve had, he said. Something like that would set us back again.
Moraine Park Technical College is offering a simple way to give back and show support for the men and women who are serving our country overseas.

Students and staff from Moraine Parks Beaver Dam campus, 700 Gould St., are conducting a Christmas in a Shoebox drive with donations being accepted until Nov. 4.

Donations can be dropped off at room K-323 on the Beaver Dam campus Monday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Moraine Parks goal is to collect enough items to fill 50 shoeboxes and have them in the hands of servicemen and women stationed overseas by the holidays.

The packages will be assembled on Nov. 9 on the Beaver Dam campus and students and staff will also have the opportunity to fill out note cards to send a personal message of encouragement, or holiday wishes.

Items donated should be new and no larger than shoe box-sized. Suggestions would be personal hygiene items like deodorant, eye drops, cotton swabs and baby wipes. Snacks consisting of beef jerky, sunflowers seeds, nuts, granola bars and flavored drink mixes as well as miscellaneous items like current magazines, batteries, paperbacks books and small travel games will be accepted.

Moraine Parks 2016 Christmas in a Shoebox drive is in partnership with Bright Futures of Beaver Dam, an organization that provides employment solutions for people with disabilities, and Support the Troops WI of Hartford, which helps send care packages to military members.

The college is hosting several military-themed events throughout the academic year as part of its Year of the Student Veteran initiative. For more information on Moraine Parks veteran services, visit morainepark.edu/veterans.

For questions on Christmas in a Shoebox, contact Lisa Manuell at lmanuell@morainepark.edu or 920-887-4462.
This years Haunted History tour in City Cemetery will revisit some of the favorite stories from the past as part of Beaver Dams 175th anniversary.

The Dodge County Historical Societys Best of Haunted History features some of organizer Kathy Barnetts favorites. It is the seventh year that she has conducted the tours.

The event begins at the corner of North University Avenue and Burnett Street Oct. 22 sometime between 6 and 8 p.m. The rain date is Oct. 23. Each tour will last 30 minutes and the guides will depart every 10 to 15 minutes until 8 p.m. The cost is $5, with children 6 and under attending for free.

Mary Fenstermacher, Mrs. Burr, William Goudy, Dr. Kimball, William Ashton, Sarah Jane Pringle, Esther Douglas and The Rev. Moses Ordway are featured characters.

Even though his story will be told, Ordway is no longer buried in the cemetery. Like many East Coast Yankees who founded Wisconsin cities, they didnt remain for long. Barnett said the reason Ordway was moved is not as scary as one would imagine.

His son David was a lawyer in Milwaukee, Barnett said.His family is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Milwaukee. David Ordway had his father dug up and moved there as well.

Ordway made a major contribution to Beaver Dams history, Barnett said. He owned a sawmill and through a series of stops and starts by other businesses, acquired the land where the dam now stands. Ordway completed work on the dam, which was in the same location as it is today, Barnett said.

Other characters have similarly interesting stories. Mary Fenstermachers stone has not stood up through the years, Barnett said. The writing, including the years of her life, is all but illegible. The haunting words that were written on the stone, however, are still remembered. They are a version of a popular, grim poem:

Remember friends as you pass by

As you are now so once was I

As I am now so shall you be,

Prepare yourself to follow me.

Death was more frequent in the early days of Beaver Dam, Barnett said.

Women were dying during childbirth and parents were burying their children one after another, Barnett said. The first grave in City Cemetery was for the two year old son of John Goetschius, Thomas Mackies grandson. He was buried there in 1841.

The actors playing the roles are Laurie Kiccert, Laurie Propst, Kurt Bauman, Glen Link, Kurt Sampson, Kathi Wiedenhoeft, Diane Lutz, Patrick Lutz and Jeremy Mason.
JUNEAU  A 20-year-old Randolph man faces multiple charges including assaulting Randolph Police Chief Michael Klavekoske while the man was being observed at Beaver Dam Community Hospital.

Brandon M. Washburn faces a felony charge of battery to a law enforcement officer, and misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. If he is found guilty he faces up to six years and seven months in jail and $11,500 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint, one of Washburns family members contacted Randolph police on May 16 because of concerns over his mental health. The woman said that Washburn had told her that he had walked with his dog to a house seven miles away on May 13  after his dog had told him to break into the house to save a girl. Washburn thought of the girl as being like Mary Magdalene.

Randolph police located a home near Cambria that had a break in similar to what the woman described. The woman said that since that time Washburn became upset with the dog because there was no girl to be found at the home.

Officers had previous contact with Washburn. Officers were called to Randolph High School on May 12 because of a disturbance Washburn was causing at the school. According to the criminal complaint Washburn told officers that he was at the school to get his transcripts. He told the officers he believed he was a god and wanted to kill the Catholics.

Randolph Police contacted Dodge County officials and they agreed to do an emergency detention on May 16. When police went to Washburns house, he admitted to possessing marijuana.

Washburn was taken into custody and was taken to Beaver Dam Community Hospital. Washburn was calm initially, but became irritated and told officers that there was sinning going on and he wanted to leave the hospital. Washburn got out of his handcuffs several times.

According to the criminal complaint, one of the times Washburn got out of the handcuffs he swung and punched Klavekoske. A struggle began and Washburn tried to grab Klavekoskes gun. Klavekoske gained control of the situation and a Dodge County Deputy drew his Taser in order to resolve the situation.

Washburn was taken to Winnebago Mental Health Facility. He will make his initial appearance in court on Oct. 17.
A one-act play festival is coming to Reedsburg this year.

Reedsburg will host one of the district levels of the Wisconsin High School Forensic Association One-Act Contest on Oct. 15. Performances will begin at noon in the CAL Center next to Reedsburg Area High School.

Featured schools will include Brookwood at noon, Reedsburg at 1, Riverdale at 2, Barneveld at 3 and Platteville at 4 p.m.

Admission is free and the public is welcome.

Reedsburgs presentation will include selections from Almost, Maine, a romantic comedy by John Cariani. The show centers on a small Maine community where residents are meeting up, making up and breaking up.

Each performance is limited to 40 minutes, said Jeff Herschleb, director and art teacher at Reedsburg Area High School.

Schools will be evaluated by three judges, he said. If they receive at least two yes votes from the panel they will advance to the sectional competition Nov. 5 in Waunakee. Those who excel there will make it to the state contest held Nov. 18 in Stevens Point.

Each troupe should know by the end of the day whether or not they made it to the next level, he said.

Its an ideal setting because the schools dont try to outdo one another, said Herschleb. The goal is for every group to do its best.

The only one youre competing against is yourself, he said.

The festival gives students a chance to interact with their peers and share a common interest. Herschleb said it also allows youth to learn by watching others in action.

Its a great thing to support theater and be around others who support theater, he said.

Local impact

Reedsburg is a frequent participant in the One-Act Contest. Herschleb said its an important opportunity so the theater department is structured to give students the chance to experience it every other autumn.

During even years students present a festival selection; on odd years they perform a local musical. Every spring the department puts on a full play, he noted.

The festival isnt the only time residents can see students perform parts from Almost, Maine. The school is planning a joint performance with Webb Middle School in November.

For $5 guests will be able to see Webb perform The Big Bad Musical along with the high schools contest entry of Almost, Maine. Shows will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 11-12 and 2 p.m. Nov. 13 at the CAL Center.

The Big Bad Musical, by Alec Strum and Bill Francoeur, is set during a class-action lawsuit involving the Big Bad Wolf. Fairy tale creatures harmed by the wolf want their day in court and its up to attorneys Evil Stepmother and Fairy Godmother to argue their cases to the jury, the audience.

Almost, Maine involves 40 students and most are behind the curtain, Herschleb said.
River Arts Inc. is $75,000 away from reaching its fundraising goal of $475,000 to make renovations at its Prairie du Sac gallery.

The organization could get even closer to its goal if it receives an additional $50,000 sought as part of a Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. grant, said River Arts Executive Director Lindsey Giese Juarez.

The nonprofit group aims to purchase the building that houses the River Arts on Water Street Gallery and renovate the vacant south portion into a state-of-the-art workshop and studio space. That entails doubling the size of the outdoor deck overlooking the Wisconsin River and building a retaining wall to support the slope.

The improvements also would require modifications to the gallery space at 590 Water St., such as adding a handicapped accessible ramp to the deck space, renovating the existing bathroom, relocating the customer service desk to the front of the gallery, adding French doors to the back deck area and creating an entrance to the new studio space.

Work at the new studio space would mean knocking down some walls to open it up, relocating an office, adding a second bathroom and creating new window space, Juarez said.

The vision for the studio would be education-focused.

The nuts and bolts of this project is to inspire, enrich and educate the community through the arts, she said. We feel through all of our programming weve done a good job of the first two, but education  not that we arent doing it  but the studio space is going to be about that: education.

It will be designed to be used by the young and old alike. The idea is to offer a variety of workshops and activities; everything from painting workshops, beading, glass, paint nights that have become so popular  even birthday parties for kids, Juarez said. Were really trying to think outside the box.

The planned expansion would add another 1,000 square feet to the 2,000 square-foot gallery.

Sauk Prairie Chamber of Commerce Director Tywana German said River Arts Inc. has been a cornerstone in the community for many years.

Its brought an art appreciation to the community, she said. They have done a nice job of trying to connect art enthusiasts and those who havent experienced art to hands on activities. Getting the grant money will enhance those opportunities and provide people with new mediums they werent aware of.

The WEDC grant is a matching grant that requires proof of pledges at the time of application, as well as a partnership with a local municipality. On Sept. 27, the village of Prairie du Sac agreed to support the project.

This is really important for us, especially during a time when we are seeing a lot of art galleries closing, and the number of arts-related grants decreasing, Juarez said. Owning our own building will let us and our members know we have a home indefinitely.

German said its a proven fact that communities with a strong arts commitment are stronger. They flourish, she said. Its something people tend to look for int heir community.

River Arts on Water opened in 2011 as a gallery and retail space featuring local and regional artists representing a variety of mediums. The plan for the studio space adjacent to the gallery is to open in March 2017.

If we get this grant award well be nearly done with fundraising, Juarez said. Up to this point weve done lots of one-on-ones with local businesses and talked with our members. But now is when we need those smaller donations  the $50-$100. It all adds up. Every dollar counts.
"We want Delhiites to start seeing the city differently, to like, love and represent their city. Only then will the brand be solid and strong" , said Sonal Narain, head of Wieden+Kennedy which has been tasked with running the campaign.

By Baishali Adak: Delhi is getting rebranded in good measure and in a positive way. The new mantra for the national Capital is 'Dilli Hain Hum' which aims at attracting tourists from across the world and make the Delhiites feel proud of their heritage.

DELHI'S TOURISM CAMPAIGN

All these years, people have been mesmerised by Madhya Pradesh's 'Hindustan Ka Dil Dekho' and Rajasthan's 'Jaane Kya Dikh Jaaye' tourism campaign. But it's time to get ready to be wowed by Delhi's own tourism advertisement blitzkrieg with the innovative tagline which will be launched soon. Not just this, a 21-day 'Delhi Festival' is on the anvil, scheduled from November 19 to December 10, which would bear the slogan, 'Aao Dilli Manayein.'

advertisement

It will showcase the city in all its vibrancy, from Chandni Chowk's street food and Mandi House's theatre festivals, to South Delhi's plush shopping malls and eco-tourism at Yamuna and Asola Mines biodiversity parks. An enviable list of artistes and venues is bring drawn up to perform at the mega festival.

SPREADING THE WORD

Envisaged by the Aam Aadmi Party government, at least three top private communications, marketing and advertising agencies have been hired to spread the word on 'Brand Delhi.' One of them, in fact, is a US-based advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy, which built the entire 'Make in India' campaign for Government of India, including its illustrious 'Lion with Wheel Motifs' logo.

It also has the 'Incredible India' campaign in its portfolio. The other two agencies working on 'Brand Delhi' are 'Square Brand Communication Group' which has the tourism campaigns of Assam, Uttarakhand, Himachal and Bihar to its credit. On the other hand, marketing agency Fountainhead MKTG will execute all the events to be held under the banner of 'Delhi Festival.' City's minister for tourism Kapil Mishra told Mail Today,

"When I took over this job (in June 2015), there was a long-felt need for branding of Delhi on the lines of Gujarat, Daman & Diu, etc. From travel entrepreneurs to tour operators and organisers of heritage walks, all demanded this. We realised there is a need to tell the world what Delhi has to offer among other Indian states." For this purpose, `40 crore was earmarked for promoting 'Brand Delhi' alone. Of this, `25 crore was set aside to hold a unique 'Delhi Festival.' Navneet Kapoor, founder president, Square Brand Communication Group, which is leading the aggressive campaign, said: "Soon an integrated logo of Delhi will be launched with the tagline 'Dilli Hain Hum.'



Posters and TV commercials are being designed accordingly and will soon be spread across the city. Plus, the 'Delhi Festival' will most likely carry the banner 'Aao Dilli Manayein.' It is tentatively slated for November 19 to December 10." The idea is to convey Delhi as a 'mini-India,' where all cultures, religions and ethnicities of the nation converge in a perfect melting pot, said Kapoor. The city will be promoted at three levels: amongst the local residents; Indian domestic travellers; and foreign tourists and backpackers. "Delhi has much to offer, from its Nizamuddin qawallis to Lotus Temple, to the astronomical wonder Jantar Mantar and Qutab Minar," he added.

advertisement

DELHI HOPING TO BRING IN MORE TOURISTS

During the peak tourist season of winters (November-April), roughly 2.5-3 lakh foreign tourists visit the Golden Triangle Circuit of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur. This accounts for about 30 per cent of the total number of the inbound traffic in India. However, they stay for only a day or two in the Capital, resulting in the city losing out on revenue and fame. As per Union Ministry of Tourism data (2014), Delhi stands at fourth position among all states and Union Territories in terms of receiving foreign tourists (23.2 lakh). The highest ranking is Tamil Nadu at 46.6 lakh.

It doesn't figure among the top five receiving maximum domestic travellers at all. Sonal Narain, head of strategy, Wieden+Kennedy, Delhi said: "We are really excited to do social and digital media for 'Brand Delhi.' The current perceptions of it are fragmented and polarised. People either feel very negatively about the city (following crimes against women) or don't know about it. We plan to build 'Brand Delhi' ground up and inside out. We want Delhiites to start seeing the city differently, to like, love and represent their city. Only then will the brand be solid and strong."

advertisement

She added that the Delhi government is eyeing young travellers, "We are going after young backpackers who are very urban and like cities, not guided tours of villages. We are competing against the major cities of the world, New York, San Francisco, etc. We plan to portray Delhi as a dynamic, vibrant, living, breathing city. It is edgy, fascinating and a modern city and we wish to deliver an authentic experience of it.

ALSO READ:

Delhi: Dengue-chikungunya outbreak worries shoo away tourists

Gangtok awarded the Cleanest Tourism Destination; 4 things not to miss when you are there





--- ENDS ---
The Home Minister of Bangladesh today said that the mastermind of Dhaka cafe terrorist attack will be arrested at any moment as he is under close watch of agencies and detectives.

Bangladesh Home Minister said that the mastermind of cafe attack will be arrested anytime.

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: Bangladesh's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal today said major(retd) Zia, the mastermind of the Gulshan cafe terrorist attack, will be arrested anytime now.

"Major (retd) Zia is now under the close watch of detectives. He may be arrested any moment," Kamal said while distributing clothes to destitute on the occasion of Durga Puja at Sri Sri Lokenath Brahmachari Ashram temple in Swamibagh.

advertisement

Also Read: Bangla cafe attack masterminds aide arrested

The Home Minister said the members of law enforcement agencies identified all the perpetrators of the attacks on the Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1.

"Some of them (perpetrators) were captured while the rest are under the close watch of the law enforcement agencies," he said.

The mastermind of Dhaka cafe attack, Major(retd) Zia.

The minister said the police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) jointly carried out raids in Tangail and Gazipur.

Earlier today, at least 11 suspected members of the banned militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), including its Dhaka division commander, were killed in separate shootouts with the Bangladesh RAB.

Also Read:

Bangladesh kills 11 members of Islamist group blamed for cafe attack

Bangladesh clears Canadian student of cafe attack charges

Suspected militant in Dhaka cafe attack commits suicide: Bangladesh Police

Dhaka attack: How brave Bangladeshi youth refused to leave Tarishi Jain's side, paid with his life

--- ENDS ---
Eagle Materials Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces and supplies heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates through Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard segments. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures. It also manufactures and sells recycled paperboard to gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters, as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades. In addition, the company engages in the sale of ready-mix concrete; and mining, extracting, production, and sale of aggregates, including crushed stones, sand, and gravel. Its products are used in commercial and residential construction; public construction projects; and projects to build, expand, and repair roads and highways. The company was formerly known as Centex Construction Products, Inc. and changed its name to Eagle Materials, Inc. in January 2004. Eagle Materials Inc. was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a life sciences company, focuses on the provision of preparedness and response solutions that address accidental, deliberate, and naturally occurring public health threats (PHTs) in the United States. The company's products address PHTs, which include chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives; emerging infectious diseases; travel health; and emerging health crises and acute/emergency care. It offers BioThrax, an anthrax vaccine; ACAM2000, a smallpox vaccine; Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalent to treat botulinum disease; vaccinia immune globulin intravenous that addresses complications from smallpox vaccine; raxibacumab for the treatment and prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax; Anthrasil to for inhalational anthrax; reactive skin decontamination lotion kits; and Trobigard, a combination drug-device auto injector product candidate; and Trobigard, a combination drug-device auto injector product candidate. The company also provides NARCAN, a nasal spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; Vivotif, an oral vaccine for typhoid fever; and Vaxchora, a single-dose oral vaccine to treat cholera. In addition, it is developing AP003, a Naloxone multidose nasal spray; AP007, a sustained release Nalmefene injection for treatment of opioid use disorder; AV7909, an anthrax vaccine; CGRD-001, a pralidoxime chloride/atropine auto-injector; CHIKV VLP, a chikungunya virus VLP vaccine; COVID-HIG for the treatment of SARS-CoV2; EGRD-001, a diazepam auto-injector; SIAN, an antidote for the initial treatment of acute poisoning of cyanide; and UniFlu, a universal influenza vaccine. Further, the company provides contract development and manufacturing services comprising drug substance and product manufacturing, and packaging, as well as technology transfer, process, and analytical development services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The following companies are subsidiares of Arrow Electronics: A.E. Petsche Belgium BVBA, A.E. Petsche Canada Inc., A.E. Petsche Company, A.E. Petsche Company Inc., A.E. Petsche Company S De RL, A.E. Petsche SAS, A.E. Petsche UK Limited, ACI Technology, AKS Group Nordic AB, ARROWECS Portugal Sociedade Unipessoal, ARROWECS Sociedade Unipessoal LDA, ARW Electronics Ltd., ARW Enterprise Computing Solutions S.A., ARW Portugal Unipessoal LDA, ASI Dedicated Services LLC, ASI Electrical Services LLC, ASI Managed Services LLC, ATM Electronic, ATM Electronic Corp., ATM Electronic Corporation (HK) Limited, ATM Electronics Hong Kong Limited, ATM Electronics Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd, Addex Distribution AS, Adilam Pty. Ltd, Aiqi Xinxing (Beijing) Information Technology Co. Ltd., Altimate Belgium BVBA, Altimate Group, Altimate ND Belgium BVBA, Altimate Netherlands B.V., Annuity Systems Pty Ltd, Arrow (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Arrow Altech Distribution (Pty) Ltd., Arrow Altech Holdings (Pty) Ltd., Arrow Argentina S.A., Arrow Asia Distribution Limited, Arrow Asia Pac Ltd., Arrow Brasil S.A., Arrow Capital Solution BVBA, Arrow Capital Solutions Inc., Arrow Capital Solutions Nederlands BV, Arrow Capital Solutions SAS, Arrow Capital Solutions UK Ltd, Arrow Central Europe GmbH, Arrow Central Europe Holding Munich GmbH, Arrow Chip One Stop Holdings GK, Arrow Componentes ACCR S.R.L., Arrow Components (M) Sdn Bhd, Arrow Components (NZ), Arrow Components Mexico S.A. de C.V., Arrow Components Sweden AB, Arrow Denmark ApS, Arrow Denmark ApS, Arrow ECS (Ireland) Limited, Arrow ECS (NI) Limited, Arrow ECS AG, Arrow ECS ANZ Limited, Arrow ECS ANZ Pty Ltd, Arrow ECS Asia PTE. Ltd, Arrow ECS Australia, Arrow ECS B.V., Arrow ECS Baltic OU, Arrow ECS Brasil Distribuidora Ltda., Arrow ECS Canada Ltd., Arrow ECS Central GmbH, Arrow ECS Denmark A/S, Arrow ECS FZCO, Arrow ECS Finland OY, Arrow ECS GmbH, Arrow ECS Internet Security AG, Arrow ECS Internet Security S.L., Arrow ECS Kft., Arrow ECS Ltd., Arrow ECS New Zealand Limited, Arrow ECS Nordic A/S, Arrow ECS Norway AS, Arrow ECS Pty Ltd., Arrow ECS SA/NV, Arrow ECS SAS, Arrow ECS SPA, Arrow ECS Sarl, Arrow ECS Services Sp.z.o.o., Arrow ECS Singapore Pte. Limited, Arrow ECS Sp.z.o.o., Arrow ECS Support Center Ltd., Arrow ECS Support Center Morocco S.A.R.L.A.U, Arrow ECS Sweden AB, Arrow ECS a.s., Arrow ECS d.o.o., Arrow Eastern Europe GmbH, Arrow Electronice S.R.L., Arrow Electronics (CI) Ltd., Arrow Electronics (China) Trading Co. Ltd., Arrow Electronics (Jersey) Limited, Arrow Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Arrow Electronics (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Arrow Electronics (Sweden) KB, Arrow Electronics (Thailand) Limited, Arrow Electronics (U.K.) Inc., Arrow Electronics (UK) Ltd., Arrow Electronics ANZ Holdings Pty Ltd., Arrow Electronics Asia (S) Pte Ltd., Arrow Electronics Asia Limited, Arrow Electronics Australia Pty Ltd., Arrow Electronics B.V., Arrow Electronics Canada Ltd., Arrow Electronics China Ltd., Arrow Electronics Components (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Arrow Electronics Czech Republic s.r.o., Arrow Electronics D.O.O., Arrow Electronics Danish Holdings ApS, Arrow Electronics EMEA Group GmbH, Arrow Electronics EMEASA S.r.l., Arrow Electronics Estonia OU, Arrow Electronics FC B.V., Arrow Electronics Funding Corporation, Arrow Electronics GmbH & Co. KG, Arrow Electronics Hellas S.A., Arrow Electronics Holdings Vagyonkezelo Kft, Arrow Electronics Hungary Kereskedelmi Bt, Arrow Electronics India Ltd., Arrow Electronics India Private Limited, Arrow Electronics International Holdings LLC, Arrow Electronics International Inc., Arrow Electronics Italia S.r.l, Arrow Electronics Japan GK, Arrow Electronics Korea Limited, Arrow Electronics Labuan Pte Ltd., Arrow Electronics Ltd., Arrow Electronics Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Arrow Electronics Norwegian Holdings AS, Arrow Electronics Poland Sp.z.o.o., Arrow Electronics Russ OOO, Arrow Electronics Services S.r.l., Arrow Electronics Slovakia s.r.o., Arrow Electronics South Africa LLP, Arrow Electronics Taiwan Ltd., Arrow Electronics UK Holding Ltd., Arrow Electronics Ukraine LLC, Arrow Elektronik Ticaret A.S., Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions Inc., Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions India Private Limited, Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions Ltd., Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions S.A., Arrow Finland OY, Arrow France S.A., Arrow Global Asset Disposition Inc., Arrow Global Supply Chain Services Inc., Arrow Holdings (Delaware) LLC, Arrow Iberia Electronica Lda., Arrow Iberia Electronica S.L.U., Arrow International Holdings L.P., Arrow International Holdings Limited, Arrow Nordic Components AB, Arrow Norway A/S, Arrow S-Tech Norway AS, Arrow SEED (Hong Kong) Limited, Arrow Systems Integration Inc., Arrow UEC Japan KK, Arrow United Holdings LLC, Arrow United International Holdings LP, Arrow Value Recovery ApS (fka Greentech Denmark ApS), Arrow Value Recovery Belgium BVBA, Arrow Value Recovery Czech Republic sro, Arrow Value Recovery Denmark ApS, Arrow Value Recovery EMEA BV, Arrow Value Recovery Finland Oy (fka Greentech Finland OY), Arrow Value Recovery France SAS, Arrow Value Recovery Germany GmbH, Arrow Value Recovery Netherlands BV, Arrow Value Recovery Norway AS (fka Greentech AS), Arrow Value Recovery Sweden AB (fka Greentech Sweden AB), Arrow Value Recovery UK LTD, Arrow eCommerce B.V., Arrow/Artlink Technology (Hong Kong) Limited, Arrow/Components (Agent) Ltd., Arrow/Rapac Ltd., Artlink Technology Co. Ltd., Aspen Labs LLC, Aspencore China Investment LLC, Aspencore LLC, Aspencore Media GmbH, Aspencore/IDG China Investment LLC, Asplenium SA, Asset Recovery Corporation, B.V. Arrow Electronics DLC, Beijing AIQI Technology, Beijing Arrow SEED Technology Co. Ltd, Beijing Canon Advertising Co. Ltd., Broomco (4184) Limited, COMPUTERLINKS, COMPUTERLINKS (UK) Ltd., COMPUTERLINKS Belgium BVBA, COMPUTERLINKS Denmark A/S, COMPUTERLINKS Nederland B.V., COMPUTERLINKS S.A., CSS Computer Security Solutions Erwerbs GmbH, CSS Computer Security Solutions Holding GmbH, CSS Computer Security Solutions Ltd., CT3 Europe Limited, Centia Group Ltd, Centia Ltd., Channel Support Pty Ltd, ChiWan Electronics (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Chip One Stop, Chip One Stop (Hong Kong) Ltd., Chip One Stop (Shenzhen) Ltd., Chip One Stop Inc., Commtech Solutions (UK) Limited, Components Agent (Cayman) Limited, Components Agent Asia Holdings Ltd., Components Distribution Business - Achieva, Conrac Asia Display Products Pte. Ltd., Conrac MENA FZE, Converge, Converge (Shanghai) International Trading Co. Ltd., Converge Asia Pte Ltd., Converge Electronics Trading (India) Private Ltd., Converge France SAS, Converge Netherlands BV, Converge Scandinavia AB, Cross Telecom, Data Modul, Data Modul AG, Data Modul Electronics Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Data Modul FZE, Data Modul France S.a r.l, Data Modul Hong Kong Ltd., Data Modul Iberia S.L., Data Modul Inc., Data Modul Italia S.r.l., Data Modul Ltd., Data Modul Shanghai Ltd., Data Modul Suisse GmbH, Data Modul Weikersheim GmbH, Diasa Informatica, Dicopel Inc., Distribution Business - Seed International, Distribution Central (MY) Sdn. Bhd., Distribution Central HK Pty Limited, Distribution Central Limited (NZ), Distribution Central Pte Limited (SG), Distribution Central Pty Limited, E-InfoChips KK, EC America, EDN Asia Advertising Pte Ltd., ETEQ Components Pte Ltd., Electronics Products Technology Co. Ltd., Embedded Developer LLC, Erf 211 Hughes (Pty) Limited, Eshel Technology Group Inc., Eurocomponentes S.A., Excel Tech, Excel Tech Inc., Firewall Systems Pty Limited, Fusion Distribution FZCO, Gates - Arrow Distributing, Gates - FA Distributing, Global Link Technology, Greentech Holding AS, Gross Telecom, ICC Global Media GmbH, IP Vista A/S, IPVista A/S, ITM USA Enterprises Inc., Intechra Holdings, Intex-semi Ltd., KeyLink Systems Group, LED Franchise LLC, LED Source Holdco LLC, LED Source LLC, LOGIX S.A., License Central Pty Ltd, Lite-On Korea Ltd., Marubun Arrow (HK) Limited, Marubun Arrow (S) Pte Ltd., Marubun Arrow (Thailand) Co Limited, Marubun Arrow Asia Ltd., Marubun Arrow Europe Kft., Marubun Corporation, Marubun USA Corporation, Marubun-Arrow Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Marubun/Arrow (HK) Limited, Marubun/Arrow (M) Sdn. Bhd (Malaysia), Marubun/Arrow (Philippines) Inc., Marubun/Arrow (S) Pte Ltd., Marubun/Arrow (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Marubun/Arrow (Shenzhen) Electronic Product Consulting Company Limited, Marubun/Arrow (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Marubun/Arrow Asia Ltd., Marubun/Arrow USA II LLC, Marubun/Arrow USA LLC, NIC Components Asia PTE Ltd., NIC Components Corp., NIC Components Europe Limited, NIC Eurotech Limited, NUH Electronics India Private Limted, Networld Systems Pty Ltd, Nextworth Solutions Inc., Nu Horizons Electronics, Nu Horizons Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Nu Horizons Electronics Asia PTE Ltd., Nu Horizons Electronics Hong Kong Ltd., Nu Horizons Electronics Malaysia SDN BHD, NuHo Singapore Holdings LLC, Observatory Crest, Openway Group SA, Openway SAS, PCG Parent Corp., PCG Trading LLC, PT Marubun Arrow Indonesia, Pansystem S.r.l., Pax8 Inc., Power and Signal Group GmbH, R.D. Trading Limited, RDC, RF Wireless & Power - Richardson Electronics, Rack Systems Pty Ltd, Red Education Pty Ltd, Redemtech, Renewal Systems Pty Ltd, Richardson RFPD (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Richardson RFPD (Thailand) Limited, Richardson RFPD Australia Pty. Ltd., Richardson RFPD Canada Inc., Richardson RFPD Electronics Trading (China) Co. Ltd., Richardson RFPD France SAS, Richardson RFPD Germany GmbH, Richardson RFPD Hong Kong, Richardson RFPD Inc., Richardson RFPD Israel Ltd., Richardson RFPD Italy Srl, Richardson RFPD Japan KK, Richardson RFPD Korea Ltd., Richardson RFPD Netherlands BV, Richardson RFPD Singapore, Richardson RFPD Spain SL, Richardson RFPD Sweden AB, Richardson RFPD Taiwan, Richardson RFPD UK Ltd., Richey Electronics, San Systems Pty Ltd, Schuylkill Metals of Plant City Inc., Seneca Data, Seneca Data Distributors Inc., Shared Technologies, Silicon Frameworks LLC, SiliconEgypt Technologies LLC, SiliconExpert Holdings LLC, SiliconExpert Technologies, SiliconExpert Technologies Inc., Sphinx CST Limited, Sphinx CST Networks Limited, Sphinx Group, Sphinx Group Limited, Sphinx Professional Services Limited, Spoerle Hungary Kereskedelmi Kft, Sun Chain Technology Corp., TLW Electronics Ltd., TechTurn, Titan Supply Chain Services Limited, Titan Supply Chain Services Pte Ltd., Trafomo AB, Trafomo ApS, Transim Technology, Transim Technology Corporation, U.S. Micro Operating Company LLC, UBM Tech Electronics Network, Ultra Source Electronics (SZ) Co LTD, Ultra Source Technology Corp., Ultra Source Trading Hong Kong Limited, United Technical Publishing Division - Hearst Business Media, Universe Electron Corporation, Verical, Verwaltungsgesellschaft Arrow Electronics GmbH, Wireless and Infrastructure Business Unit - Waching Company, Yongming Xincheng (Beijing) Technology Co., e-InfoChips, e-Infochips Private Limited, eInfochips, eMedia Asia Limited, immixGovernment Inc., immixGroup, immixGroup Inc., immixSolutions Inc., and immixTechnology.

Read More
The following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. Medical Services P.A., AHI Investment LLC, AbVitro LLC, Abraxis BioScience Australia Pty Ltd., Abraxis BioScience Inc., Abraxis BioScience International Holding Company Inc., Abraxis BioScience LLC, Abraxis BioScience Puerto Rico LLC, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adnexus, Adnexus a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, Allard Labs Acquisition G.P., Amira Pharmaceuticals, Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Apothecon LLC, B-MS Generx Unlimited Company, BMS Benelux Holdings B.V., BMS Bermuda Nominees L.L.C., BMS Data Acquisition Company LLC, BMS Forex Company, BMS Holdings Sarl, BMS Holdings Spain S.L., BMS International Insurance Designated Activity Company, BMS Investco SAS, BMS Korea Holdings L.L.C., BMS Latin American Nominees L.L.C., BMS Luxembourg Partners L.L.C., BMS Omega Bermuda Holdings Finance Ltd., BMS Pharmaceutical Korea Limited, BMS Pharmaceuticals Germany Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals International Holdings Netherlands B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Korea Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Mexico Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Netherlands Holdings B.V., BMS Real Estate LLC, BMS Spain Investments LLC, BMS Strategic Portfolio Investments Holdings Inc., Blisa Acquisition G.P., Bristol (Iran) S.A., Bristol Iran Private Company Limited, Bristol Laboratories Inc., Bristol Laboratories International S.A., Bristol Laboratories Medical Information Systems Inc., Bristol-Myers (Andes) L.L.C., Bristol-Myers (Private) Limited, Bristol-Myers Middle East S.A.L., Bristol-Myers Overseas Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Israel) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (NZ) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (West Indies) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb A.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb Aktiebolag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Argentina S. R. L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia Pty. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. Z.o.o., Celgene Sro [Czech Republic], Celgene Summit Investment Co, Celgene Switzerland Holding Sarl, Celgene Switzerland II LLC, Celgene Switzerland Investment Sarl, Celgene Switzerland LLC, Celgene Switzerland Sarl, Celgene Tri A Holdings Ltd., Celgene Tri Sarl, Celgene UK Distribution Limited, Celgene UK Holdings Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing II Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing III Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing Limited, Celgene d.o.o., Celgene sro [Slovakia], Celmed LLC, Celmed Ltd., ConvaTec Divestiture, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals AB, Crosp Ltd., Delinia Inc., Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc., DuPont Pharmaceuticals, E. R. Squibb & Sons Inter-American Corporation, E. R. Squibb & Sons L.L.C., E. R. Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc..

Read More
Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday morning "zero chance I'll quit." He also told The Washington Post he may deliver a speech Saturday afternoon to address concern among supporters and reiterate his determination to stay in the race.

By Reuters: Presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed on Saturday to remain in the race even as his campaign was thrown into crisis as his own running mate criticized him and some prominent Republicans withdrew support and urged him to drop out following news of a recording of him making lewd comments in 2005.

Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday morning "zero chance I'll quit." He also told The Washington Post he may deliver a speech Saturday afternoon to address concern among supporters and reiterate his determination to stay in the race.

advertisement

In an unusual move, vice presidential running mate Mike Pence issued a critical statement, posting on the social media website Twitter that he cannot defend the nominee.

"As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the eleven-year-old video released yesterday," Pence, who is governor of Indiana, said in a statement. "I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them."

A hastily recorded apology by Trump early Saturday morning did not stymie an avalanche of calls from members of his party to quit. At least three Republican members of the Senate announced they will not vote for him and former rival Carly Fiorina called on him to withdraw.

The 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking openly about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped only months after Trump married his third wife, Melania.



DAMAGE CONTROL



Trump quickly moved to conduct damage control in Saturday's video in which he declared himself a changed man and attempted to shift the focus to his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. He threatened, again, to focus his attacks on the infidelities of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, saying he would talk more about the pasts of both Clintons with only a month until the election. Trump has dismissed questions about his own marital infidelities as irrelevant.

There is no precedent for a major party to replace its nominee this late in the campaign and it is unclear if there is an avenue to force him out. Voting has begun in several states, including the important swing states of Virginia and North Carolina.

Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning, seeming to make light of the controversy by posting: "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!"

"Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page.

Trump has struggled to win over women voters, and the video is expected to further feed Democratic criticism about his past behavior toward women.



WIDESPREAD CONDEMNATION

"I did try and fuck her. She was married," Trump said about one woman, before discussing his attraction to others.

"I just start kissing them," he said. "And when you're a star they let you do it."

"Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything," Trump said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan disinvited Trump to a scheduled appearance on Saturday afternoon in Wisconsin. His running mate was slated to replace him but campaign advisor Boris Epshteyn told MSNBC a scheduling conflict prevented Pence from speaking.

advertisement

Prominent Republican women delivered scathing criticisms. Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte, of New Hampshire, said she will not vote for Trump. Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito, of West Virginia, called his remarks "disgusting and demeaning."

"Women have worked hard to gain the dignity and respect we deserve," Moore Capito said. "The appropriate next step may be for him to reexamine his candidacy."

Martha Roby, a Republican member of Congress from Alabama, said in a statement: "Donald Trump's behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won't vote for him. Hillary Clinton must not be president, but, with Trump leading the ticket, she will be."

US Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, one of Clinton's fiercest critics, retracted his endorsement of Trump, telling CNN he would not be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he voted for him.

Utah's Republican Governor Gary Herbert said on Twitter he too would no longer vote for Trump, saying: "Tonight, millions of Republicans are facing a moment of truth."

Republican lawmaker Mike Coffman from Colorado told CBS Trump should step aside and said "his defeat ... seems almost certain."

Other prominent Republicans, however, indicated they would stick with Trump. Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, said they would continue to support him.

advertisement

Conservatives point to the fact that the winner of the November election will get to appoint a Supreme Court justice as reason to stick with Trump despite the video. Greg Mueller, a conservative Republican strategist, pointed to Clinton's views on abortion as a reason religious voters will stick with Trump.

"Nothing indefensible that Donald Trump said 20 years ago is going to change that," he said. "Plus, to many religious voters, Mrs. Clinton is the epitome of a corrupt politician."

Representative Jack Kingston, a Republican from Georgia, argued Trump has changed since the video was filmed.

"I think 10 years ago he was a different man ..., I am very glad that he quickly apologized," Kingston said.

ALSO READ:

Donald Trump apologises for lewd talk caught on live microphone in 2005

Indian-American fan says Donald Trump has no anti-immigrant bone in his body



--- ENDS ---
OPKO Health, Inc., a healthcare company, engages in the diagnostics and pharmaceuticals businesses in the United States, Ireland, Chile, Spain, Israel, Mexico, and internationally. The company's Diagnostics segment operates BioReference Laboratories that offers laboratory testing services for the detection, diagnosis, evaluation, monitoring, and treatment of diseases, including esoteric testing, molecular diagnostics, anatomical pathology, genetics, women's health, and correctional healthcare to physician offices, clinics, hospitals, employers and governmental units; and a novel diagnostic instrument system to provide blood test results in the point-of-care setting, as well as 4Kscore prostate cancer testing services. Its Pharmaceutical segment offers Rayaldee to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism in adults with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease, and vitamin D insufficiency; OPK88004, an orally administered selective androgen receptor modulator; OPK88003, a once-weekly administered peptide for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and associated obesity that is in Phase IIb trials; and hGH-CTP, a once-weekly human growth hormone injection that completed Phase III clinical trial in partnership with Pfizer, Inc. This segment develops and commercializes longer-acting proprietary versions of already approved therapeutic proteins. The company also offers specialty APIs; develops, manufactures, markets, and sells pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, veterinary, and ophthalmic products; commercializes food supplements and over the counter products; manufactures and sells products primarily in the generics market; and imports, markets, distributes, and sells pharmaceutical products in a range of indications, including cardiovascular products, vaccines, antibiotics, gastro-intestinal products, hormones, and others. In addition, it operates pharmaceutical platforms in Ireland, Chile, Spain, and Mexico. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
Navigant Consulting, Inc. provides professional services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Healthcare, Energy, and Financial Services Advisory and Compliance. The Healthcare segment offers consulting and business process management services to healthcare providers, payers, and life sciences companies. This segment helps clients respond to market legislative changes, such as the shift to an outcome and value-based reimbursements model, ongoing industry consolidation and reorganization, Medicaid expansion, the implementation of a electronic health records system, and product planning and commercialization expertise. The Energy segment provides life-cycle solutions that help clients businesses in changing energy environment, manage complexity, accelerate operational performance, and meet compliance requirements, as well as transform its organizations and systems; and various benchmarking, and data and market research services. This segment serves utility and energy companies, government and nongovernmental organizations, large corporations, product manufacturers, and investors. The Financial Services Advisory and Compliance segment provides strategic, operational, valuation, risk management, investigative, and compliance advisory services to financial services industry, including financial and insurance institutions. This segment also offers anti-corruption solutions and anti-money laundering consulting, litigation support, and tax compliance services. Navigant Consulting, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
By PTI: Patna, Oct 8 (PTI) A report prepared by the forensic science laboratory has confirmed that "experts" had written examination for Bihar Intermediate Arts "topper" Ruby Rai who had pronounced political science as "prodikal science" saying the subject deals with cooking.

The report of the Forensic Science Laboratory said the handwriting on the answer sheets of Rai were not of her, but of the experts who wrote for her, Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj said today.

advertisement

An examination of answer sheets also brought to light the fact that marks jotted down on her copies were tampered with many times, the SSP said.

Ruby Rai of Bishundeo Rai College in Hajipur hit the headlines in June when she pronounced political science, one of her subjects, as "prodikal science" which according to her teaches cooking.

Her comment had taken the lid off a big racket operating in Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB).

The state government instituted an SIT headed by Manu Maharaj to conduct a probe into the scam and answer sheets of some candidates were sent for forensic examination.

The results of Rai and that of Saurabh Kumar, Science topper in the states Plus 2 examination this year, were cancelled after they failed to replicate their performance in a re-test.

The then BSEB Chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, his former JD(U) MLA wife Usha Sinha and other board officials involved in the racket were arrested and jailed.

Secretary of the Bishundeo Rai college Bachacha Rai, from where the Arts and Science toppers hailed, is also in jail. PTI SNS NN IKA

--- ENDS ---
Xylem Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions for the water and wastewater applications in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, and Measurement & Control Solutions. The Water Infrastructure segment offers various products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment under the Flygt, Godwin, Wedeco, Sanitaire, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brand names for the transportation and treatment of water. The Applied Water segment provides pumps, valves, heat exchangers, controls, and dispensing equipment systems under the Goulds Water Technology, Bell & Gossett, A-C Fire Pump, Standard Xchange, Lowara, Jabsco, Xylem Vue and Flojet brand names for residential and commercial building services, and industrial water applications. The Measurement & Control Solutions segment provides smart meters, networked communication devices, and measurement and control technologies, as well as critical infrastructure technologies. It also offers software and services, including cloud-based analytics, remote monitoring and data management, leak detection, condition assessment, asset management, and pressure monitoring solutions, as well as testing equipment and managed services. This segment sells its products under the Pure, Sensus, Smith Blair, WTW, Xylem Vue, and YSI brand names. The company markets and sells its products through a network of direct sales force, resellers, distributors, and value-added solution providers. Xylem Inc. was formerly known as ITT WCO, Inc. and changed its name to Xylem Inc. in May 2011. The company. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Rye Brook, New York.
Poonam Mahajan is the only BJP leader to have been included in a seven-member committee constituted by the Maharashtra government to raise a memorial for Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

New allies

Poonam Mahajan is the only BJP leader to have been included in a seven-member committee constituted by the Maharashtra government to raise a memorial for Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. Thackeray's son Uddhav, a lifetime member of the committee, along with son Aditya, had insisted on Mahajan's inclusion. This development underscores the fact that the young MP is the only other BJP leader besides CM Devendra Fadnavis with whom the Thackerays have cordial ties.



advertisement

RSS vs IPS

The Madhya Pradesh home department is mulling over how to 'introduce' Sangh workers to local police stations. The move comes after an RSS pracharak, Suresh Yadav, was allegedly thrashed by cops at the Baihar police station in Balaghat district. The IG and the SP have been transferred, while a case of attempt to murder has been lodged against an additional SP and the inspector in charge.

Fan following



Even as Tamil Nadu CM J. Jayalalithaa continues to battle severe health problems at Chennai's heavily guarded Apollo Hospital, her poll freebies-including mobile phones, ceiling fans and wet grinders-are on sale by the roadside in the vicinity of Amaravati, the upcoming capital region of neighbour Andhra Pradesh. The Amma-brand items display her picture as well as the logo of the TN government. Traders, apart from offering a demo on how the products work, make sure to assure buyers of the two-year 'warranty'. Nonetheless, everything is being sold at throwaway prices.

The fall guy

Former West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee didn't stay too long at the CPI(M) state plenum in Kolkata last week. The Supreme Court verdict declaring the land acquisition in Singur for the Tata plant illegal has given voice to the workers' wing of the party, which claims that Bhattacharjee's industrialisation policy was the root cause of the party's debacle in the state.

Chief ministers' checklist

Andhra Pradesh's CM N. Chandrababu Naidu was dismayed that the state hit barely half of the key performance indicator targets set in the past three months.



Telangana's K. Chandrasekhara Rao approved the design of the Lakshmi Narasimha temple at Yadagirigutta on Sept 29. It is to be completed by next Dussehra.



Rajasthan's CM Vasundhara Raje was displeased with the state health department's poor response to the outbreak of chikungunya, malaria and dengue in the state.



with Amarnath K. Menon, Romita Datta, Anshuman Tiwari, Rohit Parihar, Rahul Noronha, Kiran Tare, Asit Jolly and Amitabh Srivastava

--- ENDS ---




China News on Women





Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page
By PTI: From T G Biju

Kigali, Oct 8 (PTI) As nearly 200 nationsbegan their historical meeting here to ink a deal to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), China is facing pressure from developing countries to take more responsibility to reduce the climate-damaging gas under the Montreal Protocol.

According to studies, China is currently the worlds largest producer of HFCs -- a harmul greenhouse gas -- and consumes more than 20 times more than India.

advertisement

Presently, China consumes about 360 million tones CO2 equivalent of HFCs compared to 17 million tonnes in India, say studies.

A key negotiator, who didnt want to be quoted, said that considering the scale of production and consumption in China, it is important that China takes early actions.

"Early action by China is very important as it will reduce HFC consumption worldwide significantly as it is a major exporter of HFCs," he said.

It is also projected to account for major growth in HFCs in the future.

Common but differentiated responsibility, which is a fundamental principal underpinning the Montreal protocol negotiations, demands that China takes more responsibility than other developing countries.

China and the US are the largest consumers of HFCs in the world, say Indian NGOs assembled here today for attending the meeting of the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG), an important meeting being held ahead of the 28th Meeting of the Parties to Montreal Protocol scheduled for October 10-14.

Climate expert Chandra Bhushan said, currently, China produces more than 90 per cent and consumes more than 60 per cent of all HFCs in the developing countries.

"It is also projected to account for major growth in HFCs in the future. Common but differentiated responsibility, which is a fundamental principal unpinning the Montreal protocol negotiations, demands that China takes more responsibility than other developing countries," said Bhushan, who is also the deputy director general of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

According toa study by Technology and Economic Assessment Panel ? constituted under the Montreal Protocol), and Velders, China accounts for about 60 per cent of HFC consumption from Article 5 countries including India and other developing nations.

Velders has been responsible for a large number of global and regional HFC inventory and projections.

Citing these findings, Indian NGOs arguethat China should be asked to take more ambitious action when compared to other Article 5 countries.

Under the Montreal Protocol, there are Article 5 countries and Non-Article 5 counties; Article 5 countries are developing countries and Non-Article 5 countries are development countries.

The objective of the meeting in the capital of Rawanda is to adopt an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down the HFCs.

advertisement

The meeting is expected to result in a legally-binding mechanism to ban the HFCs, commonly used in refrigerators and air-conditioners.

HFCs were developed to replace ozone-depleting gases like chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons(HCFC).

HFCs used in refrigerators, air conditioners and spray paints have a much higher global-warming potential than that of carbon dioxide. PTI TGB NSA

--- ENDS ---
Cards For Good Causes Returns to Wrexham For Christmas

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Oct 8th, 2016

A Christmas card shop which raises money for good causes is to return to Wrexham this year.

St Giles Parish Church will once again host the Cards for Good Causes charity shop during the festive period.

The shop will be opening on Saturday 22 October until Saturday 10 December between 10.00am  4.00pm six days a week.

This year Ian Lucas MP has agreed to attend on the opening day.

Cards for Good Causes is the largest multi-charity card organisation that open temporary shops seasonally throughout the United Kingdom, St Giless Church is the only shop located in North Wales.

Volunteers will be selling Christmas cards for over 25 charities and some seasonal gifts and ideas.
Matthew triggered mass evacuations along the coast from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina and North Carolina.

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, US October 7, 2016. Reuters/Phelan Ebenhack

By Reuters: Almost 1.2 million homes and businesses were without power late Friday as Hurricane Matthew blasted Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina, electric companies said.

The outages are not as high as utilities had forecast and not expected to reach those levels because the storm has already passed most of the heavily populated southern part of Florida.

A car stands on its side after being blown away by winds brought by Hurricane Matthew. Photo: AP

advertisement

On Thursday, NextEra Energy Inc's FPL power company, the biggest in Florida, forecast Matthew could leave as many as 2.5 million homes and businesses without service, some for extended periods of time.

FPL said Friday afternoon it has already restored power to about 239,000 of the 923,000 affected by the storm, leaving about 685,000 still to be restored.

MASS EVACUATIONS

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.

At 7 pm (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 US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Matthew skirted Florida on Friday morning with winds of up to 120 mph (195 kph) but had not made landfall by the evening. The 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.

Girls hold hands as they help each other wade through a flooded street after the passing of Hurricane Matthew. Photo: AP

Although weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, Matthew is expected to remain a hurricane until it begins to move away from the southeastern United States on Sunday, the NHC noted.

With so many power outages, the state's utilities do not have to import as much natural gas as usual to generate electricity.

The amount of gas flowing into the state on the Florida Gas pipeline from Texas and Louisiana was expected to fall by about 800 million cubic feet per day on Friday from an average of 2.7 billion cubic feet per day over the past 30 days, according to Thomson Reuters data.



The following lists outages at US power companies neat Matthew's forecast path.



Power Company State/Province Out Now



NextEra - FPL FL 675,300

Florida municipals FL 209,000

Duke - Progress Florida FL 198,700

Florida cooperatives FL 63,900

Southern - Georgia Power GA 58,400

Duke - Carolinas NC, SC 1,900

Scana SC 4,400

Emera - Tampa Electric FL 600

Dominion VA, NC 200

Southern - Gulf Power FL 100

Jackson EMC GA -

Cobb EMC GA -

Santee Cooper SC -



Total 1,212,500

advertisement

ALSO READ | Hurricane Matthew kills 842 in Haiti, emergency declared in Florida: All you need to know



--- ENDS ---

advertisement

advertisement
North Wales Police Appeal For Wanted Man

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Oct 8th, 2016

An appeal has been issued for man who is wanted by North Wales Police.

Although an incident took place up on the coast, it is believed he has travelled across to the north east of Wales and through to Crewe.

Richard Pentreath, who is also known as Hilary Clifford Thomas, is wanted for arson with intent to endanger life following an incident at an address in Prestatyn during the early hours of Thursday, October 6th 2016.

63-year-old Pentreath is also wanted after he failed to attend Woolwich Crown Court in London on Monday, 3rd October for historical rape offences. He was found guilty in his absence, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

He is understood to have left Prestatyn by train shortly after the arson offence and was last seen at Crewe Railway Station at approximately 5:30am on the same day (October 6th).

He is believed to be using public transport so could be anywhere in the country, however he has links to the London, Gloucester and Manchester areas.

He is described as being white, 6ft plus in height and of slim build. He has short dark swept back hair, a full grey beard. He also wears glasses. He was last seen wearing a dark coloured bobble hat, a waist length brown jacket and dark coloured jeans or trousers.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Verburg of North Wales Police said: We are in contact with other police forces, including British Transport Police and are appealing for anybody who may have seen him, or anybody who may know of his whereabouts, to contact North Wales Police immediately.

Similarly if Pentreath himself sees this appeal I would urge him to hand himself in at the nearest police station.

Anybody with information should contact North Wales Police quoting reference number RC16152078.
Even as the United States and its allies ratchet up their militarist rhetoric and threats against Russia, there is no let-up in their campaign against China in the Asia-Pacific. Yesterday, the Australian Labor Party, the main opposition party, repeated its demand for Canberra to authorise the countrys navy and air force to carry out military operations inside the 12-nautical-mile-zones surrounding Chinese-held islets and reefs in the South China Sea.

The Beijing regime has warned, via state-owned Chinese media commentary, that if Australia warships or aircraft do violate Chinese-claimed territory, it will be treated as an act of aggression and potentially trigger a military clash between Australia and China.

Labors call for freedom of navigation operations, or FONOPs, was made by its defence spokesperson Richard Marles at the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue. This years annual conference of top-level figures within the Australian and American political and strategic establishment is being held in Hawaii.

Labors former defence spokesperson Stephen Conroy made the same demand several times, following three American naval FONOPs in Chinese-claimed waters in October 2015, on January 30 this year and then on May 10.

Labors position is intended to starkly contrast with that of the Liberal-National government headed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. No senior member of Turnbulls cabinet has publicly endorsed any Australian operations that would violate Chinese claims in the South China Sea, and none has been carried out.

At the same time, the US has refrained from conducting another operation since May, despite a vow by Admiral Harry Harris, head of US Pacific Command (PACOM) in Hawaii, that one would take place every three months.

Most notably, the US has not carried out a FONOP in the aftermath of the July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague in favour of a US-backed Philippines case against Chinas claims of sovereignty over a number of South China Sea islets. The PCA declared Chinas claims were without lawful effect and its actions were in breach of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). New Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, however, has refused to aggressively enforce the ruling, seeking instead to distance Manila from Washington's confrontational stance against Beijing, depriving the US of its intended catspaw.

Under these conditions, the potential role of Australia looms larger. American admirals and generals have repeatedly said they would welcome a FONOP by an ally such as Australia to demonstrate that the US is not acting alone. Moreover, any incident between the Australian and Chinese militaries would enable Washington to portray a US action against China as coming to the aid of a long-standing ally.

A series of developments, of which Marles statements are only the most recent, indicate that major sections of both the US and Australian establishments have become frustrated by the Turnbull governments refusal to order an Australian operation.

Following the Australian election in July, in which Turnbull clung onto office with only a one-seat majority, US Vice President Joe Biden travelled to Australia and delivered bellicose speeches against China, fiery calls for freedom of navigation, and militarist paeans to the US-Australia alliance. Directly addressing those in the Australian establishment who had raised concerns about joining the US in a confrontation with ChinaAustralias largest trading partner and export marketBiden warned: If I had to bet on which country is going to lead economically in the 21st century... Id bet on the United States. But Id put it another way: Its never a good bet to bet against the United States.

In 2011 and 2012, Turnbull was among those establishment figures who publicly questionedor "bet against"Washingtons ability to remain the dominant power in Asia in the face of Chinas growing economic and geopolitical weight.

Just a month and a half ago, in late August, the Australian media launched a ferocious campaign, denouncing alleged Chinese agents of influence within the countrys political and business elite. Labor Senator Sam Dastyari was forced to resign from Labors shadow cabinet on the basis that he had accepted payments from Chinese companies and had purportedly stated that Australia should remain neutral over South China Sea disputes.

Within days, the Fairfax Australian Financial Review claimed on September 3 that Australian intelligence agencieswhich are thoroughly integrated with their US counterpartswere cynical about Turnbull due to his past business dealings in China and because, in 2011, he opposed the former Labor governments strategy of preparing for a naval war in the South China Sea.

A September 6 column by Fairfax Media international editor Peter Hartcher called for a campaign to eradicate the pro-Chinese rats, flies, mosquitoes and sparrows within the Australian establishment and population. A September 7 editorial in the Murdoch press flagship, the Australian, accused Dastyari of disloyalty and labelled his positions on China as anathema to patriotic Australians.

A month later, the Labor Party is once again intensifying its pressure on the Turnbull governmentwhich would fall from power if only a handful of its members crossed sides and voted with the oppositionto comply with US requests and order actions in the South China Sea that could provoke a war with Beijing.

Marles told Fairfax Media: Our view is very clearly that the ADF (Australian Defence Force), the Navy, should be fully authorised to engage in freedom of navigation operations... Its important that in supporting the rule of law internationally and the rules-based order we do everything we can to assert thatthats what a freedom of navigation operation would mean.

A column in todays Australian by its editor-at-large Paul Kellya prominent figure among the most pro-US layers of the ruling elitelauded Marles positions. It was headlined, Australia must stand ground against Beijings expansion.

Kelly asserted that the backdrop to Marles statements were recent declarations by Admiral Harris that the US must be prepared to confront China if the need arises.

Kelly was referring to a September 15 speech by Harris in Los Angeles. In highly political remarks, the admiral hailed the US pivot or rebalance to Asia, which was initiated in 2011 by the Obama administration, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in particular. Harris asserted that PACOM was ready to confront a revanchist Russia and an assertive China.

Kelly placed Marles call for Australian action against China in the context of the tensions between the US and the Philippines over Dutertes threat to break up with Washington over its attempts to pressure him into a harder stance against China by criticising his murderous campaign against alleged drug dealers.

Kelly also declared that there was an open and documented difference in appreciation and tactics between the Washington-based Obama administration and the Honolulu-based US Pacific Commandpresumably because the US had not conducted a FONOP since May.

Whether or not such tactical divisions exist, there is no question that the strategy of US imperialism is to shatter the ability of the Chinese regime to economically, politically or militarily challenge American global dominanceby means of war if necessary. Harriss speech made that clear. The admiral declared: If we have to fight tonight, I dont want it to be a fair fight. If its a knife fight, I want to bring a gun. If its a gun fight, I want to bring in the artillery and all of our partners with their artillery.

Australia is arguably the most integrated US partner in the Asia-Pacific.

Parallel with Marles call for military actions against China, senior Labor Party figures have delivered speeches, ahead of the 75th anniversary of a seminal strategic speech by then Labor prime minister John Curtin in December 1941. Under conditions of the outbreak of the Pacific War with Japan, Curtin declared that free of any pangs of loyalty, Australian imperialism looked to the United States, not Britain, as its most important strategic and military ally.

Labor foreign affairs spokesperson Penny Wong, who is also attending the Australian American Leadership Dialogue, concluded a speech on October 1 with the words: Seventy-five years on, Australia still looks to America as its key partner.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) has revealed that the Pentagon paid British public relations firm, Bell Pottinger half a billion dollars to make fake terrorist videos as part of a secret propaganda programme in Iraq.

Top US military personnel in Iraq and, on occasions, the White House signed off on the false flag videos.

The Pentagons hijacking of the media and Internet exposes the fraud of Washingtons claims to be the defender of democracy and a free press, and serves to undermine the credibility of the press coverage of Washington and its allies wars of aggression in the Middle East and elsewhere. Such is the collusion between the corporate and state-controlled media and the military-intelligence establishment in support of Washingtons quest for world domination that neither the US or European news channels have reported, let alone commented on, the Pentagons activities, their constitutionality or legality.

Under the operation, crews would be sent out to film bombings with low quality video that were then edited to make it look like news items in the style of Arabic news channels. As well as short TV segments, they created anti- al-Qaeda television ads. Crucially, they produced fake al-Qaeda propaganda videos that could be streamed on the Internet and then, via a code embedded into the CDs that linked to a Google Analytics account, produce a list of the IP addresses where the CDs had been viewed.

While al-Qaeda was the target of these fabrications, the CIA had earlier nurtured the group and similar right-wing Islamist outfits in the 1980s in Afghanistan as a means of promoting its own interests against the Soviet Union. Washington is now relying on such forces to unseat the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

More than $100 million a year was spent on these fabrications and false flag operations, which ran from May 2007 until December 2011 when the US withdrew from Iraq, with a similar contract worth $120 million operating in 2006.

The BIJ report was part of a broader study into the use of private military contractors. The BIJ found that more than 40 companies were being paid for services such as TV and radio placement, video production, billboards, advertising and opinion polls in Iraq between 2006 and 2008 alone, but the main beneficiary was Bell Pottinger.

To discover the full extent of the programme, the BIJ tracked US Army contracts, records of federal procurement transactions, reports for the Department of Defence Office of Inspector General, specialist publications on military propaganda, corporate records from Bell Pottinger and interviews with former Bell Pottinger staff.

Bell Pottingers previous clients have included Margaret Thatchers Conservative government, the Saudi government, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochets foundation, as well as other repressive regimes.

Martin Wells, a video editor who used to work for Bell Pottinger, told the BIJ that his two year stint in Camp Victory, a US military base in Baghdad, between 2006 and 2008 was shocking, eye-opening, life-changing. He worked in a classified area impossible to enter without security clearance. Bell Pottinger staff worked alongside the US military in the same rooms, but in their own zones.

There were three types of media operations in Iraq at the time: white, whose source was attributed; grey, which was unattributed; and black, which was falsely attributed. Black operations formed the backbone of the programme and were used to track who watched the CDs.

Wells said he was given very precise instructions. He was told, We need to make this style of video and weve got to use al Qaedas footage, and We need it to be 10 minutes long, and it needs to be in this file format, and we need to encode it in this manner.

According to Wells, Bell Pottingers output was signed off on by the commander of coalition forces in Iraq. Wed get the two colonels in to look at the things wed done that day, theyd be fine with it, it would then go to [US] General Petraeus, he said.

Some of the projects went even higher up the chain of command. If [Petraeus] couldnt sign off on it, it would go on up the line to the White House, and it was signed off up there, and the answer would come back down the line."

Wells said that the tracking account had a very restricted circulation list, with the data sent to him, a senior member of the Bell Pottinger management team, and one of the US military commanders. The more interesting and relevant hits, online viewings of the videos, were those that showed up in other parts of the world. Wells recalled that they turned up in Iran, Syria, and even America. I would do a print-out for the day and, if anything interesting popped up, hand it over to the bosses and then it would be dealt with from there, he said.

The faked CDs, according to Wells, were used by US marines who would take them and drop them at the locations of targets they were raiding. Wells said, If theyre raiding a house and theyre going to make a mess of it looking for stuff anyway, theyd just drop an odd CD there.

The Pentagon confirmed that Bell Pottinger did work for them as a contractor in Iraq under the Information Operations Task Force (IOTF). They said it produced some material that was openly sourced to coalition forces, and some that was not, although it insisted that all IOTFs material was truthful. Bell Pottinger also carried out work under the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force (JPOTF), which a US defence official confirmed without further comment.

Lord Bell, who stood down as chairman of Bell Pottinger earlier this year, confirmed that his firm had worked on a covert military operation covered by various secrecy agreements, and reported to the Pentagon, the CIA and the National Security Council on its work in Iraq. He told the Sunday Times that although the use of tracking devices as described by Wells was perfectly possible, he personally was unaware of it. The key people who worked in Baghdad at the time likewise all deny any involvement in the tracking software.

The Pentagon has used contractors to do its dirty work because fabricating the news in this way was a legal grey area, as US law prevented the government from using propaganda on the domestic population of the US. Since its Iraq operations could be seen back home on the Internet, they may be illegal.

This was not the first time that the Pentagon has fed news channels unsourced items or fabricated the news. In 2009, the Pentagon hired the Rendon Group, a PR firm, to monitor the reporting of journalists embedded with the US military in Afghanistan, to assess whether they were giving positive coverage to its missions.

In 2005, revelations that the Lincoln Group, a Washington-based PR contractor, had helped the Pentagon place articles secretly written by the US military in Iraqi newspapers, led to a Department of Defense investigation that cleared the company of any wrongdoing.

Such operations recall Operation Mockingbird, a secret campaign by the CIA to influence the media. Begun in the 1950s, the CIA recruited leading American journalists into a propaganda network to help present the Agencys views, funding student and cultural organizations and magazines as fronts. Its scope later extended to influencing foreign media and political campaigns.

The BIJ has also established that the Pentagon has hired private contractors to produce propaganda to counter Islamic State on social media. A Pentagon spokesperson refused to elaborate what kind of material they were producing, saying only that the robust online program operated using truthful information directed toward regional audiences to combat ISILs (Islamic States) lies and deception.
German filmmaker Werner Herzogs new documentary Lo and Behold: Reveries of The Connected World was released in August at select theatres across the US and for home viewing from various on-demand services. The moviewhich examines the origins and implications of the Internet and related technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things and space travelhas received generally favorable reviews following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in late January.

The work is divided into ten segments with titles like The Early Days, The Glory of the Net and The Future, with Herzog serving as narrator. Through a series of interviews, the director stitches his disparate topics together to explain something about how the Internet and World Wide Web were created and then to paint a troubling picture of the globally interconnected landscape.

The movie begins with a visit to the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the birthplacealong with the Stanford Research Instituteof the Internet. The first interviewee is Leonard Kleinrock, one of the research scientists responsible for the development of the precursor of the Internet called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network of the US Defense Department). At age 82, Kleinrock is obviously thrilled at the opportunity to describe how the first-ever electronic message was transmitted between two points on the network.

As he opens a cabinet of early Internet hardware called a packet switch, Kleinrock describes in detail the events of October 29, 1969 at 10:30 pm. As the UCLA sender began typing the word loginand checking by telephone with his counterpart at Stanford Universityonly the first two characters of the message were successfully transmitted before his computer crashed. Despite this seemingly failed communication attempt, Kleinrock explains that Lo was an entirely appropriate word for the accomplishment. It was from here, he says, that a revolution began.

With Herzog occasionally interjecting off-camera during the interviews, the directors goal seems clear enough. He wants the audience to share his sense of wonder and amazement at the transformative impact of the Internet. This is reinforced by equally intriguing interviews with several others who participated in the birth of the Net. The enthusiasmand clarity on complex topicsexpressed by these pioneers leaves one with a desire to hear more of their stories of discovery and progress.

As the film goes on, however, it emerges that Herzog has another plan; he abandons any historically logical accounting of the Internet and begins eclectically focusing on its various byproducts and offshoots, limitations and negative consequences. Herzogs interview with Ted Nelsona philosopher and sociologist credited with theoretically anticipating the World Wide Web and coining the terms hypertext and hypermediabecomes the starting point for these wanderings.

As a student at Harvard University, Ted Nelson began working in 1960 on a computer system called Project Xanadu that he conceived of as a digital repository scheme for world-wide electronic publishing. Nelson also wrote an important book in 1974 titled Computer Lib/Dream Machines, a kind of manifesto for hobbyists on the social and revolutionary implications of the personal computer.

Although it is left unexplained in the film, the Internet is the technical infrastructure upon which the World Wide Web was developed beginning in 1989. Ever since the widespread adoption of the World Wide Web, Nelson has been a public critic of its structure and implementation, especially HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). He has called HTML a gross oversimplification of his pioneering ideas and said that it trivializes our original hypertext model with one-way, ever-breaking links and no management of version or contents.

Why is it that HTML and the World Wide Web emerged as the dominant graphical layer of the Internet as opposed to a competing set of ideas? Is it possible that a solution more comprehensive, expressing more completely the potential of the technology and more effective and useful could have been adopted instead?

One aspect of the rapid global adoption of the World Wide Weboriginally created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 at CERN in Switzerlandwas the open access policy of its inventor. As Berners-Lee, who is also interviewed in the film, has explained, Had the technology been proprietary, and in my total control, it would probably not have taken off. You cant propose that something be a universal space and at the same time keep control of it. However, while the non-proprietary nature of Berners-Lees creation was a significant factor in its success, it does not automatically follow that the core technology of the World Wide Web represented an advance over the ideas represented by others such as Ted Nelson.

These are important and complex questions that have been repeated again and again in the evolution of the information revolution of the past half-century, the further exploration of which would point to fundamental problems of modern technology, i.e. the contradiction between what is possible versus what is required within the economic and political framework of global capitalist society.

Showing little interest in exploring these matters more deeply, Lo and Behold goes on to present Nelsona gifted but socially awkward manas something of a high-tech Don Quixote. Herzog concludes the interview with the quip, To us you appear to be the only one around who is clinically sane.

Having made nearly forty documentaries in his five-decade career, Herzog is accomplished at gaining access to people with compelling stories to tell. The interview with Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, raises important points. A consistently outspoken opponent of artificial intelligence, Musk makes the following warning: [I]f you were running a hedge fund or private equity fund and all I want my AI to do is maximize the value of my portfolio, then AI could decide to short consumer stocks, go long on defense stocks, and start a war. Ah, and that obviously would be quite bad.

This possible scenario under capitalism is not explored any further. While the US military is never specifically mentioned, it is remarkable that the only reference to war in the course of a 98-minute critical look at modern technology comes from a billionaire entrepreneur. Above all, Musks comments show that the new technologies by themselves bring no fundamental change to the class relations within capitalist society; indeed the Internet and artificial intelligence in the hands of the ruling elite enable a further and accelerated integration of financial parasitism and imperialist war.

Given that Lo and Behold is sponsored by Netscout Systems, a major corporate supplier of networking hardware and software, it is possible that such topics were off limits. However, the lack of a broader or coherent critical perspective is not something new for Werner Herzog.

While he made some interesting and disturbing fiction films in the 1970s (The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, Aguirre: The Wrath of God and Stroszek in particular), the end of the period of radicalization had an impact on Herzog, as it did on other New German Cinema directors like R. W. Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and Volker Schlondorff. There was always an overwrought element in Herzog's work and an emphasis on physical or spiritual excess, without much reference to the content of the action.

In media interviews about his latest film, Herzog has been careful to explain that he does not blame technology itself for the aberrations depicted. The Internet is not good or evil, dark or light hearted, he says, it is human beings that are the problem. Following the advice of experts, Herzog suggests that people need some kind of filter to help them use the technology appropriately.

Leaving things so very much at the level of the individual does not begin to get at the source of the contradiction between the positive and destructive potential of modern technology. This contradiction, so clearly demonstrated during World War II with nuclear technology, is itself an expression of the alternatives facing mankind of socialism versus barbarism.

Lack of an understanding aboutor refusal to acknowledgethe deeper social and class interests embedded in the forms of human technology leads to only two possible conclusions: (1) the utopian idea that technology develops automatically without wars and crisis toward the improvement of mankind, or (2) the dystopian belief that technological advancement always develops, without any hope of revolutionary transformation of society, in the direction of an existential threat to humanity. While Herzog and his producers believe they have provided a balanced perspective between these two, in the end, Lo and Behold comes down on the latter side.
Hurricane Matthew continues to move from the Caribbean up the southeastern seaboard of the United States, bringing flooding and high winds that have wreaked havoc over a stretch of more than a thousand miles from Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas up to the South Carolina Sea Islands.

The full devastation wrought by the hurricane on the impoverished country of Haiti is only beginning to be revealed. The official death toll soared to more than 800 people on Friday and will increase far higher as aid workers gain access to isolated areas in the mountains and other parts of the country that had been cut off by flooding and fallen trees.

At least four people have been killed in the United States, while millions have had their power cut off or their homes devastated by flooding and high winds.

As is typical in all natural disasters, the devastation has exposed the immense social inequality that defines the capitalist system.

The brunt of the devastation is borne by the most vulnerablethe poor who cannot afford to evacuate and have no choice but to try to survive in trailers or shacks that are unable to withstand high winds, flooding and falling trees. The fundamental cause of death and devastation is not the hurricane, but poverty, compounded by the actions of governments that promote the interests of the rich.

The US media has currently dedicated nonstop coverage to the impact of the storm in the US, but there will be no review of the aftermath, how peoples lives are permanently affected or the social conditions that give rise to the devastation they report on. The situation in Haiti, which has experienced the worst devastation so far, has been largely ignored.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. At least 842 people were confirmed killed when the hurricane hit there Monday night.

More than a century of domination by US imperialism has left Haiti without the ability to provide even the most basic services. No significant measures have been taken to protect the masses on an island that is repeatedly struck by hurricanes and flooding.

In recent years, Haiti has been subject to repeated natural and manmade disasters that have resulted in mass death and destruction. Four hurricanes hit in 2008, resulting in the deaths of more than 800 people.

Despite the aid provided by the Clinton Foundation and the United Nations, the country has yet to recover from the 2010 earthquake that killed some 90,000 people and a subsequent cholera epidemic started by UN peacekeepers that has so far claimed more than 10,000 lives.

In the United States, a woman was killed in northeastern Florida Friday afternoon when a tree came crashing down on the camper trailer she and her husband were using to ride out the storm. At least two elderly people died of medical complications because emergency workers were unable to reach them.

Even though millions of people in the affected areas in the Southeastern US have been ordered to evacuate, they have been given minimal support to do so. Many are unable to afford the cost of a hotel room or the gasoline required to drive out. A significant portion of those who do evacuate lack the resources or adequate flood or hurricane insurance that will allow them to return to their homes if they are damaged in the storm.

As endless resources are poured into the American military, basic infrastructure is starved of funding with the ruling class claiming that there is no money. This is a sick farce. The $5 trillion that has been squandered on war over the last 15 years would more than cover the money needed for all schools, water systems, bridges, transit and other critical infrastructure in the US by 2020 and still have money to spare. And this does not include the enormous sums of money monopolized by the corporate and financial elite.

Neither Trump nor Clinton has any answer to the social disaster revealed by Hurricane Matthew. Both are committed to expanding US war abroad and intensifying the assault on the working class within the United States and internationally. These two candidates of the two big-business parties represent different factions of a ruling class presiding over a bankrupt social and economic system.

Tragedies such as Hurricane Matthew are a horrible reminder of the human cost of capitalism and the predations of American imperialism. Socialism will not put an end to hurricanes, but a massive investment in social infrastructure, the rational and organized planning of world economy, and the elimination of poverty will prevent their most devastating consequences.
The US presidential election campaign, with one month to go, is being conducted on a level so debased and filthy as to be virtually indescribable. Another nationally televised exercise in mutual mudslinging, name-calling and evasion of the issues looms on Sunday night, in the second presidential debate.

The two main candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, are the most unpopular political figures in modern US history, each detested by more than half the population, each rightly regarded as a self-serving liar. One is a fascistic bigot and demagogue, the other a stooge of Wall Street and the military-intelligence apparatus.

In the final month of the campaign, the usual apologists for the Democratic Partythe trade unions, liberal media editorialists from the New York Times to the Nation magazine, the upper-middle-class advocates of identity politicswill redouble their claims that the election of Clinton over Trump is the only thing that prevents the collapse of American democracy.

As the Nation put it in its predictably hyperbolic editorial statement endorsing Clinton, published this week, the case for the former Secretary of State can be summed up in two words: Donald Trump. Even reliably pro-Republican newspapers have chimed in with warnings that the election of Trump would deal a devastating blow to the political stability of the United States. The Atlantic magazine went so far as to note that its endorsement of Clinton was only the third in its history, following its support of Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater in 1964, and of Abraham Lincoln in 1860.

It should be pointed out that if American democracy is in such a fragile condition, it must be due to far more profound reasons than the election campaign of the Manhattan real estate and casino billionaire, who currently trails Clinton by a narrow margin in the polls. The editorial wise men do not attempt to explain the causes of this crisis to their readers. Nor have they presented any convincing rationale for why the election of Clinton rather than Trump will save the country from impending doom.

There is an enormous chasm between what the candidates talk about each day in the election campaign, and the measures that the American capitalist class is preparing to carry out once the identity of the next occupant of the White House has been settled. Here are three major issues that are unlikely to be referred to, let alone seriously discussed, in Sundays debate:

The deepening global crisis of capitalism: According to a report issued by the International Monetary Fund ahead of its annual meeting, which began Friday in Washington, debt in the nonfinancial sector of the world economy has doubled in nominal terms since 2000, reaching a staggering $152 trillion last year, more than 225 percent of global GDP. This insupportable financial bubble, combined with weakened banking structures and sharpening trade tensions between the major powers, make a 2008-style market crash, on an even larger scale, increasingly likely, leading to a global depression.

The US drive towards war with Russia and China: The Obama administration has stepped up its campaign of vilification and denunciation of Russia Friday, with Secretary of State John Kerry demanding war crimes charges for alleged Russian bombing of civilians in Syria, while an official US government report blamed Russia for hacking into state voting systems and the computers of the Democratic National Committee. At the same time, the Pentagon is increasing its military pressure on China over its occupation of islets in the South China Sea. The next US president will take office on the brink of war with one or both nuclear powers.

The escalating class struggle in the United States: While Clinton campaigns as the continuator of the supposed successes of the Obama administration, Trump points to the dismal economic conditions for wide layers of the working class. But whether they spread complacency or profess alarm, both candidates are completely hostile to any movement from below. Trumps demands for law and order would be applied with brutal force to struggles of the working class. Clinton is allied to the trade unions, which seek to sabotage any struggle to defend jobs and wages, and to the urban political machines that control the police forces engaged in daily violence against workers and youth.

It is these processes, which can be summed up as the breakdown of world capitalism and the collapse of the social equilibrium in all the major countries, that account for the increasingly nervous and alarmist proclamations from liberal editorialists. The ground is indeed shifting beneath their feet, but not because of the personality of Trump. He is only a noxious symptom of the overall breakdown. Their real fear is the outbreak of a movement from below against both parties and the capitalist system they defend.

The Socialist Equality Party is running in the 2016 elections in order to prepare working people and young people for the great events that will erupt after November 8if not in the final weeks before the vote. Our candidates, Jerry White for President and Niles Niemuth for Vice President, warn that the election campaigns of the capitalist candidates are aiming at concealing the development of the crisis and disarming working people.

One month from today, we urge all our supporters to cast a vote for White and Niemuth. However, our campaign is not fundamentally about votes, but about building a political party to lead the struggles to come. Join the Socialist Equality Party, get involved in the fight for socialism. To organize a movement against war and the capitalist system that creates it, and to prepare for what lies ahead, the SEP and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality are organizing a conference on November 5 in Detroit, Socialism vs. Capitalism and War. For more information, visit the conference web site, socialismvswar.com.
Washington and its allies have deliberately escalated tensions with Moscow amid growing signs that a Russian-backed offensive by Syrian government forces is on the brink of overrunning US-backed, Al Qaeda-affiliated rebels in eastern Aleppo.

US Secretary of State John Kerry Friday called for Russia and the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad to be investigated for war crimes in relation to strikes carried out by Syrian and Russian warplanes against the Islamist militias.

Referring to an alleged overnight bombing of a hospital, Kerry declared: These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes. 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.

Later in the day a spokesman admitted that the State Department had been unable to confirm Kerrys charge, stating that whether or not there was a strike last night in a hospital or Aleppo is kind of beside the point.

Washingtons feigned shock and outrage over bloodshed in eastern Aleppo are belied by US support for and direct complicity in similar and worse war crimes in Yemen, where the United Nations has reported over 10,000 killed, largely as a result of a bombing campaign by a Saudi Arabian-led coalition that is armed by and receives indispensable intelligence and logistical aid from the Pentagon. UN officials have warned that the US-backed war in that country is threatening much of the population with starvation.

Nor, for that matter, has Kerry or any other US official shown any inclination to back war crimes investigations into Washingtons illegal war of aggression against Iraq, which claimed over one million lives and laid the groundwork for the bloody conflicts that have since erupted throughout the region.

It is also noteworthy that Kerry voiced no concern for the killing and terrorizing of civilians in government-controlled western Aleppo, where the vast majority of the population lives. US-backed rebels have carried out continuous terror attacks on the area with rockets, mortars and hell cannon, as well as chemical weapons, killing hundreds.

Kerrys rhetorical attack was mounted for propaganda purposes. There is no likelihood that Russia, which wields veto power on the United Nations Security Council, would accept a war crimes investigation into its bombing campaign in Syria, any more than Washington would allow such a probe into the crimes carried out by US imperialism all over the world.

The US secretary of state made his remarks speaking alongside his French counterpart, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who stopped in Washington en route to the United Nations in New York City, where he is to press for the adoption of a Security Council resolution imposing a new ceasefire in Syria.

Like Kerrys war crimes gambit, the French resolution is also intended for propaganda purposes, drafted in language that will ensure a Russian veto. It demands the imposition of a no-fly zone over Aleppo, compelling the grounding of all Russian and Syrian warplanes. Russias UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters Friday that the French resolution was unprecedented in its demand that a permanent member of the Security Council vote for a measure that restrains its own actions. A vote is supposed to go ahead during a Security Council session today.

The French resolution ignores the events that led to the breakdown of the last ceasefire deal, which was reached between the US and Russia on September 9. Before its definitive unraveling within barely one week, the ceasefire saw hundreds of violations by the so-called rebels, who continued attacking government positions, while using the cessation of airstrikes and the government offensive to rearm and reposition their forces.

Moscow protested the unwillingness and inability of Washington to implement a key provision of the deal, which called for so-called moderate rebels backed by the US to separate themselves from the Al Qaeda-affiliated militias that are designated by the UN as terrorists and excluded from the ceasefire. What the agreement clearly confirmed was that such a separation is impossible as the Al Qaeda elements represent the backbone of the proxy forces employed by the US in its war for regime change in Syria.

Moscows reluctance to accept a new ceasefire deal is also bound up with the undeniable advances made by Syrian government forces in Aleppo, which represents the last stronghold of the Islamist militias in any major population center. Their defeat there will signal a strategic reversal for the five-and-a-half-year-old regime-change war.

This is what is driving the increasingly hysterical US rhetoric, as well as growing pressure from within the US military and intelligence apparatus for a qualitative escalation of the American intervention in Syria. These layers see such a reversal not merely as a debacle for the US intervention in Syria, but part of a broader pattern of both Russia and China obstructing US imperialisms drive to assert global hegemony.

President Barack Obama is reportedly set to meet with his full National Security Council over this weekend to consider proposals for a military escalation in Syria. According to administration officials cited in the media, both US cruise missile strikes against Syrian government targets and the provision of more sophisticated weapons, including Manpad surface-to-air missiles, to the rebels have been proposed, with support from both the militarys Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a television interview Friday that Moscows decision to deploy a battery of S-300 missile defense systems to the Russian naval base at Tartus was taken in response to the reports from Washington that US airstrikes were being prepared.

The day before, Russias Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov issued a warning against the US targeting of Syrian government forces. I would recommend our colleagues in Washington to carefully weigh possible consequences of the fulfillment of such plans, he said.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook dismissed the warning, telling reporters, Well continue to conduct our operations as we have for months now over Syria, and well continue to do so taking every possible step we need to ensure the safety of our air crews.

With growing signs that the US and Russia, the worlds two major nuclear powers, could be on the brink of a military confrontation in Syria, Washington has further ratcheted up tensions with the issuance Friday of a formal statement from the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security alleging that the Russian government was responsible for hacking the computers of the Democratic National Committee and other political entities in actions intended to interfere with the US election process.

Both the Democratic Party and administration officials have repeated unsubstantiated charges that the hacking was ordered by the government of President Vladimir Putin. These allegations have served to divert attention from the content of the leaked emails, which demonstrated that the Democratic Party leadership had sought to rig the primary process to ensure the victory of Hillary Clinton over her rival for the presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders.

The formal finding of Russian responsibility, which has been backed up by no evidence, may well lead to a new round of US sanctions against Moscow.

Meanwhile, in what amounted to an unmistakable and chilling warning to Russia, the US Air Force reported Thursday on an exercise staged earlier this month at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, where two B-2A Spirit stealth bombers dropped two B61 nuclear weapons, minus their warheads.

The primary objective of flight testing is to obtain reliability, accuracy, and performance data under operational representative conditions, the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said of this dry run for nuclear war.
A priest from Chennai had advised the couple to make their daughter observe fast for at least four months in order to get profits in business.

By Ashish Pandey: In a shocking incident a 13-year-old girl died after observing fast for 68 days in Hyderabad.

The Jain community girl, Kumari Aradhana was studying in class 10 in St. Francis school of the city. She was observing "chaturmas" fast to bring luck to the family as her father Laxmichand Sansadiya had suffered loss in jewelry business.

COMPLAINT FILED

advertisement

It is alleged that the girl died due to ill health on October 2.

The Child Right Association raised an alarm on Friday after it lodged a complaint with the Hyderabad Police Commissioner M Mahender Reddy, seeking immediate action against the girl's parents.

DECISION TAKEN ON PRIEST'S ADVICE



In its complaint, Bal Hakkula Sangham said that a priest from Chennai had advised the couple to make their daughter observe fast for at least four months in order to get profits in business.

"During the meeting, the victim collapsed on the ground and slipped into coma. She was shifted to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead," said Anuradha Rao in her complaint to the police commissioner.

The Child Rights activist has demanded an inquiry in the incident and action against those responsible persons who "killed innocent child".

Also read:

Delhi: Cops use honeytrap to arrest man who stalked minor girls on Facebook

Delhi: Mother alleges minor daughter was forced to drink acid by stalkers



--- ENDS ---
TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - Friday, deputies and officers participated in a caffeinated community outreach event.

The Leon County Sheriff's Office and the Tallahassee Police Department invited Capitol City locals to have "Coffee with a Cop" as a part of a national event that's meant to build trust between local law enforcement and the public in a neutral, non-threatening environment.

Officers from the TPD were not the only ones participating, as the Valdosta Police Department is gearing up to host their own outreach event called, "Shop with a Cop" in December.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - 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.

___

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."

___

6:45 p.m. (Story continues below)

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."

___

4:45 p.m.

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.

___

4:30 p.m. (Story continues below)

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 Family took her to hospital, where she died.

___

4 p.m. (Story continues below updated feed of ABC's Good Morning America's tweets)

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.

___

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.
THOMASVILLE, GA (WTXL) - Police have arrested 3 minors who they said stole a woman's car.

The Thomasville Police Department said that they arrested 17-year-old Edward Hagood, along with a 16-year-old and and 14-year-old on Friday.

Police said that they were called to a robbery at Archbold Memorial Hospital on Wednesday around 6:30 p.m. Officers said that when they arrived, the victim told them her car had been stolen.

The victim said that she had gotten into her car when three men ran up to her and demanded she get out her car. She was then pulled out of her car, pushed to the ground, and hit by her car door before the men drove away in her car.

All 3 have been charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, and theft of motor vehicle.
THOMASVILLE, GA (WTXL) - The Thomasville Police Department has warned citizens about scam calls from fake utility providers.

Police said that they have received calls from residents regarding these scam calls where citizens are being threatened for money.

They said that during these calls, victims are told to pay large amounts of money or their services will be disconnected. Citizens told police that they were instructed to go to a CVS Store to purchase prepaid cards to send the payment.

Police said they were told that the scammers were presenting themselves as either City of Thomasville Utilities or Georgia Power. They have warned citizens not to send any money to anyone about their services.

They have told victims to notify their utility provider.
By PTI: Karachi, Oct 8 (PTI) Actress Mahira Khan has broken her silence over the ongoing controversy surrounding the demand for a ban on Pakistani artistes in Bollywood after the Uri attack, saying she strongly condemns any act of terror and prays for a peaceful world.

The 33-year-old actress comments came after Pakistani artistes like Fawad Khan and Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan condemned the Uri attack.

advertisement

In a Facebook post, Mahira wrote, "In the 5 years that I have been working as an actor I believe that I have tried my best to keep my countrys respect intact - by being a professional and by representing Pakistan here and elsewhere to the best of my abilities.

"As a Pakistani and citizen of the world, I strongly condemn any act of terror, any loss of human life no matter which soil it is on! I will not rejoice in bloodshed and war. I will always hope for and dream of a world where my child can live without it, and always plead with everyone to imagine a peaceful world," she wrote.

There is a growing demand for a ban on artistes from Pakistan by certain sections in India in the wake of the Uri terror attack.

Fawad, Mahira and other Pakistani actors 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", which has a cameo by Fawad, and "Raees", starring Mahira in the lead role.

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.

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 Ajay Devgn, Randeep Hooda, Sonali Bendre and Nana Patekar have supported the ban on artistes from Pakistan.

Many sections had also criticised Pakistani artistes silence over the attack. PTI JCH PSH PSH

--- ENDS ---
A Yakima man who admitted being high on drugs when his truck smashed into a car stopped on a highway shoulder, killing a Franklin County jail 
The RSS Dalit outreach comes at a time when the BJP has been dubbed as "anti-Dalit" for its stance on the Gujarat killings by cow vigilantes, suicide of University of Hyderabad scholar Rohith Vemula and anti-Mayawati rants by RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat.

By Siddhartha Rai: It's time for the Hindus to unite, moving beyond the castes. That's the message which the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) wants to send out loud and clear this Dussehra. In its massive outreach programme for the Dalits, the outfit is sparing no efforts to give voice to the voiceless and make them feel that they are pretty much part of the large Hindu family. The intention is clear - to unite one and all, negating the ill effects of caste divide and discrimination that keeps the Dalits apart.

advertisement

The RSS is all set to celebrate this Dussehra festival as a mark of social harmony aimed at giving the Dalit communities of the country a pride of place. While the Sangh has been publicly celebrating the festival in some form or the other since its inception in 1925, this year the commemoration seems to carry a sensitive social message with a view to the 2017 Uttar Pradesh election.

ONE TEMPLE, ONE WELL AND ONE CREMATORIUM

The Muslim Rashtriya Manch will hold 100 meetings across various cities in UP.

The Delhi prant of the RSS is organising a social harmony festival or 'Samajik Samarasta Vijayadashmi Utsav' in Delhi on Sunday. The programme would see a noted Dalit saint from the Valmiki community of scavengers - Balyogi Sant Shri Ravi Sahji Maharaj - as the chief guest. The saint is the coordinator of Shri Bhagwan Valmiki Adhyatmik Ashram in Gannaur in Haryana.

According to the RSS, the move is underlined by its central social tenet of 'One Temple, One Well and One Crematorium'.

"Sarsanghchalak (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat has dedicated this year to social harmony and we are only following his principles. Look at the nefarious designs that are afloat to divide the Hindu community. Asaduddin Owaisi went to Uttar Pradesh and declared that there are only two marginalised communities: Muslims and Dalits. He said if the two got united it will lead to political power easily and surely. The underlining assumption here is that Dalits are not Hindus," Alok Kumar, RSS's sah-sanghchalak (second in command in Delhi prant), told Mail Today.

The RSS Dalit outreach comes at a time when the BJP has been dubbed as "anti-Dalit" for its stance on the Gujarat killings by cow vigilantes, suicide of University of Hyderabad scholar Rohith Vemula and anti-Mayawati rants by RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat.

RAMLILAS TO INCLUDE WORSHIP OF SAGE VALMIKI

Moreover, to send out a strong message among the Dalit communities that hold sizeable numbers in several assembly constituencies in poll-bound UP, the RSS has also brought on board numerous local Ramlila committees from around Delhi. The right-wing outfit has made the Ramlilas to include the worship of Sage Valmiki along with Lord Rama at Ramleela events across the national Capital.

advertisement

To strengthen the move, the Ramlila committees are inviting local Dalit dignitaries as chief guests to the enactments. Added to it, photos of Babasaheb Ambedkar too are finding a place on the banners and posters.

"A narrative is being sewn together for some time now by the Left in India - that we are anti-Dalit and the Rohith Vemula controversy was in line with that. Babasaheb throughout his life wrote against the Leftist-Socialist brigade and it is such an irony that these very people try to misappropriate him in institutions such as the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)," said RSS's Delhi prant prachar pramukh Rajiv Tuli.

Several political concerns of a social nature that are surely to have a big role in Uttar Pradesh, a state fractured along the faultlines of caste, seem to have inspired the move. While Delhi has a massive migrant population from Uttar Pradesh, organising such a programme in the national Capital is sure to grab the attention of the media which would lead to widespread dissemination of the RSS's message across the country.

Political pundits have dubbed the 2017 UP polls as the semifinals to the 2019 general elections. The state has long been dominated by regional parties such as the OBC-dominated Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of Dalit leader Mayawati while the BJP has had a long dry spell as the last time it came to power in UP was in 1996.

advertisement

EYE ON UP, RSS MUSLIM WING TO WOO YOUTH

The aim is clear: to attract the votes of the minorities. And keeping that in mind, the Muslim Rashtriya Manch of the RSS has been activated in Uttar Pradesh. With that the outfit hopes the Bharatiya Janata Party will be able to garner enough Muslim votes in the poll-bound state.

The Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) will host a meeting on October 15 in minority dominated Mewat district. The event will coincide with the birthday of former President, the late APJ Abdul Kalam. The message from the MRM platform will be loud and clear - the BJP and RSS are not the enemies of the Muslims and the ruling party at the Centre hopes to attract more youth from the community.

"There is a strong perception that the policies of BJP and RSS are against minority communities. BJP and RSS have many development programmes to offer that somehow are not reaching to the minority community. The basic idea of these meeting is to change the mindset of the Muslim community, especially the younger people and make them aware about the development progammes of the central government," said MRM national convener Khurshid Rajaka.

advertisement

Rajaka pointed out former President Abdul Kalam was above any community and religion. In a similar manner, the RSS is also working in the interest of common people whether they are Hindus or Muslims or from any other community, he said. Meetings like the Progressive Panchayat and such MRM events will help make people realise the positive commitment of the BJP and RSS, he added.

MRM will organise 100 meetings across the country. Some such events will be held in Uttar Pradesh, in cities like Aligarh, Agra, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Kanpur, Gorakhpur and Azamgarh where the Muslims are present in large numbers. There is a plan to connect with the Muslim youth in universities like the Jamia Milia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University, JNU, Lucknow University and Banaras Hindu University among others.

- With inputs from Ajay Kumar

ALSO READ:

Uttarakhand shamed: Dalit man killed for arguing with upper-caste school teacher

Rahul Gandhi vs RSS: Congress leader appears before Guwahati court in defamation case



--- ENDS ---
Submit An Obituary

Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.

Go to form
When the IDF hit high value targets in the Gaza Strip following a rocket attack on Sderot Wednesday, Israel was continuing its strategic policy as laid out by new Defense Minister Avigdor Liebermanhit Hamas targets along the border with tanks as quickly as possible after a rocket attack (sometimes less than a minute later), while managing to bomb quality Hamas targets from the air within hours.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



This is different than the former policy, where by the IDF would wait until nightfall to carry out its retaliatory attack, causing little damage. Even then, most of the attacks were on missile launch sites, sites which were dismantled anyway by the time the jets came to hit them.

By contrast, on Wednesday the Israeli Air Force hit Hamas targets with heavy bombs all throughout the afternoon. The airstrikes were exact, surgical, massive, and destroyed Hamas offensive strategic capabilitiescapabilities that Hamas has been preparing since the end of the last war in preparation for the next one.

Hamas target attacked by IDF (Photo: AP)

The IDF is currently evaluating the results of Wednesday's attacks on Gaza. The air force hit targets including warehouses used for storing weapons equipment stores used by Hamas naval commandos.

These targets were identified months ago through the joint efforts of the Shin Bet and Israeli Military Intelligence. Destruction of these targets was enabled as a result of the "window of opportunity" provided by the rocket launch from Gaza, and due to the IDF's newer, harsher policies regarding keeping Hamas from building up its offensive attack capabilities.

Hamas target attacked in Gaza (Photo: Reuters)

According to Israeli security assessments, Hamas is not interested in an escalation of violence, as it is fighting against the Salafi Jihadist organizations in the Strip, which are trying to undermine Hamas's power.

IDF Chief of Staff Eisenkot (L) and Defense Minister Lieberman (Photo: Ariel Harmony, Ministry of Defense)

Israel is also uninterested in an escalation, despite the large scale of recent attacks. In fact, Israel wants to mitigate any chance of an escalation, especially in light of the High Holy Days, during which huge numbers of Israelis travel to the south of the country.

As such, it seems that the IDF isnt focusing its military efforts on small terror cells that launch rockets of their own accord, thereby leaving these terror cells more or less intact. This despite the fact that Sderot has been hit four times since the end of Operation Protective Edge.

Smoke rises following an IDF strike on a Hamas target (Photo: AFP)

However, according to IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, the IDF's number one target is uncovering and destroying the Hamas "terror tunnels" that cross into Israel. Hamas allocates the majority of its budget to the construction of these tunnels. IDF efforts to mitigate the threat posed by them can be seen with new technology currently being developed and used to locate these tunnels, along with the continuing efforts of Israeli intelligence to locate and destroy these underground threats.

All this notwithstanding, though, the IDF's new method of hitting high quality Hamas targets in real time may bring about a new threat: namely, that the Hamas military wing might start a new war sooner rather than later.
It will be difficult for the Pakistan army to mount a conventional response to India. Nearly a third of its army - 26 of its 69 brigades - are deployed fighting the Pakistan Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the FATA areas.

If India colour-coded its threat levels like the US department of homeland security does, the colour this month would be red, for an imminent attack. On September 29, Indian special forces raided terrorist launchpads in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) taking the battle to the enemy on his own ground. The raid killed an unspecified number of terrorists who the army says were planning strikes inside Jammu and Kashmir, in various metros and other states.

Now, as the security establishment tinkers with new strategies to defeat the menace, it is bracing for a blowback from the Pakistani 'deep state'-the ISI and its army of terrorists. A senior Indian army official says there is a high chance of a retaliatory attack, following the recent pattern of striking Indian military targets.

advertisement

The air force, for instance, has 54 major air bases, the navy has seven air bases, five major naval bases, eight naval stations and four ammunition depots across the country. The army has over a thousand logistic bases in J&K with over 200 installations located in the Valley alone. Once a military perimeter is breached, the targets of opportunity are abundant. It could be groups of unarmed soldiers or, in the case of an air force base, stationary aircraft or helicopters.

"There are literally thousands of targets in Jammu and Kashmir?it doesn't matter if it is an administrative area or headquarters, a supply station or a company operating base. We have to accord all of them equal priority to defeat a terror attack," a senior army official says.

As the counter-terrorist adage goes: a terrorist only has to get lucky once. The security forces, every time. In recent months, Pakistan-based terrorists have got lucky twice. Both sensational attacks this year were on military targets-the Pathankot air base in Punjab where four Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists struck on January 1 and the army base in Uri which the four JeM terrorists attacked on September 18, killing 19 soldiers. While the Pathankot air base attack, in which seven security personnel were killed, ruptured peace talks between India and Pakistan, the Uri attack invited an Indian military response. A tactical strike by terrorists that had strategic ramifications, the equivalent of the tripwire on a minefield which sets off a chain reaction.

A new terror paradigm

The shift to attacking military targets within India is part of a larger game plan, say intelligence officials. Pakistan's army, they say, has wielded its twin strategic assets to further its national security strategy against India: the sword of terrorists to inflict a war of a thousand cuts and the shield of nuclear weapons to ward off a military riposte.

Post the 26/11 attacks, when its key strategic asset, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, was designated a global terrorist organisation and even the prospect of strategic nuclear weapons did not seem likely to deter a military strike by India, this strategy was retooled.

advertisement

Pakistani military planners worked hard to counter the Indian Army's Cold Start military doctrine that called for swift military thrusts into Pakistan. "They fielded tactical nuclear weapons to blunt any possible Indian military advance," says a senior army official. The most significant part of the plan was the April 2011 test-firing of the Nasr short range ballistic missile, which Pakistan claimed "added deterrence value to its strategic weapon's programme at short ranges". The Nasr could carry 'nuclear warheads of appropriate yield with high accuracy' and was a 'quick response system' that addressed the need to 'deter evolving threats'. Meaning Cold Start.

Confident that it had blunted the threat of military retaliation, Pakistan brought an old non-state actor out of the doghouse. Maulana Masood Azhar, head of the JeM, had fallen out of favour with the Pervez Musharraf government. Azhar announced his return to favour with GHQ Rawalpindi by taking out a massive rally in Muzaffarabad in PoK and calling for a war against India. Azhar's JeM, which he set up after being freed in exchange for the hijacked passengers of IC-814 in 1999, had earlier carried out the sensational December 13, 2001, strike on India's Parliament. Since then, the JeM specialised in attacks on military targets. In hindsight, their revival was not without significance. "The Pakistani deep state shifted to hitting military and police targets because they were seen as 'legitimate' as opposed to civilian ones which would invite global condemnation," a senior army official says.

advertisement

The year 2013 marked the return of fidayeen attacks in J&K after a three-year gap. The deadliest was a September 26 twin attack on a police station in Kathua and an army camp in Samba which killed 10 people, including a Lieutenant Colonel. A June 24 attack on an army convoy in Bemina in Srinagar district killed five CRPF troopers. The JeM had clearly stepped up its deadly game and it continued its attacks on military installations. In November 2014, three JeM militants were shot down while trying to storm an army camp. In December 2014, they attacked an army camp in Uri, killing 14 people. By 2015, they began striking outside J&K as well. The terror strike on a police station in Gurdaspur by four JeM infiltrators, Punjab's first terror attack in a decade, signalled that the organisation was willing to take the fight into India's hinterland. The targets again would only be military, police or paramilitary. "The attacks on our bases are also a strategy to tie down larger numbers of personnel in guard duties making fewer available to conduct operations," an army official says.

advertisement

Each attack revealed the armed forces fighting in their bases and camps against an adversary bent upon inflicting casualties. It exposed painful chinks in their perimeter security. Fidayeen, who are to the deep state what special forces are to the army, struck where the army was vulnerable. They train for their missions several weeks in advance, study camp layouts after they are infiltrated across the border. They are equipped with night vision devices to negotiate the border and GPS handsets with pre-fed waypoints or navigation routes and maps to reach their targets. Terrorists are quick to spot a slackening of guard or even a change of command. In the Uri attack, for instance, they hit a battalion that had just arrived from West Bengal a few days ago and was still getting used to the Valley.

Terrorists look for armoured and artillery units which they reckoned would not be as heavily guarded as infantry units. In the September 2014 Samba attack, JeM terrorists walked in through an unguarded section of the armoured regiment, sprinting towards the officers' quarters in search of targets.

"The army has two types of establishments, static and semi-permanent. There is no excuse for not securing semi-permanent establishments like brigade and corps headquarters," says Colonel Vivek Chadha (retd) of the New Delhi-based Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses.

It was only after the dramatic attack on the Pathankot air base exposed painful vulnerabilities that the ministry of defence reacted. The JeM attackers had aimed to replicate the September 2012 raid by the Taliban on a US base in the Helmand province of Afghanistan in which two Marines were killed and eight AV8-B Harrier ground attack aircraft were destroyed. The coordinated attack by 19 Taliban attackers was the worst of its kind by a non-state actor in recent years.

Fortunately for the IAF, the Pathankot attackers were neutralised before they reached the aircraft and helicopter gunships parked in their shelters. It was, however, a close call despite specific intelligence about the base being a target and NSG commandos being pre-positioned there.

What complicated the response was issues of command and control between the army, the air force and the NSG. In the initial hours, it was unclear who exactly was responsible for the operation-the base commander, an air force officer, the NSG major general or the army brigadier of the Pathankot-based military unit.

While the response drill between the army, police and paramilitary is well-coordinated within the Valley, an immediate response in bases outside the state becomes an issue. This was clearly a vulnerability sensed by terrorists when they struck at Pathankot.

These lapses forced defence minister Manohar Parrikar to set up a committee to recommend long-term solutions. This was the first of its kind in post-independence India. And what the committee headed by former vice-chief of army staff Lt General Philip Campose found was that procedures had barely changed since independence.

The four-member committee, which included two-star officers from the three services, found, for instance, that the majority of the armed forces' installations were guarded by Defence Service Corps (DSC) sentries, most of them retired soldiers who joined the corps at its upper limit of 48 years. The committee found that nearly 20 per cent of the DSC comprised of 'tradesmen', army personnel who had never fired a shot while in service. Their original mandate was to control pilferage at the bases and regulate entry of personnel at military bases. They were equipped with normal infantry weapons and did not even have bulletproof jackets or night vision devices to help repel a fidayeen strike.

Bases did not have control rooms or electronic fences that would trigger off an alarm in case of an intrusion. There was no clear line of sight of the perimeter and compounds were overgrown with trees that could conceal attackers. They lacked the multi-tiered fencing to keep attackers away from parked assets like aircraft. Some bases had perimeters of over 20 km. Many bases lacked Quick Reaction Teams that would immediately respond to an attack nor laid down procedures in case of an emergency.

Of particular concern has been the effectiveness of the 3,323-km-long international border with Pakistan, manned by the home ministry. Recent attacks in Gurdaspur, Samba and Pathankot came through gaps in the border fence along the international border policed by the Border Security Force. A recent presentation by the MHA's border management division identified vulnerable gaps which need to be plugged.

Army officials say the 540-km long barbed wire fence built by the Indian army across the LoC under its charge has drastically reduced militant infiltration but also has to be upgraded. The fence, a 12-foot-high steel structure with spirals of concertina wire, needs to be boosted with more modern advances in sensor technology, particularly buried seismic sensors.

The navy was the first to realise the threat from attacks to military assets- the Taj Mahal hotel which terrorists struck during 26/11 was less than 500 metres away from the dockyard where half the naval fleet was anchored. A 1,000-man force called the Sagar Prahari Bal was raised, with 60 patrol boats, to protect naval harbours.

The IAF is now finalising a Rs 8,000-crore proposal to protect its 54 major bases. The report recommended improving the security infrastructure and perimeter defence of all bases, identified a response mechanism in the event of a terror attack, and, finally, pinpointed responsibilities among the various stakeholders in the event of a military attack.

The Campose Committee report was submitted in May this year. Four months and one major attack later, not one of its recommendations has been implemented. Some of its proposals-for creating security infrastructure, and training and equipping forces-are likely to take time to implement. That process has not even started. Even the most easily doable part-identifying a response mechanism in case of an attack-has yet to be notified.

The forces guarding the military perimeters continue to face the same equipment shortfalls that cripple their fight against terrorism. Hand-held thermal imagers (HHTIs) are prioritised for deployment along the LoC fence. Sentries on guard duty do not have night sights or weapon sights mounted on their weapons.

When technology is deployed, it often becomes redundant in the fog of war which follows a terror attack. In the Baramulla attack on the night of October 2, when terrorists struck at a BSF and army camp, a UAV was immediately launched. The thermal imager could not distinguish between friend and foe. During the Pathankot operation too, helicopters that deployed their thermal imagers could not tell the difference between soldiers and terrorists on the ground. A range of options exist (see box: Defensive Arsenal) but they have either not been acquired or are still way down on the priority list. Equipment maintenance, especially in remote outposts, remains a concern.

Offence the best form of defence

In vehemently denying the surgical strike conducted on its territory, Pakistan, the Indian army believes, has constrained its own options. "They can't retaliate or even escalate for an operation they deny ever took place," a senior official says. The other major variable is the prospect of General Raheel Sharif's retirement. "Pakistan's next course of action will depend on what General Sharif does next. These strikes are a blot on an otherwise unblemished career," he says.

It will be difficult for the Pakistan army to mount a conventional response to India. Nearly a third of its army-26 of its 69 brigades-are deployed fighting the Pakistan Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the FATA areas. Intelligence officials estimate it will take a week for Pakistan to redeploy troops on the Indian border. But even this appears unlikely because it could lead to a return of the Pakistan Taliban from their sanctuaries within Afghanistan. The Pakistan army is also fighting an insurgency in Balochistan and has to raise a new division (15,000 soldiers) to guard the $42 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

"Our posture is we will strike back at terror," says a senior army official. "We know they cannot scale up terror attacks beyond a limit. If they do it foolishly, we are poised to retaliate. We might even pre-empt another attack." Offence, in that case, might actually be the best form of defence.

Follow the writer on Twitter @SandeepUnnithan



--- ENDS ---
DAKAR, Senegal - 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.
BEIRUT - Russia is calling for a vote Saturday on a UN resolution it proposed urging immediate implementation of the US-Russia cease-fire agreement, particularly in Aleppo.

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 UN 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.
WASHINGTON  The US government for the first time on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the November 8 presidential election.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



"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.

"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process," the statement said.

US intelligence officials concluded weeks ago that the Russian government was conducting or orchestrating cyber attacks against the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, possibly to disrupt or discredit the election, in which Democrat Hillary Clinton faces Republican Donald Trump.

Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama (Photo: EPA)

A Kremlin spokesman called the US allegations "nonsense", the Interfax news agency reported.

The Obama administration's decision to blame Russia for the attacks is the latest downward turn in Washington's relations with Moscow, which are under strain over Russia's actions in Syria and Ukraine and in cyberspace.

Also on Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Russian and Syrian actions in the Syrian civil war, including bombings of hospitals, "beg for" a war crimes investigation.

In addition, a US intelligence official said Friday that Russia is moving short-range nuclear-capable missiles into Kaliningrad, a tiny Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania, confirming Estonian news reports.

Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, said public blaming for the hacks left one remaining question of "why Donald Trump continues to make apologies for the Russians." Trump had previously expressed doubt about Russia's involvement. In July, he suggested Russia should attempt to retrieve and publish emails from Clinton's private server.

Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hours after the US government's accusation was levied, WikiLeaks posted hundreds of emails on its website purportedly hacked from Podesta's private account.

Trump, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Clinton (Photo: AFP, AP, Reuters)

Change in tone

Until Friday, the administration had avoided publicly naming Russia in connection with the mounting civilian deaths in Syria or the cyber attacks.

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.

However, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman told Reuters that US officials have concluded that the hacking attacks or probes of state voter registration systems are "consistent with Russian motivations."

Concern has grown about the reliability of the US voting system as a result of the breach, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called the system "rigged," but without providing specific evidence.

US intelligence officials have said there is no evidence that voting recording systems have been manipulated.

Naming Russia as the actor behind the cyber attacks on political organizations falls short of more punitive measures the United States has taken against other countries for cyber intrusions.

Lawmakers of both political parties welcomed the formal accusation. Republican Senator Cory Gardner, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity, said he planned to introduce sanctions legislation.

Earlier this year, a US grand jury indicted seven Iranians employed by two Iran-based computer companies on hacking charges into US financial sector. In 2015, Obama announced sanctions against North Korea for hacking into Sony Pictures. In 2014, the United States charged five Chinese military hackers for economic espionage aimed at US nuclear, metals and solar industries.

A senior US official said the administration is considering other retaliatory steps against Russia, but he declined to identify them. Those steps may remain covert, the official said.

The Democratic National Committee publicly disclosed intrusions into its systems in June, blaming Russia for the attacks. Leaks of the committees' emails from pro-transparency group WikiLeaks soon followed, demonstrating what appeared to be favoritism for Clinton over another Democrat, Bernie Sanders, by committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, stepped down.

In Friday's statement, the government said disclosures of emails by WikiLeaks and hacking entities known as DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts.







WikiLeaks has not identified the source of its leaks and criticized those who have claimed it was Russia. Guccifer 2.0 has identified itself as a Romanian hacker, but US intelligence officials have concluded it and DCLeaks are both a front for Russian spy units.
As they do every year, 15 Israel Police officers traveled last year to Uman, Ukraine, to help in maintaining public order and reducing crime when tens of thousands Israelis travel there to visit the burial site of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



This year, they broke up fights between Israeli visitors and others, saved a young man's life who had passed out from excessive drinking and found some people who had been missing for a few hours. They returned to Israel on Thursday afternoon.

This year's 15 Israel Policemen

The task force is under the command of the Operations Division of the Israel Police and consisted of riot police, a combat medic and a bomb disposal expert. They joined local police to handle dozens of incidents that included drug use, violence and even impersonating an Israel Police officer. The Israeli police there also handled incidents of locals stealing from the visitors and returned the stolen property to its rightful owners.

Crowds in Uman

It was the Ukrainian police who asked for Israel to send the help in dealing with tens of thousands of Israelis who travel for Rosh Hashanah. The Israel Police said that their officers' presence in their uniforms was of great importance. They said that, while their officers worked in tandem with the local forces, there were certain cases when Israeli officers handled an incident before the local police arrived.

Recovered property stolen from Israelis

Kiev Airport during the Israeli commandeering of the PA system (   )

X

Despite these efforts, the mass annual pilgrimage to Uman still had embarrassing moments of shockingly poor behavior by Israelis. One took place on an Israir flight when a physical fight broke out. Another involved an Israeli taking over a PA system to sing and pray through at an airport in Kiev.
Oslo  Norway's right-wing government last Wednesday announced plans to ban the full-face Islamic veil from classrooms and university lecture halls.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Education Minister Torbjrn Re Isaksen, quoted in the Vart Land newspaper, said the government was seeking "national regulations prohibiting the full-face veil in schools and universities".

Muslim women are rarely seen wearing such veils in Norway, let alone in schools. But the issue has come up recently in political debates, with less than a year to go before parliamentary elections.

Women wearing burka (Photo: AFP)

Several political parties including the opposition Labor Party had expressed support for such a ban.

Re Isaksen stressed that the ban would not apply to Islamic headscarves that leave the face exposed such as the hijab. People should be allowed to express their faith in public in Norway, he said.

"I want a young Christian girl who wears a cross to be able to show it," he told parliament. "I want a Jewish boy who wears a kippa to be able to show it. And I do not want a ban on the hijab."

The Norwegian plan comes as several European countries have moved to ban the face-covering niqab and full-body burqa.

Bulgaria banned women from wearing the full veil in public last week, and Switzerland's lower house l narrowly approved a draft bill on a nationwide ban the week before that.

In August Germany's interior minister came out in favor of a partial ban.

France and Belgium have both banned the burqa and niqab in public, while French beach resorts sparked international controversy this summer with local bans on the full-body " burkini " Islamic swimsuit.

A poll published earlier this month showed Britons to be strongly in favor of a burqa ban.
Turkish media reported on Friday that Kemal Okem, a close advisor to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been selected to be his country's new ambassador to Israel, though this was not officially confirmed by the government.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The appointment comes as part of the reconciliation deal signed between the two countries that reestablishes full diplomatic relations six years after the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident.

Erdogan (Photo: Reuters)

As part of that deal, Israel undertook to pay the families of the Turks killed in that incident compensation in the amount of $20 million . In exchange, Turkey agreed to prevent the filing of lawsuits against Israel entities, including the IDF, that were involved in the incident.
MOSCOW  US accusations that Russia was responsible for cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations lack any proof and are an attempt by Washington to fan "unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria", the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The US government for the first time on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the November 8 presidential election.

Washington's relations with Moscow are also under strain over the war in Syria and Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Obama and Putin in Moscow in 2009 (Photo: AFP)

"This whipping up of emotions regarding 'Russian hackers' is used in the US election campaign, and the current US administration, taking part in this fight, is not averse to using dirty tricks," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday in comments on the ministry's website.

Late on Friday, the Kremlin called the US allegations "nonsense".

"There is no proof whatsoever for such grave accusations," Ryabkov said.

"(They are) fabricated by those who are now serving an obvious political order in Washington, continuing to whip up unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria."

Ryabkov reiterated an offer to Washington, first made last year, to hold consultations on fighting cyber crime together.

But he also criticized John Kerry after the US Secretary of State said late on Friday that Russian and Syrian actions in the Syrian civil war, including bombings of hospitals, "beg for" a war crimes investigation.

Such remarks are unacceptable and Moscow is disappointed to hear "new typically US claims for being a global judge", Ryabkov said in comments to Interfax news agency published on Saturday.

Referring to a resolution on Syria proposed by France for debate at the United Security Council later on Saturday, he said, "Unfortunately, we see less and less common sense in the actions of Washington and Paris".

The draft resolution demands an end to air strikes and military flights over Aleppo. Moscow has already said this draft is unacceptable.
CAIRO- Egypt's foreign ministry sharply criticised the US Embassy in Cairo for advising citizens to avoid large gatherings in the capital until Sunday, calling the move "unjustifiable".

The largest Arab nation is currently battling an Islamist insurgency mainly concentrated in the Sinai Peninsula and which gained pace after its military ousted President Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. There have been occasional militant attacks in Cairo and other cities.

The US Embassy's message warned against being in public spaces, near diplomatic missions, government buildings, and transport hubs. It cited "potential security concerns" but did not specify what they were.

"The foreign ministry spokesman has conveyed his annoyance at the warning released by the United States embassy in Cairo to Americans," the ministry said in a statement. "(This) raises questions over the reasons this statement was released in such a way."
WARSAW- Poland said Saturday it is highly concerned that Russia has moved nuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missiles into Kaliningrad, a Russian region on Poland's northeastern border.

Russia, meanwhile, says the missiles are being deployed as part of regular military maneuvers to Kaliningrad.

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said Poland considers the matter of "highest concern" and is monitoring the situation.

The Iskander, which can be equipped with a conventional or a nuclear warhead, has a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles), placing most of Poland within its reach when they are in Kaliningrad. The development comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West over Syria.
When we decided to run for mayor in our respective cities, Paris and Tel Aviv, we knew what the job requirements were: Promote and develop the city, and ensure the welfare of its residents.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



This overarching mission immediately morphed into dozens of different sub-tasks as our attention was pulled in many different directions: Education, healthcare, transportation, infrastructure, the preservation of heritage, and building the future.

And to this multiplicity of mayoral missions was added another  one whose meaning greatly exceeds our municipal borders. This is a task being borne by mayors around the world these days; turning our cities into fortresses of democracy and investing resources in protecting societal values.

French flag on the Tel Aviv municipality building (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

A world that seemed to be marching towards becoming a global village, eroding national borders and becoming an inclusive, peaceful place was suddenly met with strong opposition: the forces of isolationist nationalism, bigotry, and religious fanaticism. These rivals to democratic discourse have begun to undermine the paths of unity and progress.

In times such as these, the world's main cities  which, more than just being political and economic powers, also tend to be cultural centers  must create an environment that allows for tolerance, pluralism, and humanism. That is why our cities are today at the forefront of the fight against extremism, racism, and hatred, and why we are the ones stepping up to protect our basic values while others in our nations seem to be showing weakness and fear.

It's not by happenstance that our cities are targets of murderous terrorism, which seeks to crush the open societies in which we live. In the short term, terrorism kills. In the long term, it sows the seeds of disunity and civil wars.

Paris, which experienced terrible attacks in 2015, including the Charlie Hebdo shooting, the Hyper Cacher attack, and the combined terror attacks of November 13 - is not just facing the prospect of violent fanaticism, but also parties in French society which seek to exploit this emergency in order to turn their backs to the republic's principles; freedom, egalitarianism, and brotherhoodand challenge the rule of law.

The people of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and Israel in general, have experienced terrorism as well, and this too has taken a toll in the form of political extremism that seems unprecedented, accompanied by bloviating by public figures and anti-democratic, anti-humanistic legislation.

In a reality such as this, our two cities find it hard to fervently guard the spirit of democracy, tolerance, and joint existence. We see the encouragement of democracy in our cities as more than just a slogan. We see it as a way of life, expressed through making a municipal platform that ensures an open dialogue, an exchange of ideas, a freedom of speech and expression. From the Place de la Republique in Paris to Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, we take it upon ourselves to allow people of all walks of life, all opinions, all national identities, all types of sensitivities, and all religions to coexist.

Security footage of the shooting attack at Tel Aviv's Sarona Market.

The gay communities in our countries haven't chosen to hold parades in our cities at random  they do it because members of the gay community can feel safe here. And in relation to minorities, immigrants, and other people who are traditionally on the lower rungs of societal power: Our role as mayors is to ensure that all people feel like they are standing on equal ground, and have the right to express themselves freely. This is the de facto day-to-day existence of democracy.

An alliance of friendship and partnership exists between our two cities, based on shared values: Protection of Pluralism, democracy, and the rule of law. We also both believe in encouraging active civilian involvement and the inclusion of all residents. Strengthening the cities' social and cultural bonds is among the central challenges we share, along with most central cities worldwide.

Anne Hidalgo is the mayor of Paris, France. Ron Huldai is the mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel.
The boa constrictor is a large tropical American snake that kills by coiling around its prey and asphyxiating it. It is a tactic that every Pakistan leader from Field Marshal Ayub Khan onwards feared India may employ to crush its ambitions of taking Kashmir by force.

In the past month, as India began to squeeze Pakistan by utilising a range of tactics-diplomatic, economic and military-to retaliate against the severe provocations in Kashmir, both the Sharifs who run Pakistan-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief Raheel Sharif-may have felt somewhat breathless at the boa-like grip that Delhi had over them. Particularly after the daringly executed surgical strikes by the Indian Army across the Line of Control on the night of September 28-29 to neutralise terrorist hideouts, which also forced Islamabad into a denial mode.

advertisement

Confronted by the gravest foreign policy challenge since he took over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi employed a strategy that can best be summed up as three Bs: Bold, Brave, Brilliant. It was bold because even as Kashmir spun out of control in July and Pakistan pushed India onto the back foot, Modi went on the offensive. He raised the human rights violations in Balochistan on Independence Day and then slammed Pakistan for abetting terror at the gathering of world leaders at the G-20 meet in China. India then went on to isolate Pakistan on the international stage and neutralised its efforts to raise Kashmir at the United Nations.

It was brave because after the Uri attacks, India did not shy away from employing the military option of covert strikes across the LoC despite the inherent high risk of escalation. While experts may argue that it is not the first time that India has carried out such strikes, rarely have these been as extensive (see accompanying report: Crossing a Red Line). Nor have such strikes been publicised in the manner that the NDA government has done to send a strong message to Pakistan and the world that 'enough was enough' apart from assuaging domestic anger that had built up after the Uri attack that killed 19 army personnel.

It was brilliant because Modi then began to carve a strategy that had the elements of what Theodore Roosevelt had once advised: "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Using the phrase to describe his style of foreign policy, the former US president had said: "It is the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis."

Modi and his team displayed tremendous insight and firm action as they drew up a carefully calibrated response to Pakistan's brazen aggression in Kashmir. They did so by moving all the critical pieces on the chessboard before striking hard and achieving the objective they wanted. Modi chose to speak softly. At the BJP National Council meet in Kozhikode in Kerala, his first statement after the Uri attack, Modi eschewed war while reserving the right to punish the Uri perpetrators. Using his oratorical skills, Modi drew a fine distinction between the Pakistani people and its rulers who fostered terrorism, exhorting the former to join him "in the war against poverty and unemployment".

Modi then began wielding the big stick. Apart from getting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to raise the Balochistan issue in the UN, Modi called for a review of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. While avoiding any talk of abrogation, he waved the threat that India could use water as a weapon if it chose too. It seemed to contradict what he spoke of at Kozhikode because water was a gut issue that could affect the Pakistan people the most. But an official explained, "The PM never said he would not punish you if you misbehave." He also sought a review of India's trade ties with Pakistan, including its Most Favoured Nation status.

advertisement

Modi then snubbed Nawaz Sharif by cancelling his visit to the upcoming South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit in Islamabad. India then leaned on other Saarc members, including Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka to announce that they were pulling out too. The message: Pakistan is not just India's problem, the whole region has issues with it.

when Modi decided to employ India's military prowess, he chose the option that was least likely to escalate to an all-out war. Two choices-the first of trying to dismember Pakistan as was done in 1971 or regaining territory in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir-were ruled out as they raised the spectre of a nuclear conflict. The other-of launching a missile strike to knock out terrorist leaders like Hafiz Saeed-was as risky and highly provocative. He chose strikes across the LoC as these had been carried out before and the two armies had dealt with such situations without escalating things further.

advertisement

Having delivered a strong message, Prime Minister Modi then signalled to Pakistan that while he had decisively changed the rules of engagement, he was willing to normalise relations if they stopped provoking India. The announcement of the LoC strike was carefully worded to indicate that having hit the terror groups hard, India had no intention of raising tensions further. Domestically, the country stood united behind Modi, with even opposition parties openly endorsing the strikes. As one senior official puts it, "What we have abandoned is the policy of strategic passivity, not restraint. We have sent a message across to Pakistan that we are redefining the terms both in a tough manner and in a positive way too. If they play ball, we are willing to open up to more things-connectivity, contacts, even sell power to them. But if they think they can carry on with the policy of terrorism, there will be costs."

While Pakistan's reaction remains muted, with both the army and the government denying that strikes were carried out, it was apparent from the series of cabinet meetings that Prime Minister Sharif held as well as the Army Chief's visit to a strike Corps directed at India that the message had got home. Pakistan is likely to retaliate in some measure, particularly because there is a power struggle on between the two Sharifs, with the Army Chief, who is due to retire, seeking an extension. While terror attacks on security forces in Kashmir, like the one at Baramulla last week, were expected, the real concern for experts is the prospect of a spectacular terror strike across the country, particularly on the civilian population. That could initially result in a limited war which India is equipped to handle but there is always a danger that it could escalate out of control. However, with Pakistan troops engaged in battling militants at the Afghan border, it may be loath to open another front with India at this juncture. Internationally, major powers barring China have strongly backed India. Beijing is also worried about rising tensions in the subcontinent and is likely to be more of a restraining factor on Pakistan than supportive.

advertisement

What Modi's strategy has done for India is that while raising issues such as the Indus Waters and Balochistan, it has given us the space to activate many more options than just diplomatic isolation or military strikes. By getting closer to Afghanistan, the UAE, Iran and Saudi Arabia, India is encircling Pakistan much as a boa would do before it strikes its prey. Modi has also introduced an element of unpredictability in India's response that will keep Pakistan constantly guessing as to what it would do next. Also with Pakistan denying that India had carried out a surgical strike, its army will find it difficult to justify a strong military retaliation. If it abets another terror strike, it will further strengthen India's case.

If this was the objective, India has succeeded. The downside, though, is that from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, India is on a 24x7 alert against a terror strike. Given its vulnerability in terms of guarding its armed forces bases, as seen in Pathankot and Uri, India needs to take urgent steps to beef up perimeter security (see accompanying report: Shields Up). Also, Kashmir continues to simmer and the rising tension with Pakistan hasn't helped. Modi has to make some bold moves soon in Kashmir to win the populace over. That the National Security Advisors of the two countries have talked over the phone is an encouraging sign that there are moves to de-escalate the situation. The Prime Minister has walked his talk and shown that he is a decisive leader while dealing with Pakistan. Modi now has to tread the fine line between engagement and firmness with Pakistan.

Follow the writer on Twitter @rajchengappa



--- ENDS ---
NEW YORK- Republican leaders from Utah to Alabama and Ohio called on Donald Trump to quit the presidential race on Saturday as a party in crisis grappled with the fallout from its White House nominee's vulgar and sexually charged comments caught on tape.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



At the same time, House Speaker Paul Ryan and other high-profile Republicans refused to abandon their nominee, who has long faced criticism from within his own party, but never to this degree. Frustration turned to panic across the GOP with early voting already underway in some states and Election Day one month away.

Trump "is obviously not going to win," Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse tweeted Saturday morning. "But he can still make an honorable move: Step aside & let Mike Pence try."

Donald Trump (Photo: AP)

In a videotaped midnight apology, Trump declared "I was wrong and I apologize" after being caught on tape bragging about aggressively groping women in 2005. He also defiantly dismissed the revelations as "nothing more than a distraction" from a decade ago and signaled he would press his presidential campaign by arguing that rival Hillary Clinton has committed greater sins against women.

"I've said some foolish things," Trump said in a video posted on his Facebook page early Saturday. "But there's a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims."

The latest explosive revelation marked a tipping point for some party loyalists, while forcing vulnerable Republican candidates to answer a painful question: Even if they condemn Trump's vulgar comments, will they still vote for him?

Many Republican officials refused to answer their phones, while others canceled scheduled television interviews to avoid the subject altogether.

"It's over," said Republican strategist Terry Sullivan, who previously led Marco Rubio's presidential campaign. "The only good news is that in 30 days Trump will be back to being just a former reality TV star like the Kardashians, and Republican candidates across America will no longer be asked to respond to his stupid remarks."

Republican Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence says he cannot condone or defend Donald Trump's comments about women.

Pence says in a statement Saturday: "As a husband and a father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video released yesterday. I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people."



He continues: "We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night."

Donald Trump with his family (Photo: Reuters)

Meanwhile, US Rep. Mia Love of Utah is joining a growing list of Republicans calling on Donald Trump to drop out of the race for president after the a tape of him surfaced making crude comments about women.

Love said Saturday in a statement that Trump's "behavior and bravado have reached a new low."

She said in a statement that she "cannot vote for him," adding that "For the good of the party, and the country, he should step aside." Love said she won't vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton either.

Sen. is also calling for Donald Trump to leave the presidential race.

Third-ranking Republican and South Dakota Senator John Thune tweeted Saturday that vice presidential candidate Mike Pence should take the spot at the top of the Republican ticket "effective immediately."

Donald Trump (Photo: AP)

South Dakota Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard also tweeted Saturday that the election is "too important," and that Trump should withdraw in favor of Pence.

Later, Nevada Republican congressman Joe Heck called on Donald Trump to quit the presidential race.

The Senate candidate said the "only option is to formally ask Mr. Trump to stand down and to allow Republicans the opportunity to elect someone who will provide us with the strong leadership so desperately needed and one that Americans deserve."

In the latest, Ohio Gov. John Kasich also says he can no longer support Donald Trump.

The Republican governor and former Trump rival had pledged to support his party's nominee during the primary campaign. He said Saturday Trump "is a man I cannot and should not support."

Kasich called Trump's comments captured in a video "disgusting." But he says that's not why he reached his decision. He said, "I will not vote for a nominee who has behaved in a manner that reflects so poorly on our country."

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton (Photo: Reuters)

Kasich becomes the second sitting Republican governor to withdraw support for Trump. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert did the same on Friday.

Some Trump loyalists defiantly defended their nominee.

"I still have my Trump sign on my yard and everybody on my street does too," said Pennsylvania GOP chairman Rob Gleason. "It's business as usual, with door-knocking today."

He went on: "I don't agree with what was said  it's not a good thing to be saying." But he added: "campaigns are filled with lots of ups and downs."

One by one, outraged GOP lawmakers have condemned Trump's comments in a 2005 video obtained and released Friday by The Washington Post and NBC News. In the video, Trump is heard describing attempts to have sex with a married woman. He also brags about women letting him kiss and grab them because he is famous.





New York Daily News headline

"When you're a star they let you do it. You can do anything," Trump says in the previously unaired comments. He adds seconds later: "Grab them by the p----. You can do anything."

Alabama Rep. Martha Roby said Saturday that Trump's newly disclosed comments about women and how he treats them make him "unacceptable" for the office.

Trump should "step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket," she said in a statement.

House Speaker Ryan said the day before that he was "sickened" by Trump's remarks. Ryan revoked an invitation for Trump to appear at a GOP event Saturday in Wisconsin. But Ryan did not pull his endorsement.

Meanwhile, Ryan fundraising chief Spencer Zwick said he's been fielding calls from donors who "want help putting money together to fund a new person to be the GOP nominee."

Zwick told The Associated Press that a write-in or "sticker campaign" relying on social media could "actually work."

Trump and Arianne Zucker in 2005

While there has never been a winning write-in campaign in a US presidential contest, such an effort could make it harder for Trump to win. Zwick did not identify which "new person" might be the focus of a write-in campaign, although he was briefly supportive of a third run for Mitt Romney, the 2012 nominee, last year.

While funding another candidate could siphon votes away from Trump, the GOP's biggest donors have little leverage even if they threaten to withhold money for the rest of the campaign. Trump's campaign has relied far more on small contributors across the country - giving a few bucks here and there, mostly online  than from the party's stalwart donors who write the biggest checks possible.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee, like Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, said Trump had finally gone too far.

"You, sir, are the distraction," Lee said in a video posted to his Facebook page after Trump's apology. "Your conduct, sir, is the distraction."

Lee called on Trump to abandon his campaign, saying it was time for the Republican Party to "expect more. There is no need for us to settle."
BERLIN- Six German Tornado fighter jets based in Turkey are ready to resume service in the fight against ISIS after a technical problem was fixed, a Defence Ministry spokesman said on Saturday.

The six jets are being used for surveillance flights out of Incirlik air base in Turkey near the Syrian border.

Germany grounded half of its ageing Tornado fighter jets on Thursday after discovering loose screws that could not be properly tightened in some key cockpit equipment.

Tornados based in Germany would have the technical problem fixed early next week, the ministry spokesman said.
Residents of the Arab-Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm had trouble sleeping Friday night, as various people spent several hours firing bursts of gunfire in different neighborhoods. "It's like a war," some locals said.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Aisha, a resident of Umm al-Fahm, said, "Tonight we were scared to leave home due to the shooting. We couldn't sleep. It was very frightening. We felt like we were at war. I don't know when they'll stop this and stop the criminals who are putting our lives at risk. This shooting reaches homes and cars and could easily hurt residents. It happens almost every night. If those responsible remain silent, it's obvious people will later say the writing was on the wall."

The sound of gunfire in Umm al-Fahm

X

Ahmad Mahmid, another resident of the town, said he is considering moving. "It's very dangerous to stay in Umm al-Fahm because of the shooting. The shooters even take pride in their actions, and we are fed up. I don't want to wait, because maybe me or my family members will become shooting victims. This country is leaving us behind. Everyone sees the danger and disregards the matter. They think they're in a movie."

In just the past two weeks, five people have been shot to death in Arab-Israeli towns.

Bullet hole in Umm al-Fahm.

Gunfire in the town happens almost on a nightly basis. "This country is leaving us behind," said one local.

"As part of the process, which is still ongoing and will continue strongly, there have been community policing centers established inside the villages and municipal police (stations) in cities A plan to recruit police officers from the Arab sector and the recruitment of volunteers from the sector has been increased. Recently, a (special department) has been active, aimed at promoting policing in the Arab sector and developing and making accessible police services to the sector.
A third fatality related to harsh weather brought on by Hurricane Matthew has been reported in Georgia, bringing the U.S. death toll from the storm to 10.

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police said in a statement Saturday that they are investigating the death of a man at his home, possibly from structural damage caused by a fallen tree.

Two other deaths in Georgia occurred in Bulloch County. Three deaths have been reported in North Carolina, and four have occurred in Florida.
WASHINGTON - Two US servicemembers were injured by a roadside improvised explosive device in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday morning, a US defense official said.

The troops were conducting "a normal security patrol" near Jalalabad Airfield in Nangarhar province when their vehicle hit the bomb, the official said.

They were taken to Jalalabad Airfield for treatment. There was no word on their condition.
India, exercising the Right of Reply after Pakistan's envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi raised the Kashmir issue at the UN, said Pakistan had made references to Jammu and Kashmir in a self-serving attempt to bring extraneous issues before the Committee.

By Press Trust of India: India has strongly rejected Pakistan's references on Kashmir at the UN, saying such remarks are a self-serving attempt by Islamabad to bring extraneous issues to the world body for its "territorial aggrandisement".

India, exercising the Right of Reply after Pakistan's envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi raised the Kashmir issue at the UN, said yesterday Pakistan had made references to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in a self-serving attempt to bring extraneous issues before the Committee.

advertisement

Such efforts were a flagrant misuse of the body for Pakistan's own territorial aggrandizement, India said, recalling that the Special Committee on Decolonisation was concerned only with Non-Self-Governing Territories. It asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.

READ| No chance of breakthrough in India-Pakistan ties under Modi, says Sartaj Aziz



Pakistan responded by saying that the United Nations recognised that all people under alien subjugation had a right to self-determination.

Exercising its Right of Reply, Pakistan said India continued to perpetrate misinformation on the Kashmir issue year after year.

Raking up the Kashmir issue again at the UN, Pakistan had said the non-implementation of UN Security Council resolutions for a plebiscite in Kashmir is the "most persistent" failure of the UN.

"The decolonisation agenda of the United Nations will remain incomplete without resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, among the oldest items on the UN's agenda," Lodhi had said yesterday at a debate of the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee in the General Assembly.

READ| Pakistan's Kashmir approach long past its sell-by date: India at UN



She said for over six decades UN Security Council resolutions promising a plebiscite under UN auspices to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their destiny, have not been implemented.

"This is the most persistent failure of the United Nations," she said, adding generation after generation of Kashmiris has only seen broken promises and brutal oppression.

She asserted that Jammu and Kashmir "never was and can never be" an integral part of India but is a disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council.

Lodhi said the UN has a moral responsibility towards people suffering under colonial domination and foreign occupation.

"There is an urgent need to bring the work on this unfinished agenda to closure and eliminate the last remaining vestiges of colonialism. We hope that we will be able to achieve this shared goal sooner rather than later," she said.

Also Read:



Pakistan is rattled, and that's evidence of India's surgical strike

India's intended message conveyed to Islamabad through surgical strikes: Vikas Swarup

Pakistan to US: Road to peace in Kabul lies in Kashmir

advertisement

Pakistan will move towards China, Russia if views on Kashmir ignored, say Nawaz Sharif's envoys

Pakistan does not have aggressive designs against any country: Nawaz Sharif

--- ENDS ---
Latest News

Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry: "On behalf of President Obama and the American people, it is my pleasure to extend our warmest congratulations to the people of Fiji as you celebrate the 46th anniversary of your nations independence this October 10.

"The United States considers Fiji a close friend as well as an important partner on a range of regional and global issues. This was best exemplified last year during the 21st Conference of Parties in Paris, as we worked together to help reach a durable and effective climate change agreement. Fiji is also an important leader on ocean conservation, peacekeeping, and climate change adaptation. The United States looks forward to continued partnership with Fiji on these and other important issues over the coming year.

"On this auspicious occasion, always remember the United States remains committed to expanding our bilateral relationship and deepening people-to-people ties with Fiji. Once again, congratulations on your independence day."
Latest News

Miami, Florida - U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has directed the U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) to transit towards Haiti, where it will join Joint Task Force Matthew disaster relief operations.

The ship will have three embarked CH-53E Super Stallion, one landing craft and 300 Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.



The airlift and transport capabilities of amphibious ships make them uniquely suited to support the delivery and distribution of much-needed relief supplies, as well as transport humanitarian assistance personnel in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster.



During relief operations, embarked landing craft are used to transport equipment and aid to populated areas inaccessible by land due to the impact of natural disasters.



On Oct. 5, U.S. Southern Command established Joint Task Force Matthew to oversee U.S. military relief efforts in Haiti. The task force was deployed to Haiti in support of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) following a request for U.S. assistance from the government of Haiti.



At present, the task force has approximately 170 personnel and nine helicopters in Haiti. The helicopters are scheduled to begin flight operations in support of USAID-led relief operations Oct. 7.



On Oct. 7, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon is also scheduled to conduct aerial assessments of areas in Haiti impacted by the storm to support disaster assessment experts on the ground.



More information about the task force's relief operations in Haiti will be released as soon as it is available and confirmed.



Historically, U.S. military capabilities are needed most in the critical early stages of a disaster relief operation, when fewer resources, capabilities and disaster-response experts are available to help victims and impacted communities. As those disaster-relief missions progress and more experienced experts arrive to aid longer-term recovery and reconstruction, U.S. military capabilities are no longer requested, and roles previously performed by military units are assumed by other, more experienced relief organizations.



Over the last several years, SOUTHCOM has provided disaster assistance to Haiti to help the Caribbean nation prepare for storms like Hurricane Matthew and other natural disasters, including the construction of emergency operations centers, disaster relief warehouses, fire stations and community centers that double as shelters. The command has also donated search and rescue boats, as well as transport vehicles to Haitian emergency response and civil protection agencies.



SOUTHCOM is one of the nation's six geographically-focused unified commands with responsibility for U.S. military operations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
Latest News

Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by telephone Friday afternoon with former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

The Secretary commended former President Uribe for his commitment to peace and his openness to dialogue after the plebiscite. He made clear that the former Presidents continued willingness to work toward a durable accord will be critical moving forward.

Finally, Secretary Kerry reaffirmed our steadfast support for Colombia as it seeks to secure a permanent peace, justice and prosperity for all Colombians.
Dell G15-5511 (D560728WIN9B) Laptop (Core i7 11th Gen/16 GB/512 GB SSD/Windows 11/4 GB): This laptop is available in the market. To know more, read about []
The air force personnel at the Darbhanga station in Bihar have been directed to shoot down any infiltrator or suspect sighted or trying to sneak into the station.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: The Indian Air Force station at Darbhanga in Bihar has asked the personnel to shoot anyone who trespasses.

Amidst heightened Indo-Pak tension, the security at the air force station has been beefed up to ensure that the Pathankot type incident does not take place.

The air force personnel at the station have been directed to shoot down any infiltrator or suspect sighted or trying to sneak into the station.

advertisement

ALSO READ: Situation on border still 'live' after surgical strikes: IAF chief Arup Raha



"Various defense installations are on the radar of the terrorists. We are always on alert but at the moment we are on high alert. In case of any intrusion bid, we have been given a free hand to gun down the infiltrator or any suspect", said Deepak Nerkar, Station Commander, Darbhanga Air Force Station.

BEEFED UP SECURITY

At many places in and around the air force station, the air force personnel have put up posters warning that trespassers would be shot if they try to sneak into the air force station.

Several armed jawans with advanced weapons have been deployed at the air force station in order to raise the security level, especially after the surgical strikes carried by India on Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

"Our airmen jawans are patrolling the area round the clock for foil any infiltration bid", said Deepak Nerkar, Station Commander.

Bihar shares a very porous border with Nepal. This raises the concern over the security, given the current tensed situations at the western front.

"We are located very close to Nepal. Also in case China attacks us, our air force station is very important then. In case of war we will be used as advanced base", said Deepak Nerkar, Station Commander.

ALSO READ:

The Rafale mirage

IAF officer and Bengaluru scientist held in drug racket: All you need to know



--- ENDS ---
Islamabad: A week after Indian Army carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) against terrorist launch pads, a media report claimed on Saturday that chief of Pakistan's powerful spy agency ISI Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar is likely to be replaced within the next few weeks.

Akhtar was appointed as the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in September 2014 and took office in November 2014, when he replaced the retiring Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam.

The appointment is normally for a three-year period unless the ISI chief retires or is replaced by the army chief.

The Nation, citing a security official privy to the development, reported of the impending change of command and said preparations were underway for the changes.

"Intriguingly, he may be leaving the position earlier than the typical three-year tenure of a ISI DG," the report said.

The corps commander of Karachi, Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, is most likely to replace him, the official was quoted as saying.

Another senior security official was quoted as saying that Akhtar  who has already served in Karachi as Director General, Sindh Rangers  knows the challenges in Karachi and "the swapping makes sense".

The official was, however, more circumspect about the timing of the change and said, "It depends on whether the army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif+ , gets an extension or retires as announced."

"I don't think the notification of other changes in military command will come before that," he said. "There are a lot of variables involved."

Raheel had announced earlier this year that he is not seeking an extension and would retire in November.

Lt Gen Asim Bajwa, the chief military spokesman, however, denied that the intelligence chief was being replaced. "No such thing," Bajwa said when asked about it.

The paper also did not cite any reason why the ISI chief is being replaced.
Panaji: The post-mortem conducted on renowned perfume specialist Monica Ghurde, whose body was found near here two days back, brought to the fore that she was strangulated to death, although it failed to confirm whether she was raped before the murder or not, police said.

The panel of doctors in Goa Medical College and Hospital on Saturday conducted the post-mortem on the body of 39-year-old Ghurde, who was found dead at her home in Sangolda village on October 6.

"The post-mortem report has confirmed that she died due to smothering," Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahesh Gaonkar told PTI today.

He said the post-mortem report, however, is not clear on the suspicion of rape, which would be known only after the serological examination.

"The viscera has also been preserved and would be sent for forensic examination ... The post-mortem does not confirm or rule out rape. It is completely silent on that awaiting detailed forensic examination," Gaonkar said.

Ghurde, who was living alone in a rented three bedroom flat at Sangolda village near Calangute beach, was found dead on October 6, although police investigations have revealed that she might have been killed on October 5.

Earlier in the day, police said that they have sent teams to the neighbouring states to nab the accused.

"We will be able to crack this case soon. We are working on different theories. Yesterday, we had sent teams to different locations including neighbouring states," Deputy Inspector General of Police Vimal Gupta told PTI.

Gupta said the woman originally hailed from Nagpur and was married to a photographer Bharat Ramamrutham from Tamil Nadu and was residing at Porvorim near here before she got separated from her husband and shifted to Sangolda this year.

"Police investigations have revealed that she had shifted to Sangolda in July this year and was staying alone," the DIG said.
Ghaziabad: As an Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Rajasekhar Reddy was recently arrested in connection with an international drug racket, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Saturday said incidents like these bring bad reputation to IAF, adding that stringent steps have been taken to prevent such things in future.

Briefing the media on the 84th foundation day of the IAF at Air Force Station Hindon in Uttar Pradesh`s Ghaziabad, Air Chief Marshal Raha said, "A commissioned officers was involved in drug trafficking and these incidents affect the morale of the armed forces.

"We should have detected ourselves, much before it came to this shape. So, we are investigating deep into the entire matter and we are taking lot of steps to prevent such things," he added.

The IAF Chief further said as these incidents bring bad reputation and affect the morale of the Air Force or armed forces, they are very concerned about it and were taking lot of steps to prevent them.

"I think the immediate seniors need to take more care and greater ownership of their subordinates in professional growth or in terms of behaviour, disciple, etc, which we are trying to tighten further," he added.

Indian Air Force Wing Commander Rajasekhar Reddy and a Bengaluru-based scientist were arrested in connection with an international drug racket earlier this week.

Reddy was arrested from Nanded in Maharashtra last weekend, following raids in which drugs like ecstasy and 230 kg of amphetamine were seized. Mobile phones and Rs 7.5 lakh cash were also seized from his possession.

Reddy, who was posted at the Air Headquarters in Delhi, was under scanner of the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Indian Air Force.

Amphetamine is reportedly manufactured at a factory in Hyderabad from where it was trafficked to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
New Delhi: With the Indian Air Force celebrating its 84th anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday saluted all the Air Force personnel and their families, thanking them for protecting the nations' skies.

"Saluting all air warriors & their families on Air Force day. Thank you for protecting our skies. Your courage makes India proud," the Prime Minister tweeted today.

Saluting all air warriors & their families on Air Force Day. Thank you for protecting our skies. Your courage makes India proud. pic.twitter.com/bCusPOV1nf  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 8, 2016

Meanwhile, celebrations began at the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad with a large parade and an air display.

The air display commenced with flag bearing sky divers of famous AKASH GANGA team dropping out of AN-32 aircraft in their colourful canopies.

The flypast included the vintage aircraft, modern transport aircraft and frontline fighter aircraft.

The ceremony will conclude with a scintillating aerobatic display.

President Pranab Mukherjee also greeted the Indian Air Force on its anniversary and said in a message that the nation is proud of the capabilities and competency of the IAF as over the last eight decades, it has emerged as an immensely professional and combat-ready force.

He further said that the IAF has achieved distinction in IAF has achieved distinction in defending India;s skies and delivering vital humanitarian aid an disaster relief.

Air Force Day celebration underway at Hindon Air base in Ghaziabad; Vintage aircraft displayed. pic.twitter.com/Hdv9BA9jEE  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016

The President expressed confidence that the ongoing process of modernisation will transform the Air Force into an even more potent and strategic force that can take on all future challenges.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also greeted the nation today as he tweeted, "Our Air Force plays a vital role in strengthening our national security. I humbly salute its members & their families on the Air Force day."

Our Air Force plays a vital role in strengthening our national security. I humbly salute its members & their families on the Air Force day.  Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) October 8, 2016

Watch videos:

#WATCH: IAF'S Sarang Helicopter Display Team in action at Air Force Day celebrations at Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad pic.twitter.com/FWxhCUsffJ  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016
NIA has picked up three more persons for having links with suspected ISIS recruiter, who was arrested earlier this month for radicalising youths through social media to join the terror group.

By India Today Web Desk: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has picked up three more persons for having suspected links with the Islamic State. They were picked by the NIA on Thursday from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

As per NIA sources the accused were identified from Facebook friend list and phone contacts of Abu Basheer- person arrested early this month for suspected links with ISIS.

advertisement

Till now, 15 people have been arrested by the NIA for alleged association with Abu Basheer. Intelligence Bureau had alerted NIA about the activities of Abu Basheer. Acting on this NIA is questioning the suspects.

READ: Terrorist or a cat? 5 times ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was reported dead

THE BIG ARRESTS

On October 2, the NIA conducted raids at various places in Kerala, Delhi and Telangana in coordination with local police. Six youths were arrested on the charges of plotting terror attacks. NIA said that the accused formed a terror module after being inspired by ISIS.

Among the arrested persons was Abu Basheer, who belonged to Coimbatore. NIA had seized laptop from Abu Basheer. They found that Abu Basheer had created a Facebook page through which he had radicalized many people to send them Syria to join ISIS.

READ: Arrested ISIS operative had judges, foreigners in Kerala on

The NIA is probing a case of disappearance of 21 people from Kerala. The agency suspect that they were radicalised to join ISI and later moved to Syria and other countries, where the jehadi group has influence. The recent arrests were part of the NIA investigation.

ALSO READ:



6 Kerala youth, with suspected ISIS links, remanded to 10 days police custody



--- ENDS ---
Barmer: Talking tough, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who visited BSF's Munabao Border Outpost, said on Saturday that India never attacks anyone but will retaliate and not count bullets if attacked.

"Our heritage is 'Vasudev Kutumbakam' (whole world is one family). We do not intend to occupy others' land. We never open fire first, but if attacked, in retaliation we never count the bullets after pulling the trigger," he said.

After assessing security on border with Pakistan in the wake of surgical strikes, the HM lauding the morale of the BSF personnel despite adverse temperature and difficult desert terrain.

At the same time, he assured them that government would do everything to improve the border infrastructure and their service condition.

He added that the damaged border fence at some places would be urgently repaired and floodlighting and a parallel road along the border fencing would also be completed to facilitate effective border patrolling.

Singh said that the ministry would also address the shortage of bullet proof jackets.

Pak markings on grenades seized from terrorists in Naugam: Army

Meanwhile, the Army today said that Pakistani markings were found on grenades seized from four slain terrorists in Naugam sector of Kashmir on Thursday, confirming the complicity of the neighbouring country in abetting terrorism.

"Pakistan Ordinance Factory markings on hand grenades (ARGES 84) and UBGL grenades seized from the terrorists confirms Pakistan's complicity in abetting terrorism," an Army spokesman said.

"Pakistani markings are also seen on medicines and eatable items seized by the force," he said, as per PTI.

Four terrorists were killed in a gun battle with the Army in Naugam sector on Thursday while they were trying to sneak into the Valley from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

He said highly inflammable material, including six plastic explosive slabs, six bottles of petroleum jelly, six bottles of inflammable liquid and six lighters were also seized.

"Similar type of inflammable material was used at Poonch on September 11 and in the Uri attack on September 18. This shows the sinister design of Pakistan to aid terrorists is causing maximum destruction," he added.

(With Agency inputs)
Srinagar: An Indian Army personnel was injured after Pakistani troops on Saturday resorted to heavy shelling and gunfire at Indian positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Pakistani troops started firing at three border posts across Mendhar sector of Poonch district today morning.

Police sources said the Indian soldier was injured in unprovoked shelling and firing by the Pakistani side in Mendhar sector of Jammu region. He has been shifted to an Army base hospital for treatment.

"Pakistan used 120 mm and 82 mortar shells to target army and civilian positions. Their mortar shells have fallen close to civilian areas," a police official said.

"Pakistan shelling and firing started at 5 a.m. and stopped at 6.30 a.m. after the Indian Army effectively retaliated using same calibre weapons," the official added.

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.

Continues ceasefire violations have been witnessed from Pakistani's side since the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes against terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control in Pakistan-held territory.
Islamabad: Pakistan sees no hope of a breakthrough in relations with India under the Narendra Modi government, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said, accusing India of adopting a "hegemonistic attitude".

"Pakistan had been resisting the Indian hegemonistic attitude in the region and had been calling for the promotion of bilateral ties on equal basis," Aziz said.

"There is no hope for a breakthrough in relations with India under Modi for a breakthrough in relations with India under its current Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Aziz saying in TV interview.

Aziz said the joint session of the parliament yesterday had unanimously adopted a resolution that encompassed all issues, including the condemnation of "Indian brutalities" in Kashmir, ceasefire violations, condemnation of Indian threat to revoke Indus Waters Treaty and Indian intervention in Balochistan.

The adviser said the focal point of all these efforts was to show the world that entire Pakistan was united to condemn Indian brutalities in Kashmir and extend moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiri people.

Aziz said during interactions at various platforms across the globe the majority viewed that the dialogue should resume between the two states.

He said there was no harm in sealing the Pak-India border as planned by India, if the points of public movement and trade were maintained.
New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) has said that no political party will be allowed to use public funds and government machinery to carry out activities that amount to advertisement for it.

The Commission directed on Friday that no political party shall henceforth either use or allow the use of any public funds or public place or government machinery for carrying out any activity that will amount to advertisement for the party or propagating the election symbol allotted to the party.

"The Commission has directed that no political party shall henceforth either use or allow the use of any public funds or public place or government machinery for carrying out any activity that would amount to advertisement for the party or propagating the election symbol allotted to the party," the EC said in a letter sent to the presidents/general secretaries of all recognised national and state political parties yesterday.

"The Commission is of the view that utilising public funds/public place for promoting any politial party or propagating its election symbol would be antithetical to the concept of free and fair election and the principle of level playing field for all stakeholders," it said adding that any violation of its direction would be trated as violation of lawful direction of the Commission within the meaning of Paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968.

The commission also clarified that any violation of the directions will be treated as violation of a lawful direction of the Commission.

The development comes following a judgement of the Delhi High Court which had in July remanded back to the poll panel a plea seeking cancellation of Bahujan Samaj Party symbol 'elephant' for alleged misuse of public funds by the erstwhile Mayawati government in installing its statues across the state.

In the run up to 2012 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, the EC had ordered all statues of elephants erected by the then Mayawati-led BSP government to be covered to ensure 'a level playing field for all the contesting parties'.
New Delhi: Echoing the Centre`s stand on the triple talaq system, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday asserted that the controversial system implicates injustice on Muslim women and it has no relation with any religion.

Speaking to ANI here, BJP spokesperson R.K. Singh advocated for "One Nation - One Law" policy, where the law made by the central government is applicable to all irrespective of their religion.

"Centre is right by saying that just by pronouncing talaq-talaq-talaq, injustice is being implicated on Muslim women. This is not a religious issue and even in many Muslim countries this practice has been banned," he said."Even the polygamy has been banned in majority of the Muslim countries. Central government`s stand is right and I personally believe that there should be one nation - one law," he added.

"If you make a law then it should be applicable to all and not be discriminatory for different religion. In a secular government, the regime does not think on the lines of religion but thinks for all. When government makes law, then it is there to be followed by all. So this is the meaning of One Nation-One Law," Singh told ANI here.

Today, Manish Tewari's tweet gave a counterview to centre`s stand on triple talaq, where he said, "Regressive marital practices discriminating against women must go by internal reform/judicial diktat there is no case for #uniformcivilcode!".

Meanwhile, Muslim Cleric, Hina Zaheer condemned Congress leader Manish Tewari statement on triple talaq and said that what is the need of law if one has to bring reforms from within.

"If the reformation has to be done from inside that what is the need of constitution, law or court of conduct. To bring these changes some forces are needed, people can`t change themselves. If he can bring changes in himself than why would he make a mistake at the first place," she said.On Friday, the Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Triple Talaq and polygamy validity.

According to the affidavit, the Centre said that there is no reason women in India should be denied their constitutional rights.

"Validity of Triple Talaq and polygamy have to be seen in light of gender justice, equality and dignity of women," stated the Centre in its affidavit.

The Government also said that polygamy and triple talaq do not adhere to constitutional values and, therefore, cannot be accepted.

The Muslim law board had earlier claimed that triple talaq is a 'personal law' and, hence, cannot be modified by the Centre.
Srinagar: The death toll of the Kashmir unrest, which has been prolonged for three months now, has increased to 91 as yet another youth succumbed to his injuries after a clash which took place on Friday night.

The unrest in Kashmir claimed its 91th victim with a 13-year-old boy succumbing to head injuries late yesterday.

Police said Junaid Ahmad Bhat was injured badly after security forces used tear gas shells and pellet guns to break up a protest in Srinagars Saidpora area of the old city earlier in the day. Junaid, however, was not part of the protests, police sources said.

Junaid was admitted to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in a serious condition. He died at Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Soura today.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in protest against his death after his body was brought to his home, shouting slogans against the government.

The situation in Srinagar continues to be tense ion Saturday with most of the old city areas under curfew.

On Friday, authorities had imposed curfew in many parts of Srinagar including Khanyar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, Safakadal, Maharaj Gunj, Maisuma and Batamaloo to thwart a protest march called by separatists towards United Nations office in the city.

Strict restrictions have been imposed in some parts of Srinagar after the death of Baht in areas falling under Maharaj Gunj, Nowhatta, Rainawari, Safa Kadal, Khanyar police stations of the old city and Maisuma and Kralkhud police stations in uptown.

Meanwhile, shutdown continues for 92nd day which has crippled the life of local residents.

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.

The Kashmir valley is also on high alert after India carried out surgical strikes on terror launch pads on September 29 across the Line of Control (LoC) on September 29.

Villages on the bordering areas are being evacuated and locals are being moved to safer locations. The valley has been boiling after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.
Srinagar: Confirming the complicity of the neighbouring country in abetting terrorism, the Army said on Saturday that Pakistani markings were found on grenades seized from four slain terrorists in Naugam sector of Kashmir on Thursday.

"Pakistan Ordinance Factory markings on hand grenades (ARGES 84) and UBGL grenades seized from the terrorists confirms Pakistan's complicity in abetting terrorism," an Army spokesman said.

"Pakistani markings are also seen on medicines and eatable items seized by the force," he said, as per PTI.

Four terrorists were killed in a gun battle with the Army in Naugam sector while they were trying to sneak into the Valley from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

He said highly inflammable material, including six plastic explosive slabs, six bottles of petroleum jelly, six bottles of inflammable liquid and six lighters were also seized.

"Similar type of inflammable material was used at Poonch on September 11 and in the Uri attack on September 18. This shows the sinister design of Pakistan to aid terrorists is causing maximum destruction," he added.

Four AK-47 assault rifles, 16 magazines, 349 ammunition rounds, 6 UBGL grenades, 5 ARGES 84 hand grenades, one radio set, one GPS, one binocular, three wire cutters, one Samsung mobile, four rain ponchos and haversack and a first aid kit were also seized by the Army from the slain terrorists.

Suspected militants snatch rifles from cops in Kashmir

Meanwhile, suspected militants tonight decamped with two rifles from cops guarding a minority picket in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said here.

Militants tonight snatched two SLR rifles from policemen guarding the minority picket in Tumlahaal village in Lassipora area of Pulwama, a police official said.

The official said a departmental inquiry would also be ordered to ascertain the details of the incident.

Amid conflict, residents of border village hope for peace

On the other hand, forced to abandon their houses, standing crops and cattle after shelling by the Pakistani Army, the residents of the once-sleepy border village of Hamirpur still hold out hope for peace between the two nations so that they can return to their home one day.

Entering the village, one is greeted by locked doors and empty households, but more tellingly, by an overwhelming sense of dread that the blast of a shell could shatter the fragile silence at any moment.

"First take shelter behind this wall before we talk. We never know when a shell from across the line of control could land here and injure or even kill us," says 42-year-old Tarsem Lal, who has been assigned the job of feeding the cattle that have been left behind.

The village, situated at a stone's throw from the Line of Control, has been deserted by its inhabitants, some of whom have migrated to Jammu. Most though, have landed up at safe houses set up by the administration.

Those living in the migrant camp assign the job of feeding the cattle by turns to two men, who come here every morning risking their lives.

Lal, accompanied by fellow villager Kulbir Singh (54), says people want peace to return, so that they can return to their homes.

"Who wants to stay away from a house which is constructed with so much hard work. It is our bad luck that whenever there is tension between the two countries we have to abandon everything and migrate from our houses," Singh says.

While the government has made arrangements for their stay in the safe camps and gives them meals, none have been made for providing fodder to the cattle.

(With Agency inputs)
Srinagar: Clashes broke out in Srinagar after a boy with pellet injuries died in hospital on Saturday, taking to 91 the toll in the nearly three month-long cycle of violence, and forcing authorities to impose curfew, while violent protests were also reported from other parts of the Kashmir Valley.

Twelve-year-old Junaid Ahmad Bhat of Saidpora area, who was admitted to a hospital with pellet injuries on Friday, died on Saturday morning, leading to tension.

Bhat had been injured on Friday after security forces fired pellets at him.

Local residents, as well as the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said Bhat had not been part of any protests in the area and his death needs to be probed.

PDP General Secretary Nizamuddin Bhat demanded a probe into the boy's death.

Hundreds of protesters, carrying Bhat's body, clashed with the security forces in Eidgah area, and the latter had to use tear smoke shells to disperse the mourners.

As trouble spread to other areas of Srinagar, authorities quickly imposed curfew in areas falling under seven police stations here.

The prevailing tension checked the progress towards peace in the city where private transport and pedestrian movement had nearly normalised during the last one week.

In the evening, tensions, however, decreased marginally in the uptown civil lines area where private vehicles moved following relaxation in protest schedule by the separatists from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m.

However, the old city areas did not witness any lowering of tensions where authorities continued with curfew to prevent protests and violence.

With the boy's death, as many as 91 people have died and over 12,000 injured during the last 92 days since July 9, when the current unrest started in the Valley after the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

For the 13th consecutive Friday, no congregational prayers were allowed inside the historic Jamia Masjid in old city's Nowhatta.

Authorities also foiled the separatist march to the uptown Sonawar area where the office of the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) is located.

Meanwhile, clashes also erupted in Pulwama and Shopian districts in south Kashmir and Bandipora in the north Kashmir after Friday prayers.

All educational institutions, public transport and main markets have remained shut in the Valley.

Train services between the Valley and Bannihal town in the Jammu region have also remained suspended during this period.
Srinagar: Suspected terrorists on Saturday snatched two weapons from policemen in Tumlahal village in in Lassipora area in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama.

The SLR rifles snatched were from cops guarding a minority picket in south Kashmir, police said.

He said police has taken cognisance of the incident and senior police officials have rushed to the spot, as per PTI.

The official said a departmental inquiry would also be ordered to ascertain the details of the incident.

Meanwhile, the Army today said that Pakistani markings were found on grenades seized from four slain terrorists in Naugam sector of Kashmir on Thursday, confirming the complicity of the neighbouring country in abetting terrorism.

"Pakistan Ordinance Factory markings on hand grenades (ARGES 84) and UBGL grenades seized from the terrorists confirms Pakistan's complicity in abetting terrorism," an Army spokesman said.

"Pakistani markings are also seen on medicines and eatable items seized by the force," he said.

Four terrorists were killed in a gun battle with the Army in Naugam sector on Thursday while they were trying to sneak into the Valley from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

He said highly inflammable material, including six plastic explosive slabs, six bottles of petroleum jelly, six bottles of inflammable liquid and six lighters were also seized.

"Similar type of inflammable material was used at Poonch on September 11 and in the Uri attack on September 18. This shows the sinister design of Pakistan to aid terrorists is causing maximum destruction," he added.

(With Agency inputs)
Thiruvananthapuram: A complaint was registered against a Trust-run school in Kochi for allegedly teaching objectionable content to its students and exhorting them to lay down their lives for Islam.

The city police is suspecting that the curriculum has been drafted with persons close to controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

The Peace International School at Thammanam in Ernakulam is run by a trust headed by some 'influential local businessmen'.

Police have registered a case under Sect 153 A and 34 IPC against the school principal, administrator, and three trustees, police sources told PTI.

The case was registered on the basis of a report filed by the Ernakulam District Education Officer, stating that 'what was being taught was not secular'.

"The case was registered for teaching students objectionable content in the syllabus... What was not secular. Islamic curriculum was being followed and students were being exhorted to lay down their lives for Islam", the sources said.

The school has classes from the LKG to the eighth standard.

"We suspect that this school's curriculum has been drafted with persons close to controversial preacher Zakir Naik, of Mumbai-based Islamic International School," the sources said.

Naik, an Islamic televangelist, was in the eye of a storm recently for allegedly preaching radical views.

Abdul Rashid, one among the 21 persons from Kerala who had gone missing and is suspected to have joined ISIS, had worked as Public Relations Officer at the school there. His wife Mariam, had worked as a teacher in the school.

Recently, six persons were arrested in Kerala for suspected links with the ISIS.

(With PTI inputs)
Kajol has wholeheartedly supported her husband Ajay Devgn's stand of not working with Pakistani artists and has called the Singham actor's views "absolutely correct".

By India Today Web Desk: Kajol has come forward in support of husband Ajay Devgn's recent comments regarding the Uri attacks and the IMPPA's (Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association) ban on Pakistani artists from working in Indian films.

Speaking to CNNNews18, the Singham actor had said, "Not (working with Pakistani artists) 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."

advertisement

ALSO READ: Ajay Devgn not working with Pakistani artists, says country comes before money

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

Now Kajol expressed her thoughts on the same matter through a tweet on Friday (October 8). She wrote that she is proud of her husband Ajay Devgn for taking a non-political and "absolutely correct" stand.



So proud of my husband for taking a non political and absolutely correct stand . @ajaydevgn #ProudIndian Kajol (@KajolAtUN) October 7, 2016

Ajay will soon be seen in his upcoming film Shivaay which is scheduled to release on October 28, the same day Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is releasing. Ajay has directed Shivaay as well and his action-adventure film will be competing with the Ranbir, Aishwarya and Anushka-starrer romantic drama.

Attacking the idea that banning Pakistani artists from working in Indian films will cause financial damage to the film industry, the 47-year-old actor asked, "Country comes before money. What will you do with money if your country sinks?"

Ajay also said that after repeated attacks, 'talking' as a form of mediation ceases to be an option.

"You can't clap with one hand," said Ajay, "You keep talking to people but then they come and kill you. How can you still continue a dialogue?"

Watch Ajay Devgn speaking his mind on the issue of banning Pakistani artists:









--- ENDS ---
Mumbai: His kidnappers perhaps didn't even blinked their eyes for a second while carrying out this sickening crime. Unfortunately, it was one of those horrific instances which this city is only too familiar of.

The woman bought the three-month-old baby for Rs 40,000 from his two abductors, it has emerged as the dramatic story unfolded.

The revelation came after the Mumbai Police, which have been looking for the abducted kid since September, announced that they have cracked the case.

Mid Day reported that his kidnappers posed as production assistants of a film company in order to steal the baby from his mother.

The accused, Sunny Waghela and Pankaj, told the babys mother Sanjana that they needed the toddler for a three-hour shoot, for which she would be paid Rs 15,000. And that was a lie!

They sold the baby to a woman, who had four daughters but wanted a boy, the report said.

According to the report, Sanjana, her husband and her brother-in-law met the accused near Eros Cinema in South Mumbai.

Waghela took the baby with him, but left Pankaj with the others.

Soon, Pankaj received a call and after that he informed the mother that the shooting would take place at Taj Hotel, and hence they should go there.

But after reaching the hotel, Pankaj managed to slip away, pretending that he had to meet the production team. Later, the parents have come to realise that they have been cheated and their baby was abducted.

However, the police managed to nab them after tracing the accused mobile phone locations. During interrogation Waghela confessed that the baby had been sold to a sweeper at a hospital in Colaba.

The woman Asha Hadode was then arrested, the report added.
Imphal: Life in Manipur, known as the "Jewel of India", has often been disrupted by frequent strikes and shutdowns which have damaged the state`s economy and affected the livelihood of the common man.

Concerned over this, residents in Imphal recently took part in a silent rally to register their objections to this "shutdown culture".

The economy, education and health services take a back seat during these man-made hurdles.

The rally started from Thau Ground, Thangmeiband, and moved towards Keishampat Junction and back to the Thau Ground.

Around 700 people participated, including students, transporters, entrepreneurs and women.

L. Niranjan Singh, President, Progressive Manipur told ANI, "It's high time that, we take this matter up and show to the public that how many people can show the losses for the state and for the people , for our future generations. So, that`s why we have come out. This organisation is represented by like-minded citizens of Manipur who think there is a need to find alternate ways to protest rather than calling for shutdowns".

All through these years, the residents of Manipur have been silently suffering blockades and public curfews.

Therefore, it is important that the people come together and work towards bringing normalcy back in Manipur.

During the rally protesters carried placards reading, "Save our future", "Bandhs are expensive, peaceful protests are priceless", "No more bandhs", "Together against Bandhs".

Such collective responsibility taken by the people of Manipur shows the urge for peace and development in the state.

The opposition to bandhs and strikes is a step towards a better future in the northeast region.
Chennai: In the latest bulletin issued on Saturday, the Apollo Hospitals said that Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa was undergoing 'lung de-congestion' as well as other 'comprehensive measures'.

They also said that she continues to be under constant monitoring.

"The honourable CM continues to be under constant monitoring by the intensivists and consultants in the panel (of specialists). The respiratory support is being closely watched and adjusted. Lungs decongestion treatment is being continued. All the other comprehensive measures including nutrition, supportive therapy and passive physiotherapy are under way," the hospital's chief operating officer Subbiah Viswanathan said in a short press release.

Puratchi Thalaivi Amma is under constant monitoring by intensivists & consultants, Respiratory support is closely watched - Apollo Hospital. pic.twitter.com/fkOCdsfFw3  AIADMK (@AIADMKOfficial) October 8, 2016

68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration.

The hospital had on Thursday said that she "continues to improve but requires a longer stay at the hospital".

Among others, Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and MDMK founder Vaiko have visited the hospital.

Prayers held for Tamil Nadu CM

Meanwhile, prayers were held across the state by AIADMK supporters for the speedy recovery of their party chief.

Among others, the state-run Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University organised a mass prayer of students and teachers for Jayalalithaa's recovery.

Devotional songs and music were played, including by the varsity's vice chancellor E Gayathri, a veena exponent.

Prayers were also held by party supporters at different places of worship in different parts of the state.

DMK seeks interim arrangement to handle issue like Cauvery

On the other hand, Opposition DMK yesterday had sought an interim arrangement to 'effectively' handle issues likes the Cauvery row till the time Tamil Nadu CM returns after treatment from the hospital.

Party Treasurer and Opposition leader in the Tamil Nadu Assembly MK Stalin had said - "...Till the time she comes (back), there should be an acting CM or a deputy CM, which would be taken up by ministers who are next in the hierarchy and take decisions in matters like the Cauvery issue. This is our stand."

(With PTI inputs)
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)
District of Columbia: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump apologized for vulgar language he used about groping and kissing women in a 2005 video that surfaced Friday.

"I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," Trump said in a filmed statement several hours after The Washington Post released a shocking video of Trump offensively bragging about grabbing women and pursuing sex with them with impunity.

"I pledge to be a better man tomorrow," he said. But he added that former president Bill Clinton, the husband of the Democratic nominee, "actually abused women" and that Hillary Clinton bullied her husband's victims.
Rabat: Morocco's ruling Islamists have beaten their liberal rivals in parliamentary elections five years after sweeping to power following Arab Spring-inspired protests, results showed on Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats out of 395 in yesterday's polls, the interior ministry said after all ballots were counted.

Its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society, won 102 seats, the ministry said.

The PJD's rise to power in 2011 after King Mohammed VI relinquished some of his near-absolute power following massive street protests brought hopes of change in the North African country.

The PJD was the first Islamist party to win a national election, and the first to lead a government, albeit with coalition partners after failing to win an outright majority.

But analysts say that when it comes to the major long-term and strategic issues such as foreign policy the key decision-maker remains the king, the scion of a monarchy that has ruled for 350 years.

Observers from the Council of Europe who monitored yesterday's vote said it was organised "with integrity and full transparency".

But the delegation said it "regrets that the current voters' registration system and the awareness campaign have not produced a turnout higher than in 2011, particularly among young voters."

It also noted "the surprisingly high amount of spoilt ballot papers" and said there were reports of "electoral fraud" although members of the delegation did not witness any wrongdoing.

Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad rejected accusations of voter fraud from both sides. He said turnout was 43 percent.

Yesterday the PJD and the PAM traded accusations of vote irregularities, while the media reported that a video shared on social networks had showed a man stuffing a ballot box.

Apart from the two main parties, Istiqlal, which historically fought for independence from France, came third with 45 seats.

Nine other parties also won seats, including the National Gathering of Independents which took 37 and the Federation of the Democratic Left which clinched two.

A statement by the PJD said the Islamists were "very concerned about numerous reports of fraud being carried out by authorities" in favour of the PAM and urged the interior ministry to intervene.

PAM spokesman Khalid Adennoun said his party had filed "50 complaints" of voting irregularities, some concerning the PJD in Tangiers.

The head of the European observers team, Ian Liddell-Grainger, told a news conference he was confident that the interior ministry had done a good job.
New York: Despite facing severe backlash for his lewd remarks against women in a 2005 video, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday remained defiant and said he will not drop out of the race under any circumstances.

"I'd never withdraw. I've never withdrawn in my life," Trump told The Washington Post in a phone call from his home in Trump Tower in New York.

"No, I'm not quitting this race. I have tremendous support."

"People are calling and saying, 'don't even think about doing anything else but running," Trump said when asked about Republican Party defections.

Trump said "running against" Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton makes keeping the party behind him easier.

"It's because she's so bad. She's so flawed as a candidate. Running against her, I can't say it'd be the same if I ran against someone else, but running against her makes it a lot easier, that's for sure."

Trump's comments came less than 24 hours after The Post published a video where the New York business tycoon bragged in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women during a 2005 conversation caught on a hot microphone. He later offered what many say was an insincere and even defiant apology.

In the wake of sharp criticism by Republican leaders, Trump issued a short video statement in which he offered a rare apology for his remarks.

"I said it, I was wrong, and I apologise," he said in the video statement. He however said the video was "a distraction from the issues we are facing today."

He said that his "foolish" words are much different than the words and actions of Bill Clinton, whom he accused of abusing women, and Hillary Clinton, whom he accused of having "bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims."

Trump acknowledged in the phone call with the Washington Post that the video "certainly has" consumed the presidential race but said he has endured past controversies, not only during his 2016 bid but during his career.

"I've been here before," Trump said.

Trump said "thousands and thousands" of backers have sent him letters and emails since the Post's story was published.

Trump referred to the past incident in which he had insulted Senator John McCain, by saying that he was not a war hero, as an example of how he has weathered political storms.

"Everyone said, It's over, it's over. The people didn't say that but the reporters said that," Trump said.

He said he had met with his advisers and family Friday night at Trump Tower, his campaign headquarters, and agreed to record a video response.

Trump said he may make a speech or remarks in evening, as a way of encouraging his supporters but insisted that any possible speech would not be a departure from the race.

"Forget that," Trump said dismissively of the suggestion. "That's not my deal."
United Nations: A Russian resolution calling for a separation of moderate and extremist forces in Syria but making no mention of a bombing halt in the besieged city of Aleppo has been defeated in the UN Security Council.

The draft, put forward by Russia late yesterday, failed to get the minimum nine "yes" votes required.

In today's vote, the draft resolution got four "yes" votes, nine "no" votes and two abstentions.

Britain's UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft called the resolution "a sham" that would do nothing to protect civilians being killed in Aleppo.

The UN Security Council will vote today on rival Syria resolutions sponsored by France and Russia and both are virtually certain to be vetoed, leaving the war-ravaged country and the besieged city of Aleppo engulfed in conflict and key powers deeply divided.

Russia's last minute introduction of a rival resolution yesterday afternoon took Western supporters of the French draft by surprise.

Several diplomats privately called it a brilliant move by Moscow because it will force Western powers to veto as well.

So instead of Russia alone being put in a negative spotlight for vetoing the French resolution demanding an end to the bombing campaign by Syrian and Russian aircraft in Aleppo, the Western powers are highly likely to veto the Russian draft because it makes no mention of a bombing halt.

As a result, the votes today afternoon, first on the French draft and then on the Russian proposal, are expected to exacerbate tensions between Moscow and the West over the Syrian conflict that has raged for more than five years, killing over 300,000 people.

The rival resolutions can also be defeated if they don't get the minimum nine "yes" votes in the 15-member Security Council.

Since the collapse of the US-Russia-brokered cease-fire two weeks ago, the situation in Syria has dramatically deteriorated, with both countries escalating their rhetoric and actions.

Russia's military warned the US on Thursday against striking the Syrian army, stressing that Russian air defense weapons in Syria stand ready to fend off any attack.

US Secretary of State John Kerry stepped up the West's attack yesterday morning, calling for Russian and Syrian military strikes against civilians and medical facilities in Syria to be investigated as war crimes.

France circulated its draft resolution a week ago, saying it wanted the council to unite behind it. But negotiations never got Russia on board and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's visit to Moscow this week didn't either.
Sanaa: A senior health official in Yemen says an airstrike by a Saudi-led coalition that targeted a funeral hall packed with mourners has killed at least 82 people.

Nasser al-Argaly, the Health Ministry's undersecretary, says today's strike also left 534 people wounded.

Al-Argaly, addressing a news conference, says the casualty figures are not final.

Yemeni security and medical officials say the dead and wounded include military and security officials from the ranks of the Shiite Houthi rebels fighting the nternationally-recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi as well as their allies, loyalists of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The Saudi-led coalition backs Hadi's government in Yemen's ongoing civil war.
District of Columbia: US officials formally accused the Russian government Friday 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 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."

"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.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."
By PTI: Srinagar, Oct 8 (PTI) A Facebook post by Director of School Education in Kashmir today invited sharp comments from netizens on social media after he sarcastically posted that he was out of job as the schools in the Valley continued to remain shut due to the current three-month-old agitation.

"I am Director of shut schools. I need a job," Shah Faesal posted on Facebook, referring to the schools continuing to remain closed in Kashmir due to the separatist-sponsored strike to protest the killing of civilians in the violence that broke out in the wake of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

advertisement

While some users criticised Faesal, others had suggestions for an alternative job and few even wanted him to join separatist camp.

Some were however sympathetic towards him. PTI SSB MIJ AJR ZMN AJR

--- ENDS ---
Washington: US President Barack Obama has issued an executive order to lift economic sanctions on Myanmar.

The move came on Friday after Obama`s announcement that the US was ready to lift sanctions on the Asian country during Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi`s visit to Washington last month, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a letter to Congress, Obama said he has determined that "it is necessary to terminate the national emergency" with regard to Myanmar.

"I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency with respect to Burma (Myanmar) has been significantly altered by Burma`s (Myanmar`s) substantial advances to promote democracy," Obama said.

The Treasury Department said that as a result of Obama`s announcement, the economic and financial sanctions administered by the Department of the Treasury`s Office of Foreign Assets Control were no longer in effect.

Myanmar has made significant strides in recent years, "including choosing a civilian-led, democratically elected government", said Adam Szubin, acting US Under Secretary of Treasury.

"Lifting economic and financial sanctions will further support trade and economic growth, and treasury will continue to work with Burma to implement a robust anti-money laundering regime that will help to ensure the security of its financial system," Szubin said.

Last month, Obama announced his intention to reinstate preferential treatment for Myanmar under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme, a preferential tariff system.

In May, the US lifted some of the sanctions on Myanmar to show support for the country`s political reforms and economic growth and to facilitate trade between the two sides.

The move eased restrictions on Myanmar`s financial institutions, allowed certain transactions related to US individuals living in the country, and removed seven state-owned enterprises and three state-owned banks from the US blacklist.
Junaid Ahmad, a resident of Saidpora in Srinagar was hit by pellets outside his residence.

By India Today Web Desk: A 12-year-old boy was killed in Srinagar yesterday evening after security forces fired pellet guns at protestors.

Junaid Ahmad, a resident of Saidpora in Srinagar was hit by pellets outside his residence. He succumbed to his injuries after being admitted to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences.

This sparked widespread protest in the city. Tear gas shells at the protestors who were shouting slogans as his body was taken to be buried. Thus leading to more clashes

advertisement

More than 90 people have died and 10,000 injured in clashes between security forces and protesters since Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani's killing in July.

The shutdown called by separatists entered its 92nd day today.

--- ENDS ---
Roberto Setubal, President and CEO of Itau Unibanco Bank, speaks during a press conference at Itau Unibanco headquarters, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on February 4, 2014

Itau Unibanco announced Saturday it would buy Citigroup's Brazilian consumer banking business in a reshuffle that will leave just one major foreign bank operating retail services in the Latin American giant.

Itau said in a statement that it was paying 710 million reais ($220.4 million) for the US group's 71 Citibank branches, which have about 315,000 account holders and 35 billion reais in deposits and assets under management.

Itau entered an agreement, subject to regulatory approval, "for the acquisition of the retail business (for individuals) carried out by Citibank in Brazil, including loans, deposits, credit cards, branches, asset management and insurance brokerage," the statement said.

Itau has more than 4,000 branches around Brazil and 44,000 ATMs.

Citigroup had announced in February its plans to pull retail operations out of Brazil and Argentina.

Earlier this year Brazil's Bradesco bought the Brazilian unit of HSBC. That leaves Spain-based Santander as the only big international player in the Brazilian retail banking business.
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]
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.

"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."

But Koch, then 34, had a different paradigm for success, one that he recommends all aspiring entrepreneurs consider.

"Yes, there's a risk that I'll start this brewery and it'll fail and I'll lose all my money. Big deal," says Koch. "I'll pick myself up, I'll go on with my life, and I will have done something really cool. The real risk would have been staying in a job that was OK but I didn't love for the rest of my life, staying in that job and getting to 67, where I am now, and looking back and going, 'Oh my God! I wasted my life.'"

Story continues

Koch's gamble paid off. He set out to launch a brewery that would be doing a million dollars a year in sales, and now it's doing a billion dollars a year , a journey he wrote about in his recently released book, Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two. More importantly, Koch is happy.

"The real risk," he says, "is wasting your life and not doing what you really want to do." And, perhaps, listening to your father instead of your gut.

More from iCONIC:

Sam Adams founder Jim Koch describes the moment he found out he was a billionaire

Self-made billionaire Jim Koch says this book taught him more than Harvard did

Boston Beer CEO: A key skill Harvard didn't teach me







More From CNBC


JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar raised questions over the meeting and called it morally incorrect. He said, "Ganesh parikrama" (meeting Lalu) would not help Raj Ballabh." He also said that rule of law would prevail in the state over Raj Ballabh.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: The clandestine meeting between rape accused RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav and RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav has come under attack from coalition partner JDU.

Lalu had met Ballabh, accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, at his residence in Patna on Thursday morning. The meeting took place just hours before rape accused MLA's bail cancellation petition filed by the Bihar government came before the Supreme court for hearing.

advertisement

Soon after meeting Raj Ballabh, Yadav had said that he had simply come to meet Lalu to greet him on occasion of Durga Puja, but eyebrows were raised as the meeting lasted for almost two hours. JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar raised questions over the meeting and called it morally incorrect. He said, "Ganesh parikrama" (meeting Lalu) would not help Raj Ballabh." He also said that rule of law would prevail in the state over Raj Ballabh.

"There is rule of law in the state and no kind of secret meeting will help anyone. Raj Dharma would prevail over Raj Ballabh," said Kumar.

On the other hand, Lalu downplayed the meeting saying that he could not help but meet the rape accused MLA as he had come to his door step.

"How can I turn anyone away from my door step if he has come to meet me. Raj Ballabh did not come to meet me regarding the rape case that is going on against him nor did talk about the bail cancellation petition filed by the state government," said Lalu Prasad.

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan also slammed Lalu for the secret meeting with Raj Ballabh and said the rape accused MLA must be sent back to jail. He also alleged Lalu of patronizing criminal.

"We have faith in the Supreme court and we believe that Raj ballabh would be sent back to jail once again", said Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister.

Also Read

Bihar govt facilitated Raj Ballabh's bail because of his links with Lalu Prasad: Sushil Modi

Rape accused MLA meets RJD chief Lalu; cocks a snook at Nitish government



Bihar: Raped schoolgirl expresses fear over release of suspended RJD leader Raj Ballabh Yadav



--- ENDS ---
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Canadian miner Goldcorp reached an agreement with protesters to lift a blockade that interrupted operations at its Penasquito gold mine in the northern Mexican state of Zacatecas, the company said late Friday. In a statement, Goldcorp said it hopes activity will resume at the mine at the weekend, five days after it announced the temporary suspension of operations due to a blockade by truck drivers protesting a loss of contracts at the country's biggest gold deposit. The company promised to renew contracts with carriers, expand and establish two health centers, improve infrastructure in the nearby city, and study the water and air to assess whether it should compensate communities for alleged contamination, said Julio Cesar Chavez, a state government mediator in the conflict. The protests began early last week and were supported by landowners in the area. In late August, Reuters reported on a long-running leak of contaminated water which had not been disclosed to the public. Goldcorp said it has about 750 people at the mine and expects to produce between 520,000 and 580,000 ounces of gold this year, equivalent to about 19 percent of its total planned production of 2.8 to 3.1 million ounces. (Reporting by Anahi Rama; Writing by Natalie Schachar; editing by John Stonestreet)
Just across the narrow straits from Bali, so close that you can wake up with mesmerising sunrise views of Gunung Agung, is a large swath of land administered as the Banyuwangi regency. At the extreme end of East Java, it is at the same time similar and dissimilar to its Western neighbourhoods. A shared parentage in fire, magma and brimstone, sees its landscape wracked by seismic forces and geological pock marks of volcanic origin. The flora and fauna here, however, have developed within distinctive micro-climates and are unique in all the isles of the Republic of Indonesia.

Banyuwangi1

At 36, pride as much as calories and water is the fuel on a trek up a volcano. I recall that 10 years prior, I could easily bound up and down inclines with a 30kg load a moments notice. Ascending East Javas Kawah Ijen proved to a breath-taking experience in more ways than one. Leaving the group behind in a fast walk and with a staunch determination to reach the crater before sunrise and, more importantly for my pride, before anyone else in the group, my efforts were stifled a few kilometres into the journey. For the sake of dignity, I would ascribe the difficulty in breathing and in progressing forward to the increasing density of sulphur in the air.

ijen3

Ijen1

Yes, I thought to myself, the asphyxiating effects of inhaling sulphur dioxide which then reacts with the moisture in my lungs to form a dilute form of sulphuric acid must be affecting my physical performance. After all, my eyes were smarting a little and the inside lining of my lungs was stinging. Then from the shadows of twilight behind me, Trisha, a 20 something year old fellow traveller traipsed up to me to say hello, casually twirled around twice and went nonchalantly on her way up the trail.

ijen2

The trek up to the lip of the crater (Kawah Ijen) at Gunung Ijen was not particularly difficult but also not one to be underestimated. The majestic blue flames at the crater are the most resplendent and photogenic (why else would one hike for 5 hours if not to take an Instagram picture) in the dark. The dancing electric blue flames dance and swirl from vents at the very heart of the crater, providing those who took the effort to hike up Ijen and then down to the depths of the crater floor with a sight without compare. Although many make the trek to the craters edge without an air filter, one is needed to descend into the caldera or risk permanent damage to the inner lining of ones lungs.

Story continues

The National park has an area of 134 sq km and consists of 3 volcanic cones, Ijen (2,368), Merapi (2,800), Raung (3,332). The sulphur that spews from the vents at Kawah Ijen is pure here and mined for the oil refining industry. Workers start in the early morning and conclude work by afternoon when the clouds roll in. For everyone else, that is about 8am in the morning and it is at that time that most visitors also start their descent of the mountain.

baluran1

Baluran National Park is the other chef attraction at Banyuwangi. A confluence of factors created a microclimate in the park that is moderately dry an resembles African grassland. This savannah stretches across 40% of the park, with a backdrop of Gunung Baluran at 1,247 m, which is an extinct volcano. The other areas of this 25,000 sq ha park, is made up of coastal and other water areas.

As a wildlife refuge, the park has seen some setbacks lately but still provides a last option for refuge from the encroaching cities for 26 mammals, including the Javan leopard and Javan Lutung. Famous for birding, the grounds have a healthy variety of 196 avian species.

baluran2

For a bucolic, restful holiday away from the crowds, Banyuwangi is just the place. From Singapore, Indonesians national carrier flies to Banyuwangi in 6 hours, with a transit stop at Surabaya.

The post Wonderful Indonesia: Banyuwangi  Javas Far East appeared first on Alvinology.
By Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - Saudi-led warplanes killed at least 82 people when they struck mourners at a hall in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday, the acting health minister in the Houthi-run administration said, but the coalition denied any role in the incident. Ghazi Ismail also said that 534 other people were wounded in the air strike in the southern part of the city, where a wake was taking place for the father of the administration's interior minister, Jalal al-Roweishan, who had died of natural causes on Friday. The death toll was one of the largest in any single incident since the Saudi-led alliance began military operations to try to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power following his ousting by the Iran-aligned Houthis in March 2015. "The Saudi aggression committed a major crime today, by attacking a mourning hall for the al-Roweishan family, targeting residents in the hall. As a result, 534 were wounded and 82 were martyred," Ismail told a news conference in Sanaa. Sources in the Saudi-led coalition said there was no Arab coalition air role in the strike. "Absolutely no such operation took place at that target," one of the sources said, citing what he described as confirmation from the coalition air force command. "The coalition is aware of such reports and is certain that it is possible that other causes of bombing are to be considered. The coalition has in the past avoided such gatherings and (they have) never been a subject of targets." The Saudi-led coalition has been providing air support for Hadi's forces in a civil war that has killed more than 10,000 people since March 2015 and displaced more than three million. Fighting has intensified since August when U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait ended without an agreement. Iran, Saudi Arabia's main regional rival, described the attack as a horrific and inhuman crime, and called for the resumption of peace talks among all Yemeni parties. To resolve the crisis in Yemen there is no solution but the end of aggression by the brutish Saudi rulers and start of new round of talks that includes all Yemeni sides, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. SCENE OF CARNAGE Residents said aircraft fired two missiles at the hall, where hundreds of mourners had gathered to offer condolences. One missile tore through the building, setting it on fire and sending a large plume of smoke above the area. The other landed nearby. Witnesses described a scene of carnage, with charred or mutilated bodies strewn around. Ambulances raced to carry the wounded to hospitals, which sent out urgent appeals for blood. A spokesman for Yemen's Houthi group condemned the strike as an act of savagery. "The aggression continues to shed blood in an uncommon savagery and with international collusion that reaches the level of direct participation," the Houthi-run Saba news agency quoted the group's spokesman, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, as saying in a statement. At least two local officials were among the dead. It was not immediately clear if Roweishan was in the hall when the strike happened. Roweishan had sided with the Iran-aligned Houthi movement when President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled Yemen after the Houthis advanced on his headquarters in the southern port city of Aden in March 2015. The Saudi-led coalition had been blamed for several attacks on medical centers, including some run by international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), schools, factories and homes in the past 18 months that has killed scores of civilians. In August, MSF said it was evacuating its staff from six hospitals in northern Yemen after a coalition air strike hit a health facility operated by the group killing 19 people. The coalition, which says it does not target civilians, has expressed deep regret over the decision and said it was trying to set up "urgent meetings" with the medical aid group. (Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin,; writing by Sami Aboudi, Editing by William Maclean, Andrew Roche and Susan Thomas)
By Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - Saudi-led warplanes killed at least 82 people when they struck mourners at a hall in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday, the acting health minister in the Houthi-run administration said, but the coalition denied any role in the incident. Ghazi Ismail also said that 534 other people were wounded in the air strike in the southern part of the city, where a wake was taking place for the father of the administration's interior minister, Jalal al-Roweishan, who had died of natural causes on Friday. The death toll was one of the largest in any single incident since the Saudi-led alliance began military operations to try to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power following his ousting by the Iran-aligned Houthis in March 2015. "The Saudi aggression committed a major crime today, by attacking a mourning hall for the al-Roweishan family, targeting residents in the hall. As a result, 534 were wounded and 82 were martyred," Ismail told a news conference in Sanaa. Sources in the Saudi-led coalition said there was no Arab coalition air role in the strike. "Absolutely no such operation took place at that target," one of the sources said, citing what he described as confirmation from the coalition air force command. "The coalition is aware of such reports and is certain that it is possible that other causes of bombing are to be considered. The coalition has in the past avoided such gatherings and (they have) never been a subject of targets." The Saudi-led coalition has been providing air support for Hadi's forces in a civil war that has killed more than 10,000 people since March 2015 and displaced more than three million. Fighting has intensified since August when U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait ended without an agreement. Iran, Saudi Arabia's main regional rival, described the attack as a horrific and inhuman crime, and called for the resumption of peace talks among all Yemeni parties. To resolve the crisis in Yemen there is no solution but the end of aggression by the brutish Saudi rulers and start of new round of talks that includes all Yemeni sides, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. SCENE OF CARNAGE Residents said aircraft fired two missiles at the hall, where hundreds of mourners had gathered to offer condolences. One missile tore through the building, setting it on fire and sending a large plume of smoke above the area. The other landed nearby. Witnesses described a scene of carnage, with charred or mutilated bodies strewn around. Ambulances raced to carry the wounded to hospitals, which sent out urgent appeals for blood. A spokesman for Yemen's Houthi group condemned the strike as an act of savagery. "The aggression continues to shed blood in an uncommon savagery and with international collusion that reaches the level of direct participation," the Houthi-run Saba news agency quoted the group's spokesman, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, as saying in a statement. At least two local officials were among the dead. It was not immediately clear if Roweishan was in the hall when the strike happened. Roweishan had sided with the Iran-aligned Houthi movement when President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled Yemen after the Houthis advanced on his headquarters in the southern port city of Aden in March 2015. The Saudi-led coalition had been blamed for several attacks on medical centres, including some run by international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), schools, factories and homes in the past 18 months that has killed scores of civilians. In August, MSF said it was evacuating its staff from six hospitals in northern Yemen after a coalition air strike hit a health facility operated by the group killing 19 people. The coalition, which says it does not target civilians, has expressed deep regret over the decision and said it was trying to set up "urgent meetings" with the medical aid group. (Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin,; writing by Sami Aboudi, Editing by William Maclean, Andrew Roche and Susan Thomas)
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.




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.
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
By PTI: Mumbai, Oct 6 (PTI) Maharashtra police have approached the Centre to ascertain from the Saudi authorities if Abdullah Qalzar Khan, the Jeddah suicide bomber, was in fact Lashkar operative Faiyaz Kagzi from Beed district, and will send a Letter Rogatory to the Saudi government through it.

"We have started the process of sending a Letter Rogatory (letter of request) to the Saudi government through the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs)," a top Maharashtra police official told PTI.

advertisement

On July 4, Islams holiest pilgrimage site and Prophet Muhammads mosque Al-Haram Al-Nabawi at Medina, the US consulate at Jeddah and Shia-majority Qatif were targeted by suicide bombers. Four Saudi security personnel were killed in the bombings.

During the initial investigations, the security forces got to know that one of the suicide bombers, who blew himself up in Jeddah, was Abdullah Qalzar Khan, a Pakistani national staying in Saudi Arabia for the last 12 years.

After the investigation, a Saudi Interior Ministry report said the bomber was Faiyaz Kagzi from Beed in Maharashtra. Altogether, 19 persons were arrested by the Saudi forces in connection with the bombings, including 12 Pakistanis and seven Saudis.

The photograph of Abdullah issued by the Saudi authorities resembled Kagzi, the official said, adding that Maharashtra police and the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) had alerted official channels to get a confirmation of the same.

Maharashtra police had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs to confirm from the Saudi authorities whether the bomber was Kagzi.

After getting the nod from the ministry, they started the procedure of sending a Letter Rogatory under section 166(A), CrPC.

Accordingly, India will ask the Saudi authorities to probe if the person who blew himself up in Jeddah was Kagzi. The Indian authorities will collect the DNA samples of the suicide bomber and match them with those of his parents in Beed, the official said.

Kagzi is known to be a close aide of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks handler Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal and is allegedly involved in various terror attacks in India.

He is a former SIMI man who fled India after the Aurangabad arms haul case. He reportedly went to Pakistan via Bangladesh in 2006 and joined terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He was on the job of recruiting Indian youths for carrying out terror activities for LeT, the official said.

Kagzi is also suspected to be involved in Punes German Bakery blasts which were carried out by the Indian Mujahideen (IM), he added. PTI DC VT NP RC

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
Union minister Mahesh Sharma visited Bishada village in Uttar Pradesh where thousands of people are protesting alleging the death of one of the Dadri lynching murder accused, Ravi Sisodia, was not due to renal or respiratory failure and demanding Rs 1 crore in compensation to his family.

By India Today Web Desk:



Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, Dr Mahesh Sharma, visited Uttar Pradesh's Bishada village where more than 1,000 villagers have been protesting and holding sit-ins.

Also read: Dadri lynching accused dies in jail, villagers drape coffin in tricolour, refuse to cremate body



Villagers, along with the family members of Ravi Sisodia, one of the murder accused in last year's Dadri lynching case who died in police custody on October 4, are protesting alleging that Ravi died after he was beaten up inside a jail in Noida, and not due to renal and respiratory failure as doctors say.

Dr Mahesh Sharma addressing a gathering of over 1,000 people in UP's Bishada. Photo: Twitter (@dr_maheshsharma)

Dr Mahesh Sharma meeting Ravi Sisodia's family in UP's Bishada village. Photo: Twitter (@dr_maheshsharma)

advertisement

The crowds hailed Ravi Sisodia, one of the 18 murder accused, a martyr and draped his coffin in tricolour two days ago. They also refused to cremate his body till the time their hefty demands are met by the state government. Ravi's family's demands included Rs 1 crore in compensation to his family and a government job for Ravi's wife.

The villagers, angered by Sisodia's death inside the jail, are also demanding a CBI probe into Ravi's 'murder', action against the jailer and immediate release of all the other 17 accused.



Other than this, the villagers also demand immediate arrest of Mohammad Akhlaq's brother Jan Mohammad. Mohammad Akhlaq was brutally lynched by a mob in Bishada accusing him of consuming beef. The incident shocked the nation and sparked outrage across the country.

Mohammad Akhlaq's son, who is serving the Indian Air Force, had said that he is sad about Ravi's death but it is also saddening to see the coffin of a murder accused draped in tricolour.

SISODIA'S BODY CREMATED

A report in DNA says that after three days of negotiations with the Uttar Pradesh government, Sisodia's family finally cremated his body yesterday late evening. The situation in the village remain tensed with more than 1,000 people assembled and leaders of various Hindutva outfits delivering speeches that could incite violence.

Sample these:

Speakers continue to deliver, anti Muslim, anti state gov, speeches. MP Mahesh Sharma & BJP's Sangeet Som hold meeting with villagers .@dna pic.twitter.com/Csj1PpT91I Azaan Javaid (@AzaanJavaid) October 7, 2016

Provocative & hate speech being delivered in Bishahra villg in #Dadri after Ravi died of kidney failure Video by @rvmoorthyhindu @the_hindu pic.twitter.com/fBq5NcFl9Z Mohammad Ali (@hindureporter) October 6, 2016

Dr Mahesh Sharma's tweet, with three photographs, read, "Met the family of deceased Ravi in Bisara village, Greater Noida. Bisara get settled now".

Met the family of deceased Ravi in Bisara village, Greater Noida. Bisara get settled now pic.twitter.com/RfDzga3ddC Dr. Mahesh Sharma (@dr_maheshsharma) October 7, 2016



The DNA report also says while nearly '30 local leaders and political activists making hate speeches' in the village, Dr Mahesh Sharma and BJP's Sangeet Som tried to 'defuse' the situation.

advertisement

Social media users, however, were not convinced that BJP leaders visited Bishada to calm people down. Dr Sharma, from the time he made the above tweet, has been facing flak from Twitterati who accuse him of giving VIP treatment to a murder accused. Sangeet Som, on the other hand, is already one of the accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 and was booked under the National Security Act for inciting violence in the area.

Here are some of the reactions from Twitter:



Will BJP disown & declare Mahesh Sharma & Sangeet Som as TRAITORS for siding with muderers of a man whose son in Indian Air Force service? Arun Shourie (@MirrorShourie) October 8, 2016

Union min @dr_maheshsharma met family of a murder accused.

It clearly shows u BJP priorities nd values #shame https://t.co/fcK5X0hfox Joshi JI (@j0shiG) October 8, 2016

Union Min @dr_maheshsharma met Aklaq's killer family.But not d family of our 19 martyrs #RSSBJPInsultsIndianTricolorhttps://t.co/a19LMyfkiJ Santoesha Bissesar (@MsSantoesha) October 7, 2016

Tourism minister pays tribute to a murder accused. Incredible India indeed! https://t.co/M2NcQZrA52 Aditya Menon (@AdityaMenon22) October 7, 2016

BJP minister @dr_maheshsharma celebrates #AirForceDay by paying tribute to murderer of father of AirForce Official. https://t.co/Qzm68wJjYI UNESCO Best Indian (@Tiranga1947) October 8, 2016

Shameless min @dr_maheshsharma met family of a man who did #SurgicalStrike ag Muslims. Central & State govt awarding to kill more Muslim. pic.twitter.com/VLY5A2SdwQ Alamgir Rizvi (@alamgirizvi) October 8, 2016

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
Mahima Chaudhry says that witnessing the opposition to Pakistani actors in the country, producers and directors will anyway not cast them in Indian films.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: There is a growing clamuor in the country over not casting Pakistani actors in films being made in India in the backdrop of heightened tension between the two countries.

After superstar Ajay Devgn showed a thumbs down to acting with Pakistani actors, actor Mahima Chaudhry too has toed Ajay Devgn's line.

ALSO READ: Ajay Devgn not working with Pakistani artists, says country comes before money

advertisement

ALSO READ: Ajay's views on Pak artists, he is absolutely correct, says Kajol

ALSO READ: Is Ajay Devgn's patriotism a dig at Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil?

Speaking in Patna, Mahima said that there has been a massive furore and opposition over casting Pakistani actors in Hindi films and seeing the kind of opposition, producers and directors will not caste them in future.

The government should take a decision on whether to allow Pakistani actors in India or not but I think directors and producers will themselves not cast Pakistani actors seeing the kind of opposition the country is witnessing against them," said Mahima Chaudhry.

However, Mahima Chaudhry maintained that the upcoming films that has already been completed with Pakistani actors in it should be allowed to release as stalling release would cause massive losses to directors and producers.

People of the country are angry. So under these circumstances it is understandable when people say that all kind of relations with them (Pakistan) should be snapped. But on the other hand, as an artist, it is unfair that when film has been made, it is not allowed to be released. It is unfair for producers and directors because they had cast Pakistani actors when the atmosphere was fine," said Mahima Chaudhry.



--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: Ekta Kapoor's hit supernatural drama, Naagin, is all set to return to the small screen tonight with a fresh season, and the show's star, Mouni Roy, has been answering a lot of fan questions on Twitter regarding it.

In the exclusive and live chat, the stunning actress opened up on the show, her favourite person from the set, and even answered a few personal questions.

advertisement

Also read:Karanvir Bohra sizzles in this new pic from the sets of Naagin 2



When a fan asked the lovely actress about her favourite thing to do after a long and tiring day at work, she wrote, "A good paragraph of a good book, yum food, and a bed full of sleep."

A screenshot of the tweet. Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Roymouni

Us too, Mouni!

A screenshot of the tweet. Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Roymouni

Another die-hard fan asked a work-related question. Mouni was asked which character she liked doing the most with regards to the Balaji Telefilms productions; the talented actress just couldn't decide between Shivanya, Shivangi, and Krishna Tulsi.

A screenshot of the tweet. Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Roymouni A screenshot of the tweet. Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Roymouni

The actress was also asked about the challenges that she had to face while playing two completely different characters for the same show.

A screenshot of the tweet. Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Roymouni

And of course, there had to be that one question about how excited she felt about the show's premiere tonight.

But there was one very interesting question that was put to the actress which bordered on personal and professional areas; when asked to reveal her favourite person from the sets of the show, Mouni said that she liked everyone, but her favourite people to be around were Sudha Chandran and Adaa Khan.

A screenshot of the tweet. Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Roymouni

Well, we are sure her fans are extremely happy with the actress' answers; after all, they got a chance to communicate with their beloved star.

Naagin 2 premieres tonight at 8 pm on Colors TV.



--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Bhopal, Oct 8 (PTI) Hydropower major Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation (NHDC) has paid a dividend of Rs 195.87 crore to the Madhya Pradesh government.

The dividend cheque was handed over to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday by NHDC Chief Executive Director Dheeman Parija, an official said today.

The state government has received this cheque towards dividend for the year 2015-16, he added.

advertisement

NHDC is a joint venture of NHPC Ltd and government of Madhya Pradesh.

Set up on August 1, 2000 with its corporate office in Bhopal, NHDC works towards development of hydropower and other renewal energy in Madhya Pradesh. PTI MAS ARS SBT ABM

--- ENDS ---
I spoke with author James O. Born a few weeks before New Orleans Bouchercon 2016. Jim is the real deal. He is on the cusp of retirement from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and previously worked with DEA. He was also Elmore Leonards go-to guy on police procedure for over two decades. Jim has written a number of classic detective novels and next year will be moving into an extremely high profile writing slot. As if that isnt enough, he annually presents an excellent panel on weaponry at Bouchercon each year. Because I was driving to New Orleans and he was flying, Jim asked if I would mind bringing some firearms with me. Jim assured me that he had cleared the presence of the weapons with hotel security and that I would be able to bring the weapons into the host hotel without difficulty.

On the morning in question I drove to the host hotel (I was staying elsewhere) with a square box briefcase containing three handguns and a shotgun bag containing a 12 gauge shotgun. All of the firearms were unloaded. I also had my loaded concealed carry weapon of choice (and my concealed carry permit) in my pocket.The briefcase with the handguns looked like any other briefcase (something like this Filson Briefcase); the shotgun bag with the shotgun inside looked likewell, a shotgun bag with a shotgun inside. I unloaded the car and turned it over to the hotel valet, who asked me conversationally if I was going to do any hunting, to which I replied that I was assisting with a panel at the writers convention. I then walked into the lobby, exchanged greetings with the gentlemen at the Bell Captains station, then proceeded up the escalator.

Courtesy cliparts.co

I had reached the second floor and was walking toward the third floor escalator when I was approached at speed and with purpose by an unarmed security guard who asked me 1) where was I going and 2) what was I doing. I stopped, politely told him, and also mentioned that my presence had been cleared with the head of security. The security guard, civil enough but all business, told me 1) that he hadnt been advised and 2) to put everything down. I complied; he asked me what I had in the briefcase and I told him, and also advised him that I had a concealed carry permit and a loaded revolver in my pocket. He told me to step back from the briefcase and gun bag, which I did, and then ordered me to take the revolver out of my pocket and unload it. I stepped back, and said politely, Sir, I will comply with your request, but please note that I am in full compliance with the laws of the state of Louisiana in carrying this. I will happily show you my concealed carry permit as well. He declined to see the permit, telling me that I had no right to bring a loaded firearm into the hotel (wrong, but I did not press the point) repeating again his order to me to remove the revolver and unload it. I offered to let him remove the gun from my pocket himself, which he declined to do. The entire time that we were having this exchange I kept my voice down, my hands away from my body (except while removing the revolver from my pocket), and my demeanor cooperative and polite. After presenting my revolver, unloading it, and setting it down (he had me keep the bullets) I suggested that we call Jim and get things straightened out. I did just that; Jim came running and after a polite exchange with the guard, the head of security was called. That gentleman confirmed with the guard that all was well, and after a bit of back and forth (which isnt germane to our purpose today) we all went about our business. Jims program was terrific, as always: entertaining, funny, and extremely informative.

Courtesy cliparts.co

Why all of this? My first thought upon seeing the guard approaching was that I hoped this wasnt going to turn into a thing. By thing, I mean the summoning of a member of the New Orleans Police Department. The department is understaffed, underpaid, and over-regulated; their default response to a lot of situations is, alas, take the subject (which, in this case, would be me) to Orleans Parish Prison. I did not want to go to Orleans Parish Prison (known locally as OPP). I could see myself being summarily frog-marched down a long corridor where I would be quickly lost in the bowels of the criminal justice system, undoubtedly acquiring at least a couple of sets of unwanted and untoward stretch marks before things got sorted out (not to mention losing my guns). I could have given the guard an argument about my rights, the limits to his authority, and all of that good stuff, while refusing to comply at every step along the way. No; polite and cooperative, thats me.

Now. The guard made a bunch of mistakes in dealing with me, and they didnt have to do with failing to recognize me (Hey, werent you in LA-308?) or stopping me to begin with. With regard to the latter, he didnt get the memo about the presentation; stuff happens. If he detected a potential problem he should be stopping me, and I have no business being unhappy, under this fact pattern. But. Theres a right way to go about this:

 A subject is either a) a threat; b) a potential threat; or c) not a threat. If c), there is no reason to be stopping them. The guard obviously regarded me as b), maybe a). So why did he approach me while alone and unarmed? He should have had at least two people with him, so that I was semi-surrounded from the beginning, one in front of me and one on each side. Nothing threatening; just folks have a chat. A couple of the bell captains would have been fine.

 He should have taken me up on my offer to let him remove the weapon himself. That I was a) polite, b) cooperative, and c) older is no reason to assume that Im not a threat. See the paragraph above. What if I was giving him a load of buena sierra, stopped cooperating, and suddenly pulled the gun out?

 He should have searched me further, and then moved me against a wall, away from the guns, until everything was sorted out. Instead, he let me stand away from, but within arms reach of, my guns, and assumed that since I had told him about my concealed carry revolver that I had nothing else untoward in my possession. I did. I was wearing a utility hack knife on a necklace sheath. On those rare instances where I have been stopped and frisked  not because of what I was doing, but because of who I was with  I have been amazed that law enforcement (or whoever) always assumes that if they find two weapons you dont have a third on you. Some folks do, and they are not all harmless little guys such as myself, full of well-mannered intent and good cheer.

This all could have gone badly. On my end, its an example of how being polite, civil, and reasonable can go a long way. On the guards end, its a cautionary tale. For you, the foregoing is offered as a teaching lesson, not only for your written vignettes but also for your real world dealings. I hope it helps with both. Has anyone else had an experience like this?
Good morning!

You haven't subscribed to Ciquizza yet? Then you don't even know what diphallic terata is!

iTunes: wapo.st/Ciquizza

Stitcher: stitcher.com/podcast/the-washington-post/ciquizza-the-fix-podcast

It's been a pretty slow week in politics. Let's see if we can make it through an hour talking about it.
FMCSA Declares Trucking Company an Imminent Hazard to Public Safety

An investigation into an accident led to the decision

The FMCSA has ordered Industrial Transit, Inc. of LaGrange, Georgia to stop all operations after an investigation determined the company is an imminent hazard to public safety.

On August 22, an Industrial Transit truck transporting Takata air bags went off the road, rolled over, and caught fire, leading to an explosion of air bag components. The explosion leveled a nearby house as well as damaging others. The occupant of the leveled house was killed.

FMCSA determined the company violated multiple safety regulations, including: failing to comply with driver qualification requirements, failing to implement a random alcohol and drug testing program for its drivers, failing to ensure its vehicles were regularly inspected, and more.
By PTI: Bhopal, Oct 8 (PTI) Hydropower major Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation (NHDC) has paid a dividend of Rs 195.87 crore to the Madhya Pradesh government.

The dividend cheque was handed over to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday by NHDC Chief Executive Director Dheeman Parija, an official said today.

The state government has received this cheque towards dividend for the year 2015-16, he added.

advertisement

NHDC is a joint venture of NHPC Ltd and government of Madhya Pradesh.

Set up on August 1, 2000 with its corporate office in Bhopal, NHDC works towards development of hydropower and other renewal energy in Madhya Pradesh. PTI MAS ARS SBT ABM BAS

--- ENDS ---
Please be informed that Laguna Phuket has received a new schedule from the artists who would perform the Big Body+ Concert. The new date is potentially set for Sunday 26 March 2017. We regret to inform you that we cannot find a date in 2016 that suits all 3 selected artists.

Therefore, we have to cancel the 2016 concert, and reorganise it in 2017 instead and as per the above update.

As there are many fans and ticket buyers who have been waiting for the new date to make a decision re ticket refund, we have decided to extend the deadline for ticket refund to until Friday 7 October (previously set for 30 September 2016).

Should you wish to get a ticket refund, please bring the concert tickets and a copy of your ID to ticket refund locations per below detail:

Date/Time Location

Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm Laguna Tours

Daily: 4pm-8pm Limelight Avenue

Note:

Ticket purchased in 2016 can still be used for new concert date in 2017.

(in case of change in ticket price, difference refund will be available)

Please follow us on Facebook/LagunaPhuketResort for more information re 2017 concerts detail.

For more information, please call +66 (0) 76 362300 ext. 1404

Laguna Phuket wishes to express our sincere gratitude for your kind support to all of our charitable activities. Please accept our apologies for inconveniences caused.
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual event and held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. October 1, 2016 Khun Chadaporn Makchumnum, Assistant Marketing Manager a representative from The Racha donated 1,000 bottles of drinking water to local Chinese Shrines in Phuket to inherit and support the Vegetarian Festival.
PHUKET, THAILAND  19 September 2016: Amatara Wellness Resort, one of Southeast Asias premier wellness resort & spa destinations, has entered into collaborative agreement with Bangkok Hospital Phuket in development of an Integrative Wellness Program. Supervised by a medical team, the program will include integrated health plans to promote the customers total wellbeing. Amatara also signed an MOU with Bangkok Airways to provide privileges for customers and beneficial offerings for clients. This is the first time the leading wellness resort has made an agreement with a hospital and airline in Thailand. The collaborative effort will help to position Thailand as a leading integrated wellness destination.

Dr. Prattana Punnakitikashem, Managing Director, Amatara A Destination Spa, revealed, To offer a new service for visitors who need deep relaxation together with healthcare, Amatara Wellness Resort has collaborated with Bangkok Hospital Phuket to develop an Integrative Wellness Program that focuses on brain health, wellbeing and anti-aging services. This program will operate under the highest standards covering various angles: brain checks to world medical standards, health consulting, nutrition planning after medical treatment, relaxation and treatments, preventive health education, and wellness lifestyle programs.

She continues, Amatara will provide more convenience to the hospitals patients in case they need an excellent accommodation service for recovery or relaxation after checkup, with access to superb beachfront rooms and villas, hospitality services and high-end facilities. This will effectively promote Thailands integrated wellness tourism business. The collaboration also has planned to co-develop a preventive brain health package and a deep sleep enhancement program to be launched in the future.

Further, Amatara Wellness Resort works in close partnership with Bangkok Airways to introduce special privileges for clients travelling to Phuket, such as reward points for its flyer bonus program and redemption program for existing clients who stay at Amatara. With the combined strong potential of two leading companies in their industries, Bangkok Airways & Bangkok Hospital Phuket, this partnership helps Amatara to provide more services and offerings.

Guests will enjoy more convenient and value-added services that cover transportation, checkup, treatment, and recovery in an integrative way. This will enhance not only the hospitality and wellness tourism sector in Phuket, but also in Thailand as a whole, in order to attract wellness tourists from around the world. Amatara has a vision to be one of the Top 5 Wellness Destinations in Southeast Asia, to enhance the global wellness tourism economy and improve wellness in Thailand to its highest standard, concluded Dr. Prattana.

Dr. Kongkiat Kespechara, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)  BDMS Southern Group and Director of Bangkok Phuket Hospital said, Now Thailand has obviously entered into a phase of an aging society. Many irrecoverable diseases and disorders have been found, and one of them is Alzheimer disease, which ranked in the list of top 10 diseases found in adults over 65 years old. Bangkok-Phuket Hospital sees an importance of disease awareness, development of high technology analysis programs, and research of anti-aging to reduce the risks of Alzheimer disease by specialized medical teams.

The cooperation with the leading wellness resort Amatara for development of an integrated wellness program that focuses on brain health marks a big step for medical advancement. With Amataras high-end hospitality service, soothing ambience, and 5-star facilities, in cooperation with a high standard of medical expertise at Bangkok-Phuket Hospital, we strongly believe customers will experience true relaxation and be able to maintain their sustainable health in the long term, explained Dr. Kongkiat.

Ms. Ornjira Kanongchaiyos, Director of Loyalty Program of Bangkok Airways, said, As per the agreement with Amatara, Bangkok Airways offers clients 10 Flyer Bonus Points for every nights stay at Amatara Wellness Resort (duration 3 years starting 15 Sep 2016 onward) to be awarded to qualifying members. For launching of the partnership, Amatara Wellness Resort is pleased to offer 20 Flyer Bonus Points for every nights stay at Amatara (double points, valid for now  31 October 2016). By cooperation with the resort, we will offer more special promotions for the general public throughout the year.
Phuket, 25 February 2016  Representatives of Amari Phuket, Richard Marco, Hotel Manager (second from right), Chonnanan Prakarn, Director, Human Resources (right) and Suchada Thongkum, Team Member, Human Resources (left) recently visited Patong Hospital to donate the funds received from the World Cancer Day Project to Dr. Sirichai Silapa-archa, Patong Hospital Director (second from left). Amari Phukets entire team worked together to raise the project fund successfully. The fund will be used in hospital operations to help cancer patients.
Phuket, Thailand  Phuket International Academy (PIA), located within the grounds of Thanyapura, in the north of Phuket, is set to become the first and only United World College (UWC) in Thailand, after two years of hard work and discussions with the London based organisation.

With an alumni represented by more than 55,000 graduates from all around the globe, UWC has gained a worldwide reputation for developing young people who have a desire to work towards achieving peace and sustainable future.

We are excited about the direction in which the school is moving, said Julian Whiteley, Chief Executive of Phuket International Academy. We aim to challenge our students in all areas of our educational programme and encourage them to take the initiative, exercise self-discipline and accept responsibility for their actions. By so doing, they will develop the skills and qualities necessary for them to live happy and successful lives.

The decision to create a UWC in Phuket will transform the educational landscape on the island and promote growth in the north, particularly with the school being so close to the airport.

Already, I have talked with some parents who are changing their life plan because they want their children to be educated at a UWC. We have also had a number of people contacting us from Bangkok as they have heard the news and intend to move to Phuket to be part of our community.

Julian Whiteley, formerly the Head of the United World College of South East Asia, Singapore, which is widely acknowledged as being amongst the top ten international schools in the world, moved to Phuket because he shared the vision of the founder of Thanyapura and Phuket International Academy.

Not only are the aspirations of UWC and Phuket International Academy very similar, they align perfectly with my own philosophy of education and life. At the heart of this is a deeply held belief that education is about the personnel development of all aspects of a child, it is not just about academics. Whilst it is possible to learn a certain amount in the classroom, so much more can be learnt by interacting with the world outside school. Hence the emphasis we place on outdoor education and service to the community.

In August, the school will welcome 25 scholars from around the world who have been selected, not because of their academic ability, but their leadership skills and desire to be future change-makers. They will add to the cultural diversity of the school

Phuket International Academy, due to become United World College Thailand in August 2016, is located at Thanyapura, 115/15 Moo.7 , Thepkasattri Rd., Thalang, Phuket and can be reached via phone at +66 76 336 076 or through their website www.phuketinternationalacademy.com.

Metinee Kingpayom, top model and commentator of The Face and The Star

Initially, I feel lucky that I decided to choose PIA for my son, Skye, as the school has a great environment. The school provides a wide range of great facilities for both children and parents as well as activities that all can join together and bond a good relationship.

I really feel excited to hear that PIA will become the United World College of Thailand (UWCT) according to their excellent reputation across the world. United World College (UWC) is well recognised by its unique design of curriculum offering a wide vision for the students. We are living in the modern world and studying only in textbook is not enough to make a successful person.

There are already a number of mix nationality in PIA and after it becomes UWCT, there will be even more diversity of nationality. I believe that the mix nationality, race and culture together with the smart designed curriculum of UWC will enhance our children to learn to understand others and respect the difference. These children is growing up to create a bright future and peacefully develop the world to a better place.

Boon Yongsakul, Chairman of Boat Development Company

PIA was my choice because I could see the great environment in the school. The surroundings are very natural and people are nice. I want my kid to grow up in this friendly atmosphere.

I heard about PIA getting chosen to be UWCT. It is a really great opportunity as I recognise that UWC is a very well-known educational network that creates an academic program making students learn more than just in the classroom but the wide world.

I am keen to see the great changes when it completely becomes UWCT as I believe in the UWC brand and even believe that there will be more and more UWC network across the globe.

Anthony Gould, Director of Galileo Maritime Academy

When we moved to Phuket we visited all the leading international schools and were particularly impressed by the atmosphere at PIA. The friendliness of staff and students to all of us and the attitude of the head of school towards our daughter Victoria was warm and genuine. The location is stunning and the facilities are amazing, so it was an easy choice for my wife and I and also for Victoria.

I was quite excited to hear that PIA was to become the Thailand UWC because the UWC movement appeals to my sense of humanity, i.e. that openness, awareness and sharing throughout education and in a transnational context are the keys to living a valuable life and creating a better world. So I am happy that my daughter will be part of that movement and we hope that she will grow up with an open mind and worldly understanding way beyond pure academic achievement.

Garry Kirkland, Project Director , Marriott Vacation Club, Asia Pacific

I chose PIA for my children because of the IB program. By teaching children to consider their learning in both local and global contexts, IB supports a strong international view of the world.

When I heard that PIA was chosen to be a UWC school I knew that the PIA students international view would develop to an even higher level. The diversity of students provided by the UWC connection will provide learning experiences for the children to consider all questions from an even more diverse global context, important for educating the international leaders of tomorrow.

I welcome the UWC and look forward to the new energy that will be created by the diversified student mix.
PHUKET, THAILAND  Metzos Bistro & Bar, located at the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort in Thailand, won the prestigious Best Restaurant Within a Hotel global award at the International Hotel and Property Awards 2016.

Sophie Bughin, Associate and Design Director at Metzos Bangkok-based design team, Santhaya & Associates, accepted the award at a glamorous awards ceremony in Venice, Italy on 16 September. The contemporary, high-street bar bistro beat out entries from the worlds top architects, designers and hospitality operatorsincluding restaurants in hotel brands such as Hilton, InterContinental, Shangri-la, Le Meridien, and others.

Metzos opened in October 2015 and was designed with a lived in, slightly industrial eclectic aesthetic with subtle Moorish motifs.

Santhaya & Associates conceived a wonderfully relaxed and unpretentious environment where people can socialise comfortably and feel engaged by both the staff and the Mediterranean food, said Peter Skinner, VP Design and Projects for Outrigger Resorts.

The wine bar in Metzos was envisaged as the casual dining and drinking focus for the resort, centred on lively shared long tables. The heart of Metzos is the long bar presenting a range of daily hot and cold tapas, quality wines, craft beers and Metzos cocktails.

The bistro allows guests to enjoy more family orientated dining slightly away from the bar, but within the casual, sociable ambience that permeates the entire space, said Ms Bughin of Santhaya. Bi-fold doors allow the space to flow out to the alfresco dining area by the pool. The ambience, and the trend toward casual high-end dining make Metzos an ideal place for wine pairing and degustation evenings, she added.

Sunday brunch at Metzos features live music and is a popular hangout for local residents as well as hotel guests.

Metzos Bistro & Bar in the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner and has a popular Sunday brunch 11.30 to 15.30 hrs. For Metzos bookings, call (+66) 76 360600. Email: metzos@outrigger.co.th. Visit Metzos online here.

The full list of winners in the International Hotel & Property Awards 2016 is here. Readers of design et al and design industry professionals voted online to select winners.
PHUKET, THAILAND: Phukets celebrated and revamped luxury beach resort THE NAI HARN recently co-hosted a two-day celebration experience in partnership with Thailands national carrier to mark the successful delivery of 12 new Airbus A350s that will join Thai Airways domestic and international fleet.

As part of the experience, VIPs and senior management from Thai Airways joined the airlines corporate clients, sponsors and members of the Thai and international media on a return flight from Bangkok to Phuket aboard one of the new Airbus A350s.

Guest were then transported to THE NAI HARN for an indulgent two-night stay overlooking one of the islands most beautiful beaches, enhanced by the world class services and facilities that have earned THE NAI HARN recognition as Phukets only member of Leading Hotels of the World.

In addition to hosting the visitors from Bangkok, The NAI HARN also jointly hosted a Gala BBQ Seafood Buffet Dinner for 120 people at the resorts expansive infinity-edged rooftop bar, Reflections, with live music, traditional Thai dance performances and a spectacular fireworks display and contributed hotel gift vouchers for winners of the lucky draw.

It was an honour to play a part in such a significant milestone for Thailands national airline, said Frank Grassmann, GM of The NAI HARN. We re-launched the resort earlier this year with a completely new look so we understand the importance of new additions to keep things fresh and appealing. With the new terminal at Phuket now open, the introduction of new aircraft is definitely timely and welcome move by Thai Airways.
If you consider yourself to be creative, then youve already got one of the essential traits of a successful entrepreneur. But you can use your creativity for more than just building a business plan and solving problems. You can actually build a business thats fully centered around creativity. Here are 50 unique business ideas for creative entrepreneurs.

Creative Small Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs

Art Seller

If youre a visual artist, you can create original drawings, paintings or prints of your work and build a business around selling them. You can go to local art fairs or sell on sites like Etsy.

Wedding Photographer

If photography is more your medium, providing photography services at weddings can be a lucrative business.

Jewelry Maker

You can also use your creativity to craft wearable art like necklaces and earings. You can use wire, beads or any number of other materials to put together jewelry and then sell it online or in local boutiques or at events.

Logo Designer

For creative entrepreneurs that want to work with other business owners, you can offer design services where you help businesses design basic branding materials like logos.

Musician

If you play any instruments or are musically inclined, you can build a business as a musician. You can either play at local venues or produce albums to sell.

Blogger

Writers or creative content creators, blogging is a viable business opportunity for entrepreneurs in a variety of different fields and areas of interest.

Mobile App Designer

For those who are at least somewhat tech savvy, app creation has turned into a huge field in recent years. You can offer your services designing apps for businesses or even create your own apps to sell.

Vintage Reseller

You dont have to actually make your own products in order to showcase your creativity. You can curate vintage or secondhand items and then use your photography and writing skills to sell or showcase those items to potential customers online.

Interior Designer

If you have a keen eye for design and home decor, you may be able to build a business working with interior design clients.

Landscape Designer

Or if you prefer the outdoors, you could instead work with clients to design their landscaping and outdoor spaces.

Home Stager

You could even get a little more specific and work with homeowners or realtors who are looking to sell their spaces and just want them temporarily staged so theyll appeal to more buyers.

Art Dealer

You can also use curation skills to start a business as an art dealer. You just need a keen eye for art and enough resources to procure some artistic pieces.

Airbrush Artist

Airbrushing is a popular artform that can translate to a lot of different mediums. You can use your airbrushing talents to customize t-shirts and accessories and sell them online or in local markets.

Clothing Designer

You could also design clothing items from scratch and then work to get your line featured in stores or boutiques or even start your own.

Personal Stylist

If you dont necessarily want to design the clothes but you still have a passion for fashion, you can build a business working as a personal stylist to help clients shop and put together outfits.

Portrait Photographer

For photographers who are more interested in staged photo shoots, you can build a business as a portrait photographer and work with clients for things like senior pictures, family photos, head shots or even pet photos.

See Also: Best Business Idea Articles for Entrepreneurs

Caricature Artist

If you prefer drawing and you have a bit of a sense of humor, you could turn that skill into work as a caricature artist at local events or venues and show off your talent to paying customers.

Prop Stylist

Photographers, event planners and other types of businesses could sometimes use help styling their photo shoots or spaces. So you can build a business as a prop stylist who comes in and arranges items in a way thats visually pleasing.

Tattoo Artist

Tattooing is an ancient art that remains popular with a wide variety of people. If youve got the artistic sense and the training, you can build a successful business providing tattoos for clients.

Hair Stylist

Theres a lot of potential for creativity when it comes to being a hairstylist. You can offer a rang of cuts, updos and even coloring services.

Makeup Artist

Makeup is another area that requires a lot of creativity. You can start a salon type of business or even just travel to work with clients at their location.

T-shirt Designer

Got a cool idea for a t-shirt? You can really easily build a business selling t-shirts that youve designed by using online platforms like Redbubble or Cafepress.

eBook Author

If storytelling is more your cup of tea, you can write your own books and then self-publish them online as ebooks.

Website Designer

Web design continues to be a huge growing field. You can build a web design business by working with clients to build custom websites or even sell pre-made templates on sites like Etsy.

Cake Decorator

Food can be another great area for showcasing creativity. You can decorate wedding cakes and specialty desserts to really show off your artistic skills.

Face Painter

Fairs, birthday parties and other events will often feature face painters and similar activities for kids. If you enjoy that type of atmosphere, you can offer your services to clients in your area.

Video Producer

Online video is a huge growing trend. You can build a business by producing your own videos and earning a share of ad revenue on YouTube or even work with other clients to help them with their video projects.

Tie Dye Artist

If you love the tie-dye look, you can use that art form on everything from t-shirts to socks and sell them online or at local events.

Balloon Sculpturer

Events also often feature balloon artists. You can offer your services to create balloon art for event attendees or even set up balloon installations as part of the event decor.

Card Designer

Cards and similar paper goods are still popular with some consumers. You can design your own cards and sell them online or in local paper goods stores.

Wood Worker

If youre good with tools and enjoy putting things together, you can build and sell so many different items made out of wood, from small sculptures to intricate pieces of furniture.

Disc Jockey

Or if you enjoy music and working at events, you can build a business working with clients as a disc jockey for weddings or other gatherings.

Dance Teacher

There are so many different forms of dance you can learn and teach to clients. You can start a dance studio in your community and work with clients of all ages.
Pakistan sees no hope of a breakthrough in relations with India under the Narendra Modi government, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said and accused India of adopting a "hegemonistic attitude".

By Indo-Asian News Service: Amid escalating tensions, Pakistan continued to strike a tough posture against India, with top Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz saying that there can be no expectations of any breakthrough in ties with India during the tenure of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In an interview to a TV channel, Aziz on Friday said Pakistan had been resisting India's "hegemonistic attitude" in the region and calling for the promotion of bilateral ties on an equal basis, Pakistan Today reported.

advertisement

He said the joint session of the Pakistani parliament had unanimously adopted a resolution that encompassed all issues including the "condemnation of brutalities in Kashmir, ceasefire violations at Line of Control by India, negation of Indian view of Kashmir as its integral part, condemnation of Indian threat to revoke Indus Waters Treaty and Indian intervention in Balochistan".

READ| Pakistan's Kashmir approach long past its sell-by date: India at UN



Aziz said the parliamentary resolution would be circulated across Pakistan's missions, media and think tanks across the world. He said during interactions at various platforms across the globe the majority view was that dialogue should resume between the two countries.



To a question on the Indian Home Minister saying that the India-Pakistan border would be sealed, Aziz said there was no harm in sealing the border as planned by India if the points of public movement and trade were maintained.

Aziz also said that India cannot succeed in diverting the world attention from the Kashmir issue through the September 18 "Uri-like self staged incidents".

READ| Pakistan is rattled, and that's evidence of India's surgical strike



His remarks came as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi told the world body that non-implementation of the Kashmir resolutions is the "most persistent failure" of the UN.



Addressing the General Assembly's Special Political and Decolonization Committee, Lodhi said on Friday that for over six decades the UN Security Council has failed to implement resolutions promising a plebiscite to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their destiny.

"This is the most persistent failure of the United Nations," Lodhi said.

Lodhi also said that Jammu and Kashmir "never was and can never be" an integral part of India. "It is disputed territory, the final status of which has yet to be determined in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Security Council," she said.

READ| India's intended message conveyed to Islamabad through surgical strikes: Vikas Swarup



Targeting India, Lodhi said: "Generation after generation of Kashmiris has only seen broken promises and brutal oppression."

"Today the Kashmiri people have risen again in unison against an occupation," Pakistan Today quoted Lodhi as saying.

advertisement

She termed the current uprising in the Kashmir valley, in which 90 people have been killed since July 9, as "the worst form of state terrorism, a war crime, which India has perpetrated by its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir for decades".

In keeping with Islamabad's attempt to bring global focus on Kashmir, Pakistan Prime Minister's special envoy on Jammu and Kashmir was in the US where he presented a "dossier containing evidence of the atrocities carried out by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir" to Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, Peter Lavoy on Friday.

Mushahid Hussain Syed, targetting the US, said that Pakistan has observed a "change" in the Washington's diplomatic policy, marked by its closer ties with India -- which is the reason for Pakistan's burgeoning ties with Russia.

"We (Pakistan) are observing a change in the US diplomatic policy."

READ| Pakistan to US: Road to peace in Kabul lies in Kashmir



Hussain said every action has a reaction, and Pakistan felt the need to develop close ties with Russia after President Barack Obama's two visits to India.

"This was the start of a new chapter in Pakistan-Russia ties," Hussain said, adding that Moscow is in favour of building a working relationship with countries of South Asia region, Dawn reported.

advertisement

Accusing Obama of changing the policy for political gains, Hussain said the US State Department had refused to give visa to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2006, but it took a U-turn after Modi was elected as the Prime Minister.

"This U-turn of US policy can be traced back to the time of Bush administration, when the US-India nuclear deal was signed which was against the law of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," said Hussain, at a programme organised by the think tank Atlantic Council in Washington.

READ| All those burning Pakistan flag deserve to be butchered, says Pervez Musharraf on Baloch rebels



He also asked for a probe into the September 18 terror attack on an Indian army camp in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.



"UN military observer group for India and Pakistan should investigate the attack. Crossing the Line of Control to attack any target in India is not possible for any militant," he said.

He said that India should share with Pakistan if it has any evidence or intelligence regarding the attack, which left 19 Indian soldiers dead. India has blamed the attack on Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group.

advertisement

The tough Pakistan stance came as India said that firing by the Pakistani Army on Saturday injured one of its soldiers on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian soldier was injured in unprovoked shelling and firing by the Pakistani side in Mendhar sector of Jammu region, said Indian authorities.

READ| Masood Azhar has been under detention since January 14, claims Sartaj Aziz

Pakistan will move towards China, Russia if views on Kashmir ignored, say Nawaz Sharif's envoys

Pakistan does not have aggressive designs against any country: Nawaz Sharif



--- ENDS ---
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Moroccos ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP), advocating Islamic democracy and Islamism, gained the majority of votes in the parliamentary elections, local media reported Saturday.

The voting procedure to elect members of the House of Representatives, Morocco's lower house of parliament, was held on Friday.

The ruling Islamist party won 99 seats, while the other frontrunner  the liberal opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party  took 80 seats, according to the results issued after over 90 percent of the votes were counted, the Middle East Eye online news organization said.
In November 2014, the two countries signed a new agreement to improve access for the use of the Cam Ranh Bay base by the Russian Navy.

Retired US Army Major Todd Pierce predicted that American political hawks would seek to use any renewed or continuing Russian military presence in Cuba or Vietnam as a justification for increased confrontation with Moscow.

We then could point to the Russians as acting like the old Soviet Union and planning aggression against us, for our domestic audience, and deflect attention from our own acts of provocation over the last two decades, especially the last couple of years, he explained.

The Russians were reacting to US provocations and threatening moves against themselves and other countries, but they would be falsely presented as carrying out acts of aggression or provocation themselves by US militarists, Pierce predicted.

They can quite accurately point out that they are being made the victims of our aggression, and are only acting in defense, he said.

However, Russian statements threatening to renew military ties to Cuba and Vietnam would work to the benefit of US militarists as they could then accuse the Russians as being aggressors, Pierce predicted.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Militants were killed along with their vehicle on Friday but the officials did not elaborate if the attack was carried out by the Afghan Air Force or the US Air Force, Khaama news agency reported.

Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, with government forces fighting the continuing Taliban insurgency, while the Islamic State terror group, outlawed in Russia, has also expanded its activities in the country.
New Delhi (Sputnik)  Indias right wing government has opposed the Muslim tradition of triple talaq (instant divorce), and polygamy. This is the first time in Indias constitutional history when the government has submitted before Indias apex court that these practices should be abolished. Triple talaq is a practice among Indian Muslims where men can divorce by simply stating their intention verbally three times i.e. divorce, divorce, divorce. Muslim men can utter these words at any time, and by any medium including telephone, text message or even social media post.

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, reads an affidavit filed by the Central government before the Supreme Court of India.

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.
Kuang Chi Group, a Chinese tech giant, designs a project of futuristic tourism and a space theme park. The project expects to send paid customers almost 79,000 ft above the Earth in a "Cloud" high altitude balloon. It can also help in serious missions from natural disaster relief to missile defense and serving as communication nodes if needed.

On September, 30 at the International Aeronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, another Chinese aerospace research giant, The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technologies, unveiled a plan of producing the world's largest single stage spaceplane. It is said to be capable of flying up to 20 passengers to space and will run on liquid oxygen and liquid methane, like the Space X Raptor and Blue Origin BE-4 engines. The company said that a seat would cost between $200,000 and $250,000.

"China is developing very rapidly into one of the major space players," said Fabio Favata, head of the programme coordination office at the European Space Agency's (ESA) directorate of science, according to the Guardian.
According to the statement, the agreement was signed by Ali Kardor, the managing director of NIOC, and Tatneft Director General Nail Maganov.

"As result of meetings conducted between the two companies earlier, a memorandum was signed. I hope that we will manage to make the follow-up steps in a more serious direction," Kardor said, as quoted in the statement.
TOKYO (Sputnik)  The agency issued a level 3 alert for the area on Saturday, warning people not to approach the volcano.

The eruption occurred from the Nakadake crater. This is the first time that an eruption is registered at the site in the past 36 years.

Ash from the volcano covered roads and cars in the city of Aso (Kumamoto Prefecture).
The Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, has pursued political reforms over the last five years following decades of oppressive military rule.

By AP: President Barack Obama on Friday lifted US economic sanctions on the former pariah state of Myanmar, the culmination of years of rapprochement that Obama has worked to facilitate.

LIFT SANCTIONS

The Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, has pursued political reforms over the last five years following decades of oppressive military rule.

Obama had announced plans to lift the sanctions last month, when Myanmar's new civilian leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, visited the Oval Office. Suu Kyi concurred it was time to remove all the sanctions that had hurt the economy and urged Americans to come to the country and "to make profits."

advertisement

The US has already eased broad prohibitions on investment and trade but had retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta. US companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asia's last untapped markets.

REMOVES BANKING RESTRICTIONS

Friday's executive order lifts those restrictions. It removes the national emergency with respect to Myanmar - the executive order authorizing sanctions that has been renewed annually by US presidents for two decades. It also lifts a ban on the importation of jadeite and rubies from Myanmar, and removes banking restrictions.



SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS



"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," Obama wrote in a letter to the leaders of Congress. He said the US intends to use other means to support Myanmar in the "significant challenges" it still faces.

Some Myanmar nationals remain on the Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals under other sanctions authorities, such as those intended to block the drug trade, a Treasury statement said. This bars them from any business dealings with the US They include alleged drugs kingpin Wei Hsueh Kang and other figures from the United Wa State Army, one of Myanmar's biggest ethnic armed groups.

Among those taken off are the ex-junta chief, Than Shwe, and the founder of one of the nation's largest conglomerates, Stephen Law, whose late father was once described by Treasury as one of the world's key heroin traffickers. Also taken off were military officials added to the blacklist since 2013 for alleged arms trading with North Korea, such as Lt. Gen. Thein Htay, chief of the Directorate of Defense Industries.

Treasury said that while all those designated under the Myanmar sanctions authority have been delisted, it retains the authority to designate any individuals or entities under other sanctions programs, including on North Korea and counter-narcotics, if it determines they meet the criteria.



LIFTING SANCTIONS PREMATURE

Human rights groups have argued that lifting sanctions is premature as the US will lose leverage over Myanmar's powerful military. Despite the election victory by Suu Kyi party last year, the military still wields major political and economic influence.

advertisement

Sen. Ben Cardin, top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced support for the sanctions action but concern over the plight of Rohingya Muslims, ethnic reconciliation and reform of a junta-era constitution that guarantees the military a quarter of parliamentary seats.

ROLE OF MILITARY IN BURMA

"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," Cardin said in a statement, noting that Suu Kyi had raised the issue when she met with senators during her Washington visit last month.

Obama's outreach to Myanmar has reflected his willingness to engage with American adversaries - others being Cuba and Iran. The administration has also sought to promote U.S. strategic interests in Asia. During its years of international isolation, Myanmar was heavily reliant on its northern neighbor China, which remains a key source of trade and investment.





--- ENDS ---
Since 2011, the Palestinian Authority has provided monetary resources to Palestinians held in custody in Israeli prisons. In case these people were killed by Israelis, that money would go to relatives. These payments are made partly with aid money from various foreign entities, including European countries, such as the UK and Germany.

Earlier, these payments were made from the Palestine Authority budget. After 2014, these payments became the responsibility of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Earlier this summer, UK lawmakers demanded that the Department for International Development aid program be canceled, claiming the Palestinian Authority diverts aid money to the PLO, who they claim is a sponsor of terrorism. At the time, the department rejected the demand.
The two men originally fled the scene after confronted by mosque attendees, with police arriving soon after to clean the mess and keep an overnight watch. Pawlikowski and Zukowski were later arrested for inciting racial hatred.

The Mirror quoted prosecutor Zahid Hussain saying, "This is an unusual and unique case. Both these defendants originally come from Poland. In a civilized Western democratic nation, one is entitled to express their opinion and also to benefit from freedom of speech. But there are boundaries which we need to all comply with and live inside those."
While there is much discussion about gaining independence, there is little idea about what an independent Catalonia would actually look like. In the last month three different Catalan constitutions have been presented for parliamentary debate, but most of their contents are unknown to the general public. In addition, their proposals reflect a poor effort at Catalan self-determination, Juberias said.

"None of them would provide Catalonia with a better democracy than they have now. They are very poorly drafted, very contradictory, they are full of mistakes."

"Ambiguity is a card being very intentionally played by Catalonian nationalists," who are reluctant to lose some supporters by settling on a specific constitutional arrangement for Catalonia's future.

"There is an endless number of promises. Catalonia will be able to pay all its debts, will be a safe place, will be able to secure our frontiers, we will be able to pay for social security, we will increase unemployment benefits and so on."

Juberias draws a comparison with the Brexit referendum, where leave campaigners have failed to come up with a detailed blueprint of post-Brexit UK, including the central issue of whether the country will retain access to the European single market.

"It's kind of like the Brexit campaign in the UK, (which promises that) 'once we leave the UK, all that money will be in your pockets and we will be a wealthy country.' Well, you discovered that when you leave the EU certainly you save money, but you have more expenses. This is again something that is being played in the Catalan nationalist push."

"Some observers jokingly refer to this golden future as 'Catadisney,' it's certainly a fantasy place that doesn't exist anywhere."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  German police are searching for a 22-year-old Syrian national over the suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack, local media reported Saturday, citing Saxony State Criminal Police Office (LKA).

Earlier in the day, police in the eastern German city of Chemnitz were investigating a "static threat", having evacuated residents of one of the city's districts. Police stormed one of the flats but the suspect, Jaber Albakr, had fled by then.

German police search for terror-plot suspect in town of Chemnitz https://t.co/kQhkiDDNwg   Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) 8  2016 .

Saxony Police posted in their official Twitter account that a highly explosive material was found in the apartment and thus further evacuations were needed.
Madrid turned for help to its Belgian counterparts after Ibrahim Abdeslam's trip to Spain in March 2015, more than six months ahead of the Paris attacks.

In addition, in February 2015 the Belgian police got access to a recording of a telephone conversation which could have enabled them to establish a connection between suspected terrorists and Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam.

Earlier, local media reported that the police had failed to take into consideration Salah Abdeslam's collaboration with Abdelhamid Abaud, who was thought to be one of the main organizers of the Paris attacks.

What's more, the police also turned a blind eye to information about the Abdeslam brothers' radical moods in 2015 and their intention to go to the war in Syria.

The newspaper De Tijd obtained the full text of the document on the results of the investigation into the police's activity, which will soon be submitted to the Belgian parliament's special commission.
However, Der Spiegel reports that EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn has advised the Chancellor against making "counterproductive" comparisons.

"The EU pays Turkey three billion euros ($3.4 billion), which includes payment for the schooling and housing of refugees. In Brussels there is concern that after Merkel's announcement countries like Egypt will also expect similar sums of money," Der Spiegel reported.

Brussels politicians believe the situation in Turkey is not comparable to the one in North Africa, since Turkey is home to 3.1 million refugees, 2.7 million of whom have fled neighboring Syria. Countries like Egypt and Tunisia, in contrast, are transit countries for a broad mix of migrants from elsewhere in Africa, including impoverished areas not currently engaged in war, such as Eritrea.

The warning was relayed via Merkel's aide Peter Altmeier, Chief of the German Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Affairs. Merkel is set to visit several African countries next week, including Mali, Niger and Ethiopia, and intends to pursue more active German engagement with the region, including more development aid.

A new approach to Africa is a "strategically highly important issue," the German Chancellor told German newspaper Die Zeit on Wednesday.

"We have to say realistically that the welfare of Africa is also in Germany's interest."

While pleased with the EU-Turkey deal, Merkel was critical of the decision to close the Balkan migration route this year. Between January and August 122,078 illegal border crossings were detected on this route, the EU border agency Frontex reported.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the Europe 1 radio network, about 800 residents of the French village took to streets to protest against the reception of some 60 migrants from the Calais refugee camp in an empty building, which had previously been occupied by a psychiatric hospital, in the Hyere commune, while demonstrations concerning the issue were also held in the neighboring Pierrefeu and Forges-les-Bains communes.

The protests are organized by the Human Rights League and left parties, supporting the refugee reception centers, and the local National Front (FN) party, which opposes the idea of migrant reception in the Var department.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The series of terrorist attacks carried out across Paris on November 13 last year claimed 130 lives and injured over 350 people. Salah Abdeslam, the alleged mastermind behind the Paris attacks , who is accused of providing logistical support to the suicide bombers and shooters, is a French national born in Brussels.

According to the leaked information, phone calls held since February 2015 demonstrate that Salah Abdeslam contacted a number of people suspected of terrorism, the Metro outlet reported, citing De Tijd daily.


The group has set up a Facebook page asking for donations to the cause.

The group has been protesting at Sendlinger Tor, a historical city gate in southern Munich, since the beginning of September.

"We are living in inhuman conditions. The refugee camps are modern prisons, there is restriction of movement, we are not allowed to learn and earn money, not allowed to be a part of society. Because our countries are declared to be safe countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Senegal, Gambia and many others. Because our life does not matter in this world! We are protesting to have our basic human rights. And we are protesting because every life should matter," they explain on their website.



At a press conference, Afghan asylum seeker Adeel Ahmed told the Suddeutsche Zeitung that the refugees are marching to Nuremberg because their protest in Munich appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

"Is it necessary to start a hunger strike in order to be heard," Ahmed asked journalists.

The state of Bavaria registered the arrival of over 475,000 migrants and refugees last year. Two thirds of those arrivals were subsequently moved on to other areas of Germany while their asylum applications were processed.
WARSAW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, media reports cited a source in the US intelligence saying that Russia was deploying Iskander-M in Kaliningrad. Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov donfirmed the reports, saying that Moscow made no secret of sending the missile systems to Kaliningrad as their movement within the country is a standard army practice.

"Recent actions of the Russian Federation are a cause of our particular concern," Macierewicz said, commenting on the deployment of missile systems, as quoted by the PAP news agency.

According to the minister, Poland has for a long time been monitoring Russias actions such as the Iskander-M deployment.
By Ashish Pandey: Hyderabad Police today busted an online prostitution racket operated by an inter-state gang and and arrested four persons including a woman.

The gang was operating from a make shift house at posh Manikonda area of Cyberabad and was active in Hyderabad, Bihar, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and other major cities.

WHAT HAPPENED

Cyber Crime Police while verifying the online commercials had chanced upon the website www.blissfullescorts.com inviting prospective customers seeking female escort services in Hyderabad.

advertisement

"A decoy operation was launched and contacted the number furnished in the advertisment. The person who recieved the call further directed to contact a WhatsApp number and sent a photograph of a girl quoting Rs 25,000/- per night. He asked to come to Madhapur towards hi-tech city at Indian Oil petrol pump, whereby the decoy was approached by two accused persons in a Honda City, who asked for identity proof for booking a room etc."



THE ARREST

The police arrested three men and a woman and the investigations are on. The accused are booked under sections 67 (A) ITA Act, 370 (A) IPC, Sec 4 & 5 of Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act r/w 34 IPC.

They were also booked under section 332 IPC for driving over the police officer.

Police has seized three Samsung mobile phones containing obscene photos of girls and chatting details in WhatsApp.

--- ENDS ---
Panama closed its border with Colombia in May to stop the flow of Cuban migrants through the country.

Cubans who have reached US shores are allowed to stay and work legally in the United States and to apply for green cards under the 1995 amendment to the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act.

In addition to Cubans, there are large numbers of Haitians in Panama and Costa Rica, who are also trying to get to the United States.

Costa Ricas president warned on Friday that the migrant crisis in his country and in Panama could get worse now that Haiti had been hit by Hurricane Matthew.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  "They have trained a number of local Nineveh fighters, and we are prepared to incorporate those fighters into the [Mosul] operation under the Iraqi command," McGurk told reporters on Friday.

On Thursday, Iraq requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss the presence of Turkish troops in Bashiqa, located about 19 miles northeast of Mosul.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The rebels of the Shia Houthi movement, officially called Ansar Allah, hit the territory of Saudi Arabia with a ballistic missile, the military command of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition in Yemen said on Saturday.

The missile, launched late on Friday, did not cause any damage as it hit deserted area in the southwest of the country. The coalition military forces followed the trajectory of the missiles flight and returned fire against the missile launch site in Yemen, the military command said as quoted by the SPA news agency.

The missile type was not specified, but Houthi forces had previously carried out attacks against Saudi zones with the Soviet-made Scud missiles and their modifications.
ANKARA (Sputnik)  The Turkish forces destroyed a total of 82 targets of the Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) jihadist group and cleared 119 settlements of terrorists since the start of the Operation Euphrates Shield, Turkeys General Staff said in a statement on Saturday.

Our armed forces fired 212 shots from Firtina howitzers, 20 shots from multiple missile launchers and 36 shots from mortars, 82 IS targets were destroyed, the statement said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A bomb explosion in eastern Afghan Nangarhar province resulted in injury of at least two US soldiers on Saturday, US Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) said.

2 US troops were injured in #Nangarhar today after their vehicle hit an IED [improvised explosive device]. No other casualties resulted, USFOR-A posted in its official Twitter account.

On Tuesday, a US military service member died in the same province during an operation against the Daesh.
ALEPPO (Sputnik)  The forward detachments of the Syrian Army and militia liberated the Huweija area and took control of a highway section, advancing toward the city of Aleppo from the north, a source in the Syrian militia told RIA Novosti.

We came close to the eastern neighborhoods [of Aleppo] from the north. Today the [Syrian] army and our troops liberated Huweija and a ring road, the source said.

According to the source, the liberation of Huweija made it possible to continue the offensive to free the Bustan al-Basha neighborhood in Aleppo, captured by terrorists.
SANAA (Sputnik)  One of the top generals in the forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadis government was killed in a fighting with Houthi rebels, officially called Ansar Allah, in the Marib province, a source told Sputnik on Saturday.

General Abdel-Rab al-Shadadi, commander of [Yemens] third military district, was killed together with several accompanying servicemen in a clash with the Houthi forces in the west of the Marib province, the source said.
SANAA (Sputnik)  Dozens of people were killed and many injured as a result of the airstrike on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, during the funeral ceremony, involving Houthi rebels, carried out by the forces of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, a local source told Sputnik on Saturday.

According to the source, the total number of those killed and injured in the capital, controlled by Houthis, can be as high as several hundreds of people.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented that the text of the French resolution distorted the complexity of the situation on the ground leaving the false impression that Russia and Syria were aggressors when in reality the conflict in East Aleppo is mixed between moderate anti-Assad forces that have branched together with more radical al-Nusra terrorists.

The Ministry further noted that the draft resolution ignored the urgent challenge of beginning and resolving an intra-Syrian political process that could place the country on a path towards stability and peace.

Russian representatives further expressed their "commitment to finding a lasting political solution to the Syrian conflict" notwithstanding the move to veto the French draft United Nations Security Council resolution.

Prior to the vote, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin expressed his dismay with the French draft that he believed was poorly postulated and designed to be vetoed by Russia for the sake of scoring public relations points and instead expressed his desire that the United Nations pursue the route of supporting the UN Envoy to Syria's plan.

Reiterating this point, Russia said that the authors of the French United Nations Security Council resolution draft on Syria failed to show political wisdom by intentionally ignoring Moscow's proposed amendments to it.

Vitaly Churkin went on to say before the vote that all of those attending the Security Council meeting knew that neither the French nor the Russian resolution on the Syrian crisis would be adopted.

The Russian Foreign Ministry closed by appealing to the members of the United Nations Security Council that the world must not allow Syria to go the way of Iraq or Libya reminding that US-led regime change in those countries led to further instability making those nations hotbeds for terrorism and in large part contributing to the crisis in Syria.
SANAA (Sputnik)  The Saudi-led Arab coalition launched five airstrikes on Yemen's capital city of Sanaa, a military source told Sputnik on Sunday.

"Three airstrikes targeted positions of the missile forces on Fag Attan mountain in the capital city's west, while two airstrikes hit al-Nahdein mountain," the source said.

The raids followed soon after an airstrike hit a funeral ceremony in Sanaa on Saturday reportedly killing 213 people. The coalition denied allegations of the Houthi rebels that it was involved in the attack.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The US military awarded BAE Systems a contract worth more than $618 million for an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) for the United States, Iraq and four other foreign governments, the Pentagon said in a press release.

"BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration was awarded a not-to-exceed $618,343,700 contract for the procurement of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System in support of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, and governments of Iraq, Lebanon, Netherlands, Jordan, and Australia under the Foreign Military Sales program," the release stated on Friday.

A key component of the contract is the conversion of 2.75-inch rocket system to a semi-active laser guided precision weapon, the release noted.
"Russian Paratroopers participating in the Defenders of Friendship-2016 exercise in Egypt plan on using advanced, special purpose 'Arbalet' parachutes. This will be the Arbalet-1 and Arbalet-2 systems' first mass use in the desert climate of the African continent," a Ministry press statement confirmed.

The Arbalet series of parachutes is used by special forces and reconnaissance units of the Russian Airborne Forces, and was successfully tested in the Artic earlier this year, with troops carrying out landings on a drifting ice floe in the Arctic Ocean. The Arbalet-2 was first delivered to the Russian military in 2013.

The parachutes are designed specifically for paradrops from An-2, An-26, An-12 and Il-76 transport aircraft, as well as specially-equipped Mi-8 transport helicopters. The parachutes are capable of carrying troops and equipment weighing up to 150 kg in near-ground temperatures from 35 to +35 degrees Celsius at aircraft flight speeds up to 400 km/h.

The Arbalet's special dome shape (for both the main and backup parachute) is designed to ensure a safe landing even for troops who have little experience skydiving.
In due course, Voronezh-class radars will replace all existing Soviet-era systems, including the Don-2N and Daryal-series radars, some of which ended up outside Russia after the collapse of the USSR.

In addition to land-based missile warning, Russia is building up a space-based component, in the form of the EKS 14F142 early warning satellite, which tracks missile launches based on their exhaust plume. The first 14F142 was launched last November, with another five set to be launched before 2020 to complement the Voronezh radar network.

Commenting on the Voronezh's success in detecting the US missile launch, Svobondaya Pressa columnist Vladimir Tuchkov suggested that it was just another demonstration of the radar system's capabilities, which are a real headache for Pentagon planners.

"To date, the four operating stations have done an impressive job," the analyst suggested. "Every year, they detect and track up to 40 space launches and ballistic missiles. They've warned us about 30 dangerous close encounters with space objects with Russian satellites. Eight times they saved the ISS from space junk."
The negotiations would call for India to acquire 5 S-400 'Triumf' long-range air defense missile systems, Kamov-28 helicopters and upgraded models of the Sukhoi 30-MKI elite fighter jet with estimates valuing the possible defense dealing at $6 billion and with the Modi government reportedly looking to expedite the transaction as Russia looks to expand its cooperation with Pakistan.

The S-400 missile system in particular has raised eyebrows among a number of NATO countries with the system capable of destroying missiles, drones, and incoming fighter jets within a range of 250 miles (400 km) with analysts speculating that the advanced anti-aircraft system renders the F-35 fighter jet stealth technology utterly useless  the vaunted aircraft that the US spent $1.5 trillion on developing.
While incompatible refueling nozzles may seem unimportant to some, there are quite crucial parts that require significant improvement, such as communication equipment. Currently, NATO armies are yet to develop a radio that will be, on one hand, well encrypted and jamming-protected, and, on the other hand, standardized among member countries. And, according to Hodges, NATO is running out of time to address this issue:

"We're only going to have five to seven days in a real crisis, so you're going to have to show up and plug right in," he said.

General Hodges's concerns were echoed by those of Lt. Gen. Jorg Vollmer, the German Army chief of staff. Vollmer pointed out that Russia, whom NATO commanders no longer hesitate to name as its main adversary, will never have to deal with all the interoperability problems.

"They all speak the same language, they use the same doctrine, they use the same radios, and they use the same equipment," he said.

But he also pointed out that many military skills that were commonplace during the earlier days, are mainly lost now.

NATO troops have effectively lost their prior experience of some basic military operations, such as making bridges. Not only do NATO armies need to restock their supplies of bridges and other equipment, but they also need to learn how to operate it anew.

"It is relearning maneuver warfare (and) combined arms," he said. "To rebuild these capabilities takes some time."
The UN defines children as those under 18 years of age; in Saudi Arabia, children above the age of 15 can be tried as adults and can be executed, Newsweek reported.

Committee chair Benyam Mezmur said they had multiple reports of the death penalty being applied for offenses committed by children, a practice he said only exists in a very few countries, namely Iran, Pakistan, China and the Maldives. "This is a very, very serious issue," he said, as reported by the Al Monitor.

Six adolescents are facing execution in the country, and four of the 47 people executed in the country in January were under 18 when they committed their crimes, Deutsche Welle reports.

The juvenile death penalty is a very serious concern, but so are other punishments, like flogging, Jorge Cardona, a member of the UN committee, said, at a news briefing on their conclusions. The committee demanded that Saudi Arabia immediately repeal laws that allow for "the stoning, amputation and flogging of children."

Its treatment of girls was also found to be poor, with girls not recognized as full legal subjects insofar as they are subject to male guardianship, a legal requirement that can restrict their access to healthcare and free movement. Dress requirements also amount to discrimination, the committee found.

The committee also criticized the country for ignoring recommendations to make 18 the minimum age to marry, and found that Saudi judges frequently authorized girls to marry upon reaching puberty, and sometimes as young as the age of nine, various sources report.
While it seems like his entire political party has turned against him with calls for running mate Mike Pence to assume the throne as the Republican nominee amid this time of crisis, Donald Trump has not given up on his now very long shot bid for the US presidency taking to Twitter to rally his supporters to redouble their efforts.

"The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly," said Trump on Twitter. "I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGA" with a sign off with his "Make America Great Again hashtag.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2016

Still the path for Trump will be evermore daunting following the latest revelations as states across the country begin early voting this week with the downturn occurring a very critical strategic juncture. Trump already struggled with suburban female voters who were worried about his temperament and crass demeanor with the latest controversy likely shutting the door on a comeback.

Trump's campaign also will likely see staff defections in the coming day with leading business groups including the US Chamber of Commerce denouncing the Republican and calling for him to withdraw his candidacy suggesting that any fundraising that the real estate tycoon was counting on to move his campaign through election day will likely dry up in the coming days.

Ever the optimist, Trump has maintained a somewhat detached mood despite the scandal that looks to kneecap his political fortunes writing on Twitter in jest earlier the day, "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!"

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2016

The candidate's last best shot may be tomorrow's prime time debate.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Disputes between the European Union and Russia over the economic impact of sanctions are best handled by leaders on each side, not the World Trade Organization (WTO), its director-general, Roberto Azevedo, said.

There are some things we can solve, there are certain things we can help to solve, but some of those issues have to be dealt with directly between capitals, Azevedo told an audience at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on Friday.

In 2014, Moscow filed a complaint at the WTO regarding the impact of EU sanctions that Russia argued were in violation of the trade bodys rules. EU officials have since complained to the WTO that Russian import tariffs on some European agricultural goods were excessively high.
Quami Ekta Dal's president Afzal Ansari said a meeting was held with the SP chief Mulayam Singh in a very cordial atmosphere and a decision has been taken to hold a rally in Mohamadabad area of Ghazipur in November.

By PTI: Two days after the formal declaration of Quami Ekta Dal's merger with Samajwadi Party, its president Afzal Ansari today met Mulayam Singh Yadav and announced a major rally with the SP chief in Ghazipur next month.

"A meeting was held with the SP chief Mulayam Singhji in a very cordial atmosphere and a decision has been taken to hold a rally in Mohamadabad area of Ghazipur in November," said Afzal, the elder brother of mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.

advertisement

"The date of the rally will be decided after Diwali", Afzal said.

Asked how many QED members would constest the coming Assembly elections, he said since his party had now merged with the Samajwadi Party, any decision in this regard would be taken by the SP leadership. He said his brother would contest elections from the Mau seat for the SP.

"We have already started working as Samajwadi Party workers," Afzal said.

On Thursday, the Samajwadi Party's state unit president Shivpal Singh Yadav had cleared the air over the merger with the QED.

"QED has already merged with SP. Netaji (Mulayam) has already made a statement in this regard in the media. His decision in final," Shivpal had said.

The SP-QED merger was announced in June in the presence of Yadav 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 a few days later.

Speculation is rife that the formal announcement of the merger again by Shivpal might create fresh problems within Yadav family, as Akhilesh is said to be against it.

Also Read:

Was Shivpal-Akhilesh face-off a well-thought-out political move by Mulayam Singh?



--- ENDS ---
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  Russia has presented an alternative draft resolution on Syria at the UN Security Council, the Russian mission to the United Nations told journalists.

"After the voting on the French draft resolution, an alternative Russian document will be considered," the mission said.

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 has confirmed.
PRAGUE (Sputnik)  "Many leading EU representativesopenly expressed support for the female candidate who joined in in the last phase," Lajcak said as quoted by the Pravda newspaper on Friday, referring to European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva.

Bulgaria had another candidate for the post on UN Secretary General  Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UNESCO children's fund. Even though Bokova was put forward first, while Georgieva joined in only on September 28, only Georgieva had the official support of the Bulgarian government.

"She [Georgieva] was presented in some places as the official candidate of the European Union. It caused quite a confusion among some members of the Security Council, but eventually it turned against Georgieva," Lajcak said on Friday.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov and Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar discussed bilateral ties and the upcoming meeting between the Russian president and the Indian prime minister, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press release on Saturday.

"On October 7, in New Delhi, a round of consultations between Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov and Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar took place. A wide range of issues in Russian-Indian strategic partnership was discussed with an emphasis on the preparations for the upcoming contacts between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the framework of the bilateral summit on October 15 in Goa," the press release read.

The two diplomats reportedly welcomed the positive dynamics in key joint projects in various fields and reiterated mutual intention to further expand mutually beneficial multifaceted cooperation, strengthening the legal base of relations.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Turkey and Russia must seek to maintain dialogue on the issue of Syrian settlement despite persisting differences, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Sputnik.

"I believe that we need to concentrate on finding solutions to the problem We may have differences of opinion on certain issues, but we must maintain the dialogue open even on them, using all diplomatic means available to us," Cavusoglu said in an interview ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin visit to Turkey.

He added that Russian and Turkish positions regarding Syria's future should not damage the development of bilateral ties.
"We support the dialogue to resolve disagreements on a number of issues on which we have differences with the Russian side. Under the framework of the dialogue, there are working mechanisms which we have launched. For example, we are currently focusing our efforts on the Syrian settlement. On the other hand, we are taking steps to raise our economic and political relations to a new, more advanced level," the foreign minister concluded.

The meeting between Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled for October 10.

Turkey plans to improve bilateral ties with Russia in the field of energy, particularly regarding Akkuyu nuclear power plant (NPP) and the Turkish stream pipeline projects, Turkish Foreign Minister said.

"The implementation of the Akkuyu NPP and the first pipeline of the Turkish Stream project are of significant importance for us Turkey wants to diversify its energy sources. We will purchase from the country which will offer us the best deal. As for now, Russia along with Azerbaijan are the countries which sells gas on the best conditions for us Thus, we plan to develop energy cooperation with Russia, particularly under the framework of the two mentioned projects," Cavusoglu said in an interview ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin visit to Turkey.

Russia and Turkey signed an agreement to construct and operate Turkeys first nuclear power plant at the Akkuyu site in the southern Turkish province of Mersin in May 2010. The plant is expected to produce about 35 billion kilowatt-hours per year.

The Turkish Stream project, which was planned to bring Russian gas via the Black Sea into Turkey and southern Europe, was suspended after a Russian Su-24 aircraft was downed by a Turkish F-16 fighter in Syria on November 24, 2015. In June, following Turkey's apology to Russia for the November incident, the sides began a reconciliation process.

In August, Gazprom's project management department official Anatoly Fayantsev said that the energy giant was willing to sign an intergovernmental agreement on the Turkish Stream with Turkey and was planning to update a roadmap for the halted project.
The possibility of a local clash between the US and Russia in Syria has been increased following the collapse of the Syrian ceasefire, according to Svobodnaya Pressa columnist Anton Mardasov.

"Some experts believe that the ongoing crisis may lead to the 'Afghanistan scenario' or even the 'Vietnam' one," Mardasov pointed out.

"Keep in mind that the US and the Soviet Union [covertly] fought against one another in Vietnam  Soviet rockets were fired there for the first time on July 24, 1965," the columnist recalled.
"I think that the Cubans would happily agree to the restoration of the Lourdes station," the expert noted. "As far as Vietnam is concerned, I think they are ready for cooperation, but only in the same context that exists today." The analyst recalled that the USSR's 25-year rent free lease of the base, signed in 1979, was offered in connection with the Sino-Vietnamese War, which broke out earlier that year. Today, the pretense of 'containing China' no longer exists, at least as far as Moscow is concerned.

"In any case, nobody is going to just offer up their territory to us; both Cuba and Vietnam will need something in return. For Hanoi, Russian presence would be necessary in the context of its confrontation with China. For Havana  ditto, but for the US. But Washington may be able to outbid us, or make these countries an offer they can't refuse."

Sergei Ermakov, a senior expert at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, emphasized that for decades, up to and even including 2014, Moscow stayed silent about the prospects of reopening the Lourdes facility, given the 'serious concerns' Washington consistently showed regarding the facility's capabilities. Two years later, the situation has changed dramatically, to paraphrase Peskov.

"In 2014, the Foreign Ministry and even the president denied plans to return to Cuba; now the situation has changed. We are in a state of confrontation with the US, and Washington has not taken much of an effort to hide the buildup of the components of its strategy to 'contain' us. Accordingly, the deployment of Russian military facilities abroad would break the ring of containment around Russia  allowing us to exit the string of US military bases that surround Russia, and increase the potential for geopolitical negotiation."

In other words, Ermakov stressed that increased Russian presence would be a positive. Still, given Russia's limited economic capabilities, and the current status of its relations with Havana and Hanoi (which aren't as friendly as they were during the Soviet period), a real return to these countries in the military sense would be possible "only in truncated form."
TBILISI (Sputnik)  The ruling Georgian Dream Party is leading in the parliamentary elections in Georgia, backed by 39.9 percent of the electorate, according to the exit poll results by the GFK company.

Georgian ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) party is in the second place, with 32.74 percent of public support. Alliance of Patriots of Georgia are also set to gain seats in the parliament, having won some 5.76 percent of votes, the exit polls suggest.

According to Rustavi TV broadcaster, which ordered and published the exit poll, its data is not final and the vote counting is still continuing.
What is more important in the eyes of Pillar is that US national interests have nothing to do with changing "the political coloration of the regime in Damascus." What Washington needs to care about is how to stop the spread of terrorism and violent extremism in the region, Pillar stressed.

Similarly, Majumdar underscored in his article that the fight against the Assad regime is complicated by the fact that "there are no clear-cut good guys" on the ground to side with.

"Even so-called 'moderate' rebels backed by the US government are beheading children," Majumdar underscored.

In his Friday op-ed for online newspaper Vzglyad Russian political analyst Yevgeny Krutikov noted that Washington's hysteria over the Syrian Arab Army advance in Aleppo is quite understandable.

He explained that the liberation of Aleppo from Islamists would pave the way for Bashar al-Assad's victory in the Syrian war. At the same time, it would mean that Washington's five year-long political and military maneuvers in the region were in vain.

To add insult to injury, the Obama administration's fiasco is likely to coincide with the final phase of the US presidential campaign.

Krutikov drew attention to the fact that recently the SAA has not only gained more ground in Aleppo but also kicked off an offensive against Islamists in Deir ez-Zor, where the Syrian government forces had been hit by US Air Force several weeks ago. In addition, Krutikov added, the SAA has intensified its activity in Hama.

In this context, it becomes clear why the US war planners have renewed the debate over directly striking Bashar al-Assad's positions in Syria. In their eyes, only a massive assault against the SAA could have saved the US' reputation.

Still, the Russian analyst believes that such an outcome is highly unlikely: neither the UN, nor the US Congress is likely to open the door to yet another US military intervention in the Middle East.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  The criticism came after Russia vetoed French draft resolution aiming to end hostilities in Syrian Aleppo. UK called on Russia to stop its actions in Syria saying they are one of the main reasons of civilian deaths.

In his speech Russian envoy urged the government of the United Kingdom to stop supporting "motley horde" around the world and abandon its colonial habits.

"Stop intervening in the internal affairs of sovereign states, stop your colonial habits, leave the world in peace and then, may be, the situation will improve in many areas," Churkin said.
Answers Africa is one of a kind platform created for Africans both locally and in the diaspora and those seeking for more in-depth information about Africa. We have always focused on creating the highest quality informational contents right from the beginning. We share the most relevant information on the latest and trending news, events, people, and places in Africa.

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.

We aim to answer the most relevant questions about Africa in areas of entertainment, famous people, emerging technologies while we also engage with various distribution capabilities to connect with Africans in need of information who rely on our website to keep in touch with the world that is changing so fast.

These are some of the articles you may be interested in reading:

10 Famous TV Personalities Born In Ethiopia Ethiopia is a country best known for its fast athletes like Dibaba and Bekele, breathtaking models like Liya Kebede and of course Haile Selassie but there are also famous TV personalities who are doing a great job in entertainment and pushing the country to civilization. The following is a list of ten most famous TV ...

Top 10 African Authors of All Time The pace of present African literature is moving at a high-speed; more defiant in both style and tone than those of the great independence writers generation. Here, the subjects of taboo are widely explored. The emerging African authors of this generation are not afraid to go further afield for the literary fodder. Meanwhile, since the birth ...

Maina Kageni Biography  Daughter, Salary and Gay Rumors Maina Kageni is one of those Kenyans who has remained as interesting as ever in the eyes of the public. A strong Red devil fan and lover of football, the man is currently a Breakfast Show presenter with Mwalimu Kingangi on Nairobis Classic 105 Radio Station. Many questions have always emerged on the man in serious ...

Kalekye Mumo  Biography, Boyfriend and Salary Kalekye Mumo has been described as someone who is as vibrant as she is beautiful, a Kenyan radio queen, TV host and media personality, movie actress, Musician, businesswoman, and fashionista but what else is there to know about this Kenyan icon, Kalekye Mumo and her co-host Shaffie Weru have been among the most listened to radio presenters ...

Julie Gichuru Bio  Age, Husband & Children In Africa, women have a long history of bringing under control obstacles to keep their heads above the water. So, it comes as no surprise whenever African women are recognized and decorated across the continent and globe for performing brilliantly well in their various fields of endeavor. In Kenya for instance, a list of national ...

Jeff Koinange Biography  All About His Age, Wife  Shaila Koinange & Family Jeff Koinange is a well-known Kenyan journalist. He currently hosts Jeff Koinange Live on KTN. Koinange has served as a journalist in the United States and has also worked for a few U.S. broadcasters. He was born in Kenya but attended college in the United States, which may explain his accent. There are several interesting ...

Caroline Mutoko Biography  Age, Daughter & House Caroline Mutoko is a Kenyan radio presenter, famously known for hosting a morning breakfast show on Kiss 100 FM. The station is based in Nairobi and ranks among the highly-rated radio stations in Kenya with online streaming services as well. Learn more about the Kenyan-born journalist. Caroline Mutokos Age and Bio Born on January 4, 1973, Caroline is ...

The Most Stunning News Presenter In Kenya Discloses Her Real Age  You Would Not Believe It In modern African societies, it is often regarded as impolite or outright lack of disrespect to ask a woman of her age. We also have seen celebrities lie about how old they are when asked their age. People, mostly women have refused to let people know their real age, despite being public figures. The few ...

Demystifying Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies Biography, Husband & Education Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian novelist, non-fiction writer, short story writer and actress. As a seasoned Nigerian writer, she has been called the most prominent of a procession of critically acclaimed young anglophone authors that is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature. She has been making Nigeria proud in the global scene ...

Wole Soyinka  Biography, Wife, Children, Family, Quick Facts Professor Wole Soyinka, a great and brilliant Nigerian writer and political activist, who was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. The name, Wole Soyinka, is a household name both in Africa and beyond especially in the field of literature. With over 50 pieces of work, his writing includes poems, novels, memoirs ...

5 Most Vulgar Kenyan Radio Presenters It appears being vulgar is the real deal nowadays especially for the fact that the world is becoming more exposed and civilized. Sadly, but true, young people are constantly being exposed to images, discussions, and content that most people would deem detrimental to the African culture and moral statutes. This is because most of us ...

6 Sexiest News Anchors In Kenya Some news anchors have been stealing eyes every time they appear on-screen. Most of us hardly concentrate on the programme they present as our entire focus is usually on their striking physique and beautiful faces. It is common knowledge that Kenyan women are amazingly beautiful. From the celebrities to the everyday woman, they are all in ...

Interesting Oprah Winfrey Quotes To Keep You Motivated Oprah Winfrey is one of the worlds most powerful women in the media and business sectors. Her life is the typical success story that motivates and lifts ones morale. One amazing thing about this media mogul is her sincerity about past hurts, mistakes, healing, and success. The renowned talk show host and media personality is the first ...

Chinua Albert Achebe Biography- Family, Net Worth & Death Chinua Albert Achebe, of blessed memory, was a Nigerian prolific author best known for his inventive style of writing and simplicity of expressions. Famed as one of the finest writers Nigeria has ever produced, Achebe lived and died an international hero and a literary giant, who left behind unforgettable legacies and footprints in the sands of ...

Steve Harvey  His Wife, Kids & Height Steve Harvey is an American comedian, actor, radio and TV show host, producer and an author of different relationship advice books. Steve Harveys Early Life Born in Welch, West Virginia, on January 17, 1957, as Broderick Stephen Harvey, Steve was the last of five children. His family relocated to Cleveland when he was young and there, he attended Glenville High School from ...

Intriguing Things You Should Know About Danny Kokers Rise to Fame and Who His Wife Is Danny Koker is popular as the star of the History Channel reality TV series, Counting Cars. Prior to him appearing on the show, the TV personality was a musician who had embarked on a number of national tours with his rock group, Counts 77. He and his group have released quite a number of songs ...

Fun Facts You Didnt Know About Andy Cohens Rise to Prominence and His Partner Andy Cohen is one of Americas top media personalities who gained prominence after helping to bring the Bravo network back to life. He also hosted a couple of shows on the network, including the popular nightly series Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. After rising to the position of head of production and development at ...

Tracing Isha Sesays Career Until CNN, Her Worth And Why She Divorce Her Husband As far as journalists of African origin go, Isha Sesay is one of the most famous on the continent  and by extension, the world. The Sierra Leonean and British journalist has had a successful career since she joined the industry in 1998. In that time, she has worked for a host of major media ...

Open Secrets of How Joanna Gaines Balances Her Career With Being a Wife and Mother Joanna Gaines is the co-founder of Magnolia Homes, a business she runs with one goal: converting houses to homes. She doubles as the lead designer of the company which she co-owns with her husband, Chip Gaines. Lady Gaines gained massive popularity when she became a co-star with her husband on the HGTVs show, Fixer Upper. ...

Juicy Details of Ayesha Currys Love Story With Stephen, Her Family Members and Recent Pursuits When your husband is one of the greatest basketballers that the NBA has ever seen, then it bestows on you the status of a celebrity wife  and may not even demand that you do anything extra to maintain that status. However, Ayesha Curry, the wife of multiple NBA champion, Steph Curry, is not one ...

What Is Tarek el Moussas Ethnicity, Why Did He Divorce His Wife and Who Is He Dating? Tarek El Moussa has made himself one of the most recognizable men on reality television, especially to fans of HGTV. Thanks to his expertise in the world of real estate, Tarek has become a national star. But even to his hardcore followers, there are questions about Tarek El Moussa that remain unanswered, such as his ...

Fun Facts About Natalie Beckers Lonely Childhood and Eventual Career Success Natalie Becker is an actress of South African descent who became famous for her appearance in films like The World Unseen and The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior. A multitalented individual, Natalie is also a television/radio presenter. She is also a co-founder of the Thought Leader Global Media which she runs together with ...

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 ...

Eye-Popping Facts About The Personal Life And Career Success Of Sportscaster Heidi Watney Heidi Watney is a media personality who has created a niche for herself as a sportscaster. Starting out as a radio presenter, the brilliant young lady has gone on to work for several prominent sports networks, and currently, she is with the MLB. The sportscaster is also known to have been an avid sports lady right ...

Marty Lagina Bio  Siblings (Martina and Rick Lagina), Net Worth and Wife Marty Lagina is an American engineer and businessman who has risen to fame as a reality TV star. This is thanks to his involvement in the adventure TV series, The Curse of Oak Island. The Curse of Oak Island is a long-running TV series which airs on the history channel. The show aims to solve ...

Is Jordan Schlansky Just A Character or a Real Life Person and What Does He Do? The world of late-night television is an interesting one. Shows during that time are geared towards giving viewers comedic relief from a long day at work through interviews and comedy sketches. The often charismatic host of this show requires the balancing talent of a producer whose primary job is to deliver great episodes. It is ...

Heres How Wealthy Jimmy Kimmel Is From All The Phases of His Career, Marriages and Sons Health Jimmy Kimmel is a renowned late-night talk show host known for his charm, wit, and the A-list guests he features on his show. As the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! On ABC, Jimmy has been serving comedy to television viewers for years which played a pivotal role in launching him into mainstream fame and enabled ...

Natasha Bertrand Biography  Is She Married? Who Is the Husband & What Is Her Age? Natasha Bertrand is not just a young prominent journalist but a first-rate investigative reporter. With her natural beauty and smile, Natashas sharp, insightful political commentary also makes her a thorough reporter. Her sound political perspective and coverage in the country have made her a force to be reckoned with in the profession. Renowned for her ...

What Happened to Shane Kilcher? His Injury Update, Net Worth and More Shane Kilcher is well-known thanks to the Discovery Channel series Alaska: The Last Frontier. It is a show that documents the daily lives of the extended Kilcher family, people who live without plumbing or modern heating. The episodes follow their routines as they rely on hunting and farming for their nutritional needs as well as ...

Is Stephanie Gosk Gay or Lesbian, Who is the Wife or Partner  Jenna Wolfe? In August 2013, NBCs Today viewers were greeted with two shocking news. Today weekend anchor, Jenna Wolfe, announced that she was as a lesbian, introducing her partner as NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk, and said the two are expecting their first child. A long time has passed since then and certainly, a lot of things ...

Nikki Mudarris  Bio and Net Worth: 5 Interesting Facts You Need to Know Nikki Mudarris, also known as Miss Nikki Baby, is a reality television star, model and fashionista. Shes best known for VH1s reality TV series Love & Hip-Hop: Hollywood. Her entrepreneurial skills enable her to create and run a successful lingerie line Nude by Nikki. Not only that, but Nikki has also successfully run the Las ...

5 Interesting Things You Need To Know About Kelly Nash Ever heard of the lady who gained national prominence for taking a selfie with a dangerous ball just a few inches away from hitting her? Its no other person than Kelly Nash, an American sports broadcaster currently working as host of The Rundown show which airs on MLB Network every weekday at 2 pm ET. ...

Understanding The Height of Fame John Oliver Achieved With The Daily Show and How He Met His Wife Without knowledge of who he is and his exemplary career, John Oliver cuts an unassuming figure of a regular man but he is one of the most influential personalities in America, especially on television. Since he began his career in 1998, he has been a loud and unapologetic agent of change, using his wit and ...

Why Did Big Chief Leave Street Outlaws, Where Is He Now And Why Did He Divorce His Wife? Justin Shearer, otherwise known by his professional name Big Chief is a famous street racer and television personality. He is famously known for being one of the main characters on the racing reality television series, Street Outlaws. Justin, who had been a significant part of the show since its premiere in 2013, appeared in a ...

Who is Josina Anderson of ESPN? Her Husband and Family Facts There has been a gradual paradigm shift in the world of sports which has today produced the likes of Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and other female athletes that are pulling great feats in different sporting fields. Their achievements have also been followed by the emergence of female sports journalists such as Jillian Mele, Eboni Williams, ...

Is Brittany Wagner Married, Who Is The Husband, How Old Is She? Brittany Wagner has been an inspiration to a lot of sports youngster. She has won the hearts of many athletic students with her role as a life coach and an academic counselor. She is well groomed in her career and has worked over a decade for The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and The National ...

Tati Westbrook Bio  Age, Husband & Net Worth With five videos dished out every week, alongside running her own brand, beauty guru, and YouTube superstar Tati Westbrook has proved to the world that theres utterly no impossibility or limit to whatever one is passionate about. Tati is best known for being the owner and manager of the worlds most-viewed beauty and lifestyle YouTube channel, ...

Cathy Areus Long Road to Becoming a Freelance Journalist and What to Know About Her Kids An American freelance journalist, news analyst, and author, Cathy Areu has built a lasting reputation for herself on cable television. Popular for her skillful and sassy presentation of professional views on varying topics including cultural and feminist issues, Cathy is an inspiration to many women across the globe. In addition to being a journalist, she ...

Tucker Carlsons Love Story With Wife Susan Andrews, their Children and Net Worth Today On the TV screens, Tucker Carlson is that fiery fellow who passionately dishes out his conservative and often controversial views on issues of national importance. Such brazenness has fetched him many enemies, especially on the left-wing, but it has also helped him cement a reputation as one of the foremost broadcast journalists in America. His ...

Paige Wyatts Net Worth, Boyfriend and Where She Is Now Paige Wyatt became popular after the Wyatt family began running the reality television show, American Guns. The Wyatt family comprises Rich Wyatt (father), Renee Wyatt (mother), Paige and Kurt Wyatt (children). Rich Wyatt originally ran a gun shop, the Gunsmoke Guns in Wheat Ridge, Colorado which is outside of Denver. The business which he ran together ...

The Progression of Howard Sterns Career As A Media Personality And Why He Divorced His First Wife Howard Stern is a legendary American radio host, who has also done some notable work as an actor, producer, author, as well as photographer. The radio personality achieved worldwide fame as a result of his self-titled radio program, The Howard Stern Show. As a professional radio personality, he has worked in different radio stations. Since 2006, ...

Lisa Joyners Biography  Ethnicity, Net Worth and Other Key Facts Lisa Joyner is an American Journalist, TV talk show host, and actress. Some of her well-known works are her correspondences for the Los Angeles based TV KCBS, inFANity show, Find My Family Show including her film and television appearances in Brimstone, American Sweetheart, The Bold and The Beautiful among others. Lisas passion for reconnecting people with their biological families ...

Amanda Balionis Rise Through the Ranks of Sportscasting and the Identity of Her Boyfriend Amanda Balionis is an American sportscaster currently working as a golf broadcaster for CBS Sports. Among so many of her works in the field of sports reporting, Amandas PGA Tour coverage seems to be the most popular so far. She covered the Super Bowl working with CBS Sports social media team in Atlanta, where she ...

Dissecting Charles Paynes Sexual Allegations, Its After Effects and More About His Wife Charles Payne had a respectable career as an analyst on Wall Street before he made the transition to television and became a contributor and later a host on Fox. In that time, his expertise has come under scrutiny, and he has been at the center of at least one major controversy. The major controversy in question ...

Erik Asla And Tryra Banks Split: Everything You Need To Know Tyra Banks and Erik Asla have called it quits! The couple, who began dating in 2013 and have a son named York Banks Asla, has decided to end what everybody taught was the perfect relationship. Neither person has come out to give a reason for the breakup, but what is obvious right now is that ...

What to Note About Dr Terry Dubrows Qualifications, TV Works and Marriage to Heather Kent In the realm of people that we expect to see regularly on our screens, medical doctors are closer to the bottom of the list. Aside from the fact that their work has little correlation with TV, they are presumably too busy to pursue life as TV personalities. Yet, a few of them have usurped this ...

Jessica Goch  Bio: 5 Things You Didnt Know About Ninjas Wife Jessica Goch is the Schofield-born American Social Media Influencer who has worked as a model but is now better known as a host and interviewer of prominent Electronic sports celebrities at popular gaming events/tournaments. The screen queen also serves as the manager of her famous husband Ninja aka Tyler Blevins whose exploits on Twitch and Fortnite has ...

CNNs Chris Cuomo Biography  Wife, Family & Net worth Chris Cuomo needs no elaborate introduction as he has starred graced many prominent Television cable networks and his voice has been heard through acknowledged radio shows. He is a television journalist and Lawyer who has previously worked for ABC News as Chief law and justice correspondent as well as a co-anchor on 20/20. If you still ...

Neil deGrasse Tyson  Family, Religion & Net Worth Neil deGrasse Tyson is a distinguished American astrophysicist and author who has been able to achieve so much after falling in love with astronomy at the age of 9. He has since attended and become an alumnus of prestigious universities such as Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, and also recorded numerous achievements in his field of ...

Is Simon Cowell Gay? Does He Have A Wife or Girlfriend and Why is He Famous? Simon Cowell is a well-known talent show judge, TV producer, entrepreneur and one of the most popular TV personalities that Britain has ever produced. In conjunction with his company, Syco, Cowell is the brain behind hugely successful talent hunt shows such as The X-Factor UK, The X-Factor US, Britains Got Talent, Americas Got Talent and ...

Everything To Know About Joanna Gaines Life With Chip Gaines, Their Business Pursuits and Kids Joanna Gaines and her husband Chip Gaines became celebrities after their television show Fixer Upper began airing back in 2013. The show which was about home renovation and decoration ran for about 6 seasons with a total of 79 episodes before the couple bade farewell to it in April 2018. Apart from their appearances on ...

Who Is Larry The Cable Guy? What To Know About His Wife And Net Worth Larry the Cable Guy is a self-professed country kid renowned for his trademark Southern accent and sensational catchphrase Git-R-Done! The famous comedian who talks about anything under the sun has gone on to become one of the most memorable characters in comedy history. Join us in unearthing lesser-known facts about the former on-air-personality, standup comedy superstar, movie ...

Who Is Patrick Starr, What Is His Net Worth and Gender? The make-up industry over the years has grown to become a billion dollar industry not just because there are probably more women wearing make-up but because a whole lot of men, especially the young ones, have become bold enough to wear it unlike before. A few of these men, like Patrick Starr, have even gone ...

How Did Chris Jansing Become a Senior Correspondent at MSNBC and Who Is Her Husband? An award-winning American television news reporter and journalist, Chris Jansing has succeeded in carving a spectacular niche for herself in the field of TV journalism. Outstanding for not just her excellence in journalism, Chris is also cherished for her incredibly gorgeous looks post 60! For close to four decades, Jansing has continued to soar in her ...

Jaclyn Glenn Biography  Age, Height & Ex-Boyfriend American Youtuber, Jaclyn Glenn, rose to prominence through her self-titled YouTube channel Jaclyn Glenn. She has remained an acclaimed atheist and continues to air her views on hot issues from politics, religion, animal rights, to atheism. During the heated 2016 US Presidential elections, Glenn featured in Hump Trump: Official Donald Trump Song. Her parallel acting career ...

Is Pat Sajak Married to a Wife or is He Gay With a Partner? Pat Sajak is one of the most popular TV game show hosts in America. He commenced his career as a radio disk jockey as well as a TV weatherman before being tapped to host Wheel of Fortune, the longest-running syndicated game show in the United States. Sajak has hosted the popular game show from 1983 ...

Nayyera Haqs Bio  What To Know About Her Husband, Parents And Family Nayyera Haq can take anyone on political debates as well as discussions on social issues affecting many. Her ability to masterfully deliver her stance on every issue or political debate has made her a regular face in morning and evening news media platforms. This is not a common feat especially for someone from her kind ...

Inside Guy Fieris Family With Wife, Kids and Sister Who Died of Cancer Over the years we have seen men dominate the kitchen and churn out amazing delicacies from it. Some do it way better than their female counterparts and one of such men is Guy Ramsay Fieri  an American TV host, celebrity chef, restaurant owner, bestselling author of four culinary books, and game show host. His ...

Meet Phil Mudd of CNN  The Former CIA and FBI Exec, Is He Married, Who Is The Wife? When it comes to discussing issues surrounding terrorism, American Counterterrorism and National Security Expert, Phil Mudd, occupies a globally significant position. He has voiced his interest in the fight against terrorism and insecurity on many popular media platforms, both print and broadcast, such as CNN, BBC, CBS, MSNBC, al-Jazeera, ABC, NBC, Fox, The New York Times, ...

Jim Hoffer: Biography, Wife  Mika Brzezinski, Children and Net Worth Jim Hoffer is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who works as an investigative reporter for Eyewitness News, New York City. In his over two decades of investigative journalism, Hoffer has been at the front lines of several crucial stories from the 9/11 attack to the crash of American Flight 587 to the 2003 Blackout. On top of ...

The Ups and Downs of Erin Mcpikes Journalism Career and Other Facts About Her Personal Life Erin McPike is a journalist working for the Independent Journal Review (IJR) as a White House Correspondent but she gained widespread recognition for her coverage of general news. Whether its breaking news or some mainstream story, McPike has a reputation of baring the facts. As a journalist, her work as a White House Correspondent for Independent ...

Bert Kreischer Is Married To LeeAnn Kreischer With 2 Kids  Meet His Family Those familiar with Bert Kreischer mainly have the image of a large-bellied party man whose college life inspired the National Lampoon film, Van Wilder. It is an image that one would not naturally associate with a wholesome family. The standup comedian still maintains his wild party animal image on stage. But, back at home, he is ...

How Brendan Greene Became a Game Designer to Look Out For and Facts About His Failed Marriage The name Brendan Greene may not easily ring a bell in the larger society but for gaming enthusiasts, he is considered a god and this is because of his invention of the video game, Player Unknowns Battlegrounds, also called PUBG. Based on the popular last-man-standing/battle royale concept, Greenes creation has taken the gaming world by ...

WFAAs Sonia Azad Bio  Does The Reporter Have A Husband Or Boyfriend? Emmy Award-winning journalist and Health & Wellness reporter Sonia Azad is on the news segment News 8 Daybreak for the television station WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, a channel which she joined in October of 2015. Besides her time on the news, Azad is also a marathon runner and a certified yoga instructor. She has covered major news ...

This Is Everything You Should Know About Caroline Heldman, Her Career Portfolio and Other Facts Love it or hate it, there is no escaping the fact that feminism has come to stay in our world. The movement has continued to garner momentum over the years and this is due to the sustained push by several women, and even men, including the likes of Caroline Heldman. A Professor of Politics at ...

Understanding The Enigma That Is Gavin McInnes, The Controversies He Has Stirred and All About His Wife Gavin McInnes is a polemical English-born writer and TV personality, who is best known for his racist and fascist ideologies, as well as his co-ownership of Vice Media and Vice Magazine. He is also an actor a
Recently, there has been a fresh surge in demand and people are inquiring about the prices and availability of cot designs according to their choices.

By Siraj Qureshi: While Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's 'Khaat Sabhas' turned into an embarrassing debacle for the party after the media publicised the villagers carrying away the Khaats with them after the meeting ended, the incident has also created fresh branding for the almost disappearing art of weaving 'Khaats' with coconut husk ropes.

Tundla resident Ram Nivas, whose family has been engaged in the profession of weaving these khaats and selling them in the local markets, says that the business has suddenly picked up with more demand coming in for new Khaats. He said that the Khaat was an eco-friendly bed that could be used in both rural and urban settings with different decorations and designs, but the demand for this 'poor man's bed' was disappearing fast and now even the dhaba owners were not buying them like before.

advertisement

READ| Rahul Gandhi cot & bowled in first rally as supporters steal khaat, khaat steals show



But recently, there has been a fresh surge in demand and people are inquiring about the prices and availability of designs according to their choices. He said besides using the minimum of materials, the Khaat was also healthier compared to beds as it allowed the body to be ventilated from below too, which made it an ideal choice in the hot and humid environments of Northern India. He said that the demand of new designs has increased after people saw the Khaats of various designs in Rahul Gandhi's meetings and now orders were also coming for finely polished versions of the Khaats to be laid out in drawing rooms.

Kallan, who runs a Khaat shop in the Bans Darwaza area of Agra told India Today that the sale of Khaats have been falling rapidly since last one decade. Although they were the preferred choice of a rural bed in Punjab, UP, Bihar, and Haryana, the young generation's changing tastes combined with western influence slowly pushed this cottage industry nearly out of business, but the Khaat politics of Congress appears to have revived this business.

READ| As 'fight for khaat' grabbed eyeballs, here are 10 things you missed in Rahul's speech



Aamir Qureshi, who works in the tourism sector of Agra claimed that foreign tourists coming to Agra often expressed their curiosity about the Khaat when they saw the sample pieces and even inquired about getting one made for themselves, although it was quite impractical to ship them across the ocean considering the low cost of manufacturing, so the tourists were given demos of how these Khaats were made and how the various designs were embedded in the weaving.

When India Today conducted a cursory survey, there were 90 Khaat shops in Agra, 35 in Mathura, 70 in Mainpuri and 42 in Firozabad, where Khaats were available for Rs. 400- Rs. 800. But the same Khaat, with a little more craftsmanship, polish, and better weaving was available for as high as Rs. 5000 at tourist emporiums of the city.

Social activist Mohd. Yaseen said that of late, the Khaat had gained a reputation as a trucker's bed as they were mostly seen at truck stops where the drivers rested in the night before driving off next morning. The 'plastic pollution' of this totally natural product had slowly caused the Khaat to disappear as the villagers no longer found them comfortable and the young generation was obsessed with beds and mattresses. However, if the Khaat is making a return, it was a welcome sign for this ailing cottage industry and hopefully, the trend will continue far longer than the hype created by Rahul Gandhi.

advertisement

Also Read:

Rahul defends locals who ran away with khaats, attacks Modi sarkar

What the khaat! 14 memes show how Rahul Gandhi made a bed move





--- ENDS ---
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  China voted in favour of the Russian draft resolution on Syria at the Security Council and regrets that it was not adopted, Chinas envoy to UN Liu Jieyi said after the vote.

"China voted in favour of the draft resolution and we regret that the resolution was not adopted," Liu Jieyi said.

Chinas envoy praised the Russian draft and said that it called for the cessation of hostilities, opening humanitarian access, enhancing the fight against terrorism and supporting UN special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura.
The Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta quoted Alexey Sorokin, head of KBP Instrument Design Bureau, a Tula-based company which specializes in the defense industry, as saying that the Russian National Guard will soon be equipped with PP-2000 super-light submachine guns.

Known for its simple design, the PP-2000 is made with a minimum number of parts, and outstrips all of its European analogues in terms of performance characteristics.

The 1.4-kg (3.09lb) gun is specifically designed as a close-quarters combat weapon, intended for riot police and special operations forces.
In an article published by the magazine Popular Mechanics , defense expert Kyle Mizokami gave kudos to the Russian airborne assault vehicle BMD-2, which he said remains "the backbone of the Russian airborne forces."

Given that Russia is a country "spanning 11 time zones with interests from Crimea to the Arctic," it needs "highly mobile ground forces capable of deploying across Eurasia at a moment's notice," according to Mizokami.

 enrique262: BMD-2 airborne infantry fighting vehicle getting dropped from a Russian Air Force IL-76, https://t.co/cYu5yrSvsO   (@nise_3kawan) 1  2016 .

"Russian Ground Forces maintain four airborne divisions that, while smaller than the US Army's 82nd Airborne, are more mobile and arguably pack more firepower," he said, adding that Russian airborne forces "can parachute dozens of miles away from their actual objective and advance on the ground with fast-moving vehicles".


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Moscow made no secret of sending Iskander missile systems to Russia's Kaliningrad region as their moving within the country is a standard army practice, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, media reports cited a source in the US intelligence saying that Russia was deploying Iskander-M mobile missile systems in Kaliningrad.

"First of all, the people behind this hype need to know that Iskander ballistic missile system is mobile. As part of the plan of combat training, missile troops units are engaged in march training on a year-round basis, covering great distances of the Russian territory in various ways: by air, sea, and on its own power," Konashenkov said.
On Saturday, Radio Sputnik sat down with foreign affairs expert John Quigley, the Professor Emeritus of International Law at The Ohio State University to discuss the veracity of the US accusation and what to expect next.

What do you think about the claim Russia was behind the DNC Leak?

"Well, it seems a bit ambiguous. The statement said that it is consistent with methods used which is a formulation that falls short of saying that they definitely know what is going on," explained Quigley. "It is hard to know what exactly that means. It could be somebody in Russia, it could be somebody in Russia with no ties to the Russian government."

"I have a difficult time finding out what the motivations for Russia might be with regard to some of this especially with regard to the election, there has been some hacking of the election system in some states in the United States, but I dont see what Russia would have to gain by doing that. I think that one has to wait and see if any further information comes out," opined the professor.
The X-ray radiation widely used in cancer therapy is made of photons, a form of electromagnetic radiation. The X-rays destroy cancer cells so they can no longer multiply, but because doctors are unable to adequately direct the pattern of radiation, healthy cells may receive a similar dose of radiation and become damaged.

The main advantage of proton therapy over ordinary radiation therapy is that it results in less damage to surrounding tissue. The 220-ton cyclotron uses magnets to speed up protons, tiny positively charged particles found in every atom in the universe which can destroy cancer cells at high energy.

Proton beams in the cyclotron travel at up to two-thirds the speed of light, and are directed at tumors using PET, CT or MRI imaging. The large particle accelerator enables doctors to control the beam of protons and aim it precisely at the cancer cells.

Unlike X-ray beams, proton beams stop once they hit their target. This precision allows physicians to use higher doses of radiation to control the tumor, and reduce damage to surrounding tissue.
"We worked hard to ensure that the neuro-headset was wireless, and has a small number of channels, so that a person could simultaneously move about and manage the robotic device, whether it be a quadrocopter or wheeled robot."

As for the use of the technology to assist people with physical disabilities  including prosthetics, Konishev explained that this is possible after some training, enabling the user to give the necessary mental commands. "These commands are fairly easy to triggerTraining takes about 30-60 minutes, during which most people can master three basic commands. To manage a smart home or play computer games this is enough. But to control quadrocopters, for example, requires four commands" (and thus takes a little longer).

The uses of the technology for improving the lives of people with impaired motor function are tremendous, the engineer emphasized. "For example, people that are completely paralyzed can control smart home infrastructure. In one of our videos we demonstrate a person mentally bending and unbending the exoskeleton around his wrist  that is, factually moving his hand just like a healthy person."

The technology can also allow users "to remotely control home appliances  to turn on the TV or air conditioning. Here the system is rather simple  mentally switching on the outlet to which the appliance is connected. This is not science fiction  but already a reality." And there are other uses too, Konishev added, from communication by mentally typing text, to allowing someone who is completely paralyzed to control a wheelchair using his or her neuro-headset.

Neurobotics is also looking at the creation of a hybrid neuro-interface, with several technologies complementing one another. For example, Konishev noted that a system using eye-tracking can complement the brain signal-based neuro-headset to help someone with limited motor function to move about and carry out a variety of tasks. A combination of technologies would simplify the brain processes required to accomplish tasks.
Though the results of the inquiry into the animals death are not conclusive, NOAA has suspended the tracking program and is reviewing less invasive tracking methods. It is also planning a special workshop for all 88 countries in the International Whaling Commission to discuss tagging, National Geographic reports.

"This would absolutely be painful. Killer whales have sensitive skin, similar to the sensitivity of our skin, commented Anna Hall, a marine biologist, in a CTV news report on the death. "This is a very invasive way of studying animals."

Experts from Canadas Department of Fisheries and Oceans noted that this seems to be the the first case of a tracking tag contributing to an animal death.

National Geographic says the death has raised questions about the safety of using the common research technique of tagging large marine mammals.
Though the site offers ad space for people selling anything from furniture to cars, similar to Craigslist, during the time of the investigation, 99 percent of their global revenue came from the adult section. From January 2013 to March 2015 they reportedly collected some $53 million in revenue from the sexual services section, in the state of California alone.

The affidavit for the warrant states that the men "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."

Ferrer is charged with pimping, pimping a minor, and conspiracy to commit pimping in the state of California, and potentially faces additional charges in Texas.

Initially hell face charges in California for pimping and other associated crimes, but Texas will have its own investigation, Paxton said. Making money off the backs of innocent human beings by allowing them to be exploited for modern-day slavery is not acceptable in Texas.

Since 2012, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has had over 400 cases of children being trafficked for sex through Backpage, which is similar to Craigslist, and has submitted an additional estimated 2,900 cases of suspected child trafficking to California law enforcement for review.
Ben & Jerry's supports the Black Lives Matter movement, and has issued an official statement on their website detailing their commitment.

According to the statement, the company and its employees have "come to understand that to be silent about the violence and threats to the lives and well-being of black people is to be complicit in that violence and those threats."

"Effects of the criminal justice system are not color blind," the statement says. "Systemic and institutionalized racism are the defining civil rights and social justice issues of our time."
A nine-layer security arrangement has been put in place at the Old Delhi Railway Station from where the Delhi-Atari Express departs twice every week.

By Rakesh Ranjan: Rampant illegal trade between India and Pakistan through land and rail route has prompted the railway authorities to beef up security arrangements at Delhi and Atari railway stations.

Security and intelligence agencies are keeping a close watch on luggage being carried by passengers on the Samjhauta Express. A nine-layer security arrangement has been put in place at the Old Delhi Railway Station from where the Delhi-Atari Express departs twice every week.

advertisement

According to security officials, a majority of Pakistani nationals returning from India tend to carry a large quantity of betel leaf, Indian clothes, cosmetics, medicine and other eatables. However, the Railways has restricted the quantity of luggage passengers can carry with them.



INDIAN BETEL LEAF AND PAN MASALA QUITE EXPENSIVE IN PAKISTAN

Notably, Indian betel leaf and pan masala are quite popular in Pakistan since the former is not grown there.

No wonder a betel leaf in Pakistan costs over Rs 20-30 depending on the availability in the market. "There is a big difference between the prices of local and imported 'paan' simply because a duty of `250 per kilo is levied on the import," a source said.

He added that the importer also had to pay 10 per cent sales tax and five per cent income tax. Local paan costs Rs 50-100 per kilo, while imported paan costs Rs 300-550 per kilo.

Delhi Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Arun Arora said that security has been enhanced at the Old Delhi railway station particularly in wake of growing tension between the two countries. "Security arrangements have been beefed up. All passengers and luggage are frisked at different levels before they are allowed to board the train," he said. Agencies like Delhi Police, Railway Protection Force, Immigration Bureau, customs, enforcement directorate and railways carry out an intensive exercise before departure of train.

ALSO READ:

Post Uri terror attack, Delhi-Lahore Samjhauta Express sees 10-time fall in passenger footfall



--- ENDS ---
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  In a video apology US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stresses that the 2005 footage where he is heard making derogative statements about women is a distraction from other issues.

"Ive never said Im a perfect person nor pretended to be someone that I am not. Ive said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-long video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am. Ive said it, I was wrong and I apologize," Trump said in a video released late on Friday.

The Republican presidential candidate promised to be "a better man" in the future and pointed out that other prominent figures, particularly Hillary and Bill Clinton, are also guilty of negative behaviour with respect to women.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)On Friday, a 2005 video recording was circulated by US media in which Donald Trump is speaking to Billy Bush of "Access Hollywood" on a bus that took them to the set of "Days of Our Lives." Trump makes several vulgar remarks with regard to women while on the bus, as caught on microphone, although the video only shows the moving bus from the outside. Later, Trump is seen exiting the bus with Bush and greeting Arianne Zucker, the actress who then goes with them to the soap-opera set.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan said he was sickened by what I heard, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal.

Senator Mark Kirk, who already withdrawn his endorsement in June, called on Trump to quit the presidential race, posting @realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement, on his official Twitter account.
The 73-year-old woman who worked as Bill Clintons secretary 38 years ago has long claimed that the former President raped her and has played a prominent role in badgering her alleged former sexual assaulter since January when she posted on Twitter that she was raped and Hillary tried to silence me before saying "it never goes away."

It remains to be seen whether Broaddricks words on Saturday morning in defense of Trump and in opposition to the Clintons is too late as a number of leading Republicans including Congressman Joe Heck who is in a razor-tight race for the US Senate in Nevada, former candidate Carly Fiorina, Congressman Jason Chaffetz, Mitt Romney, and others have demanded he immediately step down.
Expelling of diplomats is an extreme diplomatic measure, usually reserved for diplomats accused of espionage or violation of criminal laws. Should the US expel the whole Russian embassy, it could have severe diplomatic and international implications. Russia would like be forced to retaliate in-kind creating a risk of rapid escalation, i.e. by expelling the US Ambassador or the whole embassy. Such a thing never even happened during the darkest hours of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Either Mr. Hurd is unaware of such things, which is unlikely, given his high-ranking position of member of the House, or he is intentionally provoking already deteriorating US-Russian relations to plunge into a deeper abyss.

According to Politico, Representative Adam Schiff displayed a more reserved, yet still troubling, position. According to Mr. Schiff, the US should concentrate on imposing more sanctions on Russia.

"That's the one thing that seems to have gotten the Russians' attention," he said. "Somehow we have to press upon the Russians if they choose to escalate their cyber meddling the costs will go up and up."
One of the witnesses, Gerardo Barrera told the local newspaper The Desert Sun that "I saw a person on the ground. Someone kept pumping her chest but she wasn't moving."

"It sounded like fireworks at first," said another witness Juan Garciano. "I came out of the house and saw police start to block the roads."

Brett Kelman (@TDSbrettkelman) October 8, 2016

Police Sargent Hutchinson said that the officers were shot after responding to a "family disturbance" call and that the shooter remains on the loose.

Brett Kelman (@TDSbrettkelman) October 8, 2016

It is unknown at this time what the motives of the shooter was or whether the cops were the intended target of the shooting, but the nature of the weapon (machine gun) and the number of officers wounded suggests that there was a direct intention to wound or kill the police officers on the scene.

According to one of the witnesses the shooter's father said that his son wanted to kill police officers.

The police have identified the officers killed in the shooting  the first is Jose Gil Vega, a 35-year veteran of the Palm Springs police force who was set to retire in two months. The other officer who was killed in the shooting was a 27-year-old mother of two, Leslie Zerebny.

Kim Baldonado (@KimNBCLA) October 8, 2016



The suspect responsible for the shooting appears to be barricaded in a house with police and SWAT units responding to a residence in response to the deadly shooting incident.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)A senior member of the opposition Syrian High Negotiations Committee (HNC) Bassma Kodmani on Saturday urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Russia over its ongoing military campaign in Syria.

"The EU successfully sanctioned Russia over its role in Ukraine. It is also in Europes interest to pursue all options to end the catastrophe in Syria and its global consequences: the refugee crisis and terror threat. The EU must urgently impose targeted sanctions against Russian officials and companies directly involved in the indiscriminate targeting of civilians, civilian infrastructure, and medical facilities, and those financially sustaining the Assad regime," Kodmani said in a statement cited by the Anadolu news agency.

She also called for the establishment of the nationwide no-bombing zone in Syria.
Erler called for more effort to be made so as to enhance a full-fledged dialogue with Moscow.

"The only solution is to follow the lead of the German Foreign Minister, who is now again trying to engage Russia in a direct dialogue," Erler said, adding that Washington should also restore its dialogue with Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Russian online newspaper Vzglyad called the rumors about new anti-Russian sanctions strange, given that on Wednesday German Foreign Ministry Spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters 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.

Previously German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had also reiterated that he did not support the idea of introducing new sanctions against Russia. In his opinion, these measures would not change Russian policy towards Syria.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest, for his part, told reporters on Thursday that the United States does not rule out imposing sanctions on Russia over the current situation in Syria outside the auspices of the United Nations.

The United States, the European Union and some of their allies have imposed several rounds of restrictive anti-Moscow sanctions, targeting key sectors of the Russian economy, as well as a number of individuals and entities.
BERLIN (Sputnik)  Russia must pressure the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and resume negotiations with the United States on the settlement of the conflict in Syria, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Saturday.

"Russia, supporting the government [of Syria] must use its influence [to allow for humanitarian aid delivery]. Regional actors must pressure the militants in Aleppo," Steinmeier said, as quoted by the Bild newspaper.

In the absence of a ceasefire, Syrian settlement can only go based on the limited warranties given by parties to the conflict, the minister said.
Online Charter Schools

9 Ohio Cyber Schools May Have to Pay State $83 Million

The Ohio Department of Education could demand repayment of $83 million from nine online charter schools for allegedly inflating student attendance records, according to reports in the Columbus Dispatch and Education Week.

At the top of the list, Ohios largest online charter school, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), may have to pay more than $60 million for 9,000 students who did not complete enough work to be considered full-time, the state ed department contends.

The other eight schools reported 4,998 enrolled students, but the state was only able to verify 1,654, one third of the total. Those figures include Quaker Digital Academy and the Buckeye Online School for Success, which got credit for zero students.

Leaders at several of the online schools said they felt state regulators duped them and plan to appeal the findings to the State Board of Education.

We really feel like we were misled, Jeff Nelson, superintendent of the Virtual Community School in Reynoldsburg, told the Columbus Dispatch.

Nelson said the Ohio ed department first told him the school would not have to provide data showing how long students were logged in to the schools computer system for its 2015-2016 attendance review, but would need that information for its 2016-2017 review, the Dispatch reported.

However, then they came back in June and told us wed have to produce it for 2015-2016, Nelson told the Dispatch. We feel its unreasonable for them to go back and ask for information they know we didnt have.



The Ohio education department said it could only verify 280 full-time students at Virtual Community School, significantly below the 835 students the school reported. Those findings could cost the school more than $3 million in state aid.

Last Friday, Sept. 30, Franklin County Judge Jenifer French sided with the Ohio Department of Education, allowing the state to review attendance records for ECOT, which had requested to block the state from requiring the school to provide log-in durations as a way of measuring how many students attended the school.

The problem of attendance at virtual, online charter schools is not limited to Ohio; in fact, it has become a national issue. California, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania have also seen controversies related to the reporting of student attendance at online charter schools.
"Just like there is a provision that all the adult members of a family will be sent to jail if any alcohol is found in the house, similarly the Chief Minister should also be arrested and sent to jail if liquor was to be found anywhere in the state", said Ram Vilas Paswan

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should also be arrested if liquor was found anywhere in the state after the imposition of the new liquor law in the state from the 2nd of October. Paswan's comments came in the backdrop of the Supreme court staying the decision of the Patna High Court to scrap the old liquor law which was notified on 5th April this year.

advertisement

PASWAN'S STATEMENT

"Just like there is a provision that all the adult members of a family will be sent to jail if any alcohol is found in the house, similarly the Chief Minister should also be arrested and sent to jail if liquor was to be found anywhere in the state", said Ram Vilas Paswan

The Union Minister maintained that his party the Lok Janshakti was in favour of prohibition in the state but was also against the draconian provisions that have been incorporated in the new liquor law. The contentious provision which Ram Vilas Paswan was referring to in the new liquor law is the provision to arrest all the adult members of the house and send them to jail if liquor was found in the house.

He also slammed RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav for meeting the rape accused MLA of his party Raj Ballabh Yadav at his residence couple of days back. Paswan said that the rape accused MLA's efforts to seek help from Lalu in the case would have no bearing as he expects the accused MLA who is now out on bail to be sent back to jail.

"I have faith in the Supreme Court and justice will be done", said the Union Minister.

ALSO READ:

Nitish Kumar reimposes liquor ban in Bihar, to challenge Patna High Court order in Supreme Court

Nitish Kumar is adhering to Mahagathbandhan dharma, protecting Raj Bhallabh: Sushil Modi





--- ENDS ---
Victoria and Brooklyn Beckham visited Kenya to raise awareness of the plight of children living with HIV and Aids.

The fashion designer, who has served as a goodwill ambassador for UNAIDS since 2014, shared a series of black and photos from her most recent trip to the African country.

Copyright [Instagram/victoriabeckham]



In one of the photos she posted on Instagram on Thursday, Victoria praised the countrys government, writing: What great work being done by the Kenyan government. Thanks for the inspirational leadership x VB.

In another picture sat next to a patient, she added: Wonderful work of @beyondzerokenya promoting maternal, newborn and child health in Kenya. #unaidsglobal.

Brooklyn, 17, who accompanied his mother on the emotional trip, also shared a sweet snap of himself holding a newborn baby at the New Life Home Trust clinic in Kenya  who he then revealed had been named after him.

Copyright [Instagram/brooklynbeckham]



Posting the heartwarming photograph to Instagram, he wrote to his 8.6m followers: Humbled by the most inspiring family running @newlifehomeke. Honoured to meet newborn baby Brooklyn!

The budding photographer later shared another inspiring photo, which captured the calm of a little boy sitting down and relaxing amid the chaos of the clinic.

The eldest child of the Beckhams brood wrote: Meeting the beautiful babies @newlifehomeke thx @uniaids + @bornfreeafrica for bringing us on this field trip @victoriabeckham.

Copyright [Instagram/brooklynbeckham]



The pair flew into the country from their home in London to visit the New Life Home Trust and Beyond Zero clinics, in order to learn more about the therapies and treatments available for children and parents with HIV.

Following the announcement of her goodwill ambassador role with the charity, Victoria said: This is the beginning of an important journey for me. As a woman and a mother I have a responsibility to support other women.

I am proud and honoured to be working with UNAIDS in this new role to help to raise resources and awareness to support and empower women and children affected by HIV.
Santa Fe has its own, tragic death trap  a stretch of Interstate 25 where wrong-way crashes that cause fatalities and injury have taken place with frightening regularity over the past several years.

Two people died about two weeks ago when a driver whose family said had been drinking went the wrong way in the northbound lanes and struck another car head on, killing herself and the other driver, east of the Old Peco Trail exit.

The worst of many wrong-way wrecks over the years was in 2006, when an intoxicated Dana Papst of Santa Fe  at about the same location  drove his pick-up the wrong way into a van, killing himself and five members of a Las Vegas, N.M., family.

By 2013, there had been six more serious wrong-way wrecks on I-25 near Santa Fe or to the east and one that killed four teens on Old Las Vegas Highway, essentially a frontage road for the interstates danger alley, which is roughly from the Eldorado exit for U.S. 285 east through town.

The common factor in the crashes, besides location, is alcohol use by the driver going the wrong way, typically at night.

Not a lot more needs to be said here about New Mexicos problem with drunk driving, except that its tragic and that its still hard to believe that many havent gotten the message about the horrible consequences of DWI.

But why does it seem like more soused motorists go the wrong way on this section of I-25, or at least more of them end up killing or maiming themselves and others on that section of road, than on the rest of the interstate through northern New Mexico or on other roadways?

In many cases, its been unclear exactly how or where the driver mistakenly got going the wrong way. Papst, coming from Albuquerque after drinking on an in-bound airline flight, is believed to have made a U-turn after missing his exit, failed to cross the median and headed back south in the northbound lanes. Theres speculation that others entered the wrong lanes by using exit ramps to get onto the interstate.

Mayor Javier Gonzales recently called on the state Department of Transportation conduct a safety assessment of the danger zone. The DOT said it has already sent out a crew to see if anything more can be done to supplement existing measures, which include wrong-way signs posted on I-25 between Eldorado and Old Pecos Trail, double stacked wrong-way and do-not-enter signs on the interstates exit ramps, and reflective arrows on the interstate ramp pavement that tell drivers which way they should be traveling.

Back in 2007, after the Papst crash, DOT made changes at the Eldorado exit, including extending a median in the center of U.S. 285 near the I-25 overpass to block left turns onto the interstates northbound off-ramp.

The DOT over the years has rejected using spike strips to keep drivers from getting onto the interstate going the wrong way via off-ramps, saying the strips are hard to maintain and would impair emergency vehicles needing to use an off-ramp to get to a crisis scene.

Gonzales request for more study is justified, and we hope the DOT folks follow up and are willing to think outside the box.

Are night-time sight lines a problem, for both drunk and the sober drivers who need to see them coming? Spike strips still seem like something that should be considered  maybe they would keep emergency vehicles from having to respond to as many tragedies on the interstate.

Are there other ways to alter on- and off-ramps to make them more difficult to use the wrong way, or to break up monotony on flat stretches of the road and help drivers wake up to the fact their driving the wrong direction?

Theres another question, probably unanswerable: Are there just more drunks on I-25 around Santa Fe, away from the bright lights and additional road options in the Albuquerque area?

The goal is to find something that will keep our community from having to revisit this issue year after year after still more tragedy takes place on the highway.
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 he's 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, a large wooden statue of the Statue of Liberty is featured in an installation called "Doomocracy" in New York. Artist Pedro Reyes thinks American politics are pretty darn terrifying, especially this election year. So he's 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 he's 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 he's 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 he's 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) 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) Prev 1 of 6 Next

NEW YORK  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.

Spread over three floors of the sprawling Brooklyn Army Terminal, its 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 were 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 peoples 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 arent necessarily tackling the big issues of our time.

In a fake polling place, audience members fill out referendum ballots. In the next room, theyre in for a bit of a shock (which wont 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.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

The race for the state Supreme Court is taking an unusual turn this year.

The race has consistently been a given for the Democratic candidate, and its rare for a Republican to gain traction, let alone win, a seat on the states highest court.

But the Republican candidate this year, longtime Albuquerque-area judge and current appointed state Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura, is polling at a dead heat with Democratic Court of Appeals Chief Judge Michael Vigil.

Eighty percent of likely voters polled last month split evenly between the two, at 40 percent each, with 19 percent of respondents undecided.

Its interesting because in New Mexico in low-profile races, especially the Supreme Court, this is Democratic Party territory, typically. The fact that she has a shot at this is unusual, said Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling Inc.

That Nakamura is in a tie for this position should make her very happy, he said.

Sanderoff said her strong polling is likely due to her high name recognition in the Albuquerque area, where she served for nearly 17 years as a judge in Metro Court and 2nd Judicial District Court.

Shes the local candidate from here and therefore is doing very well in a Democratic-leaning region, Sanderoff said.

In the Albuquerque area, which in the poll includes Bernalillo, Valencia and Sandoval counties, Nakamura is ahead 46 percent to Vigils 38 percent.

But in other Democratic territory in the state, Vigil, who has served on the Court of Appeals for the past 13 years, holds the lead. In north central New Mexico he has 60 percent support to Nakamuras 18 percent.

And thats where Vigil is from,  Sanderoff said.

In the generally northwestern region, the two are closer with Vigils 43 percent support and Nakamuras 37 percent.

A similar but flipped close call comes from southern New Mexico, with those polled there favoring Nakamura 40 percent to Vigils 37 percent.

Eastern New Mexicans, generally Republican-leaning, favor Nakamura by 48 percent to 21 percent for Vigil. Thirty-one percent of those polled in that region remain undecided, the largest percentage of undecided voters in any region.

Overall, Vigil drew 65 percent of all Democrats polled, while Nakamura logged support from 75 percent of Republicans polled.

Nakamura has been able to appeal to Democrats more than Vigil has been to Republicans. Vigil has the support of 7 percent of Republicans, compared with Nakamuras support from 18 percent of Democrats polled.

Sanderoff said those Democrats are likely from the Albuquerque area.

Sanderoff also noted that Vigil, age 65, is doing relatively well among Hispanic voters, many of whom remain undecided. Nakamura, age 55, has a lead among white voters, a much smaller portion of whom remain undecided.

Poll sampling

The Journal poll is based on a scientific, statewide sample of 501 voters who said they planned to vote this year and either cast ballots in the 2012 or 2014 general elections or just registered to vote.

The poll was conducted Sept. 27 through Sept. 29. 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.

Both cellphone numbers (52 percent) and landlines (48 percent) of proven general election voters were used. Some totals may not equal 100 percent due to the rounding of numbers.
The Rio Rancho Education Foundation has partnered with a California company to turn unwanted clothing, furniture and household items into cash for local schools.

ReUseIt is offering free monthly collection of donations at homes throughout Rio Rancho. Families can also arrange for special pickup.

Mike Mierzejewski, RREF president, hopes half of the districts students donate to ReUseIt, which would translate to $23,000 for the foundation.

ReUseIt will sell the items to local thrift stores and thrift store suppliers.

The company opened in the Sacramento, Calif., area five years ago and has collected $25 million for schools. It also keeps over 8 million pounds of items out of landfills annually.

Mierzejewski said he is happy to partner with ReUseIt and try a new type of fundraising.

Sometimes it is hard to ask for dollars, but obviously everybody has a need to clean out their closets and get rid of old stuff, Mierzejewski added.

The foundation supports innovative school projects that could not otherwise be funded by the district.

RREF grants have covered courses on Chinese calligraphy, robots, space travel and fossils.

For more information, go to www.reuseit.org/RREF/.
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 in tractor-trailers 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 contraband, 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 U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, 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.
COLUMBIA, S C.  Hurricane Matthew is likely to strike South Carolinas Beaufort County at high tide before dawn Saturday and to plow into the Grand Strand after sun-up  also at its most vulnerable moment, Gov. Nikki Haley warned Friday.

Projected to be downgraded to a still dangerous Category 1 storm, Matthew will spare Charleston by not hitting there at high tide, Haley said during an afternoon news conference.

We need to really say prayers, not just for those in Florida and Georgia, but now it is about South Carolina, she said. I wish (for) all of you that you be safe, that you be careful, that you take care of each other.

The hurricanes storm surge could reach 6 to 9 feet along the states lower coast and 5 to 7 feet north of Charleston, said John Quagliariello, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Just try to visualize just how high that water is, he said.

Access to barrier islands, including culturally rich Daufuskie Island, could be severed. Haley said 19 Daufuskie residents left Friday, but that leaves about 80 stranded on the island already accessible only by boat. Earlier during the day, she had warned that Daufuskie would be underwater.

We did the best we could, she said. The rest of the residents, when we asked  theyre just not going to leave.

The surge could be 4 to 6 feet northward of Edisto Beach to Cape Fear, N.C., the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. EDT Friday update. That adds the tourist-rich Grand Strand to the other threatened coastal areas.

Beyond the coast, hurricane-force winds could reach 60 miles from the storms center, and tropical-storm winds could extend 185 miles, hurricane center forecasts predicted.

Columbia is not expected to be hit as badly. Still, city officials have had crews and equipment ready since Thursday, public works director Robert Anderson said.

Two swiftwater rescue teams from the capital citys fire department left for Colleton County. The departments mass-evacuation response vehicles also were dispatched to a medical rehabilitation facility in Hanahan to help evacuate patients to Columbia.

As of Friday afternoon, 355,000 people had evacuated from the Lowcountry, an increase of 45,000 just since Friday morning.

Thats still 145,000 short of the 500,000 people state officials had encouraged to flee.

Haley urged those who stayed behind to just hunker down.

She advised that they stay in a safe place, preferably houses that have second floors or higher. Make sure cellphones are charged in anticipation of power outages, Haley said.

The governor said 69 shelters have opened and are occupied by 4,249 people. Thats far from capacity. Theres lots and lots of room, she told evacuees that might need a shelter. An additional 17 shelters are on standby, state officials said.

Red Cross officials in Columbia reported 99 people are staying at a shelter at White Knoll High School in the Red Bank area and 91 at Dent Middle School near Forest Acres.

Interstate 26 had been converted into a one-way thoroughfare between Columbia and Charleston for two days to encourage evacuations. It was reopened Friday to any traffic bound for the Lowcountry.

No state-owned bridges were closed in South Carolina Friday morning. Movable bridges have been locked down so that vehicles can still drive on them, but waterway traffic can not pass through, said transportation chief Christy Hall.

Larger bridges in Charleston will be closed if wind speeds hit 40 mph or higher, authorities said.

The state also was preparing for power outages as a result of the storm.

What we may be looking at is a lot of power outages for an extended period of time, Haley said.

South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. said it has maintenance crews in place and prepared to stare down another high-magnitude natural disaster like last years flood.

We feel were in a proper position from a manpower standpoint to be able to handle what is to come, said Keller Kissam, SCE&G retail operations president.

As of 9:30 p.m. EDT Friday, 11,800 SCE&G customers in Beaufort County were out of power, according to the utilitys outage map.

Further up the coast, power already was out on upscale Kiawah and Seabrook islands south of Charleston, as well. But that was intentional on the part of Berkeley Electric Cooperative, which said it was cutting power to substations to prevent storm surge damage.

Residents in those two communities might have to wait awhile to again flip their switches because it will take time to power up the substations, officials at the cooperative said. But it would take longer to repair them.

In Charleston Countys McClellanville, heavy rain and strong winds had begun by 6:30 p.m. Friday.

The Charleston and Georgetown areas are expected to receive 13 inches of rain or more from the storm, according to the National Weather Service.

Inland flooding will be an issue up and down the coast.

Most of the states coastal counties have imposed curfews from midnight Friday through 6 a.m. on Saturday. In Beaufort County, a curfew will be in effect from dusk Friday through dawn on Saturday.

Officials say they dont want people driving or walking around while law officers and emergency workers have to deal with issues related to the storm.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

Addressing Charlestonians who had not left by Friday, the citys emergency management director, Mark Wilbert, said, It will be no time to be out and about. There will be water everywhere.

But evacuated residents may not return to their homes just because the storm has passed until National Guard troops and local law enforcement have declared their neighborhoods safe, Haley said.

About 2,500 Guardsmen have been activated to deal with the hurricane, she said.

Haley said 174 medical facilities have been evacuated from coastal areas. Patients at Beaufort Memorial Hospital were being relocated to facilities in Aiken, Anderson, Dillon and Cheraw, said the states Health agency chief, Catherine Heigel.

Heigel said inspectors are keeping especially watchful eyes on 44 dams that are under emergency orders. Owners of those dams have been asked to lower water levels, she said.



2016 The State (Columbia, S.C.)

Visit The State (Columbia, S.C.) at www.thestate.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

-

PHOTOS (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): WEA-MATTHEW

_____
MIAMIHillary Clinton has grown her lead among Florida Latinos in the past month, according to a new poll that for the first time shows the Democrat tied with Donald Trump among Republican-leaning Cuban Americans.

Latinos prefer Clinton by 58-28 percent, according to the new Univision poll, up from 52-29 percent in September. Libertarian Gary Johnson drew 4 percent, down 2 percentage points from last month, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein remained at 2 percent.

Clinton is now approaching the 60 percent threshold President Barack Obama hit with Florida Latinos against Mitt Romney in 2012. Romney won 39 percent of them; Obama ended up winning the state by a single percentage point.

Part of the reason why: Clinton and Trump are dead even among Cuban Americans, with 41 percent support each. Exit polls in 2012 showed that Obama and Romney essentially split that vote.

Thats a tremendous disadvantage for Republicans who have historically relied on older Cuban Americans in Florida, said Anthony Williams, special projects director at the Coconut Grove-based Bendixen & Amandi International, which helped conduct the poll.

As the historic exiles are unfortunately dying off, theyre being replaced by Cuban Americans who were born in the United States  who are much more progressive in their politics, he said.

Last week, Newsweek reported that Trumps hotel and casino company broke the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba in 1998  a potentially serious problem for exile hard-liners who fiercely back the embargo. Clinton has already hit Trump over the revelation in Florida radio ads in English and Spanish.

Trump visited Miamis Little Havana neighborhood two days before the embargo story was published to meet with a small group of Cuban Americans. But they were invited guests who had already been persuaded to vote for him, not undecided voters typically courted by presidential nominees ahead of a general election. Trump has yet to run a political ad in Spanish.

Bendixen & Amandi and The Tarrance Group surveyed 400 registered voters in English and Spanish from Sept. 26-Oct. 4. The polls error margin is plus-or-minus 4.9 percentage points.

The survey also found Patrick Murphy and Marco Rubio essentially tied among Latinos in the U.S. Senate race, with Murphy edging Rubio by 46-45 percent. Last month, Rubio led by 46-39 percent. Murphy would likely need a bigger margin among Latinos  who outside of Cuban Americans tend to vote Democratic  to defeat the Republican incumbent.

If you look at that race compared to whats going on in the presidential matchup, you could make the case that Hillary has a small lead because she has a small lead among Hispanics, Williams said. Murphy is making up ground since our poll a month ago, but there are still significant numbers of Hispanic voters who simply dont know who he is  particularly among those who are Spanish-dominant.

He either needs to camp out on Univision 24 hours a day or dramatically increase his advertising budget in Spanish, Williams said. Those who dont know him may break his way  but not if they dont know who he is.

Murphy recently hired Coral Gables consultant Freddy Balsera to Latino strategy and messaging. The Jupiter congressman released his first Spanish-language ad attacking Rubio last week, and gave an interview  dubbed into Spanish  on Mega TVs Ahora con Oscar Haza in Miami. Rubio, who is bilingual, promptly countered with his own Spanish-language ad, one of several hes run in the general election.

On Friday, The Libre Institute, a conservative Latino group funded by the industrialist Koch brothers, predicted that Latino turnout in Florida will be 65 percent, up from 62 percent in 2012. That increase puts Latino turnout at one-fifth of Florida voters.

An affiliated political group, The Libre Initiative, is campaigning for Rubio.

Another poll of Florida Latino released this week by the Associated Industries of Florida business group, showed Clinton thumping Trump by 54-30 percent. AIF political chief Ryan Tyson said it was possible for undecided Latino Republicans to break Trumps way  but they are too few to put him over the top with Latinos.

Trump will not win Hispanics here in Florida, Tyson wrote in a poll memo.

The Clinton campaign has noted that Trump lags 10 points behind Romney among Florida Latinos and whites.

We still have, I think, a little bit of expansion with both Latino and African Americans, a senior Clinton official told The Miami Herald earlier this week. (Trumps) way behind with Hispanics compared to Romney.

A Quinnipiac University poll of all Florida voters found Clinton opening a small 46-41 percent lead over Trump since last weeks presidential debate.

For Clinton, the way shes perceived among Latinos improved across the board. The demographic now views her even more favorably than unfavorably  62-37 percent  than it did a month ago  58-40 percent. Trumps net negative rating has remained essentially unchanged, with 30 percent viewing him favorably (identical to last month) and 69 percent unfavorably (up by 1 percentage point from last month).

Asked who would be better handling voters top issues, Clinton bested Trump on the economy (60-29 percent, up from 47-33 last month), terrorism (54-36 percent, up from 48-34 percent) and immigration (58-28 percent, up from 52-30 percent). Asked whos more honest and trustworthy, Clinton topped Trump by 51-27 percent, up from 41-27 percent. Whos got a better personality and temperament for the presidency? Clinton, by 62-24 percent, up from 53-24 percent. Whos best qualified for the White House? Clinton, by 59-25 percent, up from 52-27 percent.

Fifty-seven percent of Florida Latinos said Trumps campaign is racist, while 38 percent opined that was a media exaggeration. Those numbers are higher against Trump in three other heavily Latino battleground states  Arizona, Colorado and Nevada  where a majority of Latinos are of Mexican descent. Trump kicked off his campaign saying some Mexicans who cross the border are rapists.



2016 Miami Herald

Visit Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

_____
Ranveer Singh is turning heads with his rapper avatar for the song Don't Hold Back. Here are a few other actors who turned rappers well before the Befikre star.

By India Today Web Desk: Ranveer Singh's new rap song Don't Hold Back has caught the internet by storm. The Befikre actor has written the lyrics as well as rapped the song in the promotional video for international clothing brand Jack & Jones.

WATCH: Ranveer Singh rapping is the best thing you will see today



Ranveer is seen dancing in a near-monochromatic background while he raps "Tere nehle pe hoon dehla / Beta main hoon tera guru, aur tu hai mera chela" and dances like the crazy maniac that he is known to be.





advertisement

The 31-year-old actor is only the latest actor who has turned rapper for a cause. There were several others before him, from both Bollywood and Hollywood. Here are some of the most notable ones...

Abhishek Bachchan

Remember 2005? When Abhishek Bachchan was big? Chota B rapped Right Here Right Now for his film Bluffmaster and even grooved to it in one of the sassiest videos ever choreographed by Farah Khan. This Vishal-Shekhar composition is one for the ages.





Daniel Radcliffe

The Harry Potter star is a man of many talents. From winning everyone's hearts with the Harry Potter franchise to earning credibility as a serious actor in films like Swiss Army Man, the 27-year-old has done it all. And, of course, who can forget him rapping to Alphabetic Aerobics by Blackalicious on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon?





Sonakshi Sinha

Sonakshi Sinha, who made her singing debut in 2016's Akira, made her hip-hop debut as a rapper before that! Although, not formally. She rapped Honey Singh's Party All Night on the sets of Indian Idol Junior.





Riteish Deshmukh

Ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi this year, Banjo star Riteish Deshmukh released the highly popular video Thank God Bappa where he was seen rapping about how Bappa would react if He were to see our disorderliness, hypocrisy and day-to-day behaviour.



Will Smith



Though technically, Will Smith is known as an actor all over the world, the Suicide Squad star actually began his showbiz career as a rapper. Who can forget him rapping for his 1999 film Wild Wild West?



--- ENDS ---
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

Fabian Gonzales was a regular meth user for years.

He was violent and abusive during a previous relationship, but not toward his then-girlfriends children. And he spent hours denying to police any involvement in the death of 10-year-old Victoria Martens in August.

Those are some of the statements and details included in more than 700 pages of police reports released Friday under the state Inspection of Public Records Act regarding police detectives investigation into Victorias violent death.

Victorias mother, Michelle Martens, 35, Gonzales, 31, and Gonzales cousin Jessica Kelley, 31, are all suspected and charged in the slaying, which rocked New Mexico.

According to the records, Gonzales ex-girlfriend spoke with police Aug. 25, the day after Victoria Martens was found slain and dismembered in the Northwest Albuquerque apartment she shared with her mother and little brother.

The ex-girlfriends interview provided a few more details of Gonzales past behavior.

She said she and Gonzales had lived on the street in her car, had a violent relationship and regularly did meth.

We would stay up for maybe two days  three days. He would start, like, hearing things, she told investigators. We got into a big fist fight over it.

She told detectives about unusual behavior Gonzales displayed during a sexual encounter with her a few weeks before Victorias death.

She said he seemed to be fantasizing about having a threesome with a young girl whom he made cry. She said she stopped having sex with him because of the encounter.

The documents contain transcripts of extensive interviews with both Martens and Gonzales. Kelley declined to talk to detectives without speaking to an attorney.

Martens told police she had met Gonzales about four or five months before the killing and he had moved in about a month earlier. She told detectives that Gonzales had two daughters whom his mother cared for.

Martens story to police about how her daughter died was inconsistent and changed as the interview went on.

She originally told them the same story as Gonzales  that Kelley alone had killed Victoria, and had beaten her and Gonzales. Martens later said she and Gonzales agreed to tell police that Kelley had done it.

She also gave police conflicting accounts of how Victoria died.

She first said that Victoria had ingested meth that was left on a table and had died in her bed, and Kelley stabbed her in the stomach. And later she told detectives that Gonzales and Kelley had been raping Victoria when she died.

Martens told detectives that, while Gonzales and Kelley were cleaning up after Victorias dismemberment, she was preparing tacos in the kitchen.

Toward the end of the interview, Martens answers became less detailed. She agreed with many of the detectives questions, including those about alleged repeated sexual abuse of both of her children and the accusation that she set up the encounters.

She named two men aside from Gonzales who had allegedly raped Victoria. Its unclear if police have verified those names or tracked the men down.

Included in the police reports are references to at least one Children, Youth and Families Department investigation involving Victorias younger brother. He was allegedly being spanked with a spoon for soiling his pants.

Victorias brothers father told investigators that Victoria had been interviewed by CYFD for her brothers case, but there were never any referrals specific to Victoria.

For more than nine hours of interviews with detectives, Gonzales insisted he was not responsible for Victorias death, had never had sex with her and didnt help dismember her body.

Detectives didnt believe him.

Without getting too specific on the condition that we found Victorias body in, one person could not have done that to another person in any short amount of time, a detective tells Gonzales. It wouldve taken a very long time.

Gonzales repeatedly denied detectives allegation that he had raped Victoria, who he called the little girl.

I did not have sex with that little girl, Gonzales said. Not once. Not never, never, in a million, never would (I) ever do that to any little girl in my life.

He said he loved Victoria and she didnt deserve her fate.

Victoria, apparently, had been fond of him, too. When detectives searched her mothers gold Buick Century, they found a note from the girl addressed to Gonzales with a red heart on the front.

I like you because you are funny I really like you, the letter read. We were supoosst (sic) to go to the zoo today and I just like you.

Gonzales, Kelley and Martens are all facing charges that include first-degree murder, intentional abuse of a child and criminal sexual penetration involving a child.
Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson today appealed to Republicans appalled by Donald Trumps remarks about women, asking them to consider him for president instead.

Johnson, a former New Mexico governor, and his running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, issued a statement this afternoon. The statement reminds voters that they were both Republican governors before they ran for president.

Time to vote your conscience, the statement said, before condemning Trumps indefensible and embarrassing words.

We speak often of reaching across party lines if elected to get things done for America, the duo said.  , we would like to reach across party lines to invite our Republican friends to join our campaign. There is a presidential ticket with two candidates who served honorably and effectively as Republican Governors, and we are it.

Trumps campaign is in deep crisis mode today after a bombshell report by the Washington Post yesterday in which Trump is caught on tape bragging about trying to seduce married women and groping their genitals without permission.

Its not surprising that Johnson and Weld would aim to capitalize on Trumps political fiasco. And the Libertarians certainly could pick up some support from Republicans who now refuse to cast a ballot for Trump. But Johnsons appeal probably would have gotten more traction had the Trump scandal broken before Johnsons high-profile foreign policy gaffes of recent weeks.

Johnson  whose determination is famous  is still fighting for votes despite exceedingly long odds. Hes expected to hold a rally at the University of New Mexico at 3 p.m. today. Johnson polled at 24 percent in the Journal poll published last Sunday  a high for him nationally. But hes only at about 9 percent max in national polls. He needs 15 percent national polling support to gain entrance into the final presidential debate.

At least 20 Republican members of Congress have repudiated Trump in the aftermath of the tapes release. Ive reached out to a representative of Rep. Steve Pearce, a New Mexico Republican who has been supportive of Trump, for comment. I havent received a response yet but will update this post when or if I do.

Heres the Johnson-Weld statement on Trump in full:

Time to vote your conscience.

Having served as Republican Governors, we understand the sensitivities and obligations elected officials and party leaders feel toward supporting their partys nominee for President. Weve been there, and frankly, have experienced the discomfort of defending a President or candidate when we didnt feel like doing so. For each of us, that is part of the liberation we feel as we take an independent message to Americas voters.

, as we watch Republicans across the nation struggle with the disclosure of Donald Trumps indefensible and embarrassing words, and the attitude toward women displayed by those words, we respect the difficult spot those Republicans are in. It cant be easy.

At the same time, character and trust are important. It shouldnt matter whether a microphone is turned on or not. The conversation we have all now heard isnt any more appropriate in a locker room than it is on national TV. America deserves better. Women certainly deserve better. And Republicans deserve better.

We speak often of reaching across party lines if elected to get things done for America. , we would like to reach across party lines to invite our Republican friends to join our campaign. There is a presidential ticket with two candidates who served honorably and effectively as Republican Governors, and we are it.

Our nation and our challenges are much greater than the character or behavior of one man. Join us, and we pledge to present voters with a real alternative to what has become an embarrassing side show.

###
An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on mourners in Sanaa today killed at least 82 people, the acting health minister in the Houthi-led administration in the Yemeni capital said.

Workers walk among the rubble of the Alsonidar Group's water pump and pipe factory after it was hit by Saudi-led airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen. (Photo: AP)

By Reuters: An airstrike by a Saudi-led coalition on Saturday targeted a funeral hall packed with mourners in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, killing at least 82 people and turning the site into a "lake of blood," according to a senior Health Ministry official.

Nasser al-Argaly, the Health Ministry's undersecretary, said the strike also left 534 people wounded. Addressing a news conference, he said the casualty figures were not final.

advertisement

Yemeni security and medical officials said the dead and wounded include military and security officials from the ranks of the Shiite Houthi rebels fighting the internationally-recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi as well as their allies, loyalists of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Among those killed was Maj-Gen. Abdul-Qader Hilal, head of the capital's local council, according to the officials.

In the aftermath of the strike, hundreds of body parts were found strewn in and outside the hall. Rescuers collected them in sacks.

"The place has been turned into a lake of blood," said one rescuer, Murad Tawfiq.

Ambulances rushed to the site to ferry the wounded to hospitals. In radio broadcasts, the Health Ministry summoned off-duty doctors and called on residents to donate blood. Rescuers, meanwhile, sifted through the rubble in search of more casualties, but a fire that erupted hindered their work.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis' spokesman in Sanaa, angrily denounced the airstrike as the latest act of "genocide" by the Saudi-led coalition.

"The silence of the United Nations and the international community is the munition of the murderers," he said. "Those murderers will not escape divine justice."

Saturday's funeral was held for Sheikh Ali al-Rawishan, father of Interior Minister Galal al-Rawishan, an ally of both the Houthis and President Saleh.

The Saudi-led coalition backs Hadi's government which, together with its own allies, is fighting the Houthis and Saleh loyalists in a civil war that broke out in 2014.

Roughly 3,799 civilians have been killed since the Saudi-led air campaign began in March of last year, according to a recent report by the U.N.'s human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein. The U.N. and rights groups estimate the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 9,000 people and displaced nearly 3 million more in the Arab world's poorest country.

According to the report, coalition airstrikes were responsible for 60 percent of civilian deaths over a year-long span starting in July last year. Just under one-quarter - 475 - civilian deaths were attributed to rebel forces like those loyal to Saleh, and another 113 to affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
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 persons, including a civilian, were injured yesterday as militants attacked a police post in Shopian district, Jammu and Kashmir.

The attack ensued as militants tried to snatch the weapons of local policemen deployed at a "minority post".

"Militants tried to snatch the weapons of policemen posted at Reshnagri minority post. The attempt was resisted by the policemen resulting in a shootout in which three persons, including a civilian and two policemen, were injured," a senior police official said.

advertisement

In the gunbattle, a constable Nazeer Ahmad was killed and constable Zahoor Ahmad was injured, the official said.

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.



--- ENDS ---
LUGANO-COPENHAGEN, 8 October, 2016 - The addition of the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib to letrozole therapy significantly improves progression-free survival in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive advanced breast cancer, researchers reported today at the ESMO 2016 Congress in Copenhagen.

The first interim analysis of data from the randomized, double-blind MONALEESA2 study showed a 44% improvement in progression-free survival with ribociclib plus letrozole as a first-line treatment combination.

"This was THE definitive study to demonstrate the superiority of the combination of ribociclib and letrozole over letrozole alone," said principle investigator, Professor Gabriel Hortobagyi, from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, US.

Researchers randomized 668 postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, who had not undergone any prior systemic treatment, to ribociclib (600 mg/day, 3 weeks on/1 week off) and letrozole (2.5 mg/day, continuous), or letrozole plus placebo.

In the ribociclib arm, there was a 44% improvement in the primary objective of progression-free survival compared to the placebo arm (HR: 0.556, p = 0.00000329). Median progression-free survival was 14.7 months in the placebo arm, but was not reached in the ribociclib arm at data cut-off.

"The results of this trial represent a compelling proof of principle, and suggest a paradigm shift in metastatic, HR+ breast cancer. They also suggest that testing combinations of ribociclib with other inhibitors of various signaling pathways might lead to additional progress in the management of several subtypes of breast cancer," Hortobagyi said.

Patients with measurable disease at baseline showed a significantly higher objective response rate to ribociclib plus letrozole compared to letrozole alone (53% vs. 37%; p=0.00028), and improved clinical benefit rate (80% vs. 72% p=0.02).

Serious adverse events occurred in fewer than 5% of patients in both arms but other adverse events were significantly more common in the ribociclib arm. Neutropenia occurred in 59% of patients in the ribociclib arm compared to 1% of the placebo arm; leukopenia occurred in 21% vs 1%; lymphopenia in 7% vs. 1%, and patients in the ribociclib arm had a higher incidence of elevated alanine aminotransferase and elevated aspartate aminotransferase.

The number of deaths in the study was too low to enable a reliable analysis of the impact of ribociclib therapy on overall survival.

Commenting on the findings, Professor Giuseppe Curigliano, Director of the New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies Division at the European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy, said, "I believe the results of this study are significant because now we have a new CDK4/6 inhibitor for patients with estrogen-receptor positive metastatic breast cancer, in addition to palbociclib (already FDA approved) and abemaciclib (under development)."

"The addition of ribociclib to letrozole does increase the rate of toxicity, but overall, if we evaluate the magnitude of clinical benefit, there is definitely a benefit to be gained from adding ribociclib."

Curigliano also suggested that further studies of ribociclib should examine the use of cancer biomarkers to better identify patients who would respond to the combination.

###
LUGANO-COPENHAGEN, 8 October 2016. Fulvestrant significantly increases progression-free survival in women with hormone-receptor-positive advanced breast cancer, particularly those with less aggressive lower-volume disease, researchers reported at the ESMO 2016 Congress in Copenhagen1.

Fulvestrant is a selective estrogen receptor degrader that targets the function of the hormone receptor so, unlike aromatase inhibitors such as anastrozole, it does not interfere with estrogen levels themselves.

The randomized, double-blind, multi-center phase III trial enrolled 462 women with inoperable locally-advanced or metastatic ER-positive, HER-negative breast cancer, who had not received prior hormone therapy.

Half the patients (n=230) were randomized to 500mg intramuscular injections of fulvestrant (Days 0, 14, 28, then every 28 days), or to 1mg of anastrozole daily (n=232), and were also allowed one line of chemotherapy.

After a median follow-up of 25 months, patients treated with fulvestrant had a statistically significant 21% improvement in progression-free survival compared to those treated with anastrozole (16.6 months vs. 13.8 months, p = 0.048).

However subgroup analysis showed an even greater impact on progression-free survival in patients whose disease had not spread to the liver or lungs at baseline (22.3 vs. 13.8 months).

"For patients with non-visceral disease whose life isn't immediately threatened by breast cancer - a group for whom physicians would typically choose endocrine therapy as a first approach - it looks like fulvestrant could be a new standard of care compared to anastrozole," said the study's principle investigator Dr. Matthew Ellis, from the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, USA.

Both groups showed a similar health-related quality of life, and the most common adverse events were arthralgia (joint pain) (16.7% vs. 10.3%) and hot flushes (11.4% vs. 10.3%) for fulvestrant and anastrozole, respectively.

"It's tolerated as well as anastrozole, and better than other drugs that could potentially be used in this setting such as chemotherapy or CDK4 inhibitors," Ellis said.

"In patients for whom you are looking for a low toxicity approach, such as older patients or those with low volume disease, it looks like a good option."

Researchers also observed a significantly greater duration of response to treatment in the fulvestrant group compared to the anastrozole group, which Ellis suggested could account for the increase in progression-free survival.

Commenting on the study, Dr Nicholas Turner, team leader at the Institute of Cancer Research and Medical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden, London, UK, said the results represent an important advance in the treatment of the most common form of breast cancer, and suggest a potential benefit for using fulvestrant earlier in a patient's treatment.

"However two factors complicate moving this new finding into routine clinical practice: firstly, the study only included patients with no prior hormone treatment yet many patients presenting with advanced breast cancer have previously been treated for the primary breast cancer," Turner said.

"Secondly, since the design of the study, the standard of care for these women has moved on, with the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib now licensed in US, in combination with an aromatase inhibitor, for the same group of patients. Further studies will help define the most optimal sequence of therapy for women with advanced breast cancer."

###
October 5, 2016 - CALIFORNIA SCHOLARS FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM (CS4AF), a group of over 200 scholars at twenty California institutions of higher learning, urge a renewed and strong support by university administrators for academic freedom and the right to free speech and dissent in light of an alarming recent history of assaults on academic freedom.

On September 13, well after the school year had begun, UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks and Dean Carla Hesse cancelled a course entitled Palestine: A Settler Colonial Analysis that had been vetted and approved by all the appropriate committees and authorities. It was soon revealed that 43 Zionist organizations (some of these may be organizations in name only) had sent letters of protest asking for its suppression. Faculty and student protest forced the administration to reinstate the course. But adding insult to injury, UC Berkeley administrators have refused to apologize publicly, and have continued to conceal the obvious reasons for their caving in to outside pressures behind a veil of administrative lingo and half-truths.The UC Berkeley case is but the latest assault on academic freedom that has increased in intensity over the last fifteen years, overwhelmingly in the interest of one foreign government, namely Israel.Well-funded interest groups outside of the university, including AMCHA, Campus Watch, Louis D. Brandeis Center, Anti-Defamation League, Zionist Organization of America, the David Horowitz Freedom Center, the Canary Mission Website, the Middle East Forum, and the David Project Center for Jewish Leadership have kept up a continuous effort to silence open debate about a controversial issue: the Israeli occupation and Palestinian rights. It is worth noting that two of the main proponents of these organizations, David Horowitz and Daniel Pipes, were named as leading Islamophobes by the Southern Poverty Law Center.Increasingly, such groups are intervening in campus matters across the nation, and they do so with the intent of chilling freedom of expression. It is clearly their intent not only to intimidate but also by example to threaten others and deter them from their rights to academic freedom and free speech. These groups have a well-organized campaign to end any critical discourse on Israel. One of them, the Canary Mission website has made its main mission to intimidate and blacklist students and faculty who speak out in support of Palestinian rights. The Canary Mission website tries to prevent college students who have been active in seeking Palestinian rights from attaining employment upon graduation, conflating their activism with anti-Semitism. They list the names of these students, their employment history, and other personal information, contacting prospective employers and graduate schools, claiming without evidence that the students are anti-Semites and terrorists.The claims of these various groups are made in the name of protecting the ethnic or religious sensitivities of students, usually by intemperate and exaggerated characterizations of the statements or scholarly work of those they target. In particular, the charge of anti-Semitism is routinely and opportunistically invoked, often on the basis of the spurious and unfortunate equation made by the State Department between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Quite aside from the criticism that this definition has gathered from the scholarly community, the fact that a governmental definition that is the fruit of lobbying and political considerations is de facto assumed as valid for academic discussions is in itself a limitation of academic freedom, which is specifically designed to be independent of political constraints, and, more generally, push the boundaries of politically-mandated definitions and notions. In none of the cases listed below, was there any evidence whatsoever that the scholarly criticisms of Israel have in fact been anti-Semitic. The charge is meant to harass and silence criticism and open debate. In addition, nearly all of the harassment is one-sided: against those who are critical of Israel. All such charges of anti-Semitism against university campuses have been dismissed. Still, this charge continues to be invoked to silence debate on a controversial issue, a core of academic freedom.These attacks have included the threat to punish a university if it fails to deny tenure to a targeted faculty member; efforts to sanction or suppress the activities and even existence of organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine or the Muslim Students Association; attempts to eliminate classes deemed to be biased against Israel and to prevent speakers from appearing on campus; and threats to individual students and professors. The organization Palestine Legal as well as Jewish Voice for Peace have both documented the increasing harassment.At UC Berkeley and on campuses all over the country, currently no issue compares to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the passions and animus that disagreements evoke. But even more importantly, nothing presently compares to the problematic way that some university and college administrators have chosen to deal with this particular conflict, including advocating a censorious approach. Too often, university administrators concerned about donors have caved in to these outside pressures rather than make a robust defense of academic freedom.Academic freedom means the freedom of faculty to conduct and disseminate scholarly research; the freedom to design courses and teach students in their areas of their expertise; and the right to free speech for students and faculty enshrined in the First Amendment.Academic freedom includes the freedom of faculty and students to reach conclusions that contradict existing dogma, whether within the academy or throughout the larger society. This includes raising concerns and proposing actions regarding violations of international legal norms by a government considered to be a strategic ally of the United States.Academic freedom includes most importantly the freedom for scholarly debate about controversial issues. Academic freedom ensures that scholarship and inquiry into controversial matters is not over-ridden by political interests. It means the freedom of professors and students from administrative or political interference with research, teaching, and governance, and the constitutional academic freedom that insulates the university in core academic affairs from interference by the state.We review here only some of the most prominent examples over the last 15 years of these unconstitutional efforts to suppress academic freedom and freedom of speech:In 2003, tenured chemistry professor Sami Amin al-Arian was fired by the University of South Florida after conservative talk show host Bill OReilly made inflammatory accusations against him as a supporter of terrorism, for his support of Palestinian rights. The faculty at USF vigorously and overwhelmingly opposed this administrative firing as an assault on academic freedom. The U.S. government subsequently got involved. Professor al-Arian was forced into a plea agreement in the wake of post-9/11 legal accusations that never held up in court. He was eventually deported, although he was a U.S. citizen.In 2004, the Boston-based David Project Center for Jewish Leadership produced a film Columbia Unbecoming accusing professors in Columbia Universitys Middle East and Asian Languages and Civilizations of intimidation of Jewish students. The film did not interview the professors. Columbia University formed a committee that investigated the charges and found no credible evidence of harassment or intimidation that warranted disciplinary action.In 2007, a widespread campaign was undertaken by some Barnard College alumni and spread through many pro-Israel websites to deny tenure to Barnard Professor Nadia Abu el-Haj for her book Facts on the Ground about Israeli archaeology, which argued that Israeli archaeology shaped the archaeological facts to support the state of Israel, including suppression of facts that did not support their case. She was eventually granted tenure.In 2007, Norman Finkelstein, a prominent political scientist whose primary fields of research are the Israel/Palestine conflict and the politics of the Holocaust, was denied tenure by the DePaul University administration after public attacks by pro-Israel lobbyists and scholars such as Alan Dershowitz, despite the fact that the faculty on the relevant promotion committees overwhelmingly voted to award him tenure. The university administration was forced into a monetary settlement with Professor Finkelstein.In 2008, Thomas Abowd, was dismissed from a tenure-track position in anthropology at Wayne State University. He had recently received the university's President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and a merit raise. Undergraduates who had never taken a class with him, plus Zionists in the local community, complained to the administration about a speech he made at a political protest on campus. They accused him of being "anti-Semitic" and an "anti-white racist." There was a suit, the university eventually admitted that these accusations were fraudulent, and Abowd agreed to resign with a settlement.In 2008 and 2009, Professor Lisa Rofel at the University of California, Santa Cruz, was twice brought up on charges by two right-wing pro-Israel faculty, including Tammi Rossman-Benjamin who heads AMCHA, for events she organized that were critical of Israel. All the participants in these events were Jewish, including a representative of the group Breaking the Silence, who are Israeli soldiers against the occupation. With no sense of irony, Rossman-Benjamin and her husband claimed that Rofel had broken the rules of academic freedom by bringing political speech onto campus. When those charges were dismissed, AMCHA, using the tactic of lawfare, brought a lawsuit under the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) charging UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine with creating campus climates that were anti-Semitic. The lawsuit was eventually quietly dropped, but not before these campuses had to use taxpayers money to prove the charges were illegitimate.In 2009, Professor William Robinson, at UC, Santa Barbara, was attacked by pro-Israel groups, led by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), in a campaign against him that lasted nearly six months and that included among those who attacked him some of his faculty colleagues. The charge: Professor Robinson had included optional reading materials drawn from the international press for classroom discussion that evening on the Israel-Palestine conflict. These outside interest groups made threats against the university if they did not fire Professor Robinson. The harassment also involved slander, defamation of character, hate mail and death threats. The disciplinary procedure initiated against him by his universitys administrators involved a host of irregularities, including violations of the university's own procedures, breaches of confidentiality, denial of due process, conflicts of interest, failure of disclosure, and improper political surveillance. A campaign of support initiated by students and some faculty eventually forced the university administration to back down.In 2010, the student group Muslim Identities and Cultures (MIC) on the UC Berkeley campus was attacked by AMCHA, in an attempt to stop an event entitled What Can American Academia Do to Realize Justice for the Palestinians that featured several faculty speakers, including a featured speaker from Birzeit University. MIC was simply co-sponsoring with 5 other groups. However, AMCHA singled out that group to slander as well as the groups faculty advisor Professor Paola Bacchetta. Then Chancellor Birgeneau wrote a statement deciding in favor of the students and faculty academic freedom.In 2011, AMCHA launched a multi-year campaign of intimidation and harrassment of David Klein, a professor of mathematics at California State University Northridge, for his co-authored petition to the CSU Chancellor not to reopen the Israel Study Abroad program because of its discriminatory treatment of students, his webpage in support of BDS and Palestinian human rights, and his hosting of Ilan Pappes visit. AMCHA and 23 other Zionist organizations petitioned the California Attorney General, Kamala Harris, to prosecute Klein for misuse of university resources. When she declined on the basis that no violations of law had occurred, Zionist organizations sent a letter to Los Angeles City Attorney Trutanich accusing Harris of abdicating her responsibilities and urging him, without success, to prosecute Klein. He became the target of hate mail, threatening phone calls, and character assassination for several years.In 2012, The AMCHA Initiative waged a campaign to prevent Ilan Pappe from speaking on three CSU campuses. Ilan Pappe, an Israeli scholar, is Professor of History and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies, and Co-Director for the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies at Exeter University. That effort at censorship failed due in part to the principled defense of academic freedom by three CSU campus presidents.In 2013, Stand With Us tried to suppress the introduction into a class at San Diego State University a map of the area of Palestine that controverts the Israeli governments map of the area but that reflects the understanding of the region by others who live there. The Provost caved in to these outside pressures and, because the instructor did not have security of employment, enjoined the instructor not to present this material again.In March 2014, the Louis D. Brandeis Center made false accusations against the University of California, Santa Barbara campus for supposedly fostering a hostile environment for Jewish students. In that case, the Center brought a U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights Title VI complaint that was later quietly dropped.In that same month, the AMCHA Initiative along with several other organizations sent highly inflammatory accusations against San Francisco State University faculty members and students, singling out Professor Rabab Abdulhadi, for an event held on the campus that was a report of an academic and labor delegation to Palestine. The AMCHA letter accused the SFSU faculty members of meeting with Palestinians, whom the letter labels as terrorists. It demands that the university provide counter-programming to what they called an anti-Semitic event. Professor Abdulhadi has been the repeated target of smear attacks by these organizations, most recently because of her leading role in the SFSU collaboration with An-Najah National University in Palestine.In August 2014, Chancellor Wise of University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, overrode shared faculty governance when she unilaterally withdrew the offer to Professor Steven Salaita who had just been hired in the program of American Indian Studies, for his personal tweets as a private citizen exercising his First Amendment right to free speech. about the latest Israeli assault on Palestinians in Gaza that summer, that killed nearly 1900 people, most of them civilians, and damaged nearly 167 schools and six universities, and raided five universities in the West Bank. Chancellor Wises action was condemned by the American Association of University Professors, as well as other professional associations and thousands of academics. Professor Salaita sued the university and, in a virtual admission of wrongdoing, the university granted monetary compensation to Professor Salaita. A FOI request subsequently found the Chancellor had been in close communication with university donors opposed to Professor Salaita.In January 2015, the University of Pennsylvania bowed to external pressure to disinvite a guest speaker, well-known journalist Chris Hedges, because of his expressed views critical of the Israeli government.In spring 2015, the AMCHA Initiative, Accuracy in Academia, the David Horowitz Freedom Center and Stand With Us sent false accusations against a student-led course on Palestine at the University of California, Riverside. The course had been fully vetted and was sponsored by Professor David Lloyd. The student involved in leading the course, as well as Professor Lloyd, were subjected to hostile and racist email. The student was accused of wishing the annihilation of Jews. In this case, the course was not cancelled, although the Chancellor did not make a public defense of academic freedom.In spring 2015, UC Santa Cruz Students for Justice in Palestine (a frequent target of these outside interest groups), held mock checkpoints on campus to illustrate their concern about the Israeli occupation. Several students, encouraged by AMCHA, lodged a false accusation of hate/bias against the group for allegedly targeting certain students (presumably Jewish) and physically blocking them from entering specific doorways unless they produced identification. The administration later apologized to SJP for publicizing what were unfounded accusations before meeting with them to investigate. They offered to send out a campus-wide apology but never did.In 2014-2015, right-wing pro-Israel groups heavily lobbied the University of California to revise the universitys intolerance policy to equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. After much critical commentary opposed to such an infringement on academic freedom and open debate, the University of California issued an Intolerance policy that states in its preamble(rather than in the body of the text): Anti-Semitism, anti-semitic forms of anti-Zionism and other forms of discrimination have no place at the University of California.In February 2016, two Brooklyn College students were falsely accused by the Anti-Defamation League and the Zionist Organization of America of making anti-Semitic remarks at a faculty council meeting that students interrupted to demand a return to free and open admissions, more full-time faculty members of color, and an end to the presence of undercover cops on campus. None of their demands were related to the Israel-Palestine conflict but two of the students were involved with Students for Justice in Palestine. After inflammatory press coverage in New York that repeated the false accusations, the Brooklyn College administration, after first pressuring the students to accept a settlement, eventually admitted that the students never made any anti-Semitic statements.In March 2016, Sarah Schulman, faculty at City University of New York (CUNY), was called before a CUNY Task Force on Anti-Semitism, in her role as faculty adviser to Students for Justice in Palestine. The Task Force had a 14-page list of accusations filed by the Zionist Organization of America, which turned out to be vague and slanderous charges against Muslim students who were said to make Jewish students feel uncomfortable by their mere presence on campus. In addition, the ZOA had been harassing Professor Schulman, sending tweets to her publishers, reviewers, friends and colleagues and sabotaging her Wikipedia page.As we send this press release, Professor Simona Sharoni, Professor of Gender and Womens Studies at SUNY Plattsburg, is under personal and professional attack for her support for both victims of sexual assault and for the human rights of the Palestinian people. More specifically she is under attack for her publicly stated support for the constitutionally protected Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel. Stand With Us has now made 10 FOIL requests to the University about Professor Sharoni. She has also been subject to threatening e-mails and twitter posts.Palestine Legal, an organization that protects the civil and constitutional rights of people in the U.S. who speak out in support of Palestinian rights, responded to 152 incidents of censorship, punishment or other burdening of advocacy in 2014. In the first six months of 2015, they responded to 140 incidents.These right-wing pro-Israel groups have also tried to suppress academic freedom by repeatedly introducing un-constitutional bills into state legislatures that try to outlaw any criticism of Israel by erroneously equating that criticism with anti-Semitism.Anti-Semitismlike racism, sexism, and other forms of oppressionis a real problem that universities should indeed take seriously. However, the conflation of criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism has become a standard tactic by those groups who seek to censor criticism of Israel. That tactic also ignores the many Jews who are critical of Israels flaunting of UN resolutions and international humanitarian law.While both federal and state law as well as university policy protect students from discrimination or antagonism based on their religious, ethnic, gender and other identities, no law could possibly protect students or faculty from hearing challenges to their political, religious or cultural beliefs simply on the grounds of their identification with them, so long as such discourse is conducted in a non-coercive and nonviolent manner.Any organization, internal or external, that seeks to limit the free and full deliberation of any viewpoint, or the representation of perspectives inimical to it, trespasses on a principle of academic life so fundamental that the university would be unimaginable without it. It is a principle which cannot and must not promise that in all situations students or faculty will feel intellectual comfort: indeed, mental and moral discomfort are often essential conditions for serious learning and thoughtful consideration of views that challenge our preconceptions. This is not, however, the same thing as slanderous and intimidating attacks, intended to silence rather than to promote debate and inquiry.It is a universitys responsibility to tolerate a wide range of views on issues, even if they are unpopular or minority opinions. While in the most recent attack on academic freedom at UC Berkeley, the dean claimed that the university should not tolerate political agendas, surely the administrative suppression of the course also constituted political advocacy, of a negative kind.Academic freedom guarantees neither that any belief of any kind will be held sacrosanct and above criticism, nor that in all and every situation every view will be given equal consideration. The university is the whole colloquy of the views expressed in it and the preservation of a broad and complete spectrum of views, all of them allowed both space and time for their elaboration, is essential to it.The California Scholars for Academic Freedom draws attention to this very troublesome recent history to urge a renewed support by university administrators for academic freedom. We urge college presidents and deans to re-affirm their commitment to academic freedom, the hallmark of a university education.**CALIFORNIA SCHOLARS FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM (cs4af) is a group of scholars who defend academic freedom, the right of shared governance, and the First Amendment rights of faculty and students in the academy and beyond. We recognize that violations of academic freedom anywhere are threats to academic freedom everywhere. California Scholars for Academic Freedom investigates legislative and administrative infringements on freedom of speech and assembly, and it raises the consciousness of politicians, university regents and administrators, faculty, students and the public at large through open letters, press releases, petitions, statements, and articles.[Photos: UC Santa Cruz professor Tammi Rossman-Benjamin (the head of AMCHA) confers with students wearing IDF shirts who called the police and lodged a false accusation of hate/bias during a demonstration organized by UC Santa Cruz Students for Justice in Palestine in March of 2015. The UCSC administration later apologized to SJP for their role in the aftermath of this encounter. Credit: UC Santa Cruz Students for Justice in Palestine.]
Well Road, Douglas 875,000

Size: 244 sq m (2,619 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 4/5

Bathrooms: 4

BER: A2

But, when completed, the development Greenbanks of four new houses plus a larger one-off will account for four or five high-end house sale results.

Top Douglas seller this year, according to the Price Register is No 2 Carrs Hill, the former 3,200 sq ft Church of Ireland Rectory and it turns up as having made 1.32 million, well down from its initial ask of 1.85 nearly 18 months ago.

The Douglas suburb is also witnessing a number of older houses getting very substantial upgrades, but what has been missing is large, new builds, a gap that Rockforests Greenbanks has been filling.

Busy developer and building contractor David Walshs Rockforest acquired this prime Well Road 1.1acre site via Nama last year, and went on site in May to build four A-rated 4/5 bed detacheds in May, when just one (No 2) was available to buy after a previously committed buyer decided to buy in outer Douglas.

Top price paid at Greenbanks was 1m, paid for No 1 by the main Well Road entrance, while the largest of all will be on a good-sized site by the estuary, sold to a private buyer.

Now, the previously booked No 3 Greenbanks has come back to market via agent Sam Kingston of Casey and Kingston as building work trundles along on this high-end site; the previous home Greenbanks had been owned by guitarist Rory Gallaghers mother, Monica.

Acting jointly with Cohalan Downing, Mr Kingston guides the 2,600 sq ft two-storey detached on site No 3 at 875,000, with the option of a fifth bedroom or ground floor study.

Near Hettyfield, the A2-rated houses are on modest-sized sites and internal roads and paths will be in granite sets, with natural stone boundary wall, the houses will have Donegal quartz dry-stone wall features, Danish windows, air to water heat pump heating, mechanical heat recovery ventilation systems, integrated stoves, and large, open plan kitchen/dining/living room and sun room across the back of the house, with two front rooms, while two of the four first floor bedrooms are en suite.

VERDICT: Get ready to rock and roll up to Gallaghers Greenbanks.
Victoria Road, Cork City 385,000

Size: 139 sq m (1,485 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 2

BER: F

Look no further than Osborne...the Victorian house, that is, not the ex chancellor of Britains Exchequer George Osborne.

A long-time family home, this well-kept three-bay, three-storey Osborne is at the very city end of Corks Victoria Road, before the start of the Blackrock Road, near the trendy cafe Salt, a Topaz station, a new deli/coffee outfit has just arrived by the Peace Park/Albert Road, and the Marina beckons a kilometer away, past Kennedy Park and down Central Park Road.

Osborne has just arrived for sale as Corks dockland hopes inch their way back downriver too from City Hall.

One Albert Quays a bright, shining new light and anchored by Johnson Controls/Tyco, while developer Owen OCallaghan was last month granted planing by the City Council for an even larger office scheme on Albert Quay, at Navigation House between the bustling Sextant and Idle Hour/Goldbergs bars.

Set back behind cast iron railings, and with original leaded and stained glass front door panels opening to a hall with encaustic tiling, Osborne itself dates to the late 1890s, and still has kept much of its original Victoria architectural details, notes its selling agent Dennis Guerin of Frank V Murphy & Co. He guides at 385,000.

Osbornes own outdoor space includes a long front lawn, and side and rear patio, with side gate access from a side lane: theres no off-street parking.

In good overall condition, and with gas central heating, this lofty home on the city centres edges has a single storey bay window in front, two ground floor reception rooms with original fireplaces and corniced ceilings, interconnecting thanks to sliding double doors, plus a tidy rear kitchen/breakfast room.

The first floor has two bedrooms and a bathroom, with separate WC and the top half dormer floor houses three more bedrooms.

The compromise is that few are of any particularly generous size.

VERDICT: Just a trot to town with parks and the Marina to hand.
Shveta Salve's husband, Hermit Sethi, recently wrote a sweet little message for his daughter on the social media.

By India Today Web Desk: TV actress Shveta Salve recently delivered a daughter and has also been posting pictures of her newborn wonder on her personal Instagram account.

And now her husband, Hermit Sethi, has also posted a sweet picture of himself with his cute little one on the social media. The doting father also ended up revealing his precious daughter's name in the process--Arya.

advertisement

The adorable picture shows Hermit carefully holding his daughter in his hands.

Mornings like these when your holding your loved one in your hands, putting her to sleep and looking out at the sky and thanking God for everything.. #aryasethi #baby #dad #daddysgirl #daddyslittlegirl @dontforgetdads Thank you @shvetasalve for bringing her into my life and yes this amazing photo A photo posted by Hermit Sethi (@hermitsethi) on Oct 5, 2016 at 12:12am PDT

Hermit captioned the picture as, "Mornings like these when you are holding your loved one in your hands, putting her to sleep and looking out at the sky and thanking God for everything?#aryasethi #baby #dad #daddysgirl #daddyslittlegirl @dontforgetdads Thank you @shvetasalve for bringing her into my life, and yes this amazing photo."

The lovely photo was captured by none other than the beautiful mother herself (Shveta).

Also read:New mom Shveta Salve flies with her 1-month-old for the first time; see pic



Both Shveta and Hermit are as happy as happy can be. In fact, Shveta had even written a letter to her daughter, when she was still heavily pregnant with her, which further goes on to show how desperately she had been waiting for her arrival.

Congratulations, you two!



--- ENDS ---
Sacramento, CA California lawmakers have expanded California lawmakers have expanded California labor law to increase protections for janitors, who are often vulnerable workers and at risk for sexual harassment and assault. Assembly Bill 1978 sets up registration and training requirements to help workers in the janitorial industry protect themselves against sexual harassment and assault. Employers who violate the new California labor bill could wind up losing their registration.

Assembly Bill 1978 was signed by California Governor Jerry Brown on September 15, according to(9/21/16) and is geared entirely to the janitorial services industry. A 2015 PBS report titledshared the experiences of female janitors who are at risk for sexual harassment and assault because they tend to work in isolation, be female and may not understand their rights. The report notes that female janitors face similar risks across the US regardless of whether their employer is a small contractor or a large corporation.A report by the University of California, Berkeley, Center for Labor Research and Education titled Race to the Bottom notes that isolation is an important factor in sexual harassment and assault."In a Washington state study, 85 percent of the 63 workers who were raped in the workplace were working alone (Alexander, Franklin & Wolf 1994)," the report notes. "Employers in the property services industry typically service a large number of worksites Being isolated from co-workers and the public reduces the likelihood that anyone will intervene or serve as witnesses and allows supervisors to exert greater control over workers."Following the PBS report, California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) sponsored AB 1978 to protect employees in the janitorial industry. The bill requires all employers to register annually and pay a $500 registration fee. If the employers are found to have violated California labor law, they can have their registration denied.Furthermore, the bill requires employers to distribute notices about the bill, including information about sexual harassment prevention, and provide employees with training about sexual harassment prevention."We have allowed these women to become targets for sexual violence by neglecting their working conditions and basic safety on the job, but we cannot ignore this threat anymore," Gonzalez said. "AB will ensure these womentoo often unseen while working alone at nightfinally begin to receive the transparency and protection from rape and sexual assault they need to be kept safe."Lawsuits have been filed against janitorial companies who failed to protect employees from sexual harassment or assault.
- Governor Nyesome Wike in the early hours of today, October 8, 2016 stopped an alleged attempt by men of the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Police to abduct a Judge at his residence

- Governor Wike stated that whatever the situation, the rule of law must prevail in a democratic setting

: Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (m) Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Austin Opara (r), Rivers State PDP Chairman, Bro Felix Obuah (2nd right), Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Dabo Adams (l) and Member, Rivers State House of Assembly, Victor Ihunwo in front of number 35 Forces Avenue after a failed attempt by the police to abduct a Federal High Court judge by 1am on Saturday 8th October, 2016.

Governor Nyesome Wike in the early hours of today, October 8, stopped an alleged attempt by men of the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Police to abduct a Judge at his number 35/84 B residence, Forces Avenue, Port Harcourt, Legit.ng can authoritatively report.

The failed alleged abduction was led by Mr Tosin Ajayi, Rivers state director of the DSS and Rivers state Police Commissioner, Mr Francis Odesanya.

According sources at the scene, the security operatives blocked the entrance of the residence of the Federal High Court judge at about 1am on Saturday morning, claiming that they were acting on orders from above.

However, addressing journalists, Rivers state police commissioner, Francis Odesanya said the two security agencies were at the scene because they received privileged information.

Security operatives and other Rivers people in front of number 35 Forces Avenue after a failed attempt by the police to abduct a Federal High Court judge by 1am on saturday 8th October, 2016.

Odesanya claimed he was at the scene as a peace maker. He declined comments on why the Police joined the DSS to abduct a serving Federal High Court judge.

In an interview with journalists at the scene of the failed illegal abduction of a Federal High Court judge by the Police and DSS, Governor Wike said it will not be under his watch that security agencies will be allowed to entrench needless impunity.

He declared that their reckless action portends danger to the nation's democracy, noting that he is convinced that President Buhari is not aware of the level of impunity being perpetrated by Federal Securiy agencies.

Governor Wike stated that whatever the situation, the rule of law must prevail in a democratic setting.

He said if the security agencies had a lawful directive to implement, they must follow due process .

According to him: "Not under my watch will I allow this kind of impunity to take place. That is why we are here. I don't know which judge they were detailed to abduct. I didn't bother myself to know which judge. All I am interested in is that, at this level, it is not allowed.

"He is not a criminal and he is not an armed robber. If the person has committed an offence, invite him. It is only when he refuses to honour the invitation that you can adopt this commando style.

Number 35 Forces Avenue after a failed attempt by the police to abduct a Federal High Court judge by 1am on saturday 8th October, 2016.

"The Commissioner of Police is here, the Director of DSS is here. Their operatives cocked their guns and threatened to shoot me. I have never seen that before. Again , this is to tell you what we are facing . We know that more will come. For us in this state, we shall continue to resist it."

Governor Wike added: "It doesn't matter what it will cost. When you talk about liberty, sacrifices must be made. We are not trying to stop an arrest. All we are saying is that things must be done decently and in line with the rule of law.

"Rivers State is under siege. For you to see a governor out at this time of the day, something is wrong. A siege is an understatement. If this type of thing happens next time, the people will resist it to the last".

The governor stressed: "They are trying to do something funny in this state, probably to declare a state of emergency.

The patrol van meant for the failed abduction in front of number 35 Forces Avenue after a failed attempt by the police to abduct a Federal High Court judge by 1am on saturday 8th October, 2016.

Source: Legit.ng
The female superstar of Bollywood cinema, Sridevi took to Instagram and shared a picture with her daughter Khushi Kapoor which is doing rounds on social media.

Sridevi's picture with Khushi Kapoor is just so cute

By India Today Web Desk: Sridevi, who returned to silver screen after 15-year-long hiatus in Gauri Shinde's English Vinglish, is not an avid user of Instagram.

On the contrary, both Jhanvi and Khushi are active on social media and have never ceased to amaze us with their posts.



ALSO READ: MSG The Warrior Lion Heart movie review- Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's film only for the lionhearted



ALSO READ: Mirzya movie review- Harshvardhan-Saiyami's debut is a visual delight

advertisement

However, when Sridevi decides to click a picture with her daughter, it invariably becomes a feast for the eyes.

Sridevi recently took to Instagram and posted a picture of herself chilling with daughter Khushi. Needless to say, the Himmatwala actor looked gorgeous in a blue outfit with a printed scarf around her neck. Sporting a diva look, Khushi looked stunning in a black outfit.



?? A photo posted by Sridevi Kapoor (@sridevi.kapoor) on Oct 7, 2016 at 10:43am PDT

Meanwhile, Sridevi's elder daughter Jhanvi Kapoor, who has a strong social media fan base, has reportedly been roped in for Karan Johar's movie Shiddat which will feature Varun Dhawan in the lead.



--- ENDS ---
- Femi Fani-Kayode says Nigeria is in trouble following the abduction like arrest of judges across different states by operatives of the Department of State Security.

- FFK said its time for Nigerians to stand up against the Buhari led APC government

- Fani-Kayode wondered why the Judges who were arrested are all southerners and none is a northerner

Femi Fani-Kayode

Former aviation minister and erstwhile spokesperson for the Goodluck Jonathan presidential campaign organization, Femi Fani-Kayode says Nigeria is in trouble following the abduction like arrest of judges across different states by operatives of the Department of State Security.

In the early hours of Saturday, October 8, attempts were also made to arrest two Supreme Court judges in Abuja, while attempt to arrest a federal high court judge in Port Harcourt was foiled by the state governor, Nyesome Wike.

Reacting through a statement made available to Legit.ng, Femi Fani-Kayode said its time for Nigerians to stand up against the Buhari led APC government.

Fani-Kayode wondered why the Judges who were arrested are all southerners and none is a northerner.

The truth is that we are in trouble in this country. The motherland and all that we hold dear is under attack from a ravenous and dictatorial President and government, he said.

When those that are constitutionally charged and empowered to protect us from tyranny and the abuse of power by a vicious, violent, murderous and lawless government and its murderous security agencies are themselves under siege all hope is lost.

If the judges cannot protect us and if they themselves have become victims of barbarous tyranny then it is time for the people to rise up, take to the streets, resist the evil and fight against our oppressors.

READ ALSO: Curb bloggers excesses, Lai Mohammed to Editors guild

"Sons and daughters of Nigeria, we must not give in to fear and we must not be silenced. We must defend the rights of our people and fight for our homeland.

"Now is the time to protest in any way that we possibly can and to take our country back from these animals and barbarians. Now is the the time to say "enough is enough!"

"If we do not do so we shall be slaves forever. It is our God-given right and sacred duty to resist tyranny in every shape and form. If nothing else history, scripture and all the Holy Books of the three great faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism teach us that.

"Now is the time to shed our fears and to stand up like the true patriots and free men and women that we were born to be and do so. Now is the time to say "thus far and no further" and to say "no more" and be our brothers keeper.

Now is the time to stop sitting on the fence and acting as if all is well. May the Living God fill us with His Spirit and grant us courage. May He strengthen and embolden us," he said.

Source: Legit.ng
High levels of automation and a slowing economy have led to big job cuts in firms, especially in IT and e-commerce. The pain is unlikely to go away soon. Illustration by Nilanjan Das

Abhishek Nair (name changed on request), 28, a management studies graduate who worked in the marketing department of the Mumbai-based e-commerce portal Housing.com was abruptly asked to leave in August 2015, after nine months at the job. The company cited 'restructuring of operations' as the reason for the lay-off, which saw nearly a hundred people losing their jobs in one shot. Nair is furious at what he terms the 'callous' attitude of the firm, which brings buyers and sellers of homes together on a platform. "The company miscalculated its growth potential and hired indiscriminately," he alleges. He was given a month's notice and salary, but the incident has left a permanent scar. "I will think a hundred times before I join a start-up again," he says.

In the past year, Indian start-ups, which once made news for high valuations and their potential as job creators, have hogged the limelight for all the wrong reasons. Some, such as Flipkart, have seen a slide in valuations for continuing to lose money despite having outgrown the 'start-up' tag. Others, such as Housing and Snapdeal have resorted to slashing their wage bills to get out of the red, laying off hundreds. Some have curtailed business operations after extended periods of low earnings. Others have been asked by investors, concerned about the return on their investments, to slash expenses. Housing laid off 800 of their approximately 2,500 employees in 2015 alone, as part of efforts to refocus their operations, including shutting down their rental business. TinyOwl, a Mumbai-based food ordering start-up, reportedly fired about 160 employees in September 2015 alone. Zomato, yet another food tech company, laid off 10 per cent of its workforce last year-around 300 employees. Meanwhile, online grocery start-up Localbanya has temporarily suspended operations following a funds squeeze. Nearly 18 months after acquiring Exclusively, an online platform for premium and luxury fashion goods, e-tailer Snapdeal is shutting it down to cut costs as funds dry up. Many jobs will be lost here. Ola has shut down its TaxiForSure business, and has laid off 700 employees, only a year-and-a-half after the cab aggregator acquired the latter for $200 million (around Rs 1,340 crore). "For e-commerce companies, it is difficult to keep raising subsequent rounds of funding, and there is pressure to reduce operating costs or cash burn," says Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys and now an investor in several start-up companies. "It is a question of survival of the business, and, hence, cost-cutting becomes necessary."

advertisement

Pangs of slow growth

Critics of e-commerce start-ups point out that the travails in the sector and the consequent job losses have much to do with lackadaisical planning and execution. But in reality, job cuts are not restricted to start-ups alone. Even established companies have been facing the heat of a slowing business environment. For instance, the fate of nearly 3,000 employees at IT giant Infosys was recently thrown into uncertainty, following a decision by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in August this year not to set up a new retail bank in the UK. Infosys had been selected as a technology partner for consulting, application delivery and testing services. Although the company has clarified that there would be no jobs lost and that staff would be redeployed, the process won't be easy as the numbers are quite large. "Subsequent to the RBS decision, we will carry out an orderly ramp-down of about 3,000 persons, primarily in India, over the next few months," Infosys said.

Network infrastructure giant Cisco is laying off about 14,000 employees worldwide, representing nearly 20 per cent of the equipment maker's global workforce. While the company has not specified any job cuts in India, its Indian operations have been rattled by some top-level exits, including those of its Director for Systems Engineering, Lalit S. Chowdhary, Technical Director Jaswant Boyat, as well as Joydeep Bose, Managing Director, Cisco Investments in Asia Pacific and Japan. Meanwhile, US-based Cyanogen, developer of an open-source mobile operating system, is suffering too. Its offices in India and Lisbon are being "essentially gutted", according to media reports.

"In the past, IT companies used to get six- or seven-year-long outsourcing contracts, and they would bring in fresh hires and train them, if needed," says Som Mittal, ex-president of Nasscom, a lobby group for the IT industry. But now there is a big shift taking place. "The proportion of project-based contracts is on the rise, so companies prefer to keep a thin bench." Project-based contracts are of short tenure-about six months to a year. Mittal, however, does not feel companies are laying off staff in larger numbers. "Attrition levels in the industry have risen to 18-19 per cent, from 14 per cent till a few years ago, so companies are essentially reskilling those remaining staff rather than resorting to lay-offs," he says. According to him, the increased attrition is driven by the companies' quest for experienced staff, all drawing from the same pool of professionals.

advertisement

The growing workforce

Every year, 10 million youngsters become eligible for jobs, graduating from colleges, professional institutions and technical institutes across India. But with job opportunities in IT and technology companies dwindling, their future is at stake. This harsher business environment will make it even more difficult for the Narendra Modi government to live up to its promise of creating 10 million jobs every year. India's unemployment rate grew from 6.8 per cent in 2001 to 9.6 per cent in 2011, according to Census 2011 data, the latest figures available. India is projected to lose around 640,000 low-skill positions in the next five years, according to a July 2016 report by HfS Research, a US-based firm that analyses business operations and IT services. Most job cuts are likely to happen in non-customer-facing roles, with a significant amount of back-office processing and IT support work likely to be automated and consolidated across fewer workers. At the moment, India's $150 billion IT industry is estimated to employ about 10 million people.

advertisement

"The e-commerce companies are in a [business] environment marked by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity-collectively termed 'VUCA'. The competition is intense," says Yogi Sriram, Senior Vice President, Corporate HR, at Larsen & Toubro (L&T), a global conglomerate involved in technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services. "The business involves extensive digitalisation, great sourcing and logistics abilities and dynamic pricing, all of which are difficult to titrate perfectly." In the IT segment, the emphasis on automation has impacted job creation. "Customers are getting demanding on prices," says Sriram. Increasingly, IT services are being demanded 'on tap'-as and when required-rather than as long-term commitments.

Cheaper services appear to be the new norm. Even when existing customers give repeat orders, they demand discounted prices. "Foreign clients are still seeking services from Indian IT firms, but those would be in the advanced sectors," says Mittal. The next horizons for these sectors are, among other things, the Internet of Things (IoT)-the ever-growing web of internet-connected devices such as smartphones, medical devices and autonomous machinery of various kinds-and SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) services. IT firms in these sectors require fewer workers, but at the same time, higher qualifications and skill sets. "So the trend of hiring large numbers of workers from engineering colleges will change," says Sriram. Gopalakrishnan says the increasing use of cloud technology means that the number of data centres, especially inhouse, is falling. This will result in reduced employment in the field of data centre management. Second, this also means a reduction in the number of physical servers being sold, affecting companies manufacturing such devices. Consequently, there will be a cascading impact on jobs linked to these sectors, he adds.

advertisement

At the management level, there is a greater demand for sales and domain experts, says Rajeev Dubey, President, HR, aftermarket and corporate services, at the Mahindra Group. "Organisations are looking to employ managers who are younger and understand the 'disruption' element in technology better," he says. Organisations are resorting to internal skill training as well as hiring large numbers of analysts for data jobs.

"There is a certain maturity to some of these sectors. They are no longer 'young' or 'high growth'. This means they may have to tighten their belts," says E. Balaji, President, HR, at TVS Logistics. This also explains why salaries at the entry level for IT companies have not changed much, he adds.

New skills in demand

Even outside of the IT and start-up sectors, the job scenario has been bleak. According to the numbers in the 27th Quarterly Employment Survey by the Union ministry for labour & employment, job creation in India plummeted in the first half of fiscal 2016, with the lowest ever job additions at 91,000, down from nearly 500,000 in the corresponding period of fiscal 2015. Employment in exporting units, reeling under contracted demand from across the world, also witnessed a sharp decline. There were only 5,000 job additions in the first half of fiscal 2016 compared to 271,000 in the same period of fiscal 2015-for instance, in the automobile sector, there were 23,000 job losses in exporting units compared to 26,000 job additions in others in the second quarter of fiscal 2016.

Many large manufacturers are in the process of downsizing, which will also impact jobs. Nokia, which was locked in a tax dispute with Indian authorities, shut down its handset making factory in Chennai in November 2014, leaving 8,000 workers without a job. The news from other industries is much the same: following in the footsteps of financial firms like Goldman Sachs and Nomura, JP Morgan Asset Management of the US exited its onshore India-based mutual funds business by selling it to Edelweiss Asset Management. JP Morgan is the seventh foreign-sponsored financial services firm to exit the Indian mutual funds business in the last three years. Cement major Lafarge is planning to exit India as well, after selling its 11 MT business here; the global cement industry is currently oversupplied.

"The manufacturing sector is looking for young professionals who are willing to work on the shop floor (for construction at project sites), and offers a huge opportunity to provide employment and a fillip to the Make in India programme," says L&T's Sriram. Overall, Sriram believes the situation looks promising, though he is concerned that there is a serious mismatch between the skills required of workers and the courses offered by the ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes, run by the Central government).

"The skills required of workmen are becoming different from what they were in the past, and supervisors need to ensure that these are updated as needed," says Mahindra's Dubey. However, there are some bright areas in this dismal outlook; the country's substantial youth population is widely noted as an advantage. "As the home of the largest youth population in the world, the Indian economy has an unprecedented advantage compared to other countries," says Guenter Butschek, MD & CEO at Tata Motors. "Taking into account challenges such as safety, pollution, unemployment and lack of adequate infrastructure, it is imperative for leading automobile manufacturers to focus on developing 'sustainable mobility solutions' in addition to nurturing skilled engineers and people managers rather than technocrats and theory masters."

India's skill development minister, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, says his ministry, via the Skill India Mission, has taken various steps to address the country's skill deficit: policy interventions, new schemes and programmes, a focus on quality, the strengthening of institutions, inter-ministerial partnerships and international collaborations.

Experts say the real change will come only in October 2017. "Oil prices, important policy changes by the government and a better investment climate will see a rebound," says Sriram. Academic programmes designed to impart domain-specific skills will also ensure better employment rates, he adds. Infosys's Gopalakrishnan says investors are still bullish on India, though they may prefer investing in better-run, larger companies in FMCG and services rather than in digital commerce. Job opportunities in that sector will remain sluggish.

The jobs terrain is getting increasingly tricky, especially as new technology is swiftly making skills obsolete. However, a concerted effort by private enterprises, academic institutions and the government can open new doors for the unemployed, and better avenues for the already employed. Moving on that path is not an option, but an imperative.

Follow the writer on Twitter @MGArun1



--- ENDS ---
- The homes of some Nigerian judges were raided by men of the Department of State Services (DSS) while some of them were arrested

- Huge sums of money both in foreign currencies were allegedly discovered from just three of the arrested judges

- Some of the arrests are reportedly linked to Governor Nyesom Wike while the Ahmed Makarfi faction of the PDP was also indicted

The two arrested Supreme Court judges, Sylvester Ngwuta and John Okoro, are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) and would be arraigned on Monday, October 10, 2016, according to information available to Legit.ng.

Governor Wike is said to be at the centre of the corruption allegation against some of the judges

This is as fresh details from Sahara Reporters show that the arrest of the judges followed a petition that they allegedly received bribes from Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state. It was learnt that the Nigeria Judicial Council (NJC) had knowledge of the DSS action.

The judges, Leadership reports, would be arraigned for alleged corruption in Abuja, Nigerias capital city, just as it has been learnt that Justice Walter Onnoghen, primed to take over as the new chief justice of the nation, was not arrested.

The Leadership quoted Ahuraka Isah, an aide to the chief justice of Nigeria as confirming the arrest of Nwgwuta and Okoro and that Onnoghen was not involved.

READ ALSO: DSS raid: NBA declares a state of emergency on Judiciary

While it was learnt that Justice Adeniyi Ademola was arrested, his neighbor, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, was not arrested but his official residence was searched.

According to Sahara Reporters, Justice Ngwuta allegedly traveled to Qatar to receive the bribe which he shared with Justice Okoro and others.

The bribe was allegedly for Governor Wike to win his election case which got to the Supreme Court.

When Justice Ngwuntas house was raided, the DSS allegedly recovered N35,208 million, $319,475, 25,890 pounds and 280 Euros.

When the DSS stormed Justice Adeniyi Ademolas residence, it was learnt that the judge told the security agents that he was not at home even though his cellphone showed his true location.

READ ALSO: DSS invasion: Lawyers urge NBA to boycott courts

He was later arrested in the home allegedly with N54 million cash, $171,779, 4,400 Euros, 1,010 Rupees, and 80 pounds.

Justice Okoro also had N4.35 million, $38,833 and 1000 Euros when his house was raided.

The report also said the two judges are said to own different properties in Abuja and Calabar with Justice Okoro reportedly building seven houses simultaneously in the latter city with the help of former Governor Godswill Akpabio and the current governor, Udom Emmanuel in Akwa Ibom state.

The online medium quoted a source as mentioning Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt as the judge that was rescued by Governor Wike. His identity had been kept as secret.

According to findings in the report, Justice Liman allegedly collected $2 million from the Ahmed Makarfi faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to give a judgement against the Ali Modu Sheriff faction.

Ahmed Makarfi's faction of the PDP was also indicted

Liman was said to have received the fund in Ghana as it was transferred by Governor Wike and was shared between himself and chief judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Ibrahim Auta.

Justice Auta is said to have been arrested by a different team of DSS operatives in Kano.

It was learnt that Wike mobilized thugs to counter the DSS and help move the money that was to be found in the judges apartment.

At the home of Justice Dimgba Nnamdi, his brother was said to have been assaulted.

READ ALSO: Attempt by DSS on Wike a sacrilege, says PDP

The report said Justice Muazu Pindiga, was moved from Gombe to Abuja where he has been making useful confessions concerning his role in a bribery scheme over the Rivers state election tribunal from which he was removed as a judge.

The DSS also invaded the home of Justice Muhammad Ladan Tsamiya, an Appeal Court judge recently retired compulsorily but he was not at home.

The DSS gave the full amount recovered from the raid of three of the judges as:

1. NAIRA - N93,558,000.00

2. DOLLARS - $530,087

3. POUNDS - 25,970

4. EURO - 5,680

There were also various foreign currencies apart from the declared amount. The DSS also recovered bank and real estate documents.

Source: Legit.ng
Designed for students who want a hands-on introduction to all aspects of narrative-driven virtual reality production, our 8-Week Narrative VR Workshop will help you establish the conceptual foundation and storytelling techniques to design and direct VR content. Over the course of the eight weeks, students focus on developing stories that can only be told in VR.

The narrative VR curriculum draws on relevant concepts from early VR content, live theater, amusement parks, video games, and other interactive/immersive experiences, which students can apply to their original projects. In this workshop students are introduced to the current technological landscape and industry tools, with the goal of building the skills theyll need to create their very own VR narratives. Throughout their time in the narrative VR workshop students will work with 360 camera rigs, lighting, spatialized sound, multiple post-production platforms, and directing actors and voice-over talent. The end goal of the program is for students to create, for a final project, an original piece of VR content, which they can execute using any of the tools at their disposal.

Students have the opportunity to work with:



Nikon Key Mission 360 camera

Unity 3D game engine

Samsung Gear 360 camera

HTC Vive headset and hand-held controllers

Mettle Skybox Suite plug-in for Adobe Premiere and After Effects

Kodak Orbit 360 camera

Sennheiser Ambeo VR 3D microphone

Google Daydream View + Pixel

To support the core narrative VR curriculum, students gather industry insights from demos by VR tech innovators, as well as guest lectures by content producers across retail, documentary, music, games, filmmaking, and beyond.

No prior experience is required to enroll in the 8-Week Narrative VR Workshop. Projects, equipment, and curriculum are subject to change.

Please note:

Students should come equipped with a 1TB external drive to save their work, and are invited to bring their own headset for viewing content. All other equipment will be provided.
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 8 (PTI) The USD 1 billion ambitious Swachh Bharat Rural Sanitation Project in India is an adaptation of a similar successful programme of Egypt, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has said while citing this as an example of sharing of global best practices.

"Knowledge is flowing across the organisation and to our client countries, driving creativity and innovation," Kim said in his address to the plenary session of the World Bank Group here.

advertisement

He stated that the World Bank has successfully transferred knowledge and experience across regions.

"Through our new structure of Global Practices, knowledge sharing across countries has become easier and faster. For example, when the Government of India came to the Bank to prepare a major programme to expand sanitation services for the poor, we were able to transfer knowledge and experience from Egypts Rural Sanitation Project and apply it in India," he said.

Kim stated that this sharing of knowledge resulted in the USD 1 billion Swachh Bharat Rural Sanitation Project in India, which applied knowledge of good service delivery -- in the areas of local governance, transparency and accountability to citizens -- that had already been taken to scale in Egypt.

"Thanks to our Global Practices, we are now working to share knowledge from these two projects globally. The changes we put in place were done for a reason: to help us better deliver results for you on the ground," he said.

"Its important to note that as we were implementing these reforms, you showed your support with a record 52-billion- dollar replenishment of International Development Association (IDA). And you encouraged us to boost International Bank for Reconstruction and Developments lending power through our Margins for Maneuver programme," he said, adding that the IBRDs loan revenues will exceed administrative expenses in the next fiscal year for the first time in a long while.

Citing another Indian example, Kim said he is encouraged by the work that the World Bank is doing now to crowd in private sector investment.

"India has one of the largest networks of roads in the world, but the roads are overwhelmed -- just 2 per cent of its national highways carry 40 per cent of traffic, causing bottlenecks that can limit productivity and slow economic growth," he said.

"In India, as in every other developing country, infrastructure is key to integrating economies and delivering services. To help improve Indias roads, International Finance Corporation (IFC) invested 250 million dollars in the Singapore-based firm Cube Highways. The firm is acquiring a portfolio of toll roads in India, injecting much- needed funds for road developers to complete their projects," the World Bank President said. PTI LKJ ASK ASK

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
Smart Link was recognized for its ongoing excellence in terms of customer services and providing unparalleled high quality services

By: Smart Link

Smart Link_Senior Executives of Smartlink with the

Contact

Nirmala Dsouza

***@oakconsulting.biz Nirmala Dsouza

End

-- Smart Link Contact Centers, a leading business process and contact centre outsourcing provider in Saudi Arabia, today announced that it has received two prestigious awards at the Middle East Call Centre Awards (MECC) 2016 held in Dubai recently. Smart Link's efforts were also recognised as their clients  Saudi Arabia's Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), Saudi Electricity Company, Saudi Credit and Savings Bank, National Aviation Service, Saudi Post, General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) also won top honours in a diverse range of categories.The MECC 2016 Awards, organized by Insights, recognizes the performance and service excellence of the best contact centres in the Middle East. Smart Link won the Best Business Development & Sales Strategy Award and the Best Sales Leads Generation Program Award under the Outsourced Services Provider Commercial Growth Category.In addition to these recognitions for the Company, Eng. Safwan Al Khatib, Managing Director of Smart Link was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his role and overall contributions towards the development, support and commitment of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Customer Care Contact Centres industry in the Middle East. Eng. Khatib's efforts in showcasing how the BPO industry can be both a commercial as well as profitable investment were lauded.Smart Link was recognized for its ongoing excellence in terms of customer services and providing unparalleled high quality services as well as its flexibility in expansion, growth and diversification in various sectors. Smart Link has managed to build a highly integrated, sophisticated service structure in a very short period of time, across diversified sectors in terms of service, technical expertise and operational excellence.Smart Link's efforts were also appreciated when six of its clients won awards at the event. The Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) was awarded the Best Mega sized Government Contact Centre - Operationally  400 Seats under the Best Government Contact Centre Category and the Mega Size Contact Centre Manager Of The Year in the Individual awards category. The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) won the Best Government Utilities Contact Centre under the Best Government Contact Centre Category. Saudi Credit and Savings Bank (Saudi SCSB) won the Best Government Finance Contact Centre  Lifestyle under the Best Industry Contact Centre Categories and the Best CRM Analytics Award in the Operational Excellence Category. Flynas won the Best Industry Contact Centre Award  Airlines in the Industry Specific Areas of Expertise Category and the Best Service to Sales Program Award in the Commercial Excellence Category. Saudi Post (KSASP) won the Best Government Monopoly Contact Centre under Best Government Contact Centre Category. Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) won the Best Government Contact Centre  Critical Services Award in the Best Government Contact Centre Category.About Smart LinkSmart Link is a subsidiary of Al-Khaleej Training & Education, the largest network of training centers in Saudi Arabia. Smart Link is one of the biggest outsourcing call centers and BPO Service providers in the region with state-of-the-art technology and capacity to accommodate high volume of agents.The pioneering, award-winning Riyadh-based company provides outbound and inbound teleservices for various business activities including lead generation, inbound customer service, help-desk, appointment scheduling, market research, surveys and client retention. Using the most advanced contact center technology in the industry and qualified customer service representatives, Smart Link is dedicated to helping organizations increase their business performance and strengthen their customer service. Smart Link's client list includes prominent organizations and government agencies in various fields of mission critical pivotal service inclusive of banking, energy, water services, tourism, telecomm, insurance, aviation, public services, E-learning and fast food.
Everyone benefits when cooperation runs smoothly However, people often act obstructively. Why do they do that? Professor of Social Psychology Carsten de Dreu researches this issue using a wide variety of methods, from brain scans to the role of religion.

Fear of being exploited

From winning a complex war to developing a life-saving drug: there are so many things that can only be achieved if people work together in harmony. They can then achieve impressive performances that also benefit the individual. So, why do colleagues or others so often make things difficult for one another? Empirical research carried out by De Dreu has shown that greed and fear are the basic reasons underlying problems with teamwork. 'People are afraid that their contribution will mainly benefit those people who themselves contribute nothing. That's why people hold back and invest in self-protection rather than cooperation.'

Experiments

De Dreu examined the strategies people use to maximise the benefits for themselves and to reduce the risk of being exploited. He conducts experiments where the participants can invest in self-protection or attacks on others, or they can choose to do nothing. When motivated by greed, people seem to invest mainly in self-protection and less in attacks on others. 'Fear is almost always present as a brake on cooperation, but it's more difficult to predict when greed will crop up.' The paradox is that fear among rival groups tends to result in people working better together. 'It seems to happen almost automatically, often without it even being discussed.'

What does our brain look like?

As Professor of Employment and Organisation Psychology at the University of Amsterdam, De Dreu has conducted a lot of research on cooperation within organisations. In Leiden he intends to approach the subject at a higher level of abstraction. 'We know a lot about what makes the best kind of leaders. Now I want to examine what our brain looks like when we are working together. I'm interested in that because cooperating with one another relies on very basic systems that we also use for other tasks, such as child-rearing.'

advertisement

Oxytocin, the cuddle hormone

He intends to use brain scans to look at which neurohormones play a role in cooperation, such as the 'cuddle hormone' oxytocin. Is more oxytocin produced when people are working together successfully? And can you influence cooperation by administering a dose of this hormone? 'This neurobiological approach has only really been used by psychologists in the past five years, and there are a lot of important research questions that have to be answered.'

The effect of religion and rules

De Dreu draws attention to his multidisciplinary approach. He is also interested in the effect of such 'institutions' as religion and legislation because these have an obvious influence on our behaviour. He will be working together with fellow scientists from other disciplines: sociologists, political scientists, legal specialists, religious experts and also biologists who will be examining the behaviour of rats, for example.

Managers in the scanner

De Dreu doesn't exclude the possibility that he will again be conducting some of his research in organisations. Until then he would welcome any managers would be willing to take part in his neurobiological research. 'I would love it if a lot of managers were willing to have scans while making decisions about their companies. But then they'd have to come in their masses, and that's not to easy to achieve.'
Many soybean varieties have a naturally occurring genetic resistance to the soybean cyst nematode, a major pest affecting the crop. The number of copies of the resistance gene varies among cultivars; a new method, developed by University of Illinois researchers, is able to efficiently quantify this variation for the first time. The new method has been tested in greenhouse trials to show that the more copies of the gene, the greater the resistance to soybean cyst nematode. Breeders can use this method to develop new soybean varieties with greater and more reliable resistance.

Soybean cyst nematode is the number one soybean pest worldwide, accounting for estimated annual losses of nearly $1.3 billion in the United States. Some soybean varieties have resistance to the tiny parasitic worms through conventional breeding of naturally occurring resistance genes, but the current level of resistance is becoming less reliable.

"Our interest is in finding new sources of resistance, because the sources that people have been using are breaking down. Nematodes are becoming better at overcoming the resistance we have in current cultivars. We are also, interested in improving our understanding of how this resistance works so we can do a better job of selecting for it," says University of Illinois plant breeder, Brian Diers.

In 2012, U of I geneticist Matthew Hudson, Diers, and Andrew Bent, a collaborator at the University of Wisconsin, discovered the naturally occurring genetic locus (region on a chromosome) that is critical in controlling resistance to soybean cyst nematode, but that was only the beginning.

"It turns out that at this locus, there's a repeat of four genes," Diers explains. "Different diverse soybean types that are resistant have different numbers of repeats. For example, in PI 88788, which is the original source of SCN resistance for most soybean varieties in the Midwest, there are nine repeats of those four genes. In the susceptible varieties, there's only one copy of those four genes. Another source of resistance, Peking, has three copies of those repeats."

This difference in repeat number is known as copy number variation, and is more common than previously thought. But before now, there was no easy or cost-effective way to quantify the number of gene repeats. Using a method recently developed in Hudson's laboratory, the number of gene repeats can be accurately monitored by measuring the ratio between two genes.

Although the researchers suspected that having more copies of the gene sequence might confer a greater degree of resistance, they had no way of testing their suspicions before the new assay was developed. After getting the new assay, the team set to work again.

"We grew soybean plants in a greenhouse, inoculated them with nematodes, and then used the assay to determine how many repeats each plant had. As predicted, we found that the more repeats a plant had, the more resistant it was," Diers explained. "This proved that the number of repeats is important."

Armed with this information, the researchers plan to look at the number of repeats present in existing nematode-resistant soybean varieties in an attempt to explain why some display better resistance than others in field settings. They also plan to improve breeding programs by ensuring parental lines have the maximum number of repeats available in a given genotype, and to select for new variants with additional copies that may show superior resistance.

"Ultimately," Diers adds, "if we can select for more copies, that could benefit farmers because we could get stronger resistance. Breeders will now have better tools to select for and verify resistance."

The research described here is published in two articles. "An efficient method for measuring copy number variation applied to improvement of nematode resistance" is published in The Plant Journal. Lead author Tong Geon Lee is now at the University of Florida. Diers and Hudson, from U of I, are co-authors. "Impact of Rhg1 copy number, type, and interaction with Rhg4 on resistance to Heterodera glycines in soybean" is published in Theoretical and Applied Genetics. Lead author Neil Yu is now at Monsanto, and co-author Daniele Rosa is at the Federal University of Vicosa, Brazil. Lee, Hudson, and Diers are additional co-authors. Both studies were supported by the United Soybean Board.
Any notion that current palm oil production practices in southeast Asian peat swamp forests are environmentally responsible or sustainable in practice is ludicrous, according to wildfire expert Mark Cochrane, a senior scientist at the Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence at South Dakota State University.

Since 2013, he has been using satellite imaging, field studies and modeling to help the Indonesian Forest Research and Development Agency assess the progress being made to reduce these carbon emissions from peat swamp forests. The tropical peat forests in southeast Asia store an estimated 69 gigatonnes of carbon.

Cochrane is one of the 139 scientists who have refuted comments made by Malaysian Minister of Modernisation, Agriculture and Rural Economy Douglas Uggah Embas. The scientists represent 115 government, academic, industry and nongovernmental organizations from 20 nations. The letter to the editor is in Global Change Biology.

Even the oil palm and pulpwood companies are realizing the constraints and risks involved in operating in the peat swamp forests, according to Cochrane. Instead, sustainable methods of growing crops that can withstand the wet condition of the peatlands should be cultivated -- and those methods have not yet been developed.
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.

"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."
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.

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."
A team of researchers from Solar Energy Institute at Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM) are developing a novel system that allows the storage energy in molten silicon which is the most abundant element in Earth's crust. The system, which has been recently published in the Energy Journal and has patent pending status in the United States, and aims to develop a new generation of low cost solar thermal stations and becoming a innovative storage system of electricity and cogeneration for urban centers.

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.

Silicon has unique properties that confer the ability to store more than 1 MWh of energy in a cubic meter, ten times more than using salts. Molten silicon is thermally isolated from its environment until such energy is demanded, when this occurs, the heat stored is converted into electricity. Alejandro Datas, the research promoter of this project said: "At such high temperatures, silicon intensely shines in the same way that the Sun does, thus photovoltaic cells, thermophotovoltaic cells in this case, can be used to convert this incandescent radiation into electricity. The use of thermophotovoltaic cells is key in this system, since any other type of generator would hardly work at extreme temperatures.

In addition, these cells can produce 100 times more electric power per unit area than conventional solar cells. These thermophotovoltaic cells are able to reach higher conversion efficiencies, even over 50%.

The final result is extremely compact system with no mobile parts, silent and able to store up to10 times more of energy than existing solutions using abundant and inexpensive materials.

The first application of these devices is expected to be in solar thermal energy sector, thus avoiding the complex systems that use heat transfer fluids, valves and turbines to produce electricity. By simplifying the setting, the energy costs generated could dramatically reduce, and along with a higher storage capacity can turn this solution into a profitable solution system and an appropriate alternative of renewable generation.

These systems could be also used to storage electricity in the housing sector and to manage all energy needs (electricity and heating) in urban areas at medium and long term.

The team of UPM researchers has recently achieved funds through the EXPLORA project from Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Now, they are starting to manufacture the first lab-scale prototype.

In parallel, researchers have started the business project SILSTORE that aims to industrialize these results. The project has been recognized as one of the best startups born in 2015 at UPM.
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.
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.
Indian army has made public the recoveries made from the terrorists killed at LoC in Naugam sector. The items and explosives have Pakistan's markings.

Grenade made in Pakistan Ordnance Factory was among the recoveries made from slain terrorists at Naugam.

By India Today Web Desk: Indian army on Saturday provided evidence to prove that the terrorists in Naugam sector on October 6, came from Pakistan. Four terrorists were eliminated by the army on the line of control as they tried to infiltrate.

The Naugam incident occurred after foiled attempt of suspected terrorists to attack army camp at Langate in Handwara region the same day in the morning. The terrorists had fired at two sentry posts of 30 Rashtriya Rifles camp and fled.

advertisement

But, in Naugam sector security forces exchanged fire with the militants, killing four of them. Two days later army listed recoveries from the terrorists exposing Pakistan once again.

Plastic explosives recovered from terrorists at Naugam.



READ: Blowback from Pakistan: How prepared Indian soldiers are

TERROR- MADE IN PAKISTAN

Pakistan Ordinance Factory markings were found on the hand grenades and the UBGL grenades recovered from the terrorists killed at Naugam. The recovery confirmed Pakistan's complicity in abetting and equipping terrorism.

According to the statement issued by the northern command, the hand grenades recovered are ARGES 84, which are manufactured by Pakistan Ordinance Factories (Link http://www.pof.gov.pk/productdetail.php?proid=47&catid=7).

Pakistan origin markings are also seen on the medicines and eatable items recovered.

Cotton pack recovered from slain terrorists at Naugam.

READ: Last village before LoC: Scared of war, scarred by apathy

THE RECOVERIES

A large amount of highly inflammable material, like six plastic explosive slabs, six bottles of petroleum jelly, six bottles of inflammable liquid and six lighters were also recovered, the army said.

Similar inflammable material was recovered at Poonch Incident of September 11 and Uri Incident of September 18, the army statement said.

The listing of evidence by the Indian army exposes the sinister design of Pakistan to aid terrorists in causing maximum destruction.

Inflammable materials recovered in Naugam sector.

READ: Surgical strike fallout: Pakistan's ISI chief likely to be replaced

PAKISTAN'S MARKINGS EVIDENT

Other items recovered from the terrorists include:

(a) AK 47 Rifles - 04

(b) Magazine AK 47 - 16

(c) Ammunition - 349 Rounds

(d) Radio set- 1

(e) GPS- 1

(f) Binocular- 1

(g) Wire cutter -2

(h) Samsung mobile - 1

(i) Rain Ponchos & Haversack - 4(each)

(j) First Aid kit - 1

(k) Clothing and eatable items

First aid bands recovered from slain terrorists.

Eatables recovered from terrorists in Naugam sector.

All items have markings proving that these were manufactured in Pakistan. The terrorists were killed while trying to cross the line of control.



ALSO READ:

Three infiltration bids foiled, militant killed

advertisement







--- ENDS ---
Nurturing caregiving from a few consistent individuals helps to minimize the potential emotional and mental-health development issues that can arise from spending the early years of a child's life in an institution. Within such facilities, infants and toddlers reared in daily contact with responsive and warm professionals display better physical, cognitive, and social development. After they are placed into families, they have less aggressive and defiant tendencies and show fewer externalizing behaviors.

These are the primary findings of a newly released study led by researchers within the University of Pittsburgh School of Education's Office of Child Development. A follow-up report to a previous in-depth research endeavor, the study acknowledges that infants and toddlers who reside in traditional institutions for extended periods are more likely to exhibit internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems even after being placed into families for some years. The recent study sought to determine whether positive interventions in these institutions would be associated with improvements in their behavior after transitioning into family care.

"Unfortunately, many children around the world are reared in a regimented fashion by a large number of individuals who provide only the basics of care and support in a businesslike fashion with very little else -- no response to crying, no conversation, no play, no hugs," said Robert B. McCall, one of the study's lead researchers and a co-director of Pitt's Office of Child Development. "The typical neglectful institutional method minimizes sensitive and responsive caregiver-child relationships and produces chronic stress, which leads to higher rates of deficient development and behavioral patterns. Conversely, improved caregiver-child interactions and relationships might be expected to minimize such adverse outcomes, leading to happier and more well adjusted children. We believe these findings are potentially significant to professionals seeking to improve alternative care facilities and train their staff to care for the children in their care."

"This research shows that the characteristics of typical family life are important contributors to the development of infants and toddlers, even when implemented in an institution," said Christina J. Groark, lead researcher and a co-director of Pitt's Office of Child Development. "The quality and consistency of early caregiver-child interactions appear to be the most important elements of childcare, regardless of whether the children live in an institution or a family."

The study, conducted with Russian colleagues, observed the children, facilities, and personnel of three separate institutions -- also known as Russian Baby Homes -- in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Researchers followed 135 children who had spent at least three months in one of the three institutions. Participating children departed for domestic families either during the study or up to six years later and resided in those families for at least one year. The children were between 18 months and ten years of age.

For the study, one Baby Home was allowed to conduct business practices as usual -- representative of the status quo -- while the other two were asked to install specific childcare interventions. Staff members within the second facility were instructed to interact with the children in a "parent-like" manner -- expressing warm, caring, and sensitive mannerisms -- the same as they would with their own children. The third institution was asked to implement the same parent-like mannerism intervention as well as a series of caregiver-child policy changes. These changes included cutting the number of different caregivers the child experienced regularly and having those same one or two professionals consistently playing a role in the child's daily life. In essence, the policy changes implemented in the second and third facilities looked to mimic parent-child relations as much as possible; in addition, the third Baby Home was made more "family-like" in operation.

When transferred into domestic families, researchers found that the parents of children from the intervention-implemented institutions rated them as being less indiscriminately friendly with strangers and that the children displayed fewer incidents of aggressive behavior, especially when compared to children who experienced longer stints in the status quo group home.
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 patients 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 patients use of health care resources and his or her sense of financial toxicity, said the studys 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 patients 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 patients 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.

advertisement

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. Weve 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.

Its 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 patients 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.
MINNEAPOLIS It started as a canning factory along the Mexican border near El Paso, Texas, almost 100 years ago.

The founders vision: introduce Americans to Mexican food by selling canned tomatoes and pinto beans that would not offend more temperamental taste buds. Today, the brand known globally as Old El Paso sells stand-up taco shells and guacamole in squeeze bottles to people around the world.

The line became part of General Mills vast packaged food portfolio in 2001, and it has been one of the companys big successes. As a gateway for consumers into new flavours, Old El Paso has benefited from the worlds growing love affair with Mexican food.

The dominant Mexican food brand in the U.S. grocery store, Old El Paso controls 16.4 per cent of the Mexican aisle, according to Nielsen. In Europe, where fewer food companies sell Mexican-inspired food, Old El Paso commands half the market.

Old El Paso is our largest business in convenient meals (segment) and its driving growth around the world, General Mills President Jeff Harmening said at a conference in September. Despite its origin as an American brand, this business is now larger outside the United States.

General Mills, like many other big food companies, has struggled to maintain its market position as consumers migrate toward smaller, new brands that are perceived as healthier. Many of the companys famous brands, like Hamburger Helper and Betty Crocker cake mixes, have experienced steady sales declines.

In response, General Mills, headquartered in suburban Minneapolis, recently separated its brands into two camps: growth and foundational. The company said it will invest more money in products that fall under the growth column, which contains the likes of Annies Homegrown organic products, gluten-free Cheerios, the protein-packed Greek yogurt segment and Old El Paso.

At first blush, Old El Paso might seem an odd bedfellow with the other growth brands, many of which more clearly align with shifting consumer priorities toward organic, fresh and unprocessed foods. As consumers increasingly shop the stores perimeter where meat, produce and dairy are found, many centre-of-the-store brands have floundered.

But while Old El Pasos marquee products are staples found in the centre aisles, the brand also harnesses several consumer shifts.

Its sales are boosted by the popularity of tacos, Old El Pasos core product, which land at the intersection of two key food trends: freshness and customization. U.S. sales of Old El Paso products in the United States were up 1.5 per cent last year, according to Nielsen.

Tacos are the most democratic food. People get whatever they want, said Brad Hiranaga, director of marketing for Old El Paso. And, with the vegetables, you are introducing things that you know are good for you.

__

The brand was among the earliest U.S. companies to try and bring Mexican food north of the border a century ago.

The company, originally called Mountain Pass Canning Co., started in 1917. It changed the name to Old El Paso in 1938 and continued to roll out additional products that pushed Americans to experiment. In 1946, Old El Paso became the first company outside of Mexico to launch a hot sauce.

Pet Inc. bought the canning company in 1968, and the following year it introduced the first Mexican meal kit.

Pillsbury then purchased Pet Inc. in 1995 before General Mills finally got its hands on the brand in 2001 when it acquired Pillsbury and all of its brands.

Today, Old El Paso sells products like flour tortillas in a bowl shape and barbecue-flavoured taco kits.

The brands growth has always been linked to the growing popularity of Mexican food in the United States. As Mexican-Americans migrated north, so did the cuisine, said Gustavo Arellano, author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.

Mexican is now Americas second-most popular ethnic cuisine, just behind Italian.

A lot of the elements that go into Hispanic foods are on trend, said Darren Seifer, a food and beverage analyst with the NPD Group. They really do address freshness in their cooking. They have fresh chicken, fresh veggies and they cook with oils not butters.

Packages of Old El Paso taco shells now proclaim they are made with just three ingredients: corn flour, palm oil and salt. This labelling shift is a nod to skeptical consumers who want more transparency about the ingredients that are in their food.

__

Now a commonplace cuisine in nearly every corner of America, Mexican is a lesser-known food in Europe, Canada and Australia.

In the United States, consumers eat Mexican food at home 60 times a year, compared to four or five times in Europe. But interest is growing, and General Mills hopes to be the one to introduce the cuisine elsewhere.

Sales of Old El Paso increased 2 per cent in Canada and 3 per cent in Europe last year, the company reported in June. The brand has 72 per cent of the Mexican food market in France.

We just see so much upside globally because tacos are relatively unknown, Hiranaga said.

The company tries to listen to what consumers want and create products accordingly. As a result, General Mills introduces different products in different markets like crispy chicken fajitas, barbecue taco kits and extra mild spices that are not typically associated with Mexican foods.

Now we see not just new migration bringing in their cuisine, but just a continuous exchange of foods, Arellano said. Mexican food is ever growing. Its ever evolving. And why do they love Mexican food? Because of the flavours.

__

__

SHARE:
SAN JOSE, CALIF.Silicon Valley has long lured ambitious entrepreneurs into shiny co-working spaces and startup accelerators, promising them the chance to create the next Google, Facebook or Uber.

But the reality is most startups fail, a risk that some say is growing as funding that once poured into the booming tech market begins to slow. For founders and employees, the results can be devastating.

It sounds good on paper, but thats not really how it is, Dr. Michael Freeman said of the Silicon Valley dream. A psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco who studies and counsels entrepreneurs, Freeman likened the tech boom to the Gold Rush. A lot of people in 1849 came to California looking for gold. And some people found it  and most didnt.

Lately, its the entrepreneurs in the didnt find gold category who are making headlines. San Francisco-based smart motorcycle helmet maker Skully ran out of funds and shut down in August after its founders were accused of spending company money on luxury cars, vacations and strippers.

Weeks later, job platform WrkRiot went offline after a former employee claimed the founders forged wire transfers because they couldnt pay workers.

Those failures can be crushing for employees  and not just because they find themselves out of a job. Carlos Rodriguez, Skullys former vice president of sales and marketing, said the companys demise was especially painful because he was personally invested in Skullys mission to prevent motorcycle accidents.

He worked 80 or 90 hours a week, spending some nights in a hotel to be closer to work. His children had Skully stickers on their laptops. As the company fell apart, Rodriguez pulled himself away for a preplanned trip to France with his wife for their anniversary. On the plane, he was hit hard by what happened.

I was looking out the window, and I just started bawling, Rodriguez said. I was saddened for customers ... I was grieving for them. I was grieving for the work I put in for the development of this product. I was grieving for the time that I was away from my family.

Now Rodriguez works as an adviser for a few other tech companies, but they compensate him mostly in equity, forcing him to live off his savings while he hunts for another job. Despite his experiences at Skully, hes considering signing on with another small startup.

You can have a greater impact, he said, whereas in corporate America youre literally a name on a list.

Zirtual founder and CEO Maren Kate Donovan felt a similar heartbreak when her startup went under last year.

It was very much like several deaths, she said. It was the death of hopes and dreams. It was the death of a community that I and my co-founders had spent five years building ... It was absolutely devastating, definitely one of the worst things Ive ever been through.

Zirtual, a San Francisco- and Las Vegas-based startup, matched small-business owners with remote online assistants. The company was ultimately resurrected after being acquired by Startups.co, but Donovan didnt stay.

Silicon Valley hadnt prepared Donovan for failure. People rarely talk about startups that dont make it, Donovan said. Now she offers one piece of advice to other entrepreneurs: Get a therapist  youre going to need one.

Failures dont just affect the founders and employees. A startups customers also pay the price when the company collapses.

Emilie Fairbanks, a lawyer who runs a small landlord-tenant law practice in Washington, D.C., used a Zirtual assistant for three years before waking up to an email that said the company was no more. Fairbanks panicked.

She changed the passwords her assistant used, got a new credit card and ran damage control with clients who were used to emailing her assistant directly and now were seeing their emails bounce back. It was disruptive, and Fairbanks worried it made her look unprofessional.

It really has made me less willing to use other startup services, she said.

Still, for entrepreneurs, failure is nearly a Silicon Valley rite of passage.

The cost of failure has gone down pretty dramatically ... and thats a good thing in some respects, but thats also a bad thing, said Harvard Business School professor and startup expert Shikhar Ghosh. It creates a certain recklessness.

Digital publishing company Mode Media, which was valued at $1 billion and rumored to be on the verge of an initial public offering a few years ago, became another Silicon Valley casualty last month. Mode struck advertising deals between bloggers and third-party companies, posting ads on the blogs and doling out cash to the bloggers.

When Mode shut down, many of those bloggers claimed they were owed thousands of dollars.

Ill be honest, I cried, parenting blogger Jeanine Macintosh of Toronto wrote in an email. She says Mode owes her almost $1,300  a chunk of cash that could feed her large family for three weeks. I just had baby number seven ... and count on every cent I do make from my blog.

Sometimes the money runs out for employees, too. In a scathing blog post in August about an anonymous startup later revealed as WrkRiot, former employee Penny Kim described waiting for paycheques that never came as the companys funds dried up and the founder made empty promises.

Its not an uncommon complaint in Silicon Valley. Founders frequently put off paying employees as they wait out their next round of funding, even though the practice is illegal, said employment attorney Sebastian Miller.

And if that funding falls through, often theres no money left to pay back those wages.

Ghosh estimates that between 70 and 75 per cent of venture-backed startups dont return the money investors put in  and of those, more than half return nothing. Venture capital database CB Insights tracked more than 1,000 startups that raised seed rounds in 2009 and 2010, and found that by the end of 2015, less than half secured a second round of funding. Just 22 per cent achieved a sale or IPO, and 1 percent reached a value of $1 billion.

Startups may fail because theres no market for their service or product, their technology doesnt work or because they grow too quickly or too slowly.

But personality also comes into play  entrepreneurs tend to have an appetite for risk, an elevated level of self-confidence and a tendency toward aggression, Freeman said. Those qualities can be effective in business, but they also can make a founder unwilling to compromise or listen to his or her board, factors that can lead to a companys implosion.

Those personality traits may also be what keeps some bruised and battered entrepreneurs coming back for more. After Zirtual crashed, Donovan considered jobs at large corporations. But in the end, she signed on as chief operating officer at Roam, a startup that rents international co-living spaces.

At the end of the day, she said, Id much rather do something thats a little high risk and really, really love what Im doing.

SHARE:
Sperm and egg banks will be required to review donors medical records and conduct more genetic testing under proposed new Canadian standards for assisted reproduction, which will be unveiled within two weeks, the Star has learned.

Developed by the Canadian Standards Association at the request of Health Canada, the new draft standards are intended to bring the countrys woefully outdated regulatory framework around assisted reproduction into the 21st century, says Dr. Arthur Leader, chair of a CSA subcommittee on assisted reproduction.

Rigorous screening requirements would apply to those who donate sperm and eggs within Canada as well as abroad, when intended for export to Canada. Most donated sperm and eggs used in Canada comes from abroad.

Had these improvements already been in place, its unlikely the sperm of a U.S. man who turned out to have been diagnosed with a number of serious mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, would have made its way across the border, Leader says.

If there had been a validated medical record, they would have caught this case, he said.

Chris Aggeles had been advertised by Georgia-based sperm bank Xytex Corp. as exceptionally healthy, based on a medical history questionnaire he had filled out. His sperm was subsequently used in the creation of at least 36 children in Canada, the United States and Britain.

But the truth about his health was revealed only after Xytex mistakenly released his name to some mothers in an email. Until then, he had been anonymous.

Angie Collins, a Port Hope, Ont., woman who is mother to a nine-year-old boy created from Aggeles sperm, is thrilled about the proposed changes, particularly the requirement for sperm banks to check donors medical questionnaire against their health records.

Collins is one of a number of mothers who is suing Xytex.

Until now, the honour system has been the relied-upon method and it is clearly ineffective. This would help to prevent situations like ours from arising. Parents would not have to spend years wondering if their child will or will not inherit the donors known debilitating mental health conditions, she said.

The CSAs new draft standards are intended to underpin improvements to the regulatory framework of assisted human reproduction legislation. They are being released for public commentary.

Suggestions are most welcome because we want the best standards in the world. The hope is that Health Canada will reference these standards in their entirely in their regulations, Leader said.

The news of the pending release of the draft standards comes a week after Health Canada announced plans to strengthen and clarify the regulations in the Assisted Human Reproduction Act.

Canadas current semen regulations are focused primarily around screening donor sperm for sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C and gonorrhea.

There exist no regulations for donor eggs or donor embryos.

The draft standards also call for:

Infectious disease screening for donor eggs and embryos.

Genetic testing of sperm, egg and embryo donors from communities known to be carriers of specific illnesses. For example, Thallasemia is a blood disorder that is more prevalent in people from parts of Asia and the Mediterranean.

Relaxing requirements for directed donations so that sperm and eggs donated by known donors rather than anonymous ones do not have to be quarantined for 180 days.

The proposed standards also spell out what expenses sperm and egg donors, and surrogates can be reimbursed for. This would include, for example, travel and accommodation.

Dr. Jeffrey Roberts, President of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, said the new draft standards are welcomed by the doctors, nurses, scientists and psychologists who work in the field of assisted reproduction.

I think the standards are going to provide direction and clarity on one big aspect of what we do: How we screen individuals for third-party reproduction, said Roberts, who provided input into their development.

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather (Mount Royal), who has been calling for more modern rules and laws around assisted reproduction, said he is pleased to hear that new standards are on there way.

My understanding of the draft regulations are that they meet the standards we had suggested to ensure that nobody can again be faced with choosing a sperm donor on false pretenses. I am very pleased.

SHARE:
OTTAWA  The chief commissioner for the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women knows the world is watching her team  and she wants to assure Canadians much is happening behind the scenes, even if it doesnt seem like it.

We are moving at great speed but we are also being careful about what we are doing, Marion Buller said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Bullers remarks come after the Native Womens Association of Canada (NWAC) commented earlier this week on a lack of visible progress on the inquiry  a process budgeted to cost $53.8 million and take two years.

Family members, loved ones have been waiting for decades to be heard, NWACs president Francyne Joe said in a statement.

We recognize that its a big task to start a national inquiry but the lack of communication has been disappointing and worrying.

Part of the problem, Buller said, was in the way the inquiry was announced this summer, leading people to mistakenly believe sessions would start immediately.

Thats unfortunate that happened, she said.

Those expectations were built inappropriately and unfortunately. However, when you look at the start times ... for other inquiries and other commissions, we are actually doing very, very well.

The five commissioners are now in the process of hiring staff and have named an executive director: Michele Moreau, the executive director of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice.

The inquiry headquarters will open in Vancouver next week, Buller added, noting this will likely serve as a temporary space because there are plans to move on to reserve land in Metro Vancouver.

Thats where we belong, she said.

Buller, the first female First Nations judge in British Columbia, also said the commissioners are giving a lot of thought to the hearings because they will involve speaking with real people who are hurting.

She said she can assure the families they are carefully putting together a process that will achieve the goal of doing no harm.

We are borrowing from the medical profession but we really want to ensure that our process supports the families before, during and after the time that they spend with us telling us their stories, she said.

Also, we want to make sure we are culturally appropriate because indigenous cultures across Canada are radically different from each other.

Families will be given options on how to participate in the inquiry process, she noted, including the chance to speak publicly at community gatherings or in private sessions.

The hearings are not expected to start until early 2017, with an interim report due in November of next year.

I have no doubt that the whole world is watching but I work with a wonderful team of commissioners and we share the load, Buller said.

We are all mindful of public scrutiny ... Weve had inquiries from people all over the world so we are very much aware of that.

SHARE:
The true teaching of Islam has been misinterpreted by clerics, says the leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community had harsh words for those who commit and perpetuate cruelties in the name of Islam.

These clerics or so called extremist mullahs  they have really misconstrued the true teachings of the Holy Quran and most of the Muslims are just ignorant of the true teachings, said the Caliph, addressing a press conference on Friday at the International Centre in Mississauga.

There is no commandment that advocates suicide bombing, killing of people, committing brutality or heinous acts against fellow human beings, he said.

If Muslims follow the true teaching of Islam or if they follow the true teaching of the Holy Quran, they can change themselves, the Caliph added. First thing is to reform the clerics I dont know where people get this message from

Members of the Ahmadiyya sect face persecution in some countries, including from other Muslims, some of whom believe Ahmadis are heretics.

The main message of Islam is to do good to God and other people, the Caliph added.

The message love for all, hatred for none is the cornerstone of Ahmadiyya teachings, and has never held more importance than in this day and age, he said. The atrocities committed by a small minority of Muslims  have unfortunately become the public face of Islam, he said.

One of the ways to combat terrorism is to preach the true teaching of Islam, the Caliph said.

It is a slow process, he said. But one day, ultimately, we shall win the hearts of people and then brutalities will be stopped.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Caliph gave a sermon where a 25,000-strong crowd of believers recharged their spiritual batteries.

Sprinkled with anecdotes and stories, the Caliph told his flock that harming anyone is haram (forbidden); before doing something ask whether this will make Allah happy; and urged them to be kind to their fellow human beings, whatever their faith.

The Caliph inaugurated the three-day, 40th annual convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslims, which is expected to be attended by thousands of believers, according to the organizers. As part of his six-week trip, he will also be visiting Ottawa, and meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

RELATED:

Caliph touches down in Toronto

SHARE:
The Toronto Stars Rachel Mendleson is the winner of Innocence Canadas second Tracey Tyler Award, for her investigative work on the Motherisk lab.

Innocence Canada, an organization that works to exonerate innocent people, tweeted its congratulations to Mendleson on Thursday evening.

The Canadian non-profit organization, once known as the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, named the award after the Stars late legal affairs reporter two years ago.

The Motherisk lab shut down in 2015 after a review that sprang from Mendlesons investigation which found the lab had conducted hair drug tests for years using a methodology described by experts as falling short of the gold-standard test.

A damning report by retired appeal court justice Susan Lang concluded that Motherisk drug tests used in child custody and criminal proceedings were inadequate and unreliable. The report prompted the creation of a provincial commission that will review potentially thousands of individual cases from the lab over the next two years.

Tyler, who died in 2012 at the age 50, was a tireless advocate for the wrongfully convicted.

The award was presented to Mendleson at the organizations Wrongful Conviction Day event in Toronto.

Its a tremendous honour to receive this award. I never had the privilege of meeting Tracey, but her legacy looms large for me, as it does for any other reporter who covers justice issues in this country, said Mendleson, who is currently on maternity leave.

She was the consummate beat reporter, whose determination to cover every angle of a story and follow it to the end is a source of inspiration.

This is a shining example of dogged old-fashioned reporting. Rachel kept going in the face of serious and frustrating official blocking and in the end won the day for a good cause: social justice and the truth, said Michael Cooke, the Stars editor.

The Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted grew out of the movement to free Guy Paul Morin in 1992.

Since then, volunteer lawyers have helped exonerate 20 people, who have spent a combined 190 years in prison.

SHARE:
Unbelievably, the accused managed to escape after pushing away the cops who were escorting him just in front of the Arthur road jail, where there is heavy police protection.

By Saurabh Vaktania: A 30-year-old accused escaped today as he was being taken to Arthur road jail in Mumbai. Unbelievably, the accused managed to escape after pushing away the cops who were escorting him just in front of the Arthur road jail, where there was heavy police protection.

INCIDENT RAISES QUESTIONS

Departmental inquiry is being initiated against cops who were escorting the accused and a manhunt has been launched to locate the accused. Sources say the cops who were escorting the accused are likely to get suspended for the mistake.

advertisement

The incident has raised serious questions on the competency and training of the Mumbai Police. The incident took place early in the evening on Friday and the case is registered at the NM Joshi Marg police station in which jurisdiction the Arthur road jail falls.

The accused who has escaped is Sajid Sheikh who has been involved in several cased of theft in the past.

HOW IT UNFOLDED

A week back RAK Marg police arrested Sheikh after he was caught red handed during a robbery. Later in the course of investigation, it was found he was wanted in several other cases too. He was produced in front of the court and was sentenced to judicial custody.

Two days back he was produced before the court again and his custody was extended. A team of LA (local arms) was escorting him to Arthur road jail. A constable was holding on to his hand while getting down from vehicle at the main entrance gate of jail. Sheikh pushed the constable away and started running towards Mumbai Central railway yard. There was reportedly a heavy presence of cops at the location and several of them chased after him. The cops however failed to locate Sheikh after he ran past the railway yard. An inquiry has been initiated to examine how the cops let him get away.

ALSO READ:

Delhi: Police nab criminals responsible for 45 cases of burglary

Man lynched for theft bid, three arrested: Police



--- ENDS ---
In 2010, a judge ruled that Nosakhare Ohenhens version of events detailing his arrest, including the allegation that Toronto police planted drugs on him, to be a fabrication and totally implausible.

He was convicted on a number of drug and firearm offences, as well as for resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. He was sentenced to nine years in prison, with credit for time spent in custody since his 2008 arrest.

After having completed his sentence, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered a new trial in 2015, finding the judge made errors in assessing Ohenhens credibility.

And then last month, following the conclusion of that second trial, a different judge ruled that he largely accepted Ohenhens evidence, that the police officers testimony at the retrial was troubling, and that Ohenhens rights to not be arbitrarily detained and unreasonably searched, as well as his right to a lawyer, were totally and shockingly ignored by the police.

Three years after he was released from prison, Ohenhen was acquitted of all charges  the very same charges for which he spent nearly six years behind bars.

I actually shed a tear in the courtroom, I didnt think anything like this was possible, Ohenhen, 36, told the Star. After the first trial, I was destroyed, because I was expecting I was going to go home.

Most importantly for Ohenhen, Superior Court Justice Michael Quigley found that the case also raises the serious prospect that police planted drugs on him.

Despite the evidential factors that point in that direction, I remain uncertain of whether that actually occurred, though it certainly remains distinctly possible and arguably probable on the evidence, Quigley said.

In prison, Ohenhen said he was subjected to fights, riots and lockdowns. He was stabbed several times, and has a scar on his left hand to prove it.

Ill never get those years back, he said.

Ohenhen was finally released from prison to a halfway house in December 2013. He now lives with his girlfriend, and wants to get on with his life by starting a family and a record label.

A big reason for the delay in getting his appeal heard was the fact that the court reporter from his first trial had retired and the recording could not be located.

I kept calling from prison, wondering when the appeal would happen. I waited a whole year, Ohenhen said. Then two years. Gone. Three years. Gone.

His appeal lawyer, Anthony Moustacalis, explained that under the previous system for court recording, the court reporter who worked on the trial was the only person who could certify the transcript for the appeal. He said it took years to track down the reporter and the recording. (Under the new system, any certified transcriptionist can access a court recording at the courthouse and certify the transcript.)

Even though he had already served his sentence when the appeal was finally ready to be heard in 2015, Ohenhen said he wanted to go ahead with it, to clear his name.

I just cant forget about it, he said.

Toronto polices professional standards unit is now investigating the matter, said police spokesman Mark Pugash.

We are pleased with the decision of the court, said Ohenhens lawyer for the second trial, Luc Leclair. At the end of the day, justice and the rule of law prevailed.

Ohenhen, then 28, was arrested near Parkdale Collegiate Institute on Aug. 21, 2008, according to Quigleys ruling from the retrial. Two officers had varying stories over why he was pulled over  one said because he didnt have his seatbelt on, the other because of loud music.

But the judge said Ohenhens version was much more likely, that he had parked his green Jaguar in a parking lot and was walking toward a friends house when he encountered the police at the entrance to the lot, asking for his identification.

The officers evidence about carding practices in Toronto and the plain and legitimate concerns about racial stereotyping raises the concern that Mr. Ohenhen was pulled over at least in part because he was a black man driving an expensive car, Quigley wrote.

Const. Kyle Mildenberger testified he saw a bulge at Ohenhens waist and lifted up his jersey, believing it was a firearm, but it turned out to just be Ohenhens belt buckle. He claimed that he only touched the belt area, but the judge noted that the booking video from the police station plainly shows that the jersey worn by Mr. Ohenhen has been grabbed and stretched and torn in the upper chest area.

In the process, Const. Adam Landry had radioed for information on the owner of the Jaguar. Ohenhen, who did own the vehicle, testified that he knew the broadcast would have also identified him as an individual with a criminal past and to be approached cautiously.

According to Quigleys ruling, Ohenhen had an extensive and varied criminal record that involves drug trafficking offenses and firearms possession. He plainly admitted to dealing drugs, Quigley said.

I didnt pull the wool over anyones eyes, he told the Star. I wanted the system to know I was being honest here. It happened. Growing up in Parkdale, when I was younger, I had problems. Im not an angel.

As he heard the radio broadcast to Landry, Ohenhen ran.

Mr. Ohenhen said he ran because he knew the officer was not going to let him go after hearing that broadcast, Quigley wrote. The officer was aggressive and had pulled his shirt when he told him he could not leave until permitted to do so. The officer gave him no reason why he was being detained or why he had been stopped.

He was soon apprehended and brought face first to the ground. He testified he heard an officer say Well think of something.

About a half hour prior to Ohenhens arrest, Const. Scott Tait and Const. Craig Westell had stopped a young man nearby and confiscated crack cocaine and marijuana from him. Westell testified that he put the drugs in his left breast pocket.

They arrived at the scene of Ohenhens arrest to find three officers trying to subdue him. Police said they conducted a pat-down search and said they found a baggy of drugs and a wad of money. Ohenhens car was also searched, even though it was admitted in court that police didnt have a warrant.

Inside the car  which the judge found had been illegally searched  police said they discovered a fully loaded handgun.

Ohenhen was placed in the back of a squad car, but officers waited about 25 minutes to transport him to the station.

All of them claimed to have no idea why they waited 25 minutes to transport or what they were talking about during that hiatus, Quigley wrote. I find the more likely explanation was to start to get their stories straight before the accused was paraded before the sergeant and booked.

At the police division, Ohenhen was subjected to a strip search. Afterward, the officers brought Ohenhen before the sergeant and said they had found cocaine and marijuana. On the booking video, Westell can be seen pulling a baggy from his breast pocket, which he said were the drugs found on Ohenhen.

The judge noted that it was the same pocket in which Westell had placed the drugs he confiscated from the young person prior to Ohenhens arrest.

As such, it is very troubling and raises the serious prospect that the drugs allegedly seized during that search (of Ohenhen) were actually the drugs previously seized by P.C.s Tait and Westell from the young person, less than an hour before the arrest and alleged finding of drugs on Mr. Ohenhens person, Quigley wrote.

Criminal defence lawyer Daniel Brown, who was not involved in the case, said Quigleys ruling touches on serious problems that have been connected to Toronto police in the past.

Four other Toronto police officers were charged this year with perjury and obstruction of justice after a judge found they planted heroin in a mans car to justify a search and then colluded in their testimony.

We have constitutional protections that prevent all of us from being stopped and searched and we have those protections because it disproportionately affects the most vulnerable members of our society, and this is one clear example of a person, from a racial minority group, who was being targeted for no apparent reason, said Brown.

It harms our confidence in the Toronto Police Service when officers get away with this type of egregious conduct, and it will continue to undermine our confidence in the police moving forward if nothing is done about it.

SHARE:
Toronto police are searching for a male suspected of sexually assaulting a female jogger in Scarboroughs Bendale neighbourhood on Friday.

On Friday just before 5:45 p.m. a 49-year-old woman was jogging in the McCowan Rd. and Lawrence Ave. E. area when she was approached from behind by a male cyclist who then sexually assaulted her, say police.

He is described as brown, 18 years, 5-feet-7, slim to medium build, with thick dark hair. The suspect was last seen wearing a backpack and riding a bicycle.

Police are concerned there may be other victims.

A sexual assault is defined by the Criminal Code of Canada as any form of unwanted sexual contact. It includes, but is not limited to, kissing, grabbing, oral sex and penetration.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact police.

SHARE:
As Ontarians sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, farmers are prodding the government to move faster on a promise to serve something city folks take for granted.

Forget about mashed potatoes and apple pie  this is about natural gas that would bring the option of cheaper heating than the expensive electricity thousands of rural ratepayers rely upon.

Extending gas lines to more rural areas would save farmers, homeowners and businesses $1 billion a year with the added bonus of much-needed job creation, according to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

The single best investment Ontario can make in our rural economy is expanded access to natural gas, said federation president Don McCabe, noting fewer than one in five rural Ontarians have service.

Natural gas is one quarter the cost of electricity and approximately one-third the cost of propane or fuel oil.

McCabe compared gasification to the breakthrough that came with rural electrification a century ago.

But with rising hydro prices and delivery charges higher than in urban areas, rural Ontarians complain electric bills are knocking the stuffing out of their finances. Opposition parties have been roasting the government over it.

The unfortunate thing is the really large pipelines that supply natural gas to cities go right under farmers fields and for years they havent been able to access it, says Progressive Conservative MPP Jim Wilson (Simcoe North).

Its very frustrating for them.

Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli, who met with McCabe and gas executives this week, acknowledged the challenges and said thats why the $230-million gas line extension program is coming soon. The Liberals have just a handful of seats in rural Ontario.

There are more exceptional pressures on rural electricity customers than urban and suburban customers, he told the Star.

McCabe said those pressures are debilitating, with the federation estimating a country homeowner could save $4,000 a year on fuel costs by switching to gas from electric heating.

For a poultry or hog barn, the conversion savings can hit $10,000 with savings of $20,000 for grain dryers.

Thats why McCabe and two leading rural politicians travelled to Toronto to talk turkey about the $230-million pledge in last springs budget to help municipalities and utilities like Enbridge and Union Gas extend pipelines to small towns and hamlets.

Farms and businesses along the way  such as greenhouses operating year-round to grow vegetables and flowers  could tap in.

While the government has promised details on the interest-free loan and grant program by the end of the year, Renfrew County Warden Peter Emon told a news conference it never hurts to keep the heat on.

The soaring cost of hydroelectricity continues to be the number one concern of our rural residents, said Emon, also chair of the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus.

His western Ontario counterpart, Randy Hope, mayor of Chatham-Kent, said the stakes are high, citing an investor who bailed on the purchase of 200 acres for a massive greenhouse operation that would have created 300 jobs in the area.

But the $13-million cost to get a natural gas line to the site proved as prohibitive as the cost of heating the facility with electricity.

Companies will not invest in rural Ontario without adequate and competitive access to natural gas, Hope told reporters at a Queens Park news conference.

Chiarelli said the pipeline extensions are in addition to significant steps the government is taking to mitigate electricity bills across the province.

In the throne speech last month, Premier Kathleen Wynne said the government will waive the 8 per cent provincial tax on home and small business electricity bills starting in January.

As well, more remote rural residents will get up to 20 per cent off their bills to defray delivery charges and 1,000 more businesses will be able to take part in a program that offers lower hydro rates in return for shifting power use from periods of heaviest demand.

Aside from the pipelines, there are proposals to truck liquid natural gas to distant communities, where it can go into storage tanks and be fed through a small local pipeline networks, Chiarelli added.

Industry sources said new pipelines to service rural Ontario can be built relatively quickly because they are small, with steel or plastic pipes of five to 20 centimetres (two to eight inches) in diameter buried in road allowances.

Union Gas, for example, is awaiting Ontario Energy Board approval for four projects in southwestern Ontario, including one that would run pipe off a main line to Milverton, a small community 27 km north of Stratford that was electrified in 1916.

If we had a decision by late winter, wed have gas in Milverton by fall, said spokesman Jeff Okrucky, who added the company is encouraged by the prospect of government aid in reaching more communities.

Access to gas would give Milverton residents the option of switching to gas furnaces, at a cost of about $3,000 to $5,000, depending on the model.

The concern is a lot of people are on electric baseboard heating, or oil, said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

Meanwhile, the propane industry, which serves about 100,000 homes, businesses and cottages in areas of Ontario without access to natural gas, disagrees with the proposition that natural gas is cheaper.

The commodity price does not take into account the huge cost of pipelines, which end up being spread across all natural gas ratepayers, said Greg McCamus, chief executive officer of Superior Propane.

We believe natural gas is a very expensive long-term infrastructure build. We already have the infrastructure in place, he added, referring to fleets of trucks that travel the countryside filling tanks.

Natural gas: By the numbers

$1 billion: Amount farmers, rural residents and businesses could save by switching to natural gas from electricity for heating.

20: Percentage of rural Ontario residents and businesses with access to natural gas.

60: Percentage of rural areas that could realistically be able to get natural gas service with extended pipeline networks.

50,000: Number of farms and businesses in rural Ontario.

700,00: Number of households in rural Ontario.

Source: Ontario Federation of Agriculture

SHARE:
BERGSHAMRA, SWEDEN  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.

Its 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, its about me.

Erikssons 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 familys 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. Brannstrom 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 hadnt 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.

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, Im so old, I dont need my womb and I dont 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.

Id known all my life that I wouldnt be able to be pregnant, Eriksson said. But maybe now there was a small, small chance for me.

Erikssons husband, Daniel Chrysong, agreed to go ahead after meeting Brannstrom and being reassured he wasnt 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 mothers 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 doesnt 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. Brannstroms 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. Im not sure he will understand exactly everything that me and my mom had to go through, she said.

SHARE:
If Haiti taught the world something six years ago, it is this: unco-ordinated international aid cannot rebuild a country.

So it seems good that the finance minister announced a government commission was taking charge of both relief and reconstruction from Hurricane Matthew, deemed the worst disaster to hit the country since the 2010 earthquake.

The commission will decide with the international community what must be done. Aid must be co-ordinated, Yves Romain Bastien told the countrys leading newspaper, Le Nouvelliste.

The response that all of our partners want to give, it is us, the government, who will tell them where we have needs, concurred Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles, according to the Miami Herald.

What is yet to be seen is whether short-term co-ordination is possible, given the scope of the damage in remote areas that remain without cellphone reception and are unreachable by washed-out bridges and broken roads. Mourad Wahba, the UNs humanitarian co-ordinator, said in a statement at least 350,000 people need urgent assistance.

Every few hours, as local governments, civil protection agency staff and aid workers get access to remote, devastated places, the death toll mounts. While on Friday afternoon, the central governments official death toll reached almost 300, Reuters news agencys tally was more than 800.

The number is expected to keep rising as information trickles out from hard-struck villages in the remote, western region of Grande-Anse, far from the capital, Port-au-Prince, which was relatively unscathed.

The destruction of property was devastating, too. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies spokesperson Marjorie Jasmin said 80 per cent of the buildings in the western town of Jeremie had been destroyed, and the main road to the town was damaged, forcing aid groups to arrive by helicopter. Her teams had been distributing blankets, clothes and water purification tablets, as well as kits including saws and shovels so locals could begin to clear debris themselves, while waiting for more muscular help.

Staff with World Vision International reported 80 to 90 per cent of houses in the region of Nippes were damaged, and half of the houses on the island of La Gonave  and those were further from the eye of the storm, which cut across the countrys southwest. The damage is very extensive, said Mike Weickert, the organizations global rapid-response team lead, who arrived in the country Thursday night. His teams were bringing supplies like tarpaulins, blankets, water purification tablets and mosquito nets in from storage in the countrys central plateau, as well as by air from Panama and the U.S.

Weickert had not been contacted by the Haitian government, but said his teams are attending the UNs cluster meetings, put in place after the quake to co-ordinate aid, now up and running again.

Its normal for the government to take an active role, said Weickert, whose organization has budgeted $11.5 million (U.S.) for the hurricane response in Haiti. We want to make sure it leads to a timely and effective response as opposed to more bureaucracy.

In his statement, Wahba said the UN had mobilizedto support the government, which was leading the response.

The UN and the humanitarian actors are standing side by side with the government and the people of Haiti.

The Canadian government has committed $3 million to countries affected by Hurricane Matthew. Of that, $300,000 was earmarked for the Red Cross appeal in Haiti. Global Affairs Canada provides financial support to experienced humanitarian partners, not national governments, spokesperson Austin Jean said in an email.

You might remember the earthquake of criticism about aid that hit the country, soon after the physical earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010, which left some 220,000 people dead and 1.5 million homeless.

More than $13 billion (U.S.) in relief and reconstruction poured in, but less than 10 per cent of that went into budget support for the Haitian government, according to a 2013 UN report. Resentment grew among the local population, who were eventually moved from dirty camps into decrepit housing, while watching international aid workers roar by in air-conditioned cars en route to hotels and restaurants. Le Nouvelliste editor-in-chief Frantz Duval calls the international aid workers vultures hovering again above Haitis skies.

Criticisms of the UN cluster system abounded, too  that the meetings, often in English, largely excluded Haitian civil society and local development organizations.

The difference, this time, is that the Haitian government has not lost all its ministerial buildings and a huge number of staff to the hurricane. It is in a position to lead, although an arguably precarious one, as its been had an interim status since February, when former president Michel Martellys term ran out. The countrys long-awaited elections were supposed to take place Sunday, but have been postponed indefinitely because of the storm.

There is a perception that the government doesnt exist in Haiti, says Jake Johnston, research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. There are capable people and institutions designed to address these things. The international efforts should support these efforts, not usurp them.

He was heartened by the government announcement, and predicted it would be months before the elections are finally staged  more than enough time to put in place a solid reconstruction plan, which supports local industry and business versus undercutting it with free imported items. Thats an important first step. The question is if they can get every actor on board.

Along a similar vein, the Haitian embassy in Washington posted a notice Friday, encouraging good Samaritans to follow six best practices of aid, which included sending money, not goods, to support the local economy: Find ways to collaborate with existing institutions and/or organizations on the ground.

Duval raised one concerning question: who is running the co-ordinating commission? Up until now, no bureaucrats have been named, he said.

His point: time is of the essence. The government will have to take the lead on the ground, otherwise all the earthquakes lessons will be lost.

Many Star readers will remember Lovely Avelus, the miracle child who was dug out of the rubble of her home, six days after the earthquake. Im happy to tell you shes doing just fine.

Now 9, she is in Grade 5 at the small Baptist Mission school near her rural home, up in the mountains southeast of the capital. Shes just started English lessons.

Although many nearby trees broke, walls collapsed and roofs sailed away in the wind, even in that part of the country, her familys rented two-bedroom home was fine, says her mother, Rosemene Meristil.

My heart was skipping beats during the hurricane, Lovely said by phone. She had flashbacks from 2010. I worried the roof would fall in on me.

By Friday, the sun was shining again, and Lovely was in the yard, playing tag with her younger siblings.

But her fragile country is once again in mourning.

Read more about:

SHARE:
SYDNEYAustralia is one of the most peaceful, prosperous and law-abiding countries on Earth. Yet it is about to allow people who might commit terrorism to be held in prisonindefinitely.

Under changes introduced into federal parliament last month by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls centre-right government, federal judges could stop prisoners being released after completing terrorism-related sentences. They wouldnt need to set a release date, although the prisoners detention would be reviewed every year.

Judges would need to be convinced by the government that the man or woman was likely to mount some kind of new attack. There would be no new trial, although prisoners would have the right to argue in court that they arent a threat.

The change will upend a centuries-old legal principle that prisoners are automatically released when their sentences end. Even the United States, which has kept suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without trial for over a decade, doesnt allow prisoners on U.S. soil to be held after their sentences end.

No other democracies in Europe or North America do this, said Elaine Pearson, the director of Human Rights Watch in Australia, in an interview. The definition of terrorism is pretty broad in Australia and includes the financing of terrorism and recruitment, which is one of the reasons were worried about this.

The tough policy reflects a fear among Australians they face an attack like those in Orlando or Nice, France, inspired or directed by the Daesh group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Still, the harsh measures suggest that the Daesh groups theatrical executions of foreigners and terrorist attacks around the world are achieving one of its goals: to provoke harsh responses in the West that it hopes will fuel more violence between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Although they have a reputation for an easygoing friendliness, around 50 per cent of the people in this predominately white, Christian nation want an end to all Islamic immigration, according to an Essential poll published in September. The figure was so high the polling company conducted a second poll to check it wasnt a rogue result. It wasnt.

That hostility helps explain the lack of opposition, let alone outrage, among ordinary and expert Australians to the tough new rules, experts say.

Since Sept. 11 the unthinkable has not only become possible, it has become commonplace, said George Williams, the dean of the University of New South Wales law school and author and editor of 34 books, including Human Rights Under the Australian Constitution, in an email.

Williams backs the change, even though he acknowledges it overturns what is regarded by many as a fundamental human right. It is, in the circumstances, a necessary evil, he said.

Australias strict gun laws, ocean borders and physical remoteness make it a tough target for terrorists. But it isnt immune. In the past three years, there have been four violent incidents linked to Daesh, which the Royal Australian Air Force is attacking as part of the U.S. military campaign in Iraq and Syria.

Last month a 22-year-old man shouting Allahu akbar stabbed a man on a suburban street in a normally quiet part of Sydney. Suffering deep wounds to his hands and torso, the victim ran to a neighbours hairdressing salon and locked a sliding-glass door, which the man tried to break down, witnesses said.

When police arrived, he tried to attack them in the name of Daesh, according to police officials. The man is in custody on terrorism charges.

The detention without a new trial isnt the only response planned by Australias attorney general, George Brandis, to the perceived threat. He plans to create a new crime of advocating genocide and allow teenagers as young as 14 to be subjected to court-ordered controls restricting who they can see and where they can go.

Those control orders, which can be applied to adults, arent enough to stop some people determined to create havoc, Brandis says. There may be some circumstances where, even with controls placed upon them, the risk an offender presents to the community is simply too great for them to be released from prison, he told the Australian parliament last month.

The changes are almost certain to be enacted. Both major political parties at the state and federal level have already agreed.

SHARE:
KUWAIT CITYAn Egyptian driving a garbage truck loaded with explosives and Islamic State papers rammed into a truck carrying five U.S. soldiers in Kuwait on Saturday, injuring only himself in the attack, authorities said.

The attempted attack is the first by Daesh extremists to target American troops in the tiny, oil-rich emirate thats a stalwart U.S. ally. It comes as authorities already increased security ahead of a major Shiite commemoration in the coming days.

Kuwaits Interior Ministry identified the attacker as Ibrahim Sulaiman, born in 1988, and published a picture of the alleged assailant in a hospital bed, a bruise beneath his right eye.

The ministry said the five soldiers were not injured. It said Sulaiman had multiple fractures and injuries.

It was not immediately clear if the Egyptian had a lawyer. The ministry did not offer a location for the failed attack, though it published pictures of the aftermath of the crash, showing a wrecked garbage truck, as well as items it described as a suicide belt loaded with shrapnel. The white pickup truck apparently carrying the soldiers had the left side of its bed smashed in.

American forces and others have troops stationed at Kuwaits Camp Arifjan. The U.S. militarys Central Command referred a request for comment to U.S. army Central, based in both South Carolina and Kuwait. The Army did not immediately respond, while the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City had no immediate comment.

Kuwait is a solid U.S. ally following the 1991 American-led Gulf War that ended the Iraqi occupation there. Terror attacks are rare in the emirate, where Shiites and Sunni Muslims largely live in peace.

A suicide bombing by Daesh, also know as the Islamic State, in 2015, targeted a Shiite mosque in Kuwait City, killing 27 people and wounding scores.

The extremist group, which holds territory in both Iraq and Syria, did not immediately claim the failed assault Saturday, though the Interior Ministry described Sulaiman as having paper in his handwriting indicating he had adopted terrorist thought and had pledged allegiance to the group.

Read more about:

SHARE:
SANAA, YEMENMore than 140 people have been killed in an airstrike on a funeral in Yemen, the UN said Saturday citing local health officials.

Initial reports from health officials in Sanaa indicate that over 140 people were killed and over 525 injured, said the statement from the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick.

The humanitarian community in Yemen is shocked and outraged by todays airstrikes which hit the community hall of Al-Sala Alkubra where thousands of mourners were taking part in a funeral ceremony, McGoldrick said.

Witnesses said that four strikes, suspected to have been launched by a Saudi-led coalition, had hit the hall in southern Sanaa where a mourning ceremony was being held for the late father of pro-rebel Interior Minister Galal al-Rawishan.

Al-Rawishan survived the attack unharmed.

The dead included the governor of Sanaa, Abdel-Qader Helal, and other senior officials from the Houthi rebels, medical officials in Sanaa said.

A ruling rebel council condemned the attack and vowed revenge.

The Sanaa-based Higher Political Council called on its backers to take to the streets on Sunday to protest against what it called this criminality.

The Saudi-led alliance denied it had bombed the site.

The Arab alliance did not carry out any operations in the site of the bombing, the coalition said, according to Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya.

Sanaa has been under the Iran-allied Houthis control since September 2014 amid an escalating power struggle between them and internationally recognized President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi.

The conflict has taken a toll on Yemens civilians.

In August, UN rights chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein said in a report that 2,067 civilians were killed in Yemen between July 2015 and June 2016 1,259 of whom died in Saudi-led airstrikes.

Yemens conflict has intensified since March 2015, when the rebels advanced on the southern city of Aden, prompting Saudi Arabia and fellow Sunni allies to start an air campaign in Yemen against the group.

Saudi Arabia fears that the mostly Shiite rebels will give its regional rival, Shiite Iran, a strategic foothold on the Arabian Peninsula.

Read more about:

SHARE:
Re: Provinces have till 2018 to price carbon pollution, Oct. 4

Provinces have till 2018 to price carbon pollution, Oct. 4

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall predicts that the national rising minimum carbon price the federal government announced will damage his provinces economy and send businesses fleeing to the U.S. Happily, his prediction will not happen for two reasons. First, B.C.s carbon tax rose annually for five years and its economy remained one of the strongest in the country. The revenue neutral tax also proved to be stimulative. Sales of the provinces clean-tech companies increased by 48 per cent in the two years following the taxs introduction.

Second, the federal government can impose border tax adjustments, which is why it is essential for the Canadian government to get involved in carbon pricing. Only our national government can impose the tax on products from carbon-intense and trade-exposed industries without similar carbon pricing measures to ensure Canadian companies are protected from unfair competition. Border carbon tax adjustments are sanctioned by the World Trade Organization.

Contrary to Mr. Walls unfounded fears, I predict the rising carbon price will help diversify Saskatchewans economy as it will all provinces and territories, so long as the price keeps rising and the revenue is returned to the people.

Cheryl McNamara, Toronto

Conservative MP Denis Lebel thinks the federal government should get out of the way and let the provinces do their job dealing with climate change. Does he really expect action from Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall, whose government has described climate change as a misguided dogma that has no basis in reality?

Wall isnt the only Canadian premier putting off effective action to fight climate change. Apparently the heat waves, droughts, forest fires and storms havent got bad enough yet. Are they planning to wait until our coastal cities are flooded?

Its impossible to negotiate a climate change action plan with a climate change denier. Wall and other apologists for Big Oil have stalled and obfuscated far too long, selling out our childrens future. The scientific debate is over and climate experts agree we must act now. Our country needs strong federal leadership on an effective national carbon tax strategy.

Norm Beach, Toronto

Pierre Elliott Trudeaus imposition of his National Energy Program in 1980 was aimed squarely at Alberta. I know. I was there.

Today, Justin Trudeaus threatened unilateral imposition of a national carbon tax, his national environmental program, is also aimed squarely at Alberta where its results will be equally inequitable and devastating.

Ill-thought out, PET soon had to back off from some of the more onerous fiscal terms of his National Energy Program. I expect the same to happen with Justin Trudeaus version of putting his boot on Albertas throat.

Like father, like son, and the apple doesnt fall far from the tree. Trite but true!

Mike Priaro, Calgary

Lets be honest. One hundred dollars a tonne or more is needed to meet Canadas emission reduction target of 30 per cent by 2030. By itself, $50 per tonne by 2022 wont do it. It needs to continue rising by $10 per tonne per year until the emission target is reached.

This might be generally acceptable under the following conditions: all revenue distributed to the population as monthly dividends; import duty and rebate protection for trade-exposed industries; no free riders; and a national response to industrial shrinkage in coal burning and producing regions.

Trudeaus pledge to recycle revenue within provinces addresses higher prices if the tax is at the consumer level but does not address industrial shrinkage. In any case, the carbon fee should be applied at the production end to pre-empt free riders. Then the revenue should be distributed equally across the country. But regional industrial shrinkage would still need to be addressed, perhaps by directed clean-tech investment.

John Stephenson, Burlington

Predictably, your editorial is essentially a cheerleading piece for your favourite government, with a mild rebuke for not going far enough. But why is it that your editorial writers cant bring themselves to offer just a bit of balance or context. For instance, you say the plan isnt a tax grab because the funds will go back to the provinces to do with what they will; how is this not a tax grab? How many governments do you believe will return those funds to the citizenry?

You go on to criticize B.C. for its own revenue-neutral approach, implying (surprise, surprise) that Ontarios cap-and-trade approach will be superior. The latter being so effective that Kathleen Wynne is already acknowledging that the billions she was expecting may not materialize and so worthy that shes resisting all attempts to make the impact transparent to her constituents.

Lastly, theres no mention in your editorial that all of this pain will produce virtually no benefit for the worlds environment.

Jeff Barker, Mississauga

NEP II from Trudeau II?

Brendan Calder, Toronto

Why not simply call Trudeaus carbon pricing plan for what it is? Another Liberal inspired tax to bolster government (in this case, provincial government) coffers. Perhaps the federal government will also benefit? Trudeau will probably do what Chretien did  reduce transfer payments.

I recall another Liberal, Dalton McGuinty, who also introduced something called the Ontario Health Premium. The provinces health-care system promptly declined and many previously OHIP-covered services were de-listed.

What we can ascertain by all this is that, ultimately, the taxpaying public is going to suffer  again.

J. Brunins, Britt, Ont.

In the coming weeks, Saskatchewan will investigate all options to mitigate the impact of one of the largest national tax increases in Canadian history, said Brad Wall. I can save them a few weeks. It was made clear that the provinces will choose what to do with the money that comes from the price. Choose to give it back to the people with 100 per cent revenue neutrality. All the benefits of carbon pricing, no money leaves the province.

Any more questions Premier Wall?

Jack Morton, Toronto

Canadas economy is not strong enough to support the frill of carbon pricing. Also referred to by the prime minister as tax.

In the March budget the prime minister referred to infrastructure as the way to support the economy. But every infrastructure project requires the government to put in the money to pay for it. So how can we further add on carbon pricing?

In a speech on Sept. 26, Finance Minister Bill Morneau . . . urged Canadian consumers and businesses to have confidence . . . and take a long-term view on prosperity that builds on help for the middle class and significant infrastructure investments.

Mr. Morneau is chasing his tail. He is trying to achieve prosperity through the middle class and infrastructure, both of which themselves need help!

There is only one way to achieve prosperity, but it seems no one wants to know about it.

Edward J. Farkas, Toronto

To reduce emissions and safeguard Canadian jobs, the federal government should apply its new floor price for carbon emissions to the carbon content of imports from countries that do not price carbon, and rebate it on Canadian exports to those countries. Such border adjustments would address the concerns about international competitiveness raised by Premier Brad Wall and others.

Because pollution crosses borders, all provinces must do their part, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in announcing the floor price.

But pollution also crosses international borders. Prompting carbon-intensive industries to relocate from Canada to countries without carbon pricing will not reduce global emissions.

Scholarly analysis indicates that international trade agreements would permit border adjustments for carbon pricing, much as they permit the GST being applied to imports and rebated on exports. Carbon tariffs were part of the Waxman-Markey bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2009 and are being considered by the European Union.

Erin Weir, Regina-Lewvan MP

SHARE:
Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener.

Did you miss last night's "Mad Money" on CNBC? If so, here are Jim Cramer's top takeaways for next week's trading.

Bank of America (BAC) : In an exclusive "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer sat down with Brian Moynihan, chairman and CEO at Bank of America, the bank with a stock that's up 33% from its lows earlier this year thanks to a strong focus on technology.

Moynihan said banking today has to be state of the art because that's how people do their banking. The smart phone allows Bank of America to be with its customers all the time and throughout their lives no matter where they live or what job they have. Thanks to a seamless nationwide network, Bank of America's technology efforts can move faster than ever.

Even with one of the best mobile banking experiences around, Moynihan said, you still need to have physical branches. But even there, technology makes things like scheduling an appointment better, so everyone wins.

Turning to the topic of security, Moynihan said security remains of the utmost importance, especially since the bank would have to build 700 new branches if customers all stopped using their mobile applications.

When asked about the cross-selling problems at rival Wells Fargo, Moynihan said Bank of America rewards balances, not accounts, and continues to work with regulators to prevent fraudulent accounts.

Finally, turning to the economy at large, Moynihan said that overall, customers are spending less on things and more on experiences, and he's seeing a picking in spending related to housing.

Adobe Systems (ADBE) : In his second "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer sat down with Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO of Adobe Systems, the software and digital media company leading the cloud computing revolution.

Narayen said Adobe processed over 20 trillion digital media transactions last quarter and is using the data it acquired to make the process both actionable and predictable. He said Adobe remains driven by innovation, which allows the rest to take care of itself.

Adobe was also the engine driving the streaming media experience for this year's Olympics, allowing viewers to create personalized channels to see what they want, when they want.

Narayen commented on his company's commitment to students and education. He said students that aren't exposed to digital tools are at a disadvantage and Adobe aims to make its products as accessible as possible for students.

To read a full recap of "Mad Money" on CNBC, click here.

To watch replays of Cramer's video segments, visit the Mad Money page on CNBC.

To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter with all of his latest articles and videos please click here.

At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had no position in stocks mentioned.
In the gathering organised to discuss the future action the cleric came down heavily against the government's attempt to introduce Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

By Mustafa Shaikh: Raza Academy, a muslim NGO, called meeting of Ulemas on Saturday to condemn affidavit filed by Centre in the Supreme Court saying polygamy and triple talaq are not acceptable.

In the gathering organised to discuss the future action the cleric came down heavily against the government's attempt to introduce Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

Responding to a batch of petitions including the one filed by Shayaro Bano challenging the validity of such practices among Muslims, the Centre first time opposed the practise on basis of right to gender equality under the Constitution.

advertisement

ALSO READ: Minorities panel chief comes out openly against triple talaq



"Dr B R Ambedkar was told that Muslims would never accept a common civil code. He [Ambedkar] knew that only a mad man would introduce UCC. He therefore clarified that it is not mandatory." Those who are enemies of the country will impose a UCC," said Maulan Mohammed Raza of Raza Academy.

Asserting that Muslims will come to defend the "faith" if it is challenged, another cleric, said that any move to interfere in Muslim personal laws will not be tolerated. Slogans of Jaan Denge, Maal Denge were raised at the gathering, "We will give every effort to stop UCC which impinges of our personal rights," said Maulana Khaleelureham.

ALSO READ:

Government to oppose triple talaq in Supreme Court

Centre opposes triple talaq in Supreme Court, says gender equality not negotiable





--- ENDS ---
The effusion of the viscous lava dome spilling over the southwestern rim as a broad lava flow continues at the volcano.After a peak of activity around 1-2 Oct, the rate of effusion dropped 4 Oct, but regained again strength since 6 Oct and has been intense since. The lava dome's top slowly becomes more and more visible from below, although it currently only overspills the crater on the SW side feeding the lava flow.The latter is currently about 2000 m long and 270 meters wide at its front at the base of the cone.Time-lapse of the past week of activity (extended periods of bad weather are cut out):

Background:

Colima volcano is one of the most active in North America and one of the potentially most dangerous ones. It has had more than 30 periods of eruptions since 1585, including several significant eruptions in the late 1990s. Scientific monitoring of the volcano began 20 years ago.The Colima volcanic complex is the most prominent volcanic center of the western Mexican Volcanic Belt. It consists of two southward-younging volcanoes, Nevado de Colima (the 4320 m high point of the complex) on the north and the 3850-m-high historically active Volcan de Colima at the south.A group of cinder cones of probable late-Pleistocene age is located on the floor of the Colima graben west and east of the Colima complex. Volcan de Colima (also known as Volcan Fuego) is a youthful stratovolcano constructed within a 5-km-wide caldera, breached to the south, that has been the source of large debris avalanches. Major slope failures have occurred repeatedly from both the Nevado and Colima cones, and have produced a thick apron of debris-avalanche deposits on three sides of the complex. Frequent historical eruptions date back to the 16th century. Occasional major explosive eruptions (most recently in 1913) have destroyed the summit and left a deep, steep-sided crater that was slowly refilled and then overtopped by lava dome growth.---


Which ones are great and which ones are good enough? Buyers check options at last years Vinexpo in Bordeaux, France. (Labeguerie/Vinexpo)

My wine life has been good. Great, even. Under the guise of professional responsibilities, Ive tasted cabernets that cost an average monthly salary. Ive been invited into cold Burgundy cellars to sample wines that could finance a new car.

Such moments give readers daydreams and have afforded a great sentimental education: I have tasted enough of the worlds best wines to have a deep understanding of why people consider them exceptional. Yet over the past year or two, Ive come to an awkward conclusion: Yes, those wines are great. But I can live without them.

Its not just me. Many former customers of classic wines have been chased off by price, and all those newly minted millennial wine drinkers will know most of the worlds legacy great wines simply as distant names.

This is a sea change. A generation ago, a top Bordeaux or Burgundy was an affordable luxury, available to the middle class. The same was true of great wines from California and Italy. But rapid price inflation over the past two decades has squeezed many of us out of the game.

So, yeah, the usual culprits: 1-percenters and all that. But its more that the best wines filled a need to provide status symbols for the upwardly mobile, not just here but in new markets, such as China. And theres both a finite supply of great wines (you cant just dig up an untapped vein of Musigny) and limited opportunities to canonize new ones. So great wines shifted from modest luxuries to immodest ones. Theyre at the heart of a secondary auction market, thriving again even after the body blow suffered by a flashy new breed of collectors from the early 2000s, hit by the sort of fraud embodied by scammer Rudy Kurniawan in the recent documentary Sour Grapes.

And yet the rise of wines crazy economics has gone largely unmentioned, perhaps because so much wine is considered effete to begin with. A $1,000 date night might draw flak, but theres barely a peep when, say, a wine such as Domaine Roulots Meursault-Charmes hits $300, jumping sixfold from its mid-1990s prices. Even a wine from a less-hallowed spot nearby, Hubert Lamys Saint-Aubin En Remilly, costs nearly $80, up from $22 (or $34 in 2016 dollars) over the same time period.

Something else is happening. The obsession with a thin tranche of the best wines has thrown shade on the wine reality the rest of us live in. Other wines can be good, even exceptional. But they lack star power. The great, to crib a line from Voltaire, has become the enemy of the good.

So Ive landed at what I consider the only reasonable response. Give up on great. Drink good instead.

That isnt to say Ill turn down a great wine, even a proverbial unicorn wine (someone, please garrotte that term), if I have the chance. But I cant keep worrying about those moments of reflected glory. I cant let FOMO  fear of missing out  dictate my life. Its like British wine critic Andrew Jefford, who recently acknowledged that something had changed in my relationship with wine. I didnt want the best any more.

How to achieve that? Think of it as a less wonky version of the Billy Beane strategy for baseball that Michael Lewis documented in Moneyball. If you cant afford great, then get the best out of good.

And, sure, simple numbers cant always capture the romance of greatness: Is Jayson Werth worth 4.3 Bryce Harpers? Is Domaine de la Romanee-Contis timeless La Tache worth 46 bottles of a $65 Vosne-Romanee from neighbor Jerome Chezeaux (or 100 bottles of Beaujolais from a brilliant talent like Jean-Louis Dutraive)?

Maybe it is, in that the $3,000 La Tache offers a rare window into timelessness. But how many of us will ever have the opportunity to taste such great wines? In the words of Andrew Limberg, the wine director at Pineapple and Pearls, For me, they are worth every penny, even though I dont have nearly enough of said pennies to afford them.

That is especially relevant because Washington is a place that has long appreciated classic wines, with a strong tradition of middle-class aficionados stocking their cellars. But today, most of those wines are out of the price range of the average civil servant.



At Cedric Maupilliers Convivial in Shaw, few wines on the list are priced at $100 or above. (Dayna Smith/For the Washington Post)

This shift is also visible in the current, reasonable debate over fair value for both dining and drinking out, driven by tasting menus at places such as Shaw Bijou. It lies behind such innovations as Limbergs all-included beverage pairing at Pineapple and Pearls, which threads well-known regions with emerging ones like Australias Adelaide Hills and takes price out of the equation. It has shifted the balance of drinking power, from whale lists like Plumes to nimble selections at places like Kinship, where wine director Kerstin Mikalbrown taps white Burgundy from outer boroughs like Macon-Loche and Saint-Romain. Or at Convivial, where its almost impossible to find a wine above $100.

In each case, it is a matter of giving up on impressive in trade for  Ill borrow a word here from Mikalbrowns wine list  interesting.

The appeal of these wines can be summed up by one of Lewiss lines in Moneyball: The pleasure of rooting for Goliath is that you can expect to win. The pleasure of rooting for David is that, while you dont know what to expect, you stand at least a chance of being inspired.

For now, Ill let inspiration win.

Bonne, a former wine columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, is a senior editor at Punch and the author of The New California Wine: A Guide to the Producers and Wines Behind a Revolution in Taste (Ten Speed Press, 2013). Wine columnist Dave McIntyre will return next week.
Rory Ready, a veteran not wheel chair bound, works with the service dog Maria at Warrior Canine Connection in Boyds, Md.

Sept. 9, 2016 Rory Ready, a veteran not wheel chair bound, works with the service dog Maria at Warrior Canine Connection in Boyds, Md. Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post

Ryan Garrisons service dog wouldnt stop bugging him.

At a dinner outing with his wife, Julie, at Flemings Steakhouse in Baltimore, Garrison was growing nervous, clenching his hands. Being in public spaces had been a problem for the veteran since his return from Iraq, where he fractured two disks in his spine escaping a grenade blast in 2007.

On that March night at the restaurant, his English black Labrador, Luke, nudged him.

Whats wrong? wondered Garrison, 39, who retired from the Air Force in June as a staff sergeant. Normally reserved on these outings, Luke sprang up between Garrisons legs and looked him in the eye, like, Hey, look at me. 

All of a sudden, my light bulb goes off, like Hey, my legs bouncing. Im having an anxiety attack,  Garrison said, recalling how his new companion eased his nerves.

On Saturday, Garrison and his wife joined dozens at a graduation ceremony for Luke and nine other pooches, service dogs who went through a rigorous, two-year training regimen to serve as companions for veterans overcoming the stress of combat.

Volunteers train the puppies from when they are eight to 10 weeks old until they reach age 2, when they go to live with veterans.

After being paired with Luke in March, Garrison  who recently received a diagnosis of post-

traumatic stress disorder  saw a marked drop in the anxiety attacks that had been a twice-a-week affair. Now, he said, hes more confident venturing out, going to restaurants and buying groceries.

When I take Luke out now, all my focus is on him, making sure hes not smelling something, making sure hes not bothering anybody, Garrison said. In return, he knows my anxiety cues.

Saturdays event in Rockville marked the fourth graduation exercise for Warrior Canine Connection (WCC), which uses dogs to help wounded veterans reconnect with daily life. The floppy-eared graduates were treated to all the commencement hallmarks: a speaker, the ritual playing of Pomp and Circumstance, hugs and kisses from the volunteers who reared them, and some crying in the crowd.

Julie Garrison broke into tears as she described Lukes impact. The stress of combat and chronic pain had led to bouts of blind rage in her husband, she said, but Luke had all but erased them.

Her husbands dry wit that I fell in love with six years ago has returned, thankfully, she said. Its just joyful now. Because of that soft presence of Luke.

In his keynote remarks, Robert Koffman, a physician and retired Navy captain who is the organizations chief medical adviser, praised canine therapy as a means of coaxing emotion back into the warriors soul forever robbed by combat of its naivete, and whenever possible whispering a whistle of childhood and innocence back into the hearts and minds and the souls of our wounded veterans.

Dogs are good medicine, he added.

Rick Yount, the WCCs executive director, marveled at the amazing healing power of the human-animal bond.

Retired Marine Sgt. Matt Moores described the pairing in a different way: It means everything.

Moores suffered a broken back and brain trauma in 2013 on his second deployment to Afghanistan  career-ending injuries, he learned on his return.

I was in a really bad place, said Moores, 32, of Germantown, Md. Being with my men, training them, living with them  you know, theres a real special bond, and it was something that I felt like was taken from me. That was going to be the rest of my life. When I lost it, I felt like I had lost everything.

But meeting his golden retriever, James, now 2, changed his outlook, he said. He gained the confidence to interact with psychiatrists and medical staff, and had a tail-wagging companion in life.

It made me feel like I had a purpose, he said. It made me feel like I have something that Im good at and that is doing good. And those are the two things I was missing in my life. To have that back is the best medicine.

At the graduation, James  apparently struggling to contain his excitement  shimmied up the stage with puppy parents Billy and Debi Isenstein, then leapt into Mooress arms.

James was named for Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 James E. Groves III, who was killed when his helicopter crashed in Afghanistan in March 2013; members of his family walked onstage with Moores.

From birth, the dogs are reared for a career in service, said Cheryl Bingham, the Puppy Parent program manager. At three weeks, they start learning basic commands. At eight to 10 weeks, they are handed off to volunteer caretakers, who ferry them to weekly training classes, practice commands and fine-tune their social skills.

The most advanced training ground, Bingham said, is a familiar obstacle course for hundreds of thousands of D.C. residents: Metro.

That is the king of all our training places, she said. Everything, from the noises, the smells for the dogs, the escalators that are just atrocious compared to anywhere else, the people that will run you out of your way because theyre going home  that is just insane. Theyll step on the dog. You work your way up to that.

At the ceremony, another service dog, a 2 -year-old golden retriever named Bob, climbed the stage to meet Lt. Tom Mielke, 64, of Lothian, Md., a Coast Guard regulations attorney who received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis connected to his service.

He offers me balance, stability issues, retrieval, Mielke said. Hes good for you emotionally, also.

When Mielke drops pens, glasses and credit cards, Bob is quick to pick them up. He can flip light switches, too.

Its really brightened our lives, said Mielkes wife, Lisa.
The ever-changing recipe for American life blends many ideas and events, and this year, it includes two major ingredients, however disparate they may be: the Presidential campaign and the fear of menacing clowns.

In one of the latest clown-connected events, D.C. police said an arrest was made Friday after a caller phoned a D.C. public school at least twice to say that armed clowns were on the way, The caller said the school needed to be evacuated, the police said.

The calls were made to McKinley Middle School about 10:45 a.m. The school is in the 100 block of T Street NE.

After each call, police said, the caller hung up without giving any more details about the arrival of clowns with weapons.

Police said they arrested a 14-year-old girl. She was charged as a juvenile, with making a false report of weapon of mass destruction, police said.

It was not immediately clear where the girl was enrolled and whether McKinley was evacuated.
The head of the Districts long-scrutinized child-welfare agency abruptly resigned last week, leaving behind an organization under fire for failing to investigate reports of potential abuse and promptly place children in foster homes.

Child and Family Services Agency Director Raymond Davidson, who had led the agency since Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) took office, told staff members he was leaving to pursue other opportunities. He declined to elaborate, and D.C. officials would not say whether he was asked to step down.

Advocates for children credit the agency for significant strides in more than two decades of oversight by a federal judge after a 1989 lawsuit alleged that the District failed to protect its most vulnerable children. But they say progress has stalled in recent years.

According to an independent monitor, the agency has not adequately investigated calls to a child-abuse tip line, and the District has struggled to house some teenagers and children with disabilities, leaving a few to spend the night at government offices this past summer.

We want the progress that had been there two years ago to continue, and we want to be able to move forward to the end of the lawsuit, said Judith Meltzer, the federal court-appointed monitor and deputy director of the Center for the Study of Social Policy.

When we see things moving backward, its frustrating, she said.

[Right-to-die legislation advances to full D.C. Council]

District mayors have long been vexed by child-welfare services. In the days of the crack-cocaine epidemic, social workers were barely able to keep up with the surge of children living in dangerous environments. In 2008, the city government reeled after Banita Jacks killed her four children despite repeated warnings to child-welfare authorities.

D.C. officials say no child-

welfare cases in recent years have resulted in fatalities as a result of abuse.

And they insist the agency is on the right track in keeping families together and correcting problems as they are spotted. The court monitor has credited officials, including Davidson, for taking necessary steps for improvement.

We dont want to paint the picture that everything is perfect, said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Brenda Donald, who is serving as interim director at the Child and Family Services Agency after two earlier stints heading it. We hit some snags.

Donald said that the District is trying to do a better job of helping foster children transition to adulthood as they age out of the system. It is also trying to reduce the amount of time children spend in foster care, while continuing to recruit more D.C. residents as foster parents.

Like child-welfare agencies across the country, the District is trying to avoid unnecessary placements in the foster-care system in favor of keeping children with their parents or relatives. About 1,000 children are in foster care at any given time in 2016, half the number five years ago.

[Auditor: D.C. government fails to hold auditors accountable]

Advocates say the rapid downsizing has come with unintended consequences.

Nearly 1 in 4 reports of child abuse to a D.C. hotline that were disregarded by city officials should have been investigated, according to a joint review by government officials and the monitor released in September.

That means there are children out there in the community who may very well not be safe, even though theyve been reported to the child protective agency, said Marcia Lowry, the plaintiffs lawyer in the federal lawsuit against the D.C. child-welfare system. They hit a plateau of doing some of the more concrete and obvious things, but they are not improving the agency in a way that protects children.

Child-welfare officials say they are planning corrective actions for the hotline that will be finalized this week.

In early 2015, the District ended contracts with two private foster-care management companies, expecting that foster parents would switch over to new operators. Many did not, leaving officials scrambling to relocate 46 children while dealing with an unexpected spike of new children in need of homes, stretching the system to capacity.

The minute there werent enough homes, everyone had to focus on that, said Judith Sandalow, executive director of the Childrens Law Center. Everything else stalled.

Mindy Good, the longtime spokeswoman for the Child and Family Services Agency, said that the 2015 housing crunch has largely been resolved and new bids are being accepted for companies that provide placements in foster homes.

But advocates say some children continue to struggle to find homes. Most alarmingly, they said, four children had to spend a night at the Children and Family Services Agency building in 2016. Two of the children refused to stay at their assigned placements, while the other two were removed from their homes after midnight, the monitor said.

Donald, the deputy mayor, said that focusing on recent problems loses sight of the agencys remarkable turnaround. She said the agency has reached a stable position and the remaining requirements to escape federal oversight are the toughest  including improving visits to children and child protection investigations.

Its unreasonable to expect we are going to have big leaps as the agency gets to a level of steady performance, Donald said.

D.C. Council member Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 7), chairman of the health and human services committee that oversees the agency, also defended its performance and said some problems flagged by advocates were exaggerated.

Its always a challenge when you are under court monitor for requirements being scrutinized every day, Alexander said. Theyve done well. . . . Ive seen progress.
Prince Georges schools chief executive Kevin Maxwell, flanked by Segun Eubanks, chairman of the countys board of education, speaks on child sex abuse allegations at a news conference in February. (Mark Gail/For The Washington Post)

A Head Start teacher who forced a 3-year-old to mop up his own urine and sent a mocking photo of the episode to the childs mother was allowed to stay in a local teaching job for months after she was removed from the federal program.

School officials in Prince Georges County said the teacher, whom they did not publicly identify, was moved to Robert R. Gray Elementary School in February and recommended for termination Sept. 1, after federal findings about staff misconduct in the Head Start program surfaced publicly.

But as Prince Georges continues to look at what went wrong in its program for disadvantaged preschoolers  prompting a federal decision to revoke the school systems $6.4 million Head Start grant  some point to the teachers case as an example of the countys slowness to act regarding alleged misconduct, which community members had criticized long before the Head Start scandal came to light.

It is downright shameful that we had an employee that the federal government concluded engaged in child abuse, and they were transferred to another school, and they just sat in front of students, and they were not held accountable, said school board member Edward Burroughs III.

Prince Georges school officials did not defend the decision to retain the teacher but said local Child Protective Services officials did not return a finding against her. In hindsight, she should have been immediately recommended for termination, school officials said in response to questions from The Washington Post.

[How a Maryland school system lost its Head Start grant]

The details come as state officials prepare to evaluate the program and as Prince Georges school officials say more than 250 employees are on paid administrative leave amid allegations related to inappropriate conduct, abuse or neglect.

Monique Davis, deputy superintendent of schools, said that reporting of potential misconduct has surged as the school system steps up efforts to train employees about recognizing and reporting abuse and neglect. Those efforts began last year, following the arrest of a school volunteer who allegedly directed children to perform sex acts and recorded them on video.

Theres more awareness from our entire staff of 20,000 individuals about what their obligations are, she said.

In neighboring Montgomery County, fewer than 10 people are on paid leave for allegations related to child abuse and neglect, school officials said.

Prince Georges schools chief executive Kevin Maxwell has cited the spike in reporting of inappropriate conduct as a sign of progress.

[Prince Georges schools shake up staff as system reels from abuse allegations]

This increase in reporting, in the long-term of our organization, is exactly whats going to change that culture, Maxwell said at a recent meeting with county council members, noting it is important that people understand its not acceptable to conduct yourselves in this way, and its not acceptable to not report it when you know something.

The controversy about Head Start, which led to disciplinary action against six employees, was followed by another allegation of misconduct involving a bus aide, Michael Paul Patopie, 38, who was accused of abusing young children with special needs. According to charging documents, the allegations date to November 2015, but one mother says her family was not notified until June.

[Pr. Georges school bus aide charged with sexual abuse of two special-needs children]

Nobody cared about my child, said the mother of a 5-year-old who police describe as a victim in the case. I want to know what they were thinking and why they protected this man instead of my child.

The mother said her son was a quiet, easygoing child and is now tormented by nightmares and so anxious about the ride to school that family members must escort him both ways. The mother said it breaks her heart when the boy struggles with painful thoughts and asks to be hugged or held. Several times, hes told me hes sad about the monster on the bus, she said.

The school system, she said, has not called her to express concern or ask after her son, nor has anyone apologized.

When the case came to light in September, Maxwell said he had learned of the allegations in August and placed a bus aide and supervisor on leave. I cant act on things I dont know. . . . I cant know everything instantaneously, he said then at a news conference. Later, when charges were filed, Maxwell said he was horrified by the nature of these crimes, sickened and angry that this individual may have preyed upon our students.

Some community members say district efforts have fallen short.

The people at the top are taking no responsibility and are refusing to be accountable for what they did or didnt do, said David L. Cahn, vice president of the Prince Georges County Civic Federation. The only change they are making is more aggressively punishing people. What they need to do is say, We messed up. . . . We did not put it on the front burner. 

And while some parents said they are pleased the school system is increasing its safety measures, they also worry that the number of teachers and staff on leave is so large that it could affect the quality of education in county schools.

At the districts Robert Goddard Montessori School, Jennifer Kaleba, a mother of two, said her older childs teacher was on administrative leave in the spring, and her younger childs teacher is on leave this school year. Four of Goddards teachers and one aide are out on leave related to allegations of abuse or neglect, school officials said.

My hope is that safety and the effort it takes to keep kids safe does not mean education founders in the background, she said. We want our children to be safe, and we want our children to be educated.

[Prince Georges takes disciplinary action against staff in troubled Head Start program]

But Shirley Kirkland worries about how well employees are being trained. Many staff and educators are nervous about being falsely accused, said the president of the ACE-AFSCME Local 2250, representing almost 6,000 district support staff. The way the culture and the climate is now, its like a state of paranoia, she said.

Kirkland said employees are afraid to break up fights or accept a hug from a child, fearing that they could be placed on leave.

The Head Start case comes after the arrest of Deonte Carraway, the school volunteer who allegedly created child pornography at a Glenarden elementary school and other sites. Maxwell created a task force that recommended changes to policies and safeguards as a result.

Federal findings for the Head Start program recounted how the mother of the 3-year-old who wet his pants tried to report the incident to school officials and finally called the federal agency directly.

For weeks, nobody would help, the mother said in an interview. I called every number I could call.

In findings, federal officials described the teachers behavior as humiliating to the child and a form of emotional abuse.

Kenneth Wolfe, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, which funds Head Start, said that his agency made it clear to Prince Georges that federal funding could not go toward paying teachers allegedly involved in child mistreatment incidents.
MARYLAND

Man, 23, charged

in fatal shooting

A Springdale man was arrested in connection with the 2015 fatal shooting of a man during a robbery attempt, Prince Georges County police said.

Afolbi Ijaoba, 23, was charged with murder in the death of Bernard Parker, 59.

Parker was shot in his car Nov. 10 before it crashed on Ladova Way, authorities said.

 Lynh Bui

Trooper in collision

escapes burning car

A Maryland state trooper escaped her burning patrol car Saturday near Waldorf after a collision.

The trooper, Constance Davis, 25, was in fair condition Saturday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. The other driver, James Cousins, 75, of Waldorf was reported in critical condition at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

An initial investigation, officials said, showed that Davis was driving a marked cruiser with emergency lights on and trying to stop a speeding driver when Cousins made a left turn in front of her on Smallwood Drive shortly after 2 a.m. Emergency workers removed Cousins from his burning car, police said.

 Dan Morse

Woman in crash

is struck and killed

A woman was killed early Saturday in a hit-and-run in the Oxon Hill area of Prince Georges County, police said.

They said Lisbon Wiggins, 23, of Southeast Washington was killed at St. Barnabas and Wheeler roads about 3 a.m. Wiggins was near her car exchanging driver information after an unrelated minor collision, police said.

They said the driver of the car that allegedly struck her turned himself in Saturday.

 Lynh Bui

and Martin Weil

VIRGINIA

Information sought

in fatal hit-and-run

A woman was killed in a hit-and-run incident Saturday on Interstate 66 in Fairfax County after pulling over and leaving her car to get something from the trunk, authorities said.

State police said Yesenia Esmeralda Funes, 37, of Manassas was hit by a charcoal gray or black newer-model sedan, possibly a Toyota Corolla, with a passenger-side mirror missing and wheel-well damage.

 Dan Morse

and Martin Weil

Man fatally shot in Woodbridge area

A man was found fatally shot Saturday night on Bayside Avenue in the Woodbridge area of Prince William County, police said.

Three-story apartment houses line the street, which is near Route 1 and Prince William Parkway.

 Clarence Williams

and Martin Weil
U.S. Senate candidate Kathy Szeliga (R) will support and vote for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, her spokeswoman said Saturday, despite comments Trump made about women in 2005 that the Maryland lawmaker described as appalling.

Szeliga, a state legislator from Baltimore County and minority whip in the House of Delegates, is running against Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D). Polls show Szeliga far behind Van Hollen, a member of Congress since 2003.

Unlike Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who disavowed Trump this spring, Szeliga has repeatedly said she would support her partys nominee.

Campaign spokeswoman Leslie Shedd confirmed Saturday morning that Szeliga plans to vote for Trump in November, even as leading Republicans across the country were denouncing him and calling for him to leave the ticket.

Szeliga said in a statement Friday night that she was appalled by Trumps 2005 comments, which had been reported by The Washington Post hours earlier. Trump bragged with vulgarity about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women, including one who was married.

Republican Del. Kathy Szeliga and Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen at a WAMU debate Friday in Washington. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)

I raised my sons to never speak about women like this and to defend women against just these kind of comments, she said, calling on Trump to sincerely apologize to all women immediately.

In a statement Saturday morning, Szeliga said both Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton are seriously flawed, adding that Clinton has failed to improve the country while serving in leadership positions.

Like most Marylanders, I wish we had a different option, but we dont, she said.

The state lawmaker is one of two Republican women running for Congress in Maryland this fall.

The other candidate, Amie Hoeber, is challenging Rep. John Delaney (D) in Marylands 6th Congressional District. She, too, had previously said that she would back her partys nominee. The Hoeber campaign did not respond to requests for comment about whether Trumps remarks affect her support for the GOP nominee.

Trump issued a video apology late Friday, after a number of prominent Republicans distanced themselves from him and some called for him to leave the ticket.

Ive never said Im a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that Im not, Trump said in the brief video statement. Ive said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more-than-a-decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 8 (PTI) The US is playing a "positive role in pushing and prodding India" to lower tension and start dialogue with Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs envoys have said.

"We feel that the US has a positive role in pushing and prodding India to lower the temperature and start talking to Pakistan rather than talking at Pakistan," Special Kashmir Envoy of Sharif, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed told PTI at the conclusion of his five-day trip to the US.

advertisement

"One expression of that was the phone call initiated by Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and there has been a follow up phone call. The purpose of those phone calls was to diffuse tension," said Sayed, who was here with Shezra Mansab, another Kashmir Envoy.

He said Modi is "not from the Indian Delhi establishment, where you have unsmiling crusty old men who are always sulking and who are stuck in old cold war mentality, as he is an outsider.

"I feel that there would be SAARC Summit in Islamabad. Mr Modi will come there. And he would embrace Mr Nawaz Sharif. I think, Modi would realise that this is the way forward," Syed added.

"Mr Modi has the capacity to spring a surprise. One good thing about him is that he is flexible enough to do U turns. So I expect a good U turn probably in the coming months in our relations and we might see pleasant surprise in relations with South Asia, because Mr Modi and Mr Sharif have a good rappo and I think, Mr Modi is preparing his people for this U turn.

"Because he (Modi) realises that two important core interest of India are linked with that. Number one relationship with Pakistan and the Kashmir conflict are the biggest impediment in the rise of India. India wants to rise, they want to be on the high table, Nuclear Suppliers Group, UN Security Council. No, till you have better relationship with Pakistan," Syed said.

Syed warned that a war with Pakistan would push back Indian economy by 10 years, which he said Modi does not want.

"He (Modi) cannot afford. This raising of tension would be devastating, debilitating and damaging for India. We do not want to respond to war rhetoric (coming from India) by war rhetoric. We are not responding to India in its tone. We still want peace," Mansab said. MORE PTI LKJ CPS

--- ENDS ---
Cassandra Pinkney, an early leader in Washingtons charter school movement and the co-founder and executive director of Eagle Academy Public Charter School, died Sept. 30 at a hospital in Cheverly, Md. She was 68.

The cause was complications from a colon surgery, said her husband, John Edward Pinkney.

Mrs. Pinkney, a Washington native and resident, began her career as a preschool teacher and spent four decades educating and advocating for children with the greatest needs, including those living in poverty and those with disabilities. She was the early-childhood special-education coordinator for D.C. Public Schools before stepping down in 2002 to open Eagle Academy the next year.

In 2003, she opened Eagle Academy, the first charter school that focused exclusively on early-childhood education. Her goal was to provide early interventions to give children a better chance at success, an approach that has since been adopted citywide with one of the nations premier universal preschool programs.

The school opened with 114 preschool-aged students in Southeast Washington. Today, the academy serves 920 students in preschool through third grade on two campuses.

Her Eagle Academy co-founder, Joe Smith, a former education professor at Trenton State College of New Jersey, said they shared a passion for helping poor and working-class families. The school connected children with medical and dental care. The main campus has a swimming pool, and Mrs. Pinkney made it a priority for all of the mostly African American students to learn to swim.

She also made parent education a central part of her work. In regular video messages, or fireside chats, she talked to parents about how to prepare their children for school, including lessons on how to establish a bedtime routine, how to eat healthy food, and after the citys laws on marijuana were relaxed, why its important to limit secondhand smoke around children.

Her vision was bright, and she was able to serve those children very, very well, said Ramona Edelin, executive director of the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools.

Cassandra Smith was born July 29, 1948, and graduated from

Spingarn High School in 1967. She was a 1976 graduate of Howard University and received a masters degree in early childhood, special education and human development from George Washington University in 1981.

Early in her career, she worked at Howard University Hospital, running parenting classes and working with infants withdrawing from congenital drug addiction.

Later she worked with youths who have been in the juvenile-

justice system and advocated for students with disabilities. In 1999, she became the early-childhood special-education coordinator for D.C. Public Schools.

Her first marriage, to Larry Williams, ended in divorce. Survivors include her husband of 15 years, John Edward Pinkney of Washington; a daughter from her first marriage, Onari Burroughs of Bowie, Md.; three stepchildren, Nikole Pinkney of Laurel, Md., John Che Pinkney of Upper Marlboro, Md., and April Watson of Waldorf, Md.; and 12 grandchildren.

A son from a relationship, Delrico Tyrone Durham, died in 1997.

Onari Burroughs said her mother was an especially close parent to her. She was like the other half of my brain, she said. I talked to my mother every day before I put my feet on the ground. And every night before I closed my eyes, she was the last person I talked to. The space my mother filled in my heart was so huge.
A Maryland state police trooper escaped her burning patrol car Saturday morning after a collision with another car that hospitalized both drivers.

The trooper, Constance Davis, 25, who works out of Charles County, was listed in fair condition Saturday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. The other driver, James Cousins, 75, of Waldorf, was reported in critical condition at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, according to police and hospital officials.

According to an initial investigation, Davis was driving her marked cruiser eastbound on Smallwood Drive in the Waldorf area shortly after 2 a.m. Her emergency lights were activated, and she was trying to stop a speeding motorist, according to police officials.

At the intersection of Stone Avenue, Cousins  who was westbound on Smallwood  made a left turn in front of the trooper, officials said. Cousins was driving a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu.

Davis unsuccessfully tried to avoid the Malibu, police said, and the cars collided.

Daviss car then hit a tree. Moments later, both vehicles were engulfed in flames, trooper officials said in a statement.

Nearby residents called 9-1-1 and came to help. Davis was able to get out of her car.

She tried to help Cousins get out of the Malibu but couldnt, according to police officials. Firefighters and medics were able to extricate him from the burning car.

Police are asking for any witnesses to the crash to call 301-392-1200.
A woman was killed by a hit-and-run driver early Saturday morning along Interstate 66 in Fairfax County after she had pulled over and gotten out of her car to retrieve something from her trunk, according to Virginia authorities.

She was identified by state police as Yesenia Esmeralda Funes, 37, of Manassas, Va.

The authorities described the striking vehicle as a charcoal gray or black, newer-model sedan  possibly a Toyota Corolla  with its passenger-side mirror missing and with damage to its passenger side wheel well.

The collision occurred about 2:20 a.m. at the 56-mile marker of I-66. The victim had been driving a black Toyota Solara. She was walking alongside her car when she was struck. She died at the scene.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to call 703-803-0026 or #77 on a cellphone.
Having a stump grinder dropped off at your house might cause a few doubts. You might wonder if it would do the job, or if it could be safely operated.

But you wouldnt expect it to just disappear from a tree-lined residential street in affluent upper Northwest Washington.

However, D.C. police said that happened in the 3200 block of Cleveland Avenue NW in a brief few minutes Thursday between 8:55 a.m. and 9:16 a.m.

The grinder had been left to be utilized by a homeowner, a police official said.

Based on reports from the police, people took all sorts of things that did not belong to them this week in the city, including objects as small as a single pair of glasses, filched Monday afternoon from an optical-goods store in the 3200 block of New Mexico Ave. NW.

Police said a guitar was taken Monday in a burglary at a house in the 1800 block of Gallaudet Street NE.

Also Monday, a car was taken at gunpoint in the 700 block of 15th Street SE near Capitol Hill. Cars have obvious uses, and like many items, may be exchanged for cash.

Perhaps less likely to have great utility, however, was what was reported stolen Sunday on 33rd Street NW in Georgetown. Police said someone tried to take a bike by cutting the lock, but fled only with the bike lock and not the bike.
Rep. Barbara Comstock addresses a panel as she debates her challenger, LuAnn Bennett in the race for the Virginia 10th Congressional District Thursday, October, 6, 2016. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) on Friday night called for Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race, breaking her campaign-long silence on the Republican presidential nominee.

Her comments came following the disclosure of a 2005 video of Trump making lewd comments and bragging about groping women.

Comstock, who faces a competitive reelection challenge in her northern Virginia district, said the Republican Party should nominate Trumps runningmate, Mike Pence, in his place or choose another candidate.

She also said she could not vote for Trump or Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

In a statement, Comstock said:

In this video from 2005, Donald Trump prepares for an appearance on "Days of Our Lives" with actress Arianne Zucker. He is accompanied to the set by "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush. The Post has edited this video for length. (Obtained by The Washington Post)

This is disgusting, vile, and disqualifying. No woman should ever be subjected to this type of obscene behavior and it is unbecoming of anybody seeking high office. In light of these comments, Donald Trump should step aside and allow our party to replace him with Mike Pence or another appropriate nominee from the Republican Party. I cannot in good conscience vote for Donald Trump and I would never vote for Hillary Clinton.

Comstock was late in publicly responding to the latest Trump flap because she was attending her sons wedding rehearsal dinner.

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) also called for Trump to drop out of the race. Until Friday evening Comstock had not endorsed or repudiated Trump and had declined to say for whom she would vote.

Her Democratic challenger, LuAnn Bennett, has tried to link Trump and Comstock on immigration, abortion and pay equity for women.

Bennett called Trumps comments vile and disgusting.

These latest revelations are shocking, but they are sadly not surprising, Bennett said in a statement before Comstock called for his resignation as the GOP nominee. Donald Trump has demeaned women since before he ran for public office, and the Republican Party, with a few exceptions, have stood with him and enabled him every step of the way.

The 10th District includes all of Loudoun, Clarke and Frederick counties as well as Manassas and Manassas Park and parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties.

In recent years, the district has seen an influx of professionals  many of them women and minorities  who polls show are cool to Trumps candidacy. Both parties are pouring millions of advertising dollars into the district, which they consider among the most competitive this year.
Corey Stewart, Virginia chairman of Trump for President, talks with patrons prior to a Veterans for Trump dinner at L&B Pizzeria in Woodbridge, Va. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

The chairman of Donald Trumps Virginia campaign said Friday that the Republican presidential candidate had acted like a frat boy, as a lot of guys do.

Corey A. Stewart, a 2017 contender for Virginia governor, predicted little fallout from the release of a 2005 recording of then-newlywed Trump, in which he brags about groping and aggressively pursuing sex with married women.

When people voted for Donald Trump, they knew he wasnt an angel, Stewart (R-At Large), chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, told The Washington Post. Theyre looking for someone who is going to defend them, someone whos going to bring jobs back, someone whos going to defend their constitutional rights and someone whos going to make America strong again. They are not concerned that at times, Donald Trump acts like a frat boy. Sometimes he does, but thats okay. They know hes not an angel. They know that he can save the country, though.

When Bill Clinton did all those horrible things, people still supported him afterward because they know that that is of secondary importance. They want someone whos going to bring jobs back, Stewart said. Theyre not concerned about whether he acted like a frat boy, as a lot of guys do.

Early Saturday, Stewart clarified that he expects some Trump supporters to be bothered by the candidates remarks  but not enough to change their votes.

In this video from 2005, Donald Trump prepares for an appearance on "Days of Our Lives" with actress Arianne Zucker. He is accompanied to the set by "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush. The Post has edited this video for length. (Obtained by The Washington Post)

Obviously people are going to be bothered by his comments, but I dont think it will make a difference in how people vote, he said via text message.

[Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005 ]

But Republican strategist Ed Gillespie, a rival for the partys gubernatorial nomination, blasted Trump.

Gillespie, a White House counselor in the George W. Bush administration, has always been cool to Trump, saying little more than that he would vote for the Republican standard-bearer. Until now, he has avoided weighing in on various Trump controversies.

Donald Trumps recorded comments are incredibly offensive and demeaning, Gillespie wrote in a text message to The Post. All people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

And Virginia GOP chairman John Whitbeck also criticized Trump.

Women should never be the subject of comments like this. Ever, Whitbeck texted.

Throughout Trumps tumultuous campaign, the Democratic Party of Virginia has pressed prominent Republicans to take a stand on Trump whenever he made waves. But with the exception of Stewart, most have kept mum.

Is this enough for Virginia Republicans to finally pull their support? read a Democratic Party news release issued Friday, after The Post revealed the audio.

A spokesman for Rep. Robert J. Wittman (R-Va.), another GOP contender, said the congressman does not condone the objectification of women under any circumstances.

State Sen. Frank W. Wagner (R-Virginia Beach), who is also planning to run for governor, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, so far the only Democrat running to succeed term-limited Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), weighed in.

As a husband and a father, I am appalled when women are disparaged, disrespected, or objectified, Northam said in a written statement. Donald Trump has shown us who he really is and that he is unfit to be President of the United States.

Stewarts defense of Trump in the face of controversy is not unprecedented.

Amid an uproar over Trumps comments about the judge of Mexican descent presiding over a Trump University fraud case in the summer, Stewart offered his full-throated support. Stewart wrote on Facebook in June that if any illegal immigrants showed up to protest a Trump appearance in Richmond, were going to kick their asses out of the country.

[As other GOP leaders squirm at Trumps stance on judge, Corey Stewart applauds]

Stewart has said Virginians who are fed up with establishment politics will be drawn to the presidential candidate  and to his own campaign for governor.
On Oct. 29, 1927, a WRC radio technician named Robert Terrell was dispatched to the Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Avenue NW to set up a microphone for a live broadcast. Terrell was nervous. This was a last-minute assignment and technically challenging, requiring that C&P Telephone string a wire up to the eighth-floor room.

But what really made Terrell sweat was the man who would be speaking into the WRC microphone: Guglielmo Marconi, the very father of radio.

Marconi was in town for the International Radiotelegraph Conference. Once hed agreed to appear on WRC, the station scrambled. Terrell did not want to botch the job. And he didnt. But the broadcast was so last-minute that there was no prior notice of it in the newspaper. And WRC wasnt able to patch it in to other radio stations across the country. Only listeners who just happened to be tuning in to WRC at that moment heard the great Marconi.

And even then, not for very long. He made a nice little speech but spoken as if it were shot out of a gun, The Washington Post reported.

As was customary for any remote broadcast back then, Marconi signed the slip that Terrell handed him, certifying the equipment had functioned properly. Wrote The Post: Mr. Terrell now prizes this slip as a cherished souvenir of the great inventor.

Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in an undated photograph (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)

But was he the great inventor? After last weeks column on the Marconi Memorial on 16th Street NW, Answer Man heard from readers branding Marconi a usurper. Nikola Tesla, they said, is the true inventor of radio.

[Why is there a memorial to Marconi, the father of radio, on 16th Street NW?]

Well, its more complicated than that. Several people experimented with radio, including Reginald Fessenden, who in 1900 set up transmitting equipment on Cobb Island, Md., 50 miles downstream from Washington in the Potomac.

Tesla was certainly a genius. But, said Marc Raboy a McGill University professor and author of Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World, Marconi is important because he was the first person to develop a practical system for using the radio spectrum to communicate. There were many people trying to do this at the turn of the 20th century, but Marconi simply outlasted and outdistanced them all.

Several readers took issue with Answer Mans declaration that Marconis historic 1901 transatlantic message was sent from England to Canada. It went from England to Newfoundland  and Newfoundland didnt become a province of Canada until 1949.

If youve seen the Marconi Memorial lately, youve noticed how shiny it is. Thats thanks to a regilding in 2006 by members of the Society of Gilders during their Gilding at the Smithsonian conference. All labor, materials and gold leaf were donated, wrote Michael Kramer of the Gilders Studio in Olney, Md.

Finally, Answer Man heard from the jokester responsible for the prank that was mentioned last week: the draping of a brassiere over the nude female statue that symbolizes electricity.

The Districts Jim Ferstl is confident that the statue  er, statute  of limitations has expired. The year was 1964. Jim had just gotten out of the Air Force and was continuing his electronics training at the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute, a block up the street from the memorial.

Around midnight on Halloween  and purely as an act of public decency, Jim said  he and a co-conspirator crept up to the memorial.

The embarrassing part, Jim said, had been buying the biggest bra he could find at the Woolworths on 14th Street. He also purchased elastic, needle and thread.

I figured I would have to cut the bra in half in the front and sew in a couple elastic expanders, Jim said.

Jims accomplice had been chosen because of his diminutive size, the easier to boost him up to the Goddess of Electricity. This Jim did, but when his sidekick returned to the ground, they noticed that the garment was twisted in front. It was Jims turn to climb up and fix it.

They stood back and examined their handiwork.

She remained modestly covered for a few days before becoming fully exposed again, wrote Jim, who is now retired. Among his activities is helping Boy Scouts earn their electronics and electricity merit badges.

Twitter: @johnkelly

For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/johnkelly.
"We feel that the US has a positive role in pushing and prodding India to lower the temperature and start talking to Pakistan rather than talking at Pakistan," Special Kashmir Envoy of Sharif, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed told at the conclusion of his five-day trip to the US.

By Press Trust of India: The US is playing a "positive role in pushing and prodding India" to lower tension and start dialogue with Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's envoys have said.

"We feel that the US has a positive role in pushing and prodding India to lower the temperature and start talking to Pakistan rather than talking at Pakistan," Special Kashmir Envoy of Sharif, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed told at the conclusion of his five-day trip to the US.

advertisement

"One expression of that was the phone call initiated by Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and there has been a follow up phone call. The purpose of those phone calls was to diffuse tension," said Syed, who was here with Shezra Mansab, another Kashmir Envoy.

Also Read: Knot happy: India-Pakistan tension casts shadow over marriage season in border areas

WILL THERE BE A SAARC SUMMIT?

He said Modi is "not from the Indian Delhi establishment, where you have unsmiling crusty old men who are always sulking and who are stuck in old cold war mentality, as he is an outsider.

"I feel that there would be SAARC Summit in Islamabad. Mr Modi will come there. And he would embrace Mr Nawaz Sharif. I think, Modi would realise that this is the way forward," Syed added.

"Mr Modi has the capacity to spring a surprise. One good thing about him is that he is flexible enough to do U turns.

So I expect a good U turn probably in the coming months in our relations and we might see pleasant surprise in relations with South Asia, because Mr Modi and Mr Sharif have a good rappo and I think, Mr Modi is preparing his people for this U turn. Because he (Modi) realises that two important core interest of India are linked with that. Number one relationship with Pakistan and the Kashmir conflict are the biggest impediment in the rise of India. India wants to rise, they want to be on the high table, Nuclear Suppliers Group, UN Security Council. No, till you have better relationship with Pakistan," Syed said.

Syed warned that a war with Pakistan would push back Indian economy by 10 years, which he said Modi does not want.

Also read: From The Magazine: Crossing a red line

"He (Modi) cannot afford. This raising of tension would be devastating, debilitating and damaging for India. We do not want to respond to war rhetoric (coming from India) by war rhetoric. We are not responding to India in its tone. We still want peace," Mansab said. .

advertisement

"I think, we have stirred up Washington. I think that was the purpose that look here it is a popular, indigenous and widespread uprising (in Kashmir). Pakistan has nothing to do with it. India is trying to put the pressure and raise the temperature which is detrimental to the peace, security and stability in South Asia, because it is a nuclear flash point. We do not want that. No red line should be crossed. Thirdly we said peace cannot be compartmentalised. Peace is indivisible Kashmir or whether it is Kabul. I think at the end of the day, message has been heard loud and clear," Syed said, adding that they discern a change in the tone of the US administration.

They have a recognition that Pakistan has legitimate grievances on issues like the Indus Water Treaty or some of the irresponsible remakes that unfortunately emanated regarding the issue of Balochistan and Gilgistan," he said.

Also read: Leaders should exercise restraint when Indo-Pak tension high

MEETING WITH OBAMA

Yesterday, the two Envoys met Peter Lavoy, Special Assistant to US President Barack Obama. The White House refused to issue any readout of the meeting.

advertisement

Syed described their five-day Washington stay as "media, diplomatic and a public relations blitz" during which they had 12 major public events from think-tanks, to government officials, media and interaction with the Kashmiri diaspora.

Pakistan-US relationship, he said are in transition.

"We feel that the Obama administration failed to figure out our region. They were quite clueless about Pakistan policy, Afghanistan policy. They are confused also.

"The US needs Pakistan for stability in the region, for counter-terrorism, for nuclear non-proliferation and for regional economic cooperation, in what we call greater South Asia," Syed, a former journalist, said.

He said the new US administration would be different from that of the Obama administration, "which hopefully would be more balanced, strategic, sustained and consistent policy".

The two Envoys have submitted a dossier on alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.

"We have been assured by the United States administration that dossier would find resonance on the upcoming report on human rights on India," Syed said, adding that the US has assured Pakistan that it would push and prod Modi on Kashmir.

"We are waiting for a U-turn from Modi on that. I think the U turn would be a positive U turn. The first signs of that would be moving towards normalisation of relationship and reducing tension between the two countries," Syed added.

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
Rob Birch checks on his car, which floated out of his driveway in St. Augustine, Fla., as Hurricane Matthew passed through the area. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Hurricane Matthew cruised the Florida coast Friday, lashing evacuated communities, flooding St. Augustine and Jacksonville, and knocking out power to 1.1 million people. But in its unusual journey north, the storm never quite managed to make landfall, staying just off the coast as if surveying beachfront property.

Matthew so far has been less lethal and destructive than forecasters had feared it would be  although the full extent of damage could take days to assess. Insurance companies had speculated that losses could total in the tens of billions of dollars, on the scale of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and the National Weather Service had warned that damage could make some places uninhabitable for weeks or months.

That looked less likely by Friday as the storm was downgraded to Category 2 and sustained maximum winds dropped to 105 mph as of 11 p.m. Still, officials remained cautious, focusing on the threat from the storm surge as Matthew blows massive amounts of the Atlantic Ocean across sea walls, up rivers and through the dune line. Gov. Rick Scott warned that flooding could last for days. The St. Johns River, which flows through the heart of Jacksonville, reached a record flood stage Friday afternoon.

Hurricane-force winds reached South Carolina at Hilton Head and Pritchards Island on Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center, which said the storm may very well make landfall in the morning hours.

Beaufort, S.C., saw at least one wind gust of 61 mph, according to the Associated Press.

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.

The Weather Service expected Matthew to continue hugging coastal Georgia and the Carolinas, dumping torrential rain, before atmospheric steering winds push it out to sea Sunday. An estimated 355,000 people had evacuated coastal areas of South Carolina as of late Friday.

Savannah faced the possibility overnight of breaking an 80-year record for storm surge, with one projected track suggesting that Matthew could make landfall around Charleston before noon Saturday.

Now is the time that we ask for prayer, said Gov. Nikki Haley (R). We need to really say prayers not just for those in Florida and Georgia, but now it is about South Carolina.

Even with Matthew offshore, Floridians experienced the chaos that accompanies hurricanes, including exploding transformers, tree branches and debris on every roadway, roofing materials going airborne, and birds and other animals taking shelter in odd places. A stork hid in a restroom at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, the Associated Press reported. People from coastal towns poured into hotels as far away as Atlanta, having hastily packed up a few belongings as well as pets.

Florida officials attributed at least four deaths to the storm; two were medical emergencies that ambulances couldnt reach because of fierce winds, and two others were residents killed by falling trees. An elderly couple was reported in critical condition after running a generator indoors.

The storms failure to deliver a catastrophic blow to Florida triggered an online controversy, with the Drudge Report among the media outlets pushing the notion that weather forecasters and mainstream news organizations overhype the hazards from hurricanes. But the forecasts for Matthews size and strength were accurate, and if the damages do not match the worst-case scenarios, it will be a reminder that hurricanes remain fluky and rarely follow a script.

More than 2 million people have evacuated in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas since midweek. President Obama urged residents in those states to listen to local officials: Do not be a holdout here because we can always replace property, but we cant replace lives, he said. The president declared emergencies in all four states.

Social video shows Hurricane Matthew blowing past Jacksonville Beach and Daytona Beach, Fla., on Oct. 7. (The Washington Post)

Other hurricanes have more or less followed the Florida coast, including Hazel in 1954, David in 1979 and Floyd in 1999. But none came so close and then so faithfully traced the states outline.

Matthew was a Category 5 hurricane in the southern Caribbean and still a Category 4 storm when it slammed into Haitis westernmost region earlier this week. Officials have said more than 300 Haitians died in the storm, but the figure is certain to climb once rescue workers are able to reach cutoff areas.

The hurricane then rolled across the Bahamas and neared South Florida, still ranked a Category 3 storm with winds more than 120 mph early Friday. But a couple of fortuitous wobbles kept the storm from striking land directly, and it instead went on its trek up the coast.

The center of the storm barely missed Cape Canaveral and did no significant damage to the nations most important launch infrastructure for civilian and military spacecraft.

The Florida coast changes dramatically from south to north. There are still barriers islands  spits of land, often not much more than sandbars, backed by the Intracoastal Waterway  and the beaches are wide and flat, sloping gently and gradually, creating long stretches of shallow water that can be pushed easily by tropical winds. This made the coast around Daytona Beach, St. Augustine and Jacksonville vulnerable to storm surge. Worst of all, Matthew arrived at high tide, around midday Friday.

Hurricane-force winds (74 mph or higher) extended 60 miles from the storms center. A wind gust of 71 mph was reported in Daytona Beach, while gusts topping 100 mph were recorded in northern Brevard County, according to the National Weather Service. By the afternoon, gusts of around 80 mph were registered in Flagler Beach and St. Augustine.

Flash-flood warnings in the Jacksonville area were announced through Friday evening.

Despite mandatory evacuation orders, countless people rode out the storm, including Keith Kokesh of Ormond Beach, just north of Daytona Beach, who feared that someone would loot his home if he fled the storm.

My son has every video game system there is, and I dont want to lose it, Kokesh said.

Ormond Beach resident Lynn Kearns stayed put even when a neighbors pine tree landed on her roof. She thought evacuation would be too difficult for her mother and two dogs. She boarded up her windows and hoped that her street wouldnt flood.

The storm ripped trees and light posts from the ground and toppled signs. It turned parks into ponds, and broken tree limbs littered yards and streets. The citys entire water storage has been depleted, according to a news release that noted water main breaks and water wells going out of service.

Local police were blocking access to bridges leading to the citys barrier island, leaving Shari Lessmiller and her family stuck on the other side.

Were trying to get home, Lessmiller said. If we had a boat, we could take it over.

Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen said he was thankful that Matthew had stayed roughly 30 miles off the beach: I dont think 30 miles has ever meant so much to a community. He said officials would assess damage to see when they could allow evacuated residents to return to their homes. In the meantime, the county had a curfew imposed that would extend until 7 a.m. Saturday.

Another hour by car up the road, St. Augustine, founded in 1565, flooded badly as bay water overtopped a sea wall next to the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, the 16th-century Spanish fort. Video shared on social media showed people stranded in a hotel as water rushed past the front steps.

As the outer bands of Matthew moved up the coast to Jacksonville, the St. Johns River, normally placid, became violently choppy and rapidly reached flood stage. A television crew captured the heavy, violent surf breaking through the dunes at Jacksonville Beach, the ocean water racing along narrow streets between high-rise condominiums.

Evacuations continued Friday up the coast in Georgia and South Carolina. Hotels have filled up fast.

Were now turning to campgrounds to look for space and starting to look at Alabama, said Jim Sprouse of the Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association.

In Moultrie, Ga., a Red Cross shelter housed 118 evacuees, almost all of whom came from Sea Island, about 160 miles east. Most of the evacuees were interns from Jamaica working for the Sea Island Co.

I just hope I got a home to go back to, staff member Jeff Herrington said. This is a powerful, scary storm.

At Beaufort Memorial Hospital, situated on a narrow strip of land in South Carolina, 62 patients were evacuated Friday morning to communities far inland. The hospital was among the more than 170 medical facilities in the state that sat empty as Hurricane Matthew approached.

Medical University Hospital in Charleston said it had no plans of evacuating its staff or 550 patients  despite being in an area expected to experience heavy flooding.

Law-enforcement personnel in Charleston and Berkeley counties went door-to-door in vulnerable neighborhoods, notifying residents that their time to leave was running out.

We flood under a major rain. We dont know exactly how high the waters are going to get, but you need to be safe, North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said Friday morning.

As storm projections worsened for the South Carolina coast, additional curfews were announced for Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties beginning Friday evening.

Now is the time, if you are not safe in your home, this is your opportunity, warned David Chinnis, chairman of the Dorchester County Council. Get out.

Achenbach reported from Washington. Mark Berman, Angela Fritz and Jason Samenow in Washington; Lacey McLaughlin in Daytona Beach, Fla.; Lori Rozsa in Palm Beach, Fla.; Dustin Waters in Charleston, S.C.; Susan Cooper Eastman in Jacksonville, Fla.; Sharon Dunten in Brunswick, Ga.; Camille Pendley in Atlanta; Kirk Ross in Raleigh, N.C.; Francisco Alvarado in Miami; and Tal Abbady in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., contributed to this report.
ILLINOIS

Head of Chicago police shares policy proposal

Chicagos police chief on Friday released details of a proposed policy that would require officers to use the least amount of force necessary and emphasizes the sanctity of life.

The proposal requires officers to intervene if they see another officer violating department policy. Deadly force could be used only to prevent immediate threat of death or great bodily harm. The announcement comes as the U.S. Justice Department investigates the department after a white officer was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a black teenager in 2014. Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters at a news conference that the draft aims to clarify response options to officers during split-second decisions or in the critical time before those moments while placing a heavy emphasis on the sanctity of life.

The policy will undergo 45 days of public comment, something the superintendent called a first for the department and a step toward previously promised transparency efforts. He said the department will use less-lethal methods as often as possible.

After the public feedback period ends Nov. 21, the department will review contributions with the goal of having a final version of the policy by the end of the year. Officers will then be trained according to the policy.

A worker cleans windshield molds at the Fuyao Glass America plant, Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, in Moraine, Ohio. (John Minchillo/AP)

 Associated Press

NEW YORK

Two plead guilty in mans beating death

Two leaders of a secretive New York church pleaded guilty Friday to their involvement in a violent, all-night counseling session that left one young man dead and another severely injured.

The churchs matriarch, Traci Irwin, and her son Daniel Irwin, a deacon, accepted plea deals in Oneida County Court on Friday in which each admitted to two counts of unlawful imprisonment in exchange for two-year prison terms.

The two were among nine people charged following the beating death of Lucas Leonard, 19, at Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford last October. Leonards then-17-year-old brother Christopher survived the beating that authorities said was delivered by the victims parents, stepsister and other church members and leaders after the teens discussed leaving the congregation.

District Attorney Scott McNamara said neither Traci Irwin nor Daniel Irwin physically harmed the brothers. Traci Irwin was not in the room for the beatings but was aware of the session and sought updates, the prosecutor said, and Daniel Irwin acted as a guard.

 Associated Press
Men walk past a bus that was torched during protests in the town of Sebeta, Oromia region, Ethiopia. (Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

ETHIOPIA

Protesters attack foreign-owned factories, farms

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 Africas fastest-growing economies but where the government also has faced rising international criticism and popular opposition to its authoritarian approach to development.

The flare-up followed the deaths of at least 55 people in a stampede Sunday when police fired tear gas and shot into the air to disperse demonstrators in the Oromia region near Addis Ababa, the capital.

The incident raises to more than 450 the number of people that rights groups and opponents say have been killed in unrest since 2015. A U.S. researcher was killed Tuesday when her car was attacked by stone-throwers near Addis Ababa.

The government says the toll cited by critics is inflated.

 Reuters

THE HAGUE

ICC to probe actions by Israelis, Palestinians

A senior official in the prosecutors office of the International Criminal Court says it is collecting information about alleged war crimes by both Israelis and Palestinians.

Phakiso Mochochoko said Friday that the court would impartially investigate allegations from all sides.

The ICC launched its probe in January after Palestinians joined the body and recognized its jurisdiction.

Palestinians accuse Israel of using excessive force during the 2014 Gaza war and say Israels settlement construction in the West Bank is a war crime.

Israel says Hamas fires rockets indiscriminately at Israeli communities.

 Associated Press

FRANCE

Anger in Paris after Poland scraps deal

France reacted angrily after Poland scrapped a multibillion-dollar helicopter deal with Airbus, saying it would review defense cooperation with its NATO ally and canceling a presidential visit to Warsaw.

In April 2015, Poland agreed to buy 50 Airbus utility helicopters for $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 in elections last October, had agreed to the provisional deal. But the new administration said Tuesday that it was scrapping the contract altogether.

The Franco-Polish bilateral relationship will undeniably be extremely affected by this decision, said a French source close to the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The contracts cancellation will force us to review all the defense cooperation that we have with Poland and see what can be maintained and sadly what cant in the current context.

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.

 Reuters

Albanian police say 2.4 million marijuana plants destroyed: Albanian police say they have destroyed 2.4 million marijuana plants discovered in the country this year. Police Chief Haki Cako said that the 540 acres of plants pulled up since June are four times the amount confiscated last year. Cako said 248 people have been arrested for producing the marijuana. Experts estimated that the plants were worth about $3.3 billion.

Pope saddened by news of lesbian nuns marrying: Pope Francis was upset to hear that two former nuns had married in a civil ceremony in Italy, said Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the Vaticans deputy secretary of state. The two, identified as Federica and Isabel, were joined in a civil union in northern Italy last month, taking advantage of a law passed this year that offers homosexual couples legal recognition. The pair, who did not give their surnames, told La Repubblica newspaper Friday that they had fallen in love while serving as missionaries in the West African country Guinea-Bissau.

 From news services
When I first heard that some Elon University students were protesting my invitation to speak on campus and saying my thoughts were dangerous, I was, of course, thrilled and immediately amended my bio.

No one has ever considered me dangerous that I know of, other than a couple of dozen ungrateful birds I mysteriously collected while recuperating from a concussion. Despite having rescued and tended them for the past three years, they invariably scream, flap and flock to yon-est corner of their respective extravagant bird mansions anytime I approach.

Ill try to resist the metaphorical implications and parallels and simply report that about 300 students here signed a petition exhorting the administration to uninvite me. They claimed most seriously that yours truly is a rape apologist. This charge was based on their obvious misreading of my 2008 book, Save the Males, which until this moment almost no one had read, as well as snippets from a couple of random columns culled from a body of around 2,000 stretching across 29 years. (One more year and I get to brag.)

What had I said that was so controversial? In my book, I had questioned assumptions, which is my job, after all, on the always-sensitive issue of campus rape, which was received less than warmly. I learned that one especially doesnt dare challenge the presumption of rape when male and female sexually convene while the female is drunk.

I dared, but not much. I merely wondered: What if the guy is also drunk?

Remember, this was more than 10 years ago. Ive written hundreds of columns since then. And much has changed during half a generation. Even so, Im confident of my research in the writing of the book and will never apologize for an opinion. Its a thought, an idea, a conclusion based on evidence and experience. Opinions may change, including my own, but I always reach them in good faith.

Thus, I concluded and wrote in this very same book  and repeated Tuesday night at Elon  that I wasnt making excuses for the male, who, by virtue of physical characteristics, including superior strength, bears the greater responsibility in such encounters.

At one point during the question-and-answer period following my speech, which was mostly about politics and the presidential campaign, I also suggested that girls stop getting so drunk. Gasp. What parent wouldnt say as much? This isnt blaming the victim, as certain feminists would insist, but is highlighting the obvious. In the real world, wed call this a risk assessment indicating a statistically significant correlation between intoxication and unwanted behavior and/or attention.

Or, simply, science.

Today, my erstwhile rhetorical question  what about the guy?  which was really a plea for fairness and due process, is outdated and moot. North Carolina, among other states, has made it law: If a woman is drunk, then sexual intercourse with a male human is, ipso facto, rape.

Whether one agrees with this law is irrelevant, as Elon students are told on the first day of school.

It was odd to have to delve into these issues in the midst of a historic and potentially catastrophic election, which has been the focus of my work for the past two years. Indeed, university President Leo Lambert urged me to focus on politics, which I did after briefly addressing the protest and speaking a few minutes about the crucial need to allow even unpopular speech on campuses in the service of tolerance and education.

Alas, I wasnt able to distract my finely feathered foes, who flocked to the microphone armed with mini-congressional floor statements, statistics and quotes from my book. I felt like a witness on Law & Order whose words get twisted and taken out of context. I tried to be sensitive, which lasted about 30 seconds or so, before lapsing into my more comfortable truth mode. When a female student demanded my position on a variety of gender options  trans, duo, not sure, etc.  I trilled: I love all human beings and the more happy people, the better.

A grateful audience applauded rapturously.

My questioner obviously hadnt read my column condemning North Carolinas recent transgender-bathroom law (HB2). Or the next one about bumping into North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) in makeup at NBC, which was a gas. Nor did she or her comrades appreciate my sense of humor or the tone of my presentation, which one journalism professor described in a tweet as a hybrid of Mark Twain, @JonStewartHBO, @DonRickles, & @celiarivenbark.

I only wish I could have made the girls laugh, too.

Read more from Kathleen Parkers archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook.
An upper-caste primary school teacher slit the throat of a 35 year-old Dalit in Bageshwar, Uttarakhand over an argument at a flour mill.

By Dilip Singh Rathod: Humanity was shamed once again on October 6 when an upper - caste primary school teacher killed a Dalit over a minor argument in Bageshwar, Uttarakhand.

A 35 year-old Dalit man, Sohan Ram, went to a flour mill and was waiting for his turn when Lalit Karnatak, a primary school teacher, came to the shop. Lalit didn't want to wait for his turn and wanted to get his flour grinded before the Dalit man. Sohan Ram refused as he had reached the shop earlier and had been waiting for some time.

advertisement

A fight broke out and Lalit, along with a few other upper-caste men, started hurling abuses at the poor man and making insulting remarks about his caste. Then, Lalit took out a sickle and slit Sohan Ram's throat.

None of the by-standers came to the Dalit man's help and he bled to death at the mill itself.

HUGE PROTESTS BREAK OUT

After the incident, huge protests have broken out in Bageshawar. The Dalit community is demanding justice.

The various Dalit groups filed a complaint, based on which the police has arrested Lalit. He has been kept in the Almora jail.

The accused has been booked under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation), and is also charged under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

According to Bageshwar Senior Superintendent of Police, Sukhveer Singh, Lalit's family members are threatening the Dalit groups to withdraw complaint. The police tried arresting the family members, but they were absconding.



Also Read:

A repeat of Una: Pregnant Dalit woman, husband beaten up for refusing to remove cow carcass

MP: Dalit man forced to cremate wife outside his home while Parliament debates Dalit atrocities



India Today Expose: Why Dalit persecution is rampant in Gandhi's Gujarat

From India Today magazine: India Dalit dilemmas



--- ENDS ---
Robert E. Rubins Oct. 6 op-ed, Inclusive growth is up to us, was a brilliant packaging of progressive priorities  infrastructure investment, breaking the poverty cycle, reforming the criminal-justice system, fixing immigration and revamping government spending  labeled as an inclusive growth proposal.

As the solution to income inequality, inclusive growth sounds right. It is disappointing that Mr. Rubin then punted the entire package right back to Congress with a heavy dose of blame for not working together toward principled goals. All true enough, but we should challenge the likes of Mr. Rubin to lead, along with Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and maybe Donald Trump if hes not elected, to roll up their sleeves and fix the issue that is in their area of expertise: our fiscal policy, and especially our tax system. The U.S. tax system, with its loopholes and mis-incentives, is a major stumbling block to inclusive growth. If this group cannot figure out the solution and how to lobby Congress to implement the solution, I would be pretty surprised.

Jessica Wasserman, Washington
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he addresses students during his visit to the German Embassy school in Moscow on June 29. (Pool/Reuters)

Vladimir Putins serial humiliations of Americas bewildered secretary of state regarding Syria indicate Putins determination to destabilize the world. Here is an even more ominous indication of events moving his way: On just one day last week, Italian ships plucked 6,055 migrants from the Mediterranean.

What has this to do with Putin? It portends fulfillment of his aspiration for Europes political, social and moral disorientation.

The Financial Times reports that of the 138,000 migrants who have come by sea to Italy this year, few are from Syria. The vast majority are from Africa, with the largest number from Nigeria. The United Nations World Population Prospects says that only 10 percent of global population is in Europe, which is projected to have fewer people in 2050 than today. Just 16 percent of the worlds population is in Africa, but more than half of global population growth between now and 2050 is expected to occur there. It will have the worlds highest growth rate, and 41 percent of its people currently are under 15. Of the nine countries expected to experience half the worlds population growth by 2050, five are in Africa (Nigeria, Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda). Nigerias population, currently the worlds seventh largest, is the most rapidly growing.

Even without what is likely  population pressures producing some failed African states  a portion of Africas multitudes, perhaps scores of millions of migrants, might cross the Mediterranean to Europe. There, 24 percent of the people are 60 and over, and no country has a birthrate sufficient to maintain current population sizes. Who but immigrants can work and fund Europes welfare states for its graying publics?

Europe has recently been politically destabilized and socially convulsed by the arrival of a million Syrian migrants seeking asylum. Future migrations from Africa, with a large Muslim component, could pose the greatest threat to the social cohesion of Europe since 1945, or even since invading Arab forces were halted at Poitiers in 732.

Undermining the Wests confident sense of itself is important to Putins implementation of his ideology of Eurasianism. It holds that Russias security and greatness depend on what Ben Judah calls a geographically ordained empire that looks east to Tashkent, not west to Paris.

Writing in the British journal Standpoint, Judah reports that Russian television relentlessly presents a dangerous, angry wonderland: Russia is special, Russia is under attack, Russia swarms with traitors, Russia was betrayed in 1991, Russia was glorious under Stalins steady hand. This justifies gigantic military, intelligence and police establishments steeped in Eurasianist tracts published by the Russian General Staff.

Putins Russia, writes Owen Matthews in the Spectator, is developing a state-sponsored culture of prudery to make it a moral fortress against Western decadence. The Russian Orthodox Church benefits from a 2013 law that criminalizes offending the feelings of religious believers. Twenty-one percent of Russians want homosexuals liquidated, and 37 percent favor separating them from society.

In a collection of essays, Authoritarianism Goes Global (Johns Hopkins), the Brookings Institutions Lilia Shevtsova says Putin is simultaneously imposing a domestic revolution of cultural conservatism, converting Russia into a revanchist power and forging an anti-Western International. She warns:

Ever since Stalinisms relentless assault on all horizontal ties (even those of family), Russians have been tragically at the mercy of the state and its claims: Individuals are invited to compensate for their helplessness by looking for meaning in collective national successes that promise to bring them together and restore their pride. Such as the annexation of Crimea.

In the same volume, Peter Pomerantsev, a student of 21st-century propaganda, says the underlying goal of Putins domestic disinformation is less to persuade than to engender cynicism: When people stop trusting any institutions or having any firmly held values, they can easily accept a conspiratorial vision of the world. Putins Kremlin is weaving a web of incongruous but useful strands. Its conservative nationalism is congruent with that of rising European factions on the right. Its anti-Western, especially anti-American, message resonates with the European left. It funds European green groups whose opposition to fracking serves Putins agenda of keeping Europe dependent on Russian gas.

In many worrisome ways, the 1930s are being reprised. In Europe, Russia is playing the role of Germany in fomenting anti-democratic factions. In inward-turning, distracted America, the role of Charles Lindbergh is played by a presidential candidate smitten by Putin and too ignorant to know the pedigree of his slogan America First.

Read more from George F. Wills archive or follow him on Facebook.
The four letters below were sent last year by Guantanamo Bay detainee Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, better known as Abu Zubaydah, to his lawyer Amanda L. Jacobsen. They are being published with Zubaydahs consent.

Who should you care for?

Dear Amy:

You asked me why I have not called my mother and father, after all these years, finally we are allowed to Skype video call with our family, which I have wanted for so long. But here is the reason why: it is too difficult, the way they do it. They say we are allowed a 30 minute call, but after just saying hello, there is a 10 minute gap, and then hello in return, and a 10 minute gap. My mother. I have not seen her in so long now. In my culture, if you ask: Who should you care for? The answer: your mother. Okay, and THEN who? The answer again: your mother. Okay, okay, and THEN who? A third time: your mother. And then I should care next about my father. One of the prisoners here in the cell block with me, Hamabali, after all of these years, they told him now finally he could see his mother, and when he saw her, he began to cry. He is an old man, and his mother even older. But mother is mother. And she will likely die before he

[REDACTED  Page 2 classified in its entirety]

Zayn Husayn

[The guinea pig for U.S. torture is languishing at Guantanamo]

When I was a 15 year old boy

Dear Amy:

I find myself so surprised by people who think of other people based upon the color of their skin. I feel just as I did when I was a 15 year old boy living in Saudia Arabia. My friends and I loved to get together to watch American movies. But sometimes in the movies we were shocked to hear the racist things they said. And we were ashamed. It was embarrassing. We would turn to our friends, sitting next to us, who were black, and they didnt understand, and we didnt understand, only that it made us feel sad.

Zayn Husayn

The limits of our scale

Dear Amy:

Here is what I think about the human mind:

It is like a scale for weighing, which can measure up to 1 kilo only. It can be extremely precise, telling in fine detail to the hundredth and thousandth decimal place the weight of a beautiful diamond. But try to consider something too great, 10 kilos, 20 kilos, beyond its comprehension, and you will break the scale.

So, too, for me: there are ideas which are beyond human comprehension and if we try to consider them with our 1 kilo scale, it will break the scale, by which I mean, it can make you crazy, or it will read at most a measure of 1 kilo, which is to say, give an inaccurate reading. Of course, this does not mean that we should stop searching and trying to comprehend, but as we do so, it must be understood within the limits of our scale.

Zayn Husayn

Trouble with my eye.

Dear Amy:

Here is a story that I think you will appreciate. A new doctor came to check on me and I told him I was having trouble with my eye. He asked which one, so I took out my glass eye to show him. He jumped back aghast. I asked him: Didnt you know from my medical file that I have only one eye? He said no. I asked him: what about this eye patch I wear, couldnt you tell from that? And he said, oh, I thought you just liked to wear that for style. They think I am like a cartoon Caribbean pirate. AAARRGGH! Its funny, but actually he was a good doctor.

Zayn Husayn
The apparent unmasking of pseudonymous author Elena Ferrante feels like an occasion not for outrage so much as for sadness, and regret at the vanishing space allotted to personal privacy in an age insatiable for celebrity tidbits and fueled by omnipresent technology.

Into this intrusive new world comes Ferrante, who has written a compelling and  perhaps more energizing to those determined to expose her  spectacularly successful quartet of novels, set in Naples and recounting the lifelong friendship of two women.

Ferrantes true identity as literary translator Anita Raja was revealed, if the report by Italian investigative journalist Claudio Gatti is correct, the old-school shoe-leather way, with leaks of her publishers financial records and digging into real estate documents. Yet the authors unavailing plea for anonymity is best understood in the context of the modern world she inhabits, and her effort, ultimately unsuccessful, to resist the invasive force of celebrity culture.

This moment was inevitable. Human nature loves a mystery yet demands its eventual solution. Investigative reporters respond with Pavlovian predictability to the intolerable provocation of the pseudonym.

No matter that the pseudonymous novel has an impressive historical pedigree  and not just, for those who discern sexism at work in Ferrantes unmasking, when it comes to female authors. No matter that there may be more worthy topics of journalistic enterprise.

Once Ferrantes choice to write under a pseudonym collided with her best-seller status, the hunt was on, the prey certain to be caught. Ask Joe Klein, the once-anonymous author of the roman a clef about Bill Clinton. Ask J.K. Rowling, who, post-Harry Potter, wrote mysteries under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, albeit for a brief three months, explaining that she sought totally unvarnished feedback.

Sure, Ferrante assumed this risk, although perhaps she could not have anticipated her fame. Certainly, she tempted fate with the publication of Frantumaglia, an ostensibly nonfiction pastiche of letters, interviews and other writings in which Ferrante both describes herself (apparently inaccurately) as the daughter of a Neapolitan seamstress and proclaims that she finds lies useful and I resort to them when necessary.

And, yes, readers of novels as gripping as Ferrantes have a legitimate interest in learning more about their creator. How fascinating that Rajas mother seems actually to have been a teacher, Golda Frieda Petzenbaum, born in Germany to a family of Polish Jews. Her mothers story of wartime survival, refugee camps and eventual reconciliation with her parents sounds like fertile fodder for fiction. How interesting, how astonishing given their gritty, pinpoint realism, that the author chose instead to ground her novels in postwar Naples, where Raja was born but did not grow up.

It is not mere window-peeping prurience for a reader to crave more about an authors background. A 2003 letter to Ferrante from her publisher, included in Frantumaglia, cited a healthy desire on the part of your readers . . . to know you better.

And yet there is an equally healthy, even laudable, desire on the part of the author to shield herself from public view. For Ferrante, at least, pseudonymity was not a gimmick but a given, essential to her self-conception. She warned her publisher in 1991, before the release of her first novel, that she would engage in no public activities to promote it  no conferences, no prize ceremonies, no television circuit.

I will be interviewed only in writing, but I would prefer to limit even that to the indispensable minimum, Ferrante wrote. I believe that books, once they are written, have no need of their authors. If they have something to say, they will sooner or later find readers; if not, they wont.

How endearingly quaint. In the modern understanding, the book not only needs the author, it needs the full publicity tour, and the website, and the reading group guide. Most authors demand the full panoply of such promotion; Ferrante recoiled from it, despite the expected economic detriment.

This attitude is remarkable not only for its departure from the publishing norm, but for its resistance to the cult of celebrity and the accompanying demands for an all-access pass to all manner of personal information. Relentless self-promotion and self-exposure have yielded a plague of Kardashians, Real Housewives and, yes, Donald Trump.

And what intimate details celebrities, both real and famous-for-being-famous, may be reluctant to divulge are increasingly vulnerable to technological intrusion. The drone buzzes the celebrity wedding, snapping photos. The hacker unearths private emails, or posts intimate photographs.

Ferrante stood as a conscientious objector to all this. That she ultimately failed should come as no surprise, but it is cause for reflection, and for lament.

Read more from Ruth Marcuss archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
Here are key moments from the fiery town-hall style presidential debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton at Washington University in St. Louis on Oct. 9. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

Here are key moments from the fiery town-hall style presidential debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton at Washington University in St. Louis on Oct. 9. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

Debate weekend turned into jump-off-the-sinking-ship weekend as scores of Republicans decided they couldnt stomach Donald Trump anymore.

The question for all of them: What business did they have being so shocked?

True, Trumps comments in the 2005 video made public Friday by The Post are shockingly vile, astonishingly disgusting and disgracefully open about the freedom Trump felt (because he was a star) to grope and, lets face it, assault women.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump responded Hillary Clinton saying that he shouldn't be in charge of the law in the U.S. saying, "You'd be in jail." The comment was met with rousing applause from the audience. (The Washington Post)

All investigative reporters deserve our thanks for fully exposing Trump. But no one needed to rely on their work to know who he is. Only political opportunism allowed leading Republicans  from House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on down  to pretend that Trump was an acceptable presidential nominee.

Indeed, it should offend and enrage Mexican Americans, African Americans, American Muslims and everyone else Trump has attacked that none of these prior offenses had turned the Republican establishment away.

Birtherism? No problem. The verbal assaults on the Gold Star Khan family? Bad, but not enough to justify rescinding endorsements. Mexicans as rapists? This was just that Mexican thing, explained Mike Pence. The trashing of a former Miss Universe for gaining weight? We can get by that, too, they decided.

But now theres audio catching Trump describing women in the most vulgar and obscene language. For Trump to try to justify this as locker-room banter is an insult to the athletes who populate locker rooms. And his later apology sounded more angry than sincere.

Maybe the Republicans who are now oh-so-outraged and are pulling their endorsements have done their political calculations. They figured that they could write off African Americans, Muslims and Latinos, but could not possibly offend all women, too. Perhaps they remembered the things they have said about family values and the importance of character and realized they just couldnt roll with this one.

But if they cared about character and family values, Trump had already made clear that these meant nothing to him. This is a guy who bragged about sleeping with (terribly Victorian of me, I know, to use that term) married women.

As for character, the brave and good Republicans of the Never Trump movement have been citing chapter and verse about what a horrific man this is  someone who walked away from his debts, often failed to pay the people who worked for him, demeaned Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) because he was a prisoner of war and gleefully gave his opponents belittling nicknames.

Sadly, sickeningly, even those whom Trump had besmirched fell into line. McCain, who has so much to be proud of, endorsed Trump. He is now reduced to saying that Trump alone should pay the price for this episode. His meaning: Please dont punish the party that enabled and nominated Trump or the candidates who have carried his water. (McCain finally disendorsed Trump on Saturday.) Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.)  a.k.a. Lyin Ted  caved in and supported the man who had defamed Cruzs father and wife.

And what about the devout conservative Christians (Pence, for example) who claimed to care about how people live their lives and then embraced this despicable man? The conservative writer David French put it well Friday evening. Honestly, he tweeted, pro-Trump evangelicals, in future elections dont try to argue that character matters. Just dont.

Even when Ryan was rebuking Trump, he seemed to be looking for an escape hatch. 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.

Really, Mr. Speaker? Do you honestly think that Trump can now demonstrate his respect for women and that the video you blandly sanitized as this clip is somehow an aberration? Then again, Ryan should have distanced himself from Trump long ago, so maybe this isnt so surprising.

There must be accountability here for an entire party that was complicit in the rise of Trump and tried desperately to pretend that he was fit for our nations highest office.

The Never Trump movement tried to block Trump, but its champions were resisted by the GOP hierarchy. Priebus actively pushed back against efforts to derail Trump at the national convention. The supply-siders were bought off with his tax cuts. The congressional leadership just wanted to hold the House and Senate and was willing to prop Trump up to minimize the damage he could cause.

This is the most shameful episode in the history of the party that gave our nation Abraham Lincoln. A steep electoral price must be paid to jolt Republicans into a period of reform, renewal and, yes, repentance.

Read more from E.J. Dionnes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Gregory P. Downs is an associate professor of history at the University of California at Davis; Kate Masur is an associate professor of history at Northwestern University. They are the editors of the collection The World the Civil War Made.

As President Obama heralded the opening of the long-awaited National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, he argued that we must confront all of American history, even the parts that make us uncomfortable, if we are to learn and grow and harness our collective power to make this nation more perfect.

Obama can deliver on the promise of those words by using his authority to create a national monument to Reconstruction in Beaufort County, S.C., so that Americans can confront the dramatic victories and bitter defeats of a crucial time in our nations history.

For a century and a half, the United States has struggled to commemorate  or even to remember  what happened in the wake of slaverys abolition. During the 20th century, propagandists and white supremacists dismissed Reconstruction as a mistake, while Northern nationalists often forgot a period that did not fit with commonly held narratives of progress. At National Park Service sites, as in popular movies and novels, it proved far easier to talk about the Civil War than to grapple with what came next.

Considering Reconstructions importance to American history, it is remarkable that not a single national park or monument is dedicated to its commemoration. In the period that began with the destruction of slavery during the Civil War and ended with the imposition of Jim Crow, the nation underwent a Second Founding as new constitutional amendments ended slavery, created equal protection under the law and national citizenship, and prevented disenfranchisement based on race. Four million people of African descent, subjugated as chattel slaves in 1861, were by 1870 building churches, schools and civic organizations. Hundreds of thousands of black voters elected congressmen, legislators and thousands of local officials.

This was an era of extraordinary democratic promise, but it was also one of great disappointment. Talking about Reconstruction means remembering how frequently white Americans resorted to violence and corruption to disenfranchise black voters and passed discriminatory laws to block African American economic and social equality, while the U.S. government stood by passively.

In Beaufort County, all aspects of Reconstructions story are well represented. The U.S. Army occupied the area in November 1861. Immediately, slaves from the Sea Islands and surrounding lowlands escaped to the town, where many of the men enlisted to fight for the Union. In June 1863, U.S. soldiers accompanied by Harriet Tubman on the Combahee Ferry raid freed hundreds of slaves in nearby plantations.

Beaufort was also the home of Robert Smalls, an enslaved pilot who steered the CSS Planter to the U.S. Navy in 1862, used his reward money to purchase his former masters house and became a local political leader. In 1868, Smalls was a delegate in the state constitutional convention that enfranchised black men and created free public education. Smalls went on to serve five terms in Congress. And he lived long enough to see the eclipse of many of his dreams, fighting fruitlessly against disenfranchisement and Jim Crow segregation as a delegate to the 1895 South Carolina constitutional convention.

The history of this transformative era is visible all around Beaufort:

On the grounds of the U.S. Naval Hospital in neighboring Port Royal, where on Jan. 1, 1863, Brig. Gen. Rufus Saxton read the Emancipation Proclamation and former slave and future legislator Prince Rivers urged the crowd of ex-slaves to make a new nation.

At the Penn School on nearby Saint Helena Island, where Northern missionaries and African American teachers established schools for freedpeople, and where the site now called Penn Center would become an educational and community hub for a century and a half, including years as a base for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

In the markers for the Mitchelville settlement on nearby Hilton Head Island, where freedpeople established a self-governing community in 1862.

In the historic home in Beaufort where Robert Smalls lived.

In churches such as Brick Baptist on Saint Helena Island and Tabernacle Baptist in Beaufort, where ex-slaves formed their own still-thriving congregations.

In the Arsenal, the site of drilling and weapon storage for Confederate militias, Republican Reconstruction governments and the Democrats who overthrew them.

In the Beaufort National Cemetery, where more than 14,000 soldiers were buried, including members of two African American regiments.

National monument designations sometimes create controversy  criticism killed an effort to create a Reconstruction site in Beaufort more than a decade ago  but the idea now enjoys strong support. In June, South Carolina Reps. James Clyburn, a Democrat, and Mark Sanford, a Republican, co-sponsored a bill to name the Penn Center campus near Beaufort a national monument. Many community leaders know the areas Reconstruction history and want to promote it. The National Park Service itself is eager to contend with Reconstruction. The agency recently published a Reconstruction Handbook and commissioned us to write a theme study on the era and explore potential places for telling its story. We found many historically significant Reconstruction sites across the South, but we believe nowhere exceeds Beaufort County in its density of extant sites and richness of interpretive possibility.

Reconstruction lives on around us, critical but often unrecognized. By designating a Reconstruction monument in Beaufort County, Obama would help ensure that this periods crucial history is better understood. He would also show the world how important it is that we continue talking about the fundamental questions of democracy, race and citizenship that trouble our politics to this day.
In this 2005 frame from video, Donald Trump prepares for an appearance on Days of Our Lives with actress Arianne Zucker, center. He is accompanied to the set by Access Hollywood host Billy Bush. (Obtained by The Washington Post)

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan correctly described Donald Trumps 2005 taped sexually predatory conversation as sickening, but anyone interested in the health of the Republican Party should focus on the next part of Mr. Ryans statement. The sentence that counts  the statement that reveals the amoral, abject corruption at the heart of the Republican Party in this sad season  is this: 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.

Thus did the Republican Party once again initiate the same pathetic little dance it has performed with its partys nominee from the beginning. Claim the moral high ground; insist on improvement, as if improvement were a relevant concept in this situation; and then, when nothing improves, pronounce yourself satisfied nonetheless. Its true that this time some Republicans are jumping ship, including (finally) former presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Sen. John Thune (S.D.), part of the GOP Senate leadership. But vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Republican Chairman Reince Priebus and most other office-holders continue to join Mr. Ryan in pretending that Mr. Trump is not what we all know him to be. Are they fooling themselves, or just fearful of offending the Trump supporters whose votes they need in other races? Either way, the effect is the same.

[How much damage could a President Trump do? We can only begin to imagine.]

Lets ponder Mr. Ryans advice that Mr. Trump demonstrate a greater respect for women than this clip suggests. Certainly, that should not be difficult. What the clip shows is disgusting: an insecure braggart who, at the age of nearly 60, needs to boast of how he uses his celebrity to prey on women, and all the better if he can break his vows of marriage or theirs. Mr. Trump could be a caveman in one of those Mad Men-era cartoons dragging a woman back to his lair by her hair and still demonstrate a greater respect for women than this clip suggests. The idea that some pronouncement, any pronouncement, from Mr. Trump now could or should reassure voters is ludicrous.

But then, Republicans long ago had sufficient data points about this candidate who labels women pigs and slobs and jokes about how he likes to see them on their knees; calls his female opponents ugly and suggests that a female reporter who asks him a tough question must be menstruating. There has been no mystery about a bully who mocks people with disabilities, threatens anyone perceived as an enemy, disparages Mexicans and Mexican Americans, trades in ugly stereotypes about Jews, defames Muslims, insists on the guilt of five young black men proven to be innocent of a rape in Central Park, constantly lies and  oh, by the way  shares none of what Mr. Ryan claims as his core political philosophy.

Mr. Priebus, one of Mr. Trumps earliest and most abject enablers, explained his rationale frankly in February. Winning is the antidote to a lot of things, Mr. Priebus said. At the time, we agreed that winning can quiet many complaints. But, we wrote, it cannot and will not be an antidote to the moral poison of Mr. Trumps campaign.

For some Republicans Saturday, the moral poison  or maybe the receding prospect of victory  finally became too hard to ignore. But Mr. Trump answered Mr. Ryans plea with a grudging apology that segued, in his usual third-grade playground way, to an accusation that other people are worse than he is.

Will that be good enough for the sickened Mr. Ryan and the rest of his morally diminished party? Apparently so.
I could identify with the unemployed men described in George F. Wills Oct. 6 op-ed, The labor-force catastrophe. I cant find full-time work. I am blind but earned a bachelors degree and a Masters of Public Administration thinking I could work for government in Washington, contributing to public policy and to the well-being of my country. My state commission for the blind paid for my education and training, but after many years I still cannot find suitable full-time work after working in human resources for Mobil Corp. in New York. I and others were laid off in the 1980s when the company moved to Virginia.

I have actively sought new employment, but I believe I am silently discriminated against by employers not willing to hire a person with a disability. The unemployment rate among disabled people with college degrees remains high despite the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act and affirmative action policies. Unemployment among disabled Americans is rarely brought up in the election debates about employment policy. Thank God for Social Security disability income, but I wanted a meaningful career.

Tom Malone, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
White House and State Department officials coordinated in early 2015 on how to handle the fallout from the disclosure that Hillary Clinton had conducted official business on a private email server while serving as secretary of state, according to emails released by the Republican National Committee this week.

The email exchanges, which the RNC obtained through a public-records lawsuit and were first reported by the Wall Street Journal, include one in which then-White House communications director Jennifer Palmieri asked the State Department spokeswoman at the time, Jennifer Psaki, whether there was a way in which Secretary of State John F. Kerry could avoid having to answer questions about Clintons email practices while appearing on television over the weekend.

The exchange between Palmieri, who now serves as the communications director for Clintons presidential campaign, and Psaki, who succeeded Palmieri as White House communications director, appears to refer to a March 15, 2015, appearance the State Department had arranged for Kerry on CBSs Face the Nation.

On March 12, Palmieri sent Psaki an email with the subject line between us on the shows, in which the body of the message read: Think we can get this done so he is not asked about email.

Fourteen minutes later, Psaki replied, Agree completely, working to crush on my end:)

RNC spokesman Raj Shah said the exchange showed that the administration has treated the Hillary Clinton email scandal as a P.R. problem to be managed, rather than the grievous breach of national security it clearly is.

But in an email Friday, Psaki called it much ado about nothing.

To start with, the Iran negotiations were weeks away from a deadline, [Arkansas GOP Sen. Tom] Cotton had just written a controversial open letter to Iranian leaders, and the deteriorating situation in Syria remained front and center, and any communications professional would have advised his or her boss against going out to do a round of interviews, she said.

In the email in question, Psaki added, she is advising that Kerry not do Sunday shows at all.

White House officials have acknowledged repeatedly that they have coordinated at times with Clinton and her aides on responding to media inquiries related to her activities as secretary of state.

For years now, my boss Josh Earnest from the podium in the White House briefing room has acknowledged that our staff in the communications office in the White House will be in touch with Secretary Clintons team about stories that pertain to Secretary Clintons service to the Obama administration, White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday. The documents that were printed only seem to back up what Josh has been acknowledging for a while.

The coordination appears to fall within federal rules for the kind of limited political activity White House officials can conduct.

[FBI releases Hillary Clinton email probe documents]

The question about Clintons email did not come up in the Kerry interview CBS aired that Sunday; instead, it focused on the administrations nuclear deal with Iran and Syrias ongoing civil war.

CBS spokeswoman Caitlin Conant said the network did not negotiate with administration officials over what questions its State Department correspondent Margaret Brennan could ask Kerry.

No subject was off limits when this interview was arranged, as is the CBS News standard, Conant said. CBS Newss State Department correspondent was in Egypt with Secretary John Kerry in the home stretch of the Iran nuclear deal negotiations and discussed policy issues of the day with him on this official trip.

Asked whether the administration sought to influence CBSs coverage of the email controversy, Schultz said, Thats not my understanding. Youll have to talk to the State Department about any engagements they had with media outlets.

The Clinton campaign declined to comment on the matter, referring reporters to the State Department. It is common practice for State Department and White House staffers to be in touch when agency officials are potentially conducting television interviews, the agency said in a statement.

On Friday, the State Department released 273 pages of Clintons email that had been gathered by the FBI during the course of the investigation into her use of a private server during her time as secretary of state. Clinton has said that in December 2014, she returned to the State Department all emails she had in her possession that dealt with her work during her time as secretary. FBI Director James B. Comey has said the FBI recovered thousands of additional work-related emails, which have been turned over to the State Department for review. He said, however, that the agency found no evidence the emails had been purposely concealed.

The State Department is processing and releasing the emails in response to a court order from a lawsuit over a public-records request for Clintons correspondence. The judges order requires that the State Department release additional batches of emails on Oct. 21, Nov. 3 and Nov. 4 and then on a monthly basis after the election. Republicans have hoped the new material will result in damaging revelations about Clinton on the eve of the election.

Rosalind S. Helderman, Anne Gearan and Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.
On Saturday morning, as Donald Trumps campaign for president showed every sign of implosion, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) wanted an apology. An 11-year-old video showing Trump gloating about a sexual conquest was absolutely unacceptable. The nominee needed to show contrition in a way that people believe hes sorry.

But when asked whether Trump should quit the race, Blunt couldnt see how.

I think thats an unrealistic solution, he said. The devastation of Obamacare, the out-of-control regulators, the foreign policy [in which] our friends dont trust us make a third Obama term an unacceptable alternative.

Asked whether he would vote for Trump, Blunt wondered why that wasnt already clear:

Didnt I just say that? We dont need to make this harder than it is. Weve got to change things.

All day Saturday, in the aftermath of the release of the video, Republicans scrambled for ways to denounce Trump. Some simply condemned his comments. Some, such as Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.)  like Blunt a freshman senator in a tough reelection battle  said they would write in the name of vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence. Others, such as Blunts leadership colleague Sen. John Thune (S.D.), called on Trump to quit and let Pence become the nominee.

As Blunt said, that last, dreamy option looked neither legal nor possible. And as he campaigned through southwest Missouri, an area he has represented in one office or another for 32 years, Blunt was confident that voters would separate him from Trump.

He also found conservative voters sticking with the presidential nominee who had narrowly won this states primary.

[GOP consumed by crisis as more Republicans call on Trump to quit race]

This started at Mount Vernons Apple Butter Makin Days parade, the 50th year of the food-and-crafts festival. In 2012, Mount Vernon and the rest of Lawrence County had given Mitt Romney 72.5 percent of the vote. That same year, the Republicans Senate candidate, Rep. Todd Akin, lost a statewide landslide after suggesting that women could not get pregnant by rape unless the rape was legitimate. Akin won Lawrence County by 17 points.

Jason Kander, the Democratic secretary of state who is challenging Blunt, had no trouble attacking Trump. My mom asked me how we could have a president that she would have to mute the TV when shes with my son so he doesnt learn offensive words, he told The Washington Post in a statement. Families across the country are probably thinking the same thing today. Donald Trump is unfit to be president.

But as Blunts float wound through the town, its speakers playing the Toy Story theme song Youve Got a Friend in Me, no voters challenged him about Trump. One, who gave her name as Janice, said Trump had made the crude remark when he was still a Democrat. Joe Patton said that every Trump-is-toast news item was disproved, in a hurry, by actual voters.

In the wake of a new Washington Post report showing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaking in very lewd terms about women in 2005, some Republicans are calling for Trump to step down as nominee. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

I dont think people realize that everywhere he goes, 20,000 or 30,000 people show up, said Patton, 70. People in line, theyve got suits, cutoffs, tattoos, Harley-Davidson stuff. Thats not the people they poll.

Blunt had never indulged in this theory of Trump. Like most Republicans on the ballot this year, he had preferred to rebuff questions about the nominee as if a reporter had just asked him something totally frivolous.

Its my view that I need to focus on what Im focused on and not spend my time every day responding to whatever hes talking about that day, Blunt told the Associated Press in the summer.I think he should talk about jobs and national security and stay focused on what I believe voters are concerned about.

In Mount Vernon, the churn of bad Trump news seemed far away, but familiar. Heather Schlabach, 52, said she had already decided to vote against Trump and for Kander over Blunt. Donald Trump is the epitome of rape culture, she said. But she would be casting a protest vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson, not for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Its a binary choice, explained Jay Ashcroft, former U.S. attorney general John Ashcrofts son, who is running for secretary of state. I can either vote for Hillary Clinton, who ought to be in the big house instead of the White House, or I can vote for Donald Trump.

Blunt finished the parade walk early and headed up the highway to a Republican Party office in Springfield. Inside, there was no evidence of a move against Trump. Trump lawn signs are still selling for $2. A trio of mannequin heads sported Make America Great Again hats, also on sale, in patriotic colors. One T-shirt read Itll be YUGE, and several advertised that the wearer was a deplorable, a reference to Clintons September speech denouncing some of Trumps voters.

Trump went missing when Blunt spoke. As a few dozen conservative activists listened, Blunt said that 2016 would be the year to elect a new governor, a new secretary of state, and a new attorney general. Jay Ashcroft promised that a Republican governor  the partys candidate, Eric Greitens, is trailing in polls  could sign a right-to-work law and get Missouris economy humming.

Blunt quickly exited through a back door, the one that was not being watched by a Democratic tracker. After a few more speeches, Scott McGill, the leader of the districts Republican Assembly  a conservative group  mentioned the elephant in the room.

You hear people say, they cant agree with 50 percent of what Trump says, he argued. Well, you cant agree with 100 percent of what Hillary says.

Amen! said one activist.

We know today from WikiLeaks that she truly believes in open trade and no borders, McGill said.

No borders! said another activist.

Thats what were up against, McGill said. I am reminded of the great song from the movie Camelot. At the end of that show, King Arthur sings the song  that I will not sing  that every evening, from December to December, before you drift to sleep upon your cot, think back on all the tales that you remember. Of Camelot. 

As Blunt headed to his next stop, a family day at Springfields fairgrounds, more Republican senators had called on Trump to quit. Rep. Ann Wagner became the first member of Missouris GOP congressional delegation to tell Trump to move aside for Pence. Conservative activists were not there, not yet. Ed Martin, who had been the late Phyllis Schlaflys right-hand man at her St. Louis-based Eagle Forum, said in an interview that the only people calling for Trump to quit had always opposed him.

Im glad he apologized, and Im glad hes been clear in his apology, Martin said. That tape has existed for a long time  theres a political overlay here, in terms of when it was released.

At the fairgrounds, Blunt moved briskly and ahead of schedule. On his way out, he greeted a couple who knew him by name and who confessed to not paying much attention to politics.

Im a woman, and I dont think a woman should be president, said Yvonne Cline, 59.

Her husband, James, was more concerned with Clintons unfitness to be president than anything Trump had said. Echoing a TV ad run frequently by the National Rifle Association, he said that Clinton wanted to grab my guns, and that her Secret Service should be disarmed, to see how she liked it. Trump had said the same thing, and hed appreciated that.

Hes got a mouth that gets him into trouble, James Cline said. Its because hes a businessman. Hes not a politician.

Asked about the Republicans calling on Trump to quit, he laughed, then paused for thought. I do like his running mate better, he said. He turned Indiana around. Maybe he could turn the country around.
By PTI: Dubai, Oct 8 (PTI) A high-level Gujarat Government delegation, will visit Kuwait next week to promote the "Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017" and seek active participation from the country.

"Our delegations objective is to strengthen relationship between the Gulf countries and India. With some important projects lined up, Kuwaits expertise in areas like Oil and Gas, Infrastructure, Education and Tourism to name a few will play a significant role," said Rajiv Kumar Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Government of Gujarat and Managing Director, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. (GNFC) who is leading the delegation.

advertisement

The 16-member business delegation from Gujarat will comprise representatives from reputed Indian companies from various sectors in addition to representatives of Government of Gujarat and Indian Chambers.

The members will explore trade and investment opportunities in Kuwait, including collaborations and tie-ups with businesses and enterprises of Kuwait. They will meet with various executives of companies, financial institutions, members of industry chambers, government officials among others.

The visit, from October 9-10, is aimed at strengthening the economic and social ties between India and Kuwaitto promote Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017.

Earlier, the delegation had visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

With the theme of "Gujarat - Connecting India to World", the meetings will feature various activities involving leading companies, industry associations and government officials, strengthening the cause of development and promote cooperation between Kuwait and the State of Gujarat.

The Embassy in association with the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) is organising a meeting during which there will be interaction with the members of KCCI to brief them about the investment opportunities in Gujarat. PTI CORR AMS ASK AMS

--- ENDS ---
In the wake of a new Washington Post report showing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaking in very lewd terms about women in 2005, some Republicans are calling for Trump to step down as nominee. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

In the wake of a new Washington Post report showing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaking in very lewd terms about women in 2005, some Republicans are calling for Trump to step down as nominee. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said in an interview Saturday that he would not drop out of the race under any circumstances, following calls from several prominent members of his party to do so.

Id never withdraw. Ive never withdrawn in my life, Trump told The Washington Post in a phone call from his home in Trump Tower in New York. No, Im not quitting this race. I have tremendous support.

People are calling and saying, Dont even think about doing anything else but running, Trump said when asked about Republican defections. You have to see whats going on. The real story is that people have no idea about the support. I dont know how thats going to boil down, but people have no idea about the support.

Running against her, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, makes keeping the party behind him easier, Trump added.

Its because shes so bad. Shes so flawed as a candidate. Running against her, I cant say itd be the same if I ran against someone else, but running against her makes it a lot easier, thats for sure, he said.

In this video from 2005, Donald Trump prepares for an appearance on "Days of Our Lives" with actress Arianne Zucker. He is accompanied to the set by "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush. The Post has edited this video for length. (Obtained by The Washington Post)

Trumps comments came less than 24 hours after The Post published a video Friday where Trump bragged in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women during a 2005 conversation caught on a hot microphone.

[Trump offers brief, defiant apology for lewd remarks]

Trump acknowledged that the video has consumed the presidential race  it certainly has  but he said he has endured past controversies, not only during his 2016 bid but during his career.

Ive been here before, Ill tell ya, in life, Trump said. I understand life and how you make it through. You go through things. Ive been through many. Its called life. And its always interesting.

Trump said thousands and thousands of backers have sent him letters and emails since The Posts story was published. You have no idea what its like, he said. So many people.

Trump pointed to his disparagement of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during the early months of last years Republican primary campaign as an example of how he has weathered political storms.

Everyone said, Its over, its over. The people didnt say that, but the reporters said that, Trump said. When asked to explain his ability in the past to survive, Trump said its because Im change.

1 of 28 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Here are some of the Republicans who cut ties with Trump after lewd remarks View Photos These Republicans cut ties with Trump after lewd remarks: Following a Friday report by The Washington Post on a 2005 video of the GOP presidential nominee, various Republicans have said they no longer plan to vote for him. Caption Following a Friday report by The Washington Post on a 2005 video of the GOP presidential nominee, various Republicans have said they no longer plan to vote for him and some call for him to drop out. Sen. John McCain Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) joined the cavalcade of Republicans withdrawing their support for Trump. There are no excuses for Donald Trumps offensive and demeaning comments in the just released video; no woman should ever be victimized by this kind of inappropriate behavior. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences, McCain said in a statement. Susan Walsh/AP Wait 1 second to continue.

[Theres no longer any way for the GOP to boot Trump from the ballot]

Reflecting on his state of mind as he watched news coverage from his apartment, Trump said: Im holding up well. Im holding up well.

Of Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who retracted his support for Trump on Friday, Trump said that as a Republican, Chaffetz should be going after Clinton rather than criticizing him.

Chaffetz should spend the same energy going after Hillary Clinton as he does going after the person that won the primary with a record vote, Trump said. Its all talk. All talk and nothing happens when he goes after Clinton.

[When was America Great? It depends on who you are.]

Trump said he met with his advisers and family Friday night at Trump Tower and agreed to record a video response. He said there were many opinions expressed by those around him, but he declined to share details about those discussions. But he said that his position, throughout the evening, was to stay in the race and remain as upbeat as possible before Sundays presidential debate in St. Louis.

Theyre not going to make me quit, and they cant make me quit, Trump said of associates and party leaders who have urged him to step aside. The Republicans, youve got to remember, have been running for a long time. The reason they dont win is because they dont stick together.

Trump said he may make a speech or remarks on Saturday evening, perhaps in a suburb of New York City, as a way of encouraging his supporters.

Thats what Im thinking about, he said. Well see.

Trump insisted, again, that any possible speech would not be a departure from the race.

Forget that, Trump said dismissively of the suggestion. Thats not my deal.

Asked for a final time, Trump said: Zero chance. Ive never quit in my life. . . . I can give you my word that Im never leaving.
In the closing weeks of the presidential race, Hillary Clintons campaign says it is stepping up its efforts to court white working-class men, with whom support for Republican Donald Trump, as well as dislike of the Democratic nominee, runs deep.

Evidence of the renewed push can be found on Clintons calendar. She plans to make her second visit to Ohio on Monday in as many weeks, after shunning the state for much of September. Among the battleground states, it has been one of Trumps strongest bastions of support, largely because of blue-collar workers who have gravitated toward his message of job creation and better trade deals.

After Sundays second debate, the Clinton camp also plans to intensify deployment of surrogates to pockets of the country where it sees opportunities to win back disaffected Democrats. Aides say that former president Bill Clinton will embark on more bus tours  probably including one in heavily white Iowa  like the one he just completed through areas of Ohio struggling because of the loss of manufacturing and mining jobs. Others also being dispatched to make the case in Rust Belt states and beyond include Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, whose focus on economic inequality resonated with white, working-class men during the Democratic primaries to a greater degree than Clintons message.

[In hard-luck Youngstown, Bill Clinton makes an appeal to the common man]

Clinton has made similar overtures without moving the dial much. Immediately after the Democratic convention, she and her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, embarked on a bus tour through rural Pennsylvania and Ohio. And in August, Clinton used a high-profile speech in Michigan to argue that Trumps appeal to economically beleaguered Americans was a fraud.

The Sept. 22 Washington Post/ABC News poll is packed with data. Here are a few of its most interesting findings. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post; Photo: Jabin Botsford, Melina Mara/ The Post, AP)

But Clinton aides argue that they could find a more receptive audience now amid a fresh set of Trump controversies, including revelations that he might have gone many years without paying income taxes and that in recent construction projects he opted to buy his steel from Chinese manufacturers rather than U.S. companies based in Rust Belt states.

The emergence Friday of a video in which Trump speaks in particularly lewd terms about women could also factor in to the way voters see the race.

We see an opportunity to make a renewed push with these working-class voters whove been open to Donald Trump, said Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon. Theres been a lot to call into question whether he really shares their values.

The effort could have an additional effect for Clinton, which is to at least give the appearance that her appeal extends beyond the Democratic base.

Fallon stressed that the stepped-up outreach to white, working-class voters would not supplant the campaigns focus on turning out its base of support, which includes African Americans, Latinos and college-educated whites, particularly women.

While we feel like we can win with the coalition of support weve already built  assuming they turn out  well also be going on the offense in these closing weeks, he said.

[Clinton tries to undermine central premise of Trumps campaign  that he would help struggling Americans]

For almost twenty years, Hillary Rodham Clinton put her political aspirations on hold when she moved to Arkansas to marry Bill Clinton, who would become the country's 42nd president. The former New York senator, secretary of state and Democratic nominee for president would be the first woman to hold the office if she is elected. (Jayne Orenstein/The Washington Post)

The campaign plans to emphasize long-standing pocketbook initiatives that aides argue are more in line with the interests of working-class voters than anything Trump has put forward but which have not fully broken through the clutter of a mutually negative campaign. Among them: increasing the minimum wage, requiring employers to provide family leave and taking steps to make college more affordable. The pitch will be backed up by some of Clintons closing advertising in battleground states, aides said.

Bill Clintons travels through Ohio this week and other appearances around the country have offered one version of the message.

Speaking last month in Nevada  a state that has been relatively slow to recover from the recession  he sought to frame the election as a choice between a candidate who has served others her entire life and is offering solid policy proposals, and one who is appealing to a sense of road rage in the country.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll late last month showed Trump leading Clinton by 32 percentage points among likely voters without a college degree  62 percent to 30 percent. The gap was even more pronounced among men in this group, which Trump led 76 percent to 17 percent.

Those numbers approach but do not quite mirror the advantage that Clinton enjoys among African Americans  a group that Trump has tried to court without much notable progress.

Many of the white, working-class voters are not only disinclined to vote for Clinton, but they also strongly dislike her. In a more recent Post-ABC poll that followed the first presidential debate, 73 percent of white Americans without a college degree said they have an unfavorable impression of Clinton. Sixty-one percent said their view of the former secretary of state is strongly unfavorable.

Scott Reed, a longtime Republican operative who managed Bob Doles 1996 presidential campaign, said part of Clintons problem is a lack of a focused message to reach the demographic.

I havent seen a Clinton message to blue-collar voters about economic growth, said Reed, who is now chief strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. I think that is still a big challenge for her.

He added that Trump has fallen short in this regard as well. But, Reed said: Trump turned out a lot of Reagan Democrats during the primary, and hes doing pretty well with them now.

Joe Trippi, a longtime Democratic strategist, said he thinks it is smart for Clinton to try to reach a demographic that includes many people who have voted Democratic in the past and may not be enchanted with Trump either.

Even modest gains among working-class voters cuts into the coalition Trump would need to win, Trippi said. If nothing else, a sustained effort by Clinton could force Trump to spend more time defending his base.

Its sort of a twofer strategy, Trippi said. She may be able to win some of them and also force him to spend resources and time guarding support he already has. In that sense, it doesnt matter if its a head fake or not.

Trippi, who is not working for the Clinton campaign, also argued that there are potential longer-term benefits to reaching out to a demographic group that views her so negatively.

The country is so polarized right now, he said. If she wins, shes going to have to govern. So its to her benefit to reach out to people now who are moving in the other direction.

Emily Guskin contributed to this report.
Hillary Clintons paid closed-door speeches to Wall Street banks apparently included her dreams of open trade and open borders and a suggestion that bankers are best positioned to know how the industry should be regulated, according to hacked emails made public Friday by WikiLeaks.

The comments are drawn from an email describing speech transcripts that Clinton has refused to release despite months of intense criticism.

The email, apparently hacked from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, shows a staffer in the early stages of Clintons primary campaign against Sen. Bernie Sanders this year flagging speech excerpts that could be politically problematic.

Sanders had questioned what Clinton had said to the financial institutions that paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees between the end of her tenure as secretary of state and the start of her run for the White House.

The excerpts highlighted by the aide included comments on two front-burner election issues  Wall Street regulation and trade  on which Clinton has been on the defensive at times. Both Sanders and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump have attacked Clinton for her past support of global free-trade deals, tapping into a growing sentiment among many voters that such agreements have hurt their communities.

Clinton, for instance, described her free-trade ambitions during a 2013 appearance before the U.S. arm of a Brazilian banking group. Records show the group, Itau BBA USA Securities, paid her $225,000.

My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, she said, according to an email first reported by BuzzFeed.

The Clinton campaign on Friday night refused to authenticate the hacked emails, instead attacking WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been openly critical of Clinton. The site released hacked Democratic National Committee emails over the summer that U.S. intelligence officials on Friday accused Russia of stealing.

We are not going to confirm the authenticity of stolen documents released by Julian Assange, who has made no secret of his desire to damage Hillary Clinton, Clinton spokesman Glen Caplin said. He referred to doctored emails that have appeared on websites linked to Russian intelligence recently as proof that documents can be faked as part of a sophisticated Russian misinformation campaign, although Caplin did not say that the emails released Friday concerning Clintons speeches had been faked.

The FBI did not immediately say if the Russians were behind the alleged hack.

The new revelations about Clintons paid appearances before big banks, coming two days before her next debate faceoff against Trump on Sunday, threaten to revive an issue that has dogged the Democratic candidate for months and hampered her ability to energize some Sanders backers and other liberals she needs to mobilize on Election Day.

Sanders aggressively attacked Clinton during their primary battle for the speaking fees she got from major banks, particularly the $675,000 she was paid by Goldman Sachs for three appearances, bolstering his populist challenge and portraying her as cozy with Wall Street. He repeatedly challenged her to release the speech transcripts.

Clinton, who was paid more than $20 million for speeches between 2013 and 2015, had said she would look into releasing the transcripts  but she never has indicated any plans to do so. While Clinton has attacked Trump for refusing to release his tax returns, some critics have pointed to the speeches by Clinton as evidence that she, too, has not been fully transparent with voters.

One possible vulnerability identified in the emails was a 2014 speech to Deutsche Bank in which she gave remarks that a Clinton staffer characterized as suggesting, Wall Street Insiders are what is needed to fix Wall Street.

How do you get to the golden key, how do we figure out what works? the email indicates that Clinton said in the speech, speaking of Wall Street regulation. And the people that know the industry better than anybody are the people who work in the industry. Records show Clinton was paid $260,000 to address Deutsche Bank in 2014.

In another speech to Goldman Sachs in Arizona in 2013, Clinton fretted that part of the problem with the political situation, too, is that there is such a bias against people who have led successful and/or complicated lives. She was paid $225,000 for the Arizona speech, records show.

The campaign staffer cited other worrisome passages that touted Clintons relationship to Wall Street, including an acknowledgment that she needed Wall Streets financial support.

The emails appear to have been hacked from Podestas Gmail account and appear to span almost a decade. According to a WikiLeaks tweet, the release represented the first 2,050 documents of 50,000 it has hacked from Podesta.

Podesta, 67, is a longtime aide to Clinton and a powerhouse in Democratic politics. A former White House chief of staff for Bill Clinton, Podesta was a founder of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress and as campaign chairman has been at the center of every major decision as Clinton has dealt with political struggles over her use of a private email server and fundraising by the Clinton Foundation.

The hacked emails appear to offer insights into the campaigns handling of some of those controversies.

In one October 2015 exchange, staffers appear to discuss ways to capitalize on Sanderss comment during a Democratic debate that people were sick of hearing about Clintons damn emails. Adviser Joel Benenson appears to have suggested that Clinton could make a joke about her testimony before a Republican-led committee investigating the attacks in Benghazi, Libya. I was kind of expecting around hour #8 Bernie Sanders would burst in and shout--enough about your damn emails Hillary!!  But Podesta nixed the idea. I defer if others think this buys us good will with Sanders people, but email jokes in Iowa usually end up badly and dont we want to move on? he wrote back.

The emails include a series of internal conversations in May 2015 about how to respond to a book by conservative author Peter Schweizer called Clinton Cash, which tracked donations to the Clinton Foundation and speaking fees paid to former president Bill Clinton while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. In one email, Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri told other Clinton staffers that Clinton had raised the topic of the book with her. It was a difficult conversation, Palmieri wrote. My impression is she wants a much stronger response. Which means engaging more on details that we have to date not found in our interest to do so.

Fridays WikiLeaks release underscored a rapidly escalating concern among U.S. intelligence officials  and the Clinton campaign  about information hacked by foreign intelligence operations.

The Podesta emails surfaced on the day that the U.S. intelligence community officially accused the Russian government of attempting to interfere in U.S. elections by deliberately leaking the DNC files and other hacked emails.

Intelligence officials have identified WikiLeaks and other sites as among those receiving or publishing information from Russian intelligence, a claim that Assange has dismissed in the past.

Clinton campaign officials have had their hands full responding to questions about hacked emails.

In the previous 24 hours, the website DCLeaks.com had released a batch of communications from the Gmail account of a lower-level and longtime Clinton aide Capricia Marshall. She served as the State Departments chief of protocol under Clinton. Intelligence officials think her email account may have been hacked by Russians as well.
Radio personality Howard Stern talks with Donald Trump at a party held by the New York Post in February 2000 in New York. (Louis Lanzano/AP)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, already under siege for vulgar comments about forcing women into sex, also had crude, sexually explicit conversations in a series of radio interviews over the past 23 years, even noting how voluptuous his daughter was.

On a new batch of recordings from Howard Sterns radio shows aired Saturday by CNN, Trump said that he would have no problem having sex with 24-year-olds, that he couldnt care less if he satisfies the women he sleeps with, that its checkout time once women reach the age of 35 and that he had engaged in three-way sex.

Havent we all? Trump told Stern on his SiriusXM satellite radio show in 2008. Are we babies?

Trump also described barging in on nude Miss Universe beauty pageant contestants in their dressing room, characterizing his visits as inspections by the contests owner.

In previously reported tapes of Stern programs from the 1990s through this decade, Trump bantered with the host of the popular radio raunchfest about whether he could have nailed Princess Diana, whether he would stay with his wife if she were disfigured in a car crash (How do the breasts look? Trump asked) and how often he had sex with his wife, Melania.

Donald Trump has a history of controversial comments about women that began long before the 2016 election. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

In the new collection of recordings, Trump and Stern trade observations about the nominees older daughter, Ivanka. On one show 10 years ago, Stern asked whether Ivanka Trump has breast implants, and her father said she does not. Shes actually always been very voluptuous, Trump added. Ivanka Trump was 24 at the time.

[Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005]

Trump was a frequent guest on Sterns show both when it was syndicated to FM broadcast stations across the country and in later years, when it moved to satellite radio, where there were no barriers to how explicit the sex talk could be. During one of those appearances, in 2000, Melania Trump joined her future husband on the phone and told listeners that she and Donald have incredible sex once a day, sometimes even more.

The new batch of recordings, released one day after The Washington Post published video from 2005 in which Trump makes lewd remarks about groping women, adding to the voluminous evidence that the Republican nominee has habitually said demeaning and vulgar things about women over the course of decades. Trump has never denied that, but he has always argued that such comments are meant only to entertain and are locker room banter and therefore do not reflect his respect and love for women.

Respect was not a topic when Stern asked Trump about his relationships with women. The radio host, whose show for many years consisted in good part of seeing how far his interviewees would go in describing their own sex lives and fantasies, found a ready and willing partner in Trump, who at every turn went there.

Look, I like sex, Trump said.

Had he had threesomes, Stern asked. Trump confirmed that he had.

In this video from 2005, Donald Trump prepares for an appearance on "Days of Our Lives" with actress Arianne Zucker. He is accompanied to the set by "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush. The Post has edited this video for length. (Obtained by The Washington Post)

Would he have sex with women who were menstruating? Affirmative. Had he had sex with a black woman? Well, it depends on what your definition of black is, Trump said.

Asked in 2005 whether hed ever had sex with contestants in the Miss Universe contest, which he owned, Trump initially said, I never comment on things like that. But when Stern pressed, asking whether Trump would say no if a contestant sought to have sex with him, the pageant owner said, I dont want to hurt their feelings.

[GOP consumed by crisis as more Republicans call on Trump to quit]

Might that pose a conflict of interest, asked Sterns longtime sidekick, Robin Quivers.

It could be a conflict of interest, Trump replied, but, you know, its the kind of thing you worry about later. You tend to think about the conflict a little later on. . . . What you could say is that, as the owner of the pageant, its your obligation to do that.

Trump volunteered that as the owner, he would sometimes wander backstage when the contestants were nude or dressing. Im allowed to go in, because Im the owner of the pageant, and therefore Im inspecting it, he said.

Stern seemed especially interested in the age of the women Trump would sleep with. In an interview in 2002, when Melania Trump was 30, Trump called 30 a perfect age.

How about when a woman gets a bit older, one of Sterns co-hosts asked.

What is it at 35, Howard? Trump replied. Its called checkout time. Guffaws ensued all around.

Years earlier, in 1993, Trump told Stern in a discussion about extramarital affairs that he was surprised to learn that the radio host was faithful to his wife.

I was actually faithful to my wife for many years, Trump said, until I realized the marriage wasnt gonna work.

In 2006, Stern asked Trump whether he could now be banging 24-year-olds?

Oh, absolutely, Trump answered. Id have no problem.

Asked if there was any age limit in who he might go after, Trump said, No, I have no age  I mean, I have age limit. I dont want to be like Congressman Foley, with, you know, 12-year-olds.

Rep. Mark Foley, a Republican from Florida, resigned from the House that year following allegations that he had sent sexually explicit messages to teenage boys who had been congressional pages. This August, Foley sat behind Trump at a rally in Florida, in seats reserved by the Trump campaign staff.

In one of their conversations about Trumps daughter, Stern complimented Ivanka Trumps looks and asked: Can I say this? A piece of a--.

Yeah, Trump responded.

Stern once asked Trump to define the perfect date.

You meet at 7 for drinks, Trump replied. You promise to take her to dinner, but you never get there.
This is Frexit country: a small, sleepy French city that embodies the contradictions of the European Union in the aftermath of Brexits seismic shift.

As the hub of Ryanair, a major budget airline, Beauvais is recognized mostly because of the cheap, easy travel guaranteed by a borderless continental Europe. But a majority of people living here  aging, middle class and white  would prefer that France joined Britain in bidding adieu to the 28-state bloc.

In a sense, they already have: In 2005, over 60 percent of people in Beauvais said no in a referendum on whether France should ratify the European constitution. Some who opposed Europe in that earlier vote, such as Jean-Claude Gazon, 73, a retired police officer, say they would absolutely say no again.

 France means a certain thing, he said. De Gaulle made France great, and now. . . . Excuse my language, but the country is up to its neck in crap.

Britains vote to leave the European Union may have shocked the world, but Euroskepticism was never exclusively British. In fact, more people in France  Europes second-largest economy  harbor negative views of the Brussels-based institution than in Britain, according to the results of a comprehensive poll conducted this summer by the Pew Research Center.

Analysts say a Frexit is unlikely, but that Britains departure has normalized anti-E.U. sentiment across the continent to the extent that bowing out of the European Union is no longer a fringe idea. Nowhere is that truer than in France on the eve of a presidential election.

[With Britains exit from the European Union, France sees an opening]

Once espoused mainly by the likes of Marine Le Pen, the fiery leader of Frances far-right National Front party, anti-E.U. sentiment is so ingrained in public debate here that mainstream politicians  even on the famously pro-European left  are running their campaigns directly against Brussels and its alleged bureaucracy.

Right and left, there is a widespread consensus on the urgent need to redefine the essence of the European project, in the words of Arnaud Montebourg, a socialist contender for the nations highest office. Le Pen has been saying much the same, albeit in stronger terms, for years.

For Antoine Vauchez, a political scientist at the Sorbonne in Paris, this bizarre convergence represents a shared frustration among French politicians that the European project is no longer dominated by French influence, as it was for decades.

The way that French political elites used to think of the E.U. was as a projection of the French model, he said, referring to the social-welfare policies that France had dictated in Brussels before the bloc began to embrace a free-market orientation in the 1990s.

Now, there is the feeling that France has little capacity to effectively alter the course of the European Union, Vauchez said. The E.U. is perceived as something more or less ruled in Berlin and Brussels.

But in Beauvais, disenchantment with Brussels extends beyond the abstract question of French political influence. Here, anti-E.U. sentiment is personal, driven by the resentment of a promise that has only benefited a lucky few.

Although Beauvais is less than 50 miles north of Paris, most here have never known the Europe frequently romanticized by urban elites and especially by young people: the self-styled utopia of transnational education and cosmopolitan careers. But they are reminded of that Europe every day, through the nearby airport that now serves as one of its unofficial capitals, handling a passenger flow of over 4 million people a year.

Ordinary residents in this pro-Frexit community are quick to point out that they are hardly among the travelers who jet off on Ryanair to Barcelona or Stockholm, either for work or play.

Asked whether she had ever lived or worked in another European city  a major selling point frequently invoked by E.U. advocates  Jacqueline Goget, 70, started laughing. Recently retired from a decades-long career in Beauvais city hall, she said that leaving was never an economic possibility for her.

Ive lived my whole life in Beauvais, she said, sitting in the town square as her two grandchildren played on a jungle gym. I could never have left. There are things that just never came.

Gazon, the retired police officer, was more explicit, taking direct aim at the frequent travelers who pass through his city. Young people today are useless  sheltered and depending on their parents, he said, noting that he, too, was never able to leave Beauvais and survives on a small pension.

I have known misery, he said. I have known unemployment.

This sentiment, for political scientist Dominique Moisi, a co-founder of the Paris-based French Institute for International Relations, represents a crucial psychological element in an already fraught political equation.

The less good you feel about yourself, he said, the more you tend to be critical about the Union  thats absolutely clear. Its a big problem, because this is a time when candidates should call upon Europe as part of a solution. But they cant do that because for most Frenchmen, Europe is perceived as part of the problem.

France and Britain just beat Donald Trump to building a border wall

Shakespeare and Company, Pariss famous bookstore where wandering writers are welcome

France to open first of 12 deradicalization centers for at-risk youths

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Across Europe, leaders have expressed revulsion towards the Republican presidential nominee but little about what to do about him. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

The man who stands an outside chance of becoming the next president of the United States is a hate preacher. He is unfit to hold the office because of his stupefying ignorance. His pattern of reckless behavior inspires a retching feeling.

Those are not the words of Republican nominee Donald Trumps domestic political opponents, eager to take him down in the rancorous home stretch of an almost incomprehensibly acid American election.

Instead, they are the sentiments of Washingtons closest allies, who, gazing across the Atlantic, have broken with decades of precedent that calls for studious silence and have openly taken sides in a U.S. presidential election.

From the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean coast, the prospect of Trump taking control of the worlds greatest power has triggered widespread anxiety in European capitals. It has also brought periodic outbursts from leaders who no doubt hope, perhaps in vain, that the views of Americas foreign friends will somehow make a difference among American voters.

But what Trumps rise hasnt done is prompt European allies to get ready for the possibility that he could actually win.

They are taking it seriously, said Xenia Wickett, head of the Americas program at the London-based think tank Chatham House. But I dont think theyre preparing for it.

That lack of preparation leaves Europe dangerously exposed should Trump find a way out of the maelstrom generated by his vulgar comments in a 2005 video and pull off an unexpected victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in next months vote.

Europe is already at a vulnerable moment even without a White House resident who has called the most basic tenets of the transatlantic alliance into question, and whose coziness with President Vladimir Putin comes as Russia has made a habit of menacing its weaker European neighbors.



The 'Stop Trump' campaign bus travels around Parliament Square, urging American expats across the UK to register and vote in the US election in November, on September 21, 2016 in London, England. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Across the continent, populist movements that share much with Trumps nativist nationalism are on the rise. Britain is on its way out of the European Union. The continents ability to hang together amid problems ranging from the refugee crisis to terrorism is being tested daily.

[A President Trump could end the era of American global leadership]

But a Trump victory could be the biggest challenge of all, forcing European nations to bind together to compensate for a likely American turn toward isolationism.

Even if Trump opted to maintain the traditional U.S. role as guarantor of European security, his extreme positions may prove so anathema that Europe would have little choice but to distance itself from Washington, said Wickett, a former U.S. National Security Council official under President George W. Bush.

America would no longer be a country that you would necessarily want to be partnered with, she said.

That shift has already been telegraphed through the scathing words of top European officials  words that could make it difficult to reconcile with Trump if he wins.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in August called Trump a hate preacher who had much in common with Brexit backers and with the German far right. He said they were linked by their exploitation of fears to achieve political goals. This was incendiary for society, Steinmeier said.

Steinmeiers boss, Chancellor Angela Merkel, has been more circumspect, though she has left little doubt about her true feelings. She has heaped praise on Clintons strategic thinking and commitment to the transatlantic partnership.

Whenever I had a chance to work with Hillary Clinton, it has been a great pleasure, Merkel told the German newspaper Bild.

As for Trump, all she would say was that she doesnt know him personally.

Neither, presumably, does French President Francois Hollande. But that didnt stop him from saying that Trumps excesses had given him a retching feeling.

Britains Parliament has even gone so far as to debate whether Trump should be banned from the nations shores. The January session yielded no action, but did exhaust the thesauruses of dozens of lawmakers who struggled to creatively convey just how much they disliked the real estate tycoon.

Demagogue, buffoon and wazzock  a semi-obscure Britishism meaning, roughly, twit  were among the insults that echoed off the drafty stone walls in the mother of all parliaments.

Theres little evidence that Trumps reputation in Britain has improved since then, even though he, unlike Clinton or President Obama, backed the winning side in the countrys June Brexit referendum.

Trump has called himself Mr. Brexit, an apparent allusion to his belief that he can shock the world with victory much in the way anti-E.U. activists did in the referendum.

The most bombastic of those activists, longtime U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, has become a highly visible Trump ally. Farage spoke at a Trump rally in Mississippi in August and was Trumps guest at Sundays debate.

Trump has found other friends in the ascendant populist movements of Europe, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Orban, who built a razor-wire fence along the countrys southern border to block refugees and migrants from entering the country last summer, has hailed Trumps proposals to crack down on terrorism. I myself could not have drawn up better what Europe needs, Orban said in July.

But Orbans stand places him firmly in the minority among European leaders. For other nations, particularly the four NATO members that border Russia, Trump is the source of deep, almost existential anxiety.

[Did Trump flip-flop on NATO during the debate?]

The Republican nominee has gone back and forth over whether he would come to the aid of U.S. allies if they were attacked, even as Russia has staged provocative military drills and air incursions in the two years following its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Three of Russias NATO neighbors  the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia  are together smaller than Missouri and stand no chance of defending themselves in the event of a Russian invasion. In that context, comments from top Trump adviser Newt Gingrich that Estonia is in the suburbs of St. Petersburg shook many in the region who have long counted Republicans as their staunchest advocates.

Concern over Trump runs so deep that Latvian lawmakers have started to reach out to Republicans in Congress, eager to build support among a constituency that might be a forceful counterweight to the would-be presidents isolationist impulses.

Ojars Kalnins, chairman of the Latvian Parliaments Foreign Affairs Committee, said Latvian lawmakers were in talks with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to lead a delegation of Baltic politicians that hopes to speak in front of a Senate committee during the lame-duck session of Congress.

The Trump comments and the Gingrich comments did prompt us, Kalnins said. It was a realization that people arent as attuned to the Baltic states as they used to be.

But those modest steps are about as far as Europe has gone to prepare for a Trump presidency. The prevailing strategy for many diplomats and politicians is to hope he doesnt win, and if he does, to simply wait and see what he will actually do, given his often-contradictory statements.

Some European analysts believe Trumps foreign policy ideas are so radical that he would have trouble stocking the government with enough people committed to carrying them out.

We expect there would still be cadre diplomats, a lot of people who are not showing the opposition flag to Trump but who are the safe tier of professionals, said Juri Luik, a former Estonian foreign and defense minister who runs the International Center for Defense and Security in the Estonian capital Tallinn.

But Luik also cautioned that Europeans shouldnt kid ourselves and noted that in the United States, the president calls the shots on security policy.

Indeed, far from being reassured, European leaders have often gone out of their way to stress just how worried they are.

Trump is not only a problem for the E.U., but for the whole world, European Parliament President Martin Schulz recently told the German weekly Der Spiegel. If a man is sitting in the White House . . . with no clue and describes expert knowledge as elitist nonsense, a critical point has been reached: Then an apparently irresponsible man is in a position which requires the highest sense of responsibility.

Faiola reported from Berlin. Birnbaum reported from Brussels. And Karla Adam in London also contributed to this article.

Read more

Kerry warns of serious consequences if U.S. backs away from TPP trade pact

The Kremlin may savor Trump  but still might prefer Clinton

U.N. human rights chief says Trumps populist rhetoric is similar to ISIS propaganda

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
An airstrike by a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition killed more than 100 people and injured hundreds more at a funeral Saturday, according to Health Ministry officials and medical groups. With the death toll expected to rise, it was one of the deadliest single assaults in the 20-month-old civil conflict that has fractured the Middle Easts poorest country.

Witnesses said at least three airstrikes hit the Grand Hall, one of the biggest arenas in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, as mourners gathered inside to attend a funeral for the father of a top rebel Houthi official. In attendance were senior political and military officials aligned with the Houthis and hundreds of civilians, according to witnesses.

As explosions rocked the hall at around 3:30 p.m., chaos ensued as people tried to rush toward the exits. Many jumped through a large opening in a wall that had crumbled, said Mohammed Ahmed al-Sunaidar, an Interior Ministry employee. He was just arriving at the hall and ran inside to help survivors.

We carried many bodies, Sunaidar said. But we couldnt carry the bodies that were completely burned. There were body parts scattered all over the place.

Most of those who died, he added, were in the halls left wing, which was struck by one of the missiles.

A Yemeni collects items amid the rubble of a destroyed building following reported airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition airplanes on the capital Sanaa on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images)

Tameem al-Shami, a Health Ministry spokesman, said 104 people were killed and more than 550 were injured, many of them critically. Some news reports said the death toll had reached at least 155.

The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya satellite network, citing Saudi military sources, said the coalition did not stage the airstrike on the hall. But Saudi Arabias military have previously denied strikes on hospitals and other civilian areas that were later proved to have occurred.

The United Nations on Saturday unequivocally condemned the attack, adding that the death toll was 140, with more than 525 injured. It called for an investigation, saying it was shocked and outraged by todays airstrikes, according to a statement by Jamie McGoldrick, U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Yemen.

A White House National Security Council spokesman announced in a statement that the United States would initiate an immediate review of our already significant reduced support to the Saudi-led forces.

We are deeply disturbed by reports of todays airstrike on a funeral hall in Yemen, which, if confirmed, would continue the troubling series of attacks striking Yemeni civilians, said council spokesman Ned Price. U.S. security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders reported that more than 400 people injured by the airstrikes were receiving treatment at six hospitals they are affiliated with in the capital. Health Ministry officials called on citizens to donate blood and urged all off-duty doctors to leave their homes and help treat the injured in the hospitals.

There are still many bodies that are at the scene until this moment, Sunaidar said. Thats because the bodies are completely burned and cannot be identified.

[Five years after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, her nation is riven by war]

The funeral was being held for the father of Interior Minister Galal al-Rowaishan, who was appointed by the Houthi-led administration and is a key ally of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The former president was ousted in the aftermath of Yemens populist revolt, part of the Arab Spring uprisings of five years ago but later aligned himself with the Houthis and remains powerful.

Yemens conflict pits an alliance between the Shiite Houthi rebels and Salehs loyalists against President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who is backed by Saudi Arabia, the United States and their allies. In February 2015, the Houthis seized Sanaa and forced Hadi southwardto the port city of Aden. That prompted Saudi Arabia to enter the war and attempt to restore Hadi to power. The Sunni Muslim monarchy has long been concerned about the Houthis and their links to its main regional rival, Irans Shiite theocracy.

As many as 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed, according to the United Nations. Millions more are suffering from hunger, illness and displacement as the nation is in the throes of a humanitarian disaster .

Human rights groups have accused the Saudi-led coalition of human rights violations, which Riyadh has denied. The Houthis also have been accused of abuses, such as recruiting child soldiers and forced disappearances of its opponents.

The Obama administration is facing growing criticism for supporting Saudi Arabias air campaign. Some lawmakers and human rights groups are charging that the United States bears some responsibility for the mounting casualties.

Raghavan reported from Cairo. Karen DeYoung contributed to this report.

Read more

Civilian casualties in Yemen bring charges of U.S. responsibility for Saudi actions

New phone app tracks forced disappearances in Egypt

What the islamic State left behind

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
By Shreya Goswami: Vikas Khanna always does things in style, and they have an innate logic to them at the same time. Earlier this year, he lay the foundation stone of the world's first utensils museum at his alma mater, Manipal University. This was his way of honouring both the culture of his country, and the university where he learnt the basics of his profession.

advertisement

Then he released his first documentary, Kitchens of Gratitude, at Cannes this year. The premiere took place in front of the global film making community, and gave this very important feature all the attention it deserved. Now, Vikas Khanna is all set to do this again.

16 October is World Food Day, and this year's focus will be on the fact that 'Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.'

Khanna shared the news on his Twitter account yesterday. Picture courtesy: Twitter/TheVikasKhanna

It's on that very day that Khanna is going to release his new cookbook, Essence of Seasoning. This is no coincidence, because his new book is all about using fresh ingredients to rustle up easy, but impressive dishes for your friends and family.

Also read: 3 new cookbooks by Indian celebrity chefs you shouldn't miss



From Escargots with Mint-Butter Filling, to Stuffed Quail with Apricots, and Fennel and Parsi Lamb Stew with Apricots and Roasted Garlic, these dishes are unique, and celebrate the natural and seasonal agricultural products. The Michelin-starred chef announced the news of the launch on his social media accounts yesterday.

Khanna's new cookbook is all about stress-free cooking with seasonal agricultural produce. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Vikas Khanna Khanna's new cookbook is all about stress-free cooking with seasonal agricultural produce. Picture courtesy: Facebook/Vikas Khanna

The chef is also appearing as one of the judges on MasterChef India, and the new season of his popular food show, Twist of Taste, is also coming out soon. What with these, and the book launch, Khanna is a very busy chef indeed. But his book is really something to look forward to later this month.

--- ENDS ---
It may be no small irony that President Obamas peripatetic secretary of state will travel this week to Rwanda, where up to a million people were killed in a three-month ethnic genocide in 1994, and has tentative plans to attend an international meeting on Syria, where civilian dead are fast approaching the halfway point of that number.

Bill Clinton, president at the time of the Rwandan massacre, has said that U.S. failure to intervene there is one of his biggest regrets. Just two years later, an estimated 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were slaughtered by Bosnian Serb forces in the town of Srebrenica while the worlds great nations, including the United States, failed to respond adequately, the United Nations later said.

As Obama constructs the final months of his legacy, both historical events loom large.

Another Srebrenica, another Rwanda are written on that wall in front of us unless something takes place to stop the slaughter, Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. envoy to Syria, said late last week as Russian and Syrian aircraft and artillery continued their relentless bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo.

There is no consensus within the administration about what the United States can or should do to try to bring a halt to the killing and stop what appears to be the increasingly inevitable fall of Aleppo, Syrias largest city, to government forces.

1 of 41 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Scenes from Aleppo View Photos The Syrian government has dropped two chlorine bombs in the past month on the besieged, rebel-held city. Caption Images from inside the Syrian city. Dec. 19, 2016 Syrians evacuated from Fuaa and Kafraya, two Shiite villages under rebel siege, are welcomed by pro-government forces as they arrive in Jibrin, on the eastern outskirts of Aleppo. George Ourfalian/AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue.

The Pentagon has argued for years against direct U.S. military action, seeing that as risking deeper involvement in Syrias civil war and detracting from the separate fight against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Early last month, defense officials objected to a deal reached with Moscow by Secretary of State John F. Kerry that would couple a cease-fire and delivery of humanitarian aid with U.S.-Russian counterterrorism cooperation against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda-linked forces in Syria.

When the cease-fire fell apart, the Aleppo onslaught began, and Obama ordered up a new assessment and policy alternatives, some senior officials perceived a shift in the Pentagons position. At a Sept. 28 meeting of national security deputies, military officials described options against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that might provide leverage over Moscow.

Among them were cruise missile strikes against Syrian military activities directly involved in Aleppo operations. The idea, said a nonmilitary official who approved of the concept, was more a shot across the bow to jolt hesitation into a new paradigm, rather than any full-scale U.S. entry into the conflict.

To the State Department and other agencies that had urged a more muscular policy, it seemed that a corner had been turned. Kerry, who has long advocated for U.S. military action, had recently told a meeting of Syrian activists that he had lost that argument long ago, according to a recording of the session obtained by the New York Times. Now the State Department was sure that the Pentagon had switched sides, according to several senior administration officials who described the ongoing, closed-door debate on the condition of anonymity.

But last Thursday, as the discussion moved up the chain to a contentious White House meeting of national security principals, top defense officials made clear that their position had not changed. They advised a possible increase in weapons aid to opposition fighters but said the United States should focus its own military firepower on the anti-Islamic State mission rather than risk a direct confrontation with Russia.

Asked about the perception of a double shift, a senior defense official said the Pentagons position had not changed.

We still believe there are a number of ways to bolster the opposition and not compromise the anti-Islamic State mission, this official said.

In one drone video, government-held west Aleppo appears verdant and bustling. Another shows rebel-held east Aleppo as a pock-marked wasteland. (Jason Aldag,Ishaan Tharoor/The Washington Post)

But others felt that they had been spun by the defense leadership. Amid increasing internal tension, one senior administration official insisted that both the Syrian opposition and U.S. allies have pressed for a continuation of negotiations and discouraged talk of military intervention. Obamas position on the subject, this official said, has been consistent. We do not believe there is a military solution to this conflict. There are any number of challenges that come with applying military force in this context.

In Obamas recent speech at the United Nations, the official noted, Obama repeated that theres no ultimate military victory to be won in Syria. Instead, Obama said, were going to have to pursue the hard work of diplomacy that aims to stop the violence, and deliver aid to those in need, and support those who pursue a political settlement.

No proposals have been presented to Obama for a decision, and some in the administration think the White House is willing to let time run out on Aleppo, in part to preserve options for a new administration.

De Mistura has predicted that if Russian and Syrian air attacks and artillery bombardment do not stop, the city will fall before the end of the year; the U.S. intelligence community assesses that it could be a matter of weeks. While opposition forces expected an Aleppo offensive and were prepared to hold out for months, the airstrikes have systematically targeted infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools and housing, necessary to sustain both rebels and civilians.

An estimated 275,000 civilians, one-third of them children, and 10,000 rebels are surrounded in the eastern side of the city, now under constant aerial attack with what a U.S. intelligence official listed as barrel bombs, thermobaric bombs, incendiary munitions, cluster bombs and bunker-busters, with no access to humanitarian assistance or any way out.

While Aleppo is the proximate prize sought by the government and its Russian backers, at least 50,000 opposition fighters  many of whom owe their training, weapons and inspiration in large part to the United States  remain in pockets spread across western Syria.

Many of those forces have been advised and supplied by the CIA, whose director, John Brennan, is said to favor military action or, at the very least, dispatching more and better weapons to the opposition, particularly if Aleppo is lost.

That decision, which would allow the rebels to continue to fight a guerrilla war, or to defend those pockets of the country still in opposition hands, might not be the administrations to make. Allied governments in the region, including Qatar, Turkey and, to a lesser extent, Saudi Arabia, have long advocated for increased support for the rebels and could decide on their own to send more sophisticated armaments  some of which, including shoulder-launched antiaircraft weapons, the United States has refused to make available on the grounds that they could end up in the wrong hands.

As they assess Russian President Vladimir Putins goals in Syria, intelligence officials think he is less interested in an outright military victory than in being able to set the terms for a settlement that ensures Assads survival. But at least in the short term, they believe, the big winner may be the Front for the Conquest of Syria, the al-Qaeda affiliate formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra.

The jihadist group, which U.S. officials have said is planning external operations against the United States, has grown in strength and respect as a formidable, well-equipped fighting force against Assad.

While senior White House aides are said to be opposed to U.S. military action, one other official who is said to have argued in favor of a military response is Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, whose award-winning book on the failure of policymakers to stop genocide in Rwanda and elsewhere first brought her to Obamas attention.

Echoing the arguments for accountability in the book, A Problem From Hell, Kerry last week publicly called for Russia and Syria to be investigated for war crimes for the targeted killing of civilians and wanton destruction in Aleppo and beyond.

On Friday, Moscow described Kerrys call as propaganda and repeated its assertion that the United States, by failing to separate rebel forces from the targetable terrorists it insists control Aleppo, is to blame for the failure of the cease-fire.

According to international-law experts, however, the likelihood of a war crimes prosecution of either country is virtually nonexistent. Neither Russia nor Syria belongs to the treaty-based International Criminal Court, and a referral to its jurisdiction would require a resolution by the U.N. Security Council, a body in which Russia holds a veto. At the same time, both the ICC and the International Court of Justice, the United Nations judicial branch, are designed to prosecute individuals rather than states.

The law of war crimes is individual and personal, said Kenneth Anderson, a law professor at American University.

Talk of war crimes trials by itself is not serious, Anderson said. Its an evasion of policy by a state that does not want to have to respond to the concerted actions of another state, another two states.

Read more:

U.N.envoy says eastern Aleppo may face total destruction
People wait in line to vote in the primary at the Environmental Education Center on March 22 in Chandler, Ariz. (David Kadlubowski/AP)

Nine states have shortened the time still allowed for voters to register for the November election, in some cases designating as the last day to register the Columbus Day federal holiday when government offices are closed.

Democratic Sens. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.) said that the states  Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah and Washington  could be in violation of the National Voter Registration Act, which requires states to accept registration forms if they were postmarked 30 days before Election Day, because their deadline is on a weekend day without postal service or on a holiday.

In a Sept. 30 letter to the federal Election Assistance Commission, the senators urged the EAC to take action to ensure that the states change voter-registration deadlines that fall before Oct. 11 to comply with federal law. The EAC was established in 2002 to help states run elections and to disseminate the federal online voting form.

We know that every day of voter registration in the month before the election is an opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country to get registered to vote or update their voter registration information, the senators wrote.

Chairman Thomas Hicks said in an interview that the EAC cannot require the states to change their voter-registration dates.

Theres not much we can do other than urge the states to change it, said Hicks, who sent the senators letter to officials in the nine states. We dont have the authority to force them to change anything.

On Friday, EAC officials held a conference call with state leaders and election directors in some of the states.

In Arizona, House Minority Leader Eric Meyer (D) sought a formal opinion last month from the state attorney general, saying that time is of the essence.

Arizona law provides that when the day to perform a function falls on a holiday, the deadline is extended to the next business day, he wrote. The deadline should be October 11th, not October 10th.

More than 40 percent of voter registration applications in Arizona are submitted through the mail or in person at Motor Vehicle Division offices, Meyer said, and all U.S. post offices and MVD offices will be closed Columbus Day.

But Deputy Solicitor General Dominic E. Draye, citing the likelihood of imminent litigation regarding this question, replied that the attorney general would support Secretary of State Michele Reagan (R), who decided on the Columbus Day deadline.

Competing legal principles reflect a lack of clarity in the law that leaves room for the exercise of discretion on the part of the Secretary of State, Draye wrote.

Spencer G. Scharff, the state Democratic Partys voter protection director, said, We are not aware of any imminent litigation on this issue.

Read more:

Justice Department significantly reducing number of federal observers stationed inside polling places

Getting a photo ID to vote is easy. Unless youre poor, black, Latino or elderly.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, guides the test-firing of a new multiple launch rocket system in this undated photo released by North Koreas Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang on March 4, 2016. (KCNA/Via Reuters)

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test exactly 10 years ago Sunday, exploding a crude atomic bomb and crossing what had long been considered a red line.

A decade of condemnation, sanctions and ostracism later, the regime in Pyongyang has not pulled back. Far from it.

Today, the country has a demonstrated nuclear weapons program, has made clear progress with missiles and is widely assumed to be able to put the two together. The only real question now is whether North Korea can deliver a nuclear-tipped missile to a target, and that is not much of a question. If it cannot yet, it will soon, analysts say.

North Korea is racing towards the nuclear finish line, as Van Jackson, associate professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, a Pentagon think tank in Hawaii, puts it.

The next demonstration of leader Kim Jong Uns intent could come as soon as Monday.

Large screens show Korean rocket launches, missile tests, ground war footage as well as other patriotic imagery as the Korean Peoples Army State Merited Chorus and Ensemble performs at a concert in Pyongyang on May 11, 2016. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

Oct. 10 is the anniversary of the establishment of North Koreas ruling Workers Party  an event celebrated with fanfare  and Pyongyang likes to time its provocations. Last months nuclear test was carried out on the countrys Foundation Day.

[North Korea conducts fifth nuclear test, claims it has made warheads with higher strike power]

As a bonus, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be taking to the stage for their second debate on Monday morning, Korea time.

Preparations for another test could be underway. The latest commercial satellite imagery shows activity at all three tunnels leading into the nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, analyst Jack Liu wrote Thursday on 38 North, a website devoted to North Korea.

Even if North Korea lets Monday pass, there still may be fireworks before the year is out.

That would make perfect sense in the warped logic of North Korea, said Andrew Shearer, a former Australian national security adviser now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Hong Yong-pyo, South Koreas unification minister, told a parliamentary hearing two weeks ago that he expected another provocation  a nuclear test or another long-range-missile launch  before the end of the year.

North Korea has been pursuing nuclear weapons for decades, ramping up efforts after the collapse of its benefactor, the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War. But Kim Jong Il, the second-generation leader who ruled North Korea between 1994 and 2011, appeared to restrain the program because of Chinese pressure.

That is not the case with his son.

Kim Jong Un has ordered 49 missile tests in the almost five years since he took over, including 21 this year. He has also presided over three nuclear tests, two of them in 2016.

By contrast, North Korea conducted 26 missile tests and two nuclear tests in the 18 years that Kim Jong Il was leader.

[N. Korea inches closer to being able to send a nuclear-tipped missile to the U.S.]

With the ballistic missile tests one after the other, they seem to be under tremendous pressure to advance their program, said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington think tank that focuses on nuclear weapons.

North Korean scientists did not even appear to be taking the time to drill back into the nuclear test site to analyze the Sept. 9 explosion, a standard step that gives scientists a lot of information. Its really troubling, Albright said of the pace of missile and nuclear testing.

The speed of the testing is breathtaking, but analysts seem to be more worried that North Korea is learning a lot and making big technical advances.

When North Korea first claimed to have launched a ballistic missile from a submarine in May, there was much derision because it appeared that the photographs had been doctored. Fast forward to August, and North Korea carried out a successful test from a submarine.

It seems like North Korea is trying to build a wide array of delivery platforms so that theyre able to hit Japan, South Korea, American assets in Asia, and eventually, the homeland, said Vipin Narang, a political scientist and expert on nuclear proliferation at MIT.

As the international community tries to formulate a harsh response to last months nuclear test, Pyongyang is likely to continue to hone its technology, experts say.

The September test was North Koreas largest yet, with an explosive yield equal to about 10 kilotons of TNT. But Albright said he expected that the country would now try to find ways to boost its bombs yield up to 20 or 25 kilotons. The atomic bomb that the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 had a yield of about 15 kilotons.

[These North Korean missile launches are adding up to something very troubling]

The recent developments are alarming policymakers in neighboring countries and in the United States, leading to increasingly frequent talk about preemptive strikes  an option long considered so impossible it was hardly ever mentioned.

In the vice-presidential debate Tuesday, Democratic candidate Tim Kaine suggested he would support striking North Korea to stop a nuclear attack on the United States.

Mike Pence, his Republican rival, said that a President Trump would not allow North Korea to flout American power.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said this past week that it would consult with its American ally over a possible preemptive strike against North Korea . . . in case of an imminent nuclear attack by the North.

U.S. leaders have long ruled out taking military action against Pyongyang. This is partly because there is no appetite in the United States for another war, and partly because preemptive action would almost certainly lead to the devastation of Seoul, a city of 20 million that is within range of North Koreas conventional artillery.

[Everything you need to know about the North Korean nuclear test]

But the advances in North Koreas nuclear weapons program are starting to change the conversation in Washington, where the words preemptive strike are more regularly mentioned. Were still a long way from seeing the U.S. moving in that direction, but there has been a noticeable change in the dynamic, Shearer said.

Meanwhile, some analysts are concerned about an accidental escalation, perhaps during joint exercises between the U.S. and South Korean militaries, or that North Korea might make its own preemptive move.

With its relatively small nuclear arsenal, North Korea might judge that its best strategy is to go first, Jackson said.

If they have small numbers of nukes and they see the cavalry coming, their options are to sit on them and lose them, or use them and hope that it achieves something, he said.

Narang said North Korea no longer appears to be following the Cold War model of having nuclear weapons for mutually assured destruction but seems to be looking more and more like Pakistan, which has adopted a strategy of asymmetric escalation  being able to use a nuclear arsenal against a conventional attack.

It looks like North Korea is thinking about what it would look like if they had to use these weapons on their own, Narang said. This program is no longer a joke.

Read more:

How did North Korea get its hands on a New Zealand plane made with American parts?

Did Trump really suggest that China should invade North Korea?

North Korea shows no sign of wanting to talk about releasing two Americans

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
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.

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

A woman who gave birth two days before Hurricane Matthew, only to learn her husband was swept away in the flood, has spent the past week raising her newborn son on a wooden bench facing the chalkboard inside of an elementary school classroom.

Down the hallway is a fourth-grader who attended this school but is now sleeping on its concrete floors crammed alongside more than 1,000 people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. During the day, the storm refugees pass a plastic cup to raise money for chlorine to keep cholera at bay. At night, bandits have descended on the school, where no police or local security stand guard, thrown rocks through the windows and ripped away the meager supplies of food.

They said theyre going to come back and rape the women, said Bosman Cindy, a 10th-grader who has collected rainwater off the roof for survival and doesnt know whether her father is alive.

These newly homeless people living this precarious existence in the Liliane Mars Dumarsais Estime school are among the hundreds of thousands across Haitis southwestern peninsula now grappling with upended livelihoods and no relief in sight.

[There is nothing left to live on: Haitis hurricane survivors cope with loss, despair]

The United Nations reported that more than 350,000 of the 1.5 million people living in the area affected by Hurricane Matthew need assistance. (Joshua Partlow,Brian Murphy,Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

The Haitian governments response has been slow to arrive in Les Cayes, the biggest city on the southwestern coast, or in the devastated villages all around it. The mayors office has dispatched some food trucks, and candidates for the presidential election, scheduled for Sunday but postponed by the storm, have made personal donations. Western aid groups have given medical supplies to hospitals and clinics and have begun an assessment of needs in areas still marooned from the rest of the country by washed-out bridges and downed trees.

While larger shipments of food and medicine by land and sea are on the way, aid workers estimate that a half-million people along the southern coast have still not been reached by outsiders. Dozens of places, many of them schools, are being used to house some 64,000 people in makeshift shelters, according to one person briefed by government and United Nations relief coordinators.

Cholera cases have spiked, including in towns that are still cut off, said Sean Casey, an emergency response team leader for the International Medical Corps who is working out of Les Cayes.

A few people have walked out saying there are a lot of cases and people are dying, he said. Were really concerned about cholera.

At least 470 people have died in one district of Haitis southwest region, a civil defense official told the Associated Press on Saturday. But an informal tally by Reuters from unidentified local officials put the death toll at more than 800 people, although reliable statistics are scarce because of poor communications and isolated terrain.

Many people, including in the government, acknowledge that the needs far outstrip the available supplies.

The whole town is destroyed, said Emmanuel Pierre, an aide to the mayor of Les Cayes. Sixty to 70 percent of the roofs are gone. The population wasnt prepared for this.

Social video shows Hurricane Matthew making landfall along Haiti's southwestern coast in the morning of Oct. 4. Matthew made landfall as a Category 4 storm. (claritza jimenez/The Washington Post)

The people taking refuge at Dumarsais Estime are sleeping more than 100 per classroom, cooking over charcoal whatever food is donated or scavenged, hanging their clothes to dry on a fallen tree in the flooded courtyard. All of those interviewed said their homes were destroyed or severely damaged by hurricane winds and flooding.

Its very critical now, said Jean Alexi, 23, who has slept at the school since Monday night. The kids are not being taken care of and could easily get diseases.

Those children, scampering around barefoot in the mud puddles, some naked, have been sleeping alongside the men, pregnant women, the elderly, crammed together for the past five nights, as many as 125 people per room. Residents of Les Cayes and surrounding areas came to the school the night of the storm, wading through floodwaters. Alexi formed a human chain with his neighbors to cross a bridge they feared would collapse in the driving winds.

After a week at the school, he has become one of the classroom leaders  each of the 10 rooms now has a person in charge  a loose self-government for an ever more chaotic environment. Alexi is a high school graduate who hopes to attend university. Others living at the school work as farmers, drivers, street hustlers. Many of their homes were tin-roof shanties in a slum along the river. Few of their belongings, they said, survived the flood.

Food is scarce at the school. Only one truckload of rice and oil had arrived so far, people said. On Friday afternoon, another food truck pulled into the schools courtyard, followed by a crowd that had been chasing it down the street. People poured out of the classrooms, pleading for help.

The truck doors opened and the only thing inside were bananas. Bananas that had traveled hundreds of miles across Haiti, courtesy of the Banana Man, Jovenel Moise, a banana magnate and a leading candidate, from the same party as the mayor, in the event that there is a presidential election.

My house fell to the ground, and a banana is not going to do anything for me, said Jeannot Nilver, 25, who watched the crowd swarm the truck. We need medicine. We need soap. We need beds. We need real food.

But the next day, Liciana Souverain, 39, kneeled barefoot behind a classroom, slicing the green bananas with a rusty blade that had no handle, preparing to cook them over a charcoal fire, because that was the only thing to eat.

[Hurricane Matthew devastates parts of the Caribbean]

Ginette Jean-Claude, 30, gave birth on Saturday to a son, Yonelson. On Monday night, her neighbors carried them both out of her flooded house to the school. Her husband, Yonel Exama, did not survive the storm, she said. After nearly a week in a dirty classroom at the back of the school, the infant had developed a rash on his face.

And his stomach is aching, he cries a lot, Jean-Claude said as she breast-fed her son.

Her neighbors have given her baby powder and blankets to drape over the wooden bench where she has been sleeping. Jean-Claude herself hasnt had much to eat, and her strength is flagging.

I have no place to go to, she said.

Outside of a municipal warehouse on Friday, dozens of people pleaded for food while staff loaded up trucks with bags of rice, spaghetti and cooking oil for delivery elsewhere. The municipality had enough food for 200 families; the next day, they hoped to feed 200 more.

We will have a lack of food in the near future, said Moise, the presidential candidate, who landed at the Les Cayes airport on Friday afternoon after a tour of the southwestern coast.

Food, water, sheet metal, nails and wood, he said, listing off what he considered the most urgent needs, in an interview with The Post.

As he spoke, a crowd had massed at the airports chain-link fence. People clamored for the candidates attention, begging for food.

Im here to send some food by helicopters, he said, before walking into the crowd on the street. But Im obliged to give food to them because theyre hungry.

Read more:

Hurricane Matthew lashes Florida; emergencies declared in three states

Mexican finance minister steps down after helping arrange Trump visit

After subdued trip to Mexico, Trump talks tough on immigration in Phoenix

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Demonstrators walk with a giant Mexican national flag during a march organized by representatives of the National Front for the Family in Mexico City on Sept. 24. (Marco Ugarte/Associated Press)

Conservatives from all corners of the country converged on Mexico City on a recent Saturday for the National March for the Family, which took aim at the presidents plans to enshrine same-sex marriage in the constitution.

The LGBT community and its allies launched a counterprotest, waving rainbow flags and carrying pictures of former presidents Benito Juarez and Plutarco Elias Calles  lionized as heroes of the secular state, figures who curbed Catholic Church privileges in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

These contradictory images symbolize a growing conflict in this nation, where the church has been relegated to the sidelines of public life for decades. Now the religious right is rising as a political force, with conservative Catholics and members of the growing evangelical community attempting to influence the National Congress and mobilize the masses.

This is a clash between the secular state and the sectors that dont accept the secular state, said Ilan Semo, historian at the Jesuit-run Ibero-American University in Mexico City.

The modern Mexican state was created by revolutionaries at odds with the Catholic Church, and they sought to curb its authority through measures such as introducing a secular school system. For decades, Mexico was considered the most anticlerical country in Latin America outside of Cuba, despite the fact that the country is overwhelmingly Catholic. Census data shows that 83 percent profess the faith.

But politicians have punted the old protocols over the past 25 years as they have sought the blessing of bishops, appeared publicly with prelates and kissed the popes ring  unthinkable a generation ago.

The use of religious symbolism is increasing: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist who is among the front-runners for the 2018 presidential election, christened his new party with the acronym MORENA  also a name for the popular national patroness Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The countrys expanding evangelical and non-Catholic congregations are becoming politically active, too, having started their own grouping, known as the Social Encounter Party.

[Mexican president proposes legalizing gay marriage]

The Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, ruled for seven decades over a one-party system before the opposition won the presidency in 2000. Now, in a competitive democratic system, the PRI increasingly finds itself facing a ceiling of support in the mid-30 percent range and needing new sources of votes. That is one reason it has openly courted the Catholic Church and evangelicals, says Carlos Bravo Regidor, professor at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics.

It is a dramatic change in a country where, for much of the 20th century, the church had no legal status and was barred from owning property. Relations between church and state were restored only in 1992, when Mexico and the Vatican re-established diplomatic ties and a raft of religious restrictions were lifted.

The Mexican Catholic Church  which has put a priority on religious freedom, the teaching of religion in public schools and removing restrictions on its ability to own radio and television stations  had previously attempted to make incursions into politics, pushing back in the 1970s against health officials promoting family planning.

PRI governments of the era prevailed. But observers such as Semo express doubts about President Enrique Pena Nietos ability to resist church pressure as his approval rating hovers at less than 25 percent  the product of scandals over corruption, security forces and the decision to invite U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump to Mexico.

The difference [now] is that no president has been this unpopular, Semo said.

Even the presidents own party is resisting his wishes. The PRI in Congress has shelved Pena Nietos same-sex marriage initiative  which also included putting positive portrayals of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Mexicans in educational materials  saying the timing was not convenient.

Organizers of the pro-family marches claim credit for a punishment vote against the presidents same-sex-marriage initiative in gubernatorial elections earlier this year. The PRI lost in seven of 12 states, although polls indicated the races were decided on the issues of insecurity and corruption. Activists plan to push a citizen initiative in Congress to outlaw same-sex marriage, even though the Supreme Court has declared laws against such unions discriminatory. Same-sex marriages are allowed in Mexico City and several states.

This is something that if the PRI doesnt correct will guarantee its defeat in 2018 in the presidential race, said Rodrigo Ivan Cortes, spokesman for the National Front for the Family, which claims to have attracted 1.3 million Mexicans to marches nationwide  a figure critics consider exaggerated.

[In Mexicos drug war, Catholicism endures a test of faith]

While the PRI traditionally had a cool relationship with the church, Pena Nieto and the Catholic hierarchy enjoyed cordial relations  until recently.

The Archdiocese of Mexico City was quick to annul the first marriage of Pena Nietos then-girlfriend, soap opera star Angelica Rivera, in 2009, ruling the ceremony invalid because it took place on a beach in Acapulco. Bishops from Pena Nietos home state later took him to the Vatican, where he publicly announced his wedding plans for the first time in an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

In the run-up to the 2012 elections, the PRI voted in favor of a constitutional amendment removing some restrictions on religious freedom.

But these days, the bishops and the president appear at odds.

After talking to many bishops, I would say the feeling is one of betrayal, said the Rev. Hugo Valdemar, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Mexico City. Pena Nieto was always very close to people in the church; he said publicly that the popes agenda was the presidents agenda, then he comes out with [the same-sex marriage initiative]. It surprised us enormously. The bishops conference declined to comment.

Church-state relations appear to have become especially close in recent years on the local level. Governors have given bishops vehicles, allowed them to ride in their helicopters, donated properties for building churches and turned a blind eye in cases of accusations against priests, said a politician with the traditionally Catholic-friendly National Action Party (PAN), who was previously involved in maintaining its relationships with bishops. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. The PRI in Congress did not respond to interview requests.

Bishops in turn have tended to stay silent on issues such as insecurity and corruption, even with the decade-long drug war claiming more than 100,000 lives. They have, however, actively pursued social policies such as prohibitions on abortion  achieved in at least 18 states since 2008.

Pope Francis rebuked Mexicos bishops in a February visit as indolent and complacent, calling them princesand warning against backroom deals.

Dont be clerics of the state, he later wrote in a seminary guest book.

The pope, however, blessed the pro-family marches.

It is a sign of the popes willingness to keep a good relation with the Mexican bishops, said Rodolfo Soriano-Nunez, a sociologist studying the Catholic Church.

It is not clear how much influence the religious right will be able to yield. The marches marshaled more middle-class Mexicans than the downtrodden masses.

In addition, there are historic suspicions regarding church meddling in politics. Polling in 2015 by the National Autonomous University of Mexico showed 42 percent of Mexicans opposed religious authorities influencing the vote.

There are many Mexicans who are Catholic, said Semo, the historian, but they dont want priests involved in politics.

Read more

Mexican bishop takes on cartel in drug-war battleground state

Pope Francis ends his Mexico tour praying for migrants at the U.S. border

Pope: Donald Trump is not Christian if he wants to build a border wall

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Its been 22 years since O.J. Simpson famously led a slow-speed chase in a white Ford Bronco. Unlike the notorious ex-athlete whos currently locked up in a Nevada correctional facility, the plus-sized truck he was driving is finally getting the comeback it deserves: This week it was announced Ford will be building an all-new iteration of the iconic Bronco. In the spirit of second chances, here are 11 now-defunct (and in some cases, never available in the United States) trucks wed love to see reinstated to their former glory, just like the plus-sized Bronco that led the freeway parade seen round the world.
Donald Trumps lewd comments about women--from a 2005 conversation published on Friday--proved a step too far for some Republicans who called for the GOP presidential nominee to drop out of the race.

Many Republicans quickly condemned the remarks, in which Trump brags about hitting on a married woman and groping women, saying "you can do anything" to women "when you're a star." The recording was published Friday by the Washington Post.

Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am, Trump said in an apology video early Saturday morning, calling the footage a distraction from important issues. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.

Several GOP leaders said they will no longer vote for Trump, as others called for him to step down. Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz said in a CNN interview that he can no longer support Trump, calling his comments abhorrent and criticizing his apology as insufficient.

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who had supported Trump, said she will write in vice presidential candidate Mike Pence on election day.

Im a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women, Ayotte said in a statement.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who had long withheld his endorsement, said Saturday that he will not support Trump on Election Day.

Nothing that has happened in the last 48 hours is surprising to me or many others, Kasich said in a statement. The actions of the last day are disgusting, but that's not why I reached this decision, it has been an accumulation of his words and actions that many have been warning about. I will not vote for a nominee who has behaved in a manner that reflects so poorly on our country. Our country deserves better.

These are some of the Republicans who have called for Trump to drop out:

Story continues

South Dakota Sen. John Thune:

Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately.  Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) October 8, 2016

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk:

.@realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement.  Mark Kirk (@SenatorKirk) October 8, 2016

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse:

Character matters.@realDonaldTrump is obviously not going to win.

But he can still make an honorable move:

Step aside & let Mike Pence try.  Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) October 8, 2016

Utah Sen. Mike Lee:

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake:

.@realDonaldTrump is wrong about his level of support. He needs to withdraw from the race. https://t.co/sv7K3qmF1w  Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) October 8, 2016

Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer:

The comments made by Mr. Trump were disgusting and totally unacceptable under any circumstance. (1/2)  Deb Fischer (@DebFischerNE) October 8, 2016

It would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party's nominee. (2/2)  Deb Fischer (@DebFischerNE) October 8, 2016

Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo:

I can no longer endorse Donald Trump. Read my full statement: pic.twitter.com/lfa9mYZbdC  Senator Mike Crapo (@MikeCrapo) October 8, 2016

Former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina:

Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman:

"For the good of the country, and to give the Republicans a chance of defeating Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump should step aside, Coffman said in a statement, according to CBS Denver. His defeat at this point seems almost certain. And four years of Hillary Clinton is not what is best for this country. Mr. Trump should put the country first and do the right thing."

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman

In a campaign cycle that has been nothing but a race to the bottom -- at such a critical moment for our nation -- and with so many who have tried to be respectful of a record primary vote, the time has come for Governor Pence to lead the ticket, told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki:

I'm horrified by #TrumpTape news. @realDonaldTrump campaign is a poisonous mix of bigotry & ignorance. Enough! He needs to step down.  George E. Pataki (@GovernorPataki) October 8, 2016

Rob Engstrom, national political director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and former director of the Division of Political Education at the Republican National Committee:

Trump should step down immediately tonight, yielding to Governor Pence as the GOP Nominee.  Rob Engstrom (@RobEngstrom) October 8, 2016

Republican strategist John Weaver:

Said weeks ago, but now is time: Cut Trump loose. If u have endorsed, rescind. U work for campaign, can resign. #TwoPaths #Intregrity  John Weaver (@JWGOP) October 7, 2016

The ticket should resign, not just Trump. The ticket owns the entirety of Trump's behavior, past and present.  John Weaver (@JWGOP) October 8, 2016

A.J. Spiker, former chairman of Iowas Republican Party:

Donald Trump should resign as the Republican nominee for president, he brags about sexuality harassing women. He is unfit for public office  AJ Spiker (@AJSpiker) October 7, 2016

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Martin Daugaard:

Enough is enough. Donald Trump should withdraw in favor of Governor Mike Pence. This election is too important.  Gov. Dennis Daugaard (@SDGovDaugaard) October 8, 2016

Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host who previously endorsed Trump:

For the benefit of the country, the party and his family, and for his own good, @realDonaldTrump should withdraw. More and worse oppo coming  Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) October 8, 2016

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
The Daily Beast

Patrick Pleul/AFP via GettyJust days after he promised advertisers that Twitter would not become a free-for-all hellscape, Elon Musk used the platform he now owns to amplify a baseless conspiracy theory about the hammer attack on Nancy Pelosis husband by an intruder.There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye, Musk tweeted Sunday morning in reply to a tweet by Hillary Clinton blasting the Republican Party for creating a toxic environment that lays the gr
The third season of The Affair is almost here, and if you think things were complicated last season, hold on tight!

While the Showtime drama's makeover includes a three-year time jump and the addition of a fifth perspective, the just-released trailer for the new season still promises drama, drama and more drama.

RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Maura Tierney Delivers a Calculated, Award-Worthy Performance on 'The Affair'

The show's fifth perspective will come from an entirely new character played by Irene Jacob, who will portray a new love interest for Noah (that's right, another one). But judging by the show's trailer, the addition of Jacob is just one of several shakeups this season.

When the show returns in November, Noah (Dominic West) is in jail for a crime he didn't commit, while his ex-wife Helen (Maura Tierney) defends his innocence to their daughter, Whitney, who doesn't know that it was actually her mom who murdered Scott. Cole (Joshua Jackson), meanwhile, is happily married and moving on from Alison (Ruth Wilson) while the two engage in a custody battle over their daughter, Joanie.

RELATED: Ruth Wilson Shoots Down Rumors That She's Dating Co-Star Joshua Jackson: 'It's Boring Gossip'

The drama of The Affair recently translated to real life for Wilson and Jackson, who became the subject of dating rumors following Jackson's split with longtime love Diane Kruger. Wilson, however, was quick to call the rumors nothing but "boring gossip."

"If you want an answer about whether we're dating or not, 'no' is the absolute truth," Wilson told Vanity Fair last month. "We all go out a lot. We're four Irish-Catholic actors who happen to be on a show together, and that means we like a drink and we like to have a good time. So all four of us go out."

The Affair returns Nov. 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime.

See more on Jackson and Kruger's split in the video below.

Story continues

Related Articles
Donald Trump, under fire for lewd comments he made in 2005 about groping women, offered a perfunctory apology in which after saying Im sorry, he immediately shifted the focus to the alleged past offenses of Bill Clinton, seeming to guarantee a plan to drag Sunday nights second presidential debate into the gutter.

In a brief video that was released after midnight on Saturday, the Republican presidential nominee referred to the recording of him talking about grabbing a womans genitals as a 10-year-old video and said his comments on the tape dont reflect who I am.

Trumps apology came several hours after the Washington Post published a clip from 2005 with audio of him discussing his efforts to try and f*** a married woman and boasting that he subjected women to uninvited kisses and grab[bed] them by the p****, because when youre a star, they let you do it. The audio was recorded when Trump filmed a segment with the show Access Hollywood.

After expressing regret for his remarks, Trump quickly turned his focus to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Trump concluded his statement by hinting very strongly that he will make attacking the Clintons for past sex scandals a centerpiece of his debate appearance on Sunday evening.

Ive said some foolish things, but theres a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday, Trump said in the video.

On Sunday morning, Trump tweeted out a Breitbart News interview with Juanita Broaddrick, who publicly claimed in 1999 that the former president had raped her in 1978. Breitbart, a conservative news website, has been closely aligned with Trumps campaign. Clintons lawyer called Broaddricks allegations absolutely false.

Story continues

EXCLUSIVE  Video Interview: Bill Clinton Accuser Juanita Broaddrick Relives Brutal Rapes:https://t.co/9j7f8VK9Md  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2016

He soon followed that tweet with another:

Exclusive VideoBroaddrick, Willey, Jones to Bill's Defenders: These Are Crimes, Terrified of Enabler Hillary https://t.co/DMfLsIbtU1  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2016

Also on Sunday morning, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a close Trump adviser who has been with the GOP nominee since the scandal broke, hinted on Meet the Press that Trump might bring up Bill Clintons scandals at the debate and connect them to the Democratic nominee.

I believe he will not bring up Bill Clintons personal life. I do believe theres a possibility hell talk about Hillary Clintons situation, if it gets to that. I dont think he prefers to do that, Giuliani said.

Giuliani then implied that Hillary Clinton had a role as the attacker against her husbands alleged victims. And on ABCs This Week, the former mayor said Trump might bring up Bill Clintons personal infidelities depending on how the debate goes.

Rudy Giuliani on whether Trump will attack Bill Clinton's past tonight: "Depends on how the debate goes." #ThisWeek https://t.co/DYXIoReRBr  ABC News (@ABC) October 9, 2016

Trump has toyed publicly on several other occasions with bringing up sordid aspects of Bill Clintons past. After the first presidential debate on Sept. 26, Trump praised himself for not bringing up President Clintons infidelities almost immediately after he walked into the spin room and began talking with reporters. Trump declared that he held back because he knew the Clintons daughter, Chelsea, was at the debate.

President Clinton has admitted to conducting multiple affairs during his marriage. The New York Times recently published an article chronicling the ways in which Hillary Clinton encouraged and oversaw efforts in the 1990s to sully the reputation of women who publicly claimed to have had affairs with her husband.

Screenshot from Donald Trumps video statement following the release of an audio recording on which he can be heard boasting that he groped women. (Photo: Facebook screenshot)

Trumps performance in the first debate was widely panned, and his standing suffered in the polls. Leading up to the second debate, which will take place in St. Louis, members of Hillary Clintons campaign suggested they thought bringing up the dirty laundry would be a bad move for Trump.

I dont think its a smart strategy for Donald Trump to come after her with these kinds of personal attacks, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told reporters this past week.

Mook was responding to Trumps prior threat to invite one of President Clintons former paramours to the first debate. Mook further said he didnt believe the real estate tycoon would bring up anything salacious.

We do not necessarily expect him to come with the kind of personal and harsh attacks that he has been threatening, Mook told reporters again Thursday. We expect a more focused, prepared Trump at this debate.

But if anything could prod Trump into bringing up President Clintons sex scandals, it might be the Clinton campaigns telling him not to, which it has done several times in the past week. And Trumps Sunday tweets are clear evidence that the GOP nominee is already looking at that line of attack.

Before the firestorm over Trumps comments about trying to f*** and grab women, Republican consultant Liz Mair told Yahoo News the Clinton campaign was likely trying to goad Trump.

The Clinton folks probably do think theyre baiting him, or are hoping so, but the reality is that baiting or not, Trump is very likely to walk into this trap anyway, said Mair, who ran a super-PAC opposing Trump. Self-immolation on live TV: Its what he does.

Conventional wisdom ahead of Trumps latest controversy was that making sex-scandal-based attacks would be a disastrous tactic, especially given Hillary Clintons role as the aggrieved spouse. Trumps resurfaced remarks would make the move even riskier. But his inner circle seemed divided about how to proceed.

Last month, Trump came from behind in the polls after adopting what his campaign called a more disciplined approach and talking about policy issues. He has since slipped. Following the vice presidential debate last Tuesday, Trumps campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, indicated a clear preference for how her candidate should behave.

I do appreciate when he talks about the issues, Conway said after the vice presidential debate. She was set to appear on the Sunday morning news shows as a Trump surrogate but was replaced by Giuliani.

Yet Trump is at his most unpredictable when he is cornered. And so the revelation of the sexually aggressive behavior he bragged about in the 2005 video may have made it more likely that he will get down in the mud during the debate.

Trump came under intense, and unprecedented, criticism from members of his own political party Friday evening after his comments were reported. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker both insisted that Trump back out of a scheduled appearance with them in their home state on Saturday, according to news reports. Two different sources told Yahoo News earlier Friday that Ryan and his advisers were not happy about Trumps appearance in Wisconsin and that it was not their idea. Ryan said in a statement late Friday that he was sickened by Trumps comments in the video.

While Ryan and some other notable Republicans maintained their endorsement of Trump, an increasing number of Republicans have withdrawn theirs. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, was the first sitting congressman to unendorse Trump. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, did the same. A slew of Republican governors, senators and House members have even called on Trump to drop out of the race.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a longtime Trump critic, called on the GOP nominee to step down from the presidential race. (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Trump, in his statement, attempted to downplay his 2005 comments by saying they were nothing more than a distraction from the important issues were facing today.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, took great offense at that remark and, with his voice rising, spoke directly to Trump in his own Facebook video: With all due respect, sir  you, sir, are the distraction. Your conduct, sir, is the distraction  from the very principles that will help us win in November, Lee said. I respectfully ask you, with all due respect, to step aside. Step down.

The political director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also called on Trump to exit the race. Some Trump critics called on Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to withdraw from his place on Trumps ticket as vice presidential nominee.

Pence was scheduled to appear in Trumps place at the Wisconsin event with Ryan and Walker. Trump issued a statement saying he would be spending the time preparing for the debate. Pence then pulled out of the same event.

For his part, Trump has fired back at his GOP critics and insisted that he would never drop out of the race:

The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly  I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGA  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2016

This post was updated at 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 9. Colin Campbell contributed.




Tirana (AFP) - Prince Leka, the sole descendant of Albania's last king, married popular actress Elia Zaharia on Saturday in a ceremony attended by the Spanish queen and several former royals.

It was the first wedding in Tirana of a member of the deposed royal family since 1938. Leka's grandfather Zog I, fled when Italian Fascist troops invaded Albania in 1939, a year after his wedding with Hungary's princess Geraldine Apponyi.

The royal family was forbidden to return until the fall of communism in 1990.

Albania was isolated during the communist era and closed to the outside world and the descendants of Zog were considered traitors.

The 33-year old bride, who studied theatre in Paris, is a famous actress in Albania.

More than 20 current and erstwhile royals attended, including Spain's Queen Sofia, Iran's former empress Farah Diba, Prince Mihailo Karadjordjevic of Yugoslavia and Princess Margarita of Romania.

Prince Leka, 34, is a graduate from Britain's Sandhurst military academy, and is an adviser to Albania's foreign minister.
It appears interim featherweight champion Jose Aldo isn't the only fighter that is unhappy with his treatment by UFC officials. You can now add Anderson Silva to that list.

Man, its complicated to talk about it. I didnt even get a thank you from Dana or Lorenzo after my last fight. I was the one who wanted to fight, of course, I took the fight, but I know what Im worth, my importance., Silva said about his UFC 200 bout with Daniel Cormier in an interview with Brazilian website UOL, as translated by MMAFighting's Guilherme Cruz.

I was really disappointed with the lack of respect from the UFC towards Brazilian athletes. Im an athlete who took the sport to another level. I dont get or ever got the respect from people. That made me really upset, sad and disappointed with the UFC.

Silva's comments follow those of Aldo, who recently demanded his release from the UFC after complaining that the promotion appears to be handing the reigns to Conor McGregor. He feels that the sport is being bypassed by the spectacle of money fights.

RELATED > Jose Aldo Asks for UFC Release, Threatens to Retire

Silva hadn't said anything about his feeling unappreciated following the Cormier fight until it came to light that he wasn't so much asked, as told to be at the ready should Michael Bisping or Dan Henderson have to drop out of their UFC 204 headlining bout.

Its more absurd how that (offer) came. They didnt even talk to me, recounted Silva. My representatives came as a messenger pigeon. I'm not the type of guy to get messages. After everything Ive done, I still have to stand by and wait for a fight I won? I found it a little unpleasant.

I will say it again: Im really disappointed with the way they have treated me, very upset with all that. I was not the one who said I was the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Dana said that. Maybe he said that to promote the event or because he really thought that. We will never know the truth, he continued.

Story continues

The fact is that everything Ive done, no one else could do. I dont want to be cocky or arrogant or think Im the best, but what Ive tried to do all those years was to show I was different from the others. And thats not my opinion, but everyones.

What happens now is anyone's best guess. Aldo and Silva are both under contract, so it wouldn't be easy for either to walk away if they ever want to fight again in the UFC or elsewhere. But it certainly doesn't play in the UFC's favor to have two of its top fighters publicly airing their grievances.

Follow MMAWeekly.com on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - Parmi fled the fighting in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz with 13 members of her family this week, in shock at how quickly the city's defenses had collapsed to the Taliban. Now in Kabul, she speaks bitterly of the failure of the government to protect the city, a year on from the last time it was overrun by the Islamist militants. "There is blood and dead bodies everywhere in Kunduz. Our young people are dying and the government hasn't done anything for us," she said, in the hotel she has been staying since Thursday with scores of other refugees from Kunduz. Her comments, and similar accounts from others, who speak of a blacked-out city running out of food, water and medicine, underline the despair of Kunduz residents and the anger building up against the government of President Ashraf Ghani. Parmi, 42, who like many Afghans goes by only one name, managed to escape with her family, putting a chain on the door of their house and leaving with only the clothes they were wearing after artillery and mortar fire hit their neighborhood. "We had to crawl out of the area; there were bullets everywhere. We left home empty-handed, now my clothes are dirty and I have nothing to wear," she said but added that she and her family were relatively lucky. "Anyone who doesn't have money is left there under threat of mortars and gunfire," she said. Special forces units, backed by American advisers and air strikes, have been battling to drive Taliban fighters from the city which the insurgents entered unexpectedly at the start of the week, and fighting continues in many areas. Following widespread reports of security forces abandoning their positions, poor coordination and rivalries among commanders, there has been heavy criticism that the government failed to learn from last year, when the Taliban seized and held the city for two weeks before pulling out. "Even as the security situation got bad, we didn't believe Kunduz would collapse," said Shogofa Bahar, a medical assistant who fled the city for Kabul this week. "But the situation got worse and worse." PRESSURE ON PRICES The United Nations said on Thursday that as many as 10,000 refugees had arrived in Kabul and northern towns including Taloqan and Mazar-i-Sharif. But Kunduz is only one of the many hotspots that have flared in the past few weeks, with heavy fighting seen in Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern province of Helmand, Farah in the west, Baghlan in the north and Nangarhar in the east. Afghanistan already has more than 1.2 million internal refugees, with some 260,000 forced to flee their homes across the country this year as the fighting has continued. In Takhar, the neighboring province to Kunduz, Sunatullah Timor, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said 5,000 families had been registered with authorities but their arrival was putting pressure on local food prices. Hundreds of families have also arrived in Baghlan but many had moved on to safer areas because of the fighting. Aid agencies and government authorities have been providing assistance to the latest arrivals from Kunduz but there has also been help from other sources, including private citizens. Hikmatullah Shadman, a businessman from the southern city of Kandahar, has paid for food and shelter for Parmi and the other families staying in her hotel and is ready to provide more, according to Hassib Naser, an aide. "He wants to show to Afghans and the world that we Afghans are the same," Naser said. However, with winter approaching, most of the Kunduz refugees are keen to return home as soon as possible. "Most people in Kunduz are poor and can't start living in other parts of the country," said Shogofa Bahar. "As soon as it becomes calm they will go back to their homes." (Writing by James Mackenzie; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Paris (AFP) - Demonstrators took to the streets Saturday in several towns across France to protest the government's plan to relocate migrants from the squalid Calais "Jungle" camp that is being shut down to their communities.

Around 250 people joined a march in Forges-les-Bains, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) southwest of Paris, against a migrant reception centre which opened Monday, housing 44 Afghans, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.

"The state forced this centre on us but I for one don't intend to just put up and shut up," said Lea, a young mother of two, who declined to give her surname.

Valerie Rigal, a leader of the marchers who are calling for a "moratorium" on further arrivals, insisted the villagers were not opposed to all migrants.

"We're not against migrants. We would have happily taken migrant families. What we didn't want was single men only," she said.

"My daughter takes the bus outside the centre every day. She's worried about running into groups of strange men."

The leafy hamlet of 3,700 residents, surrounded by woodland and corn fields, is expected to receive 91 asylum seekers. They are to be accommodated in an imposing disused hospital surrounded by high fencing.

In Pierrefeu-du-Var, southern France, a disused part of a psychiatric hospital has been chosen by authorities to house 60 asylum seekers currently in Calais who will be relocated from November.

Opposition to that plan brought out some 600 people to a rally in the village about 20 kilometres from Hyeres near the Mediterranean coast, police said.

Patrick Martinelli, mayor of the village of 6,000 residents, with the local council voted against the state's plan to send 60 men to Pierrefeu-du-Var, arguing that "a rural village was unsuitable for receiving such a population".

The far-right National Front (FN) party later on Saturday afternoon staged in its own anti-migrant protest with around 650 supporters, according to police.

Story continues

But not everyone agreed with the efforts to block the migrant centres.

Another demonstration in Pierrefeu-du-Var, organised by anti-far-right and leftist groups, took place with around 250 people carrying banners saying "Yes, to solidarity and welcome for migrants and refugees," an AFP correspondent there reported.

Also in Forges-les-Bains onlookers at the anti-migrant protests criticised the demonstrators' attitude.

"It's shameful," said Jennifer Sandalian, who works in a retirement home, fighting back tears.

"We all have a role to play in welcoming migrants, as human beings. We have to show them another image of France."

In Montpellier, southern France, around 100 protesters opposed to "the migrant invasion" and the "Islamisation" of the country were met by roughly the same number of anti-fascist demonstrators.

Riot police were deployed to separate the two groups.

And in Allex, south east France, 80 people gathered to protest the plans to resettle migrants currently in Calais across the country.

President Francois Hollande had announced during a visit to Calais last month that the makeshift camp which houses up to 10,000 people, would be dismantled by the end of the year and the asylum seekers relocated to centres around France.
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 7, 2016 / Lundin Law PC (the "Firm") announces the filing of a class action lawsuit against Goldcorp Inc. ("Goldcorp" or the "Company") (GG) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws between March 31, 2014 and August 24, 2016 (the "Class Period"). Investors, who purchased or otherwise acquired shares during the Class Period, should contact the Firm before the October 24, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here. You can also call Brian Lundin, Esquire, of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com.

No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also choose to do nothing and be an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, Goldcorp made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: that Goldcorp's mine in Penasquito was leaking selenium into the groundwater well near the mine as early as October 2013; that the Company informed the Mexican government about the rise of selenium levels in the groundwater in October 2014; that in August 2016 the Company informed the Mexican government of contaminated water found in other properties near the mine; and as a result of the above, Goldcorp's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When this information was disclosed to the public, Goldcorp's stock price fell, causing investors harm.

Lundin Law PC was founded by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding the rights of shareholders.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

brian@lundinlawpc.com

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE: Lundin Law PC
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina expects investment of $1.8 billion from 17 renewable energy projects awarded in an auction to generate 1,109 megawatts of power, the government said on Friday, as it tries to lessen dependence on imported power.

Argentine and international companies are among the winners, with Spanish companies Isolux Corsan SA (IPO-ISOL.MC) and FieldFare earning a solar contract and China's Envision Energy winning four wind contracts.

The projects are meant to increase the percentage of national power production from renewable sources to 8 percent of the total next year from 1.8 percent currently.

"We'll be at about 5 percent of the goal we have established," Undersecretary of Renewable Energy Sebastian Kind told a news conference.

The average winning price was $59.40 per megawatt hour and $59.70 per megawatt hour for solar.

Argentina received a total of 123 project bids in September, but said on Friday it awarded 17. Of those, 12 are wind, four solar and one biogas. The government received some bids for hydroelectric and biomass projects but did not accept them.

The government has said it aims to stop importing light crude oil this year as it moves towards energy self-efficiency. The country has been running an energy deficit since 2011 and investment in its Vaca Muerta shale fields has been slow to arrive.

Several Latin American countries are turning their attention to renewable energy. In August neighbouring Chile awarded contracts to supply power for two decades from the 2020s.

(Reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi, Nicolas Misculin and Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Lisa Shumaker)
Bangladeshi forces killed four suspected Islamist extremists during raids near Dhaka Saturday, security officials said, the latest clashes in the country's ongoing crackdown on militants.

Police have conducted a series of raids on suspected militant hideouts since extremists stormed a posh Dhaka cafe in July and slaughtered 22 mostly foreign hostages.

The elite Rapid Action Battalion launched two separate operations Saturday after being tipped off about the presence of Islamist extremists in a building in Gazipur, just outside Dhaka, and a three-storey structure in the northern district of Tangail.

"Two extremists were shot dead during a gunfight with the RAB in Gazipur. Weapons and explosives have been recovered," RAB spokesman Mufti Mahmud Khan told AFP.

Two more suspected extremists were killed after RAB forces raided another building in Tangail, local RAB chief Mohiuddin Faruqe told AFP.

"They fired at our officers suddenly as we raided their hideout. We fired back and two extremists were shot dead," he said, adding that two RAB officers were also injured during the raid.

The RAB did not elaborate on the operations and there was no immediate comment about what group the gunmen were affiliated with.

Private television broadcaster Jamuna TV said the RAB launched the raid in Gazipur after receiving intelligence that the "Dhaka coordinator" of the banned Islamist extremist group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was at the hideout.

It remained unclear whether the extremist leader was among the dead.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the July 1 attack on the upscale cafe in Dhaka, posting pictures of the attackers holding IS flags online.

However, Bangladesh officials have rejected the claims, saying the JMB led by a Canadian citizen of Bangladesh origin, Tamim Chowdhury, was responsible for the massacre.

In August police shot Chowdhury dead along with two of his associates after they stormed an extremist hideout in Narayanganj city near Dhaka.

Story continues

Since the cafe carnage, Bangladeshi security forces have killed at least 32 suspected Islamist militants, including a US citizen of Bangladesh descent.

Long dormant after their top leaders were executed in March 2007, the JMB has recently regrouped with young, university-educated extremists taking the helm.

Bangladesh has been reeling from a deadly wave of attacks in the last three years, including on foreigners, rights activists and members of the country's religious minorities.
By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladeshi security forces killed 11 members of an Islamist militant group on Saturday, most of them dying in a three-hour gun battle on the outskirts of the capital. Authorities said the dead were believed be members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), blamed for an attack on a cafe in Dhaka in July in which 22 people were killed, mostly foreigners. The militants were killed in three separate raids on hideouts on the outskirts of Dhaka, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters. Seven militants were killed in one raid after police were tipped off that the JMB's Dhaka unit chief and his associates were there. "We requested them to surrender but they opened fire at our officers instead and also exploded grenades, which prompted them to retaliate," Khan said, adding the three-hour gun battle left seven militants dead. "The dead militants include JMB's Dhaka military commander Akash, which is his organizational name. We are trying to find out his real identity." Explosives, weapons and machetes were recovered from all three hideouts and three police officers were injured, police said. The July 1 attack in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter was claimed by Islamic State militants and was one of the most brazen in Bangladesh, which has been hit by a spate of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year. Police have killed more than three dozen suspected militants in shootouts since the Dhaka cafe attack, including its presumed mastermind, Bangladesh-born Canadian citizen Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury. Chowdhury is reported to have been the subject of a profile in an Islamic State journal called Dabiq that identified him as its top operative in Bangladesh. The Syria-based militant group also published "selfie" photos of the cafe attackers on its propaganda channels while the hostage crisis was continuing. The government has consistently denied the presence in the country of any transnational militant organization such as al Qaeda or Islamic State. But police believe that JMB, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was involved in organizing the cafe attack. The targeting of foreigners could hurt foreign investment in the poor South Asian economy, whose $28 billion garments export industry is the world's second largest. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among those killed in the July attack. In the past year, al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims over the killings of liberals and religious minorities in the mostly Muslim nation of 160 million. While authorities blame the violence on domestic militants, security experts say the scale and sophistication of the cafe attack suggested links to a trans-national network. (Editing by Stephen Powell)
Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - The Syrian regime pressed its assault on rebel-held areas of Aleppo on Saturday ahead of a showdown at the United Nations between Western governments and its ally Russia.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that the mounting tensions between Washington and Moscow over the conflict had created a situation "more dangerous" than the Cold War.

US Secretary of State John Kerry made clear his anger at the Syrian army's Russian-backed onslaught in the battleground second city, saying that its bombing of civilians could amount to a war crime.

The UN Security Council is to vote on two rival resolutions on the fighting, one drafted by France calling for an end to air strikes and a second by Russia that urges a ceasefire but makes no mention of halting the bombings.

Moscow has said it will veto the French draft.

Its ally Damascus has made significant advances in its renewed two-week-old offensive in Aleppo, seizing territory to the north and pushing back the front line in the city centre which had remained largely static since the rebels captured eastern districts in 2012.

But it has come at a heavy human cost.

Since the regime offensive began on September 22 a few days after a US- and Russian-brokered ceasefire collapsed, at least 290 people -- mostly civilians -- have been killed in rebel-held areas, 57 them children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

And 50 civilians including nine children have been killed in rebel shelling on regime-held areas of the city, according to the Britain-based monitoring group, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.

It said government forces were making further advances on Saturday ahead of the Security Council session.

"The battle is unfolding in the centre, particularly in the Bustan al-Basha district where the army is advancing, in Sheikh Said in the south, and on the northern outskirts where the regime has taken the Uwaija neighbourhood," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Story continues

The monitor reported heavy air strikes on the rebel-held Fardos and Sukari neighbourhoods. An AFP correspondent said the raids mostly hit combat zones in the city.

- 'Cynical' ploy -

Russia is expected to use its veto to block the French-drafted resolution backed by the United States and Britain that also calls for a halt to all military flights over Aleppo.

The council will then move to a second vote on the Russian-drafted text.

It "urges immediate implementation of the cessation of hostilities, in particular in Aleppo" and demands that all parties allow deliveries of humanitarian aid."

British ambassador Matthew Rycroft dismissed the Russian draft as a political ploy.

"This is a cynical attempt to divert attention away from the need to stop the bombing of Aleppo," he said.

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 use the veto powers Russia wields as one of the council's five permanent members.

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."

Kerry made clear his anger, declaring: "These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation -- war crimes."

The German foreign minister said that tensions between Washington and Moscow were now worse than during the Cold War.

"It's a fallacy to think that this is like the Cold War," Steinmeir said in an interview published by Bild newspaper on Saturday.

"The current times are different and more dangerous."

The Security Council session begins at 1900 GMT. If Russia blocks the draft, it will be its fifth veto of a UN resolution on Syria.
BEIJING, Oct 8 (Reuters) - China's State Council, or cabinet, said on Saturday the country is committed to improve access for foreign companies in China, as part of "a new round of high-level opening up".

According to a statement released on Saturday following a State Council meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, the Chinese government will create an environment for fair competition for foreign firms.

"It's important part of pushing forward a new round of high-level opening up," the statement said.

In the future, except for certain sensitive industries in which access for foreign companies is restricted, foreign investments would only require registration, rather than approval. The statement did not offer details on how the new system would work.

It also said the Chinese government would take further steps to improve market entry for foreign companies.

The State Council's statement comes at a time when the foreign business community in China has become highly critical of the current unbalanced access for foreign companies in China.

Last month, a top European business lobby warned China that it risked a protectionist backlash unless it opened its markets faster to foreign investment.

Progress on China's economic reforms has been "highly disappointing", the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in an annual paper, released as China prepared to host leaders from the world's biggest economies at last month's G20 summit in Hangzhou.

(Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu and Shu Zhang in Beijing; Editing by Stephen Powell)
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh says Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire regime over 50 times at the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact.

The Ministrys announcement reads: Overnight October 7-8 the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime over 50 times by firing more than 450 shots from various caliber weapons at the Armenian positions in Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact. In the north-eastern direction the Azerbaijani forces fired also SVD sniper rifles (22 shots).

The Defense Army forces are in control of the situation and continue confidently conducting their military service.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Regulators in Beijing and Shanghai are proposing restrictions on who can operate as drivers for ride-hailing services such as Didi Chuxing and Uber [UBER.UL], possibly making it tougher for those services to recruit drivers.

Authorities in Beijing and Shanghai  the transport commissions of the municipal governments of Beijing and Shanghai  separately issued draft policies on Saturday as part of an effort to seek public comment. Both commissions posted draft policies on their respective website.

It was not clear whether the moves were coordinated.

According to the draft regulations, in Beijing the citys transport commission is proposing to require individuals driving for ride-hailing services to have local household registration, banning migrant workers from outside the mega-cities to operate cars for those services.

The city also wants those drivers to operate only locally registered vehicles, among other requirements such as age limits for drivers. Shanghais transport commission is proposing almost identical draft regulations.

Didi Chuxing said on Saturday the proposed restrictions would help double fares for rides offered by the company in Beijing and Shanghai. Its response was posted on the company's official account on Weibo, a Twitter-like messaging service popular in China.

Didi Chuxing in a statement said those new restrictions would result in a "significant decrease in the number of rideshare drivers".

That would combine with other restrictions proposed to "double" rideshare costs for hundreds of millions of users in Shanghai and Beijing, it said in the statement.

(Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in Beijing; editing by Mark Heinrich and Stephen Powell)
(Adds Didi Chuxing's reaction)

BEIJING Oct 8 (Reuters) - Regulators in Beijing and Shanghai are proposing restrictions on who can operate as drivers for ride-hailing services such as Didi Chuxing and Uber, possibly making it tougher for those services to recruit drivers.

Authorities in Beijing and Shanghai - the transport commissions of the municipal governments of Beijing and Shanghai - separately issued draft policies on Saturday as part of an effort to seek public comment. Both commissions posted draft policies on their respective website.

It was not clear whether the moves were coordinated.

According to the draft regulations, in Beijing the city's transport commission is proposing to require individuals driving for ride-hailing services to have local household registration, banning migrant workers from outside the mega-cities to operate cars for those services.

The city also wants those drivers to operate only locally registered vehicles, among other requirements such as age limits for drivers. Shanghai's transport commission is proposing almost identical draft regulations.

Didi Chuxing said on Saturday the proposed restrictions would help double fares for rides offered by the company in Beijing and Shanghai. Its response was posted on the company's official account on Weibo, a Twitter-like messaging service popular in China.

Didi Chuxing in a statement said those new restrictions would result in a "significant decrease in the number of rideshare drivers".

That would combine with other restrictions proposed to "double" rideshare costs for hundreds of millions of users in Shanghai and Beijing, it said in the statement.

(Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in Beijing; editing by Mark Heinrich and Stephen Powell)
BEIJING (Reuters) - Regulators in Beijing and Shanghai are proposing restrictions on who can operate as drivers for ride-hailing services such as Didi Chuxing and Uber, possibly making it tougher for those services to recruit drivers. Authorities in Beijing and Shanghai  the transport commissions of the municipal governments of Beijing and Shanghai  separately issued draft policies on Saturday as part of an effort to seek public comment. Both commissions posted draft policies on their respective website. It was not clear whether the moves were coordinated. According to the draft regulations, in Beijing the citys transport commission is proposing to require individuals driving for ride-hailing services to have local household registration, banning migrant workers from outside the mega-cities to operate cars for those services. The city also wants those drivers to operate only locally registered vehicles, among other requirements such as age limits for drivers. Shanghais transport commission is proposing almost identical draft regulations. Didi Chuxing said on Saturday the proposed restrictions would help double fares for rides offered by the company in Beijing and Shanghai. Its response was posted on the company's official account on Weibo, a Twitter-like messaging service popular in China. Didi Chuxing in a statement said those new restrictions would result in a "significant decrease in the number of rideshare drivers". That would combine with other restrictions proposed to "double" rideshare costs for hundreds of millions of users in Shanghai and Beijing, it said in the statement. (Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in Beijing; editing by Mark Heinrich and Stephen Powell)
The Today shows Billy Bush released a statement on Friday night apologizing for comments he made on a leaked 2005 videotape in which he appears alongside Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump making lewd comments about a woman.

Obviously, Im embarrassed and ashamed. Its no excuse, but this happened 11 years ago  I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. Im very sorry, Bush said.

The video of Bush and Trump was published by the Washington Post on Friday afternoon. According to the newspaper, it came from a hot microphone and was taken when Trump filmed an appearance on Access Hollywood about a cameo he made on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Billy Bush. (Photo: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

In the clip, Bush, who hosted Access Hollywood at the time, was with Trump onboard a bus emblazoned with the shows logo. As the bus approached the soap operas set, Bush exclaimed that he saw a woman who was hot as s*** and wearing purple. Bush went on to compliment the unknown womans good legs. Trump said he wanted to prepare to meet her when they disembarked.

I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, Im automatically attracted to beautiful  I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait. And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, grab them by the p****, Trump said.

After they left the bus, the video showed Bush and Trump being greeted by actress Arianne Zucker, who wore a purple dress. Bush then encouraged Zucker to give Trump a hug.

Bush left Access Hollywood for NBCs Today show earlier this year. His statement was released by an NBC spokesperson.

The video also showed Trump discussing his efforts to try and f*** an unnamed married woman. In a statement of his own, Trump described the comments as locker room banter and a private conversation.

I apologize if anyone was offended, Trump said.
Srinagar (India) (AFP) - Indian-administered Kashmir's main city came under curfew again after thousands clashed with government forces during the funeral of boy killed in protests, police said Saturday.

Police and paramilitary troops fired tear gas, pellets and live rounds into the air to disperse the funeral procession of the 12-year-old as his body was carried to Srinagar's "Martyr's Graveyard", a police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Residents said the boy was sprayed with pellets in the lawn outside his home, but police say he was part of anti-India protests that took place Friday.

"We are taking all possible measures so that the protests don't spread to other areas," the officer said, referring to the curfew.

The angry mourners were shouting "We want freedom" and "Go Indian, go back" during the procession.

More than 50 people were injured during Friday's protests in the restive Himalayan region, which has been roiled by deadly violence for nearly four months.

At least 90 people, most of them young protesters, have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in clashes with Indian security forces.

Thousands more have been arrested since the unrest began on July 8, when a popular militant leader was killed in a gunfight with soldiers.

Since then shops, schools and most banks have remained shut and authorities have suspended mobile phone internet services.

In a separate incident overnight, suspected rebels fired at a police post in the southern Shopian district killing an officer and injuring three others, a police statement said.

Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where rebel groups have fought Indian troops since 1989 for either independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours has soared after a militant attack last month on an Indian army base killed 19 soldiers, with the two armies exchanging heavy fire and mortars across their de facto border in Kashmir almost every day.
By Ben Hirschler COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The failure of Bristol-Myers Squibb's blockbuster Opdivo immunotherapy in previously untreated lung cancer patients has opened up the market for AstraZeneca, its chief executive believes. "Suddenly, this trial news opens quite some opportunities for us, in both monotherapy and combination therapy," Chief Executive Pascal Soriot told Reuters on Saturday, in his first comments since the Opdivo trial flop in August. Soriot is in Copenhagen for the European Society for Medical Oncology congress, where he and his team will be scouring data from competitors to determine how best to fine-tune their own clinical work to maximize its chance of success. The timing has been fortuitous for the British drugmaker, which can now take advantage of the experience of its rivals. At stake is a chunk of a hugely promising new market for cancer treatments that fight tumors by boosting the immune system. Industry analysts forecast such drugs could eventually generate annual sales of $30 billion to $40 billion, with lung cancer seen as the biggest opportunity. Much of the clinical focus is on the best way to select patients likely to benefit from the new and expensive medicines, by using biomarkers to assess their tumors. While the Opdivo trial included patients with low levels of a protein called PD-L1, a separate trial found Merck's similar drug Keytruda worked well in a much smaller group of patients expressing at least 50 percent PD-L1. That gives AstraZeneca the opportunity to steer a path between its two rivals by refining the PD-L1 benchmarks used in its own keenly awaited clinical trial, known as MYSTIC, which is expected to report results early next year. "It gives us a chance to do what BMS was trying to do, but do it in a less risky manner, by expanding the population from the 50 percent PD-L1 cut-off to a bit broader," Soriot said. AstraZenecas rival to Opdivo and Keytruda is durvalumab, which is being tested on its own and with another immunotherapy called tremelimumab. The British company is currently planning to look at how well its treatment fares among patients with a 25 percent PD-L1 expression level or more, but it has the flexibility to amend this. Roche also has a rival immunotherapy called Tecentriq, which has proved effective in previously treated lung cancer patients, and the fact that AstraZeneca looks like being fourth to market has been viewed negatively by many investors. Soriot argues this ignores the fact his company has the potential to leap ahead in combination therapy, which could well become the main choice for most lung cancer patients. "We're coming from a place where everybody thought we were behind and we have a very good chance to play in both the monotherapy and combination segments," Soriot said. "Even if BMS were to catch up with us in combination, there would still only be two companies with these regimens." Currently, Bristol's competing immunotherapy combination is not expected to produce clinical trial results until 2018. Furthermore, AstraZeneca has another card up its sleeve in the form of a so-called priority review voucher from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which Soriot said could be used, if needed, to help it seek rapid approval. "Being first is definitely important," Soriot said. (Editing by Susan Thomas)
Taiwan-based Burmese filmmaker Midi Z produces his best work yet with The Road to Mandalay. Returning to narrative features after the documentaries Jade Miners and City of Jade, Z maintains his focus on Burmese exiles with a low-key, high-impact love story about two illegal immigrants with very different ideas about making money and starting a new life in Bangkok. Very well performed by Zs regular actress Wu Ke-xi and established Taiwanese star Kai Ko (You Are the Apple of My Eye), The Road to Mandalay is bound to travel far and wide on the fest circuit following a prestigious hat-trick of selections in Venice, Toronto, and Busan. Taiwan and Hong Kong theatrical release is set for Dec. 9.

A good example of a filmmaker whos stuck to his task and steadily improved with each outing, Z has weeded out the overlong shots and plot meanderings that crept into his early features Return to Burma and Poor Folk. Following his big leap forward with Ice Poison, Midi Z has now delivered a tightly edited and emotionally rewarding drama that places him in the top rank of Asian social realists.

The films title may conjure all sorts of exotic notions, but the reality is something very different. The only part of Burma seen here is a riverbank on the Thai border where strangers Lianqing (Wu) and Guo (Kai) are ferried to the other side and packed into a van bound for Bangkok. With very little dialogue, Z paints a clinical picture of how the desperation of those fleeing conflict and poverty and the opportunism of corrupt officials perpetuates the people smuggling trade.

Clearly attracted to his traveling companion, Guo makes stumbling romantic moves once they hit the capital. He wants Lianqing to follow him into a textile factory where no questions are asked. But the determined young woman has bigger ideas. Her plan is to get a legitimate job and eventually secure a Thai passport. Despite the help of her kind-hearted flatmate, Cai (Yue Gai-huan), things dont work out. Unable to produce the required documents, Lianqing is forced into low-paid work as a restaurant dishwasher. Its not long before shes caught in a police raid and swindled by scam artists and crooked officials promising to supply genuine work documents. In sheer desperation, Lianqing joins the workforce at Guos factory.

Story continues

Even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, Lianqing simply refuses to give up. Wus spot-on performance  all inner strength and steely determination  is the films quiet yet powerful emotional core. Audiences will root for her through ordeals including a brush with the sex trade that may be real or imagined, but is genuinely startling either way.

Zs lean and efficient screenplay neatly houses Lianqings struggle within the larger picture of Bangkoks unofficial economy, where labor and life are cheap. The Thai capital has rarely looked as drab and unwelcoming as it does here. With expert control of tone and performances, Z ramps up the stakes as Guo makes his intentions clear. Disillusioned with dead-end life abroad, he wants to return to Burma and starts talking about marriage. Lianqings response to his overtures propels the tale to a climax that audiences wont soon forget.

Virtually a one-man band at the start of his career, Z is armed this time with a much larger budget and greater technical resources. The outstanding contributions of cinematographer Tom Fan and editor Matthieu Laclau (the Jia Zhangke-directed features Mountains May Depart and A Touch of Sin) contribute significantly to the success of The Road to Mandalay. Composer Lim Giongs eerie sonic sculptures are perfectly positioned to maximize the characters sense of displacement and alienation.

Related stories

Asia Box Office: Reliable Sources Sometimes Hard to Come by

Busan: M-Line Picks Up Warner Korea's 'A Single Rider'

Busan: Lotte Sells French Novel Adaptation, Comedies
BUSAN  On its third day, the narrative at Busan returned firmly to the films on offer rather than the problems faced by the festival. Unlike the previous two days where the problems took center stage, the meeting for Kiyoshi Kurosawas gala presentation Daguerrotype saw the focus remain firmly on the film.

Moderating the discussion, festival director Kang Soo-youn said, Of all the gala presentations this is the most ambitious one.

The film deals with an obsessive photographer who works with the 19th century Daguerrotype technology to shoot portraits, and his daughters burgeoning relationship with his new assistant.

The film is a France/Belgium/Japan co-production and is presented in French.

For the first time I had the experience of making a film outside Japan, said Kurosawa. Making a French film at my age refreshed me. It is the first film of my second career.

Making a film in an unknown culture and language presented multiple challenges. Im not French, so I was not able to convey modern French society in my film. I thought Ill be truthful to my film rather than convey other cultural backgrounds. I grew up watching world cinema so I thought making true cinema is how I can approach a French audience, said Kurosawa.

I cannot speak French, so I had interpreters in my crew. My crew and my actors were French so, I couldnt communicate with them, but they behaved like in Japan. When I asked them something, they immediately knew what I wanted. I realized during the shoot that cinema is an international language and I was really surprised by this. I dont know whether it was because it was France I had this good experience. It may be have been a different experience if it was Hollywood, Kurosawa added.

Kurosawa said that in todays age of digital videos and smart phones, the audiences expect to be astonished every time they visit a cinema. I dont know how long cinema will survive, but Daguerrotype is still around. It is a metaphor for cinema today, he said.

Story continues

Related stories

Busan Veteran Suman Ghosh Returns With 'Mi Amor' And 'The India Project'

Busan Film Review: 'The Road to Mandalay'

Busan: Seyfolah Samadian Unveils Abbas Kiarostami Documentary Project
During a press conference that took place at the House of Commons on the 6th of October, prominent Parliament members, individuals belonging to the Iranian community in Canada and people who witnessed the horrors of the 1988 massacre for themselves urged the Canadian government to take a stance against the perpetrators of these vile acts, many of whom are in powerful positions in Iran today.

The Canadian 2013 resolution stated that Canada condemns the mass murder of political prisoners in Iran in the summer of 1988 as constituting crimes against humanity, and the members of the press conference appealed on that basis to urge the Canadian government into demanding that a UN inquiry into the massacre be carried out. They also highlighted the fact that Canada has been a sponsor of the annual UN resolution which highlights and condemns the violations of human rights in Iran today, including the maltreatment of prisoners, mock trials and ongoing mass executions, often based on nothing more than religious or political convictions. They hope to send a clear message to the Iranian government that there will be consequences, should the human rights abuse carry on.

The summer of 1988 saw more than 30,000 civilians be executed in Iran for their political convictions  most belonged to the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran, which remains the main force of resistance to the current Iranian regime. New information surfaced in August this year, shedding light on the way the executions were carried out. Audio tapes, published on the website of the late Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri (who was once destined to take the role of Irans Supreme Leader, after Ayatollah Khomeini) revealed a meeting taking place with members of the specially devised Death Commission.

During the meeting recorded on the audio, Montazeri is heard criticising the commission for its brutal treatment of anyone who opposed the regime. In my opinion, the greatest crime committed during the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us, has been committed by you, Montazeri said. He urged the commission to consider that an ideology or a line of thought, such as the PMOI, cannot be stamped out by brutally executing its members. He was right  today the National Council of Resistance (NCRI) has been able to secure the support of more than 100,000 people who turned up to the rally which took place in Paris earlier this year.

Despite Montazeris pleas, more than 30,000 prisoners were massacred in 1988, including pregnant women and children, and buried in unmarked mass graves. Since then, more information has surfaced, revealing new facts surrounding the shocking massacre.

A spokesperson for the Iran Democratic Association, Shahram Golestaneh, who took part in the press conference, provided details about the secret mass graves and the officials involved in these crimes. He brought the issue of human rights violations to the present day context, quoting the UN Secretary General, according to whom 1,000 executions were reported in Iran in 2015, the highest in the past two decades. The problem is intensified due to the fact that scores of officials who formed the Death Commission at the time, remain in power in Iran today. In recent weeks, about 60 of the most senior officials responsible for this massacre, whose names had remained secret for nearly three decades have been identified. These individuals were members of the Death Commissions in Tehran and 10 other Iranian provinces.

Golestaneh also provided details of several mass graves which have remained a secret until now, further illustrating the extent of the massacres. These include Mashhad (north-east Iran), Zanjan (north-west Iran), Kermanshah (western Iran), Sumee Sara (northern Iran), Tonekabon (northern Iran), Dezful (south-west Iran), and Bandar-e Gaz (northern Iran).

The former Minister of State of Canada, Candice Bergen, highlighted the human rights abuse taking place in Iran now, especially the oppression of womens rights, as reported by the UN Secretary General, and expressed her lack of faith that things might improve under the Presidency of Hassan Rouhani.

One of the Members of Canadian Parliament, Michael Cooper, drew attention to the fact that children no older than 15 were among the victims of the 1988 massacre and expressed his solidarity with the Iranian community in Canada in commemorating the victims. He also pointed out Irans involvement in Syria and the funding of such terrorist organisations as Hezbollah.

Chairman of Canadian Friends of a Democratic Iran, David Kilgour further pointed out the role of leadership that Canada could potentially undertake in the field of championing human rights, in the same way that it championed the change within the status quo of South Africa under Apartheid.

The press conference also included those who had actively witnessed the 1988 massacre. Mr. Ahmad Hassani related the story of how his own brother Mahmoud Hassanis was executed in 1988 and revealed the sad and appalling notion that the Iranian regime had not allowed him to find out where his brother had been buried to this day. Mr. Mehdi Garmroudi also lost his brother in the massacre and relayed his heart-tearing story during the press conference.
Dubai (AFP) - Canadian-Jordanian designer Rad Hourani creates avant-garde designs with a vision: To break all boundaries, starting with gender.

His revolutionary unisex garments were showcased in the Middle East for the first time ever during a show late Friday at Arab Fashion Week in Dubai.

In thick pieces of material tied up in different styles, male and female models walked down the runway wearing dark sunglasses.

The 34-year-old, an invited member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris, was the first ever designer to present a unisex haute couture collection in 2013.

His Spring-Summer 2017 collection presented in Dubai is a reworked mix of his past archives and aims to showcase "the timelessness" of his 10-year-old genderless works, the soft-spoken designer, wearing a simple black cotton T-shirt and matching trousers, told AFP in an interview.

"People didn't really understand it (unisex) at the beginning," he said. "They were always asking which pieces are for men and which pieces are for women."

"I had to work very hard in the past 10 years to communicate the neutral unisex vision," which has become his signature style, he said.

- 'Free of limitations' -

For Friday's show, Hourani said he re-edited his old collections "in a new way, adding new forms and new shapes."

But it was the first time the designer, known for his clean A-lines and minimalist looks, has worked with draped folds.

"I think working with these shapes in a new drapey and architectural way was an interesting exercise for me," he said.

Behind his work, Hourani has his own unbounded philosophy or "vision", as he likes to call it.

"I live in a way which is free of (the) limitations of gender, race, age or nations," he said. "I see the world as one place and I see the people as one as well."

Through his garments, he tries to offer customers some of this freedom by creating unisex clothing that could be transformed to menswear or womenswear through simple styling such as adding a belt, or tying up the piece in a certain way.

Story continues

"What I'm trying to do is to create neutral graphic shapes and then to give each individual the options of wearing it: feminine, masculine, casual, or whatever style they like it to be."

"I don't work in a way that I can limit you in the way you style the garment. So my garments are really very transformable in terms of style."

While his fabrics are generally cotton satin, silk, and crepe, he used a plastic-like material for his Dubai collection and added bright colours -- a change from his usually monochrome palette of black, white, grey, and blue.

"This time it's more of a fun show" with the models even appearing wrapped up "like gifts" to celebrate the decade he has spent in the industry, Hourani said with a grin.

- 'Lady Gaga style' -

His designs drew mixed views from the audience with an elderly Iraqi man exclaiming: "They're aliens!" as the models walked past.

But Nora, a Frenchwoman of Arab origin, said she did see some "interesting" pieces which she could consider buying.

"We don't have this kind of fashion here in the Middle East... I see it (as) a bit special," she said after the show. "To understand this kind of design you need to... understand the designer himself how he thinks."

Daryl Scott, a fitness trainer from New York, agreed that "it was pretty interesting. It's different in a good way."

"It's something more like Lady Gaga" style, said Scott, referring to the all-famous American pop star who has already worn Hourani's designs.

But the designer said he does have Arab clients.

"I see a great evolution" in the Arab world in terms of fashion. "We have Emirati clients", male and female and of different ages.
Former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina called for Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race, saying he has manifestly failed at carrying out the responsibilities of a party nominee.

Donald Trump does not represent me or my party, she said in a Facebook post on Saturday. I understand the responsibility of Republicans to support their nominee. Our nominee has weighty responsibilities as well. Donald Trump has manifestly failed in these responsibilities.

Her statement comes the day after the Washington Post published a video from 2005 in which Trump boasts about hitting on a married woman and groping women. And when youre a star, they let you do it, Trump said in the video. You can do anything. He apologized in a video message released early Saturday morning, saying the comments dont reflect who he is. He called the tape a distraction from important issues.

Today I ask Donald Trump to step aside and for the RNC to replace him with Gov. Mike Pence, Fiorina said in her Facebook post, maintaining that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is unfit to be president.

Fiorina has called out Trump for his comments about women previously. After he criticized her appearance in an interview last yearLook at that face! Would anybody vote for that?she fired back at him during a primary debate, when asked about his remarks. I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said, she said.
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific bid farewell to its Boeing 747 fleet Saturday with a final low-altitude flyby over the city's iconic skyline.

The final route harked back to dramatic images of the planes flying low over rooftops of apartment blocks as they used to approach the old airport on the harbour.

Saturday's flight, codenamed CX8747, flew over the city's famous Victoria Harbour and the former Kai Tak Airport, which closed in 1998 and was considered one of the most challenging places to land an aircraft due to its crowded urban site surrounded by steep mountains.

Around 300 airline staff made a donation of HK$747 ($96) to ride on the venerable aircraft, which was first used by Cathay Pacific in 1979, for the last time, the airline said.

Photos of the last flyby, at an altitude of 610 metres (2,000 feet) were posted on the airline's Facebook page, which showed some 747 fans waving goodbye.

"Goodbye and thank you, our dearest Boeing 747," Adonis Lau said on the airline's Facebook.

"Cathay 747s brought me and my family between HK and our stays in US and Canada during my childhood. I'll miss my time on the upper deck," Denise Ho said.

The airline had said the four-engine 747 aircraft played a significant role in growing Hong Kong into an international aviation hub.

It added the Boeing 747 had spent 3.1 million hours in the air, after its last commercial flight from Tokyo to the southern Chinese city on October 1.

The 400 passenger 747 Jumbo Jet was launched in 1970 and dominated international air travel and cargo over the next decades.
From Country Living

Sixty-three years ago last month, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier and John F. Kennedy, then a junior senator from Massachusetts, exchanged vows in Newport, Rhode Island. The bride wore a stunning Battenburg gown and the ceremony took place at St. Mary's Church.

Throughout their marriage, the couple would often spent weekends and summers in Newport, where her family owned property. During those visits, including during his presidency, the couple worshipped at St. Mary's, always sitting in pew 10.

Though the church was already historic at the time of the Kennedy wedding-built between 1848 and 1852, it was home to Rhode Island's first Catholic Parish and served as a Navy chapel during the Civil War-no significant efforts were made to preserve its interior appearance.

"In 1958, we did not know that (Kennedy) was going to become president," Rev. Kris von Maluski told the Associated Press.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Photo credit: Getty Images

Five years after the wedding, in 1958, the Roman Catholic church installed a new organ, made by famed organ makers Casavant Freres of Quebec, Canada. The organ was so large its pipes and casework filled much of the choir loft, covering two stained glass windows and other architectural features.

Today, however, the church is undergoing a renovation that will restore its Gothic style. Church officials are using a blueprint they found from 1937 so that the result will match "what we think it may have looked like" when the Kennedys married, von Maluski said.

"They would have walked down the aisle seeing, hopefully, what we put up again," he said.

Photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons/lksriv

Photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons/Our Lady of Fatima

The famed organ broke in 2014, and the church is now restoring it and replacing the casework and pipes with parts that fit into the space and match its earlier aesthetic.

Among the problems with the existing organ is that it obstructs archways in the choir loft, so the 40 choir members have to duck and crowd together. The new design will solve that, said Cody Mead, the church's music director.

Story continues

"We look at this as a musical project as well as an architectural project," he said.

The church is launching a fundraising campaign to help pay for the work, which includes the $600,000 cost of refurbishing the organ and $200,000 to reconstruct the choir loft, as well as additional money to maintain the instrument and provide musical scholarships and programs.

Von Maluski says the church attracts many tourists interested in the Kennedys. In the summers, it holds a special program called "Return to Camelot," which includes live organ music from the wedding and a video presentation about the Kennedys' time at St. Mary's and in Newport.

Michelle R. Smith of the Associated Press contributed to this post.

You Might Also Like
By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton struggled with how to secure the endorsement of labor unions while announcing her opposition to the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project they supported but environmentalists opposed, according to leaked emails published by Wikileaks on Friday.

Before announcing in September 2015 that she opposed TransCanada Corp's proposal to build a pipeline from Canada to the United States, her campaign sought to "soften the blow" to labor unions by offering an energy infrastructure plan that would create jobs, according to the emails.

The internal campaign emails from August 2015 reveal the difficulty Clinton had in appeasing both unions and environmentalists as she fought for her party's nomination ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

Wikileaks published the Clinton emails just hours after the U.S. government accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations.

In the emails, Clinton advisers discussed how to frame the candidate's "energy infrastructure" plan, which would call for replacing old pipelines, repairing rail tracks and improving the electric grid in a way that would appeal to labor unions, who had yet to endorse her at that stage.

"Could we mention that ... as we transition HRC wants to create more careers within the new energy economy? Careers is their buzz word," wrote Nikki Budzinski, labor outreach director for Hillary for America.

Clinton had long avoided taking a firm position on Keystone, which had been pending for seven years, as she sought her party's nomination last year. As secretary of state, Clinton said in 2010 she was inclined to approve it.

Rival Senator Bernie Sanders had been a staunch opponent of the pipeline. President Barack Obama did not reject the pipeline until November 2015.

Labor unions have pushed for approval of the pipeline, saying it would create thousands of construction jobs while environmentalists opposed it because it would increase greenhouse gas emissions from Canada's oil sands.

Story continues

The emails show that North America's Building Trades, representing builders and construction workers, contacted the campaign after hearing that Obama would announce his denial of the pipeline in late August and that Clinton would say she "encouraged" him to make the decision.

"We are so close to getting bldg (sic) trades and if we do this right, it will be ok even though they won't like it," wrote Amanda Renteria, the campaign's national political adviser.

The Building Trades union endorsed Clinton in November and the Laborers' International Union of North America endorsed Clinton in December.

Clinton's struggle to please both green and labor groups is likely to emerge as a key challenge if she is to win the presidency.

A decision over another pipeline, the Dakota Access, has sparked major protests from Native American and environmental groups.

The Obama administration temporarily halted construction, frustrating unions.

"These types of decisions made by this administration get dumped in the presidential race and it's kind of unfair," Sean McGarvey, president of North America's Building Trades Unions, told Reuters in an interview last month.

"We don't like all of Clinton's energy policies but we think it's reasonable."

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Hillary Clintons campaign would not confirm or deny the authenticity of a trove of new emails released on Friday by WikiLeaks, including what appeared to be transcripts of her paid speeches to Wall Street firms and other companies.

The news of the release of the emails was obscured by what was happening with Donald Trumps campaign, which is grappling with the fallout of the release of Access Hollywood footage from 2005 in which he is heard making lewd comments about women.

Clinton campaign manager John Podesta  whose emails were hacked  said on Twitter that Im not happy about being hacked by the Russians in their quest to throw the election to Donald Trump. He added that he doesnt have time to figure out which docs are real and which are faked. But he noted that WikiLeaks assertion that he co-owns the lobbying firm The Podesta Group was completely false.

BuzzFeed first reported that the WikiLeaks emails included portions of speech transcripts, which had been sent to Podesta in January to flag as potentially problematic for her campaign.

In one speech transcript to a Brazilian bank, Clinton is quoted as saying that her dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, some time in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the hemisphere.

Clintons speech transcripts became an issue in her primary campaign against Bernie Sanders. He criticized her for her speeches to Wall Street firms and called on her to release the transcripts. He also made his opposition to free trade deals a central issue of his campaign. He noted that Clinton supported the Trans Pacific Partnership before the campaign but then announced her opposition.

On Friday, the Obama administration accused the Russian government of being behind the recent hacks of the Democratic National Committee as well as of notable individuals. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell was hacked and his emails were published last month.

Story continues

Clinton campaign spokesman Glen Caplin released a statement about the WikiLeaks releasing, noting that earlier today the U.S. government removed any reasonable doubt that the Kremlin has weaponized WikiLeaks to meddle in our election and benefit Donald Trumps candidacy. We are not going to confirm the authenticity of stolen documents released by Julian Assange who has made no secret of his desire to damage Hillary Clinton. Guccifer 2.0 has already proven the warnings of top national security officials that documents can be faked as part of a sophisticated Russian misinformation campaign.

Also on Friday, a group of national security officials warned the news media to be cautious about reporting on the contents of hacked material, as Russian intelligence agents have been known to doctor information to look real.

Related stories

Donald Trump Apologizes for Lewd Remarks: 'I Pledge to Be a Better Man'

Among Pressing Campaign Issues, Don't Forget About Copyright (Guest Column)

Clinton-Trump Town Hall Debate Will Be More 'Open' Than in the Past
In his article for NewsMaxWorld on October 7, Shahriar Kia writes that, The regime in Tehran is known for its instigation of terrorism and strife across Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. It has gained notorious fame for its violent meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, its support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in slaughtering more than 500,000 Syrians, and its track record ofhuman rights violations against its own citizens, especially women and youth, adding, This makes Iran an imminent threat to regional and global stability and peace, as well as a de facto enemy in the fight against terrorism. He says that fostering illusions that it can be an ally in fighting ISIS will do nothing to deter or lessen this clear and present danger.

According to Kia, the appeasement policies adopted by the current administration has not only failed to rein in Irans export of terrorism and human rights violation, but has prodded it to further undermine global security through manufacturing ballistic missiles, prototyping war drones, and continuing to fill the coffers of its extremist proxies in the region with the ransom money it receives from the West. He alleges that while President Hassan Rouhani was in New York speaking at the UN General Assembly, details were exposed about a deal between the U.S. and the Iranian regime, granting Tehran $1.7 billion in exchange for the release of four American citizens.

As well, according to Kia, sanctions were from the main financial institutions that fund Irans nuclear missile program. While the regime has insisted it needs sanctions relief for its bankrupt economy, but its been proven that it has been funneled into support of the Assad regime.

The state of human rights in Iran has become an issue of concern among members of the U.S. Congress, and members of the U.S. House of Representatives recentlyintroduced a resolution that condemned the Iranian regimes mass killing of political prisoners in 1988, calling for justice for the victims.

Afatwa by Khomeini, the founder and thenSupreme Leader of the regime, began the 1988 Massacre. In just four months, more than 30,000 political prisoners were executed. Members and supporters of the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), the Iranian regimes main opposition group, were the main target. This group, in later years, unveiled Tehrans secret nuclear program, and has garnered support for their efforts toward a democratic Iran across the globe, including both sides of the aisle in the U.S. congress. Today, the PMOI is part of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.

The late Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, Khomeinis own chief deputy, deplored the carnage waged during the 1988 massacre, leading him to criticize the act as the greatest crime committed during the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us.

The executions were orchestrated by the so-called death committee, and many of those same persons now occupy key posts across the country. An example is Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who now serves as Justice Minister in the government of the self-proclaimed moderate Rouhani. Which proves that the idea that moderates within the ranks of the Iranian regime is wishful thinking, that will inevitably result in further undermining of human rights in Iran, and instability across the Middle East region.

Whoever wins the next U.S. presidential elections will have a chance to right the wrongs and steer the foreign policy in a direction that will restore regional and global peace and stability. The right place to start is to put an end to over two decades of appeasement toward the Iranian regime and holding its officials accountable for the uncountable crimes committed in Iran and across the world. It is about time that the U.S. stands with the Iranian people and their resistance movement, concludes Kia.
By Stine Jacobsen and Helen Murphy OSLO/BOGOTA (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) (Additional reporting by Joachim Dagenborg, Gwladys Fouche, Terje Solsvik and Alister Doyle in Oslo, Tom Miles in Geneva and Carlos Vargas in Bogota; Writing by Angus MacSwan and Helen Murphy; Editing by Kieran Murray and W Simon)
By Rory Carroll and David Shepardson

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A settlement with U.S. regulators gives Volkswagen AG too much authority over how to spend $2 billion on electric vehicle technology, a U.S. congresswoman from California said this week in a letter, echoing concerns from states and others who fear the German automaker gains undue influence in the deal.

Volkswagen agreed to spend $1.2 billion nationally and $800 million more in California on electric vehicle technology as penalties for equipping hundreds of thousands of diesel vehicles sold in the United States with software designed to cheat tailpipe emissions tests.

The letter from Representative Anne Eshoo comes ahead of an Oct. 18 hearing at which a federal judge will consider whether to give final approval to $15.3 billion in settlements for owners, state and federal regulators or require changes and renegotiation.

A provision "of particular concern" allows VW to make "possible investments in its own proprietary technology and subsidiaries," Eshoo, a Democrat, said in the Oct. 4 letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa McCarthy.

The EPA declined to comment. VW was not immediately available for comment. It has urged the court approve the deal.

Eshoo's fears mirror those raised by electric car-charging station companies in August.

Four members of the California state legislature, in comments to the U.S. Department of Justice, also urged independent oversight and administration of the VW funds "to ensure that multiple vendors with cutting-edge technology are able to enter the market."

The Justice Department said last month it received 1,195 comments period from private citizens, state and local government offices and agencies, businesses, and institutions and associations. The DOJ urged the agreements be approved with only minor changes.

Objectors face an uphill battle since U.S. courts generally give the government significant latitude to negotiate settlements.

The Justice Department said nearly half of the comments were submitted on behalf of a company that provides truck-stop electrification services to long-haul truck drivers, IdleAir, urging that the VW program be allowed to fund such projects.

(Editing by Peter Henderson and Leslie Adler)
Youve read and heard all about the latest baby by Google, thats perceived by most as an apparent attack at Apples iPhone. Google did not just start the fight with phone specifications, they have also pinned the Pixel phone on same price point. Lets cut the chase and go straight down to what you want to know : how much it costs around the world, which country sells it the cheapest and how to get it here in Singapore.

google-pixel-and-pixel-xl-official-photos-and-images



How Much Does it Costs Around the World

At launch, it was announced that the Google Pixel & Pixel XL will first be released in U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia & India. Heres a breakdown of the prices of an unlocked (not tied down with operator) Pixel & Pixel XL in each country:









Where is Google Pixel Cheapest Around the World - Airfrov Blog

I know, I know, this table doesnt make much sense to you. Lets add tax to the price in U.S. & Canada (taking 9% tax for calculations), and convert all of them to Singapore Currency.



(Based on exchange rate as of 8/10/2016: AUD 1.04, CAD 1.03, EUR 1.537, INR 0.02, GBP 1.7, USD 1.37)



Wheres the Best Place to Buy Google Pixel phone?



The wiser choice (though I still wont consider it cheap), would be from the United States. Depending on the area youre ordering from and its sales tax, you could get the Pixels XL 128GB for approx SGD $1301.

Where is Google Pixel Cheapest Around the World - Airfrov Blog

The 2nd choice would be Canada, where the same set goes for just $20 more.



Where NOT TO buy the Google Pixel XL: Germany & India. Each set of 128GB can knock you out by more than SGD $1500. At that price, you could buy an iPhone 7 Plus with double the storage.



How to get the Google Pixel phone to Singapore?



We heard your call! How to buy? Can we order and ship it here?



1) One option is to place your order for the unlocked version from the Google Play Store here, and get a shipping agent to help you ship it back. As there are no stocks right now, be prepared to wait 4-6 weeks for stocks to be replenished and another 1-2 weeks for it to arrive in Singapore.



2) Alternatively, you can post this task to Airfrov travellers who frequent Australia, United Kingdom and United States. Your deposit will be held securely by Airfrov, until the traveller returns with a legit set of Google Pixel phone. Include a reward to the traveller in your willing to pay price, in exchange for the exorbitant shipping fees you may have to fork out otherwise!

Story continues

No worries that your item goes missing or a nasty experience with the forwarder!



Heres how Airfrov works:

1) Click on Request Now on this page to post up a job ad. Travellers who are going to United States will be notified of your request

2) Travellers will offer to help you buy (make sure you check your email/app notification!)

3) You can choose to accept travellers offer if it matches your requirements, or decline

4) Place a secured deposit, it will be held with Airfrov until traveller returns

5) Collect the item at our office, or opt for courier delivery to your place!

processflow2-1-768x768

The post Which Country has the Cheapest Google Pixel Phone? appeared first on Airfrov Blog.
By Sarah Marsh BARACOA, Cuba (Reuters) - Hurricane Matthew reduced much of the Cuban town of Baracoa to rubble, whipping up giant waves that demolished cement buildings and winds that tore off roofs, but there's one thing it didn't do: take lives. Largely thanks to a rigorous evacuation scheme, Cuba managed to avoid the fate of neighboring Haiti, where nearly 900 deaths have been reported so far in the wake of the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean in nearly a decade. "If we had stayed here, this would have killed us," said Aristides Hernandez, 76, who abandoned his first-story apartment overlooking the sea for a friend's house inland. "The sea came in through the front and exited out the back and took everything with it," he said. Upon returning home, he found his cement balcony ripped off by the waves and washed through. They also took away his doors, windows and the building's wooden stairwell. Hernandez said volunteer civil defense members in the city near the eastern tip of Cuba went door to door, advising residents to evacuate. Cuban state TV ran storm advisories on a loop and officials blared warnings from vehicles with loudspeakers. "The civil defense didn't rest ... Thanks to that, no one died," Hernandez said. Locals sought to rescue whatever belongings they could find, setting them out in the street to dry. The promenade was strewn with clothes weighed down with rocks, mattresses, chairs and tables. "We lost everything," said Osvaldo Neira, 57, rummaging around for material to build a pen for the three chickens that remained of what had been 32. Just one room of his two-story house was still standing. "I even had to borrow this T-shirt," he said. "We're managing, but with pain in our hearts." Others dragged rubble from their houses into the street for trucks to take away. Rats could be seen scurrying through the town, which still lacked running water and phone service. Many people throughout Cuba's southeast praised the government's evacuation plans and shelters, where many remain. Authorities in convoys passed through to assess damage. But in Baracoa, where the hurricane was even more devastating than expected, some complained the government was not doing enough. Food and water was scarce in the shelters, which continued to serve much of the population. "We have to fight for food," Sara Maceo, 57, whose house was destroyed. Half a television, mangled fans and pieces of furniture were strewn among chunks of cement walls. "We are waiting for aid to come," she said. Some in Cuba's oldest city said they felt let down that President Raul Castro had not yet visited them. "We all want to know where the president is, and why doesn't he visit us," said Henri Valles, 25, as a convoy of jeeps that locals speculated was carrying Castro sped by their smashed houses without stopping. While many were hopeful the government would deliver the necessary aid now it had cleared the road to Baracoa, others were skeptical it had the funds. Cubas economy is suffering from the impact of the crisis in its chief ally Venezuela as well as low global commodity prices. "We are going to need aid from abroad because this country already has problems, said Tamara Llorentes, 50, walking through the debris. This didnt seem like a hurricane, it seemed like a monster come to devour us. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by David Alire Garcia, Frank Jack Daniel and James Dalgleish)
One teenager turned his Culture Day outfit into a viral sensation. Josh Welch, 17, decided to imitate the garbs of a thief because white people steal everyone elses culture, he tweeted earlier this week.

dressed like a thief for culture day bc white people steal everyone elses culture pic.twitter.com/XnY4juY9fh  welchs grape juice (@jotswa_welch) October 5, 2016

In an interview with Buzzfeed News, the Marylander said the idea was sparked after he browsed the web trying to find an aspect of white culture to poke fun at for culture day.

In terms of the reactions his classmates had once he explained the meaning behind his costume, he received mostly praise. When they understood it, everyone freaked out, Welch revealed. Some people laughed their a**es off and others were shocked. But one conservative teacher told Welch that he shouldnt make political statements with my costumes.

Despite the nays, Welch said he still stands behind his decision. I was excited to come to school and participate in some grassroots activism, he said, adding that it was a joy to spread humor and awareness at the same time.
Prague (AFP) - The Czech Republic's populist ANO movement has dominated regional elections, according to official results released Saturday, prompting speculation its leader -- influential Finance Minister Andrej Babis -- is eyeing the role of prime minister.

The ANO won nine out of 13 regions while the social-democratic CSSD of Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka came top in just two regions, according to the statistics office, based on a nearly complete vote count.

Voter turnout however was low at around 34 percent.

"The result is very encouraging, also for me personally," said Babis, a billionaire who heads a major agro-food group and a media company. The Czech press say he has ambitions to become premier after legislative elections next year.

The current three-party coalition of the centre-left government formed in 2013 with the CSSD and the ANO, along with the Christian-democrat KDU-CSL, has been weakened by quarrels between the two principal parties.

Czech voters also chose senators in a first round ballot, with the ANO in the lead ahead of the second round vote set for October 14-15.
Although 25 years passed before Canada formally acknowledged the#1988massacre every Canadian citizen and policymaker can be proud that their country is ahead of the curve when it comes to recognizing the emergence of new information about the Islamic Republic, Kilgore declared.

In the summer of 1988, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a religious edict, known as a fatwa, and began a crackdown on political dissent near the end of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War. Any political prisoner who failed to demonstrate loyalty to the regime was faced with execution.

The so-called Death Committee presided over trials, most lasting only a few minutes, and 30,000 men and women, most of them activists affiliate with the opposition Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), were executed.

Over the course of a few months, thousands of people were hanged, including pregnant women and minors as young as 15. People whose crimes consisted of reading opposition newspapers or expressing sympathy for the PMOI were hanged alongside active dissidents.

The 1988 Massacre set a precedent to the present day, as Iran ranks as the country with the highest rate of executions per capita. The international community recognizes those statistics, but appears to attach little emotional weight to them. Knowledge of Tehrans obsession with the death penalty does not necessarily translate to an understanding of the full extent of the regimes brutality. Widespread ignorance about the 1988 massacre contributes to that lack of understanding. If more parliaments would adopt resolutions such as Canadas, which condemns the mass murder of political prisoners in Iran in the summer of 1988 as constituting crimes against humanity, then more populations would understand the severe peril that Iranian democrats and dissenters face daily, writes Kilgore.

This past August an audio recording emerged after 28 years. On it can be heard Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeris condemnation of the massacre of PMOI supporters. Montazeri was designated to be the Islamic Republics second supreme leader, but for his words of conscience, he was driven out of the regime and placed under house arrest until his death. However, the information conveyed by the audio recording lives on and cannot be questioned.

Unprecedented attention inside Iran and in the West, have resulted from the facts heard on the audio recording, and Montazeris promise that the names of those involved in the massacre will be etched in the annals of history as criminals, may be realized. Governments and legislators worldwide have received requests to condemn formally the individual perpetrators, many of whom still hold power in Iran.

Kilgore asks, How can any country which understands the 1988 massacre and the ongoing human rights crisis in Iran seek expanded relations with the fundamentalist theocracy?

In light of the unanimous consent for Canadas 2013 resolution of condemnation, an inquiry into the 1988 massacre should be demanded by the United Nations, and the surviving architects of the massacre should be charged with crimes against humanity, according to Kilgore. This action would be an important first step toward bringing an end to Irans widespread political repression and thus ultimately clearing the way for a secular, democratic government in the Middle East.
"What does it take to knock Donald Trump?"

Former CBS newsman Dan Rather posed the question in a Facebook post published Friday night, where he summarized his thoughts on Trump's ongoing scandal over lewd recordings from 2005.

The newly surfaced tape captures Trump's conversation about women with Billy Bush, the former co-host of Access Hollywood. During their conversation, Trump casually describes how he tries to seduce the women he finds attractive.

Read more: Conservatives (Mostly) Condemn Donald Trump After Lewd Recordings Surface

In the post, Rather condemned the business mogul and those in power who have helped him along the way. "You would think that the latest obscene, vile, repulsive audio leak would be an electoral haymaker that has him on the canvas for good. In any other election, with any other candidate, this might well have been the equivalent of a spontaneous combustion."

Rather also recalled Trump's record of hateful rhetoric against minorities. "Calling Mexicans rapists, and murderers?" he said in the post. "Trump went there and it set him on the path to the GOP nomination."

"Listen to his statements from the past," wrote Rather. "Did you really think this kind of language was beyond him?"

Rather ended the post with questions that still remain to be answered having to do with the fate of the GOP and its current candidate.

"How toxic does Trump become?" he asked. "Can he bounce back yet again, even if the polls seem to be moving against him? Will this doom the GOP in 2016, or even beyond? Will it realign our political system?"

"So many questions, but we will get answers. And we will be the ones who will give them when we go to the polls. There are few times in my career when I have been more at a loss for what I could expect for the future of my country."

Read more: 'Access Hollywood' Identifies Woman in Donald Trump Tape as Nancy O'Dell
Talk show pioneer David Letterman, in a wide-ranging 90-minute conversation onstage at the New Yorker Festival tonight, said his old guest and sparring partner Donald Trump is not only a racist, but a badly damaged human being.

God bless Trumpy, Letterman joked when asked by New Yorker articles editor Susan Morrison if he missed having an outlet for his topical barbs. While it might be fun here and there to drop something in, I dont know if Id have the stamina for a full plate of Trumpy night in and night out.

Letterman (pictured above at an appearance last May) then went on to recount the tale of how he came to call Trump  a frequent guest on both NBCs Late Night and CBSs Late Show  a racist on air, and how Trump responded off camera.

Donald Trump (pictured at left following a Late Show appearance) was a fixture on our show, Letterman said. He was a beloved guest  people got excited, I think it was the allure or the pose of being a millionaire, and the hair. I used to make fun of his hair. I used to refer to him as a slumlord. We got to love having Trumpy on because he could really take a punch. I was asking him about being married to Marla Maples and he said, If youre interested Ill give you her phone number.

Then he started messing around with the birthers, and how did a guy like (Barack Obama) get into Columbia, how did a guy like him get into Harvard, and I started thinking..break down the innuendo about that. We started talking about it one night on the show, without Trumpy, and I said, Well, maybe if hes a racist we shouldnt invite him on the show.

So then I had to call Don because he said he wasnt coming back on the show, and I said Don I dont think youre a racist because youre too smart. I dont think smart people are racists, and he said, Well of course Im smart and Im not a racist, and I said there you go, youve proven my point, come back and be on the show. And he came back and did the show two or three times after that and I thought the deal was done. Id called him out and said hes too smart to be a racist. Well, I was wrong.

Story continues

Letterman, who acknowledged being flattered by the Hillary Clinton campaign ad featuring an old Late Show bit in which he confronts Trump with various Trump neckties and products made in China, said he initially and mistakenly believed that Trumps bid for the Presidency would be finished with the candidates talk of evil people coming from Mexico.

But, the retired host continued, the worst was ahead. The thing that I found unconscionable, actually unconscionable, is that he physically mocked a man who is a reporter for The New York Times and has, I believe, a physical birth defect. And I just thought, forget hes Donald Trump, forget hes running for president, forget who he is, forget what he is. If you can, in a national forum, with great confidence stand there and make fun of someone suffering a disability over which they have had no control all their entire life, then you are a badly damaged human being.

Letterman appeared confident that his old walking punchline wont make it to the White House. I said when this began, this problem will solve itself. I firmly believe that. Perhaps there are Trump supporters in the houseplease dont take any offense at this, but theres not a chance in hell that this man will be elected president.

And if he is Ill get you all a lovely gift from Tiffanys.

Related stories

Hilllary Clinton: Donald Trump's Lewd Comments Caught On Tape "Represent Exactly Who He Is"

Donald Trump Opens Presidential Debate Claiming He Lied To Billy Bush In Lewd Tape Boasts

Donald Trump Vs. Hillary Clinton II: Deadline Live Blogs The Debate
Donald Trump certainly wasnt the only topic of conversation when David Letterman spoke Friday evening at the New Yorker Festival, the magazines annual arts series of public talks. In a 90-minute talk with New Yorker articles editor Susan Morrison, the retired talk show host discussed everyone and everything from Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon to climate change, Spider-Man and whether he misses late-night TV.

For the record, No, he doesnt. But it certainly misses him. Heres a selection of quotes (edited and condensed) from an evening that made his nightly absence felt all the more keenly.

Late Night Political Humor: In the beginning I followed Johnny Carsons example  were just not gong to do political humor. When I started, a comic doing political humor was, Boy that Ronald Reagan sure is old isnt he? Over the years, we all got far more knowledgable, far more sophisticated. Maybe its just a late maturation but you grasp what were talking about under the banner of politics. Because when youre a kid, you dont really know.

Todays Late Night Shows: I have not seen them. Let me amend that, I was a guest years and years ago on the Jimmy Kimmel show, so when I was there I guess that counts as having watched it.

Jimmy Fallons softball interview with Donald Trump: I would have gone right after him. Ive known Donald Trump for yearsI would have felt confident and completely comfortable saying, What the hell is wrong with you? You need an appointment. Get yourself some therapy, get yourself a goddamn bag of, of..get a prescription.

Viral Videos: I dont know how to do that. I just dont know how to do that. All I knew was Johnny Carson, I knew Steve Allen and I taught myself how to do those kind of shows. I dont even know how to get a clip on the internetI dont care about Justin Beiber getting a Slurpee from 7-Eleven.

Story continues

Hillary Clinton: Shes always treated me very nicely, has always been very kind with me, very frank, very smart. So I have nothing but the highest regard for her. I hope when shes elected shell be a good president. Lets just say, shes not been the perfect candidate, but who has been the perfect candidate?

Bill Clinton: I can remember the first time he was on the show, I was scared silly. He sat down and I asked him one question and the next thing I said was, Thanks for being here. I stopped worrying about Bill Clinton from that point on. The man can yak.

Johnny Carson: Id sit at home watching the Tonight Show and a comedian would come on and (Carson) would say, Ladies and gentleman, heres Lois Bromfield and you can see her at the Comedy Store. I found out that the Comedy Store was a place that nascent comedians could get up and do comedy, so there was clearly a connection between the Comedy Store and the Tonight Show. So thats what pried me out of the comfort of Indianapolis and moved me to California. And it worked exactly the way I thought it would work. The first week I was there I started working at the Comedy Store. I moved in 1975 and in 1978 I was on the damned show. If someone had told me that in three years Id be on the Tonight Show sitting there next to Johnny Carson It was like being on a bus and you look over and holy crap its Abe Lincoln.

Losing To Leno: I never really talked about this with anybody, but I kept thinking that somebody would ask me to host the Tonight Show. I thought thats how it would work. I didnt know that what you needed to do was go to the network and say, Come on, whens this gonna happen? So I didnt. I think I sent the message that perhaps I wasnt interested. I had numerous meetings with (NBC president) Brandon Tartikoff over and over and over again, and I can remember one in particular. He came in  because the ratings on the NBC show were tremendous for a late night show  and he came in and said, Anything else? And I said, No, everythings great. And it occurred to me years and years later that that anything else might have been the opening for Yes, Id like to host the Tonight Show.'

Losing Viewers To Leno: I was embarrassed by itWe didnt know what happened, we just knew wed lost our way. For a long timeI would blame the network, and I would get in furious fights with (CBS CEO) Les Moonves. We had a fight that lasted a full 24 hours, because I thought the problem was not me, the problem was the network. And then I gradually began to realize that the problem was me, and I made my peace with that. It was simply that a larger number of people liked watching Jay Leno more than they liked watching me.

When Jay started winning, it was just like, one night he wasnt and the next night he was. We thought oh well, its anomalous. Well, it wasnt. It went on like that forever, and that panicked us, or perhaps me because I was at the head of the thing. We lost our way for a while. It took a long time to settle back in and find out what we were doing. On occasion we would beat him in the ratings here and there, but not routinely. I felt bad for the network, I felt like I was failing the staff. I was embarrassed for my family. I got over it, but I still wish we could have been the Number 1 late night show.

Any Consolation In Being The Thinking Mans Host? Actually, if you take a look at some of our shows, you didnt have to think too hard.

Moving To CBS: I got a letter from (NBC exec) Don Ohlmeyer, who was running the network at the time, a guy who I admired and had gotten along with pretty well, and he said, You cant do stupid pet tricks and cant do stupid human tricks (on CBS), couldnt do a CBS mailbag. And Ill never forget that in Don Ohlmeyers signature, in the O he put a little smiley face. And I thought, How can I possibly take this seriously? The guy put a little puppet in his signature.

Pushed Or Jumped? The last year of my contract was one year. I wanted it one year and my friend Les Moonves agreed that it would be one year. I said, look if at any time between now and then you want to make a change, just let me know. So it was mutual. No, I was not fired.

Paul Shaffer: We did 6,000 shows together, and he was the most important part of my life for every one of those 6,000 shows. Whether the show was good, not good, mediocre, ugly, awful, Paul Shaffer, you can count on him and the fantastic music. The thing that I miss most, other than the friends that I worked with, is not having the great privilege of live music every night.

Why White Socks? This is the most frequently asked question, and I dont mean to embarrass anyone, but lets take a good look at these socks. Seriously, what color are these socks? Theyre gray. So kill me, I got a deal at Target.

Guest Relations: I was from old school Johnny Carson. I never talked to a guest before the show because I wanted that first reaction to be the first reaction. I think a lot of the guests might have thought that was selfish and rude  and yeah that too  but it created an energy and had pretty good results.

His Memorable Return After 9/11: My family and I had been in Montana and we watched all of it on television, and as a result I had quite a lot of time to think about what I was going to say. My inspiration for the remarks came from Rudolph Giuliani. This was the old Rudolph Giuliani. I honestly just had to kinda talk my way through it. And then Dan Rather was there and I just remember Dan Rather grabbing my arm and he started to cry and I just thought, Oh my god. And then Regis (Philbin) was on the show, and I started to make fun of Regis, and for seven or eight minutes, the world for me kind of righted itself, because I could make jokes about Regis.

His Legacy: Its like, if youre working at an automotive factory and youre building cars and lets say you build 800 a day. You dont go home and look at all the cars on the highway and say, By god I built all those. You just looked at one car at a time.

Years of Living Dangerously (Letterman appears on the October 30 episode of the National Geographic Channels documentary series about climate change, in which he travels to India to investigate the countrys inadequate energy grid): I was contacted by these people and they said, Would you like to do a segment? I remember when President Obama was running and he said something thats kind of cliche but it stuck with me: He said, What are we going to tell our kids when they say wait a minute, you knew the climate was changing and you did nothing about it? I thought by God, I got a kid and I want to be able to tell him I did something.

I saw poverty like Ive never seen before. It was quite an awakening experience, from simple thoughts to moments of great depressionI was so touched by this experience. I havent seen it yet and I dont know if its any good, I want it to be good and would love to do more things like this, because selfishly the education is phenomenal, and if it translates to somebody else giving thought to this problem or any other problem, Im all for itWe just cant leave the planet a smoldering cinder for other people.

His Life Today: Most of the day I just sit around and wait for Ellen to come on.

No, Seriously: I do a lot of stuff. The family and I did a great deal of traveling this summer and it was delightful. We were in Montana for about six weeks, in Marthas Vineyard for about six weeks, went to Japan for two weeks. And it was fun.

Any TV Or Movie Offers? Yes, I have had offers, but what I get is people saying, What would you like to do, and I say, I did what Id like to do. I get offers for cameo work, like somebody was doing Spider-Man and they said would you like to be a street vendor in Spider-Man? I dont think there is a device thats invented that is capable of measuring the amount of time it took for me to hang up the phone.

Do You Miss It? You know, I dont miss it. Its for younger peopleIve had a lovely time here this evening, and this is all I need.

Related stories

David Letterman: Donald Trump Is A Racist And "A Badly Damaged Human Being"

Joe Biden On Donald Trump At Debate: "I've Never Seen Anybody Who Knew As Few Facts"

Veep Joe Biden To Make First Visit To Jimmy Fallon's 'Tonight Show' Three Days After First Debate
If you only read one thing: Donald Trumps campaign is reeling Saturday from the revelation of a decade-old video in which he appeared to suggest that his celebrity status gave him license to sexually assault women without repercussion. Fridays bombshell marked an October surprise of monumental proportion, as Trump is seen and heard lewdly described his attempted sexual exploits. Coming just two days before the second presidential debate, the fallout from the comments is only just beginning to become clear. In what has become a familiar pattern, Republican lawmakers and party officials were quick to condemn the statements as inexcusable, though only a handful have rescinded their endorsements. Several Republicans who have not endorsed Trump called on him to step aside as the nominee for the good of the party, as GOP operatives said they are growing increasingly concerned about an Election Day rout. The comments led Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to disinvite the GOP nominee from a planned unity fundraiser and rally in Wisconsin Saturday.

Trump released an early-morning video Saturday in which he apologized for the commentsjust hours after apologizing only for causing offense with what he termed locker room banter. But the bizarre statement, in which he called his past comments a distraction and suggested hes grown as a person since then, also featured the GOP nominee try to redirect the focus onto Hillary and Bill Clinton. The elongated response was notable nonetheless, as Trump has been loathe to admit even the slightest of wrongs throughout the campaign, and reflects the dire threat the unearthed video poses to his presidential prospects.

Hillary Clintons campaign spent the hours after the video release on the sidelines, allowing Republican condemnations of Trump to continue unimpeded. The video overshadowed apparent revelations about Clintons private speeches to bankers in hacked emails published by Wikileaks. And Democratic Party officials called out their rivals across the aisle for refusing to back off their support of Trump.

Story continues

Despite their statements expressing shock and horror at Trumps comments, Republicans always knewor should have knownthat such a video could be out there. Throughout his career, Trump has displayed little shame in making offensive comments about womenoften in strikingly crude termsand his campaign has been defined as much by his insults to broad swaths of the electorate as by his outsider appeal.

Here are your must reads:

Must Reads

How a Leaked Tape of Donald Trump Bragging About Groping Women Changed the 2016 Race

An epic 24 hours on the campaign trail [TIME]

Donald Trumps Lewd Comments Send Republicans Reeling

I am sickened, says House Speaker Paul Ryan [TIME]

Donald Trump Calls Lewd Comments Distraction As He Attacks the Clintons

A rare apology [TIME]

What Leaked Emails Reveal About Hillary Clintons Campaign

A glimpse into the inner workings of the Clinton campaign [TIME]

Sound Off

And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anythingGrab them by the py. You can do anything.  Donald Trump in newly revealed video, first published by the Washington Post

I am sickened by what I heard today. 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.  Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as he announced Trump was disinvited from his unity rally in Wisconsin.

Ive said some foolish things, but theres a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. Donald Trump in a bizarre apology video released early Saturday

Bits and Bites

U.S. Accuses Russia of Directing Election System Hacks [Associated Press]

Former Nuclear Launch Officer Scared To Death By Donald Trump In New Hillary Clinton Ad [TIME]

Donald Trump: Undocumented Immigrants Let in So They Can Go and Vote [TIME]

GOP Ex-Lawmakers Sign Letter Denouncing Donald Trump [TIME]
A day after Donald Trumps vulgar boasts of groping women surfaced in a stunning video, Republican officials privately urged candidates to sever ties with the partys presidential nominee to limit damage down the ballot, while a cascade of congressmen and women asked him to end his campaign and let running mate Mike Pence carry the partys tattered flag into November.

The chorus of calls for the presidential nominee to take the unprecedented step of dropping out a month before Election Day reflected a growing sense that the GOPs best hope of maintaining its congressional majorities was to cut Trump loose. But if distance was the new decree, Trump was having none of it. In multiple phone interviews, the beleaguered businessman insisted he would not quit the race. The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly, he tweeted Saturday afternoon. I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN!

And it is Trumps call to make. There is no established procedure under which the Republican National Committee can revoke a nomination. After Trump steamrolled through the Republican primaries, the feckless and fractured party that grudgingly embraced him has few tools at its disposal to distance itself from the scandalous behavior of its standard-bearer.

For Republicans across the country, the path to Nov. 8 is now a perilous tightrope. Denounce Trump, and risk rupturing their frayed bonds with a grassroots base energized by his brand of right-wing populism. Stand behind him and risk alienating many voters for good.

One of the few men with cards left to play is Pence. Since being tapped to join the ticket in July, the Indiana governor has been one of Trumps staunchest defenders, cleaning up Trumps messes and vouching for his values and leadership skills. Now Pencean ambitious social conservative who agreed to a shotgun marriage with a brash former reality TV starhas to decide whether to ditch Trump too.

Story continues

When Trump was disinvited from a Saturday campaign event in Milwaukee by House Speaker Paul Ryan, the businessman asked Pence to attend in his stead. But Pence decided he could not defend Trump and chose not to go. Holed up with his own political advisers on Saturday, he issued a harsh rebuke of his running mate. I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them, Pence said in a statement that was not written on campaign letterhead. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people. We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night.

Ryan, the highest-ranking Republican official and the man regarded as its intellectual lodestar, is among the few party leaders with the leverage to shape its response to a deepening disaster. The House Speaker was among the first Republicans to condemn Trumps behavior when the video surfaced Friday. But he did not rescind his grudging endorsement. And he steered clear of the mess during his remarks in Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon.

Party officials have their own choices to make. According to two sources, the RNC has at least temporarily halted new investments in its coordinated campaign with Trump. The decision was driven as much by concerns about putting good money after bad, as it was to give the party time to devise a path through the maelstrom. But the RNC is torn between its desire to save the Senate and vulnerable House candidates, and its efforts to maintain unity in a balkanized party. It is reminiscent of 1996, when party boss Haley Barbour cut off Bob Doles presidential campaign in the name of saving congress. As early as this spring, party strategists were reviewing Barbours blueprint for clues.

While he joined the chorus of critics blasting Trump on Friday night, GOP boss Reince Priebus has been one of the nominees chief advocates, working to marshal support for Trump and threatening former rivals who have declined to honor their early pledge to back the eventual nominee.

But the avalanche of elected officials breaking with Trump on Saturday suggested that down the ticket, the party has made its choice. Most prominent was the decision of Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 nominee, who wrote in a statement, I will not vote for Donald Trump, adding that he had decided to write in the name of an unnamed conservative for President. Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, another Republican running for reelection, followed by announcing that he could not support Trump, and would be voting for Pence, who is not now on the ballot alone. To add to the injury, South Dakotas John Thune, the third highest ranking Senate Republican, called for Trump to withdraw. And Condoleezza Rice, the former Secretary of State for George W. Bush, made the same announcement in a posting on Facebook.

Distancing is no longer a calculation, says one major fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. It is the official Republican policy.

It was no accident that vulnerable Senate Republican incumbents like New Hampshires Kelly Ayotte and Senate hopefuls like Nevadas Joe Heck were among the first to say they could no longer support Trump. GOP strategists said Saturday that the partys Senate majority could still be saved. The presidential race is operating in an alternate universe this cycle, says Scott Reed, chief strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is spending heavily to re-elect Senate Republicans.

Within that alternate universe, a remarkable 24-hour period left Clintons campaign glowing and senior aides to the Trump campaign reconsidering their choices. One of Trumps most loyal advisers couldnt promise this was the last theyd see of crass comments. Once you flush the toilet, you cant really stop the water, this adviser said. It suddenly seemed like the whole party might be headed down the tubes with Trump.

There were other signs of problems to come. At Republican headquarters across the country, volunteers were hard to come by on Saturday morning. Donald Trump Jr. canceled a planned visit to Ohio State University to build support among young voters ahead of the states Tuesday deadline to register to vote. Trumps typical cheerleaders found themselves calling the statements indefensible and there were signs that Trump may spend the next 30 days as a lone man screaming into the abyss.

Politics and pragmatism overlapped in the moment late Friday and early Saturday. Trump has been fading in some state polls, and his campaign has struggled to match Clintons machinery. An NBC News analysis of FEC reports found Clinton and her allies enjoyed a 5-to-1 staffing advantage over Team Trump, and Trumps own ad spending took a cut last week. A Trump victory was already increasingly out of reach, and the Friday night implosion made the odds that much longer. Its much easier to dump a loser who seems more likely to return to reality TV than someone who retains a plausible pathway to the presidency.

Thats not to say Trumps woes guarantee sweeping down-ballot losses for the party. Three senior Democrats told TIME that there remains almost no chance of the balance of power to switch in the House. Two other senior party officials said winning the Senatewhich requires flipping four seatsis a 50-50 proposition, at best.

On a miserable weekend, the GOP can at least give thanks for gerrymandering. The borders of House districts were redrawn with baked-in advantages for Republicans after the 2010 Census, thanks to the partys stranglehold on state legislatures. While Trump is a drag on Republican candidates, its not enough for Democrats to imagine a case where they could poach enough specific races to tilt power. The gerrymandered districts were designed to withstand exactly the type of electoral wave that Trump seems intent on creating.

Thats not to say Democrats are standing down. They have long enjoyed strong fundraising for their House campaign committee, rooted more in Nancy Pelosis deep ties to donors than any realistic expectation that theyd stand a shot at a majority before the next redistricting effort is undertaken after 2020. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has raised almost $145 million this cycle for an almost impossible task, compared to the National Republican Congressional Committees $128 million.

The stunningbut hardly shockingTrump meltdown gives Democrats what might be their best chance this decade of returning to power in the House. Down-ballot Democrats typically fare better when there is a presidential race to motivate on-the-margin voters; Republican faithful traditionally have the upper hand during midterm years when only the reliable older voters show up in November. This is our one shot until the 20s. Think about that and tell us were foolish for trying, says a Democratic aide who is helping to manage the ad spending among outside groups.

The Senate had slightly better odds for Democratsand better candidates for Republicans. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio has been running a textbook campaign against a former Democratic Governor, and Portman has kept a wide berth from his partys nominee. Others, such as Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri and Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois have been equally as distant from Trump and focused on their home race.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire finally said what her advisers had long known: She had no interest in being linked to Trump, but she didnt want to go to war with the leader of her partys ticket. During the summer, she said shed vote for him but not endorse him. Asked during a recent debate about Trump, she said he was a role modelbefore asking for a mulligan on that comment a day later. When tape of Trump talking about groping and trying to seduce women arrived on Friday, it might have even been a relief, of sorts, for a Republican like Ayotte. She no longer had to pretend that she was fine with Trump as her partys nominee.

Meanwhile, at Clinton headquarters in Brooklyn, the order went out quickly: get out of Trumps way. He was his own worst enemy, his instincts were those of a neophyte, and he would only make this worse if left to his own ideas. The campaign mobilized its social team to show Trumps egregious statements and urged peopleespecially womento register to vote. But the goal was to make Sunday nights debate the first time Americans heard Clinton react to the tape herself, in her own words as the first female nominee of a major political party. Clintons aides knew they had one shot at a devastating response and went to work to assemble it to perfection. They had no imagination that it alone would force Trump from the race, but they also knew Trump was going to be on defensea crouch that has never served him well.

Some Clinton advisers were also preparing for the unlikely event that they would be facing someone other than Trump. The team tasked with focusing on Pence suddenly found themselves looped into senior aides email chains, just in case.

Until then, there will be no escape from the all-encompassing controversy. Ryan got a peek at the challenge hes facing on Saturday afternoon, when Wisconsin Republicans held their annual Fall Fest. Hosted by Ryan, the event was at one time billed as a unity rally. Instead, it highlighted the divisions in the GOP. Among the hay bales, pumpkins, and tractors on display, a parade of elected Republicans took the stage and conspicuously avoided mentioning their presidential nominee. Instead, Ryan, Gov. Scott Walker and other local leaders plugged the states incumbent Senator, Ron Johnson, whose fragile candidacy Trump has further imperiled. Ryan offered only a passing reference to the troubling situation Saturday.

The House Speaker was heckled by Trump supporters in his own congressional district. As he spoke before a home-state crowd, shouts of Donald Trump rang out. As Ryan finished his abbreviated remarks, one Trump supporter, who held a Hillary for Prison sign, moved to the front of the stage to make his opinion heard.

Shame on you, he told Ryan.

With reporting by David Von Drehle
The fallout from Fridays release of a 2005 recording of Donald Trump making lewd comments about women has set off a reporting frenzy this weekend questioning the fate of the GOP presidential ticket with just four weeks to go before Election Day.

This is the most incredible couple of days in the most amazing campaign that any of us have ever covered, Howard Kurtz, host of Fox News Media Buzz, told Variety.

The fact that the campaign was walloped by the bombshell the day before the second debate between Trump and his Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton, greatly raises the stakes for Trump on Sunday. Trump was already going into that contest on the defensive after what was widely considered a weak performance in their first meeting on Sept. 26.

John Dickerson, anchor of CBS Face the Nation, was cautious on the question of whether the 2005 tape will hurt Trumps standing with his supporters. But he predicted that the public interest in the debate, to be held at Washington University in St. Louis, will skyrocket.

The latest news reanimates big themes of this election: the split between Trump and the party elites, the gut-level connection between Donald Trump and his supporters, and the extent to which this race is already baked in with voters and therefore is impervious to new information, Dickerson told Variety. However, Donald Trumps debate performance will be one of the most-watched moments in political history, I think, Dickerson said. He had a huge challenge before the latest revelation. Now the challenges are even greater on that debate stage.

The mushrooming Trump scandal has also heightened pressure on the media figures that have been connected to Trump. Media industry insiders are questioning the fate of Billy Bush as an anchor of NBCs Today, given his remarks in the 2005 off-mic conversation with Trump, held when Bush was a co-anchor of Access Hollywood.

Meanwhile, there are increasingly public calls for producer Mark Burnett to address questions about Trumps off-screen behavior during his 11-year run as host of The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice. Burnetts company owned the NBC series until his One Three Media was sold in 2014 to MGM Television. Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported on multiple incidents of Trump allegedly making lewd remarks and inappropriate overtures to women on the Apprentice set.

Story continues

Burnett owned Apprentice outright  a rarity in TV these days  because he brought the show to NBC at a time when the producer was red-hot thanks to the success of CBS Survivor and NBC was in desperate need of a hit. The original plan for the series was to have a new star CEO at the center each season. But that plan changed quickly after Trump proved to be a natural TV star. Trump was known to have a profit participation interest in Apprentice during his 2004-2015 run on the show. Its unclear if Trump still retains a stake.

Burnett is now president of MGM Television and Digital Group. The archival footage from the Apprentice franchise is controlled by MGM. Burnett has steadfastly refused to comment on anything involving Trump since the start of the reality TV stars presidential campaign in June 2015. Through a spokeswoman, Burnett again declined to comment on Saturday.

We know there have to be more tapes, Brian Stelter, host of CNNs Reliable Sources, said Saturday on CNN.

TV producer Bill Pruitt, who worked on the early seasons of Apprentice, asserted on Twitter Saturday evening that there are far worse recordings of Trump to be found.

As a producer on seasons 1 & 2 of #theapprentice I assure you: when it comes to the #trumptapes there are far worse. #justthebegininng  Bill Pruitt (@billpruitt) October 8, 2016

Related Content Arnold Schwarzenegger: I Will Not Vote For the Republican Candidate for President

Celebrity Apprentice is set to relaunch in Jan. 2 with Arnold Schwarzenegger as host. Schwarzenegger joined a growing list of prominent Republicans on Saturday by disavowing Trump and declaring he will not vote for him on Nov. 8.

The political calculus for Republicans and for Trump in the wake of the recording that surfaced Friday evening dominated cable news networks on Saturday as the damage from the recording spread. The recording features Trump boasting of using his celebrity as a license to grope women  he tells a laughing Bush that he simply grabs them by the p-  and that he made a big effort to seduce a married woman, later identified as Bushs former Access Hollywood co-host Nancy ODell.

With GOP leaders calling on Trump to step down for the good of the party, there was wide speculation across news outlets about the possibility of his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, either taking over the top of the ticket or resigning from the campaign. Pence canceled plans to appear Saturday at a Republican fundraiser event in Elkhorn, Wis. with House Speaker Paul Ryan. Ryan disinvited Trump from the same event on Friday in the wake of the disclosures. The Washington Posts Philip Rucker reported that the Pence camp was absolutely apoplectic about the situation.

Kurtz was critical of that rampant speculation, noting that the party rules make it highly unlikely that the Republicans could dump Trump from the ticket. He also criticized what he sees as the sense of glee among some reporters and pundits weighing in on the Trump comments.

As compelling a story as this is, we ought to make sure that were being fair, Kurtz said.

Related Content Donald Trump Says He Will Never Withdraw From Presidential Race

On Saturday, hordes of reporters and Trump supporters and detractors gathered outside of the candidates home base of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. CNN reported that some Trump supporters chanted the media is corrupt and carried Women for Trump signs.

Numerous commentators on cable news, including Wall Street Journals Daniel Menninger appearing on Fox News The Journal Editorial Report, likened the situation for the GOP to the Watergate scandal that led to Richard Nixons resignation from the White House in 1974.

Fox News came in for a drubbing on social media Friday night after the Trump story broke, with many observers accusing the network of under-playing the story in favor of coverage of Hurricane Matthew as it hit the coast of Florida. Fox News countered that Trump was the lead story on all of its primetime programs and that even the channels most vociferous Trump supporter, Sean Hannity, criticized his comments.

Kurtz noted that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton also had to grapple with WikiLeaks revelations of what were billed as her prepared remarks for speeches she made to financial institutions after leaving the State Department in 2013. There have been calls for her to release the transcripts those speeches in order to be compared to her policy positions and campaign statements about economic and regulatory issues.

I get that the Hillary speeches arent sexy but it is still an important story, Kurtz said. The coverage of Trumps problems versus that story is running about 100 to one.

As for Bush, news biz veterans were divided about whether he would be able to survive his association with Trumps vulgar remarks. Sources said that a key question is whether Bush alerted his superiors to the existence of the tape or whether he was surprised by the revelation on Friday.

Bush has only been a formal member of the Today anchor team since August, when he exited Access Hollywood. Hes scheduled to be in his regular Today anchor slot on Monday but industry sources predicted that could well change. Given the firestorm around the Trump tape, Bush would have to address it on air, an unpredictable prospect for both the anchor and NBC News.

Related stories

'SNL' Tackles Trump's Lewd Comments In Opening Moments

Jon Voight Defends Donald Trump, Slams Robert De Niro's 'Ugly Rant'

John McCain Bails on Donald Trump, Withdraws Support Over 'Demeaning Comments'
Donald Trump

Rep. Martha Roby is a three-term Republican congresswoman from deep-red Alabama.

She won her primary earlier this year with two-thirds of the GOP vote in a safely Republican district. She hails from the state where Sen. Jeff Sessions, one of Donald Trump's top surrogates, wields undue influence.

And, as of Saturday, she is no longer supporting Trump for president and is calling for him to drop out of the race.

"Donald Trump's behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president," she said in a statement.

The deluge came fast and furious.

One by one, Republicans walked out on Trump, the dam broken by the more than decade-old, vile comments he made boasting about his sexual advances on women.

But amid the flood of unendorsements and the torrent of calls for Trump to step down, Roby's perhaps stood out the most. Donald Trump is on the verge of poisoning the Republican Party's brand for years, decades, even a generation  and the party knows it.

"Entirely possible. That has been the risk all along," said Matt Mackowiak, a GOP strategist and the founder of the Potomac Strategy Group. "... Picking up after the wreckage from potentially devastating losses in the Senate, House and governorships may take several election cycles."

There is a reason this Trump scandal feels different, and it is shown in the universal reactions of Republican leaders all the way up to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

His comments should offend virtually everyone. Just about every single word uttered in the recording of Trump and Billy Bush, the television personality, is downright nasty toward women. Trump's immediate spin, that this was "locker-room banter," essentially suggested it was normal for all men to joke about sexual assault and cheating on your significant other.

If you are a parent, an aunt, an uncle (full disclosure), how can you allow a child to watch Sunday's debate descend into a level of vitriol that has never been seen in presidential politics?

Story continues

This is the one that had Republicans rushing for the exits. With good reason: According to a source, a Democratic pollster in the field testing the down-ballot consequences of Trump's other recent controversies found little-to-no movement over the past few days.

Until Friday night.

As media coverage of Trump's lewd comments began to saturate the airwaves and internet, down-ballot Republicans in New York saw a sharp decline in support, this source said.

"We're f-----," said another source who works on the campaign of a Republican congressional candidate.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus listens to a question during an interview in Washington May 6, 2016.REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Four years ago, after a loss that seemingly pales in comparison to the potential in 2016, the Republican National Committee commissioned an "autopsy report."

The report was extensive, based on more than 2,500 interviews with voters, private-sector officials, and party members and elected officials, as well as a poll of 2,000 Republican Hispanic voters and an online survey taken by more than 36,000 people.

With the party at an apparent crossroads, it urged action. The Republican Party, it said, had become "out of touch" and filled with "stuffy old men." It was "talking to itself" rather than reaching out to new constituencies. The perception was, simply, that it did not "care about people."

One election cycle later, the Democratic nominee holds a 20-point advantage among women voters. A recent electoral projection predicted Trump would receive 15% of the Latino vote, by far the lowest for a major-party nominee in recorded history. There are countless other groups of people, like Muslims, who must see a party that has talked about change, about opening up, and has only closed its doors to them  in this case, they literally proposed to do so.

Ted Cruz

The party is at an unthinkable reckoning point.

Every single Republican candidate for a generation will (rightly) be asked about his or her endorsement of Trump in 2016. Take Sen. Ted Cruz, who, with impeccable timing, resisted endorsing for months only to buy high in September  as Trump creeped up on Clinton in the polls  only to put himself in the awkward pretzel position of sticking by the party's nominee after his biggest scandal.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, meanwhile, disinvited Trump to what had been a planned joint event that also included Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Ron Johnson, and RNC Chair Reince Priebus. But he, too, has not withdrawn his endorsement.

Ryan, who had also resisted endorsing for months before relenting, is now put in an awkward position: Trump is too toxic to come to Wisconsin, but should be chosen by the American people for the most important job in the world.

"Trump's presidential run is now another one of his lengthy list of bankrupted endeavors where others not only are left to pick up the pieces, but to suffer for Trump's sins," said veteran Republican strategist Evan Siegfried, a prominent Trump critic throughout the race.

Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee, withdrew his endorsement of Trump on Saturday, listing a litany of other controversies  a feud with a Gold Star family, his attack on a federal judge because of his heritage, and, most aptly, his assertion that McCain wasn't a "war hero" because he was "captured."

McCain added a fun, fantastical wish in his statement: "He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences."

It's not going to work like that. In fact, it prompts a striking realization: It took an 11-year-old video from the set of a soap opera for so much of the party to finally realize it had had enough.

NOW WATCH: David Cay Johnston: 'There's no evidence Donald Trump is a billionaire'





More From Business Insider


GaneshaSpeaks

With the cool winds of the autumn and the lush green sugar canes coming straight out of the fields, you can be sure that the long wait is over! That time of the year is here, when we can revel in the spirit of the jubilant Durga Puja! This grand Hindu festival, which is celebrated prominently by Bengalis across the world, is a 4-day long extravaganza, which is celebrated in honour of the powerful mother Goddess. In this article, we bring to you a lowdown of the process of celebration and the specialties of each of these 4 days.



Maha Sashthi

The sixth day of Devi Paksha marks the auspicious beginning of Durga Puja in Bengal. On the Bodhon or first day, Goddess Durga is welcomed on earth along with her family.



Maha Saptami

On the early morning of Maha Saptami, Goddess Durga is worshiped with nine different plants, known as Nabapatrika. These plants fundamentally represent the nine different incarnations of Shakti. The idol is bathed in the Ganges, followed by the chanting of mantras.



Maha Ashtami

This day is the most sacred day of Durga Puja as Maa Durga is believed to enter and awaken the idol when priests perform rituals through the chanting of religious mantras.The devotees start the morning with Pushpanjali. They take holy bath and observe fast before offering Pushpanjali. With fresh flowers in hand, they recite the mantra, offer flowers to the feet of the Goddess.



The main attraction of the day is Kumari Puja. If you want to see the auspicious awakening of Goddess Durga, you have to visit the Belur Math in West Bengal where a young teenaged girl is worshiped by the devotees as the incarnation of Maa Durga.



Evening Aarti is performed with diyas, candles, and incense sticks. In the evening, Sandhi puja is performed at the end of Durga Ashtami and the beginning of Maha Navami. Sandhi Puja is one of the most important rituals during Durga Puja and is considered highly sacred.



Maha Navami

Maha Aarti brings the formal end to religious customs. Cultural festivals and celebrations like music, dance, drama enthrall the audience throughout the night. On Maha Navami, the fast is broken by a major Bhog and Prasad is offered to Goddess Durga and shared amongst devotees.



Vijaya Dashami or Dussehra

Vijayadashami, also known as Dussehra is celebrated in honour of the victory of Lord Rama over Demon Ravana and also the triumph of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura. This day, which is also a declared national holiday, is celebrated with the burning of the idol of Ravan and firecrackers across India.



In Bengal, Goddess Durga bids adieu with Her family. Devotees join hands with dhakis in the precision and the idols are immersed in the water in the evening. Devotees share sweets with each other and celebrate by dancing. The evening is enriched by various cultural programs like art, drama, dance and music.



With Ganeshas Grace,

The GaneshaSpeaks.com Team
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f240167%2fcurrtxxwaaaxjuf

A bald eagle in Clay County, Florida that got stuck in the grille of a car is reportedly okay, according to authorities.

Images of the bird are being compared to the state of America right now in the middle of a bizarre and often dispiriting election weekend.

SEE ALSO: What Donald Trump's comments mean to me as a survivor of sexual assault

Clay County Sheriffs Office says bald eagle is okay after getting stuck in the grille of an oncoming car pic.twitter.com/BMVY33n0mr  ABC News (@ABC) October 8, 2016

I'm not a creative writing professor. But if I were I'd probably deem this, "A fine metaphor, but perhaps a little too heavy-handed."

This picture of a bald eagle stuck in the grill of a car pretty much sums up #Election2016 in the USA. (h/t @ABC News) pic.twitter.com/Q6ATmHH8uF  Steve Chiotakis (@RadioChio) October 8, 2016

Really, in a deep sense, aren't we all the bald eagle stuck in the car grille? And aren't we all just as ready to peck somebody's eyes out? pic.twitter.com/QWD6nOTwi0  John Schwartz (@jswatz) October 8, 2016

Metaphor for U.S. election. (Donald Trump's behind the wheel, btw.) https://t.co/jly1jxr5Uu  Martha Brockenbrough (@mbrockenbrough) October 8, 2016

Dropping the metaphor for a moment and focusing on the eagle, the Clay County Sheriff's Office shared details of the bird's rescue on Facebook.

We are all the eagle.
Berlin (AFP) - The mounting tensions between the United States and Russia have created a situation that is "more dangerous" than the Cold War, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview published Saturday.

Relations between the two have nosedived since a ceasefire they agreed to in September fell apart in less than a week, and Washington on Friday accused Damascus and Moscow of staging "war crimes" in Aleppo.

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.

"It's a fallacy to think that this is like the Cold War. The current times are different and more dangerous," Steinmeier told the mass-circulation Bild newspaper.

Wolfgang Ischinger, who served as OSCE mediator for Ukraine, told the newspaper that there was "considerable danger of a military confrontation.

"This danger has not been as strong in decades and the confidence between West and East has never been so low," he said.

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.

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.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign ministry sharply criticized the U.S. Embassy in Cairo for advising citizens to avoid large gatherings in the capital until Sunday, calling the move "unjustifiable". The largest Arab nation is currently battling an Islamist insurgency mainly concentrated in the Sinai Peninsula and which gained pace after its military ousted President Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. There have been occasional militant attacks in Cairo and other cities. The U.S. Embassy's message warned against being in public spaces such as concert halls, movie theaters, museums, shopping malls, and sports venues citing "potential security concerns" but did not specify what they were. "The foreign ministry spokesman has conveyed his annoyance at the warning released by the United States embassy in Cairo to Americans," the ministry said in a statement. "(This) raises questions over the reasons this statement was released in such a way." The ministry said it contacted the embassy over the warning and that it was told there were no specific reasons or threats behind the move. The ministry quoted the embassy as telling it that the warning was a routine measure taken every time there is a long weekend and thus more crowding in public areas. Thursday was a public holiday in Egypt in celebration of Armed Forces Day. The Egyptian weekend is Friday and Saturday. The foreign ministry said it expressed dismay to the embassy because such "unjustifiable warnings" could have negative effects especially on the economy. It cautioned all embassies in Egypt against "releasing unjustified" warnings. The British and Canadian embassies had issued similar warnings to avoid public gatherings until Sunday but were not specifically mentioned in the statement. The insurgency, mounted by Islamic State's Egyptian branch Sinai Province, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and begun to attack Western targets within the country. The attacks have dented the recovery of tourism after a 2011 uprising drove away tourists, a major source of hard currency. Import-dependent Egypt is facing a dollar shortage that has stifled business activity and hit confidence in the economy. (The story was refiled to remove references to diplomatic missions, government buildings, and transport hubs in paragraph 3) (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went for an inaugural spin on Saturday in Istanbul's latest mega-project: the first-ever road tunnel linking the city's European and Asian sides under the Bosphorus Strait.

Images released by the presidency showed Erdogan behind the wheel of a black car, with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan as his passengers as they made the first journey through the tunnel.

Construction of the five-kilometre (3.1-mile) tunnel, which opens to the public on December 20, began in February 2011. It has two levels which will be open to traffic.

Travel across the two sides of Istanbul will be cut down to 15 minutes from 100 minutes, the presidency said on its website. It will cost $4 (3.50 euros) plus taxes to use the Avrasya (Eurasia) tunnel, Arslan said.

The tunnel will provide "significant relief" for the notorious traffic in Turkey's economic hub, Yildirim said, according to his website.

It is the latest in a series of key infrastructure projects in Istanbul including the city's third airport, due to open in the second quarter of 2018.

In its first phase, the airport will have an annual capacity of 90 million passengers but will later have be able to handle 150 million travellers.

This would mean the $29 billion airport would overtake the total combined traffic of 140 million people who pass through Charles de Gaulle in Paris and London Heathrow, making it Europe's largest airport.

In August, Erdogan inaugurated Istanbul's third bridge -- one of the longest suspension bridges in the world -- over the Bosphorus, just over a month after a rogue military faction tried to oust him from power in the July 15 failed coup.

Speaking after the drive, Erdogan, a former Istanbul mayor, said 156 million journeys had been made via the Marmaray underground railway tunnel which has linked the two sides of the Bosphorus since October 2013.

Story continues

He described that project as a "dream come true", saying it had significantly improved public transport for Istanbul's 15 million residents by making it quicker to get across the two sides.

Dubbed the "project of the century", the Marmaray was the first giant project initiated by the president who was then prime minister.

"Of course, we also knew this: without a dream, nothing real can be achieved. This is work that can be done and was achieved by those with faith and perseverence," Erdogan said, according to the presidency's website.
Los Angeles (AFP) - Hispanic American actress Eva Longoria blasted Donald Trump's runningmate Mike Pence for claiming their Democrat foes "whipped out that Mexican thing" in criticizing the White House contender's immigration position.

"Governor Pence -- we are not a thing," the "Desperate Housewives" actress says in a video released by the Democratic National Committee on Friday.

"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."

Texas-born Longoria, who is also a director and producer, is a staunch supporter of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign to become the first woman in the White House.

During the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, Indiana Governor Pence tried to push back against his Democratic rival Tim Kaine's attacks, recalling Trump's denigrating comments on Mexican immigrants.

"You whipped out that Mexican thing again," Pence said, unleashing outrage on social media, where #ThatMexicanthing was a top trending topic on Twitter in the hours following the debate.
Photo credit: Bronco6G.com

From Road & Track

Late last year, UAW representative Bill Johnson said something he possibly shouldn't have - the Bronco and the Ranger are coming back. For Ford fans who want a midsize pickup or a competent off-roader, this was huge news. It also makes a lot of sense. Americans can't get enough trucks and SUVs right now, making it a perfect time for Ford to expand its lineup.

Then, at this year's Detroit Auto Show, Ford made the officially official announcement. The Ranger will arrive in 2019, with the Bronco showing up a year later. Ford didn't give many details beyond that at its presentation, but since then, more details have trickled out. So let's talk about what we think we know so far.



The Ford Ranger

Technically the Ford Ranger isn't dead at all. The current-generation Ford Ranger is built in Thailand, South Africa, and Argentina, and sold in nearly every market around the world besides North America. But as Johnson confirmed, Ford plans to build a new Ranger in its Michigan Assembly Plant and sell it here again.

In a recent Reddit thread, an anonymous poster claiming to be a Ford designer (and verified by the moderators of the Ranger subreddit) claimed the new Ranger will be a facelifted version of the foreign-market Ranger. Our Ranger will reportedly get new headlights, a new grille, and a new front fascia, but the rest of the truck will look about the same. The interior, though, will get a complete overhaul for the U.S. market.

That means the new Ranger to be a direct competitor for large-midsize trucks like the Chevrolet Colorado, Honda Ridgeline, and Toyota Tacoma - pickups that share dimensions with the full-size trucks of 15 years ago. For fans of smaller trucks, that has to be disappointing news. But as the alleged Ford designer points out, by 2011, the market for small pickups had eroded to the point that Ranger sales were almost entirely propped up by fleet sales. The market for a legitimately small pickup truck just doesn't exist anymore.

Story continues

But while the current Ranger gives us a pretty good idea of what size truck we're talking about, only one of its current engines, a 3.2-liter five-cylinder turbodiesel also used on the Transit, would possibly be a fit for the U.S. market. And Ford might not even offer that one, either. The Redditor claims Ford is monitoring Chevrolet Colorado Diesel sales to see whether or not a diesel version is worth selling. And while the source says Ford still has yet to decide on other engines, our pals atCar and Driver expect to see two gasoline engines - an EcoBoost turbo four-cylinder and a naturally aspirated V6.

Sadly, if a manual transmission is available, it'll probably only be found on the rear-wheel-drive base model. In search of F-150-beating fuel economy, you're more likely to see Ford's 10-speed automatic. The good news is, only offering one transmission (as well as skipping a two-door version) would help Ford keep costs down. We're not sure the base Ranger will slide in under $20,000, but hopefully it will be less than $25,000.



The Ford Bronco

Photo credit: Boyd Jaynes

With the new Ranger, we have a pretty good idea what to expect, but there been a lot less certainty surrounding the Bronco. The last generation, which ended production in 1996, was based on the Ford F-150. While some fans speculated that Ford could make a Bronco based on the upcoming 2017 Raptor, the Redditor says Ford will instead use the Ranger-based Everest for the new Bronco.

Ford's Chief Technical Officer Raj Nair, however, contradicted that assertion. According to him, the new Bronco will be a unique vehicle, not a reworked Everest. Size-wise, he said expect something smaller than the Bronco II but bigger than the original Bronco. And if you're worried the new Bronco will be a glorified Explorer, don't be. He followed it up by saying "people have an idea of what a Bronco should be. Certainly, we have an idea of what a Bronco should be, and we're going to be looking forward to bringing that to our customers."

Photo credit: Michael Stone Clark

We wouldn't be surprised if Ford's new Bronco shares engine and transmission offerings with the Ranger since they'll share a platform. The alleged Ford designer did say, though, that the Bronco will get an off-road version to slot under the Raptor and take on the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. That fits with Nair's assertion that the Wrangler will be the Bronco's chief competitor.

Unfortunately, there's no telling whether or not Ford actually plans to bring back the two-door Bronco. We'd like to think it will, but the market for two-door SUVs is pretty limited. We do know, though, that it will get a removable roof. So that's encouraging.

We've also heard that the Bronco could get solid axles front and rear. Dana, the same company that makes the upgraded axles for the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, said recently that it will supply driveline components for the Bronco and Ranger.

Interestingly, as Jalopnik first discovered, it seems like Ford's 2004 Bronco concept will make an appearance in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's next film, Rampage, which is due out next spring. While we don't expect the production Bronco to look like this, it's inclusion in the movie likely has something to do with Ford's partnership with The Rock. In other words, the fact that The Rock is Instagramming this isn't a coincidence.

According to this alleged designer on Reddit, Ford plans to show off the final vehicles at next year's Detroit Auto Show.

Related:

This post was originally published January 18th, 2017 and is being continuously updated with new information.

You Might Also Like
By Balazs Koranyi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund will not join the Greek bailout programme but will likely accept a special advisory status with limited powers that keeps it at the table, two senior sources with direct knowledge of the proposals said.

The IMF has been holding out for more than a year over the terms under which it would participate in any new program, arguing that the financial targets set in the European bailout are unrealistic without major debt relief.

But the Fund is increasingly resigned to European resistance to debt relief for Greece and it is now in talks to accept a newly created role that would let it play a part with limited formality, the sources said.

"It will be more than an advisor but the role will not have the strict conditionality, like the compliance and economic health checks every three months," one of the sources said.

Talks between Greece, its European creditors and the IMF have been at an impasse since German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble insisted on the IMF taking part but rejected calls from IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde for a big debt restructuring.

"This way Lagarde can go to the board and say, hey, 'I'm not violating our rules' and Schaeuble, whose government is facing an election next fall, can say, 'see, I have the IMF on board'" the source said.

The exact nature of the IMF's role has not been decided but it would have more powers than a simple advisor and would for example be responsible for drawing up certain proposed agreements and negotiating documents, coordinating with the Greek and European Union sides.

"They won't put money into the programme but it won't be just technical assistance; they will probably take a special advisory role to be created especially for the Greek bailout," the second source said.

"Talks this week just made it clear that the IMF just can't come on board formally."

"They will remain part of the troika and be at all the talks," the source added.

Story continues

Greek and IMF officials held talks at the Funds' fall meetings in Washington this week, discussing this special status, which was supported by the Greek side. Despite the change in the IMF's role, Greek officials believe it will aid them having a body that supports debt restructuring at the table.

The IMF was not immediately available for comment on the what the sources said.

Poul Thomsen, director of the IMF's European Department, said on Friday that the IMF is still "fully engaged" on Greece but is insisting on debt relief, although this need not come in the form of principal reduction.

"We have not changed our mind on this. This discussion we will have in the coming months," Thomsen said.

The Greek economy has suffered from a deep recession with demand weighed down by fiscal cutbacks, a heavy tax burden, capital controls and a lack of investment.

The sources added that while the IMF is officially expecting the economy to grow by 0.1 percent, the actual figure is still likely to be in negative territory. That is far short of the IMF's 2.8 percent target for next year in the Fund's latest economic projections.

The sources said that an agreement over Greek debt relief was still possible but the window of opportunity was very narrow and depended on the quick conclusion of the next bailout review.

If the review drags on, then talks would be put off until after German elections next fall as any discussion on restructuring debt will irk German voters, the sources said.

The Greek side argues that it does not need a haircut but could manage its debt if its repayments were smoothed out, maturities were extended and more expensive IMF debt was swapped for cheaper European funding.

Some of these measures are not acceptable for the EU, however, so talks have moved only slowly.

The Greek economy would also get a major boost from being included in the European Central Bank's sovereign debt buying programme but that is not likely to happen until the end of the first quarter of 2017, at the earliest, one of the sources said.

The ECB could buy just under 3 billion euros of Greek debt, a relatively small amount for the economy, but potentially a major confidence booster.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by David Chance and Andrea Ricci)
By Lizbeth Diaz TIJUANA, Mexico (Reuters) - The havoc wreaked by Hurricane Matthew has strengthened the resolve of thousands of Haitians stuck on the U.S.-Mexico border to make it to the United States even though new rules mean they will likely be deported to their shattered homeland. A surge in the number of Haitians seeking asylum this year prompted the U.S. government to end special protections dating back to Haiti's last major disaster, a 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people. That means migrants like Naomi Josil, 29, are now far more likely to be deported home if they cross the border from Mexico. But as news filtered in of the death of some 900 people from Hurricane Matthew and the loss of family homes and property, Josil and her friends refused to give up. "We can't go back, we want money to rebuild the houses taken by the hurricane, said Josil, a 29-year-old mother of two. "There is no turning back, my family needs the money more than ever. We have to reach the United States." Despite tighter U.S. controls, dozens of Haitians show up in Tijuana every day, almost all of them arriving after an arduous three-month trip traversing jungles and mountains from Brazil where they sought refuge following the earthquake. This time they are on the move to escape Brazil's economic recession which left them without jobs. Having spent thousands of dollars to get this far with her two children, husband and brother, Josil refuses to entertain any suggestion she will not be allowed into the United States, Indeed, the disaster back in Haiti may provide a ray of hope for her and thousands of others amassing on the border since the tougher rules were introduced, with activists now pressuring the Obama administration to reverse the measures as a humanitarian gesture. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said it is monitoring the situation and "will assess its impact on current policies as appropriate." The crisis comes at a sensitive time for the U.S. government, wary of fanning Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's accusations that President Barack Obama is soft on immigration, or worse. On Friday, Trump said the Obama government was fast-tracking applications for citizenship for electoral gain. "Theyre 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. He did not present evidence to back his claim. 'EVERYTHING ENDED' Josil made the journey from Brazil to Tijuana mainly by bus and at times on foot, walking through the Darian jungle between Colombia and Panama for five days with her youngest child wrapped across her body in a sling. In Nicaragua, they were robbed of all their money. They arrived two weeks ago. Every day since then, more have turned up, some like Josil's group sleeping in tents on wasteland near the border crossing, others spilling from packed migrant shelters. Mexico's human rights ombudsman last week said 300 Haitians and Africans were now crossing Mexico's southern border every day, and that 13,000 had arrived this year. Some Haitians tell migration authorities they are from Congo or other French-speaking African nations with which Mexico has few diplomatic ties, making deportation from this side more difficult. They are given a 20-day pass to leave the country, which they take to Tijuana with the plan of crossing to San Diego. Costa Rica and Panama on Friday asked for international support to help them cope with the flow of Haitians, saying there were some 8,000 of them between the two countries seeking their way north. The latest news of the hurricane spread quickly through the shelters in poor neighborhoods and the tent villages where messages reach Tijuana's newest arrivals over social media. Nobody wanted to hear of deportations. "Everything ended," when the storm crashed through Normilus Mondesir's hometown of Miragoane on Haiti's north coast this week, he said. "I have no house, nothing," Mondesir said, adding that his mother's livestock had all died. "I feel dreadful, first traveling all this way and then not having any money to help. When my mother arrived home, she had nothing, her hope evaporated." (Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Kieran Murray and Bernard Orr)
By Barani Krishnan

NEW YORK (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. [O/R]

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.

Story continues

"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.

Hall is best known for earning a $100 million trading bonus from Citigroup by correctly calling oil's first move above $100 before the financial crisis. He has not done as well at Astenbeck, which he officially launched in 2009. He posted a 36 percent loss last year, his worst, by underestimating the potent supply from U.S. shale oil.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Cynthia Osterman)
Seoul (AFP) - South Korea's recent fall in global press freedom rankings comes as no particular surprise to Choi Seung-Ho.

"Sometimes it feels as if we're moving back to the era before 1987," the investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker said, referring to the decades of repressive military rule that preceded South Korea's first democratic presidential election.

No stranger to butting heads with officialdom, Choi is currently struggling to secure distribution for his latest film, "Spy Nation" -- a documentary that exposes abuses by South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS).

It focuses on the high-profile case of an ethnic Chinese North Korean defector, Yu Woo-Sung, who fled to the South in 2004.

In 2013, the NIS arrested Yu on what were later shown to be trumped up charges of spying for Pyongyang. The film lists many others who were arrested, beaten and even executed on false spying charges over the decades.

"Spy Nation" has won local festival awards, but challenging the powerful NIS is a very sensitive move in South Korea, and finding cinemas that will screen the film hasn't been easy.

"The multiplex theatres don't want to get on the government's bad side by eagerly opening their screens to us," Choi said.

"And even if they do show our movie, they will probably limit the number of screenings," he added.

- Media under pressure -

Relations between the government and the media have taken a tangible downturn under current President Park Geun-Hye, whose administration has wielded a strict defamation law that carries prison sentences of up to five years.

The annual Busan International Film Festival -- Asia's biggest movie showcase which opened last week -- is still recovering from a bitter row triggered by official opposition to the 2014 screening of a documentary that criticised the government's handling of the Sewol ferry disaster.

Story continues

In it's latest World Press Freedom index published in April, the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked South Korea 70th in the world -- down 10 places from 2015.

"The government has displayed a growing inability to tolerate criticism and its meddling in the already polarised media threatens their independence," the watchdog concluded.

The government firmly rejects that finding.

"I absolutely disagree with what RSF says about press freedom in this country," said Han Min-Ho director general of the media policy bureau at the Ministry of Culture.

"The news media enjoys freedom of expression to the degree that its attacks against the president sometimes verge on cruelty", Han told AFP.

- Moving online -

Choi currently works as a producer for Newstapa, an online news website that presents watchdog journalism in video form.

Newstapa is run by the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism (KCIJ) -- the country's first non-profit online investigative reporting organisation that was set up in 2012 by a dozen TV journalists who had been dismissed for leading strikes.

"We don't receive any commercials to remain free from any outside pressure", Choi said. The agency is funded entirely by public donations.

Choi joined Newstapa after being fired from broadcaster MBC TV in the wake of a journalist strike against a political appointee being parachuted to become the president of MBC.

While at MBC, Choi had headed a 2005 investigation by the broadcaster's "PD Notebook" into Hwang Woo-Suk, who was lauded as the "pride of Korea" after claiming to have derived stem-cell lines from cloned human embryos -- a world first.

Choi's investigation showed that Hwang's research was fraudulent and riddled with ethical lapses which he exposed in a two-part programme.

Although Hwang was eventually convicted of embezzlement, bioethical violations and given a two-year suspended prison sentence, Choi's programme initially triggered an aggressive backlash.

"Angry phone calls flooded my office. Commercials attached to PD Notebook fell to zero within a week," Choi recalled.

Hwang's supporters staged protests outside the TV station and many women volunteered to donate their own eggs for Hwang's research.

"I was reviled as some sort of public enemy... and my colleagues' children faced harassment at school", he said.

Choi continued to court controversy at MBC with a four-part programme in 2010 that was highly critical of then-president Lee Myung-Bak's multi-billion dollar plan to revitalise four major South Korean rivers.

After that project he was sidelined for a while, before his eventual dismissal following the strike over editorial independence.
Calls for Donald Trump to remove himself from the presidential race rushed in late Friday and into Saturday morning from prominent Republican officials.



The last couple weeks for the real-estate businessman have gone from disappointing to near-apocalyptic.

Now, a bombshell audio recording that is shaping up to be the GOP nominees biggest campaign scandal has forced some Republicans to hit the panic button.

(Donald Trump.Ethan Miller/Getty Images)



GOP Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois said on Friday Trump should drop out and the Republican National Committee should engage rules for emergency replacement.

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, whom Trump recently named as a potential Supreme Court nominee, echoed Kirk.

I wouldnt hire that person, Lee said, referring to Trump in a video posted to Facebook.

Heres more from Lee:

The fact is, we have been asked to settle  on matters of great principle with our candidate for president of the United States. This cant continue.  It is for that reason, Mr. Trump, that I respectfully ask you  to step aside. Step down. Allow someone else to carry the banner of these principles.

(United States Senator Mike Lee speaks at a campaign rally for Republican U.S. presidential candidate Ted Cruz in Provo, Utah March 19, 2016.REUTERS/Jim Urquhart)

Three-term Republican Gov. of New York and former 2016 presidential candidate George Pataki tweeted: [Trumps] campaign is a poisonous mix of bigotry and ignorance. Enough! He needs to step down.

A.J. Spiker, a former Iowa GOP chair and adviser to Sen. Rand Pauls PAC, said Trump was unfit for public office. Donald Trump should resign as the Republican nominee for president, he tweeted.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman also said Trump should drop out of the race, The Salt Lake City Tribune reported. Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia said Trump should step aside and allow our party to replace him.

This is disgusting, vile, and disqualifying. No woman should ever be subjected to this type of obscene behavior and it is unbecoming of anybody seeking high office, Comstock said in her statement.

Story continues

Rebecca Harrington, Allan Smith, and Brett LoGiurato contributed to this report.

NOW WATCH: Letterman rips Trump, calls him a damaged human who should be shunned

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS.

More From Business Insider
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f239955%2f5b8a3d9737c747d9818ffa8ffbefa9ff

Smugglers and Jedi and bounty hunters? Oh my.

The galaxy's finest Star Wars cosplayers joined forces at New York Comic Con this week to show off some truly spectacular outfits. And some people officially announced their allegiance to the Dark Side.

Even Luke Skywalker, who's been keeping such a low profile lately, was eager to strike a pose.

SEE ALSO: 30 of New York Comic Con's most impressive cosplayers





Image: andrea romano/mashable





Image: ANDREA ROMANO/MASHABLE

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable

Image: andrea romano/mashable
By Emma Farge DAKAR (Reuters) - France plans to invest 42 million euros ($47 million) to help countries of Africa's Sahel region prepare to face jihadist attacks similar to those that killed dozens in Paris in 2015, an interior ministry official said on Friday. The Sahel, a politically fragile region whose remote desert spaces host a medley of jihadist groups, is seen as vulnerable to further attacks after strikes on soft targets in Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast earlier this year. Nearby Senegal, a Western security partner with a long history of stability, has so far been spared. "In future we will train all the countries of the G5 Sahel and Senegal with 42 million Euros in financing, including 24 million Euros for equipment," said a spokeswoman for Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve during his visit to Dakar on Friday. G5 Sahel is a regional security organisation composed of Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania. The investment period is 2017-2022, the spokeswoman added. French riot control officers from the CRS are currently in Senegal for a month training Senegalese police forces to combat urban attacks on soft targets ahead of the broader programme. In the simulation exercise watched by Cazeneuve as well as army elites and foreign diplomats, Senegalese police arrived swiftly on the scene after masked jihadists killed three students before holing up with hostages inside a university bus. The jihadists were killed and the remaining hostages released and given medical treatment in the drill. "We have reinforced police cooperation so that the first ones on the scene, the specialised forces, can intervene in case of mass murder with a highly efficient response," said Cazeneuve in a speech shortly after the demonstration. Former colonial power France retains a military presence in Senegal with 350 soldiers. A much larger force of 3,500 is spread across Chad, Mauritania, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to hunt down jihadists. Senegal's ally the United States has also boosted military cooperation with the country and this year signed a cooperation agreement to ease the deployment of American troops there. ($1 = 0.8929 euro) (Editing by Matthew Lewis)
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande on Saturday urged United Nations Security Council members not to use their veto against a resolution that calls for an end to bombardments of Aleppo. The council is 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 an end to air strikes and military flights over Aleppo. Western diplomats expect that Russia, a permanent Security Council member, will veto the resolution, drafted by France. "I want to believe that tonight, when the resolution will be presented to the Security Council, no country will oppose it and notably that none of the permanent members will use their veto," Hollande told reporters in his electoral district in Correze, southern France. Hollande added that using a veto against a resolution that calls for an ceasefire would be tantamount to supporting the bombardments hurting civilians. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Friday the draft resolution contained a number of unacceptable points and politicized the issue of humanitarian aid. (Reporting by Marine Pennetier; Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Andrew Roche)
Tulle (France) (AFP) - France's President Francois Hollande warned on Saturday against a veto of a French-drafted UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to air raids on Syria's Aleppo, which Russia is expected to block.

"A country that vetoes this resolution would be discredited in the eyes of the world. It would be responsible for continuing abuses," Hollande said.

Russia is expected to use its veto to block the French-drafted measure that is backed by the United States and Britain that also provides for a halt to all military flights over Aleppo.

The council, which votes Saturday, 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 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 face almost-daily heavy bombing since the Russian-backed Syrian army launched an offensive to retake the city last month.
On this day in 1869, former President Franklin Pierce passed away in New Hampshire. Pierce was regarded as an ethical hard worker, but he struggled as a national leader when he openly advocated for pro-slavery states as a Northerner in the 1850s.

The New York Herald marked his death with the following blunt statement: the deceased was a man of something more than average ability. He possessed, however, none of the attributes of greatness, and was more of a cautious, studious, and watchful politician than a comprehensive, far-seeing or observant statesman.

The New York Times also acknowledged that Piece had a difficult presidency. Although his record as a statesman cannot command the approbation of the nation, he still should be followed to the grave with that respect which is due to one who has filled the highest office in the gift of the people  a President of the United States, it said in an October 9, 1869 obituary.

Pierce assumed his position in the White House in a period of relative calm in 1853, but he had been beset with a personal tragedy before his inauguration.

The President-Elect and his family were traveling in January 1853 when they were involved in a train accident, and Pierces young son, Benjamin, was killed. His wife refused to come to Washington and the new President was ill prepared to deal with a series of national crises that were stepping stones to the Civil War.

Pierce had won the Democratic nomination in 1852 thanks to some shrewd moves at the partys convention, where he played a dark horse role and was able to split, and finally gain support from the backers of James Buchanan and Lewis Cass. Prior to his nomination, Pierce was a House and Senate member from New Hampshire, but he left Washington in 1841 as he and his wife, Jane, became disenchanted with life in the nations capital.

Back home in New Hampshire, Pierce was a high-profile attorney and a political operator of sorts. He also served as a volunteer general in the Mexican-American War who had passed out in battle (albeit from a knee injury) and had gained the nickname Fainting Frank.

Story continues

Pierce was able to grab the nomination as a compromise candidate who was seen as a pro-slavery northerner. That appealed to a Democratic party that had endorsed the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act. Pierce defeated his former commander, General Winfield Scott, in the 1852 election, thanks to Scotts weakness as a campaigner and the overall decline of the Whig Party in national politics.

At his inauguration, President Pierce made it clear where he stood on the issues of slavery, states and the Constitution.

I believe that involuntary servitude, as it exists in different States of this Confederacy, is recognized by the Constitution. I believe that it stands like any other admitted right, and that the States where it exists are entitled to efficient remedies to enforce the constitutional provisions, he said. I fervently hope that the question is at rest, and that no sectional or ambitious or fanatical excitement may again threaten the durability of our institutions or obscure the light of our prosperity.

Once in the White House, Pierce backed the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which overturned the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The Act repealed of the prohibition against slavery in territories north of the latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes, and allowed voters in territories to decide if they wanted slavery. The violence in Kansas and northern repulsion over the Act gave rise to a new political party, the Republicans. Pierce also sought to annex Cuba and he had intervened on behalf of pro-slavery interests in the Kansas fight.

By 1856, Democratic leaders grew tired of Pierce, even though Pierce expected to get nominated again easily at the partys convention. James Buchanan and Stephen Douglas instead battled for the nomination, with Pierce left on the sidelines.

After leaving the White House, Pierce became a critic of President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and he had to persuade a mob to not destroy his house after Lincolns assassination. Pierce died in obscurity in 1869 after years of drinking.

Historical Stories on Constitution Daily

A birthday look at Chester Alan Arthur

A birthday look at Rutherford B. Hayes

50 interesting facts about Abraham Lincolns life

10 little-known facts about President Theodore Roosevelt
Paris (AFP) - Four police officers were injured on a notorious working class housing estate near Paris on Saturday in a Molotov cocktail attack President Francois Hollande slammed as "unspeakable".

"Everything will be done to find the perpetrators of this attack and bring them to justice so they receive a sentence in-keeping with the severity of their crime," said the president.

Hollande said the attack in Grande Borne, a residential residential area built in the 1960s in Paris' southern suburbs, was "unspeakable and intolerable because it endangered the lives of officers whose job was to protect the population".

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said two officers "were violently attacked with incendiary bombs while they were on a surveillance mission in the Grande Borne high security zone."

"Their colleagues who came to back them up were also targeted," he said, describing the attack as "extremely serious and very cowardly".

Earlier a police source described the weapons used as Molotov cocktails.

The two badly injured officers "have major burns and were taken to a hospital in Paris," they added.

The two police cars were set ablaze prompting backup to be sent to the scene but no arrests were made, the police source said.

The traffic light where the attack occurred has frequently been the scene of violent robberies.

Valls said the culprits would be "relentlessly pursued and brought to justice. At a time when the security forces are bravely responding to the (terrorist) threats facing our country, such intolerable acts call for exemplary sanctions".

The local mayor, Jean-Marie Vilain, told AFP that as a result of Saturday's incident the response to chronic criminality in the area would be stepped up.

"The next step will be to go inside Grande Borne to put an end to all the drug dealing, because that is really what the cameras interfere with," he said.
By Josh Smith LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Elders in Afghanistan's troubled Helmand province accused the Kabul government and its international backers on Saturday of failing to live up to promises of protection as Taliban militants claim more territory and threaten the provincial capital. Despite months of reorganization, a new influx of international advisers, and regular American air strikes, Afghan security forces have slowly lost ground to Taliban offensives in Helmand. Fighting to reimpose a radical Islamist regime, Taliban insurgents have tightened the noose on provincial capitals in Kunduz, Uruzgan, and Helmand, among other areas. Facing off with a high-level delegation that included the minister of defense as well as the top commander of the U.S.-led military force and NATO's senior civilian representative, Helmand residents complained of a disconnect between national leaders and the situation on the ground. "The sons and daughters of those leaders in the capital have not fought, but we have sacrificed our children," one elder, Mohammed Nabi, told the visitors in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. Some in the crowd criticized the presence of international troops, but almost all called for more aid to the province. Residents have responded to pleas from the central government to rally around the national security forces, only to have police and soldiers abandon checkpoints, one provincial council member said. "Every day delegations are coming to Helmand... but much of Helmand has been lost," he said. "Please start more operations here or bring enough aircraft so we can all go to Kabul." Some checkpoints have been closed under a plan this year to pull soldiers off static forts, consolidating forces and making them more mobile. That hasn't sat well with some locals, distrustful of the security forces after seeing some posts abandoned in the face of Taliban attacks. The provincial governor, Hayatullah Hayat, said some troops who abandoned their posts have been put on trial. The Taliban has tightened pressure on Helmand for much of the past year and is now estimated to control or contest most of the districts in the province, which supplies a major proportion of the world's illegal opium. Witnesses report Taliban flags are visible from some areas in Lashkar Gah, while in one area only a river stands between the insurgents and parts of the city. The visiting officials sought to reassure the crowd, with Defence Minister Abdullah Habibi acknowledging the losses in the area. "Your pain is our pain. Your sadness is our sadness. We do not want to see our Helmand brothers suffer." In the latest sign of upheaval as the military tries to blunt Taliban advances, a new general took command of the Afghan army's 215th Corps on Monday, the second such command shake-up in Helmand this year. General John Nicholson, the top commander of U.S. and NATO coalition troops in Afghanistan, pledged continued support to the Afghan troops, with more advisers arriving in coming months. "The world is watching what is happening in Helmand," he said. "We will do everything possible to ensure Lashkar Gah does not fall." With Afghan security forces on the defensive not only in Helmand, but also in Kunduz, Uruzgan, and other provinces. Nicholson admitted the situation was something of a stalemate, but one that he believes will turn in favor of the government in the long run. (Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Stephen Powell)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The sooner uncertainties in Germany's banking sector can be settled the better, the head of the BdB banking association, Michael Kemmer, said on Saturday.

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.

Kemmer welcomed German politicians' restraint with regard to Deutsche. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has declined to comment on whether the German government would be ready to rescue the bank, Germany's largest lender.

(Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Paul Carrel)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Saturday that there has been too much talk about the fortunes of Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) after the U.S. government said it would levy a $14 billion (11 billion pounds) fine on the bank.

The penalty, lodged against Germany's largest lender by the U.S. Justice Department to settle charges it missold mortgage-backed securities, has raised questions about the bank's health.

Deutsche Bank has been struggling to overhaul its business model that is built around trading activities that have become much less lucrative under new regulation enacted since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

Schaeuble has refused to comment on Deutsche Bank but other European officials attending meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington this week have said the bank is solvent, while acknowledging broader problems in Europe's banking sector.

"There is far too much talk about Deutsche Bank," Schaeuble told reporters.

He also said that global growth was not so bad at all, and noted that demands for more fiscal stimulus by countries did not stand at the centre of discussions at the meetings this week.

(Reporting by Gernot Heller; Editing by Bernard Orr)
glenn beck

Conservative media mogul Glenn Beck on Saturday suggested Donald Trump should step down as the Republican nominee, saying he would beg people not to continue to defend his horrific behavior."

Donald Trump is the right's Anthony Weiner, Beck told Business Insider in an email, referencing the former congressman infamous for his sexting habits. This will only end in epic shame.

I would hope that conservatives will take a step back and see who they are looking to as their champion, continued the radio host, a leading member of the Never Trump movement.

He added: For the good of our credibility I would beg people not to defend this or excuse this horrific behavior. If this was said in front of you, what would you say? If your son said this, what would you say? If it was said about your daughter or it was your wife, what would you say?

Beck's comments were in reference to a hot-mic moment that surfaced Friday in which Trump boasted about kissing and groping women. At the time, Trump said he could "grab" women "by the p---y" because "when youre a star, they let you do it."

Trump apologized for the remarks in a video published just after midnight on Saturday, but also signaled hed fight back attacks by pointing to former President Bill Clintons history with women.

"As most said in the 1990's, character matters. For those who said it didn't matter, you are seeing the direct result of dismissing behavior in our leaders," Beck said. "I have daughters and am so troubled that some are saying that this is the way guys are, or worse yet, that this is old behavior."

Beck continued: "First, any man like this is who I have raised my son to to distance himself. Where are the good men who will stand up for our wives and daughters? Second, remember Trump has clearly stated multiple times that he has never done anything where he needed forgiveness. Where was his pivot point. This IS who he is."

The radio host pleaded with Trump supporters to not "do more damage to your own credibility."

Story continues

An avalanche of prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and party chairman Reince Priebus, have condemned Trumps comments. Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, said he was "offended" and could not defend the hot mic remarks.

Some Republicans, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, have gone as far as to call on the billionaire to step down as the nominee and hand the ticket over to Pence.

"Lee's call for Trump to step down and withdraw from the race is respectful to him and to the process," Beck wrote on Facebook. "Trump stepping down does not guarantee a Clinton win, but it does guarantee that the Republican Party still stands for something, still allows its members to maintain their own self respect and that it still has a future."

Trump insisted on Saturday he will not drop out of the race.

NOW WATCH: When the Prime Minister of Israel asked O.J. Simpson's former lawyer if he did it, his response was perfect





More From Business Insider


MEXICO CITY, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Canadian miner Goldcorp reached an agreement with protesters to lift a blockade that interrupted operations at its Penasquito gold mine in the northern Mexican state of Zacatecas, the company said late Friday.

In a statement, Goldcorp said it hopes activity will resume at the mine at the weekend, five days after it announced the temporary suspension of operations due to a blockade by truck drivers protesting a loss of contracts at the country's biggest gold deposit.

The company promised to renew contracts with carriers, expand and establish two health centers, improve infrastructure in the nearby city, and study the water and air to assess whether it should compensate communities for alleged contamination, said Julio Cesar Chavez, a state government mediator in the conflict.

The protests began early last week and were supported by landowners in the area.

In late August, Reuters reported on a long-running leak of contaminated water which had not been disclosed to the public.

Goldcorp said it has about 750 people at the mine and expects to produce between 520,000 and 580,000 ounces of gold this year, equivalent to about 19 percent of its total planned production of 2.8 to 3.1 million ounces.

(Reporting by Anahi Rama; Writing by Natalie Schachar; editing by John Stonestreet)
After what Donald Trump himself drily called an interesting 24 hours, high ranking members of the GOP and Republican elected officials are continuing to condemn Trump in droves.

In light of the newly published 2005 video, in which Trump makes vulgar comments about women and said he can do anything to them, even Trumps own vice president expressed shock. As a husband and a father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump I do not condone the remarks and cannot defend them, Mike Pence said in a statement Saturday. But Pence stopped short of renouncing support or leaving the ticket: I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people. We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night.

Many other Republicans, however, said they dont want to hear from Trump at the second debate, and said they think its time for him to drop out. Former Republican primary candidate Carly Fiorina said Trump should step aside as the GOP nominee. Donald Trump does not represent me or my party, she said in a Facebook post Saturday. (Fiorina experienced a sexist comment from Trump firsthand in the primary, when he suggested people wouldnt vote for her because of her face.)

West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito also suggested Saturday that Trump should no longer lead the ticket. As a woman, a mother, and a grandmother to three young girls, I am deeply offended by Mr. Trumps remarks, and there is no excuse for the disgusting and demeaning language, she said in a statement. Women have worked hard to gain the dignity and respect we deserve. The appropriate next step may be for him to reexamine his candidacy. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Trump has forfeited the right to the nomination, and Utah Rep. Mia Love said in a Facebook post that she would not vote for Clinton, but that she cannot vote for him. For the good of the party, and the country, he should step aside. Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner said that if Trump doesnt step down, hes going to cast a write-in vote for Mike Pence.

Story continues

Other Republicans also expressed dismay at their choices for the general election, not calling on Trump to drop out but also saying theyre unable to cast a vote for him. Alexandra Smith, National Chairman of College Republicans, referenced Trumps initial defense of his remarks and tweeted, The Party of Lincoln is not a locker room, and there is no place for people who think it is. Definitely not with her, but not with him.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governor of California and Trumps replacement host on The Apprentice, also said Trump had lost his vote. For the first time since I became a citizen in 1983, I will not vote for the Republican candidate for president, he said in a statement. I want to take a moment today to remind my fellow Republicans that it is not only acceptable to choose your country over your party it is your duty.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who never endorsed Trump, said he now knows he wont be able even to support him privately at the ballot box. Donald Trump is a man I cannot and should not support, he said. The actions of the last day are disgusting, but thats not why I reached this decision, it has been an accumulation of his words and actions that many have been warning about. I will not vote for a nominee who has behaved in a manner that reflects so poorly on our country.

The partys backing away from its nominee began really more as a sprint away Friday night. Within hours of the leaked audios publication, GOP boss Reince Priebus, House Speaker Paul Ryan, 2008 nominee John McCain, 2012 nominee Mitt Romney and others had released statements denouncing Trump. The statements have ranged from condemnations of the language itself to full-blown renouncements of the candidate; Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, Rep. Joe Heck, who is running for Senate in Nevada, and South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a member of Senate leadership, all revoked their support for Trump on Saturday and urged him to drop out. Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan also revoked support, explicitly saying he doesnt think Trump can lead by example on ending domestic violence and sexual assault.

By midday Saturday, even Rep. Bradley Byrne, from a deep-red district in Alabama, was calling for the Republican nominee to step down. Donald Trumps comments regarding women were disgraceful and appalling. he said. There are absolutely no circumstances under which it would ever be appropriate to speak of women in such a way. It is now clear Donald Trump is not fit to be President of the United States and cannot defeat Hillary Clinton. I believe he should step aside and allow Governor Pence to lead the Republican ticket.

Despite the swirling maelstrom and growing calls to step down, Trump refused to quit. Id never withdraw. Ive never withdrawn in my life, he told the Washington Post, later adding: Zero chance. Ive never quit in my life.

And still, even if he were to step down, its too late to scrub his name from the ballots.
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers are likely to approve on Monday the disbursement of much or all of the money from the 2.8 billion euro ($3.14 billion) tranche of loans Greece is waiting for, two senior euro zone officials said on Friday.

The disbursement in part or in full is likely because the country has met almost all the 15 reform milestones agreed with lenders as conditions for the payout.

The only milestone not fully complete is the Greek state asset privatisation agency, officials said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington.

Euro zone finance ministers meet on Monday in Luxembourg to discuss Greece's progress and decide on the disbursement.

"They are getting there. But I am aware of at least one milestone that has not been fully met, so it is 14.5 probably that are met," one of the officials said.

"It is possible that this is solved by Monday morning. Most ministers in the Eurogroup have lost patience with Greece, and they keep this pressure up because they believe that in Greece things can only be done under pressure. If it is not ready, they will wait," the official said.

If Greece does not deliver in full on the reform milestones, it might not get the part of the money that it needs for clearing government arrears and would only get that when it completes the missing steps.

The ministers could then leave the decision to disburse the remaining amount to the euro zone bailout fund ESM.

"They may get 1.7 billion on Monday, but they may end up getting the whole 2.8 billion," a second senior euro zone official said.

($1 = 0.8928 euros) (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
BERLIN (Reuters) - Six German Tornado fighter jets based in Turkey are ready to resume service in the fight against Islamic State after a technical problem was fixed, a Defence Ministry spokesman said on Saturday. The six jets are being used for surveillance flights out of Incirlik air base in Turkey near the Syrian border. Germany grounded half of its aging Tornado fighter jets on Thursday after discovering loose screws that could not be properly tightened in some key cockpit equipment. Tornados based in Germany would have the technical problem fixed early next week, the ministry spokesman said. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Andrew Roche)
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."

Story continues

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."
(Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks as his running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence looks on.REUTERS/Mike Segar)



After a 2005 video of Donald Trump making salacious comments about women surfaced on Friday, some prominent Republicans are calling on their nominee to drop out of the race.

That would launch a series of events unprecedented in a presidential race.

And it wasnt the first time conservatives have suggested Trumps resignation.

In August, the right-leaning Wall Street Journal editorial board published a scathing op-ed calling on Trump to mature his campaign style or hand the nomination to his running mate, Mike Pence.

But the scandals have continued. In the new, vulgar video, published by The Washington Post on Friday, Trump discussed trying to f a married woman and wanting to kiss an actress he was about to appear with on Days of Our Lives.

And when youre a star they let you do it, Trump continued. You can do anything.  Grab them by the py. You can do anything.

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS.

Republicans all the way up to the chairman of the National Committee, Reince Priebus, condemned Trump for his comments. And then some started asking him to step aside. Top GOP Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois said Trump should drop out, and the RNC should engage rules for emergency replacement.

In a campaign cycle that has been nothing but a race to the bottom  at such a critical moment for our nation  and with so many who have tried to be respectful of a record primary vote, the time has come for Governor Pence to lead the ticket, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman told the Salt Lake Tribune a week after finally endorsing Trump.

Three-term Republican Governor of New York George Pataki tweeted: [Trumps] campaign is a poisonous mix of bigotry and ignorance. Enough! He needs to step down.

A.J. Spiker, a former Iowa GOP chair and adviser to Sen. Rand Pauls PAC, said Trump was unfit for public office. Donald Trump should resign as the Republican nominee for president, he tweeted.

Story continues

So what would happen in the extremely unlikely scenario that Trump quit the race? We took a look.

Can Trump give Pence the nomination?

(Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, right, and Indiana Governor Mike Pence, left, wave to the crowd at a campaign stop on July 12, 2016.Reuters/John Sommers II)

Whether Trump was hypothetically forced out or decided to drop out, a messy transition would ensue.

I dont think hes going to step aside, Alex Keyssar, a political historian at Harvard University, told Business Insider in August.

But the fact that people are even suggesting that Trump should, Keyssar said, has never happened before at the presidential level.

This is the first time any such discussion has really occurred, he said.

If Trump did decide to quit, Pence would not automatically receive the Republican nomination, Ballotpedias Charles Aull, an expert on the presidential race and its many rules, told Business Insider in August.

The GOP would have to go through a formal process.

How could the GOP replace Trump?

The Republican National Committees rules say it can fill any candidate vacancies that occur because of death, declination, or otherwise by either reconvening all 2,472 delegates to vote at another convention, or by letting its 168-member body decide via majority vote.

In the latter scenario, each member would get a certain number of votes based on the population of the state they represent.

Aull said this is much more likely, because reconvening another convention would be a logistical nightmare. And at this point, weve probably run out of time for another one, anyway.

Who would replace him?

If this happened, Aull said, choosing Pence would be the least controversial option (as opposed to former presidential nominees Gov. John Kasich or Sen. Ted Cruz), because he was already approved by Trump and chosen at the convention.

This choice could give some Republicans a sense of relief, Keyssar said, encouraging some voters who dont want to vote for the candidates from either party a reason to cast their ballots on Election Day instead of staying home.

Could the RNC say, Youre Fired?

(A Texas delegate yells after the temporary chairman of the Republican National Convention rejected the efforts of anti-Trump forces.REUTERS/Jim Young)

A small subset of people have called for the RNC to use an extreme interpretation of the phrase or otherwise in the rules for replacing a candidate as a way to forcibly remove Trump from the nomination.

The RNC could also rewrite its rules to force him out, which would take even more time. Thats pretty unlikely.

It could be the only way to get Trump off the ticket, though, since most presidential nominees dont simply drop out, Keyssar said.

I think its usually the case that you can assume that people who run for an office actually want to hold the office, he said. They would not step aside, especially with the presidency. Its fulfilling their lifetime ambition.

If Trump didnt go willingly, he would probably sue the RNC if they use this otherwise clause and take the nomination away from him. Then it would be up to the courts to decide whom the nominee should be.

Since were getting into serious hypotheticals here: If Trump, or any candidate, committed a major crime, he or she could still legally run for president. Theres nothing in the US Constitution banning alleged felons from running for office. Socialist presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs even received one-million votes from behind bars in 1920.

If Trump, or whoever, were then convicted, the vice president might have to take over (if the new Republican nominee won the White House, that is). Or maybe he could pardon himself  we really dont have precedent for that ludicrous scenario.

Is it too late to get rid of Trump?

(GETTY)

A formal re-selection process would take at least a couple weeks, and time is ticking down to Election Day on November 8.

Most states have their own ballot deadlines for presidential elections so people casting absentee ballots can vote for the correct candidates. Weve flown past those.

Not only are the ballots locked in with Trumps name on the ticket, but early absentee voting has already started in several states, and several more will join in the coming days. The election is 31 days from Friday.

That means that if the RNC does replace Trump, his name would still appear on absentee ballots, and likely on the ballots voters cast in person on Election Day  not the new nominee selected by the party.

This could be incredibly confusing for voters who would want to vote for Pence, but would have to select Trump on the ballot, political scientist Josh Putnam told The Washington Post.

Several ballot deadlines have already passed, and more are coming up this week.

Another state-specific hurdle would come up after the election.

When voters select a candidate, they are really telling members of the Electoral College in their state to vote for that candidate. In some states, the electors can choose whomever they want for president. Others require they vote for a party based on popular vote. And in a third set, electors are legally bound to vote for the name on the ballot.

Its this third category where the Republican Party would have to go to court to transfer the votes for Trump to the replacement. That would be even more time consuming and messy.

What if Trump steps aside the day after the election?

We have a Constitution for that one.

The 20th Amendment says: If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified.

In that case, Trump could effectively choose Pence to take over if the voters vote him into office and he then decides to step aside.

If any of that happens, could Pence win?

(A screenshot of Google Trends during the vice presidential debate on October 4.Google Trends)



During the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, Google traffic soared for people searching Pence for president. And a poll Friday pegged him as the way-too-early frontrunner for the nomination.

Polls and pundits agreed the Republican vice presidential nominee won the debate, and cast Trumps ticket in a softer, more reasonable light. A poll on Wednesday even showed he was the 2020 frontrunner for president.

For some voters, Keyssar said, replacing Trump could be a bad idea. Most of his supporters are loyal to him and could feel betrayed by the RNC if it attempted to replace him with someone else.

But for others, Pence may be seen as their savior  particularly after a day like Trump had Friday.

If there was a replacement nominee, its still possible that that replacement nominee could win the election, Aull said in August. Because so many of the issues that the GOP has been having have sort of centered on Trump himself  it would probably generate some excitement. People are bound to be excited if somebody like Pence stepped in."

A previous version of this story ran August 18, 2016.

NOW WATCH: What would happen if Trump decided to quit the presidential race

More From Business Insider
From Woman's Day

A very lucky dog recently proved that photobombing isn't just for humans.

Pope Francis, one of the most recognized people in the world, was recently taking a photo with a dog-training group outside the Vatican in Saint Peter's Square when a jubilant canine inserted itself in the portrait-with a little help from its owner, of course.

The photo quickly went viral on Twitter with the caption: "If you're having a bad day, enjoy this picture of the pope getting photobombed by the smiliest dog."

If you're having a bad day, enjoy this picture of The Pope getting photobombed by the smiliest dog xx pic.twitter.com/QkDTFOoYyi - Reidy (@sreidy95) October 6, 2016

Man's best friend grinned with immense joy as it posed next to Pope Francis, who looked completely unaware of the smiling pooch behind him.

The leader of the Catholic Church also met with other delighted canines and blessed them along with members of the Italian federation for dog sports.

It's safe to say this dog has had a better day than most people have had all month.

(h/t TIME)

Download the free Woman's Day Now app to stay up-to-date on the best healthy recipes, relationship advice, craft ideas, and more.

You Might Also Like
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 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. "If they want Haftar, it's strange that they helped us overthrow Gaddafi," he said. (Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Trump Energy 4x3

Solving America's energy problems, like reducing dependence on foreign oil and moving the country to a lower-carbon economy, will be a major election issue and a top priority for the next president.

Donald Trump's energy plan, is short on specific details and spends a lot of time calling out "extremist" Clinton. Trump's plan is supremely focused on American "energy independence" at all costs, and he's fully supportive of deregulating fossil fuels.

For his part, Trump supports "rational" environmental concerns but not at the expense of decreasing fossil-fuel production in the US. Trump called clean energy incentives "a disaster" during the presidential debate at Hofstra University in September.

Trump_Energy

Renewable energy

Clean technology  solar, wind, and hydroelectric  is a rapidly growing sector of the US economy.

Donald Trump has supported ramping up fossil-fuel production as a vehicle for job growth and feels it will lead to a "resurgence in American manufacturing."

Trump's campaign cited a study from the Institute of Energy Research (IER), a nonprofit that conducts research on government regulation in energy markets, to support his claims. According to IER, lifting regulations on American energy production will amount to a $700 billion increase in annual economic output.

The IER's study was authored by Dr. Joseph Mason, the Endowed Chair of Banking at the Ourso School of Business at Louisiana State University.

It's important to note that IER is affiliated with the American Energy Alliance, a pro-fossil-fuel group linked to Charles and David Koch. Many economists have expressed doubt over IER's findings, reports CNBC.

"This is not academic research and would never see the light of day in an academic journal," Thomas Kinnaman, the chair of the Economics Department at Bucknell University, told CNBC, regarding IER's study.

Chris Warren, IER's director of communications, pointed out to Business Insider in an email that the IER's study is based off of a report by the Congressional Budget Office, and uses a model frequently used by government agencies to score laws and regulations.

Story continues

oil rig

Oil drilling

Oil drilling is an efficient yet highly destructive and invasive process for obtaining fossil fuel.

In March, the Obama administration announced that it would not open new oil reserves near the southeastern Atlantic coast for drilling. Obama, however, did free up three massive reserves on sensitive habitat in Alaska earlier this year, though environmental activists say the land should never be drilled.

Trump's "America First" energy plan will lift most restrictions on oil and gas companies and allow them to drill in the Arctic and the Gulf of Mexico.

Trump's campaign said that he will revoke all policies that place "unwarranted restrictions" on new drilling zones, including in the Arctic and the Atlantic coast. Trump's campaign also called Obama's decision to close the Atlantic reserves to drilling a "job-killing" policy.

Though Trump's plan has few specifics, it's safe to assume that this means he will open up a lot more land  and ocean  for drilling.

Some experts think that's a misguided policy.

Installing wind power off of the southeastern Atlantic coast could produce more jobs and more energy over the next two decades than drilling for oil, according to a study from Oceana, a conservation-focused environmental nonprofit.

fracking

Hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking'

Fracking is a method of injecting liquid deep into the earth's crust to release previously inaccessible natural-gas reserves. Fracking has helped the US significantly increase domestic fuel production, and it's a popular method anywhere there's shale, like North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma.

Fracking has also come under intense scrutiny for its environmental impact. It has been shown to contaminate groundwater  used for drinking  in Wyoming, and there have been multiple reports all over the US of similar issues. Wastewater disposal from fracking, which is injected deep into the ground, has also been linked to earthquakes in Texas.

Trump's campaign has expressed that "energy independence" will be a top priority if Trump gets elected. Within the first 100 days of a Trump presidency, his campaign said he would "lift moratoriums" on energy production in federal areas.

He also railed against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for fining energy companies in North Dakota, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service for abusing the Endangered Species Act for "restricting" oil and gas exploration.

Keystone XL pipeline

Keystone XL pipeline

The Keystone XL pipeline is a proposed $8 billion oil pipeline that would bring crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf coast of Texas, reports The New York Times. It was the subject of massive protests over the past few years and was ultimately vetoed by the Obama Administration.

Most of the oil produced in Alberta's oil sands  a process with notorious environmental repercussions  is bought by American companies.

Trump has said that he will ask Trans Canada to renew its permit application to build the pipeline within the first 100 days of taking office, according to his campaign. Trump's campaign said that the pipeline would create 42,000 jobs, but it's unclear where this figure comes from.

Trump has remained silent on the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been the subject of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe on the border of North and South Dakota in recent weeks. The pipeline could pose a threat to the local environment and water resources.

coal

Coal power

Coal is one the cheapest and most polluting fuel sources. Coal production has fallen over the past decade, and it's critical to the economies of many Appalachian and Rust belt states.

Coal power is the US's top source of carbon dioxide  a primary cause of global warming  in the air, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

Trump's campaign has said that they will "save the coal industry" from Clinton's "extremist agenda." Trump wants to end regulation that impacts the growth of the coal industry, including the EPA's Clean Power Plan.

The loss of coal-mining jobs has devastated many communities in states like West Virginia and Pennsylvania  states that Trump hopes to carry in November. The low price of coal, coupled with declining production in these coal mines, means that these jobs likely aren't coming back, Marketplace reported.

Steam and other emissions are seen coming from funnels at a chemical manufacturing facility in Melbourne June 24, 2009. REUTERS/Mick Tsikas

Emissions

Reducing harmful emissions from power generation is one of the key tenets of the Paris climate accords, an international agreement ratified by over 60 countries.

Trump doesn't spend too much time discussing emissions. His campaign said that he's "committed" to the use of natural gas, which emits around half of the carbon dioxide as coal when combusted. Trump has also made pulling out of the Paris agreements and rolling back emissions-reduction targets priorities for his first 100 days in office, should he be elected.

NOW WATCH: When the Prime Minister of Israel asked O.J. Simpson's former lawyer if he did it, his response was perfect





More From Business Insider


In the deafening roar that blew across television networks, front-page newspapers and Americans kitchen table conversations after the release of a recording of Donald Trump bragging about groping women, one voice was noticeably silent: Hillary Clinton.

In the hours after the video broke, pundits yelled the word p-ssy on television. A rock-ribbed Republican governor and GOP members of Congress from Utah, West Virginia and Alabama called on Trump to step down as the nominee, along with some 30 other stalwart party lawmakers who said voters should not support the nominee. Melania Trump was remorseful: her husbands words, she said in a statement, are unacceptable and offensive to me.

Trumps own running mate threw his hands up. I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them, said Republican Gov. Mike Pence. We pray for his family.

But Clinton, who has for months lambasted Trump for his comments about women, did not attack him this time.

The Democratic nominee is waiting until Sundays debate high-profile before she responds to Trumps video, according to a Clinton campaign official, where a dramatic exchange between Clinton and Trump could be the pivotal moment of the election.

Aides believe that Clinton will be able to use the force of a public condemnation to better effect in front of an audience of millions.

Her campaign, meanwhile, with its legions of staff and allies, mostly observed the fray from the sidelines. At the campaigns Brooklyn headquarters, staffers sat glued to their computer and television screens, watching Republicans trip over themselves to defend Trump. Some aides took to Twitter as the Republican defections came in, but at first there was little internal guidance as Trumps slim chances to win the White House seemed to dissolve in slow motion.

Clintons allies were told on Saturday about the campaigns plans to wait until the debate to raise the issue, according to the Clinton official. They were given a green light to react, but they were told there was no need to press the issue on network television while Republicans are still chaotically coming to grips with their nominees latest lewd comments.

Story continues

Campaign aides tweeted scattered remarks. From the candidates official Twitter account, staff tweeted the original Washington Post story on the video with words of outrage: This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president. In another tweet from the campaign, Clinton called on women to stop Trump. Others tweeted out links asking people to volunteer.

But the campaign, which often to reacts to events on a hair trigger, sent out no message on the debacle, which seemed it could deliver a death knell to Trumps campaign. Few Clinton surrogates were on television networks to attack Trump.

Instead, Clintons campaign left it to Republicans to hang themselves on Trumps words while they watched it all burn from afar. Aides said they saw no need to interfere as Republicans like Sen. John McCain retracted their endorsements of Trump.

How, exactly Clinton herself would address Trumps incendiary remarks on Sunday nights debate remained unclear. But more than 24 hours after the election-shaking video broke, the candidate herself had said nothing.

Priorities USA Action, the primary super PAC supporting Clinton, began working on ad content behind the scenes, but did not immediately jump into the fray. The spokesman for the group, Justin Barasky, said the group did not plan to significantly change its message after the release of the video.

In the 2005 video first released by the Washington Post, Trump is heard bragging about making sexual attempts on married women. The Republican nominee, who had already been married to his current wife Melania for less than a year, spoke lewdly of a woman he sought to sleep with. I did try to f-ck her, he said.

Trump also said in the video that when youre a star, you can do anything to women. Grab em by the p-ssy. You can do anything, he said.

It was the kind of video that brings presidential campaigns crashing to the ground, and Trump, for all his previous vulgar and mean-spirited comments targeting Mexicans, Muslims and women, finally seemed to cross a bridge too far. Republican rapidly defected and Clinton aides gingerly stepped back.

Throughout the presidential campaign, Democrats have been divided over whether to paint Trump as an anomaly, or to strap the Republican Party to his outbursts. The Democratic National Committee has been more insistent on blaming the GOP for Trumps rise, tying Republicans to Trumps candidacy. The Clinton campaign, meanwhile, has aggressively sought endorsements from Republicans, and tended to denounce Trump without so clearly connecting his failures to the party.

On Friday night, shortly after the video was published, the DNC released a statement aimed at bringing Republicans down with Trump.

Donald Trumps offensive, degrading, and disgusting comments about women revealed today are beyond the pale and dont bear repeating, said interim DNC chair Donna Brazile. The only remaining question is whether Republicans will continue to stand by him and call him a role model for our children?

There was no doubt among Democrats that Trump would be on the ballot in November. On Saturday, Marc Elias, the general counsel for the Clinton campaign, assured Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook on Saturday that there was no way for Trump to be removed, the official said, despite grumblings from Republicans that he should step down.

Speaker Paul Ryan was scheduled to appear with Donald Trump at a rally in Wisconsin, but disinvited Trump after the video was released. Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus denounced Trumps comments in a statement.

Republicans are acutely aware of the crisis they face. If they continue to support their nominee, they are effectively endorsing the most disliked major party nominee in history, one who many voters believe is lewd and bigoted.

That perception is true in swing states, even among his supporters.

He is a short-fingered vulgarian, Jennifer Harvey, a former librarian who will vote in eastern Ohio, said earlier this week at a Clinton rally (calling up an old insult).

And at least until tomorrows debate, Hillary Clinton doesnt have to say anything to prove Harveys point. She will let the Republicans do the work for her.
Jeremie (Haiti) (AFP) - The full scale of the devastation in hurricane-hit rural Haiti became clear Saturday as the death toll surged past 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 biggest city, 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, said several localities were still cut off by flooding and mudslides.

A scene of desolation greeted visitors to Jeremie, a town of 30,000 people left inaccessible until Friday.

With power lines down, people have been cut off from communications since the storm struck Tuesday -- and had yet to hear that a presidential election due to take place this weekend 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.

A ship carrying nine containers of food and medical supplies was headed for Dame Marie, further west in Grand'Anse department.

"It's probably the hardest hit department and the conditions don't allow for a helicopter to land there," Interior Minister Francois Anick Joseph told AFP.

Story continues

"So we're doing our best to help those affected."

Convoys were headed to other affected areas by land, sea and air, he said, including two helicopters provided by the US military to transport 50 tonnes of water, food and medicine elsewhere in Grand'Anse.

- '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.

"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 tree.

Over 10 hours, blasts of hurricane-force wind 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 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Around one million people are in need of urgent assistance, according to CARE France, a humanitarian group.

"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 ordered to deploy to Haiti.

The ship carries Marine teams that specialize in medical-emergency assistance and reconstruction, as well as three transport helicopters.

California-based charity International Relief Teams said it was donating $7 million in medical supplies with international organizations MAP International and Hope for Haiti.

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.

"Even the smallest contribution can really make a big difference," he said.

Venezuela, in an economic crisis itself, swiftly sent three loads of relief supplies and food.

- Haitians skeptical -

Haiti has had more than its fair share of natural disasters: In January 2010, it was hit by a devastating earthquake that demolished much of the capital and left more than 250,000 dead.

Since then, it has been struggling to overcome a cholera epidemic.

But the large-scale international aid that flowed into Haiti after the quake has been criticized for failing to build local capacity while spending millions on short-term programs.

"It's out of the question for NGOs to take charge of humanitarian aid," said Joseph, the interior minister.

"We are very firm on this point: this country is led by a government. Across the country, it's civil protection services that are coordinating everything," he added.

"We are not going to turn this country into a messy chaos. It's not going to happen. We already experienced that in 2010, we learned from our mistakes, we will act responsibly."

Many ordinary Haitians are skeptical of help from abroad -- in a country whose decrepit economic condition 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."
By Krisztina Than and Marton Dunai BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Around 2,000 Hungarians protested in Budapest on Saturday against the closure of the country's leading leftist newspaper Nepszabadsag, saying press freedom was under threat. Owner Mediaworks said on Saturday it had suspended the newspaper and its employees after the publication piled up significant losses despite cost cuts. It said it would revamp the organization. But civil rights groups said the newspaper had been shut down because it had published stories critical of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government and called for the demonstration in front of the parliament building. "Today one of the last opposition newspapers was simply silenced," the civil rights groups said on Facebook. The radical nationalist Jobbik opposition party blamed Orban for the closure, saying his Fidesz party wanted to control the entire Hungarian media. "Sudden closure of Nepszabadsag sets a worrying precedent. I stand in solidarity with Hungarians protesting today," European Parliament President Martin Schulz tweeted. Fidesz said it regarded the closure as a "reasonable business decision" by the publisher. Mediaworks, owned by Austrian firm Vienna Capital Partners, said it was working on a new business model for Nepszabadsag (People's Freedom), which has been in publication since November 1956. "In order to achieve and concentrate fully on this priority task, all operations of Nepszabadsag (including print and online) will as of today be suspended until the new form is decided and can be implemented," it said on the paper's website nol.hu. Employees, who received letters on Saturday informing them of Mediawork's decision, said the closure had come as a shock, and editor Andras Muranyi told ATV that talks with the company were under way. "Our first thought is that this is a coup. We will soon come back with more," Nepszabadsag said in an editorial on its Facebook page. In its final edition on Saturday, the newspaper reported the latest in its articles on a minister in Orban's government using a helicopter to fly to a wedding. "I don't usually attend demonstrations because my blood pressure goes up but now I felt I had to come.. It is a shameful thing that has been done here," Erzsebet Kovacs, one of the demonstrators, said. "The free media is being suffocated," another demonstrator Tamas Waldmann said. Some protesters burned copies of the pro-government daily Magyar Idok at the rally, website Index.hu reported. Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said the government did not deal with developments in the media industry. "In Hungary press freedom is doing well," he added. (Additional reporting by Krisztina Fenyo; editing by Susan Thomas)
For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS.

By Makini Brice and Joseph Guyler Delva

CHANTAL, Haiti/PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Hurricane Matthews trail of destruction in Haiti stunned those emerging from the aftermath on Friday, with the number of dead soaring to 877, tens of thousands left homeless and outbreaks of cholera already claiming more lives.

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 on the coast of Haitis fertile western tip.

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.

The storm razed homes to their foundations. The corrugated metal roofs of those still standing were ripped off, the contents visible from above as if peering into dolls houses.

At least three towns reported dozens of fatalities, including the hilly farming village of Chantal, whose mayor said 86 people were killed, 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, said Jean-Donald, his young daughter by his side, crying Mommy.

The death toll continued to rise on Friday in southwest Haiti. Dozens more were missing, many of them in the Grand'Anse region on the northern side of the peninsula.

We flew over parts of the Grand'Anse region. Its a humanitarian catastrophe, said Frenel Kedner, a government official in the town of Jeremie in southwest Haiti. The people urgently need food, water, medicine.

CHOLERA CASES RISE

In the town of Anse-d'Hainault, seven people died of cholera, a disease that did not exist in Haiti until U.N. peace keepers introduced it after a 2010 earthquake that killed some 200,000 people.

Story continues

Another 17 cholera cases were reported in Chardonnieres on the south coast.

Due to massive flooding and its impact on water and sanitation infrastructure, cholera cases are expected to surge after Hurricane Matthew and through the normal rainy season until the start of 2017, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said in a statement.

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 877.

Haitis 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 mph (233 kph) winds and torrential rain.

Some 61,500 people were in shelters, the agency said.

Matthew pushed the sea into fragile coastal villages, some of which are only now being contacted.

Coastal town Les Anglais lost several dozen people, Louis-Paul Raphael, the central government representative in the region, 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.

With cellphone networks down and roads flooded by sea and river water, aid has been slow to reach towns and villages. Instead, locals have been helping each other.

My house wasnt destroyed, so I am receiving people, like its 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 in 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.

(Reporting by Joseph Guyler Delva; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Simon Gardner and Paul Tait)
Hurricane Matthew approached the coast of Florida Friday morning and was expected to make landfall imminently, as the National Weather Service and local authorities issued dire warnings.

At least one person has died in Florida, according to the St. Lucie County officials. Around 600,000 people are without power.

While the storm has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane, it clocked sustained maximum winds of 120 miles per-hour with gusts even higher.

3D views of Hurricane #Matthew show the storm as it weakened to Category 3 status last night. Latest on Matthew: https://t.co/gQriX31yPH pic.twitter.com/LzQwOt4GYM NASA (@NASA) October 7, 2016

I cant send in first responders to save you in the middle of the storm. Youve got to act responsibly and take care of yourself and your family, Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned residents in an interview with CBS Friday.

More than 20,000 people had evacuated their homes in Florida to some 150 shelters, and thousands of national guardsmen were on site, according to the same report.

Hurricane Matthew Update

The storm came to Florida from Haiti, where it decimated the island, leaving several hundred people dead. The Associated Press reported a confirmed 283 deaths, while Reuters put the death toll at 478, citing information from local officials.

"The worst is yet to come," the mayor of Daytona Beach said. Live updates on Hurricane Matthew: https://t.co/gRzQbmAd9D The New York Times (@nytimes) October 7, 2016

Airlines have canceled thousands of flights nationwide in anticipation of the storm, with American Airlines canceling 1,200 flights and Delta canceling over 200, ABC News reported. The Ft. Lauderdale International Airport closed Fridaythe first time since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Story continues

Florida attractions including Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios closed ahead of the storm. It was just the fourth time that Disney World has closed since its opening in 1971.

The National Weather Service predicted that the hurricane would move to South Carolina by Friday night and into Saturday, with up to 6 feet of flooding in parts of South Carolina and Florida.

There is a danger of life-threatening inundation during the next 36 hours along the Florida east coast, the Georgia coast, and the South Carolina coast from Jupiter Inlet, Florida, to South Santee River, South Carolina, the National Weather Service warned in an advisory issued Friday morning.

Related Articles
By Harriet McLeod and Scott Malone CHARLESTON, S.C./SAVANNAH, Ga. (Reuters) - Hurricane Matthew slammed into South Carolina on Saturday, packing a diminished yet still powerful punch after killing almost 900 people in Haiti and causing major flooding and widespread power outages as it skirted Florida and Georgia. Now weakened, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007 left flooding and wind damage in Florida before moving slowly north to soak coastal Georgia and the Carolinas. Wind speeds had fallen by nearly half from their peak about a week ago to 75 miles per hour (120 kph), reducing the storm to a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on the Saffir-Simpson scale of 1 to 5. Matthew, which topped out as a ferocious Category 5 storm more than a week ago, made U.S. landfall near McClellanville, South Carolina, a village 30 miles (48 km) north of Charleston that was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane in 1989. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Matthew was passing over Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday afternoon, and warned of potentially life-threatening flooding in Georgia and North Carolina even as the storm slowed as it plowed inland. The storm has been blamed for at least 11 deaths in the United States - five in Florida, three in North Carolina and three in Georgia, including two people killed by falling trees in Bulloch County, the county coroner said. The storm knocked out power to nearly 1.6 million households and businesses in the U.S. Southeast, the majority of them in Florida. The stretch of the Atlantic Coast from Miami to Charleston, a nearly 600-mile drive, encompasses some of the most well-known beaches, resorts and historical towns in the southeastern United States. Parts of Interstate 95, the main north-south thoroughfare on the East Coast, were closed due to flooding and fallen trees, state officials said. In Florida, almost 879,000 were without power, according to state utilities, while in South Carolina 433,000 had no electricity, Governor Nikki Haley said. Georgia Power said at least 275,000 were without electricity in the state. Roads in Jackson Beach, Florida, were littered with debris, including chunks from an historic pier dislodged by the storm, with some intersections clogged by up to a foot of standing water. Beachfront businesses suffered moderate damage. "We rode out the storm. It wasn't this bad at our house, but here there's a lot of damage," said Zowi Cuartas, 18, as he watched bystanders pick up shattered signs near the beach. "We were prepared to lose our house." Florida Governor Rick Scott said more than 6,000 people stayed in shelters overnight, but he appeared relieved that the state had been spared from greater harm. "We're all blessed that Matthew stayed off our coast," he said. He predicted most people would have power back by Sunday evening. He did not comment on the death reports, which were confirmed by local officials. Streets in downtown Charleston, known for its historic waterfront architecture, were flooded to the tops of tires on some parked cars, and a few residents could be seen wading near the city's sea wall as high tide approached. Tony Williams, 54, who said he is homeless, rode his bicycle against huge wind gusts after spending the night in the garage of a bank. "I just got tired of laying where I was laying," he said. On Daufuskie Island near the Georgia border, writer Roger Pinckney, 70, said he was fine on Saturday morning after refusing pleas from officials for residents of low-lying barrier islands to evacuate. "It blew like hell," he said. Charleston officials said they were not aware of any deaths, injuries or significant structural damage. Winds and the threat of tidal surges were expected to diminish through the day. DEATH TOLL IN HAITI The casualty toll was far greater in Haiti, where at least 877 people died earlier, a tally that ticked up as information trickled in from remote areas of the impoverished Caribbean island nation. Matthew howled 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 lashed coastal villages in high surf. The U.S. military began sending aid to Haiti by air and sea. The U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship Mesa Verde was due to arrive on Sunday with heavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, fresh-water delivery vehicles and two mobile surgical units. Iwo Jima, a second U.S. Navy ship, was due to arrive on Oct. 13. Aid group Doctors Without Borders was flying personnel to Haiti by helicopter. The Haitian government warned a deadly outbreak of cholera could worsen, confirming dozens of new cases of the water-borne disease since the storm hit, 13 of them fatal. Officials in Florida, grappling with an outbreak of Zika, said they hoped the flooding would not worsen the spread of the mosquito-borne virus, which can cause fever and birth deformities. "We have got to get rid of standing water as quickly as we can," Governor Scott told reporters. FLOODS PREDICTED In North Carolina, where the hurricane was due to arrive on Saturday evening, Governor Pat McCrory warned storm surges and high winds could cause serious problems. He said he was "extremely concerned" about the public being lulled into complacency by the storm's downgraded classification. Forecasters warned of widespread flooding with 15 inches (40 cm) of rain expected to fall in some areas, along with massive storm surges and high tides. Further south, some 8 inches (20 cm) of rain fell in the Savannah, Georgia, area, downing trees and causing flooding. The National Weather Service said record-high tides were recorded along the Savannah River at the South Carolina-Georgia border, peaking at 12.6 feet, surpassing those from Hurricane David in 1979. Though gradually weakening, Matthew was forecast to remain a hurricane until at least Sunday, the NHC said. (Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Zachary Goelman in Orlando, Fla. and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish, Bernard Orr)
JEREMIE, Haiti (AP)  At least 470 people have died in one district of Haitis hard-hit southwest region as authorities slowly reach marooned areas devastated by Hurricane Matthew, a civil defense official said Saturday.

Fridnel Kedler, coordinator for the Civil Protection Agency in Grand-Anse, told The Associated Press that officials still have not been able to reach two communities in that department three days after the Category 4 storm hit.

The death toll is sure to go up, he said.

Officials are especially concerned about Grand-Anse, located on the northern tip of the southwest peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest. When Category 4 Hurricane Flora hit Haiti in 1963, it killed as many as 8,000 people.

Haitis overall death toll remains unknown. Death counts 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.

In Jeremie, the main city of Grand-Anse, Jislene Jean-Baptiste surveyed what remained of the one-room house that the grandmother shares with her three daughters and their children. There wasnt much left. Storm surge flowed across the road and drenched everything she owns in waist-deep salt water, washing away the stores of rice and sugar she regularly sold at the market to support her family. Then the wind tore off her roof.

That storm was the most terrifying thing that ever happened here, she said.

Many of her neighbors are in a similarly dire situation because of the storm that has killed hundreds of people in Haiti. Its 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 a devastating earthquake in January 2010.

Katrina Legner, a 23-year-old mother of two, also saw the storm destroy her small, concrete-block home before she fled to a cousins house of a cousin that was also wrecked. We have very little food and Im getting worried, she said.

Story continues

Amid the suffering, aid began pouring into the coastal 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 Richard David, 22, one of those who came to the airport. I havent had anything but water today and Im hungry.

Saint-Victor Jeune, an official with the Civil Protection agency working in Beaumont, in the mountains on Jeremies outskirts, 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 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 the area.

The storm left signs of devastation all around the southwestern peninsula. Outside Jeremie, home after home was in ruins. Drew Garrison, a Haiti-based missionary who flew in Friday, said several fishing villages were submerged and he could see bodies floating in the water.

Anything that wasnt 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. 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 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. Its getting worse and probably some people are going to die.

U.N. emergency relief coordinator Stephen OBrien called the hurricanes damage a major blow to Haitis reconstruction effort and the fight against cholera.

We expect that homes, schools and cholera treatment facilities have been destroyed and that water systems, roads and bridges have been severely damaged, he said in a statement that also announced that the U.N.s Central Emergency Response Fund was releasing $5 million to help Haiti. Earlier this week, the fund released a loan of $8 million to UNICEF to scale up response to Haitis cholera epidemic.

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 airstrip. She said they were hungry and desperately in need of food.

Jeremie might get rebuilt after Im dead, maybe, but I doubt it, she said.

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.

Those killed in Haiti by Matthew 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.
hurricane matthew

Hurricane Matthew has moved on to the Carolinas and is currently hitting the South Carolina coast with powerful winds, heavy rain, and dangerous storm surge. The National Hurricane Center reports that the storm's intense center has made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane southeast of McClellanville, South Carolina.

The most intense part of the storm is expected to hover near the coast of South Carolina throughout Saturday, moving near the North Carolina coast Saturday night. It is already causing serious inland flooding.

Matthew's winds have lessened slightly to 75 mph, though higher gusts are still being measured. While the storm is now less powerful than the 140-mph Category 4 monster it was Thursday, it continues to threaten severe floods in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, adding to the damage it's already caused.

As the National Weather Service points out, decreased winds do not mean the storm is less dangerous. Storm surge and flash flooding caused by rain are responsible for more than 75% of hurricane deaths in the US.

There are currently tornado watches and warnings along the coast of both South and North Carolina, and record setting rainfall inland is adding to the flood risks in Georgia and the Carolinas.

The 17.49" at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah (meanwhile "only" 11.51' at Savannah Int'l) shatters the previous record (POR since 1937) pic.twitter.com/VGR2XXwYOx  MDA Weather Services (@MDA_Weather) October 8, 2016

The storm surge in parts of Georgia peaked at the highest on record and even at low tide, Matthew has caused the second highest storm surge flooding in history in downtown Charleston:

Flooding downtown Charleston SC, #2 record storm surge from #Matthew! Should be low tide now, but instead over 7 FT water level at harbor pic.twitter.com/Iklpcik9GE  kelly cass (@kellycass) October 8, 2016

Just after 2 pm Friday, footage began to come in of a major storm surge in Jacksonville, Florida. A video shared on Facebook by user Bradley Hatcher captures a particularly dramatic angle:

Story continues

As the Washington Post reports, the first news of severe flooding arrived before noon on Friday. Twitter posts show dangerous floodwaters in St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. The St. Augustine sea wall has "vanished under the waves."

St Augustine sea wall has vanished under the waves. #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/QLGaTrDoxC  Jeff Goodell (@jeffgoodell) October 7, 2016

20 people, including children, stuck in #StAugustine bed & breakfast. They say they're getting worried, as the surge is about to come in. pic.twitter.com/EMgX2UqBwb  Russell Colburn (@RussellANjax) October 7, 2016

Severe Storm surge flooding continues in parts of Daytona Beach, FL. Lots of wind damage as well @breakingweather pic.twitter.com/Zs4hVYUNCh  Reed Timmer (@reedtimmerTVN) October 7, 2016

INCREDIBLE VIDEO: Watch as these waves crash into this Palm Coast house! https://t.co/R4Ty2ytBEg #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/hJ0xUC2MzP  WESH 2 News (@WESH) October 7, 2016

"The video footage is revealing that the water is coming in with extreme force," said NHC storm surge specialist Jamie Rohme in a video released on Periscope, "You can't swim in it. It can throw you up against a wall. The bottom line is here is: It is life-threatening conditions."

He added, "What's more disturbing about all this is how many people you had in mandatory evacuation zones who are not leaving," saying residents up the coast with time to evacuate should do so now.

As Al Jazeera reports, the scale of destruction in Haiti, which took a direct hit from Matthew, is devastating. The latest tallies put the death toll at 877, up from 478 earlier Friday morning. That makes Matthew the deadliest natural disaster in the country since the 2010 earthquake.

Many of the deaths were in small towns on the western end of the Tiburon Peninsula, including at least 50 in the coastal town of Roche-a-Bateau and 90 more in Chantal, per Al Jazeera's report.

Three people have been reported dead in Florida, according to ABC News, and more than 1,000,000 have lost power.

Incredible video of Hurricane #Matthew pummeling the coast of Florida near Daytona Beach https://t.co/qHPadiq1wL pic.twitter.com/RwJKbUigW0  WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) October 7, 2016

Floodwaters remain the most severe danger from Matthew, impacting areas not used this kind of storm. Earlier Friday, southern parts of Florida avoided the devastation of a direct landfall.

Friday night, the NHC continued to warn of the potential for a life-threatening storm surge of 6 to 9 feet from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida to Edisto Beach, South Carolina, including portions of the St. Johns River. Surges of 5 to 7 feet are expected from Edisto Beach, South Carolina to Cape Fear, North Carolina. And 2 to 4 feet are possible as far north as Duck, North Carolina, and are also considered very dangerous.

Hurricane_MATTHEW 11 pm fri

Gov. Rick Scott of Florida has been urging residents to flee areas under mandatory evacuation orders since Wednesday. Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina also initiated evacuations along her state's coastline.

Tammy Smith, a resident physician in the University of Florida hospital system, described to Business Insider a controlled but hectic scene as evacuated patients arrived from low-lying medical centers along the Florida and Georgia coasts. Patients were cleared out of the intensive-care unit to make room for the sudden influx of new arrivals.

WESH 2, a local NBC News affiliate in Florida, reported that people who ignored orders to evacuate found themselves cut off from aid as they faced the worst of the storm. At least one Merritt Island family described to emergency officials that the roof of their home "just flew off."

Meteorologists are keeping an eye on Matthew as the threat of an inland wobble remains severe.

Eye has gone more egg shaped ... a wobble could rotate the northern eyewall over the coast north of Daytona Beach pic.twitter.com/GLNMQ7KlJ7  Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) October 7, 2016

This article was updated with news of the storm surge 11:27 am Saturday, with new news of power outages at 3:30 pm Friday, and with new death tolls and forecast updates at 11:27 am.

Rebecca Harrington contributed reporting.

NOW WATCH: More than 300,000 people are without power as Hurricane Matthew strikes the East Coast





More From Business Insider


Donald Trump defiantly insisted he would not end his campaign for the presidency, rejecting pressure from fellow Republicans to exit the race for the good of the party after the disclosure of lewd comments he made about women.

In three newspaper interviews published Saturday afternoon, the Republican presidential nominee dismissed the idea that his campaign is in crisis and said there was zero chance that he would quit the race in spite of calls from multiple Republicans for him to withdraw his candidacy.

Id never withdraw. Ive never withdrawn in my life, Trump told the Washington Post, adding that he has tremendous support from within the party to continue his campaign. People are calling and saying, Dont even think about doing anything else but running,  You have to see whats going on. The real story is that people have no idea the support. I dont know how thats going to boil down but people have no idea the support.

I never ever give up, the celebrity businessman told the Wall Street Journal. The support Im getting is unbelievable, because Hillary Clinton is a horribly flawed candidate.

And in an interview with the New York Times, Trump further insisted he can still win the presidency. Oh yeah, we can win we will win, he said. We have tremendous support. I think a lot of people underestimate how loyal my supporters are.

Trumps comments came less than 24 hours the Post published video of Trump bragging in explicit terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women. The conversation was captured on an open microphone during a 2005 interview with Access Hollywood, and it included Trump boasting about his attempt to seduce a married woman and declaring that he could get away with anything with women because of his celebrity status.

When youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, Trump said in the recording.

After first dismissing the comments as nothing more than locker room banter, Trump later offered a feeble apology for the statements, implying in a 90-second video released early Saturday that he had grown as a person through his unlikely bid for the White House.

Story continues

Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am, Trump said in the video. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.

But the controversy over Trumps remarks only seemed to grow on Saturday as an increasing number of Republicans, including Ohio Gov. John Kasich, began publicly saying they could never vote for Trump. The list included not only vulnerable GOP lawmakers up for reelection like Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who announced she could not support her partys nominee, but also electorally safe Republicans from deeply red conservative states including Alabama Rep. Martha Roby, who called him unacceptable as a candidate. Many of Trumps critics called for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the developers running mate, to replace him at the top of the ticket.

Donald Trumps behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I wont vote for him. Full statement: pic.twitter.com/Ge7GU1TSvm  Rep. Martha Roby (@RepMarthaRoby) October 8, 2016

But as Republicans spoke out against Trump, there was deep silence among those closest to the GOP nominee, including his family, his senior staff and many top surrogates who were not responding to phone calls or emails as campaign sought to navigate a path forward.

NBC News reported that Pence abruptly pulled out of a Saturday Wisconsin unity rally where he had been set to appear with House Speaker Paul Ryan and other leading Republicans. Pence had stepped into replace Trump who had been scheduled to attend the event before he was abruptly disinvited by Ryan after the video of Trumps comments on women was made public.

It was unclear why Pence would not appear at the event. The Trump campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment. But Pence issued a statement through his own political operation, not via the Trump campaign, saying he was offended by the words and actions expressed by Trump in the video.

I do not condone the remarks and cannot defend them, Pence said in the statement, adding that he was grateful that Trump had apologized and expressed remorse.

It was unclear if Pence and Trump had personally talked to one another, but in the statement, the Indiana governor offered prayers for the Trump family and said he looked forward to Sundays debate, where Trump would have the opportunity  to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night.

Donald Trump. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

Perhaps the biggest unknown is how Trumps family has dealt with the controversy. His three adult children  Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric  and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have been close advisers to his campaign and were already said to be concerned about its trajectory in recent weeks. His wife, Melania, who has been a scarce presence on the campaign trail, released a statement Saturday afternoon urging voters to accept his apology.

The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world, she said.

Reached on Saturday, one Republican close to the family and the candidate who declined to be named discussing internal campaign dynamics, said there had been no outreach to staff or surrogates to soothe concerns about the video and its impact on Trumps candidacy. Amid the GOP nominees insistence that he would stick in the race, the GOP aide speculated that the only people who might be able to sway Trump otherwise are his children.

With just one month to go before Election Day, Trump seemed to brush off suggestions from fellow Republicans that his campaign would not survive the controversy  pointing out that hes prevailed over moments that would have felled any other candidates before.

Ive been here before, Ill tell ya, in life, Trump told the Post on Saturday. I understand life and how you make it through. You go through things. Ive been through many. Its called life. And its always interesting.

As Trumps inner circle, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, gathered at Trump Tower Saturday, the candidate hinted he might hold a campaign event to address the controversy later in the day.
Washington (AFP) - The United States called Saturday for the International Monetary Fund to speak out on crucial global economic matters, such as exchange rates, even if this made it unpopular.

"The IMF must intensify analysis of and become more vocal on key issues that impact growth and stability of the global economic system," US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement, citing currency exchange rates, current account imbalances and demand shortfalls.

"Sometimes this will make the IMF unpopular," he added. "But vocal advocacy in the name of its core mandate is likely to make the IMF a more effective institution over the long term."

The remarks came as a week of annual meetings between IMF and the World Bank wound down in Washington.

The United States, which is the IMF's largest shareholder, said it expected the global crisis lender to do more to prod countries like Germany to spend more of their budget surpluses to spur global growth.

"I urge the IMF to be more vocal in pressing countries with excess capacity to pursue fiscal measures that smooth the transition away from excess production while maintaining demand," said Lew.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde seemed to have heard the message this week and openly called on Germany to spend more. But Berlin appeared unmoved.

The United States also called on the World Bank, where it is also the largest shareholder, to "better manage" the strain that member states' growing demands were putting on the development lender's resources.

"We recognize that global economic headwinds are contributing to strong country demand, straining the World Bank's available capital," Lew said in a separate statement.

The World Bank could meet such challenges through "selectivity and greater discipline" to maintain more viable lending levels, Lew said.

On Thursday, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim acknowledged that his institution's resources had been put to the test by the new missions entrusted to it, particular concerning climate change and the refugee crisis.

"It's hard to see how we're going to meet all those demands without a capital increase," he said.
By Cindy Silviana and Eveline Danubrata

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia has invited Japan to submit proposals to work on a railway line connecting Jakarta to its second-biggest city Surabaya, the transport minister told Reuters on Saturday.

The project aims to slash journey times by more than half to around five hours on the roughly 600-km (400-mile) route, Budi Karya Sumadi said in his first interview with foreign media since taking office in late July.

Japan could provide a loan for the project, said Sumadi. Construction could be carried out through a partnership between Japanese and Indonesian companies.

"We are giving the priority to Japan," Sumadi said at his house in Jakarta, adding that the project could include building a new line, upgrading existing tracks and supplying the rolling stock.

Japan has historically been one of Indonesia's biggest investors, but was dealt a blow last year when the Southeast Asian country awarded China a high-speed train project linking the capital with the city of Bandung.

At an estimated cost of $5.5 billion(4.42 billion pounds), the line was seen as a coup for China, which is vying for influence in the region under its "One Belt, One Road" policy and has ambitions to be a global train supplier.

Analysts said the swing factor at that time was China's willingness to forego a sovereign guarantee by the Indonesian government, which was requested by Japan to reduce the risk of taking on the project.

Indonesian Maritime Coordinating Minister Luhut Pandjaitan was in Tokyo earlier this week to discuss topics including the Jakarta-Surabaya project with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, according to a statement from the Indonesian government.

The project is likely to cost less than the Jakarta-Bandung rail awarded to China as the speed of the trains is slower and most of the land has been secured, Sumadi said.

Indonesia is unlikely to give any sovereign guarantee for this project either, Sumadi said. "We have had a lot of cooperation with foreign investors, and we've been delivering. There's actually no need for a guarantee."

(Reporting by Cindy Silviana and Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Andrew Roche)
Rabat (AFP) - The Islamist party which has headed Morocco's coalition government since Arab Spring-inspired protests five years ago has beaten liberal rivals in parliamentary elections, results showed Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats out of 395, the interior ministry said after all ballots were counted.

Its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society, won 102 seats, the ministry said.

Istiqlal, the party which historically fought for independence from France, came third with 45 seats.

In any case, 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.

Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said that the election was "transparent" and had gone well, rejecting accusations of voter fraud from both sides.

The PJD had earlier 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.

An Islamist candidate was attacked and wounded outside a polling station in Rabat, according to local media.

A video shared on social networks also showed a man stuffing a ballot box, leading the PJD to file a complaint, media reported.

Participation was at 43 percent, or roughly 6,750,000 voters, Hassad told a press conference in the capital Rabat.

Early turnout had been low in Rabat with many people waiting until after the weekly noon prayers to cast their ballots while others trickled to the polls after office hours.

- Scandals -

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."

Story continues

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.

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, had hoped to take advantage in 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.

Several parties fielded ultra-conservative Salafists, in a sign that Islamists are becoming a feature of Moroccan politics.

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.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Italy can count on all the flexibility European Union budget rules can offer with its 2017 budget but it should not increase its already very high debt, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici said on Saturday.

"We understand that Italy can, and must benefit from all flexibility available," Moscovici told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund meetings.

"It was already the case in the past, with the investment clause, the structural reforms clause, with the cyclical clause, and, of course, we can also integrate exceptional events due to welcoming refugees or to an earthquake," he said.

Euro zone countries are obliged by EU rules to move towards a balanced budget and lower public debt every year. They send their budget draft assumptions for the following year to Brussels for scrutiny if they comply with EU laws.

But Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is anxious to avoid unpopular belt tightening ahead of a December referendum on constitutional reform that could decide his political future, testing his popularity against the euro-sceptic Five Star movement.

He is therefore planning no cut in the deficit next year and expects a rise in debt, contrary to promises made to the EU.

Yet Moscovici stressed the EU needed Italy at its core.

"We want a strong Italy, clearly we need an Italy which is pro-European, which is at the heart of Europe and which recovers," he said.

Last month, Rome raised the 2017 deficit plan to 2.0 percent of GDP from 1.8 percent. With extra spending on immigration and earthquake reconstruction the real deficit next year could hit 2.4 percent, the same as in 2016, Renzi said.

Italy has repeatedly raised its deficit targets in recent years. The 2017 goal had stood at 1.1 percent until April, when Renzi lifted it to 1.8 percent.

Rome also said that despite repeated assurances, it would not lower the debt-to-GDP ratio this year, saying it would come in at 132.8 percent against a previous target of 132.4 percent. It stood at 132.3 percent in 2015.

Story continues

Brussels is particularly concerned about Italy's public debt, which is the highest in the euro zone after Greece's, and Moscovici said the government would have to address that.

"We believe that raising public debt above the current level is not reasonable, because the burden is already very heavy," Moscovici said. "This is why we need to find the right figure in order not to have that outcome," he said.

He said that the Commission was already helping Italy in a subtle way by increasing its focus on a measure of compliance with EU fiscal rules, the Stability and Growth Pact, called the expenditure benchmark.

The measure, introduced in 2011, sets a limit on the rise of government expenditure at below the rate of country's potential growth, measured as an average over 10 years - five years back, the current year and four years of future forecasts.

"When considering the output gap for Italy we already extended the period of calculation, so this Commission is ready to be more subtle, you can be subtle, you don't need to destroy the Pact," Moscovici said.

"So full flexibility and intelligence - yes, but breaking the rules, we are not available for that," he said.

(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Itau Unibanco announced Saturday it would buy Citigroup's Brazilian consumer banking business in a reshuffle that will leave just one major foreign bank operating retail services in the Latin American giant.

Itau said in a statement that it was paying 710 million reais ($220.4 million) for the US group's 71 Citibank branches, which have about 315,000 account holders and 35 billion reais in deposits and assets under management.

Itau entered an agreement, subject to regulatory approval, "for the acquisition of the retail business (for individuals) carried out by Citibank in Brazil, including loans, deposits, credit cards, branches, asset management and insurance brokerage," the statement said.

Itau has more than 4,000 branches around Brazil and 44,000 ATMs.

Citigroup had announced in February its plans to pull retail operations out of Brazil and Argentina.

Earlier this year Brazil's Bradesco bought the Brazilian unit of HSBC. That leaves Spain-based Santander as the only big international player in the Brazilian retail banking business.
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f23821%2fcumh-luvyaartxq

Warning: This post contains offensive language.

Ivanka Trump has, as of this article's publication, maintained her public silence regarding the obscene remarks from her father that are currently dominating headlines. But she did tweet about broccoli pizza shortly after the blockbuster news broke.

In 2005 video released Friday by the Washington Post, Donald Trump is caught on a hot mic describing his attempt to have sex with a married woman, then speaking lewdly about the sexual power his celebrity lends him.

SEE ALSO: Donald Trump's most vulgar comments yet caught on tape

"I don't even wait," he said. "And when you're a star, [women] let you do it," he's recorded as saying during a conversation with TV host Billy Bush in which Trump discussed "...grab[bing] them by the pussy."

The Post released the footage around 4 p.m. EST. At 5:38 p.m., Ivanka Trump tweeted the following to accompany an article ("Fast, Healthy Fall Dinners") posted on her website, IvankaTrump.com.

It is possible that the tweet was pre-scheduled and that Ivanka herself did not deem this tweet appropriate while thousands were listening to her father say "grab her by the pussy." In fact, the account doubles as a social tool for IvankaTrump.com, so this is a fairly likely scenario.

Still, the internet noticed, particularly because Ivanka has consistently pitched her father as a pro-woman candidate.

@IvankaTrump your brand needs to speak out against yr dad remarks. You antiwomen too?  Caroline Leavitt (@Leavittnovelist) October 8, 2016

@IvankaTrump do you still think your father respects women?  Chandra M. Jordan (@ChandraMJordan) October 7, 2016

In the past, Ivanka has defended her father against assault allegations, including those detailed in a May article in the New York Times. Soon after the article was published, she told CBS This Morning that her father was "not a groper."

Story continues

"It's not who he is. I've known my father obviously my whole life, and he has total respect for women," she said at the time.

"I'm not in every interaction my father has. But he's not a groper." More from @IvankaTrump @CBSThisMorninghttps://t.co/DcevG8mKOi  Norah O'Donnell (@NorahODonnell) May 18, 2016

Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump, who also campaign frequently for their father, have also remained silent on the leaked audio since its release. Trump Jr. has, however, retweeted several tweets regarding WikiLeaks' recent release of several transcripts and emails pertaining to Hillary Clinton.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo paid tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims in Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, reports Armenpress.

She was accompanied by Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Kamo Areyan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier. Paris City Council members also accompanied her.

The Paris delegation led by Anne Hidalgo laid flowers at the Eternal Flame, then they toured in the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

Paris Mayor left a note in the Honorary guest Book.

The humanity cannot move forward without paying tribute to their history. The humanity must accept and recognize the truth which will enable to move forward and develop. My note is a call to the humanity to accept the truth and recognize the Genocide. Many countries have already completed that process. France did it as well, and we want our army to be replenished with new countries, Paris Mayor said.

She also toured in Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Park and planted a fir tree.
Jessica Williams is headlining a comedy tour to encourage young people to vote for environmentalist politicians, and we need our tickets

Climate change is real  it is happening all around us, despite what certain politicians may want you to believe. (By the way, even if climate change wasnt real  which it is  why wouldnt you support policies protecting the environment anyway?) Considering the presidential election  in which we will be voting for more than just our next President  is merely weeks away, how can we vote to best protect our planet?

The brilliant and hilarious Jessica Williams is here to help.

A photo posted by Jessica Williams (@msjwilly) on Sep 22, 2016 at 6:23pm PDT

Jessica will be hosting the NextGen Climate Comedy Tour in an effort to encourage young voters to cast their ballots for climate champions  or politicians who include environmentalist policies in their platforms.

The comedy tour, organized by NextGen Climate, will be stopping in three battleground states (states where both candidate have a chance at winning): Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina on October 7th-9th. In addition to providing lots of laughs via queen, Jessica Williams, NextGen Climate organizers will speak to audiences about the ways climate change is impacted by this election. There will also be booths at which attendees can register to vote. (And the events are free!)

A photo posted by Jessica Williams (@msjwilly) on Oct 1, 2016 at 1:13pm PDT

In a statement released by the organization, Jessica said:

Im pumped to add my voice to the effort to elect climate champions and show that we have the power to shape this election.We cant let a man with such a YUGE lack of experience anywhere near the nuclear launch codes, so we have to make sure we all vote, because this election is no laughing matter.

This isnt the first time Jessica Williams has used her talent, fame, and humor to advocate for an important cause, and we are so thrilled to see her do it again. If youre going to be in Ohio or North Carolina this weekend, you should definitely check it out and get educated!

Fill out this super quick survey for People magazine that examines who Time Inc readers are voting for, and why. Plus, youll get a 20% off discount code for the People Shop!

The post Jessica Williams is headlining a comedy tour to encourage young people to vote for environmentalist politicians, and we need our tickets appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Heres some comedic relief to carry you through the weekend. Earlier this week on Jimmy Fallons late night show, the host decided to reprise his impression of Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

In a skit where Trump calls up undecided voters, Fallon imagined what a phone conversation would be like if none other than Madea (played by Tyler Perry), was on the other end of the line.

What is your biggest concern this election? he asks. You, youre my biggest concern this election, Madea said to laughter. Moving along with a spot on imitation, Trump asks Madea if theres any sort of agreement with his absurd plan to build a wall between Mexico and the U.S.

Im all for that. I think you should build a wall, Madea said to his liking. You should have a tall wall in a circle around Trump Towers so that I can lock your a** up.

To seal the convo, Trump decides to ask the fictional character if he can count on that vote in November. Aint no Black people voting for you Donald, dont you understand that? was Madeas blunt response.

Ahead of Sunday nights real life debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton, check out Fallons skit below.
GaneshaSpeaks

Mukesh Ambani certainly knows the art of grabbing the limelight and the attention of the masses. Reliance Jio  one of Mukeshs most ambitious projects, electrified the communication and technology sphere in India in an amazing manner. From various speculations, news articles being written in the technology sections to the light-hearted jokes on the social media platforms, the reports of Reliance Jios launch triggered a huge discourse amongst the masses. The project which aims to start the 4G network era in India, was finally unveiled on the 1st September, 2016, in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. The launch received a rapturous response and the excitement of being able to use the 4G network amongst the netizens seems to be high. Are you curious to know how the mega project may fare in the days to come? Then, come, lets explore the prospects with Ganeshas exclusive analysis.



The Astrological Highlights:

 According to the Solar and Lunar Chart on the day of the official launch of the public services of Reliance Jio, the luminaries  the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction with Rahu in the Sign of Leo.



 The Karaka of communication  Mercury, is exalted in the 2nd House and is in conjunction with the top-rank benefics  Jupiter and Venus.



 Apart from Mercury, two other planets are placed in their own Signs  the Sun (in Leo) and Mars (in Scorpio).



 Though Venus is debilitated, its conjunction with an exalted Mercury creates the Shukra-Budh Neech Bhanga Rajayoga.



 Mars and Saturn are placed together in the 4th House.



The areas of concern:

 Adherence to Government Rules and Regulations



 Legal Hassles



 Customer tech-support



 Disputes with rivals



How will the Reliance Jio services impact other mobile service operators?

Ganesha feels that there may not be a drastic impact of the Jio commercial launch on its competitors. In the first couple of months, the stock market position of the rival companies may get affected, but not in an earth-shattering manner. Except for this aspect, things may be quite normal and the rival companies may also come up with competitive schemes.



What is in it for the customers?

The lord of the House of customers and client base  Saturn, is in conjunction with Swagruhi Mars in the 4th House. These two happen to be planets with conflicting ideologies. Thus, if the customers are not given good technical support, then the company may face adverse situations.



Future prospects predictions for Reliance Jio



The Guru Mantra:

Currently, Jupiter is transiting through the 2nd House in the Inception Chart of Reliance Jio. Owing to this transit, the company will be able to generate high revenue. Financially, the situation is likely to be smooth and productive till September 2017. Even post September, the company will enjoy the benevolent grace of the mighty Jupiter as it will be transiting through the 3rd House  a House which is completely relevant for the company, keeping in mind the nature of the business. There may be some new offers that may be further announced in the one year period from then.



The Saturn Angle:

The smooth financial ride of the company may get affected negatively once Saturn enters the 5th House of the Chart. This transit of the heavyweight planet may also result into customer dissatisfaction and the negative publicity of the inconsistency of services. The stock market position of the company may suffer some setbacks between January and June. This angle will also lead to some major changes at the management or executive level in the company.



The Rahu Factor:

Rahu may create problems with the competitors and the current issues like call drops on other networks may keep causing concerns for the company. This factor will also not let the trust amongst the customers build up easily.



You may also like to read: Will Flipkarts Jabong Purchase Prove To Be As Favourable A Deal As It Seems Now? Find out!



On the whole, Ganesha feels that it will be a journey full of mixed experiences for Jio.



With Ganeshas Grace

Dharmesh Joshi and Aaditya Sain

The GaneshaSpeaks.com Team
For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS.

Donald Trump emerged from Trump Tower for the first time since dropping last nights video, addressing his lewd 2005 remarks about women caught on a hot-mic tape and released by The Washington Post yesterday afternoon.

The man who promised he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any support, media camped outside the building Saturday afternoon, raised his fist into the air, then waved, as supporters holding vigil on the sidewalk began to shout USA! and Donald Trump! As the scene was unfolding, TV news outlets received a statement from yet another Republican bigwig withdrawing his endorsement of the GOP presidential candidate. This time, it was Arizona Sen. John McCain, the GOPs 2008 presidential hopeful, who Trump famously described as a war hero because he got captured during the Vietnam War, while expressing his preference for people who did not get captured.

In addition to my well-known differences with Donald Trump on public policy issues, I have raised questions about his character after his comments on Prisoners of War, the Khan Gold Star family, Judge Curiel and earlier inappropriate comments about women, McCain said of his decision to pull his endorsement of his partys candidate.

Just this week, he made outrageous statements about the innocent men in the Central Park Five case, McCain continued.

As I said yesterday, there are no excuses for Donald Trumps offensive and demeaning comments in the just released video; no woman should ever be victimized by this kind of inappropriate behavior. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences.

I have wanted to support the candidate our party nominated. He was not my choice, but as a past nominee, I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set. I thought I owed his supporters that deference.

Story continues

But Donald Trumps behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy.

Commenting on Trumps fist-raising gesture, former presidential advisor to Richard Nixon (as well as Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton) David Gergen marveled of Trump, In his head, he thinks he can turn around calling it very similar to Nixon at the end, as things were closing in on him.

Related stories

Saturday Night Live Ratings Stay Strong With Host Lin-Manuel Miranda & Donald Trump Hot Mic Scandal

'Saturday Night Live Recap: Trump, Trump, And More Trump

Watch: Donald Trump Sexist Comments Skewered In 'SNL Opener
One of the nation's largest Republican ad firms is taking Joss Whedon and his pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC to task by mocking several celebrities who appear in the Avengers director's get-out-the-vote ad.

Whedon's PAC is called Save the Day, and his intention is to cut a few dozen videos promoting Clinton over Donald Trump. His first was released last month and features Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and other A-list actors explaining the importance of voting.

In Whedon's video, Don Cheadle presumably refers to Trump, though not by name, as "a racist, abusive coward who could permanently damage the fabric of our society," while several other actors plead with viewers to vote.

It was all too much for John Brabender, CEO of BrabenderCox, a firm that has cut 400 ads for Republicans during this election cycle.

Brabender spent $10,000 of the company's money to create a response video starring actors no one will recognize praising their famous counterparts. Playing "normal Americans," the actors in the response video have no idea a presidential election is coming Nov. 8, until, of course, they see Whedon's Save the Day video.

"They're not just acting smart, they are smarter," the normal Americans say about the celebrities. "And thank goodness they make it clear that we must vote for Hillary. I could have made a terrible mistake without their help."

They also call themselves "deplorable" for even considering voting for Trump.

Read more: Lin-Manuel Miranda Changes Lyrics to 'Hamilton' Song for Voting PSA

"Normally I have no problem with actors speaking about politics," said Brabender. "But their video smacks of arrogance."

While Republican vice presidential pick Mike Pence is a former client of BrabenderCox, the firm is not working for the Trump campaign. In fact, no one commissioned the video.

Whedon's video was viewed 35 million times in the first 48 hours, while the BrabenderCox video has been watched 8 million times in five days and has been promoted on social media by Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Trump's son Eric.

Story continues

"I'm the first to admit that we don't have their star quality, but that's the point," said Brabender. "In their video, they say their advice should be followed because they're famous and they know better - they're speaking at America, not to America, and someone had to stand up and say so."

Whedon, meanwhile, doesn't seem impressed with the new video. "It's cute how they tried," he told The Hollywood Reporter.

And Ben Sheehan, Save the Day's executive director, said the original video, titled "Important," has surpassed 50 million views since its release a few weeks ago and led to 40,000 new registered voters. "We're quite pleased with that result and have more videos on the way," he told THR.

See the new ad and original video below.

Read more: Avengers Assemble! Director Joss Whedon Launches Hillary Clinton Super PAC with Star-Studded Video (Watch)
Kanye West's The Life of Pablo album has gone through so many changes.

An older version of the song -- originally called "Nina Chop" -- temporarily leaked online on Thursday, featuring controversial lyrics about Taylor Swift (as well as West's ex, Amber Rose) that go even farther than the 39-year-old does on the final track when he raps, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, why, I made that b**ch famous."

WATCH: Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West and Kim Kardashian: The Complete Timeline of Their Rollercoaster Relationship

In the original version, according to Complex, the line was "I feel like Taylor Swift still owe me sex," with the additional bars, "I feel like Amber Rose still owe me sex, why? I made that b**ch famous. Not really, but somewhat famous."

The previous version may have caused even more drama, given that the finalized, tamer lyrics led to an ongoing spat between Swift, West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West.

EXCLUSIVE: Kim Kardashian Doesn't Regret Leaking Taylor Swift's 'Famous' Call With Kanye West: 'She's Sick of All of It'

Meanwhile, West resumes his Saint Pablo tour on Friday, after postponing several shows to be with his wife after her Paris robbery incident.

Late last month, while performing in Nashville, Tennessee, West threw some shade at Swift.

Watch the video below for more.

Related Articles
Another day, another shocking turn in Donald Trump's run for the White House.

Now the Republican presidential candidate is making headlines for a statement on "the Central Park Five" - five former New York City teens, four black and one Latino - accused of gang-raping a white woman jogging in Central Park in 1989.

At the time, Trump took out full-page ads in all four major New York daily newspapers which in large black letters read, "BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!" The boys' convictions were vacated in 2002 when another man, Matias Reyes, confessed to the attack while serving time for multiple murders; DNA collected at the scene proved a match. By then all five, now grown men, had served their sentences, ranging from seven to 13 years.

Twenty-seven years later and now poised to win the presidency, Trump remains convinced of their guilt. He told CNN on Friday, "They admitted they were guilty. 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."

Read more: Donald Trump Caught on Hot Mic in 2005 Talking About Women: "When You're a Star, They Let You Do It"

Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Ken Burns partnered with his daughter Sarah Burns on a 2012 film - The Central Park Five - that helped once and for all to clear the names of all involved. That in turn led the city of New York in 2014 to settle a lawsuit filed against it by the men in 2003, awarding them $41 million.

The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Burns shortly after Trump's comments on the Central Park Five were made public. Like his commencement remarks revealed last June at Stanford, he views Trump not as a candidate, but as an existential threat to the country. This is a slightly edited version of that conversation.

I suppose you've seen the comments made by Donald Trump saying he believes the Central Park Five are still guilty and have gotten away with a heinous crime. After having spent so much time with them making your 2012 documentary, The Central Park Five, how do you respond to that?

Story continues

It's just so patently untrue - and he knows it's untrue. This is out and out racism. This is a man who finds it impossible to apologize and so he needs to double-down on what we know is untrue. We know this: They were exonerated by a court of law for the crime they served full sentences for. The reason they served the full sentences is because they refused to take a plea bargain and they refused at parole hearings to admit their guilt because they were innocent. They were proved innocent by DNA evidence and the judge vacated their convictions. Several years after that, the city of New York settled with them for time that no amount of money could possibly repay them for.

In his statement, Trump says the Central Park Five "admitted they were guilty" back in 1989.

The original thing that they "admitted it" is so specious that it barely warrants a response. They had coerced confessions. They were subjected to questioning by seasoned detectives. These were two 14-year-olds, two 15-year-olds and one developmentally challenged 16-year-old. They were interrogated for up to 30 hours, without food, water or parents. They were lied to and told that if they implicated someone else they would be able to go home. When they finally did, at their parents' urging, they not only did not go home, they went to jail for between seven and 13 years. And in fact every single one of their "confessions" has the absence of the sixth person - whose DNA was the only DNA found at the scene. As the eldest, Korey Wise, sat in jail at a maximum security prison, this sociopathic murderer named Matias Reyes, who because of police incompetence went on to murder other people that year - a woman and her unborn child, as well as rape other women - he confessed. His DNA matched the DNA, 13 years old, that they had been sitting on unable to match with anyone else. And none of the boys statements suggested that there was anyone else at the scene of the crime.

What did Trump do back in 1989 to turn public opinion against these five boys?

At the time, Donald Trump took out full-page ads in all of the New York dailies - that included Newsday as well as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New York Post and the Daily News - asking to bring back the death penalty. And in essence, in the vague way that he always does, implicit threats of "Second Amendment remedies" more recently, essentially asking for these boys who were innocent to be executed. And even though he knows he's wrong he continues to hold to this complete fabrication. It is the height of vulgarity. And I actually don't think anyone wants a president so vulgar as Donald Trump.

Read more: David Letterman Calls Donald Trump a "Damaged Human Being...To Be Shunned"

What could possibly be his motive to press on asserting their guilt when he knows they are innocent?

How would I, a documentary filmmaker, ascribe motive to a narcissistic personality who has a significant disorder here. He needs to be examined by a psychiatrist. I can't do that. No one can do it from afar. He is just, in the simple facts of this case, dead wrong. And he continues to perpetuate racial stereotypes that are inexcusable in the 21st century for a person purportedly qualified for the highest office in the land. He ought to be ashamed of himself. I don't mean to be so vague and equivocal here.

You're definitely not mincing words. As one of our most preeminent American historians, what do you make of Trump in a historical context? Have we seen the likes of him before?

As the distinguished historian William Leuchtenburg, the dean of American historians whose expertise is the presidents, said, essentially there is no precedent in American history for this. We've seen aspects of this xenophobia in the [19th century-era] Know-Nothing Party; in anti-immigrant sentiment that periodically raises its head. But we have to go to other places to find an example. I would direct you to Michiko Kakutani's review a week ago Thursday in The New York Times of a biography of Adolf Hitler. And the bullet points she listed of his rise to power, without mentioning our current political situation or the two people running for office, it is terrifyingly similar to that.

There's no question that this election feels different from any other.

I believe, and I have said this before, that this candidacy and potential presidency represents the greatest threat to the United States since the Second World War. Period. And I don't know a historian that disagrees with me. I would refer you to David McCullough's statement, to William Leuchtenburg's statement, our greatest American historians weighing in on the significance of this most unqualified person in the 216 years of contested contests for president of the United States. [The messages are collected at the Facebook page Historians on Donald Trump.] There have sometimes been bitter divisions and bitter comments but no one has been so dissembling. No one has lied more frequently. No one presents a greater threat to the survival of our union than this candidate.

Have you thought at all about why Trump has done as well as he has?

I think the media. In the way that ratings breeds journalistic responsibility, never in the history of politics has one person received so much free media. Exponentially greater than the next person. Nobody had ever seen an election where we waited every single day with a little box in the corner of our TV sets focused on some tarmac or some set of American flags at some rally waiting, hoping for him to say something that will be good copy. He's always good copy. He's known this, as all good demagogues and dictators do. And so he has simply taken advantage of that.

What do you advise Americans do?

I think he has played to people's worst fears and not their better angels. We've got to focus now on those better angels of our nature and focus on Nov. 8 and what we do to heal. Because I don't believe that we want people to be this demonizing of the other. To make the person who disagrees with you politically somehow evil is the worst thing in the world. And that's what this campaign is about: To mock Hillary's illness; to denigrate a Gold Star family; to take on [the Central Park Five], five defenseless minority kids and then to do so again 27 years later is just beyond the pale. It's back to the McCarthy hearings. He has no shame. And let's remember his mentor is Roy Cohn, who was the attorney to Joseph McCarthy - so maybe there at least one precedent, which is that the reptilian behavior of Joseph McCarthy has been fully realized in the campaign of Donald Trump.

Trump claims to want to clean up and secure African-American neighborhoods. Do you think what happened to the Central Park Five is just a taste of what's to come for young black men should he become our next president?

Of course. Besides the huge and immediate economic disaster that his presidency represents, the incredibly challenging foreign policy predicaments he will put us in. I would not put it past Putin to on the day Trump is elected march into the rest of the Ukraine and then takes over the rest of the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - something that Trump has essentially given him permission to do. But let's assume the world isn't completely falling apart, that there is still an economy a few hours after he is elected. I think African-Americans are at the greatest jeopardy, as they've been since the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of the mid-1960s.

Does his perceived racism serve a larger purpose?

The fact that Trump is playing with these lives, this is beyond racism. This is just the classic demonization that demagogues and dictators employ. We're better than this and the vulgarity of this is shocking and extreme to me. Sorry to rant but I just got out of a lecture and read what he was saying and I can't believe he would bring it up. To me, this is the Muslim thing all over again. He cannot stop demonizing people. He says that he has a superior intellect because of his German background. That's Aryan superiority. I mean, come on, we've done this before.

I spoke recently with a Nazi humor expert who was reluctant to draw a direct line between Hitler and Trump. You demonstrate no such reluctance.

May I tell you something because you're in Hollywood? The last time I was in Hollywood, in July, I was at the Skirball Center screening our film Defying the Nazis: The Sharp's War, about a Unitarian minister and his wife who saved Jews on the eve of the Holocaust. Two survivors of the concentration camps, both women, came up to me and said, "Is this going to happen to us again?" The fact that they even think of that! Then two and a half weeks ago I was in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and a woman from Poland, saved by Catholics, was absolutely certain that this was going to happen and she was shaking with fear. The fact that women in their 80s and 90s should have this feeling living in the United States of America ought to wake everybody up right now. Right now. This is the classic cliche - that the only way for evil to triumph is for the good people to do nothing.

I don't normally think of you as a political person.

No, no. I throw fastballs down the middle of the plate. [Historian] David McCullough tells me he has never spoken about contemporary politics, nor have I, on the hustings talking about our books or our films. And this year he has and he is aghast. I just finished a Vietnam film, 10 episodes, 18 hours, that will be out next September. We have pundits from the extreme left to the extreme right. We represent all those views. This isn't a Red State-Blue State commentary I'm doing. This is not conservative or liberal. This is an American issue because this person is espousing un-American values of intolerance, of hatred, that are not the hallmarks of the United States. There has been no one who has run for president like him.

Read more: Stephen Colbert: Donald Trump Won't Return to 'Late Show' Because He's a "Coward"
Kim Kardashian shared the sweet story behind her stolen $4.5 million ring, we feel so emotional

By now its common knowledge that one of the items taken from Kim Kardashian when she was robbed in Paris this week was her massive diamond ring that was worth an estimated $4.5 million and was recently gifted to her by her husband, Kanye West, as an upgrade to her equally gorgeous  albeit slightly smaller  engagement ring from 2013 that he proposed with.

Her new ring was reportedly close to 20 carats, a sizable upgrade from the original 15-carat Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring and rumors have circulated that Kims showing off of the ring on social media had something to do with the attackers targeting her specifically. Lets just take a look at this immense bauble in all its glory, before it was taken on October 3rd.

A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Sep 29, 2016 at 12:40pm PDT

I mean, woah.

Guess who just got another #dflawless ring ? #perfect #emeraldcutdiamond #lorraineschwartzjewelry A photo posted by Lorraine Schwartz (@lorraineschwartz) on Sep 29, 2016 at 8:05pm PDT

Of course, the fact that Kanye gave his wifey such a stunning ring is #relationshipgoals (and, quite honestly #richpeoplegoals!) to begin with, but after the ring was stolen in the attack, an interview that Kim recently gave where she discusses the totally sweet story behind it surfaced, and youre gonna feel all the feels.

A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Sep 27, 2016 at 3:44pm PDT

Kim was chatting with Andy Cohen during The Girls Lounge dinner in New York City September 27th, just days before her robbery occurred, and she explained that Kanye bought her the ring after he finalized his deal with Adidas earlier in the summer.

Its a really cute story, hes going to kill me if I tell it. I was sleeping and he woke me up in the middle of the night and said, Babe, I got you something from Adidas. And I said, Ill get the shoes in the morning, babe, like, Im sleeping. And then he put a box on my pillow, the Lorraine Schwartz box, and he goes No, open your eyes, and I opened my eyes, and it was a box, and I woke up! I was like, What is this? He was like, 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.

Story continues

 A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Sep 14, 2016 at 7:08pm PDT

Leave it to Kim to have the most expensive and glamorous piece of Adidas merch on the planet. Listen to her tell the sweet story behind the bling.

The post Kim Kardashian shared the sweet story behind her stolen $4.5 million ring, we feel so emotional appeared first on HelloGiggles.
BEIJING (AP) -- Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov eased into the final of the China Open on Saturday - one of them without playing.

Top-seeded Murray beat fifth-seeded David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3 to reach his ninth final of the season, while Dimitrov advanced with a walkover against third-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada.

Murray lost his serve to go 2-1 down before winning five straight games to take the opening set. He has yet to drop a set this week.

Murray, who took over the No. 1 seeding when Novak Djokovic withdrew, is at the China Open for the third time, and has improved each time: He reached the quarterfinals on debut, and the semifinals in 2014.

Dimitrov had a walkover against Raonic, who injured his ankle during his quarterfinal victory against Pablo Carreno Busta on Friday.

Murray leads Dimitrov 7-3 in head-to-head meetings.

On the women's side, Johanna Konta assured herself of a place in the next WTA top-10 rankings - the first British woman to do so since Jo Durie in 1984 - after defeating Madison Keys in three sets.

The 11th-seeded Konta beat eighth-seeded Keys 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 with the American winning only 37 percent of points on her second service.

Ranked 14th, Konta faces Agnieszka Radwanska in the final. The third-seeded Pole beat 16th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 7-6 (3), 6-3.
By Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo's parliament voted late on Friday to put a huge mining complex under government control and save it from bankruptcy, despite objections from Belgrade and protests by local Serbs. The Trepca lead, zinc and silver mines, which before the armed conflicts that swept through the Balkans in the 1990s accounted for two thirds of Kosovo's gross domestic product, are currently operating at minimum capacity with creditor claims at 1.4 billion euros ($1.57 billion). The complex's ownership structure has been the subject of dispute between Kosovo and Serbia. Belgrade claims 75 percent of Trepca, part of which is on its territory. Trepca straddles Kosovo's Serb-Albanian ethnic divide and, since the territory broke away from Serbia in 1999, the mine has been held in trust and readied for sale by an agency created by the United Nations. However, the Privatisation Agency of Kosovo (KPA) has failed to come up with a plan for the mine's future, partly due to its murky ownership structure. Seventy-nine deputies in Kosovo's 120-seat parliament voted late on Friday to put the mine under government control, adopting a law giving the state an 80 percent stake and miners 20 percent. The new legislation makes the government the guarantor of the company's debt. The complex had been due to face bankruptcy proceedings on Nov 1. "The mineral resources are the property of the Republic of Kosovo and with this law Trepcas assets are and will remain in Kosovo," Prime Minister Isa Mustafa told parliament. Serb lawmakers boycotted the vote while local media said hundreds of protesters, together with Serb ministers, blocked a road for few hours in the Serb-dominated part of northern Kosovo, where the complex is located. Once a mainstay of industrial production in the former Yugoslavia, Trepca employed 20,000 people at its height and accounted for most of the country's mineral wealth. Serbia considers the complex as belonging to a list of "socially-owned enterprises" and would view its appropriation by the new Balkan state as theft. Kosovo says Serbia lost rights to state-controlled enterprises on Kosovar territory when forces under late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic massacred and expelled ethnic Albanians from Kosovo in a 1998-99 counter-insurgency campaign. Kosovo declared independence in 2008. In Belgrade, the Serbian government office in charge of negotiations with Kosovo called a news conference for 0900 GMT on Saturday in response to the new legislation. ($1 = 0.8929 euros) (Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Ivana Sekularac and John Stonestreet)
By Deborah M. Todd

San Francisco (Reuters) - A Yahoo Inc media executive fired from the internet company last year has filed a lawsuit claiming a job review process implemented by Chief Executive Marissa Mayer was used to cut men from executive ranks and lay them off illegally, court papers showed.

Scott Ard, a former senior editorial director at Yahoo, filed the lawsuit in California's Northern District Court in San Jose on Tuesday, saying the company violated federal civil rights and employment regulations.

Yahoo spokeswoman Carolyn Clark said in a statement that the lawsuit had no merit and called the performance review process "fair."

The lawsuit is the second this year accusing Yahoo of discrimination against men, and targets one of the highest-profile Silicon Valley female executives, Mayer, who is in the middle of divesting Yahoo's core assets after failing to turn the company around.

Ard, who joined Yahoo in 2011, argued that he had received overall positive performance reviews and stock awards before Mayer introduced a quarterly performance review (QPR) system that left him with an unsatisfactory ranking.

"Yahoo's QPR Process permitted manipulation without oversight or accountability and was thus more arbitrary and discriminatory than the stack ranking used for a while by other employees," the lawsuit said.

It accused Yahoo of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and U.S. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification regulations.

Ard claims that since 2012, Yahoo has terminated more than 50 employees within a 30-day period on several occasions under the system, according to court documents. Yahoo had 9,400 employees as of March.

The lawsuit also claims former Chief Marketing Officer Kathy Savitt "intentionally hired and promoted women because of their gender," noting that 14 of about 16 senior level editorial employees hired by her were women.

In February, former Yahoo Autos Managing Editor Gregory Anderson sued the company, accusing it of gender discrimination and violations related to the job review process.
A look at what's happening all around the majors today:

---

REMEMBER ME?

Dodgers lefty Rich Hill, who made 25 relief appearances for Washington's Triple-A affiliate last year, starts at Nationals Park in Game 2 of the NL Division Series with LA holding a 1-0 lead. The 36-year-old spent the summer of 2015 in the minors and independent ball before returning to the majors. He was 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA in six starts for the Dodgers this year after they got him from Oakland at the trade deadline. Tanner Roark (16-10, 2.83 ERA) starts for the Nats.

FAMILIAR GROUND

Jeff Samardzija has started plenty of games at Wrigley Field - just not in the playoffs. That's about to change. Samardzija will make his first postseason start in the same place he began his major league career when the Giants visit the Cubs in Game 2 of the NL Division Series. The former Notre Dame receiver was drafted by Chicago in 2006 and spent his first 6 1/2 seasons with the team. Kyle Hendricks, who led the majors with a 2.13 ERA, starts for the Cubs as they try to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup.

SLOW START

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is 1 for 8 in the AL Division Series, and Cleveland leads 2-0. Big Papi is retiring after this season, meaning Boston needs to win Game 3 Sunday to prolong his career. Clay Buchholz starts at Fenway Park vs. Josh Tomlin of the Indians.

REST UP

Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis gets a day to recover from irritation in his right knee. He started the AL Division Series opener at Texas, but was scratched from the starting lineup about an hour before Game 2. Toronto holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup and is home for Game 3 Sunday night.
The website Wikileaks published emails on Friday apparently belonging to Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta, marking the latest results of a hacking operations on internal Democratic Party communications.

If they are authentic, Fridays late-afternoon dump of emails sent and received by Podesta offer a glimpse into the inner workings of the Clinton campaign as it weathered its formative stages and the Democratic primary. Podesta, a canny and top-level operator in the Clinton campaign who served in both former President Bill Clinton and President Obamas White House, often had the final say on key campaign decisions.

The emails were released just hours after the White House officially accused the Russian government of meddling in the U.S. election, citing the hack of internal Democratic Party emails published in late July.

The Clinton campaign declined to confirm the authenticity of the documents but called them stolen, the latest move by Russian operatives they say are trying to help Donald Trump.

We are not going to confirm the authenticity of stolen documents released by Julian Assange who has made no secret of his desire to damage Hillary Clinton, said spokesman Glen Caplin in a statement.

Former national security officials warned earlier a statement to Yahoo News that Russian hackers release fake documents look the same. Still, many of the emails included the authentic addresses of top-level campaign staffers and matched the dates of campaign events.

Most of the emails reflect mundane campaign communications and do not reveal wrongdoing. They are a window into the Clinton campaigns operations, as Podesta was included on emails about messaging against Clintons opponent in the Democratic primary, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, as well as how to defend Clinton against attacks over her familys foundation and her email controversy.

The emails also showed that top staff voiced concerns over Clintons paid Wall Street speeches long before she began her campaign. There are moments of levity, too, and her campaign and hotly debated, over many emails, what joke their boss should tell at the Iowa Jefferson-Jackson Democratic Party Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa.

Story continues

Heres what the emails showed:

Robby Mook, the campaign manager, was worried about the Clinton Foundations ties to banks. Democrats have questioned Clintons decision after she left the State Department to give paid speeches to banks, industry groups and universities. Mook, who went on to manage Clintons campaign, suggested in an email that it was unwise to involve Goldman Sachs at a Clinton Foundation event in 2014, though it is unclear precisely what event he was referring to. [I]ts a little troubling that Goldman Sachs was selected for the foundation event, said Mook in his email.

Some of Clintons paid speeches were apparently revealed. An email to Podesta from January 2016 quoted sections of Clintons speeches; in one from 2013 Clinton conceded to needing a public and a private position in politics, and she said in 2014 she was aware of security concerns around using a BlackBerry at the State Department and that emails could be vulnerable to hacking. She also said she supported free trade and open borders, though it is unclear from the context exactly what she meant.

There was endless back-and-forth over what joke Clinton should tell in a speech. The most senior advisers to the campaign debated over multiple emails what joke the former Secretary of State should tell at an important dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, in October 2015. The exchange came days after Clintons 11-hour grilling on Capitol Hill by the Republican-led House Select Committee on Benghazi.

Should they tell a joke about Rep. Trey Gowdy, who headed the committee? Podesta thought so. Clinton should say in her speech I used to be obsessed with Donald Trumps hair, that was until I got to spend 11 hours staring at the top of Trey Gowdys head, Podesta suggested in an email chain.

Jim Margolis, another adviser, suggested a line by former president Bill Clinton that referenced Sanders, who had refused in the previous debate to attack Clinton for her email controversy. You all think wjcs joke is too much about her kinda wishing after hour 8 > that Bernie would come through the door with his damn email line ..,? Margolis said.

Others worried it sacrificed the high ground for Clinton after her successful showing at the hearing, when Republicans conceded they had learned nothing new.

If anything, the exchange shows how meticulously her top aides often debate over minutiae in her speeches.

Clintons advisers saw Jeb Bushs economic message as a threat. Back in February 2015 when former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was raising millions of dollars for a future juggernaut presidential campaign and he appeared in early polls to be the Republican frontrunner, Clintons aides examined the language of his early economic pitch. The speech, which called for less regulation and the right to rise, made her aides nervous.

Hes in a fertile zone, GOP primary electorate notwithstanding. For those of you whove had to put up with my interest exploring opportunity framing, he has some of the elements here, said Jim Margolis, an adviser.

Its a scary new wrapping paper for trickle down. Very much in synch with what were hearing in groups, said a pollster for the Clinton campaign, Jeff Liszt.

Very little in this speech that HRC wouldnt say, added adviser Mandy Grunwald.

They debated over how to criticize Sanders The campaigns top brass debated in February 2016 how to target the Vermont Senator, who was proving to be a greater challenge to Clinton than her campaign had expected. Adviser Mandy Grunwald suggested in an email chain a number of negatives or possible attack lines against Sanders, including attacking Sanders for proposing high levels of spending that would increase middle class taxes, an argument the Clinton campaign did use.

She also suggested criticizing Sanders proposed cuts to security spending made Americans less safe, and unearthing essays Sanders wrote about rape and female sexuality when he was in his late 20s. At the time, top aides were frustrated by Sanders rise. Indeed, Grunwald conceded in an email to Podesta, most of our attacks havent been working.

Clinton apparently wanted to produce a video to respond to the controversy over her foundation. The campaign was hampered from the beginning by allegations about the Clinton Foundation and its acceptance of foreign donations, and Podestas emails show that the nascent campaign struggled to respond.

In one exchange from early May, aides appeared to debate releasing a video in which Clinton would answer questions about the foundation. It was an idea Clinton herself seemed to endorse, but the video was never ultimately produced.

She believes she needs to do this video is because her integrity is being attacked and she is the only one who can say she didnt make a decision as secstate based on a donor, said Clinton campaign vice chairwoman Huma Abedin in the May 2015 email.

Clinton cut a section from her book about Keystone Pipeline. Conscious of the tense debate between environmentalists and the energy industry over the the pipeline, Clinton deleted a section from a draft of her book, Hard Choices, that discussed the project. In the original section, according to an email to Podesta, Clinton called the pipeline a tough question and said that she hoped that this important decision can be insulated from politics.

Podesta agreed with an editor that the section should be removed. Cut, he wrote in an email.

Clinton declined to voice her personal view until after a thorough review. She ultimately said she opposed it.

With reporting by Zeke J. Miller
A literal Barbie dream house exists, and we went there (and got our nails done, naturally)

If you grew up playing with Barbie dolls and thought you had amassed a pretty good collection, 35-year-old Azusa Sakamotos supply probably blows yours out of the water. Azusa, who also goes by Azusa Barbie, is a Barbie collector and blogger from Japan who has been living in Los Angeles for the past four years. Because of her intense Barbie passion, Azusa ended up transforming her apartment into a shrine to her favorite character.

Azusa Barbie

Unlike those of us who considered Barbie one of our favorite childhood playmates, Azusa didnt get to experience the world of Barbie until she was in middle school. This is because the doll wasnt available in Japan when she was a kid.

Japanese kids didnt buy Barbie dolls that much before, Azusa tells HelloGiggles. They preferred Japanese dolls, so they quit selling them when I was born.

Azusa Barbie

When Azusa finally got her hands on some Barbie merchandise, it wasnt a doll. Instead, it was a lunchbox she found at an American imports store. Now, Azusa is making up for lost time.

In the past 20 years, Azusa has spent over $70,000 collecting over 1,000 Barbie items, including 150 dolls and 50 Barbi-themed t-shirts, all while decking out her apartment so it looks like a literal Barbie dream house. While some may think Azusa has gone overboard with her love of the famous Mattel figure, it isnt different from other types of collectors.

And to Azusa, Barbie isnt just a toy for little girls. Shes a symbol of American culture.

Azusa Barbie

Azusa traveled to Jacksonville, Florida this year to attend the National Barbie Convention and plans on heading to Houston, Texas for the 2017 event. Its a great way for her to meet up with other like-minded collectors and to see whats new in the world of Barbie. Azusa always makes sure to keep up to date with new Barbie-inspired collections, whether theyre made by Mattel or fashion designers who use the iconic doll as their muse.

EL0A3384

Most recently, Azusa managed to nap some bubblegum pink pieces from Moschinos 2015 Barbie collection, as well as the inflatable Melissa mules that were designed by Jeremy Scott and simply scream Barbie.

Story continues

And as for whats currently on her wishlist? The new Charlotte Olympia Barbie collection, of course.

Azusa Barbie 2

Its not just her apartment that gets the Barbie treatment, her look is also mega inspired by the doll. Azusa keeps her hair pastel pink and always wears a Barbie t-shirt, but dont think she wants to emulate her idol.

I dont want to be her, I just love her, says Azusa.

When something doesnt automatically come Barbie-themed, Azusa puts her crafty talents to use.

I always like to DIY stuff so Ill paint everything and put my furniture together by myself, she says.

Barbie Jewelry Organizer #Barbie #BarbieCollector #BarbieBlogger #AzusaBarbie #pink #BarbieProject # # # #barbiecollection A photo posted by Azusa Barbie Barbie Blogger (@azusabarbie) on May 7, 2016 at 7:50am PDT

She makes Barbie decals so she can instantly brand everything as Barbie, like as her refrigerator, microwave, and toilet. Her latest DIY project was her mini blinds, which she says were a little hard to do.

A photo posted by Azusa BarbieBarbie Blogger (@azusabarbie) on Sep 17, 2016 at 5:58pm PDT

If Azusa ever decides to move out of her current Barbie palace, shed keep the apartment as her shrine. And dont try to ask which piece is her favorite  its almost rude to make her choose!

Aside from Barbie, Azusas passion is doing nails.

Azusa Barbie

After receiving her license four years ago, she went on to create fierce nail art for clients such as Betsey Johnson and Zendaya.

Had fun nail time with @xobetseyjohnson #nail #nailgram #betseyjohnson #betseyjohnsonnails #azusabarbie #pinkhair #barbie #celebrity #malibu #overtone A photo posted by Azusa Barbie Barbie Blogger (@azusabarbie) on Jun 17, 2016 at 7:13pm PDT

She also comes up with designs inspired by her very own Barbies.

Azusa Barbie

Azusa Barbie

Stacks upon stacks of acrylic cases contain nail designs that match Barbies dresses.

Azusa Barbie

Its the perfect way to bring her two favorite things together.

We are so inspired by Azusas infectious love for all things Barbie and cant wait to see what she adds to her collection next!

A photo posted by Azusa BarbieBarbie Blogger (@azusabarbie) on Sep 21, 2016 at 10:43am PDT

Watch our tour of Azusas Barbie Dream House below:

The post A literal Barbie dream house exists, and we went there (and got our nails done, naturally) appeared first on HelloGiggles.
EXCLUSIVE: Political asylum, shifting loyalties and betrayal are some of the pillars of Season 2 of The Man In The High Castle, it was revealed today at New York Comic-Con. Less than two months before its second season debut, the Emmy winning alternative history series based on Philip K. Dicks 1962 novel shows the march to war set out in Season 1 between the Nazis on the East Coast of the U.S. and Imperial Japan on the West Coast increasing.

Take a look at an exclusive clip above from the world where the Axis won WWII that shows Juliana (Alexa Davalos) being interrogated by members of the American Reich and head U.S. Nazi SS Obergruppenfuther John Smith (Rufus Sewell). In it, the intrigue that haunted Juliana takes another twist as the Nazis grant her asylum from the Pacific States of America, who want her back. Welcome to the Reich, Smith tells her.

man-in-the-high-castle-nycc-2016

Davalos told the crowd that her character truly has to change in Season 2. Shes forced to be a chameleon to survive, the actor said. The MITHC lead was joined on the Amazon panel by Sewell plus fellow cast members Brennan Brown, DJ Quallis and EP David Zucker. The thing about this show is one can not be casual about moving into new territories, Tucker noted of the series expansion beyond Dicks book. We have to be deeply thoughtful.

Before the panel on the December 2 launching MITHC S2 a high-octane trailer featuring Marilyn Monroe was was also shown to the Hammerstein Ballroom.

The world changes in the blink of an eye. #HighCastle trailer premieres tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Y81EufsRZp  High Castle (@HighCastleTV) October 7, 2016

Anoher clip was shown with Frank Frink (Rupert Evans) and Robert Childen (Brown) having a painful, to put it gently, meeting with gangsters and seeking a job. At this point, its all self-preservation, Brown noted of where his character and Evans find themselves.

Story continues

A final sneak peek was presented of Ed McCarthy (Qualls) suffering the consequences of an interrogation of his own by the Pacific States ruthless Chief Inspector Kido (Joel de la Fuente).

As for more of where things go  Theres basically nothing I can tell you, said a not-joking Sewell to the audience.

New York Comic-Con runs until October 9.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNzvMqNztNU&w=605&h=340]

Related stories

John Noble Returning To 'Sleepy Hollow' For Season 4 - NY Comic-Con

'Westworld' EP Talks "Breaking" Season 2, 'GTA' & Video Game Influence - NY Comic-Con

'Underground' Cast & Creatives On Harriet Tubman, Hurricane Production Halt - NY Comic-Con
marcus gilbert

Another week, another long list of injured players for the Steelers as they prepare for a Week 5 match-up with the Jets at Heinz Field on Sunday.

This weeks list is headed by right tackle Marcus Gilbert, who suffered an ankle injury in last weeks 43-14 victory over the Chiefs and didnt practice all week.

Complicating matters for Pittsburgh, the backup swing tackleRyan Harrisis also officially listed as out after he too didnt practice all week, thanks to a shin injury he sustained against Kansas City when he was inserted into the lineup to replace Gilbert.

In the wake of the absences of both Gilbert and Harris, Chris Hubbard will get the start at right tackle against the Jets on Sunday.

Also on offense, slot receiver Eli Rogers will miss his second-straight game with a turf toe injury.

AROUND COVER32

QB Rankings: Matt Ryan keeps on truckin

2017 NFL Draft: Previewing the Wide Receivers

On the defensive side of the ball, inside linebacker Ryan Shazier will also miss his second-straight game with a knee injury he suffered against the Eagles in Week 3. The same holds true for starting strong safety Robert Golden, who injured his hamstring in Philadelphia (Golden was limited in practice earlier in the week but did not participate on Friday).

Other players listed as out for Sunday include backup center Cody Wallace (knee), fullback Roosevelt Nix (back), cornerback Justin Gilbert (knee), and cornerback Senquez Golson (foot).

Thankfully for the Steelers, there is some good news on the injury-front.

Left guard Ramon Foster, who suffered a chest injury against the Eagles two weeks ago and missed the Kansas City game, will start on Sunday.

Outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, who left the Chiefs game with an ankle injury, was a full practice participant on Friday after being limited earlier in the week.

Finally, wide-receiver and special teams ace Darrius Heyward-Bey was a full participant in practice all week, despite injuring his shoulder last Sunday.

The post Marcus Gilbert leads long list of Steelers ruled out for Jets game appeared first on Cover32.
By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A massive federal racketeering and drug-trafficking case at Maryland's biggest prison offers a glimpse at the deep roots of corruption that criminal justice experts say grips the U.S. corrections system.

Prosecutors unsealed the indictment of 80 guards, inmates and outsiders this week. It was the biggest federal case ever filed in Maryland, and it highlights the difficulties dogging the tarnished state system despite years of reforms, government officials and prison advocates said.

With a nationwide surge in incarceration in recent years, correctional institutions are struggling to hire enough well-qualified officers to guard the bloated prisoner population.

But the job offers low wages and dangerous working conditions, creating an atmosphere in which corruption can fester.

"With a record number of people in prison, a record number of employees, the possibilities of people becoming tempted to engage in this type of activity are quite widespread," Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit justice reform group, said in a telephone interview.

Stephen Moyer, Maryland's public safety and corrections secretary, said the federal grand jury indictments unsealed on Wednesday were part of a long-running battle against corruption.

Officials said Maryland had instituted polygraph testing to weed out unqualified guard candidates. It has chalked up a 32 percent jump in prison-related corruption cases since 2013-14 in part through the help of dogs trained to sniff out cell phones and other contraband.

"You've got to bring the full power of, in this case, federal law to ensure that when anybody else starts to 'flip' that they had better think twice, because we're going to be there to get them," Moyer said, using a slang term for going over to an enemy's side.

The indictments charged 18 corrections officers, 35 inmates and 27 outside helpers with running a smuggling scheme inside the medium-security Eastern Correctional Institution near Westover, Maryland.

Story continues

Relying partly on wiretap evidence, prosecutors charged the guards with bringing in narcotics, cell phones, pornographic DVDs and tobacco in exchange for money and sex with inmates. One guard is accused of arranging for prisoners to attack an inmate suspected of being an informant.

The crackdown at Eastern Correctional dwarfs two other major prison corruption cases brought in Maryland in recent years, at Baltimore's jail in 2013 and at a Baltimore prison in 2009. Those cases showed how the Black Guerrilla Family gang had corrupted prison officers.

CONDUCT NOT UNUSUAL

David Fathi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project, said Maryland's case was not unique. Only last month, two guards in Tennessee were charged with having sex with inmates, to name one recent example. The FBI arrested dozens of current and former officers at nine Georgia prisons in February in a corruption sting.

"The scale in Maryland might be unusual, but the conduct is not," Fathi said in a telephone interview.

In general, as the number of inmates has ballooned, prisons have become desperate for new hires, raising questions about their vetting policies, Fathi said.

Despite a slight drop in the number of inmates since a 2008 peak, Justice Department numbers show U.S. prisons held about 1.6 million at the end of 2014, up almost 12 percent in 14 years.

Staff shortages are common since prison jobs tend to be low-paying, low status and dangerous, he said. In contrast with Germany, where corrections officers get two years of training, guards in California receive 12 weeks, he said.

"This is a fixable problem," Fathi said. "You get what you pay for."

Maryland's prisons have about 21,000 inmates and 7,000 correctional officers, with about 700 jobs vacant, said Patrick Moran, head of the union that represents prison workers. That is an inmate/officer ratio of 3 to 1.

A 2010 survey by the American Association of State Correctional Administrators of federal prisons and 28 states showed an average inmate/officer ratio of 3 to 2. The ratio of inmates to officers and supervisors was 5 to 1.

The average starting pay for Maryland corrections officer is $38,000, state figures show. A state trooper, by comparison, will earn $46,000 upon graduation from a training academy.

Asked if guards were working overtime to fill gaps, he laughed and said: "That's an understatement." Maryland was paying about $50 million a year in unbudgeted overtime because of the shortages, he said.

Staff shortages mean corrections officers are more stressed, leading to more dangerous working conditions, and the lack of new hires means the work force is rapidly aging, he said.

To combat prison corruption, Moyer, the public safety secretary, said he had placed former prosecutors in his human resources department and had investigators working with the FBI and state prosecutors.

"There is not a simple solution, but you have to have the courage and desire to rid the system of this type of corruption," he said.

(Editing by Frank McGurty and David Gregorio)
Matt Damon is working it on his birthday today, appearing at a New York Comic-Con panel for his upcoming Legendary/Universal epic The Great Wall. During the session, Damon received a birthday wish text from his father which he shared with the fanboys: My birthday present to you is that in exactly one month, we can kiss Trump goodbye said Damon with a crooked grin. The Oscar-winner then added If he did get elected, Mexico would have to put up that wall to keep him out!

Ever since the trailer dropped for the $135M Chinese co-production, Great Wall has dogged criticism from the Asian American media that it has whitewashed history; that its just another epic that celebrates the white savior. In the movie, Damon plays William, a mercenary who gets stuck on the wrong side of the Chinese Wall and assists them in battling dragons along with the help of co-star Pedro Pascal. At todays panel, the films actors and director tried to emphasize other attributes about the movie.

Chinese actress Jing Tian played the gender equality card, pointing out that her character was the badass leader of the Chinese army in the film. As leader of the army, the quality between men and women in leadership roles  I wish we could see more of in film. Also historically, men have been predominantly in the army. Its unique to have a female gender; she brings girl power to the movie.

While many have perceived Great Wall to be a historical epic, Damon noted that ultimately its a monster movie. Monsters are attacking the Great Wall. Its historical fantasy. Ive never done that before and if ever was to do something like that, it would be with (director) Zhang Yimou.

The Jason Bourne actor further added, It was cool to incorporate Chinese mythology in a Hollywood sword and sandal epic.

Yimou exclaimed via an interpreter, This movie is made for the world audience. We have people working all over the world and we worked hard to present this movie to you guys adding that they built three walls during production since they could not shoot on the actual Great Wall.

Story continues

Great Wall isnt the first Yimou movie to star a leading box office star. The directors 2011 film The Flowers of War started Christian Bale and centered around a Westerner who finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japans rape of Nanking in 1937. Flowers wasnt a Hollywood-made movie. The film made $95M in China, its highest territory while it died at the B.O. in other territories round the globe. Damons last two movies have landed Chinese releases and fared rather well in the Middle Kingdom: Jason Bourne with $66.3M and The Martian which made close to $95M.

A new trailer was dropped today, which you can watch above. The Great Wall hits theaters on Feb. 17.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avF6GHyyk5c&w=605&h=340]

Related stories

John Noble Returning To 'Sleepy Hollow' For Season 4 - NY Comic-Con

'Westworld' EP Talks "Breaking" Season 2, 'GTA' & Video Game Influence - NY Comic-Con

'Underground' Cast & Creatives On Harriet Tubman, Hurricane Production Halt - NY Comic-Con
With Donald Trumps presidential aspirations seemingly at risk, his wife, Melania, broke her silence Saturday about a leaked video that showed her husband making lewd remarks about women. She called his comments unacceptable and offensive.

But in a written statement issued by his campaign, Melania Trump also defended her husband, saying the vulgar remarks were not reflective of him and that she had accepted his apology and hoped others would, too.

The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me. This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader, she said. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.

Her comments came roughly 24 hours after a video emerged of the celebrity businessman bragging in explicit terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women. The conversation, leaked to the Washington Post, was captured on an open microphone during a 2005 interview with Access Hollywood, and it included the future Republican presidential nominee boasting about his attempt to seduce a married woman and bragging that he could get away with anything with women because of his celebrity status.

When youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, Trump said in the recording.

The shocking comments were made just months after he had married Melania, his third wife, whom he had been dating since 1998. At the time, she was pregnant with their son, Barron, who is now 11.

After first dismissing the comments as nothing more than locker-room banter, the GOP nominee offered a feeble apology for the statements, implying in a 90-second video released early Saturday that he had grown as a person through his unlikely bid for the White House.

Anyone who knows me knows these words dont reflect who I am, Trump declared. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.

But many took note that he did not directly apologize to his wife, who has been a reluctant figure in his insurgent White House bid. Though she joined her husband at his first debate with Hillary Clinton last month, she has not publicly appeared with him since the Republican National Convention and has not formally campaigned with him since April.

Story continues

Melania Trump with her husband, Donald, at the Republican National Convention. (Photo: Mark Kauzlarich/Reuters)

Melania Trump was the first member of the candidates family to publicly react to the video, which has spurred calls from many Republicans for Donald Trump to exit the presidential race for the good of the party.

The candidates three eldest adult children  Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric  have so far been silent on their fathers controversial statements. While Melania Trump has stayed out of the public eye, Trumps adult kids have served not only as close advisers but also as their fathers most important public surrogates.

Taking on a role that would normally be filled by the candidates wife, Ivanka Trump has been deployed to help boost her fathers standing with women and younger voters. At the same time, she has defended unsavory allegations against her dad, including one instance in May when she rejected allegations made by several women that he had sexually harassed them.

Im not in every interaction my father has. But hes not a groper, Ivanka Trump told CBS News at the time.

Multiple campaign sources say the candidate has been consulting with his family as he navigates a way forward through a controversy that threatens to undermine his presidential bid just one month before Election Day. The kids were already said to be unhappy about the trajectory of their fathers campaign and its impact on the family business.

Before Fridays video release, the campaign had strongly denied rumors of family discord. But the first clue of whether the clan remains united behind Trumps campaign could come Sunday, as the candidate travels to St. Louis for his second debate with Clinton.

As had been the case at the first debate, Trumps wife and kids had been expected to join him. The campaign did not respond to emails asking if that was still the case.
CAIRO (Reuters) - A new Egyptian militant group, the Hasam Movement, on Saturday claimed responsibility for the killing of a policeman in the country's north. Gunmen shot Gamal al-Deeb, a policeman working with the Homeland Security agency, eight times outside his home in the northern Beheira province shortly after midnight, the interior ministry said. He died of a bullet to the head. "The Hasam Movement's assassination squad has carried out the field execution of the hardened criminal Gamal al-Deeb who committed his crimes in all ages," the group said in a statement on social media. "He deserved the bullet of justice that found its way to his head and the seven others in his body." Hasam's statements mix Islamist and anti-government political rhetoric, suggesting it is different from jihadi groups like Islamic State which is leading an Islamist insurgency in North Sinai and has killed hundreds of soldiers and police. It accused Deeb of killing, kidnapping, and torturing innocents, including children. The group posted photos it said were of Deeb's house, car, and a coffee shop he frequented. Hasam, the Arabic word for decisiveness, has claimed five other attacks since July, including the attempted assassination of a senior prosecutor via car bomb and the failed shooting of Egypt's former top Muslim cleric. The group also killed a senior police chief earlier this year. Policemen, judges and other senior officials have increasingly been targeted by radical Islamists angered by hefty prison sentences imposed on members of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood, which says it is a peaceful organization, won Egypt's first free elections after the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. But its presidential candidate, Mohamed Mursi, was himself deposed after mass protests against his rule and replaced by general turned President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in 2013. Sisi has since overseen a crackdown on opposition in which hundreds of Brotherhood supporters were killed and thousands, including Mursi, jailed or sentenced to death. (Reporting by Mostafa Hashem; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Stephen Powell)
Milo Yiannopoulos, an alt-right hero known for his banishment from Twitter, is preparing a bid to acquire his own social media firm: 4chan.

Launched in 2003, 4chan is an imageboard Internet site that allows users to post anonymously. Its roots were in anime and manga, though it has evolved into much more and has facilitated some controversy, including allegations that it allows for cyberbullying.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Yiannopoulos, with the help of a wealthy backer, is preparing to approach 4chan owner Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese entrepreneur, with a bid this week.

Contacted Saturday, Yiannopoulos confirmed plans for a possible acquisition but did not offer details.

"As a free-speech fundamentalist and a student of Internet culture, I appreciate how fragile and precious the 4chan ecosystem is and how much it gives to the wider Internet - even if some corners of it, such as /pol/, don't always approve of me very much," Yiannopoulos said.

/Pol/ is a reference to 4chan's political discussion board. It was created in 2011 to replace /new/, which was deleted after it became a haven for self-loathing, misogyny and racism.

"I spoke to my lawyer this morning about purchasing the business," said Yiannopoulos. "I intend to approach the current owners in the next few days with an offer. My philosophy as owner would be very simple: free-speech central, no ifs, no buts."

Yiannopoulos was banned from Twitter after he engaged in a war of tweets with Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones.

Read more: Conservatives (Mostly) Condemn Donald Trump After Lewd Recordings Surface
By Clodagh Kilcoyne CARRICKCARNON, Ireland (Reuters) - Anti-Brexit campaigners erected six mock customs checkpoints along the Northern Ireland and Irish Republic border on Saturday, in a protest over the possible impact to peace, jobs and the free movement of workers. Northern Ireland, a British province, will be the only land frontier between the United Kingdom and the European Union once Britain leaves and some fear that will mean a return to checks at the border where about 30,000 people cross each day for work. The frontier was marked by military checkpoints until a 1998 peace deal ended three decades of violence between Catholic nationalists seeking a united Ireland and Protestant unionists who wanted to keep Northern Ireland British. Over 3,600 died in that time. "We want to stop the reimposition of those border posts," said Border Communities Against Brexit spokesman Declan Fearon, leading a protest in the town of Carrickcarnon between the Northern Irish county of Armagh and southern county of Louth. "In many cases they divided peoples' farms, they divided communities and parishes. Young people nowadays have never known of that," said Fearon, who runs a kitchen manufacturing company three kilometres (1.86 miles) north of the border. In Carrickcarnon, some locals dressed up as customs officers and caused tailbacks at a temporary road barrier where they called motorists into a mock customs booth and searched vehicles beside fake British customs signs that demanded they stop. Signs telling motorists they were entering the European Union free travel zone were erected on the other side of the border. Hundreds protested from Carrickcarnon, which is less than an hour's drive from Dublin airport, to the border between the counties of Donegal and Derry, 160 km north-west. Overall, 52 percent of voters in the United Kingdom voted in favour of leaving the EU in June's referendum, but a majority - 56 percent - of those voting in Northern Ireland supported remaining in the bloc. "In (the Northern Irish constituency) Foyle where I am 82 percent of people voted to remain," said Dermot O'Hara, a charity worker protesting at the Donegal/Derry border. "The democratic mandate of the remain camp (in Northern Ireland) should be respected." (Additional reporting by Amanda Ferguson in Belfast; editing by Padraic Halpin)
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)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - More than 140 people were killed and more than 525 injured Saturday when air strikes hit a funeral ceremony in Yemen, a United Nations official said, with Huthi rebels blaming the attack on the Saudi-led coalition.

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said aid workers were "shocked and outraged" by the attacks that hit a community hall in the capital Sanaa where mourners had gathered.

"Initial reports from health officials in Sanaa indicate that over 140 people were killed and over 525 injured," he said in a statement.

The UN aid official called for an immediate investigation and said the international community must exert pressure to ensure civilians are protected.

"This violence against civilians in Yemen must stop immediately," said McGoldrick.

One of the Arab world's poorest countries, Yemen slid deeper into chaos when the Saudi-led coalition launched its air war in March 2015 to push back Huthi rebels and their allies who still hold the capital.

Saturday's strike was one of the deadliest attacks since the bombing campaign began in support of Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

In a statement to AFP, the Saudi-led coalition said it had no operations at the location and "other causes" for the incident must be considered.

The coalition "has in the past avoided such gatherings and (they) have never been a subject of targeting," it said.

More than 6,700 people -- most of them civilians -- have been killed in Yemen since the coalition intervened, according to the United Nations.
Next month, the United States will finally elect its next president after nearly two years of campaigning, fundraising, scandals, and debates.

The Democratic party has never been perfectly unified. In this years Democratic primary, disagreements among registered Democrats seemed especially acute. Approximately 12 million Americans voted for former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, versus the 15.8 million who voted for nominee Hillary Clinton. Some portion of voters who supported Sanders in the primary will likely either not vote, or cast a ballot for a third-party candidate.

Yet, the countrys two-party political system is so structurally entrenched that the majority of states that went for Democratic candidate Barack Obama in 2012 appear likely to go for Clinton this time as well. While the political platform of a party and the candidates within that party can change over time, it seems that a portion of the population will always vote Republican or Democrat no matter who is running for president.

ALSO READ: The Most Dangerous Cities in America

Based on voting data compiled by political news organization Politico and a review of current and historical representation in the U.S. Congress, 24/7 Wall St. created an index to measure the political leanings of county residents. The index is based on the political party of the countys elected representatives to the Senate and House of Representatives through the last five election cycles, as well as the results of the 2012 presidential election. Prince Georges County in Maryland is not just the bluest county in the state, but also in the nation.

Even in the most conservative states, there is at least one county that has strong Democratic leanings. In Alabama, 61% of total voters opted for Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the 2012 elections, one of the highest shares the losing the candidate received of any state. Yet, in Greene County, nearly 85% of voters cast ballots for Obama. While the state has had Republican representation in the Senate for years, Greene Countys congresswoman, Terri Sewell of Alabamas 7th district, is a Democrat. Sewells predecessor, Artur Davis, is also a Democrat.

Story continues

While both those counties lean heavily Democratic and the reddest states each tend to have low incomes, adults in the blue counties tend to have higher educational attainment rates compared to the reddest counties. In 33 states, adults in the most Democratic county had a higher bachelors attainment rate than those in the most conservative-leaning state.

Race clearly bears a strong relationship to political affiliation in these counties. In only three of the reddest counties, a lower share of residents identify as white than the national share of 63% of Americans who identify as white. On the other hand, 28 of the bluest counties have smaller shares of white populations compared to the national average composition.

These are the most Democratic counties in every state.

1. Alabama

>Bluest county: Greene County

Obama won 84.7% of votes in Greene County, the highest share of any Alabama county except for Macon. Unlike Macon, voters in Greene County helped send a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. As is generally the case in predominantly Democratic areas, the county's median household income of $22,170 is lower than the national median of $52,482. Additionally, more than 30.0% of Greene County residents lived in poverty compared to 15.6% of Americans.

2. Alaska

>Bluest county: N/A

Data for Alaska counties is not sufficient to identify the most or least Democratic area in the state. However, Alaska residents as a whole trend conservative. A majority of eligible residents in the state voted for Romney in 2012, and all three members of Alaskas congressional delegation are Republican.

3. Arizona

>Bluest county: Apache County

Apache County is the bluest county in Arizona, with 66.4% of residents casting a ballot for Obama in 2012. While some of the bluest counties in each state tend to vote for Democratic candidates far more often than for Republican candidates in the House and Senate, other counties are more even in their representation. Apache County, for example, has helped send both Democrats and Republicans to the House over the last 10 years. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, now occupies the seat. Meanwhile, the senators from Arizona, Jeff Flake and John McCain, are both Republicans.

4. Arkansas

>Bluest county: Jefferson County

Republicans John Boozman and Tom Cotton currently serve Arkansas as senators in the U.S. Congress, reflecting relatively strong support for the party among state residents. Some Arkansans, however, lean far more Democratic. In Jefferson County, the bluest county in the state, 63.8% of voters cast a ballot for Obama in 2012. Jefferson County helped send both Democrats and Republicans to the House over the last 10 years, however. Rep. Bruce Westerman, a Republican, now occupies the seat.

5. California

>Bluest county: San Francisco County

Both of Californias U.S. senators are Democrats. Residents of San Francisco County are perhaps the most likely to support the party. Obama won 83.4% of the votes in the area, the highest share of any county in California. In addition to sending a Democrat to the White House, county voters helped send a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections.

6. Colorado

>Bluest county: Denver County

Obama won 73.5% of the votes in Denver County, the highest share of any county in Colorado. In addition to voting to send a Democrat to the White House, the county sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. Unlike most Democratic-leaning areas, where incomes tend to be lower than in Republican-leaning regions, the county's median household income of $51,800 is nearly in line with the national median of $52,482.

7. Connecticut

>Bluest county: Hartford County

Obama won 62.2% of the votes in Hartford County, a larger share than in any other county in the state. Not only were Hartford County residents more likely to prefer a Democrat in the White House, but they also sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. Democrat John B. Larson is currently the House representative for Hartford county, the bluest county in Connecticut.

ALSO READ: America's Poorest Cities

8. Delaware

>Bluest county: New Castle County

New Castle County is the bluest county in Delaware, with 66.3% of voters casting a ballot for Obama in 2012. The bluest counties in each state generally elect a Democratic over a Republican representative, but some blue counties have voted in members of both parties over the years. New Castle County is one such example. The county sent both Democrats and Republicans to the House over the last 10 years. Though Rep. John Carney, a Democrat, now occupies the seat, Republican Michael Castle preceded him, serving his final term in the 111th congress.

9. Florida

>Bluest county: Gadsden County

Gadsden County is the bluest county in Florida. Of the countys roughly 22,500 voters in November 2012, nearly 16,000 cast a ballot for Obama. While some of the bluest counties in each state consistently elect Democrats to Congress, other counties have voted on both sides of the party line. Gadsden County, for example, sent both Democrats and Republicans to the House over the last 10 years. Rep. Gwen Graham, a Democrat, now occupies the seat. Marco Rubio, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, represents the Sunshine State in the U.S. Senate.

10. Georgia

>Bluest county: Clayton County

Though Romney won Georgia, the vast majority of voters in the Peach States bluest county cast their ballot for Obama in 2012. Nearly 85% of voters in Clayton County cast a ballot for Obama. In addition to sending a Democrat to the White House, the county sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections.

11. Hawaii

>Bluest county: Hawaii County

Obama received almost three-fourths of the votes in Hawaii County, his birthplace, the highest share of any county in Hawaii. Hawaii is a traditionally blue state, and even its reddest county cast 68.9% of its votes for Obama. Like in many predominantly Democratic-leaning areas, the 30.8% of residents who identify as white in Hawaii County is a smaller share than the 62.8% of Americans who do overall.

12. Idaho

>Bluest county: Latah County

Idaho is one of the reddest states in the country, with 65.0% of votes going for Romney in 2012. Political leanings are not uniform across the state, however. Latah County cast only 45.3% of its votes for Romney, helping make it the bluest county in the state. The county has been represented by both Democrats and Republicans over the past decade. Currently, Rep. Raul Labrador, a Republican, occupies the seat of Idahos 1st Congressional District.

13. Illinois

>Bluest county: Cook County

Obama started his political career as a community organizer in Chicago, the seat of Cook County. He went on to be elected to the Illinois Senate by the largest margin in states history. In the 2012 election, Obama received nearly three-quarters of votes in Cook County, the bluest in Illinois. While Cook overwhelmingly favored a Democrat in the presidential election, in the past five years both Democrats and Republicans have won House seats in the countys congressional districts.

14. Indiana

>Bluest county: Lake County

Obama won 64.9% of the votes in Lake County, which borders Illinois on Lake Michigan, under an hour by car from Chicago. This was the highest share of any county in Indiana. In addition to sending a Democrat to the White House, the county voted to send a Democrat -- Pete Visclosky -- to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections.

15. Iowa

>Bluest county: Johnson County

Obama won 66.9% of the votes in Johnson County, the highest share of any county in Iowa. Communities with high education levels tend to be relatively left-leaning. In Johnson County, 94.8% of residents have a high school diploma and 51.7% have at least a bachelors degree, each higher than the respective national shares of 86.3% and 29.3%. In addition to sending a Democrat to the White House, the county has sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections.

16. Kansas

>Bluest county: Wyandotte County

Wyandotte County is the bluest county in Kansas, with 67.3% of voters casting a ballot for Obama in 2012. The bluest counties in each state generally elect a Democratic over a Republican representative, but some blue counties have voted in members of both parties over the years. Wyandotte County is one such example. The county sent both Democrats and Republicans to the House over the last 10 years. Rep. Kevin Yoder, a Republican, now occupies the seat.

17. Kentucky

>Bluest county: Fayette County

Obama narrowly won Fayette County with 49.3% of total votes cast. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul currently represent Kentuckys 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Fayette County. Despite the relatively strong Republican support in the area, Fayette County is more Democratic-leaning than any other Kentucky county. Also, as in Democratic-leaning areas in a majority of states, Fayette County residents are relatively well educated. More than 40% of the areas adults have at least a bachelors degree, far higher than the 29.3% of adults nationwide.

ALSO READ: The Richest Town in Every State

18. Louisiana

>Bluest county: St. James Parish

St. James Parish is the bluest county in Louisiana, with 56.9% of voters casting a ballot for Obama in 2012. Additionally, the states 2nd Congressional District, which includes St. James Parish, voted to help send Rep. Cedric Richmond, a Democrat, to his third term in the House. Across the state, Louisianans seem to trend Republican -- 58% of Louisiana voters cast a ballot for Romney in 2012.

19. Maine

>Bluest county: Cumberland County

Obama won 60.5% of the votes in Cumberland County, the largest share of any county in Maine. Unlike many of the most Democratic-leaning areas in other states, there are relatively few non-white residents in Cumberland. More than 91% of county residents identify as white, far higher than the 62.8% of Americans who identify as white. Cumberland, which includes the city of Portland, is located in Maines 1st District, and is represented by Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat.

20. Maryland

>Bluest county: Prince Georges County

Obama won 90.1% of the votes in Prince George's County, the largest share of any county in Maryland and the third highest share of any county nationwide. In addition to casting a ballot for Obama in 2012, the county has historically been represented by Democrats in the House and Senate, and the 114th congressional session is no exception. Sens. Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski and Reps. Donna Edwards and Steny Hoyer, both of whom represent districts within Prince Georges County, are Democrats.

21. Massachusetts

>Bluest county: Berkshire County

Obama won 75.8% of the votes in Berkshire County, the second highest share after Suffolk County, where Obama secured 77.6% of the vote. Berkshire County voters sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. The senators from Massachusetts, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, are also both Democrats.

22. Michigan

>Bluest county: Genesee County

Genesee County has sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. Also, 63.6% of Genesee County voters chose Obama over Romney in 2012, one of the highest shares of any county in Michigan. Like many counties inclined to vote Democratic, Genesee County's median household income of $41,879 is substantially lower than the national median of $52,482. Additionally, 21.2% of Genesee County residents live in poverty compared to 15.6% of Americans.

23. Minnesota

>Bluest county: Ramsey County

In Ramsey County, 66.6% of voters cast a ballot for Obama in 2012, a higher share than in any other county in Minnesota. Compared to Romney, Obama received nearly 100,000 more votes in the county. Ramsey voters also sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. With two Democratic senators and all 10 of its electoral votes going to Obama in 2012, Minnesota is one of the bluest counties in the nation.

24. Mississippi

>Bluest county: Jefferson County

Though Romney won Mississippi in 2012, Obama won 88.7% of the votes in Jefferson County, the highest share of any county in the state. And despite its location in a traditionally red state, Jefferson County voters have sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. Incomes tend to be lower in counties that vote democratic and Jefferson County is no exception. The area's median household income of $23,480 is less than half the corresponding national figure of $52,046.

25. Missouri

>Bluest county: St. Louis County

Though Missouri went to Romney in 2012, Obama won 82.7% of the votes in St. Louis, the highest share of any county in the state. In each of the last five congressional elections, St. Louis sent Rep. William L Clay Jr., a Democrat, to the U.S. House of Representatives. Democratic politicians are more likely to receive support from financially insecure voters than Republican candidates, and St. Louis residents are not as well-off as in many other areas. Nearly 28% of St. Louis residents live in poverty, nearly double the 15.6% nationwide poverty rate.

26. Montana

>Bluest county: Silver Bow County

Silver Bows Democratic roots date back to its 19th century copper mining industry and the labor unions its workforce organized. Although the industry dissolved in the latter half of the 20th century, Democratic leaning remains. Close to two-thirds of voters cast a ballot for Obama in 2012, helping to make Silver Bow County the bluest county in Montana. As is the case in many Democratic areas, residents are less wealthy than the average American. The typical household in Silver Bow County earns $37,503 a year, about $16,000 less than the national median household income.

27. Nebraska

>Bluest county: Douglas County

One of the redder states in the country, 61.0% of Nebraska voters cast their ballot for Romney in 2012. Even the bluest county in the state, Douglas County, cast a majority of its votes for Romney. Nevertheless, the 47.2% of votes Obama received from Douglas County voters was the highest such share of any Nebraska county. Douglas County lies in Nebraskas 2nd Congressional District, which recently elected its first Democratic House representative in over a decade -- despite restrictions implemented in 2011 that Democrats claimed would shift more Republican voters into the area.

ALSO READ: America's 15 Fastest Shrinking Companies

28. Nevada

>Bluest county: Clark County

Obama won 56.4% of the votes in Clark County, the highest share of any county in Nevada. The district reflects similar voting patterns as the state overall, as 52.0% of Nevada voters cast ballots for Obama. As a result of the 2010 Census, a new congressional district was created in Nevada that includes parts of Clark County. Democrat Steven Horsford became the first House representative elected in the district in 2012. In 2014, Republican Cresent Hardy became the second.

29. New Hampshire

>Bluest county: Cheshire County

With 46.0% of votes for Romney and 52.0% of votes for Obama, New Hampshire had one of the smallest margins of any state in the 2012 election. Cheshire County, however, was not as indecisive. Obama received 61.7% of county votes, the highest share of any New Hampshire county. Similarly, Romney's 36.9% of the votes was the lowest share. In the last five congressional elections, New Hampshires 1st district which contains Cheshire County, elected a Democrat to the House of Representatives.

30. New Jersey

>Bluest county: Hudson County

Obama won 77.4% of the votes in Hudson County, the highest share of any county in New Jersey. Additionally, the three congressional districts that cover Hudson County have elected Democrats to the House of Representatives in each of the past five elections. Compared to Republican politicians, Democratic candidates often find greater support among minority groups. In Hudson County, less than 30% of residents identify as white, versus 62.8% of Americans.

31. New Mexico

>Bluest county: Taos County

Obama won 78.1% of the votes in Taos County, the highest share of any county in New Mexico. In addition to supporting the Democratic bid for the White House, the county helped send a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. Rep. Ben R. Lujan, the current district representative, has served in the past four cycles. As is generally the case in predominantly Democratic areas, the median household income in Taos of $35,823 is lower than the national median income of $52,482. Additionally, more than 20.0% of Taos County residents live in poverty, compared to 15.6% of Americans.

32. New York

>Bluest county: Bronx County

Obama won 91.2% of the votes in Bronx County, the highest share of any county in New York. In addition to supporting Obamas bid for the White House, voters in the county sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. Financially insecure voters are far more likely to cast a Democratic ballot than a Republican one, and this seems to be especially the case in the Bronx. The county's median household income of $34,284 is lower than the national median of $52,482. Also, more than 30% of Bronx County residents live in poverty compared to 15.6% of Americans.

33. North Carolina

>Bluest county: Hertford County

Obama won 71.9% of the votes in Hertford County. Of North Carolina county residents, only those in Durham were more likely to vote for Obama. Unlike Durham, Hertford voters sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. The county's median household income of $32,201 is well below the national median income of $52,482. Additionally, more than 20.0% of Hertford County residents live in poverty compared to 15.6% of Americans. Broadly speaking, less financially secure Americans are far more likely to vote Democrat than financially well-off individuals, who tend to vote Republican.

34. North Dakota

>Bluest county: Rolette County

Nearly three in every four voters in Rolette County cast a ballot for Obama in 2012, a higher share than in any other North Dakota county. While some of the bluest counties in each state routinely send Democrats to the House and Senate, other counties are more even in their representation. Rolette County is one such example. The county sent both Democrats and Republicans to the House over the last 10 years. Rep. Kevin Cramer, a Republican, now occupies the district seat. The senators from North Dakota are Democrat Heidi Heitkamp and Republican John Hoeven.

35. Ohio

>Bluest county: Mahoning County

Mahoning County is represented in Congress by Republican Rep. Bill Johnson and Tim Ryan, who like most of the countys representatives in the last five election cycles, is a Democrat. Obama won 63.2% of the votes in Mahoning County, one of the highest of any county in Ohio. As is generally the case in predominantly Democratic areas, Mahoning county's median household income of $41,350 is lower than the national median of $52,482.

36. Oklahoma

>Bluest county: Cherokee County

Cherokee County is the bluest county in Oklahoma. While Romney received the majority of the countys votes, 43% of the countys 14,288 votes went to Obama, the highest share of any county in Oklahoma. By contrast, 33% of voters across the state supported Obama. As in Democratic-leaning areas in other states, less than half of Cherokee County identifies as white, far lower than the 62.8% of Americans who identify as white.

ALSO READ: 40 Countries the U.S. Government Doesn't Want You to Visit

37. Oregon

>Bluest county: Multnomah County

Multnomah County, which includes the city of Portland, is the bluest county in Oregon. More than three-quarters of the countys roughly 350,000 votes were cast for Obama in 2012. Additionally, all three of the congressional districts making up parts of the county are represented by Democrats.

38. Pennsylvania

>Bluest county: Philadelphia County

Obama won 85.2% of the votes in Philadelphia County, the largest share of any county in Pennsylvania. In addition to voting for a Democrat for president, all three congressional districts located in the county sent a Democrat to the House in each of the last five congressional elections. Like other predominantly Democratic areas, 36.2% of county residents identify as white, and median household income is $37,460. By comparison, the 62.8% of the U.S. population identifies as white and the national median household income is $52,046.

39. Rhode Island

>Bluest county: Providence County

Obama won 66.6% of the votes in Providence County. Every county in the state cast a majority vote for Obama but the share from Providence was the largest. Voters in both districts in Rhode Island, which contain Providence as well as Bristol, Kent, Newport, and Washington counties, have helped send Democrats to the Senate and House in each of the past five election cycles.

40. South Carolina

>Bluest county: Allendale County

Obama won 78.3% of the votes in Allendale County, the highest share of any county in South Carolina. In addition to sending a Democrat to the White House, the county sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. Democratic politicians are more likely than their Republican rivals to garner support from financially insecure voters, and this could partially explain the Democratic-leanings in Allendale. County residents have a median household income of $25,495, less than half the national median household income of $53,482.

41. South Dakota

>Bluest county: Oglala Lakota County

Oglala Lakota County is the bluest county in South Dakota, with an overwhelming majority of 93.4% of voters casting a ballot for Obama in 2012. There is only one congressional district in South Dakota, and Oglala Lakota County has been represented by both Democrats and Republicans in the House over the last 10 years. Rep. Kristi Noem, a Republican, now occupies the states single congressional seat.

42. Tennessee

>Bluest county: Davidson County

Obama won 58.5% of the votes in Davidson County, the third highest share of any county in Tennessee. In addition to sending a Democrat to the White House, the county sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. Heavily Democratic counties tend to have lower incomes, and Davidson County fits that profile. The county's median household income is $47,434, lower than the national median income of $52,482.

43. Texas

>Bluest county: Starr County

Texas is a relatively conservative state and is home to former President George W. Bush. Of the states 36 districts, 25 are held by Republicans. Starr County, however, located on the Mexican border not far from McAllen, sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. While Romney earned 56% of the Texas votes in 2012, Obama won 86.4% of the votes in Starr County, the highest share of any county in Texas.

44. Utah

>Bluest county: Tooele County

Not surprisingly, presidential hopeful Romney found the most success in the 2012 presidential election in his home state of Utah, where he won 73% of the vote. In Tooele County, Romney actually received an even greater share of the votes at 74.5%. While the county voted for Romney in the 2012 presidential election, its voting record on the congressional level has not always supported Republicans. Until Rep. Chris Stewart resumed office in 2013, Tooele was represented by Rep. Jim Matheson, a Democrat, since 2001.

45. Vermont

>Bluest county: Windham County

Windham County, located at the southern tip of Vermont, is the bluest county in one of the most liberal states in the country. The Green Mountain State, which elected presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders to the Senate. Close to three-quarters of the county voters supported President Obama in 2012, the highest proportion of any Vermont county.

46. Virginia

>Bluest county: Arlington County

Obama won 69.2% of the votes in Arlington County, the second highest share of any county in Virginia. In addition to voting to send a Democrat to the White House, the county sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections.

Arlington County is represented in the House by Democrat Don Beyer, who was elected in November. The previous 9th District representative, Democrat Jim Moran, had been in office since 1991.

ALSO READ: America's Richest Cities

47. Washington

>Bluest county: San Juan County

Washington is one of the more liberal states in the country. The state has voted for a Democrat in every presidential election since 1988. In 2012, 56% of state votes went for Obama. In San Juan county, Obama won 67.1% of the votes, the second highest share of any county in Washington. In addition, the county voted to send a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections.

48. West Virginia

>Bluest county: Cabell County

Cabell county is the bluest county in a relatively red state. The county voted for Romney in the 2012 presidential election, with 56% of Cabell voters supporting the Republican. This, however, was a relatively small share compared to West Virginia as a whole as 62% of state voters preferred Romney, the fifth best result for the candidate of all states.

Also, the countys voting record on the congressional level has not always supported Republicans. In four of the last five elections, county voters favored a Democrat.

49. Wisconsin

>Bluest county: Dane County

Wisconsin is a relatively blue state, going for a Democrat in every presidential election since 1988. Obama won 71.1% of the votes in Dane County, the highest of any Wisconsin county except for Menominee. Dane County is part of the states 2nd District, which is represented by Democrat Mark Pocan and unlike Menominee, has been represented by a Democrat for more than a decade.

50. Wyoming

>Bluest county: Teton County

Teton County is the bluest county in Wyoming, with 54.7% of residents casting a ballot for Obama in 2012. That is a significant margin, given how red the state is as a whole. In 2012, 69% of state voters supported Romney, the second best results for the Republican candidate in the country. The county, which comprises a single district, has not elected a Democrat this century.

Methodology

To identify the most Democratic county in each state, 24/7 Wall St. created an index from various political characteristics of U.S. counties. The index is composed of three subindices: county representation in the U.S. House of Representatives in the last five congressional cycles, state representation in the U.S. Senate in the last five congressional cycles, and the share of votes cast in the 2012 presidential election. Each subindex ranges from -1 to 1, with extreme values given to counties where representation or voting shares were dominated by a single party, either Republican or Democrat. The bluest county in each state is the highest sum of our three indices. Our analysis included only counties that cast more than 2,000 total votes. The percentage of county residents who had attained at least a bachelors degree, median household income, poverty rates, and the share of residents identifying as white come from the U.S. Census bureaus 2014 American Community Survey five-year estimates.

Related Articles
In just over a month, the United States will finally elect its next president after close to two years of campaigning, fundraising, scandals, and debates.

Republican candidate Donald Trump is considered an outsider to politics and the party. As a result -- and because Trump's views have sometimes clashed with the party's vision -- some have wondered whether this election might be more divided along party lines than in recent elections. Despite the division within the Republican Party, most major polls suggest that the majority of states will vote the same as in the past several elections. It seems that a portion of the population will always vote Republican or Democrat no matter who is running for president.

ALSO READ: The Most Dangerous Cities in America

Based on voting data compiled by political news organization Politico and a review of current and historical representation in the U.S. Congress, 24/7 Wall St. created an index to measure the political leanings of U.S. counties' residents. The index is based on the political party of the countys elected representatives to the Senate and House of Representatives through the last five election cycles, as well as the results of the 2012 presidential election.

Even in the most liberal states there is at least one county that has strong Republican leanings. In Illinois, 57% of the electorate voted for President Barack Obama, the states former senator. Yet, in Wayne County, less than 20% of those who went to the polls voted for Obama. Wayne, which is in the states 15th congressional district, has been represented by a Republican for years.

The racial composition of these counties can likely help explain the Republican leanings of the areas residents. The vast majority of residents in most of the reddest counties identify as white. In 40 states, at least 80% of the population of the most Republican county identify as white. That was the case in just 12 of the reddest states.

Story continues

Voters in the reddest counties were almost always more likely than residents of other counties to vote Republican during the 2012 presidential election, and the share of votes cast for then Republican candidate Mitt Romney was almost always greater than 50%. However, in four of the reddest counties  Honolulu County, Hawaii; Plymouth County, Massachusetts; Washington County, Rhode Island; and Essex County, Vermont  a majority of residents voted to reelect Obama in 2012. In these counties, Romney still captured the largest share of votes compared to other counties in the state.

These are the most Republican counties in every state.

1. Alabama

> Reddest county: Blount County

Blount County is the reddest county in Alabama. In 2012, more than 86% of voters cast their vote for Romney, the highest share of any county in Alabama. In addition, county residents are represented in the House by the 4th and 6th Congressional Districts, both of which are held by Republicans. As with other predominantly Republican-leaning counties, Blount County residents are also poorly educated, with only 12.3% of adults attaining at least a bachelor's degree, a smaller share than the 29.3% of American adults with such a degree.

2. Alaska

> Reddest county: N/A

Data for Alaska counties is not sufficient to identify the most or least Democratic area in the state. However, Alaska residents as a whole trend conservative. A majority of eligible residents in the state voted for Romney in 2012, and all three members of Alaskas congressional delegation are Republican.

3. Arizona

> Reddest county: Cochise County

Romney won 60.7% of the 2012 votes cast in Cochise County, the sixth highest share of any county in Arizona. While voters in a number of other counties in the state cast higher shares of votes for Romney than Cochise county, those counties have not enjoyed the same level of Republican representation in Congress. The states 2nd District, which includes Cochise County, has been represented by a Republican in four of the last five congressional sessions. Both of Arizonas senators have also been Republicans over that time.

4. Arkansas

> Reddest county: Boone County

Romney won 72.5% of the 2012 votes cast in Boone County, contributing to its rank as the reddest county in Arkansas. Adults in Republican-leaning counties tend to have lower educational attainment rates than residents of blue counties. Boone County is no exception. Just 15.1% of adults have at least a bachelors degree, nearly half the share of American adults with such a degree.

5. California

> Reddest county: Amador County

Amador County is a Republican stronghold in a predominantly blue state. While nearly 60% of California voters cast their ballot for Obama, only 40% of voters in Amador County voted for the president. The county is represented by Rep. Tom McClintock of the 4th District, one of just 14 Republicans representing the states 53 congressional districts. Both senators -- Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer -- are longstanding Democrats.

6. Colorado

> Reddest county: Teller County

Though all of Colorados nine electoral votes went to Obama in 2012, some parts of the state are solidly Republican. Slightly more than 65% of voters in Teller County preferred Romney over Obama in the 2012 presidential election. With Democrat Michael F. Bennet and Republican Cory Gardner, Colorados representation in the Senate is split between the two major parties.

7. Connecticut

> Reddest county: Litchfield County

Litchfield is the reddest county in a traditionally blue state. A larger share of Litchfield County residents voted for Romney than in any other county in Connecticut. Despite majority support for the Republican nominee, Litchfield has not been as supportive of the Republican Party on the congressional level. In each of the last five congressional elections, county voters favored a Democrat. As in many counties across the country where a majority of voters supported Romney, Litchfield residents are more likely to be financially stable. Median household income across the county is $72,068, considerably higher than the the national median income of $53,428.

ALSO READ: The Safest Cities in America

8. Delaware

> Reddest county: Sussex County

While over half of Sussex County voters preferred Romney in the 2012 presidential election, the highest share of any county in Delaware, the local voting record on the congressional level does not reflect consistent Republican support. In three of the last five elections, county voters favored Democratic Rep. John Carney.

9. Florida

> Reddest county: Baker County

In 2012, Romney won 79.0% of the votes cast in Baker County. The most Republican leaning county in the state, Baker County voters have helped elect Republican Ander Crenshaw to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. Florida Senator Marco Rubio is currently vying for the GOPs presidential nomination.

10. Georgia

> Reddest county: Dawson County

Romney won 86.4% of the 2012 votes cast in Dawson County, the highest share of any county in Georgia. Additionally, in each of the last five congressional elections, county voters have helped elect a Republican to Washington. Like many of the most Republican-leaning counties nationwide, the racial composition of Dawson County residents is not especially diverse, with 92.8% of residents identifying solely as white.

11. Hawaii

> Reddest county: Honolulu County

The birthplace of President Obama, Hawaii is perhaps the bluest state in the country. Obama received 71.0% of state votes in the 2012 election, the highest share from any state. While Honolulu County is the most Republican county in Hawaii, Obama still received 68.9% of county votes -- higher than in most places in the country. Democratic leanings in Honolulu County go beyond the states admiration for Obama. In the last five House elections, only one Republican has won a seat within the two congressional districts that cover Honolulu County.

12. Idaho

> Reddest county: Madison County

Romney received 65.0% of the Idaho popular vote in 2012, making it one of the most Republican states in the country. In Madison County, the reddest county in Idaho, election results were even more decisive, with 93.3% of the votes going for Romney -- the highest share in Idaho and the second highest share nationwide. The countys relatively large Mormon settlement helps explain the overwhelming Republican majority in the area. Religious voters in general and Mormons in particular tend to lean right.

13. Illinois

> Reddest county: Wayne County

Obama started his political career in Illinois as a political organizer, later going on to win election to the Senate by the largest margin in Illinois history. However, admiration for Obama is not ubiquitous across the state. In 2012, just 19.7% of Wayne County voters voted for Obama, while 78.0% of voters favored Romney. As is the case in many other Republican-leaning areas, the vast majority of Wayne residents are white. Approximately 97% of Wayne residents identify as white, far higher than the 62.8% national average and in stark contrast with the minority of residents who identify as white in Illinoiss bluest county, Cook.

14. Indiana

> Reddest county: Wells County

In Indiana, 54% of votes went to Romney and 44% went to Obama in 2012 -- one of the tighter election margins in the country. However, not all parts of the state were so politically divided. Approximately 72% of votes in Wells County went to Romney, the highest share of any Indiana county except Kosciusko and Daviess counties. Unlike other counties, however, Wells County is represented by the states 3rd district, a seat held by Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman since 2010. Minorities, who typically provide a significant portion of Democratic election support, make up a very small share of Wells County residents and this may partially explain the strong Republican outcome. Approximately 96% of county residents identify as white compared to 62.8% of Americans nationwide.

15. Iowa

> Reddest county: Sioux County

Iowa had one of the smallest margins in the 2012 election, with the respective shares of votes for Romney and Obama differing by just 6 percentage points. Not all parts of the state were as politically balanced. In Sioux County, 83.6% of voters cast ballots for Romney, the highest share in Iowa. In addition to voting for a Republican presidential candidate, Sioux County has helped elect a Republican to the House of Representatives in each of the past five congressional elections.

16. Kansas

> Reddest county: Wallace County

Romney won 89.9% of the 2012 votes cast in Wallace County, Kansas, compared to the 47.2% he received on a national scale. Regions of the country that skew Republican also tend to skew white, and Wallace County is no different -- more than 95% of residents identify solely as white. Also like more Republican-heavy parts of the country, Wallace County residents are also less educated, with only 21.2% of adults attaining at least a bachelor's degree, a smaller share than the 29.3% of American adults with such a degree.

ALSO READ: Key FDA Decisions and Trial Results Expected in October

17. Kentucky

> Reddest county: Leslie County

Kentucky is a relatively conservative state and has voted for the Republican candidate in each of the last four presidential elections. In 2012, 61% of state voters preferred Romney. In Leslie County, 89.7% of those who went to the polls voted for Romney. Leslie County is represented in Congress by Republican Hal Rogers, who has been in office since 1981.

18. Louisiana

> Reddest county: Grant Parish

While Romney narrowly lost the 2012 presidential election, he received 81.7% of the votes in Grant Parish, the reddest county in Louisiana. Republicans are disproportionately white, as is Grant Parish, with more than 75.0% of residents identifying solely as white. Grant Parish is represented in the House by Republican Ralph Abraham. The senators from Louisiana are Bill Cassidy and David Vitter -- both Republicans.

19. Maine

> Reddest county: Piscataquis County

While Maine went to Obama in 2012, Romney won 50.9% of the 2012 votes cast in Piscataquis County, the most of any county in the state. The county's voting record on the congressional level, however, has not always supported Republicans. In four of the last five elections, county voters favored a Democrat. Most recently, however, Maines 2nd District, which includes Piscataquis, elected Rep. Bruce Poliquin, a Republican, to the House.

20. Maryland

> Reddest county: Queen Anne's County

Queen Anne's is the most Republican county in Maryland, with 64.3% of voters casting a ballot for Romney in 2012, even as 62% of state voters supported Obama. Both senators from the state are Democrats, but Queen Anne's County is represented in the House by Republican Andy Harris of the states 1st district.

21. Massachusetts

> Reddest county: Plymouth County

With Romney receiving 47.5% of the countys votes, Plymouth is the Massachusetts county with the most votes cast for the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. Much of the state votes Democrat, however, as all nine of the states representatives in the House are Democrats. With the exception of Republican Scott Browns brief stint as a senator following the death of Edward Ted Kennedy in 2009, both of Massachusetts Senate seats have historically been held by Democrats.

22. Michigan

> Reddest county: Ottawa County

Michigan has gone to a Democrat in every presidential election since 1992, including supporting President Obama in 2012 with 54% of the votes. In Ottawa County, however, 66.7% of the votes were for Republican candidate Romney, the highest share of any county in Michigan. Unlike predominantly Republican counties in most states, more than 30% of residents have at least a bachelors degree, a slightly higher educational attainment rate than the national rate.

23. Minnesota

> Reddest county: Sherburne County

Romney won 60.1% of the 2012 votes cast in Sherburne County. Like many heavily Republican parts of the nation, a very high 92.6% of residents of the county identify as white. Sherburne County is part of the states 6th district, previously held by Republican and Tea Party stalwart Rep. Michele Bachmann until her retirement in 2014. Republican Rep. Tom Emmer now holds the seat.

24. Mississippi

> Reddest county: Rankin County

Rankin County is represented in the House by Republican Gregg Harper. The senators from Mississippi, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, are also both Republicans. In 2012, Romney won 75.4% of the 2012 votes cast in Rankin County.

As is the case in a number of other Republican-leaning counties, Rank residents are less likely to live in poverty than Americans nationwide but also tend to be less educated. About 11.4% of county residents live in poverty, less than the national poverty rate of 15.6%. Of adults in the county, 28.7% have at least a bachelor's degree, slightly smaller than than the 29.3% of American adults with such a degree.

25. Missouri

> Reddest county: Mercer County

Romney won 75.8% of the 2012 votes cast in Mercer County, a higher share than in any Missouri county except for Osage and Barton counties. Unlike those counties, however, Mercer has been represented by Republican Rep. Sam Graves since 2001. As with other Republican-leaning counties, more than 90% of Mercer County residents identify predominantly as white, far higher than the 62.3% of Americans identifying as white.

26. Montana

> Reddest county: Musselshell County

With 55.0% of votes going to Romney and 42.0% to Obama, Montana had one of the smaller margins of any state in the 2012 election. Not every part of the state is as politically divided, however. Approximately 76% of votes in Musselshell County went to Romney, the highest share in Montana. Areas with higher education attainment rates tend to lean Democrat. In the red-leaning Musselshell County, however, just 15.1% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, about half of the national rate.

ALSO READ: Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Applied Materials, Kinder Morgan, Las Vegas Sands, ONEOK, Pandora, Wells Fargo and More

27. Nebraska

> Reddest county: Grant County

One of the smaller counties in Nebraska, Grant County has an estimated population of just 649 people. In the 2012 election, a total of just 30 votes were cast for Obama in Grant. The 8.3% share of votes was the smallest in Nebraska, one of the smallest in the country, and in stark contrast with Romneys voter support from the area. Democrats often rely on votes among minority populations. Grant County, however, has few such residents, which could partially explain the Republican outcome. Just 2% of county residents identify as non-white in Grant County, one of the smallest shares in the country.

28. Nevada

> Reddest county: Eureka County

With 46% of votes going to Romney and 52% going to Obama, Nevada had one of the slimmest margins of any state in the 2012 election. In Eureka County, however, there was less division amongst voters. In the state's reddest county, approximately 82% of the votes went to Romney and just about 13% went to Obama. In addition to voting Republican in the presidential election, Eureka County has helped elect a Republican to the House of Representatives in each of the last five elections.

29. New Hampshire

> Reddest county: Carroll County

New Hampshire was one of the major swing states in the 2012 election, with just a 6 percentage point margin between Romney and Obama. Even in Carroll County, the states most Republican-leaning area, 49.9% of votes went to Romney and 49.1% went to Obama, a 1 percentage point margin. Over the past five congressional election cycles voters in Carroll have been slightly more likely to cast a ballot for a Republican to compared with voters in other New Hampshire areas.

30. New Jersey

> Reddest county: Sussex County

With residents casting 60.3% of their votes for Romney, Sussex is the most Republican-leaning county in New Jersey. In addition to the county voting Republican in the presidential election, the two congressional districts that cover Sussex County have elected a Republican to the House of Representatives in the past five elections. Wealthy individuals often give support to Republican candidates, and incomes in Sussex County are very high. The median household income in the county of $87,397 is about $34,000 more than the typical American household annual income.

31. New Mexico

> Reddest county: Lea County

Despite a majority of New Mexicos votes going to Obama, Romney won 73.7% of the 2012 votes cast in Lea County, the highest share of any county in New Mexico. The states 2nd District, which covers the southern half of the state and includes Lea County, is represented by Stevan Pearce, the only Republican of the states five delegates to Congress.

32. New York

> Reddest county: Allegany County

While a majority of Allegany County voted for Romney in the 2012 presidential election, the county's voting record in congressional elections has not always supported Republicans. In two of the last five elections, county voters favored a Democrat to represent New Yorks 23rd District. Republican Rep. Tom Reed II currently holds the seat. As in many other Republican-leaning counties, Allegany County residents are predominantly white, with nearly 95% of residents identifying solely as white.

33. North Carolina

> Reddest county: Yadkin County

While Romney garnered majority support in North Carolina during the 2012 presidential election, only three of North Carolinas 13 representatives in the House are Democrats. Yadkin County residents are among the most conservative. Three-quarters of the countys nearly 17,000 votes were cast for Romney in 2012. Additionally, the county is represented by Rep. Virginia Foxx of the 5th District, who ranked among the most conservative members of Congress in separate studies by the National Journal and the American Conservative Union.

34. North Dakota

> Reddest county: Dunn County

Romney won 74.6% of the votes cast in Dunn County in 2012, the highest share of any county in North Dakota. One of just a handful of states with only a single congressional district, competition for House representation is steep. Democrat Earl Pomeroy was defeated by Republican Rick Berg in 2010 after holding the seat for nine terms. Rather than seek re-election to the House, Berg unsuccessfully challenged Democrat Sen. Heidi Heitkamp for one of the states two Senate seats. Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer currently represents North Dakota in the House.

35. Ohio

> Reddest county: Mercer County

Romney won 76.6% of the 2012 votes cast in Mercer County, the highest share of any county in Ohio. In addition, all three of the congressional districts making up parts of the country are represented by Republicans, including, until October 2015, former Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner. Like many other Republican-leaning counties, more than 96% of Mercer Countys residents identify as white, well above the national composition.

ALSO READ: Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Broadcom, Flex, Genworth, Micron, Salesforce, UBS, Wal-Mart and More

36. Oklahoma

> Reddest county: Cimarron County

Romney won 67% of Oklahomas votes in 2012 -- only Wyoming and Utah cast a higher share of votes for the Republican presidential candidate. Romney received more than 90% of votes cast in Cimarron County. The countys representation in Congress is similarly one-sided, as seats in both the senate and the states 3rd District -- which includes Cimarron County -- have been represented by Republicans for nearly 20 years.

37. Oregon

> Reddest county: Lake County

Despite the majority of state voters casting ballots for Obama, more than three-quarters of all Lake County voters cast a ballot for Romney in 2012. The county is part of the states 2nd District, which has been represented by Republican Rep. Greg Walden since 1999. Waldens district has been in the news lately as it includes the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which is being occupied by armed protesters.

38. Pennsylvania

> Reddest county: Fulton County

With 47.0% votes going to Romney and 52.0% going to Obama, Pennsylvania had one of the closest presidential elections of any state in 2012. In Fulton County, however, the vote was less divisive. More than three-fourths of votes in the county went to Romney, the highest share in the state. In addition to voting for the Republican presidential candidate, the congressional district that covers the county has elected the same Republican to the House of Representatives for the past seven elections.

39. Rhode Island

> Reddest county: Washington County

With 63% of votes going to Obama in the 2012 election, Rhode Island is one of the bluest states in the country. Even in Washington County, the reddest county in the state, a majority of its votes still went to Obama. However, this share was low compared with other areas in the state. As in other Rhode Island counties, Washington voters also favor Democratic candidates in local elections. For the past seven elections, the congressional district that covers Washington County has elected Democrat Jim Langevin to the House of Representatives.

40. South Carolina

> Reddest county: Pickens County

Romney won 73.5% of the 2012 votes cast in Pickens County, the largest share of any county in South Carolina. In addition to preferring the Republican presidential candidate, the county sent a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives in each of the last five congressional elections. As is the case in many of the most conservative counties, the racial composition in Pickens is not especially diverse. Roughly 87% of Pickens County residents identify as white, considerably higher than the nationwide composition.

41. South Dakota

> Reddest county: Butte County

Nearly three-quarters of Butte County residents cast their vote for Romney in the 2012 election, the most of any South Dakota county. Despite strong support for the Republican presidential candidate, the county does not always support the Republican candidate on the congressional level. In two of the last five elections, county voters sent a Democratic representative to Washington.

42. Tennessee

> Reddest county: Wayne County

In 2012, Romney won 77.5% of the 2012 votes cast in Wayne County, a larger share than in any other county in Tennessee. Republican voters on the whole tend to be less educated than voters support Democrats, and education levels in Wayne are particularly low. Only 8.2% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, considerably lower than the 29.3% of American adults with such a degree.

43. Texas

> Reddest county: King County

Ted Cruz, one of Texass two Republican Senators, is currently vying for the Republican presidential nomination. A traditionally conservative state, all 38 of Texass electoral votes went to Romney in 2012. Still, no county in the Lone Star State is more conservative than King County, where only five of the 145 people who voted chose Obama in 2012. King County voters also appear satisfied with their Republican representative. Rep. Mac Thornberry has been elected to the U.S. House of Representative in each of the past five congressional elections.

44. Utah

> Reddest county: Rich County

Both of Utahs senators are Republican and all six of the state's electoral votes went to Romney in 2012. In Rich County Romney was even more successful, winning 90.8% of the votes, a higher share than in all other counties in the state and one of the largest share in the nation. In each of the last five congressional elections, Rich County voters have sent Republican Rep. Rob Bishop to Washington.

ALSO READ: Analyst Says Keep Buying These 3 Red-Hot Chip Stocks

45. Vermont

> Reddest county: Essex County

With 67.0% of votes going to Obama, only Hawaii had a higher share of Democratic votes than Vermont in the 2012 election. While Essex County is the reddest in the state, a majority of its votes still went to Obama. Democrats frequently garner support from highly educated voters, and the relatively small share of college-educated adults in Essex County could be tied to its rightward lean. Just 14.1% of county adults have at least a bachelors degree, less than half the 29.3% of Americans who do nationwide.

46. Virginia

> Reddest county: Powhatan County

Both senators from Virginia are Democrats and all 13 of Virginia's electoral votes went to Obama in 2012. However, in Powhatan, Virginias reddest county, 72.4% of voters preferred Romney to Obama. Additionally, in each of the last five congressional elections, Powhatan County voters sent Rep. Randy Forbes, a Republican, to Washington. Like many conservative counties, a relatively large share of Powhatan residents -- 83% -- identify solely as white.

47. Washington

> Reddest county: Garfield County

Of the 1,275 votes cast in Garfield County in 2012, 912, or 71.5%, went to Romney. Though the number of votes was relatively small, the share of votes cast for Romney was larger share than in any other county in the state. In addition, in each of the last five congressional elections, the county sent a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives.

48. West Virginia

> Reddest county: Upshur County

All five of West Virginias electoral votes went to Romney in 2012. Only about a quarter of voters in Upshur County cast their ballot for Obama, while Romney won 71.7% of the 2012 votes cast in West Virginias reddest county. Like many other conservative counties, Upshur is predominantly white. Nearly 97% of the county's population identifies solely as white. In each of the last five congressional elections, county voters have sent a Republican representative to Washington.

49. Wisconsin

> Reddest county: Washington County

Though Obama won Wisconsin, Romney won 69.6% of the 2012 votes cast in Washington County, a larger share than in all other counties in the state. As in many Republican-leaning counties, Washington County voters are less racially diverse and much less likely to be poor than the typical American. Only 6.2% of county residents live in poverty, less than half the national poverty rate of 15.6%. Additionally, approximately 94% of residents identify solely as white.

50. Wyoming

> Reddest county: Crook County

Crook is the reddest county in an especially red state. Romney won 85% of the 2012 votes cast in the county. Additionally, county voters have sent a Republican representative to Washington in each of the last five congressional elections. Wyomings two state senators, John Barrasso and Mike Enzi, are also Republicans.

Methodology

To identify the most Republican county in each state, 24/7 Wall St. created an index from various political characteristics of U.S. counties. The index is composed of three subindices: county representation in the U.S. House of Representatives in the last five congressional cycles, state representation in the U.S. Senate in the last five congressional cycles, and the share of votes cast in the 2012 presidential election. Each subindex ranges from -1 to 1, with extreme values given to counties where representation or voting shares were dominated by a single party, either Republican or Democrat. The reddest county in each state is the highest sum of our three indices. Our analysis included only counties that cast more than 2,000 total votes. The percentage of county residents who had attained at least a bachelors degree, median household income, poverty rates, and the share of residents identifying as white come from the U.S. Census bureaus 204 American Community Survey five-year estimates.

Related Articles
By Deena Beasley

(Reuters) - Mylan NV (MYL.O) 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."

Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut blasted the settlement as too small and said Congress should investigate whether Mylan violated the law. "This settlement is a shadow of what it should be - lacking real accountability for Mylans apparent lawbreaking," he said in a statement.

Story continues

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; additional reporting by Eric Beech in Washington; Editing by Don Sebastian, Cynthia Osterman and Bernard Orr)
By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly four years after the shocking massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, a new film, "Newtown," explores how a small Connecticut town has coped with the aftermath of the deadliest shooting of schoolchildren in U.S. history. The film, which opens in New York on Friday, begins with a late-summer parade, a scene that highlights the innocence of what was in many ways a typical American town. It then switches to a recording of the 911 call on the morning in December 2012 when 20 first graders and six educators were shot dead by a disturbed young man. "Newtown" shows how the event changed life in the town forever. "It is that feeling of a joyful summer and then boom it's gone," said Kim A. Snyder, the director of the film, which made its debut earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. Snyder, who spent three years on the project, found a strength and dignity in the people of Newtown as they attempted to come to grips with the unthinkable. "It explores the process of grief and efforts at making change," the 55-year-old director explained. "Newtown" depicts members of the community as victims whose pain has endured long after the television cameras and news crews left town. Parents of three of the children who were killed speak about how the shootings have devastated them. A surviving teacher, a first-responder, a custodian at the school, a neighbor and others share their experiences as well. "It was a way of bearing witness and giving them voice to whatever they were feeling," said Snyder. She makes no mention of the gunman, who killed himself, and even though parents who lost children have pushed for stricter gun laws, "Newtown" is not a film that directly addresses the issue of gun law reform. "This was not about him or that," Snyder said. "I felt this film had to stay with the point of view of the survivors and aftermath and what is left in the wake." The film shifts back and forth in time to reflect the feeling, relayed by people in the community, of being lost in time. Snyder suspects that is one of the hallmarks of trauma. Since the massacre, there have been 1,162 mass shootings in the United States, including 49 people killed and 53 injured in a gay nightclub in Florida earlier this year, according to non-profit Gun Violence Archive. "We want people to come away from the film with the idea that this has reached a critical point in the country and we need do something about it," said Snyder. "Newtown" will also be released in Los Angeles and be shown in a national broadcast in 300 theaters, as well as in community screenings. (Editing by Frank McGurty, Bernard Orr)
By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - James Ibori, a former Nigerian state governor jailed in Britain for corruption, is very likely to appeal against his conviction on the grounds that British police and lawyers involved in his case were themselves corrupt, a London court heard on Friday. Ibori, who as governor of oil-producing Delta State from 1999 to 2007 became one of Nigeria's richest and most powerful men, is serving a 13-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering. While in office, Ibori acquired luxury properties in Britain, the United States, South Africa and Nigeria. He is the most senior Nigerian politician to have been held to account for the corruption that has blighted Africa's most populous nation. His jailing in Britain, where he had laundered millions of pounds and sent his children to an expensive private school, was hailed as a high point in the international fight against graft and an important signal to other corrupt politicians. But his lawyer Ivan Krolick told Southwark Crown Court on Friday that Ibori was "95 percent certain" to challenge his conviction in the Court of Appeal based on documents that have only recently been disclosed to the defence by the prosecution. At the same hearing, Stephen Kamlish, a lawyer for Ibori associate and convicted money launderer Bhadresh Gohil, said the documents showed there had been widespread police corruption followed by a cover-up that was still going on now. The main allegation is that a police officer involved in the Ibori probe took payments for information in 2007 from a firm of private detectives working on Ibori's behalf. At the time, Ibori had not been arrested and was still in Nigeria, but knew that British police were investigating his finances. Kamlish said prosecution lawyers had known there was evidence of police corruption but had failed to disclose it to defence lawyers. Krolick told Reuters on the sidelines of Friday's court hearing that Ibori did not know about the payments at the time. PROSECUTION SAYS CONVICTIONS VALID The police have said that the allegation was thoroughly investigated and that no one was arrested or charged, and no misconduct identified. The officer against whom the allegations have been made is still in active service. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), after a lengthy internal investigation, said in September it was confident that the convictions of Ibori and Gohil remained valid. The CPS has said it found "material to support the assertion that a police officer received payment in return for information". It did not use the word "evidence", suggesting it did not consider the material in question amounted to proof. But the CPS conceded in September that the material should have been disclosed to the defence, and handed over thousands of documents to defence lawyers. Those were the documents that Kamlish and Krolick were referring to in court on Friday. Gohil has already filed an appeal against his conviction. Krolick said Ibori was likely to do so once his legal team had finished going through all the newly disclosed documents. As is normal under British procedures, Ibori is due to be released in December after serving half his sentence, taking into account pre-trial detention. Gohil, a British former lawyer, has already been released after serving half of a 10-year term for his role in laundering Ibori's millions. One of Ibori's lawyers told Reuters it was not clear whether he would be able to return to Nigeria immediately, because legal proceedings concerning the confiscation of assets of his, worth tens of millions of dollars, were unresolved. They were supposed to have been resolved years ago, but have ground to a halt due to the allegations of police corruption and the prospect of Ibori taking his case to the Court of Appeal. (Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
By Garba Muhammad KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - A Nigerian minority Shi'ite Muslim sect that has been declared an unlawful society by a northern state vowed on Saturday to challenge the ban. The Islamic Movement in Nigeria came to prominence when its members clashed with the army in the northern city of Zaria, Kaduna state, in December 2015. A judicial inquiry in August concluded that the army killed 348 of the sect's members. The Kaduna state government on Friday said anyone convicted of being a member of the sect could be imprisoned for seven years, fined or both. The size of the fine was not specified. Diplomats and security analysts say the violence risked spawning a radical Shi'ite militant wing, just as the Boko Haram uprising began in 2009 after security forces killed hundreds of its members and its leader Mohammed Yusuf died in custody. The Shi'ite sect's leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, has been held in custody, without charge, by Nigeria's security agency since his December arrest following the clashes. His supporters have called for his release. The Kaduna state government said the group had "overtly continued with unlawful processions" and "obstruction of public highways" since the clashes. "These acts, if allowed to go unchecked will constitute danger to the peace, tranquillity, harmonious coexistence and good governance of Kaduna state," it said, declaring the group unlawful with immediate effect. A spokesman for the sect, Ibraheem Musa, said its members were not going to be intimidated into resorting to violence. "Very soon, we shall challenge this ban through legal and peaceful means," he said. Members of the sect are among the several thousand Shi'ite Muslims whose movement was inspired by the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The majority of the tens of millions of Muslims in Africa's most populous nation of 180 million inhabitants are Sunni - including the Boko Haram militants who have killed thousands mainly in the northeast since 2009. (Additional reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram, Camillus Eboh and Felix Onuah; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Powell)
Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - A Nigerian state where clashes between the military and Shiite Muslims led to over 300 deaths last year has banned the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), saying it was a security threat.

Two days of violence began on December 12, when supporters of the pro-Iranian cleric and IMN head, Ibrahim Zakzaky, refused to allow the chief of army staff's convoy to pass through the northern city of Zaria in Kaduna state.

In April, rights group Amnesty International accused Nigeria's military of shooting dead more than 300 Shiite Muslims, burying them in mass graves and destroying evidence of the crime.

The Kaduna state government later confirmed the Amnesty report, saying that the army used "excessive force" and that those responsible for the killings should be prosecuted.

But in a press release issued late Friday, Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai said IMN was a threat to Nigeria.

"The Kaduna state government has issued an order declaring the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) an unlawful society," a statement said.

It said the term applied to "any organisation whose activities are dangerous to the security and good governance of the state."

The IMN said it would challenge the move.

"We are not surprised by this decision of the Kaduna state government to ban the IMN," spokesman Ibrahim Musa told AFP.

"What do expect from someone that attacked you in your house, killed people in hundreds and demolished homes for no just reason?" Musa said.

"We condemn this illegal decision in the strongest terms and we will challenge this decision through all legitimate means."

IMN leader Zakzaky, who lost an eye and was left partly paralysed in the violence, has been held in custody since December.

He has previously been imprisoned for calling for an Iranian-style revolution to create an Islamic state in the country's north.

There have been fears the military action against the Shiite group in Zaria could trigger another violent uprising similar to that of Boko Haram, whose insurgency has left some 20,000 dead since 2009.
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's security agency has seized $800,000 in cash found during raids targeting senior judges in corruption investigations, the Department of State Services (DSS) said on Saturday. It carried out the operations on the judges' premises in the last few days, it said in a statement, without specifying the premises or how many judges had been targeted. It said the judges were from the supreme, appeal and high courts. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) later issued a statement accusing the security agency of a "Gestapo-style operation" and demanded the release of judges arrested in the investigation. "The release must be done immediately and without any conditions," it said. The NBA did not say how many judges had been arrested. President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler, won an election last year largely fought on his vow to crack down on corruption. Since taking office he has said he will recover "mind-boggling" sums of money stolen from public coffers. But the president's critics have accused him of mounting a witch-hunt against political opponents. The DSS said its raids were carried out to investigate allegations of corruption against the judges. "We have been monitoring the expensive and luxurious lifestyle of some of the judges as well as complaints from the concerned public over judgment obtained fraudulently and on the basis (of) amounts of money paid," it said in statement. The security agency said it had discovered "cash of various denominations, local and foreign currencies, with real estate worth several millions of naira and documents affirming unholy acts by these judges". The DSS said preparations were being made to bring criminal charges. The Nigerian Bar Association urged Buhari to "immediately caution all the state security agencies and to respect the rule of law". (Reporting by Camillus Eboh,; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; editing by Andrew Roche)
By Jim Christie SAN FRANCISCO (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 <6758.T>. 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)
* 44 pct improvement in progression-free survival in study

* Novartis' ribociclib to take on Pfizer blockbuster Ibrance

* Study leader says both drugs show very similar results (Adds further comment from study leader, more on sales prospects)

By Ben Hirschler

COPENHAGEN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - An experimental Novartis pill given with an older drug kept advanced breast cancer in check far longer than standard treatment alone, putting it on track to challenge Pfizer's blockbuster Ibrance, data showed on Saturday.

Patients taking ribociclib with letrozole were 44 percent less likely to see their disease progress or to die, a keenly awaited clinical trial found.

Novartis' ribociclib works in a similar way to Ibrance and is set to be second to market in the category. It is expected to go on sale next year, ahead of Eli Lilly's rival abemaciclib.

Ibrance has been quickly adopted by oncologists and is tipped by analysts to sell some $2.1 billion in 2016, according to Thomson Reuters consensus forecasts.

The 44 percent reduction in progression-free survival seen with ribociclib, which is also known as LEE011, compared with a 42 percent fall reported in a comparable late-stage trial involving Ibrance.

Lead researcher Gabriel Hortobagyi of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said the two drugs appeared very similar both in terms of their efficacy and side effects.

"This is a practice-changing study and when it (ribociclib) is approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies it will be one of the major choices," he told reporters.

The news may prompt industry analysts to increase sales forecasts for the drug. Currently, consensus forecasts for ribociclib are $1 billion in 2021 against $5.8 billion for Ibrance.

Alessandro Riva, head of cancer drug development at Novartis, told Reuters he believed the data showed that ribociclib was "at least as good" as Ibrance.

Like Ibrance, ribociclib caused a decline in white blood cells. The Novartis drug was also associated with signals of potential liver and heart problems, although these issues were well managed.

Story continues

"The addition of ribociclib to letrozole does increase the rate of toxicity, but overall, if we evaluate the magnitude of clinical benefit, there is definitely a benefit to be gained from adding ribociclib," said Giuseppe Curigliano of the European Institute of Oncology.

Novartis announced in May that the 668-patient trial was a success but full details were only unveiled in Copenhagen at the annual European Society for Medical Oncology congress. They were also published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Patients on letrozole alone went a median 14.7 months before their disease progressed, while the median point was not reached in the ribociclib combination arm because so many of those patients remained healthy.

The number of deaths in the study was also too low to allow researchers to calculate an impact on overall survival.

In August, Novartis won breakthrough therapy designation from U.S. regulators for ribociclib as a first-line treatment for advanced breast cancer and the company plans to file the medicine for approval worldwide this year.

Like Pfizer's Ibrance, which has a U.S. list price of around $10,000 a month, ribociclib blocks enzymes known as cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6.

Both drugs are designed for patients whose tumours grow in response to oestrogen and whose cancer is not caused by the HER2 protein. This is the most common type of breast cancer.

(Editing by Susan Thomas and John Stonestreet)
By Ben Hirschler COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - An experimental Novartis pill given with an older drug kept advanced breast cancer in check far longer than standard treatment alone, putting it on track to challenge Pfizer's blockbuster Ibrance, data showed on Saturday. Patients taking ribociclib with letrozole were 44 percent less likely to see their disease progress or to die, a keenly awaited clinical trial found. Novartis' ribociclib works in a similar way to Ibrance and is set to be second to market in the category. It is expected to go on sale next year, ahead of Eli Lilly's rival abemaciclib. Ibrance has been quickly adopted by oncologists and is tipped by analysts to sell some $2.1 billion in 2016, according to Thomson Reuters consensus forecasts. The 44 percent reduction in progression-free survival seen with ribociclib, which is also known as LEE011, compared with a 42 percent fall reported in a comparable late-stage trial involving Ibrance. Lead researcher Gabriel Hortobagyi of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said the two drugs appeared very similar both in terms of their efficacy and side effects. "This is a practice-changing study and when it (ribociclib) is approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies it will be one of the major choices," he told reporters. The news may prompt industry analysts to increase sales forecasts for the drug. Currently, consensus forecasts for ribociclib are $1 billion in 2021 against $5.8 billion for Ibrance. Alessandro Riva, head of cancer drug development at Novartis, told Reuters he believed the data showed that ribociclib was "at least as good" as Ibrance. Like Ibrance, ribociclib caused a decline in white blood cells. The Novartis drug was also associated with signals of potential liver and heart problems, although these issues were well managed. "The addition of ribociclib to letrozole does increase the rate of toxicity, but overall, if we evaluate the magnitude of clinical benefit, there is definitely a benefit to be gained from adding ribociclib," said Giuseppe Curigliano of the European Institute of Oncology. Novartis announced in May that the 668-patient trial was a success but full details were only unveiled in Copenhagen at the annual European Society for Medical Oncology congress. They were also published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Patients on letrozole alone went a median 14.7 months before their disease progressed, while the median point was not reached in the ribociclib combination arm because so many of those patients remained healthy. The number of deaths in the study was also too low to allow researchers to calculate an impact on overall survival. In August, Novartis won breakthrough therapy designation from U.S. regulators for ribociclib as a first-line treatment for advanced breast cancer and the company plans to file the medicine for approval worldwide this year. Like Pfizer's Ibrance, which has a U.S. list price of around $10,000 a month, ribociclib blocks enzymes known as cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6. Both drugs are designed for patients whose tumors grow in response to estrogen and whose cancer is not caused by the HER2 protein. This is the most common type of breast cancer. (Editing by Susan Thomas and John Stonestreet)
SAO PAULO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The eldest member of Brazil's Odebrecht family is personally spearheading negotiations between executives of his namesake engineering conglomerate and federal prosecutors for a potential plea deal in Brazil's biggest-ever corruption probe, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper said on Saturday.

According to Estado, patriarch Emilio Odebrecht is leading a team of executives and lawyers of Odebrecht SA that have set up Brasilia's Windsor Plaza hotel as their headquarters for the negotiations. The talks seek to engage as many as 53 Odebrecht executives in cooperation deals with authorities, Estado said.

The newspaper flashed the story on the top page with a wide array of pictures in which Emilio appears with what presumably are Odebrecht staff at a wing of the hotel where the negotiations are taking place.

Representatives for Odebrecht were not immediately available to comment on the news article. Efforts to obtain comment from the Prosecutor-General's Office on the Estado article were unsuccessful.

Odebrecht SA is the largest of Brazil's engineering firms accused of colluding to overcharge state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA and other state firms for contracts, then using part of that to channel donations and bribes into the former ruling Workers Party and allies.

According to the report, federal prosecutors in charge of the so-called "Operation Car Wash" want Odebrecht SA to pay fines of at least 6 billion reais ($1.9 billion).

Marcelo Bahia Odebrecht, Emilio's son and the group's former chief executive, has been in jail since June last year for his involvement in the scandal. Bahia Odebrecht, who has been already sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for participating in the scheme, is willing to collaborate with the probe, Estado said.

Patriarch Emilio and his lawyers are trying to convince prosecutors to allow other group executives to serve shortened sentences in exchange for cooperation, the paper said, adding that negotiations could last at least another week.

Analysts said testimony by Odebrecht executives could further broaden the Car Wash investigation and, in some cases, help bring down top political figures. Among the executives involved in negotiations is Alexandrino de Alencar, Odebrecht's former head of institutional relations and often linked to former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in newspaper articles.

($1 = 3.2220 reais) (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Andrea Ricci)
GettyImages 599066872

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said on Saturday that he was offended by his running mate Donald Trumps recently surfaced vulgar remarks about women, but suggested Sundays debate might offer him a platform to show what is in his heart.

As a husband and a father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video released yesterday, Pence said in a statement. I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them.

Pences comments come on the heels of The Washington Post publishing a hot-mic moment in which Trump boasted about kissing and groping women. At the time, Trump said he could grab women by the p---y because when youre a star, they let you do it.

Trump apologized for the remarks in a video published just after midnight on Saturday, but also signaled hed fight back attacks by pointing to former President Bill Clintons history with women.

I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people, Pence said. We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the national tomorrow night.

An avalanche of prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and party chairman Reince Priebus, have condemned Trumps comments.

Some Republicans, including No. 3 Senate Republican John Thune of South Dakota, have gone as far as to call on the billionaire to step down as the nominee and hand the ticket over to Pence. Trump said in a Saturday interview with The Post that he would not step down, despite such calls.

Pence was originally scheduled to fill in for Trump at a Saturday event with Ryan. It was later announced Pence would not appear.

NOW WATCH: This animated map shows how religion spread across the world





More From Business Insider


LAS VEGAS  Douchebag! shouted an elderly white man while another woman booed so loudly she nearly drowned out GOP Rep. Joe Heck as he soldiered on at the small rally in a Nevada stripmall, urging Donald Trump to withdraw from the presidential race after Fridays release of a damning tape of the GOP nominee.

I can no longer support Donald Trump, Heck said, reading a statement. I believe our only choice is to ask him to step down.

Just minutes later Heck braved the crowd for supportive selfies and handshakes as other supporters wearing Trump T-shirts stood muttering and glaring in small groups.

I think its going to be up to the other candidates to make the decision about whats best for this country, Heck told Foreign Policy of other down-ballot Republicans in battleground-state elections. I had to do what was right, not what was going to affect the race.

The astounding scene is likely to be repeated across the country in the hours before the second presidential debate on Sunday, as well as in the remaining four weeks before Election Day on Nov. 8. GOP leaders and Republican candidates like Heck who are battling for a U.S. Senate seat in swing states are fleeing en masse from their suddenly toxic nominee in the wake of a video catching Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women.

After the Washington Post broke the story Friday evening, Heck and his campaign mulled whether to disavow Trump. He made the decision Saturday morning, Hecks spokesman told FP, before his rally with Sen. Dean Heller, the junior Nevada senator, and former GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

Trump has so far refused to step down, telling the Washington Post Saturday morning in a phone call from Trump Tower in New York: Id never withdraw. Ive never withdrawn in my life.

Later Saturday, he tweeted:

The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly  I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGA  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2016

In a rare video response released late Friday  following an earlier defiant statement in which he dismissed the report as a distraction  Trump gave a non-apology. He said the 2005 comments  in which he said when youre a star, they let you do it, you can do anything, including grab them by the pussy  dont reflect who I am. But then, true to form, he launched into an attack on former Democratic President Bill Clinton, ending, See you at the debate on Sunday.

Story continues

Heck, a one-star Army general and doctor whos served in the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress since 2010, is outperforming Trump in this Southwestern battleground, as the Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton leads by 1.2 points, according to a Real Clear Politics polling average.

Heck holds a narrow lead of 3.4 points here in Nevada in his Senate race against Catherine Cortez Masto, according to Real Clear Politics average. Heck has emphasized his security credentials against Cortez Masto, the former Nevada attorney general and hand-picked successor to retiring Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic minority leader. If elected, she would become the first Latina U.S. senator. Theirs is one of the most competitive races in the country in 2016  and one which could well decide whether the Republicans hold onto their slim majority in the U.S. Senate.

But Nevada Republicans are still trying to climb out of the wreckage of Friday night. The Nevada headquarters of the RNC  just across the parking lot from the rally  closed their door. Staffers wouldnt comment on their position on Trump, or Hecks disavowal. The state RNC spokesperson did not respond to a request from FP.

Fellow Republicans seem to be making a similar calculation: Hecks announcement followed a statement from New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte Saturday saying she would write in Trumps running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. Days ago, she said in her own debate against New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan that Trump was a role model for her children, though shed already been forced to walk back that statement the next day. Ayotte leads by 2.3 points, while Trump is down in the state, with Clinton leading by 5.2 points, according to Real Clear Politics.

Many other Republicans werent willing  yet  to go as far as Heck. After the Washington Post broke the story about Trumps latest denigration of women, Republican power brokers from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus rejected his words but did not retract their support for his candidacy.

Ryan, who initially hesitated before endorsing Trump earlier this year, disinvited his partys nominee from an appearance Saturday in Wisconsin, but did not say he was withdrawing his support or asking Trump to leave the ticket.

Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, enjoying a comfortable lead of 16 points in his reelection bid in Arizona, still seemed to urge voters not to hold down-ballot Republicans responsible, saying Friday night, He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences. Trump, who said McCain was not a hero because he got shot down and was taken prisoner of war and tortured in Vietnam, currently leads Clinton by only 0.7 points in Arizona.

On Saturday evening, McCain added in a second statement that he was withdrawing his support, citing his selection as the GOPs 2008 presidential nominee as the reason for his initial hesitation.

Donald Trumps behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy, McCain said, continuing that he and his wife wont vote for Trump. I have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate and we will not vote for Hillary Clinton. We will write in the name of some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be President.

Later Friday night, Trump confirmed he would not attend the Wisconsin event Saturday, saying that he would do debate preparation instead with Priebus.

Some 24 hours from a debate that was intended to be about foreign policy, the RNC is instead facing an existential crisis. The committee has not responded to the growing calls for Trump to withdraw from the race altogether, though reports said party leaders met late Friday night for frantic discussions about what their options are. Politico reported later Saturday the RNC has stopped, at least temporarily, its Victory project dedicated to electing Trump.

But there are practical hurdles to ditching a candidate that many now want to run away from. It is too late to remove Trumps name from the ballot, and many states have already begun early voting. In Nevada, for example, the deadline for registering to vote is Oct. 18; early voting begins Oct. 22.

It is far from the first time Trump has insulted or described violence against women and minority groups. Furthermore, hes also made other controversial statements, from inviting Russian hackers to cyber-attack Clintons digital correspondence, to suggesting the use of nuclear weapons in the fight against ISIS, to advocating torture and war crimes. These comments had already led many other Republicans, especially those prominent in national security circles, to disavow their nominee and pledge support for Clinton, inviting personal attacks from Trump.

On Saturday evening, former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice, one of the few prominent GOP foreign policy leaders who had yet to weigh in, issued a cutting statement against Trump.

Among the vindicated are Heller and Romney. Heller, who has pushed back against Trumps comments throughout the campaign, told FP after the event he agreed with Heck that Trump should step down.

Romney, the former nominee, stood relaxed in sneakers and jeans, smiling, as Heck read his statement.

Then Romney took the stage after being introduced as the man I wish was on the ballot. He rejected Trumps comments and expressed his support for Heck and the others who withdrew their endorsements from the current nominee. He then launched into a familiar stump speech about how the Obama administrations foreign policy had emboldened adversaries such as Russia, which Romney pointedly warned about during his own 2012 run.

He said he hasnt spoken out about the presidential race since his March speech, in which he called Trump a fraud and a danger to U.S. security  and slammed his insults to women and minorities  but felt he had to do so again now. Other candidates, Romney said, will have to weigh their consciences for themselves.

What was said and what was done was so far over the line I felt honor-bound as an American to speak out, Romney told FP.

Did he wake up this morning thinking what couldve been?

No, no, no. I dont look back, I look forward, he said.

As for what the GOP should do now, he said, Im going to leave that to the party.

Credit: The Washington Post / Contributor

This is a developing story and it has been updated.
ELKHORN, Wis.  Donald Trump was supposed to attend the First Congressional District Fall Festival here Saturday afternoon, marking his first appearance with House Speaker Paul Ryan.

However, Ryan disinvited Trump the previous night amid the firestorm over a 2005 tape obtained by the Washington Post showing the GOP nominee bragging  in shockingly crass terms  about kissing and groping women. Trump apologized, but that did little to quell the whirlwind of controversy.

Trumps vice presidential nominee, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, was then set to replace Trump on the program. On Saturday morning, he too suddenly dropped out. Throughout the day, Republican leaders passionately condemned Trump, with many announcing that they would not vote for their own partys standard-bearer in November.

But at the festival here in the Midwest, the people least concerned with the future of the Republican Party seemed to be local Republican voters, who were left to mill about pumpkins and hay bales, sipping apple cider and discussing the latest development in the roller-coaster 2016 election cycle.

By the time attendees began filing into the Walworth County fairgrounds, a dozen Republican lawmakers had either condemned Trumps remarks or pulled their support of his candidacy. Even more followed suit over the course of the afternoon.

Yet the divide between the partys base and its leadership could not have been clearer, as most attendees passed off Trumps comments as either a regrettable mistake 11 years ago or an example of boys being boys.

House Speaker Paul Ryan speaking in Elkhorn, Wis., on Saturday. (Photo: Andrew Bahl/Yahoo News)

Everybody has said something in their time that weve regretted, Rhonda Ellis explained, saying she cried when she heard Trump would not attend. Im a woman  Im not offended.

Others were even more outspoken. Two men went as far as to say they liked the tape, as it showed a more personable and relatable side of Trump, who has vowed to stay in the race despite pressure from his own party to bow out.

I thought it was fantastic. Hes a human being, isnt he? Dennis Kurbowski said. Tell me you havent said something like that. Tell me 99.9 percent of American people havent said something like that  male or female.

Story continues

In a tweet Saturday night, Trump thanked the crowd in Elkhorn for voicing their support:

Thank you to my great supporters in Wisconsin. I heard that the crowd and enthusiasm was unreal!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2016

Ryan, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson all disagreed, releasing statements Friday sharply criticizing Trump for the comments on the leaked tape. The trio, however, made little mention of the controversy during the festival proceedings.

Ryan was the lone member to even mention Trump. After taking the stage to a mixture of enthusiastic cheers and boos, he said there was an elephant in the room.

Its a troubling situation. Im serious, Ryan said. I stand by what I said [in the statement].  But thats not why were here.

Trump supporters heckled Ryan throughout his remarks, accusing him of turning his back on the GOP. The speaker spent the bulk of his speech on the House Republicans Better Way agenda. He did proclaim that Wisconsin will need to deliver its 10 electoral votes in the presidential race  indicating he had not fully bailed on Trumps candidacy.

But Trump supporters still disavowed Ryan for not explicitly supporting Trump in his remarks.

All these people who joined the party, theyre leaving, Tina Gorzalski said. Theyre saying theyre done.

House Speaker Paul Ryan in Elkhorn, Wis. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP)

Walker and Johnson did not mention Trump or the presidential election. Walker focused on state-level issues and Johnson focused on down ballot-races, including his tight reelection race against Democrat Russ Feingold.

Wisconsin Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner did not directly mention the Trump scandal but tangled with a heckler who accused Ryan of being a supporter of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Listen to me, please! Sensenbrenner said, chastising the person interrupting. Be respectful, we need more of that.  Clean up your act.

Not all agreed with the protesters, with other voters merely resigned to the state of affairs. Dan Fetting said he still supported Trump and that the 2005 remarks were just who the business mogul is  for better or for worse.

Who hasnt boasted in life about something? They boast about the economy, giving jobs and killing terrorists. Having some girls  well, to me its all the same, Fetting said. Its too late to turn around. We have to go with the candidate they nominated. Hes going to continue to make remarks whether hes president or not, and we just have to live with that.


Credit: Tim P. Whitby/Getty

Chris Pine is now a (dog) dad!

The actor rescued an extremely cute furry friend from the North Central Shelter in Los Angeles earlier this week, and we think the lucky pup is simply adorable. The non-profit organization Home Dog LA shared a snap of the the Star Trek Beyond star and his new canine on their Instagram account yesterday, and our hearts are melting over the sweet photo. In the 'gram, the handsome 36-year-old holds his new black-and-white pet as they stand outside the adoption center and pose together before heading home. But what's even cuter? The pooch's very unique name--Wednesday Weld.

"Super handsome guys adopt dogs too! And sweet Pit Bulls at that. #chrispine came to @northcentralshelter to find his new best friend and little Wednesday Weld won the lottery," they wrote in the image caption. "Happy Trails, guys! And thank you for adopting from your local shelter."



Credit: homedogla/Instagram

RELATED: Chris Pine's Perfect Day Will Make Your Heart Melt

5054432860001

VIDEO: Celebrities Who Adopted Their Adorable Puppies

If Chris Pine holding a puppy doesn't make you swoon, we don't know what will.
Varsovie (AFP) - Poland on Saturday blamed French aeronautics giant Airbus for the breakdown in talks over a multi-billion euro contract for military helicopters that has triggered a spike in tensions with Paris.

"I want to make it perfectly clear that it wasn't the Polish side who broke off the talks," Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz told reporters Saturday in Warsaw.

French President Francois Hollande postponed a visit to Poland due next week after Warsaw announced Tuesday that the talks with Airbus had flopped.

Negotiations were focused on the "offset" segment of a contract for the purchase of 50 multipurpose Caracal helicopters in a deal worth 3.14 billion euro ($3.5 billion).

Offsets are arrangements whereby a supplier of military hardware typically sweetens a deal by setting up a factory in the purchasing country or agrees to place orders with companies there.

"Airbus Helicopters did not make a satisfactory offer in the last phase of talks. They didn't respond to the Polish position and this is why negotiations on the contract stopped," Macierewicz said.

"Unfortunately the two sides did not see eye to eye on the offset package," Macierewicz said, but declined to provide details.

Announcing the breakdown on Tuesday, Poland's development ministry said, "the differences in the negotiating positions of both sides preclude a compromise, so further negotiations are pointless."

- Unacceptable shortfall -

Poland's deputy defence minister Bartosz Kownacki said those differences added up to "several billion zloty" (hundreds of millions of dollars/euros) and that Warsaw "couldn't accept the shortfall."

France holds a minor stake in Airbus. Paris insists the company had "gone very far in its offer", proposing an "unprecedented" offset worth 100 percent of the contract value, a source close to the talks told AFP.

President 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.

Story continues

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 Macierewicz also said Saturday that Warsaw was keen to buy a new batch of multirole military helicopters "as soon as possible" but did not announce a new contract tender.

Poland's previous liberal government announced in 2014 it was planning to buy Airbus choppers as part of a major military upgrade triggered by regional tensions over Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine that year.

But the new rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) administration called the deal into question not long after it took office in late 2015.
'Senior Israeli official' told Clinton campaign they fear Clinton Presidency would be '4-year Saban forum'

Dear Dan, Jake and Laura,

I had a breakfast meeting with a senior Israeli official who is very close to the Prime Minister, and knows his thinking. He had the following insights:

1. The Prime Minister always had a surprising good relationship with Hillary; she is easy to work with, and that she is more instinctively sympathetic to Israel than the White House. Even during their famous 43 minute phone call, when he felt like slamming down the phone, he felt she was simply heavily scripted and reading from points prepared by the White House.

2. While the Prime Minister favors a two state solution, neither a majority of the Likud Party nor Bennetts party does. Indeed, a two state solution has never been in the government guidelines in any Likud-led government.

3. The Prime Minister hoped during his most recent meeting with the President that the new MOU would be announced, but the White House only wanted to announce the intention to negotiate it. He hopes it will be concluded in the next few months. When I asked if Bunker Busting Bombs or the new deep ordinance bomb was on the Israeli request list, he only indicated that there is no dispute on platforms between the Administration and Israel. He said the biggest issue is the amount of money, in a lean budget situation. The Israeli Embassy is not going around the Administration to lobby for a higher figure, although they could probably get it. But if the figure is too low, they will wait until the next President.

4. Missile defense funds are also critical, but they come out of the Pentagon budget, while many of the items on the MOU list are in the FMF/Foreign Ops budget.

5. He attended part of the Saban Forum and felt that most of the emphasis was on the Palestinian issue, and wonders if a Clinton Administration will be a Saban Forum for four years, due to the people around her, but not her. Her own speech was 95% good, although there was some moral equivalence language.

6. We discussed possible economic initiatives to help the Palestinians, like more Palestinian investment in Zone C, and/or an agreement to limit settlement expansion to the established blocs that under the Clinton parameters would be in Israel after any negotiation. He said the Prime Minister is genuinely interested in doing positive things on the ground. He said that they know it would have to be unilateral, and that they can expect nothing from the Palestinian Authority. But, he said there are the following complications:

(1) It is difficult to do while the knifings are occurring, and while Abu Mazan is fomenting violence; (2) So that it does not appear they are bending to violence they need the support of the USG. This could include:

(a) Opposition to a new UN Resolution, which Secretary Kerry continues to seek;

(b) Support for settlement activity in the established blocs. But the Obama Administration will not agree to any settlement activity, even in areas like Gilo.

(c ) It is little appreciated that despite great pressure to stop any Palestinians from the West Bank from coming into Israel to work, the Prime Minister had kept the flow of tens of thousands coming in every day, recognizing how important this is to the economy of the West Bank and to stability.

(d) The Prime Minister has also kept the VAT refund money flowing to the PA, despite the provocative statements. But he reiterated there is a deal to be made with the next Administration, looking for positive steps at the outset; it would be easy to do. 7. American Jews are focused on issues like BDS and Israeli legitimacy, while Israelis are focused only on security, with the stabbings.

8. There are some in the Israeli coalition that want to dismantle the Palestinian Authority and take over full control. But the Prime Minister and the Defense Minster, and certainly the military and intelligence community, want to keep the PA. There is still intelligence sharing on radicals, but when Israel asks them to arrest the radicals they identify, they refuse, and ask the Israelis to do it, and then protest the arrests. But this is all part of a scenario of cooperation. However, if the PA takes Israel to the International Criminal Court, this would be a huge problem and a potential game changer in terms of their relationship with the PA.

9. Abu Mazan continues to talk about retiring, as he has done for years, but seems more serious now. There is no obvious successor if he leaves, other than the guy in jail [Barghouti. CiJ].

10. Only about 2% to 4% of Israeli civilians have guns, and certainly not the kind of assault rifles used in the US.

11. Israel Arabs are a real problem. The government had to dismantle the northern branch of the Islamic Association because they were radicalizing the Israeli Arabs, who are 20% of the population.

Best wishes, Stu Eizenstat

Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.Wikileaks dumped another 2,000+ Hillary Clinton emails on Friday night, one of which contains what might be the Netanyahu government's view of a possible Clinton administration. The email is based on a discussion with a ' senior Israeli official ,' who may be Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer . The email was written by Stuart Eizenstadt on December 7, 2015 to Dan Schwerin.This is from the first link.I am not able to access the Haaretz columns by Barak Ravid analyzing this story (usually you can access his columns through his Twitter feed even if - like me - you refuse to pay for access to Haaretz), however the Hebrew version has a more detailed summary than the English one. That summary claims that Israel 'fears' that a Clinton administration will adopt the spirit of the Saban Forum and blame Israel for the frozen 'peace process.'I don't quite see that in item 5 above (and yes, I'm #NeverHillary and therefore voting for Trump), although I have little doubt that Clinton will push the 'Palestinian' issue.

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Haim Saban, Hillary Clinton, Middle East peace process, Ron Dermer, US presidential campaign 2016
Leaders face a particularly tough new challenge: Being a leader without being an authority.

That imperative arises from the mainstream trend of defying and scorning authority. The evidence is all around us here in America, and it's much more than a U.S. phenomenon. Consider the disorienting speech that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May delivered Wednesday at the annual Conservative Party conference: "It wasn't the wealthy" -- i.e., people in positions of authority -- "who made the biggest financial sacrifices after the financial crisis," she said. "Too many people in positions of power" -- authority -- "behave as though they have more in common with international elites than the people down the road.... Just listen to the way a lot of politicians and commentators" -- authorities -- "talk about the public. They find your patriotism distasteful, your concerns about immigration parochial, your views about crime illiberal, your attachment to your job security inconvenient."

This is pure populism coming from the leader of the Conservative Party, for decades the natural home of the wealthy and the business leaders whom she now derogates so energetically. She opposed Brexit, but now she's implementing it with gusto. Before the vote, a journalist challenged pro-Brexit Justice Minister Michael Gove to name an economist who supported Brexit. He famously replied, "People in this country have had enough of experts." They're some of our society's most authoritative authorities.

The trend is just as striking and strange in the U.S. The Republican nominee, Donald Trump, sneers at Wall Street and many CEOs. Hillary Clinton, the ultimate insider authority figure, portrays herself instead as a grandmother who has fought for children since she was young; her only formidable challenger in the primaries, Bernie Sanders, is an anti-authority figure who belongs to neither major party. Both nominees reject free trade, a favorite policy objective of the "international elites."

Sign up for daily insights, updates, and opinion on leadership and leaders in the news at the Power Sheet.

The message to leaders seems to be that to stay in power, they must renounce power, or at least seem to. They must abdicate the authority inherent in their role lest they become the enemy of their followers.

But no leader can walk that fine line for long. Populism always exhausts itself. An enduring truth of leadership is that people want to be led, and while they want someone who speaks for them, they also want, eventually, someone who can take command and carry a burden for them. One of the great challenges for leaders in today's environment is to do their job without abandoning the traits and behaviors essential to leading. I suspect that today's enthusiastic populists will someday regret the path they've chosen.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
Tbilisi (AFP) - Georgians voted Saturday in bitterly contested parliamentary polls that have sparked fears of political instability in the Caucasus nation, with two pro-Western parties tied after a fraught campaign.

The knife-edge elections see the ruling Georgian Dream party, led from behind the scenes by billionaire ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, grappling with the United National Movement (UNM), founded by exiled former president Mikheil Saakashvili.

Tensions have risen ahead of the vote in the ex-Soviet republic -- which fought a brief war with Russia in 2008 and seeks EU and NATO membership -- after a car bombing and shooting incident at a rally.

Georgia's Western allies will be watching closely to see if the strategic nation -- praised as a rare example of democracy in the former Soviet region -- can cement gains after its first transfer of power at the ballot box four years ago.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has promised free and fair polls, which "will mark a truly important step to the future of democratic Georgia."

The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, which deployed 600 monitors across the country, reported instances of various procedural violations at polling stations, including "the restriction of observers' rights."

Other observers noted that the electoral legislation and huge financing give an unfair advantage to the ruling party.

"Overall, Georgia's electoral system -- both legislation and practices -- favours a ruling party," Anna Natsvlishvili, chair of the Young Lawyers Association rights watchdog told AFP.

Politics is still dominated by Saakashvili and Ivanishvili even though neither holds an official position, and their parties are hoping to score landslide victories.

- No outright winner? -

But opinion polls have the two neck and neck in the race to form the next government, leaving analysts warning the country of 3.7 million could slip into political turmoil if there is no outright winner.

Story continues

"The most likely outcome is that there will be no outright winner," said political analyst Gia Nodia, adding that a coalition government will be tough due to "lots of hard feelings between parties."

Due to the country's complex election rules the final makeup of the 150-seat parliament may only become clear by late November.

While the two main parties remain firmly committed to Georgia's pro-Western trajectory, for the first time in decades the vote may see one of several small pro-Russian parties make it to the parliament.

"If an anti-Western party secures a bargaining power in forming a coalition, that may have a negative impact on Georgia's bid for membership of the European Union and NATO," Corneli Kakachia, director of the Georgian Institute of Politics, told AFP.

- 'Climate of hatred' -

The campaign has been marred by Wednesday's attempted murder of a UNM lawmaker whose car exploded in central Tbilisi, injuring four passers-by.

The bombing prompted UNM to accuse authorities of "creating a climate of hatred in which opposition politicians are being attacked".

It came after two men were injured when unknown assailants on Sunday fired shots during a campaign rally held by an independent candidate in the central city of Gori.

The poisonous atmosphere around the polarised vote follows years of what the opposition sees as political witch hunts and retribution against Saakashvili and his team.

"This election is about saving the country from the devastating rule of the Georgian Dream which proved to be a nightmare," pensioner Otar Vasadze, told AFP as he voted at a polling station in Tbilisi.

Another voter, schoolteacher Dali Mgeladze, said: "There is no better choice, I vote for the Georgian Dream".

Saakashvili, a charismatic reformer who took over in the Rose Revolution of 2003, was forced out of the country after prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for abuse of power and now works as a regional governor in pro-Western Ukraine.

The crackdown on his allies has prompted concerns among Georgia's Western allies that the country could backslide after its sole orderly transfer of power in 2012.

The ex-president has pledged to return after the elections but the authorities warn they will detain him if he steps foot in the country.

Voting, which started at 8am (0400 GMT) and ends at 8pm (1600 GMT), will be monitored by international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Washington (AFP) - World economic leaders gathered in Washington this week to defend globalization, delivering a single message in unison: Protectionism will not save you.

But this glosses over the plight of Africa, which is sinking further into poverty despite years of free trade.

According to the International Monetary Fund, which held its annual meetings this week with the World Bank, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is in free-fall this year, with a growth rate of 1.4 percent, down from 3.4 percent in 2015, its lowest in a quarter century.

The regional economy will therefore grow more slowly than the population, at the risk of deepening poverty in a region already home to more than half of the 766 million people on earth who live on less than $1.90 a day.

"I am actually concerned about Sub-Saharan African countries," said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

As the most rarified circles of economists gathered this week to ponder globalization's failures, the African region seems to offer a prime case in point.

Despite opening its economies and the explosion of trade with China, Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world to have actually seen the number of people living in extreme poverty rise since 1990.

"The growing number of the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa stands out as an exception," the World Bank said in a recent report.

With a recession in Nigeria, ravaged by the collapse of crude prices, virtual stagnation in South Africa and a booming Ivory Coast, where this year's growth rate is forecast at 8 percent, circumstances of course vary widely depending on the country.

Climate, security situations and political instability can also weigh heavily on economic outlooks.

- Failure -

But, according to NGOs, the region's general prognosis primarily reflects the failure of full-borne free trade, brought in by the structural adjustment plans of the 1980s and 1990s and the World Trade Organization.

Story continues

"Africa did well in recent years because prices for oil and other raw materials climbed higher," Antonio Gambini, of the National Center for Development Cooperation, told AFP.

"But prices have collapsed and with the free trade imposed on them these countries spiraled downwards because they were unable to diversify," he added.

Contrary to the traditional prescriptions, a dose of protectionism could help African countries shore up their economies, sheltered from foreign competition.

"If we want to see a more inclusive global growth than it has to have a space for protection," said Max Lawson of Oxfam GB.

"It's just not as simple as more free trade mans less poverty," he added.

Some Asian countries, such as Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan, built their own economic expansions on strong exports and severe restrictions on imports to protect their domestic markets.

On the African continent, Ethiopia, which is forecast to see strong growth in 2016 of 6.5 percent, has jealously guarded its own telecoms and financial sectors.

Makhtar Diop, World Bank vice president for Africa, still has no faith in inward-looking trade policies.

"In times of crisis, there's a protectionist reflex because we think it's the answer but all the evidence shows that international trade has been a factor in development," he told AFP.

According to Diop, a former Senegalese finance minister, the region's persistent poverty is tied to poor revenue redistribution policies, particularly when oil was above $100 a barrel.

Once in place, protectionist barriers are hard to remove because they are supported by interest groups seeking to preserve their advantages, he said.

"We have to find a middle ground," he said, particularly by allowing nascent industries the time to size up foreign competition. But the priority, he said, is to strengthen trade, particularly among African countries.

"Sometimes it's cheaper to export a product out of Africa than to a neighboring country," he said.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds a rally with supporters at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan, U.S. September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Some staffers inside the Republican National Committee are rebelling and defying orders to continue working for Donald Trump, according to a source familiar with the situation.

"Theyre dropping their duties to the campaign," the source told Business Insider. "Turning their attention to Senate/House."

"Folks at the RNC are disgusted," the source said.

"Expect RNC [staffers] to start leaving if Reince doesn't act," the source added, referring to party chairman Reince Priebus.

A spokesperson for the RNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Politico reported the party had halted some of it's "Victory" program operations.

The news comes on the heels of The Washington Post publishing a hot-mic moment in which Trump boasted about kissing and groping women. At the time, Trump said he could "grab" women "by the p---y" because "when youre a star, they let you do it."

Trump apologized for the remarks in a video published just after midnight on Saturday, but also signaled hed fight back attacks by pointing to former President Bill Clintons history with women.

An avalanche of prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Priebus, have condemned Trumps comments. Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, said he was "offended" and could not defend the hot mic remarks.

Some Republicans, including No. 3 Senate Republican John Thune of South Dakota, have gone as far as to call on the billionaire to step down as the nominee and hand the ticket over to Pence. Trump said in a Saturday interview with The Post that he would not step down, despite such calls.

NOW WATCH: Clinton opens up a massive lead against Trump, with lopsided support from a key voting demographic





More From Business Insider


Paris (AFP) - 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.
[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/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Utah Sen. Mike Lee, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk were just some of the Republicans who called on Donald Trump to give up the nomination after viewing video footage showing the Republican nominee joking of his ability to sexually grope women without repercussion. But their statements were requests, not commandments.

Donald Trump, in the end, has the power to decide whether he remains the Republican nominee. He has been publicly condemned over the last 24 hours by partys chairman, the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority leader and hundreds of other elected officials. But the ball remains in his court.

Under Republican Party rules, the Republican National Committee is empowered to fill vacancies that occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise, with the 168 members of the committee voting for a replacement. There is no established procedure to remove a nominee unwillingly.

The meeting to replace the nominee would need to be called with at least five days notice, and each states delegation would cast the same number of votes it was allotted at the convention in July for the replacement nominee. Trumps running-mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, would be the obvious replacement, but others could also throw their hat into the ring.

The Democratic Party has done this before. A few months before the 1972 presidential election, Democratic nominee George McGovern discovered that his vice presidential nominee had had multiple bouts of depression and related hospitalization. Fearing Thomas Eagleton would hurt the tickets chance in November, The Democratic Party replaced him with a former ambassador, Sargent Shriver.

Even if Trump were to step aside voluntarily, his name would remain on ballots in most statesand millions of people may have already voted for him. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) requires that states distribute ballots at least 45 days before a federal election, while early voting is underway in states like Iowa, Virginia, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Replacing his name on ballots that have yet to be distributed is also problematicand perhaps insurmountable.

Story continues

To answer question Ive been gettingNo, Trump cannot drop out & be replaced on ballot. UOCAVA ballots are out, early voting has begun, tweeted Marc Elias, the Democratic campaign lawyer and general counsel to Hillary Clintons campaign.

In Colorado, for example, nominees names must be submitted to the state elected officials sixty days before election day, or on September 9. In Iowa, its 81 days before the electionthat was August 19. In Ohio, its a full 90 days ahead of election day.

Historically there has been some leeway in the way the limits are applied. The New Jersey nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2002, Sen. Robert Torricelli, was accused of ethics violations and withdrew from the race 36 days before election day15 days past the statutory deadline. Republicans objected to replacing him with another Democrat, Frank Lautenberg, but the New Jersey courts approved Lautenbergs name on the ticket.

In 1990 a Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate was replaced on his states ballot little more than a week before election day. This would be a gray area and there could be litigation, said Kay Stimson, director of communications at the National Association of Secretaries of State. For states where the ballots can still be changed, the question of whether to make a late switch would likely be subject of litigation.

Then there are the complications peculiar to a presidential race. Under the U.S. Constitution, a vote for a candidate goes to electors in byzantine Electoral College. In many states, those electors have some power to decide how they cast their ballots when the Electoral College meets in December. But at least 25 states and the District of Columbia have laws binding electors to vote based on the outcome of the Nov. 8 general election. In some states they are only bound to vote the party nomineemeaning they could vote for the replacement. But in states like Michigan, they are bound to the candidate listed on the ballot.

In any event, Trumps withdrawal would set the GOP and the nation down an uncertain path, likely ending in the court room as various state statutes are litigate by both parties.It points out the fragility of our election system and the lack of ability to deal with these kinds of issues, Rick Hasen, a professor at University of Californias Irvine School of Law, told TIME.

No major party presidential candidate has ever been replaced after securing the presidential nomination.

Additional reporting by Sam Frizell/Washington
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f240143%2fap_16281808657953

Republican Party leaders are under mounting pressure to dump Donald Trump as the GOP's 2016 presidential nominee. The backlash is building after Trump's vulgar comments about forcefully grabbing and kissing women were released on Friday.

But the Republican National Committee (RNC) is in a bind: Its own rules, along with state election laws, make it extremely unlikely that the real estate mogul and reality TV star-turned-politician will be bumped from the November ballot.

SEE ALSO: Trump's VP running mate Mike Pence condemns lewd comments

Even if Trump quits the race on his own, voters may still face the option of ticking off his name when they visit the polls in just 33 days.

Source tells me RNC officials are meeting in DC to discuss what options the party has going forward in case Trump isn't nominee.  Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) October 8, 2016

"You're talking about piling on one complication after the other," Jeffrey Berry, an American politics professor at Tufts University, told Mashable.

"This is uncharted territory," he said.

Here are the two main reasons why Trump will probably remain the Republican party's nominee even as the RNC reportedly halts some of its efforts to help get Trump elected.

1. Republican rules

The RNC's Rule No. 9 explains that members can only replace a nominee if a vacancy is created due to "death, declination, or otherwise," not simply because the committee changed its mind after the nomination.

Rule No. 12 would, in theory, allow the RNC to amend Rule No. 9 and dump Trump, but such a task would be tricky to pull off. Amendments require a three-fourths majority vote of the RNC's entire membership and only take effect 30 days after adoption,

Josh Putnam, a political science lecturer at the University of Georgia, said on Twitter that Republicans simply don't have enough time on their side.

Story continues

10 days lead time to consider proposed rules change. That leaves 20 days to sell the new guy and deal w/any inevitable backlash. #steepodds  Josh Putnam (@FHQ) October 8, 2016

If the RNC did manage to amend the rule in time to rescind the nomination, such a maneuver would likely face legal challenges, Berry said.

"They're doing it ex post facto. How do you write a law that revokes something that happened earlier?" he said in a phone interview.

Given how soon the elections are, and with the potential legal fallout, "You're talking about a narrative that becomes a coup d'etat, and I think that's difficult for them," he added.

2. State election laws

America's 50 nifty states have their own rules and deadlines that guide how and when candidates are listed on the ballot.

In states with early and absentee voting, ballots already list Trump as the Republican party candidate. State officials are unlikely to revise or void those ballots in the remarkable (and long shot) event that the RNC does ditch Trump and nominate another candidate.

"A state would have to print two versions of the ballot with different names on them, and that's legally untenable," Berry said. "The election is already underway."

Voters make their marks during the first day of early voting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Oct. 3, 2016.

Image: Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP

In a handful of states, including Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, citizens have already cast their votes for the next U.S. president.

More than 35,300 Republican voters, nearly 59,000 Democrats and over 22,300 Independents already checked their respective boxes on ballots bearing the name "Donald Trump," according to the U.S. Election Project. Millions more voters have already requested or received absentee ballots.

This is also why Trump's name could still appear on the November ballot even if he does oblige his critics and quit the race  another improbable scenario.

The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGA  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2016

In the hypothetical event that Trump quits the race, his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, could step up as the Republican party's candidate. Then the RNC and state officials could work to educate voters so that they knew a vote for Trump, whose name would still appear on the ballot, would count toward Pence, whose name would appear as the vice presidential candidate.

That's exactly what many elected leaders, including Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, urged on Saturday.

If Donald Trump wishes to defeat Hillary Clinton, he should do the only thing that will allow us to do so - step aside. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/hadKP4gIrr  Cory Gardner (@CoryGardner) October 8, 2016

Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday that there is "zero chance I'll quit." He later tweeted, in shouty caps, "I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE."
In the week ended October 7, the number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States totaled 428, up by three compared with the prior week and compared with a total of 605 a year ago. Including 94 other rigs drilling for natural gas and two rigs listed as "miscellaneous," there are a total of 524 working rigs in the country, up by two in the past week and down 271 year over year. The data come from the latest Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) North American Rotary Rig Count released on Friday.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for November delivery traded down 1.8% on Friday to settle at $49.55, after settling at $50.44 on Thursday, the first close above $50 in more than three months. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported last Wednesday that crude supplies had decreased by 3 million barrels in the week ended September 30, and that gasoline supplies had had risen by 200,000 barrels.

ALSO READ: The Richest Town in Every State

The key question regarding the crude oil price rise is how long it will last. Breaking through $50 a barrel is one thing; staying above that level for, say, three months is another. The crude futures market is just one data point.

Another thing to try to keep track of is what is actually happening in the physical market for oil. Right now, there seems to be little to support a sustained increase in crude prices.

Earlier this week that do not favor a higher crude price for any length of time. First, China has apparently slowed or stopped purchasing crude for its strategic reserve. Worse, if the price of crude rises much, the Chinese may decide to re-export some of the oil they bought cheaply over the past couple of years.

Second, Bloomberg reported last week that there are 10 tankers loaded with North Sea crude that have not found buyers. The futures market has returned to contango, meaning that current spot prices for crude are lower than futures prices. A forward curve in contango indicates an oversupplied market where prompt cargoes sell at lower prices than those for later delivery.

Story continues

ALSO READ: 50 Worst Cities to Live In

The number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States is down by 177 year over year and up three from last week. The natural gas rig count fell by two to a total of 94. The count for natural gas rigs is down by 95 from a year ago. Natural gas for November delivery closed the week at $3.17 per million BTUs, up 27 cents on the near-month contract compared with the prior week.

U.S. refineries ran at 88.3% of capacity, a week-over-week decrease of about 302,000 barrels a day. Imports fell by about 125,000 barrels a day, to around 7.7 million barrels a day in the week.

Hedge funds  under the Managed Money heading in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) weekly Commitments of Traders report  dropped 48,842 short contracts for WTI crude oil last week, and added 19,050 long contracts. The movement reflects changes as of the October 4 settlement date. Managed money now holds 326,975 long positions, compared with 104,144 short positions. Open interest totaled 1,871,665. There were 42 hedge funds with large short positions last week, down from 58 in the prior week.

ALSO READ: America's Poorest Cities

Among the producers themselves, short positions outnumber longs, 528,193 to 250,704. The number of short positions rose by 9,422 contracts last week, and longs dropped 4,101 contracts. Positions among swaps dealers show 248,656 short contracts versus 169,924 long positions. Swaps dealers added 20,712 contracts to their short positions last week and dumped 25,119 contracts to their long positions.

Among the states, Oklahoma and Texas each added two rigs last week while Alaska, Louisiana and Pennsylvania each added one. Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and West Virginia each lost a rig last week.

In the Permian Basin of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the rig count now stands at 203, down one compared with the previous week's count. The Eagle Ford Basin in south Texas has 35 rigs in operation, down by one, week over week, and the Williston Basin (Bakken) in North Dakota and Montana now has 30 working rigs, unchanged for the week.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD) lists an October 8 posted price of $46.26 per barrel for WTI and $47.71 a barrel for Eagle Ford crude. The price for WTI and Eagle Ford crudes rose by $1.63 a barrel in the week.

ALSO READ: 40 Countries the U.S. Government Doesn't Want You to Visit

The pump price of gasoline rose by about 1.6% week over week. Saturday morning's average price in the United States was $2.259 a gallon, up nearly four cents compared with $2.222 a week ago. The year-ago price was $2.314 a gallon.

Related Articles
Fellow Republicans might be urging Donald Trump to drop out of the Presidential race, but Robert De Niro went one further saying, in a scathing video message created by Anonymous Content and released online late last night, that he wants to punch the GOP candidate in the face. Metaphorically, we assume, but all the same its yet another notch on the humiliation belt for what has become, inarguably, the worst week ever for the 2016 GOP presidential campaign.

De Niro added his voice to the chorus of Donald Trumps critics on the same day a devastating blow was dealt to the Trump campaign by the release of the now-infamous audio that has led several prominent fellow-republicans to denounce him. Pulling absolutely no punches, the multiple Oscar-winner laid into Trump, calling him so blatantly stupid, a punk, and a dog a bullshit artist and more.

He thinks hes gaming society, doesnt pay his taxes, hes an idiot, Colin Powell said it best, hes a national disaster, hes an embarrassment to this country. It makes me so angry that this country has gotten to this point that this fool, this bozo, has wound up where he has, said De Niro.

But what really set De Niro off seems to be Trumps frequently documented use of, well call it confrontational language, when discussing his opponents and critics. He talks about how hed like to punch people in the face? said De Niro, referring to a statement Trump made at a rally in February about what hed like to do to a protestor. Well, Id like to punch him in the face.

The video ends with De Niro urging viewers if you care about your future, vote for it without specifically endorsing Trumps main rival, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

As for Trump, despite the urgings of a growing number of Republicans, he has decidedly refused to drop out of the race, instead vowing in a video message last night to keep fighting. While the video was promoted as an apology for the comments he made about women in 2005, recorded by a hot mic while Trump was talking to then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, Trump actually spent most of it attempting to redirect the conversation to the Clintons. Notably, Trump brought up old allegations about Bill Clintons treatment of women, accused Hillary Clinton of abetting the cover up of these alleged crimes and of criminal intimidation, and vowed to make the charges a centerpiece of his campaign moving forward.

Story continues

We live, in other words, in interesting times.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0ILPZLmHaE&w=605&h=340]

Related stories

Debate 2 Ratings Dinged By NFL In Early Broadcast-Only Stats

Al Roker Steps In To Host Suspended Billy Bush's 'Today' Hour

World Media Reacts To Trump Vs Clinton II: "American Democracy Is Sick"
Robert De Niro lashed out at Donald Trump in a video that aired on Friday on Megyn Kellys The Kelly File, telling viewers that hed like to punch him in the face.

De Niros remarks came in a video produced by Anonymous Content, which has been making a series of short interviews for a voter initiative called #VoteYourFuture. The director of De Niros video, Tom McCarthy, asked him, What do you care about?

De Niros anti-Trump remarks were so emphatic that the producers concluded that it could not be part of the campaign, which is non-partisan. But it was given to Kellys show for airing and publicists for the production firm released it to the media on Friday.

In the video, De Niro also calls Trump blatantly stupid, a punk and a bullst artist.

The De Niro remarks were filmed before Friday, when the Washington Post released a 2005 video in which Trump is caught making lewd comments to Access Hollywood co-anchor Billy Bush.

The De Niro video is here.

Other celebrities have openly endorsed Trumps rival, Hillary Clinton. Earlier this week, the cast of Empire released a video supporting the Democratic nominee.

The new ad was called What Will You Say, and highlights whats at stake for the African American community in this election, the Clinton campaign said in a statement announcing the spot. It will run on TV and online in battleground states.

Related stories

Donald Trump Tape Sets Off Reporting Frenzy About GOP Ticket Fate, 'Apprentice' History

Nancy O'Dell Responds to Donald Trump's 2005 Vulgar Comments: 'I'm Saddened'

Melania Trump Calls Husband's Words 'Unacceptable and Offensive,' Hopes People Will 'Accept His Apology'
MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. accusations that Russia was responsible for cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations lack any proof and are an attempt by Washington to fan "unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria", the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said. The U.S. government for the first time on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election. Washington's relations with Moscow are also under strain over the war in Syria and Russia's actions in Ukraine. "This whipping up of emotions regarding 'Russian hackers' is used in the U.S. election campaign, and the current U.S. administration, taking part in this fight, is not averse to using dirty tricks," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday in comments on the ministry's website. Late on Friday, the Kremlin called the U.S. allegations "nonsense". "There is no proof whatsoever for such grave accusations," Ryabkov said. "(They are) ...fabricated by those who are now serving an obvious political order in Washington, continuing to whip up unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria." Ryabkov reiterated an offer to Washington, first made last year, to hold consultations on fighting cyber crime together. But he also criticized John Kerry after the U.S. Secretary of State said late on Friday that Russian and Syrian actions in the Syrian civil war, including bombings of hospitals, "beg for" a war crimes investigation. Such remarks are unacceptable and Moscow is disappointed to hear "new typically U.S. claims for being a global judge", Ryabkov said in comments to Interfax news agency published on Saturday. Referring to a resolution on Syria proposed by France for debate at the United Security Council later on Saturday, he said: "Unfortunately, we see less and less common sense in the actions of Washington and Paris". The draft resolution demands an end to air strikes and military flights over Aleppo. Moscow has already said this draft is unacceptable. (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; editing by John Stonestreet)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Russia on Saturday vetoed a United Nations draft resolution demanding an end to the bombing of Syria's war-battered city of Aleppo.

The draft text presented by France won 11 votes in favor, but there were two votes against -- including Russia -- and two abstentions, notably from veto-holder China.

It was the fifth time that Moscow used its veto to block UN action to end the five-year war in Syria, which has claimed 300,000 lives.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had urged the Security Council to take immediate action to save Aleppo from being destroyed by the Russia-backed Syrian bombing campaign.

The council "must demand immediate action in order to save Aleppo," Ayrault said ahead of the vote.

Russia has presented its own rival draft text that urges a ceasefire but does not make any mention of halting the bombing campaign, but diplomats said that measure was also expected to fail.

"What is at stake today is first and foremost the fate of Aleppo and its people," Ayrault told the council.

"But it's more than that -- it's the hope of establishing at last an end to a conflict for which we are all, all of us, paying the catastrophic consequences."

In a message directed at Russia, Ayrault said any country that opposes the French measure will "give Bashar al-Assad the possibility of killing even more."

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.

Russia and Venezuela voted against the French resolution, while China and Angola abstained.
From Popular Mechanics

Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations recently held a public safety demonstration where a stuntman jumped an old Lada Estate into the Baltic Sea. The three-day event, which roughly translations from Russian as "Road Safety for the Safety of Life International Congress," was held in St. Petersburg in an attempt to spread awareness about highway safety to a population that has almost twice as many traffic-related casualties per capita as the United States.

And also to jump some cars, apparently.

Photo credit: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty

As Wired points out, Russia suffers about 19 driving casualties per 100,000 people every year, compared to about 11 per 100,000 people in the U.S. The country is attempting to mitigate this problem with heavier fines, public safety announcements such as the recent demonstration, and improved guard rail infrastructure on Russian highways.

And by making this guy escape an old car in the freezing Baltic. In Soviet Russia, safety demonstrates you.

Photo credit: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty

h/t Wired

You Might Also Like
By Luciana Lopez and Jeff Mason NEW YORK (Reuters) - Supporters of former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Saturday expressed anger and vindication over leaked comments made by Hillary Clinton to banks and big business that appeared to confirm their fears about her support for global trade and tendency to cozy up to Wall Street. Clinton, who needs Sanders' coalition of young and left-leaning voters to propel her to the presidency, pushes for open trade and open borders in one of the speeches, and takes a conciliatory approach to Wall Street, both positions she later backed away from in an effort to capture the popular appeal of Sanders' attacks on trade deals and powerful banks. The excerpts of remarks by the former secretary of state, made in 2013 and 2014 in closed-door meetings where audiences paid to attend, were published online on Friday by WikiLeaks, which sourced them to the email account of John Podesta, Clinton's campaign chairman. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the speech transcripts. Clinton has previously declined to release any such transcripts. "This is a very clear illustration of why there is a fundamental lack of trust from progressives for Hillary Clinton, said Tobita Chow, chair of the People's Lobby in Chicago, which endorsed Sanders in the primary election. "The progressive movement needs to make a call to Secretary Clinton to clarify where she stands really on these issues and thats got to involve very clear renunciations of the positions that are revealed in these transcripts, Chow said. The revelations were quickly overshadowed by the release of an 11-year-old recording of Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, making lewd comments about women. TRUST PROBLEM Clinton has worked hard to build trust with so-called progressives, adopting several of Sanders' positions after she bested him in the primary race. The U.S. senator from Vermont now supports his former rival in the Nov. 8 general election against Trump. Still, Clinton has struggled to win support from young "millennials" who were crucial to Sanders' success, and some Democrats expressed concern that the leaks would discourage those supporters from showing up to vote. That is a big concern and this certainly doesnt help, said Larry Cohen, chair of the board of Our Revolution, a progressive organization formed in the wake of Sanders bid for the presidency, which aims to keep pushing the former candidate's ideas at a grassroots level. "It matters in terms of turnout, energy, volunteering, all those things." The Clinton campaign said it would not confirm the accuracy of the documents released by WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. "We are not going to confirm the authenticity of stolen documents released by Julian Assange, who has made no secret of his desire to damage Hillary Clinton," said Glen Caplin, a campaign spokesman. "Guccifer 2.0 has already proven the warnings of top national security officials that documents can be faked as part of a sophisticated Russian misinformation campaign," he said, referring to the hacker or hacking group that altered some data stolen from the Democratic National Committee before making it public earlier this year. The U.S. government on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the election. FACEBOOK BACKLASH The origin of the leaks did not dampen social media criticism of the speeches by some. "Bernie was right about Hillary, wrote Facebook user Grace Tilly, shes a tool for Wall Street. Clinton is the politicians politician - exactly the Wall Street insider Bernie described, wrote Facebook user Brian Leach. Spokesmen for Sanders did not respond to requests for comment. NBC News quoted a statement from Sanders saying he would work to advance the Democrats' policy platform. "Whatever Secretary Clinton may or may not have said behind closed doors on Wall Street, I am determined to implement the agenda of the Democratic Party platform which was agreed to by her campaign," the statement said. Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf said progressive voters would still choose the former first lady, even with misgivings. "Id like to meet the Bernie Sanders supporter who is going to say, 'Well Im a little worried about her on international trade, so Im going to vote for Donald Trump'," he said. (Additional reporting by Amy Tennery and Jonathan Allen; Editing by Bill Rigby)
Edinburgh (AFP) - The first biography of Adolf Hitler which presented him as "Germany's saviour" and compared him to Jesus may have been written by the future dictator himself, a Scottish historian has claimed.

"Adolf Hitler: Sein Leben und seine Reden (Adolf Hitler: His Life and his Speeches)" was the first major profile of Hitler and appeared in 1923, authored by Victor von Koerber.

Historian Thomas Weber, from Aberdeen University, has unearthed documents in a South African archive which indicates the book was "almost certainly" written by Hitler himself as a "shameless but clever act of self-promotion".

"The book, which also includes a collection of Hitlers 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 and likening his moment of politicalisation to Jesus' resurrection," Weber said.

"To find it was actually written by Hitler himself...demonstrates that he was a conniving political operator with a masterful understanding of political processes and narratives long before he drafted what is regarded as his first autobiography, 'Mein Kampf'."

Weber, a professor of history and international affairs and a visiting scholar at Harvard University, said he found the evidence while reviewing von Koerber's papers at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg for his new book about how Hitler became a Nazi.

The historian believes von Koerber was selected to front the biography due to his aristocratic lineage and reputation as a war hero.

"I found a signed testimony given under oath by the wife of the book's publisher stating that Victor von Koerber had not written the book and that Hitler had asked General Ludendorff (an ally in the failed putsch of 1923) if he could find a conservative writer without any connection to the Nazi party to put his name to it," he said.

Story continues

"I also found a statement by Koerber as well as a letter he wrote to a man with whom he had been incarcerated in a concentration camp that gave details about Hitler's authorship of the book.

"Subsequently, in Germany, I found a document from 1938 in which von Koerber alludes to Hitler writing the book, stating that it was written 'on the initiative of and with the active participation of Adolf Hitler'."

The book also contains the first reference to Hitler's "political awakening" in a military hospital which "would later be repeated in almost identical language in Mein Kampf".

Weber said: "Taken together, the pieces of evidence now available to us build a compelling picture that this was indeed an autobiography written to boost Hitler's profile as the 'German saviour' and that even at this early stage of his career he was an astute and manipulative political operator."
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 7, 2016 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Polaris Industries, Inc. ("Polaris" or the "Company") (PII) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, District of Minnesota, and docketed under 16-cv-03108, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Polaris securities between January 26, 2016 and September 11, 2016 both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"). This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act").

If you are a shareholder who purchased Polaris securities during the Class Period, you have until November 15, 2016 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

[Click here to join this class action]

Polaris, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles, and on-road vehicles in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and Mexico.

On July 23, 2015, Polaris issued a recall for the Company's model-year 2016 Youth RZR off-highway vehicle, citing fire hazards. Three other recalls of the Company's RZR vehicles followed-in October 2015, December 2015, and April 2016-affecting more than 160,000 RZR vehicles of various model years.

Nevertheless, Polaris consistently advised investors that the Company expected full year 2016 net income to be at least $6.00 per diluted share. On January 26, 2016, Polaris issued a press release reporting full-year guidance in the range of $6.20 to $6.80 per diluted share; on April 21, 2016, Polaris issued a press release maintaining the same guidance estimate; and on July 20, 2016, Polaris issued a press release only slightly lowering and narrowing its guidance range to $6.00 to $6.30 per diluted share.

Story continues

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company was unable to sufficiently validate the initially identified repair for certain of its recalled RZR vehicles; (ii) as a result, the Company would ultimately need to implement a more complex and expensive repair solution; (iii) the financial impact of RZR vehicle recalls was therefore greater than the Company had disclosed to investors; (iv) consequently, the Company had overstated its full-year 2016 guidance; and (v) as a result of the foregoing, Polaris's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On September 12, 2016, pre-market, Polaris issued a press release announcing that the Company was lowering its full-year 2016 earnings guidance to the range of $3.30 to $3.80 per diluted share. The Company attributed the lowered guidance to the impact of RZR thermal-related problems, citing, in part, the Company's inability "to sufficiently validate the initially identified RZR Turbo recall repair, necessitating a more complex and expensive repair solution."

On this news, Polaris stock fell $4.05, or 5.01%, to close at $76.79 on September 12, 2016.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
Lesbos (Greece) (AFP) - A little let-down after missing out on the Nobel Peace Prize this week, the Greek islanders of Lesbos who helped rescue refugees worry that the boats will resume after a six-month lull.

"I worry that it will begin again, all these people waiting across (in Turkey), chased by bombs still falling in Syria," says Thanassis Marmarinos, a 63-year-old fisherman.

Marmarinos is one of three residents of the coastal village of Skala Sykamias -- population 150 -- nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize this week.

A year ago, alongside fellow fisherman Stratis Valiamos, he set out to sea to save migrants trying to reach Lesbos on board overcrowded, barely-floating dinghies and boats.

Over 800,000 migrants and refugees crossed the Aegean last year. Hundreds died in the attempt.

- 'We did our duty' -

"We did what we had to do when we saw people drowning: we saved them, that is all," he told AFP this week.

"I did nothing else for five months," he adds. By his count, he helped rescue 75 boats or over 4,000 people.

Marmarinos, who later appeared before the European Parliament to tell of his experiences, says he was happy to do his "duty as a human being".

He is still haunted by some of the images imprinted in his mind.

"The worst (memory) is the babies," he says.

Speculation that the islanders were to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this week -- an accolade that eventually went to the president of Colombia -- revived painful memories of the height of last year's migration crisis for Marmarinos and many fellow locals.

A Nobel win would have been "justice" for Lesbos whose residents rushed to help the migrants with clothes and food as they emerged from the choppy waters of the Aegean, says 84-year-old grandmother Emilia Kamvysi.

The island's brisk tourism business also took a hit this year from the migration wave.

The daughter of ethnic Greek refugees from Turkey and a fisherman's widow, Kamvysi became an instant celebrity last year when she was photographed feeding a bottle of milk to a Syrian baby whose family had just landed in her coastal village of Skala Sykamias on Lesbos.

Story continues

"We are a little disappointed but there were so many candidates," she said.

Marmarinos says he has no regrets about missing out on the Nobel Peace Prize.

"We still have our good-heartedness and satisfaction about having helped these people," he said.

An EU-Turkey deal that took effect in late March and NATO warship patrols have drastically reduced the number of new arrivals, which at the height of the crisis last year could number up to 6,000.

The flow has dropped to a few dozen daily, but Turkey has repeatedly threatened to scuttle the agreement, accusing Europe of breaking promises over visa-free European travel.

"We did our duty, and we are now well prepared to react if the flow resumes," says Sykamia community leader Giorgos Saroglou.

According to Greece's migration ministry, most recent arrivals are economic migrants rather than refugees fleeing conflict.

Saroglou -- a descendant of refugees himself like many on the island -- says he wants to create a museum near the beach where the migrants landed, and where some died.

"We are certain that the children of these people will return to remember our warm reception," he says.

"These people came to obtain help, not to convert us or harm us," says Stratis Valiamos, the other Nobel-nominated fisherman.

"If bombs were falling I too would jump into a boat with my wife and daughter," he says.

The tattooed 40-year-old still remembers a Syrian couple -- a doctor and his heavily pregnant wife -- who reached Lesbos with just their clothes on their back.

"The last time they were in Greece was as tourists to the Athens (2004) Olympics."
Carlota Guerrero, a 26-year-old Spanish photographer and art director, is the woman behind Solange Knowles' stunning A Seat at the Table album cover and imagery.

It was Guerrero's creative vision for female empowerment that connected with Knowles' musical statement for her new LP, A Seat at the Table, and as Guerrero tells Billboard the two worked collaboratively to create images to project "the strength of solidarity between black women."

The issey miyake inspired dress that @mstinalawson and tim made in two days for @saintrecords and these beautiful women II --

A photo posted by Carlota Guerrero (@carlota_guerrero) on Sep 26, 2016 at 7:25am PDT

Billboard caught up with the Barcelona native to talk about her contribution to A Seat at the Table and its accompanying 112-page digital book. Discussing how she conjured the essence of Knowles music with her simple but powerful pictures.

How was your first encounter with a camera or how did you become interested in photography?

I wanted to express myself in images but I was a bit clumsy with my hands, so photography was the first technique where I felt comfortable and happy with the results. I got obsessed with taking photos of some particular subjects colors and spaces and kept going, until I started seeing I was creating a language that I really enjoyed

How did your collaboration with Solange come about? Did you she or her team reach out to you?

I've always admired her work. I think she discovered mine on Instagram and her manager asked me to join her last June to art direct a performance at the Tate Modern. We had a beautiful creative connection and kept working together in the music videos and the artwork of her new album.

In the images from the new album, A Seat at the Table, there is a sense of empowerment, femininity and self-love. Was that Solange's initial vision or was it something that you and her decided on?

I am a woman and I wake up every morning inside this woman's body, and I want to understand things about it. It feels organic for me to explore around my own condition and I guess it's the same for her. She wanted to talk about the strength of solidarity between black women and some of the images were thought to project that energy.

Story continues

What was it about Solange's vision on this project that made you want to be part of it?

I've always admired her deeply, I love so many things about her way of expressing herself: She works a lot in finding her own language and that's something that has always interested me -- creating images from your inner self and not for fashion or trends.

A special anecdote you'd like to share about working with Solange?

The scene when we got her covered in gold, she was my hero that day: It was very hot under the desert sun and we covered her in honey and glitter and she performed there for hours... She also stayed with the glitter until we got back to the hotel and with a golden cape she asked for a room to the receptionist. Her face was priceless!

 for @saintrecords

A photo posted by Carlota Guerrero (@carlota_guerrero) on Sep 30, 2016 at 9:11am PDT
When Andre 3000 addressed the crowd in Outkast's famous acceptance speech for Best New Artist at the 1995 Source Awards, he prefigured the future. After the tense crowdmade electric by the rivalry between east and west coasts, Bad Boy and Death Rowbooed the now iconic Atlanta duo, Andre said, "I'm tired of folks, them closed minded folks...you know what I'm saying? It's like we got a demo and don't nobody want to hear it, but it's like this: The south got something to say."

With those closing six words, Andre might not have laid out the roadmap for the south's commercial and creative dominance, but he did signal the coming storm that would reshape hip-hop from its New York inception and coastal wars. Vaunted groups like Outkast and UGK aside, the south still seems to draw unnecessary ire from the old guard, caught in the struggle for legitimacy as artists like Young Thug and Lil Yachty push boundaries in ways that make traditionalists uncomfortable.

Artists like North Carolina's Elevator Jay are easier for the classicists to stomach, but equally important to the rogues in further reminding listeners that the south isn't just a swath of Trump supporters and mush mouthed rappers with colorful dreads (the latter of which, by the way, is totally awesome in this fan's book).

Jay is the sort of rapper whose music bears the obvious, traceable marks of some familiar models.

"My biggest musical influences were the Dungeon Family, UGK, Devin The Dude, DJ Screw, Hypnotize Minds and Uncle Luke to name a few," says Jay. "Growing up in the Carolinas, southern rap is really all that was around me, so therefore it influenced me the most. I also grew up listening to a lot of R&B, Soul and West Coast rap. So don't let that small list of artists fool you, those were just some of my favorites. There's plenty more that paved a way for me to do what I do today."

In songs like "Pimps & Players," Big Boi's cadences, Andre's singing tone, Pimp C's drawl, and Devin The Dude's pace all pulse through Jay's able rapping, a breathing gallery of southern greats given life in one voicea voice likely to draw ready comparisons to another great inheritor of third coast legacy, Big K.R.I.T.

Story continues

More unexpected current influences range from The Internet to Toro Y Moi, Anderson Paak to Zackey Force Funk. Still, Jay's music is unmistakably southern. Dripping with thick bass lines and funky guitar licks, creaking pianos and booming 808's, Jay's two stellar projects Slurred in Mecklenburg and the aptly titled Sum'na Say play like love letters to the history of hip-hop below the Mason-Dixon line.

"In my opinion, the south has been in control of hip hop's sound for a long time now," says Jay. "I remember when we weren't getting any respect outside the south, but now hip hop is heavily influenced by us. So it's great to see the south playing a major part in rap and getting the respect we deserve."

Of course, when people speak of southern hip-hop, they're typically referring to Atlanta, the crossroads that serves as the region's unofficial capital. Jay comes from Mecklenburg County, the metropolitan area encompassing Charlotte, a four hour drive from Atlanta.

"In a nutshell, Charlotte is a big city with a small town mentality," says Jay of his hometown, one of the less celebrated in the southern hip-hop's geography. "It takes damn near an hour to circle the i485 loop around the city, but at the same time, everybody knows everybody here. If you don't like moving too fast, but not too slow either, this is the perfect place to be. One minute you can be in the city, the next minute you can be in the country."

Though slightly removed from commercial rap's Mecca, Jay sees the Carolinas beginning to foment something special.

"I know for a fact that North and South Carolina are starting to unite musically," he notes. "From concerts all the way to the music itself, we're starting to show more unity than it has ever been."

In line with those that came before him from North Carolina to Georgia to Texas, Jay's approach is decidedly grassroots.

"Permanent Vacation Deep Fried Family is a squad full of creative individuals that I joined back in 2010," he says. "Since then, we've thrown multiple parties with the goal of introducing new artists to the people. Teaming up with PV homies Rapper Shane and DJ Ahuf, we created a brand called Player Made. This brand not only focuses on southern rap culture, but we also throw parties to break new music and help local/regional artists make a name for themselves. We take turns DJing the party, playing nothing but southern rap of the past and present. I've always wanted to have a helping hand in making sure the music scene in the Carolinas earn respect."

Jay sees his music as a sort of necessary corollary to the current perception of southern hip-hop.

"To be honest, I feel like people think that all the south has to offer is dance or trap music," he continues. "Truthfully we've always put out records you could dance to, but we also had artists who made you think. Over time I feel like people were caught up in trying to make a quick dollar with a quick record, which made the attention span of the listeners a lot shorter. The demand for a lot of lyrical content that the south has to offer is not as strong as it used to be. When we were fighting for our spot on the map, our sound was authentic and you couldn't find it anywhere else. When the rest of the world caught on and the majors got a hold of it, I think it got watered down a bit."

While the airwaves might be dominated by 808's and drawls, the battle for legitimacy rages on.

"So do I think southern rappers are still battling for respect? Yes. I'm one of them. I want to bring back that authenticity of southern rap and let people know that it still exists. The south STILL has sum'na say."

Continue Reading On PigeonsandPlanes
MADRID, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Spain's economy may grow above 3.1 percent in 2016, up from the current official target of 2.9 percent, despite the current political deadlock, acting Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told reporters in Washington on Saturday.

"My understanding is that we will beat this forecast, the accurate (figure) will be better than the forecast from the International Monetary Fund," De Guindos told reporters on the sidelines of an IMF and World Bank meeting in Washington.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday increased its 2016 growth forecast for Spain to 3.1 percent from 2.6 percent. It also increased its 2017 forecast by 0.1 of a percentage point.

Spain is growing at one of the fastest paces in the euro zone despite nine months without a government after two inconclusive elections.

(Reporting By Jesus Aguado; editing by Robert Hetz)
I bring to you, all the way from the Oct. 18, 1984, Journal Gazette, this advertisement for a mens suit sale at J.C. Penneys. I want to stress, for all the dummy guys out there, this is an old advertisement. The sale is over. So please dont cut this out and go out to J.C. Penneys this weekend and try to harass some poor shopgirl as to why you cant find any of these great 1984 bargains. Dont get me wrong, you can go to Penneys anytime, please shop local, but you will have to pay todays prices for a bold check suit like you see in that photoerrdrawing.

Thanks to an encounter I had last week with some professional folks in suits, Ive been thinking a lot this week about how little I like to think about what I wear. I dont mind getting dressed up so to speak, I just dont want to ever, and I mean ever, have to put more than a seconds worth of thought into what I wear in the morning, a tradition that started when I was a kid thanks to M*A*S*H being on after the 10 p.m. local news, followed by a 6:30 a.m wake up time to catch a freezing cold rattle trap school bus.

So, school fashion was a wash as a young guy. Look, it was the '80s, Im sure the words Ocean Pacific made an appearance somewhere on my clothes in neon green paint-spattered font, but getting dressed up back at that age was usually because I had a wedding I had to go to, or if were being exact here, because my parents had to go to a wedding and I needed to look nice. And nice when youre a boy at that age meant Bugle Boy pants, black socks, and a shirt that you had to button up and that you had to tuck into your pants.

Hate is a strong word. People may say they hate mayonnaise, but do they really mean it? Probably, but first, theyre wrong about mayo, and second, hate should be reserved for something truly abhorrent; like say, having to tuck your shirt in.

Seriously. I hate tucking my shirt in. Hated it then, and I hate it now. I hate the way it looks, I hate the way it feels, and I hate trying to decide if I can maybe untuck just enough slack in the shirt so theres a little flap of see Im still kind of cool sticking out from all the way around my pants. Even as a grown man, my mom, upon seeing me about to disembark for some occasion, once still told me to tuck my shirt in. Its got to be a generational thing.

Somewhere along college I had an epiphany, stolen from Albert Einsteinok, you got me, stolen from Jeff Goldblum in The Fly who was quoting Albert Einstein, that if you wore the exact same thing every day, you wouldnt ever have to waste any mental energy on what you wore. Sounded good to me. Theres nothing like kicking off January by buying enough black and grey T-shirts to get you through the whole year; once again, no thought expended or required; although a friend who recently saw the contents of my closet asked me if I was indeed, Batman. Ok, she said Lego Batman. Same thing.

I didnt buy my first suit until somewhere around my mid-20s, that time when your friends are all starting to get married and you realize that those old Bugle Boys you have folded up in the back of your drawer from the last wedding you went to in your teens probably isnt going to cut it.

The only guy in the mens department at Bergners in Champaign was an older gent who probably smoked a pipe in his off-hours and who fixed me up right quick while that same female friend of mine who accused me of being Batman, and who admitted later that she went along to prevent me from buying a white Don Johnson, Miami Vice-style pastel jacket with a tee shirt underneath, just stood there bemused while I puffed my chest out like a real man while some Grey Ghost with pins in his mouth took my measurements.

I even rocked a tie for the first time. And well, for the last time. In the interest of full disclosure, I couldnt ever figure out how to tie it correctly, and was so clueless I didnt even know I was supposed to tuck that hangy-down part of the tie just under the knot into the little loop on the back of the tie so you cant see that bit every time the tie would swing back and forth. What a dope I was.

A few years later I looked at a picture of myself in that suit I was so proud of and felt kind of embarrassed. Maybe I felt like I just didnt look like me, or perhaps that I was trying way too hard. Thats the key; everyone wants to look good, but us guys always think were totally nailing it, but everyone can always see we dont know what were doing.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their allies recaptured several towns and villages from rebels in the west of the country on Saturday, monitors and pro-Damascus media reported, reversing rare gains made by the insurgents in recent weeks. The main government advances took place to the north of Hama, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. Damascus, backed by Russia's air force and Iranian, Lebanese and Iraqi fighters, holds the upper hand in Syria's key battleground of Aleppo, having encircled rebel-held areas of the northern city for all but a brief period since July. Rebels in Hama province, further south, captured a series of government-held towns and villages after launching an attack at the end of August. But government forces retook several of those on Saturday, in an attack which put them on the front foot in northern Hama for the first time in weeks, the Observatory said. Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah's Al Manar TV said the Syrian army had seized towns or villages including al-Talisiya, al-Qahira and Tel al-Usud. Hezbollah is fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad. The Observatory said the government side had taken advantage of recent infighting between two insurgent groups in the countryside of Idlib, north of Hama's provincial boundary. Those factions, the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa, which the United States says was once linked to al Qaeda, have been exchanging fire since early on Friday, the Observatory said. In a separate government advance against insurgents near Damascus, the Syrian army and allied forces seized a large portion of the town of al-Hameh to the northwest of the Syrian capital, the Observatory reported. (Reporting by John Davison; editing by John Stonestreet and Stephen Powell)
* HRD-negative patients show PFS benefit of 3.1 months

* Growing interest in PARP inhibitor cancer drug class

By Ben Hirschler

COPENHAGEN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Tesaro's experimental drug niraparib improved outcomes for a broad range of women with recurrent ovarian cancer in a clinical study, boosting prospects for the product, which belongs to a closely watched class of new medicines.

U.S. biotech company Tesaro had already cheered investors in June by saying that the study had met the main goal of prolonging survival without disease worsening, but full results were only reported at the annual European Society for Medical Oncology congress in Copenhagen.

The treatment helped patients live longer without their disease progressing. Even those least likely to be helped by the drug, because of their genetic profile, saw a benefit of just over three months, researchers told the meeting on Saturday.

Niraparib is a so-called PARP inhibitor that blocks enzymes involved in repairing damaged DNA, thereby helping to kill cancer cells.

AstraZeneca's Lynparza became first of the new class to reach the market when it won U.S. approval at the end of 2014, but it was only cleared for patients whose cancer tested positive for defective BRCA genes.

Tesaro aims to prove its drug can work more widely, potentially across the entire population of women needing maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer after chemotherapy.

"This is a breakthrough for patients with ovarian cancer," study leader Mansoor Raza Mirza of Copenhagen University told the meeting. "We have never seen such large benefits in progression-free survival (PFS) in recurrent ovarian cancer."

The latest findings showed that various patient populations all responded, with the biggest median PFS of 15.5 months seen in the BRCA mutation group. However, even those with no BRCA mutation and who tested negative to another test called HRD still saw a modest but significant benefit of 3.1 months.

There is now likely to be debate among doctors and investors as to whether this is enough for Tesaro to win very broad approval for its drug or whether it should be reserved for a narrower group of patients based on genetic tests.

Story continues

Myriad Genetics provided the diagnostic test that was used to recruit patients into Tesaro's drug trial, results of which were also published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Interest in PARP inhibitors has grown apace over the last year as drug developers try to target DNA repair mechanisms inside cells as a way to fight cancer.

Other companies with PARP inhibitors in development include Clovis, AbbVie and Medivation, which was recently bought by Pfizer for $14 billion.

(Editing by Alexander Smith)
* Patients negative to Myriad HRD diagnostic test also benefit

* Their median progression-free survival benefit 3.1 months

* Lead researcher sees no need for Myriad test

* Growing interest in PARP inhibitor cancer drug class (Adds further comments from study leader and Myriad)

By Ben Hirschler

COPENHAGEN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Tesaro's experimental drug niraparib improved outcomes for all women with recurrent ovarian cancer in a clinical study, boosting prospects for the product, part of a closely watched class of new medicines called PARP inhibitors.

The finding suggests that a Myriad Genetics companion diagnostic test, designed to select suitable patients, may not be necessary.

U.S. biotech company Tesaro already cheered investors in June by saying that the study had met the main goal of prolonging survival without disease worsening, but full results were only reported at the annual European Society for Medical Oncology congress in Copenhagen.

The treatment helped patients live longer without their disease progressing. Even those least likely to be helped by the drug because of their genetic profile saw a benefit of 3.1 months, researchers told the meeting on Saturday.

Niraparib and other PARP inhibitors block enzymes involved in repairing damaged DNA, thereby helping to kill cancer cells.

AstraZeneca's Lynparza became first of the new class of drug to reach the market when it won U.S. approval at the end of 2014, but it was only cleared for patients whose cancer tested positive for defective BRCA genes.

Tesaro hopes to show its drug can work across the entire population of women needing maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer after being given platinum-based chemotherapy.

Study leader Mansoor Raza Mirza of Copenhagen University believes that case has now been made.

"Our conclusion is that all patients have a benefit and all patients must be treated," he told reporters at the meeting.

"This is a breakthrough for patients with ovarian cancer. We have never seen such large benefits in progression-free survival (PFS) in recurrent ovarian cancer."

Story continues

The latest findings showed that various patient populations all responded, with the biggest median PFS of 15.5 months seen in the BRCA mutation group.

However, even those with no BRCA mutation and who tested negative to another test called HRD, made by Myriad, still saw a benefit of 3.1 months.

There is now likely to be debate among doctors and investors as to whether this is enough for Tesaro to win very broad approval for its drug or whether it should be reserved for a narrower group of patients based on genetic testing.

Mirza is convinced it should be used widely and dismissed the need for the HRD test. "You don't need it because all patients benefit," he said.

He estimates niraparib could benefit 70 percent of all ovarian cancer patients, against 15 to 20 percent who are currently deemed suited for AstraZeneca's Lynparza.

Myriad's chief medical officer, Johnathan Lancaster, contested Mirza's view, arguing that a treatment benefit of just over three months was modest and patient selection still made sense.

Results of the study were also published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Interest in PARP inhibitors has grown apace over the last year as drug developers try to target DNA repair mechanisms inside cells as a way to fight cancer.

Other companies with PARP inhibitors in development include Clovis, AbbVie and Medivation, which was recently bought by Pfizer for $14 billion.

(Editing by Alexander Smith and John Stonestreet)
Los Angeles (AFP) - Two US police officers were fatally shot and one injured while responding to a domestic disturbance call in Palm Springs, California, police said.

The shooting occurred on Saturday after two officers went to a home after receiving a report from a female caller that her adult son was causing a disturbance, police chief Bryan Reyes told journalists.

"The male refused to open the door and threatened to shoot the officers through the closed doors," Reyes said.

Approximately 10 minutes after they first responded, the two officers called for emergency reinforcement and said that shots had been fired.

"It was a simple family disturbance and (the gunman) elected to open fire," an emotional Reyes said.

"I'm awake in a nightmare right now."

Three officers were wounded in the gunfire and taken to a local hospital, where two of them died.

"Today, Palm Springs lost two brave officers," Reyes said, his voice trembling. "They go out every day and put their boots on the ground for everybody in this community.

"They gave it all for you."

Reyes said the third victim was at the hospital but was "alert" and assisting investigators.

The police chief identified the victims as Jose Gilbert Vega, a 35-year old veteran of the department who was due to retire in December, and Lesley Zerebny, a 27-year-old officer who gave birth to a child four months ago.

The Palm Springs police chief said the area where the shooting occurred was still an active scene and the investigation had been turned over to the central homicide unit of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

The suspect remains at large and Reyes said police do not know his exact whereabouts, but "it's still a fluid situation and there's belief that he still may be in the house."
Sanaa (AFP) - Saudi-led air strikes on a funeral in Sanaa on Saturday killed more than 100 people and wounded more than 500, the rebels in control of the Yemeni capital said.

"The toll is very high: more than 520 wounded and more than 100 martyrs," health ministry spokesman Tamim al-Shami told rebel television channel Almasirah.

He sais the toll was likely to rise further as there were "charred human remains" that have yet to be identified and many people unaccounted for following the strikes on a building where mourners had gathered in southern Sanaa.

There was no independent confirmation of the toll.

Senior health ministry official Nasser al-Argaly earlier gave a toll of 82 killed and 534 wounded.

Witnesses said hundreds of people were attending the funeral of the father of a rebel interior minister Jalal al-Rowaishan when the building was hit.

The Huthis did not say if Rowaishan was present in the building at the time of the attack which they dubbed a "massacre" nor did they indicate if other senior figures were attending the funeral.

The Iran-backed Huthis swept into Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced across much of Yemen, forcing the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee Sanaa.

More than 6,700 people -- most of them civilians -- have been killed in Yemen since the coalition intervened in support of Hadi in March last year, according to the United Nations.
Tom Hanks and Lady Gaga will be on SNL together because this season is already epic

Season 42 of Saturday Night Live is already rocking our world with its serious star power. Last week Margot Robbie straight-up slayed as a host (Her Ivanka! OMG forever!!!), with some pitch-perfect cameos from Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump, Larry David as Bernie Sanders, and Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton.

SNL is never smarter, funnier, and more watchable than during a president election, this is a truth universally acknowledged.

And, of course, tonight our beloved Lin-Manuel Miranda takes the SNL stage and if he doesnt end up being one of the greatest SNL hosts of all time, then we dont have the entire cast album of Hamilton memorized and ready to sing on cue (Just to be clear, we do, so he will be.)

lin m

Just when we thought Season 42 couldnt get any better, we find out that next week Emily Blunt is hosting and Bruno Mars is musical guesting, and the week after Tom Hanks is coming back to SNL for the first time in *ten years* to host the October 22nd episode!

The last time Hanks hosted was in 2006 when he was promoting The Da Vinci Code, and with another big Dan Brown book-to-film adaptation to hustle for, Hanks is returning to SNL to get the word out about reprising his role as famous symbologist Robert Langdon in the upcoming Inferno.

And, of course, as the SNL cork board told you, Lady Gaga will be musical guesting.

We wouldnt be surprised if we saw her act in a sketch or two as well. She is, after all, a recently-minted Golden Globe-winning actress.

lady gagaga

Okay, SNL is off to an officially epic start this October. Who needs Saturday night plans out on the town when you can just stay home this month and have these geniuses entertain you silly?

The post Tom Hanks and Lady Gaga will be on SNL together because this season is already epic appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Grizzled weirdo Tom Waits is currently embroiled in a legal battle with French circus performer Bartabas The Furious. That kind of sounds like a joke, but its true  The Guardian reports that the dispute is over the rights to 16 Tom Waits songs used in Bartabas equestrian operatic ballet On Acheve Bien les Anges, which roughly translates to They Shoot Angels, Dont They? Waits claims that the 16 songs comprise the narrative heart and soul of the show and that Bartabas impersonates him onstage, and he and his songwriting partner (and wife) Kathleen Brennan are asking for 500,000 in compensation.

Last month, after Waits attempted to have the production shut down in France, a French court ruled in Bartabas favor. The French performer claims that he approached Waits agent to get permission to use the songs and that a fee of 400,000 has already been paid. It is clear that I would not have created this show in the same way if he had said he did not agree with the use of his songs, Bartabas says.

But now, Waits has filed a second claim in civil court, which could delay Bartabas plans to bring the production to the UK. These songs were not found like driftwood on the beach: they came from good families, Waits writes in his complaint. I turn down all commercial product endorsement offers and rarely collaborate or lend my name or work to other endeavours. It is my choice to get paid or not to get paid. And that value has been taken and exploited for the profit and promotion of Bartabass career and for his religious and political ideology, which neither the songs nor I chose to express. In short, it violates the integrity of my work.

A final decision on the matter will be reached next year.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Genocide and the fact that it has not been condemned served the basis for such crimes to be repeated, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial, reports Armenpress.

The Armenian Genocide story is very close to French people since there is an important factor the Armenian community of France, and we highly appreciate its role. We all are the bearers of this tragedy, she said.

She recalled that in 2015 an exhibition about the Armenian Genocide has been organized in Paris Municipality, and said people in Paris still remember it.

That exhibition was really successful. Now we have received a proposal to hold new exhibition in 2018, the main emphasis of which is sporting world and Armenia. Of course, we will work with the Armenian leadership over this proposal, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said and added that the French people are always with Armenians.
Ben Carson

A top adviser to Ben Carson, the former Republican presidential candidate and prominent surrogate for Donald Trump, said Carson is "firmly" standing by Trump after a leaked recording revealed the nominee making vulgar comments about women.

"There are two issues. The tape itself, which unfortunately is the kind of language that we hear in rap music, we hear in probably coarse conversation, you know, unfortunately, we hear this," Armstrong Williams told Business Insider on Saturday afternoon. "No one listening to that tape in media and political life has not heard it before."

Williams said he'd talked to Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who was a favorite among evangelical voters, a few minutes prior to speaking with Business Insider. Carson said he'd spoken to Trump and accepted his apology.

"He apologized for it, they've spoken extensively. Dr. Carson accepts it, and he's firmly in his corner," Williams said.

Williams pointed out that the recording is 11 years old and that it's "not disqualifying."

"This is a very forgiving nation," Williams said. "They're willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. You've just got to learn from it."

He continued: "I know there are many people who feel there's no way he can survive with this, But Dr. Carson thinks there's a very good chance of him not only surviving, but winning the White House in November."

Several prominent Republicans have withdrawn their support of Trump since a 2005 recording surfaced Friday showing Trump making vulgar comments about women. Trump, who was newly married to his wife Melania at the time, was heard saying that he had tried to sleep with a married woman. He also talked about being able to "grab" women "by the p---y" because "when you're a star they let you do it."

Trump issued a statement Friday afternoon dismissing his comments as "locker room banter," but after the firestorm of criticism continued, he followed it up with a recorded apology that he posted to his Facebook page early Saturday morning.

Story continues

"I think all the American people want to see is humility, remorse, and that he's learning," Williams said. "They've shown all along that they're willing to forgive him for just about anything. And this is no exception."

NOW WATCH: Clinton opens up a massive lead against Trump, with lopsided support from a key voting demographic





More From Business Insider


DUBAI (Reuters) - A top general in forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government has been killed in fighting with Iran-aligned Houthi troops east of the capital Sanaa, sources on both sides of the conflict said. Major-General Abdel-Rab al-Shadadi, commander of Yemen's Third Military Region -- which has its headquarters in the city of Marib east of Sanaa -- was the most senior member of the pro-Hadi forces to be killed in nearly 19 months of civil war in Yemen. The Houthi-run Saba news agency quoted a pro-Houthi military source as saying late on Friday that artillery gunners targeted Shadadi after they pinpointed his location. On Saturday, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya channel quoted a statement from the Hadi government as saying Shadadi died in hospital after being badly wounded in Marib. A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting to restore Hadi to power since March 2015, after the Iran-aligned Houthis seized Sanaa and forced the government into exile. U.N.-sponsored talks to stop the fighting, which has killed more than 10,000 people, ended inconclusively in August. Last month, a source in the Saudi-led coalition said the head of Houthi special forces, Major General Hassan Almalsi, was killed while leading a squad of Houthi fighters trying to infiltrate Yemen's southern province of Najran. Tehran views the Houthis as the legitimate authority in Yemen but denies accusations by Saudi Arabia and Yemen that it supplies them with arms. The Houthis say they are fighting a revolution against a corrupt government and its Gulf backers. Saudi Arabia sees regional rival Iran as the paramount threat to Middle East stability because of its support for Shi'ite militias that Riyadh says have inflamed sectarian violence. (Reporting by Mohamed Ghobari, writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by John Stonestreet)
Mark Kirk

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk said Donald Trump should drop out of the presidential race, urging the GOP to enact rules for "emergency replacement," after lewd audio of the Republican presidential nominee was leaked on Friday.

The Illinois senator tweeted amid a whirlwind of prominent Republicans denouncing Trump  including 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, RNC chairman Reince Priebus, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Kirk is the first incumbent GOP official who called on Trump to drop out, following demands from AJ Spiker  the former chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, and Jon Huntsman, the former governor of Utah.

The real-estate mogul recently bashed Kirk, who does not support Trump, saying that Kirk is "not doing so well" in the Senate race and adding, "That's his problem."

Kirk tweeted firmly:

.@realDonaldTrump should drop out. @GOP should engage rules for emergency replacement.  Mark Kirk (@SenatorKirk) October 8, 2016

Spiker as well:

Donald Trump should resign as the Republican nominee for president, he brags about sexuality harassing women. He is unfit for public office  AJ Spiker (@AJSpiker) October 7, 2016

Huntsman told The Salt Lake Tribune, "In a campaign cycle that has been nothing but a race to the bottom  at such a critical moment for our nation  and with so many who have tried to be respectful of a record primary vote, the time has come for Governor Pence to lead the ticket."

Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado joined Kirk and Spiker urging Trump to "step aside" seeing as how his defeat is all but certain.

Coffman's comment:

NOW WATCH: 'He never said that': New Clinton ad shows Trump contradicting Pence's VP debate denials





More From Business Insider


Paris (AFP) - Donald Trump has no chance of winning the US presidential election, best-selling US writer Douglas Kennedy has told AFP -- but if he did, he would be an "American Mussolini".

"Trump has no chance," said Kennedy of the Republican candidate in next month's US presidential election.

But the fact that he was even in the running for the White House was indicative of "the rise of the far right all around the world," he said in an interview at his home in Paris.

"It's not just a US phenomenon," he said, pointing to what he called the "Brexit disaster", when Britain voted in a referendum in June to pull out of the European Union.

"Donald Trump is misogynist, misanthropic," said Kennedy. "He has an ego the size of Canada. He has no culture, he never reads.

"Compared to Trump, (former US president) George W. Bush was Chateaubriand," he quipped, referring to the French 18th century writer and historian.

But he warned: "If he was elected, Trump would be the American Mussolini."

Kennedy, whose 12 novels include "The Big Picture" and "The Pursuit of Happiness", said his vote would go to the Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.

"She will be a very great president," he said, denouncing what he said was the misogynistic abuse she had faced.

"There has never been such a gulf between a progressive America turned towards the outside world -- as embodied by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama -- and the ultra-religious, anti-abortion, pro-family values vision defended by the Republicans," he said.

Kennedy, 61, has sold millions of copies of his books worldwide, which have been translated into 22 languages. Several have been adapted for the cinema, including "The Woman in the Fifth" which came out in 2011, starring Ethan Hawke.

He divides his time between Britain, Canada, the United States -- and France, where he has a large following.
(Editors Note: Attention language that may be offensive to some readers in paragraphs 21, 22, 23) By Emily Stephenson and Ginger Gibson NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With his campaign in crisis, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump vowed on Saturday to stay in the race despite calls from more than two dozen prominent Republicans for him to drop out following the release of a recording of him making lewd comments about women. Both Trump's wife and his running mate criticized his words, saying they were insulting and indefensible. "The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN!" Trump wrote on Saturday afternoon on the social media website Twitter. The video was the latest calamity for Trump, who had hoped to revive his flagging campaign in the face of a recent drop in polls with less than a month until Election Day. Trump is due to appear alongside Democrat Hillary Clinton on Sunday in their second debate in the runup to the general election. Clinton is not expected to address Trump's video before then. The 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped only months after Trump married his third wife, Melania. In a statement, Melania Trump called her husband's words "unacceptable and offensive to me." "This does not represent the man that I know," she said. "He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world." The backlash over the video was swift and widespread. More than 60 prominent Republican current and former officeholders issued statements condemning Trump's remarks about women, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and John McCain, the party's standard bearer in 2008. More than 20 called for Trump to end his presidential bid. In an unusual move, his vice presidential running mate Mike Pence issued a critical statement of Trump's words, saying on Twitter that he "cannot defend them." "As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump," said Pence, who is governor of Indiana. Pence indicated he would continue to support Trump, despite calls from several Republicans for Trump to step aside and let Pence be the nominee. There is no precedent for a major party to replace its nominee this late in the campaign and it was unclear if there was an avenue to force him out. Voting has begun in several states, including swing states Virginia and North Carolina. A recorded apology by Trump early on Saturday did not stymie an avalanche of calls from members of his party to quit. Trump huddled on Saturday in Trump Tower with senior advisers, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He left the building briefly to greet a small crowd of supporters, saying "100 percent" he would remain in the race. Before returning to a bank of elevators, he told reporters, "Tremendous support." Trump quickly moved to do damage control in Saturday's video in which he declared himself a changed man and attempted to shift the focus to his opponent Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. On Twitter, Trump posted critical statements from Juanita Broaddrick, a woman who has accused Bill Clinton of sexually assaulting her. "Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page. COMMENTS CONDEMNED Trump has struggled to win over women voters, and the video was expected to further feed Democratic criticism about his past behavior toward women. Trump's support has suffered among suburban women and white, college-educated women, groups that Republicans have traditionally won. In the recording that triggered the firestorm, Trump said of one woman, "I did try and fuck her. She was married." He went on to discuss his attraction to others. "I just start kissing them," he said. "And when youre a star they let you do it." "Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything," Trump said. On Saturday afternoon, CNN published a separate report detailing remarks Trump made over the course of several years while appearing on Howard Stern's radio program. The remarks included discussing the size of his daughter's breasts and that he once had sex with three women at the same time. Trump was asked if he would have sex with a black woman and responded, "It depends on what your definition of black is." The remarks were the last straw for some Republicans who have stuck with him through a series of controversial remarks, including calling Mexican immigrants "rapists" and "criminals," calling for a ban on Muslim immigrants, attacking a judge of Mexican descent, attacking the Gold Star family of a Muslim soldier killed at war and saying Senator John McCain was not a war hero because he had been a prisoner of war. House Speaker Paul Ryan disinvited Trump to a scheduled appearance on Saturday in Wisconsin. Pence declined to speak in his place. The list of Republicans announcing they would not vote for Trump or calling on him to step aside grew on Saturday: Senators Kelly Ayotte, Lisa Murkowsi, Dan Sullivan, Mark Kirk, Jeff Flake, John Thune, Mike Crapo, Shelley Moore Capito and Mike Lee; House members Jason Chaffetz, Mia Love, Joe Heck, Bradley Byrne, Martha Roby and Barbara Comstock; and Governors John Kasich, Dennis Daugaard and Gary Herbert. Additionally, former presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Carly Fiorina and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Trump to quit. "Donald Trumps behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy," McCain said in a statement. While Democrats largely remained silent, opting to let Republicans attack one of their own, Vice President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter, "The words are demeaning. Such behavior is an abuse of power. Its not lewd. Its sexual assault." Some prominent Republicans indicated they would stick with Trump. Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, said they would continue to support him. "I think 10 years ago he was a different man," said Representative Jack Kingston, a Republican from Georgia. "I am very glad that he quickly apologized." (Additional reporting by Grant Smith, Amy Tennery, Jeff Mason and Emily Flitter in New York, Ayesha Rascoe in Chicago, Steve Holland, Amanda Becker, Eric Beech and Mohammed Zargham in Washington; Writing by Ginger Gibson, Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton; Editing by James Dalgleish, Toni Reinhold)
Image: Courtesy of Tic Tac USA

Tic Tac USA  the maker of the iconic breath mints Donald Trump referred to while bragging about kissing and groping women in a lewd 2005 conversation published Friday  has condemned the Republican nominees comments.

Tic Tac respects all women, the Somerset, N.J.-based company said in a statement posted on its Twitter feed Saturday. We find the recent statements and behavior completely inappropriate and unacceptable.

Tic Tac respects all women. We find the recent statements and behavior completely inappropriate and unacceptable.  Tic Tac USA (@TicTacUSA) October 8, 2016

The statement was released a day after the Washington Post published a leaked video of the exchange between Trump and then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush as they were arriving on the set of Days of Our Lives to tape a segment about the real estate moguls upcoming cameo on the soap opera.

At one point, Trump sees a soap opera actress waiting to escort them to the set and boasts that his celebrity status allows him to do anything to women.

Ive got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her, Trump can be heard telling Bush on an open mic. You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful  I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait.

And when youre a star, they let you do it, he adds. You can do anything.

Its not the first time a candy company has distanced itself from the Trump campaign.

Last month, Mars Inc., the maker of Skittles, released a terse statement after Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a meme comparing Skittles to Syrian refugees.

Skittles are candy; refugees are people, a spokesperson for the company said in a statement on Sept. 20, a day after the younger Trumps tweet. Its an inappropriate analogy.
By Umit Bektas ANKARA (Reuters) - Two militants believed to be preparing a car bomb attack detonated explosives and were killed near Ankara on Saturday after Turkish police told them to surrender, the provincial governor said. The blast, which he saw as linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) armed group, coincided with a fresh spate of violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast which killed 12 people, with police gunfire killing four of them, authorities said. "It looks like there is a high probability of a PKK link," Ankara Governor Ercan Topaca told reporters at the scene of the explosion outside the capital, describing the militants as one male and one female. Video footage showed forensic teams in white overalls inspecting the site as police secured the area around a hut in flat countryside on the road to the town of Haymana. "A big disaster was prevented. They were probably going to attack Ankara," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told broadcaster CNN Turk in an interview, also pointing the finger at the PKK. "...Turkey is in a critical position. There are clashes in Syria and Iraq and sources of terror there." The PKK leadership is based in the mountains of northern Iraq and Syria's Kurdish YPG militia has close ties to the group. A rebel operation backed by Turkey in Syria aims to push both jihadist group Islamic State and YPG forces away from the border. On Turkey's border with Iraq, in the Cukurca district, Turkish troops killed eight PKK militants in the latest clash on Friday, the military said in a statement. Further east near the Iranian border, four people were killed and two seriously wounded by gunfire from an armored police vehicle in the town of Yuksekova, the local governor's office said in a statement. It said the officer in the vehicle's gun turret was detained by colleagues and an investigation launched, citing the officer as saying the gun had gone off without him touching the trigger. "The massacre today heightens fears that there has been a move to a regime of public executions. This provocation directly targets the people," the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said in a statement. SECURITY MEETING President Tayyip Erdogan was to chair a security meeting with military and political leaders in Istanbul on Saturday, sources from his offices said. The reason was not clear. At the scene of Saturday's explosion in Ankara, police seized two pieces of plastic explosives and 200 kg (440 pounds) of ammonium nitrate, the governor's office said in a statement. Ammonium nitrate is an ingredient in bomb-making. It said security forces moved against the militants at 6:00 am (2300 EST) at a stud farm 30 km (19 miles) from the capital after a tip-off from the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir. An identity card found at the scene, believed to belong to one of the would-be bombers, was of a man from the southeastern province of Bingol. A third individual was also being sought, the governor said. The PKK has fought a three-decade-old insurgency which has killed more than 40,000 people. It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. A two-year-old ceasefire between the group and the Turkish state collapsed in July last year, triggering renewed violence. On Thursday a bomb attack near a police station in Istanbul wounded 10 people. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), a PKK offshoot, claimed responsibility for that blast. (Writing by Daren Butler; editing by Mark Heinrich and Stephen Powell)
Ankara (AFP) - Two people suspected of planning a car bomb attack on the Turkish capital Ankara on Saturday blew themselves up after being confronted by police, averting what the justice minister called a "huge disaster".

The suspects, who both died in the explosion, were believed to be preparing an attack when they set off the explosives, the official Anadolu news agency said.

"A huge disaster has been prevented. It is probable they would have attacked Ankara.... All signs are pointing to the PKK terrorist organisation," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told the CNN-Turk broadcaster.

The bombing comes two days before the first anniversary of Turkey's deadliest terror attack in its modern history in Ankara which left 103 dead.

Ankara governor Ercan Topaca told reporters at the scene it was "highly likely" that the suspects had connections to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"The materials used, the construction and the way it was planned point to the PKK...." he said, quoted by Anadolu.

The PKK -- proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and US -- has been waging a 32-year insurgency against the state in the country's southeast.

Bozdag added that Turkey was in a "critical position" in the region and referred to "sources of terror" in Syria and Iraq where conflict is raging.

Video published by Dogan news agency showed the moment officers urged the suspects to surrender before a large and loud explosion sends clouds of smoke and rubble thrown into the air.

Violence returned to the region after the collapse of a two-year ceasefire last year with hundreds of Turkish security forces killed and thousands of militants dead.

In the latest clashes, eight PKK militants were "neutralised" in Cukurcu district in Hakkari province on the border with northern Iraq, the Turkish armed forces said, quoted by Anadolu.

- Police swoop -

The governor said police swooped early on Saturday after a tip-off from Diyarbakir, a mainly Kurdish province in Turkey's southeast.

Story continues

No-one else was killed or injured in the blast understood to have taken place close to a black car in the town of Haymana, around 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Ankara, the governor's office said in a statement.

The suspects were believed to have been hiding in a hut near a stud farm.

"The security forces launched the operation and warned (them) to surrender. A short while later (and) before any intervention, two terrorists confirmed to be a man and a woman detonated themselves," the statement added.

In televised comments, Topaca also said the suspects were a male born in the eastern province of Bingol and an unidentified female. She was later named in Turkish media.

He added that the authorities were looking for a third person adding that the bombers had hung a Turkish flag on the car to avoid suspicion.

An ID card was also found at the scene, the statement said.

Forensic investigators wearing white overalls were inspecting the area of countryside where the burnt-out black car was found, an AFP photographer said.

On Friday, the Kurdish group Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) with ties to the PKK claimed responsibility for a motorbike bombing on Thursday near a police station in Istanbul which wounded 10 people.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was due to chair a security meeting in Istanbul from 1530 (1230 GMT), according to the presidency website, although further details on what would be discussed was not given.
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Family members of U.S. personnel in Democratic Republic of Congo can return to the country, the U.S. embassy said late on Friday, one week after ordering them to leave over safety concerns related to the volatile political climate. At least 50 people were killed last month in anti-government protests in the capital Kinshasa and the United States has slapped sanctions on three members of President Joseph Kabila's inner circle for allegedly committing human rights abuses and helping block planned elections. "The order to depart was made last week out of an abundance of caution considering the unstable and unpredictable security situation in the DRC," the embassy said in a statement on its Facebook page. "In our latest re-evaluation, we have assessed that security conditions permit the return of family members," it added. Kabila, who has ruled Africa's top copper producer since his father's assassination in 2001, is barred by the constitution from standing in the next presidential election, originally scheduled for next month. Kabila's opponents say he is intentionally delaying the elections to cling to power and have vowed protests to force him from office this year. The government, however, says the delay is due to budgetary and logistical obstacles. (Reporting By Aaron Ross; Editing by Bernard Orr)
By Mark Hosenball, Dustin Volz and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government for the first time on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election. "We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities," a U.S. government statement said on Friday about hacking of political groups. "These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S. election process." U.S. intelligence officials concluded weeks ago that the Russian government was conducting or orchestrating cyber attacks against the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, possibly to disrupt or discredit the election, in which Democrat Hillary Clinton faces Republican Donald Trump. A Kremlin spokesman called the U.S. allegations "nonsense", the Interfax news agency reported. On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. accusations lacked any proof and were an attempt by Washington to fan "unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria". "This whipping up of emotions regarding 'Russian hackers' is used in the U.S. election campaign, and the current U.S. administration, taking part in this fight, is not averse to using dirty tricks," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday in comments posted on the ministry's website. The Obama administration's decision to blame Russia for the attacks is the latest downward turn in U.S. relations with Moscow, which are under strain over Russia's actions in Syria and Ukraine and in cyberspace. Also on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russian and Syrian actions in the Syrian civil war, including bombings of hospitals, "beg for" a war crimes investigation. In addition, a U.S. intelligence official said on Friday that Russia was moving short-range nuclear-capable missiles into Kaliningrad, a tiny Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania, confirming Estonian news reports. Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, said the public blaming for the hacks left one remaining question of "why Donald Trump continues to make apologies for the Russians". Trump had previously expressed doubt about Russia's involvement. In July, he suggested Russia should attempt to retrieve and publish emails from Clinton's private server. Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hours after the U.S. government's accusation was levied, WikiLeaks posted hundreds of emails on its website purportedly hacked from Podesta's private account. CHANGE IN TONE Until Friday, the Obama administration had avoided publicly singling out Russia in connection with the mounting civilian deaths in Syria or the cyber attacks. 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. However, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said U.S. officials had concluded that the hacking attacks or probes of state voter registration systems were "consistent with Russian motivations". Concern has grown about the reliability of the U.S. voting system as a result of the breach, and Trump has called the system "rigged," but without providing specific evidence. U.S. intelligence officials have said there is no evidence that voting recording systems have been manipulated. Identifying Russia as the actor behind the cyber attacks on political organizations falls short of more punitive measures the United States has taken against other countries for cyber intrusions. Lawmakers of both political parties welcomed the formal accusation. 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. Earlier this year, a U.S. grand jury indicted seven Iranians employed by two Iran-based computer firms on charges of hacking into the U.S. financial sector. In 2015, Obama announced sanctions against North Korea for hacking into Sony Pictures. In 2014, the United States charged five Chinese military hackers for economic espionage aimed at U.S. nuclear, metals and solar industries. A senior U.S. official said the administration is considering other retaliatory steps against Russia, but he declined to identify them. Those steps may remain covert, the official said. The Democratic National Committee publicly disclosed intrusions into its systems in June and held Russia responsible. Leaks of committee emails from pro-transparency group WikiLeaks soon followed, demonstrating what appeared to be favoritism for Clinton over another Democrat, Bernie Sanders, by committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, stepped down. In Friday's statement, the government said disclosures of emails by WikiLeaks and hacking entities known as DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. WikiLeaks has not identified the source of its leaks and criticized those who have claimed it was Russia. Guccifer 2.0 has identified itself as a Romanian hacker, but U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Guccifer 2.0 and DCLeaks are both a front for Russian spy units. (Reporting by Mark Hosenball, Dustin Volz and Jonathan Landay, writing by Dustin Volz and Julia Edwards; Editing by Grant McCool and Mark Heinrich)
By Leika Kihara

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew stressed the importance of adhering to a Group of 20 agreement to refrain from competitive currency devaluation in a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday.

"Secretary Lew underscored that the commitments made by the G20 in Shanghai to use all policy tools ... to promote growth, refrain from competitive devaluation and not target exchange rates for competitive purposes," have contributed to confidence in the global economy in recent months, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

Lew and Aso met on Friday on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings.

In an earlier news conference on Friday, Lew said Washington "continued to emphasise the need" for countries to refrain from "begger-thy-neighbor" policies of attempting to weaken their currencies to revive their economies.

Japanese policymakers have frequently threatened to intervene in the currency market to stem sharp yen rises that could hurt exports. Washington has consistently warned Tokyo against intervening, branding such attempts as competitive devaluation.

In the news conference, Lew welcomed Japan's decision to postpone a second sales tax hike and compile a fiscal stimulus package to revive growth.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A United Nations report has slammed the tiny-Pacific island nation of Nauru for it's failure to protect asylum seeker children from sexual abuse inside the country's Australian-run detention center. Under Australia's hard-line immigration policy, asylum seekers intercepted trying to reach the country by boat are sent for processing to a camp in Nauru or to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and are not eligible for resettlement in Australia. "The Committee in concerned at the inhuman and degrading treatment, including physical, psychological and sexual abuse, against asylum seeking and refugee children living in the Regional Processing Centres," the report from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said. The report also highlighted the lack of basic services, such as clean drinking water and mental health support for the 70 children, who are among the over 500 asylum seekers detained on Nauru. Australias offshore processing camps for asylum seekers have been heavily criticized by human rights groups over allegations systemic abuses of the detainees, including sexual assault of women and children. A series of self-immolations and other incidents of self-harm by asylum seekers on Nauru, led to the death of at least one refugee in May. "Australia cant escape its own responsibility, nothing happens on Nauru without Australias approval," Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said. The Australian government contracts a private company to manage the detention facility's on Nauru and in PNG. A spokesperson from the Nauru government and the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection did not respond to request to comment on the report. The report comes amid uncertainty over the future of the center, as the company contracted to run the facility, in April said they would not continue to do so after 2017. [nL3N17X03H] (Reporting by Jarni Blakkarly; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government needs to immediately rule out leaving the European Union without securing preferential access to the bloc's single market, or investment will suffer, the head of a leading business organization said on Saturday. Financial markets have already reacted to signs Britain could be heading for a 'hard Brexit' with limited access to the bloc, as sterling tumbled to its lowest in 31 years on Friday. Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said the government had not publicly excluded the possibility it would accept a very poor trade deal to secure other goals when leaving the EU in just over two years' time. "What we would like is a ruling out of the really worst options," Fairbairn said in an interview with the BBC on Saturday after she and the leaders of three other trade bodies had made a similar call to the government late on Friday. "It is the investment decisions that are being taken now that make this urgent," Fairbairn added. Earlier this week Prime Minister Theresa May said she wanted to give British businesses the "maximum freedom" to trade with and operate within the EU, when she starts formal exit talks early next year. But she said it was non-negotiable that Britain would block free movement of EU citizens and reject the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. The EU views both these as integral to its single market for trade, capital and labour. If Britain fails to agree at least a temporary trade deal with the EU before the two-year legal time limit on formal exits talks expires, then it will default to World Trade Organization rules for access to the single market. These involve tariffs on manufactured goods and many restrictions on services. "Every credible study that has been conducted has shown that this WTO option would do serious and lasting damage to the UK economy and those of our trading partners," the CBI and three other trade bodies, the EEF, ICC and techUK, said in the letter. U.S. TRADE DEAL? Separately on Saturday, Don DiMicco, the trade advisor to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, said he would favour Britain over the EU for a trade deal once it left the bloc. "Absolutely," DiMicco said when asked this in a BBC interview. "They (the British) are our friends, they have always supported us, and we've worked together, and they are leaving the EU in our estimation for the right reasons. President Barack Obama said before June's referendum that Britain would be at the back of the line for future trade deals after it left the EU, and again last month ruled out the prospect of a rapid deal. The Telegraph reported on Saturday that Britain's interior ministry planned to allow all 3.6 million EU citizens currently in Britain to stay after Brexit - something the government had previously said was subject to negotiation. By 2019 most would be entitled to permanent residency under current laws, and it was "a given" that the rest would be allowed to stay too, the newspaper quoted one source as saying. Another source said: "They will be allowed to remain in Britain. But it is important that reciprocal agreements are made with the EU to ensure that British people abroad get the same rights." Britain's interior ministry declined to comment specifically on the Telegraph article, but pointed to remarks by May where she said she hoped to secure the rights of EU citizens to stay. Earlier this week interior minister Amber Rudd said businesses could be required to list the number of foreign staff they hired and train more British ones. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Stephen Powell)
The closing show of Beyonce's 49-date, six-month-long Formation tour at New Jersey's Metlife Stadium on Friday night (Oct. 7) was "something special," as the Queen herself told the crowd.

She was right: Not because there was any drastic overhaul of the show - which, of course, is nothing less than the greatest all-around musical performer of the past quarter-century continuously challenging herself with Olympic feats of talent, skill, creative direction and endurance. But rather because the concert - which was inadvertently the finale because it was originally scheduled for a month earlier but postponed because of a doctor-mandated vocal rest - had an unusual level of closing-night wistfulness even from this highly emotive performer, and took place just across the river from her adopted hometown of New York.

Oh, and she for the first time in the entire tour, she brought out guests - none other than husband Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar and even Serena Williams.

With a few exceptions - there was no "Single Ladies," no "Irreplaceable," no cover of Prince's "Beautiful Ones" - the show was largely the same one you've been seeing or reading about since it launched in Miami on April 29. The fireworks, the 50-foot flames, the "Monolith" - the gargantuan 60-foot-tall, rotating LED cube at the center of the main stage - and wall of lights around it, the runway and secondary stage at center of the floor, which transformed into a huge wading pool Beyonce and the dancers performed the last few songs in. Likewise, the set list was pretty much intact: themed segments leaning heavily on Lemonade - ambitiously beginning the show with the album's two most-popular songs, "Formation" and "Sorry" - before a closing volley of earlier hits.

Read more: The Many Outfit Changes of Beyonce at the VMAs

But the most fascinating aspect of nearly everything Beyonce has done over the past few years has been the way this artist - who ranks among James Brown, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Prince and very few others in the way she is not just the world-beating performer at the center of the show, but also the person in complete control of every last detail of it - challenges herself, less to show off than to prove that it can be done.

Story continues

Singing half a song while hanging upside-down? Check! Soaring through the very difficult closing choruses of "Love on Top" - which climb to a higher key each time they're repeated - completely by herself in front of more than 80,000 people? Nailed it! Singing entire verses while performing a booty-shake that would have most human voices wobbling like a cartoon character on a bumpy ride? Done! Dancing and singing the closing numbers in three inches of water while getting completely drenched? Got this! On virtually every level, it was probably the most ambitious musical concert tour ever staged.

In fact, the show was such a tour-de-force that the Jay Z and Lamar guest spots were a pure bonus. After coming out to a "Give it up for my man!" introduction, Jay was onstage for just a couple of minutes, performing his verse on "Drunk in Love," playfully sparring with and hugging his wife. Lamar, on the other hand, performed all of "Freedom," delivering his verses and smiling proudly alongside Beyonce at the end of the song. (Williams, who came out early in the show, was mostly a symbolic presence, dancing haughtily for a moment before leaving the stage.)

Read more: 'Family Guy' Spoofs Infamous Jay Z and Solange Elevator Fight

And with the exception of the two musical guests, every single performer on the stage was female, a statement Beyonce made both implicit and explicit: In a non-pandering, uncondescending way she spoke about the strength each woman has, how each setback only makes them stronger, "There is no such thing as a weak woman." (She didn't mention the Trump Tapes, which had leaked just hours earlier; she didn't need to.)

But as distancing as Beyonce's much-ballyhooed flawlessness could have been, she engaged the crowd throughout the entire show, thanking them repeatedly, touching the hands of the fans in the pits on either side of the stage, shrieking with delight when the man to whom she held out the mic nailed a verse on "Runnin'." She was equally gracious with her performers and crew, hugging each of her dancers in turn at the end of the night and thanking everyone who worked on the show - "every cameraman, every light technician, the sound crew, all the wardrobe people" - but none by name, because with hundreds of people involved, well, that wouldn't be fair.

And as Beyonce stood at the center of her gigantic stage at the end of the tour's final show - after midnight on a crystal-clear October night with just a hint of autumn chill in the air - completely drenched and presumably exhausted, she dragged out the farewells, as if she didn't want it to end either.

This story originally appeared on Billboard.
In October of 2001, my three siblings and I were secretly watching an old Bollywood movie in the basement of our house in central Kabul, Afghanistanwatching movies was punishable by public shaming and jail time under Talibanwhen Americans dropped the first bomb on the city. I remember everyone clapping with joy as the second bomb fell, and then the third. It was 15 years ago, and I was only 16 years old. After four years of a brutal civil war among warlords, from 1992 to 1996, and five years of Talibans draconian rule from the end of that war until 2001, my family, like many other Afghan families, was ready to welcome anyone who could rid us of the Taliban.

The news of the U.S. preparing to invade Afghanistan had given me a mixed feeling of fear and excitement. I had seen, on a cassette tape a friend had smuggled into the country from Pakistan, a CNN segment showing the Twin Towers crumbling down, and then George W. Bush standing on the ruins, promising Americans that the culprits would be punished. I was afraid, because I knew what it meant to live under a rain of bombs; but I was excited, because a U.S. invasion would also mean the end of Talibans barbaric rule and a better future. Back then, my older brother and I would go to school in the morning, and in the afternoon we would weave carpets to help my father put food on the table. But my father had told us that Americans would not only turn Afghanistan into another Dubai, they would also bring all the war criminals to justice.

It was because of these hopes that not even the news of Americans bombing of weddings, villages, and buses during the next few months changed my support for the invasion. A better future comes with a price, I would tell my friends when they criticized the Americans for killing civilians. Was I naive? Maybe.

Americans invaded Afghanistan in the middle of a civil war, essentially picking one side, the warlords, against the other side, the Talibansince it was the Taliban that had refused to hand over Osama bin Laden following the attacks of September 11. But the warlords were the very people who had killed thousands of innocents and destroyed the country during the civil war; the United States had helped arm them to drive the Soviets out of the country in the 1980s and, in the struggle for power among different groups of fighters afterward, they turned their arms on each other. It was that fighting, in turn, that paved the way of the emergence of Taliban in the 1990s. In other words, in driving out the Taliban, the Americans sided with one group of human-rights violators against another. The current vice president, Abdul Rashid Dostum, for example, helped fight the Taliban alongside the United States but was recently denied a visa to the country due to accusations of war crimes. By allowing the warlords back to power, not only did the Americans dash our hopes for a better and just future, but they also doomed their own post-9/11 project in Afghanistan.

Recommended: Why Everyone's Back Hurts

After 15 years of constant war, though, it is still hard to evaluate the impact of the U.S. invasion. The answer depends on who you ask. For Afghans who live in the cities, there is hardly any war, except occasional suicide bombingsroads are paved, schools are open, and households have electricity. These conditions lend themselves to a rather positive view of the invasion. On the other hand, for Afghans who live in the countryside, where not only bulk of the fighting and dying has taken place, but little else has changed save for some new government buildings, people that Ive met and spoken to tend to have negative views of the invasion.

Afghanistan has been one of the biggest recipients of international aid for more than a decade. The U.S. alone has spent some $700 billion on military operations and reconstruction projects there. Yet the country is still one of the poorest in the world, where 10 million people live under the poverty line and only one quarter of the population is literate. A big chunk of the aid money ended up in offshore bank accounts of major warlords and their cronies.

In June 2014, when I left Afghanistan to get my Masters at the University of Denver, security was already deteriorating. I could no longer travel to places that I had visited six months before. There were rumors of Taliban preparing for bigger operations following the U.S. withdrawal then scheduled for the end of that year (President Obama last year extended the mission until 2017). The Taliban are not only capable of carrying out complex attacks in Kabul and overrunning provincial capitals; they are also in control of more territory than they have been since 2001. Recently the Islamic State, mainly composed of former Taliban fighters, has also started setting up shop in the eastern parts of the country, threatening the security of the nearby provinces. The Afghan security forces350,000 army, police, and intelligence forces the U.S. paid billions forare not capable of defending the country against the Talibans relentless attacks.

Back when we were rooting for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, my father said that it would end all wars in our country.

But civilians have paid the highest cost. According to the United Nations, last year alone, a record 11,000 Afghan civilians were killed or maimed. Lack of security and economic opportunities have forced many young Afghan men, including myself, to flee to foreign countries in hope of a better future. Afghans were the second-largest group of those seeking asylum in Europe last year, with nearly 200,000 applying.

Back when we were rooting for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, I remember my father saying that it would end all wars in our country. At that moment my fathers words sounded like music to me. But looking back, I realize that my father was having one of his Wilsonian moments: Not only did the U.S. invasion not end all the wars in Afghanistan, it created more of them.

These days, when someone asks me if anything has changed in Afghanistan since 2001, I show him or her this New York Times political cartoon that I have saved in my phone. It shows the current president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, sitting on a house of cards, telling an American soldier on his way out of the room to make sure he doesnt slam the door.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
trump campaign manager corey lewandowski

Donald Trump's former campaign manager called the Republican presidential candidate's newly revealed lewd comments about women "absolutely not defensible," yet nevertheless asserted that Trump was generally respectful of women.

In a Friday telephone interview on CNN, Corey Lewandowski denied that he had ever heard the Republican presidential nominee make lewd boasts. It came amid the release of a 2005 audio tape that showed Trump boasting about being able to "grab" women "by the p----" because "when you're a star they let you do it."

"I've never heard something like this out of him," Lewandowski said, telling host Wolf Blitzer that he's "seen first hand" the respect Trump has for women.

Trump's comments were recorded on a hot mic while the then-reality television star bantered with the "Access Hollywood" host as they were riding in a bus on the set of the soap opera "Days of Our Lives."

Lewandowski characterized the leaked audio as a "private conversation" and asserted that Trump's comments did not reflect on-the-job requirements needed to be president.

"Clearly this is not how women should be talked about, but we're not choosing a Sunday school teacher here," Lewandowski said.

He added: "Jimmy Carter was the absolute best Sunday school teacher for children. But to have a leader, someone who is tough and will be respected around the world, that's what we're doing here."

For its part, Hillary Clinton's campaign condemned Trump's comments.

"This is horrific. We cannot allow this man to become president," Clinton's account tweeted along with a link to The Washington Post, which first broke the story.

NOW WATCH: Watch the brutal Hillary Clinton ad that pits Trump against himself





More From Business Insider


Whoa, Disney *might* buy Netflix and were very okay with this

netflixdisney

Pixar favorites and the Star Wars: Rogue One trailer. Disneys Cars and Mad Max: Fury Road. Game of Thrones and Mean Girls: Some mash-ups are so perfect, you can barely wrap your brain around them.

Thats kind of how we feel about the news that Netflix might be bought by Disney. This is so good that, according to Fortune, the very rumor pushed up shares of Netflix by more than six percent.

hearts

This makes sense: Disney is a veritable giant; it was huge before acquiring Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel and now, it seems unstoppable. But even the biggest companies out there face challenges: ESPN, which is part of Disney, has an uncertain future, and the money the company is spending to acquire the broadcasting rights for major sporting events mean its next moves have to be smart.

One area into which Disney is looking to expand is streaming, and no other streaming service has the reputation of Netflix. We hardly remember that the company started out as a DVD rental mailing service, because recent years have proven it to be giant in streaming for both licensed and original content.

Additionally, shows like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt have proven that Netflixs original series are often excellent. But creating all that content  Netflix had 15 original series set to premiere in 2016 alone  is expensive, and being backed by a larger company could help facilitate even more awesome shows.

snow white clap

In a lot of ways, the mash-up of Netflix and Disney would make perfect sense: Disney and its properties create some beloved films and television shows, and what better place to showcase them than on Netflix? Netflix is already the exclusive pay-TV for new movies from Disney (including films and TV from Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel).

While the two companies have been doing pretty well on their own, we think their team-up might be the perfect combination  we guess well have to wait and see whether each company will ultimately find their match beneficial enough to take the plunge. In the meantime, at least we have Marvels Netflix series to keep us company, because who doesnt want to binge Jessica Jones again and again?

The post Whoa, Disney *might* buy Netflix and were very okay with this appeared first on HelloGiggles.
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - About a third of the United Nations staff are women, but the higher you go, the fewer you will find in the world body, which has had eight male leaders in its 71 years, and next week is expected to approve Portugal's Antonio Guterres as its ninth secretary-general. As of June 30, 34.8 percent of the 40,131 members of the United Nations secretariat staff were women, while just 17 of the 79 under-secretaries-general, 21.5 percent, were women, according to the latest secretary-general's report on staff demographics. Now the U.N. Security Council's recommendation that the 193-member General Assembly appoint Guterres to succeed South Korea's Ban Ki-moon has sparked charges by one lobbying group that female contenders were not treated fairly. "It's a horrendous, tragic, missed opportunity," said Jean Krasno, chair of WomenSG, formed in February 2015 to campaign for a female U.N. chief. "To women around the world it's just horrible; they don't have a voice." Krasno said female contenders "were somehow held to some different standards, some higher level of standards than the men, and I really think that was unfair." She said her group had written to Security Council foreign ministers, held events with the candidates and tried to mobilize on social media. Security Council diplomats defended the decision on Thursday, saying Guterres was the best candidate regardless of gender, and pointed to an increase in the number of women contenders as a sign of progress. "Although it's high time for a woman, we were going to pick the strongest person in this field, and that is exactly what we have done," British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said. A decade ago, only one woman was nominated to be secretary-general, but this year seven of the 13 candidates were women. During the six secret ballots held by the 15-member Security Council to whittle down the field, though, the highest a woman placed was third. After the council announced it had agreed on Guterres, former candidate and former U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres of Costa Rica posted on Twitter: "Bittersweet results #NextSG. Bitter: not a woman. Sweet: by far the best man in the race. Congrats Antonio Guterres! We are all with you." Colombian U.N. Ambassador Maria Emma Mejia leads a U.N. Group of Friends for a Woman Secretary-General, which has some 60 members, and said that while a female candidate had not prevailed, the group would continue to fight for equality. "I see Guterres, as he described himself from the very beginning, being like a feminist," she said on Thursday, adding that the group, which includes four current Security Council members, would now work to ensure that gender equality remains atop Guterres' agenda. "Mr. Guterres deserved it; he was the best of the best," Mejia said, adding that the process was fair. After his selection, former New Zealand Prime Minister and candidate Helen Clark posted on Twitter: "My campaign was worth the effort if it inspired women and girls everywhere to believe they could aim for the top and one day succeed. Thanks all." (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by John Walcott and David Gregorio)
Donald Trump.

Donald Trump addressed the fallout from a 2005 video that showed him explicitly objectifying women in shocking, lewd comments.

In a pre-recorded video published on his Facebook account early Saturday morning, the Republican presidential nominee disavowed the lewd comments he made.

"Everyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am," he said.

"Ive never said Im a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone Im not. Ive said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more-than-a-decade-old video are one of them," he continued.

Trump's apology video came hours after the initial story and video of his comments were published by The Washington Post.

"I said it. I was wrong. And I apologize. Ive traveled the country talking about change for America. But my travels have also changed me," Trump said. "I pledge to be a better man tomorrow, and will never, ever, let you down."

Much like he did via his campaign's initial statement on the matter Friday afternoon, Trump attempted to deflect some blame toward Bill Clinton and previewed likely attacks to come at Sunday night's presidential debate.

Trump in recent days has moved to paint the former president as a serial philanderer in an attempt to target Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, ahead of their Sunday clash.

"Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary Clinton has bullied, attacked, shamed, and intimidated his victims," Trump said.

The GOP nominee closed his statement by saying, "We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday."

Watch Trump's statement in its entirety below:

Prominent Republicans have bristled loudly over the tape.

While it is not the first time controversy has embroiled the Trump campaign  and not the first time GOP leaders have scolded the brash businessman for his antics  the condemnation coming from Trump's own party Friday night was swift, resolute, and unequivocal.

Story continues

Among the GOP luminaries rebuking Trump: House Speaker Paul Ryan, 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, and House Oversight Committee chair Rep. Jason Chaffetz.

NOW WATCH: What would happen if Trump decided to quit the presidential race





More From Business Insider


Sanaa (AFP) - Rebels in control of Yemen's capital accused the Saudi-led coalition fighting them of killing more than 100 people and wounding hundreds more Saturday in air strikes on a funeral in Sanaa.

The coalition, which has come under increasing international scrutiny over alleged civilian deaths, denied any responsibility for the attack.

"The toll is very high: more than 520 wounded and more than 100 martyrs," the spokesman of the health ministry in Sanaa, Tamim al-Shami, told rebel Almasirah television.

It was one of the deadliest attacks since the coalition launched a bombing campaign against the Shiite Huthis in March 2015.

In September 2015, a suspected coalition air strike killed at least 131 civilians at a wedding near the Red Sea city of Mokha. The Saudi-led alliance denied any involvement.

And in March this year, Saudi-led air strikes on a market killed at least 119 people, including 106 civilians, of which 24 were children, in the northern rebel-held province of Hajja.

On Saturday, emergency workers pulled out at least 20 charred remains and body parts from the gutted building in southern Sanaa as others scoured the wreckage for survivors, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

Some of the wounded had their legs torn off and were being treated on the spot by volunteers, he said.

In a statement to AFP, the Saudi-led coalition said it had no operations at the location and "other causes" for the incident must be considered.

The coalition "has in the past avoided such gatherings and (they) have never been a subject of targeting", it said.

The insurgent-controlled news site sabanews.net said coalition planes hit after hundreds had gathered to mourn the death of the father of rebel interior minister Jalal al-Rowaishan and denounced a "massacre".

The Huthis did not say if Rowaishan was present in the building at the time of the attack, nor did they indicate if other senior figures were attending the funeral.

Story continues

Almasirah said Sanaa mayor Abdel Qader Hilal was among those killed.

- 'Funeral for Yemenis' -

The Iran-backed Huthis swept into Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced across much of Yemen, forcing the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee.

More than 6,700 people -- most of them civilians -- have been killed in Yemen since the coalition intervened in support of Hadi, according to the United Nations.

Fighting has flared since UN-brokered peace talks between the government and insurgents collapsed in August.

People had come from all over Sanaa to attend the funeral, said Mulatif al-Mojani, who witnessed Saturday's air strikes.

"A plane fired a missile and minutes later another plane hit" the building where they had gathered, he told AFP.

Another witness, who declined to give his name, angrily described the attack as a "war crime".

"This was a funeral for one man in Sanaa and now it has turned into a funeral for tens of Yemenis," he said.

Ambulance sirens blared as they transported the wounded away and residents said local hospitals had issued an appeal for blood donations.

- Civilian toll climbs -

The coalition has come under mounting international criticism in recent months over the civilian death toll in its aerial campaign.

A diplomatic source told AFP that intensified coalition bombing aims "to break" the rebels but warned that "this will not work."

A UN report in August said coalition air strikes are suspected of causing around half of all civilian deaths in Yemen.

It called for an independent international body to investigate an array of serious violations by all sides, after 4,000 civilians have been killed.

European states led by the Netherlands were defeated last week in a push to establish that inquiry.

The coalition has told AFP it uses highly accurate laser- and GPS-guided weapons and verifies targets many times to avoid civilian casualties.

The so-called supreme political council set up by the Huthis and their allies -- supporters of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh -- vowed to "use all means to respond to this crime" and urged Yemenis to protest outside UN offices in Sanaa on Sunday.

In addition to the mounting death toll, Yemenis are facing twin health and hunger crises.

The UN's children agency UNICEF estimates that three million people are in need of immediate food supplies, while 1.5 million children suffer malnutrition.

On Friday it also reported cases of cholera in Sanaa and third city Taez.
Berlin (AFP) - Germany said Saturday it was still investigating the operation of the autopilot system on cars made by electric automaker Tesla, as German media reported an internal ministerial report called it "dangerous".

According to the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, an internal ministry report had concluded that the autopilot function represents "a considerable danger for traffic", especially because the driver is not warned when the autopilot system is not able to handle a situation.

"The final evaluation of the transport ministry concerning the autopilot functioning of Tesla Model S cars is not yet ready," the ministry told AFP, denying the reports that it had already concluded the probe.

Available for Tesla's Model S electric cars since October 2015, the driverless autopilot system has faced global scrutiny following fatal crashes in northern China in January and in the US state of Florida in May.

In September a Tesla electric car crashed into a tourist bus on a motorway in northern Germany, after the driver who was the only one slightly injured claimed he had activated the autopilot system.

A Tesla spokesperson at the time said the driver told the company the autopilot was functioning properly and its use was unrelated to the accident.

And on Saturday a Tesla spokesman told AFP: "We have always been clear with our customers that Autopilot is a drivers assistance system that requires the driver to pay attention at all times."

"Just as in an aeroplane, when used properly, autopilot reduces driver workload and provides an added layer of safety when compared to purely manual driving," he added.

Consumer activists have called on the company, founded by PayPal billionaire Elon Musk, to disable the autopilot feature until it is updated to detect whether the driver's hands are on the steering wheel during operation -- as the company says should be the case.
One blue, one gray. In October 2012, 31-year-old Alex Abdo owned two suits; he chose the gray. It would be his first appearance before the Supreme Court, and just to make the stakes higher, the case was virtually impossible to crack.

In 2008, Congress authorized a secret court to permit government surveillance on foreign nationals without a showing of probable cause. Abdo and the lead ACLU lawyer on the case, Jameel Jaffer, asserted the surveillance was unconstitutional. The Catch-22? Because the lawyers couldnt access records of searches and their subjects, the lawyers couldnt prove their plaintiff had been surveilled. In February 2013, the Court dismissed the case in a 5-4 decision, with the majority writing that the claims were based too much on speculation.

Discouraging for sure, but Abdo found reason to take heart later, when he learned that a certain contractor for the NSA was watching from afar  and was poised to do something about it. In June, Edward Snowden and a trio of journalists started publishing reports about the extent of state-sponsored surveillance, and for many Americans, they came as a shocker: The reports showed that the NSA had access to data from Verizon, Google, Facebook and Apple, and that millions of people in America had been caught in the dragnet.

Coming soon to the list of items banned in federal buildings: https://t.co/hHsVOtqq59  Edward Snowden (@Snowden) April 27, 2016

Finally, Abdo and the ACLU had their plaintiffs. Last year, Abdo won a landmark suit against the NSAs call-records program, with a unanimous 2nd Circuit panel finding the program an unprecedented contraction of the privacy of all Americans.

Abdos work at the ACLU deals with surveillance, online anonymity and encryption litigation. It has special relevance in our age of cyber anxiety, in which  quite apart from Hillary Clintons email woes or Julian Assanges threats of leaks  every day seems to bring news of some new leak or breach. Just this week, news broke that the FBI has arrested another NSA contractor, possibly for stealing secret information, and that Yahoo has been scanning everyones incoming mail at the behest of the U.S. government.

Story continues

Amid the cyber chaos, Abdo proceeds from a simple principle: The government must notify users when it subpoenas their information. Otherwise, he reasons, the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits the government from unreasonable search, is basically void. To that end, Abdo has led the ACLUs support of companies like Apple, which has resisted court orders to unlock an iPhone in a terrorism investigation, and Microsoft, which wants the government to notify users when it collects their data. The work is, of course, controversial, but Abdo has garnered respect on both sides. Stewart Baker, a sparring partner and former official in George W. Bushs Department of Homeland Security, says Abdo is a rarity: Not everybody can handle an open public debate and also argue in front of some of the smartest judges in the country.

Gettyimages 459251243

Edward Snowden

Source Barton Gellman/Getty

Plenty of civil rights lawyers have nursed dreams of justice crusading since they were children. Abdo? Not so much. He grew up in Dallas, the son of two Palestinian immigrants  Dad was a physician, Mom studied German and philosophy  and was a science and math nerd all the way. As a biology major at Yale, though, something shifted, thanks to a bioethics class. He learned about Agent Orange, an herbicide chemical. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was used in defoliation campaigns in Vietnam and Laos and caused terrible birth defects. Something about the story spoke to him, and he began thinking more seriously about how technological gains, theoretically amoral, could be used for evil ends. [It] taught me to temper my technophilia, he says. I still wonder at the possibilities that technology brings, but I fret, too, about its misuse.

 Alex Abdo (@AlexanderAbdo) October 26, 2015

Hes unusual in that he is a very talented legal thinker who also has a deep understanding of technology, Jaffer says. I think if he hadnt become a lawyer, he probably would have become a technologist or a computer scientist. (Case in point: Abdo coded and just launched a public transit app, WhatTrain, that lets New Yorkers find the nearest departing subways. Since its an ACLU lawyers app, it gives you information without collecting much of yours.)

As a student at Harvard Law School, Abdo was struck by the notion that the men who wrote the Constitution were so aggrieved by government intrusion that it became a cause of rebellion; they enshrined prohibitions against it in the Bill of Rights. Freedom and security werent opposed, Abdo says, quoting Benjamin Franklin on the point: Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one. He landed at the ACLU for a summer internship back in 2005, and while few of the cases he worked on back then remain active, there are exceptions. One involves a 12-year-old Freedom of Information Act suit against the government to release thousands of photographs documenting prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan during the George W. Bush administration. With Ben Wizner, Snowdens lawyer, Abdo continues working on a high-profile torture case, in which a U.S. citizen was allegedly tortured by U.S. servicemen on U.S. soil.

Indeed, three-odd years after the leaks began, Snowden is having a kind of moment. Theres the Hollywood feature, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and a number of big-time newspaper staff editorials urging President Obama to pardon the whistleblower. A pardon in this administration, or the next, looks unlikely. But while Snowden is exiled in Russia, Abdo and others are trying to finish what he started.

Related Articles
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.

Story continues

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:
As Samsung works to replace millions of Galaxy Note 7 devices amid reports of overheating and exploding batteries, we were curious: What should you do if your smartphone starts to overheat, smoke, or, worse, actually catch fire?

So we reached out once again to battery expert Dr. Donald R. Sadoway, the John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for an answer. Sadoway previously us helped explain the science behind exploding batteries.

His advice for overheating phones? First, if the device is plugged in, unplug it immediately, as long as it's safe to do so. Second, you can try smothering the phone with a fire blanket. But as Dr. Sadoway pointed out, batteries already contain all the fuel they need to burn. That means smothering might not work like it would with a fire that's fueled by the oxygen around it.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune's technology newsletter.

"Early stage overheating may be stopped," he says. "But late stage is a runaway freight train."

The best idea, then, may be getting away from the device and calling 911 immediately. If you already bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, it's probably a good idea to swap it for another smartphone. (Even the replacement Note 7s are reportedly having battery problems, so it's wise to pick a different model.)

This story was originally published on TIME.com.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. senator and civil groups critical of surveillance practices on Friday called on the government to release a 2015 order by a secret court directing Yahoo to scan all its users' incoming email, saying it appeared to involve new interpretations of at least two important legal issues. Their concerns center on the nature of the technical assistance the court required Yahoo to provide and the scope of the search that legal experts said appeared to cover the Silicon Valley internet company's entire network. Yahoo installed a custom software program to search messages to hundreds of millions of accounts at the behest of U.S. intelligence officials with an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a secret tribunal, Reuters reported on Tuesday. They were looking for messages containing a single piece of digital content, three former employees and a fourth person apprised of the events told Reuters. Intelligence officials told Reuters that all Yahoo had to do was modify existing systems for stopping child pornography from being sent through its email or filtering spam messages. But the pornography filters are aimed only at video and still images and cannot search text, as the Yahoo program did. The spam filters, meanwhile, are viewable by many employees who curate them, and there is no confusion about where they sit in the software stack and how they operate. The court-ordered search Yahoo conducted, on the other hand, was done by a module attached to the Linux kernel - in other words, it was deeply buried near the core of the email server operating system, far below where mail sorting was handled, according to three former Yahoo employees. They said that made it hard to detect and also made it hard to figure out what the program was doing. How much companies can be forced to do to comply with government orders for searching data is being debated in the courts. Companies have successfully argued that changes that would degrade users experience or force them to write new code, essentially a form of speech, would violate basic rights. Most famously, Apple refused to write code that would unlock an iPhone belonging to a gunman in last year's mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. The FBI later dropped its demand. In the case of Yahoo, company security staff discovered a software program that was scanning email but ended an investigation when they found it had been approved by Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, the sources said. Lawmakers are concerned about the request and whether information about it is being properly disclosed to the public. "Recent reports of a mass-email scanning program have alleged that federal law is being interpreted in ways that many Americans would find surprising and troubling," said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, a member of the intelligence committee and frequent critic of government surveillance programs. "The USA Freedom Act requires the executive branch to declassify Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinions that involve novel interpretations of laws or the Constitution," Wyden said. Intelligence officials said the Yahoo order resembled other requests for monitoring online communications of suspected terrorists. The program is far different from the bulk collection of emails and telephone records that was disclosed by fugitive National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, they said, stressing the target was a digital "signature" associated with a single entity's suspected terrorist activity. But legal experts question whether the order might have stretched the concept of a "facility" used by a foreign power from its traditional definition, involving a single phone number or an email account, to include a large companys entire communication network. "If the facility means all of Yahoo's network, I dont see how thats consistent with the Fourth Amendment," which bars unreasonable searches, said Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology. (Reporting by Joseph Menn and John Walcott; Additional reporting by Dustin Volz and Mark Hosenball; editing by Jonathan Weber and Grant McCool)
Tech entrepreneurs met in Mogadishu to discuss business and innovation in a conflict-scarred city (AFP Photo/LOIC VENANCE)

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."

Story continues

"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."
Concert, tour mark carillon's 85th

First-Plymouth Congregational Church will celebrate the 85th anniversary of its carillon and bell tower, also known as "The Singing Tower," with a free Saturday concert and a Wednesday tour.

Iowa State University music professor Tin-Shi Tam will perform at 11 a.m. Saturday in the churchs courtyard, 2000 D St. The recital will include compositions and arrangements written by former First-Plymouth musicians, as well as some of Tams own transcriptions.

People are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs. In case of rain, the recital can be heard from the church fellowship hall.

The church will lead a tour of the carillon and bell tower beginning at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Participants will meet in the back of the sanctuary. People taking the tour should be prepared to climb a spiral staircase and ladder.

First-Plymouths carillon, said to be the first true carillon in Nebraska, originally had 48 bells when it was dedicated May 30, 1931. During a three-year renovation from 1988-1990, nine more bells were added. The largest bells weighs more than 5,000 pounds and the smallest bell is just under 30 pounds.

For more information, call 402-476-7565 or go to firstplymouth.org.

ReStore specials mark Habitat Day

In commemoration of World Habitat Day, Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln ReStore, 4630 Y St., will offer special discounts and sales throughout October in an effort to bring attention to the need for adequate housing in Lancaster County and throughout the world.

The following discounts are offered:

* Through Saturday: Take 25 percent off store-wide.

* Sunday through Oct. 15: Yard Sale with 50 percent off everything in the yard.

* Through Oct. 20: Spend $75 and get entered to win two tickets to Alan Jackson at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Nov. 4.

Sales proceeds from the Habitat ReStore Lincoln are used locally to help build Habitat for Humanity homes in Lancaster County.

The Lincoln Habitat ReStore is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Inventory changes based on donated items. The stay updated on inventory and sales visit Habitat Lincoln ReStore on Facebook.

Service for Bishop Saenz is Oct. 15

St. Marks United Methodist Church, 8550 Pioneers Blvd., will host the Celebration of Assignment service for Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr., the new head of the Great Plains Conference.

The service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 15. A reception and light lunch will follow in the church fellowship hall. The worship service also will be broadcast via livestream on the conferences website, greatplainsunmc.org/livestream.

Church series embraces compassion

"Embracing Compassion," a new series offered by the Peace and Justice Team at First-Plymouth Congregational Church, 2000 D St., will host four public programs this month:

* 8 to 10: 30 p.m. Sunday -- Screening of the film "In Our Son's Name and discussion with Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez whose son Greg died in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Trade Center. The couple will talk of their decision to choose reconciliation over vengeance. The program follows the churchs monthly Compline contemplative service, which begins at 7 p.m.

* 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday -- Clay Naff, journalist and director of the Lincoln Literacy Council, will present Speaking out in Support of Muslims in Lincoln and Our World.

* 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 -- Learn firsthand the plight of immigrants in a participatory immigration simulation.

* 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 -- "Authorized Use of Military Force," a discussion of current laws governing the use of military force.

All programs are free to the public.

Kiwanis name Nebraskan president

Jane M. Erickson of Bellevue recently began her one-year term as the new president of Kiwanis International, a global volunteer service organization dedicated to serving the children of the world.

Erickson, who served as vice president of Kiwanis International since July 2014, was formally elected president at the organizations 2016 convention in Toronto, Canada. Erickson will lead 48 districts of Kiwanis, from the Americas to Europe to Asia. Kiwanis has nearly 670,000 members in 83 nations and geographic areas around the world.

A 25-year member, Erickson has been with the Bellevue-Offutt club for 19 years.

UNMC solicits public comments

In preparation for its re-accreditation, the University of Nebraska Medical Center is seeking public comments about the university.

The Higher Learning Commission will visit the UNMC campus on Nov. 28 and 29 and review its ability to meet the commissions accreditation criteria. To see the criteria go to unmc.edu/aboutus/accreditation/index.html.

UNMC last underwent a comprehensive self-study and site visit during the 2006-07 academic year. UNMC has been accredited continually since 1913.

Written and signed comments may be mailed to: Third-Party Comment on the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Higher Learning Commission, 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604-1411.

Comments also may be submitted on the commissions website at hlcommission.org/HLC-Institutions/third-party-comment.html.

Observations should address substantive matters related to the quality of the university. Comments must be received by Oct. 28.

Nebraska Dyslexia event is Oct. 15

Stephanie Wessels, associate professor in UNLs department of teaching, learning and teacher education, will be the keynote speaker at the Nebraska Dyslexia Associations Fall Celebration, being held from 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 15 at St. Marks United Methodist Church, 8550 Pioneers Blvd.

In addition, people with dyslexia will share their stories and community leaders will be recognized for their efforts to help those with dyslexia.

The celebration is open to the public. In-service hours are available for early childhood providers. For information, contact the Nebraska Dyslexia Association at ne-da.org or call 402-436-6434.
Ghana actor, Majid Michel, has travelled to Cameroon for a five-day religious crusade, it has been reported.

The actor, who recently pictured laying on people, is in the region of Bamenda for "prophetic conference", according to a report by ghanaweb.com.

The conference started on Friday and will end on Tuesday, the report said.

Pictures that appeared last week, showing Majid ministering at Zoe Sanctuary church - preaching and laying hands on the sick - have stunned many Ghanaians.

Many initially thought the pictures were taken on a movie location, but it soon turned out that the actor had indeed become a minister of God.

What do you think? Share your views with us via mail at info@YEN.com.gh.

BoG not wrong to reward workers with gold watches  Casley-Hayford

READ ALSO: Meet the man who leaked Agya Koo's controversial NDC secret tape

Source: YEN.com.gh
The American Heart Association is seeking handmade crocheted or knit red hats to give to Nebraska newborns during American Heart Month in February 2017.

The hats will be distributed as part of the national Little Hats, Big Hearts project, which is returning to Nebraska for a second year.

Little Hats, Big Hearts aims to raise awareness of cardiovascular diseases, the number one killer in the United States, and congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect, occurring in one of 100 babies.

Hats will be given to each baby born in February at hospitals across the state.

Last year, Nebraska participated in the American Heart Month project for the first time, distributing approximately 2,000 hats statewide and in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Little Hats, Big Hearts began in Chicago in 2014, with 300 hats. Since then, the program has expanded to more than 40 states.

The American Heart Association works with mother-baby units and Neonatal Intensive Care Units in hospitals so donations of red hats in both premature and newborn sizes are needed. Because bows and buttons may be a danger to newborn babies, only red hats without decorations can be accepted for Little Hats, Big Hearts.

The heart association also is accepting donations of red yarn to give to knitters and crocheters making hats. Yarn must be cotton or acrylic, medium to heavy weight and machine washable and dryable.

Donations will be accepted from outside Nebraska.

All mailed-in donations must be received at the American Heart Associations Greater Nebraska Regional Office, 1540 S. 70th St., Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68506 no later than Jan. 13. In-person donations can be made during regular business hours at the offices in Lincoln and Omaha, 9900 Nicholas Street, Suite 200, or the Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores in Bellevue, Lincoln and Omaha.

To learn more go to heart.org/littlehatsbighearts/.
Award-winning documentary filmmaker and author Jen Marlowe will talk about the death penalty and her book, I am Troy Davis at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Unitarian Church, 6300 A St.

Marlowe and Kimberly Davis, the sister of Troy Davis, will appear at the annual Sorensen Lecture, created in memory of C.A. Sorensen, Nebraska attorney general in the 1930s.

The 2011 execution of Troy Davis was pivotal in the nationwide argument against the death penalty. Up to his death, Davis maintained he was innocent in the 1989 murder of Savannah, Georgia, police officer Mark MacPhail.

Concerns about whether the state was executing an innocent man -- witnesses recanted and evidence was limited -- Davis' story drew calls from across the globe asking for clemency and retrial. Among those urging the court to re-examine the case were Pope Benedict XVI, President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former FBI director and judge William Sessions and 51 members of Congress.

Ultimately, the courts refused to grant a new trial, and on Sept. 21, 2011, Davis died by lethal injection. In his final words, he asked those living to continue to search for justice.

Marlowe, a Seattle-based filmmaker, author, playwright and human rights activist, has produced numerous documentaries highlighting human rights issues. Among her films are Darfur Diaries: Message from Home, Rebuilding Hope: Sudans Lost Boys Returning Home and One Family in Gaza.

The Sorensen lecture is free to the public.
The public is encouraged to observe Lincolns first official Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday by joining in a rally 6-10 p.m. on the north side of the Capitol.

The City Council unanimously approved and Mayor Chris Beutler signed a resolution designating the second Monday in October as a holiday to honor the city's Native American heritage.

If the weather is bad, the event will be at the Lincoln Indian Center, 1100 Military Road.

The second Monday in October is also recognized as Columbus Day, a legal holiday, by the federal government and many states, including Nebraska. State and federal offices are closed. The city of Lincoln does not recognize either Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day as legal holidays, and city offices will remain open. The City Council, however, will not meet Monday.
Two of Lincoln Fire and Rescues Urban Search and Rescue Task Force members deployed Friday night to support relief efforts in Florida related to Hurricane Matthew.

Battalion Chief Brad Thavenet and Capt. Dave Kluthe are the two specialists headed to Marietta, Georgia to Dobbins Air Reserve Base, said Lincoln Fire Capt. Kelsey Roshek. The men will work with a team that is overseeing the hurricane response.

The Nebraska task force, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is hosted by Lincoln but also includes specialists from Omaha and Papillion. In the past, the task force responded to Hurricane Katrina, flooding in David City, Colorado, tornadoes in Norman, Oklahoma and the terror attacks on 9/11.

The team is a multidisciplinary response team, but primarily focuses on aid in urban settings.

We want to be ready to deploy for everything, said Roshek. Hurricanes, earthquakes, floods or any large scale mass casualty event.
One of the citys most celebrated surgeons is on a leave of absence from Bryan Medical Center, after he was escorted out of the hospital last week by a senior staff member.

But Bryan officials havent said why Dr. Reginald Burton, their longtime chief of trauma and a consistent award-winner and life-saver, is no longer on duty.

An update to hospital leadership Friday said Burton is currently not practicing at Bryan Medical Center.

It also said the hospital, under its policies and procedures, can review a physicians professional conduct through a confidential peer process, and that the hospital has forwarded information to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

But it said little beyond that. In order for this process to be effective, and consistent with Nebraska law, Bryan Medical Center cannot provide detail about the ongoing peer review of any physician on its medical staff, the statement continued.

Bryan spokesman Edgar Bumanis, who provided the statement to the Journal Star, would not elaborate.

And a statement on Burton's behalf, issued by an Ohio law firm late Friday, pledged the surgeon's cooperation but did little to elaborate on the situation.

Dr. Burton is fully cooperating with a voluntary leave of absence while the routine investigation runs its course. At the end of the investigation, he expects to return to his regular schedule and full hospital privileges.

Burton is confident, the statement said, the investigation will conclude that he brings the highest sense of ethics to his practice, values patient care, and has earned the trust of his colleagues throughout the medical community.

The statement described the surgeon as a well-respected member of the medical community, known for his clinical skills and his caring and compassionate approach to direct patient care.

But Burton faced action by the states Division of Public Health in early 2014, when he was alleged to have demonstrated poor professional boundaries with patients. At the time, his license to practice medicine faced the possibility of discipline, suspension or revocation for unprofessional conduct.

But that action ended with Burton signing whats called an assurance of compliance: He admitted no wrongdoing, but agreed to maintain professional boundaries with patients. The state agreed not to take disciplinary action.

Its unclear what led to that investigation. The original complaint is kept confidential, and the investigatory materials are not public records, said Leah Bucco-White, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Its also unclear whether Burton is facing the possibility of new disciplinary action, because active complaints are also kept confidential under state law, Bucco-White said.

As of Friday, the state still listed Burtons license as active.

The 56-year-old joined Bryan as its director of trauma and surgical care in 2002, according to his Linkedin profile, and has also served as its chair of surgery department since 2012.

Hes made headlines overseeing Nebraskas busiest trauma center, saving lives in some of the regions highest profile tragedies. And hes won multiple awards in the region, including the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital Chairmans GOAL Award last year, and the Lincoln Police Departments Citizen Exceptional Service Award this summer.

He recently helped train police and first responders on how to treat victims of mass shootings, and has testified at the Legislature in favor of helmet requirements and stricter seat belt laws.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on October 8 received the French delegation led by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo who have arrived in Armenia on an official visit by Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryans invitation, press service of the Presidential administration informed Armenpress.

President Sargsyan welcomed the guests in Armenia and said he is happy to host Armenias friends in Yerevan who will take part in the ceremonies dedicated to Yerevans 2798th anniversary.

Of course, it is pleasure to celebrate Yerevans anniversary with friends. We are grateful and always remember the names of persons who were not indifferent to both our pain and happiness, Serzh Sargsyan said. He expressed hope Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgos visit to Yerevan will be productive and will be marked with new agreements on deepening the further cooperation.

President Sargsyan highly appreciated the Armenian-French close cooperation in all sectors and said recent years regular political dialogue, the high level mutual visits and contacts, the cooperation in inter-parliamentary and multilateral formats, cultural, educational active ties, the decentralized cooperation between four dozen cities and regions, as well as the productive work within the framework of the International organization of La Francophonie are strong preconditions for further deepening the Armenian-French relations.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and President Sargsyan both agreed that the Armenian community of France has a great input on the development of bilateral ties. The Armenian President thanked Anne Hidalgo for her attentive and friendly attitude towards the Armenians of Paris.

Serzh Sargsyan highly appreciated Paris Mayors and Municipalitys support for organizing the ceremonies dedicated to April 24, as well as her visit to Yerevan on April 24, 2015 among the delegation led by French President Francois Hollande.

President Sargsyan attached a great importance to Frances involvement as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairing country and President Hollandes personal input on the peaceful settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict for the benefit of establishing peace and stability in our region.
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 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.
In Nebraska licensing healthcare practitioners is an administrative responsibility of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The actual content and updating of the licensure regulations is the responsibility of licensing boards, composed of healthcare professionals and public representatives.

After licensing board approval, regulations move to the State Board of Health for an official vote and if approved are sent for a final sign-off by the departments Chief Medical Officer. After two more approval stages with the Attorney General and Governor, regulations can be implemented.

Usually this process is without complication. Licensure updates move efficiently and are implemented in a timely manner.

There is a striking exception. Psychology regulations updated by the Board of Psychology in 2008 and approved by the State Board of Health in 2010 have been held up in the department (DHHS) for over 6 years. Yes, you read that correctly, six (6) years!

Psychologists are doctoral-level practitioners, licensed to diagnose and treat major mental illness, and regulated by the State Board of Psychology. As with all health care professions, periodic updating of the license regulations is important in routine maintenance of our healthcare system and for public safety. Regulations also determine what kind and how much training is required of practitioners, how closely newly trained practitioners must be supervised, and other details to ensure competence and quality of healthcare. Regulations must be periodically updated because science advances, and professional education, training and practice standards change over time.

The last time the psychology license regulations were updated was in 2004.

The Code of Conduct was last updated in 1992. So the stalled 2010 updates are much needed.

In 2010, the DHHS Chief Medical Officer was Joann Schaeffer, who refused to sign off on the regulations after Board of Health approval. The statutory procedures for updating regulations had been strictly followed. No procedural flaws or concerns about changes were cited by the department. Dr. Schaeffers successor, Joseph Acierno, also refused to sign off.

The regulations continued to sit in the DHHS with no movement. Dr. Acierno refused to even meet with the Psychology Board.

Courtney Phillips became the new DHHS CEO in 2015. The Nebraska Psychological Association, the professional organization representing psychologists across the state, appealed to her to implement the regulations. She responded by terminating the updated regulations altogether - an action unprecedented in Nebraska history.

CEO Phillips termination was accompanied by a suggestion to start over, a transparent move to stall implementation even further, especially with no explanation of what needs to be changed.

The updates already approved by the Board of Psychology and the Board of Health need no further changes, and there is no reason to restart the entire process.

The stalled regulations include several important updates of rules for supervising other practitioners, for psychological testing, for supervision of new psychologists, for record-keeping, and adopting the current version of the American Psychological Association ethical guidelines and code of conduct. Failure to update the regulations has had adverse consequences, preventing new clinical psychologists in academic settings (university training programs, medical schools) from acquiring supervised experience sufficient for licensure. This impairs our ability to recruit the best and brightest new scientist-practitioners.

Failure to implement these updated healthcare regulations is one of the reasons for the Unicamerals 2015 vote against Dr. Aciernos reappointment and his subsequent resignation.

In 2014 the Unicameral updated Nebraska statutes to require timely executive branch action on regulatory changes when they originate in the legislature, but other routine processes like updating licensing regulations are not covered. This loophole may seem neglectful, but the case of the psychology and LMHP regulations is unprecedented, and lawmakers cant always foresee situations as bizarre and implausible as this one.

Restoring competence, efficiency, accountability and transparency in our state government have been major concerns for the past few years, and this is an opportunity to take an important next step in that direction. The public interest is at stake, and the public deserves to know and understand what is going on.
The welcome that Lincoln residents helped arrange for a Kurdish refugee family helps to keep alive an important local tradition.

Lincoln  and the world  needs more people willing to fill the need.

More than 65 million people around the globe are refugees or displaced in their own countries, the largest number since record-keeping started before World War II, the United Nations said earlier this year.

Around the globe there are an unprecedented number of wars, long-running conflicts and natural disasters.

Every refugee has their own story.

Raad Mhmdah and his family were in peril because for two years and two months he worked as a bus driver on a U.S. military base in Iraq, transporting troops between their barracks and the mess hall.

When the Islamic State seized control in part of northern Iraq, Mhmdah knew that his family was in jeopardy. When he learned that his name was on a list of targets at a mosque frequented by Islamic State fighters, Mhmdah knew it was time for his wife, Fadheela, and their five children to flee. Iraq wasnt livable any more, said Fadheela.

The process of attaining refugee status to travel to the United States took months, while the family produced the necessary documents, answered interviewers questions and waited for completion of background checks by counterterrorism units, Homeland Security and the FBI.

All that could have been for naught, however, if not for countries willing to provide a new home and volunteers ready to help. In Lincoln, Sara Gilliam, Laurel Maslowski and Gillian Jenkins filled the need. The trio already had seen the plight of refugees in stints volunteering at refugee camps in Greece. This time they were going to help closer to home.

When they learned that Lutheran Family Services would be helping the Mhmdah family, the trio helped find furniture, housewares and other essential items. They found toys for the kids. When the Mhmdah family stepped off the plane after the 15-hour flight from Jordan, they had a place to live, complete with brand-new bunk beds.

Coincidentally, Pulitzer Prize winning author Sonia Nazario spoke in Lincoln a day after the Mhmdah family arrived. If a child is in danger and knocking at our door, I believe we should open that door, she said.

So credit people in Lincoln for answering the knock on the door.

Its important to note that they believe the benefits flow two ways. These people will do nothing but enrich our community, Gilliam said. They are so eager to get to work and be productive members of the city. She added, Weve had nothing but fun and joy in sponsoring a family.

In 2013 Lincoln was designated as one of the top 10 most welcoming cities in America by the nonprofit Welcoming America organization. Its people like Gilliam, Jenkins and Maslowski who keep the local support system strong.
When I was young enough to sit at the Democrats booth at the Saline County Fair, a woman to whom I was speaking told me that she let her husband decide for whom she would vote.

I am hoping that in Nebraska, women now make their own political decisions for themselves and that their daughters and their granddaughters know that they can do this. Nebraska women, and all women, have God-given brains to make decisions and may also use their commitment and courage to speak for themselves in the voting booth.
Republican Sens. Ben Sasse and Deb Fischer said Saturday that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump should step aside as a candidate in favor of vice presidential nominee Mike Pence.

Sasse always had stood opposed to Trump, but Fischer's rejection in the wake of a video disclosure of Trump's lewd comments about and behavior toward women represented a stunning withdrawal of support by Nebraska's senior senator.

Meanwhile, Gov. Pete Ricketts issued a statement condemning Trump's comments as "not only reprehensible and offensive, but they are dangerous."

"His apology video was inadequate," the governor said.

Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Lincoln joined Fischer and Sasse in a call for Trump to "step aside and allow Mike Pence to become the Republican nominee."

"As Americans, we are faced with two strikingly bad choices," Fortenberry said.

"Donald Trump, who has abused women, and Hillary Clinton, who has enabled the abuse of women. It's all wrong."

Republican Rep. Adrian Smith of Gering said: "Donald Trump has said many things that are inappropriate, even indefensible, including his comments about women in the video.

"If Mr. Trump is unable to restore confidence in his ability to serve as the Republican nominee, he should step aside."

Sasse was the first to lead the abandonment of Trump and turn toward Pence.

In a tweet following the video disclosure, Sasse said: "Character matters. (Trump) is obviously not going to win. But he can still make an honorable move: Step aside and let Mike Pence try."

Later, a Sasse spokesman said Nebraska's freshman senator is "likely to write in Pence because he wants to see Republican principles beat Hillary Clinton."

Fischer described Trump's behavior as "disgusting and totally unacceptable."

Sasse was unavailable for comment because he was traveling overseas on a trip tied to national security issues.

Since the launch of this year's presidential caucus and primary season, Sasse opposed Trump's candidacy, beginning with a trip to Iowa to campaign against him.

While other elected Republican officeholders fell in line behind Trump once he secured the GOP nomination, Sasse stood firm in his opposition. He said that he and his wife, Melissa, would cast write-in votes in November.

Don Bacon, the Republican congressional nominee in metropolitan Omaha's 2nd Congressional District, said Trump's comments about women were "indefensible and offensive."

"I am disgusted by these remarks and no woman should ever be talked about in this way," Bacon said in an emailed statement.
Attention, Honor Flight veterans: Your tour of duty continues.

The couple who have taken 2,600 Nebraska vets on free tours of Washington, D.C., are hosting an all-flight reunion later this month near Omaha, with food, music and a group photo.

Bill and Evonne Williams of Patriotic Productions hope 2,000 people show up Oct. 23 for the two-hour Grand Reunion 2016 at the Embassy Suites in La Vista. The event is also open to family members, friends, veterans who didnt go on Honor Flights, donors, Gold Star families -- and anybody else who wants to attend, Bill Williams said.

They began flying veterans to Washington, to tour the nations military monuments and memorials, in 2008. The first flights were filled with veterans from World War II and Korea. The first wave of Vietnam vets flew earlier this year, and they'll fill three more jets scheduled to depart Lincoln May 1.

The reunion starts at 2 p.m., and a drone will take a group photograph outside the hotel at about 2:30. At 3, Williams will begin the presentation, sharing stories and pictures from the flights so far.

There is some urgency to the gathering: Hundreds of veterans die each day. In fact, when Williams looks at group photos from their last reunion, in 2008, he sees a group of men no longer alive.

I look across that front row. Some of our favorite guys ended up in that front row, and we went to all of their funerals.

There are also a couple of practical reasons to gather the troops.

Patriotic Productions is still raising money for the upcoming flights for those who saw combat in Vietnam. Theyve scheduled three jets to carry 500 more vets to Washington, but thats not cheap. Williams still needs about $450,000 to pay for the trip, he said. The reunion is free, but theyll be accepting donations.

The couple is also unveiling the next design for its Remembering Our Fallen displays. Instead of its indoors-only, state-specific exhibits that show U.S. casualties in the war on terror, theyre raising money for one, all-weather display that can accommodate the names and photos of the 6,800 servicemen and women killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Each set of 45 so-called Tribute Towers would cost about $300,000 to produce, and the couple wants to build two displays -- one to tour the eastern U.S., and one for events west of the Mississippi.
Many Lincoln properties have changed purposes numerous times over the decades, but few have transitioned from a variety of owners and uses back to nearly unimproved forest and grasslands.

In 1866, a year before Nebraskas statehood, a wattle dam was built on Salt Creek just south of what would become First and Van Dorn streets to provide a mill to grind corn. Soon after, Phillip Cooper improved the dam to form a pond to make ice during winter months and dug a cave in 1873 to store it during the summer months. It is Coopers house that is frequently pictured directly east of the first state Capitol.

Lincoln attorney and later mayor A. J. Sawyer purchased the tract in 1887, establishing Lincoln Park with the dam rebuilt in concrete about 1900.

In 1906, the University of Nebraska's E.H. Barbour envisioned a wooded park along Salt and other Lincoln creeks but nothing came of his idea. While Lincoln Park grew in popularity, the Burlington Railroad bought the site to operate the park and to install a 12-inch pipe in Salt Creek to move about a million gallons of water a day to its steam engine roundhouse southwest of the city. Beatrice Creamery also used the ponds for railroad car icing during the winter.

In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America incorporated and a year later Troop 1 formed at McCool Junction as perhaps the first in Nebraska. The organizations popularity virtually exploded, with First Class Councils formed in major Nebraska communities and Second Class Councils in smaller villages like University Place and Bethany. In 1912, area scouts camped in small tents in Epworth Park directly south of Lincoln Park with a large dining and meeting tent adjacent under the auspice of the Lincoln Council. The first official scout camp began near Beaver Crossing then moved to the Louisville Lakes as Camp Quivera before sharing a church camp near Central City.

In 1916, Lincoln Traction Co. purchased Lincoln Park and provided streetcar service to both Lincoln and Epworth parks. With the dam reconfigured to provide a dynamo, as well as continuing the Beatrice Creamery ice ponds, the park was lit with incandescent and arc lighting and became known as Electric Park. The same year, the Lincoln Boy Scout Council hired its first paid director and merged the secondary councils of Havelock, University Place and Bethany into its council. By 1925, the Lincoln Council was reportedly the fourth largest in the U.S.

In 1935, the Burlington Railroad abandoned its water wells in Electric Park, which was floundering in the wake of the more diversified and popular Capital Beach amusement park. When Electric Park closed, the 86-acre tract was leased by the Burlington to what was by then the Cornhusker Council of Boy Scouts, becoming its new permanent camp. The council and volunteers built a swimming pool and longhouse while the Lions Club built a dining hall. The new facility was dubbed Minis-Kuya, which some sources say can be translated from the Sioux as salt water but most scouts I knew claimed it really meant many mosquitoes.

After World War II, the Burlington Railroad sold the campgrounds to the Cornhusker Council, which, by 1950 represented about 10,000 scouts. Other groups used the camp, drawing about 15,000 young people to the grounds annually.

Beginning in 1955, as registration at Minis-Kuya dwindled, the Cornhusker Council acquired 10 acres of land south of Humboldt in Richardson County near the Kansas border for what was first called the Cornhusker Scout Reservation. After accumulating several hundred more acres of additional land, it was renamed Camp Cornhusker in 1985.

Camp Minis-Kuya closed in 1956 and was sold to Lancaster County for $60,000 in 1970. Two years later Minis-Kuya and other parcels were combined as the 1,475-acre Wilderness Park, Lincolns largest park. Almost nothing is left of Minis-Kuya, but sharp eyes can still uncover remnants of the dynamited dam, the dry mill flume, the old path of Salt Creek now moved east across First Street and straightened, as well as bits of the iron Burlington water pipe.

Although I have been unable to uncover its exact location, it is possible the old concrete swimming pool is still there as well, simply filled in with dirt and grown over.
A public hearing of the Judicial Nominating Commission is set for October to hear from six candidates seeking to be appointed as Workers Compensation Court judge.

The vacancy is due to the retirement of Judge Laureen K. Van Norman, effective Jan. 5.

The six include: Lancaster County Court Judge Thomas W. Fox and Lisa D. Martin-Price, an attorney with the Nebraska Attorney General's Office, both of Lincoln; William J. Birkel, Dirk V. Block, Matthew J. Buckley, Jennifer S. Caswell, all private attorneys of Omaha.

At the 10 a.m. hearing Oct. 27 at the Supreme Court Courtroom, the commission will review all applicants for the office. The public is welcome to attend and present information concerning the candidates.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on reorganization of the Ministry of Urban Development and establishment of Tourism State Committee within the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments, press service of the Presidential administration informed Armenpress.
College-bound students can visit with representatives from nearly 115 state and regional colleges during the Lincoln Area College Fair, Sunday, Oct. 9, from 1-3 p.m. at Southeast Community College, 8800 O St. Admission is free.

The College Fair, sponsored by EducationQuest Foundation and the Nebraska Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, will also feature financial aid presentations.

Follow these tips to help you make the most of your College Fair visit:

Before you attend, visit NebraskaCollegeFairs.org to register for a barcode. Print the barcode and take it to the College Fair. College representatives will scan it to save time spent completing information cards.

Determine which colleges you want to visit (a list is available in the College Fair article at EducationQuest.org). Arrive early so you have time to visit your top colleges.

Prepare a list of questions to ask the college representatives. Ask about deadlines for admission, scholarship and financial aid applications.

Attend a financial aid program at the College Fair to learn about types of aid and how to apply.
British organist Benjamin Sheen will present a concert on the newly renovated Casavant organ at Grace Lutheran Church, 2225 Washington St., at 3 p.m. Sunday. The concert is co-sponsored by Lincoln Organ Showcase and Grace Lutheran Church.

Hailed as a "brilliant organist" (New York Times), Sheen is one of Great Britains brightest young organists. He began his musical education as a chorister at St. Pauls Cathedral, London under celebrated organist John Scott. In 2003, at age 13, he became the youngest person ever to give a full recital on the St. Pauls Cathedral Sunday Evening series.

He earned his Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School where he studied with Paul Jacobs, and his Bachelor of Arts degree, with first class honors, from the University of Oxford, while also serving as the organ scholar of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford for three years. While at Juilliard, he held the position of assistant organist at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Sheen's concert at Grace celebrates the completed renovation project on the church's 1969 Casavant organ. Bedient Pipe Organ Co. repaired and straightened pipes that had begun to sag, installed a solid-state combination action and added a full set of couplers and a zimbelstern to the organ. Work began in fall of 2015 and was completed last spring.

The program will feature works of Nicolaus Bruhns, J.S. Bach, Robert Schumann, Judith Bingham, Ad Wammes, and Sheen's own transcription of several movements from "The Gadfly Suite" by Dmitri Shostakovich. The concert will be followed by a reception, and tickets will be available at the door ($20 regular admission/$15 for seniors). Youth 18 and under are admitted free, as are college students with a valid ID.
UNL Ceramic Alumni Exhibition will be on display in the University of NebraskaLincolns Eisentrager-Howard Gallery through Oct. 21.

The exhibition consists of artworks from 35 ceramics alumni of the former UNL Department of Art & Art History. It was organized to coincide with the American Craft Council Conference, Presence Tense, that will occur Oct. 13-15 at Kaneko in Omaha.

The American Craft Council board and organizers will be touring galleries and museums in Lincoln after the conference, and we thought this would be a golden opportunity for us to show off the work of our impressive list of former students, said Associate Professor of Art Margaret Bohls. This will also be a great opportunity for our current students to see and to study the work of this group of nationally recognized ceramic artists."

U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked the UNL graduate ceramics program in the top 10 nationally. Its award-winning alumni are active leaders in the ceramics field and include full-time studio artists, university faculty, business owners, teachers and college administrators.

The Eisentrager-Howard Gallery is on the first floor of Richards Hall, which is located at Stadium Drive and T streets on the UNL city campus.

Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 12:30-4:30 p.m. Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public.

For more information, call the School of Art, Art History & Design at (402) 472-5522.
RACINE  An idea imagined by four nurses sitting around, drinking coffee and enjoying retirement is still alive and well more than a half century later.

Back in April 1966, Gene Hegeman, Esther Larson, Ruth Frederickson and Lulu Draeger  all retired nurses  gathered at Hegemans home and decided to form a group for retired and inactive nurses.

The groups first official meeting was May 18, 1966, and six retired nurses attended. They decided to call the nascent organization the Retired and Inactive Nurses Group, or RING.

More than 50 years later, RING still holds appeal to nursing professionals across Racine County.

I really like the programs the group offers, said Mary Ann Lorence, a 1960 graduate of St. Lukes Nursing School. The talks we hear keep us current with what is going on out there in the nursing world and all the new trends. Its a way to keep up with the profession.

Growing the group

Since those first meetings 50 years ago, the group grew to nearly 100 members at one point. Currently there are about 75 members, group officials said.

RING is open to all retired or inactive registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, said Brenda Wilkinson, serving as the groups co-president along with Barbara Trentadue for 2016-17.

Wilkinson worked as a nurse at the old St. Lukes Hospital for 13 years and for the city of Racine for 22 years. She attended her first RING meeting as the guest of a group member. The scheduled speaker didnt show up that day, and the nurses spent an hour talking about all the different jobs they have performed in their careers.

It was fascinating to hear some of the things these women have done, Wilkinson said. Some of them worked during World War II. It was so interesting to hear how the job has changed. Some of the diseases we have now werent even around then.

For years the group met at the YWCA on Wisconsin Avenue. The meeting venue at some point switched to The Atrium, a senior living complex at 3900 N. Main St.

At 11:30 a.m. on the first Monday of almost every month, the group meets to share lunch, hear speakers and maintain connections.

This is a dedicated group of women who know what they think and think what they know, said Jean Finley, who served as a nurse for almost 50 years in 11 hospitals across three states.

Staying on task

The groups goals were plainly spelled out at that May 1966 meeting, according to meeting minutes carefully preserved along with newspaper clippings and other documents of RINGs history.

The aims were to do volunteer work, sponsor educational talks, and take care of our own nurses in sickness, etc., by visiting and helping when needed, the minutes said.

RING has faithfully followed those objectives for five decades, members said.

Several years ago, about 10 group members assisted a local obstetrician doing a study on pre-natal care. The nurses helped examine and organize birth records for the two-year project, Lorence said.

Many group members gather at local funeral homes when a nurse passes away. They say several prayers and lay a white rose, a ritual known as a Nightingale Tribute.

The tribute is named for Florence Nightingale, an English nurse and social reformer credited with introducing advanced education into nursing; leading health reform by collecting sound statistical data; establishing standards of sanitation; and promoting hospital administration modernization.

We want to show our appreciation for the work they have done their entire lives, Lorence said.

RINGs oldest member is Maggie Seater, who wanted to drive an ambulance in England during World War II. She graduated from nursing school in 1942. She joined RING in 1985.

I cant move around too much, but Im a good RING person, she said. Im happy that I can be here.

Donna Lathrop, who served as the director of nursing at St. Lukes for many years, remembered speaking before the group. I would look around and think to myself I hope Im never one of them,  she said. But here I am.

For Karen Severson, who spent 46 years teaching nursing at St. Lukes school of nursing and Gateway Technical College, the best thing about the group might be the food.

For nurses, these lunches are about the longest meals we have ever had, Severson said to loud laughter at a recent monthly meeting. Were professionals, but were also friends. We should be proud of what we have been able to do. I congratulate you all on a job well done.
RACINE  A Racine man found guilty of threatening police on social media this summer is hoping the lessons he learned, and the friendship he formed with a Racine police officer, can be used to rebuild trust between the larger community and law enforcement.

Sitting in a Racine County courtroom on Friday morning, Byron Cowan, 43, apologized for his actions on July 7, in which he threated the lives of police officers and their families.

One of the posted threats from Cowan, who is black, encouraged black men across America to arm themselves and for every white officer to kiss their loved ones goodbye.

The threats followed weeks of protests and unrest in cities across the country over officer-involved shootings and came only a day after five Dallas police officers were killed by a sniper.

Reflecting

After thinking about his actions while in jail and learning about the challenges police officers face, Cowan told Racine County Circuit Judge Mark Nielsen on Friday that he just wants to be part of making things better.

I just want to save lives on both sides of the barrel. I dont want anyone to be hurt. Thats not who I am. I was trying to get the bad people that were hurting people and to make them think about their own families and people being hurt, Cowan said later pleading no contest to the single felony charge of battery or threat to judge, prosecutor, or law enforcement officer.

Ive seen so much hurt in this place. I dont have to sit here any longer to see that I made a huge mistake  Racine is my home and I will do whatever it takes to make things better, he added.

The misdemeanors Cowan faced  making terrorist threats and disorderly conduct  were dismissed by the state as part of the plea deal, as was the hate crime enhancer that could have resulted in a steeper sentence for the crime.

In the audience for the hearing were several friends and family members of Cowans, including his wife, his pastor, and a representative for the Racine Branch of the NAACP, almost all of whom wrote letters on Cowans behalf.

Community service

Both the state and Cowans defense attorney, Robert Webb, recommended that Cowan be sentenced to probation for the crime. But while the state suggested that 9 to 12 months of jail time be a condition of that probation, Webb said having Cowan serve any more time in jail would be unproductive both for him and society.

Webb suggested instead that Cowan serve 120 hours of community service, perhaps by working to foster a larger conversation between the community and law enforcement in Racine.

He communicated a threat that we are not going to try to sugarcoat, Webb said. Mr. Cowan needs to understand what the officers side of it is, and to give back and repair that fissure that his comments caused.

Cowan has been in jail on a $75,000 bond since his July arrest. He spent most of that incarceration in solitary confinement, Webb said, because jail staff thought he was a threat and might incite a riot. He was eventually moved into the general population in late September after jail staff got to know him, Webb said.

Possibilities

In the end, Nielsen sentenced Cowan to two years on probation, but left the possibility that Cowan could be required to serve part of a six-month jail sentence if he violates the terms of his probation, which includes the requirement that he stay off social media for a year.

He was also ordered to serve 120 hours of community service, the terms of which would have to be fleshed out by Cowan and his probation officer, Nielsen said.

On Friday, Racine Police Chief Art Howell said the department would be conditionally open to working with Cowan as part of his community service, but noted that a measure of vetting and strategic planning would need to occur before anything could proceed.

Due to the personal connection established with Inv. Chad Stillman, Mr. Cowan immediately expressed deep remorse for his actions, as he acknowledged that he had unfairly judged all police officers based on negative stereotypes and high-profile events that do not accurately reflect the essence of the profession or the men and women who serve throughout the nation, Howell said in an email.
RACINE  A Mount Pleasant man faces five felony charges after allegedly overdosing Wednesday evening while kids were in the vicinity.

Stephen D. Taylor, 34, of the 3500 block of Sheridan Road, was reportedly found overdosing at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a criminal complaint.

Officers administered two doses of Narcan to Taylor, which revived him, the complaint said.

Officers located a burned spoon with a cotton ball that later tested positive for oxycodone and fetanyl, according to the complaint.

There were two children in the residence at the time of the overdose, the complaint said.

Taylor faces two felony charges for second-degree recklessly endangering safety, one felony charge for possession of narcotics, and two felony charges for bail jumping. He is scheduled for a adjourned initial appearance at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave.

Taylor remained in custody as of Friday night at the County Jail, online records indicated.
ELKHORN  While the annual GOP Fall Fest had plenty of star power, no one could escape the shadow of the man who wasnt there.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, Gov. Scott Walker, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and other Republicans pressed on less than 24 hours after a bombshell video scrapped the appearance of Donald Trump and threw the presidential campaign into upheaval.

At the Walworth County Fairgrounds, speakers avoided any talk of Trump after the vulgar and sexually charged recording emerged. Trump supporters also made their presence felt, with a scattering of Trump chants and some boos for Ryan  who had nixed Trumps planned appearance on Friday night  heard throughout the afternoon.

Ryan addressed the video soon after taking the stage about 3 p.m.

There is a bit of an elephant in the room, said Ryan, R-Wis., who represents all of Racine County in Congress. It is a troubling situation. Im serious, it is. I put out a statement about this last night. I meant what I said, and its still how I feel.

But that is not what we are here to talk about today. You know what we do here at Fall Fest? We talk about our ideas. We talk about our solutions. We talk about our conservative solutions.

Ryan then pivoted to promoting Johnson in his tough re-election fight against former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold and didnt come back to Trump. Other speakers also kept the focus on Johnson, the Republican-controlled Legislature and conservative issues.

Some support stands

On the tape, recorded in 2005, Trump is heard bragging about sexual advances toward a married woman, says he can kiss women because he is famous, references grabbing womens genitals and seems to condone unwanted advances.

Instead of attending Fall Fest, Trump spent Saturday in New York preparing for Sundays debate and vowing not to exit the race. Vice presidential nominee Mike Pence also scrapped his plans to attend Fall Fest, and Republican senators and representatives were pulling their support of the nominee.

Racine Countys activists said they still plan to vote for Trump despite the video.

I have my eyes open as to what Donald Trump is, and to me, its still the better option than Hillary Clinton, said Lisa Bell, chairwoman of the Racine County Republican Party. The way I look at it, these are things he talked about doing, these arent things he did like Bill Clinton.

Bell added: Im so tired of all the tabloid stuff were focusing on. Obamacare is a mess  weve got trillions in debt. Were not talking about the things that need to be talked about.

Bill Jaeck, a Yorkville resident who was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, said it was a very vulgar and outlandish statement by Donald Trump, and words have consequences but words are different than actions.

I go back to the other side of actions by the other party, with not only Bill Clinton and his trips, his affairs, and Hillary Clinton trying to cover up for him, Jaeck said.

Jaeck added he supported Ryans Friday statement in which Ryan said he was sickened by Trumps remarks and said Trump would not appear Saturday in Wisconsin.

Some took a hard stance on Trumps absence, criticizing Ryan for uninviting him.

Hillary is laughing at Paul Ryan right now. Laughing at him, said one man carrying a Hillary is a criminal sign. But what do we know, were just conspiracy theorists. Were just tin-foil hat wearers.

Ryan Solen, a Democrat running against Ryan this fall, also showed up in Elkhorn, saying he wanted to reach out to Republicans who may be wary of the Trump saga.

The fact is that Paul Ryan is still endorsing Trump, Solen said. I thought, these people are still in the district. Theyre still voters. And Im running, so Im going to come down and talk to people. Im in the lions den, I understand that.

Other Democrats also criticized Republicans for not mentioning Trump at Saturdays event or renouncing Trumps candidacy.

While they may condemn his words, their continued support of a man so truly unfit and unworthy to hold our nations highest office is a disgrace, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairwoman Martha Laning said in a statement.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan will pay a working visit to the United States on October 9, press service of the Presidential administration informed Armenpress.

He will take part in Armenia investment forum in New York on October 10.

Representatives of leading companies representing different economic sectors, experts, representatives of international financial structures and over one hundred international investors are invited to attend the forum.

President Sargsyan will hold bilateral meetings during the visit.
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.
2 more oil depots to be built to boost reserves

Plans are afoot to establish two more oil depots as part of the governments plan to increase reserves of petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel for at least three months of consumption.
Caan bans use of Note 7 on aircraft

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) has banned the use of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 mobile phone on all domestic and international flights following reports that the model has caught fire due to overheating of the battery.
Fulpati brought to Dashainghar (Photo feature)

The 'fulpati' has been installed at the Dashainghar at Hanumandhoka Durbar here today, the seventh day of the Nawaratha (the nine-night period) of the Bada Dasain festival.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian on October 8 held a meeting with the French delegation led by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo who have arrived in Armenia on an official visit, press service of the MFA informed Armenpress.

Welcoming the guests FM Nalbandian said he is happy to host Armenias friend Anne Hidalgo and the delegation members in Yerevan.

It is a great pleasure to welcome you and your delegation in Yerevan, the Armenian FM said.

Paris Mayor thanked for the warm reception and said it is a pleasure for her to be in Armenia on the occasion of Yerevan Day ceremonies and used this occasion for discussing the further steps aimed at developing the ties and cooperation between the two sister-cities.

Issues related to the expansion of Armenian-French relations, as well as the decentralized cooperation between the two states were discussed.

Your sincere devotion to the Armenian-French friendship has been visible during your entire activities, the FM said.

He said they remember with a special gratitude Paris Mayors visit to Armenia last year on April 24 to take part in the ceremonies dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Edward Nalbandian awarded Anne Hidalgo with an MFA Honorary Medal for her important input on strengthening the cooperation between Yerevan and Paris.
Mohan Guragain is a desk editor at The Kathmandu Post. He edited a provincial youth-oriented monthly paper for nearly two years before joining The Himalayan Times in 2008. Guragain also writes occasionally on politics and socio-economic issues. He joined the Post in 2010.
Integrated settlement for quake survivors: PM Dahal lays foundation stone

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday laid the foundation stone for a pilot project on integrated settlement for survivors of the earthquakes of April and May, 2015 at Gupsipakha, Laprak.
Minister Thapa hosts tea reception

Minister for Health, Gagan Kumar Thapa, on Saturday, hosted a tea reception and greetings exchange programme on the occasion of Bada Dashain, Dipawali, Nepal Sambat, Chhath, Eid and Lhosar.
On writers and their works

With Elena Ferrantes true identity revealed, we are forced to think about the relationship between a writer and her creation
Statute changes post festival

Minister for Urban Development Arjun Narsingh KC has claimed that the process of registering a constitution amendment bill in Parliament to address the demands of the Madhes-based parties will begin after Dashain.
Walls are closing in

With an environmental impact assessment for the proposed 12-storey Kathmandu View Tower still in waiting, locals are questioning if the development project should have even come this far
Womens rights defenders flay govt inaction, press for probe

Women right defenders have condemned the governments inaction over the incident where a womens shelter in Dhading was demolished by the District Forest Office (DFO).
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The IDeA Foundation issued a statement on the situation of Syrian Armenians on October 8.

Armenpress presents the full statement:

The IDeA Foundation is committed to improving the lives of Armenia's citizens. Yet, we do not do this in isolation. We are aware of what is happening in the world around us and we feel an obligation to participate in doing what can be done to alleviate pain and suffering wherever possible.

As we watch the continuing violence in Syria, particularly in Aleppo, we feel compelled to offer financial support to bring Syrian-Armenian refugees to Armenia. We are prepared to join other organizations and individuals around the world in this effort. This is something that must happen now. Even those who stayed and continued to stay throughout the years of fighting are now looking for safe haven elsewhere. We believe it is our duty as Armenians to help them.

We are joined in this by several private foundations and we are working with the Armenian government to ensure that those who come are offered the basic official facilitation necessary to be able to legally seek refuge in Armenia.

In the years following the Genocide, the Armenians of Aleppo were the first-line saviors for Armenian survivors in Anatolia. Today, they are looking for first-line saviors themselves.
627 | October 28, 2022 17:40 Putin to have private talks with Pashinyan and Aliyev

616 | October 29, 2022 11:04 The statement of the President of the Russian Federation inspires certain hopes. We anticipate that the vital interests of the Artsakh Republic will be fully protected. President Harutyunyan

612 | October 26, 2022 17:43 10 residential buildings built in Ivanyan with the funds of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund will soon be put into operation

605 | October 26, 2022 16:27 Pediatric neurologists from Yerevan conduct free exainations in Stepanakert

597 | October 28, 2022 16:52 Zatulin: West seeks to push Russia out of negotiation process at any cost

586 | October 28, 2022 17:54 Power supply may be restored, if Kiev recognizes Russias new regions  Medvedev

561 | October 28, 2022 15:51 Garo Paylan arrives in Armenia

538 | October 26, 2022 17:41 Pope Francis receives Armenian FM
President Yoweri Museveni has challenged the newly commissioned Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Officers to be committed to work and maintain discipline.

He made the call while commissioning 2nd Lieutenants who have been under going a one year course at the Uganda Military Academy, Kabamba in Mubende district.

Those commissioned included serving UPDF soldiers, jet fighter pilots and Air Traffic Controllers.

He noted that Second Lieutenants, who have been commissioned, are able to lead a platoon, tasking the Senior Officers to follow up on the training of the junior ones.

He said that there is need to provide more powerful boats to serve the Marines Force on Lakes Victoria, Albert and Edward adding that the Force would be suitable in controlling illegal fishing.

Brigadier Musinguzi, the Commandant of the Uganda Military Academy, revealed that the passed out Officers covered various topics including field craft, military leadership and field engineering.

Story By Benjamin Jumbe
ANGOLA  Faculty from Trine Universitys Department of Humanities and Communication celebrated Banned Books Week by sharing selected readings from favorite banned books in videos on the departments website.

Banned Books Week for 2016 was Sept. 25 through Oct. 1. It has been celebrated every year since 1982 to raise awareness of the number of books being challenged in schools, bookstores and libraries. The American Library Association says more than 11,300 books have faced challenges since the week was first celebrated.

The books read in the videos include:

 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell, read by Justin Young, assistant professor;

 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, read by Alison Witte, assistant professor;

 To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, read by Amy Nicholls, interim dean, Jannen School of Arts and Sciences;

 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, read by Jeanette Goddard, assistant professor;

 Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, read by Tim Hopp, associate professor;

 The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney, read by Cassandra Bausman, assistant professor; and

 Beloved by Toni Morrison, read by Sarah Young, assistant professor.

The videos are available at trinehac.com/2016/10/01/hac-celebrates-banned-books-week-by-sharing-favorite-banned-books/

More information on Banned Books Week is available at bannedbooksweek.org.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Areas of patchy fog early. Showers this morning becoming a steady light rain during the afternoon hours. High 61F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy. Periods of light rain early. Low 48F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
WATERLOO, Wis.  Thomas J. Herried, 73, of Waterloo died Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, at Alden Estates of Jefferson.

Thomas was born Aug. 24, 1943, in La Crosse, son of Wilfred and Cordia (Ness) Herried. Tom graduated from Central High School, La Crosse, and later attended University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Western Wisconsin Technical Institute, where he graduated with a degree in drafting. He later received his degree in mechanical engineering. Tom was the founder of the first fraternity at WWTI.

Tom married his loving wife, Carol Weaver, May 29, 1965, in La Crosse. They enjoyed 51 years of marriage together. The couple was blessed with their daughter, Sarah, the light of Toms life. Tom began his career in engineering at Trane Company La Crosse where he worked for 20 years. Trane transferred the family to Brazil where they remained for two years. While at Trane, Tom had the opportunity to work on a NASA project. Tom and his family then returned to Onalaska, and he worked for Altec La Crosse as the manager of the drafting department. In 1995, Tom began working for Johnson Controls of Watertown and later Johnson Controls of Milwaukee, where he remained until he retired in 2012. Above all else, Tom loved and cared for his family. He was known as a kind and gentle soul by his family and his caretakers.

Tom is survived by his wife, Carol of Waterloo; daughter, Sarah (Eric) Fredrick of Jefferson; grandchildren, Chelsea and Cole Fredrick; sisters, Nancy (Ed) Gansen of La Crosse, and Barbara (Dan Dahl) Bowen of Viroqua; a number of nieces, nephews, relatives, and special friends, including Lynn (Ruth) Schultz, and Jerry (Karen) Reichert.

A mass of Christian burial will be 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at St. Bernards Catholic Church, Madison, with Fr. Michael Radowicz presiding. Visitation service will be 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at Pederson- Nowatka Funeral Home, Watertown, and one hour prior to mass Friday at the church.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials in Toms honor be made to Rainbow Hospice or Alzheimers Association.

The family would like to thank Rainbow Hospice and Alden Estates for their care and support during this difficult time. A special thank you to Fr. Michael, Fr. Jorge, Fr. Thomas, and Pastor Zandt for their loving spiritual support for Tom and his family.

Pederson-Nowatka Funeral Homes is caring for the family. To place an online condolence, please visit pn-fh.com.
The adversary breached the truce along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces around 50 times, from late Friday night to early Saturday morning.

October 8, 2016, 09:30 Karabakh army: Azerbaijan violated ceasefire 50 times at night

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 8, ARTSAKHPRESS: During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces fired more than 450 shots toward the Armenian position-holders, and by way of various caliber weapons, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Defense Army informed.

In addition, the adversary fired 22 shots from sniper rifles, in a northeasterly direction of the line of contact.

But the NKR Defense Army vanguard units are in command of the operational situation, and they continue confidently carrying out their military watch.
First Congregation United Church of Christ invites the community to join its free Labryrinth Walk sessions of prayer and meditation the last two Fridays and Saturdays of October the the first Friday and Saturday of November.

The two-hour sessions will be held at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturdays.

Each weekend features a different theme: Oct. 21-22, "Child of God, Come and Play"; Oct. 28-29, Things Eternal, Spirit's Song"; and Nov. 4-5, "Holy Healing, Band Aids to Surgery."

Groups of four or more are asked to call ahead, 608-304-5773.
HOLMEN, Wis.  A La Crosse County community that will soon be bisected by two high-voltage power lines says Wisconsin utility regulators infringed on individual property rights and subjected electric customers to unnecessary financial risk when they approved a line that isnt needed to keep the lights on.

In a first-of-its-kind case, the town of Holland is asking a judge to overturn the Public Service Commissions approval of the Badger-Coulee transmission line between Holmen and Dane County.

A judge on Monday will hear oral arguments that center on whether the board responsible for protecting utility consumers erred when it authorized a consortium of utility companies to build the nearly $600 million line, which the projects owners say will allow utilities to purchase cheaper and cleaner power from wind farms in Minnesota and the Dakotas.

A joint venture of American Transmission Co. and several regional utility companies, including La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative, the 180-mile line will run between the Madison suburbs and Holmen, where it will connect to another high-voltage line, CapX2020, that runs across Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

The owners say the lines will make the electric grid more reliable and provide a pipeline between remote locations with strong wind resources with population centers such as Madison and Milwaukee where the energy is needed. The estimated $580 million cost will be shared by customers in 15 Midwestern states and one Canadian province.

ATC has started building the eastern end of the line and is doing engineering and design of the rest. Construction of the segments in La Crosse and Trempealeau counties is expected to start sometime next year, and the line is scheduled to be in service by the end of 2018.

The PSC approved the project in 2015 with a route that essentially parallels CapX through the Town of Holland, often putting massive towers side by side or on opposite sides of the road.

The town challenged the ruling, arguing that the PSC did not follow state law when it comes to establishing a need for such projects, that the agencys environmental review was insufficient, and that it was wrong to route the line through the town without using the existing poles.

Unlike CapX2020, which the PSC decided was necessary to meet the demand of the La Crosse area, Badger-Coulee was not billed as a project to keep the lights on.

The key issue  is the question of what constitutes a need that justifies the imposition of these kinds of impacts on communities and landowners, said Frank Jablonski, the attorney representing the semi-rural town of 3,701 people. The determination of need has to be based on a requirement for adequate energy in a Wisconsin setting.

Thats based on a reading of the state statute, which says a project must satisfy the reasonable needs of the public for an adequate supply of electric energy.

PSC spokeswoman Elise Nelson provided a written statement which reads, Following a year-long process laid out explicitly in state statute, Commissioners considered extensive public comment, arguments from both applicants and interveners in the case, the associated environmental impact statement, routing options and other information, and ultimately determined based upon substantial evidence, that the project was necessary to satisfy the needs of the public for an adequate supply of energy and would bring other significant benefits to the state.

The agency also defends its decision in a 62-page legal brief that cites hundreds of pages of evidence and defends the consideration of economic and public policy benefits.

We pay for it no matter what

With towers taller than a 10-story building and price tags that can exceed $1 billion, high voltage transmission lines are a controversial piece in the effort to bolster the nations electrical grid, the network of power plants, transformers and wires. They move electricity more efficiently, help prevent blackouts and encourage development of alternative energy by connecting population centers and remote locations with greater wind, hyrdo and solar resources.

But opponents say the huge investments often outweigh the benefits, discourage the development of locally-based solutions and line the pockets of utility shareholders at the expense of consumers. They say money would be better spent shoring up the existing system and reducing demand through spending on energy efficiency programs.

The future is not towards expanding the system. The future is making the system smaller and serve our communities better and serve ourselves better, said Rob Danielson, secretary of Save Our Unique Lands, a grassroots group that formed in opposition to Badger-Coulee. Were much better off starting to look at how were going to prolong the life to make our local facilities work better for us.

To make sense of the issue, it helps to understand that utilities dont only make money by selling electricity. As regulated monopolies, utilities are guaranteed a return on investment whenever they build new power plants or other infrastructure such as transmission lines.

That rate of return set by federal regulators for transmission companies is now about 10 percent, meaning if a utility builds a $100 million power line, its shareholders can expect to see $10 million in profits.

Their business model, as regulated by the state, encourages them to spend capital to get a return, said John Farrel, director of the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self Reliance. That is the regulatory framework in which they operate, so of course theyre going to prefer transmission to non-transmission.

ATC estimates the project will ultimately save consumers anywhere from $118 million to $702 million over the lines 40-year lifespan. The theory is, if power demand rises, the line will allow utilities to access cheaper electricity, which in the long run will save consumers money.

But if demand doesnt increase as predicted, the benefits arent realized and consumers still have to pay for the lines.

When the gamble doesnt work out, its not the companies who build the transmission lines that end up paying. Its the ratepayers, Jablonski said. We pay for it no matter what. If the deal works, we pay for it. If the deal doesnt work, we pay for it. In all cases the companies win.

Adequate supply

The towns primary argument is based on the idea that Badger-Coulee is not necessary to keep the lights on in western Wisconsin

The PSC contends line will be needed to meet the La Crosse area power needs as early as 2026. But those projections were based on electricity use from 2010 to 2012, as the economy recovered from the deepest recession in nearly 100 years.

According to data from the Energy Information Administration, U.S. electricity use climbed relatively steadily until 2007, when it nosedived.

Over the decade ending in 2014 (the last year for which EIA data are available), the nations electricity sales have grown by about 0.6 percent per year. In Wisconsin, where manufacturing represents a larger chunk of the economy, growth has been only about 0.2 percent. The EIA projects a modest average annual growth of half a percent through 2017.

With manufacturing becoming more efficient and the nation moving toward a service-based economy, Jablonski thinks demand will remain flat for the foreseeable future.

But the PSC decided Badger-Coulee met the statute in broader ways: eliminating the need for other projects, lowering costs and providing reliable, affordable, and clean electric energy.

Its a rationale the PSC first used in its 2008 approval of a $133 million transmission line between Dane and Rock counties known as Paddock-Rockdale. While the PSC has approved several transmission projects on similar economic benefit grounds, this is the first time that need basis has been challenged in court.

The town argues that amounts to the commission re-writing the rules without input from lawmakers or the public.

The PSC has arrogated to itself power that it does not have  the power to over-ride an explicit statutory criterion because it thinks it has a good idea on other grounds, the brief argues.

The PSC counters that the towns reading of state law is too narrow, a position shared by ATC and the other partners.

Taken to the logical extreme, the Petitioners position would mean that the Commission would be unable to approve a new transmission line or power plant, even if energy costs in the state were skyrocketing due to congestion on the transmission system or a lack of affordable, cost-effective generation resources, the stakeholders write in their brief.

Jablonski said those other factors may be beneficial, but they dont constitute need.

If supply is adequate  and it is  then there is not a need, Jablonski said. Theyre saying the concept of need is this suitcase and you pack into it whatever you like about the project.

Inadequate review?

The town goes on to argue that the PSC did not follow statutory requirements to follow the states top energy priorities: energy efficiency and conservation.

In its 638-page environmental impact statement, ATC devoted just over two pages to an evaluation of non-transmission alternatives.

The EIS utterly failed to study, develop and describe the required no build  alternative, the towns brief states. It nowhere identifies, much less develops, the required environmentally preferred alternative.

PSC attorneys say this criticism is based on nothing more than rhetoric.

Danielson said the biggest problem is the PSC did not require ATC to provide an analysis of what the project would mean at the consumer level, in spite of requests by more than 90 local governments.

They have refused to tell ratepayers what the actual benefit would be on our bills, he said.

The town has also challenged the siting of the line, which parallels CapX2020 for about eight miles on a separate set of towers, at times running on either side of Hwy. 53 and cutting through farm land that is designated for future residential development in what is the fastest-growing part of the county.

The town argues the lines should have been co-located on a single set of towers.

The PSC says that would violate federal reliability standards, which encourage redundancy. So, for instance, if one line is knocked down by a storm the other would remain in service.

Local benefit and clean energy

Transmission line opponents argue Wisconsin ratepayers would be better served if utilities spent money on in-state solutions, generating renewable energy locally or reducing congestion through energy efficiency or better load management.

Hosting a transmission line doesnt necessarily bring you a lot of economic benefit, said Farrell of the ILSR. A lot of times it doesnt even give you a way that you can put power into that system because a high-voltage line is kind of bringing it from one point to another point. Theres not a lot of on and off ramps.

Whats more, investing billions of dollars in transmission leads to a phenomenon known as path dependence.

Weve now poured lots of money into a transmission system, so we might as well use it, Farrell explains. We might as well build large-scale projects that can take advantage of that system.

But clean energy advocates like Renew Wisconsin say big transmission lines are key to reducing the states dependence on coal, which now accounts for about 60 percent of Wisconsins generation.

Besides the public health implications its very risky economically for a state to be that dependent on coal when we dont have any coal in our state, said Tyler Huebner, executive director of the nonprofit group. Were completely dependent on other states to bring that in by train.

Huebner said transmission projects can actually make it easier to develop in-state renewable generation, such as a 98-megawatt wind farm scheduled to be built next year near Platteville with a contract to sell electricity to Dairyland Power.

While lines like Badger-Coulee primarily serve to import power from the west, adding such a high-volume pathway across the Mississippi River will alleviate congestion on lower-voltage transmission networks, said Ben Porath, vice president for power delivery at Dairyland.

That will open a new pathway for energy from projects like the Quilt Block wind farm to flow toward Madison.

Because of the way energy is priced, Danielson is doubtful it will actually lead to any reduction in fossil fuel use.

Theres nothing in Badger-Coulee that says  Wisconsin utilities are going to buy 1 more kilowatt of wind energy because this transmission line is built, he said.

Instead, he sees such lines competing against community-based and rooftop solar electric generation, and other such programs that would increase the share of renewable energy while putting money into local economies.

Huebner believes theres room for each.

Our position is that we need both, Huebner said. We need all of the above clean energy.

Feds trim guaranteed profits for transmission projects Midwest transmission companies like the one building the high-voltage Badger-Coulee line con
Federal and state elected officials will discuss health policy during a public meeting from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Monday in the Fine Arts Center of Viterbo University at 925 Jackson St. in La Crosse.

The La Crosse County Health Departments Legislative Gathering Planning Committee is sponsoring the meeting so health and elected officials can exchange ideas on policies.

The agenda is:

9:30 a.m.  Welcome and introduction from county health Director Jen Rombalski, committee chairwoman.

Minutes of previous gathering, on Feb. 8.

Candidate forum, during which lawmakers and legislative candidates have been invited to introduce themselves and seek input and discuss their public health policy positions.

Those who have been confirmed as speakers include incumbent State Sen. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, and Dan Kapanke, her opponent for the Senate District 32 seat, and State Rep. Jill Billings, D-La Crosse.

Also on the agenda is discussion of the La Crosse Community Health Improvement Plan, state health leaders legislative priorities and a question-and-answer period as time permits.
As part of my internship at the La Crosse County Historical Society, I conduct research about artifacts in the collection. In our current survey of uniforms, we processed a box of military hats with absolutely no donation records. These items possibly had been saved many years ago for costuming purposes, put with collections and forgotten.

In the collection I found an undocumented West Point Military Academy dress hat. This classic 20th century hat is gray wool, with a black visor and a metal badge on the front with the West Point Academy coat of arms. The hat contained a card with the name David Dearman written in a childs handwriting, and the name Kirkegaard M typed on the other side.

After finding Martin L. Kirkegaard, class of 1958, on the West Point Alumnis website, I wrote to him asking for information about how we acquired his hat. A week later, I received a phone call from Washington state and began learning all about this mans interesting life and career.

Kirkegaards father came to the United States when he was 17, and they are direct descendants of the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. Kirkegaard graduated from West Point in 1958 and went to basic training and jump school, then through flight school. He was then sent to Berlin for ground duty for a few months as part of the B Company 1st Battalion 19th Infantry.

His company helped support the Berlin Brigade. He watched the building of the Berlin Wall, and he knew Checkpoint Charlie before it was called Checkpoint Charlie. His duties included taking a convoy through East Germany a few nights a week and reporting on what he saw on the other side.

He was stationed in Olsberg, Germany, for the next few years. He then returned to the United States and began flying Mohawk Aircrafts. His first tour of duty in Vietnam was as part of the 131st Surveillance Airplane Company.

His company was one of the first to be sent over, and they observed the construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It was a dangerous job, and Kirkegaard was the only pilot out of seven to return home. After two more tours in Vietnam, he retired in 1980 as a lieutenant colonel due reductions to the military.

After retirement, Kirkegaard held a variety of jobs, including 17 years with Boeing, training mechanics to service the 757 and 767 commercial airliners. He is now fully retired and excited to travel back to West Point for his 60th reunion in two years.

But how did the hat end up in La Crosse if its owner resides in Washington? It turns out that West Point has a tradition of graduates throwing their hats in the air at the end of the graduation ceremony to symbolize the end of training and their new rank as second lieutenants. The children of the military personnel at the school then collect the hats and play with them. So David Dearman must have been the child who was lucky enough to get the hat of Martin Kirkegaard and then bring it to La Crosse years later.

Even if we had found a deed of gift for this donation, it would not have included the fascinating history of the man who wore it. This just goes to show that by losing one thing, you may just find more than you expected.
As millions of Americans battle alcohol abuse problems each year, public health officials suggest that two often overlooked medications might offer relief to some.

More than 18 million people abuse or are dependent on alcohol, yet a key study funded by the federal government reported last year that only 20 percent will ever receive treatment of any kind. In fact, just slightly more than 1 million seek any type of formal help, ranging from a meeting with a counselor or a doctor to entering a specialized treatment program.

Acknowledging that for many people peer-support programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, work well, federal officials also want to encourage physicians to be more involved in identifying and treating alcohol problems and are seeking to increase awareness of drug treatments.

We want people to understand we think AA is wonderful, but there are other options, said George Koob, the director of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a part of the federal National Institutes of Health. Let a thousand flowers bloom, anything helps.

The NIAAA has developed a branch dedicated to development of medications and is supporting trials of drugs to give patients and doctors more options.

NIAAA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration also asked a panel of outside experts to report last summer on drug options.

Current evidence shows that medications are underused in the treatment of alcohol use disorder, including alcohol abuse and dependence, the panel reported. It noted that although public health officials and the American Medical Association say dependence on alcohol is a medical problem, there continues to be considerable resistance among doctors to this approach.

It is still rare for a person struggling with an alcohol use disorder to even hear that medication therapy exists. That partly reflects the overwhelming tradition to treat alcohol abuse through 12-step programs. Its also a byproduct of limited promotion by the drugs manufacturers and confusion among doctors about how to use them.

Naltrexone and acamprosate are the two drugs on the market for patients with alcohol cravings.

Theyre very safe medications, said Koob. And theyve shown efficacy.

A 2014 analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association of past studies found that both drugs were associated with reduction in return to drinking.

A third drug is also available, but it does not work against alcohol cravings. Disulfiram, also known by the brand name Antabuse, makes people violently ill when they consume alcohol. It has been found to be less effective in helping stem alcohol abuse than the other two drugs.

Naltrexone, which is also used to help treat opiate addiction, comes in both an oral and injectable form and has few side effects. It was approved for use in alcohol addiction in 1994. Acamprosate was approved in 2004 to treat only alcohol problems. It comes as a tablet.

When naltrexone came on the market, sales teams had trouble explaining how the drug worked differently than Antabuse to the non-physician administrators who made treatment decisions in addiction clinics, addiction experts said. Many misunderstood how and for whom the drug worked. Some of that persists today.

They got three years of market exclusivity, said Dr. Henry Kranzler, director for the Center for Studies of Addiction at the University of Pennsylvania. Three years is not a very long time to make a market where there really isnt much of a market and they didnt. The company discontinued its effort to market the drug in 1997.

Many of the same marketing problems also persist for acamprosate.

Some of naltrexones history in opioid treatment also hurt its image. The drug blocks the effects of opioid receptors in the brain. So any patients who took it without having completely detoxed from opiates were launched into agonizing withdrawal. The label urged doctors only to prescribe the medication to patients that had already been opiate-free for at least 10 days.

But it doesnt have the same effect on patients with alcohol use disorders. A patient who drinks while taking naltrexone will get drunk  and not have those withdrawal symptoms. Yet, when the drug was approved for alcohol use disorders in 1994, the label still stated patients should be completely sober before using naltrexone.

Often, care providers consider complete abstinence the only successful outcome of treatment, yet patients who drink while taking naltrexone get drunk without the opioid-induced reward to reinforce the behavior. The absence of this reward makes drinking less appealing in the future.

When naltrexone came on the market, sales teams had trouble explaining how the drug worked to the non-physician administrators who made treatment decisions in addiction clinics, addiction experts said. Many misunderstood how and for whom the drug worked. Some of that persists today.
As my wife was driving us to her family reunion in central Iowa, I was reading Cardinal Raymond Burkes latest book, Hope for the World: To Unite All Things in Christ. Because our trip was extended by two detours around flooded areas, I had time to finish the book.

I understood Burkes explanations as the book began, but when I got to page 54, I was astounded  astounded by his statements about Islam. He says the Quran asserts that Islam wants to govern the world. That Islam cannot coexist in harmony with other religions. That Islam is a religion that must become the state, according to his unnamed sources.

I reflected on my experience three weeks earlier at the Islamic Society of North America Convention in Chicago, which was attended by 15,000 Muslims. I listened to hours of speeches, read every description of the talks I could not attend and overheard several conversations among Muslims. I never heard one word that would validate the assertions of Burke. Although I looked for them, there were no workshops about increasing their numbers or recruiting people to become Muslims. Moreover, I heard much more about influencing American laws at Catholic conventions than I heard at this meeting.

On our way home I read another book, A Beginners Guide about Sharia, or Islamic law, by Jasser Auda. It was a much shorter book, only 54 pages, and it was about the higher objectives of Islamic law.

As far back as the 14th century, Ibn al-Qayyim wrote: The Islamic law is all about wisdom and achieving peoples welfare in this life and the afterlife. It is all about justice, mercy, wisdom and good. Thus, any ruling that replaces justice with injustice, mercy with its opposite, common good with mischief, or wisdom with nonsense, is a ruling that does not belong to the Islamic law, even if it is claimed to be so according to some interpretations.

Certainly some authors that may have influenced Burke quote such verses as Surah 9, verse 5, of the Quran: But when the forbidden months are past, then slay the pagans wherever you find them, and seize them. But similar verses exist in Jewish and Christian scriptures.

Just like many Jewish and Christian scholars explain troubling passages by understanding their context, Auda writes, The verse was taken out of its thematic and historical contexts and claimed to have defined the ruling between Muslims and non-Muslims in every place, time and circumstance.

When we returned home, I asked one of my Muslim friends about Burkes assertion that Islam wants to become the state. He said that nowhere in the Quran is this claimed. He quoted 2:256, Let there be no compulsion in religion; truth stands out clearly from falsehood.

Regarding Burkes assertion that Islam cannot coexist with other religions, my Muslim friend gave me several quotes to the contrary from the Quran. One of them, 2:62, states Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans  those who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteous  will have their reward with the Lord.

Burke concludes we should fear Islam. Where is Pope Francis on what Burke asserts?

Francis refuses to talk about Islamic violence. He says that every day he reads about violence in the newspapers. He read about an Italian who killed his fiance and another who killed his mother-in-law. They are baptized Catholics. They are violent Catholics, Francis said, adding that if he speaks of Islamic violence, then he has to speak of Catholic violence, too.

The pope said that in every religion there are violent people, a small group of fundamentalists, including in Catholicism. I believe that its not fair to identify Islam with violence. Its not fair and its not true.

That was also his conclusion after a long conversation with the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the Cairo-based Islamic university often described as the Vatican of the Sunni world. I know how they think. They look for peace, he said.

There are 2.3 billion Christians in the world and 1.6 billion Muslims. Together, this is nearly 4 billion people, more than half of the worlds population. It is absolutely necessary that we work together against fundamentalists in both religions if we want peace.

Pope Francis, when he was an archbishop in Argentina, worked together for peace and justice with Muslims.

We should do the same in the United States.
WASHINGTON  Rudy Giuliani is doing what many thought to be impossible: Hes out-Trumping Donald Trump.

The former New York mayor is becoming a regular source of over-the-top statements and slams about Democrats, often amplifying and even surpassing Trump in grabbing headlines, if also sometimes confounding fact-checkers  all in the name of promoting Trump.

This week alone, Giuliani suggested that everyone commits infidelity and voters would rather have Trump, an economic genius who knows his way around the tax code, than a woman.

Before that, hes proclaimed Hillary Clinton too stupid to be president because she remained with then-President Bill Clinton despite his affair with Monica Lewinsky, charged that President Barack Obama hates America and argued that there were no Islamic terrorist attacks on U.S. soil prior to Obamas presidency  seemingly forgetting the 9/11 World Trade Center attack that catapulted him to Americas mayor hero status.

Giuliani has produced such a prolific collection of cringe-worthy comments as one of Trumps chief surrogates that several political veterans wonder whether hes doing more harm than good for his candidate.

Its surprising, said Douglas Heye, a Republican Trump opponent who served as deputy chief of staff for communications for former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.

But its kind of consistent from what youve seen from his speech at the Republican convention to now. Its definitely a sea change as Trump surrogates more and more act like The Addams Family than serious surrogates, and thats what I find surprising, particularly with Rudy.

Craig Robinson, a former Iowa Republican Party political director, said Giuliani had morphed into a Trump echo chamber  he repeats lines Trump does, sometimes louder.

If theres a politics 101 playbook, surrogates dont do that, he said. Surrogates steer the conversation back to the candidates strong points. It seems to me that hes taken on a role similar to Trump  he fans the flames and lets them burn itself out. I dont think hes been helpful.

Katie Packer, a prominent anti-Trump Republican, applauded Giuliani for helping to galvanize New York and the rest of the country after the 9/11 attacks.

But she said she was repulsed by the responses of Giuliani and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., after Hillary Clinton raised comments Trump has made in the past about women and his alleged verbal mistreatment of former Miss Universe Alicia Machado.

Rudy Giuliani was someone who was thought of as progressive, Packer said. Maybe this is who he was all along.

Packer, Heye and others surmised that Giuliani, 72, is angling for a Trump administration Cabinet post with his full-throated defense of the candidate.

Its been very painful for him to be out of power, and he looks to Trump as his best bet to get back into power again, both he and Newt, Packer said. They are willing to press their lips against his buttocks.

McClatchys efforts to reach Giuliani were unsuccessful. He swatted away Trump administration job speculation in a statement to The Washington Post, saying, Im very happy practicing law at Greenberg Traurig and business consulting at Giuliani Partners.

Still, theres no denying that hes been one of Trumps most aggressive, and most controversial, surrogates among a group that includes Gingrich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.  hardly shrinking violets.

After Trump congratulated himself for not bringing up Bill Clintons sexual past during last weeks debate, Giuliani said he would have brought up the former presidents affair with Lewinsky.

When NBCs Chuck Todd pointed out Sunday that the thrice-married, twice-divorced Giuliani also had strayed from his marital vows in the past, the former mayor argued that everybody commits infidelities.

After last weeks debate, he lashed out at Hillary Clinton for claiming not to know that Bill Clinton was having an affair with Lewinsky, a White House intern.

After being married to Bill Clinton for 20 years, if you didnt know the moment Monica Lewinsky said that Bill Clinton violated her that she was telling the truth, then youre too stupid to be president, Giuliani said.

Giuliani hasnt limited his aim to the Clintons. In February 2015, before Trump announced his candidacy, the former mayor told a private dinner gathering that he doesnt believe that Obama loves America.

He generated mocking New York tabloid headlines the following month when he told Trump supporters that there were no successful radical Islamic terrorist attacks on U.S. soil before Obama took office in 2008, apparently omitting the Sept. 11 attacks.
ELKHORN  Fissures within the Republican Party were on full display at the Walworth County Fairgrounds on Saturday, as people who came to hear Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump learned they wouldn't have the chance.

In the heart of his own Congressional district, House Speaker Paul Ryan was met with mixed reactions at an annual event designed to showcase the state's Republican candidates and elected officials.

Initially billed as a unity event where Ryan would campaign for the first time with Trump, the last-minute cancellation of appearances by Trump and his running mate Mike Pence ultimately showcased the division between the party's fervent and more reluctant Trump supporters. In a town whose motto is "Living in Harmony," the 1st Congressional District Republican Party of Wisconsin Fall Fest didn't offer much of it.

Ryan, speaking to a crowd of hundreds, briefly acknowledged the controversy that emerged late Friday after a recording surfaced of Trump in 2005 making lewd comments about women, Trump, in the recording, bragged about kissing and groping women without their consent and the fact that his "star" status allowed him to "grab them by the p---y."

"There is a bit of an elephant in the room. And it is a troubling situation, and I'm serious, it is," Ryan told the audience. "I put out a statement last night. I meant what I said, and it is still how I feel. But that is not what I'm here to talk about today."

For that matter, it wasn't what most Republicans who spoke Saturday cared to address.

Gov. Scott Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Sen. Ron Johnson, U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner and state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos all spoke without once mentioning Trump by name. Some still encouraged voters to do their part to prevent Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton from winning, while others declined to address the presidential contest.

Kleefisch listed candidates on the ballot twice while onstage  naming her husband, state Rep. Joel Kleefisch; Sensenbrenner, Johnson and Ryan  and ending with a "Go Packers" rather than a plug for Trump.

Speakers spent a great deal of time highlighting Johnson's tough race against Democratic former Sen. Russ Feingold, whom he ousted in 2010.

"Its one of those where every votes going to count," Walker said of the Senate race.

Attorney General Brad Schimel  the only one to encourage the crowd to vote for Trump, as a means of putting conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court  still earned some boos when he said he didn't like "hearing anyone talk that way about women."

"Get over it! It was 12 years ago," one audience member shouted.

Sensenbrenner directly addressed the anti-Ryan sentiments coming from some in the crowd, telling the hecklers to "clean up (their) act."

"Were asking people to be respectful in this campaign. Theres an awful lot of lack of that," Sensenbrenner scolded.

Ryan, Walker and Johnson each issued statements Friday night condemning Trump's comments. Ryan said he was "sickened" by them, while Walker called them "inexcusable" and Johnson said they were "indefensible." None have indicated they will not vote for Trump on Nov. 8.

"While they may condemn his words, their continued support of a man so truly unfit and unworthy to hold our nation's highest office is a disgrace," said Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairwoman Martha Laning in a statement.

Many in attendance were not upset by Trump's comments, but by Ryan's announcement Friday night that Trump would no longer attend the event.

"Im very disappointed in Paul Ryan for saying what he said, for jumping the gun and not taking the apology to heart," said Tim Ellis of Princeton, Illinois.

Trump issued a video apology early Saturday morning, calling the issue a distraction and arguing Clinton and her husband, the former president, had done far worse to women.

Ellis, who wore a shirt with an outline of the United States and the words "F--k Off, We're Full," said the issue detracts from more important conversations about immigration and the economy. He agreed with Trump that there are bigger concerns with how the Clintons have treated women.

"This happens in every locker room, every day, with both genders," Ellis said of Trump's comments.

Lynn Hinz, events chair of the Winnebago County GOP, said women "talk about men the same way," and it should be up to individuals to make up their minds as to whether the candidate's words are disqualifying.

Her son, John Hinz, also of Oshkosh, said he's heard far worse as a veteran, an athlete and former bar and restaurant employee.

"That doesnt make it right, but whats the old saying? Guys will be guys and girls will be girls," Hinz said, adding that he doesn't believe the remarks should disqualify a candidate.

Hinz said he supports Trump because he's "not a politician" and there's "no doubt he puts the country first."

Both sides engage in too many distractions and political games, Hinz said.

"Get all the distractions out of the way, and whats his core message? This is whats wrong with America, and were going to fix it," Hinz said, adding that he thinks Trump would surround himself as president with smart people who would guide him to make the right decisions.

Not long before the afternoon's speaking program began, a verbal skirmish broke out between a Trump supporter shouting anti-Ryan and anti-Clinton statements to a group of reporters.

Beth Lock, a volunteer with the Walworth County GOP, urged the heckler to support Ryan.

"He didn't do anything to Donald Trump," she said, adding that she supports both Trump and Ryan.

But Linda Buikema from Lockport, Illinois, who engaged in the shouting match, said she thinks Ryan was just "waiting for an excuse to turn on (Trump)."

Bill Borchardt, a Trump supporter from Ft. Atkinson, said the only thing he was happy about on Saturday was getting a free pulled pork sandwich at the event. He wore a tank top with Trump's face on it that said, "She wants the D."

"I'm absolutely steaming pissed at Paul Ryan," Borchardt said, arguing the GOP leader should "stand by his man."

Ryan closed the event by bringing Johnson and Walker  both sporting Green Bay Packers shirts  back to the stage.

"We will deliver our 10 electoral votes, we will fight for our conservatives, and we will offer this country solutions and we will meet the moment for what it is," Ryan said, just before Walker flashed a Wisconsin "W" and the three walked offstage.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris on Saturday paid a visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial, in Armenias capital city of Yerevan, News.am reports.

October 8, 2016, 12:23 Paris mayor visits Armenian Genocide Memorial

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 8, ARTSAKHPRESS: The mayor of the French capital city paid tribute to the innocent victims of this tragedy, and placed flowers at the Eternal Flame.

Hidalgo, who arrived in Yerevan on Friday evening, also toured the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and signed its honorary guestbook.

Truth, recollection of history shapes the future of humanity. With respects, Anne Hidalgo, she wrote on the guestbook.

In addition, Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Director Hayk Demoyan presented a letter of thanks to the guest of honor, and for organizing an Armenian Genocide Centennial exhibition last year in Paris.

At the end of her visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial, Anne Hidalgo planted a fir at the Memory Alley of the memorial.
Its Time to Fix Wisconsins Roads

By State Senator Julie Lassa

Not long ago, it would have been difficult to imagine that transportation would become a hot topic in Wisconsin politics. But the deteriorating state of our roads and bridges, and the failure of politicians in Madison to agree on effective solutions, has made the issue unavoidable.

Over the past several months, Ive received resolutions from many of the counties, cities, towns, and villages in the 24th District calling on the governor and Legislature to agree to a solution to repair local roads. Local governments are so desperate that they have cut back to 80- to 100- year road replacement schedules, and are considering such drastic measures as reverting paved roads to gravel or instituting wheel taxes.

Its no wonder that local governments are clamoring for a solution. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Wisconsins roads are the third worst in the nation. Nearly three quarters of our roads are in poor or mediocre condition. This is a problem beyond just having to get your wheels realigned after hitting one too many potholes in your vehicle. Poor road conditions contribute to traffic accidents, and make it harder for farms and businesses to get their products to market. One of the top factors companies take into account when they consider locating facilities is the quality of transportation infrastructure. The state of our roads may be contributing to the fact that Wisconsin has been slower to recover after the global recession than other states.

According to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the state needs $939 million more just to pay for road projects that already have been approved. That is a lot of money, so it was surprising to hear Gov. Walkers recent announcement that his next biennial state budget will actually cut the states investment in transportation funding. And while his budget will shift some funds from major highway projects to local transportation aids, it will do little to make an impact in the hundreds of millions of dollars in overdue road maintenance projects local communities currently face.

Delaying these repair and replacement projects will only make them more expensive when they are finally started. Meanwhile, a growing share of our transportation spending must go to pay the interest on the states past borrowing. Even some Republican legislators have said that this course is unsustainable; we cant just keep kicking the can down the same pothole-filled road.

Its time for Gov. Walker and the Legislature to get serious about finding an effective long-term solution to our transportation infrastructure crisis. One thing we could do is give transportation measures separate legislative consideration rather than including them in the full state budget. This would make it easier for lawmakers from both parties to hammer out an agreement that provides adequate funding for roads without continuing to rely on excessive borrowing.

One way or another, the time to come up with a sustainable plan to fix Wisconsins roads is now. The status quo of neglect has given the state some of the worst roads in the nation. Wisconsin has gotten to the point where we either have to get used to driving on pothole-filled roads, or state leaders will have to find a long-term solution to fix them.

Democrat Julie Lassa, Stevens Point, represents the 24th state Senate District.
Vulnerable children and aging veterans in Wisconsin need our help. Shocking investigative reports have exposed a range of problems at the King Veteran Home and the Lincoln Hills School for youth. From assaults and infection outbreaks to outdated facilities and financial mismanagement, Gov. Scott Walker and his Republican legislature have failed Wisconsin families.

At the King nursing facility, veterans and family members are concerned about worsening conditions and ongoing staff shortages. For more than a year, workers have complained of urine-soaked carpeting, tainted drinking water and outdated medical equipment.

Instead of approving $18 million in facility repairs and upgrades, Gov. Walker diverted $12 million from the veteran nursing home fund to backfill budget deficits. Republican leaders are set to raid another $18 million from King over the next two years.

Similar problems exist at the Lincoln Hills School in northern Wisconsin. Staff vacancies and inadequate facilities are jeopardizing safety and putting children at risk. Assaults have become all too common and the Department of Justice is currently investigating several reports of child neglect, intimidation of witnesses and tampering with public records.

Families have been left to wonder: Is this really the best we can do? Shouldnt the care and safety of Wisconsin children and veterans be a top priority?

Whats become painfully clear after numerous investigative reports is that these problems didnt pop up overnight. Theyve been allowed to fester for years under an administration that operates in secrecy, discourages transparency and refuses to accept responsibility.

Gov. Walker spent millions of dollars and countless hours traveling across the country in pursuit of his presidential ambitions. Had that same attention been paid to the concerns of children and veterans here in Wisconsin, perhaps we could have avoided the crisis we currently find ourselves in.

But were here now and families deserve solutions. We cant delay action any longer, so lets roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Security upgrades at Lincoln Hills and an overhaul of the tainted drinking water system at the King Veteran Home are badly needed. Rather than delaying infrastructure investments, we should immediately approve shovel-ready projects and rehabilitate outdated facilities.

Staff shortages have worsened as a result of pay cuts, forced overtime and safety concerns. We can reduce staff turnover by fairly compensating employees, improving working conditions and limiting the unsustainable use of forced overtime.

Rather than more tax breaks for multi-millionaires, we should prioritize funding for these facilities, improve services and expand opportunities for residents. And we should immediately block Gov. Walkers plan to raid $18 million from our veteran nursing homes.

Care for our veterans shouldnt suffer as a result of Gov. Walkers fiscal mismanagement.

We need leaders willing to put aside personal ambitions and stand up for those who have been silenced and marginalized for too long.

Legislative Democrats will continue to push for action until Wisconsin families receive the care and attention they deserve.

This election, help us protect Wisconsin children and veterans by voting for leaders who will focus on proven solutions rather than personal ambitions.

Democrat Jennifer Shilling, La Crosse, represents the 32nd state Senate District.
A 48-year-old man faces an intentional homicide charge in the Wednesday, Oct. 5, 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 also were at the house.

Police arrested McDaniel last Thursday at a Prairie du Chien hotel while he was waiting for a ride to the La Crosse Regional Airport for a flight to Georgia, according to the department.

Prosecutors are expected to file charges this week.
The U.S. governments top education official wants schools to do a better job teaching students whose first language is not English.

U.S. Education Secretary John King said the issue is important. That is because one in every 10 U.S. students from grades Kindergarten to 12th grade are English learners.

Most English learners arrive from a country that speaks another language, or have parents from a non-English-speaking country.

There has been progress in recent years, King said. He noted Spanish-speaking students are graduating high school and attending college at higher rates than ever before.

But in too many places across the country, English learners get less -- less access to quality teachers, less access to advanced coursework, less access to the resources they need to succeed, King said.

King said a new federal law called the Every Student Succeeds Act can help. It allows school districts more ways to use federal money to improve programs for English learners. That includes better training for English language teachers.

Kelly Gonez is a policy adviser at the Department of Education.

She said research shows giving instruction in two languages, English and the students native language, is better for English learners.

Although it takes them a little longer to master English, they do better on tests that measure reading and math skills, Gonez said.

So do people who enter dual-language programs already proficient in English, Gonez said. To be proficient means able to read and speak a language.

Sarah Catherine Moore is director of online learning at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington D.C.

She said two recent studies found English learners do better if they attend classes that use both English and the students native language.

But Gonez said such programs are still not offered by a majority of schools teaching English learners.

One problem is finding enough qualified teachers. Gonez said some school districts are hiring teachers from Spain and China. They are trying to make up for a shortage of teachers in the United States who can offer instruction in two languages.

But such programs are not always easy to set up.

In New York City, for example, the citys Department of Education says its students speak a total of 180 different languages.

About sixty percent are Spanish speakers, and another 14 percent are Chinese speakers.

It also has 6,546 students who speak Bengali, 6,501 who speak Arabic, and 3,591 who speak Haitian-Creole. Thousands more speak Russian or Punjabi.

Gonez said that it may be hard to find instructors who can speak all the different languages spoken by students. But she said schools can get educational material in many more languages that just Spanish and Chinese.

Terry Richards is in charge of federal programs for the state of Delaware. She welcomes the new federal education law. It will allow state and local education departments to make more decisions about how to teach English learners, she said.

Richards said the law permits local school districts to consider local needs in developing English education programs.

Im Bruce Alpert.

Bruce Alpert reported this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. Tell us how you learned to speak another language!

_______________________________________________________________

Words in this Story

allow -- v. to permit (something): to consider or treat (something) as acceptable

access -- n. a way of being able to use or get something done

advanced coursework -- n. subjects that are more difficult than basic subjects

resources -- n. a supply of something (such as money) that someone has and can use when it is needed

dual language -- n. programs using two languages

hire -- n. to give work or a job to (someone) in exchange for wages or a salary

qualified -- adj. having the necessary skill, experience, or knowledge to do a particular job or activity

instruction -- n. the action or process of teaching
Some college students may wonder why their school asks them to take a class in philosophy when they are seeking a degree in physics.

But studying several different subjects in addition to a students chosen major is the main idea behind a liberal arts education.

Many colleges and universities describe themselves as liberal arts schools. Students at these educational institutions are able to choose the main subject they want to study, such as economics. The school also requires them to take a number of classes in several unrelated subjects, like the arts or languages.

This is far different from institutions offering degree programs that directly relate to a specific career or industry. These programs are often just for areas of specialized training, such as business, engineering or medicine. And students preparing for a career in these fields only take classes that relate to their study program.

Critics say liberal arts degrees have less value because they fail to help students find good-paying positions or any job right after college.

In fact, information on the pay for some careers seems to support this idea. A company called Payscale studies the amount of money people earn in different careers in the United States. The company found that on average, recent graduates with liberal arts degrees make less than those with degrees directly related to a specific career.

For example, Payscale found the average graduate with a bachelors degree in petroleum engineering will earn $96,700 a year in the first five years of their career. By comparison, the average graduate with a bachelors degree in history will earn $42,200.

However, more and more experts suggest that a liberal arts education has greater value than most people realize.

St. Marys College of Maryland is a public liberal arts college. Ben Austin-Docampo began studying there in 2004. Austin-Docampo says he did not have a specific career in mind when he finished high school. So he choose to study a college major that interested him: anthropology. His parents supported his decision and his academic advisors did little to suggest one path over another.

But after graduating in 2008, Austin-Docampo felt unsure about how much his college degree would help him in finding a job. At that point, the worlds economy was in a recession. He tried moving to Portland, Oregon in 2009. But the unemployment rate there was 12.1 percent.

Austin-Docampo worked in restaurants and held low-paying positions. He had very little money for several years. He felt he had been lied to about what to expect from a liberal arts degree after college.

It wasnt until several years later that his situation began to improve. Austin-Docampo always loved writing. He moved to northern California in 2014 and a year later became a writer for the U.S. National Park Service. He now says it is the best job he has ever had.

He also says it was the many different skills he learned in college that helped him get the job. And not just those related to anthropology.

Austin-Docampo adds that many of the people he meets in California work in the technology industry. He says many of them struggle with the skills he learned in college.

"It taught me to think about the world, the people in it, how our systems work in a different way. To be able to think more comparatively and a way to think, I think, with empathy for others.  And these are things that I took for granted for a long time.  Now when I meet people in San Francisco who are in tech sometimes, or this or that, I notice that they think about the world in a very different way from how I think of the world. And I think, honestly, to their detriment."

Austin-Docampos story is similar to those of other liberal arts graduates

Sean Leslie is a senior strategist at Payscale. He says students with more technical training often find good jobs right after college. Employers need workers that have skills with a clear purpose right away.

But Leslie adds that liberal arts graduates have skills that are useful in different ways, like working well with others and critical thinking. Graduates with more technical degrees often struggle with such skills. He says their education has taught them to carry out specific jobs, but little else.

"These students coming out of college are going into the workforce and  these companies that are wanting to hire them are finding that they lack certain skills that liberal arts students would generally be strong in, like writing, reading comprehension, problem-solving.  So  we find that a lot of liberal arts degrees eventually catch up later in their career."

In fact, while Payscale reports lower earnings for liberal arts graduates early in their careers, this changes after several years.

For example, the average graduate with a bachelors degree in government and politics will earn $44,600 per year in the first five years after completing their studies. But within the next five years after that, they will earn $90,400 per year, on average.

Also, the Association of American Colleges and Universities last year released a report on what employers want from college graduates. The report showed that 60 percent of employers want graduates to have knowledge and skills directly related to a specific field as well as more general skills.

Only 15 percent valued specific skills more than anything.

But what is it about experiencing and learning many different things that is so valuable?

Eric Jensen is a professor of physics and astronomy at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He also works with Swarthmores Frank Aydelotte Foundation for the Advancement of the Liberal Arts. The foundation tries to publicize and explain the value of a liberal arts education to businesses and the general public.

Jensen says the value comes from forcing students to think in unfamiliar ways. Also, when liberal arts students with different focuses are in a class together, they must learn to explain their thinking to people with different interests and ways of thinking.

"Theyve had a lot of practice  with taking a new situation where maybe its not something theyve seen before, maybe its not something that they have trained for specifically, but learning how to learn about that new topic, learn about how to find resources to figure out quickly what makes that work and what makes it fit together with other things."

The only problem, says Edwin Koc, is that colleges need to better explain how a students choice of degree program will affect them. Koc is the senior director of research and public policy at the National Association of Colleges and Employers. His organization studies how education can lead to employment.

Koc says that schools and parents should not try to get students to choose any one major over another. After all, the college experience is about exploration and discovery. But in addition, he says, students should be told that nothing is promised to them.

"Not everybodys going to succeed. You have the perception that college is the golden ticket, everybody should get a college education. The fact of the matter is, that in general that is true. Youre going to be more successful in your life if you have a college education than if you do not. But its no guarantee, regardless of the academic major that you choose, that that will come true."

To help liberal arts graduates succeed at the same level as others, Koc says, schools must combine career and academic advising. Professors and school administrators must work together to show students how their wide range of skills are useful in the working world.

Im Pete Musto.

Pete Musto reported on this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Do universities in your country offer a liberal arts education? How common is it for people to find a well-paying job right after college? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

degree  n. an official document and title that is given to someone who has successfully completed a series of classes at a college or university

major  n. the main subject studied by a college or university student

institution(s)  n. an established organization

specific  adj. special or particular

bachelors degree  n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study

academic  adj. of or relating to schools and education

empathy  n. the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions

(took) for granted  idm. to fail to properly notice or appreciate (someone or something that is helpful or important to you

detriment  n. the act of causing damage or injury to something or someone

strategist  n. a person who is skilled in making plans for achieving a goal

comprehension  n. ability to understand

catch up  p.v. to join someone who is ahead of you

foundation  n. an organization that is created and supported with money that people give in order to do something that helps society

focus(es)  n. a subject that is being discussed or studied

perception  n. the way you think about or understand someone or something

golden ticket  idm. a special skill or type of experience, knowledge, person or thing that can provide success, money or wealth
It is often asserted that the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 proved that HWA was right and he really did see the future.

This of course is nonsense. Herbert W. Armstrong said that Christ would return within twenty years in his book Mystery of the Ages. (PCG has since deleted those words so someone in there knows HWA spoke nonsense.) How convenient for them to forget this.

Also Herbert W. Armstrong never said the Soviet Union would collapse. He thought it would survive intact until a few years after Christ's return. It shows how biased some many in the COGs are that they never seem to notice this. This inconvenient truth is just tossed into the memory hole.

It is true that HWA said that some Eastern European states would break away from Moscow's orbit and join the European Empire he said would arise at any moment. But he never talked of the Soviet Union collapsing. He did not teach that. Also he portrayed the rise of the European Empire to be far quicker then what has actually happened. In Mystery of the Ages Christ was supposed to return by 2005 at the most.

So assertions that the fall of the Berlin Wall somehow prove that HWA was right is just complete nonsense spread by people who, for whatever reason, are still in denial that HWA was a false prophet who merely talked out of his own "human reasoning".
This Election Day, Democrat Jim Driscoll will face independent Danny Thomas in the race to succeed Coconino County Sheriff William Pribil, who is retiring after 12 years in office.

The winner will be responsible for law enforcement in Coconino County outside city limits and Indian reservations, and will be in charge of the Coconino County Detention Facility and its inmates, as well as the jail's Page holding facility.

Thomas, a former Arizona liquor control agent, has a platform primarily focused on what he contends are morale issues within the department tied, in part, to low staffing and pay.

The improvements I would fight for are including but not limited to: supporting my patrol staff, administrative staff and corrections officers, which I currently do not believe is being accomplished by the current administration except at the top administrative level, Thomas said.

Driscoll, who is Pribils chief deputy, takes a more optimistic approach. He has said he plans to build upon the current sheriffs successes rather than enact sweeping changes.

My experience, leadership skills and community understanding have prepared me to lead the Coconino County Sheriffs Office as the next sheriff, Driscoll said.

STAFFING AND MORALE

Thomas said if elected, he would add more deputy and reserve deputy positions. Right now, the Sheriffs Office has 62 patrol officer positions, and about seven of those are vacant. Thomas said the shortage of deputies reduces the safety and security of residents and deputies, alike.

Coconino County Sheriffs Department has not added one deputy position to increase patrol of our neighborhoods since 1999, while the population has increased significantly, Thomas said.

Driscoll agreed the Sheriffs Office needs more deputies and said he would hire more if he could get more funding for the department.

This increase in staffing is necessary for the safety of our residents as well as the safety of our deputies in more remote areas, he said.

The current sheriff confirmed the department has not added officer positions since 1999 but said it is not for lack of trying.

About five years ago, Pribil eliminated four vacant officer positions and used the money that was budgeted for them to give officers a 7 percent pay increase. He asked the Coconino County Board of Supervisors to increase the Sheriffs Office budget to restore those four positions this past budget year but the board only granted the request for two.

Both candidates have also said the Sheriffs Office needs to increase pay. Currently, new deputies make $6,000 less in their first year than their counterparts at Flagstaff Police Department.

Thomas said morale at the Sheriffs Office is at an all-time low because the current administration is not taking care of employees.

I would restructure the department and redistribute the wealth among employees and/or change job classifications to accommodate appropriate increases in pay and steps, Thomas said.

The Board of Supervisors would have to sign off on those changes.

Driscoll said increasing employee compensation would be his top priority if he could get more funding from the county.

JAIL ADMINISTRATION

The candidates take different positions when it comes to the Coconino County Detention Facility.

Driscoll commended Pribil for taking a jail that was projected to be $3 million in the red and turning it into a solvent jail district with approximately $30 million in reserves last year.

He also said he would build on programs like the jails veterans services, civil attorney services, job training, religious programs, inmate work crews, addiction treatment programs, mental health services, and health and well-being classes, which are all meant to reduce recidivism.

In addition to providing a safe and secure facility, we recognize we have a unique opportunity to help make positive changes in the lives of the people in our custody, Driscoll said.

Thomas, on the other hand, suggested the inmates have it too easy.

As far as the jail is concerned, my opponent indicated recently at a meeting on the Reservation that he is proud of the fact our inmates are some of the best-fed inmates in Arizona, Thomas said. I personally dont want anyone thinking that Coconino County Jail is a good place to go because they feed you very well.

He said he would cut the jail budget and redirect its funds to other uses.

PROGRAMS AND EQUIPMENT

If elected, Thomas said he would create a burglary, theft and drug task force. He also wants to offer free firearms training and self-defense classes for the public.

He also called for a grant writer to get funding for new equipment.

The current equipment is substandard compared to other law enforcement agencies within the state of Arizona, Thomas said.

Specifically, he said, he believes the current radio communication system limits deputies ability to communicate with FPD officers.

However, the Sheriffs Office and FPD have a designated radio channel that allows them to communicate if they need to. The Sheriffs Office can also communicate with FPD through their shared 911 dispatch center.

Driscoll said he plans to move forward with plans to equip deputies with body cameras. He also said he would continue to develop cultural awareness training for officers and expand training programs that help Sheriffs Office personnel recognize and respond to individuals with mental illness.

EXPERIENCE

Both candidates have approximately three decades of law enforcement experience.

Thomas has never worked for the Coconino County Sheriffs Office, but he did serve 10 years with the Pima County Sheriffs Office and 1.5 years as a corrections officer in the Tucson area. After that, he spent 20 years with the Arizona Department of Liquor before opening Northern Arizona Expert Liquor Consultants and Training in 2007.

Driscoll, who grew up in Flagstaff, has worked at the Coconino County Sheriffs Office for most of his career. He has worked in almost all areas of the Sheriffs Office, including patrol, detectives, jail, and search and rescue, and has worked in most of the county's major population centers.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended his greetings on the 84th anniversary of the Air Force Day and thanked the force for protecting skies.

"Saluting all air warriors and their families on the Air Force Day. Thank you for protecting our skies. Your courage makes India proud," Modi tweeted.

Saluting all air warriors & their families on Air Force Day. Thank you for protecting our skies. Your courage makes India proud. pic.twitter.com/bCusPOV1nf  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 8, 2016

The Indian Air Force is celebrating its 84th anniversary on Saturday by scintillating air display by various aircraft at Air Force Station Hindan in Uttar Pradesh.

The Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October, 1932.
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.
Even as the Centre and the Opposition are at loggerheads over the validity of 29 September surgical strikes by the Indian Army along the Line of Control (LoC), NDTV on Friday, decided not to air any views questioning the strikes and dropped an interview with former home minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on the issue, The News Minute reported.

"National security cannot be compromised by politics. The current political debate threatens to do this. NDTV will not air any remarks that risk security for political advantage," NDTV had tweeted on 6 October.

On 3 October, the Congress had asked the government to put forth credible evidence of last week's surgical strikes to expose Pakistan's false propaganda.

Senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma had said Pakistan was misleading its people by claiming that no such attack had taken place.

In that backdrop, it would be necessary for the prime minister to "expose" Pakistan by putting forth credible evidence about the surgical strikes on the intervening night of 28 and 29 September, Sharma said.

"The government must expose Pakistan's denial. It has all the tools and instruments to do so," he had said.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal too had asked the prime minister to present evidence of the strike to give a befitting reply to Pakistan.

"Since the last two days, Pakistan is taking international journalists to the border and trying to show that surgical strikes never took place. Two days back, the United Nations gave a statement that there was no such activity on the border," he had said.

"My blood boiled over these news reports (of the international media). Pakistan is indulging in smearing India's image at the international level. I appeal to the Prime Minister that the way he and the Army taught Pakistan a lesson on ground, he should also unmask the propaganda by Pakistan at international level. The whole country is with you. I also appeal to the countrymen not to believe in the false campaign by Pakistan," Kejriwal had said.

Cornering the Centre, former home minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday had also said that a major surgical strikes was carried out in 2013 but the then Congress government chose not to publicise it, reported India Today. However, Chidambaram did not ask for any evidence from the government.

Seven terror launch pads across the LoC were targeted by the Army on the night of 28 September in a nearly five-hour-long operation during which heli-borne and ground forces were deployed.

The announcement of the strikes came 11 days after the attack by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad on an Indian army camp in Uri in Kashmir, after which Modi had said the attackers will not go "unpunished" and that they will not be forgiven.

Meanwhile, NDTV put up an expanded editorial policy in a post on Sunday:

NDTV's unflinching and non-negotiable commitment to reporting the news without any filters or allegiance will always be the core of what we stand for and do. It has led in the past to boycotts and threats from parties which had no impact on our journalism - nor will they. Interviews find space on our channels based on their relevance and newsworthiness in a continuum of developments. An interview that ran in part or in whole during the day may not make the cut for prime time news. This is standard for any newsroom. On matters of wild and unsubstantiated allegations, of which there is no shortage today in the country's politics, we will not report them without the accuser offering proof that has been verified by us and found to be news-worthy. This is our policy for matters of national security as well as for the daily grind of politics. Each interview and press conference that we report on is subject to the same criteria. We cover LIVE press conferences and we repeat newsworthy excerpts only after we have independently verified the facts. The army's deep courage and sacrifices will be reported on, as will, when and if they occur, transgressions which bear investigation and examination that are based in fact and not speculation. At a time when anything goes as far as the news is concerned, it is gratifying that NDTV's standards have impelled a debate among and outside news organisations.

With inputs from PTI
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday applauded the Indian Air Force, saying that it has achieved distinction in defending our skies, delivering vital humanitarian aid and disaster relief, while extending greetings on the 84th anniversary of the Air Force Day.

"The IAF has achieved distinction in defending our skies and delivering vital humanitarian aid and disaster relief," Mukherjee said in a tweet.

Air Force Day being celebrated at Hindon Air base in Ghaziabad. pic.twitter.com/Xnr16dS7AS  ANI (@ANI_news) October 8, 2016

"Greetings and felicitations to all IAF personnel on the 84th anniversary of the Indian Air Force," he tweeted.

Mukherjee, in another tweet, said: "The nation is proud of the capability and competency of the IAF."

He said that over the "last eight decades, the IAF has emerged as an immensely professional and combat-ready force".

The Indian Air Force is celebrating its 84th anniversary on Saturday by scintillating air display by various aircraft at Air Force Station Hindan in Uttar Pradesh.

The Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October, 1932.
Chennai: TNCC on Saturday said there was 'no politics' in the party vice-president Rahul Gandhi visiting Apollo Hospital where Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is being treated and also announced a one-day fast on 15 October against the Centre on the Cauvery issue.

TNCC President Su Thirunavukkarasar said Rahul Gandhi had visited the hospital on "humanitarian grounds" and out of "courtesy" to "enquire about the health of AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and to offer support if needed."

There was absolutely no politics in the visit, he told reporters.

Thirunavukkarasar said his party would hold a one-day fast on 15 October in Tiruchirappalli on the Cauvery issue against the BJP-led Union government, which had "betrayed" the interests of Tamil Nadu and its farmers.

The TNCC chief said the stand of the Union government that the Supreme Court does not have "jurisdiction to direct it to constitute the Cauvery Management Board" was shocking.

"This is like rubbing salt to the wound. The BJP-led government at the Centre has taken a stand against Tamil Nadu to gain political mileage (in Karnataka). This is a big injustice committed against Tamil Nadu," he said.

On the scope for political realignment ahead of the 2019 Parliamentary polls in view of Rahul's visit, he said "elections to the Parliament are nearly three years away. There is no need to think about it now."

Rahul had on Friday interacted with doctors at Apollo Hospital and enquired about Jayalalithaa's health. He wished her a speedy recovery and said she was improving.
Fall has officially arrived here in the Finger Lakes. If theres one thing were good at, its throwing a party. The wine industry loves to a good reason to rock, so join us as we celebrate harvest. October is jam-packed with ridiculously awesome shindigs, from lobster rolls to pumpkin chuckin'. Well keep ya busy!

My friends at Treleaven by King Ferry Winery are starting the month out with their Harvest Festival on the 8th and 9th, with a full lineup of live music along with traditional grape stompings, craft beer, lawn games and some of the best chardonnay on the trail. Fill your belly with scrumptious offerings from local food trucks. Then, if youre feeling artsy, enter the pumpkin painting contest. BYOP (pumpkin) and paint for free, or there is a $2 entry fee if you choose to pick a pumpkin at the event. Seatings first-come, first-serve, but you may bring your own blankets and chairs.

That same weekend, on Sunday the 9th, Toro Run hosts its second annual Leaf Peepers Seafood Festival from noon to 5 p.m. The menu consists of crab mac and cheese, raw oysters, conch or clam chowder, shrimp burgers, lobster rolls, seafood paella and peel-and-eat shrimp. Not a seafood fan? Theyll also have their famous Brazilian barbecue, featuring locally made Riesling hot dogs and chardonnay kielbasa from Schrader Farms Meat Market, salt potatoes, hamburgers and some of the best chicken barbecue I have ever had, if I do say so myself. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and relax on the hillside, taking in the stunning view from their property while you listen to live music by The Diana Jacobs Band. Admission is free, and I recommend going on an empty stomach!

Then, as he does every month, Chef John McNabb flexes his culinary muscles with a five-course showcase using local ingredients in The Root of it All Wine Dinner. Its set for 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15. The event description reads, Roasted parsnips, turnips, beets, carrots, potatoes that will be served alongside hearty meats or delicate seafood in a flavorful and vibrant style. Sprinkled with fresh sprigs of thyme and rosemary, they complete very savory dishes. This is a five-course meal paired with premium wines from Knapp Winery, Chateau LaFayette Reneau Wine Cellars, Zugibe Vineyards and Glenora Wine Cellars. Tickets can be purchased on Knapp Winerys website, knappwine.com.

Another staple along the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail is Goose Watch Winerys Chestnut Festival from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. Grapes arent all that is harvested during the fall  at Goose Watch, they bring in the nuts! Sample a variety of foods made from the winery's own chestnuts. It'll have warm mulled wine, barbecue from Thurston's and ice cream from the Cayuga Lake Creamery! Play lawn games while overlooking the beautiful fall foliage! Admission is free.

Close out the month at Americana Vineyards. Go dressed as your favorite rock star, past or present. Its the theme for the 14th annual Hallo-Wine Spooktacular the evening of Saturday, Oct. 29. From 8 p.m. to midnight, DJ Elephant Sound will be spinning tunes and, at 10:30, those in the best female rockstar, best male rockstar and best rock group costumes will win gift baskets filled with Americana goodies. Tickets are $15 and include treats from Crystal Lake Cafe, as well as your first glass of wine. Admission (21 and over only) is limited, so make sure you call to reserve your spot. They will sell out of tickets! Rock on, folks!

I saved the most unique for last. I love this. Every weekend in October at Varick Winery & Vineyard, they offer Pumpkin Chuckin. Hurl pumpkins across the property with a giant sling shot. The winery is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Regular tasting fees apply; it's $4 to taste six wines.

Harvest is in full swing, let the party begin!
GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here.
BOISE  U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo and Rep. Mike Simpson joined a chorus of GOP lawmakers on Saturday who dramatically turned against Donald Trump in the wake of the nominees taped comments about forcing himself on women sexually.

Crapo even urged his partys nominee to quit the race and allow the Republican party to put forward a conservative candidate like Mike Pence who can defeat Hillary Clinton.

Like the rest of Idahos Republican congressional delegation, Crapo didnt endorse Trump in the primary but announced he was backing him once Trump became the Republican nominee.

This is not a decision that I have reached lightly, but his pattern of behavior has left me no choice, Crapo said in an email. His repeated actions and comments toward women have been disrespectful, profane and demeaning. I have spent more than two decades working on domestic violence prevention. Trumps most recent excuse of locker room talk is completely unacceptable and is inconsistent with protecting women from abusive, disparaging treatment.

Simpson, whose district covers the Magic Valley, had never endorsed Trump either but previously said he planned to vote for him. That changed Saturday.

While Ive never endorsed Donald Trump, I find his recent comments about women deplorable, Simpson said in a brief statement. In my opinion, he has demonstrated that he is unfit to be president and I cannot support him.

Idahos other senator, Jim Risch, was out of the country on Senate business and unavailable for comment, his office said. The states only other House member, Raul Labrador, had not commented by Saturday evening.

News broke Friday of a 2005 tape in which Trump talks about grabbing at womens genitals and trying to sleep with a married woman, leading to widespread condemnation from Trumps fellow Republicans as well as Democrats.

Trump apologized for his remarks and said he had no intention to quit the race.

But throughout the day Saturday, more and more politicians sought to distance themselves from their partys nominee or altogether abandon him. The exodus began late Friday when Utah politicians, including some who had previously endorsed Trump, called on him to step aside.

Sen. John McCain, the partys 2008 presidential nominee, withdrew his endorsement of Trump, joining scores of other lawmakers in an unprecedented rebuke of their partys standard-bearer just weeks before the election.

Other Idaho state GOP lawmakers also weighed in on social media. Rep. Greg Chaney, R-Caldwell, called on Trump to tell his Electoral College electoral to vote for Pence, his vice-presidential nominee.

This election is between a sexual predator and an accomplice to a sexual predator, Chaney said. Mr. Trumps comments are bad, but the behaviors they recount are reprehensible.

Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, also called on Trump to step aside and for the Republican National Committee to force him out if he wont do so voluntarily.

This election is too important to win with an unsuitable candidate, or to hand over to the Democrats and Mrs. Clinton, he wrote on Facebook.

Crapo is running for re-election against Democrat Jerry Sturgill and Constitution Party candidate Ray Writz. Sturgill, who has criticized Crapo in the past over his support of Trump, tweeted Saturday morning that he was glad Crapo had withdrawn his endorsement but that it was unfortunate it had taken Crapo so long.

Sturgill also criticized Layne Bangerter, a Crapo staffer who is running Trumps Idaho campaign, for defending Trump.

While I am glad Sen. Crapo has pulled his endorsement, his own staff does not seem to understand the gravity of Trumps comments, Sturgill wrote.
BOISE  Parties to a case in Idaho Power Co.s application to build a 500-kilowatt community solar project are proposing a settlement to state regulators.

The $1.16 million single-axis solar project, proposed for the southwest corner of Amity and Holcomb roads in southeast Boise, would allow up to 1,093 residential customers and 470 non-residential customers to buy one or more subscriptions (one subscription is a 320-watt panel) for the 25-year life of the proposed project.

Idaho Power originally proposed a one-time fee of $740 for each subscription. The settlement proposes a fee of $562 and allows customers to pay that fee upfront or in monthly installments of $26.31 over 24 months. Commission staff and other parties to the case said the subscription fee was too high, especially for residential customers, and would discourage participation.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is taking comment on the proposal through Oct. 18.

The Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Irrigation Pumpers Association, Sierra Club, Snake River Alliance and the city of Boise, also did not agree with the method the company used to calculate the monthly bill credit customers would receive for their part of the solar generation. Parties said the companys proposed 3-cent per kWh credit for residential customers would not be enough for customers to recoup their initial investment.

Idaho Power originally proposed that the credit be calculated based on the embedded cost-of-service to each customer class. But commission staff and all other parties said that method doesnt take into account the value that a new generation resource provides to Idaho Powers system, particularly a solar resource that provides energy during high-use hours of the day.

A new generation project would allow the company to avoid using its most expensive resource. Therefore, staff and parties argued, the credit given to customers should be based on an avoided-cost calculation.

Idaho Power shareholders contribute 15 percent of project costs, $175,000.

The monthly credits given to each subscriber over 12 months cant exceed that subscribers total energy use from the prior year.

Idaho Power also proposed that if the project wasnt at least 80 percent subscribed within 120 days, it would be scrapped. Commission staff and other parties said this may not be enough time. The company agreed to remove the 120-day timeline.

The project is expected to be completed in June.

The 500-kW project would be divided into 350-kW for residential customers and 150-kW for commercial customers. Subscriptions will be rewarded on a first-come, first-served basis until program capacity is reached.

The first 60 days of the enrollment window would reserve 70 percent capacity for residential customers and 30 percent for non-residential customers. After that, if there is unsubscribed capacity reserved for residential customers, it may be opened up to non-residential customers and vice versa.

Idaho Power will retain ownership of the Renewable Energy Credits and all other environmental attributes. The RECs would be retired by Idaho Power on behalf of subscribers.
Cheer

The stats are staggering: About 1 in 8 women will have breast cancer in her lifetime. Almost 250,000 women will receive a breast-cancer diagnosis this year. And more than 40,000 are expected to die.

Thankfully, death rates are declining, in part to increased awareness about breast cancer dangers and programs that help women find the disease early enough to treat.

We published our annual pink edition on Thursday, featuring remarkable stories about women with the disease and local groups working to help women diagnosed with breast cancer. From the Tough Enough to Wear Pink charity that raises money  all of which stays in the Magic Valley  to the doctors and nurses at St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center, to the women and families struggling with this disease, its clear the Magic Valley is doing its part to eradicate breast cancer.

Jeer

There are dumb criminals, and then there are the folks caught by police Sgt. Ryan Howe on Monday.

Howes wifes purse and other personal belongings were stolen last month from her car. When Howe pulled over a Pontiac this week for excessive tinting on the windows, a woman inside was wearing his wifes purse. And she had his wifes wallet inside.

The woman and two men were arrested. She told police she drove the men around town while they stole from cars, court paper said. Besides the stolen purse and wallet, police also found a methamphetamine pipe and a bong.

Cheer

Tucked inside a discreet location on the second floor of the College of Southern Idahos Taylor Building, students who cant afford to eat can find a can of soup, a pack of ramen or a jar of peanut butter.

With more low-income students enrolling at CSI, food insecurity is a growing problem. More students are finding it difficult to put food on the table after paying for tuition and books and housing and maybe child care.

Its a nationwide problem, especially at universities where tuition increases and massive debt loads are crippling students. More than 300 colleges have a food pantry on campus.

At CSI, which still offers the lowest tuition of any college in Idaho, the pantry is more aimed at serving students who perhaps never even imagined theyd be able to attend college. Over the past two years, CSI has made a major push to enroll minority and low-income high school students.

Teachers, student clubs and community groups are stepping up to keep the pantry stocked. Clubs are asking for food donations instead of ticket fees to attend campus events. CSIs dental hygiene program donated tooth brushes. CSI employees are donating soaps from hotels when they travel. And one student who used the pantry during a rough week recently came back to donate items.

Some of the students using the pantry have young children, the college said.

Obviously, students are more likely to succeed when theyre not starving. If you can help the pantry, donations may be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at CSIs Office of Student Affairs on the second floor of the Taylor Building
PORT BYRON  More than 100 Erie Canal enthusiasts stepped back in time Friday to celebrate the opening of a new canal history center in Cayuga County: the Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park.

A collaborative effort between the Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council, Canal Society of New York State and New York State Thruway Authority, the park officially opened to the public on Sept. 7. However, the state decided to hold an inaugural reception one month after the park's soft opening as part of the 2016 New York State Canal Conference.

This year, the bi-annual conference was held Oct. 6 and 7 in Auburn, giving around 140 attendees the opportunity to visit Erie Canal Lock 52 in Port Byron along with the newly constructed Visitor's Center and the recently restored Erie Complex  comprised of the Erie House, a blacksmith shop and a mule barn.

"This all began with a dream," Assemblyman Gary Finch said at Friday's grand opening at the Visitor's Center. "We've done something very, very unique here and that's recognizing the thruway, recognizing Port Byron, recognizing the canal system and looking back to recognize history."

According to Thomas Grasso, president of the Canal Society of New York State, more than 1,000 people have visited the center since it opened last month  roughly 700 stopped in off the thruway and another 300 came from the community.

"The Erie Canal is a pretty big thing... and in just a few weeks, with no advertising and no marketing, thousands of people have already signed that guest book," said Thomas Castelein, the manager and senior architect of T.Y. Lin International's firm in Rochester, which helped to restore the Erie Complex. "People have come from literally across the world and have signed with enthusiasm."

And for those who do stop by to sign the book and push a pin in the world map displayed in the Visitor's Center, so-called "travel counselors" have been available to answer any questions they may have. In addition, the Canal Society has provided volunteer docents to offer guided tours of the park's historic structures.

The park will remain open to the public Thursdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Oct. 31 when it shuts down for the winter. It then plans to reopen May 1.
Havent you been wondering that lately? Tridimas has a paper (link here scroll down) on that question, here is one empirical observation:

During the period 1957-2006, out of a total of 43 integration referenda, 23 were not constitutionally required but were called at the discretion of the incumbent government; 18 of these 23 resulted in a pro-integration vote as the incumbent government had sought. France has held three EU-related non-required referenda, all initiated by the President of the Republic. The UK approved EEC membership in 1975 in a non-required referendum, the only national UK referendum thus far. In 2003, seven of the nine referenda held by the new entrants to approve membership were not required. Again, none of the four referenda held in 2005 by Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg to ratify the EU Constitutional Treaty were constitutionally mandated.

And the theory?:

In politics, some issues cause deep intra-party splits between the elected representatives of the same party rather than inter-party divisions among different parties. Constitutional issues, which concern questions of governance and national sovereignty of a state, are a prime example. It is then unlikely that the standard system of parliamentary politics will be able to resolve all those issues. On the contrary, it is more likely that the leader of the party in office will call a referendum to decide them. Ratifying changes to constitutional arrangements in a referendum confers legitimacy to their adoption (or rejection) by taking the decision away from parochial parliamentary majorities and putting it into the hands of the citizenry.

Ah, but there is risk! Still, it is not crazy to call the referendum, even though you might rationally prefer that the whole issue disappear.

I would add a further point to that model. Lets say you think the core issue wont go away of its own accord, arguably the case with both Brexit and the failed Colombian peace agreement. The choice is not referendum vs. no referendum, but rather referendum today vs. giving my successors an option on future referenda. And since a referendum can strengthen an incumbent, you realize that some future government might call one for self-interested reasons. In which case you might consider risking disaster now, responding to a kind of collective action problem through time. You may even fear that one of your successors will be irrational. And so some moment will feel like an optimal trigger point, though of course that will involve risk and probably more risk than is socially optimal. But is there not a preferred time to make your leap from the burning building? The pain of landing on your arm rather than your butt is not per se an argument for nixing the choice altogether.

Alternatively, consider the Italian referendum on reforming the Senate, due in December. The incumbent government may well lose the vote, but precisely because this is not a fundamental issue I predict they can simply continue in power, noting they didnt have a strong mandate for change in the first place.

Here is Carlos Closa on when to call referenda.
The trial of a Cameroonian journalist and RFI correspondent, Ahmed Abba began again in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde, local media reported.

The Director of the Parisbased radio and lawyers have requested the release of the journalist who is standing trial for alleged complicity with the Islamist group Boko Haram.

Ahmed Abba, who is a local Hausa-language reporter for RFI, was arrested on 30 July 2015 in the northern city Maroua, where he was working. After 15 days in police custody, he was transferred to Yaounde, where he has been held incommunicado.

We asked for his acquittal after having found that the Tribunal is unlawfully withholding our client, and since the beginning of this case, the Prosecutor has been unable to provide us with evidence. He has spent eight months waiting for witnesses who never came, said Ahmed Abbas lawyer, Me Charles Tchougang.

Abba is accused of being an accomplice to two members of the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, which has launched attacks on Cameroonian soil.

The prosecution also accused Abba of failing to notify authorities when he became aware of the activities of the Boko Haram sect.

His lawyers denounced four serious violations of the rules of procedure and have requested that the trial be scrapped since his detention is arbitrary and unlawful.

Cameroon adopted in December 2014 a controversial anti-terrorism law, which permits the death penalty as a sentence for perpetrators or accomplices of terrorist acts.
Gabons opposition on Thursday observed a day of national mourning to show solidarity to those who have died as well as compassion to families who lost their relatives during post-election violence in the central African nation.

Gabons government says 4 people were killed during the post electoral riots in Gabon, among whom was one policeman.

A figure rejected by the opposition which talks about between 50 to 100 people killed.

Hundreds of people were arrested in early September after violence sparked by the announcement of the victory of the incumbent Head of State Ali Bongo on August 31.

Most of the arrested were released after several days in detention while some opposition members were arrested just before the announcement of the final election results by the Constitutional Court.

The International Criminal Court announced last week that it had begun a preliminary examination into the situation in Gabon at the request of the countrys government.

The Courts prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she will review available information before taking the decision to open a formal investigation.

The Prime Minister of the oil-rich nation, Emmanuel Issoze Ngondet, named a 40-member government on Sunday. The Cabinet includes few opposition members.

Bruno Ben Moubamba, an opposition candidate in this years presidential election, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Urban Development and Housing.
United States sanctions against some individuals and companies in Zimbabwe have been lifted on Thursday, the State Department announced in a statement.

These include Sabina Mugabe, the presidents younger sister who died in 2010; Charles Utete, ex-secretary of the president who died in July 2016; Aeneas Chigwedere, a former minister; Jocelyn Chiwenga, ex-wife of the commander of the Zimbabwean army and some veterans of the ruling Zany PF party.

The companies off the list include ZB Financial Holdings Limited, Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ), Scotfin Limited, Intermarket Holdings Limited, Chemplex Corporation Limited and Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company.

Zimbabwes president Robert Mugabe has recently made pleas to the U.N. to lift sanctions imposed by western powers on Zimbabwe, saying that his country is being collectively punished for exercising the right to sovereign independence.

I repeat my call to Britain, Europe and the United States and their allies to remove the illegal and unjustified sanctions against my country and its people. Let us all be bound by our commitments to Agenda 2030 in which we agreed to eschew sanctions in favor of dialogue, Mugabe told delegates at the annual opening debate of the United Nations General Assembly last month.

Zimbabwe is currently facing a liquidity crunch with banks facing cash shortages while the government has been failing to pay its workers on time.

The 92-year-old leader vowed to find ways of paying government workers on time saying the current problems are temporary.
Inter-religious Council of Ethiopia has appealed for calm and a national dialogue as the country plunged into continuing protests and targeting of businesses in the country.

The move comes after a group protesting the death of about 55 people in a stampede that occurred in the Oromia region of Ethiopia have attacked a Dangote cement factory belonging to Africas richest man, Aliko Dangote.

The protesters burnt down truck and machinery at the Dangote Cement Factory in Ada Berge, Oromia. They also burnt down a police station and allegedly set prisoners free in the Bule Hora region of the country.

The state owned Fana Broadcasting Corporate said, the Oromia Regional State had earlier reported that lives were lost and property damaged in some areas of the state, apparently in reprisal to the incident over the weekend.

The Oromia region lies south of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Last year it was the center of protests where 400 protestors were killed, according to Human Rights Watch.

Dangote cement is Africas largest cement company with plants in Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Zambia, Tanzania and South Africa.